in the Preface I come to examine the first sett of those in the Pamphlet it self which concern the Mission of the first Reformers and they are by Mr K. reduc'd to these five 1. What Priesthood or Holy Orders had the first Reformers but what they receiv'd from the hands of Roman-Catholick Bishops 2 Who authoriz'd the first Reformers to preach their Protestant Doctrine and administer their Protestant Sacraments 3. Whether Cranmer and his Associates could condemn the Church of Rome by pretence of the Mission they received from her Bishops 4. Whether a Presbyterian Minister having received Orders from a Protestant Bishop can by virtue of such Orders pronounce the Church of England a corrupt Church 5. Whether an Act of Parliament in France Spain or Germany be not as good an Authority for Popery there as in England for Protestancy These are Questions one would think too ridiculous to be seriously propos'd But I am heartily sorry Mr. K. can find no better Answer to them than what he has given which in several passages runs too much on the same wretched mistakâ—s that led D. Manby to offer them with so much confidence And therefore I need say little more to expose them than first state the Controversy about Mission and then apply the true Notion of it to these Questions There is a twofold Mission Immediate or Mediate 1. Immediate Which those had whom God sent to deliver some extraordinary message or some new revelation of his will to men Such a Mission had the extraordinary Prophets under the old Testament the Apostles and Evangelists under the new And these brought some Credentials of their Mission to convince men of the truth of it That immediate Mission is now ceas'd the revelation of the Divine Will being compleated in the holy Scriptures and directions given for the continuance of a Ministry in the Church There is therefore 2. A Mediate Mission or Call to the Pastoral Office. For we are not here concern'd with the office of Deacons I mean that office of Bishops or Elders or Ministers for they are but several names to import the same thing so often describ'd in the holy Scriptures The office contains in it many great and laborious works To teach the Flock committed to their charge be their Guides in publick Worship and rule them by Evangelical Discipline A Call to this Office gives the person call'd authority to do those works and lays on him a personal obligation to do them 'T is from Christ alone that power is deriv'd by which men are authoriz'd and oblig'd 'T is his will exprest in the Gospel-Charter constitutes men his Ministers And all that 's further requisite is to know how he signifies his will concerning this or that particular person being one of his Ministers To that purpose we must consider what Christ has done already in the Gospel-Charter and what he has left for men to do Christ has already determined in the Gospel that there shall be a Ministry in his Church to the end of the World He has describ'd their Office and all the particular works of it as what Doctrine they shall preach what Worship they shall celebrate how they shall rule the Church they oversee and what Discipline they shall administer in it He has left them sufficient rules in all matters of universal constant necessity for performing these works He has describ'd the duties which Christian Flocks owe to such Pastors He has assign'd the qualifications of such Pastors He has made it the duty of people that need the labours of such qualified persons to seek their help and of Ministers to call them out approve and invest them in that Office and of the Civil Magistrate to protect the Worthy It belongs not therefore to any men to appoint any new office in the Church of Christ or maim that Office he has instituted or impose sinful conditions in order to its exercise or impose any other duties on the people than he has done much less does it belong to them to determine whether the Gospel shall be preach'd or the necessities of souls who want such Pastors supply'd All therefore that the Gospel has left to the Ordainers is the Designation of the person to whom Christ's Charter shall convey the power the approbation of his qualifications and the Investiture of him or solemnizing his admittance The Ordainers therefore do not give the power to others as from themselves nor does it pass hrough their hands nor can they diminish it as ex gr should the Ordainers say Receive thou power to preach and admâ—nister the Sacraments but not to rule the Flock Thâ—s restraint or diminution is null as being contrary to the Charter of Christ They are but Instruments of Inauguration as a Recorder that invests a Mayor in that office which the King's Charter gives him And the great design of the Interposition of Pastors in this matter is to secure to the Church a succession of abâ—e and blameless Pastors of which they are supposed most fit to judge Ordination by Pastors is God's ordinary regular way of admittance to prevent the Churches being deprav'd and injur'd by the intrusion of unqualified pâ—rsons And therefore it should not be neglected where-ever it may be had Only it must be added that the law of Christ which determines that the Gospel shall be preach'd by persons so qualified is founded on the necessity of souls and the great law of Charity and therefore is of constant and indispensible necessity in the Church But the command of their being Ordain'd by Pastors is but subservient to the former and relates only to the ordinary regular execution of it and does not oblige where there is a physical or moral impossibility of observing it and yet a necessity of the Ministry For Ordination by Pastors is not of absolute necessity to the being of the Ministry There have been and may be extraordinary cases wherein a man may be obliged to be a Minister without it To instance in two cases What if many Christians should be cast on the shore of some Pagan Nation where they are forc'd to stay a considerable time and one among them be more eminently qualified than the rest to be their Minister the rest entreat his help and will any say that the Providence of God which has given him such abilities does not sufficiently authorise him to exercise them in this case of necessity When the work of the Ministry is of so much greater importance and necessity than that positive precept about the ordering of it Nay to propose a Case far more considerable What if all the preâ—ent Pastors in a Nation should corrupt the Christian Doctrine and Worship and impose those corruptions on the people as terms of Church-Communion What if they refuse to ordain any that will not joyn with them herein The people dare not comply with those terms and because they would not live without the advantages of the publick Ministry and Worship they
invite such to take the Pastoral care of their Souls as are duly qualified that such qualified persons should not accept Ordination on such wicked terms is past doubt But what if they live so remote from any other Christian Kingdom that they cannot have Ministerial Ordination elsewhere Wiâ—l any say that in this case those qualified persons for want of this Ordination ought not to â—â—ke on them the Pastoral charge of those people which God hâ—s given them such abilities for and such a Call by his providence 〈◊〉 To say this were to set up the Rule about the regular ordeâ—ing the Ministry above the ends of the Ministry it self and o◠〈◊〉 circumstances of the Duty to the substance of it Wher◠〈◊〉 â—sitive precepts must always yield to moral and matters or 〈◊〉 order to the end of the Duty ordered and the former must nâ— be pleaded against the latter Ordination by Pastors is noâ— therefore there necessary where it cannot be had without sin and yet without a Ministry the interest of the Gospel and the salvation of Souls are like to suffer the most visible prejudice and detriment For these are matters infinitely more precious and valuable than any Rules of external order and the very end those Rules aim at and are subservient to And if this be not granted it must be left to the pleasure of such corrupt Pastors whether the people who cannot joyn in communion with them shall enjoy the means of their salvation or be obliged to live like Atheists without any publick worship of God. And he that asserts this may next assert that God has left it to their pleasure whether the people shall be saved or damn'd and that 't is better they should be canonically damn'd than uncanonically sav'd I propose these Cases to shew the vanity and falsehood of that Notion some make such a noise about viz The necessity of an uninterrupted succession of Ordination And if that principle be false much more is theirs who assert the necessity of Successive prelatical ordination But tho in such extraordinary Cases The extraordinary call of God's providence is sufficient to authorize a man to the sacred â—ffice and supâ—lies the defect of Ministerial Ordination Yet the command of God which enjoyns such Ordination does oblige where it may be had and the neglect of it wou'd bring great confusion and disorder into the Church and expose it to the danger of being corrupted and divided by unqualâ—fied Intruders The only thing that remains to be consider'd under this Head is Who are entrusted with the power of ordination Or whom has Christ appointed to approve and invest others in the Ministerial office Answ Those are entrusted with this power and appointed to this woâ—k Who are themselves such Bishops or Elders or Pastors as the holy Scriptures describe He that denies this is oblig'd to acquaint us what other Officers the Apostles left in the Church to whom this sole power of ordination was entrusted then or what other officers claimed and exercised it in the primitive Church Which none that I know of ever pretended to do But now those whom the holy Scriptures call Bishops or Elders were the stated pastors of particular Congregations That the same persons are in Scripture call'd Bishops and Elders is too palpable to be denied However the Authors of the Preface to the Book of Ordination are pleased to say the contrary viz. That 't is evident to all men diligently reading the holy Scriptures and ancient Authors that from the Apostles time there have been these orders in Christs Church Bishops Priests and Deacons as several offices and even this palpable mistake among the rest we are required to declare our assent to Those who are 20 Acts. 17. called the Elders of the Church of Ephesus are commanded v. 28. to take heed to all the Flock over whom the holy Ghost had made them overseers or Bishops The description of a Bishop 1 Tim 3 ch and of an Elder 1 Tit. are the same And Titus when directed to ordain Elders must see that they be blameless for a Bishop must be blameless as the Steward of God v. 6 7. That these Bishops or Elders were Pastors of single congregations is evident from the Duties enjoyned them towards those under their care and from the Duties which the Flocks are required to pay them They are to labour among the people and admonish them And the people were to know and esteem them highly in love for their works sake 1 Thess 5 12 13. They were to rule their Flock speak the word of God to them and to watch over their Souls as those that must give an account 13 Hebr. 7 17 24. They were to take heed to all the Flock over whom the Holy Ghost had made them overseers 20 Acts 28. Wherein the Apostle proposes his own practice while he stay'd among them as their temporary pastor for their imitation viz That he taught them publickly and from house to house and ceased not to warn every one with tears day and night 20 Acts 20 31. v. They were to bee ensamples to the Flock who were to follow their Faith considering the end of their Conversation 1 Pet. 5. v. 3 compar'd with Heb 13.7 They were to visit the sick and pray for them James 5 14. see Dr. Hammond's Annotations on these places applying them to Bishops Now let us consider whether these mutual duties betwixt Pastor and Flock were to be performed betwixt the Pastor or Pastors of a single congregation and the congregation committed to their care or betwixt a Diocesan Bishop and so vast a Flock as his Diocess That one or more Pastors of a single congregation associated for personall communion are capable of performing these duties to their Flock and their Flock to them is past all doubt But can these mutual Duties be perform'd betwixt a Diocesan Bishop and his Diocess Is he capabâ—e of labouring amongst them in word and being esteem'd of them highly for his Works sake when very few comparatively of his Diocess ever saw him or heard him preach Can he watch over the souls of all in his Diocess as his Flock and warn them of their evil courses when he knows not one of them in many score thousands Can the Diocess follow the Faith of such Bishops and consider the end of their conversation and propose them as their patterns when not one in many thousands know any more of the life of their Bishop than if he lived at the other end of the World Are such Bishops obliged to visit the sick of their Diocess Can they rule them by the exercise of Church-discipline against the notoriously scandalous when perhaps there are forty or fifty thousand such in their Diocess Can they use all the due process of serious reproofs and perswasions that are requisite to be uâ—ed for reclaiming such sinâ—ers when there is so vast a number of them and those so remote in their habitations and the Bishops wholly
these debates with deep regret that I am put on so unhappy necessity not only of opposing Mr. K. but saying so much against the present Church-Goverment in order to the Vindication of the Reformed Churches both at home and abroad and the Truth it self But as these principles I have here reflected on have been the fatal Engines of Church Tyranny and divisions these many Ages and belong to the Roman Arsenall so t is the necessary work of a Peacemaker who proposes a Catholick Unity and Love as his great aim to batter them down I had not so long delay'd the sending this paper but that I still hoped some abler pen would have undertaken what mine is so unfit for However I hope I have asserted nothing contrary either to Truth or Peace or if I have I am willing to receive better Information I am Sir. Your most humble c. A POSTSCRIPT THe person to whom the Letter was address'd desiring me to publish it I thought it requisite upon a review of it to add a few things relating to some passages in it The opposition of Mr. K's Notion of the Catholick Church to the Articles of the Church of Ireland and the agreeableness of mine to them is observ'd in the Preface To what is said about Mr. K's mark of the Catholick Church viz. living under lawful spiritual Governors I add that this renders the relation of all true Christians to our blessed Lord as his members as questionable as the title of the Pastor under whom they live and consequently exposes their right to all the benefits of the Gospel even to the Kingdom of Heaven it self to the same uncertainties and doubts as the regularity of his Admission to his Office. And if those ancient Canons repeated in so many Councils be of any force which declare all Elections of the Clergy by Magistrates or without the consent of the people void what a desperate case has almost all the Christian world been in ever since the old way of Elections was alter'd Nay the Church of England it self where the Bishops are chosen by the King and Parsons by Patrons is in a miserable plight So severe is this mark of the Catholick Church on those for whose secular interest Mr. K. seems to have calculated it and so over-favourable to those whom he design'd to exclude from the Catholick Church by it For what is said on behalf of all the Reformed Churches p. 11 c. It is not intended to include the Socinians who deny an essential Article of the Christian Faith the Deity of Christ and all the Doctrines of his Satisfaction c. that depend on it Against Mr. K's Notion of the Supreme Government over all the Christians in England being lodg'd in the Convocation touch'd on p. 57th I add this Argument ad hominem The General-Assembly in Scotland have equal pretensions to the Supreme Government of all Christians in that Nation as the Convocation has in England Now if the laws of the Convocation would oblige the Consciences of all the Christians in England as the laws of the Church whether ratified by the Civil Authority or no then the Acts of the General Assembly in Scotland have the same force there Now that General Assembly which sat there in the year 1639. whose Acts were also ratified afterwards by King Ch. the First in person present in his Parliament there abolisht Prelacy and set up the Presbyterian Government there The Prelates were according to Mr. K's Principles discharg'd from their Office and since they regain'd it not only without the allowance of any General Assembly but against the Acts or Laws of all that sat there since they were therein guilty of Schism or Church Rebellion Mr. K's Notions are as unmerciful to the Bishops there as to Presbyters here So little does he regard where those envenom'd darts may fall which he levels against his Dissenting Brethren The Contents of the Letter MR. M's 1 Quest in the Preface What is meant by the Catholick Church Mr. K's Answer consider'd and evidenc'd to be obscure narrow and consequently schismatical and dangerous from p. 2 to p. 7. The true Answer to that Question p. 7 8 9 10. Mr. M's 2d and 3d Questions Mr. K's Answer enlarg'd to make it more Catholick and comprehensive p. 10 11. Mr. M's 4th Quest Whether by the Catholick Church be meant the variety of all Protestants since they deny her essential mark Vnity The true Catholick Answer proposed p. 11 12 13. Mr. K's Answer to that Question consider'd His three marks of the Catholick members of the Church examin'd His first Embracing the Catholick Faith allow'd His second Living in Charity with their neighbour Churches excludes the Papists Mr. Dodwel and himself and a great part of the Christian world in the present and former Ages His third mark Making no separation from their lawful Governors founded on his schismatical Notion of the Catholick Church Two Questions propos'd on that Head. 1. Whether the separation of the Presbyterians c. supposing it to be sinful will exclude them from being Catholick members of the Church That it does not prov'd from the nature of their separation being only a breach of humane Vnity The contrary Assertion excludes the English Convocation the Papists and the greatest part of the Christian Church in every Age from being Catholick members c from p. 16. to p. 20 2 Vpon what grounds does Mr K assert that the Presbyterians have made a sinful separation from their lawful Governors Some difficulties propos'd on that Head That the Presbyt Ministers are lawful Pastors to the Churches under their oversight prov'd from p 21 to p. 30 The Q's in the Pamphlet about Mission The true Notion of Mission stated The Authority and Obligation of Pastors to the duties of their Office derived from Christ's Charter The use of Pastoral Ordination It s absolute necessity to the being of the Ministry disprov'd The power of Ordination belongs to scriptural Bishops Such Bishops prov'd to be the Pastors of single Congregations not Diocesses from Scripture and Antiquity The Ordination of Presbyt Ministers at home and abroad hence vindicated from p. 38. to p 48 These promis'd Mr. M's 1 Qu. What Priesthood or holy Orders had the first Reformers but what they received from Rom. Cath. Bishops Answered p 48 49 His 2 Q. Who authorized the first Reformers to Preach their Protestant Doctrine and administer their Protestant Sacraments Answered and retorted on the Church of Rome p. 49 His 3d and 4th Q's Whether Cranmer and his Associates could condemn the Church of Rome by vertue of the Mission derived from her Bishops If so whether a Presbyt Minister having received Orders from a Protestant Bishop can by vertue of such Orders pronounce the Church of England a corrupt Church Answered p 50 51 Mr. K's Answer examined His Concession to D. M. That a Bishop or Presbyter ought not to preach against the Constitution of the Church he is a member of and if he be censured or suspended he is discharg'd c. consider'd The consequences of it pernicious to a great part of the Reformed Churches and to our own had we a Popish Convocation The grounds of it absurd and false The silenc'd NC Ministers not chargeable with Schism or Church-Rebellion the charge more likely to fall heavy on the unjust silencers unless Mr K. can prove both the divine right of the Convocation to be the Ecclesiastical Head of the Church of England and the equity of their silencing sentence from p 51 to p. 59 5 Q Whether an Act of Parl c Answered p 59 60 Some general Remarks on the rest of Mr K's Answer p. 60 61 62 Reflections on the whole from p 62 to the end A Postscript FINIS ERRATA PAge 7 l 21 r Arimini To line 24 add And not the Catholick Church as visible or as measur'd by a Judgment of Charity as the Papists assert and Mr K with them contrary to the stream of protestant writers on that Controversie p 9 l 15 after commandment add an c p 23 l 30 r 7th v p 40 l ult r prelacy p 59 l 28 r 5th Q p 63 l 17 blot out a