therefore, have not you given judgment against yourselves, that you are such as run, and speak, and use your tongues, and follow your own spirits, and see nothing, whom God or Christ never hath sent nor spoken unto; and are not you like the inwardly ravening wolves, spoken of in Mat. vii. 24. that have the outside, the sheeps' clothing, the outside of the sheep, but not the life of the sheep; and so are the thistles and the thorn trees, that bear neither grapes nor figs, but deceive people with the sheep's outside, with which you cover the wolfish nature; hath not this been seen in Christendom, who say you have not the same power and spirit the apostles had? wherein we do believe you, for your fruits have declared it, though you may have the outward words of the prophets and apostles, and worry them that be in the life, as your forefathers did. And in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, ye may see how it was the chief priest, scribes and pharisees, that were the great professors, with their elders, that were the chiefest against Christ our Saviour, as may be seen in Matt. xxvii. 26. and how that they persuaded the common people against Christ, and to ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus; and the chief priests mocked him, with the scribes and elders of the pharisees.

And in Mark xiv. where they led Jesus away to the high priest, and how the high priest sought false witness against him, to put him to death. And in Luke xxiii. there you may see how vehemently the high priests and the scribes accused Jesus, and it was the high priests that delivered Christ to Pilate, John xviii. 35. And they were the informers against Jesus; and are not they so now? let town and country speak; and Judas sold Christ for thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, and when they had crucified him, they gave large money to the soldiers to say, 'that his disciples had stolen him away by night,' as in Mat. xxviii. 13. so Judas was the first that sold Christ, and Simon Magus was the second, who would have bought the gift of God, to have got money by it, and he offered the apostles money to have got that gift; but see Peter's answer, 'thy money perish with thee, because thou thinkest the gift of God can be bought with money, for I see thou art in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity,' &c., and therefore consider, all you that say ye have · bought the gift, and it cost your parents a great deal of money, and therefore, you must have so much a year for it again; do you think that you are not in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity? and do not you think that you and your money, and that ye have bought with it, and sell, will perish together? read Acts viii. 18. Now you cannot sell Christ, as Judas did, except it be in his members; for he is risen, though you may sell his words, by which there is more gotten yearly, with the parsonages, glebe-lands, augmentations, and other revenues, than by any other trade whatsoever in Christendom; and how many millions are gotten yearly in Christendom, (let the arithmeticians cast it up,) by

the prophets', Christ's and the apostles' words, which they freely spoke forth, and declared against such as taught for money, and for filthy lucre, and for means, as you may see both in the old and new testament, how they declared against such; and ought not such to be declared against now, by them that are in the same spirit?

And Paul in Acts xx. 31. tells the elders of the church of Ephesus, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one both night and day with tears, (mark, for three years together he did warn these people at Ephesus,) and I take God to record this day, (says he,) that I am clear from the blood of all men; for I have kept nothing back, but have shewed you all the counsel of God; take heed therefore unto yourselves, and the flock which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers of; feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood;' [mark,] it is the Holy Ghost that made them overseers, and there was their succession; so they were not made overseers by men; and so with this Holy Ghost they did oversee and feed this flock, the church, which Christ is the head of.

And now all you that pretend yourselves to be overseers, and yet say, there is no having the Holy Ghost now a days, as the apostles had, so then you are no true overseers, neither can you feed the church of Christ; for mark, it was the Holy Ghost that made them overseers; and they that be the true overseers must succeed them in the Holy Ghost, and be made overseers by it, for the apostle said after his departure from the church at Ephesus, where he had been for the space of three years, 'grievous wolves should enter in among them, not sparing the flock;' and those wolves should come with the form of godliness, and with the sheep's clothing, but inwardly ravened from the holy spirit of God; but he 'commended them to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build them up, and to give them an inheritance amongst all them that are sanctified.'

And Paul tells the Ephesians further, 'I have coveted no man's silver, nor gold, nor apparel,' though he had preached amongst them three years, as aforesaid; ye know' says he, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and unto them that were with me.'

And now ye old and new England professors and others, that say, there was no need for Paul to have a settled maintenance, because he travelled up and down; so now here you may see where Paul was three years together, and yet coveted no man's silver, nor gold, nor apparel; and moreover, said he, 'ye know that these hands have ministered to my necessities, and to them that were with me, for the space of three years;' for you never read here that he sued any man for tythe or means, he was not like, who laboured with his hands.

And further Paul saith, 'I have shewed unto you all things;' mark, VOL. V.-5

how that so labouring he ought to support the weak, not to destroy the weak through covetousness; and Paul saith, remember the words of our Lord Jesus, how he said, it is a blessed thing to give, rather than to receive:' come ye priests and professors, try yourselves with Paul's practice here, and with this scripture, Acts xx. and try yourselves by Christ's command, which he gave to his ministers and messengers, 'freely ye have received, freely give ;' you say the scripture is your rule, come try yourselves by your rule; for if you will not try yourselves by it, others will try you by it; do you freely give? do you covet no man's silver, gold or apparel? do ye labour with your own hands, to supply your own necessities and others? he that was clear of the blood of all men, and declared unto them the whole counsel of God, did this; yea, for the space of three years to the church at Ephesus; besides many other places that he speaks of, amongst whom he was a witness of Christ: but let the gaols and the gaolers, and the baliffs and sheriffs witness against you for them, whose goods you have taken, that you never did any work for.

And in Acts xxviii. 30. where Paul ye may see remained two full years in his hired house, and received all that came in to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and those things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ, with boldness of speech without let among the heathen Romans; I say, this was Paul, that coveted no man's silver, nor gold, nor apparel, which preached among the Gentiles at Rome, he had no monastery nor abbey, nor great steeple-house to preach in then, nor set wages, nor did he sue people for maintenance or tythe, to cast his hearers into prison, because they would not give him such things, if you say he did, let us see your proof for it in scripture.

And now if you should object and say, 'custom to whom custom, and tribute to whom tribute;' this did relate to the magistrates, which were for the punishment of the evildoers, and were for the praise of them that do well, such things we were never against, paying for conscience sake; but this in Rom. xiii. is nothing to justify hirelings, and to oppose Christ's command, which is, 'freely ye have received, freely give;' for the apostle Paul saith in Rom. xvi. 'now I beseech you brethren, mark them diligently who cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them; [mark,] for they are such as serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies, and with fair speeches and flattering words deceive the hearts of the simple;' come, try yourselves, ye teachers by those scriptures; is it not you who make the division, who have got the flattering and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple, who serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but your own bellies? is it not your bellies that you serve with your great parsonages, and glebe-lands, and augmentations, Easter reckonings, and midsummer

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dues? for if you did serve the Lord Jesus Christ, then you would obey his command, which is, freely you have received, freely give,' and not persecute and cast in prison such as will not put into your mouths; and if your parsonages and rich benefices should be taken away, then it would be seen how many servants Christ would have amongst you?

And Paul preached at Corinth a year and a half, and taught the word of God among them freely. Acts xviii. 11. 1 Cor. i. 9.

And Paul wrought with Priscilla and Aquila at Corinth, who were of the same craft as Paul was of; for their craft was to make tents, and he abode with them as aforesaid: nevertheless Paul preached up and down in the Jews' synagogues, testifying to them that Jesus was the Christ; and now compare your practice with Paul's and Priscilla's and Aquila's, ye priests; for though he was a tradesman, yet he preached the gospel: and this Priscilla and Aquila were both instructors of Apollos concerning Christ, as in Acts xxv. of whom Paul was a minister.

upon

And often you priests have brought Ananias and Sapphira his wife for proof for your maintenance, against such as keep back your tythes, because they kept away part of the price of their goods, and laid it not down at the apostles' feet, which comparison or instance is an unequal weight or measure; for Peter did not desire it, nor the apostles, whilst it remained in their hands they might have kept it all, and not have sold their goods; for the apostles did not desire it, nor coveted any man's gold or silver, but their wilful and wickedly lying against the Holy Ghost, and their agreeing together in lying, brought the judgment of God them, and this is nothing for your purpose; but take heed, lest the same judgment overtake you for lying against the spirit of God in your consciences, and doing that which you know you should not, and saying that which you are not, as you may see in Acts v. And whereas you quote,, that the christians sold all their goods in the primitive time, and brought in the price thereof, and laid it down at the apostles' feet; this was a voluntary act in them, it was not done by compulsion from the apostles, nor by their desire, neither was it done altogether for the apostles' use, but for the supply of all such as were in necessity amongst them; and tythes in the time of the law were not for the priests' and the Levites' own use only, but for the widows, strangers, poor, and fatherless.

And in Luke v. 'Jesus entered into the ship which was Simon Peter's and bid him thrust off a little from the land, and Jesus sat down, and taught the people out of the ship; and when he had done speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets to make a draught, and they inclosed a multitude of fish, though before they had been toiling all night, and catched nothing; so that their net was ready to break, and they beckoned to their partners which were in the ship, that they should come to help them, who came, and they filled

both their ships, so that they began to sink. Now when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, Lord go from me, I am a sinful man, for he was utterly astonished, and all that were with him, for the draught of fish which they had taken, and so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon, then Jesus said unto Simon, fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men, and when they brought the fishes to land, they forsook all and followed him,' to wit, Jesus. Here you may see what manner of men were Christ's disciples, fishermen, &c. and Christ preached in Peter's ship, and Peter the fisherman did catch many men according to Christ's words, as when he converted three thousand at one sermon, as in Acts ii. 41.

And the magistrates perceived that Peter and John were unlearned men, and could not read letters, but they took knowledge they had been with Jesus, who is the true teacher, as in Acts iv. 13. If they had been in your days, would not you have mocked at them, as the letter professing Jews did? and do not you do the same to such now? And Peter and the other disciples did abide with Christ: and after Jesus was risen, there were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didimus, and Nathaniel of Cana, in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples, and Simon Peter said to them, I go a fishing, and they said unto him, we go also with thee; and they went straightway and entered into a ship, and that night caught they nothing, but when the morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore, and the disciples knew not that it was Jesus, and Jesus said unto them, sirs, have ye any meat, and they answered him no; then he said unto them, cast out the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find; so they cast out, and they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fish; therefore, said the disciple whom Jesus loved, it is the Lord; and when Simon Peter heard that it was Jesus, he girt his fisher's coat unto him; for he was naked, and cast himself into the sea, but the other disciples came in the ship, for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits, and they drew the net with fishes to land.'

Now, you may see here the apostles what plain men they were, and Peter was in his fisher's coat after Christ was risen, who had been a preacher of Christ a great while from his conversion, for several years, till Christ was crucified, who saw Christ's miracle before he was converted, and now again after he was risen, as in John xxi. And so Peter and John, and the other disciples, who had been toiling all night before their conversion, and after Christ was risen, but caught nothing, but at Christ's words they did, even to their astonishment; and that might let them see the truth of Christ's words, that a sparrow should not fall to the ground without the will of the Father, so a fish could not be caught in the net without the will of Christ, by whom all things were made.