p A It T IL ReverendMk. Richard Baxter. 3$5 § 279. When Bartbolomemdaycarne, about One thoufand eight hundred,or Two thoufand Minilters were Silenced and Call out : And the Affe&ions of moll Men thereuponwere fuch as made me fear it was a Prognoftick of our further Suffer- ings t For when Parlorsand People fhould have been humbled for their Sins, and lamented their former Negligence and Unfruitfulnefs, molt of. them were filled with Difdain and Indignation againft the Prelates,and were readywith Confidence to fay, [ God will not long fuffer fo wicked and cruel a Generation of Men : It will be but a little while till Godwill pull them down] : And thus Men were putt up by other Mens linfulnefs, andkept from a kindly humbling of themfelves: § 280. Andnow came in the great Inundation of Calamities, which in many Streams overwhelmed Thoufands of godly Chriftians, together with their Paítors. As for Example, r. Hundreds of able Minrllers, with their Wives and Children, had neither Houfe nor Bread : For theirformer Maintenance ferved them but for the time and fewof them laid up any thing for the future : For many of them had not pall ;oor 40 1.per Annum apiece, and molt but about 60 or So 1. per .4,- Siam, and very few above sou 1. and few had any confiderable Effaces of theirown:, 2. The Peoples Poverty was fo great' that they were net able much to relieve theirMinilters. ;. TheJealoufie of the State, and the Malice of their Enemies were fo great, that People that were willing durst not be known to give to their elatedPalors, leaft it lhould be faid that they. maintained Schifm , or were ma- king Colle&ionsfor fomePlot or Infurre&ion. 4. The Hearts of the People were grieved for the lofsof their Paltors. S. Many placeshad fuchfet over them in their iìeads,as they could not with Confcence or Comfort committhe Çonduâof their, Souls to. And they wem forced to own all thefe, and all others that were thrufl upon them againft theirWills, and to own alfo the undifciplined Churches, by re- ceiving the Sacrament in their feveral Parifhes whether they wouldor not. 6.Thofe that did not this were to be Excommunicated, and then to have a Writ fund out againft them de Excommunicatio capiendo, to lay them in the. Jail, andfeize on their Eftates. 7. The People were hereupon unavoidably divided, among themfelves: For fome would have nothing to do with thefe impoféd Palles, but would in pri- vate attend their formerPaltors only : Others woulddo both, and takeall that they . thought good of both: Some would only hear the Publick Sermons: Others would alto go to Common Prayer where the Miniflerwas tolerable : Some would joya in the Sacrament with them, where the Miniffer washonett, and others would not. And this Divifion they long forefaw but could not poflibly prevent: 8. And the Minilters themfelves were thus alfodivided, who before Teemed all one ; for forc% would go to Church,to CommonPrayer,to Sacraments,and otherswould not: Some of them thought that it was their Duty to reach publicklyin the Streets or Fields while the People defired it, and not to ceafe their Work through fear of Men, till they lay in Jails, or were all banilhed : Others thought that a continued Endea- vour to benefit their People privately, would be more ferviceable to the Church, than one or two Sermons and a Jail, at Inch a time, when the Multitudes of Suf- ferers, and the odious Titles put upon them obfcured and clog'd the benefit of Suf- ferings. And Come thought that the Covenant bound all to feparate fromCommon Prayer, and Prelates, and Parifh Communion : And others thought that it rather bound them to this Communion and Worship in cafe they could,have no butter: and that to teach from Houfe to Houfe in private, and bring thePeople o attend in publick, was the molt righteousand edifying way, where the impofedMinitier was tolerable, 9. Hereupon thole Minilters that would not ceafe preaching were thrullinto Prifons, and Cenfured ( tome of them) the refs that did not do as they. so. The tell that preached only fecretly to a few, were lookt on as difcontented and difaffe&ed to the Government , and on every rumour of a new Plot or Con- fpiracy, taken up, and manyof them laid in Prifon. r s. ThePrelatiïts andthey were hereby let at a further diffance, and Charity more dellroyed, and Reconcilia- tion made more hopelefs, and almoff any thing believed that was raid againft a Nonconformift. r u. The Conforming Part of the Old Miniftry , was alto divi- ded from the reif, andCenfures fee them further at a distance; ( But yet where. ferions Godlinefs appeared, it kept up force Charity and Refpe&, and unitedthem in the main). All there Calamities brought another ; a ;. That the People were" tempted to murmur at their Superiours, and call them cruel Perfecutois, and fe- cretly rejoyce if any hurt befel them , and many forgot that they are to Hornig their Governours, even when they fuffer by them, and not only to forbear evil, Thoughts and Wordsagainft them, but to endeavour to keep up their Honour with their Subjedts. 14. By all thefe Sins, thefe Murmurings and thefe Violatiotlt;. D d' d o1
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