feffions, making thereby the gospel but a cloak of carnal intereft, and, to the contradiction of their Mafter, turning his heavenly kingdom into a kingdom of this world, a kingdom of force and rapine. To whom it will be one day thundered more terribly than to Gehazi, for thus difhonouring a far greater Master and his gofpel, Is this a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen? The leprofy of Naaman, linked with that apoftolic curfe of perishing imprecated on Simon Magus, may be feared will cleave to fuch, and to their feed for ever.

So that when all is done, and belly hath used in vain all her cunning fhifts, I doubt not but all true ministers, confidering the deinonftration of what hath been here proved, will be wife, and think it much more tolerable to hear, that no maintenance of minifters, whether tithes or any other, can be fettled by ftatute; but must be given by them who receive inftruction; and freely given, as God hath ordained.

And indeed what can be a more honourable maintenance to them, than fuch whether alms or willing oblations as thefe, which being accounted both alike as given to God, the only acceptable facrifices now remaining, muft needs reprefent him who receives them much in the care of God and nearly related to him, when not by worldly force and constraint, but with religious awe and reverence, what is given to God, is given to him, and what to him, accounted as given to God.

This would be well enough, fay they; but how many will fo give? I anfwer, as many, doubtlefs, as fhall be well taught; as many as God fhall fo move. Why are ye fo diftruftful both of your own doctrine and of God's promifes, fulfilled in the experience of thofe difciples fift fent: Luke xxii, 35. When I fent you without purse, and ferip, and foes, lacked ye any thing? And they faid, Nothing. How then came ours, or who fent them thus deftitute, thus poor and empty both of purfe and faith? Who ftyle themselves ambaffadors of Jefus Chrift, and feem to be his tithe-gatherers, though an office of their own setting up to his dishonour, his exacters, his publicans rather,

not

not trusting that he will maintain them in their embaffy, unless they bind him to his promise by a ftatute-law that we shall maintain them. Lay down for fhame that magnific title, while ye feek maintenance from the people : It is not the manner of ambaffadors 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 promifes of maintenance more honourably, unasked, unraked for.

This they know, this they preach, yet believe not : But think it as impoffible without a statute-law to live of the gospel, as if by those 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 difcover hirelings, who can have nothing, though but in appearance, juft and folid to answer for themfelves against what hath been here fpoken, unlefs 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 oft-times 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 university, 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 hours of their studies there, if they ever well began them, and undertaken, though furnished with little elfe but ignorance, boldness, and ambition, if with no worfe vices, a chaplainship in fome gentleman's houfe, to the frequent embafing of his fons with illiterate and narrow principles. Or if they have lived there upon their own, who knows not that feven years charge of living there, to them who fly not from the government

D 3

of

of their parents to the license of an 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 must needs 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 profes fion, had we not expected to find a better livelihood. by the miniftry. This is that which I looked for, to difcover them openly neither true lovers of learning, and fo feldom guilty of it, nor true minifters of the gofpel. So long ago out of date is that old true faying, 1 Tim. iii. 1. If u man defires a bifkoprick, he defires a good work: For now commonly he who defires to be a minifter, looks not at the work but at the wages; and by that lure or lowbell may be toll'd from parish to parish all the town But what can be plainer fimony, than thus to be at charges before-hand to no other end than to make their miniftry doubly or trebly beneficial? To whom it might be faid as juftly as to that Simon, Thy money perif with thee, becaufe thou haft thought that the gift of God may be purchafed with money: Thou haft neither part nor lot in

very

over.

this matter.

Next, It is a fond error, though too much believed among us, to think that the univerfity makes a minister of the gofpel; what it may conduce to other arts and fciences, I difpute not now: But that which makes fit a minifter, the fcripture can beft inform us to be only from above; whence alfo we are bid to feek them; Matth. ix. 38. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvefl, that be will fend forth labourers into his harveft. Acts xx. 28. The flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overfeers. Rom. x. 15. How shall they preach unless they be fent? By whom fent? By the univerfity, or the magifrate, or their belly? No furely: But fent from God only, and that God who is not their belly. And whe

ther

perpe

ther he be fent from God or from Simon Magus, the in ward 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. Neceffity is laid upon me, yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the gospel. Not a beggarly neceffity, and the wo feared otherwife of tual want, but fuch a neceffity as made him willing to preach the gofpel gratis, and to embrace poverty rather than as a wo to fear it: 1 Cor. xii. 28. God hath fet feme in the church, firfl apoflies, &c. Eph. iv. 11. &c. He gave fome apoflles, &c. For the perfecting of the faints, for the work of the miniftry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 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 fill, and to the world's end. 2 Cor. iii. 6. Who hath alfo made us fit or able miniflers 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 minister.

All this is granted you will fay: But yet that it is alfo requifite he fhould be trained in other learning; which can be no where better had than at univerfities. 1 anfwer, that what learning either human or divine can be neceffary to a minifter, may as eafily and lefs chargeably be had in any private house. How deficient elfe, and to how little purpofe 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 first from the moft part of themselves, who feldom continue there till they have well got through logic, their firft rudiments; though, to fay truth, alfo may much better be wanting in difputes of divinity, than in the fubtle debates of lawyers and ftatefimen, who yet feldom or never deal with fyllogifms. And thofe theological difputations there held by profeffors and graduates, are fuch as tend leaft of all to the edification

fication or capacity of the people, but rather perplex and leaven pure doctrine with scholastical trash than enable any minister to the better preaching of the gospel.

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 60l. If any man, for his own curiofity or delight, be in books further expenfive, that is not to be reckoned as neceffary to his ministerial either breeding or function.

But Papifts and other adverfaries cannot be confuted without fathers and councils, immenfe volumes and of vaft charges. I will fhew them therefore a fhorter and a better way of confutation: Titus 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 gainfuyers: Who are confuted as foon as heard, bringing that which is either not in feripture or againft it. To pursue them further through the obfcure and entangled wood of antis quity, fathers, and councils, fighting one against another, is needlefs, endless, not requifite in a minifter, and refused 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 against Papist or any other adversary.

I

THE CONCLUSION.

HAVE thus at large examined the ufual pretences of hirelings, coloured over moft commonly with the caufe of learning and univerfities: As if with divines learning ftood and fell: Wherein for the most part their pittance is fo fmall: And, to fpeak freely, it were much better there were not one divine in the univerfity; no school-divinity known, the idle fophiftry of monks, the canker of religion; and that they who intended to be minifters, were

trained