An Apology for the Nonconformists Ministry, Treatise · Postscript
A Postscript to the Apologie for our Preaching.
SInce the writing of what goeth before, I have heard so much from the most learned Accusers, of their accusations of us, as enableth me the better to know what objections to answer. And the ablest that I have met with, argueth at this rate [Mr. H. Dodwell.]
1. He confesseth that we cannot subscribe, declare and swear as is required, without stretching the words to an improper sense; and such as I think will allow (by parity of reason) almost any lying equivocation or perjury in the world. Some others of them say, If Rulers will go about by fraudulent impositions to turn us out of our Ministry, we will countermine them, and take their words in any tolerable sense to which we can subdue them. But we cannot practice that art.
2. He confesseth that we ought not to perform active obedience herein against our consciences.
3. But he saith it is Schism in us to preach as we do, because the passive obedience of silence is our duty. His reasons are, 1. Because a Presbyters calling is dependent on the bishop, and not otherwise to be exercised. 2. Because by preaching we become Church▪Rulers, and take the Bishops Office on us; as if a man should depose the King, and take his place, because he governeth not aright, (as he conceiveth.) 3. Because without such passive obedience, no peace can be kept by any Government. 4. Because the Bishops and not we are Judges who should preach or not. 5. And Presbyterians are for silencing some. 6. And the hurt that followeth our silence, must be charged on the Bishops, and not on us.
So that the great crime of the Nonconformists is preaching Christs Gospel when the Bishops forbid them.
Here he granteth all the following matter of fact and right.
1. That the Preachers in question (e. g. my self, &c.) are consecrated to God in the Sacred Ministerial Office.
2. That it is Sacriledg and soul-murder to alienate our selves.
3. That in God's ordinary way men cannot be saved without knowledg, faith and obedience.
4. Nor be brought to these but by Teaching.
5. That few of the Churches that were burnt in London, are rebuilt.
6. That many Parishes are so large, and the Churches so small, and the Preachers voice so low, that one of ten or twenty of the Parishioners cannot hear, if they were never so willing.
7. That many Ministers are insufficient (and the Parson of the Parish where I live, hath been suspended ab officio these two or three years, or at least hath not officiated.)
8. That therefore the silence of all the Nonconformists is like to prove the damnation of many thousand souls.
9. That if the King only forbid us preaching (and not the Bishop) we are not bound to such silence as he requireth.
10. That our Bishops are not chosen by the Presbyters of the Diocess, or the people, but by the King (whatever formality seem to contradict this.)
11. That the extent of their Diocesses is not jure divino.
12. That none of them is jure divino, the Bishop of me, or any other such.
13. That National Churches are but of humane institution.
14. That what man instituteth, man may abrogate or undo.
15. That if King or Bishop forbid me to relieve the poor in true necessity, or to feed any family, or teach them, I must not obey.
16. That the prime part of Religion is in positives, and but the second in negatives; and therefore sins of omission are the first sins.
17. That no sin must be matter of obedience to Bishops or any man.
18. That the Apostles had their power to edification, and not to destruction.
19. That in case of controversies of Faith, the Church may not judg in partem utram libet, but only for the truth.
20. That all Bishops power is limited, and not absolute.
21. That when they command without power, only passive obedience is due.
22. That Bishops are not made Judges whether there shall be preaching and worshipping God or not; but only to order it aright, and judg by whom it shall be done.
23. That Bishops cannot dispense with the Law of God, nor humane power prevail against Divine.
24. That order is for the end and for the thing ordered, and not against it.
25. That natural morals are to be preferred caeteris paribus, before positives, much more before humane orders, and God will have mercy and not sacrifice.
26. That the silencing of the faithful Preachers of the Gospel greatly pleaseth the Devil; and that he is so far of the Silencers mind.
27. He accuseth not the silenced Ministers with any false doctrine.
28. He chargeth them not with Immoralities, or a bad life, saving his supposed sin of Schism, for preaching Christs Gospel when forbidden.
29. He confesseth that Paul must preach, though forbidden; and that he chargeth Timothy before God and Angels to preach in season and out of season.
30. He confesseth that the Pastors for 300. years preached when lawful Magistrates were against it, and for bad them.
31. I acquaint him, that I my self have the Bishops ordination, the Bishop of the Diocess License not repealed, and the Kings License: and yet unless I will say, that I trust to the Bishops License, as that without which all were Schism, it is Schism still: so that it seemeth to be made necessary, not only to have it, but to believe in it, or trust it.
On the other side we grant as followeth.
1. That we must not over-value our own grace or gifts, nor undervalue other men, nor pretend that our labours are more necessary than they are.
2. We must not disobey our lawful Rulers by omission or commission▪ in any thing which it belongeth to their office or power to command or forbid us.
3. That if they command or forbid without power, that which belongeth not to their office (as that which belongeth to a mans private Trade, or self-government, or family-government, &c.) if it be not in it self evil, we should materially obey them finis gratia, to preserve order and reverence to their office, and that we embolden not men to disobey in other things▪ though formally that particular injunction be powerless of itself.
4. That if they command us that which God forbiddeth, or forbid that which God commandeth, we must patiently suffer what unjust punishment they inflict on us for not obeying them, and not resist them in their executions by force. (Though we cannot say that this hath no exceptions; as if a Bishop would ravish a woman, she may resist him to save her chastity; yet at least no resistance is lawful which deposeth the Governour, or disableth him to govern).
5. We think it not lawful to invade or take the publick Temples or Tythes, or other maintenance of the publick Ministers, against the Kings will, or without authority.
6. We believe that lawful Rulers have power to forbid such ministers to preach in this or that place, or any where in their dominions, whose preaching is such as tendeth to do more harm than good.
7. Had we any reasonable conviction that our Ministry is unnecessary, we would obey our Rulers, though they silenced us causlesly; and would seek some other place or way of serving God.
8. In those times, places, and circumstances, which perswade us that more hurt than good will come by it if we preach, we will then and there forbear it, though it be not as an act of formal obedience, nor a desertion of our Office, or of the exercise of it at other times.
9. We judg it our duty to further the good success of the Conformable Ministers to the utmost of our power.
10. And we take Schism to be a great sin, and that which we are bound to do the best we can not only to avoid our selves, but to cure or hinder in others.
But we cannot in our present case give over the preaching of Christs Gospel for the Reasons before given.
1. We judg it a violation of the grand Law of Charity to agree with the Bishops, that the people shall be damned by thousands, and content our selves, that not we, but they shall answer for it.
2. We judge it perfidiousness to violate our Ministerial Covenant with God, in which we gave up our selves to his service.
3. We judge it also heinous sacriledge, it being a holy work to which we are devoted.
4. It is an Idolatrous setting up mans will and power above and against Gods.
5. It is a preferring of pretended Order, before the thing ordered, and that which is less than sacrifice (even sin) before Mercy, yea the greatest mercy.
6. It is a pleasing of the Devil, who is the great enemy of Preaching the Gospel, and of sinners repentance and salvation; and whose instruments the hinderers of the Gospel are, we leave to consideration.
7. It is a contradicting of the prayer taught us by Christ; Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers: For we are sure he hath not sent forth supernumeraries.
8. It is a wilful running on Christs damning sentence after his premonition, Matth. 25. by omitting greater matters than feeding, cloathing, visiting, &c.
9. It will be a burying our talent with the unprofitable servant, and denying▪ God the service which he hath qualified us for, and all our former time hath been spent in preparing for: and so it is as a casting away our time and life.
10. It will be a wilful compliance with Phariseism, after the warning of their ill examples, who preferred their orders, traditions, sabbaths, and their own authority, before the good of the peoples souls and bodies.
11. It will be an encouraging compliance with Church-tyranny in exercitio, if we will give over Preaching as oft as Bishops forbid us, because we will not take their Oaths, and be stigmatized with their PER: I say, supposing this had been the case.
12. We think it will be a compliance with Church-tyranny quo ad titulum, being ready to prove not only that the present Diocesans have no true power over us (but what is given them by the King as Magistrates), but also that their frame of Government is destructive of the Churches Ministry (both Episcopacy and Presbytery) and Discipline of Christs appointment.
13. We are afraid of being guilty, as things now go, of menspage missinghis was writpage missingn when we page missingad the Kings page missingicense. Usurpation and injury against the King; while we have the Kings License to preach, and they tell us not only that the King hath not so much authority to License us as they, but also that he hath less authority to silence us than they; and that it is lawful to preach when Kings unjustly forbid us, as the ancient Pastors did, but not when these Bishops forbid us.
14. In short, When we think what a work it is to damn souls by starving them, or to hinder their salvation, our hearts dread to participate in such guilt, considering, 1. It is contrary to the very nature of God, who is Love it self: And we find that the silencers are ready to trust in Gods Love to themselves in the hour of their extremity: And shall we think that he so little loveth the souls of men, as to desire that they should be damned, rather than saved against the will of a Diocesan? 2. It is contrary to the very office and design of Christ, who laid down his life a ransome for many, and came to seek and to save that which was lost, and would not cease when the Rulers forbad him to teach the people, and demanded an account of his authority, but would break even the rest of the Sabbath to save mens health, telling them, that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; and if Prelacy be of God, it is for the peoples salvation, and not their salvation to be sacrificed to a Prelates will. 3. It is contrary to the sanctifying-work of the Holy Ghost, who by the Gospel converteth man to God. 4. It is contrary to Christs institution of the Ministerial office, which was for mens salvation. 5. It is contrary to our duty to the Catholick Church, whose increase we must endeavour. 6. It is contrary to our daily prayers: To pray God to have mercy upon all men, and to deny them his mercy, and starve their souls, is gross hypocrisie. 7. It is contrary to our Baptismal-vow, in which we engaged our selves to fight under Christs banner (in the place where he should set us) against the world, the flesh and the devil. 8. It is contrary to our due Love to our native Countrey; for whose temporal welfare even a Heathen would have dyed. 9. It is contrary to that peace of the Church which is pretended for it: For it destroyeth the necessary foundations and ends of peace. 10. And it is contrary to the very honour of the Prelates themselves, which is set in competition with things of inestimable worth: For it will make the people that believe the Gospel, to take such men as (prosessing themselves the Fathers of the Church) do silence the faithful Preachers of it, to be grand enemies of Christ and Souls, and the Captains in the Army of the devil. 11. All good men long for the propagating of the Gospel to the Heathen and Infidel World! And shall we then be guilty of suppressing it at home? 12. The Papists, and all such will condemn us, who will not give over Preaching, even when King, and Law, and Bishops forbid them. And shall we incur all this guilt by ceasing for nothing, yea even now while we are licensed by the King? We had rather be taken in the company of thieves in a pursuit, than to be found among PER's, and soul murderers at judgment: Sion is the City of Salvation, but in Babylon is found the blood of souls, of whom for carnal ends they made merchandize.
The foregoing Reasons of our Accusation are sufficiently answered already.
I. Where it is said that our Calling is dependent on the Bishops! I answer: It is yet lis sub judice, whether such a Prelacy be of God, we mean the English Species (that is, for one man to destroy a thousand, or many hundred Churches, and make them but Parts of one Diocesan Church, and without any Bishop under him, to Rule and exercise the Power of the Keys over that one Church by a Lay-Chancellor, in a secular manner, and deny the Power of the Church-Keys to all the demi-Presbyters)?
If these Diocesans were of God, so is not every one that by worldly power gets possession of the place, being neither chosen by the Clergy or the people, any more than one that forcibly usurpeth the name and dignity: What maketh that man a Bishop over me any more than another man? Had they said the King, I should have reverenced the answer at least (Though the Arrians had the same in Constantius and Valens's days): But when they trust not to this, but to their divine right, what is it that is their title? They say, Consecration. I answer, 1. Consecration is but a Ministerial investiture (like Marriage) of one that before had right by election: This they deny, and lay all on Consecration, and not Election. 2. But if so, then if the unjustest claimer be Consecrated, he is our Bishop. And then the Consecrators have more power to determine who shall be Bishops than Kings and People. 3. But who be these Consecrators? Are they any Bishops whatever, or some in special above the rest? If any, then any wicked Bishops may make more, and undo the Church? And then, what if three Bishops Consecrate one, and three another, and three another, over one Diocess? Are they all the Bishops of that Diocess? or which? 4. But the Objectors confess that Consecration doth but make one a Bishop without a determinate Church; but to make him the Bishop of this or that Church, humane application is necessary. But, 1. Where find they in Scripture a Bishop made, that was not made the Bishop of a particular Church? I believe that a Minister of Christ in general, and an Evangelist in specie, may be made before he is fixed to any particular Church: But not a Bishop, if Scripture must be the rule. 2. But if he be Consecrated a Bishop, and not my Bishop, (or any other mans) this layeth on me no obligation to obey him. 3. But they are forced at last, to resolve all their power and our duty into Humane will or institution. It is Man that must make him my Bishop: And this they call the application of the power! But by what Act is this application? Is it by Election? or by another Consecration? or how? sure they will say by Election. And doubtless some one must first Elect him to be a Bishop indeterminately? It's strange that men must be Consecrated that no men chuse. Then they chuse themselves: And then the Consecrators must Consecrate any one that will chuse himself to be a Bishop: But if not so, they make the Consecrators chusers, and therefore should not say that Election doth nothing to make him a Bishop. But who are the second determing Electors? They know not who to lay it on, nor who it is that maketh a man Bishop of these persons, and this place. One will say the Consecrators (and then they know not who these must be, and we may possibly have ten Bishops at once), another will say the Clergy (which really here chuse not); another will say the King, and they must all come to that or nothing, though they are very loth (for none of them will say, The People).
2. But what is the dependance of our calling on the Bishops (supposing them of Gods appointment)? Is it a dependance, 1. Of Essence, 2. For Operation, 3. Or for the Order and Circumstances of operation? And do they mean that we depend, 1. On the Bishops first Ordination? 2. Or on his continued Will?
1. If our Calling (as to Authority and Obligation) did depend in esse on the will of the ordainer as such, that is, that we receive it from him (of which more elsewhere); yet doth it not follow, that the continuance of it dependeth on his Will, and that he may undo what he hath done. For he engageth men to God durante vita in a perpetual office (which maketh the Papist call it an indelible Character): In Ordination a Contract is made between Christ and the Minister; and till they null it that contracted it, he cannot do it that did but Ministerially contract them. A Priest may Marry man and wise, but cannot unmarry them. A Bishop may Crown and Anoint the King, but cannot depose him.
2. And if the Bishop cannot null the esse of our Calling, than the operation is not at his Will: For 1. the Esse is nothing but the Potestas operandi cum obligatione. 2. Else it were left to the Will of Bishops whether Christ should have any Ministers and Worship, and whether the Gospel should be preached, or Souls be saved.
3. But if it be only the Time, place and order of our Ministration that is left to Bishops, they have no power to forbid the necessary preaching of the Gospel, on pretence of ordering it: To order operation, is not to prohibit it: He doth not order my studies, writing, travel, building, who biddeth me study, write, travel, build no more.
4. As the Bishops of Spain at Trent defended the Divine right of their office against the Pope, so must we ours against the Prelates. Christ hath instituted the office of Presbyters himself; which is more generally agreed on among Christians, than that he hath instituted our Prelacy: But if Dr. Hammond's opinion hold true, that there were no subject▪ Presbyters in Scripturetimes, we shall think it hard to prove that there ought to be any now: And then all Ministers must be of one order.
5. Suppose Scotland possessed of the Christian Religion under such Presbyters as Coleman, Aidan, Finan, &c. and after a Courtier perswadeth the King to call one man their Bishop, and make him be Consecrated; Are all those Churches and holy Pastors on a sudden by that act become such dependants on that Bishop, as that they must give over preaching when he bids them?
6. By your Rules men may enlarge Diocesses at their pleasure; and if the King will make all England one Diocess, he may put down all the Bishopricks save one, and give one man power to chuse whether Christ shall have any Gospel or souls in England; and so Christ must shortly be no Christ or Saviour, without the Bishops leave.
II. To the second Reason, I deny that by preaching we use any Prelatical power; the (pretended) Office of a Prelate is not to be the sole Preacher, but the Governour of Preachers. If we made our selves Governours of Preachers, we should assume their power. But to preach is our own work.
Obj. You call and govern assemblies.
Ans. We govern not Diocesses nor other Presbyters; and to guide particular Assemblies in worship, was ever acknowledged the Presbyters work.
Obj. Yes, under the Bishops government, but not without him.
Ans. To do the work of his own office without him that should govern him, could be but a disobedience against that Governour, but not a deposing him, and usurpation of his Government. If a Physician, Taylor, or Shoomaker, exercise his Calling when the King forbiddeth him, yea or a Schoolmaster or Minister who governs others, this is not to depose the King, and take his power, but only to disobey his power. Can you perswade all Popish Priests in England, that they depose the King?
III. The third Reason is as gross a fallacy, supposing that our silence is but passive obedience; but passive obedience (as it is commonly called) is but patient suffering without resistance. If the Bishops excommunicate us, or imprison us, or deprive us of all Ministerial maintenance, or take all our Estates, we never resist them, but endure all. But when the first part of Religion is positive, and the second negative, will any say that it is but passive obedience to omit all our duty if a Bishop forbid it us? Then it were but passive obedience to give over loving God and man, and maintaining our Families, or praying to God, or doing any good, if the Bishop forbid it us.
2. And for keeping peace (which you demand how it should be done) I answer you: 1. Satan keepeth possession of his Kingdom in some peace. Peaceable unholiness is the surest way to hell. 2. We are commanded, but if it be possible, and as much as in us lieth, to live peaceably with all men. But peace is first in the power of Rulers; and if they will have no peace, it is not in our power to procure it against their wills, but only to do our part towards it. If a Bishop should forbid all men to feed their children and servants with any wholsome food, and then say, What peace or order can you have without such obedience? This is but to put a scorn on the Churches when they have persecuted them, and to take away their peace, and then ask them why they will not have it.
IV. To the fourth Reason, That the Bishop is judg who shall preach. I answer: 1. Were the Bishops Calling justified, yet he hath not power to judg in partem utram libet, whether there shall be preaching or none. The Churches in London are burnt down; the Parishes are many so large, that one of ten or twenty cannot hear in publick. If it be in the Bishops power to judg that nine parts of London shall have no preaching, why may he not so judg of the other tenth part? And if he may judg that there shall be no preaching, then why not that there shall be no praying and worshipping God? And if so in London, why not in other places? and so whether there shall be any Gospel, Religion, or Salvation? In cases of Faith, a Council hath power only to judg truly that there is a Christ, a Resurrection, a life to come, and not to judg that there is no Christ, no Resurrection, &c. And holy practice is as necessary to our salvation, as right believing. And therefore the Bishops may judg that we shall preach, and pray, and worship God, but not that we shall not.
Obj But they are to judg who shall preach. The Gospel is not cast out, if two thousand of you be silenced. If there were not Preachers, there may be Readers, and the Liturgy.
Ans. Let them set up such competent Teachers in a sufficient number of Churches as will tell a sober conscience that all our labours are become unnecessary, and then we shall think further of the case. But is it so in London now? Or can any be ignorant that it is not so?
And God useth to work according to the aptitude of means; and too many Churches in the Countreys have such Teachers as say over a few cold words as boys do their Lessons; and when experience telleth us how few are the better for them, we are afraid of being so hypocritally modest as to let souls perish for fear of seeming to undervalue your raw Lads, or scandalous ignorant Priests, and to overvalue our selves.
2. Are the bishops absolute Judges, or not? If absolute, we must obey them if they command murder or idolatry. If not, what are the limits of their power? Sure it is Gods universal Law. They have no power against his commanding or forbidding word; none against him, or against the common good, and mens salvation. If Popish and other Casuists use so to limit Kings, as to say that they are Ministers of God for good; and that they have no power against the common good, and that all Laws against it are null; may we not much more say so of all our Diocesans?
You grant that they cannot command us to sin, or forbid us duty: But then either we have a judgment of discerning to know what is duty and sin, or not. If not, then still if they forbid us duty, and say it is no duty, or command sin, and say it is no sin, we must obey. But if yea, then if we prove in an error, it will be our sin: And if the Bishops prove in the error, it will be theirs. And to obey conscience before a bishop, is in our sense nothing but to obey God before a bishop, in doing what we judg to be his will.
V. The next reason is none to us: For if Presbyterians or any other, silence Christs Ministers causlesly, and forbid that preaching of the Gospel, which is necessary to mens salvation, we abhor it in one as well as in another.
VI. And as to the last, 1. We believe not that if Christ should ask us, Why we preach not, it would excuse us to say, The bishop forbad us; no more than if he ask us, Why did you not feed, clothe, visit me in my servants? The Reasons forementioned tell you why we think we cannot be excused.
2. But if we could, Nature and Grace incline us to do all the good we can do in the world. And if thousands were like to be drowned, if we did not help the Ship-master when he forbids us, Nature teacheth us to prefer their lives before his will. And when our first question is Whether according to Gods ordinary operation by means, so many thousands shall be saved from ignorance, sin, and hell, or be damned? For you to determine that they shall be damned if the Bishop will, and then come in with a second question, Who shall answer for it? is so horrid to us, as frightneth us from obeying the Silencers, as if we saw Satan himself perswading us to obey them.
Will you give us leave openly to tell the people where our controversie lyeth? That it is the Bishops will that they shall rather be all damned in their ignorance and sin, than taught, converted, and saved by Nonconformists? But they say, that it's they, and not we, shall answer for it. As if they said, Their blood be on us. But we are loth to yeild that you must be untaught and damned, though we were never so sure to be excused.
Whose interest or work it is, Christs or Satans, to forbid faithful Ministers to preach the Gospel, and do their office, the light of Grace, when you have all done, will tell the gracious, as the light of Nature telleth men whose interest and work it is to deny to as many their necessary food. Should you deny the necessity of either (word or food) still Grace or Nature would from age to age resist you. Of the two, methinks those that perswade us to stretch to conform against our consciences, that we may preach, do look more favourably towards the common good, than those that perswade us not at all to conform, but meerly to give over preaching the Gospel. The very motion hath an ugly aspect; it affrights us, as perceiving the voice of an affrighting Solicitor in it. It amazeth us to think that some Scholars of great parts, and humility, and obliging carriage, dare make such a motion to so many vowed and consecrated to the Ministry, while in so many Parishes so many thousand souls are wallowing in ignorance, impiety and sensuality, and have not a Church to hear in, nor a Minister to instruct them, but must stay at home, or worse, for want of room, were they never so willing. Shall the Churchwarden on his oath present twenty, or forty, or fifty thousand in a Parish for not coming into a Church where two thousand can scarce hear the Preacher? Or shall all those thousands be idle, play or drink, without trouble and a few hundreds of them be hunted and ruined, that rather join in Gods Worship with a silenced Minister? O how easie would it be to our flesh, and how dreadful to our consciences, to forbear, and leave men to themselves! Have men nothing to accuse us of, as our intollerable crimes, but the greatest and costliest duties that ever we performed in the world. The Lord keep us all from seducing Faction, and forgive us the sin which we see, and which we see not, and cause us to pray harder for his glorious appearing, and most righteous final Judgment. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
Amen.