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<DATE>2007-08-24</DATE>
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<NAME>Jonathan Blaney</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A FORM
FOR
Church Government
AND
ORDINATION
OF
MINISTERS, 
Contained in CXI Propo&s;itions,
propounded to the late GENERALL
ASSEMBLY at <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> 1647.</P>
<P>Together
<HI>With an ACT concerning</HI> Era&s;tiani&s;me,
Independencie, <HI>and</HI> Liberty
of Con&s;cience.</P>
<P>Publi&s;hed by Authority.</P>
<P>LONDON, Printed for ROBERT BOSTOCK, at the King's Head
in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard. MDCXLVII.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>Act approving VIII generall Heads of
Doctrine again&s;t the Tenents of Era&s;tia|ni&s;me,
Independencie, and Liberty of
Con&s;cience, a&s;&s;erted in the CXI Propo&s;i|tions,
which are to be examined again&s;t the
next ASSEMBLY.</HEAD>
<P>_BEing tender of &s;o great an ingage|ment
by &s;olemn Covenant, &s;in|cerely,
really, &amp; con&s;tantly to en|deavour
in our Places &amp; Callings,
the pre&s;ervation of the Reformed
Religion in this Kirk of <HI>Scotland,</HI>
in Doctrine, Wor&s;hip, Di&s;cipline,
and Government, the Reformation of Religion in the
Kingdoms of <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> in Doctrine Wor|&s;hip,
Di&s;cipline and Government, according to the
Word of God, and the example of the be&s;t Reformed
Kirks, and to endeavour the neere&s;t Conjunction and
Uniformity in all the&s;e, together with the extirpation
of Here&s;ie, Schi&s;me, and what&s;oever &s;hall be found
contrary to &s;ound Doctrine: And con&s;idering withall
that one of the &s;pecial means which it becometh us in
our Places and Callings to u&s;e in pur&s;uance of the&s;e
<PB REF="3">
ends, is in zeal for the true Reformed Religion, to
give our publick te&s;timony again&s;t the dangerous te|nents
of <HI>Era&s;tiani&s;me, Independency,</HI> and which is fal&s;ly
called <HI>Liberty of Con&s;cience,</HI> which are not onely con|trary
to &s;ound Doctrine, but more &s;peciall lets and
hinderances as well to the pre&s;ervation of our own
received Doctrine, Wor&s;hip, Di&s;cipline and Govern|ment,
as to the Work of Reformation and Uniformi|ty
in <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Ireland.</HI> The Generall A&s;&s;embly
upon the&s;e con&s;iderations, having heard publickly
read the CXI following Propo&s;itions exhibited and
tendered by &s;ome Brethren who were appointed to
prepare Articles or Propo&s;itions for the vindication
of the Truth in the&s;e particulars, Doth unanimou&s;ly
approve and agree unto the&s;e eight generall Heads of
Doctrine therein contained and a&s;&s;erted. <HI>viz.</HI> 1. That
the Mini&s;tery of the Word, and the Admini&s;tration
of the Sacraments of the New Te&s;tament, Bapti&s;me
and the Lords Supper, are &s;tanding Ordinances in&s;ti|tuted
by God him&s;elf, to continue in the Church to
the end of the world. 2. That &s;uch as admini&s;ter the
Word and Sacraments&punc; ought to be duely called and
ordained thereunto. 3. That &s;ome Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
cen&s;ures are proper and peculiar to be inflicted onely
upon &s;uch as bear Office in the Kirk; Other cen&s;ures
are common, and may be inflicted both on Mini|&s;ters,
and other Members of the Kirk. 4. That the
cen&s;ure of Su&s;pen&s;ion from the Sacrament of the
Lords Supper, inflicted becau&s;e of gro&s;&s;e ignorance,
or becau&s;e of a &s;candalous life and conver&s;ation; As
likewi&s;e the cen&s;ure of Excommunication, or ca&s;ting
out of the Kirk flagitious or contumacious offenders,
<PB REF="3">
both the one cen&s;ure and the other is warrantable by
and grounded upon the Word of God, and is ne|ce&s;&s;ary
(in re&s;pect of Divine in&s;titution) to be in the
Kirk. 5. That as the Rights, Power and Authori|ty
of the Civill Magi&s;trate are to be maintained ac|cording
to the Word of God, and the Confe&s;&s;ions
of the Faith of the Reformed Kirks, So it is no le&s;&s;e
true and certain that Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the onely Head and
onely King of the Kirk, hath in&s;tituted and appoint|ted
a Kirk Government di&s;tinct from the Civill Go|vernment
or Magi&s;tracy. 6. That the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Government is committed and intru&s;ted by Chri&s;t to
the A&s;&s;emblies of the Kirk, made up of the Mini&s;ters
of the Word and Ruling Elders. 7. That the le&s;&s;er
and inferiour Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall A&s;&s;emblies ought to be
&s;ubordinate and &s;ubject unto the greater and &s;upe|riour
A&s;&s;emblies. 8. That notwith&s;tanding hereof,
the Civill Magi&s;trate may and ought to &s;uppre&s;&s;e by
corporall or civill puni&s;hments, &s;uch as by &s;preading
Errour or Here&s;ie, or by fomenting Schi&s;me, great|ly
di&s;honour God, dangerou&s;ly hurt Religion, and
di&s;turb the Peace of the Kirk, Which Heads of Do|ctrine
(how&s;oever oppo&s;ed by the authours and fo|menters
of the fore&s;aid Errours re&s;pectively) the
Generall A&s;&s;embly doth firmly beleeve, own, main|tain,
and commend unto others as &s;olid, true, or|thodox,
grounded upon the Word of God, con&s;o|nant
to the judgement both of the ancient, and the
be&s;t Reformed Kirks. And becau&s;e this A&s;&s;embly
(through the multitude of other nece&s;&s;ary and pre&s;|&s;ing
bu&s;ine&s;&s;e) cannot now have &s;o much lea&s;ure as
to examine and con&s;ider particularly the fore&s;aid
<PB REF="4">
CXI Propo&s;itions: Therefore a more particular ex|amination
thereof is committed and referred to the
Theologicall Faculties of the four Univer&s;ities of
this Kingdom, and the judgement of each of the&s;e
Faculties concerning the &s;ame, is appointed to be re|ported
to the next Generall A&s;&s;embly. In the mean
while, the&s;e Propo&s;itions &s;hall be printed, both that
Copies thereof may be &s;ent to Presbyteries, and that
it may be free for any that plea&s;eth to peru&s;e them,
and to make known or &s;end their judgement concer|ning
the &s;ame to the &s;aid next A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>A. Ker.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<HEAD><PB N="1" REF="4">CXI
PROPOSITIONS
Concerning
THE MINISTERIE
AND
GOVERNMENT
OF THE
CHURCH.</HEAD>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>1.</HEAD>
<P>_AS our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth invi&s;ibly teach
and govern his Church by the Holy Spirit:
So in gathering, pre&s;erving, in&s;tructing, buil|ding
and &s;aving thereof, he u&s;eth Mini&s;ters as
his in&s;truments, and hath appointed an order
of &s;ome to Teach, and others to Learne in
the Church, and that &s;ome &s;hould be the Flock, and others the
Pa&s;tours.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>2.</HEAD>
<P>For, be&s;ide the&s;e fir&s;t Founders of the Church of Chri&s;t
extraordinarily &s;ent, and furni&s;hed with the gift of Miracles,
whereby they might confirme the Doctrine of the Go&s;pel, hee
appointed al&s;o ordinary Pa&s;tours and Teachers, for the exe|cuting
of the Mini&s;tery, even untill his coming again nnto
Judgement, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. 11, 12, 13. Wherefore, al&s;o as many as
are of the number of God's People, or will be accounted
Chri&s;tians, ought to receive and obey the ordinary Mini&s;ters
<PB N="2" REF="5">
of God's Word and Sacraments, (lawfully, though medi|ately
called) as the Stewards and Amba&s;&s;adours of Chri&s;t
him&s;elf.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>3.</HEAD>
<P>It is not lawfull for any man, how fit &s;oever, and how
much &s;oever enriched or beautified with excellent gifts, to un|dertake
the Admini&s;tration either of the Word or Sacraments
by the Will of private per&s;ons, or others who have not power
and right to Call; much le&s;&s;e is it lawfull by their own judge|ment
or arbitrement to a&s;&s;ume and arrogate the &s;ame to them|&s;elves:
But before it be lawfull to undergoe that &s;acred Mi|ni&s;tery
in Churches con&s;tituted, a &s;peciall Calling; yea be&s;ide,
a lawfull Election (which alone is not &s;ufficient) a Mi&s;&s;ion,
or &s;ending, or (as commonly it is termed) Ordination, is
nece&s;&s;arily required, and that both for the avoyding of confu|&s;ion,
and to bar out, or &s;hut the door (&s;o far as in us lieth) up|on
Impo&s;tors; as al&s;o by rea&s;on of divine In&s;titution delivered
to us in the holy Scripture, <HI>Rom. 10. 15. Heb. 5. 4. Tit.</HI> 1 5.
1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1. 14.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>4.</HEAD>
<P>The Church ought to be governed by no other per&s;ons then
Mini&s;ters and Stewards preferred and placed by Chri&s;t, and
after no other manner then according to the Lawes made by
him; and therefore there is no power on earth which may
challenge to it &s;elf Authority or Dominion over the Church:
But who&s;oever they are that would have the things of Chri&s;t to
be admini&s;tred not according to the Ordinance and will of
Chri&s;t revealed in his Word, but as it liketh them, and accor|ding
to their own will and pre&s;cript, what other thing go they
about to do, then by horrible Sacriledge to throw down Chri&s;t
from his own Throne.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>5.</HEAD>
<P>For our onely Law-giver and Interpreter of his Fathers
will, Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath pre&s;cribed and fore-appointed the rule
according to which he would have his Wor&s;hip and the Go|vernment
of his own Hou&s;e to be ordered. To wre&s;t this
rule of Chri&s;t laid open in his holy Word, to the Coun&s;els,
<PB N="3" REF="5">
Wills, Manners, Devices or Lawes of Men, is mo&s;t hight im|piety;
But contrarily, the Law of Faith commandeth the
coun&s;ell and purpo&s;es of men to be framed and conformed
to this rule, and overturneth all the rea&s;onings of worldly
wi&s;dome, and bringeth into captivity the thoughts of the
proud &s;welling minde to the obedience of Chri&s;t: Neither
ought the voice of any to take place or bee re&s;ted upon in the
Church, but the voice of Chri&s;t alone.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>6.</HEAD>
<P>The &s;ame Lord and our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the onely Head
of the church hath ordained in the New Te&s;tament, not only
the Preaching of the Word and Admini&s;tration of Bapti&s;me
and the Lords Supper, but al&s;o Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Government,
di&s;tinct and differing from the Civill Government, and it is
his will that there be &s;uch a Government di&s;tinct from the Ci|vill
in all his Churches everywhere, as well tho&s;e which live
under Chri&s;tian, as tho&s;e under indfiell Magi&s;trates, even un|till
the end of the World. <HI>Heb. 13. 7. 17. 1 Tim.</HI> 5. 17, 19.
<HI>Rom. 12. 8. 1 Cor. 12. 28. 1 The&s;. 5. 12, Acts 1. 20, 28. Luke</HI> 12.
42. 1 <HI>Tim. 6. 14. Apoc.</HI> 2. 25.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>7.</HEAD>
<P>This Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Government di&s;tinct from the Civill,
is from God committed, not to the whole body of the Church
or Congregation of the faithfull, or to be Exerci&s;ed both by
Officers and People, but to the Mini&s;ters of Gods Word, to|gether
with the Elders which are joyned with them for the
care and Government of the Church, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 17. To the&s;e
therefore who are over the Church in the Lord, belongeth
the Authority and Power, and it lyeth upon them by their of|fice,
according to the rule of Gods Word to di&s;cerne and
judge betwixt the Holy and Prophane, to give diligence for
amendment of delinquents, and to purge the Church (as
much as is in them) from &s;candalls, and that not onely by en|quiring,
in&s;pection, warning, reproving, and more &s;harply
expo&s;tulating, but al&s;o by acting in the further and more
&s;evere parts of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline, or exerci&s;ing
<PB N="4" REF="6">
Eccle&s;ia&s;tick juri&s;diction, even unto the greate&s;t and weighti|e&s;t
cen&s;ures, where need is.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>8.</HEAD>
<P>None that is within the Church ought to be without the
reach of Church Law, and exempt from Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Cen|&s;u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">es;
but Di&s;cipline is to be exerci&s;ed on all the Members
of the Church, without re&s;pect or con&s;ideration of tho&s;e ad|hering
qualities which u&s;e to commend a man to other men;
&s;uch as Power, Nobility, illu&s;trious De&s;cent, and the like:
for the judgement cannot be right, where men are led and
moved with the&s;e con&s;iderations. Wherefore, let re&s;pect of
Per&s;ons be farre from all Judges, chiefly the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall:
And if any in the Church doe &s;o &s;well in pride, that he refu&s;e
to be under this Di&s;cipline, and would have him&s;elf to be free
and exempt from all trial and Eccle&s;ia&s;tick judgement, this
mans di&s;po&s;ition is more like the haughtine&s;&s;e of the Roman
Pope, then the meekne&s;&s;e and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ivene&s;&s;e of Chri&s;ts
Sheep.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>9.</HEAD>
<P>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Cen&s;ure moreover is either proper to be
inflicted upon the Mini&s;ters and Office-bearers onely, or with
them common to other Members of the Church; the for|mer
con&s;i&s;teth in Su&s;pen&s;ion or Depo&s;ition of Mini&s;ters from
their Office (which in the ancient Canons is called <GAP DESC="foreign">)
The latter con&s;i&s;teth in the greater and le&s;&s;er Excommunica|tion,
(as they &s;peak.) What&s;oever in another Brother de|&s;erveth
Excommunication, the &s;ame much more in a Mini|&s;ter
de&s;erveth Excommunication: But ju&s;tly &s;ometimes a
Mini&s;ter is to be put from his Office, and deprived of that
Power which by Ordination was given him, again&s;t whom
neverthele&s;&s;e to draw the &s;word of Excommunication, no rea|&s;on
doth compell.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="10" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>10.</HEAD>
<P>Sometime al&s;o it happeneth that a Mini&s;ter having fallen
into Here&s;ie or Apo&s;ta&s;ie, or other grievous crimes, if hee
&s;hew tokens of true repentance, may be ju&s;tly received in|to
the communion of the Church; Whom notwith&s;tanding,
<PB N="5" REF="6">
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> is no way expedient to re&s;tore into his former place or
charge; yea, perhaps it will not be found fit to re&s;tore &s;uch a
one to the Mini&s;tery in another Congregation, as &s;oone as he
is received into the bo&s;ome of the Church; Which &s;urely is
mo&s;t agreeable as well as to the Word of God, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 23 9.
<HI>Ezech.</HI> 44. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. as to that Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;ci|pline,
which in &s;ome ages after the times of the Apo&s;tles was
in u&s;e.</P>
<P>So true is it that the Mini&s;ters of the Church, are lyable as
well to peculiar as to common cen&s;ures; Or that a Mini&s;ter of
the Church is cen&s;ured one way, and one of the people ano|ther
way.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="11" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>11.</HEAD>
<P>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cen&s;ure, which is not proper to Mini&s;ters,
but common to them with other Members of the Church, is
either &s;u&s;pen&s;ion from the Lords Supper, (which by others is
called the Publicanes Excommunication,) or the cutting off
of a Member, which is commonly called Excommunication.
The di&s;tinction of this twofold cen&s;ure (commonly, though
not &s;o properly pa&s;&s;ing under the name of the le&s;&s;er and grea|ter
Excommunication) is not onely much approved by the
Church of <HI>Scotland,</HI> and the Synode now a&s;&s;embled at <HI>We&s;t|min&s;ter,</HI>
but al&s;o by the Reformed Churches of <HI>France,</HI> the
Low-countreys, and of <HI>Pole-land,</HI> as is to be &s;een in the <HI>book
of the Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Di&s;cipline of the Reformed Churches in
France. Chap. 5. Art. 9. In the harmonie of the Belgicke
Synodes. Chap. 14. Art.</HI> 8. 9. In the Canons of the generall
Synode of <HI>Torne,</HI> held in the yeare 1597.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="12" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>12</HEAD>
<P>That the di&s;tinction of that twofold Church cen&s;ure was al|lowed
al&s;o by antiquity, it may be &s;ufficiently clear to him who
will con&s;ult the &s;ixtie one Canon of the &s;ixth generall Synode,
with the Annotations of <HI>Zonaras</HI> and <HI>Bal&s;omon;</HI> al&s;o the
thirteenth Canon of the eighth Synode (which is termed the
fir&s;t and &s;econd) with the Notes of <HI>Zonaras;</HI> Yea be&s;ides,
even the penitents al&s;o them&s;elves of the fourth degree, or
<GAP DESC="foreign">, that is, which were in the <HI>con&s;i&s;tency,</HI> were
<PB N="6" REF="7">
&s;u&s;pended from the Lords Supper, though as to other things
of the &s;ame condition with the faithfull; For to the commu|nion
al&s;o of Prayers, and &s;o to all priviledges of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
&s;ociety, the Euchari&s;t alone excepted, they were thought to
have right: So &s;acred a thing was the Euchari&s;t e&s;teemed. See
al&s;o be&s;ide others, <HI>Cyprian 1. Book. Epi&s;t.</HI> 11. That <HI>Dyoni&s;ius</HI>
the Author of <HI>tha Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Hierarchie. Chap. 3. Part.</HI> 3.
<HI>Ba&s;il. Epi&s;t.</HI> to <HI>Amphilochius. Can. 4. Ambro&s;. lib. 2. De offi|ciis,
Chap. 27. Augu&s;tine in</HI> his <HI>book again&s;t the Donati&s;ts, af|ter
the conference, Chap. 4. Chry&s;o&s;tom Homil. 83. in Matth.
Gregor. the great Epi&s;t. lib. 2. Chap 65. and 66. Walafri|dus
Strabo of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall matters. Chap.</HI> 17.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="13" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>13.</HEAD>
<P>That fir&s;t and le&s;&s;er cen&s;ure by Chri&s;ts ordinance, is to be
inflicted on &s;uch as have received Bapti&s;me, and pretend to be
true Members of the church, yet are found unfit and unwor|thy
to communicate in the &s;ignes of the grace of Chri&s;t with
the church, whether for their gro&s;&s;e ignorance of divine
things, the Law namely and Go&s;pell, or by rea&s;on of &s;can|dall
either of fal&s;e Doctrine or wicked life. For the&s;e cau&s;es
therefore, or for &s;ome one of them, they are to be kept back
from the Sacrament of the Lords Supper (a lawfull judiciall
tryall going before) according to the interdiction of Chri&s;t,
forbidding that that which is Holy be given to dogs, or Pearles
bee ca&s;t before &s;wine, <HI>Matth</HI> 7. 6. and this cen&s;ure of &s;u&s;pen&s;i|on
is to continue, till the offenders bring forth fruits worthy
of repentance.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="14" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>14.</HEAD>
<P>For the a&s;&s;erting and defending of this &s;u&s;pen&s;ion, there
is no &s;mall acce&s;&s;ion of &s;trength from the nature of the Sacra|ment
it &s;elf, and the in&s;titution and end thereof. The Word
of God indeed is to be Preached, as well to the ungodly and
impenitent that they may be converted, as to the Godly and
repenting, that they may be confirmed: But the Sacrament
of the Lords Supper is by God in&s;tituted, not for beginning
the Work of Grace, but for nouri&s;hing and increa&s;ing Grace,
and therefore none is to be admitted to the Lords Supper, who
<PB N="7" REF="7">
by his life te&s;tifieth that he is impenitent, and not as yet con|verted.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="15" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>15.</HEAD>
<P>Indeed if the Lord had in&s;tituted this Sacrament, that
not onely it &s;hould nouri&s;h and cheri&s;h faith, and &s;eal the pro|mi&s;es
of the Go&s;pell, but al&s;o &s;hould begin the work of Grace
in &s;inners, and give regeneration it &s;elf, as the in&s;trumentall
cau&s;e thereof, verily even the mo&s;t wicked, mo&s;t uncleane
and mo&s;t unworthy were to be admitted. But the Reformed
Churches do otherwi&s;e judge of the nature of this Sacrament,
which &s;hall be abundantly manife&s;t by the gleaning of the&s;e
following Te&s;timonies.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="16" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>16.</HEAD>
<P><HI>The</HI> Scotto&s;h <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion,</HI> Art. 23. But we confe&s;&s;e that the
Lords Supper belongs onely to tho&s;e of the hou&s;hold of faith,
who can try and examine them&s;elves, as well in faith, as in the
duties of faith towards their neighbours. Who&s;o abide without
faith, and in variance with their brethren, doe at that holy
Table eate and drinke unworthily. Hence it is that the Pa|&s;tors
in our Church doe enter on a publike and particular exami|nation,
both of the knowledge, conver&s;ation and life of tho&s;e
who are to be admitted to the Lords Table. The Belgick <HI>Con|fe&s;&s;ion.</HI>
Art. 35. We beleevs al&s;o and confe&s;&s;e that our Lord
Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath ordained the holy Sacrament of his Supper,
that in it he may nouri&s;h and uphold them whom he hath already
regenerated.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="17" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>17.</HEAD>
<P><HI>The</HI> Saxon <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion.</HI> Art. 15. <HI>of the Lords Supper.</HI> The
Lord willeth that every receiver be particularly confirmed by
this te&s;timony, &s;o that he may be certified that the benefits of
the Go&s;pel doe appertaine to him&s;elf, &s;eeing the Preaching is
common, and by this te&s;timony, by this receiving, he &s;heweth
that thou art one of his members, and wa&s;hed with his blood. <HI>And
by and by.</HI> Thus therefore we in&s;truct the Church, that it be|hooveth
them that come to the &s;upper, to bring with them re|pentance
or conver&s;ion, and (faith being now kindled in the
meditation of the death and re&s;urrection, and the benefits of the
<PB N="8" REF="8">
Son of God) to &s;eek here the confirmation of this faith. <HI>The
very &s;ame things are &s;et downe, and that in the very &s;ame
words in the con&s;ent of the Churches of</HI> Pole-land <HI>in the</HI> Sen|dominian
<HI>Synode,</HI> Anno 1570. Art. of the Lords Supper,</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="18" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>18.</HEAD>
<P><HI>The</HI> Bohemian <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion.</HI> Art. 11. Next our Divines
teach that the Sacraments of them&s;elves, or as &s;ome &s;ay, <HI>ex
opere operato,</HI> doe not confer Grace to tho&s;e, who are not fir&s;t
endued with good motions, and inwardly quickened by the Holy
Spirit, neither doe they be&s;tow ju&s;tifying faith, which maketh
the &s;oule of man in all things ob&s;equious, tru&s;ting and obedient
to God; for faith mu&s;t goe before (wee speake of them of
ripe yeares) which quickeneth a man by the work of the Ho|ly
Spirit, and putting good motions into the heart. <HI>And after:</HI>
But if any come unworthily to the Sacraments, he is not made
by them worthy or cleane, but doth only bring greater &s;inne and
damnation on him&s;elf.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="19" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>19.</HEAD>
<P>Seeing then in the holy Supper, that is in the receiving the
Sacramentall Elements (which is here di&s;tingui&s;hed from
the Prayers and Exhortations accompanying that action) the
benefits of the Go&s;pell are not fir&s;t received, but for them being
received are thanks given; neither by partaking thereof doth
God be&s;tow the very &s;pirituall life, but doth pre&s;erve, cheri&s;h
and perfect that life; and &s;eeing the Word of God is accoun|ted
in the manner of letters patents, but Sacraments like &s;eals,
(as rightly the <HI>Helvetian</HI> Confe&s;&s;ion faith, Chap. 19) it
plainely followeth that tho&s;e are to be kept back from the Lords
Supper, which by their fruits and manners doe prove them|&s;elves
to be ungodly orimpenitent, and &s;trangers or alients from
all communion with Chri&s;t; Nor are the promi&s;es of Grace
&s;ealed to any other then to tho&s;e to whom the&s;e promi&s;es doe
belong, for otherwi&s;e the &s;eal annexed &s;hould contradict and
gain&s;ay the letters patents; and by the vi&s;ible Word tho&s;e
&s;hould be loo&s;ed an&s;t remitted, which by the audible Word
are bound and condemned: But this is &s;uch an ab&s;urdity, as
<PB N="9" REF="8">
that if any would, yet hee cannot &s;mooth or heal it with any
plai&s;ter.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="20" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>20.</HEAD>
<P>But as known, impious, and unregenerate per&s;ons
have no right to the holy Table: So al&s;o ungodly per&s;ons, by
rea&s;on of grievous &s;candall are ju&s;tly for a time deprived of
it; for it is not lawfull or allowable that the comforts and
promi&s;es which belong onely to &s;uch as beleeve and repent,
&s;hould be &s;ealed unto known unclean per&s;ons, and tho&s;e who
walk inordinatly, whether &s;uch as are not yet regenerate, or
&s;uch as are regenerate, but fallen and not yet re&s;tored or ri&s;en
from their fall. The &s;ame Di&s;cipline was plainly &s;haddowed
forth under the Old Te&s;tament; for none of Gods People
during their legall pollution, was permitted to enter into
the Tabernable, or to have acce&s;&s;e to the &s;olomne Sacrifices
and &s;ociety of the Church: and much more were wicked
and notorious offenders debarred from the Temple ever untill
by an offering for &s;inne, together with a &s;olemne confe&s;&s;ion
thereof, being clean&s;ed, they were reconciled unto God.
<HI>Num. 5 6, 7, 8. Lev.</HI> 5. to the 7. <HI>ver&s; Lev.</HI> 6. to <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 8.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="21" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>21.</HEAD>
<P>Yea that tho&s;e who were polluted with &s;ins and crimes,
were reckoned among the unclean in the Law, <HI>Maimonides
in more Nevo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">him, Part. 3 Chap</HI> 47. proveth out of <HI>Lev.</HI>
20. 3. <HI>Lev. 18 24. Num.</HI> 35. 33. 34. Therefore &s;eeing the
&s;hedding of mans blood was rightly e&s;teemed the greate&s;t pol|lution
of all; Hence it was, that as the &s;ociety of the leprous
was &s;hunned by the cleare, &s;o the company of murtherers
by good men was mo&s;t religiou&s;ly avoided. <HI>Lament.</HI> 4. 13, 14,
15. The &s;ame thing is witne&s;&s;ed by <HI>Ananias</HI> the high Prei&s;t, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">
<HI>Jo&s;ephus of the Jewi&s;h warre. 4. Book, Chap.</HI> 5. where hee
&s;aith that tho&s;e fal&s;e Zelots of that time, bloody men, ought
to have been re&s;trained from acce&s;&s;e to the Temple, by rea&s;on
of the pollution of murther; Yea as <HI>Philo</HI> the Jew witne&s;&s;eth
in his book <HI>of the Officers of Sacrifices;</HI> Who&s;oever were found
unworthy and wicked, were by edict forbidden to approach
the holy thre&s;holds.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="22" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="10" REF="9">
<HEAD>22.</HEAD>
<P>Neither mu&s;t that be pa&s;t by which was noted by <HI>Zonaras,</HI>
Book 4. of his Annals, (whereof &s;ee al&s;o <HI>Scaliger</HI> agreeing
with him, in <HI>Elench. Tribere&s;. Nicferrar. Cap.</HI> 28) namely
that the <HI>E&s;&s;enes</HI> were forbidden the holy Place as being hai|nous
and piacular tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, and &s;uch as held other opini|ons,
and did otherwi&s;e teach concerning Sacrifices then ac|cording
to the Law, and ob&s;erved not the ordinances of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI>
whence it proceeded that they Sacrificed privately; Yea and
al&s;o the <HI>E&s;&s;enes</HI> them &s;elves did thru&s;t away from their Congre|gations
tho&s;e that were wicked. Whereof &s;ee <HI>Dru&s;ius of the
three &s;ects of Jews, Lib. 4. cap.</HI> 22.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="23" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>23.</HEAD>
<P>God verily would not have his Temple to be made open
to unworthy and uncleane wor&s;hippers, nor was it free for
&s;uch men to enter into the Temple. See <HI>Nazianzen, Orat.</HI>
21. The &s;ame thing is witne&s;&s;ed and declared by divers late
writers, &s;uch as have been and are more acquainted with the
Jewi&s;h antiquities. Con&s;ult the Anotations of <HI>Vatablus</HI>
and of <HI>Ain&s;worth</HI> an Engli&s;h writer upon <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 118. 19, 20.
al&s;o <HI>Con&s;tantius L'empereur Annotat. in Cod. Middoth, Cap.</HI>
2. <HI>Pag. 44, 45. Cornelius Bertramus, of the Common-wealth of
the Hebrews. Cap. 7. Henrie Vor&s;tius, Animadver&s;. in Pirk.
Rab. Eliezer. Pag.</HI> 169. The &s;ame may be proved out of
<HI>Ezech. 33. 38 29. Jer.</HI> 7. 9 10, 11, 12. whence al&s;o it was
that the &s;olemne and publike Society in the Temple, had the
name of the A&s;&s;embly of the Righteous, and Congregation
of Saints. <HI>P&s;al. 89. 5, 7. P&s;al. 111. 1. P&s;al.</HI> 147. 1. Hence
al&s;o is that, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 118. 19, 20. of the gates of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e
by which the righteous enter.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="24" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>24.</HEAD>
<P>That which is now driven at, is not that all wicked and
unclean per&s;ons &s;hould be utterly excluded from our Eccle&s;ia|&s;ticall
Societies, and &s;o from all hearing of Gods Word; Yea
there is nothing le&s;&s;e intended: for the Word of God is the
in&s;trument as well of conver&s;ion as of confirmation, and there|fore
is to be Preached as well to the not converted as to the
<PB N="11" REF="9">
converted, as well to the repenting, as the unrepenting: The
Temple indeed of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> had &s;peciall promi&s;es, as it were
pointing out with the finger a Communion with God through
Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>King. 8. 30, 48. Dan. 6. 10. 2 Chron.</HI> 6. 16. and 7.
15, 16. But 'tis far otherwi&s;e with our Temples, or places of
Church A&s;&s;emblies, <HI>becau&s;e our Temples contain nothing Sacra|mentall
in them, &s;uch as the Tabernacle and Temple contained;</HI> as
the mo&s;t learned Profe&s;&s;ors of <HI>Leyden</HI> &s;aid rightly in <HI>Synop&s;. Pur.
Theologiae Di&s;put. 48. The&s;.</HI> 47.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="25" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>25.</HEAD>
<P>Wherefore the point to be here con&s;idered as that which
is now aimed at, is this, that how&s;oever even under the New
Te&s;tament, the uncleanne&s;&s;e of tho&s;e to whom the Word of
God is preached be tolerated; yet all &s;uch, of what e&s;tate or
condition &s;oever in the Church, as are defiled with manife&s;t
and grievous &s;candals, and doe thereby witne&s;&s;e them&s;elves to
be without the inward and &s;pirituall Commnnion with Chri&s;t
and the faithfull, may and are to be altogether di&s;charged from
the Communion of the Lords Supper, untill they repent and
change their manners.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="26" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>26.</HEAD>
<P>Be&s;ides, even tho&s;e to whom it was not permitted to goe
into the holy Courts of I&s;rael, and to ingyre them&s;elves in|to
Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Communion, and who did &s;tand between
the Court of I&s;rael and the utter wall, were not therefore to
be kept back from hearing the word; for in Solomons Porch,
and &s;o in the <HI>intermurale</HI> or Court of the Gentiles the Go&s;pel
was preached both by Chri&s;t, <HI>John</HI> 10. 23. and al&s;o by the
Apo&s;tles, <HI>Acts</HI> 3. 11. and 5. 12. and that of purpo&s;e becau&s;e
of the rea&s;on brought by <HI>Pineda, of the things of Solomon,
Book 5. Chap.</HI> 19. becau&s;e a more frequent multitude was there,
and &s;omewhat larger opportunity of &s;owing the Go&s;pel:
Wherefore to any whom&s;oever, even heathen people meeting
there, the Lord would have the Word to be preached, who
notwith&s;tanding, purging the Temple, did not onely over|throw
the tables of Money-changers, and chairs of tho&s;e that
&s;old Doves, but al&s;o, ca&s;t forth the buyers and &s;ellers
<PB N="12" REF="10">
them&s;elves, <HI>Matth.</HI> 21. 12. for he could not endure either &s;uch
things, or &s;uch per&s;ons in the Temple.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="27" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>27.</HEAD>
<P>Although then the Go&s;pel is to be preached to every crea|ture,
the Lord in expre&s;&s;e words commanding the &s;ame, <HI>Mark</HI>
16. 15. yet not to every one is &s;et open an acce&s;&s;e to the holy Sup|per.
'Tis granted that Hypocrites do lurk in the Church,
who hardly can be convicted and di&s;covered, much le&s;&s;e re|pelled
from the Lords Supper. Such therefore are to be &s;uffer|ed,
till by the fan of judgement the grain be &s;eparate from
the chaffe: But tho&s;e who&s;e wicked deeds or words are
known and made manife&s;t, are altogether to be debarred from
partaking tho&s;e &s;ymboles of the Covenant of the Go&s;pel, left
that the Name of God be greatly di&s;graced, while&s;t &s;ins are
permitted to &s;pread abroad in the Church unpuni&s;hed; or
le&s;t the Stewards of Chri&s;t by imparting the &s;ignes of the
Grace of God to &s;uch as are continuing in the &s;tate of impu|rity
and &s;candall, be partakers of their &s;ins. Hitherto of Su|&s;pen&s;ion.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="28" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>28.</HEAD>
<P>Excommunication ought not to be procceded unto except
when extreme nece&s;&s;ity con&s;traineth: But when&s;oever the
&s;oul of the &s;inner cannot otherwi&s;e be healed, and that the
&s;afety of the Church requireth the cutting off of this or that
Member, it behoveth to u&s;e this la&s;t remedy. In the Church
of <HI>Rome</HI> indeed Excommunication hath been turned into great|e&s;t
inju&s;tice and tyranny (as the Phari&s;ees abu&s;ed the ca&s;ting
out of the Synagogues, which was their Excommunication)
to the fulfilling of the lu&s;t of their own mindes; Yet the Ordi|nance
of Chri&s;t is not therefore by any of the Reformed Reli|gion
to be utterly thru&s;t away and wholly rejected. What Pro|te&s;tant
knows not that the va&s;&s;als of Antichri&s;t have drawn the
Lords Supper into the wor&s;t and mo&s;t pernicious abu&s;es, as al&s;o
the Ordination of Mini&s;ters, and other Ordinances of the Go&s;|pel?
Yet who will &s;ay that things nece&s;&s;ary (whether the ne|ce&s;&s;ity
be that of command, or that of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> or end) are to
be taken away becau&s;e of the abu&s;e?</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="29" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="13" REF="10">
<HEAD>29.</HEAD>
<P>They therefore who with an high hand do per&s;evere in their
wickedne&s;&s;e, after foregoing admonitions &s;tubbornly de&s;pi&s;ed
or carele&s;ly neglected, are ju&s;tly by Excommunication in the
Name of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t cut off and ca&s;t out from the &s;o|ciety
of the faithfull, and are pronounced to be ca&s;t out from
the Church, untill being filled with &s;hame, and ca&s;t downe,
they &s;hall return again to a more &s;ound minde, and by con|fe&s;&s;ion
of their &s;inne and amendment of their lives, they &s;hall
&s;hew tokens of their repentance, <HI>Matth. 18. 16, 17, 18. 1 Cor.</HI> 5.
13. which places are al&s;o alledged in the Confe&s;&s;ion of <HI>Bo|hemia,
Art.</HI> 8. to prove that the Excommunication of the im|penitent
and &s;tubborn, who&s;e wickedne&s;&s;e is known, is com|manded
of the Lord: But if &s;tubborn Hereticks, or unclean
per&s;ons be not removed or ca&s;t out from the Church, therein
doe the Governours of the Church &s;inne, and are found guilty,
<HI>Rev.</HI> 2. 14, 20.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="30" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>30.</HEAD>
<P>But that all abu&s;e and corruption in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Govern|ment
may be either prevented and avoided, or taken away; or
le&s;t the power of the Church either by the ignorance or unskil|fulne&s;&s;e
of &s;ome Mini&s;ters here and there, or al&s;o by too much
heat and fervour of minde, &s;hould run out beyond mea&s;ure or
bounds, or contrariwi&s;e being &s;hut up within &s;traiter limits
then is fitting, &s;hould be made unprofitable, feeble, or of none
effect: Chri&s;t the mo&s;t wi&s;e Law-giver of his Church hath
fore&s;een, and made provi&s;ion to prevent all &s;uch evils which
he did fore&s;ee were to ari&s;e, and hath prepared and pre&s;cribed
for them intrin&s;ecall and Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall remedies, and tho&s;e
al&s;o in their kinde (if lawfully and rightly applyed) both &s;uffi|cient
and effectuall: Some whereof he hath mo&s;t expre&s;ly pro|pounded
in his Word, and &s;ome he hath left to be drawn from
thence by nece&s;&s;ary con&s;equence.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="31" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>31.</HEAD>
<P>Therefore by rea&s;on of the danger of that which is called
<HI>Clavis erra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">,</HI> or a wrong Key; and that it may not be per|mitted
to particular Churches to erre or &s;in licentiou&s;ly, and
<PB N="14" REF="11">
le&s;t any mans cau&s;e be overthrown and peri&s;h, who in a parti|cular
Church had perhaps the &s;ame men both his adver&s;aries
and his judges; Al&s;o that common bu&s;ine&s;&s;es which doe be|long
to many Churches, together with the more weighty and
difficult controver&s;ies (the deciding whereof in the Con&s;i&s;to|ries
of particular Churches is not &s;afe to be adventured upon)
may be handled and determined by a common councell of
Presbyteries. Finally, that the Governours of particular
Churches, may impart help mutually one to another again&s;t
the cunning and &s;ubtill enemies of the truth, and may joyne
their &s;trength together (&s;uch as it is) by an holy combinati|on,
and that the Church may be as a camp of an Army well
ordered; le&s;t while every one &s;triveth &s;ingly, all of them be
&s;ubdued and overcome; or le&s;t by rea&s;on of the &s;carcity of pru|dent
and godly coun&s;ellours (in the multitude of whom is
&s;afety) the Affairs of the Church be undone: For all tho&s;e
con&s;iderations particular Churches mu&s;t be &s;ubordinate to
Cla&s;&s;icall Presbyteries and Synods.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="32" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>32.</HEAD>
<P>Wherefore 'tis not lawfull to particular Churches, or (as
commonly they are called) Parochiall, either to decline the
authority of Cla&s;&s;es or Synods, where they are lawfully &s;et|led,
or may be had (much le&s;&s;e to withdraw them&s;elves from
that authority, if they have once acknowledged it) or to re|fu&s;e
&s;uch lawfull Ordinances or Decrees of the Cla&s;&s;es or Sy|nodes,
as being agreeable to the Word of God, are with au|thority
impo&s;ed upon them. <HI>Acts</HI> 15. 2, 6, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29.
and 16. 4.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="33" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>33.</HEAD>
<P>Although Synods a&s;&s;emble more &s;eldome, Cla&s;&s;es and
Con&s;i&s;tories of particular Churches more frequently; Yet that
Synods both Provinciall and Nationall a&s;&s;emble at &s;et and
ordinary times, as well as Cla&s;&s;es and Parochiall con&s;i&s;tories is
very expedient, and for the due pre&s;ervation of Church Po|licie
and Di&s;cipline, nece&s;&s;ary. Sometime indeed it is expedi|ent
they be a&s;&s;embled occa&s;ionally, that the urgent nece&s;&s;ity
of the Church may be the more &s;peedily provided for, namely,
<PB N="15" REF="11">
when &s;uch a bu&s;ine&s;&s;e happeneth, which without great
danger cannot be put off till the appointed time of the
Synod.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="34" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>34.</HEAD>
<P>But that be&s;ides occa&s;ionall Synods, ordinary Synods be
kept at &s;et times, is mo&s;t profitable, not onely that they may
di&s;cu&s;&s;e and determine the more difficult Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cau&s;es
coming before them, whether by the appeal of &s;ome per&s;on
agrieved, or by the he&s;itation or doubting of inferiour A&s;&s;em|blies
(for &s;uch bu&s;ine&s;&s;es very often fall out;) but al&s;o that the
&s;tate of the Churches whereof they have the care, being more
certainly and frequently &s;earched and known, if there be any
thing wanting or ami&s;&s;e in their Doctrine, Di&s;cipline or Man|ners,
or any thing worthy of puni&s;hment, the &s;lothful Labour|ers
in the Vineyard of the Lord may be made to &s;hake off the
&s;pirit of &s;lumber and &s;tothfulne&s;&s;e, and be &s;tirred up to the at|tending
and fulfilling more diligently their calling, and not &s;uf|fered
any longer to &s;leep and &s;nort in their Office; the &s;traglers
and wanderers may be reduced to the way; the untoward and
&s;tiffe-necked, which &s;carce or very hardly &s;uffer the yoak of
Di&s;cipline, as al&s;o unquiet per&s;ons, which devi&s;e new and
hurtfull things may be reduced to order. Finally, what&s;oever
doth hinder the more quick and efficacious cour&s;e of the Go&s;|pel,
may be di&s;covered and removed.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="35" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>35.</HEAD>
<P>It is too too manife&s;t (alas for it) that there are, which with
unwearied diligence doe mo&s;t carefully labour that they may
oppre&s;&s;e the liberties and rights of Synods, and may take
away from them all liberty of con&s;ulting of things and mat|ters
Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, at lea&s;t of determining thereof, (for they
well know how much the union and harmony of Churches
may make again&s;t their de&s;ignes.) But &s;o much the more it
concerneth the orthodox Churches to know, defend and pre|&s;erve
this excellent liberty granted to them by divine right,
and &s;o to u&s;e it, that imminent dangers, approaching evils,
urging grievances, &s;candals growing up, &s;chi&s;mes ri&s;ing, he|re&s;ies
creeping in, errours &s;preading, and &s;trifes waxing hot,
<PB N="16" REF="12">
may be corrected and taken away, to the glory of God, the
edification and peace of the Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="36" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>36.</HEAD>
<P>Be&s;ide Provinciall and Nationall Synodes, an Occumenicall
(&s;o called from <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is from the habitable World)
or more truely a Generall, or if you will, an Univer&s;all Synode,
if &s;o be it be free and rightly con&s;tituted, and no other Com|mi&s;&s;ioners
but orthodox Churches bee admitted (for what
communion is there of light with darkne&s;&s;e, of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e
with unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, or of the Temple of God with idols)
Such a Synode is of &s;peciall utility, peradventure al&s;o &s;uch a
Synode is to be hoped for, &s;urely tis to be wi&s;hed, that for de|fending
the orthodox Faith, both again&s;t Popery and other He|re&s;ies,
as al&s;o for propagating it to tho&s;e who are without,
e&s;pecially the Jews, a more &s;trait and more firme con&s;ocia|tion
may be entred into. For the unanimity of all the
Churches as in evill tis of all things mo&s;t hurtfull, &s;o on the
contrary &s;ide, in good it is mo&s;t plea&s;ant, mo&s;t profitable and
mo&s;t effe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">uall.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="37" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>37.</HEAD>
<P>Unto the Univer&s;all Synode al&s;o (when it may be had)
is to be referred the judgement of controver&s;ies, not of all,
but of tho&s;e which are <HI>controver&s;ia juris,</HI> controver&s;ies of
right, neither yet of all tho&s;e, but of the chief and mo&s;t weigh|ty
controver&s;ies of the orthodox faith, or of the mo&s;t hard and
unu&s;uall ca&s;es of Con&s;cience. Of the controver&s;ies of fact
there is another and different con&s;ideration to be had; for be|&s;ides
that it would be a great inconvenience that plaintifes, per|&s;ons
accu&s;ed, and witne&s;&s;es be drawne from the mo&s;t remote
Churches, to the generall or univer&s;all Coun&s;ell; the vi&s;ible
communion it &s;elfe of all the Churches (on which the univer&s;al
Coun&s;el is built, and whereupon as on a foundation it leaneth)
is not &s;o much of company, fellow&s;hip, or conver&s;ation, as of
Religion and Doctrine. All true Churches of the World doe
indeed profe&s;&s;e the &s;ame true Religion and faith; but there is
be&s;ide this a certaine commixture and conjunction of the
Churches of the &s;ame Nation, as to a more near fellow&s;hip,
<PB N="17" REF="12">
and &s;ome acquaintance, converting and companying together,
which cannot be &s;aid of all the Churches thorowout the habi|table
world.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="38" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>38.</HEAD>
<P>And for this cau&s;e, as in Doctrinall Controver&s;ies which
are handled by Theologues and Ca&s;ui&s;ts, and in tho&s;e which
belong to the common &s;tate of the orthodox Churches, the
Nationall Synod is &s;ubordinate and &s;ubjected to the Univer&s;all
lawfully con&s;tituted Synod, and from the Nationall to the
Occumenicall Synod (when there is a ju&s;t and weighty
cau&s;e) an appeal is open: So there is no need that the Ap|peals
of them who complain of injury done to them through
the exerci&s;e of Di&s;cipline in this or that Church, &s;hould goe
beyond the bounds of the Nationall Synod: But 'tis mo&s;t a|greeable
to rea&s;on that they &s;hould re&s;t and acquie&s;ce within
tho&s;e bounds and borders; and that the ultimate judgement of
&s;uch matters be in the Nationall Synod, unle&s;&s;e the thing it
&s;elf be &s;o hard, and of &s;o great moment, that the knot be ju&s;tly
thought worthy of a greater decider: In which ca&s;e the con|trover&s;ie
which is carried to the Univer&s;all Synod is rather of
an ab&s;tract general Theologicall Propo&s;ition, then of the par|ticular
or individuall Ca&s;e.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="39" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>39.</HEAD>
<P>Furthermore, the Admini&s;tration of the Eccle&s;ia&s;tick power
in Con&s;i&s;tories, Cla&s;&s;es and Synods, doth not at all tend to
weaken in any wi&s;e, hurt or mini&s;h the authority of the Civill
Magi&s;trate, much le&s;&s;e to take it away or de&s;troy it; yea ra|ther,
by it a mo&s;t profitable help cometh to the Magi&s;trate, for|a&s;much
as by the bond of Religion mens con&s;ciences are more
&s;traitly tyed unto him. There have been indeed phanta&s;ticall
men who under pretence and cloak of Chri&s;tian liberty would
aboli&s;h and ca&s;t out Lawes and Judgements, Orders al&s;o, De|grees
and Honours out of the Common-wealth, and have been
bold to reckon the function of the Magi&s;trate armed with the
Sword, among evill things and unlawfull: But the Reformed
Churches doe renounce and dete&s;t tho&s;e dreams, and do mo&s;t
harmoniou&s;ly and mo&s;t willingly confe&s;&s;e and acknowledge
<PB N="18" REF="13">
it to be Gods will that the World be governed by Lawes and
Plicy, and that hee him&s;elf hath appointed the Civill Magi|&s;trate,
and hath delivered to him the &s;word, to the protection
and prai&s;e of good men, but for puni&s;hment and revenge on
the evill, that by this bridle mens vices and faults may be re|&s;trained,
whether committed again&s;t the fir&s;t or again&s;t the &s;e|cond
Table.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="40" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>40.</HEAD>
<P>The Reformed Churches believe al&s;o and openly confe&s;&s;e the
power and authority of Emperours over their Empires, of
Kings over their Kingdoms, of Princes and Dukes over their
Dominions, and of other Magi&s;trates or States over their Com|mon-wealths
and Cities, to be the ordinances of God him&s;elf,
appointed as well to the manife&s;tation of his owne glory, as
to the &s;ingular profit of mankinde: and withall, that by rea|&s;on
of the will of God him&s;elf revealed in his Word, wee
mu&s;t not onely &s;uffer and be content that tho&s;e doe rule which
are &s;et over their own Territories, whether by hereditary, or by
elective right; but al&s;o to love them, fear them, and with all
reverence and honour embrace them as the Amba&s;&s;adours and
Mini&s;ters of the mo&s;t high and good God, being in his &s;tead,
and preferred for the good of their Subjects; to powre out
Prayers for them, to pay tributes to them, and in all bu&s;ine&s;&s;es
of the Common-wealth which are not again&s;t the Word of
God, to obey their Laws and Edicts.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="41" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>41.</HEAD>
<P>The Orthodox Churches believe al&s;o, and do willingly ac|knowledge,
that every lawfull Magi&s;trate, being by God him&s;elf
con&s;tituted the keeper and defender of both Tables of the Law,
may and ought fir&s;t and chiefly to take care of Gods glory,
and (according to his place, or in his manner and way) to pre|&s;erve
Religion when pure, and to re&s;tore it when cecayed and
corrupted: And al&s;o to provide a learned and Godly Mini&s;try,
Schools al&s;o and Synods, as likewi&s;e to re&s;train and puni&s;h as
well Athei&s;ts, Bla&s;phemers, Hereticks and Schi&s;maticks, as
the violaters of Ju&s;tice and Civill Peace.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="42" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="19" REF="13">
<HEAD>42.</HEAD>
<P>Wherefore the opinion of tho&s;e Sectaries of this Age is
altogether to be di&s;allowed, who though otherwi&s;e in&s;inu|ating
them&s;elves craftily into the Magi&s;trates favour, doe de|nie
unto him the authority and right of re&s;training Hereticks
and Schi&s;maticks, and doe hold and maintain that &s;uch per&s;ons,
how much &s;oever hurtfull and pernicious enemies to true Re|ligion
and to the Church, yet are to be tolerated by the Magi|&s;trate,
if &s;o be hee conceive them to be &s;uch as no way violate
the Lawes of the Commonwealth, and in no wi&s;e di&s;turb the
civill Peace.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="43" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>43.</HEAD>
<P>Yet the civill Power and the eccle&s;ia&s;ticall ought not by
any means to be confounded or mixed together: Both Pow|ers
are indeed from God, and ordained for his glory, and both
to be guided by his word, and both are comprehended under
that precept, <HI>Honour thy Father and thy Mother:</HI> So that men
ought to obey both civill Magi&s;trates and eccle&s;ia&s;ticall gover|nours
in the Lord; To both powers their proper dignity and
authority is to be maintained and pre&s;erved in force: To both
al&s;o is &s;ome way entru&s;ted the keeping of both Tables of the
Law; al&s;o both the one and the other doth exerci&s;e &s;ome juri&s;|diction,
and giveth &s;entence of Judgement in an externall court
or judicatory: But the&s;e, and other things of like &s;ort, in
which they agree notwith&s;tanding; yet by marvellous va&s;te
differences are they di&s;tingui&s;hed the one from the other, and
the rights of both remain di&s;tinct, and that eight manner of
wayes, which it &s;hall not be ami&s;&s;e here to adde, that unto each
of the&s;e Admini&s;trations its own &s;et bounds may be the better
maintained.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="44" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>44.</HEAD>
<P>Fir&s;t of all therefore they are differenced the one from the
other in re&s;pect of the very foundation and the in&s;tituti|on:
For the politicall or civill Power is grounded upon the
Law of Nature it &s;elfe, and for that cau&s;e it is common to In|fidels
with Chri&s;tians: the Power eccle&s;ia&s;ticall dependeth
<PB N="20" REF="14">
immediatly upon the po&s;itive Law of Chri&s;t alone, that belong|eth
to the Univer&s;all Dominion of God the creator over all Na|tions;
but this unto the &s;peciall and Occonomicall Kingdom of
Chri&s;t the Mediator, which he exerci&s;eth in the church alone,
and which is not of this World.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="45" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>45.</HEAD>
<P>The &s;econd difference is in the object, or matter about
which: The power politick or civill is occupied about the out|ward
man, and civill or earthly things, about Warre, Peace,
con&s;ervation of Ju&s;tice, and good order in the Common-wealth;
al&s;o about the outward bu&s;ine&s;&s;e or externall things of the
Church, which are indeed nece&s;&s;ary to the church, or profita|ble,
as touching the outward man, yet not properly and purely
&s;pirituall, for they doe not reach unto the &s;oule, but onely to the
externall &s;tate and condition of the Mini&s;ters and Members of
the Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="46" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>46.</HEAD>
<P>For the better under&s;tanding whereof, tis to be ob&s;erved
that &s;o farre as the Mini&s;ters and Members of the Church are
Citizens, Subjects, or Members of the Common-wealth, it is
in the power of the Magi&s;trate, to judge, determine and give
&s;entence concerning the di&s;po&s;ing of their bodies or goods; As
al&s;o concerning the maintenance of the poore, &s;ick, the ba|ni&s;hed,
and of others in the church which are afflicted; To
regulate (&s;o far as concerneth the civill order) Marriages,
Burials, and other circum&s;tances which are common both to
holy, and al&s;o to hone&s;t civill &s;ocieties; to afford places fit
for holy A&s;&s;emblies and other externall helps by which the
&s;acred matters of the Lord may be more &s;afely, commodiou&s;|ly,
and more ea&s;ily in the church performed: To remove the
externall impediments of divine wor&s;hip or of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Peace, and to repre&s;&s;e tho&s;e which exalt them&s;elves again&s;t
the true Church and her Mini&s;ters, and doe rai&s;e up trouble a|gain&s;t
them.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="47" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>47</HEAD>
<P>The matter may further be thus illu&s;trated: There is al|mo&s;t
the like re&s;pect and confideration of the Magi&s;trate as he
<PB N="21" REF="14">
is occupied about the outward things of the church, and of
the Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Mini&s;tery as it is occupied about the inward
or &s;pirituall part of civill Government, that is about tho&s;e
things which in the government of the common-wealth be|long
to the con&s;cience. It is one thing to governe the com|mon-wealth,
and to make politicall and civill Lawes; ano|ther
thing to interpret the Word of God, and out of it to
&s;hew to the Magi&s;trate his duty, to wit, how he ought to go|vern
the common-wealth, and in what manner he ought to
u&s;e the &s;word. The former is prop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">r and peculiar to the Ma|gi&s;trate
(neither doth the Mini&s;tery intermeddle or intangle it
&s;elf into &s;uch bu&s;ine&s;&s;es,) But the latter is contained within the
office of the Mini&s;ters.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="48" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>48.</HEAD>
<P>For to that end al&s;o is the holy Scripture profitable, to &s;hew
which is the be&s;t manner of governing a common-wealth, and
that the Magi&s;trate as being Gods Mini&s;ter may by this guiding
Starre bee &s;o directed, as that he may execute the parts of
his office according to the will of God, and may perfectly
be in&s;tituted to every good work; yet the Mini&s;ter is not &s;aid
properly to treat of civill bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, but of the &s;candalls
which ari&s;e about them, or of the ca&s;es of con&s;cience which
occurre in the Admini&s;tration of the common-wealth: So al|&s;o
the Magi&s;trate is not properly &s;aid to be exerci&s;ed about the
&s;pirituall things of the church, but rather about tho&s;e exter|nall
things which adhere unto and accompany the &s;pirituall
things.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="49" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>49.</HEAD>
<P>And in &s;uch externall matters of the church, although
all Magi&s;trates will not, yet all, yea even heathen Magi&s;trates
may and ought to aide and help the Church; Whence it is
that by the command of God, Prayers are to be made al&s;o for
an heathen Magi&s;trate, that the faithfull under them may live
a quiet life with all godline&s;&s;e and hone&s;ty. 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. 1 2.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="50" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>50.</HEAD>
<P>Unto the externall things of the Church belongeth&punc; not
onely the correction of Hereticlis and other troublers of the
<PB N="22" REF="15">
Church, but al&s;o that civill order and way of convocating
and calling together Synods which is proper to the Magi|&s;trate;
for the Magi&s;trate ought by his authority and power
both to e&s;tabli&s;h the Rights and Liberties of Synods a&s;&s;em|bling
together, at times appointed by the known and recei|ved
Law, and to indict and gather together Synods occa&s;io|nally,
as often as the nece&s;&s;ity of the Church &s;hall require
the &s;ame; Not that all or any power to con&s;ult or determine
of Eccle&s;ia&s;tick or &s;pirituall matters doth flow or &s;pring from
the Magi&s;trate as Head of the Church under Chri&s;t; but becau&s;e
in tho&s;e things pertaining to the outward man, the Church
needeth the Magi&s;trates aid and &s;upport.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="51" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>51.</HEAD>
<P>So that the Magi&s;trate calleth together Synods, not as
touching tho&s;e things which are proper to Synods; but in re|&s;pect
of the things which are common to Synods with other
meetings and civill publick A&s;&s;emblies; that is, not as they
are A&s;&s;emblies in the name of Chri&s;t, to treat of matters &s;pi|rituall,
but as they are publick A&s;&s;emblies within his Territo|ries;
for to the end that publick conventions may be kept in
any Territorie, the licence of the Lord of that place ought to
be de&s;ired. In Synods therefore a re&s;pect of order, as well
civill as eccle&s;ia&s;ticall is to be had; And becau&s;e of this Ci|vill
order, outward defence, better Accommodation, toge|ther
with &s;afe acce&s;&s;e and rece&s;&s;e, the con&s;ent and commande|ment
of him who is appointed to cake care of and defend hu|mane
order, doth intervene.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="52" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>52.</HEAD>
<P>Moreover when the Church is rent a&s;under by unhappy
and lamentable Shci&s;mes, while they who have rai&s;ed the
troubles, and have given cau&s;e of &s;olemne gathering a Sy|node
(whether by their Here&s;ie, or Schi&s;me, or Tyranny,
or any other fault of others) u&s;e to place the great &s;trength
and &s;afeguard of their cau&s;e in declining and fleeing the tryall
and &s;entence of a free Synode, as being formidable to them:
Who &s;eeth not that they cannot be drawn to a publick and ju|diciall
tryall, nor other di&s;obedient per&s;ons be compelled to
<PB N="23" REF="15">
obedience without the Magi&s;trates publick mandate and
help?</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="53" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>53.</HEAD>
<P>The object of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Power is not the &s;ame
with the object of the civill Power, but much differing from
it; for the eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Power doth determine and appoinr
nothing concerning mens bodies, goods, dignities, civill rights,
but is imployed onely about the inward man, or the &s;oul; not
that it can &s;earch the hearts, or judge of the &s;ecrets of the
con&s;cience, which is in the power of God alone: Yet not|with&s;tanding
it hath for its proper object tho&s;e externalls
which are purely &s;pirituall, and doe belong properly and
mo&s;t neerly to the &s;pirituall good of the &s;oul; Which al&s;o
are termed <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>the inward things of the
Church.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="54" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>54.</HEAD>
<P>Tho&s;e things then wherein the eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Power is ex|erci&s;ed,
are the preaching of the Word, the Admini&s;tration of
Sacraments, publick Prayer and Thank&s;giving, the catechi|&s;ing
and in&s;tructing of children and ignorant per&s;ons, the ex|amination
of tho&s;e who are to come the holy Communion,
the eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline, the Ordination of Mini&s;ters,
and the abdication, depo&s;ing, and degrading of them (if they
become like un&s;avoury &s;alt), the deciding and determining of
controver&s;ies of Faith, and ca&s;es of con&s;cience, canonicall
con&s;titutions concerning the trea&s;urie of the Church, and
collections of the Faithfull, as al&s;o concerning eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Rites, or indifferent things, which pertaine to the keeping of
decencie and Order in the Church according to the generall
rules of Chri&s;tian love and prudence contained in the Word
of God.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="55" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>55.</HEAD>
<P>'Tis true, that about the &s;ame things the civill Power is
occupied, as touching the outward man, or the outward di&s;|po&s;ing
of divine things in this or that Dominion, as was &s;aid;
not as they are Spirituall and Evangelicall Ordinances piercing
into the con&s;cience it &s;elfe; but the object of the Power ec|cle&s;ia&s;ticall
<PB N="24" REF="16">
is a thing meerly and purely &s;pirituall; and in &s;o
far as it is &s;pirituall (for even that juri&s;diction Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
which is exerci&s;ed in an outward court or judicatory, and
which inflict<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> publike cen&s;ures, forbidden from the u&s;e of the
holy Supper, and excludeth from the &s;ociety of the church) doth
properly concerne the inward man, or the repentance and &s;al|vation
of the &s;oul.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="56" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>56.</HEAD>
<P>Surely the Faithfull and Godly Mini&s;ters, although they
could doe it unchallenged and uncontrolled, and were therein
allowed by the Magi&s;trate (as in the prelaticall times it was)
yet would not u&s;urpe the power of life and death, or judge
and determine concerning mens honours, goods, inheritance,
divi&s;ion of Families, or other civill bu&s;ine&s;&s;es; &s;eeing they
well know the&s;e things to bee heterogeneous to their office:
But as they ought not to entangle them&s;elves with the judge|ing
of civill cau&s;es, &s;o if they &s;hould bee negligent and
&s;lothfull in their owne office, they &s;hall in that bee no le&s;&s;e
culpable.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="57" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>57.</HEAD>
<P>To the object al&s;o of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power belongeth the
a&s;&s;embling of Synodes, &s;o far as they are &s;pirituall A&s;&s;emblies
proper to the church, and a&s;&s;embled in the holy Gho&s;t; for be|ing
&s;o con&s;idered, the governours of churches after the example
of the Apo&s;tles and Presbyters, <HI>Acts</HI> 15. in a manife&s;t danger of
the church, ought to u&s;e their owne right of meeting together
and conveening, that the churches endangered may be relieved
and &s;upported.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="58" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>58.</HEAD>
<P>Thirdly, Tho&s;e powers are differences in re&s;pect of their
formes, and that three wayes: For fir&s;t the civill Power, al|though
in re&s;pect of God it bee Mini&s;teriall, yet in re&s;pect of the
Subjects it is Lordly and Magi&s;teriall. Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power is
indeed furni&s;hed with authority, yet that authority is liker the
Fatherly then the Kingly authority; Yea al&s;o tis purely Mini&s;te|riall,
much le&s;&s;e can it be lawfull to Mini&s;ters of the Church to
bear dominion over the flock.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="59" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="25" REF="16">
<HEAD>59.</HEAD>
<P>Emperors, Kings and other Magi&s;trats are indeed appointed
fathers of they countrey, but the are withall Lords of their
People and Subjects; Not as if it were permitted to them to
bear rule and command at their owne will and as they li&s;t (for
they are the Mini&s;ters of God for the good and profit of the
Subjects) yet it belongs to their power truely and properly to
exerci&s;e dominion, to hold principality, to proceed imperi|ou&s;ly.
It is indeed the duety of Mini&s;ters and Rulers of the
Church to over&s;ee, to feed as &s;hepherds, to correct and re|ctifie,
to bear the keyes, to be Stewards in the hou&s;e of Chri&s;t,
but in no wi&s;e to be Lords over the hou&s;e, or to governe as
Lords, or Lordlike to rule; yea in brief, this is the difference be|tween
the civill Magi&s;trate and the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Mini&s;tery,
in re&s;pect of tho&s;e that are committed to their tru&s;t, that the lot
of the former is to be &s;erved or mini&s;tred unto, the lot of the
latter to mini&s;ter or &s;erve.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="60" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>60.</HEAD>
<P>Now we have one onely Lord which governes our &s;ouls,
neither is it competent to man, but to God alone to have pow|er
and authority over con&s;ciences. But the Lord hath appoin|ted
his owne Stewards over his owne Family, that according
to his commandment they may give to every one their allow|ance
or portion, and to di&s;pen&s;e his my&s;teries faithfully; and
to them hee hath delivered the keyes, or power of letting in in|to
his hou&s;e, or excluding out of his hou&s;e tho&s;e whom he him|&s;elf
will have let in or &s;hut out. <HI>Matth.</HI> 16. 19. and 18. 18. <HI>Luk.</HI>
12. 42. 1 <HI>Cor. 4. 1. Tit.</HI> 1. 7.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="61" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>61.</HEAD>
<P>Next, the civill power is indued with authority of com|pelling;
But it belongs not to the Mini&s;tery to compell the
di&s;obedient; if any compul&s;ion be in or about Ecle&s;is&s;ticall
matters, tis adventitious from without, to wit, from the
help and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Magi&s;trate, not from the nature of
Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power, from which it is very heterogenous;
and therefore if any Su&s;pended or Excommunicate per&s;ons
&s;hould be found, who &s;hall be &s;o &s;tiffe-necked, and &s;o impudent
<PB N="26" REF="17">
that at once he ca&s;t off all &s;hame, and make no account at all
of tho&s;e cen&s;ures, but &s;corn or contemn the &s;ame, or perad|venture
&s;hall in&s;olently or proudly engyre and obtrude him&s;elf
upon the Sacrament, or being al&s;o filled with diveli&s;h malice,
do more and more contradict and bla&s;pheme; the eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call
Mini&s;try in &s;uch ca&s;es hath nothing more to do by way of
juri&s;diction: But the Magi&s;trate hath in readine&s;&s;e a compel|ling
juri&s;diction and externall force, whereby &s;uch &s;tubborn, re|bellious
and undaunted pride may be externally repre&s;&s;ed.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="62" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>62.</HEAD>
<P>La&s;t of all, the power of the Magi&s;trate worketh onely
politically or civilly, according to the nature of the Scepter
or Sword, maketh and guardeth civill Lawes, which &s;ome|times
al&s;o hee changeth or repealeth, and other things of that
kinde hee eff<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">cteth with a &s;ecular power: But the eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call
power dealeth &s;piritually, and onely in the Name of our
Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and by authority entru&s;ted or received from
him alone: neither is it exerci&s;ed without prayer or calling on
the Name of God: nor la&s;tly, doth it u&s;e any other then &s;piritu|all
weapons.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="63" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>63.</HEAD>
<P>The &s;ame &s;inne therefore in the &s;ame man may be puni&s;hed
one way by the civill, another way by the eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
Power; By the civill Power under the formality of a crime,
with corporall or pecuniary puni&s;hment: By the eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call
Power, under the notion or nature of &s;candall, with a
&s;pirituall cen&s;ure; even as al&s;o the &s;ame civill que&s;tion is one
way deliberate upon and handled by the Magi&s;trate in the Se|nate
or place of Judgement; another way by the Mini&s;ter of
the Church, in the Presbytery or Synod: By the Magi&s;trate,
&s;o farre as it pertaineth to the Government of the Common-wealth;
by the Mini&s;ter, &s;o far as it re&s;pects the con&s;cience;
for the eccle&s;ia&s;tiall Mini&s;tery al&s;o is exerci&s;ed about civil
things &s;piritually, in &s;o far as it teacheth and admoni&s;heth the
Magi&s;trate out of the Word of God what is be&s;t and mo&s;t ac|ceptable
unto God; or as it reproveth freely unju&s;t judgements,
<PB N="27" REF="17">
unju&s;t wars, and the like, and out of the Scripture threatneth
the wrath of God to be revealed again&s;t all unrighteou&s;ne&s;s of
men: So al&s;o is the Magi&s;trate &s;aid to be occupied civilly about
&s;piritual things.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="64" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>64.</HEAD>
<P>Therefore all the actions of the civill Magi&s;trate, even
when he is imployed about Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall matters, are of their
own nature, and e&s;&s;entially, civill. He puni&s;heth externally I|dolaters,
Bla&s;phemers, Sacrilegious per&s;ons, Hereticks, Pro|phaners
of holy things, and according to the nature and mea|&s;ure
of the &s;in, he condemneth to death or bani&s;hment, forfei|ture
of goods, or impri&s;onment: he guardeth and under|proppeth
Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Canons with civill authority, giveth
a place of habitation to the Church in his territory, re&s;train|eth
or expelleth the in&s;olent and untamed di&s;turbers of the
Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="65" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>65.</HEAD>
<P>He taketh care al&s;o for maintaining the Mini&s;ters and
Schools, and &s;upplyeth the temporall nece&s;sities of Gods Ser|vants,
by his command a&s;&s;embleth Synods, when there is need
of them: and &s;ummoneth, calleth out, and draws to tryall the
unwilling, which without the Magi&s;trates &s;trength and autho|rity
cannot be done, as hath bin already &s;aid: he maketh Sy|nods
al&s;o &s;afe and &s;ecure, and in a civil way pre&s;ideth or mode|rateth
in them (if it &s;o &s;eem good to him) either by him&s;elf, or
by a &s;ub&s;titute Commi&s;sioner. In all which the power of the
Magi&s;trate, though occupied about &s;pirituall things, is not, for
all that, &s;piritual but civill.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="66" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>66.</HEAD>
<P>Fourthly, they differ in the end: The immediate, neare&s;t end
of civil power, is, that the good of the Common-wealth may
be provided for and procured, whether it be in time of Peace,
according to the rules of Law and coun&s;el of Judges; or in
time of War, according to the rules of Military prudence: and
&s;o the temporall &s;afety of the Subjects may be procured, and
that external Peace and civil Liberty may be pre&s;erved, and be|ing
lo&s;t, may be again re&s;tored.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="67" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="28" REF="18">
<HEAD>67.</HEAD>
<P>But the chiefe&s;t and la&s;t end of civill Government is, the
glory of God the Creator, namely, that tho&s;e which do evil, be|ing
by a &s;uperior power re&s;trained or puni&s;hed, and tho&s;e which
do good, getting prai&s;e of the &s;ame, the &s;ubjects &s;o much the more
may &s;hun impiety and inju&s;tice: and that Vertue, Ju&s;tice and the
Morall Law of God (as touching tho&s;e eternal duties of both
Tables, unto which all the po&s;terity of <HI>Adam</HI> are obliged) may
remain in &s;trength, and flouri&s;h,</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="68" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>68.</HEAD>
<P>But whereas the Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate doth wholly devote
him&s;elf to the promoting of the Go&s;pel and Kingdom of Chri&s;t,
and doth direct and bend all the might and &s;trength of his au|thority
to that end: This proceedeth not from the nature of his
office and function, which is common to him with an Infidell
Magi&s;trate; but from the influence of his common Chri&s;tian
calling into his particular vocation.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="69" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>69.</HEAD>
<P>For every member of the Church (and &s;o al&s;o the faithful and
godly Magi&s;trate) ought to referr and order his particular vo|cation,
faculty, ability, power and honour to this end, that the
Kingdom of Chri&s;t may be propagated and promoted, and
the true Religion be cheri&s;hed and defended: So that the
advancement of the Go&s;pell, and of all the Ordinances of the
Go&s;pell, is indeed the end of the godly Magi&s;trate: not of
a Magi&s;trate &s;imply; or (if ye will rather) tis not the end
of the office it &s;elf, but of him who doth execute the &s;ame pi|ou&s;ly.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="70" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>70.</HEAD>
<P>But the end of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical power, yea the end as well
of the Mini&s;try it &s;elf, as of the godly Mini&s;ter, is, that the King|dom
of Chri&s;t may be &s;et forward, that the pathes of the
Lord be made &s;traight, that his holy my&s;teries may be
kept pure, that &s;tumbling-blocks may be removed out of the
Church, lea&s;t a little leaven leaven the whole lump; or
lea&s;t one &s;ick or &s;cabbed &s;heep infect the whole flock; that the
faithfull may &s;o walk as it becometh the Go&s;pell of Chri&s;t,
<PB N="29" REF="18">
and that the wandring &s;heep of Chri&s;t may be converted and
brought back to the &s;heep-Fold:</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="71" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>71.</HEAD>
<P>And &s;eeing this power is given of the Lord, not to de&s;tructi|on
but to edification; Therefore this &s;ame &s;cope is propounded
in Excommunication, (which is the greate&s;t and la&s;t of Eccle&s;i|a&s;tical
cen&s;ures) namely, that the &s;oul of an offending brother
may be gained to Chri&s;t, and that being &s;tricken with fear,
and the &s;tubborn &s;inner filled with &s;hame, may by the grace of
God be humbled, and may (as a brand plucked out of the fire)
be &s;natched out of the &s;nare of the Devill, and may repent unto
&s;alvation; at lea&s;t, the re&s;t may turn away from tho&s;e which are
branded with &s;uch a cen&s;ure, lea&s;t the &s;oul infection do creep
and &s;pread further.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="72" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>72.</HEAD>
<P>Fiftly, they are di&s;tingui&s;hed by the effect. The effect of civil
power is either proper or by way of redundance: The proper
effect is the &s;afety temporal of the Common-wealth, externall
tranquillity, the fruition of civil Liberty, and of all things which
are nece&s;&s;ary to the civil Society of men. The effect, by way of
redundance, is the good of the Church, to wit, in &s;o far as by ex|ecution
of Ju&s;tice and good Laws, &s;ome impediments that u&s;u|ally
hinder and di&s;turb the cour&s;e of the Go&s;pel, are avoided or
taken away.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="73" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>73.</HEAD>
<P>For by how much the more faithfully the Magi&s;trate exe|cuteth
his office in puni&s;hing the wicked, and cheri&s;hing and
encouraging good men, taking away tho&s;e things which
with&s;tand the Go&s;pell, and puni&s;hing or driving away the
troublers and &s;ubverters of the Church; &s;o much the more the
orthodox Faith and Godlyne&s;s are reverenced and had in e&s;ti|mation,
&s;ins are hated and feared: Finally, and all the &s;ub|jects
contained (as much as concerneth the outward man)
within the li&s;ts of Gods Law: Whence al&s;o by con&s;equence
in happeneth, by Gods ble&s;&s;ing, that the Church is de&s;iled
with fewer &s;candalls, and doth obtain the more freedom and
Peace.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="74" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="30" REF="19">
<HEAD>74.</HEAD>
<P>But the proper effect of the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power, or keys
of the Kingdom of Heaven is wholly &s;pirituall; for the act
of binding and loo&s;ing, of retaining and remitting &s;ins, doth
reach to the &s;oul and con&s;cience it &s;elf (which cannot be &s;aid
of the act of the civill power:) And as unju&s;t Excommunica|tion
is void, &s;o Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cen&s;ure being inflicted by the Mi|ni&s;ters
of Chri&s;t, and his Stewards, according to his will, is ra|tified
in Heaven, <HI>Mat.</HI> 18. 18. and therefore ought to be e&s;tee|med
and acknowledged in like manner as inflicted by Chri&s;t
him&s;elf.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="75" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>75.</HEAD>
<P>Sixthly, they are al&s;o differenced in re&s;pect of the Subject:
The politick power is committed &s;ometimes to one, &s;ometimes
to more, &s;ometime by right of election, &s;ometime by right of
&s;ucce&s;sion: But the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power is competent to none
under the New Te&s;tament by the right of &s;ucce&s;sion, but he
who hath it, mu&s;t be called, by God and the Church, to it; nei|ther
was it given by Chri&s;t to one, either Pa&s;tor or Elder, much
le&s;s to a Prelate, but <HI>to the Church,</HI> that is, to the con&s;i&s;tory of
Presbyters. 'Tis confe&s;&s;ed indeed, and who can be ignorant of
it, that the power (as they call it) of <HI>order,</HI> doth belong to par|ticular
Mini&s;ters, and is by each of them apart lawfully exerci|&s;ed?
but that power which is commonly called of juri&s;diction,
is committed not to one, but to the unity, that is, to a con&s;i&s;to|ry;
therefore Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cen&s;ure ought not to be inflicted,
but <HI>by many. 2 Cor.</HI> 2. 6.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="76" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>76.</HEAD>
<P>Seventhly, they differ as touching the correlative: God
hath commanded, that unto the civil power, every &s;oul, or all
Members of the Common-wealth, of what condition and e&s;tate
&s;oever, be &s;ubiect; for what have we to do with the Papi&s;ts,
who wil have them, whom they call the Clergy or Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call
per&s;ons, to be free from the yoke of the civill Magi&s;trate?
The Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall power extends it &s;elf to none other &s;ubiects,
then unto tho&s;e which are called Brethren, or Members of the
Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="77" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="31" REF="19">
<HEAD>77.</HEAD>
<P>Eightly, there remaineth another difference in re&s;pect of
the di&s;tinct and divided exerci&s;e of authority. For either
power cea&s;ing from its duty, or remitting puni&s;hment, that
doth not (&s;urely it ought not) prejudice the exerci&s;e of the
other power; namely, if the Magi&s;trate cea&s;e to do his duty,
or do neglect to puni&s;h with &s;ecular puni&s;hment, tho&s;e male|factors
which by profe&s;sion are Church Members: Neverthe|le&s;s,
it is in the power of the Governors of the Church, by the
bridle of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Di&s;cipline, to curb &s;uch men; yea al&s;o,
by vertue of their office they are bound to do it; and on the
other part, the Magi&s;trate may, and ought to puni&s;h in life and
limb, honours or goods, notwith&s;tanding the offenders re|pentance,
or reconciliation with the Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="78" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>78.</HEAD>
<P>Therefore the one &s;word being put up in the &s;cabbard, it
is free, and often nece&s;&s;ary to draw the other. Neither power
is bound to ca&s;t out, or receive him, whom the other doth ca&s;t
forth or receive: The rea&s;on whereof is, becau&s;e the Eccle|&s;ia&s;tical
Mini&s;try doth chiefly re&s;pect the repentance to &s;al|vation,
and gaining of the &s;inners &s;oul; wherefore it al&s;o im|braceth
all kind of wicked men repenting, and receiveth
them into the bo&s;ome of the Church. The Magi&s;trate pro|po&s;eth
to him&s;elf another, and much differing &s;cope; for e|ven
repenting offenders are by him puni&s;hed, both that Ju|&s;tice
and the Laws may be &s;atisfied, as al&s;o to terrifie others;
hence it is, that ab&s;olution from Eccle&s;ia&s;tick cen&s;ure, freeth
not at all the Delinquent, from civill Judgment, and that ex|ternal
&s;word.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="79" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>79.</HEAD>
<P>Seeing then there are &s;o many and &s;o great differences of
both Offices, and &s;eeing al&s;o, that the function of Mini&s;ters and
Elders of the Church, is not at all contained in the office of
the Magi&s;trate; neither on the other part, this is comprehended
within that; Magi&s;trates &s;hal no le&s;s &s;in in u&s;urping Eccle|&s;ia&s;tical
power, mini&s;tring holy things, ordaining Mini&s;ters,
or exerci&s;ing Di&s;cipline Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, then Mini&s;ters &s;hould
<PB N="32" REF="20">
&s;in in ru&s;hing into the borders of the Magi&s;trate, and in thru|&s;ting
them&s;elves into his calling.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="80" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>80.</HEAD>
<P>Neither are tho&s;e powers more mingled one with other, or
le&s;s di&s;tingui&s;hed, where the Magi&s;trate is a Chri&s;tian, then
where he is an Infidell; For, as in a believing Father and in an
Infidel Father, the rights of a Father are the &s;ame, &s;o in a Chri|&s;tian
Magi&s;trate, and in an Infidell Magi&s;trate, the rights of Ma|gi&s;trates
are the &s;ame: So that to the Magi&s;trate converted
to the Chri&s;tian Faith, there is no acce&s;&s;ion of new right, or in|crea&s;e
of civil power, although being indued with true Faith
and Piety, he is made more fit and willing to the undergoing of
his office and the doing of his duty.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="81" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>81.</HEAD>
<P>So then the Word of God and the Law of Chri&s;t, which by
&s;o evident difference, &s;eparateth and di&s;tingui&s;heth Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|cal
Government from the Civill, forbiddeth the Chri&s;tian Ma|gi&s;trate
to enter upon, or u&s;urp the Mini&s;try of the Word and
Sacraments, or the juridicall di&s;pen&s;ing of the keys of the King|dom
of Heaven, to invade the Church-Government, or to chal|lenge
to him&s;elf the right of both &s;words, &s;pirituall and corpo|ral:
But if any Magi&s;trate (which God forbid) &s;hould dare
to arrogate to him&s;elf &s;o much, and to enlarge his skirts &s;o far,
the Church &s;hal then &s;traight way be con&s;trained to complain
ju&s;tly, and cry out, that though the Pope is changed, yet Pope|dom
remaineth &s;till.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="82" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>82.</HEAD>
<P>It is unlawfull moreover to a Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate, to with|&s;tand
the practi&s;e and execution of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline,
(whether it be that which belongs to a particular Church, or
the matter be carryed to a Cla&s;s or Synode:) Now the Magi|&s;trate
with&s;tandeth the Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Di&s;cipline, either by pro|hibitions
and uniu&s;t Laws, or by his evil example, &s;tirring up,
and inciting others to the contempt thereof, or to the tram|pling
it under foot.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="83" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>83.</HEAD>
<P>Surely the Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate (if any time he give
<PB N="33" REF="20">
any grievous &s;candall to the Church,) &s;eeing he al&s;o is a mem|ber
of the Church, ought no ways di&s;dain to &s;ubmit him&s;elf to
the power of the keys; Neither is this to be marvelled at: for
even as the office of the Mini&s;ter of the Church is no ways &s;ub|ordinate
and &s;ubjected to the civil power, but the per&s;on of the
Mini&s;ter, as he is a member of the Common-wealth, is &s;ubject
thereto: So the civil power it &s;elf, or the Magi&s;trate, as a Ma|gi&s;trate,
is not &s;ubjected to Eccle&s;ia&s;tick power; yet that man
who is a Magi&s;trate ought (as he is a member of the Church)
to be under the Churches cen&s;ure of his manners, after the ex|ample
of the Emperour <HI>Theodo&s;ius,</HI> unle&s;s he wil de&s;pi&s;e and
&s;et at nought Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Di&s;cipline, and indulge the &s;welling
pride of the fle&s;h.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="84" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>84.</HEAD>
<P>If any man &s;hould again object that the Magi&s;trate is not
indeed to re&s;i&s;t Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Government, yet that the abu&s;es
thereof are to be corrected and taken away by him: The an|&s;wer
is ready, in the wor&s;t and trouble&s;ome times, or in the
decayed and troubled e&s;tate of things, when the ordinance of
God in the Church, is violently turned into tyranny, to the
treading down of true Religion, and to the oppre&s;&s;ing of the
Profe&s;&s;ors thereof, and when nothing almo&s;t is &s;ound or
whole, divers things are yielded to be lawfull to godly Magi|&s;trates,
which are not ordinarily lawfull for them, that &s;o to ex|traordinary
di&s;ea&s;es, extraordinary remedies may be applyed.
So al&s;o the Magi&s;trate abu&s;ing his power unto tyranny, and ma|king
havock of all, tis lawfull to re&s;i&s;t him by &s;ome extraordi|nary
ways and means, which are not ordinarily to be al|lowed.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="85" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>85.</HEAD>
<P>Yet ordinarily and by common or known Law and Right
in &s;ettled Churches, if any man have recour&s;e to the Magi&s;trate
to complain, that through abu&s;e of Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Di&s;cipline,
injury is done to him, or if any &s;entence of the Pa&s;tors and
Elders of the Church, whether concerning Faith or Di&s;ci|pline,
do di&s;plea&s;e or &s;eem uniu&s;t unto the Magi&s;trate him&s;elf;
it is not for that cau&s;e lawfull to draw tho&s;e Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall
<PB N="34" REF="21">
cau&s;es to a civil tribunal, or to bring in a kind of political or civil
Popedom.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="86" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>86.</HEAD>
<P>What then? Shall it be lawful ordinarily for Mini&s;ters and
Elders to do what they li&s;t, or &s;hall the Governors in the Chur|ches,
glorying in the Law, by their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion di&s;honour
God? God forbid. For fir&s;t, if they &s;hall tre&s;pa&s;s in any thing
again&s;t the Magi&s;trate or municipal Laws, whether by inter|medling
in judging of civil cau&s;es, or otherwi&s;e di&s;turbing the
peace and order of the Common-wealth, they are liable to civil
tryal and judgments, as it is in the power of the Magi&s;trate to
re&s;train and puni&s;h them.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="87" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>87.</HEAD>
<P>Again it hath been before &s;hewed, that to Eccle&s;ia&s;tical evils
Eccle&s;ia&s;tical remedies are appointed and fitted, for the Church
is no le&s;s then the Common-wealth, through the grace of
God, &s;ufficient to it &s;elf in reference unto her own end: and
as in the Common-wealth, &s;o in the Church, the errour of
inferior judgments and A&s;&s;emblies, or their evil Govern|ment,
is to be corrected by &s;uperior judgments and A&s;&s;em|blies,
and &s;o &s;till by them of the &s;ame order, le&s;t one order
be confounded with another, or one Government be inter|mingled
with another Government. What &s;hall now the ad|ver&s;aries
of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical power object here, which tho&s;e who
admit not the yoke of the Magi&s;trate may not be ready in like
manner to transfer again&s;t the civil Judicatories and Govern|ment
of the Common-wealth? Seeing it happeneth &s;ometimes
that the Common-wealth is no le&s;s ill Governed then the
Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="88" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>88.</HEAD>
<P>If any man &s;hall pro&s;ecute the argument, and &s;ay, that yet
no remedy is here &s;hewed, which may be applyed to the
inju&s;tice or error of a National Synod: &s;urely he &s;tumbleth
again&s;t the &s;ame &s;tone, &s;eeing he weigheth not the matter with
an equal ballance; for the &s;ame may in like &s;ort fall back
and be ca&s;t upon Parliaments, or any &s;upream Senate of a
Common-wealth: for who &s;eeth not the judgment of the
<PB N="35" REF="21">
&s;upream civill Senate to be nothing more infallible, yea al&s;o in
matters of Faith and Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline, more apt and
prone to Error (as being le&s;s accu&s;tomed to &s;acred Studies)
then the judgment of the Nationall Synod? what medicines
then, or what &s;overaign plai&s;ters &s;hal be had, which may be
fit for the curing and healing of the Errors and mi&s;cariages of
the &s;upream Magi&s;trate and Senate? The very like, and be|&s;ide
all this, other and more effectuall medicines, by which
the Errors of Nationall Synods may be healed, are po&s;&s;ible
to be had.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="89" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>89.</HEAD>
<P>There wanteth not a Divine Medicine, and Soveraign
Balm in Gilead; for although the Popi&s;h opinion of the in|fallibility
of Coun&s;els, be worthily rejected and exploded;
yet tis not in vain that Chri&s;t hath promi&s;ed, he &s;hal be pre|&s;ent
with an A&s;&s;embly, which in deed and in truth, meeteth
together in his Name; with &s;uch an A&s;&s;embly, verily he u&s;eth
to be pre&s;ent by a &s;pirituall aide and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his own Spi|rit,
to uphold the falling, or to rai&s;e up the fallen. Whence it
is, that divers times the Errors of former Synods are di&s;cove|red
and amended by the latter: &s;ometimes al&s;o the &s;econd, or
after thoughts of one and the &s;ame Synod are the wi&s;er and
the better.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="90" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>90.</HEAD>
<P>Furthermore, the line of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Subordination is
longer and further &s;tretched, then the line of civill Subordina|tion;
for a Nationall Synod mu&s;t be &s;ubordinate and &s;ubject
to an Univer&s;all Synod, in the manner afore&s;aid, whereas yet
there is no Occumenicall Parliament, or generall civill Court
acknowledged, unto which the &s;upream civill Senate, in this or
that Nation, &s;hould be &s;ubject. Finally, neither is the Church
altogether de&s;titute of nearer remedies, whether an univer&s;all
coun&s;ell may be had or not.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="91" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="36" REF="22">
<HEAD>91.</HEAD>
<P>For the Nationall Synod ought to declare, and that with
greate&s;t reverence, to the Magi&s;trate, the grounds of their &s;en|tence,
and the rea&s;ons of their proceedings, when he deman|deth
or enquireth into the &s;ame, and de&s;ireth to be &s;atisfied: but
if the Magi&s;trate neverthele&s;s do di&s;&s;ent, or cannot by con|trary
rea&s;ons (which may be brought, if he plea&s;e) move
the Synod to alter their judgment, yet may he require, and pro|cure,
that the matter be again debated and canva&s;&s;ed in another
National Synod; and &s;o the rea&s;ons on both &s;ides being
throughly weighed, may be lawfully determined in an Eccle|&s;ia&s;tical
way.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="92" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>92.</HEAD>
<P>But as there is much indeed to be given to the demand of the
Magi&s;trate; &s;o is there here a two-fold caution to be u&s;ed: For
fir&s;t, notwith&s;tanding of a future revi&s;ion, it is nece&s;&s;ary that
the former &s;entence of the Synod, whether concerning the
admini&s;tration of Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Di&s;cipline, or again&s;t any Here|&s;ie,
be forthwith put in execution; lea&s;t by lingering and ma|king
of delays, the evil of the Church take deeper root, and
the gangreen &s;pread and creep further: and lea&s;t violence be
done to the Con&s;ciences of Mini&s;ters, if they be con&s;trained to
impart the &s;igns and &s;eals of the Covenant of Grace to dogs and
&s;wine, that is, to unclean per&s;ons, wallowing in the mire of
ungodline&s;s; and lea&s;t &s;ubtile men abu&s;e &s;uch interims or inter|vals,
&s;o as that Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline altogether decay, and
the very decrees of Synods be accounted as cobwebs, which
none feareth to break down.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="93" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>93.</HEAD>
<P>Next it may be granted, that the matter may be put under
a further examination, yet upon condition, that when it is
come to the revi&s;ion of the former &s;entence, regard may be
had of the weaker which are found willing to be taught,
<PB N="37" REF="22">
though they doubt, but that unto the wicked and contentious
tempters, which do mainly &s;trive to oppre&s;s our liberty which
we have in Chri&s;t, and to bring us into bondage, we do not
for a moment give place by &s;ubjecting our &s;elves: For what
el&s;e &s;eek they or wait for, then that under the pretence of a re|vi&s;ing
and of new debate, they ca&s;t in lets and impediments e|ver
and anon, and that by cunning lyings in wait, they may
betray the liberty of the Church, and in proce&s;s of time may by
open violence, more forceably break in upon it, or at lea&s;t,
con&s;train the Mini&s;ters of the Church to weave <HI>Penelop's</HI> web,
which they can never bring to an end.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="94" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>94.</HEAD>
<P>Moreover, the Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate hath then only di&s;|charged
his office in reference to Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline,
when not only he withdraweth nothing from it, and ma|keth
no impedient to it, but al&s;o affordeth &s;peciall furtherance
and help to it, according to the Prophecy, <HI>E&s;ai. 49. 23. And
Kings &s;hal be thy nur&s;ing fathers, and Queens thy nur&s;ing
mothers.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="95" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>95.</HEAD>
<P>For Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trates and Princes embracing Chri&s;t,
and &s;incerely giving their names to him, do not only &s;erve him
as men, but al&s;o u&s;e their office to his glory, and the good of
the Church: they defend, &s;tand for, and take care to propagate
the true Faith and Godline&s;s, they affoord places of habitation
to the Church, and furni&s;h nece&s;&s;ary helps and &s;upports, turn
away injuries done to it, re&s;train fal&s;e Religion, and cheri&s;h,
underprop, and defend the Rights and Liberties of the Church:
&s;o far they are from dimini&s;hing, changing or re&s;trai|ning
tho&s;e Rights, for &s;o the condition of the Church
were in that re&s;pect wor&s;e, and the Liberty thereof more
cut &s;hort, under the Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate, then under the infi|dell
or heathen.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="96" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="38" REF="23">
<HEAD>96.</HEAD>
<P>Wherefore &s;eeing the&s;e nur&s;ing fathers, favourers and de|fenders,
can do nothing again&s;t the Truth, but for the Truth,
nor have any right again&s;t the Go&s;pel, but for the Go&s;pel; and
their power in re&s;pect of the Church, whereof they bear the
care, being not <HI>privative</HI> or <HI>de&s;tructive,</HI> but <HI>cumulative</HI>
and <HI>auxiliary,</HI> thereby it is &s;ufficiently clear, that they ought
to cheri&s;h, and by their authority, ought to e&s;tabli&s;h the
Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline; but yet not with implicite Faith,
or blind obedience: For the Reformed Churches do not
deny to any of the faithfull, much le&s;s to the Magi&s;trate,
the judgment of Chri&s;tian prudence and di&s;cretion, concer|ning
tho&s;e things which are decreed or determined by the
Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="97" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>97.</HEAD>
<P>Therefore, as to each Member of the Church re&s;pectively,
&s;o unto the Magi&s;trate belongeth the judgment of &s;uch things,
both to apprehend and to judg of them; for although the Magi|&s;trate
is not ordained and preferred of God, that he &s;hould be
a judg of matters and cau&s;es &s;pirituall, of which there is con|trover&s;ie
in the Church: Yet is he que&s;tionle&s;s judg of his own
civill act, about &s;pirituall things; namely, of defending them
in his own Dominions, and of approving or tolerating the
&s;ame; and if in this bu&s;ine&s;s he judg and determine according
to the wi&s;dom of the fle&s;h, and not according to the wi&s;dom
which is from above, he is to render an account thereof before
the &s;upream Tribunall.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="98" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>98.</HEAD>
<P>However the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Di&s;cipline, according as it
is ordained by Chri&s;t, whether it be e&s;tabli&s;hed and ratified
by civill authority, or not, ought to be retained and exerci&s;ed
in the Society of the faithfull (as long as it is free and &s;afe for
them to come together in holy A&s;&s;emblies) for the want of
<PB N="38" REF="23">
civil authority is unto the Church like a <HI>cea&s;ing gain,</HI> but not
like <HI>Damage</HI> or <HI>lo&s;s en&s;uing;</HI> as it &s;uperaddeth nothing more,
&s;o it takes nothing away.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="99" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>99.</HEAD>
<P>If it further happen (which God forbid) that the Magi&s;trate
do &s;o far abu&s;e his authority, that he doth &s;traitly forbid what
Chri&s;t hath ordained; yet the con&s;tant and faithful &s;ervants of
Chri&s;t, will re&s;olve and determine with them&s;elves, that any
extremities are rather to be undergone, then that they &s;hould
obey &s;uch things, and that we ought to obey God rather then
men; yea they will not leave off to perform all the parts of
their office, being ready, in the mean time, to render a rea&s;on of
their practice to every one that demandeth it, but &s;pecially
unto the Magi&s;trate, (as was &s;aid before.)</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="100" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>100.</HEAD>
<P>The&s;e things are not to that end and purpo&s;e propo&s;ed, that
the&s;e functions &s;hould be oppo&s;ed one again&s;t another, in a ho|&s;tile
po&s;ture, or in terms of enmity, then which nothing is more
hurtful to the Church and Common-wealth, nothing more
execrable to them who are truly and &s;incerely zealous for the
hou&s;e of God (for they have not &s;o learned Chri&s;t:) but the
aim is, Fir&s;t and above all, that unto the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, Je&s;us Chri&s;t the only Monarch of the Church, his own
prerogative Royal (of which al&s;o him&s;elf in the World was
accu&s;ed, and for his witne&s;&s;ing a good confe&s;&s;ion thereof before
<HI>Pontius Pilate,</HI> was unju&s;tly condemned to death) may be fully
maintained and defended.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="101" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>101.</HEAD>
<P>Next, this debate al&s;o tendeth to this end, that the pow|er
as well of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cen&s;ure as of the civil &s;word be|ing
in force, the licentiou&s;ne&s;s of carnal men, which de&s;ire
that there be too &s;lack Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Di&s;cipline or none at all,
may be bridled, and &s;o men may &s;in le&s;s, and may live more
<PB N="40" REF="24">
agreeably to the Go&s;pel. Another thing here intended is, that
errours on both &s;ides being overthrown, (as well the errour
of tho&s;e who under a fair pretence of maintaining and defen|ding
the rights of Magi&s;tracy, do leave to the Church either no
power, or that which is too weak; as the errour of others,
who under the vail of a certain &s;uppo&s;itious and imaginary
Chri&s;tian Liberty, do turn off the yoke of the Magi&s;trate)
both powers may enjoy their own Priviledges; add hereto
that both powers being circum&s;cribed with their di&s;tinct bor|ders
and bounds, and al&s;o the one underpropped and &s;trength|ned
by the help of the other, a holy concord between them
may be nouri&s;hed, and they may mutually and friendly imbrace
one another.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="102" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>102.</HEAD>
<P>La&s;t of all, &s;eeing there are not wanting &s;ome unhappy men,
who cea&s;e not to pervert the right ways of the Lord, and with
all diligence go about to &s;hake off the yoke of the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical
Di&s;cipline, where now tis about to be introduced, yea al&s;o
where it hath been long ago e&s;tabli&s;hed, and as yet happily re|maineth
in force, it was nece&s;&s;ary to obviate their mo&s;t wicked
purpo&s;es; Which things being &s;o, let all which hath been
&s;aid, pa&s;&s;e with the good leave and liking of tho&s;e orthodox
Churches in which the Di&s;cipline of Excommunication is not
as yet in u&s;e: neither can any offence ea&s;ily ari&s;e to them from
hence; yea (if the be&s;t conjecture do not deceive) they cannot
but rejoyce and congratulate at the defence and vindication of
this Di&s;cipline.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="103" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>103.</HEAD>
<P>For tho&s;e Churches do not deny but acknowledg and
teach, that the Di&s;cipline of Excommunication is mo&s;t agree|able
to the Word of God, as al&s;o that it ought to be re&s;tored
and exerci&s;ed; Which al&s;o heretofore the mo&s;t learned <HI>Za|chary
&V;r&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">,</HI> in the declaration of his judgment concerning
<PB N="41" REF="24">
Excommunication, exhibited to Prince <HI>Frederick</HI> the third,
Count Elector <HI>Palatine,</HI> the title whereof is, <HI>Judicium de
Di&s;ciplina Eccle&s;iastica &amp; Excommunicatione,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="104" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>104.</HEAD>
<P><HI>For thus he,</HI> In other Churches, where either no Ex|communication
is in u&s;e, or tis not lawfully admini&s;tred,
and neverthele&s;&s;e without all controver&s;ie, it is confe&s;&s;ed
and openly taught, that it ought ju&s;tly to be received and
be of force in the Church: <HI>and a little after,</HI> Lest al&s;o
your Higne&s;&s;e by this new opinion do &s;ever your &s;elf and
your Churches from all other Churches, as well tho&s;e which
have not Excommunication, as tho&s;e which have it: For|a&s;much
as all of them do unanimou&s;ly confe&s;&s;e, and al|wayes
confe&s;&s;ed, that there is rea&s;on why it ought to be
in u&s;e.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="105" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>105.</HEAD>
<P><HI>To the &s;ame purpo&s;e it tendeth which the highly e&s;teemed</HI>
Philip Melancthon <HI>in his Common places, chap. of civil Ma|gi&s;trates,
doth affirm:</HI> Before <HI>(&s;aith he)</HI> I warned that civil
Places and Powers are to be distingui&s;hed from the adhering
confu&s;ions which ari&s;e from other cau&s;es, partly from the ma|lice
of the devil, partly from the malice of men, partly from
the common infirmity of men, as it cometh to pa&s;&s;e in other
kinds of life and Government ordained of God. No
man doubteth, that Eccle&s;iastical Government is ordained
of God, and yet how many and great di&s;orders grow in it
from other cau&s;es. <HI>Where he mentioneth a Church Govern|ment
di&s;tinct from the civil, and that</HI> jure divino, <HI>as a thing
uncontroverted.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="106" TYPE="proposition">
<PB N="42" REF="25">
<HEAD>106.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Neither were the wi&s;hes of the chief Divines of</HI> Zurick
<HI>and</HI> Berne <HI>wanting, for the recalling and re&s;toring of the
di&s;cipline of Excommunication. So</HI> Bullinger <HI>upon</HI> 1 Cor.
5. And hitherto <HI>(&s;aith he)</HI> of the Eccle&s;iastical chasti|&s;ing
of wickedne&s;s, but here I would have the brethren
diligently warned, that they watch, and with all diligence
take care that this whole&s;om medicine, thrown out of the
true Church by occa&s;ion of the Popes avarice, may be re|duced,
that is, that &s;candalous &s;ins be puni&s;hed: fon this is
the very end of Excommunication, that mens manners may
be well ordered, and the Saints flouri&s;h, the prophane being
restrained, lest wicked men by their impudency and impiety
increa&s;e and undo all. It is our part, &ocirc; brethren, with
greate&s;t diligence to take care of the&s;e things; for we &s;ee
that <HI>Paul</HI> in this place doth &s;tir up tho&s;e that were negligent in
this bu&s;ine&s;s.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="107" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>107.</HEAD>
<P>Aretius <HI>agreeth hereunto.</HI> Problem. Theolog. loc,
33. Magistrates do not admit the yoke, they are afraid
for their honours, they love licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> The com|mon
people is too di&s;&s;olute, the greatest part is most corrupt,
<HI>&amp;c.</HI> In the mean while I willingly confe&s;&s;e, that we are
not to despair, but the age following will peradventure
yeeld more tractable &s;pirits, more mild hearts, then our
times have. <HI>See al&s;o</HI> Lavater <HI>agreeing in this, Homil.</HI> 52.
<HI>on Nehem.</HI> Becau&s;e the Popes of Rome have abu&s;ed Ex|communication
for the establi&s;hing of their own tyranny,
it cometh to pa&s;s, that almost no just Di&s;cipline can be any
more &s;ettled in the Church, but unle&s;&s;e the wicked be re|&s;trained,
all things mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity run into the wor&s;t
condition, <HI>See be&s;ides, the opinion of</HI> Fabritius, <HI>upon</HI>
P&s;al. 149. 6, 7, 8, 9. <HI>of &s;pirituall corrections, which he
<PB N="43" REF="25">
groundeth upon that Text compared with</HI> Matth. 16. 19. <HI>and</HI>
18. 18. Iohn 20. 23.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="108" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>108.</HEAD>
<P>It can hardly be doubted or called in que&s;tion, but be&s;ides
the&s;e, other learned and Godly Divines of tho&s;e Churches were
and are of the &s;ame mind herein, with tho&s;e now cited; and
indeed the very Confe&s;&s;ion of Faith of the Churches of <HI>Helve|tia,
Chap.</HI> 18. may be an evidence hereof. <HI>But there ought
to be in the mean time a ju&s;t Di&s;cipline amongst Ministers,
for the doctrine and life of Mini&s;ters is diligently to be enquired
of in Synods: Tho&s;e that &s;in are to be rebuked of the Elders,
and to be brought again into the way, if they be curable; or to
be depo&s;ed, and like wolves driven away from the floek of the
Lord, if they be incurable.</HI> That this manner of Synodical
cen&s;ure, namely of depo&s;ing Mini&s;ters from their office for
&s;ome great &s;candal, is u&s;ed in the republike of <HI>Zurick, Lava|ter</HI>
is witne&s;s, in his book of the Rites and Ordinances of the
Church of <HI>Zurick,</HI> Chap. 23. Surely they could not be of that
mind, that Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Di&s;cipline ought to be exerci&s;ed upon
Delinquent Mini&s;ters only, and not al&s;o upon other rotten Mem|bers
of the Church.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="109" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>109</HEAD>
<P><HI>Yea the</HI> Helvetian <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion in the place now cited, doth
&s;o tax the inordinate zeal of the Donati&s;ts and Anabapti&s;ts
(which are &s;o bent upon the rooting out of the tares out of the
Lords field, that they take not heed of the danger of plucking
up the wheat) that withall it doth not ob&s;curely commend the
Eccle&s;ia&s;tical</HI> Foren&s;ical <HI>Di&s;cipline, as di&s;tinct from the civil
Power,</HI> and &s;eeing (<HI>&s;ay they</HI>) ttis altogether nece&s;&s;ary that
there be in the Church a Di&s;cipline; and among the Anci|ents
in times pa&s;t Excommunication hath been u&s;ual, and Ec|cle&s;ia&s;tical
<PB N="44" REF="26">
Courts have been among the People of God, among
whom this Di&s;cipline was exerci&s;ed by prudent and goods men;
It belongeth al&s;o to Mini&s;ters according to the ca&s;e of the
times, the publick e&s;tate and nece&s;&s;ity, to moderate this Di&s;|cipline;
Where this rule is ever to be held, that all ought to
be done to edification, decently, hone&s;tly, without tyranny and &s;e|dition;
The Apo&s;tle al&s;o witne&s;&s;eth, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13. that to him|&s;elf,
was given of God a Power unto edification, and not unto
de&s;truction.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="110" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>110.</HEAD>
<P>And now what re&s;teth, but that God be intreated
with continual and ardent Prayers, both that he would
put into the hearts of all Magi&s;trates, zeal and care to che|ri&s;h,
defend, and guard the Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Di&s;cipline, toge|ther
with the re&s;t of Chri&s;ts Ordinances, and to &s;top
their eares again&s;t the importunate &s;uits of what&s;oever claw|backs,
which would &s;tir them up again&s;t the Church; and
that al&s;o all Governours and Rulers of Churches, being every
where furni&s;hed and helped with the &s;trength of the holy
Spirit, may diligently and faithfully execute this part al&s;o
of their function, as it becommeth the tru&s;ty &s;ervants of
Chri&s;t, which &s;tudy to plea&s;e their own Lord and Ma&s;ter,
more then men.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="111" TYPE="proposition">
<HEAD>111.</HEAD>
<P>Finally, all tho&s;e who are more aver&s;e from Eccle|&s;ia&s;tick
Di&s;cipline, or ill affected again&s;t it, are to be ad|moni&s;hed
and intreated through our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that
they be no longer entangled and enveagled with carnall
prejudice, to give place in this thing to humane affections,
<PB N="45" REF="26">
and to mea&s;ure by their own corrupt rea&s;on &s;pirituall Di&s;ci|pline,
but that they do &s;eriou&s;ly think with them&s;elves, and
con&s;ider in their minds, how much better it were, that the
lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h were as with a bridle tamed, and that the re|pentance,
amendment, and gaining of vicious men unto &s;alva|tion
may be &s;ought, then that &s;inners be left to their own di&s;|po&s;ition,
and be permitted to follow their own lu&s;ts without
controulment, and by their evil example to draw others head|long
into ruin with them&s;elves: and &s;eeing either the keys of
Di&s;cipline mu&s;t take no ru&s;t, or the manners of Chri&s;tians will
certainly contract much ru&s;t: what is here to be cho&s;en, and
what is to be &s;hunned, let the Wi&s;e and Godly, who alone
take to heart the &s;afety of the Church, judg.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
