be omitted at every mans pleasure contrary to the Law when they be commanded nor used when they are prohibited Church and it shall ever be mine I will therefore obey even in such things Etiamsi non videantur esse bona for my particular judgement shall never justle the authority of so many reverend Divines nor a private sawcinesse oppose the learned acts of a judicious Convocation I confesse that I cannot chuse but take notice of the judgement of God upon these schismaticall Precisians for whom spiritual pride hath puffed up into a schisme in our Church a seduced judgement banishes into ignorance of their temporall blessings The quality of the persons to whom ye are commanded to yeeld obedience ye have already heard The manner of our obedience followeth Aug. Ser. 7. ad fratres in eremo c. Obedientia sine discretione cassa est vana sayes S. Augustine Obedience without discretion is vaine but he tels you how non ex parte obedientis sed praecipientis not in him that obeyes but in him that commands That lights upon him that is the author of the edict and not upon the conscience of him that 's obedient Tho. Aquinas distinguisheth of a threefold obedience T. Aquin. 2a 2ae q. 104. art 5. which I may apply to that which is due to the Fathers of our Church viz. 1 Sufficiens ad salutem That which is sufficient to our salvation which bends in humility unto what it stands ingaged 2 Perfecta quae obedit in omnibus licitis such as is conversant only about such things as are lawfull 3 Indiscreta quae etiam in illicitis obedit such as questions not the lawfulnesse of the thing commanded but by a too facile and un-man'd disposition yeelds in obedience to matters unjust Now whereas in another place afterwards the same * Schoole-man questions T. Aquin. 2◠2ae q. 186. art 4 Vtrum obedientia pertineat ad perfectionem religionis Whether obedience concurs to the perfection of Religion His conclusion is affirmative Non quasi indigentes dirigi ad perfectionem acquirendam sed quasi per hoc se conservantes in eo quod ad perfectionem pertinet Should I english Aquinas I must make use of the distinction betweene Incipiens Proficiens and Perfectus before I should render satisfaction to some curious inquisitors and in conclusion for ought that I know they might prove as captious I shall leave them to their frowning opinions and conclude this point with S. Bernards determination Verus obediens mandata non procrastinat sed statim parat aures auditui linguam voci pedes itineri manus operi se totum intus colligit ut mandatum peragat imperantis The obedient Christian upon his first command devotes himselfe wholly to the observance of his command I have done with your obedience required to the doctrine of the reverend Clergie implied in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 obey I come now to your obedience required to the discipline of the Church included in the other word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 submit your selves Ex malis moribus bonae nascuntur leges badnesse of conditions procured the goodnesse of Lawes Vt quos natura ipsa in officio retinere non poterat ij magnitudine poenae à maleficio submoverentur sayes Marc. Tul. Cic. that punishment might supply the defects of nature What was the ground of our Lawes is the ground likewise of our obedience for sayes Iohannes Arboreus Nos propter peccatum alijs hominibus subjecti sumus Sin brought in subjection Nam natura omnes aequales genuit sed inaequalitas quae accessit ex vitio est ordinata ex Dei judicio unde nos oportet obedire hominibus for nature intended an equality at our generations but the pravitie of our dispositions was the cause of inequality in our persons No marvell then that the Church may not want her discipline when so many of her members will not want their defaults Our Apostle not ignorant of the need of power in Ecclesiasticall governement insinuates the necessity in his precept to submission And submit your selves But durus est hic sermo Diverse will better relish our doctrine than our discipline and will be content to obey so they may not submit Miserable men as they are they would faine go to Heaven but they are loth to stoope low enough to enter in at the gate Did they but consider or propose unto themselves the true and just ends of obedience and submission I presume their depraved judgements would easily condescend to the necessity thereof Let Hemmingius tell them of his twofold end thereof viz. 1 Vt honestâ gravi disciplinâ politeia ecclesiastica gubernetur for the governement of the Church by grave and religious discipline 2 Vt obtemperantes ministris Dei consequamur promissam immortalitatis gloriam that by our submission we may inherit the promised crowne of immortality Well then we must not only be obedient to the precept but also subject and conformable to the government Yea moreover if Ludovicus Tena may speake Non tantum in his quae sunt de jure divino sed etiam in his quae superaddunt de humano quorum observantia paci tranquillitati ecclesiae expediat vel ad mores bonos aliquo modo conducat saltem ex parte finis licêt res de se sit indifferens not only in things directly commanded in sacred writ but also even in things which are added by the reverend Fathers conducing either to the peace of the Church or to the good behaviour of men yea though in themselves the things be indifferent If this be true as no man I am sure can justly deny it what shall we account of the impudent disturbers of the Hierarchie of our Church What not a Bishop to governe Shall their Lay-Elders forsooth such as the Elder Church never dream'd of and their handicraft-sticklers in ecclesiasticall matters usurpe the authority that belongs to the Prelates Alasse my brethren ye know 't was Plato's determination touching Common-wealths Tum demum fore beatas res publicas cùm aut reges saperent aut sapientes intelligerent that they 'd then best flourish when Kings grew wise or wise men Kings and shall it not hold so too in the Ecclesiasticall discipline Must a Dictator ab aratro be preferred before a learned Doctor in divinitie Must we neglect the Vniversities to rely upon Enthusiasmes Away with these schismaticall disturbers of our sorrowfull Mother Shall our most reverend Clergie have all the labour and shall their requitall bee nothing but mallepert disobedience Calvin in loc Pastoribus ergo non tantum obedientia debetur sed etiam honor Calvin himselfe determines that honour of duty belongs unto them Saint Bernard tels us Parendum est ei tanquam Deo qui nobis est vice Dei in iis quae non sunt apertè contra Deum We must submit to him as God who is placed over us
as God in all things not directly contrary to the word of God And who is that but in and over both Church and Common-wealth our gracious and dread Soveraigne under him immediately in the Church the most reverend Arch-bishops and so descending to every particular and Parochiall Priest Every such particular Rectour of a Parish receives that command from God which we finde in 1 Kings 20.29 Keepe these men if by any meanes they shall be missing then shall thy life be for theirs and shall they have no respect yea though they are the most inferiour of the Apostles Yes doubtlesse or else when God shall question them in the words of the Prophet Ier. 13.20 Where is the flock that was given thee that beautifull flock If they reply that they were lost through their owne disobedience God will certainly ranke them among the Goats which shall be separated from the Sheepe 'T is true that Iacobus Faber Stapulensis tels us of some Iac. Fab. stap in loc Qui suis non invigilant quia sui non obediunt who neglect their flocks because they neglect their obedience but he concludes hi inutiles sunt gregi grex illis these are unprofitable to their flocke and their flocke to them The argument then holds currant A minore ad majus If Parochiall discipline requires submission in the Parishioners to their particular Pastor ought not much more both Sheepherds and Sheepe both Priest and People to submit with all reverence and humility to Episcopall to Provinciall discipline The crimes of our age are too epidemicall to give me leave to flatter my selfe with a beliefe of a generall integrity and concionable lowly obedience I know that among us are diverse of Saint Paul's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unruly and disorderly persons such as hee found among the Thessalonians 1 Thess 5.14 Yea and of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as hee complaines of in the first of Titus vers 10. But let his command be fulfilled Warne them and if that will not suffice shall authority ly languishing in despare of redresse Shall the insulting opposition of head-strong perversenesse foile the justice and pre-eminency of power Nay rather let the sharpest edge of Ecclesiasticall Discipline make an incision than the gangrene bee suffered to run into an universality The time is spent I shall conclude in a word of Exhortation First to you my reverent and learned brethren I must crave leave to addresse my selfe not for your information but your remembrance Obedience and Submission in the inferiours is commonly grounded upon the examples of their betters Yee know your Obligations to Episcopall jurisdiction let mee beg your continuance in the practise for I doubt not your subscription If the Sunne bee eclipsed the whole hemisphere is obscured Let your burning Tapours light the Laity to a sight of their duty and your carefull practise invite them to submission Your Canonicall obedience requires your observance and your sacred functions will challenge imitation For mine owne part if I am too young to admonish I am not too old to learne Your gravest examples shall make mee travell in your religious steps and your learned precepts shall make me your disciple To you my beloved of the Laity in generall I shall prescribe the duty of obedience and submission such as yee have heard mee allready treate of Correct the fury of your unhallowed vices and trace the way which your Divines prescribe you Let their discipline bee your governement and their doctrine your practice So shall your obedience be crowned in the end with joy and your observance with eternall reward To you in particular who are elected the Guardians of your severall Parishes I must preach both obedience and diligence Remember that GOD whom yee called upon to witnesse the promise of your fidelity The enormities of your Parishes are your owne particular crimes if yee proceed not legally in your just presentments Yee remember your oathes and yee know the punishment provided for perjurie wherefore let him that hath eares heare Affection is a Traytour and favour is a Parasite briberie is deceitfull and neglect is damnable where they win the person to abrogate his oath Your cause is just feare not detraction your oathes are religious vallew not the envious yee are supported by power shake not at affronts Thus if every one of us performe our commands our consciences will bee our continuall Feasts If wee all joyne in obedience and submission to the powers below for the sake of him who sitteth above our lives shall bee free from distractions here and our deaths shall open to us the gate of eternity Even so O God of Heaven guide us whilest we live in this valley of teares and afterwards receive us into our Masters joy Amen Errata Page 9. line 6. for Latins reade Latine p. 12. l. 20. f. here r. heare p. 15. l. 32. credo r. cedo p. 17. l. 27. notum r. nota p. 19. l. 13. interlineall r. interlineary p. 22. in marg 2a 2ae r. 1. 2ae FJNIS erlegi hanc concionem cui Titulus Obedience and submission c. quae continet folia 15. in quibus non reperio aliquid bonis moribus aut sanae doctrinae contrarium quò minùs cum utilitate imprimi queat Sub ea tamen conditione ut si non intra tres menses proximè sequentes typis mandetur haec licentia sit omnino irrita Guilielmus Haywood Cap. domest R.P.D. Archiep. Cantuar.
OBEDIENCE AND SVBMISSION A SERMON Preached at St. SAVIOURS-Church in South-warke at a Visitation on Tuesday the eigth day of December Anno Dom. 1635. By IOHN FEATLY Obedientia non servili metu sed charitatis affectu servanda est non timore poenae sed amore justitiae Greg. l. 12. Mor. LONDON Printed by R. B. Anno Dom. 1636. A SERMON OF OBEDIENCE AND SVBMISSION Hebrews 13.17 Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves AVthority is the basis of regularity and this of peace for confusion raves in disobedience and the want of submission is the ground of contention 'T is thus in Civill 't is likewise in Ecclesiasticall governement Religion is forced into a melancholike dejection if not supported by Lawes provided for her content Shee 's at least obscured where not countenanced with authority and languishes in a consumption where she despaires of regard She requires power but such as either findes or inforces obedience She triumphs in authority but such as we finde ascribed to the destinies Fata volentem ducunt nolentem trahunt gently leading the obsequious but by violence drawing the refractory mutiniers For 't is but idle aire that is articulated in commissions and not necessitate's obedience Superiority degenerates into the miserie of a Hieroglyphick if it knowes no more than a titular Chimaera and becomes the sad Embleme of its neglected selfe 'T is at most but a Mercuriall statue only pointing out not speaking the way But why should I loose my time in the treatie of such a no-thing For so it is Comparisons are Relatives and ye know the Canon in Logick Posito vno Relatorum ponitur alterum Relatives are Twins and derive their being from the same instant There cannot be a great but there must be a little there cannot be a superiour unlesse we grant an inferiour the highest must have a lowest and how can this bee granted in policie without obedience Otherwise 't is a parity not a government 't is a giddie confusion not a well-ordered command Religion hath her just policie She proceeds by rule Authority speakes and obedience answers Thus does the Common-wealth thus does the Church too triumph though she 's militant Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the LORD'S sake whether it be to the King as supreme c. 'T is S. Peters in his 1 Epist 2. Chap. and 13. Vers There 's the prerogative of Supremacy and the loyalty of the Subject It is the same too although subordinate to sacred Majestie in the Church according to S. Paul in the warrant of my Text Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves Too curious a division may offer violence to my Text. For mine owne part I affect not their course who endeavour rather the magnifying of their wit than the true dividing of the matter The words are plaine my division shall imitate The sentence is a precept properly rather than counsell to obedience Herein observe 1 The Object of our duty viz. They that have the rule over us 2 The Subject or matter of our dutie turning upon two hindges scil 1 Obedience 2 Submission Of these in their order and first of the Object of our dutie or persons to be observed Those that have the rule over us Those A number excludes a Deitie but power insinuates it Where shall I begin then to seeke my Object but there where I finde the centre of command I must look up first to thy Throne O GOD and acknowledge with submission that thou hast the rule over me I must acknowledge further too 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sayes the heathen Poet. Homer in ◠Odiss Although thy Throne be far yet thy power is neere for my salvation if it may stand with thy gracious pleasure And not so onely but yet further too I must determine with the sweet * Senec. in Ep. Quadam ad Lucilium Philosopher that Propè es mecum es intus es Thou art neere me in thine ordinances if I obey thou art with me in thy care if I submit thou art in me by thy Spirit if I humbly receive thee Let me begin then with my GOD and so let me end too since he 's the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end Apoc. 1.8 We had had no creation but by his power we had had no Kingdomes without that creation wee should have had no Lawes without those Kingdomes and we can have no Magistrates to execute those Lawes but by his election so our Apostle tels us There is no power but of God Rom. 13.1 'T is strange to me therefore when I consider that this GOD is but one that the Heathen should dreame of a plurality Yet t is true yee have read it and I have knowne it among them 'T is strange too when I consider of the infinity of this my GOD that the sottish Romans should stile their Nero God whose wandering carkase so long since travelled in the bellies of the Wormes But 't is more strange when I reade of Christians that stile a mortall man Dominum Deum nostrum Yet this is true ye may finde it among the Papists They might have had more pretence for it I confesse had they at first entitled the Papacie to it and not the Man for to that they ascribe a kinde of immortality Againe 't is strange too when I ponder upon the Vbiquity of my GOD that a man could live which would denie a Deitie Yet such there is I must I will beleeve it for 't is canonicall The foole hath said in his heart there is no God Psal 14.1 But where is no God Thou Foole if this night he condemne thy soule thou wilt finde that there is a God He 's in that heart which denies him either in mercie to convert or in judgement to confound Behold then here 's the ground of our object GOD for the highest powers that the Sunne gazes upon receive their command from his divine Ordinance He commands and Kings obey for by him Kings reigne Prov. 8.15 Kings command and we obey 't is our Apostles injunction Rom. 13. Thus must subjects thus must inferiours subject submit to their Kings to their Superiours in and for his sake who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords because sayes my Text they have the rule over us But who are these which have the rule over us We may be unjust in our obedience if we submit to a Vsurpation Blessed be God my beloved brethren we can have no such pretence for rebellion 'T is first our dread Soveraigne to whom without so much as the least suspition of doubt we must humbly and heartily submit with the greatest industry of obedient loialty And let the hearts of those Traitors that conspire disloialty by a just Prolepsis teach them their fate in being the burning tormentors of their divelish selves But must we obey none else Yes his Ministers of justice too or else we are Rebels His