in the assemblies;' here is another mark: they love greetings in the market-place, and to be called of men, rabbi or master.' here is another mark.

But saith Christ to his disciples, 'Be not ye called of men master or rabbi; for one is your master, even Christ, and all you are brethren; he that is the greatest among you let him be your servant.' Here is Christ's doctrine to his ministers, Matt. xxiii. and the marks or tokens by which people may know the false; and therefore, try yourselves, ye preachers, and priests in Christendom, have ye not all these marks and badges, and to be cried against by the spirit?

And the false teachers were such as 'garnished the sepulchres of the righteous,' and said, 'If we had been in the days of our forefathers, we would not have killed the prophets, or have been partakers with our forefathers in the blood of the prophets; so then be ye witnesses, saith Christ, unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them that murdered the prophets. Oh, generation of vipers! how can you escape the damnation of hell,' saith Christ? And do not many say so now, that are found in the practise of their forefathers, the scribes and pharisees?

And further, Christ saith, Wherefore, behold I send unto you prophets and wise men, and scribes, and of them ye shall kill and crucify, and of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city;' mark, these were such as Christ should send amongst those professors, and that was then to be fulfilled, that upon you might come all the righteous blood that was shed upon the earth, &c.

Now have not many christians in profession, but not in possession fulfilled these sayings of Christ upon his servants, in scourging and persecuting, and putting them out of their synagogues in these our days.

And in Matt. x. where Christ sent forth his disciples to preach, and said, 'As ye go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand; heal the sick, cleanse the leprous, cast out devils, freely you have received, freely give, possess not gold or silver in your purses, nor take a scrip for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff; for the workman is worthy of his meat; and into what city or town ye shall come, enquire who is worthy in it, and there abide till you go thence; and when ye come into an house, salute the same, and if the house be worthy let your peace come upon it, but if it be not worthy let your peace return to you again, and whosoever will not receive you, nor hear your words; [mark] nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet for a testimony aginst them; truly I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city,' saith Christ.

'Behold I send you, as sheep in the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves, beware of men, for they will

deliver you up to the councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues, [mark,] in their synagogues; ye shall be brought before the governors and kings for my namesake, in witness to them and to the Gentiles; but when they deliver you up, take no thought, how or what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall say; for it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of the Father which speaketh in you.' Now mark how Christ sent forth his ministers, here they were to give freely; for freely they had received of Christ, and they were not to take gold or silver in their purses, nor scrips, they were to enquire who was worthy in town or city, and what was set before them, that they were to eat; they were not to enquire what benefits or augmentations belonged to such a town or place, and they were not to go to the magistrates for the bag and their staff, but who was worthy; and they were to be as innocent as doves; for they went amongst wolves as sheep: they were to be delivered up before councils, and scourged in the synagogues; they were to be brought before rulers, but they were not to take thought or study what to speak; for it was the spirit of the Father spoke in them. Now who amongst you in Christendom, goes on in this path of the disciples of Christ, as you may see Matt. xvi. and Mark vi. and Luke ix. and obey the command of Christ herein.

And in Luke x. where Christ appointed his seventy disciples, and sent them out two and two before him, and he said unto them, the harvest is great but the labourers are few, pray therefore, the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into his harvest;' [mark,] pray for the Lord to send them forth, who is the Lord of the harvest; so these were not to be sent forth by men, but by the Lord of the harvest; and this was Christ's command for his disciples to pray, and saith Christ to his seventy, 'go your ways, behold I will send you forth as lambs amongst wolves ;' (mark, these wolves,) ye professing Jews of the law, and the prophets; 'carry neither bag nor scrip, neither salute any man by the way, and into whatsoever house ye enter, say, peace to this house; and if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it, if not it shall turn to you again; and in that house abide, eating and drinking such things as shall by them be set before you; for the labourer is worthy of his meat; go not from house to house.' So you may see this was their wages, a little meat and drink; but into whatsoever city ye shall enter, if they receive you, eat such things as are set before you; heal the sick that are there, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come near unto you; but into whatsoever city ye shall enter, if they will not receive you, go your ways out into the streets of the same city, and say, [mark, they were to speak in the streets,] even the very dust which cleaveth on us of your city, we wipe off against you; notwithstanding know this, that the kingdom of God is come near unto you; [mark,] is come near unto you; for

I say unto you that it shall be easier in that day for them of Sodom, than for that city; he that heareth you, heareth me, saith Christ; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me; and the seventy returned again from their preaching with joy, saying, Lord even the devils are subject unto us through thy name, and Christ bid them, rejoice not in that, but rather because their names were written in heaven; and that same hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I confess unto thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes, even so Father, because it so pleased thee; then he turned to his disciples and said, all things are given me of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father, nor who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him; and he turned to his disciples and said, blessed are the eyes which see what you see.'

So here you may see how Christ sent forth the seventy disciples, and how they came again with joy, and how his Father had revealed such things to babes, and hid them from the wise and learned, and that no man knows the Son, but the Father, and no one knows the Father, but the Son, and him to whom the Son will reveal him:' so it is clear neither learned nor wise know the Father nor Son, but by Revelation, as may be seen at large in Luke x. Therefore, all ye teachers in Christendom, come and try yourselves by these scriptures, and see whether you be not found out of the practice of Christ's disciples and ministers, and disobedient to Christ's commands.

And now these seventy, as the twelve, were not to enquire into what town or city they came, where was the greatest benefice or augmentation, and come and tell Christ they had gotten such things; but their joy was, that he had given them power over the devil: and Christ said in Luke xxii. 35. unto his disciples, when I sent you without bag and scrip, and shoes, lacked you any thing? and the disciples answered him, we lacked nothing.'

So here you may see, though Christ sent forth his ministers without bag or scrip, silver or gold, and commanded them to give freely, as they had received freely of him, yet they wanted for nothing: therefore, consider all you that call yourselves ministers, that say, ye have not heard the voice of Christ, are not you always in want, though you have bag and scrip, silver and gold? and will you go to any place, except there be a great parsonage, or some augmentation; therefore, measure yourselves with such as Christ sent forth, and see how unlike you are unto them? and have not you laid away Christ's command, who saith, 'freely you have received, freely give;' and how can you receive freely from Christ, when you never expect to hear his voice, or to be sent out by him?

therefore, have not you given judgment against yourselves, that you are such as run, and speak, and use your tongues, and follow your own spirits, and see nothing, whom God or Christ never hath sent nor spoken unto; and are not you like the inwardly ravening wolves, spoken of in Mat. vii. 24. that have the outside, the sheeps' clothing, the outside of the sheep, but not the life of the sheep; and so are the thistles and the thorn trees, that bear neither grapes nor figs, but deceive people with the sheep's outside, with which you cover the wolfish nature; hath not this been seen in Christendom, who say you have not the same power and spirit the apostles had? wherein we do believe you, for your fruits have declared it, though you may have the outward words of the prophets and apostles, and worry them that be in the life, as your forefathers did. And in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, ye may see how it was the chief priest, scribes and pharisees, that were the great professors, with their elders, that were the chiefest against Christ our Saviour, as may be seen in Matt. xxvii. 26. and how that they persuaded the common people against Christ, and to ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus; and the chief priests mocked him, with the scribes and elders of the pharisees.

And in Mark xiv. where they led Jesus away to the high priest, and how the high priest sought false witness against him, to put him to death. And in Luke xxiii. there you may see how vehemently the high priests and the scribes accused Jesus, and it was the high priests that delivered Christ to Pilate, John xviii. 35. And they were the informers against Jesus; and are not they so how? let town and country speak; and Judas sold Christ for thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, and when they had crucified him, they gave large money to the soldiers to say, 'that his disciples had stolen him away by night,' as in Mat. xxviii. 13. so Judas was the first that sold Christ, and Simon Magus was the second, who would have bought the gift of God, to have got money by it, and he offered the apostles money to have got that gift; but see Peter's answer, 'thy money perish with thee, because thou thinkest the gift of God can be bought with money, for I see thou art in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity,' &c., and therefore consider, all you that say ye have bought the gift, and it cost your parents a great deal of money, and therefore, you must have so much a year for it again; do you think that you are not in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity? and do not you think that you and your money, and that ye have bought with it, and sell, will perish together? read Acts viii. 18. Now you cannot sell Christ, as Judas did, except it be in his members; for he is risen, though you may sell his words, by which there is more gotten yearly, with the parsonages, glebe-lands, augmentations, and other revenues, than by any other trade whatsoever in Christendom; and how many millions are gotten yearly in Christendom, (let the arithmeticians cast it up,) by

the prophets', Christ's and the apostles' words, which they freely spoke forth, and declared against such as taught for money, and for filthy lucre, and for means, as you may see both in the old and new testament, how they declared against such; and ought not such to be declared against now, by them that are in the same spirit?

And Paul in Acts xx. 31. tells the elders of the church of Ephesus, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one both night and day with tears, (mark, for three years together he did warn these people at Ephesus,) and I take God to record this day, (says he,) that I am clear from the blood of all men; for I have kept nothing back, but have shewed you all the counsel of God; take heed therefore unto yourselves, and the flock which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers of; feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood;' [mark,] it is the Holy Ghost that made them overseers, and there was their succession; so they were not made overseers by men; and so with this Holy Ghost they did oversee and feed this flock, the church, which Christ is the head of.

And now all you that pretend yourselves to be overseers, and yet say, there is no having the Holy Ghost now a-days, as the apostles had, so then you are no true overseers, neither can you feed the church of Christ; for mark, it was the Holy Ghost that made them overseers; and they that be the true overseers must succeed them in the Holy Ghost, and be made overseers by it, for the apostle said after his departure from the church at Ephesus, where he had been for the space of three years, 'grievous wolves should enter in among them, not sparing the flock;' and those wolves should come with the form of godliness, and with the sheep's clothing, but inwardly ravened from the holy spirit of God; but he 'commended them to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build them up, and to give them an inheritance amongst all them that are sanctified.'

And Paul tells the Ephesians further, 'I have coveted no man's silver, nor gold, nor apparel,' though he had preached amongst them three years, as aforesaid; 'ye know' says he, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and unto them that were with me.'

And now ye old and new England professors and others, that say, there was no need for Paul to have a settled maintenance, because he travelled up and down; so now here you may see where Paul was three years together, and yet coveted no man's silver, nor gold, nor apparel; and moreover, said he, 'ye know that these hands have ministered to my necessities, and to them that were with me, for the space of three years;' for you never read here that he sued any man for tythe or means, he was not like, who laboured with his hands.

And further Paul saith, I have shewed unto you all things;' mark, VOL. V.-5