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<DATE>2007-05-17</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Robyn Anspach</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A70099">
<STC T="W">F724</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">12119255</BIBNO>
<VID>54411</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>An Exact ENQVIRY AFTER Ancient Truths, Both in <HI>Scripture</HI> and <HI>Fathers.</HI></P>
<P>Touching <HI>The &s;ub&s;i&s;tence of the Church of God;</HI> Dige&s;ted into Three Parts: <HI>VIZ.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. True Wor&s;hip.</ITEM>
<ITEM>II. Dominion, or Divine Juri&s;diction.</ITEM>
<ITEM>III. Di&s;cipline, reduced from our Father <HI>Adams</HI> time, through all Ages, to the&s;e pre&s;ent Times.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P><HI>Very u&s;efull for the&s;e Times:</HI> By <HI>W: Fenwick,</HI> Utter-Barre&s;ter of <HI>Grays-Inne.</HI></P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Edw: Husbands</HI> and <HI>Lawrence Blaiklock:</HI> and are to be &s;old at their &s;hops in the Middle Temple, &amp; Temple-Bar.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Right Honorable, <HI>Algernon</HI> Earl of Northumberland, Lord <HI>Percy, Lucy, Poynings, Fitzpain, Bri|an,</HI> and <HI>Latimer;</HI> Lord high Admirall of ENGLAND, Knight of the mo&s;t Noble order of the Garter, and one of His Maje&s;ties mo&s;t Honorable Privy-councell.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Right Honorable,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THe unworthy oppre&s;&s;ed Author hath not long &s;ince groaned under the &s;e|vere cen&s;ure of the late high Commi&s;sion for the in&s;uing &s;peculations, which now he adventures to pre&s;ent unto your Ho|nour, hoping for a candid acceptance, and interpretation of his poor indeavours for the good of <HI>Zion.</HI> Had not the ri&s;ing Sun of an au&s;picious Parliament di&s;pelled tho&s;e clouds of oppre&s;ion and tyranny, that menaced a drowning both to me and
<PB REF="3">
them, they had been choked in their <HI>em|brio,</HI> and never injoyed the happine&s;&s;e they have now attained in your Honora|ble a&s;pect. Pardon (mo&s;t noble Lord) the inforced pre&s;umption of the di&s;tre&s;|&s;ed Author, which implores and hopes for your honorable Patronage, and hum|bly praying for the daily increa&s;e of your Honours health and eternall happine&s;&s;e, remains</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Honours mo&s;t humble, mo&s;t devoted Servant, <HI>William Fenwick.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>The Errata.</HEAD>
<P>PAge 1. line 27; <HI>for</HI> more, <HI>read</HI> mo&s;t. l. 28. <HI>for</HI> right, <HI>r.</HI> light. Pag. 2. l. 29. <HI>for.</HI> 2, <HI>r.</HI> of. Line 34. <HI>for</HI> po&s;terity, <HI>r.</HI> pro&s;perity. Pag. 4. l. 24. <HI>for</HI> endeavours, <HI>r.</HI> endnes. The &s;econd Treati&s;e, p. 2. l. 33. <HI>for.</HI> the, <HI>r.</HI> thy. <HI>for</HI> of, <HI>r.</HI> unto. Pag. 18. l. 3. <HI>for</HI> he, <HI>r.</HI> the. Pag. 10, l. 21, <HI>for</HI> in, <HI>r.</HI> from. Pag. 11. l. 28. <HI>for</HI> what, <HI>r.</HI> with Pag. 15. l. 1. <HI>for</HI> Angelicall, <HI>r.</HI> Euangelicall. P. 20. l. 9. <HI>for.</HI> penitent, <HI>r.</HI> impenitent. Pag. 23. lin 6. <HI>for</HI> A, <HI>r.</HI> As. <HI>for</HI> of. <HI>r.</HI> to. Pag. 25. l. 9. <HI>read,</HI> are fir&s;t. Pag. 54. l. 14. <HI>read</HI> omitted. Pag. 55. l. 9. <HI>read,</HI> it is that. l. 29. <HI>reade,</HI> All, And thus.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>ZIONS REQVEST To her Honourable, and welbe|loved Sonnes now happily a&s;&s;embled in the long and much-de&s;ired Parliament of <HI>England.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_RIght deare and well-beloved of God your Father in my Lord; by whom you are begotten and borne, and welbeloved of me: not begot of mortall or carnall &s;eed, but of the immortall &s;eed of the Word; neither borne nor brought forth of the mandane wombe of <HI>Rome:</HI> nor &s;prong from the native bowels of my humanitie; but I bore you and brought you forth of my cele&s;tiall wombe: the eternall councell of God; and I have nouri&s;hed and brought you up in the royall City of di|vine <HI>Salomon,</HI> my Lord and your God and Saviour.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 1. 8.</NOTE>My &s;onnes heare your Fathers in&s;truction, and for&s;ake not  your mothers teaching; for they &s;hall be a comely ornament un|to your head, and as chalnes to your necke. You have &s;eene with your eyes, and heard with your eares, how the &s;trumpet of <HI>Ba|bell</HI> hath boa&s;ted her &s;elfe again&s;t me, and with her impudent face affirmed her &s;elfe to be Queene of heaven and earth, deluding the world with outward apparantes, whereby many are mi&s;ta|ken by her outward glory, &s;uppo&s;ing her to be my &s;elfe.</P>
<P>But I de&s;ire you, my mo&s;t honourable and deare children, to conceive of me aright, and be not deceived with vaine and glori|ous &s;howes and worldly pompe; For my glory is internall and heavenly, more &s;plendent then the pure gold of more curious em|broderers, which no eye can &s;ee, but that Divine eye of right
<PB REF="4">
which is given you of your Father. For I te&s;tifie unto you, that I am not to be con&s;idered by the pompe and glory of the world, nor yet by the wi&s;edome of the wi&s;e man, or by the nature of fle&s;h and blood, for tho&s;e are not heavenly, but earthly &s;en&s;uall and diveli&s;h, and doe not, cannot, nor will not plea&s;e God, but conceive you me to be heavenly, &s;pirituall. and divine, &s;uch as your Father hath de|&s;cribed me to be.</P>
<P>A mountaine, even Mount Zion, a City, the City of the li|ving God, the cele&s;tiall Jeru&s;alem, filled with the &s;ocietie of in|numerable Angels, and the a&s;&s;embly of the fir&s;t borne, which are written in heaven, and with the pre&s;ence of God in Trinitie &s;it|ting upon the Throne, Judge of all, and with the unity and commu|nion of the &s;pirits of ju&s;t and perfect men, made perfect with that individuall union which they have with Je&s;us the Media|tour of the New Testament, and with the blood of &s;prinkling, which &s;peaketh better things then that of <HI>Abel,</HI> even the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes to the imputation of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e for ju&s;tification of &s;inners, for he came to &s;ave &s;inners, by drawing &s;inners, to re|pentance. And I pray you &s;hake of all carnall apprehen&s;ions of mee, and conceive me to be really &s;uch in nature and condition as my Lord hath revealed me by the mouth of his ble&s;&s;ed &s;er|vant <HI>Peter, 1 Pet. 2.</HI> affirming mee to bee a &s;pirituall hou&s;e or temple, <HI>1 Pet. 2. 5.</HI> built and compact of living &s;tones, made a &s;pirituall hou&s;e a holy prie&s;thood, to offer up &s;pirituall &s;acrifices acceptable to God by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who is my foundation that li|ving &s;tone, on whom I am built, though hee be di&s;allowed of men, yet cho&s;en of God and precious.</P>
<P>Neither &s;uppo&s;e me to bee a politique body, compo&s;ed of a temporall head or &s;overaigne Monarchy, or a Nationall and po&s;itive lawes and cu&s;tomes (which though they bee ordained of God, yet in &s;ub&s;tance they are humane inventions and traditi|ons of men) nor con&s;i&s;ting of civill and humane Magi&s;trates, endewed with morall gifts and vertues for the externall government, power and po&s;teritie of humane &s;ocieties, politique|ly and wi&s;ely providing for the defects of depraved nature, and preventing the dammage, danger and ruine, which the malice of Satan and the corrupt nature of man, would draw upon the &s;o|cieties of men in their terre&s;triall abode. Though I bee &s;ome|times
<PB REF="4">
called a Kingdome in re&s;pect of my eternall King, the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, and of his divine &s;pirituall power and heavenly dominion, which never &s;hall have end: Yet am I never any where in Scripture de&s;cribed to bee a temporall or earthly Kingdome. But on the contrary, my Lord did plainly affirme and teach, that his kingdome was not of this world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 18. 26. Math. 20. 25.</NOTE>
 and prohibited the &s;ubjects of his kingdome to take dominion and government upon them one over another, nor &s;et up a Hierar|chie among them, as the Princes and Lords of the world did, who&s;e manner is to thir&s;t after preheminence and dominion, but that in his divine kingdome, hee that would be the greate&s;t, &s;hould be the lea&s;t, and hee that &s;hould be found to take mo&s;t diligent labour and paines in mini&s;tration of his divine Word and food of life, &s;hould bee e&s;teemed a faithfull &s;ervant to his Lord and Ma&s;ter.</P>
<P>But con&s;ider me as I am the mini&s;ter and di&s;pen&s;ator of God, to whom is committed the Admini&s;tration of that hidden my&s;terie of God, which was promi&s;ed &s;ince the world began, it was hid from all ages, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1. 26. 27.</NOTE>
but now in the&s;e latter dayes made manife&s;t to his Saints, To whom God would make knowne what is the riches of his glori|ous My&s;tery among the Gentiles.</P>
<P>Which riches is Chri&s;t in you the hope of glory, and Chri&s;t is the Image of the invi&s;ible God, the fir&s;t begotten of every crea|ture: that Word by whom all things were created in heaven and in earth, and he is before all things, and in him all things con|&s;i&s;t, and he is the head of the body of the Church, hee is the be|ginning, and the fir&s;t begotten of the dead, that in all things hee might have the preheminence, for it plea&s;ed the Father, that in him all fulne&s;&s;e &s;hould dwell, And through peace made by the blood of that his Cro&s;&s;e to reconcile to him&s;elfe through him (even through Chri&s;t) all things, both which are in heaven, and which are in earth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col 1. 15. 16. 18. 19.</NOTE></P>
<P>This is that My&s;terie which is committed to me your mother, not that I &s;hould adde or dimini&s;h, but that I &s;hould deliver un|to you, that which I have received of the Lord; and for that this my&s;terie my Lord Chri&s;t is my head and Soveraigne of my &s;oule I am called his my&s;ticall body.</P>
<P>Therefore ca&s;t away all carnall and wordly conceits of mee,
<PB REF="5">
and behold me in that my&s;terie, as I am growing up into <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>Ephe&s;. 4. 5.</HI> which is my head that is Chri&s;t, by whom through the unitie of the &s;pirit, in the bond of peace, I am a mysticall bo|dy, like a naturall body coupled and knit together by every joynt, for the furniture of the body, according to the effectuall power, which is in every part, wherby the body receiveth encrea&s;e unto the edifying of it &s;elfe in love; And through this unity in my head, I and my head make one compleat my&s;ticall body, &s;o there is one body, one &s;pirit, called unto one hope, of our vocation; <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Chro. 12. 12.</NOTE>
one Lord, one Bapti&s;me, one God and Father of all, which is above 
all, and through all, and in us all.</P>
<P>But as a naturall body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body which is one, though they bee many, yet are but one body, even &s;o is Chri&s;t, for I am his owne body by his &s;pirituall union; but marke well and under&s;tand, this body is not one member, as a Pope, or Epi&s;copus, to take preheminence, which would make divi&s;ion betwixt me and my head.</P>
<P>But in the body there are many members, &s;o in me the body <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> Church of Chri&s;t there are many members, and hee is the onely true and ab&s;olute &s;upreme head. And none but he can give many and divers gifts and admini&s;trations as in this, <HI>1 Cor. 12 4. 5, 6, 7.</HI> but the &s;ame Spirit, the &s;ame Lord, and though there <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> di|ver&s;ities of operations, yet one God is the &s;ame, which work <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> all in all; Now if my head be God, and my endeavour the gifts of the &s;pirit, who can impo&s;e upon mee any other gifts admini&s;tra|tion or operation, but onely my Lord, &s;urely no Prince, no Pepe, no Prelate.</P>
<P>But con&s;ider me, my &s;onnes in this thing, that the admi|ni&s;tration of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall, no member, nor per&s;on is to receive this talent, and to hide is, for God doth not light the&s;e lights to put them under a bu&s;hell but to enlighten the whole hou&s;e the Church; As every member of the body is profitable to other, &s;o are my members; Therefore to &s;ome hee gives the word of Wi&s;edome, to another the word of Knowledge, to another the excellencie of Faith, to another the operation of great workes, to another prophe&s;ie, to another diver|&s;itie of tongues, and to another interpretation of Tongues; All the&s;e worketh one and the &s;ame &s;pirit, di&s;tributing &s;everally as
<PB REF="5">
he li&s;teth, for Chri&s;t my Lord and head is God; And the Father is in him, and hee in the Father which is above all, and through you all, and in us all; who gives unto every one grace according <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s; 4. 7, 8.</NOTE>
to the mea&s;ure of the gift of Chri&s;t; for it was prophe&s;ied of him, that when he a&s;cended (who had first de&s;cended into the lowe&s;t dejection of earthly paines and deba&s;ement for the &s;innes of man) hee &s;hould al&s;o a&s;cend, and fit on the right hand of God, and lead captivitie captive, and receive of God the Father, gifts to give unto man; Not humane gifts to governe the terre&s;triall affaires of this life, but divine gifts to guide and lead the &s;onles of men into the way of peace and eternall felicitis.</P>
<P>Therefore &s;eeing my <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="3 letters">d is the great my&s;terie of God, and &s;pirituall word of Life, to whom I am united through the unitie of the Spirit, I am his and he is mine, and both one Chri&s;t, one Church and My&s;ticall body or &s;pirituall Spou&s;e, My Lord give me, all &s;pirituall gifts to tran&s;late me, from darkne&s;&s;e into his glorious light; from carnall and earthly things, to bee made a &s;pirituall and heavenly Spou&s;e. For God which made light to &s;hine out of darkne&s;&s;e, is he which hath &s;hined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. But wee have this trea&s;ure in earthen ve&s;&s;els, that the excellencie of that power, might be of God, and not of man; For the&s;e cau&s;es he gave and ordained &s;ome members to have diver&s;itie of gifts and admini&s;tration; as fir&s;t Apo&s;tles, &s;e|condly Prophets and Evangeli&s;ts, thirdly Pa&s;tors and Teachers; Then &s;uch as doe miracles (for miracles follow the Word, where there is need of confirmation) and gifts of healing, helpers, as <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s; 4. 11.</NOTE>
Deacons and Governours as Elders.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the instruments of mini&s;tration by divers gifts di|&s;tingui&s;hed into divers administrations and offices which are di|&s;tingui&s;hed by their &s;pirituall operation and ministration of one and the &s;ame word and mini&s;terie of God.</P>
<P>This is that order, ordinance and government, or &s;pirituall juri&s;diction, which my Lord God your Father hath instituted for the repairing of the Saints, for the worke of the mini&s;tery, and for the edification of the body of Chri&s;t his Church even mee your Mother, and this is to continue, and not to be altered and re&s;trai|ned untill we all meet together in the unity of faith, and that
<PB REF="6">
acknowledging of the Sonne of God unto a perfect Man, and unto the mea&s;ure of the age of the fulne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thus Right Honourable my Sonnes and Saints of God your Father, I have pre&s;ented my &s;elfe unto the view of your heaven|bred judgements and &s;pirituall wi&s;edomes, that you may behold mee all glorious within, and not judge by outward appearance, nor by politique rea&s;ons, le&s;t you be mi&s;taken in my nature and condition, and &s;uppo&s;e me to be a terre&s;triall. Hierarchie to bee governed by po&s;itive lawes, traditions, Decrees and Canons of men, which cannot &s;earch the reines of the heart, nor cure the &s;oule, nor lead her into bli&s;&s;e. Therefore I reque&s;t you to take in|to your con&s;ideration the heavie burdens grievous to bee borne, (which the Scribes and Phari&s;ees of <HI>Rome,</HI> who pretended to fit in <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> &s;eat) have laid upon my &s;houlders: the Epi&s;eo|pall waight whereof you my &s;onnes have heretofore borne, with much griefe, whil&s;t they advanced them&s;elves to the chiefe &s;eates and mo&s;t eminent dignities, loving to be reputed great and excel|lent Rabbies, even above you the naturall Peeres and Potentates of State.</P>
<P>And now I conclude, and doe offer unto your &s;acred con&s;idera|tions the holy Sinode of the Apostles, &s;et forth for a perfect patterne of all Coun&s;ells and Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cau&s;es. In the fif|teenth of the <HI>Acts</HI> where you may ob&s;erve that Synode con&s;i&s;ted of the Apo&s;tles, Elders, and Brethren. Their con&s;ultation was according to the rule of the written Word, there conclu&s;ion and &s;en|tence was thus; It &s;eemed good to the holy Gho&s;t, and to us to lay no more burden upon you then the&s;e things nece&s;&s;arie. That is, that yee ab&s;taine from things offered to Idols and blood, which includes all Ceremoniall inventions and bloudy &s;acrifices, and prohibits from that which is &s;trangled with all crueltie and op|pre&s;&s;ion, and from fornication, which imports uncleane conver|&s;ation and lu&s;ts, which if yee forheare yee &s;hall doe well.</P>
<P>And though I here claime of you the honour of being your Mother being the body of Chri&s;t and Church of God, in whom you al&s;o have the honour and prerogative to be the &s;onnes of God; yet touching my earthly habitation and abode I am under your Dominion and tuition, whom my Lord hath placed over me for my peace and pro&s;perity on earth. And that through Soveraigne
<PB REF="6">
power and authority which he hath ordained over all men, to the end you may give his Go&s;pell a free pa&s;&s;age, and be nur&s;ing and protecting Fathers of mee in your Common-wealth, that your Father may give you and your King a ble&s;&s;ing of welfare and happy being in my Lord Chri&s;t, in whom all Nations are ble&s;&s;ed, and ble&s;&s;ed is that Nation who&s;e God is the Lord.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="summary">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>A Breviate of the en&s;uing &s;econd Treati&s;e.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>THe &s;ub&s;i&s;tence of the Church of God compo&s;ed of a three|fold cord,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Wor&s;hip.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Dominion.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Di&s;cipline.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>In the Tractate of wor&s;hip are declared
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The nature of Divine wor&s;hip.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The nature of acceptable obedience.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. How this wor&s;hip corre&s;ponds with the nature of God,</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The manner of publike wor&s;hip from <HI>Adam</HI> till <HI>Moy&s;es.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. The Service u&s;ed by the Patriarkes.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. The &s;ame continued in the Nationall Church.</ITEM>
<ITEM>7. The &s;ervice u&s;ed in the Synagogues.</ITEM>
<ITEM>8. The &s;ame ob&s;erved by the Apo&s;tles.</ITEM>
<ITEM>9. The te&s;timony of the Fathers.</ITEM>
<ITEM>10. An amplification, and undeniable rea&s;ons for the puritie of Gods word and wor&s;hip.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>In the Tractate of dominion or divine juri&s;diction;
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Of the fir&s;t gradation of this Dominion.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. How Chri&s;t ordaines his Vice-royes on earth.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Difference betwixt Regall and divine power.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The Gla&s;&s;e of Kings.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. How Divine power is derived unto man from the Father, by the Word, through the &s;pirit.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. How the Word is the Divine power of God, and the au|thority committed to the Church.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>In the Tractate of Government and Di&s;cipline.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Of the calling of Mini&s;ters.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The manner of their ordination.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The orders and degrees of Pa&s;tours, and their</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Denominations under the Law and Go&s;pell.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. Of Di&s;cipline and cen&s;ures.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6. Of Excommunication.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="1" REF="7">
<HEAD>The &s;ub&s;i&s;tence of the Church of God.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ub&s;i|&s;tence of Gods Church three|fold.</NOTE>_THe &s;ub&s;i&s;tence of Gods Church is com|po&s;ed  of a threefold thred, which can|not ea&s;ily be broken.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The fir&s;t is &s;pirituall and divine wor&s;hip
<LIST>
<ITEM>wor&s;hip.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Spirituall and divine Jurisdiction, or <HI>Jure Di|vino.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>dominion.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Spirituall and divine di&s;cipline or government
<LIST>
<ITEM>di&s;cipline.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>I call this threefold cord of grace Divine and Spirituall becau&s;e the univer&s;all Mini&s;ter of Gods di&s;pen&s;ation of all &s;aving grace; is the holy Spirit, the third per&s;on of the Trinitie.</P>
<P>The&s;e are correlative &s;ub&s;i&s;tences in the Church of God &s;o depending one upon another, that they cannot be &s;eparated or untwi&s;led without either &s;ome defect or di&s;membring of the Church in her &s;elfe, or utter di&s;&s;olving of her, in e&s;&s;ence and nature to be any true Church,</P>
<P>Al&s;o, without the&s;e di&s;tinct &s;ub&s;i&s;tences in the Church, &s;he cannot exerci&s;e the gifts and graces of Gods Spirit, nor the functions and offices ordained of God for mini&s;tration of the Word; For this cau&s;e I call them &s;ub&s;i&s;tences in the e&s;&s;ence of the Church like, unto the &s;ub&s;i&s;tences of the Trinitie in the e&s;&s;ence of God him&s;elfe.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of Spirituall and Diuine wor&s;hip.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The nature of God is the</NOTE>The Wor&s;hip which God requires, mu&s;t bee &s;uch as is 
<PB N="2" REF="8">
agreeable to his owne nature, and the good plea&s;ure of his  owne will; <NOTE PLACE="marg">rule of divine wor&s;hip.</NOTE>therefore true divine wor&s;hip is tyed to the pre|&s;cript commandement of God, and not to the devi&s;ing in|vention of man, therefore to obey is better then &s;acrifice, and to hearken is better then the fat of Rammes. <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam 5. 22.</NOTE></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The nature of acceptable Obedience.</HEAD>
<P>It is a &s;upernaturall and filiall worke of God internally and &s;piritually wrought, &s;eated and inve&s;ted by Gods Spirit into the intellect, making man a new creature created in Chri&s;t Je&s;us unto good workes; which God hath ordained <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 3. 10.</NOTE>
that he &s;hould walke in them, being renewed in the &s;pirit of the mind, to offer him&s;elfe unto God a living &s;acrifice in an under&s;tanding wor&s;hipping of God. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12 1.</NOTE></P>
<P>This wor&s;hip and &s;acrifice, is de&s;cribed by the Prophet <NOTE PLACE="marg">The law re|quired a blou|dy &s;acrifice, the Go&s;pell a con|trite heart.</NOTE>
<HI>David</HI> to be a broken and contrite &s;pirit, called a well-plea|&s;ing &s;acrifice to God, pre&s;enting a &s;in-offering, as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51, 17. al&s;o in the 116, it is called the &s;acrifice of prai&s;e and thank&s;|giving.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>How this Wor&s;hip is corre&s;pondent to the nature of God.</HEAD>
<P>The Lord doth &s;hew it in the fourth of <HI>John</HI> 23. and 24. &s;aying, the true wor&s;hippers, &s;hall wor&s;hip God in &s;pirit and truth, that is in the Spirit of &s;anctification dwelling in the mind, helping our infirmities with &s;ighes and groanes, which cannot be expre&s;t; and in the truth of his Word dwelling in us in all wi&s;edome and &s;pirituall under&s;tanding, &s;uch as the&s;e the Father requireth &s;hould wor&s;hip him, becau&s;e God is a Spirit, and they that wor&s;hip him, mu&s;t wor&s;hip him in &s;pi|rit and truth, and not in the ignorance of the mind, nor in the invention and will-wor&s;hip of man; For this cau&s;e the P&s;almi&s;t &s;aith in the 51. 6. <HI>Thou O Lord love&s;t truth in the in|ward affections;</HI> and in the 50. P&s;alme he &s;aith, <HI>Offer to God the &s;acrifice of prai&s;e, and pay the vowes of the most high, and call upon God; for the Lord loveth truth in the inward parts.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="3" REF="8">
This is the pure and &s;imple wor&s;hip of God, without the glory and beautie of outward Ceremonies, agreeing with the &s;imple pure e&s;&s;ence and nature of God him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider wel <HI>Pauls</HI> Caveat in the <HI>Colo&s;&s;.</HI> 2, 8. 18. 20, 21, 22 <NOTE PLACE="marg">A Caveat.</NOTE>
23. warning all men to beware of humane wi&s;edome, and deceitfull inventions and traditions, according to the Rudi|ments of the world, and not after Chri&s;t; the outward &s;hew of holine&s;&s;e which puffes up mens hearts with &s;elfe-conceit, being burthened with traditions, which having a glorious &s;hew of holine&s;&s;e, of wi&s;edome and voluntary religion, wherein men are out of mea&s;ure &s;uper&s;titious in zeale, not &s;paring their bodily labour.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The manner of the publike wor&s;hip of Gods Church from <HI>Adam</HI> till <HI>Moy&s;es.</HI></HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The dome&s;ti|call Church.</NOTE>In this fir&s;t age; while&s;t the Church was dome&s;ticall in the  family of <HI>Adam</HI> and <HI>Noah,</HI> and <HI>Abram.</HI> The fir&s;t-borne and elde&s;t of every family was ordained of God by creation, to be a King for the common good; A Prie&s;t to offer prayer to God for them, and a Prophet to in&s;truct them.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 King.</NOTE>Of this royall dignitie we read, that God gave dominion  unto <HI>Adam</HI> over his po&s;teritie and all &s;ublunary creatures, <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. 28. This is the fountaine, of Soveraigntie &s;ucceeding in the birth-right of the dignitie of the fir&s;t-borne, untill <HI>Cain</HI> lo&s;t it by killing his brother <HI>Abel, Cham</HI> lo&s;t it for &s;coffing his Father <HI>Noah; E&s;an</HI> &s;old it for a mea&s;e of portage; and <HI>Reuben</HI> lo&s;t it for de&s;iling his fathers bed.</P>
<P>Then God tooke it into his owne hands, and re&s;erved &s;ove|raigntie and the dignitie of preheminence of the fir&s;t-borne for his owne onely begotten &s;onne, the fir&s;t begotten of every creature, the Lyon of <HI>Judah,</HI> who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, by whom Kings raigne, and Princes decree Ju&s;tice.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prophet. 2. <HI>Gen</HI> 2.</NOTE>Al&s;o man in Creation was the Prophet of God, for God  breathed in his face the breath of life, and made him a living &s;oule) even that word, which in the beginning was with God, and was God, was the light and life of man; <HI>Adam</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16.</NOTE>
<PB N="4" REF="9">
was taught of God before his fall, as in the &s;econd Chap|ter of <HI>Gene&s;is:</HI> and al&s;o after his fall, as in the third Chapter of <HI>Gene&s;is:</HI> the &s;eed of the woman &s;hould break the &s;erpents head, which doctrine he received of God, and taught his po|&s;terity.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prie&s;t.</NOTE>His Prie&s;thood was manife&s;t, in that hee taught his &s;onnes to offer &s;acrifices of prai&s;e and thank&s;giving to God; the out|ward  &s;ignes thereof, they brought to their Father as their high Prie&s;t a figure of Chri&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">V<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" RESP="apex" EXTENT="3+ letters"> 1.</NOTE>
<HI>Gen.</HI> 4. 3. al&s;o <HI>Hevah</HI> gave thanks to 
God for her i&s;&s;ue.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The &s;ervices u&s;ed amongst the Patriarks.</HEAD>
<P>Their practi&s;e and &s;ervice in this age was plain and &s;imple, prai&s;e, prayer, and thank&s;giving to God: which con&s;i&s;ted in confe&s;&s;ing their &s;infulne&s;&s;e, and acknowledging the mercie of God in his promi&s;e, as after the birth of <HI>Seth</HI> and <HI>Enoch,</HI> then (it is &s;aid) began men to call on the name of God, <HI>Gene&s;.</HI> 4. 26. And in every family they taught and declared the promi&s;e of God to be the word of life; as <HI>Lamech</HI> confe&s;&s;ed at the birth of <HI>Noah, Gen.</HI> 5. 29. and <HI>Noah</HI> and <HI>Enoch</HI> are witne&s;&s;ed to be Preachers of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. This manner of wor&s;hip was more manife&s;t after the flood, in the life of <HI>Abraham</HI> by his obedience, his familiar talking with God, as in <HI>Chap.</HI> 15. 16, 18, 19, 20. and <HI>I&s;aacks</HI> conver&s;ation, who went out to medi|tate and pray, in the evening; &s;o <HI>Jacob</HI> wor&s;hipped God leaning on his &s;taffe and ble&s;&s;ed his &s;onne.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The primitive wor&s;hip.</NOTE>Thus the pure and un&s;potted wor&s;hip of God, which was  u&s;ed both private and publique among his people, was onely prai&s;e, prayer, and thank&s;giving, with teaching and Divine in&s;truction; And to this manner of wor&s;hip none dur&s;t adde nor dimini&s;h; only God him&s;elfe did (in the dayes of <HI>Abra|ham)</HI> and unto this wor&s;hip, the &s;igne of the everla&s;ting co|venant, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Circumci&s;ion.</NOTE>
betwixt God and his &s;aithfull &s;ervant <HI>Abraham,</HI> and his faithfull &s;eed; to make a &s;eparation and vi&s;ible di&s;tinction betwixt his people and the people of the world, the &s;eed of nature; under which Covenant was promi&s;ed the &s;pirit of Regeneration, or &s;piritual Circumci&s;ion, in the&s;e words, I wil
<PB N="5" REF="9">
be thy God, and the God of thy &s;eed, the &s;eed of regeneration. Here we may ob&s;erve, that to the &s;pirituall and Divine wor|&s;hip of God, none can add any thing but God alone, and God will add nothing but Divine Doctrine nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation: And that, figured under plaine and &s;imple &s;ignes; le&s;t the na|turall corruption of man (prone to &s;uper&s;tition and externall &s;anctity) &s;hould leane and cleave to the &s;ignes, and forget the heavenly things &s;ignified, and to &s;eeke holine&s;&s;e in the action.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The &s;ame wor&s;hip and &s;ervice practi&s;ed in the Nationall Church.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The nationall Church.</NOTE>When <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of twelve tribes became a multitude, and a  great Nation, whom God exerci&s;ed and humbled under the bondage of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> that hee might &s;hew forth his mighty power, mercy, and loving kindne&s;&s;e to his people <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> hee &s;ent them a deliverer, even his &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es. Mo&s;es</HI> added nothing to the &s;ervice of the fir&s;t age: but God added al&s;o the Sacrament of the Pa&s;&s;eover, to declare unto them, that as <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pa&s;&s;eover.</NOTE>
none was to be e&s;teemed the people of God, but tho&s;e that were under the &s;igne of the Covenant of God; &s;o none &s;hould be delivered from the de&s;troying wrath of God: but tho&s;e that were redeemed, reconciled, and wa&s;hed, or &s;prinkled with the blood of the un&s;potted Lamb of God; the promi&s;ed &s;eed of the woman, the word of life, made fle&s;h, in who&s;e death and &s;hedding of his blood, they were &s;aved and deli|vered from &s;pirituall bondage and death; and this was to be ob&s;erved for a perpetuall ordinance among Gods people for ever.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The word fir&s;t mini&s;tred by God him&s;elf to <HI>Adam</HI> in the Garden, then by <HI>Adam, Seth, Enoch &amp; Noah,</HI> then by <HI>Mo&s;es, Aaron</HI> and by the Prophets.</NOTE>
And after the I&s;raelites and people of God were congre|gated and gathered together, and brought out of the bondage of Egypt, the Lord by the mini&s;tration of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron;</HI> writ, divulged, and mini&s;tred, the Divine precepts of the law of God: the knowledge and perfection whereof, man had lo&s;t and forgot by tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion. Out of which law, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> by the commandement of God, extracted Eccle&s;ia&s;tical ordinan|ces for <HI>Aaron,</HI> and the legall Prie&s;thood and Levites, for &s;er|ving
<PB N="6" REF="10">
of the Tabernacle, to in&s;truct the people by types and fi|gures in the Divine and heavenly my&s;teries of God under the law, (as by a Schoolema&s;ter) till the my&s;terie of God &s;hould be manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h, and dwell with men. And of this Doctrine all the Prophets te&s;tified and writ declaring and fore-telling the comming of that Me&s;&s;ias.</P>
<P>All the glory of the Tabernacle, and after that the Temple with the typicall Sacrifices, was but to &s;et forth that &s;piritu|all and Divine glory and power: which was to come, and to be manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h: and then the outward and earth|ly glory &s;hould be aboli&s;hed and done away, that the Divine and invi&s;ible power thereof, might onely remaine, and &s;hine in the hearts and &s;oules of the Elect, as the Prophet <HI>Ioel</HI> 2. 28. And afterward will I poure out my &s;pirit upon all fle&s;h; and your &s;onnes and your daughters &s;hall prophecie, <HI>Ier.</HI> 31. 33. After tho&s;e dayes (&s;aith the Lord) I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and I &s;ay; this is the Covenant which I will make with them, my &s;pirit is up|on thee, &amp; my word which I have put in thy mouth, &s;hall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy &s;eed (&s;aith the Lord) from henceforth and for ever.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The publike wor&s;hip under the law.</NOTE>
But in all this they held the daily publique &s;ervice pure and undefiled, without rites or any other ceremonies, but only the reading of the word, and mini&s;tring the Sacrament, and teaching on the Sabbath dayes.</P>
<P>And the Jewes for their Divine Services had their Syna|gogues in every Citie and Towne; and Chri&s;t did by his owne practi&s;e and pre&s;ence ob&s;erve the &s;ame upon the Sab|bath day, as it is <HI>Luke</HI> the 4. 16. 17. as his cu&s;tome was, he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day, and &s;tood up to read, and there was delivered to him the book of <HI>I&s;aiah;</HI> and <HI>Acts 13. 14. 15. Paul</HI> and <HI>Barnabas</HI> went into the Syna|gogue on the Sabbath day.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The forme of &s;ervice u&s;ed in the Synagogues.</HEAD>
<P>Fir&s;t, they began their Service with a generall verball confe&s;&s;ion, which they gathered out of the Prophets, <HI>Levit.</HI>
<PB N="7" REF="10">
26. 20. <HI>Numb. 5. 6. 7. Nehem.</HI> 9. 23. The forme of this con|fe&s;&s;ion is &s;et forth in the Jewes Talmond: We have &s;inned, O Lord, we have done wickedly, we have dealt deceitfully in thy fight, we thy people and all the hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> we repent our &s;elves thereof, and are a&s;hamed for the &s;ame: and there|fore, O Lord, we be&s;eech thee forgive us our &s;innes, our ini|quities, and our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, as it is written in the book of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> thy &s;ervant.</P>
<P>Then followed the reading of the Law and the Prophets, and then after followed the expounding and exhortation, then the Service ended with a generall thanks for all things, and as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith for all per&s;ons, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. 1. 2. And thus their Service was concluded with ble&s;&s;ings upon the people from the mouth of the Mini&s;ter.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The &s;ame Service and Method ob&s;erved by the Apo&s;tles.</HEAD>
<P>Chri&s;t left no other forme of Service in Gods wor&s;hip, but onely &s;uch as was u&s;ed in the Church of the Jewes, naked and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 1. 13. 14.</NOTE>
&s;imple prayer, prai&s;e, and thanks: reading, preaching, and exhortation with the mini&s;tration of the Sacraments; com|manding his Di&s;ciples to goe teach all Nations, bapti&s;ing them in the name of the Father, the Sonne, and the Spirit.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">They avoyded Rites and Ce|remonies as burdens not lawfull to be layd on the people of God.</NOTE>The Apo&s;tles ob&s;erved their Ma&s;ters commandement in  every circum&s;tance proper for the mini&s;tration of tho&s;e Di|vine my&s;teries; To all that Chri&s;t ordained they neither ad|ded nor dimini&s;hed any thing.</P>
<P>Springing from &s;uper&s;tition of time, and place, and cir|cum&s;tances, for they knew that Ordination was not tyed to a day, an houre, or any &s;olemne time or &s;ea&s;on, but was in&s;titu|ted for the benefit of the &s;oule of man, therefore they thought fit to mini&s;ter the Lords Supper every Lords day. Neither did they u&s;e any other order or ge&s;ture, but after the &s;ame manner &s;itting as Chri&s;t did in&s;titute it, fearing the cur&s;e of God to adde or dimini&s;h; And held that manner of order mo&s;t wor|thy and fit to be ob&s;erved in Divine my&s;teries, which their Lord had formerly ob&s;erved, knowing the power &amp; efficacie
<PB N="6" REF="11">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="7" REF="11">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="8" REF="12">
to be of his &s;pirit, and not to con&s;i&s;t in Rites and Ceremonies, or circum&s;tances of time and place.</P>
<P>After the a&s;cen&s;ion of the Lord, he Apo&s;tles and the whole Church (con&s;i&s;ting of 120 per&s;ons) a&s;&s;embled at <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> in an upper Chamber, and abode together with the 11 Apo&s;tles, and continued with one accord in prayer and &s;upplication: And then, and there, <HI>Peter</HI> taught and preached, and in the publique a&s;&s;embly, and with their whole con&s;ent, they cho&s;e <HI>Matthias</HI> to &s;upply <HI>Iudas</HI> his place. <HI>Acts</HI> 1. 13, 14, 15. al&s;o 2. 42. and they continued in the Apo&s;tles Doctrine and fel|low&s;hip, and breaking of bread and prayer. In which words is &s;et forth the whole form of their Service and wor&s;hip u&s;ed in the Apo&s;tolique times, which con&s;i&s;ted in preaching the true Doctrine of Chri&s;t, their unity of faith and love, mini|&s;tration of the Sacraments and Prayer.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The Te&s;timony of the Fathers.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iustinus Mar|tyr. Apolo. 2. <HI>about the yeare</HI> 130.</NOTE>On the day (&s;aith he) which is called Sonday (that is the Lords day) there is an a&s;&s;embling and comming together of  all manner of people, (dwelling either in the Fields or in the Cities) into one place, and there are read the Acts, or Records of the Apo&s;tles, and the Writings of the Prophets; &s;o long as the time would &s;uffer, then when the Reader hath left off reading, (that is to &s;ay, he which was Pre&s;ident or Chiefe in the a&s;&s;embly,) the Bi&s;hop or Pa&s;tor delivered an admonition or exhortat: on by way of di&s;cour&s;e, tending to the &s;tirring of them up, to follow and practi&s;e tho&s;e good things. After|wards wee ri&s;e all at once, and &s;end our prayers unto God. And prayer being ended, the bread and wine is brought, and he that directeth the action, delivereth with all the power and might he hath, prayers and thank&s;giving, the people a&s;|&s;enting &s;ay Amen. Then followeth the di&s;tribution to every one pre&s;ent, and the communicating of the things which were ble&s;&s;ed by thank&s;giving, and they &s;end of the &s;ame to tho&s;e that were ab&s;ent, by the Deacons; In the end, they which are of ability, and are moved therewithall, give every one according as it plea&s;eth him, and that which remaineth
<PB N="9" REF="12">
abideth with him that is pre&s;ident, with which he makes provi&s;ion for the fatherle&s;&s;e, widowes, &s;icke per&s;ons, cap|tives and needy &s;trangers.</P>
<P>The &s;ame Author in another place of the &s;ame Apologie: Af|ter (&s;aith he) that we have wa&s;hed, that is baptized him, that hath received the fajth, and joyned him&s;elfe with us, wee bring him into the A&s;&s;embly and Congregation of the bre|thren, where they are come together to make their common prayers both for them&s;elves and for him, and for all man|ner of per&s;ons what&s;oever; When prayers are thus ended wee &s;alute one another with an holy ki&s;&s;e, and then there is brought to the Pa&s;tor the Bread and the Cup, and hee giveth prai&s;e and glory to the Father of all things in the name of the Sonne, and of the holy Gho&s;t, and maketh a great thanke&s;-giving, for that hee hath vouch&s;afed to make them worthy of the&s;e things: which being ended the people joyne and put their ble&s;&s;ing thereto, &s;aying, Amen; After|ward the Pa&s;tor ble&s;&s;ing them: tho&s;e whom wee call Dea|cons gives to every one who are pre&s;ent, and they carry to tho&s;e that are ab&s;ent; And this food is called the Sacrament of thanke&s;-giving, which is not lawfull for any one to re|ceive, which hath not before received the truth of our Do|ctrine of Faith, and hath not beene wa&s;hed with Bapti&s;me of regeneration for remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertullian.</NOTE>
Al&s;o, <HI>Tertullian</HI> in his Apologie about few yeares after; Now, &s;aith he; I will declare unto you the practi&s;es of the Chri&s;tian function, to the end that when I have refuted the evill I may &s;hew you the good. We come together into one Congregation to have recour&s;e unto God by prayer, forcing him as it were by joyning together of all our prayers, and this violent enforcement is very well plea&s;ing to God; Wee pray for Emperours, for their Officers and Potentates; and for the e&s;tate pre&s;ent; for the quieting of matters, wee come together for communicating of the holy Scriptures; as the pre&s;ent times doe pre&s;&s;eus, or to prevent &s;omewhat to come, or to make acknowledgement of the pre&s;ent; And thus wee feed our faith with holy &s;peeches, we relieve and &s;uccour our hope, we make &s;trong our confidence, and therewithall like|wi&s;e
<PB N="10" REF="13">
fortifie our Di&s;cipline and manner of government by the urgent and unce&s;&s;ant rehear&s;all, and renowing of the memo|rie of good precepts. In our Congregations is u&s;ed likewi&s;e exhortations, reprehen&s;ions, and the exerci&s;e of &s;acred cen|&s;ures, for then matters are judged with great advi&s;ement, as is wont to be done, of &s;uch men as a&s;&s;uredly know that the face of God is towards them; Behold and &s;ee their doings, and it is a great fore&s;hew of the judgement to come: if any one among&s;t us have &s;inned &s;o deeply as to be excluded from the Communion of prayer and the A&s;&s;embly; and of all man|ner of having any thing to doe with this &s;ocietie and fellow|&s;hip, whereof the Elders that are be&s;t approved and found mo&s;t faithfull, doe &s;it as pre&s;idents in the A&s;&s;embly advanced, and called to that dignity, not through any &s;ummes of mo|ney; but by the weight and &s;way of the good te&s;timonie, which they have given.</P>
<P>I have onely reported the te&s;timony of the&s;e two Authors of the Primitive times to &s;hew the pure &s;implicity of Gods wor&s;hip in their publike &s;ervice, which was no other but the &s;ame in order and forme with the wor&s;hip u&s;ed in the <HI>Jewes</HI> Church, onely in this they differed from the Chri&s;tians, that after their &s;ervices and exhortation they mini&s;tred the Sacra|ment of Bapti&s;me when there was occa&s;ion. And then the <HI>Catechumeni</HI> were di&s;mi&s;&s;ed with this word <HI>(Mi&s;&s;a:)</HI> then the Elders which were all the be&s;t approved of Congregati|on were admitted to the Sacrament of the Lords body and blood mini&s;tred with prayer under the &s;ignes of Bread and Wine, and &s;inging of P&s;almes, then the Mini&s;ter ble&s;&s;ed them, and then with the &s;ame word <HI>(<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ie Mi&s;&s;a)</HI> the Congregation was di&s;mi&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The faigned and fal&s;e ori|ginall of the Ma&s;&s;e.</NOTE>
This word did properly &s;ignifie, depart or be gone or leave to depart, but by u&s;e it did after &s;ignifie the fir&s;t &s;ervice and the &s;econd &s;ervice, which they called the fir&s;t <HI>Mi&s;&s;a</HI> and the &s;econd <HI>Mi&s;&s;a,</HI> and in corruption of time it came to &s;igni|fie the Ma&s;&s;e, and Idolatrous &s;acrifice, from hence the Papi&s;ts lyingly &s;aigne to derive their Ma&s;&s;e; from the Apo&s;tles and the Fathers of the Primitive times.</P>
<P>Wee may al&s;o ob&s;erve from the Apo&s;tles and the primi|tive
<PB N="11" REF="13">
Congregations, that they had this tradition, they mini|&s;tred the Sacraments every Sabbath, and every one did bring &s;omething according to their abilitie to the Lords Ta|ble of bread, meat, and wine, which was &s;et on a Table in the midde&s;t of the hou&s;e of prayer, and this they called an offe|ring, the more to encourage the people to this bounty and charity, and this was covered till the fir&s;t &s;ervice was done, and the preaching, then the Cloath was taken of, and then the Bi&s;hop, or Pa&s;tor, or pre&s;ident came to the &s;ide of the Ta|ble, and gave thankes and prayed for all men, and after tooke Bread and Wine, and con&s;ecrated them with prayers; Some|times onely with the Lords prayer rehear&s;ing the words of the In&s;titution of our Lord, as in the 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. 11. And brake the Bread, and the Wine was poured out, and di&s;tributed to the people thereto admitted;</P>
<P>The re&s;t of the offerings were given to the poore, the nee|dy and the widowes by the Deacons.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Platina.</HI> To tie the Mi|ni&s;ters &amp; peo|ple of God to &s;et uniform: prayers is to incarcerate the Spirit of God. In the whole time of the primitive Church we find no other uniform pray|er, &s;ave the Lords prayer u&s;ed in admi|ni&s;tration of the Sacra|ment.</NOTE>
And <HI>Platina</HI> in the life of <HI>Tele&s;phorus</HI> &s;aith, that in the A|po&s;tles times all things were done nakedly, plainly and &s;im|ply in the action of this my&s;terie; And in <HI>Rome</HI> where the my&s;terie of iniquitie was to take roote, and bee &s;eated, all things continued, and were done after the &s;ame order, do|ctrines and traditions, as the Apo&s;tles taught; As <HI>Irenaus</HI> doth witne&s;&s;e for twelve Bi&s;hops &s;ucce&s;&s;ively from the Apo|&s;tles unto <HI>Eleutherius;</HI> Nay; the &s;implicitie and puritie of wor&s;hip continued without addition or diminution untill <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the great his time.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>An amplification what undeniable rea&s;ons for the puritie of Gods Wor&s;hip and &s;ervice.</HEAD>
<P>It is evident and undeniable that Gods wor&s;hip, and the Divine &s;ervice hath beene ever from <HI>Adam,</HI> and practi&s;ed by his po&s;teritie in the fir&s;t age plaine, &s;imple, pure, and naked prayer, prai&s;e and thankes, without any invention of man, or externall Ceremonie, nor yet any Sacramentall &s;ignes, &s;ave onely that <HI>Adam</HI> taught his &s;onnes to bring unto him, as to their high Prie&s;t pre&s;enting the per&s;on of the promi&s;ed &s;eed,
<PB N="12" REF="14">
before the incarnation, their fir&s;t fruits in thankfulne&s;&s;e, ha|ving onely the naked and &s;imple, mini&s;tration of the word promi&s;ed to be made man, preached by <HI>Adam, Seth,</HI> and <HI>E|noch,</HI> and <HI>Noah,</HI> to feed their holy faith, God enlightning them with the in&s;piration of his &s;pirit, making them the Pro|phets of God.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Why God u&s;ed no &s;acramen|tall &s;ignes.</NOTE>
And the Divine rea&s;ons why God u&s;ed no Sacramentall &s;ignes, nor figurative Sacrifices was, for that <HI>Adam</HI> and his po|&s;terity had not altogether forgot that Divine light of life, which hee was endued with in his creation, though hee had newly lo&s;t the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion thereof, yet he was more capable of in&s;piration, then the next generations were, who had &s;mo|thered even the light of nature by multiplying their tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ions: And this was a principall cau&s;e why they lived in this age above 960.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Why God &s;hortned the dayes of mans life.</NOTE>
But in the &s;econd age God did not onely for their over|growth of &s;infulne&s;&s;e cut &s;hort the dayes of man, but hee al&s;o did choo&s;e him&s;elfe a people from the loynes of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and renewed unto him the promi&s;e of his ble&s;&s;ed &s;eed, and made him a great Nation and Church unto him&s;elfe, and to this Church and people God gave Sacramentall &s;ignes to di&s;tin|gui&s;h them from all other Nations to be his owne, and or|dained them Statutes, Lawes, and ordinances to in&s;truct them as under a Schoolema&s;ter, and by &s;ignes to lead them unto the &s;pirituall power, and efficacie of the Incarnation of Chri&s;t and his death unto the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes.</P>
<P>But it is undeniable and manife&s;t, that hee required no other manner of wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of them, then hee did of the fir&s;t people, for God is unchangeable in his nature; there|fore he cannot nor will not have any other kinde of wor&s;hip: but one &s;imple pure wor&s;hip of prai&s;e, prayer, and thank&s;gi|giving, and feeding of this wor&s;hip with the plaine mini&s;tra|tion of his promi&s;ed word of life preached unto them.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The rea&s;on why the &s;econd age was clog|ged with Ce|remonies.</NOTE>
But why was this &s;econd age burthened with ordinances and figures? becau&s;e this age was drowned with the growth of &s;inne, and incapable of light, for &s;inne by the law became more raging and &s;infull; and the law was weak, and could not prevaile with man becau&s;e of &s;inne, for mans &s;infulne&s;&s;:
<PB N="13" REF="14">
was &s;o great, that the &s;pirit of the law which is righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, could not dwell in fle&s;h and blood but it mu&s;t be con&s;u|med: for this cau&s;e the law became death unto man, and man, by the law became dead: for the law did not onely reprove, but condemne. But in this third age the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the law became incarnate, and was made man, that man might be made the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the law: Thus that Chri&s;t, who was promi&s;ed to the fir&s;t age, is become our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: &s;o that now the &s;pirit is communicated in a fuller mea&s;ure, and more evident and powerfull then it was unto the Jewes in figurative types and ceremonies.</P>
<P>And this is the rea&s;on why all things are become more &s;piri|tuall, and God will have his wor&s;hip now to be known to be onely &s;pirit and truth; for through him we are become new creatures unto God the Father, created in Chri&s;t, not to a new wor&s;hip, but to the &s;ame wor&s;hip more pure and perfectly to wor&s;hip in &s;pirit then heretofore.</P>
<P>The rea&s;on (why Chri&s;t would in&s;titute no other wor&s;hip, nor allow none to be true-wor&s;hippers; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Why Chri&s;t did in&s;titute no new wor|&s;hip, but ap|proved and practi&s;ed the old.</NOTE>
but tho&s;e that wor|&s;hipped in &s;pirit and truth, &s;imply, plainly, and nakedly, is extracted from Gods owne E&s;&s;entiall nature, God is a &s;pirit, and therefore will be wor&s;hip'd in &s;pirit and truth. Al&s;o God is one &s;imple pure &s;pirituall E&s;&s;ence, therefore he will have no invention, nor no mixture of any Rites, Ceremonies, or ob|&s;ervations but plainene&s;&s;e. And againe, God will with the &s;imple plainene&s;&s;e of his wor&s;hip and preaching confound the wi&s;edome and &s;uper&s;titious curio&s;ity of man, <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 2.</NOTE>
for the na|turall corruption of man not &s;avouring nor di&s;cerning the beauty and &s;weetne&s;&s;e of &s;pirituall things, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Why man &s;tu|dies to invent new wor&s;hip.</NOTE>
doth out of a &s;lavi&s;h feare and &s;uper&s;titious curio&s;ity, &s;eeke a will-wor&s;hip of his owne invention which God hates; But the enlightned &s;oule &s;ees mo&s;t heavenly and glorious delights in the plaine and &s;imple mini&s;tration of Gods word; for the minde not &s;tick|ing in the outward forme and &s;ignes of the my&s;teries: &s;hee flies with the wings of Divine &s;peculations into the pre&s;ence of God and his Angels, as <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;aith &s;peaking of the &s;oule. We have a &s;i&s;ter (&s;aith hee) among us, unto whom is given the gift of Revelation, in the midde&s;t of Divine Service, &s;he
<PB N="14" REF="15">
is ea&s;t into an exta&s;ie, &s;he is brought into the company of An|gels, and &s;ometimes into the pre&s;ence of the Lord him&s;elfe. Againe, according to the Scriptures that are read, the P&s;almes that are &s;ung, the Sermons that are made, and prayers which are offered: new matter of vi&s;ion is admini&s;tred and offered unto her.</P>
<P>Now tho&s;e that have not this &s;pirituall &s;ence, and eye to ta&s;te and &s;ee how good and gracious the Lord is, and to be|hold how beautifull his Tabernacles are, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t in-let of &s;et prayers compiled into a Service-book</NOTE>
they think it was the ignorance or poverty of the age that &s;uffered the wor|&s;hip of God, and his mini&s;tration to be clad in &s;uch ba&s;e and meane array and cloathing, and comparing her to the world|ly pomp of Idolatrous and &s;uper&s;titious wor&s;hip, they were a&s;hamed to &s;how the Church in &s;uch plaine roabes before the Gentiles and Iewes; therefore every Metropolitane after the Nicene Coun&s;ell having got the &s;ole government into their hands, devi&s;ed &s;ome &s;entences out of the Scripture to beautifie the &s;ervice and the Sacraments, and &s;ome rites and ceremonies to corre&s;pond both with Iew and Gentile in &s;erving God; All which things though at the fir&s;t the In|venters had a good intent, and the words and rites carried a glorious &s;how of holine&s;&s;e; yet becau&s;e they were not the things that God ordained, nor thought fit to be done or to have done in his &s;ervice and mini&s;tration: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mans inventi|on in the wor|&s;hip of God is of dangerous con&s;equence to the Church.</NOTE>
therefore they brought forth in the end a malignant effect both in wor&s;hip and Doctrine, Idolatry and Super&s;tition with damnable he|re&s;ies in the end; which the fir&s;t Inventers never dreamed of.</P>
<P>For when man adds other words; or &s;ome other thing to the Sacraments, then Chri&s;t did u&s;e in his in&s;titution, doth hee not di&s;allow of the wi&s;edome of God, and thereby make his owne filthine&s;&s;e appears under his skirts? as the Lord &s;aith, <HI>Exod.</HI> 19. la&s;t ver&s;e, where man is prohibited invention. To beware of this, <HI>Cyprian</HI> in his Epi&s;tle to <HI>Adrian</HI> the Em|perour, advi&s;eth to hold our &s;elves fa&s;t to the in&s;titution of Chri&s;ts the Apo&s;tles did &s;o as appeares by <HI>Paul, 1 Cor.</HI> 11. 12. It is truth (&s;aith <HI>Cyprian)</HI> &s;eeing that neither any Apo&s;tles nei|ther Angels from heaven could declare any thing unto us; be|&s;ide that which Chri&s;t hath once taught, I cannot but mervaile
<PB N="15" REF="15">
how again&s;t all Angelicall and Apo&s;tolicall Doctrine men dare to offer in &s;ome places water in the Cup. Again he &s;aith, they &s;hould ask coun&s;ell of tho&s;e whom they follow; for if in the &s;acrifice which is Chri&s;t we &s;hould not follow any other then Chri&s;t, it mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity follow that wee mu&s;t obey and doe as Chri&s;t hath done and commanded us to doe: &s;o he &s;aith in his Go&s;pel; If you doe the things I command you to doe, I will call you no more &s;ervants but &s;onne; And the Father doth witne&s;&s;e, that Chri&s;t is onely to be heard, Aying from heaven this is my beloved Sonne, heare him; thereupon we are not to regard what tho&s;e before us have judged meet; becau&s;e we are not to apply our &s;elves to follow the cu&s;toms of man, but the truth and verity of God. And the &s;ame Au|thor to &s;top the month of all will-wor&s;hippers faith; if any of our predece&s;&s;ors either through ignorance or fooli&s;h &s;im|plicity have held otherwi&s;e then the Lord hath taught, either by his precept or by his example; God will pardon &s;uch his &s;implicity through his rich and abundant mercy; But unto us now, who are forewarned and taught the contrary by him|&s;elfe, it cannot be pardoned.</P>
<P>The&s;e enforcing and undeniable rea&s;ons cannot be with|&s;tood, but teach and &s;tirre us up to &s;eek the fir&s;t purity, &s;imple and plaine manner of wor&s;hip, and to &s;hake off all rites, ce|remonies, and &s;uper&s;titions, and to re&s;t &s;atisfied with the &s;implicity of preaching, and to cleave to the pre&s;cript In&s;ti|tution of Chri&s;t in u&s;ing the Sacrements.</P>
<CLOSER>Thus much for the wor&s;hip of God.</CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="16" REF="16">
<HEAD>Of Divine Iuri&s;diction, the &s;econd &s;ub&s;i&s;tence in the Church of God.</HEAD>
<P>_AS Divine wor&s;hip is the fir&s;t &s;ub&s;i&s;tence, in the unitie of the vi&s;ible Church of God, in which all the faithfull are congregated (as it were in one body)<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4. 4.</NOTE>
 into the unitie of the &s;pirit in the bond of peace, even &s;o Divine dominion mu&s;t be the &s;econd &s;ub&s;i&s;tence dwelling in the Church, and filling the Church with life and vigour through all members, as the &s;oule in the body, al&s;o it is like &s;inewes and arteries knitting and coupling together the body by every joynt for the Fur|niture thereof (according to the effectuall power which is in the mea&s;ure of every, part) receiving increa&s;e of the body un|to the edifying of it &s;elfe in love.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12. 1.</NOTE>
Now all powers are of God from above from the Father of light, as from a fountaine from whence all good gifts and gracious givings doe proceed by his mighty Word<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 1. 17.</NOTE>
 through his holy Spirit flowing into the ve&s;&s;els of humanity and run|ning through them with a perpetuall &s;ucce&s;&s;ive duration, re|turning into the Ocean of Gods glory.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;. 1. 15.</NOTE>
The fir&s;t receptacle of all divine power and dominion communicated from the Father is Chri&s;t the Mediatour God and man to whom all power is given, both in heaven and in earth, who is the fir&s;t begotten of every creature; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 7. 13.</NOTE>
And as <HI>Da|niel</HI> &s;aw in his Vi&s;ion one like the Sonne of Man come in the cloudes of heaven, and approach to the Antient of dayes, and they brought him before him, and he gave him Dominion, Honour, and a Kingdome, that all people, Nations and lan|guages &s;hould &s;erue him, for this cau&s;e we are taught to con|clude our petitions with this obedient acknowledgement, for thine is the kingdome, the power, or dominion, and the glory. <NOTE PLACE="marg">The kindome of God is threefold.</NOTE></P>
<P>This kingdome is one entire kingdome of di&s;tinct grada|tions,
<PB N="17" REF="16">
yet individuall, like the wheeles in the vi&s;ion of <HI>Exe|chiel,</HI> one within another, as the kingdome of Providence, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Providence. Grace. Glory.</NOTE>
the Church of Chri&s;t militant, with the Soules triumphant, and the dominions, powers, and principalities of Angels mini|&s;tring before him.</P>
<P>The dominion given unto Chri&s;t as he is the Sonne of man (<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">God, the a|nointed man. Of God, the only proper Saviour, Ie&s;us. God by his In|carnation, hath united him|&s;elfe to his creatures, and &s;upporteth and pre&s;erveth all things by his mighty power.</NOTE>
Chri&s;t God and Man) is the per&s;onall power of the Fa|thers eternall begotten Word, by individuall union of Di|vine nature, with the humanity communicated to Gods elect. whereby hee is the ingraven forme of the Fathers owne per&s;on unto the world, holding up all things by his mighty Word.</P>
<P>This Word by the mini&s;teriall proceeding of the holy Gho&s;t is that Scepter of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, whereby he guideth and ruleth his kingdomes, as <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, thy Throne, O God is for ever, the Scepter of thy kingdome is a Scepter of righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The word of God, is the patterne and rule of all goodlawes.</NOTE>
This is that Scepter of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e by the precepts and power whereof Kings raign, and Princes decree Ju&s;tice; For this cau&s;e Chri&s;t is called the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the onely ruler of Princes.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the fir&s;t gradation.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dominion was by God given fir&s;t to <HI>Adam</HI> the fir&s;t-borne of man. <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. 28.</NOTE>
For the fir&s;t gradation of Gods great kingdome, God by Divine ordination in nature in the Creation gave a ble&s;|&s;ing and dominion unto <HI>Adam,</HI> to fill the earth with his &s;eed, and to &s;ubdue it under his obedience. For this cau&s;e it is &s;aid, the heaven of heavens is the Lords, the earth he hath given to the Children of men; from hence God claimes the fir&s;t borne to be his &s;ub&s;titutes on earth, which honour in the beginning was due to them, as the dignity of their birth-right by Gods ordination, which continued in the Family of <HI>Adam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">This Domini|on lo&s;t by the &s;ons of <HI>Adam.</HI> Then to be conferred up|on Chri&s;t the Son of God and man.</NOTE>
 till <HI>Cain</HI> lo&s;t it by killing his brother <HI>Abell; Cham</HI> lo&s;t it by &s;coffing his father <HI>Noah; E&s;au</HI> &s;old it for a me&s;&s;e of Pottage, and <HI>Reuben</HI> lo&s;t it by defiling of his fathers bed. Then by the law of that ordinance the dignitie of Birth-right was of divine right conferred upon the Tribe of <HI>Judah,</HI> and re&s;erved in the line of <HI>Iudah</HI> for the Lyon of <HI>Judah,</HI> who is the image
<PB N="18" REF="17">
of the invi&s;ible God, the fir&s;t begotten of every creature, and for that all things were created by him and for him, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Re&s;tored in Chri&s;t to man.</NOTE>
and that he is before all things, and in him all things con&s;i&s;t; And al&s;o being the ordained Lambe of God before the foundation of the world, he is therefore made the head of the body of the Church, King of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that in all things bee might have do|minion and preheminence both of things in earth, and things in heaven; For it was the Fathers plea&s;ure that in him all ful|ne&s;&s;e &s;hould dwell, from this fountaine all &s;overaigntie is derived.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>How Chri&s;t doth con&s;titute his Vice-royes on earth, Kings, Princes, and Potentates, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>The fir&s;t ordination of Soveraignty being thus (as I have &s;hewed) of Divine right conferred upon the naturall Sonne of God &s;itting upon his highe&s;t Throne of glory, farre above all powers and principalities, he doth by his divine and all fore&s;eeing providence con&s;titute whom it plea&s;eth him to &s;it upon his earthly Thrones, over any Nation, people, or lan|guage, induing them with proper gifts of his owne &s;pirit for rule and government; Thus doth God con&s;titute Kings and Princes, and Rulers, after what manner &s;oever it bee done on earth, whether by lineall de&s;cent or Nationall choi&s;e, or by the &s;word, how&s;oever the hand of Providence doth direct, appoint and e&s;tabli&s;h, 1 <HI>Sam. 2. 4. P&s;al. 123. Hee rai&s;eth the pocre out of the du&s;t, and lifteth the beggar out of the dung, to &s;et them among Princes, and to make them inherit the &s;eat of glory;</HI> Al&s;o, <HI>hee pulleth downe and &s;etteth up at his plea&s;ure.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 2. 21.</NOTE></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A digre&s;&s;ion.</NOTE>
It is profitable for us to ob&s;erve that <HI>Adam</HI> by his tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ion, lo&s;t neither the natural faculties of his &s;oule, nor the honour and dignity of his birth-right and dominion though at the fir&s;t, (by lo&s;ing that breath of life which was the light and life of his &s;oule, and that made him the perfect I|mage of God) they were weakened and blemi&s;hed in ca|pacitie. For if he had lo&s;t his naturall faculties, hee had lo&s;t the forme of his being, and if his birth-right and dignity of dominion had beene aboli&s;hed before it had beene conferred
<PB N="19" REF="17">
upon another, then &s;hould nature have been deprived of the mini&s;tration of judgement, Ju&s;tice, and equity, which would have brought forth an utter di&s;&s;olution of the whole genera|tion of man; But after the &s;onnes of <HI>Adam,</HI> as it were for|feited their dignity and birth-right of dominion by multi|plying tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, then God the Father conferred the pre|heminence thereof upon the Sonne of Man (even Chri&s;t) that he might con&s;ecrate and appoint, whom it &s;eemed good unto him to &s;it upon his temporall Throne, &s;o that birth-right and preheminence might be his in whom all fulne&s;&s;e dwelt. And that by him Judgement, Ju&s;tice and equity might reigne with men.</P>
<P>Thus the Regall power of Princes is derived from Chri&s;t by the rule of divine ordination in nature, (for he that is the Author of nature, is the ob&s;erverr and pre&s;erver of all the ordinances in nature) &s;o that this royall office is re&s;tored to man by ordination in Chri&s;t; But the prie&s;tly and propheti|call office man hath from God by union and communion with Chri&s;t, and by in&s;piration and &s;upernaturall donation through the holy Gho&s;t; For this cau&s;e a Tyrant may bee a lawfull King by ordination of God, yet no Chri&s;tian member of Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Difference betwixt Regall ordination and Divine power.</HEAD>
<P>From hence we may extract an evident difference betwixt the power of royall ordination in nature, and the &s;upernatu|rall power of God which is given to his Church on earth; That is a mini&s;teriall power to di&s;tribute Judgement, Ju|&s;tice, and equity among&s;t men, with ab&s;olute power of co|action to puni&s;h actuall offences, with corporall or pecunia|ry puni&s;hment upon body, lands, and goods. This other is a &s;upernaturall power and divine efficacy properly given to the elect of God by in&s;piration, whereby they have union and communion with Chri&s;t, and one with another for every ones owne particular prerogative of &s;on &s;hip, and for the edi|fication one of another, and to &s;ome men it is given in a pecu|liar
<PB N="20" REF="18">
manner, and a greater mea&s;ure of divine power and gifts, for the mini&s;tration, writing, teaching, and preaching of the Word and Sacraments of God, which is that which was re|vealed by God to the antient Prophets, and that which was taught by Chri&s;t, and after written by the Spirit of God, from the pen and mouth of the Apo&s;tles; And this power is a mini&s;teriall power, mighty in operation to bind and loo&s;e the con&s;cience, to open and &s;hut heaven and hell, by declaring the judgement of God again&s;t unpentient &s;inners, and his mercy in Chri&s;t to the penitent man, as he hath taught and revealed; for this power doth not follow the judgement and will of man, nor &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of profe&s;&s;ion, but is tyed and limited to the power of the Word and will of God; Therefore what they bind on earth by this mini&s;teriall power, Chri&s;t bindes in heaven by his ab&s;olute power. By this there is no power of coaction given to the Church over the body, nor pur&s;e, nor life, but onely over the &s;oule and con&s;cience, and to rule by in&s;truction, admonition, and correction. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Civill govern|ment is to cut &s;in by the mid|dle, but &s;uper|naturall is to pull it up by the rootes.</NOTE>
That makes men civill and &s;ociable, and re&s;traineth vice for feare of puni&s;h|ment: this other makes men &s;pirituall and divine, meeke and lowly, and full of loving kindne&s;&s;e, and rooteth out &s;inne in the heart, making men refraine and &s;hun &s;inne and wicked|ne&s;&s;e, for the love of God and goodne&s;&s;e it &s;elfe. Herein the kingdome of Providence and Grace doe both agree to make man happy and ble&s;&s;ed in this life, and in the life to come; For this cau&s;e it was &s;aid to <HI>Abraham; In thy &s;eed all nati|ons &s;hall bee ble&s;&s;ed;</HI> And <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the Nation who&s;e God is the Lord.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Church of God, is the &s;oule of a good Common-wealth, and as a &s;en&s;itive &s;oule is be&s;ti|al, without the rational, &s;o is a body politique without the Church, be&s;ti|all and tyran|nicall.</NOTE>
For no Kingdome nor Common-wealth can be ble&s;&s;ed, which doth not entertaine the true Church of God in her bo&s;ome, or in which the Church is not involved; For this cau&s;e God doth make good Kings a ble&s;|&s;ing to his people, and commands his Saints to pray for Kings, Princes, and Governours, that they may lead a peacea|ble and happy life under them, and that there his Go&s;pell may have a free pa&s;&s;age; And &s;o Kings and Princes become nur&s;ing fathers, and nur&s;ing mothers; And in this combina|tion betwixt Church and Common-wealth, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and peace doe ki&s;&s;e each other. But if they be wicked Princes,
<PB N="21" REF="18">
then they are &s;ent for a puni&s;hment and &s;courge of God to the the people, and when God hath whipped his people, then he burnes his roddes with judgements. Therefore bee wi&s;e yee Kings, be learned ye Judges of the earth, &s;erve the Lord in feare, and rejoyce in trembling, ki&s;&s;e the Son le&s;t he be angry, <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 P&s;al.</NOTE>
and ye peri&s;h in the way, when his wrath &s;hall &s;uddenly burne, ble&s;&s;ed are all they that tru&s;t in him.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The gla&s;&s;e of Kings.</HEAD>
<P>The gla&s;&s;e wherein Kings are to &s;ee them&s;elves by re|flexion, and the pattern whereby they are to di&s;tribute judge|ment, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Trinitie a true patterne to a Chri&s;tian King. <HI>Prov.</HI> 34.</NOTE>
ju&s;tice, and equity, is the Divine nature and holy Tri|nity of God him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>For as the nature of God is &s;trong and mighty full of pitty and compa&s;&s;ion, &s;low to anger, and abundant in goodne&s;&s;e and truth, who&s;e purity of nature expelleth and con&s;umeth every impure and imperfect thing, even &s;o doth God require his King &s;hould be like unto him on earth, as he is in heaven, for he hath &s;et none above him on earth. Therefore as God is in purity of e&s;&s;ence a law unto him&s;elfe, and a con&s;uming fire of evill, &s;o ought a King in his politique capacity to be a law unto him&s;elfe by conforming him&s;elfe in a &s;pirituall a&s;&s;i|milation to the nature of God in purity of ju&s;tice, puni&s;hing the evill and cheri&s;hing the good.</P>
<P>Al&s;o as the per&s;on of the Father in its e&s;&s;ence is the foun|tain of his eternall law which he hath begotten and ordained with him&s;elfe for him&s;elfe to doe all things by; &s;o is the King in his politique capacity, the fountaine of politique lawes which hee hath as it were begotten in his body poli|tique to rule and governe his people by.</P>
<P>And as the eternall law of God is the begotten Coun&s;ell of the Trinity in the Deity, &s;o are the lawes politique the be|goten Coun&s;ell of a politique Trinity which is the Soveraign, the Nobles and Magi&s;trates, and the Councell of Commons, re&s;embling the Divine Trinity in Unity, the indivi&s;ible &s;ub&s;i|&s;tence of a Kingdome; So that Kings are by this pattern and
<PB N="22" REF="19">
rule bound to keepe the lawes of their Kingdomes inviolate, and to doe all things by their lawes, as God doth all things by his word: And this is the greate&s;t prerogative of a King, that he keepe his owne lawes freely without compul&s;ion like God him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>And likewi&s;e as the holy Gho&s;t is the univer&s;all Mini&s;ter and Divine Di&s;pen&s;ator of all divine powers, gifts, and gra|ces of God, proceeding from the Father and the Sonne; even &s;o are the Peeres, Princes, Judges, Magi&s;trates, and Mini&s;ters of Ju&s;tice in a Common-wealth, proceeding from the King and his lawes: The univer&s;all Mini&s;ters of the Royall powers and lawes of the Kingdome. For though they be many as members in diver&s;ity of Di&s;pen&s;ation of Ju&s;tice, Judgement, and equity of the lawes, yet are they all but as one &s;pirit of the body politique, as the &s;pirit of God being one, is by rea|&s;on of the diver&s;ity of Admini&s;trations properly called the &s;eaven &s;pirits before the throne of God, <HI>Revel.</HI> 1. And as the individuall unity of this di&s;tinct Trinitie is the &s;ub&s;i&s;tence of the God-head; Even &s;o is the unity of the King with his Lawes, and his Princes and Magi&s;trates, the &s;ub&s;i&s;tence of a body politique or Common-wealth; Therefore <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;aith, Judgement and Ju&s;tice is the e&s;tabli&s;hment of the Throne. For this &s;imilitudes &s;ake, Kings, Princes, and Magi&s;trates are called Gods: I have &s;aid, &s;aith the Lord, yee are Gods, but yee &s;hall die like men, for they are in all things to bee in their Common-wealth as God him&s;elfe; Therefore wee are taught to pray, Thy will, O God be done on earth as it is in heaven, that Kings may rule by thee, and Princes decree Ju|&s;tice on earth as thou do&s;t in heaven.</P>
<P>This is that orbe wherein Kings are to walke as the Sunne in his &s;pheare; but if Kings make their owne will and lu&s;t, their law and rule of Ju&s;tice, Judgement and equitie, then they are exorbitant, and then God in who&s;e hands are the hearts of Kings, cau&s;eth their Coun&s;ellers to goe as &s;poyled, and makes their Judges as fooles, and he loo&s;eth the collar of Kings, and girdeth their loynes as with a girdle, and leadeth away Princes as a prey, and overthroweth the mighty, or
<PB N="23" REF="19">
Pwreth contempt upon Princes, and maketh the &s;trength of the mighty weake, <HI>Job</HI> 12. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.<NOTE PLACE="marg">When God withdrawes the love of &s;ubjects.</NOTE></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>How divine and &s;upernaturall power is derived unto man from the Father by the Word through the Spirit.</HEAD>
<P>A civill mini&s;teriall power of Ju&s;tice is derived of Kings, Princes and Magi&s;trates from Chri&s;t, as he is the Son of God, and fir&s;t begotten of every creature, and therefore mo&s;t wor|thy to have preheminence above all, in whom all things con|&s;i&s;t, for the temporall bli&s;&s;e and happine&s;&s;e of man on earth. So is divine and &s;upernaturall power derived from Chri&s;t, not onely as he is the fir&s;t begotten Son of God, but al&s;o as he is the light and life of man, without whom man cannot be a living &s;oule, and as he is the eternall Mediatour betwixt God and man, that promi&s;ed &s;eed, the Redeemer of the Elect of God, the prede&s;tinated Lambe, &s;laine from before the &s;ounda|tion of the world, for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, their ordained King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet, of God the Father in a &s;pirituall and more peculiar manner, and mea&s;ure of my&s;ticall union and communion, then either can be, or ever was, or ever &s;hall be in all the ordinances of God in nature, For this cau&s;e that all men might know that he was, and is, the &s;pirituall King of Glory, and that he came not into the world to deprive Kings and Princes of their &s;ubordinate power and preroga|tive: therefore he told them plainly, that his kingdome was not of this world, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 18. 26.</NOTE>
and he told his Apo&s;tles that among them there &s;hould bee no &s;uch government or dominion in his Church, as the Princes have on earth among men, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. 20. 25, 26.</NOTE>
but the chiefe&s;t among them &s;hould be he that tooke the mo&s;t paines to &s;erve the re&s;t with food of life.</P>
<P>The Church is called a kingdome, becau&s;e as in earthly kingdomes Kings and Princes have power by their politique lawes over the bodies, goods, and lives of men: for their wealefull being on earth to the glory of God: &s;o in this king|dome Chri&s;t onely and ab&s;olutely from the Father through
<PB N="24" REF="20">
the Spirit hath power by the divine. Word and law of God over the &s;oules of men for their eternall happine&s;&s;e and &s;alva|tion of his elect, and to the ju&s;t judgement and condemna|tion of the reprobate, to &s;hew forth the abundant riches of his grace in that, and in this to &s;hew forth his wrath and power, &s;uffering with long patience the ve&s;&s;els of wrath pre|pared for de&s;truction, and in both the exceeding excellencie of his glory doth appeare and is effected.</P>
<P>Al&s;o, it is called the kingdome of God, becau&s;e God the Fa|ther is the immediate fountaine from whence it floweth; the per&s;on of the Sonne the head, to which the whole body and every member really, and in a my&s;ticall manner is united and incorporated into him their head, becau&s;e God the Spirit is the immediate mini&s;ter and di&s;pen&s;ator of all divine gifts, and &s;pirituall ble&s;&s;ings in heavenly things; For this cau&s;e the Church in Scriptures is &s;ometimes compared to a hou&s;e or building compact together and built of living &s;tones, Chri&s;t being the corner &s;tone or foundation: and thus it is a &s;piritu|all hou&s;e of Saints. It is re&s;embled to a naturall body com|po&s;ed of a head (Chri&s;t) and many members knit unto it, and one unto another; and &s;ometimes it is de&s;cribed by the &s;imilitude of a throne &s;et in heaven, and he that &s;its thereon is a&s;&s;imilated to be one in Deitie, but three in di&s;tinct &s;ub&s;i|&s;tences, like to three pretious Jewels; The fir&s;t appearing like a Ja&s;per of a plea&s;ant never fading flouri&s;hing greene, the mother of all pearles; The &s;econd a Sardine which is of a reddi&s;h fle&s;h colour; The third is in a&s;pect as a Rain-bow that is of the Emerald colour, as the eye can behold nothing more &s;weet or delight&s;ome.</P>
<P>The&s;e colours repre&s;ent the nature of the Trinitie of the God-head, and round about the Throne were twenty foure Seats, and upon the &s;eats twenty foure Elders &s;itting cloathed in white rayment, and on their heads crownes of gold; This name of Elders is here given to all the members and congre|gation of Chri&s;t in his kingdome; and their white rayment is to expre&s;&s;e the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, which is imputed and freely put upon them, and making them Kings, Prie&s;ts,
<PB N="25" REF="20">
and Prophets to God the Father; Their Crownes are to de|clare their Royall dignitie which they have by Chri&s;t, for it is to be noted, that what&s;oever Chri&s;t is in him&s;elfe, either per&s;onally, naturally, or officially, all his members are parta|kers of the &s;ame, in &s;ome mea&s;ure according to the gift of Chri&s;t, by union, communion, in&s;piration, and through ex|ternall and in&s;trumentall mini&s;tration of his Word.</P>
<P>This is the Church of God; now tho&s;e things which are individually belonging to the Church, at fir&s;t the protecting power of God, which is alwayes ready to defend and re|venge the cau&s;e of his Saints, for God takes their cau&s;e into his owne hand, &s;aying, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay it. And God hath &s;aid touch not mine annointed, and doe my Prophets no harme; For this cau&s;e (in this &s;igne of the Church) there is &s;aid to proceed out of the Throne light|nings and thunders, and voyces, becau&s;e God doth puni&s;h the wicked horribly for the Churches &s;ake: none can e&s;cape his hands, that oppre&s;&s;e his Saints, for the Lord will roare out of Sion, and will put forth his voyce out of <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>A &s;econd &s;ort of gifts are inward graces of Sanctification expre&s;&s;ed in this vi&s;ion by &s;even Lampes of fire burning before the Throne, which are the &s;even Spirits of God, which is the internall &s;anctification of Gods Spirit filling every &s;oule with gifts like oyle of grace, and fire of zeale to burne with prai&s;es before the Throne; Like to the lampes in the Temple, <HI>Exod.</HI> 27, 20. by &s;even, &s;ignifying by a definite number, manifold gifts indefinite.</P>
<P>Next are outward gifts, which are allegorically called a &s;ea of gla&s;&s;e before the Throne like Cry&s;tall, which expre&s;&s;eth the &s;pirituall pure and un&s;potted wor&s;hip of God, and the mi|ni&s;tration of his Word as tran&s;parent to the eye of the inlight|ned mind, as Cry&s;tall gla&s;&s;e is to the eye of the body, through which the Saints may &s;ee the glory and maje&s;ty of God in the face of Chri&s;t Je&s;us. As this wor&s;hip is pure without any &s;pot of mans invention, and con&s;i&s;ts (as in the fir&s;t tract is &s;aid) of prayer, prai&s;e and thankes, ari&s;ing and alwayes nouri&s;hed by the doctrine of the word of God, which the &s;ea doth &s;ignifie,
<PB N="26" REF="21">
becau&s;e it is an Ocean of living waters pure like Cry&s;tall; This Sea therefore declares the whole wor&s;hip of God. And in re&s;pect that the Saints inlightned by the holy Gho&s;t are called burning Lampes, it is to them like a &s;ea of oyle to en|rich and encrea&s;e their lights.</P>
<P>Another outward gift is de&s;cribed to be foure Bea&s;ts; And in the midde&s;t of the Throne, and round about the Throne were foure bea&s;ts, the fir&s;t like a Lyon, the &s;econd a Calfe, the third a face like a man, the fourth like a flying Eagle, and their bodyes are full of eyes before and behind; The&s;e are the mini&s;ters and &s;ervants of God, who attend the mini&s;tration of the Word and Doctrine, and are placed betwixt the Throne and the Elders, as emba&s;&s;adours and me&s;&s;engers of God to his people, their place is in a neerer &s;tation to the Throne then the Elders. They are compared to bea&s;ts to ex|pre&s;&s;e their qualities, which is required for the conditions of the times and &s;ea&s;ons, as the &s;trength and courage of a Lyon, the patience of an Oxe, the prudence and wi&s;edome of a man, the Eagle-like contempt of earthly things, and &s;harper &s;ight in &s;pirituall and heavenly things.</P>
<P>The number is foure, to double the number of the tribe of <HI>Levi</HI> under the law, to an&s;wer the number of Elders, which is double to the twelve Patriarkes.</P>
<P>Their bodyes are full of eyes behind and before, which de|&s;cribes that &s;harpne&s;&s;e of riches and under&s;tanding in divine things, wherewith they are inducd by the gift of the Spi|rit to di&s;cerne things pa&s;t, things pre&s;ent, and things to come.</P>
<P>The&s;e bea&s;ts each one of them hath &s;ixe wings placed round about them, and full of eyes within the wings; the&s;e wings are not for that u&s;e that the wings are to the bea&s;ts in <HI>E<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="5+ letters">el,</HI> two to hide the face, and two to flye, and two to hide their feet: but they are placed about their bodyes as it were for furtherance and a&s;&s;i&s;tance in their proper place, and not to flye withall from place to place.</P>
<P>The&s;e wings therefore &s;ignifie Governours, and a&s;&s;i&s;tants or helpers, by whom the mini&s;ters are ayded in their fun|ction,
<PB N="27" REF="21">
and doe more &s;wiftly and readily afford &s;uccour to e|very part of the Church.</P>
<P>The&s;e wings are full of eyes within. The&s;e &s;ignifie the in|ward gifts of knowledge which are not placed in &s;o neere a mea&s;ure to the Throne, as the eyes in the body, but they are of the &s;ame nature of knowledge in divine things, to this end they &s;tand as in a watch tower, to behold and di&s;cerne every ones manners and conver&s;ation, and to reprove and exhort privately, and to helpe the mini&s;ters in Cen&s;ure and Di&s;cipline of the Church; therefore <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, obey your over&s;eers and leaders, and yeeld &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion unto them, for they watch for your &s;oules, as tho&s;e that &s;hall give account. The&s;e gifts are limited within and under the wings, as to meddle onely with that which is committed unto their pow|er, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5. 2. they are not to be &s;trikers or bu&s;ie-bodies, and they are to watch over Chri&s;tian people onely, for what have wee to doc to judge them that are without <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. 12. 13.</P>
<P>They that de&s;ire to behold the patterne of Gods Church, as &s;he is on earth in Chri&s;t, con&s;ider well this vi&s;ion, and reade it &s;eriou&s;ly, as it is more fully expre&s;&s;ed by Ma&s;ter <HI>Bright|mans</HI> Expo&s;ition upon the fourth chapter of the Revelation.</P>
<P>This patterne is the perfection of the Church militant, as &s;he is in Chri&s;t, and in the judgement of God the Father, who onely knoweth who are his. The beauty and glory there|of is not &s;eene with mortall eyes: for &s;he is not compo&s;ed of mortall, but immortall &s;eed, even begotten of the immortall &s;eed of the word of God, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. 23. for it is the mini&s;tra|tion of God the holy Gho&s;t, communicating the knowledge of the Word unto the hearts of the elect, which doth beget them anew or regenerate, and unite them unto Chri&s;t, and tho&s;e are the &s;upernaturall powers, the word of God co~mu|nicated unto man, and gathereth them into one head Chri&s;t, and by a well compact union makes them one Church all communicating of one &s;pirit, one faith, and in one Lord and Father of all, who is above all, and in all, and through us all, ble&s;&s;ed for ever,</P>
</DIV2>
<CLOSER>Amen.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="28" REF="22">
<HEAD>How the Word is the divine power of God, and the authority com|mitted to the Church.</HEAD>
<P>_WHen wee &s;peake of the word of God, con|&s;ider that the word in e&s;&s;ence, and property of being is God with God in eternity, eternitie it &s;elfe, as it is de&s;cribed in the fir&s;t of <HI>Iohns</HI> Go&s;pell, and though it cannot bee divided in it &s;elfe, yet it is to bee di&s;tingui&s;hed after the per&s;onall order of the Trinitie.</P>
<P>Therefore we may &s;ay the Word in the per&s;on of the Fa|ther is the unbegotten Word in the per&s;on of the Sonne, it is the begotten Word, and in the per&s;on of the holy Gho&s;t, it is the proceeding Word. So that by the proceeding Word all things flow from the Father and the Sonne.</P>
<P>By the order of this proceeding power the world was made by the word of God. As the P&s;almi&s;t &s;aith, <HI>P&s;al. 33. 6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hoast of them by the breath of his mouth.</HI> By this proceeding power of the Word man was made a living &s;oule, as <HI>Gen. 2. 7. And God breathed in his face the breath of life, and the man was a living &s;oule;</HI> and <HI>Ioh. 1. 4. in it was life, and that life was the light of man, not naturall rea&s;on, but &s;upernaturall light which inlightened nature.</HI></P>
<P>By this proceeding word <HI>Adam</HI> was re&s;tored after his fall, by promi&s;ing to make the Word the &s;eed of the Woman, and to breake the Serpents head. <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. 15. for God by the proceeding of the Word, &s;aying he will put enmity betwixt Satan (who&s;e nature is wicked and evill altogether) and the humane generation or &s;eed which Satan had made like
<PB N="29" REF="22">
him&s;elfe, he thereby promi&s;eth that by his proceeding Word, he would make his Word the feed of the Woman, whereby it &s;hould be of a contrary nature to wickedne&s;&s;e, of a heaven|ly pure and holy nature and condition powerfull again&s;t Satan.</P>
<P>Thus by the proceeding Word, the word (God) is made the word of promi&s;e, and the Promi&s;e is made life, and thus it comes to pa&s;&s;e that the Ju&s;t &s;hall live by faith.</P>
<P>By this proceeding word all the Elect of the Father are called, are &s;anctified, are wa&s;hed, are in&s;pired, and by in&s;pi|ration are made &s;onnes of God, Kings, Prie&s;ts, and Prophets, for by in&s;piration of the proceeding Word, God the Word dwelleth in them, for in the proceeding Word, is both the begotten Word, and the unbegotten Word the Father, as Chri&s;t &s;aith, my Father and I are one, and the proceeding Spi|rit is one with the Father and the Sonne, &s;o the&s;e three are one in them&s;elves, and beare record in heaven, and they al&s;o agree in one by in&s;piration in the &s;oules of the faithfull, or the Church which makes three to beare record on earth, as the water of Sanctification, and the blood of ju&s;tification, and our &s;pirit enlightned with the Spirit of God; it beares wit|ne&s;&s;e with our &s;pirits, that we are the &s;onnes and &s;ervants of God. For this cau&s;e the faithfull are called the Temple of the living God, 2 <HI>Cor. 6. 16. as God hath &s;aid, I will dwell among them and walke there, and I will bee their God, and they &s;hall bee my people.</HI> Al&s;o, know yee not that your body is the temple of the holy Gho&s;t which is in you, which yee have from God? Ye are not your owne, for ye are bought with a price, therefore glorifie God in body and in Spirit for they are Gods.</P>
<P>As the proceeding Word hath proceeded by in&s;piration to dwell in man, which is his internall mini&s;tration: &s;o he pro|ceedeth by externall mini&s;tration to divulge and write the &s;ame proceeding Word by the in&s;trumentall pen and voyce of man for mans in&s;truction, at fir&s;t written by his Prophet <HI>Moy&s;es,</HI> and after by the re&s;t of Prophets and Apo&s;tles, and E|vangeli&s;ts to feed and pre&s;erve their holy faith &amp; wor&s;hip of
<PB N="30" REF="23">
God among the faithfull; As <HI>Paul</HI> witne&s;&s;eth, 2 <HI>Tim. 3. 15. 16. Thou ha&s;t knowne the holy Scriptures of a child, which are able to make thee wi&s;e unto &s;alvation, through the faith which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI> For the whole Scripture is given by in&s;piration of God and is profitable to teach, to convince, to correct, to in&s;truct in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Thus the proceeding Word doth proportion it &s;elfe to mans capacity, fir&s;t it becomes the word of promi&s;e in the &s;eed of the woman, then the in&s;pirated word to dwell in the mind, and al&s;o it is the mini&s;teriall Word, declared, writ|ten, taught, and preached for mans in&s;truction, and all is one Word: for this cau&s;e the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aith, we have a mo&s;t &s;ure word of the Prophets, to which yee doe well, that yee take heed, as unto a light that &s;hineth in a darke place, untill the day dawne, and the day &s;tarre ari&s;e in your hearts, and from hence it is evident, that the Scripture is the very word of God, which proceedeth out of God by in&s;piration, by in|&s;trumentall publi&s;hing, and writing the &s;ame, and the writ|ten Word being the &s;ame proceeding word of God, (even God declared in writing.) The Scriptures therefore are the Fountaines of living water, and the ground of truth, for preaching, teaching, and in&s;truction, exhortation and cor|rection.</P>
<P>And therefore the Scriptures are to be had in Divine e&s;ti|mation, for they containe the divine Word it &s;elfe, and the Pa&s;tors and teachers thereof (being thereunto called of God by a full mea&s;ure of in&s;piration) are to be e&s;teemed the Me&s;|&s;engers and Emba&s;&s;adours of God.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">As the Scrip|tures were fir&s;t given: &s;o are they to be in|terpreted by in&s;piration.</NOTE>
And this is alwayes to be under&s;tood, that no man can at|taine to the interpretation of the written Word by naturall ingenuitie or humane learning, or art or indu&s;trie, though all be needfull in&s;truments and meanes of knowledge, but onely by in&s;piration of the proceeding Word, as <HI>ver.</HI> 21. 20. 21. &s;o that fir&s;t ye know this that no prophecie of the Scripturis of any private interpretation. For as the prophecie came not in old time by the will of men, but holy men of God &s;pake <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> they were moved by the holy Gho&s;t; &s;o mu&s;t holy then of
<PB N="31" REF="23">
God &s;peake and interpret the Scriptures, as they are moved by the holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A way to know the interpreta|tion to be of the holy Gho&s;t.</NOTE>
And that we may know the interpretation to be of the ho|ly Gho&s;t (being the proceeding Word, and hee that indicted the &s;ame Word from the Father and the Sonne by in&s;pirati|on) cannot give any other &s;ence or under&s;tanding to the written Word, then is agreeable to the nature of the Word in the per&s;on of the Sonne and of the Father, and the Word in the per&s;on of the Sonne, is the revealed will of God the Father made manife&s;t in the fle&s;h. Therefore we may di&s;cerne whether the interpretation be of the Spirit of God or no (by this) <HI>Iohn 4. 2. 3. </HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Papi&s;t confe&s;&s;eth Chri&s;t in name, but de|nieth his pow|er in the fle&s;h, in that they &s;ay his death is not &s;ufficient for actuall &s;ins, thence are pennance, par|dons, &s;atisfa|ctions, Purga|tory.</NOTE>
<HI>Every &s;pirit that confe&s;&s;eth that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is come in the fle&s;h, is of God, and every &s;pirit that confe&s;&s;eth not that Ie&s;us is come in the fle&s;h is not of God;</HI> For the confe&s;&s;ion is not an out ward confe&s;&s;ion of the lips, nor an hi&s;toricall con|fe&s;&s;ion of the mind, nor a voluntary &s;uppo&s;ition and opinion of carnall rea&s;on, but it is the confe&s;&s;ion of the Spirit of God, which declares and manife&s;ts to the heart, that the Word that is come in the fle&s;h is the very true God (as Chri&s;t &s;aid) to know thee and him whom thou ha&s;t &s;ent, Chri&s;t, to be the very true God (as <HI>Peter</HI> confe&s;&s;ed) thou art that Chri&s;t, that Sonne of God, and Chri&s;t told him that fle&s;h and blood did not teach him this, but his Father revealed it unto him.</P>
<P>This word of God not having beene after this order knowne and con&s;idered, hath beene the cau&s;e and occa&s;ion of much mi&s;take and errours in the Church of God, but under|&s;tanding the Word in the true nature and property of Gods order and manner of working, leadeth us by the hand from one gradation to another, and &s;toppeth the mouth of all men that &s;peake again&s;t the Scriptures and the holy Spirit.</P>
<P>For con&s;idering the word of God in the&s;e gradations we &s;hall evidently perceive and under&s;tand, that the power and authoritie giuen and committed to the Church, is no other thing, but the proceeding word of God, mini&s;tring the be|gotten Word from the Father manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h, which mini&s;tration is two fold, internall by in&s;piration through hea|ring of the Word, becau&s;e man is an intellectuall Spirit, and
<PB N="32" REF="24">
therefore a proper Tabernacle for the divine Word to dwell in; Al&s;o externall mini&s;tration, becau&s;e man dwells in an ele|mentary, earthly, and naturall tabernacle, therefore the holy Gho&s;t applyeth him&s;elfe to mans infirmity, and doth u&s;e in his externall mini&s;tration, elementary, earthy, and naturall in&s;truments by which as a meanes and ordinance the procee|ding Word, and the power thereof is daily communicated unto man both to ingraft him into the Word, and to nouri&s;h him in the Word unto everla&s;ting life; For this manner of externall mini&s;tration is nece&s;&s;ary for man &s;o long as hee dwelleth in this body or earthly hou&s;e.</P>
<P>The in&s;truments which the holy Gho&s;t doth u&s;e in the di|&s;pen&s;ation of the mini&s;teriall Word, are either proper, as &s;ome members of the Church &s;et apart for the worke of the mini&s;tery, or le&s;&s;e proper as the &s;ignes of the Sacraments. I may call tho&s;e the externall gifts which God gives to his Church, for it is &s;aid that unto every one of us is given grace or the gifts of the Spirit, according to the mea&s;ure of the gift in Chri&s;t. For wee may di&s;cerne the Church is a compact body knit to the head Chri&s;t, and con&s;i&s;teth of ma|ny members, yet in unity of the &s;pirit they are one body, and although there be but one Spirit, yet are there diver&s;ities of gifts, diver&s;ities of admini&s;trations, diver&s;ities of operations, yet all one and the &s;ame &s;pirit, and the&s;e diver&s;ities of gifts, make diver&s;ities of functions; So there are many functions in the Church, but God worketh all in all. But the manife&s;ta|tion of the &s;pirit is given to every man to profit withall, but peculiar gifts without the which the Church cannot at any time be, and therefore mo&s;t proper, of which it is &s;aid that Chri&s;t a&s;cended on high, and lead captivity captive, and re|ceived gifts to give unto men, as &s;ome to bee Apo&s;tles, &s;ome Prophets, &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and &s;ome Pa&s;tors and Teachers. Here is to bee ob&s;erved, that the divine power by internall di&s;pen&s;ation is given in common to all, and every member of the Church, &s;o that all have common intere&s;t in the word of God, and peculiar power thereby to admoni&s;h, comfort and in&s;truct one another, and pray for one another, and beare one
<PB N="33" REF="24">
anothers burdens, e&s;pecially they are all Kings, Prie&s;ts, and Prophets in their Families. For every Father ought to u&s;e the office of an Elder in his hou&s;e, <HI>Deut 6. 6, 7. Deut.</HI> 4. 9.</P>
<P>But for the externall di&s;pen&s;ation of the Word, the power and efficacy thereof is committed unto peculiar men, wherof Apo&s;tles, Prophets, Evangeli&s;ts, Pa&s;tors, &amp; teachers, are in the fir&s;t ranke and functions, and the power and efficacy which is given them, is onely the mini&s;tration of the Word, they have not that ab&s;olute power which Chri&s;t hath, to know who are his from the beginning, and to have compa&s;&s;ion, on whom he would have compa&s;&s;ion, and to &s;hew mercy, on whom hee would &s;how mercy. For Chri&s;t had not this ab&s;olute power as he was the Son of man, but as he was the per&s;on of God; For as he was Man, he came not to do his owne will, but the will of his Father; So likewi&s;e when he &s;ent his Apo&s;tles and Di&s;ciples to teach all Nations, he &s;ent them, as he was &s;ent of his Father. So &s;end I you, &s;aith he, which was not to doe their owne will, nor to teach their owne doctrine, but to do his will as he did his Fathers will, and to teach his doctrine which he taught them, as his Father taught him: &s;o by the Word they are to do and teach, but nothing be&s;ide the Word, or without the Word. More at large of this in the Treati&s;e of Di&s;cipline.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee the word of life is God in the per&s;on of the Father, the unbegotten Word, in the Sonne the begotten Word, and the incarnate Word, In the per&s;on of the Spirit it is the proceeding Word, and the mini&s;teriall Word, and this mini&s;teriall Word is the power, and the authority com|mitted to the Church; So the Mini&s;ters cannot doe any thing but by the power of the Word, and this Word is Chri&s;t who abideth with them, and with the whole Church alwayes un|to the end of the world; So Chri&s;t is the chiefe, and they are his &s;ervants and emba&s;&s;adours.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB N="34" REF="25">
<HEAD>Of the third Sub&s;i&s;tence of the Church Government and Di&s;cipline.</HEAD>
<P>_AS Divine wor&s;hip cannot bee wi<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">hout the di|vine power of the mini&s;teriall Word, from whence it extracts both the nutriment and efficacie, &s;o neither wor&s;hip, nor the Divine Word can be without order, government and di&s;cipline, whereby the whole &s;pirituall body (the Church) is pre&s;erved in &s;pirituall health and ble&s;&s;ed|ne&s;&s;e, &s;hining in &s;pirituall decencie and divine beauty. As <HI>P&s;al. 45. 13. 14. The Kings daughter is all glorious within.</HI> And her heavenly glory is mo&s;t excellently &s;et forth in <HI>Can<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="over-inked" RESP="apex" EXTENT="3+ letters">es 6. 10. Who is &s;hee that looketh forth as the morning, faire as the Moone, pure as the Sunne, terrible as an army with banners?</HI> Without externall pompe, temporall confu&s;ion, or humane policy; for God hateth nothing more in the government of his Church, and in his wor&s;hip, then pompe and policy, and loveth nothing more then to have his Church excell in meek|ne&s;&s;e, holine&s;&s;e, and &s;implicity, like him&s;elfe, as hee &s;aith, Bee ye holy, for I am holy. And learne of me, for I am meeke and lowly. And he exalteth the humble and meeke, but the proud he &s;ends empty away.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Church of God con&s;i|derable in a twofold a&s;pect.</NOTE>
When we &s;peake of the Church, it is to bee con&s;idered in what fence we take the Church, for the Church of God is in a twofold a&s;pect to be apprehended, one as &s;he is in a my&s;ti|call union the body of Chri&s;t, the Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t, the Lambe, the Bride, in this &s;ence &s;hee is &s;pirituall, pure and ho|ly without &s;pot, without wrinkle, his undefiled. The other as &s;he dwelleth in her naturall humanitie, and abideth here on earth, wherein &s;hee is invironed with manifold temptati|ons,
<PB N="35" REF="25">
infirmities and afflictions, fighting again&s;t the world, the fle&s;h and the divell, and in this condition &s;he is elementary, naturall and vi&s;ible; Therefore God in his wi&s;edome and goodne&s;&s;e to man hath ordained externall di&s;pen&s;ation, there|by to communicate the holy and invi&s;ible my&s;teries of his Word to man through vi&s;ible in&s;truments, elementary and naturall, proper for mans capacity and nature, le&s;t naturall infirmities &s;hould become an excu&s;e that God &s;hould not &s;peake unto man; For this cau&s;e God doth mini&s;ter the mighty power of his Word, by the weake and &s;imple voyce of man; Teaching man by letters, &s;yllables, words and &s;en|tences, divine truth, and making evident to the mind and &s;ences of man, by elementary &s;ignes, tropes and allegories, and &s;o demon&s;trating in&s;crutable my&s;teries, and divine &s;e|crets of grace, power and glory.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t beames of the glorious go&s;pell of Chri&s;t (which <HI>Paul</HI> calls the Image of the living God) that &s;hines unto man, is the publike and vi&s;ible mini&s;tration, who&s;e glory compared with the glorious mini&s;tration of the law. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3. 7. (which none was able to behold and live, which made mountaines tremble, and the I&s;raelites excu&s;e them&s;elves) is farre more exceeding glorious, which we all are able to be|hold with openface &s;hining through the vaile of Chri&s;ts hu|manitie, wherein as in a gla&s;&s;e or Cry&s;tall wee &s;ee the glory of God in the love of the Father, and are changed into the &s;ame image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.</P>
<P>And the thing that is mini&s;tred, is the glorious go&s;pell of Chri&s;t, which is the doctrine of Chri&s;t, or the my&s;tery of the Father; and it carrieth alwayes this Character with it to know it to be the true doctrine of God. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 16. 15, 16.</NOTE>
It giveth all glory to God the Father by Chri&s;t, and it glorifies Chri&s;t through the Spirit, for Chri&s;t &s;aith, that which is the Fathers, is mine, therefore the Spirit &s;hall take of mine, and give it you.</P>
<P>Outward mini&s;tration is called the face and countenance of God; Therefore the Prophet <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>O. Lord God of hoa&s;ts turne us againe, and make thy face to &s;hine upon us, and wee &s;hall
<PB N="36" REF="26">
be &s;aved.</HI> It was <HI>Davids</HI> delight, and his whole hearts de|&s;ire. <HI>P&s;al. 27. 4. One thing have I de&s;ired of the Lord, that will I require: that I may dwell in the temple of the Lord all my dayes, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to vi&s;it his temple.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The fir&s;t ordi|nation of the mini&s;tration of the Word.</NOTE>
The fir&s;t ordination of this mini&s;tration was in&s;tituted and practi&s;ed by God him&s;elfe in Paradi&s;e, preaching unto <HI>Adam</HI> in a created voyce in the coole of the day, and by that meeke voyce Gods pre&s;ence was knowne unto man; <HI>I heard thy voyce and was afraid.</HI> The voyce or word of God (for it is a &s;ignificant voyce, making it &s;elfe to be under&s;tood) how&s;o|ever God u&s;eth weake and de&s;pi&s;ed in&s;truments to expre&s;&s;e him&s;elfe to mans capacity, yet his voyce is mighty, as in the 29. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> Reade the whole P&s;alme. <HI>For the voyce of the Lord is powerfull, the voyce of the Lord is full of Maje&s;ty.</HI> And as <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;cribes it, it is mighty in operation, and &s;harper then any two edged &s;word, piercing through, even to the divi|ding of the &s;oule and the &s;pirit, and of the joynts and the mar|row, and is a di&s;cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; For this cau&s;e preaching is called the power of God unto &s;alvation. But if the glorious beauty and power of Gods mini&s;tration &s;eeme weake and fooli&s;h unto &s;ome men, becau&s;e it is mini&s;tred by the voyce of man, and the weake &s;ignes of the Sacraments being of no &s;trength nor beauty in them&s;elves, It is becau&s;e the glorious Go&s;pell is hid unto them that peri&s;h, and becomes the &s;avour of death unto death, becau&s;e the God of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that beleeve not, le&s;t the light of the glorious Go&s;|pell of Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;hine unto them.</P>
<P>The&s;e riches are &s;ent unto us of God (from the Father of lights by the Sonne, of the fulne&s;&s;e of all rich grace, through the Spirit the over-flowing waters of life and ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e) and we have it in earthen ve&s;&s;els, that the excellency of the power may appeare to be of God, and not of man, and tho&s;e that are &s;ent of God, are qualified with the word of God, and by having the Word, they are knowne to be &s;ene of God; For they teach and preach not them&s;elves, but Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Lord, and approve them&s;elves me&s;&s;engers and &s;ervants to
<PB N="37" REF="26">
the Saints for Je&s;us &s;ake. For the word of God wee are al|wayes to conceive to be the eternall Sonne of God by gene|ration, and to proceed from God by &s;piration in creation, and to be communicated unto man &s;ince his fall by &s;uperna|turall in&s;piration, and united unto man, and man unto it by incarnation, and mini&s;tred unto man by externall di&s;pen&s;a|tion. Thus the Word de&s;cends unto man by in&s;piration, and dwels in man through the Spirit, for the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the Word, for the Word and the &s;pirit cannot be divided nor &s;eparated, they are one. For this cau&s;e God u&s;eth the externall mini&s;tration of his Word and Spirit, that he may in&s;pire and regenerate the mind of man. After this manner are the mini&s;ters and me&s;&s;engers that are &s;ent of God indued with the Word and Spirit of God. Therefore let no man &s;ay that hee hath the Spirit, if hee want the light of the Word, neither can any man have the Word but by the Spirit, and the Word and Spirit are both made manife&s;t in this, that they reveale the hid things of God, even the my&s;terie of God in Chri&s;t. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2. 9. 10. which in <HI>Col.</HI> 2. 3. is called a full a&s;&s;urance of under&s;tanding in the knowledge of the my&s;terie of God in Chri&s;t, for he which commanded light to &s;hine out of dark|ne&s;&s;e, &s;hines into the hearts of the Me&s;&s;engers, to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Chri&s;t.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the calling of Mini&s;ters.</HEAD>
<P>As the externall Mini&s;tration cannot be without the Word and the Spirit, &s;o the Church cannot bee without Mini&s;ters and me&s;&s;engers of God, and as the mini&s;tration is publicke and externall, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pa&s;tors ought before their admi&s;&s;ion to be well known to the Congre|gations where they are to re|&s;ide.</NOTE>
&s;o the vi&s;ible Church and Congregations have power of divine right to call and appoint, &s;uch as God hath internally qualified, to the externall and publicke exerci&s;e thereof; For as by internall in&s;piration they are indued with a more then ordinary mea&s;ure of the Word and Spirit, &s;o they ought to be well knowne, and conver&s;ant in the Congrega|tion or facietie of that Church wherein they live, that by a
<PB N="38" REF="27">
mutuall con&s;ent they may be approved and thought worthy to be called to the publick mini&s;tration and di&s;pen&s;ation of the VVord. This was the practi&s;e of the Apo&s;tles and primi|tive Church, <HI>Acts 1. 21. 22. Wherefore of the&s;e men that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Je&s;us, went in and out with us, beginning from the Bapti&s;me of</HI> John, <HI>unto the &s;ame day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witne&s;&s;e with us of his re&s;urrection, and they appointed two.</HI> Al&s;o, <HI>Act. 6. 1. 2. When the nuber of the Di&s;ciples was multipli|ed, then the twelve called the multitude of the Di&s;ciples together unto them, and &s;aid unto them, it is not meet that we &s;hould leave the mini&s;tration of the Word and &s;erve tables, wherefore bre|thren looke you out among you &s;even men of hone&s;t report full of the holy Gho&s;t, and of wi&s;edome, whom we may appoint ouer this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>And it is to be ob&s;erved, that nothing was to bee done in the Church, either by the Apo&s;tles, or by tho&s;e that in the mini&s;tration &s;ucceeded them, without the con&s;ent of the whole Church, which then at fir&s;t were called Di&s;ciples.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the manner of their externall ordination.</HEAD>
<P>Touching the manner of their Ordination that we find in the fir&s;t of the Acts, they prayed and &s;aid; <HI>Thou Lord which knowe&s;t the hearts of all men, &s;hew which of the&s;e two thou ha&s;t cho&s;en, and then they gave forth lots, and the lot fell upon Mat|thias.</HI> And al&s;o afterwards in the &s;ixt of the Acts, the multi|tude of the Di&s;ciples or brethren tho&s;e &s;even and &s;et them be|fore the Apo&s;tles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place of Scripture it is &s;aid, the Di&s;ciples ap|pointed two, and left the choyce to God, and therefore they give forth lots, becau&s;e it was an extraordinary calling to an Apo&s;tle&s;hip to &s;ucceed <HI>Judas;</HI> But in the &s;econd place it is &s;aid, they cho&s;e <HI>Srephin</HI> a man full of faith and the holy Gho&s;t, and <HI>Philip</HI> and <HI>Prochorus,</HI> and others, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And it is re|markable that the Church received in&s;truction from the
<PB N="39" REF="27">
Apo&s;tles as a rule to be ob&s;erved in choo&s;ing Deacons and El|ders, as in the fir&s;t of the Acts they were admoni&s;hed by <HI>Pe|ter</HI> to choo&s;e &s;uch as were conver&s;ant in the Church from their beginning. By which I conceive, they ought to bee of knowne conver&s;ation, and men of good report, and that they &s;hould be full of faith and the holy Gho&s;t, as <HI>Steven</HI> was, or men endued with the holy Gho&s;t and with wi&s;edome. The&s;e are the re&s;pects which ought to bee had in choo&s;ing Pa&s;tors, Deacons, and Governours in the Church; For all gifts of learning and humane Sciences, how&s;oever they be excellent and worthy much prai&s;e and honour, yet without the&s;e Cha|racters of grace they are nothing, and not to be e&s;teemed.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the orders and degrees of Pa&s;tors, and their denominations both under the Law and the Go&s;pell.</HEAD>
<P>It is evident that the orders and degrees of Mini&s;ters and Governours of the Church of God under the Law were Prie&s;ts, Levites and Elders, God al&s;o &s;ending among them Prophets of extraordinary in&s;piration, for revelation of the VVord to teach, admoni&s;h and exhort the people.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Prie&s;t. <HI>Numb.</HI> 3. 10.</NOTE>
The Prie&s;ts office was figurative, prefiguring Chri&s;t untill his comming, offering &s;acrifices to figure the &s;acrifice of his body, in&s;tructing the people in the promi&s;ed &s;eed unto the remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes, who&s;e manife&s;tation in the fle&s;h &s;hould be the accompli&s;hment of all figures and &s;hadowes in the law, which thereby were abrogated.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Levite.</NOTE>
The Levites were given unto <HI>Aaron,</HI> as an addition to his office, as in <HI>Numb.</HI> 3. 6, 7, 8, 9. to mini&s;ter unto him, to keepe his charge, and the charge of the whole Congregation to doe the &s;ervice, and to keepe the in&s;truments of the tabernacle of the Congregation.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Elder.</NOTE>
The Elders, (though every Father of a Family bee called Elder, and al&s;o the twelve tribes of <HI>Iacob)</HI> yet tho&s;e are pro|perly Elders who are cho&s;en and appointed to be Governours and Rulers both in Church and Common-wealth. For the Governours in <HI>Pharaohs</HI> hou&s;e were called Elders, and the
<PB N="40" REF="28">
Rulers in the Church, as fir&s;t in the Tabernacle, as <HI>Numb.</HI> 11. 25, 26. and Temple were al&s;o called Elders. And the Lord &s;tirred up Prophets among them both of the Levites and Prie&s;ts, and others, as occa&s;ion required, never leaving his Church without a Prophet and Rulers till <HI>Shilo</HI> came.</P>
<P>And when that faithfull Prophet of God came into the world, who&s;e effectuall power, and fulne&s;&s;e of all divine per|fection aboli&s;hed all figures and darke re&s;embling &s;hadowes, then in his owne per&s;on and humane pre&s;ence, hee &s;pread a|broad the glad tydings of his glorious Go&s;pell, cau&s;ing the light of his truth to &s;hine evident without vaile or vizard, notwith&s;tanding he neither altered nor aboli&s;hed the order of mini&s;tration, nor the manner of government, but e&s;tabli&s;h|ed the &s;ame by his owne example, and the practi&s;e of his Apo&s;tles. And therefore he &s;aid that Chri&s;t when he a&s;cended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men, As <HI>Ephe&s;</HI> 4 11. he gave &s;ome to be Apo&s;tles, &s;ome Prophets, &s;ome Evangeli&s;ts, and &s;ome Pa&s;tours and Teachers.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apo&s;tles and Evangeli&s;ts.</NOTE>
In this place of Scripture he onely &s;etteth forth the prin|cipall functions in the Church, whereof the fir&s;t paire, as namely Apo&s;tles and Evangeli&s;ts were of immediate cal|ling, and appropriated to the time, ordained by Chri&s;t, onely for the propagation and fir&s;t progre&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pell, the gifts of prophecie and working of miracles, attending the confirmation of their doctrine; As the nece&s;&s;itie of tho&s;e times required, and as Chri&s;t had promi&s;ed, <HI>Marke 16. 17, 18. And the&s;e &s;ignes &s;hall follow them that beleeve in my Name: they &s;hall ca&s;t out devils, they &s;hall &s;peake with new tongues, they &s;hall take up Serpents, and if they drink any deadly poy&s;on, it &s;hall not hurt them, they &s;hall lay their hands on the &s;icke, and they &s;hall recover.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pa&s;tors and Teachers.</NOTE>
The &s;econd paire, are Pa&s;tors and Teachers di&s;tingui&s;hed by their ordination, for the&s;e were ordained internally by the outward di&s;pen&s;ation of hearing the Word preached by the Apo&s;tles, then externally cho&s;en by the Church, as <HI>Acts</HI> the &s;ixth, after con&s;ecrated by the Apo&s;tles, by prayer, and laying on of hands of the Apo&s;tles and Elders, <HI>Acts</HI> 14. 23.
<PB N="41" REF="28">
This order of mini&s;ters is ordinarie, and to continue in the Church unto the comming of our Lord to Judgement.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Their Com|mi&s;&s;ion.</NOTE>
Both the&s;e paires are but one and the &s;ame function and office, and have but one and the &s;ame Commi&s;&s;ion, which was given by the immediate ordination of Chri&s;t to his Apo|&s;tles. For as God the Father &s;ent his beloved Sonne to bee a light unto the Gentiles, and the glory of his people <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> in declaring unto them the glad tydings of &s;alvation in his death unto the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes. So Chri&s;t &s;ayd to his Di&s;|ciples; <HI>As my Father &s;ent me, &s;o &s;end I you.</HI> John 20. 21, 22.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Authority committed.</NOTE>
The power and authority committed unto them by this commi&s;&s;ion is the breath of life, out of the mouth of Chri&s;t proceeding from the Father and the Sonne, as it is &s;aid; <HI>Man lives not by bread onely, but by every word that proceedteh out of the mouth of God;</HI> Therefore he breathed on them and &s;aid, <HI>Receive ye the holy Gho&s;t.</HI> For the word which Chri&s;t &s;pake or breathed out of his mouth, hee affirmed to be &s;pirit and life, &s;aying, <HI>John 6. The fle&s;h profiteth nothing, but the word that I &s;peake is &s;pirit and life.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ub&s;tance of the Com|mi&s;&s;ion. Ble&s;&s;ing them. The doctrinall part of it.</NOTE>
The &s;ub&s;tance of this Commi&s;&s;ion is mandatory, <HI>Matt.</HI> 28. 19. <HI>Goe teach all Nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Sonne, and of the holy Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>The doctrinall part of their commi&s;&s;ion, is teaching them to ob&s;erve all things what&s;oever I have commanded you, and <HI>Marke</HI> 26. 15. hath it in the&s;e words; <HI>Preach the Go&s;pell to every creature.</HI> Now the &s;umme of the doctrine, which Chri&s;t taught, is &s;et downe more plainly by St. <HI>Luke. 24. 44. The&s;e are the words that I &s;pake unto you, whil&s;t I was yet with you, that all things mu&s;t be fulfilled, which were written in the law, and the Prophets, and in the P&s;almes concerning mee. And he</HI> (who was &s;pirit, life and light) <HI>opened their under&s;tand|ings that they might under&s;tand the Scriptures; and &s;aid, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Chri&s;t to &s;uffer and ri&s;e from the dead the third day; And that repentance and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins &s;hould be preached in his Name among all Nations, beginning at Ieru&s;alem.</HI> And after this manner doe the Pa&s;tors and Mini|&s;ters ble&s;&s;e, teach, and &s;anctifie the people.</P>
<P><PB N="42" REF="29">
Thus Chri&s;t by preaching and teaching unto them the word of God, out of his mouth, he opened their under&s;tand|ings in the Scriptures, and thereby they received the holy Gho&s;t, for this is Chri&s;ts manner of breathing upon them, <HI>Iohn</HI> 20. when hee &s;aid, <HI>receive yee the holy Gho&s;t.</HI> But in <HI>Luke</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>Behold, I &s;end the promi&s;e of my Father upon you;</HI> Which is to &s;ay, I will &s;end a vi&s;ible token of the Spirit upon you, or the efficacie of the Spirit upon you. Therefore he &s;ayd, <HI>Tarry yee in the Citie of Ieru&s;alem, untill you bee endued with power from on high.</HI> Not but that they had received the holy Gho&s;t before, but not the manife&s;tation and evident power thereof, as afterwards it did fall upon them in the &s;imilitude of fiery cloven tongues, <HI>Acts</HI> 2.</P>
<P>The fruites and operative effects of mini&s;tration of the Spi|rit is &s;et forth, <HI>Iohn</HI> 2. 23. Who&s;e &s;oever &s;innes ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and who&s;e &s;oever &s;innes ye retaine, they are retained. For this is the power and efficacie of the mini&s;teriall Word (as hath beene formerly &s;howne) which floweth from the ab&s;olute power of Chri&s;t, which was given unto him of the Father, as he affirmed to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Matt. 28. 18. All power is given me in heaven and in Earth.</HI></P>
<P>And this mini&s;tration of the Go&s;pell is that key of <HI>David</HI> committed unto Chri&s;t, by which he &s;hould open and no man &s;hut, and &s;hould &s;hut, and no man &s;hould open. And in the 16. of <HI>Matthew</HI> 16 17. &amp; 18. ver. it is evident, that this power of the keyes, is onely the power of the Go&s;pell of Chri&s;t, or rather as <HI>Peter</HI> confe&s;&s;ed the Lord Je&s;us to bee that Chri&s;t, that Sonne of the living God, which he received not by the intelligence of fle&s;h and blood, but by Revelation from God the Father, this power changeth the whole cor|rupt nature of man, and gives him another denomination or qualitie, making him a &s;trong and immoveable rock, turning <HI>Peter</HI> to <HI>Petra.</HI> Thus after this manner is the revelation and power of the Word, given in generall to every one that re|ceiveth the knowledge of Chri&s;t, to beleeve that he is that Chri&s;t, that Sonne of the living God, (God him&s;elfe) again&s;t this rocke the gates of hell, the powers and principalities of
<PB N="43" REF="29">
darkne&s;&s;e, and worldly Governours cannot prevaile. But the particular and publicke mini&s;tration thereof, is committed to the Pa&s;tors and teachers of the Church of God, by who&s;e mini&s;tration and publicke di&s;pen&s;ation of the Word, the hearts and con&s;ciences of men are opened and &s;hut, bound and loo|&s;ed every day, as <HI>Lydia</HI> and others in the <HI>Acts,</HI> in which the Word becomes the &s;avour of life unto &s;ome, and the &s;avour of death unto others; And this mini&s;teriall power is al&s;o gi|ven unto them for divine cen&s;ure and publicke correction, to roote out abominable and un&s;ufferable vices in the Church and Congregations, as &s;hall be &s;hewed in his proper place.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the nominations under the Law, and under the Go&s;pell.</HEAD>
<P>Under the Law it is undeniable, that the Mini&s;ters and Governours of the Church, were called Prie&s;ts, Levites, and Elders. Al&s;o, in the Chri&s;tian Church (leaving out the ex|traordinary functions of Apo&s;tles and Evangeli&s;ts) they are called Pa&s;tors, Teachers, Helpers and Governours; As the&s;e rankes are expre&s;&s;ed in the 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. 28.</P>
<P>Of helpers, wee reade they were added to the Chri&s;tian Church in the &s;ixth of the <HI>Acts,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Helpers in go|vernment.</NOTE>
who&s;e office &s;eemes to be in the place of the Levites, as they are called Deacons. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Governours.</NOTE>
And Governours in the Church, as neither the Synagogue nor the Chri&s;tian Church could bee well governed without, called Elders in both Churches; As <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;peaking in his Ho|milies upon the fifth of <HI>Timothie,</HI> and the fir&s;t ver&s;e, &s;aith to this effect, Both the Synagogue and afterward the Church had Elders, without who&s;e coun&s;ell nothing was done in the Church (though in his times they were almo&s;t lo&s;t, as he &s;aith in the &s;ame place) which (&s;aith he) by what negli|gence it is growne out of u&s;e I know not, unle&s;&s;e peradven|ture by their negligence, or rather the pride of the teachers, while&s;t they alone would be all, and doe all. It the&s;e gover|nours were &s;o decayed in his time, how much more are they now worne out of memorie in the&s;e our dayes?</P>
<P><PB N="44" REF="30">
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The good ef|fects of this government in the primitive times.</NOTE>
But who li&s;t to peru&s;e the hi&s;tory of the primitive times, may ob&s;erve that &s;o long as this government &s;tood in equall dependancie with their Pa&s;tors, there could no here&s;ie ever get footing in the Church of God; But after it was lo&s;t and neglected, the <HI>Arrian</HI> here&s;ie crept into the Church, and filled the univer&s;all Church, and all Kingdomes with ambition, contention, here&s;ies and warre, as in the <HI>Revelation.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Elders deri|ved.</NOTE>
The name of Elders is now become an uncouth and abhor|red name, though it hath beene alwayes u&s;ed from the begin|ning both in Church and Common-wealth to &s;ignifie both politique and Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Governours.</P>
<P>For if we con&s;ider the derivation of the word (Prie&s;t) it is no other but Elder, as in the Greeke it is called (<GAP DESC="foreign">) which in Latine is <HI>(Senex)</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> being rendred <HI>Presbiter,</HI> and in Engli&s;h, <HI>Elder,</HI> being the comparative of <GAP DESC="foreign">. And in this &s;ence the Apo&s;tles called them&s;elves <HI>Elders,</HI> as <HI>John</HI> in his &s;econd Epi&s;tle, 1. ver&s;e. The denomi|nations of Pa&s;tors, Teachers, Bi&s;hops and Elders in the Church were promi&s;cuou&s;ly u&s;ed, becau~&s;e though they were di&s;tingui&s;hed by particular duties and admini&s;trations, yet all was of one and the &s;ame &s;pirit and power, As <HI>Paul, 2 Tin.</HI> 1. 11. accounted him&s;elfe a Preacher, and teacher of the Gentiles a&s;well as an Apo&s;tle.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;copus, unde &amp; quid &s;it?</NOTE>
But there is no name that belongs to the functions of the Church of God, that doth &s;o much trouble the Church, and the whole world, as the name <HI>Epi&s;copus;</HI> Which though I find it but once or twice named in the New Te&s;tament, (as though the holy Gho&s;t thought it not convenient often to u&s;e that name) foreknowing, and fore&s;eeing how much mi&s;|chiefe it would bring forth to the Chri&s;tian Church, yet I finde it a name much and frequontly u&s;ed by the Antient Fa|thers, and Hi&s;torians, in&s;omuch as for the reverend and high e&s;teeme it got among them, it is advanced to &s;ignifie prehe|minence, and a &s;pirituall office and dignitie, and honour a|bove temporall Monarchs; or rather at lea&s;t in &s;ome of their owne conceits and expre&s;&s;ions higher then a Monarch, a Pope of univer&s;all &s;upremacie above all, that is called God. Not|with&s;tanding,
<PB N="45" REF="30">
that the name derived from the Greeke <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignifieth no more but to &s;urvey, to con&s;ider of the deportment of the flocke, by God committed unto his charge, as of which he is to render an account: &s;o that the etymologie of the word will not imply that lording power, which they doe arrogate unto them&s;elves.</P>
<P>But <GAP DESC="foreign">, which &s;ignifies bu&s;ie-bodyes, or medlers in other mens matters, derived of <GAP DESC="foreign">, in La|tine <HI>(alvis)</HI> and the word <GAP DESC="foreign">, which is in the lan|guage of this age u&s;ually rendred <HI>Bi&s;hop,</HI> &s;eemes to me a very oppo&s;ite word to decipher the lording Bi&s;hops of our times, which like the Angels that left their primitive &s;tation, omit|ting the proper worke of their mini&s;teriall functions doe moue in an improper orbe of &s;ecular affaires, and &s;o may well be called <GAP DESC="foreign">, Bu&s;ie-bodies, or bu&s;ie Bi&s;hops.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The office of a Bi&s;hop deline|ated by Scrip|ture.</NOTE>
If any de&s;ire to know the office and dutie of a Bi&s;hop, as the holy Scripture &s;etteth it forth, let them reade the third Chapter of <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Timothie,</HI> and al&s;o the fir&s;t of <HI>Peter,</HI> the fifth Chapter, the &s;econd and third ver&s;es, where the office of a Bi&s;hop is de&s;cribed under the name of an Elder.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of antient and primitive government of the Church of God.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The primitive government twofold.</NOTE>
The antient Apo&s;tolike and Primitive Government was under Pa&s;tors, Deacons and Elders in every Congregation.</P>
<P>The manner of their government was twofold, the fir&s;t part whereof was particular to every man in his function; The &s;econd part was joyntly and publickly together, and none without another.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa&s;tors function.</NOTE>
The Pa&s;tor, Teacher, or Bi&s;hop, his particular function or office was as a Pre&s;ident, over&s;eer, and director, not only as a Teacher, but al&s;o as an Elder, watching over the health of their &s;oules, and outward manners and conver&s;ation, caring for the &s;pirituall good, and &s;alvation of every one, who&s;e of|fice is &s;et forth in the fir&s;t of <HI>Timothie,</HI> the 3. <HI>chap. 2. 3. 4. &amp;</HI> 6. ver&s;es. Hee mu&s;t be a man blamele&s;&s;e, continent, vigilant,
<PB N="46" REF="31">
&s;ober, of good behaviour, given to ho&s;pitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no &s;triker, nor greedy of filthy lucre, no brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his owne hou&s;e, having his Children in &s;ubjection with all gravity, hee mu&s;t not be a novice, le&s;t through pride he fall into condemnati|on, and he ought to be of good report among the adver&s;a|ries, that the word of God be not evill &s;poken of. Al&s;o <HI>Pe|ter</HI> exhorts Bi&s;hops under the name of Elders, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pet. 1. 5. 1, 2, 3.</NOTE>
(acknow|ledging him&s;elfe al&s;o to be an Elder) &s;aying, Feed the flocke of God, which dependeth upon you, caring for it, not by con|&s;traint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, not as though yee were Lords over Gods heritage, but that ye may be en&s;amples to the flocke. And as <HI>Paul</HI> advi&s;ed <HI>Timothy</HI> to preach the word of God, <HI>Bee in&s;tant in &s;ea&s;on, and out of &s;ea&s;on, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long &s;uffering and do|ctrine.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4. 2.</NOTE>
And after the &s;ame manner, and in the &s;ame &s;ence Chri&s;t excited <HI>Peter,</HI> that the more he loved him, the more he &s;hould labour, to feed his lambes, his &s;heepe, his flocke.</P>
<P>But Lordly preheminence Chri&s;t did not onely forbid, &s;ay|ing, The Lords of the Gentiles have power over them, but it &s;hall not be &s;o among you, but al&s;o &s;aith, <HI>Hee that would bee the greatest among you, let him doe mo&s;t &s;ervice to the re&s;t.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 20. 25, 26, 27, 28.</NOTE>
But that fearefull admonition of Chri&s;t, me thinkes &s;hould &s;hake the hearts of our Bi&s;hops with feare, that u&s;e predo|minance over their fellowes and Church of God. <HI>Mat, 24. Who is a faithfull and wi&s;e &s;ervant, whom God hath made ruler over his hou&s;ehold, to give them meat in due &s;ea&s;on? Ble&s;&s;ed is that &s;ervant whom the Lord &s;hall find doing &s;o, he &s;hall make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evill &s;ervant, &s;hall &s;ay in his heart, My Master doth deferre his comming, and begin to &s;mite his fellowes, and to eat and</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">With tho&s;e that are drunk with the de&s;ire and coveting of power and riches. The Deacons office.</NOTE>
<HI>arinke with the drunken: that &s;ervants Ma&s;ter will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an houre that hee is not aware of: and will cut him off, and give him his portion with hypocrites: there &s;hall be wee|ping and gna&s;hing of teeth.</HI></P>
<P>The office of Deacons, (of their ordination, I have &s;po|ken before upon the &s;ixth of the <HI>Acts)</HI> is that they &s;tand in
<PB N="47" REF="31">
place of the Levites, to attend on the hand of the Pa&s;tors, a&s;well to helpe to catechi&s;e, to teach, admini&s;ter the Sacra|ments, as to care for the poore, and to take the charge of the goods and revenues of the Church; but for their conver|&s;ation and qualitie, it is &s;et forth by <HI>Paul,</HI> in the fir&s;t of <HI>Timo|thy,</HI> the third chapter, the 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. ver&s;es. <HI>A Dea|con mu&s;t be grave, not double tongued, not given to &s;trong drinke, not given to filthy lucre, holding the my&s;tery of faith in a pure con&s;cience. Let him fir&s;t be proved, then let him u&s;e the office of a Deacon, being found blamele&s;&s;e. Even &s;o mu&s;t their wives bee grave, no &s;landerers, &s;ober, faithfull in all things. Let a Dea|con be the husband of one wife, ruling their children, and their owne hou&s;es well. For they that have u&s;ed the office of a Deacon well, purcha&s;e to them&s;elves a good degree, and great boldne&s;&s;e in the faith which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P>And if Pa&s;tors and teachers would have the like zeale and con&s;ideration with them&s;elves, which the Apo&s;tles had, <HI>Acts</HI> the &s;ixth and the &s;econd, and would have judged every thing an ob&s;tacle, what&s;oever might withdraw and hinder them in the preaching of Gods word, and their care of &s;oules, and would make it their delight and labour, to give them&s;elves continually to prayer and mini&s;tration, they would di&s;cerne, that they can no more be without Deacons one or two in a Congregation, then their bodies can be well without hands, neither would they nouri&s;h that indigne opinion, that igno|rant; Nay, often improbous Church-wardens can &s;erve in their place and office as &s;ome alledge.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The office of Elders.</NOTE>
Now touching the particular dutie and office of Elders, which in this our age is taken in a corrupt and improper &s;ence calling them lay Elders, which in Scripture from the antient originall, are tearmed Elders of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> or of the Ta|bernacle, as to &s;ay, Elders of the Church of God, or of the people of God, to di&s;tingui&s;h them from civill Elders and Governours: and they are either &s;uch as by natures ordination are Fathers of Chri&s;tian families, or &s;uch as are publickely cho&s;en by the &s;everall Congregations of the Church, and ap|proved by their Pa&s;tors and Teachers.</P>
<P><PB N="48" REF="32">
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ambro&s;ius.</NOTE>
Their office and duties were &s;uch, as <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aid, with|out who&s;e coun&s;ell nothing was done in the Church; and that both the Synagogue, and the Chri&s;tian Church had Elders; They were to be cho&s;en men, &s;uch as <HI>Jethro</HI> advi&s;ed <HI>Moy&s;es, Exod.</HI> 18. cho&s;en out of the people, men of courage, &s;uch as feare God, men of truth hating covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and place &s;uch over the people to rule thou&s;ands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. But the&s;e Elders are here rather to be for civill affaires then Church cares; But thus we mu&s;t conceive that Church El|ders might as well be exerci&s;ed in mini&s;tration of Ju&s;tice for the Common-wealth, as in the mini&s;tration of Di&s;cipline for the Church. For this is the proper duty even of Kings, Prin|ces, and their Magi&s;trates; as al&s;o of fathers of Families, becau&s;e the Common-weale of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> is involved in the Church of God, and the Church of God in a Chri&s;tian Com|mon-weale; For &s;o ought our Chri&s;tian Kingdomes to bee compo&s;ed, as Magi&s;trates may be cho&s;en Church Elders in the Church of God. For ble&s;&s;ed is the Nation, who&s;e God is the Lord, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Thus the Church is in|corporated in the Common-wealth, &amp; the Common-weale in the Church.</NOTE>
And in &s;uch a Kingdome Chri&s;t raigneth as a King in <HI>excel&s;is,</HI> and his Vice-roy by him, and for him, and the flouri&s;hing propagation of the mini&s;tery of the Word is the &s;oule of &s;uch a Common-wealth.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A cleare diffe|rence and re|markeable di|&s;tinction be|twixt Elders of the Church and Common-wealth.</NOTE>
But there is an evident difference detwixt the Elders that governe the Common-wealth, and the Elders that governe the Church; Di&s;tinct they are in their ordination, and in their endowments, and in the manner of exerci&s;e, and execution of their office; For Magi&s;trates and Elders in a Kingdome are tho&s;e who are appointed of the King or chiefe Governour, as in the fir&s;t of <HI>Peter</HI> 2. 13, 14. Submit your &s;elves unto all ordinances of man for the Lords &s;ake, whether to Kings as &s;uperiours, or to Governours as &s;ent of them, and their office is for puni&s;hment of evill doers, and for the prai&s;e of them that doe well. And the&s;e are &s;uch as <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> ordai|ned by the coun&s;ell of <HI>Jethro</HI> before expre&s;t. But <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> by Gods expre&s;&s;e appointment did afterward ordaine other El|ders cho&s;en out of tho&s;e Elders, whom God indued with the &s;peciall gifts of his Spirit, for helping of <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> in governing
<PB N="49" REF="32">
of the Congregation of the Tabernacle, as it is &s;et downe <HI>Numb.</HI> 11. 16. 17. 25. 26. <HI>Then the Lord &s;ayd unto</HI> Moy&s;es, <HI>Gather unto me &s;eventy men of the Elders of I&s;rael, whom thou knowe&s;t that they are Elders of the people, and Governours over them: and bring them unto the Tabernacle, and let them &s;tand there with thee. And I will come downe, and talke there with thee, and take of the &s;pirit which is upon thee, and put upon them, and they &s;hall beare the burthen of the people with thee, &s;o thou &s;halt not beare it alone.</HI> So the&s;e were another &s;ort of Elders. Then the Elders that governed over the people, as in the 24, 25. and 26, ver&s;es. <HI>So Moy&s;es went out, and told the people the words of the Lord; and gathered &s;eventy men of the Elders of the people, and &s;et them round about the Tabernacle. There the Lord came downe in a cloud, and &s;pake unto him, and tooke of the &s;pirit that was upon</HI> Moy&s;es, <HI>and put upon the &s;eventy antient men: and when the &s;pirit re&s;ted upon them, then they prophe&s;ied and did not cea&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Here their ordination is of God, their indowment is of the Spirit, and their office and duty is to prophecie, and not to cea&s;e; and the end why they were to prophecie, is to beare the burden of the people with <HI>Moy&s;es,</HI> for the people mur|mured, and often tempted and provoked the Lord to wrath. And though they received daily in&s;truction, and publicke mini&s;tration of the word of God from <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron,</HI> yet the &s;eed of truth fell &s;ometimes among &s;tony ground, and &s;ometime upon thorny ground, &amp; &s;ometime in the high way, and either took no deepe root, or it was choaked, or otherwi&s;e picked up and carryed away by the &s;owles of the ayre, &s;o that their murmurings, grudgings, and rebellions were &s;uch a burthen to <HI>Moy&s;es,</HI> and an in&s;upportable griefe that <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> wi&s;hed rather to die than to live. Therefore God ordained the&s;e kind of Elders to be an a&s;&s;i&s;tance in his publicke mini|&s;tration, that as <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> among the Jewes, and <HI>Paul</HI> in the Church of God planted the Word in publicke. So the&s;e might be as <HI>Apollo's</HI> to water it in private, and that by their vigilancie and diligence in every place of the Congregation, they might be ready to &s;uppre&s;&s;e by divine in&s;truction, ex|hortation,
<PB N="50" REF="33">
and admonition out of the word of God. Mur|murings, grudgings, contentions, &s;trife, cur&s;ings, railings, and all &s;orts of inordinate walkings. <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 5. 17.</NOTE>
This was the private and particular duty of the&s;e &s;orts of Elders by the power of the Word to kill the Cockatrice in the egge, and to pull up the weeds of &s;inne by the roots. For this cau&s;e they are de&s;cribed in the fourth of the Revelation to be the wings of the foure bea&s;ts placed round about their bodyes, full of eyes within; for they are knit unto the Mini&s;ters in a peculiar and in&s;epara|ble neerene&s;&s;e, and their di&s;cerning operation is not to extend beyond the bounds of the Profe&s;&s;ors of the Church, for as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, what have wee to doe with tho&s;e that are without?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The nece&s;&s;ity of Church Elders.</NOTE>
The&s;e &s;orts of Elders are &s;o nece&s;&s;arily annexed to the pub|licke mini&s;tration of the Word, as that the Church cannot be without them, but that by the want thereof &s;he doth expo&s;e her &s;elfe to all kind of dangers externall and internall, like a bird without wings. Therefore Chri&s;t tooke not away this kind of Elders, but rather e&s;tabli&s;hed them in their fun|ction and office, both in private and publicke, as in the 18. of <HI>Matth. 15. 16. 17. If thy brother tre&s;pa&s;&s;e, got and tell him his fault, betweene thee and him alone: if hee heare thee, thou ha&s;t wonne thy brother. If he heare thee not, take yet with thee one or two that by the mouth of two or three witne&s;&s;es every word may be <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" RESP="apex" EXTENT="3 letters">firmed. And if he will not vouch&s;afe to heare them, then tell the Church.</HI> Which is to make the offence and the offen|der knowne to the Congregation; the Elders acquainting the Pa&s;tor, the Pa&s;tor acquainting the Congregation, they all joyne in publicke cen&s;ure and di&s;cipline.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rules of pri|vate admoniti|on.</NOTE>
<HI>Paul</HI> hath &s;ome rules which pertaine to private admoniti|on, for it ought to be done in all gravitie, prudence, and in much love. <HI>Galat. 6. 1. If a man bee fallen by occa&s;ion into any &s;inne, yee which are &s;pirituall, re&s;tore &s;uch a one with the &s;pirit of meekne&s;&s;e, con&s;idering thy &s;elfe le&s;t thou al&s;o bee tempted. Beare one anothers burdens, and &s;o fulfill the law of Chri&s;t.</HI> The Elders ought to excell in brotherly love and wi&s;edome, and to u&s;e their exhortations with much tempe|rance,
<PB N="51" REF="33">
as <HI>Paul</HI> hath &s;et before them in another place. 1 <HI>Tim. 5. 1. Rebuke not an Elder, but exhort him as a fathers and the younger men as brethren. The elder women as mothers, and the younger as &s;i&s;ters with all purene&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Another duty of Pa&s;tors and Elders.</NOTE>
And there is another particular dutie which pertaines to the&s;e Elders, as al&s;o to the Pa&s;tors and Mini&s;ters, which is to vi&s;it the &s;icke, and tho&s;e that are burthened or troubled in con&s;cience, as <HI>Iames</HI> &s;aith, <HI>If any be &s;icke, let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray for him, and anoynt him with oyle in the name of the Lord.</HI> For oyle is an embleme of the holy Gho&s;t, which by comfortable exhortations out of the word of God with prayer is like oyle unto the bones, or as wine that glads the heart. Such refre&s;hment are the El|ders to the &s;icke, for the prayer of faith &s;hall &s;ave the &s;icke, and the Lord &s;hall rai&s;e him up, and if he have committed &s;inne it &s;hall be forgiven him. And for this cau&s;e there is a mutuall confe&s;&s;ion among Chri&s;tians, when any thing doth vehement|ly oppre&s;&s;e the con&s;cience, therefore &s;aith <HI>James</HI> confe&s;&s;e your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that yee may be healed, for the prayer of a righteous man availeth much; if it be fervent.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of Di&s;cipline and cen&s;ure.</HEAD>
<P>Now I come to the &s;econd part of government, which con&s;i&s;teth al&s;o in the&s;e three functions. The fir&s;t &s;ort is called promi&s;cuou&s;ly, Pa&s;tors, Teachers, Bi&s;hops, for they have re|ceived the gift of one and the &s;ame &s;pirit, according to the mea&s;ure of Chri&s;t, as <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. For the gathering together of the Saints, for the worke of the mini&s;tery, and for the edifi|cation of the body of Chri&s;t, untill wee all meet together in the unitie of faith, and knowledge of the Sonne of God unto a perfect Man, and unto the mea&s;ure of the age of the fulne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t. The &s;econd &s;ort is Deacons. The third is called by a generall name in common to them and the Pa&s;tors, Teachers and Bi&s;hops, which is the name of Elders, for that in their publicke execution of Di&s;cipline, they are joyntly united, &s;o
<PB N="52" REF="34">
that though the Pa&s;tor have the leading voyce and preceden|cie, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bi&s;hop our &s;u+perintendent.</NOTE>
yet he is not to execute, nor pronounce &s;entence in the Churh <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">thout the Elders, nor yet to ordaine either Dea|cons, Elders, or Pa&s;tors, without their coun&s;ell, and the ge|nerall con&s;ent of the Church, &s;o that the Pa&s;tors, Teachers and Bi&s;hops, are not to beare the burthen alone, it would bee too heavy for them, as it was for <HI>Moy&s;es,</HI> if they bore the like con&s;cience to God as <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> did; and if it were too heavy a burden for one man in tho&s;e dayes, when the Church was but one Nation, and but one Congregation, and had but one Tabernacle; How mu&s;t it not now needs be a farre grea|ter weight, when the Church is many Nations, farre and wide di&s;per&s;ed, and many di&s;tinct Congregations.</P>
<P>But notwith&s;tanding the Elders be joyned in one power with the Pa&s;tors and Bi&s;hops, &s;o that nothing ought to bee done without them, the Pa&s;tors have this preheminence, that the worke both of Di&s;cipline, cen&s;ure, and ordination of El|ders, Pa&s;tors and Deacons, is attributed unto them as mo&s;t proper to their function; For this cau&s;e <HI>Paul</HI> tells <HI>Titus,</HI> in his Epi&s;tle, <HI>cap.</HI> 1. that he left him in <HI>Crete:</HI> that hee &s;hould continue to redre&s;&s;e things that remained, and ordaine Elders in every Citie, as (&s;aith he) I appointed thee. And <HI>Acts</HI> the 1423. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 23.</NOTE>
<HI>And when they ordained them Elders by election in eve|ry Church, and prayed and fa&s;ted; they commended them to the Lord, in whom they beleeved.</HI> For neither divine cen&s;ure, nor ordination could be done without them, neither would the Apo&s;tles nor Pa&s;tors of the primitive times, for the &s;pace of two hundred and fifty yeares, either cen&s;ure or ordaine any Elders, Pa&s;tors, or Deacons, without the Election, and coun|&s;ell of the Church and Elders. But a little after the&s;e times, when pride began to creepe into the hearts of the Pa&s;tors, Teachers, and Bi&s;hops, and that the zeale and care of the El|ders grew cold and negligent, as <HI>Cyprian</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Carthage, lib.</HI> 4. &s;peaking of the cau&s;e of the then pre&s;ent per&s;ecutions, among other things (&s;aith) What plagues, what &s;tripes, doe we not de&s;erve, when no not the Confe&s;&s;ours and Elders doe keepe Di&s;cipline? And from this degree of luke-warmne&s;&s;e
<PB N="53" REF="34">
it came to be omitted, and after the <HI>Nicene</HI> Councell quite extinct, and wiped out of memory; So that no marvell if our age call it the new-brought-in di&s;cipline and government of Pa&s;tors, Elders and People.</P>
<P>In this di&s;cour&s;e of Di&s;cipline, I mu&s;t have relation to that which is gone before, for that which is part of government in the theoricke is al&s;o a part of Di&s;cipline in the practicke, therefore though I have &s;hewed that election and ordination are nece&s;&s;ary relatives in the Church, that as proper to the Congregation, this other to the Pa&s;tours, and how they were practi&s;ed by the Apo&s;tles, yet it is needfull to reforme the Judgements and opinions of men, to &s;hew how it is mo&s;t proper for Congregations to choo&s;e their Pa&s;tours and El|ders, and Deacons, and al&s;o their con&s;ent and coun&s;ell in their ordination.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Apo&s;tles practi&s;e is the be&s;t of pat|terns.</NOTE>
To &s;atisfie any indifferent judgement, it is be&s;t to make it a perpetuall rule and patterne, to follow the example of the Apo&s;tles, but it is an enforcing rea&s;on, that is nece&s;&s;ary that the people, who&s;e <HI>&s;ummum bonum,</HI> doth in&s;trumentally con&s;i&s;t in their Pa&s;tor &s;hould be well acquainted, and &s;uffici|ently experimented in his life and conver&s;ation, as al&s;o in his doctrine which they ought to ta&s;te by their care, (for the earth ta&s;teth words as the palate doth meat) before they make choyce of him, though it may bee they cannot, nor is it required at their hands to trie his &s;chollar&s;hip, but their capa|cities (if it be a Congregation that hath lived, and been nou|ri&s;hed under a whol&s;ome and &s;tructifying mini&s;tery) may well judge and ta&s;te the &s;weetne&s;&s;e of the divine gift of Preaching by the care, and &s;o trie his doctrine, as the men of <HI>Berea</HI> did the doctrine of <HI>Paul;</HI> and it may &s;o happen in &s;ome Congre|gations, that are well edified in the Word of God, that they may have among them&s;elves &s;ome of their Deacons able and &s;ufficient to &s;ucceed their decea&s;ed Pa&s;tor, and withall I doe not thinke it fit to exclude the choyce and pre&s;entation of the Univer&s;ities, nor to debarre their Letters of commendation; nor for one Congregation to &s;upply the want of another, for all Congregations are members one of another, and every
<PB N="54" REF="35">
Chri&s;tian Univer&s;ity is a Congregation, and they all make but one Church to God.</P>
<P>But what &s;hall I &s;ay of Patrons pre&s;entations? I know not, unle&s;&s;e I &s;hould &s;ay they are too frequently the &s;eed of Simo|ny; For except the Nobles and Peeres of this Kingdome doe freely be&s;tow their pre&s;entations. I feare there are not many that doe the like, and to &s;peake truly of their fir&s;t donation, it was not done purely. For the Donors in re&s;erving a pre|&s;entation to them, and their heires, they kept backe a part of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion they had dedicated to God, as did <HI>Ananias</HI> and <HI>Saphira;</HI> And &s;o if they bee righty con&s;idered, they are are as unnece&s;&s;ary evills in the Church, as Deanes and Pre|bends, which no man can tell to what u&s;e they &s;erve in the Church. But if Patrons cannot be admitted by our law, let them pre&s;ent three or foure at the lea&s;t, that the Church may have her choyce, and as much as may be avoyd that horrid crime of Simony.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ordination.</NOTE>
And as for ordination, though the power thereof re&s;t in the Pa&s;tors and <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Or &s;uperin|tendour.</NOTE>
Bi&s;hops, yet it is great arrogancie and pre&s;ump|tion to for&s;ake the Apo&s;tolike and Primitive practi&s;e, and u&s;urpe a &s;ingularity and predominancie to them&s;elves, as if they would di&s;daine the humility of the Apo&s;tles, and con|demne the wi&s;edome of the holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>But that which doth fo&s;ter and nouri&s;h men in a good opinion of this errour to attribute &s;uch ab&s;olute power to the Bi&s;hops and Clergie, is that my&s;ticall doctrine of Antichri&s;t, which in that &s;moakie darkne&s;&s;e thru&s;t upon the world for an undeniable truth, that the Church in her e&s;&s;ence is to bee conceived to bee the Bi&s;hops and Clergie, and that they onely have the unerrable Spirit of God, and that thereby they have power to doe all things, as much, and as ab&s;olute|ly as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe when he was on earth, as once a Romi&s;h Prie&s;t averred to me, that the Prie&s;ts or Clergie were the &s;oule of the Church.</P>
<P>The nouri&s;hing and maintaining of this opinion is the cau&s;e why the world hath &s;o long, and &s;o madly doated after Epi&s;copacie; But if we thinke it fit to ca&s;t away the pride and
<PB N="55" REF="35">
ambition of man, abhorre this opinion, and let the worke bee of God, and not of man.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of Excommunication.</HEAD>
<P>Now touching Excommunication, which is that &s;upreme Di&s;cipline and divine power which purgeth and &s;egre|gateth the dro&s;&s;e from the pure gold in the temple of God. This part of Di&s;cipline is of &s;o high and holy a nature and qualitie, as that of a Chri&s;tian, it ought to bee had in a mo&s;t reverend e&s;timation above all the powers of earth: for it is thunderbolt and lightning of God, that upon whom it fal|leth and pierceth, it doth con&s;ume with a terrible flame, and grind him to powder with a direfull fall.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Die Eccle&s;ie, non Epi&s;copo, non Pastori tantum.</NOTE>
This power is committed unto the Church, not to Bi&s;hops alone, nor to the Pa&s;tors or Clergie onely, neither have the Elders this power appropriate unto them, but the Church. As <HI>Mat. 18 17. If he will not heare, then tell it unto the Church.</HI> Now the Church is not properly to bee conceived to con&s;i&s;t in any one per&s;on, who is but a member of the whole, nor can &s;he be &s;aid to be any one proper function in the Church, but the whole Church con&s;i&s;ting of one head Chri&s;t, and ma|ny members indued with divers and many admini&s;trations and gifts of one and the &s;ame &s;pirit, and in this &s;ence every particular publicke Congregation is an entire Church, and a member of the univer&s;all Church throughout the world, becau&s;e a Congregation containes in it &s;elfe the whole Church of God, as &s;he hath one and the &s;ame head (Chri&s;t) one and the &s;ame Spirit, and one and the &s;ame mini&s;tration of the &s;ame Word and Sacrament, and one and the &s;ame God and Father of all, above all, in all, and through all, and one. And thus having the &s;ame Word and Doctrine, the &s;ame functions of Pa&s;tors, Teachers, Deacons and Elders, the &s;ame Sacra|ments, Admini&s;tration, Di&s;cipline and Government, &s;o that hereby they are united one into another, and one in all, and all in all.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The private admonition by Elders.</NOTE>
The private exerci&s;e of this part of Di&s;cipline I have &s;po|ken <PB N="56" REF="36">
of, which by degrees in private admonition, if it bring not forth the fruits of repentance and amendment, pro|ceeds to the fir&s;t degree of publicke correction, <HI>(Tell the Church.)</HI></P>
<P>This information is made by the Elders, who have u&s;ed the private di&s;cipline of exhortation, with much wi&s;edome and patience upon &s;ome particular per&s;ons, who with hard|ne&s;&s;e of heart have re&s;i&s;ted the power of God through un|godline&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>They declare the offence to the Pa&s;tor, and the Pa&s;tor in the publicke a&s;&s;embly acquainteth the people with the of|fence, and if the delinquent be pre&s;ent, hee is cau&s;ed to &s;tand upbefore the Pa&s;tor, who reproves him with the &s;harpe Judgements of God again&s;t his &s;inne, by the Word &s;eeking to enlighten his mind, and mollifie his heart; Which if it prevaile with him, hee falleth upon his knees, and de&s;ireth the Congregation to pray for him, which done, the Pa&s;tor pronounceth unto him the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, if the Church judge him penitent, if they find him &s;till ob&s;tinate and of an unrelenting heart. then they pronounce him debarred from the holy Communion of the Supper of the Lord and conti|nue him upon the &s;toole of repentance with much exhor|tation, patience, and long forbearing, till they convince him, or otherwi&s;e &s;eparate him from the Congregation, for a time; if after hee continue in his foulene&s;&s;e of &s;inne, then hee is againe called to the Congregation and admoni&s;hed, which if then it take no effect, her is excommunicated by laying on of the hands of all the Elders, after that hee is accounted as an enemie, or as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, Anathema to the Church, and wholly and finally given over to Satan, according to the words of our Saviour, the 18. <HI>Matth. 18. Whom&s;oever yee bind on earth, &s;hall bee bound in heaven, and whom yee &s;hall loo&s;e on earth, &s;hall bee loo&s;ed in heaven.</HI></P>
<P>Judge, I pray you, if all the politicke wits in the world could ever have devi&s;ed &s;uch a pure and &s;ubtile di&s;cipline, as &s;hould &s;pie into the inward &s;ecrets of the thoughts, and intentions of the heart, and &s;hould purge the con&s;cience,
<PB N="57" REF="36">
and &s;hould cut off the con&s;uming cankers, and rotten mem|bers from the body of the Church. What Romi&s;h Apothe|cary could ever have compo&s;ed &s;uch a &s;oule-&s;aving me|dicine?</P>
<P>Ob&s;erve how the holy Spirit hath commanded this di&s;ci|pline to bee alwayes practized in the Church. When <HI>Achans</HI> covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e troubled the Congregation, by moving Gods wrath again&s;t them, a diligent &s;earch was commanded to bee made, and being found out, <HI>Achan</HI> and his hou&s;e were cut off. <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 7. And al&s;o, if there bee a &s;corner or contentious per&s;on (&s;aith <HI>Solomon)</HI> ca&s;t out the &s;corner, and &s;o &s;trife will goe out, and &s;o contention &s;hall cea&s;e. Al&s;o, <HI>Rom.</HI> 16. 17. 18. Now &s;aith <HI>Paul, I be&s;eech you brethren, marke them diligently which cau&s;e divi&s;ion and offences, contrary to the do|ctrine which yee have learned, and avoid them.</HI> And more plainly in the 2 <HI>The&s;&s;. 36. 10. Wee command you brethren, in the Name of Chri&s;t, that yee withdraw your &s;elves from every brother that walkes inordinately, and not after the in|&s;tructions which yee received of us.</HI> And in the foure|teenth ver&s;e he &s;aith; <HI>If any man obey not your &s;aying, note him by a letter, and have no company with him, that hee may bee a&s;hamed, yet account him not as an enemy, but admo|ni&s;h him as a brother.</HI> But if he come to the la&s;t degree Ex|communion, then &s;aith our Lord Chri&s;t, let him be anathema.</P>
<P>But if you would &s;ee the Apo&s;tles practice in this di&s;|cipline, See 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. chap. 4 and 5. ver&s;es, <HI>Paul</HI> having certaine intelligence that there was odious fornication a|mong them, hee writ thus unto them; <HI>When yee are gathe|red together, and my &s;pirit, in the Name of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that &s;uch a one, I &s;ay, by the power of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t bee delivered unto Sathan for the de&s;truction of the fle&s;h, that the &s;pirit may bee &s;aved in the day of the Lord Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P>And out of this text make a profitable ob&s;ervation, that <HI>Paul</HI> will not have Excommunication, (though but in the &s;econd degree) executed in any private manner, but by the publicke a&s;&s;embly gathered together, neither doth hee allow
<PB N="58" REF="37">
it to be done in any name, but in the Name of the Lord Je|&s;us Chri&s;t; Neither doth hee attribute the power, either to him&s;elfe or the Church, but onely to the Lord Je&s;us.</P>
<P>Now, and la&s;tly, I mu&s;t conclude with the la&s;t part of Di&s;cipline, that is Synodicall a&s;&s;emblies, which are of three degrees. The fir&s;t is particular to every Congregation, which con&s;i&s;ts of the Pa&s;tors the Deacons, and the Elders of that Church, who&s;e cu&s;tomes is the be&s;t reformed Churches to meet once a weeke, or as need requires, to take an account of all things that concerne the duties of the Elders and the Church-revenues, the Pa&s;tor being their chiefe guide; Tho&s;e things about which they chiefly bu&s;ie them&s;elves, are fir&s;t to catalogue the Profe&s;&s;ors of their Congregation, their Cate|chumini&s;ts di&s;tingui&s;hed from tho&s;e that are thought fit to be admitted to the Sacrament of the body and blood of Chri&s;t, their Baptized, their penitents, their Excommunicates, their number of Elders and Deacons, Pa&s;tors and Teachers, one or two, as the place requires.</P>
<P>In this their a&s;&s;embly they con&s;ider the &s;pirituall e&s;tate, and condition of the flocke, examine the revenues of the Church, and the nece&s;&s;ities of the poore, and what things &s;oever they find meet to edification. The Pa&s;tor exhorting the Elders to diligence, care, and zeale in the worke of the Lord, the Deacons to hone&s;ty, compa&s;&s;on, and a good con&s;cience.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The A&s;&s;embly or Synod of Presbyteries within a &s;hire or Wapontake.</NOTE>
The &s;econd order of Synodes is in the reformed Churches, called the a&s;&s;emblies of the Presbyteries, held monethly, or quarterly, under which they comprehend the Pa&s;tors and Church Elders, for every Pa&s;tor brings with him two or three Elders, after the quantity of the Congregation, and this Synode is a company of Pa&s;tors and Elders of a &s;hire or wa|pontake.</P>
<P>In the&s;e A&s;&s;emblies they examine the &s;pirituall condition of every pari&s;h, take view of their order, diligence, do|ctrine, and manners, as well the doctrine and manners of the Pa&s;tors and Elders, as of the younger people And there they proceed to &s;uch further order and cen&s;ure, as by the holy Scriptures they are taught. And in the&s;e Synodes all errours
<PB N="59" REF="37">
in opinion, here&s;ies and Schi&s;mes, that are found noy&s;ome to the Congregation are reproved, and the parties exhorted and admoni&s;hed. In the&s;e their Synodes they alwayes from time to time choo&s;e one Pre&s;ident to guide the affaires, and thus they avoyd that preheminence, which Epi&s;copacie greedily hunts after.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The generall Synode.</NOTE>
The third degree is the &s;uperlative a&s;&s;embly of Presby|teries, which is either Nationall or Provinciall, which in &s;ome Churches are held yearely, or otherwi&s;e as occa&s;ions fit; over which the prince and Soveraigne is the Principall Elder, and the Presbyters and Elders appoint one Pa&s;tor for the time Pre&s;ident of the a&s;&s;embly, who moderates and guides the affaires.</P>
<P>The matters handled in this Synode are a generall review of both the former Synods, and &s;pecially to take care of the pre&s;ervation of the puritie of Doctrine, and &s;uppre&s;|&s;ing of Heretickes, and errours, and all mi&s;demeanours, and Schi&s;mes in the Church.</P>
<P>And what&s;oever is done in any of the&s;e Synods is certifi|ed from one to another, and through the Nationall Church of all their mo&s;t materiall cen&s;ures which may concerne them in generall, wherby the Church is pre&s;erved in a &s;weet and plea&s;ant decorum, unitie, puritie and peace.</P>
<P>The unerrable patterne of the&s;e Synods is taken from the practi&s;e of the Apo&s;tles, <HI>Acts</HI> 15. &s;hewing by what rules of temperance and wi&s;edome they ought to judge and give &s;entence, taking the Scripture for their rule, the holy Gho&s;t for their guide, not laying any burden on the Church by Lawes, Decrees, or Canons, as I have before &s;poken.</P>
<P>And this Divine rule and patterne was kept and ob&s;erved throughout all the Primitive times, till the great Councell of Nice, as by the Chronography of <HI>Socrates. Schola&s;t.</HI> may be ob&s;erved, yet the earthly glory of <HI>Babel</HI> hath &s;o long da|zeled the eyes of mo&s;t men, that they call the truth novelty.</P>
<P>But if men were of a free &s;pirit and cleere judgement, not inthralled with prejudicate opinions, nor darkned with the more then Egyptian mi&s;ts of <HI>Rome,</HI> they might here be|hold
<PB N="60" REF="38">
the virgin puritie of the Church of God, both in her Wor&s;hip, Juri&s;diction, Doctrine, Government and Di&s;ci|pline, to have beene from the beginning of the world one and the &s;ame.</P>
<P>Thus have I adventured to pre&s;ent unto the eyes of men, the true face of the Chri&s;tian Church &s;hining in her &s;pirituall Iu&s;tre, and Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord raigning and ruling over the &s;oules and con&s;ciences of man, not intrenching upon the temporall power of Kings and Princes.</P>
<P>Now the Lord give unto us under&s;tanding in all things, and with the holy Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> I will bow the knees of my &s;oule, unto the Father of my Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, of whom is named the whole Family in heaven and in earth, that he may grant us according to the riches of his glory, that wee may be &s;trengthened by his Spirit in the inner man, that Chri&s;t may dwell in our hearts by Faith, that wee being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all Saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Chri&s;t, which pa&s;&s;eth all knowledge, that we may be filled with all fulne&s;&s;e of God. Unto him therefore that is able to doe exceeding abundant|ly above all that we can aske or thinke, according to the power that worketh in us, be prai&s;e in the Church by Je&s;us Chri&s;t thorough all Generati|ons for ever, Amen. <HI>Eph.</HI> 3. 14.</P>
<CLOSER>Soli Deo Gloria.</CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
