A letter from a gentleman to his friend Concerning the second edition of the declaration against Antinomian errors, &c. lately published by Geo. Griffith, Matthew Mead, Stev. Lobb, Richard Taylor, John Nesbitt.

A LETTER From a Gentleman in the City to his Friend.

SIR,

SINCE you will not admit of my excuses, I can no longer resist the importunity you express, that I would give you my thoughts about the present state of Affairs, amongst the Ministers of the Congregational perswasion: more especially of what relates to the Declaration lately Published by some of them. You're not insensible how dangerous a task it is to unravel the mysteries of the Leaders of the People, without drawing the Odium of a whole Party of upon the bold undertaker, tho' the charge be never so Just and Righteous: This is owing to a funda∣mental Maxim instill'd into us from our infancy, That to expose the Preachers is to ridicule and banter Religion out of the World, to introduce Atheism and all impiety, as if the virtues, or de∣pravities of that sort of Men did add or diminish, from the vital Power and Energy of true Reli∣gion, which stands upon so sure a Foundation, that even the Gates of Hell shall never prevail a∣gainst it. But so far has this Poison diffus'd it

self into the hearts of most Men, that the discove∣ries God hath made unto us in his Word how he will be worshiped, and what he expects from us, are not fully believed, except they be confirm'd by those we commonly call Divines, whom to set in a clear light before the Generality of People, is to rob them of the better half of their worship; who thereupon are apt to cry out, with Micah, ye have taken away my Gods which I made, and the Priest, and what have I more? And for my part I must frankly own, that this Poison had so far infected me, that all the Antidotes I ever took could not effectually eradicate the malignity of it, 'till by continued observation I found our Eccle∣siastical Donns so far from being elevated above those failings common to mankind, that in many of them those very corruptions discovered them∣selves more predominate than in others: But whe∣ther the station wherein they are plac'd magnifies every Peccadillo in them, or whether their dege∣neracy be really so great (with which subject I may possibly hereafter entertain you) is not at present my intention to enquire: But I shall pro∣ceed to lay before you my Thoughts upon a half sheet, a few Days since emitted into the World, and affix'd to the Declaration you wot of, by five Congregational Ministers, as they stile them∣selves: And the matters of fact I shall faithfully represent to you as they came to my knowledge, to the relation of which you'll the more readily give Credit, when you consider, I can't Justly be suppos'd to be byass'd in my Judgment to this or the other Party, whether Presbyterian or Inde∣pendant, having never actually joyned with ei∣ther of them, and therefore am under no temp∣tation

to espouse one cause more than another; but as Friend to Truth, and in detestation of that gross Legerdemain lately impos'd upon the World, I shall give you a short Narrative of their Adver∣tisement publish'd with the Second Edition (as they call it) of their Declaration, and then sum up the whole in a succinct description of what part each of the five Subscribers acted in it.

For their Advertisement then, you shall know that the first part of it runs in the following strain.

It having been reported and industriously spread abroad, that the Declaration against Antinomian Errors, &c. was not considered, and approved of by the Congregational Ministers in and about this City. (Which is in manifest contradiction to the title Page and Preface.)

I shall not examine the ingenious stile this passage is couch'd in, nor take notice of the Pa∣renthesis, aptly plac'd, as they may think, after a full Period, the supposed Learning of the Ama∣nuensis to that Reverend Society shrowding him from censure of incorrectness: But I shall lead you directly into the understanding of this intricate matter.

You must know, that some time since a party of the Congregational Ministers held a Consistory at the Amsterdam Coffee-house, and other places, to draw up something to satisfy the World that they did not any way warp towards a hateful busieness call'd Antinomianism, and having their fancies quickn'd by the name of the place they were in, after many debates, they pick'd up some Errors from Amsterdam, or hard by, held some hundred years ago, and strenuously confuted them

by Dr. Goodwyn, Dr. Owen, and the Assemblies Catechism, with the help of Dr. South. This their composition crept into the World in so clande∣stine a manner, that many who were adherers to them, and their interest, could scarcely be per∣swaded to believe they were the Authors of that Elaborate piece; which gave birth to an Anomy∣mous Pamphlet, intitul'd Considerations upon the Congregational Ministers Declaration: this some conceive to have been wrote by a Presbyterian; therein he endeavours to demonstrate by many Arguments, that it was not probable the Con∣gregational Ministers were the Authors of that Declaration, and in a severe passage towards the Conclusion, seems to throw it upon the Celebrated Lunatick, Trepidantium Malleus, who boasts that he has highly merited of the World by so happi∣ly exploding Mr. Baxter's Errors and his Follow∣ers, and who really engag'd in a work of the like design with this Declaration some Months ago. But whoever was the Author of that Pamphlet, 'tis certain it had this effect, that those Reverend Sirs, who before had foisted into the World that, suppos'd spurious, Declaration, being now toucht to the quick, do boldly own it to be the legiti∣mate product of their strict scrutiny into the Re∣cords of the Dead, by prefixing five Names to it, viz.

• Geo. Griffith,
• Mat. Mead,
• Steph. Lobb,
• Richard Taylor,
• Iohn Nesbitt.