_Direct._ XVII. Every friend of Christ and the church, must choose such penalties for ministers and private christians, who offend, as are least to the hinderance of the gospel, or hurtful to the people's souls. Therefore silencing ministers is not a fit penalty for every fault which they commit! The providence of God (as I said before) hath furnished the world with so few that are fit for that high and sacred work, that no man can pretend that they are supernumeraries, or unnecessary, and that others may be substituted to the church's profit: for the number is so small, that all are much too few; and so many as are silenced, so many churches (either the same or others) must be unsupplied or ill supplied. And God working ordinarily by means, we may conclude, that silencing of such preachers, doth as plainly tend to men's damnation, as the prohibiting of physicians doth to their death, and more. And it is not the part of a friend, either of God or men, to endeavour the damnation of one soul, much less of multitudes, because a minister hath displeased him. If one man must pay for another man's sins, let it be a pecuniary mulct, or the loss of a member, rather than the loss of his soul. It is more merciful every time a minister offendeth, to cut off a hand or an arm of some of his flock, than to say to him, Teach them no more the way to salvation, that so they may be damned. If a father offend, and his children must needs pay for all his faults, it is better to beat the children, or maim them, than forbid him to feed them, when there is none else to do it, and so to famish them. What reason is there that men's souls should be untaught, because a minister hath offended? I know still, those men that care not for their own souls, and therefore care as little for others, will say, What if the people have but a reader, or a weak, ignorant, lifeless preacher? doth it therefore follow that the people must be damned? I answer, No: no more than it followeth that the city that hath none but women physicians must die of their sicknesses, or that they that live only upon grass or roots must famish. Nature may do more to overcome a disease without a physician in one than in another. Some perhaps are converted already, and have the law written in their hearts, and are taught of God, and can make shift to live without a teacher; but for the rest, whose diseases need a skilful, diligent physician, whose ignorance and impenitence extremely need a skilful, diligent, lively teacher, he that depriveth them of such, doth take the probable course to damn them! And it is the same course which the devil himself would take; and he partly knoweth what tendeth to men's damnation! He that knoweth what a case the heathen, infidel, Mahometan world is in for want of teachers; and what a case the Greek church, the Muscovites, the Abassines, Syrians, Armenians, papists, and most of the christians of the world are in, for want of able, skilful, godly pastors, will lay