when the chief Shepherd shall appear,
ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." Upon these
words the Quakers make three observations; that ministers should not
make a gain of the Gospel; that they should look to God for their
reward, and not to men; and that Peter himself must have preached, like
St. Paul, without fee or reward, or he could not consistently have
recommended such a practice to others.

[Footnote 29: 1 Pet. v. 2.]

The Quakers, therefore, from the example and precepts of Jesus Christ,
and of the Apostles Paul and Peter, come to the following conclusions on
this subject. First, that God raises up his own ministers. Secondly,
that these are to dispense his Gospel freely. Thirdly, that they are to
take, whereever they are received, such things as are given them, which
things they deserve while in the exercise of their calling, as much as
the labourer his hire, but that no bargains are to be made about
religion; that they are not to compel men to give, neither are they to
take away any thing from those who are unwilling to receive them, but,
in this case, to go their ways, and shake the dust from their feet
against them, or, in other words, to declare that they have done their
own duty in going to them with the word of God, and that the fault lies
with them in refusing to hear it. Neither, when they return from their,
missions, or are idle at home, are they to receive any thing, but to use
their own scrips and purses, and clothes. And fourthly, that though it
be lawful for them to receive such sustenance, under such limitations,
during the exercise of their ministry, it would be more consistent with
the spirit of Christianity, if they would give their spiritual labours
freely, and look up to God for their reward, thus avoiding the character
of false teachers, and the imputation of an abuse of their power in the
Gospel.

Now these conclusions, the Quakers say, seem to have been sanctioned, in
a great measure, by the primitive practice for the three first centuries
of the church, or till the darkness of apostacy began to overwhelm the
religious world.

In the very early times of the Gospel, many Christians, both at
Jerusalem and Alexandria in Egypt, sold their possessions, and lived
together on the produce of their common stock. Others in Antioch,
Galatia, and Pontus, retained their estates in their possession, but
established a fund, consisting of weekly or monthly offerings, for the
suppo