pleased with me for what was not my fault,

I am not made for flattery, and I know your Lordship is above it; and therefore I shall not fay any thing here by way even of just encomium; because as your character is fo public that it needs it not, fo defty is fo great, that I know any attempt of this kind would be unwelcome and un

eafy to you.

your mo

I shall therefore only tell your Lordship, that, as I queftion not but you have the good wishes of all honeft men that know you, so I reckon myfelf peculiarly obliged to beg of God, that you may long be preserved jointly to serve God and your prince, the church and your country, with the fame unfhaken conftancy, unbiaffed fidelity, and unfpotted reputation, that you have hitherto been honoured to do.-Which, and _ that

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that God may bless you and your honourable family with all spiritual and temporal mercies here, and with eternal felicity and glory at last, is, and shall be, the carneft and conftant prayer of,

MY LORD,

Your Lordship's moft obliged,

and moft obedient fervant,

ROBERT FLEMING.

AN

AN

EPISTOLATORY DISCOURSE

CONCERNING

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE PAPACY.

TO ALL MY TRUE AND GOOD FRIENDS EVERY WHERE; BUT MORE PARTICULARLY TO THE WORTHY GENTLEMEN AND OTHERS THAT COMPOSE THE CHURCH TO WHICH I AM NOW RELATED AS MINISTER.

MY DEAR FRIENDS,

In compliance with the frequent and repeated defires of a great many of you, I fuffer the following Discourses to break loose from their fellows, to take their fortune, as we use to fay, in the wide world. And, feeing the candour of so many has made them think they might not be unuseful, I must therefore expect that they will,

D 4

of my

friends

from

from the fame principle, defend this publication of them against the cenfures they may be fuppofed to fall under both from open enemies and pretended friends. For, though it be a common, and as it were a threadbare argument, to plead importunity in this case, yet it is fufficiently known to feveral of you, that if it had not been for this, the world had not been troubled with any thing further of this kind from me. For as I am fure no affectation to be more known or taken notice of has influenced me to present these Discourses. to public view, so I do suppose it is not unknown to fome of you, that retirement from this noify and vain world has ever been the fum of my ambition, excepting when public work and fervice have obliged me to shake off the beloved fetters of fo dear a confinement.

I fhall not therefore fay more as to the following Effays, than to tell you (what many of you know already), that as the first of the Difcourfes that follow this prefatory one, gave rise to the publishing of the second, so the second gave occafion to the printing of the third; and therefore, feeing the late opportunity of preaching, when we entered into our new meeting-place here in London, September

29,

29, 1700, did induce fome of you to defire the publication also of that fermon I preached when I entered upon the paftoral and minifterial work among you June 19, 1698, the fame occafion has given birth to the last additional Difcourfe, which fome remember I made when I was folemnly fet apart to the minifterial office, February 9, 168%, which I have the rather confented to print now, because it doth not only fuit with the second Difcourfe, but because I remember feveral falfe, or at least imperfect, copies were taken of it when I did at firft deliver it,

And feeing the last Discourse (which yet was the first as to time) doth now appear in the view of the world, I found myself in fome fort obliged to intereft all my friends in this prefatory addrefs: wherein I do particu larly include thofe of the English Church of Leyden and Scots Church in Rotterdam, to whom I ftood related fucceffively as minifter or paftor; whom I do the rather mention here, that I may let them know how much they are ftill upon my thoughts, though we are feparated as to place.

But feeing my work is now more particu larly appropriated to you, whom I am more immediately