Lord giveth leave Harm Eng. pag. 253. 254. The Augustane Confession Art 14. Concerning Ecclesiasticall Orders they teach that no man De Ordine ecclesiastico docent quod nemo debeat in ecclesia publice docere auâ— Sacramenta administrare nisi rite vocatus Sicut Paulus praecipit Tito ut in civitatibus Presbyteros constituat Corp. Conf. par 1. p. 16. should publikely in the Church teach or minister the Sacraments except he be rightly Called according as St. Paul giveth commandement to Titus to Ordain Elders in every city Harm Eng. p. 258. The latter Conf. of Helvetia chap. 18. Furthermore no man ought to usurp the honour of the Nemo autem honorem Ministerii ecclesiastici usurpare sibi i. e. ad se largitionibus aut ullis artibus aut arbitrio proprio rapere debet Dâ—mnamus hic omnes qui fua spoâ—â—â— currunt cum non sint electi missi nec Ordinaâ—â— Corp. Conf. par 1. pag. 59. Ecclesiasticall Ministery that is to say greedily to pluck it to him by bribes or any evill shifts or of his own accord We do here therefore condemn all those which run of their own accord being neither chosen sent nor Ordained Harm Engl. p. 236. The Conf. of Wirtemberg Art 20. Neither is it unknown that Christ in his Church hath Nec est obscurum qd Christus instituerit in ecclesia sua Ministros qui adnâ—ncient Evangelium suum dispensent Sacramenta ejus Nec permittendum est cuivis quamvis spirituali sacerdoti ut sine legitima vocatione usurpet publicum Ministerium in Ecclesia Corp. Conf. par 2. pag. 164. instituted Ministers who should Preach his Gospel and Administer the Sacraments Neither is it to be permitted to every one although he be a spirituall Priest to usurp a publike Ministery in the Church without a lawfull Calling Harm Engl. p. 265. The ENGLISH Conf. Further we say that the Minister ought lawfully duly Credimus Ministrum legitime vocari oportere rectè atque ordine praefici ecclesiae Dei neminem autem ad sacrum Ministetium pro suo arbitrio libidine posse se intrudere Corp. Conf. par 1. pag. 116. See also the 23 Art among the 39. and Corp. Conf. p. 131. and orderly to be preferred to that office of the Church of God and that no man hath power ro wrest himself into the Holy Ministery at his own pleasure Harm Eng. p. 255. PROPOS III. In Calling to the Ministery besides Election Ordination is to be used where it may be had Act. 6. 2. ch 13. 2. ch 14. 23. Titus 1. 5. 1 Tim. 5. 22. And besides the usuall way of Ordaining by Prayer Fasting and Imposition of hands there is no other spoken of in any Confession of the Reformed Churches The Conf. of Helvetia quo supra And those which are chosen let them be Ordained of the Elders with publike prayer and laying on of hands We do here therefore condemn all those which run of their own accord as before Harm Engl. p. 236. See also the former Conf. of Helv. Har. Eng. p. 242. Corp. Conf. par 1. pag. 90. The SAXON Confession We do retain in our Churches also the publike rite of Retinemus igitur in nostris ecclesiis publicuÌ„ ritum Ordinationis quo comendatur MinisteriuÌ„ Evangelii verè electls quorum mores doctrinam prius exploramus Corp. Conf. par 2. pag. 99. Ordination whereby the Ministery of the Gospel is commended to those that are truly chosen whose manners and doctrine we do first throughly examine Harm Eng. pag. 225. The BELGICK Confess Art 31. We believe that the Ministers Seniors and Deacons Credimus Ministros Seniores Diaconos debere ad functiones illas suas vocari promoveri legitimâ Ecclesiae electione adhibitâ ad eam seril Dei invocatione atque co ordine ac modo qui nobiâ— Dei verbo praescribitur Corp. Conf. par 1. pag. 179. ought to be Called to their functions and by the lawfull Election of the Church to be advanced into those rooms earnest prayer being made unto God and after the Order and manner which is set down unto us in the Word of God Harm Eng. p. 258. Note here that besides Prayer they speak of an Order and manner set down unto us in the Word of God which for Ministers and Deacons relates to laying on of hands or Ordination if I understand them The Confession of BOHEMIA ch 9. But Ministers ought not of their own accord to presse Dâ—cent Ministros Ecclesiae quibus administratio verbi sacramentorum demandatur ritè institutos esse oportere ex Domini Apostolorum praescripto Atque hi probentur prius tum demum factâ precatione per manâ—um impositionem confirmentur à Senioribus forward in that Calling but ought according to the example or commanded rather for so ' its in the Latine ex praescripto of the Lord and the Apostles to be lawfully appointed and Ordained thereunto They teach also that above all things they be proved and tryed by examination and so afterward Prayer and Fasting being made they may be confirmed or approved or rather as it should be translated Let them be confirmed those words or approved have nothing to answer to them in the Latine by laying on of hands Harm Eng. p. 246. Let the Reader observe that he who published the Harmony of Confessions in English was no friend to Ordination and Imposition of hands as appeares not only by his Notes upon every passage where Imposition of hands is mentioned but by his Translation here But that the sense of the Bohemians may be the better understood I shall here adde the words of the Waldenses out of their most antient Confession the first that ever was extant against Popery Ad plenam Presbyteri gradationem tria esse necessaria Baâ— Lâ—d Wald. to 2. p. 14. approbamus Primum probatio vitae fidei donorum fidelitatis quoque in exilioribus negotiis creditis Alterum orationes cum jejuniâ— Postremum contributio potestatis aptis ad hoc verbis manuum impositio adcorroborationem For the Church of SCOTLAND In their Second book of Discipline ch 2 3. The Divines of that Church speak clearly fully and most accurately to all the former propositions To the first in the 2. chap. to the second and third in the 3. chap. Without lawfull Calling it was never leasome i. e. lawfull Doct. Disc of the Church of Scotl. p. 81. to any person to meddle with any function Ecclesiasticall There are two sorts of Calling one extraordinary by God immediately as was of the Prophets and Apostles which in Kirks established and well already reformed hath no place The other Calling is ordinary which besides the Calling of God and inward testimony of a good Conscience is the lawfull approbation and outward judgement of men according to Gods word and order established in the Kirk This ordinary and outward Calling hath
What he sayes of the precise urging of the Ceremony is to be understood of the urging of it upon Popish grounds The foolish questions which he means are those in a Popish Canon de triplici manuum impositione una Ordinatoria altera Confirmatoria tertia Curatoria and such like 5. It 's granted that he sayes expresly that Laying on of hands is not essentialis pars ritus legitimae vocationis and that it is in rerum indifferentium numero retineri omitti potest pro more regionis in qua electus ordinatur This last is more then you have yet acknowledged And if it be to be reteined pro more regionis according to the custome of the Country it must continue in use among us for ought that you have said or can say to prove it Non-essentiall Now thus it follows And with them agrees the Church of Scotland The Engl. pop cer pag. 168 169. Church hath full liberty to use any other decent rite or to use no rite at all beside a publike declaration the Church is not not tyed to use any rite at all by the Word of God in the giving of Ordination Ans What 's the matter that you cite this book so often Are you in love with English Popish Ceremonies or do you take that Book for an Oracle Or do you think the Church of Scotland will abide by every expression to be found therein Or is there no other way to know the sense of the Church of Scotland but by that Book Are you of the same judgement with that Church or any of those Protestant Divines whom you have cited so much as in this one head of Ordination and the rite of it I feare nothing lesse The Church of Scotland is at an agreement within it self and with such eminent Divines abroad as Chemnitius and Danaeus but you and they differ if I be not mis-informed more then a little But 2. to the thing it self Liberty of devising new rites in Ordination is neither sâ—fe to be granted by way of doctrine nor to be used in practice especially in those Churches which have suffered much under pretence and by the abuse of such liberty and who in other things are strict urgers of examples as binding and that in matter of Rite 3. Those Scriptures which tye the Church to Ordination tye her also to the Rite which we are speaking of Or tell us where you find a Scripture for the one and not for the other That which follows whether intended as a fifth reason or as an excursion only I know not though it be confused yet it sufficiently discovers what you aim at viz. To make those who were Ordained by Bishops no Ministers under pretence that they were Ordained by them as a Superiour Order unto Presbyters and so you slide into another Question Whether the Person ordaining or imposing hands be of the essence of the Call I shall lay down all your own words entire and then answer Thus you pag. 16. Yea suppose it essentiall and then whereas it hath been held against the Brownists that the Ministery in the Church of England is not null though the Bishops laid on their hands who should not have had a finger in it because an extrinsecall Circumstance failing or being corrupted a thing ceases not to be yet if it be made Essentiall what shall be said Seeing both in the Bishops intention in ordaining and in the profession of the Party ordained hands were laid on him not as a Presbyter formally but as one of a superior Order to Elders and for such an Order there is no Divine institution As therefore that Baptisme must be repeated which was administred by a person not lawfully called to the ministration of it if the Person ministring be essentiall to Baptisme so must that person be Ordained again who had hands laid on by a Bishop as a Bishop if Laying on of hands be essentiall to the Ministery Whatsoever wants its Essentials is not though it seems to be Ans Let the Questions be propounded distinctly which are here involv'd and then it will be easier for any one to judge 1. What will follow concerning the Ministery in the Church of England if Laying on of hands be essentiall I answer That the Ministers of England who have Hands laid on them have that which is essentiall to their Calling Who can imagine otherwise upon the supposition 2. But seeing Ministers in England were Ordained by Bishops as a superiour Order to Elders and no such Order is of Gods appointing nor ought to be is not their Calling null in that respect Ans No iâ— is not 1. Because neither Church nor State did ever declare Bishops to be a superiour Order though some of them for they were but some made such a claim The State hath often declared against it not only by books approved by them as in the dayes of Henry the 8. but by severall acts of Parliament in King Edwards time and since 2. Because Bishops only and alone were never authorised to lay on hands excluding other Prâ—sbyters but together with them 3. Bishops were Elders first before they came to be Bishops and of Elders were made Bishops in way of accumulation not in way of privation Their error that they thought themselves a superiour Order above Presbyters could not make them no Presbyters 4. All Ordinations are counted valid which are performed in a setled Church with the consent of Magistrate Ministers and People whether the Ordainers be Bishop Superintendent or a Presbyterie This principle is maintained both by the Lutherans and Calvinists as you use to distinguish For the Lutherans I refer you to Hen. Ekhardus in opusculo de Ordine Ecclesiastico pag. 5â— and to Nicolaus Hunnius Demonst Min. Lutherani pag. 294. For others Zanchy sayes quo supra Nihil refert sive ab omnibus praesentibus Ministris sive ab uno omnium nomine imponantur manus It matters not whether hands be laid on by all the Ministers who are present or by one in the name of the rest So he And I think it might be added nor how many be present the Quorum is but of prudentiall determination Pareus speaks more largely * Comment ad Rom. 10. 15. The lawfull Calling of the Church is that which is instituted in every Church by publike authority for Orders sake unto edification Neque enim uniformis est omnium ubique quoad circumstantias externas sed libertati Ecclesiae relicta 5. To speak my own judgement When sin cleaves to the manner of Calling through the generall error or corruption of all sorts who are concerned in it though such a Calling cannot be said to be legitima or legi proxima but is displeasing to God and null in some sense as unworthy receiving of the Sacrament is counted no receiving 1 Cor. 11. 20. and sinfull fasting no fasting Zach. 7. 5. yet it is not otherwise to be invalidated here below than by doctrinall censure and
whose loynes the naturall succession of our blessed Saviour is propagated from Adam yet I have endeavoured in the following Answer pag. 49. 84. to remove that stone of stumbling and rock of offence But whatever becomes of Calling to the Ministery in the manner used heretofore I hope it will appeare that for the time to come it ought to be in part at least by Ordination and Ordination by Laying on of hands and that this is the Judgment of the Reformed Churches and Protestant Divines Some will blame me for having said so much and others say they expected more But if this may be of any use toward the cleare discovery and decision of the Question under debate till those who are better able unite their shrength and bring in their supplies this labour is not lost But how comes it to passe that those who maintain That any one sufficiently gifted may Preach and he whom the People accept of as a Minister to them is thereby made a Minister raise such a dust about the Calling of others who have both their gifts received from God and the Peoples acceptance to plead as well as themselves and do not rather quiet the People by instructing of them that disputes about the externall Calling may be laid aside when as the internall Call of God is evident and a further reformation about the outward Calling is every day endevoured My hope was to have at large examined that Position also A man may lawfully preach the Word who is not called to be a Minister which in the close of all I call a Paradox meaning a thing incredible as it relates to the ordinary practise of many in our times But for the present I have only hinâ—ed some heads of an Answer to another who hath written since to the same effect and desire a little respite for the rest Touching the Author of the Tract which I deal with as he is to me uncertain so would I haue been to him if the Presse were not now under more restrictions then it was at the time of his writing that there might be no occasion of digression from the matter to either of our persons If any where I have mistaken his sense fallen short in answering or used any expression which proves displeasing I shal be willing to be rectified So the Truth and those who are studious in things of this nature may gain any reall advantage though more by him and lesse by me it shall not I trust through Him that strengthens me be any grief of spirit to me whose desire is with the Italian Martyr that Christ may live though Idie and that HE may increase though all the Ministers of England decrease For your part who are to judge betwixt us both you are intreated to weigh all things soberly and without prejudice That GOD who hath promised his Spirit to lead his into all Truth guide us to the knowledge and love of Truth Amen Imprimatur Edm. Calamy Foure Propositions Whereof three are proved by the Holy Scriptures and attested unto by the Reformed Churches in their Confessions of Faith and Books of Discipline the fourth is a just Consequence from the rest Very necessary for all men to consider of in this juncture of time especially for those who have sworne to Reform according to the Word of GOD and the example of the best Reformed CHVRCHES PROPOS I. THE Office of Ministers is alwayes necessary in the Church of GOD as an ordinary meanes of His institution to effect the salvation of the Elect. Let these Scriptures be compared weighed Jer. 3. 15. Ephes 4. 11 12. 1 Tim. 3. 1. 1 Cor. 3. 9. chap. 4. 1. 2 Cor. 3. 5 6. ch 5. 20. ch 6. 1. Mat. 28. 19 20. The judgement of the Reformed Churches touching this The latter Confession of HELVETIA ch 18. God hath alwayes used his Ministers for the gathering and Deus ad colligendam vel constituendam sibi ecclesiam eandemque gubernandaÌ„ ac conservandam semper usus est Ministris ilsque utitur adhuc utetur porrò quoad ecclesia in terris fuerit Ergo Ministrorum origo institutio functio vetustissima ipsius Dei non nova aut hominum est ordinatio Proinde spectandi sunt Ministri non ut Ministri duntaxat per se sed sicut Ministri Dei utpote per quos Deus salutem hominum operatur Corpus Conf. par 1. p. 56. erecting up of a Church unto himself and for the governing and preservation of the same and alwayes will use them so long as the Church remaineth on Earth Therefore the first beginning institution and office of the Ministers is a most antient Ordinance of God himself not a new device appointed by men Ministers are to be considered not as Ministers by themselves alone but as Ministers of God even such as by whose means God doth work the salvation of Mankinde Harmony in Engl. printed in 4. Anno 1643. pag. 233. The FRENCH Confess Seeing that we are not made partakers of Christ but by Credimus quoniam non nisi per Evangelium simus Christi compotes oportere sacram inviolabilé 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ejus authoritate in Ecclesia sancitaÌ„ conservari ac proinde requiri in ecclesia Pastores quibus onus docendi Verbi administrandi Sacramentorum incumbat Itaque fanaticos illos omnes detestâ—â—â—ur qui quâ—â—rum in se est sacrum Ministerium sive praedicationern Verbi administrationem Sacramentorum abolita cupiunt Corp. Conf. par 1. pag. 107. the Gospel We believe that that good Order which by the authority of that Gospel is confirmed ought to be kept sacred and inviolable And that therefore Pastors are necessarily required in the Church upon whose shoulders the burden of teaching the Word and administring the Sacraments doth lie Therefore we detest all those fanaticall spirits who as much as in them lieth desire that both this sacred Ministery or Preaching of the Word and the Administration of the Sacraments were utterly abolished Harm Eng. p. 253. PROPOS II. Besides the internall Call of GOD and due qualification through the Spirit an Externall mediate Calling by men in the ordinary state of the Church is necessary to put a man into the office of a Minister and to enable him for the Work Proofs out of Scripture Jer. 14. 14. ch 23. 21. 1 Tim. 3. 2. Rom. 10. 15. Heb. 5. 4. 2 Cor. 3. 1. Act. 1. 21 22. The FRENCH Confession Art 31. We believe that it is not lawfull for any man upon his Credimuâ— nulli fas esse suapte autoritate invadere Ecclesiae gubernacula sed legitimâ— electione quoad ejus fieri potest quamdiâ— Dominus ejus rel potestatem facit praeeunte adscisci unumquemque oportere Corpus Conf. par 1. p. 108. own authority to take upon him the government of the Church but that every one ought to be admitted thereunto by a lawfull Election so neer as may be and so long as the
dispensation * Quod si hoc factum fuit in eo qui immediaté fuit vocatus quanto magis id facere decet in vocationibus mediatis quae sunt verba D. Chemnitii par 3. l. de ecclesia c. 4. p 333. apud Gerh. l. com de min. eccl c. 3 s 2 of his Spirit to make more account of Ordination than of Election or at least more then you would have us He saith no more but Separate them for the work they understand his meaning to be Ordain them And therefore when they had fasted and prayed they that is the Prophets and Teachers of Antioch laid their hands on them No man therefore in an ordinary way is to be accounted separate to the work of the Ministery untill with fasting and prayer he hath hands laid on him But of this more hereafter 5. Should I say no more I think I fall not short of a sufficient answer to this Argument Yet because herein you make the fairest shew and seem to have the Lutherans and Cavlinists all on your side and make many particular citations therefore I shall the rather inlarge my self a little in * Nos verò legitimam vocationem nominamus eam quae sit collect is suffragiis totius ecclesiae nullo ordine excluso ita tamen ut certa persona à doctoribâ—â—s ecâ—lesiâ— examinata sistatur magistratui popule à quâ— publicè audita communibus omnium ordinum suffragiis eligitur vel just is allegat is rationibuâ— rejicitur Fred. Baldvinus de artic Sâ—â—â—lcadicis dispur 17. thesi 16. Sequitur secundum Ministrorum requisitum Ordo seu ordinatio quâ person a legitimè electa vocata per alium ecclesiae praesbyterum coram totâ ecclesia Apostolico ritu nimirum manuum impositione aliisque precibus inauguratur hac ceremonia quasi à reliquo caetu separatur sancto ministerio mancipitur Id. thesi 46. Ecclesia constat tribus ordinibus Sacro Politico Plebeio omnes in vocationem alicujus consentire debent si vocatio est legitima Ad sacrum ordinem pertinent Ministri ecclesiae quorum est examinare doctrinam mores vocandi personamque idoneam ecclesiae utilem ligere Idde cas cons l. 4. c. 4. casu 3. of Ordinationhe he speaks thus Citra necessitatis casum si haberi possit nequaquam est omittenda propter evitandâ— novitatis scandalum Semper e. in ecclesia Apostolica usitata fuit ubi vocati ad ministerium verbi per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 presbyterii in officio suo confirmati sunt cap. 6. casu 1. Presbyterii nomine intelliguntur non tantum Ministri verbi sedetiam illi qui ab ecclesia ad functiones ecclesiasticas constituendas sunt deputati quos Seniores praepositos consiliarios ecclesia adeoque senatum ecclesiasticum appellamâ—s Atque his quidem presbyter is primas partes in electione vocatione Ministrorum concâ—dendaâ— esse nemo sanus ut opinâ—r negabit AEgidius Hunnius Dan. Arculariuâ— Jo. Wilkeâ—mannus c. Propositionum com 2. disp 22. these 83 84. vide plura apud Baâ—thas Mâ—â—â—zerum in exegesi Augustianâ— confessionis ad Ar. 4. num 4 5 6 8. Chemnitium â—â— exam conc Trid. De sâ—craâ— ordinis ad can 8. Nic. Hunnium indemons Min. Lutheranâ— per totum matter of testimony and desire that these few things may be observed 1. The generall opinion of the Lutherans about the regular and orderly Calling of a Minister is That the three Orders Classes or Estates all these words are used by them that is Magistrates Ministers and People by a severall interest of Suffrage are to concur together or apart to the calling of a Minister And herein they make an act of Ministers and Elders as such to be necessary yea the most necessary proper and essentiall thing And this supposed as antecedent they use to say Ordination is the declaration of a Call and compare it with Coronation or the solemnization of Mariage And though they hold Ordination to be but a declaration of the Calling yet they hold it more or lesse necessary and to be the peculiar act of Ministers and Elders Gerhard one of the most eminent among them to justifie the Calling of Ministers in ecclesiis quas vocant evangelicis useth this argument against Bellarmine Vocatio mediata legitima juxta divinam institutionem Apostolorum praxin fieri debet à tota ecclesia omnibus tribus illius ordinibus Nostrorum vocatio fit à tota ecclesia omnibus tribus illius or dinibus Ergo. A lawfull mediate Calling according to Divine institution and the Apostles practice must be made by the whole Church and all the three Orders thereof The call of our Ministers is made by the whole Church and all the three Orders thereof Therefore it is lawfull according to Divine institution and Apostolicall practice The minor saith he is manifest out of the custome used in our Churches * Ad exemplum enim ecclesiae Apostolicae primitivae homines idonâ—is necessariis donis à Deo instructi ab ordinariis Presbyteris Magistratu constituente Populo suffragante post legitimam vocation in per impositionem manuum preces ordinatium hac ratione cultuâ— divino consecrantur Loquimur dejure ordinarid reguld in constitionibus nostris ecclesiosticip praescrâ—pâ—â â—â— Gerh. l. com to 6. deminist ecclesiast c. 3. §. 9. p. 157. Nos ordinationis ritum nequaequam omittendum sed extra necessitatis casumin constitutione ministerii ecclesia lici semper adbidendum esse ditimus Idem quo supra §. 12. So as in their judgements an act of Ministers and Elders is of divine institution in the calling of a Minister Yet a little more cleerly and fully concerning the interest of Ministers about the calling of a Minister * v. Nic. Hun. in Dem. Min. Lutherani p. 199. multis ex causis ministris nau sabem susfragiunt sed primum ac praecip sussragium meritiâ—simeconceditur 1. Hoc postulat praecepâ—um Apostolicum 2 Tim. 2. 2. Tit. 1. 5. 2. Aptitudo cligendi 3. ipsius officiâ— ratio 4 ratio pro animabus reddenda 5. exempluÌ„ Apostoli Act. 1. Act 6. 2 3. 6. piae orthodoxae antiquitatis exemplâ— The same Gerhard enquiring to whom the right and power of Calling doth belong gives this answer Whereas in the Church there be three distinct states or orders the Ecclesiasticall Politicall and Oeconomicall or Presbyterie Magistrate and People of all which as of so many members the Church consisteth Therefore no state of the Church is simply to be excluded but their parts and offices must be left to every one of them in the mediate calling of Ministers And 1. saith he that Bishops and Presbyters understand by both names one thing must be used when the Ministery is to be commended to any one is manifest ex mandato Apostolico by the Apostolike commandement and the approved examples of Scripture Act. 14. 23. 1
two parts Election and Ordination Election is the choosing out of a person or persons most able to the office that vakes by the judgement of the Eldership and consent of the Congregation to which shall be the person or persons appointed Ordination is the separation and sanctifying of the person appointed to God and his Kirk after he be well tryed and found qualified The Ceremonies of Ordination are Fasting earnest prayer and Imposition of hands of the Eldership Let it be observed here that Imposition of hands is no otherwise made a ceremony then Fasting and earnest prayer PROPOS IV. The practise of those in these dayes who commonly Preach and receive maintenance for so doing refusing or neglecting to be Ordained is not to be justified by the Scripture or by the doctrine of or approved example in any of the Reformed Churches but forbidden in their Books of Discipline and condemned by their Divines as the opinion and practise of Anabaptists Libertines Arminians and Socinians Towards the clearing of this examine these Quotations following Crocius de Eccl. Pont. praejud Dissert 6. num 9. pag. 139. Synops puri Theol. disp 42. num 6. seq Joshua Stegman Photinlanis disp 53. qu. 1. 2. p. 608. 613. Balthazar Mentzerus in Exegesi Augustane Conf. ad ar 14. pag 639. seq Fredericus Balduinus lib. 4. cap. 4. de casibus conscientiae Casu 1. pag. â—009 Idem in brevi Instit Minist cap. 6. pag. 40 41. cap. 9. pag. 79. Johannes Geâ—â—aâ—dus L. C. in fol. de Minist Eccles cap. 3. sec 1. num 54. à num 64. ad finem sectionis Among the Ecclesiasticall Canons ratified in the last Synod of Dort this is the Third Nemini fas esto quantumvis Doctori Seniori vel Diacono ministerium Verbi Sacramentorum exercere nisi legitime ad ea vocato Contra siquis fecerit aliquâ—ties admonitus non abstinuerit penes Classem judicium esto utrum Schismaticus sit declarandus an aliâ quadam poena coercendus A brief Answer to the Pretences of Edmond Chillenden for the lawfulnesse of Preaching without ORDINATION CHILLENDEN Pag. 5. ELdad and Medad prophecied in the camp Moses said would God that all the Lords people were Prophets Numb 11. from 26. to 30. Ans It is one thing to Prophecie another to Preach Prophets and Preachers are not convertible termes because there are Preachers who are no Prophets God hath set some in the Church first Apostles secondarily Prophets thirdly Teachers 1 Cor. 12. 28. How shall they be distinguished if they be the same Yet those that can prove themselves to be Prophets shall have liberty for me to Preach without Ordination and that not only in the Camp but elswhere Pag. 8. Jehosaphat sent to his Princes to Teach in the Cities of Judah and they taught in Judah and had the book of the Law of the Lord with them and went about through all the cities of Judah 1 Chron. 17. 7 8 9. Ans Remember none went to any city of their own head but those whom Jehosaphat the supreme Magistrate sent What Jehosaphat sent you and such as you are Here 's no mention of Preaching If Teaching and Preaching be alwayes all one then do our Judges though not Ordained Preach at every Assize In this sense that of the Princes teaching v. 7. is most properly to be understood And that in the 9. verse They taught in Judah refers to the Priests and Levites spoken of in the 8. verse It remains on your part to prove that the Princes preached sermon-wise or in the same manner and kind as the Priests and Levites did However here were none joyned with them but the Princes 't was Jeroboam only that made Priests of the lowest of the people Whosoever would he consecrated him But mark what follows And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth 1 King 13. 33 34. Out of the New Testament the instances of the Scribes Pharisees and Lawyers are brought and with them are joyned the examples of Christ Paul and Barnabas pag. 9. Ans The liberty given in the Jewish Synagogues is no more a president for Christian Churches then their exercise of power It would anger you if any should say They whipt and scourged in their synagogues such Teachers as they did not like and therefore so should we do now If none might preach among us unordained but upon such tearms and the standing Officers of our Congregations be the Judges perhaps you might have occasion to complain with St. Paul Of the Jewes five times received I forty stripes save one Thrice was I beaten with rods once was I stoned 2 Cor. 11. 24 25. A certain Jew named Apollos borne at Aleâ—â—â—dria an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures came to Ephesus c. Act. 18. from 24. to the end Ans This as the former is but an instance of the liberty given by the Jewes or taken where as yet there was no Church in being Take in all the commendations of the man and in a like juncture of time others of like abilities may do the like And yet this concession will nothing avail to prove the sense of your Position To that pag. 12. of the dispersed Disciples out of Act. 8. 1 4. compared with Act. 11. 9 20 24. I answ In such a condition of the Church as that was these cases being much alike no Order established and Order dissolved I should not oppose that able men should teach in love as they are able though out of Office But under this pretence to plead for like liberty to every one that will assume it in all places and in all conditions of the Church is as if one should argue thus When there was no King in Israel every one did that which was right in his own eyes Therefore it is the liberty of the Subject for every one to do what they please although they have a King Pag. 15. The next Scripture that offers it self to be looked upon in this particular of Preaching without Ordination is in 1 Pet. 4. 10 11. As every one hath received the gift even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold graces of God If any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God c. Ans Every one is to use his gift with respect to the gift it self and to his place and calling and no otherwise private persons in a private way and publike officers publikely And be a mans gift never so small yet he must use it For these words contain a precept Not that every man is bound to be a Preacher by this Text but he that is a Preacher by office is bound to preach with all his might Compare this Text with Rom. 12. from the beginning of the 3. verse to the end of the 8. it may help to understand it But you will never prove That
find cited in him and many more of like nature which are more fully insisted on by a Parisian Lawyer to the same purpose * Johan Darâ— is de Hierarch Ecclesiast p. 10. 4. But this is especially to be noted That Voetius thinks Ordination or as he there expresses himself Coronation or Investiture may be wanting only aliquo in casu in some case and instances in the time of persecution cum nec plebe nec presbyteri in unum convenire possunt when neither the People nor Elders câ—n meet together Wherein he seems to suppose it is necessary at other times The reasons which he gives why it should not be necessary in the case concludes as much against the one as against the other In time of persecution Ministers cannot assemble to Ordain nor People saith he I adde to Elect and therefore that case which voyds the one voyds the other also and more strongly A few Ministers may more safely meet privately to Ordain then many people to Elect. The case of Greg. Thaumaturgus if truly stated out of Voetius whence you had it as all the rest of this Paragraph doth much confirm thiâ— For as he was not Ordained so neither was he Elected in your sense h. e. chosen by the people nor so much as present neither did he consent but was compelled there went nothing to his Call but an act of the Bishop Deo consecrans eum qui corpore non aderat Consecrating him who was not present bodily unto God And if this be all that is essentiall to a Call a company of Ministers and Elders may perform it as well as one Bishop alone The same Gregory as you may read elswhere being called to Cumas to Ordain a Pastor for Histor. Pontif. Jurisd Parisiis 1624. l 2. c. 1. that Church the People being divided in their Election he alone chose Alexander Carbonarim dedit civitati Sacerdatem nihil moratus consensum aut electionem Populi The seventh Argument 7. The inconveniences will be very great which follow upon this That Ordination is essentiall to the calling of a Minister For of necessity for the maintenance of it it must be asserted that the Romish Priests by whom Ordination comes to us And therefore to Beza it was all one to be Ordained by the Ordinary and to be Consocrated in Romana Ecclesia in Ac. 14. 23. are the Ministers of Jesus Christ and the Church of Rome wherein they are the true Church Spouse of Christ yea that there is a personall succession of Ministers uninterrupted by Heresie or whatsoever else may nullifie a Ministers Calling from the Apostles times to this presons and if there be but one who when he Ordained was no Minister â—â— not Ordained all that were Ordained by him are no Ministers if Ordination be essentiall Ans Is this the best or the worst of your Wine that you have kept it for the last Whatever you intended your Arguings like violent motions grow weaker and weaker neerer the end If you think there 's none like this as David said of Goliahs sword I think your cause will utterly perish as that Giant did by his own weapon And though you make a flourish with many words yet this in short is the substance of your argument If Ordination be essentiall to the calling of a Minister then the Church and Ministery of Rome are true and Personall succession uninterrupted is necessary 1. I deny the consequence and shall expâ—ct your proof hereafter for at present you do not so much as offer any And why have we nothing of Voetius here do you not know that he maintains the lawfulnesse of that Call which Luther and other of the first Reformers had in the Church of Rome for the substance of the thing and yet denies that it follows thence that the Church of Rome is a true Church * Lib. 2. sec 1. cap. 6. pag. 97. To cleare the ground of this denyall I distinguish between the Church and her externall Politie That which is essentiall to the Churches Being never ceases but that which is essentiall to her outward Politie may because Politie it self is not essentiall The Church for Being like Christ as God never dies but in her externall Order like Christ as man she dies and rises again If this be no good argument Election is essential therefore it hath been from the beginning of the world and shall continue to the end as the Church and Calling have done and shall do as you know it iâ— not then must you needs acknowledge your own inconsequence in the former For every one of your aggravated inconveniences will fall as heavy on the head of Election as you think they do on Ordination and besides them many more As 1. That there must be a true Church before there can be a true Ministery i. e. the effect before the cause and the end attained before the means of attaining are provided 2. That the government of the Church is purely and strictly Democraticall or popular for if the People without Ministers and Elders are sole Judges of their own Saintship and of fitnesse for the Ministery and consequently of soundnesse of Doctrine and the right way of Worship what can be denied them 3. That a Ministers calling as a Minister extends not beyond the bounds of a single Congregation or that one Congregation may make a Minister to serve themselves or any other 4. That the providence of God hath failed concerning the essentials of Ministers calling for many generations every where because the right of electing Ministers hath been denied to Christian people As to the Inconveniences themselves let them be considered distinctly and have the patience to heare what the Reformed Churches and Protestant Divines do think of them The first inconvenience is 1. That the Romish Priests by whom Ordination comes to us are the Ministers of Jesus Christ To make this the more odiâ— us you swell it out with a windâ— parenthesis That to Beza it was all one to be Ordained by the Ordinary and to be Consecrated in Romana Ecclesia in Ac. 14. 23. Herein you wrong him and abuse the Reader for he speaks not of Ordination in your sense as distinguished from Imposition of hands neither doth he account it all one to be Ordained by the Ordinary and to be Consecrated in the Roman Church as if every one that is Ordained by a Bishop in any of the Reformed Churches were in that respect to be looked upon as Consecrated in the Romane Church To say nothing of those who are Ordained by Ordinaries in the Greek Church And this is plain by his own words speaking of the woâ—d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quidam saith he hoc referre malunt ad manuum impositionem quae ipsa fit prorsus necessaria ut hoc praetextiâ— accepto vocationem nostram irritam esse dicant quoniam Ordinarii quos vocant nobis manus non imposuerunt sive quòd non sumus in Romana
hands iâ— in the Church of Rome still given to the Office of Ministery and in the name of the Lord as they do also still administer Baptisme 4. That we found not either precept example or ground in the Scripture binding us to the repetition thereof 5. That the Priests and Levites in Israel becomming unclean when afterward they were cleansed retained still their places of being Priests and Levites And that the children of the Priests and Levites succeeding after them did minister without a new Anointing or new Imposition of hands yea that in the case of Idolatry the Levites repenting kept their first function and the Priests also being only debarred from the Altar but still remaining Priests both doing such duties and enjoying such benefits thereof as the other Israelites might not no nor the Levites but in cases of necessity Lev. 22. 1 9. and Ezec. 44. 10 14. 2 King 23. 9. with Lev. 21. and 24 9. Mat. 12. 4 c. Other reasons we considered also on the other hand which I need not here mention But seeing we found that it was even from the Apostles times in the Church of Rome long before she became apostate as Baptisme was and that the repeating of it among us and not regarding the having of it there is a means to strengthen the Anabaptists in their errors We stayed our selves and rested in this that the Church did chuse 5. Let it be supposed that some others are of the same opinion as you know there are whose testimonies are elsewhere produced by Dr. Hall What is the inconvenience which you so much feare by this concession That then Separation from the Church of Rome is unlawfull So Robinson and John Can imagine But if I mistake you not you your self and many others in these times can tell how to avoyd that who pretend to acknowledge the Church of England and her Assemblies to be true Churches and yet separate your selves from them and Johnson in his Plea p. 118. will help you out so as the inconvenience is not so great as you would have us to conceit it But you tell us of a third That there is a personall succession of Ministers uninterrupted by Heresie or whatsoever else may nullifie a Ministers Calling from the Apostles time to this present For if there be but One who when he was Ordained was no Minister or not Ordained all that are Ordained by him are no Ministers if Ordination be essentiall To this I answer 1. It cannot be inferred upon the supposition unlesse Ordination were the only essentiall way of calling Ministers at all times and in all cases which needs not be much insisted on 2. Though in fact a personall succession could not be proved yet of right and according to precept it might be necessary as in the case of Circumcision among the Jews from Abraham downward among his posterity during the force of that Law 3. That which you suppose that Heresie and something else you say not what may nullifie a Ministers calling as you do not prove it so it is not granted neither by all the Papists * Nulla laesionis portio aâ—â—ingit â—um qui â—â— haereticis jam damnatis ordinatur Decret par 1. dist 20 cap. 8. nor by our Protestant Writers Suppose the people who choose a Minister be indeed Hereticall if you say their Calling of him by Election alone is a nullity as therein you shall gratifie the Papists who in this respect especially except against our Calling in England because our first Reformers though Ordained persons were as they reproach them Hereticks so also will you wound your best friends in the point in hand the Socinians 4. More may be said for personall succession in way of Ordination to prove it hath been then you take notice of See Voetius to that purpose * Desp. Causa Pap. l. 2. sect 1. cap. 2. pag. 65. And as it was of some use to the Fathers in the Primitive times so it is no small comfort to the Churches now We are sorry for the death of Christian friends though we believe their resurrection and should count it no small part of our misery that Succession though now revived in Reformed Churches yet was sometime at that passe as to need a raising up again 5. Succession of Ministers is the more to be enquired into because of that promise Mat. 28. 20. I am with you alway even unto the end of the world As also because either Apostles Prophets and Evangelists or Pastors and Teachers are alwayes necessary for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministery for the edifying of the Body of Christ Eph. 4. 11 12. 6. This also is worth observing that the chief Instruments of Reformation have been raiâ—ed out of the number of Ordained persons in all places Yet 7. there is not a like necessity of the way of Calling as of the Calling it self because the Scripture examples afford and the state of the Church requires a greater liberty for the manner of Calling then for the want of Ministers And God in thrusting forth labourers into his harvest by wayes of providence with a blessing shews plainly that he is free to give as he please * CuÌ„ Dei judicio ita labefactatur Ecclesia ut jamjam ruitura videatur corruptis jam pâ—orsus ordinariis Ministris Episcopis tum solitus est Deus Extra Ordinem never excâ—tare Ministros qui rutatem Eccl siam erigant Ministerium ab ordinarits neglectum corruptuminstanrent Zanch. quo suprâ— Vide Confessionem Gallicâ—m Artic. 31. 8. For matter of succession in the way of Ordination I see no need of contending for more then is granted by some of the Separation I deny not but confesse saith Robinson * Justif of seperation pag. 322. It. page 327. ed. ult that the Church of God and more particularly the Churches of the New Testament continuing and abiding in that State faith and order wherein they were set and established by the Lord in the hands of his Seâ—vants the Apostles and Evangelists were to receive their Ministers constantly by succession after a sort namely so farre as that all succeeding Ministers were to be Ordained by Ministers and not otherwise Provided that this be added when Faith and Order are revived the same way of succession ought also to be revived because this Order is necessary to preserve that faith which was once delivered to the Saints To conclude Whatsoever may be said of the calling of our first Reformers in the case of immediate separation from Rome or of others in times of tyranny and persecution when there is no place either for an orderly Election or Ordination yet you have not brought so much as one shadow of reason why Ordination should not be necessary with us in England in the way now appointed by Ordinance of Parliament should all be granted whereby you pretend to prove That Ordination as commonly taken is not essentiall to the
so much as one witnesse to your Thesis of Ordination as it was stated in the beginning As for the English Popish Ceremonies whether one alone composed that Tract or many concurred together by their joint endeavours I know not I take it for no more then a single and in many things for a singular and solitary Testimony What think you of Protestant Estates Is not their Judgement considerable If they do not hold Ordination to be essentiall why have they ever been so strict in urging it You know our Worthies assembled in Parliament are under a Solemn Vow and Covenant to reform according to the Word of God and the Example of the best Reformed Churches and in pursuance thereof they have declared it as a thing manifest by the Word of GOD * Ordinance of Parliament for Ordination pro tempore That no man ought to take upon him the office of a Minister untill he be lawfully Called and Ordained thereunto And that the work of Ordination that is to say An outward solemn setting apart of persons for the Office of the Ministery in the Church by Preaching Presbyters is an Ordinance of Christ This they have since attested unto in the same words in other Ordinances of Theirs giving power to Ordain unto Classicall Presbyteries And that this sense of Theirs might be better taken notice of they have further Ordered as here followeth Die Sabbathi 26 April 1645. IT is this day Oâ—dered and Declared by the Lords and 〈◊〉 in Parliament â—â—sâ—â—abled That no â—erson be permitted to Preach who is not Oâ—dained a Minister either in this or some other Reâ—oâ—med Church except such as intending the Ministery shall be allowed for the â—â—yall of their 〈◊〉 by those who shall be appointed thereunto by boâ—h Houses of Parliament It is this day Ordered by the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled That this Ordinance be forthwith printed and published And that it be forthwith sent to Sir THOMAS FAIRFAX with an earnest desire and recommendation from both Houses That he take care that this Ordinance may be duly observed in the Army and that if any shall transgresse this Ordinance that he make speedy representation thereof to both Houses that the Offenders may receive condigne punishment for their contempts It is further Ordered by the Lords and Commons That this Ordinance be forthwith sent to the Lord Mayor and Committee of the Militia in London to the Governours Commanders and Magistrates of all Garrisons Forces Places of strength Cities Towns â—orts and Ports And to the severall and respective Committees of the severall and respective Counties with the like injunction unto them respectively and that they take care that this Ordinanâ—e be duly observed in the places aforesaid respectively and that they make speedy representation to both Houses of such as shall offend herein that they may receive condigne punishment Die Jovis 31. Decemb. 1646. A Declaration of the Commons assembled in Parliament Against all such Persons as shall take upon them to Preach or Expound the Scriptures in any Church or Chappel or any other publique place except they be Ordained either here or in some other Reformed Church THE Commons assembled in Parliament do Declare That they do dislike and will proceed against all such persons as shall take upon them to Preach or Expound the Scriptures in any Church or Chappel or any other publique place except they be Ordained either here or in some other Reformed Church as it is already prohibited in an Order of both Houses of 26. April 1645. And likewise against all such Ministers or others as shall publish or maintain by Preaching Writing Printing or any other way any thing against or in derogation of the Church-government which is now established by the authority of both Houses of Parliament And also against all and every person or persons who shall willingly and purposely interrupt or disturb a Preacher who is in the publique Exercise of his Function And all Justices of Peace Sheriffs Mayors Bailiffs and other Head-Officers of Corporations And all Officers of the Army are to take notice of this Declaration and by all lawfull wayes and means to prevent offences of this kind and to apprehend the offenders and give notice hereof unto this House that thereupon course may bee speedily taken for a due punishment to be inflicted on them For the Example of the best Reformed Churches if thereby you understand as some do those of New-England how ever their Elders speak â—â— part as you have done yet by their Practise they make it essentiall for why else is it that they put the power and aâ—t of Ordaining into the peoples hand or some of their deputing when they have no Officers and in their Doctrine they hold it Necessary by Divine Institution * Church Government and Church Covenant discussed pag. 67. For those of the separation these are the words of their Confession Art 23. that every Christian Congregation hath power and Commandment to elect and ordaine their own Ministerie according to the rules in Gods word prescribed And if there be a commandement for Ordination as well as for Election why should not the former be essentialâ— as well as in their account the latter is Whether every congregation have the power is no part of the present question and thereforâ— as they affirme it I deny it and passe it by Those who are wont to â—e called Non-conformists in that book of Common-prayer which they advised * Printâ—d at Lonâ—on by Ro. Wâ—â—de-graâ—e they speak of the Election and Ordination of Ministers to the Election they call in neighbour-Ministers After that say they he is to be ordained by the laying on of the hands of the Eldership with these words pronounced by the Miâ—ister thereunto appointed According to this lawfull calling agreeable to the word of God wherby thou art chosen pastor IN THE NAME OF GOD stand thou charged with the pastorall charge of this people over which the Holy-Ghost hath made thee Overseer to governe this flock of God which he hath purchased with his bloud Among thâ—m there are two of great eminency whose expressions I shall here adde One the Reverend Mr. Arthur Hildersam who in that letter which Johnson in his Treatise of the Ministry * Page 117. pretends to answer makes a right Ordination into the office a substantiall part of a true Calling to the Ministerie The other Mr. H. Jacob whose old books have furnished those who are known among us by the name of Independents with their new light and all subtilties wherby they would be thought to distinguish themselves from Brownists There are two essentiall parts of Calling to the Ministery these are his words * Attestation ch 8. pag. 299. Election and Ordination And though he make Imposition of hands but a ceremony yet he adds Howbeit I suppose Christs Church offendeth in omitting of it for though it be but a ceremony yet it is Apostolick And howsoever in this place
also were offended with the first Reformers in France for want of succession in the way of Ordination Which gave occasion to Sadeel to write a speciall Treatise De legitima vocatione Pastorum Ecclesiae Reformatae against those who professed to differ from the rest in hoc tantùm capite in this point only That Ministers wanted a lawfull Calling for want of succession from the Apostles to the present times And therefore you must not wonder if you cannot perswade all men to be of your mind especially when your reasons are far from cogencie And Beza from whom you might expect something and make a shew of much waves the determining of that on the place which was most proper to it 5. If it be said he gives certain marks of Calling and yet reckons not Imposition of hands for one As 1. the Testimony 2. the Election of the Church for that 's in the Latine though you leave it out in the translation and 3. Confirmation by prayer I answer these suffice when the condition of the Church will not possibly afford more yea lesse then these The edisication of the Church is so necessary that it must be endeavoured as Providence makes way but when there may be Order and beauty observed its sinfull to neglect the rules and means of procuring and upholding it That which is lawfull by vertue of necessity is only so far lawfull as the necessity is reall and not pretended That which followes is in part confused And in the same case are the Lutherans who hold Laying on of hands not to be essentiall to their Calling yea that it's Popery to hold it so Bellarmine sayes Tarnovius would have laying on of hands to be absolutely necessary as the substantiall part of Ordination Yet I answer 1. In the connexion of these words either to those immediately foregoing or to the beginning of the Paragraph you make the Lutherans Theeves and Hirelings or exclude them out of the number of the Reformed Churches which is extreme uncharitable 2. Though the Lutherans do not hold Laying on of hands to be essentiall yet they need not fear a nullity in their Calling having Imposition by succession and using it still The act it self is of force though they should erre in the grounds of using it 3. To hold Laying on of hands to be absolutely necessary in all cases may well be counted Popery if we think those hands must be a Bishops and that Bishop consecrated by a power derived from the Sea of Rome as Papists do But to hold Laying on of hands such a rite as ought not to be omitted by those who have authority from the Word to use it in designing a meet person to the Ministery and in the visible declaration of that designation is no Popery 4. In this passage you deal fraudulently with your credulous Readers while you pretend to tell them the Judgement of Protestant Divines and do purposely conceale it Tarnovius in that very place which you point at in your margin propounding the question De impositionis manuum necessitate Concerning the necessity of Laying on of hands supposeth a necessity more or lesse to be granted on both sides between Papists and Lutherans and having set down Bellarmines opinion afterward gives this for his own and others of that part Nos eum speaking of this rite necessarium existimamus secundum quid nimirum quia citra scandalum omitti hodie non potest qui tot annos in Ecclesia usitatus fuit habet suos usus What need you cite Tarnovius only to let us know what Bellarmine sayes and will not let us know the judgement of Tarnovius himself if it were not upon designe to rake up all that may be said against that Rite and to hury as much as in you lies all that makes for it 5. As for the opinion of the Papists in generall and particularly of Bellarmine they are divided in this point And though he labours to prove Manus impositionem ad essentiam De Sac. Ord. lib. 1. cap. 9. Sacramenti ordinis pertinere yet he sayes Alii existimant manus impositionem esse accidentariam ita Dominicus à Soto alii quidam Whether there be not some difference between pertinere ad essentiam to belong unto the essence which is Bellarmines expression and esse substantiale as Tarnovius hath it or to be a substantiall part as you phrase it is considerable because that belongs unto the essence without which it cannot be compleat or entire and that only is a substantiall part without which it cannot be at all Among Decret Greg. lib. 1. tit 16. â— 1. the Decretals of Gregory this Case is put An permitti debeat ministrare qui sine impositione manuum fuerit ad Ordinem Subdiaconatus assumptus Whether one taken into the Order of a Subdeacon without Imposition of hands should be permitted to minister By this it appears 1. That laying on of hands was sometime omitted in some Ordinations 2. That such Ordination Impositio manuum non requâ—râ—tur in omnibus Ordinibus ecclesiasticis velut in cocolytho subdiacono ordinandis Can. subdiacon can seq dist 24. was not presently thought to be invalid and eo ipso null Which is further manifest by the Popes answer to the Case which is made a Canon in their Law In talibus non est aliquid iterandum sed cautè supplendum quod incautè fuerat praetermissum In such cases nothing is to be reiterated but that must be warily supplyed which was unwarily pretermitted Thâ—s is of great use against the Papists themselves who can find a salvo for want of Imposition of hands among themselves and yet allow none to the Paotestants And serves also to shew the vanity of your argument who from the defect of this one hing without any distinction of time or state in the Church would infer a meer nullity in the whole Thus far by occasion of that in Tarnovius Touching Chemnitius it follows Chemnitius puts the case Whether his Ministery be Null who hath not hands laid on him And having repeated their opinion who say it s not necessary so the Call be lawfull he lays the necessity of it to be in regard of others who run and are not sent not in regard of the Calling it self but that the Calling may be witnessed which the Minister hath and says Ord natio non facit vocationem Ordination makes not his Calling but declares it And further Praecipuè servatur iste ritus ut tota Ecclesia communibus ardentibus precibus c. That Imposition of hands is retained chiefly for the Prayers sake which the whole Church makes c. Yea Fatendum sane nullum extare in Scripturis mandatum Dei In 1 Tim. 5. 22. quod hâ—c ritus Ordinationis sit adhibendus There is no command of God in Scripture to Ordain by laying of hands Loc. com tom 3. 137. The answer 1. Why did you conceale from the Reader Cerâ—ò