ALthough the people of God are commanded to render to no man evill for evill nor rebuke for rebuke, nor to revenge them­selves, nor be overcome of evill, but to overcome evill with good, and although Solomon saith answer not a foole according to his foolishnesse least thou be like him, yet hee saith again answer a foole according to his foolishnesse least he be wise in his own conceit, and for as much as he saith, hee that is wise in his own conceit there is more hope of a Foole then of him, and again, a foole is wiser in his own eyes then seven men that can render a reason, & again seeing the natural man discerneth not the things that are of God, they being spi­ritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2.14 And seeing I must answer a foole accor-to his foolishnesse, least [...]e be wise in his own conceit. I must herein endeavour to walke circumspectly and overcome thy evill with good.

And yet as Paul saith, 1 Tim. 5.20. Them that sinne rebuke before all that others may fear.

I am I confesse naturally apt to answer thee with scoffs for thy re­proaches wherewith thou hast reproached God which are fallen upon me. But I say to thee as Michaell the Arch Angell to Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, so say I to thee which art in this action, his Sonne the Lord rebuke thee, for Christ denominates the children of the devill by do­ing his lusts, which was these two, first a murtherer, 2. a lyer, John 8 44. and Paul calleth Elimas the childe of the devill because hee per­verted the strait way of the Lord, as thou here by lying doest in the title of thy book. For thou bringest the word of God to maintain thy ly, for thou callest part of thy booke a Nut cracker for an unnaturall Nutt, whose shell (thou saist) is as hard as the scales of Leviathan, and the kernel of his heart as hard as the nether milstone I pray thee Bake­well didest thou ever see my face, or seeke to enforme me, if not, how [Page]impudent is this ly of thine, which thou blasphemously bringest the sacred Word of God to prove, Iob. 41.15, 24. See I pray thee if that prove thy affirmation, if not, confesse thy ly and bee ashamed of it.

And further, I say if by Anabaptists thou meanest Antebaptists, that is, opposers of the Bap­tisme of the Gospell, let all judge whether thou be not the man for thou maintaining the sprinkeling of infants, without any warrant from the Law or Gospell to be the Ordinance of Christ, and neglect the dipping beleevers, held out in the whole Tenour of the Gospell, peculiarly to be the alone Ordinance of Christ, and to keepe the poore people in ignorance, the Priests being the translators of the Bible, where they should have set the English word Dip, that all might un­derstand, they have set the Greeke word Baptize, that so they keeping the people ignorant might sprincle infants, pretending it the Ordi­nance of Christ without any Scripture to prove the same, and being ashamed of the name due to your practise, namely antebaptists, you cast the aspertion of that name upon them that practise the dipping beleevers according to the Ordinance of Christ in the teanour of the Gospell, as a cunning thiefe being pursued, cryeth among others; stop thiefe, stop thiefe, to cause the people not to suspect him.

And further; for as much as thou hast not one word of God to beare thee out, judge thy self, if thou be not exceeding audacious to say that thou hast fully answered in this they libellous booke whatsoever is or can bee said against it.

So that you conceive although God doth not shew mecanick fooles his misteries, as you say my booke teacheth, yet mecannick wisemen, such as your selfe, he doth, and that in such sort as none can after ar­gue against it but he is already answered. Now I shall without scoffing or deriding thee, as a man who art a wise man or else thou art deceived, but I think few else judge thee so, and pittying thee as considering thee a poor ignorant selfe-conceited man. Yet I must not hate thee in my heart, but I must reprove thee, Deut. 19. And that before all that others mny fear. 1 Tim. 5.20. but any thing thou hast done against me, the Lord lay it not to thy charge, Act. 7.

First, thou falsly saist I am an Anabaptist, and so as I said before, the Thiefe cry stop thiefe: and secondly, thou saist, that thou suppo­sest me to be the son of the old Mouse-catcher, who some yeers since cried Mouse traps: Doe not thine owne conscience give thee the lie, for if thou doest not suppose, so art thou not a liar, and of thy father ther the Devill, as aforesaid. And thirdly, thou saist, I profered ten [Page]pounds to be Hangman, hath thy father aforesaid prevailed with thee so to byely me and my Father, whom thou never knewst, who neither of us ever attempted to be hangman, no, nor to make a Pillorie for Bakewell the false baker:

Again, thou saist, that having but little trading for my Axe; I use it to cut off men in bodies politicke: What more lies yet? I confesse, thou mightest not lie so willingly as before, for I instanced indeed in bodies politick for illustration? but thou mayst see that I conclude, that our Saviour speaks there of a spirituall bodie, or Church, of vi­sible Saints, or such as visibly appeard so to be, which he owns for his visible Church, and searcheth the heart himself.

Again, thou saist, I dare not tell what the offence is, lest I should be hanged, see thou wilt imagine lies rather then thou wilt be out of the exercise of them: whereas the Reader may see I did but suppose such a thing for illustration, as in the Offending Eye, pag. 25.

Again, as never wearie of lying, thou saist, that for his being a Ma­gistrate, that offending the Anabaptists, is that for which I would have him cut off: although he were faithfull to King and State, the which I and those whom thou Antebaptist reproachfully callest Ana­baptists, do utterly denie and abhorre; and do heartily desire the exe­cution of all civill Laws established by the Word of God, and grieve that the good Laws of England are no better executed. And thou further saist, that I think Magistrates ought to be cut off for maintain­ing the Wars, wherein both Parliament and Magistrates will con­demne thee for a liar, who know that I have used my utmost endea­vours to further their designes, but indeed, with desire of as much spare of bloud as might lawfully be.

Then thou chargest me that I say that the members of the mysti­call bodie whereof I used not the phrase must be cut off, but I shew not the offence, wherefore I answer thee, poore ignorant soule, that if thou knewest what it were to be a member of a Church of Christ, thou wouldest know that owning and maintaining any sin against God is offence to his true Church, and to every true living member in it. And whereas thou saist that I would have them cut off for every sin. I answer, the Churches of Christs dare not cut off any member till they appeare to be such as Christ would have to be cut off name­ly rotten or unsound ones: which the wilfull owning any knowne fin against admonition, denominates any to be. And whereas thou saist thou wilt rake the hammer of Gods Word, anti-spirit my shell, and give a farther taste of the devillish kernell that is in me, p [...]re soule, if the Lord would please to make thee an instrument in [...]s [Page]hand, to discover to me that devillishnesse that is in mee, which yet I see not, I hope I should thankfully take notice of my sin, and praise him for thee as his instrument, but poore heart thou knowest not yet how to handle that hammer to break thine own heart, if thou canst cast the beame, or if but a moat out of thine eye, thou shalt see the cleerer to help thy brother, Mat. 7.5. And whereas thou demandest of me, if the not cutting off a member from the visible bodie or Church, cause the body to bee cast into hell. Judge you whether if a foot that carrieth the bodie, or a hand that draws or drives, or an eye that di­rects the bodie thitherward if it be not cut off, will not bring it thi­ther. Again, thou saist, that if Christ were on earth again, I would be offended at him, for many were offended at him, it is true; and thou poore soul art offended at him, and opposest his way as truly as Paul did when he was going to Damascus, although thou thinkest not so, The Lord, if it be his will, shew thee himselfe as he did to him. Then thou affirmest, that the meaning of cutting off a member, is the cut­ting off the corruption of the members: then I conceive, it would be said, Wash or clense thy members, as else where, clense your selves from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit. 2 Cor. 7.1.

But thou affirmest, that if wee cannot cut off lusts without the members, we must cut off the member, and saist we shall have it at the Resurrection. I pray thee doth not the Apostles say, No man ever hated his own flesh but nourished it, and whereas thou saist we should be as much offended with the evill of sin, that is in the eye, as the evill of pain in the tooth: I pray thee cōsider, doth not Christ say that from within, namely, from the heart, comes evill thoughts and lusts, and so do not the heart employ the eie, the tongue, the care, the hand, and all to serve its turn. And so as our Saviour saith, An evill man out of the evill treasury of his heart, bringeth forth: evill things: he doth not say, Out of the evill treasure of his eie, or hand, or foot, but of his heart, and marke thy absurdity, which poor soule thou canst not see: Thou saist when all means is used, & our eie, hand or foot will not be reclamed: we must cut them off, or pluck them out rather then employ them to our eternall ruine of bodie and soul. Marke, you said even now, if wee could not reclaime them, and now yee say wee employ them; then if the fountain fill the channels will it find fault, and cut them off for running, when being filled from it, they cannot ceasse running: so if the heart employ the eie, hand, and foot, and enforce their acting, and without it they act not good or evill, will or can the [Page]heart cut them off for obeying its command. Again, thou, as never weary of thy lying, chargest me that I say to Christ, if thy hand, foot, or eye offend thee, do so and so; whereas there is not such a word in my book. Again, where as thou blinde soul saist, I speak of two eyes, two hands, & two feet in his my­sticall bodie, and carnally aske which is the right eye, or the right hand, I an­swer thee, pittying thy ignorance, though a body politicke loose half the mem­bers, it is a whole body still: As the Corporation of London, if there were a 1000 members more it were but a body: so if it loose 2000, it is a compleat body still: although if many of them taken away were eminent, it would seem as a maimed body in comparison of what it was before. And whereas thou saist, that all the brains in the Nutt, knows not how to answer thee; I answer, if he do know, no thank to him: but whereas thou speakest of two eyes in a Church, and saist if one offend and be excommunicate, and the other die in the mean time, that so it leave all blinde. I answer thy carnall objection thus: that in a body politick, every member in a greater or lesser measure should execute the office of the eye, hand and foot, and of every other mem­ber for the good of the body ye may all prophesie one by one that all may learn and all may be comforted, 1 Cor. 14. and so ought all to bee helpfull to the body, although the bodie may especially chuse those best gifted. Then thou saist, Well thus you see that Christ here speaketh of our naturall mem­bers but doest thou judge so, or thinke that any that have any spirituall know­ledge of God do judge it so: surely if thou dost it, is because thou fearest not God, for he revealeth his secrets to them that fear him, Ps. 25.14. Again, thou saist, that a man in grace must needs grieve to see his members act sin, I aske thee, whether the heart or some other part of the body it be that grieves for those actions of the eye, hand, or foot, if it be the heart: consider I pray thee, do that grieve that its servants do its will, for from it they speak, look, & act: And whereas thou saist that the Word if, is not a word of diffedence, where it is said? If God be God follow him, I say so also, and never said against it, yet I do say, it implies if he be not God, do not follow him, and so of the rest, thou bringest for that purpose. And whereas thou saist, we should binde our eyes, hands & feet with the cords of a Covenant, and then instancest, Iob 31.1. and saist, Iob made a covenant with his eyes not to look on a maid: whereas hee saith no such thing, but saith; I made covenant with mine eyes, why then should I think upon a maid. Whence I infer, that through grace, he having resolved against acting sin, through the strength given him of God he is now grieved with himself: and implore strength from God against the first thoughts and motions thereunto. And thus I conceive, he intends, I am by grace resol­ved not to commit a lustfull action with; nor cast a lustfull look on a woman: but then why am I yet troubled with the first motions and thoughts of it; Lord help me aginst them also, and speaks not of, nor intends any other cove­nant, as if the heart and the members were at one time different one from the other: for then that body were divided against it self; and so as a King­dome divided could not stand, Mat. 12.25. & so there needs no tying together with the cords of a Covenant, as you affirme. Then, as never weary of lying: thou saist that my expositiou is that the eye there intended, is the Minister, I answer, so it is? But thou saist, I say, if he be blinde, all the Annabaptists are blinde also, whereas I say no such thing: but if he be an hereticall wicked [Page]man, and they walk by his light, they namely, every man and woman of that body walking by the light of their wicked eye or Minister, which is darknes, they namely, all the body or Church will be full of darknes, Mat. 6.23. and except they obey God in plucking out this wicked eye, they are not his true Disciples, but seeming so, and so they being blinde, are led by their blinde eye, or Minister, till both fall into the ditch, namely Hell: Again, to leave many of thy ignorant foolish erationall reasonings, because answering a fool accor­ding to all his foolishnesse were to be like him; which were to make my book tedious, as thine is, but now another palpable lye, as the thief crying stop thief, thou fatherest upon me, as any that will be pleased to read my book, called the offending eye, hand and foot, which they may have for a penny, being that which thou opposest, may see. But to returne to another lye of thine, that it seemes cannot refrain lying thou saist, I flatly contradict Christ, saying, that I say, that the taking away of corruptions; wounds the man, which is the exposition of thy blinde guides whom thou so adorest, and that the reader may know thy lying and falsehood; I will quote the pages in my book which thou opposest: this thy last lie may be found in pag. 21. of my book called The offending eye, hand and foot: Again, thou askest how I will conster the two hands, two feet, or two eyes of the visible bedy of Christ, for that is my term, not mysticall as thou falsely affirmest, thus I answer that it is Christs compa­rison taken from a naturall body that hath but two of each of those members, and thefore he speakes so of them in the name of 2 of each of those members, but you see in civill bodies politique, as in this City there is every yeere a new hand of power, nomely, a L. Major, so alwaies in bodies politicke, either spirituall or temporall, though many be cut off by death or otherwise, yet there are more to come in their places by order of the surviving or living mem­bers: but poore soule thou having not received the love of the tryth; but re­jected it, Christs words are given to thee yet in parables, that hearing thou understandest not, and seeing thou perceivest not; the Lord open thy spirituall eyes and eares, and give thee unnerstanding what his Spirituall body is; and make thee a true spirituall member thereof, for his glory and thy comfort.

After this thou falsely taxest me to say that your Ministers have no faith, which I deny, but do say they are not faithfull Ministers, by vertue of any thing they had from the unpurged fountaines of the Universities. Then you come to prove yours the Ministers of Christ, and you begin to shew that he recei­ved his ministery of his Father. And the Apestles delivered what they received of Christ in his power and way, which we grant, and them we own for his Ministrs, but as the Devill said, Iesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are ye, so Christ we acknowledge, and the Apostles we acknoshledge; but who are your Ministers, if you or they can prove themselves the Ministers of Christ, we will thankfully hear and joyfully ebrace them. Again, you say, if your Ministers build their doctrines upon the Apostles and Prophets, with­out addition or detraction: the Gospell will remain in its integrity. Alasse silly creature can any thing destroy the integritie of the Gaspel. Wherefore break off thy blasphemies, and intreat God with Simon Magus; if it be pos­sible, the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee, which my soul humbly entreats the Lord to do for thee, for his glory and thy comfort. Farewell.