the church's enemies? for when the carpenters do arise the times are troublous.

True, they are indeed; but God chooseth troublous times to build in both his house and walls of the city. The churches have always lost most in times of peace, and gained most in times of trouble. Whilst the ten persecutions continued, the integrity of the churches was best preserved. The psalmist saith, "Send out thy light and thy truth, O Lord, and let them lead me unto thine altar," Psalm xliii. 4. There is no going unto God's altar with worship, without the leading hand of truth; and there is no building God's house for an altar without light. When God made the world, he first made light on the first day, as an example unto us in all our works to work by light. Now light and truth do break forth much in troublous times.

Troublous times are praying times, and praying times are knowing times. "If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God," Prov. ii. 3, 4, 5.

In troublous times men's hearts are most low and humbled, and so more apt and ready to receive and to be led into any truth. You read in Isa. xi., that God promiseth that in the latter times "the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord;" and in the verses a little before, it is said of the lion and the young lion," that a child shall lead them :" these two go well together; but the stout lionlike spirit will never be led by the hand of a sucking child, until it be brought down and low by troublous times.

In troublous times God is pleased to communicate himself more freely to his people. God is not unto his in affliction as at other times; he is most sweet when the world is most bitter. It is with a nation, church and people, in their reformation, as with a person in his first conversion: because of those many temptations that a converting person is to conflict withal, God doth more abundantly reveal and communicate himself unto him at his first conversion; so with a reforming people, because of those many oppositions that they shall

* Ecclesia tunc semper fuit optima quando agebat inter pessimos.-Luther. VOL. IV.

meet withal in that work, God doth then more than ordinarily communicate him self unto them. Thus troublous times do bring forth light and truth. God loveth to have a sacrifice from the hands of the children of Abraham out of the thickets and briars. Opposition commendeth reformation: in troublous times there is much opposition, and therefore in those times reformation is very beautiful. The doctrine is clear then, the application easy. Thus:

Hence we may all see and know what is the work of the times, even to measure the temple. Now for a long while we have had experience of the first vision, and we have felt the horns; the rising of the carpenters we have seen also; and who may not say, "I have lifted up mine eyes, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand?" Blessed be God that we have lived to see this day, to see a man stand with a measuring line in his hand in England. And whoever you are that hear me this day, you are either such as have this measuring line in your hand, or else such as are to be measured.

If you have the measuring line in your hands, then remember this doctrine, the first proposition: stones of reformation are to be laid with most exactness. Herein, if you be exact, you shall be like unto Jesus Christ, who, as Salmeron observeth,* when he came to purge the temple, did not only admonish, chide, reprove the money-changers, or whip them away, but did overthrow their very tables, ne impium opus facile repeterent, lest they should recover their trade again. In other things you are very exact: men are exact in their trades, exact in their accounts, exact in their reckonings, exact in their diet, exact in their sleep, exact in their hair both of head and face; in small things you are, exact, and will you not be exact in this greatest? You know what other reformed churches have done; the reformation of all other churches are round about you, you have their writings before you, their books, their practices, their examples, and this for many years: can you think that God hath set us now for an hundred years upon their shoulders, to see no further into reformation than they have done? If two men be to do the same work, the one first and the other after; he

* Sacerdotes in templo offendentes sunt flagellorum dignissimi.-Salmeron in Joan. 3.

that doth it first, though he doth it never so well, yet will excuse himself and say, I never saw the work done before me, I was fain to invent my very tools and instruments; and you will excuse him though there be some failing in him: but when the second man cometh to the same work that hath a former example, and all his tools to help him, you expect more exactness from him. You know my meaning, I need not apply this; oh, that our God would make England the praise of the whole earth; nothing will do it but our exactness in reformation. Certainly this reformation that is now on foot, hath, as I may speak with reverence, cost our God very dear, the liberties, the estates, the lives and blood of many of his dear children, "of whom the world was not worthy." Do you think God will lay out all this for an imperfect, unexact, poor and low reformation? Let me present you with the prophecy of Bishop Hooper, who when he was in prison called his printer to him, and said, You shall outlive these Marian times, and see the alteration of the present religion, when the gospel shall be freely preached; wherefore remember me to my brethren, as well in exile as others, and bid them be circumspect in displacing of popish priests, and put good ministers in churches, or else their end will be worse than ours. He said, be circumspect; I say, be exact: and though I do not wish that every morning there might be a boy crying at your doors, as once at Philip's, Mortalis es, Thou art mortal, thou art mortal; for that the drum doth sufficiently every morning; yet I could wish that this sentence might be sounding in your hearts every morning and night, that it might lie down with you and rise with you: Stones of reformation are to be laid with most exactness. But how shall that be?

Thus be sure of this that you take the right line into your hands. God's word it is our line, able to reach unto all particular affairs of the churches.

Mistake me not, I pray. A church is considered two ways; as a meeting of people, men and women; or as a church meeting, a meeting of saints, apparent believers, cœtus fidelium. I do not say that the word is to be the only line and rule to the church in the first respect, so reason may be a rule to men as men; but in the second respect it is, the word is able to reach unto all things belonging unto a church

as a church. Our commission is not larger now than the apostles' commission was, and their commission ran thus: "Go teach and baptize, &c., teaching men to observe whatever I command you," Matt. xxviii. If not commanded by Christ, then not to be preached by them nor by us. Jesus Christ was and is as fully Christ in his prophetical as priestly office, and his priestly satisfaction reached unto all our sins, though they were never so small, therefore his prophetical direction reacheth to all our duties, though they be never so little. That which cometh not from heaven, can never bring you into heaven. If you say, There are some things indifferent; it is true, but Christ's command is to keep them so then, and not to alter them.* If you say that circumstances are left unto the church; either you mean all circumstances, or some; if you mean only some, then you conclude nothing, for a particular proposition cannot make a general conclusion; if you mean that all circumstances are left unto the church, then you do at once and at one stroke cut off three commandments from the decalogue; the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other Gods but me," commandeth the substance of worship, the second the means, the third the manner, the fourth the time; and means, manner, and time are circumstances. Herein Luther speaks well,† Whatsoever a man believeth, or learneth, or teacheth besides the word, it is sin; and again, saith he,‡ The church is the daughter of Scripture, brought up at the feet of the word. Ob, the perfection of that line, it is a complete line, a glorious line, a blessed line. Take this line therefore first into your hands.

* Cum Moses per incultam et desertam regionem populum exulem et vagum traduceret, in tanta olitudine quicquid vel dicendeum vel agendum esset, semper consuluit Dominum, nihil unquam attulit de suo; prophetæ semper aiunt, verbum Domini, visio Domini, vox Domini, hæc dicit Dominus, audite Dominum; Ego (inquit Paulus) evangelium meum non accepi ab homine, neque per hominem ; imo Christus omnia inquit quæ audivi a Patre meo tradidi vobis, et prædicate inquit non quicquid inciderit, sed evangelium omni creaturæ.-Jewel in Concione ad Clerum de verb, Dei, page 55, 56,&c.

† Circumst. cur, quomodo, quando, quibus auxilius. Quicquid vivitur, docetur, discitur extra verbum, peccatum est. Ecclesia est Scripturæ filia.— Luther.

Non enim nostro judicio instituenda est religio, sed e verbo Dei. Omnia pervertuntur, cum religio non verbo Dei, sed hominum arbitrio nititur.-Jewel, Concio ad Clerum de verbo Dei.

When you have gotten this line into your hand, view your ground well, and stones well, that you are to draw this line over. Three sorts there are that are especially to be lined by it the magistrates, the ministers, the congregations. These three the Pope and prelates, notwithstanding their flattering with princes, have especially laboured to degrade and to deprive of that power which was given unto them by Jesus Christ. The magistrates, and therefore the "man of sin" is so described by the apostle, that he "shall exalt himself above all that is called God," 1 Thess. ii. 4. The ministers and elders of the church, and therefore you shall observe that from Rev. vii. to xiv. there is no more mention made of elders, unless it be in relation unto that same time. In chap. iv. the condition of the church is stated, and then the elders are mentioned; so again in the vth and viith, but in the after chapters to the xivth you have the story of antichrist, his rise, his reign, and ruin; and till the fall of antichrist, which is begun in the xivth and perfected in the xviiith, we read no more of the elders; but in the beginning of the xixth, after Babylon is fallen, then come forth the elders again, praising God, and with great joy. So in our servicebook, the collect runs thus, "Send down upon our bishops and curates," &c., as if ministers and elders were only bishops' curates, and had no power but under them. The congregations also have been much oppressed by them, therefore Azorius* the Jesuit professeth ingenuously, that until Gregory the first, and Charles the great, the congregations had the power of choosing their own ministers; since antichrist's power the congregations have lost their power.

Now beloved in the Lord, there is none of all these three but have some power about church affairs; the magistrate he hath his power, and therefore he is called "a nursing father;" the minister and elder, he hath his power, therehe is commanded Toμauver, which signifieth both to feed and

* Non itaque ; inficiamur veterem ritum ac morem episcopos eligendi, quo plebe præsento, imo et ipsius suffragis aliquando eligebantur: nam in Africa illum morem observatum esse constat ex electione Eradii successoris S. Augustin in Græcia ætate S. Chrysostum ex libro ejus 3. de sacerdote : qua quidem eligendi Episcopi ratio usque; ad Gregorium I. ut constat ex ejus epistolis, imo et ad Caroli Magni, et Ludovici II. Imperatorum usque; tempora perduravit.— Azor. instit. Morab. p. 2. 1. 3. c. 28.