r and authority,
beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, and terrible as an army with
banners; Yet now alas! the crown hath fallen from our heads, wo unto us
that we have sinned. This holy and beautiful fabric hath been burnt up,
with the fire of enemies fury, with the fire of our divisions, and with
the fire of the Lord's indignation, burning against us for our
defections, whereby the Lord was provoked to forsake his house; and
since his departure there hath been nothing but disorder among his
children and servants. The popish, prelatic and malignant party, have
come in by force and fraud, and by the cedings of those, that should
have stood in the gap, have broke down the carved work of our covenanted
reformation, rescinding all the legal bulwarks of ecclesiastical
constitutions, civil sanctions, and national covenants, wherewith it was
fenced. Wherein, alas! they were too much encouraged by our faint
resistance, and too universal involvement in the sin of submitting to,
and countenancing of the intrusions of the prelatical party. At length
having set up these their ensigns for signs, in sign of complete
victory, obtained over the servants and subjects of our exalted Prince,
after they had invaded his kingdom and place, and made havock and
slaughter of such as would not yield; they offered some tempting terms,
whereupon they would suffer them to live in subjection to these
usurpations, painted indeed with pretences of favours, but really, at
least indirectly, requiring a recognizance of the usurper's power, and a
cessation from opposing the peaceable possession of their robberies.
These and the like defections, on the one hand, together with many
extravagancies on the other, have brought the godly into many
confusions.

We did indeed demur to concur with and follow, and did think it our duty
to withdraw from these ministers who promoted courses of defection after
specified; and to adhere to those (though but few) who were more
stedfast and faithful. When the case was so stated that we thought
communion could not be kept by us with them, from whom we withdrew,
without sin; while the very exercise of their ministry was so far
depending upon, subordinate unto, complying with, modified and
authorized by _unlawful usurpators_, that our joining would have
inferred, at least in our conference, a submission to, symbolizing with,
and approving of their offensive yieldings to these encroachments. Yet
we never thought this a s