Justification of Separation from the Church of England, Treatise · Section 122
That, which is worthy consideration in the fourth ArgumentIIII. is, the enterance into the ministery: in the substance of which he tells vsus,Mr B. there is nothing wanting by their lawes. For touching the ability, and desyre to teach, and other graces he speaks of, they no more make a minister, then †Exod. 18. 21.courage, the feare of God, true dealing, and the hatred of of covetousnes make every man a Magistrate, that is so indowed. Now this entrance he layes down in 4. particulars: 1. presentation. 2. election, 3. probation, & 4. ordination with imposition of hands. But these in such confusion, and with so many contradictions, as do evidently shew what monsters an ill cause, & a vayn spirit meeting together, will gender, and bring forth. First, in his former book pag. 136. he places the whole calling, (or as he speakes) the making of a Minister in ordination: and comprehends vnderunder it as the 3. parts of it. 1. examination: 2. election: 3. admission, with imposition of hands. In his second book he makes ordination but the fourth, and last part of his calling, pag. 295. as in deed it is, and the same with admission: The reason why he would thus advance ordination is, bycause that in Engl: is all in all, being done by a Bishop, yea though it be by the Bishop of Rome. And so they call their book they make ministers by, the book of ordination not the book of election, or choise, or calling of Ministers. The Bishops Lordship swallowes vp the peoples liberty: and if he but lay his hands vponupon a man, & bid him Receive the H. Ghost, he is a minister of the Church sufficiently ordered.
2. Where in his former book he puts examination, or probation before election: in his …. he would hauehave election first, and the probation, or tryal of the partyes gifts, and graces to come afterwards: mis-interpreting that, which is written 1 Tim. 3. 10. of probation to be made before election. And the Reason of this I conceive to be, bycause the Ministers in England are not onelyonly elected but fully made, before any such tryall be taken of them. But I come to the particulars: and first to that which he calls presentation: for which he quotes Act. 1. 23 and 6. 6. In which scriptures, especially in the latter of them, he is much mistaken: the presentation there spoken of not being before, but after election. The cause, I suppose, of this his confused wryting, is the confused practise in his Church, wher the Patrone presenteth his clerk both after his chusing, and ordeyning. But for the thing it self, (vnderstanding by presentation the nomination of the person to be chosen, or considered of for choyce) as the officers are in, all other things to goe before the people, so in this ordinarily: provided alwayes the brethrens liberty be not infringed, but that they may present, or nominate others, if any amongst themselves seeme more fit.
Now for the examination, and tryall of the partyes gifts, and graces, as we all know what it is in the Church of England where if a man have the gift of subscription, conformity, & canonical obedience, though other gift, or grace he have none, he is a tryed minister, and so reputed: which if he want, be his other gifts, and graces never so eminent, he is neyther to enter into, nor being entred, to continue in his Ministery: so do the things, which you write in your †pag. 137. 138.former book, touching this tryall, & examination of men, before they be chosē into the Ministery, notably condemn both the ministery of your Church, which you labour to iustify, and on the contrary iustify sundry practises amongst vsus, which els where you condemn for notable errours. The particulars are these. 1. First, that the gifts of him that is to be chosen, must be examined according to those things, which the place wherein he must be, requireth, and God hath commaunded. 2. that the place or office of the Ministery consisteth principally in the preaching of the word, administration of the sacraments, and prayer. 3. that the first, namely the preaching of the word, is to be preferred in the first place, as being first imposed, Math. 10. 28. 29. and most necessary both to beget, and preserve a people. Iam. 1. 18. Prov. …9. 15. 4. that the knowledge; zeale, and vtterance of of … party to be elected must be examined. Whereupon these things follow. First, that, by your own graunt, men out of office may preach, administer the sacraments, and prayer: and so exercise their gifts, and graces of knowledge, zeal, & vtterance. But as there is some difference, in the respect in hand, between the sacraments on the one side, and the word, and prayer on the other: bycause there is no speciall gift required for the administration of them, as there is for the latter: so is the exercise of prophesying, and prayer out of office (so much impugned by you) vndenyably iustified by this your own position. And as it is a very presumptuous evill to call any man into the office of a teaching Elder, whose gift in teaching hath not been sufficiently tryed out of office, so is it no lesse presumption in a Church to set a man over herself for government, of whose both ability, & faithfulnes in the reproving, & censuring of sinns, and in other publick affaires of the Church, she hath not taken good tryall.
2. If this be true, that the office of the Ministery consist principally in the preaching of the word, and administration of the sacraments, & prayer, how is that true, for which you have so much contended in the former part of your book▪ that the authority to censure offenders, is in the cheif officers, and governers of the Church, as their speciall prerogative?pag. 94. Can a lesse principall work be the peculiar priveledge of a more principall office? It is against the light of nature, and common reason.
More particularly: this observation by you truely made, with that also which followeth, namely, that the preaching of the word is to be praeferred in the first place, overthrowes the order both of the Prelacy and Preisthood of your Church. For if the preaching of the gospel be the principall work of the Ministery, and to be preferred in the first place▪ then are not your Provinciall and Diocesan Bishops, of God, which have obteyned the principall order, and office in your Church for a lesse principall work, namely government; and are preferred to the highest, & first place, not for the teaching of their Dioseces, & Provinces, which were impossible, though they desired it, but for ruling of them. You say they are the successors of the Apostles: but the cheif work of the †Mat. 28. 19. 20. A…t 5. 42. & 6. 4. Rō. 1. 15. 16. 1 Cor. 1. 17.Apostles Ministery was the preaching of the gospel, not ruling (much lesse Lording) wherein your Bishops office standeth. The order, which the Apostle Paul hath left, is, that those *1 Tim. 5. 17.Elders, which labour in the word, and doctrine, should have speciall honour, and aboue them, which are imployed in ruling: but this order Antichrist hath subverted, as being a course not onelyonly too base, and laborious, but even impossible, for him to honour his Ministers by, as he desired, and hath effected; & hath procured not double, & treble, but an hundred fold greater honour to be ascribed to ruling, and government, then to preaching. And this is not the least part of that confusion wherein you stand, and against which wee testify. 2. If the office of Ministery consist principally in preaching, how can your office of Ministery or order of Preisthood, be of Christ, which cōsists not at all in preaching, as I hauehave shewed, but may stand without it, by the Canons & Lawes of your Church: not requiring it necessarily as any essentiall property for the being, but onelyonly admitting of it, as a convenient ornament for the well-being: commending in deed the person that vseth it, but no wayes justifying the office, which requireth it not. Yea most evident it is, that the Ministery of the Church of England, considering it not onelyonly in the state, & cariage of things, but specially in the civil, and ecclesiasticall lawes wherein it is founded, consists more principally in the wearing of a surplice, then in the preaching of the gospel. To conclude this point, as the examination of such with you, as are to be ordeyned, by the Bishop, and his Chaplayn, is no triall of their gifts of knowledge, zeal, or vtterance, or that they are †1 Tim. … 2.apt to teach, but a devise like the poseing of schoolboyes, without eyther warrant fro the scriptures, or good to the Church: so the onelyonly examination which the word of God approves of, is that just, and experimentall knowledge which the Church, by wise observation, is to take of the personall gifts, and graces of such men, as the Lord rayseth vp amongst them, manifesting themselves in the publick exercises of the Church in their places, as there is occasion; though you Mr Bern. be bold to abuse 1 Tim. 3. 7. to the justification of your letters testimoniall vntounto the Bishop, which any vngodly person may procure from other persons as ill as himself, and thereby may find acceptance with some Bishop or other, as evill as eyther of both. The Apostle “Act. 1. … 21.Peter directing the disciples, or Church about the choice, or nomination of one to be chosen into the room of Iudas, tels them they must think of such a man, as had companyed with them all the tyme, that the Lord Iesus was conversan… among them.
And the same Apostle, together with the rest, by the same spirit directs the Ch: afterward to ‘†Act. 6. 2. 3.chuse from among themselves seven men iustly qualified, to take vponupon them the administratiō of the Church treasury. And vponupon the same ground it was that the Apostles Paul & Barnabas did not streightway vponupon the gathering of the Churches of the Gentiles *Act. 14: 23.ordeyn them officers, but a good space after, even when the people had made good proof and tryall of the gifts, and faithfulnes of such men as by their free choice, and election, the Apostles ordeyned over them. And whom doth it concern so nearely to make proof, or to take observation of them that are to be called into office, as them that are to call, or chuse them, and to commit their soules vntounto them? Of which election it followeth we consider in the next place.
And the first thing I purpose about it, is to sum vp, and set together a few of Mr B. sayings, which like so many waves driven by contrary winds, do dash thēselves asunder one against another.
First then he affirmeth, ‘†former book.pag. 133. and 138. that the Church i… t… separate, and c…se … amongst others, for Ministers, such as are found fit: & in so saying, what doth he but graunt, that the Church is before the Ministers? They that chuse must needs be before the that are chos…n… ▪ How them do the Ministers make the Church? 2. In his †pag. 325.2. book he reproacheth Mr Smyth, as an impudent ga…nsayer of the t…t, for saying that the Church did elect Mathias, Act. 1. where the Lord did make the ch…ise: and yet in the same book, pag. 295. 296. he graunts, that such examples of practise were then in vse for the peoples chusing Ministers; and quotes this very scripture, with some others for that purpose. 3. he affirmeth in his †pag. 138.former book that the guides, and governours of the Ch: were to chuse the Officers, & alledgeth to that end Act. 14. 23. Neyther remembring what he had formerly written in the same book, namely, that *pag. 97.the rest of the congregation were to chuse the principall to be their mouth, and to stand for the whole Church: nor yet caring what he was to write in his. “pag. 295.2. book, to wit that the people were to chuse their ministers, for which he also bringeth the same scripture, Act. 14. 23. If this man had been in Iohn Baptists place, the Iewes might well hauehave answered Christ, that theyLuk. 7. 24. had gone out to see a reed shaken with the wind.
But to leave his contradictions of himself, & to come to his oppositions against the truth.