promiscuous ordinations are destructive to the honour & safety of the church of england (if they should be allowed in it). written in a letter to a person of quality. pearson, john, 1613-1686. 1668 approx. 14 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a53898 wing p1005 estc r33038 12851674 ocm 12851674 94539 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a53898) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 94539) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1038:22) promiscuous ordinations are destructive to the honour & safety of the church of england (if they should be allowed in it). written in a letter to a person of quality. pearson, john, 1613-1686. 16 p. printed for james collins ... london : 1668. attributed by wing to john pearson. imperfect: pages stained with loss of print. reproduction of original in the union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng church of england -clergy. ordination. 2000-00 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2001-07 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2001-08 tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread 2001-08 tcp staff (michigan) text and markup reviewed and edited 2001-11 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion promiscuous ordinations are destructive to the honour & safety of the church of england : ( if they should be allowed in it . ) written in a letter to a person of quality . london . printed for james collins at the kings-head in westminster-hall , 1668. a person of quality , a member of the church of england , to a moderate divine . sir , give me leave to let you understand , that i am by a real and unfeigned profession a true son of the church of england , one whom god hath blessed with a competent family , of whose eternal welfare i am equally solicitous . we are seated with many neighbours of the same judgment and desire of future happiness in a countrey parish with an orthodox and able minister , whose age and infirmity seem to foretell we shall scarse enjoy him another winter . now , sir , the various discourses and contrivances in this present juncture , together with the known inclinations of our patron , threaten us with a pastor as next incumbent , who is not a pastor canonically ordained , but hath received something which he calls ordination , either after a classical or congregational way . in this case i apply my self to you , who are rendred a moderate divine , desirous to know whether your moderation hath induced you to promote or comply with that which seems to us so great confusion ; and to declare how you can answer it to that church of which you are also a member , and what satisfaction you can give to our consciences , who are like to be cast into this condition . answer . sir , i cannot take any delight , as to the differences in matters of religion , but in the composure of them onely : and if i understand my self , nothing can ever alter that temper , by which i have been so long enclined to a due enlargement and indulgence for such as are ready to afford a rational compliance . but i hope that no such facility of nature or opinion shall ever reduce me to that weakness , as to betray the great and everlasting concerns of the church , or to give over the indispensable duty of endeavouring that unity which is necessary to its conservation . that the order of the ministry is necessary to the continuation of the gospel according to the promises of christ , as it was to the first plantation of it according to his institution , is a doctrine indubitable . that this ministry is derived by a succession and constant propagation , and that the unity and peace of the church of christ are to be conserved by a due and legitimate ordination , no man who considereth the practice of the apostles and ecclesiastical history , can ever doubt . this way of ordination having continued so many ages one and the same , could never be considerably alter'd , without some great commotions and dissentions in the church , and the manifest breach of union and communion in that body ; whomsoever we judg guilty of the breach of that union , which is not necessary now to dispute . and as the first introduction of different ordinations caus'd a standing and settled opposition , precluding all ways of reconciliation : so they cannot be brought into any one church , but they must make such a division and disparity in the administrations , as will amount to no less than a schism . however in the peculiar and happy condition of our church , these promiscuous ordinations , if all allowed by it , are most destructive to that which is the safety and the honour of it . we have the greatest felicity which could happen to a reformation , as being regular and authoritative , that we have so taken away the many mistakes and errors which had been introduc'd by a long ignorance and usurpation , as to retain a perfect compliance with the ancient church : and therefore we can boldly and truly affirm , we are the same with the primitive christians , even those of rome : and while we hold and maintain our ordinations legitimate , we speak the same language with the most glorious fathers , martyrs and saints of those happy and pious times . but if we once admit a diversity in our ordinations , we have lost the honour of succession , we have cast away our weapons of defence , we have betray'd our own cause and laid our selves open to the common enemy of all protestants , and we shall at last inevitably fall into the socinian doctrine , to deny all necessity or use of any mission or ordination . again though our discipline be much weakned , and the good effects thereof obstructed by many scruples and oppositions rais'd against it , yet they can be no just imputation to that wholsom institution , it being sufficiently known from whence those obstructions proceed . but if all sorts of ordination be any way established by sufficient authority , if what is so earnestly desired be indulged , that a man once ordained any way be still held and retained for a labourer in the harvest , the most legitimate process in ecclesiastical affairs will become ineffectual and irrational . many necessary articles of enquiry , founded upon the greatest justice and authority , will be put off with such unblameable refusals , and answer'd with so much reason and equity , that his majesties ecclesiastical laws can be with no conscience put in execution , when they which are to be prosecuted as delinquents according to law , must be pronounced the most innocent in the opinion and conscience of the administrators of the same law. what an uncomfortable and discouraging confusion is this , whereby presentments shall be made of those persons who are conscientiously conformable to the doctrine and orders of the church , for actions or omissions proceeding solely out of that conscience and conformity , and they who factiously or erroneously dissent from that doctrine and order , shall avoid their own and promote the presentment of others , and in this error or faction shall be protected and encouraged by a superinduced authority thus by promiscuous ordinations the doctrine of the church will be render'd indefensible , and the discipline unpracticable . although these evil consequences be of great moment in the general , and threaten our bethel with the notion of a babel , yet because most men are more apprehensive of particular mischiefs , and stronglier moved with personal inconveniencies ; i shall more earnestly apply my self to that condition which you have represented in reference to your self , your family and neighbour of the same persuasion : and even this consideration will be of great latitude and concernment , because it is not confined to you alone , but all of the same judgment will be subject to the same unsettlement , and lie under the same fears and discouragement . if a person onely qualified by a congregational mission should be set over you authoritatively as your lawful pastor , to whose ministerial acts it is expected you should apply your self in all publick matters of religion : you being of a constant persuasion that the validity of such acts hath a necessary relation to the legitimacy of ministery , & of as certain an opinion that such a mission cannot amount to a legitimate ordination . i cannot see what comfort you take in any compliance with such administrations . nay further , if a person be said to have obtained orders after the presbyterian way in the late times , when he might have received them from a bishop , & since the happy restitution of publick order in the church , when many of his brethren have submitted , still obstinately refuses to receive ordination after the established way of the church of england : in this case , if you doubt whether his ordination be valid , or conclude it null . i confess i know no argument to convince you , or to encline you to another persuasion . but then i cannot but lament your unquiet and sad condition , accidentally cast upon you , for reasons which i take no delight to consider : and through the short expression in your letter , i can easily perceive what thoughts and apprehensions may press and discourage you . for as you render your self a son of our church , i conceive you are one who values the liturgy , thinking it your duty to give god that setvice , and taking much comfort in the ancient & regular devotion expressed in those publick prayers ; which being a mixt office , and having been soever since the apostolical times , wherein the priest , or presbyter , and the people joyntly & interchangeably concurr , and the rubrick directing what words belong to the priest , and can properly in the sense intended ( sometimes at least ) be used by no other ; i confess you cannot but abate of the devotion and comfort of your prayers , when you think the person appointed to read them is no priest or presbyter . as for the administration of the sacrament of baptism , you cannot regularly but desire to have your children baptized and received into the congregation of christ's church in that solemn manner , and by such a person as is appointed by the same church to receive them ; and though in case of necessity this office may be dispensed with in baptizing for the benefit of the infant , yet it will be very hard to create any other necessity than what arises on the infants part , or to make use of that irregularity when there is no necessity , which is onely indulged to necessity . but as to the other sacrament , the supper of the lord , your case is far worse . for to that you are often invited , nay obliged to receive it thrice a year , and i doubt not but earnestly desire frequently to participate of the body and blood of your saviour . whereas if you be resolved that your pastor established is not a priest or presbyter , and consequently hath no power to consecrate the elements , or render them sacramental ; i cannot see how you can follow him to the holy table , or with what comfort or conscience you can bring your family , or concurr with your neighbours , to receive the elements from his hands . and yet abstaining from the sacrament , you are thereby deprived of the spiritual strength and comfort which you desire and have cause to expect ; and are moreover betrayed to the censures of the church , in compliance to whose doctrine you are rendred disobedient to her commands . lastly , the unfeigned exercize of religion is undoubtedly , as never more necessary , so never so comfortable as upon the bed of our sickness , especially upon the approach of death : wherefore the church hath taken great care that the minister shall attend , and how he shall behave himself in the visitation of the sick , for their comfort and advantage . this comfort i confess must be taken from you , who are of that persuasion concerning your pastor , for if upon the apprehension of your later end , you feel your conscience troubled , and being observant of the method prescribed , desire to make a special confession , and receive the benefit of absolution ; to which end the priest is ordered to use these words , by the authority of christ committed to me i absolve thee of all thy sins : you will never acquiesce in the absolution , where you acknowledg no commission , nor can you expect any efficacy which dependeth upon the authority . these and the like i look upon not as formal objections , or cavils , but as real and severe complaints rais'd upon sober and religious grounds , matter for christian zeal , rather than moderation . and therefore i cannot persuade my self that any person endued with any kindness or care of the religion settled in this nation , can ever contrive or assent unto so great a discouragement to the consciencious professors of it , and confusion in the management and administration . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a53898-e260 prop. p. 82. the bishop of london's ninth conference with his clergy upon the fifth and tenth injunctions given by the king, february the 15th, 1694/5 held in the years 1695 and 1696. compton, henry, 1632-1713. 1699 approx. 33 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 11 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-11 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a34187 wing c5671 estc r8647 12530214 ocm 12530214 62761 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a34187) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 62761) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 310:14) the bishop of london's ninth conference with his clergy upon the fifth and tenth injunctions given by the king, february the 15th, 1694/5 held in the years 1695 and 1696. compton, henry, 1632-1713. 20 p. printed by benj. motte, london : 1699. reproduction of original in bodleian library. marginal notes. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng ordination -church of england. 2003-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-07 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-09 john latta sampled and proofread 2003-09 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the bishop of london's ninth conference with his clergy upon the fifth and tenth iniunctions , given by the king february the 15th . 1694 / 5 held in the years 1695. and 1696. london : printed by benj. motte , 1699. the bishop of london's ninth conference with his clergy , &c. having at several times formerly taken notice of so many of the subjects of these injunctions as concern the clergy in general , except these two : i thought it might not be amiss to desire your advice upon them ; especially since the vanity of being thought good natured , too often tempts men to forget the discharge of a good conscience , and the easiness of complaisance draws them into those things which are not convenient , but sometimes scandalous . i. the words of the fifth injunction run thus . that that part of the 34th . canon , which relates to the giving of certificates , concerning the lives and manners of those who are to be ordained , be strictly looked to . and that the bishops lay it on the consciences of the clergy , that they sign no certificates , unless , upon their own knowledg , they judge the persons to be duly qualified . the words of the canon , so far as this injunction is grafted upon it , are these : except he shall then exhibit letters testimonial of his good life and conversation , under the seal of some college in cambridge or oxford , where before he remained , or of three or four grave ministers , together with the subscription and testimony of other credible persons , who have known his life and behaviour by the space of three years next before . the church had several occasions for letters recommendatory and testimonials for the security and preservation of her discipline , according to the exigence of different ages , as well for the brotherly and hospitable reception of those that travel'd into forain jurisdictions , as for the satisfaction of those churches they went to , that they might not be imposed upon by false brethren . these were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by st. paul. they were afterwards called literae canonicae , and sometimes formatae . of which you have a learned discourse written by priorius a but i believe you would be more satisfied in the reason and authority of this sort of credentials from the canons of the catholick church , b under the four first general councils . which gave ground to those so many and divers directions afterwards in the following particular councils of several nations . but this were too large a work , and too much beside our purpose to be treated of at this time . we will therefore confine our selves to the consideration of those letters dimissory and testimonials only , as relate to such as seek to enter into holy orders . and this i conceive will appear in the best light , if we proceed by these three steps . i. to look into the appointment of them . ii. to examine the reason of that appointment . iii. to apply that reason to our behaviour in this particular . i. as to the appointment , it is so obvious a method to come to the knowledge of any thing otherwise out of our reach : that without question it must have been the universal practice of all ages . but it will suffice us to keep within the compass of our own profession . when moses directed the people to find out fit men to be rulers over them , amongst other enquiries , he would have them expect good testimonials from their neighbours and acquaintance . take ye wise men and understanding , and known among your tribes . when the apostles instituted deacons , they gave this charge to the disciples , look ye out among ye seven men of honest report . we see the reason given , why st. paul took timothy forth with him , because he was well reported of by the brethren that were at lystra and iconium . the characters st. paul requires of such as are to be admitted to the orders of bishops , priests or deacons , shews the necessity of good testimonials : because many of those particulars upon which that character depended , could not otherwise be so well made out . and therefore he says , a bishop must have a good report of them which are without . and of deacons , let these also first be proved . in conformity to this necessary method of proceeding has the church practised ever since . so it was in st. cyprian's a time . in the ordination of clergymen , most dearly beloved brethren , we are used to consult you beforehand , and by common consent examine both the manners and merits of each person . for this reason it is , that the council of nice b would have every one ordained in their own diocese , where they are known . if any bishop shall presume to take one out of another diocese and ordain him in his church , without the consent of his proper bishop , from whom he has departed , such ordination shall be void . to the same purpose is that of chalcedon c . strange and unknown clergymen are by no means to officiate in another city without commendatory letters from their own bishop . but these primitive councils had the apostolick practice too fresh before them , to need such particular directions as were given by later councils . among which you have one that says , d . because it may so fall out that they who desire to get into holy orders , may give a false account of their lives and conversation , as likewise of their pedigree : to the end that every way to fraud and deceit may be stopt : let him that is to be promoted to any degree bring with him letters from his ordinary , or the chief men of the place where he was born or wont to inhabit , by which he may be attested to be of full age , of a good conversation , &c. which unless he bring to the bishop , let him not be ordained , unless it appear evident to him some other way , &c. there is likewise another remarkable passage in the same council , a wherein shall be contained this clause , whom we find to be fit and worthy ; or else no credit shall be given to the letters . to the same purpose it is expressed in another council . b diocesans are not to promote any to holy orders , before they have seen testimonials from the minister of their parish , wherein are contained the depositions of two or three approved unsuspected witnesses , given upon oath , of the sufficiency of their age , and of their commendable and unblamed life . thus we see , or may easily gather from what has been quoted , that the church was careful in all ages to admit of none but approved persons to the ministry . ii. therefore it may be convenient in the second place to look into the reasons of this cautious proceeding . and truly they are so natural , that it is impossible they should bear any debate . for common reason tells us , we must take our information from others in those things , the notice whereof we cannot attain to by our selves : and experience teaches us to have a care whom we believe . so that where a testimony is required , we are to receive it with great wariness . now that part of satisfaction relating to life and conversation , which ought to be had before persons are admitted into holy orders , generally cannot be come by without sufficient testimonials . which how cautiously they should be admitted , appears plainly from the ill consequences of a mistake in this kind . for 1. what a grievous offence would it be to good men to meet with such spots in their feasts ! 2. how would it make the sacrifices of god to be loathed and abhorred especially of the weaker and more undistinguishing sort of people ! 3. how every way would god be provoked and his honour blasphemed ! 4. what a provocation would it be to despise the ordinances of god , to uncharitableness , and to entertain ill thoughts of religion itself for the sake of him that ministers in it ! 5. as example is the great director in the lives and conversation of men : what a fatal misguidance must it be , when they who are set up for lights to the world , turn ignes fatui , and lead people out of the way by their evil practices ! the eye has a much quicker sense than the ear , and makes a stronger impression upon the mind . for imitation of what we see , as it is more easy , so it is more natural than to learn by precepts . a men , therefore says lactantius , choose examples before words , because it is much easur to say than to do . words are but speculative expressions , and may please the fancy : but deeds make the deepest impressions on the heart . we may admire a man for his ingenuity , that sets excellent rules : but if he practise by other measures , we are apter to follow his life , than his doctrine . if then we put all considerations together , and consider how abominable in the sight of god and how pernicious to men the disorderly walking of those who are admitted into holy orders , would be : what care has or can the church take , which may prove too much to prevent so great an evil ! iii. therefore ye see of how weighty a concern it is , that ye behave yourselves uprightly in giving testimonials to those who are to serve at the altar , that neither fear , favour , affection , nor indifference prevail with you to give a rash , much less a false certificate . if any man should recommend an officer to the state at all adventures or out of partiality , and this man should prove any ways unfit for his employment : would it not bring shame upon the voucher , and a publick curse for his unadvised officiousness ? what an unneighbourly part is it to put a servant upon another man , whose faults we know , or at least are ignorant of his vertues ? it is unkind and unjust at the best , and may prove barbarous . what name then can we give that action which imposes an unfaithful servant upon the church of god , where his honour and the eternal concern of his creature 's soul is engaged , and endanger the death of so many as he would save alive . i will charitably hope , that no man is wilfully guilty of a transgression of this nature . but we are apt to be of too easie a disposition in this case : and either out of an unwillingness to disoblige a friend , or a desire to please him , or for some particular kindness , or thro' an inconsiderate easiness , to flatter ourselves with a general presumption , that all is well ; and so yield to a blind compliance . indeed if such sort of frailties might plead prescription by being common ; i know not any may bid fairer for it , than this : but the ill consequences are such , as admit of no excuse . for the fitness of the person to be admitted , as to his morals , depends so entirely for the most part upon the integrity of the testimonial : that a failure on this side renders the certifier partaker of another mans sins , by loading the ordinance of god with so heavy and so mischievous a scandal . in effect it is a lying to god , if unadvisedly we recommend an ill man to his service . ye ought therefore not only for reputation , but for conscience sake , to be very wary whom ye witness for : that ye have a competent intimacy in the knowledge of them , as having to answer before god as well as men for what ye do in this kind . ii. the injunction we have hither to conferred upon , is to keep safe the door of the church ; that none be admitted to enter into it , but such as are fit for the ministry : this other is to admonish such as are already entred ; that they walk as in the sight of god , and do not by an unwary behaviour bring reproach upon his service . the injunction is this . that the bishops shall look to the lives and manners of their clergy , that they may be in all things regular and exemplary according to the 75th . canon . the canon upon which this is grafted runs thus . no ecclesiastical persons shall at any time , other than for their honest necessities , resort to any taverns or ale-houses , neither shall they board or lodge in any such places . furthermore they shall not give themselves to any base or servile labour , or to drinking or riot , spending their time idly by day or by night , playing at dice , cards , or tables , or any other unlawful game : but at all times convenient , they shall hear or read somewhat of the holy scriptures , or shall occupy themselves with some other honest study or exercise , always doing the things which shall appertain to honesty , and endeavouring to profit the church of god , having always in mind that they ought to excel all others in purity of life , and should be examples to the people to live well and christianly , under pain of ecclesiastical censures to be inflicted with severity , according to the qualities of their offences . whenever ye read over , as i hope sometimes ye do , the exhortation that goes before the questions in the form for ordaining priests ; ye will there find the matter of this canon treated in a fuller and more pathetick stile . not at all to derogate from the expression of the canon . for laws we know , ought to be in as few and plain words as may be : whereas advices upon those laws , have a privilege to enforce the reasonableness of them by the most powerful arguments that can be sound out , and to apply the most prevailing inducements for their observation . the main scope of this canon seems to be a negative direction to the clergy , that they should not be guilty of such and such irregularities , which are of the most noisy sort and give the most publick scandal . for however there may be others , as covetousness , ill nature or the like , that may cry as loud against us at the last day : yet those enumerated in the canon are of a more clamourous kind in this world. but these are not all of the same nature . for some are absolutely unlawful as drunkenness and all sorts of riot : others are so only by accident , as cards , dice , taverns and alehouses . the former seems not fitting to be taken notice of upon this occasion . for we are not to imagin , that any of our brethren can be guilty of such gross misdemeanours , as would render them the most unfortunate of mankind . the wretched state such ill habits bring both upon body and mind is the least to be considered . were it barely the disreputation of such courses , which to an ingenuous man is more grievous , than the loss of life ; it were but a light matter , in comparison of those dismal consequences , which attend such disorders . nay the scandal , take it alone , is nothing when compared with the effects of it . hinc illae lachryme ; here lies the transcendency of the mischief , besides the dishonour to god and his worship , it staggers the believer , it drives the weak brother out of the congregation , giving great occasion for schism , confirms the dissolute , and makes the atheist triumph . therefore i say , we ought rather to presume , that such destructive vices can never take root amongst us : than by dehortations from what may be , cause unwary and malicious men to conclude , that the plague is already begun , and so bring a present obloquy upon the function . i wish therefore i have not said too much upon this point . i will say no more : but proceed to those other irregularities , which are so by accident . these we find to be of two sorts . i. such as relate to matters absolutely prohibited . ii ▪ such as are only so conditionally . i. the things absolutely prohibited in this case are cards , dice and tables : not as meerly unlawful in themselves , but of such a nature as for good reasons may be forbidden . for at the best they can no way turn to any profitable account , only serve to amuse at very idle hours . and then they are apt to draw on such mischievous and wicked consequences ; that if from the experience of such ill effects , our governours should not have power to restrain the cause , they would be hindred from answering one of the greatest ends of their appointment . and therefore it is absolutely necessary , that they have a power , in prudence to with-hold us from what is dangerous : as in justice to forbid what is simply evil. an army otherwise would be in a desperate condition , especially when near an enemy , where the loss or gain of an opportunity is so ticklish , and for the most part so irrecoverable : if we should allow such privileges to be disputed . and tho in the civil administration commonly the mischief of such a licentiousness would not so quickly be felt : yet , like a lingring disease , it would grow more and more uneasie to the state , till the one concluded in the ruin of the other . in the things therefore that pertain unto godliness , where the loss is not transitory and finite , but eternal ; how much more ready ought we to be , in owning that authority , which would keep us out of harms-way ! for as i said before , gaming is a diversion that can do no good , it is at best but an idle amusement , it may do much harm . the temptations it carries with it are many and dangerous . if it proceed not at first from a covetous inclination , it seldom fails of concluding in it ( a ) . and this frequently upon ill fortune causes great passion , which often breaks out into cursing and swearing , sometimes attended with such horrid blasphemies as would be dreadful to name . besiyes it creates quarrels , that are too often found guilty of murder . and after all this , we see so clearly from constant experience , how natural it is to run into these inconveniencies : that we may safely say , whoever ventures upon this liberty , runs himself into such temptations , as he knows not where they will end . no wonder then if we meet with restrictive laws in those places , where these idle divertisements have been followed . our own laws are an instance , where in ( b ) one of them notice is taken of the many precedent laws against them : and particularly they are forbid , not only as unprofitable , but as effeminating the persons engaged in them . for they are observed to hinder those manly and useful exercises of arching and the like , which prepare mens bodies for agility in war , and vigour in other employments for the publick good. another a is very short , but yet complains of the mischievous effects of such prohibited games , whereby idle and dissolute persons are drawn together , and take that occasion to contrive robberies and other villanies . the last b is to prevent the fatal consequences which fall often upon whole families , whose fortunes are fairly or fowly impaired , if not ruined , by the extravagancies and folly of a young heir , and many times by those that should have more wit. and to shew that it is no new thing , we may find the like caution taken in former dayes , see the roman c laws . nay it goes further in another place , d and not only makes the debt contracted by gaming void , but likewise the ready mony laid down by the looser recoverable by law : alledging , amongst other reasons for this discouragement , the prophaneness and horrid blasphemies , which are occasioned by the passionate prosecution of such gaming . attalus king of asia at his leisure hours recreated himself in his gardens , and sometimes diverted himself in casting of statues . it is said of demetrius poliorcetes , that his pastime was spent in making warlike engines : and of europus king of macedon , that at his spare hours he made lights . it is reported that the kings of parthia were used to spend their idle hours in sharpning of spears . and dionysius the younger , when he was at peace , would contrive little wains , seats and tables with wonderful art. i suppose the custom of the ottomon emperours , who always take some handicraft employment upon them , is upon the same ground , to invite their subjects by such examples to spend their spare time in something that may be profitable . to this end the romans encourag'd none but such games as consisted in manly and robust exercise , which for the number were called pentathlum : that no time might be lost , but their very sports might make them active and hardy for time of war. and if that purpose failed , they were sure to get health and vigour by it , besides the avoiding the many inconveniencies of idleness , or the other effeminate divertisements . now of all men it most behoves us of the clergy to walk circumspectly in these matters , as appears by the apostolick a canon . for we are set up as lights to guide the people : and where laws are made upon such weighty motives , as those abovementioned , we ought very carefully to set a good example , by paying our utmost obedience to them . if the blood of him , who dses in his wickedness , and whom we have not forwarned , shall be required at our hands : how much more shall we be answerable for his transgressions , whom we our selves have misled by our unwary behaviour ! of which st. paul has warned us in his advice to timothy , be not partaker of other mens sins . but after all it seems to be superfluous , and i hope it is ( tho ahundans cautela non nocet ) to warn those that serve at the altar , to be cautious in having to do with such things , as oftentimes causes so great offence and scandal . especially since the duty of our abstinence should carry us far beyond these considerations : even by denying ourselves , upon occasion , those things which may be both lawful and useful for us . thus we find s. paul governing himself , all things are lawful for me , but all things are not expedient : all things are lawful for me , but all things edifie not . and what he prescribes to himself , in the following part of the chapter , he gives as a rule to all christians under the particular case of meats offered to idols . if what has been said , seems to bear too hard upon this point : to be sure it is an error on the safest-side ; and will easily be pardoned by all , that are worthy to have it asked at their hands . for liberty , especially in things of this kind , is like an edged tool : which if not skilfully managed , cuts the fingers , if not the throat of him that uses it . ii. the other prohibition is conditional : because the thing forbid is only so occasionally . for publick-houses are necessary for travellers and way-faring people , and convenient many times for meeting upon common business . but , as many things appointed for good ends are abused , so none more shamefully than these . that which was appointed for refreshment , is made the receptacle of idleness and debauchery : and that which is allowed for honest purposes , is too frequently made use of to contrive mischief . however , the design of the canon in this particular is to warn us of two dangers ; the one relating to our selves , and the other to our neighbour . both nicely to be observed , and subjected to that caution of tully , a there are some things which ought not to be done , tho they be lawful . i. in relation to our selves we should consider very well , what sort of company we are like to meet with in those publick-houses , before we go to them . whether we may not be drawn into a complaisance that may go beyond discretion . for if your company be given to excess , it is the interest of those places to promote it , and by consequence they will be sure to do it . besides there is another reason should make us wary , how we comply with invitations to such houses ; lest by an over-easiness in yielding to importunities of this kind , we insensibly steal into an idle habit ; and instead of a modest complyance , when we are asked the question , become at last forward to attack others . nemo repentè fit turpissimus : but it is so natural to advance in folly , that , unless a man keep a strict hand upon himself , the clowd which seem'd but as a hand at first , may in a little time draw such a storm after it , as may overwhelm those that come in its way . now the ready course for a man to avoid the danger of these temptations , is to take up a firm resolution never to go into any of those houses , when it may reasonably be avoided . for such a resolution once well fix'd , will keep him always upon his guard ; and he will never do the thing , till he sees a very good or necessary reason for it . ii. the care we ought to have upon this account in respect to our neighbour , is neither to set him an ill example , nor give him offence by abusing our liberty . it gives too just a cause of suspition to be seen in disorderly company , tho' we be ever so sober our selves : and it is never to be excused from setting a very ill example , if we unduly or too frequently haunt these places . indeed the abuses committed in them are so scandalous and infamous ; that i should think no consideration likelier to make us wise in this regard . for it must be confessed , that idleness and tipling are faults , wherever they are found : but in publick-houses they are doubly scandalous and shameful , because they are lyable so much more to expose to the view and censure of all the world. therefore it is no new thing to see such matters animadverted upon . claudius caesar a put down all tipling-houses . and if our antient laws take no notice of these matters ; it is , because england , generally speaking , was a sober nation , till the fashion was brought over from forein parts , where better things might have been learnt . but when once this evil practice took place amongst us , the inconveniencies were so many , the scandals so gross and the mischief , to the publick so apparent , that you will find from that date nothing more strictly directed to be look'd after , nor attended with quicker penalties upon the offender , nor oftner repeated than the laws which animadvert upon those that unnecessarily haunt such publick-houses or that are the keepers of them ; as well as those that are taken in actual disorder . b the sum of all is this . it is justly expected , that the honour of god , the service of his church and good of mens souls should be always upon our minds , when we give testimonials for those that are to serve in gods house : that neither for fear nor favour , but as in conscience we may answer before god and man for the truth of what we certifie . as being well assured , if through negligence or easiness we subscribe to what we are not well apprised of from our own experience ; whatever harm comes by the unfitness or scandal of the persons so recommended , we shall be deeply partakers of the guilt of it , besides the great blame of rashness in a matter of that importance . and as for avoiding offence we are to abstain from all appearance of evil : so especially are we obliged not to engage our selves in those things , which are of ill report . for it would be inexcusable in us to abuse our liberty in those things , which are of ill fame : when it is our duty to abstain even from things of common use and convenience , so oft as it may give offence . all things indeed are pure ; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence . the pretence of giving a greater lustre to chastity by taking in young women to cohabit purely for religious conversation , would not pass upon the world. the a council of nice ; ye know , as did afterwards several imperial laws and provincial councils , forbid all such practice , as scandalous , because it has an ill aspect ; and would therefore make him have so too , that should take it upon him . for as it is a datum in mathematicks , that if you put unequal things to equal , the whole will be unequal : so it is in morality likewise , if a vertuous man will be so unequally yoaked as to venture upon an action that gives scandal , himself shall thereby become scandalous . for the prevention of which these words of st. paul may most fitly be applied , that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brothers way . thus have i endeavoured to set down the substance of our conference upon these two important injunctions . which when i weigh , with the charge that lies upon us for their due execution , i tremble to think of the account we are to give . we are messengers sent to deliver the oracles of god ; and wo be to us , if we keep them back . we are stewards of the manifold mysteries of the gospel , and deplorable is our case if we be not found faithful . we are watchmen to watch for the souls of men : 〈◊〉 thro our fault they miscarry , our souls are to ans●●● it . knowing therefore the terrors of the lord , be vig●●●●● that whenever he shall come ye may be found prepare●●●● that comfortable applause , well done , good and 〈◊〉 servant . amen . your affectionate brother , h. 〈◊〉 finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a34187-e110 injunct . 5. can. 34. 2. cor 3. 1. rom. 16. 1. can. apostolorum . 33. a philippi priorii de literis canonicis dissertatio . paris . 1675 8 o b canones ecclesiae universae iustelli . paris . ed. 8 o deut. 1. 13. act. 6. 3. act. 6. 2. 1. tim. 3. tit. 1. 1. tim 3. 7. v. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . a epist. 38. edit . oxon. in ordinationibus clericorum , fratres charissimi , solemus vos ante considere , & mores ac merita singulorum communi consilio ponderare . b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 con. nie. can. 16. c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . concil . chal●ed . can. 13. d quia conti●gere potest , ut qui 〈◊〉 ordines ●●●●●qui velit , ae●arem , 〈◊〉 & morum probita●em , 〈◊〉 genus mentiatur : ut omnis via f●audi doloque praecludatur , literas secum deferat promovendus à judice ordinario ▪ 〈◊〉 consulibu● 〈◊〉 unde originem duxerit , sive quem incolere consueverit , quibus testetur se idon●● â aetate bonisque moribus praeditum , & legitimo sanguine seu matrimonio ortum : qu● nisi episcopo obtulerit , ordine non donetur , nisi haec ei a●●ter perspicua sint , &c. concil . narbon . can 7. a quibut hanc inseret clausulam , quem idoneum & dignum reperimus : aut nulla literis fides habebitur . can. 12. b non prius promoveant dioecesani suos ad aliquem sacrum ordinem , quàm viderint literas testimoniales presbyteri parechialis , quae contineant duorum aut trium testium probatorum , non suspectorum depositiones juramento solenni firmatas de sufficientiâ aetatis promovendi , & de probatâ & inculpatâ illius vitâ . concil-senonense . can. 3. decipit exemplar vitiis vnitabile . horat. a lib. 4. de ve●à sapientià . injunction 10. can. 75. injunctions given by the queen , in the year 1559. article 7. luke 16. 15 a whoever would read at large the shameful consequence of this loose sort of entertainment , with the just characters of theft , robbery and the like that it is stigmatized with ; let him consult tractat. tractar . paridis de puteo & aliorum de ludo . num. 1. &c. fol. 151 &c. tom. 7. b 33. h. 8. c : 9. a 23. ph. & m. c. 9. b 16. car. 2. c. 5. c senatusconsultum vetuit in pecuniam ludere , praeterquam siquis certet hastâ , vel pilo jaciendo , &c. quod virtutis causà fiat . ff . 11. † 6. d cod. 3. tt . 43. 44. vid. alex. ab alex. l. 3. c. 21. a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 24. ezek. 33. 8. 1. tim. 5. 22. 1 : cor. 10. 23. non omne , quod licet , honestum est . deteriores omnes sumus licentiâ ter. heaut . a est aliquid quod non oportet , etiamsi licet . cic. orat. 3. pro corn. balbo . a tradit historicus dion , claudium caesarem cauponas , inquas poturi diverrerent , solvisse . cael. rhod. l. 27. col. 1492. b 1. iac. c. 9 4. iac. c. 4. 7. iac c. 10. 2. iac. c. 7. 1. car. c. 4. 3 ▪ car. c. 3. §. 2. rom. 14. 20. a can. 3. by the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . rom. 14. 13. a form for church government and ordination of ministers, contained in cxi propositions, propounded to the late generall assembly at edinburgh, 1647. together with an act concerning erastianisme, independencie, and liberty of conscience. published by authority. cxi propositions concerning the ministerie and government of the church. gillespie, george, 1613-1648. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a86000 of text r202292 in the english short title catalog (thomason e418_3). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 101 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 26 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a86000 wing g749 thomason e418_3 estc r202292 99862632 99862632 114797 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a86000) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 114797) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 66:e418[3]) a form for church government and ordination of ministers, contained in cxi propositions, propounded to the late generall assembly at edinburgh, 1647. together with an act concerning erastianisme, independencie, and liberty of conscience. published by authority. cxi propositions concerning the ministerie and government of the church. gillespie, george, 1613-1648. [6], 45, [1] p. printed for robert bostock, at the king's head in pauls church-yard, london : mdcxlvii. [1647] attributed to george gillespie. originally published in edinburgh as: cxi propositions concerning the ministerie and government of the church. imperfect: staining and bleed-through. annotation on thomason copy: "nou: 30". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng church of scotland -government -early works to 1800. church of scotland -clergy -early works to 1800. ordination -church of scotland -early works to 1800. liberty of conscience -early works to 1800. a86000 r202292 (thomason e418_3). civilwar no a form for church government and ordination of ministers,: contained in cxi propositions, propounded to the late generall assembly at edinb gillespie, george 1647 17328 10 20 0 0 0 0 17 c the rate of 17 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-07 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-08 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2007-08 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a form for church government and ordination of ministers , contained in cxi propositions , propounded to the late generall assembly at edinburgh , 1647. together with an act concerning erastianisme , independencie , and liberty of conscience . published by authority . london , printed for robert bostock , at the king's head in pauls church-yard . mdcxlvii . act approving viii generall heads of doctrine against the tenents of erastianisme , independencie , and liberty of conscience , asserted in the cxi propositions , which are to be examined against the next assembly . being tender of so great an ingagement by solemn covenant , sincerely , really , & constantly to endeavour in our places & callings , the preservation of the reformed religion in this kirk of scotland , in doctrine , worship , discipline , and government , the reformation of religion in the kingdoms of england and ireland , in doctrine worship , discipline and government , according to the word of god , and the example of the best reformed kirks , and to endeavour the neerest conjunction and uniformity in all these , together with the extirpation of heresie , schisme , and whatsoever shall be found contrary to sound doctrine : and considering withall that one of the special means which it becometh us in our places and callings to use in pursuance of these ends , is in zeal for the true reformed religion , to give our publick testimony against the dangerous tenents of erastianisme , independency , and which is falsly called liberty of conscience , which are not onely contrary to sound doctrine , but more speciall lets and hinderances as well to the preservation of our own received doctrine , worship , discipline and government , as to the work of reformation and uniformity in england and ireland . the generall assembly upon these considerations , having heard publickly read the cxi following propositions exhibited and tendered by some brethren who were appointed to prepare articles or propositions for the vindication of the truth in these particulars , doth unanimously approve and agree unto these eight generall heads of doctrine therein contained and asserted . viz. 1. that the ministery of the word , and the administration of the sacraments of the new testament , baptisme and the lords supper , are standing ordinances instituted by god himself , to continue in the church to the end of the world . 2. that such as administer the word and sacraments ▪ ought to be duely called and ordained thereunto . 3. that some ecclesiasticall censures are proper and peculiar to be inflicted onely upon such as bear office in the kirk ; other censures are common , and may be inflicted both on ministers , and other members of the kirk . 4. that the censure of suspension from the sacrament of the lords supper , inflicted because of grosse ignorance , or because of a scandalous life and conversation ; as likewise the censure of excommunication , or casting out of the kirk flagitious or contumacious offenders , both the one censure and the other is warrantable by and grounded upon the word of god , and is necessary ( in respect of divine institution ) to be in the kirk . 5. that as the rights , power and authority of the civill magistrate are to be maintained according to the word of god , and the confessions of the faith of the reformed kirks , so it is no lesse true and certain that jesus christ , the onely head and onely king of the kirk , hath instituted and appointted a kirk government distinct from the civill government or magistracy . 6. that the ecclesiasticall government is committed and intrusted by christ to the assemblies of the kirk , made up of the ministers of the word and ruling elders . 7. that the lesser and inferiour ecclesiasticall assemblies ought to be subordinate and subject unto the greater and superiour assemblies . 8. that notwithstanding hereof , the civill magistrate may and ought to suppresse by corporall or civill punishments , such as by spreading errour or heresie , or by fomenting schisme , greatly dishonour god , dangerously hurt religion , and disturb the peace of the kirk , which heads of doctrine ( howsoever opposed by the authours and fomenters of the foresaid errours respectively ) the generall assembly doth firmly beleeve , own , maintain , and commend unto others as solid , true , orthodox , grounded upon the word of god , consonant to the judgement both of the ancient , and the best reformed kirks . and because this assembly ( through the multitude of other necessary and pressing businesse ) cannot now have so much leasure as to examine and consider particularly the foresaid cxi propositions : therefore a more particular examination thereof is committed and referred to the theologicall faculties of the four universities of this kingdom , and the judgement of each of these faculties concerning the same , is appointed to be reported to the next generall assembly . in the mean while , these propositions shall be printed , both that copies thereof may be sent to presbyteries , and that it may be free for any that pleaseth to peruse them , and to make known or send their judgement concerning the same to the said next assembly . a. ker. cxi propositions concerning the ministerie and government of the church . 1. as our lord jesus christ doth invisibly teach and govern his church by the holy spirit : so in gathering , preserving , instructing , building and saving thereof , he useth ministers as his instruments , and hath appointed an order of some to teach , and others to learne in the church , and that some should be the flock , and others the pastours . 2. for , beside these first founders of the church of christ extraordinarily sent , and furnished with the gift of miracles , whereby they might confirme the doctrine of the gospel , hee appointed also ordinary pastours and teachers , for the executing of the ministery , even untill his coming again unto judgement , ephes. 4. 11 , 12 , 13. wherefore , also as many as are of the number of god's people , or will be accounted christians , ought to receive and obey the ordinary ministers of god's word and sacraments , ( lawfully , though mediately called ) as the stewards and ambassadours of christ himself . 3. it is not lawfull for any man , how fit soever , and how much soever enriched or beautified with excellent gifts , to undertake the administration either of the word or sacraments by the will of private persons , or others who have not power and right to call ; much lesse is it lawfull by their own judgement or arbitrement to assume and arrogate the same to themselves : but before it be lawfull to undergoe that sacred ministery in churches constituted , a speciall calling ; yea beside , a lawfull election ( which alone is not sufficient ) a mission , or sending , or ( as commonly it is termed ) ordination , is necessarily required , and that both for the avoyding of confusion , and to bar out , or shut the door ( so far as in us lieth ) upon impostors ; as also by reason of divine institution delivered to us in the holy scripture , rom. 10. 15. heb. 5. 4. tit. 1 5. 1 tim. 1. 14. 4. the church ought to be governed by no other persons then ministers and stewards preferred and placed by christ , and after no other manner then according to the lawes made by him ; and therefore there is no power on earth which may challenge to it self authority or dominion over the church : but whosoever they are that would have the things of christ to be administred not according to the ordinance and will of christ revealed in his word , but as it liketh them , and according to their own will and prescript , what other thing go they about to do , then by horrible sacriledge to throw down christ from his own throne . 5. for our onely law-giver and interpreter of his fathers will , jesus christ hath prescribed and fore-appointed the rule according to which he would have his worship and the government of his own house to be ordered . to wrest this rule of christ laid open in his holy word , to the counsels , wills , manners , devices or lawes of men , is most hight impiety ; but contrarily , the law of faith commandeth the counsell and purposes of men to be framed and conformed to this rule , and overturneth all the reasonings of worldly wisdome , and bringeth into captivity the thoughts of the proud swelling minde to the obedience of christ : neither ought the voice of any to take place or bee rested upon in the church , but the voice of christ alone . 6. the same lord and our saviour jesus christ , the onely head of the church hath ordained in the new testament , not only the preaching of the word and administration of baptisme and the lords supper , but also ecclesiasticall government , distinct and differing from the civill government , and it is his will that there be such a government distinct from the civill in all his churches everywhere , as well those which live under christian , as those under indfiell magistrates , even untill the end of the world . heb. 13. 7. 17. 1 tim. 5. 17 , 19. rom. 12. 8. 1 cor. 12. 28. 1 thes. 5. 12 , acts 1. 20 , 28. luke 12. 42. 1 tim. 6. 14. apoc. 2. 25. 7. this ecclesiasticall government distinct from the civill , is from god committed , not to the whole body of the church or congregation of the faithfull , or to be exercised both by officers and people , but to the ministers of gods word , together with the elders which are joyned with them for the care and government of the church , 1 tim. 5. 17. to these therefore who are over the church in the lord , belongeth the authority and power , and it lyeth upon them by their office , according to the rule of gods word to discerne and judge betwixt the holy and prophane , to give diligence for amendment of delinquents , and to purge the church ( as much as is in them ) from scandalls , and that not onely by enquiring , inspection , warning , reproving , and more sharply expostulating , but also by acting in the further and more severe parts of ecclesiasticall discipline , or exercising ecclesiastick jurisdiction , even unto the greatest and weightiest censures , where need is . 8. none that is within the church ought to be without the reach of church law , and exempt from ecclesiastick censu●es ; but discipline is to be exercised on all the members of the church , without respect or consideration of those adhering qualities which use to commend a man to other men ; such as power , nobility , illustrious descent , and the like : for the judgement cannot be right , where men are led and moved with these considerations . wherefore , let respect of persons be farre from all judges , chiefly the ecclesiasticall : and if any in the church doe so swell in pride , that he refuse to be under this discipline , and would have himself to be free and exempt from all trial and ecclesiastick judgement , this mans disposition is more like the haughtinesse of the roman pope , then the meeknesse and submissivenesse of christs sheep . 9. ecclesiasticall censure moreover is either proper to be inflicted upon the ministers and office-bearers onely , or with them common to other members of the church ; the former consisteth in suspension or deposition of ministers from their office ( which in the ancient canons is called {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} ) the latter consisteth in the greater and lesser excommunication , ( as they speak . ) whatsoever in another brother deserveth excommunication , the same much more in a minister deserveth excommunication : but justly sometimes a minister is to be put from his office , and deprived of that power which by ordination was given him , against whom neverthelesse to draw the sword of excommunication , no reason doth compell . 10. sometime also it happeneth that a minister having fallen into heresie or apostasie , or other grievous crimes , if hee shew tokens of true repentance , may be justly received into the communion of the church ; whom notwithstanding , 〈◊〉 is no way expedient to restore into his former place or charge ; yea , perhaps it will not be found fit to restore such a one to the ministery in another congregation , as soone as he is received into the bosome of the church ; which surely is most agreeable as well as to the word of god , 2 king. 23 9. ezech. 44. 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14. as to that ecclesiasticall discipline , which in some ages after the times of the apostles was in use . so true is it that the ministers of the church , are lyable as well to peculiar as to common censures ; or that a minister of the church is censured one way , and one of the people another way . 11. ecclesiasticall censure , which is not proper to ministers , but common to them with other members of the church , is either suspension from the lords supper , ( which by others is called the publicanes excommunication , ) or the cutting off of a member , which is commonly called excommunication . the distinction of this twofold censure ( commonly , though not so properly passing under the name of the lesser and greater excommunication ) is not onely much approved by the church of scotland , and the synode now assembled at westminster , but also by the reformed churches of france , the low-countreys , and of pole-land , as is to be seen in the book of the ecclesiastick discipline of the reformed churches in france . chap. 5. art. 9. in the harmonie of the belgicke synodes . chap. 14. art. 8. 9. in the canons of the generall synode of torne , held in the yeare 1597. 12 that the distinction of that twofold church censure was allowed also by antiquity , it may be sufficiently clear to him who will consult the sixtie one canon of the sixth generall synode , with the annotations of zonaras and balsomon ; also the thirteenth canon of the eighth synode ( which is termed the first and second ) with the notes of zonaras ; yea besides , even the penitents also themselves of the fourth degree , or {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , that is , which were in the consistency , were suspended from the lords supper , though as to other things of the same condition with the faithfull ; for to the communion also of prayers , and so to all priviledges of ecclesiasticall society , the eucharist alone excepted , they were thought to have right : so sacred a thing was the eucharist esteemed . see also beside others , cyprian 1. book . epist. 11. that dyonisius the author of tha ecclesiastick hierarchie . chap. 3. part. 3. basil . epist. to amphilochius . can. 4. ambros. lib. 2. de officiis , chap. 27. augustine in his book against the donatists , after the conference , chap. 4. chrysostom homil. 83. in matth. gregor. the great epist. lib. 2. chap 65. and 66. walafridus strabo of ecclesiasticall matters . chap. 17. 13. that first and lesser censure by christs ordinance , is to be inflicted on such as have received baptisme , and pretend to be true members of the church , yet are found unfit and unworthy to communicate in the signes of the grace of christ with the church , whether for their grosse ignorance of divine things , the law namely and gospell , or by reason of scandall either of false doctrine or wicked life . for these causes therefore , or for some one of them , they are to be kept back from the sacrament of the lords supper ( a lawfull judiciall tryall going before ) according to the interdiction of christ , forbidding that that which is holy be given to dogs , or pearles bee cast before swine , matth 7. 6. and this censure of suspension is to continue , till the offenders bring forth fruits worthy of repentance . 14. for the asserting and defending of this suspension , there is no small accession of strength from the nature of the sacrament it self , and the institution and end thereof . the word of god indeed is to be preached , as well to the ungodly and impenitent that they may be converted , as to the godly and repenting , that they may be confirmed : but the sacrament of the lords supper is by god instituted , not for beginning the work of grace , but for nourishing and increasing grace , and therefore none is to be admitted to the lords supper , who by his life testifieth that he is impenitent , and not as yet converted . 15. indeed if the lord had instituted this sacrament , that not onely it should nourish and cherish faith , and seal the promises of the gospell , but also should begin the work of grace in sinners , and give regeneration it self , as the instrumentall cause thereof , verily even the most wicked , most uncleane and most unworthy were to be admitted . but the reformed churches do otherwise judge of the nature of this sacrament , which shall be abundantly manifest by the gleaning of these following testimonies . 16. the scottosh confession , art. 23. but we confesse that the lords supper belongs onely to those of the houshold of faith , who can try and examine themselves , as well in faith , as in the duties of faith towards their neighbours . whoso abide without faith , and in variance with their brethren , doe at that holy table eate and drinke unworthily . hence it is that the pastors in our church doe enter on a publike and particular examination , both of the knowledge , conversation and life of those who are to be admitted to the lords table . the belgick confession . art. 35. we beleevs also and confesse that our lord jesus christ hath ordained the holy sacrament of his supper , that in it he may nourish and uphold them whom he hath already regenerated . 17. the saxon confession . art. 15. of the lords supper . the lord willeth that every receiver be particularly confirmed by this testimony , so that he may be certified that the benefits of the gospel doe appertaine to himself , seeing the preaching is common , and by this testimony , by this receiving , he sheweth that thou art one of his members , and washed with his blood . and by and by . thus therefore we instruct the church , that it behooveth them that come to the supper , to bring with them repentance or conversion , and ( faith being now kindled in the meditation of the death and resurrection , and the benefits of the son of god ) to seek here the confirmation of this faith . the very same things are set downe , and that in the very same words in the consent of the churches of pole-land in the sendominian synode , anno 1570. art. of the lords supper , 18. the bohemian confession . art. 11. next our divines teach that the sacraments of themselves , or as some say , ex opere operato , doe not confer grace to those , who are not first endued with good motions , and inwardly quickened by the holy spirit , neither doe they bestow justifying faith , which maketh the soule of man in all things obsequious , trusting and obedient to god ; for faith must goe before ( wee speake of them of ripe yeares ) which quickeneth a man by the work of the holy spirit , and putting good motions into the heart . and after : but if any come unworthily to the sacraments , he is not made by them worthy or cleane , but doth only bring greater sinne and damnation on himself . 19. seeing then in the holy supper , that is in the receiving the sacramentall elements ( which is here distinguished from the prayers and exhortations accompanying that action ) the benefits of the gospell are not first received , but for them being received are thanks given ; neither by partaking thereof doth god bestow the very spirituall life , but doth preserve , cherish and perfect that life ; and seeing the word of god is accounted in the manner of letters patents , but sacraments like seals , ( as rightly the helvetian confession faith , chap. 19 ) it plainely followeth that those are to be kept back from the lords supper , which by their fruits and manners doe prove themselves to be ungodly orimpenitent , and strangers or alients from all communion with christ ; nor are the promises of grace sealed to any other then to those to whom these promises doe belong , for otherwise the seal annexed should contradict and gainsay the letters patents ; and by the visible word those should be loosed anst remitted , which by the audible word are bound and condemned : but this is such an absurdity , as that if any would , yet hee cannot smooth or heal it with any plaister . 20. but as known , impious , and unregenerate persons have no right to the holy table : so also ungodly persons , by reason of grievous scandall are justly for a time deprived of it ; for it is not lawfull or allowable that the comforts and promises which belong onely to such as beleeve and repent , should be sealed unto known unclean persons , and those who walk inordinatly , whether such as are not yet regenerate , or such as are regenerate , but fallen and not yet restored or risen from their fall . the same discipline was plainly shaddowed forth under the old testament ; for none of gods people during their legall pollution , was permitted to enter into the tabernable , or to have accesse to the solomne sacrifices and society of the church : and much more were wicked and notorious offenders debarred from the temple ever untill by an offering for sinne , together with a solemne confession thereof , being cleansed , they were reconciled unto god . num. 5 6 , 7 , 8. lev. 5. to the 7. vers lev. 6. to vers. 8. 21. yea that those who were polluted with sins and crimes , were reckoned among the unclean in the law , maimonides in more nevo●him , part. 3 chap 47. proveth out of lev. 20. 3. lev. 18 24. num. 35. 33. 34. therefore seeing the shedding of mans blood was rightly esteemed the greatest pollution of all ; hence it was , that as the society of the leprous was shunned by the cleare , so the company of murtherers by good men was most religiously avoided . lament. 4. 13 , 14 , 15. the same thing is witnessed by ananias the high preist , 〈◊〉 josephus of the jewish warre . 4. book , chap. 5. where hee saith that those false zelots of that time , bloody men , ought to have been restrained from accesse to the temple , by reason of the pollution of murther ; yea as philo the jew witnesseth in his book of the officers of sacrifices ; whosoever were found unworthy and wicked , were by edict forbidden to approach the holy thresholds . 22. neither must that be past by which was noted by zonaras , book 4. of his annals , ( whereof see also scaliger agreeing with him , in elench . triberes . nicferrar . cap. 28 ) namely that the essenes were forbidden the holy place as being hainous and piacular transgressors , and such as held other opinions , and did otherwise teach concerning sacrifices then according to the law , and observed not the ordinances of moses , whence it proceeded that they sacrificed privately ; yea and also the essenes them selves did thrust away from their congregations those that were wicked . whereof see drusius of the three sects of jews , lib. 4. cap. 22. 23. god verily would not have his temple to be made open to unworthy and uncleane worshippers , nor was it free for such men to enter into the temple . see nazianzen , orat. 21. the same thing is witnessed and declared by divers late writers , such as have been and are more acquainted with the jewish antiquities . consult the anotations of vatablus and of ainsworth an english writer upon psal. 118. 19 , 20. also constantius l'empereur annotat. in cod. middoth , cap. 2. pag. 44 , 45. cornelius bertramus , of the common-wealth of the hebrews . cap. 7. henrie vorstius , animadvers. in pirk . rab. eliezer . pag. 169. the same may be proved out of ezech. 33. 38 29. jer. 7. 9 10 , 11 , 12. whence also it was that the solemne and publike society in the temple , had the name of the assembly of the righteous , and congregation of saints . psal. 89. 5 , 7. psal. 111. 1. psal. 147. 1. hence also is that , psal. 118. 19 , 20. of the gates of righteousnesse by which the righteous enter . 24. that which is now driven at , is not that all wicked and unclean persons should be utterly excluded from our ecclesiasticall societies , and so from all hearing of gods word ; yea there is nothing lesse intended : for the word of god is the instrument as well of conversion as of confirmation , and therefore is to be preached as well to the not converted as to the converted , as well to the repenting , as the unrepenting : the temple indeed of jerusalem had speciall promises , as it were pointing out with the finger a communion with god through christ , 1 king. 8. 30 , 48. dan. 6. 10. 2 chron. 6. 16. and 7. 15 , 16. but 't is far otherwise with our temples , or places of church assemblies , because our temples contain nothing sacramentall in them , such as the tabernacle and temple contained ; as the most learned professors of leyden said rightly in synops . pur. theologiae disput. 48. thes. 47. 25. wherefore the point to be here considered as that which is now aimed at , is this , that howsoever even under the new testament , the uncleannesse of those to whom the word of god is preached be tolerated ; yet all such , of what estate or condition soever in the church , as are defiled with manifest and grievous scandals , and doe thereby witnesse themselves to be without the inward and spirituall commnnion with christ and the faithfull , may and are to be altogether discharged from the communion of the lords supper , untill they repent and change their manners . 26. besides , even those to whom it was not permitted to goe into the holy courts of israel , and to ingyre themselves into ecclesiasticall communion , and who did stand between the court of israel and the utter wall , were not therefore to be kept back from hearing the word ; for in solomons porch , and so in the intermurale or court of the gentiles the gospel was preached both by christ , john 10. 23. and also by the apostles , acts 3. 11. and 5. 12. and that of purpose because of the reason brought by pineda , of the things of solomon , book 5. chap. 19. because a more frequent multitude was there , and somewhat larger opportunity of sowing the gospel : wherefore to any whomsoever , even heathen people meeting there , the lord would have the word to be preached , who notwithstanding , purging the temple , did not onely overthrow the tables of money-changers , and chairs of those that sold doves , but also , cast forth the buyers and sellers themselves , matth. 21. 12. for he could not endure either such things , or such persons in the temple . 27. although then the gospel is to be preached to every creature , the lord in expresse words commanding the same , mark 16. 15. yet not to every one is set open an accesse to the holy supper . 't is granted that hypocrites do lurk in the church , who hardly can be convicted and discovered , much lesse repelled from the lords supper . such therefore are to be suffered , till by the fan of judgement the grain be separate from the chaffe : but those whose wicked deeds or words are known and made manifest , are altogether to be debarred from partaking those symboles of the covenant of the gospel , left that the name of god be greatly disgraced , whilest sins are permitted to spread abroad in the church unpunished ; or lest the stewards of christ by imparting the signes of the grace of god to such as are continuing in the state of impurity and scandall , be partakers of their sins . hitherto of suspension . 28. excommunication ought not to be procceded unto except when extreme necessity constraineth : but whensoever the soul of the sinner cannot otherwise be healed , and that the safety of the church requireth the cutting off of this or that member , it behoveth to use this last remedy . in the church of rome indeed excommunication hath been turned into greatest injustice and tyranny ( as the pharisees abused the casting out of the synagogues , which was their excommunication ) to the fulfilling of the lust of their own mindes ; yet the ordinance of christ is not therefore by any of the reformed religion to be utterly thrust away and wholly rejected . what protestant knows not that the vassals of antichrist have drawn the lords supper into the worst and most pernicious abuses , as also the ordination of ministers , and other ordinances of the gospel ? yet who will say that things necessary ( whether the necessity be that of command , or that of the 〈◊〉 or end ) are to be taken away because of the abuse ? 29. they therefore who with an high hand do persevere in their wickednesse , after foregoing admonitions stubbornly despised or carelesly neglected , are justly by excommunication in the name of the lord jesus christ cut off and cast out from the society of the faithfull , and are pronounced to be cast out from the church , untill being filled with shame , and cast downe , they shall return again to a more sound minde , and by confession of their sinne and amendment of their lives , they shall shew tokens of their repentance , matth. 18. 16 , 17 , 18. 1 cor. 5. 13. which places are also alledged in the confession of bohemia , art. 8. to prove that the excommunication of the impenitent and stubborn , whose wickednesse is known , is commanded of the lord : but if stubborn hereticks , or unclean persons be not removed or cast out from the church , therein doe the governours of the church sinne , and are found guilty , rev. 2. 14 , 20. 30. but that all abuse and corruption in ecclesiasticall government may be either prevented and avoided , or taken away ; or lest the power of the church either by the ignorance or unskilfulnesse of some ministers here and there , or also by too much heat and fervour of minde , should run out beyond measure or bounds , or contrariwise being shut up within straiter limits then is fitting , should be made unprofitable , feeble , or of none effect : christ the most wise law-giver of his church hath foreseen , and made provision to prevent all such evils which he did foresee were to arise , and hath prepared and prescribed for them intrinsecall and ecclesiasticall remedies , and those also in their kinde ( if lawfully and rightly applyed ) both sufficient and effectuall : some whereof he hath most expresly propounded in his word , and some he hath left to be drawn from thence by necessary consequence . 31. therefore by reason of the danger of that which is called clavis erra●● , or a wrong key ; and that it may not be permitted to particular churches to erre or sin licentiously , and lest any mans cause be overthrown and perish , who in a particular church had perhaps the same men both his adversaries and his judges ; also that common businesses which doe belong to many churches , together with the more weighty and difficult controversies ( the deciding whereof in the consistories of particular churches is not safe to be adventured upon ) may be handled and determined by a common councell of presbyteries . finally , that the governours of particular churches , may impart help mutually one to another against the cunning and subtill enemies of the truth , and may joyne their strength together ( such as it is ) by an holy combination , and that the church may be as a camp of an army well ordered ; lest while every one striveth singly , all of them be subdued and overcome ; or lest by reason of the scarcity of prudent and godly counsellours ( in the multitude of whom is safety ) the affairs of the church be undone : for all those considerations particular churches must be subordinate to classicall presbyteries and synods . 32. wherefore 't is not lawfull to particular churches , or ( as commonly they are called ) parochiall , either to decline the authority of classes or synods , where they are lawfully setled , or may be had ( much lesse to withdraw themselves from that authority , if they have once acknowledged it ) or to refuse such lawfull ordinances or decrees of the classes or synodes , as being agreeable to the word of god , are with authority imposed upon them . acts 15. 2 , 6 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 28 , 29. and 16. 4. 33. although synods assemble more seldome , classes and consistories of particular churches more frequently ; yet that synods both provinciall and nationall assemble at set and ordinary times , as well as classes and parochiall consistories is very expedient , and for the due preservation of church policie and discipline , necessary . sometime indeed it is expedient they be assembled occasionally , that the urgent necessity of the church may be the more speedily provided for , namely , when such a businesse happeneth , which without great danger cannot be put off till the appointed time of the synod . 34. but that besides occasionall synods , ordinary synods be kept at set times , is most profitable , not onely that they may discusse and determine the more difficult ecclesiasticall causes coming before them , whether by the appeal of some person agrieved , or by the hesitation or doubting of inferiour assemblies ( for such businesses very often fall out ; ) but also that the state of the churches whereof they have the care , being more certainly and frequently searched and known , if there be any thing wanting or amisse in their doctrine , discipline or manners , or any thing worthy of punishment , the slothful labourers in the vineyard of the lord may be made to shake off the spirit of slumber and slothfulnesse , and be stirred up to the attending and fulfilling more diligently their calling , and not suffered any longer to sleep and snort in their office ; the straglers and wanderers may be reduced to the way ; the untoward and stiffe-necked , which scarce or very hardly suffer the yoak of discipline , as also unquiet persons , which devise new and hurtfull things may be reduced to order . finally , whatsoever doth hinder the more quick and efficacious course of the gospel , may be discovered and removed . 35. it is too too manifest ( alas for it ) that there are , which with unwearied diligence doe most carefully labour that they may oppresse the liberties and rights of synods , and may take away from them all liberty of consulting of things and matters ecclesiasticall , at least of determining thereof , ( for they well know how much the union and harmony of churches may make against their designes . ) but so much the more it concerneth the orthodox churches to know , defend and preserve this excellent liberty granted to them by divine right , and so to use it , that imminent dangers , approaching evils , urging grievances , scandals growing up , schismes rising , heresies creeping in , errours spreading , and strifes waxing hot , may be corrected and taken away , to the glory of god , the edification and peace of the church . 36. beside provinciall and nationall synodes , an occumenicall ( so called from {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , that is from the habitable world ) or more truely a generall , or if you will , an universall synode , if so be it be free and rightly constituted , and no other commissioners but orthodox churches bee admitted ( for what communion is there of light with darknesse , of righteousnesse with unrighteousnesse , or of the temple of god with idols ) such a synode is of speciall utility , peradventure also such a synode is to be hoped for , surely t is to be wished , that for defending the orthodox faith , both against popery and other heresies , as also for propagating it to those who are without , especially the jews , a more strait and more firme consociation may be entred into . for the unanimity of all the churches as in evill t is of all things most hurtfull , so on the contrary side , in good it is most pleasant , most profitable and most effe●●uall . 37. unto the universall synode also ( when it may be had ) is to be referred the judgement of controversies , not of all , but of those which are controversia juris , controversies of right , neither yet of all those , but of the chief and most weighty controversies of the orthodox faith , or of the most hard and unusuall cases of conscience . of the controversies of fact there is another and different consideration to be had ; for besides that it would be a great inconvenience that plaintifes , persons accused , and witnesses be drawne from the most remote churches , to the generall or universall counsell ; the visible communion it selfe of all the churches ( on which the universal counsel is built , and whereupon as on a foundation it leaneth ) is not so much of company , fellowship , or conversation , as of religion and doctrine . all true churches of the world doe indeed professe the same true religion and faith ; but there is beside this a certaine commixture and conjunction of the churches of the same nation , as to a more near fellowship , and some acquaintance , converting and companying together , which cannot be said of all the churches thorowout the habitable world . 38. and for this cause , as in doctrinall controversies which are handled by theologues and casuists , and in those which belong to the common state of the orthodox churches , the nationall synod is subordinate and subjected to the universall lawfully constituted synod , and from the nationall to the occumenicall synod ( when there is a just and weighty cause ) an appeal is open : so there is no need that the appeals of them who complain of injury done to them through the exercise of discipline in this or that church , should goe beyond the bounds of the nationall synod : but 't is most agreeable to reason that they should rest and acquiesce within those bounds and borders ; and that the ultimate judgement of such matters be in the nationall synod , unlesse the thing it self be so hard , and of so great moment , that the knot be justly thought worthy of a greater decider : in which case the controversie which is carried to the universall synod is rather of an abstract general theologicall proposition , then of the particular or individuall case . 39. furthermore , the administration of the ecclesiastick power in consistories , classes and synods , doth not at all tend to weaken in any wise , hurt or minish the authority of the civill magistrate , much lesse to take it away or destroy it ; yea rather , by it a most profitable help cometh to the magistrate , forasmuch as by the bond of religion mens consciences are more straitly tyed unto him . there have been indeed phantasticall men who under pretence and cloak of christian liberty would abolish and cast out lawes and judgements , orders also , degrees and honours out of the common-wealth , and have been bold to reckon the function of the magistrate armed with the sword , among evill things and unlawfull : but the reformed churches doe renounce and detest those dreams , and do most harmoniously and most willingly confesse and acknowledge it to be gods will that the world be governed by lawes and plicy , and that hee himself hath appointed the civill magistrate , and hath delivered to him the sword , to the protection and praise of good men , but for punishment and revenge on the evill , that by this bridle mens vices and faults may be restrained , whether committed against the first or against the second table . 40. the reformed churches believe also and openly confesse the power and authority of emperours over their empires , of kings over their kingdoms , of princes and dukes over their dominions , and of other magistrates or states over their common-wealths and cities , to be the ordinances of god himself , appointed as well to the manifestation of his owne glory , as to the singular profit of mankinde : and withall , that by reason of the will of god himself revealed in his word , wee must not onely suffer and be content that those doe rule which are set over their own territories , whether by hereditary , or by elective right ; but also to love them , fear them , and with all reverence and honour embrace them as the ambassadours and ministers of the most high and good god , being in his stead , and preferred for the good of their subjects ; to powre out prayers for them , to pay tributes to them , and in all businesses of the common-wealth which are not against the word of god , to obey their laws and edicts . 41. the orthodox churches believe also , and do willingly acknowledge , that every lawfull magistrate , being by god himself constituted the keeper and defender of both tables of the law , may and ought first and chiefly to take care of gods glory , and ( according to his place , or in his manner and way ) to preserve religion when pure , and to restore it when cecayed and corrupted : and also to provide a learned and godly ministry , schools also and synods , as likewise to restrain and punish as well atheists , blasphemers , hereticks and schismaticks , as the violaters of justice and civill peace . 42. wherefore the opinion of those sectaries of this age is altogether to be disallowed , who though otherwise insinuating themselves craftily into the magistrates favour , doe denie unto him the authority and right of restraining hereticks and schismaticks , and doe hold and maintain that such persons , how much soever hurtfull and pernicious enemies to true religion and to the church , yet are to be tolerated by the magistrate , if so be hee conceive them to be such as no way violate the lawes of the commonwealth , and in no wise disturb the civill peace . 43. yet the civill power and the ecclesiasticall ought not by any means to be confounded or mixed together : both powers are indeed from god , and ordained for his glory , and both to be guided by his word , and both are comprehended under that precept , honour thy father and thy mother : so that men ought to obey both civill magistrates and ecclesiasticall governours in the lord ; to both powers their proper dignity and authority is to be maintained and preserved in force : to both also is some way entrusted the keeping of both tables of the law ; also both the one and the other doth exercise some jurisdiction , and giveth sentence of judgement in an externall court or judicatory : but these , and other things of like sort , in which they agree notwithstanding ; yet by marvellous vaste differences are they distinguished the one from the other , and the rights of both remain distinct , and that eight manner of wayes , which it shall not be amisse here to adde , that unto each of these administrations its own set bounds may be the better maintained . 44. first of all therefore they are differenced the one from the other in respect of the very foundation and the institution : for the politicall or civill power is grounded upon the law of nature it selfe , and for that cause it is common to infidels with christians : the power ecclesiasticall dependeth immediatly upon the positive law of christ alone , that belongeth to the universall dominion of god the creator over all nations ; but this unto the speciall and occonomicall kingdom of christ the mediator , which he exerciseth in the church alone , and which is not of this world . 45. the second difference is in the object , or matter about which : the power politick or civill is occupied about the outward man , and civill or earthly things , about warre , peace , conservation of justice , and good order in the common-wealth ; also about the outward businesse or externall things of the church , which are indeed necessary to the church , or profitable , as touching the outward man , yet not properly and purely spirituall , for they doe not reach unto the soule , but onely to the externall state and condition of the ministers and members of the church . 46. for the better understanding whereof , t is to be observed that so farre as the ministers and members of the church are citizens , subjects , or members of the common-wealth , it is in the power of the magistrate , to judge , determine and give sentence concerning the disposing of their bodies or goods ; as also concerning the maintenance of the poore , sick , the banished , and of others in the church which are afflicted ; to regulate ( so far as concerneth the civill order ) marriages , burials , and other circumstances which are common both to holy , and also to honest civill societies ; to afford places fit for holy assemblies and other externall helps by which the sacred matters of the lord may be more safely , commodiously , and more easily in the church performed : to remove the externall impediments of divine worship or of ecclesiasticall peace , and to represse those which exalt themselves against the true church and her ministers , and doe raise up trouble against them . 47 the matter may further be thus illustrated : there is almost the like respect and confideration of the magistrate as he is occupied about the outward things of the church , and of the ecclesiastick ministery as it is occupied about the inward or spirituall part of civill government , that is about those things which in the government of the common-wealth belong to the conscience . it is one thing to governe the common-wealth , and to make politicall and civill lawes ; another thing to interpret the word of god , and out of it to shew to the magistrate his duty , to wit , how he ought to govern the common-wealth , and in what manner he ought to use the sword . the former is prop●r and peculiar to the magistrate ( neither doth the ministery intermeddle or intangle it self into such businesses , ) but the latter is contained within the office of the ministers . 48. for to that end also is the holy scripture profitable , to shew which is the best manner of governing a common-wealth , and that the magistrate as being gods minister may by this guiding starre bee so directed , as that he may execute the parts of his office according to the will of god , and may perfectly be instituted to every good work ; yet the minister is not said properly to treat of civill businesses , but of the scandalls which arise about them , or of the cases of conscience which occurre in the administration of the common-wealth : so also the magistrate is not properly said to be exercised about the spirituall things of the church , but rather about those externall things which adhere unto and accompany the spirituall things . 49. and in such externall matters of the church , although all magistrates will not , yet all , yea even heathen magistrates may and ought to aide and help the church ; whence it is that by the command of god , prayers are to be made also for an heathen magistrate , that the faithfull under them may live a quiet life with all godlinesse and honesty . 1 tim. 2. 1 2. 50. unto the externall things of the church belongeth ▪ not onely the correction of hereticlis and other troublers of the church , but also that civill order and way of convocating and calling together synods which is proper to the magistrate ; for the magistrate ought by his authority and power both to establish the rights and liberties of synods assembling together , at times appointed by the known and received law , and to indict and gather together synods occasionally , as often as the necessity of the church shall require the same ; not that all or any power to consult or determine of ecclesiastick or spirituall matters doth flow or spring from the magistrate as head of the church under christ ; but because in those things pertaining to the outward man , the church needeth the magistrates aid and support . 51. so that the magistrate calleth together synods , not as touching those things which are proper to synods ; but in respect of the things which are common to synods with other meetings and civill publick assemblies ; that is , not as they are assemblies in the name of christ , to treat of matters spirituall , but as they are publick assemblies within his territories ; for to the end that publick conventions may be kept in any territorie , the licence of the lord of that place ought to be desired . in synods therefore a respect of order , as well civill as ecclesiasticall is to be had ; and because of this civill order , outward defence , better accommodation , together with safe accesse and recesse , the consent and commandement of him who is appointed to cake care of and defend humane order , doth intervene . 52. moreover when the church is rent asunder by unhappy and lamentable shcismes , while they who have raised the troubles , and have given cause of solemne gathering a synode ( whether by their heresie , or schisme , or tyranny , or any other fault of others ) use to place the great strength and safeguard of their cause in declining and fleeing the tryall and sentence of a free synode , as being formidable to them : who seeth not that they cannot be drawn to a publick and judiciall tryall , nor other disobedient persons be compelled to obedience without the magistrates publick mandate and help ? 53. the object of ecclesiasticall power is not the same with the object of the civill power , but much differing from it ; for the ecclesiasticall power doth determine and appoinr nothing concerning mens bodies , goods , dignities , civill rights , but is imployed onely about the inward man , or the soul ; not that it can search the hearts , or judge of the secrets of the conscience , which is in the power of god alone : yet notwithstanding it hath for its proper object those externalls which are purely spirituall , and doe belong properly and most neerly to the spirituall good of the soul ; which also are termed {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , the inward things of the church . 54. those things then wherein the ecclesiasticall power is exercised , are the preaching of the word , the administration of sacraments , publick prayer and thanksgiving , the catechising and instructing of children and ignorant persons , the examination of those who are to come the holy communion , the ecclesiasticall discipline , the ordination of ministers , and the abdication , deposing , and degrading of them ( if they become like unsavoury salt ) , the deciding and determining of controversies of faith , and cases of conscience , canonicall constitutions concerning the treasurie of the church , and collections of the faithfull , as also concerning ecclesiasticall rites , or indifferent things , which pertaine to the keeping of decencie and order in the church according to the generall rules of christian love and prudence contained in the word of god . 55. 't is true , that about the same things the civill power is occupied , as touching the outward man , or the outward disposing of divine things in this or that dominion , as was said ; not as they are spirituall and evangelicall ordinances piercing into the conscience it selfe ; but the object of the power ecclesiasticall is a thing meerly and purely spirituall ; and in so far as it is spirituall ( for even that jurisdiction ecclesiasticall which is exercised in an outward court or judicatory , and which inflict●● publike censures , forbidden from the use of the holy supper , and excludeth from the society of the church ) doth properly concerne the inward man , or the repentance and salvation of the soul . 56. surely the faithfull and godly ministers , although they could doe it unchallenged and uncontrolled , and were therein allowed by the magistrate ( as in the prelaticall times it was ) yet would not usurpe the power of life and death , or judge and determine concerning mens honours , goods , inheritance , division of families , or other civill businesses ; seeing they well know these things to bee heterogeneous to their office : but as they ought not to entangle themselves with the judgeing of civill causes , so if they should bee negligent and slothfull in their owne office , they shall in that bee no lesse culpable . 57. to the object also of ecclesiasticall power belongeth the assembling of synodes , so far as they are spirituall assemblies proper to the church , and assembled in the holy ghost ; for being so considered , the governours of churches after the example of the apostles and presbyters , acts 15. in a manifest danger of the church , ought to use their owne right of meeting together and conveening , that the churches endangered may be relieved and supported . 58. thirdly , those powers are differences in respect of their formes , and that three wayes : for first the civill power , although in respect of god it bee ministeriall , yet in respect of the subjects it is lordly and magisteriall . ecclesiasticall power is indeed furnished with authority , yet that authority is liker the fatherly then the kingly authority ; yea also t is purely ministeriall , much lesse can it be lawfull to ministers of the church to bear dominion over the flock . 59. emperors , kings and other magistrats are indeed appointed fathers of they countrey , but the are withall lords of their people and subjects ; not as if it were permitted to them to bear rule and command at their owne will and as they list ( for they are the ministers of god for the good and profit of the subjects ) yet it belongs to their power truely and properly to exercise dominion , to hold principality , to proceed imperiously . it is indeed the duety of ministers and rulers of the church to oversee , to feed as shepherds , to correct and rectifie , to bear the keyes , to be stewards in the house of christ , but in no wise to be lords over the house , or to governe as lords , or lordlike to rule ; yea in brief , this is the difference between the civill magistrate and the ecclesiasticall ministery , in respect of those that are committed to their trust , that the lot of the former is to be served or ministred unto , the lot of the latter to minister or serve . 60. now we have one onely lord which governes our souls , neither is it competent to man , but to god alone to have power and authority over consciences . but the lord hath appointed his owne stewards over his owne family , that according to his commandment they may give to every one their allowance or portion , and to dispense his mysteries faithfully ; and to them hee hath delivered the keyes , or power of letting in into his house , or excluding out of his house those whom he himself will have let in or shut out . matth. 16. 19. and 18. 18. luk. 12. 42. 1 cor. 4. 1. tit. 1. 7. 61. next , the civill power is indued with authority of compelling ; but it belongs not to the ministery to compell the disobedient ; if any compulsion be in or about eclesissticall matters , t is adventitious from without , to wit , from the help and assistance of the magistrate , not from the nature of ecclesiasticall power , from which it is very heterogenous ; and therefore if any suspended or excommunicate persons should be found , who shall be so stiffe-necked , and so impudent that at once he cast off all shame , and make no account at all of those censures , but scorn or contemn the same , or peradventure shall insolently or proudly engyre and obtrude himself upon the sacrament , or being also filled with divelish malice , do more and more contradict and blaspheme ; the ecclesiasticall ministry in such cases hath nothing more to do by way of jurisdiction : but the magistrate hath in readinesse a compelling jurisdiction and externall force , whereby such stubborn , rebellious and undaunted pride may be externally repressed . 62. last of all , the power of the magistrate worketh onely politically or civilly , according to the nature of the scepter or sword , maketh and guardeth civill lawes , which sometimes also hee changeth or repealeth , and other things of that kinde hee eff●cteth with a secular power : but the ecclesiasticall power dealeth spiritually , and onely in the name of our lord jesus christ , and by authority entrusted or received from him alone : neither is it exercised without prayer or calling on the name of god : nor lastly , doth it use any other then spirituall weapons . 63. the same sinne therefore in the same man may be punished one way by the civill , another way by the ecclesiasticall power ; by the civill power under the formality of a crime , with corporall or pecuniary punishment : by the ecclesiasticall power , under the notion or nature of scandall , with a spirituall censure ; even as also the same civill question is one way deliberate upon and handled by the magistrate in the senate or place of judgement ; another way by the minister of the church , in the presbytery or synod : by the magistrate , so farre as it pertaineth to the government of the common-wealth ; by the minister , so far as it respects the conscience ; for the ecclesiastiall ministery also is exercised about civil things spiritually , in so far as it teacheth and admonisheth the magistrate out of the word of god what is best and most acceptable unto god ; or as it reproveth freely unjust judgements , unjust wars , and the like , and out of the scripture threatneth the wrath of god to be revealed against all unrighteousness of men : so also is the magistrate said to be occupied civilly about spiritual things . 64. therefore all the actions of the civill magistrate , even when he is imployed about ecclesiasticall matters , are of their own nature , and essentially , civill . he punisheth externally idolaters , blasphemers , sacrilegious persons , hereticks , prophaners of holy things , and according to the nature and measure of the sin , he condemneth to death or banishment , forfeiture of goods , or imprisonment : he guardeth and underproppeth ecclesiasticall canons with civill authority , giveth a place of habitation to the church in his territory , restraineth or expelleth the insolent and untamed disturbers of the church . 65. he taketh care also for maintaining the ministers and schools , and supplyeth the temporall necessities of gods servants , by his command assembleth synods , when there is need of them : and summoneth , calleth out , and draws to tryall the unwilling , which without the magistrates strength and authority cannot be done , as hath bin already said : he maketh synods also safe and secure , and in a civil way presideth or moderateth in them ( if it so seem good to him ) either by himself , or by a substitute commissioner . in all which the power of the magistrate , though occupied about spirituall things , is not , for all that , spiritual but civill . 66. fourthly , they differ in the end : the immediate , nearest end of civil power , is , that the good of the common-wealth may be provided for and procured , whether it be in time of peace , according to the rules of law and counsel of judges ; or in time of war , according to the rules of military prudence : and so the temporall safety of the subjects may be procured , and that external peace and civil liberty may be preserved , and being lost , may be again restored . 67. but the chiefest and last end of civill government is , the glory of god the creator , namely , that those which do evil , being by a superior power restrained or punished , and those which do good , getting praise of the same , the subjects so much the more may shun impiety and injustice : and that vertue , justice and the morall law of god ( as touching those eternal duties of both tables , unto which all the posterity of adam are obliged ) may remain in strength , and flourish , 68. but whereas the christian magistrate doth wholly devote himself to the promoting of the gospel and kingdom of christ , and doth direct and bend all the might and strength of his authority to that end : this proceedeth not from the nature of his office and function , which is common to him with an infidell magistrate ; but from the influence of his common christian calling into his particular vocation . 69. for every member of the church ( and so also the faithful and godly magistrate ) ought to referr and order his particular vocation , faculty , ability , power and honour to this end , that the kingdom of christ may be propagated and promoted , and the true religion be cherished and defended : so that the advancement of the gospell , and of all the ordinances of the gospell , is indeed the end of the godly magistrate : not of a magistrate simply ; or ( if ye will rather ) t is not the end of the office it self , but of him who doth execute the same piously . 70. but the end of ecclesiastical power , yea the end as well of the ministry it self , as of the godly minister , is , that the kingdom of christ may be set forward , that the pathes of the lord be made straight , that his holy mysteries may be kept pure , that stumbling-blocks may be removed out of the church , least a little leaven leaven the whole lump ; or least one sick or scabbed sheep infect the whole flock ; that the faithfull may so walk as it becometh the gospell of christ , and that the wandring sheep of christ may be converted and brought back to the sheep-fold : 71. and seeing this power is given of the lord , not to destruction but to edification ; therefore this same scope is propounded in excommunication , ( which is the greatest and last of ecclesiastical censures ) namely , that the soul of an offending brother may be gained to christ , and that being stricken with fear , and the stubborn sinner filled with shame , may by the grace of god be humbled , and may ( as a brand plucked out of the fire ) be snatched out of the snare of the devill , and may repent unto salvation ; at least , the rest may turn away from those which are branded with such a censure , least the soul infection do creep and spread further . 72. fiftly , they are distinguished by the effect . the effect of civil power is either proper or by way of redundance : the proper effect is the safety temporal of the common-wealth , externall tranquillity , the fruition of civil liberty , and of all things which are necessary to the civil society of men . the effect , by way of redundance , is the good of the church , to wit , in so far as by execution of justice and good laws , some impediments that usually hinder and disturb the course of the gospel , are avoided or taken away . 73. for by how much the more faithfully the magistrate executeth his office in punishing the wicked , and cherishing and encouraging good men , taking away those things which withstand the gospell , and punishing or driving away the troublers and subverters of the church ; so much the more the orthodox faith and godlyness are reverenced and had in estimation , sins are hated and feared : finally , and all the subjects contained ( as much as concerneth the outward man ) within the lists of gods law : whence also by consequence in happeneth , by gods blessing , that the church is desiled with fewer scandalls , and doth obtain the more freedom and peace . 74. but the proper effect of the ecclesiasticall power , or keys of the kingdom of heaven is wholly spirituall ; for the act of binding and loosing , of retaining and remitting sins , doth reach to the soul and conscience it self ( which cannot be said of the act of the civill power : ) and as unjust excommunication is void , so ecclesiasticall censure being inflicted by the ministers of christ , and his stewards , according to his will , is ratified in heaven , mat. 18. 18. and therefore ought to be esteemed and acknowledged in like manner as inflicted by christ himself . 75. sixthly , they are also differenced in respect of the subject : the politick power is committed sometimes to one , sometimes to more , sometime by right of election , sometime by right of succession : but the ecclesiasticall power is competent to none under the new testament by the right of succession , but he who hath it , must be called , by god and the church , to it ; neither was it given by christ to one , either pastor or elder , much less to a prelate , but to the church , that is , to the consistory of presbyters . 't is confessed indeed , and who can be ignorant of it , that the power ( as they call it ) of order , doth belong to particular ministers , and is by each of them apart lawfully exercised ? but that power which is commonly called of jurisdiction , is committed not to one , but to the unity , that is , to a consistory ; therefore ecclesiasticall censure ought not to be inflicted , but by many . 2 cor. 2. 6. 76. seventhly , they differ as touching the correlative : god hath commanded , that unto the civil power , every soul , or all members of the common-wealth , of what condition and estate soever , be subiect ; for what have we to do with the papists , who wil have them , whom they call the clergy or ecclesiasticall persons , to be free from the yoke of the civill magistrate ? the ecclesiasticall power extends it self to none other subiects , then unto those which are called brethren , or members of the church . 77. eightly , there remaineth another difference in respect of the distinct and divided exercise of authority . for either power ceasing from its duty , or remitting punishment , that doth not ( surely it ought not ) prejudice the exercise of the other power ; namely , if the magistrate cease to do his duty , or do neglect to punish with secular punishment , those malefactors which by profession are church members : nevertheless , it is in the power of the governors of the church , by the bridle of ecclesiastical discipline , to curb such men ; yea also , by vertue of their office they are bound to do it ; and on the other part , the magistrate may , and ought to punish in life and limb , honours or goods , notwithstanding the offenders repentance , or reconciliation with the church . 78. therefore the one sword being put up in the scabbard , it is free , and often necessary to draw the other . neither power is bound to cast out , or receive him , whom the other doth cast forth or receive : the reason whereof is , because the ecclesiastical ministry doth chiefly respect the repentance to salvation , and gaining of the sinners soul ; wherefore it also imbraceth all kind of wicked men repenting , and receiveth them into the bosome of the church . the magistrate proposeth to himself another , and much differing scope ; for even repenting offenders are by him punished , both that justice and the laws may be satisfied , as also to terrifie others ; hence it is , that absolution from ecclesiastick censure , freeth not at all the delinquent , from civill judgment , and that external sword . 79. seeing then there are so many and so great differences of both offices , and seeing also , that the function of ministers and elders of the church , is not at all contained in the office of the magistrate ; neither on the other part , this is comprehended within that ; magistrates shal no less sin in usurping ecclesiastical power , ministring holy things , ordaining ministers , or exercising discipline ecclesiasticall , then ministers should sin in rushing into the borders of the magistrate , and in thrusting themselves into his calling . 80. neither are those powers more mingled one with other , or less distinguished , where the magistrate is a christian , then where he is an infidell ; for , as in a believing father and in an infidel father , the rights of a father are the same , so in a christian magistrate , and in an infidell magistrate , the rights of magistrates are the same : so that to the magistrate converted to the christian faith , there is no accession of new right , or increase of civil power , although being indued with true faith and piety , he is made more fit and willing to the undergoing of his office and the doing of his duty . 81. so then the word of god and the law of christ , which by so evident difference , separateth and distinguisheth ecclesiastical government from the civill , forbiddeth the christian magistrate to enter upon , or usurp the ministry of the word and sacraments , or the juridicall dispensing of the keys of the kingdom of heaven , to invade the church-government , or to challenge to himself the right of both swords , spirituall and corporal : but if any magistrate ( which god forbid ) should dare to arrogate to himself so much , and to enlarge his skirts so far , the church shal then straight way be constrained to complain justly , and cry out , that though the pope is changed , yet popedom remaineth still . 82. it is unlawfull moreover to a christian magistrate , to withstand the practise and execution of ecclesiasticall discipline , ( whether it be that which belongs to a particular church , or the matter be carryed to a class or synode : ) now the magistrate withstandeth the ecclesiastick discipline , either by prohibitions and uniust laws , or by his evil example , stirring up , and inciting others to the contempt thereof , or to the trampling it under foot . 83. surely the christian magistrate ( if any time he give any grievous scandall to the church , ) seeing he also is a member of the church , ought no ways disdain to submit himself to the power of the keys ; neither is this to be marvelled at : for even as the office of the minister of the church is no ways subordinate and subjected to the civil power , but the person of the minister , as he is a member of the common-wealth , is subject thereto : so the civil power it self , or the magistrate , as a magistrate , is not subjected to ecclesiastick power ; yet that man who is a magistrate ought ( as he is a member of the church ) to be under the churches censure of his manners , after the example of the emperour theodosius , unless he wil despise and set at nought ecclesiastick discipline , and indulge the swelling pride of the flesh . 84. if any man should again object that the magistrate is not indeed to resist ecclesiasticall government , yet that the abuses thereof are to be corrected and taken away by him : the answer is ready , in the worst and troublesome times , or in the decayed and troubled estate of things , when the ordinance of god in the church , is violently turned into tyranny , to the treading down of true religion , and to the oppressing of the professors thereof , and when nothing almost is sound or whole , divers things are yielded to be lawfull to godly magistrates , which are not ordinarily lawfull for them , that so to extraordinary diseases , extraordinary remedies may be applyed . so also the magistrate abusing his power unto tyranny , and making havock of all , t is lawfull to resist him by some extraordinary ways and means , which are not ordinarily to be allowed . 85. yet ordinarily and by common or known law and right in settled churches , if any man have recourse to the magistrate to complain , that through abuse of ecclesiastick discipline , injury is done to him , or if any sentence of the pastors and elders of the church , whether concerning faith or discipline , do displease or seem uniust unto the magistrate himself ; it is not for that cause lawfull to draw those ecclesiasticall causes to a civil tribunal , or to bring in a kind of political or civil popedom . 86. what then ? shall it be lawful ordinarily for ministers and elders to do what they list , or shall the governors in the churches , glorying in the law , by their transgression dishonour god ? god forbid . for first , if they shall trespass in any thing against the magistrate or municipal laws , whether by intermedling in judging of civil causes , or otherwise disturbing the peace and order of the common-wealth , they are liable to civil tryal and judgments , as it is in the power of the magistrate to restrain and punish them . 87. again it hath been before shewed , that to ecclesiastical evils ecclesiastical remedies are appointed and fitted , for the church is no less then the common-wealth , through the grace of god , sufficient to it self in reference unto her own end : and as in the common-wealth , so in the church , the errour of inferior judgments and assemblies , or their evil government , is to be corrected by superior judgments and assemblies , and so still by them of the same order , lest one order be confounded with another , or one government be intermingled with another government . what shall now the adversaries of ecclesiastical power object here , which those who admit not the yoke of the magistrate may not be ready in like manner to transfer against the civil judicatories and government of the common-wealth ? seeing it happeneth sometimes that the common-wealth is no less ill governed then the church . 88. if any man shall prosecute the argument , and say , that yet no remedy is here shewed , which may be applyed to the injustice or error of a national synod : surely he stumbleth against the same stone , seeing he weigheth not the matter with an equal ballance ; for the same may in like sort fall back and be cast upon parliaments , or any supream senate of a common-wealth : for who seeth not the judgment of the supream civill senate to be nothing more infallible , yea also in matters of faith and ecclesiasticall discipline , more apt and prone to error ( as being less accustomed to sacred studies ) then the judgment of the nationall synod ? what medicines then , or what soveraign plaisters shal be had , which may be fit for the curing and healing of the errors and miscariages of the supream magistrate and senate ? the very like , and beside all this , other and more effectuall medicines , by which the errors of nationall synods may be healed , are possible to be had . 89. there wanteth not a divine medicine , and soveraign balm in gilead ; for although the popish opinion of the infallibility of counsels , be worthily rejected and exploded ; yet t is not in vain that christ hath promised , he shal be present with an assembly , which in deed and in truth , meeteth together in his name ; with such an assembly , verily he useth to be present by a spirituall aide and assistance of his own spirit , to uphold the falling , or to raise up the fallen . whence it is , that divers times the errors of former synods are discovered and amended by the latter : sometimes also the second , or after thoughts of one and the same synod are the wiser and the better . 90. furthermore , the line of ecclesiasticall subordination is longer and further stretched , then the line of civill subordination ; for a nationall synod must be subordinate and subject to an universall synod , in the manner aforesaid , whereas yet there is no occumenicall parliament , or generall civill court acknowledged , unto which the supream civill senate , in this or that nation , should be subject . finally , neither is the church altogether destitute of nearer remedies , whether an universall counsell may be had or not . 91. for the nationall synod ought to declare , and that with greatest reverence , to the magistrate , the grounds of their sentence , and the reasons of their proceedings , when he demandeth or enquireth into the same , and desireth to be satisfied : but if the magistrate nevertheless do dissent , or cannot by contrary reasons ( which may be brought , if he please ) move the synod to alter their judgment , yet may he require , and procure , that the matter be again debated and canvassed in another national synod ; and so the reasons on both sides being throughly weighed , may be lawfully determined in an ecclesiastical way . 92. but as there is much indeed to be given to the demand of the magistrate ; so is there here a two-fold caution to be used : for first , notwithstanding of a future revision , it is necessary that the former sentence of the synod , whether concerning the administration of ecclesiastick discipline , or against any heresie , be forthwith put in execution ; least by lingering and making of delays , the evil of the church take deeper root , and the gangreen spread and creep further : and least violence be done to the consciences of ministers , if they be constrained to impart the signs and seals of the covenant of grace to dogs and swine , that is , to unclean persons , wallowing in the mire of ungodliness ; and least subtile men abuse such interims or intervals , so as that ecclesiasticall discipline altogether decay , and the very decrees of synods be accounted as cobwebs , which none feareth to break down . 93. next it may be granted , that the matter may be put under a further examination , yet upon condition , that when it is come to the revision of the former sentence , regard may be had of the weaker which are found willing to be taught , though they doubt , but that unto the wicked and contentious tempters , which do mainly strive to oppress our liberty which we have in christ , and to bring us into bondage , we do not for a moment give place by subjecting our selves : for what else seek they or wait for , then that under the pretence of a revising and of new debate , they cast in lets and impediments ever and anon , and that by cunning lyings in wait , they may betray the liberty of the church , and in process of time may by open violence , more forceably break in upon it , or at least , constrain the ministers of the church to weave penelop's web , which they can never bring to an end . 94. moreover , the christian magistrate hath then only discharged his office in reference to ecclesiasticall discipline , when not only he withdraweth nothing from it , and maketh no impedient to it , but also affordeth speciall furtherance and help to it , according to the prophecy , esai . 49. 23. and kings shal be thy nursing fathers , and queens thy nursing mothers . 95. for christian magistrates and princes embracing christ , and sincerely giving their names to him , do not only serve him as men , but also use their office to his glory , and the good of the church : they defend , stand for , and take care to propagate the true faith and godliness , they affoord places of habitation to the church , and furnish necessary helps and supports , turn away injuries done to it , restrain false religion , and cherish , underprop , and defend the rights and liberties of the church : so far they are from diminishing , changing or restraining those rights , for so the condition of the church were in that respect worse , and the liberty thereof more cut short , under the christian magistrate , then under the infidell or heathen . 96. wherefore seeing these nursing fathers , favourers and defenders , can do nothing against the truth , but for the truth , nor have any right against the gospel , but for the gospel ; and their power in respect of the church , whereof they bear the care , being not privative or destructive , but cumulative and auxiliary , thereby it is sufficiently clear , that they ought to cherish , and by their authority , ought to establish the ecclesiasticall discipline ; but yet not with implicite faith , or blind obedience : for the reformed churches do not deny to any of the faithfull , much less to the magistrate , the judgment of christian prudence and discretion , concerning those things which are decreed or determined by the church . 97. therefore , as to each member of the church respectively , so unto the magistrate belongeth the judgment of such things , both to apprehend and to judg of them ; for although the magistrate is not ordained and preferred of god , that he should be a judg of matters and causes spirituall , of which there is controversie in the church : yet is he questionless judg of his own civill act , about spirituall things ; namely , of defending them in his own dominions , and of approving or tolerating the same ; and if in this business he judg and determine according to the wisdom of the flesh , and not according to the wisdom which is from above , he is to render an account thereof before the supream tribunall . 98. however the ecclesiasticall discipline , according as it is ordained by christ , whether it be established and ratified by civill authority , or not , ought to be retained and exercised in the society of the faithfull ( as long as it is free and safe for them to come together in holy assemblies ) for the want of civil authority is unto the church like a ceasing gain , but not like damage or loss ensuing ; as it superaddeth nothing more , so it takes nothing away . 99. if it further happen ( which god forbid ) that the magistrate do so far abuse his authority , that he doth straitly forbid what christ hath ordained ; yet the constant and faithful servants of christ , will resolve and determine with themselves , that any extremities are rather to be undergone , then that they should obey such things , and that we ought to obey god rather then men ; yea they will not leave off to perform all the parts of their office , being ready , in the mean time , to render a reason of their practice to every one that demandeth it , but specially unto the magistrate , ( as was said before . ) 100. these things are not to that end and purpose proposed , that these functions should be opposed one against another , in a hostile posture , or in terms of enmity , then which nothing is more hurtful to the church and common-wealth , nothing more execrable to them who are truly and sincerely zealous for the house of god ( for they have not so learned christ : ) but the aim is , first and above all , that unto the king of kings and lord of lords , jesus christ the only monarch of the church , his own prerogative royal ( of which also himself in the world was accused , and for his witnessing a good confession thereof before pontius pilate , was unjustly condemned to death ) may be fully maintained and defended . 101. next , this debate also tendeth to this end , that the power as well of ecclesiasticall censure as of the civil sword being in force , the licentiousness of carnal men , which desire that there be too slack ecclesiastical discipline or none at all , may be bridled , and so men may sin less , and may live more agreeably to the gospel . another thing here intended is , that errours on both sides being overthrown , ( as well the errour of those who under a fair pretence of maintaining and defending the rights of magistracy , do leave to the church either no power , or that which is too weak ; as the errour of others , who under the vail of a certain suppositious and imaginary christian liberty , do turn off the yoke of the magistrate ) both powers may enjoy their own priviledges ; add hereto that both powers being circumscribed with their distinct borders and bounds , and also the one underpropped and strengthned by the help of the other , a holy concord between them may be nourished , and they may mutually and friendly imbrace one another . 102. last of all , seeing there are not wanting some unhappy men , who cease not to pervert the right ways of the lord , and with all diligence go about to shake off the yoke of the ecclesiastical discipline , where now t is about to be introduced , yea also where it hath been long ago established , and as yet happily remaineth in force , it was necessary to obviate their most wicked purposes ; which things being so , let all which hath been said , passe with the good leave and liking of those orthodox churches in which the discipline of excommunication is not as yet in use : neither can any offence easily arise to them from hence ; yea ( if the best conjecture do not deceive ) they cannot but rejoyce and congratulate at the defence and vindication of this discipline . 103. for those churches do not deny but acknowledg and teach , that the discipline of excommunication is most agreeable to the word of god , as also that it ought to be restored and exercised ; which also heretofore the most learned zachary vrsi●● , in the declaration of his judgment concerning excommunication , exhibited to prince frederick the third , count elector palatine , the title whereof is , judicium de disciplina ecclesiastica & excommunicatione , &c. 104. for thus he , in other churches , where either no excommunication is in use , or t is not lawfully administred , and neverthelesse without all controversie , it is confessed and openly taught , that it ought justly to be received and be of force in the church : and a little after , lest also your hignesse by this new opinion do sever your self and your churches from all other churches , as well those which have not excommunication , as those which have it : forasmuch as all of them do unanimously confesse , and alwayes confessed , that there is reason why it ought to be in use . 105. to the same purpose it tendeth which the highly esteemed philip melancthon in his common places , chap. of civil magistrates , doth affirm : before ( saith he ) i warned that civil places and powers are to be distinguished from the adhering confusions which arise from other causes , partly from the malice of the devil , partly from the malice of men , partly from the common infirmity of men , as it cometh to passe in other kinds of life and government ordained of god . no man doubteth , that ecclesiastical government is ordained of god , and yet how many and great disorders grow in it from other causes . where he mentioneth a church government distinct from the civil , and that jure divino , as a thing uncontroverted . 106. neither were the wishes of the chief divines of zurick and berne wanting , for the recalling and restoring of the discipline of excommunication . so bullinger upon 1 cor. 5. and hitherto ( saith he ) of the ecclesiastical chastising of wickedness , but here i would have the brethren diligently warned , that they watch , and with all diligence take care that this wholesom medicine , thrown out of the true church by occasion of the popes avarice , may be reduced , that is , that scandalous sins be punished : for this is the very end of excommunication , that mens manners may be well ordered , and the saints flourish , the prophane being restrained , lest wicked men by their impudency and impiety increase and undo all . it is our part , ô brethren , with greatest diligence to take care of these things ; for we see that paul in this place doth stir up those that were negligent in this business . 107. aretius agreeth hereunto . problem . theolog. loc , 33. magistrates do not admit the yoke , they are afraid for their honours , they love licentiousnesse , &c. the common people is too dissolute , the greatest part is most corrupt , &c. in the mean while i willingly confesse , that we are not to despair , but the age following will peradventure yeeld more tractable spirits , more mild hearts , then our times have . see also lavater agreeing in this , homil. 52. on nehem. because the popes of rome have abused excommunication for the establishing of their own tyranny , it cometh to pass , that almost no just discipline can be any more settled in the church , but unlesse the wicked be restrained , all things must of necessity run into the worst condition , see besides , the opinion of fabritius , upon psal. 149. 6 , 7 , 8 , 9. of spirituall corrections , which he groundeth upon that text compared with matth. 16. 19. and 18. 18. iohn 20. 23. 108. it can hardly be doubted or called in question , but besides these , other learned and godly divines of those churches were and are of the same mind herein , with those now cited ; and indeed the very confession of faith of the churches of helvetia , chap. 18. may be an evidence hereof . but there ought to be in the mean time a just discipline amongst ministers , for the doctrine and life of ministers is diligently to be enquired of in synods : those that sin are to be rebuked of the elders , and to be brought again into the way , if they be curable ; or to be deposed , and like wolves driven away from the floek of the lord , if they be incurable . that this manner of synodical censure , namely of deposing ministers from their office for some great scandal , is used in the republike of zurick , lavater is witness , in his book of the rites and ordinances of the church of zurick , chap. 23. surely they could not be of that mind , that ecclesiastical discipline ought to be exercised upon delinquent ministers only , and not also upon other rotten members of the church . 109 yea the helvetian confession in the place now cited , doth so tax the inordinate zeal of the donatists and anabaptists ( which are so bent upon the rooting out of the tares out of the lords field , that they take not heed of the danger of plucking up the wheat ) that withall it doth not obscurely commend the ecclesiastical forensical discipline , as distinct from the civil power , and seeing ( say they ) ttis altogether necessary that there be in the church a discipline ; and among the ancients in times past excommunication hath been usual , and ecclesiastical courts have been among the people of god , among whom this discipline was exercised by prudent and goods men ; it belongeth also to ministers according to the case of the times , the publick estate and necessity , to moderate this discipline ; where this rule is ever to be held , that all ought to be done to edification , decently , honestly , without tyranny and sedition ; the apostle also witnesseth , 2 cor. 13. that to himself , was given of god a power unto edification , and not unto destruction . 110. and now what resteth , but that god be intreated with continual and ardent prayers , both that he would put into the hearts of all magistrates , zeal and care to cherish , defend , and guard the ecclesiastick discipline , together with the rest of christs ordinances , and to stop their eares against the importunate suits of whatsoever claw-backs , which would stir them up against the church ; and that also all governours and rulers of churches , being every where furnished and helped with the strength of the holy spirit , may diligently and faithfully execute this part also of their function , as it becommeth the trusty servants of christ , which study to please their own lord and master , more then men . 111. finally , all those who are more averse from ecclesiastick discipline , or ill affected against it , are to be admonished and intreated through our lord jesus christ , that they be no longer entangled and enveagled with carnall prejudice , to give place in this thing to humane affections , and to measure by their own corrupt reason spirituall discipline , but that they do seriously think with themselves , and consider in their minds , how much better it were , that the lusts of the flesh were as with a bridle tamed , and that the repentance , amendment , and gaining of vicious men unto salvation may be sought , then that sinners be left to their own disposition , and be permitted to follow their own lusts without controulment , and by their evil example to draw others headlong into ruin with themselves : and seeing either the keys of discipline must take no rust , or the manners of christians will certainly contract much rust : what is here to be chosen , and what is to be shunned , let the wise and godly , who alone take to heart the safety of the church , judg . finis . a plea for scripture ordination, or, ten arguments from scripture and antiquity proving ordination by presbyters without bishops to be valid by j.o. ... ; to which is prefixt an epistle by the reverend mr. daniel williams. owen, james, 1654-1706. 1694 approx. 234 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 106 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-05 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a53660 wing o708 estc r32194 12354711 ocm 12354711 60104 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a53660) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 60104) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1024:2) a plea for scripture ordination, or, ten arguments from scripture and antiquity proving ordination by presbyters without bishops to be valid by j.o. ... ; to which is prefixt an epistle by the reverend mr. daniel williams. owen, james, 1654-1706. williams, daniel, 1643?-1716. [16], 183 p. printed for a. salusbury ..., london : 1694. errata: p. [15] reproduction of original in the cambridge university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng ordination -presbyterian church. ordination -biblical teaching. 2003-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-02 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-03 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2004-03 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a plea for scripture ordination : or , ten arguments from scripture and antiquity proving ordination by presbyters without bishops to be valid . by i. o. minister of the gospel . to which is prefixt an epistle by the reverend mr. daniel williams . episcopi noverint se magis consuetudine quàm dispositionis dominicae veritate , presbyteris esse majores . hieron . in ep. ad . tit. 1 cor. 4. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . london : printed for i. salusbury at the rising sun in cornhil over-against the royal exchange . 1694. the preface . the cause which these papers vindicate is not that of a party , as some unthinking people may imagine , but of the reformation in general , which has been propagated and supported , in its most flourishing branches , by the ministry here pleaded for . the ancient vaudois , or waldenses , those eminent and faithful witnesses against antichristian usurpations , have had no other for near 500 years past * . the first guides of the people from mystical egypt , were presbyters ordained by presbyters . these are they that gathered the first fruits unto god ; under the conduct of these the persecuted woman fled th●ough a sea of blood into the wilderness : by their ministry she hath been fed and nourished , these make the first figure among the witnesses that prophecy in sackcloth ; they have gone in mourning from one generation to another . when others have assumed beauty for ashes , the oyl of ioy for mourning , the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; these have been fed with the bread of tears , have been filled with bitterness , and made drunk with wormwood . they have been men of sorrows , and acquainted with grief . they have been sore broken in the place of dragons , and covered with the shadow of death , yet have they not forgotten the name of their god , or stretched out their hand to a strange god. it 's by the ministry of these that the truth prevailed , the eyes of nations were opened , and vast multitudes reduced to the obedience of the gospel . they seal'd their ministry with their blood , and heaven sealed it with the most glorious success . * rainerius , one of their tormentors , complains of them , that they had spread through all countries , and crept into every corner . walsingham , our country-man , tells us how the lolards ( as they were here called ) had fill'd our land , and had their ministers ordain'd by presbyters without bishops : that they justified these ordinations , and asserted an inherent power in presbyters to put forth all ecclesiastical acts without distinction . we may rationally presume that their practice was uniform in other countries ; and had we exact records of their church administrations , we should find innumerable instances of ordination by presbyters among them : but the account they give of themselves is so very imperfect , that had not their enemies transmitted to posterity a narrative of their actions and sufferings ( though very partially ) we should have known little of them . we have no reason to think that those blessed worthies did either alter their judgments , or supersede their practice concerning ordination by presbyters ; and therefore i take it for granted , that the same ministry continued among them until the begining of the reformation . here in england several of the bishops were eminently instrumental in promoting the reformation , which gave them a deserved esteem in the thoughts of all good men , especially of the poor lolards , to whom that great change was a resurrection from the dead . by this means the bishops continued their stations in the church , and were entrusted with the principal management of ordination , which their popish predecessors had ingrossed into their hands long before . but though matters were thus settled , they were far from claiming to themselves a superiour power over presbyters , or stamping a ius divinum upon their office. they acknowledged the identity of bishops and presbyters , that ordination by presbyters was valid , and that episcopacy was a bare constitution of the civil magistrate * , for the better governing of the church . all this will be fully proved in the following discourse . thus it was in england , but in the forreign churches it was quite otherwise ; there the bishops were implacable enemies to the reformation , which gave the presbyters an opportunity of re-assuming their inherent power of ordination , and of laying aside the pretended superiour order of bishops , as those who had appropriated to themselves the just rights of presbyters , and divested them of the inseparable priviledges of their order : and had been so far from answering the first design of their constitution , of being a remedy against schism † , that partly by their arbitrary impositions , and partly by their boundless ambition , they had miserably torn and divided the christian church for several ages before , and contributed to the establishment of the usurping bishop of rome . for these and other reasons , they rejected bishops from having any part in their church-government . this they committed to the presbyters , as their ancient right * . if a popish bishop happened to be converted to the protestant religion , he was not capable of exercising his ministry among them , no not as a presbyter , until he submitted to a new ordination ‖ . this establishment enraged the roman prelates , and drew forth their strongest efforts to assert their tottering hierarchy , and to overthrow the reformed ordinations . therefore the principal and leading antagonists we have to do with , in the present controversie , are the papists , especially the iesuits , who with one mouth condemn ordinations by presbyters . with us it 's a very small thing that we should be judg'd of man's day , we acquiesce in that judgment which will dispense rewards and punishments , not according to the disputable modes of mens entrance into the office , but as they have faithfully , or otherwise , discharged the duties of the sacred ministry . happy they , whose record is on high , whose witness is in heaven , whose testimony is in their own bosoms , and in the consciences of those that hear them . i leave the following discourse to recommend it self unto thee ; read with observation , weigh every thing in an even ballance , and let the impressions of truth form an impartial judgment . i. o. to the reader . the indispensible use of a gospel ministry must appear to such as at all consider , the ignorance of mankind in the way of eternal life , the innate aversion to the terms of reconciliation with god , the mystery of gospel revelations , the subtle and unwearied attempts of seducers against the truth , the backwardness to improvement in grace and a life according to the rules of christianity , which even they discern , who are not utter strangers to the impresses of a divine power , by the word , in the illumination of their minds , and renovation of their wills. yea further , who would sustain the labour and hazards of this holy calling , or attend thereto with an assiduity requisite to the ends thereof , if not by office obliged ? nay , how would it enervate our pleadings with sinners , and abate that assurance given to believers by the word and sacraments , if we did not transact between god and them , as cloathed with the authority of ambassadors , delegated by christ thereto , and supportted by his presence and power in our administrations ? the lord iesus , as head of the church , promiseth and dispenseth gifts suitable to the ministerial office , and renders them so essential thereto , as that none can be duly admitted to this trust , who are not in some good degree fit to teach , divide the word aright , convince gain-sayers ; yea credibly appearing devoted to god , and concerned for the salvation of men. no ordainers can dispense with the want of these ; nor is the ministerial office conveighed by the greatest solemnities to any man void of these qualifications ; though the best accomplished may awfully say , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , 2 cor. 2. 16. the same holy instituter of this office ●ath wisely provided against intruders ; and also for the encouragement of such as are capable , by subjecting probationers ordinarily to the enquiry and iudgment of men fit , and authorized to determine of their call and endowments , and to invest them in the office of a presbyter , by fasting and prayer , with imposition of hands : the authority and obligations of which office are in the scriptures adjusted by christ , and can admit of no change at the will of the ordainers . reason directs that the ordainers should be fit to judge of the necessary qualifications of such as are proposed to this charge : the scriptures determine that the ordainers be such as are invested and exercised in the same holy office. and who so capable to judge , or likely to be careful and faithful in their admissions ? these are appointed to make a minister , though churches are to elect who so approved shall be their minister : pastors invest in the office , though the people do appropriate the more stated and usual employment of the officer . confusion and a degenerate ministry must ensue mens attempting the ministry , if they get but a good conceit of themselves , or that particular churches assume the sending forth preachers , or making ministers for themselves , unless in cases very extraordinary . the reverend author in the following treatise hath no design to reflect on episcopal ordination , nor to raise any unseasonable debates among protestants . but being in a peculiar manner assaulted as an vsurper of the ministerial office , because separated thereto by the imposition of no hands besides those of presbyters . he herein affirms , and i think with great iudgment and evidence proveth , that presbyters , though no prelates , are authorized by the lord iesus to ordain fit persons to the office of presbyters , and that the ordination of such is valid . many have successfully engaged in this debate heretofore , yet thou wilt find some very considerable addition to what occurs in most other authors . it 's not unworthy the animadversion of all concerned for the meer being of religion , that there is a general attempt this day , not only against the exercise of the ministry in an aptitude to its end , but against the very office of the ministry : many that widely differ in other things , do yet center herein . the fordwardness of some to nullifie the mission of their brethren , conduceth as much thereto as any thing , except the personal faults of ministers . such decisions of the subject in debate , yields no small advantage to the romish hierarchy , whiles most protestants are unchurched , and their holy administrations arraigned as nul●ities : a notion that never obtained in the english church till the grotian design received patronage here , and that to subserve purposes as little propitious to our civil rights , as to religion it self . the increase of purity , self-denial , light and love , would soon decide cases more important ; and render the vitals of christianity more secure , which are now so variously exposed . octob. 14. 1693. i am thy servant in our common lord , daniel williams . errata . page 65. l. 4. r. writers . ibid. l. 18. r. occasionally . p. 91. l. 2. r. excluduntur . p. 100. l. 7. r. 100. through a mistake of the printer chap. vi. is made chap. v. and chap. vii . is made chap. vi. and so unto the end of the book . so arg. v. is made arg. iv. and arg. vi. is made arg. v. and so forward unto the last . a plea for scripture ordination , &c. chap. i. the vse and efficacy of the ministry . it 's opposed by open violence , false teachers , divisions ; the last of which occasioned the present vndertaking . the case of ordination by presbyters stated . the ministry of reconciliation is that powerful engine by which the strong holds of satan are demolished , the gates of hell broken down , sin 's captives reduced , and trophies erected in honour of the victorious prince of peace . the dispensation of the gospel is the glory of nations , the support of christianity , the shield of truth , and the triumph of the cross. by this despised means christ divides him a portion with the great , and shares the spoil with the strong : by the foolishness of preaching he confounds the wise , and by weak earthen vessels he breaks the iron-scepter of the prince of the power of the air. for this reason it is that gospel ministers are so much opposed in the world , while the prince of darkness hath a kingdom in it , he 'l bend all his forces against them , as invaders of his dominions , and irreconcilable enemies to his usurped regiment . many and various are his serpentine devices and repeated stratagems to render their endeavours of winning souls ineffectual . sometimes he assaults them by open violence , he pours upon them the strength of battel , to the disgracing of their persons , the spoiling of their goods , the infringing of their liberties , and the sacrificing of their very lives to the insatiable rage of unreasonable men. they are killed all the day long , and accounted as sheep for the slaughter , and yet in all these things are more then conquerors through him that loved them , and hath promised his presence with them to the end of time : he holds the stars in his right hand , guides their motions , and restores a declining world by their powerful influences . their restless adversary failing in his former method transforms himself into an angel of light , that he may more insensibly destroy the angels of the churches . what he cannot effect by power , he will attempt by craft . he 'l send forth his daring emissaries to undermine preaching by preaching . thus the adversaries of iudah offered to build the temple , that they might hinder the building of it . st. paul's enemies preached christ of envy and strife , that they might obstruct his sincere preaching . the devil himself turns preacher in the pythonic woman to scandalize the apostle's ministry . he emits wolves in sheeps cloathing to tear and devour the unwary flock . if he be defeated in this attempt , he 'l make trial of skill in as pernicious a way as either of the former , to wit , by alienating their affections , and imbittering their spirits towards one another . he arms them with weapons that are forreign to the nature of their warfare , he turns their plow-shares into swords , and makes ambassadors of peace to become heralds of war , and the fathers of vnity sons of discord . of all divisions those amongst ministers have the saddest tendency ; of all the divisions of ministers , those that concern their ministerial call are the most destructive . it is not strange that romish priests should condemn all reformed ministers without distinction , that the spurious offspring of the scarlet whore should conspire against the seed of the woman , that the ministers of antichrist should reject the ministers of christ. their unmerited condemnation is our convincing justification . but that which administers just cause of sorrow , is to behold protestant ministers uncharitably arraigning one another . some unthinking dissenters ignorantly condemn all that are ordained by bishops as no ministers of christ , not considering that thereby they nullifie their own baptism , which most of them received from episcopal ministers ; if they are but meer lay-men , their baptism is no baptism , and ought to be repeated in the judgment of many . this principle naturally leads to anabaptism . on the other hand , some dignitaries of the church of england condemn all that are not ordained by bishops as no ministers , and so they anathematize all the reformed churches that have no bishops ; they affirm their ministry and sacraments to be meer nullities , and that there is no salvation to be had in their communion ; and therefore that it is safer to continue in the roman church : as if the empty name of a bishop were more necessary to salvation , then an interest in the great bishop of our souls , the lord jesus ; and an idolatrous heretical church under the conduct of antichristian bishops , were preferrable to an evangelical orthodox church without them . but these severe judges that pass a damnatory sentence upon the greatest , if not the best part of the reformed churches are worthily deserted by all sober and moderate church-men . others of that communion own ordination by presbyters without bishops to be valid , but they look upon them as schismatical , where bishops may be had . we have no controversie with these about the validity of ordination by presbyters , but about the charge of schism , which we conceive falls upon the imposers of unscriptural conditions of ordination . others allow ordinations by presbyters in the forreign churches , who have no bishops ; but they censure such ordinations for nullities , where bishops may be had , as in england . our present controversie is with these . for the stating of the point in difference , we 'l consider , 1. wherein we are agreed ; 2. wherein the real difference lies . our agreement . we agree , 1. that christ hath appointed a ministry in his church . a gospel ministry is not of humane , but of divine original . it belongs to jesus christ to institute what sort of officers must serve in his house . 2. we agree that the ministry is a standing office to continue in the christian church to the end of time , matth. 28.19 , 20. 3. that no man ought to take upon him the sacred office of a minister of the word , without a lawful calling or mission , rom. 10.14 , 15. ier. 14.14 . heb. 5.4 . 4. that ordination is always to be continued in the church , tit. 1.5 . 1 tim. 5.21 , 22. 5. that ordination is the solemn setting apart of a person to some publick church-office . 6. that every minister of the word is to be ordained by imposition of hands , and prayer with fasting , acts 13. 3. 1 tim. 5.22 . 7. that he who is to be ordained minister must be duly qualified both for life and ministerial abilities , according to the rules of the apostle , 1 tim. 3. tit. 1.6 , 7 , 8 , 9. in these things which comprehend all the essentials of the ministry , whatever more , we are fully agreed . the main difference is about the persons ordaining . we say , ordination may be perform'd by meer presbyters . some of our brethren of the episcopal persuasion say , that no ordinations are valid but such as are done by diocesan bishops . the common cry against protestant dissenting ministers is , that they are no true ministers of christ , but intruders and false prophets . and why so ? not because they are not orthodox in their doctrine , for they have subscribed all the doctrinal articles of the church of england : nor can they charge them with insufficiency or scandal , for they are generally persons of approved abilities , exemplary conversations , and great industry in the lord's vineyard , who seek not their own things , but the things of christ. they are willing to be tried by the characters of gospel ministers . where lies the defect then ? why in this , they are not ordained by bishops . they derive not their power from such diocesans as pretend to an uninterrupted succession down from the apostles . they were ordained by meer presbyters that have not the ordaining power , and none can communicate that to another which he hath not in himself . our case then in short is this , whether ordination by meer presbyter's , without diocesan bishops , be valid . the question needs but little explanation . by ordination , i mean the setting of persons apart by imposition of hands for the sacred office of the ministry . by presbyters , i understand gospel ministers , who are called to the oversight of souls , and to whom the keys of the kingdom of heaven are committed . by diocesan bishops i intend that species of church officers which claim to themselves a superior power of order and jurisdiction above presbyters , and to be the sole pastors of several hundreds of congregations , having parish priests under them who have no power of discipline in the church . by valid , i mean not what the old canons make so , but what the scriptures determine to be so . those sacred oracles which are of divine inspiration , and not arbitrary canons of weak men's devising , are the foundation of our faith , and the infallible standard by which truth and errour must be tried . the question being thus explained , i affirm , that such as are set apart with imposition of hands for the office of the ministry by gospel ministers , without the species of church officers who claim a superior power over presbyters , are regularly ordained , and their ordination is valid according to the scriptures . this truth i hope to demonstrate by the following arguments . chap. ii presbyters have power to ordain , because they are scripture bishops . the syriac translation useth not different names . if there be a difference , the prebeminence belongs to the presbyter . objection concerning timothy and titus answered . 1. the iesuits urge this against the protestants . 2. the scripture doth not call them bishops . 3. the government of ephesus was in the presbyters of that church . 4. st. paul doth not mention timothy in his epistle to the ephesians , as he doth in other epistles . 5. when st. paul took his last leave of them , he made no mention of timothy for his successor , though he were present . 6. he did not reside at ephesus . 7. ephesus no diocesan church , but a parochial or congregational . the asian angels no diocesan bishops : prov'd from the extent of the asian churches , from tyconius in austin . contents of our authoriz'd bibles , and acceptation of angel in the jewish church . that ordination which hath all the scripture requisits is valid , but ordination by presbyters hath all the scripture requisits , therefore — the major is undeniable to persons that own the inspired writings to be a perfect rule . the minor i thus prove : the scripture requisits of ordination , are some in the ordainers , some in the ordained , some in the circumstances of ordination . as to the ordained , they must have such qualifications as the scripture requires 1 tim. 3 .... these we are willing to be tried by . as to the circumstances there must be examination , approbation , publick and solemn setting apart by imposition of hands , with fasting and prayer . as to the ordainers , 't is enough that they were presbyters , and as such had an inherent power to ordain ; for according to scripture , a bishop and a presbyter are one and the same , not only in name , but in office. the elders or presbyters of ephesus are call'd bishops of ephesus , to whom the sole over-sight of that church did belong , acts 20. 17 , 28. the presbyters of the jewish diaspora , to whom st. peter wrote , are requir'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to feed or rule the flock , and to perform the office and work of bishops among them * : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to rule † . they are called rulers and governours ‖ ... iustin martyr calls the chief minister of the church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . st. paul's ruling presbyter is iustin's ruling bishop . bishops and presbyters have one and the same qualifications , tit. 1. 5 , 7. after he had given the character of persons to be ordain'd presbyters , v. 5 , 6. he adds a reason , v. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. there would be no force in the apostles reasoning , if bishops were of a superior order to presbyters . the scriptures own but two orders of ordinary church officers , bishops and deacons * , and of these bishops there were more then one in every church : so there was at philippi and at ephesus † . to be sure then , they were not bishops of the english species , i. e. sole governors of many churches , but presbyters in a proper sence ; many of which were ordain'd in every church , antioch it self not excepted ‖ the apostles gave that church no primacy above lystra and iconium , but settled the same sort of officers in all . though afterward it overtopt it's neighbours , and became a metropolitical church . but from the beginning 't was not so . the syriac translation , which is so very ancient , that it comes nearest in time to the original , useth not two words , one for bishop , another for presbyter , as our translation and the greek , but it hath only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word in chaldee and in syriac signifies presbyters . tit. 1. 5. & constitueres .. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seniores in qualibet civitate , v. 7 debet enim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 senior esse irreprehensibilis . i have left thee in creet to ordain elders in every city , for an elder [ we say bishop ] must be blameless .. so in 1 tim. 3. 1. the office of a bishop , as we render it out of the greek : the syriac reads it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the office of a presbyter . instead of bishops and deacons in phil. 1. 1. the syriac reads it presbyters and deacons . this is a strong proof that the distinction of bishop and presbyter was unknown when that translation was made , for it useth not so much as different names . of the antiquity of the syriac version vide * walt. if there be any distinction between a bishop and a presbyter , the preheminence must be given by the scripture to the presbyters ; for as our bishops say , their office distinct from presbyters , is to rule and govern , and the office of a presbyter is to preach and administer the sacraments . now the administration of the sacraments and preaching , are more excellent works then ruling and governing . the apostle saith expresly , that they that labour in the word and doctrine , deserve more honour then they that rule well ‖ . moreover , the apostles stile themselves presbyters , but never bishops . st. peter calls himself presbyter † , but never calls himself a bishop . and therefore it 's a wonder the pope , his pretended successor , and those that derive their canonical succession from his holiness , should call themselves bishops , unless it be by the divine disposal to shew the fallibility of their foundations . the papists , who therein are imitated by some of our adversaries , do say , that the names are common , but the offices are distinct . thus spensoeus * , a sorbonist , objects , nominum quidem esse , sed non munerum confusionem . the instances mentioned above do clearly evince an indentity of offices . when the apostle bids the presbyters of ephesus take heed to all the flock over which the holy ghost had made them bishops † ; he doth not speak of the name but the office. and 't is evident that st. peter ‖ speaks of the office , when he exhorts the presbyters to feed the flock , and to perform the office of bishops among them ; so that there were as many bishops as there were presbyters in churches of the apostles planting . how comes it to pass when the apostle reckons up the several * sorts of ministers , which christ had appointed in his church , that he makes no mention of superior bishops , if they be so necessary as some would have us believe . he mentions pastors and teachers . the patrons of episcopacy will not say bishops are meant by teachers , their proper work being ruling : nor can they be meant by pastors , for presbyters are pastors , and exhorted to feed the flock * . our learned writers against popery think it a good argument to disprove the pope's headship , that he is not mention'd in the list of church officers † reckoned up in the new testament : no more is a bishop superior to presbyters , so much as nam'd in those places . if any say 't is omitted , because he was to succeed the apostles , he hath the pope ready to joyn with him in the same plea for his office. object . timothy and titus were scripture bishops , superior to presbyters . answ. 1. the papists urge this objection against the protestants . so doth turrianus the jesuit ‖ ; so doth bellarmine . our english episcopacy hath scarce one argument for it's defence , but what will indifferently serve the popish prelacy . the bishops best weapons have been consecrated in the jesuits school , and have been dext'rously manag'd against the whole reformation . ii. but , i pray , where doth the scripture give timothy and titus the title of bishops ? the postscripts to the epistles directed to them , are confessedly no part of scripture , nor are they very ancient . the postscripts to the syriac makes no mention of their being bishops ; nor can it be gathered from the body of the epistles , that they were bishops . when the second epistle to timothy was written , he was an evangelist , and therefore no bishop . he is exhorted to do the work of an evangelist , 2 tim. 4. 5. suppose paul had said , do the work of a bishop : would not our episcopal men have judg'd it a clear argument for his episcopal power ? who could do the work of a bishop , but a bishop ? in like manner we say , none can do the work of an evangelist , but an evangelist ? evangelists were extraordinary officers , above pastors and teachers * . the work of an evangelist is set forth at large by ‖ eusebius : they did preach christ to those which had not as yet heard the word of faith , they delivered unto them the holy scriptures , or dain'd pastors , committed to them the charge of those that were newly received into the church , and they did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , pass over unto other countries and nations . with whom agrees * chrysostom , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . a learned prelate of the church of england , conceives the bishops to succeed the apostles , the presbyters to succeed the prophets , and the deacons to succeed the evangelists ; and if so , the deacons may put in a claim to the ordaining power ; for timothy an evangelist assumed it , whose successors they are . if evangelists were not proper successors to the apostles , and bishops be not successors to the evangelists , i cannot see how timothy's doing the work of an evangelist can support the ius divinum of english episcopacy . nor can anything be concluded from the apostle's words to him , l●y hands on no man suddenly † : doth it follow therefore the sole power of ordination in ephesus did belong to him ? it may as rationally be inferr'd the sole power of exhorting and teaching did belong to him ; for the apostle bids him be instant in season and out of season in preaching the word ‖ . if it be said , preaching is common to presbyters , but so is not ordination , it 's gratis dictum , and a begging of the question . paul did not invest timothy with a greater power then he himself did exercise . he did not assume the power of ordination into his own hands , but takes the presbytery with him * . he joyned barnabas with him , if not others , in the ordination of presbyters at antioch † timothy's abiding in ephesus doth not prove him to be bishop there ; for paul did not injoyn him to be resident there , but besought him to abide there till he came ‖ , which he intended shortly to do * . the apostle sent him to corinth , philippi , thessalonica , furnished , without doubt , with the same powers which he had at ephesus , otherwise his negotiations had not been effectual to settle those churches ; and was he bishop of these places also ? bellarmine grounds timothy's episcopal jurisdiction upon 1 tim. 5. 19. against an elder receive not an accusation , &c. which dr. whittaker , divinity professor in cambridge , undermines and overthrows by demonstrating that this place proves not timothy's power over over presbyters : his words are these , ex apostoli mente — according to the meaning of the apostle to receive an accusation , is to acquaint the church with the crime † . which not only superiors , but equals , yea and inferiors also may do . the presbyters and the people may receive an accusation against their bishop ; are they therefore superior to him ? ‖ cyprian writes to epictetus , and the people of assura , not to admit fortunatianus to be bishop again , because he had denied the faith. he commends also the clergy and people of spain for rejecting basilides and martialis who had sacrificed to idols . iii. when timothy was made bishop of ephesus , where we find several presbyter-bishops before ‖ : what became of them ? were they unbishop'd and made simple presbyters , that they must no more ordain or govern , but be subject to timothy ? 't was thought no small punishment in after ages for a bishop to be degraded into the presbyter's form , and 't was for some notorious crime . what crime were these guilty of ? iv. if timothy was the fixed bishop of ephesus , whom st. paul had deputed for his successor , and so not subject to him any more , how comes he to promise to come shortly to ephesus himself * . what had paul to do in ephesus now , if he had settled a successor there , and had no power over him or his church ? he forbids others to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , busie bodies in other mens matters † ; and would he himself be such a one ? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are condemned ‖ , and shall we make paul of this number ? it 's more unaccountable that st. paul should write an epistle to the ephesians ( long after the first epistle to timothy ) and not mention their pretended bishop timothy in the whole epistle , as he doth in all his epistles to the churches , except that to the galatians . it 's a certain evidence he was neither bishop there , nor resident there . we find him long after this at rome , and invited by the apostle thither , that he might be helpful to him in the ministry * , from whence the apostle intended to take him along with him to visit the churches of iudea † : and was he bishop of rome and iudea also ? the truth is , he was no fixed officer in any one place , but went up and down , sometimes as paul's companion , sometimes as his messenger , to settle the churches , as other evangelists did . if non-residency hath such a patron , and timothy hath taught men , to leave their churches year after year , and play the pastors many hundred miles distant , it may tempt us to dream that non-residency is a duty . v. if he was not bishop of ephesus , when the first epistle was written to him , he was none at all ; for that epistle is made the foundation of his episcopal power . he was no bishop of ephesus when paul took his last leave of the presbyters there ‖ . he commits to them the oversight of the church , as the proper bishops of it , without the least mention of timothy , though he was then present * . the whole episcopal power is given to the presbyters , befor their supposed bishop's face : or if he had not been there at that time , how comes paul to be so regardless ( when he concluded he should never see their faces any more * ) as not to name his successor ? was he only ignorant of the prophecies concerning timothy † . if he had not been qualified for this office now , he might have given the presbyters of ephesus some hints concerning the prophecies that went before on him , of his future usefulness as a bishop in that church . but why should any imagine so worthy a person not qualified for this undertaking ? he that was qualified to be the apostle's messenger to so many churches ‖ , whom st. paul stiles his work-fellow * , and whose name he joyns with his own in his epistles written to several churches † , could not want a character to render him worthy of this charge at ephesus . how then comes the apostle to over-look him , and to fix the government , in the presbyters of that church ‖ ? he told the elders of ephesus at miletus , that he had not spar'd to declare unto them all the counsel of god. how can this be , when he neglects to inform them about his ordinary successor ? if ministry and churches depend upon this succession , 't was no small part of the counsel of god to be declar'd unto them . he tells them he knew they should never see his face any more * . whether he did see them again , or no , is not material to the point . 't is certain he thought he should not ; how then comes he to leave them as sheep without a shepherd , to defend them against those wolves that should enter after his departure † ? the reason is obvious , he thought the presbyters of ephesus fit for this undertaking , without a superior bishop . thus we see that timothy was no bishop at this time , nor had the apostle pointed at him as his intended successor , but the first epistle to timothy ( upon which his pretended episcopacy is built ) was written before this time ; therefore no power given him in that epistle , can prove him to be a bishop . that this epistle was written before his imprisonment at rome , when he went to macedonia ‖ , is acknowledg'd by bishop hall * , though he was a zealous defender of the ius divinum of episcopacy . of this opinion is athanasius , theodoret , baronius , ludov. capellus , grotius , hammond , lightfoot , cary , &c. vi. if timothy was bishop of ephesus when the first epistle was written to him , how comes he to be absent from ephesus , when paul writ the second epistle to him ? was timothy a non-resident bishop ? paul sends tychicus to ephesus with an epistle to the church there , but not a word of timothy their bishop in the whole epistle , but tychicus is recommended to them as a faithful minister in the lord , eph. 6. 21 , 22. this was after the writing of the first epistle to him , when he is supposed to be bishop there , even when the second epistle was written to him , 2 tim. 4. 12. if any could imagine this epistle to have found timothy in ephesus , how comes the apostle to call him away from his charge ? 2 tim. 4. 9. they that say , it was to receive his dying words , must prove it . the apostle gives another reason , 2 tim. 4. 10 , 11. that he had only luke with him of all his companions , and therefore desires him to come to him , and to bring mark with him , as being profitable to him for the ministry . he sends for titus to come to him to nicopolis ( tit. 3. 12. ) from his supposed bishoprick of creet , and was he to receive his dying words there also , about fourteen years before his death ? for that epistle was written in the year of christ 55. and nero's 1. vid. lightf . harm . vol. 1 p. 309. nay , how comes the apostle to send him afterwards to dalmatia ? 2 tim. 4. 10. was he bishop there also ? i question whether non-residency was allowed of , much less injoyned to such stated church-officers as timothy and titus are feigned to be . it is true , some of the fathers say , they were bishops of those places . but it 's considerable that eusebius saith no more , then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , it is reported that timothy was the first bishop of ephesus . he doth not affirm it . theodoret calls him ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , so he calls titus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and yet few will take them for real apostles . they say also that peter was bishop of rome , yet many of our protestant writers deny it ; so doth * reynolds against hart , and dr. barrow of the supremacy . the fathers and councils speak of the officers of former times , according to the style of their own . to conclude ; if timothy and titus be not bishops of the english species , then there were no such in the apostles times . that timothy was not such , we have proved ; and if timothy was not , no more was titus , whose power and work was the same with timothy's . if the power of ordination , invested in timothy at ephesus , doth not prove him bishop there , no more doth the same power given to titus in creet , tit. 1. 3. prove him bishop there . vii . but suppose timothy and titus were real bishops , or fixed pastors of ephesus and creet , it will be no argument for diocesan bishops , except the church of ephesus , and that of creet did appear to be of the same extent with our diocesan churches , which can never be proved . did the church of ephesus consist of one hundred or two hundred parishes , or particular congregations , under the conduct of their proper presbyters , which were all subject to timothy , as their bishop ? this must be proved , or the instance of timothy's being bishop of ephesus will be impertinent to the present case . nay , there are strong presumptions that the church of ephesus consisted of no more members then could ordinarily meet in one place . that church had but one altar , at which the whole congregation ordinarily received the lord's supper , in ignatius his time * , which was many years after timothy's death . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. give diligence therefore to assemble together frequently for the eucharist of god , and for praise , for when you often come into one place , the powers of satan are destroyed , &c. i render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into one place , as our english translators do , acts 2. 1. he saith also , ' o 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . he therefore that cometh not to the same place , is proud and condemneth himself . in his epistle to the magnesians , he mentions one altar , which further explains his meaning * : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . let all of you come together , as into the temple of god , as unto one altar . the meaning of one altar is plain in ancient authors . cyprian calls separate communions the setting up altare contra altare * . : to be intra altare , is to be in church communion ; to be extra altare , is to be without . the bishop of salisbury doth acknowledge that ignatius his bishop was only the pastor of a particular church ; his words are these † : by the strain of ignatius his epistles , especially that to smyrna , it would appear , that there was but one church , at least but one place , where there was but one altar and communion , in each of these parishes , [ which was the bishops whole charge . ] and if so , then the church of ephesus , to whom he directed one of his epistles , was of no larger extent , except we imagine it was decreased in ignatius's time from what it was in timothy's days , which is absurd . the christians were rather more numerous in the next age , then they were in the apostles time . and yet we find in the beginning of the fourth century the believers , in greater cities then ephesus , were no more then could meet in one place , or in two at the most . for constantine the great thought two temples sufficient for all the christians in his royal city of constantinople ; the one he called the temple of the apostles ; vt doceret scripturas , apostolorum doctrinae fundamentum , in templis praedicandas esse : the other he called , the temple of peace ; quia concilii nicaeni operâ , quod celebrandum curaverat , ecclesiae pacem restituerat , & arrianorum impias controversias compescuerat . constantius added one more ; and there were but five temples in that great city , that was little inferior to rome , in the days of iustinian . see gentiletus his exam. concil . trid. lib. 5. sect . 48. some of our greater parishes have as many chappels , or places of publick worship , as there were temples in constantinople , which are but a small part of an english diocess . but the learned mr. baxter , and mr. clarkson , have so fully proved the english species of episcopacy to be destructive of the scripture and primitive form , that until they be solidly answered , we will take it for granted , that it is a humane creature which grew up as the man of sin did , and owes it's being to the meer favour of secular powers , who can as easily reduce it to it 's primitive nothing . some have pretended to make bishops of the seven asian angels , when they have proved their power of jurisdiction , and the extent of their diocesses to be the same with ours , they shall be heard . the state of ephesus , one of the seven asian churches , we have seen already , by which we may guess at the rest . the church of smyrna , another of the seven churches of asia , consisted of a single congregation that ordinarily worshipped and communicated in one place . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . let all follow the bishop , as iesus christ doth the father , and the presbytery as the apostles , and reverence the deacons as god's commandment . let none mannage any church matters without the bishop . and a little after he adds , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . where the bishop is , there let the multitude be , even as where christ is , there the catholick church is ; it is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize , or to make love-feasts . here it is evident , 1. that the multitude , which were the bishops flock , ordinarily worshipped god together . 2. that they did this under the conduct of their respective bishop , who was ordinarily present with every church assembly . 3. that he was the ordinary administrator of baptism to his flock , which he could not do , had it been as large as our present dioceses . 4. that the same assemblies had a bishop , presbyters and deacons : for the same multitude is to follow the same bishop , presbyters , and deacons ; and how could one parish follow all the presbyters of all other parish churches of a diocess whom they never knew ? * ignatius's epistle to polycarp , who was then bishop of smyrna , makes it more evident , that he was bishop of a single congregation , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . keep frequent congregations , inquire after all by name , despise not men-servants and maid servants . i leave it to such as are willing to understand the truth , to consider how great polycarp's church then was , when the bishop himself was to look after every one by name , even the men-servants and the maids . we find by ignatius's epistle to the philadelphians ( another of these churches ) that the angel of the church of philadelphia had no larger a diocess then those of ephesus and smyrna * : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . study therefore to use one eucharist [ or eucharistical communion ] for there is one flesh [ or body ] of our lord iesus christ , [ which is represented in the sacramental bread ] and one cup [ which is sacramentally given ] into the union of his blood , one altar , one bishop , with the presbytery and the deacons my fellow servants . nothing can be more full than this testimony : they are all to joyn in one assembly for the eucharist , and there must be but one altar for this communion , and one bishop , and one presbytery with the deacons with him ; and such a bishop is a parish minister or rector , assisted by his curates and deacons , the latter of which were originally instituted to serve tables , acts 6. ii. tyconius's old exposition mentioned by austin , hath not been yet disproved , which is this , that by the angels are meant the whole churches , and not any single persons : aug. lib. 3. 30. de doctr. christian. the whole style of the text countenances this exposition ; for as every message begins with ( to the angel ) so it endeth with ( to the churches . ) iii. in the contents of our authorized bibles they are expounded ministers . by which we may understand the sense of the old church of england , agreeable to many of the ancients ; such as aretas , primasius , ambrose , gregory the great , bede , haymo , and many more . scripture is it 's own best interpreter ; we find there that the church of ephesus , over which one of these angels presided , had several bishops in it , and all the other churches had several ministers in them , as will be acknowledg'd by our antagonists : now these other ministers are included , either under the name of candlesticks , and so reckoned among the people , which is absurd ; or under the name of stars and angels . many may be intended by one angel , as afterward by one beast , cap. 13. and one head , cap. 17. it 's remarkable , that it is spoken of the candlesticks , the seven candlesticks are the seven churches ; but of the stars it 's said indefinitely , the seven stars are the angels ( not seven angels ) of the seven churches . iv. angel is a name of office , and not of order , as is agreed by the learned ; it is a strange consequence , to the angel of the church of ephesus , therefore the angel was a bishop , and had authority over other ministers . st. iohn placeth the presbyters next the throne of christ himself , and the angels further off at a greater distance ; shall we therefore say that the presbyters are more honourable then the bishops ? the inference is much more natural then the other , if angels be bishops , as our adversaries affirm . st. paul prefers the preaching , before the ruling presbyter . v. it 's observed by many chronologers , that timothy was alive when the epistle to the angel of the church of ephesus was written , and shall we think that he had left his first love , whom paul so often commends for his zeal and diligence in the work of god. vi. to put this matter out of doubt , st. iohn , a jew , calls the ministers of particular or parochial churches , the angels of the churches , in the style of the jewish church , who call'd the publick minister of every synagogue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the angel of the church . they call'd him also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or bishop of the congregation . every synagogue , or congregation , had its bishop , or angel of the church . now the service and worship of the temple being abolished , as being ceremonial , god transplanted the worship and publick adoration used in the synagogues , which was moral , into the christian church , to wit , the publick ministry , publick prayers , reading god's word , and preaching , &c. hence the names of the ministers of the gospel were the very same , the angel of the church , and the bishop , which belong'd to the ministers in the synagogues . we love bishops so well , that we could wish we had as many bishops as there are parishes in england , as the jewish synagogues had , to which st. iohn alludes , when he calls them angels of the churches . in sum , if presbyters be scripture bishops , as we have proved , and diocesan bishops have no footing there , as hath been evinced , then our ordinations are iure divino , and therefore valid . chap. iii. instances of ordination by presbyters in scripture . st. paul and barnabas ordain'd by presbyters . their ordination a pattern to the gentile churches , acts 13.1 , 2 , 3. vindicated . turrianus's evasion confuted . timothy ordained by presbyters , 1 tim. 4.14 . explained . the particles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used promiscuously . that ordination of which we have scripture examples is valid , but of ordination by presbyters we have scripture examples , therefore ordination by presbyters is valid . the major i hope will not be denied , it carries its own evidence with it to such as are willing to be guided by the practise of apostolical churches , which is the first , and best antiquity . the minor i thus prove , st. paul and barnabas were ordained by presbyters , acts 13.1 , 2 , 3. so was timothy , 1 tim. 4.14 . these two instances deserve a more particular consideration . concerning the first , in acts 13. these two things are evident : 1. that luke speaks of ordination , he mentions the separating of paul and barnabas to a ministerial work , by fasting and prayer , with the laying on of hands ; and what more can be done in ordination ? it 's true , they had an extraordinary call before , gal. 1.1 . yet being now to plant the gospel among the gentiles , they enter upon their work at the ordinary door of ordination . dr. lightfoot thinks it was for this reason , that the lord hereby might set down a plat-form of ordaining ministers to the church of the gentiles to future times . 2. the ordainers were prophets and teachers , acts 13.1 , 2. now teachers are ordinary presbyters , who are distinguished from prophets and other extraordinary officers , both in 1 cor. 12.28 . and in eph. 4.12 . every presbyter is a teacher by office. turrianus the jesuit thinks to avoid the force of this quotation , by affirming the prophets mentioned in this ordination to have been bishops , and the teachers to have been meer presbyters , and that these presbyters were paul and barnabas , who were now created bishops . but this is a most ridiculous evasion . was st. paul , the chief of apostles , but a meer presbyter ? was he inferior to lucius , niger , and manaen ? apostles were superior to prophets , much more to teachers , 1 cor. 12. 28. the prophets here could not be bishops , because they were extraordinary officers , and there were more then one in this church , and in the church of corinth , 1 cor. 14.29 . neither is there any ground in the text of this distribution , that teachers should refer to the ordained , and prophets to the ordainers . this is a meer fiction of the jesuit to support the cause of prelacy . if any say , this separation of paul and barnabas was not to the office of the ministry , but to a special exercise of it . i answer , it doth not alter the case : for here are all the outward actions of an ordination properly so called , fasting , prayer , with imposition of hands to a ministerial work. now the question is , who have power to perform these actions ▪ here the presbyters do it . they to whom all the outward actions of ordination belong , to them the ordaining power belongs , as he that hath power to wash a child with water in the name of the father , son , and holy ghost , hath power to baptize ; for what else is baptizing , but washing with water in the name of the sacred trinity for special dedication to god ? he that hath power to set apart bread and wine for sacramental use , hath power to administer the lord's supper : so here , they that have power to dedicate persons to god for the work of the ministry by fasting , prayer , and imposition of hands , have power of ordination . it 's true , a lay-patron may give one power to exercise his ministry , that cannot give the office ; but can he do this by repeating all the solemn acts of ordination ? can he use the same form of ordination with the ordaining bishop ? can he lay hands upon the person ordained , and by fasting and prayer devote him to god in the publick congregation ? i think none will affirm it . if he cannot invest a person by repeating the whole form of ordination , because he is a lay-man , and hath not the ordaining power , therefore they that can use the form of ordination have power to ordain . the bishops would not like it , if all those that are ordained by them in scotland should be declared uncapable of exercising their office there , until they were admitted by a classis of presbyters with solemn imposition of hands . it would scarce satisfie them to say , that the presbyters imposed hands only to impower the person in the exercise of his office , and not to give the office it self , when they performed all the outward actions of ordination , which are the ordinary means of conveying the office. i proceed to the second instance of ordaining presbyters mentioned in 1 tim. 4.14 . neglect not the gift that is in thee , which was given thee by prophecy , with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery . here timothy is ordained by the presbytery ; nothing can be more express then this testimony . two things are usually objected to this scripture . object . 1. by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is meant the office of presbytery , and not the colledge of presbyters , saith turrianus the jesuit , who is followed by some protestants . i answer ; the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is never taken in this sense in the new testament ; it always signifies a company of presbyters ; see luke 22.66 . acts 22.5 . presbyterium is used by cyprian for a consistory of elders , lib. 2. ep. 8. & 10. cornelius , bishop of rome , in an epistle to cyprian , saith , omni actu , ad me perlato , placuit contrahi presbyterium : adfuerunt etiam episcopi quinque , &c. the office of presbytery is expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 2. what sence can be made of the text according to this interpretation ? neglect not the gift — given thee by prophecy , with the laying on of the hands of the office of presbytery . hands belong to the persons , and not to the office. nor can 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be the genitive case to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . neglect not the gift — of the office of presbytery ; for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 come between . thus the text , m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . to refer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 would invert the natural order of the words , which is not to be done without evident necessity , otherwise the scriptures may be made a nose of wax , and the clearest expressions wrested to a contrary sense by such transpositions and dislocations . 3. but suppose this sense were admitted , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be taken for the office of presbytery , it will not prejudice our argument ; for it will follow , that timothy was but a meer presbyter by office , and that it belongs to the office of a presbyter to impose hands for ordination , because timothy , a presbyter , did so , 1 tim. 5. 22. so that whether we understand the place of a bench of presbyters ordaining timothy ; or , of the office of a presbyter , into which timothy was ordained , and by virtue of which he had power to ordain others , it equally proves our assertion , that meer presbyters did ordain . object . 2. timothy was ordained by paul , with the concurrence of the presbyters . non excluduntur presbyteri ab impositione manus approbante , sed ab impositione manus ordinante , saith the jesuit ; who is followed by some of our own ; they say , the efficacy of timothy's presbyteratus was in paul , as in a bishop ( and therefore he saith in 2 tim. 1.6 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and in the presbyters by a bare concurrence , and therefore it 's said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denotes authority , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a meer instrumentality . answ. it cannot be denied but paul laid hands upon timothy , 2 tim. 1.6 . but how doth it appear that it was for ordination ? it might be , for any thing appears to the contrary , for the conferring of the holy ghost , which was given by the laying on of the apostles hands , acts 8. ●17 , 18. but if he laid hands for ordination , it 's certain he joyned the presbyters with him , which he had not done , if there had not been an inherent power of ordination in presbyters as such . the apostles did not assume to themselves the sole power of ordination , but took the presbyters for their associates in this action . paul joyns barnabas with him , acts 14.23 . who , if he were one of the seventy disciples ( as dorotheus affirms , with whom agrees eusebius ) then was he of the order of presbyters , according to that hypothesis that makes bishops to succeed the twelve apostles , and presbyters the seventy disciples , and so we have another example of a presbyter ordaining . the like must be said of timothy , who laid on hands in ephesus , not without the presbyters joyning with him , who were made bishops there by the holy ghost , acts 20.17 , 28. he would not assume a greater power to himself then paul did ; but paul joyned the presbyters with him in the act of ordination , therefore timothy did the like . nothing can be gathered from the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 applied to paul's act , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as applied to the presbyters act , for they are used promiscuously in the new testament , and the signification of them must be determined by the subject matter . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 1 tim. 4.14 . respects the moving cause that encouraged paul , with the presbyters , to lay hands on timothy ; see 1 tim. 1.18 . but usually 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a genitive case signifies an instrumental working , or efficiency . see matth. 8.17 . that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by esaias the prophet . we are said to be justified 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , rom. 3.30 . it signifies also a way , or medium , that respects a certain end . see matth. 2.12 . & 7.13 . & 12.43 . i find 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used promiscuously in acts 15.4 , 12. & 14.27 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by them , is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in v. 12. and yet the same thing is intended , viz. what god did by them as instruments . paul's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and the presbyters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — do equally imply an instrumental efficiency . for all ordainers are ministerial deliverers of possession , and none of them principal efficient donors , christ is the authoritative giver of the ministerial power , by his law , which is the fundamentum iuris . as the king's charter to a corporation determines who shall be capable of being mayor , how he shall be chosen , and how invested , here the mayor's power is immediately from the king's charter , as the efficient constitutive instrument , and all that others do is but to determine of the recipient , and invest him : so the lord jesus christ hath hath in his law determined the office of the ministry , the qualifications of the persons , and how they are to be separated for the work , all that belongs to the ordainers is but ministerialty to invest a capable recipient . they are no efficients of the power , that is immediately from christ's law , which is the fountain and measure of their power . thus the presbyters , in the purest and first age of the church , had the ordaining power , which they kept for a considerable time , as we shall see ●●non , though as the church degenerated from the first purity , and the number of presbyters increased , one was chosen , as president of the rest , who ●hould impose hands in the name of ●is collegues . hence the superior dignity of bishops , who at length ●ubjected not only to their hands , but ●o their feet also , not presbyters alone , ●ut sovereign princes and emperours , that we may not forget the bishop ●f rome ) so that at length the poor ●resbyters were no more then the bishops curates , as our liturgy distinguisheth them , in the prayer for bishops and curates . the easiest and more honourable parts of the ministerial work ( as they were reckon'd ) they reserved in their own hands ; and committed the rest to their presbyters . chap. iv. presbyters have power of ordination , because they have power to preach , baptize , and administer the lord's supper . these are not inferior to ordination , proved from the nature of these acts , from christ's commission , from the sense of the ancients . object . the apostles reserved ordination to themselves and successors . answ. 1. they joyned the presbyters with them . 2. the apostles as such had no successors , prov'd from the peculiars of their office , from the the testimonies of sadeel , barrow , lightfoot . another objection answered . they who have power to preach the gospel , to baptize , and administer the lord's supper , have power of ordination , but meer presbyters have power to preach , baptize , and administer the lord's supper , therefore they have power of ordination . the major only requires proof , which i thus prove ; preaching , baptizing , and administring the lord's supper are ministerial acts not of an inferiour nature to ordination , & parium par est ratio . that they are not inferiour to ordination appears both from the nature of the thing , and from scripture . it appears , 1. from the nature of the thing it self . let us consider each apart : as to preaching the gospel authoritatively in the name of christ , it 's a most glorious ordinance ; the publishers of it are called ambassadors for christ , 2 cor. 5.20 . and is an ordainer any thing more ? in the act of preaching they represent the lord jesus christ , the great prophet of the church , matth. 10. 40. and can any thing be more honourable ? they are said to be workers together with god , 2 cor. 6. 1. and is an ordainer more then this ? as to baptism , it 's a solemn dedication of a person to god ; ordination is no more ; only the former is to christianity as such , the latter to a particular work . in this , baptism hath the preference , for it is a sacramental dedication , which ordination is not . in the lord's supper , the minister sets apart bread and wine , as symbolical representations of jesus christ , who is exhibited with all his benefits to worthy receivers . ierom saith of presbyters , ad quorum preces , corpus & sanguis christi conficitur . now which is greater , to impose hands , or to make the sacramental body and blood of christ ? if they have power to consecrate holy things , why not holy persons also ? 2. it will appear from scripture that the ministerial acts now mentioned are not inferiour to ordination . when st. paul saith , 1 cor. 1. 17. that christ did not send him to baptize , but to preach the gospel , surely he means one of the highest ministerial acts , else he would have said , christ sent me , neither to baptize , nor to preach , but to ordain ministers . i would fain know , whether christ did not mention the chiefest parts of a ministers work in the commission given in matth. 28. 19 , 20. go teach all nations , baptizing them , &c. if ordination had been the main and chiefest part , he would have said , go , ordain ministers , preach , and baptize . christ's not mentioning it , is an argument that it is not the principal part of a minister's office , but rather subordinate to preaching and baptizing , and therefore included here , as the lesser in the greater , though not expressed . a commission usually specifies the principal acts which a person is impower'd to do , when others of an inferiour nature may be implied . commissions do dot run à minori ad majus , a superiour office may include the duties of an inferiour , but not on the contrary . it is the rather to be presumed christ would have mentioned the ordaining power in the ministers commission , if it had been superiour to preaching and baptizing , because the commission was immediately directed to the apostles , whose successors diocesan bishops pretend to be , and from whom they derive the ordaining power , as proper to themselves . it may be , it will be said , that administring the lord's supper is not mentioned in their commission , though it be not inferiour to preaching and baptizing . true , but the not mentioning of it , is an argument it is not a greater ministerial act then those that are mentioned , and that it is not to be administred by officers superiour to those that preach and baptize , but that the same persons may preach , baptize , and administer the lord's supper . the same i say of ordination , it 's not being expressed here is a sign it is not greater then those ministerial acts that are mentioned , and that they that have power to preach and baptize , have also to ordain . though this objection be grounded on a mistake of the text , for the lord's supper is mentioned in the following words of the commission , teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i have commanded you , among which the lord's supper is one , matth. 26. 26 , 27. 3. the ancients argued from baptism to ordination , as is observed by the master of the sentences . object . some may say , the power of ordination is denied to presbyters , not because ordination is greater then other ministerial acts , but because the apostles thought fit to reserve it to themselves , and proper successors , who are diocesan bishops . answ. this is to beg the question . we have proved already that the apostles reserved not the power of ordination to themselves , but joyned the presbyters with them . nor are the bishops the apostles successors as such , for the apostles had their call immediately from heaven , gal. 1. 1. had extraordinary qualifications , could confer the holy ghost , were infallibly assisted in their ministerial conduct , and were universal officers , none of which can belong to diocesan bishops . the apostles were not tied to any one nation , province , or city ; they were to preach the gospel to all nations ; but they ordained presbyters or bishops in every church , acts 14. 23. or city , tit. 1. 5. to whom they committed the ordinary government of the church : these were not sent to preach the gospel to all nanations , but to feed the particular flock , over which the holy ghost made them bishops , acts 20. 28. now these stated particular , and fixed church-officers vastly differ from universal , unlimited , and unfixed officers . you may as well say , that a petty constable , whose power is confined to the narrow limits of a little village , succeeds the king , who governs a whole kingdom . when i see bishops immediately sent of god , infallibly assisted by the holy ghost , travelling to the remotest kingdoms to preach the gospel in their own language to the infidel nations , and confirming their doctrine by undoubted miracles , i shall believe them to be the apostles true successors in the apostolical office. our learned writers against the papists do unanimously deny the apostles , as such , to have any successors . nemo sanè nisi planè sit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , apostolatum cum episcopatu confuderit , saith the noble and learned sadeel . dr. barrow of supremacy , p. 120 , 121. the offices of an apostle and of a bishop are not in their nature well consistent , for the apostleship is an extraordinary office , charged with the instruction and government of the whole world. — episcopacy is an ordinary standing charge affixed to one place — now he that hath such a general care can hardly discharge such a particular office , and he that is fixed to so particular an attendance , can hardly look well to so general a charge . a disparagement to the apostolical ministry , for him [ peter ] to take upon him the bishoprick of rome , as if the king should become mayor of london , as if the bishop of london should be vicar of pancras . he saith a little before , st. peter's being bishop of rome , would confound the offices which god made distinct ; for god did appoint first apostles , then prophets , then pastors and teachers ; wherefore st. peter , after he was an apostle , could not well become a bishop , it would be such an irregularity , as if a bishop should be made a deacon . to the same purpose-speaks dr. lightfoot , who proves by several arguments , that apostles were an order unimitable in the church . object . the ordainers gave not the ordaining power to presbyters , therefore it belongs not to them . answ. they are ordained to the offfice of the ministry , of which the ordaining power is a branch . it 's not the intention of the ordainer , but the office as constituted by christ , that ●s the measure of the power . the ordaining power is not mentioned in the apostles commission , matth. 28. 20. yet it is included in it . if presbyters are sent to preach and baptize in the words of christ's commission to them , they are sent also to ordain ( as opportunities are offered to perform that ministerial act in a regular manner ) for it 's included in their commission . popish ordainers did not intentionally give the reforming power to the first reformers , yet no protestant will question but it was annext to their office as ministers . now the office of the ministry being from christ , and not from man , we must not go to the words of the ordainer , but to the instituting law of christ , to know what the office is . as if the city and recorder should chuse and invest a lord mayor , and tell him , you shall not have all the power given by the king's charter , it 's a nullity , he shall have all the power that the charter giveth him , by virtue of his office. chap. v. the ordinations of the greater part of the reformed churches are by presbyters . their not having superiour bishops cannot unchurch them ; nor is it a case of necessity , as is pretended by some : for , 1. they might have bishops if they would . 2. some of them refused them , when offered . 3. their learned writers assert an inherent power in presbyters to ordain , and never use this plea of necessity . 4. their confessions make all ministers equal . that ordination which is the same with the ordinations in the reformed churches beyond sea , is valid , but such is ordination by meer presbyters , therefore — if theirs be null , and the roman or popish ordinations valid , then it 's better be of the roman popish church , then of the reformed ; but the consequence is absurd . i know but two things can be replied to this argument : 1. that the reformed churches have no true ministers , for want of episcopal ordination . thus mr. dodwel and others , who would have us believe the romish church to be a true church , and receive the pope as the patriarch of the west . these gentlemen have cast off their vizard , and give us to know what they would be at . they condemn the forreign reformed churches as no churches , their sacraments as no sacraments , and consequently no salvation to be had in their communion . like the donatists of old , they confine salvation to their own party and way . it 's unaccountable that any who call themselves protestants , should unchurch the greatest and purest part of reform'd christians in favour of a despotick prelacy , which hath no foundation in scripture , or the best antiquity . the being of ministry and churches must depend upon a few men , who look more like state-ministers , then ministers of christ , and are generally more busie in managing intrigues of government , then in preaching the word in season and out of season . can any imagine that such pastors as rarely preach the gospel , as not above once in three years visit their flock , that have many thousands of souls under their charge whose faces they never saw , that assume to themselves a grandeur more agreeable to the princes of the world , then to the simplicity and humility required in the ministers of the gospel , that entangle themselves with the affairs of this life , contrary to the scriptures and the old canons : i say , can any imagine such pastors to be so necessary to the church , that there must be neither ministry , nor sacraments , nor worship of god , nor salvation without them ? o happy rome ! o miserable reformed churches ! if the case be thus . 2. others that are more moderate , say , the case of the reformed churches is a case of necessity , they have no bishops , nor can have them . ordinations by meer presbyters may be lawful , where bishops cannot be had . i answer , 1 the case of the forreign churches is no case of necessity ; for if they have a mind of bishops , what hinders their having of them ? is it the magistrates ? it cannot be said of holland , switzerland , geneva , &c. where they have magistrates of their own . suppose france , and some other places , would not have admitted of it , that should have been no bar to the order , if they had been desirous of it . the primitive christians were under heathen magistrates for three hundred years , who were generally professed enemies to the ministry and churches , yet they wanted no ministerial order of christ's appointment . christ never appointed an order of ministers in his church , which may not be had in the most difficult times . it 's true , if the civil magistrate be against bishops , it may eclipse their lordly greatness , but it need not prejudice their ius divinum , if they have any . why cannot the apostles successors subsist with as little dependance upon authority , as the apostles themselves did ? do spiritual men need carnal weapons to defend their order ? yet it cannot be denied , but that even in france the protestants had their immunities , and a polity of their own , by virtue of the edict of nants , which enabled them , had they pleas'd , to get diocesan bishops . they had their synods for church government , and moderators to preside in them ; and why not bishops also , had they judged them necessary ? nor is it to be supposed that their french masters would have liked them the worse , for conforming to their own ecclesiastical government . thuanus , a moderate papist , thinks it was an errour in their constitution , that they neglected the superiour order of bishops in their first reformation , for the supporting of their interest . the want of them did not prejudice their constancy to the truth , as appears by their late sufferings . 2. time hath been when the french churches were earnestly sollicited , particularly by bishop morton , to receive a clergy by the ordination of the english bishops , which they refused . peter moulin in his letter to the bp. of winchester , excusing himself for not making the difference betwixt bishops and presbyters to be of divine appointment ; he pleads , that if he had laid the difference on that foundation , the french churches would have silenced him . 3. how come the learned wri●te of the forreign churches , that vindicate their ordinations against the papists to forget this plea of necessity ? they never say , they would have bishops , but cannot have them ; but they justifie their ordinations as according to scripture , and assert an inherent power in presbyters as such to ordain . this is undeniable to any body that reads their dicourses upon this subject . see daillé , moulin , bucer , voetius , sadeel , &c. that professedly write of ordination against the papists , besides the vast numbers that treat occasionly of this subject in their common places , and other writings , such as melancthon , musculus , zanchy , ravanel , the leyden professors , &c. who all insist upon the right of presbyters to ordain . it 's true , of late years some arts have been used to pro●ure letters from some eminent for●eign divines to condemn the noncon●ormists here , without an impartial hear●ng of our case . that we have been misrepresented to them , is evident by dr. morley's letter to the famous bochart , who vindicates us from the doctor 's calumny . some also have o● late submitted to re-ordination , who are more to be pitied then censured , fo● they wanted bread , and could have no● relief without conforming to the church of england ; the ceremonies , i● seems , being to some men of more value then the great gospel-duty of charity . that charity which ● king of the roman communion impower'd them to receive , though of another religion , was denied them by protestants of the same religion , ●● they did not conform to that hierarchy which had no power over them , as being natives of another kingdom , and no way subject to our constitution . see the first brief for the french protestants . besides , that the french ministers hold ordination but a ceremony and may be reiterated twenty times ●● there be occasion ; and in their necessity some of them have acted according to this principle . 4. we may judge of the forreig● churches by their confessions , which are the most authentick testimony o● their sense about episcopacy . the french confession asserts an equality of power ●n all pastors . credimus omnes pastores ●bicunque collocati sint , eâdem & aequali ●otestate inter se esse praeditos , sub uno ●llo capite , summoque & solo universali episcopo , iesu christo. this is the more considerable , because no man is ●o be ordained a minister , or admitted elder or deacon in the french churches , ●ut he must subscribe the publick con●ession of their faith , and also the constitutions agreed on at paris , commonly known by the name of their discipline . see durel . p. 52. & la rocque's conformity of the french discipline , cap. 1. art . ● . & cap. 3. art . 1. the dutch confession speaks the ●ame thing . caeterum ubicunque loco●um sint verbi dei ministri , eandem at●ue aequalem omnes habent tum potestatem ●um authoritatem , qui sunt aeque omnes christi unici illius vniversalis episcopi , & capitis ecclesiae , ministri . by read●ng the acts of the synod of dort , i ●nd that , session 144. notice was given ●hat it was the will of the states , that ●he belgick confession of faith should ●e read and examined by the synod , the exteri being also present . upon the reading of this 31 article , that asserts the parity of ministers , the bishop of landaff in his name , and the name of his brethren , made open protestation , that whereas in the confession there was inserted a strange conceit of the parity of ministers to be instituted by christ , he declared his own and his brethrens utter dissent in that point . no dislike was shewn to this article , asserting the parity of ministers , by the deputies of any other reformed church besides the english , by which we may judge what their sentiments were in this point . so that the reformed churches do neither need bishops , nor desire them , for they make all ministers equal . chap. v. our ordination better then that of rome , ( which is accounted valid in the church of england ) because in roman ordinations ; 1. their ordainers are incapable , as wanting scriptural and canonical qualifications . 2. the manner of ordaining grosly superstitious and vnscriptural . 3. the ordained not elected by the people . sworn to the pope . 4. their office idolatrous . their ordinations are by bishops , ours without , answered . that ordination which is better then that of the church of rome is valid , but ordination by meer presbyters is much better then that of the church of rome , therefore 't is valid . the major will not be denied by the church of england , because she owns the ordination of the church of rome , and doth not re-ordain their priests — the minor i prove , ordination by presbyters is better then the ordinations of rome , because in the church of rome . i. the ordainers are incapable , and that upon these accounts : ( 1. ) they have not scriptural qualifications : paul's bishop must be found in the faith * . popish ordaining bishops are studious maintainers of corrupt doctrine , and enemies to the faith , as is acknowledg'd by all orthodox protestants . paul's bishop must be apt to teach ‖ . popish bishops are for the most part illiterate unpreaching prelates , and justified herein by their own writers † . paul's bishop must be blameless , the husband of one wife * . popish bishops forbid to marry , and yet allow fornication ‖ . paul's bishop must be a lover of good men † . popish prelates are not such , for they mortally hate the sincere professors of the gospel , and are all sworn to contribute their endeavours for their extirpation , under the notion of hereticks . the words of the oath are these ; haereticos , schismaticos , & rebelles eidem domino nostro [ papae ] vel successoribus praedictis pro posse persequar & impugnabo * : i.e. i a. b. do swear that i will to the utmost of my endeavour prosecute and destroy all hereticks , schismaticks , and all other opposers of our soveraign lord the pope , and his successors . shall the sworn enemies of the reformation be received as ministers of christ , and the ministers of the reformation be rejected as no ministers ? tell it not in gath , publish it not in the streets of askelon , lest the uncircumcised triumph . but i proceed . a bishop indeed must be a pattern of humility and self-denial to the flock † . romish bishops are lords over god's heritage , have dominion over their faith , and bind them to blind obedience . now if the ordinations of such usurping monsters as these , that have nothing but the empty name of bishops , be valid , as the church of england saith they are ; how much more are the ordinations of orthodox faithful gospel ministers or bishops , to be judg'd lawful ? can any thing be more absurd then that the ministers of antichrist , should make true ministers , and the ministers of christ make false prophets by one and the same ordaining act. it 's the received doctrine of the church of england that the pope is antichrist . see homily against idolatry , part 3. p. 69. and the sixth part of the sermon against rebellion , p. 316. ( 2. ) they derive their power from the pope , who hath no right to the universal headship , either from scripture or true antiquity . the very office of a pope is contrary to the prerogative and laws of christ , and consequently is a most treasonable usurpation . ii. the manner of their ordaining is unscriptural and superstitious * . they ascend to the priesthood by several steps or degrees , which have no footsteps in the sacred writings . they make them ( 1. ) ostiarij , or door-keepers , whose office is to ring the bell , to open the church-vestry , and the priest's book . espencaeus † a popish writer , sheweth out of chrysostom that it belong'd to the office of a deacon , to admit into the church , and shut out . then ( 2. ) they make them lectores , readers , whose work is to read and sing the lessons , and to bless the bread and all the first fruits . in the primitive church this was not a distinct office , for in some places 't was the office of a deacon , in some , of the minister , and in some , it belonged to the bishops to read the scriptures , especially on festivals . ( 3. ) the next step is that of exorcists , whose pretended office is to cast out devils , in a feigned imitation of the miraculous operations of the first ages of christianity . these sacred conjurers , who take upon them to dispossess devils , are inferiour to the very deacons that serve tables , and yet equal to the very apostles , were they able to perform what they undertake . though one would wonder , why the bishops , the pretended successors of the apostles , did not reserve to themselves the power of casting out unclean spirits , as well as that of conferring the h. spirit , which , as they say , none but themselves can do . but these exorcists are men of that extraordinary power , that they out-do the very apostles , for they did not cast out devils by laying on of hands , as these pretend to do . the bishop tells them that they are spirituales imperatores ad abjiciendos daemones de corporibus obsessis * — i. e. they are spiritual governours to cast out devils , &c. to which purpose he gives them power of laying hands super energumenos sive baptizatos sive catechumenos .... ( 4. ) the next degree is that of the acolythi ‡ , whose office is to be taper-bearers , to light candles , to bring wine and water for the eucharist . they who were spiritual emperours a little before to conquer devils , are now degraded , ( which yet must be called an advancement ) to the mean occupation of under-servitors . the badge of their office is a candlestick and a pot , which are delivered to them by the bishop . as he delivers the candlestick , he saith , accipite cero-ferarium , & sciatis vos ad accendenda ecclesiae lumina mancipari ... ... and as he delivers the pot , he saith , accipite urceolum ad suggerendum vinum & aquam in eucharistiam sanguinis christi .... ( 5. ) they climb after this to the degree of sub-deacons ‖ , whose business is to prepare water for the ministry of the altar , to minister to the deacons , to wash the palls of the corporals , to present the cup and paten for the use of their abominable sacrifice . the bishop puts a garment upon their heads to signifie the castigation of the speech , and then puts the manipulus upon their left arm , to signifie good works , ib. after this he cloaths them with a coat , to signifie joy and gladness , ibid. last of all , he delivers to them the book of epistles to be read for the living and the dead , ibid. the sub-deacons of old were but letter-carriers to the bishops * . ( 6. ) then they make them deacons ‡ , whose office is to minister at the altar , to baptize and preach , after the example of stephen , as is pretended . the bishop pretends to give them the holy ghost , cloaths them in significant white garments , and delivers to them the book of the gospels , saying , accipe potestatem — i. e. take power to read the gospel in the church both for the living and the dead . ( 7. ) from deacons ‖ they ascend to the order of priesthood . the form of making them is very ridiculous : scarce any footsteps of the apostolical practice to be found in it . the person to be ordained presents himself to the bishop with a multitude of superstitious rags , such as the alb , cingulum , stola , the manipulus , the planeta , &c. holding a candle in his right hand , to signifie he must be a shining light to the people . then the bishop binds the stole about his neck , to put him in mind of the yoke of christ , ib. after this the capsula being folded , is put over his shoulders to denote charity , then the bishop unfolds it again , and cloaths the priest with it , to signifie innocence , ib. the same white garment signifies charity when 't is folded up , and innocency when 't is unfolded . you must not ask the reason of this different signification , for profound mysteries are wrapt up in all the foldings of this sacred garment , which is apt to stir up the dull mind of man to the remembrance of his duty . when they have adorn'd them in this beggarly garment , and made them look partly like those priests that serv'd the old tabernacle , and partly like those that ministred at heathen altars , they anoint their hands with oyl , greasing them with the sign of the cross , and adding these words , consecrentur .... istae manus ... ut quaecunque benedixerint , benedicantur . the bishop also shaves their heads , saying , dominus pars haereditatis meae * , &c. their learned authors tell us of unaccountable mysteries that are contained in this pagan ceremony . lombard saith , the shaven crown signifies kingly dignity † ; corona regale decus significat . the signification is not very improper , for they lord it over god's heritage , and exalt themselves above kings and princes . the same author adds , that denudatio capitis est revelatio mentis ; clericus enim secretorum dei non ignarus esse debet . ... and no wonder their shaveling priests are such great clerks , since shaving the pate is the mysterious path to knowledge . he tells us also , ob vitae continentiam caput radebant , ibid. they shav'd themselves for chastity's sake . the unclean stories of monkish lives are convincing evidences of their mortification . optatus * reproveth the donatists for their symbolizing with the silly custom of the heathen , in shaving the heads of their priests . docete ubi vobis mandatum est , capita sacerdotum radere ... cum è contra sint tot exempla proposita fieri non debere . this ceremony is of an heathen original , as appears by minutius foelix † , with whom agrees the council of eliberis ‖ , who excommunicated such as did so , and after the expiration of two years received them into communion , upon supposition they continued in the faith. the council of trent anathematizes any that will reject or speak against these foolish fopperies * . how different is this form of ordination from the scripture-ordinations ? ministers in the apostles times were ordained by fasting and prayer , with imposition of hands , without any other ceremonies that we read of . let the world judge , whether our ordinations , which follow the scripture pattern , or the romish ordinations , which are a meer pageantry , are the better ; and if theirs be admitted as valid , why should ours be condemned ? shall they who pass under such unscriptural forms and shapes of door-keepers , readers , exorcists , &c. be accounted ministers of christ , and must those who vary not from the scriptures in their ordinations , be reckon'd intruders ? can any of the sincere patrons of the protestant interest pass such a partial unjust censure ? are they true ministers , who recede from the apostles practice as far as the east is from the west , and must those be none who make it their rule ? shall those ordinations which are humane and antichristian ( and therefore laid aside in the church of england ) be received , and theirs which are divine and apostolical be rejected ? the thing is so very clear to such as are not wilfully blinded with prejudice and interest , that one may justly wonder how it should ever come into debate . iii. our ordinations are better then the ordinations of rome , if we consider the persons ordained . that which we have said concerning the want of qualifications in the ordainers , may be also applied to the ordained in the roman communion . their priests are made without the election of the people ; and bellarmine saith that neither their suffragium , concilium , or consensus is required , which is contrary to scripture , and antiquity , as our protestant writers have proved against the papists . see willet's synops. papismi , 5 controver . quest. 2. p. 260 ... all the popish priests are sworn to observe the decrees of the council of trent , whereby their consciences are captivated to all the idolatries , superstitions , and errours of the church of rome ; they take also an oath of canonical obedience to their bishops , which makes them more the servants of men , then of crist , 1 cor. 7.23 . gal. 1. 10. this oath is forbidden by an old council at chalons ; dictam . est interea de quibusdam fratribus , quod eos quos ordinaturi sunt , jurare cogant .... quod contra canones non sint facturi , & obedientes sint episcopo qui eos ordinat , & ecclesiae in quâ ordinantur . quod juramentum quia periculosum est , omnes und inhibendum statuimus . the romish bishops about the eleventh century , obliged all the bishops at their examinations to promise subjection and fealty in all things to st. peter , and to his church , to his vicar , and to his successors , as appears by the roman order , which in all likelyhood was writ about that time , and where is to be seen amongst the questions made to the bishop which was examined , those which regard obedience and fidelity . the form of the oath may be seen in the roman pontifical . dr. willet makes the oath of obedience to the pope a mark of antichrist . if it be bad in the pope , the chief bishop , to require such an oath , it cannot be good in inferiour bishops , unless they were more infallible then the head of their succession . the first instance that i can find of an oath required by ecclesiastical guides to bind persons to their communion , is that of novatus the heretick , who swore all his communicants not to return to cornelius . vide epist. cornel. ad fabium antioch . praesidem , in euseb. this is much of the same nature with the oath de jure parendo , administred in ecclesiastical courts to excommunicated persons at their reconciliation . in short , our ordinations are better then popish ordinations , because our candidates are admitted upon sufficient trial of their qualifications , are not obtruded upon the people without their choice and consent , and nothing is required of them but obedience to the laws of christ ; all which are otherwise in the ordinations of rome . iv. ours are better then popish ordinations , if we consider the office to which they are ordained , which is one of the grossest pieces of idolatry that ever was in the world , viz. the offering up of their bread-idol , under the notion of a propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead . forma sacerdotii haec est ( saith hunnaeus ) accipe potestatem offerendi sacrificium in ecclesia pro vivis & mortuis , in nomine patris , & filii , & spiritus sancti . the words of consecration in the roman pontifical are with this addition ; accipe potestatem offere sacrificium deo , missásque celebrare . they make the very essence of the priestly office to consist in potestate placabiles deo hostias offerendi , as the master of the sentences speaks . the council of trent makes preaching of the word , which is the first thing in the apostles commission , to be a separable accident . si quis dixerit , non esse in novo testamento sacerdotium visibile , & externum , vel non esse potestatem aliquam consecrandi & offerendi verum corpus & sanguinem domini , & peccata remittendi & retinendi ; sed officium tantùm , & nudum ministerium praedicandi evangelium . vel eos qvi non praedicant , prorsvs non esse sacerdotes , anathema sit . for these reasons the reformed churches of france did not admit popish priests , that had forsaken the roman communion , into the ministry , without long and diligent inspection and examination , they must be approved of at least for two years from the time of their conversion : nor were they then suffered to exercise as ministers , until they submitted to another ordination ; and they were not to receive imposition of hands any more then if they were strangers , without the advice of provincial and national synods . now these idolatrous shavelings , whose ordainers are the pope's creatures , whose ordination is the product of a prophane invention , and whose work is to make a wafer-god : i say , these are taken for true ministers in the church of england , though it be as hard to find the essentials of the ministry among them , as to find a pearl in a dunghil . therefore the ordination of presbyters , now in question , should be admitted for valid , as being more agreeable to the scriptures in all the respects mentioned , and not to be justly charged with any defect in things essential to the ministry . object . popish ordinations are done by diocesan bishops , which you have not , therefore your ordinations are null . answ. this objection hath been answered already . it supposeth three things which are notoriously false . the first is , that the sole power of ordination was in the apostles . 2. that they had successors in the apostolica● office ; both which we have disproved ▪ and 3dly , it supposeth popish bishops to be the apostles successors , which sounds harsh in protestant ears : can they be the apostles successors , who have not the apostolical doctrine ? when they urge this succession against the first reformers , and quote the fathers , tertullian , irenaeus , &c. who argue from this topick against the old hereticks , they are answered by our protestants writers , that the ancients spoke not de solâ episcoporum successione , sed de doctrinae successione , ac ejus fidei , quam primi episcopi ab apostolis acceptam atque haustam ad posteros continuâ serie transfudernnt . to the same purpose speak our iewel , whittaker , reynolds , willet , &c. if either of these three points fail , this objection is impertinent , how much more when all the three are precarious . our ordinations are in all things confessedly good , except the concurrence of a diocesan bishop ; the popish ordinations have nothing to recommend them but the desiled hand of a nominal bishop , so that the bare touch of his hand imprints an indelible character , where the spirit of christ hath left no impressions of his image . this is to ascribe greater virtue to the fingers of a prelate in making ministers , then to the spirit of god. let a person ordained by presbyters be never so well qualified , be never so faithful in the discharge of his office ; let another person that is ordained by a bishop , be never so defective in qualifications , suppose a reading curate that cannot preach , let him be never so prophane in his life , yet this man must pass for a true minister , because he had the ineffectual blessing of a bishop , and the other a meer usurper , and all his , administrations must be null and void , for want of this ceremony . let the spirit of god indue a man with never such excellent gifts for the ministry , it shall be in the power of a prelate to exclude him , that he shall be no minister of christ , though he devote himself to the work , and be solemnly set apart for it : nay more , it will be in his power to make a minister of another person , whom the holy ghost never designed for that office , by any real work of sanctification upon his heart , or conferring upon him any tolerable degree of minist●rial abilities . they that can believe such fancies may please themselves therewith , christ gave us another rule to discern between false and true pastors , matth. 7. 15 , 16 — 20. ye shall know them by their fruits ; that is , by their doctrine and conversation . the reformers vindicate their ministry against the papists by this argument : christus hanc nobis regulam praef●●verit , quâ possimus falsos à veris doctoribus discernere , nempe eos à suis fructibus esse dignoscendos , cur eq non contenti , alias praeterea temerè , & pro arbitrio confingamus ? itaque judicetur tum de pontificiis , tum etiam de nostris pastoribus , ex doctrinâ quae verus est fructus , atque etiam , si placet , utrorumque vita in disquisitionem vocetur . quod si fiat , certò speramus , deo favente , nos facilè in hâc causâ fore superiores . we are very willing to put our case to the same issue , to be judged according to this rule of christ , by our doctrine and conversation . chap. vi. presbyters power of ordination prov'd from their imposition of hands in ordination , not as bare approvers . turrianus , heylin , j. taylor , &c. confuted . two other objections answered . those that have power to impose hands in ordination have power to ordain , but presbyters have power to impose hands in ordination , therefore to ordain . the minor , viz. that presbyters may impose hands , will not be denied . 't is required by the old canons * — omnes presbyteri qui praesentes sunt manus suas juxta manum episcopi super caput illius † teneant . chrysostom was charged in a libel put in by isaacius ( how justly is not certain ) that he ordained ministers without the concurrence of his presbyters : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . phot. biblioth . v 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 27. edit . aug. vindelic . 1601. however , the presbyters continued to lay hands with the bishops , even in the darkest ages of the church , as might be proved by several instances if necessity required . but this is so undeniable , that to this day the presbyters are admitted to joyn with the bishop in imposition of hands , in the church of england . and in the present church of rome also , all the presbyters that are present are required to lay hands with the bishop * . the major will be deny'd ( that though they impose hands they have not the ordaining power ) i thus prove it ; that which is an ordaining act bespeaks an ordaining power ; but imposition of hands in ordination is an ordaining act , therefore \h . the major is evident , for actus praesupponit potentiam . as to the minor , if imposing of hands in ordination be not actus ordinans , what is it ? i should be glad to see one instance given in the apostles times of persons laying on hands in ordination , that had no ordaining power . if imposition of hands in ordination be no evidence of an ordaining power , how come the bishops to urge that scripture ( 1 tim. 5.22 . lay hands suddenly on no man ) in favour of timothy's ordaining power , and thence to infer he was bishop of ephesus ? timothy might lay hands for ordination , and yet have no ordaining power , and so be no bishop of ephesus . thus they unwarily undermine their own foundations . it 's a meer subterfuge , and indeed such as betrays the cause , to acknowledge that presbyters may perform all the outward acts of ordination , but not as ordainers . 't is as if one should say , a presbyter hath power to apply water to a child in baptism in the name of the father , son , and holy ghost , but he hath no power to baptize . he may set apart bread and wine , and distribute it to the people according to christ's institution ; but he hath no power to administer the lord's supper . if presbyters imposing of hands signifie no ordaining power , what doth it signifie ? turrianus the jesuit saith it signifies their approbation of the bishops act — non excludantur presbyteri ab impositione manûs approbante , sed ab ordinante . he is followed herein by many of our own . dr. heylin * saith , the presbyters hands confer nothing of the power of order upon the party ordained , but only testifie their consent unto the business , and approbation of the man. to the same purpose speaks dr. i. taylor † . but that cannot be the meaning of it ; for they could signifie their approbation some other way , without imposition of hands ; their saying amen to the ordination prayer would be a sufficient expression of their consent . the peoples approbation was required in primitive ordinations ‖ ; who never were admitted to lay hands with the bishop . the consent of the people was required in the ordination of deacons * , yet did they not lay hands on them † . if no more be intended by it , then a bare approbation , how come the bishops alone to lay hands upon deacons without their presbyters . hi cum ordinantur solus episcopus eis manum imponit ‖ . but this signification is deserted by a learned bishop , who saith , i think rather they dedicate him to god for the ministry , which is conferred on him by the bishop . this specious evasion is equally disserviceable to the present point , with the former . where in all the new testament have we any ground for this distinction ? how can it be said that the ministry is conferred by the bishop first , and afterwards the presbyters dedicate the person to god , when both bishops and presbyters do lay hands together ; can he be ordained and dedicated to god as two distinct acts , the one inferiour to the other , and that in the same moment of time , by the same ceremony of imposition of hands , and by the same words ? how comes the bishops hand to confer the ministry more then the presbyters ? not by any inherent virtue in the one more then in the other ; not from any institution of christ or his apostles , appropriating an ordaining , or minisher making power to the bishops hand , and a bare dedication to the ministry actually conferred , to the presbyters hands . the scriptures of the new testament make no mention of such distinct significations of that ceremony , and therefore they cannot be ex instituto ; and it 's plain they are not ex naturâ rei . might not the presbyters dedicate the person to god without the laying on of hands ? can there be no dedication to god without laying hands on the persons so dedicated ? the whole church dedicates him to god by prayer , and yet don't lay on hands , so that meer dedication to god in the learned bishop's sense as distinct from ordination , cannot be the meaning of this ceremony . but , i pray , what is ordination it self but a dedication of the person to god for the ministry ? what more doth the bishop do in conferring the ministry ? he cannot confer it by a meer physical contact , if so , every touch of his hand on the head of a man , woman , or child would make them ministers . it must be therefore by a moral act that he doth it , i. e. by laying on hands on a fit person according to the appointment of god , to dedicate him to god for the ministry . the power is immediately from christ and not from the bishop : men do but open the door , or determine the person that from christ shall receive the power , and then put him solemnly into possession , acts 20.28 . the moderate asserters of episcopacy do acknowledge that the presbyters lay on hands as ordainers * : imponunt manus presbyteri ... tanquam ordinantes , seu ordinem conferentes , & ex potestate ordinandi divinitus accepta gratiam ordinato , hoc adhibito ritu , apprecantes . with whom agrees the arch-bishop of spalato † . dr. fulk speaks to the same purpose in his anti-rhemish annotations ‖ . object . where do you read that presbyters did ordain without a bishop ? answ. this objection grants my argument , that presbyters have power of ordination , but not to be put forth without the bishop . admit they have an inherent power , and it 's all i plead for ; i am sure no law of god restrains the exercise of it , while it is managed regularly for the edification of the church . we oppose not any rules of order , while the main end is promoted . the old canons restrain the bishop , that he must not ordain without his presbyters * ; we may say as well then , that bishops have no power to ordain , because they were not ordinarily to do it without their presbyters . all the ordinations of presbyters in the apostles time , and in the three first centuries were done by presbyters without bishops of the present species , i. e. the sole governours of 100 or 200 churches , for there were no such bishops in the primitive church , as hath been proved by several hands † . the very office is humane and new . the primitive bishop was but the chief presbyter , who was president for orders sake , but pretended not to be of a superior order . bishop vsher answered this objection from the example of the church of alexandria ( as mr. b. affirms ) which shall be consider'd anon , when we come to instances of ordaining presbyters in antiquity . chap. vii . among the iews any one that was ordained himself might ordain another , prov'd from dr. lightfoot , mr. selden , p. cuneus . if among the jews any one that was ordain'd himself might ordain another , then may presbyters ordain presbyters . but the former is true — therefore , &c. the consequence of the major is founded upon that which is acknowledg'd by most learned men , that the government of the christian church was formed after the jewish pattern . the minor i prove from dr. lightfoot : thus he ; before they had restrained themselves of their own liberties , then the general rule for ordinations among them was , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every one regularly ordained himself , had the power of ordaining his disciples , as ben maimon affirms . mr. selden gives many instances to this purpose out of gemar . babylon . de synedr . lib. 2. c. 7. § . 1. but in the time of hi●lel they were rest●ain'd from 〈◊〉 former liberty ; whether out of v●●●●ration to his house , or whether from the inconveniency of such common ordinations , is not certain ; and so it was resolved that none might ordain without the presence of the prince of the sanhedrin , or a license from him . per insigne est , saith p. cunoeus quod r. maimonides tradidit in salach . sanhed . c. 4. cum enim olim solennem hunc actum pro arbitrio suo omnes celebrarent , quibus imposita semel manus fuerat , coarctatum esse id jus à sapientibus , constitutúmque ut deinceps nemo illud usurparet , nisi cui id concessisset divinus senex r. hillel . selden , saith that st. paul's creating of presbyters was according to the custom of creating elders , paul being brought up at the feet of gamaliel , as his disciple . this gamaliel was nephew , or grandchild of hillel , and prince of the sanhedrin at that time , and therefore no doubt but he had created his scholar paul , a jewish elder , before he was a christian ; by virtue of which ordination in all likelyhood the jews admitted him to preach in their synagogues , acts 9. 20. now when paul became an apostle , he knew himself and other apostles to be free from the new law , of not makeing elders without the licence of the prince of the sanhedrin , which was not to be expected in their case ; for this r. gamaliel , though otherwise a fair man , had an inveterate prejudice against the christians , and authorized a prayer against them , under the notion of hereticks , commanding its constant use in the synagogues , as * lightfoot observes out of maimonides ; which prayer is used among the jews to this day , containing bitter curses and execrations against the christians , as buxtorf notes . dr. hammond himself granteth that the government of the church was formed after the jewish manner , though he reckoneth up many inconveniencies which would follow promiscuous ordinations . the analogy between the government of the jewish synagogues and the christian church seems very evident in the case of deacons , who succeed the jewish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 parnas●n , of which there were two or three in every synagogue to take care of the poor . vide lightf . harm . on act. 6. & 7. to sum up this argument , the case of presbyters in point of ordination , is the same with that of jewish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or elders . every one that was ordained himself had originally the power of ordaining others , the exercise of which power was afterwards restrained by a canon of that church : so in the christian church , at first in scripture times , presbyters had a common power of ordination ; but afterwards ut schismatum semina evellerentur , the power was by degrees devolved upon a few chief presbyters , whom we call bishops , and the ordinary presbyters were restrained by common consent , as ierom observes in tit. 1. and * panormitan after him . how well the new order of superiour bishops hath cured the world of schism , the distractions and confusions of the church , occasioned by the pride and grandeur of that order , for above a thousand years together , are instances to palpable to be deny'd . chap. viii . ordination an act of the exercise of the power of the keys , acknowledged by cornelius à lapide , chamier , camero , &c. the keys of iurisdiction and order given to presbyters , and consequently power of ordination . that ordination which is performed by persons who have the keys of the kingdom of heaven committed to them , is valid ; but ordination by presbyters is performed by persons who have the keys of the kingdom of heaven committed to them , therefore it is valid . the major i prove : either ordination is an act of the exercise of the power of the keys , or of some other power , but of no other ; if any other , it 's either of a secular power , or of an ecclesiastical ; but neither of these : not an ecclesiastical , for there is no ecclesiastical power , ( at least , which ordination can be pretended to belong to ) but the power of the keys ; not of a secular power , for that belongs not to ministers . that the keys do contain in them the power of ordination is acknowledged by papists and protestants , particularly by cornelius à lapide , chemnitius , bucer , chamier . nomine clavium significatur omnis potestas ecclesiastica , suppl . cham. lib. 4. c. 4. traditio clavium , saith camero , symbolum est potestatis atque auctoritatis collatoe , isa. 22.22 . rev. 3.7 . clavium traditione doctorum apud iudoeos inauguratio veteri instituto peragebatur . the keys delivered to the jewish teachers included the power of ordination ; for , as we observed before , every one , regularly ordained himself , had the power of ordaining his disciples , maimon . the minor is in part granted by all , to wit , that presbyters have the key of doctrine ; that they have the key of jurisdiction and order also , as some distinguish them , i thus prove ; they that have the key of doctrine have also the key of jurisdiction and order ; but presbyters have the former , therefore they have the latter . the major i thus prove ; christ gave the keys together , and did not divide them , therefore they that have the key of doctrine have the key of jurisdiction and order . to thee i give the keys , saith our lord , matth. 16. 19. io. 20.23 . he did not give one key to one , and both to another ; he gives no single key to any person , but keys , and so whatever these keys serve for . we know no distribution of the keys , but what is grounded upon scripture . he that hath the keys of a house or castle delivered to him , hath power to admit or exclude persons , as he seeth cause . except there be a limitation in his order or commission , his power extends to all persons without exception . christ here doth not limit the power of the keys ; therefore if presbyters may admit church-members into the house of god by baptism , they may admit church-officers by ordination . chap. ix . all that have the power of order may confer it ; acknowledged by arch-bishop usher and dr. fern. bishops and presbyter's have the power of order equally . proved , 1. by the ancient fathers . 2. by schoolmen . lombard , bonaventure , &c. 3. by the canonists , gratian , joh. semeca , &c. 4. by councils , as that of aquisgranum , hispalis , constance , basil. bishops not expresly determined a superiour order in the council of trent . 5. this is acknowledged by the old church of england , in the canons of elfrick , and by j. wicklef , lambert the martyr , the provincial synod of 1537. cranmer , juel , morton , bilson , &c. this truth is owned by the now bishop of salisbury , and by the bishop of worcester . ordination by presbyters allowed in the old church of england . instances of it . orders conferred by such as are in orders , and have the power of order equal with the highest bishop , are valid ; but orders conferred by presbyters , are conferred by such as are in orders , and have the power of order equally with the highest bishop , therefore orders conferred by presbyters are valid . as to the major , it 's founded on that maxim frequently used by arch-bishop vsher , ordinis est conferre ▪ ordines , a man that is in orders , quoad presbyteratum , may coeteris paribus confer orders , it being like generation , or univocal causation . this maxim is acknowledged by dr. h. fern * , in his compendious discourse , p. 115 , 116 , 117. if among the papists men of an inferiour order do make the pope , and among our selves bishops do make arch-bishops ; how much more may men of the same order give what they have , that is , ordinem sacerdotii , as the school-men call it . why may not presbyters make presbyters , as physicians make physicians ? all ranks or orders of beings generate their own kind , but the impotent order of presbyters must prove extinct , if the favourable influences of a superiour order do not propagate it , by a sort of equivocal generation . must presbyters be reckoned amongst those monsters in nature that cannot perpetuate themselves by propagation ? the minor , that bishops and presbyters have the power of order equally , will be acknowledged by most protestants and papists . the scripture no where mentions any distinction of order among ordinary ministers . neither do we read there but of one kind of ordination ; then certainly there can be but one order of presbyters , or gospel-ministers , properly so called ; for two distinct orders cannot be conferred in the same instant , by the same words , and by the same actions . let a man shew me from scripture , that timothy or titus , or any other were ordained twice , made first presbyters , then bishops , which is absolutely necessary if they be distinct characters . this point of the identity of bishops and presbyters hath the consent of the fathers , school-men , canonists , councils , and of the old church of england . ( 1. ) as to the fathers , blondel in his apology for ierom's opinion , quotes most that are considerable , who unanimously affirm the identity of bishops and presbyters . the testimonies of clemens romanus , polycarp , irenoeus , clemens alexandrin . ierom , austin , hilarius , isidore , &c. may be seen at large in the said learned author . to which i could add several more , if it were needful . ( 2. the judgment of the schoolmen is the same in this point . the master of the sentences saith , apud veteres iidem episcopi & presbyteri fuerunt . he adds , excellenter canones duos tantum sacros ordines appellari censent , diaconatus sc. & presbyteratus , quia hos solos primitiva ecclesia legitur habuisse , & de his solis proeceptum apostoli habemus . bonaventure , in 4 sent . dist . 24. q. 1. a. 1. episcopatus deficit ab ordine , &c. includit necessariò ordinem perfectissimum , sc. sacerdotium . with whom agree durand . dominic . soto , aureolus , &c. who all comment upon lombard's text. see aquinas's supplem . quaest . 37. art. 2. mr. fran. mason in his defence of the ordinations of ministers beyond the seas , hath more quotations of schoolmen . ( 3. ) to this opinion some canonists subscribe . gratian , sacros ordines dicimus diaconatu● & presbyteratum , hos quidem solos ecclesia primitiva habuisse dicitur . iohannes se●eca in his gloss on the ca●on la● ●●●unt quidem quod in ecclesia primâ primitivâ ▪ commune erat officium episcoporum & sacerdotum , & nomina erant communia . dist. 95. c. olim . et officium erat commune , sed in secunda primitivâ caeperunt distingui , & nomina & officia , &c. gloss. in dist. 95. c. legimus , in verb. postea . arch-bishop vsher appeals to this first primitive church in matters of doctrine , and why may not we appeal to it in point of discipline , as well as doctrine ? see many more canonists quoted in mr. mason , ubi supra . ( 4. ) some councils also attest to this truth . the council of aix le chapelle owns the identity of bishops and presbyters ; sed solum propter authoritatem , summo sacerdoti clericorum ordinatio reservata est . to the same purpose speaks the council of hispalis , or sevil. concil . hispal . 2. can 7. in the councils of constance and basil , after long debate , it was concluded that presbyters should have decisive suffrages in councils , as well as bishops , because by the law of god , bishops were no more then presbyters , and it 's expresly given them , acts 15. 23. in the council of trent , all the spaniards , with some others , moved that the superiority of bishops de jure divino might be defined ; next morning came into the legats chamber three patriarchs , six arch-bishops , and eleven bishops , with a request that it might not be put into the canon , that the superiority is de jure divino , because it savoured of ambition , and it was not seemly themselves should give sentence in their own cause ; and besides , the greater part would not have it put in . at length the opinion of the spaniards prevailed , and was inserted into the canon , though in such ambiguous words as might not offend the other party . the words of the canon are these ; si quis dixerit , episcopos non esse presbyteris superiores , vel non habere potestatem confirmandi , & ordinandi , vel eam quam habent , illis esse cum presbyteris communem — anathema sit . this decision was made , 1. in opposition to the lutherans : this reason was given by the arch bishops of granata ( in the congregation held octob. 13. 1562. ) and of zarah , as also by the bishop of segovia . 2. in favour of the pope , for they were afraid that if the divine institution and superiority of bishops were denied , the popes triple crown would soon fall off his head. so the bishop of segovia ; if the power of the bishops be weaken'd , that of the pope is weaken'd also . to the same purpose said the arch-bishop of granata , being assured that if the bishops authority were diminished , the obedience to the holy see would decrease also . the very council of trent doth not expresly determine bishops to be a superiour order to presbyters , and the general definition which they make of their superiority above presbyters , and of their sole power of ordination and confirmation , is in opposition to the protestants , and in favour of the pope . which puts me in mind of a passage in the council of constance , where that blessed man of god , mr. iohn wickleff was condemned for a heretick , and his bones ordered to be taken up and burnt . one of the articles for which he was condemned , was this , confirmatio juvenum , clericorum ordinatio , locorum consecratio reservantur papae & episcopis propter cupiditatem lucri temporalis , & honoris . ( 5. ) this doctrine hath been maintain'd also by the church of england , both popish and protestant . the judgment of the church of england in the tims of popery , we have in the canons of elfrick ad wolfin episc . where the bishop is declared to be of the same order with the presbyter . haud pluris interest inter missalem presbyterum & episcopum , quam quod episcopus constitutus sit ad ordinationes conferendas , & ad visitandum seu inspiciendum , curandúmque ea quae ad deum pertinent , quod nimiae crederetur multitudini , si omnis presbyter hoc idem faceret . ambo siquidem unum tenent eundem ordinem , quamvis dignior sit illa pars episcopi . the ancient confessors and martyrs here were of the same mind . it is said of that eminent confessor iohn wickleff , that tantum duos ordines ministrorum esse debere judicavit , viz. presbyteros & diaconos . iohn lambert , a holy martyr , saith , in the primitive church , when vertue bare ( as ancient doctors do deem , and scripture in mine opinion recordeth the same ) most room , there were no more officers in the church of god , then bishops and deacons . the same was the judgment of tindal and bannes . the protestant church of england was of the same mind . the institution of a christian man , made by the whole clergy in their provincial synod , anno 1537. set forth by king and parliament , and commanded to be preached to the whole kingdom , mentions but two orders , bishops or presbyters , and deacons . in novo testamento nulla mentio facta est aliorum graduum , aut distinctionum in ordinibus , sed diaconorum , vel ministrorum , & presbyterorum , sive episcorum . to which agrees the ms. mention'd ●y the now bishop of worcester , setting forth the judgment of arch-bishop cranmer , that bishops and priests were ●ne office in the beginning of christs re●igion . the bishop of st. asaph , thirlby , redman , cox , all imployed in that con●ention were of the same opinion , ●hat at first bishops and presbyters were ●he same . redman and cox expresly ●ite the judgment of ierom with appro●ation . the learned bishop concludes his discourse of arch bishop cranmer thus ; we see by the testimony of him who was instrumental in our reformation , that he owned not episcopacy as a distinct order from presbytery , of divine right ; but only as a prudent constitution of the civil magistrate , for the better governing of the church . the same arch-bishop cranmer was the first of six and forty , who in the time of king h. 8. affirmed ( in a book called , the bishops book , to be seen in fox's martyrology ) that the difference of bishops and presbyters was a device of the ancient fathers , and not mentioned in scripture . our learned writers against the papists are of the same mind . bishop iewel in the defence of his apology , proves against harding , that aerius could not be accounted a heretick for holding that bishops and presbyters are all one iure divino : and ●ting ieróm , &c. concludes in thes● words , all these , with many more holy fathers , together with the apostle st paul , for thus saying , must by harding advice be held for hereticks . the same is affirmed by bishop morton in his cath. appeal . by bishop bilson against seminaries . dr. whittaker resp. ad camp. rationes , dr. fulk upon tit. 1. 5. dean nowel , dr. stillingfleet bishop of worcester , in his irenic . dr. burnet bishop of salisbury , in his vindication of the church of scotland , his words are these : i acknowledge bishop and presbyter to be one and the same office , and so plead for no new office-bearer in the church — the first branch of their power is their authority to publish the gospel , to manage the worship , and to dispense the sacraments : and this is all that is of divine right in the ministry , in which bishops and presbyters are equal sharers , p. 331. the truth is , this notion of the ius divinum of episcopacy , as a superiour order , was first promoted in the church of england by arch-bishop laud. dr. holland , the king's professor of divinity in oxon , was much offended with dr. laud , for asserting it in a disputation for his degrees , he checked him publickly , and told him , he was a schismatick , and went about to make a division between the english and other reformed churches . this prelate had inured his tongue to say , ecclesia romana , and turba genevensis . cressy , who apostatized to the romish church , conceives that the reason why episcopacy took no firm rooting in the consciences of english subjects before archbishop lauds time , was because the succession and authority of bishops , and other ecclesiastical orders received from the roman church , was never confidently and generally taught in england to be of divine right . his disciples since have rectified that errour , by obliging all the conforming ministers to subscribe , that episcopacy is a distinct order , and that it is manifest in god's word , that it is so : this goes beyond the determination of the council of trent . and to make the fabrick lasting , which was built upon this new foundation , all ministers must be sworn to support it , and that they will not remove one stone out of the building by any endeavours to alter the government , as established in church and state. the substance of this oath , as it relates to ecclesiastical government , is the same with the &c. oath , which was imposed in the year 1640. only it includes also the civil government , and requires passive obedience and non-resistance in all cases whatever , which rendred it acceptable to the powers then in being , and gave them incouragement to trample upon fundamental laws and constitutions , as presuming upon the security of an oath , that neither they , nor any commissioned by them , must be resisted upon any pretence whatsoever . the proofs brought for this distinction and superiority of order are so very weak , that scarce two of the asserters of episcopacy agree in any one of them . no scripture , no primitive general council , no general consent of primitive doctors and fathers , no not one father of note in the first ages , speak particularly and home to this purpose . the point of re-ordination began to be urged here in arch-bishop laud's time , his influence was such , and the cause then in hand did work so powerfully upon good bishop hall himself , that he adventured , as mr. prin tells us , to re-ordain mr. iohn dury , though he had been before ordained in some reformed church . but from the beginning it was not so . the old church of england did not require re-ordination , as is now done . in king edward the sixth his time , peter martyr , martin bucer , and p. fagius had ecclesiastical preferments in the church of england , but cranmer , whose judgment of episcopacy we have seen before , never required re-ordination of them . he was most familiar with martyr , nether did he censure m. bucer for writing that presbyters might ordain . iohn à lasco , with his congregation of germans , was settled in england by edward the sixth's patent , he to be super-intendent , and four other ministers with him ; and though he wrote against some orders of our church , was with others called to reform our ecclesiastical laws . in queen elizabeth's time , ordination by presbyters was allowed , as appears by the statute of reformation , &c. 13 eliz. cap. 12. it cannot refer to popish ordinations only , if at all : for , 1. the words are general , be it enacted — that every person — which doth or shall pretend to be a priest , or minister of god's holy word . the title of minister of god's holy word is rarely used among the papists , and in common use among the reformed churches . the ministry with the papists is a real priesthood , and therefore they call their presbyters priests . and it 's an old maxim , non est distinguendum ubi lex non distinguit . 2. the subscription seems to intend those that scrupled traditions and ceremonies , which the papists do not . for the assent and subscription required is , to all the articles of religion , which only concern the confession of the true christian faith , and the doctrine of the sacraments . by this they gave indulgence to those that were not satisfied to subscribe all the articles absolutely , because the approbation of the homilies , and book of consecration were included in them , which are no articles of the catholick church , but private articles of the church of england ; as mr. t. rogers observes . therefore the statute requires subscription only to the doctrine of faith and of the sacraments . by the way , i cannot but take notice of the following clause in that statute — if any person ecclesiastical — shall advisedly maintain or affirm any doctrine directly contrary , or repugnant to any of the said articles , and being convented before the bishop of the diocess , or the ordinary , or before the queen's commissioners in causes ecclesiastical , shall persist therein , and not revoke his errour , or after such revocation eftsoons affirm such untrue doctrine ; such maintaining , or affirming , or persisting — shall be just cause to deprive such person of his ecclesiastical promotions : and it shall be lawful to the bishop of the diocess , or the said commissioners to deprive such a person so persisting — and upon such sentence of deprivation pronounced , he shall be indeed deprived . quaere , whether the profession of arminianism be not directly contrary to the seventeenth article of predestination and election , to the tenth article of free-will , and to the thirteenth of works preparatory to grace ? and if so , whether the guilty do not deserve deprivation by this statute ? the best of it is , they are like to meet with favourable judges , who will not be over-strict to mark the errours of those , who do but write after the copy they have set before them . surely the case is altered from what it was formerly : it was baro's unhappiness that he lived in a peevish age , for when he delivered himself unwarily in favour of those opinions , the heads of the university of cambridge sent up dr. whittaker and dr. tindal to arch-bishop whitguift , that by the interposition of his authority those errours might be crushed in the egg. hereupon baro , being obnoxious to this statute , was expelled the university , and the lambeth-articles were made , which come nothing short of the determinations of dort. but tempora mutantur , nos & mutamur in illis . but to return from this short digression ; some that were ordained by presbyters were admitted to the publick exercise of their ministry , and had preferment in the church of england without re-ordination in queen elizabeth's time . mr. william whittingham was made dean of durham about 1563. though ordained by presbyters only . mr. travers , ordained by a presbytery beyond sea , was seven years lecturer in the temple , and had the bishop of london's letter for it . in his supplication to the council printed at the end of mr. hooker's eccl. polit. he saith , one reason why he was suspended by arch-bishop whitgift was because not lawfully called ( in whitgift's opinion ) to the ministry , nor allowed to preach according to the laws of this church . but mr. hooker in his answer wholly waves that , and replies only to the contests between them . the french church in thred-needle-street was allowed by the queen , as also the dutch church . in the year 1684. a quo warranto was brought against them . in king iames the first his time , the like allowance was made unto ministers ordained by presbyters . the famous mr. iohn camero , who was ordained in france , came hither in the year 1621. and set up a divinity-lecture in a private house in london ●● the permission of king iames the 〈◊〉 , and a license from the then 〈◊〉 of london . before the consecration of the three scottish bishops at london , andrews bishop of ely said , they must be first ordained , as having received no ordination by a bishop . bancroft arch-bishop of canterbury maintain'd , that thereof there was no necessity , seeing where bishops could not be had , the ordination● given by presbyters must be esteemed lawful , otherwise it might be doubted , if there was any lawful vocation in most of the reformed churches . this applauded to by the other bishops , ely acquiesced , and the three bishops were consecrated . thus we see the judgment and practise of the old church of england in king edward the sixth's time , in queen elizabeth's , and in king iames the first his time , they required not re-ordination , as the new conformity doth since the year 1660. they acted from catholick principles that comprehended the forreign ordinations , asserting the identity of bishops and presbyters . object . aerius is branded for an heretick by austin and epiphanius , for affirming bishops and presbyters to be the same . so bishop hall in his divine right of episcopacy , part i. pag. 64. answ. the great mannagers of this objection are the papists ( as we observed before ) from whom some defenders of episcopacy have borrowed it . that aerius was a heretick is past doubt ; but he is so called by the fathers , because he was an arian : epiphanius saith , he did arium ipsum dogmatum novitate superare . austin saith , in arianorum haeresin lapsus , which is more then a favouring of it , as some interpret their words . several of our learned writers against popery have justified him against the charge of heresie , for holding the equality of bishops and presbyters . chemnit . exam . conc. trid. part . 4. chap. x. instances of ordination by presbyters in the primitive church . 1. at alexandria . 2. at scetis by paphnutius . 3. by the presbyters mentioned by leo the great . 4. by the captive presbyters beyond isther . 5. by the boiarii . 6. by the presbyters ordained by meletius . 7. by the presbyters mentioned by hilary the deacon . 8. by andreas presbyter de hostia . 9. by the chorepiscopi . 10. by the presbyters at hy. objections answered . 11. by the ancient waldenses . 12. by wickliff's followers in england . 13. by the presbyter of taprobane . that ordination which was valid in the primitive church is valid now : but ordination by meer presbyters was valid in the primitive church ; therefore it is valid now . the major will be granted . the minor i prove . 1. the presbyters of alexandria made their bishops for almost two hundred years together . ierom * having shewed at large from the epistles of peter , paul , and iohn , that bishops and presbyters were the same at first ; he adds , quod autem postea unus electus est qui caeteris praeponeretur , in schismatis remedium factum est , ne unusquisque ad se trahens christi ecclesiam , rumperet : nam & alexandria à marco evangelistâ usque ad heraclam & dionysium episcopos , presbyteri semper unum ex se electum , in excelsiori gradu collocatum episcopum nominabant : quomodo si exercitus imperatorem faciat , aut diaconi eligunt ex se quem industrium noverint , & archidiaconum vocant . note here , 1. that ierom undertaking to shew the original way of making bishops of alexandria , would leave nothing out that was material in the constituting of them . 2. he mentions no other way of constituting them but this by the presbyters . 3. he brings this as an argument of the identity of bishops and presbyters , that presbyters at first made bishops : a bishop in ierom's opinion is that to the presbyters , that an arch-deacon is to the deacons . as an arch-deacon chosen out of the deacons is but a deacon still , though the chief deacon ; so a bishop set over presbyters is but a presbyter still , though the chief presbyter . is episcopus qui inter presbyteros primus . the other comparison of an army making their general , is not between the power of a general and that of a bishop , but it respects only the manner of their creation . as a general is made by the consent and choice of an army , so bishops had their first being from the presbyters consent . 4. he ascribeth to the presbyters the election , the placing him in a higher degree , and the naming of him a bishop . neither do we read of any other consecration . polydor virgil confesseth that anciently in the making of a bishop , there were no ceremonies used , but the people met together to give their testimony and suffrage in their election , both ministers and people did pray , and presbyters gave imposition of hands . 5. he saith the custom was changed from the time of heraclas and dionysius . what custom ? not the election of a bishop by presbyters and people , for that continued long after : therefore it must be the constitution , which afterwards was done by neighbouring bishops in the way of consecration . this testimony of ierom is seconded by a more full one of eutychius patriarch of alexandria , who out of the records and traditions of that church , in his arabick originals thereof , saith , ( according to selden's translation in his comment . p. 29 , 30. ) constituit item marcus evangelista , duodecim presbyteros cum hananiâ , qui semper manerent cum patriarchâ , adeò ut cùm vacaret patriarchatus eligerent unum è duodecim presbyteris , cujus capiti reliqui undecim 〈…〉 , eumque benedicerent , & patriarcham eum crearent : & dein virum aliquem insignem eligerent , eumque presbyterum secum constituerent , loco ejus qui sic factus est patriarcha , ita ut semper extarent duodecim . neque desiit alexandriae ins●●●utum hoc de presbyteris , ut scilicet patriarchae crearentur è prsebyteris duodecim , usque ad tempora alexandri patriarchae alexandrini , qui fuit ex numero illo 318. is autem vetuit , nè deinceps patriarcham presbyteri crearent , & decrevit ut mortuo patriarchâ convenirent episcopi qui patriarcham ordinarent . decrevit item ut vacante patriarchatu , eligerent sive ex quacunque regione , sive ex duodecim illis presbyteris , sive aliis ut res ferebat , virum aliquem eximium , eumque patriarcham vocarent ; atque ita evanuit institutum illud antiquius , quo creari solitus à presbyteris patriarcha , & successit in locum ejus decretum de patriarcha ab episcopis creando . here is a full proof of presbyters choosing and creating their bishop , ( whom eutychius speaking in the language of his age , calls patriarch ) and that by imposition of hands and benediction , or prayer , without any other consecration , which custom continued several ages , until at last the neighbouring bishops usurped the power of consecration , and left the presbyters neither the choice nor the creation of their bishop . here we have also an instance of presbyters making presbyters ; for eutychius tells us , that the same presbyters that made their bishop , chose and ordained another person presbyter in his room ; and so constituted both presbyters and bishops for several ages together . ii. the bishop of worcester tells us out of iohannes cassianus , that about the year 390. one abbot daniel , inferiour to none in the desert of scetis , was made a deacon , à b. paphnutio solitudinis ejusdem presbytero , in tantum enim virtutibus ejus adgaudebat , ut quem vitae merits sibi & gr●tiâ parem noverat , coaequare sibi etiam sacerdotii honore festinaret ; siquidem nequaquam ferens in inferiore eum ministerio diutiùs immorari , optánsque sibimet successionem dignissimam providere , superstes eum presbyterij honore provexit . here is a presbyter ordained by a presbyter , which we no where read was pronounced null by theophilus , then bishop of alexandria , or any other of that time . had it been either irregular or unusual , doubtless it had been censured . possibly the concession in the canon law is grounded upon this example , abbas si est presbyter conferre potest ordinem clericalem . decret . greg. lib. 1. tit. 14. c. 11. innocent . 3. iii. leo mag. being consulted by rusticus narbonensis , about some presbyters that took upon them to ordain as bishops , resolves the case thus ; nulla ratio sinit , nt inter episcopos habeantur qui nec in clericis sunt electi , nec à plebibus expetiti , nec à provincialibus episcopis cum metropolitani judicio consecrati . vnde cùm saepe quaestio de malè accepto honore nascatur , quis ambigat , nequaquam istis tribvendvm quod non docetur fuisse collatum ? si qui autem clerici ab istis pseudo-episcopis in eis ecclesiis ordinati sunt , quae ad proprios episcopos pertinebant , & ordinatio ecrum cum consensu & judicio praesidentium facta est , potest rata haberi , ita ut in ipsis ecclesiis perseverent . two things are remarkable in this decision of leo the great . 1. they that want the election of the clergy , and are not desired by the people , nor consecrated by the bishops of the province , &c. are pseudo-episcopi , false bishops in leo's opinion , which is agreeable to the old canons , as we observed before . our english bishops want the election of the clergy and people , and therefore their ordinations have a canonical nullity in them . they would have been reckon'd but pseudoepiscopi in leo's time . 2. the consent ex post facto of the true bishops , made the ordinations of meer presbyters lawful , which could not be unless they had an intrinsick power of ordination , which was only restrained by the laws of the church ; for if they have no power of ordination , it is impossible they should confer any by their ordination . the bare consent of the true bishops could not have made them ministers , if they had not been such before . iv. the power of ordination and government was in the hands of the captive presbyters under the seythians beyond 1ster for about seventy years , from the year 260 to the year 327 ; the former being the year of their captivity under galienus , the latter of the change of the government under constantine , when vrphilas was created bishop by eusebius , and others . v. the presbyters of bavaria ordained ministers time out of mind , until at last pope zachary sent one vivilo to them for their bishop . it is certain that when bonifacius mogunt ▪ aliàs winifrid , visited them , he found no bishops in the whole province but this vivilo of the pope's sending not long before ; though the province be so large that one third part of it now , viz. the district of saltsburg , hath an arch●bishop , who is the most powerful prelate for revenue and iurisdiction of any in germany . the boiarians , who were the ancient inhabitants of this province , were govern'd by their presbyters without bishops , and in all probability had been so from their first conversion , which was about 200 years before . for they were converted to the christian faith about the year 540 , and vivilo was imposed upon them about the year 740 by pope zachary , who thus writes to winifrid , or wilfred ( as some write his name ) quia indicasti perrexisse te ad gentem boiariorum , & invenisse eos extra ordinem ecclesiasticum viventes , dum episcopos non habebant in provincia nisi unum , nomine vivilo , quem nos ante tempus ordinavimus , presbyteros verò quos ibidem reperisti , si incogniti fuerint viri illi à quibus sunt ordinati , & dubium est eos episcopos fuisse , an non , qui eos ordinaverunt — ab episcopo suo benedictiones presbyteratus suscipiant , & consecrentur , & sic ministerio suo fungantur . it is no wonder that this pope requires re-ordination , for now rome had usurped the universal headship , and assumed a power of deposing and setting up of princes , as this man did in the case of childerik and pipin . they that brought kings and princes under them , would much more make presbyters to depend upon them . vi. the council of nice decreed thus concerning the presbyters ordained by meletius at alexandria , &c. hi autem qui dei gratiâ & nostris precibus adjuti , ad nullum schisma deflexisse comperti sint , sed se intra catholicae & apostolicae ecclesiae fines ab erroris labe vacuos continuerint , authoritatem habeant tvm ministros ordinandi , tum eos qui clero digni fuerint nominandi , tum denique omnia ex lege & instituto ecclesiastico liberè exequendi . if any say , that the meaning is , that these presbyters shall ordain and govern with the bishops , but not without them , it is granted ; for the decree refers to instituta ecclesiastica : but this sheweth that ordination belongeth to the presbyters office , and consequently it is no nullity ( though an irregularity as to the canons ) when it 's done by them alone . if it be said , this condemns schismatical ordinations ; i answer , schism , as such , cannot make ordination null , though it implies an irregularity , else the ordinations of the schismatical church of rome were null , which are counted valid in england . vii . hilary , or whoever was the author in q ex utroque test. mixtim , affirms , that in alexandriâ & per totum aegyptum si desit episcopus , consecrat presbyter . it cannot be said that consecrare here signifies the consecration of the eucharist , for this might be done by the presbyter , proesente episcopo . if it be taken for confirmation , it doth not prejudice our cause ; for the canon limits the power of confirmation , as well as ordination to the bishop , as was also the power of consecrating churches , if any should take the word in that sense . we may understand the meaning by a parallel place of hilary in ambrose , who thus speaks : ideo non per omnia conveniunt scripta apostoli ordinationi quae nunc in ecclesiâ est , quia haec inter ipsa primordia sunt scripta ; nam & timotheum ( 1 tim. 4. 14. 2 tim. 1. 6. presbyterum à se creatum ) episcopum vocat , quia primum presbyteri episcopi appellabantur , ut recedente uno , sequens ei succederet . denique apud aegyptum presbyteri consignant , si praesens non sit episcopus . sed quia caeperunt sequentes presbyteri indigni inveniri ad primatus tenendos , immutata est ratio , prospiciente concilio , ut non ordo , sed meritum crearet episcopum , multorum sacerdotum judicio constitutum , nè indignus temerè usurparet , & esset multis scandalum . the same author saith also , in tim. 3. post episcopum , diaconi ordinem subjicit . quare , nisi quia episcopi & presbyteri una ordinatio est ? vterque enim sacerdos est , sed episcopus primus est . here note , 1. that the ordination in hilary's time did not in all things agree with the writings of the apostle . that he speaks of the ordination of ministers is evident by the following words , presbyterum à se creatum , &c. 2. at first presbyters and bishops were of the same order and office , and had but one odination . episcopi & presbyteri una ordinatio est , which shews the meaning of ordinatio in the former paragraph . the bishop in hilary's time , which was about the year 380 , under damasus * , was but primus sacerdos , and not of a superiour order : peter is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , primus apostolus , matth. 10. 2. and yet protestants hold all the apostles to be equal . 3. spalatensis infers from this quotation , that at the beginning when a bishop died , there was not so much as an election of him that was to succeed ( much less any new ordination ) but the eldest presbyter came into the room of the deceased bishop . see the preface to blondel's apology , p. 11. & 31. 4. there was a change in the way of choosing their bishop , ut non ordo , sed meritum crearet episcopum ; and this was prospiciente concilio ; whether that council was the council of nice , can. 4. as blondel thinks ; for it should seem that before that time neither the consent of the bishops of the province , nor the concurrence of three bishops in ordination , were accounted necessary for the making of a bishop , though it might be the custom ( for the keeping up of unity ) in some places : or whether it signifies no more then that which ierom calls concilium presbyterorum , the bench of presbyters , who might make this change by general consent ; multorum sacerdotum judicio , as hilarius speaks : or whether it were some council , of which we have no further account in antiquity , most of the records of the three first centuries being lost * , is not very material . it might be some provincial synod , of which there were several before that of nice ‖ . it is presumption in us that live at this distance , to say there was no such council , when an ancient writer so positively affirmeth it . such a change there was , and that by the advice of some council ; they that say there was no such council , must disprove it by some positive authentick testimony . 5. after this change the presbyters chose , and made their bishop : for so hilarius affirms him to be , multorum sacerdotum judicio constitutum . 6. he adds , that in egypt presbyteri consignant , si praesens non sit episcopus . he speaks in the foregoing words of the identity of bishops and presbyters , and he brings this as a confirmation of it , that in the absence of the bishop they might do those things which custom had appropriated to the bishops . consignare is some act of prerogative that the bishops challenged to themselves , which yet in their absence the presbyters might perform . whether we understand it of ordination , or confirmation , in which they did chrysmate consignare , it 's not material , for both were reserved to the bishop by the canons : though by comparing this with the scope of hilary's discoarse , and with the quotation out of the questions under austin's name — si desit episcopus , consecrat presbyter , it should seem evidently meant of ordination ; especially when we find consignare to be taken for consecrare in several authors , arnob. lib. 3. cypr. ep. 2. tu tantum quem jàm spiritalibus castris coelestis militia signavit . viii . pelagius the first bishop of rome was ordained by iohn bishop of perusia , bonus bishop of florence , and andreas presbyter de hostia , whereas by the canons three bishops are absolutely necessary for the ordination of a bishop : either then pelagius was no canonical bishop , and the succession was interrupted in the church of rome , and consequently the english bishops have no canonical succession ; or else a presbyter hath the same intrinsecal power of ordination with a bishop , but it 's only restrained by ecclesiastical laws . this instance is quoted in dr. stillingfl . iren. ix . the chorepiscopi , or country-bishops ordained presbyters until they were restrained by a canon in the council of antioch , a. d. 344. now these chorepiscopi were either of the order of bishops , or not : if they were , then it appears that bishops were made not only in cities , but in country villages , which were but thinly peopled with christians , when the majority were heathens , or at least were great numbers . by which we may guess at the bigness of primitive diocesses , which were scarce as large as our lesser parishes . such bishops in the exercise of that power which christ gave them , without canonical restraints , we plead for , and earnestly desire . nay the chorepiscopi are an instance of bishops without subject presbyters ; they were but parish-bishops under the city-bishop . sine authoritate literarum ejus in unaquaque parochia chorepiscopis non licet aliquid agere . but if they were not bishops , then it 's undeniable that presbyters did ordain then , without bishops , and their ordination was valid , until they were limited by the canons . the second council of hispalis makes the chorepiscopi and presbyters to be the same * . as to bellarmine's conceit of two sorts of choral bishops , some meer presbyters , others veri nominis episcopi , he is answered at large by forbes in his irenic . c. 11. x. the histories of scotland do tell us that their churches were governed by presbyters without bishops for above two hundred years , and therefore had no ordination but by presbyters . hector boetius saith , ante palladium populi suffragiis ex monachis & culdaeis pontifices assumerentur . hist. scot. lib. 7. fol. 28. iohn major is more express , prioribus illis temporibus , per sacerdotes & monachos sine episcopis scoti in side eruditi sunt . iohn fordon justifies this custom as agreeable to the primitive church . ante palladii adventum habebant scoti sidei doctores ac sacramentorum ministratores presbyteros solummodo vel monachos , ritum sequentes ecclesiae primitivae . bishop vsher cites this last with approbation . de primord . eccl. brit. p. 798 , 799 , 800. these authors call the ancient inhabitants of scotland by the name they were known by in their days . object . some to elude these testimonies , deny that there was any conversion of the ancient inhabitants of that part of brittain , which we now call scotland , before palladius his time , or neer it . the south-picts they would have converted not till a. d. 432. the north-picts in the year 560. answ. i deny not but there might be a more general conversion of that nation at those times ; the christian religion , which was over-grown with heathenism , and other errors , might be revived , and recovered to its primitive lustre by the preaching of nennianus and columba . indeed bede saith , erat autem columba primus doctor fidei christianoe transmontanis pictis ad aquilonem . he was the first he knew of , who lived two hundred years after the said conversion . for he ends his history with the year 766. it is acknowledged that they were mixed with scots or irish at this time , a barbarous people , and in all likelyhood heathens , who having made themselves masters of all , must needs bring christianity to a low ebb in that country . the converting of these to the christian faith was the first conversion that bede knew of . but that christianity was much more early in that kingdom , is proved by dr. cowper , a scotch bishop . he affirms the conversion of the north part of brittany to be as early , if not earlier , then the conversion of the south part. he proves out of dorotheus synops. and nicephor . ii. 40. that simon zelotes preached the gospel in brittain , where he was martyr'd and interr'd . this was an. 44. christi . he proves out of baloeus , fleming , &c. that ioseph of arimathea came into brittain , about the year 35. he proves out of theodoret , that paul after his deliverance under nero , came into brittain . cent. 1. lib. 1. c. 10. and then brings in the papists objecting , what is this to scotland ? he answereth ? what good or evil especially in religion hath come to the one , hath been found by manifold experience easily derived to the other . he saith further , out of their own chronicles , that a.d. 124. when k. lucius embraced the christian faith in the south part of the isle , in that same year , donald king of the north part of it became a christian , and that when ( a. 300. ) under dioclesian the church of south brittain was persecuted by his deputies , many fled to crachlint [ or cratilinth ] king of scots , who did lovingly receive them , and assigned to them the isle of man , and erected there a temple dedicated to christ , called otherwise sodorensis ecclesia . he quotes also that known place of tertullian , adv . iud. c. 7 , 8. britannorum loca romanis inaccessa christo subdita sunt . now what part of brittain he means ( saith the bishop ) your own cardinal baronius will declare unto you — it 's evident ( saith baronius ) that britannia was divided by a wall built by adrian , &c. that part within was possest by the romans , the other without , britanni liberè possederunt , qui saepe muros illos egressi romanos praeliis provocarunt . for this cause , saith he , petrus cluniacensis vocat scotos antiquiores christianos . cent. 3. c. 3. & 2. c. 2. thus far the bishop . i would further be resolved in these queries . 1. when the fathers mention ioseph of arimathea , simeon zelotes , &c. to have preached the gospel in brittain , what reason have we to exclude north-britain from partaking in the blessing ? the whole island , scotland and england , was then called britain . it is most reasonable to think that those apostles and apostolical men that came into this land , did cause the joyful sound of the gospel to be heard in every part of the island , north as well as south . when we consider their zeal , unwearied endeavours , together with the wonderful success attending their ministry , it is not likely that scotland remained long in heathenism , after the conversion of south-brittain . and can it be imagined that the christians of south-brittain were so cruelly uncharitable as not to endeavour the propagation of the gospel among their country-men and neighbours of north-britain , especially under king lucius , in whose time christianity may be supposed to be the publick profession of the land. to this add , that a great part of that we call scotland now , belonged then to the dominions of the british kings , who doubtless endeavoured the planting of christianity among all their subjects . 2. if the inhabitants of north-britain received their first conversion by men sent from rome , as bede suggests , how comes it to pass that for so long a time after , they kept their easter after the eastern manner , and not after the roman ? when the saxon-roman-bishops imposed conformity in this particular , they opposed them for a long time , and bishop colman ( who came from scotland ) left his charge , rather then conform , about the year 664. the picts and britains were as rigid nonconformists as he in this point , and are termed by wilfride , at a publick disputation , obstinationis eorum complices * . their bishop dagamus refused all communion with the roman bishops , and would not as much as eat with them in the same house . as the roman bishops were growing in greatness , and arriving towards the perfection of the man of sin , they sent their bishops to most nations , to bring them to a dependence upon them ; so they did send palladius to ireland , nynias to scotland , * austin to england , vivilo to the boiarians , as we observed before . bede himself acknowledges that the first bishop the scots had was palladius , though they were christians before ; palladius ad scotos in christum credentes à pontifice romanae ecclesiae celestino primus mittitur episcopus . he did not make them christians , but found them so . it is objected further , out of bede , that britain in palladius's time had such bishops as were in all other parts of the roman empire . answ. bede acknowledges that the british and scotch bishops were many of them ordained only by one bishop . they were not then such bishops as were in all other parts of the roman empire ; for in other parts of the empire they were ordained by three bishops , according to the fourth canon of the council of nice . it 's an evidence that they thought themselves not obliged by general councils . but suppose there were such bishops here , as were in all other parts of the roman empire , as it is not very unlikely but the church-government of britain , being a province of that empire , might be in some degree modelled according to the forms used in other parts of the empire . the hierarchy in the churches of that empire had its pattern from the heathen . the heathen had their sacerdotes , and over them their pontifices maximos * . in every province , one chief priest had the supream power , to whom all the other priests were subject . and these were chosen ex hominibus qui in negotiis civilibus , & rebus publicis erant illustrissimi ‖ . see the epistle of iulian to arsacius , chief-priest of galatia , in sozom. v. 16. here is a president for bishops intermedling in state affairs . the office of these chief-priests was to ordain and govern the inferiour priests . the master of the sentences ingenuously confesseth that the distinction of bishops , metropolitans , arch-bishops , was borrowed of the gentiles . thus he : ordo episcoporum quadripartitus est , scil . in patriarchis , archiepiscopis , metropolitanis & episcopis — horum autem discretio à gentilibus introducta videtur , qui suos flamines , alios simpliciter flamines , alios archi-flamines , alios protoflamines appellabant . that the ecclesiastical government of britain was built upon the ruins of the pagan hierarchy is expresly affirmed by ponticus virunnius . he tells us , that there were in britain before christianity 28 flamens , and three arch-flamens . in the room of the flamens were set up bishops , and in the room of the arch-flamens arch-bishops . the seat of the arch-flamens were london , york , and caerleon upon vsk. to these three metropolitans were subject 28 bishops . fuerunt in britanniâ octo & viginti flamines , nec non & tres archi flamines , quorum potestati coeteri judices morum atque phanatici submittebantur .... ubi . erant flamines , eiscopos , ubi autem archi-flamines , archi-episcopos posuerunt , mirâ sanctitate , & incredibili devotione . sedes autem archi-flaminum ( quae fuit antiquissima religio ) in tribus nobilioribus civitatibus fuerant ; lundoniis , viz. atque eboraci , & in vrbe legionum super oscam fluvium — his igitur tribus metropolitanis , evacuata superstitione , 28. episcopi subduntur . the description that caesar gives of the government of the ancient druids , something agrees with this of ponticus virunnius . c●●●r saith concerning the druids of france , that they managed all the pagan devotions , under the conduct of one chief president , whose authority was supream : when he died , another was chosen to succeed him . illi rebus divinis intersunt , sacrificia publica ac privata procurant , religiones interpretantur — his autem omnibus druidibus praeest unus , qui summam inter eos habet auctoritatem . hoc mortuo , si quis ex reliquis excellit dignitate , succedit ; at si sunt plures pares , suffragio druidum adlegitur . he adds , that this discipline was found in britain ; disciplina in britannia reperta , atque in galliam translata esse existimatur ; & nunc qui diligentiùs eam rem cognoscere volunt , plerumque illo , discendi causâ proficiscuntur . having prov'd that christianity was in the north part of britain before palladius's time , and vindicated boethius and fordon , i proceed to give an instance of presbyters ordaining in scotland . segenius a presbyter and abbot of hy , together with the other presbyters of the monastery ordained bishop aidan . the presbyters of hy also ordain'd finan as successor to * aidan . to this quotation 't is said by some , that aidan was ordain'd by bishops , which they would ' thus prove : there was always one bishop in hy monastery , as bishop usher tells us out of the ulster annals ; and another person ordained perhaps only by the bishop of hy , who was returned back from northumbria . then at least there were present two bishops for aidan's ordination . answ. 1. we have no author near that time that saith there was a bishop constantly resident at hy , which our adversaries think a good argument against the scottish historians . as to the annals of vlster , we leave them for apocryphal , as not being attested by any author of that age. 2. but suppose there were a bishop resident at hy , he was subject to the abbot , who was the only church-governour of the island , and the provinces about ‖ . the monastery was not only exempted from the government of the bishops , which is usual , but the bishops of the province were subject to the abbot , and therefore the parallel instance of oxford being under the jurisdiction of the chancellor , and not of the bishop of the place ( which is urged by some ) is not to the point , for the bishop is not subject to the vice-chancellor , as the bishops were to the abbot of hy. the bishop of oxford hath a jurisdiction over all that have a parochial cure in the university , versity , who swear canonical obedience to him , which cannot be said of the bishops under the jurisdiction at hy ? 3. the second bishop said to be at hy , when aidan was ordained , cannot be produced out of bede . it doth not appear that he was ordained bishop . * bede calls him only sacerdotem , a priest. or if he was , how will it appear that he was ordain'd by the bishop of hy ? ordain'd perhaps only by the bishop of hy , saith the learned historian : here is a plain begging of the question ; it is taken for granted that this man was ordained by the bishop of hy , which we deny , and which bede no where affirms . finan's ordination was by the seniores and their abbot , as bede saith , and therefore his predecessor had no other . 't is objected further , that finan must needs be ordain'd by bishops , because there were three bishops at the ordination of cedd . this deserves to be taken notice of by our aversaries , and consider'd in other places , where bede speaks of scottish ordinations . i answer we have taken notice of it , and find it doth not at all concern the thing in question . for cedd's ordination was at lindis-farn in england , out of the liberties of the abbots of hy. let one example be produced of ordination by bishops , within the district of hy , and 't will be something to the purpose , which i have not yet met with . bede speaking of the british bishops , calls them presbyters or teachers * : so that 't is uncertain what sort of bishops the old brittains had . 't was many years after cedd's time , before the british churches would submit to the roman yoke of discipline ; when they had throughly imbib'd the romish modes and customs , then at a synod held at celichyth , a. d. 816. 't was decreed , that none of the scottish nation should be permitted to use the sacred ministry among us . it 's argued further against the scotch ordinations , that they must needs be episcopal , because the romans did not dislike the orders , that they found in the british church . if by the british church be meant the church of south britain , 't is not to the purpose , as we observed before , but if the orders conferred in the monastery of hy be intended , the romans were not so ignorant of the priviledges of abbots , as to dislike their ordinations , which to this day are allow'd by the canons of that church * . xi . the ancient waldenses had their ministers ordained by presbyters without bishops . they maintain all ministers to be in a state of parity , and their presbyters imposed hands for ordination † . these were the fathers and famous predecessors of the protestants , who bore the heat of the day . they had the honour to be first witnesses against antichrist , and are to this day , as the bishop of salisbury calls them , the purest remains of primitive christianity . from them the fratres bohemi had their succession of ministers , for they sent michael zambergius , and two more , for ordination to the poor waldenses ( who never had a bishop among them , but in title only ) in compliance with their desires , two of their titular bishops , with some presbyters that had not so much as the titles of bishops , made zambergius , and his two collegues , bishops , giving them power of ordination * . we dislike not , that for orders sake , the exercise of this power should be ordinarily restrained to the graver ministers , provided they assume it not as proper to themselves by a divine right , nor clog it with unscriptural impositions . xii . wickliffs followers here in england held and practised ordination by meer presbyters , and least any should think they did so of necessity , for want of bishops , it 's to be noted , that they did it upon this principle , that all ministers of christ have equal power * , as the popish historian saith , who complains how all parts of england were full of those people , and that the prelates knew of these things , but none were forward to prosecute the guilty , except the bishop of norwich * xiii . in the island of taprobane , or zeilan , as 't is now call'd , there was a church of christians govern'd by a presbyter and his deacon , without any superiour bishop , to which he or his flock was subject . this island is above two thousand miles in compass * , a province big enough for a bishop , yet had none in iustin the emperour's time , which was about the year 520 , but was under the † jurisdiction of a presbyter , ordain'd in persia , who in all likelyhood ordain'd his successor , and would not be at the trouble of sending for one to very remote countries . by this passage it appears that bishops were not thought essential to churches , no not in the sixth age , and that meer presbyters have power of jurisdiction , and consequently of ordination . the fathers in the second council of carthage , a. d. 428. did observe , that until that time , some dioceses never had any bishops at all , and thereupon ordained they should have none for the future * . they would never have made such a canon , had they concluded the government by bishops to be iure divino . chap. xi . objections against ordinations by presbyters answered . 1. that it is against the canons . so is episcopal ordination . 2. it destroys the line of succession , answered in seven particulars . 3. the case of ischyras consider'd . a passage in jerom explained . i will briefly reflect upon the most material objections that are made against the ordination i plead for . object . 1. ordination by presbyters without bishops is condemned by the old canons . answ. 1. many things are reserv'd to the bishops by the old canons meerly to support their grandeur . for this reason the consecration of churches , the erecting of altars , the making of chrysm , the reconciling of penitents , the vailing of nuns , &c. were appropriated to the bishops . all this is ingeniously acknowledged by the council of hispalis — let the presbyters know that the power of ordaining presbyters and deacons is forbidden them by the apostolical see , by virtue of novel ecclesiastical constitutions * . they add , that this was done to bear up the dignity of the bishops † . for the same reason the chorepiscopi , or country bishops , were restrained from ordaining in the council of antioch ‖ . for the same reason 't was decreed in the council of sardis , a. d. 347. that no village or lesser town must have a bishop , nè vilescat nomen episcopi . 2. episcopal ordinations also , as they are now managed , will prove nullities by the old canons . the ancient canons , call'd the apostles , which are confirmed by the sixth general council at * constantinople , do depose all bishops that are chosen by the civil magistrate . can. 29. if any bishop obtains a church by means of the secular powers , let him be deposed , and separated from communion with all his adherents . this canon is revived by the second council of nice * , which the greeks call the seventh general council . all our english bishops are chosen by the magistrate , and not by other bishops , or the presbyters and people of their diocess . the king 's writ of conge d'eslier to the dean and chapter to choose their bishop , is only matter of form , for the king chooseth properly , and the dean and chapter cannot reject the person whom he recommends : nor are they the just representatives of the clergy and people of the diocess , whose suffrages were required of old in the designation of a bishop † . can. 6. forbids bishops to intermeddle with secular affairs upon pain of deprivatiion . let not a bishop , presbyter , or deacon , assume worldly cares : and if he doth , let him be deposed . bishops at this time were not judges in civil matters , nor ministers of state , as being a thing inconsistent with their office , 2 tim. 2.4 . can. 80. adds , a bishop must not engage in publick administrations , that he may give himself to the work of the ministry ; let him resolvedly decline these , or be deposed ; for no man can serve two masters . the church of england doth not observe the canons of the first general councils , which some ‖ would have us believe are the measures of her reformation next the scripture . the fourth canon of the council of nice requires the ordination of a bishop to be , by all the bishops of the province , at least by three , with the consent of the absent bishops expressed in writing . i never knew the consent of all the bishops of the province required , much less expressed in writing , before the consecration of english bishops . can. 5. requires provincial councils twice a year . this is not observed . can. 6. and 7th , establish the rights and priviledges of metropolitans . quaere , whether austin the monk , whom the pope made arch-bishop of canterbury , did not wrongfully invade the rights of the brittish bishops ( over whom pope gregory could give him no just power , notwithstanding his pretended grant , mentioned by * bede ) which are not restored to this day : and if so , whether this doth not make a canonical nullity in the whole succession of english bishops , who derive their line from that usurping prelate . can. 15 and 16th , † forbids ministers to remove from the church in which they were ordained . i might mention several other canons in this council , which are not observed , as the third , the eleventh , the fourteenth , ( which in the greek is the eighteenth ) the nineteenth and * twentieth , which forbids kneeling upon the lord's days . no more are the canons of the great council of chalcedon observed . can. 3. forbids ministers to take farms or stewardships , and to intermeddle with secular affairs . can. 7. † is against the clergies medling with military affairs , or receiving secular honours , upon pain of excommunication . booted prelates and spiritual lords would have look'd strange in this age. one of the methods which iulian the apostate used to corrupt the clergy was to make senators and ministers of state of them ‖ . that politick enemy of christianity knew well enough how inconsistent worldly greatness and dominion would be with that humble mortification , and vigorous application which the gospel requires . he that had been a * reader in the church before he came to the empire , could not be ignorant of that precept of our saviour to his apostles , matth. 20. 25 , 26. the princes of the gentiles exercise dominion over them , but it shall not be so among you . can. 10. deposeth all obstinate pluralists . this canon , if executed , would bear hard upon our gigantick pluralists , that heap pelion upon ossa , steeple upon steeple , as if they would mount to heaven from the pinnacle of ecclesiastical promotions . i only produce these canons ad hominem , to shew how unreasonable 't is to urge old canons against ordinations by presbyters , when they may be equally urged against episcopal ordinations . we judge it more ingenuous to disown their authority over us , as being made by such as had no power to give universal laws to the church , then pretend submission to them , as they do , who act in open contradiction to them . if then it be a crime not to observe the canons , let them that are without canonical guilt cast the first stone . object . 2. your ordinations are not by such diocesans as have uninterrupted succession down from the apostles . answ. 1. this is the triumphing argument of the papists against the first reformers . they peremptorily deny the validity of their ordinations , because they wanted this succession . it is urged by bellarmine , de sacram. ordinis . cap. 2. and by gretzer against luther , ep. dedic . praefix . operibus ejus . the same argument is used by parsons , the supposed author of the three conversions of england , part 2. cap. 10. and by stapleton , rel. cap. 1. q. 4. art . 2. as also by arnoux the jesuit in moulin's buckler , p. 274 , 275. turrian the jesuite writ a great book de ordinationibus ministrorum ecclesiae , against the ordinations in protestant churches . the sum of all his arguments is this of the succession , which we find gathered up in this syllogism by m. sadeel , all lawful ordinations depend upon an ordinary succession of bishops , under the roman pontiff , the visible head of the whole church : but no protestant ordinations are such ; therefore no protestant ordinations are lawful , but they are void , null , and meerly laic . this argument is exactly the same that is used against our ordinations ; but with this addition , that the pope is put at the top of the line of succession , which adds no great reputation to it . 2. this argument of the succession is at large refuted by our prosestant writers . sadeel calls it , praecipuum adversariorum argumentum ; he challenges them to produce some scripture to confirm it by . several testimonies of the ancients are cited by him , that the succession they plead for is a succession of doctrine , and not of persons ; which succession of doctrine failing in the romish church , the other succession of persons is a meer useless carcass . these offensive carcasses of popish bishops are animated by some to propagate a generation of immortal successors . he further proves , that the ordinary succession of ministers may be interrupted by scripture-examples ; as when the priesthood was taken away from the house of ely , to whom a promise of perpetual succession was made , 1 sam. 2. 30. and under the kings of israel , god raised up elijah to preach repentance to them , though he was not ex sacerdotum ordine . nay , christ himself coming to reform his church , chose unto himself apostles , not from the priests , but from other families . he did not observe the ordinary succession in the reformation of the church . to which i may add , that the roman governours set up and deposed what high priests they pleased in the jewish church , without regard to lineal succession . * iosephus gives many instances of this kind ; vide lib. 15. c. 2. if ever an uninterrupted succession were necessary to the being of a church , it must be in the jewish priesthood , which was entailed upon one family ; but the church remained a true church , though the regular succession was destroyed . to the same effect speaks holy mr. bradford , the martyr , to dr. harpsfield ; you shall not find , saith he , in all the scripture , this your essential part of succession of bishops . in christ's church antichrist will sit . dr. fulk saith , if the truth of doctrine be necessary to prove a true church , the scriptures are sufficient to prove a true church with lawful succession also . dr. field is of the same judgment in this point . field of the church , ii. 6. & iii. 39. mr. perkins distinguisheth of a threefold succession . the first of persons and doctrines , in the primitive church . the second of persons alone , among infidels and hereticks . the third of doctrine alone . and thus our ministers , saith he , succeed the apostles ; and this is sufficient . for this rule must be remembred , that the power of the keys , that of order and iurisdiction , is tied by god , and annext in the new testament to doctrine . dr. white largely confutes this pretended succession in his defence of the way to the true church † . so doth his brother mr. francis white ‖ . thus we see the vanity of this pretended succession , who they be that maintain it , and who are the opposers of it . it 's one of the pillars of the popish church , which supports that tottering fabrick . the arguments against our ordination must needs be very defective , when no other can be found , but those which the jesuits urge against all protestant ordinations . it 's an ill cause that must be defended by weapons borrowed out of their tents . is there no sword in israel that you go to the philistines to sharpen your goads ? 3. the violent assertors and defendants of this opinion , little consider that by this hypothesis there can be no true ministers in the church of england ; for it 's certain the chain of succession pleaded for , hath been broken again and again . one nullity makes a breach in the whole chain . all our bishops , as such , derive their succession from rome . now if we can find any interruption in the succession of bishops there , it nullifies all the administrations of those that depend upon them . if the pope succeeds peter , as darkness doth light ; if he who calls himself christ's vicar , proves to be the antichrist ; if many popes were hereticks , sodomites , idolaters , conjurers , whoremongers , murderers , &c. as some of their own authors affirm ; if there were two or three popes at a time , and if they were rather apostatical then apostolical for fifty years together , as their own baronius confesseth , what becomes of the pretended line of succession ? if none of these things can infringe it , what can ? we may as rationally affirm that a dog may generate a man , as that the man of god may be the off-spring of the man of sin. i doubt not but christ had his ministers in the darkest ages of the church , but not by virtue of this succession in debate . 4. nay , this principle destroys all churches in the world. for there 's no church this day can produce such a testimonial of succession , as hath met with no canonical interruption . they that bid fairest for it , are the greek churches , the latine , and the african churches ; and all of them derive the succession from the same source , making peter the head of it . the greeks produce a large catalogue of patriarchs proceeding from peter , until the time of neophytus , who not many years ago held the see at constantinople . the christians of affrica , especially the habassines , who are the most considerable among them , derive their succession from the patriarch of alexandria , and he from mark and peter . the western churches also derive the succession from the same spring . thus we have the most considerable sects of christians in the world , deriving their claim from one and the same apostle . all would be reputed the off-spring of the chief apostle , and glory in their relation to him . it seems paul , the great apostle of the gentiles , who laboured more abundantly then all the rest , either left no successour behind him , or no body knows what is become of him ? sic vos non vobis , &c. peter the apostle of the circumcision , must be the universal head of all the gentile-churches ; and paul , with the rest of the apostles , must be written childless , or be the progenitors of such an off-spring that is long ago extinct , or so very obscure , that their names are written in the dust. but how comes peter to canton his bishoprick into three parts , and to leave three successors behind him ? by the same rule , every bishop must have more successors then one , three at least , and each of them as many , and so forward until bishopricks be crumbled into parochial churches ; and the patrimony of peter , by an apostolical gavel kind , be equally divided between his parochial successors . but the unhappiness of it is , the three patriarchal successors cannot agree about the divided inheritance . the eldest brother ( for so the pope of rome reckons himself ) condemns the two others as spurious , and claims to himself the universal inheritance . his advocate * bellarmine expresly affirms , non posse ostendi in ecclesiâ graecâ successionem . he adds , we see that the other apostolick sees are decay'd and fail'd ; viz. those of antioch , alexandria , and jerusalem , wherein after that those places were taken away from the romans by the persians and saracens ( since which time there are nine hundred years past ) there hath been no succession , and if there were any , the same was very obscure . * stapleton also saith of the greek church . that she hath no legitimate succession . the greek churches on the other hand condemn the roman succession . primi qui seriò primatum romanum pontificis oppugnarunt videntur fuisse graeci , saith ° bellarmine . barlaam , the monk , thus attacks the roman succession : what law , saith he , obligeth us to reckon the bishop of rome peter's only successor , that must rule all the rest ? and why may not the bishop of alexandria be accouted peter's successor , and so challenge the supremacy ; for as clemens was made bishop of rome , so was mark the evangelist bishop of alexandria . he strikes at the head of the succession , and denies peter to have been bishop of rome † , as many of our protestant writers have done ‖ . if therefore a man would know the true church by personal succession , 't is difficult to know what part to take , especially considering that of all the pretended successions , the roman ( from which the english prelacy derives it self ) is most suspicious , as being often interrupted by simony , heresie , and schism . pope eugenius the fourth was deposed by the general council of basil , and pronounced heretick and schismatick , with all his adherents ; yet he retains the papal authority against the judgment of that council ; cardinals and bishops were instituted by him . 5. by this principle no man can know himself to be a minister of christ. can any man know that all the predecessors of that bishop that ordained him were canonical bishops ? that none of them came in by simony , or err'd in the fundamentals , so as to be guilty of heresie ? that none of them lost their authority by involving themselves in secular and publick administrations * , or by neglecting to instruct their flocks † , or by being ordained by a bishop without the reach of his own jurisdiction ‖ ? these things make canonical nullities . can any man know , who was the bishop that was the root of his succession ? a great part of the christian world is uncertain what apostles did first convert their particular countries , which were it known , would not yet resolve the point . conscience will not be satisfied , with saying , let others disprove my succession . it must have positive grounds of satisfaction , that i am a true minister of christ. so that this notion serves only to perplex ministers and people , with insuperable difficulties about their acceptance with god , and to leave christianity it self upon such precarious foundations , as will be , in the power of every critick in church-history to shake , if not to overturn . how is it possible , that plain illiterate people should know this succession , which is learnt only by reading of the greek and latine fathers , the length and obscurity of which wearieth the wisest men , and which oftentimes contradict themselves . ought not the consciences of the meanest to be satisfied in the call of their ministers ? must they act in a matter of so great importance by an implicit faith ? what rule shall they judge by ? not by the line of succession ; that will but lead them into an inextricable labyrinth . our saviour hath left us a better rule , by their fruits ye shall know them . 6. let it be further considered , that the catalogues that are brought by some of the ancients , of the successors of the apostles , were made by conjecture * . nor is this succession so evident and convincing in all places , as it ought to be , to demonstrate the thing intended . a list would be expected of apostolical successors , not only in the great patriarchal churches , but in all others planted by the apostles , as philippi , corinth , caesarea , and in all the seven churches of asia , ( and not only at ephesus ) which has not been yet produced . though in the patriarchal churches the beginning of the line is as obscure as the head of nilus . at rome , 't is not certain whether linus , cletus , anacletus , or clemens are to be reckon'd first . and as for antioch , 't is far from being agreed , whether peter , euodius , or ignatius succeeded peter or paul , or the one and the other paul. at alexandria , where the succession seems to run clearest , the original of the power is imputed to the choice of presbyters , and to no divine institution , as we observed already . 7. if there were any certainty in this succession , the fathers ascribe it to presbyters , as much as to bishops . * ignatius saith concerning them , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — that the presbyters succeeded in the place of the bench of the apostles . irenaeus affirms the same — cum autem ad eam iterum traditionem , quae est ab apostolis , quae per successionem presbyteriorum in ecclesiis custoditur , provocamus eos qui adversantur traditioni ; dicent se non solum presbyteris , sed etiam apostolis existentes sapientiores , &c. though the truth is , when the fathers insist upon the succession of bishops or presbyters , they are not to be understood of the succession of persons , but principally of the succession of doctrine , which the first bishops or pastors of churches kept inviolable , as received from the apostles . otherwise , the succession of persons without the orthodox doctrine , is no note of a true church , as among the arians , where they had a succession of bishops , and yet no true church . pietatis successio proprie successio aestimanda est , namque qui eandem fidei doctrinam ejusdem quoque throni particeps est ; qui autem contrariam fidem amplectitur , adversarius in throno etiam censeri debet : atque haec quidem nomen , illa vero rem ipsam & veritatem habet successionis . now the succession of true doctrine being wanting in the popish church , the other of persons is an empty name to circumvent the simple . object . 3. ischyras was deposed because he was ordained by colluthus a presbyter of alexandria . thus bishop hall in his divine right of episcopacy , p. 91 , 92. and bilson's perpetual government , cap. 13. answ. colluthus ordained as a pretended bishop , constituted by meletius arch bishop of thebais , and therefore was commanded by the alexandrian council to be a presbyter , as he had been formerly . ischyras's ordination was declared void , as being not acknowledged by them that were reported to be the authors ; himself also is reckon'd by austin amongst the hereticks , and his ordination was a notorious breach of the canons ; it was sine titulo , extra fines , and nulli vicinorum nota ; all which circumstances make it uncanonical . dr. field saith , that when presbyters ordinations were accounted void , it 's to be understood acoording to the rigour of canons in use in their age ; which appears ( saith he ) by this , that ordinations , sine titulo , were null . conc. chalc. can. 6. the reverend author of the naked truth thus answers bishop hall's objection about colluthus and ischyras . i am sorry , saith he , so good a man had no better proof for his intended purpose . it seems he quite forgot how that the famous council of ni●e made a canon , wherein they declare that if any bishop should ordain any of the clergy belonging to another bishops diocess without his consent , their ordination should be null . you see then the irregular ordination of a bishop , is as null as the irregular ordination of a presbyter : therefore the irregular bishop , and the irregular presbyter , are of the same order , of the same authority , neither able to ordain . object . 4. it is objected out of ierom , quid facit episcopus quod non facit presbyter , exceptâ ordinatione ? answ. ierom speaks of canonical restraints , and not of scriptural : for the design of his discourse is to prove the identity of bishops and presbyters , and having brought many arguments from scripture to prove it , he confirms it , by asking this question , what doth a bishop more then a presbyter , except ordination ? plainly intimating that this could not advance him to a superiour order , the bishop and presbyter being originally the same . as if he would say , the presbyters perform the most transcendent acts of religion , they are ambassadors for christ , to preach the gospel , they administer baptism and the lord's supper ; and what doth a bishop more then these , except ordination ▪ which being no sacrament , is inferiour in dignity to the other mentioned acts , and therefore cannot elevate them to a higher degree . a canonical restraint cannot prejudice their inherent power . finis . books printed for john salusbury at the rising sun in cornhil . practical reflections on the late earthquakes in iamaica , england , sicily , malta , anno 1692. with a particular historical account of those , and divers other earthquakes , by iohn shower . earthquakes explained and practically improved , occasioned by the late earthquakes on sept. 18. 1692. in london , and many other parts in england and beyond sea , by tho. doolittle m.a. the duty and blessing of a tender conscience plainly stated , and earnestly recommended to all that regard acceptance with god , and the prosperity of their souls , by t. cruso . the christian laver ; or a discourse opening the nature of participation with , and demonstrating the necessity of purification by christ , by t. cruso . four sermons on several occasions , by t. cruso . barbarian cruelty ; being a true history of the distressed condition of the christian captives under the tyrany of mully ishmael emperor of morocco , &c. by francis brooks . the mirrour of divine love unvail'd in a paraphrase on the song of solomon , by robert flemming v. d. m. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a53660-e200 * perrin's hist. p. 53 , 62. hist. of the vaudois , c. 3 * contra waldens . cap. 4. walsing . hist. p. 339. * dr. stillingfl . iren. p. 393. † hier. in ep. ad tit. * communī concitio presbyterorum gubernabatur ecclesia . hieron . ubi supra , & ad evagr. ‖ see la rocque's conform . of d●scipline . cap. 1. art . 3. notes for div a53660-e1110 isa. 53. 12. rom. 8. 36 , 37. eph. 4. 11 , 14. notes for div a53660-e1800 arg. 1. * 1 pet. 5. 1 , 2. † rev. 2. 27 ‖ 1 tim. 5. 17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * 1 tim , 3. phil. 1. 1. † acts 20. 17 , 28. ‖ acts 14. 21 , 22 , 23. * walt. praef. de edit . bib. polygl . p. 30 — 40. ‖ 1 tim. 5. 17. † 1 pet. 5. 1. object . * spens . contra bucer . answ. † acts 20. 28. ‖ 1 pet. 5. 1. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * eph. 4. 11. * acts 20. 17 , 28. 1 pet. 5. 1 , 2. † 1 cor. 12. 28. eph. 4. 11. object . answ. 1. ‖ vid. turr. sophis . inter sadeel . op. p. 598. * eph. 4. 11 ‖ euseb. hist. 111. 34. * in eph 4. † 1 tim. 5. 22. ‖ 2 tim. 4. 1. 2. * 1 tim. 4. 14. † acts 14. 23. ‖ 1 tim. 1. 3. & 4. 13 , 14. * 1 tim. 3. 14 , 15. † whitt . contr . 5. q. 1. c. 2. s. 16. ‖ cypr. ep. 64 — 68. ‖ acts 20. 17 , 28. * 1 tim. 3. 14. 15. & 4. 13. † 1 tim. 5. 13. ‖ 1 pet. 4. 15. * 2 tim 4. 9 , 10 , 11. † heb. 13. 23. ‖ acts 20. 17 , 28. * acts 20. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 13 , 14. * ib. v. 25. † 1 tim. 4 14. 1 tim. 1. 18. ‖ 1 cor. 4. 17. act. 17. 14. & 18. 5. * rom. 16. 21. † 2 cor. 1. 1. 1 thess. 1. 1. 3 thess. 1. 1 ‖ act. 20. 28 27. * acts 20. 25. † acts 20 29 v. 28. ‖ acts 20. 1 , 2 , 4. 1 tim. 3. 3. * vind. p. 97. 2 tim. 4. 12 * reynolds against hart , p. 110 , 111 — 118. * ignat. ep. ad ephes. voss. edit . p. 25. p. 20. * ignat. ad mag. p 34. * cypr. ep. † burn. vindic. of the ch. of scotland , p. 51. trlp. hist. lib. 2. c. 18. in gent. exam. p. 399. epist. ad smyr p. 6. * ignat. ad polyc. p. 12 * ignat. ad philadelph . p. 40 . acts 20.17.28 . rev. 1.20 . rev. 5.11 . 1 tim. 5.17 . rev. 2.2 vid. lights vol. 2. p. 133. notes for div a53660-e6670 arg. ii. vol. 1. p. 289. vid. sade●l . oper. p. 600. obj. 1. answ. 1. cypr. lib. 3. ep . 11. vid. camer . myroth . p. 280. obj. 2. inter op. sad. p. 788. answ. doroth. synopf . euseb. lib. 1. c. 12. notes for div a53660-e8420 arg. iii. lomb. ● . 4. distinct . 25. answ. sad. contra . turr. p. 570. barr. supr . p. 120,121 lightf . vol. i. p. 187 . vide baxter against dodwel , p. 30 . notes for div a53660-e9240 arg. iv. matth. 20. 25 , 26. 2 t●m . 2.4 . can. ap. 7 . & 80. melancth . loc . com . p. 234. musc. loc . com . p.199 zanch. tom 7. p. 537 . ravan . in verb. episcop . synop. pur theolog. p. 614 . boch . phal . & cap. addend . p. 66 . art. 30. conf. belg. art. 31. notes for div a53660-e9970 arg. iv. * 1 tit. 9. ‖ 1 tim 3. 2 & 2 tim. 4.2 . † rhem. annot. in 1 tim. 1. 7 — * 1 tim. 3 2. ‖ vid. emanuel●a's aphor. epis . 20. † tit. 1.8 . * vid. pontif . de co●sec . elect. in episc. † matth. 20 , 25 , 26. 1 pet. 5.3 . ii. * pontifical . rom. † esp. in 1 tim. p. 226. g. * pontif. de ord . exorc . ‡ pontif. de ord . acolyth . ‖ pontif. de ord . subd . * espen . in tim. p. 214 . a. ‡ ib. de ord. diac. ‖ pontif. de ord. presb. * pontif. de cler. faciend . † mag. sent. lib. 4. dist . 6. * lib. contra parmen . † de idol . van . p. 61. oxon. edit . ‖ can. 55. * sess. 23. de sac . ord . can. 5. bellar. de cler. lib. 1 cap. 7 & 8. vid. cypr. ep. 68. euseb. vi. 10. tom. 10. probl. patr. p. 107. controv. 4. q. 10. p. 233 , 234. eccl. hist. lib. 6. c. 43. aug. hunn . de sacr. ordin . axiom 65 pontific . rom. de ord. pres. lib. 4. dist . 24. j. fr. discipl . cap. 1. art . 2 & 3. vide b●z . contra s●rav . object . answ. sa●●●● de voc . ministr . p. 545. sad. ubl supra , p. 554. notes for div a53660-e12080 arg. v. * conc. carth. 4. can. 3. vid. can. presb. dist . 23. † ordinandi presbyteri . * pont●f . de ord. presb. * heyl. hist. of ep. p. 162. † vide his episc. asserted . ‖ cypr. ep. 68. * act. 6.3 . † v. 5 , 6. ‖ pont●f . de ord. d●ac . * so forbes in his iren. l. 2. c. 11. p. 163. † spalat . de rep. eccl. ii. 2. p. 187. ‖ fulk in tit. 1. §. 2. * conc. carth. 4. c. 22. † dr. owen , mr. baxter , mr. clarkson . notes for div a53660-e13020 arg. vi. lightfoot harm . vol. 1. p. 612. cunoe . de rep. hebr. l. 1. c. 12. de synedr . c. 14. * vol. 1. p. 278. synag . judaic . c. 5. hamm. 6 quer. p. 349. hier. in tit. 1. * decr. i. 24. notes for div a53660-e13720 arg. vii cam. myroth . p. 40 , 41. notes for div a53660-e14010 arg. viii . * fern's comp. disc. p. 115 — blond . apol . pro senten . hieron . lib. 4. dist . 24. j. dist. 60. c●uli ex verb. papa . de succ. & stat. eccl. cap. 1. p. 19. conc. aquisgr . can. 8. hist. of the council of trent . l. 7. p. 619. conc. trid. sess. 23. can. 7. hist. of the c. of trent . ibid. p. 604 , 606 , 607 , & 619. error . wickleff . 28 in conc. const. sess. 8 in spelm. p. 576. catal. test. tom. 2. fox's acts and mon. in dr. stillingfl . irenic . see dr. burnet's collect. part . 1. p. 228. iren. p. 393 . see part . 2 . c. 3 . divis . 5 . &c. 9. divis . 1 . vid. hooker , l. 1 . s. 10 , 16 . l.7.s.11 . hall's apol . & def. s. 14. exomolog . c. 7 . p. 37 . vid. pref. to the book of ordin . vid. buc. script . angl . p. 154 . burn. hisl . p. 154 , 197. conc. trid. s●ss . 23 . c●n. 1. rogers in art. 35 , 36. ioh. cam. 〈…〉 evang. spotsw . hist. lib.7 . p. 514 . epiph. haeres . 75. aust. de haer. 53. notes for div a53660-e17340 arg. ix . * ad evagr . hilar. in ambr. in tit. 3. de invent. rer . l. 4. c 6. stilling . iren . p. 380. leon : epist. 92. ad rust. narbon . c. 1. philostorg . lib 2 cap. 5 in b●and . apol. h●yl . cos●n . l. ● . p. 368. bonif. mogunt . ep. 120. auct bib. patr. tom. 2. p. 105. socrat. in mr. baxt. of episc. p. 226. q. 101. comment . in eph. 4. hilar. diac. in tim. 3. * hilar. ib. de repub. eccl. l. 3. c. 3 * vid. euseb . iii. 4. ‖ euseb. eccl . hist. v. 23. anastas . de vit . pontis . p. 53. antioch . conc. can. 10. ancyr . conc. can. 13. * can. 7. forb's iren. cap. 11. de gest. scot. l. 2. c. 2 scoti chron. l. 3. c. 8. bed. hist. iii 4. bed. hist. l. 5. c. 10. comp. 2d days conference . bed. hist. iii. 4. bed. ib. 25 * bed. ib. c. 25. bed. ii. 4. * bed. hist. i 27. bed. i. 13. eccl. hist. iii. 21. * ar●ob . cont . gent. lib. v. ‖ euseb. viii 15. & ix . 4. iul. ep. ibid. lib. 4. dist 25. m. p. virunn . hist. brit. lib. 4 p. 32. caesar de b●ll . gall. lib. 6. * — et ipsum esse dignum episcopatu , ipsum ad erudiendos incredulos . & indoctos mitti debere decernunt , — sicque illum ordinantes ad praedicandum miserant — successit vero ei in episcopatu finan , & ipse illo ab hy scotorum insulâ , ac monasterio destinatus . bede hist. iii. 5. 15. ‖ habere solet ipsa insula rectorem semper abbatem preshyterum , cujus iuri & omnis provincia , & ipsi etiam episcopi , ordine inusitato debeant esse subjecti , juxta exemplum primi doctoris illius , qui non episcopus , sed presbyter extitit , & monachus . bed. hist. iii. 4. * hist. iii. 5. bed. hist. iii. 5. * interea augustinus adjutorio tisus edilberthi regis convocavit ad suum colloquium episcopos sive doctores , maximae & proximae britonum provincia , &c. answ. * abbas si est presbyter conferre potest ordinem clericalem . decr. greg. † perr . hist. of waldens . lib. 1. c. 13. p. 62. ibid. cap. 10. p. 53. vid. part . 3. l. 2. c. 2. p. 57 ... * vid. hist. of bohem. * lolardi sequaces . johannis wickliff , pir idem tempus in errorem suum plurimos seduxerunt , & tantam praesumpserunt audaciam , ut eorum presbyteri more pontificum , novos crearent pontificos , asserentes ( ut frequenter supra retulimus ) quemlibet sacerdotem tantam consecutum potestatem ligandi atque solvendi & caetera ecclesiastica ministrandi , quantam ipse papa dat vel dare polest . exercuerunt autem istam persidiam in diaecesi sarum , walf . hist. ang. ad a. d. 1389. p. 339. * audiverunt , viderunt , atque seiverunt haec universa pontifices , sed abierunt alius , in villans suam , &c. this was in king richard the second's time . * n. lloyd georg. dict. † legi insignem relationem cosmae monachi indicopleustae de taprobanâ insulâ , quae nunc zeilan , olim seiladiva dicebatur , ubi iustini imperatoris aetate ecclesiam christianorum , presbyter in perside ordinatus unà cum suo diacono regebat , saith l. holsten . de minist . confirm . p. 39. * placet uc dioceses quae nunquam episcopos acceperunt , non habeant . con. carth. 2. c. 5. notes for div a53660-e23360 rom. conc. can. 5. carth. 2. can. 2. * novellis & ecclesiasticis regulis sibi prohibita noverine — presbyterorum consecratio , &c. † vt per hoc & discretio graduum , & dignigatis fastigium summi pontificis demonstretur . conc. hisp. 2. can. 7. ‖ quamvis ut episcopi consecrati sunt , &c. — nec presbyterum nec diaconum audeant ordinare praeter civitatis episcopum . concil . antioch . can. 10. a.d. 3●4 . * can. 2. can. 29. in conc. collect. reg. par. 1644. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * can. 3. † cypr. ep. 68. can. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . can. 80 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ‖ laud against fisher , p. 360. nic concil . can. 4 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . can. 5. — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 can. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * eccl. hist. i. 29. † can. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * can. 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 † can. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ‖ alia insuper dolo malo induxit , nam & in cleri ordin●m cooptatos , senatorum munere , & ministerio perversè fungi jassit . niceph eccl. hist. xiii . * nazian . orat. in iul. imp. can. 10. — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sad. oper. p. 594. sad. de legit . vocat . ministr . p. 545 — p. 551 , 552 * antiq. xv. 3 , 6 , 7 , 8. fox's acts and mon. a.d. 1555. fulk on eph. sect. 4. perk. vol. 2 p. 171 — † cap. 59. p. 554 , 557. ‖ orthod . faith , p. 120-155 . vide cathol . trad. q 4. * de not. eccl. cap. 8. * stapl. doctr. princip . l. 13 c. 6 . ° praef. ad lib. de pontifice . quaenam lex solum jubet inter caeteros romanum episcopum hujus successorem appellari .. : de princip . cap. 3. in bibl. patr . † barl. ib. ‖ func . com. in chron. ad an. 44. * can. ap. 80. † can. 57. ‖ can. 36. const. 1. can. 3. * euseb. ec. hist. l. 3.c.4 vide dr. still . iren. * ad magn. p. 33. voss. edit . advers . haer . l.3.c.2 nazianz. in laud. athan . athanas. apol. 2. dr. field . de eccles. iii. 39 . naked truth , p. 45 prelatique preachers none of christ's teachers, or, a disswasive unto the people of god from attending the ministry (so called) of those, who preach by verture of an (apocryphal) ordination, received from an order of men, commonly stiled lord bishops wherein arguments are tendered to their serious considerations, by way of motive against that practice ... . 1663 approx. 256 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 44 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a41500 wing g1192 estc r33795 13566116 ocm 13566116 100311 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a41500) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 100311) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1034:22) prelatique preachers none of christ's teachers, or, a disswasive unto the people of god from attending the ministry (so called) of those, who preach by verture of an (apocryphal) ordination, received from an order of men, commonly stiled lord bishops wherein arguments are tendered to their serious considerations, by way of motive against that practice ... . goodwin, john, 1594?-1665. [2], 85 p. [s.n.], london : 1663. "ascription to john goodwin very doubtful"--nuc pre-1956 imprints. imperfect: pages stained with loss of print. reproduction of original in the huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng church of england -clergy. ordination. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-11 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-01 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2008-01 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion prelatique preachers none of christ's teachers : or , a disswasive unto the people of god from attending the ministry ( so called ) of those , who preach by vertue of an ( apocryphal ) ordination , received from an order of men , commonly stiled lord bishops . wherein arguments are tendered to their serious considerations , by way of motive against that practice ; the unlawfulness thereof demonstrated : and the pretences briefly answered , which commonly are , or lightly can be pleaded , in justification of it . and what agreement hath the temple of god with idols ? for ye are the temple of the living god : — wherefore come out from among them , and be ye separate , saith the lord , and touch not the unclean thing , and i will receive you ; and will be a father unto you , and ye shall be my sons and daughters , saith the lord almighty , 2 cor. 6. 16 , 17 , 18. for such are false apostles , deceitful workers , transforming themselves into the apostles of christ . and no marvel ; for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness ; whose end shall be according to their works , 2 cor. 11. 13 , 14 , 15. — from such turn away , 2 tim. 3. 5. then jesus said unto them , take heed and beware of the leaven of the pharisees , and of the sadduces , [ that is , of their doctrine ] matth. 16. 6 , 12. he that is not with me , is against me ; and he that gathereth not with me , scattereth abroad , matth. 12. 30. — let them return unto thee , but return not thou unto them , jer. 15. 9. tell me ( o thou whom my soul loveth ) where thou feedest , where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon ; for why should i be as one that turneth aside by [ or , unto ] the flocks of thy companions ? cant. 1. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ignatius , epist . 6. malus ecclesiae praepositus deseri cum suâ communione potest , imo debet . cyprian 1. 1. ep. 4. london , printed in the year , 1663. a disswasive unto the people of god , from attending the ministry ( so called ) of those , who preach by vertue of an ( apocryphal ) ordination , received from an order of men , commonly stiled , lord ` bishops . take heed whom you hear . the idolatrous madness of the common-prayerbook-worship , hath of late been made so manifest to all the houshold of faith in the nation , that my confidence is great , that it shall not proceed any further to ensnare and pollute any of the sons and daughters of god , by joyning in the offering up of such strange fire unto him . and though there be some , who , having formerly cast it off as a menstruous rag of popish devotion , are of late , with the dog , returned unto their vomit , making themselves transgressors by building up , what once they destroyed ; yet god ( i trust ) will suddenly stop and heal this unclean issue in the body of his people , and so curse the root of this bitterness , that it shall not bring forth much fruit , nor many be defiled with it . yea , though a second repentance in such cases , be not a fruit that groweth very plentifully on the tree of flesh and blood , yet am i not without all hope but that through the grace and mercy of god , some of those may awaken , and recover themselves out of this snare of satan , whose foot hath been taken , and is ( at present ) held in it . i confess the world hath of late given a furious on-set and charge upon the saints of god amongst us , yea , upon all that professed any thing ( almost ) after the manner of saints , and as becometh the gospel , to cause them to give back from that holy ground which they had gained , and on which they stood ; neither is it any marvel , there being so many millions of a stricter profession in the nation , that all of them should not prove valiant in fight , or that some of them , for fear of the fiery furnace , being het seven times hotter than ordinary , should not how down to the golden image of that worship , which the nebuchadnezzar-like interest of the prelatical party in the nation had set up . but leaving those , who tremble to make gods of men , by ascribing unto them the incommunicable property or prerogative of god , in appointing and imposing his own worship , unto the safeguarding of his blessing upon those convictions of the truth , which have subdued their judgments and consciences under it ; and those that are turned aside like a deceitful [ or , warped ] bow , unto the mercies of god , for the bringing of them back again from babylon unto sion , that they be not surprized in the vengeance of babylon , ( which is now even at the door ) i shall proceed to tender unto the consciences of those , whose sovereign interest it is to approve themselves throughly unto god , a few considerations , by the light whereof they may see how unlawful it is ( especially as the case now standeth ) to be hearers , where men of episcopal ordination , by vertue hereof are the teachers . consideration i. that authority of teaching ; wherewith the teachers we speak of are invested , by that kind of bishop which presumes to give it , is a meer nullity and lye . the gospel knows no bishop of such a character or complexion , as are appropriately theirs , who claim and exercise a power as of obtruding upon christ and his churches , on the one hand , what persons they please in the name of ministers , or teachers , ( only if they be desirous to accept of this sacred investiture from their hand ; ) so on the other hand , to keep back such from their service , whom both the one and the other , most desire in this relation , only because god hath not given them darkness for a vision , or sent them this strong delusion , confidently to imagine , that they see prelates , or diocesan bishops , walking like angels in the plains of the gospel , and christ giving them power to prescribe in his church what forms of worship , be they never so uncouth , and what ceremonies , be they never so apish , they please . besides many other writings , both formerly , and more lately published , which demonstrate the generation of such bishops to be aliens and strangers to the laws and statutes of the common-wealth of israel , the un-bishopping of timothy and titus , with the angel of the church of ephesus ( a book first compiled and printed , anno 1636 , and lately reprinted , with sundry enlargements , by the learned gentleman , william prynne esq ; ) clearly vindicates the gospel from all complyance with them , and sends them to seek their pedigree and original , where they will be ashamed to find it . and ( doubtless ) the contest about prelatical usurpations had been comprimised long before this , and the churches of christ discharged of such unsupportable burdens , were not all disputes against carnal interests , like gapings against an oven , and the truth , though speaking with the tongues of men and angels , a barbarian unto those , whose judgements and consciences are under an arrest by the pomp and grandure , either in spe , or in re , of this present world : for to reason un-bewitched , it cannot ( lightly ) but appear an incredibility of the first magnitude , that christ should appoint such an high officer in his church , as the diocesan , and especially the metropolitan bishop beareth himself with an importune and high hand to be ; and yet neither give them any name whereby to be known or distinguished from others , nor yet assign them any work or service at all , in , or for the church . when christ ascended on high , and gave gifts unto men , he gave some apostles ; and some prophets ; and some evangelists ; and some pastors and teachers : but we hear of none given , either lord bishops , diocesans , or metropolitans . when he descended into hell [ or , into the lower parts of the earth ] themselves will not plead , that he brought them up from thence . therefore ( without controversie ) they are no plants of christs planting ; neither is there any thing in the church for them to do : for the whole work that concerns the spiritual welfare of the church from first to last , is committed to the church-officers lately named by the apostle , as being every way sufficient for the effectual performance of it . this the context speaks plainly enough , and without a parable : he gave some apostles , — and some pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints , for the work of the ministry , for the edifying of the body of christ ; till we all come in the vnity of the faith , and of the knowledge of the son of god , unto a perfect man , unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of christ ; that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro , &c. ephes . 4. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14. so that there is no empty or void space in the spiritual concernments of the church , for our diocesan bishops to thrust in with their importune and officious interposure ; apostles , prophets , evangelists , pastors and teachers ; have the whole heritage of this work divided amongst them by the lord christ himself . or if there be any thing left for our lord bishops to do by way of service to the church , it is to teach them , as gideon taught the men of succoth , with thorns and bryars , to perfect them through sufferings , and so to prepare them for their glory : this service ( i confess ) they do them with great diligence , and very effectually . nevertheless , christ never set them up in his church , to do either this or any other service unto it : only he permitted them , whilst the church slept , to convey themselves slily into it : and because the teaching of the members hereof by afflictions , is a necessary work , and most proper to be done by the vilest and most unworthy of men , therefore ( i conceive ) he hath judged it meet to afford an opportunity to this generation of men , to be the actors in chief in it . but now that kind of bishop we speak of , being no gospel creature , nor any wayes derived or descended from christ , it is a clear case that he hath no right of authority or power from him ( and from any other he cannot have it ) to exercise any ecclesiastical function at all , much lesse to create , or make any gospel minister . it is a true rule , non entis nullae sunt affectiones , nulla est efficacia ; that which is not , hath not wherewith to act , or operate . so that as the apostle peter said to the criple , silver and gold have i none ; but such as i have give i unto thee . ( acts 3. 6. ) our diocesan bishops may on the contrary say unto those that come unto them for authority and power to preach the gospel , silver and gold we have in abundance , but that which we have , we will not give unto you ; but what we have not , that we freely give unto you ; go , and preach the gospel [ although neither do they give this their nothing very freely , unlesse it be in such a sence , wherein a merchant may be said to part with his bad commodity very freely , or willingly , when he knows he shall receive more money for it than it is worth ] therefore they , who embrace men episcopally ordained , as teachers sent by christ , and upon this account hear them , set their eyes upon that which is not , yea , and do homage unto an idol . consideration ii. to afford our presence and attention unto men preaching by episcopal authority , is to strengthen the hierarchical interest , to credit and countenance the horrid usurpations of the prelatical order , in , and over the churches of christ : and consequently , to involve our selves in the guilt of all those out-rages of oppression and cruelty , whereby they daily waste and wear out the saints of god amongst them ; and so to render our selves justly liable to partake with them in their plagues , when god shall bring the day of their vengeance upon them . to own those for our ministers and teachers , who are sent forth by them to teach ( and own them for such we do , if we frequently , or ordinarily , hear them ) is to own those who send them , and to set to our seal , and give them testimony , that they are intrusted , and invested by christ , with that authority and power , in the name ( or by the pretence rather ) of which they so send them . for what can we ( lightly ) do to commend them unto the world upon higher terms , then by such our approbation of them ? or were we desirous , as far as lyeth in us , to make the mountain of their present power so strong that it should never be moved , by what other means more probable , or promising , could we endeavour , or attempt it ? for who , though but in face a christian , will not fear to have a hand in the rooting out , yea , or in opposing , such men , or such an order of men , amongst them , who have this testimony from serious and well-advised christians , that jesus christ hath entrusted them with the care , and power of providing meet and worthy ministers for all his churches round about them ? verily , verily , i say unto you , ( saith christ , john 13. 20. ) if i send any , ( so our former translation , and so the original ) he that receiveth him , receiveth me ; and he that receiveth me , receiveth him that sent me . he is said to receive a minister , or messenger , sent by christ , who heareth him , ( as appeareth by the parallel place , luke 10. 16. ) that is , who heareth him , as , or because , sent by christ ; or , who heareth his doctrine with reverence and submission , and so as to own it . now the receiving of christ [ in his messengers , or , in their doctrine ] is such an act which tendeth highly to the honour of christ , and to the confirmation and enlargment of his interest in the world , and is mentioned under such a consideration as this , in the words now cited : therefore upon the same account , he that receiveth , or heareth , persons sent by our apocryphal bishops to preach , receiveth them , and hereby contributeth not a little towards the establishment of them in the possession of that exorbitant and monstrous power , by which they tyrannize over the consciences and comforts of those , that are loyal and faithful unto jesus christ , and so ( as hath been said ) becomes accessary to all the sufferings of the saints , by means of that power , in those mens hands . this is another consideration disswading the people of god from attending upon episcopal emissaries in their work of preaching . consideration iii. the hearing of men sent by the bishops , being ( as was now shewed ) a receiving of these bishops themselves ( in the sence declared ) must needs be a walking uncharitably towards them , and a means to keep their foot fast in that snare of death , wherein it is at present taken , and to put far from them the happy day of repentance from their unchristian usurpations ( together with many other high misdemeanours accompanying these ) whereby they might be saved . for when they shall see the servants of god ( especially the more knowing , and better advised of them ) rejoyceing in the light of ministers of their making , and sending forth , how shall they not applaud themselves in their office , yea , and think they do both god , and his churches special service , by supplying these from time to time with men of worth , who are able to speak unto them words , by which they hope they may , or shall be saved ? men that receive so large a testimony of the usefulness of their callings , and goodness of their practises and walkings in them , from persons so considerable as those mentioned , are not like to resent , or suspect , any such evil in either , for which they need any open , or solemn repentance . so that for the servants of god to honour , with their attendance , the ministry of men preaching by episcopal authority , is ( in reality of construction ) a flattering of the bishops themselves ; and ( doutless ) what solomon speaks ( prov. 26. 28. ) of a flattering mouth , as viz. that it worketh ruine , is altogether as true of flattering actions , by which men may be flattered into ruine , as well as by words of like import . now though the bishops we speak of be guilty of the blood of many thousands of precious souls , for whom christ dyed , partly by thrusting out of the vineyard of christ many true and faithful labourers , which christ himself had sent in thither ; partly by keeping out many others of like worthy character , not permitting any entrance , but onely by the polluted door of their ordination , by which very few , or none , qualified aright for the ministry , can obtain leave of their consciences to enter ; but chiefly by setting over them , or obtruding upon them , ignorant , scandalous , and prophane persons , for spiritual guides , besides many other exemplary misdemeanors , and unworthy practises , in their own lives and conversations ? although ( i say ) our bishops ( so called ) do by these means , without the least regret , or remorse of conscience , bring upon their heads the blood of many thousand precious souls , yet will not this justifie , or excuse the children of god , if they shall act any thing , which is like to further the perdition of their souls , the salvation whereof , ( the enormous wickedness of the men notwithstanding ) they stand bound , both by the law of charity , and in conscience towards god , not to hinder ( as by encouraging , or hardening them in any evil way ) but to promote with the best of their understanding . therefore , consideration . iv. as the apostle ( 2 thes . 3. 6 , 14. ) prescribeth unto the saints , the separating , or withdrawing of themselves from a brother that walketh inordinately , as a proper and christian means to make him ashamed ( that is , to bring him to repentance , by occasioning him to reflect upon the evil of his way more seriously , and so to further his salvation ) in like manner , the withdrawing of good christians from the prelates in their ministers ( in whose creation , and imposition upon churches , they walk most disorderly ) being a means of a promising and likely import , to make them ashamed of such their prelatical presumptions and misdemeanors , cannot in reason , or in conscience , but be interpreted as a matter of duty lying upon them to practise : if men have any thing of men , any spark of ingenuity in them , any sence of interest either with god or men , they cannot but be severely jealous of such wayes and doings ; upon which the generation of the righteous shall set the black brand of their dis-approbation , by refusing all communion and fellowship with them , even at a distance ; and this out of conscience towards god , and for fear of his displeasure . consideration v. to accept , with contentment and satisfaction , of spiritual means , proffered , or conveyed unto us , by a false authority , or by persons no wayes interessed , or intrusted by christ , is , as far as in us lyeth , to make void , or ( however ) to discredit , the right and just title of those , upon whom christ hath ( indeed ) conferred this trust and honour ; and as he , who renting another man's ground , shall turn tenant , and pay his rent to a false land-lord , upon a pretended claim made by him of right to the said lands , much weakneth and disableth the title of the true : in like manner , he that from time to time shall honour with his presence and attention , a ministry advanced by such an order of men , who have no right , but only a frivolous and empty pretext of right , to impose ministers upon christian congregations , must needs hereby obscure and wrong the just title and claim , which the churches of christ have , by the gracious donation and grant of christ , to chuse , ordain , and set over themselves pastors and teachers . consideration vi. for a man not to depend upon god for such a blessing upon his diligent and prudent endeavours in a lawful calling , which shall supply and furnish him with things needful for this present life , or not to be content with such supplies in this kind , which the blessing of god upon his honest labours , furnisheth him with ; but to turn aside into dishonest wayes , as of their , deceit , &c. through fear of want , or of being starved , or the like ; any of these practices is a ( constructive ) complaining of the providence of god unto the world ( or rather , indeed , unto the devil : ) and for christians to seek their spiritual food at those lips , which not god , but his enemies have opened , and polluted , by touching them with a dead coal from their altar , is it of any better interpretation , than a professed jealousie , or doubtfulness of mind , whether christ will nourish them with the words of eternal life , and make them wise unto salvation , in case they should strictly confine and keep themselves to the use of such means only which he hath sanctified , and which are unquestionably approved by him , especially , when like the waters of siloam , they run but softly , and not embolden their consciences to comport with such other means for their edification , the lawfulness whereof , as themselves formerly scrupled , so many thousands of the saints absolutely deny at this day , not daring to accept of any soul-provisions promised or pretended by them . consideration vii . to undermine and defeat the counsels and attempts of men , who resist the truth ( as jannes and jambres did moses , 2 tim. 3. 8. ) by means and wayes lawful and sutable to the gospel , and which are within our power , is ( without controversie ) a duty lying upon all men : how much more upon all saints ? that our lord bishops are deep in the condemnation of resisting the truth ; and this much after the same manner , wherein those egyptian sorcerers resisted moses ( namely , by promoting a counterfeit and false worship and service of god , like unto the true : as those sorcerers deluded pharoah and the egyptians , by counterfeiting those real and true miracles which moses wrought , and hereby sought to frustrate moses his negotiation with pharoah about the israelites deliverance ) is no paradox , nor probleme [ or difficult question ] amongst true and knowing christians . again , that a detection or discovery of the folly or madness of those , who either thus , or in any other way , resist the truth ( for the scripture supposeth a designed resistance of the truth to be madness , or folly in her exaltation , in whomsoever it be found , 2 pet. 2. 16. 2 tim. 3. 9. ) is an effectual means to supercede their wickedness in that kind , and to prevent their further progresse in their course , the holy ghost himself informeth us : but they [ men of corrupt minds , and resisting the truth ] shall proceed no further : for their folly [ or , madness ] shall be manifest unto all men , as their also was , 2 tim. 3. 9. now then , if the refraining of the saints from those spiritual tables , which are spread by the bishops ( i mean , from the preachments of men of their anoynting ) be a proper and likely means to manifest their folly unto the world , in their hostile devices and attempts against the truth , it is ( certainly ) a duty incumbent upon them to use such abstinence . that this abstinence is a means promising the happy effect mentioned , may be conceived by that discovery , which davids absence once and again from saul's table , made of saul's wickedness , in his unreasonable malice against david , and consequently against god himself . the historical passage hereof may be read , 1 sam. 20. from vers . 24. to the end of vers . 34. for , as saul , finding david's accustomed place at his table empty twice together , was hereby provoked to shew himself in his colours of wretchedness and impiety : so is it not unlike but that sober and good men , by a constant absenting themselves from ministers of the hierarchical unction , on whose ministry they had formerly been wont to attend , will draw out into the view of all men , that same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that folly , or madness , in their great lords and masters ( the bishops ) which being discovered , will render them the general abhorring of men , and so cause them to fall like lightning from the heaven of their glory and put a period to their kingdom . and as the providence of god delivered david from the malicious and bloody rage of saul , wherewith he pursued him upon his absence from his table ; so may the good people of god expect protection from on high , in case the said bishops , making themselves aggrieved at their departure from thei spiritual provisions , which they have ordained for them , shall attempt to magnifie themselves in wrath and revenge against them . besides , the general refraining of sober and understanding christians from the ministry of a prelatical erection , which many of them had ( in the simplicity of their hearts ) formerly frequented , cannot but occasion persons of ingenuous and free spirits , to enquire into the grounds and reasons hereof ; in which enquiry , very probable it is that they will discover , or be led to somewhat , either in the office , or usurpations , of the prelatical order , as the just occasion of it ; the consideration whereof may cause them also to turn apostates from their former esteem and approbation of them . consideration viii . if we speak of the generality of those ministers , who retain the signature of prelatical hands laid upon them , and have not some wayes or other defaced it , we may truly say ( in the scripture phrase , mic. 7. 4. ) the best of them is as a bryar , the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge . few sermons are preached by them , in which something is not uttered , that is justly offensive and grievous to the spirits of holy and good men . yea , of these apothecaries , such as are accounted both the most honest , and skilful , in their profession , and to vend the best , and wholsomest druggs , and receits , have one or other dead fly ( and commonly more then one ) in their oyntment , which causeth it to cast forth a stinking savour in the nostrils of those who have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil . ( neither can it in reason be expected otherwise : for being sworn vassals to the prelatical interest and design , and this being to subject the power of godliness unto the form , and so to uphold their super-numerary function , dignity , and tyrannical grandure , in , and over the churches of christ , the ministers we speak of are ever and anon , or at times , necessitated to act their parts in opposition to the holy desires and design of the true and faithful servants of god , whose hearts are deeply set within them for the advancement of the power of godliness in the world , above the form of it , and not to acknowledge , or do homage unto any person , or persons , claiming dominion over their faith , but unto christ onely . the particulars , by one , or more of which , the said ministers are wont to make the hearts of persons truly godly , heavy and sad , are these ( with their fellows ) 1. they are expresly enjoyned by their patent to shew their child like ( that i say , not blind ) obedience to their grandfathers ( the bishops ) by saying over their creed , and their pater-noster , over , and over , and over , once ( at least ) every month , together with the rest of the devices comprehended under the title of common-prayer , and this publickly , and in the face of their congregation , appearing also in their masters livery [ i mean , the surplice ] that all men may know to whom they belong , and whose servants they are . this is one great nuysance done by these men to the spirits of those who truly fear god. 2. they bow down their necks to the yoak of ceremonies , and yeeld that observance to the fopperies of men , which is due to the most weighty precepts of god. 3. there are few of them , who content themselves with the simple observation of these ceremonies , but think it their duty to take pitty on them , being so generally hated , opposed , and condemned , and to speak a good word for them now and then , and to justifie both the practice and imposition of them . 4. there are not many of those , that are least obnoxious amongst them , but will think it , either their duty , or their wisdom , or both , to steal an opportunity ( sometimes ) to speak honourably of their gracious lords and benefactors , to commend their function as sacred , and of divine institution , and as singularly necessary for the peace and good government of the church , &c. 5. who is there of them , but , be he never so concise and short in his prayer before his sermom , yet alloweth a large roomth for the mention of his reverend , if not right reverend fathers in god ; ( as if they suspected that god would not know that they meant them , unless they presented them in their pontificalibus before him ) yea , and giveth flattering and unbeseeming titles to other great persons also ? 6. they are the smallest number of them , who will not semel in anno ( at least ) teach ( in effect ) the importune doctrine of blind obedience to superiours , both ecclesiastical and civil : it is like , they will not teach this obedience under the term of , blind , because protestant writers have made it infamous amongst persons of this profession , by oft charging the doctrine of blind obedience , as antichristian , upon the jesuites . but when they fall upon hammering this nayl ( i mean of obedience and subjection to superiours ) they so sorge it , as that they leave no liberty or freedom of judgment , or conscience , to inferiours , to judge of the lawfulness , and unlawfulness of the superiours command ; but conclude those amongst transgressors , and persons worthy severe punishment , that refuse to conform themselves to their injunctions , though their judgments and consciences conclude them never so ( manifestly ) unlawful . and what is this , but ( in effect ) to preach and press the ungodly , yea , unmanly doctrine of blind obedience ? yea , some of them do not forbear to place the perfection , or highest strain of that mortification and self-denyal , which they preach , in that kind of blind obedience to superiours , which hath been mentioned . 7. they are not a few of those that are of best esteem in the said party of ministers , who will not find , or take occasion ( sometimes ) to vent themselves in unworthy and base reflections upon the power of godliness , and upon persons more tenderly conscientious than themselves , and who strain at the camels , which they swallow . 8. ( and lastly , ) there is hardly one of a thousand of them , that ( according to their duty ) will cry aloud , and lift up their voice like a trumpet , to shew their great lords and masters their great transgressions , in persecuting the servants of the living god , in suppressing their christian and just liberties , in thrusting their zealous and faithful teachers out of the sanctuary , in obtruding upon them dumb doggs ( or worse than dumb ) or greedy wolves , in their stead ; in exasperating the spirits of rulers against them , and representing them as persons dangerous to the state , and troublers of its peace ; in assenting unto , if not procuring the making of hard and cruel laws against them , ( with the like . ) these are part of the unhappy wayes and practices , by which even our best preachers of the episcopal character , are alwayes apt , and often wont , to make sad the spirits of holy and good men , when they hear them : so that though they may ( possibly ) hear several sermons from them , from none of which they shall actually suffer in any of these kinds ; yet they cannot at any time go to hear them with any reasonable security , but that some or other of this gall and vinegar will be given them to drink . this then is another consideration to take off our edge from hearing them . consideration ix . as for the generality , or far greater part of the body of that ministry , from which we endeavour to perswade good men to turn away , they are a company of sad souls , men , who ( according to the proverb ) animam habent pro sale ; they have souls serving only to preserve their bodies from putrifying : some of them profoundly ignorant , scarce understanding their rubrick , or how to finde out the psalmes and lessons appointed for the day in the bishops calender : others , drown'd in sensuality , desperately debauched , much fitter to be made priests to serve at the pagan altars of bacchus , and venus , than to minister the holy things of jesus christ : others possessed with a spirit of prophaness , which maketh them bold to take the name of god in vain , and to make frothy jests and conceits of things most sacred : others wolfishly covetous and cruel , rigorously exacting of their people the utmost farthing of wages , which the law alloweth , for the smallest pittance of work , or service , which the law tolerateth . all these have ( as it were ) given hostages to satan , to secure him that they will never make any hostile attempt upon him , nor disturb him in his possession of any soul under his power . now this retrimentitious party of the ministry we speak , are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , fellow-members of the same body of ministers , with those , whose character was given in the former consideration , and to whom we here likewise gave the preheminence in worth , amongst and above all their fellows : so that those respects , and that honour , which we cast upon these in our attendance upon their ministry , redound ( in part at least ) unto the others also : and so by countenancing the worthiest and best , of this disordered order , we countenance and comfort the worst and vilest likewise ; for ( as the apostle saith ) if one member be honoured , all the members rejoyce with it , 1 cor. 12. 26. [ viz. as being partakers of that honor which is done unto it : ] in like manner , when we confer the honour of our presence upon such of the episcopal clergy , who are least obnoxious , we encourage and rejoyce the heart , even of the refuse and tail of this clergy also , these being flesh of their flesh , and bone of their bone , and all of them in their calling to the ministry , descended from the loyns ( or hands rather ) of the same ghostly fathers , the bishops . now for christians to honour that ( though at a distance , and in a collateral way only ) which christ himself hath pronounced to be good for nothing , no , not so much as for the dunghil , but only to be cast out , and txodden under foot by men , ( mat. 5. 13. with luke 14. 33 , 34 , 35. ) must needs be judged a very great dis-service unto him , and of a most ungrateful resentment with him . consideration x. whereas the ordination of ministers , when regularly and duly performed , is of a very promising consequence unto their ministry , the blessing of god ( as it were of course ) following it ; the ordination of the prelatical clergy , being not only contrary to the laws established by christ , in the common-wealth of israel , for the government thereof , but also managed and transacted by men that are no friends of god , nor lovers of his saints , nor of the purity of his worship , nor of the power of godliness , is , in respect of the success of their ministry , much more threatning , than promising , god being no wayes like to give any testimony from heaven unto them , being sent forth into his work upon terms so highly dishonourable and displeasing to him ; for , the prayers , by which the minister to be ordained , is recommended unto the grace and blessing of god , in the work of the ministry , by those that are present , and assisting in the business , being ( upon the matter ) the all in all , of , or in , the transaction ( for laying on of hands is only a ceremony , and questioned by some whether necessary , yea , or fitting , to be used in these dayes ) and the sacrifice of the wicked being an abomination unto the lord , as the prayer of the upright is his delight , ( prov. 15. 8. ) we have but a quick-sand for a foundation of any hope , that ministers prelaticall ordained , are sent forth unto the great work of the gospel , with a blessing , and not rather under a curse . besides , suppose we ( for argument sake ) that our lord bishops , and their chaplains ( who are the great , if not the only doers , in the solemnities of their ordination ) were lovers of god indeed , and no wayes disaffected against persons , truly holy and conscientious ; yet the ministers ordained by them , not being to serve or minister unto them in the most important affairs of their souls , it is not like that their prayers for them , or for the blessing of god upon their labours in preaching , would be ( in any degree ) so effectually fervent , as the prayers , wherewith the ministers , who are by the particular churches of the saints chosen to serve them , in the high concernments of their eternal salvation , are , by them solemnly assembled , with prayer and fasting for the purpose , presented unto god in the day of their ordination . that charity is rate , which keepeth not her self warmer at home than abroad . consideration xi . many who at first intended nothing more in hearing the ministers we speak of , but their own christian edification and comfort , and nothing lesse than to become proselytes to their dead forms of imposed worship , or to comport with them in their detestable things ( ezek. 7. 20. i mean their fanatick ceremonies ) or to approve of their hierarchical mission into the vineyard of christ , &c. yet by a frequent and familiar converse with them in their ministry , have in time ( and some in a very short time ) been so transformed in their judgements & consciences , as to swallow all these camels without straining , and to make one spirit with them in all their antichristian principles and practices . the heat of that pleasure and contentment which we sometimes take in the commendable and worthy sayings or doings of men , proves a snare unto us to fall in with them in sayings and doings of a contrary import , and which are of a very dangerous , if not destructive consequence unto us : so that in this sense it is not only true , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , evil homilies , or discourses ( as the apostle expresses himself with the heathen poet , 1 cor. 15. 33. ) but even 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , good and worthy communications , many times , occasionally , and from some kind of men , corrupt good manners . the unsound and rootten doctrines of the pharisees ( as of the sadduces also ) were ( it seems ) of a leavening nature , apt to spread , and to insinuate themselves into the minds , and judgements , and affections of men . our saviour himself declareth this unto us , partly by comparing them unto leaven , but more plainly by admonishing the people ; yea , his disciples themselves , over and over , to look to themselves that they were not ensnared with them : then jesus said unto them , take heed and beware of the leaven of the pharisees , &c. mat. 16. 6. see also mark 8. 15. now one main reason why their evil and unsound doctrines were so catching , and likely by little and little to gain in the approbations and consents of their hearers ( was in all probability ) their frequent teachings , and zealous pressings , of many wholesome and savory doctrines and truths , according to the tenour and true intent of moses's law : for as many an horse , that is unserviceable , and worth little , by reason of some grand defect that is not easily discerned , is yet bought and sold at a considerable rate , quod pulchri clunes , breve quod caput , ardua cervix . by reason of some features that are curiously commendable in them : in like manner many a mans ministry may be approved & swallowed , root and branch , head and tail , by the brokery and mediation of some choice sermons , or points of doctrine , managed and handled effectually , or however to the high contentment of the hearer , although this ministry taken in the whole body , or course of it , be not so well and safely calculated for the saving of the soul. i have heard of ( and , in in part , known ) some , to whom , when they first became hearers of the prelatical clergy , their imposed common-prayer , their lumber of ceremonies , their hierarchy , with all their implements and trinkets , &c. were hey , stabble and wood , yea , or rather , dung and filthiness ; who notwithstanding , by the droppings of the tongues of these men into their ears , became , after no long time neither , so bewitched in their judgments and consciences , that all these were conceited by them as silver , gold , and precious stones . good words are oft-times too hard for good meanings , and lead men , honestly disposed , into a snare : nor is there any method more commodious or promising unto men , whose design it is to work sober and good men out of a love and liking of some part of those truths , which at present they believe , then by giving them their fill of satisfaction and contentment in some others of them . consideration xii . although we be in some strait yet to combine with any corrupt interest or correspondency , for accommodation or help , or to fall in with men , who have not god amongst them , however they may be otherwise of a very promising aspect unto us , hath often , if not alwayes , been of dangerous consequence unto those , that have attempted and expected , the bettering of their condition in such a way . when amaziah , king of judah , judging himself unable to wage war against the children of mount seir , with his own strength , had hired an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of israel , for an hundred talents of silver , there was sent unto him a man of god with this message ; o king , let not the army of israel go with thee ; for the lord is not with israel , &c. 2 chron. 25. 6 , 7. so the people of god seeking for help , first of the assyrians , and afterwards of the egyptians , even when they were in an afflicted and hard condition , got nothing by these applications but sorrow and shame : god threatned them by his prophet jeremy ; thou shalt also be ashamed of egypt , as thou wast ashamed of assyria , jer. 2. 36. the scripture is pregnant with this truth : see isa . 8. 6 , 7. that the prelatical interest is eccentrical to the glory of god , to the cause and kingdom of jesus christ , runs in a channel by it self , a-part from , and in opposition to these , and consequently is carnal and corrupt , and obnoxious to the displeasure of god , needeth no anxious demonstration unto those , the eyes of whose minds are not bewitched and blinded with it ; however , somewhat hath been argued to the point already in these papers , and somewhat more may be added before we conclude : and the question ( if yet a question it must be ) hath been largely discussed , and learnedly decided by others . as for the late reviving of this interest amongst us , after it had lain sick , and languishing , ready to have given up the ghost for many years together ; it cannot be looked upon with a spiritually-discerning eye , but ( what is frequently observed in long and wasting sicknesses ) a lightning before death : and as the setting up of dagon the second time in his place , after he had once fallen upon his face to the earth , before the ark of god , occasioned his second downfall , by which he lost his head ( 1 sam. 5. 3 , 4. ) so , according to the course of divine providence , the lifting up of our bishops from the gates of death , is like to prepare the way to their second death , or fall , from whence there will be no redemption . now , the ministers of whom we speak all this while , being of the prelatical descent , are members , or appurtenances of this ( i mean the prelatical ) order , and have a great venture in the same bottom with their ghostly-fathers : so that suppose we should be somewhat scanted for soul-accomodations , or much straitned for want of spiritual provisions otherwise , yet to have recourse unto these men ( yea , be it unto the best of them ) in their ministry , for supplies in this kind , with an expectation that they should bless us , or befriend us in our need , is to comport with the unhallowed interest we speak of , and to seek help of such a generation or association of men , whom god ( as the scripture saith ) beholdeth a far off , taking no pleasure to be amongst them : and consequently , such an application of our selves for aid and relief , is like to turn to no better an account unto us , than a disappointment , if not a far worse inconvenience . consideration xiii . as far the greater number of the good people of god in this nation stand now perswaded in their judgments and consciences , touching the hearing of ministers ordained by a power ill-affected to jesus christ and his interest on earth , it is just matter of scandal and offence to the weaker sort of this people , and of sorrow and sadness of heart to many of them that are more spiritual , and knowing , to understand , or hear , that any of their christian brethren , formerly united unto them in the same mind and judgment against all the superstitious and antichristian doings amongst us , are ( frequently ) present in those assemblies , unto whom men sent unto them by the prelates onely , presume notwithstanding to speak in the name of god , bearing themselves as the embassadors of christ , lawfully commissioned by him for the service they perform . now the scripture oft speaks of scandalizing , in one kind or other , those that are weak in the faith , as of a very sinful and un christian misdemeanor in those who are called christians , and of a provoking resentment with christ himself : but if thy brother be grieved with thy meat [ when as thy life and health may be preserved with such meats otherwise , which will not offend , or grieve him ] now walkest thou not charitably . destroy not him with thy meat [ that is , eat no such meat , the eating whereof by thee , may very possibly through the scandal given thereby , prove his destruction ] for whom christ dyed , rom. 14. 15. for meat destroy not the work of god. all things indeed are pure , but it is evil for that man that eateth with offence . it is good neither to eat flesh , nor to drink wine , nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth , or is offended , or made weak . hast thou faith ? have it to thy self before god. happy is he that condemneth not himself [ namely by scandalizing a weak brother ] in that thing which he alloweth [ as lawful for him to do ] rom. 14. 20 , 21 , 22. for if any man see thee which hast knowledge , sit at meat in the idols temple , shall not the conscience of him that is weak , be emboldned to eat those things that are offered to idols : and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish , for whom christ dyed . but when ye sin so against the brethren , and wound their weak conscience , ye sin against christ , [ grieving and indangering those , who believe in him , and therefore are dear unto him ] 1 cor. 8. 10 , 11 , 12. and whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me , it is better for him that a milstone were hanged about his neck , and he were cast into the sea , mark 9. 42. see also matth. 18. 6. luke 17. 1 , 2. the clear result of these , and other-like sayings of the holy ghost , is , that to scandalize , offend , or grieve any weak believer , yea though it be but by an undue exercise of our lawful liberty ( lawful , i mean , otherwise , ) is very unworthy the profession of the gospel , and an indignity offered unto jesus christ , sorely threatning him that shall offer it , without repentance . it is true , where there is any obligation upon men by way of precept , or duty , to do that , at which a weak christian is offended , here is no scandal , or offence given , but onely taken ; and if any man be offended in this case , he must bear the burthen of his ignorance himself . god is to be obeyed , though the whole world should be offended at it . but that it should be incumbent or necessary , by any precept or command from god , to hear ( at least ordinarily , and from day to day ) ministers of a lordly creation , or prelatical tincture , never yet ( i suppose ) came within the verge of any mans thoughts , unlesse ( haply ) of some episcopally addicted above their fellows : nay , the practise hath not found ( that i can find or hear of , ) any competent defender of so much as the lawfulness of it , to this day . therefore if it should be given ( by way of charity ) unto those , that have made bold to take the liberty of hearing the ministers we wot of , that this their practice , simply , and in it self considered , is lawful ; yet in the case of so much scandal and offence , as it gives to many thousands of their weak brethren in the nation , it becomes in them un christian and unlawful ; yea , and it is the more un christian and unworthy , in as much as it further causeth much sadness and grief of heart , even unto those that are of more understanding ; because , besides the scandal given by it unto the weak , they judge it a practice altogether , and in it self , unwarrantable , as being derogatory unto the royalities of jesus christ , as sole king , and law-giver unto his church ; of which , as somewhat formerly , so a little more may be said hereafter . consideration xiv . the practice lately mentioned , and hitherto disswaded , as it is offensive to all good christians , who either suspect , or conclude , the unlawfulness of it , and in this respect is a breach of the law of that tender love , which we owe unto them ; so is it of no good consistence , no not with that love , which we stand bound to shew even to those persons themselves , whom we hear in such a way , although they be men , who without any order from christ , receive ordinations and commissions to preach , from his adversaries ; ( his adversaries , at least in their claim and exercise of a co-ordinate power with his , in and over his churches , which is a broad incroachment upon the most sacred and high prerogative of the king of kings , and lord of lords ) but though this compliance in the ministers we speak of , with the said adversaries of christ , be adjudged by us ( and this according to the truth ) a sin very enormous , and of sad consequence to the saints , and gospel ; yet we , who stand charged by our great lord and master to love our enemies , ought not to strengthen the hand , or to harden the heart of these men in their evil way , or to do any thing which is likely to be a snare unto them , to put the good day of repentance ( and consequently salvation ) far from them , but rather unfeignedly to endeavour with the best of our understandings , to convert them from the error of their way , and to save their soul . now , as the apostle paul ( as we formerly observed ) prescribeth the withdrawing of our selves from a brother that walketh inordinately , as a christian and proper means to make him ashamed of his sinful course , ( 2 thess . 3. 6. & 14. ) and so to move him to abandon and forsake it ; so on the contrary , to give the right hand of fellowship unto , or to frequent the company of a person engaged in any sinful way ( especially when , or whilst , he is actually walking in this way ) must needs be a direct means of encouragement unto him to persist in his way , and to hide repentance from his eyes : therefore they who customarily wait at the door 〈◊〉 the lips of an ill-procured ministry , and frequent the assemblies where such a ministry is exercised , if they be persons of any note for the knowledge and fear of god , or for a christian and worthy conversation , cannot but stand in his light , who officiates unto them in the way of this ministry , so that he cannot see the error and danger of his way . for who is like to suspect ( much less to be throughly convinced ) that such a practice or course , is evil , ( especially being likewise commodious to the flesh ) which receiveth such a weighty testimony that it is lawful and good , as the approbation of persons of great esteem both for light and heat , in matters appertaining unto god , and this testified by their constant , at least frequent correspondings with it ? consideration xv. yea , such of the saints and servants of god , being in any degree considerable in their generation , who by the practice so frequently put to rebuke in these papers , shall give countenance , credit , and contentment to the present generation of a prelatical clergy , hereby become generative of a succession of birds of the same feather , and threaten christians yet unborn , that they also shall be served with no better then a spurious & illegitimate ministry . for when those young ones , who intend to serve at the altar , and separate themselves for the office , and work of the ministry , shall see and understand , that men sent forth into the christian world by prelatical order and authority , find favour and acceptance in the eyes of good and discerning christians , as well as those that are set over the churches of the saints by the holy ghost himself , how shall not their consciences be hereby emboldned to accept , without scruple , of a prelatical mission , and through the temptation , strongly to imagine , when they clim'd up , and got in at the window , that they came in by the right door ? yea , upon the same account , how shall not the prelates themselves , though ( at present ) abundantly satisfied ( in their affections , at least ) touching , not the lawfulness onely , but even the necessity of their needless ( though not harmless ) office and function in the church , be made two-fold more the sons of confidence , that they are the stars of the first magnitude in the hand of christ , and that the axle-tree of the universal church turns upon their shoulders ? but somewhat to this effect in a former consideration . consideration xvi . the holy ghost taketh notice that such teachers , unto whom the world ( that is , carnal and worldly persons , professing christianity ) are wont to resort in the exercise of their ministry , taking pleasure and contentment therein , are no true ministers of christ ; insinuating withal , that sincere christians , and persons spiritually-minded , more generally ( at least ) decline them , and deny them their presence at their teachings . the beloved apostle john , speaking of false teachers , giveth these three characters of them ( amongst some others ) first , that they are of the world ( that is , members of the fraternity , or brother-hood , of worldly men ; or lovers of this present world : ) secondly , that they speak of the world ; or , ( as it might well , and more significantly , i conceive , be translated ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , out of the world : meaning , that they are wont first to make enquiry into the world about them , and to inform themselves what humours and practices , what principles , notions , and opinions , are most predominant , and of best resentment , amongst both the great men of the world , and the generality likewise of the people ( although these commonly are at too good an agreement in such matters ; ) and again , what doctrines and tenents will be well enough born and endured , by both , without any disgust of him that shall teach them ; and on the contrary , what are like either to bring him into trouble , or to cast him out of favour , &c. and when they have satisfied themselves , and well understood the world in these particulars , they model and mould the tenour of their ministry and preaching accordingly , waving those truths , be they never so importantly necessary to be made known , the preaching or owning of which , they understand is like to shake and weaken ( if not wholly to annihilate or destroy ) their interest in the world ; and withall , cunningly wresting and perverting the word of god in such passages , which truly understood , rise up with great evidence and power against those doctrines , by which they oblige and insure the world unto them . upon some such account as this , they are , or may be , said to speak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of , or out of , the world : this is a second character of them . thirdly , the third ( and last ) is , that the world heareth them ; meaning , that carnal and earthly-minded professors of the gospel ( for professors , either of judaism , or of paganism , cannot be here meant ) resort unto their ministry , are their setled and accustomed hearers , and well apaid and satisfied with their teachings , 1 joh. 4. 5. whereunto the apostle immediately subjoyns ; we are of god ; he that knoweth god , heareth us ; [ that is , relisheth our ministry , and with diligence and delight , attendeth on it ] he that is not of god , heareth not us , &c. clearly implying , that such teachers , unto whose ministry carnal professors and loose christians , ordinarily and in great numbers are wont to gather themselves , sitting from time to time with contentment and satisfaction under it , are not teachers of that kind , or of that spirit , with whose ministry spiritual and sound christians can long rest satisfied , or care to attend upon . these are those strangers , whom christ saith his sheep will not follow , but will flee from them , because they know not their voice , john 10. 5. therefore as the apostle paul tells the corinthians , that he could not speak unto them , as unto spiritual , but as unto carnal , because they walked in several carnal practices ( 1 cor. 3. 1 , 3. ) so may we without any breach , either of charity or truth , look upon those christians , as savouring the things which be of men , more than the things which be of god , who addict themselves to such a ministry , which is constantly frequented , countenanced , approved , applauded , and delighted in , by such professors of christianity , who by their ignorance , prophaness , and all manner of debauchery in their lives and conversations , blaspheme their holy profession , and stain the glory of the ever-blessed gospel of god. and is not this the undeniable and appropriate character of the prelatical ministry ? do not the dregs and refuse of the nation , generally , and in all places , gather themselves unto it , and rejoyce over it , being as well apaied with it , as micah was with his idolatrous priest made of a silly wandring levite ? now know i ( saith he ) the lord will do me good , seeing i have a levite to my priest , judg. 17. 13. yea , this ministry seems to be , both intended by the founders of it ( the prelates ) and also form'd and managed by the inferiour clergy , who exercise it , for the gratification of such persons , and this rather , by perswading them that they are truly religious , and in favour with god already , than by making them so indeed . therefore they who being ( not in their own eyes only , but even in the judgement of discerning and found christians ) living members of the houshold of faith , shall notwithstanding relish and savour a ministry calculated for the world , and accepted by it accordingly ; hereby give testimony against themselves , that as yet they retain too much of the spirit of this world , to be fill'd , as they ought , with the spirit of god , and of the world which is to come . consideration xvii . neither may it be unworthy our consideration in the case before us , that we read in the scriptures , that unbelievers and persons destitute of the saving knowledge of god , did sometime come into the religious assemblies of the saints , to partake of their ministry , and were herein blameless : 1 cor. 14. 22 , 23 , 24 , &c. but do not any where find that believers were wont to fall into the assemblies of idolaters or unbelievers , to receive instruction amongst them , or from their priests , in things appertaining unto god and his worship . yea , the apostle paul adjudgeth it a practice altogether inconsistent with true christianity , to eat and drink with false worshippers at their idolatrous feasts , although it were done to escape persecution , 1 cor. 10. from ver . 13. to the end of ver . 23. and the sacred author of the epistle to the believing hebrews , admonisheth and exhorteth them , thus ; and let us consider one another , to provoke unto love , and to good works ; not forsaking the assembling of our selves together , as the manner of some is , &c. heb. 10. 24 , 25. he admonisheth believers to assemble with believers , and not to withdraw themselves from these , especially not to joyn or mingle themselves in the assemblies of idolaters or unbelievers , as some degenerating spirits amongst them ( it seems ) did , out of fear of suffering persecution . for that these christianiz'd hebrews were in a sore storm of persecution when this epistle was written to them . and consequently , when they were charged not to forsake the assembling of themselves together , is evident from many passages in it : yea it is more generally conceived by the best expositors , that the principal intent and scope of the epistle was to support and comfort the hebrews under thieir great afflictions for the gospel , and to encourage them unto constancy and perseverance in their profession of it unto the end . so that feare of persecution is no christian ground for those that desire to approve themselves faithful unto jesus christ , and the gospel , to turn renegadoes from the holy assemblies of the saints , in which , and over which , they formerly rejoyced , and to run to the tumultuous and disorderly conventions of carnal and prophane persons , as unto cities of refuge , hoping in these dark thickets to find covert and shelter from those stormes and tempests , which threaten those , who know god better , and feare him more , then to shrink from him for feare of men . and great reason there is , why saints , who have been nourished with the sincere milk of the ghospel , bred , and brought up ( as christians ) amongst their ( spiritual ) peers , in their holy assemblies , should not dare to quit these schools of light and holiness , to become proselytes to the unhallowed and rude synagogues of a politique and worldly constitution ; because they seldome , or never , change their quarters upon these terms , but they doe it to their certain damage and great loss in their spiritual estates , if not to the loss of their immortal crowns , themselves in the end . for when they have for any space of time , been influenced , and seasoned , by the prelatical ministry , which still superintends these congregations , experience sheweth that they are changed , not from glory to glory , as by the spirit of the lord , but from glory to shame ( i mean , from a christian and humble frame and temper , unto that which is worldly , sowre and supercilious ) as by the spirit of the world , working effectually ( for the most part ) in the children of a prelatical ordination . and as country huswives observe that when any of their pulleyn , or hens have been trodden by crowes , upon this unnatural copulation , they lose their native shapes , become deformed , and seldom or never thrive , or recover after it : in like manner , when men and women , who under a christian education in the congregation of the saints , were known to have been upright-hearted towards god , and good men , zealously addicted to the purity of gods worship , haters of all superstition , and flesh-devised ceremonies brought into this worship , lovers of the saiuts , asserters of their liberties , promoters of their comforts , holy , humble , harmless , &c. when ( i say ) they shall forsake these assemblies , and go in to a prelatical ministry , and converse familiarly with it , after a short time they are sound to degenerate , and grow out of their kind , savouring of quite another spirit ; now they become learned pleaders for baal , their consciences are enlarged to swallow ceremonies of all sorts in the worship of god , as smoothly , and with as little regret , as fishes drink water ; to approve of the hierarchy in their usurpations , oppressions , and vexatious practises against the saints , to cry up that idol of jealousie [ the common-prayer-book ] in disparagement of the heavenly gift of prayer in the true ministers of christ , as those idolatrous wretches ( act. 19. 28. ) cryed out ( in a wrothful opposition to paul's doctrine concerning the true worship of the true god ) great is diana of the ephesians ; they become alienated in their affections towards the saints , chusing for their bosome converse , persons whom they judge most able , and willing withal , to justifie them in their apostacy , and to maintain the prelatical cause , from the one end to the other , with greatest zeal and dexterity ; they become self-willed , self-conceited , boasting of their knowledge , imputing it to the weakness and ignorance of all others , that they do not sacrifice at the same altars with them , or that they scruple , question , or condemn any thing , which they allow and practise . in a word , these crow-trodden professors , ( let the metaphor offend no man ) by offering and suffering , their judgments and consciences to be ridden by a prelatical clergy , become in time , not only transform'd into an uncouth , strange , and hard favour'd kind of christian , much unlike unto themselves , when , and whilest they consorted with the sons and daughters of god , and drank of the same waters of life with them ; but ( for the most part ) so intoxicated also , besotted , and bewitched with their new wine , that they seldom , or never , recover that lovely image of god , wherein they formerly appeared , to the comfort and joy of many a precious soul : for that which solomon saith concerning the woman , which forsaketh the guide of her youth , and forgetteth the covenant of her god ; namely , that none that go unto her return again , prov. 2. 17 , 19. may be said of those that turn aside to a babylonish ministry : god in judgment , poureth out upon them the spirit of deep sleep , and closeth their eyes ( esa . 29. 10. ) so that they hardly ever awake out of the snare until they dye . consideration xviii . nor falleth it much short of a demonstration of the evil , or sinfulness , of that way , from which , by many arguments , we have disswaded already ; that so much secular violence hath been , and still is imployed to compel and force all men into it . how did the prelates heretofore , before the great mountain of their power and glory was removed by the late king and parliament , turn every stone of tyranny , cruelty and oppression , to constrain both men and women to keep their parish churches ? what troups of summoners and apparitors were levied up and down the nation , to hunt out , and pursue , like blood-hounds , all , both male and female , bond and free , whose judgements were too full of light , & their consciences of goodness , to drink of the waters of those polluted cisterns , which they had hewn out , chusing rather ( some of them ) to worship god chastly and purely , even with two or three gathered together in the name of christ ; amongst whom he hath promised his presence ( mat. 18. 20. ) although in such an attempt as this they exposed themselves to the danger of being , with daniel , cast into the lyons den ( i mean of being brought into their high commission , or some of their antichristian consistories ) many ( i say ) chusing this , rather than without any such danger , to communicate with the parish assemblies , either in their adultrous worship or idol ministry : and of late , since their deadly wound was ( almost ) healed , how have they , by their sorceries , insinuated and prevailed with the legislative powers of the nation , only to legitimate ministers of their spurious brood and conformity , and to disinherit all others of their functions , as if they were basely descended , because they do not call them , fathers ; and not only this , but by several penalties also to restrain all assemblings of men for the worship of god , and their christian edification , excepting only in consort with such congregations , where they shall be necessitated to hear such teachers only , who bring their office of teaching from under their hands ? thus doth the spirit of prelacy , in conjunction with an arm of flesh , & with the powers of this world ( instead of those of the world to come ) labour in the very fire , to bring the whole trade of hearing to the shops of their journey-men , be their wares never so braided , sleight , or deceitful : and this verifieth the saying , superbia appetitum habet unitatis & omnipotentiae ; i. e. the pride of man greatly affecteth unity , and omnipotency . now it can hardly be shewed , that ever the real interest of the gospel , or true christianity , endeavoured their advancement or promotion in the world , by threatning or inflicting secular punishments , as fines , confiscations , imprisonments , banishments , deaths , or the like , upon those who refused to comply with them ; but upon their service , and for their gaining upon the world , rather offered and exposed their own proselytes and friends , upon all occasions , to the suffering of these things from the world : whereas ( on the contrary ) it is well known that idolatry , superstition , and false worships ( almost in every kind ) in all ages , for the enlargement of their quarters , and for encreasing the number of their proselytes , have , according to their strength , warred after the flesh ( in the apostles phrase ) and pleaded their cause with fire and sword , and all manner of outward severities , against those that refused compliance with them . by how authoritative , and bloody an act of uniformity , did king nebuchadnezzar endeavour a universal concurrence of all within his vast dominions , to joyn with him in his idolatrous worship of the golden image which he had set up ? then ( all his princes , and great officers of state , being summoned together , and present ) an herald cryed aloud , to you it is commanded , o people , nations and languages , that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet — ye fall down and worship the golden image , which nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up . and whoso falleth not down , and worshippeth , shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace , dan. 3. 4 , 5 , 6. and when only three persons in his dominions , were accused as nonconformists to this his decree , with what fierceness of indignation doth he proceed against them ? first , in his rage and fury he commanded to bring them before him : being come , he himself examined them , or rather expostulated with them about the crime laid to their charge , as if it had been an high affront put upon him , or an undervaluing of his majesty and power . is it true , o shadrach , meshach , and abeduego ? do ye not serve my gods , nor worship the golden image which i have set up ? even as our prelates , and great men of their inspiration , count it an insufferable disparagement and reproach unto them , when persons of meaner rank in the world , judge it not safe , or well-pleasing unto god , to worship him after the same mode with them , as with the same ceremonies , the same gestures or postures of body , in the same places and assemblies ( the same , i mean , in nature or kind ) and especially with the same liturgies and forms of prayer , when they shall authoritatively , solemnly , and with a borrowed visor of gravity and devotion , impose all this upon them . when the king having re-minded the said three servants of god , of the tenour of his decree , concerning the worshipping of his golden image , and threatned them with the heavy doom therein expressed , in case they should persist in their nonconformity ; after all this , understood that they nevertheless , without any demurre in the case , stood fast and firm in their resolution , not to comport with his decree , in a great fury he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than ordinary , and that the strongest men in his army should bind these three persons , and cast them into it , ver . 13 , 14 , 15. &c. we may in this story , as in a glass , behold the spirit of idolatry and superstition , acting , like it self , in rage and blood , to compel , through dread and terrour of outward sufferings , an universal subjection of all persons , to all the prescripts and commands of it . in like manner , the beast that had two horns like a lamb , but spake as a dragon [ that is , that professeth the humility and meekness of christ , the lamb of god , but speaketh in his bulls , and excommunications of kings and princes , and whole nations , like the great red dragon , the devil , who boasteth of a power , delivered and given unto him , to dispose of all the kingdoms of the world as he pleased , luke 4. 6. ] this beast ( i say ) according to that heavenly vision , wherein his practices and doings were long since revealed by christ unto his beloved disciple ( john ) causeth all , both small and great , rich and poor , free and bond , to receive [ from him , or by his command ] a mark in their right hand , or in their foreheads : and that no man might buy , or sell , [ and consequently , have any means of livelyhood , or subsistance , as far as he could hinder it ] save he that had the mark , or the name of the beast [ meaning his own ] or the number of his name ( rev. 13. 16 , 17. ) that is ( in the general ; for we must not , at present , enquire after the particulars ) save only such , who should give testimony , by one means or other , that they owned his authority , and submitted their consciences to his faith and religion . and vers . 15. it is said , that by his power he gave life [ or spirit : the word is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] unto the image of the beast [ that is , to his own image ; meaning , that what by means of his temporal , and what by means of his spiritual power , which he should get in the world , he would so animate and inspire his image ; that is , the systeme , or aggregate body , of his ecclesiastical consistories , or courts of judicature in all places , which in their bloody proceedings and actings against the true worship and worshippers of god ; resemble his genius and frame of spirit , and may therefore be termed his image ] 〈◊〉 this body , or image of his : saith john , he had power to give life , that it should both speak , and cause [ that is , so speak , as to cause ] that as many as would not worship the image of the beast , [ that is , reverentially own and acknowledge this his jurisdiction and power , as given unto him by god ] should be killed . the other interpretation of this passage given by some , maketh the result of it the same in reference to our present purpose : and the practices of the papal judicatures for many ages past , in all places and nations under heaven , where the authority and faith of the triple crown prevailed , give a pregnant and loud testimony to the truth contained in the scriptures now cited ; yea , and afford a clear light for the right understanding of them . it were no hard matter to exemplifie and confirm the obsrvation now before us , by many more instances , as well from the scripture-records themselves , as from histories of the best credit otherwise . so that it is a shrewd presumption , that a co-assembling with parish-congregations for the worship of god , and the ordinary or constant hearing of a prelatical priesthood , have nothing of god in them , make not for edification in faith and love , in that they are so rigorously exacted , and under such severe penalties imposed upon all men by the greatness of this world , this being the accustomed , known , and appropriate method of idolatry , superstition , and humane-inventions , to maintain and propagate themselves , and their interest , in the world : nor are they that ride upon the high places of the earth , wont to be so zealously addicted or through-hearted , to promote the real concernments of heaven , where they have to do . the reason why christ shall not deliver up the kingdom , which at present he administreth , unto god the father , until he hath put down all rule , and all authority and power , is declared thus : for he must reign , till he hath put all enemies under his feet , 1 cor. 15. 24 , 25. clearly implying that persons of high interest in the world , are seldom in any other sence , friends to the kingdom of christ , but only by opposing it ; their enmity and opposition to him [ in his saints and worship ] ministreth an occasion unto him , according to the projecture of the wisdom and counsel of god , to continue this kingdom so much the longer in his hand ; namely , until , in a most equitable and fair process of justice and judgment , and after much patience , and a large space given for repentance , he shall abolish for ever their places of dignity and power from off the earth . consideration xix . when god hath vouchsafed a sufficiency of 〈◊〉 , and these unquestionably lawful , though not so rank of flesh , or so highly promising ( upon such an account ) as some others , for the attaining of any , good and desirable end ; as well a declining and forsaking of these means , ( whether out of diffidence of the sufficiency of them for the end desired , or upon any other reason whatsoever ) to espouse others that are more ( carnally ) flattering , and pretending to more strength and efficacy , but want the feal of divine approbation upon them ; as the associating of means of this latter kind with those of the former , hoping by such a conjunction as this , to pursue our desires with less danger of a defeat , or disappointment ; i say , both the one and the other of these projections and practices have still been displeasing unto god , and of sad consequence unto those , that have been no better advised than to make tryal of them . examples of the truth of this observation the scriptures afford many . when king ahaz would not rest satisfied with the strength of his own kingdom , and men , by whom god had promised him protection & deliverance from the two kings his neighbours , who combined in war against him , but judged it better policy to call in the king of assyria to his assistance , contrary to the mind of god made known unto him by the prophet , in these words , take heed , and be quiet [ that is , trouble not thy self in seeking after forreign help , from one place or other : it is much the same expression , and upon a like occasion , which we find , isa . 30. 7. their strength , saith god , is to sit still ; meaning to depend upon him in the use of such means for their protection and safety , as they had at home , or he should direct them unto , and not to weary themselves , or waste their treasures , by sending abroad to court strange princes for their aid ] fear not , neither be faint-hearted , for the two tails of these smoaking fire-brands , &c. this king ( i say ) by this prudential course ( as he supposed ) for the preservation of himself and his kingdom , provoked the just severity of god to the great misery of both , isa . 7. 4. compared with vers . 17 , 18. &c. and 2 chron. 28. vers . 16 , 19 , 20. for brevity sake , and partly because of the affinity with the subject matter of the 12th consideration preceding , hath with the argument of this in hand , and partly because the observations asserted for truths both in the one , and the other , are so agreeable to the wisdom and righteousness of god , as the great judge of all the earth , we shall forbear to argue any more texts of scripture upon the service of what hath been laid down as the strength of our present consideration , although there be very many more , which both in face and in heart , carry the substance and effect hereof , as ( by name ) isa . 8. 6 , 7 , 8. -30. 1 , 2 , 3 , 15 , 17. 2 chron. 25. 6 , 7 , 8. jer. 2. 36 , 37. ezek. 16. 26 , 27 , 28. ( with several others ) i shall onely instance the case of those judaizing christians in the times of the apostles , who to make all sure ( as they thought ) for their justification before god , would needs joyn the righteousness or works of the law , and more especially circumcision , with the belief of the gospel , or faith in christ for the obtaining of it . but through a carnal diffidence of the sufficiency of that way and means , which god hath sanctified for their justification , whilst they went about to supply the imaginary defect hereof with an additional means suggested by their own wisdom ( or folly rather ) unto them , they miserably miscarried in that so important a design , meeting with condemnation , instead of justification , from the hand of god ; according to what the great apostle plainly declared unto some of them : behold , 1-paul say unto you , that if ye be circumcised [ namely with an opinion of obtaining justification , either in whole , or in part , by it ] christ shall profit you nothing . and again : christ is become of no effect unto you , whosoever of you are justified [ that is , expect , or hope to be justified ] by the law , ye are fallen from grace , gal. 5. 2 , 4. let us now bind the present consideration , with what hath been proposed and argued in it , fast and close to our present purpose . first , certain it is that god hath provided , yet and at all times , or at least , ordinarily , even in times most threatning the sincere profession of the gospel , affordeth unto his saints , means both unquestionably lawful , and unquestionably sufficient , ( if the scripture may be judge in the case ) through his accustomed grace and blessing , for their edification , comfort , and salvation . secondly , it is no less certain , that neither is a prelatical ministry , nor an attendance hereon , any means , authorized or approved by god , for the promoting or effecting of these ends . from hence , according to the plain tenour of the premises laid down in this consideration , it roundly follows , that either to decline and forsake the means vouchsafed unto us by god for our edification and salvation , to imbrace others , or out of a conceit or pretence of an insufficiency , or defectiveness in these means , for those ends to joyn others with them , which he hath not authorized , as ( by name ) the attendance upon a prelatical ministry ( however specious or highly promising this means may be in our eye ) is a policy or course , much more like to endammage and hinder us in those great concernments of our souls , than any wayes to bless us in promoting them ; as it is said of tilgath philnezer king of assyria , of whom ahaz king of judah had desired aid against his enemies , that when he came unto him , he distressed him , but strengthned him not : yea , it is added the second time , as a matter worth the minding , that he helped him not , 2 chron , 28 , 20 , 21. now that god affordeth unto his people sufficient means at all times for their spiritual edification and salvation , without the help of a prelatical ministry , might be proved at large from the scriptures , if the case were doubtful enough to require it . but the more degrees of visibility there are in the object , the fewer degrees of light will serve the visive faculty to discover it . first , the scriptures themselves , diligently read , and with a good and honest heart searched into , are able to make us wise unto salvation , 2 tim. 3. 15. and now , brethren , i commend you to god , and to the word of his grace , which is able to build you up , and to give you an inheritance amongst all them which are sanctified , acts 20. 32. but these [ things ] are written that ye might believe that jesus is the christ , the son of god , and that believing ye might have life through his name , john 20. 31. these places also well understood , speak ( with many others ) the same thing . luke 16 , 29 , 31. psal . 19. 7 , 8 , &c. 2 pet. 1. 19. john 5. 39. rom. 15. 4. heb. 4. 12. secondly , if any shall pretend , that the scriptures , at least in many places , are obscure , and hard to be understood aright without a learned interpreter ; the answer is at hand : 1. the great variety of learned and profitable expositions on all parts of the scripture , wherewith the good providence of god hath inriched this nation in their native tongue , in these our dayes , render such a pretence as this , in reference to the people of god amongst us , as light as vanity it self : nor is it like that the present ministry founded upon the apocryphal order of prelacy , should be more canonical or orthodox , in giving out the mind of god in the scriptures , than they . not to mention the like variety of elaborate and solid discourses , ( well nigh ) upon all particular subjects , or heads of matter relating to christian religion . 2. it is a generally-acknowledged truth , that in all things simply necessary unto salvation , the scriptures are plain , and the sence of them obvious to every ordinary understanding . 3. ( and lastly , for this ) the judgments and understandings of many , if not of most christians , have in all ages been led aside from the mind of god in the scriptures , ( and this in things of very material consequence ) by the false lights of such their teachers , who were in great esteem for parts of learning , and knowledge in the scriptures ; in whom hath been verified that of the prophet : o my people , they which lead thee , cause thee to erre ; they swallow ( for so the original ) the way of thy paths [ meaning , that they do not stand much to consider what they teach thee , either to beleive , or practise ] isa . 3. 12. — 9. 16. thirdly , the saints are able to build up one another in faith , and love : yea and are exhortted , or commanded , by god so to do : but ye beloved , building up your selves on [ or , in ] your most holy faith , praying in the holy ghost ; keep your selves in the love of god , looking for the mercy of our lord , &c. jude 20 , 21. wherefore comfort your selves together , and edifie one another , even as ye also do , 1 thes . 5. 11. see also eph. 4. 16. col. 3. 16. rom. 15. 14. heb. 10. 24 , 25. jam. 5. 19 , 20. fourthly , even the smallest number of them , two , or three , meeting together upon such terms as they may at any time , and sometimes ( at least ) ought , may have the presence of christ amongst them as oft as they desire ; and consequently , need not be in any danger of miscarrying in their important design of salvation : for where two , or three ( saith christ ) are gathered together in my name [ that is , either out of conscience of my command in that behalf ; or rather , out of any real trust , or hope , that they may have in god through me ] there am i in the midst of them [ meaning to bless them , and cause them to prosper in any holy business they shall meet about , the presence of god , or his being with , or amongst , any of his creatures , still importing such a thing , gen. 39. 2 , 21 , 23. exod. 3. 12. josh . 1. 5. mat. 28. 20. deut. 7. 21. josh . 22. 31. and elsewhere , very often ] mat. 18 20. now so small a number of godly persons , as two , or three , may , with a little prudence and caution , even in the hardest , and worst of times , meet together in the name of christ , without much danger from their enemies . if christ had said , where five , or six , are gathered together in my name , there , &c. his presence amongst his saints must have been sought for by them at their greater péril , and with more obnoxiousnesse ( as it seems ) to the laws of men . so then the four means now mentioned ( to which might be added , if need were , others more of a like character , as prayer , meditation , &c. ) together with the use of them ; are 1. authorized by the broad seal of heaven , being confessedly on all hands approved by god : and 2. ( as hath been now shewed by the cleer light of divine revelation ) are sufficient by his ordinary blessing upon them , to build up the precious souls of the saints in faith and love unto salvation , at least when the great benefit and blessing of a christian and worthy ministry shall , by his providence , either operative , or permissive , be denyed unto them . but secondly , concerning a prelatical ministry , it is terrae filia , a daughter of the earth , being the product , or fruit , of one kind of those tares , which the enemy took his opportunity to sow in the field of god , whilst men slept , ( mat. 13. 25. ) and hath no communion with that divine politie of church-government , which the gospel holdeth forth , and commendeth unto the christian world ; nor hath it been fed , or nourished , with the sincere milk , but with the blood of the scriptures ; whose genuine sence in all places arrested at the suit of it , hath been sacrificed upon the service of so mischievous an idol . and inasmuch as it came not down from heaven , it is not like , according to the course of gods standing providence observed in the present consideration , to help any of his sons or daughters thither , but rather to obstruct and hinder them in their way : especially it being withal considered , that they are otherwise provided of means sufficient , both for their present comfort , and future salvation in due time ; and then such , upon which the light of god's approbation shineth clear , yea , and which , as he hath prescribed them to use , so hath he promised to bless with the attainment of their end . consideration xx. when any great storm or tempest of persecution is raised against the sincere profession of the gospel ; and whilst it is incumbent hereon , so that the saints cannot , with any liberty or freedom , meet openly in their holy assemblies for the worship of god , and their christian edification , but if they shall attempt it , they must do it at their peril , either of loss of their liberties by imprisonment , or of their estates by fines or confiscations , or of their country hy banishment , or of their lives by death : under these & such like exigencies , christ is wont secretly to direct his faithful ones unto more private opportunities , for their spiritual repast , and religious employments , that so they may be somewhat more out of the way of their enemies rage , and serve their god with the less fear of men : yet he is not wont to incline them , or to put it into their hearts to disband themselves , or break up their respective companies , and to become as sheep scattered , every one feeding a-part by himself , and from all his fellows , but to assemble and keep together in such number as they shall find willing to accept of such opportunities , and judge convenient in point of safety , to assemble together . yea , it is the genius and property of a soul devoted in love and loyalty unto christ , earnestly by prayer to seek directions from him in such hard seasons as we now speak of , whither to repair for its spiritual accommodations , and for his presence amongst his saints . tell me ( o thou , whom my soul loveth , saith the religiously ingaged soul , unto christ , cant. 1. 7. ) where thou feedest , where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon [ that is , vouchsafe to direct me how and where i may partake of that soul-nourishment , and those spiritual refreshments , wherewith thou art wont to support and comfort thy saints and people in their holy meetings at noon ; that is , in the heat of persecution , as the best interpreters do expound it . ] from hence these two things are observable . 1. that christ is not wont to feed his sheep in times of persecution , where he usually feedeth them in dayes of liberty and peace : if this were so , there had been no occasion for the religious soul to have desired of him to know , where he fed his sheep at noon ( in the sence given ) she knew well enough where he fed them in the cool and refreshing times of the day , as evening and morning ; as , viz. in open places , where every man might know & come into their assemblies ; but in the heat and scorching time of the day , at noon , he still withdrew them into some more shady and retired place , where the danger or troublesomeness of the heat might not interrupt them , whilest he should be feeding them . 2. it is further observable from the same words , that the soul-prudently christian , and throughly apprehensive of her spiritual concernments , is not wont to rest satisfied with her closest communion with christ , or with his giving his loves unto her in private , but besides , and beyond this , longeth after those communications of himself , wherewith he is wont to entertain his friends ( his saints i mean ) when they gather themselves in any number unto him ; especially in times dangerous , and threatning unto those that shall thus assemble , his heart in these times being ( usually ) more enlarged , and his mouth wider opened , unto them , than ordinary ; even as some men count it generous to feast their friends more sumptuously in the time of lent , than at other seasons . the soul which made the request unto christ now opened , in the latter part of the verse giveth , this reason of it ; for why should i be as one that turneth aside [ or rather , as the former translation , with others , read it , to , or unto ] the flocks of thy companions . by the flocks of christ's companions , are meant ( as some of the best expositors that i have met with understand the words ) the congregations or assemblies relating to , and depending on such pastors who make themselves christs companions , or equals , by instituting new formes of divine worship , as well as he a others , not much differing from the former , by the companions of christ here , understand forreign or strange shepherds , unrelated unto christ , and having no communion with him , but only in the appearance and appellation of a shepherd b . so that the reason why the religious soul desireth of christ to be directed unto his feedings in times of persecution and danger , is , lest she might otherwise be tempted , and through weakness yeeld to fall in with such assemblies , which have ministers or shepherds only so called , set over them , by whom she know that he took no pleasure to feed any of his sheep . but that christ ( as hath been said ) in tempestuous and foul weather , ( when the spirit of the world rageth high against church-meetings ) is not wont to feed his sheep in the champion , or open fields , where all men use to come , but to lead them into by-places , or solitudes , into inclosed grounds , narrow lanes of a long time dis-used , or un-occupied , under hedg-rows , or the like , and to feed them here ; the scriptures inform us elsewhere . when the woman that brought forth the man-child , was persecuted by the dragon , there were given unto her two wings of a great eagle , that she might fly into the wilderness , into her place , prepared for her of god , that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred , and threescore dayes [ the whole time of her persecution ] rev. 12. 6. with 13 , & 14. therefore the woman that brought forth the man-child ( that is , the successive body of saints , or true believers ) during the times or reign of the beast , is not spiritually fed and nourished in such assemblies or congregations which are publickly authorized , countenanced , or approved by the beast , or by the world , which goeth wondring after him ( rev. 13. 3. ) but in those which are retired , solitary and private , and which neither of them can well brook or bear , but that god hideth them . the meetings of christians for the exercise of their religion , being hateful unto the jews , and which they ( it seems ) would not have tolerated amongst them , had they had knowledge of them , without doing mischief , in one kind or other , to those that thereby should have provoked them : the apostles themselves , by the guidance of the spirit of god ( for they were not , doubtless , led unto it by the wisdom of the flesh ) the better to secure themselves from their rage when they assembled , 1. made choice of a private house to meet in . 2. of a private time , the evening , yea , some what late in the evening ( as some collect from passages recorded , luke 24. 29. to vers . 36. ) 3. of as much privacy in that private house , as they could well devise ; for the doors of the room where they were , were shut : and in this posture of privacy , they did enjoy the blessed presence of christ . then the same day at evening , being the first day of the week , when the doors were shut , where the disciples were assembled for fear of the jews , came jesus , and stood in the midst , and saith unto them , peace be unto you , john 20. 19. we reade of another meeting of christians for the worship of god , under all the same circumstances of privacy ; and this , doubtless , upon the same account ( i mean , for fear of the jews ) acts 12. vers . 6 , 12 , 13 , 14. compared : this meeting also had christ in the midst of it ( in the sence formerly declared ) for by his mediation and interposure , their prayers fetch'd peter out of a strong prison with an high hand . so again , we reade of another religious meeting of the apostles , together with a considerable number of other christians , in an upper room , for the greater privacy and security , comers and goers being oft upon occasion , and for civility sake , brought into one , or more of the lower rooms of an house , when there is no occasion of their going or carrying up into the higher . besides , a continual voice may much more easily be heard , and estimated , by those that only pass by an house out of alow room , then from an high ; this being more remote , and from whence , though the sound of a voice may ( possibly ) be sometimes heard below , yet the articulateness of it , being confin'd to a narrower sphere , expireth and is lost by the way . and though dr. hamond laboureth in the very fire ( as his manner is when any thing occurs him in his way , that seems to frown upon episcopacy ) to prove , that the upper room here spoken of , was not any room in a private house , but one of the upper cambers of the temple : yet he hath so much of a man in him ( i mean of ingenuity , whereof when a man suffers himself to be dispoyled , he is only a man so called ) as to acknowledge ( and this twice over , for failing ) that christians here met , did that more privately , which could not , we may persume , be done in the temple [ he might have added , nor in any synagogue ] in any more publick place , the christian religion being not much favoured [ that is , bitterly hated ] by the jews , [ even as the religious worship of the true saints of god amongst us , is not much favoured by those , that say they are jews , and are not ( in the sence of these words , rev. 2. 9. ) and what the doctor here granteth ; namely , that believing christians kept their holy assemblies by , and amongst themselves , privately , for fear of disturbance , or mischief ( in one kind or other ) from those , that hated their way and manner of serving god , maketh as much for our purpose , as if the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or , vpper room , which he so wearieth himself to find in the temple , should prove to have been in a private house . but whether the word here translated an vpper room , signifieth in this place , an upper chamber in the temple , or no ; certain i am , that acts 20. 8. it signifieth an upper chamber in a private house ( or at least , in an house commonly and properly so called ) where also we find another private meeting of christians , and christ ( in the sence we wot of ) in the midst of them : elsewhere it signifieth ( and this twice together , as acts 9. 37. & 39. ) an upper chamber in a private house ; but no where at least in the new testament , an upper chamber in the temple . but this by the way . from the tenour and contents of the present consideration , it clearly appeareth , that in times of trouble , when the saints are not permitted , but under great dangers or penalties , to assemble themselves together for their holy occasions openly , christ is not wont to bless them , or do any great things for them in such promiscuous congregations , which are of a worldly complexion and constitution , as well priest as people , and which , upon this account , are publickly countenanced and rejoyced in ; but his manner and good pleasure hath been , in such hard seasons as these , to allure them into the wilderness , and there to speak kindly and graciously unto them , or to gather them together under his wings privately , as a hen gathereth her chickens , and so to communicate his heavenly warmth and vivifick influence unto them . consideration xxi . they that keep the word of christ's patience , shall be kept by him from the hour of temptation , which will come upon others to try them , ( rev. 3. 10. ) whereas they deprive themselves of the benefit and blessing of this precious promise , who shall betray , forsake , or decline this word . by the word of christs patience , though it be with some difference , yet not great neither , understood , may ( with greatest probability , as i conceive ) be meant , any gospel-truth , which is opposed with a strong and high hand , in the place where we live , and can hardly be owned and professed without suffering , or at least , without danger of suffering in one degree or other : such a truth as this , may be called , the word of christ's patience , because he is the occasion , by his charge upon men in that behalf , why any man suffers for the profession and defence of it at any time : ( or more briefly ) because it is for his sake that any man , in any case whatsoever , suffereth for it . in a state or nation professedly pagan , and where christianity , upon what terms soever professed , is a reproach unto those that profess it , or matter of deeper inconvenience , the whole gospel , or doctrine hereof in general , is , and may be called , the word of christ's patience . in kingdoms or states , professing christianity , the doctrine of the gospel in general , is never this word , because every man here may profess that he believeth this doctrine in general , without exposing himself to any danger of suffering . but the word of christ's patience in such communities of men as these , is alwayes some particular considerable and weighty truth of the gospel , one or more , which either plainly and in express words , or else constructively and by clear consequence , whether in opinion or practice , or both , is denied or opposed , either by the ruling powers , or by the ministers , and others reputed learned and orthodox , or by the generality of the people here : so that whoever shall keep this word , that is , shall discover himself to own such a truth , or shall upon occasion openly plead the cause of it , renders himself hereby obnoxious unto the hatred and ill-will of the one and the other , and consequently unto all such sufferings , both for nature and degree , which they shall think meet , and please to inflict upon him ( god permitting them so to do ; ) as on the contrary they may be said to let go , sell , or betray such a truth , and give it up , as an error , into the hand of the enemy , who being convinced in their consciences that it is a word or truth of christ , shall notwithstanding , either dissemble , or deny it , when they ought and are called to give testimony unto it , or shall comply with the adversaries in their opposition to it . now concerning the promise made by christ , unto those that shall keep the word of his patience ( in the sence given ) by being kept by him from the hour of temptation , which will come [ or , may come at one time or other ] upon the generality of christians , to try them [ throughly , or with the greatest and forest tryal of all ] is meant , that when other professors of the gospel shall , in many places , be tryed with a bloody persecution , whereby they will be brought to this sad exigent , either to waste their consciences by denying some manifest truth , or else either to lay down their lives , or to undergo somewhat that will be bitter in the next degree to it ; they shall be kept or preserved from that storm . so that this is the rule of equity , by which christ declares that he will walk towards those that profess his name and gospel ; they that shal shew themselves loyal & faithful unto him in owning any of his words , when they are opposed , although their faithfulness in this kind shal expose them unto , or bring upon them , lighter sufferings only , and , which are more easie to be born , shall notwithstanding , upon the account of such their faithfulness , be excused or exempted by him from greater tryals , and which are unto blood : whereas those that shall faulter with him , and turn their backs upon any of his words or truths , when the danger of owning them is but little ( comparitively ) shall be in danger of being exposed and left by him unto temptations that are most fiery and grievous , and exceeding difficult to be resisted . let us now apply the consideration of these things to the business in hand . one of the words of christs patience amongst us at this day ( and which , for weight and moment , hath the preheminence amongst some others that may passe under the same denomination ) is , that christ is not onely the sovereign , or supream , but the sole and onely law-giver unto his church and people , in matters appertaining to the worship of god. whether the open asserting and maintaining of this truth in the terms now expressed , and no further , or otherwise , will create danger or trouble unto any person amongst us , or no , i cannot affirme : but certain i am , that both an oral and practical maintaining of it , in the right sense and import of the said words , is of a threatning concernment amongst us . for if the legis-lative authority in matters of divine worship , and things requisite , and necessary , at all times , and in all places , hereunto , be vested in christ alone , then they that shall keep , own , and give testimony unto , this word , must not consent unto , or comply with ; either in word , or deed , any model or form of praying , any ceremony , one , or more , in , or about the worship of god , any church-office for the regulating and ordering of this worship , which christ himself hath not prescribed , ordered , and appointed , but are introduced , imposed , and commanded , under mulcts , and penalties , by humane power and authority only . for any thing by command made necessary in , or for , the worship and service of god , and without which men are not permitted ( but at their peril ) to worship him , hereby becomes essential to this worship , and so somewhat , and a part , of it . those circumstances , which god commanded in relation to any main part of his worship under the law , though they were , in themselves considered , things indifferent , as that the beast to be sacrificed should be killed on the side of the altar northward , levit. 1. 11. that the crop and feathers of the fowles sacrificed should be cast besides the altar on the east part , ver . 16. that the priest should dip his finger in the blood of the bullock offered , and sprinkle it seven times before the vaile , and put some of it upon the horns of the altar , levit. 4. 17 , 18. all these circumstances ( i say ) with many others of like consideration , however indifferent in themselves , yet being commanded by god with reference to his worship , and so that this could not be performed , regularly and with acceptation , without the observance of them , hereby became parts of his worship : from whence ( by the way ) it is observable likewise , that for men to claim an authority , or right of power , to make indifferent things necessary , in , for , or about , the worship of god , is to make themselves equal in authority ( at least in matters of this high and sacred concernment ) with god himself ; and consequently , to deny jesus christ to be the sole law-giver unto his church in things appertaining to the worship of god. and as under the law , god himself commanded all indifferent things in , and about , his worship , which were in any respect commodious , or comely in it , or for it , judging all other indifferent things , which he left un-commanded in this case , to be as necessary and fitting to be thus left ( i mean , un-commanded ) ; in like manner it argueth very unworthy ( that i say not , blasphemous ) thoughts of christ in any man , to question , either , 1. whether he perfectly knew what indifferent things were necessary , or in any respect , or degree , would be comely in the worship of god under the gospel ; or 2. whether he neglected to prescribe by himself , or ( which signifieth the same ) by his apostles , all such particular things ; which he knew to be any wayes needful , or meet , in this worship , judging it better to betrust the wisdom and wills of men with the enjoyning of them , or ( at least ) of some of them , then his own ; or 3. ( and lastly ) whether he did not well know , that it was better , and more conducing , both to the glory of god , and to the benefit and comfort of his church and people , that such indifferent things , as he left free , and un-commanded , should remain so still , and that his counsel in that behalf , should not be defeated , or made void by men ; who now by their impositions of such things , which christ would not impose , deal between him , and his people , much alike as gehazi did between his master elisha , and naaman the syrian : behold ( saith this unworthy servant ) my master hath spared naaman this syrian , in not receiving at his hands that which he brought : but , as the lord liveth , i will run after him , and take somewhat of him : and being as good ( or rather , as bad ) as his word , he undetermined , and disanulled , through his base covetousness , the honourable intention of his worthy master , which was , that naaman's cure should cost him nothing , 2 king. 5. so do they who diotrephes-like , affect a preheminence , and power in , and over , the churches of god , which are incompetent to them , ( in effect ) say : our master christ spared his church and people , and was over-indulgent to them in matters appertaining to the worship of god , left them at great liberty , imposing few external observances upon them herein , and those easie ; but as the lord liveth , our little finger shall be thicker , or heavier , unto them , than his loynes , we will enslave them , and set task-masters over them , vicars-generall , chancellours , arch-deacons , officials , commissaries , apparitors , ( who shall spoil both for themselves and for us ) church-wardens , sides-men , parish-priests , parish-clarks , ( all , either apostolical , or apocryphal , officers in the church ; ) moreover we will lay a load of ceremonies and observations upon them , we will compel them to worship and serve god with the same liturgies , letanies , collects , and other devices , wherewith we are content to worship him ; to hear , where , and whom we shall appoint them to hear ; we will make them pray , when we say , pray ; bow , when we say , bow ; kneel , when we say kneel ; stand up , when we say , stand up ; be uncovered , when we say , be uncovered ; swear , when we say , swear ; inform , when we say , inform : in a word , we will rule them with a rod of iron , and break them in pieces like a potters vessel , if we find them refractory and disobedient unto us , and not to do all things that we command them . doubtless those men , in whom such a spirit as this worketh effectually , do not in good earnest , and with the whole heart , acknowledg jesus christ to be the sole law-giver unto his church and people . for where he imposeth one law or observation upon them , concerning the worship and service of god , they impose ten ( if not a greater number than so ) ; thus through their pride , and lust of domineering , utterly defacing and defeating the gracious intendment of christ towards them , which ( as was lately said ) was to make the yoke of the worship of god , in respect of the external part of it , exceeding easie and leight , and to leave it free and dis-incumbred , as from the rudiments of the world , so from the traditions , ritual injunctions , and impositions of men . therefore they who any wayes countenance or comply with , these men in their clame , or exercise of such a power , in or over any of the churches of christ , or shall submit unto any of their injunctions issued forth , and imposed , under a pretence , or by vertue of this power , do not keep , but give up , and betray that word of christs patience , which asserteth unto him the sole legis-lative power over all his churches , ( as hath been declared ) and consequently , lay themselves open and naked unto farre more grievous and formidable temptations , which sooner or later they are like to fall into , if not to fall under : for the promise of being kept by christ from such temptations as these , is ( as we have heard ) made onely unto those , who have kept the word of his patience , [ meaning , when the danger of keeping it was less , and the temptation to forsake or betray it , more easie to be resisted , and to stand upright under ] . i shall not need ( i suppose ) further to add , that they who do homage with their attendance and dependance upon that ministry , which is pretended to be erected in the church , and upheld by the power which magnifieth it self against the prerogative of christ in his power over his churches , do most notoriously and palpably betray that word of his patience , which asserteth this his prerogative unto him ( the erecting of a ministry , being one of the most daring , insolent , and heaven-affronting actings of that usurped power ) , and so for fear of being beaten with rods , take a direct course to be scourged with scorpions . these are some of those important considerations , which being throughly digested in the judgments and consciences of good christians , cannot ( leightly ) but so affect them , as to cause them to distast the practice of hearing a prelatical ministry . i could have encreased the number of them with some others , which ( haply ) might have done as good execution upon the judgments of some , as any of them . but i am earnestly perswaded that god will ere long raise up a better workman , who by his direction and assistance , shall hammer this nayl to more purpose , then hath yet been done . in the mean time , because errour , and sin , have their glosses and colours , as well as truth and righteousness , their weight and substance ; let us briefly survey some of the fairest pretexts , wherewith the practice hitherto censured , and disswaded from , may ( probably ) hope , yea ( possibly ) be confident , that she is able to justifie her self . cities and castles , that have been long built , and were never yet attempted , at least never conquered , either by siege or assault , are like to impute their freedome in this kind , and long continued safety , unto their own strength , the arguments then , whereby the practise condemned in the premises , seems most desensible , are these following : and verily i shall acknowledge my self a debtor , as for a signal courtesie , unto him that shall either mend , or improve these my arguments , or offer me others of more strength . argument i. our saviour christ , to the multitude , and to his disciples , saith thus ; the scribes and the pharisees sit in moses seat : all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe , that observe and do : but &c. mat. 23. 1 , 2 , 3. if it were lawful , yea matter of duty , ( for so the command , or charge of christ maketh it ) for them to observe and do whatsoever the scribes and pharisees taught them according to moses's law , then is it lawful and no less matter of duty , for christians to observe and do , whatsoever prelatical ministers teach them according to the gospel : for these are not , at least many of them are not , a more unworthy generation of men then they : and if they stand bound to do whatsoever they thus teach , they stand bound to hear them when they teach , at least they may lawfully hear them . answer . 1. the reason why ministers of a prelatical edition ought not to be heard in their publick teachings , is not because they are a generation of men more wicked and vile then the scribes and pharisees were , but because their delinquency is such , and so unhappily conditioned , that we cannot wait upon them in their ministerial employments , without being partakers with them therein ; and we stand expresly charged by god not to be partakers of other mens sins , 1 tim. 5. 22. eph. 5. 11. ( with many other places ) . for deriving , and accepting , their ministerial function from an anti-christian power ( i mean , such a power , which exalteth it self against , and in many things , above the power of jesus christ , acted and exercised by him , in and over his churches , as was shewed in the last consideration ) in and by every exercise and administration of this their function , they avouch and justifie that so highly-sacrilegious an usurpation : and they who countenance them with their presence , whilst they act this great unworthiness , do nothing less then justify such their justification , and so must needs share with them in the iniquity of it . whereas the scribes and pharisees , of whom our saviour speaks in the text before us , according to dr. hamand's own paraphrase of the place , were of the sanedrim , and to be looked upon by them [ the people , and his disciples themselves ] as their lawful rulers that had authority over them , succeeding moses and the seventy elders , numb . 11. 16. according to this notion ( which is not altogether improbable ) there was no reasonable ground of any scruple about hearing them , when they expounded and declared moses his law. and if it could be proved on the behalf of the ministers , whom we judg it unlawful to hear in their teachings , that they in any such sence , sit in the seat , either of the apostles , prophets , evangelists , pastors , or teachers , which christ , when he ascended up on high , gave for the perfecting of the saints , &c. neither should we question the lawfulnesse , yea or duty ( upon occasion ) of hearing them . but the conjecture of grotius seems more rational , and better comporting with the scriptures ; which is this , that the jewes had no consistory of tryers , nor any person or persons , publickly authorized among them , to examine , or take account who were meet , or fit to be allowed for expounders of the law , but that it was free for any man , whose heart served him for the work , or take it upon him , and to instruct and teach the people accordingly : only adding , that more generally , they who did take this profession or work upon them , were pharisaici instituti , of the sect or perswasion of the pharisees : as ( saith he ) among the romans , it was permitted unto any man that would , to plead any mans case at any bar of judicature in their state . that which we read , acts 13. 15. favours the said conjecture : and after the reading of the law and the prophets , the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them , saying , ye men and brethren , if ye have any word of exhortation for the people , say on : which seems to imply , that any person amongst them , might , without breach of any order or custome , teach the people publickly out of the law and prophets . if it were thus , neither could there be any the like reason for the jewish people to deny their attendance upon the scribes and pharisees in their teachings of the law , which , according to the premises , there is , why christian people should separate themselves from priests of the prelatical unction in their preachings of the gospel . these pollute themselves by poluting the most sacred and blessed name of jesus christ , in accepting their office , or power of preaching , upon the terms they do , whereby they become irregular for this employment ; whereas the other , supposing them of competent abilities for the work , committed no offence , offered no indignity unto god , in accepting , or entring upon it . argument ii. the apostle paul rejoyced , yea , and professed that he would rejoyce , that christ was preached every way , whether in pretence or in truth , phil. 1. 18. therefore certainly it is lawful , yea , and more than lawful ( even matter of duty , upon occasion ) to hear such ( at least ) of the prelatical teachers , who preach christ , which it seems hard to deny but that some of them do . for such preaching , which no man can hear without sin , cannot be any just matter of rejoycing unto a christian , nor ( indeed ) unto any man. answer . 1. this general expression , every way , is to be limited and understood , according to the subject matter in hand . there is nothing more frequent in the scriptures than to deliver that in general terms , which yet admits , not of a simple , or absolute universality in the meaning of it , but only of such , which renders it consistent with the tenor and notion of other scriptures , and is ( for the most part ) commensurable to the present occasion , matth. 23. 3. mark 1. 5. — 11. 24. luke 2. 1. 10. — 6. 30. john 10. 8. acts 5. 42. rom. 1. 5. ( to omit other instances without number ) . besides , it is a common and true rule , praedicata sunt talia , qualia à subjectis suis esse permituntar : in propositions , the sence of one part is to be regulated by , and accommodated into the sence and import of the other . so then the apostles meaning ( in the words before us ) is not that the preaching of christ , or that which may ( in a sence ) be called , the preaching of christ , in what way , or upon what terms , or by what persons soever , it should , or could be performed , would be matter of rejoycing : such a sence as this ( besides that the words no wayes necessitate unto it , but rather lead aside from it , as may be shewed presently ) is inconsistent with what we find in the scripture elsewhere . for when the devil preached christ , affirming , upon his knowledge , that he was the holy one of god , mark 1. 24. luke 4. 34. and again , that he was christ , the son of god , vers . 41. the lord christ was so far from rejoycing in being thus preached , that he rebuked the preacher , and commanded him to hold his peace , luke 4. 35. 41. mark 1. 25. thus the damsel that followed paul and those with him , crying out , and saying , concerning them , these men are the servants of the most high god , which shew unto us the way of salvation , did , in effect , and after a sort , preach christ , by giving testimony unto those , who did truly preach him , yet paul rejoyced not in this her preaching of him , but on the contrary , was grieved at it ( as is expresly said , acts 16. 18. ) they also preached christ , who preached justification and salvation by him , though not by him alone , but in conjunction with circumcision , and the works of the law ; yet neither did paul rejoyce in his being preached in such a manner , or upon such terms , acts 15. 1. gal. 5. 2. 4. phil. 3. 2 , 3. gal. 5. 12. compared . nor is it like that he would have much rejoyced in his being preached by such persons , of whom he prophesieth , acts 20. 20. grievous wolves — not sparing the flock . amongst other characters of persons , of whom god himself demandeth what have you to do to declare my statutes , or that you should take my covenant into your mouth , this is one ; that when they saw a thief , they consented with him , psal . 50. 16 , 18. which in a very emphatical sence , is found in those preachers , whom we judge it unbecoming a good christian to hear . for in accepting their office of a ministry from the hierarchical lords , they consent with them in their sacrilegious robbing the lord jesus christ of that authority and honour , which god hath judged meet to confer upon him , in anointing and appointing him to be the sole law giver unto his churches in things appartaining to the worship and service of god , as well in things to be practised , as in things to be believed . but of this we have spoken formerly . by what hath been said to the argument in hand , it is sufficiently evident , that the apostle's general expression concerning christ's being preached every way , is to be understood with limitation ; and consequently , that no argument , or proof for any thing , can be drawn from the generality of it . 2. in propriety and strictness of speaking , christ cannot be said to be preached by a prelatical ministry . for only then he may be properly said to be preached , when he is preached , and set forth , like unto himself , without any diminution , impairment , or dis-mantling of his glory : and if any person be preached under the name of christ , unto whom any part of that glory is denyed by those who preach him , in , or by , their act of preaching him , which is appropriate unto the true christ , the christ of god , it is not this christ , but another , an idol christ , that is preached . now the ministers we speak of , in , and by , their very act , or deed , of preaching , justifie those , who both in words , but especially in deeds , deny the true christ to be the sole lawgiver unto his churches ( as hath been proved ) which yet is one of the richest , and most illustrious and shining gems in that crown of glory , which god the father hath set upon his head : and whilst they preach such a christ as this ( a christ who hath no such prerogative , or royalty , belonging to him , as a sole power of legis-lation unto his churches , but hath weak and sinful men joynt-sharers with him in his authority in this kind ) do not preach the true , the real christ , the christ of god ( as peter termeth him , luke 9. 20. ) but a christ formed in their own imaginations , & having no existence but here only , and in the fancies of their proselites , and is not able to justifie men from their sins , nor to save their souls , though ( it is like ) they ascribe these great things unto him , as idolaters in all ages have been wont to attribute the great works of god unto their idols . and as christ is said to appear in heaven for us , ( heb. 9. 24. ) meaning , that his very appearance before god , considering what he hath done , and suffered on our behalf , is , without any other expression , or application of himself unto him , as by oral request , prostration , or the like , a most effectual interceding with him for us : in like manner the sole appearance of a prelatical minister in the pulpit to perform the act of preaching , it being known and considered , how , and by what , or whose , authority , he appears upon such an account here , is an interceding , or pleading , with all that are before him , for that antichristian and lawless power , which is blasphemously claim'd , and exercised , by the great masters of the hierchy , and consequently , against that most sacred prerogative of christ , which giveth him the honour of being the sole law-giver unto his churches . and as the apostle speaketh of some , who [ in words ] profess that they know god , but in works they deny him , ( tit. 1. 16. ) so in case such a minister as this , should in his doctrine , or sermon , affirm jesus christ to be the sole lawgiver unto his churches , yet in , and by , his very act of preaching he should deny it . 3. ( and lastly ) this distribution , whether in pretence , or in truth , plainly sheweth , that the apostle in his general expression of christ's being preached every way , intended only these two ; his being preached , either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in pretence [ or , as some render it , occasinally ] or , in truth . now christ may be said to be preached , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in pretence , when they who preach him , are acted and moved hereunto by indirect and unworthy ends , and yet would be thought to preach him in truth , [ that is , out of a sincere and upright intention , and desire , to serve god , and man in the work . ] and inasmuch as they who preach christ out of sinister and by-ends , may neverthelesse be free from scandal , and from the guilt of any such known act , or practise , whereby christ is denied in any of the divine royalties appropriate to his kingly office , or annexed to his mediatory throne , their preaching of christ , if it be according to the true tenor and purport of the gospel ( as it may be , and as it seems , theirs was , by whom paul supposeth he was preached in pretence ) in respect of the glory that may hereby redound unto god , and the benefit that may accrue unto men , is just matter of rejoycing unto a sober and considerate christian : yea , though it should be revealed unto him by god ( as it was unto paul in the case before us ) that such a man's aims or ends in preaching , are not honourable , or christian . but this maketh nothing for the countenancing of their preaching him , who openly consent unto , and are consederate with , those , who devest him of his glory , yea , and are publickly known to divide the spoyl with them . argument iii. yea but some of those ministers , whom you would make it unlawful for us to hear , are holy and good men , of exemplary lives and conversations , sober , temperate , just , full of good works , given to hospitality , charitable to the poor , &c. it seems an hard saying unto us , that it should not be lawful for us to hear such men as these , at least if in their preaching of the gospel ; they turn neither to the right hand , nor to the left , but keep close all along to the counsel and mind of god therein . answer . 1. i verily believe , and this upon terms better pleasing unto those , with whom we are in contest , than of meer christian charity , that there have been more than a few of those , who have accepted their office of ministry from the irregular hand of prelacy , of that christian and worthy character specified in the argument , viz. holy and good , of exemplary lives , &c. yea , i am not without hope , but that there may be amongst us at this day a remnant of the same generation , who are sound at the heart , and love jesus christ in sincerity , who ( setting aside their compliance with prelatical usurpations and superstitions , the great evil whereof may not as yet be arrived at their judgments ) are christianly orthodox , both in their lives and doctrines : nay , i doubt not but that the prelatical order it self hath , by it's enchantments , tempted many of the true friends , and faithful servants of god , into the embracements of it . but , 2. our english proverb , which remindeth us , that all is not gold , that glistereth , may a little quallifie our credulity , without making any breach upon our charity , in the case in hand ; considering that the great apostle himself , in reference hereunto , speaketh as much ( if not much more ) where he informeth us , as of a secret , that it is no great thing [ that is , no wonderful , or rare thing , as the word , great , often signifieth in the scriptures ] if the ministers of satan be transformed as the ministers of righteousness , himself being transformed into an angel of light : yea , he had spoken immediately before of certain false apostles , deceitful workers , transforming themselves into the apostles of christ , 2 cor. 11. 13 , 14 , 15. so that men may be false apostles , ministers of satan , and deceitful workers , [ that is , may , in the course of their ministry , slily , and subtilly , drive on some un christian and satanical design , dangerous to the souls of those that hear them ] and yet , both in their lives , and in the ordinary and general current of their preaching , outwardly appear so like unto ministers of righteousness , and of christ [ for they must artifically resemble them in both , to compleat their transformation ] that it will be a very hard matter , till after some considerable space of time , and without much narrow observation , to detect and discover them . and it is much to be feared , that many of those few amongst us , whom we have ground , both from their lives , and ordinary teachings , to judge persons of christian worth , and integrity in that way , will sooner , or later , bewray themselves not to be the men in heart , which for a time they were in face . for some , who are wont to quit themselves like angels of light in thier usual , and more frequent preachings , being persons also sober and grave in all that is visible in their conversations , yet upon some occasions , and , for the most part , in their sermons on dayes of publick humiliations , or thanksgivings , and sometimes in their funeral discourses , are prevented by thier proper and true genius ; so that the cloven foot now appears . 3. amongst the authorized teachers of the romish faith , and religion , priests and jesuits , there are some ( and haply a larger proportion ) no wayes behind , if not before , the best approved of our prelatical ministers , for any thing singular , either in their lives , or ordinary teachings . therefore if we judge it not safe , or well-pleasing unto god , constantly , or ordinarily , to seek our edification in things appertaining unto god , and to our eternal salvation , at the lips of these men , in their ordinary , or setled course of teaching , why should we not be as conscientious and tender to seek it upon such terms at the mouths of those amongst us , whom our prelatical lords are pleased to send forth , and appoint for the same great ends , and services unto us ? for ( doubtless ) as well the latter , as the former , are in the great condemnation of supporting an antichristian interest and power , and this even by that which is commendable , and pleasing unto men , either good , or bad , both in their lives , and in their doctrine : and consequently go hand in hand in promoting such a design , which counter-works the holy project and design of jesus christ , which is , that his saints may serve him without fear [ as well of sufferings from men , as from god ] in holiness and righteousness before him all the dayes of their lives , luke 1. 74 , 75. and it hath been seldome , or never known , that any great community , body , or party of men in the world , have long subsisted ( at least upon any competent terms of credit , peace , or safety ) but by means of some few of their members ( respectively ) who by their wisdom & worth above their fellows , have been as pillars to bear up their several polities , or parties , and keep them from sinking ; as paul speaking of james , cephas , and john , saith , they seemed [ or , were counted , as our former translation had it ] pillars , ( meaning , to support the christian interest in the world . ) as though there be some thousands of laths , and many slight pieces for partitions , and otherwise , in a building , yet those few substantial and main pieces of sound tymber , unto which the architect coupleth and fastneth the rest of his work , are they which give strength unto the house , and make it able to endure , and stand , all winds and weather . so that when god ( whether out of his wisdom , for the tryal of those , who profess his name , or out of judgment , to punish their unworthiness , or upon what other account soever , whether known , or unknown , unto us ) pleaseth to give way unto satan , by his subtile and plausible insinuations and suggestions so far to tamper with the hearts and spirits of some professors of the gospel , as between them , to raise up , and set on foot , and for any considerable tract of time to maintain and keep on foot , a corrupt interest under some religious pretence ( one , or more ) in the christian world , he is pleased likewise to suffer the plausible pleas , and pretences of this interest , together with the large portion of worldly accommodations which it promiseth unto those , that shall espouse it , so to dazle and blind the eyes of the reasons , judgements , and consciences of some wise , learned , and good men all along the continuance of it , that they shall not see the evil of it , nor yet be convinced hereof by those who do see it most clearly , but shall cleave fast and close unto it , and stand up in their might to justifie and plead the cause of it , it is said that the eyes of the two disciples travelling to emaus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( luke 24. 16. ) were mightily , or powerfully held ; by reason whereof they did not know the lord christ , though present with them in his proper countenance and face , with which they were so familiarly acquainted : only ( as it seems by what mark affirmeth , chap. 16. 12. ) he was somewhat disguised in his apparel ; yet all this while their eyes were as open to see and discern all other objects , but onely the face of christ , as at other times . in like manner the eyes of the minds and understandings even of men piously-learned and grave , may , upon gods withholding his wonted concurrence with them in reference to the discerning of such , and such particular truths , be so deluded , captivated , and bewitched with the false colours and appearances of truth in the contrary-errors , that they will without fear , or scruple , embrace these , yea and with an high hand of confidence and importunity , rise up to justifie and maintain them : when as they may all this while approve themselves for men of an exact judgement , and discerning spirit between truth and error , in other cases . men of this character , or ( at least ) seemingly such ( i mean , holy and good men , generally quick-fighted , but particularly blinded ) generally have been , and are at this day , the main props , and supporters of all those adulterate and anti-evangelical interests , and combinations of men , which are found in the christian world : ( although i make a little more question , whether they also were such , who were the first founders , and authors of them . ) such persons as these now and then found within the territories of the romish profession , have been , and are , the breath of the nostrils of that religion : such as these , taking part with the admirers of , and contenders for , the common-prayer-book , prescribed liturgies , &c. keep life and soul together in this party of men amongst us . some such persons likewise , have incorporated themselves with that body of men , who dote upon the prelatical hierarchy ( as if it had either scripture , or sound reason , to friend , or both ) are helpers in chief to prolong the days of that interest , which otherwise would soon be aposynagogized by the christian world . and were there not some persons of the character mentioned in the numerous retinew of those , who flatter christian princes into formal antichristianisme , by teaching them to lay claim to both swords , as well the spiritual , as the temporal ; neither would this generation , or sect of men , lift up their heads at that rate of height and confidence , which now they do . it were easie to adde many more instances , if need were : but by what hath been lately , and formerly , discoursed in these papers , it plainly appeareth , that the holy and good men , who have interessed themselves in the cause of prelacy , and avouched the descent of it from the great apostle and high priest , of christian profession , by accepting their office of ministry from it , are they who have compassion on it ( as the ziphims had on saul , when he persecuted david , 1 sam. 23. 21. ) and in , and by , the exercise of their ministry , are the chief contributers towards the maintenance of the life of it in the world . therefore those worthy qualifications of holiness and goodness , in such ministers , are so far from , being any reasonable grounds , or motives , unto christians to strengthen their hand in the way of their present standing and relation unto prelacy , by a consciencious attendance on them in their ministry , that , the evil tendency of this ministry considered , they are rather grand dissuasives herefrom . for strike the shores and props from under a crazie and tottering building , the fabrique will soon fall as flat as the walls of jericho , to the ground . sathan by none of all his other methods , or devices , is able to consult the peace of his kingdom upon such terms of advantage , as by tempting holy and good men with secret overtures , or promises of enjoying the goodly and great things of the world , to fall down , and worship him . nor hath god any means more proper to weaken this kingdome , and prepare it for destruction , than by opening the eyes of his servants , that darkness be no longer for a vision unto them , and that they hasten out of babylon , which , whilest their eyes were held , they verily thought to be jerusalem . argument iv. but god himself hath , from time to time , given testimony to that ministry , which you would perswade us to decline as being unlawful , by granting the conversion of many souls unto himself to be wrought by it , together with the edification of many ( formerly converted ) in their most holy faith : yea , he hath done much good by it in both these kinds , in this very nation , since he brake the yoke of romish subjection from off the neck of it : or doth not such a gracious concurrance , or co-operation , of god as this with a ministry , amount to as much as the setting of his seal unto it that it is true , and such wherein he delighteth , the apostle paul writing thus to the corinthians , for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the lord , 1 cor. 9. 2. can it then it be unlawful for christians to here such ministers , whom god himself-countenanceth , and blesseth , in their work ? answer . 1. that voice from heaven [ that is from god ] come out of her my people , [ meaning out of babylon , the mother of fornications ] rev. 18. 4. sheweth that there may be conversion of souls , even in babylon , and this ( as seems not improbable ) by the spurious ministry that is exercised here . it is no wayes like , that those persons , whom god , by the name of , his people , warneth by a voice from heaven , to come out of babylon , were his people [ that is , truly regenerate , and believing ] before they entered into babylon , and that afterwards they went , and took up their dwellings here . if conversion may be wrought by a babylonish ministry , it is a clear case that it is not universally , and in all cases , a convincing proof of a legitimate and true ministry . and therefore whereas the apostle termeth the corinthians , the seal of his apostleship , it was not simply , or so much , in respect of their conversion by him unto the faith , but rather in respect of the extraordinary manner , and high hand of divine power , which appeared with him , and in him , for their conversion ; without which he seems to imply , that in respect of their more than ordinary indisposition to submit unto the gospel , being a wealthy and worldly-wise people , and under several disadvantages otherwise , there had been little likelyhood of their conversion to the faith , especially , in such considerable numbers , as now , by this means had embraced it . for upon some such account as this it is , that he reminds them in these words , truly the signes of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience , in signes , and wonders , and mighty deeds , 2 cor. 12. 12. from this passage , and the words next following with some others in these two epistles it appears , that god judged it necessary and meet that this his apostle should make more use of his gift of miracles amongst this people , in order to their conversion , and confirmation in the faith , then in any other place , whither he was sent to preach the gospel . this plainly sheweth them to have been a generation of men of that character , which our saviour pointeth at in those , to whom he said , except ye see signes and wonders , ye will not believe , john 4. 48. which temper , or complexion of mind , argueth a great estrangement in men from god , and an utter un-acquaintedness with his nature and attributes . therefore the apostle affirming the corinthians to be , the seal of his apostleship [ meaning , an effectual proof , and confirmation of the truth of it , and that he received it from god ] intendeth it not in respect of their conversion by him , simply considered , but of those miraculous appearances of god with him , for , and in , the effecting of it . so that nothing can be concluded from hence to prove true conversion unto god , to be alwayes , or in all cases , an argument , or proof , that that ministry , by which it is wrought , is from god. for the further clearing of which it may be considered , 2. that god , in his dispensations , and applications of himself unto the children of men , putteth a very great difference between times of ignorance , and times of knowledge ; indulging many things in way of favour , mercy , and compassion , unto persons offending through the ignorance of his will , when this ignorance is not affectate , or willingly , and upon a cursed design of sinning more freely , kept and maintained in the soul , but hath been , and is , occasioned , either by the scantness of light , or shortness of the means about them , whereby to come to the knowledge of the truth , or else by the weakness and flowness of their understandings , or else by meer incogitancy , or that backwardness of making district enquiry after truth , which so easily ( and almost universally ) besetteth flesh and blood ; or lastly , by means of a strong and flattering perswasion that they know the truth already , and so need not make any such enquiry after it ; god ( i say ) is wont to make many large allowances in grace and favour unto those that are ignorant of his will upon any of the occasions now mentioned , though they act contrary to it , which he will at no hand indulge unto those , that either know , or easily may know it , and yet will notwithstanding walk in the sight of their own eyes , and in the ways of their own hearts . this observation ( i verily believe ) for both number and clearness of scripture testimonies , may compare with any other truth asserted here . the places that speak to the heart of it , were they drawn together , and a little argued , would amount to a just volume . i shall mention onely one ( a text well known ) and point to a few others . and the times of this ignorance god winked at : but now commandeth all men every where to repent ; because he hath appointed a day [ that is , he now maketh known unto the world that he hath appointed a day ; for the day was appointed as much in the former times , as now : but things in scripture are frequently said to be done , when they are made manifest ] wherein he will judge the world in righteousness , &c. acts 17. 30 , 31. it is evident from hence in the general ( for we must not now stand to scan particulars ) that god was much more favourable to the same kind of sinners , who sinned in times of ignorance , then he was resolved to be unto those that should sin in times of greater light . if you question in the least the truth of the observation now propounded , these texts ( with their fellows of like import ) are of sufficient authority to set your judgements at liberty , luke 12. 47 , 48. gen. 20. 5 , 6. numb . 15. 30 , 31. psal . 94. 10. — 97. 6 , 7. rom. 1. 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , &c. — 2. 8. john 9. 41. — 15. 22. luke 23. 24. titus 3. 10. — 1 tim. 1. 13. heb. 5. 2. — 6. 4 , 5 , 6. james 4. 17. unto these scriptures , i onely subjoyne ( for their sympathy in notion ) a memorable saying of an ancient father and martyr : the simple error [ or ignorance ] of men might be pardoned [ by god ] , but when he hath inspired them with , or discovered , the truth , if now they transgress , they sin without the pardon [ or leave ] of ignorance a ; meaning , that they are not like to find that favour , or mercy , which god is wont to vouchsafe unto those , that sin out of meer ignorance . this consideration leadeth us by a straight line to this conclusion ; that during that long tract of time , wherein god judgeth it meet to punish , try , and exercise the christian world with prelatical encroachments , and the un-natural swellings of episcopal power , and consequently to suffer the reasons & understandings of those , who otherwise might , and ( doubtless ) would have detected , and withstood , those high usurpations over his free-born sons and daughters to be so held , or otherwise incumbred and diverted , as to overlook the intimations of his mind in the scriptures against those monstrous exorbitancies in his church ; that god ( i say ) during the times of this ignorance , and incogitancy , amongst christians , might in mercy do good to the souls of some , even by such a ministry , which he never allowed , nor approved , but onely tollerated until the times of reformations yea , and which he will not allow his people to countenance , or credit , by resorting unto it , when once he hath caused the irregularity of it to be brought to light , and the gospel to utter and speak out that enmity , which it beareth to it . nor is it like , that when he shall have plainly , and to the full conviction of reasonable and sober men , discovered the nakedness and shame of it , that ever he will have to do , or co-operate with it , either to the conversion , or edification , of any soul more . and as abraham lived well , enjoyed the love of god , throve in his estate , and prospered in the world , whilst he lived in his own countrey , amongst his kindred , and in his father's house , before god called him out from hence to dwell in the land of canaan , where he intended to bless and prosper him yet seven times more , whereas had he disobeyed the call of god , and continued in his father's house still , this call notwithstanding , doubtless he had highly provoked god , neither would his own countrey , kinred , or father's house , have been the same unto him in comfort and peace , which formerly they had been : in like manner , though an honest and upright soul may be in the love and favour of god , and thrive competently in its spiritual estate , under a prelatical ministry ( and haply in babylon it self ) whilest it remains ignorant of the mind and will of god concerning its removal , and wanteth light to discern the evil of such standings ; yet if it shall chuse , and resolve , to keep these postures , or standings , after that god shall have called unto it to forsake them , they are not like to yield any of their former accommodations unto it , nor is god like to take the same delight in ( or rather to shew the same compassion on ) this soul , which he did before : but according to the observation , and saying of david , he turneth a fruitful land into barrenness , for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein , psal . 107. 34. if it be demanded ; but when , or how , doth god call any soul , or person , from under a prelatical ministry , or out of babylon ? i answer ; when by a clear light he discovers the sinfulness , or ( which is the same , in effect the danger , or threatning consequence , of a mans abiding under the former , or in the latter . conviction of any thing sinful , or unlawful , in any of our wayes , is a loud call from god unto repentance and reformation . and as abrahams obedience unto the call of god , when he called him out from his own country , kinred , and fathers house , is commended by this , that he went out , not knowing whither he went , ( heb. 11. 8. ) but sped never the worse for this : so when god shall call us from under an unlawful ministry , it is not christian-like to make any such allegation , or plea , as this , against our ready and cheerful submission to his call ; we know not where we shall mend our selves , or find the like spiritual provisions , we are like to be losers by the change , &c. it would be much more worthy a son , or daughter , of god in this case , to consider and work upon that which david immediately subjoyneth to the passage lately cited from him ▪ he turneth the wildernesse into a standing water , and dry ground into water springs ; and there he maketh the hungry to dwell , that they may prepare a city for habitation , &c. psal . 107. 35 , 36 , 37 , 38. they who shall forsake a polluted ministry , though otherwise plausible , and in all points besides lively resembling the true ministry of christ , upon divine conviction of the pollutedness of it , need not fear that they shall be losers in their spiritual estates hereby , or suffer in their inner man. the woman cloathed with the sun rev. 12. when she fled from the city into the wilderness , being ( as it appears ) admonished by god so to do , had a place here prepared for her by god , where she was fed and nourished [ with a more wholesome diet , doubtless , then she should have been in the city ] for many years . 3. although for argument sake , and in part ( i confess ) for probability sake , and likelihood of truth , it hath been granted , that some have been truly and savingly converted to the faith , and some edified , by a prelatical ministry , yet i believe it will sorely rack the parts and learning of the greatest patrons of it , to make any demonstrative proof of either , especially of the former . it was a right and useful observation of aristotle , that to take 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that which follows in time for the effect of that which goeth before , is a common mistake amongst men . those that have been converted after , or upon the hearing of a sermon , possibly might not be converted by it . again , it is well known unto those , that are but competently versed in ecclesiastical records , as well of ancient , as of latter times , that great numbers both of men and women , have been savingly wrought upon by other means and dispensations of god , and not by hearing ministers of a prelatical creation . not to insist upon particulars in this kind , as either the conversion of constantine by reading the sibylline oracles , as some of these records report ; or of augustine , begotten unto god ( as himself in his confession giveth the christian world to understand ) between a miracle ( or the miraculous voice of tolle , et lege , take up , and read , heard by him in a garden oft repeated , as with a singing tone ) and the reading of those texts of scripture , rom. 13. 13 , 14. or of victormus , antonius , and several others , mentioned by him in these writings , as brought off from heathenisme unto god by the like , or not much unlike , means , ( or of others that might , without number , be collected out of other authors ) . baronius reports that three whole nations , the franks , the goths , the longobards , were converted from paganisme , and many impious errours , unto the christian faith , by three women ; the franks , in gallia , by chrotildis ( a burgundian ) ; the goths , in spain , by ingundes ( a frank ) ; the longobards , in italy , by theodolinda a bavarian . besides the woman cloathed with the sun , &c. ( of whom we lately spake , and by whom we signified , according to the concurrent testimony of all expositors , that i have seen , or heard of , is meant the true church of christ , consisting of real and true believers ) during the whole term of the grandure of the beast , and whilest the world went wondering after him [ that is , whilest the great body , or bulk of visible professors throughout the christian world round about him , owned his spiritual , and consequently his temporal jurisdiction also , over them ] fled ( as we likewise heard ) into the wilderness [ namely , from the dragon , who had now slily , and undiscernably to the greatest part of professing christians , conveyed and wound himself into the said two-horn'd beast ] here , by the gracious interposure of god , to be fed and nourished . now this woman ( the true church ) was not barren , but brought forth children , sons and daughters unto god , during her abode in the wilderness from first to last : but she brought not forth these children by the knowledge of a prelatical ministry ; the ministers of this order exercising their ministry in the city [ i mean , openly , and in places prepared , and allowed , for such purposes , by the civil magistrate , and so had no occasion to flee into the wilderness , or to seek solitary and private places for the employment of their talent in this kind ] : unless we shall conceive , that the woman we speak of , was all along supplyed with children out of the city , by the publique ministry here , god , secretly admonishing , and perswading those sons and daughters of his , that were begotten by such illegitimate fathers , as soon as , or not long after , they were spiritually born , to with-draw themselves from under the hand of such fathers , and to joyn themselves unto his true church and people in the wilderness , here to be fed and nourished , that is , to be built up in their most holy faith , and prepared for their heavenly glory . so that one of these two propositions must needs be yielded ; either that conversion , for many ages by-past , hath been wrought by other means , and by another ministry , than that of a prelatical descent , and so not necessarily by this ; or in case this ministry hath converted any , that these upon their conversion , have been required by god not to remain , or sit still under it , but to seek their edification amongst their brethren in assemblies of a beter complexion , and from a ministry of a more honourable and lawful extraction . the former of these granted , confirmeth the argument in hand : the latter , the main cause we have undertaken . 4. ( and lastly ) concerning that great good service in the cause of religion , which is pleaded to have been done in former dayes , by the ministry so much decried by us , in this our nation : i confess that our great high priest , who is more able than priests taken from among men , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sufficiently to compassionate the ignorant , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and those that are [ led ] out of the way , ( heb. 5. 2. ) did so far shew mercy unto some , who in the simplicity and uprightness of their heart , suspecting no evil in such an action , comported ( i might say , compounded ) with the prelates for their ministerial functions , that he kept them faithful unto him in his work , and vouchsafed them the great honour of co-operating with them to the bringing home of souls unto god. but , 1. the number of these was but small , scarce exceeding the proportion of one of a city , and two of a tribe . out of the great cloud of prelatical priests ( for their ordination baptizeth them by that name , nor are they offended at it ) sathan rained upon the people , snares of idolatrous and superstitious conceits , and practises , without end : and in these snares of death the feet of the greater part of the poor ignorant souls in the nation , are taken , and held fast , to this day . nor is it any breach of charity to conceive and think , that for the greatest part of these ministers , were in their course of preaching , more zealously bent to beget sons and daughters to the church of england ( in their notion ) than unto god ; although possibly ( to allay all seeming hardness in the saying ) they might suppose that men and women being made the true sons and daughters of the church of england , were hereby made the true sons and daughters of god also . for what may not ignorance , and interest , conspiring together , suppose ? doth not the apostle , speaking of men of corrupt minds , and destitute of the truth say , that they supposed gain to be godliness , admonishing timothy to with-draw himself from men of such importune and unreasonable suppositions , 1 tim. 6. 5. but for the church of england , who shall live , when either of her sons , or fathers , will be able to declare her generation , or satifie the world , who , or what kind of creature she is ? 2. those few ministers of the prelatical sanction , whom christ was pleased to separate from their fellows , in blessing their labours to the begetting of sons and daughters unto god in the nation , were smoak in their noses , and as thorns in the eyes , of those who had intrusted them with a ministerial employment , being by them looked upon as a spurious and illegitimate brood of children , and as walking contrary to the interest , both of the spiritual lords , their fathers , and of the lady , the church of england , their mysterious mother : yea , for their laboriousness , zeal , and faithfulness unto god , and men , in the work of their ministry , which , by reason of the success that god gave unto them in the hearts and affections of the people , their ghostly fathers were not able , or rather , not willing to distinguish from schism , faction , popularity , &c. they were evil entreated , injuriously handled , vexed with summoners and apparitors , cited into their courts ( where they must , at their peril , appear at the day and hour appointed , how long and wearisome , how unseasonable , or expersive , how tempestuous , or dangerous soever their journey hither should be ) here to be falsely charged , to be vilified , and reproached , before all that are present , by chancelors , commissaries , &c. ( persons who many times know not their right hand from their left , in things appertaining unto god ; as meet to fit in judgement upon a learned and godly minister , as in the greek proverb , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as an asse is to play upon a harp ) and after all this , were sometimes silenced or suspended , deprived , degraded , imprisoned , yea constrained through an experimental sence of the implacableness of these bloody avengers , to commit themselves unto the seas , how inconvenient or dangerous soever , either through age , tenderness or weakness of constitution , present indisposition of body , or otherwise such journying were like to prove unto them , and to seek for a sanctuary in strange lands . so that the ministers that with greatest zeal and faithfulness planted the saving knowledge of god , and promoted the interest of true godliness in the nation , though ( being led out of the way by the false light of those times ) they owned the prelates in their usurpations , by accepting their office of ministry from their unhallowed hands , yet the prelates soon after , namely , as soon as they saw or heard , that they held a straight course in preaching the gospel , disowned them , and took from them , at least from many of them , and their will was the same towards them all , but that prudentials hindered the sameness of execution upon some , by silencing and suspending them , the exercise of that ministry , and so in effect , the ministry it self , which they had conferr'd upon them . so that by this time , if we respect the reality of things rather than the rigour or formality of words , the ministers we now speak of , were no ministers of a prelatical investure : for they who had invested them , devested them again . adde hereunto ( that which we may , not only in charity , but according to the guidance of reason it self , suppose their conscienciousness and loyalty unto god , in all other their wayes and actings considered ) that had they known or once suspected , the great evil of putting their heads under prelatical hands to receive an evangelical function from them , they would rather have suffered them to be taken from their shoulders , as john baptist's head was , by the hands of the common executioner . this being so , they were but in a very deminutive sense ministers of a prelatical ordination , nor ought they in reason , to be simply , or absolutely , termed such . for when the mind and will of a man are really set and bent against the doing of any thing whatsoever , that is sinful , in case he shall through ignorance , or mistake , do any thing which is sinful , this action is imputable unto him onely in the letter , not in the spirit of it : for so far as his will stood against it , and was not consenting to it [ that is , or as far as , it was sinful ] it was not properly , or in a moral and equitable consideration , his action , but rather to be charged upon the ignorance that was in him ; nothing that a man doth , being , in moral equity , and fairness of construction , chargeable upon him as his action , but onely what his will , and as far as his will , was consenting unto in the doing of it ; according to that of the apostle , ( who is not wont to flatter himself , or to extenuate , or deny his sinful infirmities at any time ) now if i do that , which i wovld not , it is no more i that do it , but sin that dwelleth in me , rom. 6. 20. yet further , the ministers of whom we now speak , & by whom much real good was done to the souls of many in the nation , applyed themselves wholly and intirely to the work of christ in preaching the gospel , and did not make merchandize of the word of god bywresting or perverting it at any time , as if it any where spake to the heart of the prelatique interest , or recommended any such officer , or ruler , unto the church of christ , as a prelate , or bishop , ( in the by-sense , or high sense of the word , or gave him power to obtrude what , and what numbers , of ceremonies , and apocryphal prayers , and prayers only so called , he pleased , upon the people of god , as well ministers , as others , upon severe penalties to be inflicted on those whose consciences were not wide enough to swallow them . now such ministers , who , though having received their office from prelates ; yet shall in the course and work of their ministry , wholly and constantly wave , and decline their cause from the one end of it to the other , never opening their mouths to cast respects , either upon their office , or any thing , that hath so much as one lineament of their image , or one letter of their superscription , upon it , and instead hereof , shall zealously and faithfully preach up jesus christ in the glory of all his offices , as the gospel asserteth and declareth them , which consequentially , is the preaching down of prelacy , as the bringing in of the ark of god unto dagon's temple , was the downfal and destruction of that idol ; such ministers , i say , that shall quit themselves in the way of their ministry , upon such termes as these , do constructively , and in effect , and with as much advantage to the glory of god , and edification of men , renounce their prelatical ordination , as if they should do it more litterally and formally . so then , all things weighed in the ballance of equity , the ministers , unto whom god gave the honour to triumph in christ , ( as the apostle's phrase is ( 2 cor. 2. 14. ) and by whom to make manifest the savour of his knowledge amongst the inhabitants of this nation , were not ministers of a prelatical ordination ( in any compleat , direct , or thorough sence of the denomination ) but only in some such mysterious and obscure notion , as that , wherein the beast is termed , the beast which is not , and yet is , rev. 17. 8. they that were roundly , right down , without any abatement , or need of explication , such have , amongst them , in matters of true religion , sound knowledge , and piety towards god , reduced the generality of the nation to a morsel of bread : all those idolatrous and superstitious conceits , and practises , all that bloody ignorance and prophanesse , all that customary boldness in sinning , that hatred of goodness and good men , which are the nakedness and shame of the land , and render it obnoxious to divine displeasure , may justly call this generation of men , either fathers , or foster fathers , or both . argument v. many learned and good men have been , and many such at this day , are very confident , that ordination by bishops , in the high sense of the word , is regularly founded on the scriptures ; yea , and that there can be no lawful , or true minister any where created , where there is not the hand of such a bishop to sanctifie the action , and to raise it to that worth and dignity , that it may be meet to yeild the sacred fruits of a gospel-ministry . and it is generally known , and acknowledged , that ordination of ministers by bishops , in the upper signification of the word , hath been very antiently , and for many ages by-past , practised in the church , scarce any man questioning , or contradicting it . therefore why should the hearing of such ministers be now censured as unlawful ? answer . this argument calleth for the consideration of sundry particulars for it's full and due satisfaction : others , many have largely and substantially answered all that is pretended , and pleaded , from the scripture , in the behalf , either of the order or office of bishops , in the sence of the word lately specified , or of their sole power of ordination : so that as unto these , i shall be very cursory and brief , chiefly pointing at the heads of some few considerations , whereby it will be made manifest , that although all that the argument saith and pretendeth unto , should be granted as true , yet all will signifie little , or nothing , as to the proof of what is intended . therefore , 1. learning , is very neer of kin unto knowledge , if it be not the same . now knowledge , though it be a very useful and commendable endowment , yet it hath one bad property , ( which the apostle himself taketh , and giveth notice of , 1 cor. 1. 8. ) it puffeth up ; that is , it is apt to lift men up into a confident conceit that there is more worth in them , than in deed and in truth there is . neither will a very good degree of goodness in the same subject , at many turns , and in many cases , prevent the operation of this evil property upon it . learned and knowing men , though good men , will too frequently assume more unto themselves , than by the assignment of god , or good reason , cometh to their share . the apostle paul plainly signifieth that god knew that he would have been exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations vouchsafed unto him , if the excessive heat of his propension in this kind had not been corrected and allayed by a messenger of sathan , sent and given unto him to buffet him , 2 cor. 12. 7. 2. when men of learning and knowledge more than ordinary , shall reflect upon their own worth in this kind , and hold intelligence with their great parts and abilities ( as the best of men , thus accomplished , are apt to do , witness the great apostle paul himself , who told the corinthians , that though he was rude in speech [ meaning , as they thought , and talked of him ] yet not in knowledge , 2 cor. 11. 6. see also eph. 3. 4. ) especially when they shall be conceited withal , that their line of knowledge and understanding is raised higher , than really it is ( which is a weaknesse frequently incident to the strongest of this geration ) , they are precipitately disposed to presume [ as our former translation read it ; or , to be wise ; or , to favour , as the word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , oft signifieth ] above that which is written ( 1 cor. 4. 6. ) and so to embrace ( sometimes ) and to assert , with great confidence , such notions and tenents for truths , which the word of truth , diligently consulted , and well understood , absolutely disclaimeth ; yea , and which sober and sound reason it self will not brook . there is scarce any age but hath yielded instances more than enough to confirm the truth of this observation . the best records of antiquity , yea , the most un-questioned writings of the most learned and devout fathers themselves proclaim it aloud ; in which it appears that they did not alwayes build silver , gold , or precious stones , upon the true foundation , but sometimes , hey , stubble and wood , in their stead . neither is the scripture it self barren of sayings , and passages of story , which look the same way . but my intended brevity forbids me to insist upon quotations , where they may be omitted with as little damage to the cause in hand , as they may upon the present occasion : and as for those , which the works and writings of the fathers afford upon the account , they have been already drawn out , and presented unto the world by others : yea , who is there but either knoweth , or hath heard from those who do know , that seldom or never , did any error , that proved of any dangerous , or sad consequence , 〈◊〉 up amongst christians , but might call some person of choice parts a●● learning , father ? the common saying ( which carrieth a truth in it worthy more consideration , than is by many given to it ) is , nullum est magnum ingenium sine mixtura insaniae , there is no great wit , but hath a mixture [ or allay ] of madness in it . so that men of great learning and parts are no infallible oracles to consult about a dubious opinion , whether it be an error , or no. 3. the notion , conceit , or opinion of an hyper-presbyterian episcopacy , is of such a calculation , nature , and import , that without the assistance of , or any monitory suggestion from sathan , it is as apt to breed , and to be ingendred , between a corrupt ambitious heart , and an head rank of wit , and learning , as the bull-rush is to grow out of the mire . some indeed have laid the mischievous brat at sathan's door , confidently avouching him , by reason of the enormous , and even supernatural antipathy in it unto god , and true godliness , to be the father of it : but herein they rather flatter , than accuse , or charge , that unhappy parcel of flesh and blood , which first gave warmth and formation unto it in the womb of their brain . and whereas some , expert in the records of antiquity , carry up the day of the dawning of it upon the christian world , to the year 140 after christ , or thereabouts ; others , seeming as capable as they of the same pretension , bring it down to about the year 300 ; the truth is , that though both these calculations of the nativity of it , especially the former , give it the oppornity and advantage of a long and specious prescription , yet the bewitching complexion of it considered , together with the amorous inclinations towards such objects , so frequently found in pregnant wits , and large endowments , which are apt to afford men lively hopes of enjoying them , it may rather seem strange that it is not more ancient , than either of the dates mentioned will allow it to be , and , in respect of time , nearer to some apostolical institution . it seem's ( indeed ) that even in the dayes of the apostles , there was one ( whom the apostle john call's , diotrephes , ep. 3. ver . 9. ) that had an episcopal embryo , an unform'd conception of a bishoprick , in his heart ; for he did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , loved a lordly superiority over , or amongst his christian brethren : but for want of an artificial head ( as is probable ) to give unto this natural conception its specifical and due form , it proved an abortion , and like the untimely fruit of a woman , which never seeth the light of the sun. it is no where found that diotrephes ever was a formal bishop , although he acted the part of a bishop in not suffering the writings of an apostle to take place against his own interest , in the church , john ep. 3. vers . 9. 4. the notion of episcopacy ( in the lofty sense of the word ) being once started , though by one person only , in the church , and brought into consideration and discourse amongst christians , it was easie to prophesie , plures annabunt thynni , & cetaria crescent : more tunies will come swimming to the bait , and that the generality of men , whose gifts and parts of learning , wit , &c. were paramount to those of the ordinary sort of their brethren , understanding themselves more capable , and likely than others , to ascend the throne of this honour , in case it were once built , and well setled in the church , would be very diligent and studious in finding out all colourable and plausible pretences to commend such an office unto the people , and to perswade them that it would conduce much to their christian welfare , if they did live under it , and subject themselves unto it . and though there have been many , both in ancient , and later dayes , conscientious and learned , that had not the mettal in their foreheads ( wherewith the prelatical advocates amongst us , have , more generally at least , steeled theirs ) to obtrude the office we speak of , upon the world , under the high and indisputable title of jus divinum ; yet were they so far overcome with the enticing sweetness of the morsel , as to swallow it as lawful , though of humane preparation and contrivance . never did there a dead body , or carkass , falling on the earth , by the scent and favour of it , more effectually draw the eagles together about it , than the pleasant notion and conceit of the episcopal dignity , having once been named in the christian church , allure and engage many persons of eminent gifts and abilities , age after age , in the maintenance , approbation , and commendation of it . they are not like to speak evil of dignities , who live in hope and expectation of enjoying them themselves . so that all circumstances duely weighed , the great multitude of learned assertors of the cause of prelacy , is but a slender argument to prove , either the goodness , or lawfulness of it . who is he ( saith the son of sirach ) that hath been tryed by gold , and found perfect ? ecclus . 31. 10. 5. as for the arguments and grounds , which these learned disputers commonly levie , and urge from the scriptures , to compel the judgments and consciences of men to a submissive and quiet acknowledgement , that their high places and functions in the church , are of kin to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( acts 19. 35. ) the image which fell down from jupiter , and that they also came from heaven , and are supported by the stately and strong pillar of jus divinum ; the truth is , that being weighed in the ballance , i do not say of accurate reason , but of common sense it self , they would be found too leight to balace the floating vessel , wherein that proud lady , episcopacy , with all her triobular accoutrements , is imbarqued ; yea , and were it not for some poor relief , ever and anon brought in from the shattered and sophisticated records of after ages , scarce one decree above ridiculous . i shall in few words , give you a taste , though not of the letter , or words , ( this being a part that cannot be acted , but on a larger stage , than we are now upon ) but of the spirit , strength , and substance , of some of their chief arguings from the scriptures ; by which you may give a neer guess how little their longsome dissertations and discourses upon the point signifie . from eph. 4. 8 , 11 , &c. they reason to no more purpose than thus : christ , when he ascended up on high — gave gifts unto men : and he gave some apostles , — some , pastors and teachers , &c. ergo he gave some diocesan bishops . but if such bishops as these were given by christ at his ascension , why should the apostle hide them , either behind the apostles , or behind his pastors , as if he were ashamed of them ? for the great officers we now speak of , are at a great loss amongst which of the officers , expressely named by the apostle , they should seek for their divine institution , or donation by christ unto the church . one while , when their courage is up , they claim high , and will needs find their institution in , and together with , the apostles , as their predecessors , under whom their successors also ( as they plead ) who they cannot ( being so affectionately convinc'd through the in-evidence of the thing ) but presume themselves , and all of their order , to be , were comprehended in the same institution with them . otherwhile , fearing such a pretence as that , to be too obnoxious to the incredulity of all considering and un-ingaged men , they fall lower , and judge it more passable to take up with pastors and teachers , and content themselves with part and fellowship with them in their institution . thus we see our spiritual lords wandring up and down to seek a divine institution for their high functions and dignities : but it is no marvel if they cannot find that which is not . notwithstanding they knock hard at several other doors for relief , but none openeth unto them , nay , they are all made fast with bars of iron against them . from these words of the apostle to timothy , ( 1 tim. 1. 3. ) as i besought thee to abide still at ephesus , when i went into macedonia , &c. in conjunction with those , lay hands suddenly on no man , &c. ( 1 tim. 5. 22. ) they conclude , therefore timothy was made bishop of ephesus , a diocesan bishop , by paul. whereas the express tenour of the words , i besought thee to abide still at ephesus , riseth up ( as it were ) with manifest indignation against such an inference , as might be shewed and proved at large , but that this hath been lately done to the stopping of all mouths , that have either ingenuity or conscience , belonging to them a . holy and zealous men , in both which qualifications timothy excelled , need no beseeching or exhorting , to abide , or reside , upon their bishopricks , or to attend the cure of souls committed unto them . or if they will understand the place either of timothie's being made bishop of ephesus , or of his accepting the bishoprick hereof , being offered unto him by paul , they shall do well , and un-like themselves , to follow his example , and not to be made bishops , until they be sought unto , and desired to accept of the honour . besides , timothy was an evangelist , 2 tim. 4. 5. and so by vertue of his office , had a right of power to do all those canonical actions , as laying on of hands , &c. which our high assuming bishops appropriate to their apocryphal functions . therefore neither doth this scripture take any pity at all upon their miserable cause . they shew themselves the sons of impertinency also when they discourse unto us , titus 1. 5. as if this text had somewhat to say for them , the words being only these : for this cause left i thee in crete , that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting , and ordain [ or rather settle , or place , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] elders in every city , as i had appointed thee . it is plain from the words , that titus was left [ not seated , or setled ] in crete by paul , for such business , or such services unto the churches there , which might be dispatched within the space of a few months . and that he did not make his abode here many months , at least with paul's consent , and that paul intended to send for him away from hence , the winter following , or rather before , is evident from chap. 3. vers . 12. and from other passages in the writings of this apostle , it appears , that being called back by him from crete , he imployed him otherways , sending him up and down to several churches , in several countries upon occasion : nor is there the least mention any where found of his returning again unto crete at any time after , nor is there ( indeed ) the least probability of it . therefore our diocesan advocates vex and trouble this scripture also ( as they do several others ) to no purpose ; this with all the rest solicited in their cause , crying aloud unto them with one voice , depart from us , we know you not . he that desire further conviction that neither timothy , nor titus , were ever made bishops ( in the now-ruling sence of the word ) may receive it in abundance ( together with the knowledge of many other things concerning that generation of men , which would much enlighten the darkness of these times ) by the perusal of a treatise lately published by mr. w. prynne esquire , under the title of , the vn-bishoping of timothy and titus , &c. this considered , it is no great marvel , that learned men , more generally , who bare good will ( more than enough to the prelatical interest and cause , not onely in a times of a more ancient date , but even in latter years also , yea , within less than 140. years , all the bishops , arch-bishops , arch-deacons , and prelatical clergy , themselves in this very nation , a esteemed it their wisdom , to stick in the inferior tenure of jus humanum for the episcopal dignity , fearing ( as it seems , or however , as they had cause to fear ) that jus divinum would be an adversary to it , and overthrow it . i crave leave , upon the occasion before us , to acquaint the reader with a very memorable passage ( if he hath not heard it formerly ) of an arch-bishop in scotland , who in a recantation publickly made in the synod of fisse , anno. 1591. professed ex animo , from his soul , that bishops and ministers by god's word were all equal , and the very same ; that the hierarchy and superiority of bishops over other ministers , hath no foundation at all in the word of god , but was a meer humane institution long after the apostles times , from whence the antichristian papacy of the bishop of rome , hath both it's rise and progress : and that for 500. years la past , it hath been the chiefest instrument of persecuting , and suppressing the truth and saints of god , in all countries and kingdoms , as all historians manifest . the name of this great exemplar ( worthy to be had in everlasting remembrance ) was , if my author . mistakes not , patrick adamson . but even this man , though he was at last one of a thousand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in his repentance , yet was he first one also of many thousand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , who suffer themselves to be overcome of the tempting splendor of that new-divised worldly thing under an old spiritual name , commonly called bishoprick : so that he also beareth witness , as well to the truth of the particular in hand ( acknowledging in effect , that the scriptures are perverted and wrested by those who make them speak , either for bishops , or arch-bishops ) as of the particular last proceeding , namely , that bishopricks , notwithstanding the scriptures , and they be at odds , have yet a bewitching property in them to make great scholars , and learned men , who are in a capacity of enjoying them , excessively in love with them . 6. nor hath it any thing of an argument in it worth the insisting on , to prove the lawfulness of attending the ministry of a prelatical clergy , that the professors of christianity , have more generally attended such a ministry ever since it had a being in the church , which is ( in our english phrase ) time out of mind ten times over ( as is on all hands confessed ) . for , 1. it being the counsel of the will of god ( as we gave knowledge formerly ) to suffer that plant of bitterness , episcopacy , ( in the anti-canonical sense of the word ) not onely to be planted in the soil of his church , but to take fast root , to thrive and prosper , and spread her branches far and neer , and bring forth fruit from many ages , before he intended the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that tearing of it up by the roots , ( of which our saviour prophesieth as the common doom of all plants in the church which should be planted by men , and not by his heavenly father , matth. 15. 13. ) he judged it meet , and well comporting with that his counsel , to suffer the generality of christian professors , to be so far deluded by the fair flourishes , and enticing pretences , of those who designed the setting up of the episcopal government over them , as to yield their necks unto the yoke , and so to conform themselves to all the constitutions , and magisterial injunctions thereof in matters of religion . for unless the multitude of professors had been both at first , and for many after ages , so far bewitched , as willingly to bow dow at the feet of this exotique government , it could never have taken that deep rooting in the world which now it hath done , nor made so much work for the right hand of heaven , to rid the world fairly and fully of it , as now it is like to do . for though the compliance of many kings , and princes , and nobles , yea , and of many wise and learned men , yea , and of some worthy and good men also , with it , were necessary ( as god esteemeth things necessary in such cases ) to make the mountain of it so strong , as ( according to his permissive decree ) it hath been , for many ages by-past , in many parts of the christian world , and is at this day in many , yet had not the generality , or main body of christian people fallen in also , and made one and the same shoulder with them to support it , it had ( in davids comparison ) been as grass upon the house top , which withereth before it groweth up , wherewith the mower filleth not his hand , nor be that bindeth sheaves , his bosome . so that the general practice of christians in receiving their spiritual food from a prelatical ministry , thought continued for many generations , yet the practisers having all along suffered a spirit of slumber to grow upon them , ( for the tares were sown , whilest men slept , matth. 13. 25. ) and god not judging it meet to awaken them , their example signifieth little as to the justification of the practise . 2. as the apostle saith of the poor gentiles , that they were carried away to dumb idols , even as they were led , 1 cor. 12. 2. so ( the truth is ) the common sort of christians , through an un christian , yea , an unman like , oscitancy and supiness of spirit , have been in all ages ( and are at this day ) exceeding apt to be carried away with opinions and tenents , even as they were , and are , led by their teachers . it is a right saying of an heathen , omnes malumus credere ; quam judicare : there is scarce any of us all but naturally had rather , even in matters of a moral ) and much more , in things of a spiritual , and religious ) concernment , believe what others , whom we can have any pretence , or colour , to think well of , shall commend for truth unto us , than put our selves to the labour and travel of a serious and district examination whether it be truth , or no. offendt plerosque limae labor ; & mora : to work at the file , is both toylsome , and tedious , and few there be that love it . this was observed long since , by him that said , many loth to weary themselves with searching out the truth , turn in to the errors next at hand a yea , it was the saying of one that had been a teacher of the romish faith , that had not god raised up , and sent luther amongst them , they should have perswaded , and brought the people to eat hey , so then the spiritual guides and teachers of christian people having been ( for may generations ) ministers made such with prelatical hands , and justifying this ministry before their people , as legitimate and approved of god , both by their accepting it , and by their acting in the vertue , and by the authority of it , ( besides all occasional pleadings for it otherwise ) it is but matter of course ( as it were ) that their people should swallow it , and make no question about it for conscience sake . 3. the peoples attendance upon an episcopal ministry anciently , and near unto the times when episcopacy was first conceived , and brought forth in the christian church , was nothing so broadly inconsistent with the rule of the gospel , as now it is , but by many degrees more tollerable , and defensible , than that attendance upon a ministry of the same denomination , which is in these dayes exhibited unto it . the bishop that now is , ( i mean , that is now commonly so called ) is another kind of creature , specifically distinct from those that were so called , about the times when the name ( in the high signification of the word ) was first heard in the christian world : for if the best records of antiquity signifie any thing , the bishops we speak of , at , and some while after their first original , were chosen by the people , who were to live under their inspection and government , in conjunction with their ministers . so that those ministers , who were made afterwards by these bishops , were , in a sence ( viz. mediately , and remotely ) made by themselves ( i mean by the people themselves ) in and by that act of theirs , whereby they close their bishops , and gave them power ( i do not mean , a lawful power , for such was not in them to give ) to ordain ministers for them . now then if they did attend upon ministers episcopally ordained , upon the tearm specified , their example no wayes paralel's , no wayes countenceth , much lesse justifieth , the practise of any in these dayes , who from time to time sit under a prelatical ministry ; considering that the bishops , which the world now affordeth , are of a quite different extraction from those in ancient times , far more spurious and degenerate , the people of god being so far from chusing , or defiring them , that they make their way by an high hand to make themselves lords over them . 7. ( and lastly , for this ) as for those , who have dealt so effectually with their judgements and consciences , as to make themselves both able and willing , to conceive , that there can be no lawful ministry , but that which springs from under a pair of episcopal hands ; the conceit is so prodigiously importune and unreasonable , that to engage in any solemn or serious opposition to it , may seem to be a work proper onely for him that hath little else to do . nevertheless , because i find that there are not wanting amongst us , who have suffered themselves to be baptized in the spirit of this conceit , ( to the disparagement of their judgments , to the ensnaring of their consciences , and who knowes to what publique inconvenience besides ? ) to set them at liberty from the bands of this inchantment , i mast heartily and seriously recommend unto them the diligent perusal of that elaborate and learned discourse of mr. w. prynne lately mentioned , once and again ) published the second time with some enlargements , not long since , under the title of , the vn-bishoping of timothy , and titus , &c. in this discourse , besides that which is projected in chief ( the vindicating the holiness and honour of jus divinum , from having any thing to do with the dunghill-institution of the episcopal dignity ; for so it deserveth to be abased for exalting it self so high as to claim jure divino ) the reader shall find the priviledge of ordaining ministers , challenged by that order of men we speak of , as incommunicable unto all others , vested by god himself in persons of another order , and not at all in them considered ( as they use to consider themselves in the businesse ) in their elevation . argument vi. some again plead ; that christ hath purchased a liberty for all his , to seek , and to receive , their christian edification where-ever they can find it , and where-ever they shall desire to seek it with any hope of finding it . so that they are not tied in conscience unto any one sort , or kind of ministers , but may as lawfully , and without sin , hear as oft as they please , even such teachers , whose entrance into their office of ministry is most abominable and hateful unto cod , as those , who enter by that door , which he hath sanctified , and appointed for this purpose , and so come to the great work of the ministry with abundance of his blessing upon them : especially they plead , that the hearing of the vilest of ministers is sin-free , if they deliver any thing that is good for edification , and this be received : and in case they utter any thing of a contrary import , that this be rejected . answer . this argument savours of a spirit that hath flesh and bones relating to it , and these covered with a skin , which it desires to keep whole to sleep in . but , 1. the liberty purchased for us by christ , is an un-valuable treasure , a benifit and priviledge that passeth all humane understanding . but as in the true and right notion of it , it highly accommodates the spirit , making it abundantly fruitful , as well in righteousness , as in joy , and peace ; yea , and in some respect , accommodates the flesh also , as namely by easing it of the insupportable burthen of the levitical ceremonies : so in a corrupt and false notion , it hath been from the begining , and is at this day , made a pretence of much unworthiness , and a cloak and covering for many uncomly and sinful doings . the apostle admonishing the galatians not to use that liberty whereunto they had been called by christ , for an occasion unto the flesh , a [ that is , for the encouraging and strengthning of themselves in any carnal practises , or wayes unbecoming the gospel ] plainly implieth , that there is a great aptness in professors of the gospel to stumble at this stone , and to think they may lawfully do many things under the covert of their christian liberty , at which otherwise their consciences would boggle , and stand more in awe of the word of god restraining them . whereas the incomparable priviledge of the liberty purchased for us by christ , engageth us unto all things , which make , either for the honour of the gospel , or for the comfor , peace , and salvation of men , upon higher , and more awful , and sacred terms , than otherwise we had been ; yea , and upon the same terms , to refrain and forbear all things , though otherwise lawful ( if they be not necessary also ) which are contrary unto , either the one , or the other . this is the plain and unquestionable doctrine of the scriptures , and is accordingly taught by the generality of ministers learned in them . now then , 2. the hearing of a prelatical ministry by those , who judge themselves strong , being a great offence , and stumbling , to their weak christian brethren and this being known unto them so to be , the practise is as diametrally repugnant to the law of christian liberty , as lightly a practise can be . for this law ( as the great apostle hath drawn it up ) is , that christians by love should serve one another b now what this apostle speaketh elsewhere concerning material meat , is , in the case before us , altogether as applicable to the spiritual meat , or food , of christians ; nay , the misdemeanor in this case , is much greater , than that mentioned in the other . but if thy brother be grieved with thy meat , now walkest thou not charitably c [ that is , according to the emphasis and weight of the phrase , as expositors observe in sundry the like in scripture ] thou walkest exceeding uncharitably . for if it be objected , that we are not bound by any rule of charity , to forbear our spiritual food , for the offence of any , as we are our temporal ; i answer , yes : in the like sense , and respect , in which we are bound in charity towards a weak brother , to forbear temporal meat , we stand bound to forbear spiritual also . if a brother were so weak , as to be offended that i should eat any meat whatsoever in case of the utmost necessity for the support of my life , when i cannot come at any other , in this case i were not to regard his being offended , but to eat the meat which god hath given me to releive me in my extremity , howsoever : the reason is , because in such a case i stand bound in duty towards god to preserve my life , which i cannot do in any other way , but only by eating such meat , my eating of which may ( as the case supposeth ) offend my brother . but when i may relieve my hunger , and sustain my life , by several kinds of meat , one of which my brother judgeth it not lawful for me to eat , but taketh no offence at my eating any of the other , if in this case i should eat that which offendeth him , i should not ( as the apostle saith ) walk charitably towards him : but destroy him , and so abuse my christian liberty , and sin against christ . there is altogether the same consideration in chusing our spiritual nourishment , and means of edification . suppose we judge that we may , yea , and that we do edifie by resorting to a prelatical ministry ( about which we shall notwithstanding a little demur before the close of this answer ) yet knowing that our resorting hither , is an offence and scandal to many good christians , though weak , god having afforded us great variety otherwise of worthy means for our edification ( as hath been proved formerly ) a such a practise ( were it in it self lawful , yet ) being against charity , is an abuse of our christian liberty , a kind of wanton and contemptuous trampling upon the peace and comfort of our weak brethren ( who may be as precious in the sight of god as our selves , notwithstanding their weaknesse ) and consequently , must needs be a sin highly provoking the lord christ , indeed if god had commanded us to hearken unto this generation of ministers , what means soever besides he should vouchsafe unto us for our edification , or should have threatned us with the vengeance of eternal fire , if we did not hear them , in this case should any person be offended at us for hearing them , he must bear the burthen of his offence himself for we should be innocent ) but if under the circumstance mentioned , we shall comport , in our attention with them , & a weak brother shall be offended at our comportance in this kind ; god will require his offence at our hand . an offence may be taken at the performance of a duty ; but cannot be given but by an act of liberty . again , the misdemeanor of offending a weak brother by receiving our spiritual meat from the hand of a prelatical servitor , is in this respect more sinful , than to offend him in eating any material meat would be , namely , that the offence given in the former case , is by an action or practice that is in it self , and out of the case of scandal , unlawful ( as hath been proved at large ) whereas in the latter case , the offence is given by an action , which simply , and in it self considered , is lawful : for every creature of god ( saith the apostle , speaking of material meat ) is good , and nothing to be refused , &c. 1 tim. 4. 4. 3. it hath been proved in the preceding considerations , that the frequent recourse of godly persons to prelatical ministers in the publick exercise of their ministry , is , in several other respects , besides that of scandal and offence given unto weak christians , a manifest breach of the law of chrity ; as 1. because it encourageth such ministers in an evil way , and hideth repentance from their eyes ; whereas their withdrawing from them , is a proper means to make them better acquainted with themselves , and to help them to be ashamed of their babylonian preferment . 2. because by countenancing and strengthning the hand of these men in their way , they help to harden the hearts of their great lords and masters also in the evil of their way , which is more provoking in the sight of god than the other . 3. because by honouring the ministers of the prelatical creation , with their dependance on them for the words of eternal life , and high concernments of salvation , they keep up and strengthen the interest of the prelates in the hearts and minds of the people , and so make the mountain of their power the more strong and durable ; and consequently , bring upon their own heads the guilt of being accessary to all the outrages of persecution and cruelty , wherein this generation of men shall magnifie themselves against the saints of the most high. 4. because by accepting of ministers of an episcopal recommendation and investiture , they wrong and weaken the right-vested by christ in his respective churches , for the choice and ordination of their respective ministers . these particulars we argued more at large , and brought the truth of them into a clear light in the foregoing considerations : therefore we only mention them here . the reader may please to review consideration 2 , 3 , 4 13 , 14 , 15. so that the liberty purchased for the saints by christ , is so far from being a reasonable ground whereon to justifie or warrant the practice condemned in these papers , that it is a most sovereign disswasive and retractive from it : for the greater love christ hath any wayes manifested unto them , he hath laid so much the greater and stronger engagements upon them to love others , and more especially those of the houshold of faith ; and consequently , to refrain all wayes and doings that are inconsistent with this affection towards the one or the other . 4. ( and lastly ) the liberty purchased for the saints by christ , was intended by him only for their comfort , welfare and peace , not for their prejudice or loss : therefore any man to plead this liberty to embolden himself unto any such practice , whereby he is likely , or rather cannot but prejudice and endammage himself , and this in matters of greatest concernment unto him , must needs be an abuse of this liberty . now that for the servants of god to attend upon , or ( which is the same ) to hold communion with such a ministry which is no where approved , or sanctified by christ in his word , but obtruded upon christians with an high hand , by those who are confederate both in spirit & practice , with the scarlet whore sitting upon the scarlet-coloured beast , and drunken with the blood of the saints a ( a description which belyeth not the prelatical priesthood , or ministry ) must needs have a direct and strong tendency to their real loss and detriment , may be thus brought out of darkness into light . the great jealousie and fierce wrath of god are again and again reveated from heaven , not only against the antichristian beast himself , that had two horns like a lamb , yet spake as a dragon b &c. but also against all his complices and followers , against all his worshipers , and those that should communicate with him in his sins [ that is , in any of tho●● sins which are more appropriately his , his , as he claims to be vicar general unto christ , and to umpire matters of christian religion and divine worship , as he pleaseth , and by what penalties , as well civil , as ecclesiastick , he pleaseth ] and the third angel followed them , saying , with a loud voice , if any man worship the beast and his image , and receive his mark in his fore head , or in his hand , the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of god , which is poured out without mixture [ that is , without any allay of mercy or compassion ] into the cup of his indignation , and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone , in the presence of the holy angels , and in the presence of the lamb : and the smoak of their torment ascendeth up for ever . and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image , and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name c . a most dreadful denunciation and warning ! enough to make both the ears of him that shall hear it , to tingle ; and to prevail with any man that loves not the vengeance of hell fire , or to have god his enemy in the fiercest of his indignation , to keep off , at least , the thousand six hundred furlongs distance , spoken of ( rev. 14. 20. ) from all communion with the beast , babylon , the false prophet , and scarlet whore , in all their lewd and detestable doings . and whereas several other things of moment might be observed from the passages now cited , i shall at present ) take notice of these two only . first , that the most severe and dreadful vengeance here described , is not threatned against any inward defection , or leaning in heart , mind or judgement , towards the wayes and practices of the beast , but against any outward compliance with him , as in the receiving his mark in the forehead , or in the right hand , &c. so that it is in vain for men to plead the integrity and goodness of their heart , if in their outward man they conform to any of his abominations . secondly , that the holy ghost expresseth those compliances , or those acts of compliance , with the beast , against which the most heavy doom described is threatned , in words and phrases that are obscure and of difficult interpretation ( as the worshipping of the beast and his image , the receiving his mark in the forehead , or in the right hand ) that so the saints might be made jealous and fearful , not only of such actions und wayes wherein they should broadly and right-down symbolize , and comport with him , but even of those also , which have the least and lightest appearance of such a comportment . men use to be more circumspect in their way , and more careful of keeping themselves at a sufficient distance from ditches , precipices , and places of danger , when they walk in the twilight , the light of the sun is apt to make them more bold and venturous . and it is the express will of god concerning us , that we abstain , not only from that which is really and unquestionably evil , but from all appearance of evil a likewise , yea , and from whatsoever is of an inviting , tempting , and alluring nature unto evil b ; yea , and from whatsoever we are not reasonably , and well assured in our judgements and consciences , that it is not evil c now that our ordinary and frequent attendance upon persons commissioned and sent by prelates to preach , is a countenancing of , and consequently , a communicating with , as well the one , as the other , in their sins ( with the prelates in their blasphemous usurpations and incroachments upon the high prerogative of christ ; with the preachers , in their consenting unto their masters in those sacrilegious impieties , by dividing the spoile with them , and accepting a ministerial dignity from and under them ) hath been demonstratively proved formerly d . and the sin of prelates in claiming and exercising such a power in , and over the churches of christ , which is competent only unto christ himself , and accordingly appropriated unto him by god , being ( for kind ) one of the most notorious and stigmatical sins of the babylonish or antichristian beast ; they who justifie , or any wayes communicate with the prelates in the sin , justifie the beast also , and communicate with him in the same , and consequently , bring themselves under the dint of those most terrible threatnings from heaven , which are bent against him , and all that bird him god speed in the way of his antichristian abominations ( as we lately heard ) neither are they who quarrel with him , or declare themselves with the greatest zeal and passion against him , about other matters wherein themselves are , or ( probably ) may be some wayes concerned , hereby either made , or declared innocent from the great offence of complying with him , and justifying him . for thieves may fall out , and draw swords upon one another about dividing the prey , and yet-justifie one the other in following the same wicked course of thieving : and sampson's foxes were tyed together by their tails , when their heads looked contrary wayes . in like manner , men may preach and write with a keen stile , yea and make most severe laws against him , that calleth himself christ vicar [ that is , antichrist a ] and against those that profess a religious subjection unto him ( whom we call papists ) and yet may symbolize , and be in the same condemnation with him , if they claim or exercise , yea , or maintain and justifie that kind of power which he claims ( though over greater numbers of men ) and exerciseth , but in much a larger sphere than they ; a power ( i mean ) of imposing upon men what they please in matters of religion , or of faith and worship , under what penalties they please also . the claim of this power over the chrictian world , ( or , i might say , over the whole world ) constitutes him that maketh the claim , whoever he be , that notorious and grand anti-christ , or vice christ , of whose coming into the world in his season , the christians in the dayes of the apostles paul and john , had heard , b and whose history ( his rise , progress , exploits , continuance , together with his most doleful and dreadfull catastrophe , or end ) is prophetically set forth by these apostles ; by the former more briefly , 2 thess . 2. by the latter , more largely in the book of the revelation . and whosoever they be that claim the like power , though it be over a smaller part of men , and over those only , who live under their civil government and power , ( as most rulers and governours that are called christian , do ) they justifie that very power in the nature or kind of it , the claim and exercise of which is the very life and soul , and quickning spirit of antichrist emphatically , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to called : and consequently , in this respect , may ( with too good propriety of speech ) be termed antichristian , or antichrists of an inferiour order . but this by the way . from the late premises it plainly enough appeareth , that the lending of our ears and understandings , from time to time , to a ministry of a spurious and earthly descent , and which the prelates ( rank of the spirit that breatheth in antichrist the great ) may truly call theirs , is a constructive justification of this antichrist , and that in his fundamental wickedness ( as was even now hinted ) and so exposeth us unto danger of partaking with him in his plagues : and therefore cannot be encouraged , or led unto it by the sweet genius of the liberty purchased for us by christ ; this ( as hath been shewed ) most effectually disswading and drawing us aside from all actions and wayes , that are of any threatning or dangerous consequence unto us . secondly , whereas the argument pleadeth that the benefit of edification may lawfully be sought after , and received , from any ministry whatsoever , not only in the reformed churches , but even among papists themselves , as from jesuites , fryars , &c. i answer ; 1. that evil ought not to be done , for the compassing or obtaining of any good whatsoever . the great apostle being reported to affirm the contrary , rejects the report with great indignation , as an unworthy slander , rom. 3. 8. and no marvel ; it being repugnant even to the light of nature ( as might be shewed from the sayings of some of her prophets ) that the attainment of that which is good , should be endeavoured by unlawful wayes : the reason whereof might be insisted on , but that we are in hast . now it bath been formerly argued , and proved , by considerations not a few , that to attend upon any ministry , which is of an apocryphal and sinful erection , and consequently derogatory unto christ , and his care and faithfulness over the house of god , whatsoever our ends or expectations may be , in , or from such our attendance , is unlawful , and displeasing unto god , and more especially , and unquestionably , in the case of scandal given to weak christians . no goodness of ends or intentions , will make atonement for a sinful action . 2. though edification be more necessary , and of greater concernment to be endeavoured and sought after by a christian , than his daily bread , yet god having provided orderly and regular means , and these every way sufficient for his obtaining it , ( as hath been with greatest evidence proved from the scriptures * ) he is not to please himself with breaking the divine appointment on this behalf , or to be his own carver , when god hath set out a meet and full allowance for him ; no whit more , than with seeking his daily bread by indirect and unwarrantable practices , when as there are honest wayes and means to supply him in this kind , which have the blessing of god annexed by promise unto them , and he well capable of the use of them . the holy ghost chargeth it upon the saints as a special duty and service for the honour of christ , that they observe a decorum , and comely order in their church assemblies , and in managing the ordinances and holy institutions of god. let all things be done decently , and in order b . and the apostle paul signifies to the colossians that he rejoyced , beholding , though onely in spirit , ( for he was now absent in body ) their order c . and titus was left by him in crete to put things in order , or ( as the word signifieth ) to set matters at rights , in the churches there d . now as it is a manifest breach of order , when a wife is disobedient to her own husband , her obedience unto him being fit and comely ( as the holy ghost himself hath adjudged it , coloss . 3. 18. ) so is it no lesse disorderly for any person , who hath freely embodyed himself in a church of christ , the members whereof ought to submit themselves one to another in the fear of the lord ( ephes . 5. 21. 1 pet. 5. 5. ) and again , to serve one another in love , gal. 5. 13. to build up themselves in their most holy faith , jude vers . 20. to obey those that are over them in the lord , and to esteem them very highly in love for heir work sake , 1 thes . 5. 12 , 13. heb. 13. 17. not to forsake the assembling of themselves together , but to exhort one another , heb. 10. 25. not to make rents or divisions in their body , 1 cor. 1. 10. or to cause offences , rom. 16. 17. ( with several other things of like import with these ) it is ( i say ) disorderly in the highest for any member being under such sacred obligations as these , unto his body , or fellow-members , to turn his back upon them , to abandon their communion , to forsake their holy assemblies , and under a pretence of christian liberty to seek after edification , to betake himself from time to time unto strange teachers ( especially being of an infamous and polluted order ) and to frequent congregations of a politique constitution , and worldly complexion , in the name of churches of christ . now for any man to expect edification by violating the order , which christ hath established in his churches , is with as little reason , as to expect to gather grapes of thorns , or figs of chistles . 3. ( and lastly , for this ) were it granted , or supposed , that a person might gather as much , yea , or more , knowledge in the misteries of the gospel , from the lips of strange teachers in their ministry , than he was like to do by the teachings in his own church , and amongst those , from whom he hath sperated himself ; yet neither will this prove that he edifieth , as much , or more , as , or than , he might have done , by waiting upon god at the door of the lips of him , or them , who speak from god , in his own congregation . the silver , and gold , which an ungodly man possesseth , may be of the same kind of mettal , and of the same allay , and refining , with that , which is possessed by one that is righteous : yet the prophet david saith , that a little that a righteous man hath , is better [ that is , is serviceable to the owner upon a better account ] than the riches of many wicked * . the reason is , or may be , because the righteous mans little , being honestly gotten , or obtained , hath the blessing of god upon it , and is sanctified unto him : whereas the riches of wicked men , being either unjustly obtained , or unconscionably detained and kept up , or both , are polluted unto the owners , and have the curse of god cleaving to them , according as he threatneth , mal. 2. 2. i will curse your blessings . in like manner , the knowledg in things appertaining unto god , and relating unto the saving of the soul , which is obtained by breach of gospel-order , and by attending upon a ministry of an unclean parentage and descent , may , in the letter and notion of it , be altogether the same ( yea and possibly exceed it ) with that , which is gained by keeping close to god in his gospel-institutions & appointments , and received from those teachers , which the holy ghost hath set over us , or is dispensed in our own christian assemblies ; and yet come far short of it in the matter of true edification [ i mean , in building men up in faith and true holiness . ] for there is an aptness in knowledge , in conjunction with the weakness and vanity of the heart of man , to puff men up ( as the apostle speaketh ) which is as contrary to edification , as contrary may be , unless the flatulency and windiness of it be corrected by the grace and blessing of god. besides , the scripture in many known places , informeth us , that knowledge and ungodliness agree too well together ( many times ) in the same subject and soul . now though god may ( as hath been argued , and granted , formerly ) sometimes countenance and bless a ministry of a forreign plantation , to the conversion of some , and edification of others [ namely when , and whilst , the irregularity and unlawfuess of it remains un-discovered , so that people in the simplicity of their hearts resort unto it , and whilst other means of grace are scant , and gospel churches few , and remote ] yet there is little question to be made but that he much more rejoyceth over a ministry of his own contrivance and establishment , to work gracious and great things by it for the precious souls of men . and ministers , who receive their commission for their work from him , or in his way , are oft found ministers of the spirit , when as those of an exotique and earthly protrusion , though of greater gifts , and parts of learning , prove ( in comparison ) ministers onely of the letter . therefore they that go wondring , or wandring , after such teachers as these , upon a design or desire of christian edification , expose themselves by a like course , unto a like curse or disappointment , with those jews of old , concerning whom the prophet said , they shall commit adultery [ that is , they shall take unto them many wives ] and shall not increase a and as it is recorded of daniel and his three companions , who refused to defile themselves with the portion of the kings meat , or with the wine which he drank , chusing rather to eat pulse , and to drink water ; that their countenances appeared fairer , and fatter in flesh , then all the children that did eat the portion of the kings meat b : in like manner they , who out of conscience , shal content themselves with that spiritual diet , though it seems but spare and thin , which god judgeth meet to provide for them , are like to thrive better in the inner man , and to grow faster in grace , than those teachers , by whom the souls of the princes , and great men of the earth delight to be served . so the israelites in the wilderness , being dissatisfied with manna ( which yet was angels bread c ) villifying it as a light bread d , and complaining , that their soul was dryed away for want of better nourishment e , fell a lusting after flesh : wherewith though god was greatly provoked , yet they were not disappointed of their lust f , flesh was given them in great abundance g : but while the flesh was yet between their teeth , the wrath of the lord was kindled against them , and the lord smote them with an exceeding great plague h . and it is greatly to be feared , that such members of christian congregations , who kick against the spiritual provisions in those houses of god , to which they relate , as if there were neither marrow , nor fatness , nor any good nourishment in them , and think to feast sumpiuously with the world in their synagogues , and assemblies ; greatly ( i say ) it is to be feared , that the sweet morsels they shall eat here , will never digest kindly with them , nor breed any good blood , but turn to wind and water , and bring the displeasure of god upon them . therefore if edification be the end which men propose unto themselves in taking a liberty to travel to drink of the waters of abanah and pharpar , they might with much more wisdom , and likelihood of success , have consulted the obtaining of their desire in this kind , by staying at home , and contenting themselves with the streams of jordan . argument vii . lastly , some conceive they may lawfully hear those ministers whom these papers all along have endeavoured to perswade all good men to decline and turn away from , if they hear them onely as men well furnished by god with gifts and abilities for the preaching of the gospel , and shall not at all mind , or regard , their ordination ; neither whence it comes , nor whither it goes , nor by what , or whose , authority they stand forth to preach . for that it is lawful to hear any man preach the gospel , even without any ordination by men at all , if we perceive , or understand , him competently qualified for the work , is more generally , if not universally , acknowledged by knowing and understanding men . answer . 1. there is little question to be made but that it may be lawful to hear , yea oft , and from time to time , to hear such a man preach , or declare in words , and in a continued discourse ( for this i call preaching ) the counsel and mind of god in the gospel , who never received ordination ( in the common , and best known notion of the word ) from men ; yet under these conditions , or proviso's . 1. that he pretends not to an ordination , having never received any , true , or false , and the falshood of his pretence , or his lye in this case , is either known to us , or justly suspected . it is not worthy a christian , to countenance a liar , or a person justly suspected for such , in so sacred a work , as the dispensing the oracles of god. 2. that he hath not submitted to any mock ordination , or such which is irregular ( in the principal , or main of it ) for such an ordination is a meer nullity ( as was shewed soon after the beginning of this discourse ) in which respect , he that walketh under it , may well be taken for a non-ordained man. yet such a man is not to be countenanced , or honoured , with the presence of a christian , when he presumes ( not having first , by one means or other , testified his repentance for such a miscarriage ) to minister the glorious gospel of christ . for it is not meet that the sheep of christ should give ear to such a shepherd , who entreth not by the door ( that is , by christ , and according to his appointment ) into the sheep-fold , but climbeth up another way , joh. 10. 1 , 5. compared . but this is the main part argued hitherto . 3. that we find him to be , in some degree at least , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , enabled by god to teach : which requireth , 1. some good acquaintance in the master veins of the body of the gospel : and 2. a convenient utterance , so as to be able to communicate the conceptions of his mind , unto the minds and understandings of those that hear him . to encourage any private christian to the exercise of prophesying , in any more publick way than amongst those of his own family , whom god hath not recommended unto his brethren , by the common donation of both these gifts unto him , especially the former , in some considerable proportion above the generality of his fellows , tendeth rather to the dishonour of the gospel , and to the disparagement of him that is encouraged upon such terms , than otherwise . 4. that he be a person of a modest , humble , sober , and grave spirit , of an inoffensive and exemplary behaviour , not under any observation or reproach for any thing scandalous or unchristian , in his course . if they shall undertake to preach christ , who are enemies unto him , ( as all those are who obey not his gospel , or will not suffer him to reign over them , luke 19. 27. ) they are not to be honoured or encouraged in such their undertaking , by those who are his friends . 5. ( and lastly ) that whilst we honour a private christian in his exercise of those good gifts , which god hath given him for our edification and comfort , we do not prejudice ( in the least ) that greater and more solemn ordinance of the ministry , which christ hath given as a singular blessing unto his churches ; nor any wayes discourage or grieve those , who are over us in the lord , and must give an account for our souls . the ordinances of christ are all necessary in their ( respective ) seasons , and amicably affected towards one another : there is imployment enough , and this honourable , for them all ; so that one needs not endamage or entrench upon the priviledges of another . these cautions and conditions observed , there is little question but that it is very lawful to attend upon the gospelexercises of a private person , or a man nor ordained ( in the common sense of the word ) for the work of the ministry , or of preaching : yet this proveth not ( as was even now briefly shewed ) that it is in like manner lawful to hear he preachings of a person , who hath so far neglected the honour and pleasure of his great lord and master christ , as to purchase leave and liberty , to preach the gospel , of those who have neither power to grant , nor power to deny , and least of all , power to sell , any such thing , but are intruders upon , and usurpers , yea , and prophaners of the holy priviledges both of christ and his people . 2. if it be unlawful to hear such ministers as these , as , or because they are prelatically ordained , it cannot be lawful to hear them as gifted men , or as persons well qualified , in respect of knowledge and utterance , to preach the gospel . for it is a general and true rule , that no particular or individual action , which is unlawful in respect of any one circumstance , can be made lawful by the innocency of never so many circumstances otherwise . nor is there any particular action so broadly unlawful , but hath some circumstance ( haply , many ) lawful enough relating to it , according to the saying , malum semper habitat in alieno fundo , evil alwayes dwells in a soyl that is none of its own ; meaning , that it still cleaveth unto somewhat that is ( naturally ) good . 3. ( and lastly , ) in case he that thinketh it lawful to hear the ministers we speak of , as men well accomplished with gifts for the work of preaching , though not as men sinfully ordained , should openly and publickly declare and profess , that he heareth them only in the former consideration , and at no hand in the latter , his act in hearing them ( i conceive ) would be much more excusable , both with god and good men ; but whether it would be wholly justified hereby , i somewhat doubt . if a man should bow down to , or before an image , although he should never so seriously protest and say , that he boweth not down to it , or before it , as it is silver , gold , wood , stone , or the like , nor as it is the workmanship of mens hands , but only as it putteth him in mind of god ; i believe this would not make him innocent of the great offence of violating the second commandment , where bowing down to an image is expresly forbidden : for no consideration put by man upon such an action , which is a direct breach of any commandment of god , can alter the property of it , or cause it to be no such breach . therefore if it be against the mind of god , that we should with our presence honour the teachings of such ministers , who come in this name unto us , from under prelatical hands , it is not our considering them as persons gifted for the ministry , when we do thus honour them , that will reconcile our acting in this kind with the mind , or will of god ; how much less , if we shall keep this our consideration to our selves , and within our own breasts ? for in this case , how shall our weak brother , who is offended at our hearing such ministers , come to know , but that we hear them upon the worst , and most offensive terms of all , namely , as preaching by vertue of their episcopal ordination , and so be offended much more ? again , how shall the ministers themselves whom we hear , not think but that we hear them as ministers of christ , rightly ordained , and so be strengthened or hardened in the evil of their way , upon a supposal of our concurrence in judgement with them , touching their ordination , and the goodness of the way by which they have entered into the ministry , if we hear them from time to time , without declaring or protesting against their ordination ? so that whoever they be , that judge it unlawful to hear them as prelatical ministers , have no reasonable ground to think that they may notwithstanding lawfully hear them as gifted men , unless they shall make their tongues the interpreters of their minds and intentions in the case . neither dare i warrant them that the loudest declaring of themselves in this kind , will warrant their practice in hearing them : but i really believe , that they will find it much cheaper of the two , and every way more commodious for them , wholly to wave the hearing of the men they wot of , than to make any such declaration . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a41500-e400 a socios christi vocat ●●bitiosos 〈◊〉 qui 〈◊〉 cultus , ●ue ac chri●●●s ipse , insti●●●erent . 〈◊〉 . b sociorum 〈◊〉 i.e. pa●rum 〈◊〉 qui nibil te 〈◊〉 , sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●ecum ●estoris specie , appellatione . 〈◊〉 in notis locum . a ignosci 〈◊〉 simpliciter 〈◊〉 antibus : 〈◊〉 inspiratio●●m vero , & ●●velationem ●●ctam , sine ig●●rantiae 〈◊〉 peccatur . ●ypr . ep. 63. a mr. w. prynn , vn-bishoping of timothy , &c. reprinted with ad●itions , anno. ●661 . ● . 1 , 2 , 3 , 〈◊〉 . ( after the postscript . ) a see mr. w. prynne , vn-bishoping , &c. p. 76. 77. a a multi raedio investigandae veritatis , ad proximos divertunt errores . minut. felix . a gal. 5. 13. b gal 5. 13. c rom. 14. 15. adverbia necandi , ejus cui ●dhibentur contrarium significant . mede 〈◊〉 apoc. p. 152 a consideration 19. a rev. 17. 3 , 6. b rev. 13. 11. c rev. 14. 9. 10. 11. elsewhere the sore displeasure of god is declared ( threatning-wise ) against those that shall compo●● with this beast in his sins , rev. 8. 4. chap. 19 , 17 , 18 , 2 thes 2. 12. a 1 thess . 5. 22. b prov. 23. ●1 . exod. 34. 5 , 16. deut. 2. 30. ( with many other ; ) c rom. 14. 14 , 23. d see consideration 2 , and 4. a the word antichrist signifieth as well christ's substitute , deputy , vicar , or one that acteth in his place or stead , as one that is an adversary or enemy to him : although it be true , that he that acteth in his head , exercising such a power , which is appropriately his , & vested in him only , is his grand adversary , and must needs be so , as might be shewed at large . the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as our best lexicons inform us , most properly signifieth , pro , vice , loco ; for , instead , or place [ of another ] and is in this sense frequently used in the new testament , matth 2. 22. luke 11. 11. jam. 4. 15. not is it ( i verily believe ) here so much as once used in an adversative 〈◊〉 yea , incomposition it is used in the like signification . acts 18. 2. and elsewhere . b 2 thess . 2. 5 , 6. 1 john 4. 3. * see consideration 19. b 1 cor. 14. 40. c col. 2. 5 d tit. 1. 5 * psal . 37. 16. a hosen 4. 10. b dan. 1 8 , 12 , 13 c psal . 98 25 d numb 21. 5 e numb 11. 6. f psa . 78 30 g numb 11. 31. h numb 11. 33. a vindication of the ordinations of the church of england in which it is demonstrated that all the essentials of ordination, according to the practice of the primitive and greek churches, are still retained in our church : in answer to a paper written by one of the church of rome to prove the nullity of our orders and given to a person of quality / by gilbert burnet. burnet, gilbert, 1643-1715. 1677 approx. 308 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 123 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a30479 wing b5939 estc r21679 12683329 ocm 12683329 65714 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a30479) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 65714) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 683:1) a vindication of the ordinations of the church of england in which it is demonstrated that all the essentials of ordination, according to the practice of the primitive and greek churches, are still retained in our church : in answer to a paper written by one of the church of rome to prove the nullity of our orders and given to a person of quality / by gilbert burnet. burnet, gilbert, 1643-1715. [64], 181 p. printed by e.h. and t.h. for r. chiswel ..., london : 1677. "an appendix: about the forms of ordaining priests and bishops in the latin church": p. 107-181. in reply to "arguments to prove the invalidity of the orders of the church of england," which is reprinted p. 1-10. errata: prelim. p. [64]. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng catholic church -clergy -appointment, call, and election. church of england -clergy -appointment, call, and election. ordination. 2003-10 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-11 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-12 rina kor sampled and proofread 2003-12 rina kor text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a vindication of the ordinations of the church of england . in which it is demonstrated that all the essentials of ordination , according to the practice of the primitive and greek churches , are still retained in our church . in answer to a paper written by one of the church of rome to prove the nullity of our orders ; and given to a person of quality . by gilbert burnet . london : printed by e. h. and t. h. for r. chiswel at the rose and crown in st. paul's church-yard , 1677. imprimatur hic liber , cui titulus ( a vindication of the ordinations , &c. ) guil. iane r. p. d. hen. episc. lond. à sacris domesticis . the preface . the agents of the church of rome studying to accommodate their religion to every man's taste and inclinations , use their endeavours with all persons , in those things wherein they think they may most likely succeed . if they find some that love to live at their ease , and to reconcile their hopes of pardon , and heaven with a lewd life , then they offer to secure them by slight confessions , easie penances , cheap pardons , and indulgences , and the communication of the merits of other persons : if they fall on others of a sowrer composition , the severities of some religious orders and unmerciful penances are laid before them : if they meet with those that can easily believe every thing that is told them with much assurance , then many miracles and other wonderful stories are mustered up : if others seem not so tractable and credulous , then they study to shew them there is no certainty at all about religion ; if all their traditions be not believed : and so they can but shake them from our church , they car●… not whither such doubts may drive them , were it headlong to atheism : if they fin●… others that are fanciful and enthusi●…stical in their religion , then they tell the●… of visions , raptures , and ecstasies , with out number : or if they fall on other that love the order and gravity of th●… church , then they think the game is eas●… and sure , they tell them of the antiqu●…ty , universality , and continued succe●…sion of their church , and of the novelt●… the narrowness and want of succession i●… ours . and though the fallaciousness these objections have been so oft laid pen , that by this time it might have be●… reasonably expected , men of ingenuity a●… probity should have been ashamed of co●…tinuing them ; yet these gentlemen 〈◊〉 proof against all discoveries . the reader will easily discern h●… guilty the writer of the following paper 〈◊〉 of going in the beaten tract of asserti●… things confidently , which , if he be a man of learning , he must needs know they have no strength in them : and if he be not acquainted with ecclesiastical learning , ( which in charity to him i am bound to believe ) it is very presumptuously done of him to give out papers of this importance , in a point that no man ought to engage in but he that has studied antiquity to some competent degree . for to charge any person , much more a whole church , with the basest sacriledg and forgery , unless one be well assured in his conscience that he is able to make it good , is such a piece of uncharitableness and high presumption , that i know no excuse it can admit of : and if our church be bringing souls to christ in the method proposed in the gospel , how much has the writer of this paper , or any other that manages these arguments to answer for , that study to raise such scruples as tend to cross and defeat so good a design ? but this paper , weak as it is , was thought fit to be copied out , and given about , and was brought to a person of quality , that had been educated under a deep sense of the reverence due to the church and churchmen ; so that they hoped if such a one could be once induced to believe that we had no orders , nor church-men duly called , among us , it had been easie to have prevailed further . but that person being sincerely pious and devout , and not easily shaken with every story that was made , and being desirous to be fully satisfied in this matter , conveighed the paper into my hands , and i was put upon the answering it . i quickly saw that the arguments were so weak and trifling , that they were very easily answered ; yet since i was to engage in such a subject , i resolved to do it with as much care and industry as the importance of the matters required : and finding that , for all that had been written on this controversie , there remained a great deal to be said , i have so fully considered it , as i hope no scruple will remain with discerning persons , and for the endless doubtings of weaker minds , and the restless endeavours of busie emissaries , nothing can satisfie or silence those . it may seem too great a presumption in one that is a stranger in this church to engage in a question that so much concerns it . but though i had not my orders in this church , yet i derive them from it , being ordained by a bishop that had his ordination in this church ; so that i am equally concerned in the issue of the question : and i am confident no body shall have cause to imagine that i engage in it with design to betray or give it up . among the many unjust and spiteful calumnies , with which the clergy of the roman communion , study to asperse and disgrace the reformation , there are none more frequently made use of , than these , that there are no pastors lawfully called or ordained among us , that we have not the power of making god present on our altars , as they have , nor the power of absolving from sins , much less of redeeming souls from the miseries they are under in another state . they tell their credulous followers , that we were all at first no better than a company of tub-preachers , and that all the disorders we saw of that sort during the late wars , were as justifiable as the first beginnings of the reformation . and tho the ridiculous fable of the nags-head , be so manifest a forgery , supported by no good evidence and overthrown by the authority of so many publick records , besides many other clear presumptions from the state of things , and the time in which that was said to be done , that one might very reasonably expect that all sober or discreet persons should be ashamed of so foul an imposture ; yet it serves them still for many a good turn , and so they will never lay it down : tho i dare boldly say there is no matter of fact of which there are no surviving witnesses , that can be demonstrated with clearer evidences than the regularity and canonicalness of the ordination of arch bishop parker . others , that are not so lost in impudence , yet say that tho we have a shadow of a succession among us , yet we shew how little regard we have to orders , when we acknowledg the protestant churches beyond the seas to be true churches , tho many of them do not so much as pretend to a continued succession of pastors . for the foreign churches , they are able to speak for themselves ; nor is it needful for me here to shew what grounds there are for our churches holding communion with them . but it must be acknowledged to be a high pitch of boldness and injustice to charge us , as if we did not ascribe all due honour to holy orders and the succession of pastors . we know and assert , that no man can take this honor ( of priesthood ) to himself , but he that is called of god as was aaron : so also christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest ; but he that said unto him , thou art my son , this day have i begotten thee . we reject the extravagant and bold pretences of hot-headed or factious enthusiasts , and have learned out of the gospel , that a publick calling was necessary , even to those who had the most extraordinary gifts of the holy ghost . our savionr sent his disciples as his father had sent him ; and laid his hands on them and gave them the power of binding and loosing . and tho god had by his spirit called saul and barnabas , to the apostleship of the gentiles , yet they did not enter upon the discharge of that function , till by the direction of the holy ghost , ( whether by a voice formed in the air , or by a secret inspiration , it matters not , ) they were separated , for the work of the ministry by prayer and imposition of hands . and tho timothy was by some prophesies marked out as a sacred person , yet he was received into that function by the imposition of s. pauls hands . from these sacred authorities , backed with the constant doctrine and practice of the churches of god , in all ages , we do hold a visible vocation and ordination of pastors necessary in the church . but whether the roman pontifical , or our ordinal comes nearer the rules and instances in scripture , and the forms of the primitive times , for at least eight hundred years , any that will compare them , will easily discern , and it is the chief subject of the following work , fully to evince the advantage of our forms beyond theirs . it is true , we do not extol the office of priesthood to that height as to say , the priest can by a few words work the greatest miracle that ever was , and can make god present , ( as they love to phrase it ) this we think is the honouring the creature more than the creator . nor do we exalt the priest above gods vicegerent on earth our lawful soveraign , whom ( according to the doctrine of the primitive church , even when persecuted by their emperours , ) we honour as next to god and one who is inferiour to god only . and therefore we reject the seditious comparing of the dignity of the priestly office , with the kingly , which has not satisfied the ambition of the romish clergy since hildebrands days , but the one must be preferred to the other . nor do we pretend that our character gives us an immunity to commit crimes , and an exemption from the civil courts , when they are committed . this were to make the altar a sanctuary for the most criminal , and the house of prayer a den of thieves and robbers . it is true christian princes granted these immunities at first that church-men might not be disturbed in their callings , nor vexed with troublesome sute●… . but afterwards that would not suffice , but the doctrine of ecclestastical iurisdiction and immunity , was set up , as a thing most sacred : and no wonder was it that men durst not presume to lay hands on him , who could bring down not only legions of angels , but god himself with a word . and in the beginning of this century , italy had almost been imbroiled in a war of the popes making ; for which he pretended this for one cause , that the state of venice had apprehended two notoriously l●…ud and flagitious priests , and were proceeding against them according to law. but he saw other princes were not very ready to second him , and yet he did not lay down the quarrel till the frocess of the priests was discharged , and they were set at liberty . such exemptions are very profitable for a corrupt clergy , but if any such be among us , we claim no such protection , being willing to leave them to the law. we know as little ground for thinking the priest , by his saying mass can bring souls out of purgatory , the scriptures have made no discoveries either of purgatory , or the ways to escape from it , or get out of it : the primitive church continued still as ignorant as the holy pen-men had been ; but in the darkest ages , ( the night being a fit time for dreams , ) this other world was discovered , which has brought greater returns of power and riches to that prince , under whose protection the discovery was made , than the world columbus discovered , has sent to the crown of castile . and tho the trade is not of that advantage that it was , yet in gratitude for past services it must never be neglected , or as when the vein of a mine fails , they dig on through the hardest rocks till they find it again , for the works must still go on . but we , poor souls , have nothing to do with that gainful traffick , and therefore the glory of the discovery and the monapoly of the trade , we freely resign up to them , and acknowledg the profits of new inventions , by the rules of all government , are only due to the inventors ; so that they have no reason to quarrel with us for leaving this entirely to them . for the power of binding and loosing , we do assert that as our saviour vested his disciples with it , so it is still in the church : but if the vigor and exercise of it be much weakened , we have none to blame for it but the church of rome : who have now in a course of many ages , laid down all open and publick penance . so that the world being once delivered from that which to licentious men seemed a heavy bondage , it is not to be wondred at , if the primitive strictness could not be easily retrieved . 't is true , this is a defect in our church , it is confessed by her in the office of commination , and she wishes it may be restored ; but the decay and disuse of it begun in the church of rome ; and every body knows that what is severe and uneasy to flesh and blood , is not soon submitted to , when the practice of it is for any considerable time intermitted . but the clergy of that communion , thought they had made a good bargain , when the necessity of auricular confessors , and private absolution was received : to which the laity did more easily submit , that they might be freed from the shame of open penance : and they knew how to deal with their priests , when the penance was secret , none knew either the heinousness of their sins , or the nature of the penance : so it was more safe for the priest to enjoyn what he listed , and give absolution on what terms he pleased . and then because it was painful to have the absolution delayed , till the penance was fulfilled , which was the rule of the primitive church , absolution was granted immediatly upon con●…ession , without more ado : as arnaud has fully discovered to the world . certainly every body that considers these things must discern what merchandise the roman clergy have made of the power of the keys , to make themselves masters of all mens secrets , and of their consciences , then was the necessity of secret confession set up ; tho there be nothing in scripture that favours it : any places that look that way , being only meant of confessing our faults to those against whom they are committed , or of a publick confession in the cases of publick offences . nor can it be pretended with any colour of truth or reason , that the primitive church did set up or authorise confession , in any other way than as our church does , recommending it only as an excellent mean , towards the quieting the conscience and the avoiding of all scruple and doubtfulness . penitence is also a mean for humbling the sinner more , for possessing him with deeper apprehensions of the guilt and evil of sin , and of the iustice of god , and for ingaging him to more diligence and watchfulness for the future , and by these rules all the primitive discipline was contrived and managed ; that it might be a wholsome medicine for the reforming the world : and every honest priest ought to consider these as the end he must drive at in all his dealings with penitents , and for this end the absolution is to be withheld till it appears that the person is truely penitent : and that both for the priests sake that he may not give the comforts of the gospel , nor make use of his ministerial power of loosing sins without good grounds : and also for the sinners sake that he may be kept under the fear of the wrath of god ; and be excluded from the comfortable priviledges of the christian church , till he had given some convincing proofs , that he is a penitent indeed . for if he be freed from these fears by a hasty absolution , it is very like he will be slight in his repentance . there must be also some proportion between the penance and the sin committed ; such as fasting for sins of intemperance , bodily severities for inordinate pleasures , alms-giving for sins of covetousness , great and frequent devotions for sins of omission , that so the penance may prove medicinal indeed , for purging out the ill humours , and recovering the sinner , and to make the sin more odious to him . therefore such slight penances as saying the penitential psalms , and abstaining from some meats , with other trifling things of that nature , are a betraying the power of the keys , which was given for edification and not for destruction , and tend to an exposing of religion and the priestly function to contempt . these practices are common , and avowed in that church , and by these and such like have the iesuites got all the world to make their confessions to them : of which such discoveries have been made by the writers of the port-royal , that we need say nothing but only look on with astonishment , and see the impudent partiality of the court of rome , and how obstinately they are resolved to reform nothing , for tho the practice of the whole church in all the councils that were held for many ages , be clearly of the side of the iansenists , yet they must be condemned , their books censured , and the practices of the iesuites encouraged and supported . after all this of what undanted consciences must they be , who charge our church as opening a sanctuary for vice and impurity : because we retain not the necessity of secret confession , and absolution . which ( whatever they may prove if well managed , ) are according the practices of that church , and the casuistical divinity that is in greatest credit there , and by which their priests are directed , engines for beating down all religion and common honesty . but our church owns still the power of the keys , which is not only doctrinal , when the mercies of god are declared , or his iudgments denounced ; but is also authoritative and ministerial , by which all christians are either admitted to , or rejected from the priviledges of church-communion , and their sins are bound or loosed . with this we assert the pastors of the church are vested . for the rites of our ordinations , we still retain those which are mentioned in the scriptures , which are imposition of hands and prayer . as for the forms of prayer , the catholick church never agreed on any , nor decreed what were to be used . every church had their own forms . and though the church of rome did unmercifully enough impose divers things on the greek churches , and because they would not yield to her tyranny , she left them to be a prey to the turk , and did not interpose her authority with the princes of the west , over whom she was then absolute , to arm them for the assistance and defence of the greeks ; yet amidst all this desire of rule , they were never so unreasonable as to impose their liturgies , rituals , or missals on them , but in these they left them to their own forms , and so continue to do to this day . anciently they had no more iurisdiction over the british churches than over the greek churches . so that by the division of provinces confirmed by general councils , and by a particular decree of the council of ephesus , no new authority over any other churches was to be assumed by any see , but all were to be determined by the former practices and customs of the church . it is certain that before that time the bishops of rome had no patriarchal iurisdiction in britain ; so that if the decrees of general councils will bind them , they ought not to claim any authority over us . but if the popes build new pretentions on austin the monk's being sent hither by pope gregory the great . we are ready to refer this matter to his decision , and will stand to his award , for he being consulted by austin about some particulars , one of these was . since there is one faith , how comes it that the customs of the churches are so different , and that one form of missals is in the roman church , and another is in the churches of the gaules or of france . from this question it appears that even france , which was undoubtedly within the patriarchat of rome , had forms different from those used in rome : but let us now hear what answer is given by pope gregory , which may be reasonably believed ex cathedra , and so of great authority , with all who acknowledg the infallibility of that see. you know the custom of the church of rome in which you were educated , but my opinion is , that whatever you find either in the holy roman , the gallican , or any other church that may be more pleasing to almighty god , you shall diligently choose out that : and infuse in the english church , which is yet but young in the faith by careful instruction , what you can gather from many churches ; for we ought not to love things for the sake of a place , but places for the sake of good things ; therefore choose from all churches the things that are pious , religious and right , and gather all these in one bundle and leave them with the english , that they may become familiar to them . it will be hard for the agents of that church to find out a reason why austin bishop of canterbury might make such changes in the liturgies by gathering out of the several rituals that were then in the world what he thouhgt fit , and yet to deny the same power to arch-bishop cranmer and the bishops in king edward's days , why might not they as well as austin the monk , compare the rituals of the church of rome with other more ancient forms , and gather together what they found most pious , religious , and right , not loving things for the sake of a place ( whether rome or sarum ) but loving places rather for the sake of good things . so that in this we have on our side the decision of a pope who was both more learned and more pious than any of all his successors ; but this is not the only particular in which they will decline to be tryed by his iudgment . and in the changes that were made , i●… is very clear that our reformers did no●… design to throw out every thing that was in the roman rituals right or wrong ; but made all the good use that was possible o●… the forms that were then received in th●… western church ; and in this our church followed our saviours method , who thoug●… he had the fulness of the godhead dwelling in him , and was to antiquate the jewis●… religion , and to substitute his more divine precepts to those of moses ; yet he did accommodate his institutions as near a●… could be , to the customs of the jews , not only in lesser matters , but even in those two great sacraments by which his church is knit together ( as hath been fully made out by many learned writers . ) if then the customs of a religion that was ready to perish , were made use of , and by new and more sacred benedictions were consecrated to higher ends ; our church shewed her prudence and moderation , in not destroying root and branch , but reserving such things as were good , and by being cleansed from some excrescencies might prove still of excellent use . this though it has given some colour to many peevish complaints , yet is that in which we have cause still to glory . this care and caution does eminently appear in our ordinal , the ceremonies which were invented by the latter ages we laid aside , the more ancient and apostolical are retained . and for the formal words used in the imposition of hands , though the saying receive the holy ghost was a latter addition without any ancient authority ; yet because this comes nearer the practice of our saviour , it was retained as the form of giving orders . for since it is consest on all hands that the form of orders is in the power of the church , we had good reason to prefer that which our blessed saviour made use of to any other , and it had been a sullen and childish peevishness to have changed this , because it was used in the church of rome . so that i cannot imagine what should move them to shew so much dislike to our forms , except it be the old quarrel of hating them , because they are better and their own are worse ; and so because their deeds are evil they envy and revile us . in this whole matter we are willing to be tryed both by the scriptures and the first eight ages , even of the roman church , by the greek church to this day , and by the doctrine that is most commonly received even in their own church . there is but one objection that may seem to have any force in it , which can be made from the practices of the primitive church against the ordinations in this church , which is , that we have not the inferior degrees of subdeacons , acolyths , exorcists , readers and porters in our church ; and indeed if the popes infallibility be well proved , this will be of force sufficient to invalidate our orders . the case of photius patriarch of contantinople , is well known , whom pope nicolaus denyed to be lawfully ordained , because he was suddenly raised up from being a layman to be made a patriarch , and though he passed through the ecclesiastical degrees , yet that was not thought sufficient by that pope , who certainly would have been more severe to us who have none of these degrees among us . but these orders cannot be looked on as either of divine or apostolical institution , the scripture mentions them not , st. clemens , st. ignatius , and st. polycarp , say nothing of them , justin martyr , and irenaeus , are as silent about them ; so that , till the third century we find no footsteps of them , the first mention that is made of them is in the canons and constitutions called apostolical ( of whose antiquity i shall now say nothing ) in the canons mention is oft made of the rest of the clergy , as distinct from bishops , priests and deacons , and particularly they mention readers , subdeacons , and singers . in the constitutions there are rules given about th●… ordination of subdeacons and readers . and though there is mention made of exorcists , yet it is plainly said there , that they were not ordained , but were believed to have that power over spirits by a free gift of god , and that they were then ordained when they were made bishops and priests . firmilian who lived in the midst of the third century , speaks of exorcists , but it does not appear from his words , if they were a distinct or an inferior order of church-men , and they may be well enough understood of such as had an extraordinary power over spirits . yet in the beginning of the fourth century we find in the greek church more inferior orders for the council of laodicea reckons up servants ( who it is like were acolyths ) readers , singers , exorcists , porters , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , who were it seems , monks , or some persons that were imployed in servile works , such as the diggers of craves . and by the council of antioch the chorepiscopi might ordain subdeacons , readers , and exorcists ▪ and if the epistle to the church of antioch , said to be writen by ignatius , was forged in the same century , by it it appears that there were then in the greek church , subdeacons , readers , singers , porters , and exorcists , for all these are saluted in that epistle , from which it appears that all these orders were then in the church of antioch . but there is no small difficulty about these orders in the greek churches , for in all their rituals we find no inferior orders but subdeacons , and readers , to whom in some churches they have added singers ; upon which it is that morinus confidently pronounces there were never any other inferior orders in the greek church , but these two ; but it does not appear that he had considered well those canons of laodicea and antioch which mention other orders . abraham ecchellensis , according to his usual way of flattering the court of rome in all his writings , is not a little puzzelled with this , he confesses that in the greek church they have no other inferior orders but subdeacons and readers , but says , some thought those other lower degrees were included in the order of readers , but he thinks they were included in the subdeacons orders , and strains all the wit he had to give some colours for this conceit of his . in summ it is clear , exorcists were an inferior office in the greek church once , and afterwards it was laid aside . it were an impertinent digression here to give an account of their office : but in a word they were catechists , who prepared the catechumens for baptism ; and by the catechisms in the church , all that came from heathenism to be christians were often adjured to renounce the devil and all heathenish idolatry . which adjurations were call'd exorcisms , and from these the catechists were called exorcists : of which he that desires further satisfaction may be directed to it by what he will find in the margin . but when , or upon what occasion this office fell in disuse in the greek church , does not appear . i shall only suggest that it is reasonable to conclude that upon the general suppression of heathenism in the greek empire , when there were no more catechumens , there being no further use of exorcists the function was no longer continued . it appears likewise from the name acolyth , that it was begun in the greek church , from whence it is probable , the latin church had that order . in the latin church st. cyprian is the first that speaks of these inferior orders , and we find them frequently mentioned in his epistles , he speaks of a subdeacons , b acolyths , c readers , and d exorcists , and contemporary with him was cornelius , who e giving an account of the clergy of rome , says there were forty six priests , seven deacons , forty two acolyths , fifty exorcists , readers , and porters . so it seems , there were no subdeacons then in rome , nor does st. cyprian mention the porters . so that in that century all these these orders were not looked on as necessary in the western church , much less was there a certain number of years determined for every one of them , as was afterwards done by the popes , who appointed that before any might be made a priest , he should be five years a reader and exorcist , and fourteen years an acolyth and subdeacon . in the fourth council of carthage we have the full catalogue of the sacred functions ( as they are called in the apostolical canons ) with the rules and forms of ordaining them , and there a subdeacons , b acolyths , c exorcists , d readers , e porters , and f singers , are set down . but besides these we find another order of fossarii , or the diggers of graves , mentioned by st. jerome , who calls them the first order of the clergy ; they are also mentioned in that supposititious letter of st. ignatius to the church of antioch , and are spoken of by epiphamus , by which it appears they were reckoned among the clergy both in the greek and latin churches . but there is no mention of them in any latter writers . we find mention of another office in an author , to whom indeed little credit is due , who are called the keepers of the martyrs , who had the keeping of the vault or burying-place , where the martyrs bodies were laid up in those churches that were built to their honor , but we meet with these no where else . and though the order of singers continued for several ages in the western church , and is mentioned by most of the writers on the roman rituals in hittorpius his collection , and also in the ordo romanus , yet is now left out in the roman pontifical . from all which it appears , that there was no settled order agreed on or received in the catholick church about these inferior degrees ; some of them that were received in some churches were not in other churches , and what was generally received in one age was laid aside in another , and therefore there is no obligation lying on us to continue those still . but as the number of these orders was different , so the ways of ordaining were not the same . in the eastern church they were ( and are to this day ) conferred by imposition of hands , which was perhaps taken from the custome of the jews among whom all offices were given with that rite . but in the western church they were conferred by the delivery of a book , vessel , or instrument that related to their function , which perhaps was taken from the roman custom of granting offices by the tradition of somewhat that belonged to it , as trajan made the prefects by giving them a sword. the occasion of setting up all these inferior offices was certainly very just and good , that there might be taken in them a long and full probation of all such as were to be admitted to the offices that were of divine institution , and so none might be admitted to any of them before there had been a full tryal and discovery made of their merit and good behaviour , and were indeed like degrees in universities . but after that constantine granted such immunities and exemptions to churchmen , then it is probable that many who desired to share in these , and yet had no mind to be initiated in the offices of divine appointment , came and entered in these lower degrees : to regulate which , justinian made a law that none who had been souldiers or had any offices about their courts ( curiales and obstricti curiae ) might be ordained , till they had got their dimission and had been fifteen years in a monastery ; and perhaps some of these offices were laid aside , because of the complaints the prefects made of the interruption of iustice by the great numbers of the clergy , who pleaded the exemptions that were granted to them . upon the whole matter it is clear that all these orders were only of ecclesiastical institution . so that the want of them cannot be charged on our church as an essential defect , and our church had as good authority to lay all these aside , as other churches had to lay down sometimes one , sometimes more of them . and in the church of rome , though these are still kept up , yet all except the subdeacons are meerly for forms-sake , for acolyths , exorcists , readers , or porters , never discharge any part of the service that belongs to their office , and the exorcisms are quite taken out of the hands of the exorcists , and are made only by priests . so that this whole objection comes to nothing . but we have much more material objections against the church of rome upon this head . for whereas by divine institution and the practice of the primitive church , all bishops were equal both in order and iurisdiction . they have robbed the bishops of the greatest part of their iurisdiction ; of which i shall give some instances . monks by their original were laymen and were under the iurisdiction of the bishop of the diocess , this at first was not so much as disputed ; but when they grew insolent and factious , it was declared by the general council of chalcedon that they were and ought to be subject to their bishops ; and so it continues in the greek church to this day . the same was also decreed in some western councils , but when the order of the benedictines grew very considerable , and many persons of quality retired into it , and it became a great piece of religion to build and inrich abbeys ; then the founders moved their kings to obtain priviledges for them from their bishops ; for the most ancient of these that i have met with , is the exempof the abbey of st. denis , granted by the bishop of paris ; the next to that is the exemption of the abbey of corbie granted by the bishop of amiens , which presidents were soon followed by a great many others . by these grants the bishops did renounce their share of the revenues of the abbey , of which , according to the ancient division , the fourth part did belong to the bishop : and for the further quiet of those religious houses , the bishops did exempt them from all visitations , and gave up the power they had over them wholly to the abbot ; and these exemptions , which at first were only for the monasteries , were afterwards extended further to all the lands and churches that belonged to the abbeys , of which some were exempted from the visitations of the arch-deacons , and the bishops vicars ; others were also exempted from the bishops visiting in person . but the popes from the 8th . century downwards , finding how much abbeys wese enriched , and it being a grateful thing in all places , to favour the monks , they granted them fuller and larger priviledges , they gave many abbots a right to a miter and a staff , and declared them prelates . and the truth of it was , the secular clergy were for the most part both so ignorant and so corrupt , that it was no wonder if all the world favoured the monks , whose vices being committed within their cloysters , were not so notorious , and did not occasion so much scandal as the disorders of the clergy did , which were more publick . and the very name religious or regular , which the monks took to themselves , and the name secular , with which they loaded the clergy , did them great service ; for in ignorant ages specious titles and ill sounding names affect the vulgar mightily . and the monks of the order of st. austin being also possest of most of the prebends , from whence they were called canons regular , those chapter●… had exempted iurisdictions given them . from hence sprung all the peculiar exemptions that are among us , for in the suppressing of the monasteries , the bishop●… were not fully restored to their ancient iurisdiction ; so that those exemption●… do still continue , from whence the most scandalous disorders in our clergy have risen . so much are they mistaken who complain of the episcopal jurisdiction , since the foulest enormities among us flow from the want of it , and from a corruption brought in by the popes , which is not yet sufficiently purged out . these monasteries were so many separated and independent congregations which did chose their own pastors , and this only difference in the point of government , is between our modern independents , and them ; that these will depend on none in the rules of their policy , but upon christ alone , without acknowledging any superior iurisdiction or subordination , and those did depend on christ's vicar , without submitting to any other authority . but the popes designing to subject the episcopal authority wholly to themselves , used another method toward that end , which was to raise the dignity of the abbots very high , and whereas by the primitive a canons three bishops were to concur in the consecration of a bishop , the pope●… brought in a custom of allowing two mitered abbots to assist a bishop in those consecrations , which is acknowledged both by b binnius and c bellarmine . and this with the title prelate , and the use of the miter and the pastoral staff , raised them to an equality with the bishops . this was not all , they were next brought to sit in general councils . originally abbots were but laymen , but now they must all be priests ; yet it was never before heard of , that priests did sit in oecumenical councils . it is true , the rural-bishops ( or chorepiscopi ) did subscribe the canons of the council of nice and other general councils ; but whatever morinus and some others have said , to prove that they were no more than priests , yet if it were not an impertinent digression , ●… think it could be easily made appear that they were bishops ; so that it is most certain that no priests did subscribe and si●… in general councils for many ages in their own names , for what they did by proxy from their bishops , has no relation to this matter . but when the popes were setting up their monarchy in the west , they resolved to ballance the votes of the bishops by bringing in abbots to vote in their general councils , who were obliged by their interest to support the exaltation of the papal power , and suppressing of episcopal iurisdiction . in the first general council that was held by calistus the second , in the lat●…ran , sugerius , who was present , says , there were 300 and more bishops , but pandulphu●… says , there were present 997. partly bishops , partly abbots ; so that above 600. of these must have been abbots . in the third council of lateran we hear of none but bishops , but to make amends for that , the writs that summoned the fourth council of lateran , were sent to abbots as well as to bishops , and a vast number of them came . the writs for the second council of lions , were issued out , not only to abbots , but to inferior prelates by pope gregrory the tenth , and aquinas , and bonaventure , being then in great esteem , were also called to that council , though they were only friers . but pope clement the fifth took care to have a full assembly , when he called the general council at vienna , for the writs were not only to patriarchs , primates , metropolitans , arch-bishops , bishops , and abbots , as had been done before , but to all priors , deans , provosts , archdeacons , archpriests , and all other prelates of monasteries and churches exempted , and non-exempted . and thus the popes were sure to carry things in such assembles as they pleased . and it is no unpleasant thing to observe what were the contests between the popes and the bishops , which are plainly the same , and have been managed by the same arts and intrigues , that the contests in political matters between prerogative and privilege have been . for near five ages the matter was contested by the prelates , but the power of the abbots , and the other exemptions of the deans and chapters did much weaken the bishops authority ▪ and the secular princes did joyn with the popes to bear down the bishops , who having great revenues , did generally joyn with the people for the asserting of publick liberty . but the popes gave them up as sacrifices to their princes , till they forced them afterwards to seek to them for shelter from the severity of their princes , and then the tables were turned . all this was not a little set forward by the credit which the begging friers got every where in the 13th . century , for the monks were then become as scandalous as the secular clergy had ever been , and were generally very ignorant ; so that they could not serve the ends of the papacy any more , but the austere lives of the franciscans , their poverty and coarse garments girt about with ropes , their bare legs and seeming humility gained them great esteem ; and the zealous dominicans , whose course of life was not so severe , yet were as poor ▪ and preached much ; and aquinas , scotus , and bonaventure , brought in among the friers the learning of the school●… which was then in great esteem in the world , all which concurred to dispose the people to receive them with great veneration . these were also imployed by the popes every where , and were also exempted from episcopal visitation , and had priviledges to build churches , and seminaries , to preach , hear confessions , and administer the sacraments every where , and by these means the episcopal iurisdiction was quite overthrown , and the papacy became absolute and those orders of mendicant friers were clearly a presbytery , they being a company of priests that acknowledged no episcopal iurisdiction over them , and their great chapter was their general assembly , and their annual , or triennial generals and provincials , who are chosen by them , were like the elected moderators of provincial and national assemblies . in this only did that presbytery differ from the geneva form , that it was subject only to christ's pretended vicar , the other claims to be only subordinate to christ himself , but both did equally rebel against their bishops . yet the schism of the papacy had almost overturned all , for the bishops met in a general council at constance ( i call all those councils general , according to the style of the church of rome , for i know there was not a conncil truly general among them all ) and there they thought to retrieve their authority , and to be quit with the popes for bringing in abbots and other inferior prelates , they brought in deputies from universities , to sit and judg with them , and they thought they had made sure work of all by their acts , that regulated the popes election , restrained his power , subjected him to the judgment of a general council , and above all , by their act for a decennial general council , with such provisions in it , that one would think the act for triennial parliaments was copyed from that original : but alas , all this proved to no purpose , for as aeneas sylvius wisely said , that since all preferments were given by the pope , and none by the council , he must certainly have the better of it at long run , which as it made himself turn about , so it brought off many more ; and at length the pope became master of all , and at the council of florence the generals of orders were brought in to have votes there . there was another great engine also made use of , by which all the rules of the primitive church was overturned , which was the popes assuming a power to hear , and judg all causes originally . all that the popes pretended to for many ages was to be the highest tribunal to which the last appeal did lie . and this was not only never yielded to by the eastern churches , but even the african churches , though a part of the latin church , would never submit to it , and yet the receiving an appeal had a very favourable plea , that a person who had been oppressed by a faction , perhaps in his own countrey , might find relief and protection elsewhere : but after the 8th . century , and that the forged and now universally acknowledged spurious decretals were received , they set up a new pretension of iudging causes originally , taking matters out of the hands of the iudg ordinary , and bringing the cognizance of them to rome , and setting up many reserved cases which could only be judged by the pope ; and the canonists that were a servile sort of people , who wrote chiefly for preferment , did upon all occasions find new distinctions for enlarging the popes power . but because it was intolerable tedious and expensive to carry all such matters to rome ; therefore that it might not be too heavy a burden to the world , legantine courts were every where set up , where all those tryals were made . by all these ways were the primitive rules broken , and such a confusion was brought in upon all ecclesiastical offices , that no ancient landmark or boundary was thought so sacred , that they did not either leap over or change it . i will not enlarge further on this subject , and having already transgressed the bounds of a preface , i will not lay open the other violations of the sacred offices at the full length , but as the value of every thing is no less prejudiced by exalting it too high , than by depressing it too much , for a string over bended must crack ; so the popes did as much wrong these functions by exalting them out of measure , as they had done by encroaching ▪ so far upon them . and this was done by the croissades , indulgences , privileged places , iubilees and redemptions from purgatory , with other things of that nature , which the monks and friers did every where preach and proclaim ; these things did savour of interest so palpably , that it was no wonder if most people were so alienated from them , that the first reformers found all persons disposed to forsake the communion of a church that had so long deceived them by such gross impostures . many had groaned long under all these corruptions , and of such the greater part received the reformation , others hoping to have got things brought about to a better pass , continued still in that communion ; but how little either erasmus , 〈◊〉 , c●…ssander , or many more such could prevail , the event shewed ; for in the council of trent ( which was not obtained , but after many years sute ; frequent addresses not without threatnings , at length extorting it ) how little could be carried appears even from cardinal pallavicini's own history , two grand points , upon which the bishops that had honest designs , intended to raise the reformation of discipline and manners were the declaring the episcopal iurisdiction to be of divine right ; and that the residence of all ecclesiastical incumbents , was also of divine right , but these could not be carried . lainez the general of the jesuits , and the whole court party , appearing with great vehemence against the first of these , asserting that all ecclesiastical iurisdiction was wholly and only in the pope . and from this one thing it may appear how little iustice or fair-dealing was to be expected from that council , towards those whom they called hereticks , when the bishops themselves being iudges , in a thing in which they were also parties , i mean about the divine right of their own iurisdiction , they could not carry it , for it was never heard of before , that where 〈◊〉 was both iudg and party , he was cast . and in the other trifling reformations that were enacted there , what care was taken by distinctions and reservations , chiefly that grand and general one of saving the dignity of the apostolical see , to leave a door open by which those very corruptions which they seemed to condemn and cast out , might be again taken up as most of them have been since . so that the issue of that assembly was to establish the papal authority , to cut off all possible hopes of abating an ace of the errors of that church ( when all controverted points were turned to articles of faith , and the contrary opinions condemned by anathematisms ) to disover how in possible it is to get the abuses of that church effectually reformed ; and in fine , to cure all people of their expectations of any great good from such meetings for the future ; and this has since appeared very visibly . for as it is not to be expected that the popes should call any general councils , ex motu proprio , so no christian princes have thought i●… worth the while to solicite that court for a new council . and thus i have hinted at several particulars from which it may appear how much the church of rome has confounded those holy functions , how she has robbed some of them of the power and iurisdiction which they have from christ , and ▪ has put a power in the hands of others which they never had from christ. and if the vigour of ecclesiastical discipline is not set up among us as it ought to be , we owe it for the greatest part to those corruptions which they brought in , and being once received , are not easily to be rooted out of the minds of the people . but to a great many all that can be said of the disorders that have been brought in or kept up in that church by the popes , will seem sleight and of no force : for they will plainly tell us , that they do not all believe the pope is infallible , but are satisfied there are many things done by him that are amiss , and need to be amended : they only adhere to the catholick church , to whose definitions and decrees they submit and resign themselves : and yet no body writes more sharply against the reformation and the protestant churches than these men do , charging them with heresie and schism , and every thing that is hateful to mankind . this way of writing was begun in the sorbon , and never more pompously than at this time , by the writers of the port ▪ royal , and has been taken up here by some whom their adversaries call blackloists , who speak almost with equal indignation of the court of rome , and the reformation . this i know works great effects on some , and has a very specious appearance ; therefore i hope the reader will pardon me if i hold him yet a little longer in the preface , to unmask this pretension of some which otherwise may impose upon him . i shall then make it appear that the maintainers of these principle must either be men of no conscience at all , and suc●… as stick not at mocking both god and man at perjury and the foulest kind of equivo●…tion ; or if they be true to these principles they must on many occasions do the sam●… things for which they condemn us , an ▪ count us hereticks and schismaticks . an ▪ this i shall instance in three things whic●… are of the greatest consequence to a church namely , doctrine , worship , and government . for the first of these , when the po●… makes a decision in any controverted poin●… if i do not think him infallible , i retai●… still my own freedom to judge as i am con ▪ vinced , and so i may perchance be of another mind ; but if the pope will have 〈◊〉 churchmen , or all bishops ( as was late●… done in the case of the five proposition of jansenius ) to condemn the contrary opinions , or subscribe formularies about i●… they must either do what is commanded and so act against their conscience , ●… quivocate and be perjured : or if they do it not , they must be proceeded against , first for contempt and contumacy , and next for heresie ; and then they shall be hereticks as well as we are : and if in one point a man reserves his private sentiments , notwithstanding the popes decision , why not in a great many ; and if it be no fault to have different opinions , then , since a mans actions must be governed by his persuasions , it will be no fault to maintain and teach them , if they be of great importance , at least it is a great sin to renounce and deny them . therefore if pope leo the x. was not infallible , luther was no heretick , though condemned by him , especially a great many of the articles for which he was condemned , having never been decided by any of their pretended general councils : nor do these men think that the present practice of the church is a forcible argument , for those of the port-royal have both complained of it , and studied to change it in the matter of pennance and absolution ; so that it will not be easie , nay not possible for them to prove that luther was a heretick , since he was never condemned by any infallible power : therefore it is not the authority of the condemnation , but the merit of the cause , that makes one a hereti●…k , which is what we plead for . from which it is evident , that , let the pope decree what he will , all of that communion must either acquiesce in it , or they shall become hereticks . this to such as believe the pope is infallible , is no matter of difficulty , for if i be once perswaded of that , all his decisions do captivate my reason , but if i am not , i must either subdue my conscience to my interest , or be that monster which is called an heretick . it is true , both civil and ecclesiastical government punishes all obstinate and refractory persons , who stand out against publick conclusions , but still the subject , if these laws be injust , has a clear conscience amidst his sufferings ; therefore this is not parallel to their doctrine , who make all that comply not with their decisions , hereticks , which is a matter of great guilt before god. let them give an argument that will make a protestant a heretick , which will not infer the same against a jansenist . and if they go to the merits of the cause , it is a tryal we have never declined ▪ so till these men learn to trie all their reasonings together , there is no great account to be made of them . the second particular in which i shall shew the fallaciousness of these mens reasonings , is in the matter of divine worship , which of how great consequence it is , needs not be made out , it must be a sin of a high nature , either to prophane the name of god by any piece of worship which i judg sinful , or to use any devotions about which i am not at all or at least not fully perswaded . now the whole worship of their church coming originally and onely from the popes , who have given authority to what offices they will , have made saints and added devotions to them as they pleased ; all persons in that communion must either by a blind resignation accept of every thing in their worship which the pope imposes , believing him infallible ; or if they are not of that perswasion , but give themselves leave to examine the offices whether they do it by the scriptures , the fathers and tradition , or by the rules of reason , they must needs see there are many injustifiable things in their offices , many saints are in the breviary , about whose canonisation they are not at all assured : and in a word , one shall not speak with one of these principles , but they will acknowledg there is great need of reforming their offices ; yet they must worship god according to them , as they are , otherwise they are schismaticks , and fall under that same condemnation , for which they are so severe upon us . therefore it must either be the merits of the cause that makes a schismatick , or if a condemnation for separating from authorised offices does it , then they must resolve to be guilty of it , or worship god , contrary to their consciences : they have no rules for their offices , but the popes pleasure , for councils never made any ; and indeed it is the most unreasonable thing that can be , to put the direction of the whole worship of god in one man , or a succession of mens power , unless they be believed infallible . the last thing i shall mention to shew how unreasonable they are , who deny the popes infallibility , and yet condemn the reformation so severely , is in the point of government , which though it be not of so high , nor so universal a nature as the two former are ; yet it must be acknowledged to be of great importance . and that the prelates of that church are fast tied to the pope , without any reserves or exceptions , unless it be that ( of saving my order ) the sense whereof is not fully understood , will appear from the oath they make to the pope before they are ordained : from the consideration of which it was that king henry the 8th . laid it out to his parliament that they were but half his subjects , and by the oath then taken by the bishops of england , as is set down by hall ; it appears that since that time there are very considerable additions made to that oath , which any that will compare them together , will easily discern . if men make conscience of an oath , they must be in a very hard condition that believe the pope to be infallible , and yet are so bound to him by such a bond. if the superior be infallible , the subject may without any trouble in his conscience , swear obedience in any terms that can be conceived . but when the superior is believed subject to error and mistake , then their swallow must be very large that can swear to preserve , defend , increase , and promote the rights , honours , priviledges , and authority of the holy roman church of our lord the pope , and his successors foresaid . — the decrees , orders , or appointments , reservations , provisions , or mandates apostolical ; i shall observe with all my strength , and make them to be observed by others . — and i shall according to my power , persecute and oppose all hereticks , schismaticks , and rebells , against the said our lord and his successors . — and i shall humbly receive , and diligently execute the apostolical commands . which words being full , and without those necessary and just reserves of the obedience promised to ecclesiastical superiors , in all things lawful and honest all the prelates of the roman communion are as fast tied to the pope , as if they believed him infallible ; for if they believed him such , they could be tied to nothing more than absolute and unlimited obedience . therefore they are in so much a worse estate than others be , which hold that opinion , because they have the sa●… ▪ obligation bound upon them by oath . and let the pope command what he will , the●… must either obey him , or confess themselve●… guilty of breach of oath and perjur●… ▪ and i hope the reader will observe wh●… mercy , all , whom they account hereticks , schismaticks , and rebels , again●… their lord the pope , are to expect at their hands , who make their bishops swear 〈◊〉 persecute all such according to their power ; so that we may by this be abundantly satisfied of their good intention●… and inclinations , when ever it shall be i●… their power to fulfil the contents of thi●… oath ; for let any of them speak ever 〈◊〉 softly or gently , if he comes to be consecrated a bishop , he must either be perjured ▪ or turn a persecuter of all protestants , wh●… are in their opinion the worst sort of hereticks and schismaticks . and certainly it is much more reasonble to calculate what in reason we ought to expect from the prelates of that church , if ever our sins provoke god to deliver us over to their tyranny , from the oath they swear at their consecration , than from all the meek and good natured words with which they now study to abuse some among us , which is so common an artifice of all who aspire to power and government , that one might think the trick should be tried no more ; but some love to be cheated a hundred times over . from these instances it is apparent , that the pope has every whit as much authority in that church , and over all in it , as if he were believed infallible , since both the doctrine , worship , and government of their church are determined by him , to whose award all must not only submit , but be concluded by it in their subscriptions , worship , and other practices . so that the opinion of the popes being fallible , gives such persons no ease nor freedom ( except it be to their secret thoughts ) but brings them under endless scruples and perplexities by the obligations and oaths that are imposed upon them ▪ which bind them to a further obedience and compliance than is consistent with a fallible authority . and therefore their principles being so incoherent that they cannot maintain both their charge against us of heresie and schism , and their opinion of the pope●… fallibility , and keep a good conscience withal : there is one of three things to be expected from men of that principle , either that they shall quite throw off th●… popes tyrannical yoke , and assert their own liberty , reserving still their other opinions , as was done in the days of king henry the eighth , or that they shall joyn●… in communion with us , or that they shall continue as they are , complying with every thing imposed on them by the court o●… rome , preferring policy to a good conscience , studying by frivolous distinctions to reconcile these compliances with their principles , which any man easily see are inconsistent . that those of the port-royal have done the last , is laid to their charge , both by calvinists and jesuits ; and as i am credibly informed by some of their own number , who do complain of their subscribing formularies , and every thing else sent from rome , which they have opposed as long as they could ; but when the court o●… rome gets their conquering king on their side , so that they can withstand no longer unless they will suffer for their conscience , then they subscribe as formally and fully as others do . and this compliance is to be looked for from all the men of those principles , if they do not prefer their conscience to their interest ; and god knows there be many such , for either they must comply , though against their conscience , or retire themselves from that communion ; and if they do this last , then all that they accuse us for , and all those common topicks , with which they ply the vulgar , against separating from the catholick church , the setting up of private iudgments against publick , the multiplying new errors by appealing to scriptures , or other books , which is the way of all hereticks : these i say , with many more of the like nature , will all fall as heavily upon themselves . nor is there any reason to think they will throw off the pope , as was done under king henry the 8th . for though a great and high spirited king was able to bring that about ; yet is it possible that a few priests , though they had the honesty and boldness to design such a thing , could ever compass it : their followers would look upon them , if they should but set about it , as hereticks , and hate them no less ( if not more ) than they do us ; so that it seems a weak and too sanguine an imagination , to think such a design can ever come to any thing ▪ therefore these persons must either turn ▪ over quite to the intrigues of the court o●… rome ( with what conscience let them se●… to it ) or joyn themselves to us . and of this last there is no great cause to have any hope , since we see none write more bitterly against us than they do , as if they would thereby redeem their credit ▪ either with the court of rome , or with their party here , who being possest withsome suspitions of them , they to clear these ▪ use the common shift of railing foully 〈◊〉 those , with whom it is insinuated they have some correspondence . this style mr. arnaud has thought fit to write in more than any body , which was the more unseemly in him , considering both his noble education , and his other excellent and gentile qualities ; and indeed i am heartily glad to find the grows ashamed and out of love with that way of writing , in which none has more grosly exceeded all the bounds of moderation than he has done . they having declared themselves so fully and formally concerning the reformation , there is no reason to expect they should ever joyn with us , and they are neither so numerous nor so considerable , as to be able ●…o form themselves into a society distinct from rome . therefore what is it o●… be looked for from them , but that for the most part shall herd in with the rest , and comply even against their consciences , with all the corruptions of the papacy . and as a noble and ingenious person said , the long whip of rome must bring in all these straglers ; and if two or three will stand out and lie under their censures , they shall have little credit , and small interest with their own party . so that there is nothing to be expected from any thing they can do or signifie . and therefore all the noise some make of the difference between the court and church of rome , is only a pretty notion , by which such as are speculative , and consider not the world , may be taken a little , but when they examine it further , they must see that it will be nothing in practice . the interest , favour , and preferments , lie wholly the other way , and the greatest part is led by these ; and such honest men as despise these , are either thought fools or knaves ; some further design being suspected , as the reason of why they pursue not present advantages . but preferments being bountifully given by the court of rome to their creatures ; others who are loaded with their censures , can never be imagined so considerable , as either to have great interest at home with their party ( which being generally made up of ignorance , and zeal , hates those moderate men a●… tamperers , and love none so much as the thorough-paced papist . ) much less can they ever have any power in the seminaries and nurseries beyond sea : so that all that come over in the mission shall be well leavened before they come among us , with the high principles of the court of rome . therefore i cannot apprehend any advantage that can be reasonably looked f●…r from the cherishing the men of those principles , though i am very well satisfied some of them are honest men ; but as they be very few who will openly own and stick to them , so i doubt not but if the owning these maxims turned to a matter of advantage , and ease , abundance that are not honest would pretend to be of the same perswasion . we see that generally ( a few inst●…nces only excepted ) they joyn together in the same intrigues and designs , and why we should think it possible to draw off any considerable party from the rest , i see no reason ; for as it were undoubtedly both wise and good to cherish any motions that might disjoynt them one from another ; so a few individual persons , how deserving soever they may be , cannot be of that importance , that for their sakes a settlement should be altered , and colour given for a great many to deceive and abuse us . and i freely acknowledg that the plain dealing papists , who owns the popes infallibility and absolute authority , as he speaks , and acts most sutably to the other principles of their church , so is less to be suspected and feared , since he goes roundly to work , than others who speak more softly , and yet are in the same designs , and so may more safely and cunningly catch unwary persons , who either are not much on their guard , or are not well acquainted with their artisices ; but the other are more open and less dangerous . it is now high time for me to quit this digression , and to wind up a preface that is already too long . i shall only , before i make an end , lay before the reader , a few of the arts of the missionaries among us , in the dispersing their papers and books . they write them with great confidence , and swell up the arguments they offer , with the biggest words and severest expressions that are possible , which works mightily upon the gentle reader , for tho modesty in writing has great art in it to work upon an ingenuous mind ; yet that to the weak and credulous , is a feeble and dispirited thing , and they are never so apt to believe any thing as when it is confidently averred with great pomp and much vehemence . if their books be well written , they want not printing presses neither beyond sea nor in england , and we shall soon hear of them ; if they find themselves so baffled ( as they have been of late by some great writers in this church ) that they cannot answer with any tolerable shew of learning and honesty , then they spread it about that there is an answer ready , but the visitors of the press are so careful , that nothing can escape their diligence . but if either their papers be too barefaced to be owned , or if they know them to be so weak that they dare not put them to a tryal , then instead of printing them , they copy them out and give them about . of the former sort , the world has got a good evidence in the discourses lately published about the oath of allegeance , which they intended to whisper in corners , but are now proclaimed openly . and of the latter sort is the following paper , which begins and ends with the highest confidence that is possible , but is so extreamly defective in the point of argument , that they did very wisely , not to adventure on publishing it . but they must write and do somwhat to keep spirit in their party ; and since the defending their own church , has succeeded so ill with them , they do wisely to change the scene , and carry in the war to our own church , and make her the scene of it , but they are as ill at attacquing , as defending ; and if we be but safe from their mines , we need not fear their batteries , but their under-ground work is a better game , and if they cannot wast us with destruction at noontide , nor make their arrows fly by day , then they study to infect us with a pestilence that walketh in darkness , and by secret contrivances and concealed papers , to compass that which they know can never be brought about by fairdealings and avowed practices . but truth is great ( and the god of truth is greater ) and will prevail over the fraud of the serpent , as well as the force of the lion. and if we study to adorn our profession , and walk worthy of our holy calling , we need not fear our cause , nor all the endeavours of those that study to defame us . without this the most laboured apologies will not signifie much to support our credit ; for the world is more affected with lively instances and great examples , than with the most learned composures . every man's understanding is wrought on by the one , the other only prevail on considering and judicious persons . and any charge that is put in against the pastors or orders of a church , will be but little regarded , when those that bear office in it , chiefly in the highest degrees , are burning and shining lights , few will then stumble or be shaken with any thing that can be said to eclipse their brightness . 't is for the most part want of merit in churchmen , that recommends any arguments that are levelled at their persons or functions , to the world. and though malice , and spite ferments with the more rage , the worthier the persons are against whom it works ; yet all attempts must needs be , not only unsuccessful , but fall back with shame on the authors , when all the world sees the unjustice of them . the contents . arguments to prove the invalidity of the orders of the church of england , page 2. a vindication of the ordinations of the church of england , in answer to the former paper , p. 19. an appendix about the forms of ordaining priests and bishops in the latin church , p. 107. errata . the first paper is printed exactly according to the copy that was sent me , but these that follow seem to be the errors 〈◊〉 the transcriber . page 3. line 24. for such a form , read to such a powe●… , p. 8. l. 27. for 1662. r. 1558. page 28. l. 19. dele and , p. 29. l. 26. for of r. for , p. 38. l. 4. for are r. were , p. 87. l. 15. for too soon r. too late , p. 105 ▪ l. 25. after ground r. for , p. 112. l. 19. for leges r. legis , l. 22. for divum r. deum , p. 123. l. 12. for sanctifica r. sanctificat●… ▪ p. 126. l. 8. for novis r. novei , p. 133. l. 26. dele as . arguments to prove the invalidity of the orders of the church of england . first then i prove that the ministers of the church of england are no priests , through the defect of the form of ordination , which was this , pronounced to every one of them when they came to be ordained : receive the holy ghost , whose sins thou forgivest they are forgiven , whose sins thou retainest , they are retained ; and be thou a faithful dispenser of the word of god , and his holy sacraments , in the name of the father , and of the son , and of the holy ghost , amen . after which the bishop delivers a bible to him , saying , take thou authority to preach the word , and minister the holy sacraments , in the congregation where thou shalt be so appointed . and my first reason is , because this form wants one essential part of priesthood , which is to consecrate the most holy sacrament of christs body and blood , giving only power to administer this sacrament , which any deacon may do . that to consecrate and make present christs body and blood is necessary , dr. bramhal the bishop of derry , one of the chief abettors of the protestant ordination , grants , in his book of the consecration and succession of protestant bishops , saying , the form of words whereby men are made priests , must express power to consecrate or make present christs body and blood : and a little after , they who are ordained priests ought to have power to consecrate christs body and blood , that is , to make it present , page 226. which it is evident by the very terms themselves that this form expresses , nor gives not , having not one word expressing that power which it cannot give without expressing it . secondly , because it wants another essential part , which is , to offer sacrifice , which the apostle requires , heb. 5. 1. saying , every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to god , that he may offer both gifts and sacrifice for sins . even according to the protestant bible , and which cannot be meant only of christ , as some protestants would have it ; for in the 3. verse he says , and by reason hereof he ought as for the people , so also for himself to offer for sins : whereas christ had no sins of his own to offer for . thirdly , because those words , whose sins , &c. at most gave power to forgive sins , and not to consecrate and offer sacrifice , having nothing to signifie that which is the chief office of priesthood . fourthly , because none could institute the form of a sacrament to give grace and power to make present the body and blood of christ , but the author of grace , and who had power over that sacred body and blood : but those that instituted this form , were neither authors of grace , nor had power over the sacred body and blood : therefore they could not institute such a form. that they who instituted this protestant form had no such power is proved by the act of parliament , the 3. 4. of edward the vi. cap. 12. ( which could not pretend such a 〈◊〉 ) in these words , forasmuch as to concord and unity to be had within the kings majesties dominions , it is requisite to have one uniform fashion and manner for making and consecrating bishops , priests , &c. be it therefore enacted by the kings highness , with the assents of the lords spiritual and temporal , and the commons of this present parliament assembled , and by the authority of the same ( mark by which authority they are made ) that such form and manner of making and consecrating of archbishops , bishops , priests , &c. as by six prelates and six other men of this realm , learned in gods law by the kings majesty ( who was but a child ) to be appointed and assigned , or by the most number of them shall be devised for that purpose , and set forth under the great seal of england , before the first day of april next coming , and shall by vertue of this present act ( see what vertues ) be lawfully exercised , and used , and none other , any statute , law , or usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding . by authority whereof those prelates , and me●… learned in the law invented and made th●… form before mentioned , never heard of before either in scripture or church of god. from which i thus argue and prove my minor . they that instituted the form were th●… king and parliament , 3. 4. edward vi. bu●… that king and parliament were neither authors of grace , not had power over the body and blood of christ : therefore they that instituted this form , were neither authors o●… grace , nor had power over the body and blood of christ , nor consequently could make it present . fifthly , they are no true priests , because the bishops that made them were no true bishops , nor so much as priests ; and no man can give power to another which he hath not himself . that they were no true bishops nor priests who pretended to make these priests ( which shall be the second part of my discourse ) i prove thus . protestant bishops no bishops , nor so much as priests . first , they are no priests , because made by the same form which other english ministers were , which i have clearly proved to be null . that they are no true bishops , i prove , first out of this very principle already laid ; because they are no true priests ; for as master mason , a chief champion of theirs says , epist. ded. ad episcop . paris . seeing he cannot be a bishop who is not a priest , if it can be proved we are no priests , there 's an end to our english church . and the great doctor of the church st. jerom , dial. cum lucifero , cap. 8. says . ecclesia non est quae non habet sacerdotem , it is no church that hath no priests . the protestant bishops therefore being no priests can be no true bishops , nor their church a church at all . secondly , they are no bishops , because their form of ordination is essentially invalid and null , seeing it cannot be valid , ( no more than that of priesthood ) unless it be in fit words , which signifies the order given ; as mr. mason says in his vindiciae ecclesiae anglicanae lib. 1. c. 16. n. 6. in these terms , not any words can serve for this institution , but such as are fit to express the power of the order given . and the reason is evident , because ordination being a sacrament ( as the same author says , lib. 1. n. 8. and doctor bramhal , page 96. of the consecration of protestant bishops ) that is a visible sign of invisible grace given by it . there must be some visible sign or words in the form of it , to signifie the power given , and to determine the matter ( which is the imposition of hands of it self a dumb sign , and common to priests and deacons , confirming , curing , &c. ) to the grace of episcopal order ; otherwise it were sufficient to say at the imposition of hands be thou a constable , or god make thee an honest man. but there is no such visible sign or words in the protestant form , expressing this episcopal power given ; therefore no such power is given . that there is no such sign or words in the protestant form , i prove out of the form it self , which is this ( made in king edward the vi. time , and continued till the happy restauration of his majesty that now is ) take the holy ghost , and remember that thou stir up the grace of god that is in thee by imposition of hands ; for god hath not given us the spirit of fear , but of power , and of love , and soberness . in which is not any word signifying episcopal power or ordination ; and therefore for this defect in their form they are no true bishops . against what has been said you will object first , that i prove them to be no priests , because they are no bishops that made them : and on the other side i prove them no bishops , because they are no priests ; which is a vicious circle . but i easily answer this , because i first prove à priori , that is , from the essential which ought to give being to each of them tat they are severally null ; and each of them being null for that reason , it is evident , that it is a cause of invalidity in the other : for as he can be no bishop who is proved to be no priest , so he can make no priest , who is proved to be no bishop . secondly , you will object and salve up all the defects afore-mentioned in one word , to wit , that although the form used in the church of england were invalid in king edward ' s , queen elizabeth's , king james ' s , and king charles the first 's time , for want of a valid form of ordination , yet now it is valid in our sovereign king charles the second's , with whom the parliament now sitting hath appointed a true form : enacting , that for the future , to wit , after st. bartholomew's day , 1662. the form of ordaining a priest should be , receive the holy ghost for the office of a priest : and of a bishop , receive the holy ghost for the office and work of a bishop . but to this i 'le answer you in another word , that the salve is worse than the sore ; because by this change of the form before established , they acknowledge it to be null ; for why else need they change it . secondly , by it they in effect acknowledge all their bishops and priests till that time to be null , because ordained by a form that was null , and could not give power it had not , nor signified . thirdly , because being no bishops already , they cannot ordain validly by any form whatsoever ; for no man can give what he has not , as has been said before . lastly , whatsoever power this act gives to ordain , is from the parliament , and not from christ ; which is what i first undertook to show , and destroys their orders root and branch . now although the bishops of the church of england , and their ministers grant this change of their form of ordination , yet if any one should deny it , you need only look upon the form of making bishops , and priests , made 〈◊〉 . and which was only used in the church of england for an hundred years , to be found in every booksellers shop , authorized and commanded in the act of uniformity , made 1662. to be only used to st. bartholomew ' s day of that year ; and that other enacted to be only used from thenceforward , and printed in the common-prayer-books of cathedral churches , out of which i have found it hard to be got ; the bishops , as most think , suppressing it for shame , and leaving it only in those places where it was necessary to be made use of , and not permitting it to be otherwise dispersed abroad , although the act of uniformity which made it , commands upon forfeiture of 3 l. for every month after st. bartholomew's day , 1662. that every church , chappel , collegiate church , college , and hall should have a true printed copy of it . thus i hope i have fully proved that the church of england has no true priest or bishop for want of ordination . now i shall also show that they have no iurisdiction or authority to teach , preach , exact tythes , inflict censures , to be pastors , or to exercise any ecclesiastical function whatsoever from christ , but only from the parliament : and my third conclusion is , that protestant ministers and bishops have no power to preach , &c. from christ , but only from the parliament . this i prove , because they have no more power than the first protestant archbishop of canterbury , matthew parker had , who was the chief , and from whom ( as it were the conduit of all ) iurisdiction was derived to the rest . that he had no such power or iurisdiction i prove , first ▪ because they that confirmed and consecrated him had no such power to confer upon him of themselves , to wit. william barlow , late bishop of bath and wells , now elect of chichester , john scory , late of chichester , now elect of hereford ; miles coverdale , late of exeter , and john hodgskins bishop suffragan , who were none of them actual bishops of any see , but two elect only , and another quondam only , and so had no actual iurisdiction at all , the fourth only suffragan to canterbury , and who had no iurisdiction , but what he had from the arshbishop of canterbury , much less authority to give him iurisdiction over himself , and all the bishops in the land , as the other three had no power at all to give him , much less so transcendent an one , because none can give what he has not . secondly , because they had their sole power from the queen , and she ( besides the incapacity of her sex ) had no power of her self , but only according to the statutes in that case provided , as appears by her letters patent yet extant , and to be seen in the rolls in these words , elizabetha regina , &c. elizabeth queen , &c. to the reverend father in christ , william , &c. whereas the archiepiscopal see of canterbury , being lately void by the natural death of my lord reginal pool cardinal , the late and immediate archbishop and pastor of it , at the humble petition of the dean and chapter of our cathedral and metropolitan church in canterbury , called christs church , we did by our letters patents grant licence to them to choose to themselves another for archbishop and pastor of the see aforesaid , and they have chosen matthew parker , &c. we have given our royal assent and favour to the said election ; and we signifie this to you by the tenor of these presents , requiring , and by the fidelity and love wherein you are bound to us , firmly enjoyning , commanding you , that you , or four of you effectually confirm the said matthew parker , archbishop and pastor elect of the said church , and confirm the said election , and consecrate him archbishop and pastor of the said church , and do all other things which in this behalf are incumbent on your pastoral office , according to the form of the statutes in this case made and provided . out of which words , first , i note that the queen here , and all the clergy with her , acknowledge cardinal pool the true and rightful archbishop of canterbury , by which they own catholic ordination and iurisdiction to be valid , lawful , and good . secondly , i note ( and confirm the main assertion ) that the queen knowing the common law , and ancient laws of the kingdom , required the authority , consent , and commission ( or bull ) of the pope , to empower the confirmers and consecrators of the archbishop of canterbury as the only superior of that see ; and withal that he would not grant and give it to make a protestant archbishop ; she by her supreme authority as head of the church of england not only authorized them that were to confirm and consecrate him , but also ( pope-like ) supplied all defects , whether in quality , faculty , or any other thing wanting and necessary in the consecrators for that performance by the laws of the church or kingdom : for so it followed in the same patent , supplying nevertheless by our supreme regal authority , if any thing in you , or any of you , or in your condition , state , or faculty , to the performance of the premisses is wanting of these things , that by the statutes of our realm , or the ecclesiastical laws in this behalf are requisite or necessary ( which she therefore supposed and knew well enough to be necessary and wanting , for otherwise it had been in vain for her to supply them ) the condition of the time and necessity of things requiring it . by which you see they could do neither of these acts of confirming or consecrating him archbishop of canterbury without her commission , which was not only necessary to empower them , but also to dispense with them , and make their acts valid non obstante , notwithstanding the laws of the land. that these letters patents authorized them is clear out of the instrument of his confirmation , to be seen in the records at lambeth in their own words following . in the name of the lord , amen . we william barlow , iohn , miles , &c. by the queens commissional letters specially and lawfully deputed commissioners , &c. by the supreme authority of the queen to us in this behalf committed , confirm the said election of matthew parker , &c. supplying by the supreme authority of the queen to us delegated , if any thing be wanting in us , or any of us , or in our condition , state , or faculty to the performance of the premisses of these things , that by the statutes of the realm , or the ecclesiastical laws in this behalf are requisite or necessary , &c. as above . and whereas the popes commission ( or bull ) used to be produced , by authority of which all archbishops of canterbury were consecrated , and their election confirmed . now in place of that , says the act of it upon parker's records , proferebatur regium mandatum pro ejus consecratione . the queens mandate or commission for consecrating him , was produc'd as the authority for what they did . lastly , i prove that the queen had her authority from the parliament . first , from the statute 25. henry 8. cap. 20. where the parliament repeats out of another act made that present parliament , that if any elected by the king , and presented to the see of rome to be archbishop or bishop should be delayed , then he should be consecrated by two bishops appointed by the king : and then in the same statute grants further , that all recourse be forbidden to rome , and archbishops and bishops be confirmed and consecrated by bishops to be assigned by the king. secondly , out of the act of 8. eliz. 1. made purposely to set forth the authority next under god , by which matthew parker and the other first protestant bishops in the beginning of the queens reign were made , by reciting how they were made by the authority of her majesty , and how she was authorized to that end by the aforesaid statute of henry viii . and the statute of 1. eliz. 1. in these words , first , it is well known to all the degrees of this realm , that the late king henry the eighth was as well by all the clergy then of this realm in their several convocations , as also by all the lords spiritual and temporal , and commons in divers of his parliaments justly and rightfully recognized and acknowledged to have the supreme power , jurisdiction , and authority over the ecclesiastical state of the same , and that the said king did in the twenty fifth year of his reign set forth a certain order of the manner and form , how archbishops and bishops should be made , &c. and although in the reign of the late queen the said act was repealed , yet nevertheless at the parliament 1. eliz. the said act was revived , and by another act they made all jurisdiction , priviledges , &c. spiritual and ecclesiastical , as by any spiritual or ecclesiastical power or authority hath hitherto been , or lawfully may be used over the ecclesiastical state of this realm is fully and absolutely by authority of the same parliament ( mark by what authority ) united and annexed to the imperial crown of this realm ( mark here how she is made pope ) and by the same statute there is also given to the queen ( mark given ) power and authority by letters patents to assign and authorize such persons as she shall think fit ( whether clergy-men , lawyers , merchants , coblers , or any other , so they be naturally born subjects of the realm , for the statute requires no more ) to exercise under her all manner of jurisdiction in any wise touching or concerning any spiritual jurisdiction in this realm . whereupon the queen having in her order and disposition all the said jurisdictions , &c. hath by her supreme authority caused divers to be duly made and consecrated archbishops and bishops , according to such order and form , and with such ceremonies in and about their consecration , as were allowed and set out by the said acts , &c. and further , her highness hath in her letters patents used divers special words whereby , by her supreme authority she hath dispensed with all causes and doubts of imperfections or disability , &c. as is to be seen more a●… large in the same act. in which you see declared by the queen , matthew parker himself , and the whole parliament : that matthew parker the first protestant archbishop of canterbury was made archbishop ( as all the other protestant bishops in her time were ) by authority of the queen , and that she had her authority for it from the statutes , 25. henry 8. 20. and 1. eliz. 1. from whom all our protestant bishops since spring and descend , and derive all the power and authority that they have . from which you see clearly that protestant bishops have no authority to teach , preach , or to be bishops , but what originally they have from the parliament . which is still more evidently confirmed by this parliament now in being , which in the year 1662. by the act of uniformity , annulled the forementioned forms of ordination of priests and bishops ( as being deficient ) and appointed new ones by their own authority . so from the first to the last , all the protestant priests and bishops both heretofore and at this present , are only parliamentary priests and bishops , and not so from christ and his church , but only from their kings , queen , and parliaments . i must confess this present parliament may easily answer the parliaments of edward the vi. and queen elizabeth , why it hath lately altered the form of ordination , instituted and used by them ; to wit , because their forms were null and invalid , but what authority either of them had to make , alter , or use any form of ordination , or to give power to teach , preach , minister sacraments , or the like , of themselves , without authority from christ our saviour , there i must leave them to answer him . from the premisses i infer , first , that they being no priests nor bishops , theirs is no church ; as mr. mason and st. jerom grant . secondly , if no church , no part of the catholic church , out of which , and without whose faith kept entire and inviolate , no man can be saved ; as their own common-prayer-book affirms . thirdly , they can never eat the flesh of christ our lord , nor drink his blood , without which they cannot have life in them , john 6. 54. fourthly , they commit a most hainous sacriledge as often as they attempt to consecrate or minister the most holy sacrament , having no such power . fifthly , they commit the like sacriledge in presuming to hear confessions , or forgive sins . sixthly , all that communicate with them , and follow the same religion , are involved in the same sins , so that the blind leading the blind they must necessarily both fall into the ditch of eternal perdition , foretold by our saviour , matth. 15. 14. lastly , it is to be noted , that although i conceive i have clearly proved the ordination and iurisdiction of their priests and bishops to be invalid by every argument i have used to those ends , yet to my purpose it is sufficient to have proved it by any one : for as to prove a man to be a thief or forger , it is sufficient to prove he has stoln one horse , or forged one deed , to hang him for the one , or set him on the pillory for the other ; so to prove by one argument alone that they are no priests , nor bishops , nor have any iurisdiction , is sufficient to prove them guilty of sacramental forgery , and by that means of deluding and stealing away innumerable souls . a vindication of the ordinations of the church of england , in answer to the former paper . this paper which you sent me being only a repetition of those objections which were long ago refuted by master mason , with great learning and judgment , and more lately by the most ingenious lord primate of ireland , d. bramhall , there needs nothing else be said to it , but only to refer the reader to those learned and solid writings on this subject . the same plea was again taken up by the writers of two little books published since his majesties restauration , entitled erastus senior and erastus iunior ; which was thought so unreasonable even to some of that communion , that one of the learnedst priests they had in england did answer them ; and though he did not adventure on saying our ordination was good and valid , knowing how ingrateful that would have been to his party , yet he did overthrow all those arguments against it that are brought in this paper , and shew'd they were of no force . this writing of his has not been yet printed , but i have perused it in the manuscript . yet that this may not seem to be a declining of the task you have invited me to , and because the books i have mentioned are not perhaps in your hands , i shall say as much in answer to it as i hope may fully satisfy you or any impartial reader . the substance of the first argument to prove that our ministers are not priests , is , that by the form of our ordination the power of consecrating the sacrament of christs most holy body and blood , is not given : the words only importing a power to dispense the sacraments which any deacon may do : therefore the power of consecrating or making christ's body and blood present , being essential to the priesthood and our form not expressing it , and by consequence not giving it , it wants one essential requisite to the priesthood , and therefore those that are ordained by it , are not true priests . to which i answer , 1. if our form be the same in which christ ordained his apostles , we may be very well satisfied that it is good and sufficient . now when our saviour ordained them , s. iohn tells us that he said , receive the holy ghost , whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted to them , and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained : this being that mission which he gave them ( as the preceding words do clearly import ; as the father hath sent me , so send i you ) we can think no form so good and so full as that he made use of . it is true , we do not judg any form so essential as to annul all ordinations that have been made by any other , for then we should condemn both the ordinations of the primitive churches , and of the eastern churches at this day . and this is the reason why even according to the ancient and most generally received maxims of the schools , orders can be no sacrament ( tho in the general sense of the word sacrament , it being no term used in scripture , but brought into the church , we shall not much dispute against its being called so ) for by their doctrin both matter and form of the sacrament must be instituted by christ , and are not in the power of the church * . now they cannot but acknowledg that the form of giving orders in their church , was not instituted by christ , nor received in the church for divers ages , which made pope innocent say that the forms of ordination were ordered and invented by the church , and were therefore to be observed , otherwise it was sufficient in giving orders , to say , be thou a bishop , or be thou a priest ; therefore though we do not annul orders given by any other form , yet we have all reason to conclude that used by our saviour , to be not only sufficient , but absolutely the best and fittest . it is without all colour of reason , that the writers of that church will have the words our saviour pronounced , after he had instituted the eucharist , this do in remembrance of me , to be the form by which he ordained them priests ; for this do , must relate to the whole action of the sacrament , the receiving and eating , as well as the blessing and consecrating ; therefore these words are only a command to the church to continue the use of the holy sacrament in remembrance of christ. nor do those of the church of rome think these were the words by which christ ordained them priests , otherwise they would use them and think them sufficient ; but they use them not , but instead of them , say , receive thou power to offer sacrifice to god , and to celebrate mass both for the living and the dead . 2. if this be ane essential defect in our ordination , then there were no true priests in the primitive church for divers ages , and there are no true priests at this day in the greek church ; and yet neither of these can be acknowledged by the church of rome , for if they annul the ordinations of the primitive church , they likewise annul their own which are derived from them . they do also own the orders of the greek church to be valid , as appears by their receiving them into their communion at the council of florence , and by their practice ever since ; which morinus hath in the first part of his work so fully proved from the decrees of popes and councils , that the thing can no more be doubted ; and at this day there are greek churches at rome , maintain'd at the popes charge , in which orders are given according to the greek pontificals , as he informs us . that in the primitive forms there were no express words of giving power to consecrate the sacrament ; i appeal to the collection of the most antient forms of ordination , that morinus a priest of that church , and a penitentiary in great esteem at rome , has made , where it will be found that for many ages this power was not given expresly , or in so many words . the most ancient rubrick about this , is in the 4th . council of carthage , if those canons be genuine , when a priest is ordained , the bishop blessing him and laying his hand on his head , all the priests that are present shall likewise lay their hands on his head about the bishops hand : where we see that the imposition of hands and the bishop's blessing , was all the matter and form of these orders . denis ( called the areopagite ) tells us that the priest that was to be ordained , kneeled before the bishop , who laid his hand on his head and did consecrate him with a holy prayer , and then marked him with the sign of the cross ; and the bishop and the rest of the clergy that were present , gave him the kiss of peace . here we find nothing but imposition of hands and prayer . now there being no general liturgies nor ordinals then in the world , but every countrey ( or perhaps every diocess ) having their own forms , it was never defined in what form of words this prayer and benediction should be used ; but was left indifferent , so the substance of the blessing were preserved . it is true , the author of those constitutions that are ascribed to the apostles , sets down the prayer of ordination , for which he vouches saint iohn author ; which is , that the priest might be filled with the spirit of grace and wisdom to help and govern the flocks with a pure heart , that he might meekly teach the people , being full of healing operations and instructive discourses , and might serve god sincerely with a pure mind and willing soul , and might through christ perfect the sacred services for the people , in which there is nothing that gives in express words , the power of consecration . in the most ancient ritual that morinus could find , which belonged to the church of poictiers , and has been composed about the middle of the 6th . century ; there is no mention in the prayer of consecration of any such power . the same prayer of consecration is also in another ritual which he believes 900 years old : and also in another , that he believes 800 years old . it is true , in these rituals there is a blessing added , in which among other things the consecrator prayes , that by the obedience of the people the priest may transform the body and blood of thy son by an undefiled benediction ; but here is no power given , nor is this prayer essential to the orders so given , but a subsequent benediction : therefore the want of it cannot annul orders . and in another mss. ritual belonging to the abbey of corbey , written about the middle of the 9th . century , there is nothing but the prayer of the consecration of a priest , which is the same with what is in the other rituals , but the blessing which mentions the transforming of the body of christ , is not in it , by which it appears that it was not looked on as essential to orders . and in another ritual compiled for the church of england , now lying in the church of roüen , believed to be about 800 years old , the form of consecration is the same that it is in the other rituals . the ancient ritual of the church of rhemes , about the same age , and divers other ancient rituals agree with these . but the first mention of this power of saying mass , given in the consecration of priests , is in a ritual believed to be 700 years old , compiled by some near rome , in which the rite of delivering the vessels , with these words , receive power to offer sacrifice to god , and to celebrate masses , &c. is first set down ; yet that is wanting in a ritual of bellay , written about the thousandth year , so that it was not universally received for near an age after it was first brought in . now in all these rituals the prayer of consecration is that which is now in the pontifical only one of the prayers of the office * , but is not the prayer of consecration , from which two things clearly follow ; first , that no form of ordination is so essential , but that the church may change it and put another in its room , and if the other be apposite and fit , there is no fault committed by the change , much less such a one as invalidates the orders so given . secondly , it is clearly made out , that in the ordinations of the primitive church for 900 years after christ , there was no power of consecrating christ's body and blood expresly given in the forms and words of ordination . so that if the want of such words annuls our ordinations , it will do the same to theirs ; the consequence of which , will be ; that there were no true orders in the church of god till the latter rites in the roman pontifical were invented ; and if that be true , then the orders of the roman church which have descended from them , are not true , since they flow from men not truly ordained . and at this day the greek church ( as is set down by the learned and pious bishop of vence treating of the matter and form of orders ) when they ordain 〈◊〉 give no such power , but the bishop lays on his right hand on the priest's head , and says , the grace of god that always heals the things that are weak , and perfects things that are imperfect , promotes this very reverend deacon to be a priest : let us therefore pray for him that the grace of the most holy spirit come upon him . then those that assist , say thrice for him , kyrie eleison . then the bishop makes the sign of the cross , and prays for the grace of god on the priest thus ordained , holding his hand all the while over his head ; then he puts the priestly vestiments on him , and gives him the kiss of peace , which is also done by the rest of the clergy there present . and habert a doctor of sorbonne , who has published the greek pontifical with learned observations on it , gives us this same account of their ordinations which morinus has confirmed by the several ancient greek mss. which he has published one of them being 800 years old , which agrees with it ; and neither in the first prayer , nor second ( during both which the bishop holds his hands over the head of him that is to be consecrated ) is there any mention made of this power of consecrating christ's body and blood. and in the rituals of the maronites , nestorians , and copthites ( all which morinus proves are held good and valid by the church of rome ) there is no such power given in the words of consecration : their forms being almost the same with those used in the greek church : so that we generally find imposition of hands with a prayer of grace , and a blessing , were looked on as sufficient for ordination : and this was taken from the practices of the apostles , who ordained by prayer and imposition of hands , as appears from the places cited in the margent ; and that these prayers were , that god might pour out the gifts and graces of his spirit on them : both the nature of the thing and some of the cited places do fully prove . from all which it appears , that either our ordinations are valid , or there are no true orders in the whole christian church ; no not in the church of rome it self . 3. the very doctrine and practice of the church of rome shews , that the essentials of ordination remain still with us . by the maxims of the schools there must be matter and form in every sacrament ; the matter is some outward sensible action or thing ; the form are the words applyed to that action or thing which hallow it , and give the character , when ( as they say ) the indelible character is impressed ( which they believe is done by orders ) the imposition of hands is held to be the matter by almost all their doctors , as is acknowledged by bellarmine , vasques , and most of the schoolmen are of this mind . it is true , eugenius in his instruction to the armenians , set down in the council of florence , declares that the giving the sacred vessels , is the matter in orders ; but the council of trent ( which was a far more learned and cautious assembly than the other was , in which there was nothing but ignorance and deceit ) determined that priests have their orders by the imposition of hands ; for treating of extream unction , they decreed that the minister of it was either the bishop or priests lawfully ordained by them , by the imposition of the hands of the presbytery . and bellarmine both from the scriptures and the fathers , proves that the imposition of hands must be the matter of this sacrament , since they speak of it , and of it only . now if this be the matter of this sacrament , then the form of it must be the words joyned with it in their pontifical , receive the holy ghost . and the council of trent does clearly insinuate , that this is the form of orders in these words ; if any man say that in ordination , the h. ghost is not given ; and therefore that the bishop says in vain , receive the h. ghost , or by it a character is not impressed — let him be an anathema . it is true , their doctors to reconcile the disagreement of those two councils , have devised the distinction of the power of sacrificing and of the power of jurisdiction in a priest : the last they confess , is given by the imposition of hands ; the former , they say , is given by the delivering of the sacred vessels . and indeed , as morinus doth often observe , the school-men being very ignorant both of the more ancient rites of the church , and of the practice of the eastern churches , and looking only on the rituals then received in the latin church , have made strange work about the matter and form of ordination ; but now that they begin to see a little further than they did , then they are of a far different opinion ; so vasques , whom the school-men of this age , look on a●… an oracle , treating of episcopal orders , says in express words , that the imposition of hands is the matter , and the words uttered with it , are the form of orders , and that the sacramental grace is conferred in and by the application of the matter and form. it is true , he joyns in with the commonly received doctrine of the schools about the two powers given to priests by a double matter and form , yet he cites b bonaventure ; and a petrus sotus , for this opinion that the imposition of hands , and the words joyned with it , were the matter and form of priestly orders ; and though vasques himself undertakes to prove the other opinion , as that which agrees best with the principles of their church , yet it is visible he thought the other opinion truer ; for when he proves orders to be a sacrament , he lays down for a maxim , that the outward rite and ceremony , the promise of grace , and the command for the continuance , must be all found in scripture before any thing is to be acknowledged a sacrament : and when pursuant to this , he proves that the rite of orders is in scripture , he assigns no other but the imposition of hands : so that according to his own doctrine , that is the only sacramental rite or the matter orders . and cardinal de lugo says , the giving the bread and the wine we know is not determinately required by any divine institution , since the greeks are ordained without it ; therefore it is to be confessed that christ only intended there should be some proportioned sign for the matter of orders , either this or that . and it is now the most commonly received oponion , even amongst the school-men ; that christ neither determined the matter nor the form of orders , but left both to the church . and habert proves that the greek form of ordination is sufficient to express the grace of god then prayed for , which is the chief thing in ordination ; and though the greek fathers do not mention these words that are now used as the form in their days , yet he cites many places out of their writings , by which they seem to allude to those words , though the custom then received of speaking mystically and darkly of all the rites of the church , made that they did not deliver themselves more plainly about it ; but he concludes his second observation in these words : in those sacraments where the matter and form are not expressed in scripture , it must be supposed that christ did only in general institute both to his apostles , leaving a power with the church to design , constitute , and determine these in several ways ; so that the chief substance , intention , and scope of the institution , were retained with some general fitness and analogy for signifying the effect of this sacrament . and if both the eastern and western churches have made rituals , which though they differ one from another , yet are good and valid ; it seems very unreasonable to deny the church of england , which is as free and independent a church as any of them , the same right ; for it is to be observed that the catholick church did never agree on one uniform ritual , or book of ordination , but that was still left to the freedom of particular churches ; and so this church has as much power to make or alter rituals , as any other has : therefore the substantials of ordination being still retained , which are imposition of hands with fit prayers and blessings . it is most unreasonable to except against our forms of ordination . let it be also considered , that it is indeed true , that the last imposition of hands , with the words , receive the holy ghost appointed in the pontifical , is not above 400 years old , nor can any ancienter mss be shewed in which it is found ; yet that is now most commonly received in the church of rome , to be the matter and form of ordination ; for all their doctors hold , that either the delivering the vessels , and saying , receive power to offer sacrifice , &c. or the imposition of hands , with the words , receive the holy ghost , &c. is the matter and form of orders . agains●… the former , morinus has said so much that i need add nothing ; for by unanswerable arguments , he proves that i●… not essential to orders , since neither th●… primitive church , the eastern churche●… ▪ nor the roman rituals ; or the writers o●… the roman offices , ever mention it ti●… within these 700 years , and at first i●… was only done in the consecration o●… bishops , and afterwards ( by custom , no●… decree of council or pope being to b●… found about it ) it was used in the ordination of priests . the same author doth also study to prove , that the imposition of the bishop●… hands , with the words , receive the holy ghost , is not essential to ordination , bu●… is only a benediction superadded to it ▪ and shews that it was not used in the primitive church , nor mentioned by any ancient writer ; and therefore he is o●… opinion that the first imposition of hands gives the orders in which both bishop●… and priests lay on their hands , and pray that god would multiply his gifts o●… those whom he had chosen to the sunction o●… a priest , that what they received by hi●… savour , they might attain by his help ▪ through christ our lord. if this b●… true , then two things are to be well observed . first , that the prayer , which according to his opinion , is the prayer of consecration , was not esteemed so by the ancient rituals , in which it is only called a prayer for the priests that were to be ordained ; after which , the prayer of consecration followed ; from which it appears that there was no constant rule in giving orders ; and that what the church once held to be but a preparatory prayer , was afterwards made the prayer of consecration ; and that which they esteemed the prayer of consecration , was afterwards held but a prayer of benediction . secondly , that in the formal words of consecration ( if his opinion be true ) there is no power given of consecrating the sacraments . but morinus is alone in this opinion , and it is certain that the general doctrine of the church of rome , is , that the last imposition of hands is the matter of these orders , and parallel to this is the imposition of hands in the consecration of a bishop , with the words , receive the holy ghost , which is undoubtedly the matter of episcopal orders : therefore that same rite with these words , is also the matter of the priestly orders . and it is a foolish and groundless conceit , to pretend there are two distinct power●… essential to the priesthood to be conferred by two several rites ; for then a●… who 〈◊〉 ordained by one of these rite●… without the other ( as were all th●… priests of the christian world , till within these 700 years ) had not the priestly office entire and compleat . and further , according to their own principles ▪ the character is an indivisible thing , an●… inseparably joyned to the sacrament ; therefore that which gives the character , gives the sacrament . now according to their doctrine , the character is given by the imposition o●… hands : therefore the sacrament consists in that . and all the other rites are only ceremonies added to it , which are not of the essence of it ; from which i●… follows that we who use imposition o●… hands , with the words , receive the holy ghost , &c. use all that according to the doctrine of that church is necessary to it ; and therefore they have no reason to except against the validity of our orders , even according to their own principles . fourthly , if by consecrating , o●… making present christ's blessed body , they understand the incredible mystery of transubstantiation , we very freely confess there is no such power given to our priests by their orders : but i shall not digress from this subject to another ; therefore i may confine my discourse to it ; i acknowledg that we do receive by our orders , all the power of consecrating the sacraments which christ has left with his church . first , when we are ordained to be priests , there is given us all that which our church declares , inseparable to the priesthood ; and such is the consecrating the eucharist : therefore it being declared and acknowledged on all sides ; what functions are proper to the priesthood if we be ordained priests , though there were no further declaration made in the form of ordination , yet the other concomitant actions and offices , shewing that we are made priests , all that belongs to that function is therein given tous ; this made pope innocent define that , be thou a priest , was a sufficient form in it self . secondly , the great end of all the priestly functions , being to make reconciliation between god and man ; for which cause saint paul calls it the ministery of reconciliation ; whatever gives the power for that , must needs give also the means necessary for it ; therefore the sacrament being a mean instituted by our saviour for the remission of sins , which he intimated in these words . this cup is the new testament in my blood for the remission of sins ; and the death of christ being also the great mean in order to that end the power of forgiving sins ministerially , must carry with it the power of doing all that is instituted for attaining that end . thirdly , the power of consecrating the sacraments , is very fully and formally given in our ordination , in these words . be thou a faithful dispenser of the word of god , and of his holy sacraments ; where they bewray great inconsideration , that think dispensing is barely the distributing the sacrament , which a deacon may do ; the word is taken from the latin , and is the same by which they render those words of saint paul , stewards of the mysteries of god ; or according to the style of the church of rome , which translates mystery sacrament ; dispensers of the sacraments of god ; therefore this being a phrase wherein st. paul expressed the apostolical function , one might think it could serve to express the office of a priest well enough , so that dispensing is more than distributing ; and is such a power as a steward hath , who knows and considers every ones condition , and prepares what is fit and proper for them ; therefore the blessing of the sacraments being a necessary part of the dispensing of them , they being blessed for that end and the dispensing them , including the whole office in which the church appoints the sacraments to be dispensed , of which consecration is a main part ; these words do clearly give and manifestly import the power of consecrating the sacraments . now the question comes to this ? what is meant by the word dispensing ; they say it is only to distribute the elements ; we say it is to administer the sacrament according to the office. if what we say be the true signification of it ; then the power of consecrating the elements , is formally given with our orders . and that this is the true meaning of it , appears both from common use ; which makes it more than barely to distribute ; and from the declared meaning of those who use it , which is the only rule to judg of all doubtful expressions : now the declared meaning of our church in the use of this word being so express and positive ; from thence it follows , that by dispense must be understood , to give the sacrament according to the whole office of the church . the same is also to be said of the words , take thou authority to preach the word of god , and to minister the holy sacraments ; for tho minister and serve in the greek tongue , be the same ; yet minister in our common acceptation , is all one with administer , only minister is more usual when the thing ministred is sacred or holy ; therefore this takes also in it the whole office of the sacrament : and as in the former words the power is given ; so in these words it is applyed and restrained in its exercise to a due vocation , to cut off idle it inerant and for the most part , scandalous priests . and thus far i have considered this first argument at great length , both because it is that of which they make most use to raise scruples in the thoughts of unlearned persons ; and the clearing of it will make way for answering the rest . therefore leaving this , i go to the second argument ; which is , that the offering of sacrifice is an essential part of priesthood . so heb. 5. 1. and 3. therefore we having no such power conferred on us , cannot be true priests . to this i answer . first , it is strange inconsideration to argue from the epistle to the hebrews , that the pastors of the christian church ought to be priests in the sense that is mentioned in that epistle ; the scope of which is to prove , that christ is the only priest of this new dispensation : and the notion of a priest in that epistle , is a person called and consecrated to offer some living sacrifice , and to slay it , and by the shedding of the blood of the sacrifice slain , to make reconciliation : this being the sense in which the iews understood it ; the apostle among other arguments to prove the death of christ to be the true sacrifice , brings this for one , that there was to be another priesthood after the order of melchisedeck . for proving this , he lays down in the first four verses of the 5th . chapter , the jewish notion of a priest ; then he goes on to prove that christ was such a priest called of god and consecrated ; this he prosecutes more fully in the 7th . chapter , where he asserts that christ was that other priest after the order of melchisedeck , and v. 15. he calls him another priest , and v. 23. and 24. makes this plainer in these words ; and they truly were many priests , because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death ; but this man , because he continueth ever , hath an unchangeable priesthood : from which it is apparent that the apostles design in these places , is to prove that there is but one priest in that sense mentioned chap. 5. v. 1. under the new testament . and had the writer of this paper read over that epistle , he must needs have seen this , but this is one of the effects of their not reading the scriptures carefully , that they make use of places of scripture , never considering any thing more than the general sound of some words , without examining what goes along with them . but as it is clear from that epistle , that there is but one priest in the strict notion of it ; so it is no less clear that there is but one propitiatory sacrifice among christians in its strict notion , for having mentioned the frequent oblations to take away sins under the mosaical law , chap. 5. v. 3. he makes the opposition clear , chap. 7. v. 27. in these words . who needeth not daily as those high priests , to offer up sacrifice , first for his own sins and then for the people ; for this he did once when he offered up himself . and chap. 9. v. 7. having mentioned the high priest's annual entring into the most holy place ; he sets in opposition to it v. 12. christ's entring in once to the holy place , having made redemption for us by his own blood. and v. 22. he says , without shedding of blood there was no remission ; by which he does clearly put down all unbloody sacrifices that are propitiatory : and v. 28. he says , christ was offered once to bear the sins of many . and chap. 10. v. 2. he says , that when the worshippers are once purged , then would not sacrifices cease to be offered ? to prove that the sacrifices of the law had not that vertue : therefore we being purged by the blood of christ , must offer no more propitiatory sacrifices ; and all this is made yet clearer , v. 11. and 12. and every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins . but this man after he had offered up one sacrifice for sins for ever , sate down on the right hand of god. from all which you may see it is as plain as can be , that there is but one priest and one propitiatory sacrifice under the new testament , for the places i have cited , are not some ambiguous or dark expressions , but full and formal proofs , by which in a long series of discourse and argument , the thing is put out of doubt . therefore those of that church do very unwisely ever to mention that epistle , or to say any thing that may oblige people to look upon it ; so that , except to such as they are sure will read no more of it than they will shew them or cite to them , they had best speak of it to no body else . secondly , though we deny all propitiatory sacrifices , but that which our blessed saviour offered for us once on the cross ; yet we acknowledg that we have sacrifices in the true strict and scriptural notion of that word ; for propitiatory ones are but one sort of sacrifice , which in its general notion stands for any holy oblations made to god ; and in this sense , thank-offerings , peace-offerings , and free-will offerings , were sacrifices under the law ; so were also their commemorative sacrifices of the paschal lamb , which were all sacrifices , though not propitiatory . and in this sense * our prayers and praises ; a broken heart , and the dedicating our lives to the service of god , are sacrifices , and are so called in scripture ; so also is the giving of alms. and in this sense we deny not but the holy eucharist is a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving ; and it is so called in one of the collects . it is also a commemoration of that one sacrifice which it represents , and by which the worthy receivers have the vertue of that applyed to them . the oblation of the elements of bread and wine to be sanctified , is also a kind of sacrifice ; and in all these senses we acknowledg the sacrament to be a true sacrifice , as the primitive church did . but as we do not allow it to be a propitiatory sacrifice for the living , much less can we believe it such for the dead ; or that the priests consecrating and consuming of it , is a sacrifice for the people ; it being a sacrifice as it is a sacrament , which is only to those who receive it . and in these three points ; first , that it is no propitiatory sacrifice : 2. that the dead receive no good from it : 3. that the priests taking it alone , does no good to the people who receive it not : we are sure we have all antiquity of our side . but to digress upon that , were to go too far out of the way ; and the writers of controversies have done it fully . therefore the power of dispensing the word of god and of his holy sacraments gives all the authority that is in the christian church for offering of sacrifices . and if they deny this , they must deny the validity of all the ancient ordinations , for they can shew no such form in any of their ordinals . thirdly , what was said before of the doctrine of the church of rome about the matter and form of orders , as they are a sacrament , shews that the power they give in the ordination of priests , of offering sacrifices , is not essential to it , but only a rite they have added to it ; the want whereof can be no essential defect , and so can never annual our orders : what was said before in answer to the first argument , is again to be remembred here , that in all the ancient rituals there is no power of offering propitiatory sacrifices given in the form of ordination . it is true in the m ss . which lies in the monastery of st. german ; there is a new rite set down of delivering the priestly vestments , in which among other words these are added : and do thou offer propitiatory sacrifices for the sins and offences of the people , to almighty god. which words are now omitted in that part of the roman pontifical , and made a part of the final blessing given at the end of the office , but this at most is but 800 years old ; and therefore cannot be essential to orders since there were true priests in the christian church 800 years before this was used . and to this day in the greek church there is no power given by the consecration to offer propitiatory sacrifices ; for though in the second prayer said in ordinations in which god's holy spirit is prayed for upon the priest , that he may be worthy to stand before the altar of god without blame , and may preach the gospel of his kingdom , and holily administer the word of his truth : it is added , and may offer to thee gifts and spiritual sacrifices , but there is no reason to gather from these words that they give power for offering propitiatory sacrifices . we acknowledg that we offer gifts and sacrifices in the holy eucharist ; but we reject propitiatory ones , and these words do not at all import them . and the truth of it is when the writers of the roman church are pressed with the arguments before mentioned , that the eucharist can be no propitiatory sacrifice : since 1. there no blood shed in it : 2. no destruction is made of the sacrifice ; for it is only the accidents and not the blessed body of christ that the priest consumes : 3. that christ's cross is called one sacrifice once offered : 4. that his being now exalted at the father's right hand , shews his body can no more be subject to be sacrificed or mangled ; when these with many authorities from the father's are brought , they are forced to fly to some distinctions by which their doctrine comes to differ little from ours ; but still those high and indecent expressions remain in their rituals and missals , which they are forced to mollifie , as they do those prayers in which the same things , and in the same manner and words are asked of the blessed virgin and the other saints , which we ask of god. and though they would stretch them to a bare intercession , which the genuine sense of the words will not bear , yet they will never change them , for it is the standing maxim of that church never to confess an error , nor make any change to the better . the third reason against our orders of priesthood , is a repetition of the first , and is already answered . the fourth argument is , that none can institute the form of a sacrament , to give grace and make present christ's body and blood , but the authors of grace , and those that had power over his body and blood ; but they that instituted this form , had only their authority from the parliament ; as appears by the act it self , by which some prelates and other learned men being impowered , did invent the form before mentioned , never before heard of either in scripture or the church of god. to this i answer . first , it is certain the writer of this paper did never think it would have been seen by any body that could examine it , but intended only to impose on some illiterate persons ; otherwise he would never have said that a form which christ himself used when he ordained his apostles , and which is used in their own church as the proper form of ordination , was never before heard of in the scripture or the church of god. secondly , those who compiled the liturgy and ordinal , had no other authority from the parliament than holy and christian princes did before give in the like cases . it is a common place and has been handled by many writers ; how far the civil magistrate may make laws and give commands about sacred things ? 't is known what orders david and solomon , iehosaphat , hezekiah and iosiah , gave in such cases , they divided the priests into several courses , gav●… rules for their attendance , turned out ●… high priest and put another in his stead ▪ sent the priests over the cities to teach the people ; gathered the priests and commanded them to sanctifie themselves , and the house of the lord , and offer sacrifices o●… the altar . and gave orders about the forms of their worship , that they should praise god in the words of david and asaph : and gave orders about the time 〈◊〉 observing the passover , that in a case o●… necessity it might be observed on the second month ; though by their law it w●… to be kept the first month. and for the christian emperors , let the code or the novels , or the capitulars of charles the great , be read , and in them many law●… will be found about the qualification●… ▪ elections , and consecrations of church-men made by the best of all the roman emperors , such as constantine , theod●… ▪ sius , &c. they called councils to jud●… of the greatest points of faith , which met and sate on their writ , whose determinations they confirmed , and added the civil sanction to them . and even pope leo , though a higher spirite●… pope than any of his predecessors were did intreat the emperor martian to annul the second council of ephesus , an●… to give order that the ancient decrees of the council of nice should remain in force . now it were a great scandal on those councils to say , that they had no authority for what they did , but what they derived from the civil powers ; so it is no less unjust to say , because the parliament impowered some persons to draw forms for the more pure administration of the sacraments ; and enacted that these only should be lawfully exercised in this realm , which is the civil sanction ; that therefore these persons had no other authority for what they did : let those men declare upon their consciences if there be any thing they desire more earnestly than such an act for authorizing their own forms and would they make any scruple to accept of it , if they might have it : was it ever heard of that the civil sanction which only makes any constitution to have the force of a law , gives it another authority than a civil one ; and such authority the church of rome thinks fit to accept of in all states and kingdoms of that religion . thirdly , the prelates and other divines that compiled our forms of ordination , did it by vertue of the authority they had from christ , as pastors of his church which did empower them to teach the people the pure word of god , and to administer the sacraments and perform all other holy functions according to the scripture ; the practice of the primitive church , and the rules of expediency and reason ; and this they ought to have done though the civil powers had opposed it ; in which case their duty had been to have submitted to whatever severities or persecutions they might have been put to for the name of christ , and the truth of his gospel . but on the other hand , when it pleased god to turn the hearts of those that had the chief power , to set forward this good work , then they did ( as they ought ) with all thankfulness , acknowledg so great a blessing , and accept and improve the authority of the civil powers for adding the sanction of a law to the reformation , in all the parts and branches of it . so by the authority they derived from christ , and the warrant they had from scripture and the primitive church , these prelates and divines , made those alterations and changes in the ordinal ; and the king and the parliament , who are vested with the supream legislative power , added their authority to them to make them obligatory on the subjects . which is all that is imported by the word lawful in the act of parliament ; the ordinary use whereof among lawyers , is , a thing according to law. the ●…th . argument against the validity of our priestly orders , is , that we have them from those that are not bishops ; which carries him to the next conclusion , that our bishops are not bishops . but before i follow him to that , i must desire you would consider with how much disingenuity this paper is framed , that would impose on the easy reader the belief of our first reformers not being true bishops , when the writer cannot but know that arch bishop cranmer was a bishop as truly consecrated and invested , as any of the roman church were , and was confirmed by the pope , who sent him the pall , and to satisfy you that they knew him to be such , they degraded him with the usuall ceremonies before his martyrdom . so that he being the fountain of our clergy that succeeded him , and being truly consecrated himself , all those he ordained , are by the doctrine of the church of rome , bishops or priests , since orders according to their doctrine leave an indelible character , which can never be taken away . so that by their principles no following sentence could deprive him of the power of ordaining . it is true , there were many disorderly practices of some popes in the latter ages , in annulling orders and re-ordaining those ordained by others ; for pope urban the second appointed those who were ordained simoniacally , to be re-ordained . and stephen the 4th . in a synod , decreed that all the ordinations his predecessor pope constantine had made , were null and void , because he from a layman was chosen a pope , and though he passed through the intermedial degrees of priest and deacon , yet he stopt not so long in them , as was appointy by the canons , and upon the same account it was also judged , that photius ( the learned patriarch of constantinople , who in six days went through all the ecclesiastical decrees , from a layman to a patriarch ) had no power of ordaining lawfully , and all the orders he gave , were annulled by pope nicolaus . and to mention no more , the orders given by pope formosus , were annulled by his successor pope stephen the 6th . upon the pretence of some crimes and irregularities with which he was charged ; these practices as they gave great scandal , so they gave occasion to much disputing about the legality and canonicalness of these proceedings , for the canonists and schoolmen being generally very ignorant , and prepossessed with an opinion of the popes infallibility , studied to flatter the court of rome , all that was possible . yet on the other hand there was so much to be said against these proceedings , that as appears by petrus damiani , auxilius , and other writers of that time , there was great perplexity and many different opinions about them . but the ignorance and passion of those ages appears evidently in this particular , for there is nothing more manifest than that the ancient church was of another opinion ; and as in the debate between pope stephen and saint cyprian about the re-baptizing of heretiques , the constant opinion and practice of the following ages , was against re-baptizing such as were baptized by those heretiques who retained the essentials of baptism : so by the same parity of reason , and upon the same arguments they held the ordinations of heretiques valid , that retained the essentials of ordination . in the case of heretiques we have these instances , faelix was consecrated bishop of rome by the arians in the room of liberius , whose banishment they had procured , and yet he was acknowledged a righteous pope , and his ordinations were accounted valid . in the general council of ephesus the priests of the messalian heresie were appointed to be received into the church , and continue priests upon renouncing their heresie . the same was also granted to nestorians , pelagians , eutychians , monothelites , and divers other heretiques , as morinus proves at length . and at this day though the greek church is condemned by the roman , as heretical in the point of the procession of the holy ghost , yet they are received according to their orders into their communion when they renounce their heresie . and their great vasques says , that all the schoolmen and summists agree , that an heretical excommunicate or suspended bishop has still the power of giving orders , for which he cites many schoolmen ; and he likewise proves , that a bishop after degradation retains the same power : and the case of schismaticks is no less clear , for to wave the decision of the council of nice ( which seems somewhat dubious ) in the case of the novatian ordinations we find frequently in st. austins treatises and conferences with the donatists , that they offered to them , if they would return to the unity of the church , to receive them according to their orders . so that they did not think schism did take away the power of giving orders . and in the case of that long and scandalous schism of the papacy for fifty years together , when the one sat at rome and the other at avignon , though beside their schism , depositions , excommunications and censures of all sorts passed on both sides by each of those popes against the other , and it must be confessed that one of them was the schismatick , and by consequence the censures fell justly on him ; yet both their ordinations were held valid , and when the matter was setled at the council of constance , the ordinations on no side were annulled or renewed . and though petrus de lunay who was called benedict the 13th . refused to submit to them and lay down his pretensions as the others did , yet when * they gave sentence against him , there is not a word in it of annulling orders given by him . from all which it follows , that neither the pretence of heresie , schism , nor censures will according to the practice either of the primitive church , or of the church of rome even in these latter ages , be of any force to invalidate our orders . which was well seen by morinus ; and though he does not write upon this head with so much ingenuity , as he does on other points ; yet he lays this down as a maxim , that all the ordinations of a heretiques and schismatiques made according the forms of the church , and where the heretiques that gave them were also rightly ordained according to the forms of the church , are valid as to their substance , and are not to be repeated though they be unlawful ; and both he that gave , and he that received them , sinned grievously ; nor is it in any case lawful for a catholick to receive orders from heretiques or schismatiques ; therefore in those ordinations , if all other things be done according to the form of the church , and only the crime of heresie be charged on the orders given , the substance of it is not thereby vitiated , but there is a perfect and entire character begotten , only the use of it is forbidden ; yet he that neglects that interdict , though he becomes very guilty , begets a new character on the person ordained by him : therefore heretiques or schismatiques so ordained , need no new ordination , but only a reconciliation ; and what is said of heretiques and schismatiques , does hold much more of those who are ordained by persons that are excommunicated , deposed or degraded . and for those things that are essential to ordination , enough has been said already to demonstrate what they be ; to which i shall only add what that author the most learned of all that ever treated of this subject , says in the beginning of the next chapter . in the rite of holy ordination , there are some things of divine institution and tradition , which do always and in all places belong to holy orders ; such as imposition of hands , and a convenient prayer which the scripture has delivered , and the universal practice of the church has confirmed . now these our church has retained ; and therefore from all that has been said , i may with good reason conclude that all the ordinations that were derived from arch-bishop cranmer , having ( as has been already shewed ) the essentials of ordination ; and being done with the due numbers of ordainers ( as can be proved authentically from the publick registers ) must be good and valid . and though we have separated from many errors and corruptions of the church of rome , and in particular have thrown out many superstitious rites out of the forms of ordination , that we might reduce these to a primitive simplicity ; yet as we acknowledg the church of rome holds still the fundamentals of the christian religion ; so we confess she retains the essentials of ordination , which are the separating of persons for sacred employments , and the authorizing them with an imposition of hands , and a prayer for the effusion of the holy ghost ; therefore we do not annul their orders , but receive such as come from that church , and look on them as true priests by the ordination they got among them , and such were our first reformers , from whom we have derived our ordination . having followed this paper through the first conclusion , and the arguments brought to confirm it ; i come now to the second ; which is , that our bishops are not true bishops . for which his first argument is , that our bishops being no priests , they can be no bishops . this he thinks he has already proved , therefore he sets himself to prove that none can be a bishop till he be first a priest : about this i shall not dispute much ; for we acknowledg that regularly and canonically it must be so , and assert that ours were truly such ; therefore we need not contend further about this ; though he must be very ignorant of antiquity if he does not know that there are divers instances in church history of laymen , nay , and catechumens chosen bishops ; and we do not find those intermedial steps were made of ordaining them first deacons and then priests , but by what appears to us , they at once made them bishops . but i shall wave this , only i must put this author in mind of a great oversight he is guilty of , when he goes about to prove our bishops not to be true bishops , because they were not true priests : does he not know that bishop ridley , and the other bishops of king edward's days , were ordained priests by the rites of the church of rome . and this was acknowledged by themselves , when they degraded them at oxford , before they suffered ; if those then were priests , this is no argument why they might not be bishops : for in this matter , that which we ought to enquire into most carefully , is what they were ; for if they were both priests and bishops , and if the forms by which they ordained others , retained all the essential requisites , then we who are derived from them , are also true priests and bishops . his second argument is , no ordination is valid , unless there be fit words used to determine the outward rites , to signifie the order given , which he says our own writers ( mr. mason and dr. bramhall ) do acknowledg . but the words of consecration do not express this , they being only , take the holy ghost , and remember that thou stir up the grace , &c. which do not express the office of a bishop ; and having proposed these arguments , that the unlearned reader may think he deals fairly , he goes on to set down our objections , and answer them . first , it has been already made out that the form , receive the holy ghost , was that which our saviour made use of when he ordained the apostles , without adding , to the office of an apostle . for which it is to be considered , that all ecclesiastical orders being from the influence and operation of the holy ghost , which being one , yet hath different operations for the different administrations ; therefore the concomitant actions , words and circumstances must shew , for which administration the holy ghost is prayed for , since that general prayer is made for all ; but the functions being different , the same holy ghost works differently in them all . therefore it is plain from the practice of our saviour , that there is no need of expressing in the very words of ordination , what power is thereby given since our saviour did not express it , but what he had said both before and after , did determine the sense of those general words to the apostolical function . secondly , the whole office of consecrating bishops , shews very formally and expresly what power is given in these words . now though the writers of the church of rome , would place the form of consecration in some imperative words ; yet we see no reason for that , but the complex of the whole office is that which is to be chiefly considered , and must determine the sense of those words ; so that a priest being presented to be made a bishop , the king's mandate being read for that effect , he swearing canonical obedience as bishop elect , prayers being put up for him as such , together with other circumstances which make it plain what they are about ; those general words are by these qualified and restrained to that sense . we do not fly here to a secret and unknown intention of the consecrators , as the church of rome does , but to the open and declared intention of the church appearing in this : so that it is clear that the sense of those general words is so well explained , that they do sufficiently express and give the power and office of a bishop . thirdly , in the church of rome the consecration of a bishop is made with these words , receive the holy ghost . this being all that is said at the imposition of hands , which as has been already proved , is the matter or sensible sign of orders . and in the prayer that follows these words , there is no mention made of the episcopal dignity or function , and all the other ceremonies used in the consecration of a bishop , are but rites that are added for the more solemnity , but are not of the essence of ordination according to what is now most generally received , even in their own church . and vasques does set down this very objection against the form of their episcopal ordination , as not sufficient , because it does not specify the episcopal power ; to which he answers , that though the words express it not , yet the other circumstances that accompany them do it sufficiently ; by which it appears that this argument is as strong against their ordination as ours ; and that they must make use of the same answers that we give to it . fourthly , the ancient forms of consecrating bishops , differing so much one from another , and indeed agreeing in nothing but in an imposition of hands , with a convenient prayer ; it has been already made out that there is no particular form so necessary , that the want of it annuls orders , and that the church has often changed the words of these prayers upon several occasions , and it was ever thought that if the words do sufficiently express the mind of the church , there was no more scruple to be made of the validity of the orders so given ; for if the episcopal character were begotten by any of those rites which the church of rome has added of late such as the chrism , the giving the gospels , the ring , the staff , or any other set down in the pontifical , then there were no true bishops in the church for many ages . in the most ancient latin ritual now to be found , there is nothing in the consecration of a bishop , but the prayer which is now marked for the anthem after the consecration in the pontifical . in a ritual believed to be 800 year old , the anointing is first to be found , but there is no other rite with it in another ritual somwhat later than the former ; the giving the ring and the staff , were used , which at first were the civil ceremonies of investiture , and in the greek church , none of those rites were ever ▪ used , they having only an imposition of hands , and saying with it , the divine grace that heals the things that are weak●… and perfects the things that imperfect ; promotes this very reverend priest to be 〈◊〉 bishop : let us therefore pray that the grace of the holy ghost may come upon him , then all that are assisting , say thrice , kyrie eleison . then the consecrato●… lays the gospels on the head and neck of him that is consecrated , having before signed his head thrice with the sign of the cross ; and all the other bishop●… touch the gospels , and there is a prayer said . and thus it is clear , that if those rites in the pontifical be essential to episcopal orders , neither the primitive church nor the greek churches gave them truly , which are things they cannot admit : therefore it is most dising●…nuously done of them to insinuate 〈◊〉 unlearned persons , that our orders an●… not good , when in their conscience●… they know that they have all those requisites in them , which by the principle●… of the most learned men of their ow●… church , are essentially and absolutely necessary to make them good and valid . but i go next to see what ingenuity there is in the objections which he sets down in our name against the former arguments . there is nothing in which any man that writes of controversie , shews his candor and fair dealing more , than in proposing the arguments of the adverse party with their full and just weight in them : and it is a piece of justice and moral honesty , to which men are obliged , for to pretend that one brings what may be objected against his opinion , and then not to set down any strong and material arguments ; but on the contrary , to bring some trifling and ridiculous things that no learned persons did ever make use of , is to lye : and really i cannot think the writer of this paper has common honesty in him , that will pretend to set down our objections , and yet passes them over every one . our arguments are drawn , 1. from christ's own practices . 2. from the practice of the apostles and the primitive church . 3. from the practice of the greek church at this day . 4. from the doctrine and the practice of the church of rome . these are the arguments on which our cause does rest , and upon these authorities we are ready to put the thing to an issue . but he was wiser than to mention any of those , for he knew he could not get of●… them so well ; and therefore that he might deceive those that are ready to take any thing off his hands upon trust , he brings objections which he knows none of us will make . to the first i need say nothing , having ▪ i presume , said enough already , to shew that both our priestly and episcopal orders are good and valid . but his second , is such a piece of fo●… dealing , that really he deserves to be very sharply reproved for it . in it he makes us object , that though the form of our ordination since king edward the 6th ▪ his days , till his majesties happy restauration was invalid ; yet that is s●…lved by the parliament that now sits , that appointed the words of ordination to be , receive the holy ghost , for the office of a priest or for the office of a bishop . and having set up this man of straw , he runs unmercifully at him , he stabs him in at the heart , he shoots him through the head , and then to make sure work of him , he cuts him all to pieces that he shall never live nor speak again ; and all this out of pure chivalry to shew his valour . he tells us the salve is worse than the sore , that by the change , the form used before is confessed to be invalid , else why did they change it ? he tells us , secondly , by this we acknowledg all our bishops and priests till that time to be null . thirdly , that they not being true bishops , cannot ordain validly , for no man can give what he has not . and fourthly , the power that act gives , is only from the parliament and not from christ ; and this destroys our orders , root and branch . so there is an end of us , we are all killed upon the spot , never to live more . yet there is no harm done , nor blood spilt , all is safe and sound . but to satisfie any person whom such a scruple may trouble . let it be considered , first , that we pretend not that there is any greater validity in our orders since the last act of uniformity , than was before ; for those words that are added are not essential to the ordination , but only further and clearer explanations of what was clear enough by the other parts of these offices before : therefore there is no change made of any thing that was essential to our ordinations , an explanation is not a change ; for did the fathers of the councils of nice and constantinople change or annul the faith and creeds that the church used before , when they added explanations to the creed . therefore the adding of some explanatory words for cutting off the occasions of cavilling , is neither a change nor an annulling our former orders . secondly , the change of the form of consecration does not infer an annulling of orders given another way , for then all the ordinations used in the primitive church , are annulled by the roman church at this day , since the forms of ordination used by them now , were not used in the former ages ; and the forms used in the former ages are not looked on by them now to be the forms of consecration , but are only made parts of the office , and used as collects or anthems ; and yet here is a real change , which by their own principles cannot infer a nullity of orders given before the change made . thirdly , if the addition of a few explanatory words invalidates former orders , then the adding many new rites , which were neither used by christ nor his apostles , nor the primitive nor eastern churches , will much more invalidate former orders , especially when these are believed to be so essential as that they confer the power of consecrating christ's body and blood , and of offering sacrifices , and were for divers ages universally looked on in that church to be the matter and form of orders , as was already observed of the rite of giving the sacred vessels with the words joyned to it , which pope eugenius in express words , calls the matter of priestly orders , and the words joyned to them the form ( in his decree for the armenians in the council of florence ) and even the form he mentions is also altered now , for the celebrating masses are not in the form he mentions , but are now added to that part of the office in the roman church . let the pontifical be considered , in the ordination of priests ; we find the priestly vestiments given , both the stole and the casula , then their hands are anointed , then the vessels of the sacrament are delivered to them , with words pronounced in every of those rites , besides many other lesser rites that are in the rubrick . in the consecration of a bishop , his head is anointed , then his hands , then his pastoral staff is blessed and put in his hands ; next the ring is blessed , and put on his singer , then the gospels are put in his hands , then the mitre is blessed , and put on his head ; next the gloves are blessed , and put on his hands , and then they se●… him on his throne : besides many lesser rites to be seen in the rubrick . now with what face can they pretend that our adding a few explanatory words , can infer the annulling all orders given before that addition , when they have added so many material ceremonies in which they place great significancy and vertue . is not this to swallow a camel and to strain at a gnat , and to object to us a mote in our eye , when there is a beam in their own eye . fourthly , this addition was indeed confirmed by the authority of parliament , and there was good reason to desire that , to give it the force of a law , but the authority of these changes is wholly to be derived from the convocation , who only consulted about them and made them and the parliament did take that care in the enacting them , that might shew they did only add the force of a law to them ; for in passing them , it was ordered that the book of common-prayer and ordination should only be read over ( and even that was carried upon some debate , for many as i have been told , moved that the book should be added to the act , as it was sent to the parliament from the convocation without ever reading it ; but that seemed indecent and too implicite to others ) and there was no change made in a tittle by the parliament . so that they only enacted by a law what the convocation had done . as for what he adds that the book of ordination , is not to found in every edition of the common-prayer-book , with his gloss upon it , that most think the bishops for shame suppress it . really the writer of this paper must pardon me , to say , it seems he has no shame , that can set down in writing such a disingenious allegation : pray who are these most that think so ? [ most ] in our language stands for the [ greater part ] now how many can he find that agree with him in this gloss ? i doubt , very few ; for i am sure , not all his own party , and not one of ours . so that upon a calculation those most think will be found to be no more but himself and a very few ignorant persons on whom he has imposed this conceit . every body knows that when a book is once printed by publick authority , and universally sold in the shops , those in authority cannot out of shame study to suppress it . but the use of the book of ordination not being so universal as are the other offices of the church ; the stationers and printers , who do chiefly consider their interest in the ready sale and vent of books , do not print so many of them as of the other , there being at least 500 that use the common-prayer , for one that needs the other , and a common-prayer-book without it , will sell cheaper than with it ; therefore a great many copies have it not . this is not as most think , but as every body knows , the true reason why in many copies of the common-prayer-book , the ordinal is wanting . let him name one bishop that would not permit it to be dispersed abroad or let him be looked on as a bold and impudent slanderer . thus far i have followed this paper in the two first conclusions ; and now i come to the third ; which is , that protestant ministers and bishops have no power to preach , &c. from christ , but only from the parliament . and this he proves , because they have no more power than the first protestant arch-bishop of canterbury , matthew parker had , from whom all jurisdiction was derived to the rest ; now he had no power from christ ; for first , they that consecrated him had no such jurisdiction , being no actual bishops , two of them were only elect and not actual bishops , and a third only a quondam bishop , but had no actual jurisdiction , and a fourth was a suffragan bishop to canterbury , who had no jurisdiction but what he had from the arch-bishop of canterbury , much less authority to give him jurisdiction over himself and all the other bishops of the land , because none can give what he has not . this i must confess is such a piece , that no man can read it but he must conclude the writer of it has no sort of ecclesiastical learning , or else has very little moral honesty . i need not tell him that matthew parker was not the first protestant arch-bishop of canterbury ; he knows arch-bishop cranmer was both a protestant and arch-bishop of canterbury ; but this may be easily passed over , there being more material errors in this period . and first , does he believe himself , when he says that none can instal a bishop in a jurisdiction above himself ? pray then who invests the popes with their jurisdiction ? do not the cardinals do it , and are not they as much the popes suffragans as hodgskins was canterburi●… . so that if inferiors cannot invest one with a superior jurisdiction , then the popes can have none legally , since they have theirs from the cardinals that are inferior in jurisdiction . this also holds in all the patriarchal consecrations . for instance , when iohn commonly called chrysostome , a priest of antioch , was chosen patriarch of constantinople , and consecrated by the bishops of that province according to the canons , if there be any force in this argument , it will annul his orders as well as arch-bishop parker's , for the writer must needs see the case is parallel . secondly , or if he insists upon their being elect to others sees , and that one of them had no see at all . let me ask him , if when st. athanase was banished out of alexandria , and others thrust in his place ; or when liberius was banished out of rome , and felix ( whom they acknowledg a righteous bishop ) put in his place , they had ordained priests and bishops had these orders been null , because they were violently thrust out of their sees ? certainly persecution and violence rather makes the glory of ecclesiastical functions shine more brightly , but cannot be imagined to strip them of their character , and to disable them for exercising the offices of their function . thirdly , there are two things to be considered in the consecration of a primate , the one is the giving him the order of a bishop , the other is the investing him with the jurisdiction of a metropolitan , for the former , all bishops are equal in order , none has more or less than another : therefore any bishop duly consecrated , how mean soever his diocess be , is no less a bishop than the greatest ; the bishop of man is a bishop as well as the arch-bishop of canterbury ; so that the consecrators of matthew parker being bishops by their order , they had sufficient power and authority to consecrate him . by which it appears there can be no question made of his being truly a bishop . and as for his jurisdiction : two things are also to be considered ; the one is , the jurisdiction annexed to that see. the other is his being rightly cloathed and invested with it . for the former it cannot be denied but the jurisdiction of metropolitans , primates , and patriarchs , has no divine institution : for all that any bishop has by divine institution , is to seed the flock of his own diocess , but the canons and practice of the church and the civil laws , have introduced a further jurisdiction over the bishops of a district or province ; this did rise by custom upon the division of the provinces of the roman empire , and was settled over the world before any general council did meet to make decrees about it : and therefore the councils of nice , constantinople , ephesus and chalcedon , only approved what they found practised , and confirmed some new divisions of provinces , that were made by the emperors ; and so the kings in the western church did first give those preheminences to some towns and sees ; for the original dignity of sees rose out of the dignity of the towns , which appears clearly in all the patriarchats , chiefly in that of rome and constantinople . this is a thing so fully inquired into by many , but chiefly by the most learned petrus de marca arch-bishop of paris , that i need say no more of it . and the dignity of the see of canterbury was from king ethelbert , who first erected that see. it is true , the popes did afterwards usurp a new jurisdiction over all churches ; they took upon them to judg of the dignity of all sees , to send the pall , to have reserved cases , to grant exemptions to the regulars , with many other encroachments on the episcopal jurisdiction , which has been very fully inquired into , not only by protestant writers , but by many of the roman communion , chiefly those of the gallicane church , and many of the bishops at the council of trent , studied to recover their liberties that were troden under foot by the court of rome , but the intrigues and cunning of that court were too hard for them . the other thing in episcopal institution , is the installing or inthroning the metropolitan , that this was always done by the bishops of the province , is a thing so clear in antiquity , that i am sure no man ever questioned it . was not the famous decision of the council of ephesus in the case of the cypriotic bishops a full proof of this , when upon the pretension of the patriarch of antioch , the thing was examined , and it was found that he had never used to ordain bishops there ; and therefore the rites of the bishop of constantia the metropolitan were confirmed to him by that general council : nor can one instance be shewed in the first three ages of a metropolitan coming to be ordained by a patriarch , as was afterwards for orders sake appointed . and this appears more evidently by a canon of the council of orleans , where it was decreed , that in the ordination of metropolitans the ancient custom should be renewed , which was generally neglected and lost , that a metropolitan being elected by the bishops of the province with the clergy , and the people , should be ordained by all the bishops of the province met together ; this was anno 538. by which we see they thought not of any bull or confirmation from rome , but that bishops , though subject to the metropolitan's jurisdiction , might ordain him . it is true , afterwards the patriarchs chose the metropolitans , but the patriarchs were either chosen , or at least confirmed by the emperor ; and though they sent circulatory letters to the pope and the other patriarchs to confirm their elections ( which the bishops of rome did likewise to them ) this was only for keeping up the unity of the church , and for a more friendly and brotherly correspondence , but was not of necessity or as an homage which they owed the pope ; much less did they delay their consecrations till they obtained his mandate , or abstain from any act of jurisdiction till they had his confirmation , as is now appointed by the pontifical , till they get the pall. i have not given you the trouble of enlarging on many proofs for making these things out , for they are so clear and uncontested , that i am confident no man is so disingenuous as to deny them under his hand , whatever some may whisper among illiterate persons who cannot contradict them . and though there has been so much already written to make those particulars out , that more needs not , and indeed cannot be said ; yet if these things be questioned by any body , i shall make them out fully . and now i come to his second argument ; which is , that matthew parker ( and all the other protestant bishops since his days ) had his power of jurisdiction only from the queen , as appears by the queens letters patents , and the form of his ordination , which was done upon the queens mandate without any bull from the pope ( in which she acknowledges cardinal pool to have been a righteous arch-bishop ; and so confesses catholick ordination and jurisdiction to be lawful , valid , and good ) which was necessary by the laws of england ; as appears from her mandate in which she supplies any defects they might have been under . now all the authority the queen had , flowed from the parliament , which annexed all jurisdiction spiritual or temporal over the ecclesiastical state of this realm to the crown , by which they made her pope : so that by the very words of the act , matthew parker had his jurisdiction from the queen , and she hers from the parliament : therefore the protestant priests and bishops are only parliamentary priests and bishops , and are not from christ and his church , but from their kings , queen , and parliaments . here is such a heap of things so unjustly and weakly said , that it must needs grieve all honest men to see a company of priests going up and down the kingdom studying to abuse weak and unlearned persons with such disingenuous stories or writings . which i hope will appear more fully if you consider the following particulars . first , it is certain that king and parliament have the supream legislative authority in this realm ; and this they have from the laws of god , nature , and society , confirmed by the gospel which commands us to be subject to the higher powers . therefore whatever they enact that is within the limits of their jurisdiction , is law ; and if it be not sinful , is to be obeyed ; if it be sinful , it is to be submitted to . for instance , if they set up a false religion by law , it does not make it a true religion , but adds the sanction of law , and is the civil warrant and security for the subject , therefore the civil power cannot change the nature of things to make good evil , or evil good ; but only gives authority and security ; and in this they are restrained in things civil as well as spiritual , for if they make unjust laws in civil things , the case is the same with their unjust laws about spirituals . therefore it is to be concluded as the fundamental maxim of civil government , that whatever may be done lawfully and without sin , ought to be done when the supream civil authority commands it , and that the subjects ought to obey . secondly , whosoever is empowered by the king and parliament to execute this their supream authority , has a full right and title to apply that power so given or committed to him , having the execution of that law put in his hands ; and if any shall without their warrant or authority from them usurp , or assume any sort of power or jurisdiction within this kingdom , they are intruders and usurpers , and the success they have in it does no more justifie that force than a robber's does his title to goods unjustly taken . and although some weak princes in hard times did yield it up to the pope ; yet both the clergy themselves and the parliaments , did often assert their own authority , which was most eminently done by king edward the first , and king edward the third ; so that the popes power here had no just title but was a violent invasion ; for that they neither had it from christ nor saint peter , nor by any decree of general councils ; and that for 800 years after christ it was never allowed them : that they never had it in the eastern churches , and that what they had in the western churches was only extorted by force and fraud from the princes and states of europe , and that they had no law for it in england , are things so certain , that for proof of this , i shall refer my self to the writers of their own church , de marca , launoy , and balusius , with many others . and at this very day the pope has neither more nor less power in the other kingdoms of europe , than the connivence of princes or the laws give him : therefore the pope had no power in england but what was unjustly usurped from the king and parliament . thirdly , when the supream authority the king and parliament have long endured an encroachment upon them , that gives no just title to it , nor hinders them from asserting their own rights when they find a fit opportunity for it , and neither devests them of their authority nor the subjects of their due rights and freedoms : therefore the government of the kingdom and all the exercise of coercive jurisdiction being inseparably annexed to the supream authority ; it was incumbent on them to shake off all forrein jurisdict : they should have done it sooner but could never do it too soon . fourthly , the king and parliament asserting their authority in this particular , and condemning the popes usurpations , they might commit the execution of it to whom they would : therefore they putting it into the queens hands and her successors , she had a good right to exercise it , having a law for it . this then being annexed to the imperial crown of the realm by the supream authority of king and parliament , the king hath the power of exercising it fully and only in his hands , and is to be obeyed in all his injunctions ( that are not sinful ) by the laws of the supream authority in this kingdom which comes from god , and is confirmed by the gospel . fifthly , though the power of the ministers of the gospel comes only from christ , yet the exercise of that power and this or that person being put in this or that living or preferment , and having the right to the tythes , and all the jurisdiction of the spiritual and prerogative courts , being things not appointed in the gospel , the king having the supremacy over the ecclesiastical state , does not exceed his limits when he reserves to himself such power that no person shall be vested with the legal authority for those things , but by his knowledg or upon his order . it is true , he cannot make a man a bishop or a priest , nor can he take away orders , for if bishops should ordain or consecrate without or against his pleasure , he may proceed against both the ordainers and ordained , and can hinder their exercising any function in his dominions by banishing or imprisoning them , but ●…he cannot destroy or annul their orders . so that the power of ordination comes from christ , and has a spiritual effect , whatever opposition the king may make , but the exercise of that power must be had from him . if the king commands an heretick or a scandalous person to be elected or ordained , churchmen may well demur and offer their reasons why they cannot give obedience , not for the want of authority in the king , but because the matter is morally evil : as they must also do , if the king should command them , to commit theft or murther . so that all consecrations in this land are made by bishops , by the power that is inherent in them , only the king gives orders for the execution of that their power : therefore all that the queen did in the case of matthew parker , and the kings do since , was to command so many bishops to exercise a power they had from christ in such or such instances , which command was just and good , if the persons to be ordained were so qualified as they ought to have been according to the scriptures . sixthly , though the command were unjust , yet that cannot be imagined a sufficient ground to annul the ordination , for otherwise all the ordinations appointed by the anti-popes of avignon were null , since done upon mandates from a false pope who had not power , which will annul all the ordinations of the gallicane church which did submit to these popes . and yet this cannot be admitted by the church of rome . unless they also annul all the eastern bishops ; for the patriarch of constantinople is made by order from the grand signior , and is upon that installed . if this therefore invalidates our ordinations , it will do theirs much more , except they will allow a greater power to the turk than to the king. so that this at most might prove the church to be under an unjust violence , but cannot infer an invalidating of acts so done : therefore if matthew parker was duely consecrated , though it was done upon the queens mandate , he was a true and lawful bishop . for let me suppose another case parallel to this : if the clergy should resolve they will no more administer the sacraments upon the pretence perhaps of interdicts , censures , or some such thing . and the prince or state commands them to administer the sacraments ( as was done by the venetians in the time of the interdict , and by many kings in the like cases ) can it be pretended that the sacraments they administer upon such commands are not the sacraments of christ , but only of the king. so in like manner orders given upon the kings mandate by persons empowered to it by christ and the church , are true orders , even though the mandate for them were unjust , tyrannical , and illegal . seventhly , besides all that has been said , it is to be considered , that the power of choosing bishops was in all ages thought at most a mixed thing in which laymen as well as church-men , had a share . it is well enough known , that for the first three centuries , the elections were made by the people , and the bishops that came to assist in those elections did confirm their choice and consecrate the person by them elected . now whatever is a right of the people they can by law transfer it on another . so in our case the people of this realm , having in parliament annexed the power of choosing bishops to the crown , by which their right is now in the king's person ; consecrations upon his nomination must either be good and valid , or all the consecrations of the first ages of the church shall likewise be annulled , since he has now as good a right to name the persons that are to be consecrated , as the people then had . it is true , the tumults and other disscandal orders in those elections , brought great scandal on the church , and so they were taken away and synodical elections were set up ; but as the former ordinations were good before these were set up , so it cannot be said that these are indispensibly necessary , otherwise there are no good ordinations at at this day in the church of rome ; these being all now put down , the pope having among his other usurpations taken that into his own hands . eighthly , it is also known how much christian princes , emperors and kings , in all ages and places , have medled in the election of bishops ; i need not tell how a synod desired valentinian to choose a bishop at millan when saint ambrose was chosen , nor how theodosius chose nectarius to be patriarch of constantinople , even when the second general council was sitting . nor need i tell the law iustinian made , that there should be three presented to the emperor in the elections of the patriarch , and he should choose one of them . these things are generally known , and i need not insist on them . it is true , as there followed great confusions in the greek empire till it was quite over-run and destroyed ; so there was scarce any one thing in which there was more doing and undoing than in the election of the patriarchs , the emperors often did it by their own authority ; synodal elections were also often set up , at length the emperors brought it to that , that they delivered the pastoral staff to the bishop by which he was invested in his patriarchat ; but it was never pretended neither by the latin church nor by the contrary factions in the greek church that orders so given were null . and yet the emperors giving the investiture with his own hand , is a far greater thing than our king 's granting a mandate for consecrating and investing them . for proof of this about the greek church , i refer it to habert who has given a full deduction of the elections in that church , from the days of the apostles to the last age. for the latin church , the matter has been so oft examined , that it is to no purpose to spend much time about it . it is known and confessed by platina , that the emperors authority interveened when the popes were created . and onuphrius tells , that by a decree of vigilius the custom had got in , that the elected pope should not be consecrated till the emperor had confirmed it , and had by his letters patents given the elect pope leave to be ordained , and that licence was either granted by the emperors themselves or by their lieutenants [ or exarchs ] at ravenna : and one and twenty popes were thus consecrated , pelagius the second only excepted , who being chosen during the siege of rome , did not stay for it , but he sent gregory ( afterwards pope ) to excuse it to the emperor , who was offended with it : it continued thus till the days of constantine , called pogonatus , who first remitted it to benedict the second , and the truth of it was , the power of the greek emperors was then fallen so low in italy , that no wonder he parted with it . but so soon as the empire was again set up in the west by charles the great , pope adrian with a synod , gave him the power of creating the pope ( as is set down in the very canon law it self ) and of investing all other arch-bishops and bishops and an anathema was pronounced against any that should consecrate a bishop that was not named and invested by him . this is likewise told by platina out of anastasius . it is true , though some popes were thus chosen , yet the weakness of charles the great 's son , and the divisions of his children , with the degeneracy of that whole race served the ends of the growing power of the papacy . yet lewis laid it down not as an usurpation , but as a right of which he devested himself , but his son lothaire re-assumed it , and did confirm divers popes , and anastasius tells that they durst not consecrate the pope without the imperial authority , and the thing was still kept up at least in a shadow till hadrian the third , who appointed that the emperors concurrence or licence should not be thought necessary in the creating of a pope . and from hadrian the first , who dyed anno 795. till hadrian the third , there were 89 years ; and from vigilius his days , who dyed anno 555. there were 330 years . so long were the popes made upon the emperors mandates . nor did the emperors part easily with this right , but after that the otho's and the henry's kept up their pretension , and came oft to rome and made many popes , and though most of the popes so made were generally reckoned anti-popes and schismaticks , yet some of them , as clement the second , are put in the catalogue of the popes by baronius and binnius , and by the late publishers of the councils labbee and cossartius : there was indeed great opposition made to this at rome ; but let even their own historians be appealed to , what a series of monsters and not men , those popes were ; how infamously they were elected , often by the whores of rome , and how flagitious they were , we refer it to barronius himself , who could not deny this for all his partiality in his great work. but in the end pope gregory the seventh got the better of the emperors in this particular . and now let the ingenuity of those men be considered , who endeavour to invalidate our orders , and call our priests and bishops parliamentary priests and bishops , because they are made upon the king's mandate according to the act of parliament . when it is clear that for near 500 years together , their own popes were consecrated for the most part upon the emperors mandate . and it is certain the kings of england have as much power to do the same here , as the emperors had to do it at rome . the emperors were wont also to grant the investitures into all the bishopricks by giving the ring and the staff , which were the ceremonies of the investiture , and so they both named and invested all the bishops and abbots . this pope gregory the seventh thought was no more to be suffered than their creating the popes , both being done by the same authority : therefore he resolved to wring them out of the emperors hands , and take them into his own ; and it was no wonder he had a great mind to bring this about , for the bishopricks and abbeys were then so richly endowed , that it was the conquest of almost the third part of the empire , to draw the giving of them into his own hands . therefore he first disgraced these laical investitures by an ill name to make them sound odiously , and called all so ordained , simoniacks , as he also called the married clergy , nicolaitans . now every body knows how much any thing suffers by a scurvy nick-name raised on it . but he went more roundly to work , and deposed the emperor , and absolved his subjects from their obedience . what bloody wars and unnatural rebellions of the children against the father , followed by the popes instigation , is well enough known . in the end , his son that succeeded him was forced to yield up the matter to the pope . in spain it appears both from the 12th . and 16th . councils of toledo , that the kings there did choose the bishops , which baronius does freely confess . and gregory of tours through his whole history , gives so many instances of the kings of france of the merovinian race , choosing and naming the bishops , that it cannot be questioned ; all the writers of the gallicane church do also assert that their kings gave the investitures from the days of charles the great . but the popes were still making inroads upon their authority , for securing which charles the seventh caused the pragmatic sanction to be made . it is true , afterwards , pope leo the tenth got francis the first to set up the concordate in its place , against which the assembly of the clergy at paris did complain and appealed to a general council , and yet by the concordate the king retains still the power of naming the bishops . in england there are some instances of the saxon kings choosing bishops , and though so little remains of the records or histories of that time , that it is no wonder if we meet but few . yet it is clear that king william the conqueror and both his sons , did give the investitures to the bishops , and though upon a contest between king henry the first and anselm about them , the king did yield them to him ; yet upon anselm's death he did re-assume that power : i need not say more to shew what were the rights of the crown in this matter , nor how oft they were asserted in parliament , nor how many laws were made against the incroachments and tyrannical exactions of the court of rome ; these are now so commonly known , and have been so oft printed of late , that i need add nothing about them . only from all i have said i suppose it is indisputably clear ; that if ordinations or consecrations upon the kings mandate , be invalid , which this paper drives at ; then all the ordinations of the christian church are also annulled , since for many ages they were all made upon the mandates of emperors and kings . by all which you may see the great weakness of this argument . i shall to this add some remarks on a few particulars of less weight that are insinuated in this argument . first , the writer of it would infer from the queens , calling cardinal pool the late and immediate arch-bishop and pastor of canterbury , that we acknowledg catholick ordination valid , lawful , and good . if by valid , lawful , and good , be understood that which retained the essentials of ordination , and was according to the then law , there is no doubt to be made of it , but if he mean that all the forms and ceremonies of their ordination are acknowledged to be good , he will never draw that inference from these words . secondly , from the clause of the patents , that is for supplying all defects , considering the necessity of the times , he would infer , there was somwhat wanting in them , which was thereby supplyed . if by that [ want ] he means an essential defect , there was none such , for they were true bishops . if he means only that some things were not according to what the law required , it is of no force , for whoever makes a law , can also dispense with it : therefore the execution of these laws being put in the queens hands , she might well dispense with some particulars ; all which the parliament did afterwards confirm , and any defect in the point of law might make them liable to the civil powers , but it can by no means be pretended that this should annul the ordinations , though illegally gone about . thirdly , he would infer from the act of parliament , that the queen is made pope , when he knows that both by one of the articles of the church and another act of parliament , it is declared otherwise express words as follows , where we attribute to the queens majesty , the chief government , by which titles we understand the minds of some slandrous folks to be offended ; we give not to our princes the ministry either of god's word or of the sacraments ; the which thing the injunctions also lately set forth by elizabeth our queen , do most plainly testifie : but that only prerogative which we see to have been given always to all godly princes in holy scriptures by god himself ; that is , that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by god , whether they be ecclesiastical or temporal , and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil doers . so that there is nothing of the spiritual , much less of the papal and tyrannical power given to the king by the law. fourthly , from the power given to the queen to authorize such persons as she shall think fit to exercise that jurisdiction , he infers , they may be either clergymen , lawyers , merchants , or coblers , since the statute requires no more but that they be born subjects of the realm . but this is as well grounded as all the rest , for though that statute does not name the qualification of the persons , yet the other statutes that enacted the book of common-prayer and the ordinal , do fully specifie what sort of persons these must be , and it is not necessary that all things be in every statute . fifthly , he in the end of this paper pretends that the reason why this present parliament altered the ancient forms ; was , because they were null and invalid . the weakness and injustice of which was before shewed ; so that nothing needs to be repeated . and in fine , it has been also proved , that as both the greek and latin churches have made many alterations in their rituals , so the church of england which made these alterations , had as good an authority to do it by , as they had : to which i shall only add the words of the council of trent concerning the power of the church for making such changes when they give the reason for taking away the chalice . the church has power in the sacraments , retaining the substance of them to change or appoint such things which she shall judg more expedient both for the profit of the receivers , and for the reverence due to the sacraments , according to the variety of things , times , and places . where , by their own confession it is acknowledged , the church may make alterations in the sacraments * : so that it is a strange confidence in them to charge on us an annulling of former orders , because of a small addition of a few explanatory words . and so much for his paper . now having sufficiently answered every thing in it ; i hope i may be allowed to draw a few conclusions in opposition to his . and first , we having true priests and true bishops , are a true church , since we believe all that christ and his apostles delivered to the world. secondly , we being thus a part of the catholick church , every one that lives according to the doctrine professed a mong us , mayand shall be saved . thirdly , we do truly eat the flesh of christ , and drink his blood , having the blessed sacrament administred among us according to our saviour's institution . fourthly , we have as much power to consecrate the holy sacrament as any that were ordained in the church for near a thousand years together . fifthly , we have the ministerial power of giving absolution , and the ministry of reconciliation , and of forgiving sins , given us by our orders . sixthly , all men may ( and ought to ) joyn with us in the profession of the faith we believe , and in the use of the sacraments we administer , which are still preserved among us according to christ's institution ; and that whosoever repents and believes the gospel , shall be saved . seventhly , all and every of the arguments he has used , are found to be weak and frivolous , and to have no force in them . and thus far i have complied with your desires of answering the paper you sent me , in as short and clear terms as i could . but i must add , that this ransacking of records about a succession of orders , though it adds much to the lustre and beauty of the church ; yet is not a thing incumbent on every body to look much into , nor indeed , possible for any to be satisfied about : for a great many ages , all those instruments are lost ; so that how ordinations were made in the primitive church , we cannot certainly , know , it is a piece of history and very hard to be perfectly known . therefore it cannot be a fit study for any , much less for one that has not much leisure . the condition of christians were very hard , if private persons must certainly know how all ministers have been ordained since the apostles days ; for if we will raise scruples in this matter , it is impossible to satisfie them , unless the authentick registers of all the ages of the church could be shewed , which is impossible ; for tho we were satisfied that all the priests of this age were duly ordained ; yet if we be not as sure that all who ordained them had orders rightly given them , and so upward , till the days of the apostles , the doubt will still remain . therefore it is an unjust and unreasonable thing to raise difficulties in this matter . and indeed if we go to such nice scruples with it ; there is one thing in the church of rome that gives a much juster ground these , than any thing that can be pretended in ours does ; which is , the doctrine of the intention of the minister being necessary to make a sacrament . secret intentions are only known to god , and not possible to be known by any man : therefore since they make orders a sacrament , there remains still ground to entertain a scruple whether orders be truly given . and this cannever becleared , since none can know other mens thought or intentions . therefore the pursuing nice scruples about this , cannot be a thing indispensably necessary otherwise all people must be per plext with endless disquiet and doubtings . but the true touchstone of a church must be the purity of her doctrine and the conformity of her faith with that which christ and his apostles taught . in this the scriptures are clear and plain to every one that will read and consider them sincerely and without prejudice , which that you may do , and by these may be led and guided into all truth , shall be my constant prayer to god for you . an appendix . about the forms of ordaining priests and bishops in the latin church . because the decision of all the questions that can be made , by those of the church of rome , about the validity of our orders must be taken from the ancient forms of ordination , as hath been fully made out in the foregoing papers , therefore i hope it will not be unpleasant to the reader , to see what the forms of ordinations were in the latin church , for many ages , which he will more clearly understand , when he sees them at their full length ; then he can do by any quotations out of them . morinus has published sixteen of the most ancient latin rituals he could find , composed from the end of the fifth century ; at which time he judges the most ancient of them was written , till within those last four hundred years , so that he gives us a clear view of the ordinations of seven succeeding ages of the western church . his book is scarce to be had , and therefore i shall draw out of it , what relates to the ordination of priests and bishops , only as he has printed these forms strictly as the manuscripts were written , without altering some things that are manifestly the faults of the transcribers ; so i shall set them down exactly , as he has published them , with the emendations on the margin from other manuscripts , and adde a translation of them in english. but i shall begin with the three first canons of the fourth council of carthage , in which we have the fullest and earliest account of the ordidinations of bishops and priests , in the latin church : and from the simplicity of these and the many pompous rites that are added in the latter rituals , the reader will both perceive how the spirit of superstition grew from age to age ; and will be able to judge , whether the church of england ; or the church of rome , comes nearest the most primitive forms . these i set down according to the mss. published by morinus , and collationed on the margin , with a mss. belonging to the church of salisbury , that is judged to be six hundred year old , and also with that published by labbée in the tomes of the councils . sacrarum ordinationum ritus . ex concilio carthaginensi quarto depromptus . canon i. qui episcopus ordinandus est , antea examinetur , si natura sit prudens , si docibilis , si moribus temperatus , si vita cast●…s , si sobrius , si semper suis negotiis * cavens , * si humilis , si affabilis , si misericors , si literatus , si in lege domini instructus , si in scripturam sensibus ca●…tus , si in dogmatibus ecclesiasticis exercitatus ; & ante omnia , si fidei documenta verbis simplicibus asserat * id est , patrem , & filium , & spiritum sanctum unum deum esse confirmans , totamque * trinitatis deitatem coessentialem , & consubstantialem , & coaeternalem , & coomnipotentem praedicans : si * singularem quamque in trinitate personam plenum deum , * & totas tres personas unum deum . si incarnationem divinam non in patre , neque in spiritu sancto factam , sed in filio tantum credat , ut qui erat in divinitate dei patris , ipse fieret in homine hominis matris filius : deus verus ex patre , homo verus ex matre , carnem ex matris visceribus habens , & animam humanam rationalem ; sim●…l in eo * ambae naturae , id est , deus & homo , una persona , unus filius , unus christus , unus dominus , creator omnium quae sunt & autor , & * dominus , & rector cum patre & spiritu sancto , * omnium creaturaram qui passus sit vera carnis passione ; mortuus vera corporis sui morte , resurrexit vera carnis suae * resurrectinoe , & vera animae resumptione , in qua veniet judicar●… vivos & mortuos . quaerendum etiam ab eo , si novi & veteris testamenti , id est , leges & prophetarum , & apostolorum unum eundemque credat autorem & ev●…m . si diabolus non per conditionem , sed per arbitrium , * sit malus . quaerendum etiam ab eo si credat hujus quam gestamus , & non alterius , carnis resurrectionem . si credat judicium futurum , & recepturo●… singulos pro his , quae in * carne gesserunt , vel poenas vel * gloriam . si nuptias non improbat ; si secunda matrimonia non damnet ; si carnium per●…eptionem non culpet ; si poenitentibus reconciliatis communicet ; si in baptismo omnia peccata , id est , tam illud originale contractum , quam illa quae voluntate admissa sunt , dimittantur ; si extra ecclesiam catholicam nullus salvetur . cum in his omnibus examinatus , inventus fuerit plene instructus , tunc cum consensu clericorum , & laicorum , & conventu totius provinciae episcoporum , maximéque metropolitani vel authoritate vel praesentia , ordinetur episcopus . suscepto in nomini christi episcopatu non suae delectationi , nec suis motibus , sed his patrum definitionibus acquiescat . [ in cujus ordinatione etiam aetas requiritur , quam sancti patres in praeeligendis episcopis constituerunt . ] dehinc disponitur , qualiter ecclesiastica officia ordinantur . can. ii. episcopus cum ordinatur , duo episcopi ponant , & teneant evangeliorum codicem supra caput , & cervicem ejus ; & uno super eum sundente benedictionem , reliqui omnes episcopi qui adsunt , manibus suis caput ejus tangant . can. iii. presbyter cum ordinatur , episcopo eum benedicente , & manum super caput ejus tenente , etiam omnes presbyteri qui praesentes sunt , manus suas juxta manum episcopi super caput illius teneat . in english thus . can. i. let him that is to be ordained a bishop ; be first examined if he be naturally prudent , and teachable , if in his manners he be temperate , if chast in his life , if sober , if he looks to his own affairs , be humble , affable , merciful and learned , if he be instructed in the law of the lord ; and skilful in the sense of the scriptures ; and acquainted with ecclesiastical doctrines : and above all things , if he assert the articles of faith in simple words : that is to say , affirms that the father , son , and holy ghost are one god : and teaches that the whole deity of the trinity , is coessential , consubstantial , coaeternal , and coomnipotent : and that every person of the trinity , is fully god : and all the three persons are one god. if he believes that the holy incarnation , was neither of the father , nor the holy ghost ; but of the son only : that he who was the son of god the father by the godhead , becoming a man , was the son of his mother , very god of his father , and very man of his mother who had flesh of the bowels of his mother , and a human reasonable soul. and both natures god and man , were in him one person , one son , one christ , one lord the creator of all things that are , and the author , lord and governour of all creatures with the father , and the holy ghost . who suffered a true passion in his flesh , and was dead by a true death of his body , and rose again with a true resurrection of his flesh , and a true re-assumption of his soul , in which he shall come to judge the quick and the dead . it must likewise be asked if he believes , that one and the same god , was the author of the old and new testament ; of the books of the law , the prophets and the apostles . if the devil be not wicked by his will and not by his nature . and if he believes the resurrection of this flesh , which we now carry and not of any other , and the judgment to come , and that every one shall receive either punishment or glory , for what they have done in the flesh. if he does disapprove marriage , or condemn second marriage , or blames the eating of flesh. if he communicates with penitents , being reconciled . if he believes that in baptism all sins , both that which is originally contracted and those which are willingly committed are pardoned , and that none is saved out of the catholick church . when being examined in all these things , he is found fully instructed , then let him be ordained bishop , with the consent of the clergy , and laity , and the meeting of the bishops of the whole province ; and chiefly in the presence or by the authority of the metropolitan . and he having undertaken the bishoprick in the name of christ , must acquiesce in the definitions of the fathers , and not in his own pleasure or inclinations . and in ordaining him , that age is necessary which the holy fathers appointed in the choosing of bishops . after this it is appointed how all ecclesiastical offices are ordained . can. ii. when a bishop is ordained , two bishops shall lay and hold the book of the gospel , upon his head , and neck ; and one saying the blessing over him , all the other bishops that are present , shall touch his head with their hands . can. iii. when a presbyter is ordained , the bishop blessing him , and holding his hand upon his head , all the presbyters that are present , shall hold their hands beside the bishops hand upon his head. the most ancient of the rituals morinus proves was written some time between the year 511. and 560. in which the ordination of the priests is in this fashion : it begins with an exhortation to the people , to tell what they know of the person to be ordained , and to make a publick election of him. then follows the collect with this rubrick . oratio ad presbyteros ordinandos . oremus , dilectissimi , deum patrem omnipotentem , ut super hunc famulum suum quem ad presbyterii munus eligit , coelestia dona multiplicet , & quae ejus dignatione suscipiunt , ejus exequantur auxilio ; per dominum . item alia . exaudi nos , deus salutaris noster , * ut super hunc famulum tuum benedictionem spiritus sancti & gratiae sacerdotalis effunde virtutem , ut quem tuae pietatis suspectibus offerimus consecrandum , perpetua muneristui largitate persequaris ; per dominum . in english thus , a prayer for the priests that are to be ordained . let us pray beloved to god , the father almighty , that he may multiply heavenly gifts on this his servant , whom he has chosen to the office of priesthood , that what they receive by his favour , they may execute through his help ; through our lord. and another . hear us , o god our saviour , and pour upon this thy servant the blessing of the holy ghost and the vertue of priestly grace , that thou maist follow ▪ him with a perpetual largeness of thy gift , whom we offer up to thy holy eyes to be consecrated ; through our lord. consecratio . domine sancte pater omnipotens aeterne deus , honorum omnium dignitatum quae tibi militant , distributor , per quem cuncta firmantur , amplificatis semper in melius naturae rationalis incrementis per ordinem * congruam rationem dispositum , unde sacerdotalis gradus & officia levitarum sacramentis * mystici instituta ▪ creverunt , ut cum * pontifice summos regendis populis praefecisses ad eorum societatis & operis adjumentum † sequentes ordines viros , & secundae dignitatis elegeris , sic in eremo per septuaginta virorum prudentium , * mentis moysi spiritum propagasti , quibus ille adjutoribus usus in populo , innumeras multitudines facilè gubernavit . sic & eleazaro & ithamar filiis aaron paternae plenitudinis abundantiam transfudisti , * & ad hostias salutaris , & frequentiores officii sacramenta sufficeret merétum sacerdotum . hac providentia domine , apostolis filii tui doctores fidei comites addedisti quibus illi orbem totum secundis praedicatoribus impleverunt . quapropter infirmitati quoque nostrae , domine , quaesumus haec adjumenta largire , qui quanto magis fragiliores sumus , tanto his * plurius indigemus . da quaesumus , omnipotens pater , in hoc † famulo tuo ill presbyterii dignitatem : innova in visceribus ejus spiritum sanctitatis : acceptum à te , deus , secundi meriti munus obtineat , censuramque morum exemplo suae conversationis insinuet . sit † providus cooperator ordinis nostri , eluceat in * eum totius forma justitiae , ut bonam rationem dispensationis sibi creditae redditurus , aeternae beatitudinis praemia consequatur . the consecration . o lord , holy father , almighty and eternal god , the distributer of all honors and dignities that fight for thee , by whom all things are strengthned , the improvements of the rational nature being always enlarged by thee to the better , through a settled order and congruous reason , from whence the priestly degrees and the offices of the levites , which were instituted by mystical sacraments did grow up ; so that when thou set the high-priests to govern the people , thou didst choose for the help of their society and work , men of an inferiour order and a second dignity : so also in the wilderness thou didst propagate the spirit that was in moses into seventy prudent men , whom he using as helpers with him over the people , did easily govern innumerable multitudes . so thou didst transfuse into eleazar and ithamar the sons of aaron , abundance of the fulness that was in their father , that the ministry of the priests might be sufficient for the expiatory sacrifices , and the sacraments that were more frequent . by the same providence thou , o lord , didst add companions to the apostles of thy son , who were teachers of the faith , with which preachers of a second rank they filled the whole world. wherefore , o lord , we beseech thee grant likewise those helps to our infirmity , who by so much the weaker as we are , do need these the more . grant we beseech thee , almighty father , to this thy servant , the dignity of priesthood . renew in his inward parts the spirit of holiness , and let him obtain the office of the second merit received from thee , o god , and make him insinuate by the example of his conversation a censure of manners . let him be a provident fellow-labourer with our order , and let the form of all righteousness shine forth in him , that when he shall render a good account of the dispensation trusted to , he may obtain the rewards of eternal blessedness . consummatio presbyteri . sit nobis , fratres , communis cratio , ut * his qui in adjutorium & utilitatem vestrae salutis eligetur , presbyteratus benedictionem divini indulgentia muneris consequatur , & s. spiritus sacerdotalia dona privilegio virtutum , ne impar loco deprehendatur , obtineat per suum . per. the consummation of a priest. brethren , let us joyn in one prayer , that he who is chosen for the help and profit of your salvation , may obtain the blessing of the office of priesthood by the divine indulgence , and the priestly gifts of the holy ghost , by the priviledg of his vertue , lest he be found unfit for his place . item benedictio . sanctificationum omnium autor , cujus vera consecratio , plena benedictio est , tu domine , super hunc samulum ill . quem * prebyterii honore dedicamus , * manum tuae benedictionis eum insunde ut gravitate actuum , & censura vivendi probet se esse † seniorem , his institutus disciplinis quas tito & timotheo paulus exposuit , ut in lege tua die ac nocte , omnipotens , meditans , quod † elegerit , credat ▪ quod crediderit , doceat ; quod docuerit * meditetur : justitiam , constantiam , miscricordiam , fortitudinem in se ostendat , † exemplum probet , * admonitionem confirmet , ut purum atque immaculatum † ministerii tui domum custodiat , & per obsequium plebis tuae * corpus & sanguinem filii tui imma culata benedictione transformet , & inviolabili caritate in virum perfectum , in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis christi , in die justitiae aeterni judicii , conscientia pura , side plena , spiritu sancto plenus persolvat . per dominum . the benediction . thou the author of all sanctifications , whose true consecration is a full benediction ; thou , o lord , lay the hand of thy blessing upon this thy servant , whom we have dedicated to the honor of priesthood , that by the gravity of his actions and the rule of living , he may prove himself to be an elder instructed in those disciplines which saint paul delivered to titus and timothy : that meditating in thy law , o almighty god , day and night , he may believe what he reads , and teach what he believes , and follow what he teaches : and may shew forth righteousness , constancy , mercy , and courage in himself , and approve himself a pattern , and confirm his admonitions , and may preserve the gift of thy ministry undefiled ; and through the obedience of thy people , may transform the body and blood of thy son with an undefiled blessing , and may finish all by an inviolable charity in a perfect man ; in the measure of the statute of the fulness of christ in the day of the justice of eternal judgment , with a pure conscience and a full faith , being full of the holy ghost . the follows the consecration of their hands in these words . consecratio manus . consecrentur manus istae , & sanctificentur per istam unctionem & nostram benedictionem , ut quaecunque benedixerint , benedicta sint , & quaecunque sanctificaverint , sanctificentur . per dominum . item alia . ungantur manus istae de oleo sanctifica ; & chrismate sanctificationis , sicut unxit samuel david in regem & prophetam , ita unguentur & consummentur in nomine dei patris & filii & spiritus sancti , sacientes imaginem sanctae crucis salvatoris domini nostri iesu christi , qui nos à morte redemit & ad regna coelorum perducit . exaudi nos , pie pater omnipotens aeterne deus & praesta quod t●… rogamus & orames . per dominum . in english thus . let these hands be consecrated and sanctified by this unction and our blessing , that whatsoever they bless , be blessed , and whatsoever they sanctifie be sanctified through our lord. and another . let these hands be annointed with the sanctified oyl ; and the chrism of sanctification , as samuel annointed david to be both king and prophet ; so let them be annointed and perfected in the name of god the father , the son , and the holy ghost , making the image of the holy cross of our saviour the lord iesus christ , who redeemed us from death , and brings us to the kingdome of heaven . hear us o holy father , almighty and eternal god , and grant what we desire and pray for , through our lord. there is neither more nor less in that ritual about the ordination of a priest. for this last of the annointing the priests with oyl , it cannot be called essential to the priesthood , for the greek church never used it , and tho nazianzen tells us that his father had anointed st. basil , and that himself was also annointed , yet neither the apostolick constitutions , nor dionystus the areopagite , nor simeon of thessalonica , nor cabasilas , tho they have delivered to us the rites of ordination in the greek church , ever mention it . and it is in no greek ritual ; so that what ever places are found in any greek author of annointing in ordination must be understood allegorically and mystically , of the effusion of the holy ghost . so both elias cretensis and nicetas the scholiasts on nazianzen expound his words , and there are some passages near the end of his fourth oration , that shew these other places of his are to be understood metaphorically . this rite is not mentioned by the council of carthage , and it seems was not received in spain a great while after the age of this ritual , for isidor tho very particular in other things ( as the staff and ring ) does not mention it , neither when he speaks of the ordination of priests , nor bishops . nor do the councils in spain mention it ; and alcuine speaks nothing of it , but it was only as seems used in the gallicane church , and the first that i find clearly mention it , is amalarius , but gildas intimates it , for he speak of the benediction , qua initiantur sacerdotum manus , by which the priests hands are initiated . pope nicolas the first expresly says , that at rome neither priests nor deacons were annointed . his words are ; praeterea sciscitaris utrum solis presbyteris , an & diaconibus debeant cum ordinantur , manus chrismatis liquore perungi , quod in sancta hac romana cui , deo auctore , deservimus ecclesia , neutris agitur . sed & quia sit à novis legis ministris actum , nusquam nisi nos fallat oblivio , legimus . you ask me further if only the priests or the deacons likewise , when they are ordained should have their hands anointed with the chrism , this is done to neither of them , in this holy roman church ; where by gods appointment we serve , and if our memory fails us not , we no where read that this was done by the ministers of the new law. the second ritual published by the same author , is as he believes , nine hundred year old , and has been compiled for the church of rome ; being that which is commonly called sacramentarium gelasianum , in which the rubricks and prayers are the same with the former , only the annointing is not mentioned in that part of it that relates to the ordination of priests , but the transcriber after the office of the ordination of the subdeacon adds the rite and collects for the annointing the priests , which morinus believes he did to accommodate it to the french rites . the third ritual is as morinus believes , antienter than eight hundred years , in which the rites and collects are the same with the former , only the consummation and blessing is wanting , and a new rite is added of giving the vestiments , with these words which are in stead of the blessing . hic vestis & casulam . benedictio patris , & filii , & spiritus sancti descendat super te , ut sis benedictus in ordine sacerdotali , & offeras placabiles hostias pro peccatis atque offensionibus populi omnipotenti deo. cui sit honor & gloria in saecula saeculorum . in english thus . the blessing of the father , the son , and the holy ghost , descend upon thee , that thou maist be blessed in the priestly order , and may offer acceptable ( or expiatory ▪ ) sacrifices , for the sins and offences of the people , to almighty god. to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever . the fourth ritual , is the same with that which angelus rocca published among gregory the great 's works , where are the two first collects and prayer of consecration ; as in the first : with the annointing of the hands , as is there : and the giving the vestments , with the words in the third ritual . the fifth ritual , which he sets down has nothing relating to the ordination of priests ; but the two first collects and the prayer of consecration before set down , which upon that account he judges defective . the sixth ritual , about eight hundred year old , composed for the church of england , has all that is in the first ritual , with these additions . it begins with the canon of the council of carthage , about the ordination of a priest. then follow the collects and prayer before set down . then there is added this blessing , before the annointing of the hands . benedictio vel consecratio manuum sacerdotis ante unctionem chrismatis . benedic , domine , & sanctifica has manus sacerdotis tui ill . ad consecrandas hostias quae pro delictis atque negligentiis populi offeruntur , & ad caetera benedicenda quae ad usus populi necessaria sunt , & praesta , quaesumus , ut quaecunque benedixerint , benedicantur , & quaecunque sacraverint sacrentur , salvator mundi qui vivis & regnas . bless , o god , and sanctifie these hands of thy priest , for consecrating the sacrifices which are offered for the sins and negligences of the people , and for blessing of all other things , that are necessary for the use of the people , and grant we beseech thee , o saviour of the world , who livest and reignest , that whatsoever they bless may be blessed , and whatever they consecrate may be consecrated . then follows the annointing of the hands as before . then is added the annointing of the head , with this prayer : consecratio capitis cum oleo . ungatur & consecretur caput tuum coelesti benedictione in ordine sacerdotali , in nomine patris , & filii , & spiritus sancti . let thy head be annointed , and consecrated with a heavenly benediction in the priestly order , in the name of the father , the son , and the holy ghost . then the vestments are given as in the third ritual , with a little variation in the collect , and then follows the consummation and blessing ; as was in the first ritual before set down . the seventh ritual , which morinus reckons likewise eight hundred years old , has the same collects , consecration , and benediction with the first , with the delivery of the vestment and prayer , as is in the third ritual , and the annointing of the hands , as in the first , without any further rite . the eight ritual , is near the same age with the former , the two first collects and prayer of consecration , are in it as in the first , and the giving the vestment , as in the third , and the consecrating of the hands as in the first , and there is no more in that ritual . the ninth ritual , which he believes is seven hundred years old , has the first collects and the prayer of consecration as in the first . there is a little inconsiderable variation in the giving of the vestments , from what is in the third . the hands are annointed as in the first . the head is annointed as in the sixth , and the hands are bless'd as in the sixth , the consummation and benediction are according to the first . then some collects and blessings are added , relating to their fasting and abstinence . the tenth ritual , about the same age has the two first collects , and the prayer of consecration according to the first , then follows the giving the vestments according to the third . then is the annointing of the hands according to the first , and the blessing of them according to the sixth . there is no more in that ritual . the eleventh ritual , about the same age , has the exhortation to the people , and the two first collects , with the prayer of consecration as in the first . then these additions follow . he puts one of the vestments called orarium on him and says , accipe jugum dei , jugum enim ejus suave est & onus ejus leve . take the yoke of god , for his yoke is sweet , and his burden is light. then the casula is put on him with these words . stola innocentiae induat te dominus . let the lord cloath thee with the robe of innocence . then follows the blessing as in the first , and the annointing the hands , with a small variation in the collect from the words of the first . this being done , the paten with the hosties , and the chalice , with the wine , is given with these words . accipe potestatem offerre sacrificium deo missamque celebrare tam pro vivis quam pro defunctis , in nomine domini . receive thou power to offer sacrifice and to celebrate the mass ; as well for the living as for the dead , in the name of the lord. then follows the blessing as is in the third ritual . the twelfth and thirteenth rituals , the one being about six hundred and fifty year old , the other a hundred years later have the first collects , and prayer of consecration as the first had . and the blessing that is in the third , with the consecration of the hands that is in the first . the fourteenth ritual , about five hundred year old has the two collects and prayer of consecration as in the first . then the orarium is given as in the eleventh , with an addition in giving the casula . accipe vestem sacerdotalem per quam charitas intelligitur ; potens est enim deus ut augeat tibi charitatem , qui vivit . receive the priestly vestment by which charity is understood , for god is able to increase thy charity , who lives . then follows the consummation , and benediction as in the first , then the bishop makes a cross in their hands with the oyl and chrism ; and uses the words as in the eleventh ritual , then he gives the sacred vessels as in that same ritual . then follows the blessing in the third ritual , and then the bishop is to kiss them . the fifteenth ritual , is about four hundred and fifty years old , and has very near the same rubricks that are in the former , only upon the margin , where the words are to be pronounced in the delivering the sacred vessels , is written , accipe spiritum sanctum ; quorum remiseritis peccata , &c. receive the holy ghost ; whose sins ye remit , &c. the sixteenth ritual , about three hundred years old , agrees with the former , in the forementioned rites and collects ; but has this addition that the bishop lays on his hands on the priests and says , receive the holy ghost ; whose sins ye remit , they are remitted to them , and whose sins you retain they are retained . but in two other pontificals which morinus believes are of the same age ▪ these words and that rite are wanting . in the ordo romanus , which some believe is a work of the ninth century , others that it is of the eleventh century , there are set down first some questions and answers to the priests to be ordained , then the two collects with the prayer of consecration follow , as in the rituals before set down , only it is marked in the rubrick that the bishop and priests lay on their hands at the first collect , then follow all the other rites of giving the vestments , annointing and delivering the sacred vessels ; but the last imposition of hands with the words , receive the holy ghost , are not in it . from all which it clearly appears what must be essential to ordination , and what not ; none of those rites that are only found in later rituals are essential : for the ordinations were good and valid before these were added . but that in which all these rituals agree must be acknowledged of greatest weight and chief importance , and that is the prayer of consecration with the two collects that go before it . for in those they all agree , but vary in every thing else ; and therefore morinus thinks the former of these collects , is now the form of priestly orders , for which he has another strong argument , which is , that as he proves both by the ancient canons , and even by the doctrine of the council of trent ; the imposition of the priests hands with the bishop is necessary in these ordinations , and they only lay on hands with the bishop when that collect is pronounced , from which he infers that then the priests orders are conferred . but it is clear from all those rituals that these collects were preparatory to the prayer of consecration which only is the form of these orders according to those rituals . and thus far of the office of ordaining priests , i shall next set down from those rituals the office , rubricks , rites , and prayers used in the consecration of a bishop . the office begins with an exhortation to the people , declaring the necessity of substituting one pastor to another , and that therefore upon the former bishops death , there is another chosen by the priests and the whole clergy , with the advice of the citizens and people , who is well qualified for it ; therefore they are desired to approve of the choice by their voices and to declare him worthy of it . then follows , oratio & * precis de ordinandis episcopis . oremus , dilectissimi nobis , ut his viris ad utilitatem ecclesiae * providendis , benignitas omnipotentis dei , gratiae suae tribuat largitatem ; per dominum nostrum iesum christum . alia : benedictio episcoporum . exaudi , domine , supplicum preces , ut quod nostrum gerendum est ministerium tua potius virtute firmetur . per dominum nostrum iesum christum . alia . propitiare , domine , supplicationibus nostris : & * inclinatus super hos famulos tuos cornu gratiae sacerdotalis , benedictionis tuae in eos effunde virtutem . per dominum nostrum iesum christum . coll. sequitur . deum totius sanctificationis ac pietatis actorem , qui placationem suam & sacrificia & sacra constituit , fratres dilectissimi , deprecemur , ut hunc famulum suum quem ex altari in ecclesia , & seniorum cathedra concordibus sua inspiratione judiciis , & effusis super plebem suam votis fidelibus , ac vocum testimoniis voluit imponi , collocans eum , cum principibus populi sui , ad eorum nunc precim universam eundem summum sacerdotium debita honoris plenitudine charismatum gratia , sanctificationum ubertate hac , praecipue humilitatis virtute locupletet , ut rector potius non extollatur , sed in omnibus se quantum est major humilians , sit in ipsis quasi unus ex illis , omnia judicii domini nostri non pro se tantum , sed & pro omni populo qui solicitudinis suae creditur contremiscens , ut qui meminerit de speculatorum manibus omnium animas requirendas pro omnium salute pervigilet , pastorali erga creditas sibi oves domini diligentiae ejus semper se flagrantissimum adprobans . te dilectorum adigitur praefuturus ex omnibus electus , ex quibus universis sacris , sacrandisque idoneus fiat sub hac quae est homini per hominem postrima benedictio confirmata atque perfecta suae consecrationis nostrae supplecationis adtentissime concordissimisque omnium precibus adjovemur , omnium pro ipso oratio incumbat , cui exorandi pro omnibus pondus imponitur . impetret ei affectus totius ecclesiae virtutem , pietate sanctificationem , & caeteras summi sacerdotii sacras dotes universae ecclesiae profuturas , domino deo nostro qui sacrorum numerum profluus fons est , qui dat omnibus affluenter quod sacerdoti pro affectu poscitur , ad exundandam in omnibus sanctificationem suorum omnium promptissimè ac plenissimè conferentem . per dominum nostrum . a collect and prayers for the bishops to be ordained . beloved , let us pray that the bounty of almighty god may give of the fulness of his grace to those men who are to be provided for the use of the church , through our lord. hear , o lord , the prayers of thy supplicants , that the ministry which we are to bear may be confirmed by thy power , through our lord iesus christ. be favourable to our supplications , o lord , and put upon these thy servants the horn of thy priestly grace , and pour upon them the vertue of thy blessing , through our lord iesus christ. beloved brethren , let us pray to god who is the author of all holiness and piety , who appointed sacrifices and holy offices , by which he is pleased , that he would , upon the prayer of all his people , enrich this his servant whom he has appointed by the agreeing voices according to his inspiration and the faithful desires which he has infused in the people , and the testimony of their voices , to be raised from the altar in the church , and the seat of the elders placing him with the princes of his people : with the fulness of the honour of the high-priesthood , and the grace of sanctifying gifts in great measure , and chiefly with the vertue of humility , that being a governour , he be not lifted up , but that in all things he humble himself the greater he grows , and be among others , as one of them : trembling at all the judgments of god , not only for himself , but for all the people trusted to his care , remembring that all their souls shall be required at the hands of the watchmen : and therefore may watch for all their safety , approving himself always most inflamed with pastoral diligence about the lord's sheep trusted to him . i cannot make sense of the rest , for this collect is in no other ritual , and the copy out of which it is printed , as it is very ancient , so it has been most uncorrectly written . consecratio . deus honorum omnium , deus omnium dignitatum , quae gloriae tuae * sacris samulantur honoribus : deus qui moysen samulum tuum secreti samiliaris * affectu inter caetera coelestis documenta culturae , de habitu quoque indumenti sacerdotalis instituens , electum aaron mystico amictu vestire inter sacra jussisti , ut intelligentiae sensum de exemplis priorum caperet secutura posteritas , ne eruditio doctrinae tuae ulli deesset aetati , cum & apud veteres reverentiam ipsam significationum species obtineret , & apud nos certiora essent experimenta rerum quam aenigmata figurarum . illius namque sacerdotii anterioris habitus nostrae mentis ornatus est , & pontificalis gloriae non jam nobis * honorem commendat vestrum sed * splendorem animarum . quia & illa quae tunc carnalibus blandiebantur obtutibus , ea potius quae ipsis erant intelligenda poscebant . et idcirco famulis tuis , quaesumus , quos ad summi sacerdotii * sacerdotium elegisti , hanc quaesumus , domine gratiam largiaris , ut quidquid illa velamina in fulgore auri , in nitore gemmarum , & multimodi operis varitate signabant , hoc in horum moribus claresoat . *** comple , domine , in sacerdotibus tuis mysterii tui summam , & ornamentis totius glorificationis * instructum coelestis unguenti flore sanctifica . *** hoc , domine , copiosè in eorum caput influat , hoc in oris subjecta decurrat , hoc in totius corporis extrema , descendat , ut tui spiritus virtus & † interiorum ora repleat , & exteriora circumtegat . abundet in his constantia fidei , puritas dilectionis , sinceritas pacis . [ sint speciosi munere tuo pedes horum ad evangelizandum pacem , ad evangelizandum bona tua . da eis , domine , mysterium reconciliationis in verbo , & in virtute & * signorum , & prodigiorum . sit sermo eorum & praedicatio non in persuasibilibus humanae sapientiae verbis , sed in ostensione spiritus & † virtutis . da eis , domine , claves regni coelorum : utantur ne●… glorientur potestate quam tribuis in aedificationem , non in destructionem . quodcunque * legaverint super terram sit † legatum & in coelis , et quodqunque solverint super terram sit solutum & in coelis . quorum detinuerint peccata , detenta sint , & quorum * demiserint , tu † demittas . quibenedixerit eis sit benedictus , & qui maledixerit eis , maledictionibus repleatur . sint servi fideles & prudentes quos constituas tu , domine , super samiliam tuam , ut dent illis cibum in tempore necessario , ut exhibeant omnem hominem perfectum . sint solicitudine impigri , sint spiritu serventes , oderint superbiam , diligant veritatem , nec eam unquam deserant aut lassitudine aut timore superati . non ponant lucem ad tenebras , nec tenebris lucem ; non dicant malum bonum , nec bonum malum . sint sapientibus & insipientibus debitores , & sructum de prosectu omnium consequantur . ] tribuas eis , domine , cathedram episcopalem ad regendam ecclesiam tuam , & plebem universam . sis eis autoritas , sis eis potestas , sis eis firmitas . multiplices super eos benedictionem , & gratiam tuam , ut ad exorandam semper misericordiam tuam munere idonei , tua gratia possint esse devoti ; per dominum nostrum , &c. the consecration . o god of all the honours , o god of all the dignities , that serve in the holy offices to thy glory , o god who when thou instructedst moses thy servant with a secret and familiar affection , among other instructions of the heavenly ornaments , didst teach him the priestly garments and commandedst him to cloath aaron thy chosen , when he did officiate , that the following ages might be instructed by those who went before them , that the knowledge of thy doctrine might be wanting in no age , the appearance of the things signified being reverenced among the ancients , but among us the real experiments are more certain than the riddles of figures . for the habit of the former priesthood in us is the ornament of our minds , and it is not the shining of our cloaths , but of our souls that commends in us the honour of the priestly glory ; because they did more desire those things that pleased their carnal eyes than the things they should have understood by them . and therefore we beseech thee , o lord , grant this grace to those thy servants whom thou hast chosen to the ministry of the high priesthood , that whatever those garments signified in the shining of the gold , in the brightness of the gems , and in the curiousness of the workmanship , all that may appear in their manners . ** accomplish , o lord , in thy priests the fullness of thy mystery , and having adorned him with all the ornaments of glory : sanctifie him with the flower of the heavenly oyntment . ** let that , o lord , fall plentifully on their head , and run down the rest of their face and descend to the extremities of their body , that the vertue of thy spirit may fill them inwardly , and compass them about outwardly . let the constancy of faith , the purity of love , and the sincerity of peace abound in them . [ let their feet through thy favour be beautiful to preach peace and to preach thy good things . give them , o lord , the ministry of reconciliation , in word and in power , in signs and wonders . let their discours●… and preaching be not in the perswading words of human wisdom , but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power . give them , o lord , the keys of the kingdom of heaven . let them use , but not glory in their power which thou givest them , to edification and not to destruction : whatsoever they shall bind on earth , let it be bound in heaven , and what they shall loose on earth , let it be loosed in heaven ; whose sins they retain , let them be retained , and whose they remit , do thou remit . who blesses them , let him be blessed , and who curses them , let him be filled with curses ; and let them be faithful and wise servants , whom thou shalt appoint over thy houshold to give them meat in due season , that they may present every man perfect . make them diligent in business and fervent in spirit . make them hate pride and love truth , and let them never forsake it either through weariness or fear . let them not put light for darkness , nor darkness for light , nor call evil good nor good evil . let them be debtors both to the wise and unwise , that they may gather fruit from the profiting of all men . ] give them , o lord , an episcopal chair for the governing of thy church and whole people . be thou to them authority , power , and strength . multiply upon them thy blessing and grace , that being fitted by thy gift always to implore thy mercy they may be devout by thy grace : through our lord iesus christ. there follow some collects that are called in the rubrick super oblata , which belong to the office of the communion , and are prayers for the bishop ; and this is all in that ritual , that relates to the ordination of a bishop . the second ritual , in all things agrees with the former . the third ritual , begins that office with the second canon of the fourth council of carthage , about the consecration of bishops then follow the collects , oremus , adesto , and propitiare , as in the first ; then the prayer of consecration , deus honorum omnium . and at the word comple the bishop takes the chrism , and at the words hoc domine he pours it on the head of the person to be consecrated , but all from sinceritas pacis , to tribuas ei domine , is left out , then follow the collects super oblata , there is no more in that ritual . for the annointing of bishops , tho it was neither used in the eastern nor african churches , yet both pope a leo and gregory the great mention it as a rite then received in the roman church . b amalarius gives an accout of it , but cites no ancienter author for it than c beda , for some other authorities that are brought to prove the greater antiquity of this rite , are either allegorical or relate to the chrism , with which all were annointed at their confirmation . the fourth ritual , has first the questions that are put to the bishop that is to be ordained , which has begun , it seems , from the time of the fourth council of carthage , where by the first canon the bishop was to be examined , both about his faith and manners . i shall only set down two of these , the one is . vis ea quae ex divinis scripturis intelligis , plebem cui ordinandus es & verbis docere & exemplis ? wilt thou both by the words and example instruct the people , for whom thou art to be ordained , in those things which thou dost understand out of the holy scriptures ? to which he answers , i will. and this alone were there no more , may serve to justify those bishops , who got orders in the church of rome , and afterwards received the reformation ; since by the very sponsions given in their ordination , they had engaged themselves to instruct their flocks according to the scriptures . another question is , vis esse subditus huic nostrae sedi atque obediens ? wilt thou be subject and obedient to this our see. which was no other than what every metropolitan demanded of all the bishops under him , and yet this is all the obedience then promised to the pope ; far different from the oaths which were afterwards exacted . but i go on to give an account of the rest of the office according to this ritual . in the rubrick , the second canon of the fourth council of carthage is set down , to which is added . hoc facto accipiat patinam cum oblatis & calicem cum vino , & det ei , dicens , accipe potestatem offerre sacrificium , &c. which being done he shall take the paten , with the hosties and the chalice with the wine , and shall give him , saying , receive power to offer sacrifice , &c. so that this was used in the consecration of bishops , long before it was in the making of priests , then follow oremus , adesto , and propitiare as they are before set down , then two new rites are set down , the rubrick is . ad annulum dandum . memor sponsionis & desponsationis ecclesiasticae , & dilectionis domini dei tui in die , qua assecutus es hunc honorem , cave ne obliviscaris illius . accipe ergo annulum discretionis , & honoris fidei signum , ut quae sign●…nda sunt , signes : et quae aperienda sunt prodas : quae liganda sunt , liges : quae solvenda sunt , solvas : utque credentibus per fidem baptismatis , lapsis autem sed poenitentibus , per mysterium reconciliationis januas regni coelestis aperias : cunctis verò de thesauro dominico nova & vetera proferas , ut ad aeternam salutem omnibus consulas , gratia domini nostri iesu christi , cui cum patre & spiritu sancto est honor & gloria in saecula saeculorum , amen . for giving the ring . being mindful of the sponsion and ecclesiastical wedding , and of the love of the lord god , in the day in which thou hast attained this honour , beware least thou forget it : receive therefore the ring the seal of discretion , and of the honour of faith , that thon maist seal the things that are to be sealed , and maist open the things that are to be opened , and maist bind the things that are to be bound , and maist loose the things that are to be loosed , and maist open the gates of the heavenly kingdom to the believers , by the faith of baptism : and to those that have fallen , but are penitent , by the mysterie of reconciliation , and that thou maist bring forth to all men out of the treasure of the lord , things new and old , and that thou maist take care of all their eternal salvation , through the grace of our lord iesus christ , to whom , &c. ad baculum dandum . accipe baculum sacri regiminis signum , ut imbecilles consolides , titubantes confirmes , praves corrigas in viam salutis aeternae , habeasque potestatem a●…trahendi dignos , & corrigendi indignos , cooperante domino nostro iesu christo , cui cum patre in unitate spiritus sancti est virtus & imperium , per omnia saecula saeculorum . amen . for giving the staff. receive the staff , the sign of the sacred government ; that thou maist strengthen the weak , confirme them that stagger , correct the wicked in the way of eternal salvation , and may have power to attract the worthy and correct the unworthy , through the assistance of our lord iesus christ , to whom , &c. then follows the prayer of consecration , and at the words hoc domine , the rubrick appoints the chrism to be put on his head , and what is left out in the former ritual , is also left out in this , after that prayer follows the collect super oblata . and there is no more in that ritual . for these rites of the ring and staff , the first i find that mentions them is a ●…dore , who both speaks of them and 〈◊〉 sets down some of the words used in the former ritual . yet b alcuinus speaks not a word of it , tho he entitles his chap●…er ; the manner in which a bishop is ordained in the roman church . but i●… seems he has only lookt on some more antient rituals , in which there was no such rite ; for it is most certain that it was used in his time . c amalarius tho he does at a great length insist on the annointing of the bishop ; yet speaks not a word of the staff or ring . but d rabanus maurus who lived in that time does mention it , or rather sets down isidores words without citing him , but whether these were foisted in or not , i cannot judge . now these rites were afterwards a ball of contention ; for the emperours and kings did give the investiture by them which had they been given with our such words , they might have more easily kept up their pretension ; but the words joyned with them , relating wholly to spiritual things , were no doubt made a great argument for taking them out of their hands : since it seemed very incongruous for a secular and lay person , to pronounce them or perform a rite to which such words were added . the fifth ritual has only the collects , adesto , and propitiare , and the prayer of consecration , ( without the rubrick for giving the chrism , ) and the collects super oblata ; leaving out in the prayer of consecration what is left out in the two former rituals . the sixth ritual has the collects adesto and propitiare with the prayer of consecration , as in the first ( in which the rubrick about putting the chrism on the head is also ) then follows a new prayer , that is in no other ritual , for the bishop thus ordained , after which there is a blessing called de septiformi spiritu , for the sevenfold grace of the holy ghost , then are the hands of the bishop consecrated with holy oyl , and the chrism , with these words . consecratio manuum episcopi ab archiepiscopo , oleo sancto & chrismate . ungantur manus istae & sanctificentur & in te deo deorum ordinentur . ungo has manus oleo sanctificato & chrismate unctionis purificato , sicut unxit moyses verbo oris sui manus s. aaron germani sui , & sicut unxit spiritus sanctus per suos flatus , manus suorum apostolorum , ita ungantur manus istae & sanctificentur , & consecrentur , ut in omnibus sint perfectae , in nomine tuo , pater , filiique tui atque aeterni spiritus s. qui es unus ac summus dominus omnium vivorum & mortuorum , manens in saecula saeculorum . let these hands be annointed and sanctified and ordained for the god of gods. i annoint these hands with sanctified oyl , and the purified chrism of annointing ; as moses by the word of his mouth annointed holy aaron his brother , and as the holy ghost by his breathings did annoint the hands of his apostles , so let these hands be annointed , sanctified and consecrated , that they may be perfect in all things in thy name , o father , and in thy sons , and thy holy spirit 's , who art the only and great god of the quick and of the dead for ever and ever . amen . then his head is annointed with the following words . hic mittatur oleum super ejus . ungatur & consecretur caput tuum coelesti benedictione in ordinem pontificalem , in nomine patris & filii & spiritus sancti . let thy head be annointed and consecrated with a heavenly blessing for the pontifical order , in the name of the father , the son and the holy ghost . then the staff is blessed in these words in verse : tu baculus nostrae , & rector per saecula vitae . istum sanctifica pietatis jure bacillum , quo mala sternantur , quo semper recta regantur . thou who art the staff of our life , and our guide , for ever sanctify this staff , by which ill things may be beaten down and right things always guided . then the staff is given and after that the ring , almost with the same words that are in the fourth ritual , then follows a prayer that he may ascend the episcopal chair , then he is put in the chair and a prayer is made for him that he may resemble the patriarchs , prophets , apostles and saints , and in the end he is blessed in these words . benedictio ejusdem sacerdotis . populus te honoret , adjuvet te dominus , quidquid petieris praestet tibi deus , cum honore , cum castitate , cum scientia , cum largitate , cum charitate , cum nobilitate . dignus sis , iustus sis , humilis sis , sincerus sis , apostolus christi sis . accipe benedictionem & apostolatum qui permaneat in die ista & in die sutura . angeli sint ad dexteram tuam , apostoli coronati ad sinistram : ecclesia sit mater tua & altare , sit deus pater tuus , sint angeli amici tui , sint apostoli sratres tui & apostolatus tui gradum custodiant . confirmet te deus in iustitia , in sanctitate , in ecclesia sancta . angeli recipiant te , & pax tecum indiscrepabilis , per redemptorem dominum nostrum iesum christum , qui cum patre & spiritu sancto vivit & regnat in saecula saeculorum . amen . may the people honour thee , may god assist thee and grant thee whatsoever thou shalt ask of him , with honour , chastity , knowledg , bounty , charity , and nobility . be thou worthy , just , humble , sincere , and an apostle of christ. receive a blessing and an apostleship which shall continue for this time and that which is to come . let angels be at thy right hand and crowned apostles at thy left . let the church and the altar be thy mother , and god thy father . let the angels be thy friends , and the apostles thy brethren , and guard the degree of thy apostleship . may god strengthen thee in justice ▪ in holiness , and in the holy church , and may angels receive thee , and inseparable peace be with thee , through our lord iesus christ , who with the father and the holy spirit reigns and lives for ever and ever . amen . the seventh ritual has first the second canon of the fourth council of carthage , then the exhortation to the people , then the collects , oremus , adesto and propitiare , then the prayer of consecration , and then the annointing of the hands , then follows the communion service . the eighth ritual , begins the office of consecrating a bishop with the collect adesto . then follows a new rite of giving the gospel with these words : accipe hoc evangelium , & ito , doce omnes gentes . receive this gospel , and go , and teach all nations . then follows the propitiare , and the prayer of consecration , and the giving the staff , and ring without any more . this rite of delivering the gospels , it seems was never generally received , for it is in none of the other rituals published by morinus , but is now in the roman pontifical . the ninth ritual begins this office with the form in which the kings of france did then choose their bishops , then follows an oath of obedience to the patriarchal see ( no mention being made of the pope or see of rome , ) then the ring is blessed with a particular benediction , and it is given with the words in the fourth ritual . the staff is next blessed as in the sixth ritual , and given as in the fourth ritual . then follow the collects oremus , adesto , and propitiare , then the prayer of consecration as in the first ritual , then follows another long prayer , after which follows the annointing of the hands and head , and the blessing for the sevenfold grace of the holy ghost . then follows the communion service . the tenth ritual , has only the collects adesto , and propitiare , and the prayer of consecration with the collects super oblata . and on the margin , the giving of the ring and staff is set down , but with a very different and much later hand . the eleventh ritual , begins with some rites that are not in the roman pontifical , tho by it all is to be done in the popes name , by a bishop commissioned , by him called dominus apostolicus , or perhaps the pope himself , that being the common way of designing the pope in those ages ; the dean or arch-presbyter and the clergy of the see , ask the pope or his delegate their blessing three times , then they are asked some questions about the elect bishop , among which those are considerable . it is asked , if he be of that church ? to which it is answered , yes . then , what function he is of ? answ. of the priestly . quest. how many years has he been a priest ? ans. ten. quest. was he ever married ? answer , not. after these questions are put , then the decree of electing him , which is addressed to the pope , is read , by which they desire he may be ordained their bishop . this must be signed by them all . then it is asked , if any simoniacal promises be made ? they answer , no. then the bishop elect is brought to the popes delegate , who first puts the same questions to him that were before put to the dean , and he answers them in the same manner . then the introitus is sung , after which follows the collect adesto , then the questions that are in the pontifical are put to him , and whereas in the former rituals there was only a general promise of obedience to the metropolitan , put to the elect bishop , instead of that the two following questions are put to him . wilt thou reverently receive , teach , and keep the traditions of the orthodox fathers , and the decretal constitutions of the holy and apostolick see ? answer , i will. wilt thou bear faith and subjection to st. peter , ( to whom the lord gave the power of binding and loosing , ) and to his vicars and successors ? answer , i will. but these words not being thought full enough , they have since added ( to faith and subjection , ) and obedience in all things , according to the authority of the canons , then the elect bishop is examined about his faith , the questions being taken out of the three creeds . after which he is blessed and cloathed with the episcopal vestments , and the epistle is read , 1 tim. 3. cap. then his sandals and gloves are put on with prayers at each of these rites , then the bishops laying the gospels on his head and shoulders , and their hands on his head ▪ the ordainer says the collects adesto , oremus and propitiare , then follows the prayer that in former rituals is called the consecration , but has no such rubrick here , it has all that is in the first ritual , only after the words coelestis unguenti flore sanctifica , the rite of annointing the head with the words joyned to it in the sixth ritual , is inserted , after which follows the rest of that prayer : next the hands are annointed , and words somewhat different from those in the sixth ritual are pronounced . then follows a new rite of putting the chrism on his thumb , with a blessing joyned to it , then the ring is blessed and given , and so is also the staff ; then the kiss of peace is given , and he is set down among the bishops , and the ordainer , sits down and washes his hands and puts incense in the censer , and gives the blessing , then follows the service of the communion . to this ritual morinus had added an ancient piece of a ritual which he found in a mss. at tholose about the election , examination , and ordination of bishops in the roman church , which in all things agrees with the former except in an addition which is also mentioned by alcuinus . i shall set it down in latin without a translation , which in modesty i ought not to give : by it the reader will see what the roman church gained by pressing the celibate of the clergy so much since they were suspected of such horrid crimes , and were to be tryed about them . the words are : inquirat illum de quatuor capitulis secundum canones , id est , de arsenoquita , quod est coitus cum masculo : pro ancilla deo sacrata quae à francis nonna dicitur , pro quadrupedibus & muliere alio viro conjuncta , aut si conjugem habuit ex alio viro , quae à graecis dicitur deuterogamia : & dum nihil eorum ipse vir conscius suerit , evangeliis ad medium deductis jurat ipse electus archidiacono & posthaec traditur subdiacono & pergit cum praesato electo ad aulam sanctae matris ecclesiae , ibique supra ejus sacratissimum corpus confirmet , quod non cognovisset superius nominata capitula . and thus , if they were free of these crimes which are not to be named , no other act of uncleanness was to be inquired after or stood upon : only the pharisaical spirit of that age is to be observed , in that they reckon a church-mans having been married to another mans wife , which is forbidden by no law of god or nature , in the same predicament with those abominations which god punished with fire and brimstone from heaven . the twelfth and thirteenth rituals have not the office of consecrating bishops in them . the fourteenth ritual begins with the decree of election , directed to the metropolitan without that previous examination that is in the eleventh ; then follows the examination of the faith and manners of the bishop elect , then the people pray he may be ordained , after which two bishops begin the litany ( this is in no ancienter ritual , ) then the hymn veni creator is begun ( which is also new being in no other ritual , ) after which they lay the gospels on his head and lay on their hands , and the metropolitan says the collect oremus ; then follows the propitiare , which is called the benediction , then follows the prayer deus honorum , after which there is another long prayer that is in no other ritual , for a blessing in the function to which he is ordained , then follows the blessing of the sevenfold grace , then the consecration of the bishops hands with the oyl and the chrism , then the chrism is put on his head , ( as the oyl was by other rituals put on his head in the midst of the prayer deus honorum omnium ) then follows a new rite of putting the miter on his head , but no words are pronounced with it , then the ring is blessed and given ; so also is the staff blessed and given ; then there is a prayer about the putting him in his chair ; after which he is put in his chair and a new prayer is used , and all ends with the blessing that is at the end of the sixth ritual . the fifteenth ritual has no considerable variation from the former , only in the beginning the bishop that presents the bishop elect says , reverende pater , postulat sancta mater ecclesia ut hunc praesentem presbyterum ad onus episcopatus sublevetis . reverend father , the holy church our mother desires that you may raise this priest to the burden of a bishoprick . then the consecration is made with the collects adesto , oremus and propitiare said with a middle voice . then follows the other prayer in which his head is annointed , which in this ritual is called a preface , tho in most of the former it be called the consecration , then follows the blessing of the staff ; in the end the blessing is given to the bishop . the last ritual agrees in all things with the pontifical as it now is , only the words receive the holy ghost are in none of these antient rituals which morinus saw , tho the latest of those be not above three hundred years old . to these i shall add an account of the consecration of a bishop , as it is in the ordo romanus . the office begins with the decree bearing the election of the bishop , with a desire that he be ordained as soon as may be , directed to the bishops of the province , then follows the first canon of the fourth council of carthage , after which is the metropolitans letter approving the election , and desiring the bishop elect to be brought to him ; when he is brought he is blessed in order to his consecration , then the antiphona and the introitus are said , after this follows the examination of his faith and manners : as in the eleventh ritual . then the epistle is read , after which his gloves and sandals , and his dalmatica ( a vestment in the fashion of a cross , first used in dalmatia , ) are put on , and collects are used in every one of these ; then follows the exhortation that is in the antientest of morinus his rituals : after which two bishops lay the gospels on his neck and shoulders , and all the bishops lay on their hands on his head , and the ordainer says the prayer adesto , then the oremus which in the rubrick is called praesatio , then the propitiare which the rubrick calls oratio , then follows the prayer called in other rituals the consecration , but in this it is called praesatio , which is the same that was set down in the antientest ritual ; after sanctifica the chrism is poured on the bishops head , in the form of a cross with the words in the sixth ritual . then follows the annointing of his hands , after that the putting the chrism on his thumb , then the blessing and giving the ring and staff , then follows the blessing and communion , then follow the letters that testify the bishops consecration , called literae formatae , then the popes edict to the bishop ordained , containing very wholesome admonitions ; then there is a sermon and an exhortation , which contain many excellent instructions and directions which deserve to be often read and well considered . from all the premisses it clearly appears , that the church of rome did never tye these offices to any constant unalterable forms , but that in all ages there very great alterations were made . and what was more antiently the prayer of consecration , was of later times called [ praesatio ] a preface , and what was in the antient rituals only a prayer for the bishops that were to be ordained , is now the prayer of consecration ; for now in the roman pontifical , all that is said in the consecration of a bishop when they lay hands on his head , is receive the holy ghost , and then follows the collect propitiare . so that it is very unreasonable and an impudent thing , in the emissaries of that church , to raise scruples about our ordinations , because we have changed the forms , since they have made many more and greater alterations of the more primitive and antient forms . with this i should end this appendix , which already grows too big , but i will only add one particular more about the oath that is in the pontifical , to be sworn by all bishops . it is in none of all these antient rituals , nor ever mentioned by morinus , so that it seems though it was at first made by pope gregory the seventh , yet it was long before it was generally received or put into the rituals . for the readers further satisfaction , i shall here set down all i can find about oaths made to popes . at first there was nothing exacted but a promise of obedience , such as all inferiours gave to superiours . then there was a particular vow made by such as the popes sent in missions . the first instance of this is an oath which boniface bishop of mentz , ( who is called the apostle of the germans , ) swore to pope gregory the second , about the beginning of the eighth century , which follows as it is among his epistles . in nomine domini dei & salvatoris nostri jesu christi , imperante domino leone à deo coronato magno imperatore , anno sexto , post consulatum ejus anno sexto , sed & constantino magno imperatore ejus filio , anno quarto , indictione sexta . promitto ego bonifacius , gratia dei episcopus , vobis beato petro apostolorum principi , vicarioque tuo beato papae gregorio , successoribusque ejus , per patrem & filium & spiritum sanctum . trinitateminseparabilem , & hoc sacratissimum corpus tuum , me omnem fidem & puritatem sanctae fidei catholicae exhibere : & in unitate ejusdem fidei , deo cooperante , persistere : in qua omnis christianorum salus , sine dubio esse comprobatur : nullo modo me contra unitatem communis & universalis ecclesiae , suadente quopiam , consentire : sed ut dixi , fidem & puritatem meam atque concursum tibi & utilitatibus tuae ecclesiae , cui à domino deo potestas ligandi solvendique data est , & praedicto vicario tuo , atque successoribus ejus , per omnia exhibere . sed & si cognovero antistites contra instituta antiqua sanctorum patrum conversari , cum eis nullam habere communionem aut conjunctionem : sed magis , si valuero prohibere , prohibeam : si minus vero fideliter statim domino meo apostolico renunciabo . quod si , quod absit , contra hujus promissionis meae seriem aliquid facere quolibet modo , seu ingenio , vel occasione tentavero , reus inveniar in aeterno judicio ; ultionem ananiae & saphirae incurram , qui vobis , etiam de rebus propriis , fraudem sacere , vel salsum dicere praesumpserunt . ho●… autem indiculum sacramenti ego bonisacius exiguus episcopus , manu propria scripsi , atque positum supra sacratissimum corpus tuum , ut superius leguntur , deo teste & judice , praestiti sacramentum , quod & conservare promitto . in the name of god and our saviour iesus christ , in the sixth year of leo the great , crowned by god emperour , the sixth year after his consulat , and the fourth year of constantine the great , emperour , his son , the sixth indiction . i boniface , by the grace of god bishop , promise to you st. peter , princ●… of the apostles , and to thy blessed vicar pope gregory , and his successors , by the father , the son , and the holy ghost , the inseparable trinity , and by this thy most sacred body , that i shall shew forth all the faith and purity of the holy catholick faith , and that god assisting me , i shall persist in the unity of the same faith , in which the salvation of all christians does without all doubt consist : and that i shall in no sort , and upon no persuasion , concur against the unity of the common and universal church : but that as i have said , i shall shew forth my faith and purity and give my concurrence in all things to thee , and the advantages of thy church , ( to whom the power of binding and loosing is given by the lord god ) and to thy vicar and his successors . and if i shall know the bishops carry themselves contrary to the antient appointments of the holy fathers , i shall have no communion nor conjunction with them ; but rather if i can , i shall hinder it , and if i cannot , i shall presently give notice of it faithfully to my apostolical lord. and if ( which god forbid ) i shall endeavour to do any thing against the contents of this my promise , any manner of way , either on design or by accident , let me be found guilty in the eternal judgment , and let me incur the punishment of ananias , and sapphira who presumed to lie and deal fraudulently , ( even about their own goods ) to thee . this breviate of an oath , i boniface , a small bishop , have written with my own hand , and having laid it on thy most blessed body , as is before mentioned , i have made my oath , god being witness and judge , which i promise to keep . but it appears from another letter written in the 26. year of the reign of constantine the emperour , two and twenty years after the taking the former oath , which was in the fourth year of constantine , that he had taken another oath eight years before that , for he begins that epistle written to pope zacharias with these words . postquam me ante annos prope triginta sub familiaritate & servitio apostolicae sedis , annuente & jubente venerandae memoriae antistite apostolico gregorio anteriore voto constrinxi , &c. almost thirty years ago i bound my self by a former vow under the observance and service of the apostolical see , by the consent and command of pope gregory of venerable memory , &c. this is all i can find before pope gregory the seventh , but he pretending to a higher title , not only over bishops , but secular princes made some princes swear allegiance to him , ( it ought to be called by no other name , ) for the first part of the oath in the pontifical , of being faithful and obedient to the pope , being in no. council against him , and assisting him to defend the papacy , and the royalties of st. peter , &c. was sworn both by richard prince of capua , and robert prince of calabria and sicily , when they received investiture from that pope in those dominions . but the oath which the bishops swore , is almost the same with that which is in the pontifical , as we find it taken by the bishop of aquileia , after the sixth roman council , in which berengarius was condemned under that same pope . afterwards the council of lateran , under pope paschal the second , appointed a more modest oath in the form of an anathematism , in these words . anathematizo omnem haeresin & praecipue eam quae statum praesentis ecclesiae perturbat , quae docet & astruit anathema contemnendum & ecclesiae ligamenta spernenda esse : promitto autem obedientiam apostolicae sedis pontifici domino paschali , ejusque successoribus , sub testimonio christi & ecclesiae : affirmans quod affirmat , damnans quod damnat sancta universalis ecclesia . i anathematize every heresie , and in particular that which disturbs the state of the present church , which teaches and asserts that an anathema is to be contemned , and the censures of the church to be despised , and i promise obedience to the apostolick see , and to our lord pope paschal and his successors , under the testimony ( or in the sight ) of christ and the church , affirming all that the holy universal church affirms , and condemning all that she condemns . this oath ( if the references which labbe and cossartius make to the fifth and sixth epistles of pope paschal , be well grounded , ) was all that was imposed by that pope , and that not on all bishops , but only on archbishops , to whom he sent the pall , and yet from the first words of these epistles , it appears that the princes and the states of christendom looked on it with amazement , as a new and unheard of thing , the one is to the arch-bishop of palermo in sicily , and the other is directed to the arch-bishop of poland , ( i suppose it was of gnesna ) and they both are almost the same , only the later has a great deal more than the former . they begin with these words . significasti regem , & regni majores admiratione permotos , quod pallium tibi ab apocrisariis nostris tali conditione oblatum fuerit , si sacramentum quod à nobis scriptum detulerant jurares . thou hast signified to me , that the king and the chief of the kingdom are amazed that the pall was offered to thee by our legates on this condition , that thou shouldst swear the oath which they brought to thee written by us . and if any body desire to be satisfied about the excellent reasonings with which the infallible chair directed his pen , he may read the rest of those epistles . the next step made in this oath , was by pope gregory the ninth , which is in the canon law , where the oath is set down to be taken by all bishops , which differs from that in the pontifical in these heads . the royalties of st. peter are not mentioned in it , nor those clauses of every bishops sending one in his name to rome , in case he could not go in person , nor is that of not alienating the bishops lands without the popes consent in it . but when these additions were made , i do not find . the importance of that oath is little considered , since few among us read the roman pontifical carefully , therefore i shall set it down with a translation of it , from which it may be easily inferred , what all princes may , or ought to expect from persons so tyed to the pope , since a fuller and more formal allegeance , can be sworn by no subjects to their prince than is sworn in it to the pope . forma juramenti . ego n. elect us ecclesiae n. ab hac hora in antea fidelis & obediens ero beato petro apostolo , sanctaeque romanae ecclesiae , & domino nostro , domino papae n. suisque successoribus canonice intrantibus . non ero in consilio , aut consensu vel facto , ut vitam perdant , aut membrum ; seu capiantur mala captione , aut in eos violenter manus quomodolibet ingerantur ; vel injuriae aliquae inferantur quovis quaesito colore . consilium vero , quod mihi credituri sunt , per se , aut nuntios suos , seu literas , ad eorum damnum , me sciente , nemini pandam . papatum romanum , & regalia sancti petri , adjutor eis ero ad retinendum & defendendum , salvo meo ordine , contra omnem hominem . legatum apostolicae sedis in eundo & redeundo honorificè tractabo , & in suis necessitatibus adjuvabo . iura , honores , privilegia , & auctoritatem sanctae romanae ecclesiae , domini nostri papae , & successorum praedictorum , conservare , defendere , augere , promovere curabo , neque ero in consilio , vel sacto , seu tractatu in quibus contra ipsum dominum nostrum , vel eamdem romanam ecclesiam , aliqua sinistra , vel praejudicialia personarum , juris , honoris , status , & potestatis eorum machinentur . et , si talia à quibuscunque tractari , vel procurari novero , impediam hoc pro posse ; & quanto citius potero , significabo eidem domino nostro , vel alteri , per quem possit ad ipsius notitiam pervenire . regulas sanctorum patrum , decreta , ordinationes seu dispositiones , reservationes , provisiones , & mandata apostolica , totis viribus observabo , & saciam ab aliis observari . hae-reticos , schismaticos , & rebelles eidem , domino nostro , vel successoribus praedictis , pro posse persequar , & impugnabo ▪ vocatus ad synodum , veniam , nisi praepeditus suero canonica praepeditione . apostolorum limina singulis trienniis personaliter per me ipsum visitabo ; & domino nostro , ac successoribus praesatis , rationem reddam de toto meo pastorali officio , ac de rebus omnibus ad me●… ecclesiae statum , ad cleri & populi disciplinam , animarum denique quae meae fidei traditae sunt , salutem , quovis modo pertinentibus : et vicissim mandata apostolica humiliter recipiam , & quam diligentissime exequar . quod si legitimo impedimento detentus suero , praefata omnia adimplebo per certum nuntiam ad hoc speciale mandatum habentem , de gremio mei capituli , aut alium in dignitate ecclesiastica constitutum , seu alias personatum habentem , aut , his mihi desicientibus , per diaecesanum sacerdotem ; & clero deficiente omnino , per aliquem alium presbyterum saecularem , vel regularem spectatae probitatis & religionis , de supradictis omnibus plenè instructum . de hujusmodi autem impedimento docebo per legitimas probationes , ad sanctae romanae ecclesiae cardinalem proponentem in congregatione sacri concilii , per supradictum nuntium transmittendas . possessiones vero ad mensam meam pertinentes non vendam , nec donabo , neque impignorabo ; nec de novo in●…eudabo , vel aliquo modo alienabo , etiam cum consensu capituli ecclesiae meae , inconsul●…o romano pontifice ; & si ad aliquam alienationem devenero ; paenas in quadam super hoc edita constitutione contentas , eo ipso incurrere volo . in. elect of the church n. from this hour forward , shall be faithful and obedient to st. peter the apostle and the holy roman church , and our lord the pope n. and his successors that shall enter canonically . i shall be in no council , consent , or fact , that they lose life or member , or be taken with any ill taking , or that violent hands be any way laid on them : or any injuries be done them on any pretended colour . and whatever council they shall trust me with , either by themselves , their nuntio's , or letters ; i shall knowingly reveal to none to their hurt . i shall help them to retain and defend the roman papacy and the royalties of saint peter against all men , saving my own order . i shall treat the legate of the apostolick see honorably , both in his going and coming , and shall help him in his necessities . i shall take care to preserve , defend , increase and promote the rights , honors , priviledges , and authority of the holy roman church of our lord the pope , and his successors foresaid . i shall neither be in council , fact , or treaty , in which any thing shall be contrived against the said our lord or the same roman church , or any thing that may be prejudicial to their persons , right , honor , state , or power . and if i know such things to be treated or procured by any body , i shall hinder it all i can , and as soon as is possible shall signifie it to the said our lord , or any other by whom it may come to his knowledg . the rules of the holy fathers , and the decrees , orders , or appointments , reservations , provisions , or mandates apostolical ; i shall observe with all my strength , and make them to be observed by others , and i shall according to my power , persecute and oppose all hereticks , schismaticks , and rebells , against the said our lord , and his successors . i shall come to a council when called , if i be not hindred by some canonical impediment ; i shall personally visit the thresholds of the apostles every third year , and shall give an account to our lord and his said successors of my whole pastoral charge , and of all things that shall any way belong to the state of my church , and the discipline of my clergy and people , and the salvation of the souls committed to my trust . and i shall on the other hand humbly receive and diligently execute the apostolical command . and if i be detained by any lawful impediment , i shall perform the foresaid things by a special messenger that shall have my particular mandate being either of my chapter or in some ecclesiastical dignity , or in some parsonage or these failing , by any priest of my diocess , or failing any of these , by any priest secular or regular , of signal probity and religion , who shall be fully instructed in all things aforesaid . and i shall give lawful proofs of the foresaid impediment which i shall send by the foresaid messenger to the cardinal of the holy roman church that is proponent in the congregation of the holy council . i shall neither sell , give , mortage , nor invest of new , nor any way alienate the possessions that belong to my table , notwithstanding the consent of the chapter of my church without consulting the pope of rome . and if i make any such alienation , i am willing to incur the penalties contained in a constitution thereupon set forth . the inferences that may be drawn from this oath are so obvious , that i shall not trouble the reader with any , knowing that every one will easily make them . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a30479-e270 see the 23. art. of our church . hist. interdict . venet . lib. de fregn . comun . art. 33. act. 7. 3. inter. epist. 31. l. 12. ind. 7. can. 42. lib. 8. cap. 21. and 23. cap. 26. inter epi. cypr. ep. 75. can. 64. can. 10. not. 18. in can. nic. arab. see nazianz . orat. in bapt. cyr. pref. ad catech. balsam . in schol. in con. laod. & ant. harmen in con. antioch . a ep. 24. & 21. b ep. 28. c ep. 24. 33. & 34. d ep. 76. e apud . eus. lib. 6. cap. 43. grat. dist . 77. cap. 1. & 2. can. 14. & 62. a can. 5. b can. 6. c can. 7. d can. 8. e can. 9. f can. 10. vit. pontif . in vita silvestri . nove. 123. cap. 15. grat. dist. 53. cap. 4. con. agath . can . 37 , 38. con. aurel . can . 19. an. 659. an. 664. a can. ●… . apost . con. nic. can . 4. con. arel . 1. can . 21. arel . 2. can . 5. carth. 2. can. 12. see grat. dist. 64. b in can. 1. apost . c bell. de notis eccl. lib. 4. cap. 8. an. 1123. tom. con. 10. pag. 893. tom. con. 11. par . 1. pag. 127. an. 1311. tom. con. 11. par . 2. pag. 1550. an. 1214. an. 1209. see pag. 176. hall fol. 205. jesuits loyalty . psal. 92. 5 , 6. notes for div a30479-e7020 s. ioh. 20. 22. * vasques in 3. parte , d. 129. c. 5. n. 71 , 72. says it is the constant opinion of the catholicks , that the sacraments consist of some things and words instituted by god , which men cannot alter or change , and that christ delivered both the words and things of which the sacraments consist . which he says are necessary in all churches , and rejects the opinion of pope innocent the 4th . and others who pretend that some things are necessary to the sacraments in some churches , which are not necessary in other churches , and disp. 239. in 3. p. c. 4. n. 36. he again resumes the same thing , and refutes tapperus who thought that in some sacraments in which christ did not determine the matter and form , he left the power of assigning these with his church . which he denies , and says , no power about the determination of the matter and form was left with the church ; but the assignation of those is believed , done by christ , for since the institution of the sacrament is by divine right , the matter and form must be assigned by the same right ; for proving which , he cites the council of ●…rent . de ord . sac. can. 3. de eccles. hierar . lib. 8. cap. 16. d●…s sanctification . discourse sur les ordres sacres . acts 6. 6. whom they see before the apostles , and when they had prayed , they laid their hands on them . acts 13. 3. and when they had fasted and prayed , and laid their hands on them , they sent them away ▪ acts 14. 23. and when they had ordained ( or literally imposed hands ) them elders in every church , and had prayed with fasting . 1 tim. 4. 14. neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy , with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery . 1 tim. 5. 22. lay hands suddenly on no man , neither be thou partaker of other mens sins . 2 tim. 1. 6. 7. wherefore i put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of god which is in thee , by the putting on of my hands . for god hath not given us the spirit of fear , but of power , and of love , and of a sound mind . bellarm. de sac. ord. cap. 9. cap. de extr . unct. de sacr. ord. can. 4. tom. 3. m. 3. disp. 24. c. 3. disp. 239. cap. 2. n. 5. b lib. de iu. sacer. lect. 5. de sacr. a in 4. disp. 24. pract . quaest . 4. disp. 235. c. 3. disp. de sacr. 5. n. 87. observ. 1. & 2. de ord . pres. tit. 8. de cons. pres. exerc. 7. cap. 1. exerc. 7. cap. 2. 1 cor. 4. 1. * psal. 142. 2. let my prayer be set forth beforethee as incense , and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice . psal. 52. 27. the sacrifices of god are a broken spirit , a broken and a contrite heart , o god thou wilt not despise . hebr. 13. 15. by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to god continually , that is the fruit of our lips , giving thanks to his name . rom. 12. 1. i beseech you therefore , brethren , by the mercies of god , that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice , holy , acceptable unto god , which is your reasonable service . philip. 4. 18. but i have all , and abound ; i am full , having received of epaphroditus , the things which were sent from you , an odor of a sweet smell , a sacrifice acceptable , well pleasing to god. 1 chro. 23. 6. 1 chro. 24. 19. ●… kings 2. 27. 2 chro. 17. 7 , 8 , 9. 2 chro. 29. 4. 5. 15. & 27. vers. 30. 2 chro. 30. 2. ep. 43. ath. ep. ad solit. bar. ad an. 355. n. 56 , 57. bar. ad an. 357. n. 63 , 64. cap. 10 , 11. exerc. 5. disp. 141. cap. 1. n. 8. collat. 2. cum donat. & ep. 50. * sect. 3●… . cap. 8. exer. 5. num . 7. 1 cor. 12. 5 , 6. disp. 240. c. 5. n. 60. deus honorum omnium 7. de concor . imp. & sacer . action . ●… can. ●… ●…e pallio . tit. 17. rit . elec. patr. in vita silverii ▪ in plat. in pelag. 2. dist. 63. in pasch. 1. in leo. 4. can. 6. can. 12. ad anno 681. numb . 60. article 37. of the civil magist. ●…ess . 21. cap. 2. * see what vasques has said of changes in the forms of the sacraments . notes for div a30479-e14000 * vacans . * si omnibus affabilis . * deest . * in trinitate . * singulam . * desunt haec in labbee . * utraque natura . * deest . * deest . * receptione . * hab. lab. factus . & cod. saris. * hac vita . * proemia ▪ * desunt haec in [ ] in mss. cod. saris. * in aliis cod. et. * in aliis mss. congrua ratione . * mysticis . * pontifices . † sequentis ordinis . * mentem . * ut ad hostias salutares & frequentioris officii sacramenta ministerium sufficeret sacerdotum . * pluribus . † hunc famulum tuum . † probus . * eo . * hic . * ad presbyterii honorem . * gratiam tuae benedictionis infunde . † omnium . † legerit . * imitetur . † deest . * admonitione . † mysterii . * corpore & sanguine filii tui immaculata benedictione transformetur ad inviolabilem caritatem . orat. 20. 4. & 5. lib. 2. de eccles. offic. cap. 5. lib. 2. c. 3. in eccles. ord. epist. 19. ad radol . bitur . c. 3. which is also in the canon law. dist. 23. c. 12. tom. 5. * preces . * providendam vel providens ▪ in other rituals thus . adesto supplicationibus nostris , omnipotens deus , & quod humilitatis nostrae gerendum est ministerio , virtutis impleatur effectu . per. * inclinato . * sacratis . * affatu . * honor. * splendor . * ministerium . *** * instructos eos . *** † interiora eorum . [ * signis & prodigiis . † virtute . * ligaverint . † ligatum . * dimiserint . † dimittas ▪ ] desunt haec in [ ] in plurimis mss. ** ** [ all this betwe●… [ ] is w●…ting in many rituals . [ a s●…rm . 8. de pass . dom. b in 1 reg. cap. 10. c lib. c. 14. lib. 3. de tab. cap. 9. see morin . ex. 6. c. 2. a de 〈◊〉 ▪ offi●… . li●… . 2. ca●… . 5. b lib. d●…●…i . offic . ●…ap . q●…aliter e●…opus or●…etur in eccles. romana . c lib. 2. de eccles. offic . cap. 14. d lib. de instit . cler. cap. 4. see pet. de marca , concor . sac. & imp. l. 8. c. 19. n. 9. li. de div. offi●… . see inter opera bernar. con. ad clerum . ●…rope ●…inem . he died ●… anno 755. post epist. 11●… . l. 1. vit . e. 19. mogunt . p. 343. mat. 16. joh. 21. ●… act. 1. 5. epist. 135. lib. 1. ep. greg. post . ep. 21. lib. 8. post . ep. 1. ann. 1079. ann. 1002. ep. 5. & 6. pasch. 2. lib. 2. decret . greg. tit. 24. c. 4. set out by him , anno 1236. 