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A62171
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The infancy of elders a short treatise composed for vindication of the Christian liberty of freeborne denizens of England, or A refutation of the tyrannicall unlawfull mis-government of our church by lay-elders / written by J.S. minister of the Word in Lancashire.
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J. S., Minister of the Word in Lancashire.
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1647
(1647)
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Wing S68; ESTC R8376
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22,428
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29
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consideration of our wise Parliament in hopes their wisdomes will take due care to prevent the impending miseries of our Nation for very many thousands will rather have moderate Episcopacy up then this senselesse government of Lay-Elders which are indeede no Rulers but meere stalking Horses or Asses or a disguise wherein the Presbyters may plunder the people of liberty of conscience pretending it is not the Art of Cleargy only pritty judgling but no more of this stultum est obsurdas opiniones accuratius refellere I will proceede to treate of that part or division of this worke lies next in order to wit of spirituall Elders in generall and that our Lay-Elders may not rightly be taken for such Every Bishop Presbyter Pastor or other grave and reverend Divine is rightly and truely called a spirituall Elder and to prove this my assertion I neede not wander far to fetch authority from rare Authors the Apostles themselves have saved me a labour as Peter the 1.5.1 The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder c. John in his 2. and 3. Epistles stiles himselfe and Elder in the second thus The Elder unto the elect Lady in the third The Elder unto the welbeloved Gains and wee may reade Acts 6.6 because the word of God should not be left and the people to serve tables wherefore the Apostles desired the people to looke out among themselves 7 men of honest report full of the Holy Ghost and of wisedome whom they admitted into holy Orders by praying and laying on of hands who were called Elders so Paul Acts 14.23 when he passed through severall Countries upon his being stoned at Lystra in Licaonia ordained them Elders in every Church Elders in that place by all Translators being rendred Presbyters or Bishops men of holy Orders to succeed the Apostles who being thereunto thus lawfully called have Gods promise to let his holy spirit rest upon them even unto the end of the world Math. 28.20 It being promised to such as teache his people to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you even to such who had Commission to teach all Nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Wee may reade likewise Iames 5.14 If any be sicke among you let him send for the Elders of the Church and let him pray over him anointing him with oyle in the name of the Lord the word Elder being there translated Presbyter which is of the same signification with us as Sacerdos was under the Law There are many more places of Scripture to prove spirituall Elders in the Church But I will briefely shut up this point with the 20 of the Acts where it appeares how Paul at Melitum called the Elders from Ephesus verse the 27. and telling them that they must see his face no more he charges them verse the 28. that they should take heede unto themselves and to all the flocke over which the holy Ghost had made them Bishops to feede the Church of God by all which and other Texts of Scripture it is evident that the word Elder generally in the new Testament signifies feeding and praying Ministers not loytering lazie Lay-Elders Officers no more requisite in a Church then a company of drones are usefull in a hive of Bees unnecessary evills meere horseleeches to sucke the peoples bloud who have no neede of Phlebotomy but I leave the Jewish Laiety which I hope will no waies arrogate this Office unto themselves though their holy Fathers their high Priests endued with great store of impudence and ignorance tells them they are instated into holy Orders by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when with hands lifted up at their elections they tooke the Covenant by which Covenant I would have them to understand they are to degrade themselves from their Office for it being on foote in Scotland is no warrant for them to continue it heere in England the words of the Covenant being That wee shall endeavour the reformation of Religion in the Church of England according to Gods holy word and I cannot finde one Text in Scripture to warrant their calling in the Church they being Lay-men nor will that argument which some frame from the Levites having severall places of trust about the Temple serve to prove their Office and Government It is true that in Moses time Gershon Cohath and Merari Levy his three Sons had the Office to pitch to take downe and to beare up and downe the Tabernacle and the vessells thereof the Gershouites charge was to carry the coverings and hangings of the Tabernacle the Cohathites the chiefe things within the Sanctuary and the Merarites had charge of the wood-workes and the rest of the instruments of the Tabernacle This was their Office during their abode in the Wildernesse whilst they were on their Journey but afterwards when they were setled in the promised Land David changed their Office some being appointed to have charge of the Treasure of the Temple 1 Chron. 26.20 others to be Overseers and Judges others to be Porters and Singers 1 Chron. 23.4 The Singers were to be clad in linnen robes 2 Chron. 5.12 hence doe some argue that the government by Elders is no more then what was in Davids time when the Levites were The Levites were Judges and Overseers to which objection I give this answer God by his divine and eternall decree had appointed the Tribe of Levi to serve at his Alter and minister unto the people as wee finde it recorded in the 10 of Deut. verse 8. God seperated the Tribe of Levi to beare the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord and to stand before the Lord to minister unto him and to blesse in his name even to this day And Deut. 11. and the 5. The Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy Tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord him and his sons for ever And Moses in the 33 of Deut. verse 8. prayes That the Vrim and Thummim of the Lord be with thine holy One meaning in that place one of the Tribe of Levi who verse the 10 shall teach Jacob thy Judgements and Israel thy Law they shall put insense before thy face and burnt offrings upon thine Altar It is manifest by those places of Scripture that it was Gods holy will that the Tribe of Levi should serve at his Altar all of them being instated in holy orders by imposition of hand and although amongst them there were certaine degrees according to which Paul writ in the 1 to Tim. 3.13 that they that have ministred well get themselves a good degree as Godwyn in his Jewish Antiquities fol. 22 observes as when they had been a moneth initiated they were to be presented unto God Numb 3.15 and they were consecrated by imposition of hands at 25 yeeres old Num. 8.24 And they were to carry the Tabernacle up downe from 30 to 50 and afterwards they were to oversee and
Levites only sate with them because they were learned in the Talmud not that of right it belonged unto them to sit there Goodwin in his Jewish Antiquities fol. 199. and 198. he saith how Jehosophat appointed in every walled City secular Judges which were their Elders to determine criminall offences I wonder that our Presbyterians should be so far brazed with ignorance as not to blush to urge this portion of Scripture for a warrant for their Court of Elders to be set up here in England when as it failes in every particular to be any wise applicable to us for First the Jewes were governed by 70 Elders before so was never England Seconly Moses was both King and Priest among them he was their Priest and tooke great paines in his holy function with them whereby he became lesse fitted to manage their civill affaires and wee may likewise reade Deut. 33.5 Moses was among the righteous as King I never knew that our Bishops or Presbyters ever exercised any Kingly Office in England nor hath it ever been unlesse in these foure yeeres last past whenas Charles Stewart being gone from his Parliament and being denudated of his Kingly power which power in conceit fell into the laps of our Assembly who thereupon Enthusiastically by imaginary Revelation publish they must take to themselves Elders of the people to beare part of the burthen with them Thirdly that was Gods owne immediate Act and he put his spirit upon them and they prophesied verse the 25 but this is a meere humane institution not warranted by any meanes unlesse by such imaginary Revelation and strange Oracles which things since Christ himselfe came in the flesh have ceased and why should wee now credit them I beleeve our Elders are not by their Office made wiser or indowed with any supernaturall gifts at all but continue still though Mr. Elders yet as arrant blockheads as they were before so that a man may say of them as one sayd of an ignorant Judge sitting in his robes upon the Bench yonder Judge is made fine by his place his place not beautified him nor for my part will I beleeve any thing they can prophesie unlesse they tell me they will be kickt out of their Office Fourthly that Government ceased when Israel obtained a King and now that England hath and ever had a King what shall wee doe with this inconsistant Government Unlesse to fit our selves to entertaine the Eldership wee cast off Monarchicall Government and introduce a Government by States for my part I wish that hand to wither that shall attempt to lop off the royall branches of our Land whose right to the Crowne and Kingly prerogative are equally just to any Subject his possessing what he hath nor is there any understanding Christian reproachfully called Independant of any other opinion so he may enjoy the liberty of his owne conscience without Civill coercion in point of Religion he being to give an account to God of his owne soule and every one being to beare his owne burthen the Father not being to answer for the Son nor the Son for the Father Gal. 6.5 Ezek. 18.20 but in civill and temporall matters is ready to subject himselfe with the most submissive to Kingly Authority according to the Law of the Nation where he lives And may those cursed soules who contrive the obliterating of the glorious beings of our Kings heere be suddainely snached hence by a hand unlooked for and yet I wish King Charles his returning to his Parliament and hearkening to their wholsome Councells for therein I conceive his flourishing and happinesse will most consist That there are and hath been Civill Elders here and elsewhere no man needs to doubt it is obvious enough and manifest to each capacity our Judges at Westminster are nothing else but in this sence Elders and Judges to sit in Counsell to determine and judge of criminall and other civill affaires which wee continue still to this day Therefore are our new Lay-Elders in this sence uselesse and if wee must for other ends erect Jewish Sanhedrins in England I have shewed you it is not warrantable for us so to doe because Moses by Gods speciall appointment assembled 70. Elders to beare part of the Government with him although it were urged with all the wit zeale and fervency it 's possible for a Countrey Presbyter to palliate his people from his Pulpit with yet his labour is all in vaine and he but endeavours to justifie unwarrantable things when as the unskilfull Sophister cannot set a specious glosse on a good matter But perhaps he hath learned his lesson so far by rote as to tell the people it was in Europe first set up at Geneva by reverend Mr. Calvin and since embraced by the States of Holland and severall places of Germany and therefore why should not wee have it in England I answer in the same way of reason that in Rome is and hath beene a long time continued the Popish Religion and professed and maintained by the Emperour by the Kingdome of Spaine by the King of France and some Princes of Germany and therefore why should not we professe that Religion too But more particularly to take off this cavill I will make it appeare that that argument doth no waies concerne England The beginning of this Government at Geneva is well knowne was by Mr. Calvin framed yet if wee will beleeve Histories not intended for he perceiving the abuses and too predominating tyranny of Bishops contrary to Gods word Lording it over Gods Heritage devised a way for freeing the people from that slavery and the inlarging of Gods people to cast off the Hierarchicall yoke and so invented a new way which he knew the giddy multitude greedy of novelties would be easily facinated with and that the rather because they groaned under the heavy pressure of their former slavery wherefore he buzzed into the eares of the people that they should have none of these Lording Bishops but they should be ruled by every Pastor in his respective Parish and to submit to his censure and because all should not hang on so slender a thread as the likeing of an ignorant multitude he bound the people by oath to give obedience to such orders as he with two other Ministers for more grace to the businesse had set downe and appointed every Church being to be governed by it selfe and the people sworne to obedience and so every Church almost differing from other began to accuse one another of disobedience to the will of Christ in those things in which they differed which occasioned much strife and contentions among them for these Presbyters being men of flesh as well as the Bishop was and subject to the like infirmities began to flutter as much or more over the people as ever the Bishop did and to exercise as much coercive power over mens consciences wherefore the people seeing themselves nothing bettered by this new frame of government but unadvisedly they had consented