The blessedness of the death of these that die in the Lord and more…The blessednesse of the death of these that die in the Lord and more…

Are all the very substantial differences betwixt Protestantism and Popery thus dwindled away into mere Modes, and Circumstances, Forms, and Ceremonies? And shall we look on the great multitudes of Protestants, who on the sole account of their Religion have been putt to so many, various, exquisite tortures and most cruel deaths, as a company of silly shallow-pated ridicules, rather to be pitied then as patterns to be imitated, who knew not how to distinguish betwixt the substance and mere modes and circumstances of Religion, but would needs injudiciously and foolishly throw away their lives, burn quick, and run themselves ⟨image 10⟩into so many extreme sufferings, for their obstinate adhering to modes and circumstances of Religion, wherein the substance of it was not at all concerned, nor so much as trenched upon or touched? God forbid that we should dare, especially at so high a rate, to offend against, and condemn the generation of, these righteous persons, who overcame by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their Testimony, and by not loving their lives unto the death; or suffer ourselves to be whidled into such a sinister and perverse belief of these witnesses and worthies, of whom the world was not worthy, and that upon the bare and unproved assertions, and malign whispers, of this truckler after, and trafficker for, Rome; who, yet if ye will trust him, never was, nor is like to be, addicted to Popery, he is not sure but he may be, and who I pray that is not over credulous will believe him, or any other man of his Kidney, that looks at all differences betwixt Protestants and Papists, as matters of mere Mode, Circumstance, and Ceremony, but that he will be easily prevailed with, to forgo the one and to embrace the other Religion, both being in his account the very same for substance, if especially by the change he may come to a little more substance in the world?

Are all the very substantial differences betwixt Protestanisme and Popery thus dwindled away into mere Modes, and Circumstances, Formes, and Ceremonies? And shall we look on the great multituds of Protestants, who on the sole account of their Religion have been putt to so many, various, exquisit tortures and most cruell deaths, as a company of silly shallow-pated ridiculs, rather to be pitied then as paterns to be imitated, who knew not how to distinguish betwixt the substance and mere modes and circumstances of Religion, but would needs injudiciously and foolishly throw away their lives, burne quick, and run themselves ⟨image 10⟩