Page:The reason of church-governement urg'd against prelaty - Milton (1641).djvu/67

 the deliberat and chosen counsell of Christ in his spirituall government, whose glory is in the weaknesse of fleshly things to tread upon the crest of the worlds pride and violence by the power of spirituall ordinances, hath on the contrary made these her freinds and champions which are Christs enemies in this his high designe, smothering and extinguishing the spirituall force of his bodily weaknesse in the discipline of his Church with the boistrous and carnall tyranny of an undue, unlawfull and ungospellike jurisdiction. And thus Prelaty both in her fleshly supportments, in her carnall doctrine of ceremonie and tradition, in her violent and secular power going quite counter to the prime end of Christs comming in the flesh, that is to revele his truth, his glory and his might in a clean contrary manner then Prelaty seeks to do, thwarting and defeating the great mistery of God, I do not conclude that Prelaty is Antichristian, for what need I? the things themselves conclude it. Yet if such like practises, and not many worse then these of our Prelats, in that great darknesse of the Roman Church, have not exempted both her and her present members from being judg'd to be Antichristian in all orthodoxall esteeme, I cannot think but that it is the absolute voice of truth and all her children to pronounce this Prelaty, and these her dark deeds in the midst of this great light wherein we live, to be more Antichristian then Antichrist himselfe.

 

Adde one thing more to those great ones that are so fond of Prelaty, this is certain that the Gospell being the hidden might of Christ, as hath been heard, hath ever a victorious power joyn'd with it, like him in the Revelation that went forth on the white Horse with his bow and his crown conquering, and to conquer. If we let the Angell of the Gospell ride on his own way, he does his proper businesse conquering the high thoughts, and the proud reasonings of the flesh, and brings them under to give obedience to Christ with the salvation of many souls. But if ye turn him out of his rode, and in a manner force him to expresse his irresistible  Rh