Relation of the Sufferings of Ministers in Scotland Since 1660, Section 16
SECTION XVI.
It is lawfull for such Ministers as are banished from their flocks to preach, wherever they be, either in publick, or private.
WHen thus the honest Ministers, whose labours God had singularly blessed among the people, are thrust from them by force, & insufficient scandalous & naughty men, are thrust in upon them, sore against their will, their trouble & tryall, is made to grow dayly, for now their meeting in any quiet place to hear any honest man, preach the gospell of Christ, is called a conventicle & diligent search is made after such, to the end, that both they & the Minister whom they heare, may be apprehended & punished, according to the pleasure of these persecuters: And thus the honest & Zealous servants of Christ, are either put from making mention of the name of the Lord at all, whether in publick or in private: Or brought into great trouble & hazard thereby. Is it not a very sad & astonishing thing, that when whole countrey sides, are almost laid waste, people wandering from place to place seeking the word of the Lord, & Thousands are perishing for want of knowledge, & multitudes deluded with false teachers; such Ministers as were driven from their own flockes might not lay out themselves for the good of perishing souls & do what they could for instructing, strengthening, & comforting of the poor afflicted & persecuted people of God? May not this be matter of admiration, that any upon this account should be put to suffer? And certanely none with any shew of reason, will condemne those Ministers if they take notice of these few particulars following.
1. Though they were banished by the sentence of a civill judge, Yet they remained still Ministers; no such sentence of a civil Magistrat can depose a Minister from his office: The spirit of the prophets, as to this, is subject to the Prophets only. It is true, it followed upon their banishment as a necessary consequence, that they could not exerce the Ministeriall function in that place out of which they were banished: But notwithstanding of any Act of banishment they remained Ministers; for there is no such connexion betuixt their being Ministers, & their being in such a place. And all the sentence of the Magistrat reached only to their being, or not being, in such a place. All this will be beyond disput with such as are not grosse Erastians; for no reformed divine will acknowledge that the civill Magistrat can immediatly depose a Minister; far lesse can he do it by the sole Act of banishment. So then this is clear, that those Ministers who were banished from their owne parishes, remained still Ministers of the gospell, yea &, as hath been said in the fore-going section, Ministers of the Church of Scotland.
2. It is no lesse clear unto all such as have not drunken in independent principles. That all such as are Ministers, have a relation unto the Church universall, and unto the nationall Church wherein they are, and so may, wherever they are, discharge the duty of Ministers, in preaching & administrating the Sacraments.
3. Not only may they do so, but there is a necessity laid upon them to preach the gospel, & woe is due unto them, if they do it not, 1 Cor. 9: 16. If once they have given up themselves unto Christ, as serva…ts to him, they must resolve to be imployed for him, to the out most of their power, & must not think of laying up their talent in a napkin; lest they get the wicked & slothfull servant's reward. They have a divine command to preach in season, and out of season, & to lay out themselves, to the yondmost for Christ, and his interest. This will also be undenyable: especially considering in the next place.
4. That there was never greater necessity, for their bestirring of themselves as faithfull Ministers of the gospel, then now, when there are so many thousands left destitute: & so many led away with false guides, who make it their work to deceive people, & to pervert the right wayes of the Lord: & so many ready to faint under persecution & sore affliction. Is not the harvest now great, & are not the labourers few, when a man shall goe many miles before he shall heare any honest Minister? And should such, on whom God is calling aloud to teach, exhort, & comfort, be silent now? Is not Sa… bussy leading some away to Atheisme, others to Prophanity, some to popery, others to Quaker…sme? And doth not this call aloud on all who would be faithfull to their master to be actively bestirring themselves now, for the good of s…uls & for the glory of God? Are there not many honest followers of Christ lying under sore oppression & bondage their spirits being grieved, & their souls wasted with hearing & seeing what they do hear & see? And have not these need to be comforted & cheered up under the crosse? Doth not God allow consolation to such? & is he not calling on his servants to speak comfortably to such? Are there not many almost fainting by reason of their weaknesse, & the continuance of the tryall & should not Ministers minde that command, 1 Thes. 5: 14. Comfort … feeble minded, & supporte the weak? Are there not many in hazard to be led away with the temptations of the time? & hath not Satan many instruments wearying themselves in this service of seduceing poor people, & drawing them into their nets & snares, & should not Ministers be doing what in them lyeth, to keep out of the snare, such as are in hazard; & to recover such as are already insnared, out of the hand of the devil? Great then is the necessity that poor people are into, & double must the woe be, that abideth such Ministers, as are silent, at such a time, when all things call upon them to lift up their voice like a trumpet; & to shew people their transgressions, & their hazard, & to be burning & shineing lights, that such as walke in darknesse may see their way & be comforted.
5. Such a practice is aboundantly warranted by the Apostles, & other Church officers, in the primitive times: For they went to severall places & preached the Gospell; When they were persecuted in one city, they went unto another, & still preached the gospell where ever they came: The history of the acts of the Apostles, aboundeth with instances of this kinde, so that it is needlesse to cite any. If it be said that these were extraordinary officers Apostles, prop…ets, & …, who were not fixed to any one place, as the ordinary officers were. It is answered. That preaching of the Gospell was not the Charactersticke of unfixed officers, but common to them with fixed pastors & doctors: & preaching unfixedly was not alwayes their note & essentiall mark, because in times of persecution, pastors & doctors might have preached, wherever they came, as the officers of the Church of Ierusalem did, who, being scattered abroad upon the persecution of Stephen act. 8. 1. Did goe every where preaching the word, v. 4. Those who were scattered behoved to be the fixed officers of the Church of Ierusalem; for it is not probable, that the Apostles would have left that Church of Ierusalem, so long without preaching officers fixed for preaching & administrating the sacraments, seing they had instituted Deacons who were lesse necessarie, Act 6: 1, 2, 3, 4. & seing themselves were not fixed there, but were to goe thorow the world, according to Christ's appoyntment, & the direction & guideing of the Spirit.
6. So is it warranted by the practice of the faithfull & honest servants of Christ in all ages, who through persecution being thrust from one place, went & preached the gospell in another: both in the time of the first ten persecutions, through occasion of which, the Gospell was spread far thorow the world, & at severall times since. The honest servants of Christ in Queen Mary her dayes went abroad preaching the Gospell: So did the zealous servants of Christ in Scotland, when banished, or compelled to flee preach in England, …rance & Holland, without any new ordination, or any thing like it.
7. There is some necessitie lying upon them to preach, as occasion offereth that they may not stumble the poor ignorent people, who upon their silence are ready to think that the civil Magistrat hath power to depose Ministers formally: And therefore, if there were no more but this it were enough to provoke them to preach, that the world might see, that they put a difference betwixt the power of the Magistrat, & the power of the Church; And that when they submit unto the Magistrat, keeping within the compasse of his calling, & exerciseing that power which formally agreeth to him, though he should mistake as to the application: They will not submit any further, to the wronging of the privileges of the Church: And so will let the world see that they are still Ministers of the Gospell, though banished from their particular flocks.
8. Their silence in such a case would be stumbling unto others, who look upon it as an evidence of fainting, & fear in them, who dar not open their mouth, nor appear for Christ & speak to the edification & encouragement of sufferers, least it offend the Magistrat: And when such are so faint-hearted how doth it discourage others, & strongly prevaile with some to goe over the belly of their own light & conscience, yea moreover it hardeneth the wicked in their evil courses, & encourageth them to persecute more & more, when they see such fainting & discouragment among the followers of Christ.
So then when these particulars, are considered, It will be found that such Ministers do but their duty, & that they would come short in their duty, if they did not so preach the Gospell.
If it be Objected here. That to preach in such a disorderly way would be a breaking of the established order of the Church viz. a preaching within such a Bishops dioecy without his license, & so it would be a course not approved by the God of order. It is. Answered. 1. That ceremonies or matters of mere order must be passed by in times of necessitie, such as this is. 2. Such an established order as tendeth to the ruine of religion, is but iniquity established by law, for that is not an order of God's appoyntment which is destructive to the maine bussinesse, viz. the edification of souls, & therefore such an order which is to destruction & not to edification, is not to be regairded, 3. Where is there any warrand for such an order or appoyntment in all the Gospell? Did the Apostles ever aske liberty from the corrupt Clergy among the Iewes, to preach Christ, in such or such a place? Where is there any warrant for such as are Ministers called of God & orda…ned, to suspend the exercise of that function till they have the license & good will of a prelate? This is that popish leaven which the former English Prelats had from Rome: preaching the Gospell is immediatly commanded to all who are Ministers, & there is not the least syllabe, for their going to a Bishop, who is nothing else but a creature of man, to seek license: And certanely none can think that these Ministers might have gone to the prelat, to obtaine liberty; seing that would have been a cleare acknowledging of them & their power, contrare to their vow & covenant. So then it was better to take the way of the Apostles, &c to obey God rather then men; & to preach at God's command, when man forbiddeth, as well as to preach truth when man commandeth the contrary, seing he hath no power from God for that effect more in the one case then in the other.
2. It may be possibly further objected. That how ever they remaine Ministers & so may preach as they have a call; yet to seek corners & hideing places to preach in, to separated congregations cannot be allowed in a constitute Church: Ans. If they be Ministers of the gospell, they may lawfully preach the gospell, where God in his providence giveth them a call to preach. 2. Since they cannot have liberty to preach the gospel in publick, they may & must do it in private, when the necessity of the people calleth for it. Christ & his Apostles did not alwayes get the publick places to preach in, but were content of privat roomes: Many a time did Christ preach by the sides of mountaines, by the sea side, & in such by-wayes; And so did the Apostles: Paul could get no better at Ephesus then the school of Tyrannus: and two full yeers he preached in his own hired house at Rome Act. 28: 30, 31. & therefore this practice of theirs cannot be condemned; for. 3. As the Church was then in fieri, so is it now in a decaying condition, & therefore though it were granted (which is not yet clearly proved) that in a Church rightly constituted, such private preachings, were not lawfull; yet when a Church is fallen from her right constitution, & is upon the decaying hand (at without all doubt, the Church of Scotland is this day) many things may be allowed, as they are, in a time when the Church is but in fieri: & as to this particular in question, a time of persecution (as this is) is alwayes excepted; so that it is lawfull enough now, so long as this persecution lasteth, to preach the gospell in private when no liberty can be had to do it openly. 4. These Ministers are gathering no separated congregations, but only preaching to all who will come & hear the word of truth, in such quiet & retired places, where they may get it done most saifly & may be most free from distraction & trouble of their enemies, who are waiting to finde them out, that they may haile them to prisons. Who then can condemne their cariage in this.
3. If any should further object & say. That this would be an open contempt of the Magistrat's lawfull authority, & disobedience to his lawfull commands; For though it be true, that he cannot take away the office of a Minister or the power of order, & so degrade him; yet he may take away the exercise of his Ministeriall function, at least, he may discharge the exercise of the same, within any part of his Kingdome or dominions Ans. Whether there be such an expresse prohibition or not is not certanely known, nor whether or not the objection doth suppone, that the Magistrat's Act of banishing of them out of their own parishes, or out of the bounds of their respective presbyteries, doth include a discharge of ex…erceing the Ministeriall function, any more, within the Kingdome. If the objection goe upon this supposition it is sufficiently answered above. But next, suppone there were such a command expresly prohibiting them, they were not bound to give obedience. Because to inhibite & discharge the Actuall exercise of the function of the ministry is a spirituall censure, it is reall suspension, which is a sentence that can lawfully be passed only by a Church judicature: & the civill Magistrat can no more suspende from the exercise, then he can depose from the office; for the one is a degree unto the other: See Apollde jure Maj. circa sacra: pars 1, pag. 334, 335, 336. And Rutherfurd's due right of presbyteries, pag. 430: 431. And therefore though the civill Magistrat should passe such a sentence, conscientious Ministers ought not to obey; because, the civill Magistrat, in passing such a sentence, is not keeping within his sphaere but transgressing the limites of his calling, & when the civill Magistrat is usurping the power that doth not belong unto him, obedience is not to be yeelded, neither is he to be countenanced or encouraged in that. Therefore though there were no more, this is sufficient to call all Ministers to give testimony against such an usurpation, by refuseing to obey any such Act, or by preaching, when God giveth a call, in his providence, in any place they come… unto, though there were never such an expresse Act to the contrary, They m…st not by their silence, And obedience unto such commands, gratify the civill Magistrat & make him another pope: See Apollon: ju… Maj. circ… sacra, par. 1 pag. 338.