Barrow - BX1805 .B3 1852

THE CHARGE OF THE WHOLE CHURCH IMPRACTICABLE. 169 church, is not alterable or governable by it, can endure no check or control, pretends to be endowed with an absolute power to act with- out or against the consent of the church, is limited by no certain bounds but its own pleasure, &c. IV. Farther; this pretence may be impugned by many arguments springing from the nature and reason of things abstractedly °con- sidered, according to which the exercise of such an authoritymay appear impracticable, without much iniquity and great inconve- nience, in prejudice to the rights of Christian states and people, to the interests of religion and piety, to the peace and welfare of man- kind; whence it is to be rejected as a pest of Christendom. 1. Whereas all the world, in design and obligation, is Christian, (the "utmost partsof theearth" being granted in "possession" to our Lord, and his gospel extending " to every creature under heaven"), and may in effect become such, when God pleases, by acceptance of the gospel; whereas it may easily happen that the most distant places on the earth may embrace Christianity; whereas really Christian churches have been and are dispersed all about the world ; it is thence hugely [vastly] incommodious that all the church should depend upon an authorityresident in one place, and be managed by one person. The church being such, is too immense, boundless, un- circumscribed, unwieldy a bulk to be guided by the inspection or managed by the influence of one such authority or person. If the whole world were reduced under the government of one civil monarch, it would necessarilybe ill governed, as to policy, to justice, to peace. The skirts, or remoter parts from the metropolis or centre of the government, would extremely suffer thereby; for they would feel little light or warmth from majesty shining at such a distance. They would live under small awe of that power which was so far out of sight; they must have very difficult recourse to it for redress of grievancesand relief of oppressions, for final decision of causes and composureofdifferences for correction of offences and dispensation of justice, upon good information, with tolerable expe- dition. It would be hard to preserve peace, or quell sedition and suppress insurrections that might arise in distant quarters. What man couldobtain the knowledge or experience needful skil- fully and justly to give laws or administer judgment to so many nations, different in humour, in language, in customs? What mind of man, what industry, what leisure, could serve to sustain the bur- den of that care which is needful to wielding such an office? "Cum tot matinees, et tanta negotia soins."2 How and when should one man be able to receive all the addresses, I N. ii. 8; Col. L 23; Lukexxiv. 47; Matt. :mill. 19. 2 Hor., Ep. ii. 1.

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