Christendom an Occasion of Plots a Fomenter of Sedition Faction and Rebellion and of most of the 〈…〉 â—mongst us which being taken away innumâ—â—able Advantages of Peace would ensue But of those in the Conclusion What for the present I shall further add is with their leave the Templers Motto with some Variation leaving out the Sword as a strange Instrument and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the Truth Live. And the Law give 〈…〉 〈…〉 As also what the Prophet speaks Isa 56. and 16. The time being now come saith the Lord That he who blesseth himself 〈…〉 himself in the God of Truth 〈…〉 by the God of 〈…〉 are forgotten and because they are hid from mine Eâ—es Which brings me to the third Thing 〈…〉 discourse of in order to 〈…〉 Government 〈…〉 be 〈…〉 be 〈…〉 although 〈…〉 ensue thereby 〈…〉 saith he by his Prophet Haggai It is a little while and I will shake the Heavens and the Earth and the Sea and the dry Land and I will shake all Nations and the Desire of all Nations shall come and I will fill this House meaning the Temple with Glory saith the Lord of Hosts The Silver is mine and the Gold is mine saith the Lord of Hosts The Glory of this latter House shall be greater than of the former saith the Lord of Hosts And in this Place will I give Peace saith the Lord of Hosts Here let me make my Paraphrase By shaking the Heavens and the Earth c. is not meant a literal Sence as some would have nor are the Material Heavens to be so shaken but hereby is meant all the Kingdoms Constitutions and Governments of the World and that the Prophet means so is plain by verse 21 and 22. where he saith Speak to Zerubbabel Governour of Judah saying I will shake the Heavens and the Earth and I will overthrow the Throne of the Kingdoms and destroy the Strength of the Kingdoms of the Heathen and I will overthrow the Chariots c. And what is meant by the Desire of all Nations 'T is Halcyon days a peaceable Time the flourishing of the Gospel the calling of the Jews and what our Saviour Prayed for Thy Kingdome come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven The Silver is mine and the Gold is mine that is I can Adorn and make this Temple as Rich and as Beautiful as I please I want nothing which may Embellish it for the Silver and the Gold is mine and so are the Cattle of a thousand Hills as he told David but 't is not my Desire that should be Adorned with Silver or Gold and yet the Glory of it shall be greater than the former for in this Place will I give Peace Here by this Temple cannot be meant a Material Temple either formerly built or to be built neither of the two Former because it must Exceed them in Glory and the Glory must not consist in a glittering shew of Silver or Gold but of Peace Where let me note that God doth plainly intimate little Peace has hitherto been in the World and therefore as a special Blessing doth promise that Peace shall be the peculiar Ornament of this Latter Temple and that we may depend upon his Word and Promise four Times saith the Lord of Hoâ—ts is mentioned in these four Verses sufficient Asseverations to Engage the Faith of a mortal Man. But I cannot leave off my Comment here but for the Sake and Consolation of the scattered Tribes shall bring the Prophet's Words again to the File Yet once c. by which the Living God plainly intimates That he had often shaken the Heavens and the Earth before that is the Governments and Kingdoms of the World for the Material Heavens and Earth were so far from being shaken often that since the Creation they were never shaken once for that of the Deluge was not a shaking the Earth or the Heavens but only a Permission of one Element some time to be Predominant and to return again to its Duty But not to Expound it by Parts The Eternal God the Lord of Hosts doth seem plainly to say thus Ye Sons of Jacob mine Heritage my Chosen Weep not but be Comforted though your latter House falls short of the Glory of the former though you cannot Adorn it with so much Silver and Gold weep not I have Silver and Gold enough I accept your Will and good Endeavours and know ye That Heaven is my Throne and Earth is my Footstool What Temple can you make for me I value not Houses or Temples for the Substance of these things have mine Hand made but him I value who is Poor and of a Contrite Spirit and Trembleth at my Word but cease your Lamentations and Weeping though the Glory of the former Temple does far Exceed the Glory of this your latter Temple yet once it is a little while and I will shake the Heavens and the Earth and will build you a Temple not a Material One whose Glory shall far Exceed the Glory of the former and in this Place will I give Peace saith the Lord of Hosts The Lord of Hosts is now about to build this Glorious Temple of Peace he is Faithful who hath Promised he is beginning to shake the Nations and to perform his Covenant to his People Yet a little while and the Gentiles shall bring his Heritage and his Chosen for an Offering to the Lord out of all Nations upon Horses and in Chariots and in Litters and upon Mules and upon swift Beasts to his Holy Mountain at Jerusalem as he has spoken by the Mouth of his Prophet Rejoyce ye therefore with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye that Love her Rejoyce for Joy with her all ye that Mourn for her But here I must note that this Promise is made to all Nations but particularly to the Jews and to the Christians when to the Jews it is called a Temple when to Christians a Church The first long since have had their Temple their High-Priest and Hierarchie abolished The latter have theirs still in being which Symbolizes much with the Former and must Symbolize with their Fate for they must now be pulled down Of CHURCH and STATE HERE is a very great Error and we form to out selves very hurtful and foolish Notions of things we suppose the Church and State to be Two Things and in all our Discourses name them at Twice whereas they really are but One for the Church is in the State or rather is the State for when the Nations of the World at first became Christian and receiv'd the Faith of Jesus they became better Nations and the Inhabitants better People having receiv'd better Maxims and Principles but still the same People and they stood in Statu quo as to all Power or Administration of their Affairs The Religion which came amongst them made no alteration of Things but for the better gently infusing it self with as little noise as Rain on a Fleece of Wool its Ministry was of
differing Opinions and differing Interests the multitude of Ceremonies and Traditions the various Forms of Worship and Scenes of Government and how fond every Nation and Party nay every individual Man is of his own Way It will seem a very difficult Thing to Extricate and free it from so great a Bondage but the greater the Work the more worthy the Author and more Glory to God. Pharoah kept the Israelites long in Bondage and was loth to let them go reaping great Advantages by them as some do by the Gospel But when the God of Heaven called for and demanded them he was forced to restore him his Heritage and his Chosen Christ is now calling for his Gospel and his Saints and God for his Jews his antient People and Inheritance and They will shake the Heavens and Earth but they will have them For by Fire and by Sword will they plead with all Flesh and the Slain of the Lord shall be many The God of Pleaven has already begun to shake the Nations and is about to fulfil all his Promises made to the Jews and Gentiles by the Mouth of all his Prophets Behold saith he Isa 66 and the 12. I will extend Peace to her like a River and the Glory of the Gentiles like a flowing Stream Now what can be liker to a flowing Stream than these Angeli Evangelizantes These Gospel Angels which by a constant Flux and Reflux from the Heart of each Nation will fill the Earth full of the Knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea No dry or barren Corners shall escape watering from these Fountains and no dark Recesses the Rays of their Light. But Poor Homuncio I fall under the Weight being not able to describe the Advantages of this Oeconomie I must again call the Prophet to my Assistance in that Pathetick Description of this Temple of Peace this new Jerusalem cap. 65. ver 17. For behold I create a New Heavens and a New Earth and the former shall not be remembred or come into mind But be you glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I Create For behold I create Jerusalem a Rejoycing and her People a Joy And I will rejoyce in Jerusalem and Joy in my People and the Voice of Weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the Voice of crying There shall be no more thence an Infant of Days nor an old Man that hath not filled his Days For the Child shall die an hundred Years old but the Sinner being an hundred Years old shall be Accursed And they shall build Houses and inhabit them and they shall plant Vineyards and eat the Fruit of them They shall not Build and another Inhabit they shall not Plant and another Eat For as the days of a Tree are the days of my People and mine Elect shall long enjoy the Work of their Hands They shall not labour in Vain nor bring forth for Trouble For they are the Seed of the Blessed of the Lord and their Off-spring with them And it shall come to pass that before they call I will answer and whilst they are yet speaking I will hear The Wolf and the Lamb shall feed together and the Lion shall eat Straw like the Bullock and Dust shall be the Serpent 's Meat They shall not hurt or destroy in all my Holy Mountain saith the Lord. It shall come to pass so and so say the Prophets but as yet such things have not come to pass But this Administration of the Religion of the holy Jesus not my own but founded on Holy Writ will bring such things to pass it will by its sweet and gentle Influences soften and mollifie the Ruggedness of the World appease the Heavens and transform the Earth and render it a Paradise it will set Justice Truth and Peace on an unmoveable Foundation and turn the World in a manner into a Theocracy For 't is more than probable that by degrees it will vacate and supersede all humane Sanctions and make them of little Effect by its prevailing Energy and pacifick Nature making Love and Charity and Christian Condescension the Principal Rulers of the Vniverse Then will the God of Love or Truth and Peace visit us and make his abode with us and rain down his Blessing and Graces upon us as at the Beginning and we shall become a Royal Priecthood a Peculiar People zealous not of destroying one another as at this Day but zealous of good Works Ephraim shall no more vex Judah nor Judah Ephraim Every Prince and Nation shall be content with their own Territory and Borders The noise of War shall no more be heard of amongst us our Swords shall be turned into Plow Shares and our Spears into Pruning Hooks Zech. 2 vers 10. Sing and Rejoyce O Daughter or Sion for lo I come and will dwell in the midst of thee saith the Lord And many Nations shall be joyned to the Lord in that day and shall be my People and I will dwell in the midst of thee and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto thee and the Lord shall inherit Judah his Portion in the Holy Land and choose Jerusalem again Be silent O all Flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his Holy Habitation And it shall be in that day that Living Waters shall go out from Jerusalem half of them viz. Preachers towards the former Sea and half of them towards the hinder Sea in Summer and in Winter shall it be And the Lord shall be King over all the Earth In that day shall there be One Lord and his Name One The Jews and the Gentiles shall use the same Method and Way of Administration and send out their Preachers from the midst of their Habitations But the Question will be asked how all the present Difficulties will be surmounted In answer to which let the same Prophet speak Who art thou O great Mountain Before Zerubbabel Christ Thou shalt become a Plain and he shall bring forth the Head Stone thereof with shouting crying Grace Grace The Hands of Zerubbabel have laid the Foundation of this House his Hands shall also finish it And thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you Christ is Alpha and Omega the first and the last the Consideration of which brings me to my Conclusion in which I shall vindicate my self from the Charge of Innovation and say The way which I propose is not a new Way but the Renovation of an old One For 't is the way by which Christianity Entred the World and therefore the most likely to preserve it 't is the way which the Apostles used which our Saviour practised he went up and down doing Good he sent out the Twelve and the seventy Disciples who Preached his Gospel through the Towns and Villages and then returned to him again When he was leaving the Earth by a plain Indigitation he Recommended this way 'T is a way pregnant with all the Felicities can be imagined 't is advantageous to all Governments and friendly to all Societies 't will bring Glory to God on High restore Peace on Earth and good Will amongst Men. How Beautiful upon the Mountains are the Feet of him that bringeth good Tidings that publisheth Peace that bringeth good Tidings of good that publisheth Salvation that saith unto Zion Thy God Reigneth Isa 52. Verse 7. Haec cùm fiunt Statu hoc Harmonium Pacem adferente inter Gentiles in Terris Christianis posito mirabuntur Judaei Christoque Authori Auspicatissimo tum demùm credent Nec non pacato Deo vocante Christiano adjuvante magno cum gaudio Triumpho post tam longum ob malitiam incredulitatem exulatum ad suas Terras Hierosolymitanas ex omnibus plagis Terrarum Regionibus redibunt Nec futilia aut inania Antiquorum Prophetarum Vaticinia de faelici Judaeorum aut Gentilium Statut diutiùs habebuntur Nam omnia ista Grandiloquia de Pace Justitiâ Veritate plenam Solutionem hoc Ministerio Theocratico habebunt exiguo Temporis Spatio Diversas Mundi Regiones quasi diversas unius gentis Civitates mutuo foedere irrefragabilis amiciticae conjunctas Spectabimus Et Preces illa tum frequent in ore Sacerdotum viz. Revoca ad Sedes antiquam Gentem Judaeorum gloriam Gentilium redde completam habebit responsum FINIS
Virgin and appear in her Native Beauty when Honours Lordships and great Revenues the common Temptations to Deflower and Disguise her are taken away and it will not a little contribute to publick Peace when all Denials the common Parent of Discontent are removed But what may be as great an Inducement as any to move a Complyance hereto by all our Sides and Parties is That whereas they would all have their own ways to be preferred This Method will make no Party either upper or under but will pull all in general down and set none in particular up so will prevent all Emulation and give none of them reason to Complain From what hath been said it may reasonably be expected that the perplexed Nations of Christendom should hearken to so excellent an Occonomy especially the settleing Patriots of our own distracted Nations and in hearkening to it they will but hearken to the plain Precept and Advice of their Blessed Lord and great Legislator For his Words are these All Power is given me in Heaven and Earth go ye therefore and Teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Chost Teaching them to Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even to the END of the World. As if he had said May be some may question your Power and Authority to Preach my Golpel or 't is possible you your selves may think my Commission not sufficient but expect to receive your Power and Commission from the Princes of the Earth But I tell you it is sufficient and that I have Received all Power both in Heaven and Earth Go ye therefore and Teach all Nations c. In which Words our Blessed Lord doth seem plainly to Dictate to the whole World how he would have his Gospel dispensed and that in every minute Circumstance viz. First The manner they must go and Teach which doth plainly imply an Itineration then whom they must Teach all Nations Secondly The Duty of these Predicants in the matter what they must do Baptize and Teach them to Observe all the Things he has Commanded And lo I am with you always even to the End of the World. This plainly implies the Continuation how long he would have this Method continue viz. for ever to the End of the World and is confirmed by a promise of a Blessing on the due performance thereof But here let me Note that the Princes of the Earth though Idolatrous and Pagan had all the right and legal Power in ordinary and that both our Saviour acknowledged and the Apostles well knew but not being Proselyted to his Doctrine would grant no Commissions or Authorise such Preachers therefore he himself as well as they had Power on Earth yea all Power in an Extraordinary manner was fain to use it and issue out the first Commissions but the Nature and Intent of these Commissions was not to convey a Power to a sort of men distinct from the State but was an Act of Necessity and he had not used any Power or given his Commissions at all if the High Priest or Jewish Sanhedrim would have done it The Princes and States of Christendom therefore since sufficiently Proselyted to the Faith of Jesus may justly issue out their Que Warranto's against all Ecclesiastical Power and all Persons whatsoever who claim any Power Priviledge or Jurisdiction jure divino distinct from theirs for it peculiarly belongs to them as Nursing Fathers of the Church to issue out their Commissions and to say Go and Teach c. 'T is true if they send none or send those that are contrary to Christs Institutions which instead of giving the Children Bread will give them Stones then the Power Lapses and returns to its Fountain and Men must Act by vertue of Christs Extraordinary Commission and have recourse to his special Power For Christ must be Preached Princes ought to have the Preference but if they neglect their Duty Renounce their Power or are so far from commanding it that they forbid it Then God must be Obeyed rather than Man as has been the Plea and a just one too of all hitherto that have entered on the Function But further I desire to take notice of one thing more and that is of the last Clause of our Saviour's Precept viz. And lo I am with you always even to the end of the World. Christ said his Words were Spirit and Life but some there are who too much incline to the Letter and like the old Jews think the Kingdom of Heaven should come with Observation They expect a new Material Heaven and a new Earth and that Christ will come again on Earth personally and Reign a Thousand Years in great Glory Those are but Fancies for the Text seems to be plain And lo I am with you always even to the End of the World. First this plainly implies the World shall have an end and then his Willingness that this way of Administration should continue so long and he mentions not the least word of his coming again in the Interim or that the world shall have Two Ends which now leaving the world we may reasonably suppose he would have made some mention of if such things should have come to pass It seems plainly to me therefore that there will be no New Material Heaven or Earth or that Christ will come Personally again to Reign amongst Men and my Reason is his own Words Lo I am with you always even to the End of the World not I will be but I am with you and what he promised them was not a Personal but a Ministerial Presence A Presence by his Spirit as if he had said If you will go and continue to Preach my Gospel amongst all Nations I promise to Aid you in your Administration and Assist you by the Influence of my Spirit and that not for a little Time but to the end of the World which Promise he performed and and that in a special Manner so long as they continued to observe his Words and Institution But when Men began to make Merchandize of his Gospel to Monopolize and to Closet up the Sun-Beams and to put their Candle under a Bushel no wonder they fell into such Darkness and Confusion and no wonder he withdrew himself and the presence of his Spirit from them If therefore we expect his coming again or his more particular Presence in the large Effusions of his Spirit We must send forth his Light and his Truth and cease to Sell and parcel out his Gospel we must draw it out of the Garrisons in which particular Parties have imprisoned it and set it on a Candlestick on a Mountain that it may be as free as the Air or the Sun-beams It has been long Enslaved and Enthrall'd and if we a little view the present State of Christendom and consider what Canons Constitutions and Decretals what differing Customs Educations and Prejudices there are how many
her Family And all Present Methods of Government and Ways of Administration if found disserving the Ends of Publick Peace and True Religion may be innocently dissolved and new ones Chosen according to the Wisdom and Discretion of the Supream Power And the Reason is because all Offices and Functions Ecclesiastical and all Methods and Ways of Administration in the Religion of the Holy Jesus make no parts of it but are Extrinsecal to the Nature of the thing therefore may be changed or altered on the forementioned Account The greatest Opposition to this will be made by those who pretend to their Functions by a Commission from Heaven and by a Divine Right but these are of two sorts The first I believe will quickly lay down their Pretensions when the Grandeur of the Church is Diminished and her Power her Law and Riches are taken away The latter who may be innocently Abused and think themselves under an indispensable Obligation of Preaching the Gospel must be let alone there is no Remedy for them but Time which 't is possible by degrees may let them see their Error and lessen their High Thoughts of their Fitness and sufficiency of undertaking so great a Charge But however it may happen the Predication of no Pretenders can affect the Publick Peace when both Law and Power to do hurt are taken from them and the Matter and Subject of their Discourses are purely spiritual and relating to the things of another World. But by way of Recapitulation in order to a Conclusion The Foundations to be laid for a New Settlement are First The Impossibility of Agreement and Innocency of Differences Secondly That the Church be converted into a Christian State that she needs no Law no Power or Revenues Thirdly That whatever Forms or Ways of Administration in Religion or the Church hath hitherto been used may innocently and lawfully be changed Then the Plain and necessary Consequences will be these When Agreement is Impossible Men will cease to attempt it and when Differences are made Innocent the infinite variety of Understandings and Apprehensions of Men will be no more hurtful or offensive then their different Faces When there is no Government all Contentions which is the right will cease and where there is no Law there will be no Transgression and by consequence no Delinquents to be punished and when there is no Power there will be no danger of abusing it And how soon shall we see the the flames of Contention cease when the combustible Fuel of Wealth and Power and Honours are taken away But further At the very sound of impossibility of Agreement a cessation of all Controversies must necessarily ensue and this Doctrine doth presently summon all the most skilful and learned in the Art of Wrangling to lay down their Arms and live Peaceably and how happy must the Christian World be when rid of such Seditious Captains that so long have disturbed her Peace Then the Doctrine of no Government is not less Advantageous and Beneficial for at one breath it tumbles down all Ecclesiastical Hierarchies and gives ease to the groaning and miserable Potentates of the Earth it answers all the Prayers of the Saints for many Ages and like a voice from Heaven or the Trump of God Tumbles down the mighty Man of Sin or Whore of Babylon from her Throne And methinks I see the Princes of the Earth already in Council against her to pull down her Pride and divest her of her Power which so long has been used against them Then for Law that being banished Christian Men would then begin to look Innocently and the great Machine of Persecution and Rapine would fall to the Ground Wicked Men would have no pretence to exercise their Cruelties and the Earth would no more Groan and Cry out for Vengeance for the Blood of Saints Martyrs and Professors that has been spilled upon her 'T is these Laws that are the sharp Teeth with which Christians devour one another they might Dispute and Argue with Innocence and Safety were but these Weapons lay'd out of their way which they too often snatcht to compleat the Victory and to the ruine of each other But by this time men will say my design tends to unhinge all Governments to destroy all Laws and to make nothing but Confusion in the World To this I answer That there was Darkness before Light Confusion before Order and whoever will have a new House must have some trouble in the building and endure the Inconveniencies of puling down the old One But this is not sufficient but in further answer to the Objection I desire to have it observed That the Christian World is in Confusion already that I make no disturbance but find it that I cannot Confound them more then they are already Confounded that Governments are unhinged and Laws broke and Princes in Arms ready to destroy one another and one of the principal occasions is Religion therefore some great thing is the matter 'T is either in the Religion itself or in the Managery and Administration of it the first I acquit the latter I lay my Accusation against and charge the Administrators with assuming Power and making Laws and Erecting a Mock Government which has Ruined and Confounded the State and all True Laws and True Governments I therefore shall take the Liberty to move and suggest some Considerations for a New and Better way of Administration and I hope my undertaking will find a Favourable Acceptance amongst all good Men. Then the Administration of the Religion of the Holy Jesus may be divided into two parts Ordinary and Extraordinary the Ordinary which consists of Prayers and Praises and Dispensations of Charity to be Perform'd by ordinary Men I hope it will not be deny'd me but that Men in Common are capable of performing such things after some few Lessons taught them of the nature and attributes of the Being they are to Petition and Adore other Requisites are only a Sence of their Wants and Mercies received which almost naturally will make them both Eloquent and Grateful As to their meeting together this will require no great Art or Subtilty nor will the Time and Place meet with greater Difficulty Wherever Two or Three are gathered together in my Name saith our Saviour I will be in the midst of them there is neither Time and Place mentioned nor the Quality or Capacities of the Persons to meet but all runs in an indefinite Manner By two or three either may be meant so many in a literal Sence or a certain Number for an uncertain but however a posse to congregate or gather together must necessarily be implyed and allowed to Men in common from this indefinite Text. And notwithstanding all the great noise of Disagreement Dissenters and Schismaticks if Men can agree so to meet together to pay Homage to the great God in the Name of Jesus their Agreement is sufficient and here is a Blessing promised them from this plain Text which I
hope will be sufficient to discharge me from the Reproach of an Innorator As for their Matter and Way c. God must be Judge of it and not Men. Let there therefore be given to Men a Power to Congregate and in their Respective Congregations let them choose what Men they think fit to dispence their Charity and to be Judges of the Lives of their Fellows so as to Expell them their Congregations if Occasion require Let them call these men by what Names they please But let there be no Laws amongst them but those of Reverence and Respect of Shame and Fear which are the best and only Laws which Christians ought to have in their Oeconomy But if they break these gentle Bonds Then Currat Lex let the Secular Power take Place This for the ordinary part of the Administration to be performed by ordinary men or men in Common As for the Extraordinary which is the Administration of the Word and Sacraments to be performed by Men separated and of better Capacities let it be thus When the Supream Power of each Christian Nation have set themselves in Statu quo dissolved all Ecclesiastical Governments and resumed from the Church her usurped and destructive Power and Revenues the first must be never given her again the last put to better Uses Then I say let them build and Erect in the midst of each Respective Nation Magnum Collegium Christianum a large Christian Colledge and Endow it with such Priviledges and Conveniences as may be thought fit and Proper c. Then let the Wisdom of each Nation after having asked their Willingness choose a considerable number of Youth of the hopefullest Constitution of Body and Mind and after publick Addresses made to the Living God by Fasting and Prayer for an auspicious Election let Lots be Cast and on whom the Lots do fall let them receive an Order from the State to Enter into the said Colledge to Fit and Qualifie themselves to be Preachers and Ministers of the Gospel and after such a Term of years continuance as shall be thought fit let a certain number be brought forth and the question of Willingness being asked and Addresses made to Heaven as afore-said let Lots proportioned to the National Wants be cast and on whom the Lots do fall let a convenient and honourable Allowance be setled and let them receive their Commission from the State to Preach the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus Christ Crucified and Minister the Word and Sacraments in a plain decent and orderly manner as near as possible they can to the first Institution And when the Judges set out in the King or States Name to distribute Justice and determine Law let them also per Order of the King or State Preach the Kingdom of Heaven and the Gospel in the same Itinerant and Circular manner through all the Cities and Towns of each Respective Kingdom instructing the People in the most pure Doctrine and Belief of the Holy Jesus and in all the most Necessary and Fundamental Points of his Religion a definition of which 't is possible Volente Deo may be the Subject of another Discourse and let their Subjects be levelled against Sedition and Rebellion Exhibit Peace in its best Apparel Extoll Justice Mercy and Charity and whatever may tend to the Glory of God or Peace and Well-fare of Man-kind and not at all to meddle with Law the State or Government always remembring they are not appointed Ministers of State but of the Gospel And if a distinct performance was allotted for such and such a Circuit it would not do amiss viz. Instructing and Proselyting for one Baptizing for another and giving the Sacrament for a Third or varying these as may be thought most fit and convenient doubling the first or intermitting the last Or if from the said Colledge having Twelve Gates they should go out every Month and Heal the Nations which Scripture indigitates nothing can be thought of more convenient This way and method I hope will easily be allowed me to be sufficient for the Salvation of Souls and would but the Princes and States of Christendom consent to settle such an oeconomy the plain Consequences thereof would be Popery that wicked thing so much hated and abominated by Protestants not only for its own innate Evils but also its Collateral and Accidental ones being the common Tool which all Parties use to set up or pull down one another would in a moment be buried in Oblivion and Heresy its Twin and Brother in Iniquity would be buried in the same Grave A new Heaven and a new Earth would suddenly appear all the Disturbing Names of Papists and Protestants Schismatick and Heretick would speedily cease we should have no Sides nor Parties of Christians no bitter Contentions which is the True Church the Indefatigable Pains of compassing Sea and Land to make Proselytes would be at an end and all the mischievous Consequences attending thereon Now all Sides and Parties are Industrious to make Converts and give their Reasons and Arguments and yet at the same time Interpretatively would not have them taken for none meets with greater Shame and Ignominy then Converts who if they obey their own or are convinced by others Reasons are said to change their Religion as they call it and are hated and abhorred so that men in a great measure are under an obligation to stick to their Principles whether they be good or bad because of the Reproach they of necessity must meet with if they change them And alas These which they call their Principles and Religion are nothing but some fond and unnecessary Opinion which may be changed and no hurt at all done But then men would have no Temptation to change having no Party to go to no Sect to maintain and no particular Church to defend which are the common Themes of Christian men and at this time make but too great Part of their Religion and too frequently ministers matter of their Mutual Ruine Again Now most of our time is spent in commending our selves and our way and discommending others their way and Three parts of our Religion is made up of nothing but Vapour and Smoke of mere Talk and finding of Faults if we can charge and accuse and make others Guilty and our selves Innocent 't is Religion enough And amongst so many contending Parties of Christians 't is almost impossible any Justice should be done the Spirit of Partiality so reigneth amongst us But Terras Astraea Revisit Then Justice would run down our Streets like a mighty Stream and all the Parts the Piety and Learning at least wise Honesty which is certainly amongst most Parties of Christians would have their due Effects and appear in their own proper Colours when cleared from the Foggs and Mists of Contentious Disputes which confines them to their proper Orbs and will not suffer them to be Communicative or disperse their Rayes but give a dim and partial Light. Further Now no Oath can bind