doe set upon the Minster again and do accuse him saying Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother yea thou hast slandred thine own Mothers Sonne ANSWER If you were not a man of a corrupt minde you would never I feare me vent such stuffe as this do you not tremble are you not afraid to dally thus with the word of God They are likened by some you say to women scoulding and accusing one another And with whom I pray should the Minister scould or who is it that he should accuse if at any time he should chance to read thus to the people alone I hope you would shrink out and be none of his auditors for feare he should scould with you accuse you for consenting with a thief note you for a partaker with adulterers a speaker against thy brother or tell thee that thou hast slandred thine own Mothers sonne away therefore with such impious cavils and dally not thus with the word of God These scoffes are fitter for Pagans then for Christians especially if they consider how dangerous a thing it is to sport themselves with holy things Be not angry Man for I do but reprove thee and set before thee the things that thou hast done I retort with as much patience as I can no more then what your selfe hath cast abroad Others make points and you take in hand to tag them But alasse we have more much like this a little after which as I meet it shall be answered DIALOGUE Gent. I remember that in the Churching of women the Minister is called Priest tell me I pray you is that a fit name for a Minister and Preacher of the Gospel Min. No verily For we read in Gods word of no more orders of Priests but of two the order of Aaron and the order of Melchisedech Of the order of Aaron were the Leviticall Priests whose office was to offer sacrifices which together with the Sacrifices was abolished in Christ his death Of the order of Melchisedech was Christ only and shall remaine Priest for ever A third order of Priests is to be found no where but in the Masse-book and in our Service-book The name Priest belongeth to every Christian man and woman as well as to the Minister according as it is written Revel 1.6 That Christ hath made us Kings and Priests unto God The meaning is that Christ hath made all the Elect men and women Priests to offer the sacrifices of prayse and of thankes unto God ANSWER The Minister is called Priest and why not I hope you know for you have noted it that all true Christians are called Priests and so Saint Peter as well as Saint John declareth it 1 Pet. 2.5 Revel 5.10 and therefore the Minister in particular may much more be called by that name although he offer none of those Sacrifices which were abolished by Christ nor intend the upholding of the Popish Masse with the blasphemous figments which are there else we condemn the Primitive Church of God in which this name which you here would quarrell with was of frequent use as you cannot but know if you know any thing of the ancient times The Prophet Esay doth * Chapt. 61.6 in one place say the same of Christians in generall which even Saint Peter and Saint John have written and in * Chapt. 66.21 another place declareth that God will choose some from among them to be Priests and Levites which though it be but an allusion doth denote a Priest-hood still and this to confist of an imparity as well as of old among the Jewes Besides were it so that the Minister might not be called Priest no more then any other Christian because the Scripture saith of every Christian man and woman Yee are an holy Priest-hood are made Kings and Priests unto God Then would it sollow first that none in particular should be a King And secondly that neither might any among the Jews have been a publike Priest or called by that name because the same which was said to Christians was also said to them when out of the Mount God sent them his message by his servant Moses Yee have seen saith the Lord what I did unto the Aegyptians and how I bare you on Eagles wings and brought you unto my selfe Now therefore if yee will obey my voice indeed and keep my Covenant then yee shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine And yee shall be unto me a kingdome of Priests and an holy Nation Exod. 19.4,5,6 It is also warranted by that of Saint Paul in Hebr. 7.12 where if you mark it you shall finde that Priesthood is not taken away but translated or changed onely and so also Irenaeus saith lib. 4. c. 34. And as for the testimonies out of the other Fathers they are so common as I need not mention them only let me say that you may finde the name both of Priest and Priest-hood in the writings of Ignatius that Martyr already mentioned who as you know was scholler to Saint John that wrote the Revelation This strife of words you should therefore carefully avoid it doth but disquiet unstable soules Grant then that name without quarrelling to him which the Scripture not onely gives to every true member of the Church but foretold it in some sort of even the Evangelicall Ministers in more particular where though the Prophet mentions Levites also who were properly so called in regard of their tribe yet as is probable enough he means not that therefore the name of Priest should not be used no more then that of Levite for except those Priests to which he alludeth had had their name only in respect of such Sacrifices as then were offered and to be ended at the death of Christ and not in regard also of other duties which are common to us and them which neither are nor may be abolished I see no reason to think otherwise To teach and blesse the people were the services of the Priests both before the Law and under the Law as well as now Melchisedech was a Priest before the Law and blessed Abraham to whom also Abraham paid his Tythes Gen. 14.19,20 Nor was it but said to Aaron and his sonnes under the Law That they should teach the sonnes of Israel all the Statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses Levit. 10.11 and in Malachy it stands recorded The priests lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the Law at his mouth for he is the Messenger of the Lord of hosts Malach. 2.7 and in Ezekiel They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and prophane ch 44.23 and in 6 Num. the 6 last verses The Lord spake unto Moses saying speak unto Aaron and to his sonnes saying On this wise yee shall blesse the children of Israel saying unto them The Lord blesse thee and keep thee The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gratious unto the The Lord lift
tribe of thine inheritance and mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt Lift up thy feet that thou maist utterly destroy every enemy which hath done evill in thy Sanctuary Thine adversaries roare in the middest of thy Congregations and set up their Banners for tokens He that hewed timber afore out of the thick trees was known to bring it to an excellent worke But now they breake down all the carved worke thereof with axes and hammers All which being spoken by a man after Gods own heart is of current weight and without exception I may therefore turn againe now to follow what is next in the Dialogue And that which is next is about the order prescribed by the Church in the Visitation of the sick in which because you have some exceptions the same with what we have heard from you already in certain other passages shall not here be again repeated DIALOGUE Gent. What form of Prayer doth the Service-book prescribe for sicke persons Min. It prescribeth no form to be used in the Church Gent. What then Min. The Minister must go to their houses and salute them as the Masse-Priest doth saying Peace be to this house and to all that dwell in it and when he is come where the sick person is he must kneele kc. ANSWER And why I pray doe you quarrell with this Christ taught his Disciples so to salute the house into which they entred Math 10.12,13 and Luk. 10.5,6,7 And may not the Ministers since those times doe the like but be blamed for their labours You fight with your own shaddow and quarrell without a cause as is most apparent There be six duties of charity of which our Saviour will speak at the latter day and to come and visite the fick is one of them Math. 25.35,36 Nor is it in the Minister but even a work also of his office And therefore being sent for he commeth to pray with instruct comfort and strengthen the sick party For Is any man sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him Jam. 5.14 This order then is not without a scripture rule But you have a further quarrell and that 's against our absolving the sick person from all his sinnes in the name of the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost Why man if it be done in the name of the blessed Trinity it is not by any primary or originall power that is in our selves For the Bishops and Pastours of the Church doe not forgive sinne by any absolute power of their own for so only Christ their Master forgiveth sinnes but ministerially as the servants of Christ and stewards to whose fidelity their Lord and Master hath committed his Keyes If you aske me how Christ came by this power seeing none can forgive sinnes but God I answer first that he had it by Commission from God it was a power given him by his Father and so we reade in Joh. 20.21 Secondly he had it through the Union of the God-head and Manhood into one person For though it be true that as he was God he had it of himselfe yet not so as he was Man For as he was Man he had it by virtue of the Union from God Now this he transfers further Peter had a promise that the Keyes of the Kingdome of Heaven should be given but this promise was not accomplished untill afterwards not untill the day of Christs Resurrection whereupon we reade in as plain words as may be That the same day at night which was the first day of the weeke and when the doores were shut where the Disciples were assembled for feare of the Jews came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them Peace be unto you And when he had so said he shewed unto them his hands and his sides Then were the Disciples glad when they had seen the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again Peace be unto you As my Father sent me so send I you And when he had said that he breathed on them and said unto them receive the holy Ghost Whosoevers sinnes yee remit they are remetted unto them and whosoevers sâ—nnes ye retaine they are retained Joh. 20.19,20,21,22,23 When this promise was made to Peter although spoken to him in particular yet not with an intent to invest him solely in the thing promised as even the sequel and accomplishment thereof fully proveth Howbeit because he by his Confession gave answere for the rest and was the speaker for them when Christ said But whom say ye that I am therefore doth Christ direct his speech to him againe in particular who as he spake for them all so he is promised the Keyes in the behalfe of them all See Mat. 16.15,16,17.18,19 This then sheweth that S Peter was indued with no more power then the rest of the Apostles and therefore the Pope can claime no more then another Bishop and in that regard our Ordination is lawfull and right valid and firme although we goe not over to Rome to fetch it For so long as we have Bishops of our owne consecrated and installed into their Office as Bishops alwayes have been there is no doubt or scruple to be made Knowing therefore that when we take Ordination we also receive an holy and Ghostly authorioy not only in having the word of Reconciliation and dispensation of the Sacraments committed unto us but also of binding and loosing or of remitting and retaining sinnes we may not suffer our Church to be dâ—famed nor the Ministers thereof to be accounted Antichristian For hath our Saviour said Whose sinnes yee remit they are remitted and whose sinnes yee retain they are retained and shall any mortall man deny it His words are not Whose sinnes yee signifie to be remitted but Whose sinnes yee remit which the Author of the Practice of Piety no Papist sure hath well observed Nor is the same but granted by a distinction put between declare and pronounce For to declare is chiefly to shew Gods goodnesse towards penitent sinners which every good Christian may doe when he sees occasion for the comfort of his brother according to the truth of Gods gratious promises but to pronounce is to give sentence as a Judge in the name of him who hath the authority primarily in himselfe You speak of the key of Knowledge and explaine it well enough but that is not the sole key of binding and loosing and therefore not a thing which comes fully home to the purpose Whensoever therefore any sick person or burthened sinner shall unbosome himselfe to one of Gods ministers and shall heare him pronounce thus By the authority which Christ hath committed to me I doe absolve thee from all thy sinnes in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost then may the said Sinner rest assured that his sinnes are forgiven him and that God doth ratifie in Heaven what his Priest pronounceth on Earth The like may be said of one who for the present sees