Sacrilegious desertion of the holy ministry rebuked, and tolerated preaching of the gospel vindicated,…Sacrilegious desertion of the holy ministery rebuked, and tolerated preaching of the gospel vindicated,…

I am as apt to speak sharply against the humours and weakness of Religious people, as most that are not envious and malignant. But I must give them this Testimony, that though many of them cannot well judge of judiciousness in their Teachers, yet most of them love a serious Preacher and a Godly Liver; And few of them distaste either Prelates or Conformists, if they preach seriously, and live Holily. But when in all the Countries they see such Preachers and Livers chosen out for silencing, all the world cannot keep them from disliking such Bishops as shall do thus. I am most confident for those of my old acquaintance, that if they had seen Bishops (after their long disacquaintance with them) to have Preached and Prayed in a sound and serious Holy manner, and set themselves to promote the labours of Godly Preachers, and to encourage piety in the people and repress iniquity, they would generally have loved and honoured them, without respect to Presbytery or Independency: It is Godliness that Godly people care for. But since I and abundance about us were ejected, and since many of themselves have bin laid in Goals, it is no more in my power to make them love ⟨p. 127⟩such Bishops, than to make them love the Goal it self.

I am as apt to speak sharply against the humours and weakness of Religious people, as most that are not envious and malignant. But I must give them this Testimony, that though many of them cannot well judge of judiciousness in their Teachers, yet most of them love a serious Preacher and a Godly Liver; And few of them distast either Prelates or Conformists, if they preach seriously, and live Holily. But when in all the Countreys they see such Preachers and Livers chosen out for silencing, all the world cannot keep them from disliking such Bishops as shall do thus. I am most confident for those of my old acquaintance, that if they had seen Bishops (after their long disacquaintance with them) to have Preached and Prayed in a sound and serious Holy manner, and set themselves to promote the labours of Godly Preachers, and to encourage piety in the people and repress iniquity, they would generally have loved and honoured them, without respect to Presbytery or Independency: It is Godliness that Godly people care for. But since I and abundance about us were ejected, and since many of themselves have bin laid in Goals, it is no more in my power to make them love ⟨p. 127⟩