THE LAST will AND TESTAMENT, WITH THE PROFESSION of the Faith of Humphrey Fen, sometimes Pastor of one of the Churches of COVENTRY. But cast out by the High Commission for labouring in a peaceable way the Reformation of our Discipline.  
PRINTED, Anno Domini, MDCXLI.   

I profess with the Church of England the same doctrine of Faith and Sacraments established in the first year of the reign of the renowned Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory; of which doctrine according to the measure of the grace of God I have been Preacher fifty and five years, though unworthy of such a degree in the Faith of Jesus Christ my Lord God and Saviour blessed for ever.  
Touching the Discipline of the Church, to hold that Doctors, Pastors, ruling Elders and Deacons which is restored by the most reformed Charches, is to be held apostolical, universal, and unchangeable, and that the Churches of England do sin against their Head and only Monarch, in violent opposition thereof for the upholding ambitious pomps and worldly Prelacy, which being a human presumption at the first, being pretended for a remedy against schism (a cure more dangerous than the disease itself) made way for Antichrist, the head of Papacy, with power, and now serveth with us to hinder the church's edification, and to maintain a shameful schism against all the reformed Churches of the gospel.  
Touching ceremonies, I believe the Church hath no authority to ordain any for pomp or signification, but only for order and comeliness, and that ecclesiastical decrees therein do bind only in case of scandal and contempt. But decrees for ceremonies of the other kinds are so far from binding, that in defence of crystal liberty they ought to be broken; I therefore profess the Ceremonies in question with us unlawful, for that they be teaching signs which in God's worship he only may institute; or for that originally they are superstitious, the same devised by heretics and Antichrist in his Idolatry to captive souls, and so prescribed it to be used in God's worship; or for that they do grace Popery and scandalize the weak, who for their sakes conceive the better of Popery; or for that they give Papists occasion to scorn our religion and profession who borrow their Ceremonies, and grieve zealous Christians to see the Spouse of Christ forced to conform to the strumpet of Rome, and to wear the tokens of her captivity, which no true zeal can digest with patience, neither can it stand with hearty repentance for former straying from God; or for that they break the unity of brethren, spoil the Church of faithful Pastors, stay many from the work of the ministry, and give advantage to profane persons, and Papists, to persecute true Professors, and make the State guilty of the blood of the righteous, by wearing out their spirits by many indignities not to be looked for at the hands of brethren; and I do lament the ceremonial bondage of our Church, wherein Christian liberty is enthralled with human presumptions, which are exalted and enforced with more zeal than the holy Ordinances of God, and the rags of the whore of Babylon enjoined the Spouse of Christ, to the scorn of all her sisters, the Reformed Churches; who together with the doctrine of the man of sin have cast out the Image of the Beast his Hierarchy, Archbishops, Suffragans, Deans, Bishops, Chancellors, Archdeacons, Commissaries, Officials, Prebends, with the Canon Law, spiritual Courts, dispensations for non-residents, that odious sin restraint of marriage, without their dispensation (not much differing from the doctrine of devils) with their oaths ex Officio, compurgatory censures, commutations of penance, absolutions, consecrations, confirmations, together with all their contrived ceremonies, to be the filthy remainder of unclean Beasts, so do I humbly desire the Lord to purge and cleanse his Church thereof at the length; and as I myself for the space of fifty five years, according to my weak ability, opposed those corruptions, and by prayer, supplication, conference and suffering, endeavoured in a Christian peaceable manner the sincere reformation thereof, so do I earnestly exhort by the like Christian means, all that fear God, love the peace of Jerusalem, and desire the crown of vanquishers, according to your calling, to do the like; and as these times do require of those that love the Lord Jesus, an open profession of this cause, wherein Christ is persecuted in many of his members, so they would not be wanting in this duty at this time, wherein through the defection of many, others think the cause forsaken; yet do I not hold it lawful for these corruptions to separate from the communion of the Church of England, if therein a Christian may enjoy true doctrine with the Sacraments, from a Minister able to teach the truth, and where in the worship of God he is not forced by a personal act to approve of those corruptions.  
Touching the civil magistrate, I acknowledge our dread sovereign King Charles is supreme governor over all persons in his Dominions, by civil power to suppress all false worship, to compel all to the means of faith and knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, to force all ecclesiastical Ministers to a faithful execution of the duties of their place enjoined by our blessed Saviour, and to reform the remaining corruptions in the discipline, service and ceremonies of the Church, according to the order of God's word; and though I hold him subject to all the ordinances of Christ in his Church, serving to the salvation of men, yet do I deny him to be subject to any person, foreign or domestical touching his life, liberty, crown or dignity, or to any other foreign or domestical censure by whomsoever executed.  
This confession I set down under mine hand, as my last act in this kind, as a fruit of mine age, which is eighty seven years, and brought out in a serious meditation of my appearing shortly before the judge of all flesh, who only knoweth my heart, and to whom only I shall stand or fall; his judgements I fear, and do humbly crave pardon for all mine infirmities in this profession, as for all my other sins, but as touching the substance of this profession, as I know assuredly, so I appeal to his all seeing spirit, whether I have in hypocisie, contrary to the full persuasion of my heart, lived so long therein, endeavoured so much for it, and now am ready to die therein; Let this suffice to stop the mouths of slanderers, who encroaching upon the office of God, cry out of men's hypocrisy, who being (as they say) convinced in their consciences, do yet for sinister respects, continue the profession of the cause, as an Archprelate openly traduced as honest a man as himself, in the High Commission Court, not long since, whereas also he cast out many unsavoury speeches and reproaches, unbeseeming a man of God and chief Father of Pastors (as forsooth he would be taken to be) and unworthy so many well deserving Preachers of the Gospel, whose right hand of Fellowship himself would not have scorned while King James stood indifferent in the cause; be it therefore that King James have forsaken this cause, which had his first love under his hand, witnessed by many works, and namely by interceding for Mr. Thomas Cartwright, and others, imprisoned for this cause through the false suggestions of ambitious men, who (fearing to lose the fat morsels of their large rewards) abused the state by untrue surmises, which they were never able to make good; And be it since that show of a dispute in the cause at Hampton Court, wherein men were purposely chosen to undertake our cause, who (excepting one reverend Father) never took the cause to heart, as men that pesent themselves in an act upon a Stage; be it (I say) that ever since that time our cause hath lost many lovers by death, many famous Ministers and others by defection, yet the cause is the same it was, when it was esteemed holy by the best professors that were; when it was embraced by so many reformed Churches, and as it was in the judgement of so many reverend men which ever have approved it, for all the violent and unkind opposition made thereto; and as the cause remains the same it was, so I thank my God that by his grace I affect it no whit the less, but am assured it is a truth of God, wherein after fifty five years' labour in the ministry of the gospel, after much reading what hath been written on both sides, after many conferences with worthy brethren of indifferent judgement, after many prayers to the Father of lights; lastly, upon advised deliberation and consideration of the effects that have ensued the persecutions, I gladly end my days, and with joy do bear it in my bosom into the presence of God, and do hope, and in my best prayers do beseech him to raise up daily faithful men to contend for the truth of God against all gainsayers.  
Humphrey Fen departed this life in, or about September, 1634.  
FINIS.