Secondly, A Good Ministry, ha's been the H•dge of our Land. At and For our ⟨p. 20⟩[…] Settlement, there came over the […] Ocean, Seventy Seven Orthodox […], Able Ministers, in the Actual Service of the Churches; besides, Twice Seven more, Candidates in Divinity, who quickly after were thrust forth as Labourers, in the Harvest of the Lord: by which wonderful Secession, there were not known to be left so many Non-conformist Ministers in England, when the Dismal Civil Wars begun, as there were Counties in the Kingdom. And what an Hedge have we had in those Eminent Men of God? As they were the Chariots, and the Horse-men, so, they were the Hedge, of our Israel! It was especially by being Israels, or men who had Power in Wrestling with God, that they were so. It was foretold, and what was foretold was fulfilled, concerning some of them, That as long as they Lived, New-England should be preserved from any General Desolations. This Peerless Hedge, ha's been, all, saving two or three of the Second Lester Classis, taken away; the Hedge ha's been Transplanted into the upper Eden of God. And let some Shamefully Paganizing Villages in our Borders now intimate unto us, what woeful Inroads of Ignorance, of Wickedness, of Barbarity, had we now, Suffered, if ou• God, ⟨p. 21⟩had not supplied us, with a Blessed […] for the Renovation of our Hedge […] have a Well Governed COLLEGE, […] whence there have i•sued, it may be, upwards of Tw•-H•ndred Preachers, to make Glad the City of God: Yea, many Plants of Renown have been raised in this our Hedge. And whereas there are Perhaps, about an Hundred and Ten Christian Congregations in this Wilderness, there is hardly One Score of them, that are not at this Day Instructed, by Teachers, which this College ha's afforded unto them. Unhappy, and Unhedged We, if at last, we should have no Pastors any better than sorry Hedge-Priests, to Entrust with the care of our Souls! Or, if we should come to say, To what purpose is this Wast? upon all that should go to keep alive the Schools of New England, while our Neighbours in Virginia are using their Laudable and Liberal Essays to Erect an University!
Secondly, A Good Ministry, ha's been the H•dge of our Land. At and For our ⟨p. 20⟩〈…〉 Se•tlement, there came over the 〈…〉 Ocean, Seventy Seven Orthodox 〈…〉, Able Ministers, in the Actual Ser•ice of the Churches; besides, Twice Seven more, Candidates in Divinity, who quickly after were thrust forth as Labourers, in the Harvest of the Lord: by which wonderful Secession, there were not known to be left so many Non-conformist Ministers in England, when the Dismal Civil Wars begun, as there were Counties in the Kingdom. And what an Hedge have we had in those Eminent Men of God? As they were the Chariots, and the Horse-men, so, they were the Hedge, of our Israel! It was especially by being Israels, or men who had Power in Wrestling with God, that they were so. It was foretold, and what was foretold was fulfill'd, concerning some of them, That as long as they Lived, New-England should be preserved from any General Desolations. This Peerless Hedge, ha's been, all, saving two or three of the Second Lester Classis, taken away; the Hedge ha's been Transplanted into the upper Eden of God. And let some Shamefully Paganizing Villages in our Borders now intimate unto us, what woful Inroads of Ignorance, of Wickedness, of Barbarity, had we now, Suffered, if ou• God, ⟨p. 21⟩had not supplied us, with a Blessed 〈…〉 for the Renovation of our Hedge 〈…〉 have a Well Governed COLLEDGE, 〈…〉 whence there have i•sued, it may be, upwards of Tw•-H•ndred Preach•rs, to make Glad the City of God: Yea, many Plants of Renown have been raised in this our Hedge. And whereas there are Perhaps, about an Hundred and Ten Christian Congregations in this Wilderness, there is hardly One Score of them, that are not at this Day Instructed, by Teachers, which this Colledge ha's afforded unto them. Unhappy, and Unhedged We, if at last, we should have no Pastors any better than sorry Hedge-Priests, to Entrust with the care of our Souls! Or, if we should come to say, To what purpose is this Wast? upon all that should go to keep alive the Schools of New England, while our Neighbours in Virginia are using their Laudable and Liberal Essayes to Erect an University!
