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A45163 Union pursued, in a letter to Mr. Baxter, concerning his late book of national churches published for a fuller disquisition about this subject, by the sober and composed of all sides, in order to comprehension which hath been forming, and a larger constitution of the church to be formed, when that Day of Concord comes, which the gentle aspect of Heaven in God's appointment (and the King's) of so many choice moderate bishops together at this time does presage to the nation, that the Presbyterians and Independants, that have united within themselves, may both be united also with the Church of England / by a lover of Him, and follower of peace. Humfrey, John, 1621-1719. 1691 (1691) Wing H3716; ESTC R15748 28,717 40

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any one part against the Conscience of the other Thou shalt do nothing against thy Conscience is a Precept of God and Nature that binds semper ad semper as the Schools speak being Negative How then shall Man command what GOD forbids He commands you to Confederate and it is against you Conscience to do it Hath he Power to command a Subject to sin He hath Strength or Force or Legal Right but hath he Authority to do it To say how far the Supreme Majestrate may go in this Case is not easie I am sure a Man may easily be too hasty and sudden in such a Decision I must add as what appears from that which went before A National Church may be distinguished from a Christian Kingdom because a People may be Christian before such a Confederacy But when Confederated and a Church they are the same indeed so as though distinguished they cannot be divided And this is the Right in my Apprehension To talk of Dissenters Presbyterians and Independents to be Members of the Church of England as well as the Conformists will not be born by the Weak And the confounding the Ecclesiastical Government with the Civil which your making a Kingdom and Church as Christian to be the same does seem to do will by the Wise be called into Question When you say well or speak at best you must look for Misunderstanding and Clamour from the Displeased For my own part how the Church Vniversal whereof Christ is the Head and Particular Churches whereof the Pastors have Rule are Churches of Christs making I do understand But how far a National Church is of Christ's making and how far of Mans making I think requires a little more Explication from you than we have yet You are very exact as to Civil Government to tell us what is of GOD and what of Man I remember not that you are so full as to Ecclesiastical And now let me tell you lest I be mistaken as to those things I have asked before that I have done so not that I am in all of them of another mind from you but for the clearing my less perspicacious Conceptions For Instance when I ask Whether the Catholick Church Visible be Political I must say I have receiv'd it to be so and will give you my Account that you may tell me if I am short The Government of the Church Mystical which is Internal by God's Spirit is I count a Government over single Persons the Elect dispersed His Operation is on single Persons The Government of the Church Visible which is External is a Government of Churches a Government of Persons as in Societies Congregational Diocesan Provincial National And the Catholick Church Visible is a Church I count Political and Organical because all these Churches that are Parts of it have their Governing Officers as well as the People Governed contained in them There is a Government therefore of a Society per Partes or per Integrum The Catholick Church is a Totum Integrale and is Governed per Partes only but yet by the Universal Laws of Jesus Christ who is the Head of it alone without any Oecumenical Vicarious Soveraign Single or Collective under him to give any other binding Laws than his which both you and I equally decry Whether there by any more than this to be Answered is the end of my asking that Question of you from whom I count if there be I shall have it For the Case put by me of a Kingdom converted by Independents it is my Opinion That in a Kingdom consisting only of Pastoral Churches not associated into an Order of Superiority and Subjection for a Government of the Whole or per Integrum there can be only the Materia and Privatio but not the Forma which that Order introduced should be of a National Church And I must add If it be enough that a King and People be Christian with Pastoral Churches to make a Kingdom a National Church then supposing the Episcopal or Presbyterian Government comes to be set up in it here must be tow National Churches in one Kingdom for there was one before and here is a New one or another New constituted by Agreement Pray pardon me my seeking from you more Illumination For your Proof of National Churches to be of Christ's Institution from his own being King of the Jews and Head of the National Church and choosing Twelve Apostles in relation to their Tribes and Seventy other in relation to their Sanhedrim with the Particulars you further mention I confess what you offer to be very ingenious and deep in fancy but whether it be cogent or not I do question For First Though Christ was born King of the Jews as sprung from David by his Mother yet would he not be their King when the Jews would have made him Secondly He tells expresly His Kingdom was not of this World Whereas the Government of Kings over Christian Kingdoms and so Heads of National Churches is no other than a Government External or a Government which is of this World Thirldy Christ is every where said in the New Testament to be Head of his Church in the Sense of the Church Universal but never in the Sense of the Particular Church of the Jewish Nation And the Prophecies of the Old Testament will admit if not require by the Event another Interpretation Fourthly The Relation of the Seventy to the Sanhedrim and of the Twelve to the Tribes is a Relation only of Number not of Work or Office for What is the Seventy Disciples preaching to convent the People or preaching Repentance for remission of sins to the business of the Sanhedrim which was their Supreme Court of Judicature for all Causes to be brought for Judgment And what was that Nations consisting of Twelve Tribes to the Choice of the Twelve Apostles unless one might think that Christ set over each Tribe one of them to be Superintendent or Bishop of that Tribe which none Thinks as I Know Fifthly Though the Jews had their Twelve Tribes and Christ those Twelve Apostles and they had Seventy Elders and Christ chose out Seventy to preach the Gospel this signifies not besides what is said already unless you prove these two things which can't be proved to wit That he chose these Twelve in relation to these Tribes and these Seventy in relation to their Sanhedrim and Who can tell Christ's Intention And also That he did this by his Authority as their King as King of the Jews or Head of the Jewish Church when he might do it and did it we may suppose as King or Head of the Church Vniversal Indeed if any shall say that Christ during his Life was King only of the Jews and that he had no Power therefore of commissiouating his apostles to go any where else for converting People which is the making them Subjects of his Kingdom because he was not King over any other Nation till after his Death and Resurrection and shall
then confirm this by the proving that it was at his Resurrection he was inaugurated into his Universal Kingdom or make King over the Gentiles or all Nations as Heir of the World That is was then that God said to him Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee and Christ askt of his Father and he gave him the Heathen for his Inheritance and the utmost ends of the Earth for his possession compare Acts 13.33 with Psal 2.7 8. That it was then and not before then that he received all power in Heaven and Earth as he tells his Disciples Mat. 28.18 and by vertue of that Power commissioned the Apostles to go and disciple all Nations If any can distinguish thus There was a Kingdom Christ was Born to Mat. 22. Joh. 18.37 which is the Jewish Kingdom as being of the Line of David And there is a Kingdom which is Given him as the Son of Man Dan. 7.14 and which was Purchased by the Merits of his Life and Death Luk. 24.26 Phil. 2.8 and consequently there must be a time when it was Received and that must be after his Death and Resurrection upon that Account I say now if any stand upon this and it be Truth which whether it be or no I must still ask you then is there the Access of some Light and Strength to your Notion But that Christ Instituted a National Church Form and that Judaea under Constantine was such a Church in the Execution which are Two Chapters of your Book I do not apprehend the Proof so convincing but that they need both of them your second Thoughts and farther Improvement That which affects me in these Papers more especially is this one thing that you shew so much candour and condescention toward the present Church but without fawning I must confess and with no less serious Frame of Spirit if I can judge than Augustine wrote his Retractations I do not know whether our Church-men who are good will refuse you any thing you offer as pious as prudent or as necessary to Communion And I think you have offered and conceded enough to the laying a Ground for both Parties when GOD and a Parliament shall see it good to come to an Accommodation I will give an Example of what I say to my Reader out of the Fourteenth Chap. of your Book where you have these words The National Church of England is rightly Constituted under one supream Royal Government as the Vnifying Head It is duely Constituted of professed Baptized Christians and Churches as the Subject Matter It hath National Laws which profess their Subserviency to the Law of Christ and the Nullity of all that is against it It maketh none Magistrates but professed Christians no nor Burgesses and Choosers of Magistrates It hath Diocesans that are general Overseers of many particular Churches as successors to the Apostles and Evangelists in the Ordinary parts of their Office It justly maketh Bishops Members of Parliament it being unfit to make Laws for Religion without the Pastors notice and advice It justly giveth large maintenance and honours to the Superior Clergy that they may be a protection to the Inferior and a relief to the poor and keep up Religion from the contempt and scorn of Wordly Men. The King is the just Donor of such Honours and Revenues The Parish Ministers according to the true Legal Reformed Church of England are acknowledged true Pastors as to all the Essentials of the Pastoral Office Word Sacraments Keys Discipline and Ordinations The Inferior Ministers in Tythes and Glebe have a laudable maintenance All Parishes are to distinguish Communicating Members from Non communicating Inhabitants and to refuse the scandalous and unconfirmed not ready or desiring Confirmation And the Offices of Absolution and Burial are fitted to the faithful were Discipline executed Yet our Law for Dissenters Assemblies acknowledgeth them all true Members of the Church of England who agree in the Essentials notwithstanding their dissent in lesser things We use one and the same Translation of Scripture and we all renounce all Humane Vniversal Forreign Jurisdiction These things and all these you approve as commendable and when you concede so much to the Bishops what is it you require of them Why nothing but that Reformation in effect only of some things which they themselves as to the main do seek also and what Ingenuity more than this could be expected from any It is Peace I perceive you would have but Holiness more and when the world lyes in wickedness if you have peace you must be content with so much holiness as can be had You must not expect that National Churches though you will have them Jure Divino should be as Holy as the select people of your Gathered Congregations Sir I am sensible what need we have of Discourses that are bending to one another while such Divisions are got within our bowels as are like to eat our Religion quite out One would wonder to see sometimes two friends that agree so well otherwise as both to go to Church both are for the same Liturgy both are for the present King and ready rather to dye than admit of Popery and yet being rankt into a diverse sort of Companions under the names of Whig and Tory there is a secret Animosity and Unkindness grows within if no open fire of contention break out as if they were born enemies Do but ask one or the other what is the matter between you or what is the meaning of these names Guelph and Gibeline that divide you they can say nothing but themselves are astonished There is nothing but that the Tares are sown in mens hearts by the Evil one while they are not aware is the cause of it And there is nothing but the love of God and our Neighbour which is the effect of Gods spirit with an Act of Parliament for Vnion which must begin that work like to be the cure of it It was one of the deepest fetches of the Popish Plot through Liberty to destroy Agreement And to come to Agree now and preserve Indulgence is the only way to be even with them As the design therefore of your Papers which is National Concord is according to my heart desire and I should be glad to farther it to my utmost so must I take notice more particularly of one Concession of yours to wit of the Divine right of Bishops which others of your brethren will by no means grant There is the Episcopus gregis the Ordinary Overseer of the flock The Episcopus Praeses where there are several Prebyters in one Congregation And besides these you are for a Superiour sort of successors to the Apostles and Evangelists of Divine institution Such Diocesans that put not down Particular fixed Pastors or such Diocesses as Unchurch not our Parishes are not impugned by you I am perswaded now that the most of our present Bishops will allow you that their Diocesses are not Churches infimae specici but that every