you shall make these things found in Ignatius consistent even with the strain of pure Religion and the truth of the Gospel let be to the Orthodoxie and Piety of Ignatius and the simplicity of his times then shall I cede to the Authority of these Letters Only in the mean time let me tell you that for all the pains that Hamond hath taken to assert their Faith the words above cited do savour so strongly of most gross and corrupt interpolation that not only I reject their Testimony as to the matter of Prelacie but do esteem even the passages that may be therein found for Presbyterie as to the Trallians be subject to the Presbyterie as to the Apostles of Iesus Christ The Presbyters are the Council of God and joint Assembly of the Apostlâ—s and such like of little or no value 2. You mention Cyprians time but hold I preceive your second Edition mends your first and this your practice like to that of your more innocent friend Mr. Coluin in his verses of giving us second Editions bearing additions without advertissment had indeed abused me If by accident I had not fallen in the review of my papers to make use of your second Copie and in this you tell us in the next place of the Apostolicall Canons a work of very venerable Antiquitie at least the first fiftie of them though perhaps none of the Apostles But first why say you Perhaps in a matter beyond all peradventure 2. Not to trouble you with Criticisms he who would be resolved anent the Authority of these Canons let him only read them And as I am confident he will be farre from thinking either the first 50 or the rest of them Apostolicall So I am certain the mention made in the 3. Can. of Sacrificium Altare Oleum in Candelabrum Incensum oblationis tempore a Sacrifice Altar oyl in the lamp and incense in the time of offering the 17. Can qui viduam duxit Episcopus aut Presbyter aut Diaconus esse non potest he who hath married a widow cannot be a Bishop or a Presbyter or a Deacon the 25. Can. Ex his qui caelibes in Clerum pervenerunt jubemus ut Lectores tantum cantores si velint nuptias contrahant Of Bachelors who hath entered into orders Readers only and Singers if they will may marrie the great and constant distinction therein made inter Clericum Laicum and the many other vanities therein to be found specially in the last part of them will easily render their venerable Antiquity of no moment in our present Controversie so that neither your 40 but in effect the 38. Canon though it were more positive and expresse for your Prelatick preheminence nor your Synodicall injunction to the same purpose both posterior to the first Primitive purity are of any regard but 3. so wretched is the cause that you defend that even in your clearest evidences your partiality and hypocrisie is manifest You alledge the Apostolicall Canons in defence of your Prelatick Order and yet you consider not that the same Canons do not only condemn your Prelates But subvert their present constitution I shall not insist upon the 24. Canon Episcopus aut Presbyter in fornicatione aut perjurio deprehensus deponitor Let a Bishop or a Presbyter guilty ofsornication or perjury be deposed the 20. Episcopum aut Presbyterum qui fideles delinquentes quid ergo si Innocentes percutit terrorem ipsis hoc modo incutit deponi praecipimus We command that the Bishop or Presbyter who smiteth delinquents and so becometh a terrour unto them be deposed what then if they smite the innocent the 28â— 41. 53. 57 75. which I am most assured if observed would remove all the present Bishops and Curats in Scotland but the Canons I offer are the 4. Omnium aliorum Pomorum Primitiae Episcopo Presbyteris domum mittuntor Manifestum autem est quod Episcopus et Presbyteri inter Diaconos reliquos Clericos eas dividunt Let the first â—ruits of all others aples be sent home to the Bishop and Presbyters for it is Manifest that the Bishop and Presbyters divide them among the Deacons and the rest of the Clergie 33. Cujusque gentis Episcopos oportet scire quinam inter ipsos primus sit neque sine illius voluntate quicquam agere insolitum illa autem quemque prosetractâ—re quae ad Parochiam ejus loca ipsi subdita attinent sed neque ille citra omnium voluntatem aliquid facito 36. Bis in Anno Episcoporum celebrator Synodus pietatis inter se dogmata in disquistionem vocanto and 80. Dicimus quod non oporteat Episcopum aut Presbyterum publicis se adminiâ—â—rationibus immiscere sed vâ—care commodum se exhibere usibus Ecclesiasticis animum igitur inducito hoc non facere aut deponitor together with the obvious strain of the whole plainly insinuating the Bishop to be the person to whom the flock is principally and immediatly committed and who as the Primus Presbyter the first Presbyter ought chiefly to minde the charge In which Canons although I grant that their appears a precedencie of Order given to the Bishop over the Presbyters who in these times were many Ministers living in one City and Society having the charge in common among themselves and with and under their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 over the Church and Flock in their bounds and also to the first Bishop of a Province over his Coëpiscopi Yet I am sure your Prelatick power and Superiority acclaiming the sole power of Ordination and Jurisdiction is no where thereby approved but rather condemned Your third Testimony you bring from Cyprian in whose time you say That the power of Bishops was well regulate and Setled and here knowing that he professeth That he would do nothing without the Clergie that he could do nothing without them nor take upon him alone Whereby the antient Prostasia and not your Prelacie is plainly and only held forth You insinuate as much as if he had afterward retracted this opinion and this you prove very pitifully 1. From his answere to one Rogatian a Bishop that he by his Episcopall vigour and Authority had power presently to punish a Deacon for an affront received which yet doth not at all seclude the Presbyters according to the Rule of the Canon Law Episcopus non potest judicare Presbyterum vel Diaconum sine Synodo Senioribus The Bishop cannot judge a Presbyter or a Deacon without the Synod and Eldersâ— 2. From this Censure of Hereticks and Schismaticks for proud contempt of their then Bishops which we do as little allow as you do 3. From a letter written by the Presbyters and Deacons of Rome after the Death of Fabian wherein they complain of the want of one to Moderate and with Authority and advice to take accompt of Matters whence you say that surely they thought little of Persbyters being equal in power to Bishops who
his Epistle ad Evagrium he confirms his assertion above set down with Scripture Arguments most calmly solidly and unanswerably 3. You alledge that Notwithstanding that he make the Bishop and Presbyter to differ in degree only and not in office and that by Ecclesiastick and not Divine Authority yet he confesseth that Presbyters did not ordain and that the origen of the exercising power was in the dayes of the Apostles to prevent schismes c. It 's answered he saith indeed quid enim facit exceptâ ordinatione Episcopus quod Presbyter non facit But as he is there pointing only at the custome then in use so this doth nothing derogate from that equality yea identitie of power which he attributeth to both from Scripture what you mean by the origen of the exercising power c. Is not so clear It 's true he affirmeth that at Alexandria from Mark the Evangelist to Heraclas and Dionysius Bishops the Presbyters did always name one chosen of themselves and placed in higher degree Bishop but what says this more then that in all that time for orders sake they had successive Presidents at first it 's like moveable and thereafter fixed during life And we have already both acknowledged and regreted the grievous abuse occasioned by that latter practice You adde that he compares the Bishops Presbyters and Deacons in the Church â—to the high Priest Priests and Levites in the Temple and since there was at that time from Ecclesiastick custome then allowed which according to his use and as he useth to speak promiscuously writing of Lent he here indifferently termeth an Apostolick Tradition a ground of resemblance why might he not use the similitude without stretching it either to evert what he had said or countenance your Prelacie Lastly you alledge that he sayes that it was decreed through the whole World that a Presbyter should be over the rest to roote out the seede of difference It 's answered that this in toto orbe decretum est may and is to be understood not of an express Decree which doth no where appeare but of a General consentient custome taking place every where both the truth of the thing and Hieroms after Paulatim ad unum omnis Solicitudo est delata by little and little all the care is devolved upon one do abundantly cleare How ever this may be warrantably said that as this custome did with time universally obtain and in Ieroms dayes not having much exceeded the limits of a simple Prostasia was by him also approved as the remedy of dissention so he holding it to be not of Divine disposition no doubt if he had these other holy men were this day to see the hundred part of these sad and fearful effects that it hath produced nothing could be able to breake their astonishment at the surprizing sight of such prodigious consequences of this Mystery of iniquity but sorrow and Lamentation together with deep regrete that they did not better forsee and more timously resist the first tendencies and beginnings of this evil Now whether or not Antiquity be on your side and if our grounds from Scripture against your Episcopall Authority be not much confirmed both by Ierom and the other passages here handled I willingly submit it to all the lovers of truth but lest you think that by the representation I have made in the beginning of my answere to your alledgeance from Antiquity of the early and strange rise and grouth of Episcopacie I do thereby derogate from that light and purity which with you I acknowledge in these Primitive times I must note first That pride as it was the first sin and corrupter of Mans integrity from which the felicities of Paradise could not exempt him So is it of all sins the most inward rooted and subtile attending a man in all conditions finding Matter in all occasions and immixing it self even in our fairest and purest actions 2. That the Disciples of our Lord notwithstanding of his own presence holy instruction and humble example were not free of the motions of this evil the History of the Gospel doth plainly testify 3. I note that the times of the Apostles the most pure and powerfull that ever the Church enjoyed were many wayes infested with this plague I mention not the contentions betuixt Paul and Barnabas which no doubt sprung from this latent corruption but he who considereth the great numberâ— and many wicked practices of false Apostles Hereticks and Schismaticks in these days boasting against and despising even Paul himself with the affected Preheminence of Diotrephes and the then begun working of the mystery of iniquity toward the exalting of the Son of perdition in place of denying must of necessity marveil how this Devil of pride could in so gracious and short a time destitute of all Earthly encouragements so greatly prevail and plainly perceive that this active Spirit would not be wanting to imbrace and improve all occasions and opportunities offered 4 That as order did no doubt at first in all meetings require a President whom I also easily grant to have been as any occasion did require rather recommended by desert no evil consequence being then apprehended then presented by a constant and compleat Rotation So it is very probable and confirmed by Hieroms suffrage that contentions did first both fixe the presidencie or prostasia and exalt it to any notable eminencie but whether by way of remedy or by way of victory to the increase of the Maladie is indeed the most observable points and as I apprehend that whereupon we will divide and therefore I note 5. That although the Authority of able and holy men at first advanced to a fixed Presidencie might then appeare as in these dayes of great simplicity and humility in it self very innocent and in the event also effectuall to concord Yet without all question at best it was but an humane invention copied from the patern of the manner of the then Civil Government of the Empire to which our Lord expresly commanded his Disciples not to conforme 6. That seing affected preheminence and the contentions thence arising did clearly occasion the introducing of this Prostasia though in many yea most places the prevailing number of good men might thereto advance worthy and deserving persons studying more the prospering of the Gospel and unity of the Church then adverting to the bad consequences that thence might ensue Yet it is not only most certain that this promotion was that whereunto these strivings did every where directly aspire but also most probable that even in the first beginnings many ambitious pretenders wanting a just opposition did carry their design and were preferred 7. That by plain dealing I may satisfy all pretenses I observe that albeit power and Authority unite in the Prostasia of one amongst many may be thereby rendered more strong and effectual Yet seing the benefits of this union and advancement doth only flow from the accidental worth and ability of the person
that happens to be promoted and that the order or institution it self destitute of divine warrant and promise and clearly occasioned by evil contention and introduced into the house of God by humane invention could not at first have any thing in it recommendable and hath since produced most corrupt â—ruits Neither the existence of Many excellent and great men in this degree nor the laudable yea extraordinary advantages that the Church hath received from them in the concret can now justify and maintain the Order it self in the abstract If this arguing were good able and well qualifyed men vested with such a power or placed in such a condition have proven and may prove notable instruments of Good therefore it is reasonable and expedient that such a constant order should be erected we might not only have Bishops but most of the Monastick Orders of the Roman Church We finde Peter with the singular benefite of the Church exercing a power of Life and Death and that given him from above and not assumed could therefore an order of Church-men pretending to the like Authority be rationally thence maintained in the Church No wayes Accidental advantages do not commend unwarranted institutions much less can they justle out our Lords express constitution But it is he the perfect orderer of his own house who hath positively defined and blessed its Officers and their power and not left the matter Arbitrarie to the probable contrivances of apparent benefite farre less to the dissembling pretenses of mens Lusts and corrupt Interest 8. It is to be noted that although the great measure of Grace given to the Primitive Church and the hard and frequent persecutions wherewith it was exercised did for a time hinder that strange depravation and incredible â—ruption of wickedness whereunto the setting up of the Ancient Prostasia the rudiment of your Prelacie did from its first beginnings secretly and covertly bend Yet this is most evident that so soon as the Church of God obtained the countenance and was favoured by the more fond in many things such as excessive Doâ—ations and Grants of privileges then prudently pious benevolence of Secular Princes this Prelatick order which in its depression had been indeed honoured with many shining lights and Glorious Martyres attaining then to its ascendent did not only debauch the Lords Ministers for the most part unto idleness avarice and luxurie but continually climb up according to its proper Genius of Ambition until the Devils design in its rise and progress was fully discovered and consummate in the revelation of the Son of perdition 9. This being the rise progress and product of Prelacie in the first Churches as may be clearly gathered from the writtings of these times how it was introduced in other Churches thereafter gathered and brought in may be found in their Histories Only this is certain that as in almost no Church it can be shewed to have been coëvous with Christianity and in all the western Churches where it obtained place was ever a sprig of Romes Hierarchie propagate by her ambition and deceit and the like practices So the Church of Scotland in special was in the beginning and for some centuries thereafter instructed and guided by Monks without Bishops until palladius from Rome did set up Prelacie among us as many Authors witness Nay we may finde it on Record that even in the 816. year a Synod in England did prohibite the Scots any function in their Church because they gave no honour to Metropolitans and other Bishops By these observations having in some sort delineate the mysterious and crooked windings of this excrescing Power in its first motions and setting forth and very clearly and naturally traced its progressions and thence deduced that most prodigious production of the Antichristian Papacie as any considerate man may thereby easily perceive not only how it might but how de facto it hath crept into the whole Church without an Apostolicall introduction notwithstanding of all your contrarie insinuations so I am confident that what ever other advantages these primitive times had above our latter dayes yet our discovery made after so full a revelation compared to the obscure appearances of this wickedness in the first ages of the Church cannot be thereby rationally disproved and your scurrile disparaging of the latter times of reformation as the fagg end oâ— sexteen hundred years doth with little less success plead for the Pope and Antichrist then for your Anâ—ichristian Prelacie As for the rest of your discourse wherein you tell your N. C. that though the ancient Bishops were better men then either Bishops or Presbyters alive Yet in Presbyteries Specially in the matter of Ordination they were sine quibus non and what ever be the present abuse of the Episcopall power Yet it is a rational and most necessary thing that the more approven and gifted be peculiarly incharged with the inspection of the Clergie an order of men neâ—ding much to be regulate and seing all humane things and Presbytery also are liable to be abused the common maxime remains to be applied remove the abuse of Bishops but retain their use In answere hereto I need not inlarge he who knows Church History best will easily grant that as for the first Centurie and an half we have no vestige upon record of your Prelatick power So when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 had place their concurrence in Presbyteries was only for order as being the Modâ—rators a consideration of the same exigence and effect whether they be fixed or unfixed and not from any peculiar power proper to them as a superior order A thing so certainly disowned by the primitive Church that even after the Bishops thought themselves well stated in their Prelacie and were beginning to contend among themselves for the Papacie Hierom doth plainly deny them any such prerogative above Presbyters and was not therefore contradicted by any How much more then doth this condemn that sole power both of Ordination and Jurisdiction whereunto your Bishops do pretend As for your alledged reason and necessity of promoting the better gifted over the unruly Clâ—rgie whatever application it may have to that naughty Company of your insufficient and profane Curats or Conformity to the Court yea the worlds prejudice against our Lord Jesus his Ministers and all his followers Yet these two things are most evident 1. That as that lowely and ministerial Government appointed by Christ in his own house admitting no superiority or inequality of power among Ministers is not subjected to and alterable at the arbitriment of humane reason so the advantage of Gifts whereupon you would found it doth so little favour your conclusion that the direct contrarie is recommended by our Lord as its best evidence and fruit he that will be chief among you let him be your Servant and that not only as to the grace of humility but in plain opposition to that superior Authority exercised in Secular Rule whereof the imitation in this place is expresty
Devil did that and so do all Sects do you therefore mean that it should be laid aside as an insufficient Judge or that we use it no better then the Devil did I desire you may explain your self if not for our concernment at least for the Scriptures vindication In the mean time I am heartily willing that both what you and what I have said be rightly pondered and whether the Church in matters of Government be lest to rove in your pretended liberty or more excellently established by the infinite wisdom unspeakable love and most tender care of its only Lord and Head let Scripture and Reason impartially decide But to conclude all you tell us with a preface That the Angels of the Churches afford us fairer likely hoods for Bishops then ever we shall finde in the Bible for Presbyterie It 's answered seing you your self do acknowledge that nothing in it whether you mean in this place or in the whole Scripture the words are ambiguous amounts to a demonstration I remit the matter to the Scriptures by me adduced whereby I am confident all your Likelihoods are more then counterballanced He who is further desiâ—ous to have them removed may consult M. Durham upon the Text for my own part since ever I had the understanding to consider that the Râ—velation was made in a Mystick phrase that the Seven starres who are the Angels do certainly signifie the many teachers that were in every one of these Churches that in the Candle-sticks as in the Starres we finde the same oneness and number and lastly that though to the Angel be the inscription for address yet we finde the body of all the Epistles written directly to the whole Churches these things I say occurring I protest I could never discerne more reason in this argument for subjecting these Churches unto seven superior single Prelates then for making the same Prelats really Angels or turning every Church into a Candle stick Or if I may adduce another instance not absimilare to your Faire Likelihoods for interpreting the two Witnesses to be the two arch-Arch-Bishops of St. Andrews and Glasgow When you have spent your endeavours upon the Authority of Episcopacie you think to seconde it in the next place with its Antiquity derived you say from the times next to the Apostles whereupon you conclude in these words That how this excrescing power should have crept into the whole Church and no mention when it came in no Prince or Universal Council to introduce it in the times of persecution when the Church usually is purest and most free of pride no Secular consideration to flatter but the first brunt of the persecution alwayes against it and how none opposed it if this was not introduced by Apostles or Apostolicall men passeth my Divination And really Sir as to its particular Methods and increase so doth it mine And so much more then it doth yours that I am perswaded from clear Scripture that it was not only not introduced but plainly reprobate by our Lord and his Apostles Yet am I so little thereby stumbled that the more dark and obscure I finde its rise and progresse I am the more confirmed that it is the very Mysterie of iniquity and do so much the more admire the incorruptible and eternall Truth of the Gospel which as in the beginning it foretold the coming and took very early Notice of the first motions of this prodigie of wickednesse So hath it through the many ages of its exaltation preserved it self against and now in the latter dayes overcomes its Malice But to review your discourse more particularly I have already shewed that the Ministery and Government institute by our Lord and confirmed and practised by the Apostles was plainly Presbyterian if so what place for further inquirie Is your alledged traditional subsequent humane institution of Prelacie of greater moment 2. That even in the Primitive times and for 140. years after our Saviour no vestige of Prelacie appears upon record is the consentient opinion of the best Searchers both on your and our part 3. This plea of Antiquity hath already been so fully handled and improved both by yours and ours specially Hamond on your part and Blondel Salmasius and other Learned servants of Christ on ours that there needs nothing be added and where the advantage is the Ingenuous may easily discerne He that desires a solid and short accompt of the matter may read the appendix to the jus Divinum Ministerii Evangelici But you proceed to give in some poor scrapes of pretended Antiquity which not only the most sure and clear and farre more ancient Scriptures of Truth but even the convincing answeres which they have often receaved might well have made you to forbear And first you say That Ignatius his Epistles are plain language And so they are indeed but too plain for you to have cited as the following passages compared with the Scriptures subjoined may evince In the Epistle to the Tralliani we have what is a Bishop but he that is possest of all Principality and Authority beyond all as much as is possible for men Reverence the Bishop as ye do'Christ as the holy Apostles have Commanded c. As the Lord Christ doth nothing without his Father so must ye do nothing without your Bishop Let nothing seem right or equall to you that is contra to his judgement In the Epistle to the Philad Let the Princes obey the Emperours the Souldiers the Princes the Deacons and the rest of the Clergie with all the People and the Souldiers and the Princes and the Emperour let them obey the Bishop no doubt the Bishop of Rome In the Epistle to the Smyrnenses The Scripture saith honour God and the King but I say honour God as the Author and Lord of all things and the Bishop as the Prince of Priests resembling the image of God of God for his principality of Christ for his Priesthood c. There is none greater then the Bishop in the Church who is consecrated for the Salvation of the whole World c. Let all men follow the Bishop as Christ the Father c. It is not Lawfull without the Bishop to baptize or offer c. He that doth any thing without consulting the Bishop Worshippeth the Devil Now on the other hand let us hear what the Scripture saith to this purpose Who then is Paul who Apollo but Ministers by whom ye beleeve Be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ for we preach not our selves but Christ Iesus the Lord and our selves your Servants for Iesus sake Not that we have dominion over your faith but are helpers of your joy for by faith ye stand But so shall it not be among you whosoever will be great among you shall be your Minister and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be Servant of all to these adde the practices and other professions of the Apostles concerning themselves and their fellow-Labourers and really Sir when
write so where the Episcopal power seemed to be devolved upon them but pray Sir If a society consisting of Members all equal in power but having a Head or President for order and good Rule do regret his loss during the vacancie in these very termes wherein lyeth the inconsistence How foolish then is that stricture of your vanity which you here subjoin viz. but. I believe few of you know these writings whereas to be plain with you in my thought neither you nor I have given any great Specimen of this knowledge or said so much as the half of what is obviously to be found in almost any printed debate anent this matter Sir I must tell you further if I my selfe were alone concerned in this reflectionâ— I would scarce look upon it as a reproach worth the wipeing off to be as great a stranger to these things as ye take me to be nor would I think many cubits were added to my stature to be as knowing in them as your self yet it is known that I tell the world no news when I say that there have been and to this day are not a few great men of our way who have given such proof of their knowledge in these ancillarie and minutious things whereof you represente us as ignorant as have made your greatest Rabbies finde that wherein they gloried they were not short of them and if ye know not this yet seem to have lost your silly self in the Labyrinth of Antiquitie and by this means are fallen under the shameful reproach of being peregrinus Domi and if ye know it and yet so superciliously assert the contraire what Apologie can ye make for speaking so great an untruth that will either satisfie the world or your own Conscience But Sir ingenously I professe I pitie you for your Vanitie and folly for it seems ye think this the only expedient to make the world beleeve the pregnancie of your pate and Pronounce you worthie of the Chair but Sir it will onely make the more serious weep to remember who did once fill it and should have filled it still when they consider how it is become the seat of a scorner and the lesse serious will laugh at your prodigious folly I have only one overture to propose unto you that your vanity may be with some handsomeness hereafter coutched and the world may let pass what you say without quarrelling at it as a known falshood And it is this in your after comparings and measurings of your abilities that you may be taken notice of for a Nonsuch be so wise as to compare your self with your Fellow-Curats if ye hope to bear the bell but when ye insinuate a comparison with so many burning and shining lights and then in your Juvenile pride and self-conceit arrogate a preference to these ye do only force men to take notice of and enquire into your shame and short-coming And if I mistake not fall upon the most certain method of making your self â—â—ink above ground Sir if in these two or three lines I have digressed contrary to my inclination the occasion will justifie it and charity persuades to it But 3. You tell us that in the Council of Nice Speaking of the power of Metropolitans the Canon sayes let the ancient customes be in force It 's answered 1. We finde that Council did conveen in the year 325. Now admit that certain Customes concerning Metropolitans as well as Bishops were bâ—ought into the Church about 165. years before the Councel which is the highest period from whence they can be calculat These customes in this respect might will therein be termed Antient without the least contrariety to my assertion 2. It 's evident enough from many suffrages that as the primitive Episcopacie which succeeded to Presbyterie the Government first institute by our Lord and his Apostles and exercised in the Christian Church did only import the humane invention of a Prostasia for Order So the custome of Metropolitans in these times did differ nothing from it as may appear from the 33. Canon of these called Apostolical already cited wherein he is only termed Primus Gentis Episcopus and tyed to the advice of his Coëpiscopi In the next place you tell us that nothing can be alledged against your Episcopal power but Some few or disjointed places of some Authors which at most Prove that they judged not the origen of Bishops to be divine and none save Aerius repute an Heretick did ever speak against the difference betuixt Bishops and Presbyters Sir if you did not here acknowledge almost all that I desire I could easily shew you that not only the Scriptures of the New Testament and the agreeable practice of the Apostles and their Immediate successors are against your Prelatick excrescent power but that even for several ages thereafter while both Bishops and Metropolitans did exercise their Prostasian your Diocesan Prelat having the sole power of Ordination and jurisdiction was unknown yea expresly reprobate but because the appendix whereunto I have already referred and Smectymnus do plainly make out this point I shall not detain you As for Aâ—rius it 's true he held that a Bishop and a Presbyter do not differ and that Augustin cals this proprium ejus dogma his proper Opinion and Epiphanius dogma furiosum et stolidum a furious and foolish opinion and that both of them do ranck him among Hereticks but seing they also accuse him of Arrâ—anisme and withal do also taxe him for error in some points which are clâ—ar truth viz. that it is not lawful to pray and offer for the dead their censure is as little to be noticed as his Testimony specially seing many Learned men do plainly assert that not only Hierom but even Augustin himself Chrisostom and many others of the Fathers were of the same opinion with Aërius as to the matter of this difference but for Ierom you go about to alleviat his Testimonye viz. Idem ergo est Presbyter qui Episcopus Therefore a Presbyter is one and the same with a Bishop noverint Episcopi se magis consuetudine quan dispositionis dominicae veritate Presbyter is esse majores c. And let the Bishops know that they are above Preebyters more through custome then any divine warrant Because he himself was but a Presbyter Pray Sir who were they whom your men cite so fast for Bishops were not they themselves Bishops and yet the truth is there were Bishops also at that time of his Opinion 2. You say that his fervent if not sirie Spirit drives him along in every things to an excess Good Sir where is now your veneration for Antiquity and the holy fathers For us seing we do not found on mans Authority this your brusk character discovering more of your partiality then of Ieroms infirmity doth not offend Only this I must say that whatever be his fervor in his other writtings yet I am sure that both in his Commentarie upon Titus and in
Christians ought not to press or judge one another in the performance or forbearance of things in themselves indifferent as acceptable and well-pleasing to God without his warrant and therefore the force and effect of humane Laws ordering and commanding things in order to the Politick ends of Government and in so farre by the Lord commanded to be obeyed are not by this Doctrine in the least demurred Now that your Ceremonies and other impositions being all relative to the service and worship of God wherein as every thing is to be observed with the faith of the Lords acceptation so nothing can be acceptable without his warrant are not of the nature of things as objected to civill commands but plainly such wherein Paul pleads for liberty is manifest Nay you your self know so well that the very things scrupled at by us as enjoyned toward a religious observance would be readily complied with upon any other reasonable occasion and that thousands who detest the Surplice would chearfully engadge in a Camisado for their Prince's service that I add nothing If you say that the things in debate though commanded for religious uses are never the less enjoyned not as acceptable to God and under this formality but are only necessary because commanded You bewray not only a sinful gaudie licentiousness of doing things for and in the house of the God of Heaven not commanded by the God of Heaven wherein even Heathens let be Christians have been tender but expose the purity and simplicity of Religion to all the corruptions of mans vain imagination As to what you adde anent the pretext which this liberty may give to offenders to decline Discipline it is yet less to the purpose in as much as submission to Discipline doth in effect flow from the Lords Authority whereby it becomes necessary and Mens part therein is only a naked ministerial application Lastly if you object that publick Peace and Order require your conforming obedience Your opinion and method in this point is much different from the Apostles he makes it his great argument not only for not judging and censuring Non-conformists but also in the case of offence for complying with them in their forbearance That we ought to follow the things which make for peace and wherewith one may edisie another But you and your partie for all the noise you make for publick Peace before you tolerat a Non-conforming in the greatest indifferencies and howsoever tender and innocuous will sooner both deprive your Brethren of Peace and for your vain trifles destroy the work of God whereas though you had faith in these things yet you ought to have it to your selves before God But Sir it is already too manifest that as in practice you know not the way of Peace so in this discourse by pressing a strict obedience from the free Spirit of Christian liberty which you seem to commend you palpably condemn your self in that which you appear to allow Having thus farre in the pursute of your reasonings digressed in the explanation of true Christian Liberty because of its after use in the perusal of your remaining purposes I shall not stick in the considering of what you make your N. C. add That we forbear the things pressed for avoiding the scandal of others I have already told you that the reasons of our forbearance have no less then the indispensable motive of the will and Oath of God Yea suppose the things required were meere externals and indifferent as they are not yet I have so clearly proven that your abridging of our Christian liberty therein by vertue of your commands is in it self repugnant to the Apostles Doctrine and in its effects pernicious that your requiring to make the restraint of Authority abused to these impositions the warrant of Practice to the forcing of Conscience and the offending of a Christian Brother is a Sophisme no better then if the hardie practiser or proud imposer who is expressly commanded in Christian tenderness to regard his Brothers offence should by a vain pretending of his own offence taken from the others indulged forbearance or recusancie thereby turne the Argument and elude the exhortation to the very scorne of Scripture That which I rather observe is that seing that to give Scandal is not ill defined by you to be a stretching of our liberty to practice to the drawing of others to the like or grieving or making them weak who have not the same clearness why do you not begin your application at Prelats Who having first streatched their practice to the ensâ—aring do also frame unjust decrees to the forcing of such who have no clearness to conform And on the other hand ought you not to indulge such who only desire to reâ—uge their Conscience in the Sanctuary of an allowed forbearance But these are the men whom having first sinfully spoiled of liberty you scornfully abuse by telling they may now act without regard to Scandal since you do permit them no liberty to the contraire But I hasten to your more closs examination of the matter of Conformity And first you ask why do not our Ministers join with your Courts for Church-discipline It 's answered it were tedious to examine the follies of you and your N. C. in this point we join not in your Courts because they are not the Courts of Jesus Christ but of the King and Prelates If this you deny read the Act Par 1. 1661 Sessâ— 1. Concerning Religion and Church-Government the proclamation of Councel thereafter discharging all Presbytries untill Authorized by the Bishops and the Act Par. eod Sess. 2. For the restitution of Bishops where as you will finde that Presbytries were made Precarious as to their continuance not as to their right which is indeed Divine by the first Act and then simpliciter discharged and broken up by the Proclamation so that which returnes in their place by the last Act and what ensued is not the former Presbyteries but only the Exercises of the Brethren having both their regulation and authority from the Bishops who have all their church-Church-power and Jurisdiction in a dependance upon and subordination unto the soveraign power of the King as Supream So that the Kings Authority and Prerogative Royal is plainly the proper fountain and last resort of all the power and jurisdiction to be found either in your Church or its Meetings Nay further this 〈◊〉 so certain that as his Majesty doth not so much as pretend a Commission from Jesus Christ as the anointed King of his Church for this effect which yet the Pope in his most wicked usurpation did alwayes Judge necessary so if it be Treason as it is dict sess of the same Parliament act 3. to derogat from the prerogative of the Imperial Crown of this Realm and if absolute supremacie in Ecclesiasticks incapable either of superior or conjunct do thereto by the late Act of Supremacie appertain certainly to make our Lord so much as a sharer with the King in
this matter would fall under the compasse of this crime However not to rake into this abysse of wickedness that Act of Supremacie giving to the King over all Persons Meetings and in all Causes of the Church all the power that Christ as head of the Church in these things hath or can acclame a piece of such desperat solly that I am assured that as he that sitteth in the Heaven doth laugh so shall he one day have all its contrivers and abettors in dirision in this I am very positive that according to the present legall establishment made in these matters to derive the power of your Courts from or connect the same with the power and headship of our Lord Jesus is utterly impossible That we then who as Ministers of the Gospel do take upon us and exercise no power save that which is our Lords cannot join and partake with your Meetings your self may judge But you say That all that is Divine in Discipline is that scandalous persons be noted and separated from worship but how this shall be administred can be no matter of Religion or of the concernment of Souls providing it be done 'T is answered to argue thus all that is Divine in Preaching is that the truth of the Gospel be declared but how this shall be performed can be no matter of Religion or of the concernment of Souls providing it be done would it not be false and weak reasoning 2. As your Providing it be done viz. rightly is a salvo whereby a man may as pertinently argue against all means whatsomever which certainly are nothing useful providing the end for which they are appointed be rightly done so this quality hath such an exigence even of these midses which you suppose to be of no import that it plainly subverts your Argument But 3. Your position that all that is Divine in Discipline is that scandalous persons be noted c. Is false in as much as this is no more clearly to be found in Scripture then the Persons and Officers therewith incharged are evidently thereby ordained yea this matter is so certain that there is scarce one place to be seen in Scripture for the warrant of Discipline which doth not with the same evidence hold out the persons intrusted with its administration And I will give unto thee the keyes of the Kingdom of heaven Whose sins soever ye remit they are remitted unto them Feed Over-see Rule the slock are Commissions so full ordaining the persons as well as designing their work that I can hardly impute the laxeness of your reasoning to your oversight In the next place for as for your quibling with your N. C. anent the foolish answere which you put in his mouth it is altogether frivolous as shall be shewed in your 7. Dial. you urge That seing that Presbytries do by Divine right acclaime a power oâ— jurisdiction they ought to meet in these Courts let the Law call it what it will even as iâ— the King should abrogate all Laws for the worship of God and declare that all that assemble to worship God shall be understood to worship Mahomet and thereupon command all to meet though we meet not on that ground yet you hope we would sâ—ill meet to worship God how ever it be interpret 'T is answered If the jurisdiction competent to Presbyteries by Divine right were in these Courts your Argument might have some weight but seing they are not the former Presbyteries but new Courts set up as I have already declared no more deriving power from Jesus Christ then your late High-commission how can you think in reason that either the right and power of Presbyters or his Majesties call should oblige Ministers to com to the one more then the other For my part as I esteem it a less sin upon the Kings call to come to a Court of his own erecting then to abuse Christs warrant to the establishing of a Court as his which by its institution manifestly disowns him So I should sooner resolve upon the Kings command to meet in the High-Commission then by coming from the motive of our Lords warrant acknowledge your Exercises of the Brethren for his Courts which are so palpably setled upon the basis of another Authority As for your Similitude not to insist upon such claudicant Arguments it is like to the legs of the lame which are not equall but make it straight thus the King dissolves all Christian Churches and erects Mahometan Mosches charging all to repaire there to worship and declaring that he will account thâ—ir so doing a testimony of their compliance with the change by him made Now if one should stand up and for the perswading of just recusants say that they may safely go there and worship God without either owning of Mahomet or regarding the construction may be made of it Pray Sir how would you understand it And what ever you or any reasonable man think should be the practice or Christians in this case I am content the N. C. be thereby judged I confesse the termes of the Similitude are hard But remember they are of your own choosing and my work is only to make them just to conclude therefore it is not Mens interpretation or mis-interpretation although in many cases these homologations whereby either Enemies may be hardened or friends stumbled require also a very weighty consideration that we regard in this matter but the reall state of things whereby as Christ's power is ejected forth of your Courts So the Divine jurisdiction of Presbyters cannot possibly therein have place To this you subjoin that suppose Episcopacie were Tyrannie and Bishops were Tyrannes in the Church Why ought you not to submit to them as well as you did to the late Tyrannes in the State It is answered if I did think there were any Emphasis more then the strain of your discourse in this your urging Our submission to the late Usurpers I could tell you that though the cases were parallel as they are not all the submission made by us to Oliver would not make out your inference And that it is Your and not Our submission which only can serve your turn I need not mention that Mr. Sharp Now of St. Andrews was the first if not the only Minister in Scotland that took the Tender and thereby deserting his Fellow-prisoners procured his own liberty Nor how the late introductors of Episcopacie were most or many of them such as by subscriving the Tender abjuring the King and the like compliances had wholly deboshed their Consciences unto the perfidious re-establishing of your abjured Prelacie whereas the tenacious honesty of the faithfull of the Land was both then and is now accounted their bigotrie and folly But to the purpose 1. If Bishops had only been intruded upon Presbytries as they were in former times it is not questioned but Faithfull Presbyters not Outed of their possession founded on Divine right might have continued the same with a due Testimony and opposition
whole strain runs upon suffering but seeing your insinuation is General and inconcludent and that afterward you do more particularly object from it I proceed Having thus at some length supplied your N. C. omission in the next place I come to the Argument where with you furnish him viz. That the law of Nature teacheth us to defend our selves therefore there is no need of expresse Scripture for it In Answere to this having broke your jâ—ast You begin very Magisterially with your N. C. tell him that he is a stranger to the very designe of Religion which is to mortifie Nature that it is a thing Super natural that the Scriptures are strangely contrived ever telling us of suffering without the exception of resistance if in a capacitie you appeal to Conscience if either â—ighting which a carnal man may do or suffering which he cannot do be the likelier way to advance Religion whence you conclude That it is not to be defended or advanced by rules borrowed from Nature but from Grace Fye upon you M. Conformist where is ingenuitie Your N. C. sayes that Nature teaches us To defend against injuries though inflicted for Religion you tell him that Religions desigâ—â— is to mortifie Nature that it is not to be defended or advanced by natures rules Is not this strangely contrived reasoning The N. C. is as persuaded as you are that the Grace of God bringing Salvation hath appeared unto all teaching us to deny ungodlinesse and wordly lusts and so to mortifie corrupt Nature but doth it therefore contradict pure Natures light or warrant us to destroy our selves If any private Person should injuriously impose upon and invade another for Religions sake were it not lawful for the Person thus injured to defend himself Or were this contraire to the designe and nature of Religion you cannot say it I know the Magistrat invested with authority is no private Person but remember that you now argue from the Supernatural quality of Religion and not from the character of the Magistrats power and therefore as upon this subject I would tell you that notwithstanding the Magistrat by reason of his place may deserve a greater though no illimited forbearance yet he hath as litle warrant for and greater sin in persecuting then a privat person so in the case in hand it is evident that if the mortifying designe of Religion reject all Natures assistances in must of necessity do so as well against a privat as a publick person And verily if this be your understanding of the designe of Religion you are too forward to teach others but what you lacke in skill you endeavour to make out by cunning The N. C. asserts Natures warrant only for defence which you perceiving Religion not to controll draw out a faire conclusion not against Defending but against Defending and Advancing of Religion by Natures rules Sir you know so well the difference of these two Defending and Advancing and that Non-conformists are no Turks that I wish my charitie could hide your calumnie Setting aside therefore this your foisted in Advancing which all Non-conformists do disown let us hear what you adde against Defending You say The Scriptures do ever tell us of suffering without the exception of resistance when in a capacitie I grant the Scriptures do speak of many and great sufferings according to the holy Counsel of God and frequent lot of his Saints that all that will live godly must suffer persecution They contain also many precepts and excellent encouragements to Patience under Suffering but that they do hold out any direct Command to men simply to Suffer abstracting from patient suffering or the least insinuation that though in a full capacitie they should not at all resist which in effect doth little differ the many passages adduced by me in the contraire with the advice of Flight often given show to be as remote from Truth as requisite to your inference As for your appeal to Conscience Whether fighting or suffering be the likelier way to advance Religion I appeal to common Sense if it be pertinent to contest for that which your Adversarie doth not deny The glorious power of the grace of God in propagating Religion by the weaknes and sufferings of his Servants is the great miracle of the Gospel and the praise of all Saints and yet if at any time the Lord in pitie to his afflicted did raise them up a Saviour or give them a banner for Truth was this blessing therefore despised or the means of it condemnedâ— God forbid The works of the Lord are all holy beautifull and well consistent and in this the Non-conformists do experimentally joy As to your close of this passage That a carnall man can fight wee know that spiritual men have done it also Heb. 11. 33. And where you adde that he cannot suffer it is no further my concernment then to bid you be more advertent seeing you tell us in the very next leafe of some Murtherers that suffered gallantly and that the seal of a Martyrs bloud is not alwayes the seal of God and to ponder the native import of 1 Cor 13. 3. Now as if you had demonstrate the unlawfulnesse of fighting you still your N. C. regrate for the neglect and ruine of the work of God by the Consideration of Gods Power and Providence and tell him that to defend Religion by force is but the wrath of man that Religion was first propogate by suffering whereas fighting hath been ever fatal to it It s answered as it is but to tempt and mock God and his Providence to neglect the means of preservation allowed by him So in the love of his Glory to appear for his interests against Persecuters and Subverters with the hasard of all our worldly concernments is not the sinfull and selfish wrath of man but the very power and zeal of God That Religion hath been much propagated by suffering is already acknowledged but that fighting hath been ever fatal to it is manifestly contradicted by the establishment of almost all the Reformations in Europe But you go on and tell your N. C. that our Lord did begin the Gospel with Suffering when he could have commanded Legions in his defence and when you have made him to mutter out That Christ knew it was his Fathers will you proceed to tell with compassion for his ignorance of Christs injunction to his Disciples not to draw for him and add his words to Pilat not only as an evident assurance of what you assert but as a manifest conviction of the coldnes of your Adversaries Sir such is the hight severity of your conceitednesse in this place that if the aversion I have for all things like it did not restrain I should hardly forbear to give you a humbling retaliation But all I desire is that by descending a little from it you may be in case to receive a sober answere That our Lord did not only begin but found the Gospel upon
you in a word what is the reason that the Christian world doth not patiently stretch out its neck to the Turkish Cruelty Sure you are not ignorant that the pretended cause of his invasions hath often been to destroy the Christian Faith if then the spirituality of Christs Kingdom doth altogether prohibite his Servants fighting wherefore do not Christian States and Princes lay down their Carnall defensive weapons and rest quietly in this that God who governs the world can maintain his own right and the wrath of man doth not work his righteousnesse as you are pleased to Cant to your N. C. I know the only reply you can make is that the case of free Estates and Soveraigne Princes against foreiners is very different from that of Subjects against their Rulers but doth not this plainly discover the Sophistrie of your Method you tell us first that Subjects may not fight for Religion against their persecuting Prince because the spirituality of Christs Kingdom forbids all fighting upon that account And then when you are urged with the incontrovertible practice of Christian Kingdomes you just recurre say that the instance not being of Subjects against their Prince doth not quadrat and not remembring that this is the very quaesâ—â—um you make the vain and emptie assertion of the irresistibilitie of Princes without any proofe both head and tail of all your reasonings I may not insist to tell you that if the spirituality of Christs Kingdom did cause the King of Kings and him who even on earth owned himself greater then Solomon to suffer without resistance The Soveraignity of Christian Princes cannot give them a contrary privilege I know these of your way and many others also carried away with their error forgetting both the Authority which Christ exercised and for which he was questioned by the jewish Rulers and also his own most expresse words no man taketh my life from me but I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again stick not to make an obligation of subjection to the then Tyrannes Murtherers an ingredient in his submission but I am tedious More consideration of the worth and wonderful love of our Lord Jesus Christ would teach you no doubt both a better understanding in the Truth of God and more reverend and tender vindications then these you make of the True and Faithfull Witness You proceed in the next place upon occasion of your N. C. alledging that you condemne our first Reformation carried on by Fighting to tell us that the ages immediatly after Christ afford the best examples in these the Christians though suffâ—â—iently numerous and cruelly irritate did onlâ— increase by suffering and not by fighting the force used in our Reformation was the enemies tares and no precedent of men is to be opposed to the expresseâ— word of God Sir to begin where you leave I hope I have already fully cleared that the expresse word of God is against you and not for you neither will I expatiat upon the undeniable Necessitie Righteousnesse Reason and evident blessing of that Force used in our first Reformation by which our Religion Libertie yea the Royall line and Crown were under God only preservedâ— Nay your reprochful likening of it to the devils tares is so far from lessening the evidence of that Spirit which after having resisted unto bloud and wrestled through many great and strong persecutions did animate the Lords people to a very noble defence countenanced by all the then Reformed Churches that it doth not so much as demurie my charitie that if you your self had been in these dayes you had taken part with the Congregation That which I shall stay a little upon is the practice of the Primitive Christians whereby you think fighting for Religion to be as much condemned as suffering is highly commended And because this objection doth lead unto the delightful search and vindication of the works of God for answere I observe first that as in the holy and determinate Counsel of God it became the Captain of our Salvation to be made perfect through suffering so it pleased him for the greater manifestation of the power of his Grace by the Foolishnesse of Preaching and Weakeness of Suffering to render the propagation of his Truth more glorious and thus in the first times of the Gospel the greater the crueltie and the more ineluctable that the necessity of the suffering was the more inexpressible was the glory of that presence and the joy of that consolation whereby the Church in its deepest distresse did most highly triumph 2. So unspeakeablie did the power of this assistance prevail to the dispelling of the fear and removing of the horrour of all these torments and afflictions that many instead of flying incontrovertibly lawfull did directly run to suffering and to a great part the Garland of Martyrdom became a most Ambitionat Crown by the mistake of the exuberance of which assisting grace not only many odd practices in precipitating themselves unto suffering and death but Opinions also then held such as that of the unlawfulnesse of all resistance for Christians even against Robbers and Murtherers can only be excused 3. But if the beautie and splendor of this grace did in some measure dazle the eyes of its more immediate witnesses how much more did it astonish its more remote and after admirers who receiving the report with fames increase and taking their measures more from their own good design then the exact simplicitie of truth by their pious and affectionat Rhetorications stopt not to strain matter of fact sometimes beyond probabilitie If you be a stranger to this truth advert how the almost immediate after Age magnifies their Patience and Sufferings such as veflra omnia repleâ—iâ—us with more then one grain of allowance 4. As this was the dispensation of the first ages of the Gospel so when the Lord advanced the Church to a certain and visible capacity of defence peruse Histories and you will find plenty of instances of Christians their fighting for Religion The Armenii very early even before Constantine his Empire Libertatem exercendi Christianismi Armis vindicant Clade afficiunt Maximinum as the History beares and how the persecuted Christians under the Persian and Arrian did implore and receive the aid of the Roman and Orthodox Emperours would be superfluous to narrate By these few reflections as I have cut of from your argument all the necessary suffering and strained capacities of the Primitive Christians so I have given you such a full and evident account of their not searching after or improving sooner any real measure of sufficiencie for defence which probably they did but little minde that this their omission cannot without manifest calumnie be adduced to disprove either their immediate afterâ— practises or the agreeable and universally approven examples of our late reformations Now if for proving their more early capacite for or expresse dissent from Defensive Armes
Clergie is not in the Text Pray you Sir how came this in your head that we apply the title of Gods heritage to the Clergie or own them under this name Know you not that the usurping of this prerogative both by your and the Popish Church-men hath been alwayes esteemed by us an high arrogance As for your pretending to correct our Translation Pray Sir be sober and remember the respect which you bear to the Authors 2. I grant the Greek Verbatim â—â—ndered seemeth to sound neither as exercising Lordly authority over the Lots by which as your interpretation of a tyrannical domination is disproved so even your pretended exactnesse Your being wantingâ— is exceeded 3. Since the Lords People are certainly here meant whether you understand them to be termed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lots in order to their respective Pastors whoâ—e â—ortitions and divisions they are or as being Gods heritage according to the usuall signification of the singular 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 heritageâ— and the clear Synonymous import of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the following part of the verse but being Ensamples to the flock it matters nothing as to our present business but plainly shews your impertinent curiosity However I wish you to consider that as we condemn the worldly and pompous usurpations of Prelats above their own degree and over their Brethren so we most of all condemn their spiritual Tyranny in Lording over the Consciences of Gods People whom they cease not now as alwayes to vex with their Pharisaick imposing and exacting of implicite obedience to vain Traditions and humane inventions more then obedience to the Commandments of God as will afterward appear Your N. C. proceeds to say that his chief quarrell against Bishops is that they are a function of mans devising and no where instituted by God To this you think fit to answere by way of retortion telling us of our great but vain pretenses to a jus divinum in severall things As first in the matter of Lay Elders thus Sir you deall wittily when you can do no betterâ— seing you cannot confirme your own opinion you endeavour at lest to subvert your adversarie but before I enter with you upon particulars I must tell you first that Presbyterians in pleading for a jus divinum do not pretâ—nd to a posiâ—tive and expresse prescription from Scripture of all the smaller points and circumstances either of decencie or order requisite to their Government and Discipline in as much as the regulation of these being abundantly provided for by the general rules revealed and the things themselves and their use such as ingenuous persons cannot probably mistake the want of express warrants in all or any such particulars cannot be justly cavilled at as a defect 2. That it had better become the sobriety that you require of your N. C. for you to have answered what many worthy Men have written for the jus divinum of Presbyterie then to have passed all with the empty censure of your own airy character of big talking and minding it as little as any could to the effect you may amuse your poor N. C. with a fear of your conceited quiblings but leaving these things with as confident an estimation as your undervaluing is vain and groundlesse to the impartial perusal of judicious Readers I do only here premise that whoever abstractly and seriously considers the clear light and obvious project of the Gospel will of necessity finde 1. That our Lord Jesus by vertue of that Kingdom and All Power given to him in Heaven and in Earth did for the carrying on and prospering of his pleasure the Salvation of sinners appoint in the Persons of his Apostles a perpetual Ministrie in his Church the summe of whose charge is both severally jointly to take heed to oversee and feed the Church of God and the chief part and dutie of which office is to Preach and Teach and consequently to reprove rebuke exhort remit and retain bind and loose c. in which things the heads of Doctrine and Discipline with their immediate power and warrant from Jesus Christ and their connexâ—on and dependence betuixt themselves do certainly consist and are clearly held out 2 As the Apostles were all the Ministers waving the matter of the Seventie whose mission and imployment was only locall and preparatorie unto every Citie and place whether he himself would come and to say the Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you and de facto ended at their returne Luk 10. 1. 9. 17. appointed by Christ and in them the order office and full pattern of the Gospel Ministrie established 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even unto the end of the world so they are by our Lord vested with such equall power so expresly prohibited the aspiring to or usurping these degrees lawfull and allowed in secular dignities and so enixely commanded the lowliest humility and submission conceivable not only in their personall conversation but in their Ministrie that to introduce an imparity either of Power Dignity or stated Preheminence amongst Gospel Ministers is plainly to reject and deny our Lords institution and ordinance 3. That although the Apostles were singular above their successors in many respects such as an infallible assistance in the discharge of their Ministrie eminencie of Gifts an unconfined exercise an universall oversight and the privilege not only of our Lords peculiar and chosen Witnesses but of being the spirituall Fathers and Authors of conversion to almost the whole Christian Church yet were these prerogatives only temporary and necessarily requisite and suited to or depending upon the particular exigence of the Gospels first propagation and so far from changing or innovating that equality parity and lowlinesse of Ministers most manifest from our Lords command and appointment that on the contraire these other advantages hindered not the Apostles to respect and acknowledge the Pastors of particular Churches as partakers with them of the same Ministeriall power their fellow-labourers Brethren not in the bare name as your Prelats scorne their Curates and the Pope in his pretended sevus servorum Dei the whole Roman Church Compresbyters and in the Pastoral charge altogether their equals 4. As the power of Government consisting in the Authoritative deciding of Controversies according to the word of God the due application of Ecclesiastick Discipline and Censures and the right regulation of all other things pertaining to the Ministeriall function is clearly imported in the Command of Feeding and Over-seeing beside its naturall inseparability from the conduct of every rational let be Christian institution and Society and consequently only assistent and secondarie to the other offices of the Ministerie so the Lords command of that most lowly submission and simplicity incapable of the very notion of imparity which he opposeth even to that lawfull Authority and dignity allowed in civils doth in such a peculiar manner regard the exercise of this Governing Power that whether it be more absurd to introduce a
Scripture and your sext to compleat the carier of your delusions Notwithstanding that the clâ—arest light both of Reason and Religion do exact a definite constant portion of time for a rest and this rest to be holy unto the Lord that the Law of God in recommending the celebration of the old Sabbath doth found it upon a perpetual determination of the seventh part of time grounded on Divine Authority and example and lastly that the Scripture in the antiquating of the service and observation of the Jewish Sabbath doth evidently translate the keeping of the perpetual holy rest unto the Lords day the first of the week Notwithstanding I say of these firme grounds your sext attempt darres to unfix this grand Ordinance the reverence or contempt whereof hath in all ages of the Church by experience been found of great moment and unquestionable influence either as to the promoving or decay of true Piety and Godlinesse how justly may it be said of you and your Compliâ—es who endeavour to make void the Divine institution of this day which your predecessours so grosly and wickedly profaned ye be witnesses there ore unto your selves that you are their Children fill ye up the measure of your Fathers But O â—ear lest you do not escape the damnation of Hell I will not take Notice of your own or your Non-conformist's meen reflection on these things That they may prove our Church was not perfâ—ct but will not justify you your answere to that which follows viz. do you mean to lay aside the Scripture 〈◊〉 rather to be considered wherein leaving the retortion of â—ouâ— objected insolence and big pretending to the impartiall examiner of what you have alledged and I replied â— come â—o your summe of the whole matter which you say is That the Scriptures were designed bâ— God for the purifying of the hearts and conversations of Men Most true And therefore it was not necessaire they should contain direct rules for the Church-policie which being a half Civill matter needs not Divine warrants a strange inference whereof almost every word is a ridle for first you grant that the Scripture doth contain Rules though not Direct rules for the Church-policie and yet you adde almost immediatly that it needs no divine warrant Then what mean you by Direct rules if you mean Particular as the subjoined Antithesis of Common doth give us to understand let these Scripture rules Common or not be observed and particular determinations thereto duely squared and it is all we contend for Search therefore the Scriptures and whatever latitude may be left therein as to the regulation of necessary and common circumstances according to decencie and order for Edification Yet I am confident that as to the substance and main of the Officers Discipline and Government of the Church the matters in controversie betuixt us both you shall be found thereby clearly condemned and we justified but if by denying the Scripture to contain direct rules for the Church-policie you understand that it only holdeth out indirect unstraight and ambiguous rules applicable to any forme as may best sute serve the interests and lusts of vain Men this indeed is agreeable to your scope but as far from Scripture as it is dissonant to the truth of God and Great ends of the Gospel 2. What do you understand by the Church policie its Officers Discipline and Government are the things which we contend for If you think these half Civil I would gladly learn what a Church as such can have more Ecclesiastick certainly if a distinct Head Jesus Christ a distinct Authority flowing from that all Power given to him a distinck manner nothing like but wholly opposite to the way of Civil rule distinct effects and ends as Holinesse and eternall perfection are from external justice and temporal peace and lastly a distinct subsistence of the Church and its Policie not only when disowned but mortally persecute by the Civil Powers may prove the Policie Ecclesiastick to differ from the Civil there can be nothing more clearly disterminat but if by Policie you only mean the externall protection and assistance which the Civil Magistrat may and ought to give to the Church it is not only half but wholly Civil as to its rise and cause and therefore the acknowledgement thereof we render under God heartily and entirely to the Powers which he setteth up I might further question what you call half Civil and how you come to deny that Divine warrant which at first you half grant but I shall content my self to declare the falshood of your inference understood of the Discipline and Government of Gods house the subject of our debate by shewing you that its plain contradictory is a Scripture truth viz. The Scriptures were designed by God for the Purifying of the hearts and conversations of men and therefore it was necessary they should they do contain direct rules for the Churches Policie wholly Ecclesiastick appointed by Jesus Christ The reason of the consequence is clear not only because the Church Policie viz. its Officers Discipline and Government are expresly and directly ordained by our Lord for our Sanctification Salvation as I have formerly shewen therefore their necessity such as cannot without the highest presumption be called in question but also because their usefulnesse in order to these ends is by diverse Scriptures undeniably held forth And he who as the Son was faithful over his own house gave some Apostles and some Prophets c. yea and all the Gifts Power Authority and Directions to be found in Scripture concerning them for the work of the Ministrie the Edifying of the body of Christ and perfecting of the Saints Is a truth so evident that I marvail how you could adventure on this Architectonick reasoning and offer to lay down the end and project of the Gospel and then frame and Modell its institutions and midses according to your own imagination and not rather humbly endeavour in the recognisance of his wonderfull love and fidelity to and care of his Church his own body with all sobriety to pursue the knowledge and practice of what things-soever he hath ordained for its edification I might further remember you that the rebuke and all the Censures of discipline are for Edification the Saving of the soul making sound in the faith and Causing others to fear and that we finde the exercise of the Churches Authority and Government in that Meeting and Decree made at Ierusalem attended with The consolation and establishment of the Churches But if your own concessions be but a little pressed they will easily exhibite the inconsistencie of your vanity you say then That the common rules are in Scripture 1. That there should be Church Officers and are not their Power Degrees and Ministerial Authority as certainly therein defined 2 That these should be separate for that function Ought not then the best among them give themselves continually and wholly to Prayer and to the
therefore left us to the worse Tyranny of mens pretended and corrupted power and deluded imagination God forbid but as the hath set us free for ever so he hath only laid on us his own easie â—â—oke and light burthen of Pure and Evangelick ordinances by which our Liberty is so far from being intringed that it is thereby both preserved and enlarged In the next place you say Since no Allegorie holds it is ridiculous to argue because offices in a Kingdom are named by the King therefor it must be so in the Church It 's answered 1. do you then think that our Lords Kingdom is only Allegorick Or because the symboles and badges usuall in Earthly Kingdoms are in a figure thereto transferred is it therefore wholly a figure but God hath set his King upon his holy Hill of Zion and Know you assuredly that God hath exalted him to be both Lord and Christ bâ—wisâ— therefore and be instructed Kiss the Son lest he be angrâ— and learn to acknowledge his Kingdom in all the parts and privileges thereof by him declared Next it is most evident that not only Christs Kingdom in and over his Church is reall and certain and that Officers truely such vested with his Authority and therefore depending on Christ as King are held forth by the Scripture and to be really found therein but seing he himself hath in the Gospel so expressly founded their mission upon that All power given unto him and Paul so plainly referres the giving of Apostles c unto his Ascension and exaltation are you not ashamed to alledge these things to be only by us concluded from the vain appearance of an Allegory And thus to make your self ridiculous in that scorne you intended for others But poor wretch you adde That we may as wel say that there must be coin stamped by Christ as Officers appointed by him in his Church for this is the runing of your words Lord deliver you from this profane Spirit thinkest thou that the Kingdom of Christ hath need of money as it hath indeed need of Officers Or because money is current and symony a frequent practice in your Church hes it therefore any place in Christs true Church Sir your profane scoffing at the Kingdome of Christ is one passage amongst many that give me Confidence to say arise O God plead thine own cause remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee dayly But I professe I am confounded in my self when I think of my own provocations and on the iniquitie of his Sons and Daughters for if the abuse of the Glorious Gospel shineing amongst us in so much puritie had not been great he would not have given up the dearly beloved of his Soul into the hand of such persecuting adversaries and such scoffers at him who justifie these malicious mockers in Cajaphas Hall with an over-plus of wickednesse O if he would returne he would quicklie emptie Pulpits and Chairs in Universities of such who bend their tongues for lies and make the world see because they have rejected knowledge he hath also rejected them that they shall be no Priests to him The next thing you subjoin is what King will think his prerogative lessened by constituting a Corporation to whom he shall leave a liberty to cast themselves into what mould they please providing they obey the General Laws and hold that liberty of him Thus you will alwayes aspire to enter into the Counsel of God if your vote had been here asked it is very like you would have bestowed large privileges upon that Church where you might have been a sharer But we bless him to whom the Church is committed and on whom the Government is laid who hath provided better and given unto his Church complete Officers perfect Ordinances true Laws and good Statutes and ordered his house in all things and therefore as we are not to enquire what the Lord might have done but humbly and thankfully to acknowledge what he hath done so in these things for men to disown his Authority and deny his bounty and usurp to themselves a power of altering what he hath established and fashioning the worship and Government of Gods house according to the device of their own heart is no doubt no lawful liberty but a licentious invasion of Christ's prerogative and a jealousie-provoking sin of Laese Majestie Divine That thus it stands betuixt you and us the preceeding passages do plainly witness and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ as a Son over his own house so expresly commended and preferred before the faithfulnesse of Moses is an argument which you will never dissolve You say his faithfulnesse consisted in his discharging the Commission given him by his Father Most certain but you ask who told us that it I suppose you mean the appointing the Officers Ordinances and Government of the house of God was in the Fathers Commission Herein is a marvellous thing You know that Jesus Christ whrist was sent by the Father to redeem gather feed guid and Govern his Church and you see that as the things in question are thereto necessarie so in discharge hereof he sends out Apostles and Ministers Ordains Officers vests them with power and Authority instructs them to a Ministerial and lowly administration and deportment defines Censures appoints his Ordinances and Laws liberats the Worship of God from the shadows and types of the Jewish Pedagogie and cleares its true and spiritual exercise and liberty and finally acquits himself faithfully in all his house do you then question if he did these things or doubt you that he did them by Commission it is a hard Dilemma which you will never evade but you adde that if we argue from Moses it will inferre that all particulars must be determined whereupon you urge that as Moses determines the dayes of Separation for a legal uncleannesse why doth not the Gospel the like for spirituall uncleannesse It 's answered if you had taken up the Argument aright and considered the faithfulnesse of Christ and Moses not in order to the same but with relation to their respective Commissions You had not fallen into this mistake but the Scripture parallel is clear Moses as a servant did faithfully completely order Gods house therefore Our Lord much more as a Son hath thus ordered the Church his own house Whence as it doth no wayes follow that whatsoever things were institute by Moses ought to have been in like manner imitate by our Lord so this is most concludent that as Moses as a Servant did diligently and exactly execute his Commission in order to the Tabernacle its service Ministers and all its appurtinents so Christ both by reason of a command received and of his interest and power hath exceeded the faithfulnesse of Moses in the Ordering and appointment of things appertaining to his Church But for the better confirming our Reasoning and the removing of your Mistake I do only recommend to you this obvious truth viz. that the Commendation of our Lord held
regular and peaceable being in it the other the Church and men therein called unto spiritual duties and eternal life And lastly of their different administrations the one grounded on the dictats of reason and using external Magisterial authority and power and sensible rewards and pains the other proceeding on divine revelation and carried on by no such externals save a simple Ministerie and the power internal and spiritual and then I doubt not but you will of your self rectify such aberrations 2. The parallel of Gods Government over the World with the Kingdom of Christ over his Church is so far from concluding that Arbitrary or Architectonick power which you endeavour to set up in Ecclesiasticks equall to that in Civils that the contraire may from thence be sufficiently evinced thus therefore God hath not determined the order of Civil matters either in the World or in his Church because an Architectonick and free disposing Government limited with general rules necessare to its ends was most suitable to that almost absolute right and power which he hath given unto man in and over the things about which it is conversant but so it is that the things of the Church about which our Lord Jesus his Kingdom is exercised being wholly Spiritual are neither committed to our power nor left unto our arbitriment And plainly such whereof the Lord in all times hath reserved to himself the sole determination and therefore it was clearly necessare that all the Ordinances Ministerie and Government thereto pertaining should be also by him alone ordered and appointed which disparity doth not only reject but unanswerably retort your Argument from this pretense 3. Your great error and greater presumption in this question is that apprehending our Argument for the Determined Ordinances and Government of Gods house to be taken from the simple position of his Kingdom and the consequences that by allusion to the Kingdoms of the Earth may be thence deduced you remember not that the Scripture not only holds out his Kingdom and the nature thereof very distinctly but also doth particularly exhibite all the Ordinances necessare unto its ends and appointed to be therein observed So that our reasoning being wholly Scriptural both in its ground and superstructure your redargution from imaginary reason opposed to the clear and positive Counsel of God is plainly irrational if in the dayes of old Israel had changed the Law and Ordinances given and therein disowned Gods particular Kingdom and Government over them and notwithstanding thereof pretended to the liberty of the Nations about seing this their liberty was no wayes determined by but very consistent with the Lord 's high Soveraignity under which all do bow had this poor reasoning justifyed their rebellion certainly not how much less then can it conclude the exemption of the Church from Christs Kingdom in these Ordinances therein by him established of which the Lords peculiar Kingdom over Israel was but a slight adumbration But you say Seing justice is a part of Gods Law as well as devotion why doth not the Lord determine how his Church should be governed in Civils It 's answered Justice is indeed a part of Gods Law and he hath therein determined as particularly as the right which God hath given to man in Civils doth permit or the ends thereof do require but as this your Arithmetical equalizing of Mans liberty in matters of devotion to that power he hath in things Civil doth sadly discover the woful vanity of an unserious Spirit So the Geometrical analogie of Gods determining anent our Devotion wholly dependent upon his prescript unto his general appointment in matters of outward justice accommodate to that power and liberty he hath therein left us in place of inferring an equal power to Man in both doth on the contraire evidently demonstrate that the Lords determination in matters of Religion is as much more particular then his Commandments are in the things of justice as our Liberty in the former is more restricted then our Liberty in the latter if you had but considered thâ— th◠〈◊〉 hath given the Earth unto the Children of Men and that the things thereof being put under his feet an agreeable power of Government thereanent is certainly given unto his hand whereas our Lords Church and People are his peculiar people his chosen Nation redeemed and bought with his precious bloud and not their own let be to have the things concerning their Souls redemption in their power how happily had you been delivered from this strange confounding of things Sacred and prophane And how clearly might you have perceived that Gods Dominion over the World consisting in General Laws suited to its object and swayed by his Soveraign Providence in order to his holy ends doth bear but little likenesse to our Lord Jesus his Rule and Government in his Church as a Son over his own house and also its Ordinances But to inforce your point you adde that you hope we will grant that the Civil Peace is more necessary to the very being of the Church then is Order in Discipline Whence you insinuate that the former as well as the latter requires Chriâ—â—s particular determination Not to Scandalize you by frustrating your hope Sir you know so well that a thing though more necessary Yet if such only by a mediate and consequential necessity may therefore fall under a quite diverse disposition from that which though less necessary by this mediate and extrinsick necessity to the being of the Church then the Sacrament of the Lords Supper do the former therefore aswell and in the same manner with the latter belong to Christs Kingdom As to what you adde That it was for this reason that the things of Civil peace were determined in the Old Law This did so certainly flow from Gods peculiar interest in that People as a Kingdom as well as a Church that I make no answere That which you subjoin for evincing that either the Lords Kingdom over the Earth doth extend to the appointing of Civil Officers or els his Kingdom over his Church imports no such thing is so manifestly repugnant to the very nature of the things and the Lords declared pleasure the best decision Nay this whole discourse doth so foolishly and laxely cast and weigh things Religious and Profane in the same ballance of vain conjecture that I almost repent my noticeing of it so much but see the flatterie of delusion having made your N. C. childishly to decline all Reason as Carnal and in the fright forsooth of your strong reasons retreat to his Ministers and the Bible you ridiculously triumph over him and think your self so much Master of the field of Reason that insinuating your own praise in the description of Sound reason you puff at other mens as pitiful niblings thus being first in your own causeâ— you would seem just how I have Searched you let others judge for Scripture you tell us That to quâ—te it is not to build sure upon it the
Mens usurpation of an unwarranted tyrrany or think you that our Lord hath only freed us from Moses impositions that we might fall into the hands of more severe Task-masters who not only take upon them to appoint without Gods warrant into the house and matters of God and introduce will-worship which he abhorres but after they have urged our obedience as only Civill and out of respect to Authority and not from Conscience do then tell us that by a generall and supervenient Law of God their statutes become to reach even the Conscience also But 2. you say if the Magistrat declare the thing to he free in it self and only necessary because commanded Christian liberty is not thereby lessened 'T is answered is not Christian liberty alwayes opposed to the Jewish bondage Now Sir I demand wherein did this bondage consist was it in the Authority only whereby these ordinances were enjoined and which did indeed immediatly reach the Conscience and not rather in the obligation to that burthensome practice which thence did ensue And certainly you and all men must grant the latter seing the speciality of Divine Authority is so far from rendering an imposition otherwayes light to be burthensome that without question as its precepts are the perfect law of liberty So the clearnesse of its warrant is the greatest relief of Conscience Nay this is a truth to certain and apposite to our present purpose that I am sure you are convinced that if the Prelats could produce Divine commands for their injunctions these would quickly satisfy all our scruples and make Non-conformists the most conformable of the Nation Give over then your empty quibling in telling us that you exact not our compliance as necessaire in it self by divine prescript for though I could shew how that notwithstanding you pretend not to any immediate divine warrant for your imposings you not the less alleage that Divine Authority whence Magistracy doth descend for astricting our obedience Yet this is so far from being our exception that plainly on the contraire your ceremonies commanded in the Matters of God against that liberty purchased unto us are not in themselves or in any other respect so much a burthen as for lack of that very same authority whereof you do most inadvertently pretend that the want should be our solution But 3. what can be more manifest then that as the hardship of the Jewish Pedagogie did consist in the multitude of their Ceremonies and Observances whereunto they were tyed in practice and neither in the obligation of Divine Authority whereby they became bound nor yet in their opinion of things which notwithstanding of their being injoined by the Lord they knew to be in themselves free and were not in the least by this liberty of opinion delivered from the rigour of that Pedagogie so the releasement which our Lord hath purchased consists in freeing us from that yoke and burthen which the Jews were not able to bear and in liberating us from the Law of Ordinances and the rudiments of the world Pray Sir is this only to change the opinion of things and leave us as much obâ—oxious to be subjected in obedience as ever the Jews were who can admit it If you be still unclear answere this demand with your self in sobriety If the false Brethren had said to the Christians of old we acknowledge with you that the Jewish dispensation is accomplished but since the Lord hath not expressly discharged the continuance of its observations and they are but things external and of themselves free let us in the recognizance of his Authority or for peace sake still be subject in a conformable obedience would not the Apostle have returned the same answere It is the Lord who hath made us free let us not again be brought unto bondage the sun of righteousness is arisen and hath obscured all the former shadowing lights we have no need either of these or the more pitiful tapers of mens blind invention And here I must tell you by the way that as I have drawn out my answere on purpose to meet with your significant rites introduced in Gods service So as to the first part of it anent the liberty purchased to us by Christ I further adde that it is a groundless conceit to think that the only reason of abolishing the Jewish ceremonies was because they did prefigure our Lords coming seing it is most certain that although the whole complexly was indeed a Pedagogie to lead unto him and make that People to wait and long for his redemption Yet a great many of them did not properly prefigure such as the observation of dayes distinction of meats and the like to which no such relative signification can be attribute without a groundless and violent straining and therefore as I grant that many of these rites as being only shadows of the good things to come did evanish upon their appearance and consequently could not have been kept up without a tacite hint that the things thereby typifyed were still expected Yet I am very assured that as to a great part of these Mosaick Ordinances our Lord did remove them as a yoke and burthen by the gracious concession of that Liberty wherewith he made us free and that to bring back that servitude or to introduce the like is plainly to bring us back again to the rudiments of the world from which we are dead with Christ to disown the liberty which he hath purchased and consequently and as plainly as in the former case to deny that our deliverer is come 4. Having shewed that the liberty of thinking the things to be free in themselves the practice nevertheless being strictly injoined is not Christian liberty and that it is irrational to affirme that an observance commanded by the Law of God becomes oâ— this account more burthensome then if mans authority only did make it binding And seing on the other hand I easily grant that in things in themselves free and in our power no reason of Religion or Righteousness gainstanding it were peevishness to decline the request of an Equal let be the command of a Superior I shall here shortly declare wherein it is that Christian liberty stands and consequently what the injury is of your invasion As then Christian liberty is neither a licentiousness to sin against God nor to rebel against the Powers that are over us So I plainly understand it to be that freeâ—dome of serving God in Spirit and in truth whereunto our Lord Iesus by releeving us of all outward observances either as media in our worship or for themselves requisite to the acceptation of our service other then he himself hath expressly appointed hath redeemed and restored his Church That the circumstances of time place c. and their due regulation for Decencie and Order are not here rejected the quality for themselves that is for some respect by special command peculiarly to them appropriat sufficently holds out it being very certain that under this
followers have been made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Iacob and even in their most desperat extremity did by the bloud of the Lamb and the word of their Testimony obtain the most signall victory So the Virgin the Daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn Whom hast thou reproached And against whom hast thon exalted thy voice even against the holy one the God of truth â—or what are men or their doings that you murmure against them the swift Witness against such as sweare â—aâ—sly He it is that it regardeth the rage and tumult of your partie and will turne you back and as the inconsistencie of your assimilations to Sampson a Worthy of the Lord and to Goliah a Champion of the Philistines do plainly discover the unreasonableness of your spite so the Lord who hath already proved the innate vigour of his Covenant in the bloud and suffering of his Martyres can also in his good time make its hair to grow and strength to returne to the utter ruine of your Prelacie and all its adherents But 2. You proceed to tell us that it is a ridiculous fancie to say Children can be bound by their Fathers Oath which is to make us the Servants of men and give them Authority over our Consciences Gods peculiar power Sir I perceive that whether you rage or laugh there is no rest just now we heard you railing and certainly here you are rallying but first I am glad to find your assert so plainly the liberty of our Consciences from mans imposing and shall only remember you that if a Father in respect of this liberty may not at his arbitriment bind his Son by an Oath requiring a conscientious performance undoubtedly farre less can Rulers whether Civil or Ecclesiastick perscribe at their arbitriment in matters of Religion which without question do exact a conscientious observance 2. Though the Lords Authority over Conscience do indeed exempt it from mans usurpation yet in so farre as it hath pleased the Lord to vest any person with this power over another all usurpation ceaseth and the Lords reserved dominion doth rather establish it for example therefore it is that the righteous and necessary commands of lawfull Rulers do even in conscience bind their Subjects because in so farre as they observe the limits of their power by him appointed their authority is understood to be of God and by him approved and allowed 3. It is manifest that the Lord hath in many things given to Fathers by virtue of his precept a Power of Command reaching even unto Conscience without an interveening Oath Honour the Father and thy Mother is that which God hath enjoined and doth certainly require a sutable obedience If then this Authority be not impugned by your alledged reason that we are not the servants of men can the interposing of an Oath or the Fathers adjuration in things otherwayes under the compass of his power render your objection more effectuall But 4. That I may returne you a round and full Answere I say that in many cases whereof our present case of the Covenant is of all the most probable Children by virtue of the paternal authority given and allowed by the Lord can be and de facto are bound by their Fathers Oath And first where-ever the Fathers command doth engage to a perpetuall obedience there can be no question but in that case an accessory adjuration doth greatly intend the obligation I need not confirme this by the parallel instance of Saul's adjuring the People while in the pursuite of his enemies the reason of this position is above exception viz. That if a simple command flowing from the paternall power which God hath established be therefore binding the solemn invocking of the same God to be an avenger of the contempt of that authority by himself approven cannot but add to the obligation but if you desire to know in what things and how farre the command of a Father even of it self without the consent and acceptation of the Children which I grant when intervenient doth alter the case doth oblige Take the instance of the Rechabites who for obedience to their Father Ionadabâ—s command who lived some Ages before 2. Kings 10. 15. not to drink wine a thing free in it self and not under any Divine precept they nor their sons for ever have therefore the Lords express commendation sealed with a perpetuall blessing If then a Father's command in things free and arbitrary may be confirmed by the accession of an oath and in the case adduced doth perpetually bind how much more must the sworn engagement of the Father for himself and his posterity in things commanded by the Lord be everlastingly obliging 2. In what case soever a Father's Bond or Contract is binding to himself and his posterity if he confirme the â—amine by an Oath the force and vertue thereof doth also reach all the off-spring cocerned in the obligement For explication of this truth it is not needful that I determine particularly what Contracts are perpetual and what only personall If these be perpetual whereof the subject matter being either under the necessity of an express perpetual command or having an evident and lasting conveniencie agreeable to the principles of Truth and Righteousness the party contracter doth expressly thereby engage for himself and his posterity as it is short of the true and full extent of perpetuall contracts which cannot in reason be restricted within the limits of paternal commands so it is more then necessary for my purpose and more then proven by the instances subjoined Now that there are such obligations as perpetual of their own nature so carrying along with them the virtue of that accessory Oath whereby at first they were established is clear not only from that Covenant and Oath Deut. 29. 10 14. whereunto Moses did engage the people of Israel and which he declareth to be made with them that stood there that day and also with him that was not there to with the Generations to come as appears by the sequele of that Chapter specially v. 29. an example whereof the exceeding evidence can only expose it to exception but also from these more controverted instances 1. of that Promissory oath taken by Ioseph of the Children of Israel for carrying up his bones from Egypt Gen. 50. 25. which the after-generation in the Conscience of its Religion did punctually observe Exo. 13. ver 19. 2. From the Oath sworne by the People of Israel to the Gibeonites Iosh. 9. 15. for the breach whereof we find the Lord severall ages thereafter severely animadverting against all Israel and Sauls house in particular 2 Sam. 2 1 2. For these you may add the sworne Leagues and Agreements of all Nations among themselves which do undoubtedly with the same force and quality descend to their Posterity But wherefore should I insist in a matter so evident and at least as to the difference betwixt us universally acknowledged If your
Titulo he was no Tyrannus Exercitio however I am farre from justifying the Usurpers their practices or denying altogether his Majesties Clemencie whereof the indemnity given to the same Usurpers doth exhibite so faire an evidence but this I must say that as I do wholly impute the withholding of much of the Kings goodness and favour from us to the malign influence of the unlucky conjunction of accursed Prelates whereby some even of the great and most solemn acts of his Maiesties intended bountie have been frustrat and depraved so such hath been and is the implacable spite and rigour of their Malice and Persecution that not only it hath surmounted their resentment of the Sectarian invasion and made them ascribe all these Mischiefs to us who were their most constant Enemies but by many degrees exceeded all the violences wherewith the Englishes during their Domination among us can be charged If you require a proof instead of a long condescendence that I might adduce the case of the then Tories in the North and late Risers in the South with the respective measures where with they have been treated being impartially pondered and compared is an irrefragable instance As to the trip you mention of these who ceased for fear of loss of Stipend publick praying for the King which they had in print owned for a dutie As at the worst you can call it but a trip which I think if not the respect you owe to your Arch-master Sharp who at that time not only desisted whith others but as he may remember did overture it to his Brethren to pray in publick for the then Protector yet the many horrid lapses whereof upon smalâ—er temptations yours are guilty might have made you forbear to mention it so all circumstances being examined and the practices of the Prophets and People of God in old times duely considered a Prudent correction of an over-zealous assertion will be found its more just censure But your N. C. adding oyl to your flame by telling you that for our particular failings you have renounced all you go on in your accusation and laying aside our private faults as if our publick alone were more then your indignation can decipher and expressly waving all design of reflection that by this smoothing unguent you may render the spears of your envy better pointed you tell us That all you do is but to let us see we are but as other men and not such wonders as we would have the world believe Sir though the world knowes that this is but your accusation and not our arrogance yet I must add that so strangely hath the apostasie and wickedness of your course prevailed in this Land that a very small measure of Faitfulness is enough without any miracle to make any man both a sign a Wonder but you proced to tell us of Monstruous faults we committed in exacting the Oath of the League over above that it was a bond of Rebellion as you hinted in your first Dialogue I have fully there refuted And as to the Nationall Covenant you say it was a cruell imposing upon Consciences to make a Nation sweare what they could not understand A man would think that you having turned us from being wonders oâ— piety to be Monsters of Cruelty and after so high a charge givenâ— that you were big with some amazing discovery to ensue but behold the ridiculus Mus you made the Nation renounce all the articles of poperie and amongst the rest Opus operatum a Latine word and abstruse conceit with many other niceties that simple people did not understand and to mend the jest you add was it not a contrâ—diction to make them sweare against Worship in an unknown Tongue and yet in the Oath which is an act of Worship to use it yea you made them preface this with a great lâ—e that it was after full mature consideration of all particulars whereof they were not capable beside the Tyranny of making men sweare in matters whereof some were debetable c. Before I enter upon this weighty challenge of words I cannot but note the ingenuity that hath escaped you Your Brethren commence our work from the 37 and tell us that we were false pretenders to old foundations but you by a plain impugnation of the National Covenant as it was first contrived and sworne in the 1580. 81. and 90 do clearly intimate the true consequentiall extent of your common prejudice and very plainly signify that Malignancie and Poperie for all the industrious dissembling of your Partie are nevertheless of a near cognation nay forgetting that this Covenant was framed at first by King Iames his speciall command and by his reiterat authority and example very solemnly confirmed and even by King Charles in the beginning of the troubles expressly ordained to be renewed so prevalent is the malice of your errour that all the regard to the powers whereof at other times you do so vainly boast doth not here in the least restrain you from staging these two Kings with us as Monstruous imposers But to the objection it self 'T is answered first that it is indeed a cruell imposing upon Conscience to make a Nation sweare an Oath they could not understand but do you think that because opus operatum is a Latine word that therefore the people who under Poperie had been too much acquainted with Latine termes and phrases and at the first breaking up of the light oâ— Reformation amongst us had often both in private and Publick heard the Popish errors of Justification by works Opus operatum c. fully explained and refuted neither did nor could understand its meaning Or because to you the opinion of Opus operatum appeares an abstruse conceit and many other Popish tenets renounced in that Covenant seem to be but niceties must they therefore be so to all And was it impossible for these Servants of the Lord who where imployed in the conversion of the Nation and did at first tender that Oath to make the grossness of these popish falshoods and of this in particular though under a Latine name sufficiently plain even to the meanest capacities Certainly Sir the very simple ones whom you despise do laugh at the weakness of this arguing 2. As you do not remember that this Covenant was first taken uâ—on the back of our Reformation from Poperie when all the errors therein renounced were recent in mens memories so you consider not that thereby we first declare the true Christian Religion to be that which is revealed to the world by the Preaching of the blessed Evangell and received and beleeved by the Kirk of Scotland c. And therefore do abhorre and detest all contrarie Religion and Doctrine but chiefly all kinde of Papistrie in generall and particular Heads as they are damned by the word of God and in speciall the Usurpâ—d Authority of that Roman Antichrict c and finally all his vain Rites and Traditions brought into the Kirk without or against
Innovations of Prelacie and the Perth Articles thereafter introduced were by this Oath condemned Notwithstanding that its obvious meaning doth abundantly import the same both in the particular abjuration of the Popes corrupt Doctrine anent the nature number and use of the holy Sacraments his unwarrantable dedication of Dayes and his worldly Monarchie and wicked Hierarchie and also in the generall detestation which it contains of all Rites and Traditions brought into the Kirk without or against the word of God And that the generality of the Godly in the Land did so understand it yet such was the tenderness then used that the practice was only at first agreed to be forborn and the determination of the Question for the gaining of the doubtfull and refractory referred to a lawfull Assembly Now if this Assembly in the light of the reasons already touched and others mentioned in their Act did clearly determine this matter and the Covenant was thereafter taken with an agreeable Declaration where can you fixe your challenge To alledge after an Oath is taken that to be thereby abjured which doth no where appear in it is certainly as false as the termes you use are scurrilous but to declare from undeniable grounds these things to be contained in a prior Oath which only the temptation and darknesse of an after-defection did make to be questioned is nothing els then a just vindication and application requisite to a faithfull pursuance and whereof the instance of Nehemiah his renewing Covenant with God with a more large declaration of the manner of the Sabbaths observance then is to be found in the Law is an undeniable warrant But reason failing your passion and big words must be made use of to supply that deâ—ect for you say what violence did we use to oblige all to bow on this Idole Church-men refusing were deposed yea both they and Lay-men also excommunicat 'T is answered A faithfull and zealous prosecution of the Lords Oath from the Conscience of his holy jealousie is only the just and laudable effect of his fear and no wayes to make it an Idol But seing you love such expressions to sweare and forsweare as your partie hath done without either constancie or repentance is certainly to make an Idol not of the Covenant only but of the Great God thereto invocked who infallibly will one day avenge it As for the Censures you speak of if the perfidie of that refusall with the other transgressions and delinquencies whereof the persons particularly censured were for the most part if not all notoriously known and found to be guilty be duely pondered they will rather be found to fall short of then exceed the proportions of righteousness And though I deny not but the heats prejudices and other temptations inevitable in such changes to humane infirmity may possibly have rendered the lot of some few and these very few recusants rather obstinate then malitious a little hard and apparently rigid yet this is most obvious that the late revolution hath so infinitly exceeded not only for iniquity but also in the measure of its oppressions all the excesses chargeable on former times that nothing less then an impudence sutable to the late perjury could prompt you or any of your partie to move such an objection but let us hear your conclusion What man of common sense can think this the Cause of God which had such monstruous errours in its first conception Sir though I think that in the matters of God you do appeal to an ill Judge yet I am so little diffident of the cause which I maintain that only wishing you to be more sparing in obtruding your own ridiculous delusions for monstruous errours I heartily referre our discourse to my greatest Opposite In the next place making a step of your N C. weak and groundless concession That there were faults in the imposing of the Covenant and taking it up at your own hand That the matters of the Covenant are in themselves indifferent you go on to argue that seing in these things a man is not his own Master but by the command of God obliged to obey the Magistrat in all things lawfull a tye before all Oaths as by no act of ours we can be bound to break the Command of God so no more can we oblige our selves to do any thing in prejudice of anothers right our Soveraign's Authority and therefore since the King and Parliament have by Law annulled the Covenant and required submission to Episcopacie our antecedent Oath a voluntary deed of our own can no longer â—ind us against the commands of the Powers which are the mediatâ— commands of God I have set down this argument of yours more fully to the effect you may perceive that if I have not so much of your common sense as to comprehend it as a clear demonstration yet it is not for want of a just and true apprehension but really from the greater evidence of the answeres subjoined and first I say your foundation fails the matters of the Covenant are not things indifferent but in themselves true righteous and holy importing such an antecedent obligation as in the occurrence of the preexistent circumstances did render the taking and requiring of that Oath an indispensable dutie And this when you think good to quarrell I am most ready to make out 2. Supposing with you that the matter of the Covenant is indifferent and that in such things the Magistrates power of commanding cannot by any Oath or deed of ours be prevented or prelimited yet Sir think you that your Omission must so farre charme us to oblivion as to make us forget that as King Charles the first did in plene Parliament An. 1641. under his hand-writing ratifie the Nationall Covenant with the explication and Bond thereto annexed and prior Acts made anent it with such solemnities and concurrent considerations as it is impossible to question it so his Son who now Reigns did in the year 1650. and 51. take and confirme both it and the Solemn League and Covenant with such Oaths Subscriptions as well private and unrequired as publick Declarations and Acts that greater grounds of assurance were never heard of amongst men if then this was the case of the obligation of these Covenants at his Majesties returne admitting all that you suppose dare you or any say that the King and Parliament had power either to resile or to loose others from the Bonds which they themselves had thus established If a Fathers silence and non-contradiction to a Daughters vowing and whose vowes he may disannull do make her vowes to stand so that he cannot thereafter make them void how can the express solemn and sworne confirmation of King and Parliament in favours of a Covenanting people with any colour of reason be thought to be either in it self ambulatory or toward others less effectual But 3 to undeceive you of the vain esteem you have for this argument the very grounds of it are manifestly fallacious For
distinction will be found but a groundless malicious forgery but to confirm it you remember a passage of one of our Preachers allowing Sharpness in defence of the Truth and to check the proud conceit of Adversaries and though it arise most natively from the words and be clearly verifiable in all times and occasions yet loving to rake in our former divisions you will have it to be directed against the insolence forsooth of the then protesting partie and to serve as a complete apology for any sharpness you have used But Sir as you cannot subsume in the termes of that doctrine either upon your own defense of the Truth or upon our proud conceit and consequently do fall short of your designed apology so your reflecting upon these differences wherein you are nothing concerned being plainly intended for the disgracing of the whole party doth far more discover your malice then our infirmities and therefore to use the words of the Text seeing you use these of the doctrine although there be mockers with us and our eye doth continow in their provocation at which upright men may be astonied yet let the innocent stir up himself against the hypocrite and the righteous hold on his way and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger The next wedge which you set and drive for to divide us is to tell the world that our humors and sollies are not chargeable upon the whole Presbyterian party that the English Presbyterians are â—ar beyond us in moderation as appeares from Baxter's Disputations on Church-government and all they desired in the late treaty was to be joyned with the Bishops in the exercise of Discipline which we refuse 'T is answered what your opinion is of the whole party shall not be taken from your fraudulent insinuations but as these are plainly enough confuted by your more free expressions in other parts particularly in your 1. Dialogue Pag. 6. Where you say Rebellion was the soul of our whole worke and the Covenant the bond thereof and Dial. 4. P. 62. where you charge both English and Scots with all the blood of the late war So these umbrages of differences which you alledge either from a particular person his problematick disputations or a streatch of Accommodation flowing in a great pressure of necessity from men not by oath tyed with us to this preservation of that where unto they had not actually attained but only to endeavour a Reformation according to the sure rules therein set down ought not to be either a matter of stumbling or an excuse to your deceit But now forgetting your distinction with the same breath you exhibite one of your former charges against us all in these words before the late dissorders all the Presbyterians in Scotland did sit in the Courts for Church-discipline and why may not you aswel do the like And to this you make your N. C. Answere upon the old legal establishment then standing and never rescinded untill the year 1662. On purpose that you may surprise him as you speake with a new discovery forsooth of an Act published and printed now 57 years ago whereby you say the Act. 1592. Sâ—tling Presbytery was expresly annulled and hereupon you pretend such amazement and do make such exclamations upon our disingenuous forgery or intolerable ignorance and groundless and presumptuous shisme that this whole passage saving your reverence doth plainly appeare to me to be but the schareleton tricks of a pitiful impostor For 1. I told you before upon your 4. Diâ—l Where I confess I waved this matter as not worthy the answering That the reason of our different practice now in order to your meetings from what was used formerly is plainly this that Prelacy being at first introduced in this Church mostly by cunning and a lent procedure our true Presbyteries were not thereby discontinued but only injuriously invaded and usurped upon of which practices any honest Minister being free and purging himself of all appearance of accession by open protestation might very lawfully sit still and serve his Master therein but in the late overturning all things being carried at a far different rate and not only the old Presbyteries distolâ—ed but a new foundation being laid of the Kings Supremacy and all the power and jurisdiction of this Church therein fountained and both Bishops and the present pretended Presbyteries thereon founded it is most manifest that your present meetings being no lawful Churchâ— inâ—sicatories are not to be countenanced by any true Minister of Jesus Christ. 2. You make your N. C. lay claime to a legal establishment as a necessary warrant to impower Ministers to meet in Ecclesiastick-courts whereas you know that although we judge Magistrats bound to give Christs Church the assistance and protection of their authority and laws yet we constantly hold the power of assembling as well as of Discipline to be intrinseck in the Church derived unto it from Jesus Christ its head and this is certainly a jus divinum to which all true Non-conformists do constantly adhere and which your N. C. doth very foolishly and weakly omit 3. The noise you make that it is in all our mouths that the law for Presâ—yteries was in force untill the year 1662. Which for my own part I may declare I never either thought or heard alledged as the account of the different practice wherewith you here urge us and your pretended surprise and vain account of being undeceived by a person of great honour who shewed you the Act. 1612. Which I hardly believe that there is any in Scotland of your coaâ— ignorant of What do they signify but the dress of a ridiculous fable to impose upon the simple to our prejudice 4. If the matter were worth the contending for I could shew you that that person of great honour is not much oblidged to your report for the credit of his knowledge in as much as your words do import that both he and you do understand the Act. 1592. setling Presbytery to have been by the Act 1612. totally rescinded and Presbyteries thereby totally disolved whereas the clause of the Act runneth verbatim thus annulling and rescinding the 114 Act. Parl. 1592. Aud all and whatsomever Acts Laws Ordinances and Customes in so far as they or any part thereof are contrary or derogatory unto the Articles above written so that there being no Article or provision in the Act. 1612. Making void the approbation given to the being and meetings of Presbyteries by the 1592. Although I grant their power and priviledges are thereby much diminished It is evident that the power of meeting and doing all other things not altered by the posterior did still remain allowed to Presbyteries by vertue of the prior Say not that the first part of the abovementioned rescissory clause relative to the Act. 1592. Is simple and doth there terminat as I heard once affirmed by one of your party not 't is like of so great honour as your informer but I am sure in
the Count of Tholouse was a Peer of France and by Hugo Capetus constitution Peers were rather Vassals then Subjects It is answered ne ultra crepidam if Peers be Vassals as they are indeed being such Peers among themselves only and not with the King that therefore they are of all the most strictly oblidged subjects is notour to all that know the fidelity and gratitude which Vassallage doth import so that whatever priviledge their Peerage may give them over their inferiours yet that in order to their Soveraign and Liedge Lord they are in every respect subjects is uncontroverted But why should I spend time on your triflings Admitting that the Waldenses in this war had not so directly and immediatly resisted the King their Soveraign as not being their direct and immediate Persecutor have we therefore no advantage from this passage And are there not many other precedents in the History of that people which do fully and exactly infer our conclusion And as to the first do we not at least finde even in your own concession the Waldenses persecute for Religion standing to their own defence Now if once you allow to Religion the common priviledge of a defensive resistance the main strength of your arguments founded upon a pretended singularity in the cause of Religion as disowning forsooth all resistance and in a special manner astricted to suffering both by Gospell precept and primitive practice is thereby dissolved and removed I may not here insist on this subject But once for all let me demand you may not Religion be defended aswell as other rights and interests If you say it may but neither that nor any other against the invasion and persecution of the King and soveraign Power This is indeed a consequent but so destitute of all reason that as there is scarce a man in the world so stupid or debauched by flattery that will not in some suppositions grant the lawfulness of resistance so the most precious import of Religion and the atrocity of the injuries whereby it useth to be persecute can not but render it the first and most favourable of all excepted cases But if you say it may not then whether is it your meaning that it may not at all be defended either against Superior equall or inferior And certainly the Scripture and also many of the primitive instances abused to prostrate Religion unto tyranny do seem to run in this latitude without insinuating any distinction so that this generality being manifestly absurd doth of necessity evince them to have an other meaning and to be nothing conclusive to your purpose Or do you understand that in this the cause of Religion is singular that though against persecuting inferiors or equals Religion aswell as other rights doth permit defence yet against the Powers over us it is subject to a special restraint Assigne me for this speciality but any colourable pretext cris mihi magnus Apollo That the Gospel precepts Resist not evill Turn your cheek to the smiter Love your enemies c. Have their holy and Christian use of patience and godliness for all manner of injuries from whatsoâ—ever hand And that these other commands of subjection non-resistance honour and obedience to Kings and all in Authority have also their righteous influence of determining in every occasion our due compliance and submission without the least vestige either in all or any of the places of injoining a singular subjection to Powers persecuting for Religion is obviously evident What speciality you will gather from primitive practices the general mistakes that we find in their opinions as we may understand from Ambrose and Augustine condemning private defence even against Robbers ne dum salutem defendit pietatem contaminet may give us a satisfying conjecture From all which we may assuredly conclude that seing Religion doth lay no speciall prohibition of resistanceâ— in order to Superiors upon Subjects by them persecuted and that the above-written passage of the Waldenses doth at least evince that in other cases it hath the common priviledge your inferring of specâ—al consequences in favours of the Powers from abused generalls is but a politick improving of your lies unto base and selfish flattery Now as to other examples that may be found among the Waldenses Pray Sir was this the only passage in all that History which you conceived did favour our cause or was you loth to follow them over the Alpes unto the valleys of Piemont to meet with instances which indeed you have reason to think can only be best answered by concealing them in the obscurities of the places where acted And really this omission is so grosly supine that you must pardon me to think it designed However the History that I referre you to for a full and particular account aswell of the faith stedfastness and simplicicy of these Waldenses in Piemont as of their many and great persecutions by their own Rulers and Princes and their just and frequent oppositions made against them particularly from the year 1540 to the year 1561. And how in the year 1571 they entered into a League of mutual assistance and from that year did undergo many vicissitudes sometimes of peace and quiet then of cruell and barbarous persecutions wherein they testified great constancy and patience and sometimes of necessary defensive resistances wherein they witnessed no less uprightnesse and courage even until the year 1658 wherein the narration terminates is that of the Evangelical Churches in the valleys of Piemont very faithfully and acuratly collected and written by Mr Morland Where I am confident every ingenuous person will finde the case of defence for the cause of Religion against persecuting Rulers so justly stated so tenderly and submissively proceeded into and lastly so singly and moderatly prosecuted and that not only once or twice but often that as he will be thereby greatly confirmed in the righteousness of this practice so he can not but observe the inexcusable omission of your silence The next instance which you undertake to vindicate is that of the Bohemians under Zisca their fighting and resisting when the chalice was denyed them And for answere to this you bid us consider that the Crown of Boheme is elective in which case certainly the States of a Kingdom share more largely of the Soveraign power But 1. You hereby plainly acknowledge that Religion is not indefendible except by meer subjects against their Soveraign So that again we see it is not from the cause of Religion but from the quality of the persons that you foolishly go about to exclude Religion from defence which yet notwithstanding in several excepted cases all inferior to that of persecution is to subjects against their oppressing Princes by all almost allowed 2. That the States of a Kingdom share more largely of the soveraign Power in an elective then in a successive Kingdom hath no proper dependence upon the way of election but is thereto meerly accidental the Dictators in free Rome were elected and
by the Protestant and Popish Cantons with many other letters and declarations is but one evidence and that irrefragable against you What impudence is this then whereinto you are hardened But the Electors of Cullen amd the Palatine both Protestants lay neuters And what then Do we not know how rare a things it is in a time of danger for all concerned to unite even in the most uncontroverted duties Beside the Elector of Cullen was then recently deposed and excommunicate and his people specially his principal Clergie and he at great variance for the Reformation by him intended And the Palatine inclining to favoure in effect aiding the Princes with 400 horse was by the evil success of the war forced to retreat and excuse himselfe Next you adde That the Elector of Brandenburg and Maurice of Saxe armed for the Emperour And I grant That Albertus Ioannes Brandenburgici quanquam erant religionis Ioannes quidem etiam foederis Protestantium tamen quod Caesar non propter Râ—ligionem sed quorundam rebellionis ulciscendae causa belluâ— sucsipi diceret suam illi operam addixisse But as their resting upon Caesar's assertion and promise for the security of Religion was by all the circumstances of that war declared to be but an emptie pretext so Iohn's breach of faith in this his ingagement can as little be denyed as his relation of Son in law to Henrie of Brunswick then detained captive by the Langrave seemes to have been his great motive However it is certain that the Elector of Brâ—ndenburg for whom it is like that in your heedless way you take one of his above mentioned Brothers did stand off neuter endeavouring rather to mediate as the History testifies and we may see by his interposing betwixt the Elector of Saxe and Maurice at the seige of Lipsick As for Maurice his part it was indeed foulest and deservedly condemned by all equal Judges But seeing you can adduce no other argumeâ—ts for your pretended vindication then undeniable wrong and perfidy the truth and righteousness of that defensive war on the Princes their part against the Emperour needeth not my further patrociny And yet As if you had said something to purpose you have the boldness to conclude in these words So you may see what pitiâ—ul Hisâ—orians they are who alledge the precedent of Germany O os durum Who would not Laugh at such excessive confidence above the excuse of all possible ignorance The fourth instance which you go about to cleare is that of Sweden and you say That King Gustavus with the States of that Kingdome did in the Year 1524. peaceably receive the Reformation and who would not wish that Religion and Reformation might have had the same fate every where Neither were there any broils about it till after seventy years that Sigismond King of Polland the Son of their former King and therefore by them acknowledged though a Papist was by force entering the Kingdome resolving to root out the Protestant Religion Whereupon they deposed him no strange thing in the Sweedish History that being before an Elective Crown and but newly then become hereditary and the States still retaining the supreme Authority Sir I must confess that this is a passage whereunto I can make no reply your undertaking was to convince us by undeniable evidence of History of the falshood of that vuâ—gar error That the Reformation was carried on that is maintained as I have before shewed by resistance and here you give us an instance of a Kingdome not only resisting but deposing their King because of his invading of Religion Which in place of a vindication is a full and plain concession For as to what you insinuate that that Crown had been a little before Elective I told you upon the instance of Boheme that though it had been even for the time Elective yet it could not make for you much less when you acknowledge that then for as for your own or the Printers escape referring the change to the Year 1644. I urge it not it was become successive And where you alledge that the States did still retain the Supreme Authority if you understand it otherwayes then according to that power and priviledge which appertains to our Parliaments it is only your own fiction But you subjoyne that If this serve not to vindicat the Sweds at least the Reformation was not introduced by wars among them And pray Sir who of us did ever defend such a practice To introduce and to maintain are things so different that they can not be fairly confounded The last shift you make is That the actions of that state were never looked upon as a precedent to others But if so why then do you mention them and if they be indeed a precedent certainly it is hard to determine whether you be more false in your general assertion anent the establishing of the Reformation or ridiculous in this part of your vindication The fift instance you mention is That Denmark received the Reformation peaceably But seing this hypothese excluds the question controverted anent the maintenance of Religion by armes not casible without the antecedent violence It is evident that it is rather transiently then pertinently by you adduced The sixt instance is tabled by your N. C. thus But you cannot deny there was force used in Helvetia and Geneve Aâ—d to this you answere both in the manner and termes of your accustomed vanity That this shewes what a superficial Reader of History your N. C. is And then you tell us Tâ—at Zurich received the Reformation peaceably but being maligned by the other Cantons and by them injured at the Popes instigation it broke out into a civil war purely defensive upon Zuriches part Likeas the Cantons are not subject to one another but free States only united in a League It is answered that here upon the account of Religion there was force used in Helvetia is clear from your own narration How then do you taxe your N. C. for this allegeance as a superficial Reader of History As for that that it was used by one associat against another and not by subjects against their superior it is only accidental from the condition of these Cantons the other circumstances of that war And seing that neither the Gospel nor Reason do lay any special restraint upon subjects in case of their Superiors intolerable persecution because of Religion as I have already shewed this precedent is no small confirmation of the practices by us maintained 2. I must tell you further that this war on Zuriches part was not so purely defensive as you give it out in asmuch as it is certain from Sleidan 4. and 8. Books that the provoking injuries were for the most part committed upon their citizens without their territories and the first act of hostility by the interclusion of passages was done by these of Zurich so that although their guards were indeed surprised yet dating the war from the hostile interclusion
John his base râ—signation exercise over England a particular authority that after the Reformation and the shaking of the papal voke the Oath of Supremacie was brought in to exclude all forraign Iurisdiction and reinstate the King is his Civill Authority That Henrie the 8th did indeed set up a Civill Papacie but the Reformation of England was never dated from his breach with Rome that the Oath of supremacie was never designed to take away the Churches intrinseck Power or to make the power of Ordination of giving Sacraments or of Discipline to flow from the King that however because the generality of the words might suggest scruples they are explained in an Act of Parliament of Q. Elizabeth and in one of the 29. Articles and morefully by B. Usher with King Iames approbation And lastly since we have this oath from England none ought to scruple the words being sufficiently plain and the English meaning ours This is the full and clear account which you promise But who knows not these poor and insignificant pretenses King Iohn's resignation was indeed so base that by all disinterested it was ever held to be invalid and in after times scarce ever mentioned let be pleaded It is therefore the Pop's general tyrannie and what it was and whether abolished in these Kingdomes or in effect only transferred from him to the Prince that we are here to consider And I think I may take it for granted that you judge the Pope's exorbitant usurpation specially his assumming to himselfe not an external assisting oversight which we grant to be the proper right of Princes but by way of an intrinseck and direct power the sole and uncontrolable care of the Church her ministry and ministers with his arrogating an architectonick power in the ordering of Gods Worship so that in all Ecclesiastick meetings and matters therein proposed he may enact what canons he pleases to be parts of the Papal tyranny not only as in him but in all men under our Lord Jesus Christ unwarrantable and antichristian nay some of these are points of so high a nature that the greater part even of the members of the Romish Church do reclaim against them Now questionlesse if this power be to the Pope unlawful and incompetent all secular persons and Princes are therefore much more excluded in asmuch as the Pope being at least in shew a Church-man and according to the hypothese even of your Hierarchy the first Bishop of the westerne if not of the whole Church he is fortified by certain seeming pretenses of which the clame of civil Princes is wholly destitute To come then to our purpose that after the Reformation the Popish yoke not only as to the particulars above mentioned but also as to his forreign Jurisdiction unlawfully usurped over Church-men in civills to the prejudice of the King's Soveraignity was righteously shaken off and the King re-instated in his Civil authority over all Persons and also in all Causes in so far as they are committed to his royal direction and tuition is not at all denyed If that matters had here sisted and upon the abolition of the Papal domination the things of God and of Caesar had been equally restored who could have gain-said it But that on the contrary by the Pop's exclusion and in place of this righteous restitution the King under pretence of the vindication of his own Supremacy did procure to himself a very formal and full translation of what the Pope had not only usurped from him but arrogate from God specially in the things above-specified both the occasion of this change and the manner how this Supremacy hath since been exercised do aboundantly declare And for clearing the occasion it may be remembred 1. That the Peter-pence called in the beginning the King's almes imposed by on Ina King of the West Saxons was discharged by Act of Parliament in the reigne of Edward the Third and the contention anent the exemption of Church-men from the King's Courts most hotly agitate in the reigâ—es of Henry Second and King Iohn was composed many years before the dayes of Henry the Eight So that neither that exaction nor this old debate and far less King Iohn's most invalide resignation not worth the naming could be the cause of King Henry his acclaiming the Supremacy 2. The only motive that we find in History whereby Henry was instigat to reject the Pope and to declare himself to be supreme in causes Ecclesiastick aswell as civil was his purpose of divorce from Queen Katharine wherein finding himself abused by the Pope and his Legates their delayes he discharges all appeals to Rome appointing them to be made from the Comissary to the Bishop from the Bishop to the Archbishop and from the Archbishop to the King and is thereafter first called by the Clergy and then declared by the Parliament to be Supreme head of the Church in liew of the Pope whose authority was abrogat by the same Act These things then being certain and you your selfe acknowledging that King Henry did set up a civil Papacy It is easy to determine that this change was not a bare exclusion but a plain translation of the Popes usurped power We know the Reformation of England was never dated from that breach with the Bishop of Rome But what then Can you deny that this was both the rise and establishment of the Supremacy which being transmitted to Edvard the sixth and then renounced by Queen Mary and again restored to the Pope was by Queen Elizabeth reassumed and so continueth untill this day It is true that after the breaking up of the more clear light of Reformation whereby not only Rom's Superstition bot also the Popes usurpation and tyranny in many things was upon better reasons rejected and especially after the succession of Queen Elizabeth to whose Sexe the former title of headship for all the smoothings that had been before used was nevertheless construed not to be so agreeable Many explications were adhibite for qualifying the Supremacy both in answer to the opposition of Papists and for removing the offence of the Protestant Churches But the truth is these explications though more sound in their grounds yet in their explication were nothing conclusive as to the present debate and their Authors arguing for the Supremacy from the examples of reforming Kings and Emperours acting not by vertue of an assumed prerogative but only from that extraordinary power which the necessity of the end upon the failzour of other midses doth measure out to Princes first and to others also if in a competent capacity did rather infer the justification of the work then conclude the approbation of the Supremacy notwithstanding it was therein imployed Nay while by these their reasonings they went about from such extraordinary interpositions only warranted by the exigence of necessity and the rectitude of the work thereby effectuat to establish to the Prince a constant setled authority properly conversant about these matters the argument is far more
absurd then if because a Governour may in a manifest incident disorder falling for example in a Family repone the Father and head thereof to his paternal oversight one should thence conclude to the same Governour a proper power and faculty of placeing and displaceing Heads of Families and appointing the Rules thereof at his pleasure Now that thus it fell out in England after the Reformation and that the same if not a more exorbiâ—ant power taken from the Pope was transferred and setled upon the Crown as a perpetual privilege thereof is in the second place by the manner of its exercise and its ensuing fruits veâ—y evidently held out For proofe whereof the office and actings of the Lord Cromwell as Vicare General appointed by Henry the eight over the spirituality though by the good providence of God ordered to be a notable mean for advance of the Reformation is an undeniable argument And as to the continuance of the same usurpation in order to other effects in themselves evill and not to be justified there needeth no curious search the frequent practices of after Princes laying claime to this power namely Elizabeth Iames and Charles in their ecclesiastick medlings but especially of his Majesty now regnant in his interposing in Church-matters and thereby overturning a true Gospe-â—ministry introducing a new model of Church-government absolutely dependent upon himselfe reviving vain groundless and antiqâ—â—â— ceremonies appointing and imposing new Religions Dayes and Forms And lastly giving Rules to Ministers their doctrine what points to preach and what to omit all according to the device of his own heart are an obvious demonstration which things are in themselves so evident that I strange you should accuse Henry the Eight of a civil Papacy and so inconsequently acquit al his Successors Whereas in effect they not only acted in Church-matters after the same method by him observed using the same prerogative in the grant of their High Commissions and in other acts which he exercised in his vicarious deputation but he is the Prince who waving his haltings upon the other side and considering the necessity there was at that time of an extraordinary remedy for the good things that he did seemeth to have employed their usurped Supremacy most excusably and also very advantageously for the promoving of the Reformation Bot you tell us that the Oath of Supremacy was never designed to take away the Churches intrinseck power or to make the power of Ordination of Sacraments and of Discipline flow from the King It is answered seing the many evill effects of this Supremacy do so plaâ—â—ly evince its direct and proper tendency and its late explanation by Act of Parliament doth put its nature and extent beyond all controversy to tell us what at first it was or was not designed for is but a vain suggestion And therefore according to these â—urer grounds I must now tell you 1. That although the King not likely to be tempted by such an empty curiosity hath neither expresly declared in his own favour nor assumed to himselfe the exercise of this power of administration yet that by vertue of his Supremacy as it now stands explained he may do both or either when he pleaseth is not to be doubted I need not reminde you that any Church-power not acknowledging a dependence upon and subordination unto the Soveraign Power of the King as Supreme is abrogate and discharged But pray Sir he who may enact what he thinketh fit concerning all Ecclesiastick meetings and matters may he not if he think fit declare himself to have the power of the ministerial function Nay what may he not do But 2. admitting that this was not meaned by the Parliament in their explanation and that in probability the King will never affect the imployment yet that the intrinseck power of Government belonging to the Church both as to a Society of our Lords erection and by his express gift and concession is by the Supremacy taken away I beleeve it will be so far from being disowned that it is rather vaunted of as its principal end and advantage But referring the truth and evidence of this point anent the power of Government given by our Lord immediatly to his Church to what hath been very fully by others declared and is by me above hinted at I verily think that though we had no other argument save the sad changes that of late have ensued upon the usurpation of this Supremacy the usefulness and excellency of this intrinseck Government is thereby rendered apparent beyond the evidence of any further confirmation And really when together with the authority of its founder I consider the undeniable necessity and expedience of an internal power of Government in the Church as the most significant mean for making all its other gifts powers offices effectual And how much it is commended by the signal usefulness of a proper Government in every Society but more especially to our adversaries by that high yea sacred estimat which they so much inculcat of that Civil-government and all its punctilios whereupon their interest depends and when on the other hand I reflect upon the peâ—â—â—â—ous and woful influences that in all ages have constantly attended either the suppression or usurpation of this great divine ordinance I cannot sufficiently regrete that the pride ambition and vanity of men in setting up and advancing this Supremacy should be so sinfully subservient to the Divell 's great design of crossing the progress of the Gospel and propogating irreligion Which evil is the more to be lamented that nothwithstanding that our own experience of its wretched consequences doth evidently redargue this usurpation yet these men who in the matter of Civil government make every circumstance sacred and exclaime against the smallest innovation as if all confusion were imminent can and do in the business of Ecclesiastick government with a more then Gallio indifferency and coldness slight all its concerns in opposition to their carnal designes as questions of meer outward forms and the skirts and suburbs of Religion far removed from its life and substance Whereas it is very certain that eternal life and salvation the great end is not more preferable to temporal peace and outward tranquillity then our zeal for the government of God's House institute by himselfe in his Church in order to our everlasting welbeing ought to exceed our regard to Civil government which in this respect are but the ordinances of man in order to our temporal interests Nay so apparent is the lukwarmness hypocrisy of mens reasonings in behalfe of this Supremacy that though in the supposition that our Lord had by himselfe immediatly erected in any Kingdom a Society or incorporation with masters laws and a competent jurisdiction in order to some temporal advantage as he hath in the acknowledgement of all institute his Church with Ordinances Officers and Government suited to its great ends all rationâ—â— men let be the members of that Society would judge the
King 's pretending to an arbitrary and absolute disposal of these previleges thus granted to be an injurious invasion and usurpation Yet in order to the Church and her rights and immunities they are not ashamed to cut off â—o even and just a parallel and deny so evident a consequence in behalf of her righteous liberty But wisdome is justified of her children And how much were it to be wished that at the least the children of light were as wise as the children of this world are in their generation 3. Beside the invasion threatened to the Church in its power of administration and the usurpation from the Church of the power of Government which this Supremacy imports it further attributes to the Prince according to our Parliaments late explication an illimited power in matters of Religion proper and reserved to God alone To enact whatever a man thinketh fit in Ecclesiastick meetings and maâ—â—ers I am certain is that which the Lord did never allow to any meer man under heaven and yet that this power is assumed and how by vertue thereof old unwarrantable superstitions have been retained new rites and ceremonies in Divine Worship devised and Churches turned and overturned according to mens pleasure is sufficiently known without my condescendence And therefore seing the King by vertue of his Supremacy doth not only intermedle by giving his civill sanction and confirmation to the intrinseck powers of the Church by you mentioned as you do allege or by acts imperate as others in contradistinction to elicite acts in these matters doe use to express it but doth lay claime to an absolute power in and over all Church-matters and persons the filly pretense whereby you go about to smooth it is not worthie of any mans notice In the next place you tell us of some explications provided for removing of the scruples which the generality of the words of the oath of Supremacy might suggest And to this it may suffice for answer that seing these explications are certainly confined to England and by no publick Act received or owned among us your allegeance with your childish ground that we have this oath from them is wholly impertinent as to our releifeâ— But seing the setting down of these explications contained in the English act and Articles above cited Which you do counningly omit will not only by comparing therewith the far different practices of the Kings of that Realme discover the inadequatnesse not to say the slightnesse of these sensings in effect meerly devised to palliat an excess in it self nowise justifiable but more fully manifest the strange extravagance both of the practical acceptation and late express interpretation of this Supremacie You may read them as follows the words of the Act in quinto Elizab. Declare her power and Authority to be a soveraignity over all manner of persons borne within the Realme whether they be ecclesiastical or temporal so that no forreigne power hath or ought to have any superiority over them and these of the Articles run thus Art 37. We give not to our Princes the ministring either of Gods Word or of the Sacraments the which thing the injunctions also lately set forth by Elizab our Queen do most plainly testifie but that only prerogative which we see to have been given alwayes to all godly Princes in holy Scriptures by God himselfe that is that they should rule all Estates and degrees committed to their charge by God whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal and restrain with the civill sword the stubborne and evill doers These being the termes of these explications what consonancie the medlings of their Princes in imposing rites ceremonies and formes of Worship enjoyning their own dayes and profaning God's commanding what Doctrine Ministers should forbear permitting excomunication in their own name jointly with the Lords and finally by sitting and ruling in the Temple of God as in their own Court do hold therto is obvious to the first reflection Only this I must say that if the Kings of England their Ecclesiastick actings be indeed sufficiently warranted by the foregoing explanations the Author of the late discourse of Ecclesiastick policy who in prosecution of the King's Supremacie doth plainly annexe unto it the Authority of the preisthood and power over the conscience at least the obedience of men in matters of Religion in place of that applause wherwith he is generally received at Court deserves rather to be demeaned as the highest calumniator and depraver of his Majesties government But not to trouble you further with these double English senses viz that pretended by their Acts of Parliament and Articles which I grant to be more sound and such wherewith many godly men have rested satisfied and the other more true received and followed by their Court and Clergie nor yet to insist upon your incomparable and blessed Who now hath mens persons in admiration Bishop Usher his more full interpretation equally redargued by what I have alreadie said Let us consider our Scots most excessive though more ingenuous explanation and although I do apprehend the words of the Oath of Supremacie to be in themselves capable of a sound sense and that by understanding supreme Governour of this Kingdomeâ— not to be a limiting designation but a plain qualification of the nature of the government as being in order to its correlat this Kingdome in it selfe civil and only in this notion to be extended to persons and causes ecclesiastick all difficulties may be salved yet when to the rise and manner of this Supremacie above declared I adde how of late it hath been made the ground of the King his restoring of Bishops and framing their government to an absolute dependence upon himselfe granting of the high Commission appointing the constitution of a National Synod and of other strange acts before touched and especially that as the Act Parl. 1592. expresly and justly limiting this Supremacy was by the first Act 〈◊〉 2. Parl. 1661. Wholly abrogate and made voidâ— so by the first Act of the Par. 1669. The same Supremacie is assâ—rted to that absurd hight as doth import a plain surrender of Conscience and submission of all Matters of Religion for as to civills we are not so rash to his Majesties pleasure in a more absolute manner then ever to this day hath been acclaimed either by Pope or general Council These things I say being weighed I think I may safely conclude that I look upon the Supremacie not only as a civill Papacie but an height of usurpation against our Lord King in Zion whereunto never Christian Prince nor Potentate did heretofore aspire And here your N. C. seconding my assertion tells you that this Supremacie clearly makes way for Erastianisme To which you answer That this is one of our mutinous arts to find out long hard names and affixe them to any thing displeaseth us But passing the childishness of this conceite as if either a long or hard name were more odious then a short in my opinion
by their own interest to teach this doctrine of peace It is not many weeks since the chief of your Fathers as you terme them preaching before the King's Commissioner and many members of Parliament on that Text Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace told his hearers in the very entrie that the particular rules of mutual for bearance and tendernesse given in that Scripture by the Apostle were only convenient for the then state of that Church wanting a Christian Magistrate But now there being a Christian Magistrat his authoritie should quiet all scruples and might not be demurred by these pretenses and going on to show that the only way to peace is to allow to the King not only an outward coercive power but also an inward directive architecktonick uncontrollable power O fear the Lord all ye his Saints over conscience in the matters of Worship with much ado as eye and ear witnesses do attest he stammered through a part of the first chapter of a new Piece entituled a Discours of Ecclesiastical policie And thus he delivered to us the very same doctrine of peace which in several places of your Dialogues you do very plainly hold out Whether or not then it be in the same principle and for the same end that ye do here pray for peace love and charity let men judge For our part your power riches and dignities in themselves to say the truth the very meenest of these trifles are by us neither coveted nor envied Our souls desire and earnest prayer to God both in your and our own behalfe is that God would open our eyes turne back our hearts heal our backslidings and restore unto us his Gospel and blessed Ordinances in power and purity O turne us again Lord God of hosts cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved then shall Glory dwell in our Land mercy and truth meet and righteousnesse and truth kisse each other then should the work of the Lord appear unto his servants and the beauty of the Lord our God even peace unity and love be upon us As for these Scriptures wherewith you second your wish for peace Were I not more tender in opposing Scripture to Scripture then you are in abusing it to your own designe it were easie for me to repay your admonition to love by a more seasonable exhortation to you of repentance But since the very consideration of the words by you cited may rectify your misapplication my single desire is that you had pondered or could yet ponder them If there be therefore any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the Spirit if any bowels and mercies let us fulfil the Lords joy that we be first of a sound minde then like minded having the same love being of one accord of one minde Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory a short discharge of all the pride persecution and pompe of your prelatick order but in lowlinesse of minde let each esteeme others better then themselves Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among us let him show out of a good conversation his◠works with meeknesse of wisdome But if you have bitter zeal or envying For seeing that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wanting this adjunct signifieth also envie without the least reflection upon that holy zeal of God's house which is said to eat up even the pattern of meekness Prince of peace your poor criticisme in altering the translation shewes more of your malice then your learning and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be Zealous there fore and repent of your perjurie and Covenant breaking this wisdome descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual and devilish for where zeal or envying The word is indeed still the same and so is your folly in this remarke and strife is there is confusion and every evill work But the wisdome that is from above is first pure then peaceable not first peaceable and then impure as that of your partie is Gentle and easie to be entreated full of mercie and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie O desirable quality And the fruit of righteousnesse is sowen in peace of them that make peace Let us put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindnesse humblenesse of minde meeknesse long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave us so let us do and above all things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness And let the peace of God rule in our hearts to the which also we are called in one body and let us be thankfull Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdome teaching and admonishing one another in Psalmes and Hymns and Spiritual songs singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord and whatsoever we do in word or deed pray observe this fundamental direction Let us do all in the name of the Lord Iesus What shall we then say to these who in the Bond to the Publict Peace would not admit the name of the Lord to be mentioned Giving thanks to God and the Eather by him In all this I wish we were sincerily agreed And that these words were more deeply infixed in our mindes for I confesse I am wearie of vain janglings as much as you are and do long for truth and peace as much as you do for your much courted peace and indeed there is nothing that doth so much portend the Lords displeasure and imminent wrath as that not any pleadeth for truth they trust in vanity and speak lies they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquitie they hatch cockatrice eggs and weave the spiders web he that eateth of their eggs dieth and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper their works are works of iniquitie and the act of violence is in their hand they do much love outward peace but the way of peace they know not and there is no judgement in their goings they have made them crooked Pathes whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace Therefore is judgement far from us and justice doth not overtake us we waite for light but behold obscurity for brightness bot we walk in darkness for our transgressions are multiplied before thee and our sins testifie against us for our transgressions are with us and as for our iniquities we know them in transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God speaking oppression and revolt conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falshood and judgement is turned away backward and justice standeth afar off for truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter yea truth faileth and he that departeth from evill maketh himself a prey Whether you or your N. C. account these words to proceed from a fretted minde or not I know not sure I am
there is that truth in them that though David's wished for wings may better suit your desire of rest yet Ieremiah's waterie head and weeping eyes with his retirement to a wildernesse would be the more agreeable wish to our condition But our relieff is that the Lord seeth and who knowes but he is displeased that there is no intercessor and that therefore his arme may bring salvation when he shall put on righteousnesse as a breast-plate and an helmet of salvation upon his head when he shall put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and cloath himself with zeal even that zeal which you go about to maligne as with a clock However this is most certaine that the Redeemer is come to Zion and unto them that turne from transgression in Jacob saith the Lord. But your N. C. recals me and tells us that the further he seeth in the great businesse of Religion he is the the more coovinced of a serene and placide temper which so qalisies the soul for Divine converse And these words do ravish and unite your heart to him in such a manner that for a conclusion to these your roving Dialogues you do very agreeably evanish in a fancied transport And really Sir I do as little question that the further a man seeth and is seriously exercised in the great businesse of Religion he will certainly be therby rendered of a more serene and placide temper The statutes of the Lord are indeed right rejoyceing the heart the commandement of the Lord is pure enlightning the eyes the divine light doth certainly give pure joy and pure joy no doubt doth elevat above all carnall perturbations and drossie pleasures there is a vertue in Religion that powerfully rebuking not only the windes of our tempestuous passions and the tossings of our vaine desires but the dreadful tempest of Gods anger doth make a great calme which bringeth unto Jesus Christ for refuge unto God for our rest and blesseth us with his peace that passeth understanding and filleth us with all joy in believing But your insinuation as if a serene and placid temper not flowing from but previously disposing unto Religion and fellowship with God were of special influence as to divine converse is at best but a continuation of your delusion I shall not say deceit suited to your great designe of preferring peace to truth and fraiming Religion to your own accommodation And truly in order to that end the advantages of a serene indifferencie and placide compliance resolving all difficulties by the conveniencie of ease and not striving in any case against the Authority and commands of such on whom our outward peace depends can not be denyed But seing it is the great work of Religion first to open the eyes and to turne from darkness unto light and from the power of Satan unto God that we may receive forgivenesse of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith and in these excellent graces true peace and full joy let him who would have a minde truly serene and not only a placide temper but a tranquill and joyful conscience studie and walk in this light discovering and abhorring every evill way and by purity and faithfulnesse even in that which is least make sure his peace and so shall he not only be qualified for but certainly attaine unto divine converse Serenity and tranquillity of minde when flowing from that wisdome from above which is first pure then peaceable and is the product of pure Religion and undefiled is no doubt no other then that light wherein God dwells and that calmness and weakness of Spirit wherein he delights But as for your serene and placid Temper whith you exhibite to us rather as preparatory then subsequent to Religion I must again tell you my feares that I find it so little agreeable to Religion's genuine methode and so very suitable to your carnal designes that I greatly apprehend that instead of advancing you to true divine converse it only seduce you into a fools paradise of your own dreams and imaginations Whether your ensuing raptures do thence proceed I leave it to others to judge But sure I am were you as earnest to pray Deliver my soul O Lord from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue as you would appear serious in the following regrete of having too long dwelt among them that hate peace You had rather choosed to suffer affliction with the people of God esteeming the reproach of Christ even treason and sedition great riches and respecting and looking for the recompense of the reward the eternal love and peace of God then to have taken the compendious way of a sinful compliance for obtaining this worlds ease and quiet Which I am confidentâ— that holy man whose words you usurpe would have abhorred at the rate As for the thick fogs and mists of contention which you complaine of if this life were indeed to you a valley of tears as you give it out while all light and purity is almost destroyed by the lust and ignorance of your prelatick party it would have been to these infernal vapors and clouds of smok by which our Sun and air are darkned and not to the just and necessary opposition of a small faithful remnant against your apostacy that you had ascribed the noisomness which you mention But behold the nimblenesse aswell as the delusion of the mans fancy he hath for outward ease cast away a good conscience and preferred all along peace unto truth All the disturbance he meeâ—eth with is the dissent of a few faithfull unto God and stedfast in his Covenant whom he and his party do therefore persecute This small innocent non-complyance he complaineth of as if he were the most refined and tender Saint grieving for the wicked and rageful persecution of the ungodly from which imaginary and feigned distresse with the same artifice and facility he pretendeth that his relieff is in divine contemplation whither as to the mountaine of God he flieth forsooth for Sanctuary that he may take rest But this triumphing of your presumption shall be but short the joy of the hyhocrite is but for a moment though his excellency reach up to the heavens and his head reach unto the clouds yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung they which have seen him shall say where is he he shall fly away as a dream and be chased away as a vision of the night for who Lord shall dwell in thy holy hill and who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousnesse and speaketh the truth in his heart he that backbiteth not with his tongue nor doth evill to his neighbour nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour in whose eyes a vile person is contemned but he honoureth them that fear the Lord he that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not he that hath clean hands and a pure heart who hath not lift vp his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousnesse from the God of his Salvation If therefore your pretensions be such as you professe you must not overlooke the way that God himselfe hath designed but walk in it with fear Your vain phantastick soarings will not carry you either over or by it Nay in the end they will prove a lie and tumble you into destruction For what is the hope of the Hypocrite when he hath gained when God taketh away his soul Think not that these things are from ill nature and spoken in bitterness Nay Sir I may very seriously protest that when I reflect on your laxe and unsound principles not only in the matters of Government and Worship but even in the head of justification and several other parts that you have given me occasion to touch with your enmity and reproaches against the work of God and the Kingdome Ministry and Ordinances of our Lord Iesus Christ and how on the other hand you endeavour to shreud your self under the high pretenses of peace love charity and devotion wholly heavenly I can scarce refrain from trembling in the thoughts of such deep and abusive hypocrisie And therefore though you should scorn my compassion yet will I not forbear to give you my best advice You seem to have the forme of knowledge and of the truth in the word Nay thou makest thy boast of God and divine contemplation the secret of Gods presence and the refreshfull shades of the Almighty where joy unspeakable and the most pure solaces flow appear to be your familiar retreat But as it is too too evident that neither your principles nor practice are very suitable to this profession nay that there is no noise heard of this profession while you are bussied in serving mens designs and your own fancies And that it is only after you have striven to the outmost in perswading or contradicting that you seek to evade or delude by these pretensions So my earnest request is that in place of fancie that evaporats all your knowledge into imagination faith and love may suck down the truth into your heart to convert you indeed unto God and reveal in you with power his Son Iesus Christ that you may love the Lord with all your soul and strength and trust in him alwayes have respect unto all his Commandements and observe all his Ordinances then should you walk in the way safely and the Lord should be your confidence And though you should be exercised with the same perverse disputings of men of corrupt mindes the same strife of tongues and persecution of adversaries whereof we have so large an experiment yet amidst all these boisterous windes and tossing waves God would be your Rock light joy strength and salvation for ever Sir this is our faith and also our victory for which when you shall as seriously contend as you do vainly pretend to outward peace and mans favour then shall true peace even that peace which the World neither gives nor can take abound unto you to establish you unto the end Let us therefore fight the good fight keep the faith and lay hold on eternal life that we may finish our course with joy so shall we receive that Crown of Righteousnesse which the righteous Iudge shall give unto us at that day and not unto us only but unto all them also that love his appearing Even so come Lord JESUS FINIS