114.    180                      1679

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In not coming before you in publick when sent for at your 2^d sessions, & yet the

church did give you a meeting (before your dissolving) in the meeting house to our

farther greif and dissatisfaction, In that you read what you had determined in a

way of blameing & reflecting upon officer & brethren, before the countrey, we have

ing noe oppertunity to make answer for our selves, neither could our reasons of dis

sent from the councills advise be published, which we humbly conceive had bin æ

-qual as well as to publish your results. ^_____

2 we were sencible of our unreadiness to answer suddenly what might be spoaken to

us by word of mouth (as it might fall out half an hour together) without time to

call to mind what was spoaken & what answer to make, and why the church must

take M^r M^r[103] Nelsons acknowledgm^t in writing, & not have liberty to express y^r

minds in writing we know not

3 In the first meeting of the council we mett with open wrong, whilst the council

was (as we conceive) too ready to read M^r Nelsons papers of fals apsersions a

=gainst the church without giving us any oppertunity (though it was desired) to

answer for our selves, & to convince him of his Sin therin, & we knew not

but as he was allowed to doe before, soe he might obtain the publishing of some

more such papers of fals accusations, & we noe more liberty to clear our selves yⁿ

we had before, & this is strang to us that one man could have liberty to publish

soe much in his own vindication, & alsoe to reproach the church, & yet the church

could not have the like liberty publickly to wipe of those objections by a just ans

=wer to them

And wheras you declare that you will give an account to the churches what op

position you mett with, we desire you would also declare our grounds of proced

-ing with the offendour, & our reasons why we could not sit down by your advise

nor with the written confession you appointed M^r Nelson to write

And for what is threatened in case we submitt not to your advise : we look for

sufferings not onely from enimise of Gods pp, but from Brethren themselves, &

chuse rather to suffer what God shall permitt that way, then to act any thing w^ch

is not of fayth for that were sin

And for our see[m]ing to be irreconcilably set against M^r Nelson, it is strang you

should soe judg of Gods church heer as if they were of an Implacable spirit and

would upon noe tearmes forgive them that offend them : It has bin found other-

=wise hitherto, & we hope will be soe for the future : Ther is not a man in this

church (I dare say) but would gladly forgive & embrace M^r Nelson, If God open

his heart to judg himself for those evills, wherin he has plainly broaken the

Rule, but yet iustifyes himself in : As for withdrawing comunion from us

seperating from the comunion of a church must be grounded (as Divines gene

=erally hold forth) upon waightier causes then differences in matters disputable sup

=pose ther are irregularityes in our proceedings, not soe great as were found

in the church of Corinth & Læodicea (To say nothing of y^e Jewish church w^ch X^st

seperated not from nor taught others soe to doe) & yet we find noe church seperating

from them.

Why was not this threaten^d against the first church in Boston who sat not

downe by the advise of 13 churches mett in council;[104] If it be a duty which the

late council owes to us to tell us of withdrawing comunion from us, It was

an omission of a duty then, but we are smal (if not contemptible), yet I hope

such as would not willingly forget Gods præcepts : How much such a declara

=tion of non communion hinders the fruit of the word, & the increase of Gods

Kingdome amongst us, I leave it to your self to judg, is this to help to build gods

house or to follow the things that make for peac & wherwith we may edify one a

=nother, who will seek to joyne with us, when a council declares that our neigh=

=bour churches are like to withdraw communion from us? but we hope we

shall never se that acted in the churches (without waightier grounds) which