images, saints, and relics, use all the arts they can devise for enriching of themselves and their friends. And even those orders that pretend to mortification and abandoning the world, and talk of nothing but their poor and austere manner of life, yet have possessed themselves of no small part of the riches and glory of the world. It is true, there is a young brotherhood among them, which, though the youngest, yet hath outstripped the elder, and made them stoop to it, and serve it. And what base and sordid ways that society hath pursued, for arriving at the highest pitch of greatness and riches, and how successfully they have managed their designs, is sufficiently cleared, what through the zeal of some of the honester of that communion, what through the envy of other emulating orders! All these things do fully prove how unlike that church is to the poor and pure simplicity of Christ and his apostles, and of the first ages of the church.

If we further examine the characters of evangelical purity, we have them from the mouth of our Saviour, when he commands us to learn of him, for he was meek and lowly in heart; and he made it the distinguishing badge of his disciples, that they loved one another. Now for humility, it is true the head of that church calls himself "the servant of the servants of God;" but how far such humility is from his design, his aspiring pretences do loudly declare. All the world must stoop to him not only must his fellow-bishops swear obedience to him, and become his vassals, but the kings of the earth must be his footstool, and all must pay him that servile homage of kissing his foot; an ambition as insolent as extravagant. His power must be magnified with the most blasphemous titles of his being God, our Lord God on earth omnipotent; with a great deal more of such servile adulations offered to him from the parasites of that court. In a word, a great part of that religion, when rightly considered, will be found on design contrived and abetted for exalting him to the highest degrees of insolence: but so many proofs of this were already upon other occasions hinted, that it is needless to go over them again, and that same leaven leavens the whole lump of their clergy; who all pretend, that by their ecclesiastical character they are only subject to their head, and so enjoy an immunity from the civil authority, be their crimes what they may be. And an inroad

on this pretence of late, from the state of Venice, when they seized two churchmen that were highly guilty, drew out so much of their most holy father's indignation, that he thundered against them; and finding the weakness of the spiritual sword, resolved to try the edge of his temporal one upon them, in patrociny, partly of these villains, and partly of the covetousness of the clergy, to which the senate had set a small limit by a decree; but finding they were like to prove too hard for him, he was willing to put up his sword, rather than to kill and eat, as one of his cardinals advised him.

Shall I with this also tell the instances of the ambition of cardinals, who from their first original of being presbyters of Rome, have risen up to the height of counting themselves the companions of kings, and in their habits affect a princely splendour? Shall I next shew to what a height of pride the exaltation of the priestly dignity among them hath risen? as if it were equal, nay, preferable to the condition of princes. The priest giving absolution, is a sure device to make his power be much accounted of, since he can forgive sin. The gorgeous and rich apparel they wear in worship, serves also to set off their dignity. And what a goodly device is it, that their spittle must make one of the sacred rites in baptism! Their engrossing the cup to themselves from the people, was another trick for raising their esteem: but above all things, their power of transmuting the substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, by uttering five words, was a marvellous device to make all the world admire them, who can so easily, and every day, work a miracle, compared to which, all the miracles of the gospel may pass for ordinary actions. What a great piece of wonder must such a man be held to be, who can thus exercise his authority over the very person of Jesus Christ, notwithstanding of all the glory to which he is now exalted! And it was no contemptible engine for that same design, to possess the people with a belief of the priests offering in the mass an expiatory sacrifice for the sins both of the dead and living; which proved a stock for them to trade on, both for their ambition and covetousness: and from these evidences we may infer how little of the humility of Christ appears in that church, from the highest to the lowest.

The next branch of the evangelical spirit is, meekness and

charity; which leads me unto the consideration of the fourth design of the Christian religion, which was the uniting of mankind under one head, and into one body; and this is designed to effectuate, not only by these sublime precepts of the highest love, and the utmost extent of the pardoning of injuries, and of returning them with the best offices of love and prayer, which the blessed Author of our faith did enact, but by the associating of the faithful into one society, called the church; which was to be united with the closest bonds of brotherly love and charity, and was to be governed by pastors and teachers, who should feed the flock with the sincere milk of the word; and was also to be cemented together by the ligaments of the holy sacraments, by which, as by joints and bands, they are both united to their head, and knit together. Now we are from these things to consider, what opposition that church we are now considering gives to this branch of the end of Christianity.

And first, whereas the gospel pronounceth us free, and that we are no more the servants of men, but of God, if any attempt upon that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, he changeth the authority of the church into a tyrannical yoke; much more, if all the new articles of belief, and rules for practice, be imposed under the severest certificates. But here we are to consider, that all these things which that church hath imposed on all of her communion, for which we withdraw from her, are additions to our faith; for in this we mainly differ from that church, that whatever we acknowledge they acknowledge likewise, but with a great many additions. We believe the scriptures are a rule for Christians, and they believe the same; but they add traditions, and the authority of the church to the scriptures. We believe that God is to be worshipped spiritually; they believe the same, but add, that he may be worshipped by images and sensible figures. We believe Christ to be the Mediator betwixt God and man; they believe the same, but add to this the intercession of saints. We hold that God and Christ are to be worshipped; they hold the same, but add saints and angels to their worship. We believe heaven and hell to be the several states of the future life; they believe the same, but add purgatory betwixt them, to the day of judgment. We believe baptism and the Lord's Supper to be the

sacraments of the new covenant; they believe the same, but add five more. We believe Christ is spiritually and really present in the Lord's Supper; this they believe, but add the unconceivable tenent of his corporal presence. In a word, it might be instanced in many other particulars how they have driven us from their communion by their additions to the truth and sincerity of the gospel, which they have adulterated by their inventions: and not only have they imposed all these things, but thundered out anathemas on all that question them; and have so wreathed all their fopperies with that main and fundamental article of their belief, of the infallibility of their church, that it is impossible to hope for their recovery, till they renounce that principle which is so dear to them. For if their church be infallible, then in no matter of faith or practice can she decree amiss; and therefore the lawfulness and sanctity of all her decrees must be maintained with an equal vigour and zeal; for if in one of them she step aside, her infallibility is for ever gone. And by this we may see to how little purpose it is to treat of accommodating matters with that church, since there is no possibility of our union with them, without we turn over entirely to them: for they cannot part with one of their errors, without they first renounce that which is the dearest of them all; to wit, the unerring authority of their church. How cruel then is that church, which addeth the severe sanction of an anathema to all her decrees, even about the most trifling matters, and about things that are, by their confession, of their own natures indifferent? And a consectary to this is, that cruel opinion they hold, that none can be saved out of their communion; pretending there is no salvation without the true church, which they restrict to those who are under the obedience of the Roman bishop; and this is what they usually frighten all with.

But it is to be considered what the true notion of the church is, that so we may see through this frightful vizard. The church then is a society of Christians united in the same faith, for worshipping of God jointly. And another definition of a church cannot be proved from scripture; for the church being called the body of Christ, its union with him as its Head is held forth by the apostle in these words, Col. ii. 19, The head Christ, from whom the whole body by joints and bonds,

having nourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. From which words we see what constitutes a man a member of the true church; which is, first, his union to Christ as his Head, together with a dependance on him for growth and nutriture; and next, his being knit to all others who are thus united to Christ; which is first, the inward union of Divine charity, by which he loves all who cleave to Christ as their head; and next, his associating himself with them in outward visible acts of worship, which every Christian is bound to do, with all that worship God in spirit and truth. But if a society of Christians do visibly swerve from Christ in many great and signal contradictions to the honour due to his person, and to the obedience due to his laws, and do grossly adulterate the worship, so that communion cannot be had with that church, without departing from the head Christ, then it can be no departing from the church to adhere to Christ and his true worship, and to separate from the corruptions which are brought in upon the Christian religion. If then it appear that the church of Rome hath departed from the truth and simplicity of the gospel, in so many great and main points, those who attempted the reforming her to her first purity, and finding that not to be hoped for, did unite among themselves for serving and worshipping God aright, cannot be charged with separation from the true church.

But by that cruel tenent of theirs, they breed up all their children in the greatest uncharitableness imaginable, condemning all who cannot believe their strange doctrines, or concur in their unhallowed worship. Thus they are the schismatics who have departed from the true church, and who force from their communion all who adhere to it: but this cruelty rests not in uncharitable censures, but hath extended itself to as much bloody and barbarous rage as ever sprung from hell; for all the cruelty of the heathen persecutors cannot match the practices of her that hath been so often drunk with the blood of saints, and of the martyrs of Jesus. What enraged cruelty appeared against the poor Waldenses, for the separating from their corruptions! How many of all sexes and ages were cruelly butchered down by the procurement of the rulers of that church! And because the Albigenses lived under the protection of princes that favoured them, how did the popes depose