William, we own the Landlord's Right to his Lands to be a Good, Honest, Ancient, Just Right, and of another Nature than thine to Tithes, as before is made apparent.

God is Love, and All-fufficient for those that Love him, and one another in him; and hath never fail'd them that trusted in, and obey'd him; and his Love will out-live thy Law: And if all that profefs'd him, dwelt in Love, there would need no Law to force Maintenance. It was when Men departed from the Spirit of God in themselves, and followed their own Inventions, that Love waxed cold; and thofe that would still feem to be of God, and are not, and to come in the Love of God, and do not; but in Love to their own Lufts and Interefts, are they that are for forced Maintenance. For not being of God, they do not reach that of God in Men; nor get Love of those, they themselves do not Love; but feek their own Carnal Ends, and leave one Place, when a Greater Benefice calls them to another; and away they go, leaving the Flock to what follows; which fhews plainly what they Love.

In thy next thou fay'ft, John, pray thee tell me what thou meanest by those General Rules thou infifteft on, which condemn thofe that are BufieBodies, and work not at all; and require, that with Quietness they Work, and eat their own Bread He that will not Work, let him not Eat?

Answer:

Answer; I mean no other than what the Apostle meant; and fo thy Quarrel for this, is not with me, but him, 2 Theff. 3. 10, 11, 12. But for want of fomething to Reply, thou askeft me, Would you fend your Landlords into the Field, with a Sythe and a Spade? Would it not be a fine World, if God's People could thus triumph over thofe Lazy Perfons, who live upon Honeft Mens Labours, and work not at all? These are thy words; and Landlords need not thank thee for the Title thou putteft upon them: But are these the Men Paul only meant? No, fay'ft thou, I infift upon them as General Rules; and if fo, then they will reach thee: For if thou readeft the Chapter before-cited, thou may'st find who were chiefly intended, namely, Such as did walk diforderly amongst them, and not after the Traditions of the Apostles, who had not behaved themselves diforderly, but worked: For those Idle Perfons, the Apottle fpeaks of, were fuch as pretended to be fomething like the Apostles, and were not; but were Bufie-Bodies, and meddled with that which did not belong to them: And there are too many of these Lazy Perfons at this day, that will not work, but are very bufie to get from others what they Labour hard for.

But fay't thou, I hope, John, you would be kinder to us, who, you know, are ftiled God's Labourers; and, as St. Paul tells you, are worthy of our Hire.

Ah,

Ah, William, do I know you are filed God's Labourers? Did I ever tell thee fo ? Surely thou little heedeft what thou fay't now: For thou confeffeft, in thy next words, to me, You own us not to be fent of God, and fo are no Minifters of Chrift; and in the next Page thou fay't, If you do allow us to be fent of God, and Chrift's Minifters: What Confufion is this? What is it thou doft aim at?

Again, But if you do allow us to be fent of God, and Chrift's Minifters, why do you endeavour to feduce our People from us, and gather Flocks out of Chriftian Flocks, which never any but Seducers and falfe Teachers ever did.

A deal faid in a little room, William; but I do not remember, that I ever faid, that I own'd you to be fent of God, or that you were Christ's Ministers; and thy own words in another place fhew the contrary, where thou fay't, You tell me, you own us not to be fent of God, &c. and fo thou art running to and fro, to catch fomething if thou could ft. But what is it thou would't have? Doth not Moft Part of the Nation know what we own you to be? But nevertheless, thou would't fain hedge in thy Tithes, if poffible, though we own you not. And therefore thou querieft, How can you, upon your own Principle, deny us a juft Right to our Tithes, as Men? Ah, William, take away all that you hold your Tithes by, and we fhall not be fo troubled with you for Tithes, and that thou knowest. Make no Pretence to be Sent of God, and to

be

be Minifters of Chrift, and then the Law will take no notice of you, to give you Tithes. But the Law will defend fuch Rights as you may have, as Men, and Natives of the Land, and Subjects under its Government, and not pretending to be Priefts. For I ftill make a difference between a Man, that is a Common Subject, or meerly a Man, and a Clergyman, as fuch; yet thofe Civil Rights that a Clergy-man may have, as aforefaid, his being a Clergy-man doth not hinder him of the Benefit of the Law to maintain him in: And had I thought I fhould have been put in Print, fo unfairly as I was by thee, I fhould have been more exprefs in delivering my Judgment in my former Letters.

But why am I a Seducer? How doft thou make that appear? Whom of thy Flock have I feduced? Either make it out, or own thy felf a false Accufer; for till then, I think I need not regard thy Charge. I am fure, I have got no Corn, Hay, Cattel, &c. from any of thy Flock; and that is a very good fign, that a Man is no seducer, who feeks no Self-Ends, but works for his Living, as my Neighbours know I have done.

The next thing thou fpeakeft of, is anfwered in part, where I told thee what Miffion true Minifters have, viz. That they are Sent of God, and Fitted and Furnished by him, for the Work be fends them to do: And though they are approved of by the Church, yet 'tis because

because the Lord owns them, as in Acts 13. 2. and appoints them their Work, and goes with them, and will do to the end of the World, according to his Promife, Mat. 28.20..

But thou replieft, It is an eafie matter to say, a Man is fent of God, as all Falfe Teachers have pretended. Truly I think 'tis not very eafie for a Falfe Teacher to fay fo; for he knows, or at least might know, if he refift not the Holy Ghost, that he Lyes when he faith fo. But it may be fuch a Man will ftrain hard for worldly Riches, Honours and Preferment; which is fuch a Bait, that if Falfe Teachers, Deceivers, and those that run, and are not fent of God, were not tempted with, there would not be fo many Proud, Covetous, Drunken, Wicked Priefts as there are; fee Doctor Burnet of the Earl of Rochester, and his Preface to the Second Part of the Reformation.

Thy next is a great Stroke, as thou pretendeft, upon me, to leave T. S. fo in the Lurch, as I did, in turning him over to thee, for to answer thy Queftion, Whether his Light be the fame with mine? And how it comes to pass, that bis, without mine, is not fufficient to· defend bis Confcience?

William, I with my Friend T. S. be never worfe put to it, than he would have been to have anfwer'd thy Question: However thou haft a mind to fhew thy Art and Trick upon me; yet I tell thee, The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; and fo he is my Friend's, and is fufficient to defend his Conscience, without

me,