_It hath been the chief stratagem of the adversaries of the Church, in all Ages, to erect a_ throne _for themselves, in the hearts of people, by casting reproaches and slanders upon the_ Doctrine, Government, _and_ Godly Ministers _of_ Jesus Christ. _In the old Testament, when the Jewes came first out of_ Babylon, _and began to build the second Temple of_ Jerusalem, _their enemies most falsly, and maliciously, suggested to King_ Artaxerxes, [1]That the City of Jerusalem, was a rebellious City, and hurtful unto Kings and Provinces, and that they had moved sedition within the same, of old time, _&c._ _And thereby caused the work of the house of God, to cease for many years. And in the New Testament, when the Holy Ghost came down from Heaven in a most miraculous manner, for the_ solemn inauguration of Christian Religion; _and when the Apostles were filled with the_ Holy Spirit, _even then, they were charged to be_ full of new wine. _And in after-times, the slanderous accusations of the_ Heathen _Idolaters against the_ Christians, _are observed to have been one of the chiefest causes of the_ ten bloudy Persecutions, _raised up against them by the_ Romane Emperours. _And this was that which forced the Godly-learned of those days, to write_ Apologies, _in defence of_ Christians, and Christian Religion.[2] _To come neerer to our own times; when the Protestant Religion began to be re-established (after the bloudy times of Queen_ Mary) _it was loaded with so many infamous lyes, and malicious falsities, That_ Reverend and learned Jewell, _was compelled to write an_ Apologie[3] _for it; for which, he will be famous in the Churches, to all Posterity. And even in our dayes, when it pleased God, out of his infinite goodness, to lay a_ foundation _of a glorious_ Reformation in Church-Discipline, _in this Kingdom, and to raise up the hearts of many_ Godly Ministers, _and others, to contribute their utmost help for the perfecting of it, Then did a Generation of men rise up, who made it their great design to pour out flouds of reproaches, and calumnies, upon both Government, and Ministers. First, they represent the Government unto the people, as_ absolutely destructive _unto the_ civill State, _to the_ liberties _both of their soules and bodies, and as unsufferable in a_ free Kingdom. _And then the_ Ministers _that assert it, as men that seek to ingross_ all power _into their own hands, as the chief_ Incendiaries _of Church and State, and as the causes of all the miseries, that have of late years come upon the three Kingdoms._