John Winthrop
1588-1649

The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause us to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.
For the other point concerning liberty, I observe a great mistake in the country about that.  There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal.  The first is common to man with beasts and other creatures.  By this, man as he stands in relation to man simply, hath liberty to do what he lists: it is  a liberty to evil as well as to good.  This liberty is incompatible and inconsistant with authority, and cannot endure the least restraint of the most just authority.
Teach me, O Lord, to put my trust in Thee, then shall I be like Mount Zion that cannot be moved...  Before the week was gone...I waxed exceeding discontent and impatient...then I acknowledged my unfaithfulness and pride of heart, and turned again to my God, and humbled my soul before Him, and He returned and accepted me, and so I renewed my Covenant of walking with my God.
Thus stands the cause between God and us: we are entered into covenant with Him for this work.  We have taken out a Commission; the Lord hath given us leave to draw our own articles...  Now the only way to avoid shipwreck and to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah: to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God.  For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man...
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