ut apud Christianos veteres apud prisca secula de eorum scriptis edoceas adhiberi nomen Pastoris ubi de Episcopo non loquuntur And if Bishops be the Prophets and Pastors and Doctors of the Church to whom should the Office of Preaching chiefly and primarily belong but them The practice of the ancient Church confirms this In Justin Martyr the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stood up and made the exhortation i. e. the Bishop In the 19. Canon of the Council of Laodicea the style of the Church shews this was the practice of the Church at that time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the Homilies of the Bishops in Alexandria Soromon writes that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Bishop alone of the City does teach St. Chrysostom in 1. ad Tim. cap. 4. saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that the dignity of the Priesthood and teaching was great referring to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Priesthood Timothy was chosen to and that was the high Priesthood of Episcopacy Thom. Aquin. supplem 3. par quaest 36. artic 2. in prim argum calls Preaching opus Episcopalissimum the most Episcopal work Estius upon the Sentences speaking of Preaching saith verùm hoc munus principaliter Episcopis incumbit qui propriè secundum Apostolum Ephes 4.11 in Ecclesia constituti sunt Pastores Doctores Secundariò autem Parochis qui Episcopis in hoc subsidiariam navant operam But this Office of Preaching is primarily incumbent upon the Bishops who properly according to the Apostle are ordained Pastors and Doctors Secondarily the Parish Priests are to be subservient to the Bishop in this the Office of Preaching primarily belongs to the Bishop a subsidiary labour as the Bishops substitute belongs to the Presbyter Estius tom 4. lib. 4. cap. 20. But here there may be a question moved how the Presbyter hath the power of Preaching derived to him whether ex vi ordinis or ex licentia Episcopi by virtue of his order or from the Bishops licence But granting that all Presbyters receive a power to preach by their Orders as in the Church of England yet it is onely in actu primo not in actu secundo though they have a power conferred upon them yet the exercise of that power is restrained by the Canons till they have a Licence from the Bishop I have not met with any thing concerning the forms of Ordination used in the ancient Church but I suppose howsoever the matter of Ordination and Imposition of hands by a Bishop be an Apostolical Tradition yet the form of words used in Ordination is not so but of Ecclesiastical institution whence it comes that most Churches vary in their forms of Ordination In the Greek Church the form is divina gratia quae semper infirma sanat quae desunt supplet creat seu promovet N. venerabilem Diaconum in Presbyterum Dei amabilissimum Presbyterum in Episcopum The divine Grace which alwayes heales our infirmities and supplies our wants doth create or promote N. the Venerable Subdeacon to be a Deacon the Venerable Deacon to be a Presbyter the Presbyter most beloved of God to be a Bishop In the Western Church they use another form and in that confer a double power upon the Presbyter potestatem conficiendi corpus Domini potestatem ligandi solvendi power of Consecrating the Elements in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and power of binding and loosing Our Britanick Church which is a part of the Western hath a form peculiar to her self yet very much like the old Greek form mentioned by S. Clem. in his Constitutions l. 8. c. 16. wherein the power of Preaching also is conferred upon the Presbyter And yet I have reason enough to believe that actual Preaching especially according to the common understanding of that word now-a-days is not so essential to the Order of a Presbyter but that he may sometimes upon good grounds be debarred from it First because if a Presbyter be suspended ab officio from his Office of Preaching he remains a Presbyter still The Character is indeleble Nay if a Presbyter be suspended not only from the Office of Preaching but of Consecrating or Baptizing or in any kind Officiating in the Church nay if he be excommunicated yet his Character is indeleble he remains a Presbyter still and whatsoever he doth by vertue of that Character is valid de facto though contra jus This St. Jerom proves at large in his Book against the Luciferians that a Presbyter cannot lose his Order And St. Augustine in his Book de bono conjugali cap. 24. saith expresly Si siat Ordinatio cleri ad plebem congregandam etiamsi plebis congregatio non subsequatur manet tamen in ordinatis ordinationis sacramentum Et si ob aliquam culpam quispiam ab officio removeatur Sacramento Domini non carebit If their be an Ordination of the Clergy for the Congregation of the people although they have not a Corgregation or a Parish to attend upon yet the Sacrament of Ordination remaines in them once ordained And if for some fault any one be removed from his Office yet he wants not the Sacrament of the Lord. Secondly because I find that the Church in prudence anciently did not suffer all Presbyters to Preach but onely such as were eminent for their Prudence Gravity Piety and Abilities Presbyters and Deacons saith Grotius in his Annot. upon S. Luke 10.1 did not all Preach but they alone quibus docendi populum potestas ab Episcopo facta est to whom the power of teaching the people was granted by the Bishop which Presbyters therefore he saith were called by Eusebius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Presbyters entrusted with the explication of the word of God Thirdly because I see in the ancient Church there were Presbyteri Monachi Presbyters Monks Presbyters in Monasteries which had no cure of souls St. Hierome in his Epistle ad Dammachium tells us of five Presbyters they had in the Monastery of Bethlehem on purpose to administer the Sacrament to devout people there Such a Presbyter was Saint Hierome himself who preached not officio vocis by Sermons but by writing and did as many others quiescere in monasterio Lastly because I know the Church of England hath ordained allowed imployed many Presbyters who were no Preachers In the beginning of the Reformation 't is well known we had many Presbyters that never preach'd at all Within this 50 or 60 years amongst ten Presbyters there was not one Preacher In our Cathedralls at this day there are divers Singing-men Presbyters no Preachers And Presbyters they must be by the rules and statutes of their respective Churches wherein they serve and attend the Quire But if Preaching be not essentiall to the order of a Presbyter what office or duty is incumbent on him in case he be not qualified or licensed to preach Gulielmus Lunicensis in his book before alledged enumerates divers branches of the Presbyters office besides Preaching
not only handle the Gospels read but refers to them as the subject he was obliged to treat on Audivimus Evangelium in eo c. Serm. 1. Sancti Evangelii capitulum quod modo cum legeretur audivimus valde me vexavit Serm. 4. De lectione Sancti Evangelii hortatus est nos Dominus Serm. 5. Happily the Gospels read then were not the same with ours read now in our second Service before the Communion 'T is certain that the use of Dominicâ—ls Epistles and Gospels for the day was very ancient Walafridus Strabo will have them as ancient as St. Jerom cap. 22. and not without some ground for St. Jerom himself does make mention of them in his Book against Vigilantius Per totas orientis Ecclesias quando legendum est Evangelium accenduntur luminaria jam sole rutilante non utique ad fugandas tenebras sed ad signum laetitiae demonstrandum In all the Churches of the East when the Gospel is read Candles are lighted not to drive away darkness but by this sign to testifie our joy By this 't is evident that in S. Hieroms time some Gospel was read and 't is probable some Gospel in the second Service at the Altar because there Candles were lighted and used Rabanus Maurus goes higher and saith they obtained from the beginning Sed enim initio mos iste cantandi non erat qui nunc in Ecclesia ante sacrificium celebratur sed Epistolae Pauli recitabantur sanctum Evangelium lib. 2. cap. 32. de Institut Cleric But that manner of singing which is now used before the celebration of the Eucharist was not from the beginning yet the Epistles of S. Paul and the Gospel were read The use of those Dominicals was very ancient no question and so was the Preaching upon them and it were a happy thing if Preachers as anciently were still confined unto them First to hold correspondency with the ancient Catholik Church whose example layes a moral obligation upon us of imitation in things lawful and laudable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. To hold Conformity with some eminent reformed Churches The Lutherans retain the custom of Preaching upon the Dominicals 3. To prevent wild Vagaries and Excursions when men are left to themselves 4. To acquaint the people with those parts of Scripture and the meaning of them which most concern their salvation For such singular wisdom is used in the Epistles and Gospels for the day that as the Gospel lays before them the mysteries of our Redemption so the Epistles all the Rules of holy life The Gospel is a Record of the Life and Death of our blessed Saviour the Epistles are Instructions for the edification of the Church in pious and Christian Conversation The Gospel represents unto us the prime Principles and Foundations of Christianity the Epistles contain Superstructures upon the Foundation And if those were duly and faithfully explained to the People the knowledge of them were sufficient to guide them in the way to Life Eternal and would prevent an horrible abuse of the Scriptures by peoples petulancy in meddling with Obscure Prophetical Apocalyptical parts of Scripture which they understand not and for want of understanding wrest to their own destruction A fourth Act of Prudence it was in the ancient Church That in order to the preservation of Peace and Piety they would not susser all men that were licensed to preach out of their own stock and abilities but required them to preach ex thesauro Ecclesiae out of the treasures of the Church All men that did preach did not undertake it of their own store of their own judgment and invention making and composing Sermons as they pleased but they borrowed out of the treasures of the Church and read the Homilies of the Fathers Thus it was ordered in the Council of Vase can 4. Power being granted to the Presbyters to preach in every City in case they were hindered by any infirmity the Deacons were enjoyned to read the Homilies of the Fathers Sanctorum Patrum Homiliae recitentur And the reason follows Si enim digni sunt Diaconi quae Christus in Evangelio locutus est legere quare indigni judicentur sanctorum Patrum expositiones publicè recitare If the Deacons be worthy to read the Gospel of Christ why should they be thought unworthy to rehearse publickly the Expositions of the Fathers And this gives us some ground of conjecture that the Presbyters read Homilies of the Fathers too for certainly not onely Deacons and Presbyters but even Bishops themselves did so Gennadius in his book de illustribus Ecclesiae scriptoribus testifieth that Cyril Bishop of Alexandria had written Homilies which many Fishops of Greece used afterwards Cyrillus saith he Alexandrinae Ecclesiae Episcopus Homilias composuit plurimas quae ad declamandum à Graecis Episcopis memoriae commendantur cap. 57. Sixtus Senens lib. 4. pag. 222. Cyril Bishop of Alexandria composed many Homilies which the Greek Bishops getting by heart preached unto the People This may haply seem a dishonourable thing to some men to be thus limited but if it may tend to the peace of the Church it ought not to be grievous How requisite some such Order is in this Church where so many are imployed in Preaching who through faction do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 make merchandise of the Word of God or through want of Learning turn Plagiaries and do vivere ex rapto preach Sermons in Print and oftentimes according to their prepossessions take the worst and leave the best is easie to discern For had they not better be appointed where they should borrow stuff for their weekly tasks be limited and confined to the Homilies of the Church and the Fathers of the Church than be suffered to rake into the kennels of Faction and Schism out of which they first suck poison themselves and then propine it to their hearers A fifth Act of Prudence in the ancient Church was A wise Accommodation of themselves to the capacity of their hearers avoiding in their Sermons the discussion of sublime and subtil Questions which conduced not to the Edification of their Auditory They generally distinguished betwixt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things to be published and things to be kept secret they did not think it meet to publish all the mysteries of Christianity to them who were not Initiati Initiate in the school of Christ as Heathens c. Neither did they judge it expedient to handle high and difficult Questions before the unskilful Multitude though Initiati Initiate in the school of Christ but condescended in their Sermons to the understanding of the Vulgar From hence it was that they called their Sermons Homilies An Homily is a familiar Sermon or Speech accommodated to the sense and understanding of the Vulgar It is a memorable and grave sentence of the Emperour Constantine recorded by Eusebius lib. 2. de vita Constant cap. 67. Such Questions as no Canon or Law
1 Pet. 2.25 The Second is that the authority and power necessary for the Government of his Church which was inherent in his own person during the oeconomie of his Humiliation he did before his Ascension delegate to his Apostles Inchoatively Iohn 20.21 22 23. fully and perfectly upon the day of Pentecost when by the descending of the holy Ghost upon them he endued them with power from above according to his promise Luke 24.49 Acts 1.8 But the particular delegation to this power of preaching we have in particular mentioned by it self Once Mat. 10.6 7. But this was limited to the lost sheep of the house of Israel The generall commission was given them Mat. 28.19 20. In which our Lord and Saviour impowereth them as Planters to preach the Gospel to unbelievers as Governours and Pastors to feed his flocks the Church If it be objected here That our Lord and Saviour granted a Commission to the Seventy to preach the Gospell as well as to the Apostles Luke 10.1 I grant it but withall answer That that was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 temporary of short duration and to expire at their return But this is of perpetual duration And that 's the third thing I would lay as a ground that the Apostolate is of perpetual duration though the Apostles taken divisim in their persons were to die shortly after yet taken conjunctim with their Successours as Abraham with his Posterity they are to continue to the Worlds end Though the Persons of the Apostles were mortal like other men yet the Office of the Apostolate was quoad ordinariam potestatem ever to continue in the Church This is evident First by Christs promise added by way of encouragement in their Commission Mat. 28. ult I am with you to the end of the World but he could not be with them in their persons to the end of the World and therefore though they failed in their persons yet the Apostolate must continue Secondly by matter of fact for when Judas by transgression fell Matthias by the eleven was chosen to the Apostleship in his room and it was thought in St. Peters judgment a thing necessary Acts 1.20 When James was slain Saul and Barnabas were called to the Apostolate And 't is very memorable what Clemens Romanus in his Epistle to the Corinthians avoucheth to this purpose Our Apostles saith he knew by the Lord Jesus Christ that there would be contention 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 about the name of Episcopacy and for this cause being endued with perfect prescience ordained the foresaid persons and afterwards made a Law or order that when they died other approved men should succeed in their Office and execute the Function Lastly by the testimony of St. Paul Ephes 4. ver 11 12 13. He gave some Apostles c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 till we all meet together and that could not be within the compass of that Generation wherein the twelve primary Apostles lived and therefore there were Secondary Apostles to follow them Lyra upon the place observes that those words till we all meet c. do denote the duration of that Office till Christs coming again to judgment All the question is now concerning the Persons who succeed in the Apostolate and we might supersede that enquiry if we would hearken to the unanimous suffrage and voice of Antiquity delivered to us by St. Jerome in his Epistle to Marcella against Montanus who he saith places the Bishops in the third place but apud nos Apostolorum locum tenent Episcopi with us Bishops hold the place of the Apostles Thus much is evident out of the Scripture it self that as the Apostolate is called by St. Luke a Bishoprick Acts 1.20 so afterwards Bishops were called Apostles which argues the identity of the Apostolate and Episcopacy St. Paul was none of the twelve yet called an Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. James Bishop of Jerusalem was none of the twelve 1 Cor. 15.5 7. yet called an Apostle Gal. 1.19 Epaphroditus was none of the twelve yet called an Apostle Phil. 2.25 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thus Timothy Titus Clemens and many others being Bishops are all called by the Ancients Apostles All which abundantly shews the identity of the ordinary power of the Apostleship and Episcopacy These things being premised it will be easie to determine to whom the Office of Preaching chiefly belongs namely to those who succeed in the Apostolate to them who are Secondary Apostles Bishops as will further appear by three things First because Bishops have the chief cure of all Souls in their Diocese all Presbyters entrusted with the cure of Souls are but their Curates and so were anciently called and so styled still in our Liturgy Send down upon our Bishops and Curates c. in the 40. Canon of the Apostles Presbyters and Deacons are forbidden to attempt any thing without the Bishop and the reason is added nam Domini populus ipsi commissus est pro animabus earum hie redditurus est rationem The Lords people is committed to him and for their Souls he must give an account This agrees with a Canon of St. Pauls Heb. 13.17 Obey them that have the rule over you for they watch for you Souls as they that must give an account Who are these Rulers whom the Apostle requires us to obey 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he speaks of Bishops saith Oecumenius Bishops then have the chief cure of Souls Secondly because they are concerned to see the Unity of the Church kept The chief end saith St. Jerom of Episcopacy was to obstruct the diffusion of Heresie and Schism Comment in Titum cap. 1. In toto orbe decretum est ut unus de Presbyteris electus superponeretur caeteris ut Schismatum semina tollerentur It was decreed in all the World that one being chosen out of the Presbyters should be set over the rest that the seeds of Schism should be taken away But how can Episcopacy be a deletory of Schism and Heresie if the Bishop have not the chief power of regulating the Pulpit and prescribing forms of wholsome Doctrine within which all shall be obliged to contain themselves without this 't is impossible to preserve either Peace or Truth in any Nation or Christianity it self which is made up of both these Thirdly by the Titles given them in the holy Scripture they are called Prophets not of prediction only but of ordinary Function Acts 13.1 they are called Doctors Ephes 4.11 they are called Pastors Pastor is the Bishops Title saith the Scholiast and therefore the Apostle does not distinguish them as he did the other He hath given some Pastors some Doctors but joyns them by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some Pastors and Doctors for certain the Title of Pastor remained peculiar to Bishops for many hundred years after Christ insomuch that the most Learned Bishop of Winchester does challenge Moulin to shew him where ever it was given to a Presbyter Eò ergo te revoco
a right understanding of them they begin to scuffle about them and quarrel one with another even to Daggers-drawing The other is the late Lord Bishop of Norwich Dr. Hall who in his Clerum to the Synod of Dort tells them that there was Duplex Theologia Scholastica Popularis haec teligionis basin spectare videtur illa tectorii formam ornamenta respicit hujus cognitio Christianum facit illa Disceptatorem There is a twofold Divinity one Scholastical another Popular Popular Divinity concerns the foundation of Religion Scholastical the superstructures and ornaments the knowledge of Popular Divinity makes a man a Christian of Scholastical a Disputant And having afterward sharply snibb'd the curiosity and presumption of common people for prying into Gods Decrees and discoursing of the manner of Predestination he adds Neque tam plebem incuso isthic quam Doctores ipsos qui hac tam parum tempestivè populi auribus animÃsque oggessenint Imprudenter sanè factum ita haec abstrusissima mysteria à suggestis palam sonuisse quasi in iis solis Christianorum res unica constitisset Neither do I accuse the People so much for this as the Teachers themselves who so unseasonably infused those things into the ears and minds of the People It is an high act of Imprudence certainly that those most abstruse Mysteries should be handled openly in the Pulpit as if the life and soul the substance of Christianity consisted in them alone And a little after he saith That there were two things very much infested the Batavian Churches Nimium acumen nimia prophetandi libertas Too much Curiosity and too great liberty of Prophesying I wish to God the Britannick Churches had not cause to complain of these evils also But if we look upon the present face of things or trace our late Confusions to the original we shall find that Liberty of Prophesying and Dogmatizing about Predestination hath had no small influence into our miseries Just cause then had His Sacred Majesty to set bounds to the Liberty of Prophesying and to prohibit the itch of Disputing or handling those high speculations of Gods Decrees in popular Sermons from which as from a source or fountain such waters of Marah and waters of Meribah of Contention have continually flowed And moreover to confine Preachers to Catechetical Doctrine more fit to edifie men in faith and holy life as the manner was in former times Lindwood tells us in lib. 1. de officio Archidiaconi That the Arch-deacon by his office was to see that every Presbyter who had a cure of souls should preach to his people the Articles of the Apostles Creed the Ten Commandments the Two Commandments of Love and against the Seven deadly Sins c. And if people would still content themselves with such salutary Doctrine and Ministers would confine themselves to such safe and profitable Divinity no doubt but truth and piety would flourish and abundance of peace so long as the Moon endureth The sixth and last act of prudence I shall mention was their constant and faithful preaching of obedience to all superiours in Church and State whereby they kept the people in an admirable subordination gained a huge repute to Christianity and prevailed much upon the gainsaying world For superiors in the Church they taught people to be subject to their Priests and both Priest and People to their Bishop and that with so much zeal and earnestness that t is wonderful to see how St. Ignatius a holy Martyr and a Father contemporary with some of the Apostles and one of those 500 that saw Christ in the flesh after his resurrection in his genuine Epistles does in every page almost inculcate this Doctrine of peoples Subjection to their Deacons Priests and Bishops And St. Hierom who when angred though touchy and something unequal to that superiour order yet when pacifick and undisturbed how gravely does he admonish his Friend Nepotian to be subject to his Bishop and to receive him as the parent of his soul seeing what Aaron and his Sons were in the time of the Law that the Bishop and his Priests are in the time of the Gospel For their superiors in the State they taught as St. Paul and St. Peter Christian people to be Subject to the higher powers for the Lords sake not onely when they were Christians but when they were Heathens Tyrants Persecutors of Christians And this they did when Christians were numerous and strong enough to have cast off the yoke of obedience if it had been lawful They condemn'd Rebellion not onely as inconsistent with Christianity but also destructive to the doctrine of the cross whereby it came to pass that instead of raising an army of Rebels against their Emperors they raised an holy army of Martyrs who resisted unto bloud striving against sin and by their bloud did sow the seeds of Christianity and conquer'd the Heathen World Their Doctrines to this purpose are collected by Hugo Grotius de jure belli lib. 1. cap. 4. I shall therefore supersede the trouble of presenting the Reader with those luculent testimonies and onely inferr from hence How much Ministers are beholding to His Sacred Majesty for calling them out of their by-paths and new wayes into the good old ways wherein the Apostles and Apostolical preachers walked in taking all occasions faithfully to instruct Christian people in their bounden duty of subjection and obedience to their governours superiour and subordinate of all sorts And how much Christianity it self owes to his Majesty for taking care that no fowle spots by the Antichristian Doctrines of rebellion should be cast upon the face of that beautiful Virgin CHAP. IV. What Innovations have been introduc'd in these latter times THe fourth and last part of my undertaking Is to exhibit a Scheme of some Innovations introduced concerning preaching It cannot be denyed but preaching hath arrived to as much perfection amongst us in this Church as in any Church of Christendome since the Knowlege of arts and tongues have flourished and artificial methods have been devised and these improved by srequent practise many have approved themselves excellent preachers But as time and chance happen to all things so they have done to this preaching By the lovers of novelty and change some accessions have been made to this practise which have much altered the face and complexion of it And though people discern them not when once made legitimate by general custom and observance yet surely as Tertullian quod primum verum and as St. Hierom sine istis mundus Christianus fuit The world was Christian without these for the space of 1500 years and so may be still It would be too long to enumerate all the Novelties of this kind that are insensibly crept in upon us and insist upon them at large As profanas as vocum novitates which St. Paul admonisheth us to avoid the affectation of new forms of words canting language c. The preaching sometimes half a year upon
vain oftentation of their Learning to embroil the Church and State And we have found it true by experience for as we read of a great King destroyed by the counsel of young men so we may remember a great and good King also destroyed by these young Divines and their young Divinity A third Innovation as I take it is the Preaching of Lecturers but by Lecturers I do not understand all that go under that name but such as are merely of the Peoples setting up against the mind and without the special License of the Governours of the Church These Lecturers are a new order of Ecclesiasticks that like Cartesius Philosophy are made up of rare Principles but all Novelties Their Ordination if they have any is a Novelty for 't is either by Presbyters sine Episcopo or by Bishops sine titulo If it be by Presbyters without a Bishop 't is a Novelty as being against Tradition Apostolical the Practice and Constitution of the ancient Church and of the universal Church for the space of 1500. years after Christ Ordination ever was the Bishops peculiar and all Ordinations without the Bishop were esteemed uncanonical and pronounced null and void Vide Concil Constantinop 1. can 6. If it be by Bishops without a Title 't is a Novelty too against a Canon of our own Churhc can 33. and against the Canons of the ancient Church Nullum absolutè ordinaridebere Presbyterum c. Concil Chalced. can 6. No Presbyter is absolutely to be ordained And I doubt such a Lecture of the peoples setting up will never prove a Title in Law nor in the Churches esteem and if it be not their Ordination is a Novelty and a Nullity also Their Congregation is a Novelty as being against the Doctrine Practice and Canons of the ancient Church too by which no Presbyter is suffered to hold Meetings or Conventions by himself contrary to the Bishops mind and order We find it very early in the Canons of the Apostles Si quis Presbyter contemnens Episcopum suum seorsim collegerit altare aliud erexerit nihil habens quod reprehendat Episcopum suum in causa pietat is justitiae deponatur quasi principatus amator existens est enim tyrannus caeteri clerici quicunque tali consentiunt deponantur laici verò segregentur Can. 32. If any Presbyter despising his Bishop shall hold a Meeting by himself and erect another Altar having nothing in the mean time to accuse the Bishop of in matter of piety and justice let him be deposed as one that loves Preeminence for he is a Tyrant and other Clergy-men that joyn with him are to be deposed and the Laicks excommunicate To this agrees a Canon of the Council of Carthage Si quis Presbyter ab Episcopo suo correptus tumore vel superbia inflatus putaverit separatim sacrificia Deo offerenda vel aliud erigendum altare centra eccle siasbicam fidem vel disciplinam crediderit non exeat impunitùs If any Presbyter being rebuked and censured by the Bishop shall in a separation offer sacrifice to God or erect another Altar against the Ecclesiastical Faith and Discipline let him not go unpunish'd But these Lecturers hold Conventions and Meetings in the Church without the Bishops License and against the Canons of the Church and all Ecclesiastical Discipline therefore their Congregation is a Novelty Their Election is a Novelty as being by the suffrage of the People onely though sometimes the Bishops anciently did consult the People before their Ordination ad testimonium for their testimony yet never ad electionem for their suffrage in the choice of them much less after Ordination did they leave it to the People to make choice of their own Curates but they themselves appointed and sent out fit men to their several Cures There are several Canons wherein the People are barr'd this liberty of Election in the ancient Church the 13. can of the Council of Laodicea may serve alone to give us a taste Non est populis concedendum Electionem facere corum qui altaris ministerio sunt applicandi It is not to be left to the people to make choice of those who are to serve at the altar But these Lecturers come in all by popular Election and maintain the peoples election an authentick Call and sufficient without any Mission or Commission from the Bishop and therefore their Election is a Novelty Their Maintenance is a Novelty as being Elemosinary of the peoples benevolence they live not upon any Church revenue of tithes or glebe or oblations but upon the peoples contributions Whereas the maintenance of the Clergy was ever of tithes or some Church revenue or before the settlement of tithes by secular powers certain honourable stipends distributed at the discretion of the Bishop according to the merits of the person weekly or monthly out of the Churches treasure whereupon Presbyters were call'd by St. Cyprian Sportulantes fratres Epist 66. and those stipends sportulae Epist 34. Caeterum Presbyterii honorem nos designasse illis jam sciatis â—t et sportulis eisdem cum Presbyteris honorentur But you may know we have designed the honour of the Presbyterate for them that they may be dignified with the same stipends Presbyters are As amongst the Romanes the word sportulae was used for a certain allowance of food or mony given by great men to their followers so in Saint Cyprian it signifies the allowance or stipends which the Bishop out of the Church treasure paid to the Priests that depended upon him For as the Churches treasure was solely at the Bishops disposing so the Clergy depended upon the Bishop for their maintainance out of that treasure And therefore t is provided in the 7 Can. of the Council of Gangres Siquis oblationes ecclesiae accipere vel dare voluerit praeter conscientiam Episcopi vel ejus cui hujusmodi officia commissa sunt nec cum ejus voluerit agere consilio Anathema sit That if any should presume to take or give the oblations of the Church without the knowledge or consent of the Bishop he should be Anathema whereby it appears that the Priests and other orders of the Clergy depended upon the Bishop for their maintenance But these Lecturers depend upon the people for their maintenance And therefore their maintenance is a novelty Their Doctrine is a novelty As they are the peoples creatures so they are the peoples servants and take great care to please them populo ut placerent quas fecissent fabulas and forasmuch as people are lovers of novelties they must be sure to bring new things to their ears daily It is not enough for them to preach novè after a new manner but they must preach nova and not bona nova but mala nova nay nova mala new Gods in Israel nova dogmata sunt novi dii saith Vineentius new opinions are new Gods And if these be not new opinions new doctrines That the government of the Church
obligation upon the Apostles of preaching under the pain of incurring Gods heavy displeasure as Act. 4.19 20. 1 Cor. 9.16 are of Personal concernment to the Apostles and to be understood of the prime promulgation of the Gospel to unbelievers and concern not us Presbyters unless we think our selves obliged by the Commission Christ gave his Apostles to go preach to the Americans and Indians The words Bishop and Presbyter are words of relation relating to the several Provinces and Flocks under their charge Though they have a duty incumbent on them of instructing them in Christianity yet not of preaching the Gospel to every creature as the Apostles had they have not those extraordinary enablements of Tongues and Miracles and immediate Inspiration simply necessary unto that work and whereby their Doctrine became Authentick and Divine as that the Faith of the Hearers was without further inquiry to be resolved into it as into a divine Revelation In which sense alone St. Pauls words are verifiable Rom. 10.14 17. Faith comes by Hearing and Hearing by the Word How shall they hear without a Preacher c. I desire to know what man dares the Pope excepted to whom some of his vain Flatterers presume to attribute Infallibility assume to preach in such a notion as to make his Doctrine that whereinto Auditorum sides ultimo resolvitur which if not then there is not par ratio nor par obligatio nor par potestas between us and the Apostles as to the strict notion and office of a Preacher in Scripture language But whatsoever the importance of the word is in the Gospel notion yet now the word Preaching is become a word of Art and is used to signifie that act of the Ministerial Function which consists of instructing Christians in their duty and in that sense from henceforward I shall take it and for the more distinct understanding of the thing make some little enquiry into the kindes of Preaching mentioned in the Gospel And first there we find a Preaching by Inspiration and a Preaching by Pains and Industry A preaching by Inspiration such as I now intimated Of this sort was the preaching of Christ and his Apostles and those who were endued with extraordinary gifts of Prophecying in the Apostles times They all spake with Tongues as the spirit gave them utterance they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taught of God It is not you that speake but the Spirit of my Father that speaketh in you And the Spirit speaking in them after their inauguration to their Apostleship and Ministry on the day of Pentecost gave St. Paul reason to call that their Ministry the Ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. Then there is a Scripture-preaching by Pains and Industry at least not without it altogether After this manner it seems Timothy preached and therefore is exhorted to give attendance to reading and to study to shew himself a workman c. Again there is a Preaching by Writing and a Preaching by Sermons one that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As Clem. Alexan. in lib. 1. stro The Apostles themselves did not Preach altogether by Sermons By writing of the Gospel they were Evangelists and did preach the Gospel to unbielevers by writing of their Epistles they did teach the Church and therefore Saint Paul doth call his Epistle to the Romanes his Gospel Rom. 2.16 Solomon was a famous Preacher yet we are not certain that he Preached otherwise then by writing The Prophets were Preachers too but they did not preach altogether by Sermons The Prophet Jeremy is commanded to write his Visions and Revelations imparted to him Chap. 30.2 Mr. Calvin saith in his Preface to Isaiah Prophet is mos fuit postquam justi sunt aliquid populo nunciare paucis summam rerum complecti valvis templi praefigere It was the manner of the Prophets when they were commanded to deelare any thing to the people to contract the summe of the matter in writing and fix it upon the doors of the Temple Lastly there is a Preaching in ones own person and a Preaching by Proxy A Preaching in ones own person Thus Christ himself Preached while he dwelt amongst us and thus the Apostles Preach'd where they came themselves Then there is a preaching by Proxy And thus Christ himself preach'd after his Ascension into Heaven Ephes 2.17 He came and preached peace unto you i. e. by his Apostles And thus the Apostles preached where they came not themselves by the Evangelists there substitutes From these kinds of preaching I shall deduce two or three Corollaries more and so conclude this part of my undertaking First That that frequency of preaching cannot be expected from us that was used by the Prophets and Apostles because they preach'd by inspiration we by pains and industry only Secondly That men may preach in a Gospel-notion and yet never make a Sermon in a vulgar Notion They may Preach by Writing and Preach by Proxy Preach by their Hand as well as by their Tongue See Dr. Holdsworth in praelect prima non procul ab Initio Thirdly That seeing our Preaching is not by immediate inspiration of the Spirit 't is infallible and subject to errour and therefore is ordinable by our Superiours and reducible to such directions and rules as most conduce to the promotion of Peace and Piety CHAP. II. To whom this Office of Preaching primarily belongs THe second thing I stand charged withal See Dr. Casaubon in his treatise of preaching pag. 1◠17. is to enquire and resolve to whom this office of preaching primarily belongs Forasmuch as 't is Gods will that nothing should be done in his service either rashly or disorderly Ubi etiam à quibus peragi vult ipse excelsissima sua voluntate definivit Clem. Rom. pag. 52. He hath defined by his most Heavenly will both in what place and by what persons he will have divine offices performed It stands us in hand then to know to whom this office belongs And the examination and resolution of this will open a fair way to the justification of many things in his Sacred Majesties late Directions But for the Indagation of this I must premise certain Principles and Maximes The first is that the foundation of all Authority is in Christ All Ecclesiasticall Authority or Authority to any Ecclesiasticall Office is in Christ originally in others but Derivately For as it was foretold That the Government should be upon his shoulders Isa 9.6 So that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and anointed him to preach glad tidings Isa 62.1 And this trust which his Father committed to him he discharged in his own person while he was upon the Earth He Preached the Gospel converted Sinners made Disciples Hence he is styled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Doctor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Shepheard and Bishop of our souls