37 / 504
A
Preface
to the Reader.
Thus
fares
itwith our
Dot-lour
,
and
his Ignatiue
:
ús ád4v
,
idh',ouny L
P
dl
t
rjkwu
o1Àñvnv;
I
Shall
only crave
leave
to
fay
to
him
as
Auguflus
of
9....uintilius
ram
;
upon the
lots
of
his
Legions in Germany
under his command
;,Q5intili
Vare redde
legions:
Domine `Doctorredde
Ec-
clefiu:give
us
the Churches
of
Chrift
fuch
as
they
were
in
the
dayes
of
the Apoftles,and down
to ignariue,thoughbefore that
time
(if
Hegefeppus
may be
believed)fomewhat deßowred,and
our
conteft about Church
-
Officers,
&
Goverment,will
be
nearer at
an
end,then
perhaps
you
will readily imagine.
Give
us
a
Church,
all whole members are
holy,
called,fanfhifred,juflified
living-flones, Temples
for
the Holy Ghofl,
Saints,
Believers, united
to
Chrifl
the
head
by
the
Sit
tit,
that
is
given
to them, and dwelleth
in
them
, a
Church whole
,
is
gas
dv
eavii
i
cnñ-
eaorg-,that doth nothing
by
it's
members
apart, that
appertaines
to Church-order but when
iris gathered
eau'
w
ò
;
a
Church that
being fo gathered
together,
in
one
place
oasdk-
S
aúv>a
.a",lo
yr
áucvórá 3aoú,2CSwa`Jnsdoo1vF.m,Todas,ac`íing
inChurch things,in
it's
whole body
under the Rule and
prefidence
of
it's Officers.
A
Church
walking
in
order
,
and
not
as
force who
¿77i$X,RVV
tgoiosv,
Xtíets dti
adv7a
eatieJOVOW
(
of
whomfaith /gnarius
ói
701;70114
Úswv
d
7c
¡
ér
é
çi
voV
,orá
l[
7ò
Hui
Pad!
ç
roT'
i97m?Ñr
wvaupbt<s,9
u,fuch
as
calling theBijhops
to
the Affemblies,yet
do
all
things without
him,(the
manner
of
Come
in
our dayes)hefuppo-
feth
not to
keep the
Af
emblies
according
to the
command
of
Chrift
)
give
us,
I
fay
,fuch
a
Church
;
and let
us
come
to
them when they are
aávTSS mi
T;
rn
717
ÿ
a
e9osvz
ñ
iio 74,ax
dv-
7
i, fuch
as
the Churches
in
the
dayes
of
lgnatisu appeare
to
have been, and are
fo
rendred in
the Quotations
taken from
his
Epiftles by
the
Learned Dotlonr,for
theConfirmation
of
Epif-
copacy, & as
I
Paid
before,
theconteft
of
this prefent
digrelfìon, willquickly draw
to
an Iffue.
Being unwilling
to go too
far
out
of
my
way, I
Shall
not,
I
Confider
the
teveralls inftanced
in
for
the proof
of
Epifcopacy
by the Dotlaur.
Seeing
indeniably
the Interpretation
mu
ft
follow
,
and
be
proportioned
by
the General
Iffue
of
that
fiate
of theChurch,
in
the
dayes
wherein thofe Epiftles
were
writ, or
are
pretended
fo
to be,
if
that
appeare to
be
fuch
as
I
have
mentioned
;
I prefume
the Don
our
himfelfe will confers,
that
his
witneffes fpeak
not
one
word
to
his bufrnefs,for
whofe confirmationhe
doth
produce
them.
Nor
zly,
Shall
I
infift
upon
the degeneration
of
the /nflitsoieus,
and eilppointments
of
Jefas
Chtift
concerning Church Adminiftrations
in
the
management
of
the
fucceeding
Churches,as principled, and
fpirited
by
the operativeand
efficacious
Miller,
of
lniquity,occa-
Cioned
and
advantaged by the Accommodation
of
Ecclefiaftical affayres
to the civildiftributi-
ono,
and
Alotments
of
the
political
Rate
of
things
in
thofe
dayes,
nor
3
Infill
much
farther
,
on the exceedingditrrmi!itude, and inconformity,
that
is
between
the
Ex
preflions
concerning Church
-
Officers, and affaires in
theft
Epifiles
( whence everthey
come
)
and
thofe
in
the
writings
ofunqueftionable credit, immediarlybefore,and after them,
as
alto the
utter
fllence
of
the
Scripture in thofe
things,wherewith they
fo
abound.
The
Epi-
ftle
of
Clemens,ofwhich
mention
was
made
before,
was
written for the compofing,
and
quie-
ting
of divition
and
diftemper
that
was
fallenout
in
the
Church
of
Corinth,
Of
the
caufe
of
that
(intention
thatthen
miferably
rent
that
congregation,he
informs
us
in
that
complaint
that
fome(
d):yíms i ,nuns
u
I
as7sp,
)were wrongfully
cart
from theminiftry,by the
multi.
rude,
&
he tells
you
that
thefe were
good lumen men,& faithful
in
the difcharge
of
their
du-
ty;for
faith he,
ipwr:v
tu=vi,í
pals
..z;i;,qT,xarü,s
Rohe7svo
drus,msF
á5e1;1.c7a5 w'TCrs 7.omvjosvns
xtt-
TePPat
:though theywereunblamable
both
in
theirconverfation,&
minifry,
yet
they removed
them from
then
odùei
To
reprove
this evill,
to
convince
them
of
the
finfulnefs
of
it,
to
reduce
them to
a
right
underftandingoftheir duty,
&order,welking
in thefellowfbip ofthe
gofpel,what
courfe
doth
he proceed
in?
what
arguments doth
he oft? He minds them
of
one
God,one
Chrifl,
one
body,one
faith,tells them that
wicked
men alone
rife
fuch
Wades
d-prat
ifes
:bids them read
the
Epiftle
of
Paul
formerly written to them, upon
occafronof another
divifton,and
to
be
fubjeét
to
their own Eldersl&
all
of
them leave
off contending,quietlydoing the things
which the
peo-
plc,
or
the
body
of
the
Church delivered,& commanded.Now
had this Perkin writing
on
this
oeca=
Pion,
ufing
all
forts
of
Arguments,
Artificial,
or inartificial for
his
purpofe,been bapti zed
into
the opinion& efteem
of
a
tingle
Episcopacy"
fuperintendent, whofe Exaltation
b
ernes
to
be
the
defign
of
much which
is
faid in
the
E'piflles
of
Ignatius
in
the
fenfe
wherin
his
words are ufual-
lv taken,would yet
never once
fo
much
as
bid them be
fubjeti
to the
BiJhop,that
Refemblanee
of
God the
Faeher,fupplying
of
the
place
ofChrifl,nor
told them bow
terrible
a
thing it was,to
difobey him,
nor
pawned
his
foule
for
rheirs,
that
fhouldfobmitto
him,
that
all
that
obeyed
him were
Cafe
,
all
that
difobeyed him,wererebellioru, curfed,and
feperated
from
God.
What
Apologie
can
be
made for
the
weaknels
and Ignorance
of
that
holy
Martyr,
if
we
(hall fop-
'D
3
pole