The Due Right of Presbyteries, Chapter 10 · Section 1 · Objection 4 – Objection 6
Ob. 4. It is unreasonable that a Prelate or a Pope should rule me, and not teach me, and we condemned this in Prelates that they would onelyonly rule, and not teach: But the classicall presbytery doth fall in that same fault, for they governe the whole classicall Church, but they doe not teach the whole classicall Church; It is dreadfull for a man to watch for the soules of one single Congregation, as being under necessity to give an accempt; Ergo, far more dreadfull it is to watch also for a whole tract of thirty or forty Churches, the Apostle will have Him who watcheth for one flock to entangle himselfe with no other imployments. How then shall hee take the burden of thirty, or forty Flockes?
Answ. It is unreasonable that Prelate and Pope should rule me, and so many hundred Churches 1. as the sole and proper Pastors, and all under them be but suffragans and deputed Pastors, doing by borrowed authority from Pope and Prelate. 2. That their sole Office should be to command feeders as Pastors of pastors, and not to feede with knowledge the flocke, that is most true; but the classicall presbyters are neither principall nor proper pastors of the whole classicall Churches collectively, nor are two or three pastors under them as deputies. 3. Nor is their Office to rule onelyonly, not to feede with knowledge also. 2. The pastors of independent flocks are obliged by brotherly association, to be Vine-Keepers, Governours, fellow-Counsellers to forty sister-Churches, for they acknowledge Ass…tion of … …. 19.that Churches cannot subsist in good government without the helpe of Synods; Now if wee distinguish onerousn…sse, care, and labour of B…therly watching over one another, and oner…u…n…sse, care, and labour, by way of Jurisdiction, the former is as great in foro Dei, in the Court of Conscience as the latter, and so ou… Brethren make Governing without Teaching, as well as wee doe; They in a Brotherly way, wee in a way of Jurisdiction. I prove that their way is as dreadfull and labo…ous in the …oynt of conscience, and in a way of giving accompt to God, as our way. For 1. A divine command that wee be our Brethrens keepers, and we watch over one another commandeth onerousnesse, and care in Brotherly governing to them, as to us. 2. Wee make the ground and foundation of governing a Classicall Church that band of Love and Union of the members of one Body of Christ, and this band of Lovely and Brotherly consociation of many Congregations commandeth, and ti…th us to doe no more in Governing and i… Helping, and promoting the edification of sister-Churches, then if wee had no further warrant to prom…te edification, then the alone relation of Brotherly consociation, for the onelyonly and very reason why the Wisdome of our Law-giver Christ hath put a speciall Commandement on consociated Churches to make one Presbytery, and to governe one Classicall Church, in these common poynts that concerne the whole Classicall Church, in the poynt of sound Doctrine and lawfull and Ministeriall Jurisdiction, is the necessity that Members of one Body have of Broth…rly Helpe, Light, Direction, Comfort one of another. Which poynt I desire carefully to bee observed: for wee see no ground to make the powers of a Congregation, of a presbytery, of a Province. of a Nationall Church, powers formally and essentially different, they differ onelyonly in more or lesse extension, as the adjunct or genuine property of one and the same great visible Body, which is one integrall part; That same. 1. Covenant of God. 2. That same Lord 3. That same Spirit. 4. That same Faith and Baptisme. 5. That same power of the Keyes in Nature and Essence belongeth to all; onelyonly the power must bee more or lesse, as the Body is more or lesse, as there is more of that vis loc… motiva, the power of moving in the Hand then i… one Finger, and in the whole Arme then in the Hand onelyonly, and in the whole body then in the Hand. And I cleare it in this, a man is a gifted Preacher in a Congregation in an Island, there is none other gifted of GOD to Preach the Gospell but hee onelyonly. I would thinke, as a Brother hee were under as great an Obligation of care, and laborious onerousnesse of conscience to bestow his Talent for the gaining of Soules by preaching, though hee were not called to bee their Pastor, and that by vertue of his Brotherly relation to the people, as if hee were called to bee their Pastor. I desire to know what the naked relation of Authority, or Jurisdiction addeth to his care and onerousnesse in poynt of labouring by preaching the Gospell. Indeed now being called, his care is Pastorall and more authoritative. But if according to the measure of the Talent, every one is to proportion his paines to gaine more Talents to his Lord, and if the relation of a Pastor adde no degrees of gifts to His Talent, as wee may suppose, I thinke his onerousnesse in labouring was as great before hee was a Pastor as after: but I speake not this, to say that in a constituted Church there is no calling required other then giftes. Nor doe I speake this to say, that a calling is not a new motive why a man should imploy his gifts for the honour of the Giver; But only to shew that CHRIST hath united powers of Jurisdiction in Congregations, in Presbyteries, in Churches of Provinces and Nations; that so, not onelyonly gifts might conduce to helpe and promove edification, but also united powers of Jurisdiction which are also gifts of God, and though some may say that a calling to an Office layeth on M…n a more speciall Obligation, to make accompt for Soules, then gifts onelyonly (which in some sense, I could also yeeld) yet seeing wee thinke the relation of the Eldership to a whole Classicall Church is not founded upon an Office different from the Offices of Pastors and Elders which they have, and are clothed with in relation to their particular Congregations, but onelyonly authoritative acts of the same Office, and that for the common promoving of edification in the whole Classicall Church, grounded in the depth of his Wisdome who hath seven Eyes, upon a Brotherly Consociation, in which they must either edifie one another, and occasionally partake of these same holy things, or then scandaliz… and leaven one another, with their publique transgressions; wee cannot see how presbyteriall Elders are more to give accompt for the Soules of the whole Classicall Church in Scriptures sense, Hebrewes 13. 17. then consociated pastors and Elders of consociated Churches are to give an accompt to GOD for sister Churches, over which they are to watch, and whose Soules they are to keepe, and so farre as they are Brethren must make a reckoning to GOD for them. And how can the presbytery be more said to intangle themselves, in governing the Classicall Church in some things, with things not proper to their calling, seeing consociated Churches, in a Brotherly way, doe medle with those same things, though not in a way of Jurisdiction? For helping the Classicall Church by way of Fraternity is not unproper to a Christian calling of Brethren, and the joyning of power of Jurisdiction; I meane of power lesser to another power greater, to helpe the Classicall Church, upon the same ground of Fraternity, cannot bee unproper to the calling of a Colledge of presbyters.
Objecti. 5. The power of Presbyteries taketh away the power of a Congregation, therefore it cannot bee lawfull. The antecedent is thus confirmed. 1. Because if the Presbytery ordain… one to bee Excommunicated, whom the Elders of a Congregation in conscience thinke ought not to bee Excommunicated, the man, Jure Divino, must be Excommunicated, and the power of the Congregation, which Christ hath given to them is nul. And the exercise thereof impeded by a greater power. 2. the voyces of two Elders of a Congregation, which are now sitting in the greater and classicall Presbytery, are swallowed up by the greater number of Elders, of thirty or forty Congregations met in one great presbytery; Ergo, the power of the Congregation is not helped by the presbytery, but close taken away.
Answ. The Argument doth presuppose that which is against GODS Law, to wit. 1. That there is a contradiction of Voyces, betwixt the Elders of a Cong egation, and of the greater presbytery; which should not bee, for Brethren even of Galathia, which contained many Congregations, as our Brethren confesse, should all minde and speake, and agree in one thing that belongeth to Church Discipline, as is cleare, Gala. 1. 8. Gala. 5. 10 v. 15. Gala. 6. 1. 2. 2. The Argument supposeth that the greater presbytery is wrong in their voycing, that such a man should be excommunicated, and the two Elders of the Congregationall Church is right, and hath the best part in judging that the same man ought not to be Excommunicated. But Christ hath given no power to any Church to erre, and that power which in this case the presbytery exerciseth is not of Christ; and de jure, the power of the greater presbytery in this case ought to bee swallowed up of the two Voyces of the Elders of the Congregation. But suppose that the Elders of one Congregation, and the whole meeting all agree in the truth of GOD, as they all doe Acts 15. will you say that Peter, Paul, and Iames their power is null, and taken from them; and their three voyces are swallowed up in that great convention, because to their power and voyces are added, in this dogmaticall determination (which you grant even now to many consociated Churches) the power and voyces of the rest of the Apostles and Elders; yea and as some say, of the whole Church. Acts 15. 2, v. 6. 25. Acts 16. 4. Acts 21. 18. 25? I believe addition of lawfull power doth not annull lawfull power, but corroborate and strengthen it. So this shall fall upon your owne Eldership of your independent Congregation. Suppose …en Pastors, Elders and Doctors in one of your Congregations, whereas sometime there were but three, and these three had the sole power of Jurisdiction and exercise of the Keyes, you cannot say that the accession of six Elders to three, hath made null the power of three, and swallowed up their voyces; for if their power and voyces were against the truth, it is fit they should be swallowed up: if they were for CHRIST, they are strengthened, by the accession of lawfull power and moe voyces, and neither annulled nor swallowed up.
Object. 6. The Church at the first, for example, when it was but a hundreth and twenty, had the full entire power within it selfe: Ergo, it should bee in a worse case by the multiplication of Churches, if now that power bee given to Presbyteries.
Ans. It is a conjecture, that the whole Christian Church Acts 1. was onelyonly an hundreth and twenty. I thinke there were more, though these onelyonly convened at the ordination of Matthias, for there were above five hundred Brethren at once which saw CHRIST after his Resurrection, 1 Cor. 15. 6. and these, I Judge, belonged to the Christian Church also. 2. It is constantly denied that addition of lawfull power to lawfull power doth arnull, or put in a worse condition the prexistent power; it doth helpe it, but not make it worse: and twenty Churches adding their good and Christian counsells, and comforts to two Churches doe not annull, or hurt or swallow up either the power of good counseling in these two Churches or their good counsels, but do much confirme, and strengthen them.