Page:Divine shepherd, or, The good minister's care over the flock of Jesus Christ.pdf/20

 ford, God will certainly curſe all your bleſſings: yea, and he hath curſed them already, ver.2. And therefore, if the common obſervation, that is in every man's mouth be really true, I do not ſay it is true: but if it be really true, that clergymens children are more unfortunate than other men's; then one great cauſe of it is this, their fathers do not faithfully diſcharge their ministerial office. And therefore God, according to his threatenings, does corrupt all the ſeed both of their bleſſings and estates. And thoſe estates and God's curſe are entailed together upon their children as the leproſy and estates of Gehazi deſcended together upon his posterity, 2 Kings v.27.

And here in our church, no man can be received into the ministry, but he must take a ſolemn ſubſcription, that he acknowledgeth the articles and the common prayer book to be agreeable to God's word, and that he will uſe that and no other form in public prayer, and administration of the ſacraments. And no man, that is thus ſolemnly received into the ministry, can be lawfully admitted into any eccleſiaſtical place, with or without cure of ſouls, but he must alſo take a most strict and ſevere oath against Simony. And if it were poſſible for us to know how many have broken this oath, and are guilty of perjury; and have broken their ſubſcription to the common prayer-book which they pretend to magnify and admire ſo much by neglecting to catechiſe, and to read the daily prayers and homilies; and have broken their ſubſcription to the articles, by private diſputing, public preaching and printing against them; it would make us all, we had but the least ſenſe of their miſerable state, quake and tremble to think of their numbers. And yet all theſe men have all their bleſſings and all the estates, thus unlawfully gotten, curſed with the curſe of God. And they cannot poſſibly leave them to the children, but they must alſo at the ſame time neceſſarily leave the curſe of God along with them.