Case of Hitchcock and Hitchcock there was a Contract between the Vicar and Parishioners but it was denied to be a real Composition although confirmed by the Ordinary and affirmed not to be binding to the Successors A Composition by a meer verbal Agreement in the Case of Hawles and Bayfield was declared to be neither binding to the Party nor his Successors But in the Case of Tanner and Small it was declared to hold for Years but not for Life My Lord Coke seems to be of Opinion That if it be a Prescription it must be time out of Memory of Man but that a real Composition may be either before or within Memory of Man but then it must be by Parson Patron and Ordinary It is well observed by Sir Simon Degge in his useful Book about these matters that although real Compositions are supposed in Law to be the Foundation of Prescriptions de Modo decimandi where the Patron Ordinary and Parson did consent to them yet that the most of them have grown up by the Negligence and Carelesness of the Clergy themselves which I am afraid is too true And he is of Opinion That no real Composition can be made now to bind the Successor since the Statute 13 Eliz. c. 10. which restrains all binding Grants to One and twenty Years or Three Lives and if so then the Consent of Patron and Ordinary cannot make it good 2. It must be reasonable and therefore it hath been rejected in these Cases 1. If it be a Prescription to pay a certain Tithe without the Parson's View of the Nine Parts because saith Hobart it is against the Law of Partition in the Case of Wilson and the Bishop of Carlisle 2. If there be no Recompence to the Parson as in the Case of Scory and Barber the Prescription was founded on the Parishioners finding Straw for the Body of the Church 3. If it be for paying only what was due in lieu of other Tithes as in the Case of Ingoldsby and Iohnson that they paid their other Tithes in lieu of Tithes of dry Cattel or in Case a Load of Hay be prescribed for in lieu of Tithe-Hay or Ten Sheafs of Corn for the Tithe of all the rest 4. If it be not for something certain and durable For this saith Hobart shews an Original Weakness in the Composition being of a thing certain and durable for that which is not so IV. The last Exemption or Discharge that is pleaded as to the payment of Tithes is Unity of Possession That is where a Monastery had the Right of Tithes by Appropriation and had other Lands which did not pay Tithes because the owners were to receive them these were actually free at the time of Dissolution and the Question is Whether they are legally so by Virtue of the Statute It cannot be denied that Unity of Possession is in it self no legal Discharge but whether by the Words of the Statute the Judges were divided in Opinion But afterwards in the Case of Green and Bosekin the Judges allowed it so it were not a meer Unity of Estate but of Occupation Hobart saith That after it had been long controverted it was received as the common Opinion Coke That where Unity of Possession gives a Discharge the Title must be clear the Non-payment general and the Prescription time out of Memory but if the Appropriation were made in the time of Ed. 4. H. 6. it could not be discharged by Unity nor if it were a late Abby-prescription Thus I have endeavoured to lay this matter before you as briefly and clearly as I could from the best Light I could get that I might give you such Directions that you may neither run into needless and vexatious Suits nor be run down by frivolous Pretences It is your great Advantage that you have the Law of your side if you understand it a right but have a care of being set on by such whose Interest it is to promote Suits and I am sure it is yours to prevent them if it be possible and as much as lies in you The Church's Right is not to suffer by your Negligence and you are not to make the Church to suffer by your Contentions He that loves going to Law seldom fails of having enough of it he suffers in his Purse in his Reputation in his Interest and the Church suffers by his Means Endeavour to gain as much as may be the Love of your People by a kind modest courteous and peaceable Behaviour which is the best way to prevent or to compose Differences If you are forced to sue for your Maintenance let them see that you are forced to it and that you are always willing to put an end to all such Disputes if the Church's Right be secured which you are bound to preserve OF THE OBLIGATION To observe the Ecclesiastical CANONS AND CONSTITUTIONS AT A VISITATION October 29 th 1696. IN speaking clearly and distinctly to this Case there are these two Things to be considered I. By what Authority they do oblige II. In what Way and Manner they oblige I. The first thing to be considered is the Authority by which Ecclesiastical Canons and Constitutions do oblige For if there be not sufficient Authority there cannot be that Obligation on Conscience which supposes a legal Exercise of Power or a just Right to command Our Obedience to the Orders of our Superiours is due by Virtue of that Divine Law which requires us to be subject for Conscience-sake But our Obedience is to be regulated by the Order of Iustice i.e. it ought to be according to Law Therefore it is necessary in the first place to enquire Whether there be among us any such things as Ecclesiastical Laws i.e. such Rules which according to the Constitution of our Government we are bound to observe For we are Members of a Church established by Law and there are legal Duties incumbent on us with respect not only to the Laws of God but of the Realm For although our Office and Authority as Church-men hath a higher Original yet the Limitation of the Exercise of it is within such Bounds as are allowed and fixed by the Law of the Land It is therefore a matter of great Consequence to us to understand how far our Ecclesiastical Constitutions are grounded upon the Law of the Land which cannot be done without searching into the Foundations of our Laws Which lie in three Things 1. Immemorial Custom 2. General Practice and Allowance 3. Authority of Parliament And I shall endeavour to shew how far our Ecclesiastical Constitutions are founded on these 1. Immemorial Custom Our greatest Lawyers allow Ancient Custom to be one of the Foundations of our Laws and my Lord Coke calls it one of the main Triangles of the Laws of England I suppose he means Foundations And another saith That the Common Law of England is
the Convocation by the King 's Writ to the Archbishop could not sit but in Parliament-time although that in all respects be the most proper time for there is not a Word tending that way in the Statute but Provincial Councils having been frequently held here without any Writ from the King and therein treating of Matters prejudicial to the Crown by Virtue of a Legatine Power there was great Reason for the King to resume the ancient Right of the Crown For so William I. declared it in Eadmerus That nothing should be done in Provincial Councils without his Authority But afterwards we find Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury holding a Provincial Council against the King's Prohibition and several Writs were sent to them to prohibit their meddling in Matters of State in Prejudice to the Crown 18 H. 3. under Penalty of the Bishops forfeiting their Baronies and to the like purpose 35 E. 1. 15 E. 2. 6 E. 3. which seems to be a tacit Permission of these Provincial Councils provided they did nothing prejudicial to the Crown And from such Councils came our Provincial Constitutions which Lyndwood hath digested according to the Method of the Canon-Law and hath therein shewed what part of the Canon-Law hath any Force here not by Virtue of any Papal or Legatine Power but by the General Consent of the Nation by which they have been received among us But my business is not now with Canons so received but with Canons made according to the Statute 25 H. 8. 19. for it is ridiculous to imagine those are only negative Words for then they exclude the King's Power of calling a Convocation as well as confirming the Acts of it For to what purpose is the King 's Writ to call them together if being assembled they can do nothing But I have already mentioned my Lord Chief Justice Vaughan's Opinion That the Canons made A. D. 1603. are warranted by 25 H. 8. c. 19. It was urged by the Council in the Case of Grove and Eliot 22 Carol. 2. That no Canons can alter the Law which are not confirmed by Act of Parliament But it was said on the other side That these Canons had been always allowed having been confirmed by the King One of the Judges said That the King and Convocation cannot make Canons to bind the Laity but only the Clergy But Vaughan said That those Canons are of Force although never confirmed by Act of Parliament as no Canons are and yet saith he they are the Laws which bind and govern in Ecclesiastick Affairs The Convocation with the Licence and Assent of the King under the Great Seal may make Canons for Regulation of the Church and that as well concerning Laicks as Ecclesiasticks and so is Lyndwood There can be no question in Lyndwood's time but Ecclesiastical Constitutions were thought to bind all that were concerned in them and the Ecclesiastical Laws which continue in Force by Custom and Consent bind all the only Question then is about making new Canons and the Power to make them is by Virtue of an Act of Parliament to which the Nation consented and so there need no Representatives of the people in Convocation And no such thing can be inferred from Moor 755. for the Judges declared the Deprivation of the Clergy for not conforming to the Canons to be legal but they say nothing of others But in the Case of Bird and Smith f. 783. the Chancellor and three Chief Judges declared That the Canons made in Convocation by the King's Authority without Parliament do bind in Ecclesiastical Matters as an Act of Parliament And therefore I proceed to shew II. In what manner we are obliged to the Observation of these Canons concerning which I shall premise two Things 1. That I meddle not with such Canons as are altered by Laws for all grant that unless it be in Moral Duties their Force may be taken away by the Laws of the Land 2. There are some Canons where the general Disuse in Matters of no great Consequence to the Good of the Church or the Rights of other Persons may abate the Force of the Obligation especially when the Disuse hath been connived at and not brought into Articles of Visitation as Can. 74. about Gowns with standing Collars and Cloaks with Sleeves But the general Reason continues in Force viz. That there should be a decent and comely Habit for the Clergy whereby they should be known and distinguished by the People and for this the ancient Custom of the Church is alledged But here a very material Question arises How far Custom is allowed to interpret and alter the Force of Canons made by a lawful Authority For where a Custom prevails against a standing Rule it amounts to this Whether Practice against Law is to have more Force than the Law And how can there be a reasonable Custom against a Law built upon reasonable Grounds But on the other side if Custom hath no power in this case then all the ancient Canons of the Church do still bind in Conscience and so we must not kneel at our Prayers on Sundays nor between Easter and Whitsontide which were thought to be made upon good Reason at first and so many other Canons which have long grown into a Disuse So that if we do strictly oblige persons to observe all Ecclesiastical Canons made by lawful Authority we run Men into endless Scruples and Perplexities and Gerson himself grants That many Canons of General Councils have lost their Force by Disuse and that the Observation of them now would be useless and impossible But on the other side if meer Disuse were sufficient what would become of any Canons and Constitutions where Persons are refractary and Disobedient This is a Case which deserves to be stated and cleared And we are to distinguish three sorts of Customs 1. Customs generally obtaining upon altering the Reason of ancient Canons 2. Customs allowed upon the general Inconveniency of modern Canons 3. Customs taken up without any Rules or Canons for them 1. As to general Customs against ancient Canons where the Reason is altered I see no Ground for any to set up those Canons as still in Force among us For this must create Confusion and Disorder which those Canons were designed to prevent and the Laws of the Land do certainly supersede ancient Canons wherein the necessary Duties of Religion are not immediately concerned For we must have a care of setting up ancient Canons against the Authority of our Laws which cannot be consistent with our National Obligation nor with the Oath of Supremacy 2. As to Customs relating to Modern Canons if it hath any Force as to altering the Obligation 1. It must be general not taken up by particular dissaffected Persons to our Constitution for the Custom of such Men only shews their wilful Disobedience and Contempt of Authority and all Casuists are agreed That Contempt of lawful Authority is a wilful Sin Which supposes a wilful Neglect upon
considered and practised by the Clergy of this Diocese For since it hath pleased God by his wise and over-ruling Providence without my seeking to bring me into this Station in his Church I shall esteem it the best Circumstance of my present Condition if he please to make me an Instrument of doing good among you To this end I thought it necessary in the first place most humbly to implore his Divine Assistance that I might both rightly understand and conscientiously perform that great Duty which is incumbent upon me for without his help all our Thoughts are vain and our best Purposes will be ineffectual But God is not wanting to those who sincerely endeavour to know and to do their Duty and therefore in the next place I set my self as far as my Health and other Occasions would permit to consider the Nature and Extent of my Duty with a Resolution not to be discouraged altho I met with Difficulties in the Performance of it For such is the State and Condition of the World That no Man can design to to do good in it but when that crosses the particular Interests and Inclinations of others he must expect to meet with as much Trouble as their unquiet Passions can give him If we therefore consulted nothing but our own Ease the only way were to let People follow their Humours and Inclinations and to be as little concerned as might be at what they either say or do For if we go about to rowze and awaken them and much more to reprove and reform them we shall soon find them uneasie and impatient for few love to hear of their Faults and fewer to amend them But it is the peculiar Honour of the Christian Religion to have an Order of Men set apart not meerly as Priests to offer Sacrifices for that all Religions have had but as Preachers of Righteousness to set Good and Evil before the People committed to their Charge to inform them of their Duties to reprove them for their Miscarriages and that not in order to their Shame but their Reformation Which requires not only Zeal but Discretion and a great Mixture of Courage and Prudence that we may neither fail in doing our Duty nor in the best means of attaining the end of it If we could reasonably suppose that all those who are bound to tell others their Duties would certainly do their own there would be less need of any such Office in the Church as that of Bishops who are to inspect and govern and visit and reform those who are to watch over others But since there may be too great failings even in these too great neglect in some and disorder in others too great proneness to Faction and Schism and impatience of Contradiction from mere Equals therefore St. Ierom himself grants That to avoid these Mischiefs there was a necessity of a Superiour Order to Presbyters in the Church of God ad quem omnis Ecclesiae cura pertineret Schismatum semina tollerentur as he speaks even where he seems most to lessen the Authority of Bishops But whatever some Expressions of his may be when the Bishop of Ierusalem and the Roman Deacons came into his head his Reasons are very much for the Advantage of Episcopal Government For can any Man say more in point of Reason for it than that nothing but Faction and Disorder followed the Government of Presbyters and therefore the whole Christian Church agreed in the necessity of a higher Order and that the Peace and Safety of the Church depends upon it that if it be taken away nothing but Schisms and Confusions will follow I wish those who magnifie S. Ierom's Authority in this matter would submit to his Reason and Authority both as to the Necessity and Usefulness of the Order of Bishops in the Church But beyond this in several places he makes the Bishops to be Successors of the Apostles as well as the rest of the most Eminent Fathers of the Church have done If the Apostolical Office as far as it concerns the Care and Government of Churches were not to continue after their Decease how came the best the most learned the nearest to the Apostolical Times to be so wonderfully deceiv'd For if the Bishops did not succeed by the Apostles own Appointment they must be Intruders and Usurpers of the Apostolical Function and can we imagine the Church of God would have so universally consented to it Besides the Apostles did not die all at once but there were Successors in several of the Apostolical Churches while some of the Apostles were living Can we again imagine those would not have vindicated the Right of their own Order and declared to the Church That this Office was peculiar to themselves The Change of the Name from Apostles to Bishops would not have been sufficient Excuse for them for the Presumption had been as great in the Exercise of the Power without the Name So that I can see no Medium but that either the Primitive Bishops did succeed the Apostles by their own Appointment and Approbation which Irenaeus expresly affirms Qui ab Apostolis ipsis instituti sunt Episcopi in Ecclesiis or else those who governed the Apostolical Churches after them out-went Diotrephes himself for he only rejected those whom the Apostles sent but these assumed to themselves the Exercise of an Apostolical Authority over the Churches planted and setled by them But to let us see how far the Apostles were from thinking that this Part of their Office was peculiar to themselves we find them in their own time as they saw occasion to appoint others to take care of the Government of the Churches within such bounds as they thought fit Thus Timothy was appointed by St. Paul at Ephesus to examine the Qualifications of such as were to be Ordained and not to lay hands suddenly on any to receive Accusations if there were cause even against Elders to proceed judicially before two or three Witnesses and if there were Reason to give them a publick Rebuke And that this ought not to be thought a slight matter he presently adds I charge thee before God and the Lord Iesus Christ and the elect Angels that thou observe these things without preferring one before another doing nothing by partiality Here is a very strict and severe Charge for the Impartial Exercise of Discipline in the Church upon Offenders And although in the Epistle to Titus he be only in general required to set in order the things that are wanting and to ordain Elders in every City as he had appointed him yet we are not to suppose that this Power extended not to a Iurisdiction over them when he had Ordained them For if any of those whom he Ordained as believing them qualified according to the Apostles Rules should afterwards demean themselves otherwise and be self-willed froward given to Wine Brawlers Covetous or any way
Lord of hosts Mal. 2. 7. If this held in the Levitical Priesthood much more certainly under the Gospel where the Rates and Measures of our Duties are not to be determined by Levitical Precepts but by the general Reason and Nature of Moral Actions VIII Among the Duties of Publick Worship I must put you in mind of a Frequent Celebration of the Lord's Supper There is generally too great a Neglect of this which is the most proper part of Evangelical Worship The Duties of Prayers and Praises are excellent and becoming Duties as we are Creatures with respect to our Maker and Preserver The Duty of hearing the Word of God read and explained is consequent upon our owning it to be the Rule of our Faith and Manners and all who desire to understand and practise their Duty can never despise or neglect it But that solemn Act of Worship wherein we do most shew our selves Christians is the celebrating the Holy Eucharist For therein we own and declare the infinite Love of God in sending his Son into the World to die for Sinners in order to their Salvation and that this is not only a true Saying but worthy of all Men to be credited Therein we lift up our Hearts and give Thanks to our Lord God we joyn with Angels and Archangels in lauding and magnifying his glorious Name Therein we not only commemorate the Death and Sufferings of our Lord but are made Partakers of his Body and Blood after a Real but Sacramental Manner Therein we offer up our selves to God to be a Reasonable Holy and Lively Sacrifice unto him Therein we Adore and Glorifie the ever Blessed Trinity and humbly implore the Grace and Assistance of our ever Blessed Mediator And what now is there in all this which is not very agreeable to the Faith Hope and Charity of Christians Nay what Duty is there which so much expresses all these together as this doth Nor whereby we may more reasonably expect greater Supplies of Divine Grace to be bestowed upon us What then makes so many to be so backward in this Duty which profess a Zeal and Forwardness in many others If we had that Warmth and Fervor of Devotion that Love to Christ and to each other which the primitive Christians had we should make it as constant a part of our publick Worship as they did but this is not to be expected Neither did it always continue in the Primitive Church when Liberty and Ease and worldly Temptations made Persons grow more remiss and careless in the solemn Duties of their Religion S. Chrysostom takes notice in his time of the different Behaviour of Persons with respect to the holy â—â—charist There were some who pretended to greater Holiness and Austerity of Life than others who withdrew from the common Conversation of Mankind and so by degrees from joining in the Acts of publick Worship with them Which did unspeakable Mischief to Christianity for then the Perfection of the Christian Life was not supposed to consist in the Active Part of it but in Retirement and Contemplation As tho' our highest Imitation of Christ lay in following him into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil and not in walking as he walked who frequented the Synagogues and went about doing good But this way of Retirement happening to be admired by some great Men the Publick Worship came to be in less esteem and others upon Reasons of a different Nature withdrew themselves from such Acts of Devotion as required a stricter Attendance and a more prepared Temper of Mind And there were some who did abstain because they were not so well satisfied with themselves as to their own Preparations and such as these S. Chrysostom seems to favour rather than such who came often without due care as to the whole Course of their Lives only out of custom or out of regard to the Orders of the Church From hence many thought it better to forbear as long as they did it not out of Contempt And so by degrees the People were content to look on it as a Sacrifice for them to be performed by others rather than as an Office wherein they were to bear a part themselves at least they thought once or thrice a Year sufficient for them And to this as appears by our old Provincial Constitutions they were forced by severe Canons When the Reformation began this Disuse of this holy Sacrament was looked on by the chief Reformers as a great Abuse and Corruption crept into the Church which ought by all means to be reformed and the frequent Celebration of it set up in the Reformed Churches But unreasonable Scruples in some and Misapprehensions in others and a general Coldness and Indifference as to Matters of Religion have hitherto hindered the Reviving this Primitive Part of Devotion among us I do not go about to determine the Frequency in your Parishes which the Scripture doth not as to the Christian Church but supposes it to be often done but I may require you to take care that Christ's Institution be observed among you and that with your utmost care both as to the Decency and Purity of it The last thing I recommend to you all is To have a great care of your Conversations I do not speak it out of a distrust of you I hope you do it already and your Case will be so much worse if you do it not because you very well know how much you ought to do it For the Honour of God and Religion and the Success of your Ministry as well as your own Salvation depend very much upon it Lead your Flock by your Example as well as by your Doctrine and then you may much better hope that they will follow you for the People are naturally Spies upon their Ministers and if they observe them to mind nothing but the World all the Week they will not believe them in earnest when on the Lords Days they perswade them against it And it takes off the Weight of all Reproof of other Mens Faults if those they reprove have reason to believe them guilty of the same I do not think it enough for a Preacher of Righteousness merely to avoid open and scandalous Sins but he ought to be a great Example to others in the most excellent Virtues which adorn our Profession not only in Temperance and Chastity in Iustice and ordinary Charity but in a readiness to do good to all in forgiving Injuries in loving Enemies in evenness of Temper in Humility and Meekness and Patience and Submission to God's Will and in frequent Retirements from the World not meerly for Study but for Devotion If by these and such things you shine as Lights among your People they will be more ready to follow your Conduct and in probability you will not only stop their Mouths but gain their Hearts For among all the Ways of advancing the Credit and Interest of the Church of England one of the most succesful
years For nothing can be plainer in our History than what is affirmed in two of our Laws Stat. of Carlisle 25 E. 1. and the Stat. of Provisors 25 E. 3. That the Church of England was founded in Prelacy or Diocesan Episcopacy For our first Bishops were so far from being confined to one Church or Town that at first in the Saxon-Division of Kingdoms every Bishop had his Diocess equal with the Extent of the Kingdom except in Kent where one Suffragan to the Archbishop at Rochester was confirmed The first Conversion of the English Nation to Christianity from Paganism was by the Diocesan Bishops who were sent hither from several Parts and the Presbyters imployed by them and as the Number of Christians increased the Number of Bishops did so too so that in the Parts of Mercia one Diocess was divided into five that they might the better look after the Government of them and every Bishop as appears by the Saxon-Councils was bound to see parochial Churches built and the Clergy to be settled in them to attend upon the Duties of their Function among the people committed to their Charge That which I have aimed at in this Discourse was to shew That the Original Constitution of this Church was Episcopal but yet that the Bishops did still design to fix a Parochial Clergy under them as Churches could be built and endowed It remains now to shew That this Constitution of a Parochial Clergy is more reasonable than that of an unfixed and unsettled Clergy by Law which will easily appear if we consider 1. The greater Advantage as to Unity and real Edification among the People For this makes them to be as one Body within certain Bounds And the People know whither to resort for publick Worship and Sacraments and the Inconveniencies as to the difference of Mens Abilities is not so great as the Inconveniency of a broken divided people as to Religion which always creates Suspicions and Jealousies and generally Contempt and Hatred of each other And I think every wise and good Christian will consider that which tends to Peace and Unity is really more Edifying than a far better Talent of Elocution or the most moving Way of exciting the Fancies and Passions of Hearers For S. Paul tells us Charity is beyond miraculous Gifts It is easie to observe that the wisest Methods are seldom the most popular because the generality of Mankind do not judge by Reason but by Fancy and Humour and Prejudices of one kind or other From hence the Heats of Enthusiasm and odd Gestures and vehement Expressions with no deep or coherent Sense take much more with ordinary and injudicious people than the greatest Strength and clearness of Reason or the soundest Doctrine and the most pious Exhortation if they be not set off in such a Way as strikes their Imaginations and raises their Passions And this is that which such do commonly call the most Edifying Way of Preaching which is like the coming up of the Tide with Noise and Violence but leaves little Effect whereas the other is like a constant Stream which goes on in a steady and even Course and makes the Earth more fruitful The one is like a Storm of Thunder and Lightning which startles and confounds and amuses more but the other is like a gentle Rain which softens and mellows the Ground and makes it more apt to produce kindly and lasting Fruit. We are to judge of true Edification not by the sudden Heat and Motion of Passions but by producing the genuine Effects of true Religion which are fixing our Minds on the greatest and truest Good and calming and governing our disorderly Passions and leading a godly righteous and sober Life But we too often find violent and boisterous Passions an ungovernable Temper Envy Strife and Uncharitableness growing up with greater Pretences to Zeal and better Ways of Edification I never expect to see the World so wise as to have Persons and Things universally esteemed according to their Real Worth For there will be a Tincture in most persons from Temper and Inclination and the Principles of Education but generally speaking Matters of Order and Decency and Things which tend to a publick Good affect those most who have the best Judgment and Temper and irregular Heats and disorderly Methods of praying and preaching those whose Religion makes more Impression upon their Fancies than their Judgments and is seen more in the inflaming their Passions than in keeping them in their due Order 2. There is a greater Advantage as to Discipline For if among the Teachers they are under no Bounds nor Subjection to a Superiour Authority it is very easie to avoid any kind of Censure for the most corrupt Doctrines or Practices We cannot boast much of the strict Exercise of Discipline among us and one great Reason is That many have more mind to complain of the Want of it than to do their Endeavour to amend it We hear of many Complaints of the Clergy in general and sometimes by those who have more mind to have them thought guilty than to prove them so for fear they should acquit themselves or at least the Church should not bear the blame of their Miscarriages But we cannot proceed arbitrarily we must allow them timely notice and summon them to appear and a just Liberty of Defence but if upon Proof and sufficient Evidence we have not proceeded against them with the just Severity of the Law then we ought to bear the Blame but not otherwise But whatsoever personal Neglects or Faults there have been or may be my Business is to shew that our Way is much better fitted for the just Exercise of Discipline than that of Independant Congregations altho' the Managers of them pick and cull out the best they can for their Purpose and one would think when they had made choice of Members to their mind and bound them together by an Explicit Covenant they should be very easie and tractable and submissive to their own Discipline But they have found the contrary by their sad Experience they grow too heady and wilful to bear any such thing as strict Discipline for when they had the Courage to exercise it their Congregations were soon broken to pieces and the several divided Parts were for setting up new Heads one against another till at last they found it was much easier to be Teaching than to be Ruling Elders And so they have let the Reins of Discipline fall to keep their Congregations together But suppose the Teachers should fall out among themselves as to give a fresh and late remarkable Instance Suppose some set up Antinomianism and preach such Doctrines to the People or Flocks before you which others think of dangerous Consequence What is to be done in such a Case They may send some Brethren to enquire whether the Matters of fact be true Suppose they find them true What then What is to be done next It may be some would have them come up
Saxon times there were both here There were Ecclesiastical Law which related to Judicial Cases wherein a publick Penance was injoyned in order to the Churches Satisfaction But there were many Cases which were not publick and yet great Care was to be used as to the Direction of Penitents as appears by the Penitentials of Theodore and Bede in the Saxon times Whereby we learn that a Difference was to be observed as to the Nature of Offences and the Circumstances of Persons and Actions and the Measure of Contrition and the particular Method is set down in the penitential Books which was in very material Circumstances different from the Methods used in the Church of Rome But it is a thing necessary for every parochial Minister to be able to settle doubting Consciences and to put them into the best Methods of avoiding Sin for the future without which the Absolution of the Priest signifies nothing For where God doth not absolve the Church cannot 5. Giving a good Example to the People committed to your Charge This is often mentioned in the Saxon Canons Council at Cloveshoo c. 8. Canons of Egbert 14 15 18 19 33. in the Laws of Alfred c. 3. of Edward c. 3. Constit. of Odo c. 4 5. of Edgar 57 58 59 60 61 64. of Canutus c. 26. And in the Conclusion of one Collection of his Laws are these Words Happy is that Shepherd who by his good Life and Doctrine leads his Flock to Eternal and Heavenly Ioys and happy is that Flock that follows such a Shepherd who hath rescued them out of the Devil's Hands and put them into God's 6. Lastly the Performance of all these Duties supposes a constant Residence among your People without which it is impossible to discharge them in such a manner as to give them and your selves full Satisfaction This I am sensible is a very nice and tender Point and the Difficulties of it do arise from these things On one side it is said 1. That there is an Allowance by the Law given to several Persons to hold more Benefices than one and since the Distribution of Benefices is not by the Law of God but by the Law of the Land what Fault is there in making use of the Privileges which the Law gives But there cannot be constant Residence in more Places than one 2. That the general Service of the Church is more to be preferred than taking Care of a particular Parish because the necessary Duties of a Parish may be supplied by persons approved by the Bishop and a single Living seldom affords a sufficient Competency for persons to be capable of publick Service 3. That the way of Subsistence for the Clergy is now much altered from what it was when Celibacy was enjoyned For a Competency was always supposed where Residence was strictly required and what was a Competency to a single person is not so to a Family 4. That the Church hath a power of Relaxing the Severity of Ancient Canons from the different Circumstances of things and when the general Good of the Church may be more promoted therein as in the Removal of Clergymen from one Diocess to another and the Translation of Bishops 5. That the Case is now very different as to Dispensations from what it was in the Church of Rome as to the Number of Benefices and the manner of obtaining them that a great Restraint is laid by our Laws upon Pluralities and our own Metropolitan is the Judge when they are fit to be granted But on the other side it is objected 1. That in the first Constitution of parochial Churches every Incumbent was bound to a strict Residence so in the Canons of Egbert Can. 25. Presbyters are said to be settled in those Churches which had a House and Glebe belonging to them and many Canons were then expresly made That no Person should have more than one Church and it is said in the Capitulars that this had been several times decreed And so it is in Herardus his Collection of Canons Can. 49. in Isaac Lingonensis Tit. 1. c. 24. in Chrodegangus c. 67. in Ivo Carnotensis part 3. c. 51. in Regino l. 1. c. 254. The like we find in the Spanish Churches Concil Tolet. 16. c. 5. and thence in the Canonâ—Law C. 10. Q. 3. c. 3. and in the Greek Churches Concil 7. Can. 15. C. 21. Q. 1. c. 1. And as soon as the Abuse crept in in these Western Churches it was complained of and endeavoured to be redressed Concil Paris 6. c. 49. Concil Aquisgran 2. part 2. c. 5. Concil Metens c. 3. That afterwards not meerly the Mendicant Friars complained of them as some have suggested but some of the greatest Bishops have been zealous against them as Gulielmus Parisiensis Peraldus Archbishop of Lions Iacobus de Vitriaco Bishop of Acon Robert de Câ—orton Cardinal Guiard Bishop of Cambray and Gregory IX declared That he could only dispense with the Penalty of the Law After a solemn Disputation at Paris it was determined against Pluralities if one Benefice be sufficient and all the Divines joyned with the Bishop therein except two so that it seemed to be the current Opinion of the Learned and Pious Men of that Time Aquinas saith It is a doubtful Point but Cajetan is positive against them So that all the Zeal against Pluralities is not to be imputed to the Piques of the Friars against the Secular Clergy although there is no Question but they were so much the more earnest in it but in the Council of Trent the Bishops of Spain were the most zealous as to the Point of Residence and the Friars against it as appears by Catharinus and others 2. Setting aside all Authorities the Argument in Point of Conscience seems the strongest against Non-residence because persons have voluntarily undertaken the Cure of Souls within such Limits and although the Bounds be fixed by Human Authority yet since he hath undertaken such a Charge personally knowing those Bounds it lies upon his Conscience to discharge the Duties incumbent upon him which cannot be done without constant Residence as the Magistrates are bound in Conscience to do their Duty although the Bounds are settled by Human Laws And so in the case of Property Human Laws bind so that it is a Sin to invade what is settled by them And if it be left to a Man's Conscience whether a Man answers his Obligation more by personal Attendance or by a Curate whether the Honour of Religion and the Good of Souls be more promoted and the Peace of his own Mind secured by one or the other it is no hard matter to judge on which side it must go It is impossible to defend all the Arguments used in the old Canons against Pluralities as that Polygamy is unlawful under the Gospel So that as a Bishop hath but one City and a Man but one Wife so a Presbyter ought to have but one