An Apology for the Discipline of the Ancient Church, Title page – Letter
AN APOLOGY FOR THE Diſcipline OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH: Intended eſpecially for that of our MOTHER THE CHƲRCH of ENGLAND: In anſwer to the Admonitory Letter Lately publiſhed.
foreign. Nazianz.
Ephraim feeds on winde. Hoſea 12.1.
By William Nicolſon, Archdeacon of Brecon.
LONDON, Printed for Willim Leake at the Crown in Fleet-ſtreet, betwixt the two Temple-gates. 1659.
THE COPY OF A LETTER Written by a Divine, A Friend of the AUTHOUR.
SIR,
I Thank you for the favour you did me in imparting thoſe papers to me, compoſed by our learned friend in defence of the Eccleſiaſtical Government, under which the Church of God hath liv'd ever ſince it was eſtabliſh'd by the Preachings Apoſtolical. I ſee and love his zeale, and honour his learning, but am moſt pleaſed with his method and order of argument; for having proſperouſly defended and illuſtrated the Doctrine of the Church of England in his material and grave diſcourſes upon the Church Catechiſm, he does to very good purpoſes proceed to defend her Government; that as it already appears that her Doctrine is Catholike, ſo it may be demonſtrated that the Government of the Church of England is no other than that of the Catholike Apoſtolike Church; ſhe by the ſame way being truly Chriſtian, and a Society of Chriſtians, by which all Chriſtendome were put into life and ſociety, that is, became collective and united bodies, or Churches. And indeed they are both of them very weighty and material conſiderations; For more things are neceſsary to the being of a Church than to the being Chriſtian. Firſt, the Apoſtles preached Jeſus Chriſt and him crucified, and every day winning ſouls to Chriſt did adopt them into his Body, and joyned them to that Head; and there they had life and nouriſhment. But until their multitudes were much encreaſed, they were no Body Politick; they were ſo many ſingle perſons; till the Apoſtles according to their places of abode, gathered them under one Paſtor, and they grew into Communion, and were faſtned to one another by the Maſters of Aſſemblies. This Government with the alteration onelyonly of ſome unconcerning circumſtances hath continued in the Church of God; and the Church of England was baptized by it at the ſame time it was baptized into the faith of Chriſt; onelyonly of late ſome endeavours have been to rifle this Government, and to diſsolve her being a body Politick, and almoſt reduc'd her onelyonly to the being Chriſtian; which becauſe it ſeemed alſo to be in ſome danger, Being and Unity having ſo near relation to each other, I ſuppoſe it very adviſedly done of him firſt to do what he thought fit for the ſecuring the Doctrine, and then by the method Apoſtolical proceeding to the immuring of that Doctrine by the walls and towers of Government, and I finde he hath done it well. His arguments are grave and cloſe; not florid, but preſſing; his obſervations choice, his foreign and little by-diſcourſes pleaſant and full of inſtructions, his refutation ſharp and true; his returnes pertinent; and nothing trifling but his adverſarie; who, becauſe he ſpeaks but weak things, miniſters not occaſions worthy enough for this learned man to do his beſt. But he hath made ſupply (I perceive) and by taking little occaſions by the hand, he hath advanced them to opportunities of handſome diſcourſings; and to my ſence, hath to better, more full, and excellent purpoſes than any man before him, confuted the new faſhion of Congregational and gathered Churches; which muſt now needs appear to be nothing but a drawing Schiſme into Countenance and Method, and giving a warranty to partialities; it is a direct crumbling of the Church into minuits and little principles of being, juſt as if the world were diſſolved into Democritus his dreame of Atomes, and minima naturalia. Every man loves Government well-enough, but few of the meaner ſort love their Governours; eſpecially if they think themſelves wiſe enough to governe; for then they are too wiſe to be governed. Now this Independant or Congregational way ſeemes to me the fineſt compendium of humouring and pleaſing all thoſe little fellowes that love not, that endure not to be ſubject to their betters; for by this meanes a little Kingdome and a royal Prieſthood is provided for every one of them; a Kingdom of Yvetot; and ſome had rather be chief but in a garden of Cucumers, and govern but ten or twenty abſolutely (ſo they do) than be the fifth or the twentieth man in a Claſſis, or inconſiderable under the Apoſtolical and long-experienced government by thoſe Superiours which Chriſt by himſelf, and by his Spirit, and by his bleſſing, and by his providence, and by the favour of Princes hath made firme as heaven and earth, never to be diſsolved, until the Divine Fabrick of the houſe of God it ſelf be ſhaken.
I pray give my ſervice to the good Man; and I do heartily thank him for my ſhare of the book, by which I have already had ſome pleaſure and ſome profit, and hope for more, when my little affairs will give me leave ſtrictly to peruſe every unobſerved page in it. When I onelyonly heard of it, I was confident he would do it very well; and now I ſee it is ſo very well done, and in that grave judicious manner, if you had not told me, I ſhould have been confident it had been his, Vox hominem ſonat. I pray God that he may finde encouragement according to the mertt of his labours; and acceptance according to his good intentions, and that his book may not receive its eſtimate according to the cheap and vaſt numbers of others, but according to its own weight. The ſtrength that was put to this would have reſiſted a ſtronger adverſary, but it could not readily have ſupported a worthyer cauſe; and becauſe I beleeve it was done with as much charity as learning, I hope it will have the bleſſings of God, and of the Church, and the peace of all good men. I onelyonly have this to adde further: I wiſh that this worthy man would enter into no more warre but againſt the open enemies of mankinde; that he would diſpute for nothing but for the known Religion of Jeſus Chriſt, that he would contend for no intereſts but the known concernments of the Spirit in the matter of good life, which is the life of Religion; and my reaſon is, not onelyonly becauſe I finde that he calls his adverſary Brother, and it is not ſo good that Brethren ſhould contend; but becauſe men are wearied with diſputes, and the errors of this or any age, after the firſt batteries and onſets by the Church, are commonly beſt confuted by the plaine teaching of poſitive truths and the good lives and the wiſe governments of our Superiours; and after all, I believe that though he does manage this conteſt prudently and modeſtly, yet the ſpiritual warre againſt direct impiety he would manage much more dexterouſly and proſperouſly; and for his auxiliaries he would be more confident of the direct and proper aides of the Spirit of God. This is very well, and he will I doubt not ſtill do better, when a more concerning argument is managed by ſo excellent a hand. Sir, be pleaſed when the Book is printed (in caſe you think it fit, and that it be approved by authority) to ſend me a Copie of it into the farre diſtant place of my retirement; that I may be recreated with the worthieſt productions of my friend; for it will be inſtruction and refreſhment too, to
Your very loving friend and Brother J. T.