Of Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford

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      It is well knowne unto y^e godly and judicious, how ever since y^e first breaking out of y^e lighte of y^e gospell in our Honourable Nation of England, (which was y^e first of nations whom y^e Lord adorned ther with, affter y^t grosse darknes of popery which had covered & overspred y^e Christian worled,) what warrs & opposissions ever since, Satan hath raised, maintained, and continued against the Saincts, from time to time, in one sorte or other. Some times by bloody death and cruell torments; other whiles imprisonments, banishments, & other hard usages; as being loath his kingdom should goe downe, the trueth prevaile, and y^e churches of God reverte to their anciente puritie, and recover their primative order, libertie, & bewtie. But when he could not prevaile by these means, against the maine trueths of y^e gospell, but that they began to take rootting in many places, being watered with y^e blooud of y^e martires, and blessed from heaven with a gracious encrease; He then begane to take him to his anciente strategemes, used of old against the first Christians. That when by y^e bloody & barbarous persecutions of y^e Heathen Emperours, he could not stoppe & subuerte the course of y^e gospell, but that it speedily overspred with a wounderfull celeritie the then best known parts of y^e world, He then begane to sow errours, heresies, and wounderfull dissentions amongst y^e professours them selves, (working upon their pride & ambition, with other corrupte passions incidente to all mortall men, yea to y^e saints them selves in some measure,) by which wofull effects followed; as not only bitter contentions, & hartburnings, schismes, with other horrible confusions, but Satan tooke occasion & advantage therby to foyst in a number of vile ceremoneys, with many unproffitable cannons & decrees, which have since been as snares to many poore & peaceable souls even to this day. So as in y^e anciente times, the persecutions[2] by y^e heathen & their Emperours, was not greater then of the Christians one against other; the Arians & other their complices against y^e orthodoxe & true Christians. As witneseth Socrates in his 2. booke. His words are these;2 The violence truly (saith he) was no less than that of ould practised towards ye Christians when they were compelled & drawne to sacrifice to idoles; for many indured sundrie kinds of tormente, often rackings, & dismembering of their joynts; confiscating of ther goods; some bereaved of their native soyle; others departed this life under ye hands of ye tormentor; and some died in banishmēte, & never saw ther cuntrie againe, &c.

      The like methode Satan hath seemed to hold in these later times, since y^e trueth begane to springe & spread after y^e great defection made by Antichrist, y^t man of sin̅e.

      For to let pass y^e infinite examples in sundrie nations and severall places of y^e world, and instance in our owne, when as y^t old serpente could not prevaile by those firie flames & other his cruell tragedies, which he3 by his instruments put in ure every wher in y^e days of queene Mary & before, he then begane an other kind of warre, & went more closly to worke; not only to oppuggen, but even to ruinate & destroy y^e kingdom of Christ, by more secrete & subtile means, by kindling y^e flames of contention and sowing y^e seeds of discorde & bitter enmitie amongst y^e proffessors & seeming reformed them selves. For when he could not prevaile by y^e former means against the principall doctrins of faith, he bente his force against the holy discipline & outward regimente of the kingdom of Christ, by which those holy doctrines should be conserved, & true pietie maintained amongest the saints & people of God.

      Mr. Foxe recordeth how y^t besids those worthy martires & confessors which were burned in queene Marys days & otherwise tormented,4 many (both studients & others) fled out of ye land, to ye number of 800. And became severall congregations. At Wesell, Frankford, Bassill, Emden, Markpurge, Strausborugh, & Geneva, &c. Amongst whom (but especialy those at Frankford) begane y^t bitter warr of contention & persecutiō aboute y^e ceremonies, & servise-booke, and other popish and antichristian stuffe, the plague of England to this day, which are like y^e highplases in Israell, w^ch the prophets cried out against, & were their ruine; [3] which y^e better parte sought, according to y^e puritie of y^e gospell, to roote out and utterly to abandon. And the other parte (under veiled pretences) for their ouwn ends & advancments, sought as stifly to continue, maintaine, & defend. As appeareth by y^e discourse therof published in printe, An^o: 1575; a booke y^t deserves better to be knowne and considred.

      The one side laboured to have y^e right worship of God & discipline of Christ established in y^e church, according to y^e simplicitie of y^e gospell, without the mixture of mens inventions, and to have & to be ruled by y^e laws of Gods word, dispensed in those offices, & by those officers of Pastors, Teachers, & Elders, &c. according to y^e Scripturs. The other partie, though under many colours & pretences, endevored to have y^e episcopall dignitie (affter y^e popish man̅er) with their large power & jurisdiction still retained; with all those courts, cannons, & ceremonies, togeather with all such livings, revenues, & subordinate officers, with other such means as formerly upheld their antichristian greatnes, and enabled them with lordly & tyranous power to persecute y^e poore servants of God. This contention was so great, as neither y^e honour of God, the commone persecution, nor y^e mediation of Mr. Calvin & other worthies of y^e Lord in those places, could prevaile with those thus episcopally minded, but they proceeded by all means to disturbe y^e peace of this poor persecuted church, even so farr as to charge (very unjustly, & ungodlily, yet prelatelike) some of their cheefe opposers, with rebellion & hightreason against y^e Emperour, & other such crimes.

      And this contētion dyed not with queene Mary, nor was left beyonde y^e seas, but at her death these people returning into England under gracious queene Elizabeth, many of them being preferred to bishopricks & other promotions, according to their aimes and desires, that inveterate hatered against y^e holy discipline of Christ in his church hath continued to this day. In somuch that for fear [4] it should preveile, all plotts & devices have been used to keepe it out, incensing y^e queene & state against it as dangerous for y^e com̅on wealth; and that it was most needfull y^t y^e fundamentall poynts of Religion should be preached in those ignorante & superstitious times; СКАЧАТЬ