A defence of Mr. John Cotton from the imputation of self contradiction, charged on…A defence of Mr. John Cotton from the imputation of selfe contradiction, charged on…

Answer 1. Here is indeed a Discrepance in Expressions between the Way, and the Keys. But it was not my Act, that any such Discrepance should have been extant. The truth is, That many years ago, (and some years before the suppressing of the Bishops in England) I was seriously moved by some of our Brethren, and fellow Elders here, to Draw up an Historical Narration of our Church-way together with some familiar grounds of the same briefly. In short time as God Helped, I dispatched it, which when our brethren had perused, I saw they did not close with it. Yet a Brother going for England, got some where a Copy of it, and Presented it to some of the Congregational way there: ⟨p. 37⟩and I afterwards heard, that neither did they close with it: and in particular not with that Passage, which is here recited, as a part of the Contradiction. Which since appeareth more openly, by the Asterisk put upon that Passage, and upon sundry other in the Book: But before I saw that, and had only heard, That they did not fully Accord, I hoped it had met with a timely suppression, rather then an impression: for I heard no more of it, for two, or three years after: Mean while perceiving That one main Point of Dissatisfaction, was the Authority given to the Fraternity, I considered more seriously and Distinctly, of the whole Power of the Keys, and expressed my Apprehensions in that Treatise of the Keys, which our brethren here did well Accept, and so did the brethren (of like Judgment) in England, and some of them were pleased to Attest it with the Preface which is now extant before it: yea I have heard (as well as some other of our Brethren here) by some letters from England, that ⟨p. 38⟩Reverend Mr Rutherford (who was a great Part of the Assembly at Westminster) offered to the Dissenting brethren, That if they would come up to the Treatise of the Keys, themselves would meet them there. But this was sundry years, after the Treatise of the way had been finished, and carried to England, and (as I hoped) suppressed. But it seemeth some Brother there, having got a Copy of it, being zealous of the Authority of the Fraternity, and Perceiving that their Authority was not so fully Acknowledged in the Keys as in the Way; He caused his Copy of the Way (which was indeed abrupt in the entrance, and imperfect otherwise) to be Published in Print:

Answer 1. Here is indeede a Discrepance in Expressions between the Way, and the Keyes. But it was not my Act, that any such Discrepance should have been extant. The truth is, That many yeares agoe, (and some yeares before the suppressing of the Bishops in England) I was seriously moved by some of our Brethren, and fellow Elders here, to Draw up an Historicall Narration of our Church-way together with some familiar grounds of the same briefly. In short time as God Helped, I dispatched it, which when our brethren had perused, I saw they did not close with it. Yet a Brother going for England, got some where a Copy of it, and Presented it to some of the Congregationall way there: