Church seems wholly Inconsistent with that Interest and Care and Concern for Religion which Christian Kings and Princes are alway supposed to have and the Regulation and Defence of which is one great End and Purpose of all their Authority Till I see farther Reason against it than what has yet been shewn I cannot but believe that the Civil Government in their Way and by a due Exercise of their Power is concerned for the Good of Mens Souls to promote Virtue and true Religion as well as the Bishops and Pastors of Christ's Flock And if they are then to exclude their Jurisdiction in all Ecclesiastical Causes and Matters is to rob them of one great Part of their Sovereignty It is in effect to confine all the Authority of Princes only to the Preservation of Peace and Order and Justice in Human Societies without any Regard to GOD and Religion And I know of no good Reason that can be given for this For altho ' GOD the FATHER for the Honour of our Blessed Redeemer and the more effectual Accomplishing our Redemption has given him a Church and a Kingdom within his own Dominions and allowed Him his Proper Ministers and Governors of this CHURCH under his own Divine Authority Yet I hope these Gentlemen will not say that this carries along with it a Devolution of all Power and Authority in religious Affairs from Princes to Bishops from the Governors of the State to those of the Church And if it does not then the Secular Powers ought not in any such Affairs to have their Authority and Jurisdiction excluded That would be to subvert one of the main Ends of their Institution which was That under them we might live peaceable and quiet Lives in Godliness as 1 Tim. ii 2. well as in common Honesty These Gentlemen I know will allow Kings and Princes to exercise all their Authority in the Defence of the Church and for the Protection of its Powers and the Support of it in the Execution of its Laws altho' nothing to its Disadvantage And is it so then at last that by virtue of Christ's Commission Kings and Princes have no more to do with Religious Matters than only under the Directions of the Church to minister to the Support of the Spiritual Jurisdiction when ever they think sit so to Modify their Power I hope that all Christian Emperors and Kings will be sensible what Honours and Favours such Churchmen intend them in admitting them to so great a Privilege And must they in all other Cases be discharg'd of all Regard and Concern for GOD and RELIGION in the Government of their People Sure I am that it was not so under the Jewish Dispensation when this Separation of the Priesthood from the Secular Powers first began Kings did then intermeddle in Ecclesiastical Causes and regulate the Affairs of Religion and had Jurisdiction in the Government of the Church The Ark of the Covenant which none might look into or so much as touch it but the Priests alone Was yet so far under the 2 Sam. vi Government and Authority of King David 2 Sam. xv that he commanded it to be removed first to this Place and then to that He also distributed the several Courses both of the Priests 2 Chron. xxiii xxiv xxiv and Levites and gave the Levites a new Law for their Offices that they who before began not their Attendance till the Thirtieth Year of their Age should now begin it at the Twentieth He took the Ark from the Tabernacle 2 Chron. i. 3 5. of the Congregation and leaving that behind at Gibeon he built a new Tent for it at Jerusalem How came he to meddle so much with that which was in the Peculiar Custody of the Priests The like was afterwards 2 Chron. xxiv xxiii 4. done by Hezekiah who also by his Royal Decree appointed the Passover to be kept and called all the Ten Tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to the Celebration of it who had been hindred from it for a long time before Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being 1 Kings ii 27 35. Priest unto the Lord. Which let the Adversaries say what they will to evade it was as much a Deprivation as any one of those they now complain of and when he had done this he put Zadock the Priest in the Room of Abiathar The Altar of Bethel was destroy'd by King Josiah Idolatry was frequently punished and suppressed by their Kings and the suffering Religion to be corrupted by introducing Evil and Idolatrous Novelties into the Worship of GOD is often charged as a Crime and a Blemish in the Administration of their Government Now as the Instances mentioned in which they did exert their Power were undeniable Acts of Church Government and Ecclesiastical Authority So the Charge and Imputation of Guilt upon them in their Neglects of this kind plainly shew that they had a just Authority and a rightful Jurisdiction therein And if the Jewish Kings were allowed to have Power and Authority in Ecclesiastical Matters and the Priesthood claimed no Independent Power in Church Government under that Dispensation in which the Administration of Divine Offices was as much separated from the Secular Magistrates as it is now under the Gospel Some very good Reason some strong Proof some very bright and clear Evidence should be produced to convince one that the Jurisdiction which Kings exercised under one Dispensation is quite taken away by the other ESPECIALLY too when this claimed Authority is not to be limitted to Articles of Faith and Matters of Divine Revelation only but is extended to a Judicial Cognizance in all our moral Actions as well as in those that are purely religious And for the Kings and Potentates of the World not to submit to the Sanctions and Determinations of such Men in all Cases of Morality is arrogantly called Disobedience to their spiritual Superiors Vindic. Prop. 21. and Rehellion against the Legates and Vicegerents of Christ And to restrain ecclesiastical Persons in any extravagant Proceedings of this Kind is represented by some Men as downright Persecution WHAT an Original Piece of spiritual Pride is this I would desire any Reader seriously to consider that if such Doctrines as these had been preached by the Apostles and Primitive Christians Whether it would not have been the greatest Disadvantage imaginable to the Propagation of the Gospel And whether it would not have given all the Secular Potentates of the World a great and invincible Prejudice against it What Heathen Emperor or King would have embraced this Religion or given any Countenance at all to the Profession of it who should have been told That in the very Minute that this Religion was professed by him and became established in his Dominions he was to lose one half of his Authority over his People That he was no longer to have that Fullness of Jurisdiction and Power which he had before and which other Kings and Emperors enjoy'd round about him but was
the Affairs of the CHURCH If the Primitive Fathers had had the same Sentiments with Dr. Hickes and his Friends as to the CHURCH'S Divine Right to an Independent Authority it is impossible that they should have given in to the Authority and Jurisdiction of the Emperors as they are found to have done And whether they will impute it to the Ignorance of the Primitive Christians or whether they will make them the first Betrayers of the CHURCH'S sacred Rights I leave to themselves let them account for it as they please I am contented to observe from a very learned Treatise of our present Author Christian Prin. c. 2. Sect. 4. c. 17 21 27 34 35. great and good Archbishop who has supported his Assertions with Authorities which are indisputable That no sooner did the * Euseb Vit Const Lib. III. c. 6 7 10 12 13 17. Contanstine called the first general Council by his Imperial Authority appointed the City Nice in Bithynia for the Place of their Meeting and on the Day set for opening the Synod he came and sat among them and Reasoned with them and composed their Differences Ibid. Lib. IV. c. 42 43. He summoned another Council to meet at Tyre A. D. 335 and Threatned those who disobey'd his Summons with Banishment or Ejectment out of his See afterward he adjourned it to Jerusalem To this Council Athanasius came in pure Obedience to the Emperor and appealed from it to his Authority Ib. Lib. I. c. 44. Eusebius commends Constantine for his Piety and Religious Care in all this Dr. Cave Hist Lit. Vol. 2. p. 152. In the Assembly at Carthage A. D. 411. Marcellinus the Emperors Commissioner directed the Manner of their Proceeding appointing Seven Bishops only of a Side to enter into Debate and in the end gave Sentence in favour of the Orthodox And when upon Marcellinus his Death the Donatists would have had all that had been done rescinded Honorius confirmed their Decrees and made them Valid Ib. p. 158 c. Upon the Feuds and contrary Decrees in the Council of Ephesus A. D. 431. between John Patriarch of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria against Nestorius Theodosius the Emperor commands all that had been done on both Sides to be rescinded and upon a full and true Information of what had past he confirm'd the Decrees made against Nestorius As to Imperial Laws in Ecclesiastical Affairs I will mention a Few only out of the Code and Novells of Justinian God Lib. I. Tit. iii. cap. 8. If a Clergyman gave false Witness in a Pecuniary Case he was to be suspended from his Office for Three Years if in a Criminal Cause to be Degraded from the Priestly Office clericatûs honore nudatus c. ib. Novel Coll. ix Tit. vi 123. cap. x. A Clergyman playing at Tables or standing by to lay Wagers or look on was to be suspended for three Years jubemus tribus annis a venerabili Ministerio prohiberi ib. c. 17. He that shall give or take Money to procure the Election or Ordination of a Minister was to be degraded a gradu Sacerdotij retrahatur ib. c. 31. A Bishop not Consecrated according to some particular Imperial Constitutions was to be deposed Jubemus hunc omnibus modis Epicsopatu depelli Novel ix Tit. vi 123 1. A Presbyter ordained before examination if he had been accused as unfit was to be deposed a Sacerdotio repellatur c. 2. A Bishop deserting his See and not returning in a set Time was to be Deprived Ab Episcopatu expelli ib. c. 9. If a Bishop or Presbyter excommunicates any without hearing his Cause the Person unjustly excommunicated shall be Absolved by another Presbyter and he that unjustly excommunicated him shall himself be excommunicated ib. c. 11. If a Bishop that was deprived or deposed Sacerdotio pulsus presumed to return to the City he had belonged to he was to be confined in a Monastry ib. A Bishop permitting a Deacon to Marry after he was ordained was to be deprived expellatur ab Episcopatu and a Presbyter so Marrying was to be degraded expellatur a clero ib. c. 14. Many more Laws of this kind equivalent to our Acts of Parliament might be mentioned and they all demonstrate that the Christians of those Ages knew no such Principle as the Independent Power of the Church in Ecclesiastical Affairs Christian Emperors concern themselves in the Affairs of the Church and the Government of it but the Bishops admitted them to summon Councils by their Imperial Authority to appoint the Time and Place of their Meeting to direct the Matter to be treated on and the Manner of their Proceeding To Preside in and Regulate their Debates to exercise Authority over their Declarations and Canons sometimes to Revoke and sometimes to Suspend their Decrees Sometimes they not only made Laws about Church Government without the Clergy but even regulated their Qualifications and punished their Miscarriages sometimes with Commands to the Church to Degrade them and sometimes to Excommunicate ' em They took upon them to judge of the Controversies between the Bishops suspended one and set up another and threaten'd the Refractory with Deprivation if they but disputed the Authority of their Summons These Things they did sometimes at the Request of the CHURCH and often with hearty Thanks for what they had done And those Ages knew no such Thing as disputing the competent Authority by which they acted or the Validity of their Sentences so long as Nothing was done by them to the Detriment of the Christian Faith or Religion This shews most plainly that what was practised by the Independent Authority of the Bishops and Clergy for the first three hundred Years was only out of Necessity and not in a Claim of any Divine Right to exclude the Secular Powers AND now I come to the III. AND last Objection Some are apt to think the Principles I advance too prejudicial to the CHURCH'S Interest and Advantage that they tend too much to oppress and enslave Her But I hope I have not laid my self open deservedly to any such Charge I have granted it a divine unalienable Right to the Holy Offices of all Religious Ministrations to the Power of the Keys and to Ordination I have allowed it a natural and common Right to all the general Powers of Government and owned that by Virtue of CHRIST'S Commission it has a Trust useful to it in all its Exigencies and an Authority to do every Thing in the Exercise of its Spiritual Powers that is necessary to be done for the Propagation and Support of the Christian Religion Where then is the Slavery or Oppression in these Principles Or what is it that we can by the Authority of GOD and CHRIST claim more Other Privileges and Authorities may be granted to it by the STATE But of its own Right I am not convinced that it can pretend to more than these I AM in Truth very sensible that the Clergy are in some Mens Esteem and Opinion
very low and mean and I hope I shall alway carry a ready Inclination to do my Endeavour to support both the Honour and the true Interest of the Order But as all the Contempt that we seem to lie under is either with Men of profligate Principles and wicked Lives whose Reproaches can do us but little or no Harm or else with those who take Offence at our Carriage and Conduct So Nothing certainly will go farther to raise our Character and promote our Interest and engage Kings and States to entrust us with additional Honours and Powers than our Prudence and Piety and Modesty and great Humility which are none of them inconsistent with a due Regard to our just Authority And while these Virtues and Graces are sound to shine thro' all our Conduct we may vindicate our real Rights without any Scandal or great Offence But if we be vain and imprudent in our Behaviour troublesome and turbulent in our Conduct and grasp at Power and Authority in the Church only to support Factious Parties and to raise Tumults and Seditions against the STATE All this will really do us harm The Adversary will not fail to make all the Advantages that they can of it and we thus give them too just a handle thereto And this which is disagreable to the true Temper and Spirit of the Gospel will have yet a worse influence to our mighty Disadvantage It will make us cheap and mean in the Eyes of those Wise and Good Men by whose deserved Favour and Interest the Dignity and Character of our Holy Order should be supported LET any Man of common Understanding judge what the World will think or say of those Claims and Pretensions to Divine Power and Authority which apparently minister only to Ambition and Pride and Faction but are not at all serviceable to the Interest of true Religion Such are the Pretences that I have so often mentioned already of the Governors of the Church being Spiritual Kings Princes Lords Legates and supreme Monarchs in the Church Regent instead of the Church Militant and having a Share of CHRIST'S Kingly Power in his spiritual Kingdom as well as of his Priesthood In consequence of this to make all Christian Kings and Princes and States their spiritual Inferiors and Subjects from whom Submission and Obedience is to be expected in all Religious Matters under the Penalty of Excommunication and consigning them over to the Devil IN the Name of GOD what Advantage will all this be to Religion How naturally do such Pretensions put Mankind upon enquiring What Use the Clergy have made of this Authority in Times past when they had it in their Hands And when upon several Passages and Instances in History they can tell us that thro' this very Power Religion has been depraved and corrupted by the Clergy themselves who claim it What Advantage will this be to the Honour and Credit and Reputation of our Holy Order Will not every notorious Miscarriage committed under the Covert of a Divine Power from Christ in all Spiritual Causes occasion his whole Commission to be evil spoken of and turn the very Name of divine Right into Banter and Ridicule and a Name of Contempt and Derision and give too plausible a Ground for the scandalous Imputation of Priestcraft Who must bear the Blame of all this To whom is all this Contempt of the Clergy to be imputed In too great a Measure to the blameable Arrogance and boundless Ambition and spiritual Pride of some Clergymen Mankind often fall the lower by aspiring too high The Name of the Virgin Mary was always venerable and treated with great Respect among Christians until some began to adore her as a Goddess And Nothing has brought Her to be so disrespectfully treated as the Idolatry of Men in Worshipping her And so I in my Conscience believe That where there has been no scandalous Immorality of Life Nothing has made our Sacred Order meaner or lower in their Interest and Esteem than the claiming under GOD and CHRIST more Power than They ever intended to bestow upon us AND especially then are these Pretences scandalous and disadvantageous to our Character when the spiritual Authority of the Priesthood is set up in Opposition to the STATE and made use of as a Check upon the Secular Powers and a Means to weaken them in their Authority and to cramp them in the Administration of Civil Government I verily believe that the Christian CHURCH has lost more of Her true Interest by this than by any other Means whatsoever In that when the Lay Powers recover themselves out of such injurious Oppressions they never fail to make very large and ample Reprisals And here I must beg leave to remark That this Claim of an Independent Power in Ecclesiastical and Spiritual Affairs has not that I know of been set up by any of the Clergy of our Reformed CHURCH from Her first Reformation untill the late Happy Revolution And as it was then first set on foot by the Non-jurors in Defence of the Deprived Bishops and in Opposition to King WILLIAM and his Government So has it ever since been chiefly held up by those who have had little or no Affection for our National Establishment and Constitution from that Time And the Scandalous Part of all this Scuffle in Controversy and a Schismatical Separation from our CHURCH is not made on the Account of our Holy Religion and in Defence of the Powers by which that is to be Preserved but only in Behalf of a few particular Men and by those who are confessedly in the Interest of the Pretender and who have Nothing more at Heart then this groundless and unreasonable Schism in the CHURCH to dispose the Hearts of the English People to another Rebellion against the STATE Had it not been for the serviceableness of this Doctrine to breed such Confusions among us and to throw us into Factions and seditions it had never been set on Foot at first And if all other Methods of serving and supporting the Pretender's Cause had not been baffled and made ineffectual it had never been revived now For while they had Hope from other Means These were laid asleep And if Men were not blinded and infatuated above all Measure This is Demonstration clear enough that no such Ecclesiastical Power can be given by GOD and CHRIST The foremention'd Concession of our Adversaries being a most certain and indisputable Truth That Christ has given no Authority to his Church that can interfere with the Civil Powers To make an end I think I have plainly and clearly proved that altho' by CHRIST'S Commission the Divine Offices of all Christian Religious Ministrations are Appropriated to the Bishops and Clergy only Yet the General Governing Powers of this Divine Society are not That as these belong to it only of that Common Right which naturally belongs to all Societies and as they are necessary to the Attainment of that End for which it was Instituted of GOD so