I. Quer. SEing ye alleadge ye have your Power or Authori­ty to Excommunicate from GOD, and from Christ; How, and after what manner have ye it, mediately, or immediately? If immediately, how can that be, seing ye affirm that immediate calls are ceased generally since the Apostles dayes? and seeing ye blame us for pretending to an im­mediate call, because as you think, immediate calls are ceased? Again, you say men may be lawfully called and authorized to Preach, and do all Ministerial Offices, who are but Natural and unconverted men, and have no inward acquaintance and fellow­ship with God; and such men ye allow them to excommunicate whom ye think to deserve such a censure, and you say they have authority so to do, and yet you cannot say they have an immedi­ate call from God thereunto?

If mediately, then tell us what is the first Original and rise of this mediate call, and what are all the middle-steps, or midses betwixt the first and the last? for either the first rise and original must be the Apostles, who were immediately called, or some [Page 2]since the Apostles dayes, about the beginning of the Reformation that were immediately called, for all mediate calls must at last resolve in an immediate call, otherwise there would be an infi­nite progress which is absurd? If ye deduce the rise of your me­diate call from those who were immediately called, about the time of the first Reformation, then ye must grant that the first Refor­mers were immediately called, as the Apostles and Evangelists were, which contradicts your common Principle, that immediate calls are generally ceased since the Apostles dayes. Again, if the first Reformers were immediately called, they were also imme­diately gifted and furnished, what to say, and to preach, and to write; for all that ever had the one, had the other, as you may read in the Scripture: And if they were immediately gifted and furnished, then they were immediately inspired; and consequent­ly what they spoke and wrote by the same, was by the infallible Spirit of Truth, and of the same Authority with the Words and Writings of the Apostles and Prophets, which is contrare to an­other common Principle of yours, that all writings since the Apostles dayes are but Humane, and not Divine, nor Divinely inspired; for if di­vinely inspired, they should be equal to Scripture, and deserve to be bound up in the Canon which you will not acknowledge.

But if you deduce your mediate call from the Apostles who lived about 1600. years ago; then I ask by what Church or Church-officers is this your mediate call descended unto you from the Apostles, whether by the Church of Rome, and her Bishops and Popes, yea, or nay? Or by what other Church or Church-Officers? And if the Church of Rome and her Bishops (unto which only in a visible succession ye can have any colour to lay claime) then I ask, hath not the Church of Rome and her Bishops degenerat since the Apostles daies? Have not ye your selves (cal­led Protestant-Ministers and Preachers) oft Preached and Printed it, That the Church of Rome for these many hundreds of years (to wit, the visible Church) hath been an Apostate Church, and her Bishops Apo­states from the true Faith delivered unto the Apostles? And did ye not deny her to be a true Church? and on that account, did not your Predecessours the first Reformers separate from her? And did [Page 3]not the Church of Rome and her Popes excommunicate your Predecessours? and such of them who once had her call, she de­graded them, and took it away from them? And to this day she denieth you, and excommunicateth you all every year, so that ye are all above an hundred times excommunicated by her. Now are ye not ashamed to derive your call from her, who is an harlot, and the mother of harlots, as your selves have called her, and from Babylon, and from the Synagogue of Satan, as ye have also called her? And are ye not ashamed to derive your call from the Pope of Rome whom ye have oft called Antichrist? and some of the Popes of Rome by whom your mediat call is descended unto you, were Witches and Necromancers, as Hildebrand, who was also a vile Murtherer; and one of them is reported to be a Woman, and vile Harlot, that bear a Child in the time of her Procession; and this the Prote­stants have objected against the Papists very often: and yet these are the persons whom ye derive your mediate call from, to ex­communicate us, from Witches, from Necromancers, from a Whore both Spiritually and Carnally, from Babylon, from the Synagogue of Satan, and from Antichrist himself! A strange thing that Antichrist should have a just and true Power and Authority to make and call Ministers of Christ, and yet more strange, that these whom Antichrist hath excommunicated above an hundred times, should from him claim their Power as from their lawful Predecessour to excommunicate others!

Answer these plain Questions plainly and clearly, and call not this Railing, for it is not railing to speak the Truth, not to seek to find out and discover the Truth. And seing your call is mediate from the Apostles, must it not be a visible call? (for a mediate in­visible call is a contradiction) and if it be a visible call, must ye not visibly in a visible way by visible Successours from the very Apostles derive it unto your own time, who have transmitted it visibly by Ordination, and laying on of hands, as the manner of your mediate call is?

Now, that the Protestants, and even the Presbyterians derive their [Page 4]call to the Ministrie mediately from the Church of Rome (notwith­standing her Apostacie) because some thorow ignorance may deny it, let them read James Durham in his exposition on the Re­velation, see his twentie third and 24th. Digressions.

II. Quer. WHat is the nature of your Excommunication, is it a cutting us off really and totally from all the Spi­ritual union and communion with God, and them who are truely and really the people of God, where ever they are throughout the World? Or is it not a real cutting off, and a real separating us from them, only pretended and seeming, for one these two it must needs be (seing there is no midst betwixt them) now if it be but pretended and seeming it is false and vain; neither have we nor any other cause to lay weight upon it.

If it be a real cutting us off and separating us from Spiritual union with God and his People, then ye must needs have a knowledge of us, that we, are none of us, in the least measure of the number of Gods People, and that none of us have the least measure of true Faith, true love to God, true holiness and piety? and how know ye that none of us have the least measure of those things? Have ye an infallible discerning (of the inward states of others) to know whether we be in the state of Grace yea or nay? If yea, how say ye, that an infallible discerning of the inward states of others is ceased; seing that belongs to immediate Revelation, which you say is ceased generally since the Apostles dayes? If nay, then having no infallible knowledge of our inward states, the best that you have is but conjectural, and in opinion; and therefore ye cannot do what ye do in this matter against us, in Faith, and with clearness, but with doubting? and seing he that doubteth is damned, as the Apostle said; how can your sentence of damnation against us bear weight, which proceed from you, who, because of your doubting are damned your selves?

[Page 5] III. Quer. WHat are the particular grounds and reasons of your excommunicating us, are errours of life and conversation, or errours of judgement; we suppose ye will not alleadge the first; seing our life and conversation whom ye have excommunicated, and are purposing to excommunicate, is at least as good as your own, and manifestly better than thousands of your own Church-Members, whom for all their lying, swearing, cursing, defraud­ing, drinking drunk, and other abominations among them, ye continually blesse and curse not.

If they be errours of Judgement, then we also ask further, do all errours of Judgement deserve that the persons (simply for their judgement) holding them, ought to be excommunicate, which is contrary to your own way among your selves; for some among your selves differ one from another in matters of Judgement in diverse things, as some of you think that Episcopa­cy is Jure Divino, others think, it is but an Humane Invention, and limb of the Antichristian Hierarchy, some of you think, that set forms of Prayer ought to be used in the worship of God, others thnk it Popish and Superstitious; some of you think, ye should sing that called the Doxologie, and stand up to it, though sitting at the rest of the Psalm, others condemn it as superstitious and will-worship; some think they should kneel in receiving the Sacrament, (as they call it) others think kneeling Idolatry; some think they should be uncovered all the while they are in the Steeple-house, if it be consecrated, others think it Superstition; some think the Magistrate may be resisted, and they may rise up in Armes against him, to carry on a Reformation; which bad doctrine they have learned from their Grand-father the Pope: others do justly condemn that principle. And besides diverse of the Protestants hold, that Christ hath died for all men, O­thers hold the contrary, that He hath not died for all, but some. Again diverse hold, that the keeping of the first day of the week for a Sabbath, is of Divine appointment; others, such as Calvin, and many with him, both abroad and at home deny it. Some say, that we are justified not only by the outward righteousness of Christ imputed [Page 6]to us; but also, by inward righteousness, as many of the Epis­copal party in England, and some in Scotland; and many other dif­ferences of Judgement are amongst them, who yet do not ex­communicate one another, but hold it their duty to bear with one another. It is not therefore one or diverse errours, or diffe­rences in Judgement, or in relation to Worship, that are ground of Excommunication, but such as are Blasphemous, or funda­mental errours, such as overturne the very foundation of Christi­anity, and Christian Religion. Now before ye excommunicate us, ye should take pains to inform your selves, if we whom ye are about to excommunicate do hold such fundamental errours, for we know not that we hold any principle, which ye your selves call a fundamental errour. Indeed some of you have al­leaged that Quakers in England hold blasphemous and fundamen­tal errours, but they have not proved it out of their own words and writings; and if it were so, that is not sufficient for you to proceed against us, unless ye discover that we particularlie, whom ye are about to Excommunicate, do hold such blasphemous and fundamental errours; for every one is to be judged according to his own Faith.

Therefore let us have a fair and free hearing and communing betwixt you and us, for we are most willing that ye try us to the uttermost of your abilitie, which ye as yet have not done, but taken things upon trust, and believed lies and mis-informations a­gainst us: and unless ye do this, ye lay your selves open to the just censure of all, that you have not proceeded orderlie with us, nor given us Gospel-order; for if ye think ye are our Judges in these things, ye should give us a hearing freely, and fully before your Presbytries; or if we appeal from your Presbytries, ye should give us a hearing freely, and fully before your Synods, and highest Church Judicatories, such as they are.

And as for us though we own you not as our Judges, yet we are most willing that ye try us, and ye cannot in any colour of reason deny us these publick opportunities of Conference, and labouring to clear our selves, which even the Papists have given [Page 7]unto Protestants, and which the Protestants in reason demanded of them, and which the Sinod of Dort gave unto the Armenians and Remonstrants before they passed sentence against them.

IV. Quer. WHy have ye changed the form of the words of Ex­communication, set down in the Scripture, which is, to deliver up unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, 1 Cor. 5.5. And seing ye think it so essential to adhere to the words of Scripture, when ye Sprinkle, and when ye give the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, as ye judge it; why do ye not adhere to them when ye excommunicate? And as for your new forme of excommunication, to deliver up unto the righteous judgement of God: who hath taught you these words? And seing they are not expresly Scripture words, (nor indeed pertinent to be words of excommunication, for they may be pro­perly applyed unto them, who are not excommunicated, nor to be excommunicated: Yea David, an eminent Saint praied, that the Lord would judge him; and said Peter, judgement must begin at the house of God) what sort of words are they, whether Divine, or given by Divine Inspiration? If not, then they are but the words of a man, and therefore they can have no weight nor authority with them against us.