The great accuser cast down, or, A publick trial of Mr. John Goodwin of Coleman-street, London, at the bar of religion & right reason it being a full answer to a certain scandalous book of his lately published, entituled, The triers tried and cast, &c. whereupon being found guilty of high scandal and malediction both against the present authority, and the commissioners for approbation and ejection, he is here sentenced and brought forth to the deserved execution of the press / by Marchamont Nedham, Gent.

Answer.

This second Argument of his to prove the unlawful∣ness of these Ordinances, is so stuffed with the Fustian of va∣rious Terms, and false suppositions, so confusedly extrava∣gant, that it is not to be reduced into any handsom

Syllogistick form; and therefore let us take a view of the Verbosities and Scandals, as they-lie in (or rather out of) order.

First, (to omit his obstreperous Impertinencies which lie croaking in the way) he supposeth, That such men so im∣ployed as the Commissioners are, ought to have both In∣fallibility of Judgment, and intemerable Faithfulness, in matters of Faith and supernatural concernment. That they ought to be men of Judgment, I shall not deny; but that (like Mr. Goodwin) they should have an opinion of their own Infallibility, or of necessity be indeed Infallible, before they undertake such a work, sure there is no need. Their Commission (the Ordinance) impowers them to pass their Judgments concerning men, by approving, or not ap∣proving them for the work of Preaching, according as they have cause to believe them duly qualified, or not quali∣fied for it, in reference to these three particulars, viz. The Grace of God in them; Their holy and unblameable, Conversation; Their Knowledge and Ʋtterance. What need any Infallible Spirit be required in men to pass a Judgment upon other men in these Respects, before they be sent out to Preach? That which was the Apostles pre∣script to Timothy, was written doubtless for our instruction and direction; The things (saith he) that thou hast heard of me, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall teach others also. By which Text it appeareth, 1. That men ought to be tryed and approved before they be sent to preach the Doctrine of the Gospel. And, 2. That the proving of their Grace and Faithfulness doth not presuppose there ought to be an Infallibility in the persons who are to prove and approve them; because this proving and approving of the Graces of men that were to be imployed in any work of the Gospel, was to be a thing of ordinary and continual practice, as is cleer by that of the Apostle before cited, it being a Rule of Direction now to succeeding Times and persons, upon occasion, as well as then to Timothy. And by that of the Apostle in another place, where he speaks of the proving and approving of a Deacon, and saith, That

before their Approbation, they must be proved whether they hold the mysterie of the Faith in a pure Conscience; and then they may use the Employment. Which is no other then a cleer Evidence of the lawfulness of the proving and approving of men in point of Grace, before they be sent about Gospel-work: And it being a Rule for constant practice, it carrieth moreover along with it as cleer an in∣timation, that there is no such need of a Spirit of Infalli∣bility, before men can be fit to act in the way of Appro∣bation in respect of the Graces of men. And as to the other Qualifications, viz. Holiness and unblameableness of Con∣versation, with Knowledge and Ʋtterance; these two Points are cognoscible in Foro externo, by enquiry into mens Lives, and by examination of their Parts, and their experiences of Gods dealing with them in the work of Conver∣sion.

Secondly, He supposeth, That his Highness and the Council have by the Ordinances impowered the Commisi∣sioners to exercise dominion over the Faith, Judgments, and Consciences of men. To prove this, he saith, The Commiss∣oners for Ejection do eject men out of their places, because they cannot in conscience profess and believe as the Com∣missioners themselves do believe; and on the other side, the Commissioners for Approbation (he saith) do upon a like account disapprove men, and shut them out from such places of livelihood, to which they are called by Patrons, and fitted by their own signal worths and abilities. For Answer, know, It is no wonder that he who dares fasten so ill and ground∣less an Imputation upon our Governors, as that they have impower'd persons to exercise an unchristian dominion over mens Faith, whenas there is not a tittle in the Ordi∣nances of any such matter to be found (it is no wonder, I say, that he who presumes to prevaricate so unconscion∣ably against them) should under a pretence of making good the scandal which he casts upon them (to shew his emptiness of proof) fall to calumniating of those who are the Commissioners under them, by raising an ill report upon their proceedings. But this hath been his usual way of

Argumentation, fortiter calumniari, upon other occasions, and to observe neither Rule in Ratiocination, nor to pro∣ceed secundum allegata & probata, to make out an Accu∣sation.

I suppose, whoever looks into the two Ordinances for Approbation and Ejection, will find that the Commissioners have their work set forth to them by the present Autho∣rity, with Rules whereby they are to proceed, and how to behave themselves, as Servants use to have when they are imployed by their Masters, so that it appears to be a point of Service, rather then of Lordship or dominion, wherein the Commissioners are exercised. It may with as much reason be said, when a person offers himself to be a Member of a Congregation, and to partake of the Lords Supper, that the trying and examining of him in this case whether he be fit and worthy, is the exercising of a dominion and lordship over him. Then, whereas he saith, they exercise Dominion over the Iudgments and Faith of all the Ministers of the Gospel; I answer,

1. That as it is not a Dominion, so neither do they exer∣cise it over all the Ministers of the Nation: Mr. Goodwin can (if he please) confute himself in this; For, I surpose he believeth himself to be a Minister, and yet he knoweth neither of the Commissions have been exercised over him. Alas, he was ejected out of his Parish-Living in Coleman-street by a Committee of Parliament; but that was before the eldest of these Commissions was born.

2. That it is not over all the Ministers of the Gospel, because 'tis evident by the very letter of the Commissions, that they are not impowered to meddle one way or other with the Ministers or Pastors of Gather'd Congregations, but only with such as seek, or do enjoy the Publick Maintenance of the State to support them in the Ministry. And this him∣self afterwards confesseth in express terms in his 5. Argu∣ment, where he stileth them Ministers of Parochial Congre∣gations; though here, to the end that this crazie Argument might run the more roundly, he thought fit to let it pass on in general Terms, by omitting the due Distinction.

3. That it is not over Ministers quatenus Ministers, as they were taken heretofore under the notion and quality of a Sacred Function, but only as they stand in relation to the Magistrate, a Publick Ministry upon the Account of a Legal Publick Maintenance; and so the Judgment that is passed in the approving and disapproving, or in the ejecting of them by vertue of those Commissions, is only in respect of their being persons fit or unfit to receive or enjoy that Maintenance, and cannot be called a Judgment over their Faith, which they are left to enjoy at their own liberty as much as before; which being allowed them, it is fit the Magistrate should enjoy his liberty also, to refuse them his Maintenance, if their Faith and Perswasions be such, as he cannot in conscience believe he ought to give countenance and support unto. Moreover, whereas he saith, that those Ministers, by vertue of the Ordinance for Ejecting, are put out of the possession and enjoyment of such Livelihoods, which the Laws of the Land have entituled them unto, to the affamishing of themselves, their wives and children, because they cannot believe as the Commissioners require them, upon the said penalty, to believe: The Answer to this is evident (as before;)

1. That the Commissioners do not eject them, because not of the same Judgment with themselves in matters of Faith, but because their Judgment and Opinions are such as come within the compass of those Tenets and Doctrines, which the Magistrate hath declared he in Conscience can∣not, and will not give Maintenance unto. Besides, the power of ejecting is not exercised upon men only because of their Opinions, but it respects also the loose and ill be∣haviour and conversation of such as are imployed in the work of Publick Preaching.

2. That any power which conferreth a livelihood on any person upon certain conditions, to a certain end, ought in all reason to have a right of resuming that live∣lihood, in case neither the conditions be observed, nor the end of the Collation be answered, while the party conti∣nueth in possession of the said Livelihood. Now it was

the Magistrate and the Law which conferred livelihoods upon the Ministers before-mentioned: The Conditions whereupon they were conferred, were that they should behave themselves in all things as becomes Ministers; the end was, that they should with diligence and sound Doctrine feed and instruct the people under their re∣spective charges. Therefore in case those Ministers do not perform the conditions on their part, but run out into any of the licentious and disorderly practises in mat∣ter of behaviour enumerated in the Ordinance; and shall happen to make shipwrack of the Faith, by corrupting the truths of God with false Doctrine, or be ignorant themselves, so that the end (which was that they should instruct the people with sound knowledge) is not answer∣ed; certainly the Magistrate in this Case may righteous∣ly (and is questionless bound in Conscience to) resume their livelihoods into his own hand, and dispose of them to others, who he conceiveth will better perform the end for which those livelihoods and livings were first by Law ap∣pointed. And though the wants and necessities to which themselves and theirs may be reduced to, upon their being ejected, be a matter of Commiseration, yet it holds not water in point of Reason, to prove that they ought to be kept in, rather then there should be a Commission to eject them, unlesse Mr Goodwin (after his wonted way of reason∣ing) will judge it more reasonable, that the great end of the Gospel-ministration should be lost, and the souls of the people (without any commiseration) be either starved for want of sound Doctrine, or poysoned with false, rather than the false, ignorant, insufficient, or scandalous Mini∣sters should be exposed to run the hazard of an affamishing themselves, (as he calls it) and their wives and children. If this Argument were of any weight, then no man ought to be put out of his Office or Imployment in the Com∣mon-wealth, for breach of trust, or misdemeanour, or any crime whatsoever, because it may prove the utter undoing of him, and his wife and children.

Lastly, Whereas in the close of this Argument, he flou∣risheth,

telling us, That doubtless Christ never took upon himself any such authority as to appoint a few men to devest any men, much lesse Ministers of their rights, because their faith in matters appertaining to God, is not the same with the Faith of other men; 'Tis true, for Christ pretended not to the devesting any men of their rights, because they belee∣ved not aright; but what is this to the purpose? Will he infer from hence? Ergo. The Magistrate doth ill, because he requires those who are Officers or Commissioners un∣der him upon a publick and civill account, not to permit those persons to enjoy the publick maintenance, who in matters of Faith do hold Atheistical, Blasphemous, and execrable Opinions derogatory to the honour of Christ, or who hold, teach, or maintain any of those Popish Opinions, which by the Oath of Abjuration (mentioned in an Ordinance of Parliament of the 19 of August, 1643.) ought to be abjured. Will he infer likewise? ERGO, The Commissioners who put this part of their Commission in execution, do exer∣cise Dominion over the Faith and Consciences of men. Lastly, will he infer, ERGO, rather then seem to do so, both the Magistrate and these Commissioners who act under him, are bound to maintain the men in the promo∣ting of their Execrable, Blasphemous, and Popish Opini∣ons in matters of Faith, rather than withdraw the Pub∣lick maintenance from them? Or else, that in not admitting them to have the said Maintenance, or by withdrawing it from them, they (according to the invidious sense of Master Goodwin) must needs incur the guilt of Lord∣ing it over mens Faiths and Consciences? These are the rare Inferences that must unavoidably be drawn (for no other can be) from his most enigmatical way of argu∣ing, till he please more rationally to furnish us with other Conclusions from those sophisticated Suppositions, and those illogical, antilogical Rodomontadoes and hard words, wherewith he abounds in this, and all other his Sophisms, circumlocutory to little purpose. By this time I suppose the Reader is sick enough of Mr Johns second Ar∣gument, and therefore I shall not meddle with that which

followeth in the close of it, it being only an iteration of the same scandals against the Commissioners, which in black Characters of envy he had set down once before, and which we shall have occasion to take notice more at large, in another place by and by.

Notes

• Answer.
• Answ.
• 2 Tim. 2. 2.
• 1 Tim. 3. 10.
• These are the words of the Ordinance for ejecting.
• Projicit am∣pullas, & sesqui∣pedalia verba.