opposers of many of those truths of God, which they know not, and which they err about, and will help on the service of Satan in the world; and will be the authors of factions and contentions in the churches; whilst too many are "proud, knowing nothing" (in those matters when they think they are most orthodox) "but doting about questions, and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railing, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds (in this) and destitute of the truth." (1 Tim. vi. 4, 5.)

33. And if many good men will erroneously stand up against that truth which any man wiser than themselves maketh known, the worldly, and malicious, that have a manifold enmity against it, will be ready to strengthen them by their concurrence, and to join in the opposition.

34. Not they that are wisest at a distance, but they that are nearest the people, and are always with them, are most likely to prevail to make disciples of them, and bring them to their mind: so great an advantage it is, to talk daily and confidently to ignorant souls, when there is none to talk against them, and to make their folly known.

35. Especially if the same men can get interest in their esteem as well as nearness, and make themselves esteemed the best or wisest men.

36. Therefore jesuitical, worldly Clergymen, will always get about great men, and insinuate into nobles, and will still defame them that are wise and good, that they may seem odious, and themselves seem excellent, and so may carry it by deceitful shows.

37. And they will do their best, to procure all wise and good men, that are against their interest, to be banished from the palaces of princes and nobles, where they are; lest their presence should confute their slanderers, and they should be as "burning and shining lights," that carry their witness with them, where they come: and also to bring them under public stigmatizing censures, and sufferings; that their names may be infamous and odious in the world.

38. And heretical Pastors will play a lower game, and creep into the houses of silly people, prepared by ignorance, and soul-disturbers to receive their heresies.

39. Between these two sorts of naughty Pastors (the WORLDLY and the HERETICAL), and also the multitude of weak, erroneous, honest Teachers, the soundest and wor

thiest will be so few, that far most of the people (high and low) are like to live under the influences and advantages of erring men; and, therefore, themselves to be an erring people.

40. In that measure, that men are carnal; their own carnal interest will rule them. And both the WORLDLY and HERETICAL Clergy, are ruled by carnal interests, though not the same materially. And the more honest, erring Ministers, are swayed by their interests too much; insomuch, that on this account, it was no overvaluing of Timothy, or wrong to the other Pastors, that it should plainly be said by Paul, "For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's." (Phil. ii. 21, 22.) "Of your ownselves shall men arise, and speak perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts xx. 30.) Besides the grievous wolves which would not spare the flocks.

41. The interest then of the WORLDLY Clergy, will consist in pleasing the great ones of the world; for lordships, and worldly wealth, and honour, and to be made the rulers of their brethren, and to have their wills: And the interest of heretics will be to have many to be of their own opinion to admire them: and the interest of upright Ministers, will be to please God, and propagate the Gospel, increase the Church, and save men's souls. Yet so that they have a subordinate interest, for food and raiment, and families, and necessary reputation, which they are too apt to overvalue.

42. Therefore, it will be the great trade of the WORLDLY Clergy, to please and flatter the Rulers of the world, and by all artificial insinuations, and by their friends, to work themselves into their favour, and by scorns and calumnies, to work out all other that are against their interest.

43. And it will be the trade of heretics, to insinuate into the more ductile people, especially as Ministers of Truth and Righteousness, that have somewhat more excellent in knowledge or holiness, than the faithful Ministers of Christ.

44. And it will be the work of faithful Ministers, to save men's souls. But with such various degrees of selfdenial or selfishness, as they have various degrees of wisdom. and holiness.

45. Many great and piously disposed Princes, like Constantine, will think that to honour and advance the Clergy,

into worldly power and wealth, is to honour God and the Christian Religion: and great munificence is fit for their own greatness.

46. And because such honour and wealth cannot possibly be bestowed on all; it must make a great disparity, and set some as lords over the rest.

47. And the unavoidable weakness, passions, and divisions of the Clergy, will make Rulers think, that there is a necessity; that besides the Civil Government, there should be some of their own office, to rule the rest, and to keep them in order, obedience, and peace.

48. Ambition and covetousness, will abuse this munificence of Princes: and whilst that any church-preferments are so great (beyond the degree of a mere encouraging subsistence), as to be a strong bait to tempt the desires of a proud and worldly mind, the most proud and worldly that are within the reach of hope, will be the seekers, by themselves, and by their friends.

49. Mortified, humble, heavenly men, will either never seek them, or with no great eagerness; their appetite being less, and their restraints much greater.

50. Therefore they that have the keenest appetites to church-grandeur and preferments, and are the eager seekers, are most likely to find.

51. Therefore the lovers of wealth and honour, are more likely still to be the lords among the Clergy; except in such marvellous happy times, when wise and pious Princes, call the more worthy that seek it not, and reject these thirsty seekers.

52. The greatest lovers of worldly wealth and honour, are the worst men. (1 John ii. 15; James iv. 4, &c.)

53. Therefore, except in such times as aforesaid, the worst men will be still the rich and powerful in the Clergy, for the most part, or at least, the worldly that are very bad.

54. These carnal minds are enmity to God, and cannot be subject to his law. And the friendship of the world is enmity to God. And the honour and wealth of these worldly men, will be taken by them for their interest: and they will set themselves to defend it, against all that would endanger it.

55. The doctrine and practice of humility, mortification, contempt of the world, forsaking all, taking up the cross,

&c., is so much of the Christian Religion, that however the worldly Clergy may formally preach it, their minds and interests are at enmity to it.

56. Such men will make Church canons according to their interests and minds.

57. And they will judge of Ministers and people, accord-` ing to their interest and mind; who is sound, and who is erroneous; who is honest, and who is bad; who is worthy of favour, and who is worthy of all the reproaches that can be devised against him.

58. The humble, mortified Ministers and people, that are seriously the servants of a Crucified Christ, and place their hopes, and portion in another world, have a holy disposition, contrary to this worldly, carnal mind; and their manner of preaching, will be of a different relish, and the tenor of their lives, of a contrary course.

59. The generality of the best people in the Christian Churches will perceive the difference between the worldly and the heavenly manner of preaching, and of living, and will love and honour the latter, far above the former; because their new nature suiteth with things spiritual, and fitteth them to relish them.

60. The worst of vicious and worldly men will disrelish the spiritual manner of preaching and living, and will join with the worldly Clergy against it.

61. The worldly Clergy being hypocrites, as to Christianity and godliness (like Judas that loved the bag better than Christ), they will make themselves a Religion, consisting of the mere corpse and dead image of the true Religion of set words, and actions, and formalities, and orders, which in themselves are (many, at least, if not all) good; but the life they will not endure..

62. This image of true Religion, or corpse of godliness, they will dress up with many additional flowers out of their own gardens, some tolerable, and some corrupting that so they may have something which both their own consciences and the world may take to be honourable Religion; lest known ungodliness should terrify conscience within, and shame them in the world without.

63. This image of Religion, so dressed up, will suit their carnal auditors and people too, to the same ends; and therefore will become their uniting interest.

64. That which is but a weed among these flowers, the more heavenly Ministers and people will dislike, and much more dislike the loathsome face of death (or lifelessness) in their Religion.

65. These differences of mind and practice, will engage both parties in some kind of opposition to each other. The worldly Clergy or hypocrites, will have heart-risings against the Ministers and people that think meanly of them, and will take it for their interest to bring them down: for enmity is hardly restrained from exercise. And Cain will be wroth, that Abel's sacrifice is better accepted than his own.

66. The better Ministers, will be apt through passion, to speak too dishonourably of the other: and the rash, and younger sort, and the heretical hypocrites that fall in with them, will take it for part of a godly zeal to speak against them to the people, in such words as Christ used of the Scribes and Pharisees.

67. Hereupon the exasperations of each party, will be increased more and more; and the powerful, worldly Clergy, will think it their interest, to devise some new impositions, which they know the other cannot yield to, to work them out.

68. Whether they be oaths, subscriptions, words or actions, which they believe to be against God's word, the spiritual, and upright part of the Clergy and people, will not perform them; resolving to obey God, rather than man.

69. Hereupon the worldly part will take the advantage, and call them disobedient, stubborn, proud, schismatical, self-opinionated, disturbers of the public peace and order, "pestilent fellows, and movers of sedition among the people," that will let nothing be quiet, but "turn the world upsidedown:" (Acts xxiv. 5, 6:) and will endeavour to bring them to such sufferings, as men really guilty of such crimes deserve.

70. And because the suffering, and dissenting party of Ministers, when silenced, will leave many vacancies in the Churches they will be fain to fill them with men, how empty and unworthy soever, that are of their own spirit, and will be true to their interests.

71. The exasperation of their sufferings, will make many, otherwise sober Ministers, too impatient, and to give their tongues leave to take down the honour of the Clergy, whom they suffer by more than beseemeth men of humility, charity, and patience.