Chap. VII. The HISTORY of the PuRITANs. 233 pointment which raifed a bilhop above a preibyter. To his m;;jefiy's ar-K. Charles f. gument, that where the meaning of fcripture is doubtful, we mull: have~· recourfe to the fathers, Mr. Henderfon replies, that notwithfianding the · decrees of councils, and the refolutions of the fathers, a liberty mull: be left for a judgment of difcretion, as had been fufficiently (hown by bi~ !hop Davenant ?nd others.. To prov~ pdbyters m<~y ordain ot~er ~refby· ters without a b1lhop, he c1tes St. Paul s adv1ce to 'ltmothy, I 'Tun. 1v. 14. not to neglect the gift that was given him by the laying on if the hands of the prejbytery; but granting bi(hops and prefbyters to be difiinct functions, it will not follow, that the authority and force of the prefbyterscharaeler was derived from the biibop; for though the evangelifis and feventy dif. ciples were inferior to the apofiles, they received not their commiffion fi·om the apofHes, but from Chrift himfelf. · Concerning the king's coronation .oath, Mr. Henderfon apprehends no~ thing need be added. As to the fupremacy, he thinks fuch an heacllhip as the kings of England claim, or iuch an one as the two houfes of parlia– ment now infift on, that is, an authority to receive appeals from the fupream ecclefiafl:ical judicatures, in things purely fpiritual, is not to be jufiified; nor does he apprehend the confent of the clergy to be abfolute– ly neceffary to church reformation, for if fo, what reformation can be ex– petl:ed in France, in Spain, or in Rome itfdf; 'tis not to be imagined, that the pope or prelates will confent to their own ruin. His majefiy had faid, that if his father king James had been confulted upon the quefiion of rifijlauce, he would have anfwered, that prayers and tears are the church weapons. To which Mr. Henderfon replies, that he could never hear a good reafon to prove a neceJTary difenftve war, a war agaii?Jl tt~ujl 'Violmce, unfaqiful; and that biiliop Jewel and Bi!Jon were of this mind. To the quefl:ion, what warrant there was in fcripture for fubjeets to endea– vour to force their king's confcience? He replies, that when a man's con– fcience is mifl:aken it lies under a neceifity of doing am ifs; the way therefore to difentangle himfelf is to get his conlcience better inform– ed, and not to move till he has fl:ruck a light and made further di!Co– veries. The KING in his anfwer of June 22. to Mr. Hendet:fon's fecond pa- King's third per, fl:ill infifl:s, that inferior magijlrates and people hart.Je no authority to paper. riform religion. If this point can be proved by fcripture his majefl:y is R,b. Reg. P• re~dy. to fub~1it; but the r:cre? hifl:or~ in the book of Numben, ·chap. 337• &c. :xv1. 1s an ev1dence of Gods d1fapprovwg fuch methods. Private mens opinions disjoined from the general confent of the church iignify little, for rebels, fays his majefiy, never want writers to maintain thrir revolt. Though his majel1y has a regard for bifr10p Jewel's and Biljon's memories, he never thought the~ infallible ; as for epifcopal government, he YoL. li. · H h · is
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