ll these three
shortly.

1. It is a work going up; it was impeded, but now it is going up. There
is something here very considerable; the work goes not up until the
mountain be made a plain. The mountain must not be pared or topped, but
it must altogether become plain, otherwise the work cannot go up, the
mountain of prelacy must not be pared nor topped, something taken away,
but it must be brought down wholly, otherwise the work of Reformation
cannot go on, neither Christ's house go up.

It will be said, What ails you? You shall have your desires, but the
estate of bishops must stand; it is impossible to bring it down
altogether; the king may not want an estate, (truly a good one both to
kirk and commonwealth) ye shall have them brought within the old bounds
and caveats set down to them; they shall not hurt the kirk any more. The
Lord knows how loath I was to speak from this place; but seeing God hath
thrust me out, I must speak the truth.

I say to you these quarters are not to be taken, because the mountain is
not of God's making, but of man's; therefore make it what ye will, God
will be displeased with it; yea it is impossible to set caveats to keep
them. I appeal to all your consciences, Is it possible to set caveats to
their pride and avarice? Their pride and avarice will break through ten
thousand caveats. I will clear this impossibility by similitudes. Tell
me, if a fountain in the town of Edinburgh were poisoned, whether were
it more safe to stop up the fountain, than to set a guard to keep it,
that none draw out of it, for there is hope the poison would do no harm?
There is no man of a sound judgment, but he will think it more safe to
stop up the fountain, than to guard it: this prelacy is the poisoned
fountain, wherefrom the kirk of Christ hath been poisoned with the
poison of error and superstition. Now the question is, Whether it be
safer to stop it up than to guard it? Surely it is safer to stop it up;
for all the caveats in the world will not keep the kirk unpoisoned, so
long as it remains. I will give you another similitude: If the town of
Edinburgh were (as many towns have been, and are) taken and possest by
cruel and obstinate enemies, who would take all your liberties from you,
would not suffer your magistrates to judge, and would spoil you of your
goods, and use all the cruelty that could be devised against the
inhabitants, if God give you occasion to be free of such a cruel and
obstinate enemy: w