But most especially have I wonder'd, and ftill do wonder, how Clergy-men, I mean, Presbyters who were regularly fent, by Epifcopal Ordination, according to the Will of our Lord, the Founder of his Church,

THE MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, the third Person of the eternal Trinity. The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghoft, whom the FATHER WILL SEND in my Name, St. John xiv. 26.

If I go not away. if I depart, I WILL He shall not speak that shall be speak,

When the Comforter is come whom I WILL SEND unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, who proceedeth from the Father, &c. St. John xv. 26. the Comforter will not come unto you; but SEND him unto you, St. John xvi. 7.. OF HIMSELF; but whatsoever he shall hear, ver. 13. MINE, and fhall fhew it unto you, ver. 14. Accordingly, the Holy Ghoft was fent from Heaven on the Day of Pentecoft, as St. Peter teftified to the wondring Multitude, telling them, This Fefus. being by the right Hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the Promife of the Holy Ghost, he hath SHED FORTH this, which you now fee and bear (i. e. he hath SENT FORTH THE HOLY GHOST, Who has caufed thofe aftonishing miraculous Wonders which you now fee and hear) Acts ii. 32, 33. And St. Paul tells the Galatians, God hath SENT FORTH the Spirit of his Son (i. e. the Holy Ghoft) into your Hearts, Galat. iv. 6. And St. Peter reckons the Holy Ghoft SENT DOWN from Heaven, among thofe things which the Angels defire to look into, 1 St. Peter

He shall glorifie me, for he shall RECEIVE OF

i. 12.

THE MISSION OF ANGELS.. They are ALL Miniftring Spirits SENT FORTH to minifter, Heb. i. 14.. The Angel Gabriel WAS SENT from God unto a City, &c. to a Virgin efpoufed to a Man whofe Name was Jofeph. St. Luke i. 26. The fame Angel appeared before unto Zacharias, and told him, I am Gabriel that ftand in the Prefence of God, and AM SENT to fpeak unto thee. ver. 19. Peter faid, Now I know of a Surety that the LORD HATH SENT his Angel, and hath deliwered me out of the Hands of Herod, &c. Acts xii. 1L

The

Church, and the unvariable and univerfal Apoftolical Practice of it for 1500 Years, I fay, I ftill wonder, how fuch Presbyters could firft preach against the Epifcopal Order, and then proceed to pull down their

The Revelation of Jefus Chrift, which God gave unto him, &c. HE SENT and fignified it by his Angel unto his Servant John, Revelat. i. 1. The feven Spirits of God SENT FORTH into all the Earth, Revelat. v. 6.- The Lord God SENT his Angel to fhew unto his Servants the things which must shortly be done, Revelat. xxii. 6.

THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES. After the twelve Apoftles are nam'd, 'tis faid, Thefe Twelve Jefus SENT FORTH, and commanded them faying Preach freely ye have RECEIVED, freely give, St. Matth. x. 5, 7, 8.. As my Father hath sent me, even fo SEND I you, St. John xx. 21. All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth: Go YE therefore and teach (or rather Difciple) all Nations, baptizing them

teaching them and lo I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, even unto the End of the World. Amen. St. Matth. xxviii. 18, 19, 20. And to fupply the Place of Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, the Apoftles prayed and faid, Thou, Lord, which knoweft the Hearts of all Men, fhew whether of these two (i.e. of Fuftus or Matthias) thou haft CHOSEN, that he may TAKE part of this Miniftry and Apostleship, Acts i. 24, 25. And they gave forth their Lots, and the Lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles, Ver. 26. SET fome in the Church. FIRST, Apostles, 1 Cor. xii. 28. Our Lord faid to Ananias concerning the Apoftle St. Paul, He is a CHOSEN Veffel unto me, to bear my Name before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the Children of Ifrael, Acts ix. 15.

I

God hath

As they minifter'd to the Lord, and fafted, the Holy Ghost faid, SEPARATE me Barnabas and Saul (i. e. Paul) for the Work whereunto I have CALLED THEM. And when they had fafted and prayed, and laid their Hands on them, they fent them away; fo they being SENT FORTH by the Holy Ghost, departed, &c. Acts xiii. 2, 3, 4. Again, the Lord faid unto St. Paul, b 2

Depart,

their own Bishops, by whom they were ordain'd,and then in Oppofition to the Holy Apoftolical Order and Character, and the Perfons lawfully vefted with it, Sacrilegiously prefume, like Colluthus, to take

xxii. 21.

upon

Depart, for I will SEND thee far hence unto the Gentiles, Acts And therefore he ftiles himself, Paul CALLED to be an Apoftle of Jefus Chrift, through the Will of God, i Cor. i. 1. and fays in another Place, I am ORDAINED a Preacher, and an Apoftle, a Teacher of the Gentiles, 1 Tim. ii. 7. How fhall they preach, except they be SENT? Rom. x. 15. When he (i. e. Chrift) afcended up on high, he GAVE fome Apostles, i. e. he gave fome the Power and Authority of being his Ambaffadors, Ephef. iv. 11. antennan

THE MISSION OF THE SEVENTY DISCIPLES, and of the DEACONS. After these things the Lord APPOINTED other Seventy alfo, and SENT them two and two before his Face, St. Luke x. I. The Twelve (i. e. the Apostles) called the Multitude of the Difciples unto them, and faid, Look ye out among you feven Men of honeft Report, full of the Holy Ghost and Wisdom, whom WE MAY APPOINT over this Business, (i.e. of taking care for the Poor) And they chofe Stephen, &c. whom they SET BEFORE THE APOSTLES; and when THEY had prayed, THEY LAID THEIR HANDS on them, A&s vi. 3, 5, 6.— THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES SUCCESSORS. St. Paul and St. Barnabas ORDAINED them ELDERS in every Church, Acts xiv. 23. For this Caufe left I thee (i. e. Titus) in Crete, that thou fhouldest fet in Order the things that are wanting, and ORDAIN Elders in every City, as I (i.e. St. Paul) had APPOINTED thee, Tit. i. 5. Stir up the GIFT of God which is in thee (ie. Stir up that Epifcopal Authority, and the Gifts annexed thereto, wherewith God has endowed thee) BY THE PUTTING ON OF MY (i.e. St. Paul's) HANDS, 2 Tim. i. 6. The Things that thou hast heard of me, the fame COMMIT thou to faithful Men, who shall be able to teach others alfo, 2 Tim. ii. 2. LAY HANDS fuddenly on no Man, 1 Tim. v. 22. The feven Stars are the ANGELS (i. e. the Bishops, or fupreme spiritual Governors) of the feven Church

ess

upon them the Epifcopal Office and Power in ordaining and fending of other pretended Presbyters into the Church, as they did a little before the Restoration, in all or moft Parts of the Nation, after the Abolition of Epifcopacy, and the Downfal of the National Church with it, in the Times of which I fpeak. Such Arch-schifmaticks as these were Mr. Bowls of York, Mr. Baxter of Kiderminster, and Mr. Hughes of Plymouth, not to mention

es, Rev. i. 20.

Of which St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna was one. Now that thefe Succeffors of the Apoftles, to whom the Power of ordaining others into the Miniftry was committed, were not mere Prefbyters, is evident from hence, That they had the Overfight of the Church of God, I Pet. v. 2. A Power to receive an ACCUSATION against (and therefore were each of them a JUDGE of) an Elder, or Minifter of a confequently inferior Order, 1 Tim. v. 19. It was alfo their Province to rebuke with ALL AUTHORITY, fo as to let no Man defpife them, Tit. ii. 15. to reject, i. e. excommunicate, a Man that is an Heretick, after the first and fecond Admonition, Tit. iii. 10. Without PREFERRING one before another, doing nothing by PARTIALITY, I Tim. v. 21. Hence the particular Angel, or Bishop of the Church in Pergamos, was justly reproved for tolerating them that held the Doctrine of Balaam, and the Nicolaitans in that Church, Rev. ii. 14, 15, 16. So alfo was the particular Angel or Bishop of Thyatira, for SUFFERING the falfe Prophetess Jezabel, Rev. ii. 20. And they could never have been thus juftly cenfur'd, if they had not been vefted with the Powers and Authority above-mentioned, and thefe Powers do vaftly exceed all that can be duly claim'd by any mere Presbyter, or Body of Pref byters whatsoever.

SMECTTM NUUS, * in and about London, where I prefume pretended Prefbyters were alfo Ordain'd, by mere Pref byters in those sad Times of Confufion.

I was once at one of their pretended Ordinations, which I fince found, was much after the French Form. Thus, and this, Sir, was the Original of the Presbyte rian Miffion in England, and it is against the Authority of the pretended Ministers of this Miffion, who were never duly authoriz'd, and therefore cannot Administer truly Valid Baptifm, that have written your excellent Book with great Strength and Perfpicuity, as well as Modefty, and confirmed your Doctrine with your Practice.

you

Indeed, you have written it throughout. with fo much Modefty and Caution, that in fome Places, it hath an Air almost of Diffidence and Miftruft, altho' you have faid nothing as to the Invalidity of their Administrations, but what our best Divines, have written before you. I beg Leave to present you with what I find to this Purpofe, in the firft Volume of the Pofthumous Sermons of one of the greatest of them, [Bishop Beveridge] Entituled, The Dignity and Authority, and Office of the

* Stephen Marshal, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew Newcomb, William Spurflow.

Priesthood.