strous as his own stupidity. Pope Hormisda, in his Epistle to the Priests and Deacons of Syria, turns it right, Qui prædicat verbum in aurem obedientis; "He, that preaches a word, to the obedient."

Far be it from any sober and orthodox Christian, to entertain so wild and wicked a thought. He hath learned, that the old way is the good way, and will walk therein accordingly; and, in so doing, finds rest to his soul. He, that preacheth this word, is no less happy, than he, that obediently hears it: neither shall a man find true rest to his soul, in a new and untrodden by-way.

If, therefore, it shall be made to appear, that this government by Lay-Presbyters, is that, which the Ancient and Succeeding Church of God never acknowledged, until this present age, I shall not need to persuade any wise and ingenuous Christian, if otherwise he have not lost the free liberty of his choice, that he hath just cause to suspect it for a mis-grounded novelty. For such it is.

SECT. 15.

THE FIFTEENTH GROUND:

To depart from the Judgment and Practice of the Universal Church of Christ ever since the Apostles' Times, and to betake ourselves to a New Invention, cannot but be, besides the danger, vehemently scandalous.

LASTLY, it must, upon all this, necessarily follow, That to depart from the judgment and practice of the Universal Church of Christ, ever since the Apostles' times; and abandon that ancient form, wherein we were and are legally and peaceably infeoffed, to betake ourselves to a new one, never, till this age, heard of in the whole Christian World; it cannot but be extremely scandalous, and savour too much of Schism.

How ill doth it become the mouth of a Christian Divine, which Parker hath let fall to this purpose! who dareth to challenge learned Casaubon, for proposing two means of deciding the modern controversies †, Scriptures and Antiquity. What more easy trial can possibly be projected? Who, but a professed Novelist, can dislike it? Tà apxała, was the old and sure rule of that Sacred Council and it was Solomon's charge, Remove not the old land-marks ; Prov. xxiii. 10.

If, therefore, it shall be made to appear, that Episcopacy, as it presupposeth an imparity of order and superiority of government, hath been a sound stake pitched in the hedge of God's Church, ever since the Apostles' times; and that Parity and Lay-Presbytery are but as new-sprung briars and brambles, lately woven into the new-plashed fence of the Church: in a word, thus, if it be mani

* Jer. vi. 16. ↑ Quòd duo ngiτńgia posuerit. Park. Polit. Eccles. l. ii. c. 5.

fest, that the government of Bishops, in a meet and moderate imparity, in which we assert it, hath been peaceably continued in the Church, ever since the Apostolical Institution thereof; and that the government of Lay-Presbyters hath never been so much as mentioned, much less received in the Church, until this present age: I shall need no farther argument, to persuade all peaceable and well-minded Christians to adhere to that ancient form of administration, which, with so great authority, is derived unto us, from the first founders of the Gospel; and to leave the late supply of a Lay-Presbytery to those Churches, who would and cannot have

better.

THE SECOND PART.

PROOFS.

SECT. 1.

The Terms and State of the Question, settled and agreed upon.

THESE are the GROUNDS; which, if they prove, as they cannot but do, firm and unmoveable, we can make no fear of the super

structure.

Let us, therefore, now address ourselves to the particular points here confidently undertaken by us, and MAKE GOOD all those several issues of defence, which our holy cause is most willingly cast upon.

But, before we descend to the scanning of the matter, reason. and order require, that, according to the old and sure rules of logicians, the terms be cleared and agreed upon: otherwise, we shall perhaps fight with shadows, and beat the air.

It hath pleased the Providence of God, so to order it, that, as the word itself, the Church; so the names of the Offices belonging to it, in their several comprehensions, should be full of senses, and variety of use and acception; and that, in such manner, that each of them runs one into other, and oftentimes interchanges their appellations.

A Prophet, we know, is a foreteller of future things: an Evangelist, in the natural sense of the word, is he that preaches the glad tidings of the Gospel; an Apostle, one of Christ's twelve great messengers to the world; a Bishop, exíσnowos, an Overseer of the Church; a Presbyter, some grave, ancient Churchman; a Deacon, a Servant or Minister in the Church: yet all these, in Scripture, are so promiscuously used, that a Preacher is more than once termed a Prophet; an Evangelist, an Apostle; an Apostle, a Bishop; an Apostle, a Presbyter; a Presbyter, an Apostle, as Romans xvi. 7; a Presbyter, a Bishop*; and, lastly, an Evangelist and Bishop, a Deacon or Minister; for all these met in Timothy, alone, who, being Bishop of Ephesus, is, with one breath, charged to do the work of an Evangelist, and to fulfil his dianovíav or Ministry; 2 Tim. iv. 5.

It could not be otherwise likely, but, from this community of names, there would follow some confusion of apprehensions: for,

* 1 Cor. xiv. Acts i. 20. 2 John, 1. 1 Pet. v. 1. 1 Tim. iv. 6.

since names were intended for distinction of things, where names are the same, how can the notions be distinguished?

But, howsoever it pleased the Spirit of God, in the first hatching of the Evangelical Church, to make use of these indistinct expressions: yet, all this while, the offices were several; known by their several characters and employments: so, as the function, and work of an Apostle was one; viz. to plant the Church, and to ordain the Governors of it: of a Bishop, another; to wit, to manage the government of his designed circuit, and to ordain Presbyters and Deacons of a Presbyter, another; namely, to assist the Bishop, and to watch over his several charge: of a Deacon, another; besides his sacred services, to order the stock of the Church, and to take care of the poor: yet all these agreed in one Common Service, which was the Propagation of the Gospel, and the Founding of God's Church.

And, soon after, the very terms were contra-distinguished; both by the substance of their charge, and by the property of their titles: insomuch as blessed Ignatius, that holy martyr, who lived many years within the times of the Apostles, in every of his Epistles, as we shall see in the sequel, makes express mention of three distinct orders of government, Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons. Now we take Episcopacy, as it is thus punctually differenced, in an eminence from the two inferior orders of Presbyter and Deacon; so as to define it, "Episcopacy is no other than a holy order of Church-Governors, appointed for the administration of the Church:" or, more fully thus; "Episcopacy is an eminent order of sacred function, appointed by the Holy Ghost, in the Evangelical Church, for the governing and overseeing thereof; and, for that purpose, besides the administration of the Word and Sacraments, endued with power of imposition of hands and perpetuity of jurisdiction."

Wherein we find, that we shall meet with two sorts of adversaries.

The one are furiously and impetuously fierce, crying down Episcopacy for an unlawful and antichristian state, not to be suffered in a truly Evangelical Church; having no words in their mouths, but the same, which the cruel Edomites used concerning Jerusalem, Down with it, down with it, even to the ground. And such are the frantic Separatists, and Semi-separatists of our time and nation; who are only swayed with mere passion, and wilfully blinded with unjust prejudice. These are Reformers of the new cut; which if Calvin or Beza were alive to see, they would spit at, and wonder whence such an offspring should come: men, that defend and teach there is no higher ecclesiastical government in the world, than that of a parish; that a Parochial Minister, though but of the blindest village in a country, is utterly independant and absolute, a perfect Bishop within himself, and hath no superior in the Church upon earth; and do no less inveigh even against the overruling power of Classes, Synods, &c. than of Bishops. You are not,

perhaps, of this strain: for we conceive that our northern neigh bours desire and affect to conform unto the Genevan or French Discipline; for which we find Beza's directions. Although both your act of abrenunciation, and some speeches let fall in the assem. bly of Glasgow, and the plea of Covenanters (fetching Episcopacy within the compass of things abjured), might seem to intimate some danger of inclination this way; our charity bids us hope the best, which is, that you hate the frenzies of these our wild countrymen abroad, for whom no answer is indeed fit, but dark lodgings and hellebore.

The other is more mild and gentle, and less unreasonable: not disallowing Episcopacy in itself, but holding it to be lawful, useful, ancient; yet such as was, by mere human device, upon wise and politic considerations, brought into the Church, and so continued, and therefore upon the like grounds alterable.

With both these, we must have to do. But, since it is wind ill lost to talk reason to a madman, it shall be more than sufficient, to confute the former of them, in giving satisfaction to the latter: for, if we shall make it appear, that Episcopacy is not only lawful and ancient, but of no less than divine institution, those raving and black mouths are fully stopped, and those more easy and moderate opposites at once convinced.

But, before we offer to deal blows on either side, it is fit we should know how far we are friends, and upon what points this quarrel stands.

It is yielded by the wiser fautors of Discipline, that there is a certain Polity necessary for the retention of the Church's peace: that this Polity requires that there must be several congregations or flocks of Christians; and that every flock should have his own shepherd: that since those guides of God's people are subject to error in doctrine and exorbitance in manners, which may need correction and reformation; and many doubtful cases may fall out, which will need decision; it is requisite there should be some further aid, given by the counsel and assistance of other Pastors : that those Pastors, met together in Classes and Synods, are fit arbiters in differences, and censurers of errors and disorders: that in Synods, thus assembled, there must be due order kept: that order cannot be kept, where there is an absolute equality of all persons convened that it is therefore necessary, that there should be a Head, President or Governor of the Assembly, who shall marshal all the affairs of those meetings, propound the cases, gather the voices, pronounce the sentences and judgments; but, in the mean while, he, having but lent his tongue for the time to the use of the Assembly, when the business is ended, returns to his own place without any personal inequality. A lively image whereof, we have in our Lower House of Convocation: the Clerks whereof are chosen by the Clergy of the several Dioceses: they all, having equal power of voices, assemble together, choose their Prolocutor:

* Honoratiss. Do. Glanico Cancellario Scotia Respon. ad Sex Questiones,