May man make new (btlrdJ,Forms pr Officers ? Which temp~- Ecclcfiaftical Government, few Churches have had the happinefs to fee them .P'radically diftinct : cth ~~e Erl~h- Nay, fewDivines do clearI\' in their Conrrovcrfics, diflingui!h them : (Though· Ma,-frli~U PatavinM =~~;uft'd~wn and Come fewmore have formerly given them very fair light, yet harh it been bnr flenderly im– botb t~etber, proved. ) bcc:tUfc th<'y 1I• There famerh to tnc no readier and dired-cr way, to reduce the Churc}H!$ ro holy Concord fin~hm: in the and true reformation, than for the Princc!iandMagithatcs who are the rxtr.inficl;, Rultrs, w rc-affiun~ ~~?;:;b~~~~~- their own, and to. dillin~uifu openly and pra6t.ically b~twccn the proptrf:rPricjjty ~r Paftoral ; 11,,;,1• etb to the ficl{, Officr, and thetr f«trmficJt put, and to llrtp the Pafiors of all that IS .~ot.flr.trm{ecaUy thtir onn: M:~gi{hate,,rd ( It being tn<mgiJ for them, and things fo heterogeneous not well coQfiiHng in; one pcrlOn): And we do not then when the people know what is claimed as from the Magillratc only, it will, uke offmoll of their ~e:.~i~~d1r~~ fcruples as to fubjcdion and confent. . · • : p:t;atc: them. 12. No mortal man may abrogate or take down the Palloral Office, and the lntrinfick real power thereof, and the Church-form which is con!tituted thereby ; fceing God hath inftituted them far perperuityon earth. _ l3· But whcthtr one Church fhall have one Paftor or many is not at all of the Form of a particu;. lar Church: but it is of theImegrity or gradual perfed:ion of fuch Churches as nttd m~ny, to hllvt many , and to others not fo : Not that it is left mccrly to the will of man, but is to be varied as na~ tura.l nccdfity and caufe nquirerh. · ~ 14· The nature of theImrh1ftck Qfficc or power ( anon to be defcribcd ) is mofi ncceJTary to be un– der(\ood as di{fi11/1 from the power of MJgijlratu, by them that would truly undtrfiand this. The number ofGovem'oura in a CivilState make that which is ca11cd a variety· of Ffwmsof Comft)Or:.– wealths, Monarchy, A.'tifiocracy or Democracy :. Becaufe Conzm:3nding Power is the thing which is there mofi not-ably exercifcd, and primarily magnifitd. And a wi{er and bttttr man, yea, a thou..– {and, mufi (land by ao Subjects, for want ofAu•h•ri•y or uue Po"'rr : which can be but in One Su– pttu.m, either Natttr"al or Poli1iul perfon : becaufe it annot confiO: in the cxercife with fdf-conrra. 'diction. If one befor War and another for Peace, &c. there is no Rule• . Therefore the Many, muft be ontCoUetlive or Political ptrflm, and mufi confent, or go by tht \ttlajor Vott, or they cannot £,0- .ver,n. Bur th1t whi~ is calledGovtflnment in Pritjls or Minifttrs, is of a~other nature : It is but a {econdary fubfervient branch of their Office :· The firfi parts are Teaching, ~!'d Guiding the p:opl9 as theiL·Priefis to God. in publick Worfhip : And tl1cyG""<rn them by Teachi•g> _and in order to fur– ther fl'caching and Worn1ippingGod; And that not by Might; but-by Rtafon and Lovt- · Of which more anon. Therefore if a Sacred Congregation beTaughl and co11du/1ed in publick Wor(hip, and fo GuverneJ as conduceth •trneunro, whether by one, ttP8, or ma1ry, it no mo:e alrererh the Farm of the Church, than it doth the Form of a S<hool, when a fmall one hath one Schoolmalkr, and a great one four : Or ol aH•fpi••l, when afmall one hath one Pbyjicion, and a great one many ; fteing that Teaching in the one, and Htaling in rhe other is the main denominatmg work, to which Govtrn· ,JeJt-t is but fubfervient in the moll not~ablc aCts of it. 1 5• No more-a! man may rake on him to make a.Jf.Ofber ChHrch, or anotbtr Office for rhe Church, as "3 Divinetbing, on the fame grounds, and of the fam nature prercndedly as G::hrifi hath made thofe already made. The cafe of adding new Church (')fficers or Fornuof Churches, is the fame with t•hat -of making """ Wurjhip Ordiu•ncu for GO<l, and·accordingly to be de~ermined ( which I have largely operred in its place ). Accidenll may be added. SHhjiJHiiall of like pret<nd~d .nature may not be "3dded : Becaufc ic is an uftlTiping of Cbrifts power, without derivation by any provtd commiffion; ~nd an accufingof him, as having dol'lt his own work imperfc6t:ly. ..• : ·· -~., ')6. Indetd no man can herem\ike a new Cbt~rch Offi(er ot this Lurinfrclt fort, without making ~ him mw work.., which is to makt ~t'W Dolirine, or new Worjhip ( which art: forbidden ) ; For to do ·Gods rvori(_ already mapt belongs lo.thc Office already injlium d. 11 ev<ry King will make his own @i]icerJ, oi-authori'le the greattr tO make the ltfl, none mu£\ prefurnc to make Chrill Officers and Churcl'rcs without his Commiffion• .- ··i7· No man mufi make any OffiCe, Church Ol Ordinance, which is corruplivt or deftrutlivt, or -~:antrary, or injl4rious to the Officc..s, Churchts and Ouiinanc~s which Chrill himfelf hath made. Thi:l BtUartNi11e confdferh, and the le: on: 1 fupt'O& f rotdtants will n01 deny it. Thofe humane Offices which ufurp the work ofChrifis own Officer•, and Ukt " out of their hands, do malignantly tight again{\ Chri£ls infi,iturions: And while rhry pret~nd ·ha~ it is but ~re[t~ing and not Corr_uptiHg _or Oppojing addi1i<1111 which they make; and yet with thtl, W<'~ds m t~m mouths, do either g1ve Chrills Otlicw work to others, or hinder and opprc!s h>s Officers themfelves , and by their new Cliurch,lorm• undermine or openly ddlroy the old, by this cxpretlion of their enmity thty confute 'them{Clvts. 1 S. This ha1h been the unhappy cafe of the Roman frame ofChurch innovations, as you may ob[erve in the particulars of irs dt".gtneracy. 1 • Councils were called Gtntral or Oecumenical in refpect to Oi1t Empirt only : And they thence grew to tXttnd tbe name to (he wholt -world : when they may as wc:ll fay,that Conftantine, Marlian,($-c, were Empcrours of thewhole world, feeing by their authority they were called. 2 , Thcic Councils at firfi were the Emprrour> Co~tncils _called t_o dire& him what ts:> f<tlt in Churoh orders by his own pow<!r: Bur they were turned to ola1m an Jrnpofing authoruy of t~eJr owo to command the Churches as ·by commiffion from God. 3· Thefe Conneih at firfi, were only-for Counfrl, OI foi Agmmmt by way of conuaC! or mutual Confent
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