things cometh the Wrath of God upon the Children of Disobedience Now consider all you that call your selves Ministers and others in Christendom so called Christ Jesus is the Seed's-Man and he sows the good Seed which is in Man's Heart now some Hearts be a High-Way and those Fowls in them that are bred by the foul spirit take it away and some is sown upon Stony Ground where 's not much Earth but is scorch't by the heat of Persecution and some again is sown upon the Thorny Ground Thorny Hearts where it grows a while and then the Thornes the Cares of the World choaks it but that which is sown upon Good Ground brings forth good Fruit abundantly to the Glory of God and Christ the Seed's-Man Now Christ in a Parable 〈◊〉 speaks of a Housholder that sowed good Seed in his Field and his Servants said Didst thou not sow good Seed whence then hath it Tares He answered An Enemy hath done this They replyed Wilt thou that we go and gather them up Nay saith he lest ye gather the Wheat also let both grow together till the Harvest The Field is the World the Good Seed are the Children of the Kingdom of Christ the Tares are the Children of the Wicked One the Enemy that sowed them is the Devil the Harvest is the end of the World and the Reapers are the Angels So Christ he would not suffer his Disciples to gather the Tares lest c. Now what 's the matter with you and others who will be Gatherers when Christ hath forbidden you lest you pluck up Wheat instead of Tares seeing it is the Angels Work to sever the Wheat from the Tares and the Wicked from the Just And therefore whose Servants have you been in all Christendom who will venture the gathering of the Tares and instead of them have been plucking up the Wheat as witness all the Martyrs and Bloody Persecutions since Christ's time but these Tares at the End of the World the Angels shall cast into the Fire where shall be Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth c. And Luke 9.55 When Christ sent to a Village of the Sameritans to make ready for him and they did not receive him his Disciples said Lord Wilt thou that we command Fire to come down from Heaven to consume them even as Elias did but Christ rebukâ—t them saying Ye know not what spirit ye are of the Son of Man is not come to destroy mens lives but to save them Now mark If the Disciples of Jesus Christ did not know themselves what spirit they were of who would have had Fire to come down from Heaven upon such as would not receive Christ how do you know what spirit you are of and all those since the Apostles dayes that do persecute people about Religion by Imprisoning them c Now had they and you known what spirit you are of you would not Persecute but seeing you do not therefore it is you will have the People of God persecuted and so are under the Rebukes of Christ who came to Save and nor destroy And therefore since you do not know what spirit you are of your selves we cannot trust our Bodies nor our Souls nor Spirits in your hands And you see you have no Command from Christ or the Apostles to persecute for Christ saith All Power is given to me both in Heaven and Earth c. What to do To destroy the Devil and his Works the Enemy the Adversary and Destroyer of Mankind Christ he is so far from that that he commands us To love one another and to love Enemies but this Command hath been little regarded in Christendom Christ spake to such as built the Sepulchres of the Prophets and garnisht them whom their Fore-Fathers had killed and yet these Builders killed the Son Have not we the same Builders now that would kill him and persecute him where he is revealed in his People Truly ye bear witness that you allow the Deeds of your Fore-fathers who did kill them and their Children built and garnisht their Sepulchres that so all the Righteous Blood from Abel to Zacharias yea to this very day will come upon this Generation of Persecutors whereof in our dayes we have seen sad Examples how the Lord hath cut several of them suddenly off who have been found persecuting his People and Beloved Ones his dear Lambs And saith Christ The Servant that says in his Heart My Lord delays his coming and begins to smite his Fellow-Servants and Eat and be Drunken the Lord will come in a day when he looks not for him when he is not aware of it and will cut him assunder and will appoint him his Portion with Unbelievers Mat. 12. And therefore take ye heed who smite the Servants of God and Hand-Maids of God lest the Lord come in a Day or in an Hour when you are not aware and cut you assunder with his sharp two-edged Sword and appoint you your Portion with Hypocrites and Unbelievers and therefore the People of God are alwayes to be in a readiness waiting for the Appearance of the Lord Mat. 24. And Blessed is that Servant that the Lord finds so doing he will make him Ruler over his House that gives them their Meat in due season Now consider you Strikers this and all you Smiters and Persecuters you do not watch for Christ's coming no no but you put the Day and Hour afar off and you do not know how soon either of them may come of cutting assunder and of your Weeping Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth and your Portion which you are like to have with Hypocrites And Christ further saith Luke 19.27 Those mine Enemies which would not that I should Raign over them bring hither and slay them before me Now consider this you that will not have Christ to Rule and Raign in his People no nor in your selves Do you think that you shall escape the Sword of his Judgments and of his Mouth and the Wrath of the Lamb And did ever Christ though he was called a Blasphemer and as Belzebub and that he had a Devil and a Deceiver yet though he had all Power in his Hands given to him in Heaven and in Earth yet he did not persecute any of them but rebuk't his Disciples Neither did he give any such Command or Advice to his Apostles but rather the contrary viz. That they should love one another and love Enemies Now then who hath given you this Power to persecute and beat another mans Children and Servants Let us know your Original and your Antiquity Now whereas you may say That Lay-men and Mechanick Men are not to meddle with the Scriptures but you onely that have got the Original of Hebrew Greek and Latine I Answer Was not the beginning of the Originals in Babel For was not all the Earth of one Language before And had not Pilate these Originals when he crucified Christ And did he not write a Title upon his Cross in Hebrew Greek and Latine
will he not learn Righteousness c. O! it is not the work of Christ's Ministers to fall upon the Righteous and persecute the Innocent and let Swearers Drunkards Whore-Masters and Adulterers go free And do you not pronounce the Blessing of God to be upon them and Peace be unto them all in the State and Condition wherein they remain unconverted For are not the words general in the close of your Service And is this the best Entertainment you can afford Strangers viz. To Slander and Belye them Is this the best Provision you have for them in your Houses Surely these are very course Complements from such Persons as are lookt upon by others and by themselves too as Men of no small Breeding But this is no good Breeding nor manifests good Education but bespeaks the Educator not to be of Christ nor of God and this is the Production and Fruit of your Studdyings Is this to follow the Apostle's Advice who exhorts To Studdy to be Quiet 1 Thes 4.11 And 2 Tim. 2.15 16. Studdy to shew thy self approved of God a Workman that needeth not be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth but shun Prophane and Vain Babblings for they will encrease to more Ungodliness c. And saith Solomon Prov. 12.22 Lying Lips are an Abomination to the Lord but they that deal truly are his Delight And in chap. 10.18 He that hideth Hatred with Lying Lips and he that uttereth a Slander is a Fool. And Psal 101.5 Who so privily Slandereth his Neighbour him will I cut off Read Rom. 1.28 29 30 c. And consider you that call your selves Ministers Are the Scriptures of Truth of no value of no use with you nor with your People which saith That whosoever is angry with his Brother without a Cause shall be in danger of the Judgment And whosoever shall say unto his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the Council But whosoever saith unto his Brother Thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell Fire Mat. 5.22 Now do you not know what this means Ought not this to be more seriously heeded by you Priests and your Hearers as you would not undergo the Penalty or how can you How dare you bring your Gift to the Altar before you be reconciled to your Brother And you that persecute or go about to persecute are you not of the number of those that mingle their Sacrifices with Blood O! what will become of you that persecute and speak all manner of Evil against God's People for Christ's sake Hesaith Blessed are the Merciful for they shall obtain Mercy But what then will likely be your Portions who ate Cruel and Unmerciful Further he saith Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the Earth What then will become of you who are Furious and Envious Again saith he Blessed are the Peace-Makers for they shall be called he Children of God Then what will become of you who stir up to Contention Dissention and Persecution this is no Gospel no Glad-tidings How can you say the Lord's Prayer Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us So mark you are no more forgiven then you do forgive Mat. 25. Depart you Cursed into Everlasting Fire c. Why what 's the Matter For saith he I was an Hungred and ye gave me no Meat I was Thirsty and ye gave me no Drink c. But you may answer and say Lord When saw we thee a Hungry or a Thurst or a Stranger c Then will he say Insomuch as you did it not unto the least of these you did it not unto me And these shall go into Everlasting Punishment There you see the Sentence is given already you have heard it and you may read it there about the latter end And Mark If he dealt so with those then that did no good how much more sorer Punishment shall be inflicted on those that persecute such c. And so you that do profess and make a Trade of Christ's words for Money and persecute him where and in whom he is made manifest are not you made manifest in the sight of the Son to be the very Antichrist's professing Christ and yet are found Enemies to him and acting perversly against him and to be in the number of those inwardly ravening Wolves in Sheep's Clothing Christ speaks of in Mat. 7. and those evil Trees and evil Ground that bringeth forth nothing but Thistles Bryars and Thornes wherewith to rend and tear and prick the Lambs of God And are you not of the number of those who build up and adorn and garnish the Tombs of the Righteous even Christ's Sepulchre and observe his days and their dayes and yet persecute him and the Saints Where do you read that Christ or any of the Apostles gave any Command unto you for to observe dayes unto them And where was it ever the practice of any of the People of God all along the Bible either to keep Christmas-day or Candlemas-day or Childermas-day or All Saints-day or Michaelmas or Lent c Had you not all these from the Popes And how can you cry out against Popery and yet live in the practice of those things which you have from them and that they have set up If you will have a Mass for your Candles why not as well a Mass for your Cows and your Horses your Sugar-Canes and your Potatos We do not read that Isaac observed his Father's day or Jacob observed Isaac's day or did the Jews observe Joshua's or Moses's or Aaron's day or that any of the Saints did observe the Apostles dayes and called them Holy-Dayes Yea did the Apostles observe Christ's day or Stephen's day or James's day or any of the Apostles and Disciples of Christ and called them Holy-dayes Let us see the Scripture for it For you pretend the Scriptures to be the Rule for your Practices and yet how dare you say so and act quite contrary to the Scriptures of Truth For did not the Apostle leave the People of God to their Liberty in Rom. 14.4 5 6 7. concerning observing of days He that observed a day he was to observe it to the Lord and he that did not regard the day to the Lord they were not to judge one another about such things but you have thrown away this day also that do act contrary in judging and persecuting one another upon this account And doth not the Apostle judge and reprove the Galatians for observing dayes and tells them That they were Bewicht and calls them Fools Gal. 3.1 O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the Truth And chap 4.10 11. Ye observe Dayes and Times and Moneths and Years I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you Labour in vain How came you to be so wise as to observe them and compel others to observe them do you not make your selves wiser then Christ or any of the Apostles What Wisdom is this think you that you should by it
pass from me But shortly after when a Cup of Brandy was coming towards him said he Lord if thou wilt let as many as thou pleasest of those little ones come unto me And after a while the Cup came about again and first the Sack coming towards him it being his turn to drink said he Be not drunk with Wine wherein is Exceses and so put it by in regard he cared not for it but the Brandy coming next saith he but be filled with the Spirit and drunk up the Brandy O! abominable that ever Men should be given up to such vile Affections and to such Atheistical Practices But to return Are you no Strikers no Persecutors What did not Briest Lessley beat and strike George Foster very sorely the Truth of which is made evident to me under the hand of the said G. Foster before his Death the Copy whereof is inferted in the End of this Book Also one John Hopwood Priest in this Island of Barbadoes struck one Charles Bream on the Head as they rod together on the high-Way by which stroke the said Charles received much harm and prejudice and not long after dyed And that you are Persecutors of God's Heritage is evidently manifest by the Humble Petition of William Lessley John Barnard William Johnson John Hopwood Mathew Cray and John Page to the Governor and Council of this Island of Barbadoes the Copy whereof is likewise afflixed to the latter End of this Book But once more to return Are you not Greedy of filthy Lucre are you not Brawlers are you not Covetous Let the People of this Island and your own Consciences judge The Apostle saith in 1 Tim. 6.10 The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil. Now see if all this Evil hath not proceeded from your Root which is the Love of Money And therefore saith Paul Ephes 5.3 but Covetousness let it not once be named amongst you as becometh Saints And yet what is more named and practised among you then Covetousness and covetous Practices and this I say springs from your Root which is the Root of all of you as was said before And this is the Cause that you Priests and others in Christendom so called do endeavour to incense the Civil Magistrate against the Saints and People of God to hold up the Root of all the Evil in you which is the Love of Money Let the People and the Witness in your own Consciences judge Now next as concerning your Families and Children Are they ruled well Do you rule your own House well are your Children in Subjection mark with all Gravity in that 1 Tim. 3.4 Is this so Let the People and your own Consciences judge If that you cannot rule your own Houses well how are you like to take care of the Church of God And are you not lifted up into Pride in your Families Let but the People and your own Consciences judge How can you but fall into the Condemnation of the Devil And moreover have you a good Report of them that are without who are not of your Church What good Report can those that are without give of you Are you Grave are you not double-Tongued c. Let your Consciences and the People judge For you must be approved and then you may minister being found Blameless of those Evils Now concerning your Wives are they Grave not Slanderous are they Sober and do you rule your Own House well Let your own Consciences and the People judge Have you refused Prophane and Old Wives Fables And do your Women adorn themselves in modest Apparrel with Shamefac'dness and Sobriety and not with broidred Hair or Cold or Pearls or Costly Array but which becommeth Women professing Godliness with Good Works 1 Tim. 9.10 Are you not them that suppose Gain to be Godliness from such the Apostle bids to turn away 1 Tim. 6.5 Are you not of them that preach for the Love of Money and would you preach without it and is it not the Root of all Evil which while some coveted after they have err'd from the Faith which gives Victory And are you not of those which preach no Victory here over Sin But was not the man of God to flee such and follow after Godliness and Righteousness Faith Love Patience Meekness Read Timothy for further Tryal and approving you and your Families and also Titus 1.6 7 8 c. Are you Blameless having Faithful Children not accused of Rioting and Unruliness Let your own Consciences and the People judge whether these things be so or no. You profess your selves Stewards of God but are you Blameless Are you not Self-will'd and soon angry Let your Consciences and the People judge Are you Lovers of Good Men If so why do you raise or broach Slanders of them and Lyes of Good Men Are you Just Holy Sober Temperate Let the People and your own Consciences judge Are you not those that preach for Filthy Lucre sake And where are your Epistles written in one anothers Hearts that you are all void of those foregoing Evils mentioned before But rather are you not like them that were always Lyars Evil Beasts and Slow-Bellies which were to be rebuk'd sharply Read the first Chapter of Titus throughout and Rom. 16.18 Doth not the Apostle command us to mark such and avoid such as serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own Bellies and by good Words and fair Speeches deceive the Hearts of the Simple And were they not such as made Divisions among the People and Offences Would you preach but for your Bellies For if you serve the Lord Jesus Christ you would keep his Commands who saith Freely you have received freely give Tit. 3.19 and Phil. 3.19 Read that and consider whether you are not such as the Apostle and People of God have often wept about For do not you mind Earthly things and do not you preach for Filthy Lucre So is not your Godd your Bellies and what is like to be your End you may read there For would you preach without these things And if you be otherwayes minded why do not you follow the Apostle's Example For the Apostle when he had spoken in the 1 Cor. 9. concerning his Powers he told them that he used none of those things nor did he write that it should be so done unto him For he would rather dye then any man should make his glorying void for he had kept the Gospel of Christ without Charge and would not abuse his Power in the Gospel Now have you kept the Gospel without Charge Look over whole Christendom both among Papists and Protestants Independants Presbyterians and Baptists And did not the Apostle say He wrought with his hands to supply his own Necessities and the Necessities of others And in Jerem. 5.29 c. You dare not say but that he was a True Prophet nor dare you say he preach't and prophesied to People for Maintenance or can you make good he had any thing given him for Publishing his Book
the Scriptures of Truth c. This is to inform you That all our Books and Declarations that for these many years have been published to the World do clearly testifie to the contrary but yet for your sakes this is now given forth That God who is the Only Wise Omnipotent and Everlasting God we do Own and Believe in who is the Creator of all things both in Heaven and in Earth and the Preserver of all that he hath made who is God over all blessed forever to whom be all Honour and Glory and Dominion and Praise and Thanksgiving both now and for evermore And that Jesus Christ is his Beloved and Only Begotten Son in whom he is Well-pleased who was Conceived by the Holy Ghost and Born of the Virgin Mary in whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the Forgiveness of Sins who is the express Image of the Invisible God the First-born of every Creature by whom were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in the Earth Visible and Invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers And we do own and believe that he was made to be as Sin or an Offence and Curse for us who knew no Sin and was Crucified for us in the Flesh without the Gates of Jerusalem and that he was Buried and Rose again the Third Day by his own Power for our Justification and we do believe that he Ascended up into Heaven and now sitteth at the Right-Hand of God And that this Jesus is the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and our Foundation so that there is no other Foundation to be laid but what is laid even Christ Jesus and that he tasted Death for every man and shed his Blood for all men that he is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for our Sins only but for the Sins of the whole World For saith John the Baptist of him Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World John 1.29 And we do believe That he is our Alone Redeemer and Saviour even the Captain of our Salvation who saves us from Sin as well as from Hell and from the Wrath to come and destroyes the Devil and his Works who is the Seed of the Woman that bruises the Serpent's Head to wit Christ Jesus who is Alpha and Omega the First and Last That he is as Scriptures of Truth say our Wisdom Righteousness Justification and Redemption neither is there Salvation in any other For there is none other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved it is he alone who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls he it is that is our Prophet whom Moses long since testified of in Acts 3.22 23. A Prophet shall the Lord our God raise up unto you of your Brethren like unto me him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you and it shall come to pass that every one that will not hear that Prophet shall be Destroyed from among the People He it is that is now come and hath given us an Understanding that we may know him that is true and a Rule in our Hearts even his Law of Love and of Life in our Inward Parts which makes us free from the Law of Sin and Death And we have no Life but by him For he is the Quickening Spirit the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven by whose Blood we are cleansed and our Consciences sprinkled from Dead Works that we might serve the Living God by whose Blood we are purchased And so he is our Mediator that makes Peace and Reconciliation between God offended and Us offending being our Surety of the New Testament and the Oath of God the New Covenant of Light Life Grace and Peace the Author and Finisher of our Faith Now this Lord Jesus Christ the Heavenly Man Emanuel God with us we all own and believe in whom the High Priests raged against and said He had spoken Blasphemy and the Chief Priests and Elders of the Jews took Counsel together and put him to Death the same whom Judas betray'd for Thirsy Pieces of Silver which he had from the Priests who gave a Large Sum of Money to the Souldiers to broach a Horrible Lye namely that they should say That his Disciples stole him away by Night whilst they Slept And after he was risen from the Dead you may see in the Acts of the Apostles how that the chief Priests and Elders Persecuted the Disciples of this Jesus for preaching Christ and his Resurrection this we say is that Lord Jesus Christ whom we own to be our Life and Salvation Now concerning the Holy Scriptures We do believe That they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God through Holy Men of God who spoke as Scriptures of Truth say As they were Moved by the Holy Ghost in 2 Pet. 1.1 and that they are to be Read and Believed and Fulfilled and he that fulfils them is Christ And are profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction and for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all Good Works 2 Tim. 3.16 and are able as Divinely Inspir'd to make us Wise to Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus And we do believe That the Scriptures are the Wordâ— of God for it s said in Exod. 20.1 God spake all these Words saying c. meaning the Ten Commandments given forth upon Mount Sinai and in Rev. 18. saith John I testifie unto every man that heareth the WORDS of the Prophesie of this Book if any man addeth unto These and if any man shall take away from the WORDS not Word of the Book So in Luke 1.20 Because thou believest not my WORDS and John 5.47 15.7 14.23 12.47 So that we call the Scriptures as Christ and the Apostles call'd them and as the Holy Men of God call'd them namely The WORDS of God Another Slander and Lye they have cast upon us is namely That we should teach the Negars to Rebel A Thing we do utterly abhor and detest in and from our Hearts the Lord knows it who is the Searcher of all hearts and knows all things and so can witness and testifie for us that this is a most Egregious and Abominable Untruth For that which we have spoken and declared to them is to exhort and admonish them To be Sober and to Fear God and to love their Masters and Mistresses and to be Faithful and Diligent in their Masters Service and Business and that then their Masters and Overseers will Love them and deal Kindly and Gently with them And that they should not beat their Wives nor the Wives their Husbands nor multiply Wives nor put away their Wives nor the Wives their Husbands as they use frequently to do and that they do not Steal nor be Drunk nor commit Adultery nor Fornication nor Curse nor Swear nor Lye nor give Bad Words to one another or unto any
Death And in Matth. 26. there assembled together the Chief Priest and Elders of the People unto the Pallace of the High Priest named Caiphas and consulted how they might take Jesus by Subtilty and so kill him And Judas Iscariot one of the twelve went unto the Chief Priests and covenanted to betray him unto them for thirty Pieces of Silver and so he delivered Christ unto them For he came with a great multitude with Swords and Staves from the Chief Priests and Elders of the People and so apprehended him and brought him before the High Priest and Scribes and the Elders of the People And the Chief Priest and the Elders and the Council sought False Witnesses against Jesus to put him to Death and yet found none At last there came two False Witnesses and said This Fellow said He would destroy the Temple of God and in three dayes build it up And the High Priest rose up and said to Jesus answerest thou nothing What is it these witness against thee And Jesus held his peace What would you have said would you not have answered He was guilty And the High Priest adjur'd him by the Living God to tell him whether he was the Son of God And when Jesus confest the truth then the High Priest rent his Cloaths and said He hath spoken Blasphemy what think you And they answerd He was guilty of Death And they spit in his Face and buffetted him Here is the Work of the Priests and smote him with their hands and mockt him and said Prophesie to us thou Christ who it is that smote thee And the chief Priests and Elders perswaded the Multitude to ask Barabbas and to destroy Jesus the Just And so is it not the practice of you now to let the Thieves Murderers and Adulterers and Drunkards at Liberty and persecute the Just And after they had Crucified him the chief Priests and Pharisees came to Pilate flattering and saying Sir We remember that this Dreamer said while he was yet alive After Thee Dayes I will Arise again therefore let the Sepulchre be made sure until the third day lest his Disciples come by Night and steal him away and so say unto the People He is arisen from the Dead so the last Error will be worse then the first See what a pittiful Fright these Priests were in whose Cause was not good But when Christ was risen indeed and the Watch had acquainted the Chief Priests of all things that were done concerning Jesus then they assembled together with the Elders and took counsel and gave the Souldiers a large sum of Money to say His Disciples came and stole Him away by Night while they slept So if in case this should come to the Covernours Ears we will secure you said the chief Priests and the rest See how they were Teachers of Lyes here And after Christ was risen see what work the Priests made against his Disciples in the Acts of the Apostles chap. 4. What an Assembly there was of them in examining the Apostles and how they threatened them That they should speak no more in the Name of Jesus nor teach but their Answer was Whether it was right to obey God or Man judge ye So they threatned them and let them go And in Acts 5. See how the High Priest was full of Indignation and all that were with him against the Apostles and laid hands on them and put them in Prison So this was the Work still of the Priests all along you see and how the Lord still Delivered his People And in Acts 7. You may there see the High Priest and his Council examined Stephen and at last put him to Death So that you may see their Work was against Christ and his though they had a Profession And in Acts 9. See there how Saul breathed out Threatnings and Slaughter against the Disciples of Christ and how he went to the High Priest and desired Letters to go to Damascus and he had his Packet with him but the Lord met him by the way and sent him upon a contrury Arrand as he hath met with many in these latter dayes Praises be to the Lord forever But afterwards when Saul was turned Paul which signifies Marvelous in Acts 14. you may see how the Professing Jews stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds evil-affected against the Apostles As it s now the manner of Professors this day who are without the Possession to stir up the Rude Multitude against the Professors and Possessors of Christ. And in Acts 20. There you may see how the Jews laid wait for Paul on purpose to destroy him And in Acts 21. how the Jews cry'd out Help Men of Israel against the Apostle and the people ran together and took Paul and went about to kill him had he not been secured by the Captain who was a Heathen And in Chap. 22. Paul there acknowledgeth what he was when he followed the High Priest and how there were more then Forty Men that had bound themselves with a Curse That they would neither Eat nor Drink till they had killed Paul and this they declared to the Chief Priests and Elders who did not reprove them but the Captain delivered him again For those that had bound themselves with a Curse were of the Jews and of the Gang of the Chief Priests And in Chap 24. See there how Ananias the High Priest and Elders came against Paul with many Accusations but still he was delivered out of their hands And how the High Priest and chief of the Jews came to inform against Paul to Pestus Acts 25. And so you may see how they to wit the Priests still continued and persisted in their sad Work of Persecution and Blood all along both against the Prophets of old and against Christ and the Apostles then and against Christ now who is manifested in his Children and People And here you may see that the Birth born of the Flesh persecutes him all along I say that is born of the Spirit from Generation to Generation And what soul clamarous Words and corrupt Language they had against Christ and his Prophets and Apostles which were the Fruit of the Evil Spirit and so is now where-ever it is and with such unfruitful Works of Darkness there is no Fellowship to be had but rather to reprove them And therefore let all Bitterness and Anger and Wrath and Clamour and Evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice Eph. 4.31 32. and Fornication and Uncleanness and Covetousness let it not be once named amongst such as becometh Saints Eph. 5.3 and also all Filthiness Foolish-talking and Jesting which are not convenient but rather giving of Thanks to God through Jesus Christ the Redeemer For this we know That no Whoremonger nor Unclean Person nor Covetous Man which is an Idolater hath any Inheritance in the Kingdom of God and of Christ and they that think or speak otherwise are such as deceive the People with vain words and for such