An humble apology for non-conformists with modest and serious reflections on the Friendly debate…

You have dealt with us, as the Jews did with our Blessed Saviour; blindfolded us, & smitten us, & in effect bid us Prophesy who it is that smote us. Some guesses have been who you are by the roughness of your hand, and the smartness of the blow; I have not taken upon me thus to shoot in the dark, and yet pretend to hit the Mark. Nor will I go about to pull off the Visor you put upon your own face, but to wipe off the dirt which you have cast on ours. To this purpose I pray you, after these premised Reflections by me on some Passages in your Friendly Debate, &c. you would be pleased to reflect upon your self, and to ask your self these few Questions.

YOu have dealt with us, as the Jewes did with our Blessed Saviour; blindfolded us, & smitten us, & in effect bid us Prophesie who it is that smote us. Some ghesses have been who you are by the roughness of your hand, and the smartness of the blow; I have not taken upon me thus to shoot in the dark, and yet pretend to hit the Mark. Nor will I go about to pull off the Vizor you put upon your own face, but to wipe off the dirt which you have cast on ours. To this purpose I pray you, after these premised Reflections by me on some Passages in your Friendly Debate, &c. you would be pleased to reflect upon your self, and to ask your self these few Questions.

Quest. 1. Whether or no you might not with as much reason, and more charity, have produced Testimonies out of the Large Annotations, Printed in the year 1651. to clear Nonconformists from temporizing, and conniving at Sacrilege, as you have done the Omissions you charge them withal in the Edition of 1646, to prove ⟨p. 148⟩them guilty. And sure I am, if you had pleased to search, you might have found in the Last Edition, their dislike of Sacrilege in their Notes on Prov. 20.25. It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy. That is, say the Annotations, to apply it, or take it to his own use, which was appointed to Gods: yea, to go about to do it by inquiring how the Vow might be made void. As also on