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BEGINNINGS OF A REFORMATION.

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and gave at first a little remnant to see some abominations of the great whore, and to deny them; and I firmly believe, by the power and Spirit of Christ, many endured martyrdom in faithfulness to these degrees of light bestowed upon them; and their sufferings did not hinder the spreading of the work begun.

But in some of the successors of these very martyrs, the enemy again wrought in a mystery, and though their forefathers were endued with power and a clear light to testify against and pull down some inventions that were crept in, in the night of darkness; yet many that succeeded them, not waiting till they received counsel from God, to build as well as pull down; the will of man set a working to build in the room of what they had destroyed, and so some in one country, and others in other countries, devised new forms and ceremonies, creeds and systems of faith, and modes of worship and church-government; and as the apprehensions of men varied, so their ceremonies and worships varied; and though the contrivers might suppose they took example by the primitive practice, yet their disagreement in their forms and creeds, shews they were not led by the unerring Spirit of Christ, neither do any of them pretend to it; which though pretended to by that Church they separated from, yet it was not the error of that church, to hold that the true church is led by the Spirit of Truth into all Truth; but the error of that church (as I believe all Protestants will own) was, that whilst they pretended to be guided by the unerring Spirit of Christ, they in reality departed from it, and brought in manifold inventions and superstitions in worship and practice.

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NEW SUPERSTITIONS GOT IN.

But had those who rose up after the early Reformers waited to receive wisdom from God, I firmly believe the Lord in his time would have led them to the true spiritual worship, to a ministry from the Spirit, and to all things necessary to salvation, that they would not have needed a man-made priesthood, trimmed up with the qualifications of human learning, which, though useful to a man as a man, yet are neither of such power as to make a man a minister of Christ,1 nor necessary to a Christian minister. For that which makes a man such, must be the peculiar work of the Spirit of Christ, both to sanctify, endue, and send forth into that service; which too many do not wait for.

And yet it is evident their constitution doth confess this qualification to be necessary to a gospel-minister, as is manifest by their prayer, and by their question in ordination, and in their saying receive the Holy Ghost; yet the ordainer, and he that expects an ordination, I doubt, do both suppose the Spirit is not there given; and if so, do such less than prevaricate ?

Let them, then, draw their consequence from that learned Episcopalian,-" Nihil dat quod non habet; since they nor have, nor hope for, that excellent Spirit, how can they convey that Spirit by laying on of their hands in ordination? If they have not that excellent Spirit, how can they give it by their hands to those whom they ordain?" And he, in the same page, going on notably concerning ministerial qualifications, I am willing to transcribe a little more from the said place, where he saith, "O my brethren, ye who are zealous of Christ's government and discipline,

(1) Gal. i. 12. (2) Office of Ordination. (3) Gell's Essay.

THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT NOT WAITED FOR. 53

let us first sit down in the lowest room, and yield ourselves disciples unto the Father,1 and suffer ourselves to be corrected by his discipline, and to be instructed out of his law, and bearing his yoke, his cross and patience, that being made conformable unto his death, we may be made partakers of his Spirit, his Life, and Resurrection; whereby we shall be enabled to bear the burthens of the weak, and one another's burthens; whereby we shall be taught to rule ourselves, and so become rulers and governors of the Church of Christ; so shall we be able experimentally to preach Christ, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.3 For this is the end why the Lord gives these his gifts unto men, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, pastors, teachers, and so elders and deacons, for the perfecting of the saints; for the work of the ministry; for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all meet or come into the unity of faith, and acknowledgement of the Son of God unto a perfect man, to the measure of the stature or age of the fulness of Christ. The Lord vouchsafe that great grace unto us all."

Thus far he of the spiritual, which he calls due qualifications of church-governors, which, says he, some believe not possible to be attained in this life.

However, some (zealous to establish, as their predecessors were to pull down) not waiting for that which should lead into all truth, went to modelling religion, and in the wisdom from below setting up forms and ceremonies of their own, compelled men to bow thereto; and such as could not conform, felt

(1) Isaiah viii, 16. (2) Psalm xciv, 1. (3) Col. i, 28.

54 THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT NOT WAITED FOR

the falsely-called gentle severities of prisons, gallows, fines, sequestrations, and banishments; and thus, as did old Rome, by cruel persecutions, so did some endeavour to destroy those in whom further light was manifest, and did really desire to walk therein. 1

And in this work both preacher and hearer combined together, as if designed to stop the further work of God in a thorough reformation. Thus practising the wolf rather, which the aforesaid Bishop in his preface thus decently blames ;

There is scarcely a more unaccountable thing to be imagined, than to see a company of men professing that religion, a great and main precept whereof is mutual love, forbearance, gentleness of spirit, and compassion to all sorts of persons, and agreeing in all the essential parts of that doctrine, differing only in some less material and more disputable things, yet maintain those differences with a zeal so disproportioned to the value of them, prosecuting all that disagree from them with all possible violence; or if they want means to use outward force, with all bitterness of spirit. This must needs astonish every impartial beholder, and raise great prejudices against those persons' religions, as made up of contradictions, professing love, but breaking out in all the acts of hatred."2

Neither did this work of imposition keep itself confined in the several countries where it was begun, but nation rose up against nation, and many fruitful lands were turned into fields of blood, upon the score of their religious differences, which is but too well known in history to need a demonstration.

(1) Rev. xxi, 24. (2) Bishop Burnet.

IMPOSITION PREVAILED.

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But as the true Christian man sees all this, both as to devising religions, and imposing thereof, to be from below, he cannot join with it, but rather chooses to suffer what God may please to permit, than bow to the will of man in opposition to what he believes is the will of God; but as he cannot yield to imposition, though joined. with force, so neither doth he oppose force with force, but patiently bears the cross; which the aforesaid Treatise a little hints at, and advises those imposers, and recommends a better conduct, saying, "I shall desire all those hot zealots, “ who think they have a true zeal for God, when they "are enraged with fury against those who are in any

error, how gross soever, to retire their minds to an " inward serious contemplating of God, and attending "to his voice; and then let them see if they can "reconcile those hotter thoughts with the other serious ones; they will find that the more they are filled with the fulness of God, the more meek, ten"der-hearted and gentle they are. And from this "they may be convinced, that such heats are not of "God, nor of that wisdom which is first pure, then "peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated."1

CHAPTER XXIII.

Of Forms set up, and imposing thereof.

AGAIN, our said author commends the patient, submissive practice of Christ in suffering; entirely submitting to that severe dispensation of providence,

(1) Scougal.

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