whom I could more readily submit than to St. Austin a Person of wonderful sharpness in understanding and yet of great modesty no way affecting to take new Opinions much less to impose them no others Now I pray consider How can we have assurance of any Doctrine he delivers more than another I mean assurance from his own authority or reason what he delivers from Scripture authority is another matter we believe St. Austin erred in some things whereof he was most confident he believed it absolutely necessary for Children to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper as I say'd he believed it a direct heresie to hold there were any Antipodes Lactantius another great Wit and great Scholar believed the like with divers others Who then can doubt but that they might be mistaken in other things also Wherefore let God be true and all Men lyars in this sense to deliver lyes materially that is falsities for truths What I have said of Fathers must certainly hold good of Councels also though ever so general ever so Primitive for this and that Father may and have erred surely then that and that may also erre I can have no assurance in Men nor can I be saved by faith in Men. The general Objection made against this is The promise which Christ made unto his Church That the gates of Hell should not prevail against it and that he would be with the Apostles unto the Worlds end As for that other saying of our Saviour He that will not hear the Church let him be to thee as an Heathen and a Publican I can't but wonder that Men of any brains or modesty should so grosly abuse this saying spoken of several differences between Man and Man to be referred to the termination of the Church that is the Congregation of the Faithful which they usually and by order should assemble in and refer this to the Church in general in matters of Faith not in the least pointed at there Wherefore I pass this over as very impertinent and proceed to answer the former Objection of more weight yet no way concluding as they would have it No Man in the Christian World can more firmly believe than I do That the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it and that Christ will be with his Church unto the end of the World but I do not believe nor am I bound by Scripture to believe such Expositions as the Popish Church makes of this place By what authority doth the Romish Church challenge to themselves to be Expositors of Scriptures more than other Churches I find nothing for it in Scripture which is my Rule of Faith I proceed then to the business of general Councels Whether they may erre in some points of Faith and why not All the Evangelical Doctors grant the later general Councels have erred if so why not the former what promise had the former from Christ more than the later what period is there set in Scripture for their not erring or what promise is there at all for any not to erre The gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church I grant what 's this to a General Council not the thousand part of the Clergy not the thousand thousand part of the Church which is Scripture is alwayes put for the whole Body of the Faithful though of late it be translated into quite another notion and taken for the Clergy only But you will say a General Councel is the representative of the whole Church what then what promise is made in Scripture that the representative shall not erre You further urge If the representative erre 't is probable the whole Church will receive their errour I answer We are now treating of matter of Faith which must not depend on humane probabilities but Divine certainties besides 't is not so probable the Church will receive the error of the representative We know the whole Church hath not received a Truth determined by them much loss an errour And I pray have not Councels been against Councels Put then the case a General Councel should erre in some matters you can't therefore say the whole Church hath erred the gates of Hell have prevailed against the Church I pray consider can you truly say the Great Turk hath prevailed against the Christian Army because he hath kill'd the thousand part of it and yet the greatest General Councel holds a less proportion to the whole Church But I will grant yet more Put the case the whole Church should deviate into some erroneous Superstitions had the Devil therefore prevailed against it Can I say I have prevailed against another Man because I gave him some slight hurt in his Leg or Thigh as long as his Head his Heart his Arm are whole he still is able to fight and wound me as bad or worse till the Devil can so wound the whole body of the Church as to destroy the Vitals the Fundamentals and make it no Church the gates of Hell can't be said to have prevailed against it Now God be blessed there have continued all along several Churches as great or greater than the Roman Church which have still maintained in defiance of Satan One God the Father of whom are all things and one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things and several other sound Doctrines of Christianity how then hath Satan prevailed when so many millions have waged war against him and upheld the Kingdom of God and his Christ The Scripture plainly tells us that in the dayes of Anti-Christ's great power the Church shall be driven into the wilderness scarce visible in the world neither Pope nor Devil hath yet so prevailed but as then Christ shall have so Christ hath still had a Church warring against Satan Sure no learned Papist will deny but that about the second Century the Millenaries were far the greater part of the Church scarce any writing Doctor in those dayes but had this error Did Satan then prevail And in St. Austin's dayes the necessity of Infants receiving the Lords Supper was so general and held so necessary a Principle that it was made use of to prove the necessity of Infant Baptism this Sacrament being to precede the other in those dayes a Lanthorn would have been necessary to find out a Church without this error Did Satan then prevail But say you No General Councel determined those errors why because none was called about them had any been called who can doubt but that they would have avowed that in the Councel which they all taught in their Churches No the Spirit of God would have preserved them from it Shew me that promise in Scripture if Gods Spirit did not preserve them from teaching the whole Church so I fear the Spirit would not have preserved them more in Council than in Congregation where all sucking in this error from their Infancy would hardly have quitted it by a determination in Council I humbly crave pardon for this bold presumption being lead into it
religion or reason is it not apparently wilfulness and faction I beseech you my Brethren take heed of thus dissembling with God and the world or take heed of giving your selves up to these delusions of a mistaken spirit Humility and Obedience are evident marks of the Spirit Learn of me saith Christ Math. 11. 29. for I am meek and lowly in Heart God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble Wherefore I I beseech you first put on the Lord Jesus with all humility that he may give you the grace of his holy Spirit to discern clear Truths from conceited fanciful errors Secondly I beseech you consider whether of the two it be not safer to erre in the way of Humility then to erre in the way of Pride which makes it doubly damnable void of all excuse I say this because you think or pretend to think our way erronious not that I have any such thought or doubt whereas the Humble Soul hath great excuse to plead and if Charity cover a multitude of Sins sure Humility will cover some a Soul clothed with Humility can't easily be displeasing to our humble Saviour but clothed with pride can scarce be acceptable but rather hateful like the proud Pharisee with all his enumerated Virtues and my Brethren 't is most evident your spirit savours somewhat of the Pharisee magnifying your own holiness and despising all others as Publicans and Sinners and refusing all communion with them whereas the Holy of Holies our Lord Jesus chose chiefly to converse with such really I can't but think your case very dangerous on this account only were there no more to accuse you of Thirdly I beseech you to consider the great mischief you bring upon this Church and Nation by your separation from the Church You pretend to be the great Zelots against Popery and yet give me leave to say Your indiscreet disobedient Zeal mainly brings it in your separation and many following divisions have caused many to abhor our Church and turn to Popery and doubtless you are to give an account to God for the ruine of those Souls for I can never yield that you have any reasonable and true conscientious cause of separation but meerly mistaken-reason and conscience which I much pity but no way approve and therefore I must lay the advance of Popery to your charge to your separation for I am sure 't is the main snare wherewith they catch unstable Souls perswading them our Church is not guided by the Spirit of Truth seeing it is confounded by the spirit of division it cannot be of God who is both Verity and Unity Now though it be well known to the Learned that their Church hath neither Verity nor Unity yet this is not discernable to weak Souls especially here in this Country where their Church is under a cloud and therefore their foul spots nothing so visible as abroad where it walks barefaced but are here by their Priests either with great confidence deny'd or with great cunning disguised Wherefore again I most earnestly and most humbly beseech you for Jesus sake put on our Lord Jesus in all humility and obedience submitting your selves to the Ordinances of those Superiours and Powers which God hath set over you and if out of meer humility and obedience you conform though you were guilty of some error therein I am confident there is none yet were it so my Soul for yours that guilt shall never be laid to your charge by our most Gracious Saviour and most mereiful Judge Christ Jesus our Lord to whom be all honour and glory for ever Amen FINIS
THE Naked Truth OR THE TRUE STATE OF THE Primitive Church BY AN Humble Moderator Zach. 8. 19. Love the Truth and Peace Gal. 4. 16. Am I therefore become your Enemy because I tell you the truth Printed in the Year 1675. An Humble Petition to the Right Honourable the Lords and Commons Assembled in Parliament MY Lords and noble Gentlemen You have fully expressed your Zeal to God and his Church in making Laws for Unity in Faith and Uniformity in Discipline for as our Saviour said A Kingdom divided against it self cannot stand so the same may certainly be said of a Church the reason being the same for both And I call the Searcher of all hearts the God of life and death to witness that I would most readily yea most joyfully sacrifice all I have in this world my life and all that all Non-Conformists were reduced to our Church But it falls out most sadly that your Laws have not the desired effect our Church is more and more divided such is the perverse nature of man Niti in Vetitum obstinately to oppose Authority especially when they can pretend the colour of Religion and Conscience this carries so great an applause among the Vulgar still envious at Superiors that it is as it were Nuts to an Ape sweeter to them than any other thing this world affords for the enjoyment of this they will endure any thing imprisonment loss of goods yea sometime of life also And this is it which mainly nourishes our Divisions gives great advantage to the growth of Popery and threatens the total ruine of our Church Many who were formerly very zealous for our Church seeing these our sad divisions and not seeing those of the Roman-Church nor their gross Superstitions which their Priests conceal till they have got men fast are easily seduced by their pretended Unity and daily fall from us This makes my heart to bleed and my soul with anguish ready to expire rather than live to see that dismal day of relapse into their manifold Idolatries Wherefore I humbled my Soul before God in fasting and prayer begging dayly the assistance of his holy Spirit to direct me to some healing Salve for these our bleeding Wounds and therefore I have some reason to believe that what is contained in these following Papers comes from the great goodness of God who never fails those who seek him in humility and sincerity both which I am confident I have done and this I am sure of that no Worldly designs have moved me to this but have often tempted me to give it over I am also sure that there is nothing contained therein which is contrary to the known Laws of the Land in this only I confess I have transgressed in putting it forth without licence and for this I beg of God and you as Naaman did of Elisha In this thing the Lord and you pardon your Servant and I hope you will say unto me as Elisha did unto Naaman Go in peace and I farther hope this shall not cast such a prejudice upon it as to make you cast it by or read it with disgust I do not expect you should approve any thing upon the account of my seeking God in this but upon my Reasons alledged nor do I expect that upon my Reasons you should approve all yet I beseech you seriously consider all and God of his infinite goodness direct you to that which may make for the Unity of our Church by yielding to weak ones if not wilful Ones also as far as your Reason and Conscience will permit sure you cannot so loath all condescention as not to loath more and detest Papal confusion which certainly comes on apace by our division and of two evils both Reason and Religion require us to chuse the less now doubtless you cannot think condescention if evil at all sure not so evil as Papal Idolatry and that Papistry is Idolatry is so clearly proved by our Learned Dr. Stilling fleet as it were lost labour to say more of it Condescention may seem in some respects imprudent but whether in this conjuncture of affairs imprudent I beseech you again consider well The Wisest men have changed their Counsels and Resolves upon second thoughts much more upon experience and approaching evils not at first discovered It is a common thing with Princes when they find their main enemies power encrease much to make peace with lesser enemies on conditions never before to be endured Self-preservation being the prime principle in all Creatures rational and irrational springing from Nature it self it should in nature and reason over-ballance any other consideration and whatever is done to this end if not sinfully done must needs be wisely done I most humbly beseech the All-wise God and sole giver of wisdom to pour down his Holy and Wise Spirit upon you Amen To the READER CHristian Reader so I term you hoping you have in some measure the Spirit of Christ and desire it more the spirit of meekness humility charity not to censure my errors and enveigh against them but to pity and endeavour to rectifie them if you find any and I assure you in the word of a Christian I shall be far more ready to recant than to vent an error If you be not thus Christianly disposed I earnestly beseech you read no furtner for I am sure you will be displeas'd with it and can you think it wisdom to run your self into displeasure enjoy your present quiet and let me rest But if you be so Christianly disposed as I mentioned then I as earnestly heg of you to proceed to discover my errors and amend them But perchance you will ask who I am why did I not tell you by putting my name to this Pamphlet I will ingenuously confess the cause I am a weak man of great Passions not able to bear Commendations or Reproach my small ability puts me out of danger of the first but in great fear of the later Why then was I so forward to publish my weakness to have it cured yet truly I have not been very forward for it is now above two years since I had these thoughts in which time I have read and conferred all I could to discover if I were in an error but for all I yet could meet with do not find it so but hope all I say is truth and that it may he useful to the Publique in this present conjuncture of affairs Therefore I proceed and in the next place most humbly beseech all that read this to lay aside all bias of interest or education both are very great I am sure I found it so very long before I could master them and that of education most difficult were it not so there could not be that difference of opinion in Christian Religion all allowing the Bible for the Rule of Faith the Papists themselves do not reject it but add to it the authority of the Church I verily believe there are thousands of Papists Lutherans Calvinists
the Schooles by Syllogismes If then our Reason understands not what is declared How can we by Reason make any deduction by way of Argument from that which we understand not As for Example Some hold That the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son some that he proceeds from the Father by the Son I pray Doth any man understand how the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father from the Son or by the Son no certainly how then can he affirm or believe a tittle more of the Holy Ghost than the Holy Ghost hath declared Seeing as I said He understands not at all what is declared Discourse must be of things intelligible though Faith believes things not intelligible Can any man prove that rotation and circulation are all one who understands not what rotation or circulation is the like may be said of procession or mission of the Holy Ghost The Scripture plainly tells That the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and that he is sent by the Father that he is sent also by the Son but whether he proceeds from the Son or by the Son the Scripture is silent and I am therefore ignorant having no knowledge at all of any Divine Mysteries but from the Scriptures I grant That by rational deductions and humane way of argumenting 't is probable that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son as from the Father but if in divine matters we once give way to humane deductions a cunning Sophister may soon lead a weak Disputant into many Errours By humane deduction you may infer that the Son is inferiour to the Father as begotten by him the Holy Ghost inferiour to both being sent by both with us the less is sent by the greater by humane deduction from three distinct persons you may prove three distinct substances I hope you will make no such inferences in the Divine Persons Again What a business have the School-Men made about these words of our Saviour This is my Body with their praedicatum and subjectum and copula and individuum vagum in the pronoun This. Innumerable are their intricate Impertinencies in this matter and in their conclusions The Papists hold Christ to be present in the Sacrament Transubstantialiter the Lutherans Consubstantialiter the Calvinists Sacramentaliter and yet all confess they understand none of these ways as St. Paul saith Desiring to be Teachers they understand not what they say neither whereof they affirm 1 Tim. 1. 7. Had the Scripture affirmed any of these wayes we ought to have submitted our Reason in things above Reason though we understand them not and 't is reasonable so to do but to go about to prove by reason what is above reason is wonderful and to discourse of what we understand not is doubtless a spice of madness and the conclusions we draw from such discourses must needs be very dangerous we following the ignem fatuum the uncertain light of humane reason in Divine matters so totally beyond our reach Wherefore we have no other safe way to speak of Divine matters but in Scripture Language ipsissimis verbis with the very same words according to that 2 Tim. 1. 13. Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in Faith Mark Hold fast not onely the matter of Faith but the form of sound words these are safe humane words in Divine and high Mysteries are dangerous Man can no more set them forth in humane words than express the Divine substance by humane painting 't is the sole work of the Holy Ghost who is also Divine There hath not been a greater plague to Christian Religion than School-Divinity where men take upon them the liberty to propose new Questions make nice distinctions and rash conclusions of Divine matters tossing them up and down with their Tongues like Tennis Balls and from hence proceed all the dangerous Heresies and cruel Bickerings about them falling from words to blows The first Divinity School we read of was set up at Alexandria by Pantaenus and from thence soon after sprang forth that damnable Haeresie of the Arrians which over ran all Christendome and was the cause of destruction to many Millions of Christians both Body and Soul The Haeresies before this were so gross and sensual that none took them up but dissolute or frantick people and soon vanish't but after this School subtile way of arguing was brought into Christianity Haeresie grew more refined and so subtill that the plain and Pious Fathers of the Church knew not how to lay hold of it and repress it the School distinctions and evasions quite baffled them and these Sophisters proud of their conquest triumphed and carried away a specious appearance of Truth as well as Learning or rather cunning insomuch that many godly persons were also deluded and fell in unto them and many of their Haeresies continue unto this day This great bane of the Church took it's rise from hence Many of the Primitive Doctors and Fathers being converted from Heathenisme and having by long and great Industry acquired much knowledge in natural Philosophy Antiquity History and subtil Logick or Sophistry were very unwilling to abandon quite these their long studied and dearly belov'd Sciences falsly so called and therefore translated them into Christianity applying their School terms distinctions Syllogismes c. to Divine matters intending perchance through indiscreet zeal to illustrate and imbellish Christian knowledge with such artificial forms and figures but rather defaced and spoyled it which the wisdome of St. Paul well foresaw and therefore fore-warned us of it Col. 2. 8. Beware lest any man spoyl you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after the Rudiments of the World and not after Christ. I humbly conceive it nad been far better for them and all Christendome had they determined with St. Paul To know nothing but Christ and him Crucified and not to intermingle mans Wisdome and excellency of speech with Divine Knowledge and Scripture Doctrine which is to be taught by the demonstration of the Spirit and of power as is set forth 1 Cor. 2. not with Logical Syllogisms and Sophistical Enthymems for as the wisdome of God was foolishness to the Greeks and Gentiles so the wisdome of the Greeks and Gentiles was foolishness to God and destruction to his Church who by the foolishness of preaching had overcome all their wisdome and captivated their understandings in obedience to the Faith But when the Christian Doctors left this plain and simple way of preaching and sell to cunning disputing introducing new forms of speech and nice expressions of their own coyning some approving some opposing them great Discords Warrs and Confusions soon followed Had that most Prudent and most Pious Constantine the first and best of Christian Emperours had he pursued his own intentions to suppress all disputes and all new questions of God the Son both Homoousian and Homoiousion and commanded all to acquiesce in the very Scripture expressions without any addition
I am confident the Arrian Heresie had soon expired but by continual disputation the heat of Passion was raised and the matter pursued with far more violence which at length grew into rancour and malice irreconcileable For some Godly Bishops I humbly conceive more zealous than discreet would not rest satisfied unless the Arrians were forced either to subscribe to the new word Homoousian or to quit their Livings and this caused that great Persecution against the Orthodox where the Arrians prevailed whereas by silence imposed on all parties the malice rancour persecution warr all had been prevented and the Truth spoken in love would at length most probably have prevailed For was not the Gospel at first planted this way preaching and praying men to receive it by this way of weakness it preÌ„vailed for the weak things of God are stronger then men But when men will be wiser then God and in their foolish wisdome think it fit to adde their strength to Gods weakness as a speedier and surer way to establish the Truth God to convince them of their folly suffers that strong man the Enemy of the Gospel whom none but his Almighty Arm can bind and master to come and sow his tares of division which soon over-runs the good seed of the Church and brings all to confusion But what then would I have all heretical Opinions broach'd and spread abroad without any controul Are not Princes and Magistrates to be Nursing Fathers unto the Church must they not adde the Power of the Sword to that of the Word Not hold the Sword in vain but for the punishment of evil Doers c All this I grant and desire as much as any man that both Prince and Pastor would hold fast the Faith once delivered to the Saints fully declared and contained in Scripture let them suffer no new Doctrine to be set on foot certainly superfluous the Scripture being allsufficient and probably dangerous as being of Man and not of God who having given us a compleat Rule of Faith and Life by his Prophets Apostles and his only Son we have no reason to believe any New Doctrine proceeds from him therefore St. Paul is very bold and cryeth out If an Angel from Heaven Preach unto you any other Gospel than is already preached let him be accursed The Magistrate then is to countenance and protect the Pastor preaching the Gospel of Christ to silence oppose punish all that Preach any thing contrary or not cleerly contained in the Gospel Heresies never at first appear in their own natural shape but disguised with specious pretences drawn from some obscure places of Scripture capable of various Interpretations and thus having gotten footing by degrees they lay aside their Disguises and march on bare-fac'd Therefore both Pastor and Magistrate ought to be very watchfull and oppose all beginnings ever so specious as dangerous or at least superfluous as I said Let the Pastors at first endeavour by plain and sound Doctrine to stop the mouths of Gainsayers but if these turbulent spirits will not be stop't neither by Admonitions nor Entreaties then let the Pastors proceed to the Power of the Keyes which were it used with that Gravity and Severity as it was in the Primitive times would have great effect that is were it used in a solemn Assembly by the Reverend Bishop and his Clergy not by Lay-Chancellours and their Surrogates and the person excommunicated and shut out of the Church were likewise excluded from all Conversation and Commerce every one shunning his company as a person infected with the Plague so it was of old and so it ought to be now and so it would be now if men made any Conscience of their wayes this I am confident would reduce many a one But if after this any persevere in their perversness then the Magistrate may doubtless by his Power used with Christian moderation endeavour to stop the spreadâ—â—g of the Contagion and do what in wisdom he thinks meet to preserve the purity and peace of Church and State urging against them that Scripture Hast thou Faith have it to thy self before God Rom. 14. 22. Or that Give none offence neither to the Iew nor to the Gentile nor to the Church of God 1 Cor. 10. 32. Or that Gal. 5. 12. I would they were even cut off that trouble you St. Paul was not here in jeast but in great earnest as appears by his continued fervency all along this Epistle and doubtless he means not here a cutting off from the Church by way of Excommunication for that was in his power to do why then should he wish it nay they had cut themselves off from the Church before certainly then he means a cutting off by the Civil Power which then was Heathen and therefore St. Paul would not have it made use of by Christians for he would not allow them to appeal to unbelieving Magistrates no not in Civil things 1 Cor. 6. much less in Spiritual things Wherefore when St. Paul wishes they were cut off he wishes there were a fitting Power that is a Christian Magistrate to punish or banish those that trouble the Church of Christ with Doctrines apparently contrary to the cleer Text and such as are destructive to Christianity I dare go no farther But as for those who keep their erroneous Opinions to themselves who neither publish nor practise any thing to the disturbance of the Church or State but onely refuse to conform to the Churches established Doctrine or Discipline pardon me if I say that really I cannot find any warrant or so much as any hint from the Gospel to use any Force to compell them and from Reason sure there is no Motive to use Force because as I shewed before Force can't make a man believe your Doctrine but onely as an Hypocrite Profess what he believes not I know full well there is a common Objection against this taken from St. Austin who was long of my Opinion but seems to be altered on this occasion Some Hereticks Donatists came to him in his latter dayes and gave thanks that the Civil Power was made use of to restrain them confessing that was the Means which brought them to consider more calmly their own former extravagant Opinions and so brought them home to the true Church This Objection is easily answered First the Donatists are well known to have been a Sect not only erroneous in Judgment but very turbulent in Behaviour alwayes in seditious practices and in that case I shew'd before how the Civil Magistrate may proceed to Punishment but our case is not in repressing seditious practises but enforceing a. Confession of Faith quite of another nature Then secondly to answer more particularly this story I suppose there is no man such a stranger to the world as to be ignorant that there are Hypocrites in it and such for ought we know these seeming converted Donatists might be who for love of this World more than for love of the Truth forsook their
heretical Profession though not their Opinion who conscious to themselves of their own dissimulation and desirous to get favour with St. Austin a Person of great Veneration and Authority with all related unto him this specious Story which St. Austin's great Charity was apt to believe as St. Paul saith believeth all things and from hence concludeth that it might be lawfull to use the Power of the Civil Sword to reduce Hereticks to the Church But unless it can be evidenced that these Donatists Hearts were changed as well as their Profession a thing impossible to prove all this proves nothing Thirdly Put the Case their Hearts were really changed as to matter of Belief 't is evident their Hearts were very worldly still groveling on the Earth not one step nearer Heaven our Saviour saith An evil Tree can't bring forth good Fruit and sure their Heart was evil which was far more moved for the quiet enjoyment of this Worlds good than for the blessed enjoyment of Christ. Fourthly Though we farther grant that the pruning of the Magistrates Sword did really correct the vitiousness of the Tree and made it bring forth some good Fruit yet shall we do evill that good may come of it God forbid saith St. Paul Put the case Malchus had been converted by St. Peters cutting off his Ear this would not have excused St. Peters act which our Saviour so sharply reproved and threatned with perishing by the Sword and gave him the reason why he ought not to use the Sword in his cause Thinkest thou that I cannot pray unto my Father and he will presently give me more than twelve legions of Angels Canst thou do any thing more prejudicial to the honour of my God-head than to think I want the help of Man to defend me And according to this may our Saviour say Thinkest thou that I cannot pray unto my Father and he shall give me more than twelve millions of Souls to worship my Name or canst thou do any thing to eclipse more the power and glory of the Gospel which I have ordained to be set up by weakness and foolishness of Preaching and thereby to subdue both the wisdom of the Greeks and the power of the Gentiles As I my self have conquered all Enemies by preaching and suffering so must my Disciples tread in my steps And just so we find that the Gospel was most miraculously advanced over all the World by preaching and suffering for it not by compelling others to it 'T is evident that upon preaching of the Gospel as many as were ordained by God to Eternal Life believed and surely those who are not ordained by God to Eternal Life can never be brought thither by the ordinance or power of Man Wherefore when the Ministers have preached and prayed they have performed all they can do the rest must be left to the Justice or Mercy of God who hath mercy on whom he will haue mercy and whom he will he hardeneth so that the sharpest Sword in this world shall enter their hard heart no more than an Adamant All this I say in reference to compelling Men to believe or conform still reserving to the Magistrate power according to Scripture To punish evill doers not evill believers not who think but do publish or do practice something to subvert the Fundamentals of Religion or disturb the Peace of the State or injure their Neighbour God the only searcher of hearts reserves unto himself the punishment of evil thoughts of evil belief which Man can never have a right cognizance of for the greatest Professor may be the greatest Atheist But the Magistrate shall conceive he hath sufficient warrant to punish also evil believers and shall proceed to execution or on that pretence shall punish true believers the Scripture is most clear that the Subject is bound to submit and bear it with all Christian patience to the loss of Goods Liberty or Life not only patiently to bear it but to rejoyce in it and I am sure if he hath any true Religion any right understanding in him he will rejoyce on his own behalf because his reward is exceeding great Therefore whoever under pretence of Religion raises any Tumult or takes up Armes against the Magistrate to preserve himself from persecution absolutely declares himself either a stark Fool or a stark Atheist either he believes there is no such reward or is mad to reject the opportunity of gaining it and so at the best is fit for Bedlam at the worst for the Gallowes now let him choose An Appendix to the former Subject BEfore I leave this matter of imposing new Articles of Faith I desire to speak a word or two concerning the authority of Councels and Fathers in relation to it When the Superstitions and the Abuses of the Popish Church especially in the matter of Indulgences grew so very gross as not longer to be endured Luther Melancthon Oecolompadius Bucer divers others opposed them and coming to dispute with their Adversaries about these things the Popish Doctors having no Scripture for their Errors quoted several Fathers and Councils to give countenance unto them The Evangelical Doctors so called because they chiefly urged Evangelium the Gospel for the defence of their Doctrine were most of them bred up from their Infancy in the Popish Church and therein taught even to adore all Councils and Fathers and education being of great force to command and awe both the Wil's and Judgments of Men made them very shie and timorous to reject that authority which they had long reverenced in modesty therefore some of the Evangelical Doctors were content to admit the authority of Fathers and Councils for three or four of the first Centuries some admitted five or six whereby they were reduced some times to great streights in their Disputations for though neither all nor half the Popish Errors can be found in the Councils and Fathers of these Centuries yet some of them were crept very early into the Church This Superstition of the Cross and Chrysme were in use in the second Century The Milenary Error got footing about that time the necessity of Infants receiving the Blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper came in soon after About the fourth Century there was some touches in Oratory Sermons by way of Rhetorical Ejaculations like praying to Saints but long after came to be formally used as now in Churches and so Superstitions came in some at one time and some at another The Papists themselves do not receive all these Errors but reject some as that of the Millenaries and the necessity of Infants receiving the Lords Supper Now I ask first the Papists by what rule they retain some of these things and reject others Secondly I ask the Evangelical by what rule they submit to the authority of some Centuries and refuse others Both will answer me Because they believe some to be erroneus some to be Orthodox Whereby 't is evident that neither submit to the Fathers authority as comanding
must as well yield to others in that and so by degrees abolish all your Ceremonies I beseech you Is not the body more then rayment substance more then Ceremony will not you quit the later to preserve the former but you will preserve both God graut you lose not both But you will say This is the way to lose both first take away Ceremonies thereby you displease and loose your Friends and then lye exposed to your Enemies to spoil your Goods If your Goods be the substance of your Religion and you preserve your Ceremonies to preserve these then really my fear of your loosing all is encreas'd this is a very sandy and dirty foundation can't hold out against stormes but if Faith Hope and Charity be the substance of your Religion as I hope it is these stood firm and encreased in the primitive times in the greatest stormes when the whole world of Jews and Gentiles were enemies to the Church and not one of your Ceremonies in the Church to preserve it the simple naked Truth without any Surplice to cover it without any Ecclesiastical Policy to maintain it overcome all and so would do now did we trust to that and the Defender of it Perchance I appear a great Enemy to the Surplice so often naming that I confess I am would you know why not that I dislike but in my own Judgment much approve a pure white Robe on the Ministers shoulders to put him in mind what purity becomes a Minister of the Gospel But such dirty nasty Surplices as most of them wear and especially the singers in Cathedrals where they should be most decent is rather an intimation of their durty lives and have given my Stomack such a surfet of them as I have almost an aversness to all and I am confident had not this decent habit been so undecently abused it had never been so generally loathed I will name another Ceremony which gives great offence with greater reason The bowing towards the Altar which in my own judgment I allow and practâ—ce in some measure when I come into such congregations as generally use it avoiding still to give offence to any as far as I may with a safe conscience I affirm 't is a very fitting thing to shew reverence in the House of God and to shew it by bowing as well as any other means and to bow that way as well as any other way and in bowing if the congregation did it to the South or West I should as readily conform to that But you will say the primitive Christians as we read did generally bow towards the East the primitive Christians did so I grant but not the prime Primitive what then is this any obligation on us now the Primitive did also use Chrysme or consecrated Oyl yet we retain it not it grew into an abuse therefore left off so hath this bowing towards the Altar by the Papists supposing Christ corporally present there and truly many of our Church men give great suspition to the people that they also believe some such thing otherwise pray answer me when a Minister at his entring into the Church hath bowed to shew his reverence in the House of God and when he ascends up to the Altar bows again to shew some particular reverence in that place where that blessed Sacrament is consecrated let this pass for good also Though something may be said against it yet I pray tell me why the Reader passing from one side of the Church to the other and the Minister passing from one end of the Altar to the other bows again Surely in reverence to the King of Kings he supposes there sitting who can imagine any other cause of his homage and yet I verily believe this is not the cause but meerly a causeless custome taken up one from another the common beginning of all superstitions having no reason for it but much against it giving thereby great scandal to weak ones and ground of Slander to malicious ones who lay hold on any occasions to accuse them of Papistry for certainly 't is done with little or no reason or with a great deal of Superstition Now as to that grand debated Ceremony of kneeling at the Lords Supper I think there is no reason to condemn those that use it nor much reason to press it on those that disuse it Why Are we not to perform this great act of devotion with all possible reverence I grant it but is this to be exprest altogether in the outward posture of the body if so then your opposers thus retort it upon you If outward humility be the thing you contend for you ought to shew it to your God in the humblest way and that is by prostrating rather then kneelng but if inward Humility sure that consists chiefly in obedience to what Christ commanded and to do it as he practised it who can doubt but this is the most perfect obedience and you know when our Saviour instituted this blessed Sacrament he gave this command in the close Do this in remembrance of me and sure he remembers our Saviour best who doth every thing as he did both in Substance and Ceremony and so we find the primitive Christians did observing also to receive it at Supper as our Saviour did but when this grew into a sinful abuse the ceremony was altered to preserve the substance in more purity so was kneeling abused by the Papists and turned into great Superstition why not therefore changed in like manner But you kneel without any superstition you do not adore the Elements on the Table as the Papists do but Christ in Heaven And so this man receives sitting and at supper without any irreverence he doth it so meerly in obedience to Christ's command both in ceremony and substance Do this in remembrance of me But you do not conceive Christ's command extended to the Ceremonies but only to the substance and the Church hath expressly commanded kneeling as the more reverend Posture therefore you ought to obey I think so too but this man conceives Christ command's both substance and ceremonies to be observed and consequently conceives the Churches command contrary to Christs therefore he ought not to obey till you can rectifie his judgment if you can then he ought to obey also if you cannot have patience with your weak Brother require no more of him in this matter then Christ required of his disciples sure Christ would not have allowed any unfitting posture be not over-wise nor over holy condemn not that which Christ allowed God is so infinitely gracious as to accept our poor devotions in any form if but sincere in substance nay though weak and frail in the substantial part he will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax his tender Fatherly bowels yern upon his dear Children coming to him afar off Oh then let us learn to be like minded tender and compassionate to our weak brethren admit them into Cods worship in any posture if
scripture so plainly declares that nothing so covers the multitude of our sins as an act of charity nothing so acceptable unto God so joyful to his holy Angels as conversion of a sinner Yet these men will most passionately and pardon me if I say most uncharitably and irreligiously cry A way with these Idiot Sectaries and mad Phanaticks let them wander and perish in their own wild imaginations we will not leave one Ceremony nor any one line of our Common Prayer Book to gain thousands of them No if you alter that wee will rather leave the Church and go to the Papists Mass. If these be not as simple Sectaries and mad Phanaticks as any whatsoever let God and his holy Angels judge But as for you my Reverend Fathers of the Church I hope you will consult with Scripture in this weighty Affair and model all according to the rules of meekness charity and compassionate tenderness to weak ones there set down and endeavour with prudent admonitions to rectifie the errors of these too zealous Ceremonists with fatherly bowels of condescention to win the hearts of blind and wilful Separatists Certainly the more understanding and powerful Leaders of them will not cannot have the face to stand off after your charitable condescention their populous pretences will be so confuted their mouths so stopped their faces so confounded as for meer shame if not for reason and religion they must come into our Church and their Pastors coming in the Sheep will follow though some stand a while and gaze but at length having no men of ability to lead them on in their perverse wayes the Shop-prating Weavers and Coblers will soon be deserted and made heartless seeing their own naked folly And then shall we all joyn and joyfully sing Te Deum in our Churches and the holy Angels in the Heavens And then I shall most gladly sing with good old Simeon Lord now let thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Concerning Preaching IT remains that I now handle this great business of Preaching wherein I fear I shall displease many there being but few who use it according to the original Institution and yet I had rather they should Preach as they do then quite omit it for certainly 't is a necessary work for a Minister of the Gospel to Preach the Gospel St. Paul tells us That some Preach the Gospel out of envy yet he was pleased that Christ should be so preached rather then not preached and so I say of Preaching Christ out of vanity as 't is evident many do preaching themselves and their own abilities at least as they think ablilities though often great weaknesses and conceited impertinences I beseech you tell me did not Christ and the Apostles Preach the best way and are not we to follow their example Who dare say otherwise yet many do otherwise they take ere or there a sentence of Scripture the shorter and more abstruse the better to shew their skill and invention this they divided and subdivided into generals and particulars the quid the quale the quantum and such like quack salving forms then they study how to hook in this or that quaint sentence of Philosopher or Father this or that nice speculation endeavouring to couch all this in most elegant language in short their main end is to shew their Wit their Reading and whatever they think is excellent in them No doubt rarely agreeing with that of St. Paul I determined not to know any thing among you save Iesus Christ and him crucified And my speech and my preaching was not with inticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of Power 1 Cor. 2. And I verily believe this is the reason why Preaching hath so little effect in these days because they labour to speak the wisdom of this world which is foolishness with God nor do they Preach in demonstration of the Spirit but in demonstration of their Learning I know full well this unapostolick way of Preaching was used by some of the Antient Fathers especially the Greeks always fond of nicities and curiosities and being now become Christians as I said before transplanted their beloved Rhetorical flowers of humane learning into Christian Gardens which proved rather Weeds to over-run the seed of sound and plain Apostolick Doctrine humane nature being a soyl apter to give nourishment and vigor to humane principles then divine But when did ever any Learned Witty Rhetorical harang or cunning Syllogistical discourse convert the tythe of St. Peter's or St. Paul s foolish Preaching as he tearms it but the wisdom of God to those that are perfect and sound in the faith Who is ignorant of that famous passage at the Council of Nice whither resorted with divers others one Eminent Heathen Philosopher offering himself as the manner of those vain-glorious Sophisters was to dispute with the Christian Doctors some Bishops of greater Repute for Learning undertook him and as they thought cleerly Confuted but no way Converted him at last rises up a grave antient Bishop of small Learning but of great Faith and Piety and with great dissatisfaction of his Brethren fearing some gross baffle should befal this good man comes up to the Philosopher and with great Magisterial Authority recites unto him the Apostolick Creed I believe in God the Father Almighty and in the close calls to him O Philosopher believest thou all this The Philosopher answered I believe not being able to resist the demonstration of spirit and power wherewith he uttered those Divine Mysteries as he confess 't before them all You will say this was a Miracle of great rarity I grant it but many such Miracles should we see had we the Faith and powerful Spirit of this Holy Bishop and would indeavour to imitate Apostoliâ—al Preaching not Philosophical Arguing nor Rhetorical declaiming We see plainly the Apostolical Preaching was either Catechistical Instructions or Pious Admonitions not tying themselves to any form but past from one matter to another as the Auditors condition required not as the Preachers fancy and reading prompt just as the Roman Emperour Caligula who when Delinquents came before him to be judged condemned or acquitted them as agreed best with the current of his Oration So these men shape their discourse more to the applause then edification of the hearers And so much time is spent in composing these Oratory Sermons as the Minister hath not leisure to perform a quarter of his Parochial Duty of visiting the Sick of admonishing the scandalous of reconciling the janglers of private examining and instructing the poor ignorant souls thousands in every Country as ignorant as Heathens who understand no more of most Sermons then if in Greek so that the Sermon is rather a Banquet for the Wantons that are full then instruction to those who are even starved for want of spiritual food the plain and saving Word of Christ not the nice conceited word of Man which may nourish
the Vniversity with all his Sciences and Languages be fit for this or rather a grave sober person of age and experience having a a good natural capacity illuminated by Scripture Instruction and Prayer using also the help of grave and sound Interpreters Really 't is most evident that the Church is run into great contempt by the slightness and giddiness of many Ministers who intend nothing but to make a handsom School-Boyes Exercises in the Pulpit on Sunday but never attend the other Parochial duties no nor their own advance in Spiritual knowledge but give themselves wholly either to idle Studies or idler Recreations and are very children in Divine knowledg and behaviour I do affirm this in the presence of God as a truth and I have known some pass for very good Preachers that could not give a good account of the Athanasian Creed nor scarce of the Childrens Catechisme Masters of Art but School-Boys in true Divinity and so their Parishoners continue very Babes all their life long It would make any true Christian's heart bleed to think how many thousand poor souls there are in this Land that have no more knowledg of God then Heathens thousands of the mendicant condition never come to Church and are never lookt after by any likewise thousands of mean husbandry Men that do come to Church understand no more of the Sermon then Bruites perchance in their infancy some of them learnt a little of their Catechisme that is they could like Parrots say some broken pieces but never understand the meaning of one line this is the common way of Chatechising but afterwards as they grow up to be Men grow more babes in Religion so ignorant as searce to know their Heavenly Father and are admitted to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper before they are able to give account of the Sacrament of Baptisme This it is generally in the Country and in the City as bad partly for the reason before specified and partly by reason the number in many Parishes is far greater then any one Pastor can have a due care of he cannot know half the Names or Faces of them much less their Faith and Behaviour which is requisite that he may both instruct and reprove where there is need Wherefore I humbly conceive 't is necessary to divide these numerous Parishes into several parts but wiâ—hal to provide means out of them for several Ministers for there is no hope to gain it from their Charity or Piety which is plain Hypocrisy seeming so zealous to hear the Word but to contribute nothing towards it the Minister may Preach his heart out and yet not get out of their purses any tolerable Maintenance a poor Husbandman in the Country of twenty pound a year that gets his bread by the swear of his brows pays more to his Minister than a Citizen that gets hundreds a year sitting at great ease in his Shop and spends more in Ribbonds Laces and Perriwigs in one year then he pays to his Minister in ten or twenty I beseech them to consider what account they will give to their Lord and Master at that day But I return to the requisite qualities of a Minister who according to St. Paul is to be a Governor as well as a Preacher to admonish and rebuke as well as instruct and therefore of two evils choose the lesser rather Men defective in parts to preach which may be supplied by Homilies then defective in Wisdom and Discretion to govern which can't be supplied by other means But would Men be content with the true Gospel and Apostolick preaching doubtless there might persons be found out fit for both to Govern and to Preach to preach one God the Creator of all one Christ the Redeemer of all one Holy Ghost the Sanctifier of all to preach the Baptisme of Repentance and the Saâ—rament of the Lord's Supper to preach Godliness Justice Mercy Charity Sobriety Chastity c. All which will be far better performed by a grave and godly conscientious Man well Catechized though he never saw University though he knew no other Language but his Mother Tongue then by any Aristotelist Scotist Aquinatist with all their knacks of quiddities and qualities Syllogismes and Enthymems distinctions and subsumptions c. Not one Greek or Italian or French of a thousand knew any Language but his Mother Tongue when the Gospel first flourished there not one Indian of hundred thousand where St. Thomas planted the Gospel ever heard of Plato or Aristotle and so I may say of many other Nations where the Gospel was planted and Priests ordained When God instituted Aaron and that Priesthood when Christ instituted the Apostles and this Priesthood not a title mentioned of School Sciences or Forreign Languages 'T is true the Apostles by the Holy Ghost received the gift of Tongues because they were to preach to all Nations but we find not any infusion of School learning by the Holy Ghost nor any more gift of Tongues after the Gospel once spread over the world God thought it then needless I pray let 's be no wiser then God and his Christ who converted the world by the foolishness of Preaching but I never yet heard of any one Nation converted by the wisdom of Philosophical Rhetorical Preaching Mistake me not I say that Sciences and Languages are no way necessary for common Parochical Preachers yet I grant that Sciences especially Historical and Languages especially the Oriental are very useful to the perfect understanding of Scripture and very fit for some Ministers to study to whom God hath given parts and means to acquire them who may be helpful to others and the Universities are very good places to train up youths to this purpose but still these faculties are no way necessary to a parochial Cure a small proportion of Learning with a great deal of Piety and Discretion is much better Besides there is another thing much to be considered Were there such grave conscientious persons admitted into the Ministry as the Apostles ordained such Preaching set up as they practised and all other decryed such double honor paid unto the Ministry as St. Paul commanded and primitively was rendred such grave persons would scarce ever fail of it then we might find thousands in the Nation that having means of their own would preach the Gospel to the poor for conscience sake The maintenance for Ministers in most parts is so wretchedly small and so like to be the Tythes being in the hands of Lay-men without hopes of recovery that there is no convenient support for men of Worth and Gravity and therefore Youths and striplings as wretched are put into them of meer necessity that they lye not wholly void whereas if men that had some Estate to help to maintain themselves being persons of conscience and convenient Knowledge were put into the Ministry and such preaching the Gospel accepted of as the Apostles and Primitive Disciples used the Cures wou'd be served with far more edification of the
people and honour to the Church then now they are I most humbly beseech all in the spirit of meekness and humility to consider these things laying aside the veil of pomp and vanity which blinds their eyes and hinders them from discovering the naked truth and simplicity of the Gospel I call the Searcher of all hearts to witness I wish unto all Clergy-men both double honour and double maintenance also I can't think any thing too much for those who conscienciously labour in the Ministry But seeing as I said there is no hopes of regaining the Church maintenance we in prudence should seek out such helps as may be had And truly I have great reason to hope that were this rule observed of putting only grave discreet and consciencious persons into the Ministry whether University men or not it matters not so as fully instructed in the Doctrine of the Gospel by sound Commentators many persons of good rank and Estate would think it no dishonour but rather a high honour to enter into it as they did in the Primitive time Iulian neerly related to the Roman Emperour and afterwards Emperour himself thought it an honour to be admitted a Reader one of the lowest Offices in the Church And for the better advancing this business and fitting all sorts of men with convenient Knowledge for the Ministry I humbly conceive it very fit there should be one good and brief English Comment of Scripture selected and compiled out of those many voluminous Authors laying asid all impertinent criticismes abstruse questions nice speculations and the like setting down only the plain and most obvious sence in matters of Faith and good life necessary to salvation such a book to be set forth by Authority with a command that no man in Sermons Exhortations or Catechisings teach any thing contrary to it and what ever Learning beyond that is brought into the Pulpit let it rather be exploded then applauded for if any countenance be given to excursions there will be no end the itch men have to shew their Learning will soon bring us again into the vain unedifying practice we now are in I humbly conceive it fit also that the book of Homilies be reviewed not to correct any thing in them for they are most excellent sound Exhortations containing the true Primitive Spirit but to add to them what ever is wanting to the necessary Doctrine of Faith and good manners to teach every person how to behave himself in his several vocation and these commanded to be read once over every year for I have observed several even good and conscientious Preachers to take quite another method and preach on this or that Chapter and so in the whole year yea perchance in two or three years never preach on the duty between Man and Wife Parents and Children Masters and Servants Magistrates and Subjects or omit to treat of Pride or Malice or Cheating or the like by reason of which omissions several in the Congregation are ignorant in necessary duties though rightly instructed in many things unnecessary I expect that many will cry out of this as a means to introduce laziness into the Ministry and a hindrance from exercising those Talents God hath endowed them with To this I answer First That I had rather the Ministers should be lazie then the People ignorant in their duty But secondly I answer That besides Pulpit Preaching the Minister may find enough to do to keep him from laziness and exercise the best that is the most useful Talents of a Minister to visit and comfort the Sick and Afflicted to compose Differences and reconcile Janglers to examine and instruct the meaner and duller part of his Flock who are not capable of Pulpit preaching to whom they must inculcate both Doctrines and Admonitions ten times over and scarcely so make them apprehend any Spiritual matters Experience only can raise a belief how extreamly dull the common people are in the mysteries of Faith and but little quicker in the principles of a good life Christ dyed to save these poor vulgar Souls as well as those of the Gentry and more learn'd yet the labour of most Ministers is to entertain those that know enough and are very lazy in Catechising those poor souls that know nothing let these be fully instructed and then for me let them shew their Talents by preaching as often as they please to others All that I labour for is that those may have it who most want it either by injoyning such Homilies as I mentioned to be yearly read or such Sermons to be yearly preached I am no enemy to true Apostolical preaching God forbid I should but to vain Scholastical useless preaching to have the Pastor who should daily watch over his Flock sit in his Study all the Week long picking from that or this Quaint Author a few beautiful Flowers and then come on Sunday with his Nosegay in his hand to enterâ—ain Ladies and Courtiers for my part I count this far more sinful laziness then to read a Pious Homily on Sunday and all the Week after go up and down from house to house taking pains to instruct and exhort such as I mentioned But these shall be called dumb Dogs yet surely by none but barking Curs who are wholly ignorant in true Apostolick Preaching Pardon me if I return them their due who speak evil of that they understand not They will Object The Apostles and Primitive Disciples did not read Homilies but Preach'd themselves Neither do I desire that any one Homily should ever be read so as we had the true Apostolick preaching both oâ— Sundays in publick and Week-days also in private where there is need But I am sure such pious Homilies as I mentioned are no ways contrary to the Apostolical and primitive practice and are far more useful then such preaching as we have now adays And I am also sure that in the purest and most primitive time Homilies under another name were read in the Churches that is the Epistles of Apostolick godly Bishops written to other Churches were read in the Congregation with great Veneration Shall the name of Epistle make the one applauded the name of Homily make the other reproached the contents and the intent being the same to stirr up the people to godliness If this will satisfy let the Homilies be styled Epistles to such or such a Church and then I hope they will pass for current But you will say The Compilers of our Homilies are not of equal authority to those primitive Epistlers Let that pass but I am sure they are of far more authority then most of our Preachers I pray consider how many giddy Youths are of our Ministry how many of greater age but of as little gravity or discretion how many that vainly preach themselves and their own abilities not Christ and his Gospel how many that preach piously and yet not usefully but as I said before many things unnecessary omitting many necessary Summ up all these
particulars and you will find a small remainder that preach piously and edifying also very few to equal the Compilers of our Homilies and then calmly consider the great use yea the great necessity of such Homilies But if you can furnish all our Churches with pious discreet edifying preaching Pastors I am abundantly satisfied and do you seal up the Book of Homilies till a new dearth of spiritual food which God in his great mercy prevent Amen Concerning Bishops and Priests WHoever unbiass'd reads the Scripture thence proceeds to the first Christian Writers and so goes on from Age to Age can't doubt but that the Church was always governed by Bishops that is by one Elder or Presbyter or President or what else you please to call him set over the rest of the Clergy with authority to Ordain to Exhort to Rebuke to Judg and Censure as he found cause no other form of Government is mentioned by any Authority for Fifteen hundred years from the Apostles downwards Now who can in reason and modesty suspect those Primitive Bishops who lived in the days of the Apostles chosen by them into the Church succeeded them in Church Government yea and in Martyrdom also for the Faith as Clemens Ignatius Polycarpus and others who I say can suspect them to be prevaricators in Church Discipline and take upon them another form of Episcopal Government contrary to Apostolican Institution These great Masters of Self-denyal who gave their Lives for the Truth would they transmit unto Posterity a Church Government contrary to the Truth let who will believe it I can neither believe it nor suspect it And there is yet another thing very observable that all the Orthodox Church dispersed all the world over some parts having no correspondence at all with the other by reason of distance some by Warrs divided and made cruel Enemies yet all agreed in this form of Government and not only the Orthodox but also the Schismaticks and Hereticks who separated from hated and persecuted the Orthodox Church they likewise retained still this form of Government as if all were of necessity compelled to acknowledg this having never known heard nor dream'd of other And therefore nothing but necessity if that can excuse those who first set up another form of Government to their own Masters let them stand or fall I will not presume to censure them I will only say That from the begining it was not so and I thank God 't is not so with us but as it was in the beginning so it is now with us and ever shall be I trust in God Amen But notwithstanding all this yet 't is very much to be doubted whether they were of any distinct superiour order from and above the Presbyters or one of the same order set over the rest with power to ordain Elders to exhort rebuke chastise as Timothy and Titus were constituted by St. Paul For though they were of the same order with the other Elders and Pastors yet there was great reason for some to be placed with greater Authority to rule over the rest The Scripture tells us That even in the days of the Apostles there were several seducing teachers leading the people into errors and heresies and more were to follow after the Apostles times grievous wolves in sheeps clothing and therefore it was very necessary to pick out some of eminent soundness in faith and godliness of life and set them up on high with great Authority as fixed Stars in the Heavens so styled Revel 1. to whom all might have regard in dangerous times as Marriners observe in their Sea-faring journies But the Scripture no where expresses any distinction of order among the Elders we find there but two orders mentioned Bishops and Deacons Of Deacons we shall treat afterwards Let us now proceed to the Order of Bishops and Priests which the Scripture distinguishes not for there we find but one kind of Ordination then certainly but one Order for two distinct Orders can't be conferred in the same instant by the same words by the same actions They who think Deaconship and Priesthood distinct the one subservient to the other though they intend in the same hour to consecrate the same Man Deacon and Priest do they not first compleat him Deacon then Priest I pray let any Man shew me from Scripture as I said Timothy or Titus or any one ordained twice made first Priest then Bishop which is absolutely necessary if they be distinct characters and 't is generally affirmed though I humbly conceive they scarce understand what they affirm I mean they understand not what these characters are whether Greek Hebrew or Arabick or what else But let that pass I desire them only to shew me how a Man can make two characters with one stroke or motion A. and B. at the same instant If then neither Timothy nor Titus nor any other were but once ordained whence can we gather these two distinct characters these two distinct Orders We find the Apostles themselves but once ordained those by the Apostles but once ordained and so on When St. Paul left Titus in Creete to ordain he mentions only one ordination that of Presbyters so the word in Greek no other ther 's no commission given him to ordain Bishops and Presbyters Who then was to ordain Bishops there not Titus he had no such command we do not find that St. Paul himself did And sure you will not grant that the Presbyters which Titus ordained that they could ordain Bishops there for you will not allow them to ordain so much as Presbyters Yet Bishops you will needs have in every City and in Creete were very many who ordained Bishops for them all Truly I can't find nor you neither I believe But you will say The superior order contains in it virtually the inferior order let this pass at present doth Presbyter then virtually cantain Bishop If so then all Presbyters are Bishops No say you Bishop is the superior order and that contains in it Presbyter You say so but by your leave you are to prove so or give me leave to say otherwise especially seeing I have Scripture for my saying and you have none for yours But should I grant Bishop the superior what then we find Titus ordained not any but Presbyters as he was commanded by St. Paul so we are still at a loss for our Bishops we find not their Ordination Or did St. Paul mistake in his expression and meaning Bishops in every City said Presbyters in every City let this pass also and I pray let us see what you mean by this The superior order virtually contains the inferior Do not you say they are two distinct Orders two real distinct indelible characters imprinted in the Soul as the School-men affirm give me leave to talk their Language though I understand it not If I take a fair paper and make an A. upon it for the character of Presbyter and then make a B. upon it for the Character of
a Bishop the same paper contains both Characters but sure one Character doth not contain the other A. doth not contain B. nor doth B. contain A. So the same Soul may receive two Characters two Orders but if the two Orders be distinct how can they contain each other I understand no more then I do these Holy Characters If they can paint them out unto me in their proper figures perchance I may understand them better but as yet I ingeniously confess my ignorance I grant in a Metaphysical way of Abstraction the superiour species contains the inferiour genus A Man a rational creature contains the animality of a Horse the inferiour creature but doth not contain a real Horse in his belly nor can a man beget Horses or men when he pleases Nor can you truly say a man is a Horse I believe my Schoolmen would take it in snuff should I affirm any of them to be Horses c. But they affirm that a Bishop doth not only virtually contain the Priesthood but is really a Priest and can make Priests or Bishops as he please Whereby you may see this answer That the Superiour Order virtually contains the inferiour is a meer evasion it sounds as if it were something but really is nothing to our purpose at all for we are not now upon Metaphysical abstractions but real individual subsistencies two actual distinct Orders as they would have it two distinct indelible characters imprinted on mens souls by Ordination as A. and B. which can never be truly affirmed one of the other A. is not B. and B. is not A. a man is not a horse and a Horse is not a man so a Bishop ordain'd only Bishop is not a Priest nor a Priest a Bishop if they be distinct Wherefore I must beleive them one and the same Order especially seeing the Scripture applies the same name promiscuously to both which is the second argument of their identity to be one and the same Acts. 20. St. Paul sends to Ephesus to call the Presbyters of that Ghurch un-him at Miletum and speaking to them he calls them all Bishops in our Translation 't is Overseers Verse 28. So in his Epistle to the Phillippians he directs to all the Saints with the Bishops and Deacons both in the plural number so that by the word Bishops we must needs understand Presbyters for Bishops as we now take the word were never many in one City I pray observe also St. Paul Epis. to Titus 1. 5. For this cause left I thee in Crete that thou shouldest ordain Elders in every City if any be blameless for a Bishop must be blameless Is it not here evident that an Elder and a Bishop in St. Paul's Language is one and the same otherwise there were no coherency at all in St. Paul's speech If this be not convincing beyond all possible evasion I understand nothing of discourse Other such places are obvious in Scripture to every one I need mention no more only I desire to inform the Reader of a passage to this purpose in an Epistle of Clemens to the Corinthians This Clemens is mentioned in Scripture and is he whom St. Peter appointed his successor at Rome and who was of so great Authority that as St. Hierome tells us this his Epistle was read in Churches Now in this Epistle Clemens particularly sets forth the constitution of the Church by the Apostles and what Ministers they ordained in the Church to wit Bishops and Deacons he names no other which seems to me as full an evidence as can be that there were no other Orders in the Church in those daies but those two And yet we are sure there was then Presbiters in the Church for Peter and Iohn call themselves Presbyters and St. Peter calls them Presbiters to whom he wrote his Epistle so that if there were but two Orders to wit Bishops and Deacons Presbyters must be one and the same with Bishops or with Deacons not with Deacons therefore one and the same with Bishops One Order called by two names promiscuously in Scripture as hath been shewed before And I desire you to observe that of those two names Presbyter and Bishop if therebe any dignity and eminency exprest in one more then the other sure it is in the name of Presbiter not Bishop because the Apostles themselves and the chief of the Apostles as some would have it who stand highest on their Panâ—ables are in Scripture styled Presbyters or Elders as the word in our English Translation but never Bishops as I remember And therefore I can't but wonder why that haughty head of the Papists should not assume to himself the title of his pretended predecessor St. Peter Presbyter rather then Bishop unless it be by God's providential disposure to shew his blindness in this as well as in other things and make him confute himself by this name of Bishop which was never given to St. Peter no more then St. Peter gave unto him the Headship of the Church As to the interpretations and answers given to these and such like Scripture expressions sure I need not take any pains to confute them for they are so weak as that Petavius a late Writer and great stickler for the superiority of Episcopacy durst not trust to them nor would venture his credit to make use of them but sound out a new and rare conceit as he conceives That these Presters mentioned in Scripture and called by both names were all really Bishops and that the Apostles Ordained them so as most convenient for that time for the Congregations of the Faithful being small there needed no Priests under the Bishops to officiate and yet there was need of a Bishop in those small Congregations because there were several things to be done which were not within the power and capacity of Presbiters to act as he supposes viz. the laying on of hands and confirming the Faithful after Baptisme the veiling of devoted Women the reconciling of penitents the ordaining Deacons where there was need and adds moreover several impertinences as the making of Chrisme consecrating Church-Vessels c. And Petavius mightily applauds himself in this conceit as the only means to clear all difficulties Our Doctor Hammond also finding the usual interpretations of those places of Scripture above mentioned too weak to sustain the arguments builded on them for the Unity of Order goes along after Petavius a great way in the fore cited discourse though not in the later impertinances and affirms that the Presbyters then were all Bishops And so far I go with them that all were Presbyters all Bishops because all was one and one was all several names not several Orders as they would have it and this I humbly conceive firmly proved by my former Argument of one Ordination wherein two distinct Orders could not be conferred so that still I require them to shew me from Scripture where these Presbyter-Bishops were twice Ordained else it cannot be truly affirmed they were really
Bishops have the authority of Ordination more than Presbyters A Man may smile to see this used as an Argument for the preheminency of Bishops which is directly against it for St. Hierom having discourst of the equality and Identity of Presbyters and Bishops and having brought many Arguments from Scripture to prove that Bishop and Presbyter was only two names for one and the same Office for a further confirmation hereof asks this question I pray what doth a Bishop do more than a Presbyter except Ordination plainly intimating thereby that this could make no such distinction of eminency in them above Presbyters I beseech you consider Do not Presbyters perform Offices of a higher nature than Ordination Presbyters are ordained Embassadors for Christ to preach his Holy Gospel for the Salvation of Souls they are under Christ Mediators between God and the People to make intercession for them they administer the Sacrament of Baptism wherein the Children of Warth are regenerated and made the Children of God and Heirs of eternal Life yea they administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper also the most transcendent act of Religion and Christian Dignity whereby we are made partakers of the Body and Blood of Christ And what doth a Bishop more than these except Ordination which being no Sacrament sure is inferiour in dignity to the other mentioned Acts and therefore cannot elevate them to a higher degree Judge now I beseech you whether this question makes pro or con Are not such questions always tending to disparagement When any Man is boasting his Power and Authority should I come and ask What can you do more than others unless it be in this or that poor business not worth speaking of would he not take this as an affront Wherefore it cannot enter into my head that St. Hierom intended by this Question to express any superiour Order above the Priesthood but plainly the contrary v z. That Bishops having no other power distinct from Priests but Ordination this could be no Argument for a distinct and superior Order And now I desire my Reader if he understand Latin to view the Epistle of St. Hierom to Evagrius and doubtless he will wonder to see Men have the confidence to quote any thing out of it for the distinction between Episcopacy and Presbytery for the whole Epistle is to shew the Identity of them Before I chanced to read this Epistle I was of the crroneous Opinion that Bishops were a distinct Order but so convinc'd by this Epistle as I was forced to submit to a change And I farther desire my Reader to observe the various fate of St. Hierom and Aerius Aerius is reviled as an Heretick for affirming this Identity of Order Hierom passes for a Saint and a great Doctor of the Church though he affirms the very same as fully as Aerius or any Man can do and therefore it may be my fate to be reviled as Aerius was but our Saviour bids us rejoyce and be exceeding glad when we are reviled for his Names sake or for his Words sake sure all is one for great is our Reward and so I proceed But there lies yet a great Objection made by our good Bishop Hall he tells us how that Collutbus a Presbyter of Alexandria took upon him to ordain others and that afterwards in a Council of a hundred Bishops in Aegypt their Ordination was declared null because ordained by a Presbyter From this and some other such Instances the Bishop would prove that the Order of Presbyters is not capable to ordain therefore Bishops are a distinct Order I am sorry so good a Man had no better a proof for his intended purpose It seems he quite forgot how that the famous Council of Nice consisting of above three hundred made a Canon wherein they declare That if any Bishop should ordain any of the Clergy belonging to another Bishop's Diocess without consent and leave had of that Bishop to whose Diocess they did belong their Ordination should be null You see then the irregular Ordination of a Bishop is as null as the irregular Ordination of a Presbyter therefore the irregular Bishop and the irregular Presbyter are of the same Order of the same Authority neither able to Ordain Is it not most evident by this that 't is not their Order but Commission that makes them capable to Ordain sure an irregular Bishop is of the same Order with the regular Is the Line of his Diocess like a Conjurers Circle within it he is a Bishop without it he is none No but within it he hath Commission given him to Ordain without it no Commission no nor to act in his own Diocess beyond his Commission which is to ordain only the Clergy of his own Diocess and within his own Diocess Can any thing be plainer Cellutbus then being but a Presbyter and under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Alexandria his taking upon him to ordain Presbyters was highly irregular and insolent and therefore most justly declared null I desire the Papistical School-Divines with their manifold indelible Characters to observe here how easily the Councils dasht out the indelible Character of Presbyter imprinted on the Souls of these Men irregularly ordained they made a clear rasure not one tittle of it left And could they so easily cancel the Gift of the Holy Ghost I leave my Schoolmen to find out how this rare feat was done And I proceed to add a Canon taken from a Council at Antioch concerning Chorepiscopi much to our purpose When the Apostles had settled Bishops in every City with authority of ordaining and governing the several Churches or Congregations within the Circuits of those Cities some were very large and therefore in process of time when more were converted to the Faith and the Congregations encreased more in number and at greater distance than the Bishop himself could well have the overfight of the Bishop chose some principal Men for his assistance and dividing his great Circuit into several lesser Circuits placed these Men as Overseers under him and these were called Chorepiscopi that is Country Bishops and were much after the manner of our Rural Deans Those Chorepiscopi Country Bishops being thus setled in authority to govern the Pastoral Priests in their Circuits took upon them to ordain more Priests when occasion required which the chief Bishops took very ill at their hands as a great lessening to their Supream Authority And to prevent it for the future a Canon was made in the Council of Antioch about the year 340. to forbid these Country Bishops to ordain any Priests Now I pray you observe These Chorepiscopi were either really ordained in the Order of the Chief Bishop or not if they were as full Bishops as he as really they were why might they not ordain Priests as well as he The Chief Bishop answers Because he gave them no Commission Whereby you see that the power of ordaining Priests was annexed no more to Bishops than to Priests
unless the Bishops received a new Commission to ordain as well as a new Ordination If it be answered That these Chorepiscopi were meer Priests sent forth to have inspection only over other Priests Then I pray observe that these Chorepiscopi being meer Priests took upon them to ordain other Priests which certainly had been madness for them to do had they then such a Belief of Bishops as is now required They might as well have undertaken to create Stars in the Heavens For if Bishops only have received a Divine power from Christ and his Apostles to ordain Priests he that hath not this divine power of Ordination can no more ordain a Priest than a Man without the divine power of Creation can create a Star both are impossible in nature from whence it must follow that these Country Bishops were directly mad in undertaking to ordain Priests having received no such divine power from Christ his Apostles or their Successors But if we take these Country Bishops for sober Godly Persons in their right witts as doubtless they were being selected for that Office they must needs believe that being Priests alone they had power to ordain other Priests and also believed that the Bishops having made them Overseers and Governors in their little Circuits they had also received thereby Commission to ordain as well as to govern and were as little Bishops under an Arch-Bishop for such really they were so that I can't in charity censure them so much as of contumacy in taking upon them more then they thought at least they had Commission to act I doubt not but the chief Bishop would be wary enough not to employ any contumacious persons I conclude then first That it was only a meer mistake an easie and pardonable mistake of their Commission Secondly That in those Times it was not thought an impossible thing for bare Priests no Bishops to ordain other Priests for then certainly they would never have undertaken it And I confess my self of their opinion and can't but so continue till I see more reason to the contrary And I hope my Reader will see what weak proofs are brought for this distinction and superiority of Order no Scripture no Primitive General Council no general consent of Primitive Doctors and Fathers no not one Primitive Father of Note speaking particularly and home to our purpose Only a touch of Epiphanius and St. Austin upon Aerius the Arrian Heretick but not declared no not by them an Heretick in this particular of Episcopacy so that I my self declare more particularly against him then these Fathers do accusing him of Heresie in part of his affirmation concerning Bishops though not in every part I shall conclude this business by giving my poor Judgment drawn from the preceeding Arguments I find in Scripture that the Priesthood is a holy Order into which no man is to thrust himself unless he be called I do not find that Deaconship hath an inferiour part in it or Episcopacy above it but that it is compleat and entire in it self and that it may involve many administrrtions in one and the same Order and sometimes many in one and the same person St. Iohn was an Apostle an Evangelist a Prophet a Pastor a Teacher an Ordainer which we call Bishop all these Gifts he had by one and the same Spirit and in one and the same Priesthood Christ himself was of this Order a Priest for ever after the Order of Melcbisedek that is both King and Priest these were his Offices he is called also the Bishop of our Souls Was this in Christ a distinct and superiour Office or Order to his Priesthood who will presume to affirm this And Christ told his Apostles As my Father sent me so send I you Christ therefore made them also Kings and Priests as St. Iohn tells us Rev. 1. Our Saviour's Kingdom was not of this World no more was that of the Apostles Our Saviour's Office of Priest and Bishop was one and the same so was that of the Apostles and they Ordained and sent others as Christ. Ordained and sent them there was no distinction or diversity of Order in Christ and his Apostles no more was there in those who were Ordained and sent by the Apostles though there might be diversity of Gifts or Administrations all were not Evangelists nor Prophets some had the gift of Tongues some of Prophesie some of Miracles some of discerning Spirits and some such Gift I conceive they might have whom the Apostles constituted superintendent Overseers Bishops over the rest endued especially with the Gift of Discerning and Judging of Men and therefore fit to be intrusted with the Ordaining of others for which there needed no new Order but the enlargement only of their Commission to Ordain to oversee and govern those that were Ordained And these as I said before being setled in this eminent manner over the rest were call'd by that name in Greek which signifies as much and which we in English call Bishop and by degrees this name was wholly appropriate to them In this order the Apostles left the Church at their death and in this order their Successors continued it as in duty sure they ought from time to time near one thousand five hundred years without any interruption Wherefore for any to alter this way of Government or to take upon them to Ordain not being chosen this way to it they would be guilty of great rashness and high presumption and I thank God I am as zealous for the preserving this Primitive way as any Man Yet I cannot by any means consent to them who would have Episcopacy to be a distinct Order for the Reasons before given nor can I think the Ordination of a Priest made by Priests invalid for though it ought not be done but only of necessity yet being done 't is valid and certainly may without any crime be done by any Priest by shipwrak or any such chance cast into a Country where there were none Commissionated to Ordain in such a case he might and ought to Ordain other fit Persons for the Service of God and Preaching of the Gospel For who can doubt but that the Substance is to be preferred before Ceremony And as St. Paul approved of the Preaching of Christ out of envy rather than no Preaching so doubtless to Ordain out of order is better than no Ordination and the Church of Christ be deprived of Preaching Praying and Administring the Sacraments and all other Pastoral Duties so great necessity may well excuse any irregularity Yet where Order can possibly be observed it ought to be for God is the God of Order Wherefore he that wilfully transgresses against Order transgresses against God and shall receive to himself damnation for if to resist the Ordinance of Man only in humane and temporal things be damnation much more is it to resist an Apostolick Ordinance in things Spiritual and Divine Concerning Deacons HAving thus stated and united the two pretended distinct
Orders of Episcopacy and Presbytery I now proceed to the third pretended Spitual Order that of Deaconship Whether this of Deaconship be properly to be called an Order or an Office I will not dispute but certainly no Spiriritual Order for their Office was to serve Tables as the Scripture phrases it which in plain English is nothing else but Overseers of the Poor to distribute justly and discreetly the Alms of the Faithful which the Apostles would not trouble themselves withal least it should hinder them in the Ministration of the Word and Prayer But as most matters of this World in process of time deflect much from the original constitution so it fell out in this business for the Bishops who pretend to be successors to the Apostles by little and little took to themselves the Dispensation of Alms first by way of Inspection over the Deacons but at length the total Management and the Deacons who were meer Lay-Officers by degrees crept into the Church-Ministration and became a reputed Spiritual Order and a necessary degree and step to the Priesthood of which I can find nothing in Scripture and the Original Institution not a word relating to any thing but the ordering of Alms for the Poor And the first I find of their officiating in Spiritual matters is in Iustin Martyr who lived in the second Century he relates that when the Bishop had consecrated the Bread and Wine for the Lords Supper the Deacons took it from him and delivered it to the Lay-Communicants there present and carried it also to the Faithful that were absent hindered I guess from coming by sickness or some other good excusing cause In the beginning when the Congregations of the Faithful were small the Bishop himself delivered the Communion to them but at length encreasing to great numbers it would have taken too much of their time for the Bishop to have delivered it to the whole Congregation so the Deacons were made use of as fit Persons for this matter for in those days there was always a Communion in the Assemblies on the Lords-Day and the Laity that Day brought their Alms and Presents with them which were delivered unto the Deacons to dispose of to the Poor by the Bishops direction and therefore the Deacons receiving from their hands their charitable Benevolence were thought the fittest to return again to their hands the consecrated Mysteries being part of their Offerings But 't is evident this was not yet come to be the general practice of all Churches but only in Greece where Iustin Martyr lived for Tertullian who lived in Africk some years after Iustin declares that the custom there was to receive the Blessed Sacrament from the hands of the Bishop only whom he calls the President that is whosoever was chief in the Assembly whether Bishop or Presbyter But yet I confess that this custom of the Deacons delivering the Blessed Sacrament or at least one part of it viz. the Chalice by degrees became the custom in most Churches in after Ages and so passing from one thing to another in time they came to administer the Sacrament of Baptism and at last to the Ministration of the Word the business which the Apostles peculiarly reserved to themselves and which the Bishops also for a long time reserved so entirely to themselves as it was thought a great insolency for any even for the Presbyters to take upon them to preach in presence of the Bishop Valerius Bishop of Hippo as Possidius relates was sharply rebuked by his fellow Bishops for suffering St. Austin then but a Presbyter to preach before him I know sometimes it was suffered also in other Churches but very rarely where the Bishop himself was of weak abilities for the Work and had some Presbyters under him very eminent And so it was with Bishop Valerius and St. Austin a Person of great note in those days And thus you see in process of time how strangely things alter from their original Institution the Bishops omit preaching and become servants of Tables and the Deacons for serving of Tables step up into the Pulpit and became Preachers But Petavius takes upon him to prove Deaconship a Spiritual Order and brings us a more early Author for it than Iustin that noble Martyr mentioned before Ignatius who in his Epistle ad Tralli calls Deacons as Petavius conceives Ministers of the Mysteries of Christ. Here I find that which I often lament Learned Men to go on in a track one after another and some through inadvertency some through partiality take many Passages of ancient Authors quite different from their meaning as here all following the first erroneous Interpreter of Ignatius Whoever first translated this Epistle of Ignatius sure this fancy of Deacons ran much in his head otherwise he could never have found them here for 't is evident the word Diaconus in this place relates to the Presbytery newly before mentioned telling the People they ought to be obedient to the Presbyters as to the Apostles of Christ then follows You must therefore please them in all things being Ministers of the Mysteries of Christ. Mark I beseech you You must therefore Is not Therefore a Particle relating to what went before viz. to the Presbyters otherwise the Speech is very absurd Should I say Presbyters are as the Apostles of Christ therefore you must in all things please the Deacons were it sence no but just Deus in Coele ergo baculus in Angulo but to say the Presbyters are as the Apostles therefore you must please them in all things being the Ministers of the Mysteries of Christ as the Apostles were this is very good coherent sense and so run the words of Ignatius but the weak Interpreter mistaking the word Diacanus ran into this error and many learned Men without any consideration have run after him I grant the word Diaconos is often set for Deacons specifically distinguisht from Presbyters but 't is very often set for all Ministers in general Apostles Bishops Presbyters as you find frequently in Scripture St. Paul in one Epistle viz. the 2d Cor. twice stiles himself and other Apostles Diaconous And I do the more wonder at the Interpreters mistake in this place because by the following words Ignatius here excludes the specifical Deacons saying Not the Ministers of meats and drinks Now we know the specifical Deacons were Ministers of meats and drinks to the Poor it was their proper work for this very end they were chosen and for no other as appears evidently in the Acts and therefore Ignatius saying Not the Ministers of meats and drinks directly excludes such Deacons and the word Diaconous must necessarily be taken in the larger sence and relate to the Presbyters before mentioned therefore please them in all things being the Ministers of the Mysteries of Christ not of meats and drinks for the Poor Whoever understands the Greek and will see must needs see the truth of what I affirm But Petavius intoxicated with this spiritual Order of Deaconship
turns all this round quite another way according to the working of his fancy And so he doth some places of Scripture as little to his purpose as this He tells us out of the Acts that Philip and Stephen both Deacons were Preachers of the Word that is a Spiritual work therefore belongs to a Spiritual Order I would gladly know who informed Petavius that Philip who Preacht to the Eunuch and afterwards went about Preaching to others was Philip the Deacon and not rather Philip the Apostle as seems to me far more probable for Philip the Deacon was by his Office to reside at Ierusalem and take care of the Poor thither the Alms of the Faithful were sent to relieve the Saints at Ierusalem But you farther urge Surely Stephen was a Deacon and let Philip also if you please it signifies little to the purpose Sure I can shew out of Scripture Preachers that were in no Spiritual Order neither Presbyters nor Deacons neither as Aquilla and Priscilla his Wife too and Apollo likewise to whom they both Preached and instructed him more fully sure they did not ordain Apollo a Deacon nor can I believe any of the Apostles ordain'd him Deacon and sent him forth to Preach before he was well catechized in the Word he was not so much as Baptized in Christ but knew only the Baptism of Iohn if not Baptized surely not ordained Deacon yet he prevailed and mightily convinced the Iews It is in reason strange though in practice common to see how Men wedded to an Opinion think whatever they read speaks to that so Fathers Doctors all clink as they think In the Primitive time all both Men and Women did Preach the Gospel taken in a large sence as St. Peter calls Noah a Preacher of Righteousness that is they endeavoured to instruct all they conversed with in the Faith of Christ and Godliness for which many both Men and Women suffered Martyrdom Wherefore though Philip the Deacon and Stephen Preach the Gospel it signifies nothing to the Spirituality of the Deaconship seeing that thousands of Lay-men and Women also did the like And so the Apostles laying their hands on those chosen to be Deacons signifies as little to this purpose Do not we find that Paul laid his hands on the converted Disciples at Ephesus and they received the Holy Ghost and Prophesied yet none of them ordained either Presbyter or Deacon And sometimes the Apostles laid their hands on those that were already ordained both Presbyters and Apostles also as on Barnabas and Paul when they were sent forth to Preach This laying of hands was a Ceremony used on several occasions I need not mention more they are obvious to any that read the Scripture 'T is evident then from Scripture that the first institution of Deacons was a meer Lay-Office I will not say a prophane Office as some too grosly and irreverently have termed it but a pious and honourable Office in the Church of God to serve Tables to take care of God's Poor but as I have shewed in process of time it became quite another thing and so different from the Original Institution as it made Chrysostome and divers other great and good Men doubt whether the Apostles did not constitute two sorts of Deacons some for this Lay-Office some for Spiritual-Offices Had Chrysostome consulted only Scripture he would never have doubted nor dream't of two sorts of Deacons there being no mention at all but of one but he seeing the practice of the Church which he was unwilling to condemn so different from that one Apostolical Institution of Deacons this so confounded the good Man that he knew not well what to make of it and willing to piece Scripture and the present practice together to put a new patch upon an old Garment made the rent the wider rending the Deaconship in two pieces which of old was but one only to serve Tables which Office he that used well purchased to himself a good degree a good esteem and so it might be a recommendation to the degree of Priesthood though no necessary step to it And so we find that holy Deacon and most renowned Martyr St. Lawrence was made a Priest but continued afterwards in that same Office of Deacon unto Death which he suffered in a most cruel manner laid on a Gridiron over Coals rather than he would give up the Treasury of the Church and Alms of the Poor to the covetous cruel Tyrant This holy Deacon Petavius brings to prove that Deacons by virtue of that Order only did minister in holy things telling us that St. Ambrose mentions how he did distribute in the Lords Supper the Blood of Christ to the Communicants under Bishop Xistus Whereas St. Ambrose tells us how he Consecrated the Blood of Christ which plainly shews how untruly Petavius deals with us and that St. Laurence was a Priest not a bare Deacon for neither Petavius nor ever any allowed Deacons the Consecration of these sacred Mysteries Wherefore seeing the Scripture allows Deacons as Deacons no more then serving of Tables for the Poor whatever else Ministration is allowed them is by humane Authority not Divine and their Office or Order which you please to call it being about Temporal things must be Temporal not Spiritual And so I leave them to their proper Office of serving Tables not finding in Scripture any thing more belonging to them Concerning Confirmation Confirmation or some such thing is so necessary that for want of due execution thereof Persons extreamly unfit are admitted to the holy Table of the Lords Supper I fear a quarter of the Communicants of this Nation do not sufficiently understand the true meaning of these holy Mysteries the due preparation for them the benefits the damages in worthily or unworthily receiving them This I affirm upon experience having by way of discourse questioned many both of low and high degree where one would little expect such Ignorance And by reason of this gross Ignorance in due preparing and conscientious receiving this blessed Cordial and Medicine of the Soul of power in it self to cure all our diseases if rightly applied is turned into our destruction and damnation of the Soul For this holy Sacrament rightly apprehended would strike a terror into the Soul and a dread of Sin but Men receiving it without any regard into their sinful souls the beams of Grace which this Sun of Righteousness brings with it harden their dirty hearts and make them afterwards unsensible of any horrid abomination whatsoever And all this is occasioned by the want of some fit Person of authority to examine youth of all degrees ever so high or ever so low before they are admitted to the Lords Table For there being many poor ignorant Curates many unconscientious careless Ministers many over-awed by the superior quality of their Parishioners some cannot some will not some dare not search into the requisite abilities of persons to be admitted All which was prevented in the Primitive times of Christianity
of darkness to take full possession of their Souls and sometimes of their Bodies also both being sentenced thereby to the everlasting flames of Hell and likewise a power to release penitent souls from the chains of darkness and slavery of the Devil and restore them to the glorious liberty of the Sons of God whereby they are made Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven If there be any thing under Heaven fit to stir up the Ambition of mortal men yea an ambition in Angels themselves sure this is it Who can forgive sins but God alone said the Iews to our Saviour Christ swelling with indignation against him for this though they had seen many divine Miracles wrought by him yet this is so peculiar so transcendent a divine act as not to be offered at by any but the great God Iehovah himself But blessed for ever be this great and gracious God who by his eternal Son Christ Jesus hath given this power unto men As his heavenly Father sent him with this power so sent he his Apostles with this power saying unto them Whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained Wherefore if there be any thing in the Office of a Bishop to be stood upon and challenged peculiar to themselves certainly it should be this yet this is in a manner quite relinquished unto their Chancellors Lay-men who have no more capacity to sentence or absolve a sinner then to dissolve the heavens and earth and make a new heaven and a new earth and this pretended power of Chancellors is sometimes purchased with a sum of Money their Money perish with them Good God! what a horrid abuse is this of the Divine Authority But this notorious transgression is excused as they think by this that a Minister called the Bishops surrogat but is indeed the Chancellors servant chosen call'd and placed there by him to be his Cryer in the Court no better that when he hath examined heard and sentenced the Cause then the Minister forsooth pronounces the sentence Just as a Rector of a Parish Church should exclude any of his Congregation and lock him out of the Church then comes the Clerk shews and gingles the Keys that all may take notice that he is excluded And by this his authority the Chancellor takes upon him to sentence not only Lay-men but Clergy men also brought into his Court for any delinquency and in the Court of the Arches there they sentence even Bishops themselves This is a common practise in later ages but in St. Ambrose his time so great a wonder as with amazement cryeth out against the Emperour Valentinian when he took upon him to judge in such cases saying When was it ever heard of since the beginning of the World that Lay-men should judge of spirituals he means in spiritual things not in temporal things which by the laws of God and man belongs to the Lay-Magistrate This was that Ambrose of whom the other great Emperour as Good as Great Theodosius Father to this Valeninian affirmed Ambrose onely knew how to act the Bishop and with all Christian humility this great Emperour submitted to the sentence of this godly Bishop denying him entrance into the Church for the cruelty acted by his Souldiers at Thessilonica by his command and upon his great repentance and pennance performed six months together and after publique confession in the Church was again absolved and joyfully received into the Church Oh my Great and Reverend Fathers of the Church the Bishops whom Christ hath cleaved to his high dignity whom he hath made Kings and Princes whom he hath called to sit with him on his Throne there to give sentence of eternal life or eternal death can you so tamely part with this prime flower of your Crown yea the very Apex of it and suffer the Lay-members of the Church to usurp this divine authority Or how can you answer it to the chief Bishop of our Souls if any one Soul by the ill management of the Chancellors should certainly perish shall not his blood be required at your hands But perchance some of you will answer 'T is no fault of yours but of your predecessors who gave such Patents unto them as by vertue thereof they exercise this power will ye nill ye 'T is too true and I remember when the Bishop of Wells hearing of a cause corruptly mannaged and coming into the Court to rectifie it the Chancellor Dr. Duke fair and mannerly bad him be gon for he had no power there to act any thing and there with all pulls out his Patent sealed by the Bishops Predecessor which like Perseus shield with the Gorgons head frighted the poor Bishop out of the Court Where are you Parliament men you great Sons of the Church so zealous for Episcopal Government yet suffer this principal part of it to be thus alienated and usurped by Lay-men If an unordained person take upon him to pray or preach with what outeries and severe Laws and with great reason also you fall upon him but if an unordained person take upon him to judge sentence and excommunicate Bishops themselves you calmly pass it over take no notice of it You will answer me The Bishops themselves pass it over yea and pass it away from themselves and their successors for to gratifie their kinsmen or their friends or perchance for worse why then should you stir in it Truly in this you have reason and the balme most wholly light on them who do not use all possible endeavour and implore your assistance also to rectifie this great abuse which subverts the main Pillar of the Church Government this is no Ceremonial matter but the very substance of it they strain at Gnats and swallow Camels For Chancellors to intermeddle in Probats of Wills payment of Tythes or any other temporal matters there is no scripture nor reason to condemn but rather to condemn Bishops should they interpose in such matters for which they have no commission from Scripture but rather a prohibition from that saying of our Svaiovr Man who made me a judge or a divider over you but then it will be necessary that Chancellors have also power of Temporal punishments and not prophane that high and holy power in sordid earthly things certainly a greater prophanation than to convert a Church into a Chandlers Shop the Church is a bulk of earthly materials and holy only by dedication the power of its Keys is in its own nature and original constitution spiritual and divine If Uzza being no Levite suffered death for laying hold on the Sacred Ark of God to support and hold it up what shall he suffer who being no consecrated person layes hold on the sacred authority of Gnd to pull it down from heaven to earth Let them consider But let not the Civilians for this account me an Enemy to their Profession which no man honours more and I heartily wish much more of our Civil matters were
into all and understand the behaviour of each Pastor under him to admonish and chastise when there was cause Whereas with us partly by great distance of Cities partly by the favour of former Princes several Towns being cast into one Diocess they became so large as 't is impossible any one Bishop should have a sufficient inspection into them As I said before of great Parishes so here of Diocesses the Bishop knows not the names nor faces of half or a quarter of them much less their behaviour he may have as well a part of France in his Diocess to govern And as for their Triennial and Circuity Visitations they signifie just nothing as to this 't is a meer money business to pay procurations to the Bishop fees to Chancellors Registers c. the Bishop indeed usually makes a Speech unto them and a Sermon is preach't by some one of them wherein perchance good Admonitions are given but what knowledge can the Bishop by this have of their lives or doctrine or diligence If he continue long there he may learn a few more names or faces scarce any thing more I humbly conceive this ought to be redressed and the Diocess bronght into that compass that each Bishop may be a Bishop in Government as well as in Title and Authority over them But if the Diocesses be divided less and Bishops more encreased where shall we have maintenance for so many Bishops some having too little already When ever I shall see the Clergy of this Nation Congregated by his Majesties Authority resolved in good earnest to reform and establish all according to the holy Constitutions of the Primitive Times and come to this last mentioned contracting the bonds and in number encreasing the Diocesses and Bishops for them I 'le undertake to propose wayes both rational and conscientious of providing convenient maintenanee for all but I desire to be excused at present least greedy Harpies make ill use of my zealous intentions And so I proceed to consider a second abuse in Church Government which is Exempt Jurisdictions a thing altogether unknown to Antiquity and brought in by Papal Tyranny The Popes at the height of their usurped dominion taking upon themselves to be head of the Christian Churches to be the Universal Bishop thereof and all other to be but their Curates took then upon them also among other matters to exempt from the power of â—â—y their under Bishops whomsover they Pleased And out of policy to have the more Creatures and Vassals immediately depending on them in every Kingdom and Nation to stickle for them with Kings and Princes on all occasions did for the most part exempt all Monasteries who with their near Relations and Tenants made a great part of the Kingdom from the Jurisdiction of the Bishop they exempted also several Deans and Chapterss several peculiar Chappels several Arch-Deaconries and other and some of these were endowed with Archiepiscopal Jurisdiction in their Precincts wherein they acted whatever they pleased without controul of any but their Popeships All which would have appeared a confused madness in Primitive times when for any person to have been out of the Jurisdiction of all Bishops was to have been quite out of the Church and would have been lookt upon as a Heathen and Infidel according to the Primitive practice in all Ages till Papal usurpation And therefore all these Exempt Jurisdictions are meer Papal and if duely examined will be found opposite to the established Laws of this Kingdom since the reformation from Popery as they are directly opposite to the Primitive Canons of the Church before Popery was known or heard of And by reason of these Exempt Jurisdictions great disputes and great frauds arise between the Bishop and them and the poor Clergy are so pild and pold by them both that they are forc't to go in threadbare Coats whilst the several Officers of both grow fat and fair by fees extracted from them Wherefore I humbly conceive the Bishops with the rest of the Clergy are bound in conscience to implore the Assistance of both Houses of Parliament to Petition His Majesty for the redress of these abuses by Pious Laws Setling the Church Government in the Primitive purity and authority which most evidently was very great and as greatly reverenced Bishops being the persons to whom Christ and his Apostles committed the Souls of Men bought with the precious blood of Christ to whom be glory and to his holy Spouse the Church be all Sacred Authority for ever Amen A Charitable Admonition to all Non-Conformists MY beloved in Christ you see how earnestly I have pleaded for you to the Fathers and Governors of our Church that they would graciously condescend to abolish some Ceremonies in the Church that they may receive you into it but yet I have no great hopes that they will hearken to me you your selves for whom I plead destroy my hope for they presently dash me in the teeth saying go rather and perswade the Sons in duty to submit to their Fathers then Fathers to yield to Sons and can you deny but of the two you are rather to submit You think to excuse this by saying Were it not against your Conscience you would submit but you dare not for fear of displeasing God his holy Word forbids you I beseech you shew me in his holy Word any one clear sentence against any one Ceremony commanded in our Church you see plainly I am not biast to any one Ceremony and I am sure I have read the Scripture all over several times and I humbly conceive 't is no pride of heart if I think I understand Scripture as well as you and for my part I cannot find any one condemning Sentence in Scripture But you have the Spirit of God enlightening you which I want by this rule you may affirm any thing out of Scripture and I should be as mad in disputing against you as you in affirming it 't is madness for a blind man as you conceive me to be to dispute of colours therefore if you are so void of all reason as to expect your bare affirmation that you have light ought to convince all gain-sayers I shall not trouble my self or you to gainsay you farther but address my self to others who soberly undertake to shew me such Texts as an unbiast Christian willing and desirous to submit to all Scripture Truths as I am sure I am may discover the truth of them and I desire those sober undertakers to show me any one such clear Text to excuse their non-conforming as I show them for their conforming Submit your selves to every ordinance of man c. 1 Pet. 2. 13. and Obey them that have the rule over you and submit Heb. 13. 17. These are as clear as the Sun that you ought to obey Now if the Text you bring be not so clear but doubtful I beseech you is your conscience so bold against a clear Text and so timerous at a doubtful Text is this