Monarchie in the Primitive Church their plea was Rogamus Caesar non pugnamus and aliter nec debeo nec possum resistere Ambrosâ—â—â—l contra Auxenâ— Yet let not this trouble Us for herein is fulfil'd the prophecy of Christ while he said He came not to send peace but the sword And againe this change is necessary for else his Holiness the Pope should be subject to the Emperor according to that of Paul Let every soul be subject to superior powers which he neither is nor ought to be Rom. 13.1 And therefore Bernard is herein deceived himselfe while he makes this a generall rule without exception Bernard Epist 42. saying Qui conatur ab haâ— regula excipere conatur decipere for both Pope with us and people with you must be a excepted The Church of God hath â—â—ter'd too much already in the Primitive times she hath been too long in the Category of Passion crying with teares Oramus non pugnamus she ought now to be in the predicament of action with Pugnamus oramus holding that I may use your own words a supplication in the one hand and a sword in the other To this purpose Master Andrew Ramsey Minister of Edenburgh said pretty well that it was Gods will that the Primitive Church should confirme the truth by suffering and that now the truth being confirmed it s his will that we defend the truth by action in resisting Tyrants and what war is better then that which is for Religion But here an Auticoveuanter wil reply perchance say Where did ever any suffer under Tyrants for defending of your Presbyteriall government of active or ruling-elders and of passive or ruled-elders which had its first beginning from Calvin in some sort but as you have it it was never in the world till the yeer 1638. For in Geneva it is only proper to the supreme Magistrate to chuse the Lay-â—lders for they are only Commissioners for the Seignioriâ— neither hath the Minister any voyce in their Election much lesse the Multitude and all that Calvin gave them is praesse moribus and in Church matters they are called ad consiliuÌ„ but not ad consensum But now in Scotland not only the whole Church takes the supreme power to it selfe but also every parish takes upon it to be an absolute independent society quire contrary to the practice of Geneva chusing their Ministers and Elders also without number and to those Elders equal power is given with the Minister in Presbyteries and Assemblies in giving decisive sentence in matters of faith and deciding of controversies whereof God knowes they are most ignorant and in a word they want nothing of the power of the Minister but that they preach not nor baptise in publike congregations yet its common to see Lay-men among them in private Conventicles to take upon them the calling of a Minister in preaching and praying Or where did any at any time suffer for abjuring Episcopacie as an antichristian government so this being a truth never yet confirmed by suffering must not now be defended by resisting according to Ramseyes own rule but being an Article of his negative faith it must first be confirmed by suffering I would enquire then sayes the Anticovenanter of Ramsey if he dare suffer for it and be the Protomartyr in this cause but he would be like the man that came to the marriage without the wedding garment dumb and speechlesse Or if he speak it would bee negative like his faith saying with Athanasius Quod non à patribus profectum est-sed nuper inventum quid de co aliud exist imari debeat quam illud ipsum cujus Paulus mentionem facit 1. Timoth. 4.1 But finding my self digâ—â—ssing I will return to the point which I was about concerning government Seeing this mixt government is most conducible for your ends it were requisite that your Nobles would assume to themselves Princely Authoritiâ— as is thought some of you have done make progresse in this good work For let me speake it between me and you till you Kings government be changed you shall never lawfully resist him For I have perused all your Divines and find them all condemning the lawfulnesse of resisting such a King as yours is but at the most they hold it lawfull in some cases only to resist conventionall or conditionall Princes Hence it was that the Ministers of Wittenberge were most opposite to our doctrine of resisting Princes â—pâ—â— Mâ—â—â—â— Wâ—â—â—â—h in their publike sermons but when they beheld upon what expresse conditions the Emperour was elected to the Empire to the which he was not borne then they said Docuimus quidem hactenus nullo modo resistendum esse Magistratui ignoravimus vero ex legum civilium praescripto id in certis quibusdam casibus etiam legitimè fieriposse We have hitherto taught that the Magistrate by no manner of way ought to be resisted for we did not know that by the prescript of the civill law it might in some certain cases be lawfully done So Pareus as you know was the last that wrote upon that subject whose opinion when it was condemned by your learned Divines his son Philippuâ— Pareus purposing to defend his fathers opinion yeelds his sword and giveth over the combate even at the entrie Append. aâ— 13. ad Rom. in those words Loquitur enim D. parens meus ut Theologicaeteri juxta cum politicis jurisconsultis iis quorum sententiam ac judicium in hoc argumento sequutus est parens noster non derege absoluta potestate indutâ— sed de principibus sub conditione admissis That is my father and the rest of the Theolognes Polititians and Jurisconsalts whose sentence judgement in this argument my father hath followed do not speake of a King endued with absolute power but of Princes who are conditionally admitted And therefore if you would make any lawfull resistance for time to come it s most necessarie that you labour for a change of government now and make your selves free We have Scripture for us But if thou mayest be made free use it rather 1. Cor. 7.26 Claudian did but deceive himself neither can I endure him while he saies Fallitur ogregio quisquis sub principe credit Servitium nunquam Libertus gratior extat Quam sub rege pio Nay I say Quam sub rege meo such a King as is mine so mine that I may un-make him againe whom I have made mine Try this at your Parliament see if your King will yeeld to this order which I have told you of the Roman Emperour to subject himself to you his Subjects that the Majesty may reside in you Audentes fortuna juvat Your successe may be gloryed of Your King hath yeelded so much unto you that you may bee confident to have this yeelded also If he had been a mercilesse Tyrant he had been so farre from granting you all your Petitions that he might have imposed moe burthens upon
you who did refuse obedience to that which is judged by all your prime Doctors to be lawfull Thus those two famous Doctors of yours Gualter Bullinger did write in an Epistle sent to the Schismaticks in England who had opposed themselves as you do to the Service-book of England If in case say they any of the people be perswaded that those things savour of Poperie let them be taught the contrary and perfectly instructed therein and if so be through the importunate crying out hereupon before the people by some men many be disquieted let them beware that do so that they bring no greater yoke upon their own necks and provoke Queen Elizabeth her Majesty and bring many Ministers in such danger as they cannot rid themselves again I will shew you an example hereof which fell out in Germanie at Magdeburge and within the Territories of Marquesse Albertus The Prince required the Ministers to follow the whole book of Augustan's confession where is a Liturgie that hath all that is in yours which you have condemned but some mâ—e ceremonies and doth retain the name of the Masse-book Refusall thereof was made by the Nobility Gentry Ministers and Citizens even as some of all this ranke among you have done The Court hereon ran upon another deliberation proposing Articles which doe not alter the doctrine and Liturgie but thrust upon them mâ—e Ceremonies which yet howsoever may well enough be borne sayes Melancton whom you call the light of Germanie adding withall a threatning that they who will not follow this prescription should depart the Land Upon this some too forward Ministers affirmed It were good to affright the Court with some terrible writing with the scare of Sedition and with this Scar-crow to represse and hinder further alteration Illâ—ricus Flaccius was chiefe man the Demetrius in this upreare crying out as your Ministers did That rather desolation should be made of the Church and Princes are to be frighted with terror of Insurrection But for my part said Melancton I will be author of no such soure advice Whereupon the â—est of the Ministers did slander Melancton as Anticovenanteâ—s say you doe them as Popishly affecâ—ed Couâ—â—h Melan. part 2 pag. 90.91.100 and was upon the plot to reduce Poperie and wrote to Calvin to this effect But truly I am of Beza's opinion that they accused him without cause as afterward Calvin knew more truely For sayes Beza at the beginning it was not knowne with what intention that evill spirit â—â—â—a 〈…〉 1â—â—0 and whole Troup of the Flaccinians raised so many tumults and now at this time doth hinder the work of God against Papists Thus Beza And it is true indeed that the Flaccinians who thus did combine against their Prince did more advance our cause then Melancâ—on and the remanent of your Doctors whose judgement was that the Church should not be troubled by refusing the Service book and as Melanctons words are to wrangle about a Surplesse or the like matter where wise-men will exclaime against us that we withstand and disobey Authority and nourish contention with a foolish forwardnesse Now seeing it hath pleased your King to deale thus with you to lay no heavier burdens upon you who have complained of a light one but to grant you all that hitherto you have pâ—titioned see if you can obtaine of him a change of the government But I pray you doe it with great prudence and circumspection laying such grounds as you may firmely build upon them For if at the first you declare your selfe and say plainely Sir wee desire your government changed he will resile and not grant it and to proceed suddenly from one extremitie to another is difficult Therefore first of all by such faire wayes as you can bee instant to take from him his negative voyce in Synods and Parliaments which is a thing so essentiall to Soveraigntie that it standâ—th anâ—â—alleth with it For he being destitute of this Pâ—llar if in Parliaments by pluralitiâ— of voyces it be carried that you will not have this man to raign over you of necessitie he muâ—â— be gone Secondly see if you can take from him the power of making Laws and let the Parliament and Synods bee the Law makers You have taken this de facto already in your large proâ—eâ—ation in Septemb. 1638. where you say in expresse terms that the Parliament and Syned are the Law-makers and the Law-interpreters As you have it de facto see if you can get it de jure established by Law which if you obtaine you may thinke you have attained your end for if not the King but Parliament and Synods be the Legislators hee must he subject to such Laws as it shall please them to make who are the two Supreme judicatories to which in your protestation you appeale from the King and his Councell thus subjecting your King to Parliament and Synod which is a thing that â—ee can hardly suffer But to please him withall appoint him to be the Executioner of the Laws and so let him have the name of a King But it may be â—hat if he have no more but the execution of your Lawes that he shall rid himselfe of that too if you grant him no more power because men will say He is not your King but your Officer or H c. Thirdly if so bee that he shall be content with what portion of authoritie you judge sufficient take heed that hee fall not upon you who have thus curbed him and execute the laws against you and therefore to make all cocke sure because he cannot doe all by himselfe but must have Officers under him let this bee granted to you also to be Chusers of his Officers and let those be such as you know most expedient for you and so they shall be rather your men then His. I heard that all this was motioned by you but you have not showne me what successe it hath taken I have dwelt long upon this necessary point of the change of Government and therefore I proceede to a second head where into wee fully conspire and it is a very fit preparative to this intended change Covenâ—â—teâ— inâ—â—â—m fâ—r dâ—seâ—siâ—e aâ—g 3. And I cannot but applaud you for rejecting that former errour to defend that Kings are of Divine Institution and doe now hold with us that they are of humane Institution by positive Lawes Inregnis hominum potestas regis est à popule Bell de Concilâ—lâ—â— 2. cap. 19. quia populus facit regem In the Kingdome of men the power of the King is from the people sayes Bellarmine and commends Navarre Qui non dubitat affirmare nunquam populum ita potestatem suam in regem transferre quin illam sibi in habitu retineat ut in certis quibusdam casibus etiam * Alâ—â— astu actu recipere potest Who doth not doubt to say that the people did never so transferre their power to the King but they did retaine it habitually
's easie to help that keepe those under who are not zealous in your cause let them not be acquainted with your mysteries nor be chosen Commissioners for assemblies if there be any matter of importance to be commended to the people send either conjunctly or severally some zealous ministers to their pulpits to rouze up the multitude and put the like edge upon such cold-rise ministers and if they become not more zealous put them in feare of Deprivation If you feare any division among the Commons it 's likely that some of them have seene the Kings extraordinary savour toward them but you ought to be carefull that they see not the Kings Proclamations and if any have seen them let them be perswaded that his Majesties Proclamations have this only end to divide them and then to destroy them and that all other faire promises shall have no reall performances Be not you behind the King in your promises to them also and howbeit you have a hundred thousand pound to take of them yet be not suddaine but by delaying put them in hope that you will never exact it For if you goe now to exact it it will make them repine and grumble and say instead of Salâ—mons easie yoke we are oppressed with Rehoboams heavie burdens and so make a rupture and returne every man to his tent and in the end submit themselves to their Salomon againe And especially let the ruling Elders command their ruled Elders or ministers to be diligent in season and out of season to keepe the multitude in their zealous humour for if they doe not uncessantly blow upon them they will be like mare mortuum and never be moved Cease not to possesse them with an evill opinion of all that oppones themselves to your courses either by word or writing make them believe that all that writ against your confederacie are unnaturall enemies to their Countrie and that it is not against your faction which they doe but against Church and Kingdome and suffer no man to deny this to be a Nationall quarrell or to call it a Faction and all that refuse to cast in their lot with you call them the cursed inhabitants of Meroz that will not help you against the mightie And let all that follow their King be called the Kings faction according to the example of your progenitors who called all that followed the Queen a faction which they would punish as Traitors whensoever God should put the sword of justice in their hands Knox. hist of the Church of Scotland pag. 364. that is when they should find themselves able to depose the Queen as they did and represse her Subjects There is another thing which I desire you to remember to try where those ministers that have beene most opposite to our doctrines and practises have had their residence in the ministerie that you may place able and zealous men for our cause in those same places to build up the people which they have destroyed This worke is well begun by you in bringing Henderson from the Countrie to the town of Edinburgh Dikson to Glasgow and Rhetorfort and Blair who could not get libertie to vent our Doctrine elsewhere to S. Andrews and in particular let them bee carefull over the studients in Colledges â—uo semel est imbuta recens servabit odorem testa diu And as for those who like the men of Succoth and the inhabitants of Meroz refused to joyne with you it s well that you did not take the th rnes of the wildernesse and bryers to teach them to beat downe their houses this may content them albeit you restore not their goods which you tooke while you plundered their houses Though they be busie seeking it yet you are not bound according to our rules Nullus tenetur cum vitae periâ—ulo Tolet. lb. 5. cap. 37. aut famae rem alterius restituere sunt enim vita fama nobili oris ordinis quam res No man is bound 01 with the danger of his life or good name to restore another man his goods againe for life and a good name are of a more noble order then goods are for albeit there be no danger of your life to restore every man his owne yet your name is not safe for if you restore to each man his goods againe at least it will be a tacite acknowledging of your robberie and that is hurt some to a good name But some say that it is a matter of conscience to restore a mans goods againe which is better then a good name yea the way to recover a good name but I refer this to the schooles I have some matter of expostulation with you but I will be loth to do it now who have begun to congratulate with you for that sweet Harmonie both in opinions and reasons which is of late grown up amongst us Rome was not builded in one day we must not look that at the first you can receive all our doctrine though in a short time you have profited much Et vos conversi convertite fratres Master Cant could preach at Glasgow in what need England and Ireland standeth of the Covenant where some have their eares cut for the defence of the truth and are groaning under the tyrannie of the whore of Babel And since so it is you should pitie the blindnesse of those people who have not a learned man in England or Ireland to lead them but the blind leadeth the blind But I perceive you are not negligent herein your Ironicall preterition is most notable while you say Answer to the Mâ—â—quesse of Hamiltons declaration We do not meddle with the Kirks of England or Ireland but recommend to them the patterne showne on the Mount But what patterne of the mount is this I pray you is it the Patterne showne by you on Dunce hill called by your preachers mount Sion with an armie against the face of your King if it be so it s a worthie patterne that requireth imitation But if the Patterne on the mount be the Patterne of your discipline you doe well herein to imitate your progenitors for they were desirous to have Episcopacie throwne downe in England as you are now or as wee are desirous for their pride is so great that the least of them sayes that they have no more dependance from the Pope then he from them that their calling and place is of as great power and authoritie as his is within his diocesse thus limitating the universall Bishop as if hee were onely a Diocesian Yea they are not ashamed to say that all the Popish bishops are but equivocally called Bishops and univocally are the Popes slaves for as they have their power and authority from the Pope so are they tyed to his obedience by oath Romans pentifici veram obedientiam spondeo acjuro Form Iuâ—â— Bulla Pii 4. I promise and sweare to give true obedience to the Pope of Rome So that as the Bishops of Apulia
for lorne brother of our society Abernethie hath done our Church any service among you in the farthering and promoving this your happy return to us he hath sowell deserved that there is hope for him to be received of us againe Howbeit his crimes were so ugly that we did exclude him from our Church and orders 2. Cor. 2 6. yet sufficient to this man is the punishment inflicted upon him by many For he hath reconciled himselfe as the people of Gath feared David would do with your heads and hearts in enlightening your braine with the knowledge your hearts with the love of many principall points of our doctrine 1 Thes 2.17 Exhort him to continue unto the end I endeavoured my selfe to have come unto you I desired to see you earnestly and would have come unto you once and againe but Satan hindered me Though in this my Congratulatorie Epistle I have sometimes inserted my counsell and exhortation unto you let not this displease you as if I thought you deficient herein or that you had need of spurs who run with born-down-head For all my exhortations are nothing else but a pleasant repetition of your doings and a sympathizing expression of our conjunct approbation thereof So that my recommendation of that to your practise which you are doing is so farre from insimulating you of negligence that it is rather a commendation of your actions according to that of the Poet. Qui menet ut facias quod jam facis ipse monendo Laudat hortatu câ—mprobat ipse suo Salute all our friends and especially at your night-meetings for devotion salute the sisters with a holy kisse To whom you doe but your duty when you acknowledge your cause much obliged unto them and that in those your Esthers and Judiths your work had but a small beginning and when men durst not resist the beginnings it 's wisely observed by you that God moved the spirit of those holy women to scourge the buyers and sellers out of Gods house and not to suffer the same to be polluted with that foule Booke of Common Prayer Those holy Matrons who wast themselves with Fasting have deserved so well at your hands that you should exhort them as Paul did Timothy to take a little wine to comfort them and to incourage them to proceed zealously in your cause for they are the weaker vessels and wine will strengthen them Read 1 Esdras chap. 3. ver 21. Where it is said thus Wine is exceeding strong it makes every heart rich so that a man remembreth neither King nor Governour and it maketh to speak all things by talents And when they are in their cups they forget their love both to friends and brethren and a little after draw out swords c. Albeit this be a passage out of Apocrypha yet your practise sayes it is not false Our women here carie a sinistrous opinion of your women whom they call virago's and monsters of women a disgrace to their sex man-like-women and a new kind of Hermaphrodits because of their violent and turbulent carriage as they call it in abusing all men that are contrary minded they say Non metuunt leges sed cedit viribus aequum Quámque lupi saevae plus firitutis habent That is they feare no Lawes but equity giveth place to force and they have more savage cruelty in them than the very Wolves But our Ladies are mistaken not knowing that this proceeds from Zeal Impetus hic sacrae semina mentis babet This violence of theirs hath the feeds of a holy minde And they being free citizens ought to have full freedome their tongues are their owne what Lord can them controll If Tyberius when he was railed upon in the city tooke it patiently saying In libera cevitate oportet linguam esse liberam Why should not free Subjects in a free kingdome have free tongues and free hands too especially of Women when religion is in question Gutlielmus Postellus set out a book which he entituled Of the victory of women I would have the like done by some of you especially by him who gave his ghostly blessing to those manfull women who shew their valour against their adversaries in beating them and their books out of Gods house My blessing light upon you all my deare Bird all Break not off your nocturnall devotions and assembling together for the better and not for the worse But doe it more secretly than Andrew Lesley of whom they say that hee forsooke Ireland to go to the Covenant the first fruits whereof was to forsake his wife to joyne himselfe with an harlot The good old Matron of the holy Sisters of Edinburgh did more cunningly cover her daughters infirmity of the flesh R. A. who as she said to her sisters at their meetings had fallen in a holy fornication with a brother not out of Lust but Love and therefore decreed that she should not confesse it before the congregation lest the Gospell should be scandalized and that it was better to fall in the hands of God by swearing that she did not know the man than to fall in the hands of men by confessing her carnall fact We say well to this purpose Toâ—â—t liv 3. cap. 9 Mentiri in confession non semper est peccatum mortale To lie in confession is not ever a mortall sin but it was a pitie that shortly after she had sworne her swelling belly belied her and yet here the shame and scandall of your devout profession was more than your sin for that kind of sin is but a weaknesse and infirmity and if it be acted for good ends and intentions it is no sin at all Therfore it 's well said by a father of our Society Si quis pollutionem desideraret ob bonum finem I lem lib. cap. 13. scilicet sanitatem vel ad levandas tentationes quibus interdiu assligâ—tur non est peccatum If any desire c. for a good end to wit for their health or to put away the tentations wherewith they are troubled all the day long it 's not a sin And therefore it 's thought when those holy Sisters are longest out at their night-devotions they are much amended in their health the next day And we do also hold * De judicili l. 2. Decret 6 Cap. â— Et Châ—ici Adulterium inter minora crimina censendum esse That Adulterie is to be esteemed among the smaller crimes †Caus 31. qv. 1. Cap. Hac ratione esse aliquam honestam fornicationem and that there is some honest fornication Or as that Matron called it holy fornication But this is very ominous which I heare that many husbands will not suffer their wives to frequent those night-meetings as they were wont to do That is a fearefull presage that that order and societie shall be cryed down except they get it confirmed by assembly For we had a Societie of Sisters called Congregatio Iesuitissarum suppressed by