Review of Brambles Warning Against the Scots Discipline, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
The chiefe of the Praelats agree with the Presbyterians about the divine right of Church diſcipline.
THE Warners challenge in this chapter is that we mantaine our diſcipline by a Iure divino, and for this he ſpewes out upon us a ſea of ſuch rhetorick, as much better beſeemed. Anſ. Mercurius Aulicus then either a Warner or a praelate. In this challenge he is as unhappy as in the reſt, it is for a matter wherein the moſt of his owne Brethren (though our Adverſaries) yet fully agree with us that the diſcipline of the Church is truely by divine right, The Warner and his Praelatical Eraſtian brethren are obliged by their owne principles to adviſe the King to lay aſide Epiſcopacy and ſet up the Praesbytery in all his dominions.and that Jeſus Chriſt holds out in ſcripture the ſubſtantials of that Governement whereby he will have his houſe to be ruled to the worlds end; leaving the circumſtantials to be determined by the judicatories of the Church according to the generall rules, which are clear alſo in the word for matters of that nature. In this neither Papiſts nor the learndeſt of the Praelats find any fault with us; yet our Warner muſt ſpend a whole Chapter upon it.
It is true as we obſerved before the elder Praelats of England in Edwards & Elizabeths dayes, as the Eraſtians now, did mantaine that no particular Governement of the Church was jure divino, and if this be the Warners mind, it were ingenuity in him to ſpeake it out loud, and to endeavour to perſwade his friends about the King of the truth of this tenet, he was never imployed about a better and more ſeaſonable ſervice: for if the diſcipline of the Church be but humano jure then Epiſcopacy is keeped up upon no conſcience, conſcience being bottomed only upon a divine right, ſo Epiſcopacy wanting that bottom may well be laid aſide at this time by the King for any thing that concernes conſcience ſince no command of God nor warrant from ſcripture tyes him to keep it up. This truely ſeemes to be the maine ground whereupon the whole diſcourſe of this Chapter is builded. Is it tolerable that ſuch truthes should be concealed by our Warners againſt their conſcience, when the ſpeaking of them out might be ſo advantagious to the King and all his Kingdomes, how ever wee with all the reformed Churches doe beleeve in our heart the divine right of Synods and Preſbyteries, and for no poſſible inconvenient can be forced to deny or paſſe from this part of truth, yet the Warner heere joynes with the elder Praelats who till Warner Banckrofts advancement to the ſea of Canterburry did unanimouſly deny Epiſcopacy to be of divine right, and by conſequent affirmed it to be moveable, and ſo lawfull to be laid aſide by princes, when ſo ever they found it expedient for their affaires to be quyte of it, why does not the warner and his Brethren ſpeake plainly their thoughts in his Majeſties eares? why do they longer diſſemble their conſcience, only for the ſatisfaction of their ambition, greed, and revenge? ſundry of the Praelaticall divines come yet further to joyne fully with Eraſtus in denying not only Epiſcopacy and all other particular formes of Church government to be of divine inſtitution, but in avowing that no governement in the Church at all is to be imagined, but ſuch as is a part of the civill power of the Magiſtrat. The Warner in the Chapter and in diverſe other parts of his booke ſeemes to agree with this judgment: and upon this ground if he had ingenuity he would offer his helping hand to untie the bonds of the Kings conſcience, if heere it were ſtraytened, by demonſtrating from this his principle, that very ſafely without any offence to God and nothing doubting for conſcience ſake, his Majeſtie might lay aſide Epiſcopacy and ſet up the Presbytery ſo fully as is required in all his dominions though not upon a divine right which the Presbyterians beleeve, yet upon Eraſtus royall right which the Warner here and elſewhere avouches.
What the Warner puts heere again upon the Presbyterie, The praelaticall party were lately bent for Popery.the uſurpation of the temporall ſword in what indirect relation ſo ever, its probation in the former chapter was found ſo weake and naughty, that the repetition of it is for no uſe: only wee marke that the Warner will have the Presbitery to be an abſolute papacy, for no other purpoſe but to vent his deſire of revenge againſt the Presbyterians, who gave in a challenge againſt the Praelats, eſpecially the late Canterburians, among whom Doctor Bramble was one of ſome note, to which none of them have returned to this howre an anſwer; that their principles unavoidably did bring backe the pope. For a Patriarch over all the weſterne Churches, and among all the Patriarches of the whole Catholick Church a primacy in the Roman, flowes cleerly out of the fountaine of Epiſcopacy, according to the avowed doctrine of the English praelats: who yet are more liberall to the pope in granting him beſide his ſpirituall ſuper-inſpection of the whole Catholick Church, all his temporall juriſdictions alſo in the patrimony of St. Peter, and all his other faire principalities within and without Italy. There is no ceremony in Rome that theſe men ſtick upon: for of all the ſuperſtitious and idolatrous ceremonies of Rome, their images and altars and adorations before them are incomparably the worſt; yet the Warners friends without any recantation we have heard of, avow them all; even an adoration of and to the altar it ſelfe. As for the doctrines of Rome what points are worſe then theſe which that party have avowed in expreſſe tearmes, a corporall preſence of Chriſts body upon the Altar the Tridentine juſtification, free-will, finall apoſtacy of the Saints: when no other thing can be anſwered to this our ſore challenge, it is good to put us off with a Squib that the Presbyterie is as abſolute papacy as ever was in Rome.
The Presbyterian poſition which the Warner heere offers not to diſpute but to laugh at, that Chriſt as King of his Church according to his royall office and Scepter hes appointed the office bearers and lawes of the houſe, is accorded to by the moſt and sharpeſt of our adverſaries, whether English or Romish, as their owne tenet: howbeit ſuch foolish conſequences, that all acts of Synods muſt be Chriſts Lawes, &c. neither they nor wee doe acknowledge.
His declamations againſt the novelty of the Presbyterie in the ordinary ſtile of the Jeſuites againſt Proteſtants, The Praelats profeſſe now a willingnes to abolish at leaſt three parts of the former Epiſcopacy.and of the pagan Philoſophers againſt the Chriſtians of old, who will regarde: our plea for the Praesbyterie is, that it is ſcripturall; if ſo; it is auncient enough: if not; let it be abolished. But it were good, that heer alſo the Warner and his friends would be ingenuous, to ſpeake out their minds of Epiſcopacy. Why have they all ſo long deceived the King, in aſſuring him that English Episcopacy was wel warranted both by Scripture and antiquity. Be it ſo (which yet is very falſe) that ſomething of a Bishop diſtinct from a Presbyter had any footing in Scripture, yet can they be ſo impudent, as to affirme, that an English Bishop in his very flesh and blood, in his ſubſtantiall limbs was ever knowne in the World till the pope was become Antichriſt? A Bishop by virtue of his office a Lord in Parliament, voycing in all acts of State, and exerciſing the place of a high Theſaurer, of a Chancelor, or what ever civill charge the favour of a Prince did put upon him; a Bishop with ſole power of ordination and juriſdiction, with out any Presbytery; a Bishop exerciſing no juriſdiction himſelfe in any part of his dioces, but devolving the exerciſe of that power wholly upon his officials & Commiſſaries; a Bishop ordaining Presbyters himſelfe alone, or with the fashionall aſſiſtance of any two Presbyters, who chaunce to be neare; a Bishop the only Paſtor of the whole dioces, and yet not bound to feed any flock, either by word or Sacrament, or governement, but having a free liberty to devolve all that ſervice upon others, and himſelf to wayte at court ſo many yeares as he shall think fit. This is our English Bishop not only in practiſe but in law, and ſo was hee defended by the great diſputants for praelacy in England.
But now let the Warner ſpeake out, The portion of Epiſcopacy, which yet is ſtuck to, cannot be kept up upon any principle either of honour or conſcience.if any ſuch treaſure can more be defended or was ever knowne in ſcripture, or ſeen in any Chriſtian Church for 800. yeares and above, after the death of Chriſt. I take it indeed, to be conſcience, that forces now at laſt the beſt of our Court-divines to deveſt their Bishop of all civill imployment in Parliament court or Kingdome, in denying his ſolitarines in ordination, in removing his officiall and Commiſſary courts, in taking away all his arches, Arch-Bishops, Arch-Deacons, deane and Chapter and all the, &c. in erecting Presbyteries for all ordinations and ſpirituall jurisdiction. It is good that conſcience moves our adverſaries at laſt to come this farre towards us: butwhy will they not yet come nearer, to acknowledge that by theſe their to lately recanted errours they did to long trouble the world; and that the little which yet they deſire to keepe of a Bishop is nothing leſſe then that English Bishop but a new creature of their own deviſing never known in England which his Majeſtie in no honnour is obliged to mantaine for any reſpect either to the lawes or cuſtomes of England, and leaſt of all, for conſcience?
While the Warner with ſuch confidence avowes, The ſmalleſt portion of the moſt moderat Epiſcopacy is contrary to ſcripture.that no text of Scripture can be alleadged againſt Epiſcopacy, which may not with more reaſon be applyed againſt the Presbytery; behold I offer him here ſome few, caſting them in a couple of arguments, which according to his great promiſes, I wish, he would anſwer at his leaſure.
Firſt I doe reaſon from Epheſians 4.11: all the officers that Chriſt has appointed in his Church for the Miniſtry of the word, are either Apoſtles, Evangeliſts, Prophets, Paſtors or Doctors: but Bishops are none of theſe fyve: Ergo they are none of the officers appointed by Chriſt for the Miniſtry of the word. The Major is not wonte to be queſtioned: the minor thus I prove; Bishops are not Apoſtles, Evangeliſts, nor prophets: for its confeſſed, all theſe were extraordinary and temporary officers: but Bishops (ſay yow) are ordinary and perpetuall: our adverſaries pitch upon the fourth, alleadging the Epiſcopall office to be paſtorall; but I prove the Bishop no Paſtor thus; no Paſtor is ſuperior to other Paſtors in any ſpirituall power: but according to our adverſary, a Bishop is ſuperior to all the Paſtors of his dioces in the power of ordination and juriſdiction. Ergo. The doubt heer is only of the Major, which I prove Argumento à paribus: no Apoſtle is ſuperior to an Apoſtle, nor an Evangeliſts to an Evangeliſt, nor prophet to a prophet nor a Doctour to a Doctour in any ſpirituall power according to ſcripture. Ergo no Paſtor to a Paſtor. Againe I reaſon from 1. Tim. 4.14. Math: 18.15. 1. Cor. 5.4.12.13, What taks the power of ordination and jurisdiction from Bishops, deſtroyes Bishops: as the removall of the ſoule kills the man, and the denyall of the forme takes away the ſubject; ſo the power of ordination and juriſdiction the eſſentiall forme, whereby the Bishop is conſtitute and diſtinguished from the Presbyter and every other Church officer, being removed from him, he muſt perish: but the quoted places take away cleerly theſe powers from the Bishop: for the firſt puts the power of ordination in the Presbytery, and a Bishop is not a Presbytery; the ſecond puts the power of juriſdiction in the Church; and the third in a company of men which meet together: but the Bishop is not the Church nor a company of men met together: for theſe be many, and he is but one perſone.
When the Doctors learning he; ſatisfied us in theſe two, he shall receave more ſcripturall arguments againſt Epiſcopacy. The Praelats unable to anſwer their oppoſits.But why doe wee expect anſwers from theſe men, when after ſo long time (for all their boaſts of learning and their viſible leaſure) none of their party hes hade the courage, to offer one word of anſwer to the Scriptures and Fathers, which in great plenty Mr. Parker and Mr. Didoclave of old, and of late that mitacle of learning moſt noble Somais, and that Magazin of antiquity Mr. Blondel have printed againſt them?
What in the end of the Chapter the Warner addes of our trouble at King James his fiftie and five queſtions 1596, and of our yeelding the bucklers without any oppoſition till the late unhappy troubles; we anſwer that in this as every where elſe the Warner proclaines his great and certaine knowledge of our Eccleſiaſtick ſtory: the troubles of the Scots divines at that time were very ſmall, for the matter of theſe queſtions, all which they did anſwer ſo roundly, that ther was no more ſpeach of them therafter by the propounders: but the manner and time of theſe queſtions did indeed perplex good men, to ſee Eraſtian and Prelaticall counſellors ſo farr to prevaile with our King, as to make him by captious queſtions carpe at theſe parts of Church-diſcipline, which by ſtatuts of Parliament and acts of Aſſemblyes were fully eſtablished.
Our Church at that time was far from yeelding to Epiſcopacy: Prelacy was ever grievous to Scotland.great trouble indeed by ſome wicked States-men was then brought upon the perſones of the moſt able and faithfull Miniſters, but our land was ſo far from receiving of Bishops at that time, that the queſtion was not ſo much as propoſed to them for many yeares thereafter, it was in Ann. 1606 that the English Praelats did move the King by great violence to caſt many of the beſt and moſt learned Preachers of Scotland out of their charges, and in Ann. 1610, that a kind of Epiſcopacy was ſet up in the corrupt aſſembly of Glaſgow; under which the Church of Scotland did heavily groane till the yeare 1637, when their burdens was ſo much increaſed by the English praelaticall Tax-maſters, that all was shaken of together, and divine juſtice did ſo cloſly follow at the heeles, that oppreſſing praelacy of England as to the great joy of the long oppreſſed Scotes, that evill root and all its branches was caſt out of Britaine, where wee truſt, no shadow of it shall ever againe be ſeen.