he superintended and let him use it as he pleased yet neither can the Imparity be counted considerable not the harm he could do very hurtfull for within half a year at most for there was a General Assembly twice at least every year they had a prospect of a General Assembly to right their wrong wherein every Pastor was to have no less Power than any Superintendent and no less capable to sit judge and censure the Superintendent than the Superintendent was on the other hand to exerce the like Power over him yea any Minister in the Assembly such sometimes as were none was as fair to be chosen Moderator as any Superintendent By the frequency of these Assemblies it came to pass that few or no matters of importance were determin'd in the inferiour Synods but came thither for their final Decision Wherefore if we narrowly look on these times we shall find that the Superintendents were rather appointed as Observers and Delators of Matters to the Assembly than any proper Judges thereof save when a special command was giv'n him to cognosce on such and such particular Matters He was frequently also charged with execution of the Assemblies Determinations all which was common to him with other Commissioners to whom the Assembly gave the like Charge and sent them not rarely to these very Provinces where there were Superintendents with equal Power and Authority to that of the Superintendent Sometimes they ordain'd Causes to be handled by the Superintendent with the assistance of these Commissioners sometimes by the Commissioner with the assistance of the Superintendents which Commissioners were sometimes Ministers of another Province and sometimes of that Province wherein was the Superintendent with whom they were join'd with equal Power Authority From all which 't is evident how much they are taken with the humor of cavilling who dare to ascribe to the Superintendents any real Superiority or Power over other Pastors or any thing repugnant to a compleat Parity But there is yet more even in his own Synod he could do nothing contrary to the Majority for he was to act nothing without the Synods Consent neither could he impede ought done by the Majority for he had no negative vote Yea he was made subject to the Tryal and Censures of the Synod of the very province where he superintended And here our Author is compell'd to acknowledge that there was a considerable difference between Superintendents and Bishops and indeed 't was considerable with a witness and so considerable that it really sets them on even ground with each Pastor of the word He adds that this was a great wrong and error in the Constitution and on this ocasion has a long invective against our Reformers in speciall Knox counting them Children Idiots Ungovernable and of bad Principles and spares not to flegg at all Scots men or Scotch mettal as he speaks But this is but a kicking against the pricks He knows all this helps him nothing nor is to the present Question which is not de jure but de facto what our Reformers freely and joyntly did Not on what grounds they did so He next retorts that according to the book of Discipline the Elders are allow'd to admonish correct and with the consent of the Church and Superintendent depose their Minister But First tho our Reformers had spoken just alike of the Elders and Ministers as they did of the Synod and Superintendent their words will not bear the like inference the power they give to the Elders could certainly be a spurr to the Ministers and yet they might be sure the few Elders of one parish would never make so bold with their Minister as the whole Synod might with their Superintendent Secondly There is no such allowance giv'n to the Elders concerning their Minister as to the Synod over their Superintendent the former much act only with the consent of the Kirk and Superintendent but nothing of this injoyn'd to the latter Yea our Author himself will have the power of Deposition to be a prerogative of the Superintendent and no doubt he or the Commissioner did in the Churches name execute her sentence To Depose therefore here and that with allowance of the whole context of that 8 head of Discipline which he cites is nothing else than to delate to the Church and Superintendent the crimes of the Minister and in their own sphere assist them in that action He adds he hath no where found that de facto the Superintendent was judged by his own Synod And it may be so for litle do we find of any thing was then done by provincial synods every thing of moment being left to the General Assemblies which were then most frequent Such a Constitution adds he inferrs no such thing as Parity among Church-Offices Those who maintain that the King is inferior to his Subjects in their Collection are not yet so extravagant as to say he is not Superior to every one of them in their Distribution But where Superiors or Equalls can be gotten the Men of this Principle will freely yeeld that none who are Inferiours in the Distribution ought to judge the Actions of their Superiours providing other Judges can be had who in this Case cann't there being but one King only in a Kingdom Hence they believing that none may live lawless think the King's Actions are cognoscible by these who are his Inferiours but altering their capacity in the Collection But is it so in the Case of the Superintendent whereof there were severals not one only as there is one commonly King in a Kingdom Seeing then he was to be judged by the Synod notwithstanding that there were other Superintendents in the Church 't is evident they counted every Brother in the Ministry his equal § 19. But the Superintendents saith our Author had a stock of prerogatives above other Pastors But be it so yet notwithstanding hereof if we suppose which I trust at the narrowest search shall appear the truth of what we have now adduc'd and the self consistency of the actings of our Reformers whom he would fain set at variance with themselves whatsoever Prerogatives he has really brought can never prove that the Superintendent had any Dominion over other Pastors or that they acted not in a true and real Parity so that from what is now said these his pretended Disparities are prevented and remov'd For example he tells us that Superintendents had a larger district were nominated by the Council elected by the Nobility and Gentry 't was not so with the Paroch Ministers But the Commissioners had no less districts and were appointed by the General Assembly which I 'm sure is of no less weight in the case than the Councils Nomination even tho' the Gentlemens Election be added thereto and yet who in his Wit will take him for any other Officer than is every Parish-minister or fall into the rovery of our Author who calls these Commissioners
as that of Planting the first Christian Churches Lastly I appeal to all Protestants if his ascribing to every Bishop a Power of authorative preventing of Heresies i. e. a Power of making Canons that lean only on the Bishop's own Will and which he 's not oblig'd to prove from Scripture otherwise every Minister of Christ hath a Power and Authority by publick preaching and reasoning from the Word of God to prevent and overthrow Heresies and so D. M. speaks not to the purpose hath not a rank savour of what is no better than the grossest of Popery The Romanists give such an authoritative Power to one Pope but from a perswasion of his Infallibility this Author will have it unto every single Bishop tho' as yet he has not adventured to ascribe to each of 'em such a Priviledge and to explain if need were what he means by this authoritative preventing of Heresies § 2. Look but on page 95 et seq and you shall see him make every Bishop an Apostle in the strickest sense and priviledg'd with no less Power over the Church-Officers and People in his Diocess than an Apostle ever had or could exercise viz. a Power to Govern the Churches to give Rules and Directions to inflict Censures to communicat his Authority to others to hear Complaints to decide Controversies to Confer the Holy Ghost viz. the Gifts of the Holy Ghost that must needs attend the authoritative Ministry of holy Things and therefore that the Office of an Apostle is altogether ordinary and permanent The Apostolical Office saith he being essentially no other than this the ordinary Necessities of the Church require that it should continue till the second coming of our Saviour But the extraordinary Gifts of the Holy Ghost the Power of Miracles of Languages were only extriasick Advantages and not peculiar to the Apostles And to affirm otherwayes and say that the proper Apostolick Office is now ceased he makes proper to Presbyterians and Socinians But so far is he from speaking Truth here that the ceasing of the proper Apostolick Office and Power is asserted by the Body of Protestants even Episcopal no less than Presbyterian in opposition to the Jesuites his Masters who as he doth to his Diocesan Bishop arrogate an Apostolick Office and Power to their Pope Spanhem F. a fervent Apologist of the Hierarchicks assigns many Characters of the Apostolate as an extraordinary Calling either immediat or equivalent thereto Infallibility of Doctrine transcendent Efficacy and energy in Preaching admirable success therein the Gift of Tongues and of working Miracles all which things altho' some of 'em might have been in some measure in others were saith he in a more Divine and Eminent manner in the Apostles And he affirms that every one who was endued with a true and proper Apostolick Power had and could give such visible Proofs and ocular Demonstrations thereof and then concludes against the Pope thus let the Pope now descend from the Capitol let him as did the Apostles declare that he has the Gift of Tongues Divinely infused let him bring visibly the Gifts of the Holy Ghost from Heav'n let him work like the Apostles such illustrious Miracles and then we shall yeeld that he has Apostolick Authority and so shall we to the Diocesans when they adduce these Proofs of their Apostleship He asserts that they 're much deceiv'd who would bring the Apostles down to the Order of particular Bishops and demonstrats against Hammond that they were not at all call'd Apostles on the account that they were Bishops consequently that Apostle and Bishop are quite different things In short the very Sum and Substance of Spanhemius his Disputation is nothing save an Approbation and Confirmation of that common Sentiment of Protestants express'd by Beza The Churches saith he being once constitute this Office of the Apostle-ship was of necessity taken away he is a Tyranne therefore who does now profess himself an Apostle in the Church by Succession And by this one Observation viz. that whereever the proper Apostolick Power was they could give ocular and undeniable Proofs and Demonstrations thereof the Protestants for ever silence and baffle the Jesuites and their Progeny D. M. and such Companions ascribing a Power properly Apostolick to their Roman Antichrist and their Diocesan Prelats and fully remove all thier Quibbles on this Theme as Dr. Scot's Quirk the Substance whereof is there 's no mention in Scripture of the taking away of this Apostolick Office and therefore it yet remains But I forgot that for the permanency of a Power properly Apostolick D. M. cites Mat. 28. 20. And lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the World As if not to mention Protestants even the more ingenuous Romanists as Lyra did not understand this place of Christ's assistance given to all Doctors of the Church without any Discrimination Moreover all his Exceptions and pretended Instances to the contrary are impertinent and severals of 'em false in matter of Fact as for Example nor is it necessary saith D. M. to make up an Apostle that he be immediatly call'd to the Apostolate by our Saviour for Matthias was not immediatly ordain'd by our Saviour but by the Apostles But Spanhemius tells these Jesuites that the Lot that fell upon Matthias was really the voice of God no less than was that of the Division of Canaan of the Scape-goat c. And indeed as I said that the Office and Power properly Apostolick is long since ceas'd is the common Doctine of Protestants as Calvine None saith Sadeel against Turrian the Jesuite but he who is an Ignoramus in Divinity will confound an Apostle with a Bishop I assert therefore that God's immediat calling and choosing to preach the Gospel is essential to the Office of an Apostle But these say you were Presbyterians I deny 't not however they were then pleading the common Cause of Protestants and were never opposed herein by any save down-fight Papists only till that now we have to do with real Jesuites who yet mask themselves and will not acknowledge the name In the mean while I do not think they 'll say Spanhemius Fil. is a Presbyterian nor yet Nilus ' Bishop of Thessalonica who saith the Pope is not an Apostle the Apostles did not ordain other Apostles but only Doctors and Teachers Of this mind is also Willet Bellarmine saith Whitaker seems to say the Pope succeeds Peter in his Apostle-ship but none can have Apostolick Power but he who is properly and truly an Apostle for the Power and Office of an Apostle constitute an Apostle But that the Pope is neither truly nor properly an Apostle is prov'd by these Arguments whereby Paul proves his Apostle-ship as that he was not call'd by Men c. Gal. 1. 1 and 12. and Ephes. 3. 3. and 5. 1 Cor. 9. 1. Altho' saith Sutlivius the ancient Bishop of Rome succeeded Peter in Doctrine
and defended it against the Jesuite Petavius whom D. M. would patronize against both Protestants and Fathers The second of the Homilies ascribed to Augustine in Apocalypsin informs us that under the name of Angel not only Bishops but other Church-Rulers are likewise understood And again seeing Angel signifies a Messenger whosoever whether Bishop Presbyter or Laick frequently speaketh of God and declares how we may obtain eternal Life deservedly gets the name of an Angel of God And Aretas saith he calleth the Church it self the Angel And Primasius saith by these Angels of the Church are to be understood the Guides and Rectors of the People who ruling in particular Churches Preach the Word of Life to all Men for the name of Angel signifies a Messenger And again both Church and Angel is comprehended under the Person of the Angel And thus their main Scripture-Argument even the Fathers being Judges goes to ruine § 13. Yea the more sagacious of our Adversaries well perceive that neither this Scripture nor any other supports their Doctrine Wherefore Petavius never attempts to bring his Proofs from Scripture but only from Ecclesiastick Traditions Add hereto the words of Dr. Burnet As for the Notion saith he of the distinct Offices of Bishop and Presbyter I confess it is not so clear to me and therefore since I look upon the Sacramental Actions as the highest of sacred Performances I cannot but acknowledge these who are empower'd for them must be of the highest Office in the Church So I do not alledge a Bishop to be a distinct Office from a Presbyter but a different degree in the same Office to whom for Order and Vnities sake the chief inspection and care of Ecclesiastical Matters ought to be referred and who shall have Authority to curb the Insolencies of some factious and turbulent Spirits His Work should be to feed the Flock by the Word and Sacraments as well as other Presbyters and especially to try and ordain Entrants and to Oversee Direct and Admonish such as bear Office And I more willingly incline to believe Bishops and Presbyters to be the several degrees of the same Office since the names of Bishop and Presbyter are used for the same thing in Scripture and are also used promiscuously by the Writers of the two first Centuries Where he plainly contradicts Dr. Pearson who in favour of his Ignatius largely pleads for the accurat distinction of Bishop and Presbyter in the second Century denies Bishop and Presbyter to be distinct Orders and finally acknowledges that in the chiefest parts of the Ministerial Function they are equal and so really denudes the Bishop of all the degree he left him But more clearly elsewhere I acknowledged saith he Bishop and Presbyter to be one and the same Office and so I plead for no New Office-Bearers in the Church Next in our second Conference the Power giv'n to Church-men was proved to be double The first Branch of it is their Authority to publish the Gospel to manage the Worship and to dispence the Sacraments And this is all that is of Divine-Right in the Ministry in which Bishops and Presbyters are equal sharers both being vested with this Power But beside this the Church claims a Power of Jurisdiction of making Rules for Discipline and of appointing and executing the same all which is indeed suitable to the common Laws of Societies and to the general Rules of Scripture but hath no positive Warrant from any Scripture-Precept And all these Constitutions of Churches into Synods and the Canons of Discipline taking their rise from the Divisions of the World into the several Provinces and beginning in the end of the second and beginning of the third Century do clearly shew they can be derived from no Divine Original and so were as to their particular Form but of humane Constitution therefore as to the management of this Jurisdiction it is in the Churches Power to cast it in what mould she will A Presbyter acknowledges even Cornelius à Lapide is equal to a Bishop in the chiefest Order which is the Order of the Priest-hood § 14. To which add the Judgement of Dr. Hammond a Man so distemper'd with extreme Passion for the Hierarchy that he makes him that sat on the Throne Rev. 4. God the Father and the four and twenty Elders with their Golden Crowns an Image and Representation of the Metropolitan Bishop of Hierusalem and the four and twenty Bishops of Judaea in Council for Golden Crowns or Mitres he makes the Characters of the Episcopal Dignity Yet even he asserts on Acts 11. 30. Philip. 1. 1. that the Title of Presbyter in Scripture times belonged principally if not only to Bishops There being saith he no evidence that any of that second Order were then instituted but Bishops only and Deacons This he at large confirms and so really overthrows Prelacy when he would fainest establish it joining with the Presbyterians in their grand Antiprelatick Principle viz. that simple Presbyter as the Hierarchicks phrase it without Power of Ordination or Government or a distinction between Bishop and preaching Presbyter is a meer stranger without all Foundation in the Holy Scriptures From all which 't is clear that these Bishops or which is all one preaching Presbyters in Scriptures and during the Apostolick age were nothing save Pastors of particular Congregations Section VI. Our meaning of Ignatius confirmed from the Writings of the Apostles his immediat Ancestors MOreover nothing can be more clear for the Idenity of Bishop and preaching Presbyter than that known Scripture Acts 20. 17 28. They Answer that the Bishops of Asia not the Pastors of Ephesus were by Paul sent for which some would support from the 18 ver From the first day that I came into Asia c. But since as is clear ch 19. verse 10. from his coming into Asia he had been most in Ephesus he might truly say so much tho' the Ephesians only had been present but suppose he spoke to others beside we are at no loss the Question is if he gave not tho' amongst others the Title of Overseers or Bishops to these he sent for verse 17. And if these were not the Elders of Ephesus They yet object the words of Irenaeus viz. That Paul called together to Miletum the Bishops and Presbyters of Ephesus and the neighbouring Towns But as for his seeming here to distinguish Bishops from Presbyters this Scripture where they get both Names and which Iraeneus had then in his view and his frequent promiscuous using of these Names perswade me that he only respected the 17 and 28 verses and so took Bishop and Presbyter Synonimically for one and the same His adding of the neighbour Towns to Ephesus might flow from his inadvertency whereat no attentive Reader of Irenaeus will marvel and yet this is as likely to have crept into the Version for the Original of Iraeneus we have not because these Elders their belonging to
their ordinary in which they were obliged to obey the Articles of Perth and submit to the Liturgy and Canons They were also dayly making Inroads upon their Jurisdiction of which the Ministers were very sensible and universally their great rigour against any that favoured of Puritanism together with their medling in all Secular-affairs and relinquishing their Dioceses to wait on the Court and Council made them the Object of all Men's fury But that which heightned all to a Crisis was their advising the King to introduce some Innovations in the Church by his own Authority things had prospered so ill in general Assemblies that they thought of these no more And in the Parliament 1633. that small addition to the prerogative that the King might appoint what habits he pleased to the Clergy met with vigorous opposition notwithstanding the King seemed much concerned for it those who opposed it being sharply taken up and much neglected by his Majesty which stuck deep in their Hearts the Bishops bearing all the blame of it At this time a Liturgy was drawn for Scotland or rather the English reprinted with that Title save that it had some Alterations which rendred it more invidious and less satisfactory and after long consulting about it and another Book of Canons they were at length agreed to that the one should be the Form of the Scotish-worship and the other the model of their Government which did totally vary from their former Practices and Constitutions and as if all things had conspired to carry on their Ruine the Bishops not satisfied with the General High-commission-court produced Warrants from the King for setting up such Commissions in their several Diocesses in which with other Assessors Ministers and Gentlemen all of their own Nomination they might punish Offenders That was put in practice only by the Bishop of Galloway who though he was a pious and learned Man yet was fiery and passionate and went so roundly to work that it was cryed out upon as a Yoke and Bondage which the Nation was not able to bear And after all this the King advised by the Bishops commanded the Service-book to be received through Scotland and to be read according to the New Book at Edinburgh on Easter-day in the year 1637. Thus Dr. Burnet of which kind much more might be taken from his and the Writings of other Adversaries themselves and yet far more from these of the Disinterested And now judge under how wofull a Burden we then groaned and if it was not high time for the Nation to curb such Tyranny over Bodies and Consciences and stemm the tide of these hatefull Corruptions which not softly and by a stelth but by violence like a mighty torrent were bearing all before them and at once ready to sweep away both Religion and Property Should they not by sitting still and quietly yeelding both Sacred and Civil Rights have proved in the highest degree treacherous to their God Countrey and Posterity And seeing the Prelats were either the Authors or great Promoters of all this Mischief and the Office it self asserted only upon human-right and so as a thing indifferent by its ablest Advocats and by the King himself yeelded to be contrary to the constitution of the Church of Scotland And finally by the body of the Nation held to be unlawfull Tyrannical and Antichristian Were they not then highly obliged not only to cashire the Officers but also to abolish the Office it self In the mean while though their Supplications were both most humble and reasonable yet so had B. Laud and his Faction mislead and abused the King's Majesty who otherwise was both Vertuous and Laudable that the Suppliants were at first answered with terrible Menaces then with dilatory and ambiguous Speeches which were seconded with earnest Preparations for a most destructive War and vengeance on the supposed Delinquents Nor was ever ought granted but by inches as the urgency of the Courts Affairs compelled them resolving in the mean while only to gain time and practise such Artifices untill strength being recovered the Suppliants either broken among themselves or lulled into security might be overwhelmed at unawars and with the more ease sacrificed to the fury of the Canterburians As for the black and criminal Actions imputed during these Times to the Covenanters i. e. to the body of the Nation seeing not only the Bulk of the Commonalty and Gentry but also the Nobility well nigh to a man save the Papists as is acknowledged on all hands joined in opposing these Enormities as I shall ever most frankly condemn them when the charge is proved and doubt not which falls out in the best of Actions but that divers who joined them might drive sinistrous Ends so I averre that all the impartial will distinguish between Scelus and Error and ascribe any Escapes or Solecims any way chargeable on others not to their want of Conscience and Loyalty but at worst to their want of fore-sight to which byass the odd dealings of the Court and their want of Experience of these with whom they afterward joined doubtless contributed not a little to incline them They were not ignorant that King James who as Dr. Burnet intimats opposed Presbytry not out of Conscience but Policy rarely minded to keep what he promised and at every innovation he introduc'd averr'd that it should be the last while he only designed to make it a preparative for more And indeed to name no others King James his prevaricating temporizing promising and consenting to what he never mean'd to stand longer than untill by force he should be able to undoe them is not altogether conceal'd even by his own Spotswood himself though rarely I acknowledge guilty of so much ingenuity Neither made he any bones to obtrude on this Kingdom inquisitionlike High-commission-courts without any Law or Acts of Parliament These his steps were troaden by his Successour who being Prepossessed by the Canterburians with all imaginable severity urged and increased these lawless Innovations and yet stuck not to averre that he took Arms only to surpress Rebellion and not to impose Novelties And that all Concessions then given were only to gain time till sufficient strength to overwhelm this Kingdom might be recovered is not only colligible from the more impartial Accounts of these Times but also from Nalson himself The King saith he was prevail'd with by this reason offered by Traquair to sign the following Instructions That his Majesty notwithstanding whatever the Parliament could do might whenever he was in a better Capacity introduce Episcopacy because the Bishops being by all the Laws of Scotland one of the three Estates of Parliament no Act that passed without them would be of force much less an Act for their Abolition especially they not appearing or consenting to it but protesting against it Now as the same Nalson relates In these Instructions the King allows his Commissioner to cousent in his Name to the abolishing of Episcopacy when
and other places no small number of excellent Men to Scotland who doubtless did no small service to God therein and especially in the time of Fincormachus when as all observe a great many fled hither who were famous both for Life and Doctrine yea long before this even in the time of Tertullian our Church was well known to much of the Christian World as appears from his clear Testimony The places of Britain saith he to which the Romans could not yet pass are notwithstanding subject to Christ. And if any have called Scotland barbarous or not well reform'd before the coming of Palladius Sir George learn'dly refutes them and names severals and among them even Stannihurst otherways an enemy to our Nation who have done it and he well observes that the reason why some speak of us as then not well enough reform'd was because of our want of agreement with the Church of Rome § 6. As to the last part of the Bishop's discourse saying that it was not permitted to Monks to meddle with the matters of the Church c. And wherein he is seconded by St. Asaph who falls foul on Presbyterians on this account as if they were darkners of all Church History c. They should know that as our Historians call'd these Monks they also call'd them Priests sometimes Presbyters or Bishops or Doctors and frequently Culdees Our people saith Boeth also began most seriously at that time to embrace the Doctrine of Christ by the guidance and exhortation of some Monks who because they were most diligent in Preaching and frequent in Prayer were call'd by the Inhabitants Worshippers of God which name took such deep root with the common People that all the Priests even to our time were commonly without difference call'd Culdees i. e. Worshippers of God Elsewhere this Author call'd these Teachers and Guides indifferently Priests Monks and Culdees Thus also speaks the best of our Historians some of whom we have heard calling them Presbyters and Admistrators of the Sacraments Hence 't is clear that when they call them Monks the word is not to be taken in the later Popish sense for a Layhermite for these our primitive Pastors were only call'd Monks by reason of their strictness of life and frequent retirement to Devotion when the publick work of the Ministry did permit it and perhaps also divers of them abstain'd from Marriage that they might keep themselves free from the World and its care without urging this on others as was the practice of the famous Paphnutius in the council of Nice From all which I conclude that before the coming of Palladius we had a settl'd Church without the least umbrage of their Hierarchy § 7. I add that long after that it had but very slender footing here seeing according to Spotswood they had no distinct Titles or Dioceses whose words are neither had our Bishops auy other Title then that of Scotorum Episcopi or Scotish Bishops whereby they were distinguish'd before the days of Malcomb the III who first divided the Country into Dioceses appointing to every Bishop the limits c. Yea after most strict search for a long time posterior to Palladius he can scarce find the least footsteps of Episcopacy And again long it was after the distinction of Dioceses before they were admitted to any civil Places or Votes in Parliament Hence nothing is more certain than that for many Ages the Church of Scotland knew nothing of their Hierarchy the first Rudiments whereof were bronght from Rome which was sent packing thither again when we renounc'd our obedience to Anti-christ § 8. Take but one other particular and I take leave of the Advocat he 's much displeas'd with St. Asâ—ph terming him a Caresser of Fanaticks for affirming that in consequence of this our Argument taken from the confess'd Practice of our primitive Church we might reasonably conclude that when we covenanted against Episcopacy we had only us'd our own right and thrown out that which was a confess'd Innovation in order to the restoring of that which was our primitive Government A notable and never to be forgotten Concession of so learn'd an Adversary as is this Bishop Let 's hear what the Advocat returns him It will not follow saith he that because our Church in its infancy and necessity was without Bishops for some years therefore it was reasonable for Subjects to enter into a solemn League and Covenant without and against the Consent ef their Monarch and to extirpat Episcopacy settl'd then by Law and by an Old Prescription of 1200 years at least But this most unfair Representation of our Arguments antecedent is I trust now sufficiently discover'd wherefore I have nothing to do here with it not yet am oblig'd to evince the consequence he denies seeing 't is not to be accounted ours but his own who made the antecedent Of the Grounds why the Nation entred into a Covenant I also discours'd already In the mean while I can't but take notice of his settling Episcopacy by Prescription a Romish Argument which whatever it may do in Law has no place here His Prescription I 'm sure essentially differs from that of Tertullian against the Heresies of his time seeing he liv'd in a very early Age when especially if ever Prescription could have place in the Church and the Doctrines which he defended were generally and uninterruptedly held by the Pastors even from the Apostles times and more ancient than the Heresies against which he prescribes whereas in the present case all things are clean contrary For as the Advocat himself here supposes the original of Scotish Episcopacy is several Ages posterior to that of the Apostles so that if the Argument could militat for either Party it serv'd well the Church of Scotland against Prelacy and not at all e contra But tho' things had been quite otherwise there had been no fear of harm from their Prescriptions seeing as Vincentius Lerinensis admonishes In refutation of inveterat Errors we must recurr to the sole authority of the Scriptures And Optatus Milevit plainly asserts that Christ's Testament abundantly suffices to determine all and every particular Controversie among Christians Thus we see how pleasant a spectacle these two Champions afford us the Bishop forms the Major Proposition and asserts on supposition of the Antiquity of our Royal Line and veracity of our Historians that our Church acted with reason enough and was only recovering her own Right when she cashier'd Prelacy The Advocat in attempting to disprove this the Bishop's Proposition has only giv'n such prevarications and elusions as most strongly confirm all the dis-interested of the truth thereof As for the Minor Proposition that our ancient Royal Line is not forg'd but real and our historical Monuments most true and credible the Advocat himself to the conviction of all the unbyass'd in both his Books makes appear It remains therefore as a conclusion of undoubted verity that our Church was
acting most rationally and only recovering her own Right when at any time she expell'd Prelacy together with all its Innovations § 9. There is yet another Advocat of the Party whose look is more stout than his Fellows We shall try if his reason be answerable to his confidence I mean A M. D. D. I shall design him D. M. The Author of a late Book call'd An Enquiry into the New Opinions chiefly propagated by the Presbyterians in Scotland Who in opposition to the Defender of the Vindication of the Church Scotland handles the same Argument at large and supposes as a main Ground of his Discourse that his Antagonist denies that there is any force in Argumento negativo To require saith D. M. that a matter of Fact be attested by competent Witnesses is in the language of our Author to raze the Foundation of all History He spends therefore about 14 pages to prove that a negative Argument in some Cases may have place But vainly seeing the Author of the Vindication does not once insinuat that a negative Argument can in no Cases be us'd or that to require competent Witnesses in a matter of Fact is to raze the Foundation of all History Yea he believ'd that there were Witnesses so competent for his Assertion that no Argument whither negative or of whatsoever kind else shall ever be able to darken their Testimony and that we have as good ground for our ancient Church her being without Bishops as for any other part of our Nations Antiquities And indeed the Argument the Apologist whom D. M. would vindicat us'd levels at all parts of our ancient History no less then at the thing under debate The Argument was There were none that lived near that age that wrote the History of it and the Monks who wrote any thing were extreamly ignorant Now this if it do any thing to the Author's purpose equally shakes and overthrows all parts of our ancient History seeing with the like force and success it may be brought against any of ' em Justly therefore repones the Defender of the Vindication that this is at one blow to raze the Foundation of the History of our Nation and that of most others and to make them all to be Fools who have enquired into these Antiquities that concern our Nation and others such as Fordon Major Beda Usher c. whereto all D. M. rejoins is that many collateral proofs may be brought from the Roman Historians that the Scots inhabited that part of Britain long before the imaginary period of his Presbyterian Church And the manner of reckoning the Scotish Genealogies at their Marriages their Births and other remarkable Solemnities was an infallible conveyance of true constant and perpetual Traditions Their Bards whose Science it was to repeat those Genealogies upon solemn Occasions to celebrat their greatest Atchievements in verse could not add one to the number of their Kings but upon the Death of his Predecessor But in all his Discourse there is wrapt up a concession of all the Defender of the Vindication charg'd on the Apologist seeing he evidently intimats that unless it be assertin'd some other way nothing in any of our Countries Historians merits any credit And to confirm this I except saith he against all the three viz. Fordon Major and Boethius that none of 'em could be a competent Witness in Affairs of that nature at so great a distance from their own time unless they had named the Authors and Records upon whose Testimony their Relation was founded As to his mentioning of collateral Proofs c. it is a meer Sham seeing if once we yeeld with him that no credit is due to any of our Monuments now extant except what is confirm'd by some exotick Records how sorry an account have we of any of our Antiquities of whatsoever kind which forraign Testimonies notwithstanding may if compar'd with our Writers give light to our Histories I 'm sure moreover notwithstanding of whatsoever old Traditions or Bard's verses are mention'd all or surely most of these now being lost or tho' extant mostly unintelligible our Royal Line could never be asserted without ascribing to our Writers both the reach and integrity of able and faithfull Historians And yet D. M. is not afraid to compare his Apologist negative Argument to another of Eusebius lib. 3. Where saith D. M. by this very Argument he overthrows the authority of several Books that some would impose upon the Church meerly because they were not duely attested and none ef the Ancients brought any Testimonies from them But Eusebius saw and perus'd these Ancients who either directly or occasionally mention'd all the Canonical Books and so justly their silence overthrew the Authority of the Spurious and baffl'd the credit of their Imposers but has D. M. or his Apologist seen or perus'd all the Monuments from which our Historians took their materials and which were lost long before either of them were born Can they from these Records tho' they would fain do 't rub shame upon all the Historians of our Countrey as a creu of lying Forgers seeing then that this is impoâ—â—ible to be done and that as the Advocat has solidly made out they were men of sufficient Candor and Reputation seeing they us'd many ancient Reeords now lost and were of sufficient Discretion and Knowledge to distinguish genuine from fictitious seeing they relate what we plead for with no less unanimity and concord than they do any thing else and either profess or sufficiently enough intimat that they brought all their Composours from ancient Records seeing that their Judgement is confirm'd by unsuspected Forerunners both ancient and modern yea and suffrages of all mankind who had ever any occasion to speak of this matter seeing what they relate is so far from being fabulous that our ancient Church-government they mention is sufficiently attested and acknowledg'd by the fiercest of our Adversaries to be truly Apostolick and seeing lastly as we have heard Prelacy for a long time after Palladius was of far less bulk and power in Scotland than in other Churches the Apologists negative Argument has just as much consanguinity with that of Eusebius as is between a down-right Paralogism and a solid Deduction yea I averr moreover that considering Prelacy was then at its Ela in Scotland and none of our Historians at least before Buchanan were Presbyterian nor could reap any Advantage by disobliging the Prelats any one of their Testimonies alone might give sufficient ground to believe that what they said was well founded on good and ancient Records § 10. But after a long and as himself truly says needless digression he comes to examine our Testimonies and will have Boethius to contradict the rest alledging that his meaning is not that Palladius was the first Bishop but only the first sent from Rome but of Boethius already Here D. M. falls foul on Blondel as a corrupter of Boethius because he said as out of him that the
as if what any man either by Fraud or Force is made seemingly to yeeld to were to be taken for his true and genuine Sentiments I thought this kind of reasoning had been peculiar to a Spanish Inquisitor or French Converter Or that they were bad Men continues he a hard construction For then Hierome of Prague who was forc'd and so many of the choice Fathers of the Council of Arminum who were trick'd to admit in appearance something contrary to their true Sentiments shall all be bad men That the Ministers at this Convention at Leith dealt most unwarily and some of 'em also with too little integrity is beyond scruple But that all of 'em or most of 'em were poor covetous Rogues c. neither Petrie nor any of his Perswasion ever affirmed He adds that the Courts Arguments for the Leith-establiment were mainly Politick for they turn'd not Theologues to perswade Episcopacy's Divine Institution from Scripture c. Well then there was little true Piety no consulting of Conscience or the Word of God in the Matter And if some of the Ministry as he says were taken with these politick and state Reasons they in so far fell from their own Principle viz. That in the Books of the Old and New Testament all things necessary for the instruction of the Church and to make the Man of God perfect are contain'd and sufficiently express'd But the Clergy saith he had found that the new Scheme of the first Book of Discipline had done much hurt to the Church As if the old Popish Scheme under which the Churches goods by God's Law destinated for the promoval of piety and learning and sustaining of the poor were consum'd and debauch'd in upholding the grandour and luxury of a spurious ecclesiastick Nobility could have been really more profitable to the Church than that of the Book of Discipline on of the prime designs whereof was the bestowing of the Church Revenues for these their true uses to which God's Law had appointed them Or as if Pastors Schools and Poor can in no place be provided for where the Romish Church-policy is wanting But The six Commissioners saith he that treated with the State at Leith were sensible Men and far from being Parity-men Just so far from being Parity-men that most of 'em in an Assembly 1580. July 12. deliberately found and declared Episcopacy unlawfull in it self He intimats that the Courts motive for the Leith-establishment could not be their desire to possess the Churches Patrimony An untruth as we have now seen too bare fac'd to need more refutation His proof hereof is of the same stamp viz. Had the Clergy fall'n so suddenly from their constant claim to the Churches Revenues did that which moved them to be so earnest for this meeting with the State miraculously slip out of their minds Seeing not the Church but the Court-politicians as is evident with desire to circumveen her chiefly procur'd that meeting and if these Delegates were either the only or first men who by sinistrous Artifices fell into a bad Compact then let him exclaim with admiration of this matter what follows is yet odder viz. Was it not as easy for the Court to have possessed themselves of a Bishoprick an Abbacy a Priory c. when there were no Bishops as when there were For he 's to be pitied if he be ignorant that the Courtiers having no Law-title thereto had no hope save under covert of their own Creatours these titular Bishops of any peaceable and secure possession of the Churches Revenues But an undoubted Assembly saith he own'd the Leith convention as an Assembly and its Authority as the Authority of an Assembly and for several years after that establishment at Leith beside which there was no other fond for owning them for Bishops Bishops were present and as such were obliged to sit and vote in general Assemblies and many Acts of subsequent Assemblies put this matter beyond all probability of ever being controverted as the Assembly in August 1574. which petitioneth the Regent that Stipends be granted to Superintendents in all time coming in all Countries destitute thereof whether it be where there is no Bishop or where there are Bishops who cannot discharge their Office as the Bishop of St. Andrews and Glasgow And that his Grace would provide qualified Persons for vacant Bishopricks But this tho' it be his prime Argument is soon removed our Church knew that divers Ministers and others had been allur'd or aw'd to that agreement She knew that 't was only made for the Interim and for the Interim only did she tolerate it with a full resolution to have a more perfect Order And as for the words In all time coming there 's not a syllabe of them in the Act he cites Nor indeed any where else of all the Acts of these Assemblies She knew also that during that Interim 't was impossible to get that which had been the Revenues of Popish Bishops other Church Rents out of the Regent and other Courtiers their hands In the mean while the vast number of unplanted Churches weakness of the Ministry in divers parts and unsettlement even unto that time of the Churches Affairs allow'd for a space the continuance of Evangelistick Superintendents or Commissioners who were to be in almost perpetual motion and travels and therefore needed much larger maintainance then did fixed Pastors which large maintainance the Church being thus strip'd of her Patrimony could not afford to the number that was needfull On these and such Grounds the Church indulged to that Convention the name of an Assembly tolerated in these Tulchans the name of Bishops And seeing they had got more Rent then was giv'n to ordinary Ministers allowed them to exercise the Labour and Travel of Superintendents or Commissioners And thus the Church made the best she might of that their unlawfull Bargain And tho' which he also objects some Assemblies allow Bishops to conveen and proceed against delinquents command Ministers by their Letters to admonish concerning persons to be excommunicated it helps him nothing seeing the very Acts he cites give no less power to Superintendents yea to Commissioners whom yet the Church used even after she had declared Episcopacy unlawfull in it self So far is our Churches tolerating for a space these Tulchans from being any Argument that she believ'd not the Divine Right of Parity But how appears't saith he that our Church receiv'd the Leith Articles only for an Interim out of a dislike to Episcopacy And there were other things in the Articles which required amendment But sure these Articles were without any exception receiv'd and tolerated only for the Interim and how well these Court-bishops were liked is already made manifest and our Churches subseqnent actings declare which never rested but still wrestled against the storms of both Power and Policy untill they were sent packing 'T is true as he says the Church met with Opposition but that this was
in a Letter to the English Bishops and Pastors being moved thereto by John Knox if Spotswood speak truth expresly among many other things to this purpose say If Surplice Corner-cap and Tippet have been the badges of Idolaters in the very act of their Idolatry what have the Preachers of Christian Liberty and the Rebukers of Superstition to do with the dregs of that Roman Beast yea what is he that ought not to fear either to take in his hand or fore-head the Print Mark of that odious Beast c. See store to this purpose in Heylin's History of the Presbyterians whereby 't is most evident that this Author endeavour'd nothing more earnestly than to perswade the World that Knox was a self-repugnant Idiot It sufficed if before that celebrious Assembly he answer'd to the Question and gave some one reason that shewed he could not comply with them tho' he declar'd not all the grounds of his dislike of their Practice As to the matter of Francfort which this Author mentions drawing from it the like Consequences there was no Bishop there nor any mention of the necessity thereof but only a busâ—e made by some superstitious Bigots for their Popish Ceremonies or Fooleries as Calvin calls them and so there was no occasion of venting himself in this matter and tho' there had he sufficiently declar'd his mind while publickly in a Sermon he alledged that nothing ought to be thrust upon any Congregation without the warrant of the Word of God Yea if we may believe Le Strange Knox and his Associats sufficiently discover'd themselves to be of the Consistorian or Presbyterian Perswasion § 10. He adds that Knox in his Appellation c. plainly supposes the lawfulness of the Episcopal Office I deny 't But all alongst throw it saith he Knox appeals to a lawfull general Council snch a Council as the most ancient Laws and Canons approve and who knows not that the most ancient Laws and Canons made Bishops the chief if not the only Members of such Councils Knox says if the Popish Clergy his Adversaries are for it he 's content that matters in Controversie between him and them be determin'd by the Testimony and Authority of Doctors and Councils three things being granted him whereof these are two 1. That the most ancient Councils nearest to the primitive Church in which the learned and godly Fathers examined all Matters by God's Word may be holden of most Authority 2. That no Determinations of Councils or Men be admitted against the plain verity of God's Word nor against the Determinations of the four chief Councils Would Knox if he had been Presbyterian have agreed so frankly to have stood by the Determination of these four chief Councils Could he have expected they would have favoured the Divine Right of Presbyterian Parity Will any scotish Presbyterian now adays stand to the Decision of these four chief Councils But all our Author here infers is by Knox prevented and cut off while in the first place he requires that no Determinations of Councils nor Men be admitted against the plain Verity i. e. without the expressed commandment of God's Word We chearfully appeal in the present Controversie and provoke our Adversaries to this Rule which most of 'em I have hitherto met with expresly acknowledge to contain nothing in their favours Secondly The Actions of the first four Councils were of two sorts Creeds viz. and Canons Now as John Knox and all the Presbyterians in cordial subscribing to the former viz. The Symbols of these Councils are confessedly not behind any part of the Christian World so part of the latter sort I mean the Canons are rejected by Episcopals no less than by Presbyterians As for example the Constantinopolitan Council appoints that reduced Hereticks and Schismaticks must be anointed on the Fore-head Eyes Nose Mouth and Ears And in the Council of Chalcedon 't is permitted only of all the Church-men to the Lectors and Cantors to Marry Yea that none of the Clergy after that manner should Marry was statuted by the Council of Nice And they were also to have separated from their Wives the Church-men who were in Wedlock already had they not been restrani'd by the grave admonition and solide reason of Paphnutius Now 't is true indeed Presbyterians admit not of these Decrees But dare they say that Knox imbrac'd them Or do our present Adversaries themselves receive them Knox therefore spoke of the Symbols Our Author introduces him and gives out as if he had spoken of their Canons to the end he may deceive the vulgar Reader for none that look into the Councils can be obnoxious to this his Fraud The same conclusion viz. That Knox supposes the innocency and lawfulness of the Episcopal Office he would deduce from Knox's following words You may in a peaceable manner without Sedition withhold the fruits and profits which your false Bishops and Clergy most unjustly receive of you untill such time as they shall faithfully do their Charge and Duties which is to preach unto you Christ Jesus truly rightly to minister the Sacraments according to his Institution and so to watch for your Souls as is commanded by Christ c. But might not Knox had he been there giv'n the like admonition to the Romans concerning their Bishop and Clergy should he thereby have suppos'd the Lawfulness and Innocency of the Papacy and Power the Romanists gave to the Pope Secondly Does not Knox admonish the People concerning the rest of the Clergy wherein there was comprehended the Abbots Priors and all the rest of the Romish rout no less then concerning the Bishops Did therefore Knox suppose the Innocency and Lawfulness of all these Offices Thirdly Knox utterly baffles all our Author's Sophistry and sufficiently preserves himself from his abuses and depravations while he places the Office of all true Bishops in truly preaching of Christ Jesus rightly ministring the Sacraments and watching for Souls Which I hope is equally the Office and Duty of all Christ's Ministers So true is it we observ'd from Beza's Letter that Knox look'd on all Lordly Diocesan Prelats as false Bishops And all they pretend to beside what is common to every Pastor under whatsoever Name or Profession they go as unwarrantable and unjust But saith our Author Knox's great Work in his Admonition to the Professors of England was to enumerat at the Causes which in God's righteous Judgement brought Queen Maries Persecution on them But he quite forgot to name the Sin of Prelacy as one Ergo c. And did he enumerat and reckon up all things he judg'd to be Errors or Sins wherefore God was pleading with the English and had sent among them that Persecution The truth is the main design of that Admonition is not to give an accurat enumeration of the Causes of the Persecution but to give comfort to the Faithfull under it But abstracting what Knox thought to be the Causes of that Persecution and
and Practice of John Knox who as our Author grants compil'd the first Book of Discipline wherein the Appointment and Duties of Superintendents are set down § 14. And indeed that Knox was truly Presbyterian is so manifest that untill now when Men have broke the bonds of all modesty and abandon'd themselves to averr every thing to be as they would have it was in neither hand call'd in question but Enemies no less than Friends either more indirectly or more plainly acknowledg'd it This was the Policy saith Spotswood desired to be ratifi'd It had been formed by John Knox partly in imitation of the Reformed Churches of Germany partly of that which he had seen in Geneva c. Nothing then from England which flatly contradicts our Author who throw no small part of his Book pretends to prove that all was taken especially from England Now what was the Government of the reformed Churches of Germany and Geneva I think few are ignorant And elsewhere Many good Men saith Spotswood have disliked some of Knox ' s Opinions as touching the Anthority of Princes and the Form of Government which he laboured to have established in the Church The Prelat indeed here as his custom is delivers the Truth as sparingly as may be yet not so but both Presbyterians can perceive and Hierarchicks must confess what is wrapt up in this forced Confession And while he endeavours yet more to obscure it by impertinently adding that Knox was alwayes urging the Obedience of Ministers to their Superintendents he only hereby shews that he was loath the World should know that he had been forc'd to Confess that Knox was really a Presbyterian But their own dearest Friends and Brethren gave Testimony against them Knox say they was of the Consistorian stamp These sc. Gilby Goodman and Whittingham led the dance in England Knox in Scotland and at this day our Presbyterians do but write after their Copy professing the same Principles pretending the same Scruples and beyond doubt proposing the same end Let me be understood likewise by Presbyterians to intend these of the Scotish Race to whom we are beholden for our Discipline That Faction first advanc'd it self by popular Tumult and Rebellion Knox learned the Trick of it at Geneva and brought it into Scotland I forbear to cite others see in lieu of many Heylin's History of the Presbyterians who is most ample to this purpose I only Note how various Methods have been us'd to destroy our Reformed Religion The Papists when the Divine Light of the Gospel began to break throw their Babilonish Foggs to other means for extinguishing thereof added that of lying reproaching and bespattering most odiously our first Reformers endeavouring to ridicul and expose together with their Doctrine their Discipline also and Government which they saw like to obtain amongst most of the reformed and which sometimes in scorn they named after Geneva but they were open and profess'd Enemies and so the Net was laid in sight of the Bird A new Squadron must be added who under the name of Protestant may better manage the Romish Design Tuta frequensque Via est per amici fallere nomen These in the mean while with open mouth proclaim'd this Truth that Knox and the rest of our first Reformers in Scotland were no less than Calvin Beza and such transmarine Propagators of the Gospel truly Presbyterian and as they scornfully spoke fiery Zelots of tâ—e new holy Genevan Discipline And on this very account threw upon them all the Iniquity Aspersion and Infamy their black Art could invent or the spirit of Lies and Malice suggest Yet with all good Men and true Protestants they effected nothing save to bring themselves into just suspicion of being masked Romanists some of 'em therefore of late find it there interest to alter their Method to forbear somewhat to utter their wonted Calumnies and Malice against the persons of our Reformers for as for speaking any good of 'em we shall most rarely find them do it or if ever 't is done with so much coldness and lameness and with such mixtures of detraction that they appear content that the Reader believe them not and resolved to pull back with the one hand what they were compell'd to give with the other and in the mean while averr with an unparallel'd confidence that these our Reformers were never for the Genevan way as they call it were never for Parity of Pastors or Presbyterian Government that so they may the more securely follow the steps of the former and vent their splene at both Government and Discipline and yet be less obnoxious to suspicion of driving Rome's interest But 't is to be hop'd they shall not speed well seeing herein they only endeavour to darken the Sun to contradict what 's known and believ'd all Europe-over And loudly finally to give the lie to their own dearest Friends § 15. Now to their second Objection which is from the Superintendents which together with whatever else they advance from this Argument we having thus evinc'd that Knox whose Judgement is confessedly of such moment in the present Case was truly Anti-prelatick might without just blame have neglected it melts quite away if we remember that this practice was only a temporary expedient during the unsettl'd condition of the Church The Objection dwindles also to nothing on this account that tho' our Reformers had design'd the perpetual use of Superintendents yet these toto coelo as they say differ'd from Diocesan Prelats so that notwithstanding hereof the Government was really Presbyterian or without ought that can be call'd Imparity The former of these our Answers is plainly set down in the first Book of Discipline If the Ministers say our Reformers whom God hath endowed with his singular Graces amongst us should be appointed to several places there to make their continual residence that then the greatest part of the Realm should be destitute of all Doctrine which should not only be the occasion of great murmur but also be dangerous to the Salvation of many And therefore we have thought it a thing most expedient at this time that from the whole number of Godly and learned Men now presently in this Realme be Selected ten or twelve for in so many Provinces we have divided the whole to whom Charge and Commandment should be given to Plant and Erect Kirks to set order and appoint Ministers as the former Order prescribes to the Countries that shall be appointed to their care where none are now This was but too plain and therefore is much curtail'd by Spotswood as our Author who dwells long on this Objection from Superintendents cannot deny He therefore takes a new Way and thus glosses the Passage If I mistake not saith he the true gloss of this Period will amount to no more than this that because there were then so few Men qualifi'd for the Office of Superintendency tho' ten or twelve were by far too small
our Reformers believed it to be an indispensible part of the Christian Religion positively and expresly commanded in the Scriptures Do not therefore his saying establishing however no such thing as Parity c and the rest of his Discourse mutually give the lie and flee in the face of one another And indeed he here at once overthrows whatsoever he said on this Subject and now for ever to silence all reasonable men and stop them from such desperat adventures as this of our Authors take the following Argument Whatsoever our Reformers believed to be without the express and positive Testimony of the Scriptures that they believed to be a damnable Corruption in Religion and as such to be avoided This the major is put beyond scruple by what we have brought from the first Book of Discipline Knox and the Confessions of our Author Now I subjoin But they believed that Episcopacy was altogether without any express or positive Testimony yea or any Warrant or Ground from the Word of God the Books of the Old and New Testament Ergo c. The minor is no less evident from what is already adduc'd and moreover from the latter Helvetian Confession which was all save the allowance of the remembrance of some Holy Days which they expresly disprov'd approv'd and subscribed by our whole General Assembly at Edinburgh December 25. 1566. For in that Confession mark it pray carefully and by no means forget that our Church and Reformers who approv'd and subscrib'd this Confession firmly believ'd that whatsoever is without the express Commandment of God's Word is damnable to Man's Salvation they say There 's giv'n to all Ministers in the Church one and the same Power or Function And indeed in the beginning Bishops and Presbyters ruled the Church in common none preferr'd himself to another or usurped any more honourable Power or Dominion to himself over his fellow Bishops But according to the words of the Lord who will be first among you let him be your Servant they persevered in Humility and helped one another by their mutual Duties in Defending and Governing the Church In the meantime for preserving Order some one of the Ministers did call the Assembly and proposed these things that were to be consulted in the Meeting He did also receive the Opinions of others and finally according to his Power he took care that no confusion should arise so S. Peter is said to have done in the Acts of the Apostles who notwithstanding was never set over the rest nor indu'd with greater power and honour but the beginning took its rise from Vnity that the Church might be declared to be one And having related Hierome's Doctrine of the Idenity of Bishop Presbyier thus they conclude Therefore none may lawfully hinder to return to the ancient Constitution of the Church of God and embrace it before human Custome Thus far the Authors of that most famous Confession who both in the Title page and after the Preface expresly assert that our Church of Scotland together with the Churches of Poland Hungary Geneve Neocome Myllhusium and Wiend approved and subscribed this their Confession From all which it 's easie to gather and perceive with how black a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our first Reformers and whole primitive Church Protestant branded Prelacy or Imparity amongst Pastors Section IX The Forraign reform'd Churches truly Presbyerian BUT let 's hear the Judgement of the rest of the Reformers and Reform'd transmarine Churches Gerard a famous Lutheran divine altho' for Orders sake he admit of some kind of Episcopacy which really he makes as good as nothing above a Moderator-ship yet even for that umbrage allows nothing but humane Institution and will acknowledge no distinction by Divine Right between Bishop and Presbyter The Papists saith he especially place that superiour Power of Jurisdiction which they make to agree to Bishops in this that the Bishops can Ordain Ministers but the Presbyters cannot And all along this Question he strongly proves that during the Apostolick age there was no such thing as a distinction between a Bishop and a preaching Presbyter and enervats all the Arguments that both Romanists and other Prelatists commonly bring to the contrary But we need not insist on the Testimonies of particular Men we have the joint suffrages of the body of Lutheran Divines Luther himself being the mouth to the rest in the Articles of Smalcald It 's clear say they even from the Confession of our Adversaries that this Power to wit of preaching dispensing the Sacraments Excommunication and Absolution is common to all that are set over the Churches whither they be called Pastors Presbyters or Bishops Wherefore Hierome plainly affirms that there is no difference between Bishop and Presbyter but that every Pastor was a Bishop Here Hierome teaches that the distinction of degrees between a Bishop and a Presbyter or Pastor was only appointed by humane Authority And the matter it self continues Luther and his Associats declares no less for on both Bishop and Presbyter is laid the same Duty and the same Injunction And only Ordination in after times made the difference between Bishop and Pastor And by Divine Right there is no difference between Bishop and Pastor § 2. As for Calvin his judgement in this matter was altogether conform to his practice which by the very Adversaries themselves is made the very Patern of Presbytry for he asserts the Idenity of Bishop Presbyter Pastor and Minister and this Idenity of Bishop and Presbyter he founds on Titus 1. and 5. compared with the 7 as Hierome had done long before him and Presbyterians do now And when he descends to after times succeeding these of the Apostles he tells us that then the Bishop had no Dominion over his Collegues sc. the Presbyters but was among them what the Consul was in the Senat and his Office was to propone Matters enquire the Votes preside in Admonition and moderat the Action and put in Execution what was decreed by the whole Consistory All which exceeded little or nothing the Office of a Moderator And that even this saith he was introduced through the necessity of the time by humane consent is acknowledged by the Ancients themselves But I shall not insist in citing Calvine nor Beza who every where is full sufficiently to our purpose both of 'em being aboundantly vindicated and evinc'd to be Presbyterian in a singular tractat by the most judicious Author of Rectius Instruendum from the attempts of one who pretended to be Mathematico-Theologus but was in reality Sophistico-Micrologus And were there any doubt concerning these as indeed there 's none their Practice and that of the Church wherein they liv'd our very Adversaries being Judges sufficiently discuss it and prove them to be truly Presbyterian and to them subscribes the stream of transmarine Writers Systematicks Controvertists and Commentators As for Example the famous and learn'd Musculus asserts and proves from
he better look'd on as himself acknowledges by the rest of the reform'd Churches abroad And I think every true Protestant will yeeld that they had reason so to do seeing he dares make not only Bishops but also Arch-Bishops Metropolitans yea and Patriarchs to be of Divine Right And over all these he places the Bishop of Rome as the Supream in Order and Honour He contends moreover that one Man may be lawfully enough both a Bishop and a Civil Magistrat and exerce one of these Offices by himself and another by his Substitutes The vast Rents of Prelates the external Pomp of Honours Titles and train like that of the greatest secular Nobles agree well enough with the simplicity of a Gospel-Ministry They may lawfully enough in their Grandor and multitude of Servants imitat the greatest Earls and Dukes All this is sufficiently warranted by Christ while he chus'd twelve Apostles and seventy Disciples If you tell him that Christ riding to Jerusalem had no train of Servants no Noble-men attending him adorn'd with golden Chains and riding on trapped Horses he answers that Christ did so throw the necessity of that time least he had been suspected as affecting an earthly Kingdom and that his want of such Splendor was the fault of Herod and such Princes as knew him not This Argument continues Saravia that they make against the Popish Prelats and ours is frivolous for it 's deduc'd from the Deeds of the Infidels and hath no place among Christians Tho' Bishops have Bands of arm'd Men to guard 'em and Noble-men adorn'd with golden Chains constantly to Page and attend them this ought to offend no Body And whatsoever he says for covering this Scandal that such superlative Grandour Pomp and Vanity give to every sober Beholder his Reader shall find to be nothing else save what 's commonly brought to palliat the Offence which the World so justly takes at the Luciferian Pride and Arrogance of the great Antichrist yea even long after that time notwithstanding of all the endeavours of Saravia and his Complices so great a Stranger was this Doctrine even there that T. Holland the King's Professor at Oxford branded Laud with publick infamy for asserting the divine right of Episcopacy Section X. Some of the manifold inconveniences and noxious Qualities of Prelacy briefly mention'd I Might in the next place enlarge on its Concomitants and Qualities a few whereof I shall only name One of these was a direfull Spirit of Persecution which still rag'd during the Prelatical Government the sad effects whereof through no small part of this Kingdom on both Bodies and Consciences of the best part of Protestants therein and that for their refusal of the very things which many of the Urgers acknowledg'd to be altogether indifferent are but too well known § 2. Another of its Qualities little better than the former is their Schismatical Practice and Principles as for instance at the last return of Prelats the Church of Scotland whatsoever Differences might have been therein yet was but one and not Altar against Altar did they not then become the Authors of a compleat National Schism while they broke the whole Church into Parties to the end only they might establish such things as many of themselves acknowledg'd to be indifferent Again their re-entry into Scotland was so far from being Legal that it wanted the very colour of all Order Law for no General Assembly of whatsoever kind introduc'd them Seeing then this Church has ever since her return from Rome held General and National Assemblies for her supream Judicatory and Prelats were extruded by full National Assemblies they ought for their re-entry without the like Authority to be accounted by all true Members of the Church of Scotland manifest Violators of all her Laws and Authority And while they upbraid us with the Crime of Separation are exactly like these who having overturn'd all fundamental Laws of a Society and ruin'd all both Officers and Members cleaving thereto should moreover reproach them upon this very account that they would not subscribe to the overthrow of their fundamental Laws and Constitution But marvel not tho' they made so wide a Breach here for they give but too much ground to judge that they have separated themselves from the Body of the reform'd Churches as appears amongst other things in their Doctrine and Practice of Re-ordaining all who come over unto them from these Churches Some indeed would perswade us that they hold this but as a small Ceremony but yet it 's such an one as for ought I can learn they will never quite with notwithstanding of all the Scandals giv'n or taken thereby And the most earnest Asserters of Episcopacy have their Episcopal Ordination in such esteem that they account none true Ministers without it and so look on most of the Reform'd Churches as being without all true Ministers consequently without either true Preaching or true Sacraments And is not this too like a Donatistick Schism And is it strange then that our Church did still with greatest care and vigor tho' on this account only oppose Prelacy and Prelatists they being generally leaven'd with such dangerous Principles And here observe that all the Heats and Debates that were in our Church since her Reformation from Popery owe their Original either more directly to Prelacy while she strove to keep or drive it out of Scotland or more indirectly while some if on good ground or otherwise I determine not greatly feared that some Persons or Practices would prove introductive thereof and therefore against the mind of others sought to have them laid aside And thus Prelacy whither present or absent hath still been the bane of this Church And there 's little doubt but that they were so wise in their Generation as both to kindle and blow at the fire of any Division that happen'd § 3. And as they give but too evident signs of their separating from the Body of the reform'd Churches so in too many things they but too nigh approach the Romanists Their Government and Hierarchick Scale is one and the same save one roundle with that of Rome All their Arguments they bring either from Scripture or Antiquity are learn'd from Bellarmine and such Romanists and admit no less improvement for the evincing a papal Authority than the Episcopals have made thereof for the establishing of their prelatical Power The Romanists affirm that the Apostles and Evangelists were Prelats of particular Diocesses and that a power properly Apostolick still remains in the Church In these and other such Positions too many of our Episcopal Men are ready to follow them But leaving the Apostolick times descend to the subsequent Ages call'd Antiquity there they 're Pylades and Orestes mutual Supporters of one another and have in arguing from this Fountain so great a resemblace that you shall scarce know with whither of the two ye are dealing Neither as we have already touch'd in the
Topicks they pretend to draw from Reason as that of Order and the like is there between them any less Consanguinity § 4. The Practice also of our Prelats both former and latter bore no small resemblance to that of the Romanists while they affected so earnestly a secular Grandour and the sullying the purity and simplicity of the Gospel with a mass of Superstition and Romish Ceremonies The affection of too many of that Party to Rome was also visible in their earnestness to get and keep a zealous Papist upon the Throne and in their melancholick and Pannick-fears at any appearance of our Relief from Slavery and imminent danger of Popery And lastly in their excessive Joy when any hope of our Delivery seem to have been crush'd and blasted All this was most legible in their Practice at the appearance of the Duke of Monmouth and the Earl of Argyle and the failing of their Designs They were no less gall'd and vex'd at the most noble and happy Design of his present Majesty praying in the chief Churches of this Kingdom that he might be sunk as a Stone in the mighty Waters And after his entry that as his Army came in one way it might be scatter'd seven ways § 5. Add to all this their either more indirect or down-right calumniating and maligning of the reform'd Churches and first Reformers placing them in the same Category with Papists Take for instance the frontispicial Lines of Nalson's Collections Like Bifrons Janus next does court your eye Rome and Geneva in Epitome They squint two ways in the main Point agree And indeed this is but their kindest dealing Neither do they then speak as they think for their Love and Charity is by many degrees greater toward the Romanists than to the reform'd Churches They will admit none of the latter to a pastoral Office if they refuse Re-Ordination but kindly receive a Romish Priest without it Of the most learn'd and godly Protestant Dissenters from them they speak most contemptuously terming them Arch-schismaticks But the Jesuit Bellarmine and Baron the Popish grand Legendarie they with greatest deference call most eminent Cardinals Yea even in the chief Churches of this Kingdom they repeated their invectives against our first Reformers and Reformation and in some Churches thereof they were not asham'd to say that our Reformation was Deformation Knox deserved knocks On the other hand not a few of 'em all along shew'd no little warmth of affection to Papists intitulating them to the same God and Heaven with themselves and asserting their neighbourhood and conjunction to be infinitely more eligible than that of these whom they-call'd Phanaticks as appears for instance in a printed Sermon of Mr Mcqueen And Heylin says that the Genevan Discipline was begotten in Rebellion born in Sedition and nursed up by Faction And indeed this Author is an Enemy so open and implacable to all the reform'd Churches that Strada Gretser Becan Campian or the like most fiery and venemous Loyolites could scarce with all their impudent slanders and infernal rage out-do yea or equal him With such stuff most of his Works and especially his History of the Presbyterians are wholly cramm'd Yea he doubts not to call both Luther and Calvin Maniches i. e. such as hold two infinite Beings or two Gods Others of the Faction as Dodwell are ready to pronounce all who dislike Diocesan Episcopacy guilty of the Sin against the Holy Ghost But the World hath now seen that the most fiery of such Zelots at length threw off the Mask and profess'd themselves Romanists as for instance L' Estrange or else which their own Dr. Burnet observes of Heylin one would think they had been secretly set on by these of the Church of Rome And so they were in their profession of Protestancy hatefull Hypocrites that they might the more easily bespatter and gore the protestant Religion through the sides of Presbytry Others of 'em are yet more down-right Atheists who if they hear the wrath of God and Hells torments denounc'd against impenitent Sinners will tell you that such a Doctctrine came from a Winter-Preacher so that if a Schytian or Groenlander who are habituated to such extream cold had heard him they would have thought he preach'd of Paradice And some call the Doctrine of Communion with God and Faith in Jesus Christ fine Fables and Stories Behold the Men who make it their chief Work to adore the Hierarchy and inveigh against Presbytry which brings to mind the saying of Tertullian that Christianity must needs be some excellent thing seeing only Nero and such Monsters were its prime Persecuters Some there are also as their own Edwards relates even of their Reverend Divines who turn all the Mosaick History concerning Adam and Eve the Serpent Paradice eating the forbidden Fruit and all the passages relating to them into Parable yea into Ridicule saying that Moses only so talked in complyance with the blockish and thick skull'd Israelites but not a syllable of truth is in all that he saith This is very strange language subjoins Edwards from a Reverend Divine who thereby destroyes the whole system of Theology and of Christianity it self And yet for such black and hainous Crimes we cann't hear that they undergoe the least degree of Censure In my Judgement saith Edwards if there be no publick Censure pass'd upon such a daring Attempt as this by a Member of our Church Athiests will have just ground to laugh at our Discipline And here in Scotland all along during their Reign how closely did they connive at such Irreligion as also at all the growth and progress then made by the active Spirit of Popery and in stead of being providers against such Pests some of our Prelats at Court prov'd Mediators in their behalf saying that there was less to be fear'd from Papists than from Phanaticks And in answer to some imputing gross Enormities to the Church of Rome said that such things were only to be ascrib'd to the Court of Rome not to the Church of Rome Add hereto the great love of not a few of 'em to the Pelagian Jesuitick or Arminian Doctrines Hypotheses clean contrary to the belief of all the reform'd Churches and more especially to that of the Church of Scotland They pretend notwithstanding as if the establishing of Prelacy were the debarring of Popery Episcopacy say they was so far from being judg'd a step to it that the ruine of the Episcopal Authority over Presbyters and the granting them exemptions from the jurisdiction of their Ordinary was the greatest advance the Roman Bishop ever made in his tyrannical Vsurpation over Churches I need not here tell so known a matter as is that of the exemption of the Regulars who being subject to their own Superiours and Generals and by them to the Pope were sent through the World in swarms and with great shows of Piety Devotion and Poverty carried away all the esteem and following from the
and the Chair yet they succeeded him not in his Apostle-ship but the latter Bishops in neither c. And Lightfoot a renown'd Divine of the Church of England proves that the Apostle-ship was an Order for ever unimitable in the Church The Apostles saith the same Author could not ordain as Apostle by Imposition of Hands as they could ordain Elders but they are forced to use a Divine Lot which was as the immediate Hand of Christ imposed on him that was to be ordained that Opinion took little notice of this circumstance that hath placed Bishops in the Place of the Apostles by a common and successive Ordination Dr. Barrow whose Works are publish'd by Bishop Tillotson and therefore are to be lookt on as his is copious on this Subject Apostles also saith he did Govern in an absolute manner according to Discretion as being guided by infallible assistance to the which they might on occasion appeal and affirm it hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us Neither did the Apostles pretend to communicat it They did indeed appoint standing Pastors and Teachers in each Church they did assume fellow Labourers or Assistents in the Work of Preaching and Governance but they did not constitute Apostles equal to themselves in Authority Priviledges or Gifts for who knoweth not saith St. Austine that Principate of Apostle-ship to be preferr'd before any Episcopacy And the Bishops saith Bellarmine have no part of the true Apostolical Authority And now judge of the Spirit of these Men who are glad most falsly to brand these famous Bishops and others the most eminent Doctors of that Perswasion as being guilty of the most abominable Crime of Socinianism providing they can thereby bespatter and make odious the Presbyterians Judge also of D. M's Query whether the Apostolical Power as to it 's permanent necessary and essential Branches was not in its nature Perpetual and Successive and by them transmitted in solidum as they receiv'd it from our blessed Saviour to single Successors in particular Sees and not to a Colledge of Presbytsrs in the modern Notion As to the last part of his Query and his Presbyters in the modern Notion I know none such if 't be not these of the Hierarchicks their half Ministers for which there is no ground in Scripture And accordingly it's certain that the Apostles left the managing of the Church to neither Bishops nor Presbyters in his sense both of them being Chimera's but to Colledges of Bishops who are also Presbyters both being one in Scripture during the Apostolick age But tho' we should grant them all the Query seeks supposing which all the Ancients affirm the equality of all Bishops who at the beginning were reciprocated with Congregations he 's yet but where he was and has really done nothing for the establishing of his Hierarchy Judge lastly of that doughty Argument of the Papists and our Hierarchicks for Prelacy to wit that Bishops succeed to the Apostles and Presbyters to the 70 Disciples which has been generally reckon'd by Protestants among Rome's dotages and as such refuted in their Popish Controversies and to name no others by Iunius and Willet who answers that not only Bishops but all faithfull Pastors are the Apostles Successors and that even according to the Pope's Decrees not Bishop but Priests succeed the Apostles and Deacons not Presbyters succeed the 70 Disciples And now to go on with D. M. and his Fellows all their cavilling to make Timothy and Titus Hierarchick Bishops is but the product of a late Popish Dream For the Fathers when they so called them or the Apostles mean'd not of Bishops in this sense § 3. Wherefore Willet Answers that it is most like Timothy had the Place and Calling of an Evangelist and that the Calling of Evangelists and Bishops which were Pastors was diverse This Answer which so approv'd a Divine of the Church of England gave the Papists D. M. calls a ridiculous subterfuge For saith he the Work of an Evangelist has nothing in it opposite to or inconsistent with the Dignity of a Bishop c. A most disingenuous tergiversation and sliding from the Office of the opponent or probant to that of the defendent seeing this was one of his special Scripture-Arguments whereby to establish his Hierarchy and it 's sure that if Timothy and Titus might do what they did under another Notion and Capacity than that of a Diocesan Prelate his Argument goes to wrack As does also his perversion of 2 Tim. 4 5. for he insinuats that from Timothy's being injoined to do the Work of an Evangelist it will no more follow that he deserved the Name than Daniel's saying Ch. 8. 27. that he did the King's Work will prove him a King But had he ever considered the rest of the Epistle the context of the place and the Signification and Notation of the Word Evangelist he had clearly seen that the Apostle so adapts this Work of an Evangelist to Timothy that the Name and Character properly belongs unto him He adds That any who now convert Jews or Pagans are as properly Evangelists as any so called in the primitive Church and thus insinuats that Evangelists such as Timothy and Titus were no extraordinary Officers which except a few Novelists wedded to their Fancies is condemned by all Men. § 4. And that there was such a Function by which some in the days of the Apostles were raised far above the rank of ordinar Pastors or Doctors and placed in the very next degree to the Apostles themselves whose Office was mostly ambulatory going from Church to Church in the exercise thereof is in part intimated by Sedulius and Theodoret and others upon Ephes. 4. 11. but more fully by Eusebius who informs us that even after the Death of the Apostles divers remained who were in a far higher rank than the rest of their Successors who being saith he the admirable and divine Disciples of so great Men built up the Churches the Apostles had founded promoving the preaching of the Gospel and sowing Seed of the Kingdom of Heaven far and wide thro' the whole World for many of these Disciples that were yet living whose Minds the Divine Word had inflammed with a vehement desire of Wisdom fullfilling our Saviour's Command and dividing their Goods among the Poor and thus leaving their Country exercised the Office of Evangelists among these who had not yet heard the Doctrine of Faith by most diligent preaching of the Gospel and furnishing their Hearers with the Holy Scriptures these so soon as in any remot and barbarous Country they had laid the Foundations of Faith and ordained Pastors and had committed to these Pastors the care of this New Plantation being content therewith and accompanied by the Grace and Power of God hast'ned to other Countries for even to that time the Divine Power of God's Spirit wrought Miracles by these Men so that at the first hearing of the Gospel
fourth or the time of the fifth Century to prove a Metropolis in the first let any-one judge that doth but consider how common a thing it was to alter Metropoles especially after the new Disposition of the Roman Impire by Constantine Yea Carolus à sancto Paulo who was most versant in these Matters and with him Dr. Stillingfleet believe that for the first six Centuries Philippi was no Metropolis § 4. But I will not enlarge in overthrowing a Fancy so wild and gross But in the end of the second Century saith Dr. Burnet the Churches were framed in another mould from the Division of the Empire and the Bishops of the Cities did according to the several Divisions of the Empire associat in Synods with the chief Bishop of that Division or Province who was call'd the Metropolitan from the Dignity of the City where he was Bishop And hence sprang Provincial Synods and the Superiorities and Precedencies of Bishopricks You see how the chiefest of Prelatists disown and disclaim this Metropolitan Fiction but none more fully than Dr. Stillingfleet who has nervously baffl'd all their Pretences prevented whatsoever Dr. Maurice advanced for I speak not of Mr. Clerkson who has also sufficiently done it and finally more particularly ruined all their Pretexts for Philippi's Metropolitan-ship either in a Civil or Ecclesiastick sense during the first Century or Apostolick age Judge therefore of Dr. Maurice his Candor which minds me of another piece of his Legerdemain to evite the force of Philippians 1. 1. For if saith he in Mr. Clerkson ' s Opinion the Bishops mention'd Philip. 1. 1. be no other than Presbyters then this place is impertinently alledged since many Presbyters are by all sides acknowledg'd to have belong'd to one Church but if he speak of Bishops in the common Ecclesiastical sense and then conclude from this Passage that there were many in the Church of Philippi his Opinion is as singular as that of Dr. Hammond which he endeavours to refute for my part I must profess I am not concern'd in this Dispute and I could never find reason to believe them any other thing than Presbyters Or were these Bishops only Presbyters ruling the Church of Philippi with common and equal Authority Then our Author must give up the Question and in stead of making many Bishops must own that there was none at all there but Presbyters only if he thus contend he will abuse his Reader with the ambiguity of a word which he takes in one sense and the Church in another That many Presbyters might belong to one Congregation none ever deni'd that many Bishops in the allowed and Ecclesiastical sense of the word had the oversight of one City sounds strange and incredible to the ancient Christians Where he sleely supposes as granted that Bishops in Philip. 1. 1. must either be understood of their simple Presbyters or of Diocesan Bishops and then equipps his horn'd Argument no other ways than if he had professedly declined all Dispute till once his Adversary had out of kindness yeelded the Question which is only about the Scriptural and Apostolick sense of the word and notion of the Office of a Bishop if that and the Office of a preaching Presbyter be not in Scripture one and the same and consequently if these at Philippi were not Scriptural Bishops no less than they were Presbyters Now that he concern'd not himself in this Dispute nor was in earnest in it I deny not his slippery dealings make it but too too apparent his simple intimation that these were only their simple Presbyters I pass having already blown off all their noticeable Depravations of Philip. 1. 1. I have yet mett with and observe that he following the Romanists insinuats that we cann't understand the Scripture's meaning untill we have their Churches Commentary His ambiguous and unhandsome conduct is no less apparent in these his Phrases common Ecclesiastical sense which he takes in one sense and the Church in another For either he may mean that the Church when she speaks of Bishops who were in after times understands by this Name only Diocesans and so touches not in the least contrary to what he insinuats the Churches received sense of this Text nor what Notion she had of Scriptural-Bishops Or his sense may be that when she speaks of Apostolick and Scriptural Bishops she then still means Diocesans and Rulers over their simple Presbyters and this he must mean if he speak to the Purpose And then I inquire what Church was of this mind Surely neither Primitive nor reformed Churches I except not that of England whose greatest Lights we have already heard disclaiming all Divine Right of Diocesan Episcopacy and identifying Bishop and Presbyter Yea many even of the Romanists are forc'd to confess so much There are Catholicks saith the Jesuite Justinianus who have stuck in the mud of Aërianism The Church then he means must be only a few factious Novelists who in despite of both Divine and Humane Records and the common Sentiment of Christians dare to obtrude on the World as a Fundamental of Religion their privat and wild Fancies Neither is it strange that so few imbrace this conceit of denying the Scripture-Identity of Bishop and Presbyter § 5. For beside these Scriptures now adduc'd let them but look unto 1 Tim. 1. 3. where they shall find a transition from Bishop to Deacons without any mention of intermediant Presbyters and consequently the Identity of these Offices Bellarmine Answers that the Apostle gives a general Instruction to the Clergy that under the name of Bishops Presbyters all the superior Clergy is comprehended But seeing they make a Distinction of these Offices so necessary it was requisite they had been handl'd in particular and not hudl'd up in a general seeing no where in Scripture there 's any more particular Distinction of Bishop and preaching Presbyter assigned but Bellarmine's main Answer to this and all such Scriptures is that the Names Bishop and Presbyter were then common to both Orders which Answer all the Hierarchicks and more particularly D. M. borrow from the Jesuite But I answer and argue with Junius against Bellarmine that seeing the Names were then common and a real community of Names imports a community of things which by these names are signifi'd it necessarily then follows that as the Names were then common so were the Offices design'd by these Names But to see the Reform'd conquering and the Jesuites foil'd some are much pain'd and in special D. M. who spends about 17 pages for the support of Bellarmine's Answer the substance whereof and of his first three Queries is that Still in the Pentateuch the High Priest is nam'd by the same Appellative without any distinction of Order or Jurisdiction that the other Priests were nam'd by and the title of a Priest was promiscuously apply'd without any distinction or marks of Eminence to the High Priest as well as to the Subordinat
the Menaces utter'd in the Old Testament against Tyre and her King had for their Object Parmenianus the schismatical Bishop of the Donatists who lived at Carthage that had once been a Tyrian Colony but in the time of Parmenianus was inhabited by Romans who had either quite extirpated or expelled thence the whole Race of the Tyrians With no less lightness but more danger did Justine Martyr long before Optatus endeavour to perswade the Gentiles that all Mankind were Partakers of Christ because they were Partakers of Reason and Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which also signifies Reason Where we see that Justine leans only on a pitifull Equivocation the deceit of which could not be unknown to him who natively spoke Greek Neither were Origenes Methodius and others as Hierome witnesseth more solide in their Writings Yea Hierome himself distinguisheth between Progymnasticks and Dogmaticks alledging that in the former of these a Disputant hath liberty to muster up many Arguments in which he hath no confidence § 4. To these we may add both their Homilies and Expositions wherein it 's not easily determined when they spoke their own minds or when they gave us only Transcripts of others to believe and defend which they held themselves but little obliged Yea Hierome oftner than once tells us that it was the common Practice of the Writers of these times to give the Expositions of others and yet conceal the names of the Authors and so involve the Reader and make him take for their judgement the things they never believ'd § 5. If we search into the causes of so strange dealing we have heard out of Hierome that one of 'em was meer sloath and neglect See much more to this purpose in Dallaeus de usu Patrum Another Cause why they both spoke wrote and practised otherways than they knew could be warranted by Scripture was their unjustifiable Compliance with both Jews and Pagans good perhaps intentionally being out of design the better to Proselyte them but eventually proved as unhappy as its Practice was unwarrantable and destitute of Scripture ground Hence their Deacons were named Levites their Bishops Priests and High-Priests the Lord's Table the Altar and the Lord's Supper a Sacrifice and at length Diocesan Bishops and Arch-Bishops were instituted in imitation of the Pagan Flamines and Protoflamines Another Cause thereof which especially takes place in their Homiles and Expositions was the multitude of Alterations and Corruptions well grown before any of these Homilies and Commentaries we now enjoy were extant these were too deeply rooted to be opposed and therefore they believed themselves under a kind of necessity to accommodat their Comments and Declamations thereto at least so to temper and compose them that they should not thwart therewith Of this sort of Conduct we have a clear instance in Augustine who sometimes commends and praises several unscriptural Ceremonies But elsewhere speaking his Mind more freely disapproves them as both unwrantable and burdensome He indeed there intimats that some things commonly observ'd throw the World tho' they were not written yet might be kept as having come from the Apostles or general Councils such as was the Observation of the Lord's Passion Resurrection and Ascension But even this as is most probable he yeelded out of humane Weakness and Fear to oppose the then prevailing Innovations for the needlesness of such preterscriptural Observations he evidently declares elsewhere saying that all things which belong either to Faith and Manners are plainly contain'd in Scripture From all which is clear that we cannot at all be sure if the Fathers Commenting on the places in hand either knew their true meaning or if they did sincerely gave us what themselves believed § 6. And that in their Explications of these Texts we have not their genuine Sentiments is to me evident First because they gave such Reasons of their Exposition as the greatest Prelatists count stark nought Thus Bellarmine rejects and overturns the Grounds of every one of these Expositors in particular except these of Chrysostome only who yet hath nothing of any moment above the rest for Chrysostome exponing Philip. 1. 1. alledges only in defence of his Exposition that the sole Title and Name of Bishop was common to both Orders but this is refused by Dr. Hammond and others and as we shall hear by Chrysostome himself But the Jesuite intending to retain that Exposition thought himself obliged to embrace some of their Defences whereas in truth they themselves never believ'd them to be solide but only the growing Corruptions being too strong to be opposed and some of 'em having got an Episcopacy which was then creeping in and which they depending on the Churches Authority thought they might retain they believ'd that for the fashion they might so gloss the Scriptures whereby Episcopacy is wounded that the People should not perceive the unwarrantableness thereof Secondly The main ground common to all these Expositions why they expone any of these Texts as if they condemn'd not a Diocesan Bishop is a sufficient evidence that they were far from being in earnest in their Glosses for they still alledge that there behoved to be a Bishop above these Bishops in Philippi whom Paul salutes because there might not be Plurality of Bishops in one City This Practice indeed was for the most part current in this time tho' not universal as we learn from Epiphanius informing us that even in these times there used to be a Plurality of Bishops in one City Yet quite contrary to this Text which they either carelesly or timourously shuffl'd They judged saith Dr. Stillingfleet the Practice of the Apostles by that of their own times as is evident by Theodoret and the rest of the Greek Commentators assigning that as the reason why the Presbyters spoken of in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus were not Bishops in the sense of their Age because their could be but one Bishop in a City And Petavius grants that many true Bishops were sometimes at once in one City And altho' the Episcopal Order be of Divine Right yet at 's not of Divine Right that there should be only one Bishop in one City this was only brought in by the Authority of the Church and Councils and accordingly Hierome and Ambrose are to be understood By what Law saith J. Taylor speaking of Philippi and that not as a Metropolis may there not be more Bishops than one in a proper sense in one Diocess Where 't is not unpleasant to hear so great a Prelatist by one Interrogation overthrowing the whole Episcopal Cause and propugning the main Plea of the Presbyterians viz. that in Philippi alone there were many who had not only the power of dispensing the Word and Sacraments but also of Ordination and Jurisdiction and were every way Bishops in a proper sense Thirdly Some of these Expositors proclaim what we alledge for OEcumenius who like the rest intimats as if
Hierome leave them as being altogether useless for support of the Pomp and Splendor of their Hierarchy To these add the Jesuite Celâ—otius who after a thousand Meanders and serpentine windings to elude and deprave these clear Testimonies of Hierome at length seeing all would not do rejects them all as the Forgeries of unlucky Aërian hands never written by Hierome For which Cellotius is chastised even by Petavius and others of the Loyolites themselves Into such Discord Confusion and Torment do Men usually throw themselves so soon as they obstinatly resolve to wage War with so clear and irradiant Verities And here it 's observable that in all times and in all Churches the Authority of Hierome has been exceeding great and above most of the primitive Writers which came not to pass without a special Divine Providence that he and in him the whole primitive Church whose Judgement in these Matters he most clearly delivers might remain as an unsuspected and an uncontroverted witness against some of latter Ages pretendedly Catholick but really Sectarian Novelists Among the great Services he did to the Church two Pieces are more especially notticeable viz. his most clear asserting and acurat distinguishing the Canonical Books from the Apocryphal above all who handled or wrote of that great and most necessary Article and which is the Matter in hand his Antiprelatick Doctrine of the Identity of Bishop and Presbyter these not only Hieronymian but also truly Catholick Doctrines are with equall fierceness impugn'd by the Romanists and I appeal to the impartial Reader if their Exceptions against this latter be a whit more solide than these which are advanced against the former viz. Hierome's Judgement of the Canonical Scriptures which are to be found collected and learn'dly refuted by Dr. Cosin And indeed these Sophisters endeavouring to subvert these Catholick Doctrines of Hierome dash only on an Adamantine Rock for as never any Articles were better founded so notwithstanding of whatsoever practical Aberrations therefrom were fall'n into none were more universally imbrac'd receiv'd and handed down for to speak of the Matter of our present concern this Hieronymian Doctrine all following Church Writers ratifie and approve the bulk of subsequent Commentators Writers of Offices and of other Treatises as Salvianus Isidorus Hispalensis Amalarius Rabanus Maurus yea and intire Councils as that 2 of Sevil which ascribes the whole Difference and Sâ—periority only to Church-Canons and late Constitutions and after them Gratian and Lombard who affirm that in the primitive Church there was only Presbyters and Deacons and his Expositors among whom is Aestius who very fairly quites the Scriptures and tells us that this Superiority is not very clear from Scripture which is nothing but a Confession of the Truth of Hierome's Doctrine forced from this great Prelatist and School-man Yet adds Aestius this may be sufficiently proved another way To which words Dr. Stillingfleet occurrs Ingenuously said saith he however but all the difficulty is how a Jus Divinum should be prov'd when Men leave the Scriptures But in the recounting and transcribing of such Confessions or Testimonies I will not inlarge And now having rescued the principal Scriptures our Antagonists detort in favours of their Distinction between Bishop and Presbyters and vindicated some places commonly adduc'd for the Identity thereof as also evinced that the most celebrated of the Ancients did no otherways understand these Scriptures nor derive the Original of Prelacy from Divine Institution I may with confidence conclude that Ignatius had none before him of the Judgement that he if we believe the Hierarchicks so passionately favour'd Section IX The Testimonies of Ignatius's contemporaries disproving what our Adversaries would force him to speak and confirming what we have prov'd to be his mind viz. that he cashiers a Diocesan Prelacy HAving viewed the Apostolick Writings and dived into their most ancient Commentators and primitive Doctors and having found that in the time of the Apostles the immediat Ancestors of Ignatius there was in the Church no such thing as a Diocesan Prelate Let us next look unto what remains of his Contemporaries or these who lived near Ignatius's time and we shall have ground to deduce the same Inference And first it's observable that these Writers such as Clemens Romanus in his Epistle to the Corinthians for the rest that bear his Name are undoubtedly spurious Polycarp to the Philippians Hermas or Pastor Justine Martyr tho' they as occasion offers frequently mention Pastors Doctors Bishops Presbyters indifferently taking all of 'em for on and the same Office yet of a Diocesan Prelat or one set over other Pastors or over these that had Power of Dispensing the Word and Sacraments in all their Writings have not a syllable Which Argument against a Diocesan Prelat tho' negative is not to be slighted if we consider these Authors their closs Vicinity to the Apostles the occasion they had to have mention'd him had he been then existent their more than a Pythagorick silence concerning him Yea the same kind of negative Argumentation Eusebius uses while he disproves and explodes some Writings forg'd in the Name of John Andrew and other Apostles because saith he no ancient Ecclesiastick Writers mention these Books We shall find moreover that they positively disclaim Diocesan Prelacy I begin with Clemens Romanus who writing to the Corinthians commends their former carriage in these words Ye walked in the commands of God and being obedient to these that had the rule over you and giving your Elders due honour ye were wont to admonish the younger with Moderation to seek after things that are honest And again Wherefore the Apostles preaching the Word thro' the severall regions and proving by the Spirit the first fruits thereof ordain'd Bishops and Deacons for these who should believe neither was this a new Ordinance for many ages before it was written concerning Bishops for so in a certain place saith the Scripture I will appoint their Bishops in Righteousness and their Deacons in Faith And Our Apostles by Jesus Christ our Lord knew that there would arise Contention concerning the Name of a Bishop and therefore being endew'd with a perfect Fore-knowledge they ordain'd the fore-said Officers and left unto us describ'd the particular services of both Ministers and Offices to the end that approv'd Men might succeed in the place of the defunct and execute their Office These therefore who are ordain'd by them or by other famous men with the Consent of the whole Church who blamelesly serv'd the Sheepfold of Christ with humility and quietness without baseness and who for a long time had a good Testimony from all These I say cann't be justly thrust out of their Office for we commit no light sin if we cast out these from the Bishops Office who holyly and blamelesly perform'd it Blessed are these Presbyters or Pastors who have perfited their journey and are dead and who have obtain'd
threatning Emulation Hatred and mutual Enmity proudly usurping Principalities or Prelacys as so many places of Tyrannicall Domination To this time doubtless did the Nicene Fathers look in their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ancient Customes that they mention which will be denyed by none who remember that even things of a very late date used then to be called ancient and which is yet more they were wont to pretend Apostolick Authority and Tradition for every one of their Innovations For this their Pride and Superstition and such Vices God sent a long and most grievous Persecution after which it might have been reasonably thought they would have returned to the Humility and Simplicity of the Gospell and Apostolick Age. But so far were they from this that the Gangren began faster than ever to consume the Vitals of Chrsitianity and having got a Christian Emperor to indulge and enrich them they quickened their Pace and in the gadiness of Pride and giddiness of Superstition extravaging without bounds in this Declension they piece and piece laid aside the Scripture and in the model of their Government and Worship eyed and followed three patterns the Jewish Policy Ceremonies and Temple where there was one High-Priest the magnificent and splendid Government of the Roman Empire over which there was one Head one Emperor And lastly the way of the Roman Pagan Priests in which there was also at Rome a Pontifex Maximus or High-Priest over all the many Degrees of Priests in the Empire and so in process of time it came to pass that he who by his first Institution was design'd to be a Pastor of a Flock or Congregation and to imitate the Apostolick Simplicity and Humility turned to be the great Antichrist the son of Perdition and grand Emissary and Lieutennant of the red Dragon and these who were ordain'd to be his Fellow-Pastors and Ministers of the Gospel became his Underlings and Slaves in that Apostacy and being martial'd into a thousand Ranks and Orders proved so many Squadrons of hellish Locusts so that scarce in any part of the Creation of God was there ever a more sad and direfull Depravation if it were not when our first Parents fell into the Cloutches of the old Serpent or when the Sons of God became his greatest Enemies and those morning Stars the beautifull Angels turned into infernal Firebrands black and abominable Devils Most observable notwithstanding yea and adorable is Divine Providence in this that even in the growth and increase of this black Apostacy the Church in Opinion and Doctrine at least still held fast the great and capital Articles of Christianity as the sufficiency of the Canonicall Books of Scripture the Doctrine of the holy Trinity of free Grace of Justification by Faith in Christ's Blood c. Their great sin lay not in the Defect but in the Excess by superadding to these golden Foundations a heap of hay and stuble the wild Fancies of Apostatising Brains And in process of time equalizing yea and preferring them to these Divine and most necessary Truths comprehended in the Books of the Old and New Testament Then it was when tho' they still acknowledged the Identity of Bishop and preaching Presbyter or Pastor of a Congregation they must among'st the rest of their novell Foppereis raise one Bishop or High-Priest as they spoke over a number of other Pastors and Churches whose Ordination and Consecration must be accompani'd with a dale of Alloy suitable to this their humane and unwarrantable Institution He must have a Cudgell put in his hand to signifie his Rule and Authority over the People and a Ring to signifie his Pontifical Honour and the hidden Mysiereis wherewithall he is intrusted The Bishop being consecrated shaven and anointed it was his proper Work and Office to erect and consecrate Churches to make their Chrism or Holy Oyl For the Art of Besmearing was pretty early in the Church no later at least than their Diocesan and therewith to anoint the forehead Eyes and Ears of the Baptized to receive the Penitents and perform such greasy businesses about them These and the like Actions were reserved as the special Ornament and Badges of the High-Priest's Honour And indeed hitherto they acted congruouly for 't was but meet that their own Antichristian Inventions the Institution whereof never came into God's mind should be appropriated to their own Church-Officer whom God never appointed Caetera conveniunt sed non levis error in uno est For they debased and polluted God's Ordinance I mean the Ordination of Pastors which they threw in among their Trash and left likewise to their Bishop or High-Priest as a part of his peculiar Province Superstitionists sometimes for such Fooleries deprave the Scripture which Dr. Lightfoot one of the learn'd est of the Church-of England Divines observes and baffles Here saith he Episcopacy thinketh it hath an undenyable Argument for Proof of its Hierarchy and of the strange Rite of Confirmation c. And this is very like another Practice for Antiquity also not a white lower than their Diocesan they made another fixed Church-Officer whom they called an Exorcist His Office was to dispossess and cast out Devils Now surely such an ordinary Church-Officer was never appointed by God and therefore 't is most likely that some of those Exorcists needed some to have casten the Devils out of themselves or at least to have giv'n them a a round doze of Hellebore no less then did any of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their Patients But seeing they made such a Church-Officer and the dispossessing of Devils was among'st the greatest and most miraculous Works that ever was practis'd even by the greatest Apostles It may be thought that this Exorcist was one of their highest Church-Officers a Metropolitan certainly Arch-Bishop or Patriarch but he was none of these yea he was no Bishop no Presbyter no Deacon no Sub-Deacon yea not so much as an Acolyth that is a Candle-carier for they us'd in fair-day-light and Sun-shine to light Candles in the Church to obey and fulfill as they said that Scripture John 1. 9. That was the true Light which lighteneth every Man that cometh into the World This Exorcist was yet a degree lower than their Candle-Carier and therefore was plac'd in the very rear and tail of all their Clergy So dangerous yea and unaccountable were many of their Actings but especially in the matter of Church-Office-bearing Moreover I appeal to all the judicious and conscientious if out of a conscientious desire of conforming to the primitive Church our Adversareis make such a horride noise bussle and Schism for their Hierarchy For suppose it to be as true as I hope by this time to all the unbyassed it 's manifested to be false that in all points they could vouch their Hierarchy to be warranted by the true primitive Church and the Government of the one intirely like that of the other yet do they not desert her in many other things
the perpetual Practice of these times frees us from further debate herein I can never find that the Romans brought Christians from Asia or such remote places to be executed at Rome but still to the nearest seats of Justice as is clear in Polycarp and other most famous Bishops or Pastors And truly saith Dr. Stillingfleet the story of Ignatius as much as it 's defended with his Epistles doth not seem to be any of the most probable For wherefore should Ignatius of all others be brought to Rome to suffer when the Proconsuls and the Praesides provinciarum did every where in time of Persecution execute their Power in punishing of Christians at their own Tribunals without sending them so long a Journey to Rome to be martyr'd there And how came Ignatius to make so many and such strange Excursions as he did by the Story if the Souldiers that were his Guard wers so cruel to him as he complains they were Now all these uncertain and fabulous Narrations as to Persons then arising from want of sufficient Records made at those times make it more evident how incompetent a Judge Antiquity is to the certainty of things done in Apostolical times And now from what is said jude if D. M. had any good ground to query whether there 's any good and solid Argument brought by the Presbyterians against the Authority of St. Ignatius his Epistles that is not already sufficiently answered Section III. The second Hypothesis viz. that the Antiquity of the trne Ignatius could not secure him from all Lapses or Escapes in Doctrine or serve to Prove that there was no Declension in his time MY second Assertion is that the Antiquity even of the true Ignatius was not able to secure him from all Lapses and Mistakes and that in his time some Churches not only might but actually were itching after several Novelties Which Assertion if once demonstrated renders Ignatius of little or no use to our Antagonists their Inference is that if Ignatius spoke positively in favours of Episcopacy and lived in a closs vicinity to the Apostles then there 's no doubt but the Apostles established such a Government which consequence like the Aples of Sodom resolves anon into smoake our Assertion being prov'd which I now come to demonstrate The Apostles of our Lord had not chang'd their earthly Tabernacle for that which is not made with hands when to their inexpressible sorrow they beheld not only particular Persons but even the greater part of some Churches they themselves had either planted or watered in stead of Grapes to bring forth will Grapes and in place of being the Repositories of the precious Truths of the Gospel become nests and cages of the most abominable Errors Other Churches there were that holding fast the Foundation of the Apostolick Doctrine but raising thereupon a structure of the stubble and hay of either Judaism or Paganism in one of which all of them had been educated had well nigh made up an Edifice of most Hetrogeneous Materials Hence it is that the Apostle is at such pains to Correct them in their Abuses of the Sacrament in their Superstition concerning Meat and Drink and their unwarrantable observation of Times that wanted all Divine Sanction § 2. But these infallible Guides being at length possessed of their Master's Joy Affairs grew yet worse for then the grand Enemy of the Church did in greater abundance and with more security sow his tares Hence it was that not only those who are justly branded for Arch-Hereticks and Schismaticks but even those who persisted Orthodox in the main Principles of Christianity were drawn into neither few nor inconsiderable Mistakes § 3. I 'm sure Papias Bishop of Hierapolis was a Man both in respect of his Antiquity and Authority among the primitive Christians little inferiour to Ignatius 't was he notwithstanding who either greedily imbrac'd or first of all hatch'd the gross Fancy of the Saints their corporal Kingdom for a thousand years after the Resurrection Moreover saith Eusebius speaking of Papias the same Writer alledges something as from unwritten Tradition viz. some strange Parables and Doctrines of our Saviour and some other fabulous things and amongst the rest he saith that after the Resurrection there shall be a thousand years wherein Christ shall reign on Earth bodily But to me he seems through misunderstanding of the Apostle's Discourse to have taken what was spoken mysteriously in a quite other sense from its true meaning For he was os a very weak Judgement as his Writings sufficiently declare He was notwithstanding the Author of this Opinion to the most part of the following Ecclesiastical Writers for they look'd only to his Antiquity as Irenaeus and whosoever else favoured his Opinion We see here a Man of no little Antiquity and Repute drawing the greatest Lights of the Church and consequently the rest of the Christians to a Doctrine destitute of all countenance from the Word of God § 4. Another Conceit no less Ancient but more wild was that of the Angels their carnal Knowledge of Women This was hugg'd by Justin Martyr who lived in the same Century with yea and not many years after Ignatius The Angels saith he transgressing their Order by carnal Copulation with Women fell from their primitive State aud begot Children who are now called Devils He was follow'd notwithstanding by Irenaeus Athenagoras the most famous Writers of their Age as also the stream of these that flourished in the succeeding Centuries Irenaeus also with a great many others held that the beatifick Vision is not enjoy'd untill the day of Judgement Now beyond peradventure such Leaders as these had the most part of the Churches at that time for their Fellows and Followers in these Opinions § 5. And seeing both such Pillars and the rest that lean'd on them were ready to swerve in Matters of Speculation or Opinion they were no less capable of straying in things belonging to Practice for there 's no more security promised to the Church from the one than the other Neither did the closs Vicinity to the times of the Apostles preserve the Churches from evident Lapses of this nature Was not the mixing of the Sacramental Wine with water a matter of Practice and altogether destitute of warrand from Scripture in which we hear of nothing but the Fruit of the Vine drunken by Communicants And yet Justin Martyr informs us that the mixing of the Sacramental Wine with water was the Practice of his time § 6. Another Instance of the most early Declension of the primitive Church in Matters of the same kind viz. the external Rites and Ecclesiastick Ceremonies was their observation of Easter concerning which the Controversies first arose between Polycarp and the Churches of the East on the one hand and Anicetus and the western Churches on the other Polycarp alledg'd John the Evangelist whose Disciple he had been for the Author of his Opinion but Anicetus and the Romans pretended the
Authority of Peter and Paul for the quite contrary Doctrine I have oftentimes much admir'd how either of these Parties if we consider either Sincerity or Vicinity to the Apostles were liable to any Mistake of this kind I believe scarce any Man now living shall be able to give any rational account of the Cause thereof yet that one of them was mistaken and that the Apostles did not keep up a perpetual observation of contrary Practices one to another is to me and to as many as truly acknowledge the Scriptures among the things of highest certainty and if either of them strayed if sufficiently serves our turn and is an ocular Demonstration that not only the clearest Lights and nearest to the Apostles might relinguish some part of the Apostolick Purity and fall into Rites and Customes never countenanced by the Apostles but also be accompanied by no small part of the Church therein § 7. Yea I dare avouch and sustain that both Parties equally swerved from the Truth seeing both of them had equal Means to have inform'd themselves and were alike nigh to the Apostles so that many were certainly alive of both Parties who had been conversant with them hence there 's no reason to believe either of the Parties that ever the Apostle enjoined or allowed the observation of Anniversary weekly or monthly times either in the same time with or so near to the Judaical and then buried Ceremonies excepting the Sabbath only the observation whereof had been expresly enjoin'd in a clear and Moral Precept Neither in this Assertion shall we remain alone but be supported by the suffrages of the choicest of the Ancients No less Irenaeus in Eusebius intimats while he tells us that this Difference did not arise first in his Age but long before in the time of their Fore-fathers who as is probable being negligent in their Government delivered to their Posterity a Custome which had only crept in thro' Simplicity and â—gnorance And Socrates a grave and solid Author averrs that neither more Ancient nor Later who inclined to follow these Jewish Rites had any cause to raise so great Contention And that the keeping of Easter and such Holy Days were altogether Legal the observation whereof is not at all injoin'd in the Gospel for continues Socrates they did not consider that after the Jewish Religion was changed into that of the Chrstians the strick observation of Moses Law and the shaddows of future things were wholly abolished which by a most sure proof may be thus evinced For by no Law of Christ is it granted to Christians to observe Jewish Customes yea the Apostle did expresly forbid it not only rejecting Circumcision but admonishing moreover that about Feast Days there should be no Contention wherefore in writing to the Galatians he thus speaks tell me ye who desire to be under the Law do ye not hear the Law And after he had discoursed a little concerning these Matters he shews the Jews to be under Bondage but that those who had followed Christ Jesus were called unto Liberty he Exhorts furthermore that Days Months or Years in no ways be observed Moreover writing to the Collossians he clearly asserts that such observations are but a meer Shaddow Wherefore saith the Apostle let no Man judge you in Meat or Drink or in respect of an Holy Day of the New Moon or of the Sabbath days which are a shaddow of things to come But in the Epistle to the Hebrews confirming the same matter he thus speaks For the Priesthood being changed there is also a necessity of the change of the Law surely the Apostles and the Evangelists did never impose a Yoak upon these that became obedient to the Doctrine of Faith but Easter and other days were left to the choise and equity of those who in such days had received the Benefits wherefore seeing Men love Holy Days because they bring them some respite of their Labours divers Men in divers places following their particular Inclinations did according to certain Custome celebrate the memory of our Saviour's Passions for neither our Saviour nor his Apostles did by any Law ordain that it should be observed neither did the Gospels nor the Apostles threaten us with a Mulct Punishment or Curse as the Law of Moses was wont to do to the Jews This and much more are we taught by Socrates from all which it's most clear that in this Dispute concerning the Celebration of Easter both Parties were equally culpable as building upon a false Supposition viz. that Christ and his Apostles had appointed some of these Days anniversarily to be kept which yet never came into their mind And here 't is most observable how even in these ost early times they heap'd Falshood upon Falshood and supported one Forgery with another the Fable of Peter's being at Rome and conjuring of Simon Magus there was even then beginning to obtain whereof the Romans made their Advantage and began to ascribe to him some Head-ship over the rest and then averred that he had appointed them not only to celebrate Easter but also had determin'd the particular day of its Celebration and injoin'd them to keep it on the fifteenth and not on the fourteenth day of the Moneth as did the Eastern Churches Now that they might be even with the Romans and meet with them after their own Fashion and arts the Asians invented the like Legends of the Apostle John who as they alledged died at Ephesus and enjoyn'd them to keep Easter but by no means on the fifteenth but on the fourteenth day of the Moneth and the better to set off the Fable Polycrates of Ephesus in his Letter to Victor harangues in the Praises of John that thereby he might prefer him to Peter and sticks not to assert that John was a Priest and wore a High-Priests Golden Crown or Breast-plate And yet as is acknowledged John was not at all of the Priestly Race far less was he the High-priest to whom only of all the Priests such a Crown was peculiar Therefore Valesius imagines that the first Christian Priests as he speaks wore such a Crown for a Sign of Honour in imitation of the Jews As if the Christians of these times had ever dream'd of retaining the very marrow of Judaisme which was then abolished by the coming of Christ the substance But this Antichristian dottage being so gross to be dejested by any real Protestant the learned Le Moyn says that Polycrates spoke metaphorically of John ' s supereminent Knowledge and Gifts But if this be true with how great caution are these Ancients to be read without which we shall be led into the belief of the greatest falshhoods In the mean while I see no ground for this gloss in Polycrates his words either as they are related by Eusebius or by Hierome and Rufine And Epiphanius gives another such golden Crown to James which is no less true than that he was Diocesan Bishop of Jerusalem