Five Disputations of Church Government, Argument 1 – Argument 3
AND now at last after these (not needless) preparations, I come to the main Question it self, Whether it be Necessary or Profitable for the right Order or Peace of the Churches, to restore the extruded Episcopacy? And this I deny, and having said so much already for explication, shall presently give you the Reasons of my denyal; in which the rest of the necessary explication will be contained.
Argument 1. That sort of Prelacy or other Government which destroyeth the End of Government, and is certainly inconsistent with the Necessary Government and discipline to be exerci…ed in the Churches, is not to be restored, under pretence of the Churches Order or Peace (nor can be consistent with its right Order and Peace.) But such is the Episcopacy which was of late exercised in England, and is now laid by. Therefore, &c.
The Major needs no proof; for few Christians I think, will deny it. If Episcopacy as lately here exercised, be the certain excluder of Government it self and Christs discipline, while it only retains the empty name, then doubtless it is not to be restored.
The Minor I prove thus. If there be a very Natural Impossibility that the late English Episcopacy though in the hands of the best men in the world, should Govern the Churches as Christ hath appointed, and as they should and may otherwise be Governed; then the foresaid inconsistency and destructiveness is apparent. But that there is such a Natural Impossibility for the late English Episcopacy to Govern the Church, thus I shall prove. 1. By shewing you what is undoubtedly necessary in Christs Government; 2. And then what was the late English Episcopacy; and then 3. The Impossibility will appear of it self when both these are opened and compared together without any more ado.
1. And 1. It is past controversie among us, that Church Governours should watch over each particular soul in their flock, and instruct the ignorant, admonish the faln, convince gainsayers, counterwork seducers among them, seek to reclaim the wandring, strengthen the weak▪ comfort the distressed, openly rebuke the open obstinate offendors, and if they repent not, to require the Church to avoid their Communion, and to take cogniscance of their cause before they are cut off: as also to Absolve the penitent, yea to visit the sick (who are to send for the Elders of the Church▪) and to pray with and for them, &c. yea and to go before them in the worship of God. These are the acts of Church Government that Christ hath appointed, and which each faithful Shepherd must use, and not Excommunication, and other Censures and Absolution alone.
2. But if they could prove that Church Government containeth only Censures and Absolution, yet we shall easily prove it Impossible for the late English Episcopacy to do that. For, 3. It is known to our sorrow that in most Parishes there are many persons, and in some greater Parishes very many, that have lived, common open swearers, or drunkards, and some whoremongers, common scorners of a godly life, and in many more of those offences, for which Scripture and the ancient Canons of the Church do excommunicate men, and we are commanded with such no not to eat. And its too well known what numbers of Hereticks and Seducers there are, that would draw men from the faith, whom the Church-Governours must after the first and second admonition reject. 4. And then its known what a deal of work is Necessary with any one of these, in hearing accusations, examining Witnesses, hearing the defendants, searching into the whole cause, admonishing, waiting, re-admonishing, &c. 5. And then its known of how great Necessity, and moment all these are to the honour of the Gospel, the souls of the offendors, to the Church, to the weak, to them without, &c. So that if it be neglected, or unfaithfully mannaged, much mischief will ensue. Thus in part we see what the Government is.
Next let us see what the English Episcopacy is. And 1. For the extent of it, a Diocess contained many score or hundred Parishes, and so many thousands of such souls to be thus Governed. Perhaps some Diocesses may have five hundred thousand souls, and it may be London Diocess nearer a million. And how many thousand of these may fall under some of the forementioned acts of Government, by our sad experience we may conjecture.
2. Moreover the Bishop resideth, if not at London (as many of them did) yet in his own dwelling, many miles, perhaps twenty or thirty from a great part of his Diocess, so that most certainly he doth not so much as know by face, name, or report the hundreth, perhaps the thousandth, or perhaps the second or third thousandth person in his Diocess. Is it Possible then for him to watch over them, or to understand the quality of the person and fact? In Church Cases the quality of the person is of so much moment, that without some knowledge of it, the bare knowledge of the fact sometimes will not serve.
*I know Bishop Usher in his papers to the King, doth say that by the Order of the Church of England, all Presbyters are charged (in the form of Ordering of Priests) to administer the Discipline of Christ: But the Bishops understood that only of their publishing their Censures. For no such Administration was known among us, or allowed: Nor would they suffer men to suspend them from the Sacrament, as the Rubrick in the Common Prayer Book requi…eth.3. And then it is known that the English Episcopacy denyeth to the Presbyters all power of Excommunication and Absolution, u…less to pronounce it as from the Bishop when he hath past it: And they deny him also all power so much as of calling a sinner to open Repentance, which they called Imposing penance: and also they denied all power of denying the Lords Supper to any without the Bishops censure, except in a s…dden case, and then they must prosecute it after at the Bishops Court; and there render the Reason of that suspension: So that the trouble, danger, labour, time would be so great that would be spent in it, that scarce one Minister of a hundred did venture on it once in seven and seven years, except only to deny the Sacrament to a man that would not kneel, and that they might do easily and safely.
4. And then Consider further, that if the Minister should be one of an hundred, and so diligent as to accuse and prosecute all the open scandalous offendors of his Parish, before the Bishops Court, that so he might procure that act of Government from them, which he may not perform himself, it would take up all his time, and perhaps all would not serve for half the work, considering how far he must ride, how frequently he must attend, &c. And then all the rest, or most of the Pastoral work must be neglected, to the danger of the whole Congregation.
5. It is a great penalty to an innocent man to travail so far to the trial of his …ause. But the special thing that I note is this, that it is Naturally Impossible, for the Bishop to hear, try and judge all these causes, yea or the fifth or hundredth of them, or in some places one of five hundred. Can one man hear so many hundred as in a day must be before him, if this discipline be faithfully executed? By that time that he hath heard two or three Causes, and examined Witnesses, and fully debated all, the rest can have no hearing; and thus unavoidably the work must be undone. It is as if you set a Schoolmaster to teach ten or twenty thousand Schollars? Must they not be needs untaught? Or as if you set one Shepherd to look to two or three hundred several flocks of Sheep, that are every one of them three or four miles asunder, and some of them fourty miles from some of the rest. Is it any wonder th…n if many of them be lost?
6. But what need we further witness then the sad experience of the Church of late? Are we not sure that discipline lay unexercised, and our Congregations defiled, and Gods Laws and the old Canons were dead letters, while the Bishops keep up the lame and empty name of Governours? How many drunkards, swearers, whoremongers, raylers, Extortioners, scorners at a godly life did swarm in almost every Town and Parish? and they never heard of discipline, except it were one Adulterer or fornicator once in seven years within twenty miles compass (where I was acquainted) that stood in a white sheet in the Church: We know that there was no such Matter as Church Government exercised to any purpose, but all left undone, unless it were to undoe a poor Disciplinarian (as they therefore scornfully called them) that blamed them for neglect of Discipline. For my part, the Lord my Judge knows, that I desire to make the matter rather better then it was, then worse then it was; and I solemnly profess that for the Peace of the Church, I should submit to almost any body that would but do the work that is to be done. Here is striving between the Episcopal, Presbyterian and Independent, who it is that shall Govern. I would make no great stirr against any of them all that would but do it effectually. Let it be done, and its not so much matter by whom it is done, as it is to have it lie undone. But I can never be for that party that neither did the work, when they might, nor possibly can do it. To be for them, is to consent that all should be undone; and that Drunkards and Railers and all wicked persons shall continue so still, or continue members of our Churches in all their obstinacy: and that there shall be nothing but the name of Government and Censure without the thing. Its hard making men of Conscience believe the contrary that have had the triall that we have had: If where good men were Bishops thus it was, what hope of better by that way? We cannot shut our eyes against so great experience. And certainly those Learned men among us that think so much Discipline may serve turn to all the Congregations in the whole Diocess, as the Bishop can perform or have a Negative Vote in, do too manifestly shew that they *Its an easie matter to preach or write a strict Lesson; but they that would practically when they have done open a gap to licentiousness, and overthrow all Discipline almost, will hardly perswade men that they mean as they teach, or are themselves such as they describe, or really would promote a holy life; especially when Scorners …t a godly life were favoured more then the practisers of it.are less friends to real godliness, and greater friends to sin, and care too little for the matter it self while they contend about the manner or agent, then serious Christians should do. If men once plainly shew themselves meer formalists, and would set up a scarecrow, and pull down all true Discipline, by setting up one man to do the work of five hundred, and making the exercise of it impossible, what serious Christian will ever take their part? Not I while I breath: Who can choose but see that such do seek their dignity, and Lordships, and worldly Mammon more then the Kingdom of Christ. I know they will be angry with me for this language; but so are most impenitent persons with reproofs. I would advise all of them that survive to lay to heart before the Lord, what they did in undertaking such an impossible task, and leaving so many souls and Congregations without Christs remedy, and suffering the Churches to be so foul, while they had the Beesom in their hands.
This being so manifest that it is impossible for an English Bishop to Govern as they undertook so many Congegations, I may well next argue from the mischiefs that follow.
Argum. 2. THat Government which gratifieth the Devil and wicked men, is not to be restored under any pretence of the Order or Peace of the Church: But such was the English Episcopacy; therefore, &c.
The Major is un…enyable, supposing that it do not this by an avoidable accident, but by natural Necessity, as I have proved, I confess some of the Men were so Learned and Good men, that I think few men honour their names more then my self. But it is the way of Government that I have spoke of.
And for the Minor, it is as plain from experience, and the argument before used. If it necessarily exclude the exercise of Christs discipline from most Congregations, then doth it gratifie Satan: But, &c▪
And if it keep wicked obstinate sinners from the power of discipline, then doth it gratifie sinners in their Sins, and consequently please Satan. But this it doth: therefore, &c.
Who knows not (for it cannot be denied) that the generality of the rabble of ignorant persons, worldlings, drunkards, haters of Godliness▪ &c. are very zealous for Episcopacy, whilest multitudes of truly conscientious people have been against it? And who knows not that they both fetcht their chief Motives from experience? The ungodly found that Bishops let them keep their sins, and troubled them not with this preciseness, but rather drove away the precise preachers and people whom they abhorred. And the godly people that disliked Ep…scopacy, did it principally on the same experience, observing that they befriended the wicked, at least by preserving them from the due rod of discipline; but exercised their zeal against them that scrupled or questioned at least their own standing or assumed power, or the abuse of it. And then further,
Argum. 3. THat Government which unavoidably causeth separations and divisions in the Church, is not …o be restored under any pretence of its Order and Peace? But such is the English Episcopacy? therefore; &c.
I know the clean contrary is strongly pretended, and they tell us that we may see how Episcopacy kept men in Unity,See my Preface to Mr. Pierce of Grotius Religion▪ Were Prelacy now tolerated only as Presbyterie and the Congregational way are, doth any man think it would cast or keep out Heresie… by the many Sects that since are risen. But let it be observed, 1. That these Sects were hatched in the separation which was caused by themselves. 2. That the increase hath been since there was no Government at all. 3. It was not Episcopacy, but the Magistrates Sword whose terror did attend it, that kept under heresies in that measure that they were: Had Episcopacy stood on its own legs, without the support of secular force, so that it might have workt only on the conscience, then you should have seen more Sects then now. Do you think that if Episcopacy were in Scotland in the Case as Presbytery is now, without the Sword to enforce it, that it would keep so much Unity in Religion as is there? Its known in France and other places that Presbytery hath kapt more Unity, and more kept out Heresies and Schisms, even without the Sword, then Episcopacy hath done with it. 4. But the thing that I speak of it undenyable; that it was the pollution of our Churches that caused the Separatists in the Bishops dayes to withdraw. This was their common cry against us, Your Churches bear with Drunkards, Whoremongers, Railers, open Scorners at Godliness, with whom the Scripture bids us not eat; And we could not deny it: for the Bishops did keep it so, by keeping out all effectual Discipline. Only we told them, that it was the Prelates sin, and not theirs that could not help it, and that a polluted Church might be a true Church. And so the Disciplinarian Non-Conformists were fain by many painful writings to suppress the spirit of separation, or else it had been like to have overwhelmed all; Mr. Iohn Paget, Mr. Bradshaw, Mr. Arthur Hildersham, Mr. Iohn Ball, Mr. Brightman, Mr. Paul Bains, Mr. Dod, Mr. Parker, Dr. Ames, and many other such, were fain to make it a great part of their business, to quench the fire of separation, which even their persecutors kindled by the exclusion of Discipline. And yet the sense of the Churches uncleanness was so deep in mens minds, that it had bred such abundance of discontended humors, that they easily broke out, and turned into this disorderly swarm which we have seen, as soon as the wars had but given them liberty.
And even to this day it is the uncleanness of our Churches, (wherein I would the Pastors were wholly innocent) which maintaineth much of the separation, among many sober godly men. For the Churches were left so polluted by the Bishops, that in most places the Presbyters dare scarce go roundly about the cure, unless they had the help of the sword, wherein yet for my part I think them deeply sinful.