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<DATE>2010-12-14</DATE>
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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE Cleere Antithe&s;is OR DIAMETRALL OPPOSITION BETWEENE PRESBYTERY AND PRELACY.</P>
<P>Wherin is apparently demon&s;trated, whither Government be mo&s;t Con&s;onant and Agreeable to the Word of GOD.</P>
<P>LONDON, Printed for <HI>Francis Coules,</HI> and <HI>Henry Twyford,</HI> Anno Dom. 1644.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<P>AN APPEALE TO Every Impartiall, Iudicious, and Godly <HI>READER:</HI> WHETHER THE Presbyterie or Prelacie Be the better Church-Government, ac|cording to the Word of God; being duely compared the one with the other.</P>
<P><HI>By a judicious and learned Divine.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Francis Coules,</HI> and <HI>Henry Twyford:</HI> Anno Dom. 1641.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="comparison">
<PB REF="3">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>THE PRESBYTERIE AND PRELACIE COMPARED.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Whereby it may appeare, whether of them is more for the &s;afety of &s;oules, the reformation of mens lives, the advancement of a pure wor&s;hip, the practi&s;e of godline&s;&s;e, the aboli&s;hment of Po|pery and prophanene&s;&s;e; with the rooting out of Sects and Schi&s;mes, and for pre&s;erva|tion of Unity and Peace among&s;t us.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<DIV2 N="presbytery" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Presbyterie.</HEAD>
<P N="1">I. _THis is found in Holy Writ, and the Holy Gho&s;t is plea&s;ed to men|tion it by name, (1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. 14.) for the due honour there|of.</P>
<P N="2">II. This con&s;i&s;ts of Presbyters, called
<PB N="2" REF="4">
Elders, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 17. or Parochiall Bi&s;hops, or Bi&s;hops of particular Congregations, <HI>Acts</HI> 20. 17, 28. <HI>Phil.</HI> 1. 1. of equall authority a|mong them&s;elves, not Lording over Gods heritage.</P>
<P N="3">III. The&s;e have a divine In&s;titution by the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>Acts</HI> 20. 28. and are ordained by the Apo&s;tles, <HI>Acts</HI> 14. 23. and by the Apo&s;tles commandment, <HI>Titus</HI> 1. 5. 7. and have warrant we &s;ee from the Ca|nonicall Scriptures.</P>
<P N="4">IV. The&s;e were joyned with the A|po&s;tles, and &s;ate in the Councell at <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> with them; and with them made and &s;ent out by the di|rection of the Holy Gho&s;t the De|crees, <HI>Acts</HI> 15. 4. 6. 22. 23. 28. &amp; 16. 4. &amp; 21. 18. 25.</P>
<P N="5">V. The&s;e Elders were they who by divine authority did rule, they were called Elders that ruled, of &s;uch &s;peaketh the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 17. <HI>Heb.</HI> 13. 24. and the people had an Apo&s;tolicall charge, to know them to be over them, in 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5. 12. and to rule over them, <HI>Heb.</HI> 13. 7. and the people were to obey them, and &s;ubmit to them, <HI>Ver&s;.</HI> 17. What can be more clearely delivered out of the Text.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="4">
<P N="6">VI. The rule of the&s;e was Ari&s;tocra|ticall and conjoynt, and therefore we reade plurally of Elders; the Bi&s;hops in one Citie, <HI>Acts.</HI> 20. 17. <HI>Phil.</HI> 1. 1. Yea, Elders were ordai|ned in every Church and Citie; <HI>Acts</HI> 14. 23. <HI>Titus</HI> 1. 5.</P>
<P N="7">VII. The&s;e rule after God, according to his Word, and according to &s;uch Con&s;titutions as &s;hall be genera<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ly (with one con&s;ent) agreed upon, and warranted by the Word.</P>
<P N="8">VIII. The&s;e can and doe rule &s;piritually after a &s;pirituall manner, Without pompe and great revenues, With|out a traine of dome&s;ticke atten|dants; Without their Chancellors and Archdeacons, Commi&s;&s;aries, and Officials, Surrogates; Without Advocates, Doctors, and Proctors; Without charge of great fees, and pecuniary mulcts; Without their pri&s;ons corporally to puni&s;h Delin|quents.</P>
<P N="9">IX. The&s;e u&s;e no ba&s;e nor no lewd companions to come to call Delin|quents before them.</P>
<P N="10">X. The&s;e calling offendors before
<PB N="4" REF="5">
them, proceed religiou&s;ly with them onely, &s;eeking their reforma|tion and amendment; (and &s;o they finde it) and not to ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e game of the people, nor doe they ever ex|communicate any for not paying fees.</P>
<P N="11">XI. The&s;e oppo&s;e all corruptions in Gods wor&s;hip, the life and do|ctrine in all &s;orts, as well in the Clergie as Laitie, without re&s;pect of per&s;ons, to honour thereby their Chri&s;tian profe&s;&s;ion, and to procure glory to God, and &s;alvation to ma|ny &s;oules.</P>
<P N="12">XII. The&s;e make and ordaine a prea|thing Mini&s;try, &s;etting over every particular Congregation a &s;it Pa|&s;tor, re&s;ident and painfull, onely at|tending his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">ecke, and wholy gi|ving him&s;elfe unto his Mini&s;try, and not putting off his charge to a Cu|rate.</P>
<P N="13">XIII. The&s;e allow not any one of them upon him&s;elfe to ordaine.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Any Mini&s;ter alone.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Nor any man altogether to be Mini&s;ter, without a particular &s;lock to attend upon.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Not to bee made to pay any thing for his Ordination, for a Li|cen&s;e
<PB N="5" REF="5">
to preach, for In&s;titutions and Inductions.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Not to &s;weare Canonicall o|bedience to them.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="14">XIV. The&s;e Ordaining Mini&s;ters doe throughly try them, not childi&s;hly by asking of que&s;tions read out of a booke, and an&s;wers made thereto upon the &s;ame booke; but in wi&s;edome as &s;hall bee thought fitting for them to aske, and the Ordained to an&s;wer unto with under&s;tanding, and this is done with fa&s;ting and prayer very &s;o|lemnely.</P>
<P N="15">XV. The&s;e having thus ordained Pa|&s;tors over Congregations, pre&s;&s;e them to preach unto their flockes, and thereof to be very carefull, or el&s;e &s;hall they bee called before them, and cen&s;ured for neglect of their duty herein.</P>
<P N="16">XVI. The&s;e impo&s;e not needle&s;&s;e Ce|remonies; Cro&s;&s;e, and the Surplice, and &s;uch like, to bee u&s;ed in the time of Gods wor&s;hip; for they ob&s;erve the Apo&s;tolicall rules for indifferent things, and know how grievou&s;ly they &s;hould &s;inne in im|po&s;ing any &s;uch things upon Mini|&s;ters,
<PB N="6" REF="6">
not &s;ufficiently per&s;waded of the lawfulne&s;&s;e thereof.</P>
<P N="17">XVII. The&s;e puni&s;h no Mini&s;ters for neglecting any indifferent, but for neglect of performing nece&s;&s;ary duties to God and men.</P>
<P N="18">XVIII. The&s;e &s;eeke Pa&s;tors for to feed the people, and to fit them for the Congregations, as they are le&s;&s;e or greater, and learned or otherwi&s;e, and may be mo&s;t for the perfecting of the Saints, the worke of the Mi|ni&s;try, and the edifying the body of Chri&s;t, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. 12. &s;uch they carefully preferre without &s;ini&s;ter ends.</P>
<P N="19">XIX The&s;e &s;tudy carefully with all di|ligence to hold up goodne&s;&s;e, and that &s;inne in all &s;orts may be &s;pee|dily cut off.</P>
<P N="20">XX. This Presbyterian Government therefore admitteth of foure kinds
<PB N="7" REF="6">
or degrees of A&s;&s;emblies, for the well governement of all in onely cau&s;es Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall.</P>
<P N="21">XXI. The fir&s;t is the A&s;&s;embly of the Pari&s;h, called a Se&s;&s;ion or Con&s;i|&s;tory; this con&s;i&s;ts of one Mini&s;ter, commonly approved for his lear|ning, his life, and di&s;cretion in go|vernement. Secondly, of certaine men called Elders, men of be&s;t knowledge and holie&s;t life in all the Pari&s;h: their number are moe or fewer, according to the large|ne&s;&s;e or &s;inallne&s;&s;e of the Pari&s;hio|ners; they are cho&s;en with the peoples con&s;ent in their pre&s;ence, and &s;olemnely admitted to their charge: their meeting is weekely, by the&s;e (to wit, the Pa&s;tor and Elders) are Pari&s;hes well ordered, as the Law of God, and Law Ec|cle&s;ia&s;ticall of the Land appoint them, according to the Word. To the&s;e A&s;&s;emblies come another &s;ort called Deacons, to receive directi|ons in their duty concerning the poore; for about them is the Dea|cons employment, men grave, hol|ding the my&s;tery of faith in a good con&s;cience, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. 2.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="7">
<P N="22">XXII. By this A&s;&s;embly weekely at home among them&s;elves, the &s;pi|rituall e&s;tate of the people is looked into; their walking al&s;o towards God, and one towards another in love: Religion is upheld, and the exerci&s;e thereof; Gods wor&s;hip kept and upheld from pollution, Sacraments from being prophaned by the keeping backe of unworthy per&s;ons, &s;candals and offences re|moved, abu&s;es reformed in breach of the Sabbath, vertue nouri&s;hed, &amp; vice is &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, in per&s;ons and in families by the office of the&s;e Elders, throughout the whole Pa|ri&s;h, to the joy of well-doers, and without chargeable expences to the Delinquents.</P>
<P N="23">XXIII. The &s;econd is, <HI>The Presbyteriall or Cla&s;&s;icall meeting:</HI> which con|&s;i&s;ts of particular Pa&s;tors of parti|cular Churches in a certain circuit, much like to our &s;everall Deana|ries; and as with us there be many Deanaries, &s;o are there to be many Presbyteries.</P>
<P>Here an Elder of every Pari&s;h, appointed by the particular Se&s;&s;ion thereof, doth come and meet with the Mini&s;ters; and with the&s;e o|thers al&s;o intending the Mini&s;try, who here exerci&s;e their gifts.</P>
<P>This meeting of theirs is &s;ome|where
<PB N="9" REF="7">
once a weeke, but it may be once a fortnight, or at farthe&s;t once in a moneth.</P>
<P>This hath the power of Juri&s;di|ction and Ordination, Deprivati|on, Vi&s;itation, tryall of Proce&s;&s;e, of Excommunication from the Paro|chiall Se&s;&s;ion, and direction to the Mini&s;ter of the Pari&s;h to excom|municate, if need be.</P>
<P>Here the life and doctrine, the diligence of Mini&s;ters (within the Presbyterie) is look'd into, and &s;o the lives and behaviours of their Elders, and the di&s;obedience of any one to the Se&s;&s;ion, is with authori|ty cen&s;ured.</P>
<P>This is begun and ended with Prayer, as religious meetings &s;hould ever be.</P>
<P N="24">XXIV. The third is called <HI>A Provinciall Synod:</HI> there be many &s;uch with us as Dioce&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>This con&s;i&s;ts of all &s;uch Presby|teries within &s;uch a circuit, as may be like our Dioce&s;&s;es, and every Synod is kept twice a yeare.</P>
<P>Hitherto come all the Mini&s;ters, and one Elder from every Pari&s;h. It's begun with Prayers and Prea|ching, by a Moderator of a former Synod, who is ever here cho&s;en; and when he hath done, another is cho&s;en for the pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>Then they proceed to try all the Presbyteries, how they have orde|red
<PB N="10" REF="8">
them&s;elves in their meetings, and faithfully di&s;charged the power and authority committed to them, and this tryall is by the records pre|&s;ented to the Synod by the Clarke of every Presbytery. In the end they conclude with Prayer.</P>
<P>Here is no calling for Procurati|ons, nor purcha&s;ing of Licen&s;es; no paying of money to an Apparitor, nor to a Regi&s;ter to &s;hew letters of Orders for better, and not for &s;uch ba&s;e ends is this pious Synod kept.</P>
<P N="25">XXV. The fourth and la&s;t meeting is, <HI>The Generall and Nationall A&s;&s;embly,</HI> the highe&s;t Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Judica|tory, and kept commonly once a yeare at the place appointed.</P>
<P>This con&s;i&s;ts of Mini&s;ters and El|ders, from every Presbytery, where are al&s;o pre&s;ent per&s;ons of highe&s;t place, and of the Nobilitie.</P>
<P>This is begun with a day of Hu|miliation: after which is cho&s;en by the A&s;&s;embly, a Mini&s;ter to bee Moderator or Pre&s;ident. Here is handled all cau&s;es Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, concerning the whole Church of God, every one hath his free voice: <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">hes <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="5 letters">les are propoun|ded,
<PB N="11" REF="8">
and &s;atisfied; and what&s;oever is ordained, is with con&s;ent of all: there be al&s;o cho&s;en out certaine Commi&s;&s;ioners, to pre&s;ent what of all is thought fit to the Parliament, the King, the Coun&s;ell of the King, or the Convention of the E&s;tates.</P>
<P N="26">XXVI. By this mo&s;t happy &s;ubordinati|on of the&s;e foure, &s;tands the beauty and &s;trength of the Church Go|vernment, comfortable to all godly Pa&s;tors and Profe&s;&s;ors; onely di|&s;ta&s;tefull to Prelaticall &s;pirits, to Papi&s;ts, Athei&s;ts, Hereticks, Schi&s;|maticks, prophane and Machiavi|llan Stati&s;ts; for by this Governe|ment all the&s;e are cru&s;hed in them, fir&s;t appearing in Pari&s;hes by the Se&s;&s;ion weekely, or in the Rurall Presbytery monethly, or by the Provinciall Synod in the halfe year; but if the&s;e be not &s;o prevalent on a &s;udden, yet are they mightly &s;up|pre&s;&s;ed once in a yeare by a Natio|nall A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P N="27">XXVII. Under this Presbyterian Go|vernment godly Mini&s;ters and peo|ple are much encouraged, in prea|ching, in hearing, in frequenting Sermons in conferring together af|ter Sermon, in fa&s;ting and praying,
<PB N="12" REF="9">
no hinderance of neighbourly and Chri&s;tian meetings, to reade godly means bookes, allowed to be prin|ted. No lett, but rather heartning for one to in&s;truct another; to build up, to edifie one another, without wicked jealou&s;ie of unlawfull con|venticling, whereby knowledge of God increa&s;eth, and brotherly love among the people.</P>
<P N="28">XXVIII. This doth allure none unto it, but onely the warrantablene&s;&s;e of it, the goodne&s;&s;e of it; the &s;ingular benefit which commeth thereby to the Churches of Chri&s;t, where it is erected; to wit, the &s;afety of &s;oules, the beating downe of &s;inne and iniquity, the humbling of the people by often &s;et fa&s;tings, and other holy duties, which all that feare God &s;hould more affect in Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall government, then all earthly preferment.</P>
<P N="29">XXIX. This is the governement of the Churches of Chri&s;t, the reformed Churches, with which we confe&s;&s;e our &s;elves to be one; and never was it ea&s;t out, where once it was ere|cted,
<PB N="13" REF="9">
and carefully practi&s;ed among them, as any way hurtfull to reli|gion, or the Civill State.</P>
<P N="30">XXX. This, &s;ince the beginning of Re|formation, hath beene de&s;ired of painfull and con&s;cionable Teachers, and in following their de&s;ires to enjoy it, have &s;uffered much, as all know, for their writing and prea|ching, praying, and petitioning to Soveraigne Authoritie and Parlia|ment for the &s;ame.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, this could never yet bee endured here; to make a tryall of it, and to di&s;cerne it in the happy fruits of it, as is humbly de&s;ired by many thou&s;ands to be admitted.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="prelacy" TYPE="part">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>The Prelacie.</HEAD>
<P N="1">I. _THis is not to be found in the Apo&s;tles writings, nor doth the HolyGho&s;t vouch&s;afe to name it, as being an over-topping title which Chri&s;t approves not of.</P>
<P N="2">II. This con&s;i&s;ts of Prelates, called
<PB N="2" REF="4">
Dioce&s;an Lord Bi&s;hops, Lording over their brethren contrary to Chri&s;ts forbidding, <HI>Mat.</HI> 20. 25, 26. and Lording over their people, contrary to the charge of S. <HI>Peter,</HI> 1 <HI>Peter</HI> 5. 3.</P>
<P N="3">III. The&s;e have no divine In&s;titution&punc; there is for their pre&s;ent &s;tanding no warrant from Chri&s;ts word; but what they re&s;t upon are two fal&s;e Po&s;t&s;cripts, Apocryphall writings added to the end of the &s;econd Epi|&s;tle to <HI>Timothy,</HI> and the other to <HI>Titus.</HI></P>
<P N="4">IV. There is no mention made of the&s;e kinde of Bi&s;hops, they had then no beeing; nor was there in this Councell then any mention at all of any Bi&s;hop, nor any as yet had that name till <HI>Pauls</HI> preaching at <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> who fir&s;t mentioned the name of Bi&s;hops, <HI>Acts</HI> 20. 28. and yet meaning no other then Elders, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 17. neither then, nor long after, <HI>Titus</HI> 1. 5. 7.</P>
<P N="5">V. The&s;e Lordly Dioce&s;an Bi&s;hops have no rule over us in the Lord; if they have, let them from Holy Scripture &s;hew it as the Elders can; the truth is, the rule which the&s;e exerci&s;e is meerely humane, and from the authority of men; as hath heretofore been acknowledged by them&s;elves.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="4">
<P N="6">VI. The rule of the&s;e is Monarchicall, and but one in a Citie, and over a great Dioce&s;&s;e, extending their power very farre beyond that they are able to performe.</P>
<P N="7">VII. The&s;e rule after the will of man, and according to either Popi&s;h, or their owne devi&s;ed Canons, thru&s;t upon the people after the plea&s;ure and lu&s;t of &s;ome, without warrant from Holy Scripture: the truth of this appeares from their former and late Canons.</P>
<P N="8">VIII. The&s;e neither can, nor doe rule &s;piritually after a &s;pirituall manner; but with pompe: they cannot bear up their Prelacie, but with great revenues, with many attendants; and all the&s;e fore-mentioned, which the Presbyterian governe|ment hath utterly &s;haken off, as both needle&s;&s;e and very burthen|&s;omely grievous.</P>
<P N="9">IX. The&s;e u&s;e Apparitors and others to cite men unto their Courts, very lewd and ba&s;e fellowes all of them, of an evill report among the peo|ple.</P>
<P N="10">X. The&s;e make gaine of the peoples
<PB N="4" REF="5">
&s;innes by their fees, in all and eve|ry of their Courts, and &s;eeke not their amendment; for what one is made the better by them? and if any of them pay not fees, they are excommunicated by them.</P>
<P N="11">XI. The&s;e tollerate many corrupti|ons in Gods wor&s;hip, in mens do|ctrine and lives in the Clergy; as is knowne by &s;hamefull in&s;tances to the Hou&s;e of Parliament, and in the Laity, who if great, fearing to meddle with them; if rich, by ma|king gaine of them; if very poore, neglecting them becau&s;e no money is to be had; to the great di&s;grace of profe&s;&s;ion, to Gods great di&s;ho|nour, and to the fearefull damnation of many &s;oules left to them&s;elves: of the truth thereof God and men can witne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P N="12">XII. The&s;e make and ordaine a read|ing Mini&s;try, allow Plurali&s;ts, Non|re&s;idents, idle Mini&s;ters, many gi|ving them&s;elves unto the world; not a few Ma&s;ter Doctors intru|ding them&s;elves into &s;ecular af|faires, putting off their Cures to &s;ome poore Curates.</P>
<P N="13">XIII. The&s;e take upon them to or|daine alone.</P>
<P>To Make a Mini&s;ter without a charge: to be &s;ome Curate, or to employ him&s;elfe otherwi&s;e till a Li|ving fall.</P>
<P>To be made to pay his fees for Ordination, and Licen&s;e; and when
<PB N="5" REF="5">
hee is to be admitted into his Li|ving, to pay for In&s;titution and In|duction, with other gratuities to the Prelates &s;ervants, and their gentle|men Apparators; and are forced to &s;weare Canonicall obedience to their Lordly Authoritie.</P>
<P N="14">XIV. The&s;e make Mini&s;ters upon &s;light tryall, and in their Ordination the Bi&s;hop out of booke readeth his que&s;tions, and the Parties to be Or|dain'd an&s;wer them, by reading in the book very babi&s;hly; and in&s;tead of fa&s;ting, the Lords day after Ember weeke; and for prayers, they reade the Letany and &s;ome &s;hort Collects out of the book: thus &s;lightly doing one of the weightie&s;t works of the Mini&s;try in the Church of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="15">XV. The&s;e having ordained Mini&s;ters, In&s;tituted and Inducted them, al|low them not to preach, except they come and procure a Licen&s;e &s;o to doe: Which when they have gotten, though they &s;eldome or ne|ver preach, they are never called into que&s;tion for the &s;ame: &s;o be it they reade their Service.</P>
<P N="16">XVI. The&s;e impo&s;e the&s;e Ceremonies, as &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, that they cry out No Ceremony, no Bi&s;hop, though they know what S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith touching the u&s;e of things indifferent; they neither ob&s;erve his Canons, nor fear to lay a &s;tumbling-blocke before their brethren, nor to wound con|&s;ciences,
<PB N="6" REF="6">
nor to cau&s;e them to pe|ri&s;h, for whom Chri&s;t died, nor doe they care to &s;in again&s;t Chri&s;t: of all which foure evills Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peakes in the 14. of the <HI>Romans, ver&s;.</HI> 13. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8. 11, 12.</P>
<P N="17">XVII. Yet the&s;e &s;inners again&s;t Chri&s;t doe not onely &s;eeke to kill &s;oules, by wounding of con&s;ciences, ma|king them to peri&s;h; but have rui|ned many faithfull Mini&s;ters in their e&s;tates, by &s;u&s;pen&s;ions and deprivations; yea, they have kil'd their bodies by impri&s;onment, and all this onely for not-conformity, pa&s;&s;ing by many others neglecting nece&s;&s;ary duties, being conformable. O yee heavens &s;tand a&s;toni&s;hed and wonder.</P>
<P N="18">XVIII. The&s;e &s;eeke out and &s;earch for the fatte&s;t Par&s;onages to feed them&s;elves, and to fit their carnall mindes, carefully preferring their Sonnes, their Chaplaines, their Friends, Kin&s;men, and Favorites; endeavouring &s;ometime to deprive true Patrons by cunning &s;hifts of the right of Patronage, to place in whom they plea&s;e; re&s;pecting mens per&s;ons, and not the &s;pirituall good of the people.</P>
<P N="19">XIX. The&s;e &s;tudy carnally to their ut|mo&s;t power, that they may hold up their owne greatne&s;&s;e, and not nouri&s;h people in goodne&s;&s;e: they &s;trive not again&s;t &s;inne, but rather how to &s;ecure them&s;elves in their Lordly &s;tanding.</P>
<P N="20">XX. This Prelacie therefore allow|eth of no &s;uch A&s;&s;emblies, for that
<PB N="7" REF="6">
they fear thereby their own down|fall; and for that they onely would have the guiding of all, in all mat|ters Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall.</P>
<P N="21">XXI. This is not allowed at any hand under this Prelacy, but in&s;tead thereof, in many Pari&s;hes is a blind Shepheard, or a prophane Mini|&s;ter, without learning, hone&s;ty of life, and di&s;cretion to know how to governe. Secondly, there are two Church wardens, and with them two Side men; not cho&s;en ever for their knowledge and godly life, but by hou&s;e rous cho&s;en they be, as the hou&s;e falls, and in &s;ome pla|ces otherwi&s;e, but admitted to their charge not after a &s;olemne manner, but by their names &s;et downe in a booke their common office is knowne; neither Pa&s;tor nor the&s;e have any rule Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|call, but the Church-wardens mu&s;t appeare twice yearly to for&s;weare them&s;elves at Vi&s;itations, to pay money for a booke of Articles, and to make pre&s;entments to the Eccle|&s;ia&s;ticall Courts, according to the&s;e Articles, onely to helpe the Ordi|nary, the Regi&s;ters Apparitors with money, but nothing reform'd in mens lives, but perhaps gla&s;&s;e win|dowes, and Church walls amended, Bells broken, and Ropes prepared, Pulpits, Seats, Surpli&s;&s;es, and Communion Tables to be all fit; weighty matters.</P>
<P>There be al&s;o in every Pari&s;h over &s;eers of the poore, &s;uch as they bee.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="7">
<P N="22">XXII. By this their Prelaticall way, and want of the Parochian Se&s;&s;ion, all things goe awry, and great is the &s;pirituall mi&s;ery of the people; they live in much ignorance, little power is there of the life of religi|on, their wor&s;hip is but cu&s;tomary, the Sacrament is greatly propha|ned by unworthy Communicants, open drunkards, knowne adulte|rers, common &s;wearers, &amp;c.</P>
<P>On the holy Sabbath the Lord is di&s;honoured, much vice raigning among them, in them; their fami|lies, (to the great griefe of &s;uch as feare God) who complaining of them, &s;hall be heard; perhaps it may be for the Court to get money, but if others complaine of the&s;e, they &s;hall &s;urely feele the weight of malice and ill will.</P>
<P N="23">XXIII. Under this Prelacie is no &s;uch Presbyteriall A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P>Here are certaine Deanaries, in every of which is held an idle Vi|&s;itation by an Archdeacon, or his Sub&s;titute once in halfe a yeare, to this re&s;ort all the Mini&s;ters within that Deanary where the Vi&s;itation is kept.</P>
<P>Hereto come the Church-war|dens and Side-men, and &s;uch as have Wills to prove.</P>
<P>Where we have a Sermon made by &s;uch a one as the Archdeacon &s;hall get &amp; appoint, after which all
<PB N="9" REF="7">
the Mini&s;ters by name are call'd to &s;hew their appearance, but no try|all of their gifts, nor any &s;uch things as be mentioned in the Presbytery: they pay there their Pa&s;chals and Procurations, but none hardly know why. Then the Church|wardens &amp; Side-men are called, &amp; an Oath admini&s;tred, with Articles to make their pre&s;entments by; then if any have Wills to prove, they bring them, and an Oath is al|&s;o admini&s;tred to the Executor.</P>
<P>Which done, the A&s;&s;embly breakes up to goe to dinner; after which, the Church-wardens and Side-men doe come againe before the Judge of the Court to give in their pre&s;entments.</P>
<P>This done, all is ended without a ble&s;&s;ing.</P>
<P N="24">XXIV. Here is no &s;uch Provinciall Sy|nod, but the Prelates trienniall Vi|&s;itation, whither doe come all the Mini&s;ters out of every Deanary, one day after another, where the Prelate is, which commonly is at the Cathedrall Church, where he &s;its with his Chancellors. It's be|gun with a Sermon, after which the Prelate makes a Speech, &s;uch as he plea&s;eth to utter.</P>
<P>Here is calling of Mini&s;ters and Church-wardens, but no tryall of Mini&s;ters gifts, nor enquiry of their proficiency; but here is paying of Procurations, &amp; buying of Licen&s;es
<PB N="10" REF="8">
to rade prayers and to preach, and giving money to the gentleman Apparitor.</P>
<P>The Church-wardens made to &s;weare, and are to buy a booke of Articles, and make pre&s;entments to the Chancellour, who receives their Bils.</P>
<P>Here the Mini&s;ters &s;hew their Orders and Licen&s;es (&s;uch as have them) to the Regi&s;ter, who gets much money for them.</P>
<P>If the Prelate have any private bu&s;ine&s;&s;e with this Clergy, or to crave a benevolence, (which dare not be denyed him) he calls them together in private by them&s;elves.</P>
<P>Which ended, they may depart and goe as they came, without any religious care of them: the Prelate goes to his Pallace with his traine, and the Chancellor by an Apparator invites the abler &s;ort of Mini&s;ters to dine with him at an Inne, to their proper co&s;t.</P>
<P N="25">XXV. Here is no &s;uch Nationall A&s;&s;em|bly, but a meeting called a Convo|cation, when wee have a Parlia|ment, which is in two Provinces; one at <HI>Yorke,</HI> in which the Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Yorke</HI> is Pre&s;ident; and the other at <HI>London,</HI> where the Archbi&s;hop of <HI>Canterbury</HI> is Pre|&s;ident; ruling and commanding, or cunningly contriving to bring a|bout what ever plea&s;eth him.</P>
<P>Here meet all the Prelates, all the great Deanes and Archdeacons, and the re&s;t of the Prelaticall body; and to the&s;e come two Mini&s;ters called Clerks out of every Dioce&s;&s;e, to repre&s;ent all the re&s;t of the Mi|ni&s;ters:
<PB N="11" REF="8">
cho&s;en the&s;e &s;hould be free|ly by the re&s;t of their brethren; but are appointed by the Lording Pre|lates, &s;uch as they be&s;t like of&punc; The Nobles and Gentry have nothing to doe here; the Prelates have ever had the Laitie, as they call them in contempt, &s;corning they &s;hould meddle in cau&s;es Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, though never &s;o learned and wi&s;e: here their corrupt dealing need not to be further laid open, it's &s;o open|ly knowne and condemned by the Parliament.</P>
<P N="26">XXVI. By the unhappy want of &s;uch lively meanes here, and the over|topping power of this Prelacie; many painfull Mini&s;ters have beene &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, many people have been grieved, Papi&s;ts, Athei&s;ts, Semi-pe|lagian Hereticks have encrea&s;ed; Separati&s;ts (through the Prelates &s;everity in pre&s;&s;ing of Ceremonies) have multiplyed, the prophane have growne into much ba&s;ene&s;&s;e, more and more by their proclai|ming of liberty to prophane the Lords day; and by their corrupt Courts: the proofe hereof is the common experience of all this Land.</P>
<P N="27">XXVII. Under this Prelacy and Prelati|call Government, much preaching is not valued, but rather &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, as it of late hath beene.</P>
<P>They give no heartning to peo|ple to follow the means of know|ledge
<PB N="12" REF="9">
conferring after Sermons, reading together of good bookes, &s;inging of P&s;almes, and praying together, and &s;uch Chri&s;tian mee|tings, fill Prelaticall &s;pirits with the &s;pirit of Jealou&s;ie, &amp; cau&s;eth them to hunt after &s;uch per&s;ons, and to cite them for Conventiclers; where|by they hinder the growth of grace, and the increa&s;e of Chri&s;ti|an love, knowledge, faith, and god|ly watchfulne&s;&s;e one over another, much to be wi&s;hed.</P>
<P N="28">XXVIII. This hath all worldly allurements what&s;oever may entice carnall mindes to entertain and hold it up, as greatne&s;&s;e, riches and pompe, glory, high e&s;tates in dignitie, plea|&s;ure and profit, ea&s;e, and what not, that may favour of the fle&s;h, the fruits whereof are peoples ig|norance, prophanene&s;&s;e, licenci|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, liberty, neglect in mo&s;t, and contempt in many holy duties, privately and in families, reigning &s;innes in publike, to be with teares lamented, no way to be &s;uffered nor is &s;uffered in a right ordered Church Government.</P>
<P N="29">XXIX. This is the government of the Papall power, under that Romi&s;h Antichri&s;t, again&s;t which we make open profe&s;&s;ion; and is a governe|ment rejected by all the Churches
<PB N="13" REF="9">
reformed, and ca&s;t out as hurtfull to the Church of Chri&s;t, and to a Civill State; and is now &s;o judged to be by many worthies in Parlia|ment, and that very ju&s;tly.</P>
<P N="30">XXX. This hath beene upheld by &s;el|dome preaching Prelates, by the like Doctors, by Plurali&s;ts and Non-re&s;idents, Idle Mini&s;ters, De|pendants upon Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall Courts, &s;uch as eate of the fat, and hope for preferment to them&s;elves and to theirs; the&s;e have beene per&s;ecutors, but voluntarily never came to &s;uffer for meere Prelacie, but for other mi&s;demeanors, if they have &s;uffered.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, this hath &s;tood up full foure&s;core yeares, and is well knowne with the unhappie fruits of it; and therefore voted again&s;t in the Hou&s;e of Commons.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
