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for God breathed into man the breath of life, and made man a living soul,' and sin came by disobedience, and that separates between man and God, who is pure, and hath all souls in his hand. But as for you who are in a cave of darkness, the mystery of the soul is hidden from but you confess it is by your means that sin is conveyed to your children, yea, take it to yourselves, it is your work, and the Lord hath no hand in it, not in sin, nor in making sinners; and it is manifest yoù are out of the power of God, remaining in iniquity, and are out of the covenant of reconciliation.

P. For sending children to us, we shall briefly offer the duty of it in these particulars: we are to feed the lambs of Christ as well as the sheep, they are part of our charge who are to watch over souls.'

A. What! are children now the lambs of Christ, and were they in the last, having nothing but sin upon their souls, being begotten and born in sin? Sinners are not the lambs of Christ, but children of wrath; the lambs of Christ are such as are regenerated and born again. And as for feeding the lambs, how can ye do it, who are taking substance to be shadows, and shadows to be substance? The bread of life ye know not, which feeds the lambs and the sheep. But how many sheep and lambs are found in your flocks? do not they by their fruits rather appear to be in the nature of wolves and swine? Let their fruits witness against them. And as for your charge, who committed any charge to you? and as for watching over the soul, the soul is immortal, which you watch not for, but for money and hire, and casting people into prison if they will not give it you, and causing the servants of the Lord to be persecuted; these and such like are the fruits of the priests of England; but if you watched for the soul, it would be otherwise with you. But who can gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

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P. We should be full of affection to ourselves if we desired to work upon our hearers; and our authority in preaching is marred by unholy living.'

A. We do believe you; and it is manifest to the whole nation that your unholy living mars your preaching; for unholy men have not received commission from the Lord to preach his word. So you have run and not been sent, and there is no possibility of working upon your hearers by words, who give them so evil examples by your practices, by your unholy lives: and no authority of God's presence can be in your preaching to convert sinners, till you repent and come to live holily and like God. And this confession of yours hath shamed you; for Christ's ministers never made such a confession; but they witnessed the authority of God's presence in their preaching, whereby they wrought upon their hearers, and they answered their preaching by a holy con

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P. The most faithful messengers of Christ will acknowledge they came short of their duty.'

A. They that are faithful messengers of Christ, have the answer, 'well done, thou good and faithful servant.' Where did Paul, or John, or Peter acknowledge they came short of their duty? have not you slandered the servants of the Lord, thinking them to be like yourselves, and falsely accusing them that you may seem justified, who are false messengers, and come in his name when you have no commission from him? And you come short of every good work, but thus it is not with Christ's true messengers, for they fulfil his will that sent them: and it is the Lord that worketh in them whose they are, and whose duty they perform by his spirit.

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P. The best of us have stammering tongues in this great work, and oftentimes we do it coldly and by halves, like Pellifer we see but with one eye; like Milkes, hear but with one ear; like unicorn, push against sin but with one horn. Place not good preaching in large speaking, judge of a minister by his brains, not lungs, by his heart, not throat.'

A. This is confessed to your own shame, who do your work coldly and by halves: it shows you have not the same spirit that was amongst the apostles, who were zealous, and faithful in the work of the Lord, and did it not coldly nor by halves as you do. And they saw with their eyes and heard with their ears, and their hearts God had opened, and they were a terror to all unrighteousness wherever it appeared. And the way to judge of a true minister is not by his brains, nor lungs, nor throat, but whether he hath received the holy ghost, and whether they have the same spirit that was amongst the apostles, and whether the presence of the Lord be with them, and effect his own work through them? These are the signs of Christ's ministers to judge them by : so you have. missed the true character to judge justly, and your judgment is false, and it shows you are not guided by the infallible spirit of God.

P. 'We must attend to the words of the minister, though he himself be fruitless; in which sense we may be said to gather grapes of thorns, and figs of thistles: unsanctified ministers may possibly convert and comfort sinners, though our candle be in a dark lantern, and the saints know not what God is a doing.'

A. Christ said, 'Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or the tree nought and his fruit nought,' and none can gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles;' but you say the contrary: and are pleading for fruitless ministers that they should be attended to, but the apostle exhorted to turn from them that had the form of godliness, but not the power. And judge in your ownselves how your words agree with Christ's and the apostles, they appear to be quite contrary. And unsanctified men are not Christ's ministers, nor did Christ ever send unsanc

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