of their revenues were taken away Bishops would not decline the great burthen and charge of soules necessarily annexed to their places as much as the ancient Bishops did who hid themselves that they might not be made Bishops and cut off their eares rather then they would bee made Bishops wheras now Bishops cut off the eares of those that speak against their Bishopricks How it comes to passe that in England there is such increase of Popery superstâ—tion Arminianisme and profanenesse more then in other reformed Churches Doth not the root of these disorders proceed from the Bishops anâ— their adherents being forced to hold correspondence with Rome to uphold their greatnesse and their Courts and Canons wherein they symbolize with Rome And whether it bee not to be feared that they will rather consent to the bringing in of Popery for the upholding of their dignities then part with their dignities for the upholding of Religion Why should England that is one of the chiefest Kingdomes in Europe that seperates from Antichrist maintaine and defend a discipline different from all other reformed Churches which stand in the like Separation And whether the continuance in this discipline will not at last bring us to communion with Rome from which wee are separated and to separation from the other reformed Churches unto which wee are united Whether it bee fit that the name Bishop which in Scripture is common to the Presbyters with the Bishops and not onely in in Scripture but also in Antiquitie for some hundreds of yeeres should still bee appropriated to Bishops and ingrossed by them and not rather to bee made common to all Presbyters and the rather because First we finde by wofull experience that the great Equivocation that lyeth in the name Bishop hath beene and is at this day a great prop pillar to uphold Lordly Prelacy for this is the great Goliah the master-peece and indeed the onely argument with which they thinke to silence all opposers To wit the antiquity of Episcopacie that it hath continued in the Church of Christ for 1500 yeeres c which argument is cited by this Remonstrant ad nauseam usque usque Now it is evident that this argument is a Paralogisme depending upon the Equivocation of the name Bishop For Bishops in the Apostles time were the same with Presbyters in name and office and so for a good while after And when afterwards they came to bee distinguished The Bishops of the primitive times differed as much from ours now as Rome ancient from Rome at this day as hath beene sufficiently declared in this Booke And the best way to confute this argument is by bringing in a Community of the Name Bishop to a Presbyter as well as to a Bishop Secondly because wee finde that the late Innovators which have so much disturbed the peace purity of our Church did first begin with the alteration of words and by changing the word Table into the word Altar and the word Minister into the word Priest and the word Sacrament into the word Sacrifice have endevoured to bring in the Popish Masse And the Apostle exhorts us 2 Tim. 1.13 To hold fast the forme of sound words and 1 Tim 6.20 to avoid the prophane novelties of words Upon which text we will onely mention what the Rhemists have commented which wee conceive to be worthy consideration Nam instruunt nos non solum docentes sed etiam errantes The Church of God hath alwayes been as diligent to resist novelties of words as her adversaries are busie to invent them for which cause shee will not have us communicate with them nor follow their fashions and phrase newly invented though in the nature of the words sometimes there bee no harme Let us keepe our forefathers words and wee shall easily keepe our old and true faith that wee had of the first Christians let them say Amendment Abstinence the Lords Supper the Communion Table Elders Ministers Superintendent Congregation so be it praise yee the Lord Morning Prayer Evening Prayer and the rest as they will Let us avoide those novelties of words according to the Apostles prescript and keepe the ole termes Penance Fast Priests Church Bishop Masse Matâ—in Evensong the B. Sacrament Altar Oblation Host Sacrifice Halleluja Amen Lent Palme-Sunday Christmasse and the words will bring us to the faith of our first Apostles and condemne these new Apostates new faith and phrase Whether having proved that God never set such a government in his Church as our Episcopall Government is wee may lawfully any longer be subject unto it bee present at their Courts obey their injunctions and especially bee instruments in publishing and executing their Excommunications and Absolutions And thus we have given as wee hope a sufficient answer and as briefe as the matter would permit to The Remonstrant With whom though we agree not in opinion touching Episcopacie and Liturgie yet we fully consent with him to pray unto Almighty God Who is great in power and infinite in wisdome to powre downe upon the whole Honourabe Assembly the Spirit of wisdome and understanding the spirit of Councell and might the spirit of knowledge and of the feare of the Lord. That you may be able to discerne betwixt things that differ separate betweene the precious and the vile purely purge away our drosse and take away all our tinne root out every plant that is not of our heavenly Fathers planting That so you may raise up the foundations of many generations and be called The Repairers of breaches and Restorers of paths to dwell in Even so Amen FINIS A POSTSCRIPT THough we might have added much light and beauty to our Discourse by inserting variety of Histories upon severall occasions given us in the Remonstrance the answer whereof wee have undertaken especially where it speaks of the bounty and gracious Munificence of Religious Princes toward the Bishops yet unwilling to break the thread of our discourse and its connexion with the Remonstrance by so large a digression as the whole series of History producible to our purpose would extend unto Wee have chosen rather to subjoyne by way of appendix an historicall Narration of those bitter fruits Pride Rebellion Treason Vnthankefulnes c. which have issued from Episcopacy while it hath stood under the continued influences of Soveraigne goodnesse Which Narration would fill a volume but we wil bound our selves unto the Stories of this Kingdome and that revolution of time which hath passed over us since the erection of the Sea of Canterbury And because in most things the beginning is observed to be a presage of that which followes let their Founder Austin the Monk come first to be considered Whom wee may justly account to have beene such to the English as the Arrian Bishops were of old to the Goths and the Jesuits now among the Indians who of Pagans have made but Arrians and Papists His ignorance in the Gospell which he preached is seene in his idle
he pleads not a few that have called them Traitors rather then Martyrs and Dâ—formers rather then Reformers of our Religion His other Argument for the Liturgie is taken from that supply of strength it hath received from the recommendation of foure most Religious Princes your own Parliamentary establishments and more especially from the Proclamation of King Iames of famous memory the validity of which plea your Honors are best able to judge and therefore we leave it at your Bar yet these two things we know first that this form was never established to be so punctually observed so rigorously pressed to the casting out of all that scruple it or any thing in it as many of his Majesties Subjects now doe to the almost justling out of the preaching of the Word and Conceived Prayer altogether And secondly as sure we are that your Honors thinke neither your own Lawes nor the Proclamation of that most famous and ever admired Prince to be as unalterable as the Lawes of the Medes and Persians And now having briefly shewed that Liturgies are not of that antiquity that this Remonstrant pretends but that conceived prayer was in use in the Church of God before Liturgies and is iustified from their own mouthes and not to be found fault with by any but a gracelesse man and having likewise shewed that our Liturgie was taken out of Models not only Christian but Romane and hath since the first compiling of it suffered alteration to the worse and though established by Law and confirmed by Proclamation was never intended to the justling ouâ— either of preaching or conceived prayer these things declared we humbly crave your Honors leave to propound these two Queries QUERE I. Whether it be not fit to consider of the alteration of the present Liturgie First because it symbolizeth so much with the Popish Masse as that the Pope himselfe was willing to have it used if he might but confirme it It was made and composed into this frame on purpose to bring the Papists to our Churches which we finde to be with so little successe as that it hath rather brought many of us to them then any of them to us and hath lost many of ours from us Because many things therein contained are stumbling blocks before the feet of many such as these the clogging it with Ceremonies and the often and impertinent reiterating of the Lords Prayer the ill translation of the Psalmes and other Scriptures the many phrases in the very prayers which are liable to just exception And whereas the Minister by the Scripture is the peoples mouth to God this booke prescribes Responsories to bee said by the people some of which are unsutable to what the Minister pronounceth some of them seeme to savour of Tautologie some are made to be so essentiall to the prayer as that all which the Minister saith is no prayer without them as in the Letany Because it is so much Idolized as that it is accounted the only worship of God in England and is now made the upholder of a non-preaching Ministery and is cryed up to that height as that some are not ashamed to say that the wit of men and Angels cannot mend it and that it is a sufficient discharge of the Ministers duty to reade this Booke There are such multitudes of people that distaste this booke that unlesse it be altered there is no hope of any mutuall agreement between Gods Ministers and their people There is such a vaste difference betweene it and the Liturgies of all other reformed Churches as that it keepes them at a distance from us and us from full Communion with them QUERE II. Whether the first reformers of Religion did ever intend the use of a Liturgie further then to be an help in the want or to the weaknesse of a Minister All other reformed Churches though they use Liturgies yet doe not binde their Ministers to the use of them A Rubrick in King Edwards booke left it unto the discretion of the Minister what and how much to reade when there was a Sermon The Homilies which are appointed to be read are left free either to be read or not by preaching Ministers and why not then the Liturgie especially considering that the ability to offer up the peoples wants to God in prayer is part of the Ministeriall office as well as preaching And if it can be thought no lesse than sacriledge to rob the people of the Ministers gift in preaching and to tie them to Homilies it can be no lesse to deprive them of their gift in prayer The ground of the first binding of it upon all to use was not to tie godly men from exercising their gift in prayer but the old popish Priests that by a seeming returne to our Religion did through indulgence retaine their places from returning to the old Masâ—e That which makes many refuse to be present at our Church service is not only the Liturgie it selfe but the imposing of it upon Ministers And we finde no way to recover our people to a stinted prayer but by leaving it free to use or not to use If it be objected that this will breed divisions and disturbances in Churches unlesse there be a uniformity and that there are many unable It hath not bred any disturbance in other reformed Churches Why should the free liberty of using or not using a Liturgie breed more confusion than the free liberty of reading or not reading Homilies especially when Ministers shall tâ—ach people not to condemne one another in things indifferent If there be a care taken in those that have the power to make Ministers to choose men gifted as well for prayer as preaching there cannot be conceived how any inconvenience should follow Or if afterwards it should appeare that any Minister should prove insufficient to discharge the duty of prayer in a conceived way it may bee imposed on him as a punishment to use set formes and no other But why any Minister that hath the gift of prayer in an abundant measure as well as of preaching should be hindered from exercising his gift well because another useth it ill is a new Divinity never heard of in Gods Church till Bishop Wrens daies who forbad all use of conceived prayer in the Church SECT III. VVE come now with your Honours favour to the second point disputed in this Remonstrance Episcopacy it selfe against which whatsoever hath been either spoken or written by any either learned Divines or well reformed Churches as his conscience knowes there are of both that have writ against it is Taxed by him as no other then the uniust Clamors either of weak or factious persons Sure the man thinkes he hath obtained a Monopoly of learning and all Knowledge is lockt up in his bosome and not oâ—ly Knowledge but piety and peaceableness too for all that are not of his opinion must suffer either as weake or factious if he may be their Iudge We know
that there is a God is it not more certain that Christ is God and man is it not more certaine that Christ is the onely Saviour of the world Nothing more certaine must this then be an Article of our Creede the corner stone of our Religion must this be of necessity to Salvation Nothing more certaine O that men should not onely forget themselves but God also And in their zeale for their owne Honour utter words bordering upon Blasphemy Indignation will not suffer us to prosecute these falsities of his any further wee will leave this displeasing service onely retorting the words of this Remonstrant upon himselfe Surely could he looke with our eyes or any eyes that were not partiall he would see cause to bee throughly ashamed of these his grosse injurious miscarriages and should be forced to confesse that never good cause if cause be good had more reason to complaine of a sinfull prosecution SECT IV. VVE will now come with your Honours patience to weigh whether there be any more strength in his arguments then there is truth in his assertionâ— His Plea for Episcopacy consists of two parts In the â—irst he brings arguments for the supporting of it In the second he undertakes to answer the objections that may be made against it His first argument for it is couched in these words Were this Ordinance merely humane or Ecclesiasticall if there could no more be said for it but that it is exceeding Ancient of more then 15 hundred yeeres c. The strength of which argument lies in this that they have beene in peaceable possession of this government fifteene hundred yeares and upwards and in this Island ever since the Gospell without contradiction In which words he speakes two things which deserve just censure First that the Hierarchicall Government hath continued for fifteene hundred yeares therefore should not now be altered which may well be called as Hierome in another Case ArgumentuÌ„ Galeatum an argument calculated for the Meridian of Episcopacy and may indifferently serve for all Religions in the world For thus the Iewes might have pleaded against Christ the Antiquity of more then so many hundred years and thus the Heathens did plead against the Christian Religion which Iustin Martyr in his Apology answers And by this Argument the Pope sits as fast rivetted in his chayre at Rome as ours in theirs whose plea for Antiquity runs parallell with theirs It is a good observation of Cyprian that Christ said Ego sum via veritas vita not Ego sum consuetudo and that Consuetudo sine veritate est vetustas erroris Christ is Truth and not Custome and Custome without Truth is a mouldy errour and as Sir Francis Bacon saith Antiquity without Truth is a Cypher without a Figure Yet had this Remonstrant been as well versed in Antiquity as he would beare the world in hand he hath hee might have found Learned Ancients affirming there was a Time when the Church was not governed by Bishops but by Presbyters And when by Bishops he might further have seene more affinity betweene our Bishops and the Pope of Rome then betweene the Primitive Bishops and them And that as King Iames of famous memory said of the Religion of England that it differed no more from Rome than Rome did from what it was at first may as truly be said of Bishops that we differ no more from them then they doe from what Bishops were when first they were raised unto this eminency which difference we shall shew in our ensuing Discourse to be so great that as he said of Rome he did Romam in Roma quaerere he sought Rome in Rome so we Episcopatum in Episcopatu may go seek for a Bishop among all our Bishops And whereas in his application of this Argument to the Bishops of this Nation he saith It hath continued in this Island ever since the first plantation of the Gospel without contradiction which is his Second in this Argument How false this is we have declared already and we all know and himselfe cannot but know that there is no one thing since the reformation that hath met with so much Contradiction as Episcopacy hath done witness the severall Bookes written in the Reignes of our severall Princes and the many Petitions exhibited to our severall Parliaments and the many speeches made therein against Episcopall Government many of which are yet extant As for that supply of Accessory strength which he begs to this Argument from the light of nature and the rules of iust policy which saith he teacheth us not easily to give way to the change of those things which long use and many Lawes have firmly established as Necessary and Beneficiall it is evident that those things which to former Ages have seemed Necessary and Beneficiall may to succeeding Generations prove not Necessary but Noxious not Beneficiall but Burthensome And then the same light of nature and the same iust policy that did at the first command the establishment of them may and will perswade their abolishment if not either our Parliaments must never Repeale any of their former Acts which yet they have justly and wisely done or else in so doing must run Counter to the light of nature and the Rules of iust policy which to think were an impiety to be punished by the Iudge SECT V. THe Second Argument for the defence of Episcopall government is from the Pedigree of this holy Calling which he derives from no lesse than an Apostolicall and in that right divine institution and assayes to prove it from the practice of the Apostles and as he saith the cleare practice of their Successors continued in Christs Church to this very day and to this Argument he so much confides that he concludes it with this Triumphant Epiphonema What scruple can remain in any ingenuous heart And determines if any continue yet unsatisfied it is in despight of reason and all evidence of History and because he wilfully shuts his eyes with a purpose not to see the light Bona verba By your favour Sir we will tell you notwithstanding the supposed strength of your argumentation there is one scruple yet remaining and if you would know upon what ground it is this because we finde in Scripture which by your own Confession is Originall Authority that Bishops and Presbyters were Originally the same though afterwards they came to be distinguished and in processe of time Episcopacy did swallow up all the honor and power of the Presbytery as Pharaohs lean Kine did the fat Their Identity is discernable first from the same names given unto both secondly from the same office designed unto both in Scripture As for the names are not the same names given unto both in sacred Writ Let the fifth sixth and seventh verses of the first Chapter to Titus testifie in the fifth verse the Apostle shews that he left Titus in Creet to ordaine Elders in every City in the
but this is but a blind wherewith the Bishop would Dorre his Reader for wee challenge any man to produce the names of any Clergie-man that was Vicar to Ambrose or Chancellour to Augustine or any other of the Bishops of these times so that herein our Bishops and theirs are TWO SECT XI A Third branch wherein the difference betweene our Bishops and the Bishops of former times inpoint of Exercising their Jurisdiction is visible is the way or manner of exercising that power For brevities sake we will onely instance in their proceedings in Causes Criminall where let them tell us whether any good Antiquity can yeeld them one President for THEIR OATH EX OFFICIO which hath been to their COURTS as Purgatory fire to the Popes Kitchin they have forgotten that old Maxime in the Civill Law Nemo tenetur prodere seipsum which as it is grounded upon naturall equity so it is confirmed by a Law enacted by Dioclesian and Maximilian Nimis grave est quod petitis c. It is too grievous that the adverse part should be required to the exhibition of such things as should create trouble to themselves Vnderstand therefore that you ought to bring proofes of your intentions and not to extort them from your adversaries against themselves Shall the Lamp of Nature in the night of Ethnicisme enable Heathen Princes yea Persecutors to see and enact thus much and shall not the glorious Sunne of the Gospell convince these of their iniquities in transgressing this Law that call themselves the Fathers of the Church If neither the light of Nature nor Gospell light can yet the Custome of the Church to which they so oft appeale may both convince them of this iniquitie and discover to all the world the contrarietie of their proceedings to the proceedings of former times in this particular For of Old both the Plaintiffe and Defendant were brought face to face before the parties in whose power it was to judge which way of proceeding Athanasius affirmes to be according to Scripture the Law of God And because those that condemned Macarius did not thus proceed he condemnes their Sentence as malicious and unjust Of old no Sentence passed against any man but upon the Testimony of other witnesses besides the Accusers after Complaint exhibited the first thing they applyed themselves to was to consider the person and qualitâ—e of the Accuser Concilâ— prim Constant. Can. 6 Then they heard the Witnesses who were two at least Can. Apost Can. 75. And these witnesses must be such as might not be imagined to be partiall nor to beare enmity nor malice against the party accused Ambros. Epist. 64. so Gratian Caus. 3. quae 5. cap. Quod suspecti Of old None might be party witnesse and Iudge which Gratian proves at large Caus. 4. qu 4. cap. Nullus unquam praesumat accusator simul esse Iudex testis We grant indeed the Canon Law permits in some cases Tryall without witnesses Si crimen ita publicum est ut meritò debeat appellari notorium If the crime be so publique that it may deservedly be called Notorious Which Law further determines what is notorious saâ—ing Offensam illam nos intelligimus manifestam quae vel per confessionem vel probationem legitime nota fuerit aut evidentiâ Rei quae nulla possit tergiversatione celari We count that offence manifest which either by confession or by lawfull proofe comes to be knowne or by evidence of fact so as it can be hid by no tergiversations So that all was done in former times with mature deliberation upon examination and evidence produced and proved by such witnesses as against whom the dâ—fendant could lay in no just exception And not as now an accusation whispered against a man he knowes not by whom to which he must take his Oath to answer before he knowes what his accusation is Which Oath if he takes without further witnesse he is censured upon the witnesâ—e of his owne Oath If he takes it not he is sent presently to prison there to lie without Bayle or Mainprize till the insupportable miseries of his long durance compel him to take an Oath against Nature Scripture Conscience and the just Defence of his owne innocencie That our Bishops therefore and former Bishops are Two in the point of executing their Judicatory power we need spend no more time to prove But come to the third thing in which the difference betweene ours and former Bishops is to be evidenced SECT XII ANd that is State Imployment or attendance upon Civill and Secular affaires c. which both Christ and Saint Paul prohibits which prohibition reacheth every Bishop to speake in Chrysostomes words as well as Timothy to whom it is directed Nullus ergo Episcopatu praeditus haec audire detrectet sed agere ea omnia detrectet Let no man that is a Bishop refuse to heare what the Apostle saith but to doe what the Apostle forbids We deny not but that Bishops were in the Primitive times often incumbred with secular businesse but these were put upon them sometimes by Emperours who sought the ruine of the Church as Iulian of whom Niceph lib. 10. cap. 13. doth report that in Clerum coaptatos Senatorum munere ministerio perversè fungi jussit Sometimes the gracious disposition of Princes towards Christian Religion made them thus to honour Bishops thinking thereby to advance Religion as Constantine the Great enacted that such as were to be tryed before Civill Magisâ—rates might have leave to appeale ad Iudicium Episcoporum atque eorum sententiani ratam esse tanquam ab ipso Imperatore prolatam And this the Historian reckoneth as one argument of his reverend respect to Religion Sometimes the excellency of their singular parts cast Civill dignities upon them Tiberius granted a Questors dignitie unto a Bishop for his eloquence Chrysostome for his notable stoutnesse and freedome of speech was sent as the fittest man to Gainas with the Emperours command Sometimes the people observing the Bishops to be much honoured by the Emperour would sollicite them to present their grievances to the Emperour And sometimes the aspiring humour of the Bishops raised them to such places as appeares by Cyrill who was the first Bishop in Alexandria who had civill dignities conferred upon him as Socrates relates it from whom Civill authority did descend upon succeeding Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of whom Nicephorus therefore recorded Episcopatum majoricum fastu prophanorum Magistratuum more quam praedecessores ejus Episcopi ingressus est unde adeo initium sumptum est in Ecclesia Alexandrina ut Episcopietiam profana negotia curarent He entred upon his Episcopacie with more pomp then his predecessors with a pomp conformable to the Heathen Magistrates Both these Historians relate the sad consequence that followed upon this that Orestes the Roman Governour seeing his power much weakned by the Bishops interposing in secular affaires
the French Church who in their Confession speake thus Credimus veram Ecclesiam gubernari debere ea politia quam Dominus noster Iesus Christus sancivit ita videlicet ut sint in ea Pastores Presbyteri sive Seniores Diaconi ut doctrinae puritas retineatur c. Ar. 29. Credimus omnes Pastores ubicunque collocati sunt cádem aequali potestate inter se esse praeditos sub uno illo capite summoque solo universali Episcopo Iesu Christo Art 30. Gallicae confessionis Credimus veram hanc Ecclesiam debere regi ac gubernari spirituali illâ politiâ quam nos Deus ipse in verbo suo edocuit it a ut sint in ea Pastores ac ministri qui pure concionentur Sacramenta administrent sint quoque Seniores Diaconi qui Ecclesiae senatum constituant ut his veluti mediis vera Râ—ligio conservari Hominesque vitiis dediti spiritualiter corripi emendari possint Tunc enim ritè ordinate omnia siunt in Ecclesia cum viri fidâ—les pii ad ejus gubernationem deliguÌ„tur juxta Divi Pauli praescriptum 1 Tim. 3. Confes. Belgic Art 30. Caeterum ubicunque locorum sunt verbi Dei Ministri eandem atque aequalem Omnes habent tum Potestatem tum AUTHORITATEM ut qui sunt aeque Omnes Christi unici illius universalis Episcopi capitis Ecclesiae Ministri We beleeve that the true Church ought to be governed by that policie which Christ Jesus our Lord established viz. that there bee Pastors Presbyters or Elders and Deacons And againe Wee beleeve that all true Pastors where ever they be are endued with equall and the same power under one chiefe Head and bishop Christ Jesus Consonant to this the Dutch Churches We beleeve say they the true Church ought to be ruled with that spirituall policie which God hath taught us in his Word to wit that there bee in it Pastours to preach the Word purely Elders and Deacons to constitute the Ecclesiasticall Senate that by these meanes Religion may be preserved and manners corrected And so again We beleeve where ever the Ministers of God are placed they All have the same equall power and authoritie as being All equally the Ministers of Christ. In which harmony of these Confessions see how both Churches agree in these five points First That there is in the Word of God an exact forme of Governement set downe Deus in verbo suo edocuit Secondly That this forme of Governement Christ established in his Church Iesus Christus in Ecclesiâ sancivit Thirdly That this forme of Government is by Pastors Elders and Deacons Fourthly That the true Church of Christ ought to be thus governed Veram Ecclesiam debere regi Fifthly That all true Ministers of the Gospell are of equall power and Authority For the reason he assignes why those Churches should make this Option wee cannot enough admire that such a passage should fall from his pen as to say there is Little difference betweene their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and our Episcopacie save onely in perpetuity and lay Elders for who knowes not that between these two there is as vast a difference as between the Duke of Venice and an absolute Monarch For 1. the Moderator in Geneva is not of a superiour order to his Brethren nor 2. hath an ordination differing from them nor 3. assumes power of sole Ordination or Jurisdiction nor hath he 4. maintenance for that office above his Brethren nor 5. a Negative voyce in what is agreed by the rest nor 6. any further power then any of his Brethren So that the difference betweene our Bishops and their Moderators is more then Little But if it be so little as this Remonstrant here pretends then the Alteration and Abrogation of Episcopacie will be with the lesse difficultie and occasion the lesse disturbance SECT XV. BUt there is another thing wherein our Episcopacie differs from the Geneva Moderatorship besides the perpetuity and that is the exclusion of the Lay Presbytery which if we may beleeve this Remonstrant never till this age had footing in the Christian Church In which assertion this Remonstrant concludes so fully with Bishop Halls Irrefragable Propositions and his other book of Episcopacie by divine right as if he had conspired to sweare to what the Bishop had said Now though we will not enter the Lists with a man of that learning and fame that Bishop Hall is yet we dare tell this Remonstrant that this his assertion hath no more truth in it then the rest that wee have alreadie noted Wee will to avoyd prolixity not urge those three knowne Texts of Scripture produced by some for the establishing of Governing Elders in the Church not yet vindicated by the adversaries Nor will wee urge that famous Text of Ambrose in 1 Tim. 5. But if there were no Lay Elders in the Church till this present age wee would be glad to learne who they were of whom Origen speakes when he tels us it was the Custome of Christian Teachers first to examine such as desired to heare them of whom there were two orders the first were Catechumeni or beginners the other was of such as were more perfect among whom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 câ— Nonnulli praepositi sunt quì in vitam mores eorum qui admittuntur inquirant ut qui turpia committant iis communi Caetu Interdicant qui vero ab istis abhorrent ex anima complexi meliores quotidiè reddant There are some ordained to enquire into the life and manners of such as are admitted into the Church that they may banish such from the publique Assembly that perpetrate scandalous Acts which place tells us plainely First that there were some in the higher forme of heares not Teachers who were Censores morum over the rest Secondly that they were designed or constituted to this work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thirdly that they had such Authority instrusted into their hands as that they might interdict such as were scandalous from the publique Assemblies We would gladly know whether these were not as it were Lay Elders That there were such in the Church distinguished from others that were called to teach appeares Augustine writing to his Charge directs his Epistle Dilectissimis fratribus clero senioribus universae Plebi Ecclesiae Hipponensis where first there is the generall compellation Fratribus Brethren then there is a distribution of these Brethren into the Clergie the Elders and the whole People so that there were in that Church Elders distinguished both from the Clergie and the rest of the People So againe Contra Cresconium Grammaticum Omnes vos Episcopi Presbyteri Diaconi Seniores scitis All you Bishops Elders Deacons and Elders doe know What were those two sorts of Elders there mentioned in one comma ibidem cap. 56. Peregrinus Presbyter seniores Ecclesiae Musticanae Regiones tale desiderium prosequuntur where
to be thunder-stricken at this Question and cals the very Question a new Divinity where he deales like such as holding great revenues by unjust Titles will not suffer their Titles to be called in Question For it is apparent Ac si solaribus radiis descriptum esset to use Tertullians phrase that the word Church is an Equivocall word and hath as many severall acceptions as letters and that Dolus latet in universalibus And that by the Church of England first by some of these men is meant onely the Bishops or rather the two Archbishops or more properly the Archbishop of Canterbury Just as the Iesuited Papists resolve the Church and all the glorious Titles of it into the Pope so do these into the Archbishop or at fullest they understand it of the Bishops and their party met in Convocation as the more ingenuous of the Papists make the Pope and his Cardinals to be their Church thus excluding all the Christian people and Presbyters of the Kingdome as not worthy to be reckoned in the number of the Church And which is more strange this Author in his Simplicitie as he truly saith never heard nor thought of any more Churches of England then one and what then shal become of his Diocesan Churches and Diocesan Bishops And what shall wee think of England when it was an Heptarchy had it not then seven Churches when seven Kings Or if the Bounds of a Kingdome must constitute the Limits and Bounds of a Church why are not England Scotland and Ireland all one Church when they are happily united under one gracious Monarch into one Kingdome Wee reade in Scripture of the Churches of Iudea and the Churches of Galatia and why not the Churches of England not that we denie the Consociation or Combination of Churches into a Provinciall or Nationall Synod for the right ordering of them But that there should be no Church in England but a Nationall Church this is that which this Author in his simplicity affirmes of which the very rehearsall is a refutation SECT XVIII THere are yet two things with which this Remonstrance shuts up it selfe which must not be past without our Obeliskes First he scoffes at the Antiprelaticall Church and the Antiprelaticall Divisions â— for our parts we acknowledge no Antiprelaticall Church But there are a company of men in the Kingdome of no meane ranke or quality for Piety Nobility Learning that stand up to beare witnesse against the Hierarchie as it now stands their usurpations over Gods Church and Ministers their cruell using of Gods people by their tyrannicall Governement this we acknowledge and if hee call these the Antiprelaticall Church we doubt not but your Honours wil consider that there are many Thousands in this Kingdome and those pious and worthy persons that thus doe and upon most just cause It was a speech of Erasinus of Luther Vt quisque vir est optimus ita illius Scriptis minimè offendi The better any man was the lesse offence he tooke at Luthers writings but we may say the contrary of the Prelates Vt quisque vir est optimus ita illorum factis magis offendi The better any man is the more he is offended at their dealings And all that can be objected against this party will be like that in Tertullian Bonus vir Cajus Sejus sed malus tantum quia Antiprelaticus But he upbraides us with our Divisions and Subdivisions and so doe the Papists upbraid the Protestants with their Lutheranisme Calvinisme and Zuinglianisme And this is that the Heathens objected to the Christians their Fractures were so many they knew not which Religion to chuse if they should turn Christians And can it be expected that the Church in any age should be free froÌ„ divisions when the times of the Apostles were not free and the Apostle tells us it must needs be that there be divisions in Greg. Naz. dayes there were 600 Errours in the Church doe these any wayes derogate from the truth and worth of Christian Religion But as for the Divisions of the Antiprelaticall party so odiously exaggerated by this Remonstrant Let us assure your Honours they have beene much fomented by the Prelates whose practâ—se hath beene according to that rule of Machiavill Divide Impera and they have made these divisions and afterwards complained of that which their Tyranny and Policie hath made It is no wonder considering the pathes our Prelates have trod that there are Divisions in the Nation The wonder is our Divisions are no more no greater and wee doubt not but if they were of that gracious spirit and so intirely affected to the peace of the Church as Greg. Naz. was they would say as he did in the tumults of the people Mitte nos in mare non erit tempestas rather then they would hinder that sweet Conâ—ordance and conspiration of minde unto a Governement that shall be every way agreeable to the rule of Gods word and proâ—itable for the edification and flourishing of the Church A second thing wee cannot but take notice of is the pains this Author takes to advance his Prelaticall Church and forgetting what he had said in the beginning that their party was so numerous it could not be summed tells us now these severall thousands are punctually calculated But we doubt not but your Honours will consider that there may be mulâ—i homines pauci viri And that there are more against them then for them And whereas they pretend that they differ from us onely in a Ceremony or an Organ pipe which however is no contemptible difference yet it will appeare that our differences are in point of a superiour Alloy Though this Remonstrant braves it in his multiplyed Quere's What are the bounds of this Church what the distinction of the professours and Religion what grounds of faith what new Creed doe they hold different from their Neighbours what Scriptures what Baptisme what meanes of Salvation other then the rest yet if hee pleased hee might have silenced his owne Queres but if hee will needs put us to the answer wee will resolve them one by one First if he ask what are the bounds of this Church we answer him out of the sixt of their late founded Canons where we find the limits of this Prelaticall Church extend as farre as from the high and lofty Promontory of Archbishops to the Terra incognita of an c. If what Distinction of professors and Religion we answer their worshipping towards the East and bowing towards the Altar prostrating themselves in their approaches into Churches placing all Religion in outward formalities are visible differences of these professours and their Religion If what new Creed they have or what grounds of Faith differing from their Neighbours we answer Episcopacy by divine right is the first Article of their Creed Absolute and blinde obedience to all the commandements of the Church that is the Bishop and his Emissaries election upon faith