: is manifest, that the seducer, or enticer to worship a false god, is to be put to death, by the hand of those whom he seeks to turn away from the Lord; especially by the hand of the witnesses, whereof I am one, as appeareth, in Deut. xiii. chap. Which precept, I humbly take to be moral, and not merely judicial, and that it is not at all ceremonial or Levitical and as every moral precept is universal, as to the extent of place, so also as to the extent of time and persons. Upon which command, Sir, I think that Phinehas acted in taking away the Midianitish whore, and killed him whom she had seduced, Num. xxv. 8. Also Elijah, by virtue of that precept, gave commandment to the people to destroy Baal's priests, contrary to the command of the seducing magistrate, who was not only remiss and negligent in executing justice, but became a protector and defender of the seducers. Then, and in that case, I suppose the Christian's duty not to be very dark. Moreover, we see that the people of Israel, 2 Chron. xxxi. 1. destroyed idolatry not only in Judah, wherein the king concurred, but in Israel and in Manasseh, where the king himself was an idolater. And surely what all the people were bound to do by the law of God, every one was bound to do it, to the uttermost of their power and capacity. And so it was in Zech. xiii. 3.;—there, the seducer's father and mother shall put him to death. I take this to be meant of the Christian magistrate; but when he is withdrawn by the seducer from the exercise of his office and duty, and is become utterly remiss and negligent in putting the seducer to death, according to God's express law, (which is not to be expected of him, since then he should do justice upon himself,) but is become a protector and defender of the idolater; then, I doubt not, but that it doth become the duty of every Christian, to the uttermost of his power and capacity, to destroy and cut off both idolatry and idolaters. Yea, these presumptuously murdering prelates, ought to be called so by the avenger of blood, when he meeteth them, by the express commandment of God, seeing the thing is manifestly true, and not to have liberty to flee to such cities of refuge, as the vain pretext of lawful authority: but they should be taken from the horns of such altars, and be put to death. Moreover, what is spoken concerning Amalek, upon the account he designed and resolved the extirpation of the Lord's people and truth, (which are his throne,) upon which he put forth his band, and because he took occasion against them. Exod. xvii. 14. Num. xxiv. 20. He endeavoured that God should not have a people to serve him according to his revealed will upon earth; and if he could have effectuated his design, there should none have lived, who would not have served and worshipped him, and his idol gods. And for the better effectuating his design, he took occasion against them, when they were wearied coming out of Egypt, Deut. xxv. 17, 18. and the reason there annexed is, he feared him; but thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you." not God.' And because I know that the bishops both will and do say, that what they did against the Lord's people, whom they mur dered, they did it by law and authority, but what I did was contrary to both;-I answer, The king himself, and all the estates of the land and every individual person in the land, both were, and are obliged by the oath of God upon them, to have, by force of arms, extirpated the perjured prelates and prelacy; and in doing thereof, to have defended one another with their lives and fortunes. The covenants being engaged to on these terms, viz. After supplications, remonstrances, protestations, and all other lawful means have been used now for that effect;'—as the last remedy we took up arms; upon which condition, our nobility, and all the representatives of the nation, according to the national covenant, and solemn league and covenant, gave to the king both the sword and sceptre, and set the crown upon his head; and he accordingly received them, and promised and swore by the ever living God, to use and improve them for the use forsaid: and especially in order to the performing this article, viz. the extirpation and overthrow of prelacy.' And now they vaunt of authority; of what authority they do mean to speak of, truly I know not, except it be the authority of their aggregated gods, new gods, gods of whom they have their gain, life, and standing;-Chemosh or Bacchus, which drunken Moab delighted to dwell with in dark cells;-Ashtaroth or Venus, whom they worship of the female kind, because of their adulteries and whoredoms;—as also Malcom or Moloch, which signifies tyrannical king, or a devil, (if they will have it so), in whose arms and power they put their poor infants and posterity to be burnt according to his lust and pleasure. Amos v. 26. Psal. cvi. 37.:-and their Mammon, which they delight to worship daily, together with their own bellies; whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things, whose end will be destruction,' except they repent, which there is little probability of, Phil. iii. 19. to which we may add their abominable pride, and blasphemous perjuries, then their gods will be equal in number to the Whore their mother's sacraments, from whom they have their being, strength, and standing, and from the devil their father, who was a deceiver and murderer from the beginning. And now, seeing the prelates possess whatever their god Chemosh giveth them to possess, then should we not possess what the Lord our God giveth us to possess, viz. the eternal truths manifested to us in his revealed will, and keep and defend the same from all innovations and traditions of his and our adversaries, defend our lives and liberties out of the hands of our usurping enemies, Judges xi. 29. For, sure I am, that God once dispossesed the prelates and and malignants of all these; and should they again possess them through our defect? God forbid; but the like of this work, our murdering prelates like not, who plead like the Whore their mother for passive obedience, and that all the Lord's people, who may not comply with their idolatries and perfidies, should lay down their bloody axe, with whom too many of our hypocritical timeserving and perfidious professors do agree, who had rather abide with Reuben among the sheep-folds, than jeopard life and fortune in the help of the Lord against the mighty; but do not consider the bitter curse pronounced by the angel of the Lord against Meroz, to which Immediately he subjoins a blessing on Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite. Others excuse themselves thus, Vengeance is mine, I will repay it; but so the throne of judgment is the Lord's, and by this they will take away the use and office of magistracy; which erroneous principles I detest: for, God even in the working of miracles, in dividing the Red Sea, Exod. xiv. 16, commanded Moses to stretch forth his rod; and Christ, when he opened the blind man's eyes, maketh use of clay and spittle; though indeed, I mean not of any who were willing to have helped, but wanted opportunity; yet, there are many peevish, timeserving professors, who resolve they shall never suffer, so long as they have either soul or conscience to mortgage, providing that they may keep them from suffering. And if it will not do their business, it seemeth before they suffer, they resolve to sell all out at the ground. "Now, Sir, I have neither misinterpreted scripture, nor misapplied it, in regard to the persons here hinted at, nor have I been wrong in the end, which ought to be, the glory of God and the good of his church and people. Then, I think that some persons ought to forbear to scourge me so sore with their tongues, while I am not yet condemned by the common enemy. And my hearing of some things reported by some behind my back, hath occasioned my writing to you at this time. O, Sir, be entreated to pray to the Lord in my behalf, that he would be pleased, out of his mercy and goodness, to save me from sinning under suffering, in this hour and power of darkness: for, my soul is pressed within me in the search betwixt sin and duty, viz. lest I should be niggard and too sparing of my life, when God calleth for it and on the other hand, too prodigal and lavish of it, in not using all legal defences in preserving of it, and in any of the like nature. I am in a strait; O Lord, undertake for me !—Sir, I hope ye will excuse me in sending you these indistinct and irregular lines, when you consider my present condition. Sir, believe me, I would many times, when I am before them, think a scaffold a sweet retirement, lest they should cheat and deceive me, in making me either to stain the declarative glory of God, my own conscience, or his people and interests, and wronging of them, either by opening the enemy's mouth against them, or letting loose their hands upon them; henceforth, let the adversaries both say and do what they can, yet the righteous shall hold on in his way, and he who hath clean hands will be stronger and stronger.' Job xvii. 9. But he that saith unto the wicked, thou art righteous, him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him.' Prov. xxiv. 24. Farewell in the Lord." Postscript." It is acknowledged by all rational royalists, that it is lawful for any private person to kill an usurper, or a tyrant, sine titulo, and to kill Irish rebels, and tories, or the like, and to kill bears and wolves, and catch devouring beasts, because the good of his action doth not only redound to the person himself, but to the whole commonwealth, and the person acting incurs the danger himself alone. In the second part of the Cloud of Witnesses, p. 60, Mr. Knox hath these express words: For God (said he) had not only given me know ledge, and a tongue to make known the impiety of the idol, but had given me credit with many, who would have put in execution God's judgments, if I would only have consented thereto; but so careful was I of the common tranquillity, and loath was I to offend some, that in secret conference with zealous men, I travelled rather to slacken that fervency God had kindled in them, than to animate and encourage them to put their hands to God's work; wherein I acknowledge myself to have done most wickedly, and from the bottom of my heart I do ask God pardon, that I did not what in me lay to have suppressed that idol in the beginning.' "But Oh! how far are the men in our time from such convictions, whose work it is to put out any spunk of life and zeal, which appeareth to be in any person against the idolatry and idols in our time! Let men, whether foes or friends, carry or quarrel never so much, yet the purpose and determinations of God will not be disappointed, in leaving a witness against this misbelieving generation: and that he is both as powerful and willing to deliver one or more of his people trusting in him, yea, and that there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or few, 1 Sam. xiv. 6.—if any be obedient to the voice of his commands; though success doth not always follow thereupon, more than it did to Israel, Josh. vii. 12. against the city of Ai, because there was an Achan in the camp. And alas! there are many Achans in the camp of our Israel, which causeth the Lord's people to fall daily before their enemies, and which makes all their endeavours unsuccessful; I mean the hidden time-serving hypocrites and murmurers, who have preferred their backs and their bellies to the interest of God, and their hearts still desirous to return to Egypt: I say, until such rebels be purged out and die, we can have little expectation to prosper in any enterprise or undertaking: for they have both belied and misbelieved God, notwithstanding of all his miracles, which he did of old, and which he hath done in our days for his people, and before their eyes, that they are so far gone back in a course of apostasy and compliance with the Canaanites of our time, and are become so brutish and ignorant of the express law of God, and are such enemies thereto, that they rather concur with the Canaanites, Judg. vi. 30. to have Gideon put to death, for performing his duty according to the express command of God, than either to study the knowledge thereof themselves, or give obedience thereto. But if it be objected, that Gideon had an express command from God for his encouragement; yet he had no new command from God, save that which was expressly enjoined upon all the Israelites, by virtue of which every one was obliged to have done what he did, without any such message from God, Deut. vii. 2. and xiii. 15. but who were readier than Judah (before they would incur any danger or loss) to send three thousand men to bring Samson bound to the Philistines, rather than to send him ten for his assistance against the common enemy; concerning the truth of which we have gotten many sad experiments. However, I hope, that which hath been said shall occasion a further cognition, and more serious search into these forementioned truths, than hath been for a long time bypast. "That albeit I have singly declared mine own motives and reasons for that attempt and shooting, wherein I had, and now have peace, and I hope to find acceptance of God, according to the multitude of his mercies to such as seek him in truth and sincerity; yet, I will not take it on me absolutely, and in every respect to justify, or assert it. That is my own deliberate and fixed principle, albeit, that it is justified by, and is the principle of the non-conformist presbyterian party of the church of Scotland, of which I have the honour and happiness to be one, though the unworthiest of any. If I would say, it is of them, I should be found a liar against the truth, for I adventured on it from my own pure and proper motion, without the instigation of any, yea, without so much as the privity of any of that party, whom therefore I earnest desire, that none may charge with it: and if any shall, I do with confidence aver, that they deal with them most unjustly. I have, I say again, in the simplicity of my heart with candour and ingenuity, being a dying man and a Christian, believing that I must be made manifest before the tribunal of Christ, and there receive according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or evil,-given an account of the reasons and motives putting and pressing me on to it, wherein I had quietness of mind in the time, and have still at this present hour; hoping, that as He is sovereign Lord over all creatures, and moves any of them as instruments to whatsoever his pleasure is, and that as I say, I did take, and do still look upon the motion, as from himself,-so, he will accept of my sincerity in it, and one day bring forth his own and my righteousness, as the light! Sic Sub.-JAMES MITCHEL." 2. HIS TESTIMONY. "Now in this place I leave my testimony against and abhorrence of balls, bordel houses, mountebanks, acts of comedies, festival days, viz. at Yule and Pentecost, &c. which are all the product of a profane and perfidious clergy, all of them being instigated by Satan, as fitted instruments for exciting and stirring up of lust to this apostate and rebellious generation, against God, his truth, covenant, people, and cause; and for the further increase of Satan's dominion in such as are rebellious against God. "I suppose, some will be desirous to know what hath brought me to this place of suffering, to which I give no other answer than that which Elijah gave when threatened with death by Jezebel, 1 Kings xix. 14. I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and true worship, and slain thy prophets and ministers, and they seek my life to take it away, this day.' I know no other reason why I am brought to this place, but because I have lifted up my hand to the most high God, and sworn in judgment and in righteousness, from which I cannot go back, Jer. iv. 2. viz. from prosecuting the ends of these blessed covenants, which are the very basis, and the fundamental rights and constitution of the kingdom, which all ranks and stations were and are equally obliged and engaged to main Y |