the Pope but a Power or Prerogative justly and rightfully belonging to him claimed and exercised by his Predecessors some hundreds of Years before his Time being anciently annexed to the Crown 2. In the latter part of the Article it is also evident For tho a Power in spiritual Causes be given to a Secular Prince yet it is not a spiritual Power and such a Jurisdiction as the Pope claims but such a Power only and in such a way as is put forth and exercised in ordinary Civil Affairs and the same in respect both to Ecclesiastical and Temporal Persons namely a restraining with the Civil Sword the Stubborn and Evil-doers So to restrain or coerce is an Authority or Jurisdiction peculiar to Civil Magistrates and by Christ himself denied to the highest Ecclesiastical Powers Ye know saith Christ Mat. 20,25,26 the Princes of the Gentiles exercise Dominion over them and they that are great exercise Authority upon them but it shall not be so among you you Apostles and threatens the Use of the Sword in such Persons Mat. 26.52 King James speaking of the Oath of Supremacy ' In that Oath saith he is contained only the King 's absolute Power over all Persons as well Civil as Ecclesiastical excluding all Foreign Powers and Potentates to be Judges within his Dominions ' In his Apol. pag. 76. And more fully afterwards pag. 164. ' It implies saith he a Power to command Obedience to be given to the Word of God by reforming Religion according to his prescribed Will by assisting the spiritual Power by his temporal Sword by Reformation of Corruption by procuring due Obedience to the Church by judging and cutting off all frivolous Questions and Schisms as Constantine did and finally by making a Decorum to be observed in all indifferent Things for that purpose which is the only Intent of our Oath of Supremacy ' My Lord Coke out of 1º Eliz. and in the Words of the Statute gives this Interpretation ' There is saith he no Jurisdiction by this Act affixed to the Crown but was of Right or ought to be by the ancient Laws of this Realm parcel of his Jurisdiction and which lawfully had been or might be exercised within the Realm The End of which Jurisdiction and of all the Proceedings thereupon is that all Things might be in Causes Ecclesiastical to the pleasure of Almighty God Increase of Vertue and the Conservation of the Peace and Unity of the Realm as by divers places of the Act appears And therefore by that Act no pretended Jurisdiction exercised within this Realm being ungodly or repugnant to the ancient Law of the Crown was or could be restored to the Crown according to the ancient Right and Law of the same ' Coke de Jure Ecclesiastico fol. 8. Bishop Bilson a great Searcher into the Doctrine of the Supremacy of Kings gives this as the Sence of the Oath ' The Oath saith he expresseth not Kings Duty to God but ours to them As they must be obeyed when they join with Truth so must they be endured when they fall into Error Which Side soever they take either Obedience to their Wills or Submission to their Swords is their due by God's Law and that is all which our Oath exacteth ' And in a few Lines following he interprets what is meant by Supremacy ' We do not saith he give Princes Power to do what they list in the Matters appertaining to God and his Service Indeed we say the Pope may not depose them nor pull the Crown off their Heads In this only Sence we defend them to be Supreme that is not at liberty to do what they list without regard of Truth or Right but without Superior on Earth ' Dr. Morton against the Pope's Supremacy out of an Epistle of Leo to the Emperor speaking thus You must not be ignorant that your Princely Power is given unto you not only in worldly Regiment but also spiritual for the Preservation of the Church ' As if he had said not only in Cases Temporal but also in Spiritual so far as it belongeth to the outward Preservation not to the personal Administration of them And this is the Substance of our English Oath and further neither do our Kings of England challenge nor Subjects condescend unto ' pag. 26. Mr. Mason in his Vindiciae Ecclesiae Angliae Lib. 3. c. 5. speaking of Calvin's being offended verum si intellexisset nihil aliud sibi voluisse hunc Titulum c. ' Calvin would never have disallowed this Oath if he had understood by the Title of supream Governour in Ecclesiastical Things that nothing else had been claimed but an exclusion of Popish Tyranny and a lawful Power in the King over his Subjects which stands not in coyning new Articles of Faith or Forms of Religion such as were Jeroboam's Calves but in defending and propagating that Faith and Religion of which God in the Scripture is the undoubted Author In this sence and no other that ever we have heard of is the Title of Supream Governour given to and accepted by the King ' §. 5 This Oath hath matters contained in it as you may perceive that are not of one nature and kind the Assent and Stipulation required of us in respect to the several parts of it is likewise various and different As our Creed according to the different nature of the Articles is believed by the different Acts of Faith To what is contained in the former part of the Oath in these Words I do utterly testify and declare in my Conscience that the King's Highness is the only Supream Governour of this Realm c. Herein is required a true real and cordial Assent to and Profession of what is mentioned as also to give this Testimony with such Sincerity of Heart as in the Presence of God To swear positively to any dogmatical Assertion is not required it would be taking the Name of God in vain for if it be a certain and undoubted Truth in it self and to others as are Principles in Reason and Articles of Faith an Oath is vain for it ends no Strife Heb. 9. 2. If doubtful and a question whether true or not though such an Oath puts it out of question that I believe so yet not that it is a Truth My Belief though ever so much evidenced and confirmed doth not make a doubtful matter it self more credible nor is one Man's believing an Assertion any just ground for another Man to believe the same such an Oath is therefore in vain it 's not a fit medium to end such a Controversy 2. It is further said I do utterly renounce and forsake all Forreign Iurisdictions c. This requires not only the Sincerity of my Perswasion and Profession against the Title and Claim of all foraign Powers but upon Oath to forsake that is to abjure we abjure when we swear to quit and forsake To forsake a Power or Jurisdiction is to refuse and not to receive submit or
Appellationis vocem audiendam non esse Suar. de virt Tom. 4. pag. 99. And in the same Chapter he gives us the Reasons of it in these words Si in ordinariis correctionibus quae juxta disciplinam religiosam fiunt locum haberet Appellatio à Priore ad Provincialem à Provinciali ad Generalem magna sequeretur perturbatio disciplina religiosa sine dubio corrueret c. In ordinary Censures and such as are according to a Religious Discipline if Appeals should be made from the Prior to the Provincial and from the Provincial to the General it would breed a great Disturbance and be doubtless the Ruine of Religious Discipline For 1. Inferiour Governours would quickly be despised and have little Reverence or Fear 2. By such a dilatory way opportunity will be given by Friends or under-hand working to prevent any Religious Discipline It is therefore expedient for the good of Religion that there be a more simple way of procedure in these spiritual Corrections and that it be without any kind of Appellation Thus far Suarez And others of them also tell us Soto de Just lib. 54. 6. art That in a voluntary and brotherly Society it 's more comely and honourable to end Offences and Differences in a private and peaceable way amongst themselves and within the Society than by clamorous Appeals to make Matters more publick It should not be of little weight also with us the Tenderness of Christ if it be considered and how he would not have Breaches and Offences amongst Brethren to be made more publick or carried further than is necessary And by any thing we find in the Text there is no Necessity we should carry Matters for Censure out of the Church where the Offence is if there were doubtless Christ would have given us direction as well for the managing of Appeals FROM a Church as IN a Church Mat. 18.15,16,17 where each step and circumstance in the progress from a lesser to a greater Authority is described II. Disparity From the different condition of Punishments in respect to Relief if unjustly inflicted Church-Censures have little operation on us further than our own Conscience and the Spirit of Christ make them effectual by working them in upon us But if inflicted where no just Cause and Clave errante the Spirit of Christ will not convince us of Sin or let in Satan's Terrors nor any such impressions of Grief or Shame as much to afflict us being innocent How little hath the Pope's Bulls or such Thundrings from Rome been valued or esteemed or Excommunications sent out of our Spiritual Courts when we know it is but for a Four-penny Offence In Civil Affairs it is much otherwise For be the Sentence just or unjust the Execution of it is equally grievous and a punishment be it in respect of Life Liberty or Estate and there is no way either to avoid or mitigate such wrongs but by Appeals The necessity of such Appeals therefore is very great but in respect to Ecclesiastical Censures little or nothing at all III. Disparity The ordinary end and use of Appeals is either 1. For Relief of Persons suffering Or 2. That corrupt Judges be censured and unjust Sentences rescinded Persons come to be relieved when by Appeals to Higher Powers there is a better understanding either 1. in the Rule and Law or 2. a more righteous judgment in matters of Fact There are none of these Ends or Uses of an Appeal so accomplishable in an Ecclesiastical Process as in a Civil 1. If the Rule be obscure a right understanding of it may infallibly be had by appealing in Civil Affairs the Supreme Court is here on Earth that made the Rule or Law what 's determined by a Parliament or such Persons as are intrusted by it to this purpose is to us unquestionable But it 's otherwise in Church Affairs our Law-giver is in Heaven and cannot in such a forensical way be appealed unto nor hath he left any Vicar or Visible Judge under him of greater Authority in respect of Infallibility than a particular Church which is the ground and pillar of truth 1 Tim. 3.15 The Papists some of them in great and weighty matters not otherwise that are spiritual yield Appeals but it 's upon this Supposition that the Cause at last will be brought to a Tribunal that is Infallible Licitum est saith P. de Aragon Aragon in 2. 2. q. 69. a. 3. D.Th. in re grave cuique causam suam defferre ad sedem Apostolicam quando vel ex imperitia vel ex Passione inferiorum judicum qui homines sunt ac decipi possunt injuriam patitur The Pope cannot be deceived he is more than a Man 2. Matters of Fact by reason of Appeals come to be sentenced at a great distance from the place where the Crime and Offence lieth which in Worldly Concernments may with more Righteousness be done than in what is Spiritual and of Church Cognizance 1. Transgressions come under a Civil Judgment as materially considered and according to the gross Act but brought to the Church not as Sins simple but as Scandals and Offences which is a Consideration not so obvious but requires good judgment in the Witnesses as well as in the Judges The Obstinacy also or Penitency of the Person offending accordingly as Testimony shall be given of either is a more difficult matter to make out than either the Sin it self or the Scandal Repentance Godly Sorrow or the contrary is the principal thing to be regarded in Church-process Repentance I say in truth and sincerity so far as we can judge in a seeing and not blind charity It is not only the Passion Sorrow or Shame but Godly Sorrow which is more spiritual and deeper in the heart and requireth much and particular knowledge of the Person and his temper and such as cannot be attained at a distance but by frequent and familiar Converse To sit in the Stool of Repentance stand in a White Sheet or do Penance as it 's termed these are as the fruits of the flesh manifest and judged of at the greatest distance it 's not so deep as we need much understanding to draw it out Prov. 20.5 2. The Censure whether binding or loosing is to be executed always by the particular Church where the Offender is a Member those persons above all others are to have a particular knowledge of his Crime and true Repentance they are to forgive and confirm their love 2 Cor. 2.7 or otherwise to withdraw from him If THY Brother offend thee let him be unto THEE an Heathen c. Mat. 18.15,17 The Execution of the Censure being by each Brother of that Church it is necessary the Examination of the matter be before them Spiritual Duties are not to be performed upon an implicit Faith What knowledge but by remote heresay can a Church in the Orchades have of a mans repentance or obstinacy the ultimate tryal and