but such as by force can put his judgements in execution he only is a magistrate Mr. Coleman sayth Church government distinct from civill maketh an irreconcilable difference betweene the Minister and the Magistrate as two governments must needs do Mr. Gillespie supposeth two governments must needs be and then chideth with the argument and with Mr. Coleman but letteth it alone without an answer But Mr. Gillespie falleth upon an argument against government committed to Ministers taken from feare of ambition and here he spendeth many words about the words which Mr. Coleman alludeth only unto which I will not trouble my Reader withall that Mr. Coleman in plaine tearmes aimeth at is ambition is to be feared in Ministers and sheweth what great contestation hath been for this censure of the Church that some have preferred it before all acts of piety and have ambitiously endeavoured that all should passe through their fingers and that this censure hath plunged the world in blood this many hundred years Mr. Gillespies answer to the matter of ambition is only by involving the Civill Magistrate in the same danger of ambition Now is this a good argument government is necessary but he that is imployed therein hath great temptations to ambition therefore the Ministers of the word must be ensnared in the like temptation that they may both contest one with another and so imbroile the world in bloud as the Popes have done or else both joyne together to enthrall the people as the Bishops in the Courts of Princes and not rather in regard that government doth naturally lift up the heart of man and therefore Ministers have the name of servants and Lordship and Dominion over the slocke denied them in Scripture to keep them from the like temptation that they may the more freely from God warn them that are in authority that they take heed of that temptation I am confident if this Assembly had stooke close to their commission which they received from Christ which was to preach the Gospell and spent themselves wholly in matters of doctrine and told the Lords of the duty of their place to doe justice in Parliament without respect of persons and put the Commons in mind of all their wholesome Ordinances that they looke to carefull performance of them without turning their thoughts after government the Reformation had gone on much faster and more comfortable then it hath Mr. Coleman saith That Church government hath disquieted all the world in the hand of the Pope and his Clergy in the hand of the Archbishop of Canterbury Mr. Gillespie telleth him That these stories are not a little beside the warke he should have told what hurt is had done in France in Holland in Scotland in Reformed Churches I answer it was the same censure that raised the Pope so high but it grew not to that height in one age a young Lion will not bite and you boast that your Churches are according to Primitive times well what they will come to after times will see we are beholding to the Presbytery for throwing downe the Bishops if they cast away their ambition with them and take Mr. Colemans advice and set up Schooles of Divinity and move the Parliament for due encouragement you shall then appeare to be men seeking the things of Christ and not your own but of this more by and by A word or two about that place 1 Tim. 5.17 the Elder that ruleth well is worthy double honour from hence two sorts of Elders are proved an Elder that ruleth well he that laboureth in word doctrine here two Elders are mentioned but the difference whether officiall or personall is very doubtfull one office may comprehend both these duties and the comparison may lye in their personall excellencies one may excell in the governing part of the office and the other person in the doctrinall part one may heare the causes and differences of his brethren well and yet be but a dull preacher another may preach excellent well and yet be an unpatient and peevish judge or not to countenance your Ecclesiasticall government so farre the Scripture hath these effects it is profitable for doctrine reproofe correction instruction one Ministers excellencie may lye in labouring in doctrine and instruction and this may be his that laboured in word and doctrine he that reproveth and correcteth may be said to rule and then there is no place for your Lay-elders but if this place doe set up your Lay-elder and the difference is in two distinct offices that here is an Elder that doth governe and doth not preach then preaching and governing be the differences and differences be convertable with their subjects so that if one doe governe and not preach the other must preach and not governe and this agreeth plainly with the 1 Pet. 5.3 not as governing the flock 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nique ut dominautes not as Lords for my part I know not how Lordship and government doth differ one from another dominus and dominari 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be denominatives he that governeth is a Lord and he that is a Lord governeth to imagine that ambition and pride injury and oppression or any such vice did necessarily belong to a Lord is very injurious unto the very title and honour of a Lord. That more reckoning hath been made of this dominion then acts of piety to this Mr. Gillespie seemeth to adhere that all the rest is worth nothing without this further occasion will be given to speake of these things Mr. Coleman doth desire doctrine and wisheth the Civill Magistrate to take Government Doctrine is committed to the Ministers of the word by Commission from Christ Mat. 28. and that Commission is to last to the end of the world this Mr. Coleman had reason to challenge as due from Christ not the Church but to the Ministers of the word the Church hath no where power to preach the Gospell but the Apostles and their successors unto the end of the world and therefore as before he had implied that the preaching of the Gospel would take up the whole man especially in our time our knowledge of the Scriptures is to be acquired by ordinary means tongues for the language exercise and art for the argument that the word might be preached in the demonstration and argument of the Scripture and not in the enticing words of mens wisdome well might Mr. Coleman call for Schools of Divinity that there might be unity found among the Preachers of the Gospell nothing more conducing to unity then the continuall exercise in Schooles the very people complaine women and such as are well minded why do not you Ministers meet and dispute it out among your selves one teacheth one thing and another another thing and we are much troubled and disquieted by it there is use of Schooles or otherwise it would never be set up in Universities Paul disputed daily in the Schoole of one Tyrannus Mr. Coleman
To the Right Honourable the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament RIght Honourable I have ever thought it the duty of us Ministers to debate matters of doctrine which is jus divinum amongst our selves so as that wee might all agree in the things that should be taught among the people which blessing of unity would certainly in a great measure be granted to us of God if we were set in such a station that we might use the means which were Schools of Divinity were we set into Classes and from our youth kept in the exercise of Divinity disputation before we were swaied with ambitious ends truth would in a great measure appeare to us which is now hid truth is but one the Gospell is the Gospell of peace it is our ignorance of truth and of the Gospell that maketh us at such distance in opinions now there is no such meanes in all the world to acquire knowledge as disputation therefore is that art which hath truth for its end studied and gotten in Schooles of Disputation I meane Logick Rhetoricke is ornatus the beauty or ornament of speech Now though persons of greatest quality doe usually weare the richest garments yet garments of greatest value may be borrowed and put upon the poorest slave and vilest begger the falsest and least probable matter is capable of curious ornament of words where it is a matter of the greatest skill in the world to find out the truth among these colours of Rhetoricke and those things that ought not to be taught will most forcibly draw disciples after their teachers At this time ye may heere the Pulpits filled with eager and earnest perswasions to accept of the government of Christ set up in the word of God without any argument out of Gods word to proove that Christ set up any such government as they aime at If any argument can be produced it is fit we all should know it and if so the word of God and the authority of Christ must not be bounded by any authority on earth no power among the sonnes of men may limit the Holy One of Israell If Christ hath set officers in his Church Kings and Nobles and Senators must stoop to them this intermixing of the Parliament authority with divine is but dawbing if it be any other then an acknowledgement of duty of submission if Christ hath set up any government in his Church to be executed by Church officers As for giving leave to execute discipline as to preach the word that is but a fraud you may indeed nay you ought to receive the word of God not for your selves alone but for the whole Nation as being the Representative Body thereof you may require a Covenant over all the Kingdome to wait on the means not by pieces and parcells but the whole word which ought to have a free passage not by plurality of votes but by an unanimous consent of the Preachers That the word ought to be so preached is plaine by these arguments First Christ gave a Commission to preach the Gospell unto his disciples which was to last unto the end of the world in which there was no Quorum duobus tribus vel pluribus vestrum by which they might not preach but by an universall consent If any shall object that the Apostles walked by an higher principle even by the ducture of an infallible spirit I answer first the Commission was penned in words that must last to the end of the world by which we must walke 2. The infallibility of the Spirit by which the Apostles walked did imply an impossibility of dissent 3. Though the Apostles did know that it was impossible for them to disagree in their doctrine yet St. Paul went up by the Spirit to communicate his doctrine to other of the Apostles James and Peter lest in regard of the people he had run in vain hee knew the unity of the Preachers would prevaile much among the people Gal. 2.2 2. Secondly St. Paul wrote to Timothy to charge those that taught any other doctrine that they should not whereby it appeareth that he had a care that no other doctrine might be taught but one 1 Tim. 1.3 3. Christ promised his presence among two or three that are gathered together in his name he promised nothing to the major part of such an assembly this gathering together cannot bee understood of a locall but a gathering by the Spirit into an unity of minde and judgement Christs promises attend on the performance of our duties when we doe our duties we may expect a blessing St. Paul to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 1.10 beseecheth them by the name of our Lord Jesus that they all speake the same thing that there be no divisions among them but that they bee perfectly joyned together in the same minde and the same judgement where you see he urgeth them by the name by the reverence and honour that they beare to the name of Christ that they be of one minde those that are gathered together in the name of Christ are of one minde I doe not say that all those to the number of two or three that are of one minde are gathered in the name of Christ nay the gathering in the name is differenced from other ambitious and hereticall gatherings cumulo accidentium whereof this being of one minde is one such a gathering together is worthy the presence of Christ seldome can many agree in one judgement that Christ doth not unite in any thing that tendeth to the glory of God Ob. Some may say that it is impossible that men should be all of one minde so much division is found among us Resp I answer that this unity hath not beene sought after means have not been used for the obtaining it all things have been carried by vote and the dissenting party kept under by censure accompained with fire and sword under Antichristian Tyranny the truth was kept under by the vote of the ambitious and Schooles wholly neglected or used only more imperato questions not stated by Scripture but the Scripture overswayed by humane authority I confesse I conceive it necessary for Classes and Assemblies to meet but their businesse is only about matters of their Commission about preaching the word to communicate their doctrine and by dispute to finde out the truth their disputes ought to end in a brotherly accord as in Act. 15. much disputing but all ended in accord no putting to the vote Votes have too great an influence upon the will to decide matters of doctrine by them men may vote what they have an interest to dispose of I may vote my estate and liberty but will-worship is unlawfull I meane the matters that are essentiall to Gods worship which are matters of duty as for circumstantialls of time and place except the Sabbath which are matters of liberty in these things the Commonwealth may vote and the Ministers must by the duty of their place preach the Gospell when and where they can get
endeavour to make them friends if reason will doe it Your servant W. Hussey To the Right VVorshipfull Sir Thomas Walsingham Knight Right Worshipfull I Am bold to Dedicate the first fruits of my Labours in this kinde unto your view and patronage unto whom I know the intention is not unwelcome as ayming at the conjunction of the State and Ministers of the Word in peace and unity that hitherto have beene kept at distance by these dividing principles arising from a twofold distinct government which being agreed on to be but one and I hope to make appeare they ought not to bee divers would for ever silence those implacable differences that have long time beene betweene them and remaine a hard matter to reconcile at this time Sir I have ever observed your aime to be at peace and justice to keepe of violence and oppression from all men so farre as your trust and imployment which hath beene great in and for your Country would inable you I aime at the same ends both to make the Parliament and Ministers all agree and all ayme at Gods glory and the Countries safety wherein I know no man would more rejoyce then your selfe I confesse the first sound of this my opinion out of the mouth of Master Coleman was very unwelcome to our brethren and I look for no better entertaynment I have some incouragement that a man so eminent is gone before me and doe hope that upon some pause they may receive better satisfactions and that at they were forwards but Bishops might bee plucked up root and branch so they will at last be 〈◊〉 to plucke up this root of their spirituall censure upon which the state and ambition of the Bishops was first planted I shall not desire to engage you in defence of the cause but if any good come by it to the Kingdome that you should enjoy the benefit unto whose happinesse here and eternall my duty doth engage mee to bostow my selfe and all the abilities God hath given mee Yours in the Lord VVIL HUSSEY To the Reverend Commissioner of Scotland Mr. George Gillespie SIR The eminencie of your imployment and my obscurity may make the congresse between us seem unequall my calling is the same with yours my education hath been the education of a Scholler though with lesse proficiencie then I could wish you professe candor in attending to and answering arguments It may be some of my arguments may seeme weake unto you I feare they may some of them be weaker then I could wish I confesse I cannot urge an argument as it ought to be urged the want of Divinity Schools hath been the cause of it joyne with me in your petition for Divinity Schools then you and I shall know better how to handle an argument at 7 years end then now we doe if we live so long In the mean time if you shew me the weaknesse of my argument I shall not endeavour to maintain it against light of truth no not so far as any strain of wit will bear me if your answers shew any thing I did not consider of I will acknowledge it hee that knoweth nothing of an argument is too ignorant to be a Minister he that will not submit to an argument out of Gods word principles of nature is to proud to be a Minister unity among our selves would be an happy thing and an indissoluble amity between us and the Gentry were of great concernment in these times we have need of them and they of us let us endeavour to make use of our friends and not make them our foes I perswade not any man to depart from truth to please men but let us not wrestle with our friends for that which is not while our enemies destroy us thogh our judgemēts differ yet let us dispute as friends and agree as soon as may be If any bitternes come from me I shal be sorry and amend it if any from you I have been bred under Bishops I have been used to it and can the better beare it I shall overcome it with goodnes if I can prevail with my corruptions to give way The Lord grant that we may speak the same thing that there be no divisions among us that we be perfectly joyned in the same mind and the same judgement let there be no dissention among us we are brethren You say we have leave from the Civill Magistrate to preach the Gospell that was a Canterburian tenet to put doctrine and discipline into the same condition and hold all under him but we preach the word with all authority from Christ derived to us by those of our brethren that were in commission before us Magistrates may drive away false teachers but not the Preachers of the Gospell but at their uttermost perills Let us stand to our commission and attend on reading exhortation and doctrine and we may obtaine from the Magistrates in a fair way as a testimony of their love honour and obedience to Christ more honour more maintenance and sin will be more shamed discountenanced and punished Ordinances kept more pure in your sense then ever you shall be able to procure by your scaring affrighting censure of excommunication What will your censure doe it will shame a few whores and knaves a great matter to shame them the law of Nature shameth a boy in the streets can doe as much But if your censure work upon hereticks or men differing from you in opinion can you fetch in Antinomians Anabaptists Independents if ye could send out Sathan and fetch them in or by delivering them to Sathan reclaime them some reverence might be given to the censure sure in the day of our Lord there will be as good a returne of the word preached as of the censure But all this is nothing if Christ hath set up any such governement prove that I yeeld My desire is that you would draw your arguments from the words of Scripture and not from the interpretation that you or any Authors shall put upon them nor counter argue my arguments without giving answers in answering arguments you have liberty to interpret Scriptures as you please so as your interpretation will stand out against all arguments that shall be brought against it the strength of arguments is in mediums consisting of termes and words of Scripture where divine authority is pleaded keep rules and truth will sooner be found Your loving Brother Will. Hussey THe replies Mr. Gillespie touching this point in controversie are publique That which is personal in them as a great part is hath already and shall presently further be cleared The argumentative part was purposely referred hither which calmely and mildly without any personall reflections is prosecuted A like candor and ingenuity is requested from all that omitting accidentall slips for such possibly in acursory reading may be ever looked they would addresse themselves to the maine and clearly confute these assertions or by Scripturall arguments confirme the contrary positions for if otherwise
capitalia judicia exercerenter quod si Corinthi factum fuisset nulla fuisset opus Pauli de illo Sathanae tradendo denuntiatione tum alii 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 levioribus offendiculis peccantes citra exclusionem à coena satis coercerentur quod cum utrumque prastare Christianus Magistratus nunc possit ac debeat carere nunc posse Christianas ecclesias hae disciplinae severitate to bee thus excommunication is in the power of Presbytery and that the Presbyters did proceed even to suspension from the Lords Supper because the Church at that time had no Christian Magistrate by whose authority capitall censures might be exercised which if it had been used there had been no need of Pauls delivery of the man to Sathan and also other disorderly men transgressing in smaller matters might well enough be restrained without suspension from the Sacrament both which because the Christian Magistrate now may and ought to doe The Christian Churches may wel be without this sharpe discipline thus much he confesseth Sed it a ut neque Scripturae locos novis ad hanc suam sententiam accommodatis interpretationibus applicarent But so as that they did not wrest Scripture texts with interpretations new and fitted to their opinion whereby it appeareth that these mens opinions were that the words of S. Paul 1 Cor. 5 were a denunciation of the sentence of excommunication but occasionall and particular no universall precept nor imitable by us Nisi rebus omnimodo sic stantibus but in the like condition and this is enough to dash all contentions about the sentence of excommunication this makes all further dispute meerly speculative we have a Christian Civill Magistrate though the present differences have taken away much of our comfort we might enjoy in them and these disputes render them of lesse use to us and us to them whatsoever they shall speake concerning the sentence of excommunication upon the severall places of Scripture if they may stand with these words here acknowledged by Beza let these men without more contention stand on Mr Colemans part if otherwise they must be understood upon after thoughts to be bent about by Erastus his arguments as Beza further confesseth Illos aliquantum in excommunicationis usu Presbyterii authoritate non quod ista per se damnarent sed quod corum abusum vererentur ad Erasti sententiam de flexisse That they did incline to the opinion of Erastus in the use of excommunication and authority of the Presbytery not because they simply condemned them but because they feared their abuse You see these men did fear the abuse and though Beza will not acknowledge Erastus reason to be of any weight yet with reason or without he confesseth take him in the mildest sense that they bent or leaned a little toward Erastus at least so far that in their Churches where they had to do they would not trust the Geneva discipline Beza himselfe citeth these words out of an Epistle which he acknowledgeth to be Bullengers to Erastus Neque putes nos ita esse dementes ut hic omnia ad rigerem Genevensis Ecclesiae exigere aut revocare velimus Neither doe thou thinke us to bee so mad that we would reduce all things to and exact them according to the strict discipline of Geneva and this not in Bullingers owne name but of the Tigurine Churches I hope these men shall have Mr. Colemans favour every other godly Minister will say c. I shall say nothing to Mr. Gillespies Preamble He excepteth against Mr. Colemans first rule and seemeth to oppose a contrary rule whereas indeed Mr. Colemans as little as may be and his as much as may be are both one Mr. Colemans meaning is that no more should be established then what was in the word and his meaning is as much should be established as is in the word of God this being doubtlesse both your meanings yee need not fall out about that greater difference will arise For my part I thinke Mr. Gillespie understandeth Mr. Coleman aright that he thinketh that no Church censures in the hand of Church officers are found in the word of God but I am nor or his minde ex supposito that they are jure divine and in the word of God that he or any Minister ought to be satisfied with any thing the Parliament can doe untill they have received it as the word of God if it be jut divinum it ought to be asserted not by many but by all As for Mr. Gillespies exception against Mr. Colemans word bias asserting they came biased for the truth that is petitio principii and deserves no answer The second rule let precepts held out as divine institutions have cleare Scriptures that is the rule against which Mr. Gillespie would not adventure to say any thing a phrase upon the by a thing named are too weake grounds c. when men may probably conclude different wayes Mr. Coleman doeth not deny that which by necessary consequence is drawn from Scripture to be a divine truth but ambiguous Scriptures decided by a vote if truth for they may possibly be errors are but humano jure let it be prooved that the major part of an Assembly have an infallible gift of finding out ambiguous truth and putting the stampe of divine authority upon their determinations For my part I wish much fearching the Scriptures were put in practice which cannot be done but in Schooles of Divinity men trust more to the opinion of piety they can purchase by their Oratory their places of trust their votes in assemblies then the strength of argument but of that heereafter He finds these words let the Scriptures speake expresly in Mr. Colemans second rule not so it was out of his rule he explaneth his rule sufficiently to take into it necessary consequences and for ought I know the word expresly if extended after a Rhetoricall liberty to signifie plainly apparently may include what is apparently in praemissis though in a most criticall sense that may not be sayd to be expresse that is not found in terminis but grant that the word had beene too strait to put into the rule he put it not in there but by way of amplification if expresse in Scripture all must bow he sayth not till then how necessarily soever it may be collected out of the Scripture they shall not bow He reprehendeth Mr. Coleman for supercilious passing over in a Sermon 1. Cor. 5. Mat. 18. without answering the arguments of the Learned upon those places and in a tract of purpose citeth none of those learned arguments for my part I say with Mr. Coleman and if such learned arguments such plenty it behoved Mr. Gillespie to have cited them Mr. Coleman might have taken more paines then he should have thankes in finding out ten or twenty arguments and yet be told at last that he had concealed the weightiest he had confuted the arguments in urging them you ought
to have the urging your owne arguments your selves and you can demand no more but answers for your arguments when you bring them I am of Mr. Colemans minde that one good argument to prove a Church censure or officer either from the Scriptures or elsewhere would doe me more good then all I have ever seene If Mr. Gillespie will affoord us any that be good I shall returne him thankes for the benefits I receive or otherwise in a brotherly way return such answers as his arguments shall require In the meane time he confuteth Mr. Colemans ignorance that he doth not finde any coordinate governments but he meaneth supreame hee doeth not meane the coordinate government of an Admirall and Generall both under a superiour parents and masters all governed by superiours and no way coordinate the masters government superiour to the fathers in his owne house as for the master and captaine in a ship the one he sayth governeth the mariners the other the soldiers and so the King of France and Spain are coordinate over their severall subjects He sayth the Minister is punishable by the Law of the Land heere is the difficulty if the Minister and Elder have power given of Christ to censure all Christians and they use this power according as Christ hath committed it to them what is the magistrate above these officers and can he make lawes to bound and limit the lawes of Christ or if they have power to binde may the magistrate loose if they use this power may the Christian magistrate punish them this were to allow Christ a very meane kingdome that his owne subjects should controll him but you will say if he commit any thing worthy confiscation of goods or life or liberty the magistrate may inflict it upon him but if he attempt to doe it unjustly he is ungodly and the Minister and Elders will excommunicate him and their coordination maketh them their owne judges As soone as the magistrate shall but distast any of their actions presently he is ungodly and send him to Satan and then what party the eloquence of the Clergy may find against the magistrate if he should go about to restrain them let wise men judge It is the thing it self he speaketh against it is true but he commeth to the third rule and Mr. Coleman saith Lay no more burden of government then Christ hath laid upon them which is none at all and his reason is because they have other work to do and such as will take up the whole man to this argument Mr. Gillespie maketh no answer at all though Saint Paul useth the very selfe same argument to discharge the Preachers from oversight of the poore Act. 6.2 God forbid we should leave the care of the word of God and serve at tables though the government of the Church and examination of crimes both in private congregations and in the classes must either be sleighted or it must take up ten times as much time as the care of the poore and if government doth belong to them the care of the poore must likewise belong to them but he telleth us neither the Minister can keep himselfe nor the Ordinances pure without Ecclesiasticall government and proveth it not he excludeth Elders from government he told you before he found no institution of the Elder a Church officer you should have proved the institution The Elder that ruleth well is worthy of double honour 1 Tim. 5.17 proveth not institution of an officer in the Church which appeareth by this reason the word Elder is either prima or secunda notio if prima notio then yee must be content with his owne naturall signification and in that sense it is apparently taken in the 1 and 2 verses of the same Chapter where he opposeth the elder to the younger and reckoneth elder women and younger women so that if the elder men be officers I know not why the elder women should not be officers likewise but if this elder be secunda notio or vox artis or scientiae Theologicae ye must finde out his definition in the Scripture how should man know what genius and species were in Logick what perpendiculum centrum diameter were in Mathematicks without their definitions if therefore an Elder must signifie an officer hee must have definition in Theologie that must be demonstrative in Scripture the word Rule is too generall if it be not referred to knowne principles of nature as a Father a Master a Civill Magistrate the first is a governour by nature the second by private contract 3 by publicke consent of the people and such ye make the Church officer for ought I know arising out of the consent of the people and such governours were called Elders of the Tribes and our Parliament men and governours are such Elders arising out of the publicke consent of the people yea Kings and all Civill governours arise out of the same principle of publique consent which power doth still remaine in mankinde to make choice of their company and to erect private arbiters at pleasure to determine the differences that arise amongst them with consent remaining still sponsable to publique Laws if they should call one another to account as 1 Cor. 6. where Saint Paul blameth them for going to Law and willeth them to set up a wise man to judge their differences and that in Civill not in Ecclesiasticall matters which is a difference no man understandeth I challenge the Assembly nay all the World to bound causas Ecclesiasticas à civilibus for my part I have gazed on that distinction this 30 yeares and never finde any thing of plaine dealing in it but non-sense and fraud the only difference that I could finde that the proceeding of the Civill Magistrate did pretend to be legall and regular the Ecclesiasticall as far as they durst to be illegall irregular and arbitrary all the government is in the officers that bind and loose whom they list I dare not leave this lest I should be challenged for not dealing reverently with Scripture binding and loosing must have a sense I say binding and loosing is meant by preaching of the Gospell which none yet durst deny to be one of the keyes and the other let him prove that can though these keyes were never given to any of the Apostles but to Peter and he opened the doore of Gods Church to the Gentiles which was never shut since but shall stand open day and night continually Esay 60.11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually they shall not be shut day nor night that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles and that their Kings may be brought And may not these exhortations be still seasonable have familiarity and keepe company with none but good and such as ye may be â—â—â—ered by and doe not goe to Law one with another but â—â—â—er your differences to some honest wise men to determine and that without setting up any new government an arbitrator is no magistrate
Againe God is said to put all things under him whereby it is implied that all things were not under him before they were put under him but as the second Person in Trinity so nothing could be said to be put under him because they were in that respect alwaies under him And lastly nothing is excepted from this subjection 1 Cor. 15.28 the Son also himselfe shall be subject to him that put all things under him so Christ hath dominion over all things they are put under his feet in such a condition in such a consideration as he himselfe is subject to God but in the consideration that Christ is the second person of Trinity so he is not inferiour to God the Father therefore he hath not all things put under his feet as second Person in Trinity Phil. 2.8.9.10 being found in fashion as a man he humbled himselfe and became obedient to death even the death of the crosse wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name that in the name of Iesus every knee should bow you see he that was in the forme of a servant was exalted under that description and so high that every knee should bow to him but as second Person in Trinity hee was not found in the forme of a servant but as mediator so he was God in the forme of a servant But Mr. Gillespie hath a distinction between dignity power and kingdome but proveth only a posse that such a distinction is conceiveable and may be found in earthly Kings but a posse ad esse in Christâ— non valet consequentia but here I further note that Mr. Gillespie in the close of his brotherly examination when hee commeth to apply this his distinction to the mediator he saith as mediator he exerciseth acts of divine power and omnipotencie over all creatures in the behalfe and for the good of his Church and restraineth or diverteth or destroyeth all his Churches enemies notwithstanding in the 43 page he denieth any such working to belong to Christ as mediator but as God whereby yee may see how weake these grounds are and how small a matter it is for a Rhetorician to forget himselfe in the following of an argument There remaineth now that something bee said in vindication of Mr. Coleman from the charge of mis-application of two Scriptures The first is the 1 Cor. 12.28 hee citeth to prove civill governments in the Church unto which Mr. Gillespie saith first if by governments in that plate Civill Magistrates were understood yet that place saith not that Christ hath placed them then à foreiori you disclaime by that means any government in this place as officers under Christ I thought Mr. Gillespie would not have let goe the hold he hath under Christ for his Church governments from this place so easie Mr. Coleman need not trouble him false about proving that they were put in the Church under Christ I hope if in the Church they will be content to be Christs Vicars or else if Mr. Coleman will be ruled by me so as Mr. Gillespie will not urge this for constitution of Church governments hee shall let it goe God hath placed governments in his Church and if they be meant civill governments hee hath gotten thus much that civill governours are in the Church by Gods appointment and then I hope Mr. Gillespie will not deny the roome that God hath given them in the Church upon this ground that God hath nothing to doe to place them there they should have come in by Christ Hee brings an argument out of Calvin because the Apostle spake of such governments as the Church had at that time but the Church had no civill Christian Magistrates at that time only the major of that argument wanteth proofe that the Apostle speaketh of such officers as were in the Church in his time only that cannot be proved I shall urge some few arguments to the contrary the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will not enforce is seeing that word will signifie proposuit or decreâ—â—â— as well as posuit he hath appointed and that may take in not onely such officers the present state of the Church did affoord but also hose as should hear caster by Gods appointment come to the Church and this is plain that in sundry places the word doth so signifie as Joh. 15.16 I have ordained you that you shall goe and bring forth fruit Act. 19.21 Paul purposed both made by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet both are referred to time to come and then that which you translate placed may be rendred he hath appointed to his Church the execution referred to the providence of God when he shal be pleased to affoord his Church the enjoyment of these severall endowments and gifts for it is plaine there is in that catalogue some such as the Church shall not alwayes have and why not some also which at that time the Church had not This cannot be a catalogue of such officers as are at all times necessary to the Church for then Apostles might not be mentioned because the Church is and long time hath beene without them as workers of miracles 2. At that time there were workers of miracles which did supply the defect of civill Magistrates which is to workt upon naturalls to induce men to attend upon the means Act. 8.6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake hearing and seeing the miracles which he did Thus much a nationall covenant and civill Magistrate may require of the people that they will attend upon the meanes out of naturall principles Deum esse 〈◊〉 in the maner of which worship so farre as concerneth the externall education from youth and tradition instruction of parents and humane lawes are the foundations and the bounds of nationall and publique worship and upon this ground the Israelites were commanded to reach their children the Law of God and God entred into covenant with the father for the child as with Abraham and the same obligation lieth upon Christian parents to instruct their children Eph. 6.4 And you fathers provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the â—urture and admonition of the Lord. Which yet they might not if the doctrine of the Gospell might not be received of the father for the son and the father might not require of his son the forme of doctrine Saint Paul calleth the doctrine of the Gospell Rom. 6.7 a forme God be thanked ye have obeyed the forme of doctrine that was delivered unto you 2. Tim. 1.13 Hold fast the so me of sound words which thou hast heard of me this is called fides quoÌ„ crâ—dimus and this may be the obligation of humans society and God and Christ and Scripture may be agreed on by naturall men even as Idolaters set up their worship yet if the Scripture be received for the rule there is a sound forme of words and he that heareth and beleaveth