incompossibiles A whole thing cannot be wholly or all wayes or according to all its possible Modifications for many of them severally or apart are possible which conjunctly are incompossible if I may so expresse my self or rather impossible So a man may be white and he may be black but he cannot be white and black together for these two qualities being contrary are impossible or incompatible one with another If then feeding either by way of teaching or ruling or the power to feed be taken in actu primo viz. for the facultie to feed this Proposition The combined Eldership or a Classicall or Synodall Assembly and every particular Elder considered apart and separated from the combined Presbyteries have power to feed teach or rule all particular Churches is true And as for the particular Elders which may seem the most absurd it appeareth cleerly for if they had it not how could ye or they Preach in sundry and divers particular Churches as ye do out of your own particular Churches If it be answered that ye do it onely Occasionally and not Ordinarily I reply That before ye can do it either Occasionally or Ordinarily ye must have a power to do it absolutely for actus secundus supponit primum the second act supposeth the first or all actions suppose some active power from whence they proceed for a man that is no Minister can neither Preach Ordinarily nor Occasionally Item It is a certain Maxime in Logick that a Parte in modo ad Totum argument amur affirmativè ut est homo albus Ergo est homo We argue from a modified part or taken with some limitation or modification to the whole as if I say this is a white man Ergo this is a man So I say this man may Preach occasionally Ergo this man may Preach or have Authoritie to Preach For Power or Authoritie to Preach is Totum in modo and Power or Authoritie to Preach occasionally or ordinarily are partes in modo If it be objected That if every particular Minister hath Power or Authoritie to Preach in every Church or Congregation then every Minister is an universall Pastour as the Apostles But so it is not Ergo. Answ I deny the Consequence of the first Proposition for an Apostle not onely hath an universall Vocation to teach all particular Churches and Flocks but also to teach all particular and ordinary Pastours or Ministers of all particular Churches and Flocks 2. Item The Vocation of the Apostles was immediately from God 3. They were infallible in Doctrine 4. Endowed with extraordinarie Gifts 5. They had no particular Mission to restrain them to any particular Church And these four last Conditions were most conveniently annexed unto the Universalitie of their Charge which cannot be said of ordinary and particular Ministers If it be replied At least they differ not from them in the Universalitie of their Charge but onely in some Accidents as in Infallibilitie some extraordinarie Gifts c. that are meerly Extrinsecall unto the Charge and to the Universalitie thereof I answer First That these Accidents are not meerly Extrinsecall unto the Universalitie of the Apostolicall Charge but Intrinsecally annexed unto it by Gods Ordinance by Congruitie and Morally since it could not be Universally exercised without them Secondly For the better cleering of this I observe That to the Charge of a Minister three things are necessary 1. A generall Vocation to Preach and that not unlike to that which Masters of Arts and Doctors receive in Universities with this clause Hic ubique terrarum to Teach here and through all the World 2. A speciall Mission either 1. by God alone or 2. or also from the Representative Church 3. A particular Election and Admission whereby the Minister is elected by a Reall particular Church and so admitted therein to exercise his Charge The first of these three is common to the Apostles with all ordinary Ministers The second is universall in the Apostles for Christ sent them to teach all Nations and sitted them with gifts convenient thereunto But it is particular in Particular and Ordinary Ministers for orders sake and that jure divine as many learned and godly Divines hold The third jure divine should be universall in respect of the Apostles for every Particular Church was bound to admit the Apostles in case they would have preached amongst them and if any should have refused them yet in vertue of their generall Vocation and universall Mission from God they had power and Authoritie to Preach among them and in them all But in Particular and Ordinary Ministers it is onely Particular and not Universall for neither doth every Particular Church chuse elect or admit every Ordinary Minister to be its Minister neither is it bound so to do The first of these three is the remote foundation or the remote and principall cause of the Power and Authoritie that a Minister hath to Preach or to rule the Church of God The second and third are the next and immediate foundation or cause thereof or conditio sine qua non viz. The universall Mission and Admission of Ministers is the immediate cause of their universall Power and Authoritie but the particular Mission and Admission is the immediate cause of the Power and Authoritie of Particular Ministers And as we never finde the Philosophers Particularia without their Vniversalia in Particularibus inclusa never a Genus but in some Species nor a Species but in some Individuum by whose Differences their indifferent Nature is limited and determined No more finde we over this vast and generall Vocation in Ordinary Ministers without this Particular Mission of some Representative Church and Admission in and by some Reall and Particular Church or at least it should not be for without this consent Election and Admission a Minister is no more its Minister then a Man is a Womans Husband without her consent Neither can a Man be married to a Woman in generall or to an Individuam vagam but to this or that Particular Woman with whom he contracteth No more can a Preacher be sent to Preach to the Church in generall or to Particular Churches indefinitely viz. Unto quaedam Ecclesia but to this Church distinctly 1. And so I answer that a Particular and Ordinary Minister is differenced from an Universall Minister or an Apostle by the Particularitie of his charge in vertue of his Particular Mission which he hath of God by a Representative Church and of his Particular Election and Admission which depend upon that Particular Reall Church whose Minister he is and not in vertue of his generall Vocation which is common unto both Nam Principium convenientiae non est Principium differentiae That wherein things do agree cannot distinguish or make them differ 2. Every particular or Ordinary Minister may feed teach and rule all the Church but not alwayes Totam militantem Ecclesiam sed non totaliter All particular Churches but not particularly for as we have
Here ye mistake for we can produce you sundry others of good note here Printed at London we are sorry ye have not seen them or disdained to read them If there were not many written before those it was in pittie of your afflictions whereunto good Divines would not adde new affliction Neither thought they your Partie so considerable Neither were your Opinions much known or published abroad being onely written in English and not in Latine except by one or two of your Divines for any thing I know Neither thought they that ye were so averse from their Discipline as ye appear in this Assembly but that ye suffered only for not conforming your selves unto Episcopall Government But whatever they have written I know not what this can serve to the purpose unlesse it be to declare That whatsoever helps ye had heretofore yet ye were destitute of those writings whereby ye might have received farther light concerning Presbyteriall Government and I pray God ye make good use of them In the 16. § at the end of the 16. Pag. Ye travell to remove an Objection viz. That in Congregationall Government such as is amongst you there is no allowed sufficient remedy for miscarriages though never so grosse no relief for wrongfull Sentences or Persons injured thereby no room for Complaints No Powerfull or Effectuall means to reduce a Church or Churches that fall into Heresie or Schisme c. To avoid this Objection ye relate us an History § 17. and what ye did upon such an emergent case But ye shew us no Law that ever ye had amongst you whereby ye might bring any remedie against such a miscarriage before that it fell out 2. Neither read we of any such Law or remedie in your Books before this 3. Your Divines and the Members of your Churches with whom we conversed shewed no remedie amongst you for such inconveniencies 4. They gave us no answer unto this Objection save onely this That God hath ordained no remedies in such Cases Yea that if Churches should fall away from Christ and with the Jews call him an Impostor and the Trinitie with Servet a three headed Cat and deny the Incarnation of the Son of God they should be tolerated Yea more That the Civill Magistrate should punish no man for his Religion be it never so bad or blasphemous and that it must be left to God And this giveth us reason to think That these Reasons within these two yeers have made you to refine your Opinion and to mould some new Solutions and to suite your Opinions more close to the current of the time then you were wont to do If therefore we speak after them it is their fault and not ours it may be that your Opinion be not common to you all but to you five alone The sum of the History is A Minister was suddenly deposed by his Flock whereupon some Churches did take offence and all their Churches consented in this Principle That Churches 1 Cor. 10.32 1 Tim. 5.22 as well as particular men are bound to give no offence neither to Jew nor Gentile nor the Churches of God they live among Item That in vertue of the same or like Law of not partaking in other mens sins the Churches offended may and ought upon the Impenitency of those Churches persisting in their errour and miscarriage to pronounce that heavy sentence against them of withdrawing and renouncing all Christian Communion with them untill they do repent And further to declare and protest this with the causes thereof to all Christian Churches of Christ that they may do the like In this Narration it appeareth 1. That this Church offending before this emergent Case knew not so much for if she had it is not credible that she would against all charitie and the common order of all Churches have committed so great a scandall 2. This remedie is not sufficient nor satisfactory 1. Because all Churches according to your Tenets be equall in Authoritie Independent one of another and par in parcm non habet Imperium none hath power or Authoritie over his equall how then could any Church binde another to any such account but out of its freewill as a partie may do to its partie 3. Because since other Churches were or pretended to be offended in such a proceeding they could not judge in it for then they should have been both judge and partie in one cause which cannot be granted to those that have no Authoritative Power one over another as when a private man offendeth the State and we our God 4. What if many Churches yea all the Churches should offend one should that one Church gather all the rest together judge them all and in case of not submitting themselves to her judgement separate her self from them all If so we should have Separations and Schismes enough which should be continued to all Posteritie to come 5. What if Churches were so remote one from another that they could not easily meet together upon every occasion Then there should be no remedy or at least no easie remedy 6. What if the Offence were small should so many Churches for every trifle gather together and put themselves to so great cost and trouble 7. What if the Churches in their Judgements should differ one from another in such a case should they all by Schismes separate themselves one from another 8. This sort of Government giveth no more Power or Authoritie to a thousand Churches over one then to a Tincker yea to the Hangman over a thousand for he may desire them all out of charitie to give an account of their Judgement in case he be offended by them Neither see I what more our Brethren grant to all the Churches of the World over one But the Presbyteriall Government is subject to none of these inconveniencies for the collective or combined Eldership having an authoritative Power all men and Churches thereof are bound by Law and Covenant to submit themselves thereunto Every man knoweth their set times of meeting wherein sundry matters are dispatched and all things carried by pluralitie of voices without any Schisme or Separation 9. This Government is a Power wherein the Partie is judged if he will and so the judgement of the Judges suspended upon the judgement of the Partie judged which is most ridiculous without any example in Ecclesiasticall or Civill Judicatories a judgement indeed not very unlike to that which is related of a merry man who said he had the best and most obedient wife of the whole World because saith he she willeth nothing but what I will and as all men wondred at it knowing her to be the most disobedient yea saith he but I must first will what she willeth else she willeth nothing that I will 10. This sort of Government is unjust and unreasonable for not onely the Partie judgeth its Partie but also it inflicteth the same punishment viz. Separation upon all offending Churches what ever be the offence great or small
in case of Non-satisfaction whereas all punishments should be commensurate unto the severall offences 11. And so ye seem to approve the opinion of the Stoicks who held all sins to be equall since ye inflict the same punishment upon them all 12. Not onely this Discipline cannot easily be put in execution in great Kingdoms as England wherein all the Churches offended cannot so easily meet together but also 13. Because the person offended after he hath represented his grievances unto one Church and that Church having received satisfaction it may go to another and that Church likewise having received satisfaction it may go to another and so continually in infinitum to the Worlds end evermore taking those Churches for the Partie that judge it which is most absurde and foolish 14. What if the Partie offended be poor and have not the means to post up and down from Neighbour-Church to Neighbour-Church to pray them to make the offending Church to give an account of her Judgement muchlesse to attend upon their uncertain conveniencie Here will be found true Pauper ubique jacet whereas in Presbyteriall Government the Partie offended may easily be redressed and get satisfaction as not having need so to post up and down to be at so great charges or to attend their conveniencie for by a simple Appeal he may binde the Church offending to appear at the day appointed 15. What if there should fall out an hundred such Offences in a small time Must so many Churches evermore gather together for every one of them apart 16. What if Churches be poor and cannot be at so great expence Then in that case it should seem there is no order to meet with Offences And as for those precepts 1 Cor. 10. and 1 Tim. 5. The first of them is not a Rule of Government or ruling of the Church but a generall command common to all Christians whereby the Apostle forewarnes the Corinthians in things indifferent not to give any occasion of Offence unto the Church of God or to any other but therein to comply with all men as he doeth himself From whence ye cannot draw a Rule or Law of ruling the Church or how the Church should take order with such Offenders so that it sheweth indeed every mans dutie towards the Church in things indifferent but not the Churches dutie towards every one of them in judging or ruling Ye might as well have proved it from this Principle Fly from all evil or from that We must love God above all things and our Neighbour as our selves neither see I any greater connexion that it hath with the one then with the other And truely I cannot sufficiently admire how out of that Principle Give no offence ne to any man ye can inferre this conclusion Ergo a Church offended may make a Church offending to give an account of her judgement before all the world and in case of impenitency pronounce a Sentence of withdrawing and renouncing all Christian Communion with her and further to declare it to all other Churches No more can it be inferred of the other viz. Be not partakers in other mens sins for the Apostle there giveth rules about the Vocation of Ministers forbiddeth Timothy to receive any man rashly into the Ministery least in so doing he be the cause of an unlawfull Vocation because saith he vers 24. their sin and incapacity will soon appear to all men But how is it possible out of this to spin out the former Couclusion § 18. Pag. 17 ye prove your former Conclusion thus 1. For that ye saw no further authority in Scripture in proceedings purcly Ecclesiasticall of one or many sister Churches towards another whole Church or Churches offending 2. Because no other Authority can rationally be put in execution without the Magistrates power Answ 1. Ye saw no more in Scripture yea but saw ye your own Conclusion in Scripture 2. Truely we see no Word of God for it and if we take it not upon your word we shall never take it 3. If ye see no Scripture for it yet others may see 4. Ye may if ye will see it in the ordinary Practice of the Church of the Jews in the old Testament which is not abrogated in the New since it is not Ceremoniall but grounded in the Law of Nature Ye may see it in the History of the New Testament in the judgement given out at the Synod of Hierusalem concerning the businesse of Antiochia which I hope ye shall see cleerly demonstrated to you by a better hand before it be long 6. It may be proved by the Law of Nature which is a praecognitum to Scripture and supposed by Scripture for Grace is not destructory of Nature but a Superstructory above Nature So that when Scripture containeth nothing contradictory to the Dictats of Nature we are bound to believe them unlesse we will misbelieve God who is no lesse the Author of Nature and of the Dictats thereof then of Grace 2. Because no other Authority can rationally be put in execution without the Civill Magistrates power Answ 1. Our Brethren here as every where else stand very stiffly to Negations They never prove any positive Doctrine and it is known in the Schools how easie a thing it is to deny all things and to prove nothing If they had that to prove wherein they agree with us I suppose they should have more to do then we to prove that wherein they disagree from us But to take away all mistakes and captious Evasions we suppose that our Churches arrogate to themselves no Imperiall or Magisteriall but onely a Ministeriall Power or Authority 2. That it is meerly Spirituall consisting 1. in the Creation Suspension and Deposition of Church-Officers 2. in determining matters of Doctrine 3. in making of Ecclesiasticall Laws concerning things indifferent 4. in Ecclesiasticall Censures as in Suspension Excommunication c. They prove That no more can rationally be put in execution viz. then to call an offending Church to an account and in case of her impenitency to declare it to all other Churches Answ We deny the Assumption They prove it for that Christ gave no power to Churches to excommunicate their neighbour Churches Answ 1. This is again another mistake in our Brethren for they suppose that we excommunicate whole Churches which we never do 2. Neither believe I that they can bring us any examples of it The reason why we do not so is Because whole Churches ordinarily amongst us contemn not the superiour Ecclesiasticall Power viz. of Synods being bound by their Oath and Covenant to observe and maintain the Order of the Church 3. And therefore we have no Ecclesiasticall Laws concerning such cases for Lex est ordinatio rationis and Laws are not made of things that never fall out or of things that fall out extraordinarily but of things that are ordinary 4 Much lesse think I that ever any such case did fall out in any one of the Reformed Churches Item it is
you or of your or our Reformation but of the coming of Christ and the vocation of the Gentiles for howsoever the Fathers in the old Testament received the Promises yet received they not the accomplishment or performance of them viz. Christ manifested in the flesh who is that better thing reserved unto us whereof the Apostle speaketh there otherwise we should have perished § 23 24 25 26 27. Containeth an Enumeration of our Brethrens grievances whereof they have mentioned many heretofore 1. The mistaking and misapprehension of their Opinions wherein they might seem to differ We have answered already 1. It is not a mistake nor misapprehension to take and apprehend an opinion as it is propounded by the Partie as we have done 2. We answer That if we mistake or misapprehend any opinion it is not that of all Independents 3. It is a great mistake in you to imagine that ye be all of one opinion For ye five who are the Authors of this Book cannot agree among your selves how muchlesse with others 4. And we are assured that ye cannot but mistake one another 5. Here also must be noted your Parenthesis wherein we might seem to differ Then your differences from us were not reall but apparent If so wherefore then will ye not really agree and joyn your selves in Union and Communion with us And truely so it is either they are not reall or they are really ridiculous Pag. 23. Your second grievance is that ye are grievously calumniated with reproaches of Schisme Schisme is a Pertinacious Separation from the true Church after sufficient conviction And as Heresie as Heresie is repugnant to Faith so is Schisme to Charitie the one quitteth the unitie of the Faith the other the union in Charitie And as Heresie is evermore accompanied with pertinacy after sufficient conviction So is Schisme also If therefore the Synod or any other Assembly or any of your Brethren should convict you sufficiently and afterwards ye should separate your selves or desire a separation from us I think that no man could deny you to be Schismaticks neither beleeve I in such a case that ye would or could honestly deny i◠your selves But so long as the Synod or some others does it not I dare say nothing As for my self I beleeve truly that ye be very Learned Pious and honest Men and howsoever ye may fail by infirmitie yet beleeve I not that ye erre out of malice and consequently that ye are no Schismaticks hitherto And I hope and am consident that God will not permit that so good and godly men fall away from his Church And this I say by morall probabilitie because of the good opinion I have conceived of you by good mens relations and some observation of your carriages in the small conversation I have had with some of you If therefore any men out of too much zeal or others out of malice have uttered any such aspersion it is in your power by entertaining of a Fraternall union with us to give them the ly as I hope in Gods mercy ye will do § 24. Pag. 24 25. But ye prove That ye are not or cannot be Schismaticks by three Reasons The first is If ye be Schismaticks or culpable of Schisme Either it must relate say you to a differing from the former Ecclesiasticall Government of this Church established and then who is not involved in it as well as we Or to that Constitution and Government that is yet to come and untill that be agreed on established and declared and actually exist there can be no guilt or imputation of Schisme from it But none of these are true as ye have confirmed it Ergo. Answ Howsoever I hold you not yet for Schismaticks yet can I not think that ye prove it well For that dis-junctive proposition may be denyed as not containing a full enumeration of all the Causes or Reasons of Schisme for a Church may be Schismaticall not onely for her Separation from this or that Church but much more for her Separation from all Churches as your Accusers may say of you viz. That ye have quitted the Communion of all other Churches as well Protestants as Papists and that in case ye could not or would not joyn in union with Churches ruled by Episcopall Government ye might have joyned your selves with other Reformed Churches with which the Church of England entertained Union and Communion so that the greater your Separation was the greater was your Schisme Yet can it not be said that it was a Schisme formally but materially for it had not the essentiall forme or that which we conceive as the essentiall forme of a Schisme viz. Conviction and Pertinacy without the which Schisme no more can be made up then Heresie For it is Forma quae dat esse rei the Forme that giveth being to a thing Onely it had the matter or materiall cause of a Schisme viz. The Separation from all Churches which cannot make up a Schisme formally no more then a mans body alone which is his matteriall cause can formally make up a Man 2. Men may yet be called Schismaticks Materialiter Dispositivè matterially and dispositively or as having the disposition to Schisme when they cannot actually resist an actuall Government but are resolved without any sufficient cause to resist or controle that Government that they judge will be established by them who according to Gods ordinary Providence have power to do it And so your Partie may yet say that ye be culpable and guiltie of Schisme materially and by way of disposition if they see you aym at any Toleration which is the next way to Separation So they may Answer unto the confirmations of both the parts of your dis-junctive Proposition in denying both your Assumptions for many there be who separated not themselves from all Protestant Churches and that are not minded to oppose the forme of Government that is to be established much lesse to be suiters for Toleration Your second Reason to free your selves from the calumny of Schisme is this in substance § 24. Pag. 24. If ye had been guided by the spirit of Schisme ye had made up a Partie when ye had the occasion But so did ye not when ye had the occasion Ergo. Ye prove the connexion of your first Proposition Because such are practises of those that are led by the spirit of Schisme Ye prove the Assumption 1. Because that howsoever ye had great provocations viz. 1. Misunderstandings of your opinions 2. Incitements to this State not to allow you the peaceable practises of your consciences which the Reformed Churches abroad allowed you 3. Calumnies in Print 4. Heightned with this prejudice that ye were ashamed of your opinions or able to say little for them 5. Books printed against your opinions yet ye did it not 2. Because that having the occasion of manifold advantages to make and increase a Partie ye have not in the least sort attempted it Ye prove that ye had manifold advantages