the Schooles by Syllogismes If then our Reason understands not what is declared How can we by Reason make any deduction by way of Argument from that which we understand not As for Example Some hold That the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son some that he proceeds from the Father by the Son I pray Doth any man understand how the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father from the Son or by the Son no certainly how then can he affirm or believe a tittle more of the Holy Ghost than the Holy Ghost hath declared Seeing as I said He understands not at all what is declared Discourse must be of things intelligible though Faith believes things not intelligible Can any man prove that rotation and circulation are all one who understands not what rotation or circulation is the like may be said of procession or mission of the Holy Ghost The Scripture plainly tells That the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and that he is sent by the Father that he is sent also by the Son but whether he proceeds from the Son or by the Son the Scripture is silent and I am therefore ignorant having no knowledge at all of any Divine Mysteries but from the Scriptures I grant That by rational deductions and humane way of argumenting 't is probable that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son as from the Father but if in divine matters we once give way to humane deductions a cunning Sophister may soon lead a weak Disputant into many Errours By humane deduction you may infer that the Son is inferiour to the Father as begotten by him the Holy Ghost inferiour to both being sent by both with us the less is sent by the greater by humane deduction from three distinct persons you may prove three distinct substances I hope you will make no such inferences in the Divine Persons Again What a business have the School-Men made about these words of our Saviour This is my Body with their praedicatum and subjectum and copula and individuum vagum in the pronoun This. Innumerable are their intricate Impertinencies in this matter and in their conclusions The Papists hold Christ to be present in the Sacrament Transubstantialiter the Lutherans Consubstantialiter the Calvinists Sacramentaliter and yet all confess they understand none of these ways as St. Paul saith Desiring to be Teachers they understand not what they say neither whereof they affirm 1 Tim. 1. 7. Had the Scripture affirmed any of these wayes we ought to have submitted our Reason in things above Reason though we understand them not and 't is reasonable so to do but to go about to prove by reason what is above reason is wonderful and to discourse of what we understand not is doubtless a spice of madness and the conclusions we draw from such discourses must needs be very dangerous we following the ignem fatuum the uncertain light of humane reason in Divine matters so totally beyond our reach Wherefore we have no other safe way to speak of Divine matters but in Scripture Language ipsissimis verbis with the very same words according to that 2 Tim. 1. 13. Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in Faith Mark Hold fast not onely the matter of Faith but the form of sound words these are safe humane words in Divine and high Mysteries are dangerous Man can no more set them forth in humane words than express the Divine substance by humane painting 't is the sole work of the Holy Ghost who is also Divine There hath not been a greater plague to Christian Religion than School-Divinity where men take upon them the liberty to propose new Questions make nice distinctions and rash conclusions of Divine matters tossing them up and down with their Tongues like Tennis Balls and from hence proceed all the dangerous Heresies and cruel Bickerings about them falling from words to blows The first Divinity School we read of was set up at Alexandria by Pantaenus and from thence soon after sprang forth that damnable Haeresie of the Arrians which over ran all Christendome and was the cause of destruction to many Millions of Christians both Body and Soul The Haeresies before this were so gross and sensual that none took them up but dissolute or frantick people and soon vanish't but after this School subtile way of arguing was brought into Christianity Haeresie grew more refined and so subtill that the plain and Pious Fathers of the Church knew not how to lay hold of it and repress it the School distinctions and evasions quite baffled them and these Sophisters proud of their conquest triumphed and carried away a specious appearance of Truth as well as Learning or rather cunning insomuch that many godly persons were also deluded and fell in unto them and many of their Haeresies continue unto this day This great bane of the Church took it's rise from hence Many of the Primitive Doctors and Fathers being converted from Heathenisme and having by long and great Industry acquired much knowledge in natural Philosophy Antiquity History and subtil Logick or Sophistry were very unwilling to abandon quite these their long studied and dearly belov'd Sciences falsly so called and therefore translated them into Christianity applying their School terms distinctions Syllogismes c. to Divine matters intending perchance through indiscreet zeal to illustrate and imbellish Christian knowledge with such artificial forms and figures but rather defaced and spoyled it which the wisdome of St. Paul well foresaw and therefore fore-warned us of it Col. 2. 8. Beware lest any man spoyl you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after the Rudiments of the World and not after Christ. I humbly conceive it nad been far better for them and all Christendome had they determined with St. Paul To know nothing but Christ and him Crucified and not to intermingle mans Wisdome and excellency of speech with Divine Knowledge and Scripture Doctrine which is to be taught by the demonstration of the Spirit and of power as is set forth 1 Cor. 2. not with Logical Syllogisms and Sophistical Enthymems for as the wisdome of God was foolishness to the Greeks and Gentiles so the wisdome of the Greeks and Gentiles was foolishness to God and destruction to his Church who by the foolishness of preaching had overcome all their wisdome and captivated their understandings in obedience to the Faith But when the Christian Doctors left this plain and simple way of preaching and sell to cunning disputing introducing new forms of speech and nice expressions of their own coyning some approving some opposing them great Discords Warrs and Confusions soon followed Had that most Prudent and most Pious Constantine the first and best of Christian Emperours had he pursued his own intentions to suppress all disputes and all new questions of God the Son both Homoousian and Homoiousion and commanded all to acquiesce in the very Scripture expressions without any addition
into all and understand the behaviour of each Pastor under him to admonish and chastise when there was cause Whereas with us partly by great distance of Cities partly by the favour of former Princes several Towns being cast into one Diocess they became so large as 't is impossible any one Bishop should have a sufficient inspection into them As I said before of great Parishes so here of Diocesses the Bishop knows not the names nor faces of half or a quarter of them much less their behaviour he may have as well a part of France in his Diocess to govern And as for their Triennial and Circuity Visitations they signifie just nothing as to this 't is a meer money business to pay procurations to the Bishop fees to Chancellors Registers c. the Bishop indeed usually makes a Speech unto them and a Sermon is preach't by some one of them wherein perchance good Admonitions are given but what knowledge can the Bishop by this have of their lives or doctrine or diligence If he continue long there he may learn a few more names or faces scarce any thing more I humbly conceive this ought to be redressed and the Diocess bronght into that compass that each Bishop may be a Bishop in Government as well as in Title and Authority over them But if the Diocesses be divided less and Bishops more encreased where shall we have maintenance for so many Bishops some having too little already When ever I shall see the Clergy of this Nation Congregated by his Majesties Authority resolved in good earnest to reform and establish all according to the holy Constitutions of the Primitive Times and come to this last mentioned contracting the bonds and in number encreasing the Diocesses and Bishops for them I 'le undertake to propose wayes both rational and conscientious of providing convenient maintenanee for all but I desire to be excused at present least greedy Harpies make ill use of my zealous intentions And so I proceed to consider a second abuse in Church Government which is Exempt Jurisdictions a thing altogether unknown to Antiquity and brought in by Papal Tyranny The Popes at the height of their usurped dominion taking upon themselves to be head of the Christian Churches to be the Universal Bishop thereof and all other to be but their Curates took then upon them also among other matters to exempt from the power of â—â—y their under Bishops whomsover they Pleased And out of policy to have the more Creatures and Vassals immediately depending on them in every Kingdom and Nation to stickle for them with Kings and Princes on all occasions did for the most part exempt all Monasteries who with their near Relations and Tenants made a great part of the Kingdom from the Jurisdiction of the Bishop they exempted also several Deans and Chapterss several peculiar Chappels several Arch-Deaconries and other and some of these were endowed with Archiepiscopal Jurisdiction in their Precincts wherein they acted whatever they pleased without controul of any but their Popeships All which would have appeared a confused madness in Primitive times when for any person to have been out of the Jurisdiction of all Bishops was to have been quite out of the Church and would have been lookt upon as a Heathen and Infidel according to the Primitive practice in all Ages till Papal usurpation And therefore all these Exempt Jurisdictions are meer Papal and if duely examined will be found opposite to the established Laws of this Kingdom since the reformation from Popery as they are directly opposite to the Primitive Canons of the Church before Popery was known or heard of And by reason of these Exempt Jurisdictions great disputes and great frauds arise between the Bishop and them and the poor Clergy are so pild and pold by them both that they are forc't to go in threadbare Coats whilst the several Officers of both grow fat and fair by fees extracted from them Wherefore I humbly conceive the Bishops with the rest of the Clergy are bound in conscience to implore the Assistance of both Houses of Parliament to Petition His Majesty for the redress of these abuses by Pious Laws Setling the Church Government in the Primitive purity and authority which most evidently was very great and as greatly reverenced Bishops being the persons to whom Christ and his Apostles committed the Souls of Men bought with the precious blood of Christ to whom be glory and to his holy Spouse the Church be all Sacred Authority for ever Amen A Charitable Admonition to all Non-Conformists MY beloved in Christ you see how earnestly I have pleaded for you to the Fathers and Governors of our Church that they would graciously condescend to abolish some Ceremonies in the Church that they may receive you into it but yet I have no great hopes that they will hearken to me you your selves for whom I plead destroy my hope for they presently dash me in the teeth saying go rather and perswade the Sons in duty to submit to their Fathers then Fathers to yield to Sons and can you deny but of the two you are rather to submit You think to excuse this by saying Were it not against your Conscience you would submit but you dare not for fear of displeasing God his holy Word forbids you I beseech you shew me in his holy Word any one clear sentence against any one Ceremony commanded in our Church you see plainly I am not biast to any one Ceremony and I am sure I have read the Scripture all over several times and I humbly conceive 't is no pride of heart if I think I understand Scripture as well as you and for my part I cannot find any one condemning Sentence in Scripture But you have the Spirit of God enlightening you which I want by this rule you may affirm any thing out of Scripture and I should be as mad in disputing against you as you in affirming it 't is madness for a blind man as you conceive me to be to dispute of colours therefore if you are so void of all reason as to expect your bare affirmation that you have light ought to convince all gain-sayers I shall not trouble my self or you to gainsay you farther but address my self to others who soberly undertake to shew me such Texts as an unbiast Christian willing and desirous to submit to all Scripture Truths as I am sure I am may discover the truth of them and I desire those sober undertakers to show me any one such clear Text to excuse their non-conforming as I show them for their conforming Submit your selves to every ordinance of man c. 1 Pet. 2. 13. and Obey them that have the rule over you and submit Heb. 13. 17. These are as clear as the Sun that you ought to obey Now if the Text you bring be not so clear but doubtful I beseech you is your conscience so bold against a clear Text and so timerous at a doubtful Text is this
of darkness to take full possession of their Souls and sometimes of their Bodies also both being sentenced thereby to the everlasting flames of Hell and likewise a power to release penitent souls from the chains of darkness and slavery of the Devil and restore them to the glorious liberty of the Sons of God whereby they are made Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven If there be any thing under Heaven fit to stir up the Ambition of mortal men yea an ambition in Angels themselves sure this is it Who can forgive sins but God alone said the Iews to our Saviour Christ swelling with indignation against him for this though they had seen many divine Miracles wrought by him yet this is so peculiar so transcendent a divine act as not to be offered at by any but the great God Iehovah himself But blessed for ever be this great and gracious God who by his eternal Son Christ Jesus hath given this power unto men As his heavenly Father sent him with this power so sent he his Apostles with this power saying unto them Whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained Wherefore if there be any thing in the Office of a Bishop to be stood upon and challenged peculiar to themselves certainly it should be this yet this is in a manner quite relinquished unto their Chancellors Lay-men who have no more capacity to sentence or absolve a sinner then to dissolve the heavens and earth and make a new heaven and a new earth and this pretended power of Chancellors is sometimes purchased with a sum of Money their Money perish with them Good God! what a horrid abuse is this of the Divine Authority But this notorious transgression is excused as they think by this that a Minister called the Bishops surrogat but is indeed the Chancellors servant chosen call'd and placed there by him to be his Cryer in the Court no better that when he hath examined heard and sentenced the Cause then the Minister forsooth pronounces the sentence Just as a Rector of a Parish Church should exclude any of his Congregation and lock him out of the Church then comes the Clerk shews and gingles the Keys that all may take notice that he is excluded And by this his authority the Chancellor takes upon him to sentence not only Lay-men but Clergy men also brought into his Court for any delinquency and in the Court of the Arches there they sentence even Bishops themselves This is a common practise in later ages but in St. Ambrose his time so great a wonder as with amazement cryeth out against the Emperour Valentinian when he took upon him to judge in such cases saying When was it ever heard of since the beginning of the World that Lay-men should judge of spirituals he means in spiritual things not in temporal things which by the laws of God and man belongs to the Lay-Magistrate This was that Ambrose of whom the other great Emperour as Good as Great Theodosius Father to this Valeninian affirmed Ambrose onely knew how to act the Bishop and with all Christian humility this great Emperour submitted to the sentence of this godly Bishop denying him entrance into the Church for the cruelty acted by his Souldiers at Thessilonica by his command and upon his great repentance and pennance performed six months together and after publique confession in the Church was again absolved and joyfully received into the Church Oh my Great and Reverend Fathers of the Church the Bishops whom Christ hath cleaved to his high dignity whom he hath made Kings and Princes whom he hath called to sit with him on his Throne there to give sentence of eternal life or eternal death can you so tamely part with this prime flower of your Crown yea the very Apex of it and suffer the Lay-members of the Church to usurp this divine authority Or how can you answer it to the chief Bishop of our Souls if any one Soul by the ill management of the Chancellors should certainly perish shall not his blood be required at your hands But perchance some of you will answer 'T is no fault of yours but of your predecessors who gave such Patents unto them as by vertue thereof they exercise this power will ye nill ye 'T is too true and I remember when the Bishop of Wells hearing of a cause corruptly mannaged and coming into the Court to rectifie it the Chancellor Dr. Duke fair and mannerly bad him be gon for he had no power there to act any thing and there with all pulls out his Patent sealed by the Bishops Predecessor which like Perseus shield with the Gorgons head frighted the poor Bishop out of the Court Where are you Parliament men you great Sons of the Church so zealous for Episcopal Government yet suffer this principal part of it to be thus alienated and usurped by Lay-men If an unordained person take upon him to pray or preach with what outeries and severe Laws and with great reason also you fall upon him but if an unordained person take upon him to judge sentence and excommunicate Bishops themselves you calmly pass it over take no notice of it You will answer me The Bishops themselves pass it over yea and pass it away from themselves and their successors for to gratifie their kinsmen or their friends or perchance for worse why then should you stir in it Truly in this you have reason and the balme most wholly light on them who do not use all possible endeavour and implore your assistance also to rectifie this great abuse which subverts the main Pillar of the Church Government this is no Ceremonial matter but the very substance of it they strain at Gnats and swallow Camels For Chancellors to intermeddle in Probats of Wills payment of Tythes or any other temporal matters there is no scripture nor reason to condemn but rather to condemn Bishops should they interpose in such matters for which they have no commission from Scripture but rather a prohibition from that saying of our Svaiovr Man who made me a judge or a divider over you but then it will be necessary that Chancellors have also power of Temporal punishments and not prophane that high and holy power in sordid earthly things certainly a greater prophanation than to convert a Church into a Chandlers Shop the Church is a bulk of earthly materials and holy only by dedication the power of its Keys is in its own nature and original constitution spiritual and divine If Uzza being no Levite suffered death for laying hold on the Sacred Ark of God to support and hold it up what shall he suffer who being no consecrated person layes hold on the sacred authority of Gnd to pull it down from heaven to earth Let them consider But let not the Civilians for this account me an Enemy to their Profession which no man honours more and I heartily wish much more of our Civil matters were