A DEMURRE TO THE BILL FOR PREVENTING THE GROWTH AND SPREADING OF HERESY. Humbly Presented to the Honourable the House of Commons.  
WE beseech you for the great love you have from the people, that you will be cautious in determining any thing in this business of blasphemy & heresy; and that you will resolve to do nothing therein, but what shall evidently appear to be just and agreeable to the word of God.  
Our fears are great; that those who urge you so much to suppress heresies and blasphemies, have their own unjust ends therein, and the enslaving of the people to their wills: To estrange their affections from you; and to make them out of love with Parliaments.  
For what is it you are urged unto; but in effect to establish a very inquisition, to be as a curb to all those that oppose the doctrines and opinions of the ministers, or will not without reasonings or dispute submit their faith, practice and purses to their wills.  
It is not to be supposed but that these desires and motions, have their rise and birth from them, whose purpose it is to make you Instruments of their cruelty; certainly they have digged deep, and are grown confident you are fully underminded; they judge you believe you are; and that you are so fully captivated by their policies and stratagems, that you dare not but do what they desire? though never so unjust or destructive to yourselves.  
It cannot be; they should think you so ignorant as to believe they make these desires out of zeal to God, to Christ or his word; they are assured, you not only doubt, but know they do it only to make you instruments, to subject the people to their no less than popall tyranny, they know you know it to be so, and think they have you upon such a lock as you dare not deny them.  
But will you now fear the power of a Clergy, so lately raised out of the dust by yourselves; when neither the power of the Court; and a long settled Clergy united, hath been able to stand before you; there is nothing for this Parliament now to fear but God.  
The Clergy do but presume, and like the Prelates do things hastily, th●t will speedily make them odious, and be their ruin.  
The people already generally see through them, they have weighed them in the balance and find them light, adelusive, covetous▪ violent, bloody, imperious sort of men, no more like the Apostles or Disciples of Christ, than Simon Magus was; there is nothing so much in discourse as their pride and covetousness: That it is they who set Nation against Nation, and neighbour against neighbour, and to have their will, set even all the People together by the ears; their craft and policies are worn threadbare, and their credits and reputations is grown low in the People's esteem, and therefore do they make haste unto you for some real power.  
And because they would prevail, they seem to be advocates for God, for Christ, for his word, for the precious souls of men▪ transforming themselves into this shape of angels of light, in hope to deceive the very Parliament itself.  
We beseech you to look upon them without dread, without superstition; with open eyes, see through them to their ends, and you will see they mind only themselves, to set themselves above you, to trample up●n the People, who yet trust you will preserve them from so great a bondage.  
1. First for their desire concerning heresy: for I presume I may safely call them theirs first: for it is not probable they know any person that do deny and maintain there is no God, if any such were they would not doubt ere this time have been brought to light, by these searching inquisitive Church men: their purpose in this particular seems to be no other than to keep men in awe & fear of affrunting them in their arguments, to have advantages against any than hold any set discourses, and to beget in men a superstitious belief of any thing they say, without any examination of their grounds and reasons.  
2. In case any being ignorant, maintain the contrary, can it be judged in wisdom or justice, an equal thing that they should therefore be discharged? Would it not fare better become us to endeavour the enlightening of their understanding, or to wait God's leisure till he do it in his due time, rather than by their death to make sure that it shall never be done.  
3. Men are not borne with the knowledge of this more than of any other thing; it must therefore either be infused by God, or begotten in us by discourse and examination as other things are; if it be infused, we must wait God's time; his season is not the same for all, though happily one man's understanding may be opened at the first or second hour, another may not till the eleventh or last hour.  
If by discourse and examination; then every man must have liberty to discourse there upon; to propose doubts, to give and take satisfaction, to scruple, argue, or do any thing that may firmly establish our minds in this prime and fundamental truth.  
4. We beseech you let not God and the truth of this being, be so excessively disparaged as not to be judged sufficient to maintain it against all gainsayers, without the help of earthly power to maintain it; Let Turks and those that believe in strange gods, which are indeed no gods: make use of such poor and infirm supporters of their supposed deities; but let the truth of our God, the only God, the omnipotent God, be judged abundantly; able to support itself; 'tis a  imputation of infirmnesse, to imagine it hath need of our weak and impotent assistance.  
5. If there be any fear that for want of such a terror and penalty as is desired, men will take greater liberty to be vicious; Let the strictness and severity of law be multiplied tenfold against all manner of vice and enormity: Let some course be taken and charge given to the public speakers, that they spend less time about controversies and entrigate disputes; and divert the stream of their discourses against the ugliness of vice, and let forth the loveliness and excellency of virtue and true piety▪ that so all men may be enamoured therewith, and hate whatsoever is vicious with a perfect hatred.  
Concerning those that deny the unity of God: His eternity, presence or omnipotency; the divinity of Christ the purity of his manhood: the destruction of the two natures: the sufficiency of his death, and suffering for the satisfaction for our sins: the Trinity: resurrection, or judgement to come: or any other position mentioned in the former part of the desired Ordinance.  
Those Miserable men I say, that through ignorance maintain▪ any of these particulars: must they therefore be put to death? Is there no way to cure the blindness of their understandings, but by taking away that and life together? Is it not misery sufficient to these unhappy men that they are deprived of that knowledge, which is the principle comfort of this life: a support to us in affliction, the joy and solace of our souls?  
But must they for this their infirm felicity lose their lives also? What precept I pray have we for so doing? What command or Authority from Scripture? Was there ever any injunction given by Christ or his Apostles for the extirpation of the Romans or any others that denied our God; and multiplied other feighned gods to themselves? Can we think the name of God was less precious to Christ or his Disciples then it is to us? The Apostles way was to make the unknown God, to be known to ignorant men; to remove error by the sword of the Spirit and soundness of argument; not by punishment or death: If worldly strength had been judged the best and merest way for the implanting the Gospel▪ God would with▪ a word have furnished his servants there with: He could have chose to him out of the greatest and most potent upon the earth, or have made the Apostles: which seeing he did not, it evidently showeth that his truths are not to be propagated by strength and the sword: Nay we see rather it was his way to give all errors the advantage of worldly power, and trust the establishment and support of truth to its own effecacy, upon assurance whereof, he sent it abroad by messengers of mean condition, of no power in the world, as proposing it as his end to convince, not to compel, to conquour the understanding by the glorious and shining brightness of truth: and not subdue it by force of arms, by fire and faggot, by the hatchet or halter: Christ and his Disciples were frequently with the Sadduces, that denied the resurrection, and by consequence the judgement to come: yet we find not that they ever Instigated the Magistrate against them: and though there were heresies in their times, as many and as gross as there are said now to be; yet our blessed Saviour shows no zeal against them; the most that ever he expressed was against hypocrisy: the oppression of the Pharises, the cruelty of Herod, the pride and imperious mastery of the Scribes and Doctors of the Law: for Matters of opinion there was a toleration no man was molested: and it is exceedingly to the honour of Christianity: Yet of itself notwithstanding its low beginnings and despicable appearance at first, through the inherent and essential excellency and power that inseparably accompanies it, it was able to erect itself, and spread its branches about a great part of the world: let us not therefore make use of other means than Christ used; nor flee to those poor, refuges of civil power, which he purposely avoided▪ let us not now cast a blemish upon our profession: Let us not now undervalue it, by thinking it cannot stand without crutches, or that error unless the Magistrate assist, will be to hard for it.  
For blasphemy, if thereby be meant, a reviling or speaking evil of God, his Christ or his word; It is but meet that some fit punishment (as the word clearly imparts 1. Tim. 1. chap. & 20. ver. compared with 2. Pet. 2. 10. Judg. 8. 10.) should be appointed for restraining thereof, as also for any other evil and reproachful language, against either men or opinions: though reason and argument is allowable and necessary for the finding out of truth, yet reviling railing, bitter taunts, and reproaches, tends to the disturbance of civil peace, and proceeds from a malign and a distempered mind, and are therefore justly restrainable; But surely the punishment mentioned of burning in the cheek with a hot Iron, is to rigorous and severe, I shall not prescribe, but leave it to your discretion.  
For the supposed errors summed up in the latter part of the desired Ordinance, though many of them are disallowed by all, yet some of them are esteemed truths by the Anabaptists, some by the Brownists; some by the Independents, some by the Antinomians, and some by all of them: And such truths as they do as really esteem themselves bound to maintain, as the Presbyterians do any of their tenets, this Ordinance therefore is like a insurrection of one sort of men against another, the pur port and desires thereof in effect being that all the Independents, the Brownists, the Antinomians, the Anabaptists that have so much courage left, as to hold fast that which they account good, should be imprisoned till they can find two subsity men that will be sureties for them, that they shall never profess nor practice▪ what they esteem truth any more▪  
Have these sorts of men been invited (though indeed they needed n● invitation) to venture their lives and estates for their Country; and is this the reward? What could these good men's persons have been worse▪ had they been conquered by the Enemy? Since if this Ordinance takes effect, they must lead the remainder of their lives in a prison; and after they have got the victory be cast into bonds: I cannot persuade myself but that the Presbyters themselves, the ingenious I mean and meekly disposed amongst them, must utterly dislike this m●tion, as savouring not only of ingratitude and inhumanity, but of injustice; neither can I think but that the Honourable House of Commons will show tenderness to those sorts of men, from whom they have had real affection, assistance protection, besides many excellent services and performances: and express no other than a detestation of such imperious and unequal desires, evidently tending to enslave them  
Though we will not contend who has done best service for their Country, in the time of its straits and necessities, yet the presbyters sure themselves will acknowledge with us, that these sorts of men have not been backward in emptying themselves here at home, and pouring out their blood abroad, thinking nothing to dear for their Country, and all in hope that the work being done, they should perticipate of its peace and freedom; but the enemy being subdued, and freedom being now expected of serving God according to conscience, as a recompense for all the miseries and calamities Independents and Separation have endured for their Country, and amongst others, for the Presbyters: And instead thereof, motions are made that they may be put out of all Offices and employment in the common wealth (and not only so, but it is further intended) by this desired Ordinance that they may be put in prison.  
1. If this dealing be just or any ways pleasing to Almighty God, let the Presbyters themselves judge? Let it be considered first, that in matters of Religion, no sort of men have no just power to determine for another: neither are the Presbyters computent judges of the Independents or Anabap●ists etc. no more than they are of the Presbyters.  
2. That those tenets which are now accounted heresies, may be in the countenanced truths of the next age; as what formerly was accounted error▪ is now esteemed truth; every man is to satisfy his own conscience, the best he can, and doing so, walking, likewise according to his light (which is now principally wanting) it is as much as in equity can be desired; consider that through the bondage of the Presbyters seems not to be included within this Ordinance; yet being and settled, the Ministers having such a foundation to work upon, they will extend it to all, and the Presbyters themselves not complying in all things to their desires, shall by questioning, catechising, or some other way, be look within in the verge of its power.  
4. Our brothers the Presbyterians, having no assurance that they shall not change their minds, and therefore it may so fall out, that the rod they provide for their discenting brethren to day, may whip them to morrow, and Mordecaies gallows, may serve for Hamans' excecution,  
5. We may very well dread the tendensie of the government which in its first desires is so rigid and bloody minded, what will it in time grow up to? what will its corruptions arise to? We see how frequent it hath been to pervert the end of Laws, and extend them beyond the intentions of the Lawmakers: The Law against meetings in private, was intended for the security of the Nation against conspiracies and traitorous plottings against the State: But is wasted by the malicious men, and made to serve their turn against the godly people, and men best affected to the State, meeting together to worship and to serve God. The Statute against Recusancy, was intended against Papists, but they frequently put it in execution against the Separation: So that it is very necessary to be provident and causi●us in making Laws of this nature: since crafty men have devices in their brain that good men never dreams of; and though the glory of God be the pretence at present; yet upon very good grounds it is to be feared that the principle thing intended in these desires, is to lay begins and snares to entrap men with all, to terrify men from a free and necessary search into the grounds and original of things, and to dispose all men to an easy and apt belief of whatsoever the Synod and learned Churchmen shall hold forth. It cannot be, Oh ye lovers of the People, but that you desire the People should be a judicious▪ knowing▪ & understanding people; a people established and grounded upon solid principles, begotten by serious meditation, and deliberate examination: You cannot but abhor that most superstitious maxim to believe as the Church believes; O do but consider; what the Clergy men desire; and see whether it amounts to less, then to bar all search, inquire, or examination, and in time to believe as the Assembly believes: atleast to profess as they profess, or not the contrary upon pain of death, imprisonment, or other punishments▪  
Certainly if there be need of any ordinance concernieg the Assembly it is for their dissolution, and that the Parliament would be pleased to take a survey of their manifold attempts upon them, and that like subtle and bloody Simon & Levy, in the greatest exigents and difficulties of their weightiest affairs, as trusting rather to what necessity might enforce, than what justice would allow. They have been goads in your sides, & thorns in your feet, hindering by frequent & politic stratagems, your progression towards the people's good and wealfare; be pleased therefore in (steadof complying with them in these vast and unreasonable desires; admonishing them to labour for humble and contented spirits: and to yield ready obedience to the commands of Parliament, by whom they are ordained, and whose direction they are to observe without dispute; and that they would not spend their time, and stuff their sermons with State affairs to beget parties, and factions to carry one their own ambitious designs.  
If the Parliament would be pleased to answer their desires thus, and to forbear to make either Ordinances or Laws of that nature, which their cruelty hath prompted them to desire, it would manifest so great a care of the quietness of the people as would cause them to bless their remembrance for ever, and would be their honour to future generations: and is the most zealous desire of all those that would gladly see the quietness and happiness of Parliaments and People.   
FINIS.