Common Places, Part 4 · Chapter 1 · Section 4
Of the authoritie or contempt of Miniſters.
23 But howe grieuous a thing it is to contemne Propheſie, In 2. Kings 2. verſe. 23. How great a crime it is to contemne propheſie. Exo. 20. 12. Looke 2. kin. 1. ver. 9.and to deride the miniſters of God, it maie be declared by manie Arguments. Firſt of all two points of the lawe are violated, to wit, that, wherein it is ſaide: Honour thy father and thy mother. For the miniſters of God are inſtéede of parents. For Paul ſaide, that hee was in trauell againe of the Galathians, Gal. 4. 15. 1. Cor. 4. 15and that he begate the Corinthians by the Goſpell. An other law is broken, Leui. 19. 32wherby God commanded that honour ſhould be doone vntounto Elders. And Elizeus was not onelie an Elder, but he was alſo of that ſort which labored in the worde: And therefore according to the doctrine of the Apoſtle, 1. Tim. 5. 17They be worthie of double honour. And Chriſt ſaid vntounto ye Apoſtles, He that heareth you heareth me, Luk. 10. 16.and he that deſpiſeth you, contemneth me. 1. Sam. 8. 7.And the Lord anſwered vntounto Samuel: They hauehave not contemned thee, but mee. Wherefore miniſters are not to bée weighed of as they be in their owne nature, but God through them is to bée beholden, who ſpeaketh and dealeth in them, and whoſe Embacie they execute. So that if their Lorde ſée them to bée contemned and to hauehave iniurie doone vntounto them, hée is preſent and reuengeth their contumelies. He diſtroyed Core, Dathan and Abyrom, Numb. 16. 35. Acts. 5. 5. & 9.he reuenged the falſe craftineſſe of Ananias and Saphira, neither did he ſuffer that they ſhould mocke Peter. Againe, he puniſhed Elimas the Sorcerer, who both hindered and ſcorned the Preaching of Paul. By reaſon whereof, ſeeing the children which did outrage againſt Elizeus grieuouſlie ſinned, it muſt bée no maruell if they ſuffered due puniſhment. No doubt but they were inſtructed by the il education of their parentes. And no maruell, ſéeing they were Idolaters. Whereby we maie perceiue, Il educatiō of children bréedeth their deſtruction.that the Parentes by the ill bringing vp of their Children doe procure death vntounto them. Nor is there want of expoſitors which thinke that the children were prouoked by their Parentes to mocke the Prophets of God whom they hated. Furthermore it ſhoulde be the part of the Magiſtrate, to take care that the miniſters of the worde of God ſhoulde not be afflicted with contumelies, which thing theſe men did not ſéeing they were ſtraungers from ſound religion. But Princes, when they had imbraced Chriſt, ſinned on the other part: For to the intent that the Prelates of the Goſpell might be had in eſtimation and honour, they beſtowed principalities vppon them: They ordained Biſhops to be Earles, Marqueſes, Dukes, yea and Kings alſo. And by this meanes they plucked them awaie from miniſtring the worde of God, from ſtudying of the holie Scriptures: and intangled them with the affaires of this worlde. Now they béeing adorned with wealth and temporall renowne, addicted themſelues wholie vntounto pride, riote, pleaſures and voluptuouſneſſe. The childrens mocking was the reproche of bauldnes, which was no ſinne, but onelie a light imperfection of the bodie. But the worlde ſo hateth euermore the miniſters of the trueth, as men hauehave bin accuſtomed for the moſt part to take exceptions euen to the ſmalleſt blemiſhes.
24 And as the children of Bethel railed at Elizeus, Crimes layde againſt the preachers of the Goſpell.ſo at this daie the Papiſtical people doe mocke godlie men, and eſpeciallie the miniſters of the Goſpell. But we maie not a little reioyce that euen as they coulde not reprooue Elizeus of iuſt crimes and verie ſinnes, but onelie they obiected bauldneſſe: euen ſo the Papiſtes are not able to laie anie grieuous ſinnes to the charge of our Preachers which truelie bend themſelues to their office, but onlie they obiect certaine matters of ſmal weight, I will not ſaie, that maie be laughed at. They ſaie that our Paſtors hauehave not the laying on of hands: and thereof they indeuour to conclude, that they are not to be counted for iuſt gouernours of the Church, & that the congregations which be taught and ruled by them, be not true churches but conuenticles of Runnagates. And theſe things they ſpeake, as though the laying on of handes were ſo neceſſarie, as without the ſame there can be no miniſterie in the church. Leuit. 8. 1.Whereas Moſes notwithſtanding conſecrated Aaron his brother and his children, offering diuers kindes of ſacrifices: vponupon which men there was no handes laide before by anie. Alſo Iohn Baptiſt brought in a newe Rite of Baptiſme, Matt. 3. 6.and gaue the ſame vntounto the Hebrewes, when neuertheleſſe there was no handes laide on him, and he did miniſter baptiſme, when he himſelfe was not baptiſed by anie. Gal. 1. 17.Paul alſo being long called in his iourney by Chriſt, went not immediatelie vntounto the Apoſtles that they might laie their handes vponupon him, but taught throughout Arabia by the ſpace of thrée yeares, and miniſtred vntounto the Churches before that hée went vntounto his predeceſſors ye Apoſtles, as it is teſtified in the Epiſtle to the Galathians. We deſpiſe not ye laying on of hands, The laying on of handsbut we retaine the ſame in manie Churches: Which if we hauehave not of their Biſhops, it muſt not bée imputed a fault vntounto vsus; for they would not vouchſafe this vntounto vsus, vnleſſe we ſhould depart from ſounde doctrine, and therewithall to binde our ſelues by othe vntounto the Romane Antichriſt. But we for conſcience ſake cannot ſubmit our miniſterie to the power of them, from whom wee further diſagrée than heauen from the earth. Further wheras they ſaie that we want a iuſt ſucceſſion, Succeſſion.that is the ſmalleſt matter of all, ſéeing it ought to ſuffice that we hauehave moſt manifeſtlie ſuccéeded that Apoſtolike doctrine which is trueſt and hath béene receiued of the godlie fathers in the beſt times. They alſo obiect againſt vsus, that in the holie ſeruice we vſe prophane garmentes, and after the common vſe doe not put on grauer apparell. Apparell.Wée in verie déede confeſſe, that we imitate Chriſt and his Apoſtles, who vſed not apparell differing from other men. We hauehave no garmentes wholie of ſilke, no brodered or purple garments. What then? Are we not therfore the miniſters of Chriſt? Theſe things which they laie againſt vsus, are no grieuous crimes or ſins. But they cauil againſt vsus euen as did the Children of Bethel: they ſaie, Go vp thou bauld pate, go vp thou bald pate. Howebeit euen as the bauldneſſe did not pollute the minde of Elizeus: ſo alſo theſe ſlender obiections hinder not our miniſterie.