CHAP. II.

That the ceremonious doctrine of prelaty oppofeth the reafon and end of the gospel.

THAT which next declares the heavenly power, and reveals the deep myftery of the gofpel, is the pure fimplicity of doctrine, accounted the foolishness of this world, yet croffing and confounding the pride and wif dom of the flesh. And wherein confifts this fleshly wisdom and pride? In being altogether ignorant of God and his worship? No furely, for men are naturally afhamed of that. Where then? It confifts in a bold prefumption of ordering the worship and fervice of God after man's own will in traditions and ceremonies. Now if the pride and wifdom of the flesh were to be defeated and confounded, no doubt but in that very point wherein it was proudest, and thought itself wifeft, that fo the victory of the gospel might be the more illuftrious. But our prelates, inftead of expreffing the fpritual power of their ministry, by warring against this chief bulwark and strong hold of the flesh, have entered into faft league with the principal enemy against whom they were fent, and turned the ftrength of fleshly pride and wifdom against the pure fimplicity of faving truth. Firft, miftrufting to find the authority of their order in the immediate inftitution of Chrift, or his apostles, by the clear evidence of scripture, they fly to the carnal fupportment of tradition; when we appeal to the Bible, they to the unwieldy volumes of tradition and do not fhame to reject the ordinance of him that is eternal, for the perverfe iniquity of fixteen hundred years; choofing rather to think truth itself a liar, than that fixteen ages fhould be taxed with an errour; not confidering the general apoftafy that was foretold, and the church's flight into the wilderness. Nor is this enough; instead of showing the reafon of their lowly condition from divine example and command, they seek to prove their high preeminence from human confent and authority. But let them chant while they will of prerogatives,

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rogatives, we fhall tell them of fcripture; of custom, we of fcripture; of acts and ftatutes, ftill of fcripture; till the quick and piercing word enter to the dividing of their fouls, and the mighty weakness of the gofpel throw down the weak mightinefs of man's reafoning. Now for their demeanour within the church, how have they disfigured and defaced that more than angelic brightness, the unclouded ferenity of chriftian religion, with the dark overcafting of fuperftitious copes and flaminical veftures, wearing on their backs, and I abhor to think, perhaps in fome worse place, the inexpreffible image of God the Father? Tell me, ye priests, wherefore this gold, wherefore these robes and furplices over the gospel? religion guilty of the first trefpafs, and hath need of clothing to cover her nakedness? What does this elfe but caft an ignominy upon the perfection of Chrift's miniftry, by fecking to adorn it with that which was the poor remedy of our fhame? Believe it, wondrous doctors, all corporeal resemblances of inward holiness and beauty are now paft; he that will clothe the gospel now, intimates plainly, that the gofpcl is naked, uncomely, that I may not fay reproachful. Do not, ye church-mafkers, while Chrift is clothing upon our barrennefs with his righteous garment to make us acceptable in his Father's fight; do not, as ye do, cover and hide his righteous verity with the polluted clothing of your ceremonies, to make it seem more decent in your own eyes. "How beautiful," faith Isaiah, "are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publifheth falvation!" Are the feet fo beautiful, and is the very bringing of these tidings fo decent of itself? What new decency can then be added to this by your fpinftry? Ye think by these gaudy glifterings to ftir up the devotion of the rude multitude; ye think fo, because ye forfake the heavenly teaching of St. Paul for the hellifh fophiftry of papifm. If the multitude be rude, the lips of the preacher muft give knowledge, and not ceremonies. And although fome chriftians be newborn babes comparatively to fome that are ftronger, yet in refpect of ceremony, which is but rudiment of the law, the weakest chriftian hath thrown off the robes of his minority, and is a perfect man, as to legal rites. What children's food there is in the gospel,

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we know to be no other than the "fincerity of the word, that they may grow thereby." But is here the utmost of your outbraving the fervice of God? No. Ye have been bold, not to set your threshold by his threshold, or your pofts by his pofts; but your facrament, your fign, call it what you will, by his facrament, baptizing the chriftian infant with a folemn fprinkle, and unbaptizing for your own part with a prophane and impious forefinger: as if when ye had laid the purifying element upon his forehead, ye meant to cancel and crofs it out again with a character not of God's bidding. O but the innocence of these ceremonies! O rather the fottifh abfurdity of this excufe. What could be more innocent than the wafhing of a cup, a glass, or hands, before meat, and that under the law when fo many wafhings were commanded, and by long tradition? yet our Saviour detested their cuftoms, though never fo feeming harmless, and charges them feverely, that they had tranfgreffed the commandments of God by their traditions, and worshipped him in in vain. How much more then must these, and much groffer ceremonies now in force, delude the end of Chrift's coming in the flesh against the flesh, and ftifle the fincerity of our new covenant, which hath bound us to forfake all carnal pride and wisdom, especially in matters of religion? Thus we see again how prelaty, failing in oppofition to the main end and power of the gofpel, doth not join in that mysterious work of Chrift, by lowlinefs to confound height, by fimplicity of doctrine the wifdom of the world, but contrariwife hath made itself high in the world and the flesh, to vanquish things by the world accounted low, and made itself wife in tradition and fleshly ceremony, to confound the purity of doctrine which is the wifdom of God.

CHA P. III.

That prelatical jurisdiction oppofeth the reafon and end of the Gospel and of State.

THE third and laft confideration remains, whether the prelates in their function do work according to the gofpel, practifing to fubdue the mighty things of this world

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by things weak, which St. Paul hath fet forth to be the power and excellence of the gofpel; or whether in more likelihood they band themselves with the prevalent things of this world, to overrun the weak things which Christ hath made choice to work by: and this will foonest be difcerned by the courfe of their jurifdiction. But here again I find my thoughts almost in fufpenfe betwixt yea and no, and am nigh turning mine eye which way I may beft retire, and not proceed in this fubject, blaming the ardency of my mind that fixed me too attentively to come thus far. For truth, I know not how, hath this unhappiness fatal to her, ere the can come to the trial and inspection of the understanding; being to pafs through many little wards and limits of the feveral affections and defires the cannot fhift it, but muft put on fuch colours and attire, as those pathetic handmaids of the foul please to lead her in to their queen: and if she find so much favour with them, they let her pass in her own likeness; if not, they bring her into the prefence habited and coloured like a notorious falfehood. And contrary, when any falfehood comes that way, if they like the errand she brings, they are so artful to counterfeit the very shape and visage of truth, that the understanding not being able to difcern the fucus which these inchantreffes with fuch cunning have laid upon the feature fometimes of truth, fometimes of falfehood interchangeably, fentences for the most part one for the other at the firft blush, according to the fubtle imposture of these fenfual miftreffes, that keep the ports and paffages between her and the object. So that were it not for leaving imperfect that which is already faid, I should go near to relinquish that which is to follow. And because I fee that most men, as it happens in this world, either weakly or falfely principled, what through ignorance, and what through cuftom of licence, both in difcourfe and writing, by what hath been of late written in vulgar, have not feemed to attain the decifion of this point: I fhall likewife assay thofe wily arbitreffes who in moft men have, as was heard, the fole ufhering of truth and falfehood between the fenfe and the foul, with what loyalty they will use me in convoying this truth to my understanding; VOL. I.

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the rather for that by as much acquaintance as I can obtain with them, I do not find them engaged either one way or other. Concerning therefore ecclefiaftical jurifdiction, I find ftill more controverfy, who fhould adminifter it; than diligent inquiry made to learn what it is: for had the pains been taken to fearch out that, it had been long ago enrolled to be nothing else but a pure tyrannical forgery of the prelates; and that jurifdictive power in the church there ought to be none at all. It cannot be conceived that what men now call jurifdiction in the church, should be other thing than a christian cenforfhip; and therefore it is moft commonly and truly named ecclefiaftical cenfure. Now if the roman cenfor, a civil function, to that fevere affize of furveying and controlling the privateft and flyeft manners of all men and all degrees, had no jurifdiction, no courts of plea or inditement, no punitive force annexed; whether it were that to this manner of correction the intanglement. of fuits was improper, or that the notice of thofe upright inquifitors extended to fuch the moft covert and fpiritous vices as would flip eafily between the wider and more material grafp of the law; or that it ftood more with the majefty of that office to have no other fergeants or maces about them but thofe invifible ones of terrour and fhame: or, laffly, were it their fear, left the greatnefs of this authority and honour, armed with jurifdiction, might ftep with cafe into a tyranny: in all these respects, with much more reafon undoubtedly ought the cenfure of the church be quite divested and difentailed of all jurisdiction whatsoever. For if the courfe of judicature to a political cenforship feem either too tedious, or too contentious, much more may it to the difcipline of the church, whofe definitive decrees are to be speedy, but the execution of rigour flow, contrary to what in legal proceedings is moft ufual; and by how much the lefs contentious it is, by fo much will it be the more chriftian. And if the cenfor, in his moral epifcopy, being to judge moft in mat-. ters not answerable by writ or action, could not use an inftrument fo grofs and bodily as jurifdiction is, how can the minifter of the gofpel manage the corpulent and fecular trial of bill and procefs in things merely fpiritual?

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