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A26943
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Mr. Baxter's judgment and reasons against communicating with the parish-assemblies, as by law required, impartially stated and proposed
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Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing B1289; ESTC R14325
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19,788
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40
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find it in some of his late Writings together with those Reasons that he doth furnish us with as Arrows which we may gather up to shoot back upon him against communicating with the Parish Assemblies as by Law required The giving a just Account of Baxter's Judgment against Parish-Communion is I acknowledge but Argumentum ad hominem adapted chiefly for the silencing Mr. Baxter but the Reasons that are couched in what is given out of Mr. Baxter are more than so and such as must receive another Answer than meerly the saying That Mr. Baxter is grown wiser and hath changed his Judgment for until Mr. Baxter or some other do validly answer what Mr. Baxter has said in his Five Disputations against Episcopacy and Ceremonies and in his late Treatise against Episcopacy what I have here urged will abide in its strength and carry also with it the Authority and Weight of the Vnanswerable Mr. Richard-Baxter Mr. Baxter's Judgment and Reasons against Communicating with the Parish Assemblies as by Law required impartially stated and proposed THere has been of late no little stir about going to the Parish Assemblies and communicating with them in their Liturgy-Worship and in special Mr. Baxter hath been warmely engaged in the Defence as he himself will have it of his own and the Practice of those that are for Parish-Communion and cannot suffer a little Manuscript said to be Dr. Owens to escape his Annimadversions and Opposition It is at this time no part of my Province to examine Baxter's Answer to Owen's Arguments I call the Manuscript Dr. Owens not only because common Fame directs me to do so but because in the Arguments there is the Doctor 's wonted Accuracy and Strength There are very many Scripture-Reasons couch'd in a few Lines and such as are too strong to receive any harm from Baxter's Answer as I could by divine Assistance clearly evince but at this time it shall be no part of my Work In this my aim is to shew What it is Mr. Baxter is really for that he is as much against holding Communion with the Parish-Assemblies as by Law required as those are against whom he writes and that we are furnished with unanswerable Arguments against such Parish-Communion by Mr. Baxter Thus much will be made very manifest to a common Capacity by shewing what are Baxter's avowed Principles about the Institution Ministry and Discipline of Christ's Churches and what are the natural consequences of those Principles he holds and wherein lies the point in which he differs from his Brethren In doing which I will give you Baxter's sence for the most part in his own words directing you to the very pages of those Books of his I make use of § 1. All Christians saith Mr. Baxter are agreed that Christ is the Author of the Universal Church consider'd both as Baptized or Externally Covenanting call'd Visible and as Regenerate and sincerely Covenanting call'd Mystical as it is headed by Christ himself and called his Body and special Kingdom § 2. We doubt not but Christ has instituted the Office of the sacred Ministry to be under him as a Teacher Ruler and High-Priest of the Church in Teaching Guiding and Worshipping and that he has instituted holy Assemblies and Societies for these things to be exercised in And that a Society of Neighbour Christians associated with such a Pastor or Pastors for Personal Communion even in such Doctrine Discipline and Worship is a Church-form of divine Institution § 3. We know not of any proof that ever was produced that many Churches of the first Rank must of duty make one fixt greater Compound Church by Association whether Classical Diocesane Provincial Patriarchal or National and that God has instituted any such form vide Mr. Baxter's Nonconformists plea for peace p. 8. 12. § 4. Christ has stated on the Pastors of his Instituted Churches the Power of Teaching Assemblies and particular persons of leading them in publick Worship and Sacraments and of Judging by the power of the Keyes whom to receive into their Communion by Baptism and profession of Faith and whom to admonish and for Obstinate Impenitance reject and this Institution none may Alter § 5. He has Instituted Ordinary Assemblies and stated particular Churches as is aforesaid for these Holy Exercises and forbad all Christians to forsake them and he and his Apostles have appointed and separated the Lords day hereunto None therefore may abrogate or suspend those Laws all this is proved Mat. 28. 19 20. and 16. 19. and 18. 18 19. Joh. 20. 23. Luke 12. 37 38. Mat. 21. 36. and 22. 4 5. c. And 24. 45 46. Heb. 11. 25 26. Acts 11. 26. 1 Cor. 14. Ephes 4. 4. to 17. 1 Thes 5. 12 13. Heb. 13. 7. 24. Tit. 1. 5 6. c. 1 Tim. 3. Acts 14. 23. Acts. 20. 1 Cor. 16. 1. c. Mr. Baxter Vbi supra p. 24. § 6. The Diocesane kind of particular Churches which has only One Bishop over many score or hundred fixed parochial Assemblies I take saith Mr. Baxter to be it self a Crime Which in its very Constitution overthroweth the Office Church and Discipline which Christ by himself and his Spirit in his Apostles Instituted For 1. Parishes are made by them no Churches as having no ruling Pastors that have the power of judging whom to Baptize or admit to Communion or Refuse but only are Chappels having preaching Curates 2. All the first Order of Bishops in single Churches are deposed 3. The Office of Presbiters is changed into Semi-presbiters 4. Discipline is made impossible Mr. Baxter ' s Church History of Bishops and Council abridged ch 1. § 54. The like he affirms in his five Disputa of Church-Government pag. 19. As to the eight sort of Bishops viz. The Diocesane who assumeth the sole Government of many Parish Churches both Presbiters and People as ten or twelve or twenty or more as they used to do even a whole Diocess I take them saith Mr. Baxter to be Intollerable and Destructive to the peace and happiness of the Church and therefore not to be admitted under Pretence of Order or Peace if we can hinder them § 7. This Diocesane Church Government being de facto established in this Kingdom the parish Assemblies are not compleat particular Churches of the first Rank and Order they are but parts of a Diocesane which is de facto established as a single Church Infime speciei That parish Assemblies are not particular Churches is manifested from Mr. Baxters principles For 1. That Cement which is necessary to the being of a Church is wanting And it is impossible saith Mr. Baxter in his Cathol Concord p. 231. to be a Church without the Cement of Consent If many be forced into a Temple not Consenting it is a Prison they are not a Church if they Consent only to Meet on other Occasions as for some Occasional Act of Religion it is not thereby made a Church If they be commanded to consent and do not and if
it only be their Duty it maketh them not a Church but only proveth that they ought to be one So far Mr. Baxter And it is manifest that in pursuance of Canon and Statute Law the Parishes are de facto settled as parts of a Diocesane Church and whoever joyn themselves unto the Parish assemblies as by Law required consent to be of the Parish assembly as It is a part of the Diocesane Church this doth every Parish Minster who swears Canonical Obedience that is Obedience to his Ordinary secundum Canones and who is to rest so fully satisfied in the Diocesane Government as to declare he will not endeavour on any pretence whatever the alteration of it But to form the Parish assembly into a compleat particular Church is to make a Substantial Alteration in the Diocesane Constitution Besides the Vesteries who as Mr. Baxter saith do after a sort represent the Parish Assembly are also sworn to the Diocesane Constitution and Government and therefore cannot be justly interpreted to consent to the Parish Assemblies being a compleat particular Church Whatever consent there is between the Minister and People it must be supposed to be no other than what is agreeable to the Diocesane Rule i. e. to be parts of the Diocesane Church taking none for their Pastor but the Diocesane Bishop 2. This Parish-Assembly doth not only want consent to make it a Church but it has no Parochial Pastor though the Pastor and Flock are the essential constitutive parts of a particular organiz'd Church yet it s not to be found in our Parishes It may be a Community saith Mr. Baxter ubi suâ—r without a Pastor not a Polity not an Ecclesiastical Society That the Parish Minister is not a Pastor is manifest for he is deprived of what is essential to the Pastoral Office This is evident according to the Principles of Mr. Baxter who distinguishing between the Old and New Episcopacy and who though he had more favourable thoughts of the Old than of the New and knows that the present is more like the new than the old and consequently worse yet writing against the restoring the Old he lays down his fourth Argument thus 4. That Episcopacy which degradeth all the Presbyters in the Diocess or causeth them to suspend an Essential part of their Office is not to be restored under any pretence of the right Order of Peace But such was the late English Episcopacy And in his Advertisement to his Five Disp p. 13 14 c. to satisfie those that make some doubt of the truth of the Minor he saith All men in England that knew but twenty years ago what belonged to these matters are past doubt of it And I have no mind to dispute against them that contradict the common knowledge of the Nation as if they should doubt whether ever we had a King in England 2. Read over the Canons and the yearly Visitation Articles which the Church-Wardens swear to present by before they had ever read the Book or heard what was in it And then judge 3. Their Arguing for the sole Jurisdiction of Bishops and that they only were properly Pastors and that Presbyters had not the Key of Discipline but of Doctrine is some Evidence It is known to the Nation that the Pastors of the Parish-Churches had no power by their Laws or sufferance to castout any the most erroneous Sinner or Heretick from the Church nor to bring them to open confession of their sin nor to absolve the Penitent but by reading of their Sentences and publishing what they sent from their Courts and consequently could do nothing of all the means hereunto for the means cannot be used where the end is known to be impossible All the obstinate scandalous Persons and scorners of a holy Life we must take as Members of our Churches having no power to cast them out Indeed we had the same Power as the Church-Wardens to put our Names to the Presentments but a power of Accusing to a Chancellors Court is not a Power of Governing especially when Piety under the Name of Preciseness and Puritainism was so hated and persecuted that to have accused a man for meer Prophaneness would have been so far from obtaining the end as that it was like to have been the undoing of the Accuser Obj. But is not the power of Discipline given them in their Ordination Answ 1 st In their Ordination the Bishop said to them Receive the holy Ghost whose Sins thou dost remit they are remitted whose Sins thou dost retain they are retained and in the Book of Ordination it was asked them Whether they would give their faithful Diligence alwayes to administer the Doctrine and Discipline of Christ as the Lord has commanded and as the Realm has received the same according to the Commandments of God And the Rubrick of the Common-Prayer-Book enables the Curate to admonish open and notorious evil Livers by whom the Congregation is offended and those that have wronged their Neighbours that they come not till they have openly declared That they have repented and amended But 1. This doth but serve to leave them inexcuseable that acknowledge Discipline to belong to the Office of a Presbyter when yet he might not excuse it The Bishops in the Ordination of Presbyters enabled them to Preach the Gospel and yet they were after that forbidden to preach till they had a Licence and it was put into the visitation Article to present those Ministers that preached without a Licence If they will deny us the exercise of the power that they first confess belongeth to our Office we are not answerable for their self-contradictions 2. By Discipline I suppose they mean but our Instruction and our publishing their Orders for Penance Excommunication or Absolutions 3. They were the Judges of the sence of the Laws as far as the Execution required and the universal practice of England which their Writings shewed us to our cost their Judgment what good would it do us if the Law had been on our side while the Concurrent Judgment and Practice of the Governours denied it and went aganist it 4. He that has kept a man from the Sacrament according to the plain Words of the Rubrick was to have been acountable for it at their Courts and so likely to have been undone by it So far Mr. Baxter Which sufficiently shews that the Parish Minister is in his Judgment degraded and deprived of what is essential to the Pastors Office for by taking from them the power of Church-Government they destroy the very Office of the Presbyters for Ruling is as Essential to their Office as preaching notwithstanding which as Mr. Baxter proves and expresly asserts the English Episcopacy taketh from the Presbyters the Power of Church Governing see his five Disput p. 39. But if it had been only the Exercise of the Parish Presbyters Power that had been suspended yet considering the Suspension is statedly established by Law or Custom during the Life of the Minister it