SOMETHING WRITTEN After the manner of a Discourse or Dialogue Betwixt a Rigid PRIESTBITERIAN And Good Conscience, Which begins to be roused up and awakened these TRYING TIMES.  
LONDON, Printed for I. C. 1662   

Something written after the manner of a Discourse or Dialogue, &c.  Priest. 
WEll met Conscience, how dost thou do? Where hast thou been a long time, that I have not seen thee?  Cons. 
I am now glad that I have met thee, though I have been sick and in prison, and thou couldst not see me because Pride, covetousness, Wrath, Envy, and hypocrisy hath made thee blind, the God of this World hath blinded thy mind, that thou haddest quiter forgot Conscience.  Pr. 
But I pray thee, where hast thou been these many dayes, where hath been thy residence and abode, I knew thee once I'm sure?  Cons. 
Why I have been hated, false accused, imprisoned, killed all the day long, under many gross slanders, and reproaches, as heretic, disturber of the Peace and Government, Blasphemer, disturber of Magistracy and Ministry, and all manner of evil that could be spoken by me, even as when thou knewest me, did not then mine enemies who were high, and full, and fat, and proud, and made no conscience, did not they then so deal with me, call to remembrance.  Pr. 
But what dost thou think now Conscience, what will become of our Religion now, we must red the Service Book, and turn again to our old vomit in every thing, and that which is much to be feared, to that which is worse then ever it was.  Cons. 
Well what are you not pleased now there is an Act for Uniformity in Religion, have you not long desired it, that you might crush such as you call heretics and schismatics, and bring them back again, and are you not pleased now the●e is an Act, and also an Act against the Quakers?  Pr. 
But we never intended to set up this Religion, which we have so long called Antichristian and Popish, but to have established Priestbitery in its purity, and according to the example of the best reformed Churches, and so to bring all others to a conformity to that.  Cons. 
You never intended it, but now it is intended; What think you now, Is it nothing for you to have a yoke made for your Consciences, would not liberty of Conscience be now acceptable to you, and is it an easy thing now for you to suffer for your Consciences, who were so eager to make others suffer for their Consciences.  Pr. 
A ye but they held error and blasphemy, and were disturbers of Ministry, and troublers of the Nation, denied tithes and deuce, &c.  Cons. 
Did not the Bishops say as much by you, when they ruled over you, while you held acquaintance with me, and endeavoured to keep your conscience voided of offence, did they not pretend the same things against you, as you did against those whom you call heretics, &c. And didst thou not say, you would have set up Priestbitery in its purity, and according to the example of the best reformed Churches, then was not the Church in the Apostles dayes, the most purest, and was not their example chiefly to be followed, and then was it not reason and good conscience to detain tithes, since it could not be proved by their example or practise, and was it not reason and good conscience, to separate from you, when you had separated yourselves from good conscience, and became persecutors of him, and were for the most part given up to your own hearts lust, in pride, self-exaltation, avarice, cruelty, idolatry and uncleanness, and yet cry the Church, the Ordinances, as these do now, whom you'l not comform to, and were you not as cruel as these can be to you, let England and New-England witness.  Priest. 
But Conscience this was thy manner still, thou wouldest judge us, and thou wert to precise in many things, we could never well away with thy strictness to the Apostles Rule and Practise, thou wilt have every thing proved by Scriptures and lay aside our ancient Fathers, and other godly mens commentaries, who did as we do after the Church was settled, and Persecution ceased.  Con. 
Am I indeed too strict for you, and is not this Religion loose enough, and do you like neither, and yet hate them which do? will you call the Scriptures the Word of God and the Rule, and yet leave them and fly to ancient Fathers Rules, Words and Works, who in many things followed their own corrupt wills and carnal reason, and in this you also follow in what may suite with your own ease and profits, preferment and worldly honours, and so the cross of Christ is ceased to you, and you are become lovers of yourselves, and of pleasures, and not deniers of yourselves, and so are blinded, and quiter forget good conscience, as they did who after the Church was settled( as thou sayest) and persecution ceased, did err from the truth, and good conscience, and set up their own rules, inventions and traditions, and these have ever since been followed, under the names of Church and Ordinances, and whoever have kept to the Apostles rule, and kept a good conscience, were persecuted by them who held the traditions and were mixed with the worlds interest.  Priest. 
But now thou seest we are like to be sufferers for our Consciences as well as others, are we not, what shall we do?  Con. 
Nay, stay you are not yet sufferers for a good conscience in the fight of God, but for evil doing, what though you may suffer a few of you for the profession of Religion, yet that may not be for good conscience neither, for though your suffering may be inflicted upon you by men, yet you must know that God hath a hand in these things, and there was first a cause in you, that did provoke the Lord to bring these enemies upon you, and to take you as captives, and this is not come upon you as suffering for good conscience, from the hand of God, to exercise you for the trial of your faith, but as a judgement from God for former disobedience, and therefore you have yet good conscience to seek, though you may retain your profession of Religion, and suffer as Israel did in Babylon, yet were they led captive into Babylon for their sins, which you also have been warned of often, for several years past, but refused to repent, and therefore is this evil come upon you, and not for good conscience, and this you must be thoroughly sensible of, before ever a remedy be found.  Priest. 
But had we ever Prophets as Israel had, what though a company of giddy brained people came like mad folks to disturb us, and bid us repent, and judge us, and call us deceivers, and blind guides and such like, was this warning from the Lord?  Con. 
Yes if you could have made good use of them, if envy, wrath and bitterness of spirit had not filled your minds, you might well have taken it so, and improved it to your advantage, and that for these reasons. First, because they reproved you for the same things, which the true Prophets reproved the false, as of teaching for hire, greedy of filthy lucre, divining for money, running after Baalams error, having the chief place in the Assembly, uppermost rooms at Feasts, going in long robes, and called Master, with divers other things even as they did, which practices( though covered with pretences) you were guilty of. Secondly, your dealing with them was just as the false Prophets, High-Priests, Scribes and Pharisees did with the true Prophets, Christ and his Apostles, the same terms of reproach and falsehood as was given them, as Deceivers, Seducers, Blasphemers, turners of the World upside down, bringers in of new Sects, Mad men, with divers such like, even as they did; and were you not blind you saw not this, and then stir up Rulers, Souldiers, False witnesses even as they did, with the rude Multitude, to revile, false accuse, imprison, slander, murder and destroy even as they did; Nay might not Baalam and his ass have reproved your madness as exceeding his, how fiercely did he strike the poor ass, because he went not forward, so greedy was he for reward, that if he had had a sword he would have killed him, but he saw not the Angel, which the poor, despised, beaten ass saw, that stood in his way to have destroyed him; was it not thus with you who though sometimes your foot as it were was crushed, and your head broken, yet you would not be turned, but post on, even head-long to your destruction, and so you digged a pit for others, and yourselves are fallen therein, and in the snare that yourselves have laid, is your own foot trapped, and now cry out of persecution for conscience, while indeed you are not come to conscience yet, for this is Gods vengeance, and so you must take it, and repent, or you will be utterly destroyed for ever; for alas, had you considered these people, though you had not believed that God sent them, yet you might have believed, that God suffered them, and that for to reprove you, and for this reason you might have preached your camp, to have found out the accursed thing amongst yourselves, that it might have been put from you, that so the plague might have been stayed; and now though the very same things which they speak of, are come upon many already, and are every day hastening to their fulfilling, can you yet believe that you were warned, and that these things are come upon you justly, for your Cruelty and Oppression towards them, your Blood-thirstiness, Covetousness and Pride; herein is the Scriptures fulfilled, he hath closed their eyes that they cannot see, and hardened their hearts that they cannot understand; and so, though you make long Prayers, and weep, and howl, and lament, yet this is but the fruit of your own doings, you are not yet come to good Conscience, and find out the cause, and purge yourselves first from that which hath brought these great Judgments upon you, that you might begin upon a right foundation.  Priest. 
Why Conscience, what wouldest thou have us to do? We must not Preach no longer in public, nor Administer the Ordinances, and if we do, then we are deeply fined or imprisoned; And if we do it in private, we do not only bring ourselves in danger, but we come under our own censure, having so much condemned others for private exercising of Religion, and separating from the public, that they will have just cause to say, That now our own Judgument of others is come upon ourselves, and becomes our own case, and thus we are every way straightened.  Cons. 
Why now indeed you are tried, the day hath overtaken you; but if you would take my advice, it will be very hard for you, for indeed you must deny yourselves, and truly repent of all your hard speeches, and cruel usages, unjust imprisonments of honest innocent people, you must know and believe that these things are come upon you deservedly for cruel dealing with them; and you must own, confess, and believe that light in your Consciences which they profess and you blaspheme, that by it you may truly see the corruption, ungodliness, and impiety of your own hearts, and through it be lead to Repentance, and this is hard for you, and so with them choose to suffer for a good Conscience rather then sin against the Law of God in your hearts for all the worlds good, and so learn to see the error of your own hearts and minds, that from it you may be delivered, and God may give you repentance and the knowledge of the Truth; and this light in your Consciences( if you love it and obey it) will let you see what is accepted of God, and what is rejected, and to choose the good, and refuse the evil, and this will bring you to know what good Conscience is, and what it is to have the heart sprinkled from an evil Conscience, and to have peace with God.  Priest. 
Thou tells of the Light, and this the Quakers have  told us; but we have detected it as false Doctrine, Error and Delusion, and we are Gifted men, and can Preach and ●ray, What shall become of our gifts? Shall we quiter give over to Exercise them? and what shall become of our Families if we give over? May we not comform and red some part, that so the Gospel may be preached? for otherwise the Gospel may cease to be preached?  Con. 
Thou didst ask my Advice ere while, as if thou hadst some mind to have followed it; but thou hast detected the Truth for Error, this is still irksome to thy stomach; thou hast slandered it, though thou couldst never prove it, and so this is too mean for thy dainty palate to return to this and know good Conscience, and thou must teach others by any means though thou thyself be cast away; And what is the matter your Families have been kept full and rich, and proud and lofty, finely arrayed in silk and soft linen, and your Children bread in idleness, pride, wantonness and fullness of bread, and you and your Wives in your Master and Mistriss-ships, and this is a great Reason that you must preach the Gospel; here is the necessity, a Living, not the Gospel, and your Gifts( if they were so) you will sell, and under this deceit you will do Evil that Good may come thereby; but God abhors it, and you therein, and where is good Conscience all this while when you do that which is contrary to the light in your Consciences? and thus you'l preach Faith to others, while you have an evil Conscience, and are voided of a pure Conscience where Faith is held: But I tell thee, hold fast Conscience before it be utterly seared, and come to have more acquaintance with me, and talk less of thy Gifts, but be humbled that God may exalt thee, and know thyself and wherein thou hast erred, and repent from the bottom of thy heart, and aclowledge the just hand of God, who is measuring the same measure unto you as you have measured to others, and prise liberty of Conscience, and cry down wickedness in yourselves and others, and this had been good you had done long since, and have been content if one or two in a parish had not paid you because of good Conscience, which had been suitable to self-denial and good Conscience, rather then to have been so mad and furious to get all, that now you are like to loose all, both living and Religion too.  Pr. 
Well Conscience, if this be the case, why then it is evident that if we keep a good Conscience, we must deny ourselves and loose all, and take up the across, if we will hold our Principles, we must bear the shane of our former actions, or else if we turn, we must of necessity make shipwreck of good Conscience utterly, and become abominable hypocrites, and then we shall stink in the nostrils of honest men, we shall he hated and a scorn amongst them we turn to, and no people will ever trust us, but our name will be cast out as abominable, we shall be a people too heavy for the Earth to bear because of our abominations, Good men will be grieved, Wicked men will hate us, and God will be our real enemy, and all people will loathe the remembrance of us, for we have been treacherous to our friends, cruel to our Enemies, and in all that ever we have done we have sought ourselves, and now misery is come upon us, we cannot hid ourselves; but prithee Conscience is there not yet a way that we may secure ourselves?  Cons. 
No indeed, for God is come to Judgement against you, and your own devisings hath brought this mischief upon you, and with the same rod that yourselves have made for others, must your own backs be beaten, and this is just, to whom can you fly, arms will not help you, for you are treacherous amongst yourselves, Sectaries are your declared enemies, and are under the same condemnation with you, They that keep a good Conscience, they cannot fight with carnal weapons, they are given up in body and spirit to suffering for good Conscience, and they are therewith content in the will of God, they have suffered by you and under you, and they are sufferers still; so there is no hope in man, either you must come to good conscience and fear God, and suffer for his Name, or else turn mere mercenary Runagadoes, and neither fear God or regard man, but become wholly the Devils Servants for your Bellies, and have the just reward of Eternal Vengeance, in everlasting burning in Hell fire, for ever and ever.  Pr. 
Why Conscience, this is exceeding sad and miserable indeed, but is there no way for bringing in of Unity amongst the Godly and most Religious people, though we have been divided one against another, yet that now in this general Calamity, we might be of one heart, to cry unto God that he may help us in this great distress.  Cons. 
It is very hard, and you will as hardly ever be brought unto it, for you have so long raged against the Innocent, and have smote them with the tongue, and with the fist of wickedness, in all your Fasts and Feasts and Solemn Assemblies; that now it is much to be feared, you are given up to hardness of heart, and so not capable of true Repentance, being the avowed enemies of the Light, by which you must see the evil of your own hearts, for which Gods displeasure is against you, and so you would run to him with you● Prayers, whether he hear you or no, and ●he sin that separates you and your prayers from God unrepented of; But until You have thoroughly repented of, and are washed from these crying sins and great abominations, and become really vile in you● own eyes, God doth not regard your Prayers, neither doth your cry come unto him, and while you seek unity with Gods people for your own ends, this also is abominable, for if you had your ends before you have truly repented and your hearts changed, you would destroy them with a greater destruction, therefore this cannot help you.  Pr. 
Why then Conscience what shall we do? we must fly ▪ leave our Country, and seek refuge in other Nations, as our Brethren used to do heretofore, we shall never abide here in peace.  Cons 
Why this was the manner in dayes of old, the Hireling would fly when the Wolf came, the Sheep are not his own, he cannot lay down his life, nay skin for skin, and all that a man hath will he give for his life; what is he that can lay down his life for the profession of Religion when he hath lost a good Conscience, had you but a good Conscience, and did indeed suffer for the trial of your Faith, how bold would it make you; but the sinners in Sion are afraid, fearfulness surpriseth the Hypocrite, and now you would fly and leave your flocks to perish, under the mouths of those Pastors whom you believe cannot feed them, though they can fleece them as you have done; But however, this I will tell thee, Go whether thou wilt, I will be with thee, now I am sent to pled with thee; If thou art upon thy Bed, I will be with thee; If thou art shut up in thy secret Chamber, there also shall I find thee; upon the Seas I shall be in thy bosom, and whether or into what Country canst thou go from me? if sorrow come upon thee, then am I at hand to remember thee; if thy heart enter into mirth, to put my remembrance out of mind, then shall madness possess thee, folly, destruction, bitterness and anguish of soul be thy latter end; if hoary hairs come upon thy head, they shal be dishonourable; when wrinkled brows hang over thy hollow eyes, then shall thy polluted heart trouble thee sore; and when thy withered cheeks sink into thy toothless jaws, and the weakness of thy breath not able to drive thy spittle from thy mouth, then shall horror and amazement seize upon thee; and when all thy senses fail, and limbs grow feeble, and thy now delicate body become a rotten stinking carcase, oh then when the glory and strength of thy outward man grows weaker and weaker, then shall I appear stronger and stronger; then shall death stand as a ghastly image before thee, and his terror which thou shalt feel in thy Conscience shall affright thee, and when this world can afford thee no pleasure nor content, what then wouldest thou give for a good conscience, when all thy formal Prayers, Hypocritical Fasts and Feasts, made in thy day of thy pride and fullness, when thou wert lifted up in thy own conceit, and sat as a Queen, and said in thy heart, thou shouldst never see sorrow, when all these shall be spread as dung upon your Faces, and the sting of sin( which in the day of the committing thereof, thou boasted of its being taken away) shall be awakened, and as a fire that never shall be quenched shall burn within thee, and the worm that never dies begin to gnaw, and all thy Cruelty, Pride, covetousness, Wrath and Envy, which thou in the day of thy prosperity livedst in, shall be again red unto thee, in the Book of thy Conscience, Oh then what would thou give for a good Conscience, all the World for a good Conscience; then shalt thou remember the many precious Warnings and Visitations thou hast had, and the many reproofs and secret smitings thou hast felt in thy Conscience, and thou hast slighted it, and Persecuted, and Imprisoned, and murdered the Just, and he hath not resisted thee, then if thou call again the dayes that are past, that thou might then gain time for Repentance, but now too late, this cannot ease thee, Sorrow, Anguish and bitterness doth compass thee about, one misery upon another, and one woe and torment upon another, & all to aggravate thy Condemnation, and this is the portion of them that forget God, and keep not their Conscience voided of offence, but for the love of the World or fear of mans wrath, deny their Principles towards God; whereof they are persuaded in their Consciences, and so commit sin against the Law of God, as to them they are persuaded in their hearts. Oh now while thou have yet time remember me, it may be God may be entreated for thee, be not now proud and disdainful, but be low and humble, and learn wisdom betimes; and thus much for the present; Consider of what I have said until we meet again:  
I. C.   


Oh Priest, thy fiery Zeal hath made a fool  
Of thee, that thou hadst need to go to School  
To learn to pled with Conscience 'gainst thy sin,  
Which thou so proudly long hast lived in;  
But now the time is come, when thou and I,  
May both in Prison for our Conscience lye,  
And there may reason what the matter was,  
And how these things so strangely came to pass,  
That we together should so near be brought,  
That were so far asunder as we thought.   
FINIS.