THE TRVE COPY OF A LETTER: Written By Mr. Thomas Parker, a learned and godly Minister, in New-England, unto a Member of the Assembly of Divines now at Westminster.
Declaring his judgement touching the Government practised in the Churches of NEW-ENGLAND.
Imprimatur.
⟨feb: 19⟩ LONDON, Printed by Richard Cotes, for Ralph Smith, and are to bee sold at his shop, at the sign of the Bible in Cornhill, neere the Royall Exchange. 1644. ⟨1643⟩
THE COPY OF A LETTER.
MY eyes do yet serve mee, though with much difficulty; and therefore I will spend some part of their last strength in writing a word or two unto you. I desire to [Page 2]mourn with you, for the sore afflictions of the Church, and for those in particular which you have suffered, and my poore Sister, and Mother, with you. I hope the Lord doth beare up your hearts by Faith and Patience, and that you do rejoyce under hope of the glory that shall follow He that shall come will come, according to promise.
I presume you are in the number of those, which are gathered into a Synod now at London; and therfore I write unto you as being there.
I suppose you are so prepared and qualifyed by these present afflictions, beside all your learning and sufficiency of parts, that God will discover great things by you.
[Page 3] I assure you wee have great need of help in the way of discipline, and wee hope that wee shall receive much light from you. My cousin Noyse and my self, have seen such confusion of necessity depending on the government which hath been practised by us here, that wee have been forced much to search into it within these two or three yeeres.
And although wee hold a fundamentall power of government in the people, in respect of election of Ministers, and of some acts in cases extraordinary, as in the want of Ministers; yet wee judge, upon mature deliberation, that the ordinary exercise of government must be so in the Presbyters, as not to depend upon the expresse [Page 4]votes and suffrages of the people. There hath been a Convent, or meeting, of the Ministers of these parts, about this question, at Cambridge, in the Bay; and there wee have proposed our arguments, and answered theirs; and they proposed theirs, and answered ours: and so the point is left to consideration. Also concerning admission of Members, wee hold, the rule must bee so large, that the weakest Christians may bee received; and there was, according to appearance, much conjunction in this particular: Pray for us, as wee do for you.