propheticall Spirit as some pretend that Dauid and Salomon and Iosias did But as belonging to their function Royall by the light of Nature Wherein if any shall say That seruitude is the punishment of sinne and so this proceedeth out of nature corrupted not pure I answere Peccatum seruitutem fecit Natura subiectionem induxit Sinne brought in tyrannie and slauerie Cursed be Cham a seruant of seruants shall he be But order of superioritie and subiection is the instinct of purest nature For in heauen there is order among blessed Angels and some are higher and some lower and they obey one another if not ex praecepto yet ex consilio if not by precept and command yet by counsell and direction And in the state of innocencie there was superioritie and subiection not onely betweene man and all other creatures but betweene man and woman and had they liued in Paradise till they had bene father and sonne there should haue bene patria potestas and being many families there must necessarily haue bin Regia potestas Else the best and most happy life must haue beene without the greatest happinesse of life and that is Order And this superioritie and subiection remained not onely in the prophane and wicked but also in the line of the godly and the Church vntill the Law of Nature which was dayly adulterated and corrupted by the affections and traditions of men was written by Moses in Tables of stone which is the second precept of this subiection And this Law of Moses did renue the Law of the kingdome and ordained that the King should haue a booke of the Law written by the Priests and deliuered him at his Coronation in which he is commaunded to reade all the dayes of his life that hee may learne to feare the Lord his God and to keepe all the words of this law and these ordinances to do them And in this law there bee many Precepts that concerne the King as hee is a man and many that concerne him as a King And in this ordinance the king is made Custos legis Diuinae The guardian of Gods Law and the whole Law is committed to his charge The first Table that concernes Gods worship and causes Ecclesiasticall as well as the second Table that concernes ciuill conuersation and causes secular By vertue of which Commission when the kingdome Priesthood were diuided in Moses and Aaron Moses the ciuill Magistrate exercised a Supremacie ouer Aaron the high Priest in causes Ecclesiasticall whom hee reprooued for making the golden calfe and in his time the breach of the Sabboth by gathering of sticks was punished by the Ciuill sword Ioshua a Prince and no Priest as Moses is said to be succeeded Moses in this charge and by this Commission he circumcised the sons of Israel erected an Altar of stone read the Law did execution on him that concealed the things dedicated to Idoles caused the people to put away strange gods and renued the couenant betweene God and the people And these are causes Ecclesiasticall Dauids whole study was for causes Ecclesiasticall after he had freed Israel from all enemies then did he compose Psalmes to be sung by Asaph and his brethren then did hee set orders for the Temple appointed Priests Leuites singers and other inferior seruitors and assigned to them their dignities courses and offices Salomon by this Cōmission built the Temple and dedicated it he deposed Abiathar the high Priest and placed Zadok in his roome I hope this is a matter and argument of great supremacy Asa tooke away the Altars of strange gods the high places and groues hee put downe his mother because shee had made an Idoll he tooke an oath of Iuda and Beniamin that whosoeuer would not serue the Lord should bee slayne This was sharpe Law in a cause meerely Ecclesiasticall Iehosaphat sent his Princes to teach in the Cities of Iuda and with them Leuites and Priests himself went from Beersheba to moūt Ephraim and brought al the people againe to the God of their fathers hee set of the Leuites and Priests and chiefe of the families of Israel for the iudgement and causes of the Lord and this is as a Kings high Commission Ezechias seruice in this kinde is famous he opened the doores of the House of the Lord and brought the Priests and Leuites in hee commanded them to sanctifie themselues to offer burnt offrings which they did according to the Kings commandement Here Priests are obedient to the Kings commaund in their owne duties and charge Hee commanded the Leuites to praise God with the words of Dauid there he enioyned a Liturgie He commanded all Israel and Iuda to keepe the Passeouer here is omnia cum Imperio He appointed the courses of Priests and Leuites by turnes hee tooke away the hie places broke downe the Images and brake the brasen Serpent made by Moses because the people burnt incense vnto it Manasses that had set vp Altars groues and Images before his captiuitie after his repentance and returne he tooke away the strange gods and the Image that hee had put in the house of the Lord and the like and restored the worship of God and there hee commanded Iuda to serue the Lord. The last example I will trouble you with is Iosias he purged Iuda and Ierusalem from high places groues and Images he gathered all Israel reade the Law renewed the Couenant and caused all Israel to stand to the Couenant and hee compelled them to serue the Lord he kept the famous Passeouer and reduced the Priests and Leuites to their courses set by Dauid and Salomon These and many more are the Actes of famous Kings in the time of the Law done by their Royall authoritie not at the appointment and command of the Priests that had bene onely Potestas Facti non Iuris A power of Execution and not a power of Iurisdiction if the Priests had first commanded the King and then the King had commaunded the people But the Kings did make Orders and Decrees and commanded the Priests as well as the people and reformed the Priests as well as the people Yea Salomon did depose Abiathar the high Priest and they forced and compelled both Priest and people to serue the Lord and to abolish idolatrie and superstition And therefore this is a power of Iurisdiction ouer persons Ecclesiasticall in causes of Religion If it be said that these Kings did this by the direction of the Prophets and most of these Kings had their peculiar Prophets and Seers this is nothing to the question for no man euer denyed direction to Kings They haue Counsailers for causes Ciuill and Prophets Priests and Bishops for causes of the Church And the question is not Quâ directione but quâ authoritate Not by what direction they must direct themselues by their best helpes but by what Authoritie not a deriued or
Episcopus Romanus or Dum Presbyterium he might haue said either while Donatus the Bishop of Rome or the Presbytery one Pope or many Popes doeth extoll himselfe aboue the Emperor non verendo eum qui post Deum not reuerencing nor fearing him who next after God is reuerenced and feared of all men Theodosius Images were cast downe in Antioch whereupon Chrysostom saith Laesus est qui non habet parem super terram summitas et caput omnium super terram hominum The Emperour is wronged who hath no equall vpon earth the height and head of all men Wherein let no man mistake when wee call Emperours and Kings Supreme gouernours wee doe not extoll them aboue GOD or his Law or word Ministri Dei sunt as the Apostle sayeth they are Gods ministers and therefore subordinate to him that sent them And if they commaund any thing against GOD their authoritie comes too short in such things it is better to obey GOD then man And yet in these things though wee may not obey yet we may not resist but suffer as Iulians souldiers would not sacrifice at his command yet when he led them against an enemie they obeied most readily Distinguebant dominū temporalem à Domino aeterno tamē subditi erant propter Dominum aeternum etiam domino temporali as S. Augustin saith They made a difference betweene their temporall Lord and their eternall Lord and yet for their eternall Lords sake they were subiect to their temporall Lord for as among men if the Proconsul command thee any thing and the Emperour command the contrary thou doest well to obey the Emperour and not the Proconsul So if the Emperour command any thing and God commaund the contrary thou doest well to obey God and not the Emperour In these cases saith S. Augustin Timendo Potestatem contemne potestatem in that thou fearest Gods power feare not mans power So then they are supreame because they admitt no mortall man as superior vpon earth yet they are not supreame aboue GOD nor aboue Christ for all their authoritie is deriued from GOD and Christ And as it is à Deo from God and Christ so it is propter Deum and propter Christum for God and for Christ not against God nor against Christ for the trueth not against the trueth As Nabuchodonosors Law was to be disobeied that he made for an Idol so the Law that he made for the true GOD was to be obeyed And as in ciuill causes by all mens confession they are supreame and yet not aboue God nor Christ So in causes Ecclesiasticall they are likewise supreame on earth yet not aboue God nor Christ they are ministri Dei nō Papae non presbyterij They are Gods immediate ministers of whom they holde in Capite not mans not the Popes not the Presbyteries to draw their swords at their command Now that their authoritie is not confined to the second Table of causes Ciuill but extends it selfe to the first Table and causes Ecclesiastical wil appeare in this word Necessitate subditi estote you must of necessity be subiect for this is not Necessitas externa an externall necessitie onely of force and compulsion for wrath propter iram but also Necessitas interna an internall necessitie of loue and duety propter conscientiam And according to the Schoole there is Duplex necessitas a double necessitie There is necessitas naturae the necessitie of nature as the fire is necessarily hot by nature and if it cease to be hote it ceaseth to be fire And there is necessitas praecepti finis the necessitie of the precept and the end for all precepts are necessarily to be kept in respect of the end So that a sicke man should recouer his health it is necessarie necessitate finis that hee obserue the precepts of Phisicke and keepe a good diet So S. Paul saith Necessitas mihi incumbit A necessitie is laide vpon me and woe is me if I preach not the Gospel there is a necessity not of nature but of precept his calling and the end saluation So subiection to higher powers is necessarie in Christians Necessitate praecepti finis by the necessitie of the ende peace and tranquillitie and Religion in this life and life euerlasting after death and by the necessitie of the precept Honour thy father and mother in which number all Kings and Fathers of Countries and Princes must haue the honour of reuerence to their Persons of obedience to their Lawes of patience to their punishments of maintenance to their Estates and of fidelitie to their Crownes Now because Gouernment and Obedience are relatiues of equall extent so farre must we obey as their commission is to gouerne And the precept of their Authoritie extends not onely to ciuill causes in the second Table but also to Religion in the first And this precept according to the difference of times is threefold Naturall Legall and Euangelicall In the Law of nature it can be no question but causes Ciuil and Ecclesiasticall belonged both to one man since the calling of King and Priest was vnited in one man The Prince of the family was both chiefe Magistrate and Priest had the supremacie in both Which Aristotle well obserued when he said Quae ad Deorum cultum pertinent commissa sunt Regibus Things pertayning to Gods worship are committed to Kings as a part of their charge In which respect he saith Imperator erat Rex Iudex rerúmque diuinarum ei cura commissa est The King was in warre an Emperour in peace a Iudge and in diuine causes an Ouerseer And this was practised by all Nations Assyrians Medes Persians Grecians Romanes Iewes and Gentiles Pagans and Christians All which did establish Religion by their publicke Lawes and maintained it by the Magistrates sword Iustinian said Nos maxima sollicitudine The true Religion of God and the honest conuersation of Priests is our greatest care Rex seruit Deo aliter quâ homo aliter quâ Rex saith S. Augustine The King doth serue God as a man and as a King As a man hee serueth God by liuing holily As a King he serueth God by making Ecclesiasticall Lawes with conuenient rigour and seueritie that shall commaund that which is iust and forbid that which is contrary His examples are Ezechias and Iosias that destroyed Idoles and reformed the worship of God And also among the Heathen first Nahuchodonosor who being instructed by the miracle of the fiery Fornace made a Law for the worshipping of Daniels God next Darius who by occasion of a like miracle made a Decree that al men should feare and tremble before the God of Daniel And last of the King of Niniuee who at Ionas preaching proclaimed a fast and commanded all the citie man and beast to fast and to cry mightily to God and to turne from their wicked wayes And these three did this not out of a
according to our Canonicall Constitutions in our name and by virtue of our Authoritie And these Lawes were of that force in those dayes that when Mauritius the Emperour that made a Law that Nemo publicis administrationibus implicatus ad Ecclesiasticum officium perueniret That no man intangled with publique charge should bee aduanced to an Ecclesiasticall office S. Gregory approued this part of the Law because many vnder this colour did mutare seculum not relinquere And further the Law forbade any Souldier to enter a Monastery till his warrefare was expired S. Gregory though hee wished not any to flie the warres or not pay their debts vnder the name of a Cloister yet because hee saw it hindered many from the warrefare and seruice of God wrote an humble Letter to Mauritius and another to Theodorus the Emperours Physician to intreat the reuocation of this Law inuented by Iulian in a very submisse Stile Ego quidem iussioni vestrae subiectus I your seruant and subiect to your command haue sent this Lawe to many parts of the world and now I write my opinion to your Maiestie Vtrobique ergo quod debui exolui qui Imperatori obedientiam praebui pro Deo quod sensi non tacui In both I haue done my duety I haue perfourmed my obedience to the Emperor and I haue not concealed what I thought fit for Gods cause And S. August sayth of this power of Lawes Hoc iubent Imperatores quod Christus iubet quia cùm bonum iubent nemo iubet nisi per eos Christus When Emperours command that which is good it is Christ and no man else that commandeth by them The fourth worke of this Supremacie is receiuing of Appeales and giuing Decisions Restitutions and Depriuations and other punishments of Bishops for causes Ecclesiasticall Wherein although Constantine at the first in modestie and a desire to suppresse the calumniations of Bishops and being not yet so fully instructed in Christian faith tooke the papers and Articles of the Bishops and burnt them in the Nicene Councill yet being better instructed and seeing the necessitie of his Authoritie in these causes he iudged Cecilianus cause himselfe Donatus procured Cecilianus to be condemned by 70. African Bishops for certaine crimes obiected against him As also that hee was ordered by one Foelix who as it was pretended had burnt the Scriptures And in a tumult they set vp another Bishop of Carthage against him then they appealed to Constantine and desired him to assigne them Iudges Constantine by his Commission extant in Eusebius delegated and authorized Meltiades Bishop of Rome Marcus a Clergie man of Rome yet no Bishop and Rheticius Maternus and Marinus three French Bishops to heare the cause who gaue sentence for Cecilianus Vpon a second Appeale Constantine made a second Delegacy to Chrestus bishop of Syracuse certaine Bishops of France met at Arle who likewise gaue sentence with Cecilianus Vpon the third Appeale Constantine appointed Elianus a Ciuill Magistrate to examine Foelix who acquited Foelix also Then the Emperour called both parts before him and gaue finall sentence for Cecilianus and made a seuere Law against the Donatists by which Lawe many Donatists were brought home to the Catholique Church In which passage I pray you obserue 1. That Meltiades not as supreme Iudge of all Controuersies but as delegated by Constantine did iudge of Cecilianus cause And S. Augustin defendeth him from vsurpation vpon the 70. African Bishops because the Emperor so appointed it Next the Bishops of France did iudge the same cause after Meltiades without any wrong to the Sea of Rome no man in that age found fault with it And thirdly it is apparant that Constantine was superiour to Meltiades and both made him his Delegat and iudge of his sentence and iudgement which S. Augustine calleth vltimum iudicium the last iudgment vltra quod causa pertransire non potest and that the cause had gone as farre as it could goe And whereas the Donatists pleaded that a Bishop should not be purged iudicio Proconsulari by the Proconsuls iudgment S. Augustine answeres The Bishops sought it not but the Emperour enioyned it Ad cuius curam de qua rationem Deo redditurus erat res illa maximè pertinebat To whose charge of which he must make accompt to God this matter did chiefely appertaine There was a conference held by the appointment of the Emperour Honorius the Iudge designed by the Emperour was one Marcellinus to whom Augustine after writ his Bookes De Ciuitate Dei at which S. Augustine was present and others who disputed against Petilianus Emeritus and Gaudentius and other Donatists which was gathered by Marcellus And S. Augustine hath written the seueral dayes Collations Marcellinus gaue sentence against the Donatists and it was confirmed by the Emperour Honorius all which is extant Theodosius called a Councell of all sorts Nactarius and Agilius made the confession of Consubstantialitie Demophilus deliuered vp the Arrian faith Eunomius the Eunomian faith Eleusius the Macedonian faith Tum solus separatus precatur Deum saith Socrates Then the Emperor alone separate from all company made his prayers to GOD to direct him in the Trueth and then he read the seuerall faiths and condemned and rent all the rest that rent and diuided the Trinitie and commended and approued that faith of the Consubstantialitie of the Father of the Sonne I must here omit infinite other matters of facts and punishments and many obiections and conclude with a question that Theodosius proposed to these seuerall sorts assembled which he did by the counsaile of Sisinius What accompt saith Theodosius make you of the Doctors and Histories of the Church that are vnpartiall and liued before these questions were moued If it be answered as then it was Habemus tanquam magistros We esteeme them as our fathers and masters the cause is cleare they giue witnesse on our side If they reiect them it is a matter of great deliberation whether a man would be of such a Church whereof neuer any man was before themselues In which case it seemeth more then reasonable That in a reformation wee should conforme our selues Ad regulam Antiquorum to the rule of the Ancient Scriptures Apostles and fathers Chrysostome Nazianzen Basill Ambrose Hierome Augustine Gregory the like rather then after the New cut of those who haue not aboue the life of a man on their backs sixtie or seuentie yeeres And surely the rule of Charitie is That since all the Question is of the Churches Regiment not so much who should feede and rule the Church for so must both Prince and Priest but who should rule gouerne most we should euery one lay downe all contentious humors and ioyne hand and heart to feed and gouern Gods inheritance and striue rather in deeds then words who shall most carefully doe that duty which God hath laid vpon him necessitate praecepti by this triple necessitie of his precept That so we may be all partakers of the end peace and tranquillitie and religion in this life and life euerlasting in the kingdome of heauen which God graunt Amen Osea 8.4 1. Cor. 14.33 Numb 16.32 Bern. de Domo Interiori ca. 28 Ephes 6.6 Coloss 3.22 Matth. 22.21 Chrysost in Rom. 13. hom 23. Gregorius Epist 1.2 cap. 100. 103. Bernard Epist. 420. Act. 25.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 2.13 Tertull. ad Scapul Optatus contra Parm. lib. 3. â— Chrysost ad pop Antioch hom 2. Act. 4.19 August in psael 142. August De verbis Dom. sec Matth. hom 6. Dan. 3.6 29. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â— Cor. 9.16 Exod. 20.12 Arist. polit lib. 3 cap. 10 11. Nouel Constit 6 August Epist 50. Dan. 3.29 〈◊〉 6 26. 〈◊〉 2 6. Gen. 9.25 Deut. 17.18 19 20. Exod 32.21 Numb 15.31 a Iosue 5.2 b Iosue 8.30 c Iosue 8.32 34. d Iosue 7.24.25 e Iosue 24.23 25. 1. Paral. 16. 1. paral 23. 1. paral 24. 1. paral 25. 1. paral 26. 1. paral 27. 1. Reg 6. 1. Reg. 8. 1. Reg. 2 3â— 2. Paral 14.4 c. 2 Paral. 15 8.12 13 14 15. 2. paral 15.16 2. Paral 17.6 7. 2. Paral. 19.4 â— Paral. 19.8 2. Para. 29.3 4. ver 5. 2. Paral. 29.30 2 Paral. 30.1 6 12. 2 Paral. 31.2 2. Paral 31.1 4 Reg. 14.4 2. Paral. 33.3 15. 2. Paral. 34.3 4 29 30 31 32 33. 2. Paral. 35.1 2 3 10 18. Optatus contra Parm. lib. 3. 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iohn 1.29 Matt. 22.21 1 Pet. 2.23 Iude 8. 1. Tim. 2.2 Psal 2.11 August contra Crescon lib. 3. cap. 51. Isai 49.23 2. Paral. 26.16 Marc. 16.15 August Epist 50. Eusebius de vita Constan lib. 1. cap. 37. 〈◊〉 lib. 1 â—â— 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 14. 1. Bellar. de Concil l. 1. cap. 13. Leo Epist. 9. Epist 24. Epist 26. Epist 23. Epist 43. Oratio Marriani in Concil Calc Epist 59. Hierom. in Apologia contra Ruffinum Socrates lib. 5. in praemio Eusebius de vita Constantini lib. 2. cap. 20. cap. 21. cap. 24. cap. 44. Theodoret. li. 5. cap. 15. 〈◊〉 Franciae per Ansegisum 〈◊〉 Gregorius Epist lib. 1. cap. 100. 101. Ego dignus pietatis vestrae famulus August Epist 166. Vide Optatum lib. 1. Aug. Epist 162. 166. Eusebius li. 10. cap. 5. Eusebius li. 10. cap. 5. August Epist 162. August contrae Parm. lib. 1. cap. 6. August Epist. 166. Extat haec collatio apud Optum Socrates lib. 5 â—ap 10. Socrat. lib. 5. cap. 10.