NEW PREACHERS, NEW. Greene the Feltmaker, Spencer the Horse rubber, Quartermine the Brewer's Clerk, with some few others, that are mighty sticklers in this new kind of talking Trade, which many ignorant Coxcombs call Preaching. Whereunto is added the last Tumult in Fleetstreet, raised by the disorderly preachment, pratings, and prattling of Mr. Barebones the Leather-seller, and Mr. Greene the Feltmaker, on Sunday last the 19 of Decemb.  

Greene the Feltmaker.  
Barebones the Leather seller.    

An Epistle written by a private friend to john Greene, a Hat-maker.  
MAster Greene, you would be taken to be a man fearing God, and not only so, but a teacher in Israel, yea; say more, a teacher of Teachers; for you think that God hath made you wiser than your Teachers, and therefore you take upon you not only to reprove them for some things that you judge amiss, but also to instruct them how to preach the word, not the Law nor legal preparation for the receiving of Christ, that in your opinion is not God's way. Now truly sir I think best that you let this question alone, till you (as those tradesmen which Christ did call) be sent to convert the Infidels; but it is like as you preach, so you think that all such as meet not in private Conventicles, as you do, are Infidels, without Christ in the world, and therefore you think it as great folly for Ministers now to preach legal preparations to these English pagans, as for the Apostles to have preached it to the Gentile pagans. S●●●r said, that when he took a text to preach on, that he 〈◊〉 le● he should fall upon somewhat that others had been preaching on, and so printed, fearing if he should so do, it would scandalise his Ministry. Do not these things come from proud spirits, that he, and you a Hatmaker, and a Horsekeeper, will ta●● upon you to be Ambassadors of God, to teach●● or teachers, and take upon you to be Ministers of the Gospel in these days of light, in these times, when (thanks be to God) we may lay, Great are the company of Preachers, yea and such Preachers that are able out of original tongues to divide the word aright, who in learning and godliness of lives are not inferior to the Minister's of any Churches in Europe, and you will reprove them and ●nstruct them, ●nd teach them h●●r to teach others.  
O Mr. Greene for shame blush, I say again blush, and say in these words of holy job, job 40. ●, 5. I will lay my hand upon my mouth: Once have I spoken, but I will not answer ●ee twice. But I will proceed no 〈◊〉. But put the ●a●e 〈◊〉 you are resolved to go on in this way; which indeed I too much fear, let us reason the matter a little what ground you have for so doing▪ calling from man I am sure you have none, for it is not the custom of any well settled Church in Europe to ordain such as you, I mean Hatmakers, Cobblers, Tailors, Horsekeepers, upon one and the same day to be plank and the Pulpit, in the forenoon making a hat, or rubbing a horse, in the afternoon preaching a Sermon. But you will say, though you have not a calling from man, yet from God you have an inward calling. Who shall be judge of that Mr. Greene? yourself? Think of what the Apostle saith, 2 Cor. ●0. 12. Such as measure themselves by themselves, are not wi●●. But consider I pray you that our Lord would not have had the Ass, Matth. 21.3. if he had not stood in need of him. Now the truth is, our Church hath no need of such as you, unlearned, a self-conceited hatmaker; Spencer, a wavering minded fellow, a stable unstable companion in all his wai●●, having been a Serving man, a Porter, a Groom to a Stable, a Chandler, a Weaver, yea more, of as many trades almost as religions: but the Church hath need of him, so he saith. But I say it is a proud speech. It is true, that in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, the Popish Priests and Friars being dismissed, there was a scarcity for the present of learned men, and so some tradesmen were permitted to leave their trades, and betake themselves to the ministry; but it was necessity that did then constrain so to do: but thanks be to God we have now go such necessity, and therefore this practice of you and your comragues casts in ill aspersion upon our good God, that doth furnish our Church plentifully with learned men; and it doth also scandalise our Church, as if we stood in need of such as you to preach the Gospel. But you will say that our Lord chose tradesmen, fishermen, and others, and Paul was a Tent maker, &c, t●e ●ame God that chose them, hath called you. Your wisdom is great, and it is wittily said: but the tree is known by the fruit, and if you can do the like works as they did, we will believe that you have the like calling as they had. Can you speak with strange tongues, and work miracles? When our Lord chose mechanics to be his messengers and ministers, it was to show his power, that very babes should perfect his praise, and confound the wisdom of the world, when such mighty works should be effected by such weak instruments. And indeed it was said by Moses, that God gave the Law in such wonders, that Moses law might for ever be believed: so of Christ, that his Gospel might for ever be believed. He chose such as knew not their letters, ignorant men, Act. 4.13. which made the world to wonder how they could do such things. God gave testimony both with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, Heb. 2.4. but we see none of these things in you master Greene; what is that which you can do more than any baffling Sectary? you tell us you have the Spirit, so do they, but show us no works to evince us, but as common Mountebanks boast it out of themselves, so do you: and as men learn trades, so you have private meetings, in which you learn to preach, at which for a time you are only auditors: ye be at first like birds in the shell: silly discontented zealots: they only are the fish that by't at the seducers b●it, which being once caught and perverted, then is the sh●ll broke, and the bird crept forth, and the simple one is become a schismatic; and then at their meetings begin to talk, and sometimes thinking himself to understand such or such a Scripture, he will then take upon him to expound Scriptures, the which they call prophesying or preaching; and thus as one of them told the Lords in the Parliament, that they were all preachers, for so they practise and exercise themselves as young players do in private, till they be by their brethren judged fit for the pulpit, and then up they go, and like Mountebanks play their parts, making some of their old honest acquaintance believe that all they do is by the Spirits immediate infusion, and that it is so, they cunningly apply that Scripture of a promise by Christ, that saith, Take no thought what ye shall say, for it shall be given in the self same hour: so these men will profess that they speak by the Spirit, and that they pray by the Spirit, for which they will cite 1 Cor. 14.15. where the Apostle speaketh of praying with the spirit, and praying with understanding also: but let them take the latter end of that verse with them, and let them sing with the Spirit, and sing with understanding also, and let the cunningest Mountebank of them all play his part, let him sing Psalms ex tempore by the spirit, and I will say he is a gull indeed that is seduced by them. But the Apostle there speaks of those divine men that had the Spirit of prophecy given for the planting of the Church: for the Apostle saith, 1 Cor. 14.21▪ That if an unbeliever come in when they are prophesying, he is convinced, that the secrets of his heart is manifested, and falling down upon his face worships God, and saith, Of a truth God is in them. So it w●s with the woman of Samaria, joh. 4.29 when hearing our Lord Christ, sh● ran and told her neighbours, saying, Come see a man that told me all things that over I did, is not this the Christ? These were those that could then pray by the Spirit, sing by the Spirit, and without studying preach by the Spirit: and now every proud sectorie takes upon him to do the like; Greene, Spencer, Robinson, yea all Brownists, Anabaptists, Familists, Arrians; can all preach by the spirit, pray by the spirit, but they cannot sing by the spirit; then t●me required it, the work required it; it was the time of which the Prophets foretold, that God would pour out the Spirit upon all flesh, and their sons and their daughters should prophesy: and dare our proud sectaries assume unto themselves the like gifts: there is not in our days that occasion and necessity for men to be so gifted: have you new Gospels or new doctrines to publish to the world? I fear indeed you have many strange whimsies, and though you have not the like gifts as the Primitive Christians, yet you have many juggling tricks to deceive the simple; in th●● you come not much behind the jesuits, but like jannes' and jambres, ye have cunning sl●● his to bewitch and deceive the simple. Away with these tricks, put off your vizards, and turn honest men, follow your trades painfully pay your debts honestly, relieve the poor charitably, bear burdens with your neighbours willingly, obey your governors readily, if you would do thus, we should not have so many sectaries and beggars about the town. I tell you I am angry with you, my very purse feels it, it is your enticing to Conventicles and private meetings that makes men and women to neglect their callings and trades two or three days a week to follow your heels; and though they do not follow you so o●t, yet they spend away that precious time that they should work for themselves and families, and be able to relieve the pop●e, to p●ate of your doctrines, and to set other upon admiring what strange gifts and abilities you have given of God. If this be not so, how comes it to pass in such a City as this, near the one half of men that breaks are biased your wail and how many pour families in every parish receive alms, and run in debt, and make no conscience of paying, and yet they must be at your meetings, like busybodies, spending away their time in chatting one with another, censuring those of their neighbours that are not as foolish and factious as themselves. Mr. Greene, Mr. Greene, leave off these ways, bring home such as you have caused to stray. It is such as you that vent your venom against our godly Preachers, and the divine Prayers of our Church, yea, against all solemn set form of prayers, all is from Antichrist, but that which you preach is most divine, that comes fresh from the spirit, the other is an old dead sacrifice composed (I should have said killed) so long time ago, that now it stinks. It is so that in the year of the Lord 1549. it was compiled by Doctor Cranmer, Dr. Goodricke, Dr. Skip, Dr. Thrilby, Dr. Day, Dr. Holbecke, D●. Ridly, Dr. Cox, D●. Tailor, Dr. Haines, Dr. Redman, Mr. Robinson Archdeane of L●●ce●●● but what are all these? they are not to be compared to john Greene a Hatmaker, for he thinketh what he blustreth forth upon the sudden is fare better than that which these did maturely and deliberately compose. Now truly I will say no more of john Greene but this, I think he hath more fellows about the town, such as Solomon speaks of, Prou● 26. ●● wiser ●● their ● w●●e conceits, the● men that can render E●a●o●: a●●e● the● 〈◊〉, truth saith, Prov. 10. & such prating fools sh●ll fall: and as for such as will suffer themselves to be seduced and led by Greene, or such like, I will say to them, Much good do it them, that have got a proud Vicar o● fools for their ghostly father. But some will say, Greene is a very honest man and what he doth is in sincerity of heart. I answer, So did the Heretics of old and all sectaries in our days, in sincerity of heart: judge all but themselves to be out of the right pathway to heaven; and this is the cunningness of the old Serpent, if he cannot hold men in one sn●re, he will lay another for them, if he cannot keep john Greene a p●tting companion, he will make a schismatic of him, and he shall nor fear to take the Priesthood and Ministry upon him, and to tell Moses and Aaron to their faces, That you take too much upon you ye sons of Levi. Are not all the Lords people holy as well as you? Hath not H●tmakers, Horsekeepers, Cobblers and Weavers as great abilities of the spirit, and as much holiness, as any Doctor of them all, that is br●d up in learned Tongues and Arts? Thus Satan transforms himself into an Angel of light, to deceive the simple; for if the Devil in his instruments should come in his colours, who then could have e'en seduced by him; if Greene had been a potting in the forenoon, and preaching in the afternoon, he could hardly have persuaded a man to have given credit to his doctrine, neither to his words, as to have given in a hat 5. shillings in 20. more to him then to another. But both he and many of his fraternity know very well how to get money, can they but turn non-conformists, or deliver strange doctrines, or become a leader of some sect, than who but them, both for rich wives, and many customers. Full truly doth jude in his Epistle speak of such, saving, These filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.   

A brief touch, in memory of the fiery zeal of Mr. Barebones a reverend unlearned Letherseller, who with Mr. Green the Feltmaker, were both taken preaching or prating in a Conventicle amongst a 100 persons, on Sunday 19 of Decem. last, 1641.  
AFter my Commendations Mr. Raubones (Barebones, I should have said) in acknowledgement of your too much troubling yourself, and molesting of others: I have made b●ld to relate briefly your last Sundays afternoons work, lost in time your meritorious painstaking should be forgotten, (for the which, you and your Associate Mr. Greene, do well deserve to have your heads in the custody of young Gregory to make but tones for hempen loops) you too having the Spirit so full that you must either vent or burst, did on the Sabbath aforesaid, at your house near Fetterlane end in Fleetstreet, at the sign of the Lock and Key, there and then did you and your consort (by turns) unlocks most delicate strange doctrine, where were about thousands of people, of which number, the most ignorant applauded your preaching, and those that understood any thing derided your iggnorant prating; but after four hours long and tedious ta●ling, the house where you were was beleaguered with multitudes that thought it fit to rouse you out of your blind devotion; so that your walls were battered, your windows all in fractions torn into rattling shivers, and worse the hurly hurly might have been, but that sundry, Constables came, in with strong guards of men to keep the peace, in which conflict your Sign was beaten down and unhanged to make ro●me for the owner to supply the place: all which shows had never been; had Mr. Greene and Mr. Barebones been content (as they should have done) to have gone to their own Parish Churches. Also the same day a mad rustic fellow (〈…〉 Prophet Hunt) did his best to raise the like strife and trouble 〈◊〉 Sepulchers Church.  
Con●ider and avoid these disorders, good Reader.  
FINIS.