Five Disputations of Church Government, Chapter 15
CHAP. XV. Reasons for Obedience in Lawfull things.
§. 1. LEST men that are apt to run from one extream into another, should make an ill use of that which I have before written, I shall here annex some Reasons to perswade men to just obedience, and preserve them from any sinfull nonconformity to the commands of their Governours, and the evill effects that are like to follow thereupon.
§. 2. But first I will lay together some Propositions for decision of the Controversie; How far we are bound to obey mens precepts about Religion? Especially in case we doubt of the lawfulness of obeying them? and so cannot obey them in faith?
§. 3. Briefly: 1. We must obey both Magistrates and Pastors in all things lawfull which belong to their offices to command. 2. It belongs not to their office to make God a new worship; But to command the Mode and Circumstances of worship belongeth to their office: for guiding them wherein God hath given them generall rules. 3. We must not take the Lawfull commands of our Governours to be unlawfull. 4. If we do through weakness or perversness take Lawfull things to be unlawfull, that will not excuse us in our disobedience. Our error is our sin, and one sin will not excuse another sin. Even as on the other side, if we judge things unlawfull to be lawfull, that will not excuse us for our disobedience to God in obeying men. 5. As I have before shewed, many things that are miscommanded, must be obeyed. 6. As an erroneous judgement will not excuse us from Obedience to our Governours, so much less will a doubtfulness excuse us. 7. As such a doubting, erring judgement cannot obey in (plenary) faith, so much less can he disobey in faith. For it is a known Command of God, that we obey them that have the Rule over us: but they have no word of God against the act of obedience now in question. It is their own erring judgement that intangleth them in a necessity of sinning (till it be changed.) 7. In doubtfull cases, it is our duty to use Gods means for our information: and one means is to consult with our Teachers, and hear their words with teachableness and meekness. 8. If upon advising with them we re…ain in doubt about the lawfulness of some Circumstance of order, if it be such as may be dispensed with, they should dispense with us: if it may not be dispensed with without a greater injury to the Church or cause of God, then our dispensation will countervail, then is it our duty to obey our Teachers, notwithstanding such doubts: For it being their office to Teach us, it must be our duty to believe them with a humane faith, in cases where we have no Evidences to the contrary: And the Duty of Obeying them being certain, and the sinfulness of the thing commanded being uncertain and unknown, and only suspected, we must go on the surer side. 9. Yet must we in great and doubtfull cases, not take up with the suspected judgement of a single Pastor, but apply our selves to the unanimous Pastors of other Churches. 10. Christians should not be over-busie in prying into the work of their Governours, not too forward to suspect their determinations: But when they know that it is their Rulers work to guide them by determining of due Circumstances of worship, they should without causeless scruples readily obey, till they see just reason to stop them in their obedience; They must not go out of their own places to search into the Actions of another mans office, to trouble themselves without any cause.
§. 4. And now I intreat all humble Christians read…y to obey both Magistrates and Pastors in all Lawfull things; and to consider, to that end, of these Reasons following. Reas. 1. If you will not obey in Lawfull things, you deny authority, or overthow Government it self, which is a great ordinance of God, established in the fifth commandment with promise: And as that commandment respecting societies and common good, is greater then the following commands, as they respect the private good of our neighbours, or are but particular Means to that Publick good, whose foundation is laid in the fifth commandment, so accordingly the sin against this fifth commandment must be greater then that against the rest.
§. 5. Reas. 2. In disobeying the lawfull commands of our superiors, we disobey Christ, who ruleth by them as his officers. Even as the disobeying a Justice of Peace or Judge is a disobeying of the soveraign Power; yea in some cases when their sentence is unjust. Some of the ancient Doctors thought that the fifth commandment was the last of the first Table of the Decalogue; and that the Honouring of Governors is part of our Honour to God, they being mentioned there as his officers, with whom he himself is honoured or dishonoured, obeyed or disobeyed: For it is Gods Authority that the Magistrate, Parent, and Pastor is endued with, and empowred by to rule those that are put under them.
§. 6. Reas. 3. What confusion will be brought into the Church if Pastors be not obeyed in things lawfull? For instance: If the Pastors appoint the Congregation to Assemble at one hour, and the people will scruple the time, and say, it is unlawfull, and so will choose some of them one time, and some another, what disorder will here be? and worse, if the Pastors appoint a Place of worship, and any of the people scruple obeying them, and will come to another place, what confusion will here be? People are many, and the Pastors are few: and therefore there may be some unity if the people be Ruled by the Pastors; but there can be none, if the Pastors must be ruled by the people, for the people will not agree among themselves: and therefore if we obey one part of them, we must disobey and displease the rest. And their ignorance makes them unfit to rule.
§. 7. Reas. 4. Moreover, disobedience in matters of Circumstance, will exclude and overthrow the substance of the worship it self. God commandeth us to pray: If one part of the Church will not joyn with a stinted form of Prayer, and the other part will not joyn without it, both parties cannot be pleased, and so one part must cast off Prayer it self, or separate from the rest. God commandeth the reading, and preaching, and hearing of the Scripture, and the singing of Psalms: but he hath left it to man to make or choose the best Translation of Scripture, or version of the Psalms. Now if the Pastor appoint one version, and Translation, and the Church joyn in the use of it, if any members will scruple joyning in this Translation or version, they must needs forbear the whole duty of Hearing the Scripture, and singing Psalms in that Congregation. If they pretend a scruple against the appointed time or Place of worship, they will thereby cast off the worship it self. For if they avoid our Time or Place, they cannot meet with us, nor worship with us.
§. 8. Reas. 5. And when they are thus carryed to separate from the Congregation, upon such grounds as these, they will be no where fixt, but may be still subdividing, and separating from one another, till they are resolved into individuals, and have left no such thing as a Church among them. For they can have no assurance or probability, that some of themselves will not dissent from the rest in one Circumstance or other, as they did from their Pastors and the Church that they were of before.
§. 9. Reas. 6. By this means the wicked that are disobedient to their Teachers, and reject the worship of God it self, will be hardened in their sin, and taught by professors to defend their ungodliness: For the very same course that you take will serve their turns. They need not deny any Duty in the substance, but deny the circumstance, and so put off the substance of the Duty. If a wicked man will not hear the word preached, he may say [I am not against preaching; but I am unsatisfied of the lawfulness of your Time or Place, I am in judgement against coming to your Steeple-house, or against the Lords Day.] And so he shall never hear, though he say he is for hearing. If a wicked man will not be personally instructed, or admonished, or be accountable to the Church or Pastors for any scandals of his life, nor submit to any discipline, he may say [I am for discipline, I know it is my duty to be instructed: but I am not satisfied that I am bound to come to you when you send for me, or to appear at such a place as you appoint: the word of God nameth no time or place, and you shall not deprive me of my liberty.] If a wicked man would not hear or read the Scripture, or sing Psalms, he may say that he is for the duty, but he is only against this and that Translation and version: And so while every version is excepted against, the duty is as much evaded as if it were denied it self. By this device it is that the Rebellion of unruly people is defended: They run to the circumstances of the duty, and ask, [Where are they bound to come to a Minister? or to be examined by him in order to a baptism or Lords supper? or to speak their consent to be Church members, or to subscribe to a Profession, or to read an English Bible, or to hear in a Steeple-house, with many such like.] Thus also it is that they put off family prayer, and ask, [Where are they bound to pray in their family Morning and Evening?] and so keep no constancy in family prayer at all, under pretence of denying only the circumstances.
§. 10. Reas. 7. By this disobedience in things lawfull, the members of the Church will be involved in contentions, and so engaged in bitter uncharitableness, and censures, and persecutions, and reproaches of one another: which scandalous courses will nourish vice, dishonour God, rejoyce the enemies, grieve the Godly that are peaceable and judicious, and wound the consciences of the contenders. We see the beginning of such fires are small, but whither they tend, and what will be the end of them, we see not.
§. 11. Reas. 8. By these means also Migistrates will be provoked to take men of tender consciences for factious, unruly, and unreasonable men, and to turn their enemies, and use violence against them, to the great injury of the Church: when they see them so self-conceited, and refusing obedience in lawfull circumstances.
§▪ 12. Reas. 9. By this means also the conversion and establishment of souls will be much hindred, and people possessed with prejudice against the Church and ordinances, when they take us to be but humerous people, and see us in such contentions among our selves. To my knowledge, our late difference about some such lesser things, hath turned off, or hindered abundance of people from liking the holy doctrine and life which we profess.
§. 13. Reas. 10. It will seem to the wisest, to savour of no small measure of Pride, when people on the account of lawfull circumstances, dare set themselves against their Govenors and Teachers, and quarrel with the ordinances of God, and with the Churches: Humble men would sooner suspect themselves, and quarrel with their own distempers, and submit to those that are wiser then themselves, and that are set over them for their guidance by the Lord. There may more dangerous Pride be manifested in these matters, then in Apparel, and such lower trifles.
§. 14. Reas. 11. Consider also what yielding in things lawfull the Scripture recommendeth to us? How far yielded Pa. when he circumcised Timothy? Act. 16.3. And when he [took the men, and purified himself with them in the Temple, to signifie the accomplishment of the daies of purification, untill that an offering should be offered for every one of them] and this for almost seven dayes, Acts 21.26, 27. with the foregoing verses.
§. 15. So 1 Cor. 9.19, 20. [For though I be free from all men, yet have I made my self servant unto all, that I might gain the more: And unto the Iews I became as a Iew, that I might gain the Iews; to them that are under the Law, as under the Law, that I might gain them that are under the Law: To them that are without Law, as without Law (being not without Law to God, but under the Law to Christ) that I might gain them that are without Law. To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might, by all means save some, and this I do for the Gospels sake, &c.] Study this example.
§. 16. Read also Rom. 14. and 15. Chapters, how much condescension the Apostle requireth even among equals, about meats and dayes. And 1 Cor. 8.13. the Apostle would tie up himself from eating any fl…sh while the world standeth, rather then make a weak brother to offend. Many other passages of Scripture require a condescension in things of this indifferent nature, and shew that the Kingdom of God doth not consist in them.
§. 17. And Matthew 12.1, 2, to 9. you find that hunger justified the Disciples of Christ for plucking and rubbing the ears of Corn on the Sabbath dayes. And hunger justified David and those that were with him, for entring into the house of God, and eating the Shew-bread, which was not lawfull for him to eat, nor for them which were with him, but only for the Priests: And the Priests in the Temple were blameless for prophaning the Sabbath day.] Now if things before accidentally evil, may by this much Necessity become lawful and a duty, then may the commands of Magistrates or Pastors, and the Unity of the Church, and the avoiding of contention, and offence, and other evils, be also sufficient to warrant us in obeying, even in inconvenient Circumstantials of the worship of God, that otherwise could not be justified.
§. 18. Reas. 12. Lastly consider, how much God hath expressed himself in his word to be pleased in the Obedience of believers. Not only in their Obedience to Christ immediately, but also to him in his officers, 1 Sam. 15.22. [Behold, to obey is better then Sacrifice, &c.] Col. 3.20, 22. [Children obey your Parents in all things (that is, all lawfull things) for this is well-pleasing to the Lord] [Servants Obey in all things your Masters according to the flesh, &c.] And Obedience to Pastors is as much commanded. 1 Thes. 5.12, 13. [We beseech you brethren to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and esteem them very highly, &c.) Heb. 13.17. [Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit your selves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, &c.] So Verse 7. & 24. 1 Tim. 5.17, &c.
§. 19. As the General Commission to a Parent, or Master, or Magistrate to Govern their inferiour relations, doth authorize them to many particular acts belonging to their office, that were never named in their commission: so your general command to obey them, obligeth you to obey them in the said particulars. And so it is also betwixt the Pastors and the flock, in matters belonging to the Office of a Pastor.
§. 20. If a Child shall ask a Parent, [Where doth Gods word allow you to command me to Learn this Catechism, or read this Divines writings, or repeat this Sermon, or write it? &c.] doth not the question deserve to be answered with the rod? The General Commission for parents to Govern their children is sufficient; so if a Schoolmaster command his Schollers to come to such a place to School, and to take their places in such an Order, and to learn such books, and do such exercises, &c. the General Commission that he hath to teach and Govern them, will allow him to do all this. (Though it will not allow him to set his Schollers to any Artifice or Manual Operation alien-to his profession.) So if a Minister determine of the variable Circumstances of worship, as what place the people shall come to, and at what time, to be Catechized, examined, instructed, &c. what Translation or Version of Psalms to use, what Utensils to make use of about Gods service, or such lik…, he is warranted for this by his General Commission. And if he miss it in the manner, by choosing inconvenient circumstances, or by unnecessary determination of points that should rather be left undetermined to liberty, though this be his own sin, it will not excuse the people from obedience; unless the error of his directions be so great as would frustrate the Ordinance it self, or do more harm then our disobedience would do; which in Circumstantials is rarely found.
§. 21. And thus I have finished this discourse of Ceremonies; a Subject that may seem unseasonable at such a time when we are disburdened of Ceremonies. But the offence and vehement accusations of the Ceremonious, hath made it seem necessary to me, while they accuse Dissenters of schism and obstinacy, and reproach them as Puritans, and seem ready to act their second part in casting out those that be not of their mind, if it were in their power: when yet they call the Ceremonies but things indifferent; and Preachers and Gods Ordinances are not Indifferent things to us.
FINITVR. Iuly 9. 1658.