trine of enchanting traditions, her dove eyes look
pleasantly upon the well attired harlot, her sweet voice is mumming and
muttering some missal and magical liturgies, her fair neck beareth the
halter like to kens of her former captivity, even a burdensome chain of
superfluous and superstitious ceremonies, her undefiled garments are
stained with the meritricious bravery of Babylonish ornaments, and with
the symbolising badges of conformity with Rome, her harmless hands reach
brick and mortar to the building of Babel, her beautiful feet with shoes
are all besmeared, whilst they return apace in the way of Egypt, and wade
the ingruent brooks of Popery. Oh! transformed virgin, whether is thy
beauty gone from thee? Oh! forlorn prince's daughter, how art thou not
ashamed to look thy Lord in the face? Oh! thou best beloved among women,
what hast thou to do with the inveigling appurtenances and habilement of
Babylon the whore?--But among such things as have been the accursed means
of the church's desolation, which peradventure might seem to some of you
to have least harm or evil in them, are the ceremonies of kneeling in the
act of receiving the Lord's supper, cross in baptism, bishopping,
holidays, &c., which are pressed under the name of things indifferent; yet
if you survey the sundry inconveniences and grievous consequences of the
same, you will think far otherwise. The vain shows and shadows of these
ceremonies have hid and obscured the substance of religion; the true life
of godliness is smothered down and suppressed by the burden of these human
inventions, for their sakes, many, who are both faithful servants to
Christ and loyal subjects to the king, are evil spoken of, mocked,
reproached, menanced, molested; for their sakes Christian brethren are
offended, and the weak are greatly scandalised; for their sakes the most
powerful and painful ministers in the land are either thrust out, or
threatened to be thrust out from their callings; for their sakes the best
qualified and most hopeful expectants are debarred from entering into the
ministry; for their sakes the seminaries of learning are so corrupted,
that few or no good plants can come forth from thence, for their sakes
many are admitted into the sacred ministry, who are either popish and
Arminianised, who minister to the flock poison instead of food; or silly
ignorants, who can dispense no wholesome food to the hungry; or else
vicious in their lives, who draw many with th