TWO LETTERS OF Mr. JOHN BIDDLE, Late Prisoner in NEWGATE, But now hurried away to some remote ISLAND. One to the Lord Protector. The other to the Lord Precedent Laurence. WHEREIN You have an account of his Judgement concerning those Opinions whereof he is accused.  
London, Printed in the Year. 1655.   

Two Letters from Mr. John Biddle, late Prisoner in Newgate.  
May it please your Highness,  
I Should have esteemed it no small favour, had I been admitted to speech with your Highness, before your ears had been preoccupated with the various Reproaches and calumnies, that have been cast upon me by mine Adversaries; for I am so assured, both of your Highness' wisdom and judgement, and also of mine own innocence and integrity, that I should have prevented any evil surmisings concerning me. But since it hath pleased God, to suffer it to come to pass otherwise, give me leave (in all humility) to put your Highness in remembrance of that just and wise demand, proposed by Nicodemus to the Jewish Council; Doth our Law judge a man until it hear from him first, and know what he doth? Wherefore my request is, That your Highness would be pleased to lay aside all prejudice, and either admit my justification, tendered in this letter, and which my adversaries are not able to disprove, or else vouchsafe me an hearing; and if it be found that I practise unrighteousness, and have done any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: My life for these many years is not unknown to sundry in London, who can, and are accordingly ready, to testify that I have made it my study, to meditate on the word of God day and night; and have not only exercised myself to have a conscience void of offence towards God and men, but also used diligence to draw others to all manner of holy conversation, putting them continually in mind to walk worthy of the calling wherewith God hath called us in Christ Jesus. And indeed, the sum of my Doctrine hath been constantly this, That as Almighty God hath by the exceeding greatness of his power, exalted his Son, Jesus Christ, to be a Prince and Saviour, so is he become the Author of eternal Salvation to none, but such as obey him; and consequently, That the power of Religion consisteth in yielding obedience to the commands of Christ Jesus. Neither do I desire any longer to be protected by your Highness, then whilst I walk in the way of peace, godliness, and honesty: of which protection I conceived a great hope, upon the sight of the Instrument of the Government, which was published by your Highness special command, where full liberty is granted unto all that profess Faith in God by Jesus Christ, (as I do, who by Jesus Christ believe in God that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, that my faith & hope might be in God:) provided that they neither disturb the public peace on their parts, nor be either popish, prelatical, or licentious, whether in Doctrine or practice, all which cannot with any colour, be by my greatest adversaries objected unto me; wherefore I beseech your Highness, that you would be pleased to make good what you have published unto the world, and engaged yourself by solemn oath to perform, and restore me to my liberty, that as other religious persons, so I also, may have a special Obligation to pray for the prosperity and continuance of your Highness' Government amongst us.  
july 27. 1655. JOHN BIDDLE.   

My Lord,  
THough there be sundry considerations inviting me to address myself unto you, yet none doth more encourage me than the information I have received concerning that spirit of Freedom which dwelleth in you, joined with an insight into those various questions that are wont to be agitated amongst dissenting Christians; I make no doubt but I have been represented to you in very hideous colours, whilst mine Adversaries one while attribute unto me such opinions, as never came into my thoughts, and which I utterly abhor; another while describe the Opinions which I own, with strange additions and alterations, purposely devised, to make both me and my Opinions odious: But your Lordship is not ignorant that these are old sleights of Satan, employed by him in all ages, to scare men from enquiring into the truth, which he hideth from them under the frightful Vizards of heresy and blasphemy; wherefore in treating with you, so wise & intelligent a man, who not only use your liberty in examining things commonly received, but dare, after examination, to reject some of them, (notwithstanding their commonness) because they were not delivered to the Saints from the beginning; I persuade myself that I may use freedom without offence, and disclose my judgement, touching points, even of the highest importance.  
As to my belief (therefore) concerning Jesus Christ (for in this matter I am chief traduced) I herein proceed as in other matters of Religion; which is, to keep close to the Holy Scripture, without turning either to the right hand or to the left: I find then in the Scripture, and believe accordingly, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, whom he begot by his Spirit of a pure Virgin: And this is the cause which the Angel Gabriel assigneth why Jesus should be called the Son of God, Luke 1. 35, 36. as for his being eternally begotten out of the substance of God: this is neither any where delivered in the Scripture, nor consistent with reason, so that no man (unless he will be wise above what is written, and above what is reasonable) can accuse me for not acknowledging such a Mystery. I believe also that God anointed Jesus with the Holy spirit, and with power, and that after he had died for the confirmation of the New-Covenant, God raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the Heavens, making him both Lord and Christ; Act. 2. 33, 35, 36. I likewise believe with Thomas, that he is not only my Lord, but also my God, john 20. 28. and with Paul, That he is God over all, blessed for evermore, Rom. 9 5. I believe further that he is to be honoured as the Father, john 5. 23. But the reason why (notwithstanding all these glorious eulogies) I believe him not to be the most high God; is, First, because it is contradictious to say the Son of the most high God, is the very most high God, for than He will of necessity be the Son of himself. Secondly, Because Christ himself saith to Mary Magdalen, john 20. 17. Go unto my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and unto my God and your God. Thirdly, Because the Divine Author to the Hebrews, doth, in the words of the Psalmist, speak thus, chap. 1. 8, 9 Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a Sceptre of uprightness is the Sceptre of thy Kingdom; Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniqity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness about thy Fellows. Doth not this Scripture speak of Christ as God, by which means the usual evasion of the adversaries is quite excluded, who, when other places of the Scripture are alleged, either that the Father is greater than the Son, john 14. 28. or that God is the head of Christ, 1 Cor. 11. 3. or that neither the Angels, not the Son, but the Father, and he only sometimes knew the day and hour of JUDGEMENT, Mark 13. 32. Mat. 24. 3. or that the SON Himself, having delivered up the KINGDOM to God even the Father, shall become subject to him that subdued all things unto him, that God may be all in all; 1 Cor. 25. 24. 28. think they can easily put off all these passages, by telling us (though without warrant of the Scripture) that all these things are spoken of Christ only as man, for the forequoted passage of the Hebrews, speaking of Christ, saith, O God, thy God hath anointed thee with Oil of gladness above thy fellows, thereby plainly giving us to understand that it speaketh of Christ as God.  
As for the efficacy of the death of Christ, I believe with the holy penmen of the Scripture, that we have remission of sins by it: Neither doth any Christian attribute greater force and virtue thereunto; only the way (whereby it procureth remission of sins unto us) cometh into controversy. I believe therefore, that the death of Christ giveth us a right to remission of sins, either as it was the death of the Testator of the New Testament, (for according to the reasoning of the Divine Author to the Hebrews, where a Testament is, there must of necessity be also the death of the Testator; for a Testament is firm after men be dead, otherwise it is of no force whilst the Testator liveth, Heb. 9 15, 16, 17. and therefore if remission of sins was bequeathed to us in the New Testament, we could not claim it unless the Testator had died;) or if (which I take to be the truer notion) as it was the death of the Mediator of the New Covenant, it is, because it did confirm and ratify the same, and the promises therein contained, amongst which remission of sins is a principal one. For Covenants were anciently wont to be confirmed or dedicated with blood, see Exod: 24. To this sense Christ himself alludeth, Mat. 24. 28. if the word Diatheke be, as is else where, (see Heb. 8. 8, 9 Gal. 3. 15. and Chap. 4 vers. 24.) rendered Covenant; for so it ought to be, else there will be an Old Testament, of which you shall no where read throughout the whole Volume commonly (but erroneously) called the Old Testament. Now what relation hath the blood of a Testament or Covenant to satisfaction of justice? And how dare men to wave that efficacy which the Scripture intimateth to be in Christ's death to procure remission of sins, and substitute another that hath no footing there?  
The last thing which I shall propose to your Lordship, is the omnipresence of God, which I never denied, for I acknowledge him to be every where by his knowledge, power and providence. But because I will not (contrary to Scripture, Reason, and Sense itself) say, that the person, shape, or glory of God, (the two first of which expressions are as well used of God in the Scripture, as the last, see Heb. 1. 3. joh. 5. 37.) is elsewhere resident than in the heaven only, therefore mine adversaries have maliciously imposed upon me, as if I should hold, that God is confined to a certain place, whereas to be confined, is a kind of imprisonment, when a person is so limited to a certain place, as that he ought not to go out of it. But what impiety would it be to say that God is imprisoned, or limited to a certain place, out of which he may not stir? Now that the person, shape or glory of God, is in the highest heaven, and not elsewhere resident, is not only evident from the Dictate of Nature, observed by Aristotle in his Book, De Mundo, who saith, That all Nations whatsoever give attestation thereunto, in as much as when they pray, they lift up their face and hands towards heaven; but is to be found every where in the holy Scripture. Thus is it said, Psal. 33. God looketh down from heaven, the place of his habitation. And Psal. 8. He hath set his glory above the heavens. And our Saviour Christ doth almost perpetually use this description of God, that He is in heaven. And lest any man should doubt whether God's being in heaven only, as to his person and glory, and Christ's being at his right hand, is to be plainly and properly understood, and not in a figure; the thing hath been brought down to the very sense, for it is Recorded of Stephen, Act. 7. 55. that Being full of the Holy Spirit, he looked steadfastly up into Heaven, and saw the glory of God, and jesus standing at the right hand of God: And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. Why should the heavens here be opened to Stephen, if the person and glory of God are as much in other places as there? How could it be said of him that he looked up steadfastly into heaven (an expression elsewhere used of the Apostles, and taken literally, see Act. 1. 10.) and saw Jesus at the right hand of God, if he saw it only by faith? (which very evasion (so incident it is to error to ensnare itself) doth show that the thing was indeed so, for can a man see by faith that which is not so?) and there was indeed no such thing, as a right and left hand of God; Now if we shall not credit the sight of Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, how shall we believe what the Apostles deliver to us as most certain, upon the authority of their sight? See 1 joh. 1. 1, 2, 3 & joh. 19 34, 35.  
Thus, my Lord, you have my persuasion concerning these sublime points of Religion, the last whereof is of so great consequence that the ignorance thereof hath proved an inlet to sundry of those truly blasphemous assertions of the Ranters, which I forbear to name, partly out of detestation towards them, & partly because I know your Lordship is not ignorant of them.  
As for my persecutors, they are well known to be of that party which never wished well to the present Government, as for other reasons, so also because it doth in the constitution thereof, hold forth liberty to all that profess faith in God by Jesus Christ, (and I could wish that this glory wherewith it hath hitherto shined, were not in any case somewhat stained, but I trust in God that this stain will ere long be done away, by restoring me to my liberty;) these are the men, my Lord, that formerly prosecuted Mr. Kiff●n (as he himself will tell you) and other godly persons; wherefore I beseech your Lordship: that if there be any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, any Communion of the Spirit, any bowels and mercies, you would be pleased to employ your interest, in rescuing me out of the hands of these bloodthirsty men, whose malice, if it prevail against me, will not stop there, but extend itself to all other dissenters whatsoever, and consequently even to your Lordship itself. In so doing, you shall exceedingly oblige one, whose rejoicing is this, even the testimony of his conscience, that in simplicity, and godly sincerity, not in Carnal wisdom, but in the Grace of God he hath conversed in the world, and who will ever remain,  
july 29. 1655. Your Honour's Servant in the Lord. I. Biddle.  
FINIS.