Religion, which leaves freely to his Choice ⚫ whether he will learn it or no, whether of this Teacher or another, and efpecially to pay for what he never learned, or approves not; whereby, befides the Wound of his Confcience, he • becomes the less able to recompence his true • Teacher. Thus far hath been enquired by • whom Church Ministers ought to be maintained; and hath been prov'd moft natural, moft equal and agreeable with Scripture, to be by them who receive their Teaching.

Ir remains lastly to confider, in what Manner God hath ordain'd that Recompence be given to Minifters of the Gofpel: And by all Scripture it will appear, that he hath given it to ⚫ them not by Civil Law and Freehold, as they claim, but by the Benevolence and free Gratitude of fuch as receive them: Luke x. 7, 8. Eating and drinking fuch Things as they give you. • If they receive you, eat fuch Things as are fet before you. Mat. x. 7, 8. As ye go, preach faying, • the Kingdom of God is at Hand, &c. Freely ye • bave received, freely give. If God has ordained • Ministers to preach freely, whether they receive Recompence or not, then certainly he hath forbid both them to compel it, and others to compel it for them. But freely given, he accounts as given to himself. Philip. iv. 16, 17, 18. Ye sent • once and again to my Neceffity. Not because I defire a Gift; but I defire Fruit that may abound to your Account. Having receiv'd of Epaphroditus • the Things which were fent from you, an Odour of fweet Smell, a Sacrifice acceptable, well pleafing to God. Which cannot be from Force or Unwillingnefs. The fame is faid of Alms, Heb, • xiii. 16. To do Good and to communicate forget not. • For with fuch Sacrifices God is well pleafed. • Whence

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Whence the Primitive Church thought it no Shame to receive all their Maintenance as the • Alms of their Auditors. Which they who defend Tithes, as if it made for their Caufe, when as it utterly confutes them, omit not to fet down at large; proving to our Hands out of Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, and others, that the Clergy had their Portions given them in Baskets; and were thence called Sportularii, Basket-Clerks: That their Portion was a very mean Allowance, only for a bear Livelihood; according to thofe Precepts of our Saviour: • Mat. x. 7. &c. the reft was diftributed to the • Poor. They cite alfo out of Profper, the Difciple of St. Austin, that fuch of the Clergy as had Means of their own, might not without • Sin partake of Church-Maintenance, not receiving thereby Food which they abound with, but feeding on the Sins of other Men: that the holy • Ghoft faith of fuch Clergy-men, they eat the Sins of my People: And that a Council at An• tioch, in the Year 340, fuffered not either Priest or Bishop to live on Church-Maintenance without Neceffity. Thus far Tithers themselves have ⚫ contributed to their own Confutation, by con feffing that the Church lived primitively on Alms. And I add, that about the Year 359, Conftantius the Emperor having fummon'd a ge⚫neral Council of Bishops to Ariminum in Italy, and provided for their Subfiftence there, the British and French Bishops judging it not decent to live on the Publick, chofe rather to be at their own Charges. Three only out of Britain 'conftrained thro' Want, yet refusing offer'd Affiftance from the reft, accepted the Emperor's Provifion; judging it more convenient to fubfift by publick than by private Suftenance.

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·

• Whence

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Whence we may conclude, that Bishops then, in this Island, had their Livelihood only from Benevolence. In which Regard this Relater Sulpitius Severus, a good Author of the fame Time, highly praises them.

AND the Waldenfes, our firft Reformers, both from the Scripture and these primitive Examples, maintained thofe among them who bore the Office of Minifters, by Alms only. Take the very Words from the Hiftory written of them in French, Part 3 l. 2. c. 2. La Nourriture • et ce de quoy nous fommes couverts, &c. Our Food • and Cloathing is fufficiently adminiftred and given us by Way of Gratitude and Alms, by the good People whom we teach. If then by Alms and • Benevolence, not by LEGAL FORCE, not by • Tenure of Freehold or Copyhold: For Alms, tho' juft, cannot be compelled; and Benevolence forced, is Malevolence rather, violent ⚫ and inconfiftent with the Gospel; and declares • him no true Minister thereof, but a rapacious Hireling rather, who by Force receiving it, • eats the Bread of Violence and Exaction, no holy or juft Livelihood, no not civilly counted honest, much lefs befeeming fuch Spiritual Ministry. But,

C

THEY pretend that their Education either at • School or Univerfity, hath been very chargea⚫ble, and therefore ought to be repaired in future by a plentiful Maintenance; when as it is well known, that the better half of them, are ofttimes poor and pitiful Boys of no Merit, or promifing Hopes, that might intitle them to the publick Provifion, but their Poverty, and the unjuft Favour of Friends, have had most of their Breeding both at School and University, by Scholarships, Exhibitions and Fellowships at

the

the publick Coft; which might engage them the • rather to give freely, as they have freely received.

BUT they will fay, we had betaken us to • fome other Trade or Profeffion, had we not expected to find a better Livelihood by the Miniftry. This is that which I looked for, to discover them openly neither true Lovers of Learning, and fo very feldom guilty of it, nor true Ministers of the Gofpel. So long ago out ⚫ of Date, is that old true Saying, 1 Tim. iii. 1: If a Man defire a Bishoprick, he defires a good • Work: For now commonly he who defires to be a Minister, looks not at the Work but at the • Wages; and by that Lure, or Low-bell,_may be toll'd from Parish to Parish, all the Town over. But what can be plainer Simony, than thus to be at Charges beforehand, to no other End, than to make their Ministry doubly or trebly Beneficial? To whom it might be faid as juftly as that to Simon, Thy Money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the Gift of God may be purchas'd with Money: Thou hast neither

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• Part nor Lot in this Matter.

NEXT, it is a fond Error, tho' too much believed among us, to think that the University makes a Minifter of the Gofpel; what it may conduce to other Arts and Sciences, I difpute ⚫ not now: But that which makes fit a Minifter, the Scripture can best inform us to be only from above; whence alfo we are bid to feek them, Matth. ix. 38. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest, that be will fend forth Labourers into bis Harveft. Acts xx. 28. The Flock over which the Holy Ghoft hath made you Overfeers. Rom. x. 15. How fhall they preach, unless they be fent? By whom fent? By the University, or the Magiftrate, or their Belly? No furely: But fent from God only, and that God, who is not their

Belly

• Belly.

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And whether he be fent from God, or from Simon Magus, the inward Senfe of his Calling and Spiritual Ability will fufficiently tell him; and that ftrong Obligation felt within him, which was felt by the Apoftle,, will often exprefs from him the fame Words; 1 Cor. ix. 16. Neceffity is laid upon me, yea, Woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel. Not a beggarly Neceffity, and the Woe feared otherwife of perpetual Want; but fuch a Neceffity as made him willing to preach the Gofpel Gratis, and to embrace Poverty, rather than as a Woe to fear it, 1 Cor. xii. 28. God hath fet fome in the Church, first Apostles, &c. Eph. iv. 11. &c. He gave fome Apostles, &c. For the perfecting of the Saints, for the Work of the Ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Chrift, till we all come to the Unity of the Faith. Whereby we may know that as He made them at the firft, fo he makes them ftill, and to the World's End. 2 Cor. iii. 6. Who hath also • made us fit or able Ministers of the New Testament. 1 Tim. iv. 14. The Gift that is in thee, which was given thee by Prophecy, and the laying on of the Hands of the Prefbytery. These are all the Means which we read of required in Scripture to the making of a Minifter: All this is granted, you will fay But yet it is alfo requifite he fhould be trained up in other Learning, which can be no • where had than at Universities.

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I anfwer, That what Learning, either hu<man or divine, can be neceffary to a Minister, may as eafily, and lefs chargeable, be had in any private House. How deficient elfe, and to how little Purpose, are all thofe Piles of Sermons, • Notes and Comments on all Parts of the Bible, • Bodies and Marrows of Divinity, befides all other Sciences in our English Tongue; many

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