Bishops And in both ye lay the whole work upon the Presbytery as if they were the men that could discharge all sacred and Ministerial duties No such matter the contrary is manifested Can any man imagine that a common souldier or an ordinary marriner doth performe the cheife work in an army or ship because they take the greater toile to the outward eye No no it is the Pilot in a Ship the Colonel in a Regiment the Admirall in a Navy and the Generall in an Army that discharge the cheife duties Without these there would be wise worke by Sea or Land Evâ—ry one that can pull a gable or manage an oare is not fit to be a Pilot. Every man that can and dare fight and charge with courage is not fit to be a Commander But the Church is both a ship and an armie And I dare say that every one that can talke lavishly or make a rhetoricall flourish in the Pulpit is not fit to be a Bishop or Governour in the Church of Christ And yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for this cause left I thee in Creet that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting ordain Presbyters in every City These are the duties of a Bishop without which the Church will suddenly be out of frame and crumble into nothing 16. In a ship or regiment no man comes to sit at the stern no man attempts the cheife command the first day if he do both ship and regiment suffer for it No they are trained up in their severall professions and by degrees they rise till they come to the highest Thus was it in the ancient and thus is it in the present Church If any be suddenly raised to a Bishoprick it is seldom for the good of that Diocese 17. But you and your fellow Presbyters want congruous and sufficient maintenance down therefore must the Bishops and their Revenues must be divided amongst such good Pastors as you are The Levellers doctrine right the Nobility and Gentrey have too much the godly of the land to little all therefore must be shared that Jack and Tom may have a congrurus maintenance If the great men of the Land will not yeeld to this the Parliament shall be garbled the Nobility and Gentry shall be turned aside and then look for a new Covenant and a fresh extirpation Dukes descend from profane Esau Marquesses Earles Vicounts c. are but heathenish titles invented by the children of darknesse and the children of light defie them What Are we not all Adams sons Are we not brethren in Christ Is it not fit that we should all have share and share like as had the children of Israel in the land of promise As long as the Church onely was strook at it was well liked of but now patience perforce we must be leveled both in Church and State We shall find that there is such a sympathy between them in all Christian Common-wealths that they stand and fall swimme and sink together 18. What talke we of Levelling That is enough to destroy the State and face of a Kingdome But in your project there will be no danger How No danger No danger say you of sacriledge No danger in the subversion of the Church Surely this must be ruine to Episcopacy and consequently to the Church For no Bishop no Church Ecclesia enim super Episcopos constituitur for the Church is founded and settled upon Bishops So S. Cyprian Think not that we exclude Christ Christ it is that layd the foundation and settled the Church so And it is not for man to unsettle it or to lay another a new foundation For other foundation can no man lay then that is layed by Jesus Christ But we are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets And Bishops and Apostles are of the same order they are one and the same Apostolos id est Episcopos Praepositos Dominus elegit So S. Cyprian the Lord made choice of APOSTLES THAT IS OF BISHOPS Prelates When therefore our Saviour founded the Church upon the Apostles he founded it upon Bishops Who dare then after this foundation He that endeavours it doth not build but destroy the Church 19. Is there no danger of sacriledge in robbing father and mother The Bishop your father and the Church your mother For as in the Church you were born anew of water and the Holy Ghost so if you be a Presbyter as a Presbyter you have your being from a Bishop or else you have no such being But you return that ye rob not the Church for you intend that these revenues shall be settled upon Church-men that is upon Presbyters Suppose you rob but one but your Father the sacriledge is detestable For doth not the Lord say Who so robbeth his father or mother and saith it is no transgression the same is the companion of a murtherer But to make the sacriledge more odious I shall manifest that ye have not onely robbed your Father but your Mother also The Bishop your father is the husband to his particular Church If then you rob him of his meanes who will succeed in his roome and become an husband to that Church For though there be a thousand Presbyters in a Diocese yet if she be without a Bishop that Church is a widow So that great Councell of Chalcedon Thus ye rob the Bishop of his means that Church of her husband And wile a widow she can bring forth but a bastard brood Consider that 20. Upon these motives I must tell you that if his Majestie shall gratifie either the Parliament or the Assembly in the abolition of Episcopacy and in sacrificing the Church-lands to your or their sacrilegious avarice it will be such a work for which following generations shall have just cause to pitie lament him that so good a man should either be cheated or enforced into so foule a sin His children and the whole Kingdome would rue it and the generations to come unlesse the world turn Presbyterian will speak of Him as of King Henry the eight with this difference that King Henry wilfully plunged himself into this sin and King Charles was driven into it by an Atheisticall and bloody faction But I am confident his Majestie is seasoned with better principles he knows it was no excuse for Saul to confesse that he had sinned because he was afraid of the people and obeyed their voice not Gods directions This King knew Gods Word rejected it God therefore rejected him from being King and his seed from the throne A lamentable case to be frighted by a multitude out of Gods favour and the Crowne But I hope you have no Saul in hand Our good Kings Crowne you may cause to totter but not his resolution Ye may and have robbed him of his Prerogatives revenues and liberty but you cannot imprison or force his conscience that will injoy her ancient priviledges freedome
good King ought to be a Protector and Defender of the Bishops and Churches under his Government Rex With a willing and devout heart I promise and grant my part and that I will preserve and maintain to you and the Churches committed to your charge all Canonicall priviledges and due Law and Justice and that I will be your Protector and Defender to my power by the assistance of God as every good King in his Kingdome by right ought to protect and defend the Bishops and Churches under his Government Then the King ariseth and is led to the Communion Table where he makes a solemne Oath in sight of all the â—â—opâ—e to observe the premises and laying his hand on the Booke saith The Oath The Things that I have before promised I shall perform and keep so p 〈…〉 me God and the Contents of this Book The Contents CHAP. I. VVHether the King may lawfully consent to the abrogation of Episcopacy 1. CHAP. II. Whether the Kings Oath taken at his Coronation be an unlawfull Oath 4. CHAP. III. Whether Prelacy in the Church of England were an usurpation 9. CHAP. IV. Whether the King may consent to the abrogation of Episcopacy if so that calling be lawfull 18. CHAP. V. Whether ye have not bound your selves by your Solemne League and Covenant to maintaine Episcopacy 22. CHAP. VI. Whether the King without impeachment to his Oath at Coronation may consent to the abrogation of Episcopacy 31 CHAP. VII Whether the King may desert Episcopacy without perjury 37. CHAP. VIII Whether the Kings Oath to the Clergie be injurious to his other subjects and inconsistent with his Oath to the people 41. CHAP. IX How far forth and wherein the Clergie is subject to a Parliament and to what Parliament 52 CHAP. X. Whether it be lawfull for the King to abrogate the Rights of the Clergie 60. CHAP. XI Whether the Clergie and Laity be two distinct bodies or one body Politicke That Church-men in all ages had some singular priviledges allowed them 69. CHAP. XII Whether to sit and Vote in Parliament be incongruous to the calling of Bishops 78. CHAP. XIII Certaine light and scandalous speeches concerning Prince Preist tenderly touched 87. CHAP. XIV Whether the Lands of the Church may be forfeited by the misdemeanour of the Clergie 93. CHAP. XV. Whether it be lawfull to take away the Bishops Lands and to confer them upon the Presbytery 104. CHAP. XVI How far forth the King ought to protect the Church Bishops 114 CHAP. XVII Whether there be two Supremacies in this Kingdome 127 Mr. GEREES Case of Conscience SIFTED CHAP. I. Whether the King may lawfully consent to the abrogation of Episcopacy 1. I Find a Case of Conscience proposed by Mr. Geree and this it is Whether the King considering his O that Coronation to protect the Clergie and their Priviledges can salvâ conscientiâ consent to the abrogation of Episcopacy But why I pray you is the question proposed here when you have determined it before For doth not your Title page speak thus In this Case of Conscience it is cleared that the King may without impeachment to his Oath touching the Clergie at Coronation consent to the Abrogation of Episcopacy Thus you have full magisterially determined before the question be so much as proposed Is this the fashion first to resolve and then to argue the case This may be the course of Hereticks it is otherwise with good Catholicks But you are resolved to maintain that a Christian may swear and forswear without the least prejudice to his soul 2. And your practice is accordingly witnesse the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy which you with your great Masters have taken more then once And those of your perswasion have taken up Arms against their Soveraign Lord without impeachment to their Oath of Allegiance and maintain that The Parliament is subordinate to no power under Heaven without any breach of the Oath of Supremacie And your self like a good Preacher of Gods Word have taken the Oath of Canonicall obedience to the Bishop and yet endeavour the abrogation of Episcopacy and the extirpation of that Order from whence you had your Orders and without which you could have had no Orders 3. Me thinks the Smectymnuans should not endure this Proposition since with them a Bishop and a Presbyter are one and the same Thus while you endeavour to ruinate Episcopacy you subvert the Presbytery according to their tenets I wonder much how your case hath passed so long unsifted and uncensured by the Divine Masters of your learned Assembly 4. But I shall take it for your best advantage as it is distinguished or as we say a distinct order from Presbytery I shall also take into consideration the severall motives which you produce for the Abrogation of Episcopacy 5. Whereof your first is this that there is no hope of the Kings or Kingdoms safetie without an union between our King and Parliament I must confesse with anguish of spirit as matters have been handled the King and Kingdom are driven into a great streight and an Vnion between our King and your Parliament hath been prayed for and sought for by all commendable or tolerable means The hope left us is onely in our God and Saviour whose custome it is to scatter the proud in the imagination of their hearts to pull down the mighty from their throne and to exalt the humble and meek Thus can he shew strength with his arm and do great things for us And this I hope in his due time he will do and reduce this Kingdom from irreligion and sacriledge and not cast off the innocent with the prophane blasphemers Oh that we might begge that blessing from Heaven to see a Parliament rightly regulated religiously minded and with-out any by ends of their own men of courage fearing God men dealing truly hating covetousnesse Such as will not be led by a multitude to do evil or to subvert the truth I am certain we should then have an Union a blessed Vnion between King and Parliament 6. But by you it seems that there is now no probable or possible means of reconciliation left in mans judgement unlesse the King yeeld to the extirpation of Episcopacy You should have added unlesse he lay down his Lands Royalties and just Prerogatives at his Subjects feet unlesse he abandon the wife of his bosome and become a stranger to the Children of his loins unlesse he sacrifice his friends to the malice of his foes and the ruine of whole families to their avarice unlesse he cast off the Service of God that most excellent form of Common Prayer and give up the houses and lands of God and all that is accounted holy to satiate their sacrilegious appetite 7. But in sober sadnesse do you beleeve that the Abrogation of Episcopacy is that they yawn at You are mistaken good brother the Episcopall houses and lands as also what ever belongs to Deans and
Preists ought to be had among Christians Witnesse that Evangelicall Prophet whose words are these Ye shall be named THE PREISTS OF THE LORD as they are at this day Men shall call you the Ministers of our God Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles and ye shall be EXALTED WITH THEIR GLORY This is one the other shall be from that royall Psalmist In stead of thy Fathers thou shalt have children whom thou mayest make PRINCES in all Lands Do not you go about to make the Word of God a lye while you endeavour to dis-inherit the Clergie of these privileges and honors But God shall be true he shall be justified in his sayings and every man shall be a liar Behold how these prophecies were fulfilled under the Gospēl When our Saviour sent forth his Apostles and Disciples to preach the Gospel and to dispense his heavenly mysteries he daines them with this honour to rank them for usage with himself He that despiseth you despiseth me and he that receiveth you receiveth me To intimate to all Christians that they ought to use his messengers as they would Christ in his own person For whether well or ill he will take it as done to himself Hence is it that the Galathians received S. Paul as an Angel of God even AS CHRIST JESUS Yea they were ready to pull out their own eyes to do him a pleasure And when this Apostle came to Melita he and those that attended him were courteously entertained honoured they were with many honors and enriched with gifts by the Prince of that Island and his people 18. Some it may be may conceive that these were but personall honors and that they belong to them onely whom Christ immediately ordained But the Scripture will teach us a better lesson For doth not our Saviour say He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me Now we know that our Saviour sendeth not onely by himself but by those also to whom he hath given power to send and ordain Thus by S. Paul he sent Timothy and Titus and we find S. Barnabas with S. Paul ordaining Presbyters in all Churches where they came This therefore is a generall rule those Governors who labour in the Word and Doctrine whether they be ordained by Christ or his Apostles or any other to whom this authoritie is duely given are WORTHY OF DOUBLE HONOR that is saith Primasius both in love and place Thus Titus by the Corinthians was received with fear and trembling and memorable obedience They honoured him as Theodoret speaks as their Father and reverenced him as their spirituall Governor These honors are due not so much in respect of personall worth as in regard of the office which they bear This appears by S. Paul who willeth the Philippins not onely to receive Epaphroditus their Apostle or Bishop with all gladnesse but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he chargeth them to hold SUCH AS HE WAS in honour and reputation All must be thus honoured but those most that are most worthy 19. Constantine the first Emperor that ever was christen'd had learned this lesson he therefore did reverence the Bishops ad imaginem quandam divinae praesentiae as if he had some resemblance of God before his eyes He kissed those Bishops skars that had suffered for Christs most holy Name He entertained divers of them at his own table and at their departure he bestowed upon them many goodly gifts Upon Bishops he conferr'd very many privileges and the highest Honors he had to bestowe He ordained that those Canons which were agreed upon by the Bishops and had received his Royall approbation should be of more sacred authority then any Law or sentence that should passe from his highest Judges and that none of his Princes should dare to infringe them To conclude he commanded the Governors of his severall Provinces to give reverence and honour to Bishops threatning no lesse then death to such as should revile or abuse them What reverence and esteem Bishops were of with his severall sons though differing in Religion the Church History manifests for these and all other privileges were inviolably preserved to the Church till that Apostata Julian ware the Crown But those pious and orthodox Emperors that succeeded him raised up the Church and made good her former privileges 20. The reason why good Princes were so carefull of the Church and Churchmen was because they were confident with Great Constantine that God gave a blessing to their affairs for the Bishops sakes And those two wise Emperors Leo and Constantine professe with Justinian that the peace and felicitie of their people as well for body as soul depend upon the harmonious consent of the Imperiall and Episcopall functions Mark that In Scripture the Prophets and servants of God are called the charet of Israel and the horsemen thereof because by their prayers they did more prosper their Countrey then by force of arms Yea by them God blessed his people These were the Church-priviledges and these the opinions the most Christian Princes had of Church-men And you cannot say that any of these Emperors had any dependance upon the Pope or any compliance with him But we are fallen into those times wherein it is accounted losse to bestowe cost upon Christ pietie to rifle the Church and good service to God to murder his Apostles and Priests Indeed what ever is good and commendable is now with the round brotherhood cried out upon as Popish By this time I hope it appears that these immunities which belong to the Church arise not from the errour of the times as you suppose but from the tenure of Scripture That 's the tenure we hold by CHAP. XII Whether to sit and vote in Parliament be incongruous to the calling of Bishops 1. SOmething an hard theme to treat upon and unpleasing to the times And yet I must say something to it lest I seem to desert the cause to blame our Predecessors of indiscretion and to acknowledge that weaknesse in our Bishops which the wisest of this Kingdom know to be far from them What Not contented to strip us of our rights lands and priviledges but you must twit us with the losse of the Bishops Votes as if they were neither fit to sit or vote in the House of Peers That this hath been done cannot be denied but how justly I shall not question for the honour I bear to my Soveraign Yet thus much is evident to every single eye that we have had many even and conscionable Parliaments wherein Bishops have voted what kinde of Parliament we have had without them some will make bold to speak hereafter But a word in private Were they not thrust out lest the King should have too many faithfull Counsellors in the House Were they not removed to make way for these civill broils The Incendiaries knew full well that those