MY Lords; (for so you stile your selves) you remember what promise you caused mee to make unto you, before you would Baptize me. Now I declare unto you that it is since manifested unto me; that those vowes which you then caused me to promise, to defend with all my force, are litigious. For your tenets you hould them one way, and your opposers an other, yet neither you nor they utterly deny them; both you, and they confesse them, but heerein you differ. You affirme that forme wherein you stand, that faith, that Church to be the very same; which was received of the Apostles; well thus you pleade, and I per­ceive that howsoever the succession of Bishops have held it, and wheresoever it hath beene dispersed, yet this I now doe understand; that the receipt of the Apostles from Jesus Christ himselfe is the first principle, and ground of my vow, which I promised to persist in, and to defend with all my force, and all the other Circumstances of my promise are but depending upon this. Know therefore this, that this I chiefely aime to keepe; and so farre to assist you, as you ground upon this. But on the contrary, your opposers doe averre, and on their part maintaine; protesting to affirme, and prove that your faith and Church is not that faith, and Church, which the Apostles received and delivered, but is utterly degenerate, and swarved from it. Looke ye therefore to it; bee not yee your selves the cause to make me breake that promise, which you made me vow. You see that these oppose you, there­fore doe you justifie your selves how you can, of what they object against you, to cleare your one cause as you can, to confute them. And you the Bishops adversaries, on your part, my desire is, that you on the other side, should lay downe your proofes, (the best you can) to defend the faith and Church, which you maintaine; and if your reasons bee better grounded then theirs, I shall defend you; otherwise I shall impugne your forme, and defend theirs against you.

Now because the proceeding therein shall be just, and equall, both towards the plaintife, and defen­dant, neither you, nor your adversaries shall have any voice on either part to judge; neither in your testimony northeirs, for thus to doe to one werepartiality, to the other injustice. And to avoide all suspicion, I my selfe (whom the matter both for my office, and glory more concerneth) In regard of my vow, which makes me a party in the cause, will therefore be no Judge, but an indifferent hearer of you both.

Me thinkes it should be no difficult matter to cleare this controversie, because you both admit the Scriptures to be the word of God; and the Apostles faith, and the Apostles Church be so manifest­ly recorded in the Scriptures; and Christ himselfe willeth us to search the Scriptures.

Know ye therefore, that without partiality your faiths and Churches on either part shall bee com­pared to, and levelled, by that platforme which shall be found there apparently expressed.

Therefore expect no other tryall; but that as the Scripture shall strike the stroke betweene you, even so will I be led to minister justice, and maintaine my vow; and will (with all my force) defend that faith, and Church; vvhich shall there be found to be received from the Apostles, and vvill ex­tirpate (vvith all my force) that faith and Church; vvhich is degenerate from it.