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diately; there is no queftion, but he doth by his Minifters and Inftruments much more, more ordinarily and frequently I mean: Let any man judge then, whether it be the part of a fober wife man, not onely to hear fuch men as can give no account of their calling, but also to follow them, to embrace their Doctrine, to be of their number or Congregation; and all this, upon this account, becauſe they can pray and preach very well, (as they think and judge at leaft) and talk very godlily and zealously? How much more inexcufable they that will clea e unto fuch, though they fee and know them fcandalous in their Lives, Proud, Infolent, Ignorant, Seditious, Intolerable, becauſe they can pray, and preach, and talk, as beft agreeth with their own humor, and gives them beft content? Can any man think they follow God in this, who would have all things done in order, and is not a God of Confufion, (1 Cor. 14. 33, 40.) when all they do, tends to nothing else but diforder and confufion? I confefs it is poffible, that men lawfully called may prove bad enough, we have divers examples in the Scripture. But if a man, fimply and ignorantly be mif-led by fuch, certainly his judgement will be much lighter then they can expect, who will not uſe the means that God hath ordained, in fo great and weighty a bufinefs as the falvation of Souls is. I know not what thefe men can fay for themſelves, except it be, that they are refolved to make ufe of the Liberty of the times to pleaſe their humor; they may do it, but if that bring them to Heaven, they have good luck.
But the bufinefs of praying, is that I would principally infift upon: You fee here how Dr. Dee, where he gives an account of himfelf to the Emperor, and others, bears himfelf much upon this, that fo many years he had been an earneft Suitor unto God by Prayer to obtain Wisdom, fuch wifdom as he was ambitious of. I believe him, that he had prayed very earneftly, and with much importunity many times: This was the thing that made him fo confident of his Spirits, that they muft needs be good Spirits and Angels. I know a man, I have no comfort to tell it, but that I would not conceal any thing that may be a warning unto others, and yet I will have a respect unto him too: But I knew one,a very innocent man(in his outward converfation, and as I believe very really) Humble, Religious, very Learned and Orthodox, and one that had fuffered for his Confcience, as others have done in thefe times: This worthy man, being engaged in a controverted Argument, upon which his phancy had wrought very much, or rather which had much wrought upon his phancy; he had written much, filled much Paper, and was defirous to communicate unto me as his friend what he had done: But when I perceived that the drife of his writing was out of the Law and the Prophets, to fhew the neceffity of fome things which I thought of a more indifferent nature; I was not willing to meddle with it; and begun to argue againft his main drift, and to fhew my difliking. After many words to and fro, he began to prefs me with this, that he had often prayed with much earneftness, and he was very confident that God had heard his Prayers: Yea, he proceeded fo far, that if God were true, he could not be deceived, and ufed many other words to the fame purpofe, at which I was much amazed, butcould