wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Col. i. 27, 28. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.' 1 John iii. 3. And we are saved by hope, as in Rom. viii. 24. So that all the saints may know what is the hope of their calling; for we being saved by hope, are saved by Christ, who is to dwell in our hearts by faith; for the apostle said, 'The Lord Jesus Christ, who is our hope.' 1 Tim. i. And we are to hold fast this hope that is set before us, which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast; and it entereth into that which is within the vail, where the forerunner is for us entered in, even Jesus. Heb. vi. 18, 19, 20. And blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto his lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance immortal, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for the saints, which are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.' 1 Pet. i. 4, 5.

Here you may see the saints that are in this true and living hope, have an inheritance immortal and undefiled, who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation.

IX. Now concerning the antiquity of our gospel.

The apostle tells the Romans, that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes. For by the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith; so that the just shall live by his faith.' Rom. i. 16, 17, 18.

And again, the apostle saith, The gospel which hath been preached to every creature under heaven.' Col. i. 23. For Christ said unto his disciples, 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.' Mark xvi. 15.

And God will judge the secrets of men's hearts by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel,' saith the apostle. He being the heir of it, that is according to the power of God, which is preached to every creature under heaven.

And the gospel was preached to Abraham, saying, 'In thy seed shall all nations be blessed.' And was not this gospel preached to Abraham four hundred and thirty years before the law of Moses was given forth? For unto Abraham and his seed, was the promise made. He said not unto seeds, as speaking of many, but unto thy seed, as of one, which seed is Christ,' as in Gal. iii. 8. 16, 17. So in this seed Christ, are all nations and families of the earth blessed. Therefore all nations and families of the earth must come into Christ, the seed, that bruises the serpent's head, if they be blessed, and then they who are of the seed through faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham. For the children of the promise are counted for the seed, as in Rom. ix. 8. And there

fore all nations and families of the earth must come into the seed, if they be blessed; and they that be in the seed, and are baptized into Christ, have put him on; and there, in Christ, is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, they are all one in Christ, Gal. iii. 27, 28. And so are all the sons of God, by faith in Christ. Now this everlasting gospel and promise was preached to Abraham, four hundred and thirty years before the law was given to Moses; saying, 'In thy seed shall all nations and families of the earth be blessed.' And was it not preached to Adam, when God said, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head?' And when Christ came forth, he sent his disciples into all nations, to preach the gospel to every creature under heaven, as before. And John in the Revelations, who saw the night of apostacy, and Babylon's fall, saw the angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth; and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people; saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come, and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and fountains of water.' Rev. xiv. 6, 7. So this is the everlasting gospel which is preached by the holy ghost, sent down from heaven. Now many may have the letter of the scripture, and the form of holy men's words, for the Jews had Abraham's, and the prophet's words, as the Christians have Christ's and the apostles' words, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and so may put the letter for the gospel; but the letter of the scripture declareth what the gospel is. Outward scriptures or letters may be worn out, but the gospel is everlasting, which is the thing that the scripture declareth of; for he that preacheth any other gospel, (the apostle saith,) let him be accursed.' For the gospel, which the apostles preached and taught, was not of man, neither did they receive it of men, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Gal. i. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. And this is the everlasting gospel of life and salvation; saying, in thy seed shall all nations be blessed. Now men may be taught the outward letter of the scripture, and receive that from men in the natural state; but that which the scripture or letter declareth of, is revealed by Jesus Christ, (namely,) the everlasting gospel, the seed, in which all nations are blessed. And for the defence of this gospel were the apostles set in their day; and so have I, and many others in our day and age; against the letter wise Christians, as the apostles were against the outward letter wise Jews. And see what opposition the letterwise made then, and now; that professed the gospel in words, but did, nor do not come into the seed, in which all are blessed, and which brings life and immortality to light, to all them that are in Christ the seed.

X. Concerning the antiquity of the true ministers.

Moses, and Aaron, and the prophets, were all sent of God, in the old testament. And the Lord commanded Moses to take twelve rods, and write every man's name, that were the heads of the house of their fathers, upon the rods; so one rod for ever prince, according to the house of their fathers, even twelve rods. And Aaron's rod was among their rods; and Moses laid their rods before the Lord, in the tabernacle of witness: and on the morrow, Moses took all the rods, and Aaron's rod; and behold Aaron's rod, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought forth buds, and blossoms, and ripe almonds; but the rest of the heads of Israel's rods brought forth nothing. So the Lord chose the house of Levi to serve him, in the outward tabernacle. Num. xvii. And so the Lord chooseth in his new testament and covenant, whose spiritual rods do bud in the inward tabernacle, to serve him in the inward tabernacle, to be a holy, royal priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God, by Christ. 1 Pet. ii. 5. 9. And John, the greatest prophet born of a woman, was a man sent from God. John i. 6. Matt. xi. 11. And Christ said the living Father sent him, as in John vi. 57. And Christ said, 'As thou didst send me into the world, so have I sent them into the world,' (namely, his disciples,) and the apostles did believe that God had sent Christ, as in John xvii. 8. 18.

And Christ called his twelve disciples, and sent them forth to preach, and gave them power; and said unto them, Freely ye have received, and freely give,' as in Matt. x. 1 to the end.

There you may see how Christ doth encourage his free ministers, and likewise in Mark ix. from the first to the sixth. And Christ said unto his disciples, the harvest was great, and the labourers were few; wherefore pray the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. And so you may see Christ here gives them power, and they were to pray to the Lord of the harvest for labourers, and not to the high priests and rabbis, and the powers, for them to send forth their letters to learned doctors, and to have power from them.

And you may read in Matt. xxiii. how Christ declareth against the false teachers; and how that the Jews should persecute, crucify, and scourge such as Christ sends in their synagogues, and from city to city. So these false teachers always persecuted the true. Matt. xxiii. 30 to the end. And you may see in Matt. xxii. 1 to the 16th, how Christ sends forth his disciples to call to the marriage. And when Christ sent forth his seventy disciples, he said, 'I send you forth as lambs amongst wolves, without bag or scrip;' and you may see how he did exhort them, how they should preach and behave themselves. Luke x. from the 1st to the 12th. And the apostle told the Ephesians, among whom he had been labouring for the space of three years, and preached among them;

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and he had not ceased to warn every one of them both night and day i with tears,' and said, 'I have coveted no man's silver, gold, or apparel; for ye know, that these hands have ministered to my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have showed you in all things, how that in so labouring, ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of our Lord Jesus, how that he said, it is a blessed thing to give, rather than to receive.' Acts xx. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35.

Here you may see an example of a true minister of Christ, and also in 1 Cor. ix. from the 1st to the 20th, how the apostle there strove to keep the gospel without charge, and to make it free; and how the apostle reproves such that did not labour, that they might labour and follow the apostles, whom they had for examples, as in 2 Thess. iii. who would not be chargeable to them, as from verse 6th to the 13th.

And the apostle said that Christ ascended on high, and gave gifts unto men for the work of the ministry; some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all meet together in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the son of God, unto a perfect man, and unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; and so to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Ephes. iv. from the 1st to the 16th.

Here you may see, they had the gifts from Christ that made them ministers, and not from schools, and colleges, nor powers. And Peter saith, Let every man as he hath received the gift, minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; and the elders were to feed the flock of God; not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a willing mind; not as though you were lords over God's heritage, but that you may be examples to the flock.' 1 Pet. iv. 10. and v. 2, 3.

And in Rom. x. there you may see how the apostle exhorts them to improve their gifts, in teaching, and prophesying, and exhorting; and these gifts they had from Christ.

And in 1 Tim. iii. there you may see how the bishops, deacons, and overseers, they were not to be given to wine, nor strikers, nor fighters, nor covetous, nor given to filthy lucre; but should be such as could rule their own houses well, having their children in subjection. For, if they could not rule their own houses well, how should they take care of the church of God? And likewise, their wives were to be honest, not evil speakers, but sober and faithful in all things. And so let these bishops, elders, deacons, and ministers first be proved, and if they be found blameless, then let them minister, as in 1 Tim. iii. 1 to the 13th. VOL. VI.

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So it seems they were not to minister, if they were not blameless in these things.

And likewise, you may see the qualifications of the elder men, and the women, that were to be teachers of good things, and teachers of the younger women, as in Tit. ii. from the 1st to the 6th. And you

may see all along in the scriptures, how Christ and the apostles testified against the covetous prophets, shepherds, and teachers, that preached for hire, and filthy lucre; and how that the true prophets, Christ, and the apostles spake forth freely, and did suffer by the hirelings, and the covetous, that taught for filthy lucre.

And Christ bid his disciples and believers to wait at Jerusalem, until they were endued with power from on high, and they should receive the holy ghost, and then they should be witnesses of Christ, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the utmost parts of the earth, as in Acts i. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Now here you may see the primitive ordination of Christ's ministers; they had their gifts from Christ, and were endued with power from on high, and they received the holy ghost, and every one was to minister as they had received the gift from Christ. So these were not endued with power from below, nor from the high priests, nor kings, nor emperors, nor men, nor schools, nor colleges; but they were endued with power from on high, and their gifts they had from Christ that ascended on high, above all principalities, powers, thrones, and dominions. So here is the antiquity, and first ordination of Christ's ministers, and teachers, according to the scripture which we own.

And God, who poured out of his spirit upon all flesh, as in Joel ii. Acts ii. By which, sons, daughters, handmaids, and servants should prophesy, and have their spiritual visions, and old men have their spiritual dreams. And this now is witnessed in the days of the new covenant, and the gospel day of Christ; but they that rebel against the spirit of God, and vex it, and grieve it, and make a mock at it; they say, prophecy, and revelation, and visions are ceased. But the apostle saith, no man knows the things of God, but by the spirit of God, and the spirit of God doth reveal them; and the natural man perceiveth not the things of the spirit of God, they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. ii. 11, 12, 13, 14.

XI. Concerning the antiquity of our leader, and that which gives us knowledge.

The Lord said, speaking of Christ, in Isa. lv. 3, 4. 'I will make an everlasting covenant; and behold, I will give him for a witness, and a leader, and a commander to the people; and he shall feed his flock like a shepherd, and he shall gather his lambs in his arm, and carry them