'Ihe HIS T 0 RY of the PuRITANs. VoL. H. Oli~er lodged with the bi!hops of thefe times, or their chaplai ns or with the P?'iJteflor. h" h ib · Id h h h d h · "b ' · 1654 • 1g pre ytenans; wou t ey not ave a t e1r fht boletb, for wh 1ch ill- ~ natured men might have called them an holy inquijition? but Mr. Baxter has given a very fair and candid account of them; his words are thefe, Mr. Baxter's '' becaufe this aff~mbly of 'Fryers is moll: heavily accufed and reproached opinion of " b~ fame men, I {hall fpeak the truth of them, and fuppofe my word tBhem. , 1 . "w1ll be taken, becaufe mofl: of them took me for one of th eir boldeil: axter s ife, , d r . h h . h ]· ] . h . P· 72 • ' a venanes: t e trut ts, t oug 1 t 1en· aut onty was null, and though " fame few over rigid and over bufy independents among them, were too fe– " vere againft all that were arminians, and too particular in enquiring af– " after evidences of fanCl:ification in thofe whom they ·examined; and " fomewbat too lax in admitting of unlearned and erroneous men, that " favoured antinomianifm or anabaptijin; yet to give them their due~ " they did abundance of good to the church. They faved many a con– " gregation from ignorant, ungodly, drunken teachers, that fort of men '' who intend no more in the minii1ry than to fay a fermon, as readers " fay their ·common prayers on Sundays , and all the reil: of the week go " with the people to the ale-houfe and harden them in fin; and that fort " of minifl:ers who either preached againfl: a holy life, or preached as men " that were never acquainted with it. Thefe they ufually rejeCl:ed, and '' in their fiead, admitted of any that were able, ferioQS preachers, and " lived a godly life, of what tolerable opinion foever they were ; fo tha-t " though many of them were a little partial for the independents, fepat:a– ,, tifl:s, fi fth monarchy men, and anabapti!l:s, and againfl: the prelatills <-' and arminians, yet fo great was the benefit above the hurt which they " brought to the church, that m~ny thoufands of fouls bleHed God for " the faithful mini!l:ers whom they let in, and grieved when the prelatiils "·afterwards cafl: them ou.t again." The commiffioners were not empowered to look further back th an one year, before the date of the ordinance that conil:ituted them. All who w.ere in poffdfJon oflivings before that time were out of their reach; nor would the proteflor have given thefe any dit1urbance, had he not received certain information of their fl:irring up the people, to join the infurreCl:ion that was now o.o foot for the refl:oration of the king. They continued fitting at Whitehall till the protector's death, or the year 1659· and were then difcontinued. But to humble the clergy yet further, and keep them within the bounds . of their fpiritu al funCl:ion, his highnefs, by the advice of his council, pubNew ordl- "{h d d" b . d .A o 6 . I d d" 1mnce fore- h e an or 1nance, earmg ate ug. 2o. I 54 entlt e , an or mance jefling Jeanfor ejecting Ji:andalous, ignorant, and inji!fficient minift.ers andfi·hool-majlers-. dalous minif- The ordinance appoints and nominates certain lay-commijjioners for every ~';~bel, p. county, and)oins with..tbem ten ot more, of the.gravefl:, and mo~ ~oted ;ns. 3.4o. mm1fl:ers,
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