The Pulpits Patronage Against Unordained Usurpation, Part 2 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Containing the Objections that are commonly made againſt it, with there Anſwers.
ORdination is a dedication and devoting of a Object. man to ſervice, not for a year, or a term of years, but for ones life; its like Hannahs offering of her Son (a)1 Sam. 1. 11.; now that ſhould not be till men are well adviſed of it. An Hebrew might be bound for ſeven years, but not for term of life, unleſſe he were content, and had a principle of love that did engage him, and enable him (b)Exod. 21. 5, 6.; it becomes not God to preſs men to his Wars, they are and ſhould be Volunteers that fight his Battels, as they are promiſed to be (c)Pſal. 110. 3.; the Temple ſhould be built up as …he Tabernacle was, by willing-hearted men (d)Exod. 35. 5.Now there are many godly, willing, well-affected men, that are able to do ſervice unto God, yet will not be arraigned before an Elderſhip, and then engage unto a way without all power of revocation and return, as Monks and Friars are ſhut up within a Cell, and not allowed to look abroad, what ever minde or fitneſſe they may have to do God ſervice in another way, unleſſe they will break down the Barres and Cloiſters, as Muſculu…, Luther, and ſome others did; which Eraſmus prudently fore-ſeeing, could not be gotten for to be a Monk, durius ejicitur quam non admittitur hoſpes; ſo when young men are engaged, and prepoſſed with an Obligation, before they are experienced in it, it is inconvenient, therfore God wills them to be very well adviſed before they vow, becauſe when they have vowed, they are obliged to perform (e)Eccleſ. 5. 4, 5.; ſeeing they muſt not make enquiry after vows, its good to do it throughly before.
Sol. 1. Ordination is not the firſt degree or ſtep unto the Pulpit, there muſt be previous diſpoſitions in the party, as there were in Timothy (f)1 Tim. 1. 18, and a deſigne and reſolution in the Governours and Parents to devote him, if all things ſuit, and education anſwerable, whereby his parts are widened, his will inclined, and his reſolution ſtrengthened and confirmed in the way, and this may be before he have a proper liberty, nam initia virtutum ſunt sogenda, a child may be trained up in the way that he ſhould go (g)Pro. 22. 6., and may be given by his friends or parents unto God, before he is aware, as Samuel was (h)1 Sam. 1. 11; yea tutored and taught the grounds of that he is deſigned to, as Timothy was (i)a Tim. 3. 15.; for in theſe caſes their Parents wills are ſubſtituted, and make ſupply, we do not leave our children liberty to chuſe whether they will willingly be Chriſtians, but we command and over rule that, as Abraham did (k)Gen. 18. 18, 19., and do engage them ſolemnly at Baptiſm, without adviſing with them; there was no liberty allowed in Circumſion, but either themſelves or their fore ſkins muſt be cut off, as God preciſely orders and appoints (l)Gen. 17. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.; ſo we may purpoſe and deſign our children or friends unto the Miniſtery, without adviſing with them, and educate them anſwerably.
2. Un willing perſons cannot be ordained, for they are not compelled to come to it, but every man is at his liberty; they are only fairly told, that if they will be Miniſters, they muſt be inabled thereunto by O…dination; as when there is a Countie Feaſt in London, there is notice given, that if any body will come, he muſt bring a Ticket from the Stewards: So when they were invited to the Wedding in the Goſpel (m)Mat. 22. 11, 12, 13., it was required they ſhould have on a Wedding-Garment; ſo we require, that Ordination ſhould precede Adminiſtration, and that is all, but if they be not willing to be Miniſters, we meddle not. Indeed when Parks and Palaces were added and annexed, there was ſome reaſon to ſuſpect, that men for worldly ends might be affected to the way, but now that bias is taken off, and that piece of Reformation ſo exactly ordered and improved, that ambitious and worldly-minded men, have little to invite their avaritious and inordinate affections; ſeeing therefore none can be ordained but onelyonly thoſe that ſolemnly profeſs a willingneſs, and that there is nothing left for to encourage and invite Hypocriſie and worldly aimes, we may be ſure, whoever now will be ordained, is willing and reſolved.
3. If by Liberty and Freedom, they intend and mean a power of revocation and receſs, if any ſenſuality or fancy be not ſufficed and contented every way, that they may be ſo amici, ut poſſint inimici, ſo friends to day, that they may be enemies to morrow, they muſt be told, that ſuch a Liberty and Freedom is inconſiſtent with the nature of the ſervice; for Ordination doth entitle one unto an intimacy with God and Chriſt, ſhall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do (n)Gen. 18. 17? yea the Lord will do nothing but he revealeth his ſecrets unto his Servants the Prophets (o)Amo… 3. 7.. Now when God hath thus diſcovered himſelf unto his Servants they muſt not be at liberty to open all unto his enemy. Philip de Comines was ſervant to the Duke of Burgundy, and well acquainted with his State and temper, but when King Lewis had fetcht him off and entertained him, the Dukes affairs declined immediately: Its yet well known that M. Marbery was firſt an eminent Preacher, and greatly followed by the good people of this Land, then called Puritans, and therefore attempted by the oppoſites, and at laſt prevailed with to preach againſt them; who then takes liberty to reproach them, and diſcover thoſe in ordinacies which that way was attended with; as all bright bodies have a ſhadow, and all exactneſs ſome exorbitancy; which this Back-ſlider upon all occaſions did improve, and heighthen. Our Brethren of New-England, with Doctor Ames, and Mr. Hooker, in his Survey of Diſcipline ſay, that there is the ſame relation between a Miniſter and his Congregation, as there is between a Huſband and his Wife: Now men do not uſe to marry upon liking; before they may conſider if they will, but not after; the uſe and practiſe of Divorces among the Jews was never good, as our Saviour Chriſt hath now reſolved it (p)Matth. 19. 7, 8, 9.; the Phariſees were glad when they had corrupted Judas to acquaint them with our Saviours ſecret hants and places of reſort, that they might come upon him hand ſomely, and in the abſence of the multitude (q)Luke 22. 5, 6., therefore our Saviour takes eſpecially care that they ſhould not plow with his heifer any more, but that whoſoever ſhould put his hand to this plow, and afterwards look back, ſhould be accounted unmeet for that imployment (r)Luk. 9. 52.; and thoſe few examples which notwithſtanding have been in this caſe, have been made with Lots Wife, Pillars of Salt, to ſeaſon all ſucceeding Renegadors. & Apoſtates, according to that concluſion of the Apoſtle, (s)Heb. 10. 38.if any man draw back, my ſoul ſhall have no pleaſure in him.
4. For Popiſh votaries, they put Religion in their abſtinence from Meats and Marriage, and wearing certain Garbs and kinds of Garments, which God hath no way ordered and appointed, and ſo become a ſuperſtition and will-worſhip in a very great degree, as the Apoſtle ſhews, (t)Col. 2. 20, 21, 22, 23.for meat commendeth us not to God, for neither if we eat, are we the better, neither if we eat not, are we the worſe (u)1 Cor. 8. 8.; but Ordination is an Ordinance of Gods appointment, as we have ſhewed, and neceſſarily antecedent unto the legal Adminiſtrations there uſed, and therefore not of kinred unto Popiſh vows; beſides, thoſe often are of things not in our power, or variable as the frame and conſtitutions of our bodies vary, as Meats, as Paul to his beloved Timothy, (w)1 Tim. 5. 23.Drink no longer water, but uſe a little wine for thy ſtomacks ſake, and often infirmities; as the conſtitution and temper of our bodies alter, ſo ſhould our diet, and other entertainments & accommodations alter, and we ſhould not tye our ſelves in theſe indifferent things, to what may be either troubleſome or inconvenient, as Paul in the like caſes of Meats and Marriages concludes (x)1 Cor. 6. 12, 13.; but Ordination unto thoſe that do in end the Miniſtry, is not a thing indifferent, but is injoyned, as we have ſhewed, and therefore may be undertaken by qualified and fitted perſons, without any impeachment to their liberty and freedome; for though our act determines and takes away our liberty to that particular, nam quicquid eſt, dum eſt, neceſſe eſt eſſe, yet it no wayes hurts or wounds the faculty that was imployed; when a Limbner hath drawn a Picture, he is not free as to that act, but his faculty is not impaired; when God de…ermines any thing and is engaged, as in that ſolemn Oath (y)Iſa. …5, 23., his liberty is not impeached by it, but rather ſtrengthened, as habits are by new acts, ſcriben do diſces ſcribere, uſe legs and have them.
Object. 2. But we ſee but little good this Ordination doth, the Biſhops in their times were great Ordainers, and ſtill are, ſome of them, but did no wonders that we hear of by it; took oftentimes their Singing-men and made them Miniſters, yea, ſometimes their Butlers or their Barbers, but did their Ordination make them ever the better? did any Oyl of Grace, or any tincture and infuſion of underſtanding and abilities drop from their fingers on theſe greaſie Block heads, and debanched Serving men, to make them Holy and Religious, or to enlighten and enlarge their parts? Paul meets a company of Ignoramuſſes that had not ſo much as heard whether there were any Holy Ghoſt, yet when he once had laid his hands upon them, immediately they ſpake the tongues and propheſied (z)Act. 19. 6., if we could ſee this done by thoſe that now Ordaine, it would be ſome encouragement unto us; ſo when at firſt the Apoſtles onelyonly meant to ordain Deacons, that ſhould ſerve Tables, and not be exerciſed in Prayer, and the Miniſtery of the Word, (a)Act. 6. 2, 3, 4.yet their fingers were ſo oyly and dropped ſo upon their heads, that we find them preaching preſently, and ſome of them with that wiſdom and power that could not be reſiſted, as its ſaid of Stephen who was one of them (b)Verſ. 8, 9, 10.; ſo when Paul laid hands on Timothy, there was by that means a Gift of God imparted to him, that his Grand-Mother and Mother could not give him (c)2 Tim. 1. 6.; but now we ſee no ſuch effects, they that were fools before are ſo ſtill, and they that were knaves before are ſo ſtill, only they are now more diſcovered & known to be ſo; as good therefore never a whit as never the better, as good lay no hands on, as nothing but hands, when they have ſomething in their hands to give, they will have cuſtomers, till then they may keep them in their pockets.
Sol. 1. We have ſhewed before that Ordination was not deſigned or intended to convert and bring men home to God, that were before ſtrangers and enemies unto him, that is the Preachers part, as Chriſt ſhews unto Paul, (d)Acts 26. 18.now becauſe it doth not that it never was intended and deſigned for, ſhall it be therefore thrown away? one hath a good Knife that he carries about with him to cut his meat, ſhall he throw it away becauſe it will not ſhave the hairs from off his cheeks and beard? it may be a good Pen, and yet not able to draw a Picture. So Ordination may be good for that it was ordained and intended for, though it be not good for every thing, as the Dutch man doth beleeve his Butter is.
2. We have ſhewed before, that Ordination is the dedication or devoting of a qualified or fitted perſon to attendance, and pre-ſuppoſed examination and tryal of their Gifts; if any Biſhop or other Perſon preſumed to ordain unqualified perſons, or ſuch as were indiſpoſed and unfitted, it was his fault, not Ordinations, and could not be cured by Ordination, but ſhould have been prevented by a precedent or antecedent examination and probation of their gifts and fitneſs; if a Phyſician give high Cordials to one inflamed with a Burning-Feaver, ſhall Phyſick be no more adminiſtred? error perſonae non eſt arti imputandus, it was his fault, not his faculties; if any Biſhop did ſo much forget himſelf, it was his own fault, not his Profeſſions, he may be and perhaps is puniſhed for it, but its no good ground to abdicate and throw away the calling, materia praeparata & diſpoſita, is ſimply neceſſary, and if that be neglected, the act is null and void; and therefore Paul when he enjoyneth Timothy and Titus to ordain, adds Orders for examination and probation, as appears (e)1 Tim. 3. 1, 2, &c. Titus 1. 5, 6, 7▪.
3. We anſwer, That if the perſon or ſubject matter be not miſtaken, then there is always good done, for they are thereby enabled to preach the Word, and adminiſter the Sacraments, which others are not, nor he was not before; there is an Office-power beſtowed on them which they had not before, as was on thoſe that the Apoſtles did ordain, they are made Over-ſeers of the Flock or Church of God, as they were (f)Act. 20. 28., have a diſpenſation of the Goſpel committed to them, as Paul had (g)1 Cor. 9. 17, and may without any danger approach unto the holy things of God, and not periſh as they did in the gain-ſaying of Corah (h)Judg. 11.; now it is ſomething to have ſuch an amulet about one that he ſhall not be ſmitten with Gods terrible Thunderbolts as Corah was and his Companions.
4. Good men are never altogether empty handed, eſpecially good Miniſters; Jacob put upon Ephr aim his right hand, and his left upon Manaſſes (i)Gen. 48. 14▪, Joſeph was troubled at it, knowing his Fathers right hand was more oyly and dropped more than did the other (k)Verſ. 17, 18, 19.; they never would have brought their little Children to our Saviour to lay his hands upon them but that they knew ſomething would flow and follow from it (l)Matth. 19. 13, 14, 15., and why ſhould we think that Ordination doth no good, when it is alwayes attended with faſting, praying, preaching, and encouraging? when God is ſought in a ſerious ſolemn manner, he is not ſought in vain, as the Prophet ſpeak… (m)Iſa. 45. 19., when there is ſolemn aſking, ſeeking, knocking, …ccording to the will and in the way of God, we may and ſhould beleeve that there is having, finding, opening, as Chriſt hath promiſed (n)Mat. 7. 7, 8..
Object. 3. But whither ſhall a ſober diſ-ingaged perſon go to be ordained, and not to be made a party? good people think their choiſe and call ſufficient, and though our Brethren of New-England would have the Elderſhip imployed in it, yet think the Eſſence of the Miniſterial Call, to be in the Election and Deſignation of the people; but againſt this the Preſbyters and Prelates wofully exclaim, alleging that the people never had this power, and therefore never gave it; that the Scripture hath neither preſident nor precept to enable them, and whatſoever power is not planted by their Heavenly Father, ſhall be rooted up (o)Mat. 15. 13..
If to the Biſhops, who have a long time had a Patent and Monopoly, the Preſbyters and People joyn againſt it, as being an uſurpation tyrannically obtruded on the Miniſters by cuſtom, the worſt of Tyrants, ſeeing it cannot be proved by the Scripture that any Biſhop ever did ordain quâ Biſhop, for as for Timothy and Titus, it was below them to be Biſhops, being both of them Evangeliſts, and fellow Travellers with the Apoſtles, to ſettle things they had appointed, and were in ſuch continuall motion, that they had no leiſure to ſit long in any place, and when Paul and Barnabas ordained they were Apoſtles and Itinerant, as is apparent from that place (p)Act. 14. 23., where they ſcarce had time to bid their friends farewell. If to the Preſbyters which is now the only rendevouz, the Prelates and the people cry us down for innovators and intruders, ſay that our Preſbyters had limits ſet them in their Ordination to preach the Word, and adminiſter the Sacraments, but neither Ordination nor Juriſdiction in there grant, and what they never had they cannot give, and though it ſhould be granted that the Preſbytery, the Apoſtle ſpeaks of (q)1 Tim. 4. 1…, was not the Office, but conſeſſus, or Collegium Presbyterorum, yet how ſhall it appear that this Preſbytery ordained? that they laid hands on Timothy is certain, but that they might do after Ordination, as its certain that Preſbytery did to Saul and Barnabas, who were either Prophets or Teachers before they did it, as appears (r)Acts 13. 1, 2, 3., for though impoſition of hands were uſed in Ordination, yet not only in that, for Chriſt laid hands on little Children (s)Matth. 9. 13, 14, 15., and gave command to his Diſciples to do it afterwards unto the ſick (t)Mar. 16. 18.; Its true, there are other inſtances in Scripture of Preſbyteries (u)Luk. 22. 66. Acts 23. 5., but ſhould we go to ſuch as theſe, they would not like us, for theſe were the Civil as well as Eccleſiaſticall Officers and Magiſtrates, aſſured and perpetual enemies to Chriſt and the Apoſtles, as in the fore mentioned places doth appear.
Sic ubi partes labant, ſumma turbatur, when parties fall out true men hear of their goods; the ſafeſt way therefore is, to ſit ſtill untill they be all 'greed, ad neutram accedeas partem fit dominus utrinſque, he that takes no part, makes all parts court him.
Sol. 1. How far the people may have an hand in Ordination, we have ſhewed before at lage, when we ſhewed what we did not mean by Ordination, whither the Reader may repair for ſatisfaction in it (w)Part 2. Chapter 3.; for in our opinion they have no eſſentiall influence, though they may and ſhould be preſent and aſſiſtant at it, as we have ſhewed; ſo that the queſtion and contention is between the Prelates and the Preſbyters; if theſe could be agreed, the work were done, and it were eaſie to be aſſured, where Ordination might be had.
2. We ſhall with all our hearts compound this controverſie, and never let it go unto the Jury, for if the Biſhops will grant (as very many of them do) that Preſbyters in ſome caſes may Ordain, we ſhall grant that Biſhops in all caſes may, but one, and that is, when a Biſhop never was a Preſbyter, as in Italy it often falls out, but if the Prieſt remember that he was a Clerk, the Prelate that he was a Preſbyter, we ſhall be ready to kiſſe thoſe hands that were ſometimes laid upon our heads, or on our Brethrens, for though we think that gradus non variat ſpeciem, thoſe honours and embelliſhments amount not to another order or degree of Miniſters, yet we do not think them fatal and annihilating of that power of Preſbytery they had before; if any body therefore doubt whether unpreferred Preſbyters have power to Ordain, let him go (with all our hearts) to thoſe Preſbyters whom Kings or other Potentates delight to honor & accommodate with gayer trappings and endowments (x)Epheſ. 6. 6.. When Benhadad ſent unto the Prophet a preſent, namely fourty Camels loaden with every good thing of Damaſcus, as its ſaid (x)2 Kings 8. 7, 8, 9, 10., we do not find the Prophet refuſing of it, and chiding him for laying ſuch an heavy Obligation on him, for ſure he was, that if it were too much, there were enough that would aſſiſt him in the bearing of it; they ſay, religio peperit divitias, ſed filia devoravit matrem, that greatneſſe was goodneſſe Child, but growing wanton kickt againſt her Dam; that the honours and advancements of the Miniſters and Church-men in former times oppreſt them, and made them either dull and phlegmatick unto their duty, or rampant and untractable unto their fellow Presbyters, but now there is a way found out to eaſe them, and let them blood in caſe of reſtiveneſs; there is a Law made (y)Deut. 22. 4. Exod. 23. 5.that if one finds the Aſs of him that hates him, lying under his burthen, he ſhould not fail to help him up; but we are perſwaded that if it had been one of thoſe-fourty Camells that were carrying of the good things of Damaſcus unto the Prophet, there would have been no need of any ſuch Law; the world is now become ſo kind and civil, that there is little fear of any ſuch oppreſſion, if a Church-man be overwhelmed and lye under a load of riches and revenue, he will be quickly eaſed.
3. Although the Presbyters in this and other reformed Churches, did believe & hold the Biſhops Ordination lawful, and for peace and order ſake were content to take it from them when it might be had, yet they always thought they did it not by vertue of any ſuperior order or diſtinguiſhing degree they had, which Presbyters had not; but as Presbyters deſigned in that part of the Office to have precedency, and be alwayes of the quorum, and accountable for any errours committed in it, and knew very well that they were not omitted or declined for want of any power or inability to Ordain, becauſe they are commanded in the rules of Ordination ſo to miniſter the Doctrine, and Sacraments, and Diſcipline of Chriſt, as the Lord hath commanded, one part whereof they knew to have been Ordination (z)2 Tim. 2. 2.; and howſoever the Biſhops hands were alwayes on the parties head to be Ordained, yet the other Preſbyters there preſent were not excluded, but laid their hands on alſo, as well as he; and though in Ordination they do not ſay, Ordain Miniſters, yet that's implyed, as we have ſhewed before, for it is not expreſly ſaid in the Ordination of a Biſhop, as appears in the Book.
Object. 4. If none but Presbyters that preach, have power to Ordain, there will be packing, that is, none ſhall be ordered and admitted into Office by them, unleſs they be of Presbyterian principals, addicted totally unto that party, for they will fift and winnow them, as the Devil would have done the Apoſtles (a)Luk. 22. …1, that whatſoever is in them ſhalbe diſcovered, & if it be not purely putely Presbyteriall, they will be ſhifted off by ſome device; as in the Prelaters dayes their Chaplains had certain private marks to know a Puritan, which if diſcovered in the Party to be Ordained, there was no hope of his Admiſſion; they had ſome Shibboleth or other, whereby they gathered quarum partium he was of, and if he faultred in the anſwer, he was as polluted, put from the Prieſthood as they were (b)Neh. 7. 64., and its no new thing but deſcends unto them from the Scribes and Phariſees, that Colledge of Presbyters that we read of that ſat in Councill againſt our Saviour Chriſt (c)Luk. 22. 66., where none were ſuffered to be preſent but thoſe that were engaged perfectly and of their gang, nati natorum, & qui naſcuntur ab illis, (d)Acts 4. 5, 6. Joh. 11. 47, 48.And it came to paſſe on the morrow, that their Rulers, and Elders, and Scribes, and Annas the High Prieſt, and Caiphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the Kindred of the High Prieſt, were gathered together at Jeruſalem; here was a pack indeed, and accordingly the act was ordered, a Vote paſſeth that they ſhould preach no more (e)Act. 4. 18., and ſo in after times the Presbyters and Popes of Rome gave Holy Orders unto none but thoſe that were engaged throughly unto their way, and would preach any thing that was propoſed to them by the Conclave and Colledge of Presbyters that ſat at Rome, as now they do, and have a Meeting weekly, de propagando fide whereby thoſe monſterous Hereſies of Purgatory, praying for the Dead, Maſſes, Monaſteries, worſhipping of Saints, Tranſubſtantiation, Supererogation, Penances, and Pilgrimages, and the like were hatched and communicated to the world; theſe got duplicate page duplicate page and mingled that Cup of Fornication, and then ſend it to their Mercenary Chaplins, to be divided among the Nations, as it is (f)Rev. 17. 2., and if it happened that God at any time revealed any thing to any body, that was eccentrick unto this Deſign, as he did to Berengarius, Waldus, and others in the world, theſe Hornets preſently ſo ſtung and wounded them, that they were forced either to abjure or quit their Stations. Now ſeeing God by a mighty hand hath freed us from this vermin, ſhould we again make neſts for them to breed in and ingender? ſhould we incourage and hatch up an intereſt that perhaps hereafter we cannot manage? raiſe up more ſpirits than we can allay? its good therefore to ſtand faſt in that liberty whereby Providence hath made us free, and not be again intangled with a yoke which neither we nor our fore-fathers were able to bear, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks (g)Act. 15. 10., for partiality hath alwayes been obſerved to be the common frailty & infirmity of Eccleſiaſtical Authority, which gave occaſion to the Apoſtle, of that ſevere and ſolemn interdiction, (h)1 Tim. 5. 21I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and the Elect Angels, that thou obſerve theſe things, without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality; ſeeing therefore this Nation that was wont to be as much Prieſt-ridden as any other, is freed from that ſlaviſh and ſad ſubjection, to another intereſt, it were madneſſe in them to let their Riders get up again.
Sol. 1. When the mind of God is known in any thing, and his will and way made out unto us, we ſhould not liſten unto every inconvenience that may be hinted and ſuggeſted to us, and the reaſon is, becauſe God makes uſe of & orders inconveniences to his own ends and honour, for as it is true on the other ſide, omnis commoditas ſua fert incommoda ſecum, that every conveniency hath an inconveniency attending on it, ſo every inconveniency hath a conveniency, either conſequent or antecedent, and ſo its good to do the will of God, and obey his Orders, without diſputing, fiat juſticia, ruat mundus, as God commanded in the caſe of Tythes, that the tenth ſhould be the Lords, and they ſhould not ſearch whether it were good or bad, but ſhould bee bound to take it as it fell (i)Levit. 27. 32, 33.; Chriſt did fore-tell that the preaching of the Goſpel would be inconvenient, for there ſhould be five in one houſe divided, three againſt two, and two againſt three, and yet did order and appoint it (k); God knew the Jewes (l) Luke 12. 52, 53.would be inraged when they heard by Paul that he was ſent unto the Gentiles (l)Act. 22. 21, 22, 23., yet did it notwithſtanding; what God therefore doth order and appoint, we muſt not afterwards arraign upon ſuſpition of inconvenience that may enſue.
2. If it be packing to have ſucceſſion ordered by thoſe in power, and of the ſame intereſt, then all Government in Bodies and Societies of men is packing, for in Feoffments Survivers are for to make new ones when they are reduced unto a paucity; in Kingdoms and Eſtates that are Elective, the body chuſeth, that is concerned and engaged in it; in guilds, fraternities, and corporations, the preſent Governours do order the ſucceſſion in the ſame body, and by theſe means Societies are made immortal, as that of Venice, that by way of chuſing and ordering their own Election, have laſted now above twelve hundred years; are other bodies by this way enabled to perpetuate themſelves? and ſhall Chriſts body be unable to do the like? do other States and Governments live and grow, and ſhall Chriſts body languiſh and be oppreſt? hark what the Apoſtle ſayes, (m)Eph. 4. 16from whom the whole body fitly joyned together, and compacted by that which every joynt ſupplyeth, according to the effectuall working in the meaſure of every part, maketh increaſe of the body unto the edifying of it ſelf in love, it doth not break down, but build up and edifie it ſelf.
3. If it be packing for Preſbyters to chuſe Succeſſors of the ſame intereſt and principles, then God himſelf was guilty of it, for all the time of the Moſaicall Adminiſtration, who fixed all Eccleſiaſticall Authority in one Tribe (n)Numb. 3. 11, 12, 13., and the Prieſt-hood in the Sons of Aaron (o)Numb. 3. 10.; here is indeed a pack of Preſbyters or Prieſts, but God himſelf is he that makes it, here's nati natorum, & qui naſcuntur ab illis, for ſet men firſt right, and then no matter how exactly they be incorporated, how firm the building be if it be according to the Pattern and Rule that is held forth for the directing of it, nulli penetrabilis aſtro lucus erat; the better an Army is embattled, the likelier to win the victory, defendit numer us junct aeque umbone phalanges, the Macedonian Phalanx was for a long time held invincible, they can have no good meaning that would make breaches in it, and mix the iron and the clay together.
4. How ſhall this packing be avoided in any other way? there muſt be ſome body to give theſe Orders out, Chriſts Body muſt not be ungoverned, foreign, without an head, the Spouſe of Chriſt expoſed unto rape, made common and a Strumpet, who then ſhall order this election and ſucceſſion, inveſt with Power and Authority? perhaps you will ſay the Civil Magiſtrate, and will not he be likewiſe partial? bring none in that are not ingaged in the intereſt that he promotes; will not he ſtickle for a Friend or Favourite? ſhall not his Kinſman or his Houſhold-Chaplain be preferred? will not he think one fit to ſerve Chriſt that he found a truſty ſervant to himſelf? beleeve that he can ſave ſouls that knows how to ſell Lands and raiſe his Lords Rents? if Biſhops hands have been thus byaſt towards a ſervants or a Chaplains head, why ſhould we think a Juſtice of the Peace, or a Lord of a Mannor, altogeher undeclinable? were not the Crafts men ſpoken of by Luke (p)Acts 19. 24, 25., ingaged as ſtrongly in a combination, as any Preſbyters can be? the Chief Prieſts, Scribes, and Elders, made up that Society (q)Luke 22. 66.; and were the Civil Magiſtrats and the ordinary Governours and Rulers of the people, as they are called (r)Acts 23. 5., yet byaſſed ſufficiciently, and fixed to an intereſt, directly contrary unto our Saviour Chriſt (s)John 11. 47, 48.? as good therefore be content with Gods appointment, as make a worſe one, beleeve as God doth, that Parents are the beſt inſtructers of their Sons, and will not wrong them nor abuſe them in their information, as Paul taught Timothy, ſo let him deliver that good thing in truſted to him, unto other faithfull men in his opinion, and they to others, and ſo ſucceſſively from one to one; and its obſervable, that as among the Prieſts the Sonne did alwayes ſucceed the Father in the Prieſt hood, ſo it was alſo among the Prophets, their Scholars and Diſciples are ſaid to be their Sons (t)2 Kings 4. 38., for as the Father imprints upon the Son his own ſimilitude and picture, ſo the Teacher doth in ſome degree and kind upon the Learner; its certain the Corinthians (u)1 Cor. 4. 15, and all thoſe whom the Apoſtle by his Miniſtry converted, were his Sons and Daughters, yet thoſe two ſpecial Inſtruments that he made uſe of in Ordaining Miniſters, he calls his Sons more frequently and more affectionately, (w)Phil. 2. 22.ye know the proof of him, that as a Son with the Father, ſo he hath ſerved with me in the Goſpel; ſo when he was reſolved to intruſt Titus with Ordination (x)Titus 1. 5., he doth in the verſe before beſtow a Son-ſhip on him, (y)Verſe 4.to Titus mine own Son, after the common faith, he gives this power unto none but unto Sons that ſhould be bound to carry on Gods Intereſt and Deſign. Seeing therefore partiality will cleave unto Authority, be ſure the Authority be fixed where it ſhould be, ſeeing every entity and being in the world, is apt for to augment and magnifie it ſelf, according to that ſaying of the Philoſopher, foreign, what one hath he labours for to heap, its good to follow God, and hope the beſt of things.
Object. 5. If Ordination thus deſcends from Preſbyter to Preſbyter▪ from one to one in a ſucceſſion, line, and uninterrupted courſe, we ſee not how the Popes of Rome can be declined and excluded, for they are Preſbyters, what Peter was, they ſay they are, for claim to be his Followers and Succeſſors, and though ſome have been Cardinals that never were Presbyters or Prieſts, yet certain it is, there never was a Pope that was not firſt a Prieſt or Presbyter (z)1 Pet. 5. 1., foreign, the Presbyters which are among you, I exhort, who am alſo a Presbyter, or Elder, not only a ſingle and ſimple Presbyter, but a Presbyter in compoſition or combination; and if it once be in the Pope, it muſt come from him, for he for many years hath looked on himſelf as the root and fountain of all Eccleſiaſticall and Spirituall power, and to be ſure there were no Presbyters for many ages and ſucceſſions in the Church, but what received Ordination from his Authority and Influence, and if the perſons Ordained be the Sons of thoſe that do Ordain, as hath been ſaid, then our Presbyters at this day muſt be Popes Sons, for indeed Papa is but Father in other words, only uſed becauſe of the affinity it hath with other Forreign Languages, ſo that the Pope muſt needs bee not God-Father, but Father to all the Presbyters that are now; and foraſmuch as in the judgement and opinion of all our Presbyters, to be ſure of thoſe that be of the Province of London, the Pope is Antichriſt, we ſee not how his Sons and Children can be freed from being Antichriſtian, for if they go about for to evade by ſhifting and diſtinctions they will be found to be as arrant Sons as formerly, only more diſ-ingenuous and diſobedient to their Parents, they ſhould be honeſter in our opinions if they would do as one in this Nation, who choſe rather to be accounted, as he was indeed, a Noble mans Baſtard, than an ordinary mans Son, as otherwiſe he might have been.
Sol. 1. The Popes of Rome are not the firſt nor only Antichriſts, for there were ſuch in the Church when Rome was Orthodox, and farre enough from being Antichriſtian, for the myſtery of iniquity began to work in Pauls time, as he ſayes (a)2 Theſ. 2. 7., and ſome began to love preheminence in Saint John's time (b)John 3. 9., which is the great peece of Antichriſtianiſm that is objected to the Pope; nay ſo modeſt were the Popes of Rome, that they contended not for the Title of Ʋniverſall Biſhop, untill John Biſhop of Conſtantinople, went about to ſnatch it from them and affix it unto that Seat, about the year of our Lord five hundred ninety five: Now when they ſaw it would be gone, they put in for it and prevailed; and for that other part of Antichriſt which is to be Heterodox about the Nature and Offices of Chriſt, according as Saint John determined it (c)Joh. 2. 22., there were many of that ſpirit and perſwaſion in the Church before John the Apoſtle wrote his Epiſtle (d)1 John 1. 18. 1 John 4. 3., and Arrianiſm and Photinianiſm that flatly and plainly denied Chriſts Divinity, were almoſt every where before they were at Rome, for it is well known that Rome was Orthodox, cum ingemuerat orbis, & miratus erat ſe factum eſſe Arrianum, when the whole World groaned under that opinion; now ſhall we account thoſe Antichriſtian that have received Ordination from the Succeſſors of thoſe Arrian and Photinian Biſhops? if ſo, then all the Eaſtern Churches ever ſince were, and ſtill are Antichriſtian, then thoſe good Biſhops that made up the four firſt O…cumenical or Generall Councills muſt be Antichriſtian, for Ordination came to them in this reſpect from Antichriſts.
2. God is the Father of all Beleevers, as wee are taught (e)Matth. 6. 9., yea, we are bidden to own no other Father, (f)Mat. 23. 9.call no man Father upon earth, for one is your Father which is in Heaven; this is the Originall and root of all the Church, as the Apoſtle plainly ſhews (g)Eph. 3. 14, 15., and ſure we are, that he was long before the Pope of Rome; and if we be examined further, and looked on as we are Preſbyters, yet here we are more ancient than the Pope, for not only did God ſet Teachers in the Church, (h)1 Cor. 12. 22., but when Chriſt aſcended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men, that is, hee gave ſome Apoſtles, and ſome Prophets, and ſome Evangeliſts, and ſome Paſtors and Teachers (i)Epheſ. 4. 8. 11.; There were therefore Paſtors and Teachers in the Church before the Biſhops of Rome were called Popes, or pretended unto that Univerſality of Juriſdiction or Ambition of being above all, that juſtly brought upon him the ſuſpition of being the Antichriſt or Man of Sin, ſignified by the Apoſtle in that ſignall place (k)2 Theſ. 2. 4., yea not onelyonly in other parts of the World, but alſo here in England, Paſtors and Teachers were eſtabliſhed before the Popes of Rome had any intereſt or anthority among us; three Biſhops ſent from hence unto the Synod of Arles, when Conſtantine the Great was Governour and Ruler here, before he was made Emperour, the whole Synod with the names of the Biſhops ſent from hence, may be ſeen at large in the Firſt Volumn of Sir Henry Spelman's Councills; its true, that this Land was much afflicted partly by the venom of the Arrian and Pelagian Hereſies, partly by the barbarous cruelty of the Northern Nations that were Pagan-Idolaters; for the recovery and relief of whom, Gregory the Biſhop (not yet Pope) of Rome, ſent over Auſtin and other Miniſters, not to plant the Faith and Goſpell, which was done long before, but to reclaim and reconcile the jarring parties that were found among the Britaines, that were forced into Wales for their ſecurity, and partly to work upon the Saxon Kings, that then were little better than Pagans; for Auſtin found in thoſe parts both Biſhops and Preſbyters that told him of his pride, and refuſed to be ſubject to him; our Miniſters therefore in thoſe times were not the Popes Sons, unleſs it ſhall be granted that a Son may be before his Father.
3. It will not follow we had our Ordination from Rome, therefore we are Antichriſtian, for though it be granted that many things in Rome were Antichriſtian and out of order, yet all was not, their errours razed not the Fundamentall and Eſſentiall Powers beſtowed on them by their godly Predeceſſors, for we have the ſame Scriptures which they had, and in ſome periods and partes of the New Teſtament by them repaired and recovered, as Calvin and others have obſerved; the ſame Baptiſm with water, and in the name of Father Son, and Holy Ghoſt, which Form they conſtantly retained, though many other things were ſuperadded, ſo the ſame Orders of Biſhops & Preſbyters, though many others orders and abuſes were ſupperadded; for as in naturall Generation a Father begets not quâ good or wiſe, but quâ man, and ſo a wiſe man may beget a Fool, as Solomon ſhews (l)Eccleſ. 2. 18, 19., for as the errours and abuſes of the Church of Rome, were not in the Foundation and Eſſentiall conſtitution of it, but grew upon it afterwards through the negligence of thoſe which then were Paſtors and Watch-men in her, for while men ſlept, the enemy came and ſowed tares among the wheat, and went his way (m)Mat. 13. 25, ſo did the ſubſtance and truth of Office and Authority remain and ſtay all that time in her, as the Wheat did in the Field all the times the tares grew, and as that wheat winnowed and purged from the tares was good ſeed, and would if ſown, produce and bring forth wheat, ſo the Miniſtry of Rome reformed and cleanſed from their errours, might beget, as they have done, good Miniſters.
4. If it be granted that we were Ordained by Biſhops that ſucceeded Papiſts, and that the Head and Fountain of our Ordination was in Italy, yet was it ſtill by men in Office; what if the Prenotory or Keepers of the Great Seal were naughty men, yet a Writ or Patent ſigned and ſealed by them is good and valid? ſhall a Decree in Chancery, or in the Rolles, be contradicted or rejected, becauſe the preſent Officer is rotten and corrupt? was Naamans Gold and Garments ere the worſe becauſe he had been a Leper? ſurely Gehaſi that was the Prophets man, thought not ſo, for then he would not have purchaſed them ſo dear (n)2 Kings 5. 27.; was Circumciſion ever the worſe becauſe Jacobs Sons had much abuſed it, to over reach the Shechemits (o)Gen 34. 30.? ſo the Baptizing and Ordaining power in the Church of Rome remained good and valid in the Church of Rome, though the perſons Baptizing and Ordaining were degenerated and grown bad; if a man in his youth be wanton and have Baſtards by divers Women, if afterwards he ſees his errours and is ſorry, and reforms, and takes a lawfull Wife, ſhall not his Children begotten after, be lawfull and legitimate? ſuppoſe the Preſbyters and Prelates in the Church of Rome be wanton and unclean, ſhall not their ſucceſſors that renounce their errours and abominations, be received unto mercy, and aſſured of their Patrimony & Poſſeſſion, though derived frō them? hath not God ſaid, that if the Son renounce the errours of his Father, he ſhall not ſuffer for them (p)Ezek. 18. 14, 15, 16, 17.? if a man himſelf be honeſt and legitimate, ſhall hee loſe his Lands? becauſe ſome of his Anceſtors and Predeceſſors have been Baſtards. There were bickerings between the Houſes of York and Lancaſter, but we find it not objected unto them of Lancaſter, that they were the Of-ſpring and Poſterity of John of Gaunt, by Katherin Swinford, who was not his lawfull Wife.