MARVEL not at it, my Brethren, a Religion without a Hierarchy, and Godliness without Gain, will never please any Set of HighPriefts: Nothing will go down with them but Pride and Grimace, and the ready Penny. Poor Paul had nothing about him of all this, nor did he teach a Religion that had. All that he brought, was a Chrift crucified, and Salvation in and through him. They therefore Spake evil of that Way before the Multitude; that is, the Priests told the People that Paul was an Heretick, and his Doctrine was Schifm: but for themselves, they had Antiquity and the Fathers on their Side, with an orthodox Church full of decent Types and Ceremonies.

THERE needed no more to prevent the Apoftle from doing any good among them: So he departed from them. This was all the Punishment he inflicted on them, and this was enough. He who had the Holy Ghost, could have inflicted Death or Mifery on them; but it was oppofite to the Genius of his Religion, which allows fpiritual Paftors to feed their Flocks, but not force them, nor to punish them if they refuse to feed. If a Man has not a mind to be faved, he has the worst of it himfelf; and what is it to the Priefts? as Master Selden well remarketh.

THIS, my Brethren, was the primitive Excommunication. If you could work no good upon a Man; or if that Man worked Mischief

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to you, or gave you Scandal; why you would not keep company with him. But to give him to the Devil, because he was already going to the Devil of himself, is to be a Minifter of Christ the backward way. Befides, there was no need of it. The Apostle, in my Text, neither curfes these unbelieving High Churchmen, who hardened themselves against him, nor cenfures them, nor fines them; all which, he who had the Power of Miracles could have done, had he liked it. He barely departed from them. And if he did not damn them for the fake of their Souls, fo neither did he furrender them to Beelzebub for the fake of their Money. He demanded not a grey Groat of them; so far was he from telling them, Gentlemen, I am your Spiritual Prince, pray pay me my Revenues. Paul was a Witness of the Refurrection, a difinterestedWitness, and claimed no Dues; though others fince do in his Name, without being real Witneffes of the Refurrection, or difinterefted Witnesses of any thing else about it.

DISPUTING daily in the School of one Tyrannus. Mark here, my Beloved, that both Schools and Synagogues, or Churches, were open to him, though he was but a new Comer, and a Non-Conformift. Mark, moreover, that he barely disputed or reafoned. He was a Stranger to the Doctrine of Compulfion. He was an Apoftle, by virtue of whofe Words and Power, all Clerical Acts are pretended to be done ever fince: and yet he himself did none, fatisfying himself with faving Souls, by

Exhortation and the Affiftance of the Spirit, which are not Clerical Acts. He was the chief Paftor upon Earth, and held his Commiffion immediately from God; but he imposed nothing but his Advice, Reafon, and good Words upon those that heard him. He could have forced them (had the Spirit fo directed) to have fwallowed implicitly all that he faid; and either destroyed or diftreffed all who refused. But the Lord Chrift, my Brethren, in his Dealings with Human Kind, never ufes Means that are inbuman.

HERE you may diftinguish the Spirit_of Chrift from the Spirit of High Church. For trow ye, my Friends, that Chrift or his Apoftles ever delegated to weak and paffionate Men Powers and Privileges, which, infallible and infpired as they were, they never affumed to themfelves? Let us wonder, my Brethren, at the Impudence of fome Men in Black!

AND this continued for the space of two Years. Obferve, it is not faid that he kept a Curate all the while.

LET us go on to fome following Verses. And God wrought Special Miracles by the Hands of Paul; fo that from his Body were brought unto the Sick, Handkerchiefs or Aprons, and the Difeafes departed from them, and the evil Spirits went out from them, ver. 11, 12.

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OBSERVE, here are certain Signs of a Power from God; and they who pretend a Power from him, without manifefting the fame by certain Signs, are certainly Cheats and Impoftors. For a Power given by the all-wife God, must be given for fome certain End, which will infallibly be brought about. It is not confiftent with his Wifdom and Goodness to give it, and yet leave uncertain that he has given it, when a plain Manifestation of it is of the utmoft Importance to the World, and to the Purposes for which it is given. If a Man bring not infallible Proofs of his Power, how fhall I know that he has it? Demonftration muft go before 'Conviction, and Conviction before Confent. We cannot embrace for Truth, what we take to be a Lye. All which will farther appear from the following Verses.

THEN certain of the Vagabond Jews, Exorcifts, took upon them to call, over them which had evil Spirits, the Name of the Lord Jefus, Saying, we adjure you by Jefus, whom Paul preacheth, v. 13.

WE may perceive here, that the Apostles had Apes in their own Time; Fellows who fet up for their Succeffors, before they Themfelves were dead. They were Exorcifts or Conjurers, fo called, I prefume, from their pretending to difpoffefs haunted Houfes, by the Dint of Spells and Forms of Words. They had now got a new Form of Words, and were going to work with them as faft as they could, VOL. II. boafting,

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boasting, no doubt, great things of their own Power. And indeed they took a politick Method to resemble the Apostle, had they fucceeded in it, but they mifcarried miferably, as will be shewn anon.

BUT what fhall we fay of fome Moderns (more fhameless than these Vagabond Jews) who will, right or wrong, be Succeffors to the Apoftles, without doing any thing that is Apoftolick, but what every reasonable Man may do as well. They fhew no Signs but those of Gracelefness and Pride; and do no Wonders, but in the Luxury of their Lives.

AND there were feven Sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and Chief of the Priefts, which did fo, v. 14. More Mimickers of Miracles! We fee the Trade was growing fweet, but the Sauce proved four; for the evil Spirit answered and Said, Jefus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye? An angry and contemptuous Question, but full of good Senfe. But the worst follows; And the Man in whom the evil Spirit was, leapt upon them, and prevailed against them, fo that they fled out of that Houfe naked and wounded.

I. OBSERVE here, 1ft, That we may eafily learn what Power Men have from God, by their Power over the Devil. When Paul gave the Word of Command, the Devil did not ftand fhilly-fhally, nor pretend to parley with one who was employed as the Lord's General, against the Power of Darkness, but was forced to march

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