purfe and faith? Who ftyle themfelves embaffadors of Jefus Chrift, and feem to be his tithe-gatherers, though an office of their own fetting up to his difhonour, his exacters, his publicans rather, not trufting that he will maintain them in their embaffy, unless they bind him to his promise by a statute-law, that we fhall maintain them. Lay down for fhame that magnific title, while ye feek maintenance from the people: it is not the manner of embaffadors to afk maintenance of them to whom they are fent. But he who is Lord of all things, hath fo ordained: truft him then; he doubtlefs will command the people to make good his promises of maintenance more honourably unafked, unraked for. This they know, this they preach, yet believe not: but think it as impoffible, without a ftatute-law, to live of the gofpel, as if by thofe words they were bid go eat their Bibles, as Ezekiel and John did their books; and fuch doctrines as these are as bitter to their bellies'; but will ferve fo much the better to discover hirelings, who can have nothing, though but in appearance, juft and folid to answer for themselves against what hath been here fpoken, unless perhaps this one remaining pretence, which we fhall quickly fee to be either falfe or uninge nuous. They pretend that their education, either at fchool or univerfity, hath been very chargeable, and therefore ought to be repaired in future by a plentiful maintenance: whenas it is well known, that the better half of them, (and ofttimes poor and pitiful boys, of no merit or promifing hopes that might entitle them to the public provifion, but their poverty and the unjuft favour of friends,) have had the most of their breeding, both at school and univerfity, by fcholarships, exhibitions, and fellowships at the public coft, which might engage them the rather to give freely, as they have freely received. Or if they have miffed of thefe helps at the latter place, they have after two or three years left the courfe of their studies there, if they ever well began them, and undertaken, though furnished with little elfe but ignorance, boldnefs, and ambition, if with no worfe vices, a chaplainfhip in fome gentleman's houfe, to the freVOL. III. quent Сс : quent embafing of his fons with illiterate and narrow principles. Or if they have lived thacre upon their own, who knows not that feven years charge of living there, to them who fly not from the government of their pa rents to the licence of a univerfity, but come feriously to ftudy, is no more than may be well defrayed and reimburfed by one year's revenue of an ordinary good benefice: If they had then means of breeding from their parents, it is likely they have more now; and if they have, it needs must be mechanic and uningenuous in them, to bring a bill of charges for the learning of thofe liberal arts and fciences, which they have learned (if they have indeed learned them, as they feldom have) to their own benefit and accomplishment. But they will fay, we had betaken us to fome other trade or profellion, had we not expected to find a better livelihood by the miniftry. This is that which I looked for, to dicover them openly neither true lovers of learning, and to very feldom guilty of it, nor truc minifters of the gofpel. So long ago out of date is that, old true faying, 4 Thu. iii, 1,4 If a man defire a bioprie, he defires a good work for now commonly he who defires to be a minitter, looks not at the work, but at the wages; and by that lure or lowbell, may be tolled from parith to parith all the town over. But, what can be plainer fimony, than thus to be at charges beforehand, to no other end than to make their niniftry doubly or trebly beneficial. To whom it might be laid, as jully as to that Simon, Thy money perifh with thee, because thou haft thought, that the gift of God may be pur chafed with money; thou haft neither part nor lot in this matter." Next, it is a, fond errour, though too much believed among us, to think that, the university makes a minifter of the gofpel; what it may condtice to other arts and fciences, I difpute not now: but that which makes fit a minifier, the icripture can beft in form us to be only from above, whence allo we are bid to feek them; Mat. ix, 38, "Pray ye therefore to the Lord of the harveft, that he will fend forth labourers into his harveft." Acts, xx, 28, "The flock, over which the Holy Ghoft hath made you overfears.", Roin. x, 15, "How shall they preach, unless they be fent?" By whom fent? by the univerfity, or the magiftrate, or their belly? No furely, but fent from God only, and that God who is not their belly. And whether he be fent from God, or from Simon Magus, the inward fenfe of his calling and fpiritual ability will fufficiently tell him; and that ftrong obligation felt within him, which was felt by the apoftle, will often exprefs from him the fame words: 1 Cor. ix, 16, "Neceflity is laid upon me, yea, Woe is me if I preach not the gofpel." Not a beggarly neceffity, and the Woe feared otherwife of perpetual want, but fuch a neceffity as made him willing to preach the golpel gratis, and to embrace poverty, rather than as a woe to fear it. 1 Cor. xii, 28, "God hath fet fome in the church, firft apoftles, &c." Ephef. iv, 11, &c.; "He gave fome apoftles, &c. For the perfecting of the faints, for the work of the miniftry, for the edifying of the body of Chrift, till we all come to the unity of the faith." Whereby we may know, that as he made them at the firft, fo he makes them ftill, and to the world's end. 2 Cor. iii, 6, "Who hath alfo made us fit or able minifters of the New Teftament." 1 Tim. iv, 14. "The gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, and the laying on of the hands of the prefbytery." Thefe are all the means, which we read of, required in fcripture to the making of a minifter. All this is granted, you will fay; but yet that it is alfo requifite he thould be trained in other learning; which can be no where better had than at univerfities. I answer, that what learning, either human or divine, can be neceffary to a minifter, may as eafily and lets chargeably be had in any private houfe. How deficient elfe, and to how little purpose are all thofe piles of fermons, notes, and comments on all parts of the Bible, bodies and marrows of divinity, befides all other fciences, in our English tongue; many of the fame books which in Latin they read at the univerfity? And the fmall neceffity of going thither to learn divinity I prove firft from the most part of themselves, who feldom continue there till they have well got through logic, their firft rudiments; though, to fay truth, logic alfo may much better be wanting in difputes CC 2 66 difputes of divinity, that in the fubtile debates of lawyers, and statefimen, who yet feldom or never deal with fyllogifins. And thofe theological difputations there held by profeffors and graduates are fuch, as tend leaft of all to the edification or capacity of the people, but rather perplex and leaven pure doctrine with fcholaftical trafh, than enable any minifter to the better preaching of the gospel. Whence we may Whence we may alfo compute, fince they come to reckonings, the charges of his needful library: which, though fome fhame not to value at 600l., may be competently furnished for 6ol. If any man for his own curiofity or delight be in books further expensive, that is not to be reckoned as neceffary to his minifterial, either breeding or function. But papifts and other adverfaries cannot be confuted without fathers and councils, immenfe volumes, and of vaft charges. I will show them therefore a fhorter and a better way of confutation: Tit. i, 9, Holding faft the faithful word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able by found doctrine, both to exhort and to convince gainfayers:" who are confuted as foon as heard, bringing that which is either not in fcripture, or against it. To purfue them further through the obfcure and entangled wood of antiquity, fathers and councils fighting one againft another, is needles, endlefs, not requifite in a minifter, and refufed by the first reformers of our religion. And yet we may be confident, if these things be thought needful, let the ftate but erect in public good store of libraries, and there will not want men in the church, who of their own inclinations will become able in this kind againft papift or any other adverfary. I have thus at large examined the ufual pretences of hirelings, coloured over most commonly with the cause of learning and univerfities; as if with divines learning ftood and fell, wherein for the moft part their pittance is fo fmall: and, to speak freely, it were much better there were not one divine in the univerfitics, no fchool-divinity known, the idle fophiftry of monks, the canker of religion; and that they who intended to be minifters, were trained up in the church only by the fcripture, and in the original languages thereof at fchool; without fetching the com pats pafs of other arts and fciences, more than what they can well learn at fecondary leifure, and at home. Neither speak I this in contempt of learning, or the ministry, but hating the common cheats of both; hating that they, who have preached out bithops, prelates, and canonifts, fhould, in what ferves their own ends, retain, their falle opinions, their Pharifaical leaven, their avarice, and clofely their ambition, their pluralities, their nonresidencies, their odious fees, and ufe their legal and popith arguments for tithes: that independents fhould take that name, as they may juftly from the true freedom of chriftian doctrine and church-difcipline fubject to no fuperiour judge but God only, and feek to be dependents on the magiftrate for their maintenance; which two things, independence and ftate-hire in religion, can never confift long or certainly together. For magiftrates at one time or other, not like thefe at present our patrons of chriftian liberty, will pay none but fuch whom by their committees of examination they find conformable to their interefts and opinions: and hirelings will foon frame themselves to that intereft, and thofe opinions which they fee beft pleafing to their paymafters; and to feem right themfelves, will force others as to the truth. But moft of all they are to be reviled and fhamed, who cry out with the diftinct voice of notorious hirelings; that if ye fettle not our maintenance by law, farewel the gofpel; than which nothing can be uttered more falfe, more ignominious, and I may fay, more blafphemous against our Saviour; who hath promifed without this condition, both his holy fpirit, and his own prefence with his church to the world's end: nothing more falte (unless with their own mouths they condemn themfelves for the unworthieft and moft mercenary of all other minifters) by the experience of 300 years after Chrift, and the churches at this day in France, Auftria, Polonia, and other places, witneffing the contrary under an adverse magistrate, not a favourable; nothing more ignominious, levelling, or rather undervaluing Chrift beneath Mahomet. For if it muft be thus, how can any chriftian object it to a Turk that his religion ftands by force only; and not justly Cc3 fear |