of Nazareth, which things I also did in Jerusalem; and many of the saints I did shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceeding mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon as I went to Damascus, with authority and commission from the chief priests, that if I found any of that way, (viz. of them that believed in Christ,) whether they were men or women, I might bring them bound to Jerusalem.' And as he was coming near unto Damascus, Jesus Christ did convert him; and after a while he preached Christ in Damascus, where he was going to persecute, and confounded the Jews, and the Jews took counsel to kill him, as in Acts ix. 1 to the 28th. and xxvi. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. and xxiv. 16.

Now while Paul was persecuting and imprisoning, and consenting to the death of the followers of Christ; and having his packet of letters, and his authority and commission from the chief priests, to go up and down and persecute the saints the believers in Christ, from city to city; then he was exercising an evil conscience towards Christ and men; for Christ saith, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.' So in this it is clear he was exercising an evil conscience, whilst he was a persecutor; and the Jews, priests and elders also, which gave him letters, commission and authority, to persecute Christ in his members. And so likewise, all the Protestant and Papist priests, which call themselves christians, that have, and do persecute and imprison people for their faith and a good conscience, they have, and are persecuting Christ in his members; such always have and do exercise an evil conscience against Christ in his members. For the Jews and chief priests, would have Christ crucified without the gates of Jerusalem, and cried Matt. xvii. 25, ‘O let his blood be upon them and their children;' in that they exercised an evil conscience towards Christ. And after Christ was risen, the chief priests and elders, and Saul, imprisoned and persecuted Christ in his members; and so have the Papists, and many of the Protestant priests, because they do not conform. And therefore have they imprisoned and persecuted to death, and spoiled the goods of many; in this they have exercised an evil conscience towards Christ and his people. For Saul, nor any other, did not, nor do any exercise a good conscience towards God and man, until that they were and are converted to Christ Jesus to follow him, and to forsake the Jewish priests, and the tithes, and temple worships, and all other outward temple worships, and priests that take tithes, and persecute others that will not conform and give them their tithes, &c. For Christ saith, he came not to destroy men's lives, but to save VOL. VI.

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them; and saith, love one another, and love enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; and, freely you have received, freely give. And they that keep the commands of Christ and his gospel without charge, are always exercising a good conscience towards God, in obeying, serving and worshipping him, and a good conscience toward men, in that which is just, righteous, honest, and true; to do unto all men, as they would have others do unto them, according to the royal law of God. And so it is clear, that no persecutor and spoiler of people's goods, in all ages from Cain, both in the days of the prophets, Christ, and the apostles, and since, to this day, did, nor has, nor can exercise a good conscience towards God and man. For he that is born of the flesh, will persecute him that is born of the spirit.' That persecuting birth of the flesh, is not like to exercise a good conscience towards God or man; he that is born of the spirit, is born of God; for the birth of the flesh doth not do unto all men, as it would have them do unto it; and is not like to exercise a good conscience towards God, when it persecutes his spiritual birth, though they go in Cain's, Corah's, Balaam's and Jezabel's way, in the wolves' and sheep's clothing. All these may make an outward profession of christianity, and deny the power thereof; but such are to be turned away from. And is it like that they that go in these evil ways, should exercise a good conscience towards God and man? And also such false teachers that make merchandise of people, that make the gospel chargeable; and such priests and teachers that divine for money, and preach for hire, and bear rule by their means, and preach for handfuls of barley, and pieces of bread, and deceive the people. Such doings the Lord was against, and such shepherds which are called greedy dumb dogs, which can never have enough, seeking for their gain from their quarter, &c. and looking after their own ways, and not after the Lord's; such, God's prophets, Christ and the apostles testified against, and such as these were not like to exercise a good conscience towards God and man.

And when Balak sent messengers to Balaam, to curse the children of Israel, the Lord said, thou shalt not go with them, thou shalt not curse them, for they are blessed. And Balak sent other messengers to Balaam, and said, I will promote thee to great honour, and will do whatever thou sayest unto me. And after, Balaam went, and God's anger was kindled against him, because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the way as he rode upon his ass, and he smote his ass, and his ass fell down, and the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and it reproved Balaam. And was not Balaam going to be promoted by Balak, and to receive his wages of unrighteousness? And did not Balaam cause Balak to build altars, and offer up rams and oxen? But for all Balak's and Balaam's offerings, that he might curse the children of Israel, in

stead of that, the Lord made him to bless them. So Balaam angered Balak, that he missed his honour, and his wages of unrighteousness, though he loved it. Numb. xxii. xxiii. xxiv. chap. 2 Pet. ii. 15, 16.

And do not our spiritual Balaam's that ride upon the dumb asses, so love the wages of unrighteousness, that they would destroy all the Lord's people, if the Lord did not restrain them? But was not Balaam at last slain with the sword? as in Numb. xxxi. 8. And will not all the spiritual Balaams, think you, that are erred from the spirit of God, be slain by the sword of the spirit, the word of God, who love honour, and the wages of unrighteousness? But the Lord is opening the mouths of his people by his spirit, which have been like dumb asses, and they are throwing off Balaam and his error, honour, and wages. That makes the spiritual Balaams angry, that they are ready to kill them, as old Balaam would have done his ass, but the Lord restrains them, as he did him. Glory over all to the Lord for ever; so that his holy people can sing hallelujah over them, and learn of Christ, who is meek and low in heart, and in him they have found rest for their souls, who saith, 'Freely you have received, freely give.'

V. And the bad example of Gehazi and Simon Magus, to be shunned.

NAAMAN, captain of the host of Assyria, he was a leper, and had a leprosy, and he came to Elisha to be healed, and he bid him go and wash in Jordan seven times, and his flesh should come again, and he should be clean. And he went into Jordan, and washed seven times, and came again to Elisha and was made well. And Naaman would have given Elisha great gifts, but Elisha utterly denied them, and would receive none, but bid him go in peace. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, went after Naaman, and said, My master Elisha hath sent me, saying, behold, even now there be come to me, from Mount Ephraim, two young men, of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. And Naaman gave him two talents of silver, and two changes of garments. And Gehazi, Elisha's servant, took them to himself, and bestowed them in the house, and came to Elisha. And Elisha asked him whence he came? And he said, his servant went no where; but Elisha said unto him, went not my heart with thee when the man turned again in his chariot to meet thee? And Elisha said to Gehazi, The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever; and he went from Elisha a leper, as you may see in 2 Kings v. throughout.

And are not all the covetous teachers in the world of the seed of Gehazi? Yea, are not many of them grown worse than he, who will

take money and the clothes from such that do not own them, and if they will not give them means or rewards, they will cast them in prison, and spoil their goods. Is not this covetous leprosy seen upon them, who are of the seed and spirit of Gehazi? For he went with a lie in his mouth to Naaman, (as though Elisha had sent him, but he did not,) who gave him two talents of silver, and two changes of garments, which Elisha would not receive from him. Here Elisha, freely what he had received of God, freely gave it again, according to Christ's doctrine, though Gehazi abused Elisha in going unto Naaman in his name. But he that took the reward for doing nothing, he had the leprosy with it. And is not this the condition of all the covetous teachers, that be of the spirit and seed of Gehazi, or rather worse, that will take money and rewards by force, of them they do nothing for? And such are not of the spirit and seed of Christ, who saith, freely you have received, freely give. And are not these things written for our admonishment, and that we should not follow the examples of that covetous seed and spirit, but follow Christ, and obey his command?

And what think you of Simon Magus, who believed and was baptized? And when he saw that through laying on the hands of the apostles, the holy ghost was given, this Simon Magus, offered the apostles money, saying, 'Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, they may also receive the holy ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee; for I perceive thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.' Acts viii. 17th to 24th.

Now here it is clear, that all the teachers in Christendom, that think the gift of God can be purchased with money, their hearts are wrong, and they are in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity, and their money will perish with them, and they have neither lot nor part in the gift of God; though they may pretend themselves to be believers, and to be baptized, they know not the baptism of the holy ghost. All the teachers in Christendom may apply Simon Magus's condition to themselves, that have gotten their natural tongues, arts, and sciences, and old authors, and histories, and make people believe that they have the gift of God, and so they are called to the ministry, when they have neither part nor lot in it, but do daily show forth the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity to people that will not give them means for their gift, which they sell to people; but Christ who gives gifts to his people, saith, freely you have received, freely give.

VI. Concerning the priests and professors, that say they must do as the priests say, not as they do.

THE priests and professors used to bring this scripture, the saying of Christ, that the scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses's seat or chair: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works, for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burthens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen of men,' &c. They love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats at synagogues, and greeting in markets, and to be called of men rabbi, and master. And Christ pronounces eight woes against them, and calls them hypocrites, and fools, and blind guides, who made clean the outside of the cup, and of the platter, but within full of extortion and excess; and called them whited sepulchres, which indeed appeared beautiful outwardly, but within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness; who also outwardly appeared righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity; ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?' Matt. xxiii. to the end. These are very suitable scriptures for the priests and professors to apply to themselves.

Now the priests and professors say, though they be as bad as scribes and Pharisees, they must do as they say, and not as they do. And another scripture the priests and professors bring, how Christ said, that the scribes and Pharisees paid tithes of mint, anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. Matt. xxiii. 23, 24. These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the others undone : ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Now the Jews were to hear the scribes and Pharisees, which wrote the law, and read the law; so they were to do the law which Christ came to fulfil, and they were to pay their tithes of mint, anise, and cummin, which were commanded by the law, and not to neglect judgment, mercy, and faith, those weightier matters of the law; for tithes, offerings, and priests, were commanded and held up by the law, and this law served till the seed Christ came, as in Gal. iii. 19. And when Christ was come, not to break the law, but to fulfil it; and when he was offered up as a sacrifice once for all, he changed the priesthood, and changed the law, and disannulled the commandment, that gave them tithes, and abolished the priesthood with its daily sacrifice and offerings, with the sacrifice of himself once for them all; when Christ had healed or cleansed any, before he was offered up, he bid them go to the