Vniformity Examined Whether it be found in the GOSPEL OR IN THE PRACTICE OF THE CHURCHES of CHRIST By WIL DELL Minister of the Gospel 2 COR. 4. 13. We having the same spirit of faith according as it is written I beleeved and therefore have I spoken wee also beleeve and therefore speake Published according to Order LONDON Printed by J. COE for HENRY OVERTON in Popes Head Alley 1646. Vniformity Examined OBserving that our Brethren of Scotland together with the Assembly of Divines and the rest of the Preshyterian judgement do often both in their discourse and writings exceedingly presse for Vniformity I have been urged in my spirit to think upon the matter and to consider whether there could be any such thing found in the word of the New Testament or in the practice of the Churches of Christ And for my part I ingenuously professe I cannot yet discover it and would be glad if any would instruct me further in this particular so he do it from the Word Now Vniformity what is it but an unity of form and the form they mean no doubt is outward for the inward form as it cannot be known by the outward senses so neither can it be accomplished by outward power And therefore till I know their meaning better I conceive that by uniformity they understand an unity of outward form in the Churches of God yea some of them do declate so much calling the thing they would have Externall uniformity Now such a thing as this after so much meditation and recollection as my other imployments and the many distractions that necessarily attend my present condition will permit me I cannot discern in the word of the Gospell For Christ speaking of the Church of the New Testoment saith Iohn 4 23. The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and Truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a Spirit and and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and Truth In which words it is most evident that the worship of God in the time of the New Testament is inward and spirituall consisting in faith hope love and prayer the opâ—ration of the three former c. And so is so far from Vniformity as hath been explicated and as they understand it that it is not at all capable of it And therefore I cannot but wonder at the strange workings of darknesse in the mindes of men who would have an externall Vniformity in a worship that is inward and spirituall and of which the outward form is no part at all but is meerly accidentall and so absolutely various Again as I finde not this Uniformity in the doctrine of the Gospel so neither in the practice of the Saints who had the spirit of the Gospel as that practice is represented to us in the Word In Acts 1. 14. I read how the Apostles being together with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus his brethren continued with one accord in prayer and supplication and Acts 2. v. 44. 46. how all that believed were together and continued daily with one accord in the Temple and did break bread from house to house c. And in all this there was Unity but no externall Vniformity neither name nor thing Again Acts 4. 23. Peter and Iohn being let go by the Magistrates went to their own company which many of our Clergy would term a Conventicle and reported all that the chief Priests and Elders had said to them and when they heard it they lift up their voice to God {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} with one accord and prayed Here was inward Unity in faith and love and joy and spirituall prayer bur no externall Uniformity and vers. 32. The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul Unity still but nothing of externall uniformity Further we read Acts chap. 7. and chap. 8. that Stephen and Philip who by the Church were ordained Deacons and were to serve only for the Ministery of the Table yet by vertue of the anointing preached the word of God freely and powerfully and how all the Members of the Church of Ierusalem who were neither Ministers nor Deacons being scattered abroad by persecution went preaching the Word every where where they came in that case of necessity the unction of the Spirit of which all believers partake alike being one fundamentall ground of such Ministery where there are no Believers to call to the Office and in all this though there was unity of faith spirit and doctrine yet I am sure they will say there was no such uniformity as they would have Again Acts 20. Paul the first day of the Week preached to the Disciples of Macedonia from the Evening till Midnight which Dr. Pocklington in a printed Sermon saith was out of order that is out of Prelaticall order or Presbyteriall uniformity and after brake bread and did eat and talked with them a long while till break of day and going from thence he arrived at Ephesus and there called the Elders of the Church together and appeals to them after what manner he had been with them to wit serving the Lord with all humility of minde I wish the Assembly would mark that and mark it again and with many tears and temptations c. and how he had held back nothing profitable for them but had taught them publikely and from house to house which I wish were more in use now-a-dayes if it might obtain so much leave from uniformity and had preached to them Râ—pentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ our chief work toward God since our fall and corruption being Repentance which is the change of the creature towards God through Gods own work in the creature and this is not done without the sorrow of the flesh and our chief work towards Christ who is given to us as a head being Faith or Union And in the end exhorts the Presbyters to take heed to themselves who according to the Church principles of this age want no admonition themselves seeing they are become a peremptory rule to all others and to the flocks over which the holy Ghost and not Patrons hath made them overseers to feed the Church of God which he had purchased with his own bloud c. But in all this neither practices himselfe nor preaches to them nor commands them to preach to others or impose upon others any such kind of thing as externall vniformity And so surely they that so vehemently urge this thing that they make it all in all in their Reformation have some other teacher then the Apostle who being taught of Christ as Christ was taught of God yet knew no such thing at all in the worship of God as vniformity And yet further that the world if it be possible may be the more convinced observe a little more seriously the practice of Christ and the Saints in reference to this poynt
and you shall see nothing lesse then externall Uniformity See this in the prayer of Christ prayer for the duty it felf being nothing but so much spirituall worship as being the voyce of the Spirit in the flesh both in head and members This Christ sometimes performed with his eyes lifted up to heaven sometimes being prostrate with his body on the earth and so severall times severall wayes and as he so the Saints have some prayed standing and lifting up their hands as Moses some kneeling and lifting up their hands as Solomon some standing and not lifting up their eyes as the Publicans c. And what externall Uniformity in all this And as for praying so for preaching Christ sometimes preached in a ship sometimes on the shore sometimes in the City of Ierusalem someimes in the Temple sometimes in the desart sometimes early sometimes late as if he intended on purpose to witnesse against that piece of the mystery of iniquity which in after ages should be called Vniformity So Paul preached sometimes on the Jews Sabbath sometimes on the first day of the week sometimes each day of the week sometimes in the day sometimes in the night sometimes prayed in the house sometimes on the shore he circumcised Timothy among the weak refused to circumcise Titus among the perverse became as a Jew to the Jews as a Greek to the Greeks to the weak as weak to the strong as strong all things to all men that he might win some and what externall Uniformity was here And then for the Sacraments Christ administred the Sacrament of the Supper immediately after supper Paul at midnight and it may be others in the morning or at noone and what externall Uniformity in all this And for government sometimes the Apostles met together into a Councell and in that Councell ordered things not of their own heads or by plurality of voyces but by the Word and Spirit and what they ordered by the Word and Spirit they put in execution by the power of the Word and Spirit and not by the power of the World At other times Ministers and believers did things by the Word and Spirit among themselves by the mutuall consent of both or else believers alone among themselves if there were no Ministers present And where the number of believers were more they stood in need of more Officers and where fewer of fewer Officers and all these things are the free ordering of the Churches who have Christ the Spirit and the Father among them and in them and so are taken out of the bondage of men into the freedome of God That truly I see not the Gospel more setting its spirit against any thing of Antichrist then against this point of externall Uniformity For if we have one Lord Christ Spirit Faith Baptisme God all other things are free to the Churches as God shall order by them and no otherwise and the reason and wisdome and prudence of man have no place in this world where the Sun of righteousness shines as the onely light But against this that hath been said do lie some objections as first The Prophet foretold that the Lord should be one and his Name one and doth not this imply externall Uniformity I answer nothing lesse for the Apostle explicates plainly and clearly whar it is to have the Lord one and his Name one among believers Eph. 4. ch. 4. 5. 6. where he saith there is in the spirituall Church one Body and one Spirit one hope of our calling one Lord one Faith one Baptisme one God and Father of all who is above all through all and in all Whereby you see that among believers there is a manifold Unity but no externall Uniformity yea the prayer of Christ the Son for the Church unfolds clearly the promise of God the Father to the Church Iohn 17. Christ prayes that they all who are many among themselves according to the flesh may bâ— one as thou Father art in mee and I in thee that is according to the unity of the Spirit not externall Uniformity that after this manner they also may be one in us But againe it is objected out of 1 Cor. 14. that the Apostle requires that all things may be done in the Church decently and in order and doth not this imply externall Uniformity I answer that they will hardly admit in their parish Churches such a decency and order as the Apostle there means neither are they capable of it For he saith before When the whole Church is come together into some place that all may prophesie one by one that all may learne and all be comforted and that during this exercise of prophesying if any thing be revealed to another the former is to give place and he must speak that hath the clearest light seeing the Spirit to whomsoever it is given to profit withall And that though all may prophesie one by one yet all may not prophesie at once for tâ—en it would not be order but confusion which the Apostle would have avoyded saying Let all things be done decently and in order And this decency too he perswades to by the word he doth not in force by secular power And if they will call this Uniformity for Church-members to prophesie one after another according to the variety of the gifts of the Spirit and not many or two oâ— three at once or the same time we willingly agree with them but how farre this thing is from their sence every one knowes Thus you see these objections answered and I am confident there are no more can be brought but may as clearly and easily be answered as these And therefore I say I wonder and wonder againe that we having covenanted and agreed together solemnly to endeavour for a Government most agreeable to the word of God should in the meane time be left so void of the spirit and light of the Gospel as to fall upon externall Uniformity which is no where to be found in the Gospel nor in the practise of primative Christians Yea while I consider more seriously of the Matter me thinks externall vniformity is a monstrous thing how glorious soever in their eyes and not to be found either in nature or in grace either in Christs Kingdome or the Kingdomes of the world In nature is no externall vniformity extended to all the workes of nature for looke into the world and see if there be not variety of forms heavenly and earthly bodies having severall formes and in the earth each bird beast tree plant creature differs one from another in outward form If the whole creation should appeare in one form or externall vniformity what a monstrous thing would it be nothing differing from the first chaos but the variety of forms in the world is the beauty of the world So that though there be a most admirable unity among all the creatures yet there is nothing lesse then externall vniformity Againe as there is no externall vniformity spread over the great world so
nor yet over the little world or man For looke upon a man consisting of â—ead and members unto which the Apostle compaâ—es the Church and you shall not finde all the members like one another neither in regard of their outward forms nor operations for the hand doth not move as the foot nor the foot act as the hand and if all the members should appear and act in one form what a monster would a man bee And yet among the members though there be no externall vniformity yet there is admirable unity And yet again look in to the Kingdomes of the world and you shall see no such thing in them as externall vniformity Here in England you shall observe that York is not governed as Hull nor Hull as Hallifax nor that as Bristoll c. neither is one County governed uniformly as another there is no vniformity in the government of Kent and Essex nor one town governed like another in Godmanchester the youngest son inherit in Huntington the Eldest nor one Corporation governed like another nor one Company in the Citie governed as another and yet between all Counties Cities Towns Corporations Companies there is unitie though no externall vniformity Yea look upon the famous Citie of London and there are it may be an hundred thousand families or more in it and each one goveâ—nâ—d after a severall manner and among all these families there is no externall vniformity and yet they all agree well enough into the unity of a City Nay further to bring but one man to an vniformity of life and practice by an outward Law would be the most absolute tyranny in the world and make his life worse then death To compell every man by a Law every day in the week or every Munday Tuesday c. in the week to an uniformity of life that he shall rise at the same time use the same postures speak the same words eat the same food receive the same Physick sit and stand and walk and lye down at the same set times who ever heard of such a cruel bondage What an absurd and intollerable thing then is uniformity in the life of a man taking away all freedome of the soule But how much more evill and intollerable is uniformity in the life of a Christian or of true Churches of Christ taking away all freedome of the spirit of God who being one with God works in the freedome of God and is not to be bound with any authoritative or coercive power of poor dark ignorant vain foolish proud and sinfull men What now then do the Presbyters mean by Vniformity Would they have the Word preached and the Sacraments administred and the Name of God called on and all this done in spirit and truth in the Churches of Christ This truly is Vnity and not Vniformity and such an unity as no man can compell But would they have the Word preached the name of God called on Sacraments administred the spirituall discipline of the spirituall Church managed the vertues of Christ and graces of the Spirit in the Saints exercised and all this in one and the same outward form or uniformity This is the burden of the Saints the bondage of the Church the straitning the Spirit the limiting of Christ and the eclipsing the glory of the Father And how wise soever these men may be in naturall and carnall things yet their wisedome is but foolishnesse in spirituall things in which there is no more uniformity then in the workings of the Spirit who works severally in severall Saints and severally in the same Saints at severall times And therefore they that would tye the Church to an uniformity which works not of it sâ—lf but as the Spirit works in it let them first tye the Spirit to an uniformity and we are contented But these men seem to run a sad hazard who would thus reduce the workings of the Spirit in Christians and Churches to an outward uniformity according to their own minde and fancy and so would rule and order and enlarge and straiten the Spirit of God by the spirit of man seeing it is worse to sin against Christ in the spirit then against Christ in the flesh And therefore till I be otherwise taught by the Word I cannot conceive that there ought to be or is possible to be any such externall uniformity in the Churches of Christ as these men strive wrastle sweat contend for I will not say are ready to fight for but that severall Churches of Christ having unity of doctrine faith the spirit ordinances c. may have divers forms of outward administrations as God and Christ by the spirit shall lead them and that every Church is in these things to be left free and no Church forced by any outward power to follow or imitate another Church against its will not being freely led unto it by the Spirit of God Neither do I think that God hath set up any company of men or Synod in the world to shine to a whole Nation so that all people shall be constrained to follow their judgement and to walk by their light seeing other Ministers and Christians may have more light and spirit then they Neither hath Christ promised his presence and spirit to Ministers more then to believers nor more to an hundred then two or three and if two or three Christians in the Country being met together in the name of Christ have Christ himself with his Word and Spirit among them they need not ride many miles to the Assembly at London to know what to do or how to carry and behave themselves in the things of God And therefore for any company of men of what repute soever to set up their own judgement in a Kingdome for a peremptory rule from which no man must vary and to compell all the faithfull people of God who are the very members of Jesus Christ himself to fall down before it upon pain of being cast into the burning fiery furnace of their indignation heated seven times more hot thâ—n ordinary through the desired accesse of secular power to their power is a far worse work in my eyes then that of King Nebuchadnezzar setting up a golden Image and forcing all to fall down before it seeing spirituall idolatry is so much worse then corporall as the spirit is better then the flesh And therefore I do think let them teach me better by the Word that can that uniformity the great Diana of the Presbyterians and the Image that falls down from the brain and faâ—cy of man hath no footing in the Scriptures or in the practice of the Churches of Christ And that the Presbyterian uniformtty is near a kin to Prelatiâ—all coâ—foâ—mity and is no other â—hen the same thing under another word after â—â—e manner of Prelacy and Presbytery and do conclude that Vnity is Chriâ—â—iaâ— Vniformity Anticâ—â—â—â—â—â—an And 〈◊〉 I have 〈…〉 among many occasâ—ons to discover to 〈…〉 me still prevail and 〈…〉 very name of Refâ—â—mation And alâ—o to give occasion 〈…〉 discourse more fully 〈…〉 power of the Word 〈…〉 â—INIS