The Divine Right of Church Government and Excommunication, Religious polemic · Introduction · Section 5
SECT. V.
Morall Obedience reſolved ultimately in Scripture.
FOR farther light in this point, it is a Queſtion: What is the formall object of our obedience in all our our Morall actions? that is, Whether is the Faith practicall of our obedience, & the obedience itſelf, in all the externals of Church Government reſolved in this ultimately and finally. This and this we do, and this point of Government Whither our obedience in Churchpolicy, be ultimately reſolved in this ſaith the Lord, or in this ſaith the church.we believe and practiſe: becauſe the Lord hath ſo appointed it, in an immutable Platform of Government in Scripture: or becauſe the Church hath ſo appointed, or becauſe there is an intrinſecall conveniency in the thing it ſelf, which is diſcernable by the light of nature? Anſ. This Queſtion is near of blood to the Controverſie between Papiſts and us, concerning the formall object of our faith▪ that is, Whither are we to believe the ſcripture to be the Word of God, becauſe ſo ſaith the Church: or upon this objective ground, becauſe the Lord ſo ſpeaketh in his own Word: Now we hold, that ſcripture it ſelf furniſheth light and faith of it ſelf, from it ſelf; and that the Church doth but hold forth the light: as I ſee the light of the Candle, becauſe of the light itſelf, not becauſe of the Candleſtick. Hence in this ſame very Queſtion, the Iews were not to believe, that the ſmalleſt pin of the Tabernacle, or that any officer, High-Prieſt, Prieſt or Levite, were neceſſary, nor were they to obey in the ſmalleſt Ceremoniall obſervance; becauſe Moſes and the Prieſts or Church, at their godly diſcretion, without Gods own ſpeciall warrant ſaid ſo: But, becauſe ſo the Lord ſpake to Moſes, ſo the Lord gave in writing to David and Solomon, 1 Chron. 28. 11. 19. And ſo muſt it be in the Church of the New Teſtament, in all the Poſitives of Government; otherwiſe, if we obſerve Saintsdayes, and believe Croſſing and Surplice, hath this Religious ſignification, becauſe the Church ſaith ſo; then is our obedience of conſcience finally reſolved in the Teſtimony of men ſo ſpeaking, at their own diſcretion without any warrant of ſcripture. 2. To believe and obey in any Religious Poſitives, becauſe it is the pleaſure of men ſo to Command, is to be ſervants of men, and to make their will the formall reaſon of our obedience, which is unlawfull. If it be ſaid, that we are to believe and Practiſe many things in naturall neceſſity, as to eat, move, ſleep, and many circumſtantials of Church-Policy, becauſe the Law of naturall reaſon ſaith ſo; and becauſe there is an intrinſecall conveniency, and an aptitude to edifie, & to decore and beautifie in an orderly and a decent way the ſervice of God, and not ſimply, becauſe the Church ſaith ſo, nor yet becauſe the Lord speaketh ſo in the Scripture, and therefore all our obedience is not Ultimately and finally reſolved into the Teſtimony of the Scripture. I Anſwer, That there be ſome things that the Law of Nature commandeth, as to move, eat, ſleepe; and here with leave I diſtinguiſh Factum, the common practiſe of men from the jus, what men in conſcience ought to do, as concerning the former, morall and naturall mens practiſe is all reſolved in their own carnall will, and luſts, and ſo they eat, move and ſleep, becauſe nature, and carnall will, leadeth them thereinto, not becauſe God in the Law of nature (which I humbly conceive to be a part of the firſt elements and principles of the Morall Law, or Decalogue, and ſo a part of Scripture) doth ſo warrant us to do; and therefore the moving, eating, drinking of naturall Moraliſts, are materially lawfull and conforme to ſcripture, for God by the Law of nature commandeth both Heathen men, and pure Moraliſts within the viſible Church, to do naturall acts of this kinde; becauſe the Lord hath revealed that to be his will in the Book of nature: But theſe Heathen do theſe acts, becauſe they are ſuitable to their Luſts and carnall will, and not becauſe God hath commanded them ſo to do in the Book of nature; and this is their ſin in the manner of doing though materially, Et quod ſubſtantiam actus, the action be good; and the ſame is the ſin of naturall men within the viſible Church, and a greater ſin; for God not only commandeth them in the Law of nature, but alſo in Scripture to do all theſe naturall acts, becauſe God hath revealed his will in theſe naturall actions, as they are morall to naturall men within the viſible Church, both in the Law of nature, and in the ſcripture, and De jure they ought to obey, becauſe God ſo commandeth in both, and in regard all within the viſible Church, are obliged to all naturall actions in a ſpirituall way, though their eating, moving, ſleeping be lawfull materially, Et quod ſubſtantiam actus, yet becauſe they do them without any the leaſt habituall reference to God, ſo commanding in natures Law and ſcripture, they are in the manner of doing, ſinfull; otherwiſe Formaliſts go on with Papiſts and Arminians to juſtifie the actions of the unregenerated, as ſimply Lawfull and good, though performed by them with no reſpect to God or his Commandment: 2. As concerning actions of Church-Policy, that cannot be warranted by the light of nature, and yet have intrinſecall conveniency and aptitude to edifie and decently to Accomodate the worſhip of God. I conceive theſe may be done, but not becauſe the Church ſo commandeth, as if their commandment were the formall reaſon of our obedience, but becauſe partly the light of the Law of reaſon, partly ſcripture doth warrant them; but that Croſſe and Surplice can be thus warranted is utterly denied: Again I conceive that there be two ſort of poſitives in the externals of Government or worſhip: 1. Some Divine, as that there be in the Publique Worſhip, Prayers, Praiſing, Preaching, Sacraments, and theſe are ſubſtantials; that there be ſuch Officers, Paſtors, Teachers, Elders and Deacons; that there be ſuch cenſures, as rebuking, Excommunication and the like, are morally Divine, or Divinely Morall: and when the Church formeth a Directory for worſhip and Government, the Directory it ſelf is in the Form not ſimply Divine. And if it be ſaid that neither the Church of the Jews, nor the Church Apoſtolique had more a written Directory, nor Two things in the externall worſhip. 1. Subſtantials. 2. Accidentals.they had a written Leiturgy or book of Common Prayers or Publick Church-ſervice: I anſwer, nor had either the Iewiſh or Apoſtolick Church any written Creed or ſyſteme, written of fundamentall Articles, ſuch as is that, which is commonly called the Apoſtolick Creed; but they had materially in the ſcripture the Apoſtolick Creed; and the Directory they had alſo the ſame way, for they practiſed all the Ordinances directed, though they had no written Directory in a formall contexture or frame: for Prayers, Preaching, Praiſing, Sacraments and Cenſures never Church wanted in ſome one order or other▪ though we cannot ſay that the Apoſtolick Church had this ſame very order and forme: But a Leiturgy which is a commanded, impoſed, ſtinted Form, in ſuch words and no other, is another thing then a Directory as an unlawfull thing is different from a Lawfull: 2. There be ſome things Poſitive humane, as the Ordering of ſome parts, or worſhip, or Prayer, the forme of words or phraſes, and ſome things of the Circumſtantials of the Sacrament, as what Cups, Wood or Mettall, in theſe the Directory layeth a tie upon no man, nor can the Church in this make a Directory to be a Church Compulſory to ſtrain men: And this way the Directory is not ordered and commanded in the frame and contexture, as was the Service-Book; and the Paſtor or people in theſe, are not properly Morall Agents, nor do we preſſe that ſcripture ſhould regulate men in theſe. But ſure in Croſſing, in Surplice men muſt be Morall Agents, no leſſe then in eating and drinking at the Lords-Supper, and therefore they ought to be as particularly regulated by Scripture in the one, as in the other.
Queſt. But who ſhall be judge of theſe things which you ſay are Circumſtantials only, as time, place, &c. and of theſe that Formaliſts ſay are adjuncts and Circumſtances of worſhip, though alſo they have a Symbolicall and Religious ſignification: muſt not the Church judge, what things are indifferent, what neceſſary, what are expedient, what Lawfull? Anſwer, There is no ſuch queſtion imaginable, but in the Synagogue of Antichriſt; For as concerning Norma judi…andi, the Rule of judging, without all exception, the ſcripture ought to be the only rule and meaſure of all practicall truths, how Formaliſts can make the Scripture the rule of judging of unwritten Ceremonies which have no warrant in Scripture, more then Papiſts can admit ſcripture to regulate and warrant their unwritten Traditions, I ſee not, we yield that the Church is the Politick, Miniſteriall, and viſible judge of things neceſſary andThe queſtion who ſhould be judge of things neceſſary or indifferent is nothing to the preſent controverſie. expedient, or of things not neceſſary and expedient: But we know no ſuch queſtion in this Controverſie, as who ſhall be judge: but ſuppoſing the Church to be a miniſteriall judge, and the Scripture the infallible Rule, the queſtion is, whether this judge have any ſuch power, as to preſcribe Laws touching things indifferent, and to injoyne theſe, though they have no warrant from Scripture, as things neceſſary, and to binde where God hath not bound.
Queſt. But doth not the Church determine things, that of themſelves are indifferent; as whether Sermon ſhould begin at nine of clock, or ten in the morning, and after the Church hath paſt a determination for the dyet of ten a clock, the indifferency of either nine or ten is removed, and the practiſe without any warrant of Scripture reſtricted to one, for order and peace ſake; and why may not the like be done in Poſitives of Church-Government? Anſ. The truth is, the Church by her will putteth no determination on the time, but only miniſterially declareth that which Gods providence accomodating it ſelf to the ſeaſon, climate, the conveniency of the congregation as they lie in diſtance from the place of meeting, hath determined already: But neither Providence, ſcripture, nor naturall reaſon hath determined, that there ſhould be in every Dioceſan Church a Monarch-Prelate, Paſtor of Paſtors, with majority of power of juriſdiction and ordination over Paſtors, more then there ſhould be one Pope, Catholick Paſtor of the Catholick viſible Church, or that Croſſing ſhould betoken Dedication to Chriſts ſervice, only will as will muſt determine poſitive Religious obſervances, ſuch as theſe are.