grief) to sober Christians, when they consider how far this gangrene of abused liberty hath spread among men and women too: the meanest and most mechanick He or She (as Tertullian observes of some bolder Hereticks and Schismaticks in his dayes) dare, contrary to all Primi∣tive pattern, and Scriptural precept, to preach, to baptize, to consecrate, to censure, to excommunicate; scorning and opposing all things that are not branded with their schismaticall marks, their novell badges, and factious discriminations.
Wherewith so soon as any silly men or women come once to be dubbed and signalized, their first vow and adventure is against the whole frame and constitution of the Church of England, but specially against the orderly, ancient, and Catholick Ministry of it; which is the rind or bark of Religion, by which the sap, life, and nourish∣ment of it is preserved and conveyed from the root Christ Jesus, to the severall branches of his Church in every place. This, this must by all means be peeled round, stripped off, and cast away, under pre∣tence of Christian liberty; and a better, because freer, course of deri∣ving Chirstian Religion to peoples eares and hearts, by another Mi∣nistry than that Ancient, Apostolick, Catholick and Primitive way of an orderly ordained Ministry, which consisted of Bishops, Presbyters & Deacons, be brought in. Against the constitution & succession of all these, as corrupt, adulterous, Popish, Babylonish, spurious and superstitious, in England, whole troops of plebeian spirits have been, and still are, engaged, whose fierce onsets and encounters were at first begun, and are still carried on with as great resolution and errour, as his that as∣saulted a Windmill instead of a Giant.
The great alarm given by their chief leaders, is, First, to rail bit∣terly against the whole Clergie, and all sacred orders used in the Church of England: thence they proceed to wipe off their Baptisme, as vain and invalid; to vomit up their Lords Supper, as nauseous and super∣stitious; to read their Creeds backward, to an unbelief of all things have been preached: next, they cancell the Decalogue, as a Judaick phylactery, a legall prescription: lastly, they learn to account and call the Lords Prayer a kind of spell and conjuration, being perfect ene∣mies to any thing that looks like a Liturgy, or set form of prayer and devotion. After this, with stiff necks and haughty looks, they scornful∣ly defie all ancient ordination, all Catholick succession, all Apostolick commission derived to any Bishops and Presbyters, as Ministers of Christ, altering and annulling, as much as in them lies, all the order, descent and power of the Evangelicall Ministry, both in this and all other Christian Churches since the Apostles dayes; the right of re∣sumption and redemption of which they challenge to themselves, according as their severall fancies list to make themselves or others Ministers, or to have none at all; which is the highest pitch of their Christian liberty, counting all Ministers to be but their curbs and manacles.
Having thus commenced Masters of mis-rule, their next work is to tu••n the garden of God, any setled Church, as this of Engl. was, into rui∣nous