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self, to fall down before it, upon pain of being cast into the burning fiery furnace of their indignation, heated seven times more hot than ordinary, through the desired access of secular power to their power, is a far worse work, in my eyes, than that of king Nebuchadnezzar's setting up a golden image, and forcing all to fall down before it; seeing spiritual idolatry, is so much worse than corporal, as the spirit is better than the flesh.

And therefore I do think (let them teach me better by the word that can) that uniformity, the great Diana of the Presbyterians, and the image that falls down from the brain and fancy of man, hath no footing in the Scriptures, or in the practice of the churches of Christ: And that the Presbyterian uniformity, is near akin to prelatical conformity, and is no other than the same thing under another word, after the manner of prelacy and Presbytery; and to conclude that unity is Christian, uniformity antichristian.

And this I have only hinted, and that briefly, among many occasions, to discover to the faithful, that some of the very dregs of antichristianism still prevail and domineer, under the very name of reformation: and also to give occasion to men of more spirit and abilities, and leisure, to discourse more fully to this point, that the serpent's head of formality, which is so carefully nourished by human reason, may be crushed in pieces by the power of the word.

1 JOHN, ii. 27.

The anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you; and ye need not that any man should teach you: but, as the same anointing teacheth you all things, and is truth, and is no lie and even as it hath taught you, you shall abide in him.

The spiritual church is taught by the anointing, the carnal church by councils.

1

THE

BUILDING, BEAUTY, TEACHING,

AND

EMBELLISHMENT,

OF THE

TRULY CHRISTIAN AND SPIRITUAL

CHURCH.

BY WILLIAM DELL.

MATT. v. 11, 12.

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

PSAL. Ixix. 9.

The reproaches of them that reproached thee, are fallen upon me.

AN

EXPOSITION

OF THE FIFTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF ISAIAH,

FROM VERSE ELEVENTH TO THE END.

The words are thus:

Ver. 11. 0 thou afflicted, and tossed with tempest, and not comforted; behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones, &c.

THIS place of scripture is very useful to the church of God, in these times wherein we live; yea verily, this prophet did not so much prophesy to his own age as to ours, nor to the Jewish church, as to the Christian. For unto them it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported unto you, 1 Pet. i. 12.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied in the spirit, touching the kingdom of Christ, which stands not in the flesh, but' in the Spirit; and delivers from the Father, by the Spirit, many excellent promises, to be fulfilled in the Son incarnate, head and members.

The first promise in this chapter, is touching the great increase of the church, in the days of the New Testament; that whereas, before, the church was to be found but in

one kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, Rev. v. 9.

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