SMITH
fUE SE-BAPTIST ■
AND THE i
PiinRIM FATHERS
HELWYb f^u ^APTIST ORIGINS
BURGESS
JOHN SMITH, THOMAS HELWYS,
AND THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
IN ENGLAND
JOHN SMITH
THE SE-BAPTIST
THOMAS HELWYS
AND THE
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN
ENGLAND
WITH FRESH LIGHT UPON THE
PILGRIM FATHERS' CHURCH
BY
WALTER H. BURGESS, B.A.
LONDON
JAMES CLARKE & CO., 13 & 14 FLEET STREET
1911
Br
PREFACE
The approach of the three hundredth anniversary of
the planting of the first Baptist Church in England
would seem to make this a fitting time for setting out
its history and recounting something of the life and work
of its founders. The scarcity of the books issued by
those who were instrumental in gathering this church
makes the task by no means an easy one. In some cases
the known copies are only to be counted by ones and
twos. For this reason I have made large quotations
from the original works in the following pages, which
gives to several of the chapters the appearance of mere
compilations. If the works of Smith and Helwys had
been more accessible to the general reader a continuous
narrative based on their statements would have been
given, but in view of their rarity it seemed better to let
the authors speak for themselves on vital points. In a
measure I have done for these pioneers of religious
freedom what Benjamin Hanbury did for the early
Independents. Thus the reader can form his own
opinion of their works. The arbitrary spelling of the
period has been modernised in the longer extracts, but
in the shorter ones the original form has frequently been
retained. In the course of this story some fresh light is
thrown upon the early history of the church of the
Pilgrim Fathers. I hope to give a separate account of
V
252475
Preface
John Robinson, the pastor of that church. A free use
has been made of dates. Most people abhor them, but
they save space by enabling the reader to fit the person
or incident dated into the right place in the time-scheme
and thus to supply for himself the proper background
and historical setting.
Well nigh half a century has passed since Benjamin
Evans made known to English students the documents
in the archives of the Mennonite Church bearing on our
subject. No excuse is needed for drawing the attention
of a fresh generation to their importance.
In conclusion I desire to acknowledge the kindness of
the librarians of the Bodleian, British Museum, Cam-
bridge University, Dr. Williams's, Sion College, and York
Minster libraries in giving me facilities for research. I
also thank Principal S. W. Bowser for the loan of books
from the library of the Baptist College at Nottingham,
and those Anglican clergy who have given me access to
parochial registers, and lastly Dr. Fleischer and the Rev.
Carel J. Stroer for ready help in connection with the
Mennonite archives at Amsterdam.
Walter H. Burgess.
Loughborough.
VI
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Introduction — The Settlement of Religion under
Elizabeth — The Puritan Movement — The
Brownist Movement Ii
\/\\. John Smith's career at Cambridge — Smith and
Francis Johnson — The London Separatist
Church 27
III. Smith, preacher to the City of Lincoln — His
Exposition of the 22nd Psalm — His Lectures on
the Lord's Prayer 45
IV. The Question of Separation from the Church of
England — Smith and Hildersham — Smith and
Richard Bernard 63
V. A new " Church of God " set up — Date of the
Separation — The Church Covenant — The
Gainsborough and Scrooby Churches — Migra-
tion to Amsterdam 81
VI. John Smith in Amsterdam — Principles and
Inferences concerning the Visible Church . . 98
VII. Thomas Helwys, Parentage and Family History —
Notice of the Exodus to Holland by Enoch
Clapham and Joseph Hall 107
y/ VIII. Differences between Smith and Johnson — Smith's
View of the Scriptures 120
V^ IX. Where is the Seat of Church Authority ?— The
Views of Smith, Johnson, and Robinson
compared 134
vii
Contents
CHAPTER PAGE
X. Smith becomes a Baptist — Controversy on Infant
Baptism with Richard Clifton — Smith's Baptism
of Himself — Mode of Baptizing — Was it by
Immersion ? 145
XI. Letter of Hugh and Anne Bromehead — Order of
Service in Smith's Church, and in the Church
at Plymouth, New England . . . .167
XII. John Smith and the Mennonites — The Doctrine of
Incarnation — The Question of Succession —
Division between Helwys and Smith . . . 175
XIII. Negotiations for Admission to the Mennonite
Church 186
XIV. The Church under Helwys — A Declaration of
Faith, 161 1, the First Baptist Confession of
Faith — Testimony to Smith — The Sin of
Ignorance — The Declaration of Faith largely
dependent on Smith 203
XV. Helwys on God's Decree, General Redemption
and the State of Infants 220
XVI. An Advertisement to the New Fryesers . . 226
XVII. The Last Days and the Last Book of John Smith
with his Confession of Faith .... 235
XVIII. The Remainders of Smith's Company — Union
with the Mennonite Church .... 270
XIX. The Return of Helwys and Murton to England —
The Mystery of Iniquity — Controversy with
John Robinson ....... 276
XX. The Anabaptists and Liberty of Conscience . 290
XXI. John Murton — His Life and Work — Controversy
with John Wilkinson, of Colchester . . . 297
XXII. Literary Activity of Murton and his Associates
— Murton and Robinson — Robinson's Parentage 303
viii
Contents
XXIII. Jessop's Discovery of the Errors of the English
Anabaptists 320
XXIV. Correspondence with Dutch Mennonites . . 328
XXV. The Pilgrim Fathers— Plymouth Plantation— The
Puritan Exodus to New England — Influence of
the Ideas of Smith and Robinson on the
Puritan Colonists — Roger Williams — The First
Baptist Church in America — Reaction of New
England Church Polity upon English Puritans
— Conclusion 338
IX
JOHN SMITH, THOMAS HELWYS,
AND THE PLANTING OF THE
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN
ENGLAND
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION — RELIGIOUS SETTLEMENT UNDER
ELIZABETH — THE PURITAN AND BROWNIST
MOVEMENTS
The rise and growth of the reh'gious societies organized
separately from the Church of England in the days of
Elizabeth and James was a matter of more than passing
importance. The movement had lasting results. The
ideas which found expression in these new Churches
profoundly influenced the subsequent religious life of
very many English-speaking people both in Britain and
America. The bold experiments made by the Separa-
tists in the way of ordering and governing a ' Church
of Christ' have helped to mould the polity of the
Congregational and Baptist branches of the Church
Universal, and have not been without effect even upon
those who favoured the Presbyterian order. The story
of Robert Browne has frequently been told. The place
which John Greenwood, Henry Barrowe and John
II
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Penry took in the early Separatist movement has been
justly estimated and is matter of common knowledge.
The prose epic recounting the history of John Robinson
and the Church of the Pilgrim Fathers, as given in the
writings of William Bradford, is one of the most familiar
stories in the whole range of religious history. But, so
far, no one seems to have attempted to trace in a com-
prehensive way the fortunes of that Church of Christ set
up at Gainsborough from which the Pilgrim Church at
Scrooby sprang. No one has shown the widespread
influence of the teachings of John Smith, who was its
founder. His work was of capital importance. It has
never been adequately recognized. William Bradford,
it is true, puts his name first in his inimitable narrative,
but he was more concerned with the company that
drew round Brewster and Robinson, and soon lost
touch with Smith. The eminent antiquary Joseph
Hunter had a glimpse of the true order of development,
but Smith was too downright and absolute to attract
him, and he quaintly says, " I wish we had a person to
deal with at this beginning of the nonconformist roll of
ministers on whom the mind could dwell in a more calm
and discriminating approbation." ^ The fullest treatment
of his life is that given by Dr. Henry M. Dexter, in his
" True Story of John Smyth, the Se-baptist," Boston,
1 88 1, but in that little treatise attention is mainly
centred on the relatively unimportant act of Smithes
self-baptism. In the following pages an effort is made
to draw together into a connected narrative such informa-
tion about John Smith and his immediate followers as
can now be gleaned. The man is revealed in his books.
* Hunter, Founders of New Plymouth, 1854, p. 32.
12
Scope of the Inquiry
We must study him in his works. We shall thus keep
close to the personal element in the story, and at the
same time by examining the books issued by himself
and his opponents we shall see more clearly the guiding
principles of the Separatist movement. Smith was
an engaging and forceful personality. He influenced
Richard Clifton, who is fancifully supposed to have
been the originator of the Church of the Pilgrim Fathers.^
He influenced ministers like John Robinson and Hugh
Bromehead, and such laymen as Thomas Helwys and
John Murton. Both Congregationalists and Baptists,
therefore, have an interest in his fruitful labours and
formative ideas, for here we have leaders and founders
honoured in both communions.
Before entering upon the details of Smith's life and
work it will be helpful to take a rapid survey of
religious affairs under Elizabeth. The movement led
by Smith will then be seen in better perspective and
against its proper background. We must distinguish
and disengage three strands in the religious life of the
time with each of which Smith came into touch. There
was the main body of Anglican churchmen prepared to
accept any moderate settlement of religious affairs;
there was the strong Puritan party profoundly suspicious
of Roman Catholicism and earnestly desirous of a
further reformation of the English Church ; and lastly
there was the obscure Brownist or Barrowist movement
in which, without tarrying for the prince to move, the
members took upon themselves the high task of setting
up the Church of Christ anew according to the order
which they found laid down in the New Testament.
^ See Professor E. Arber's Pilgrim Fathers, 1897, p. 51.
13
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
When Elizabeth came to the throne affairs in Church
and State were in a most confused and unsettled con-
dition. With the prosperity and order of the latter
part of her reign nearer to our view we are apt to lose
sight of the precarious situation she had to face at her
accession. The violent changes in religion effected in
the preceding thirty years — Henry's break with Rome,
the promulgation of Protestantism by Somerset under
Edward, the restoration of Catholic worship under
Mary — had disturbed men's minds. There was a crying
need for some settlement in religion. People were
sore and angry at the meddlesome oppression of the
bishops during the reign which had just come to such an
inglorious close. The problem was how to secure a
settlement that would not altogether snap the links of
connection with the past, that would include the bulk of
Englishmen within its scope, and at the same time be
capable of regulation in the interests of the Crown and
the State. Elizabeth, together with a proper sense of
her own dignity and power, had the statesman's gift of
gauging the general sentiment of her people. She
instinctively felt that an episcopal form of Church
government on the old lines was more in keeping with
the genius of Englishmen than the plan of the reformed
continental Churches. Besides, it was more to her own
taste. She was always less Protestant than her Parlia-
ments and less a Reformer than the leading members of
her Council. She shrank from the nascent democratic
ideas implicit in the new Protestantism, and clung to the
old order as more in keeping with the aristocratic and
feudal systems of local administration which the country
had not yet outgrown. In deep and earnest religious
Religion under Elizabeth
convictions she was singularly lacking. To emotional
piety she was a stranger. It was not in her nature
to understand the intensity of conscientious religious
feeling which glowed in the hearts of some of
her subjects. It baffled her, and consequently she
was annoyed by its manifestation. We have here
the key to her lack of sympathy with the Puritan
movement.
But still, though Elizabeth conformed to the Catholic
worship under Mary, she came down, warily yet dis-
tinctly, on the Reformed side of the fence at her acces-
sion. This was clearly recognized. It became evident
at once that Elizabeth was in many respects an apt
scholar of her father. She was resolute against any
external interference with her Church. In the announce-
ment of her accession to the sovereigns of Europe the
Pope was deliberately ignored. She would not, indeed,
take the title of " Supreme Head " of the Church
— a designation offensive to Catholics and Protestants
alike — but accepted that of " Supreme Governor."
and regarded it as something more than a courtesy
title. She could rate her bishops like a drill
sergeant. Alone amongst English sovereigns before
or since she dared to suspend an Archbishop of
Canterbury.
By the royal proclamation enjoining the reading of
the lessons, creed, litany and Lord's Prayer in English
in the churches, those of the old religion could see
which way the wind was blowing. But Elizabeth did
not wish to outrage the feehngs of moderate Catholics.
Preaching and expounding the gospel were restrained, and
the iconoclasm of zealots who took matters into their
15
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
own hands was repressed.^ Indeed, it was the Queen's
policy to make conformity easy for her Catholic subjects.
This is obvious from a glance at the alterations now
made in the Prayer Book. A crucial example is afforded
by the sentences of administration in the Communion
Office.
The great test question in the days of Mary had been
that of the Real Presence of Christ in the sacrament.
The examination of those arrested for religion always
centred round this point. Minor differences of belief
were overshadowed by this grand article. It comes up
with wearisome iteration in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, and
obscures the fact that there was a rich and healthy
variety of opinion amongst the martyrs. How then
was this grand question dealt with by Elizabeth and
her advisers in the religious settlement ? The First
Prayer Book of Edward VI., 1549, had this formula :
" The body of our Lorde Jesus Christe whiche was geuen for
thee preserue thy bodye and soule unto euerlasting lyfe,"
while the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI. (1552)
had in place of it the simple commemorative sen-
tence :
Take and eate this, in remembraunce that Christ dyed for
thee, and feede on him in thy hearte by faythe with thankes-
geuing."
At the instance of Elizabeth the two sentences were
tacked together in the revised Second Prayer Book of
Edward, which was now restored. And thus at the
1 See the Orders of the Privy Council, March 29, 1559, and April 18,
1559, in relation to cases at Hailsham, Sussex ; Bow Church,' London, and
the parish church, Dover.
i5
The Anglican Settlement
heart of the most sacred service of the Book of Common
Prayer the worshipper is presented with a piece of astute
but clumsy patchwork typical of much else in that great
compilation.
The Anglican Settlement
In the first Parliament of the reign (January 25, 1559 —
May 8, 1559) the legal religious settlement was effected.
The Act of Supremacy securing the position of the
Crown as governor of the church, and providing against
foreign interference in ecclesiastical matters and the
"Act for the Uniformity of Common Prayer and Service
in the Church and Administration of the Sacraments "
(April 1 5 59) were quickly passed. No particular attention
seems tohavebeenpaid to theprotestations of Convocation
and the bishops against these measures. The Commons
disposed of the Act of Uniformity in a couple days. In
the Lords, where the spiritual peers voiced their opposi-
tion, the business was got through in three days. On
the following June 24 (St. John the Baptist's Day) all the
churches of the realm were to adopt the new service
book.
This policy of Elizabeth and her advisers certainly
met with considerable success. The great mass of clergy
and people tamely acquiesced in the settlement. Out-
ward conformity was as much as the Queen cared for
and the laws relating to religion were not harshly
administered. Catholics might reflect that the Council
of Trent had not yet concluded its deliberations and
there was no telling what it might not sanction. Pro-
testants had gained a great point in securing the service
17 B
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
in English and hoped for further reformation. The
precarious position of England in the affairs of Europe
made men feel that they must hold together at home.
And after all, by contrast with the preceding reign, it
seemed to be a time of liberty and peace in matters of
religion.
The Puritan Movement
It is obvious that a religious settlement, dictated and
controlled in the main by state policy, would not satisfy
the more earnest minds. Men of conscience, whether
Catholics or Reformers, were ill at ease under its terms.
In the eyes of the general public the Roman Catholic
opposition to the religious settlement had a distinctly
political complexion. This was confirmed for the great
body of Englishmen when Pius IV. forbade observance
of the provisions of the Act of Uniformity, and still more
when Pius V. promulgated a bull (February, 1570) depos-
ing Elizabeth and absolving her subjects from their
allegiance. For this reason the Catholics were usually
proceeded against as political offenders, though, no
doubt, conscientious religious conviction was in most
cases the motive for their opposition to the law^ The
Puritan or the nonconformist was left to be dealt with
by the spiritual courts and the commissioners for
ecclesiastical causes, and it is his case with which we
are more concerned.
Already during the time of Mary lines of cleavage
had begun to manifest themselves amongst the religious
refugees at Frankfort. The more rapid production and
circulation of the Bible and its general use in public
18
The Puritan Movement
worship proved stimulating to thought. The leaven
of new ideas was steadily working amongst the middle
classes, especially in the towns and at the Universities.
The influence of the reformed Churches of the continent,
where bishops were at a discount and the doctrine of
the parity of ministers was upheld, made itself strongly
felt in England through those who now returned from
exile. A habit of looking to the New Testament as a
guide in matters of Church order as well as matters of
faith, was being formed. The religious refugees from
England became convinced that the simple service and
government in the "best Reformed Churches " of Scot-
land and the continent were nearer to the New Testament
model than the forms set up in the Anglican Church.
So great was the rebound from Roman Catholicism that
anything savouring of " Rome " was abomination in the
eyes of the thoroughgoing reformers. Hence their
rooted aversion to the vestments. To wear the square
cap and surplice seemed like an endorsement of the
whole papal system. It was not the vestment itself, but
what it stood for in the eyes of the world that mattered.
" Though the surplice in substance be indifferent," they
said, " yet in the present circumstances it is not." In this
matter circumstances altered the case. The bishops
were sorely troubled to secure uniformity in the use o
clerical vestments, and numbers of clergy were suspended
for refusing to conform to the regulations. From
questions of apparel and 'Popish ceremonies,' the
reformers moved on to consider the nature of the episco-
pal office, the supposed need of being ordained by a
bishop, and the right ordering and ruling of a Church.
Cambridge became a great centre of Puritan feeling,
19 B 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Under the lead of Thomas Cartwright (1535 — 1603),
who strenuously advocated a complete clearance of all
relics of Popery and a strict adhesion to New Testament
rules for the governing of the Church, the noncon-
formists increased and grew more bold. They had no
desire to separate from the Church. In their judgment
the national Church only needed a further reformation
to make it perfect. Again and yet again, when Parlia-
ment met, efforts were made to secure legislation to curb
the power of the bishops and spiritual courts, relax the
terms of subscription and allow a greater liberty to
ministers in the conduct of worship. But these efforts
were fruitless. The Queen regarded such attempts as
a meddlesome interference with her prerogative, and
sharply commanded the Commons to leave the reform
of religion alone.
With the failure of their endeavours to secure reform
by constitutional methods "the forward ministers," as
they were called, had to resort to a voluntary reform.
They evaded obnoxious ceremonies where they could,
and relied on the strong Puritan feeling of their
parishioners for support. Already the clergy of
Northamptonshire had mapped out a scheme for ruling
their parishes and ordering their services independently
of the canons of the Church. This was only an example
of what was going on elsewhere. In many quarters the
ministers who desired a further reformation entered
into voluntary associations, and met regularly for
** prophesy ings " or gatherings, at which some passage
of Scripture or some question of divinity was dis-
cussed in an orderly method. These *' classical meet-
ings " formed an excellent training ground for the
20
The Primacy of John Whitgift
Puritan ministry. They helped to a thorough knowledge
of Scripture, afforded opportunity for friendly inter-
change of opinion, and gave scope for the exercise of
self-restraint and the development of business-like habits
under the firm guidance of the ' moderator ' or chairman.
Some of the bishops looked on these gatherings with a
friendly eye. But the Queen looked on all " meetings "
with suspicion ; they might too readily be turned into
hot-beds of political agitation. She had no difficulty in
finding bishops of her mind to put them down.
The Primacy of John Whitgift
Theprimacy of John Whitgift, who succeeded Grindal
as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1583, was a trying
period for those who could not conform to the require-
ments of the Book of Common Prayer and the canon
law of the Church. Whitgift received his marching
orders from Elizabeth. He was "to restore the
discipline of the Church and the uniformity established
by law," which, in the judgment of her Majesty, had
" run out of square." Whitgift went to work with a will
to set matters straight. In the first week of his primacy,
September, 1583, he issued his famous three articles to
which all who held ecclesiastical office had to subscribe
on pain of deprivation for refusal. In December, 1583,
he prevailed on the Queen to appoint, on her own
authority, a new Ecclesiastical Commission with wide
powers. He was resolute in maintaining the liturgy
and ceremonies of the Church. As he held the metro-
politan see for twenty years he was able to give
continuity to his policy. He kept the field long enough
21
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
to allow ofthe growth of a party sincerely attached to the
Book of Common Prayer, and gradually wore down some
ofthe vehement Puritan opposition. Even Cartwrightwas
reduced to some sort of conformity in the end. But
Whitgift did not kill the Puritan movement. What he
did was to drive some of the Puritan feeling under-
ground, and by dashing all hope of any immediate
reformation of the Church from within, he prepared the
way for the setting up of more thoroughly reformed
Churches altogether separate from the Established
Church and independent of episcopal jurisdiction.
The Puritans met the persecution with remarkable
patience. It might be wondered that separate Churches
were not formed in greater number and by more of the
prominent leaders of their party. But the way of the
Separatist was a hard road to tread. The idea of setting
up a Church independent of the parochial system was
entirely novel. It was not against a national Church,
but against its abuses, that the Puritan protested.
Indeed, the Separatists found their bitterest controversial
opponents amongst the Puritan ministry. Gifford of
Maiden wrote against Browne ; Cartwright pleaded with
his sister-in-law to leave the Brownists, and wrote
against Harrison ; Bradshaw and Hildersham contended
with Johnson, Bernard with Smith, Ames with
Robinson. The Puritan found, in controversy with the
Brownist, an easy way of showing the world what a
loyal son of the Church he really was ! The Precisians
or Puritans formed a strong party within the Church.
They attracted to their side many earnest men. The
movement associated with their name, though primarily
religious, had a political aspect, and those who desired
22
The Brownist or Barrowist Movement
to strengthen the hands of Parliament as a check to
despotic power in the Crown naturally threw the weight
of their influence on the reforming side. The years were
speeding on, and those who sought a further reformation
in the Church were buoyed up during the later years of
Elizabeth with the hope that on the accession of James
of Scotland to the English throne there would be a
change of policy in the direction they desired. It
would be folly to cut themselves off from the Established
Church, or to allow themselves to be thrust out from
it, when there was a possibility that in a few short
years, backed up by the support of a king from
Presbyterian Scotland, they might capture that Church
for their party and reform it according to their mind.
The Brownist or Barrowist Movement
There was probably never a time in English history
when men and women interested in religion did not
foregather apart from the services of the official Church
to confer by speech or reading about the matters that
touched their lives most closely. The mediaeval guilds
of the merchants and craftsmen partook of a religious
character and gave ample opportunity for fraternal inter-
course. In the days of Wiclif meetings were held in
many districts at which the " gospellers " read and
expounded the Scriptures. The missionary meetings of
the Augustinian friars had an element of spontaneity
about them which made them unconventional. Even in
the time of Edward VI., when the Protestant cause was
in the ascendant, we find some who were not fully satis-
fied meeting privately for prayer and reading. The
23
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
records of the Privy Council tell how certain men of
Kent crossed the Thames estuary at Christmastide in
1550, and together with some in Essex "assembled for
scripture matters in Bocking." They had made some
sort of separation from the Church for they admitted
that they had "refused the Communion above ij yeres."
Under Mary there were secret gatherings of ardent
reformers at which " the service book of King Edward
VI." was used. Those dissatisfied with the religious
settlement under Elizabeth had not far to look back
for examples of separate meetings. But it is doubtful
whether any of these irregular assemblies was
organized as a separate Church or ever regarded itself
as a Church complete and entire. Their separation was
an accident due to the necessities of the times and not a
plank in their platform or a matter of principle. They
were waiting a turn in the tide of affairs, and on the
accession of Elizabeth the members of these assemblies
resorted once more to their several parish churches.
But when it became clear that the reform of the
Anglican Church was not going to be carried very far, a
company of friends in London took the bold step of
forming a separate society. This was spoken of in 1 567
as "the Privye Churche in London." A paper under
the hand of its minister " Richarde Fytz " throws light
upon its aims and principles. This document declares
that the true Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ has or strives to have : —
*' First and foremost, the glorious word and Evangel preached
not in bondage and subjection but freely and purely.
" Secondly, to have the Sacraments ministered purely only, and
altogether according to the institution and good word of the Lord
Jesus, without any tradition or invention of man.
24
Robert Browne
** And last of all, to have not the filthy Canon Law, but disci-
pline only and altogether agreeable to the same heavenly and
almighty word of our good Lord Jesus Christ."
It will be seen that the main objections to the
Elizabethan religious settlement concerned the restraint
upon preaching, the equivocal communion service of the
new Prayer Book and the retention of the Canon law
inherited from Catholic times and enforced upon the
clergy instead of the discipline of the New Testament.
The minister and deacon of this London church died in
prison, and its history is obscure. It may be that some
of its members rallied to the side of John Greenwood
and helped to form the Separatist Church which came
into prominence in London under the leadership of
Henry Barrowe ( 1 550 — 1 593) John Penry, Thomas Settle,
William Smith, and Francis Johnson. The story of this
Church and its sufferings has been frequently told, and
we shall not dwell on it here. At a later stage in our
narrative we shall meet with it in exile at Amsterdam.
Through its pastor, Francis Johnson, it exerted a strong
influence upon John Smith with whose life and labours
we are more immediately concerned.
We have briefly spoken of the Separatist movement in
London ; meanwhile, in the provinces a similar Separatist
Church had been formed at Norwich under the leadership
of Robert Browne (1550 — 1633) and Robert Harrison.
Browne had literary gifts of no common order. Well
born and well educated, he lifted the Separatist move-
ment into public notice, both by his writing and preach-
ing. He had the command of a clear and vigorous
English style. He had the faculty for systematizing,
together with a good measure of that intrepid spirit
25
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
which all pioneers need. The fact that he ultimately
conformed and held a benefice in the Anglican Church
brought both him and his writings into poor repute
amongst his old friends. His books have suffered undue
neglect. I place his writings next to those of Penry in
power of literary expression among all the Separatist
pamphlets of Elizabethan times.
As the number and weight of those who separated
from the Anglican Church increased a name was needed
to distinguish them. The Anglican Churchman knew
the " Papist," and he knew the " Precisian " or " Puritan,"
but here were men of a new order, and it was necessary
to describe them by some convenient phrase. " Ana-
baptist" and "Sectary" were handy terms of abuse,
but though freely used were hardly exact enough. Con-
sequently the terms " Brownist" and " Barrowist " were
coined. Browne and Barrowe were the leading literary
champions of the cause. The latter was a vehement
and discursive writer — and no wonder since he wrote
from prison — the former was the first to set out in print
with clearness the principles upon which the Separatist
Churches were built up. The term " Barrowist " soon
died out, but that of " Brownist " lived on as it met a
need in the language. We use it in a historic sense.
Once, indeed, it was a nickname, and as such was
justly resented, but all the sting has long since gone
from the word. It has become a convenient symbol to
indicate those who, in the days of Elizabeth and James,
followed the principles of Church government and order
so carefully extracted from the books of the New
Testament and set forth by Robert Browne.
26
CHAPTER II
JOHN smith's career AT CAMBRIDGE — FRANCIS
JOHNSON AND THE LONDON SEPARATIST CHURCH
The story of the planting of the first Baptist Church
in England touches the religious life of the land at
many points. It brings us into connection with pre-
lates and Puritans, conformists and Separatists, heady
enthusiasts and sober Dutch Mennonites. But it circles
most closely round the lives of three remarkable men,
John Smith, Thomas Helwys, and John Murton, whose
work left a permanent mark upon the religious life of
English-speaking peoples. In recounting what is known
of these men the story of the movement in which they
were leaders will be told, for with them religion was the
supreme interest in life, and religious motives controlled
and determined their general action. Within the brief
space of six years they separated from the Church of
England, formed a distinct religious society, fled for
refuge from persecution to Amsterdam, advanced to the
opinion that baptism as administered in the Anglican
Church was unlawful, and reconstituted their church by
a fresh baptism. Then Helwys and Murton separated
from Smith, and, becoming convinced that it was wrong
to flee from persecution, returned with a handful of
followers to plant their Church in London.
Of John Smith's boyhood and birthplace nothing is
n
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
as yet certainly known. It is difficult to trace the
history of anyone bearing such a common name unless
there is some contemporary statement as to his family
and place of origin. It is true his name is frequently
given as " Smyth," ^ but this variant on the more usual
form of the word affords no real help in making a search
for particulars of his early life. From a casual refer-
ence to him by the Rev. Joseph Hall, afterwards Bishop
of Norwich, who was a contemporary of his at Cam-
bridge, it may be inferred that he was domiciled in
Lincolnshire at the time when he came up to the
University. It seems to me probable that he belonged
to a family of Smiths which had a connection both with
that shire and the neighbouring county of Nottingham.
His parents were of sufficient standing to allow their
son to go up to the University, and he himself had
made such good use of his opportunities as to be ready
to profit to the full from a course of collegiate training.
But the fact that he matriculated as a " sizar," that is to
say, as a student of the lower rank who received food
and instruction at a reduced fee, and rendered in return
certain services in Hall, indicates that his family was of
no great wealth, and betokens a desire on his own part
to gain instruction. He matriculated at Christ's College,
Cambridge, in 1586, and we may infer from this that he
was born early in the eighth decade of that century.
Unfortunately the admission book at " Christ's " only
begins in 1622, so we get no clue as to his birth|:>lace or
parentage from that source. In the library of this
* In the entry of matriculation at Cambridge, March, 1586, it is
written •' Sm) the." Peile's B'ographical Register of ChriH^s College.^
1911, p. 185.
28
Life at Cambridge
college is a magnificently bound volume with vellum
leaves, apparently presented by the foundress, Margaret
Beaufort (1443 — 1509), mother of Henry VII., for use
as a register. It was too good to be used, and its leaves
are blank to this day.
Christ's College, established by a royal licence in 1 505
converting " God's House," an older foundation, into a
regular college, was at this time a nest of Puritanism.
It sent out a constant stream of energetic Puritan
preachers and writers. Sir Walter Mildmay, the
founder of Emmanuel College, had studied here. John
Udall, who died in prison unjustly suspected of being
concerned in writing the Marprelate Tracts, was a
member of "Christ's," so also were Walter Travers,
Laurence Chaderton and William Perkins, all awakening
Puritan preachers. At this college Arthur Hildersham
and Richard Bernard, with whom John Smith came
into conflict in after years, were students. They suffered
much for Puritanism, but refused to separate from the
Church. In this they contrasted with another notable
member of " Christ's," Francis Johnson(i 562 — 161 8), who
boldly advanced from Puritanism to the Separatist posi-
tion, and was chosen as pastor by that Church of Christ in
London which afterwards took refuge in Holland.
When Smith went up to the University Francis
Johnson had completed his college course. He had
come up from his native Richmond in Yorkshire in the
spring of 1579, and entered Christ's College, graduating
in 1 581, and proceeding to his Masters' degree in 1585.
He was elected Fellow and engaged in tutorial work. It
was in this connection that Smith and Johnson were
brought into close touch, for we learn that Francis
39
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Johnson was his tutor. Years afterwards, in the preface to
his " Paterne of True Prayer," when he was wavering in
his allegiance to the AngHcan Church, John Smith
referred to these days. " From some of them," he says,
" which Seperate from our Church concerning the Set
forme of prayer I received part of my education in
Cambridge," and Richard Bernard^ expressly tells us
that Johnson was Smith's tutor.
Cambridge was agitated at this time over questions
concerning the status of the ministry and the right order-
ing of the Church. The controversy concerning the
ecclesiastical habits which had raged in the earlier part
of the reign had given place to a wider dispute, which
touched the whole constitution of the Church. It was
held by the Puritan party that the New Testament laid
dov/n a form of Church government, and discipline far
different from that imposed upon the land by the strong
will of Elizabeth, and now more rigidly enforced than
ever by the energy of Whitgift. Those who desired a
further reformation in religion were aided by many who,
for political reasons, wanted to differentiate the Church
of England more decidedly from Roman Catholicism.
The arbitrary action of many of the bishops made men
ready to accept the Presbyterian theory of the parity of
ministers, and the abuses connected with the system of
patronage gave rise to the demand that the people should
have a voice in the calling and election of those who
were to minister to them in holy things. Thus there
was a strong party for reform in the country, and the
1 Bernard's Separatists Schism, p. 38. This is confirmed by Wm.
Bradford, " Mr. Johnson, who had been his tutor." Young's Ch'cnicle oj
Pilgrim Fathers ^ 1844, p. 450.
30
An Awakening Sermon
agitation had an active centre in Cambridge. The
Puritans, with their tendencies to democratic institutions,
instinctively looked to Parliament as the means for
effecting reform in religion. Only a few months after
John Smith entered the University the Puritan party
introduced a Bill (February 27, 1587) into the new
Parliament embodying their desired reforms together
with a " book " which would have altered the whole form
of the Church of England. The Queen peremptorily
stopped the proceedings, and when some of the members
ventured to reopen the matter promptly sent them to the
Tower. It was difficult to argue against action of that sort.
Now, it was while these questions of Church reform
were the leading topics of the day that Francis Johnson
boldly handled them in a sermon at St. Mary's, Cam-
bridge, on January 6, 1588. He took as his text
I Peter v. i — 4, " The elders which are among you I
exhort who am also an elder and a witness of the suffer-
ings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall
be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you,
taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but
willingly; not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind;
neither as being lords over God's heritage but being
examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd
shall appear ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth
not away." A fine text for a Puritan sermon. Johnson
laid it down that the Presbyterian form of Church
government was most agreeable to the New Testament,
and therefore to be preferred before Episcopacy. For
this bold utterance he suffered imprisonment.^ After
^ For details of this case see Brook's Puritans, vol. i., p. 396, and vol.ii.,
pp. 89 et seq. , articles on Cuthbert Bainbrigg and F. Johnson.
31
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
twenty weeks he petitioned Burghley for release. He
was then brought up for re-examination on October 19,
1589, and required to recant. This he did on the follow-
ing Sunday, but insufficiently in " mincing terms," and
was therefore ordered on October 30 to leave the
University. He refused to go, declaring his sentence to
be utterly unjust. Accordingly he was again imprisoned,
December 18, 1589, and though a petition^ was presented
to the Chancellor on his behalf signed by many members
of the University, yet he soon had to leave. The College
allowed his stipend to Lady Day, 1590, after which his
name ceases from the list of Fellows. From Cambridge
he went over to Middelburg and became minister to
the English merchants there, a post once held by
Thomas Cartwright. He had not, so far, separated from
the Anglican Church. He was a Puritan profoundly
dissatisfied with its constitution and harshly treated by
its officers, but he still held communion with it and
hoped for its reform.
The hard case of Francis Johnson would excite a
chivalrous interest in one of such an impulsive and
sanguine temperament as Smith. He would look for
news of his old tutor and take special note of his career.
And what a strange career that was 1 One would have
thought that Johnson would have been happy enough
in ministering to the English merchants in Middelburg,
who granted him ;£"200 year, an extremely hand-
some stipend for those days. The town authorities
allowed his congregation the use of the Gasthuis Kerk.
1 Dated December 23, 1589. LansdowneMS. 61. pp. 56—67. Smith's
name does not appear on this petition. Among the signatories we may
note William Perkins, Cuthbert Bainbrigg, and Richard Wright.
32
Johnson at Middelburg
His predecessors in office, Cartwright and Dudley
Fenner,^ had moulded the congregation on the Presby-
terian plan with which he himself was in full sympathy.
But though all seemed favourable for a long settlement
a change was impending. Johnson was soon to take
the further step from Puritan nonconformity to actual
separation from the Anglican Church. This was brought
about in a curious way. We have the account from
Bradford.2
" Mr. Johnson, himself, who was afterward pastor of the
* Church of God ' at Amsterdam, was a preacher to the com-
pany of English of the Staple at Middelburg, in Zealand, and
had great and certain maintenance allowed him by them, and
was highly respected of them, and so zealous against this way [of
the Separatists] as that [when] Mr. Barrow's and Mr. Green-
wood's Refutation of Gifford was privately in printing [1591] in this
city, he not only was a means to discover it, but was made the
Ambassador's instrument to intercept them at the press and see
them burnt. The which charge he did so well perform, as he let
them go on until they were wholly finished and then surprised the
whole impression not suffering any to escape, and then, by the
Magistrates' authority, caused them all to be openly burnt, him-
self standing by until they were all consumed to ashes. Only he
took up two of them, one to keep in his own study, that he might
see their errors, and the other to bestow on a special friend for
the like use. But mark the sequel. When he had done this work
he went home and being set down in his study, he began to turn
over some pages of this book and superficially to read somethings
here and there as his fancy led him. At length he met with
something that began to work upon his spirit which so wrought
with him as drew him to this resolution, seriously to read over
the whole book, the which he did once and again. In the end
he was so taken and his conscience was troubled so, as he could
have no rest in himself until he crossed the seas and came to
* Fenner had died at Middelburg towards the close of 1589.
^ Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers^ pp. 424 — 5.
33 c
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
London to confer with the authors, who were then in prison, and
shortly after [April 6, 1593] executed ; after which conference
he was so satisfied and confirmed in the truth as he never returned
to his place any more at Middelburg, but adjoined himself to
their society at London and was afterwards [Dec. 5, 1592]
committed to prison and then banished. And in conclusion
coming to live at Amsterdam he caused the same books which he
had been an instrument to burn to be new printed and set out at
his own charge. And some of us here present testify this to be a
true relation which we heard from his own mouth before many
witnesses."
The accession of Johnson to the ranks of the London
Separatists gave them fresh heart. They proceeded to
set their Church in due order and elect officers. Francis
Johnson was chosen and ordained pastor (September,
1592) ; three months later he was seized at the house of
Edward Boys a wealthy haberdasher on Ludgate Hill
and thrown into prison in the Clink. Not long after-
wards Boys died, and then in the year 1594 there was a
" report " that Mr Francis Johnson " was a suitor to Mrs.
Thomasine Boys," ^ his widow. The suit was successful
and they married by mutual consent in the prison
according to the Common Law of the land in the
presence of witnesses. When this became known John-
son " was clapt up close prisoner again by the Arch-
prelate of Canterbury " and not allowed to go abroad as
before with his keeper. Mistress Johnson's womanly
love for dress becoming her style and station was a
source of grievous offence to her brother-in-law George
Johnson, then prisoner in the Fleet, and led to a laugh-
able yet pitiful dispute between the brothers.
1 G. Johnson's Discourse of Troubles, etc., 1603, p. 95. The only
known copies are in Sion College Library and Trinity College Library.
I have examined both.
34
John Penry's Advice
By this time a goodly number of Johnson's flock had
fled to Holland. A severe Act " to retain the Queen's
subjects in obedience" had been passed in April 1593.
It was expressly directed against the Separatists and
designed to punish " persons obstinately refusing to
come to church or persuading others to impugn the
Queen's authority in ecclesiastical causes." ^ Those
convicted under this Act were committed to prison ;
three months were then allowed them to decide to attend
some parish church and make a public recantation at
service time ; if they refused they were to leave the
Queen's dominions never to return without her special
licence. Penry in view of this Act wrote a remarkable
letter to the brethren on April 24, 1593. It contained
the final advice of a man standing in the shadow of
death for conscience' sake. They were to sink their
individual interests and study the welfare of the whole
Church.
" My good brethren, seeing banishment with loss of goods is
likely to betide you all, prepare yourselves for this hard entreaty
and rejoice that you are made worthy for Christ's cause to suffer
and bear all these things. And I beseech you in the bowels of Jesus
Christ that none of you in this case look upon his particular
estate, but regard the general state of the Church of God that the
same may go and be kept together whithersoever it shall please
God to send you. Oh ! the blessing will be great that shall ensue
this care."
Some of the members of this " distressed congregation "
sought an asylum in Holland in the autumn of 1593.
By the operation of the new Act others kept coming to
them as their term of three months' imprisonment
expired. They first pitched at Kampen, moved thence
* Neal, i., p. 426.
35 c 3
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
to Naarden, where they received some charitable help
from the magistrates, and finally settled at Amsterdam.
This last remove 1 assign to the end of 1595 ^^ begin-
ning of 1596. We have a picture of these refugees in
1597 by a candid yet not unsympathetic observer. In
this we see them already disturbed by wrangling. Some
had actually moved on to the Anabaptist position. This
glimpse of the exiles is furnished by John Payne in a
treatise in which he gives ** Christian Exhortation" to
different sections of his countrymen. He devotes a
section to " Nordeners."
*• Likewise you my countrymen of another kind and company,
removing from Campion [Kampen] to Norden [Naarden] and from
thence to Amsterdam, and now miserably rent and divided and
scattered here and there ; who, though you hold the fundamental
points of our faith with affection to good things, yet it is with an
untempered zeal."
He urges the remnant who had not run into " fowle
errors " of anabaptistry " to be less lofty and more
lowly, to esteem better of God's Churches about you and
to brag less of your own — without Pastor and sacraments
for these 3 years." ^ Without the guiding and
restraining hand of their pastor a spirit of contention
invaded the Church. Trouble arose through wielding
** the sharp sword of excommunication." The exiled
Church would not choose new officers but sought direction
by letter from its imprisoned leaders in London. The
connection between pastor and Church was regarded as
good for life.
It may be asked how it was that Johnson did not
^ Royall Exchange^ Haarlem 1597, ad fin.
36
The Call of the New World
come over to Holland at the expiration of three months'
imprisonment. Well, he with others was already under
arrest when the Act for retaining the Queen's subjects
in obedience came into force, and he was not proceeded
against under its provisions. He was kept in ward for
over four years. The authorities hardly knew how to
deal with him. Not until the autumn of 1597 did
Johnson manage to rejoin his flock. The reunion was
brought about in a singular way. In the spring of 1597
one or two Merchant Adventurers planned a voyage of
fishing and discovery to Rainea in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. Chief of these was Charles Leigh, himself a
Separatist " who called the Pastor's wife ' cousin,' " ^ and
Abraham van Herwick. They petitioned the Queen
for permission " to transport out of this realm divers
artificers and other persons that are noted to be sectaries."
This was a friendly device in which Francis Johnson and
his companions concurred ; in fact, they themselves
petitioned the Privy Council to influence the Queen to
allow them to go to " the province of Canada where by
the providence of the Almighty and her Majesty's
favour we may not only worship God as we are in
conscience persuaded by his word, but also do unto her
Majesty and our country great good service, and in time
also greatly annoy that bloody and persecuting Spaniard
about the Bay of Mexico." Already the thoughts of the
Separatists turned to the New World as a possible place
of refuge. The idea was kept in mind.
This suit was granted. Four prominent Separatists —
the brothers Francis and George Johnson, Daniel Studley,
a ruling elder of the Church, condemned to death at the
1 Troubles, etc., p. io6.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
same time as Barrowe, but reprieved, and John Gierke —
were permitted to join the expedition. But the Merchant
Venturers had to give bond that these Separatists would
not return to the Queen's dominions unless they grew
content *' to live in obedience to her laws ecclesiastical
for matters of religion."
The brothers were assigned to different ships, as
they had been to different prisons, Francis and
Studley to the Hopewell, captained by Charles
Leigh himself, and George, with Gierke, to the
Ckancewelly under Stephen van Herwick. The vessels
had cheery names. They put out from Gravesend on
April 8, 1 597, and it must have been an immense relief
to leave the noisome prisons behind. Detained by head
winds at Falmouth, George Johnson endangered himself
by his indiscreet discussion of religious topics with the
mariners and master of his vessel, and by publicly
showing a copy of the Separatist's *' Confession of Faith"
while in port. At last, with a favouring breeze, they
left the Channel and made for America. If a perma-
nent settlement had resulted from this expedition no
doubt the members of Johnson's Church would have
crossed from London and Amsterdam to join their
pastor, and the Pilgrim Fathers would have been
anticipated. But that was not to be. The mercantile
marine in Elizabethan days was strongly Protestant,
and entered on any plan of privateering against the
Spaniards with something of the holy joy of the old
crusaders. A raid upon Spanish shipping promised
more immediate profit and excitement than the drudgery
of planting a settlement. A sharp look-out was, there-
fore, kept for Spanish shipping. The two ships kept
38
A Naval Crusade
together across the Atlantic and made Cape Race. Off
Placentia Bay they lost touch with one another. The
Chancewell got on the rocks "in a faire sunne shine
day" off Cape Breton, and the captain having to beach
her for repairs, she was plundered by the French. The
crew were left ill-furnished, but had saved their boats.
They prepared to set out down the coast in search of
help or in hope of taking a prize. G. Johnson and
Clerke must either go with them, or be left in the wild
or be delivered " to the Frenchmen to be brought for
France and by them on ship borde they should be
urged to hear masse." ^ " Three hard choices," says
Johnson. But help was at hand ; the Hopewell^ after some
adventures with the French, now happily made the same
landfall as her sister ship. We will let George Johnson
describe the event : —
" Continuing in that wild place three or four days, while they
prepared their shallops and made ready as well as they could to
take purchase. God's providence, who never faileth, no, not in
the mountain or wilderness, shewed itself, for the Captain walk-
ing with George Johnson and conferring of these things, suddenly
(being quick sighted) he saw a ship far off in the sea and said, ' I
see a ship,' to which G. Johnson said, ' It may be the Lord will
send us help thereby,' and requested the Captain to man out a
shallop to them to signify our shipwreck and distress unto them,
and no doubt the Lord would move their hearts to pity. Which
presently the Captain commanded to be done and, we still
walking under hope, at length one, who was very quick eyed,
discerned it to be an English ship, and put us in hope that it was
our fellow which was bound to make the same journey with us,
which made the mariners to hasten the more with their shallop,
who, coming to them, finding them to be the ship which was
bound with us (wherein were the Pastor and Mr. Studley the other
two banished), and relating to them the distress wherein we were.
^ Troubles y etc., p. 109.
39
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Ohl what heaviness was there among them, specially in the
Pastor, for his brother and in that loving man, Mr. Charles Leigh
the Captain thereof, who was not so heavy for the loss (though a
principal of the ship was his) as he was joyful that all the men
were safe. And presently (by report) commanded the Master to
make to the bay where our distress was, at whose meeting what
tears there were (not for the loss) but for joy that we so met,
specially between the brothers I cannot express, yea, I cannot
now write without tears, remembering such a wondrous provi-
dence of God even in a strange land." ^
The whole company were taken on board the
Hopewell, and on July 25 they had the luck to fall in
with and capture " a notable strong ship " of Belle Isle,
of near " 200 tons burthen." Leigh, with his Separatist
friends and a ship's company, were transferred to the
prize. They had hopes of making a further capture, but
putting to sea again early in August they found their
tackling so rotten and their victuals so short that they
resolved, after a few days, to make straight for home.
The company in the Hopewell, anxious not to lose their
share of the plunder, determined to return at the same
time. As they sailed back over the Atlantic the
religious refugees whiled away the time with dis-
cussions which sometimes grew heated, being fomented
by Studley, who, " lying in his cabbing would now and
then put forth his head and minister questions and
matter to the Pastor," ^ reminding George Johnson by
this action of "a barking dog." On approaching the
English coast the refugees would have to consult as to
their safety. Studley proposed to the captain that
he should keep George Johnson close on ship
board for a time on arrival in port, as they feared
his indiscaetion. This plan he refused to entertain.
* Troubles^ etc.^ p. Iio.
2 Troubles ^ etc., p. 112.
40
In Perils by Sea and Land
The prize ship arrived off the Isle of Wight on
September 5, and Leigh, with his four friends, landed
and rode up from Southampton to London, leaving the
master mariner and crew to bring their ship round to
the Thames, "where she was made prize."
George Johnson tells us the course of events : " Being
come to London, and everyone in several lodgings for
the more safety, that if one came in trouble yet the
other might escape, after a day or two they [i.e., Leigh,
Studley, and Francis Johnson] sent Mr. [Thomas]
Bishop ^ to George Johnson to certify him that it was
known they were in the City, and that he must provide
to go forthwith to Gravesend tilt boat, where Mr.
Studley would meet him and go with him." Accordingly
George went off to Gravesend. He only had ninepence
in his pocket, and sixpence of this he paid for his fare
to Gravesend. Daniel Studley and his brother Francis
did not come along for some three or four days, and
George had worked himself into a fine fever by the
time they arrived, upbraiding them in his captious way,
and wanting to know how they thought he was going to
live. They said he might have gone to the house of one
of " the brethren " who lived three or four miles from
Gravesend, and they would have sent for him when
they came down. The next day they took ship for
Amsterdam together, and got safely over to that haven
of refuge, rejoicing to meet the brethren already
settled there with their " teacher," Henry Ainsworth,
and their " ruling elder," Matthew Slade. Thus, after
long severance, the Church once again enjoyed the
presence of its pastor, Francis Johnson.
* Thomas Bishop married a sister of George and Francis Johnson.
41
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Such, then, were some of the trials and adventures
that befell the tutor of John Smith. We need not
wonder that the younger man received from him a
decided bent in the Puritan direction. Smith would
look with interest for any news of Johnson that filtered
through to Cambridge, and would doubtless be an eager
reader of his books. He was acquainted with Johnson's
" Treatise of the Ministery of the Church of England,
wherein is handled the question whether it be to be
separated from or joyned unto," discussed with Arthur
Hildersham and issued in 1595. He was influenced by
the " Brief Declaration of the ordinary officers of the
Church of Christ," and " Some notes touching the
Lorde's Prayer," annexed to this volume. He was also
aware of Johnson's controversy with Henry Jacob (1563
— 1624), put to the press by the latter in 1599^ and
replied to by Johnson in 1600. We may also take it
that Smith was an attentive student of the Separatist
" Confession of Faith," in which Francis Johnson had a
master hand. No doubt he would reflect upon the
questions at issue and discuss them with his college friends.
All that is known of John Smith's career at Cambridge
may be set out in few words, and we will here conclude
the story of this stage in his life. No record of his
taking a " bachelor's " degree is found, as the lists for
1589 — 90 are irrecoverable, but he became Master of
Arts in 1593. and was elected to a Fellowship before
Michaelmas, 1594. At this period he took *' orders."
We have his own word for this. Writing to Richard
Bernard in 1609, he said : —
* A Defence of the Churches and Ministery of Englande^ Middelburgh,
1599- ^'^ Anstver to Maister H.Jacob, his Defence^ etc., 1600.
42
Smith at the University
" I utterly renounce your orders which I had from Wickham,
prelate of Lincoln, when I was chosen Fellow of Christ's College
in Cambridge." ^
This is confirmed by Bernard, who declares that
Smith " was made minister by Bishop Wickam." ^ These
passages are important because they identify the John
Smith in whom we are interested with the one who held
a Fellowship at " Christ's " from 1594 to Lady Day, 1598.
William Wickham was Bishop of Lincoln from 1584 to
1595. These dates shut out two other John Smiths
who were at Christ's College near that time. If we may
trust Bernard, who appears to be well informed, Smith
" was instituted into a living/' but the place and nature
of his benefice have not yet been determined. I have
searched the scanty memoranda of Bishop Wickham's
institutions and ordinations preserved in the Alnwick
Tower at Lincoln, but no references to John Smith
remain.
It appears that John Smith was for a time engaged
in tutorial work, in which he was occasionally assisted
by Samuel Ward, catechist of the College, and after-
wards Master of Sidney Sussex. There are one or two
references to him in a manuscript note-book left by
Ward, from which it is clear that Smith was looked up
to as a collegian of some standing. Ward notes under
the date June 28, 1596, his "too lavish speeches to Mr.
Smyth." On August 28 in the same year he reproaches
himself for "my want of attention and applying Mr.
Smith his commonplace to myne owne profit." Again,
on August 16, in the following year, he speaks of " my
* Paralleles, Censures, etc., p. 102.
^ Bernard, Plaine Evidences, i6io, pref.
43
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
coldnes att prayer in Mr. Smith his chamber," and then,
on " Bartholomew day," reproaches himself for " my
thoughte of pride in that Mr. Smyth [was] with me." ^
These entries show that Smith was one who took an
active part in the work of his College. The diary also
refers to William Perkins, Cuthbert Bainbrigg, Thomas
Newhouse, afterwards of St. Andrews, Norwich, and
Will. Bolton, to whose " puples " it was Ward's duty to
read, and I take it John Smith would be well acquainted
with all in that little circle.
Smith was at Cambridge, then, for an unusually
lengthy term. It was a stirring period, when religious
discussion was vigorously pursued. The points in
dispute between Travers and Cartwright on the one hand
and Whitgift and Hooker on the other were being more
sharply defined. It was a time when William Perkins
(1558 — 1602) a fellow of " Christ's " was preaching with
amazing success as lecturer at Great St. Andrews.
Smith would have opportunities of discussion with
William Ames (1576 — 1633), William Bradshaw (1571
— 161 8) of Emmanuel, and John Robinson of Corpus
Christi. We may safely conclude that this part of his
life at Cambridge under the sympathetic guidance of
Edmund Barwell, Master of Christ's College, made a deep
impression upon his mind. It was now that his thoughts
were directed to those inquiries into the nature and
constitution of the true Church of Christ which eventually
led him to throw off his allegiance to the Church of
England and gather a new Church in accordance with
the New Testament plan.
^ MS. diary of Sam. Ward in Sid. Suss. Coll. Library.
44
CHAPTER III
PREACHER TO THE CITY OF LINCOLN— EXPOSITION
OF THE 22ND PSALM — LECTURES ON THE
LORD'S PRAYER
'* First hee [i.e., Smith] was a Subscriber, a Conformitant, and
as honest a man then, as ever since for anything scene or heard
hitherto to the contrary : this is evident when first hee was made
Minister and when hee was instituted into a living. Whether
wholy a Conformist he best knoweth, it is enough that he was
what he was."^
Those were the words of Richard Bernard, who is
probably right in his suggestion that John Smith was
not wholly a conformist even at the time of his ordina-
tion. Like Bernard himself, /he was then a Puritan to
whom many of the ceremonies and several parts of the
Book of Common Prayer were thoroughly distasteful.
This was the class of clergy most subject to interference
and suspension by the bishops. From this class the
town lecturers and preachers were usually drawn,) One
can see how natural it was for the more resolute Puritans
to take up positions as chaplains and lecturers over
which the bishops had less direct jurisdiction than over
ordinary benefices. Such were the lectureships set up
in cities and market towns and supported by the
subscriptions of the townsmen or a grant from the
* Plaine Evidences ^ 1610, Preface.
45
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
corporation funds. If John Smith had suffered any
interference at the hands ot Wickham's successor in the
see of Lincoln he would be the more likely to seek such
a post. Now, the corporation of Lincoln had appointed
Thomas Luddington, M.A., a Lincolnshire man and a
Fellow, from 1582 to 1605, of Lincoln College, Oxford,
to the post of " preacher to the City." They agreed
(June 16, 1597) to pay him *';^30 per annum and his
diet at the mayor's table." He served this office for
some three years, but, as I judge, not with entire
satisfaction to all parties. At any rate, on May 3,
1600, the question of the post of city preacher was
reviewed and a resolution passed in these terms :
" No minister or preacher who shall have any benefice or
charge out of the City of Lincoln to be elected preacher of the
City, but such a man to be chosen as shall have no benefice and
lie and be continually amongst the citizens." ^
This was paving the way for Smith, and on Septem-
ber 7 of the same year Mr. John Smith was " elected
preacher of the city by 8 voices over Mr. Luddington
who had 7." The narrow majority indicated that
feeling was pretty evenly divided and did not promise a
very comfortable time for the new man. However,
Smith entered on his fresh duties in good heart. We
have it on the testimony of Governor William Bradford
that he was "a good preacher." He would find the
work congenial and be well able to hold his own. So
long as he had the support of the Corporation he would
feel safe against undue interference from the bishop and
enjoy considerable liberty in ecclesiastical matters.
1 14M Report of Hist. MSS, Commission ^ Appetidix^ Part VIII. , on
Lincoln Archives, 1895.
46
Smith at St. Peter at Arches, Lincoln
On October 21, 1600, the Corporation resolved
that—
" Mr. John Smith, the preacher of the city," was " to have a
yearly stipend of £40 paid quarterly, with £^ 6s. 8d. yearly
towards house-rent and leave to keep three kine upon the
commons."
That was quite a satisfactory allowance, and we may
picture John Smith happily settled in Lincoln city,
engaged in regular preaching on Sundays and Wednes-
days. Some fruits of these labours he afterwards gave
to the press.
Was he married at this time ? I think it very
probable. The Protestant party in the towns favoured
a married ministry. Nine years later in Holland his
name was closely coupled with Mary Smith, who, it is
natural to assume, was his wife. The vacation of his
Fellowship in 1598 may have been due to his marriage.
As to the character of his preaching at Lincoln we
have a fair example in a little volume of expository
sermons, " printed by John Legat, printer to the
Universitie of Cambridge." It was published some
time after March 24 in the year 1603. It is entitled
* The Bright Morning Starre, or the Resolution and
Exposition of the 22nd Psalme, preached publickely in
foure sermons, at Lincolne by lOHN SMITH, Preacher
of the Citie. Apoc. 22, 16: 'I am the roote and the
Generation of David and the Bright Morning Starre.' "
Then comes Legate's imprint, followed by the informa-
tion : " And are to be solde at the signe of the Crowns in
Paul's Churchyard by Simon Waterson." The only
copy known is in the Library of Emmanuel College,
Cambridge, to which it was presented by William
47
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Sancroftj^Archbishop of Canterbury. Smith addresses
his ''Epistle Dedicatorie " "to the Right Worshipful
religious and courteous Knight, Sir William Wray, my
approved good friend and benefactor." He gives him
"salutations in the Lord Jesus," and states his reason
for this dedication in these terms : —
*' Because I have experienced yourself to be, under the King's
Majestic, a principal professor and protector of religion in these
quarters (for what a multitude of faithful ministers are debtors
to you in the flesh), and for that I, among the rest, have rested
under your shadow."
Smith thought there was room for more books of a
serious order.
"Seeing every bald tale, vain interlude and pelting ballad
hath the privilege of the press, the sermons and readings of
ministers may challenge the same. The world is full of ' Guy of
Warwick,* 'William of Cloudeslee,' * Skoggins and Wolners
Jests,' and writings of like qualities ; and therein men take a
great delight to read and so make themselves merry with other
men's sins. ... I think the Stationer's shop and some men's
shelves are better furnished with such trifles, which deceive the
mind and affection as the bait doth the fish, than with wholesome
writings of nature, art or religion."
Accordingly, Smith ventured to publish this little
work. The style is plain and direct, and the pages are
not overloaded with marginal references, but the treat-
ment in the fashion of the time is diffuse. Smith
says : —
" I have not varnished my writing with the superficial learning
of words and figures, tongues and testimonies of men (which
notwithstanding I do not disallow), but, because I purposed to
apply my style to the understanding of the simple, I endeavour
to utter matter with all plainness of words and sentences."
48
Psalm 22 Expounded
As a matter of course he applied the words of this
psalm to Christ according to the conventional interpre-
tation of the Church in his day. " The argument of the
Psalm," 1 he says, " is a description of the estate of every
true Christian and godly heart, in the person of David,
also a type of the sufferings and glory of Christ."
He goes through the whole psalm verse by verse,
treating each point in detail. As an example of his
style we may take a portion of his comment on the
twenty-second verse, " I will declare Thy name unto my
brethren : in the midst of the congregation I will sing of
Thy praise." We shall at the same time see that Smith
held the Puritan doctrine of the nature of the ministerial
office. The minister of Christ was not a priest, but
a "pastor" or "teacher." It will also be obvious
that he took the Scriptures as an absolute rule, and
regarded " conversion " as the chief function of the
ministry.
•'The principal work of Christ's prophecy," he says, "is to
declare God's name, that is, his excellent attributes and his whole
will unto his brethren the Jews, and so to the whole Church. For
so this place is brought, Heb. ii. 12, to prove the humanity of
Christ, whence we consider that Christ is designed by God the
Father for the only Prophet, Doctor and Teacher of the Church.
He is the great Bishop of our souls. God hath commanded us to
hear him, and he is the only Lawgiver that is able to save and
destroy. Which is thus to be understood — that he alone hath
revealed His Father's will to the Church, by the ministry of the
prophets in the Old Testament, by his own and the Apostles'
ministry in the New Testament who spake as the Holy Ghost
directed them. For Christ Jesus hath in his breast hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge, who is therefore called the
Wisdom of God. And therefore we are not to add or detract
1 The Bright Morning Star^ p. 2.
49 i>
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
anything from the written word of God, or to alter any whit
thereof, which — whosoever presumeth to do derogateth from the
prophetical office of Christ. The scriptures indeed may be
expounded, but they must not be altered, augmented, or
diminished.
** Hence also followeth it by due proportion that the Ministers
and Pastors of the Church, who stand up in Christ's stead (he
being ascended up on high and having given gifts unto men) are
to open and publish God's will (sufficiently revealed by Christ in
the prophets' and apostles' writings) to the people of God for
their conversion and salvation. Finally also, by like analogy,
Christians must, without fear or shame, confess and profess the
truth of God's word not only before the friends of the Church
and those specially over whom they have charge, but also before
the enemies of the Church being called and urged thereunto.
** This is the principal work of Christ's prophecy — to teach the
Church. Now the effects thereof follow, which are : the praise of
God and the conversion of men's souls; which are subordinate
each to other, for by the conversion of men's souls God is glorified.
"(i) The first effect of Christ's prophetical office, and so of the
ministry of the prophets, apostles and pastors of the Church is
the conversion of men's souls ; otherwise called the gathering
together of the Saints, the edification of the body of Christ.
" (2) The second effect of the prophecy of Christ, and so of the
ministry, is the praise of God ; for therefore must ministers
preach and teach that God may be glorified in the conversion of
men's souls. Thus Christ saith, * I honour my Father,' and
again, ' I have glorified Thee on the earth,' where the ministers,
pastors and teachers of the Church are to learn in their functions
to aim at these ends — that they may save souls which is a great
point of wisdom, and glorify God which is the end of all things.^
Where [whence] those pastors are reprovable that seek rather
to win their own praise by inkhorn learning, by darkening and
obscuring their preachings with the clouds of philosophy and the
tongues, drawing as it were a veil before Christ crucified, and
covering Moses' face with a scarf that men should not with open
1 Smith anticipates the first answer of the Westminster Shorter
Catechism of 1647 — ** Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him
for ever."
50
Inkhorn Learning
face see the glory of God, than the praise of God and the con-
version of men's souls who are rather by this kind of preaching
still kept in the dungeon of ignorance and palpable darkness that
the Day Star, Jesus Christ, cannot arise in their hearts ; so that
this kind of preaching is rather to put out than to open the eyes
of the blind."!
Such expository preaching, delivered with the suasive
charm and fervour which Smith had at command, was
full of attraction for those seriously interested in religion.
A man of Smith's transparent sincerity and outspoken
directness would not be without opponents, and it would
appear that in the year 1602 the opposition was gain-
ing strength. Luddington, the former city preacher,
was still within reach, and had loyal supporters.
*' Divers, men of good place," were restive under Smith's
searching preaching. His friends felt it desirable to
secure his position and not leave it dependent on the
annual vote of the Corporation. At a meeting in
September, 1602, they passed a resolution for —
" A grant to be engrossed and sealed, assuring for life the
stipend heretofore paid to Mr. John Smith, the preacher long
since elected to preach every Sunday in the afternoon, and every
Wednesday in the forenoon, provided always that he be not
absent from the execution of his place above twenty-one days in
a year, except it be through sickness or else suits and troubles in
law, and during absence that he find another man to supply his
place at his own charge." ^
But in the next month there was a sudden change of
feeling. On October 13 there was hot discussion about
the matter. It was declared that Smith "is not licensed
to preach and is at present inhibited by the Lord
Bishop of this diocese from the execution of his ministry
1 The Bright Morning Star, pp. 167 — 173.
2 Lincoln Corporation Minutes y vol. v., p. 14.
51 D 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
and preaching." The agreement securing his stipend
was revoked, and he was dismissed from his office. The
city fathers at once proceeded to fill up the post. " Mr.
Luddington was elected preacher of the city by nine
voices over Mr. Dalbie for whom none were given." ^
Smith now threatened to bring an action against the
Corporation of Lincoln for the payment of his annuity.
The Mayor with the consent of his Council made a
countermove by exhibiting articles unto the Lord
Bishop of the Diocese against Smith " for his erroneous
doctrine and undue teaching of matters of religion and
personal preaching at men in this city."
Here were the materials for a fine dispute. The
opponents of Luddington bestirred themselves at once.
It was soon clear that there would be no chance of
harmony with either Luddington or Smith as city
preacher, and a man of less pronounced opinions was
sought. The election of Dalby seemed to be a way out
of the difficulty, and though no one voted for him in
October, yet on July 8, 1603 he was "elected preacher
by 12 voices over Mr. Luddington for whom none were
given, to have a yearly stipend of -f 30 for preaching on
Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoons." This
appointment was satisfactory, and Dalby retained the office
till his place was declared vacant on July 24, 1608.
But the Corporation had not done with John Smith,
who was a man of resolute pertinacity. He pressed his
claim. At the same time charges were laid against him
for some bold and startling utterances concerning the
Lord's Prayer which were all too likely to give rise to mis-
1 Ibid.., p. 18. Richard Smith, attorney, was Town Clerk of Lincoln at
this time. Was he a kinsman of John Smith ?
52
Lord Sheffield, President of the North
apprehension. ** I have become strangely traduced," he
complains, *' for the doctrine I taught out of the Lord's
Prayer." ^ The matter in dispute was ultimately referred
to Edmund, Lord Sheffield and settled to the mutual
satisfaction of those concerned. It was because of this
friendly and successful arbitration that Smith ventured
to dedicate the lectures, which had been one ground of
the dispute, to Lord Sheffield when he put them to the
press next year.
" For that your Lordship," says Smith, " had the managing of
the cause of difference betwixt my accusers and me concerning
this occasion, and for that your Honour so wisely and charitably
compounded the controversy on both parts to the contentment of
either of us your Lordship might justly challenge a greater title
herein than any other whatsoever."
Accordingly the dedication runs : " To the Right
Honourable Edmund, Lord Sheffield, Lord Lieutenant
and President of His Majesty's Council established in
the North."
Edmund Sheffield (1546 — 1646) was an earnest Pro-
testant. He commanded the ship White Bear in
the fight against the Spanish Armada. He was
designated for the post of President of the Council in the
North in the summer of 1603,*^ and was appointed Lord
Lieutenant of Yorkshire on August I in that year. A
letter was directed to him on September 6, 1604, to aid
Francis Browne in the execution of the office of Regis-
trar of all ecclesiatical causes within the Province of
York. When the civil war broke out Sheffield sided
with the Parliament, though it meant a great personal
loss. We can understand that Smith would receive
^ Preface to A Paterne of True Prayer, 1605.
"^ Calendar of State Papers : Domestic Series^ 1603—10, p. 24.
53
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
sympathetic treatment at the hands of such a man, but it
is not Hkely that Lord Sheffield would be at all pleased
to have his name connected with a book which Smith
himself describes as " so suspitious a writing " and " so
dangerous a tractate."
The very title of the work, " A Paterne of True
Prayer" indicated the opinion of its author that the
Lord's Prayer was designed to be used not so much as a
prayer but as a model in accordance with which the
prayers of all men should be framed. In the Roman
Catholic Church the Pater Noster had been grossly
abused, and no serious effort had been made to check
the popular opinion that some magical efficacy attended
its bare recital. The convinced Protestants sought to
guard against a repetition of that evil. They discour-
aged the formal use of the Lord's Prayer and the more
strenuous Separatists actually declared it to be wrong to
use it in public worship. They did not fully realise the
place which it had won in the affections of the people.
John Smith's lectures ^ upon this subject " which, not
1 The title runs : " A Paterne of True Prayer, A learned and com-
fortable Exposition or Commentarie upon the Lord's Prayer : wherein the
Doctrine of the substance and circumstances of true invocation is evidently
and fully declared out of the holie Scriptures . By loHN Smith, Minister
and Preacher of the Word of God. — At London, Imprinted by Felix
Kingston for Thomas Man, and are to be sold at his shop in Pater-noster
Row at the signe of the Talbot, 1605." I have consulted the fine copy in
York Minster Library, also the copy in the British Museum Library, which
bears the autograph of "Katheren Wilkenson" ; another copy of the first
edition is in Regent's Park Baptist College Library. The entry of this
book at Stationers' Hall is as follows : —
" 22 Martij [1605]
" Master Man " Entered for tlieir copy vnder the hands of the
Senior wardens A booke called A paterne of true Prayer
" Thomas Man or exposicon vppon the lord's prayer. Done by John
Jun." Smythe &c. of Lincoln." vjd.
"Arbers Transcript," iii. 285. Ed. 1876.
This book was reprinted verbatim et literatim in a neat and handy form in
54
To the Christian Reader
long since" he says, writing in 1605, " I delivered to the
eares of a few being then Lecturer in the Citie of Lin-
colne," are so important for indicating his opinions at
this time that we make large extracts and give his epistle
" to the Christian Reader " in full.
"To THE Christian Reader,,
" Beloved, marvel not that after so many expositions upon
the Lord's Prayer this pamphlet steppeth up as if so be it had
something to say besides that which hath been already spoken.
To confess the truth I guess it may occasion the judicious reader
to enter into a more inward view of Christ's purpose inpropound-
ing that prayer. Perhaps also the manner of handling the
several petitions may give some light. But my intent was none
of these. When I intended to publish the treatise only the
clearing of myself from unjust accusations and the satisfying of a
few friends moved me thereto. But whatsoever it be and how-
soever uttered I pray thee of charity to construe (a thing indiffer-
ently done) to the better part, especially those few questions
resolved in the latter end of the treatise. I do here ingenuously
confess that I am far from the opinion of them which separate
from our Church concerning the set form of prayer (although
from some of them I received part of my education in Cambridge),
for 1 do verily assure myself, upon such grounds as I have
delivered in the treatise, that a set form of prayer is not unlawful.
Yet, as Moses wished that all the people of God could prophesy,
so do I wish that all the people of God could conceive prayer, the
rather for that [because] personal wants, blessings and judgments
are not comprised particularly according to their several circum-
stances in any form of prayer possibly to be devised. Wherefore I
desire that no man mistake me in this treatise. I do judge that
there is no one doctrine or opinion contrary to the doctrine of this
1624. ** London. Printed by J. D. for Thomas Man and are to be sold
by William Sheffard, lohn Bellamie and Beniamin Fisher." The fact that
it contained plenty of good sermon material will account for this reprint.
Curiously enough, this second edition has frequently been assigned to
another John Smith, ** Preacher of the Word at Clavering in Essex," who
expounded the Lord's Prayer in his Essex Dove.
55
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Church in all this tractate, in respect whereof I hope it shall find
more indifferent censure at thy hands. And for that misconceit
which some perhaps have entertained at the hearing of the doctrine
when I taught in Lincoln, I do also as freely and truly protest that
I never durst admit (I bless God for His mercy) so blasphemous a
thought into my mind as to surmise whether the prayer commonly
called the Lord's Prayer be the prayer which Christ taught his
disciples or no. For I do with my soul confess it to be the same
prayer in substance which Christ delivered to his disciples.
Therefore I pray thee, gentle reader, whosoever thou art, to
accept this treatise and to blame necessity rather than me for
publishing it. For the phrase and style, it is homely I confess and
plain, for I do not intend the benefit of the style to the learned
but to the unlearned for the better understanding of the matter.
The truth and homeliness may well sort together, and the truth is
not to be rejected for her plainness, rather I wish that men in
heavenly matters could frame themselves to the capacity of the
meanest, which is the surest way, seeing that learned men can
understand things plainly delivered, but the unlearned cannot
conceive the easiest doctrines except they be delivered also after
an easy manner with homely familiar and easy speeches. Now
if any man attribute this plainness of mine used in this treatise
to ignorance and want of skill I will not endeavour to weed that
prejudice out of his mind seeing that I profess it to be a part of
my study to speak plainly. And I see no reason that, seeing
speech is the interpreter of the mind, the interpreter should
[have] need of another interpreter or commentary. So, craving
again thy charitable censure, I bid thee heartily farewell in the
Lord. Pray for us brethren.
" Thine in Christ Jesus,
"loHN Smith."
Smith first enters upon certain "general considera-
tions " and then descends " to the particular exposition
of the words " of the prayer and concludes with certain
curious questions which would be fruitful in suggestion to
the attentive reader. He was well aware of the opinions of
the Separatists on the questions he was handhng, but he
56
Disagreement with Earlier Separatists
disagreed with them. He was not prepared utterly to
condemn the use of prescribed forms of prayer. Even
when he himself separated from the Church of England,
a few months later, it was more the result of his own
thinking than the example of Francis Johnson that led
him to take the step. He was too original to adopt
blindly all the conclusions of earlier Separatists. The
point of difference between himself and the Separatists in
1605 with regard to the Lord's Prayer is brought out in his
comment on the words of Jesus in preface to the prayer :
"After this manner pray." Those words, in Smith's
judgment, were as though Jesus had told men to pray.
"(1) the matter herein contained and (2) with the affections
here expressed. . . . Although Christ commandeth not these
words, and matter, and method, yet he does not forbid
them, for in the whole Scriptures there is no such prohibition.
Wherefore Christ leaveth it arbitrary unto us, as a thing
indifferent, when we pray, to say this prayer or not to say it,
so be that we say it in faith and feeling, or if we say it not, yet to
pray according unto it. And this I suppose no indifferent
man will deny. Yet there are some (whom we will account brethren
though they do not so reckon of us seeing they have separated
from us) which think it unlawful to use the Lord's Prayer as a set
prayer, or any other prescribed form of prayer, but that they are
in a manifest error it may appear by these considerations ensuing.
For if it be lawful to use the salutations of Paul, the Psalms of
David, and the blessing of Moses, then we may lawfully use the
Lord's Prayer or any other prayer in Holy Scripture agreeable
thereto for a prayer. For Paul himself used always one manner
of salutation ; our Saviour Christ, as is very probable, used one of
David's Psalms with his Disciples after the first institution and
celebration of his Supper ; and the 92nd Psalm was usually, in
the Church of the Jews, sung on the Sabbath Day ; and Moses
always used one manner of prayer .at the removing of the
Tabernacle and another at the pitching thereof. Which evidently
serveth for the overthrow of that opinion which they of late have
57
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
devised, contrary to the practice of the Ancient Church and all
the Reformed Churches in Christendom, who have an uniform order
of public prayer, one and the same almost in the very form of words,
and plainly confirmeth us, in the present truth we hold — that it is
lawful to use the prayers in [the] Scriptures, or any other prayers
made by the Saints of God to our hands consonant to the
Scriptures." ^
Persecution
With regard to persecution, which he was destined to
experience more keenly in coming days, Smith expressed
the view that it was a " sin." It is a sin " committed
upon the persons that worship God and that either
[upon the persons] of the Preachers or [of the] Professors
of the truth, which is a manifest indignity offered even
unto God himself: for the Ministers are God's
Ambassadors and every true professor is a member of
Christ. Wherefore as the Prince is then disgraced
when his ambassador is shamefully intreated, so is the
Lord dishonoured in His Ministers and messengers. And
as Christ was abused when his body was crucified upon
the cross, so is he also now when the members of his
mystical body are persecuted." ^
Officers of Christ's Church
In his comment on the clause "■ Thy Kingdom come "
Smith pauses to consider, "What are the offices and
officers of this Kingdom ? " His answer is Instructive as
showing how far he was from being satisfied, even at this
time, with the hierarchy and orders of clergy found in the
1 Ibid., p. lo.
2 P. 84.
58
Church Officers
Anglican Church. We may notice, too, that he already
speaks in this work of the bishop as " the Magistrate
Ecclesiastical." ^
" The offices and officers (besides those that were temporary
and extraordinary as Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists) are these
following : —
" The first office is teaching, and that officer is called a Doctor.
** The second is exhorting, and that officer is called a Pastor.
" The third office is ruhng, and that officer is called an Elder ; in
the Church of England he is called a Bishop.
''The fourth office is distributing, and that officer is called a
Deacon.
" The fifth office is shewing mercy, which officer is called a
widow.
'* These are all set down Rom. xii. 7, 8.
" The questions that are between the Reformed Churches con-
cerning these offices and officers I, of purpose, spare to handle,
being both unfit to debate them and loth to offend. Only I wish
that such controversies might be ended by Councils and that the
peace of the Church might be kept." "^
In drawing his general considerations on the use and
abuse of the Lord's Prayer to a close, Smith wrote as
follows : —
" As a man going to build an house will first have a platform or
an idea in his head according whereunto he will frame his house
so the Lord's Prayer is an idea or pattern whereby every true
prayer is framed.
" Although this be the most excellent and perfect platform of
prayer and prayer that ever was devised, yet, considering that it
is only a general prayer and hard to be used aright as Christ
himself used it, therefore it may seem that a prayer conceived
according to this prayer is as acceptable, if not more accepted of
^ A Paterne of True Prayer^ Epistle Dedicatory.
2 Ilnd.^ p. 90.
59
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
God than this prayer. For though the Lord's Prayer is better
than any other prayer, yet a man may and can and doth use his
own conceived prayer better than he can use the Lord's Prayer.
And prayer is accepted or not accepted of God according as it
is rightly used or abused. And this is profitable for the ignorant
people to think upon, considering their intolerable abusing of the
Lord's Prayer. Thus much ^ may suffice to have spoken of the
general consideration of the Lord's Prayer." '
John Smith's main exposition of the several clauses
of this prayer was sound and helpful, and would be
generally acceptable at the time. But his mind was
of an eager, inquiring turn, and he was not satisfied to
let well alone. There were certain related topics —
** extravagant questions," he calls them — outside the
main scope of his theme, in which he was evidently
deeply interested, and he reserved them for treatment at
the close of his book. The sting was in the tail. The
questions would be provocative both of thought and of
opposition. They challenged the attention of all formal
and slipshod religionists : —
" I. Whether Christ ever prayed the Lord's Prayer ?
" 2. How oft Christ used the Lord's Prayer, and how ?
" 3. Whether Christ spake all and only the words of the Lord's
Prayer ?
" 4. How the Evangelists Matthew and Luke differ in phrasing
the Lord's Prayer ?
*' 5. Who prayeth best, he that sayeth the Lord's Prayer, or he
that sayeth not the Lord's Prayer ? "»
Each of these questions is discussed. He sums up
his answer to the second in these terms : —
" Briefly, then, Christ used this prayer twice, but it cannot
1 A contemporary annotator writes here indignantly in the margin of the
York Minster copy — " Toomuche."
2 A Patcrne of True Prayer^ pp. 31 — 33, 34.
3 Pp, 178—182.
60
Two Versions of the Lord's Prayer
certainly be determined whether he used it oftener, neither can
it be proved that the Apostles used it often."
His discussion of the third and fourth questions is
instructive as revealing his readiness to face and freely
examine some of the difficulties arising from divergencies
in the Gospel narratives. In view of his subsequent
peculiar opinion as to the use of Holy Scripture it
may be well to set out his treatment of these
points.
To the question as to whether Christ spoke only the
words of this prayer, he says,
"The answer is only conjectural for it cannot be proved that he
used the very words set down by the Evangelists. The reason is
for that the Evangelists used to set down not all and only the words
which Christ spake, but the sum and substance of them. And if
it be granted that the Evangelists have done it in other places why
may they not do it in this, especially seeing the EvangeHsts do
differ in words in reciting many of Christ's speeches, as, namely,
the Beatitudes. . . . And this doth not any whit call
into question the truth of Canonical Scriptures, but doth rather
commend unto us the spirit of wisdom and truth wherewith they
spake, in that divers writers differing in words still agree in
matter and substance of doctrine."
Then, after considering the next dependent question
as to the differences of the two forms of the prayer, he
continues : —
" Now by this difference betwixt Matthew and Luke, which is
verbal not material, this consequence ariseth, either that the
Evangelists did not precisely bind themselves to the words that
Christ uttered, or else that Christ uttered the Lord's prayer in
divers words at the two several times when he uttered it.'' ^
1 P. i8i.
6i
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
When he draws to a conclusion Smith still feels that
he has not exhausted his subject. He says : —
" Divers other doubts concerning the use of the Lord's prayer
may be propounded, but it is not profitable to make doubts, except
that they could be well dissolved ; only thus much for a conclusion
of this treatise of prayer. I had rather speak five words to God
in prayer from understanding faith and feeling than say the
Lord's Prayer over a thousand times ignorantly, negligently or
superstitiously."
With that Parthian shot the work ends. It reveals to
us clearly that the writer was far from comfortable in
the Anglican Church. In all probability he had already
left Lincoln when it was published, and we must now
endeavour to trace his further movements.
Note
Since this chapter was written I have made further research in
the Bishop's Registry over the Exchequer Gate at Lincoln. It is
clear from the archives there, that Smith was not the rector but
only " town lecturer " at St. Peter at Arches. Nor did he trouble
to take out a general licence to preach. In this he differed from
Richard Bernard, who obtained a licence on February 2, 1599 —
1600 to preach throughout the whole diocese of Lincoln (Vol. 28,
Institutions of Bishop William Chaderton, fol. ii8b.) Smith is de-
scribed as " clericus concionator " ; the rector of the church in his
time was Adam Garside, who formally resigned on March 28, 1604.
The next day Wilham Dalby was instituted to this rectory, on the
presentation of King James,.and was granted a general preaching
licence. In his case everything was in order {ibid. fol. a2ob.)
The Mayor, John Becke, with Alderman Leonard Hollingworth
exhibited articles against Smith in the Bishop's Court for slander.
Consequently, on December 9, 1602 the Bishop appointed a commis-
sion to sit in the church of St. Peter at Arches on the 14th, 15th, 17th,
and 1 8th of January 1602 — 3 to examine witnesses and report on
the case. Smith had a poor opinion of the Bishop's Court, and
appealed from it on April 5, 1603, to what he called " competent
judges." There had been some correspondence between Sir Wm.
Wray and the bishop about this case. (See the Act Book, 1602—9,
of the Ecclesiastical Court of Lincoln, folios 30b. 32, 36b, 37b, 40b
41b).
62
CHAPTER IV
SEPARATION FROM THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND — SMITH
AND HILDERSHAM — SMITH AND BERNARD
Tjie course of events in the life of John Smith in the
thre-i or four years between the termination of his lecture-
ship in Lincoln and his appearance as pastor of a newly-
gathered church at Gainsborough is difficult to trace.
The way of a minister suffering under episcopal dis-
pleasure was hard in those days. He might get some
help from a sympathetic nobleman, and it is possible
that Smith was befriended at this time by Sir William
Wray of Glentworth and his good wife Frances. He
might be sheltered by some brother minister of kindred
views, and have occasional opportunities of service in
parishes where there was little likelihood of his preach-
ing being reported to the bishop or the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners. He would naturally gravitate towards
those of similar views to his own, and seems to have gone
from Lincoln to the district round Gainsborough and
the northern parts of Nottinghamshire. Amongst the
small freeholders and craftsmen of this neighbourhood
and the ministers of the district there was a strong
Puritan element. William Hickman, lord of the manor
of Gainsborough, was a thorough-going Puritan. William
Brewster, " post " of Scrooby on the great North Road,
had done *' much good in the country where he lived in
63
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
promoting and furthering religion, not only by his prac-
tice and example, and provoking and encouraging of
others, but by procuring good preachers to the places
thereabout, and drawing on of others to assist and help
forward in such a work, he himself most commonly
deepest in the charge and sometimes above his ability."
An important section of the Lincolnshire clergy was
actively pressing for a further reformation in religion.
The ground had been prepared for Smith's labours. He
came into the district to find men earnestly discussing
the very questions that were occupying his own mind.
The hopes of the Puritans that James I. on his acces-
sion to the throne would favour a change in the estab-
lished form of religion in England, and bring it more
into accord with the Presbyterian order prevailing in
Scotland, were soon dispelled. The Hampton Court
Conference and the elevation of Richard Bancroft
(1544 — 1610) to the see of Canterbury in 1604, ^^^ of
Tobie Matthew to the see of York in 1606, made it clear
that the Puritan party would get no support from the
Crown. The State would not lend a hand to help in
setting up a pure Church according to the model which
the Presbyterians believed to be indicated in the New
Testament. Subscription was rigidly enforced on the
clergy. The spiritual courts were left in undiminished
power. No steps were taken to remove ministers who
would not or could not preach. The various rules and
regulations which had been issued for governing Church
affairs were now consolidated into a formidable body of
canons, to which the clergy were to give implicit
obedience. All were to toe the line.
The irony of the situation was seen when easy-going
64
Policy of James in Matters of Religion
pluralists, non-resident incumbents, and ministers who
merely went through the offices of the Book of Common
Prayer without troubHng to preach were left undis-
turbed, while painstaking ministers, diligent in preaching,
were suspended and deprived of their livings because
they could not in conscience fall in with all the cere-
monies prescribed for their observance. As the hope of
any further reform in the Anglican Church grew fainter,
the position of the Puritan party — " the forward
preachers " and " the professors," to use the old terms
— grew more difficult. They had written strongly and
spoken more strongly against the Book of Common
Prayer. It was good in parts ; but in parts it was very
bad. Yet now they had perforce to accept it in every
jot and tittle. They had pronounced the Church of
England to be corrupt. It still smelt of Rome, and
was only a degree less objectionable than its mother,
described in the picturesque language of the Book of
Revelation as the woman arrayed in purple and scarlet.
If there was now but little prospect of purifying her from
these corruptions, how could they justify themselves in
remaining in communion with her ? If she were indeed
incorrigible, might they not rightly leave her ? If she
persisted in the use of superstitious ceremonies and made
them imperative, ought not those who believed Jesus
had laid down a simpler mode of worship, to withdraw
from her ? Such were the questions which agitated the
minds of the Puritan clergy.
It was not without the fullest consideration that John
Smith at length took the grave step of separating from
the Church of England and, setting up a new Church,
gathered from amongst those who were influenced by his
65 E
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
preaching. The Puritan ideal was of a united Reformed
Church acting as a bond of union in the three kingdoms^
bringing religion home to the lives of all the people and
linking the nation in bonds of sympathy with kindred
Reformed Churches in other lands. Separation, apart
from the losses and dangers it involved, was distasteful
to the Puritan. It was only the power of an over-
mastering conviction that could nerve him to sever the
ties that bound him to the Church of his fathers. Smith
took counsel with his friends upon the points at issue.
We have his own admission that he "was distracted to
and fro " before he saw the truth cleared to his " judg-
ment and conscience." He had to pass through a period
of uncertainty before he made the great resolution . for
separation. " During the tyme of my doubting," he
says, " which was 9 months at the least I did many
actions arguing doubting, but that I ever fell back from
any truth I saw I praise God I can with a good
conscience deny." ^
Amongst those with whom Smith conferred at this
time were two of his old fellow collegians who demand
particular notice, Arthur Hildersham (1563 — 1632), of
Ashby de la Zouch, and Richard Bernard, who described
himself as " preacher of the Word of God at Worksop."
Hildersham was well-born. Through his mother he
was connected with the Royal House of England. His
parents were attached to the Roman Catholic faith.
They sent their son to Cambridge, entering him at
Christ's College in 1577. He was soon caught in the
tide of Protestant feeling, which then ran strongly in
Cambridge, and renounced his old faith, embracing
1 Smith's Paralleles anp^ Cemurcs, p. 5-
6a
Puritans and Tithes
with the ardour of a convert the new religion. There-
upon his father withdrew him from the University to
London, intending to send him to Rome. He refused
to go. Happily at this juncture, through the good
offices of John Ireton, a member of Christ's College, he
was brought to the notice of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon,
with whose family his mother was akin. Ireton happened
to meet young Hildersham in London and exclaimed,
" Arthur, why art thou so long from thy books, losing so
much time?" "Alas, sir," he replied, "1 shall go no
more to Cambridge." ^ But when Ireton put his case
before the Earl of Huntingdon, the way was soon made
clear for him to resume his residence in the University,
where he graduated in 1586. Disappointed of a Fellow-
ship in his own college, he was again befriended by the
Earl of Huntingdon who proved a steadfast patron. He
now appointed him lecturer at Ashby, and provided
for his maintenance by settling the impropriate
tithes upon him for life, an act gracious in itself and
pleasing to the Puritan party. The Puritans were con-
stantly urging that the impropriate tithes, alienated from
parochial uses by the greed of the monasteries and at
their dissolution granted to laymen, should be again
devoted to religious purposes, and especially to the
maintenance of a preaching ministry.
Hildersham had scarcely begun his ministerial duties
before he was suspended by Whitgift on the ground that
he was not ordained and that his sermons contained
" certain impertinent and very unfit speeches for the
auditory." This was the prelude to a long series of
persecutions, because of his unwillingness to conform to
* Brook's Puritans, ii., p. 337.
67 E 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
all the forms and ceremonies of the Church of v/hich he
was a minister. In 1593, on the death of Thomas
Wyddowes the incumbent, Hildersham was presented
to the living by the Earl of Huntingdon, and so
became vicar of Ashby. He held the post, in
spite of suspensions and much opposition till his
death. During his ministry conferences for discus-
sion and the hearing of sermons were organised by
him in conjunction with neighbouring ministers at
Repton, Burton-on-Trent and Stapenhill as well as at
Ashby, which did " unspeakable good to both ministers
and people." ^ Hildersham made Ashby, for the time
being, a Puritan centre and a congenial place of refuge
for persecuted divines. To this district William Brad-
shaw (1 571 — 161 8) withdrew when suspended by
Whitgift in 1602 for refusing to subscribe. Here under
the hospitable roof of Alexander Redich of Stapenhill,
he had leisure to commit to writing the views of the
Puritan party with regard to Church order and govern-
ment and the reform of religious abuses. Bradshaw's
" English Puritanisme containeing the maine opinions of
the rigidest sort of those that are called Puritanes," issued
in 1605, was of prime importance, because it gave
definition to the hopes and desires of the reforming party
in the Church of England, and to some extent shaped
their policy.
Hildersham actively promoted the ** Millenary Peti-
tion" to the new king in 1603 for the reform of the
Church, and at the Hampton Court Conference joined
in presenting a number of requests to James with a
similar end in view. His activity on the Puritan side
^ Brook's Puritans^ ii., p. 382.
68
Conference at Coventry
made him a marked man, and on April 24, 1605, the
Bishop of Lincoln suspended him from his vicarage.
It was now that John Smith resolved to confer with
Hildersham upon some of the points in which they were
alike interested, and which were forced upon their
attention by the action of the ecclesiastical authorities.
The conference was held at Coventry, we have Smith's
word for that, and we are told that John Dod and John
Barbon^ took part in the disputation. As early as
1595 Hildersham had discussed some of the points
at issue in a letter to a gentlewoman who sought
his advice about separating from the corrupt ministry of
the Anglican Church. This letter was published with a
running commentary on it by Francis Johnson.^ Both
Smith and Hildersham then would be well acquainted
with the arguments on either side of the case.
The result of this conference gave rise to some mis-
conception as to Smith's position. The misunderstand-
ing arose from the idea that Smith went into the con-
ference as a fully convinced " Brownist " or ** Separatist,"
holding views identical with the militant followers of
Henry Barrowe and John Greenwood. This was far
from the case. The steps of his progress are fairly clear.
From being a Puritan clergyman, dissatisfied with the
ceremonies and desiring further reform in the Anglican
Church, Smith advanced to the position that episcopal
authority was utterly unlawful, and the behests of
bishops not worth the paper they were written on.
The next stage was reached when he became convinced
* Brook's Puritans, ii., p. 196.
2 A Treatise of the Mintstery oj the Church of England. See ante,
p. 42.
69
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
that it was incumbent upon the faithful to withdraw from
even a true Church when it was corrupt in its ministry
and its form of worship. This was the point of discussion
at Coventry. Smith still acknowledged the Church of
England to be a true Church and its ministry valid,
though both were corrupt. On that ground it seems
he was inclined to withdraw from communion with the
Anglican Church, and probably had already acted on
that inclination, but without as yet gathering a separate
religious society. The ordinary Brownist or Barrowist
regarded the Anglican Church as wholly false from
bottom to top. Its foundation was false and by con-
sequence its ministry was involved in its falsity. It was
not till Smith was convinced that the Church of England
was false in its constitution that he ventured to set up a
separate Church on the New Testament model.
The question then was whether it was allowable to
withdraw from a Church and ministry admitted to be
true, but in actual condition found to be corrupt.
Hildersham said, " No," and though constantly in trouble
for his nonconformity, never withdrew from the Anglican
Church. The upshot of the conference was that each
thought he had made some impression on the other.
From a verbal report Richard Bernard took it that Smith
had been convinced and had his doubts resolved. And
on the strength of the version of the affair that reached
Andrew Willet (1562 — 1621) he described Hildersham
as " schismaticorum qui vulgo Brownistse malleum." ^
Smith's own account puts the matter in a different light.
It is possible that he was confirmed for the time being
in his opinion that, though corrupt, the Church of England
Quoted by Rev. A. Gordon in the Dictionary of National Biography,
70
Evolution of a Separatist
still bore the marks of a true Church, but the argu-
ments of Hildersham against withdrawing from such
a Church did not satisfy him.
Bernard's account of Smith's progress is instructive.
At the opening of his " Disswasions from the Way of the
Separatists," issued in 1608, he sets out seven "likeli-
hoods and great probabilities that that way is not good."
The sixth likelihood consists of examples of " the Lord's
judgment giving sentence with us and against them."
After a few typical "judgements " have been displayed,
to deter any timid souls inclined to separate from
Mother Church, the case of John Smith himself is held
up as a fearful warning.
" It may seem that God would not have had Mr. Smith to have
gone that way, by so often thwarting his judgment :
" (i) To publish in print on the Lord's Prayer against that way
and for us much.
" (ii) In falling into it after, again under his hand to renounce
the principles of that way called Brownism.
'* (iii) Brought again to like it but not wholly, for he held some
true Churches and some true Pastors here and did dislike the
distinction of true and false Church in respect of us.
*' Then went he and conferred with certain godly and learned
men whereby he became so satisfied as he kneeled down and in
prayer praised God that he was not misled farther : And was so
resolved as he purposed to dissuade his tutor, Mr. Johnson, from
the same, saying — he would go to Amsterdam for that end. This
will be and is confidently avouched by divers there present.
Besides these crosses in judgment the Lord did chastise him
with sickness nigh unto death to consider better with himself yet
of his course. And this also was by some applied unto him.
And with all these a dauntableness of spirit with fear, not daring
to be bold to suffer for the cause here with us, did continually
accompany him. Thus it seemeth that God would more than by
an ordinary course taken, have redeemed him, if either inward
distractions or God's special outward means, used to recover him,
71
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
might have prevailed, but God's secret counsel shall stand.
Behold the end. His own former judgment, his handwriting, his
own mouth in prayer to God, godly men's testimonies, God's
correcting hand — all these openly are against him."^
The charge that Smith was not ready to suffer for the
Puritan cause came with an ill grace from Bernard who,
from being an active opponent of conformity, had fallen
into line and was now hand and glove with the Arch-
bishop of York. For that defection Smith had sharply
rebuked him in a letter written in 1607. To Bernard's
charges Smith replied in a book issued in 1609, as
follows : —
*' In this ' likelyhood ' you have a fling at me in particular,
Mr. Bernard, charging me with divers untruths which I will
manifest.
" I. That I doubted g months I acknowledge, but that ever I
did acknowledge * the Separation ' for truth and separated from
the English assemblies, and then returned again unto them
(which you say) I do utterly deny. And I appeal to the town of
'Ganesburgh' and those there that knew my footsteps in this
matter. And therefore herein I indict you as a public
slanderer.
" 2. Whereas you say I became satisfied at ' Coventree,' after
conference had with certain Ministers, and hereupon kneeled
down and praised God. I answer, I did not confer with them
about the Separation as you and they know well enough in your
consciences, but about withdrawing from true Churches,
Ministers and Worship corrupted. Wherein I received no satis-
faction but rather thought I had given instruction to them. And
for kneeling down to praise God I confess I did, being requested
to perform the duty at night after the conference by the ministers.
But that I praised God for resolution of my doubts I deny to
death, and you therein are also a slanderer.
" I praised God for the quiet and peaceable conference and
such like matters and desired pardon of the L[ord] for ignorances
and errors and weakness of judgment and any disordered
1 Christian Advts. and Separatists Schism^ 1608, pp. 37, 38.
72
Charges Repeated
carriage. If the ministers that heard my prayers and praises of
God did misconstrue my meaning let them look unto it." ^
Even after the publication of this explanation
Bernard persisted in his misrepresentation of the course
of Smith's doctrinal development. He was concerned
to pile up the number of his opponent's changes of
opinion.
The cumulative effect of the long list he gives is
certainly great, but is weakened by his inability or
unwillingness to recognise that Smith might quite
consistently declare his aversion to Brown ism as a
whole and as a system, even when attracted to certain
parts of its teaching.
Writing in 1610, Bernard repeated his charges in the
following form : —
He 2 disclaimed Episcopal authority utterly and fell in love with
the doctrine of the Separation, but warily and secretly at the
first : for being brought to trouble and called into question about
it he renounced Brownism under handwriting, a copy whereof was
brought unto me by one now of their company. He after fell
to it again and went unto divers Ministers godly and learned, in
conferring with whom he came resolved of the truth against the
way of the Separation. Of his prayer, of his solemn thanksgiving,
of his purpose to go to Amsterdam to reclaim his tutor Mr.
Johnson I have spoken in my book. The truth whereof will be
confirmed by the oaths of Mr. Hi[ldersham] Mr. N[icholls ?] and
Mr. Ho[lland]3of whom I have heard these things with their
protestation of the truth whatsoever he affirmeth in his own
private cause to the contrary."
1 Smith's Paralleles, pp. 128 — 9.
^ Plaine Evidences^ p. 18.
' It is always risky work supplying names which the writer has only
indicated by initials. " Hildersham" is pretty safe. " Ho." I judge to be
Philemon Holland, 1552 — 1637, who settled at Coventry soon after 1595
and became usher of Coventry free school in 1608 ; with less confidence I
suggest Josias Nicholls for the third. See Brook's Puritans^ ii., p. 136.
1Z
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
The point at issue was of some practical importance
to Smith, for, according to the principles of the
Separatists, any one who had once joined them and then
returned to the Church of England was to be regarded
as an " apostate." If such a one sought re-entry into
the Separatist fellowship he might be admitted again as
a simple member, but was for ever debarred from holding
any office in the Church. If Bernard had established
his point Smith's pastoral authority would have been
gone, but it is clear that he had but little to go upon and
only threw back the date of Smith's actual severance
from the Church of England in order to make a case
against his antagonist. He tried to make it appear
that Smith had separated and then returned to the fold
and then again had separated from the Church of his
Fathers.
Richard Bernard (c. 1567 — 1641) was a Nottingham-
shire man. He was taken notice of in youth by Frances,
the wife of Sir George Saint Paule, of Snarford, Lincoln-
shire. She was the younger sister of that Sir William
Wray to whom John Smith dedicated his first book.
Like her brother and her elder sister, Isabel, she gave
generous help to poor scholars and favoured the
ministrations of the Puritan clergy. Bernard dedicates
one of his books to " Sir George SaintpoU, Knt., and
Ladie Sairitpoll," and calls them ** both his singular
and ever good benefactors." They assisted him to
Cambridge. " By your worke of mercie," he says, " in
the Vniversitie was I brought up." ^ He entered Christ's
College. Here, if not before, he would become
acquainted with John Smith. He proceeded B.A.
^ " Epistle Dedicatorie " in Bernard's Christian Advertisements*
74
Richard Bernard
early in 1595 and took his Master's degree in 1598. In
that year he was presented to the living of Epworth,
from whence he dated his first literary venture — a
translation of Terence, together with the Latin text. He
was a man of parts, master of a good English style, an
earnest " Reformist " or Puritan, and not without
ambition. Above all, he was a close observer of men
and manners. In the year 1601 he was presented to
the living of Worksop, in succession to John Goodriche,
by Richard Whalley, a leading man in the affairs of the
county. He was instituted on June 19, and would
find abundant work in his large parish.
The priory church of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert at
Worksop is a magnificent building, but the living was
not a rich one, for the rectorial tithe, which had been
appropriated by the monks, passed into the hands of the
Crown on the dissolution of the priory, and was
regranted to the see of Lincoln by Edward VI., and
thus went to the bishop instead of the parish incumbent.
Here Bernard laboured for twelve years. During this
time there were born to him four sons and a daughter.
In 161 3 he was presented under singular circumstances
to the living of Batcombe, in Somersetshire, and accord-
ingly ceded the living of Worksop into the hands of
Richard Whalley, the patron, who appointed Oliver
Bray^ to the post. It was Dr. Bisse, rector of Batcombe
who, in loving regard for the welfare of his parishioners,
singled out Bernard as his successor. He bought the
right of next presentation, and besought Bernard to
take up his work there. Scarcely had the arrangements
^ '* Olyver Bray," instituted to the living of Worksop, February 16,
1613— 4.
75
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
been made before Dr. Bisse died, happy in the thought
of leaving one in his place who would profit and edify
his " people's souls." For the right of this single
presentation he had paid ;^200, which he called his
*' packing penny " between himself and God. From
his Somersetshire rectory Bernard sent out a stream of
books which enjoyed a wide popularity, and there he
laboured faithfully till his death, with the help in his
latter years of assistants, most notable of whom was
Richard AUeine who succeeded him.
It is with his Worksop ministry that we are concerned,
for here he came into touch and then into controversy
with those who led the movement for separation from
the Anglican Church. There was an influential Puritan
element in his parish. John Lascelles, who was burnt
at the same time as the intrepid Anne Askew, belonged
to a family of that name seated at Gateford in this
parish, and Anabaptist influences were not here
unknown. There would be no precise insistence upon
conformity in the earlier years of Bernard's ministry
for Matthew Hutton (1529 — 1606), the Archbishop of
York, was not inclined to disturb any godly Puritan
who was doing good work. In fact, one of the last acts
of his life was to write a letter to Robert Cecil, advising
a more lenient treatment of the Puritan clergy. It was
not at all congenial to him to have to take action against
them. He did not think they differed fundamentally
from those who were more exactly loyal to the letter of
the rubrics and canons of the Anglican Church. It was
folly to harass them when the Northern Province was
overrun with plotting Catholics.
But with the accession of Tobie Matthew to the see
76
Subscription Resisted
of York less latitude was allowed, subscription was
enforced, and the clergy were pressed to observe the
prescribed ceremonies to the letter.
It was at this juncture that Smith came into the
district, eager for reform and full of scorn for the
prelates. His old friend Bernard was like tinder ready
for the spark, and was soon set ablaze. He spoke and
preached in such a vein as to lead his friends to believe
that he would resist the demand for subscription and the
imposition of the ceremonies to the uttermost. John
Smith felt confident that Bernard would support him
even in a movement for separation. He was bitterly
disappointed when Bernard drew back. He wrote to
rebuke him sharply for falling away after having had a
vision of " the truth " and acknowledging it in the
presence of witnesses.
But it was not without due thought that Bernard
retreated. He, like Smith, conferred with Hildersham ^
upon the questions at issue. He had gone so far as to
gather a hundred persons into a special covenant, and
those not all from his own parish. They covenanted
together " not to hear the dumb ministers, to watch over
one another, to admonish one another, etc.," and then
they received the Lord's Supper. It was the next step
to separation, but that final step he would not take.
*' I confesse," he says, " I was much moved with faire
shewes of Scripture and with great pretences of holinesse
in their [i.e., the Separatists'] way, but I was not
removed."^ And when he was suspended by the Arch-
bishop and realised more fully all that separation from
^ Smith's Paralleles and Censures^ p. i.
2 Plaint Evidences, p. 4.
11
Smith 5 Helwys and Baptist Origins
his Church involved he gave way. He made his peace
with the ecclesiastical authorities, entered again upon
his vicarage and began an active opposition by word and
writing against those who had looked to him to be a
leader in their movement. It is probable that Tobie
Matthew made the way of submission as easy as possible,
for him, as his withdrawal would have been a distinct
loss to the Church.
In a Latin dedication to this Archbishop prefixed to
the book in which he replied to Smith in 1610, he speaks
of Matthew as a second Grindal, and acknowledges that
he had received "more than common favour from him."
This is the more remarkable since Bernard had written
strongly against the hierarchy. He at one time sent
John Robinson a paper of reasons in his own writing
"to prove the bishops antichristian," ^ and Smith charges
him with having opposed the bishops in a book : —
" But Mr. Bernard," he says,^ " there is yet one other thing
that I must discover to the world, namely that you have written
a book against the Prelates wherein you have proved by divers
arguments that their authority is antichristian. This book some
of your Friends have seen and read. And though you durst
not print it yourself yet you would have been content a Friend
should have caused it to be published under the vizard of an
unknown author. Is not this so, Mr. Bernard ? Then tell me
with what face or conscience you can subscribe to the Prelacy —
you can plead for the Prelacy ? Is not this to build that which
you have destroyed ?"
The more he looked into the principles and conse-
quences of the separation the less attractive did they
seem to Bernard. He had not read any works of the
* Rohinson' s/usnyica^zott of Separation. Works ii., p. 91.
* Par alleles, p. 5.
78
Primary Documents
earlier Brownists before Smith separated, but then he
gave further attention to the matter, and the vehemence
of Barrowe's writings repelled him. He was afraid of
being tarred with the Brownist brush. He was specially
concerned in the matter because some of his own
parishioners were won over by the arguments of Smith,
and ultimately threw in their lot with him. It was to
keep them from " Mr. Smyth " ^ that he had set up the
special covenant in his parish, but that half-measure
did not satisfy them, and Bernard was soon to write of
Smith and his comrades, " They have taken away part
of the scale of my ministerie." ^ He did not let them
go without a protest. He sought to win back his friends
and neighbours to his side. He wrote ^ to Thomas
Helwys, of Broxtowe Hall, with whom both he and
Smith were on intimate terms, and set out a list of
Separatist opinions to which he was strongly opposed.
This letter from Bernard was sent on by Helwys to
Smith, who, after three days' meditation, wrote a strong
rejoinder (about November, 1607),* rebuking Bernard
for his inconstancy, replying to his objections, and setting
out the main grounds for separation from the Church of
England. These two letters are of capital importance,
for they are the primary documents in a long and
important controversy, in which John Robinson and
Henry Ainsworth, teacher of the exiled Church at
* Robinson, Works, ii., p. loi.
■2 Christian Advts. Ep. to Reader.
5 Paralleles, p. 119.
^ This letter from Smith is embodied in his Paralleles published in 1609
in answer to Bernard's Christian Advertisements and Separatists Schism
of 1608, the preface to which is dated June 18. " Mr. Bernard had in his
hands this lettre of myne six or seven months before he published this his
book intituled the Separatists Schisme,'''' Preface to Paralleles.
79
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Amsterdam, took part, as well as the protagonists.
With this letter and one or two earlier communications
from John Smith in his hands, Bernard was in a favour-
able position for criticising the Separatist movement.
Here he had an inside view of the grounds and causes
of the " Separation " from the pen of its leader. It was
against this letter that his book on the " Separatists'
Schism " was chiefly directed.
But even before the closing months of 1607 Bernard
had already in his hands, according to Smith's account,
a paper of answers in parallel column to the doubts and
objections with which Bernard regarded the movement.
You had, said Smith " my answer written in one column
to certain doubts and objections you made written in
another column which I desired you to answer and
whereto as yet I have received no answer from you." ^
All this indicates how thoroughly and earnestly the
questions at issue were discussed by the Puritan clergy
of the district. It was not without careful consideration
that the momentous step of separation was taken.
1 Smith's Paralleks, p. 3. The letter of November, 1607
80
CHAPTER V
A NEW "CHURCH OF GOD "—DATE OF THE SEPARA-
TION—THE CHURCH COVENANT — THE GAINS-
BOROUGH AND SCROOBY CHURCHES — MIGRATION
TO AMSTERDAM
The date of the separation of this group of Lincoln-
shire and Nottinghamshire reformists from the Church of
England and the formation of what came to be known
as the Church of the Pilgrim Fathers is usually given as
1602. It will be seen from the foregoing chapters that
this date is fully four years too early. It appears to
have been the conjecture of Nathaniel Morton, Secretary
of Plymouth Colony and nephew of Governor William
Bradford. The date would, perhaps, apply to the period
when these people grew more and more averse from the
ceremonies of the Church of England and more and
more insistent upon the need of personal conversion to
the religious life. It is clear, however, that Smith was
still in fellowship with the Church of England in the
spring of 1605, and if we add his nine months of doubt-
ing, it brings us to 1606 as the year when the memorable
step of separation was taken and a wholly new Church of
* saints ' formed irrespective of parochial or diocesan
boundaries.
It was, as it were, the crossing of the Rubicon for
Smith and his comrades. Nothing but an imperative
call of conscience would have led them to take so
81 F
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
adventurous and daring a step. One would like to have
an exact account of their procedure in this weighty
business, but we have to reconstruct the scene for our-
selves from the scanty references that have come down
to us. We may locate the birth of this new religious
society at Gainsborough, for not only does Smith describe
himself in 1607 as " Pastor of the Church at Ganesburgh "
but he appeals against the slanders of Bernard to the
townsmen of Gainsborough, as those who " knew his
steps " in the matter of separation. From parts as far
distant as the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire, Retford
and Worksop, Broxtowe Hall andSkegby in Nottingham-
shire, and Austerfield in Yorkshire men and women of
kindred spirit came in to join the friends at Gainsborough
in the work of constituting anew the Church of God.
The villages of Scrooby, Sutton, Mattersey, Sturton le
Steeple, and North Wheatley, all within touch of Gains-
borough, contributed members. <They were faced with
the question as to how they shoula proceed, but believing
that they had in the Bible an explicit guide in all
matters of religious faith and practice, they turned as a
matter of course to its pages for help. There they read of
the times of reform in religion in ancient Israel. They read
how Israel, in the days of Asa, "had for a long season been
without the true God, and without a teaching priest and
without law, but when they in their trouble did turn unto
the Lord God of Israel and sought him he was found of
them and they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord
God of their fathers with all their heart and with all
their soul . . . and he was found of them and the Lord
gave them rest round about." ^ They read how Josiah in
^ I Chron. xv. 3, 4, 12, 15.
82
They Covenant Together
a period of religious revival " made ^ a covenant before
the Lord to walk after the Lord and to keep his com-
mandments," and how all the people stood to the
covenant. Their imagination was stirred by the graphic
account of the restoration of Jerusalem and the return
from captivity in Babylon under Nehemiah, and how all
those who had separated ^ themselves from the people of
the lands unto the law of God " entered into a curse and
into an oath to walk in God's law given by Moses the
servant of God, and to observe and do all the command-
ments of the Lord."^^
These passages seemed to fit their own condition
exactly. Moreover, the splendid imagery of the
Apocalypse laid hold upon their minds. It went with-
out saying amongst the Protestants of those days that
the Papal Church of Rome was Antichrist and the
mystical Babylon of the Book of Revelation. But here
was a company of sincere believers who had reached the
conviction that the Church of England was only a sort
of poorly revised edition of the Church of Rome, and
they too heard, as it were, an insistent voice from
heaven saying, ''Come out of her, my people, that ye be
not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not her
plagues" (Rev. xix. 4).
They decided to reconstitute the Church by entering
into a covenant declaring their aim. It would be a
source of strength — a pledge between themselves and
God, and a mutual bond with one another. In Brad-
ford's oft-quoted words : —
" So many, therefore, of these professors as saw the evil of
these things in these parts and whose hearts the Lord had
* 2 Kings xxiii. 3.
2 Neh. X. 29.
83 F 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
touched with heavenly zeal for his truth, they shook off this
yoke of antichristian bondage and as the the Lord's free people
joined themselves, by a covenant of the Lord, into a Church
estate in the fellowship of the Gospel to walk in all his ways
made known, or to be made known, according to their best
endeavours whatsoever it should cost them."
We have a glimpse of a similar and kindred event in
the writings of John Murton, of Gainsborough, who for
a long time belonged to this religious society, but
advanced to the position that the true Church was
entered by baptism. He discussed the matter with
John Robinson. " Do we not know," he says,^ " the
beginning of his Church? that there was first one stood
up and made a covenant and then another, and these
two joined together and so a third, and these became a
Church say they." .This method of gathering a Church
startled the Puritans by its novelty; They were seeking
to reform the Church from within, and believed that
Churches were only to be planted by a respectable and
authorised ministry. " Where you demand," says
Robinson,^ " how a few of us became a Church, we
answer in a word, by coming out of Babylon, through
the mercies of God and building ourselves into a new
and holy temple unto the Lord. . . . And for the
gathering of a Church, Mr. Bernard, I do tell you that
in what place soever, by what means soever, whether by
preaching the gospel by a true minister, by a false
minister, by no minister, or by reading, conference, or
any other means of publishing it, two or three faithful
people do arise, separating themselves from the world
» A Description of what God hath Predestinated concerning Man, 1620,
p. 169.
3 Worksy ii., pp. 231—3.
84
Terms of the Covenant
into the fellowship of the gospel and covenant of
Abraham, they are a Church truly gathered though
never so weak — a house and temple of God rightly
founded upon the doctrine of the apostles and prophets,
Christ himself being the corner stone."
Terms of the Covenant
The actual terms of the covenant entered into by
John Smith and his companions as given by William
Bradford are remarkable, and have hardly received
adequate attention. I do not think the general accuracy
of the version in Bradford's narrative can be seriously
questioned. He was personally acquainted with the
incidents he here describes. He was an eager and
impressionable young man when the covenant was
entered into. It was a serious and weighty undertaking,
and he would not be likely to forget the terms and tenor
of the pledge by which the after-course of his life was
profoundly affected. We may put it into the direct
form as follows : —
" We covenant with God and with one another to walk in all
his ways made known or to be made known unto us according
to our best endeavours whatsoever it shall cost us." ^
^ We may compare the terms of the covenant of the London Separatist
Church, which are probably due to Francis Johnson. When anyone
entered this Church he made this single promise : " I will walk with you so
long as you walk in the way of the Lord and as far as may be warranted
by the word of God."' — Strype Annals^ iv., p. 175. Johnson himself
speaks of his Church in 1595 as "a company of faithful people . . .
gathered or joined together in all holy covenant and fellowship of the
gospel of Christ by voluntary public profession of faith and purpose to
live and walk together in the obedience of Christ according to his word to
the praise and glory of his name.'' — J'reattse of the Ministry, p. 73.
The terms were not exactly fixed. '^Smith's covenant has a broader
outlook. >
85
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
It has not been noted that there are passages in
Smith's writings which point to him as the probable
author of this simple covenant, and indirectly confirm
its phrasing. Thus, in writing to one of the opponents
of separation with whom he had enjoyed an "ancient
acquaintance " in the University of Cambridge, he points
out that the covenant is " absolute, no Prince nor State
can either add to it or take aught from it," and then
continues : —
** God giveth ' whole Christ,' all the promises, the whole
covenant on his behalf to the faithful, and the faithful on the
other side promise to be God's people, wholly to deny themselves
and to obey God in every one of his precepts, even the least,
though it cost them their lives." ^
Again, in writing to the same friend about the con-
stitution of the visible Church, he mentions "the
covenant to walk in all God's ways."^
Bernard, in criticising the Separatists, incidentally
confirms the main clause of their simple covenant,
though substituting the word " Christ " for God,
" Their position,'" he says, " containeth thus much, that
a company gathered (as they say) into the name of
Christ by a covenant made to walk in all the waies of
Christ knowne unto them « . . hath in it authoritie to
ordain ministers and officers, etc." ^ John Robinson
in an emphatic passage repeats the covenant in similar
terms : —
"This," he says, "we hold and affirm that a company con-
sisting though but of two or three separated from the world . . .
and gathered into the name of Christ by a covenant made to
1 " A letter written to Mr. A. S. by John Smyth," appended to his
Paralleles.
^ Bernard's Christian Advertisements^ 1608, p. 90.
86
A Forward Look
walk in all the ways of God made known unto them is a Church,
and so hath the whole power of Christ." ^
This is ample testimony to the main clause of the
covenant entered into by these faithful people. They
pledged themselves to walk in God's ways made known
unto them, but Bradford adds the significant words :
'* or to be made known unto them," which give a
remarkable spaciousness and capacity for adjustment to
this covenant. Did those words form part of the
original pledge, or are they an afterthought on the part
of Bradford added in the light of the experience of later
years ? I think they represent the terms of the original
covenant. John Smith was conscious of the freshness
of the venture on which they were embarking. He had
a deep sense of the inexhaustible riches of the word of
God set before them in the books of the Bible. There
was a strain of mysticism in his nature. He frankly
sets down ** quaeres" in his works of this period upon
matters which were still undecided in his mind. His
rapid changes of opinion brought upon him the charge
of "inconstancy." He was about the last man to
declare for an absolute finality, and ever professed his
willingness to learn. Necessity compelled these early
Separatists to present their system as clear-cut and
sharply defined in defending it against opponents, but
there was more of the open vision amongst them than is
often supposed. With " the freer step, the fuller
breath" there came to them something of *' the wide
horizon's grander view." It was of great significance
and importance to after-generations that the covenant of
these believers was not doctrinal but practical, that it
^ Robinson's Worksy ii., p. 132.
87
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
had an immediate bearing upon life, and a hopeful
forward look for further light from God. Doubtless
we can read a wider meaning into the words of
that covenant to-day, but it was no small thing to
frame a bond of fellowship capable of an expanding
interpretation. It left the way of advance open.
We actually find John Smith himself justifying
important changes in his opinions by appealing to the
terms of the covenant of his Church.^ It was invoked
thus early in the interests of a progressive theology as
against stagnation. In the dedicatory epistle to his book
on The Differences of the Separation {i6o%) he says : —
" Although in this writing something there is which overthwarteth
my former judgment in some treatises by me formerly published,
yet I would intreat the reader not to impute that as a fault unto
me. Rather it should be accounted a virtue to retract errors.
Know, therefore, that latter thoughts ofttimes are better than the
former, and I do profess this (that no man account it strange)
that I will every day as my errors shall be discovered, confess
them and renounce them. For it is our covenant made with our
God to forsake every evil way , whether in opinion or practia that shall
be manifested unto us at any time. And, therefore, let no man plead
now, as some have formerly done, * these men are inconstant,
they would have they know not what, they will never be satisfied,'
and the like. For we profess . . . that we are inconstant in
error, that we would have the truth, though in many particulars
we are ignorant of it."
This seems to me decisive evidence that Bradford was
right in his description of the covenant of Smith's
Church, and that its note of amplitude was original to
it rather than an after-thought. How far John Smith
was indebted to earlier writers for the terms of this
1 Francis Johnson did exactly the same thing in his Inquirie and Answet
of Thomas White^ 1606.
88
Henry Jacob Adopts this Covenant
covenant does not appear. We find Henry Barrowe
describing the Church as a *' a faithful ^ people gathered
unto Christ Jesus, ordered and governed by the rule of
his word in all things, so far as shall be revealed unto
them." This points in the same direction as the Gains-
borough and Scrooby covenant, and may have furnished
a suggestion to Smith for the terms which he and his
followers adopted.
It is important to notice that Henry Jacob ^dopted
the terms of this covenant whence laid the foundation
of what Neal calls " the first Independent or Congrega-
tional Church in England." This was in 1.616. It
was not the first Separatist Church in England, but it was
regarded as a fresh start. Jacob made a leading point
of th^ independency of each " free congregation."
He imparted rather a different accent to this Church
in its teaching about intercourse with Anglicans and
the relation of the State to religious societies from
that noticeable among the older Separatists, but he
carried off their covenant. The account of the forma-
tion of this Church relates that the intending members,
having observed a day of solemn fasting and prayer for
a blessing upon their undertaking, towards the close of
the solemnity —
"Those 2 who minded this present union . . . joined both
hands, each with other brother, and stood in a ringwise. Their
intent being declared, H. Jacob and each of the rest made some
confession or profession of their faith and repentance — some were
longer, some were briefer — then they covenanted together to walk
in all God's ways as he had revealed or should make known to them.''
1 Discovery of the False Churchy 1590, p- 26.
2 "Records of Jacob-Lathorp-Jessey Church," by Dr. Whitley, in
Transactions of Baptist Historical Society y January, 19 10, p. 209. Cf.
Neal, ii. , p. 92.
89
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
I take it that Jacob got the terms of this general
covenant from John Robinson and the members of the
Leyden Church, with whom he had conferred on the
subject, and by whose example he was led to take the
step from Puritanism to a modified separation. It looks
as if only the "men members" took part in the initial
covenanting in this case, unless we assume the masculine
here to include the feminine. Fourteen years later, when
this Church was under the pastoral care of John Lathrop
(1630), it renewed its covenant. There were some who
wanted it to be keyed up to a higher pitch, and made to
include an explicit '' protest against ye Parish Churches,"
but the majority stood to the old terms. They resolved
" to walk together in all the ways of God so far as he hath
made known to us^ or shall make known to uSy and to
forsake all false ways, and to this the several members
subscribed their hands." ^
The covenants of the New England Churches were
framed in much the same terms and quite in the same
spirit. In this connection we may well recall the part-
ing advice of John Robinson to those pilgrims who went
out from Leyden to New England, the general drift of
which was indicated by Edward Winslow some years
later in his Brief Narration?' " He put us in mind,"
says Winslow, "of our Church covenant, at least that
part of it whereby * we promise and covenant with
God and one with another to receive whatsoever light
or truth shall be made known to us from his written
Word,' but withal exhorted us to take heed what we
received for truth, and well to examine and compare it
and weigh it with other Scriptures of truth before we
1 Transactions of Baptist Historical Society, January, 1910, p. 225.
2 Appended to his Hypocrisie Vnmasked, 1646, p. 99.
90
Living Stones of the Temple
received it. For, saith he, it is not possible the Christian
world should come so lately out of such thick anti-
christian darkness, and that full perfection of knowledge
should break forth at once." Those words are in keep-
ing with the spirit of Robinson's later ministry. It is
clear that Winslow regarded the terms of the Gains-
borough-Leyden-Plymouth covenant as sanctioning a
progressive outlook in religion, and as opposed to an
absolute finality in theology.
The Church of Christ was now, in the opinion of these
pious people, once more set up in their district. They
themselves were the living stones of the mystical temple
of God. To what a great responsibility and dignity
they were called ! It lifted their lives out of the
commonplace and filled them with a high purpose.
After the period of doubting and hesitation, it seemed to
them that they had now entered a haven of heavenly
peace, and they found in their Church fellowship and
discipline a means of divine grace. " Oh, Mr. Bernard,"
exclaims John Smith,^ **if you knew but the comfort
and power of the Lord's ordinances of admonition and
excommunication as we do (blessed be our good God)
in some measure, and that growth and reformation
which is in some of us thereby, you would be so wonder-
fully ravished with the power of God's ordinances that
you would acknowledge the Church to be terrible as an
army with banners, and yet amiable and lovely, comely
and beautiful, in so much as Christ himself saith that the
love of the Church is fair." . . . Robinson also speaks
in glowing terms of the " experimental comforts " that
came to them in their Church estate,^ while even
* Letter of 1607, § 8, incorporated in Paralleles.
* "Justification of Separation, 1610." Works ii., 223.
91
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Bernard admits that some were drawn to join these
despised Separatists because of the love and care they
displayed for one another.
The Church, being now constituted by covenant,
soon had to proceed to deal with practical matters of
internal organisation. The members had to decide
how and where they should meet on the Lord's Day,
and whom they should choose to the office of minister.
" These people became two distinct bodies, or Churches,
in regard of distance of place, and did congregate
severally, for they were of several towns and villages :
some in Nottinghamshire, some in Lincolnshire, and
some of Yorkshire, where they bordered nearest
together. In the one of these Churches, besides others
of note, was Mr. John Smith, a man of able gifts and a
good preacher, who afterwards was chosen their pastor."
The correctness of Bradford's narrative is borne out by
a comparison with the principles approved by the
Separatists for the choice of pastors and officers of the
Church. Smith did not become their minister as a
matter of course or at once. He renounced his
"Orders," and was a simple member of the Church, but
his gifts marked him out for the office of minister, to
which he was in due time elected by his fellow members.
Robinson speaks approvingly of this course as the one
taken by the early Continental Reformed Churches :
" The people first separating themselves from idolatry,
and so joining together in the fellowship of the Gospel,
were afterwards^ when they had fit men, to call
them into the office of ministry." ^ Bernard scornfully
* "Justification of Separation." Works ii., p. 232.
92
The Church at Scrooby
says of Smith : ** He ^ was made minister by Bishop
YVickham ; that, by and by, in Brownism, he re-
nounced and was made Minister by Tradesmen and
called himself * The Pastor of the Church at Gains-
brough.' " But Smith set greater store by this election
than on " Orders " which the bishop conferred. " I
received," ^ he says, " and do maintain my ministry from
that particular Church whereof I am Pastor, which hath
the whole power of Christ ministerial, delegated to her
from Christ her husband when he contracted with her."
The second Church, which had Scrooby as a centre
and ordinarily met in the manor house occupied by
William Brewster, subsequently chose John Robinson
as pastor. It looked to John Smith for advice and
guidance. If we may take the " Lettre, ^ written to
certain brethren in S. by John Smyth," as addressed to
those at Scrooby, he was a true prophet as to their
future. "Although you are but few in number, yet
considering that the kingdom of heaven is as a grain
of mustard seed, small in the beginning, I do not doubt
but you may in time grow up to a multitude and be,
as it were, a great tree full of fruitful branches, which I
unfeignedly desire, brethren, in your behalf at the
Lord's hands." This hope was amply realised in the
after history of the Scrooby Church, but our concern is
with the parent church at Gainsborough and its leaders.
We have seen that the decision to follow the leading
of conscience and set up a Church according to the
New Testament pattern brought peace of mind to these
^ Bernard's Plaine Evidences^ p. 20.
' Par alleles, 1 609, p. 102.
' Appended to Paralleles. This letter has been so taken, but it seems to
me possible that the brethren in S. may be brethren in Suffolk.
93
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
earnest people, but it swiftly involved them in difficulties
with the world and with the ecclesiastical authorities.
They were marked at once by their abstention from the
services and communion at their parish churches. The
machinery of the spiritual courts was set in motion
against them. Smith himself narrowly escaped arrest
on two occasions by the " pursuivant," or officer, of the
ecclesiastical court. Gervase Neville and Joan Helwys
were carried off to York and imprisoned. Fines were
levied on William Brewster, Richard Jackson, and
Robert Rochester. To quote Bradford once more,
* some were taken and clapped up in prisons, others
had their houses beset and watched night and day and
hardly escaped their hands, and the most were fain to
fly and leave their houses and habitations and the
means of their livelihood." In these circumstances the
thoughts of Smith would naturally turn to his old
tutor, Francis Johnson, who, banished from England
on account of religion, had found a harbour of refuge
in Amsterdam, together with many members of the
London Separatist Church. If there was no possibility
of remaining peaceably in England the Gainsborough
Church might also seek a resting place in Holland.
As the law of the land then stood exile was the
necessary corollary of separation from the Church
of England. The Act ^ for the punishment of persons
obstinately refusing to come to church, passed in
1593, had been renewed in the first year of King
James. Absence from one's parish church for a
month, or attendance at any unauthorised assembly or
meeting under colour or pretence of any exercise of
^ Neal, i., p. 426.
94
Date of Migration
religion, rendered one liable to conviction and imprison-
ment without bail. If the convicted person did not
conform within three months he was to abjure the
realm and go into perpetual banishment. John Smith
and his friends were well aware of this law, and it makes
their act of separation all the more heroic. They could
not hope to escape attention, and within a few months
they had to prepare to leave the land of their birth.
Date of Migration to Holland
I am inclined to place the migration of the Gains-
borough Church towards the close of the year 1607 or in
the early weeks of 1608. Very likely Smith and his
company took a favourable opportunity of shipping
direct from Gainsborough by way of the Trent to the
Humber and so out to the open sea and across to their
desired haven. Apparently they did not apply for
leave or licence to emigrate, but took the matter into
their own hands. Their sudden withdrawal put the port
authorities on the alert and would seem to have made it
difficult for the members of the Scrooby Church to get
away when they, too, a few months later, resolved *' by a
joint consent ... to go into the Low Countries." John
Cotton, afterwards preacher both at Boston, Lincolnshire,
and Boston, New England, tells us that Smith had
promised Clifton and Robinson not to go over to
Johnson " without their consents, and they utterly
dissuaded him therefrom as fearing his instability.
And yet contrary to his promise he went over to him,
which led him into manifest temptations and aberra-
tions." ^ There is nothing to support this accusation of
* Cotton's Way of the Congregational Churches Cleared^ p. 6.
95
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
breach of faith. Cotton's narrative bears marks of
dependence upon hearsay in this particular, and he con-
fuses Smith's expressed intention, before he was an
absolute Separatist, of going to recall Johnson at Amster-
dam from his extreme position, with his actual flight to
that city after he had become a thoroughgoing Separatist.
** He thought," says Cotton, " he could have gained his
tutor Johnson from the errors of his rigid separation."
But at the time of his migration that was one of the last
things Smith would want to do.
It is evident that this Gainsborough Church was fully
constituted and engaged in the exercise of discipline
before it left England. Discipline was the cause of
much difficulty in the early Separatist Churches. Those
who resented a Church sentence let their grievance be
widely known. The helpful and successful instances of
discipline were not chronicled by the world. Bernard
heard of some singular examples : —
" Mr. Smith," 1 he says, ** denies their rash excommunicating
any, and yet a tailor among them was excommunicated for taking
seven shillings for making a Doublet and Hose and standing in
the lawful taking of it ; because another tailor said he ought to
have had but five shillings. Again, he and they (before they
went over) excommunicated one (the Cap[tain] at Gainsborough)
for hearing the word preached by our Minister. Is not this
abuse in excommunication ? "
The utter renunciation by these Separatists of all
religious fellowship with members of the Church of
England roused much hostility against them. Robinson
did not at first go so far in this direction as Smith. He
continued to join with Anglican friends in private acts
* Plaine Evidences t i6lo, p. 117.
96
Date of Migration
of worship, even after his separation, for so long as he
remained in England. There were some in Smith's com-
pany who made this a ground of objection against
Robinson when he was nominated for the pastoral office
in the Scrooby Church.
97
CHAPTER VI
JOHN SMITH IN AMSTERDAM — PRINCIPLES AND
INFERENCES CONCERNING THE VISIBLE CHURCH
Arrived in Amsterdam, Smith would have the
opportunity of conference with his old friend Francis
Johnson, and with Henry Ainsworth, " the teacher," and
other leading members of the exiled English Church,
Smith calls this *' the Ancient Church." While he and his
society entered into friendly intercourse with Johnson's
Church, they maintained their distinct organisation and
were never absorbed by the older society. The same
may be said of the Scrooby Church under the pastoral
care of John Robinson. There were already differences
of accent between these several groups. The craftsmen
of London, who formed a large proportion of Johnson's
society, were of a different stamp from the inland men
from the North Midlands, who had been mainly con-
cerned with husbandry. Intimate personal knowledge
of one another and the sufferings they had endured in
common, not to speak of ties of kinship and affection,
bound the churches from Gainsborough and Scrooby
into something of the nature of religious clans. But on
their first arrival there was intercommunion between
them and the Church under Johnson. This did not
endure for many months. Bradford recalled to mind in
after years a saying uttered by Smith at this time which
98
The Visible Church
shows he was well aware of the responsibilities and
dangers of liberty. "Truly," said he "we being now
come into a place of liberty are in great danger if we
look not well to our ways ; for we are like men set upon
the ice and therefore may easily slide and fall."^
I think it must have been within a few weeks of his
arrival that he put to the press a little book with a view
to looking well to the ways of his Church and its members.
It is possible that it was drafted before he left England.
It bears no imprint. Its title runs as follows : —
** Principles and inferences concerning the Visible
Church," with the quotation of four verses of Scripture,
among them, significantly. Job xix. 19: "All my secret
friends abhorred me and they whom I loved are turned
against me," followed by the date, " 1607."
This work is composed with studied brevity. It is
almost entirely practical and positive, setting out the
rules for forming, ordering and ruling a Church according
to the principles indicated in the New Testament, and
the inferences legitimately to be drawn from the records
there given of the action of the Apostles. The pre-
fatory address gives a favourable example of the
incisive style which Smith had at command.
"The Author to the Reader
" Lo here, gentle Reader, a short description of the new Testament
which was once estabUshed by the blood of Christ after that the
old testament by the blood of that his cross was disannulled.
Remember that there be always a difference put betwixt the
covenant of grace and the manner of dispensing it, which is two-
fold : — the form of administering the covenant before the death
1 Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrimsy p. 450.
99 G 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
of Christ which is called the old testament and the form of
administering the covenant since the death of Christ which is
called the new Testament or the kingdom of heaven. In this little
treatise the ordinances of Christ for the dispensing of the covenant
since his death are described. Read, consider, compare the truth
here expressed with the frame, ministry and government of the
assemblies of the land, and accordingly give sentence. Judge
righteous judgment and let practice answerable to the truth follow
thereupon. Fear not the face of man, love not the world, be not
deceived with the shape of Angels of light. Cast away all pre-
judice against the truth. Remember that Antichristianism is a
mystery of iniquity and that it began to work early during the
Apostles' life and so grew by little and little to this strength and
exaltation from which it shall decline by degrees even till the man
of sin be destroyed whom the L[ord] shall consume with the
brightness of his coming ; for God which condemneth the whore
of Babylon is a strong Lord. Farewell."
In this work "the visible church" is defined as "a
visible communion of saints " all of whom " are to
be accounted faithful and elect . . . till they by-
obstinacy in sin and apostacy declare the contrary." ^
'' A visible communion of saints is of two, three or more
saints joined together by covenant with God and them-
selves, freely to use all the holy things of God according
to the Word for their mutual edification and God's
glory." ^ This is " the only religious society that God
hath ordained for men on earth " all others such as
" abbeys, monasteries, nunneries, cathedrals, coUegi-
ates, parishes," are unlawful.^ " The true visible church
hath power to receive : — (i) Members into communion ;
(2) Officers into office."
^Iready Smith has given up the notion that the
1 p. 7. '- P. 8. « P. 9.
100
Prophesying in the Ghurchl - •
entrance to the Church is by baptism in infancy j/^* The
way or door whereby both members and officers enter in
is ' Christ,' that is, the way taught by Christ in his word.
The way of receiving in of members is faith testified by
obedience. Faith is the knowledge of the doctrine of
salvation by Christ. Obedience is a godly, righteous and
sober life. Members thus received into communion are
of two sorts : — (i) Prophets; (2) Private persons."
(i) The prophets "must first be appointed to this
exercise by the church " ; they are to speak " two or three
and let the rest judge .... All that have gifts may
be admitted to prophecy."
(2) " Private persons are men and women ; private men
present at the exercise of prophecy may modestly propound
their doubts which are to be resolved by the prophets."
" To this exercise of prophecy may be admitted
unbelievers or they that are without."
" The way of receiving officers into office is : —
"(i) Election;
" (2) Approbation ;
" (3) Ordination ;
which must be performed with fasting and prayer. The
person to be admitted into office must first be a member
of that visible church whence he hath his caUing."^
" Election is by most voices of the members of the
church mfull communion. Qucere^ whether women, ser-
vants and children admitted to full communion yet under
age may not give voice in elections, excommunications
and other public affairs of the church? "
"Approbation must be after election." ^
» P. 14. » P. 15.
lOI
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
We may safely picture the manner of Smith's own
ordination from the particulars here given. It had to be
by imposition of hands. It belonged " to the whole
church . . . yet for order' sake the fittest members lay
on hands and perform all other the particulars of ordina-
tion for and in the name of the whole church." ^
Officers of the Church
" The officers of the true visible Church are all
absolutely described in the word of God. These officers
are of two sorts : — (i) Bishops; (2) Deacons.
(i) " The Bishops are also called Elders or Presbyters.
" The Bishops or Elders jointly together are called the
Eldership or Presbytery.
" The Eldership consisteth of 3 sorts of persons
or officers, viz. : the {a) Pastor ; {b) Teacher ; {c)
Governors.
" All the Elders or Bishops must be apt to teach.
** The Pastor is a bishop excelling in the word
of wisdom or exhortation ... he is called the Angel ^
of the church.
" The Teacher is a bishop excelling in the word of
knowledge or doctrine.
" The Governor is a bishop excelling in the quality of
wise government.
" The Pastor and Teacher have also power to
administer the Sacraments." ^
1 P. 17.
2 Compare the use of this name for the highest officer in the General
Baptist Churclies — Angel or Messenger ; also the regular use among the
old General Baptists down to the present day of the term " Elder " to
designate their pastors.
8 P. 18.
102
Church Officers and their Duties
These three sorts of officers, says Smith, are "con-
versant about the soul and spiritual part " of man. He
then deals with the treasury and its officers : —
(2) ** The Deacons are officers occupied about the
works of mercy respecting the body or outward man.
The Deacons are (i) Men ; (2) or Women deacons or
widows.
(i) " Men deacons collect and distribute with sim-
plicity the church's treasury, according to the church's
necessities and the saints' occasions.
" The church's treasury is silver, gold or moneyworth
freely given by the members of the visible church for
the common good.
" The church's treasury is holy.
" None of those that are without may cast of their
goods into the treasury lest the treasury be polluted." ^
(2) " Women deacons or widows are of 60 years of
age qualified according to the Apostles' rule, i Tim. v. 9,
relieving the bodily infirmities of the saints with
cheerfulness." ^
** Hitherto of the church's power of receiving in ; now
followeth the church's power of preserving and keeping
within.
" The Pastor's chief endeavour must be to make the
church zealous holy and obedient.
'*The Teacher's chief care must be to preserve the
church from ignorance and error.
'* The chief office of the Governors consisteth in
preserving peace and order in the Church.
" The Deacons' chief care must be that none of the
1 The texts referred to here are 2 Cor. viii., 4 ; Jos. vi. 17 — 19.
« P. 20.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
saints want bodily necessities and that due provision be
made for holy things and persons . . . and that with
simplicity.
" The Widows' chief office is to visit and relieve the
widows, fatherless, sick, lame, blind, impotent, women
with child, and diseased members of the church.
" The care of the Eldership must be to order, direct,
and moderate the public actions of the church.
*' The prophets* chief care must be to resolve doubts,
differences and dark places and to give true expositions,
translation and reconciliations of scripture.
" The office of the pastor and teacher in the exercise
of prophecies is to moderate and determine all matters
out of the word.
"The care of the whole church jointly must be to
keep her power given her by Christ, and not to suffer
any open known sin or any tyranny or usurpation over
them." 1
So much then for receiving and retaining members.
What about casting them out ? Has the Church power
to remove its officers ? Yes, for two grounds, " apostasy
or disability . . . apostasy is when officers shall fall to
open idolatry, atheism, heresy or other sins equipollent
of the first or second table. The officer upon repentance
. . . may be retained as a member of the church but
not as an officer." ^
" Qucere, whether an officer may refuse an office
imposed upon him by a lawful calling ?
" Qucere^ whether the Church may suffer her officers to
be translated from herself to other Churches upon any
1 P. 21. « P. 24.
104
Church Officers and their Duties
ground, yea though it be granted that she have members
as fit for offices as her officers are in present ; yea,
though the life of the officer be endangered ? ^
** The cause of casting members out of communion is
only one, viz., sin obstinately stood in without repentance
and confession after due conviction." With this wise
caution, however : " If the matter be not evident but
doubtful and controversial, communion still must be
preserved peaceably, notwithstanding diversity of judg-
ment, till the truth be discovered." This would allow
of a healthy diversity of opinion on many subjects.
There were things yet to be made known unto them.
" The party excommunicated is not to be counted as
an enemy, but to be admonished as a brother." ^
*' Every visible Church is of equal power with all
other visible Churches." ^
This is an early assertion of the " independent "
theory of Church order. There is a proposition at the
close which has a bearing on the question of the con-
nection between Church and State.
" The erecting of visible Churches appertaineth to princes and
private persons.
" Princes must erect them in their dominions and command all
their subjects to enter into them, being first prepared and fitted
thereto."
The true principle of religious liberty had not yet
dawned upon Smith's mind.
All these propositions are backed up with ample
references to passages of Scripture, and the work gives
us a clear picture of the manner in which John Smith's
Church was gathered, ordered, and governed. The book
closes with the following note : —
» P. 25. a p. 28. » p. 29.
105
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
" The author entreateth the gentle reader not to cavil or
wrangle at the contents of this present Treatise, nor to traduce
or caluminate his person in secret, but by writing to discover the
errors thereof, which he desireth may be manifested to him,
remembering that therein he shall perform a charitable work.
For he that converteth a sinner from going astray out of his way
shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.
— James v. 20."
The over-emphasis upon prophesying, propounding
and resolving doubts, teaching and exhorting, as distinct
from acts of pure devotion and worship, points to a
weakness in the Church order here described, which was
soon to result in revealing grave differences of opinion.
Nevertheless, this little work is of importance as showing
the high place which Smith assigned to the individual
Church and for its assertion of the principle of indepen-
dency. It presented in orderly form the method of
constituting and regulating Churches which seemed to
an attentive reader of the New Testament to have been
followed by the Apostles. It dealt with a subject of
great urgency in the religious circles of that day, which
was pressing upon the minds of many devout English
folk. It was not without influence in shaping the form
and order of those English Churches which were sub-
sequently organized apart from the Protestant Reformed
Church of England as by law established, both here
and in America.
106
CHAPTER VII
THOMAS HELWYS — HIS PARENTAGE AND FAMILY
HISTORY — NOTICES OF THE EXODUS TO HOL-
LAND BY ENOCH CLAPHAM AND JOSEPH HALL
We must now turn for a little while from the story of
John Smith to consider the life of one who was closely
associated with him in his efforts to set up a purer
Church and in the project of transferring his Church as a
body from England to Holland. After a year or two
there was some searching of heart amongst a few of
these refugees as to whether they had done rightly in
fleeing from persecution, and they passed some frank
criticism upon the " guides " who had drawn them
over. To this John Robinson rejoined : ** The truth is,
it was Mr. Helwisse who above all, either guides or
others, furthered this passage into strange countries ;
and if any brought oars, he brought sails, as I could
show in many particulars, and as all that were
acquainted with the manner of our coming over can
witness with me." ^
Robinson here refers to Thomas Helwys, of Broxtowe
Hall in Nottinghamshire, to whom more than to any
other was immediately due the planting of the first
Baptist Church in England. Robinson spells the name
indifferently "Helwis" or "Helwisse" in his frequent
^ Of Religious Communion, Works^ iii., p. 159.
107
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
references to him, but the man himself and John Smith,
who knew him more intimately, give the form " Helwys."
The family had long been seated in the Bassetlaw wapen-
take or hundred of Nottinghamshire. The first reference
to the name I have noted occurs in the year 1243, when
on the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary,
Richard, son of Helewysa witnessed a charter granting
lands from Hugh de Dukemanton to the Abbot William
and his convent of Welbeck.^ A member of this
family, John Helwys, was instituted to the vicarage of
East Retford on August 15, 1497, on the presenta-
tion of the Archbishop of York, and, in 1506, also
obtained the rectories of Hayton and Ordsall. A marble
slab in the floor of East Retford Church recorded his
death : —
*' Hie jacet Johannes Helwis, Vicarius de East Retford, Rector
de Hayton et Ordsall qui obiit, 28 Decembris Anno 151 1
Cujus animae proprietur Deus. Amen."''
The family comes into clear view with Robert Elwes
of Askham, a man of parts, who, with his wife Isabel,
laid the foundations of the future fortune of this
house. He made his will on March ii, 1525, and we
gather from it that he was a man of sincere and homely
piety.
" I give my soull to almyghtie god and to his modre sainte
mary and to all the saints in hevyn . . . ii-lb. wax to be burned
about me the daye of my burial ... to the hie altar for tithes
forgotten half a quarter of barlye, ... for a trentall of masses to
be don for my soull after my decease xs."
1 WoUey Charter, i., 53. British Museum, quoted in White's Dukery
Records^ 1904, p. 260.
2 Vitxcfs History of Ret /brd, 1822, p. iii.
108
The Helwys Family
He makes a small bequest of ten shillings '' towards
the beldyng of Askham spital," a charity which still
exists. It received a benefaction more than a hundred
years later from a member of the Helwys family and
now shelters three aged widows of Askham parish.
Robert was succeeded by his son William EUwes, who
married, first, Rosamund ^ Livesey, of a Lancashire
family, and, secondly, in the last year of his life, Margaret
Gabitus, who survived him barely eighteen months.
He had a large family and seems to have prospered in
the world. His will,^ in which he describes himself as a
"farmer," is dated October 5, 1557. He gives to the
" church of St Nycholas of Askam," in which he was to
be buried vs., and *' to ' Sir ' Richard Bennett the
curate of Askam aforesaid iij s. iiij d. to pray for me."
He mentions " my leases and all my farmes at Everton
and Scrobye." To his son Edmund, who had by this
time left the old home, he made a bequest in these
terms : —
" Also my sonne Edmonde who had of me a hundred mark.
I wyll that he shall have xxxiij 11. xiij s. iiij d. more, which maketh
up an hundredth pounds."
This was the round sum that he left to each of his
sons Geoffrey and Thomas, Twelve days after making
his will he was buried at Askham.
Edmund Helwys is said to have entered Grays Inn.^
This appears to be a mistake, but he may have entered
1 Buried at Askham, December 30, 1556.
2 In the York Probate Registry.
' It is so stated in the Dictionary of National Biography ^ but I have
looked up the Hst of admissions to Grays Inn given in the Harleian MS.,
1912, and find it was Edward Elmes, not Edmund Elwes, who entered
that court in 1550.
109
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
one of the other Inns of Court. The opposition of the
"common" lawyers to the clergy who upheld the
" civil " law, threw the legal profession very largely
upon the Protestant side and strengthened the cause of
reform. The bent of Edmund Helwys for religious
topics is shown in a curious book published in 1589,
entitled " A Marvell Deciphered " an exposition of the
1 2th chapter of Revelation with the text.^ This work has
been assigned to the father of Thomas Helwys, though
it bears the name '''Edward Hellwis " at the end. The
confusion between the names Edmund and Edward was
frequent, and in spite of this discrepancy the ascription
of authorship is probably correct. It was a topical
patriotic tract called forth by Protestant feeling engen-
dered by the Spanish attack on England. The writer
makes a veiled allusion to Queen Elizabeth as fore-
shadowed by the woman clothed with the Sun in the
1 2th chapter of Revelation and to the Pope as the
Dragon that made war on her. When he comments on
the verse which represents the Woman as having " the
Moon under her feet," he says it is ** not to be doubted
what woman before all others whatsoever, as a substitute
under God, hath brought forth so great and divine light
in time of so great darkness, either for whom the moon
by her force and influence hath brought more destruc-
tion to her enemies, either unto her enterprises at sea
better success." "^ An evident reference to the part
played by tidal forces in the destruction of the Spanish
Armada.
^ At London, printed by Robert Robinson for John Winnington, at the
Golden Tunne neere to 8. Dunstones Church, in Fleete Street, 1589,
pp. X., 12. 4to. British Museum Library, C. 37, c. 3.
2 A Marvellf etc.^ p. 2, margin.
IIO
A Sermon in a Will
But the will of Edmund Helwys shows in a remark-
able way the hold which the Pauline theology had taken
upon him. Being acquainted with the law he drew up
his own will ^ and prefaced it with a personal confession
of faith from which we may readily infer the atmosphere
of the home in which Thomas Helwys was brought up.
It is well worth quoting for the light it throws upon the
religious convictions of a country gentleman in Eliza-
beth's days : —
" I, Edmund Helwis, alias Elwis, of Broxtoe in the county of
Nottingham gentleman, whole and sound in body and of good
and perfect remembrance, the Lord be praised, and yet consider-
ing the uncertainties of this world which is justly termed a dirty
sty, a grove of thorns, wherein is nothing but fear, shame,
vexation, tears, labour, sickness, sin and death, do make this my
last will and testament in manner and form following under my
own handwriting the xxiiij September, in the year of Christ's
incarnation, 1590. First, I bequeath my soul to Almighty God
my Creator which is the soul of so wicked and sinful a creation
that I might despair of any acceptance of the same at his hands
were it not that the Holy Scriptures comfort me, teaching in
many places that Christ Jesus, the immaculate Lamb of God,
being free from sin gave himself up to suffer death upon the
cross for us wretched sinners to deliver us from the wicked
wor[l]d Gal. 2, and he is the fulfilhng of the Law to justify all
that believe Ro. 10. On this Christ do I believe and therefore
shall not be condemned, but shall have life everlasting. Jo. 3.
Through this belief I shall not abide in darkness Jo. 12. This
belief is my justification Acts, 20, and St. Paule saith Ro. 13
that God is the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. To
conclude, I do believe that Christ hath delivered us from the
curse of the Law in as much as he was made accursed for us.
Gal. 3. This Jesus I confess with my mouth to be the Lord
and beUeve in my heart that God raised him from death Ro. 10.
And through this belief I hope with St. Paul to be purged from
^ Registered in York Probate Registry.
Ill
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
all my sins which I confess are many and most wicked, yea
infinite and abominable and therefore say with St. Augustine,
' What shall I give unto God that putteth me in remembrance
of my sin and yet am afraid thereof.' Wherefore the worldly
goods that God hath made me steward of my will is to dispose
them as, &c., &c." this testament directs.
It appears from the terms of this will that Edmund
Helwys had sold his lands in the counties of Lincoln and
Northampton and had taken a lease of Broxtowe Hall.
He bequeaths to his daughter Anne her mother's wed-
ding ring and the apparel that was her mother's, his best
gelding and the side saddle, his " psalme boke covered
with redd leather," and arranges for her comfort wh'le
unmarried to have " the use several to herself and her
friends and her servants of the chamber over the dining
parlour at Broxtoe Hall with all the furniture therein &
also a bed room in the chamber over the buttery." Alas !
this beloved daughter ^ in the flower of womanhood was
cut down by death within a month of the making of
this will and laid in the same tomb with her father.
The young man Thomas Helwys, who was left sole
executor, not only had a heavy burden of business
laid on his shoulders, but a heavy burden of sorrow. He
was early acquainted with the tragic element in life.
Edmund Helwys was buried on October 24, 1590, and his
son fulfilled the request in his will : ** my bodie I would
have buried in the church of Bilburrowe eyther in the
chancell or before the pue dore and a grave stone ^ laid
thereupon with my firste coate of armes sett thereuppon
^ Nata simul dileda tibi vi mortis iniquae
Rapta, sub hoc tunmlo, cum genitore jcuet.
From the Latin inscription.
2 An altar tomb was set up near his pew ; this was broken up in 1833,
but the inscription from the end or side was then fixed on the north wall of
the chancel, where I have examined it.
112
Broxtowe Hall
in brasse." Thomas Helwys would also see to distri-
buting his father's bequest to " twenty poor cottagers in
Basford, Bilburrowe and Bulwell," and would send on to
his cousin Gervase Helwys, afterwards Lieutenant of the
Tower, the angel which his uncle Edmund had left him
as a token of remembrance. Apparently he had not yet
finished his education, and so the affairs of the estate
would be attended to by his uncles John and Geoffrey
with the advice of his father's good friends Sir Thomas
Stanhope and Edward Stanhope of Nottingham^ who
were appointed supervisors of the will. Whatever may
have been the case with his father, I find that Thomas
Helwys or Elwes was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1593.-^
He returned in due course to Broxtowe. The Hall
there is pleasantly situated on the brow of a hill. Its
defensible position gave it importance. There the
Hundred Court held its meetings, so it gave its name
to a division of the county.
In the old days Broxtowe was a separate parish. Its
rectory had been granted to the priory of Sempringham.
But it is an early example of a country village falling to
decay and losing its status as a parish. On April 26,
1458, it was dissolved and united with Bilborough on
the petition of Robert Strelley. The memory of its
former high estate was still preserved in Thomas Helwys'
time. At the end of the first Register Book of Bil-
borough there is " A true terrier off the Rectorie off
Broxtowe," a document dated 1595, setting out the old
bounds of the rectory lands, which mentions " the land
of the chappell and the chapel ground." It bears the
^ Harleian MS. 1912, folio 29. He is stated to be of London, where
he had relatives. Foster's Grays Inn Register, p. 81.
113 H
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
signature, in his firm clear hand, of *' Thomas Helwys "
standing at the head of a short list of other inhabitants.
To-day Broxtowe Hall forms a substantial farm house,
the Broxtowe wood stretches away to its rear along the
shoulder of the hill. The little enclosure on the north-
easterly side of the house is still known as " the chapel
garden " ; beyond it are evidences of a bank and ditch for
defensive purposes. It was garrisoned as an outpost from
Nottingham, and saw fighting in the Parliamentary war.
In the year when the bounds of the old rectory were
once more defined Thomas Helwys took to himself a
wife in the person of Joan Ashmore. They were
married^ at Bilborough on December 3, 1595, in good
time to get ready for Christmas. Their house became a
hospitable centre and place of call for the Puritan clergy
of the district. Helwys himself was deeply interested in
questions of religion, and his doors were open to those
able to discuss with him the pressing problems of the day.
Here Richard Bernard called on his way home from con-
ferring with Arthur Hildersham ; here John Smith, when
he was sick nigh unto death, found a haven of refuge, and
in the spacious old Plall upon its breezy, healthy eminence
overlooking Basford was tenderly nursed back to health.
In later years, when an imputation was made against
him that he had made merchandise of the folk who
gathered round him, Smith exclaimed, " All that Mr.
Hel [wys] can say is that when I was sick in England at
Bashforth [i.e., Basford] I was troublesome and charge-
able to him : wherin I confesse his kindnes, but I
would have given him satisfaction and he refused it and
^ Thomas Helwys and Joanna Ashmore ««/// fuerunt 3 die Decembris
Anno Do 1595.
114
Interest in Religion
in my sicknes ther was as much brought in as I spent." ^
Smith and Helwys were close and intimate friends, and
they went heartily together in the way of Separation.
Joy came to the home at Broxtowe and to the hearts of
Joan and Thomas Helwys with the birth of a son, who was
baptized in the ordinary way on September 5, 1595.
They gave him the name of John. There is the record
of the baptism of another son in 1603, whom they
named Thomas.^ Daughters also came to brighten the
cheerful hearth. It would be a good home to visit, and
we must bear in mind that there were little children when
we come to consider the sacrifices that Helwys and his
courageous wife had to make on account of their
religious convictions.
There is not much to be said about the early married
life of Helwys. He probably spent his days like an
ordinary steady-going country gentleman of the time.
His serious interest in religious matters would keep him
in touch with neighbouring clergy, and his connection by
marriage and kinship with families of standing both in
London and the country would help to keep public
affairs prominently before his mind. He belonged to a
circle which was by no means tamely submissive to the
demands of the government. When levies were ordered
from the county of Notts in 1594 for service in Ireland,
two of his connections, " Nicholas Hamerton and John
Elvas" were reported as *' backward and undutyful " in
service, and were ordered to appear before the Privy
Council.^
* Retractation of John Smith, Sig. Cij., York Minster Library.
^ Thomas, y?/zwj Thome Helwys, baptizatus fuit 13 die Octobris Anno
Dlno, 1603.
• Acts of the Privy Council, xxv., p. 6.
115 H 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
As for Thomas Helwys, when it came to the point as
to whether he should remain in communion with the
Church of England, hoping for its further reformation by
King and Parliament, or separate from it forthwith and
join in setting up a purer Church, he did not hesitate to
take the bolder step. His prominent position and
activity in the Separatist movement marked him out
for prosecution by the clerical authorities. The High
Court of Ecclesiastical Commission for the province of
York took active proceedings against members of the
Gainsborough and Scrooby Churches in the autumn of
1607. This spurred on the preparations for departure
to Holland, and Thomas Helwys appears to have got
clear away without arrest. I wonder if he thought his
wife would be left unmolested. If so, he was mistaken.
Annoyance at his escape made the authorities less
reluctant to lay hands on her. Early in 1608^ she was
under arrest in York Castle, and was brought thence to
appear before the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. She
proved to be of courageous spirit, declined to incrimi-
nate herself, and was sent back to prison in the Castle
along with John Drewe and Thomas Jessop " for refusing
to take an oath according to law." Her case came
before the court again some months later, when her
name is given as ''Joan Elwaies of Basford." She
probably allowed the law to take its own course with
her, and in that case would be banished after her three
months' imprisonment, and would thus rejoin her husband
in Holland, but I can find no trace of her in Amsterdam
1 Dexter's Congregationalism, p. 320, note, gives the date January 26,
1607 — 8; Barclay, Inner Life, p. 68, gives July 26, 1607 — 8 — an evident
-nistake ; Brown, Pilgrim Fathets, 1897, p. 97, gives July 26.
116
Notices of the Flight to Holland
and she may have found refuge with her own friends or
her husband's kindred in London.
It may be asked whether the migration of these com-
panies of earnest religionists from the Gainsborough and
Scrooby districts excited much remark at the time ? In
the locality itself the withdrawal of such a numerous
body of people could not pass without attracting atten-
tion, and the difficulties which beset the passage of the
group from Scrooby served to give greater publicity to
their cause. Estates had to be realized, offices given up,
and arrangements made for those who were left behind.
For a time it would form a common topic of conversation
in the neighbourhood. Upon those who were personally
acquainted with the leaders of the movement and upon
the Puritan party, which was specially interested in the
questions of Church reform and the limits of episcopal
authority, this concerted migration to the Low Countries
would make a deep impression. But the Puritans, after
all, were not in a majority and other matters of interest
soon arose to absorb their attention. There are but few
references in contemporary literature to this provincial
religious movement, and the placid stream of life in the
old locality soon resumed its normal flow. Bernard
wrote of" this breach " in 1608 as follows^ : —
" Many laugh at it, some account it a matter scarce worthy think-
ing upon, and so few or none lament . To me hath it been just
cause of sorrow and therefore could I not lightly pass it by, but in
love to such as yet abide with us and in desire to do my best to
recover again mine own whom God once gave me I have published
these things."
There we have a glimpse of the local feeling. News
1 ' Epistle Dedicatorie ' prefixed to Christian Advertisements,
117
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
of the movement filtered through to London. Enoch
Clapham issued a book there in 1608 ^in which he repre-
sented the chief rehgious parties in a series of dialogues.
Among them he gives the "Malcontent" and the " Flyer,"
representing the forward Puritan and the separating
Brownist. " The ^ very naturell character of such
spirits " he says, " is by mee set downe not without
sundrie yeares experience had of them all." In the
course of their dialogue the following reference to the
setting up of the Gainsborough and Scrooby Churches
occurs : —
Flyer : . . . *' I have no small hope that thousands in England
(that now stand on the tip-toe) will ere long fall flatly on our side.
Hear you not of Teachers and people in the farthest parts of
Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire &c. who are flatly separated ? "
Malcontent : *' I heard of it th'other day by a London Preacher
who sorroweth much for a Gentlewoman of place, who is said to
be absolutely gone from the Church. But as I know some of
them Teachers, and specially him that is said there to have
baptized one of their children in a Barn, so my hope is that their
Separation is not so far as yours, but one with that which I
Joseph Hall, who had been personally acquainted with
Smith and Robinson at the University, soon heard of
their decision to leave the Church of England, and sent
them a ^' loving monitory letter." He did not think at
the time that they would go to the extremes of the
earlier Separatists in London. " I thought," he says, " you
had made a Secession, (rather than a Separation from
our Church) to a place where you might have scope to
1 Errour on the Right Hand through a Preposterous Zeale^ 1 608.
2 Ibid. Epistle to' Reader.
• Ibid.^ p. 14.
118
The News Reaches London
profess and opportunity to enjoy your own conceits." ^
He was disappointed when he found that his old friends
had so far adopted the Brownist position as to have
become absolute and rigid Separatists from the Church
of England and all its worship.
* Common Apology against the Br ownists^ l6l0. Hall's Works, vol. x.,
p. 88, s. 46.
119
CHAPTER VIII
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SMITH AND JOHNSON —
smith's VIEW OF THE SCRIPTURES
Not many months had passed after the arrival of
Smith and Helwys at Amsterdam before differences
between them and " the ancient brethren of the Separa-
tion " were accentuated and brought out into high
relief. A closer acquaintance with the Church of
Johnson and Ainsworth did not improve Smith's
opinion of its order of worship or its method of
government. When Smith left the Church of England,
he advanced at a stride to the democratic position that
the seat of power resided in the Church members as a
whole, and not in the Church officers. He found that
the older Separatist Church under the leadership of
Francis Johnson was inclined to give undue authority to
the presbytery. They favoured a clerical aristocracy,
and made much of " lay elders," who were included with
"pastor" and "teacher" in "the presbytery." More-
over, he came to differ from them about the place to be
assigned to the Bible during the act of worship, and
about the nature of translated Scriptures. He frankly
admitted his indebtedness to the writings of those who
had led the earlier Separatist movement. He believed
that they had " reduced the Church to the true Primitive
and Apostolique constitution." They had dealt a
120
Change of Opinion Justified
smashing blow at "Antichrist " by indicating how a Church
should be " constituted." But in the manner of carrying on
the service of the Church and ordering the ministry there
was room for further reform. They were not yet entirely
in accord with the New Testament model. Indeed,
" Antichrist "was still exalted in" a verie high degree . . .
even in the true constituted churches " of the Separatists.
That being Smith's opinion, conflict between him
and the earlier Separatists was inevitable. He was
well aware that any differences between them would
be laid hold of at once by their common opponents
and used as a weapon against themselves. The
circumstances of the time made it urgent that they
should present a solid front to the world. Expedi-
ency demanded that they should put points of dis-
agreement into the background. But John Smith
was not the man to study expediency when the
interests of truth were concerned. Thoroughly con-
vinced, as he was, that he had attained a clearer vision
of the true nature of divine worship than Johnson's
Church had reached, he felt impelled to publish it.
" The truth," he says, " shall by our differences be further
cleared." If the enemy scoffed at their divisions, could
they not point to " most violent oppositions and deadly
contentions " amongst the members of the Anglican
Church, who yet were supposed by law to be uniform in
belief and practice ? Let them look at home. As for
himself and his company, he wrote as follows upon the
fresh development in their opinions : —
" We profess . . .1 that we would have the truth, though in
* Prefatory Address to Smith's Differences of the Churches of the
Seperation, 1608.
121
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
many particulars we are ignorant of it. We will never be satis-
fied in endeavouring to reduce the worship and ministry of
the Church to the primitive Apostolic institution from which as
yet it is so far distant. Wherefore my earnest desire is that my
last writing may be taken as my present judgment, and so far
forth as it overthwarteth any former writing of mine, let it be
accounted a voluntary retractation and unfeigned repentance of
my former errors and evil ways before the whole earth. And
let no man be offended at us for that we differ from the
ancient brethren of the separation in the Liturgy, Presbytery and
Treasury of the Church. For we hold not our faith at any
man's pleasure or in respect of persons, neither do we bind
ourselves to walk according to other men's lines, further than
they walk in the truth. Neither let the world think that we
approve them [i.e., the ancient Separatists] in all their practices.
Let them justify their proceedings or repent of them."
The point of difference that first came into prominence
and caused a deal of excitement amongst the several
groups of English refugees in Holland was concerned
with the use of translations of the Scriptures in the act of
spiritual worship. Henry Ainsworth summarized the
matter in these terms : —
" There ^ was one only difference between Mx Smyth and us when
first he began to quarrel, though since he have increased them
. . . that difference was this : — He with his followers breaking off
communion with us charged us with sin for using our English
Bibles in the worship of God, and he thought that the ' Teachers'
should bring the originals of Hebrew and Greek, and out of them
translate by voice. His principal reason against our translated
scripture was this : * No apocrypha writing but only the Canonical
scriptures are to be used in the Church in the time of God's
worship ; every written translation is an apocrypha writing, and
is not Canonical scripture. Therefore every written translation
is unlawful in the Church in time of God's worship.' Why he
counted every translation apocrypha and what he meant thereby
appeareth by these words of his ; * Written translations (saith he)
* A Defence of the Holy Scriptures^ etc., by Ainsworth, 1609, p. 3.
122
Differences between Smith and Johnson
or interpretation is as well and as much an human writing as an
homily or prayer."
Ainsworth tells us in the margin, that this was the
third of four general arguments which Smith offered to
the Church of Johnson and Ainsworth "on the second
days public conference." And further says: —
" After much time spent about this controversy he manifested
other differences touching the ministry and treasury and soon
after published this book of Differences."
We thus learn that the questions at issue were
publicly discussed, ^mith was unable to bring the
Ancient Church over to his point of view./ The usage of
sixteen years had bound its members in sentiment to
their own familiar order of worship. They did not fully
understand Smith's point, and were not disposed to refrain
from using their Bibles in the time of worship merely
for the sake of keeping communion with him and his
company. Accordingly, he and his friends withdrew,
gave up inter-communion with the older Church, and
^ described themselves as " the Brethren ^ of the Separa-
tion of the second English Church at Amsterdam."
Richard Clifton's account of the progress of Smith's
opinions bears out what has been said. He describes
Smith and his friends as *' taking up error after error ;
first calling into question whether the Scriptures being
translated into other tongues were not the writings of
men ; then casting the reading of them out of the
worship of God, affirming that ' there is no better
warrant to bring translations of Scripture into the church
and to read them as parts and helps of worship than to
bring in expositions, paraphrasts and sermons upon the
* Title page of Differences, etc.
123
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Scripture, seeing all these are equally human in respect
of the work equally divine in respect of the matter they
handle.' And for the same cause separated themselves
from other churches that did read and use the same in
their public meetings." ^
It needed some patience and sympathy in order to
understand Smith's real opinion about the place and use
of Scripture in the Church. Anyone who has had to
confront Bibliolaters in argument will be aware how
difficult it is for them to appreciate any point of view
that differs from their own, and how prone they are to
misrepresent any view about the Bible which does not
accord with that usually taken by themselves. There is
hardly any topic which rouses strong feeling more
quickly, and we can readily understand why this is so.
Smith soon found that those who had a less lofty con-
ception of spiritual worship than he were distorting his
position and spreading false reports of his attitude
toward the books of the Bible. Accordingly, he
published a book to put the matter in its true light. It
indicates his purpose in its long title :
"The Differences of the Churches of the Seperation, Con-
tayning, A description of the! Leitourgie and Ministerie of the
Visible Church, annexed, as a correction and supplement to a
little treatise lately published bearing title ' Principles and
Inferences concerning the Visible Church.' " Published : (i) For
the satisfaction of every true lover of the truth, especially the
Brethren of the Seperation that are doubtfull ; (2) As also for
the removing of an Vnjust Calumnie cast vppon the Brethren of
1 Clifton's Plea for Infants, etc.^ 16 10, Epistle to Reader. The
quotation from Smith is from his Di^erences, p. 10. Clifton omits the
word "written." Smith wrote "no better warrant to bring translations
of scripture written into the Church," etc.
124
Spiritual Worship
the Seperation of the second English Church at Amsterdam ;
(3) Finally, for the cleering of the truth and the discovering of
the mysterie of iniquitie yet further in the worship and offices
of the Church."
By John Smyth . . . "Try all things keep the good thing."
— I Thes. V. 21. . . . 1608.
It is to the pages of this book rather than to Ainsworth
or CHfton that we must turn for a right understanding
of Smith's position with regard to Holy Scripture. In
the first place we must note that he drew a sharp dis-
tinction between what he called *' the Kingdom of the
Saynts " and '* the priesthood of the Saynts." By these
quaint phrases he indicated two distinct kinds of activity
in the Church. " The actions of the Church," he says,
" in administering the Kingdom are actions of opposi-
tion, difference, plea and strife as in admonition,
examination, excommunication, pacification, absolution,
etc." Whereas the members in their priestly aspect
are concerned with " spiritual worship." Accordingly
*' actions of the priesthood of the saints are actions of
spiritual worship," and in this worship " the saints are
not to oppose, contradict, examine, or censure, to pro-
pound doubtful and controversial points of doctrine, but
in union spiritual to offer up one and the same spiritual
sacrifice to the Lord." ^ He thu^lriarks off the devotional
from the governmental functions of the Church;^ To
the former he attaches the very highest importance.
Spiritual worship must be spontaneous and sincere, and
flow directly from the spirit of man or the regenerate
part of the soul — " the sanctified memory ,2 the sanctified
^ Differences, p. 2.
^ Ibid.y chap. iii.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
judgment, the sanctified heart and affections, the
sanctified conscience, from all these must spiritual
worship proceed." Here we see John Smith feeling
after a corrective to that over-emphasis upon discussion
and debate which was one of the defects of the early-
Separatist movement. In spiritual worship, he says, care
must be taken not to quench the spirit.
" Saying set forms of worship by rote is quenching the spirit
and reading set forms of worship out of a book is quenching the
spirit. For in the one the spirit is not manifested, but the
strength of the memory ; in the other the matter is not brought
out of the heart but out of the book and so in neither of them
the spirit is at liberty." ^
In the next place we must carefully note the view
which Smith arrived at with regard to the value of trans-
lations of the Scriptures. In his day the English speak-
ing peoples had not adopted a single fixed translation of
the Bible, at the recommendation of King and Convoca-
tion. There were several translations available. Smith,
who was a diligent student of the Scriptures, would give
some attention to Dutch and French versions of the
New Testament on his arrival at Amsterdam. He began
to reflect upon the real nature of translations, and soon
came to see that in themselves they could not possibly
be " inspired " in the sense in which that word was
ordinarily used. Moreover, he saw that the earliest
Christian societies of worshippers evidently had not got
all the New Testament books to use in their meetings
for worship, even if they had desired such helps. But it
was precisely that spontaneous heart-whole spiritual
worship of the early Christian communities that he was
* Differences^ chap. iv.
126
Value of Translations
now bent upon reviving-. Therefore he concluded that
the use of Scripture as an integral part of worship was
not required. It might be used as a means of prepara-
tion for worship and as a source of suggestion for religious
themes, but translations of Scripture were out of place in
the act of worship itself. He pointed out that writings
were only made up of letters and words, and therefore
" that books or writings are in the nature of pictures or
images, and therefore in the nature of ceremonies, and
so by consequence, reading a book is ceremonial."^
The originals in Hebrew and Greek he held to be
inspired, but a translation could only be called inspired
in so far as it expressed the original, and many a para-
phrase and commentary expressed more of the meaning
of the original than a bare translation could possibly do.
Let us see his own words on these points : —
"The Holy Scriptures, viz., the Originals, Hebrew and Greek,
are given by Divine inspiration, and in their first donation were
without error, most perfect, and therefore Canonical. Ordinary
men write books of divers kinds, among the rest such as have the
word of God or Holy Scripture for their object are called
'theological writings,' among them translations of the Holy
Scriptures into the mother tongue are chiefly to be esteemed as
being the most principal ; yet only as the stream issuing from the
fountain, or as the greatest river of the main sea. No writings of
ordinary men, how holy or good soever, are given by inspiration,
and therefore are subject to error, and imperfect and so
apocrypha."'^
Then, as regards the value of translations. Smith says ;
" A translation, so far forth as it doth truly and fully express
any thing of the originals may be said [to be] inspired of God, and
1 Differences,, chap. vi.
* Ibid.,, p. 4.
127
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
no further. Hence it followeth that a translation, be it never so
good, is mixed with men's devices, imperfect not equipollent
[equivalent] to the original in a thousand particulars." ^
While he admits the Scriptures to be " the fountain of
all truth" and "the ground and foundation" of faith,
nevertheless they " are not retained as helps before the
eye in time of spiritual worship." He gives a chapter of
reasons for this conclusion, some of which are very
quaint, and even in that day must have been regarded as
more ingenious than convincing. Here are one or two
examples : —
"Because Christ used the book to fulfill all righteousness
(Mt. iii. 15), and having by the use of the book fulfilled the law of
reading, he shut the book in the Synagogue to signify that that
ceremony of book-worship, or the ministry of the letter, was now
expired and finished. Luke iv. 20; John xix. 30.
" Because none of the books of the New Testament were written
many years after the day of Pentecost, at the least seven years,
and the churches all that time could not use the books of the New
Testament which they had not.
" Because it is against the nature of spiritual worship for when
we read we receive matter from the book into the heart, when we
pray, prophecy or sing we utter matter out of the heart unto the
ear of the Church. Ezek. i. 8 — 19 ; iii., 1—4. Rev. x. 8 — 11.
" Because upon the day of Pentecost fiery cloven tongues did
appear, not fiery books and always there must be a proportion
betwixt the type and the thing typed. Upon the day of Pentecost
the fiery law was given in books. Deut. xxxiii. 2 ; Ex. xxiv. 4 — 12,
upon the day of Pentecost the fiery gospel was given in tongues.
The book, therefore, was proper for them, the tongue for us.
.... Therefore as in prayer the book is laid aside, and that by
the confession of the ancient brethren of the separation, so must
it be also in prophesying and singing of Psalms, as we are
persuaded."
1 DifferenceSy p. 5.
2 Ibid,y chap. x.
128
Unsettled Questions
It is characteristic of John Smith that he does not
pretend to have reached the whole truth on every point
relating to the use of Scripture in the Church, and he
leaves open a loophole for accommodation with the
** ancient brethren " in certain queries.
" Query, whether the Prophets [i.e., preachers] of the Church
may not in time of spiritual worship take the originals and inter-
pret out of them a text and then shut the book and prophesy
from that ground of Holy Scripture so interpreted. ^
" Query, whether between the parts of spiritual worship, that is,
between prayer, prophesying, and singing Psalms, a man may not
interpose the reading of a Scripture or chapter, not intending it
as worship, but as a further preparation to worship." *
** It is not denied," he says, "but that reading now is
to be used in the Church : only we say it is not part of
spiritual worship or a lawful means in time of spiritual
worship . . . again, that reading is a lawful, yea,
necessary, means or help to further us to spiritual wor-
ship is not denied." In short, the function of reading
Scripture in the assembled congregation was to be
regarded as an act of preparation for worship, setting
the hearts of the worshippers in tune for the highest
acts of devotion. It is significant that in at least one of
the Unitarian General Baptist Churches of Kent down
to well within living memory the reading of Scripture
was used in precisely this way while the congregation
was assembling and settling down for actual worship.
Smith himself summed up the matter as follows : —
" We have [i.e., hold] the translations of Holy Scripture in this
account, viz., the translation agreeable to the originals —
" (i) Is a secondary Scripture, yet much inferior to the originals.
1 Differences, p. 7.
^ Ibid.,^. 13.
129 I
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
" (2) It may be read in the Church and sung in times.
" (3) It may be expounded in the Church.
" (4) It may be used as a means to prepare us to spiritual
worship.
" (5) That the matter of the translation agreeable to the originals
s inspired, but not the writing or character.
" (6) That it may be made the ground of our faith.
" (7) That it may be made an instrument to try doctrine by.
*' This we hold aiBrmatively. Negatively we hold thus : —
"(i) That reading the English translation is no part of the
spiritual worship of the New Testament properly so called viz.,
of prayer, prophecy, singing of psalms.
" (2) That reading the English translation is no lawful means
or help in time of spiritual worship.
" (3) That the worship of the New Testament must not begin in
the book or letter outwardly, but must proceed originally from
the heart and Spirit.
*' All other public and private uses of translations we allow." ^
Outsiders were not likely to appreciate the fine
distinctions as to the use of Scripture which Smith now
made. Richard Bernard charges him with " casting off
reading the Scriptures in the assemblies," but John
Robinson, knowing the man most intimately, was aware
of his point of view, and replied that in making this
charge Bernard "wrongeth Mr. Smyth, who doth not
deny the reading of the Scriptures in the assembly, but
that the reading of them is properly a part of God's
worship." 2 Before we pass on to consider Smith's
opinion about the place and power of the ministry, it
will be worth while to notice two passages in this earlier
portion of his book, which throw light upon the general
^ Differences^ pp. 17 — 18.
' Robinson, Works^ ii., 455.
130
Expository Preaching not Worship
method of pulpit ministration amongst the Separatists
and the demeanour of the people during the preaching.
The sermons were long and branched off into many
heads and sub-heads, with a wealth of references to
kindred passages of Scripture. The people brought their
pocket Bibles and turned up the several quotations as
the preacher gave them out in order to verify them and
impress them more firmly upon their minds.
This was all very well in its way, but it was something
far different from divine worship as John Smith pictured
it. In justification of their usual method of preaching,
the ancient brethren quoted the example of Christ's
preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke iv. i6).
But, said Smith, you cannot justify the '* manner of
preaching now used " from that example ; " that a man
shall take his text and then divide it into parts, analyz-
ing it rhetorically and logically, collecting doctrines
and uses from every member or argument or word of
his text, all this while he having his book before his
eyes to help him at all assays, a thing whereof I am
assured the Holy Scriptures yieldeth no warrant, that
it may be accounted a part of spiritual worship. For
although the Scriptures may be so handled, and that
for very profitable use, yet that is rather a Scholastical
Lecture than an Ecclesiastical worship. It is rather
an inquisition and searching of the Holy Spirit's intent
and purpose than prophesying." ^ The distinction
between the lecture and the sermon needed to be
pointed out, and there will be many in modern times
who will sympathize with Smith's plea that each should
be kept to its proper place. With regard to the question
* Differences y p. i6.
131 I 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
as to whether hearers may " have their translations or
the originals to read or search in time of prophesy,"
Smith said, *' The answer is negative." He gives
reasons for his view, and very sensibly remarks, " Search-
ing quotations hindereth attention, for the mind and
affections are distracted from hearing by seeking the
places ; seeing the mind and heart should follow the
voice of the speaker, as in prayer, so also in
prophesying."^
I trace to this decisive opinion of John Smith a
singular difference in practice between the Puritans of
New England and those of England in the use made of
the Bible in the time of public worship. John Robinson
and his company were more deeply influenced by the
ideas of Smith than they themselves, perhaps, were
prepared to admit or than subsequent writers have
allowed. Those who emigrated carried with them to
America the form of worship and religious customs
with which they had become familiar in Amsterdam and
Leyden. They in turn set the note for the crowd of
Puritan refugees who soon followed them from England.
There was no plain reading of the Scriptures in the
form of * lessons ' in the early New England Churches
in the time of public worship. When the Bible was read
it had at the same time to be expounded. To read a
set passage without note or comment savoured of the
formal and ceremonial. Nor did the people carry their
pocket Bibles to service to follow the reading and hunt
the text. They went to worship. To this day among
the representatives of the first New England Churches
the Bible is a book for the home rather than for the
* Differences , p. i8.
132
Bibles in Time of Service
pew, whereas in Old England in religious societies
representing the old Puritan stock the pews are well
supplied with Bibles, and many of the worshippers
habitually follow the reading, noting the minister's
lapses and omissions, and then look up his text at the
outset of his sermon.
133
CHAPTER IX
WHERE IS THE SEAT OF CHURCH AUTHORITY ? —
OPINIONS OF SMITH, JOHNSON, AINSWORTH, AND
ROBINSON COMPARED
One of the points of difference between the Church of
John Smith and that of Francis Johnson and Henry
Ainsworth concerned the seat of authority in the
Church. Did the supreme power, under Christ, reside
in the members of the Church as a whole, or did it rest
with the officers who formed the ** presbytery " of the
Church ? When ministers and officers had been elected
and ordained, did the Church surrender its power into
their hands or did it retain full power in its own hands
to be used if occasion should require ? Allied to this
matter was the question of the place and function of
** ruling elders " in the Church. Francis Johnson, on
first separating from the Church of England, assigned
more power to the members of the particular Church he
then joined than he was afterwards disposed to allow
them. He fell in with the theory derived from Robert
Browne and Henry Barrowe, which he found in vogue
amongst the London Separatists, in accordance with
which the members of the Church in their corporate
capacity were supreme. Gradually, however, he veered
round to the Presbyterian position and came to regard
the seat of authority as residing in the eldership made
134
The Seat of Church Authority
up of the pastor, teacher and lay ruling-elders. Personal
inclination, early associations, and the refractory
material of his Church at Amsterdam influenced him in
taking up this position. He soon contended that the
words in Matt, xviii. 17 — *' hear the church" — meant
hear the duly appointed ministers and officers of the
Church and submit to their ruling and authority. This
was far different from the opinion arrived at by John
Smith as to the power of the Church and the position of
its officers. His views upon these questions were of
such far-reaching influence upon the subsequent history
of the Congregational Churches and certain sections of
the Baptist Churches, both in England and America,
that they demand careful attention.
We have seen that when Smith and Helwys took the
final step of separating from the Anglican Church, their
mutual friend Richard Bernard sent a paper of " opposi-
tions " to the latter giving reasons against separation.
Helwys communicated this paper to Smith, who sent a
long but hastily-penned letter to Bernard in reply
towards the close of the year 1607. Even in this early
document he champions the cause of the whole body of
members in the Church as against the Puritans, who
contended that the " Eldership " or " Presbytery" had
supreme authority. He states the matter in connection
with the right of exercising discipline, in which the
ministers and parish assemblies of England were lacking,
and points out the difference between the several
contending parties : —
** The Pope saith out of the i6th of Matthew that the power of
binding and loosing is given to Peter and his successors the popes
of Rome, and that all the bishops and priests in the world and
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
the whole Church universal receiveth binding and loosing from
him.
" Nay, say the English prelates out of the 20th of John, Christ
gave the power of binding and loosing to all the Apostles and
their successors the Lord Bishops of England and that all the
Priests and people in the Land receive binding and loosing from
them in their several dioceses.
"Nay, say the Presbyterians of England out of Matt. 18, 17,
the power of binding and loosing is given to the Eldership, and
the people — they are bound or loosed by the Presbytery ; for by
the Church they understand the Presbytery.
"Nay, say we, the power of binding and loosing is given to the
body of the Church even to two or three faithful people joined
together in covenant." ^
Bernard seized upon this at once as being the dis-
tinctive feature of the Separatist movement. " In this,"
he says, *' beginneth Brownism." It is " the first stone
of that schismatical building." ^ Smith's declaration
" that the power of Christ, that is, authority to preach, to
administer the Sacraments, and to exercise the censures
of the Church belongeth to the whole Church, yea, to
every one of them and not the principal members
thereof," was set down by Bernard as " the first
A. B. C. of Brownism whereupon they build all the
rest of their untruths." ^
In replying to Bernard in the same year, 1608, Henry
Ainsworth dissociated himself from the democratic
position which Smith had laid down. He was restive
under Bernard's charges of "popular government." He
wanted to tone things down. " Popularity " in Church
1 Letter of 1607 in Paralleles, p. 37.
^ Christian Advertisements ^ Epistle to Reader, 1608.
8 Christian Advertisements^ p. 88. " It was the opinion of the
Smithean-Brownists here," says Bernard, Plaine Evidences, p. 182.
136
The A. B. C. of Brownism
government savoured too much of the Anabaptists to be
respectable. As John Smith tells us : —
"Mr. Ains[worth], answering Mr. Ber[nard], saith that Mr.
Ber[nard] may put this opinion, if he please, in the Criss-crosse ^
row of Bernardisme, he himself being the first that ever he heard
to utter such a position, and afterward expoundeth what that
auncient Church whereof he is teacher holdeth concerning it." ^
Ainsworth put the matter in this way : —
** Christ's ruling power, which the Papists say is in the Pope,
we say not (as this man [i.^., Bernard] calumniateth us) that it is
in the body of the congregation the multitude, but in Christ
himself ... we acknowledge Christ to have ordained a
Presbytery or Eldership, and that in every Church, for to teach
and rule them by his own word and laws, unto whom all the
multitude, the members, the Saints, ought to obey and submit
themselves as the Scriptures teach."*
Again he says : —
" For popular Government (which Mr. Bernard would traduce
us by) we hold it not, we approve it not, for if the multitude
govern then who shall be governed ? Christian liberty (which all
have) is one thing, the reins of government (which some have) is
another thing." ^
But Smith stood to his guns. He had no fears about
the democratic principle of Church government, for he
was convinced that it was the order indicated in the New
Testament. Commenting on Ainsworth's reply to
Bernard, he says, " There are some particulars wherein
Mr. Ainsworth hath left mee and the truth in the open
playne field to shift for ourselves," ^ and then he again
1 This is a reference to the way the A. B. C. was spaced out on the
child's Horn Book.
2 Parallehs, p. 40.
^ Cotmterpoyson^Y^. 1 75 — 176.
^ Ibid., p. 178.
^ Preface to Paralleles.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
sets out and defends his position in forcible words. " We
must remember," he says,
*'that the power of Christ which we speak of is a ministerial
delegated power given to man, and that the question is, 'Who is
the first subject of this ministerial power ? Who receive it
immediately from Christ ? ' I say the body of the Church is the
first subject of it. And I say that whatsoever the Eldership hath
it hath from Christ through the body of the Church and by the
Churches disposition. And this, if you deny, Mr. Ains[worth],
(which I think you do not), I say you are therein departed from
the faith. . . .
" We say Christ's ruling power is originally and fundamentally
in the body of the Church, the multitude, and we acknowledge
further that the Elders receive by delegation power from the body
of the Church, which power ministerial in the hands of the Elders
is not so large as that which is in the body, but it is rather a
leading power than a ruling power. Neither are the Elders
in all the New Testament (to my knowledge) called ' rulers,'
* archontes ' ; but overseers, leaders, elders, prohistamenoi,
whereby the Holy Ghost would teach that their power is not to
rule but to lead and direct. I do therefore utterly disclaim this your
error, Mr. Ainsworth, as one part of * Antichristianism ' in your
church, but you had need expound it well for the satisfaction of
the brethren of the Separation lest herein you destroy your con-
stitution before you be aware. ... If you hold that lordly
usurped antichristian power of your Eldership to be that ruling
power which the word of God warranteth, it shall be your part to
justify it and to rebuke all that gainstand it, for herein we utterly
disclaim your judgment and practice. We maintain that the
power of the Eldership is a leading, directing, and overseeing
power, ministry or service both in the ' kingdom ' and the
* priesthood ' of the Church, and that the negative voice, the last
definitive determining sentence is in the body of the Church
whereto the Eldership is bound to yield, and that the Church
may do any lawful act without the Elders, but the Elders can do
nothing without the approbation of the body or contrary to the
body." 1
1 ParalleleSy p. 69.
138
Democratic Principles Adopted
Here we have a clear and decisive statement of the
fundamental principle of Congregational Church polity.
It is interesting to note that while Johnson went further
and further in the Presbyterian direction, Ainsworth^
swung back to the Congregational standpoint. This
divergence of opinion between the two men was one of
the causes of the division which ultimately took place
in the " ancient English Church at Amsterdam."
John Robinson, however, followed Smith in according
the chief power and authority to the Church, and not to
the officers and ministers of the Church.^ He adopts
the arguments of Smith upon this point, and enlarges
on them when seeking to justify the ** Separation "
against Bernard's objections. Through his followers
this principle of Church order was carried to New
England. Robinson also exerted a direct influence in
this particular upon Henry Jacob, to whom may be
traced one of the earliest (1616) Congregational
Churches in England. Planted in London, Jacob's
Church became the model upon which others were
framed. It became the mother of many Churches, and
to its source may be traced the larger section of those
English Baptist Churches which are Congregational in
polity.
We thus see that Smith's interpretation of the New
Testament teaching concerning the power of Church
members united in religious fellowship had far-reaching
results. He gave clear expression to a vital idea. He
took up the thought of Browne upon this matter and
* See Johnson's Christian Plea, 1617, and Ainsworth's Animadversion
to Mr. Richard Clifton^ s Advertisement^ 16 13.
"^ Justification of Separation, i6io, Works, ii., p. 427 — 450.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
gave it emphasis. His decisive championship of the
democratic principle in Church government was not
without influence upon the subsequent history of the
English and American peoples. There was a tendency
to apply to civil affairs those principles by means of
which the popular feeling found expression in matters
of religion and Church order.
We have illustrated John Smith's opinion upon the
relation of the ministry to the Church by extracts from
his letter of 1607 and his book of " Paralleles " of 1609,
because those two writings are closely interwoven ; but
the same views are expressed in his book about the
• " Differences of the Churches of the Separation," issued
in 1608. It may possibly have been because he had
got into difficulties with the " Eldership " of Johnson's
Church that he gave renewed and special attention to
this question. " The brethren jointly," he says, '* have
all power both of the kingdom and priesthood imme-
diately from Christ, and that by virtue of the covenant
God maketh with them. Therefore, when the Church
wanteth an Eldership it hath nevertheless power to
preach, pray, sing psalms, and so by consequence to
administer the seals of the covenant ; also to admonish
convince, excommunicate, absolve and all other actions
either of the kingdom or priesthood. When the Church
has chosen and ordained herself Elders, then the Church
loseth none of her former power, but still retaineth it
entire to herself to use when occasion serveth." ^
As to the " Eldership," or ''Presbytery," itself, he
now believed that " all the Elders had the same office
* Differences, p. 28.
140
All Pastors or Elders of one Rank
of pastor, and so were all of one sort." ^ They might be
distinguished by different names according to their
special work or qualifications, such as elders, overseers
or bishops, pastors, teachers, governors, leaders, but
they were not to be regarded as "several officers
formally differing one from another." ^ This was making
rather a subtle distinction, and it cut across the practice
of Johnson's Church. Smith laid it down that " the
Presbytery is uniform, consisting of officers of one sort,"
but if they might be distinguished according to their
several excellencies or functions what was there gained
by that, beyond keeping them all to one level of power
and dignity ? It enabled him to lay down this conclu-
sion : " That the Eldership, consisting of three sorts of
Elders, is the invention of man, having both an anti-
christian ministry and government in it. And,
therefore when the Popish prelacy was suppressed and
the triformed presbytery substituted, one Antichrist was
put down and another set up in his place ; or the beast
was suppressed and his image advanced." Vi think we
may attribute it to Smith's example and influence that
no official " Teacher " was ever appointed in Robinson's*
Church at Leyden, and that for some time after its
arrival in that city it carried on its work without any
*' ruling elder " until at length William Brewster was
chosen to that office.
With regard to the treasury of the Church and the
deacon's office with which Smith dealt in seven brief
chapters at the close of this book, he lays down some
* Differences^ p. 23.
2 Ibid. , pp. 22, 27.
8 Ibid., p. 24.
* Lawne's Frophatu Schisme., 1612, p. 88.
141
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
practical rules for the gathering of needful funds, and
indicates the purposes for which they were to be used by
the deacons. ''All the members of the Church are to
contribute something." He preached no easy doctrine
to the rich, " in the necessities of the Church the rich
must sell their goods and provisions for the help of the
Church." The Church was a social organism whose
members were knit together by the bonds of a common
spirit into a corporate fellowship. The welfare of each
was bound up with the good of all. If the " rich
brethren " do not contribute " they are unworthy mem-
bers of the Church, and unnatural parts of the body, and
are to be censured according to the rule." ^ Special
prayer and thanksgiving were to be offered up at the
time of the collection : " Alms or contributions to the
Treasury must be sanctified by prayer and thanks-
giving." "The treasury is to be collected every first
day of the week when the whole Church cometh
together to break bread." Many people would think it
strange in these days if notice were given that only those
in membership with the Church were expected to contri-
bute to the collection. But that was the principle laid
down by John Smith. " There ought to be a separation
in alms and contribution to the treasury as well as in
other parts of our spiritual communion ; therefore, they
that are without [i.e., not in membership] if they give
anything must lay it apart several from the treasury,
and it must be employed to common use." ^
John Robinson agreed with Smith on this point, and
through his Church the practice of some of the New
* Differences^ p. 29.
2 Ibid,^ p. 30.
142
The Use of Church Money
England Churches with regard to the collection was
influenced in the same direction. " Master Robinson ^
hath followed Master Smith in his doctrine and practice
about the separation in alms, and so hath one special
kind of separation more than Master Johnson or Master
Ainsworth in their companies do practice, and therefore
might seem to have a more holy treasury." A modern
example is furnished by the Churches of the "Christian
Brethren " in England at the present time which will
only accept contributions from their own members.
The general instructions for the employment of the
money and goods collected throw some light upon the
condition of the Church at Amsterdam : —
1. " Maintenance of the Elders, especially such among them
as are most painful [i.e. painstaking] in the word and doctrine.
The Elders that are of ability ought not to require maintenance
of the church, but ought rather to contribute to the treasury.
" The Elders may sometime upon good grounds work with their
hands for avoiding offence and helping the Church.
2. " Maintenance of the widows and by consequence other
officers that want maintenance.
3. " Relief of the poor brethren, also orphans and widows of
brethren deceased, and that not only of their own but of other true
Churches, especially of them from whom they received the faith.
4. " Provision for necessary uses as places, vessels, bread, wine,
and other implements for the common necessities of the whole
body.
" Query. Whether, if the charge of bread and wine be very great
as it falleth out in some countries and some years, and the officers
and poor want maintenance, the Lord's Supper may not be
deferred and not be administered every Lord's Day." ^
This is a flash of light upon the hardships which these
* Lawne's Prophane Schisnie^ 1612, p.
2 Differences^ pp. 30 — 31.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
refugees were called upon to endure. They were accus-
tomed to a rough plenty in England, but in Holland
they found the cost of living increased. It took some
time to fall into the ways of the new life and find suitable
and remunerative employment. Meanwhile, those who
had sold their little estates in England found their stock
melting away, while the necessities of the Church were
for the time being increased. In these circumstances
Smith was inclined to put the practical needs of the
Church and its poor before the ceremony of the Supper,
dear as that was to their hearts and helpful to their
lives.
The book of "Differences " concludes with "Certayne
Demandes wherto wee desire direct and sound answer
with proof from the Scriptures." This is a formidable
string of sixty-one questions such as the following : —
*' Whether the holy originals do not contain more matter than
the prophets and apostles that wrote them did conceive ?
*' Whether metre rhythm and tune be not quenching the Spirit ?
" Whether voluntary be not as necessary in tune and words as
in matter ?
*' Whether the Eldership hath a negative voice in the church
that nothing can be concluded without them ?
"Whether the seals of the covenant may not be administered
there being yet no Elders in office ? "
When replying to this book Ainsworth complained
that Smith had not set out the differences between the
English Churches at Amsterdam with sufficient pre-
cision, and then, glancing at this long line of notes of
interrogation, reminding him of a string of fish-hooks, he
says, with a touch of humour, he should not angle for
others to set them out as he has done by his serried row
of " demands " at the end of his book.
144
CHAPTER X
SMITH BECOMES A BAPTIST— CONTROVERSY ON
INFANT BAPTISM WITH RICHARD CLIFTON —
smith's BAPTISM OF HIMSELF — MODE OF BAP-
TIZING — WAS IT BY IMMERSION?
The incident in the career of Smith which excited
greatest attention and led to the conferring upon him of
the distinctive designation " Se-baptist," is connected with
the next advance in his opinions. He had, up to now,
been pretty confident that he and his companions were
right in constituting their new and true Church by means
of a mutual covenant. It was one of his chief grounds
for separating from the Anglican Church that its " parish
assemblies " were not constituted by covenant. But now
a fresh idea laid hold upon his mind. He noticed that
while the Old Testament had much to say about the
covenant, the New Testament passed it over, and
indicated baptism upon repentance and profession of
faith as the method followed by the Apostles in admitting
members and constituting Churches. He began to
question whether the Separatists after all had constituted
their Churches aright. They had followed the plan
adopted by Israel in restoring true worship after a period
of idolatry, rather than the plain instruction of Jesus
and the practice of the Apostles. While rejecting the
the Church of England as a false Church -'hey were yet
145 K
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
retaining the baptism which they had received in that
Church. They retained its baptism while they renounced
its orders, and compelled those who had received epis-
copal ordination to be reordained in the congregation
which they were specially called to serve.
Smith saw how illogical this was. He declared that
if the Church of England were really a false Church then
her baptism must be false. But he went further than
this, and repudiated infant baptism as being without
warrant in the New Testament. It seemed clear to him
that in order to set up a true Church according to the
New Testament model he and his company would have
to begin all over again, and, what is more, would have to
begin by baptism. It was not the first time that the
question had arisen among English Separatists, but
hitherto they had, with very few exceptions, shirked it.
To baptize their members anew would link them on in
the popular estimation with the Anabaptists, and that
was a title of such ill odour that they sought by every
means to avoid it. But John Smith was not the man
to be frightened by names when conscience and con-
viction called him to a particular course. In this case
he went straight on, and such were his suasive powers
that he carried his fellow members with him, even into
Anabaptism. He overcame the difficulty of finding an
administrator by first baptizing himself and then Thomas
Helwys and the rest, each making their particular con-
fessions. Then they proceeded to elect pastor and officers
anew, thus making a clean start and reviving once more,
as they firmly believed, a Church after the primitive
apostolic pattern amongst English-speaking people.
We cannot say with certainty what led Smith to turn
146
A Fresh Start
his attention to the question of baptism. It has been
conjectured that he came under the influence of the
Dutch Mennonites thus early in his sojourn at Amster-
dam. The followers of Menno Simons (1492 — 1559),
one of the most engaging of the Anabaptist leaders, were
numerous and influential at Amsterdam, and Smith soon
came into touch with them. Helwys acknowledges that
they were the means of bringing himself and his friends
out of some grievous errors to the light of truth. It is
not at all unlikely that Smith was influenced both by
the Mennonites and by those of his own nation who had
become Anabaptists in Holland before his arrival in
that country. Enoch Clapham was troubled with
Anabaptists in the Church of English refugees to which
he ministered at Amsterdam in 1597.^ In his Church
the question as to the validity of the baptism given in
the Churches of Rome and England was thoroughly
debated. He came to the conclusion that it was not to
be repeated, for if that baptism " be wholly fallen then
we must be all unbaptised till some other John Baptist
or Christ himself come down again to begin and lay the
foundation anew, except it be lawful for every man to
baptise and then I see not why others before us as well as
now did not well enough baptise." If they had only con-
sidered "the absurd errors" following upon the contention
that Romish and Anglican baptism was invalid " many
poor English souls would not so have hunted after new
baptisms." 2
Besides these membeis of Clapham's Church, there
1 See Henoch Clapham's Little tractate entitled The Carpenter,
dated July 7, 1597. Sig. E.
2 Theological AxiotnSy by Henoch Clapham, 1597. Conclusion, 5.
Sig. B. iii.
147 K 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
were many from Robert Browne's Church at Middelburg
and a few from the Church of Johnson and Ainsworth
who fell away to Anabaptism. What is more likely than
that some of these English Anabaptists ^ should come into
touch with John Smith now that he was at variance with
the Church of which Francis Johnson was pastor ? How-
ever that may be, we are able to trace the course of the
controversy on this subject from the pamphlets on both
sides printed in connection with this discussion. It was
with his old friend Richard Clifton that he argued the
matter, for Francis Johnson declined to enter into con-
troversy with him directly.
Clifton (1553 — 1616) was for many years rector of
Babworth, in Nottinghamshire. He was a heart-stirring
preacher, but was deprived of his living for noncon-
formity to the ceremonies of the Church. John Smith
had been intimate with him in England, and was the
means of convincing him that the Separatist Church was
a true Church. He had also discussed with him in writing
questions relating to excommunication and other points
of Church order. It appears that Clifton and " divers
others " purposed to have " committed their souls " to
Smith, or, as we should say, proposed to join his Church
on their arrival in Holland, but changed their minds on
account of errors he had broached likely to bring the
cause into ill-favour. Smith's advance to the Anabaptist
position caused still greater consternation among his old
friends.
1 Cf. also Roy all Exchange^ etc.^ by John Payne, Haarlem, 1597, p. 22.
" I wishe you beware of the dangerouse opinions of suclie Englyshe
Anabaptists bred here as whose parsons in part with more store of there
letters doth crepe and spreade amongst you in cittie and contrey."
1^8
Eager Discussions
It was probably early in the year 1609^ that Smith
and his company reconstituted their Church anew by
baptism. They were eager to spread the light, as we see
from Clifton's account of the way he was drawn into the
controversy : —
" Presently after you [i.e.. Smith] were fallen into these gross
errors came Mr. [Edward] Southworth and Mr. [Hugh]
Bromhead, two of your followers, to my chamber (as they said)
in kindness to see me and entered conference with me concerning
these opinions, saying that they had heard that I had been
inclined that way when I was in England, with some persuasive
speeches to consider of this your new walking. Saying also that
you were willing to confer with me and did wish that either
I would come to you, or else, if I were willing, you would take
pains to come to me. To whom I answered that I never had any
thoughts of embracing such opinions, neither was willing to have
any conference with you thereabout. Which when they heard
me so to say they further did solicit me to write with you about
these points, and said that you would as willingly and friendly
write with me thereof, as you did in England in our former con-
ference concerning excommunication and other differences then
between you and me, offering if I would not begin that yet I would
vouchsafe to read and answer your writing. To whom I said
again that I would not write first or require your writing (for I
thought not to have any dealing with you) yet being so importuned
I told them that I would be content to read it if you sent it to me,
but for answer thereunto I promised none." ^
This gave Smith an opening, and he at once sent in a
paper as follows : —
" Certain reasons propounded to Mr. Rich. Clifton concerning
the two Propositions following : —
"I. That infants are not to be baptized.
" (i) Because there is neither precept nor example in the New
Scheffer concluded it was in October, 1608 ; seeDexter's England and
Holland of the Pilg7-ims, p. 453.
"^ The Plea for Infants^ etc.^ by Clifton, 16 10, p. 4.
149
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Testament of any infants that were baptized by John or Christ's
disciples. Only they that did confess their sins and confess their
faith were baptized.
" (2) Because Christ commandeth to make Disciples by teaching
them and then to baptize them, but infants cannot by doctrine
become Christ's disciples and so cannot by the rule of Christ be
baptized.
" (3) Because if infants be baptized the carnal seed is baptized
and so the seal of the covenant is administered to them unto
whom the covenant appertaineth not, which is a profanation.
"II. That Antichristians ^ converted are to be admitted into the
true Church by baptism.
" (i) Because Churches are so to be constituted now after the
defection of Antichrist, as they were first erected by the Apostles.
But in the constitution of Churches the Apostles received in the
members by baptism ; ergo, so must we do now.
" (2) Because true baptism is but one ; but the baptism of Anti-
christ is not true baptism and so not that one baptism of Christ,
but all members of Christ must have true baptism.
" (3) Because as the false Church is rejected and the true
erected, the false Ministry forsaken and the true received : so false
worship (and by consequence baptism) must be renounced and
the true baptism assumed.
"John Smyth."
After Clifton had received this bombshell he had
some conversation upon the questions at issue with
Mrs. [Ursula] By water, whom he describes as " a
gentlewoman that hath embraced your errors." " I
urged her," he says, ** to be careful over herself how she
entertained your new opinions, affirming that I was
persuaded they were grievous errors, and prayed her
instantly to stay awhile until your * Positions ' might be
answered, assuring her that I could by God's help defend
1 The term " Antichristian," which seems to us harsh, had become a
mere conventional phrase amongst the Separatists to designate Roman
Catholics and those in England who adhered to the prelatical party.
Clifton Defends Infant Baptism
this truth we stand for against you."^ Accordingly
Clifton set to work to reply to the two propositions of
Smith. He defended the baptism of infants and declared
it to be " utterly unlawful " to re-baptize " such as have
been formerly baptized in the Apostate Churches of
Christians." This reply is dated March 14th, 1608-9,^
which gives us a fixed point before which Smith had
adopted Baptist opinions.
In ten days Smith had completed an elaborate answer
to the arguments contained in Clifton's reply. He sent
on a written copy of this answer, dated March 24,
1608-9,^ to Clifton, who forthwith began a second reply.
When Clifton had almost completed his second answer,
Smith, without consulting Clifton, put their "former
private passages " upon this topic to the press under
the provocative title of "The Character of the Beast."
Here the word " character " is used in the original sense
of a mark or stamp, and is intended to denote the
baptism usually received in the Churches of England and
Rome. This is made clear by the quotation on the title
page of Rev. xiii. 16, and Rev. xiv. 9, 10 : " If any man
receive the mark in his forehead or in his hand the same
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God."
This little pamphlet is poorly printed on poor paper.
The printer's name is not mentioned ; we simply have the
phrase, " printed 1609." It looks as though Smith had
difficulty, either from lack of means or from other causes,
in getting his books published. The tone of the work
is not at all pleasing. The very fact that the leaders in
1 Clifton's Plea for Infants^ etc., 1610, p. 5.
2 Character of the Beast, 1609, p. 68, and The Plea, 1610, p. 213.
8 *' I end writing this, March 24, 1608, John Smyth," Character, etc.
p. 71. This would be April 3, 1609, in modern reckoning.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
the ancient Separatist Church had entered into a con-
spiracy of silence against him made him present his
case with the sharpest possible edge. He would smooth
nothing down. He is vehement and absolute. Of the
Separatist Church he says : —
" Although once in our ignorance we have acknowledged her a
true Church, yet now, being better informed, we revoke that our
erroneous judgment, and protest against her as well for her false
constitution as for her false ministry, worship, and government." ^
Then a little later on he breaks out against the leaders
in these terms : —
"We require them, nay, we charge them yea we challenge
them, to the defence of their errors. Lo ! we protest against
them to be a false Church, falsely constituted in the baptism of
infants and their own unbaptized estate. We protest against
them to have a false worship of reading books. We protest against
them to have a false government of a triformed presbytery. We
protest against them to have a false ministry of Doctors or
Teachers. Finally we protest against them that seeing their
constitution is false therefore there is no one ordinance of the
Lord true among them. These things we have published and
of these things we require answer, for we proclaim against them
as they proclaim against their own mother England, that the
Separation, the youngest and the fairest daughter of Rome, is an
harlot, ' for as is the mother so is the daughter.' " "
Truly, the epithets which Barrowe and his followers
directed against the Anglican Church were now coming
home to roost.
The fact that John Smith baptized himself has been
established beyond question by those who have looked
into the matter in recent years, though it was doubted
1 Character of the Beast : Episde to Reader, ii.
2 Character^ etc. : Epistle to Reader, p. v.
Smith's Act of Self-Baptism
by some of the older Baptist writers. John Robinson's
account was derived at first hand from those who
belonged to the Church of Smith and Helwys.
'* If 1 the church " he says, " be gathered by baptism then will
Mr. Helwisse's church appear to all men to be built upon the
sand, considering the baptism it had and hath : which was, as I
have heard from themselves on this manner. Mr. Smyth, Mr.
Helwisse and the rest, having utterly dissolved and disclaimed
their former church state and ministry, came together to erect a
new church by baptism unto which they also ascribed so great
virtue as that they would not so much as pray together before
they had it. And after some straining of courtesy who should
begin, and that of John Baptist [I have need to be baptized of
thee and comest thou to me] Matt. 3, 14 misalleged, Mr. Smyth
baptized first himself and next Mr. Helwisse and so the rest
making their particular confessions."
His opponents at once fastened upon this unusual
proceeding. They put a question to him which in other
connections he had been fond of putting to them.
Where is your warrant from Scripture for this act ?
Though he could produce no express command from the
New Testament for a man to baptize himself, yet Smith
was at pains to justify his action. " Now for baptizing
a man's self," he says,
"there is as good warrant as for a man Churching himself.
For two men singly are no church ; jointly they are a Church and
they both of them put a Church upon themselves; so may two
men put baptism upon themselves. For as both those persons
unchurched yet have power to assume the Church each of them
for himself with others in communion, so each of them unbaptized
hath power to assume the baptism for himself with others in
communion. And as Abraham and John Baptist and all the
proselytes after Abraham's example, (Exod. xii. 48) did administer
1 Works, iii., 168.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
the Sacrament upon themselves, so may any man raised up after
the Apostasy of Antichrist, in the recovering of the Church by bap-
tism, administer it upon himself in communion with others. . . .
Every Priest going to sacrifice washed himself in the Laver at the
door of the Tabernacle of the congregation, which was a type of
baptism the door of the church (Tit. 3, 5). Every Master of a
family administered the Passover to himself and all of his family.
The priest daily sacrificed for himself and others. A man cannot
baptize others into the Church himself being out of the Church,
therefore, it is lawful for a man to baptize himself together with
others in communion and this warrant is a plerophory for the
practice of that which is done by us." ^
To the position here laid down Thomas Helwys,
John Murton and a section of Smith's followers consis-
tently adhered, but he himself saw reason to change his
opinion on this point in order to avoid some consequences
which he had not foreseen. Clifton put the case in this
way : " If you that baptize yourself (being but an ordinary
man) may this do, then may another do the like and so
every one baptize himself." ^ He also pushed Smith's
argument that " baptism is the visible form of the Church "
to an unexpected conclusion : —
" If baptism be the form then it may come to pass that one
man may be a visible Church as he that first in the company
baptizeth himself, he is a Church being baptized, for he that
hath the form upon him must needs be the thing formed. And
so Mr. Smyth was a Church when he baptized himself which is
absurd to think." «
This would be individualism run wild, and Smith,
though democratic in spirit and a champion of liberty, had
a keen sense of order and fitness in all Church actions.
* Character of the Beast, p. 59.
2 The Plea, 1 6 10, p. 178.
^ Ibid.y p. 179.
The Title Se-Baptist
The arguments and objections urged by Clifton against
self-baptism seem to have weighed with Smith, and
though he held to his conviction of the necessity of
adult baptism, we shall see that he came to renounce his
act of self-baptism which had made him notorious.
The news of John Smith's advance to the Anabaptist
position was not long in reaching his former friends and
acquaintances in England. He was not one to hide his
light under a bushel. Clifton gives it as one of his
reasons for replying to " The Character of the Beast "
that " the same book is sent over into our own country
and is spread abroad into the hands of many." ^ A copy
came to the hands of Richard Bernard when he was
engaged on his reply to Ainsworth's " Counterpoyson "
and, it is to Bernard, in that reply, that I trace the
nickname "Se-baptist" by which John Smith has been
distinguished from others of that name.
Bernard tells us humorously why he coined the
phrase : —
" If any ask why I do give him a new title to his old name : my
answer is he wanted I know a Godfather when he was Christened
againe ; now it is an ancient custome to name then the childe and
the susceptors to give it. Indeed I was not requested by this
Childe's Parents to be an undertaker, neverthelesse upon so extra-
ordinarie an Act I will be somewhat exorbitant with myself to
cal him Mr. John Smith, the Anabaptisticall Se-baptist. Notorious
acts wee may reade have made men remarkable and have gotten
them names and titles for a memoriall of the facts and deeds done.
Why should not hee then obtain what worthily he hath deserved ?
He is Anabaptisticall for rebaptization, and he is a Se-baptist
because he did baptise himself. It is more than Christ would do.
But he could find no whither to go for Baptisme. In some Churches
it was false, as he imagined ; in some true, but not lawfully to be
1 TAe Plea, etc.^ preface.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
received because of some Heresies.* But is his Baptisme
true ? 2
Bernard uses the term Se-baptist more than once.
He places it upon the title-page of his book ^ and writes
of Smith with a touch of mockery in this strain : —
" He hath founded a new Church, he hath (if you will believe
him) recovered the true baptism and the true matter and form of
a true Church, which now is only to be found pure among a
company of Se-baptists. Mr. Smith will hold ever this word ' Se '
to himself, for in going into Brownism he was a separatist, he
held differing opinions from them, and now that he is in Anabap-
tism he is a Se-baptist, he wholly goeth not with that heretical
sect. It may seem he intendeth to have an oar in every boat
and a piece of every profession, holding all and none wholly, and
yet will suppose himself the best, as if he were an unerring
reformer having an infallible rule in scrinio pectoris to be uni-
versally good." *
Joseph Hall also soon became aware of Smith's action
and saw the logical force of his argument. Smith put
the point briefly in this form :—
" To say thus : England hath a false constitution ; England
hath a true baptism
" is as much as to say thus ; England hath a false constitution ;
England hath a true constitution
" which is to contradict." «
Hall turned the argument against the Separatists.
*' Either you must go forward to Anabaptism," said he
to John Robinson, *'or come back to us. All your
Rabbins cannot answer that charge of your re-baptized
* * As among the Anabaptists.' Marginal note m loco.
' Plaine Evidences^ p. 1 7.
8 Plaine Evidences^ 16 10. Title page and preface.
'' Plaine Evidences, p. 19.
* Character^ etc.. Epistle to Reader.
156
Re-Baptized Separatists
brother : if we be a True Church you must return, if we
be not (as a False Church is no Church of God) you
must re-baptize. If our baptism be good then is our
Constitution good." ^
Another contemporary book which refers to the baptism
of Smith was issued in London in 1610 under the title
" A Description of the Church of Christ with her peculiar
Privileges." The author, who only gives his initials, I. H.,
I take to have been a Familist. The members of the
Family of Love, though they believed the older Churches
were in many things corrupt, would not separate from
them, but remained in fellowship quietly awaiting the
time when God would raise up extraordinary and special
messengers and prophets to introduce the needed reforms
in religion. The action of Smith in restoring the primi-
tive baptism would interest them, but the question would
arise as to whether he were an extraordinary prophet of
God, and to such an office Smith laid no claim. In his
book I. H. sought to maintain the truth, as he conceived
it, " against certain anabaptistical and erroneous opinions,
very hurtful and dangerous to weak Christians, main-
tained and practised by one Master John Smith some-
time a Preacher in Lincolnshire and a Company of
English People with him now at Amsterdam in Holland
whom he hath there with himself rebaptized." ^ The
running title of the work is ** To the new Sect of
Rebaptised Separatists."
The author's statement of what led him to write his
book is of interest, because it shows us how eager the
members of Smith's Church were to discuss matters of
^ Hall's Common Apologie, s. xi.
^ Description of the Church of Christy London, 1610.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
religion. We can picture the scene to which this vivid
passage refers : —
" And now, dear friends, to let you understand my cause of
writing to the afore named Master John Smith and his company.
It fell out of late that I, being in company of some of them, had
some conference with them wherein they seemed very well
affected to the things that I spake unto them. One of them answer-
ing me in these words : ' I could willingly let all these things
which you have said go down into me but only the going to the
assemblies ' ^ ; another of them answered him instantly, ' You
heard what he said for that.' And so they requested me that I
would set the things down in writing which had been said and
they would either answer or subscribe unto it. Which thing
I thought good to perform." ^
There is one shrewd remark by this writer bearing
upon the act of Smith's self-baptism which is worth
quotation. *' It was^ wonder," he says, "you would not
receive your baptisme first from some one of the Elders
of the Dutch Anabaptists, but you will be holyer then
all, and see how you have marred all." Before this
book was issued from the press Smith himself had been
struck by the same thought, and was already in treaty
with the Dutch Mennonites for admission to their
fellowship.
The year 1609 must have been a busy one for
John Smith. In addition to his controversy on the
question of baptism with Clifton and Robinson and the
publication of his *' Character of the Beast," he saw
through the press his important work, entitled
** Paralleles, Censures, Observations Aperteyning to
* I.e., going to service at the parish churches ; the Separatists avoided
the word "church" in this connection.
2 Description of the Church of Christy Epistle to the Citizens of the
Heavenly [erusalem, p. ii.
3 lOid., p. 23.
158
Paralleles and Censures
three several Writings." ^ We have his own explana-
tion of the singular title : " I have thought meet," he
says, " not barely to publish this lettre but parallele-wise
to compare Mr. Bernard's book Mr. Ainsvvorth's answer
and this my lettre [2>., his letter of 1607 to Richard
Bernard] together, as also to annexe a few animadver-
sions and observations aperteyning thereunto that by
this means the agrement and difference being discovered
the truth may appeare where it is." ^ This book was
designed to establish the general grounds of the Separa-
tion, to rebut the arguments put forward in Bernard's
*' Separatists' Schism," and to show that the constitution
of the Church of England was false. As we have already
noted, Ainsworth had written an answer to Bernard
which had led that ready writer to take up his pen
again. "When," says Bernard, " I was writing over my
reply to this Mr. Ainsworth which I had thought should
have gone forth so alone, I received by God's good
providence the Se-baptist's booke, I meane Mr. Smith's
answere also, so, that it might not boast like an Heathenish
Golias against God's Church without an encounter, I
have therefore placed him and ranked him in his due
order as he came, and made answere thereto as is meet.
... I heare of Mr. Robinson's answere also [Robinson's
Justification of Separation, 1610] ; if it had come in he
should also have been replyed vpon. Though I be a
weake man and my weapons be against these three
Captaines of three Companies, and but a stone in a
sling, yet shall Israel prevaile. The truth is strong
against all enemies whosoever they be." ^
1 Printed 1609.
2 Preface to Paralleles.
^ Plaine Evidences ^ 16 10, preface, iii.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Thus no sooner was one answer out than the ball was
tossed back in a second reply. Smith might well begin
to grow weary of the wordiness of controversy. Even
Francis Johnson, who at the outset kept aloof from this
discussion about baptism, joined in the fray as soon as
Smith's *' Character of the Beast " saw the light. It is
true he studiously avoided mentioning Smith by name
in what he had to say about the matter, but in his
" Brief Treatise conteyning some grounds and reasons
against two errours of the Anabaptists," issued in 1609,
he clearly had Smith and his company in mind. The
** two errors " were the " positions " laid down by Smith
in controversy with Clifton, " the one concerning baptism
of infants, the other concerning anabaptism of elder
people." On these points Johnson declared "that
baptism is to be administered to infants, being the
children of the faithful, and that baptism received in the
Apostatical Churches of Christians, as of Rome and
the like, is not to be renounced and a new to be repeated
again." As to the baptism of Smith's Church, he says
" their latter washing of themselves is not Baptisme
approved of God in His word ; but a vayne observation
of their own taken vp by the will and invention of
man."i
The Mode of Baptizing
It will be noticed that Johnson referred to the baptism
of Smith and his companions as a ''washing." The
question arises as to what was the mode of baptizing
adopted by Smith. Was it by immersion or by affusion ?
1 A Brief Treatise^ etc.^ 1609, p. 22, in the University Library,
Cambridge.
160
Mode of Baptizing
The references to it by his contemporaries point to the
latter method. Robinson writing against Helwys calls
it " a new outward washing," and refers to his adherents
as ** double washers." There is not the slightest hint or
suggestion in the writings of Smith that dipping was
necessary. The Mennonite practice of pouring a little
water upon the head of the candidate from the hands of
the administrator seems to have been followed. When
the union of " the remainders of Smyth's company " with
the Mennonites was consummated, the baptism given
in Smith's Church was accepted without question. The
rite was administered within doors, either privately or
in the usual place of meeting in face of the congregation.
It was probably left to the discretion of the administrator
to arrange the details. Interest was centred in the act
itself rather than in the manner of doing it. In some
cases it may have been accompanied by a gentle rubbing
movement to symbolise a cleansing, for that idea was
more prominent than the thought of being buried in
baptism and rising to the new life in Christ. But no
precise description of the method adopted by the
English Anabaptists has yet come to light.
It was not till the year 1640^ that a member of
Henry Jessey's Church in London, Richard Blunt by
name, becoming convinced that baptism "ought to be by
dipping in the body unto the water resembling burial
and rising again," brought this aspect of the matter into
prominence. This Church had been founded in 161 6
by Henry Jacob, and was Calvinistic in doctrine. It
was amongst those who had been connected with this
* Tramactions of Baptist History Society, vol. i., January, 1910.
Documents edited by Dr. W. T. Whitley, p. 232, etc.
161 L
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Church that the practice of immersion first came
into vogue. Richard Blunt was sent over into the
Netherlands to receive baptism in that manner,
for immersion had been introduced into Holland
in 1619 by the CoUegianten, an off-shoot from the
Mennonites. It was to Jan Batten, their teacher at
Leyden, that Blunt applied for baptism. The
Collegianten were Arminians and unorthodox in
theology, but thoroughly tolerant. The Calvinistic
opinions of Blunt would be no bar in their eyes to his
baptism, for they regarded the rite as admitting into the
Church universal and not into their particular society.
Thus the practice of immersion was introduced into
England and quickly gained ground. Whereas the
Declaration of Faith issued by Thomas Helwys and his
friends in 161 1 speaks of "baptism or washing with
water," the Confession of Faith issued by the represen-
tatives of seven " particular " or " Calvinistic " Baptist
Churches in London in 1644 prescribes immersion as the
mode of baptism. It is the first "confession" to insist
upon " dipping or plunging the body under water." The
only passage in the writings of the earlier English
Baptists which I know of that points to immersion is to
be found in Leonard Busher's " Religion's Peace or a
Plea for Liberty of Conscience," originally issued in
1614. ** Christ," he says, " commanded his disciples to
teach all nations and baptize them ; that is to preach
the word of salvation to every creature of all sorts of
nations that are worthy and willing to receive it. And
such as shall willingly and gladly receive it, he hath
commanded to be baptized in the water, that is^ dipped
for dead in the water. And therefore the Apostle saith,
162
Unitarian Baptists
< Else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if
the dead be not raised why aie they baptized for the
dead? ' i Cor. xv. 19. And therefore he saith, * we are
buried then with him by baptism,' Rom. vi. 4; Col. ii. 12."^
This passage alone is not decisive, and we have to
remember that Busher was an individualist in religious
opinion, representing no large body of people, and that
we only know of this book through the reprint of 1646,
as all original copies seem to be lost. Immersion was
practised by the Unitarian Baptists of Switzerland as
early as 1525, and by those of Poland before the year
1550, in accordance with what they held to be the usage
of the Primitive Church and the general indications in
the New Testament as to the manner of dispensing that
rite. The practice seems to have been derived by the
Rhynsburgers or Collegianten from the Polish Socinian
Baptists. The first to be "dipt at Rynsburg " was
the saintly and loveable John Everston Geesteranus
(1586 — 1622). He and his brother Peter were sorely
persecuted because their views " favoured the tenets of
Socinus and the Anabaptists." ^ In 1620 the Rector of
the College at Rakow in Poland, a Socinian foundation,
invited Geesteranus to take up a post as tutor in that
famous school of learning, but he preferred to remain in
his own country earning his livelihood by weaving.
* Tracts on Libeity of Conscience. Hanserd Knollys Society, 1846,
P- 59.
2 Wallace, Antttrimtarian Biography, ii., 550 — 558, and Barclay's
Inner Life, etc., p. 73.
163 L 2
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER X
NOTE ON THE BAPTISMAL FORMULA
Dr. Dexter, picturing to himself the act of Smith's baptism and
the formation of his new Church, imagines the little company
ranging themselves round a three-legged stool, on which a basin
of water was placed, according to the scene in an old engraving
after Cornelius van Sichem, representing the baptism of an Ana-
baptist. The company are gathered in a large chamber of a
dwelling-house, then " without preliminary prayer Smyth dipped
up water in his hand and poured it over his own forehead in the
name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." ^ He takes it for
granted that the orthodox formula was used, but in this point he
is mistaken. There is contemporary evidence that these were not
the words of administration. Writing early in 1610 Richard
Bernard said 2 : —
** Their baptism is false because it wanteth the true form, for they held
not the words of Christ's commanding so to baptise ; viz. in the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Now the form being false it cannot
be true."
He puts in the margin as his authority this reference : — " Wit-
nesse la. Wh. and other moe," which may refer to Jane White,
sister-in-law of John Robinson. It is clear that Bernard had
access to first hand information sent from Amsterdam to old
friends at Worksop.
There are also indications that Helwys in administering baptism
did not consider it necessary to adhere to the precise form of
words sanctioned by the usage of the Catholic Church, and
inserted at the close of St. Matthew's Gospel — " in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Of course
he would not be aware of the fact, which has since been demon-
strated, that those words were an early addition to the gospel in
^ England and Holland of the Filgrhns, p. 456.
^ Flaine Evidences i p. 315.
164
The Baptismal Formula
the interests of a special doctrinal development, but he noticed
that in the cases of baptism referred to in the New Testament
there was no mention of this formula, whereas there were instances
of disciples being baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus,"
This scriptural example would be quite enough to warrant the
simpler Christian formula for Helwys and his companions against
the usage of the Catholic and Anglican Churches. The early
Baptists allowed a variety in the baptismal sentence. Smith
himself sanctions the customary formula in one decisive passage : —
** The true constitution of the Church is of a new creature baptized into
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost ; the false constitution is of infants
baptized, 1
Robinson consistently held to the triple formula.
" The baptism both in England and Rome is, in the essential causes of
it — the matter water, the form baptizing into the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost — Christ's baptism and ordinance, though in the
administration it be antichrist's device." ^
So he argued in 1610, and upon that ground retained the baptism
received in the Anglican Church without repetition.
" Since the essential form of institution is retained in the baptism in
England and the doctrine of the Trinity sincerely held, into whose name
all persons are baptized indefinitely, the particular errors in that Church
touching the manner of worshiping God, or touching the uses or ends of
baptism (which are not of the essence), cannot make the baptism in itself
cease to be indefinite. "^
Helwys opposed Robinson on this point, and in the course of
his reply remarked : —
"We pass by your y^rw of words because we think you will not stand
upon it in that you see there is no certain form of words held. — Acts 10, 48,
and 19, 5."
He refers to the cases of baptizing in " the name of the Lord "
and " in the name of the Lord Jesus." He was so little disposed
to attach importance to a precise form in the external ceremony
of baptism as to say : —
" If a man be in prison or any place and be converted to the Lord and
1 Character of the Beast, Epistle to Reader, p. ii.
^ Justification of Separation, Works, ii., p. 413.
' Tustification, etc. , Works, ii. , p. 458.
i65
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
would be baptized with water but cannot, he is accepted with God who
accepts the will for the deed — 2 Cor. 8, 12." 1
The General Baptists a generation later allowed the alternative
forms. In *' A brief Confession or Declaration of Faith," sub-
scribed in 1660 by certain Elders, Deacons, and Brethren met
at London, baptism "in the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit or in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" is
enjoined.2 So also among the Calvinistic Baptists of Somerset-
shire and adjacent parts in 1656 it was declared to be the duty of
every man and woman who has repented from dead works and
has faith toward God
"to be baptized ... in the name of our Lord Jesus ... or in the
name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." — Articles 24 and 26 in " A
Confession of Faith of several congregations of Christ in the county of
Somerset, Crosby, I. Appendix, p. 45.
1 Mystery of Iniquity, 1612, p. 140.
^ Grantham's Christianismus Primitivus ii., p. 67.
166
CHAPTER XI
LETTER OF HUGH AND ANNE BROMEHEAD — ORDER
OF SERVICE IN SMITH'S CHURCH AND IN THE
CHURCH AT PLYMOUTH, NEW ENGLAND
We are fortunate in having an independent account
of the general procedure in the Church of which John
Smith was pastor at the stage in its history dealt with
in the preceding chapter. This is to be found in a
letter from Hugh and Anne Bromehead "to their loving
cousin William Hamerton at London." Attention was
called to this document by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, and I
am able to confirm his conjecture that Hugh Bromehead
was a clergyman and belonged to the family of that
name settled at North Wheatley, in Nottinghamshire.
This is made clear from the will of his father, Henry
Bromehead, yeoman of North Wheatley, dated
January 6, 1588.
From the preamble to this document ^ we can see that
Hugh Bromehead's father belonged to that serious,
steady-going class of Englishmen with a keen sense of
duty which has done so much for this country. Amongst
other bequests he left 6s. Sd. to " the poore mans boxe
of Northe Wheatley," and to " every pore howsholder
in North Wheatley and South Wheatley vi.d apece."
1 In the District Probate Registry at York.
167
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Besides bequests to other of his children there is the
following : —
" I give unto Hugho Bromehead my son all those my messuages,
buildings, lands, meadows, tofts, crofts, enclosures, pastures, with
their appurtenances, in Bole in the county of Nottingham to him
and his heirs for ever."
This will is witnessed by " Hugo Bromehead, clerke."
It will be seen that Hugh was comfortably provided
for, and that his connection with Bole and Wheatley, a
few miles from Gainsborough on the old road to Bawtry,
and Scrooby, placed him in a favourable position to
come into touch with those who made the bold venture
of setting up Churches in those parts separate from the
State Church. The will of Edmund Helwys disclosed
some relationship between the families of Helwys and
Hamerton, and we now see that the Hamertons and
Bromeheads were connected. To some extent the
Churches gathered under Smith and Robinson were
family affairs.
When news reached William Hamerton in London
from his kinsman Nicholas that Hugh Bromehead, with
others, had migrated to Amsterdam, and adopted
singular religious opinions, his interest was aroused.
He wrote a letter, dated July 13,^ which I assign
to the year 1609, asking why they had gone to
Amsterdam, urging them to return, which, he made no
question, would be pleasing to God and a comfort to
friends, expressing the fear that conceited fancies and
sundry errors, together with self-willed minds, had led
them into those by-paths ; desiring to know in what
^ "Beloved cosen we received a lettre from you dated xiij. of Julie." — -
Bromehead's letter.
168
Letter from Hugh Bromehead
way the Church of England could be reformed, and
requesting them to forward him any book which
explained their present settled government in Church
matters. To this letter Hugh, together with his wife
Anne, sent a long reply. In form and phrasing it gives
evidence of the influence of Smith upon his followers,
and echoes the sentiments expressed in his works. It
is neatly and closely written, covering three folio pages,
but the ink is now much faded, and where the letter
was folded the writing is barely decipherable. It is
addressed on the backside : —
" To theyr lovinge cosen
Willm Hamerton at
London ; this be delyvered."
It evidently came at length into hostile hands, for at
the head of the first page, in a contemporary hand, but
in blacker ink, this couplet is written : —
" This Brownist's letter, alle vile and vayne
I doe protest I'le ne're read o'er againe."
My reason for putting this letter later than the date
usually assigned to it is because it contains some
passages which also appear in Smith's " Character of
the Beast," published in 1609. Compare the following
sentences : —
"I deny that ever the Eng- **We confidently deny that
lish nation or anyone of our ever the English nation or
predecessors were of the anyone of our predecessors,
faith of Christ, shew it if were of the faith of Christ, or
you can, but we came of at any time believed visibly in
a Pagan race till Rome a true constituted church, but
the mother came and put were come of the race of the
upon us her false baptisme Pagans till Rome the mother
. . . and our case is simply came and put upon us her false
Paganish." — Character of the baptisme worship and ministry
Beast, 1609, p. 64. and so our case is simply
169
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
" For the Holy Ghost . . .
in heavenly wisdom for our
instruction calleth persons
apostating from the true con-
stitution of the Church, Baby-
lonians, Egyptians, Sodomites,
Gentils, thereby teaching us he
esteemeth no otherwise of their
Church or baptisme than of
the Synagogues of Babylon,
than of the washings of Egypt,
than of the worship of Sodom
and of the Pagans." — Ibid.,
p. 63.
" Can anything be true in a
false Church but the Scriptures
and the truthes conteyned
therein?"— 76 jff., p. 58.
Paganish. And the Holy
Ghost in the Scriptures com-
pareth us to the worst kind
of Pagans calling persons
apostating from the true con-
stitution of the Church Babi-
lonians, Egiptians, Sodomites,
&c., teaching us the Church
of England, that He esteemeth
no otherwise of the Church or
baptisme than of the Sinagogue
of Babilon, than of the washings
of Egipt, than of the worship
of Sodom. Your Church of
England therefore being of anti-
christs constitution is a false
church and can there be any-
thing true in a false church
but only the Scriptures and
the truthes therein conteyned? "
— Hugh Bromehead's letter,
Harl. MS., 360, fol. 71.
The passage quoted is consecutive in Bromehead's
letter, but it will be seen that he has lifted sentences out
of their connection from Smith's book and pieced them
together. Bromehead is more interesting when he is
more original. The concluding paragraphs of his letter
are valuable because of their personal note and the
graphic picture they give of the order of service followed
in Smith's Church : —
"Beloved cousin," say the Bromeheads, "concerning your
request of a book of our present settled government, there is
none extant though there be divers books written by our pastor
touching the matters in controversy between the Church of
England and us, and touching the differences between us and
the other churches here.
"The order of the worship and government of our church is : —
I. We begin with a prayer, after read some one or two chapters
170
Order of Service in Smith's Church
of the Bible ; give the sense thereof and confer upon the same ;
that done, we lay aside our books and after a solemn prayer
made by the first speaker he propoundeth some text out of the
scripture and prophesieth out of the same by the space of one
hour or three quarters of an hour. After him standeth up a
second speaker and prophesieth out of the said text the like time
and space, sometimes more, sometimes less. After him, the
third, the fourth, the fifth, &c., as the time will give leave. Then
the first speaker concludeth with prayer as he began with prayer,
with an exhortation to contribution to the poor, which collection
being made is also concluded with prayer. This morning
exercise begins at eight of the clock and continueth unto twelve
of the clock. The like course of exercise is observed in the
afternoon from two of the clock unto five or six of the clock. ' Last
of all the execution of the government of the Church is handled.
" Loving cousin, I have by this bearer sent unto you a book of
the making of Mr. Smith, our pastor. I wish you diligently to
peruse and seriously with judgment to examine the same, and
if you request any more of this or any other argument written by
him either for yourself or for your friends to signify the same unto
us by your letters, and we will (the Lord willing) procure the same
so that you find a faithful messenger to whom we may safely
commit the carriage thereof, for we have heretofore sent divers
books into England and they have perished through the unfaithes
of the carrier and came not into the hands of the parties unto
whom they were sent.
" Yours in the Lord at all times to use,
" Hughe and Anne Bromehead."
Some twenty-three years later we have an equally
graphic account of a service in the Church of the Pilgrim
Fathers at Plymouth, New England, and it is no
extravagant claim to say that the order of service then
followed shows signs of direct dependence upon the
form and order evolved in the Church of John Smith.
The occasion was a visit of Governor John Winthrop
and the Rev. John Wilson, pastor of Boston, with others,
to the colony of Plymouth. They went on foot, and
171
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
were cordially met by " the Governor of Plymouth,
Mr. William Bradford, a very discreet grave man with
Mr. Brewster, the elder."
" On the Lord's Day there was a sacrament which they did
partake in ; and in the afternoon Mr. Roger Williams, according
to their custom, propounded a question to which the pastor,
Mr. [Ralph] Smith spoke briefly, then Mr. [Roger] Williams
prophesied, and afterwards the Governor of Plymouth spoke to
the question after him the elder, then some two or three more of
the congregation. Then the elder desired the Governor of
Massachusetts and Mr. Wilson to speak to it, which they did.
When this was ended the deacon, Mr. Fuller, put the congrega-
tion in mind of their duty of contribution, upon which the
Governor and all the rest went down to the deacon's seat, and
put into the bag and then returned." ^
Bromehead's letter also gives evidence that he was
well acquainted with some of the earlier Separatist
literature. It has not been noticed that he embodies
in his letter the whole of the remarkable little tract,
probably issued as early as 1589, entitled "A Brief
Summe of the causes of our separation and of our
purposes in practice." The declaration of Separatist
principles given in that brief tract was withstood by the
Puritan George Gifford, of Maiden, and defended by
Henry Barrowe. It had been reprinted in 1605,
probably at Amsterdam, at the instance of Francis
Johnson, and would be readily accessible in the Separatist
circles in that city. Bromehead introduces it in this
way: —
" Concerning the 4 pte of your letter, wherein you seem to
desire to know wherein your church might be reformed, although
I know not herein where to begin or where to end, the corruptions
thereof be so many and so infinite, yet in some measure, to satisfy
1 Coll. Mass, Hist. SoCy vol. x., p. 2.
172
Earliest Separatist Manifesto
your requests I will give you a view and taste of them, but before,
I will give you a brief sume^ of the causes of our separation
and of our purposes in practice."
Bromehead then transcribes almost word for word
the entire leaflet which bore that title. It provided a
terse summary of the Separatist position ready to his
hand and had already done good service among the
London Separatists.
^ Hunter read this word "view," otherwise he would probably have
recognised this title. The MS. reads '* sume." The tract itself has been
reprinted as The Earliest Separatist Manifesto^ by Dr. Powicke ; see his
Henry Barroiv^ Appendix ii., 1900.
Note A
Since this chapter was drafted I have found some contem-
porary references to Hugh Bromehead as *' curate of North
Wheathy.'^ The earliest is in the will, dated October 26, 1571,
of George Lane, parson of St. Helen's, South Wheatley, a
church now in ruins. Bromehead must have been about sixty
years of age when he fled to Amsterdam. Cf. the Register Book
of Southwell Peculiar^ Vol. A., ff. 71, 89, in Nottingham Probate
Registry.
173
Note B
We may compare Bromehead's account of the order of service
in Smith's Church with an account given a few years later by
Richard Clifton of the order followed in the Church to which he
and Johnson ministered : —
*' (i) Prayer and giving of thanks by the pastor or teacher.
' * (2) The Scriptures are read, two or three chapters, as time serves, with
a brief explanation of their meaning.
" (3) The pastor or teacher then takes some passage of scripture and
expounds and enforces it.
" (4) The sacraments are administered.
" (5) Some of the Psalms of David are sung by the whole congregation,
both before and after the exercise of the Word.
" (6) Collection is then made, as each one is able, for the support of the
officers and the poor.^
Though Bromehead made no mention of the sacraments, we
know from other sources that it was the custom in Smith's
Church to hold the commemorative service'iof the Lord's Supper
on each Sunday. The absence of any reference to singing in
Bromehead's account and the special notice given to it by Clifton
is significant. In Smith's Church and in the General Baptist
Churches that sprang from it, " conjoint singing " was regarded
as a '* carnal formality " down to comparatively recent times.
If any member had a psalm or hymn of joy he iwas at liberty to
sing it, but congregational singing was not countenanced. But in
Johnson's Church, largely owing to Ainsworth's influence, psalm
singing by the whole congregation came into vogue. The psalms
in an " uncouth and strange translation " were lined out for the
congregation to sing. Lawne in his " Prophane Schism of the
Brownists," 1612, makes fun of this practice. The version
published by Ainsworth in 1612, in his ** Book of Psalms,
Englished both in prose and metre," is not attractive in form, but
we owe him a debt of gratitude for helping to retain conjoint
singing and melodious harmony as a recognised feature in the
public worship of the Congregational Churches.
^ Clyfton's Advertisemetit, etc.^ 161 2. [Quoted in Robinson's
fVorhs, iii.,p. 485.]
174
CHAPTER XII
JOHN SMITH AND THE MENNONITES — THE
DOCTRINE OF INCARNATION — THE QUESTION
OF •• SUCCESSION " — DIVISION BETWEEN HELWYS
AND SMITH
The advance of John Smith to the conviction that
the Church was formed by baptism, and not by a cove-
nant, and that baptism was only to be administered to
adults on repentance and profession of faith, attracted
attention outside the little circle of English refugees at
Amsterdam. It brought him into closer touch with the
Dutch Mennonites. Under their influence there was a
gracious development in his character. He now began
to pass out of the atmosphere of controversy, and
attained a large measure of that wisdom from above
which is " peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of
mercy and good fruits." Side by side with this develop-
ment there went on a gradual change in his doctrinal
opinions, leading to his abandonment of the doctrines
of predestination and election. From a Calvinist he
became an Arminian. He eventually adopted views
concerning the person and work of Jesus, and the
respective values of the two Testaments, which specially
marked certain sections of Mennonites and Anabaptists.
But it is the change in the tone and temper of his
writing rather than any change in doctrine that arrests
175
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
our attention to-day. The spirit of the man seems
altered. He writes as one who has risen above the dust
of religious contention into a clearer and serener air.
He has at last laid hold upon the things that really
matter. It is the spiritual apprehension of the Christian
faith and gospel that is of importance, and not so much
its external form. Thus the last writings of Smith
breathe an unusual spirit of tolerance. The fact that
he began to practise physic for a livelihood probably
helped to widen his outlook. He found his environ-
ment at Amsterdam mentally stimulating, and moved on
speedily in opinion at the beckoning of truth.
Let us endeavour to trace the later stages in his
religious development. In the closing months of the
year 1609 he and his Church appear to have given care-
ful consideration to some of the points in controversy
between the Calvinists and Arminians. The extent of
the redemptive work of Christ and the freedom of man's
will were among the questions discussed. The upshot
was that they arrived at conclusions on these points
diverging from the position taken up in the Anglican
Articles of Religion, and approaching the Arminian
standpoint. Clifton charges Smith with being " taynted
with the errors of general redemption and free wil."
**Else why," he exclaims, "hath he given forth these
Positions " :
*' I. Christ's redemption stretcheth to all men.
*' 2. Man hath not lost the faculty of willing any good
thing that is shewed him,
" and withal added thereunto his reasons in defence
thereof." ^
1 Clifton's answer to ** Mr. Smythe's Epistle to the Reader " in The
Plea for Injants^ i6l0
176
The Redemptive Work of Christ
It is important to notice that Smith carried his com-
pany with him thus far in his doctrinal development, and
it is here that we have coming into clear view, in an
organised religious society of Englishmen, those religious
opinions which specially marked the English General
Baptists. Thomas Helwys, John Murton, and the rest,
under Smith's guidance, after full discussion of the matter
in their Church meetings, definitely broke away from
Calvinism. They might severally present the doctrines
of general redemption and free will with varying accent
and emphasis, but they all left behind the doctrines of
reprobation and election as interpreted by High
Calvinists.
But on other questions which Smith proceeded to
consider his Church broke to pieces. There were
minor points of difference, but the outstanding questions
which led to divisions in his company were concerned
with their own act of assuming baptism for themselves
and the manner of Christ's Incarnation. The latter
subject aroused an extraordinary amount of interest
among the Anabaptists. On the Continent Melchior
Hofmann and his disciples taught that Jesus did not
assume his flesh of the Virgin, but came with a celestial
body. His views on this subject were widely adopted
by the Mennonites. In England we have a similar view
expressed with striking force by Joan Bocher, who
suffered at the stake. May 2, 1550, for maintaining
that Christ took nothing of the Virgin, but passed
through her as a conduit pipe. This view re-appeared
sporadically in England from time to time down to the
days of Matthew Caffyn (1628 — 1714) and William
Jeffrey, who publicly professed and preached it amongst
177 M
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
the General Baptists of London, Kent, and Sussex. It
was an opinion closely bound up with an exalted view of
Christ's redemptive work, and sprang from the feeling that
he could have been under no obligation to human kind
for any part of his nature. It was a belief which grew
out of the same kind of sentiment which gave rise to the
doctrine of the Virgin birth. It was one of the fantastic
flowers which blossomed on the tree of Christian mys-
ticism. Though this view arose from a desire to glorify
the person of Jesus and remove him far from man's gross-
ness and frailty, yet it was usually held in conjunction
with a belief in the supremacy of God the Father. The
term " Trinity " was rejected as unscriptural in the circles
where this opinion prevailed. It was on account of this
belief that the Mennonites were charged with denying
the humanity of Christ.
Now, when John Smith renounced the baptism of
infants and maintained the doctrine of adult baptism it
was almost inevitable that he would be classed by the
man in the street with the Anabaptists, and charged
with holding their doctrinal opinions. That is what
actually happened, and in the early part of 1609 we find
him writing with vehemence : " We disclayme the
errors commonly but most slaunderously imputed vnto
vs."^ He took pains at the same time to set out his
view " concerning the flesh of Christ " to remove mis-
understanding.
" We do believe," he says, ^' that Christ is the seed of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of David according to
the prophecies of the Scriptures, and that he is the Son
of Mary his Mother, made of her substance, the Holy
1 Character of the Beast, Epistle to Reader, p. v.
178
The Incarnation of Christ
Ghost overshadowing her. So have other children their
bodily substance from their parents. Also that Christ
is one person in two distinct natures — the Godhead and
manhood, and we detest the contrary errors."^
That sounds like orthodox doctrine. But the question
was now to the front for discussion in Smith's Church.
If they had arrived at a conclusion about baptism
similar to that which the Mennonites had reached, was
it not possible that a careful examination of other ques-
tions in the light of the New Testament would show
that the Mennonites were right on those also? How
did matters stand with regard to the doctrine of the
Incarnation of our Lord ? When Smith came to look
into this question he modified his opinion and drew more
closely to the Mennonites. Some in his company went
farther and faster in the heretical direction upon this
particular point than he did, while others held firmly to
their old faith. This was made a ground of separation
in his company. As early as i6io Clifton was able to
write : —
" Touching the error of the Incarnation of Christ, which also
Mr. Smyth desireth [in his book of 1609] may not be imputed
unto them; it is well known that many of their company holding
that error about the Incarnation are separated from the rest.
And Mr. Smyth himself (as some among them have reported)
maketh a question about the first matter of Christ's human
nature, as if it were not a point of faith to believe it was of the
Virgin, though it be to be believed that the second matter was
nourished in her womb." ^
That was the impression which Smith's teaching on this
point made upon Thomas Helwys, who now broke with
1 Character of the Beast, Epistle to Reader, 1609.
2 Clifton's The Plea, 16 10. Answer to " Smythe's Epistle to the
Reader."
179 M 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
his old leader. Helwys, writing in 1611, set down some
of the errors into which he thought his pastor had fallen.
He put the charge against Smith in this way : —
** That Christ concerning the first matter of his Flesh, he
affirmed, that all the Scriptures would not prove that he had it of
the virgine Marie, but his second matter which he said was his
nourishment that the Scriptures proved he had of Marie, thus
making Christ to have two matters of his Flesh." 1
Happily we have Smith's own conclusion upon the
matter, which seems reasonable enough as he set it
down. He is answering the charge just given : —
" I affirmed concerning Christ that his second Flesh, that is
his nourishment, he had from his mother, and that the
Scriptures are plain for it ; but concerning the first matter of
Christ's Flesh whence it was, I said thus much : That, although
I yield it to be a truth in nature that he had it of his mother
Mary, yet I dare not make it such an article of faith as that if any
man will not consent unto it I shall therefore refuse brotherhood
with him : and that the Scriptures do not lead us (as far as I
conceive) to the searching of that point, whereof Christ's natural
flesh was made ; but that we should search into Christ's spiritual
flesh to be made flesh of that his flesh and bone of his bone in
the communion and fellowship of the same spirit." ^
In accordance with that view we have a more
becoming reticence in the "Confession of Faith," one of
the last works of Smith, which was published by the
remainder of his company after his death. There he
says, " the word became flesh wonderfully by the power
of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary." ^
A considerable diversity of opinion continued amongst
1 A Declaration of Faith y 161 1. Sig. B.
' Last book of John Smith, 1612.
' In proposition 31, Confession of Faith, but the form here given is
simpler than the original draft as found in MS. in the archives of the
Mennonite Church at Amsterdam. See Evans, Baptists, i., 261.
180
Opinion on the Person of Christ
the English Anabaptists about the manner of Christ's
Incarnation. This topic exercised a singular fascina-
tion over many minds. Curious speculations as to
how Christ could have been an adequate sacrifice for the
sinful world if he derived his nature from fallen
humanity were eagerly followed up. Many held a
Sabellian view of the Deity, " that there is but one single
God revealed under three distinct names — Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost." ^ There was a disposition amongst
the early Baptists to tolerate differences of opinion on
these abstruse questions, according to the example of
Smith in his last days. The echoes of the controversy
on this subject were heard amongst the older section of
English Baptists right down to modern times. I have
not been able to determine the number of those who
separated from Smith and Helwys on the ground of
difference of belief about the Incarnation. It was only
a small secession, and probably not permanent. I see
no reason why those who held heretical views on this
point should not have rejoined Smith when he himself
expressed a willingness to have fellowship with those
who did not see eye to eye on this matter, but were at
the same time sincere and blameless in life.
The second question which caused a division in
Smith's Church was closely connected with his change
of view with regard to his action in baptizing himself
and his company of fellow believers. At the time he
did this he thought the act was justified, for he then
knew of no " true Church " to which they might apply
for baptism. But a closer acquaintance with the
1 Letter of Elias Tookey to Hans de Rys, etc., May, 1624. Evans,
Baptists, ii., p. 38.
181
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Mennonite Church convinced him that here was a true
Church already in being. The storm of criticism that
his act of self-baptism aroused made him waver, and
forced upon his attention some consequences which had
not occurred to him before. As there was a true
Church in existence at the time when he arrived at a
conviction of the truth, Smith concluded that he and his
company had acted " disorderly " in assuming baptism
for themselves. The right course for them to have
taken would have been to seek baptism from those who
had already recovered that ordinance. And now that
they had found a true Church they ought to retrace their
steps, and for the sake of order enter into fellowship
with this new-found Church and receive the ordinances
at the hands of her " elders."
This was the point in which Helwys strongly dis-
agreed with Smith, and the main ground upon which he
separated from him and renounced him. Helwys was
suspicious of any advances towards the Dutch. He felt
that he and his friends had just recovered the truth, and
set themselves in true Church order by assuming baptism,
and that it was folly on the part of his old leader to
topple the whole edifice over again. They had attained
a position in which he for one was content to stay. It
would endanger their liberty and bring them again under
a yoke of bondage if they had to seek baptism and
ordination at the hands of outsiders. He thought the
New Testament gave them ample warrant for the course
they had taken in baptizing themselves. Was there
not the example of John the Baptist? Was there not
the general command to all Christ's followers to
make disciples and baptize them ? The Mennonites
182
Validity of Smith's Baptism
themselves had no certain knowledge as to who amongst
their fathers revived the practice of adult baptism. Why
was not the baptism revived amongst this company of
honest Englishmen as valid as that assumed by Swiss
and Flemish and Frisian Anabaptists ? There was point
in this argument of Helwys, but in spite of his vehement
protest John Smith and the majority of his company fell
more and more under the influence of the Dutch
Mennonites, and at length many of them renounced the
baptism they had assumed for themselves and applied
for admission to the new Frisian Mennonite Church at
Amsterdam under the pastoral care of Hans de Ries
and Reynier Wybrantson. Of these two leaders Helwys
says, " You came publiquely amongst us and advanced
your error of Succession and order . . . and have
destroyed the faith of manie."^ He also refers to
instruction that they gave privately. This instruction
was given with effect, for Helwys now set down amongst
the errors of Smith his new opinion : —
"That the Church and Ministry must come by Succession,
contrary to his former profession in words and writing. And
that by a supposed succession he cannot shew from whom nor
when nor where." ^
Helwys indeed felt so strongly upon this point that
he and a small handful who adhered to him, still
regarding themselves as a true and rightly constituted
Church, formally " cast out " Smith and his associates as
those who had departed from the truth. Though they
were so few and weak, Helwys and his friends could
rightly regard themselves as representing the Church
* Advertise?nent to the New Fryesers, p. i., i6ll.
2 Declaration of Faith. Sig. B 2, i6li.
183
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
that Smith had set up, for Smith and his companions
had voluntarily renounced their standing and member-
ship in that society. Clifton refers to these unhappy
divisions when he says : —
" Mr. Smyth and divers with him are excommunicate for
holding (as it is reported by some that were of them) that their
new washed companie is no true Church, and that there cannot
be in a Church the administration of baptism and other ordinances
of Christ without officers, contrarie to his former judgment
practice and writings." ^
To such a low condition had this first English Church
of Baptized Believers been reduced in 1610 that Clifton
could write : —
•' Of this new baptised comunion there are remayning, as it is
reported, not above 10 persons all the rest are runne into further
errors." ^
Yet this little Church had such vitality that it was
destined to have many years of life and exert a wide
influence in the homeland. Thus by the spring of the
year 1610 there came to be three groups of English
Anabaptists in Amsterdam. The largest was made up
of those who adhered to Smith, between forty and fifty
in number, who were seeking affiliation with the
Mennonites ; next there were those who had separated
on the ground of their special belief about the Incarnation,
and, lastly, there was the group under the leadership of
Thomas Helwys and John Murton, who manfully main-
tained the right of any body of people aroused to the
Christian life both to baptize and to ordain ministers
and officers for themselves. There were also religious
1 Clifton's Plea, 1610, Epistle to Reader.
2 Ibid,, margin.
184
Groups of English Anabaptists
individualists of Anabaptist leanings like Mark Leonard
Busher and a few seekers, but these had no special
following. The news of the division in John Smith's
Church quickly became known in England. It is
surprising to see how closely the religious movements
among the refugees in Holland were followed both by
friends and enemies at home. In " The Description
of the Church of Christ," issued in London in this very
year of 1610, the author says : —
" For you Master Smith and your company here is news come
to England already that you are divided, and you know what must
come to a divided kingdom and a house against itself."^
^ Desaiptim of Church of Christy by I. H., 1610, p. 94.
185
CHAPTER XIII
NEGOTIATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE MENNONITE
CHURCH
The negotiations on the part of John Smith and his
friends for admission to membership in the Mennonite
Church were prolonged far beyond their expectation.
The Dutch acted with extraordinary deliberation. No
doubt there were several in their Amsterdam Church
who were ready to make the way easy for the admission
of the English, but all were not of this mind. Objections
had to be met. Questions as to faith and practice had
to be considered. Kindred Churches had to be con-
sulted. The matter began to drag. The course which
these proceedings took is illustrated by a remarkable
series of documents preserved in the archives of the
Mennonite Church at Amsterdam, copies of which were
supplied by Professor M tiller to Dr. B. Evans, and
printed by him in his history of the early English
Baptists. There is at the outset the undated acknow-
ledgement in Latin of their error in baptizing themselves
in which they express their desire to join the true
Church.
" The names of the English who acknowledge this their error
and repent of it, viz., that they took in hand to baptize them-
selves contrary to the order laid down by Christ, and who now
desire to come hence [i.e., from the state of error] to the true
Church of Christ as speedily as it can be done.
i86
Negotiations with the Mennonites
Names of Men Names of Women
Hugo Bromehead Ann Bromehead
Jarvase Nevill Jane South worth
John Smyth Mary Smyth
Thomas Canadyne Joan Halton
Edward Hawkins AHs Arnfield
John Hardie Isabell Thomson
Thomas Pygott Margaret Staveley
Francis Pygott Mary Grindal
Robert Staveley Mother Pygott
Alexander Fleminge Alls Pygott
Alexander Hodgkins Margaret Pygott
John Grindal Betteris Dickinson
Solomon Thomson Mary Dickinson
Samuel Halton Ellyn Paynter
Thomas Dolphin Alls Parsons
Joane Briggs
Jane Organ
" We unanimously desire this resolution of ours to be signified
to the Church."
The Mennonitc Church was not a confessional
Church and had no authoritative standard of belief, but
this application on the part of Smith and his friends led
to the drawing up of a Confession of Faith which was
for many years accepted as a general statement of the
opinions prevalent among the Mennonites. There
would be a desire on both sides to know one another's
religious views. It was a period in which the points in
dispute between Calvinists and Arminians were closely
discussed, and in this very year of 1610 the Arminian
creed was formulated in the celebrated Five Articles
presented as a " Remonstrance " to the representatives
of Holland and West Friesland. The framing of con-
fessions of faith was the fashion of the time. John
187
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Smith drew up a terse statement in Latin ^ setting forth
his belief in twenty articles. I take this as his own
personal confession, as it is signed by him alone. The
pastors or elders of the Waterlander Mennonite Church,
Hans de Ries and Lubbert Gerritts, for their part drew
up a far more elaborate statement of faith, extending to
thirty-eight articles, in order to show the English Ana-
baptists their doctrinal position, and with a view to
securing the assent of Smith and his friends. A
manuscript copy in the archives of the Mennonite
College at Amsterdam was subscribed in the following
general terms by forty-two English men and women
headed by John Smyth and Hugh Bromehead : " We
subscribe to the truth of these articles, desiring further
information." The latter clause is characteristic of the
members of Smith's Church. Even now, when con-
vinced they had found a true Church, they were not
prepared to bind themselves down to finality.
I place the signing of this Confession at a later date
than has hitherto been given. My reason for this is
because the name of Dorothy Thomson is found among
the signatures. Now, the marriage of Solomon Thom-
son to Dorothy Struth is recorded as taking place at
Amsterdam on July 14, 1612. As John Smith, who
died in August, 161 2, appears among the signatories, it
is clear that the document must have been signed by
himself and his followers at some time during the last
few weeks of his life, between July 14 and the end of
August, assuming that all the signatures were appended
at the same time. This action was probably prompted
by a desire to facilitate a speedy union with the
1 See Appendix to this chapter.
188
A Short Confession of Faith
Mennonites in view of the failing health of Smith. We
must not take this Mennonite Confession then as exactly
reflecting the opinion of these people. The account of
Smith's opinions given by Robert Barclay^ is vitiated by
his acceptance of this " Short Confession " as an accurate
statement of Smith's religious convictions.
The care with which the Dutch proceeded is shown
by the correspondence they had with neighbouring
Churches on the subject. The ministers of the
Mennonite Church examined the English about their
doctrine of salvation, the government of the Church,
and the foundation and form of their baptism. Finding
the English in agreement with themselves on these
points, the ministers reported upon the matter in due
course to the " brethren " or general body of church
members. '* After some weeks" a joint meeting of
Dutch and English was held, and the latter were
severally asked " to relate what was given in their hearts
by God," when it was found that, " only a few excepted,"
they agreed with the Mennonites. The way would
then seem to have been clear for admitting these
applicants to church fellowship. There were, however,
two considerations which made the Mennonites hesitate.
The first was, that the little group of English folk
under Thomas Helwys and John Murton strongly
urged the Dutch to be careful, and protested that they
were wrong in their doctrine of " Succession " and in
their contention that " elders " must be ordained by
elders. A letter right from the heart of this controversy
has been preserved. It was addressed to the Dutch
brethren, and as it gives, in the impetuous style of
1 Inner Life of Religious Societies of the Commonwealth y 2nd ed., 1877,
p. 113.
189
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Helwys, a vindication of the position assumed by the
English Baptists, it is worth while setting it out in full : —
*^ Beloved in the Lord, Your approved care, diligence and faith-
fulness in the advancement of God's holy truth, being the good
experience (to God be given the glory) well known unto us, makes
us that we can do no less than, with our best hopes, hope that
through the grace of God (his word and Spirit directing you) we
shall find you so still. And therefore we are with much gladness
and willingness stirred up to write to you, praying you, as you
love the Lord and his truth, that you will take wise counsel and
that from God's Word how you deal in this cause betwixt us and
those who are justly for their sins cast out from us. And the
whole cause in question being Succession (for so it is in deed and
in truth), consider, we beseech you how it is Antichrist's chief
hold, and that it is Jewish and ceremonial, an ordinance of the
Old Testament, but not of the New. Furthermore, let it be well
considered that this Succession, which is founded upon neither
the times, person, nor place, can [not] be proved to any man's
conscience and so, herein, we should ground our faith we cannot
tell upon whom nor when nor where. We beseech you consider
" how can we of faith forsake the evident light of God's truth to
walk in such darkness ?
** And this is our warrant by the W^ord of truth. First, from
baptism. John Baptist being unbaptized preached the baptism of
repentance and they that believed and confessed their sins he
baptized. And whosoever shall now be stirred up by the same
Spirit to preach the same Word, and men thereby being converted,
may, according to John his example, wash them with water and who
can forbid ? And we pray, that we may speak freely herein, how
dare any man or men challenge unto themselves a pre-eminence
herein, as though the Spirit of God was only in their hearts and the
Word of God now only to be fetched at their mouths and the ordin-
ances of God only to be had from their hands — except they were
apostles ? Hath the Lord thus restrained his Spirit, his Word
and Ordinances as to make particular men lords over them or the
keepers of them ? God forbid ! This is contrary to the liberty
of the Gospel, which is free for all men at all times and in all
places: yea so our Saviour Christ doth testify — wheresoever,
whosoever and whensoever two or three are gathered together
190
Letter of Helwys and his Friends
in his name there is he in the midst of them. And thus much in
all Christian love we do advertize you, that this ground of truth
is and will be maintained against all the world and that by the
great adversaries of our faith in divers other main points [the
Separatists under Robinson and other Brownists are probably
meant] who will be glad to have such an advantage against you
if you shall publish or practise any things against this ground in
the xviii. of Matthew, and the professors of Christ shall sustain
much reproach by it ; and therefore we earnestly entreat you,
even by the love of Christ that is in you, that you will be well
advised what you do in these things.
" And now for the other question — that elders must ordain elders.
If this be a true perpetual rule, then from whom is your eldership
come ? And if one church might once ordain then why not all
churches always ? Oh, that we might be thought worthy to be
answered in these things or that the poor advice of so few, so
simple and so weak might prevail with you to cause you to look
circumspectly to your ways in these things I The Lord, that
knoweth all hearts knoweth ours towards you herein, that we do
desire that there may be found no way of error in you ; but that
you and we might walk uprightly in the ways of God, casting
utterly away all the traditions of men, and this we are persuaded
is your unfeigned desire also. Now fulfil our persuasion herein
and try your standing in these points and respect not how many
hold these things with you but respect from what grounds of truth
you hold them.
" Thus beseeching the Lord to persuade your hearts that your
hands may not be against his truth and against us, the Lord's
unworthy witnesses, we take leave commending you to the gracious
protection of the Almighty and to the blessed direction of his
Word and Spirit, beseeching the Lord to do by you according to
the great love and kindness that you have shown unto us. Grace
and peace be with you. Amen. Your brethren in Christ,
Tho. Helwvs.
"Amsterdam William Piggott.
this 12th of March 1610. " Thos. Seamer.
John Murton."
'* P. S. — We have written to you in our own tongue because we
are not able to express our minds in any other and seeing you
have an interpreter. And we have been much grieved since onr
191
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
last conference with you, because we dishonoured the truth of God
much for want of speech in that we were not able to utter that
poor measure of knowledge which God of his grace hath given
us."
It does not appear that the leaders of the Amsterdam
Mennonites took much notice of this protest. Indeed,
in addressing Hans de Ries and Reynier Wybrantson
and their congregations in i6ii, Helwys was constrained
to say : —
" We^ have written privately to the whole congregation you are
of to prevent you in that evil [i.e., the evil of making Smith's people
one with them], we have written particularly unto you H.de R.,
but all is in vaine in that you esteeme the truth wee professe and
us herein as vaine."
But the opposition of Helwys and his company would
cause the Dutch elders to move cautiously.
The second consideration that led to delay was con-
nected with the manner of Smith's baptism. It was a
curious point. Smith's own baptism of himself was
admittedly irregular, but did that invalidate the baptism
which he had administered to the others ? If his com-
pany was to be admitted to the Mennonite Church were
the several members to be rebaptized once more ? It
was a knotty problem. It may seem trivial to us, but
it was all terribly serious to them. The Amsterdam
ministers resolved not to go on in the matter without
first consulting the ministers of neighbouring and kindred
Churches. Accordingly, a letter explaining the circum-
stances was addressed by Lubbert Gerritts to the
ministers of the Mennonite Church at Leeuwarden. He
says : " Our opinion and our best idea about this affair is
1 Helwys, An Advertisement etc. , Prefatory Epistle.
192
Delay in Union — Dutch Caution
that these English without being baptized again must be
accepted." All the ministers and " by far the greatest
part of the congregation " at Amsterdam were of this
opinion. If they were mistaken in this view they were
quite ready to be corrected : —
" We are most willing to be instructed by any one if we err and
lack the truth in this affair. Be good enough to teach the English
also from the Word of God if it be needful that they should be
baptized again, for they declare that they have no objection to be
baptized again, if you can prove by reason and the Word of God that
their baptism is of less value than that of the Flemings, the
Frisians, and other baptizers."
The point was that members of all these sections of
Anabaptists, as well as those formerly identified with
the extravagant Miinster party and the Amsterdam
naked-walkers had been accepted as members by the
Mennonites without being rebaptized. Surely the
baptism of this godfearing company of English people
was of equal — nay, of greater value than that bestowed
by such extreme Anabaptist Churches. Gerritts was
careful to explain that it was not a question about Smith's
own act of baptizing himself, but of the position of the
rank and file of his Church.
** We ourselves," he says, " do distinguish the act of
baptizing by which he has baptized himself, that is quite
a different affair — at present the other baptism is the
question — do notice this."
Gerritts gives us incidentally a testimony to the
capacity of Smith and his friends : " They are," he says,
** very intelligent people, who will not be blinded at all
by discourses without good reason," and he confesses
that to be one reason why he had not the heart to
193 N
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
question the validity of their baptism, or to demand their
rebapLism before admission to his Church.
The ministers in Leeuwarden were asked to attend a
conference in Amsterdam to be held on May 23, stilo
novo^ i6jo, for the purpose of deciding upon the applica-
tion made by Smith's associates. This they did not find
it convenient to do, and they sent a letter in good time
(May 15, stilo novo) to say they should not attend. They
regarded the proposed union with the English as " a very
critical thing," and would not pronounce a definite
opinion upon it before consulting their congregations.
They desired fuller information. Quite naturally they
said they would not be inclined to consent before they
had received from the Amsterdam elders " The short
account of the chief articles of the doctrine and customs
of their congregations,"^ which Hans de Ries and
Lubbert Gerritts had set out for the English in writing.
They wanted an opportunity for examining these articles
with their congregations. Thus the matter was delayed.
Smith and his friends pressed for an answer to their
request for admission to Church fellowship. When
questioned about it the Amsterdam Mennonites " scarcely
knew what to answer that this affair is put off such a
long time." Accordingly they wrote another letter to
their " dear brethren and fellow servants in the Gospel
of the Lord yonder in Friesland," dated July 16, 1610,
stilo novo. They asked for a reply within a fortnight to
two questions : —
^ I think we have here a reference to the actual title given to this
Confession by its author. Schyn gives a Latin translation entitled
Praecipiwrum Christian(E fidei Articulorum brevis Confessio adortiata a
Joanne Risio et Ltibber to Gerardo. See his ffistoria Mennonitanun^ 1729,
pp. 172—220.
194
Will the Dutch Admit the English
" Firstly. What there may be in the Confession (which, according
to your desire, is sent to you, as you wished to examiue it with
your congregations and compare it with the Word of God) that
ought to be rejected or improved ?
" Secondly. What according to your opinion and according to
the Word of God must be thought of their being baptized ? "
If they heard nothing within the fortnight they would
take it that the matter was left in their hands to deal
with as they thought best.
The brethren at Leeuwarden sent a reply on July 28,
1 6 10, stilo novo, gently remonstrating against the undue
haste of the Amsterdam brethren ! It was an affair
quite new and unheard of before, and ought to be laid
before all the Mennonite Churches in Prussia, Germany
and elsewhere. They ought first to bend their energies
upon the work of establishing peace and concord between
the different sections of Mennonites. " Do not leave so
easily the old friends by choosing new ones who, perhaps
will not be so good." As to the specific requests, they
had not had time to thoroughly examine the " Confession,''
but there was the less need for their particular opinion
on the thirty-eight articles of the creed, since it was now
published in print, and a general judgment upon it might
be expected from the world. And as to their opinion
about the validity of the baptism assumed by these
Englishmen — they were not prepared to say much
about it, except that they knew of no such use, custom
or ordinance from Holy Scripture. If their Amsterdam
brethren admitted these English people, it would be
upon their own responsibility, but they ought at any rate
to inform all the kindred Churches about the matter.
In the face of this unfavourable reply the question of
the admission of the English was hung up indefinitely.
195 N2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
John Smith and his friends were left in a curious
position. They had renounced their former Church
order and voluntarily dissolved their Church. From
the friendly advances of prominent Amsterdam Men-
nonites they had expected to be speedily admitted to
Church fellowship with them. Now the way was barred
for the time being. They might attend the services
of the Mennonites as individuals. They might continue
to hold meetings among themselves, but according to
their own principles, they would have no Church power,
and no right to participate in Church ordinances until
they were received into Church fellowship, or until they
had once again constituted themselves in Church order.
Thomas Helwys was well aware of the course of events
amongst his old friends. It was a grief to him that they
frequented the services and meetings of the Mennonites.
He pointed out to the Dutch elders that Smith was
acquainted with the apostolic exhortation to worship
and pray and sing in language that was intelligible.
Smith knew that those who failed to understand could
not truly say " Amen," and were in the position of bar-
barians to him who was leading the worship. Yet, says
Helwys : —
" This man notwithstanding when he had himself but a little
understanding of your language, and the rest of his confederacy
— when some of them had not any understanding to be spoken of,
and divers none at all, neither yet have — have and do come to
worship with you, being barbarians unto you, and say 'Amen'
(else what do they there), not knowing whether you bless or
curse. . . . And doth not the Apostle teach that it is better to
have five words in the Church or Congregation with understanding
than ten thousand words in a strange tongue, but these men, with
a sort of women that are void of understanding, had rather hear
in your Church or congregation five words without any under-
196
English attend the Dutch Services
standing than ten thousand with understanding in a congregation
or Church gathered together by the preaching of the gospel of
Jesus Christ and baptized into his name upon the confession of
their faith and sins. This they knew was our beginning, but yotcr
beginning they know not, neither can know. And if you had any
other beginning it is not according to God's Word. But that is
all one to them ; they have not regarded how you began in the
faith nor how you stand in the faith, which (if they had not for-
saken all religion) they would have had regard of. But religion
was not, nor is not, their mark that they aimed at, as you may
easily discern by these their wilful blind courses, whereinto you
have led them by your blind Succession. . . . For this people,
who have run after your inventions, . . . whose knowledge, gifts
and graces were great and who walked, and professed to walk,
strictly by the rules of Christ and under his yoke, now are they
Belial, walking by no rule of Christ, not being under his yoke, having
disclaimed themselves for [from] having any power to [in] the
holy things, and have given all to you, all their religion being only
to come and gaze at you who speak to them in a strange tongue.
. . . And in that they are thus left in confusion not knowing nor
caring whither to go, we have cause to magnify the name of God in
that He hath confounded them in their ways that would have
confounded His way of truth. And we have cause to bless God
that hath prevented you and kept you from making them to be one
with you, whereby you had strengthened them in their evil and
enlarged your own sin exceedingly." ^
It is clear from this that Smith and his adherents con-
tinued to frequent the services of the Mennonites,
although they were debarred, as yet, from the privileges
of full church membership. They also continued to hold
meetings by themselves in which their mother tongue
was used in preaching, praise and prayer. Their usual
place of meeting was in the building known as " the Cake
House of Jan Munter "^ a wealthy and generous-hearted
member of the Waterlander Mennonite Church. This
* Helwys, An Advertisement^ pp. 39, 40, 161 1,
' Evans, Baptists, i., 220.
197
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
" great bakehouse" may have been an institution connected
with the Church for the use of the community and the
relief of its needy members. Some of the Mennonite
Churches made experiments in communism, and put up
peculiar bakehouses with chambers around and above
them for the accommodation of the poor and aged in their
fellowship. It was here that John Smith had his lodging.
Smith and his friends, being hindered for the time
from becoming full members of the Church, the question
arises as to whether they ventured to administer baptism
and celebrate the Lord's Supper among themselves.
There is no certain statement upon this point. I am
inclined to think they now did without these ordinances,
and finding their spiritual life none the less fresh and
fervent, came to recognize that baptism and the Lord's
Supper were only helps and not essentials to the life of
religion in the heart. Here we come upon an idea
which George Fox laid hold upon a generation later and
impressed upon his followers in the Society of Friends.
Out of his own experience Smith came to the conclusion
that the regenerate man, " the new creature which is
begotten of God, needeth not the outward scriptures,
creatures, or ordinances of the Church to support or help "
him yet "the regenerate, in love to others, can and
will do no other than use the outward things of the
Church for the gaining and supporting of others," ^ and
for that reason the outward ordinances are always neces-
sary. He arrived at the conviction " that the outward
baptism and supper do not confer and convey grace
and regeneration to the participants or communicants ;
but, as the word preached, they serve only to support
* Propositions, 6i, 62, in his Confession of Faith.
198
Spiritual Religion Best
and stir up the repentance and faith of the communicants
till Christ come, till the day dawn and the day-star arise
in their hearts." It was his opinion " that the sacra-
ments have the same use that the ' word ' hath, that
they are a visible word and that they teach to the eye of
them that understand as the word teacheth the ears of
them that have ears to hear." With the fine temper of
rational mysticism which marked his last years, he
declared " that the preaching of the word and ministry
of the sacraments representeth the ministry of Christ
in the spirit, who teacheth, baptizeth and feedeth the
regenerate by the Holy Spirit inwardly and invisibly." ^
1 Propositions, 73, 74, 75.
igg
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIII
SMITH'S PERSONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH
The Mennonite archives contain a Latin document
which is evidently the personal " Confession of Faith" of
John Smith. It was probably presented to the elders
of the Mennonite Church when he applied for admission
to their fellowship. It is not dated, but internal evidence
points to the year 1610 as the time of composition.
*' We believe with the heart and with the mouth confess : —
"(i) That there is one God, the best, the highest, and most
glorious Creator and Preserver of all ; who is Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.
" (2) That God has created and redeemed the human race to his
own image, and has ordained all men (no one being reprobated)
to life.
" (3) That God imposes no necessity of sinning on any one ; but
man freely, by Satanic instigation, departs from God.
" (4) That the law of life was originally placed by God in the
keeping of the law ; then, by reason of the weakness of the flesh,
was, by the good pleasure of God, through the redemption of
Christ, changed into justification by faith ; on which account, no
one can justly blame God, but rather, with his inmost heart, ought
to revere, adore, and praise his mercy, that God should have
rendered that possible to man, by his grace, which before, since
man had fallen, was impossible by nature.
" (5) That there is no original sin, but all sin is actual and
voluntary, viz., a word, a deed, or a design against the law of
God ; and therefore infants are without sin.
•* (6) That Jesus Christ is true God and true man ; viz., the
Son of God taking to himself, in addition, the true and pure
200
Smith's Personal Confession of Faith
nature of a man, of a true rational soul, and existing in a true
human body.
" (7) That Jesus Christ, as pertaining to the flesh, was conceived
by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, afterwards
was born, circumcised, baptized, tempted ; also that he hungered,
thirsted, ate, drank, increased both in stature and in knowledge ;
he was wearied, he slept, at last was crucified, dead, buried, he
rose again, ascended into heaven ; and that to him as only King,
Priest, and Prophet of the church, all power both in heaven and
earth is given.
" (8) That the grace of God, through the finished redemption of
Christ, was prepared for and offered to all without distinction,
and that not feignedly but in good faith, partly by things made,
which declare the invisible things of God, and partly by the
preaching of the Gospel.
" (9) That as men, of the grace of God through the redemption
of Christ, are able (the Holy Spirit, by grace preventing them) to
repent, to believe, to turn to God, and to attain to eternal life ;
so on the other hand, they are able themselves to resist the Holy
Spirit, to depart from God, and to perish for ever.
" (10) That the justification of man before the Divine tribunal
(which is both the throne of justice and of mercy), consists partly,
of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ apprehended by
faith, and partly of inherent righteousness, in the holy themselves,
by the operation of the Holy Spirit, which is called regeneration
or sanctification ; since any one is righteous, who doeth
righteousness.
** (11) That faith, destitute of good works, is vain ; but true and
living faith is distinguished by good works.
'* (12) That the church of Christ is a company of the faithful;
baptized after confession of sin and of faith, endowed with the
power of Christ.
" (13) That the church of Christ has power delegated to
itself of announcing the word, administering the sacraments,
appointing ministers, disclaiming them, and also excommuni-
cating; but the last appeal is to the brethren or body of the
church.
*' (14) That baptism is the external sign of the remission of sins,
of dying and of being made ahve, and therefore does not belong
to infants.
201
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
"(15) That the Lord's Supper is the external sign of the com-
munion of Christ, and of the faithful amongst themselves by faith
and love.
" (16) That the ministers of the church are not only bishops, to
whom the power is given of dispensing both the word and the
sacraments, but also deacons, men and widows, who attend to
the affairs of the poor and sick brethren.
"(17) That brethren who persevere in sins known to themselves,
after the third admonition, are to be excluded from the fellowship
of the saints by excommunication.
*' (18) That those who are excommunicated are not to be avoided
in what pertains to worldly business {civile commercium).
*' (19) That the dead (the living being instantly changed) will
rise again with the same bodies; not the substance but the
qualities being changed.
" (20) That after the resurrection all will be borne to the tribunal
of Christ, the Judge, to be judged according to their works ; the
pious, after sentence of absolution, will enjoy eternal life with
Christ in heaven ; the wicked, condemned, will be punished with
eternal torments in hell with the devil and his angels.
"John Smith."
202
CHAPTER XIV
THE CHURCH OF HELWYS — A DECLARATION OF. FAITH,
1611 — THE FIRST BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH
— TESTIMONY TO SMITH — THE SIN OF IGNORANCE
— HELWYS'S DECLARATION OF FAITH LARGELY
DEPENDENT ON SMITH
Now that John Smith had renounced his self-
administered baptism and was seeking admission to the
Mennonite Church, Thomas Helwys felt that he was
left in the breach to defend the truth with an insignificant
force at the back of him. He recognized the responsi-
bility that was thrust upon him. Though he had not
enjoyed so good an education as Smith, Clifton or
Robinson he felt impelled to defend and define his
position in print. He was well versed in the Scriptures,
but he lacked the sense of proportion which a wider
range of reading would have given. He meant well but
his work suffered because he had not undergone the
discipline of a thorough literary training. His style is
exuberant and rambling. It is sometimes difficult to
disengage his meaning from the tangle of his words.
But in spite of all this his writings contain some
passages which rise to the level of eloquence because of
the intensity of feeling and depth of conviction from
which they spring. The earnestness and sincerity of the
man shine out through all his works.
The earliest publication by Helwys is important
because it contains the first Confession of Faith set out
203
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
by any company or Church of English Baptists. It is
noteworthy that this Confession was compiled by a
layman. Helwys contended for the equality of the
simple Church member in knowledge of spiritual and
religious things with the most learned of those versed in
human knowledge. The position he took up upon this
matter was of utmost significance in the after history of
the English Baptists. It helped to make their Churches
the most democratic of any, and did away with the danger
of sacerdotal domination. But there were those amongst
them who pressed this position to an extreme, and came
to look upon the "humanities " with positive dislike and
suspicion. They regarded learning not as the handmaid
and help of religion but as a veritable hindrance to the
true religion of the heart. This note is frequently heard.
It was a wholesome protest against the exaggerated
importance attached to scholastic learning. It served to
remind the world that knowledge of letters and arts does
not take the chief place in religion. But it was soon seen
that mere scorn of learning did not avail and that the
better course was to enlist it in the service of religion.
The title of the first book by Helwys runs as
follows : —
" A Declaration [of] *
Faith of English
People Remaining at Am-
sterdam in Holland.
Heb. II, 6.
Without Faith it is impossible to please
God. Heb. ii.
Rom. 14, 23.
Whatsoever is not off Faith is sin.
Prynted 1611."
^ The copy in York Minster Library has the top right hand corner of the
title-page torn. It is bound up with a copy of the 1607 issue of the Latin
version of the Confession of Faith ^ issued in 1598, by Johnson and Ainsworth.
204
A Declaration of Faith
Though Helwys had the master hand in this work yet
it was issued with the help and consent of the members
of his Httle Church. They felt impelled to publish it in
order to defend " the Truth of God " which they
professed, and especially because of " the fearful falls of
some that hath been of us," and also for the purpose of
clearing themselves from the unjust charges which men
commonly brought against them.
" Our purpose " — they say — " being to publish our faith with
the warrant thereof, let it not seem strange that our writing
bears not that proportion that writings usually do, in that we
are simple men, destitute of art to order and beautify (bewtifie)
our writings withal, which is one special cause that maketh
us with all unwillingness to write, but we trust the truth of
GOD shall not be less regarded of the lovers thereof because of
our simplicity." ^
This Declaration of Faith consists of twenty-seven
brief articles, several of which were framed with the
immediate controversies of the time directly in view.
The two points in their belief upon which Helwys and
his followers were most sharply criticized, related to
(i) the nature and extent of Christ's redemptive work,
and (2) the proper subjects of baptism. Some space is
given to a statement of their position upon these topics,
apart from the Declaration itself.
" We hold " — say they—" that Adam being fallen and in
him all mankind, the lord being equally just and merciful
hath by christ redeemed Adam and in him all mankind
(not restored him), yet all actual transgressors must repent
and beUeve and by faith in jesus christ be justified or else
perish in their transgressions. Now hereby we hold . . .
* A Declaration, etc. Sig. A 2.
205
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
that the lord creates no man to damnation but that men
bring it upon themselves by their own sins (Ezek. i8, 20)
and that therefore all infants as well as any dying before they
have committed actual sin are redeemed by christ, their
estates and conditions being all one. We beseech all that
fear God weigh seriously, what grievous cause of offence there
is herein. 1
" Secondly, we hold that men confessing their faith and sins are
only to be Baptized and that infants not being capable of the
word of GOD nor of faith and repentance are also uncapable of
the Baptism of repentance. And we pray the wise-hearted
advisedly to consider to what end should infants be washed with
that water, it not being commanded nor practised .... Why
should men make a ceremonial ordinance of a substantial
ordinance, for certainly if it must be administered upon infants it
is only a ceremony or shadow, for the infant is not then truly
mortified and sanctified, and, it may be, never will. Ye men of
understanding, fearing god, look unto your judgments and
practices in these things, and in all things walk by rule from the
Word of truth. What rule or warrant can be produced that you
should take the word of god and the holy ordinances of the New
Testament, which are all real and substantial, and administer
them unto or upon a young infant and so make them of no effect ?
Why are you thus carried away with the traditions of men ? You
have begun to go towards reformation, ye have cast away the
cross, ye have put by sureties [i.e., godfathers and godmothers]
but the father (if he will) may answer and take charge. Go on
but one step further and let the party baptized answer and take
charge of himself, and then there will be comfort in adminis-
tering and comfort to whom it is administered. Let nothing be
wanting that the Lord requireth in his word lest you be reproved
with the young man in the gospel. We trust the lord in time
will give you to see these things, and not so only, but both you
and us to see further things whereof we are ignorant (for none
hath attained unto it), if we will but see our ignorance and in
humility willingly seek knowledge." ^
* Helwys obviously expected the answer — " None."
2 Declaration^ etc*
206
Helwys Differs from Brownists
Helwys, in order to show at once the reasonableness of
his own position and where it differed from that of the
Brownists or Separatists, proceeded to set it out in a
series of short propositions embodying the scriptural
warrant for his behef : —
"We hold that god in his first promise concerning christ
was merciful to all mankind alike, all mankind being under one
and the same transgression.
" You hold not.
" We hold, with the Apostle, i Tim. 2, 6, that Christ gave
himself a ransom for all men and that he is the saviour of all
men, but especially of them that believe, i Tim. 4 — 10 ; and that
he is the reconciliation not only for the sins of the faithful but
for the sins of the whole world, i John, 22.
*' You hold otherwise.
"Again, we hold that as our saviour christ commanded,
Mat. 28, 19 — Men must teach and Baptize.
** You hold they may Baptize and not teach. Or thus : — We
hold they that believe may be Baptized. Acts 8, 37.
'* You hold, they that believe not.
" Where is this so great cause of offence ? Why do you dis-
please yourselves so much at us, especially you which are called
the * Seperacion,' as to alienate your affections, estrange your
speeches, and change your countenances as though we were
monsters or at the least wild men ? "
After dealing in this way with the two outstanding
features in their belief which marked off his little Church
from the rest of their countrymen Helwys took pains to
show that they held this belief from their own personal
conviction and not upon the authority of any particular
teacher. The remarkable passage in which he points
this out gives indirect testimony to the attractiveness
and power of John Smith's personality, and reveals the
compelling force of that conviction of truth which could
207
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
lead to the severance of such an intimate fellowship as
the following words of Helwys indicate :
"Whereas formerly it hath been thought and reported that
we held these things, being seduced by Mr. Smyth, we
being now, through the great grace mercy and favour
of GOD towards us (though through cruel malice of Sathan
against us, and spirit of error in him), divided from him,
we pray a change of that judgment. And we trust we shall
approve unto all men that we hold our faith of Conscience to
GOD from the ground of the Scriptures. And yet let no man
think that we could not willingly have undergone that reproach
and far greater to have still enjoyed him. Yea, what would we
not have endured or done ? Would we not have lost all we had ?
Yea, would we not have plucked out our eyes ? Would we not
have laid down our lives ? Doth not god know this ? Do not
men know it ? Doth not he know it ? Have we not neglected
ourselves, our wives, our children and all we had and respected
him ? And we confess we had good cause so to do in respect of
those most excellent gifts and graces of god that then did abound
in him. And all our love was too little for him and not worthy
of him. And therefore let none think and let not him think but
that our souls have and do mourn for the loss of such a man and
if the LORD had taken him away from us we might have cried
(bear with our foolishness) the chariot and the horsemen of Israel.
But he hath forsaken the lord's truth, he is fallen from grace.
And though the fowler had spread his net and laid it, the net is
broken and we are escaped blessed and praised be our god.
Yet had he fallen alone our grief had been full enough, but in
that so many so near and so dear unto us are fallen with him
hereby hath he out of measure enlarged his own sin and our
grief. But our comfort is in the lord alone and in his Holy
Truth and if the lord had not now held us up we had surely
fallen. And we trust we shall be established, for God is able to
make us stand. Let not all these things distaste any man of the
Truth nor keep back any from it, but rather encourage men
unto it, in that the Lord hath so mercifully preserved a poor
remnant. And let men look to the cause and not to the accidents,
and yet if they do look to the accidents they shall see the like in
208
Of Yourselves Judge What is Right
the Churches of god [the Apostolic Charches of primitive
times] where men were baptized confessing their faith and their
Helwys felt that there was far too much dependence
amongst professing Christians upon what this or that
Reformer had taught and far too little experimental
and personal knowledge of religious truth.
" If you believe or profess any thing because it is the judgment
or exposition of Mr. Calvin, Mr. Beza, Mr. Perkins or any other
never so highly respected amongst you either dead or living, you
hold the glorious gospel of christ in respect of persons."
If a person condemned an error merely on the
authority of such teachers, his act of condemnation
would be a " sin " because he himself did not actually
know the thing he condemned to be erroneous. Helwys
laboured to prove that it was a sin " to be ignorant of
God's truth," and he tangled himself up in an argument
to demonstrate that '* if a man commit but one sin and
repent not he is guilty of all "... and that ** to be
ignorant of any one part of GOd'S Truth is sin and
unpardonable without repentance." ^ He placed the
emphasis upon repentance. If only men would humbly
acknowledge their ignorance in divine things and repent
of it and cast themselves utterly upon God, then all,
learned and unlearned alike, would have a clear start
and be enlightened with heavenly wisdom. It seems to
me that Helwys is here trying to make plain to others
an experience which he himself had gone through. He
takes no credit to himself except for acknowledging his
» The Declaration of Faith, l6i i . Sig. A 4— Sig. B.
a Ibid. Sig. B 4.
209 O
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
ignorance of divine things and repenting of his
ignorance. He found peace and light in assuming an
attitude of absolute dependence upon God and submis-
sion to the guidance of his Holy Spirit in the
interpretation of his word given in the Scriptures.
The experience which had come to him he desires others
to share. He erred in thinking that a similar experience
was a necessity for the salvation of all. He argues
from his own case to the whole of humankind. After
quoting passages from Scripture (Jer. xxxi. 33, John
xiv. 26, I John ii. 27) to show that a time was fore-
shadowed when men would be taught of God and led by
his Spirit he proceeds : —
"All this is not written to take away the Holy ordinance of
teaching, but to inform the people of god that they must have
their knowledge out of the word of god by the teaching of
the Spirit of god that they may be able to try the teaching
of their Teachers and not be tied to understand the Scriptures
as they expound them. But that they may be able to say
with good consciences, we believe it not because you our
teachers teach us thus, for we know you are also ignorant
and subject to error, but we believe it because we know it
to, be the truth of God and that of our own knowledge from
the word of god by the testimony of the Spirit of god,
And this knowledge must every one have that will be saved."
" We beseech you [Teachers or Preachers] therefore in the
bowels of compassion, if there be any compassion or mercy in you
be not so confident in your former understandings, which in
many things you have but by tradition and from the writings and
practices of other men. Hear us with patience. We speak in
the uprightness of our hearts unto you, for the advancement of
god's glory, the overthrow of your souls and of the souls of the
poor people of god that do too much depend upon you ; for
whom we wish that we could shed rivers of tears because we
210
Knowledge, Human and Divine
know that they have many excellent things in them and that they
have the zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. They are
our natural countrymen and divers of them our loving kindred in
the flesh, and some our most worthy and dear friends to whom we
owe the best fruits of our lives and the entirest affections of our
hearts. And therefore blame us not if we use all the means that
we can by the Word of God to draw them to the sight of the sin
of ignorance which doth so overshadow all men for the which sin
all men must perish if they repent not."
Helwys manfully pleads for the layman's capacity for
attaining knowledge of divine truth. " Long and tedious
courses of study in reading the writings of other men "
were not necessary. Let the plain man read the
Scriptures, asking help of God. If he went to the Bible
in the right spirit it would yield up its treasures. He
indicates an " easy way," and that is :
" — to read the Scriptures acknowledging your ignorance and
ask understanding of god. And this is a way whereby the most
simplest soul that seeks the truth in sincerity may attain unto
the knowledge of salvation contained in the Word of god."
It was a way which he himself had tested and found
" most blessed and comfortable."
211 O 2
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIV
A DECLARATION OF FAITH
This is the earliest printed Baptist Confession of
Faith. It was issued by Thomas Helwys and his com-
panions. Its close dependence upon the writings of
John Smith has not hitherto been noted. Helwys gives
the references ' Osaea,' ' Ezechiel ' etc. following the
Genevan Version to which he adhered more closely than
Smith.
We Believe and Confess i
I.
That there are three which bear record in heaven — the
FATHER, the WORD, and the spirit — and these three are one God
in all equality (i John v. 7, Phil. ii. 5, 6). By whom all things are
created and preserved in Heaven and Earth (Gen. i.).
2.
That this god in the beginning created all things of nothing
(Gen. i. i), and made man of the dust of the earth (chap. ii. 7) in
his own image (chap. i. 27), in righteousness and true holiness
(Ephes. iv. 24), yet being tempted fell by disobedience (chap. iii.
I — 7). Through whose disobedience all men sinned (Rom. v. 12-19).
His sin being imputed unto all, and so death went over all men.
3-
That by the promised seed of the Woman ' iesvs christ ' his
obedience, all are made righteous (Rom. v. 19). All are made
alive (i Cor. xv. 22). His righteousness being imputed unto all.
4.
That notwithstanding this men are by nature the children of
wrath (Ephes. ii. 3), born in iniquity and in sin conceived
* ADeclaration of Faith of English People^ etc., 161 1. Sig. A3— A 5.
The only copy known to me is in York Minster Library.
212
A Declaration of Faith
(Psal. V. 15), wise to all evil but to good they have no knowledge
(Jar. iv. 22). The natural man perceiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God (i Cor. ii. 14). And therefore man is not restored
unto his former estate, but that as man in his estate of innocency
having in himself all disposition unto good and no disposition unto
evil yet being tempted might yield or might resist ; even so now
being fallen and having all disposition unto evil and no disposi-
tion or will unto any good, yet god giving grace, man may
receive grace or may reject grace according to that saying
(Deut. XXX. 19). I call heaven and earth to record this day
against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing, therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live.
5.
That GOD, before the foundation of the world, hath predestinated
that all that believe in him shall be saved (Ephes. i. 4, 12 ; Mark xvi.
16), and all that believe not shall be damned (Mark xvi. 16), all
which he knew before (Rom. viii. 29). And this is the election
and reprobation spoken of in the Scriptures concerning salvation
and condemnation, and not that God has predestinated man to be
wicked and so to be damned, but that man being wicked shall be
damned. For God would have all men saved and come to the
knowledge of the truth (i Tim. ii. 4), and would have no man to
perish but would have all men come to repentance (2 Pet. iii. 9),
and willeth not the death of him that dieth (Ezek. xviii. 32). And
therefore god is the author of no man's condemnation — according
to the saying of the Prophet Hosea xiii. [9], Thy destruction, O
Israel, is of thyself, but thy help is of me.
6.
That man is justified only by the righteousness of Christ
apprehended by faith (Rom. iii. 28 ; Gal. ii. 16), yet faith without
works is dead (James ii. 17).
7-
That men may fall away from the grace of god (Heb. xii. 15)
and from the truth which they have received or acknowledged
(chap. x. 26) after they have tasted of the heavenly gift and were
made partakers of the holy ghost, and have tasted of the good
word of GOD and of the powers of the world to come (chap. vi.
4, 5). And after they have escaped from the filthiness of the
world may be tangled again therein and overcome (2 Pet. ii. 20).
213
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
That a righteous man may forsake his righteousness and perish
(Ezek. xviii. 24, a6). And therefore let no man presume to think
that because he hath, or had once, grace, therefore he shall
always have grace. But let all men have assurance that if they
continue unto the end they shall be saved. Let no man then
presume, but let all work out their salvation with fear and
trembling.
8.
That ' lEsvs CHRIST ' the Son of god, the second Person or
subsistence in the Trinity, in the fullness of time was manifested
in the flesh, being the seed of David and of the Israelites according
to the flesh (Rom. i. 3, and ix. 5). The Son of Mary the Virgin
made of her substance (Gal. iv. 4) by the power of the holy
GHOST overshadowing her (Luke i. 35). And being thus true
Man was like unto us in all things, sin only excepted
(Heb. iv. 15), being one person in two distinct natures, 'trve
GOD and TRVE man.'
9-
That ' lESvs CHRIST ' is mediator of the New Testament between
GOD and Man (i Tim. ii. 5), having all power in heaven and in
earth given unto him (Matt, xxviii. 18), being the only king
(Luke i. 33), PRIEST (Heb. vii. 24), and prophet (Acts iii. 22) of
his Church. He also being the only Lawgiver hath in his Testa-
ment set down an absolute and perfect rule of direction for all
persons at all times to be observed ; which no Prince nor any
whosoever may add to or diminish from, as they will avoid the
fearful judgments denounced against them that shall so do
(Rev. xxii. 18, 19).
10.
That the Church of christ is a company of faithful people
(i Cor. i. 2, Eph. i. i) separated from the world by the word and
Spirit of GOD (2 Cor. vi. 17), being knit unto the lord and one
unto another by Baptism (i Cor. xii. 13) upon their own confession
of the faith (Acts, viii. 37) and sins (Matt. iii. 6).
II.
That though in respect of christ the Church be one
(Ephes. iv. 4), yet it consisteth of divers particular congregations,
even so many as there shall be in the world ; every of which
congregations, though they be but two or three, have christ
given them with all the means of their salvation (Matt, xviii. 20,
214
A Declaration of Faith
Rom. viii. 32, i Cor. iii. 22) are the Body of christ (i Cor.
xii. 27) and a whole Church (i Cor. xiv. 23), and therefore may
and ought, when they are come together, to pray, prophesy, break
bread, and administer in all the holy ordinances, although as yet
they have no officers or that their officers should be in prison,
sick, or by any other means hindered from the Church
[i Pet. iv. 10, and ii. 5].i
12.
That as one congregation hath christ so hath all (2 Cor. x. 7),
and that the Word of god cometh not out from any one, neither
to any one congregation in particular (i Cor. xiv. 36), but unto
every particular * chvrch ' as it doth unto all the world (Coll. i. 5, 6).
And therefore no Church ought to challenge any prerogative over
any other.
13.
That every Church is to receive in all their members by Baptism
upon confession of their faith and sins wrought by the preaching
of the Gospel according to the primitive institution (Matt, xxviii. 19)
and practice (Acts ii. 41). And therefore Churches constituted
after any other manner or of any other persons are not according
to Christ's Testament.
14.2
That baptism or washing with water is the outward manifesta-
tion of dying unto sin and walking in newness of life (Rom. vi. 2,
3, 4). And therefore in no wise appertaineth to infants.
IS.''
That the Lord's Supper is the outward manifestation of the
Spiritual communion between christ and the faithful mutually
(i Cor. X. t6, 17) to declare his death until he come (i Cor. xi. 26)
1 These references are added in a contemporary hand in the York
Minster Library copy. They are printed by Crosby ii., 1739, appendix i ;
so the addition must have been made in his copy also. The strong asser-
tion of congregational independency and autonomy in this and the
succeeding article is directed against the position of John Smith, who by
1 6 10 had come to the conclusion that if a true Church was already in existence
then, for the sake of order, affiliation should be sought from that Church
and baptism and ordination received from its minister.
2 Compare Smith's personal confession, sections 14 and 15, "That
baptism is the outward sign of the remission of sins of dying and being
made aUve again, and therefore does not pertain to infants. That the
Lord's Supper is the outward sign of the communion of Christ and of the
faithful mutually by faith and love."
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
i6.
That the members of every Church or congregation ought to
know one another, that so they may perform all the duties of love
one towards another, both to soul and body (Matt, xviii. 15 ;
I Thess. V. 14 ; i Cor. xii. 25). And especially the Elders ought
to know the whole flock, whereof the holy ghost hath made
them overseers (Acts xx. 28 ; i Pet. v. 2, 3). And therefore a
Church ought not to consist of such a multitude as cannot have
particular knowledge one of another.
17.
That brethren impenitent in [any] 1 one sin after the admonition
of the Church are to be excluded the Communion of the Saints
(Matt, xviii. 17 ; i Cor. v. 4—13). And therefore not the com-
mitting of sin doth cut off from the Church but refusing to hear
the Church to reformation.
18.2
That ex-communicants in respect of civil society are not to be
avoided (i Thes. iii. 15 ; Mat. xviii. 17).
19.
That every Church ought (according to the example of Christ's
disciples and primitive churches) upon every first day of the week
being the lord's day to assemble together to pray, prophesy,
praise god, and break bread, and perform all other parts of
spiritual communion, for the worship of god, their own mutual
edification, and the preservation of true religion and piety in the
Church (John xx. 19; Acts ii. 42, and xx. 7 ; i Cor. xvi. 2). And
that [they] ought not to labour in their callings, according to the
equity of the moral law (Exod. xx. 8, etc.), which christ came
not to abolish but to fulfil. ^
1 "Any " is supplied in MS. in Minster Library copy ; it is printed also
by Crosby, ii., Appendix i, p. 6.
^ Cf. this and the preceding article with sections 17 and 18 in John
Smith's personal confession of faith, " Excommunicants are not to be
avoided in respect of civil society (civile commercium).'''
8 Helwys has here borrowed verbally from John Smith's Character of
the Beast ^ 1609 : —
•' We acknowledge that according to the precedent of Christ's disciples
and the primitive churches, the Saints ought upon the first day of the week,
216
A Declaration of Faith
20.1
That the officers of every Church or congregation are either
Elders, who by their office do especially feed the flock concerning
their souls (Act xx. 28 ; i Pet. v. 2, 5), or deacons — men and
women — who by their office relieve the necessities of the poor and
impotent brethren concerning their bodies (Act vi. 1—4).
21.
That these officers are to be chosen when there are persons
qualified according to the rules in Christ's Testament (i Tim. iii.
2—7 ; Tit. i. 6 — 9 ; Act vi. 3, 4), by election and approbation of
that Church or congregation whereof they are members (Act vi.
3, 4, and xiv. 23), with fasting prayer and laying-on of hands
(Acts xiii. 3, and xiv. 23). And there being but one rule for
Elders, therefore but one sort of Elders.^
22.
That the officers of every Church or congregation are tied by
office only to that particular congregation whereof they are
chosen (Act xiv. 23, and xx. 17 ; Tit. i. 5). And therefore they
cannot challenge by office any authority in any other congrega-
tion whatsoever, except they would have an Apostleship.
23-
That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are written
for our instruction (2 Tim. iii. 16), and that we ought to search
which is called the Lord's Day, Rev. i. 10, to assemble together to pray,
prophesy, praise God, and break bread, and perform other parts of
spiritual communion for the worship of God, their own mutual edification,
and the preservation of true religion and piety in the Church, and that we
might be better enabled to the foresaid duties we ought to separate
ourselves from the labours of our calHngs which might hinder us thereto
and that according to these Scriptures. John 20, 19. Act 2, 41, 42, and
20, 7. I Cor. 16, I." Epistle to the Reader.
In saying " Christ came not to aboUsh " the law, Helwys is having a
fling at Smith, who affirmed " all the ordinances of the Old Testament,
viz., the church, ministry, worship, and government of the Old Testament
to be abolished, all which were types and shadows of God's things to
come." Character of the Beast, Epistle.
1 Cf. section 16 in Smith's personal confession.
* Cf. Smith's statement in 1608, "All the Elders have the same ofilce
of the pastor, and so are all of one sort." Differences of the Churches,
p. 23.
217
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
them for they testify of christ (John v. 39), and therefore to be
used with all reverence as containing the Holy Word of god
which only is our direction in all things whatsoever.^
24.
That magistracy is a Holy Ordinance of god, that every soul
ought to be subject to it, not for fear only, but for conscience
sake. Magistrates are the ministers of god for our wealth.
They bear not the sword for nought. They are the ministers
of GOD to take vengeance on them that do evil (Rom. xiii. chap.).
That it is a fearful sin to speak evil of them that are in dignity
and to despise government (2 Pet. ii. 10). We ought to pay
tribute, custom, and all other duties. That we are to pray for
them, for god would have them saved and come to the know-
ledge of his truth (i Tim. ii. i — 4). And therefore they may be
members of the " Church of christ " retaining their magistracy,
for no Holy Ordinance of God debarreth any from being a
member of Christ's Church. They bear the sword of god,
which sword in all lawful administration is to be defended and
supported by the servants of god that are under their govern-
ment, with their lives and all that they have, according as in the
first institution of that Holy Ordinance. And whosoever holds
otherwise must hold (if they understand themselves) that they
[i.e., magistrates] are the ministers of the Devil and therefore not
to be prayed for, nor approved in any of their administrations,
seeing all things they do (as punishing offenders and defending
their countries, state, and persons by the sword) is unlawful.^
* It is significant that there is no section giving his view of the
Scriptures in Smith's personal confession.
^ This article was evidently written by Helwys with the following
passage by Smith before him. The Mennonites regarded the holding of
Magisterial office as incompatible with membership in the Christian
Church. " Concerning Magistrates we acknowledge them to be the
ordinance of the Lord, that every soul ought to be subject unto them, that
they are the ministers of God for our wealth, that we ought to be subject
unto them for conscience sake, that they are the ministers of God to take
vengeance on them that do evil, that we ought to pray for them that are
in authority ; that we ought not to speak evil of them that are in dignity
nor to despise government, but to pay tribute toll custom etc., and that
according to these Scriptures, Rom. 13, i — 7 ; i Tim. 22 ; i Pet. 2,
13 — 15 ; 2 Pet. 2, 10 ; Jude v. 8. But of Magistrates converted to the
Faith and admitted into the Church by baptism there may many questions
218
A Declaration of Faith
25.*
That it is lawful in a just cause for the deciding of strife to take
on oath by the name of the lord fHeb. vi. 16; 2 Cor. i. 23;
Phil. i. 8).
26.2
That the dead shall rise again, and the living being changed in
a moment, having the same bodies in substance, though divers
in qualities (i Cor. xv. 52 and 38 ; Job xix. 25 — 28 ; Lukexxiv. 30).
That after the resurrection all men shall appear before the
judgment seat of christ to be judged according to their works,
that the godly shall enjoy life eternal, the wicked being condemned
shall be tormented everlastingly in Hell (Mat. xxv. 46).
And now that we have truly set down our faith and
ground thereof, let it be duly and conscionably con-
sidered what just cause there is that our profession, and
we, should be made so odious as we are.
be made which to answer neither will we if we could* neither can we if we
would. When such things fall out the Law [query, Lord] doubt not will
direct us into the truth concerning that matter. In the meantime we are
assured according to the Scriptures that the Kings of the earth shall at
length bring their glory and honour to the visible church. Rev. 21, 24."
Character of the Beast. Epistle to Reader.
^ Crosby has run articles 24 and 25 together, an error which Dr.
Underbill followed in his Confessions of Faith^ as he could find no original
copy of this Declaration.
^ Compare these articles with sections 19 and 20 in Smith's personal
confession of faith. Ante^ p. 202.
* In the British Museum copy this is corrected in MS. as follows :
** which to answer we cannot if we would."
219
CHAPTER XV
GENERAL REDEMPTION
AND THE STATE OF INFANTS
Helwys soon followed up his first excursion into
print by publishing another little volume, in which he
dealt more at length with one or two features in his
belief which had been briefly touched upon in the
" Declaration of Faith." The religious atmosphere of
Amsterdam was disturbed at this time by heated con-
troversies about predestination and election and the
nature of Christ's redemptive work and the extent of its
beneficent operation. Helwys felt impelled to search
into those deep questions and to deliver his judgment
upon them to the world. He was convinced that Christ
died for all men and not merely for the elect ; con-
sequently he strongly opposed the Calvinistic doctrines
of particular election and redemption. In accordance
with the general belief of the time, he took it for granted
that the narrative in Genesis gave an historical account
of the origin of man. This implicit belief in the histori-
city of Adam gives an archaic flavour to the arguments
of Helwys upon these topics. The world is slowly
adjusting itself to a different belief as to how man came
into being, but in the battle between determinism and
free will you only have a wider aspect of the questions
about which Calvinists and Arminians eagerly disputed
220
Christ Died for All
in bygone days. To understand Helwys we must try
to understand his view upon these debated questions.
We must not expect to find in him a complete and con-
sistent philosophical scheme of things. We rather have in
him the plain man, not without strong sense and strong
feeling, looking into the Bible to see what it has to say
on these deep matters — a man not afraid, if need be, to
leave the question with a ragged edge, so long as the
goodness, mercy and justice of God are vindicated.
He entitled his book " A short and plain Proof by the
Word and works of God, that God's decree is not the
cause of Man's sin or condemnation. And that all Men
are redeemed by Christ as also that no Infants are con-
demned Printed i6ii." The dedicatory epistle,
dated June 2, l6i i, carries his signature " Tho: Helwys."
The prefatory epistle shows the occasion and scope of
the work and we cannot do better than quote from it and
let it explain itself: —
" Whereas we formerly in a little treatise entitled * A Declara-
tion of Faith of English People remayning at Amsterdam,' have
in the fifth Article in short set down our faith of Election and
Reprobation concerning salvation and condemnation ; there
having been some private opposition since we writ it, the love of
God and unto his truth constraineth us to speak thus much more
as we are able for the maintenance of this clear light of truth ; —
That God hath not in his eternal decree appointed some particu-
lar men to be condemned and so hath redeemed but some ;
" But that Christ is given a ransom for all men, yea, even for
the wicked that bring swift damnation upon themselves denying
the Lord that hath bought them (2 Pet. ii. i). It may and will
seem strange that we of all others should take in hand to deal in
a cause of so great controversy and so deep a mystery, to which
we answer that it concerns us as much as any and therefore
though we be not so able as we desire we were, yet because we
ought we are ready to show ourselves willing with the best ability
221
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
we have. And in that it is a deep mystery (as the whole truth of
God is) the more need had we to search into it, that by the grace
of God we might find the depth of it so far as God hath revealed
[it] in his word, as all men ought to do."*
Helwys revolted against the high Calvinistic doctrine
then in vogue in the Protestant circles of Holland and
England.
" They that hold this fearful opinion, hold that God would not
have some men, yea, the most men to believe, but hath decreed
their condemnation. And though the Holy Ghost say (Acts, xvii. 30)
that now God admonisheth all men everywhere to repent, yet
they of this opinion that hold that God hath decreed to repro-
bate some, say he would not have all but some to repent. And if
they would speak plainly and not halt betwixt opinions they must
say that God would have some to be unbelievers and wicked and
disobedient. And that were the highest blasphemy. It were
above the wickedness of the fool that saith in his heart there is no
God, for it were to say there is a Wicked God that hath decreed
wickedness." 2
In the judgment of Helwys the practical effects of the
doctrines of particular election and reprobation were bad.
This doctrine, said he, works " presumption in men."
He put the matter in this way : —
** If men can but once get a persuasion in themselves that God
hath elected them then they are secure, they need not work out
their salvation with fear and trembling, for God having decreed
them to be saved they must be saved. If they increase and grow
in knowledge and grace it is well, but if they do not it is all one,
for it is decreed they must be saved and this causeth a slothful,
careless and negligent profession." ^
In another direction Helwys saw this doctrine to be
mischievous. He says it " makes some despair utterly
1 S/iorf and Plaine Proofe. The Epistle " to all that waite for salvation
by lesus Christ." Unique copy in Bodleian Library.
2 Sig. B 2. 8 Ibid.
222
General Baptists and Particular Baptists
as thinking there is no grace for them and that God hath
decreed their destruction. And it makes others des-
perately careless, holding that if God have decreed they
shall be saved then they shall be saved, and if God
have decreed they shall be damned they shall be damned
and in a desperate carelessness run headlong to
destruction." ^
We can trace to their source in Helwys some of the
distinctive ideas and arguments which separated English-
speaking Baptists into two camps — the " General " and
the " Particular " — for well nigh 300 years. Some of the
very phrases and party watchwords in the controversy
make their appearance in his pages. Let one example
stand for all. After quoting many Scriptural passages
to prove that Christ's sufferings were sufficient to take
away Adam's sin and to support the doctrine oi general
redemption, Helwys proceeds : —
" What shall we need to allege any more grounds of scripture
to prove that Christ hath redeemed all men and that he would
have no man perish. These may suffice. Oh, that they
might suffice 1 What gladness should come to our souls to see
men tractably minded to submit themselves to the Word of Truth,
which is so evident in this point. Far be it from any fearing God,
either of a forward or negligent mind to pass by this great point,
though hand-led by so weak means, by reason of which exceeding
weakness we are not able to the full desire of our souls to discover
the depth of the mystery of iniquity in this opinion of Particular
Election and Reprobation and so of Particular Redemption, nor to
show forth the great mystery of godliness in the true and holy
understanding of Universal or the General Redemption of all by
Christ." 2
While advocating this doctrine Helwys sought to
guard against the charge of holding the doctrine of Free
1 Sig. B 2, verso.
* Short and Plaine Proof e^ Sig. B 4.
223
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Will as ordinarily understood, which men usually thought
" must needs follow this understanding of universal
redemption." The doctrine of Free Will was in bad
odour in the religious circles of the time, and the little
group of believers under Helwys resented the charge of
favouring it. Accordingly there is a note, in black letter,
on the last page of this little book directed against those
who made the accusation. " If their meaning," says
Helwys, " were free will in Christ and that we have free
power and ability through Christ to work out our salva-
tion, and that through Christ we are made able to every
good work such a free will we hold. But that man hath
any free will or power in himself to work his own
salvation or to choose life we utterly deny, having learned
of the Apostle, Ephes. ii. 8, 9, that by grace men are
saved through faith and that not of themselves but of
the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast
himself." In his opinion man had freedom to resist and
reject salvation and work downward, but all his success
on the upward path must be ascribed in the last resort
to the grace and help of God. " Thus Christ offering
himself, man hath power and doth reject Christ, put the
word of God from him, resist the Holy Ghost and freely
of his own will, work his own condemnation ; but he
hath no power to work his own salvation. And so much
only to clear ourselves from that gross and fearful error
of free will from the which the Lord in great mercy
hath freed us."^
Before we take our leave of this brief treatise we may
notice that Helwys dedicated it " to the ladie Bowes."
He probably had some personal acquaintance with her,
^ Short and Plaine Froofe^ ad finem.
224
A Protestant Family
for he gives as one reason for this dedication " the faith-
ful reverend loving respect I bear to you and that,
from your own worthy deserts in the best things and in
all good unto me." This lady was Isabel, the eldest
sister of that Sir William Wray of Glentworth, to whom
John Smith had dedicated his first work. She and her
sister Frances, who had married in 1583 Sir George
Saint Paule, of Lincolnshire, had been benefactors of
Richard Bernard and other Puritan preachers. She had
first married Godfrey Foljambe, who died June 14, 1595.
A few years after his death she married Sir William Bowes
(d. October 30, 161 1) and thus became one of a family
allied by marriage to John Knox. Sir William Bowes
had succeeded his uncle. Sir Robert Bowes, in the
Scottish Embassy, and was looked up to as a consistent
Protestant. Helwys, in dedicating his book to this
" Worthy Ladie," said, " I know there is none in the land
that hath better means to procure a cause of religion to
be handled according to the judgment of the best." He
begged her either to secure *' an upright conscionable
sound answer from the word of truth to this ground here
propounded ; or else to give glory to God and receive it
for the blessed truth of God." The death of her
husband a few months later would prevent her from
giving much attention to the matter even if she had
the will, and it does not appear that the little book of
Helwys excited any special notice in England.
225
CHAPTER XVI
PIELWYS AND THE MENNONITES — AN ADVERTISE-
MENT TO THE NEW FRYESERS — THE QUESTION
OF SUCCESSION
After issuing his short and plain proof that all men
are redeemed by Christ and no infants condemned,
Helwys set about the work of publishing a little treatise
which he had drawn up for the special purpose of
enlightening the Mennonites on certain points about
which he thought they erred. The work was composed
in English, but a translation into Dutch was specially
written out for the benefit of the Mennonite ministers and
congregations. Helwys desired to define his position
with respect to those Anabaptist congregations and pre-
vent any hasty identification of his own followers with
them. A fair copy of his work being made for the pur-
pose of translation, the idea seems to have presented itself
to him of publishing it in print. Accordingly there
came out " An Advertisement or Admonition unto the
Congregations which men call the New Fryesers ^ in the
Lowe Countries, written in Dutche and publiched in
Englis. Wherein is handled 4 Principall pointes of
Religion : —
' I. That Christ took his Flesh of Marie, having a true earthly
naturall bodie.
1 This word has usually been read as Fryelers. The Rev. Alexander
Gordon pointed out the error which arose from misreading a broken letter.
The word indicates the new Frisian Anabaptists.
226
The New Frisian Anabaptists Warned
"2. That a Sabbath or day of rest is to be kept holy everie First
day of the weeke.
" 3. That there is no Succession nor privilege to persons in
holie things.
" 4 That magistracie, being an holy ordinance of God, debarreth
not anie from being of the Church of Christ. . . . Printed 161 1."
We may let the prefatory epistle in this case also
speak for itself. It is addressed "to Hans dc Ries,
Reynier Wybrantson and the congregations whereof
they are," and opens as follows : —
" Having long desired to publish our Faith unto this nation,
and in particular unto those congregations whereof you are (as
we have formerly done to our own Nation) and also to make
known the things wherein you and we differ and are opposite.
We have now through the mercy of God thus far brought our
desires to pass being only unsatisfied for our insufficiency that we
are no better able to manifest your errors unto you."
Helwys proceeds to give the grounds and causes
which led him to publish the work. One reason as he
puts it was : —
** That we might through the grace of God (if your willing
minds be thereunto) be instruments of good unto you herein, and
the rather because you have been instruments of good in dis-
covering divers of our errors unto us, which we acknowledge to the
praise of God and with thankful hearts to you."
And he concludes this epistle in these words : —
" Thus we are constrained (for the defence of the truth of God
we profess, and that we may not seem to justify you in your evils
and to make it known unto all that we have good cause to differ from
you) to publish these things in this manner as we do. And that
it may appear unto all, and in your consciences, that we have
strong grounds for these things wherein we differ from you, though
we be weak in the maintenance of them. If any shall oppose
part or all of that is here written we desire this equal kindness,
that it may be set over into English for all our understandings as
227 P 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
we have caused this to be set oyer into Dutch for all yours. And
if there be cause of reply we will by the assistance of God answer
with all the ability wherewith God shall make us able. Fare you
well. Peace and love with faith from God and from our Lord
Jesus Christ be with all them that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Thomas Helwys."
It would be tedious to follow Helwys in all his argu-
mentation upon the four special points he set out to
handle in this book, but there are some passages in it
that have reference to his relations with Smith, and others
that help us to appreciate his own position more clearly,
which will bear quotation. As to the toleration by these
Anabaptists or Mennonites of differences of opinion about
the person of Jesus, he says, " You have [some] amongst
you that deny Christ to have taken flesh of Mary, some
holding that he brought it from heaven and some not
knowing from whence he brought it, both which destroy
the faith of Christ." ^ . . . ** This then is your great sin
that you suffer many amongst you that maintain
a false faith concerning where Christ had his flesh ;
and you approve and allow of some that hold and
maintain no faith concerning where Christ had his
flesh, and so do you approve and maintain them in
their sin, for whatsoever any holds or maintains not of
faith is sin. And to be ignorant of any part of that the
Scriptures hath manifested is sin, and to determine to
remain ignorant and so to continue unto the end is
death, for without repentance any one sin is death as the
apostle James sheweth. James 2, 10." ^
With regard to the right and power of any company of
* An Advertisement^ etc.^ p. 8.
2 Ibid., p. i6.
228
The Question of Succession
Christians to revive and practise the true ordinance of
baptism Helwys says : —
" If you [Dutch Mennonites] confess that the New Testament
and all the rules and examples therein are general to all — then
may all men in all places, whom the Lord by his word and spirit
shall stir up and indue with gifts and graces, preach the gospel ;
and men being converted [may] baptize them. And so is your
' Succession ' fallen to the ground. And therein have you no loss,
if you love the Lord and his holy truth, for thereby shall the holy
ordinances of Christ be set at liberty which you have kept in bon-
dage, to the great dishonour of God and to the utter confusion of
divers souls [Smith and his company] whose blood will be
required at your hands (though they be perished in their own sins)
if you repent not." ^
Helwys dealt at length with the question of Succes-
sion^ which he regarded as the source of the trouble
between himself and Smith. He bewailed the overthrow
of the true Church which SmJth had set up. He writes
almost with anguish of his severance from his old friends.
His feeling was intensified because he had got a fixed idea
into his head that there could never be any reconciliation
between them on the ground that Smith and his followers,
having once seen the truth and abandoned it, were guilty
of apostasy and the sin against the Holy Ghost. It is a
singular example of a man being forced into an
unchristian and uncharitable attitude against his own
better feeling owing to a false inference from the Bible.
The defection of Smith and the requirements of the
Dutch elders from those who sought fellowship with the
Mennonites are glanced at in the following passage : —
" What truth, piety, or godliness is there in this that you should
seek to make men either presently swallow up all your errors
ignorantly to be washed of you with water, or else stay until they
1 An Advertisement, etc., p. 32.
2 See also pages 20 — 55 of An Advertisement ^ etc.
229
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
have learned them, otherwise they must not be baptized at all.
And further that men must be forced to learn your language and
so until the poor disciples of Christ, that would follow him
(English men or any other nation), can speak Dutch they are
debarred from the holy ordinances of God and the means of salva-
tion by this your rule — a fearful mystery of iniquity. Hereby you
have wrought such wickedness amongst us, and brought such
desolation upon us the poor people of God, as we have cause to
wish that in our heads were floods of water and our eyes were
fountains of tears, that we might pour out a complaint against
you, for this your abomination which you have set up, whereby
you have wrought such destruction and ruin in the Church of God,
seeking to pull it down to build up yourselves. Hereby have you
glorified your Church and set her up to sit as a Queen, taking
unto yourselves all power and authority, yea, even to shut the
gates of the Holy City and the Heavenly Jerusalem, saying that
none may enter but by your authority. Oh 1 that you could see
your great sin herein and the lamentable evil that you have
wrought.
• « * • •
" Were this all our woe it were at full enough, but you have
by this your great sin [i.e., by the Mennonites insistence upon
the doctrine of Succession] brought a further evil upon us
than to make our enemies rejoice over us, saying, 'There,
there ! ' * So would we have it,' for you have made our friends
our enemies, yea, our familiar friends with whom we took sweet
counsel and went together to the house of God. And such is
the enmity betwixt us and them (whereof you have been chief
instrument), as it can never have end whilst any of us live,
for it is that enmity which the Lord put between the seed of the
woman and the seed of the serpent, which can have no end in
them except we fall into the same destruction. For there is no
place to repentance to be found for their transgression, for they
were once enlightened and had tasted of the heavenly gift and
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and had tasted of the
good word of God and of the powers of the world to come and
are fallen away. It is impossible they should be renewed by
repentance, seeing they crucify again to themselves the Son of
God and make a mock of him (Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6)." ^
^ An Adveriisement, eic, pp. 33, 34.
230
Former Views of Smith now Changed
" Now to show how they were once enlightened. First, Mr. John
Smyth (upon whose head the blood of all this people shall be)
hath by his profession in all his practice, and by word, and in his
sundry writings with such force of argument and strength of
protestation, with ground of truth (as his writings shew), mani-
fested himself to be enlightened with this truth of God, ' That
wheresoever two or three are gathered together into Christ's
name, there Christ hath promised to be in the midst of them
(Matt, xviii. 20), and therefore they are the people of God and
Church of Christ, having right to Christ and all his ordinances,
and need not seek to men to be admitted to the holy things, but
may freely walk together in the way of God and enjoy all holy
things.' From this truth of God, wherewith he was enlightened,
is he fallen, denying the word of our Saviour Christ that saith,
'Wheresoever two or three are gathered, &c.,' and holdeth
that the first two or three that are gathered together have only
right to Christ and all his ordinances, and that after all men must
come to them, restraining the words of Christ, which are general
to any two or three, only to the first two or three, and so hath
set up a succession against the which he hath formerly by all
words, writings, and practice set himself with all detestation ; and
this man, like Balaam, hath consulted with you and hath put a
stumbling block before the people of God, who were also
enlightened, and so are many, as you know, fallen with him to
the same sin and under the same condemnation." ^
Helwys points out that " Mr. Jarvase Nevile," ^ one
of the leading members of Smith's company, who had
suffered much for the truth, had gone further than Smith
in this direction, and was now " exclaiming against " the
Mennonites' succession, and striving " to build up the
succession of Rome." Other points are instanced in
which Helwys thought that his old leader had deserted
the truth, but we have quoted at sufficient length to show
1 An Advei'tisement^ pp. 35, 36.
2 I have traced no less than three contemporary Gervase Neviles
connected with Notts. One was instituted as Rector of Grove in that
county on September 21, i6il.
231
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
how wide and deep the rift between them had become,
and how bitter were the reproaches cast upon Smith by
his old associate.
At the end of this book Helwys inserted "certain
demands concerning God's decree of salvation and
condemnation." ^ They were addressed " to all the most
worthy Governors, Learned Teachers, and Godly people
of all estates and conditions in these United Provinces,"
and were intended to mark out a short and easy way for
settling the vexed questions in dispute between Calvinists
and Arminians. After thankfully acknowledging the
religious liberty allowed in Holland, Helwys proceeds : —
" We humbly crave now, that we may with favour and good
acceptance use this Christian liberty thus far as to propound one
ground of Rehgion by way of question and demand. And we doubt
not (through the grace of God) but it being thoroughly and faith-
fully debated and tried by the godly wise and learned, it will put
a short end to that long-continued controversy of God's eternal
decree of life and death to salvation and condemnation."
He then proceeds to set down nine questions, the
main object of which was to vindicate the Almighty
from the charge of being the cause of any man's damna-
tion. The last question sums up the whole : —
" Adam having then free will and power from God in and by
his creation to obey and live, how can it possibly be said that God
in his eternal decree decreed him or any man to condemnation ? " ^
The sublime confidence of Helwys in his ability to
settle this question was characteristic of the man. His
interposition in the fray between Remonstrants and
Calvinists did not check in the least the onward sweep
1 Title-page of Advertisement^ etc.
2 Ati Advertisement^ p. 89. Sig. F 5.
232
Calvinists and Arminians
of High Calvinism to its final crystallization at the
Synod of Dort ; but it did testify to the intensity and
reality of his own convictions. It demonstrated to the
world that he had found some solution to the problem
in which he himself could rest satisfied.
At the very end ^ of this book also Helwys put in a
note '* for the clearing of ourselves from the suspect
[suspicion] of that most damnable heresy " of free will.
This looks like hunting with the hounds and running
with the hare. But his theory was that absolute free
will belonged only to Adam in his state of innocency,
and that all the rest of mankind stood in need of Christ.
In his view free will " doth utterly abolish Christ," for it
would enable a man to have power in himself to obey
and so to stand in "no need of Christ." Helwys
apparently felt it to be needful to mould his belief on
this point to fit his interpretation of certain passages in
the Pauline Epistles. He dared not trust the intuitions
of his own nature, but actually maintained that both
faith and knowledge were created qualities in man. It
will be seen that his scheme was far from being con-
sistent, however excellent from a pragmatic point of
view he may have found it. There is one little self-
revealing paragraph in this postscript with which we may
close this chapter. In speaking on this topic of free
will, Helwys, referring either to the Mennonites or to
his old friends under Smith, says : —
*' We know ^ not any certainty of these men's opinions, therefore
we will not enter into them, only one man once told us he had free
1 An Advertisement^ p. 91. " It is suspected that they which hold
Universal Redemption do or must hold free will."
^ An Advertisement, p. 92.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
will, but we found him to hold so many other horrible opinions
wherein he was so obstinate, as we had no faith to have any
further conference with him."
There were some topics, therefore, which Helwys felt
it inadvisable to discuss, and from a full consideration of
which he shrank.
234
CHAPTER XVII
THE LAST DAYS AND THE LAST BOOK OF JOHN
SMITH — HIS CONFESSION OF FAITH
The life of John Smith was now drawing to a close.
It had been a strenuous time, a life full of incident, full of
spiritual and intellectual activity. He was probably only
about forty years old, yet the flame of life began to flicker
in the socket. Happily he had gained peace of mind
and tranquility of soul, and his strange career ended in a
restful calm. We have one little glimpse of his bearing
in his last year, from the hand of a hostile writer.
Christopher Lawne, complaining of the overbearing
manner of Francis Johnson, whom he scornfully calls
*' S. Francis," contrasts the disposition of other Separa-
tist leaders to Johnson's disadvantage.
** Master Smith * himself, though drunken with the dregs of
error and strange phantasies (the beginning and ground whereof he
boasteth to have sucked from his tutor S. Francis), yet is he in his
demeanour nothing so haughty and proud as his Tutor declares
himself."
This indicates his winsome and attractive manner.
He had been inclined to consumption "before ^ he came
out of England " and the disease now developed to such
an extent that " he perceived that his life should not long
* Lawne's Prophane Schisme, 1612, p. 64.
2 Bradford's Sum of a Dialogue^ etc., 1648, in Young's Chronicles,
p. 451-
235
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
continue." By this time he was " practising physic " as a
means of living and would be well aware of his critical
condition. Still he worked on bravely to the end. As
Helwys had drawn up a Declaration of Faith for his
company, and the Mennonites had drafted a " Short
Confession " for the guidance of the English, so also
Smith employed himself in the last year of his life in
compiling a series of " propositions and conclusions con-
cerning the Christian religion " which embodied the
Confession of Faith of the body of English Anabaptists
who adhered to him.
He was also engaged in writing a little book in which
he briefly surveyed the several controversies in which he
had been concerned. In this work he retracted " all
those biting and bitter words, phrases and speeches ' '
which he had used against the Puritans of England, and
as for his controversies with fellow Separatists he
expressed the view that he had failed not in the matter
but in " the manner of writing." He embodied in this
treatise a brief and temperate answer to the provocative
charges and imputations laid against him by Helwys in
his " Declaration of Faith " of i6i i. Smith had " done
nothing in writing hitherto " against ^' Master Helwys
his separation," but he now felt bound to take notice of
what had been published against him from that quarter.
It would seem that Smith left his work unfinished at the
time of his death. His friends published it soon after-
wards under the title " The last booke of John Smith,
called the retractation of his errours and the confirmation
of the truth." It was inserted after the Confession of
Faith and there was appended to it what is called " The
Life and death of John Smith," giving one or two details
236
Last Book of John Smith
of his life at Amsterdam and a touching account of his
last days and death. His last book was written " not
long before his death " and it was his desire " that it
should be published unto the world." These documents
throw such light upon the opinions of Smith that we
venture to reprint them in full.
In his illness he desired his wife and children to
remain with the company of fellow-believers who had
been faithful to him. Towards the close of August in
the year 1612 he breathed his last surrounded by his
family and " the brethren." His body was carried from
his dwelling at the back of the " great bakehouse " of
Jan Munter on the first of September ^ for burial in the
Nieuwekerke (New Church) at Amsterdam. His was a
brave soul in a fragile frame. Generous hearted and
transparently sincere, he won the loving regard of those
who knew him best and found at last the peace of God
whiph passeth all understanding.
/when John Robinson published his book on
** Religious Communion Private and Public " in the year
1 6 14, he placed at the end "A survey of the Confession
of Faith published in certain conclusions by the
remainders of Mr. Smyth's company." It is clear that
he had a printed copy before him. He quoted, more or
less fully, many of Smith's " conclusions " with which he
disagreecL/For years this Confession of Faith was lost.
It was only partially known through Robinson's quota-
tions, and some writers confused it with the Declaration
of Faith issued by Helwys and his group. It was further
noted that John Cotton was acquainted with this
Confession by Smith and also with some account " of his
1 Barclay's Religious Societies of Commonwealth, p. 95.
237
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
life and death" attached to it. Cotton refers to it in a
striking passage. Roger Williams had declared his
great sense of peace and satisfaction since he had entered
upon the Anabaptist way. Cotton rejoins " it is no new
thing with Satan to transform himself into an angel of
light and to cheer the soul with false peace and flashes
of counterfeit consolation." He gives the case of Smith
as an example : —
" Sad and woeful is the memory of Mr. Smith's strong consola-
tion on his death-bed, which is set as a seal to his gross and
damnable Arminianism and enthusiasm delivered in the Con-
fession of his Faith prefixed to the story of his life and death." ^
Those illuminating words not only reveal Cotton's
temper, but also indicate that he had access to a copy of
Smith's confession. On both sides of the Atlantic then,
this work was referred to, but every copy seemed to have
perished. At length Professor Miiller found a Dutch
version of this " Confession of Faith " in manuscript among
the archives of the Waterlander Mennonite Church at
Amsterdam. He made an excellent translation into
English^ and communicated it to Dr. B. Evans. Shortly
afterwards attention was called to a printed copy
in the York Minster Library in a unique little volume
containing Smith's ** Last Book " and the brief
account of his life and death. This was reprinted by
Mr. Robert Barclay in 1876. His work has long been
out of print. The variations between the Dutch manu-
script and the printed copy are slight but significant and
will be indicated in the notes.
1 Cotton's Letter examined and answered in The Bloody Tenent of
Persecution. lianserd Knollys Society, 1848, p. 389.
2 Printed in Evans' Early Baptists^ 1862, i., p. 257.
238
♦♦THE CONFESSION OF FAYTH PUBLISHED IN
CERTAYN CONCLUSIONS
BY THE
REMAYNDERS OF MR. SMITHES COMPANY/*
The following work is referred to by John Robinson under the
above title. He had a printed copy before him. He also alludes
to it as " Mr. Smith's Confession." The only known copy has no
title page and begins abruptly with an epistle to the reader. The
quotations from Scripture follow the Genevan Version in
the main.
The Epistle to the Reader
Considering that all means and helps are necessary for men, to
provoke them to the practice of religion, and obedience of the
truth, especially in this latter age of the world, when our Saviour
Christ witnesseth that because of the bounding iniquity the love
of many shall wax cold, which appeareth too manifest in these
days. Therefore we have thought good to manifest unto thee
(good reader) the manner of the life of (John Smith), remaining
for a time at Amsterdam in Holland, and how he carried himself
in his sickness, even unto his death. Whereunto we have
annexed a small confession of faith : with a little treatise which he
writ not long before his death, desiring that it should be published
unto the world ; in the reading whereof we beseech thee to cast
away prejudice, and be not forestalled with the supposed errors
held by him, or us, nor with the censure of other, which have
thrust themselves too far into the room of God, to judge things
before the time ; but try all things, and take that which is good :
and in trying, put on love, which will teach thee to interpret all
things in the best part, and the rather, because that to take things
in the evil part is the property of an evil mind. Even as the bee
and spider coming both to one flower, the one taketh honey and
the other poison, according to their nature, so it is with men : for
he that is full despiseth an honeycomb, and the sick stomach
abhorreth most pleasant meat, but to the sound and hungry all
The Epistle to the Reader
good things have a good taste ; even so it is in spiritual matters :
and therefore we direct these things especially unto two sorts of
men, the one is the careless professor, who placeth all his religion
in knowledge, in speaking, and in outward profession; that such
may know that true religion consisteth not in knowledge, but in
practice, not in word but in power : and that such as have the
form of godliness, and do deny the power thereof, are to be
separated from : the other is the hungry soul, and the upright ia
heart, which seek the Lord, to let them see and know that there
is in the Lord all sufficience, and such a measure of grace to be
attained unto, as that they may be made partakers of the Divine
nature, and may come to the measure of the age of the fulness of
Christ (Eph. iv. 13), and to bring every thought into the obedience
of Christ. The which who so well considereth, it will cause them
not to be careless and negligent, but careful and diligent, to use
all means which may further them in this great work of the Lord.
And know also, that the intent of the author is not to teach any
man either to despise or neglect the holy ordinances, appointed
by Jesus Christ for the help of His Church, nor to attribute unto
them more than is meet, but to use them as means to bring us to
the end; that is that the Lord hath not given His word, sacra-
ments and the discipline of the Church unto His people, to the
end that they should satisfy themselves with the outward obedi-
ence thereof, nor to think that all is well when they walk therein ;
but also to be translated into the obedience of that which the
word teacheth, and the sacraments signify unto them ; that is, to
be made like to Jesus Christ in His life, sufferings, death, burial,
resurrection and ascension, by being partakers with Him of one
and the same spirit ; consider what we say, and the Lord give
thee understanding in all things.
T.P.i
" I have not concealed Thy mercy and Thy truth from the
great congregation." (Psal. xl. 10). " For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth man confesseth
to salvation." (Rom. x. 10).
1 Mr. Robert Barclay identified these letters as the initials of Thomas
Piggott, who had been baptized by Smith and adhered to him when
Helwys parted from him. His name, given as Pyggot, is in the list of
those who signed the statement expressing regret that they took it in hand
to baptize themselves.
240
A Confession of Faith
Propositions and Conclusions
concerning true Christian Religion
conteyning A Confession of Faith of certaine
English people, livinge at
Amsterdam,
1. We believe that there is a God (Heb. xi. 6) against all
Epicures and Atheists, which either say in their hearts or utter
with their mouths that there is no God (Psal. xiv. i ; Isaiah
xxii. 13).
2. That this God is one in number (i Cor. viii. 4, 6) against
the Pagans or any other that hold a plurality of gods.
3. That God is incomprehensible and ineffable, in regard of
His substance or essence that is God's essence can neither be
comprehended in the mind, nor uttered by the words of men or
angels (Exod. iii. 13-15, and xxxiii. 18-21).
4. That the creatures and Holy Scriptures do not intend to
teach us what God is in substance or essence, but what He is in
effect and property (Rom. i. 19, 23 ; Exod. xxxiii. 23).
5. That these terms, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, do not
teach God's substance, but only the hinder parts of God ; that
which may be known of God (Rom. i. ; Exod. xxxiii.)
6. That God may be known by His titles, properties, effects,
imprinted and expressed in the creatures, and Scriptures
(John xvii. 3).
7. That to understand and conceive of God in the mind is not
the saving knowledge of God, but to be like to God in His effects
and properties; to be made conformable to His divine and
heavenly attributes. That is the true saving knowledge of God
(2 Cor. iii. 18; Matt. v. 48; 2 Peter i. 4), whereunto we ought to
give all diligence.
8. That this God manifested in Father, Son and Holy Ghost
(Matt. iii. 16, 17) is most merciful, most mighty, most holy, most
just, most wise, most true, most glorious, eternal and infinite
(Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7 ; Psalm xc. 2 and cii. 27).
9. That God before the foundation of the world did foresee
and determine the issue and event of all His works (Acts xv. 18),
and that actually in time He worketh all things by His providence,
according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. i. 11), and there-
241 Q
A Confession of Faith
fore we abhor the opinion of them that avouch that all things
happen by fortune or chance (Acts iv. 27, 28 ; Matt. x. 29, 30).
10. That God is not the author or worker of sin (Psal. v. 4;
James i. 13), but that God only did foresee and determine what
evil the free will of men and angels would do ; but He gave no in-
fluence, instinct, motion or inclination to the least sin.
11. That God in the beginning created the world viz., the
heavens, and the earth and all things that are therein (Gen. i. ;
Acts xvii. 24). So that the things that are seen, were not of things
which did appear (Heb. xi. 3).
12. That God created man to blessedness, according to His
image, in an estate of innocency, free without corruption of sin
(Gen. i. 27 ; ii. 17, 25) ; He created them male and female (to wit)
one man and one woman (Gen. i. 27) ; He framed man of the dust
of the earth, and breathed into Him the breath of life, so the man
was a living soul (Gen. ii. 7 ; i Cor. xv. 45). But the woman He
made of a rib, taken out of the side of the man (Gen. ii. 21, 22),
That God blessed them, and commanded them to increase, and
multiply, and to fill the earth, and to rule over it and all creatures
therein (Gen. i. 28, ix. 1,2; Psal. viii. 6).
13. That therefore marriage is an estate honourable amongst
all men, and the bed undefiled : viz. betwixt one man and one
woman (Heb. xiii. 4; i Cor. vii. 2), but whoremongers and
adulterers God will judge.
14. That God created man with freedom of will, so that he
had ability to choose the good and eschew the evil, or to choose
the evil and refuse the good, and that this freedom of will was a
natural faculty or power, created by God in the soul of man
(Gen. ii. 16, 17 ; iii. 6, 7 ; Eccles. vii. 29).
15. That Adam sinning was not moved or inclined thereto by
God, or by any decree of God but that he fell from his innocency
and died the death alone, by the temptation of Satan, his free will
assenting thereunto freely (Gen. iii. 6).
16. That the same day that Adam sinned, he died the death
(Gen. ii. 17), for the reward of sin is death (Rom. vi. 23), and this
is that which the Apostle saith, dead in trespasses and sins (Eph.
ii. i), which is loss of innocency, of the peace of conscience and
comfortable presence of God (Gen. iii. 7, 11).
17. That Adam being fallen did not lose any natural power or
faculty which God created in his soul, for the work of the devil,
242
A Confession of Faith
which is (sin), cannot abolish God's works or creatures : and
therefore being fallen he still retained freedom of will (Gen. iii.
23' 24).
18. That original sin is an idle term, and that there is no such
thing as men intend by the word (Ezek. xviii. 20), because God
threatened death only to Adam (Gen. ii. 17) not to his posterity,
and because God created the soul (Heb. xii. 9).
ig. That if original sin might have passed from Adam to his
posterity, Christ's death, which was effectual before Cain and
Abel's birth. He being the lamb slain from the beginning of the
world, stopped the issue and passage thereof (Rev. xiii. 8).
20. That infants are conceived and born in innocency without
sin, and that so dying are undoubtedly saved, and that this is to
be understood of all infants under heaven (Gen. v. 2, i. 27
compared with i Cor. xv. 49), for where there is no law there is no
transgression, sin is not imputed while there is no law (Rom. iv.
15 and V. 13), but the law was not given to infants, but to them
that could understand (Rom. v. 13 ; Matt. xiii. 9 ; Neh. viii. 3).
21. That all actual sinners bear the image of the first Adam,
in his innocency, fall, and restitution in the offer of grace (i Cor.
XV. 49), and so pass under these three conditions, or threefold
estate.
22. That Adam being fallen God did not hate him, but loved him
still, and sought his good (Gen. iii. 8—15), neither doth he hate
any man that falleth with Adam ; but that He loveth mankind,
and from His love sent His only begotten Son into the world, to
save that which was lost, and to seek the sheep that went astray
(John iii. 16).
23. That God never forsaketh the creature till there be no
remedy, neither doth He cast away His innocent creature from
all eternity ; but casteth away men irrecoverable in sin (Isa. v. 4 ;
Ezek. xviii. 23, 32, and xxxiii. 11 ; Luke xiii. 6, 9).
24. That as there is in all the creatures a natural inclination
to their young ones, to do them good, so there is in the Lord
toward man ; for every spark of goodness in the creature is
infinitely good in God (Rom. i. 20 ; Psal. xix 4; Rom. x. 18).
25. That as no man begetteth his child to the gallows, nor no
potter maketh a pot to break it ; so God doth not create or
predestinate any man to destruction (Ezek. xxxiii. 11 ; Gen. i. 27 ;
I Cor. xv. 49 ; Gen. v. 3).
243 Q 2
A Confession of Faith
26. That God before the foundation of the world hath
determined the way of life and salvation to consist in Christ, and
that he hath foreseen who would follow it (Eph. i. 5 ; 2 Tim. i. 9),
and on the contrary hath determined the way of perdition to
consist in infidelity, and in impenitency, and that he hath foreseen
who would follow after it (Jude, 4th verse).
27. That as God created all men according to His image, so
hath He redeemed all that fall by actual sin, to the same end ; and
that God in His redemption hath not swerved from His mercy,
which He manifested in His creation (John i. 3, 16 ; 2 Cor. v. 19 ;
I Tim. ii. 5, 6; Ezek. xxxiii. 11).
28. That Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners,
and that God in His love to His enemies did send Him (John iii.
16) ; that Christ died for His enemies (Rom. v. 10) ; that He
bought them that deny Him (2 Peter ii. i), thereby teaching us to
love our enemies (Matt. v. 44, 45).
29. That Christ Jesus after His baptism by a voice out ot
heaven from the Father, and by the anointing of the Holy Ghost,
which appeared upon His head in the form of a dove, is appointed
the prophet of the church, ^ whom all men must hear (Matt. iii. ;
Heb. iii. i, 2) ; and that both by His doctrine and life, which He
led here in the earth, by all His doings and sufferings, He hath
declared and published, as the only prophet and lawgiver of His
Church, the way of peace and life, the glad tidings of the Gospel
(Acts iii. 23, 24).
30. That Christ Jesus is the brightness of the glory and the
engraven form of the Father's substance, supporting all things
by His mighty power (Heb. i. 3) ; and that he is become the
mediator of the New Testament (to wit) the King, Priest, and
Prophet of the Church, and that the faithful through Him are
thus made spiritual Kings, Priests, and Prophets (Rev. i. 6 ; i John
ii. 20 ; Rev. xix. 10).
31. That Jesus Christ is He which in the beginning did lay the
foundation of the heavens and earth which shall perish (Heb. i.
10 ; Psalm cii. 26) ; that He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. He is the wisdom of God,
1 Compare this with the opinion of Socinus that Christ was endued
with His prophetical office after His baptism. Rccovian Catechism,
section v.
244
A Confession of Faith
which was begotten from everlasting before all creatures (Micah v.
2; Prov. viii. 24 ; Luke xi. 49) ; He was in the form of God, and
thought it no robbery to be equal with God ; yet He took to Him
the shape of a servant, the Word became flesh (John i. 14),
wonderfully by the power of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary;
He was of the seed of David according to the flesh,^ (Phil. ii. 7 ;
Heb. 10 ; Rom. i. 3) ; and that He made Himself of no reputation,
humbled Himself, and became obedient unto the death of the
cross, redeeming us from our vain conversation, not with silver or
gold, but with the precious blood of Himself, as of a lamb without
spot and undefiled (i Pet. i. 18, 19).
32. That although the sacrifice of Christ's body and blood,
offered up unto God His Father upon the cross, be a sacrifice of
a sweet smelling savour, and that God in Him is well pleased, yet
it doth not reconcile God unto us, which did never hate us, nor
was our enemy, but reconcileth us unto God (2 Cor. v. 19), and
slayeth the enmity and hatred, which is in us against God
(Ephes. ii. 14, 17 ; Rom. i. 30).
33. That Christ was delivered to death for our sins (Rom. iv.
25), and that by His death we have the remission of our sins
(Eph. ii. 7), for He cancelled the hand-writing of ordinances, the
hatred, the law of commandments in ordinances (Eph. ii. 15 ;
Coloss. ii. 14) which was against us (Deut. xxxi. 26) ; He spoiled
principalities and powers, made a shew of them openly, and
triumphed over them on the cross (Coloss. ii. 15) ; by death He
destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil
(Heb. ii. 14).
34. That the enemies of our salvation, which Christ vanquished
on His cross, are the gates of hell, the power of darkness, Satan,
sin, death, the grave, the curse or condemnation, wicked men,
and persecutors (Eph. vi. 12 ; 1 Cor. xv. 26, 54, 57 ; Matt. xvi. 18 ;
Rev. XX. 10, 14, 15), which enemies we must overcome no otherwise
than Christ hath done (John xxi. 22 ; i Pet. ii. 21 ; Rev. xiv. 4).
35. That the efficacy of Christ's death is only derived to them,
which do mortify their sins, which are grafted with Him to the
similitude of His death (Rom. vi. 3 — 6), which are circumcised
^ The words in the earlier draft, " God having prepared him a body "
are dropped in the printed copy, and the section is recast to make it less
exceptional.
245
A Confession of Faith
with circumcision made without hands, by putting off the sinful
body of the flesh, through the circumcision which Christ worketh
(Coloss. ii. ii) who is the minister of the circumcision for the truth
of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers (Rom. xv. 8
compared with Deut. xxx. 6).
36. That there are three which bear witness in the earth, the
spirit, water and blood, and these three are one in testimony,
witnessing that Christ truly died (i John v. 8) for He gave up the
ghost (John xix. 30) ; and out of His side pierced with a spear
came water and blood (verse 34, 35), the cover of the heart being
pierced, where there is water contained.
37. That every mortified person hath this witness in himself
(i John v. 10), for the spirit blood, and water of sin is gone, that
is the life of sin with the nourishment and cherishment thereof
(i Pet. iv. I ; Rom. vi. 7 ; i John iii. 6).
38. That Christ Jesus being truly dead was also buried (John
xix. 39, 42), and that He lay in the grave the whole Sabbath of
the Jews ; but in the grave He saw no corruption (Psal. xvi. 10 ;
Acts ii. 31).
39. That all mortified persons are also buried with Christ, by
the baptism which is into His death (Rom. vi. 4 ; Colos. ii. 12) ;
keeping their Sabbath with Christ in the grave (that is) resting
from their own works as God did from His (Heb. iv. 10), waiting
there in hope for a resurrection (Psal. xvi. 9).
40. That Christ Jesus early in the morning, the first day of the
week, rose again after His death and burial (Matt, xxviii. 6) for
our justification (Rom. iv. 25), being mightily declared to be the
Son of God, by the spirit of sanctification, in the resurrection
from the dead (Rom. i. 4).
41. That these that are grafted with Christ to the similitude of
His death and burial shall also be to the similitude of His
resurrection (Rom. vi. 4, 5); for He doth quicken or give life unto
them, together with Himself (Coloss. ii. 13; Eph. ii. 5, 6) ; for that
is their salvation, and it is by grace (Eph. ii. 5 ; i John v. 11, 12,
13 ; Titus iii. 5, 6, 7).
42. That this quickening or reviving of Christ, this laver of
regeneration, this renewing of the Holy Ghost, is our justification
and salvation (Titus iii. 6, 7). This is that pure river of water of
life clear as crystal, which proceedeth out of the throne of God,
and of the Lamb (Rev, xxii. i) ; which also floweth out of the belly
246
A Confession of Faith
of him that believeth in Christ (John vii. 38) ; this is those
precious promises whereby we are made partakers of the divine
nature, by flying the corruptions that are in the world through
lust (2 Pet. i. 4) ; this is the fruit of the tree of life which is in the
midst of the paradise of God ; this is the white stone wherein
there is a name written, which no man knoweth, save he that
receiveth it. This is the morning star, this is the new name, the
name of God, the name of the City of God ; the new Jerusalem
which descendeth from God out of heaven ; this is the hidden
manna, that white clothing, eye salve and gold, and that heavenly
supper which Christ promiseth to them that overcome (Rev. ii. 7,
17, 18, and iii. 5, 12, 18, 20).
43. That there are three which bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit ; and that these three are
one in testimony, witnessing the resurrection of Christ. The
Father saith, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee
(Acts xiii. 33-35). The Son testifieth of His own resurrection
being forty days with His disciples (Acts i. 3). The Holy Ghost
testifieth the same, whom Christ sent to His disciples upon the
day of Pentecost (Acts ii.).
44. That every person that is regenerate and risen again with
Christ hath these three aforesaid witnesses in himself (i John v.
10) ; for Christ doth dwell in his heart by faith (Eph. iii. 17) ; and
the Father dwelleth with the Son (John xiv. 23) ; and the Holy
Ghost likewise (i Cor. iii. 16) ; and that the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy
Ghost is with them (2 Cor. xiii. 13).
45. That Christ, having forty days after His resurrection con-
versed with His desciples (Acts i. 3), ascended locally into the
heavens (Acts i. 9), which must contain Him unto the time that
all things be restored (Acts iii. 21).
That they which are risen with Christ, ascend up spiritually with
Him, seeking those things which are above, where Christ sitteth
at the right hand of God, and that they set their affections on
heavenly things, and not on earthly things (Col. iii. 1-5).
46. That Christ, now being received into heaven, sitteth at the
right hand of God (Mark. xvi. 9), having led captivity captive, and
given gifts unto men (Eph. iv. 8) ; that God hath now highly
exalted Him, and given Him a name above every name ; that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, in
247
A Confession of Faith
earth and under the earth (Phil. ii. g, lo), that he hath obtained
all power both in heaven and in earth (Matt, xxviii. i8), and hath
made all things subject under His feet, and hath appointed Him
over all things to be the head to the church, that is His body,
the fulness of Him that filleth all in all things (Eph. i. 22-23).
47. That the regenerate do sit together with Christ Jesus in
heavenly places (Eph. ii. 6), that they sit with Him in His throne
as He sitteth with the Father in His throne (Rev. iii. 21), that
they have power over nations, and rule them with a rod of iron,
and as a potter's vessel they are broken in pieces (Rev. ii. 26,
27) ; and that, sitting on twelve thrones, they do judge the twelve
tribes of Israel (Matt. xix. 28), which spiritually is to put all their
enemies in subjection under their feet, so that the evil one doth
not touch them (i John v. 18), nor the gates of hell prevail against
them (Matt. xvi. 28), and that they are become pillars in the
house of God, and go no more out (Rev. iii. 12).
48. That Christ Jesus being exalted at the right hand of God
the Father, far above all principalities ^nd powers, might, and
domination, and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but in the world to come (Eph. i. 21), hath received of His
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, v/hich He also shed forth
upon His disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts. ii. s^).
49. That Christ Jesus, in His resurrection, ascension, and
exaltation, is more and rather Lord and Christ, Saviour, anointed,
and King, than in His humihation, sufferings and death (Acts ii.
36 ; Phil. ii. 7, 11), for the end is more excellent than the means,
and His sufferings were the way by the which He entered into His
glory (Luke xxiv. 16), and so by consequent the efficacy of His
resurrection in the new creature is more noble and excellent than
the efficacy of His death in the mortification and remission of sins.
50. That the knowledge of Christ according to the flesh is of
small profit (2 Cor. v. 16, 17), and the knowledge of Christ's
genealogy and history is no other but that which the Devil hath
as well if not better than any man living ; but the knowledge of
Christ according to the spirit is effectual to salvation, which is
spiritually to be grafted to the similitude of Christ's birth, life,
miracles, doings, sufferings, death, burial, resurrection, ascension
and exaltation (Rom. vi. 3, 6).
51. That Christ Jesus, according to the flesh and history in
His doings and suffering, is a great mystery, and divine sacrament
248
A Confession of Faith
of Himself, and of His ministry in the spirit, and of those
spiritual things which He worketh in those which are to be heirs
of salvation (Rom. vi. 3, 6; Eph. ii. 5, 6), and that spiritually He
performeth all those miracles in the regenerate which He wrought
in His flesh ; He healeth their leprosy, bloody issue, blindness,
dumbness, deafness, lameness, palsy, fever, He casteth out the
devils and unclean spirits, He raiseth the dead, rebuketh the
winds and the sea, and it is calm ; He feedeth thousands with the
barley loaves and fishes (Matt. viii. 16, 17, compared with Isaiah
liii. 4, John vi. 26, 27).
52. That the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and the
Son (John xiv. 26, and xvi. 7) ; that He is the eternal spirit,
whereby Christ offered himself without spot to God(Heb. ix. 14);
that He is that other comforter, which Christ asketh, obtaineth,
and sendeth from the Father (John xiv. 16), which dwelleth in the
regenerate (i Cor. iii. 16), which leadeth them into all truth (John
xvi. 13), He is that anointing which teacheth them all things, and
that they have no need that any man teach them, but as the same
anointing teacheth (i John ii. 20, 27).
53. That although there be divers gifts of the Spirit yet there
is but one Spirit, which distributeth to every one as He will
(i Cor. xii. 4, II ; Eph. iv. 4), that the outward gifts of the spirit
which the Holy Ghost poureth forth upon the Day of Pentecost
upon the disciples, in tongues and prophecy, and gifts, and healing,
and miracles, which is called the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and
fire (Acts i. 5), were only a figure of and an hand leading to better
things, even the most proper gifts of the spirit of sanctification,
which is the new creature ; which is the one baptism (Eph. iv. 4,
compared with Acts ii. 33, 38, and with Luke x. 17, 20).
54. That John Baptist and Christ are two persons, their
ministries are two ministries several, and their baptisms are two
baptisms, distinct the one from the other (John i. 20 ; Acts xiii. 25 ;
Acts i. 4, 5 ; Matt. iii. 11).
55. That John taught the baptism of repentance for the remis-
sion of sins, baptizing with water to amendment of life (Matt. iii.
11), thus preparing a way for Christ and His baptism (Luke iii. 3, 6),
by bringing men to repentance and faith in the Messias, whom he
pointed out with the finger (saying), behold the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sins of the world (John i. 31, 29 ; Act xix. 4).
56. That Christ is stronger, and hath a more excellent office
249
A Confession of Faith
and ministry than John (Matt. iii. ii) ; that He baptizeth with the
Holy Ghost and fire ; that He cometh and walketh in the way
which John hath prepared ; and that the new creature followeth
repentance (Luke iii. 6).
57. That repentance and faith in the Messias are the condi-
tions to be performed on our behalf, for the obtaining of the
promises (Acts ii. 38 ; John i. 12) ; that the circumcision of the
heart, mortification and the promise of the spirit, that is, the new
creature, are the promises which are made to the aforesaid
conditions (Deut. xxx. 6 ; Acts ii. 38 ; Gal. iii. 14; 2 Pet. i. 4, 5),
which promises are all yea and Amen in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. i.
20), and that in the regenerate (Gal. iii, 16).
58. That repentance and faith are wrought in the hearts of
men by the preaching of the word, outwardly in the Scriptures
and creatures, the grace of God preventing us by the motions
and instinct of the spirit, which a man hath power to receive or
reject (Matt, xxiii. 37; Acts vii. 51 ; Acts vi. 10; Rom. x. 14, 18);
that our justification before God consisteth not in the performance
of the conditions which God requireth of us, but in the partaking
of the promises, the possessing of Christ, remission of sins, and
the new creature.
59. That God the Father, of His own good will doth beget us
by the word of truth (James i. 18), which is an immortal seed
(i Pet. i. 23), not the doctrine of repentance and faith which may
be lost (Luke viii. 13) ; and that God the Father, in our regenera-
tion, neither needeth nor useth the help of any creature, but that
the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost immediately worketh
that work in the soul, where the free will of men can do nothing
(John i. 13).
60. That such as have not attained the new creature have
need of the scriptures, creatures and ordinances of the Church,
to instruct them, to comfort them, to stir them up the better to
perform the condition of repentance to the remission of sins
(2 Pet. i. 19; I Cor. xi. 26; Eph. iv. 12 — 23).
61. That the new creature which is begotten of God needeth
not the outward scriptures, creatures, or ordinances of the church,
to support or help them (i Cor. xiii. 10, 12 ; i Joh. ii. 27 ; i Cor. i.
15,16; Rev. xxi. 23), seeing that he hath three witnesses in himself,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost : which are better than
all scriptures, or creatures whatsoever.
250
A Confession of Faith
62. That as Christ who was above the law notwithstanding
was made under the law, for our cause : so the regenerate in love
to others can and will do no other, than use the outward things
of the church for the gaining and supporting of others : and so
the outward church and ordinances are always necessary, for all
sorts of persons whatsoever (Matt, iii. 15 ; xxviii. 19, 20 ; i Cor.
viii. 9).
63. That the new creature although he be above the law and
scriptures, yet he can do nothing against the law or scriptures,
but rather all his doings shall serve to the confirming and
establishing of the law (Rom. iii. 31). Therefore he can neither
lie, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill, nor hate any man, or
do any other fleshly action, and therefore all fleshly libertinism is
contrary to regeneration, detestable, and damnable (John viii. 34,
Rom. vi. 15, 16, 18; 2 Pet. ii. 18, 19 ; i John v. 18).
64. That the outward church visible, consists of penitent
persons only, and of such as believing in Christ bring forth fruits
worthy amendment of life (i Tim. vi. 3, 5; 2 Tim. iii. i, 5; Acts
xix. 4).!
65. That the visible church is a mystical figure outwardly of
the true, spiritual invisible church ; which consisteth of the spirits
of just and perfect men only, that is of the regenerate (Rev. i. 20,
compared with Rev. xxi. 2, 23, 27).
66. That repentance is the change of the mind from evil to
that which is good (Matt. iii. 2), a sorrow for sin committed, with
a humble heart for the same ; and a resolution to amend for the
time to come ; with an unfeigned endeavour therein (2 Cor. vii. 8.
II ; Isaiah i. 16, 17 ; Jer. xxxi. 18, 19).
67. That when we have done all that we can we are unprofitable
servants, and all our righteousness is as a stained cloth (Luke xvii.
20), and that we can only suppress and lop off the branches of
sins, but the root of sin we cannot pluck up out of our hearts
(Jer. iv. 4, compared with Deut. xxx. 6, 8).
1 In the earlier draft of this Confession the possibility of hypocrites
finding their way into church fellowship is admitted in this Conclusion,
which runs thus : '* That the outward and visible church consists of
regenerated and believing men, as much as men can judge thereof, who
bring forth fruits worthy amendment of Ufe, although hypocrites and
feigners are often hidden among the repenting." Evans' Early Baptists^ i.,
p. 267.
A Confession of Faith
68. That faith is a knowledge in the mind of the doctrine of
the law and gospel contained in the prophetical and apostolical
scriptures of the Old and New Testament, accompanying repen-
tance ; with an assurance that God, through Christ, will perform
unto us His promises of remission of sins, and mortification, upon
the condition of our unfeigned repentance, and amendment of
life (Rom. x. 13, 14, 15; Acts v. 30-32, and Acts ii. 38, 39; Heb.
xi. I ; Mark i. 15).
6g. That all penitent and faithful Christians are brethren in
the communion of the outward church, wheresoever they live, by
what name soever they are known,^ which in truth and zeal
follow lepentance and faith, though compassed with never so
many ignorances and infirmities ; and we salute them all with a
holy kiss, being heartily grieved that we which follow after one
faith, and one spirit, one Lord, and one God, one body, and one
baptism, should be rent into so many sects and schisms; and that
only for matters of less moment.
70. That the outward baptism of water is to be administered
only upon such penitent and faithful persons as are (aforesaid),
and not upon innocent infants, or wicked persons (Matt. iii. 2, 3,
compared with Matt, xxviii. 19, 20 and John iv. i).
71. That in Baptism to the penitent person, and believer,
there is presented, and figured, the spiritual baptism of Christ,
(that is) the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire : the baptism
into the death and resurrection of Christ : even the promise of
the Spirit, which he shall assuredly be made partaker of, if he
continue to the end (Gal. iii. 14 ; Matt. iii. 11 ; i Cor. xii. 13 ; Rom.
vi. 3, 6; Col. ii. 10).
72. That in the outward supper which only baptized persons
must partake, there is presented and figured, before the eyes of the
penitent and faithful, that spiritual supper, which Christ maketh
of His flesh and blood which is crucified and shed for the
remission of sins (as the bread is broken and the wine poured
forth), and which is eaten and drunken (as is the bread and wine
bodily) only by those which are flesh of His flesh, and bone of
His bone: in the communion of the same spirit (i Cor. xii. 13;
Rev. iii. 20, compared with i Cor. xi. 23, 26 ; John vi. 53, 58).
1 The earlier draft added here the words : "be they Roman Catholics,
Lutherans, Zwinglians, Calvinists, Brownists, Anabaptists, or any other
pious Christians." Ibid.^ p. 267.
252
A Confession of Faith
73. That the outward baptism and supper do not confer and
convey grace and regeneration to the participants or communi-
cants ; but as the word preached, they serve only to support and
stir up the repentance and faith of the communicants till Christ
come, till the day dawn, and the day-star arise in their hearts
(i Cor. xi. 26; 2 Peter i. 19; 1 Cor. i. 5-8).
74. That the sacraments have the same use that the word
hath ; that they are a visible word, and that they teach to the eye
of them that understand as the word teacheth the ears of them
that have ears to hear (Prov. xx. 12), and therefore as the word
appertaineth not to infants, no more do the sacraments.
75. That the preaching of the word, and ministry of the
sacraments, representeth the ministry of Christ in the spirit ; who
teacheth, baptizeth, and feedeth the regenerate, by the Holy
Spirit inwardly and invisibly.
76. That Christ hath set in His outward church two sorts of
ministers : viz., some who are called pastors, teachers or elders,
who administer in the word and sacraments, and others who are
called deacons, men and women : whose ministry is, to serve
tables and wash the saints' feet (Acts vi. 2-4 ; Phil. i. i ; i Tim. iii.
2, 3, 8, II, and chap. v).i
77. That the separating of the impenitent, from the outward
communion of the Church, is a figure of the eternal rejection and
reprobation of them that persist impenitent in sin (Rev. xxi. 27,
and xxiii. 14-15, Matt. xvi. 18 and xviii. 18 ; John xx. 23, compared
with Rev. iii. 12).
78. That none are to be separated from the outward com-
munion of the Church but such as forsake repentance, which deny
the power of Godliness (2 Tim. iii. 5), [and namely that sufficient
admonition go before, according to the rule (Matt, xviii. 15-18),]
and that none are to be rejected for ignorance or errors, or in-
firmities so long as they retain repentance and faith in Christ (Rom.
xiv., and i Thess. v. 14; Rom. xvi. 17, 18), but they are to be in-
structed with meekness ; and the strong are to bear the infirmities
of the weak ; and that we are to support one another through love.'-*
1 The religious practice of feet-washing according to the example and
command of Jesus (John xiii., 14 — 15) was observed by the General
Baptists of Kent and Sussex.
2 The words in brackets were not in the earlier draft, they are designed
to make the exercise of discipline more brotherly and less peremptory.
A Confession of Faith
79. That a man may speak a word against the Son, and be
pardoned, (that is) a man may err in the knowledge of Christ's
History, and in matters of the outward church, and be forgiven,
doing it in an ignorant zeal ; but he that speaketh a word against
the Holy Ghost (that is) that after illumination forsaketh repen-
tance and faith in Christ, persecuting them, trampling under foot
the blood of the covenant ; returning with the dog to the vomit ;
that such shall never be pardoned, neither in this world, nor in
the world to come (Matt. xii. 31, 32, compared with Hebrews vi. 4,
and chap. x. 26-29 ; 2 Pet. ii. 20, 22).
80. That persons separated from the communion of the church,
are to be accounted as heathens and publicans (Matt, xviii. 17),
and that they are so far to be shunned, as they may pollute : not-
withstanding being ready to instruct them, and to relieve them in
their wants ; seeking by all lawful means to win them ; considering
that excommunication is only for the destruction of the flesh, that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (i Cor. v. 5, 11 ;
Matt. xi. 19 ; Luke xv. i, 2).
81. That there is no succession in the outward church, but
that all the succession is from heaven, and that the new creature
only hath the thing signified, and substance, whereof the outward
church and ordinances are shadows (Col. ii. 16, 17), and therefore
he alone hath power, and knoweth aright, how to administer in
the outward church, for the benefit of others (John vi. 45) ; yet
God is not the God of confusion but of order, and therefore we
are in the outward church to draw as near the first institution as
may be, in all things (i Cor. xiv. 33) ; therefore it is not lawful for
every brother to administer the word and sacraments (Eph. iv.
II, 12, compared with i Cor. xii. 4, 5, 6, 28, 29).^
82. That Christ hath set in his outward church the vocation
of master and servant, parents and children, husband and wife
(Eph. v. 22-25, chap. vi. i, 4, 5, 9), and hath commanded every
soul to be subject to the higher powers (Rom. xiii. i), not because
of wrath only, but for conscience' sake (verse 5) that we are to give
them their duty, as tribute and custom, honour and fear, not
speaking evil of them that are in authority (Jude, verse 8), but
praying and giving thanks for them (i Tim. ii. i, 2), for that is
acceptable in the sight of God, even our Saviour.
1 The earlier copy added here •' except those only who are called and
ordained to it." Ibid.^ p. 269.
A Confession of Faith
8^. That the office of the magistrate, is a disposition or per-
missive ordinance of God^ for the good of mankind : that one man
like the brute beasts devour not another (Rom. xiii.), and that
justice and civiUty may be preserved among men : and that a
magistrate may so please God in his calling, in doing that which
is righteous and just in the eyes of the Lord, that he may bring
an outward blessing upon himself, his posterity and subjects
(2 Kings, X. 30, 31).
84. That the magistrate is not by virtue of his office to meddle
with religion, or matters of conscience, to force and compel men
to this or that form of religion or doctrine ; but to leave Christian
religion free, to every man's conscience, and to handle only civil
transgressions (Rom. xiii.), injuries and wrongs of man against
man, in murder, adultery, theft, etc., for Christ only is the king,
and lawgiver of the church and conscience (James iv. 12).
85. That if the magistrate will follow Christ, and be His
disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow
Christ ; he must love his enemies and not kill them, he must pray
for them, and not punish them, he must feed them and give them
drink, not imprison them, banish them, dismember them, and spoil
their goods ; he must suffer persecution and affliction with Christ,
and be slandered, reviled, blasphemed, scourged, buffeted, spit upon,
imprisoned and killed with Christ ; and that by the authority of
magistrates, which things he cannot possibly do, and retain the
revenge of the sword.
86. That the Disciples of Christ, the members of the outward
church, are to judge all their causes of difference among them-
selves, and they are not to go to law before the magistrates (i Cor.
vi. I. 7.), and that all their differences must be ended by (yea) and
(nay) without an oath (Matt. v. 33-37; James v. 12).
87. That the Disciples of Christ, the members of the outward
church, may not marry any of the profane, or wicked, godless
people of the world, but that every one is to marry in the Lord
(i Cor. vii. 39), every man one only wife and every woman one
only husband (i Cor. vii. 2).
88. That parents are bound to bring up their children in
1 The earlier draft inserted here the words " or an ordinance of man
(l Pet ii. 13 ; i Sam. v. 22) which God has permitted," which approaches
the Mennonite view of magistracy.
A Confession of Faith
instruction and information of the Lord (Eph. vi. 4), and that
they are to provide for their family: otherwise they deny the
faith, and are worse than infidels (i Tim. v. 8).
89. That notwithstanding if the Lord shall give a man any
special calling, as Simon, and Andrew, James, and John, then
they must leave all, father, ship, nets, wife, children, yea, and life
also to follow Christ (Luke xiv. 26 ; Matt. iv. 18-20).
90. That in the necessities of the church, and poor brethren,
all things are to be common (Acts iv. 32), yea and that one church
is to administer to another in time of need (Gal. ii. 10 ; Acts xi.
30 ; 2 Cor. viii. and chap. ix.).
91. That all the bodies of all men that are dead, shall by the
power of Christ, be raised up, out of his own proper seed, as corn
out of the seed rotting in the earth (i Cor. xv.).
92. That these which live in the last day shall not die, but
shall be changed in a moment ; in the twinl^ling of an eye, at the
last trumpet (i Cor. xv. 52), for the trump shall blow, and the
dead shall be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed,
not in substance but in qualities; for the bodies shall rise in
honour, in power, in incorruption, and spiritual ; being sown in
dishonour, in weakness, in corruption, and natural (i Cor. xv.
42, 44).
93. That the bodies, being raised up, shall be joined to the
souls, whereto formerly they were united ; which till that time
were preserved in the hands of the Lord (Rev. vi. 9, Job. xix.
25-27).
94. That it is appointed to all men that they shall once die,
and then cometh the judgment (Heb ix. 27), and that the change
of them that live on the earth at the last day, shall be as it were a
death unto them (i Cor. xv. 52; i Thes. iv. 15-17).
95. That there shall be a general and universal day of judg-
ment, when everyone shall receive according to the things that
are done in the flesh, whether they be good or evil (2 Cor. v. 10 ;
Acts xvii. 31).
96. That of that day and hour knoweth no man ; no, not the
Angels in heaven, neither the Son Himself, but the Father only
(Mark xiii. 32).
97. That Christ Jesus that man, shall be judge in that day
(Acts xvii. 31), that he shall come in the clouds with glory ; and
all His holy angels with Him (Matt, xxv.), with a shout, and with
256
A Confession of Faith
the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God (i Thes.
iv. i6), and He shall sit upon the throne of His glory; and all
nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd separateth the sheep from the
goats, setting the sheep on His right hand and the goats on the
left (Matt. XXV.).
98. That the king shall say to the sheep, the regenerate, which
are on His right hand, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the
world ; " and it shall be performed accordingly (Matt. xxv.).
99. That the king shall say to them on His left hand, the goats,
the wicked ones, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire
prepared for the Devil and his angels," and it shall be
accomplished accordingly (Matt. xxv.).
100. That after the judgment ended and accomplished, and
the last enemy, that is death, being put under the feet of Christ,
then the Son Himself shall deliver up the kingdom into the hands
of the Father, and shall be subject unto Him, that subdued all
things unto Him, that God may be all in all (i Cor. xv. 24-28).
The Last Booke of lohn Smith,
Called the Retractation of His Errours,
AND THE Confirmation of the Truth
*' If any man he in Christy let him be a new creature.'' (2 Cor. v. 17.)
" For they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections
and the lusts'' (Gal. v. 24.)
I am not of the number of those men which assume unto them-
selves such plenary knowledge and assurance of their ways, and
of the perfection and sufficiency thereof, as that they peremptorily
censure all men except those of their own understanding, and
require that all men upon pain of damnation become subject and
captivate in their judgment and walking to their line and level :
of which sort are those of our English nation, who publish in
print their proclamation against all Churches except those of their
own society and fellowship — I mean the double separation
Master Hainsworth and Master Helwys — although the one more
near the truth than the other ; neither is my purpose, in this my
257 R
Retractations
writing, to accuse and condemn other men, but to censure and
reform myself. If I should walk with either of the double separa-
tion, I must, from the persuasion of mine own alone perfect
reformation, reprove all other, and reject them as short of that mark
whereto I were come : and I must shut my ears from hearing any
instruction which others may afford me ; for this is the quintessence
of the separation, to assume unto themselves a prerogative to
teach all men, and to be taught of no man. Now I have in all
my writings hitherto received instruction of others, and professed
my readiness to be taught by others, and therefore have I so often-
times been accused of inconstancy ; well, let them think of me as
they please, I profess I have changed, and shall be ready still to
change for the better : and if it be their glory to be peremptory and
immutable in their articles of religion, they may enjoy that glory
without my envy, though not without the grief of my heart for them.
The Articles of Religion which are the ground of my salvation
are these, wherein I differ from no good Christian : That
Jesus Christ, the son of God and the son of Mary, is the anointed
King, Priest and Prophet of the Church, the only mediator of the
New Testament, and that through true repentance and faith in
Him, who alone is our Saviour, we receive remission of sins and
the Holy Ghost in this life, and therewith all the redemption of
our bodies, and everlasting life in the resurrection of the body ;
and whosoever walketh according to this rule, I must needs
acknowledge him my brother ; yea, although he differ from me
in divers other particulars.
And howsoever in the days of my blind zeal and prepos-
terous imitation of Christ, I was somewhat lavish in censuring
and judging others and namely, in the way of separation called
Brownism, yet since having been instructed in the way of
the Lord more perfectly, and finding my error therein, I
protest against that my former course of censuring other persons,
and especially for all those hard phrases wherewith I have in any
of my writings inveighed against either England or the Separation .
For England, although I cannot with any good conscience
acknowledge the wicked ones mingled with the zealous professors
in one congregation to be the true outward visible Church which
Christ and His Apostles at the first instituted, which consisted
only of penitent persons and believers ; yet therefore to say that
the zealous professors themselves are autichristian, is a censure
258
Confirmations
such as I cannot justify before the Lord, who is my judge in my
conscience. And therefore I utterly revoke and renounce it.
Again, howsoever I doubt not but it is an error of the forward
professors of the English churches to be mingled with the open \
wicked in the supper of the Lord, as they daily are, seeing therein
they do transgress the first institution of Christ, who ate His
supper only with the eleven (for Judas departed so soon as he had
received the 3op of the Passover), yet I cannot therefore conclude i
the said forward professors under the same judgment, or fellow- >
ship of sin, with the wicked ones with whom they partake the
supper. Yea, rather I do also renounce that evil and perverse
judgment which I have pronounced in my writings, in this
particular acknowledging my error therein. Further I must needs
avouch that the Bishops of the land grievously sin against God
and the forward professors in ruling them so rigorously, urging
their subscription, canons, and ceremonies upon men's consciences
upon pain of excommunication, deposition, silence, imprisonment,
banishment, and the like penalties : and that therein they sit as
Antichrist in the temple of God, which is the conscience. Yet,
therefore, to say that all the professors of the laud, whether
preachers or others that remain under their jurisdiction, do
submit unto the beast and receive his mark, that I dare not
avouch and justify as I have done, for I doubt not but many
touch none of their unclean things, but only submit to Christ so
far as they are enlightened ; and if a sin of ignorance make a man
an anti-christian, then I demand where shall we find a Christian.
In these three particulars, especially have I transgressed against
the professors of the English nation. Generally, all those biting
and bitter words, phrases, and speeches used against the
professors of the land I utterly retract and revoke, as not being
of the spirit of Christ, but of the Disciples, who would have called
for fire and brimstone from heaven, which Christ rebuketh.
Particularly that book ^ against Master Bernard, wherein Master
Marbury, Master White, and others are mentioned and cruelly
taxed, I retract, not for that it is wholly false, but for that it is
1 Par alleles^ Censures, and Observations, 1609. In the preface to this
work Smith charged Bernard, Thomas Whyte, and Enoch Clapham with
being "most fearful Apostates." He referred to Francis Merbury,
minister of Northampton, as one who had *' now fallen to his gracious
Lords," Le.^ to the bishops, p. 135.
259 R 2
Retractations
wholly censorious and critical : and for that therein the contention
for outward matters, which are of inferior note, hath broken the
rules of love and charity, which is the superior law.
Now for the Separation, I cannot, nor dare not, in my conscience
before the Judge of the whole world justify my writings and dealings
against them. For the truth of the matter I doubt not but it is on
my side, but the manner of writing is that alone wherein I have
failed : for I should have with the spirit of meekness instructed
them that are contrary minded, but my words have been stout
and mingled with gall, and therefore hath the Lord repayed me
home full measure into my bosom, for according to that measure
wherewith I measured hath it been measured again unto me, by
Master Clifton, especially by Master Hainsworth and Master
Bernard. The Lord lay none of our sins to the charge of any of
us all, but He of His mercy pass by them : for my part the Lord
hath taught me thereby, for hereafter shall I set a watch before
my mouth, that I sin not again in that kind and degree. For
Master Hainsworth's book, I acknowledge that I erred in the
place of the candlestick and altar, but that of the altar is not
Master Fenner's error with me, but mine rather with him ; for
other things, namely, the chief matter in controversy I hold as I
did. Yea, which is more, I say that although it be lawful to pray,
preach, and sing out of a book for all penitent persons, yet a man
regenerate is above all books and scriptures whatsoever, seeing he
hath the spirit of God within him, which teacheth him the true
meaning of the scriptures, without the which spirit the scriptures
are but a dead letter, which is perverted and misconstrued as we
see at this day to contrary ends and senses ; and that to bind a
regenerate man to a book in praying, preaching or singing, is to
set the Holy Ghost to school in the one as well as in the other.
For the other question of elders with Master Hainsworth, and of
Baptism with Master Clifton, and the two Testaments, I hold as I
did, and therein I am persuaded I have the truth. If any man say,
why then do you not answer the books written in opposition, my
answer is, my desire is to end controversies among Christians
rather than to make and maintain them, especially in matters of
the outward Church and ceremonies ; and it is the grief of my
lieart that I have so long cumbered myself and spent my time
therein, and I profess that difference in judgment for matter of
circumstance, as are all things of the outward Church, shall not
260
Confirmations
cause me to refuse the brotherhood of any penitent and faithful
Christian whatsoever. And now from this day forward do I put
an end to all controversies and questions about the outward
Church and ceremonies with all men, and resolve to spend my
time in the main matters wherein consisteth salvation. Without
repentance, faith, remission of sin, and the new creature, there is
no salvation — but there is salvation without the truth of all the
outward ceremonies of the outward Church, If any man say, you
answer not because you cannot, I say to him, that I am accounted
one that cannot answer is not my fame, but to spend my time in a
full answer of those things of the outward Church which I am
bound to employ better (necessity calling upon me) would be my
sin, and so I had rather be accounted unable to answer, than to
be found in sin against my conscience. Again, if I should
answer, it would breed further strife among Christians— further,
we have no means to publish our writings. But my first answer
satisfieth my conscience, and so I rest, having peace at home in
this point.
But * now to come to Master Helwys, his separation, against
which I have done nothing in writing hitherto, notwithstanding I
am now bound in conscience to publish an apology of certain
imputations cast upon me by him in his writings. As first, the
sin against the Holy Ghost, because I have denied some truth
which once I acknowledged, and wherewith I was enlightened.
Than this can there be no more grievous imputation cast upon
any man ; than this can there be no higher degree of censuring.
What shall I say here for my apology ? Shall I say that my
heart yet appertaineth to the Lord, that I daily seek mercy and
ask forgiveness, that I labour to reform myself wherein I see
my error, that I continually search after the truth and endeavour
myself to keep a good conscience in all things ? But this, haply,
will not satisfy Master Helwys. Well, let us examine the points
wherein I have forsaken the truth : Succession is the matter
1 Smith here replies to charges made against him by Helwys in his
Declaration of Faith ^ i6ll, and reiterated in his Advertisement tmto the
New Fryesers later in the same year. Helwys gives a list of errors into
which he thought Smith had fallen. He says Smith now taught "that
the Church and ministry must come by succession, contrary to his former
profession in words and writings, and that by a supposed succession he
cannot shew from whom nor when nor where." Declaration^ Sig. B.
261
Retractations
wherein I hold as I have written to Master Bernard, that succes-
sion is aboHshed by the Church of Rome, and that there is no
true ministry derived from the Apostles through the Church of
Rome to England, but that the succession is interrupted and
broken off. Secondly, I hold, as I did hold then, succession being
broken off and interrupted, it may by two or three gathered
together in the name of Christ be renewed and assumed again ;
and herein there is no difference between Master Helwys and me.
Thirdly, Master Helwys said that although there be churches
already established, ministers ordained, and sacraments adminis-
tered orderly, yet men are not bound to join those former
churches established, but may, being as yet unbaptized, baptize
themselves (as we did) and proceed to build churches of them-
selves, disorderly (as I take it). Herein I differ from Master
Helwys, and therefore he saith I have sinned against the Holy
Ghost because I once acknowledged the truth (as Master Helwys
calleth it).
Here I answer three things : — *' i. I did never acknowledge it.
2. It is not the truth. 3. Though I had acknowledged it, and it
were a truth, yet in denying it I have not sinned against the Holy
Ghost.
First, I did never acknowledge it, that it was lawful for
private persons to baptize when there were true churches and
ministers from whence we might have our baptism without sin, as
there are forty witnesses that can testify : only this is it which I
held, that seeing there was no church to whom we could join with
a good conscience, to have baptism from them, therefore we
might baptize ourselves. That this is so the Lord knoweth, my
conscience witnesseth, and Master Helwys himself will not deny it.
Secondly, it is not the truth that two or three private persons
may baptize, when there is a true church and ministers established
whence baptism may orderly be had : for if Christ himself did
fetch His baptism from John, and the Gentiles from the Jews
baptized, and if God be the God of order and not of confusion,
then surely we must observe this order now, or else disorder is
order, and God alloweth disorder ; for if Master Helwys' position
be true, that every two or three that see the truth of baptism
may begin to baptize, and need not join to former true churches
where they may have their baptism orderly from ordained
ministers, then the order of the primitive church was order for
262
Confirmations
them and those times only, and this disorder will establish baptism
of private persons. Yea of women from henceforth to the
world's end, as Master Helwys his groimd doth evidently afford to
him that will scan it.
I'hirdly, though I had acknowledged that assertion of Master
Helwys, and it were the truth, and I now forsake it, it doth not
thereupon follow that a man sinneth against the Holy Ghost : for
I demand, may not a man forsake a truth upon a temptation, and
obtain remission upon repentance ? Did not Peter so in denying
Christ ? Did not David so, and continued impenitent till the child
was born after adultery with Bethshabe ? A man therefore that
upon a temptation forsaketh a known truth, may repent and
receive mercies — further, may not a man (as he supposeth) upon
force of argument, yield from the known truth to error for
conscience sake ? Have all those sinned against the Holy Ghost
that have separated from England and are returned again ?
Certainly Master Helwys herein erreth not a Uttle, and breaketh
the bond of charity above all men that I ever read or heard, in
uttering so sharp a censure upon so weak a ground. ^ Besides, the
sin against the Holy Ghost is not in outward ceremonies, but in
matter of substance, which is the knowledge of the truth (Heb. vi.
I — lo), namely a forsaking of repentance and faith in Christ, and
falling to profaneness and Paganism : for I hold no part of saving
righteousness to consist in outward ceremonies, for they are only
as a crutch for the lame and weak to walk withal till they be cured.
Concerning succession, briefly thus much : I deny all succession
except in the truth ; and I hold we are not to violate the order of
the primitive church, except necessity urge a dispensation ; and
therefore it is not lawful for every one that seeth the truth to
baptize, for then there might be as many churches as couples in
the world, and none have anything to do with other, which
breaketh the bond of love and brotherhood in churches ; but, in
these outward matters, I dare not any more contend with any
man, but desire that we may follow the truth of repentance, faith,
^ ' ' They were once enlightened and had tasted of the heavenly gift and
were made partakers of the holy ghost and had tasted of the good word
of God and of the powers of the world to come and are fallen away ; it is
impossible they should be renewed again by repentance seeing they crucify
again to themselves the son of God and make a mock of him." Helwys'
Admonition^ i6ii, p. 34.
263
Retractations
and regeneration, and lay aside dissension for mint, comine, and
annis seed.
Another imputation of Master Helwys is concerning the flesh of
Christ. Whereto I say, that he that knoweth not that the first and
second flesh of an infant in the mother's womb are to be distin-
guished, knoweth not the grounds of nature and natural reason.
I affirmed concerning Christ that His second flesh, that is His
nourishment. He had from His mother, and that the Scriptures
are plain for it ; but, concerning the first matter of Christ's flesh,
whence it was, I said thus much : That, although I yield it to be
a truth in nature that He had it of His mother Mary, yet I dare
not make it such an Article of faith as that if any man will not
consent unto it, I should refuse brotherhood with him : and that
the Scriptures do not lead us (as far as I conceive) to the searching
of that point, whereof Christ's natural flesh was made ; but that
we should search into Christ's spiritual flesh, to be made flesh of
that His flesh, and bone of His bone, in the communion and
fellowship of the same spirit. That this was my speech and the
sum of my assertion concerning this point, I call the Lord and all
that heard as witnesses ; whereby appeareth Master Helwys his
partiality in reporting this particular.
Concerning a secret imputation i which Master Helwys, by way
of intimation, suggesteth, as though I had received much help of
maintenance from his company, or from that company of English
people that came over together out of the north parts with me,
I affirm thus much : That I never received of them all put
together the value of forty shillings to my knowledge, since I came
out of England, and of Master Helwys not the value of a penny;
but it is well known to Master Helwys and to all the company,
that I have spent as much in helping the poor as Master Helwys
hath done, and it is not known that Master Helwys hath spent
one penny but I have spent another in any common burthen for
the relieving of the poor. All that ever Master Helwys can say
is that, when I was sick in England, at Bashforth, I was trouble-
some and chargeable to him ; wherein I confess his kindness, but
^ Helwys made such an imputation in the postscript to his Mistery of
Iniquity y 1612, p. 205. '* We have been misled . . . by deceitful hearted
leaders who flee into foreign countries and free states and draw people
after them to support their kingdoms. "
264
Confirmations
I would have given him satisfaction, and he refused it, and in my
sickness there was as much brought in as I spent.
Another imputation is of some moment, that I should affirm
Christ in the flesh to be a figure of Himself in the spirit, and that
men are not so much to strive ^ about the natural flesh of Christ as
about His spiritual flesh ; and that the contention concerning the
natural flesh of Christ is like the contention of the soldiers for
Christ's coat. True, this I did affirm, and this I defend as the
most excellent and comfortable truth in the Scriptures : for who
knoweth not, that to know and be made conformable to the
similitude of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection in the morti-
fication of sin and the new creature, to be made flesh of His flesh
and bone of His bone, spiritually in the fellowship of one holy
anointing, which is Christ's spiritual flesh ; who knoweth not, I
say, that this is better than the knowledge of Christ's natural
flesh. That Christ's natural flesh is a figure of Christ's spiritual
flesh, is plain by Rom. vi. where the Apostle saith that we must be
grafted to the similitude of His death, burial, and resurrection ; if
His death, burial, and resurrection be a simiHtude or figure, so is
His body that died, was buried, and rose again. The like saith
the Apostle, Heb. iv. 15, that Christ was tempted in all things in a
figure or similitude ; but this point is also plain enough, that all
Christ's miracles and doings in the flesh, with His sufferings, are
figures of those heavenly things which He in the spirit worketh in
the regenerate ; He cleanseth their leprosy, casteth out the devil,
drieth up the bloody issue, rideth to Jerusalem on an ass, stilleth
the winds and sea, feedeth the multitude : for Jesus Christ is yester-
day and to-day, and the same also for ever. If this be a truth, then,
the contention about Christ's natural flesh is in comparison like to
the soldiers' contention for His coat. It is the Spirit that quick-
eneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, saith Christ, and so I rest
satisfied in this particular. Concerning the — 2
* " He hath taught that Christs miracles, sufferings, and death, yea his
hanging upon the Cross were all typical and carnal, comparing Christ's
flesh to his garments, and therefore not to be striven about. " Helwys'
Admo7iition, p. 37.
2 This section closes abruptly as printed, but the last two words were
probably intended to form part of the title of the next piece, " Concerning
the life and death of lohn Smith."
265
The Life and Death
The Life and Death of Iohn Smith
" The righteous perisheth and no man considereth it in heart, and
merciful men are taken away, and no man under standeth that the
righteous is taken away from the evil to come.'^ — Isaiah Ivii. i, 2.
" Then I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write the dead
which die in the Lord are fully blessed : even so saith the spirit for
they rest from their labours, and their works follow them. — Rev. xiv. 13.
After a certain time (living at Amsterdam) he began to practise
physic 1 (knowing that a man was bound to use the gifts that the
Lord had bestowed upon him for the good of others), in adminis-
tering whereof he usually took nothing of the poorer sort ; and if
they were rich he took but half as much as other doctors did :
excepting some, who being well able and well minded, urged more
upon him ; some demanding of him why he took no more, alleging
that he must pay his house-rent, maintain his wife and children.
He answered, you must give me leave herein to use my conscience.
Moreover he was so mindful and so careful for the poor, that he
would rather live sparingly in his house (or as we say) neglect
himself, his wife and children, than that any should be in extremity.
Upon a time, seeing one slenderly apparelled, he sent them his
gown, to make them clothes. It being refused (saying that their
wants was not so great as he supposed), he answered, that if they
did refuse it the fault should be upon themselves, for he was will-
ing to give it, and that it was but his duty, according to that speech
in the gospel, " He that hath two coats, let him part with him that
hath none." So that he was well beloved of most men, and hated
of none save a few of our EngUsh nation, who had nothing against
him but that he differed from them in some points of rehgion ; not-
withstanding he would beseech the Lord to open their eyes to see
better, and to forgive them their sins : and he was ready to help
any of them as occasion was offered him.
1 I wonder whether John Smith was in any way connected with the
founder of the Lincoln Bluecoat School, who described himself in his
will, November, 1602, ns " Richard Smith Doctor in Physicke lale of
London but now of Welton, near Lincoln." I have traced one nephew
of this doctor, named John Smith, a clergyman, whose wife's name was
Mary, but he died early in 1603 at Binbrook, St. Mary, co. Lincoln. A
manuscript commonplace book of John Smith's colleague, Samuel Ward,
in the library of Sid : Suss : College, Cambridge, is full of extracts on
medical matters ; probably Smith was interested in medicine in his
Cambridge days.
266
of lohn Smith
Thus, living uprightly in the sight of all men, being both painful
and careful to do good to all, for soul and body, according to his
ability, it pleased the Lord at length to visit him with sickness,
and with a disease whereby he perceived that his life should not
long continue, yet remaining about seven weeks, during the which
space he behaved himself Christian-like, examining his life, con-
fessing his sins, praying for patience, having always confidence in
the mercy and favour of the Lord towards him in the end. A day
or two before his death the brethren having recourse unto him,
and some of them remaining by him, he uttered these speeches : —
Concerning the Church of England, the Separation, and Mr.
Helwis, saith he, I do confess my grievous sins and corruptions in
the manner of my carriage towards them in words and writings ;
but as for the points of controversy betwixt us, I am persuaded I
had the better of them ; and as for my faith, saith he, as I have
taught and written, so I now hold— that the Gospel hath two
parts: the promise on God's behalf, and the condition on our
behalf. The promise is the forgiveness of sins and the spirit of
regeneration, wherein we can do nothing, but must be mere
patients ; the condition, wherein we must be co-workers with the
Lord, is to turn from our sins, and to believe His promises. He
preventing us with His grace : the which if we faithfully do, then,
saith he, the Lord will perform His promise unto us, wherein in
some measure I have done my endeavour unfeignedly, yet I
confess I have been and am too short therein, but for my weak-
ness and wants I fly to the abundant mercy of the Lord, who will
help those which seek unto Him, and if you know any better, I
beseech you instruct me before my death ; and if I live (saith he)
I will walk with no other people but you all my days. He desired
his wife also so to do, being persuaded that she would : and wished
that his children should remain with us, praying us to inform them
wherein we saw them do amiss. And as for himself, he did now
desire nothing but that the Lord would take away his sins, and
purge his heart, and then he were fit for Him. And being desired
that if the Lord did let him feel it while he were able to speak,
that he would manifest it unto us for our comfort, which he
promised to do, saying that if the Lord would vouchsafe that
mercy it might be testimony to the whole world, so resting under
the hand of God waiting His good pleasure, one coming unto him,
and asking how he did, " I wait for death " (saith he), " for death."
267
The Life and Death
'' But," saith she, " I hope you look for another comfort first.''
" I mean," saith he, " the death of my sins." After complaining
of his sins, one of the brethren alleging unto him the words of the
prophet, where he saith that the Lord will not despise the broken
heart, "No," said he, " for I know He is a merciful God, and I
seeking unto Him Tknow He will seek me with the prodigal child."
Another saying unto him, " I hope you shall do well ; I trust you
appertain to the Lord," " Yes," said he, " I do appertain unto
Him, for I seek Him and I run not from Him," alleging the words
of the prophet where he saith, " Seek my face : my heart answered,
I will seek thy face." Another coming unto him, said, " We must
part from you," *' No," said he, " we shall never part, for we are
all of one spirit; " "But," she said, "I mean with your body."
He answered, " Let that go, let that go," shaking his hand. The
same person having a sad and heavy countenance, he said, *' Why
do you weep, and break my heart ? " " But," saith she, " I weep
not." He answered her, " But some come unto me weeping, I
pray you let us depart comfortably, and weep not as those that
are without hope."
Afterward, calling his children to him, as Jacob did his sons a
little before his death, he began to instruct them in the principles
of religion, teaching them that there is one God, creator of all
things, one Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone salvation consist eth,
one Holy Spirit, one faith, one baptism, manifesting that the bap-
tism of infants was unlawful. And demanding of his children
whether they had rather that he should die or live, they weeping
said that he might live. " If I live," saith he, " I must correct you,
and beat you, but you must know that I do it not because I hate
you, but because I love you, even as now the Lord chasteneth me,
not because He hateth me, but for that He loveth me." The
brethren then speaking privately among themselves, he said, " I
pray you, brethren, speak up, that I may learn also." And one
asking him a question, being a stranger, which tended to strife, he
would not permit an answer, " Because," said he, " I desire to
hear no contention now," being desirous to end strife and conten-
tion in whomsoever he perceived it to be, whereby he shewed
himself to be lof the number of those which are the blessed
children of God, as Christ pronounceth the peacemakers to be
(Matt. v.).
In the night before his death, some waking with him, he desired
268
of lohn Smith
them to raise up some speech of comfort unto him. It being
answered that he knew all things which we could say unto him,
he answered, " That is not it ; for when the Lord offereth me any-
thing I speak, and when he doth not I am silent." And, speaking
of the fruit of the country that it was some cause of diseases,
correcting himself, " I think," saith he, " it is but an idle speech,"
so careful was he not to speak vainly. Afterwards, awakening
out of a slumber, he asked, "Where are the brethren?" We
coming unto him, he said, "■ Come, let us praise the Lord,
let us praise the Lord; He is so gracious and good unto me
yea, He dealeth wonderfully mercifully with me." His wife then
asking him, saying, " Have you obtained your desire ? " " No,"
said he, " but He maketh me able to bear all that He layeth upon
me, and to pass through it." Being answered that it was the
performance of God's promise, who will lay no more upon His
than they are able to bear, " It is true," saith he, ** for I find the
scriptures so true by experience as can be."
In the morning, being asked if we should praise God for that
He had given him strength and ability to pass that night, " Yes,"
saith he, " let us praise His name, and though I cannot be the
mouth, yet I will be the ear ; and let us come before the Lord with
an upright heart, for that is well pleasing unto Him." So, drawing
nearer unto his end, at length he, Ufting up his hands, said, " The
Lord hath holpen me; the Lord hath holpen me." His wife
asking him if he had received his desire, " Yes," said he, *' I praise
the Lord, He hath now holpen me, and hath taken away my sins,"
and not long after, stretching forth his hands and his feet, he
yielded up the ghost, whereby his Ufe and death being both corre-
spondent to his doctrine, it is a great means both to comfort us,
and to confirm us in the truth.
The eye and ear witnesses of these things are the brethren.
[There follows a page of " Errata," but the corrections only
relate to the Confession of Faith. The whole work concludes
with a note which we give literally.]
Printer to the Reder.
Sondri other falts, gentle reader, ar escaped in the printing in
words, letters, poynts, whereof soom shal be amended the rest help
the self by the sence and impute not the Printer's falte to the
Authour but reken the greast li.e. greatest] were least his.
269
CHAPTER XVIII
THE REMAINDERS OF SMITH'S COMPANY — UNION
WITH THE MENNONITE CHURCH
Before passing on to consider the next move taken by
Thomas Helwys and his Church which landed them in
London, the story of the company who adhered to
Smith may well be concluded. From the researches
made at Amsterdam by Professor Muller, the results of
which he communicated to Dr. Evans, it appears that
the band of Englishmen who had followed Smith still
held together after his death, and continued to hold
religious meetings in the " Cake-House of Jan Munter."
They were not yet admitted to full fellowship with the
Mennonites, nor were they formally constituted in
Church order amongst themselves. They were content
to wait for the way to be opened for them. Meanwhile
they regularly held their own services of praise, prayer
and preaching, and would no doubt attend the worship
of the Mennonites as occasion offered and their
acquaintance with the Dutch tongue improved. As the
members of the Waterlander Mennonite Church came
to know them more intimately objections to their
admission as full members would fade away.
At length, on Thursday, November 6, in the year
1614, just over two years after Smith's death and some
four years after the motion for union had first been
270
Admitted to the Mennonite Church
made, the consistory of the Mennonite Church decided
to bring the request of the English for admission before
the whole body of Church members for consideration.
This was done on Sunday, November 9, and
two or three weeks were allowed to the members in
which to think the matter over and lodge objections.
No objections being made the consistory gave notice to
the Church on Sunday, January 18, 161 5, that they
proposed to take up the English into the community
on the following Wednesday according to their request.
But on the Tuesday " the English in the Cake House,"
numbering about thirty men and women, were sum-
moned before the consistory in the "Spyker" or
Granary meeting-house and had two questions put to
them : —
" (i) Do you persist in your demand to join the community ?
" (2) Do you stand firm in agreeing to our interpretation of the
dogmas and professions of faith which you have signed with your
own hands ? "
All declared that they did, except about four, ** who
stood not firm in some points," chiefly about the
lawfulness of magistracy and taking oaths. They
promised, however, not to make any opposition in the
Church on those points. The consistory were for
striking out the names of these doubtful candidates
and admitting the rest. " But all the English declared
forthwith that if some were struck out, all of them
would stick to their seclusion as they were too much
attached to each other to separate." The consistory of
the Church, however, would not venture to admit the
few whose opinions differed from those of the Water-
lander Mennonites, and who declined to sign the
271
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Confession of Faith a second time, unless express leave
to admit them were given by the general body of Church
members. The affair had come to a deadlock, and it
looked as though the question of admission to Church
fellowship would again be hung up.
It is strange that the Mennonite Church, which was
by tradition and spirit a non-confessional Church, should
in this case have departed so far from its principles as
to make a doctrinal test a condition of admission to
membership. The fact that the dissentients refused to
sign the Confession, drawn up by Hans de Ries and
Lubbert Gerritts, a second time indicates that the
subscription made to that document on the previous
occasion was only tentative and provisional. To the
regret of all, then, the question of admission was left
undecided. When the English withdrew from the
consistory meeting they retired to discuss the matter
among themselves, and that night the four dissenting
friends urged the others to join the Mennonite com-
munity, even if they themselves were to be rejected.
This course was agreed upon, and early on the morning
of Wednesday, January 21,. 161 5, the friends reported
their decision to the consistory, and the way being thus
cleared they were that very day joyfully admitted to
the community in the open congregation.
Before they were admitted there were a few who had
to be baptized. There was Swithin Grindall, a young
man of parts from Tunstal, in Yorkshire. His parents
John and Mary Grindall had been baptized by John
Smith, and now he was waiting for admission. Margaret
Morris, to whom he was betrothed, had signed the
Confession of Faith with the rest of Smith's company.
272
New English Members
She would be glad to see her man joined to the Church.
A few months later they were married. Here is the
record.
♦' 1615, May 2. Swithunus Grindall of Tunstal in Yorkshire
' legatuurwerker ' aged 22 years and Margriete Moritz of
Scheckbye [i.e. Skegby] in Nottinghamshire 24 years."
These young people were already being assimilated
to their environment in Holland, for after their names,
even in 1615, in the Mcnnonite Church Book is written
in Dutch " called Swithin Janssoon " and " Grietje
Thomas." Years later Grindall translated letters from
England into Dutch for the benefit of his fellow
members in the Mennonite Church as these subscrip-
tions to copies of letters from Lincoln and Tiverton
testify : —
"Copied May 31, and June primo, 1631 by your servant and
brother Swithune GryndalL"
"Translated from the English language June 5, 1631. Your
brother Swithune Gryndall." ^
He was evidently a steadfast and useful member.
There was " Anthony Thomassen an old man
husband of Lysbeth, an English woman." He was
the father of Solomon Thomson. His son had become
a " bombazine worker," and was a lad of some eighteen
summers when baptized by Smith. I take it he sent
over for his aged father when he began to feel his feet in
Amsterdam, and now the old man was about to follow
his son into the fellowship of the Church. There were
Thomas Odell, a spur-maker, and Thomas Huysbertsen,
glover, a bachelor.
These four were baptized, doubtless in the Mennonite
1 Evans, Baptists, ii., pp. 44, 51.
273 S
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
fashion, on that day by Hans de Ries in the " Cake
House," their usual place of meeting, and then the
company of English proceeded to the Waterlander
meeting and were received into the community in the
open congregation. No fresh baptism was required in
the case of those who had been baptized by John Smith,
and thus the baptism administered by him was tacitly
acknowledged to be valid. On that point the arguments
of Helwys had been of some effect, and this act of
recognition would remove one ground of controversy
between the members of his little Church and the
Mennonites.
Though the English were now admitted to all the
privileges of the Church, could partake of the Lord's
Supper and the ordinance of baptism, share in relief,
and participate in the discipline, yet they continued
to hold separate meetings for worship and preaching in
English in the Cake House. On June 8, 1620, one
of their preachers was confirmed to full service and
ordained as Elder by the old minister Reinier Wybrants
and his colleague Peter Andriessen, and thus they
might be considered a separate English Church of the
Mennonite community with a minister now empowered
to adminster baptism and the Lord's Supper. Up to
the year 1637 baptism was frequently administered in
the Cake House. It is significant that a letter from
Amsterdam in 1624 to friends in England was " signed
with the consent and allowance of the ministers and
deacons of the Dutch and English Churches of Jesus
Christ in that place," ^ as though the two were separately
organised.
* Evans, ii., p. 37.
274
English and Dutch Coalesce
Gradually the English became merged in the Dutch.
*' The union of the two parties," says Professor Miiller,
" had become so close that on the 8th of July, 1640, an
Englishman, Joseph Drew, was proposed by the Water-
land consistory as minister, which offer he accepted on
the 8th of December, * although he was rather afraid that
his language might be an objection, he being used to the
English.' " ^ With the meeting of the Long Parliament
the severe treatment of those who differed from the
Anglican Church was relaxed. The stream of migration
to Holland was checked. It had already in part been
diverted to New England. As the inflow of fresh
English-speaking members ceased, the absorption by the
Mennonites of the Amsterdam section of that Church
which Smith had gathered at Gainsborough was com-
pleted. It remains to trace the fortunes of the section
that adhered to Helwys so far as the story can at present
be recovered.
1 Evans, i., p. 223.
275 S 2
CHAPTER XIX
THE RETURN OF HELWYS AND MURTON TO ENGLAND
— THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY — CONTROVERSY
WITH JOHN ROBINSON
About the time of Smith's death Helwys came to the
conviction that it was wrong to flee from persecution,
and that he and his countrymen had taken a false step
in leaving their own land and seeking refuge in Holland.
They ought to have remained at home and patiently
borne all that man might do to them for the sake of the
truth. He decided to return to England. His views
upon this point were set out in the concluding pages ^ of
a singular book entitled " A Short Declaration of the
Mistery of Iniquity," which he published in 1612. This
book bears evidence in its style and matter that Helwys
was greatly overwrought. His mind was obsessed with
the idea that he had arrived at " the days of greatest
tribulation spoken of by Christ wherein the abomination
of desolation is seen to be set in the holy place." There
had been " a general departing from the faith and an
utter desolation of all true religion." The Roman
Catholic Church was wrong, the Anglican Church was
wrong, Puritanism was wrong, Brownism was wrong,
John Robinson in particular was wrong. Helwys had
caught a vision of the truth, and the stupendous task of
1 Mistery of Iniquity ^ pp. 204—212. See also "Epistle to the
Reader." Sig. A ij.
276
Helwys and King James
setting the world right had been laid upon him. Like
many another religious enthusiast, he felt a deep concern
about the salvation of the King. If he could only con-
vert the King, if he could bring James Stuart to see eye
to eye with Thomas Helwys, there would be hope for
religion in the land. The King at any rate could take
the sword from the bishop's hands and give a free field
in his dominions for truth to make its way without
persecution. It is in his pleading with the King for
religious liberty that we come upon some of the most
dignified and eloquent passages in all the writings of
Helwys. He is here lifted up by the very greatness of
his theme. Almost the first, if not the first, among
English writers to distinguish between temporal and
spiritual authority and to define their limits, he wrote
with passion on behalf of liberty for all peaceable
subjects in matters of religion.
The copy of this book preserved in the Bodleian
Library was designed as a presentation copy for the
King. It bears on the flyleaf a dedicatory inscription
in the neatest handwriting of Helwys as follows : —
" Heare, O King, and dispise not y^ counsell of y^ poore and let
their complaints come before thee.
*' The King is a mortall man and not God, therefore hath no
power over y^ immortall soules of his subiects to make lawes and
ordinances for them and to set spirituall Lords over them.
" If the King have authority to make spirituall Lords and lawes,
then he is an immortall God and not a mortall man.
" O, King, be not seduced by deceivers to sin so against God
whome thou oughtest to obey nor against thy poore subiects who
ought and will obey thee in all thinges with body, life and goods
or els let their lives be taken from y^ earth.
" God save y^ King."
"Tho: Helwys.
'• Spittlefeild neare London."
277
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
This fixes the place where Helwys pitched when he
returned from Amsterdam. I do not think he came
back before the close of the year 1612 or the early
months of 161 3. He put his book to the press in Holland,
and probably saw it completed before he left that
country. I cannot remember any passage in it that
would indicate that he had already left that land. It is
true that he says on the last page, in speaking of the
Separatist leaders : —
" How much better had it been that they had given their lives
for that truth they profess in their own Countries. Now, as we
through the grace of God and by the warrant of his word ....
cast away these perverters of the holy scriptures and their
doctrines, so we wish all so to do that fear God and seek the
glory of his name and come and lay down their lives in their own
country for Christ and his truth." ^
But this I take to be a general invitation to join in the
venture upon which Helwys and his companions were
now resolved to embark. The tone and drift of the
epistle to the reader and the concluding section on flight
in persecution, the last parts to be added to the book,
indicate that Helwys was on the point of undertaking
this mission to his King and countrymen, and not that
he had already entered upon it :
" Let none think that we are altogether ignorant what building
and warfare we take in hand and that we have not sat down and
in some measure thoroughly considered what the cost and danger
may be, and also let none think that we are without sense and
feeling of our own inability to begin and our weakness to endure
to the end the weight and danger of such work, but in all these
things we hope and wait for wisdom and strength from the Lord."
* Mistery of Iniquity, p. 212.
278
Disappointed Hopes
Helwys writes with a feeling of bitterness and dis-
appointment about the results of their sojourn in Holland,
and insinuates that the leaders in the Separatist move-
ment there acted from craven and worldly motives. As
a layman he looked with a jealous eye upon the salary
paid to those who ministered in spiritual things. He
v^as grieved at the defection of beloved friends. The
high hopes with which he left England but a few short
years before were dashed.
** We hold ourselves bound to acknowledge and, that others
might be warned, to manifest, how we have been (through our
great weakness) misled by deceitful hearted leaders, who have
and do seek to save their lives and will make sure not to lose them
for Christ, and therefore they flee into foreign Countries and free
States and draw people after them to support their Kingdoms, first
seeking their own safety and then publishing (as they pretend) the
gospel or seeking the Kingdom of heaven as far as they may with
their safety." . . A
*' . . . . We will pass by the lamentable fruits and judgements
that we have [seen] and do see with our eyes follow this damnable
error when many, yea the most men that had in a great measure
forsaken the love of the world and begun to be zealous of some
good things being drawn by this opinion and these seducers into
foreign countries, not knowing which way to support their outward
estate, have turned again unto the world and are fain to hunt to
and fro, far and near, after every occasion, and all is too little to
satisfy most of their wants, and nothing will satisfy some of their
desires. All these things and many more these hirelings their
shepherds can well bear withal so that they return to the hive that
their position may not be reproved. And those of best hearts and
some of best quality that cannot run and rove and set their hearts
to seek the world consume that they have and fall under hard
conditions and by little and little lose their first love also. It is
the general judgment we aim at in all this, in that by these means
former zeal and the best first beginnings that were in these men
* Mistery of Iniquity, pp. 204, 205.
279
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
do vanish, fade away, and come to nothing, to the unfeigned grief
of our souls to see it." ^
To these reproaches cast upon the Separatist leaders
John Robinson pertinently replied : —
*' If -^ we principally sought our earthly good or safety, why did
we not abide at home, or why return we not thither applying
ourselves to the times as so many thousands do ? "
He declared they might have procured to themselves
" as he knew well," much more earthly help and further-
ance here in Holland if they had only sought to set up
such a Church as Helwys had framed — an Anabaptist
Church " out of which we should throw our children as
he hath done, which we might do safely enough if [they
are] without sin." " And for drawing over the people, I
know none of the guides but were as much drawn over
by them as drawing them."
Then comes in the passage already quoted telling of
Helwys's forwardness in the work of migration, and
Robinson continues : —
" Neither is it likely if he, and the people with him at Amster-
dam, could have gone on comfortably as they desired, that the
unlawfulness of flight would ever have troubled him ; but more
than likely it is that, having scattered the people by his heady and
indiscreet courses and otherwise disabled himself, that natural
confidence which abounded in him took occasion, under an
appearance of spiritual courage, to press him upon those desperate
courses which he of late hath run. By which he might also think
it his glory to dare and challenge King and State to their faces
and not to give way to them ; no, not a foot : as indeed it far
better agrees with a bold spirit and haughty stomach thus to do,
than with the apostle in the base infirmity of Christ to be let down
through a wall in a basket, and to run away." ^
1 AlisteT) of Iniguiiy, p. 211.
2 Robinson, Works, iii., p. 159.
3 Robinson, IVetks, iii., 1614, p. 159. See «;//<?, p. 107.
280
Friends in London
Helwys had kinsmen in London of good standing.
His cousin, Sir Gervase Helwys (1561 — 1615), was
Lieutenant of the Tower, but was soon to be involved
in trouble for complicity in Sir Thos. Overbury's death,
for which he was beheaded on Tower Hill, November 20,
161 5. The family of his uncle, Geoffrey Helwys
(1541 — 1616), " Merchant Taylor" and alderman of the
City of London, would perhaps be more in sympathy
with him than that of his cousin. His uncle had been
elected alderman for the ward of " Farringdon Within "
on December 14, 1605, was chosen Sheriff in 1607,
and removed to Walbrook January 9, 1610. There were
sons in this family already doing well in business. The
presence of these kinsmen in London may have deter-
mined Thomas Helwys to settle there, or he may have
chosen the metropolis as the best centre for proclaiming
his message. Accordingly he passed over with his little
company, together with John Murton, his chief helper,
to London. There were not many in his Church, for
in answer to Helwys's charge, that he fled without
having " any intent or meaning to preach the Gospel
to those Cities [Amsterdam and Leyden],"^ Robinson
could say, " We have so preached to others in those
cities as that by the blessing of God working with
us, we have gained more to the Lord than Mr.
Helwisse's Church consists of" ^ By going to London
they ran into the face of trouble. John Murton was in
prison in 1613. It is clear from what Robinson says in
1 6 14 that they had suffered persecution : —
" I would know how he [Helwys] and the people with him
1 Mistery^ p. 205.
2 Works, iii., p. 160.
281
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
have preached to the city of London ? Surely not as the
apostles did in the synagogues and public places; much less do
they flee being persecuted (or go, if so they will have it) from city to
city to preach."
It is possible that Helwys himself had been im-
prisoned when Robinson wrote his book. Helwys had
asked, ** When will these men according to this rule of
Christ (Luke ix. 5) shake off the dust of their feet for a
witness against Amsterdam and Leyden which Cities
neither receive them nor the word they bring otherwise
than they receive Turks and Jews and all sorts who
come only to seek safety and profit ? " '* I answer,"
says Robinson, "when we are apostles as they were
[to whom Jesus gave the command], and do again ask
wkj^ did not he, and why do not his companions shake off
the dust of their feet against London which receives
them not at all?"^
It may be inferred from this that Robinson knew
that Helwys was now detained in London in prison, but
thought he might very well have run away when he
found his message was not received there. Helwys had
urged against the English Separatists who had fled to
Holland the case of Christ's enjoining the man dis-
possessed of the devil to go home to his friends and
show them what great things the Lord had done for
him. Robinson retorts, ** Why go not they home every
one to his friends for that end, but abide in London
where fewest of their friends are ? " '^
Thus we see the first Baptist Church planted on
English soil in the metropolis. It was a Church led
* Robinson, Works, iii., p. 163.
2 Works, iii., p. 162.
282
First Baptist Church in London
and officered by laymen. It had been tested by the
trials of exile and the fires of controversy. It had been
enriched by contact with the life of Holland. It had
set forth its Declaration of Faith to the world. It came
greatly daring into certain trouble and persecution,
resolved to bear all for the sake of the truth of God. It
was deprived almost at once of its chief leaders, by im-
prisonment, but still it held together. These brave men
and women were dignified by the greatness of the
cause they had espoused. Their Church formed a
nucleus round which those of kindred mind amongst
their countrymen could group themselves. From the
heart of this community there went out in after years a
noble plea for liberty of conscience which was fruitful
of good results. As they toiled at their crafts for
a livelihood they meditated upon the deep things of
God and the soul. In the welter of predestinarian
theology that marked their time they alone amongst
Englishmen outside the ranks of the Anglican and
Roman Churches kept a clear field in their scheme of
thought for the free moral action of man.
Helwys on the Anglican Bishops
We need not follow Helwys into all the topics
handled in his last book. There are, however, one or
two passages which come out of the heart of his life
experience, and some that relate to his controversy with
Robinson that should be noted. I do not know of any
more vivid picture of the persecuting policy of Eliza-
bethan and Jacobean bishops in their efforts to secure
uniformity, than the one given in the following words
with which Helwys addressed them : —
283
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
" Let us persuade you in fear to God and shame to men to
cast away all these courses we shall now mention. Do not when
a poor soul by violence is brought before you to speak his con-
science in the profession of his religion to his God — do not first
implore the oath ex officio. Oh, most wicked course 1 And if he
will not yield to that then imprison him close. Oh, horrible
severity ! If he will not be forced by imprisonment, then
examine him on divers articles without oath to see if he may be
intrapped any way, O, grievous impiety ! — and if any piece
of advantage (either in word or writing or by witness) can
be gotten turn the Magistrates sword upon him and take his life,
Oh, bloody cruelty ! If no advantage can be found get him
banished out of his natural country and from his father's house,
let him live or starve, it matters not, Oh, unnatural com-
passionateness without pity 1 Let these courses be far from you,
for there is no show of grace, religion nor humanity in these
courses. This is to lie in wait for blood, and to lay snares
secretly to take the simple to slay him. And ... let it be truly
observed whether those that are of the Romish profession
(servants of the first beast) coming in question before the
Hierarchy have not found much more favour than those that
have stood most for reformation ? And hath there not been
gnashing of teeth and gnawing of tongues with all extreme
perverseness and contempt against the one, when there hath
been good mild and even carriage towards the other ? Which
good carriage towards them we disapprove not nor envy not, but
could wish that the wholesome word of doctrine with all the cords
of love were applied and used unto them for their information
and drawing them from their blind errors. But we mention it to
this end to show what uprightness there can be to God or the
King in this." ^
It will be noticed from the latter sentences that
though Helwys detested Roman Catholicism like
poison, he was prepared to accord to Roman Catholics
that tolerance and fair treatment at the hands of the
State which he demanded for himself.
1 Mistery of Iniquity^ p. 29.
284
Controversy with John Robinson
Controversy with John Robinson
In his controversy with Robinson about the baptism
of infants and the invalidity of the baptism received in
the Church of England Helwys pressed his opponent
hard. It must have been galling to Robinson to find
Helwys, an ordinary layman, calling his great work on
the " Justification of Separation," a '' tedious booke," ^
and a whole section of the " Mistery of Iniquity " devoted
to laying open " some particular errors in Mr. Robinson's
book of * Justification of Separation.' " Helwys did not
mince his words in addressing the Brownists. He well
knew that he had " written in some things sharply," but,
says he, " there are divers of you both near and dear
unto us whom we require in love (as we do all) to apply
the sharpest reproof to themselves, for they had need.
And touching you, Mr. Ro[binson], remember that you
have a letter of most loving respect in your hands
concerning these things to which you have not made
answer, whereby to prevent the publishing of this that
especially concern[s] you." ^
As Robinson had not replied, Helwys included in this
book his forceful criticism of the Brownists' illogical
position regarding baptism. Robinson and the rest of
the Separatists had written and spoken strongly against
the Church of England. To them she was " Babylon "
and worse. They had renounced her and all her works.
Yet they had retained her baptism as valid. They
professed to have separated from the world and joined
themselves to Christ, but the New Testament knew of
1 Mistery ^ p. 177.
2 Mistery^ p. 156.
285
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
no way for men to join unto Christ but to amend their
lives and be baptized and by baptism to put on Christ.
This they had not done. If they regarded the baptism
received in the Anglican Church as true baptism, then
they must regard the Anglican Church as a true Church,
and in that case they vi^ere utterly wrong in separating
from her. That was the gist of the argument of
Helwys. It was only by making curious and subtle
distinctions that the Separatists could justify their
position on this matter to themselves. Henry Barrowe
laboured with the difficulty.^ It was admitted that
Anglican baptism was not all that it might be, but it
was certamly safer and more respectable than Ana-
baptism/john Robinson devoted a large amount of
time and ingenuity to the consideration of this question,
and satisfied himself that true baptism might be admin-
istered in a false Church. By making an arbitrary dis-
tinction between inner and outer baptism, he felt that he
saved the case of infant baptism which was made
effectual to believers in after years on their repentance.
These arguments struck the plain man as somewhat
sophistical, and they were rudely brushed away in
Helwys's book. The sections of his work dealing with
these points were not without effect. Robinson admits
as much when he says " divers^ weak persons have been
troubled and abused " by them. He also tells us that
Helwys by his " loud and licentious clamours " had
" affrighted two or three simple people from that their
baptism so received," in the assemblies of the Church of
1 See his Brief Discoverie of the False Churchy I590, pp. 115 — 120.
Robinson followed the same line of argument as Barrowe.
2 Works ^ iii., pp. 164, 197.
286
John Robinson's Reply to Helwys
England. At any rate Robinson felt this book by
Helwys and the matters it handled to be of such
importance that he took pains to answer at some length
the parts which specially concerned him. He issued
his reply in 1614. In answer to Helwys's contention
that you cannot "divide the water and the spirit" in
the true Christian baptism, and that "the baptism of
Christ is to be washed with water and the Holy Ghost," ^
Robinson makes a statement which throws a glint of
light upon the discipline of the Separatist societies.
" I would know," he says, " of these double-washers,
whether, if a man professing the same faith with them
in holiness outwardly, but in hypocrisy, should be
baptized by them and that afterwards his heart should
strike him, and God give him true repentance (let it be the
person they know of that fled from us under admonition
for sin, and joining to and being baptized by them was
presently after by themselves found in the same sin and
so censured), whether, I say, they would repeat their
outward washing formerly made, as none, because
there was not joined with it the inward washing of the
Spirit ? Or if they think it none and so the fore-
mentioned person not, indeed, received in by baptism,
as they speak, wherefore did they then excommunicate
the same person?" ^
It is only fair that Robinson's conclusion about
the retention of Anglican baptism should be given
in his own words. "I conclude," he says, "that
there is an outward baptism by water and an in-
ward baptism by the Spirit which, though they
^ Misiery, p. 139.
2 Of Religious Communion^ fVorks, iii, pp. 184, 185.
287
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
ought not to be severed in their time by God's appoint-
ment yet many times are by man's default; that the
outward baptism in the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Ghost, administered in an apostate Church, is false
baptism in the administration, and yet in itself and own
nature a spiritual ordinance, though abused ; and whose
spiritual uses cannot be had without repentance : by
which repentance and the after baptism of the Spirit, t
is sanctified and not to be repeated." ^ This conclusion
may have satisfied Robinson and his followers, but it
was not likely to satisfy the more thoroughgoing and
downright Separatists.
In regard to the case of infants Helwys held them to
be incapable of baptism, but at the same time he thought
the redemptive work of Christ extended to them and
cancelled the corruption in their nature, and that they
were accordingly all saved, though not actual members
of the Church. Robinson pleaded for infant baptism.
He argued that this rite came in the place of circum-
cision. He did indeed desire that all children were
saved *' if such were the will of God, and so could gladly
believe if the Scriptures taught it." * But as he found
no statement to that effect in the Bible he concluded
that those which perished did so '* for that original guilt
and corruption, wherein they are conceived and born
being * the children of wrath by nature ' and therein liable
to God's curse every way." Here again we see the finer
natural instincts of a noble nature crushed back and
silenced at the behest of a literal interpretation of Scripture.
The Church which Helwys brought back to England
1 Works, iii., p. 185.
2 JVorks, iii., p. 231.
288
Flight in Persecution
continued in controversy with Robinson long after its
leader's death. I have not been able to determine when
that event happened. Robinson's book was written
while Helwys was still alive. That brings us to 1614,
It is possible he was then in prison. When his uncle,
Geoffrey Helwys, made his will (dated April 8, 1616) he
was dead. His wife Joan survived him. He left a family
behind him to mourn his loss, treasure his memory, and
carry on his name. His little Church, which had come
with him through much tribulation, was left in the care
of John Murton, who, as we shall see, was faithful to his
trust.
Flight in Persecution
Note. Helwys was not the first among the Separatists
to have doubts about the lawfulness of flight from per-
secution. A letter dated July 8, 1611, mentions a
group of Separatists " in Suffolke holding it unlawful to
eat blood and to fly." ^ The apostolic prohibition from
eating blood was observed by many of the old General
Baptists down till the latter part of the eighteenth century.
Anointing with oil by the elders was also observed in
some of their societies in cases of sickness ; and they
kept up the custom of "feet-washing" for many years,
in common with the Mennonites of Holland.
* Lawne's Prophane Schisme, p. 55 ; cf. Acts xv, 20, xxi, 25.
289
CHAPTER XX
THE ANABAPTISTS AND LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE
Liberty of conscience is taken so much as a matter
of course in these days that it requires a distinct effort
of the imagination to picture the condition of affairs
with regard to reHgious liberty at the opening of the
seventeenth century. In those days all the forces of the
Crown, the Church, and the Parliament were bent upon
securing a uniformity in faith and worship throughout
the whole of England and Wales. A jealous eye was
kept upon the press. The number of " master printers "
was strictly limited. The Archbishop of Canterbury
and the Bishop of London claimed the right of censor-
ship over the press and freely exercised it. The Wardens
of the Stationers' Company were on the alert to check
unlicensed printing. The Bishops were busy in sup-
pressing varieties of religious belief and practice. They
sought to bring all candidates for the Anglican ministry
to one norm of doctrine, and still more to one norm in
the conduct of public worship. The law compelled all
over sixteen years of age to repair on Sundays to some
" usual place of Common Prayer to hear the Divine
Service established by Her Majesty's laws." Severe
penalties were laid upon those who ventured to hold
" meetings under colour or pretence of any exercise of
religion contrary to Her Majesty's said laws." It was
unsafe even to quietly abstain from attendance at
290
Restrictions on the Press
public worship. Absence from Church for a month
was an offence against the law.
All this bore hardly both upon Roman Catholics and on
those who desired a further reformation in religion. But
neither Catholics nor Puritans were themselves prepared
to allow liberty in religion to others. A long series of
experiments, a period of civil strife, and many years of
discussion had to be gone through before religious liberty
was finally secured. English refugees found in Holland
a measure of religious liberty unknown in their own land.
There at any rate they were allowed to meet for the
exercise of religious worship apart from the official
Church. There, too, some of them came into contact
with the Mennonites, who maintained on principle that
the sword should not be used to uphold religion. They
declared that Christ alone was King over his Church,
and that freedom in religion should be allowed to all who
observed civil order.
It was from this source that Englishmen drew the idea
of claiming and granting religious liberty for all peace-
able citizens. In saying this I do not forget the pleasing
endorsement of religious toleration in the Utopia of Sir
Thomas More, but that had no practical effect either
upon himself or other Englishmen. It was from the
despised Anabaptists that the principle of " soul liberty "
passed on into practical expression in the religious life
of England. A letter to the ancient Separatist Church at
Amsterdam under Francis Johnson tells of three varieties
of English Anabaptists to be found in that city : —
" Master Smith an Anabaptist of one sort and Master Helwise
of another and Master Busher of another." ^
1 Lawne's Prophane Schisme, p. 55.
291 T 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Though all three differed from one another on many
important points, they all pleaded for liberty of con-
science. Of Leonard Busher but little is known. He
was a citizen of London. Some writers conjecture that
he was a descendant of Domynic Busher, a Walloon
refugee, who subscribed ;£*I00 to a loan to Elizabeth in
1588. He has recently been identified with the Mark
Leonard Busher who wrote a letter from Delft, dated
December 8, 1642, when he was "far into 71 years,"
to certain Anabaptists at Amsterdam.^ From this letter
we may gather that he was prepared to acknowledge as
brethren any who believed Jesus to be the Messiah. In
this position he anticipated John Locke and other
Unitarians of his school who reduced the fundamentals
of Christian fellowship to this minimum.
Busher held some singular opinions. He thought the
apostolic injunction to abstain from blood was still
obligatory. He opposed the intermarriage of cousins,
and pleaded for the abolition of the death penalty for
theft. He was keenly interested, like many other Ana-
baptists, in the Jews. " Christ hath commanded us," he
says, " to teach all nations and they are the first." He
thought nothing but good could come of their being
allowed to return " to inhabit and dwell under His
Majesty's dominion."
In Professor Masson's " Life of Milton " the state-
ment is made that Leonard Busher's book, " Religion's
Peace — a Plea for Liberty of Conscience," of the year
1614, "is certainly the earliest known publication in
which full liberty of conscience is openly advocated." ^
1 Transactions of Baptist Historical Society^ 1909, vol. i., p. 107. Paper
Dr. W. T. Whitley.
2 Life of Miltofiy iii., p. 102.
292
Anabaptists Advocate Religious Liberty
An examination of the works of John Smith and
Thomas Helwys has convinced me that they have a
prior claim to the honour of first pleading for this
principle — not to speak of that nameless Anabaptist
who came to Knox's lodging in London with a book
incidentally charging the Reformers with being
" persecutors on whom the blood of Servetus crieth a
vengeance." Knox replied to the ''blasphemous
cavillations " of this writer, who had dared to ask such
pointed questions as these : — " Can the sheep persecute
the wolf ? Doth Abel kill Cain ? Doth David, though
he might, kill Saul ? Shortly — doth he which is born of
the Spirit kill him which is born after the flesh ? " It
was an indirect result of the burning of Servetus that
it helped forward the elucidation of the principles of
religious liberty in the minds of those who were repelled
by that barbarous act. It is in Smith's last writings
that we find his enunciation of views in favour of
religious tolerance. " I profess," he says, "that differ-
ence in judgment for matter of circumstance, as are all
things of the outward Church, shall not cause me to
refuse the brotherhood of any penitent and faithful
Christian whatsoever." And in the Confession of Faith
drawn up in the last few months of his life he plainly
states the principle of religious liberty in these
terms : —
"We believe that the Magistrate is not by virtue of his office to
meddle with religion or matters of conscience to force or compel
men to this or that form of religion or doctrine, but to leave
Christian religion free to every man's conscience and to handle
only civil transgressions, injuries and wrongs of man against man
Id murder, adultery, theft, &c., for Christ only is the King and
Lawgiver of the church and conscience."
293
Smith 5 Helwys and Baptist Origins
In the ^' Mistery of Iniquity!' by Thomas Helwys,
we also have an emphatic assertion of the principles of
religious liberty. This work was issued two years before
Busher's publication saw the light. One or two extracts
from the body of the book will serve to indicate his
views on this subject : —
" We bow ourselves to the earth before our Lord the King in
greatest humbleness beseeching the King to judge righteous
judgment herein ; whether there be so unjust a thing and of so
great cruel tyranny under the sun as to force men's consciences
in their religion to God, seeing that if they err they must pay the
price of their transgression with the loss of their souls ? Oh, let
the King judge, is it not most equal that men should choose their
religion themselves, seeing they only must stand themselves
before the judgment seat of God to answer for themselves, when
it shall be no excuse for them to say we were commanded or
compelled to be of this religion by the King or by them that had
authority from him ? And let our lord the King, that is a man
of knowledge, yet further consider that if the King should by his
power bring his people to the truth and they walk in the truth
and die in the profession of it, in obedience to the King's power,
either for fear or love, shall they be saved ? The King knows
they shall not. But they that obey the truth in love, whom the
love of God constraineth, their obedience only shall be accept-
able to God."
Helwys points to the passage in which Jesus rebuked
those who would have called down fire upon his
opponents, from which the King would see that —
" Christ will have no man's life touched for his cause. If the
Samaritans will not receive him he passeth by them. If the
Gadarenes pray him to depart he leaves them. If any refuse to
receive his disciples he only bids them shake off the dust of their
feet for a witness against them. Here is no sword of justice at all
required or permitted to smite any for refusing Christ. Then
let not our lord the King suffer his sword of justice . . . to be
used to rule and keep in obedience the people of God and the
294
King Jesus Greater than King James
King to the laws, statutes and ordinances of Christ which
appertain to the well governing and ruling of the Kingdom of
Christ. . . . the sword of whose Kingdom is spiritual, by the
power of which sword only, Christ's subjects are to be ruled and
kept in obedience to him. By the which sword our lord the King
must be kept in obedience himself, if he be a disciple of Christ
and a subject of Christ's Kingdom. And this takes away (with-
out gainsaying) all the kingly power and authority of our lord
the King in the Kingdom of Christ for he cannot be both a King
and a subject in one and the^same kingdom. The King's under-
standing heart will easily discern this."
It was not likely that King James would find such
language palatable, and Helwys sought to forestall the
charge that he and his followers were *' movers of
Sedition against the State " by pointing out that they
held the doctrine of non-resistance.
" It will be a strange thing," he says, " to condemn men for
Sedition who profess and teach that in all earthly things the
King's power is to be submitted unto and in heavenly or spiritual
things, if the King or any in authority under him shall exercise
their power against any, they are not to resist by any way or
means, although it were in their power, but rather to submit
their lives as Christ and his Disciples did, and yet keep their
consciences to God, and they that teach any other doctrine let
them be held accursed."
Helwys here anticipated that doctrine of passive
resistance which George Fox brought into prominence
a generation later. Both would seem to have derived
it from the teachings of Jesus, but in both cases it is
likely that Anabaptists were the means of turning
their thoughts to the subject. Although the work of
these several pioneers of religious liberty may not have
shown a great harvest in their own lifetime, it was
destined to bear good fruit in after days. The advocates
295
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
of civil and religious liberty in the time of the Common-
wealth looked back to the works of these valiant
champions of religious freedom and found in them a
storehouse of argument for promoting the same good
cause in their own time, and at length the principles
they enunciated were embodied in the law of the land.
296
CHAPTER XXI
JOHN MURTON — HIS LIFE AND WORK — CONTROVERSY
WITH JOHN WILKINSON OF COLCHESTER
John Murton, on whom the mantle of Helwys fell,
was born at Gainsborough in 1583, as we gather from
the record of his marriage in the official register at
Amsterdam.
*• 1608 August 23 John Murton of Queynsborch [i.e. Gains-
borough] furrier 25 years and Jane Hodgkin of Worchep [i.e.
Worksop] 23 years."
He is generally referred to as Morton, but he used the
spelling "Murton " in signing his name, and that is the
form in which John Robinson and his own father-in-law
give it. Both he and his wife signed their own names
in the marriage register. He was probably educated at
the Gainsborough Grammar School. He acquired a
a forceful and racy style of writing. His sentences are
far less involved than those of Helwys. His wife
belonged to a family of middle station in life, which
took an active part in parochial matters at Worksop.
She was one of the strayed sheep from Richard Bernard's
flock, whom he would fain have called back. Nor was
she the only member of that family to throw in her lot
with John Smith's Church. There was Alexander
Hodgkin (b. 1586), a younger brother, who married
on November 9, 161 5, the widow of Thomas By water,
297
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
whose maiden name had been Ursula Hardstaff.
Alexander remained faithful to John Smith when
Helwys and Murton parted from him. He became a
damask worker and prospered. We find greetings sent
to him as late as 1631^ in a letter from Tiverton.
The large proportion of young people in John Smith's
Church gave his movement promise of life. One wonders
whether John Murton and Jane Hodgkin ^ were betrothed
before leaving England, or whether the close companion-
ship into which they were thrown in Amsterdam led
them to link their hearts in wedlock. I like to think
of it as a happy marriage. They were suited to each
other in age and station. Jane appears to have survived
^ Evans, Early Baptists, ii. , p. 59.
2 From the parish register of Worksop it appears that Jane Hodgkin
was one of a large family. The name is variously spelt. Her father,
George Hodgskin, was a freeholder, and interested in religion. He paid
a lump sum in 1591 for the right of setting up " one seat or stall at the
north choir door " of Worksop Church for himself and his heirs. Tke
entries in the parish register compared with the ages given to the
Registrar in Holland when Jane Hodgkin and her brother were married
show that there was either no special care taken to be exact, or that the
Dutch Registrar made mistakes in entering the details.
" Jane d. of Georg Hodgskin 'chrisned' Dec. 22, 1583."
She was therefore 24 years old on her marriage with Murton.
"Alexander, s. of Geo. Hodgskin" April 8, 1586. He was therefore
29 years old and not 25 on the occasion of his marriage with the widow of
Thos. By water on November 9, 161 5.
The family was connected by marriage with the Jepsons, of Worksop,
William Jepson, a leading member of John Robinson's church, was
cousin to Jane Murton and Alexander Hodgkin. I have succeeded in
tracing the will of George Hodgkin. He drew it up on February 27,
1618, and describes himself as "yeoman." It fixes the dwelling place of
Jane Murton at that time in the following clause : —
•*I give and bequeath to my daughter Jane, John Murton's wife,
dwelling at London, tenn poundes for the latter end of her child's pte."
Alexander, of Amsterdam, is not specially mentioned, but would be
included in the general bequest " to every one of my other children for the
latter end of their childes parte twenty shillings apeece. " To each of his
grandchildren he left ds. Sd. The will is that of a comfortable yeoman
with a well-stocked house and farm. It was proved in the autumn of
1622, and Murton was presumably still in London at that time. It is
registered in the District Probate Registry at York.
298
A Daring Step
her husband, returning at last after the troubled sojourn
in London to her friends in Holland, where she was
received into the fellowship of the English Mennonite
Church — as a haven of peace for her last years.
After his marriage we next hear of John Murton
when he signs the letter with Helwys, William Piggott
and Thomas Seamer on March 12, 1609 — io> be-
seeching the Mennonite Church to deal carefully and
according to God's Word in the dispute between them
and those who adhered to John Smith. He, like Helwys,
maintained the lawfulness of the baptism administered
by Smith upon himself and his associates, and refused to
tie the ordinance of baptism to any special order of men.
He claimed the widest power for each Church of Christ,
however small and poor it might be. Murton returned
to London with Helwys, probably late in 161 2. It
was a daring step to take. They would know that
Bartholomew Legate, who had been engaged in business
transactions in Holland, had been burned at Smithfield
on March 18, 161 2, for heresy. A like fate might
very well await themselves, but they would face it.
Murton, on his arrival at Amsterdam, had taken up the
work of a " furrier." It does not follow that he con-
tinued in that occupation, but the fur trade was a
growing trade, and very likely he engaged in the same
business in London.
Whatever his occupation, it was soon interrupted by
imprisonment. We learn this from a curious little book
entitled " The Sealed Fountaine opened to the Faithful!
and their Seed. . , . By John Wilkinson, Prisoner at
Colchester, against John Morton, Prisoner at London." ^
* British Museum, pp. ix., 15.
299
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
The work was published by William Arthurbury, who
says it was " composed by one of my ancient brethren
departed in the Faith " [and] " left in my custody for
the publicke goode." Murton and his friends had lost
no time on their arrival in England in letting their views
be known to the Separatists in and about Colchester, to
whom Wilkinson ministered. Though Wilkinson himself
was in prison, he penned a reply headed : —
" A reproof of some things written by John Morton and others
of his company and followers to prove that Infants are not in the
state of condemnation, and that therefore they are not to be
baptized. By John Wilkinson, a Prisoner in Colchester for the
Patience and Faith of the Saints, 1613." ^
As Wilkinson states the case of his opponents with
apparent fairness, we get an excellent view of Murton's
opinions about infant baptism at this period from this
" reproof."
" First," says he, *' they write of infants as if concerning salva-
tion and damnation the estate of all infants were alike, which is
not true but very erroneous, for some infants are in the estate of
salvation and those, so far as they may be discerned, are to be bap-
tized for a testimony thereof. And others are in the estate of dam-
nation, and these, so far as may be discerned are not to be baptized.
" Secondly, to free infants from being under the state of con-
demnation they imagine them to be without sin.
"Thirdly, the ground from which they gather infants to be
without sin is this, that infants have transgressed no Law of God
because they are uncapable of any. In this they shoot short,
for it doth not follow that because infants have not transgressed
as they are infants, therefore they have not transgressed at all.
They transgressed before they were infants, that is to say, in the
loins of Adam.2
^ The Sealed Fountaine Opened^ p. i.
2 P. 3.
300
Wilkinson Controverts Murton
" Another conceit they have ... that forasmuch as the Law
hath dominion over a man so long as he liveth, therefore the law given
to Adam concerneth not infants because they were not then alive.^
" Another nice conceit they have, that because our soul is
given of God, that therefore the body and soul in every infant is
first created apart and afterwards joined together in one. And
out of this they gather again that the soul coming from God must
needs be good and therefore without sin until it be joined to the
body, and then have a law given and finally transgress that law.
Out of these principles it seemeth to them that they may un-
deniably conclude that infants are without sin.^
" They conceive because infants have not understanding to
discern between good and evil, therefore the law and sin con-
cerneth them no more than it doth the unreasonable creatures.
Lastly, they gather that if infants were not without sin Christ
would not have said to his disciples, * that except they
should convert [turn] and become as a little child they should not
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.' Neither have put his hands
on them and blessed them if they had not been always without
sin." . . .
" Thus thick is the darkness wherewith these men [Murton and
his friends] are overwhelmed, and yet they imagine that they only
are in the true light, and all that are not of their mind are in
darkness."^
Wilkinson replied to these positions point by point,
and also to their contention that the benefits of" Christ "
extend to the whole animate creation. He concluded
his tract in these terms : —
** Their conclusion is that Infants have not sinned, and there-
fore need no baptism for the remission of sins. And I answer
that in Adam all mankind sinned and that by means thereof all
infants come tainted with sin from the womb. And that therefore
there is no hope of salvation for any infants, further than they
may be reckoned to belong unto Christ as being the fruit of such
1 P. 4. 2 P. s. 8 P. 6.
301
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
branches as are ingrafted in him by Faith, and those which be
such are to be baptized, thereby to declare what benefit all have
by Christ that are partakers with him, whose holiness is such
that he sanctifieth all that have fellowship with him. To whom
be glory for ever, Amen. John Wilkinson."
Thus we find that the beliefs for which Murton and
his friends stood were closely examined and debated.
We do not know much more about Wilkinson. He was
dead by the year 1619, when his friends published his
" Exposition^ of the 13th chapter of the Revelation of
Jesus Christ," in the preface to which they say : —
" It was the purpose and desire of the authour of this treatise
to have published his judgment on the whole book of the
Revelation ; but through the malice of the Prelates, who divers
times spoiled him of his goods and kept him many years in prison,
he was prevented of his purpose. After his death, some of his
labours coming to the hands of his friends in scattered and im-
perfect papers, they laboured with the help of others that heard
him declare his judgment herein to set forth this little treatise."
He evidently suffered grievously. Edmond Jessop
looked back to him as an " ancient stout Separatist,"^ and
declared that he held the view that fresh Apostles would
be sent in time to set Christ's Church in order. We may
recall the fact that when the Mayflower sailed there
were some from Essex, the scene of Wilkinson's labours,
who joined in that amazing venture.
^ There is a copy in the Bodleian Library.
2 Jessop's Discovery, 1623, p. 77.
302
CHAPTER XXII
LITERARY ACTIVITY OF MURTON AND HIS ASSOCIATES —
MURTON AND ROBINSON
While the opponents of the English Anabaptists were
active in writing against them they themselves were not
slow to defend their position. In 1615 they issued a
book in which they answered such objections as were
urged against their principle that persecution for religion
was wrong. This book bears no name. It is addressed
"to all that truly wish Jerusalem's prosperity and
Babylon's destruction." The prefatory epistle is
subscribed *'by Christ's unworthy witnesses, His
Majesty's faithful subjects commonly (but most falsely)
called Anabaptists." Under that title we have John
Murton and his friends. Dr. Underbill has pointed out
the resemblance between parts of this work and passages
in " A Description of what God hath predestinated
concerning Man," issued in 1620, and ascribed by John
Robinson to "John Murton and his associates."
Murton probably submitted the manuscript to his fellow
believers before sending it over into Holland to be
printed. The title of the first edition of 161 5 runs :
" Objections answered by way of Dialogue wherein is
proved : By the Law of God : By the Law of our Land :
And by his Ma*''* many testimonies, that no man ought
to be persecuted for his religion, so he testifie his
303
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
allegeance by the Oath appointed by Law." ^ This
work takes the form of a forcible dialogue between
" Antichristian," representing the party of the perse-
cuting bishops, " Christian," under which name the
authors speak, and an "Indifferent Man" who is duly
brought to see " that none ought to be compelled by
any worldly means to worship God." The strong grasp
which these men had upon the principle of religious
liberty is shown in their readiness to tolerate Roman
Catholics, who were at this time in extreme disfavour
with Englishmen owing to the recent Gunpowder Plot.
" For the papists," say these men, " may it not justly be
suspected that one chief cause of all their treasons,
hath been because of all the compulsions that have
been used against their consciences, in compelling
them to the worship practised in public, according to
the law of this land, which, being taken away, there is
no doubt but they would be much more peaceable."^
Besides considering in this dialogue the objections
urged against abandoning the practice of persecution,
the authors state that they have also "with good
consciences pointed at the principal things of Mr.
Robinson's late book till further time."^ They refer
to Robinson's book of the preceding year *' Of Religious
Communion, &c., with the silencing of the clamours
raised by Mr. Thomas Helwisse against our retaining
the Baptism received in England." Robinson held that
the magistrate might use his lawful power not merely
in civil affairs but also " for the furtherance of Christ's
1 Reprinted in Tracts on Liberty of Conscience^ edited by E. B.
Underbill, 1846.
3 TrcLcts on Liberty of Conscience^ 1846, p. 114.
8 Ibid., p. 180.
304
Laymen May Baptize
kingdom and laws." This opinion is glanced at in the
dialogue, where reference is made to " some that make
more show of religion than you [churchmen] do,
although themselves be now persecuted, yet if Kings
were of their minds would be as cruel as you for they
maintain the same thing."
The writer or writers maintain the positions of Helwys
in reference to the right of any Christian disciple to
baptize. '* We and others affirm, that any disciple of
Christ in what part of the world soever, coming to the
Lord's way, he by the word and spirit of God preaching
that way unto others and converting ; he may and
ought also to baptize them." ^ They also agree that
flight in persecution is unlawful, and refer to their
confession, published four years before (1611) for their
opinion about the person of Christ and the lawfulness of
magistracy. They recognise that many called Ana-
baptists held contrary opinions to theirs upon these
points and ''many other strange things." They rejected
the name ** Anabaptist " and did not regard themselves
as a sect. "Well, you will yet be called Anabaptists,"
says the Indifferent Man, "because you deny baptism to
infants." The rejoinder is: — "So were Christians
before us called sects: and so they may [call] John
Baptist, Jesus Christ himself, and his apostles Ana-
baptists ; for we profess and practice no otherwise herein
than they, namely, the baptizing of such as confess with
the mouth the belief of the heart." ^ This dialogue did
not contain the whole of the reply of Murton and his
fellow Anabaptists to Robinson. It was only to serve
1 Ibid.^ p. 164.
a Ibid., p. 179.
305 U
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
'* till further time " when the deep question of predesti-
nation was to be handled.
Supplication to Parliament
The cause of religious liberty made little or no
headway under the rule of James. No Parliament was
called after the brief session in i6i4for seven years. At
length James had to give way to the popular demand
and summon a new Parliament. The growing resent-
ment against the despotic rule of the Crown emboldened
the Nonconformists and Separatists to protest against
the hardships inflicted upon them. With the English-
man's usual faith in Parliament the company of
Anabaptists under John Murton drew up and presented
" A Most Humble Supplication " to the King, Prince
Charles and the Nobility, Judges and Gentry of the new
Parliament. They asked for redress of grievances, set
forth their special opinions and repeated their arguments
against ** persecution for cause of conscience." The
difficulties under which they laboured are disclosed in
the following passage : —
" Our miseries are long and lingering imprisonments for many
years in divers counties of England, in which many have died and
left behind them widows, and many small children : taking away
our goods, and others the like, of which we can make good
probation ; not for any disloyalty to your majesty, nor hurt to any
mortal man, our adversaries themselves being judges ; but only
because we dare not assent unto and practise in the worship of
God such things as we have not faith in, because it is sin against
the Most High." 1
* Tracts on Liberty of Conscience ^ p. 190.
306
Murton and the Scriptures
MURTON AND THE SCRIPTURES
The attitude of this group of English Anabaptists
towards the Bible is clearly set out in this supplication.
They grounded their faith upon the Scriptures inter-
preted by the Spirit of God given to the faithful. The
propositions dealt with in the first four chapters make
this plain : —
•' (i) The rule of faith is the doctrine of the Holy Ghost con-
tained in the sacred scriptures, and not any church, council,
prince, or potentate, nor any mortal man whatsoever.
" (ii) The interpreter of this rule is the scriptures and Spirit of
God in whomsoever.
" (ill) That the Spirit of God to understand and interpret the
scriptures is given to all and every particular person that fear
and obey God, of what degree soever they be ; and not to the
wicked.
" (iv) Those that fear and obey God and so have the Spirit of
God to search out and know the mind of God in the scriptures,
are commonly and for the most part, the simple, poor, despised,
&c."
They contended that this was no private spirit but the
universal Spirit of God. " God's Spirit is not private, for
it is not comprehended only within one place, person or
time, as man's is, but it is universal and eternal."
John Cotton and Religious Liberty
The '* Humble Supplication" did not have any effect
upon King and Parliament, but it was destined to bear
fruit in an unexpected quarter. The arguments against
persecution for cause of conscience which it contained
were written out and sent to John Cotton, of Boston,
about the year 1635 by Mr. Hall, minister at Roxbury,
in New England. The main question was "whether
307 U 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
persecution for cause of conscience be not against the
doctrine of Jesus Christ the King of Kings ? " Cotton
considered the arguments adduced and returned a letter
in which he asserted the legitimacy of persecuting in
cases of persistent error in fundamental and principal
points of doctrine and worship. The writer of the
"Supplication" had quoted from ancient and recent
writers on his side. Mr. Cotton "to shut up this
argument from testimony of writers " instances those
who defended persecution, and mentions Calvin, " who
procured the death of Michael Servetus for pertinacity
in heresy, and defended his fact by a book written of
that argument." The arguments against persecution
were printed together with Cotton's reply under the
title " The Controversy concerning Liberty of Conscience
in Matters of Religion truly stated." Hall sent this on
to Roger Williams, who wrote a long and forcible
answer to Cotton and published it when he came to
London, in 1644, to negotiate for a charter for Rhode
Island. The book was anonymous and bore the title
"The Bloody Tenent of Persecution, for cause of
Conscience discussed in a conference between Truth and
Peace."
Roger Williams was deeply impressed by the argu-
ments for liberty extracted from the " Humble Suppli-
cation " of 1620. He made inquiry when in London as
to the author, and this is the story he was told : —
'*The author of these arguments against persecution . . .
being committed by some then in power close prisoner in New-
gate, for the witness of some truths of Jesus, and having not the
use of pen and ink, wrote these arguments in milk, in sheets of
paper brought to him by the woman his keeper from a friend in
London as the stopples of his milk bottle. In such paper written
308
Literary Activity of the Anabaptists
with milk nothing will appear, but the way of reading it by fire
being known to this friend who received the papers he transcribed
and kept together the papers." ^
It would have been some consolation to the author
could he have known that his work v/as destined to
influence the framing of the constitution of a State
across the sea in which "the Saints of the Most High
were to walk without molestation in the name of
Jehovah their God for ever and ever."
Literary Activity of the Anabaptists
We have one or two further ghmpses of Murton's
Church, and examples of other books testifying to the
literary activity of himself and his friends. On July 30,
16 1 8, we find Sir Robert Naunton writing to the Lord
Mayor of London stating that the Lords of the Council
had " heard of a confluence of loose people about Crosby
House upon a Conventicle of Anabaptists there
assembled." '■^ It would be unsafe to decide off-hand
from this statement that this was a conventicle of
Murton's company, for the word " Anabaptist " was
used in a rough-and-ready way for any kind of Separa-
tist, but it may indicate the locality of one of its places
of meeting. Francis Johnson took notice of the growth
of Anabaptist ideas at this period. He included in his
** Christian Plea," '' printed in the yeQre of our Lord
1617," ^ treatise *' Touching the Anabaptists and others
1 Bloody Tenent, p. 36. Hansard Knollys Society's publications, 1845.
2 FemembYancia, City of London^ 1878, p. 453. Evans quotes from
Truth's Victory, 1645, p. 19, the words: " Some thirty years ago Mr.
Morton, a teacher of a church of Anabaptists in Newgate," and this has
been taken to indicate the place of meeting. I think it must refer to an
imprisonment of Murton in Newgate about 1615. The church probably
met iji the houses of its members in the East End of London.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
mainteyning some like errours with them," in which he
treated at length of infant baptism, " considering how
great the error is in the denial thereof, and how greatly
it spreadeth both in these parts [Amsterdam] and (of
late) in our own country." ^ The strength of the Baptist
position, according to the general principles of the
Reformation, and the increasing number of those who
avowed Baptist opinions are alike borne witness to by
the many books written in opposition at this period.
Murton for his part was not inactive. He wrote in
1617 a little volume entitled " Truth's Champion " which
was more than once reprinted. ** It is written," ^ says
Crosby, ** in a very good style and the arguments are
managed with a great deal of art and skill." It contained
thirteen chapters, maintaining the Arminian or Remon-
strant scheme of doctrine in opposition to Calvinism, and
dealing with such topics as *' free will,"" election,"" love,"
"baptism," " Christ dying for all to save all." Crosby
says this book was found when they were demolishing
an old wall near Colchester at the beginning of the Civil
Wars. It had probably been sent down to one of John
Wilkinson's flock there. Francis Smith, the General
Baptist printer, advertising the third edition of this work
in 1678, says, *' The copy of this book was found hid in an
old wall near Colchester, in Essex." ^
There is also reference to a book on Baptism, translated
from the Dutch in 16 18,* in which Murton and his
* Christian Plea, 1617, p. 23.
2 Crosby, History of the Baptists i., p. 276.
8 Advertisements at end of Grantham's Christ ianismus P^imitivus, 1678.
*■ See Crosby,!., p. 129, who gives the Eight Propositions containing the
argument of this '• Plain and well grounded treatise concerning Baptism."
The seventh proposition was "That ihe baptism of infants and sucklings
310
Predestination Discussed
friends probably had a hand. He refers to it in a work
issued two years later, for which he was undoubtedly
responsible. There he makes Ereunetes, one of the
characters in the dialogue, say : —
" I have, not long since, seene a Booke translated out of Dutch
and Printed in English prooving that this invention of Infants
baptisme was brought in and declared by divers Emperors Popes
and Counsels." ^
That extract is taken from the important book entitled
" A Description of what God hath Predestinated con-
cerning man, in his creation, transgression, regeneration
... as also an Answere to John Robinson touching
Baptisme . . . Printed 1620," This work is given in
dialogue form, the speakers being :
Ereunetes \ ( Searcher
Odegos ) ^ ( Guide
A note at the end asks for
" A serious consideration of what is written and if any defects
bee either in Printing or binding (both which unto us are difficult)
is a ceremony and ordinance of man brought into the church by teachers
after the apostles' time, and instituted and commanded by councils, popes,
and emperors.'^ I have sought in vain for copies of Truth's Champion
and of this "Treatise." I have had to content myself with consulting
the answer to the latter by " Thomas Gobbet, Teacher of the Church of
Lyn in New England," and I doubt whether Crosby had anything else
before him in giving his information about it. Cobbet wrote his Just
Vindication of the Covenant and Church-Estate of Children of Church
Members in 1646 in answer to John Spilsbury, Christopher Blackwood,
Henry Den, and A. R. It was printed in 1648 and Cobbet annexed to
it *' A Refutation of a certain pamphlet styled * The plain and wel-grounded
Treatise touching Baptism. ' " This was anonymous. Cobbet refers to those
who published it as " The authors or translators of a booke of some
unknowne Author or Authors " and politely calls them "Mountebank
deceivers and probably some Jesuited cheaters ' ' (p. 284). The plan of
the book was to bring testimonies from the fathers and reformers to show
the late introduction of infant baptism into the church. The argument
was sound, but the authors weakened their case by dragging in disingenuous
quotations which Cobbet easily exposed.
1 A Description of what God hath Predestinated^ p. 154.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
wee pray the one may be passed over and th'other may be
amended."
Perhaps the difficulty in binding may account for the
fact that the copies in the Bodleian and British Museum
Libraries have pages missing ; the copy in the University
Library at Cambridge appears to be perfect. It bears
no author's name, the Epistle to the Reader being signed :
" Yours ready to doe you any good the servants of Christ falsly
called
" Ana baptists."
but in Robinson's reply to this work he unhesitatingly
ascribes it to " John Murton and his associates." It is
written with spirit, especially in the last sections
answering " A little printed writing of John Robinson's
touching Baptism." The earlier part of the book opposes
the Calvinistic doctrines of Predestination, Election, and
Reprobation and asserts the doctrine of general redemp-
tion and " free choyce " a term which the author favours
rather than " free will."
" I hold " ^ says he " that there is yet left in man the
faculty of will to choose or refuse as I will make plain : —
(i) By many Scriptures ; (2) By many undeniable
reasons."
In addition to quoting Scripture Murton appeals to
*' common experience," ^ and in such an argument as the
following we see how he rationalises the ordinary crude
doctrine concerning hell torments.
** That worm of Conscience that sticketh so deep in the souls
of all damned creatures should never appear in hell, if men were
1 A Description what, etc., p. 95.
2 Jbid.^ p. 104.
312
Appeal to Experience
deprived of liberty. For their torment consisteth in this, that for
their own demerits, being created of God in such sort that if they
would Heaven laid open for them by accepting God's grace
through faith and obedience to the gospel, and yet they cast them-
selves into hell of their own accord through unbelief and
rebellion." i
The opinion about the divine origin of the soul which
struck John Wilkinson as curious is here reasserted : —
" The soul comes from God, the matter of the body from the
parents. The soul is very good coming from God. The body hath
not sinned till it be infected with the soul by transgression of a
law." 2
We are introduced in this book to a paper by Robin-
son, otherwise unknown, on the subject of baptism and its
administration. Murton leads up to it in a pleasant
way. After representing Ereunetes as satisfied that
there is no warrant for infant baptism he makes him
continue as follows : —
" I am every way satisfied in this [that infant baptism is a late
invention] only I ohn Robinson, Preacher to the English at Leyden
hath printed half a sheet of paper who laboureth to prove that
none may baptize but Pastors and Elders of a Church (for other
officers to baptize I conceive not that he meaneth) and conse-
quently that you [Murton and his Church] and all your com-
panies in England wanting Pastors, are unbaptized." ^
We may gather from this that there were already
companies of Anabaptists, holding similar views to those
of Murton, in other parts than London.
In his half sheet of paper Robinson set out " Grounds
and Proofes " " that all y* have beene baptised by any
1 P. 105. 2 p, 120. 8 p. 154.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
but a pastor are Vnbaptised." He laid down two
propositions : —
(i) " That there is no lawful Baptism but by him that hath a
lawful calling to baptize."
(2) " That only he hath an ordinary lawful calling to baptize
who is called thereto by the Church."
From these propositions he drew the conclusion, says
Murton, " that all those (and consequently we) not being
baptized by any so called, but by those they conceive
converted them by their gift, are unlawfully baptized
and so unbaptized persons." ^ Against Robinson's view
Murton maintained " that any disciple of Christ that hath
received power and commandment from God to preach
and convert, though no pastor, may also by the same
power and commandment baptize." ^
Robinson stood out for the necessity of the adminis-
trator being definitely called by the Church to the work of
baptizing. Such '* a lawful ordinary calling to baptize "
he says " their first baptizer Mr. Smith had not, neither
have they that now administer baptism amongst them,
neither do they account that more is requisite for power
and right to baptize than a personal gift of teaching and
making thereby one of their proselytes and supposed
converts." ^ We also gather from Robinson's criticism
that Murton and his friends, on converting any one,
baptized them privately, regarding the rite as " no church
action but personal only." This supports the contention
that John Smith's baptism was a domestic rite adminis-
tered by affusion and not by dipping in stream or sea or
1 A Description what^ etc.,^. 165.
' P. 154. See also Robinson, IVorkSy i., p. 446.
• Robinson, Defence of Doctrine of Synod of Dort, 1624, p. 446.
314
Robinson Renounces his Ordination
lake. Robinson expressly mentions J. M [urton] as
baptizing alone ^ and declared that the practice of his
Church in allowing baptism to be administered " by-
persons uncalled thereunto, either by God immediately
or mediately by the church, or otherwise than by their
own particular and personal motion " was " singular from
all other of their sect in all places." ^ The Dutch Men-
nonites, as we have seen, only allowed duly ordained
elders or ministers to baptize.
Murton skilfully turns against Robinson his own words,
by which he justified his renunciation of the ordination he
received in the Church of England. Dr. William Ames
had penned a " Manuduction " to lead on John Robin-
son, from the acknowledgment that private communion
with godly members of the Church of England was
allowable, to the recognition of public communion with
them in acts of worship. This step Robinson refused to
take. He wrote in reply a " Manumission " to this
*' Manuduction" in which he declared in forcible words that
it was necessary to renounce " orders " received from a
bishop, and that it was impossible to " repent," as the
Puritan preachers put it, of the errors involved in
episcopal ordination. Yet he retained his baptism
received in the Church which he now counted a false
Church, and declared that this baptism was subsequently
rendered valid by his repentance. Murton quickly seized
the opening here offered and in a spirited passage
applied Robinson's argument against the retention of
"orders" to the case of his retaining baptism adminis-
tered in the Anglican Church.
Though Robinson looked down with a superior air
1 Robinson, IVor/ss, i., p. 449. ^ /did., p. 451.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
upon Murton and his Church, calling them " poor seduced
souls," " these malaperts," " deceitful proctors," and so on,
yet he found their book of sufficient importance to
answer at length. His reply was not printed till 1624.
It is a weighty production, bearing the title " A Defence
of the Doctrine propounded by the Synod at Dort
against John Murton and his associates . . . with the
refutation of their answer to a writing touching baptism." ^
This work indicates in more places than one that Robin-
son had a close knowledge of those who adhered to
Helwys and Murton. It confirms me in the conviction
that he was born and bred in the locality from which
many of them sprang. He speaks of " the profession
of the knowledge and obedience of the gospel which
these men have made so many years both in the
Church of England and elsewhere."^ In a striking
passage he makes an impassioned appeal to these old
acquaintances : —
" Oh 1 you the followers of these guides, yea, you the guides
yourselves, call to remembrance the days of your ignorance and
profaneness specially divers of you, before your first conversion
to the Lord : and consider whether you were not deeper rooted in
sin than many others who yet have not received the grace, which
you have done, to believe and repent ; and give the glory to God's
grace and not to your own free will that you believe, repent, and
obey rather than they. Be not unmindful of this unspeakable
mercy of God towards you above others equal and above you, in
the enjoying of outward means, lest it come to appear in time that
you were never indeed partakers thereof."^
The intimate way in which Robinson wrote of the
members of the Gainsborough and Scrooby Churches
1 Robinson, Works^ Ashton's reprint, i., p. 261.
a Ibid., p. 398.
• Ibid., p. 316.
316
Robinson's Parentage and Birthplace
was one of the reasons which led me to look to that
locality as the place of his old home. There has been
much conjecture about his origin. The latest writer on
the subject^ favours the suggestion of Dr. John Brown
that he was the son of the Rev. John Robinson, D.D.,
of Lincoln. This is incorrect. Both Robinson and his
wife Bridget lived at Sturton le Steeple, Nottingham-
shire. I have been successful in establishing that point.
His father, John Robinson, ^ was a substantial yeoman.
Besides John, the pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers, he had
another son, William, and a daughter Mary. By his
will, and also to a greater extent by the will of his wife
Ann, his son John Robinson received bequests. His
little grandson, John, at Leyden, and the other children in
the pastor's family were not forgotten. Bridget Robin-
son came of a well-to-do family of a similar rank in
life, but apparently of greater estate. She was the
second daughter of Alexander and Eleanor White of
Sturton le Steeple, and had many brothers and sisters.
Considerations of space will not allow me to set out
here the entire results of my researches on this point,
but the determination of Robinson's parentage and the
locality of the home of his boyhood helps us to under-
stand his close personal knowledge of the character and
history of those who gathered about John Smith and
accompanied him in his exile.
It was not only among the Separatists at Leyden
that Murton's book created interest ; those at Amster-
dam were also stirred up about the points with which it
dealt. Henry Ainsworth was asked his judgment about
1 Burrage, New Facts concerning John Robinson, 1910, p. 22.
2 Wills in District Registry at York, Vol. 33, fo. 236, Vol. 34, fo. 324.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
it ; accordingly he wrote in reply *' A Seasonable Dis-
course or a Censure upon a Dialogue of the Anabaptists
intituled a Description of what God hath predestinated
concerning Man." This answer, he tells us, "he soon
drew out . . . and sent it by a friend into England
to reclaim (if God saw it good) such as had erred herein
and gone astray by rash and inconsiderate zeal beyond
knowledge." ^ It must have been one of the last works
of Ainsworth's life, for he died in 1622. It remained in
manuscript for some years, but John Robinson had
access to a copy, as he refers more than once to the
answer which Ainsworth ^ had made to Murton's argu-
ments. More than half of Ainsworth's reply was taken
up by a defence of the doctrine of original sin and an
assertion of the necessity for baptizing infants. He was
not careful to distinguish the remainder of Smith's
company at Amsterdam from the Church under Murton
for he quoted the conclusion of the former that " original
sin is an idle term " as though it were the opinion of the
latter, declaring that on this point they held "more
erroneously than the very Papists."^ Anabaptists con-
tended that infants are innocent of sin, and ** may not be
baptized because there is neither commandment, example
nor true consequence for it in all Christ's perfect Testa-
ment." Against these positions Ainsworth argued with
all the force at his command. The terms in which the
latter position was set out became a stock phrase. As
early as 161 5 Helwys and Murton had declared * " there
is neither plain command nor example " for infant
1 A Seasonable Discourse^ edition 1644. Address to Reader, Sig. A 2.
2 Robinson, Works, i., pp. 405, 411.
^ Ainsworth's Censure, p. 29.
* Objections Answered^ etc., 1615.
318
Ainsworth Opposes Murton
baptism ** in Christ's Testament," and the upholders of
the custom only supported it as a *' consequence of
circumcision " appointed in the *' covenant with
Abraham and his seed." Then, in 1620,^ we find John
Murton declaring that there is " neither commandment,
example, nor true consequence for it in all Christ's
Testament which is perfect." Ainsworth, as we see,
singled this statement out for censure. Then again, in a
letter dated from London, May 10, 1622, full of echoes
of Murton's opinions, but simply signed " H. H.," we
have the same conclusion stated in similar terms.
" There is," says the writer, " neither command,
example, or just consequence [from the Scriptures]
for infants' baptism ; but [only] for the baptizing of
believers." This letter fell into hostile hands, and was
made the text for a book against this group of
Anabaptists. To this fact we owe its preservation. One
I. P., supposed to be John Preston, published it in full in
1623 in a work^ entitled *' Anabaptisme's Mysterie of
Iniquity Unmasked." He severely criticised this
Anabaptist separation from the Anglican Church, and
gave this letter, which he declares was "indited by a
principal Elder in and of that Separation," as a sample of
the singular teaching of these people.
1 A Description of what God hath Predestinated^ p. 131.
* British Museum Library, 4323, a. 40.
319
CHAPTER XXIII
JESSOP'S DISCOVERY OF THE ERRORS OF THE ENGLISH
ANABAPTISTS
Another book throwing light upon the opinions of
this society of English Baptists was issued in 1623 " by
Edmond Jessop, who sometime walked . . . with
them." He called his work " A Discovery of the Errors
of the English Anabaptists . . . wherein is set
downe all their severall and maine points of error which
they hold, with a full answer to every one of them
severally wherein the truth is manifested." If it was
difficult for Murton and his friends to get their books
printed, it was easy and safe to publish books against
them. Jessop had no need to go to Holland for a
printer. His book was printed in London by W. Jones
and openly sold in Cheapside by Robert Bird at the sign
of the Bible. It was dedicated " to his most excellent
dread soveraigne Lord James King of England, Scotland,
France, and Ireland," a contrast to the phrasing of the
dedication to the King indited by Helwys. The scope
of this book will be sufficiently indicated by Jessop's
own summary. His account is valuable as coming from
one who had an inside acquaintance with the position of
Murton and Helwys, but we must bear in mind as we
read that it is given from the point of view of an
opponent. The careful reader will notice the prepotency
320
Jessop's Summary of Anabaptist Belief
of Smith's ideas over those of Helwys in this summary in
two or three particulars, an indication that John Morton
kept closer to their old leader than Helwys had done.
There was no personal antagonism between them to
accentuate differences. Jessop sets out in a table^ the
principal points of Anabaptist belief which are handled
in his book, viz. : —
1. " That God did not predestinate all men to be saved upon
condition that they repent and believe the Gospel.
2. " That God did not elect before all time to grace and life any
particular persons, but in time he doth elect qualities, as faith and
obedience, and then finding these qualities in men he doth elect
their persons for the qualities' sake.
3. "That all men have free will in themselves as well to repent
of their sins to believe the Gospel and obtain salvation, as they
have to remain in hardness of heart and unbelief and in the estate
of damnation.
4. "That the stedfastness of man's justification and salvation
doth depend upon his own will in continuing in the act of believing
and works of righteousness. And that such as have faith in Christ
Jesus, regenerate persons having their names written in the book
of life, may fall away from all, may become unregenerate and
have their names razed out of the book of life again and perish.
And that God doth alter and change his purpose and promise
and come to hate and reject such as he hath formerly loved and
justified.
5. " That there is no original sin, but that all children of all
manner of people in the world as well heathens as infidels,
idolaters, worshippers of devils, all kind of blasphemers, forni-
cators, and unclean persons whatsoever (as of the faithful) are
free from all pollution of sin both in the conception and birth,
and dying before they commit actual sins are saved.
6. " That none ought to be baptized but such men and women
of years only as have attained to true repentance and justifying
faith being both in the account of the church and in the sight of
God regenerate persons. And that the baptism of children used
1 Back of title-page of Jessop's Discovery.
321 X
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
is no baptism at all, but is the ' marke of the beast ' spoken of in
Revelation xiii.
7. " That the Church of England is a false and Antichristian
Church and ought to be separated from. As also a touch of the
errors of the FamiUsts.
8. " And that a King or Magistrate cannot be a true Christian
except he give over his Kingly office or magistracy."
The copy of Jessop's book in the Bodleian Library is
of exceptional interest, because it has been profusely
annotated with marginal notes in a contemporary hand
by one of the members of what Jessop calls ** this little
silly sect of English Anabaptists." Unfortunately the
margins have been badly cropped in binding, and
several pages are missing at the end of this copy, but
the manuscript notes that are legible show that the
writer was a strong opponent of predestination, an
upholder of free choice and adult baptism, one who
opposed persecution for matters of religion and main-
tained the right of any body of people newly awakened
to the truth to form a Church without going to the
Churches of England or Rome for authority. If this
critic of Jessop's book were not John Murton himself, it
was some one thoroughly well acquainted with Murton's
opinions and writings.
Let us take one or two examples literatim, sup-
plying missing parts in brackets. There are allusions
to persecution which these Anabaptists were still endur-
ing. Referring to the true members of the State
Church to which he had returned, Jessop says in
figurative scriptural language made familiar to him in
his intimate association with the Anabaptists : " If Christ
hunger they feed him, if he thirst they give to drink, if
he be naked they clothe him, if he be sick or in prison
322
Manuscript Notes on Jessop's Book
they visit him " ; against this is written, " Rather take
bread from hym and spoyleth hym and make hym
naked and sick by prisoning and impoverishing and
punishing of his discyples." ^ Again the marginal note
is added to another passage, " The time of persecution
continueth yet, it is not over." ^ When Jessop says, " We
should learne to know the Lord," his Anabaptist critic
writes in the margin, " learne ! can we learne more
than we are ordayned to learne ? " intimating that if
that be so Jessop's case for predestination falls to the
ground. Jessop argues against the possibility of "the
elect " falling away from God. " The sanctified servants
of God ... go on from faith to faith, never giving over
nor turning back, nor falling away from the living
God" to which the annotator says, *'As you have
done from y^ truth you once held going farther and
farther from y* truth of God."^ He further says of
Jessop that " he went out from y"" y* had y* truth and
turned back agayne to error." * Commenting on another
passage he says, " The Church of England used tyranny
also [compelling] men gaynst their consciences to
submit to errors, 'tis tyranny to deprive men of their
worldly goods much more to deprive them of theyr
heavenly." ^
Jessop devoted a good deal of space to a consideration
of the question as to how a new Christian Church could
possibly be set up. Were they to wait for new
apostles to appear to re-constitute the Church, as some
maintained, or should they not rather regard the larger
historic Churches of Christendom as true Churches after
1 MS. note to Bodleian copy of Jessop's Discovery^ p. 30.
2 Ibid. p. 74. 8 P. 35. 4 P. 36. s P. 87.
323 X 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
all ? If they were going to start afresh, who would
ordain their Elder or Minister ? " Where will you find
an Eldership to ordaine him ? " ^
" Foolish questions," says the annotator, " founded on
error dost thou think christ [would] build his church
on Antychristian errors, and his Ministry hold and
have Antychristian offices and ordynances, as if Christ's
church of ye new Testament were nowe to be found ? "
That is to say, the form of the Church was clearly set
out in the New Testament, and there was no need to go
hunting for it now, the faithful simply had to come
together and follow the New Testament model and set
up the Church anew themselves. To those who were
expecting new Apostles Jessop said, "Who shall
send them ? Christ is ascended and he doth not now
appear to call and send any as he did the Apostle
Paul. And Apostles be such as come from the
presence of the Lord and have seen him."^ Against
this is written : " Is there no [calling] but from y"
church of Rome? is y* church of Rome the true
church as your Apostate brother Francis John[son]^
holdeth."
Johnson in his last book, in order to avoid the Ana-
baptist argument that baptism in a false Church was
no baptism at all, withdrew from his earlier contention
1 Jessop, p. 76, and MS. note.
2 Jessop's Discovery, p. 77.
8 Compare with this note a passage in Mutton's Descj-iption of what
God hath Predestinated, 1 620, p. 153, where he is arguing against putting
infant baptism in the place of circumcision and learning Christ of Moses,
the Gospel of the Law. " What is the issue of all this ? Truth and
experience teacheth — a necessitie of maintayning that harlot and
strumpet Rome to be God's church and people, as that apostate Fran.
Johnson and others have done as indeed it cannot be avoyded."
324
Meaning of the Word Baptize
and acknowledged the Church of Rome to be a true,
though corrupt, Church.
" If thou saist," continues Jessop, " the Church
may ordain new Elders, I aske, whence came that
Church? Who planted it first?" The manuscript
note in the margin replies, " I answer christ and his
apostles planted his church first which was dryven
into y® wilderness and ther yet remayneth by
reason of [persecution] yet y* remnant of her seed
may keep the commandements of God and the
testimony of theyr lord and master Jesus Christ
without y® officers [or] ordynances and test[ify to the
truth.] " 1
The page on which Jessop refers to the se-baptism of
Smith is unfortunately so closely cut that his critic's
comment at the foot of the page is mutilated, but its
general drift is clear. Jessop says, " If^ I should now
demand of you your warrant for a man to baptize
himselfe, I must marvell where you would find such a
practise in all the new testament of Christ. — Mr. Smith
baptized himself first and then Mr. Helwis and John
Morton with the rest." To this his reader rejoins, " Also
I ask of you if John Bap. baptized hymself (if yea ^) where
do you fynde it written ? Then also why may not chr.
discp. (being unbaptised), baptise himself ... as he
did whenas all men are unbaptised ? If you say John
was baptis. ..." [the remainder of the question is lost
at the foot of the page.]
The writer evidently justified Smith in his act of
* Jessop's Discovery^ p. 77.
2 Discovery^ p. 65, and margin.
5 The MS. seems to read "yea," but " nay '" is clearly meant.
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
self-baptism from the example of John the Baptist.
There was no passage of scripture to indicate that John
had not baptized himself, so it was open to Christ's
disciples to recover that rite for themselves in case of
need.
There is one comment of this anonymous annotator
which indicates that some attention was now being
given to the method of baptizing. Assuming him to
have made his remarks on this book soon after its
publication, and from their freshness and force I take
this to have been the case, then this note forms one of
the earliest indications that the English Anabaptists
were considering the right manner of administering
baptism. In later days they came to practice immer-
sion instead of baptizing by affusion and symbolic
washing. They appear to have been influenced by two
reasons, one etymological, the other scriptural. They
became convinced that the signification of the word
" baptize " was " to dip," and the idea expressed by
St. Paul of being buried with Christ in baptism and
rising to walk in newness of life (Rom. vi. 4; Col. ii. 12)
gradually overpowered the idea of cleansing which had
hitherto been more prominently associated in their
minds with the baptismal rite. When the Particular
Baptists adopted the practice of immersion in 1640-41,
the General Baptists, re-enforced by a large number of
fresh adherents, appear to have soon adopted the
same method.
The comment to which I refer is made on a passage
in which Jessop argues, " that the baptism of children
neither is nor can be the mark of the Beast spoken of in
Rev. xiii. 16, for that ... is such a thing (indeed) as
326
Meaning of the Word Baptize
young children are not capable of." To this his
opponent rejoins : —
" [Y®] baptisme of christ is [such a] thing whereof [infan]ts are
not capabl. [If] it were [use]d and practised on them they
wold [be drojwned as many [have] been as historys [not]es
therefore a new [mo-]tion is found for them [nam]ely to
sprinkle theyr [head] instead of dipping [which] y® word baptisme
[signi]-fyeth." ^
This is too slender a basis to support an assertion
that this group of baptized believers practised immersion
in or about the year 1625, but it points to the fact that
attention was being paid to the more limited meaning
of the word " baptize " in the sense of *' dip."
^ Jessop's Discovery, p. 68, and MS. note.
327
CHAPTER XXIV
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN ENGLISH AND DUTCH
ANABAPTISTS
The return of Helwys and Murton with their com-
pany of fellow believers to England was an important
incident for the after history of the General Baptists.
It not only gave an impetus to the spread of the prin-
ciples and doctrines advocated in their confession of
faith, but it afforded an organized society to which those
of like mind could attach themselves. We soon find
groups of Anabaptists gathered into worshipping societies
in different districts in England to which refugees from
Amsterdam returned. The returning Anabaptists were
full of zeal for the cause. We read of " the multitudes
of their disciples," ^ and though that is an alarmist phrase
it is clear that they made headway.
No records of the Church of Helwys and Murton are
known to exist, but Dr. Miiller discovered some letters ^
amongst the archives of the Amsterdam Mennonites
which throw light upon its condition and beliefs. These
letters were occasioned by a small secession. As so
often happens in a Church which fosters strong indivi-
duality, a difference of opinion arose. Sixteen members
under Elias Tookey were excommunicated by Murton's
^ Anabaptismes Mysterie, 1 623, p. 61.
^ The correspondence is printed in Evans' Early Baptists, ii., pp. 21 — 51.
328
Elias Tookey
Church, but continued to meet together and celebrated
the Lord's Supper amongst themselves. In order to
strengthen their position they applied to be received
into communion by the United Waterlander Mennonite
Church at Amsterdam. They would know that the
remainders of Smith's company had been accepted by
that Church early in 1615, and this would give them
good hope of being admitted to fellowship with the
Amsterdam Church. The response was friendly, but
displayed a characteristic caution. The Dutchmen
wanted to know more about the opinions of Tookey
and his friends, who appear to have been ready to toler-
ate a wide divergence of opinion so long as the Christian
spirit and a holy life were maintained. The brethren at
Amsterdam regarded the " breaking of bread " by this
little company of seceders as disorderly, holding that
this could only be done by an ordained elder or minister.
What about fleeing in time of persecution ? What
opinions about the person of Christ are held and toler-
ated by you ? What about the oath and magistracy ?
Such were the questions upon which the Mennonites
desired satisfaction.
As soon as the letter containing these inquiries came
to hand Tookey and his friends " immediately assembled
in order to consider what answer should be sent." Their
letter, dated from London, January 3, 1624, has been
preserved. They say : —
" We are still of opinion that a private brother is allowed to
minister the sacraments when the congregation calls him to it,
though he be not in possession of the ministerial office ; on con-
dition, however, that the church has no minister, for, if it have,
we think that a private brother may by no means do it. . . .
We do not think it objectionable to flee in time of persecution to
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
other countries and live there. Many among us now were of
opinion that it was. We do not think that the holy and peaceful
doctrine of toleration is misused if some remain in our communion
(if they are quiet) who know not yet what they should think of
Christ's deity Further we inform you that there is nobody
amongst us who denies the deity of Christ ; but there are two or
three who have a somewhat different opinion than we maintain in
general, though we think that after all it comes to the same end."
These two or three understood the deity of Christ as
being —
" The natural emanation (just as the light of the sun) out of the
eternal substance and that this emanation takes place also in
many other cases ... it is God-like strength, wisdom, mercy,
justice, &c., &c. . . . that God has sent out to make the world and
reconcile fallen man And shall we condemn each other
for these opinions ? That be far from us. But if we see that some
crucify Christ or the Godlike nature which they partake of, by
the wickedness of sin, then we condemn them, as we surely know
that the Word of God has already condemned them."
Here again it is seen that unorthodox opinions con-
cerning the person of Christ were prevalent amongst the
English Anabaptists, but there is no clear trace as yet
of the Socinian position being held or tolerated by them.
The letter goes on to point out that " refusing an oath
would be guilty or hurtful in our country, as some would
think we refused the oath of allegiance to our king."
The writers so far concede to the opinion of the Men-
nonites upon magistracy and the profession of arms as
to say that they will " neither take nor assume one of
them," and they bring their letter to a close by asking
the Amsterdam Church, should they be accepted into
communion " to write a few words to John Murton and
his friends in order to augment peace and welfare," and
330
Letters to Holland
also to satisfy two of their number upon the question of
" succession from the time of the apostles."
More correspondence followed. A long letter from
Amsterdam in May, 1624, " Signed with the consent and
allowance of the ministers and servants of the Dutch
and English Churches of Jesus Christ in that place,"
enables us to trace the general course of the negotiations
for union. From this letter we gather that Tookey and
his friends had sent messengers over into Holland to ask
the judgment and advice of the Mennonite Church upon
the differences between themselves and Murton's Church.
But the Dutch and English Mennonite Church there
would not express an opinion on the case without hear-
ing both sides. " If," say they, " John Murton or some-
body of his followers, comes to us with a kind heart and
a manageable mind we shall be very glad to see him."
As yet they had not heard his side of the case. Con-
ferences and "reasonings" were had with Tookey's
messengers, who were sent back to England bearing
money and writings and a letter signed by the ministers,
Hans de Ries and Renier Wy brant ; this last the mes-
sengers for some reason withheld. The Dutch brethren
had some discussion with the English messengers on the
subject of the deity of Christ, and they refer to it in their
letter in these terms : —
'* When your messengers were here and we spoke with them,
we declared then that those who have different opinions about
the origin of the human body of Christ are esteemed among us
as to be borne with, as they still belong to those who do not deny
the humanity of Christ but confess that he is truly man. But if
one would extend it so far, that we should esteem it excusable
that somebody might deny the deity of Christ or denied that
Christ was really God he would not understand us well but very
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
wrongly. And, therefore, we hope it may please you to explain to
us how we should understand your words ' We do not compel one
to believe of Christ what we do, but bear with each other.' We
desire to know whether this is only said of the origin of Christ's
body, or whether it covers the article of the deity of Christ."
The letter closes with an indication that the Church at
Amsterdam was disposed to admit Tookey and his
friends to their brotherhood on receiving a satisfactory
answer to the points here raised.
The brethren in London took time to consider their
reply, which was eventually written by Elias Tookey,
subscribed, " your kind and sincere friends eighteen in
number living in London, March 17, 1625," and addressed
" to the holy and discreet elders Hans de Ries and
Renier Wybrant." In this letter it is admitted that
there were differences of opinion amongst them, but say
they, " we can bear with each other in peace," and the
belief is expressed that such *' Christian tolerance " is a
better preservative against discord in the Church than
" minute examinations, limitations, censures and con-
demnations only for opinion." This is a familiar belief
to-day, but it was singular and remarkable when it was
enunciated by this little group of Anabaptists.
The three points of the deity of Christ, the oath, and
war, wherein the Dutch found the chief obstacles of union
with these English Anabaptists, are each handled in this
letter. The Englishmen express themselves as holding
the same opinion as the Mennonites upon the deity of
Christ "unless," they add, "you would compel us to
believe three different persons in the Deity which manner
of speaking is not found in the Scriptures." As regards
the oath and war, they were not prepared to take up the
332
Lawful to Bear Arms
position of the Mennonites who absolutely forbade them.
A few were ready to accept the Mennonite belief on
these two points, but the majority held that the taking-
of an oath and bearing arms were legitimate in some
circumstances, though not in a spiritual cause. It was
recognized that this difference of opinion rendered their
chance of being admitted to communion with the
Amsterdam Church somewhat doubtful, and so the
letter concludes : —
" If you can admit us ... we shall be very glad ; but if you
cannot admit us, we will wait till God gives us, in our hearts
what it may please him ; and we shall expect that he will work in
us the desire to bear with each other though we differ in opinions
it may be in the above mentioned affairs, or in others which do
not tend to the destruction of true Christianity."
Whether negotiations were continued with the Dutch
by Elias Tookey and his party does not appear, but
their action seems to have led to an attempt on the part
of the main body of Anabaptists (from which Tookey
was excluded) to resume intercourse with the kindred
Church in Amsterdam. On November 13, 1626, two
delegates visited Cornelius Aresto, minister of the
United Waterland Church in Amsterdam. They
represented " the Churches of Jesus Christ in England,
living in London, Lincoln, Sarum, Coventry and
Tiverton " and bore a letter addressed to Hans de Ries
and Renier Wybrant. The delegates are not named
but they are spoken of as " beloved friends and brethren
— men that are approved among us and have proved
their constancy and faithfulness to the cause of Christ
by continually suffering a long and troublesome captivity
almost to their whole ruin." Hans de Ries was now
333
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
minister at Alkmaar, consequently Aresto sent a letter
on to him announcing the arrival of these two English-
men and asking how to proceed. " We have delayed
them," he says, " and meanwhile ordered our English
to show them our last answer to Elias Tookey." He
also notes that " these count a number in England of
undoubtedly 1 50 persons . . . and belong to the people
of John Murton and Thos. Denys."
The letter carried by these deputies was a long and
well considered communication. The writers express
their desire for unity, and for this reason resume attempts
made in former years for peace and union " though the
most principal among us are now dead and rest with the
Lord," They then pass on to an examination of the
Confession of Faith issued by the Mennonites, a copy of
which had been sent them. This confession was
practically the same as that drawn up and submitted to
John Smith and his company many years before. The
English Anabaptist Churches found themselves in
general agreement with the doctrinal parts of the
confession but they expressly stipulated for the reten-
tion within " the society of true believers " of those
who did not believe that Christ " assumed his substance
from Mary." The main part of the letter is concerned
with differences upon points of practice. The English
took the Lord's Supper every Sunday and held it to be
legitimate for ordinary brethren with the consent of the
Church to preach, convert and administer the ordinances
of baptism and the Lord's Supper when the "bishops"
or "elders" were not present. This was contrary to
the practice of the Mennonites. In regard to the oath,
magistracy, and the use of arms, the English also took
334
Weekly Communion Service
their own line. They would not absolutely condemn
them, holding that they had a useful place in the world,
though no place in the " spiritual kingdom or church of
the New Testament." In conclusion they say, "We
pray you to consider earnestly all these differences and
to write to us, after that consideration, whether you
could suffer us, as we can suffer you in these matters
that we may then be together as members of one body,
of which Christ is the head."
Hans de Ries drew up a list of searching questions to
be put before the deputies from the five Churches in
England. In some of these the echo of past disputes is
to be detected, e.g., " Whether they think them worthy
to be excommunicated that came from England and
took up their residence here ; and think that they who
live here are obliged to live again in England ? "
The desired union was not consummated. The
reason is disclosed in a letter written from Tiverton by
James Joppe^ and Isabel his wife in 163 1. Joppe had
visited Holland and had already corresponded with the
Church there. He and the friends at Tiverton had
received a letter from Amsterdam dated September 13,
1630. From Joppe's reply we gather that the Dutch
brethren declared that the fault was on the English side
as regards the failure to effect a union, because some of
them kept and used the material sword, " You will
not," he says, " allow us to have any community with
you unless we forsake all offices of government or
authority and the use of the material sword." Joppe
contends that these things are allowable ** according to
1 A certain John Joope was a member of Henoch Clapham's Separatist
Church — " the Visible Catholic and Apostolic Church " — at Amsterdam
in 1598. See Clapham's Sin against the Holy Ghost.
335
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
our duty to the king and to the country in which we
live and in all civil things which are lawful . , .
nevertheless we say also that if there were never an
occasion to use the sword it were much better." The
letter concludes : —
** We offer you our kind and sincere greeting, also your wife
and the other beloved friends living with you, namely Alexander
Hodgkin, John Drew, with their wives, and all others— not
forgetting the four elders, whom you should inform, the contents
of this letter and that of the other written by our beloved friends
at Lincoln. The Lord lead you always in the truth. Amen."
The John Drew ^ here named had been the bearer of a
general letter in 1630 to the Church at Lincoln "and
the others of our brethren among this nation." This
letter remonstrated with the English for excommuni-
cating brethren who occasionally resorted to the parish
churches to listen to the preaching. The attitude taken
up by the English Anabaptists upon this point reveals a
certain hardness and narrowness from which the Men-
nonites were free. " You think it better to bear with
such," says Joppe, " and thus to bear with those that
are evil, for which fact we think that you are guilty, and
that the cause comes from your side that there be no
unity between us. If we had known that you had such
opinions when we asked for union with you, we should
first have worked at your reformation." The policy of
Laud had engendered a singular bitterness of feeling
against the Church of England.
1 He, with his brothers Alexander and Joseph, belonged to the English
section of the Waterland Church at Amsterdam, Joseph Drew was
proposed by the consistory a? minister on July 8, 1640, and accepted the
office on December 8, Evans' Baptists^ i., 223. It is worth notice that a
" Mr. Draw of Lincoln " intervened on John Smith's behalf with the
Bishop of Lincoln in the Spring of 1603. Cf. Act Book of Bishop's Court
fo. 40b.
English Anabaptists.
No further correspondence between these Churches
has survived, but these scanty remains show us that the
Anabaptists were already gathered into distinct Churches
in widely separated parts of the Kingdom and kept in
touch with one another by letter.
The Mennonite Church at Amsterdam accepted
English Anabaptist refugees into membership on present-
ing a satisfactory personal confession of faith without a
fresh baptism. As late as September 26, 1630, there is
a record of five persons being admitted " because they
were baptized formerly by Mr. Smith."
It may be inferred that the intensity of the persecu-
tion in England at this period led some of the English
Anabaptists to flee a second time to Holland.
337
CHAPTER XXV
THE PILGRIM FATHERS— PLYMOUTH PLANTATION —
THE PURITAN EXODUS — INFLUENCE OF THE
IDEAS OF SMITH AND ROBINSON ON THE PURITAN
COLONISTS—ROGER WILLIAMS— FIRST BAPTIST
CHURCH IN AMERICA — REACTION OF NEW
ENGLAND CHURCH POLITY ON ENGLISH PURITANS
— CONCLUSION.
While Murton and his friends were spreading their
beliefs in the old country by means of books and
"apostles" sent out to places where a hearing was
likely to be given, a company of Robinson's Church had
gone out from Leyden under the leadership of their
elder, William Brewster, to found a home in a new
land. The idea of making a plantation in America,
where the Separatists could work and worship in peace,
had long been entertained. We saw that the plan
occurred to Francis Johnson and his friends as early as
1597* Of the two vessels fitted out for the expedition
which he joined, one was " appointed to winter" on the
American side of the Atlantic to help the projected
settlement. But that strange venture landed Johnson
in the end at Amsterdam. No settlement was then
made, yet the plan was borne in mind. After the death
of Johnson (January, 1618) a goodly number of the
members of his Church prepared to go to Virginia
338
The Good Ship " Mayflower "
under the lead of their elder, Francis Blackwell. The
expedition was grossly mismanaged. They were over-
crowded. " It is £aid there was in all a hundred and
eighty persons in the ship so as they were packed
together like herrings." ^
It was towards winter in the year 1618 when they
sailed from Gravesend, and it was not till March that
they made their haven. They ran short of fresh-water
and suffered from *'the flux," so that there died ''a
hundred and thirty persons one and another in the ship."
It must have been a terrible experience. Yet news of
this disaster did not daunt the members of Robinson's
Church, who were already planning to transport them-
selves to the northern coast of Virginia. They pushed
on steadily with their negotiations for a charter and
preparations for their venture. One by one the many
difficulties in their way were surmounted. At the last,
they had to leave the Speedwell behind. She was not
in fit trim for the voyage. But the Mayflower ^^2X\i^x^A
the ocean storms and made her landfall safely at Cape
Cod. With remarkable tenacity the planters held on
with their project until at length the colony of Plymouth,
New England, was firmly established.
The pilgrims carried with them the principles of Church
government orginally drawn out into orderly form for
their guidance by John Smith at Gainsborough and
Amsterdam. They were members of a Church con-
stituted by covenant. They and their brethren in
Leyden were still one Church. John Robinson was
still their pastor, and in his absence they did not venture
to administer the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and
1 Letter of Robert Cushman in Young's Chronicles^ p. 70.
339 Y 2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
baptism, which were regarded as belonging peculiarly to
the ministerial and pastoral office. They could, how-
ever, enjoy meetings for worship and praise. Preaching
was not thought of as a duty solely incumbent on the
ministry. It was held that any Church member having
a gift in this direction ought to exercise it for the good
of the Church. With men of the stamp of Brewster,
Bradford and Winslow in the society the pilgrims would
not suffer from any lack of helpful preaching full of
homely good sense and practical wisdom. As for
marriages, the Separatists never regarded them as
Church actions but as civil contracts. Their residence
in Holland had confirmed them in this conviction. So,
though their Church lacked the presence of its pastor,
there was felt to be no difficulty in marrying. The
marriage was made in due and proper form before the
governor in the presence of witnesses.
Plymouth Plantation was weak in numbers and poor
in resources and its progress was only slow. Still, it
had a fine heroic quality about it which gave it distinc-
tion. It demonstrated in face of a sea of troubles that
it was possible for Englishmen to gain a livelihood in
the new land. The fortunes of this little colony were
eagerly watched by the Puritans at home. It was
recognized that the pilgrims were breaking the ice for
others. A place of refuge for those harassed by the
bishops on account of their nonconformity was to be
desired. Englishmen were entering upon an acute
struggle for constitutional liberty. The high hopes with
which men welcomed the accession of Charles to the
throne in 1625 were soon dashed, for it became clear
that he was as much opposed to government by means
340
To the West, the Land of the Free
of Parliament as his father before him. The way of
reform in Church and State seemed blocked. The
grievances of the people remained unredressed. It was
time to look round for some place of abode where men
could put the ideals which stirred their hearts into
practical shape in life. The thought of a great Puritan
colony in the West gradually took form in the minds of
many in the old country. John White (1575 — 1648), of
Dorchester, was a great promoter of the scheme ; it was
taken up by others in Lincolnshire, London, Suffolk and
other parts. A " Company of Massachusetts Bay "
was formed and a great stream of emigrants of good
standing began to flow steadily to the West. The pace
was quickened when it became evident, after the abortive
Parliament of 1629, that Charles was determined to rule
without consulting the wishes of his people. For
eleven years no Parliament was summoned and the
feeling of uneasiness under the King's personal rule
grew deeper as the years passed.
When Archbishop Abbott died in August, 1633,
William Laud was at once appointed to his place. Men
knew then, if they had not known before, that there was
no possibility of peace for the Puritans within the
borders of the Anglican Church. Laud had the strength
and the weakness of a man of great gifts with all his
powers centred upon one single object. Everything
sank into unimportance before the realization of his one
aim of fashioning the Anglican Church according to his
mind. His policy accelerated the flow of religious
refugees to New England. But with his restless energy
Laud even sought to disturb and control them in
matters of religion in their new home. He was alert
341
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
enough to see some of the consequences to the Church
in England from the setting up of Churches in a ''new
way " on the far side of the Atlantic free from episcopal
control. There would be a re-action from New England
upon ecclesiastical affairs in the old country. When
Edward Winslow was over in England on the business
of the Colony in 1635, Laud actually committed him to
the Fleet prison because he had used his gift of preach-
ing in the Church at Plymouth and had married some
of those in the Plantation in virtue of his office of
magistrate.
The Puritan settlers had left England with some pre-
judice against the Church of New Plymouth on account
of its leaning to Brownism and Separation, but in the
event the Churches which they themselves set up followed
much the same lines as that of the Old Colony.
Robinson was amply justified in his prophecy that the
Puritans would frame their Churches on the pattern
that he had followed if they ever secured liberty to
erect them. A closer acquaintance with the Church at
New Plymouth and its leading members removed the
prejudices that lurked in the Puritan mind against it.
The common needs and dangers of the Colonists drew
them together. John Endicott wrote to William
Bradford in cordial terms from Salem in 1629, after
Deacon Samuel Fuller had been over from Plymouth to
help the new-comers in a time of sickness. " I acknow-
ledge myself," he says, " much bound to you for your
kind love and care in sending Mr. Fuller amongst us,
and rejoice much that I am by him satisfied touching
your judgment of the outward form of God's worship ; it
is, as far as I can gather, no other than is warranted by
342
The Puritan Exodus
the evidence of truth, and the same which I have pro-
fessed and maintained ever since the Lord in mercy
revealed himself unto me, being far from the common
report that hath been spread of you touching that
particular." ^
On June 22, 1629, the good ship George arrived
in Salem harbour bearing part of that Puritan com-
pany sent over to colonize the Bay of Massachusetts.
She was followed seven days later by the Talbot^
accompanied by the Lion's Whelp of less tonnage,
but " a neat and nimble ship." The organizers of the
expedition in England had been careful to send over
ministers to serve the colonists. Arthur Hildersham
had been consulted as to the choice of one suited for the
work, and endorsed the selection of Francis Higginson,
then labouring in Leicester as " lecturer," for one ; Samuel
Skelton, harassed for his nonconformity in Lincolnshire,
and already known to Governor Endicott, was another ;
Francis Bright was the third. They were ordained
clergy of the Anglican Church, but the two former were
strongly averse from the ceremonies imposed by authority
in that Church, and had suffered for their convictions.
But there went over in these ships, besides the Puritan
planters, thirty-five members of the Leyden Church and
their families on their way to join their fellow members
at Plymouth. There was also a certain Ralph Smith, a
minister of Separatist principles, who was granted per-
mission to sail by the "company" before they " under-
stood of his difference in judgment in some things " from
their ministers.
Ralph Smith and the friends from Leyden improved
* Letter in Morton's New England Metnorial^ sub anno 1629.
343
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
the opportunity which the voyage afforded of explaining
their ideas of Church polity to their Puritan companions.
Higginson and Smith were together in the Talbot^ and
we find them both taking part in a special day of " fast "
on the voyage. The close companionship on shipboard
would count for something in the way of softening
asperities and removing misunderstandings. However
that may be, when this company of planters had been in
the land barely a month order was taken for setting up
a reformed Church. Higginson and Skelton did not
exercise their ministry in the new colony in virtue of
their episcopal ordination. Though they frowned upon
separation from the Church of England, they were
resolved upon separating from its corruptions, and *' came
over with a profound intention of practising Church
reformation."
It was precisely here, in the settling of a reformed
congregation, that the influence of the Plymouth
example made itself felt. The first steps in the way
of reform are described in a vivid letter from Charles
Gott to Governor Bradford, dated Salem, July 30, 1629.
Gott and his wife had experienced great kindness from
Bradford when at Plymouth. He writes as one in
sympathy with the polity of the Pilgrim Church. He
tells how Governor Endicott set apart the 20th July " for
a solemn day of humiliation for the choice of a pastor
and teacher." The persons thought of for these offices
were Higginson and Skelton, *'who were demanded
concerning their callings ; they acknowledged there was
a two-fold calling, the one an inward calling, when the
Lord moved the heart of man to take that calling upon
him, and fitted him with gifts for the same ; the second,
344
The Example of Plymouth Church
the outward calling, was from the people." They
further allowed that " when a company of believers are
joined together in covenant to walk together in all the
ways of God, every member (being men) are to have a
free voice in the choice of their officers." They were
moving to the position maintained by the Church at
Leyden and Plymouth. The godly men among the
new colonists therefore, being satisfied as to the fitness
of the candidates, elected Skelton to be pastor and
Higginson teacher. They were there and then solemnly
ordained with laying-on of hands and prayer. Gott
reporting these proceedings to Governor Bradford says :
" Now, good sir, I hope that you and the rest of God's
people (who are acquainted with the ways of God) with
you will say that here was a right foundation laid, and
that these two blessed servants of the Lord came in at
the door and not at the window."
Whether the friends at Plymouth passed any criticism
upon this procedure or no, does not appear, but it is
remarkable that before the people at Salem completed
the work of organizing their religious society they
advanced yet another step nearer to the policy of the
Separatist Church at Plymouth. It will be remembered
that in the case of the Gainsborough and Scrooby
Churches, the several members first joined themselves
together in Church fellowship by a mutual covenant, and
afterwards proceeded to elect and ordain ministers and
officers. This method of forming the Church was now
apparently discussed at Salem. The godly members ot
the colony were not themselves in Church order when
they elected and ordained pastor and teacher on
July 20. This defect ougiit to be remedied, for it
345
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
invalidated their minister's standing. As it happened,
they had deferred the ordination and full election of
ruling elders and deacons from July 20 *' to see if it
pleased God to send more able men over," as fresh ships
to reinforce the colony were daily expected ; they had
therefore contented themselves with nominating one or
two for those offices, and then adjourned the business.
The new point as to the right way of constituting the
Church having arisen in the meantime, another special
day (August 6, 1629) was appointed to set all things
in order. Francis Higginson drew up by request a con-
fession of faith and covenant, which was owned on the
appointed day by thirty persons, to whom copies had
been supplied. Thus the first Christian Church actually
constituted in New England was set up. Skelton and
Higginson were ordained over again, and the business
of appointing and ordaining a ruling elder and deacons
for the Church was proceeded with. To this function
Bradford and others from Plymouth Church were
invited, but they " coming by sea were hindered by cross
winds that they could not be there at the beginning of
the day, but they came into the assembly afterward and
gave them the right hand of fellowship, wishing all pros-
perity and a blessed success unto such good beginnings."
From the very outset, therefore, the Church at Plymouth
had Christian fellowship with the Churches of New
England,^ set up by the Puritan refugees, and had a
^ The following extract is illuminating: — "Mr. Hildersam did much
grieve when he understood that the Brethren in New England did depart
from the Presbyterian Government, and he said : ' This mischief had
been prevented if my counsel at Mr. Higginson's going over had been
taken, which was that brethren driven thither by Episcopal persecution
should agree upon the Church Government before they depart from
hence.' And it is well-known that many Presbyterian non-conformists
Gainsborough Covenant Adopted
marked influence in determining their Church pob'ty.
In this way the work of John Smith and John Robinson,
despised and rejected at home, was bearing fruit in the
West. This is confirmed by Edward Winslow in his
" Briefe Narration of 1646," in which he tells how the
Church at Plymouth when consulted by the new-comers
gave its warrant " from the book of God " for every
point in their practice. " Which being by them well
weighed and considered, they also entered into covenant
with God and one another to walk in all his ways
revealed or as they should be made known unto them, and
to worship him according to his will revealed in his written
word only, etc." ^ Here we have the covenant of Smith's
Church at Gainsborough adopted in its essential features
by the Puritan refugees in New England. Roger
Williams was well within the mark when he said of
John Cotton, of Boston,^ " I am sure Mr. Cotton hath
made some use of those principles and arguments on
which Mr. Smith and others went concerning the
constitution of the Christian Church."
The memory of John Smith's teaching and life was
preserved in New England by those who had companied
with him in earlier days.^ It is not unlikely that Roger
Williams, the founder of the first Baptist Church in
America, was influenced through this channel by John
did by a letter sent unto New England bewaile their departing in practice
(as they heard) from the way of Church Government which they owned
here. ' ' Epistle " to the judicious reader " in Irenicum or an Essay towards
a brotherly peace and union between those of the Congregational and
Presbyterian Way." Lond., 1659.
1 Winslow's Narration in Yomigs Chronicles, p. 387.
2 Mr. Cotton's letter examined and answered by Roger Williams, 1644,
chap. 9.
2 " I understand by such as lived in those parts at that time [that] Smith
lived in Amsterdam and there died, and at Leyden in Holland he never
came." Cotton's Way of Congregational Churches^ p. 7.
347
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Smith's work. He had probably heard of Smith in
Lincolnshire before leaving for America, but now he
had an opportunity of conversing with those who had
been intimately associated with him and were well aware
of his opinions. The two men seem to me to have had
much in common, and in some respects they ran a
parallel course. Williams,^ like Smith, was a Cambridge
man, having been educated at Pembroke College and
graduating B.A. in 1626. Before leaving England he
had advanced beyond the position of the average Puritan,
and would have absolutely nothing to do with the Book
of Common Prayer. He was then a rigid Separatist, like
Smith during his Gainsborough period. He too became
an exile on account of religion, sailing with his wife from
Bristol on December i, 1630 in the Lion under that
stedfast friend of the Plymouth Pilgrims, Captain
William Pierce. After a stormy passage, they at last
made Boston harbour on February 5, 163 1. He was
soon asked to supply the place of one of the pastors of
the Church at Boston, but this Church had not in his
judgment renounced its connection with the Church of
England with sufficient clearness ; he replied that he did
not " dare officiate to an unseparated people." There
was less ambiguity about the Church in Salem and he
accepted an invitation to minister to that society for a
time.
In all men of originality there is an element of surprise.
As in the case of Smith, so in the case of Williams men
were startled and perplexed by some of the singular
^ Conjectured to be the son of James Williams, merchant taylor, of London
and his wife Alice. Entered Pembroke College, June 29, 1623. Married
Mary Warnard. In 1629 chaplain to Sir Wm. Masham, in Essex. His
eldest daughter Mary bora at New Plymouth, 1633.
348
Williams at Plymouth
opinions he vented. He early protested against the
tendency in New England to identify Church and State
and make civic rights dependent upon Church member-
ship. The ' Church ' in his opinion was a holy and sacred
society separated entirely from the world. So holy were
all its spiritual and religious actions (and he counted the
taking an oath as a religious act) that no unregenerate
person ought to be allowed or required to participate in
them. To do so was to debase religion which, in its expres-
sion, should be voluntary and spontaneous. Together
with this high doctrine of the sanctity of the gathered
Church Roger Williams held firmly to the principle of
religious liberty for all citizens who did not endanger the
good of the commonwealth. These views made him
obnoxious to some in Salem, so he moved on to Plymouth.
Of Williams in the Old Colony, Bradford gives a
kindly account. " Roger Williams," he says, " a man
godly and zealous, having many precious parts, but very
unsettled in judgment, came over first to the Massachusetts,
upon some discontent left the place and came hither
where he was freely entertained according to our poor
ability, and exercised his gifts among us and after some
time was admitted a member of the church and his
teaching well approved, for the benefit whereof I still
bless God and am thankful to him even for his sharpest
admonitions and reproofs so far as they agree with the
truth."
Williams remained here for nearly three years.
During that time he would have ample opportunity of
inquiring into the origin of the Plymouth Church and
learning something of its history, principles and
founders. He here gained a fuller knowledge of John
349
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Smith's opinions, "although^ I knew him not," he says,
" and have heard of many points in which my conscience
tells me it pleased the Lord to leave him to himself : yet
I have also heard by some whose testimony Mr. Cotton
will not easily refuse, that he was a man fearing God."
At Plymouth we are told that Roger Williams was
" well accepted as an assistant in the ministry to Mr.
Ralph Smith, then pastor of the church there, but by
degrees venting of divers of his own singular opinions
and seeking to impose them upon others he, not finding
such a concurrence as he expected, desired his dismission
to the church of Salem." Bradford tells us he left the
friends at Plymouth ** something abruptly." Being well
received by his old associates at Salem and having an
opportunity for useful service among them, he applied to
the Church at Plymouth in which he stood as a member
for " dismission to the church at Salem." There were some
unwilling to grant this request. There was an engaging
and attractive element in Williams's character which
drew men to him, and those who had become attached
to him did not want to lose him from their fellowship.
But Brewster with his long experience of men and affairs
saw in him a similarity of disposition to his old acquaint-
ance John Smith, and recognized that he had embarked
on the same course of inquiry which had led Smith to
renounce infant baptism and adopt the principles of full
religious liberty. I dare say he told him so and this
would make Williams all the more eager to understand
exactly what John Smith's opinions were.
The course of events is thus detailed. " Through the
1 Mr. Cotton's letter examined ... by Roger Williams, 1644. See
The Bloody Tenmt of Persecution, Hans. Knollys Society, p. 391.
William Brewster's Advice
prudent counsel of Mr. Brewster, the ruling elder there,
fearing that his continuance amongst them might cause
divisions and there being many abler men in the Bay
they would better deal with him than themselves could,
and foreseeing what he professed he feared concerning
Mr. Williams which afterwards came to pass, that he
would run the same course of rigid separation and
anabaptistry which Mr. John Smith the se-baptist at
Amsterdam had done, the church at Plymouth consented
to his dismission and such as did adhere to him were
also dismissed, and removed with him, or not long after,
to Salem." There were those therefore so devoted to
him that they were prepared to follow him in order to
enjoy his ministry and society. Samuel Skelton, pastor
of Salem, died on August 2, 1634, and the Church shortly
after called Williams to office and proceeded to ordain
him in spite of a request from " the prudent magistrates
of the Massachusetts jurisdiction " that they should not
do so.
Differences soon arose between him and the magis-
trates. He spoke contemptuously of the King's Patent
by which the Bay Colonists claimed right to the country.
He argued that King Charles had no right to grant lands
which belonged to the Indians, and that it was far better
to obtain them by direct treaty and purchase without
suing to the Crown. He spoke strongly for an absolute
separation from the Church of England. He taught
** that there should be a general and unlimited toleration
of all religions and for any man to be punished for any
matters of his conscience was persecution." These and
other points in his teaching alarmed the ministers and
magistrates of the Bay Colony. They were as yet
351
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
wholly unprepared for a full religious toleration. John
Cotton was amazed that any one should say the civil
magistrate ought not to interfere in a way of civil
justice with Churches which fell into *' arianism, papism^
familism or other heresies." The colonial court accord-
ingly pronounced sentence of banishment against
Williams (October 9, 1635).^ This course was taken as
an act of self protection. Williams at once withdrew
from all communion with the Churches in the Bay and
began to make preparations for a new settlement which
he had long had in mind where full religious liberty should
be allowed. Meanwhile he held religious meetings with
his friends and partisans at his own house " on the Lord's
days in private." The authorities heard of his doings
and the Court at Boston, on January 11, 1636, ordered
his immediate deportation to England on a vessel then
preparing to sail. Williams got wind of this order and,
acting on a friendly hint from Governor Winthrop, quietly
slipped away and steered his course for Narragansett
Bay. After some wanderings and an abortive attempt
at planting in Seekonk on the Pawtucket River, which he
had to give up because he had there " fallen into the
edge " of the bounds of Plymouth colony, he pitched
near the mouth of the Mohassuck River where he founded
the town of Providence. Here he bought land from the
Indians. Here he maintained a place of refuge for the
persecuted. Here he set up a civil state in which full
freedom was allowed to all in the things of God. " I
desired," he says " it might be for a shelter for persons
distressed for conscience."
It speaks well for Williams that he was followed to
1 As to Roger Williams, by Dexter, Boston, 1876, p. 144.
The First Baptist Church in America
Providence " by ^ many of the members of the church at
Salem, who did zealously adhere to him and who cried
out of the persecution that was against him, some also
resorted to him from other parts." In a few years' time
he took another step which again reminds us of the case
of John Smith. " They had not been long there together
but from rigid separation they fell to anabaptistry
renouncing the baptism which they had received in their
infancy and taking up another baptism and so began a
church in that way." ^ This was in March, 1639. The
question of how they should assume baptism presented
itself to them as it had done to Smith and Helwys in
Holland. In America there were no known Baptists.
Williams and his friends avoided the act of self-baptism
which had brought such a storm of criticism upon John
Smith by appointing Ezekiel Holliman, one of their
number, to first baptize Mr. Williams, who then baptized
Holliman and ten others. Thus the first American
Baptist Church was set up.
Up to now the name of Roger Williams had been
retained on the list of members of the Salem Church,
but when news of his baptism came through to Salem
the Church there, now under the care of Hugh Peters,
excommunicated him and his wife with eight others.
This was not the end of his religious progress. " Mr
Williams stopped not there [in Anabaptism] long, for
after some time he told the people that followed him
and joined with him in a new baptism that he was out
of the way himself, and had misled them, for he did not
find that there was any upon earth that could administer
1 New EnglancC's Memorial^ sub anno 1629.
2 Ibid.
353 z
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
baptism, and therefore their last baptism was a nullity,
as well as their first, and therefore they must lay down
all, and wait for the coming of new apostles ; and so
they dissolved themselves and turned Seekers, keeping
that one principle, that every one should have liberty to
worship God according to the light of their own
consciences ; but otherwise not owning any churches or
ordinances of God anywhere upon earth." ^
In June, 1643, Williams visited England at the request
of the people of Rhode Island and Providence to obtain
a charter. He succeeded in this object, and secured a
charter with wide powers on March 14, 1644, for the
*' Providence Plantations in the Narragansett Bay."
Under this charter a " democratical " civil government
was set up by the colonists and religious liberty secured.
This new state prospered under the wise and tolerant
direction of Williams. His character ripened with the
years, and he succeeded in winning the respect and
esteem of former antagonists. At length the General
Court of Boston revoked the sentence of banishment
and removed the ''sentence of restraint" which had
debarred him from trading in the Bay Colony for many
years.
When Williams came over to England in 1644 he
sought out the friends of John Murton and Thomas
Helwys. Like seeks like. When he visited the home-
land a second time on colonial business, late in 1651,
Williams made a longer stay, and on this occasion also
sought out men of kindred mind, such as Thomas
Harrison, John Milton and Henry Lawrence. Nor did
he harbour any bitter feelings against Hugh Peters for
^ New England's Memorial y sub anno 1629.
354
Covenant or Baptism
the excommunication laid on him by Salem Church.
He frequently went down to Lambeth to visit that
trenchant political preacher who now held a foremost
place in the Councils of the State. These men would
talk together of the principles of religious liberty, and so
the leaven spread and worked among an ever increasing
number of English-speaking people. Returning to
Providence in the summer of 1654, Williams continued
in the colony till his death at a good old age in 1683.
He was buried in a spot of his own choosing not far
from where he first landed.
It is clear that out of the old Separatist movement of
the time of Elizabeth and James there had issued two
main streams of religious activity which now flowed on
in different channels. On the one hand were the
Churches which constituted themselves by means of a
voluntary covenant, on the other hand were those
which regarded baptism on confession of faith as the
means for constituting a true Church and the way for
admission to its fellowship. These two types were now
represented on both sides of the Atlantic. In the
origin of both John Smith, at different stages in his
career, had taken a prominent part, and this was not
entirely forgotten. We find one author when writing of
Independency calling Smith "the great leader in this
new way."^ He had done pioneer work in the cause 01
Church reform according to the Independent model, and
then *' turned Anabaptist." Those are the words of
Thomas Lambe, who first came into prominence through
preaching to a Separatist congregation in his native
1 Lambe, Fresh Sniie against Independency^ p. 37, quoted by Evans, i.,
p. 219. For Thos. Lambe, see the article in the Dictionary of Nationat
Biog7-aphy^ by Rev. A. Gordon.
355 Z2
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
Colchester, where he would be in a position to get first-
hand information as to Smith from those who had
known him.
There was a close interaction between the New
England Churches and the more advanced Puritans in
Old England in the middle decades of the seventeenth
century. The Puritans at home were surprised to find
how closely the ministers of New England approached
the positions taken up by John Robinson and John
Smith. The pastors and teachers in New England
were restricted to their own Churches for the perform-
ance of such ministerial acts as celebrating the Lord's
Supper and baptism, though they were allowed to preach
in other religious societies than their own, since
preaching was not regarded as a peculiarly ministerial
duty. This was the position of the Separatists. Our
old friend " Master Bernard " sent over to the ministers
in Am.erica some criticisms on their practice of requiring
all Church members to engage in a "covenant," and the
" Elders in New England " found a champion for their
cause in Richard Mather (1596 — 1669) minister of
Dorchester, New England, who sent back to Bernard in
1639 an " Apologie for Church Covenant." In the next
year Mather replied on behalf of the "Elders of the
severall Churches in New England " to two-and-thirty
questions sent over " by divers ministers in England to
declare their judgments " about " Church Government
and Church Covenant." When Hugh Peters came
back to England from Salem he put these treatises by
Mather to the press.^ The fourth question in this series
1 Church Government and Church Covenant discussed, etc.^ 1643,
pp. 1-84 and 1-78.
Independents and Baptists
touches on a point with which we have dealt in the
preceding pages : —
" Whethur you doe not hold that Baptisme rightly (for substance)
partaked doth make them that are so Baptized members of
the Visible Church, and so to have right (at least, quoad nos) to all
the priviledges thereof (so f arre as they are otherwise fit) until they
be cast out (if they so deserve) by excommunication ? "
In the course of his reply to this question Mather
shows that the New England ministers were well aware
of the part played by Smith and Helwys in originating
the English Baptist Church.
"It is an opinion,"^ he says, " of the Anabaptists that the
Church is made by Baptisme and therefore when they constitute
or erect a Church they do it by being all of them baptized,
which was the manner of Mr. Smith, Mr. Helwis and the rest of
that company when they set up their Church. . . . But we do
not believe that Baptisme doth make men members of the Church
nor that it is to be administered to them that are without the
Church as the way and means to bring them in, but to them that
are within the Church as a seal to confirm the Covenant of God
unto them."
The two types of Church here indicated were by this
time well known in the American Colonies, and also in
Holland. Religious refugees returning to the mother-
land after the outbreak of the Civil War brought with
them their new ideas of Church order, and reinforced the
little companies of kindred souls which had bravely
faced and weathered the storms of persecution at home.
Having tasted the sweets of liberty they were in no
mood to put their necks again under a yoke of bondage.
They had experienced the holy joy of a voluntary
submission to the easy yoke of Christ and a willing
1 Church Government and Covenant discussed^ p. 12.
357
Smith, Helwys and Baptist Origins
obedience to his gracious discipline. Thus there
sprang into being the two great sections of the Christian
Church known as the Congregationalists and the
Baptists. From small beginnings they have grown in
numbers and influence. They have done a wholesome
and helpful work in Christendom.
If the founders of those Churches were too absolute in
their judgments and too certain that they had in their
grip all the truth of God, that was a fault of their age.
Men of strong conviction, resolute men, were needed to
shake off the load of formality under which the Christian
faith had in course of time been burdened. The
evident sincerity of these men, their loyalty to conviction,
their piety, their quick response to the calls of conscience,
their passion for righteousness and their moral fervour,
commend them to the loving regard of their successors.
They must be judged by the standard of the times in
which they lived and with reference to the circumstances
in which they were placed. They contributed not a
little to the development of both the civil and religious
life of the English-speaking people. Their ideas in
many directions were fruitful of beneficial results to the
whole body politic when embodied in practical legislation.
Some of the rites and practices for which these
pioneers contended as essential are now seen to be
relatively unimportant. The two great Churches which
honour them as shapers of their early history are steadily
drawing closer together, allowing to the particular
Churches in each section a wide liberty in ordering their
own affairs. This does not mean that the work of those
pioneers was labour lost. It means that men have
moved on to a different stage in the history of religious
358
A Fresh Outlook
thought, whence the outlook is far more extensive than
in the seventeenth century, and where matters relating
to Church order are seen in a different perspective.
New problems concerning the application of Christian
principles to the social life of man are rising into view,
new channels for the working of religious forces are
being opened up. But the present springs out of the
past. The work of one age rests upon all that has been
accomplished in preceding times. From a contempla-
tion of the past, heart and hope may be drawn for the
work of to-day. The Anabaptist visionary pointed to a
better social order for the common man. The task of
giving actuality to that vision in these days absorbs the
religious energies of many of the finest minds amongst
us. Though our outlook is different from that of the
early Separatists, we none the less honour the memory
of such men as John Smith and John Robinson, Thomas
Helwys and Richard Clifton, John Murton and Roger
Williams. They were men of vision. In some respects
their vision was narrow, but it was intense and compel-
ling. According to the measure of light that was given
to them they were valiant workers for the Kingdom of
God.
359
INDEX
Abbot, Archbishop, 341
Actsof Supremacy and Uniformity,
17
Ainsworth, Henry, 41, 79, 98, 123 ;
on Church elders, 134, 155 ; his
psalms, 174 ; 257, 260 ; attacks
baptists, 318 ; death "from that
sore perplexing and tedious
disease of the stone," see the
Epistle by Sabine Staresmore
prefixed to Notes of M. Henry
Aynsworth his last sermon, printed
1630, 318
Almsgiving, 142, 256
America, first Church of, 346
Ames, Wm., 22 ; his Manuduction,
315
Amsterdam, 120, 147, 168, 194,
331
Anabaptists, 147 ; Dutch, 158 ;
Frisian, 226 ; English, 305 ; on
religious liberty, 290 ; corre-
spond with Mennonites, 328 ;
refugees, 337
Anglican settlement, 17 ; baptism,
285
Arminians, 187, 233
Askham, 108
Babworth, 148
Bancroft, Richard, 64
Baptism, treatise on, 310, note ;
plea for infant, 149
Baptismal formula, note, 164
Baptist Church, first in England,
282 ; in America, 353
Baptists, General and Particular,
223
Baptizing, mode of, 160 ; meaning
of, 326
Barrowe, Henry, 25, 172, 286
Barwell, Edmund, 44
Basford, 113, 116, 264
Bernard, Richard, 29; opposes
Smith, 71 ; account of, 74 — 6 ;
conforms, 78 ; laments the
separation, 117
Bilborough, Notts., 113, 114
Black well, Francis, 339
Blunt, Richard, 161 — 2
Bocher, Joan, 177
Boston, New England, 348
Bowes, Sir Wm., 225
Boys, Edward and Thomasine, 34
Bradford, Wm., 33, 46, 81, 342
Bradshaw, Wm., 44
Brewster, William, 63, 93 — 4, 338,
351
Bromehead, Hugh, 167 ; letter
from, 169 ; curate, 173, 188
Browne, Robert, 25
Brownist movement, 23 ; name,
26
Broxtowe, 79, 107, 113
Busher, Mark Leonard, 162, 185,
291
Caffyn, Matthew, 177
Calvin, 209, 308
Calvinism rejected, 177
Cambridge, 19 ; controversy at,
30. 44
Canada, 37
Cartwright, Thomas, 20, 32, 44
Catholics Roman, toleration of,
252, 284, 304
Christ's College, 29, 44, 74
Church-covenants, 82 ; Gains-
borough-Scrooby covenant, 85
of London Separatists, 85, note
of the Jacob-Jessey Church, 89
in New England, 347
361
Index
Clapham, Enoch or Henoch, ii8,
147, 259, 335, note
Clifton, Richard, 13 148; defends
infant baptism, 151
Colchester, 299, 310
Collegianten, 162
Confession of Faith, 200, 241, seq.
Congregationalists, 11, 358
Cotton, John, 95, 237, 307, 347
Coventry, 69, 72, 73, note
Dalby, Rev. Wm., M.A., 52
Declaration of Faith, by Helwys,
212
Discipline, 96
Dort, Synod of, 233, 316
Drew, Joseph, 275, 336 ; John,
116, 336
Elders, pov^er of, 135, seq.^ all of
one rank, 141
Elizabeth, Queen, 14, 15
Elwes, see Helwys.
Endicott, John, 342
Excommunication, 96, 253
Family of love, 157, 322
Feet- washing, ceremony of, 253,
289
Fenner, Dudley, 33, 260
Fox, George, 198, 295
Frankfort, religious refugees at, 18
Free will, 224, 233, 312
Fuller, Samuel, 172, 342
Gainsborough, 63, 82, 96, 297
Gerritts, Lubbert, 188, 193
Gott, Charles, 344
Grantham, Thomas, 166, 310, note
Greenwood, John, 11,69
Grindal, Swithin, 272—3
Hall, Joseph, 28, 118, 156
Hamerton, Nicholas, 115 ; Wil-
liam, 169
Helwys, Anne, 112 ; Edmund, no ;
will of. III ; Geoffrey, 109, 281,
289; Gervase, 113, 281; Joan
94, 114, 116, 289; Richard, 108;
Robert, 108 ; William, 109
Helwys, Thomas, 79 ; parentage,
112 ; separates from the Church,
116; becomes a Baptist, 146;
parts from Smith, 179 ; warns
Mennonites, 189 ; issues a " De-
claration of Faith," 204 ; differs
from Brownists, 207 ; verbal
dependence on Smith, 216 ;
discusses succession, 229 ;
answered by Smith, 261 ; dedi-
cation to King, 277 ; returns to
England, 281 ; on bishops, 283 ;
controversy with Robinson,
285 ; pleads for liberty of con-
science, 294 ; 357
Higginson, Francis, 343, 346, note
Hildersham, Arthur, 29, 66 — 8, 73,
346, note
Hodgkin, Alexander, 187, 297,
336 ; Jane, 298
Holliman, Ezekiel, 353
Hunter, Joseph, 12, 167, 173, note
Incarnation, doctrine of, 177,
179, 214, 330
Immersion introduced, 161
Ireton, John, rector of Kegworth,
67
Jacob, Henry, 89, 161
James Stuart, King, 64, 277
Jepson, Wm., 298, note
Jessey, Henry, 161
Jessop, Edmund, attacks Baptists,
320 ; Thomas, 116
Johnson, Francis, 25, tutor of
Smith, 30; sermon by, 31;
becomes a Separatist, 33 ; mar-
riage, 34 ; voyage to America,
38 ; takes refuge in Holland,
41 ; opposes Smith, 160 ; de-
meanour of, 235 ; opposes
Anabaptists, 309 ; death, 338
Johnson, George, prisoner in the
Fleet, 34; his rashness, 38;
362
Index
describes voyage, 39 ; crosses
to Amsterdam, 41
Joppe, James, letter of, 335
Kampen, 35
Knox, John, 225, 293
Lathrop, John, 90
Laud, Wm., 336, 341
Laymen may baptize, 305
Leeuwarden, 192, 195
Legate, Bartholomew, 299
Leicester, 343
Leigh, Charles, 37, 40
Leyden, 162, 338, 343, 345
Lincoln, 47, 62, 336
Locke, John, 292
Luddington, Thos., 46, 52
Magistracy, 218, 255, 335
Marriage, 242, 255, 340
Mather, Richard, 356
Mayflower, 302, 339
Mennonites, 172 ; treat with
English, 186; their Short Con-
fession, 189 ; admit Smith's
followers, 271
Middelburg, 33, 148
More, Sir Thos., 291
Murton, Jane, 297 — 9
Murton, John, 84; in Holland
and London, 281 ; imprisoned,
281 ; marriage, 297 ; literary
activity, 303 ; view as to the
Bible, 307 ; controversy with
Robinson, 311 ; baptized by
Smith, 325
Naarden, 36
Naunton, Sir Robert, 309
Nevile, Gervase, 94, 231
Newhouse, Thos., 44
Oaths, lawful, 219, 335
Officers of the Church, 103
Orders, Anglican, renounced, 43,
92, 315
PiGGOTT, Thos., 187, 240
Penry, John, 25, 35
Peters, Hugh, 353—4, 35^
Perkins, Wm., 29, 44, 82, 209
Pilgrim Fathers, Church of, 12,
38. 81, 171, 347
Plymouth, New England, 340 ;
reaction on Puritans, 344
Prophesyings, 20
Puritans, 19 ; oppose separation,
22 ; appeal to James, 64 ; their
ideal, 66
Redemption, general, 223
Religious liberty, 290 — 296
Ries Hans de, 192, 194, 227, 272,
274. 331
Robinson, John, 79 ; attitude
towards Anglicans, 96; begin-
ning of his Church, 84 ; election
as pastor, 97; at Leyden, 141 ;
criticises Smith, 237 ; justifies
flight, 280 ; defends Anglican
baptism, 286 ; opposes Anabap-
tists, 314 ; parentage, 317 ;
pastor of Pilgrim Church, 339.
Sacraments, 16; not essential,
198 ; nature of, 253
Scrooby, 13, 82, 93, 98, 117, 316,
345
Se-baptist, origin of the term, 155
Separation, date of, 81
Separatist Covenant, 85 ; mani-
festo, 173
Service, Order of, 171, 174
Servetus, Michael, 293, 308
Sheffield, Edmund, 53
Singing in church, 174
Skelton, Samuel, 343
Socinus Faustus, 163
Smith, Francis, 310
Smith. John, importance of his
work, 12 ; at Cambridge, 28 ;
elected Fellow, 42 ; ordained,
43 ; a Puritan, 45 ; lecturer at
Lincoln, 46 ; first book, 47 ;
lectures on Lord's Prayer,
54 ; on persecution, 58 ; his
363
Index
doubting, 66 ; conference with
Puritans, 69 ; rebukes Bernard,
77 ; pastor of Church at Gains-
borough, 82 ; migration to
Amsterdam, 95 ; on Church
officers, 102 ; independency, 105 ;
at Broxtowe, 114 ; dispute with
Johnson, 120 ; view of Scrip-
tures, 127 ; on the eldership,
135 ; democratic, 139 ; on the
treasury, 143 ; becomes a
Baptist, 146 ; baptizes himself,
^53< 325 ; advances to Armini-
anism, 176 ; excommunicated
by Helwys, 183 ; worships with
Dutch, 196 ; personal Con-
fession, 200 ; last days, 235 ;
Confession of Faith, 241 ; last
book, 257 ; influence of his
ideas, 347
Smith, Mary, 47, 187, 267
Smith, Ralph, 172, 343, 350
Smith, Richard, 266, note
Smith, William, 25
Studley, Daniel, 37, 41
Sturton-le-Steeple, 82, 317
Succession, doctrine of, 229, 254,
261
Suffolk, Separatists in, 93 note,
289
Tithes, 67
Tiverton, 273, 335
Tookey, Elias, 181, 329, 331 — 2
Translations of Scripture, value
of, 127
Travers, Walter, 29, 44
Trinity, doctrine of, 178, 181,
212, 214, 332
Tunstal, Yorks, 272 — 3
Unction, practice of, 289
Unitarian Baptists, 163
Virginia, 338 — 9
Visible Church, principles of, 99,
seq.
Ward, Samuel, 43, 266, note
Wheatley, North and South, 82,
167, 173
White, Alexander, Eleanor,
Bridget, 317
White, John, of Dorchester, 341
White, Thomas, 88, note, 259
Whitgift, John, 21, 67
Wickham, William, Bishop, 43
Wiclif, 23
Wilkinson, John, 299 ; contro-
versy with Murton, 300 — 302
Williams, Roger, 172, 238, 308
347—55.
Wilson, John, Rev., 171
Winslow, Edward, 90, 342, 347
Winthrop, John, 171
Worksop, 75, 82
Wray, Sir Wm., 48, 63, 74, 225
Note.
The books and documents referred to in the foregoing pages are
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material. The Early English Baptists, by Benjamin Evans, 2 vols.,
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23
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CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 27
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28
JAMES CLARKE AND CO.'S
Index of Titles
PAGE
Abbey Mill, The . . . 17
Adrift on the Black Wild Tide 16
America in the East . . 6
Ancient Musical Instruments . 20
Angels of God, The . .21
Animal Gambols . . .23
Animal Playtime . • ,23
Anne Killigrew . • . 4
Apocalyptical Writers, The
Messages of the
Apostles, The Messages of the
Applied Christianity
Aspects of the Spiritual
Asquith, TheRight Hon. H. H.,
M.P
At the Gates of the Dawn
Atonement and Progress
Atonement in Modern Thought,
The ... .
Aunt Agatha Ann
Authority & the Light Within
Awe of the New Century, The .
Baptist Handbook, The
Baptist Manual of the Order
and Administration of a
Church, A
Barrow, Henry, Separatist
Beads of Tasmer, The . 1 1
Between Two Loves . 11
Bible Definition of Religion,
The .
Birthday of Hope, The
Bishop and the Caterpillar, The
Black Familiars, The .
Border Shepherdess, A .
Bow of Orange Ribbon, The
18:
Britain's Hope
Brudenells of Brude, The
Burning Questions
Canonbury Holt . .
Cartoons of St. Mark .
Challenge, The . ,
Character through Inspiration
Chats with Women on Every
day Subjects .
Children's Pace, The
Children's Paul, The .
Christ and Everyday Life
Christ of the Children, The
Christ that is To Be, The
Christ, The Private Relation
ships of
Christ Within. The
Christ's Pathway to the Cross
11
U
26
7
7
22
16
8
26
16
25
15
19
2
18
27
25
26
25
17
11
27
20
17
20
17
5
14
21
18
10
17
13
17
10
5
21
18
PAOB
Christian Baptism • . 22
Christian Certitude • . 7
Christian Life, The . 21, 26
Christian of To-day, The . 7
Christian World Pulpit, The . 6
Christianity in Common Speech 25
Chrystabel . . . 11, 17
Church and Modern Life, The 8
Church and the Kingdom, The 20
Church and the Next Genera-
tion, The . . .16
Church Questions of our Time 12
Cinderella . . . 3, 17
City of Delight, The . . 4
Comforts of God, The . . 22
Common Life, The . . 9
Common -sense Christianity . 18
Conquered World, The . 21, 26
Conquering Prayer . .13
Continuation Schools from a
Higher Point of View . 26
Counter-attractions to the
Public-house , .26
Courage of the Coward, The . 9
Crucible of Experience, The . 18
Daughter of Fife, A . 11, 18, 27
Debt of the Damerals, The . 18
Divine Satisfaction, The . 26
Do We Need a New Theology ? 22
Dutch in the Medway, The . 10
Earlier Prophets, The Messages
of the . . . . 11
Earliest Christian Hymn, The 15
Early Pupils of the Spirit . 17
Education of a Soul, The , 13
Emilia's Inheritance . .17
England's Danger , .26
Epistle to the Galatians, The . 15
Esther Wynne . . 11, 17
Eternal Religion, The . . 9
Evangelical Heterodoxy . 7
Evolution of Old Testament
Religion, The . . 8
Exposition, The Art of ,
Ezeidel, The Book of . .2
Faces in the Mist. • ,4
Faith and Form . . .18
Faitli and Verification . , 5
Faith of a Wayfarer, The . 13
Faith the Beginning, Self-Sur-
render the Fuifihnent, of
the Spiritual Life . 21, 29
Family Prayers for Morning Use 1
Father Fabian , . .17
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS
29
Fifty Years' Reminisoenoes of a
Free Church Musician . 13
Fireside Fairy Tales . . i'3
First Christians, The . . 9
Flower-o'-the-Com . 3, 17
Forgotten Sheaf, The . . 20
Fortune's Favourite . .17
Fortune^? of Cyril Denham, The
17, 27
Fragments of Thought . .10
" Freedom of Faith " Series,
The . . . .18
Friend Olivia ... 4
Gamble with Life, A . .10
Garrisoned Soul, The . . 22
Gloria Patri ... 10
Glorious Company of the
Apostles, The . .16
God's Greater Britain . . 10
Golden Truths for Yovmg Folk 23
Good New Times, The . .15
Gospel of Grace, The . . 8
Grey and Gold . . 11, 17
Grey House at Endlestone . 17
Growing Revelation, The . 6
Harvest Gleanings . . 1^
Health and Home Nursing . 23
Health in the Home Life . l3
Heart of Jessy Laurie, The , 4
Heartsease in the Family . 12
Heavenly Visions . . 6
Heirs of Errington, The . .17
Helen Bury . . . .12
Helps to Health and Beauty . 24
Higher on the Hill . . 6
His Next of Kin . . 11, 17
His Rustic Wife . . .10
History of the United States, A 2
Holidays in Animal Land . 23
Holy Christian Empire . . 27
Holy Spirit, The . . .19
House of Bondage, The . . 17
House of the Secret, The . 4
How to Become Like Christ . 21
How to Read the Bible . . 23
How to Restore the Yeoman-
peasantry of England . 26
Husbands and Wives . .17
Ideals for Girls . . .16
Ideals in Sunday School Teach-
ing .... 19
Immanence of Christ in Modem
Life, The . . .13
Impregnable Faith, An . . 13
Incarnation of the Lord, The 5
Industrial Exploring^ in and
around London . .10
Infoldings and Unfoldings of
the Divine Genius .
Inner Mission Leaflets, The .
Inner Mission Pamphlets, The
Inspiration in Common Life .
Interludes in a Time of Change
Invisible Companion, The .
Inward Light, The
Israel's Law Givers, The
Messages of .
Jan Vedder's Wife . 18,
Jealousy of God, The .
Jesus and His Teaching .
Jesus or Christ ? .
Jesus : Seven Questions
Jesxis, The First Things of .
Jesus, The Messages of. Accord-
ing to the Gospel of John
Jesus, The Messages of. Accord-
ing to the Synoptista
Joan Carisbroke . , 11,
Job and His Comforters .
Joshua, The Book of
Judges of Jesus, The .
Judges, The Book of
Kid McGhie . . . 3,
Kingdom of the Lord Jesus,
The . . .21,
Kit Kennedy : Country Boy 3,
Lady Clarissa
Last of the MacAUisters, The
11.
Later Prophets, The Messages
of the ....
Leaves for Quiet Hours .
Let us Pray ....
Letters of Christ, The .
Liberty and Religion . ,
Life and Letters of Alexander
Mackennal, The .
Life and Teaching of Jesus,
Notes on the
Life and the Ideal
Life, Faith, and Prayer of the
Chxirch
Life in His Name.
Life's Beginnings .
Lifted Veil, A . , .
Loves of Miss Anne, The 3,
Lynch, Rev. T. T. : A Memoir
Lsnrics of the Soul
Making of Heaven and Hell,
The ....
Making o: Personality, The .
Manual for Free Church Minis-
ters, A .
Margaret Torrlngton . 17,
21
20
16
18
7
18
9
11
27
21
8
19
8
7
11
11
17
16
3
16
3
17
17
17
18
11
14
20
18
14
19
6
22
7
12
13
17
6
13
19
6
19
27
80
JAMES CLARKE AND CO.'S
Martineau'a Study of Religion
21.
Maud Bolingbroke
Merry Animal Picture Book
The
Messages of Hope . .
Messages of the Bible, The
Millicent Kendrick . 11
Ministry of the Modern
Church, The .
Miss Devereux, Spinster
Model Prayer, The
Modem Minor Prophets
Modern Theories of Sin.
More Tasty Dishes
Morning and Evening Cries
Morning Mist, A .
Morning, Noon, and Night
Momington Lecture, The
Mr. Montmorency's Money 1 1
My Baptism
My Belief i t i
My Neighbour and God .
New Evangel, The
New Mrs. Lascelles, The
New Testament in Modern
Speech, The .
Nineteen Hundred t
Nobly Bom . ,
Nonconformist Church Build
ings
Old Pictures in Modem Frames
Oliver Cromwell , ,
Oliver Westwood . .
Our City of God .
Our Girls' Cookery
Ourselves and the Universe
Outline Text Lessons for
J\mior Classes
Overdale . . .11
Passion for Souls, The .
Paton, J. B., M.A., D.D.
Paul and Christina
Paul, The Messages of .
Pearl Divers of Roncador
Reef, The .
Personality of Jesus, The
Pilot, The .
Plain Talks .
Poems. By Mme. Guyon
Poems of Mackenzie Bell, The
Polychrome Bible, The .
Popular Argument for the
Unity of Isaiah, A .
Popular History of the Free
Churches, A .
Practical Lay Preaching and
Speaking to Men .
26
12
23
8
11
17
13
18
16
12
7
24
15
18
24
5
17
16
8
14
13
18
14
10
17
15
21
24
17
9
25
27
23
17
18
6
11
11
10
12
14
22
12
14
3
15
14
14
Practical Points in Popular
Proverbs
Prayer
Preaching to the Times .
Price of Priesrtoraft, The
Pride of the Family, The
Problems of Immanence
Problems of Living
Prophetical and Priestly His
torians, The Messages of
Psalmists, The Messages of the
Purpose of the Cross, The
Quickening of Caliban, The
Quiet Hints to Growing
Preachers in My Study
Race and Religion
Reasonable View of Life, A ,
Reasonableness of Jesus, The
Reasons Why for Congrega
tionalists
Reasons Why for Free Church
men ...
Reform in Sunday School
Teaching
Religion and Experience
Religion and Miracle .
Religion of Jesus, The ,
Religion that will Wear, A
ResiStant Greek Testament,
The
Rights of Man, The
Rise of Philip Barrett, The
Robert Wretord's Daughter
Rogers, J. Guinness
Rome from the Inside .
Rosebud Annual, The .
Rose of a Hundred Leaves, A
Ruling Ideas of the Present
Age
Sceptre Without a Sword, The
School of Calvary, The
School Hymns . .12
Scourge of God, The
Sculptors of Life
Secondary Education for the
Industrial Classes, &c.
Sermon Illustration, The Art
of
Seven Puzzling Bible Books
She Loved a Sailor
Ship of the Soul, The . 21
Ship's Engines, The
Sidelights on New Testament
Research
Sidelights on Religion .
Simple Cookery .
Simple Things of the Christian
Life, The
18
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS
31
Singlehurst Maaor . 11, 17
Bissio . . . . 11, 17
Sister to Epau, A . . 11, 18
Small Books on Great Subjects
21, 26
Social Questions of the Day . 26
Social Salvation ... 6
Social Worship an Everlasting
Necessity . . 21, 26
Songs of Joy and Faith . 13
Squire of Sandal Side/fhe 11, 18
St. Beetha's . 11, 17, 27
Storehouse for Preachers and
Teachers . . . 20
Stories of Old , . .17
Story of Congregationalism iix
Surrey, The ... 8
Story of Joseph the Dreamer,
The . . . .16
Story of Penelope, The . .17
Story ot the F^nglish Baptists,
The . ^ . . . 9
Studies c/i the Soul . 9, 27
Sunday Afternoon Song Book
22, 27
Sunday Morning Talks with
Boys and Girls . .15
Sunny Memories of Australasia 20
Supreme Argiunent for Chris-
tianity, The . . .21
Tale of a Telephone, A . .26
Talks to Little Folks . . 24
Taste of Death and the Life of
Grace, The . . 21, 26
Tasty Dishes . . .24
Ten Commandments, The . 15
Theology and Truth . . 5
Theophilus Trinal, Memorials of 5
Things Most Surely Believed . 13
PAGE
. 17
8
4
6
. 18
8
. 20
. 12
. 21
Thomycroft Hall .
Thoughts for Life's Journey
Through Science to Faith
Tools and the Man
Town Romance, A
Transfigured Church, The
Trial and Triumph
True Christ, The
Types of Christian Life .
Unemployable and the Unem-
ployed, The . . . 26
UngiJdedGold . . 13, 19
Unique Class Chart and
Register . . .27
Unknown to Herself . .18
Value of the Apocrypha, The . 1 8
Value of the Old Testament . 16
Vida 3
Violet Vaughan . 11, 17, 27
Voice from China, A . ,8
Warleigh's Trust . . .17
Way of Life, The . . .21
Wayside Angels . . .24
Web of Circumstance, The • 4
Westminster Sermons . . 7
Who Wrote the Bible ? . .19
WhyWeBeUeve ... 14
Wideness of God's Mercy, The 18
Winningof Immortality, The. 7
Woman's Patience, A . .17
Women and their Saviour . 22
Women and their Work . 19
Words by the Wayside . . 20
Working Woman's Life, A . 8
Woven of Love and Glory 11, 18
Yoimg Man's Ideal, A .12
Yoimg Man's Religion, A . 15
Index of Authors
PAGE
Abbott, Lyman 4, 8
Adeney, W. F. 8, 23
Aked, C. F. .9
AlUn, T. . . 20
Andom, R. . . 10
Andrews, C. C. . 18
Angus, AH.. 19
Antram, C. E. P. . 22
Armstrong, R. A.
. 21, 26
Baker, E. . .22
Barr, Amelia E.
4, 11, 18, 27
Barrett, G. S.
Barrows, C. H. .
Becke, Louis
Bell, Mackenzie .
Bennett, W. H. .
Beuvie, Andrew .
Betts, C. H, 10,
Blake, J. M. 18,
Bloundelle-Burton,
J. .
Bosworth, E. I. .
Bradford, Amory H,
6.
PAGE
15
13
Brierley, H. E. .
Brierley, J. 6, 7, 9,
Briggs, C. A.
Brooke, Stopford
A. . . 21,
Brown, C. 6, 18,
Burford, W. K. .
Burgin, Isabel
Campbell, R. J. .
Carlile, J. C. . 9,
Carman, Bliss
Cave, Dr. .
Chick, S. .
22
27
6
26
20
2t
4
8
24
5
8
19
.TAMES CLARKE AND CO.'S CATALOGUE
PAGE
Cleal, E. E. . . 8
Clifford, John 10, 21, 26
CoUins, B. G. .16
Crockett, S. R. 3, 17
Cubitt, Jamea . 15
Cuff, W. . . 20
Darlow, F. H. . 20
Davidson, Gladys. 23
Dods, Marcus 8, 21
Elias, F. . .7
Ellis, J. . 20, 23
Evans. H. . .22
Famingham, Mari-
anne, 8, 10, 13,
16, 19, 22
Farrar, Dean . 8
Fin] ay son, T. Camp-
bell . . 26
Fiske, J. . .2
Forsyth, P. T.
8, 21, 26, 27
Fremantle, Dean. 8
Furness. H. H. . 2
Gibbon, J. Morgan
7, 16
Giberne, Agnes . 18
Gladden, Washington
6, 8, 19, 20
Glover, R. . .22
Godet, Professor . 8
Gordon, George A. 7
Gould, G. P. . 19
Greenhough, J. G.
16, 21
Griffis, W. E. . 6
Griffith -Jones, E. 5, 21
Grubb,E. 16, 19
Gunn, E. H. M. 12, 27
Guy on, Madame . 12
Harnack, Professor 8
Harris, J. Rendel 4
Haupt, P. . .2
Haweis, H. R. . 16
Haycraft, Mrs. . 10
Heddle, Ethel F. . 18
Henson, Canon H.
Hensley . 7, 10
Hill, F. A. . . 2
Hocking, S. K. . 10
Horder, W. Garrett 21
Home, C. Silvester
4, 8, 13, 14, 18, 20
Horton, R. F. 5,
8, 19, 21, 24, 26, 26
Hunter, John 8, 21
"J. B." of The
Chrittian World 25
J. M. G. . . 10
Jefferson, C. E. . 12
PAGK
Jeffs, H. 6, 7, 12,
14, 15
John, Griffith . 8
Jones, J. D. 8, 13,
16, 18, 19, 22, 26
Jowett.J. H. 6, 18, J 9
Kane, James J . . 16
Kennedy, H. A. 22, 27
Kennedy, John . 15
Kent, C. F. .11
Kenyon, Edith C. 18
Lansfeldt, L. .18
La Touohe, E. D. 7
Lee. W. T, . . 14
Leggatt, F. Y. . 19
Lewis, E. W. .18
Llewellyn, D. J. . 20
Lyall, David 4, 15
Lynch, T. T. .5
Lynd, William . 20
Macfadyen, D. . 6
Macfarlane, Charles 10
M'Intyre, D. M. . 7
Mackennal, Alex-
ander . 21, 26
Manners, Mary E. 25
Marchant, Bessie 18
Marchant, J.
Marshall, J. T. . 16
Marshall, N. H. 6, 16
Martinean, Jas. 21, 26
Mason, E. A. . 25
Mather, Lessels , 23
Matheson, George
8, 14, 20, 25
Maver, J. S. . 20
Meade, L. T. . 18
Metcalfe, R. D. . 22
Meyer, F. B. 18, 22
Michael, C. D. . 17
Miller, EUzabeth . 4
Minshall, E. .13
Moore, G. F. . 3
Morgan, G. Camp-
bell . 16, 18
Morten, Honnor . 13
Mountain, J. .16
Munger, T. T. 8, 21
Neilson, H. B. . 23
Orchard, W. E. 7. 8
Palmer, Frederic. 7
Paton, J. B.
12, 16, 20, 22, 26
Peake, A. S. . 20
Pharmaceutical
Chemist, A 24
Picton, J. Allanson 17
Powicke, F. J. . 2
Pringle, A. .19
PAGE
Puis ford, John . 21
Rees, F. A. . . 22
Reid, J. . .7
Rickett, Sir J.
Compton . 10, 25
Riddette, J. H. . 27
Robarts, F. H. . 16
Roberts, J. E. . 22
Roberts, R. .16
Rogers, J. Guin-
ness . . 2
Russell, F. A. . 18
Sabatier, A. . 8
Sanders. F. K. .. 11
Schrenck, E. von 8
Scottish Presbyte-
rian, A . .24
Shakespeare, J, H. 19
Shepherd, J. A. . 23
Sinclair, Archdea-
con . 21, 26
Smyth, Newman . 4
Snell, Bernard J.
8, 16.. 18
Steuart, J. A. . 4
Stevenson, J. G.
13, 14, 16, 17
Stewart, D. M. . 1 ?
Stuart, Duncan . 4
Sutter, Julie . 20
Swan, F. R. . J 3
Swetenham L. , 13
Tarbolton, A. 0. . 16
Thomas, H. Arnold 21
Toy, C. H. . . 2
Tymms, T. V. . 5
Tynan, Katharine 4
Tytler, S- . .18
Varley, H. , .18
Veitch R , 7, 9
Wain, Louis . 23, 26
WalEord, L. B. 4, 17
Walker, W. L. . 12
Warschauer, J.
8, 13, 19
Waters, N. McG. . 15
Watkinson, W. L. 18
Watson, W. 12, 18
Weymouth, R. F.
14, 16
White, W. . ,6
Whiton, J. M.
7, 10, 17, 25
Williams, T. R. . 21
Wilson, P. W. . 14
Wood, J. R. . 19
Worboise, Emma
J. 11, 12, 17, 27
Yates, T. . .13
Wt S^ieaight & Sons, Printert, Fetter Lanie, London, E.C,
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