And now, after all this, I must tell the reverend brother that he might have saved himself much labour had he, in his sermon to the Parliament, declared himself (as now he doth) that he was only against the jus divinum, but not against their settling of the thing in a parliamentary and prudential way. Did I not, in my very first examination of his sermon, p. 32, remove this stumbling block?
And, withal, seeing he professeth to deny the jus divinum of a church government differing from magistracy, why doth he hold, p. 19, that the Independents are not so much interested against his principles as the Presbyterians? Did he imagine that the Independents are not so much for the jus divinum of a church government and church censures as the Presbyterians? But, saith he, “The Independents' church power seems to me to be but doctrinal.” But is their excommunication doctrinal? and do they not hold excommunication to be jure divino? Either he had little skill in being persuaded, or some others had great skill in persuading him that the Independents' church power is but doctrinal, and that they are not so much interested against the Erastian principles as the Presbyterians are; as if, forsooth, the ordinance of excommunication (the thing which the Erastian way mainly opposeth) and a church government distinct from magistracy, were not common to them both.
Lastly, If the reverend brother deny the institution of church censures, but assent to [pg 4-004] the prudence, why doth he allege the Zurich divines to be so much for him? Male Dicis, p. 23; for it was upon prudential grounds, and because of the difficulty and (as they conceived) impossibility of the thing, that they were against it, still acknowledging the scriptural warrants for excommunication, as I shall show, yea, have showed already; so that, if Mr Coleman will follow them, he must rather say, “I assent to an institution; I deny a prudence.”
CHAPTER II.
A CONFUTATION OF THAT WHICH MR COLEMAN HATH SAID AGAINST CHURCH GOVERNMENT; SHOWING ALSO THAT HIS LAST REPLY IS NOT MORE, BUT LESS SATISFACTORY THAN THE FORMER, AND FOR THE MOST PART IS BUT A TERGIVERSATION AND FLEEING FROM ARGUMENTS BROUGHT AGAINST HIM, AND FROM MAKING GOOD HIS OWN ASSERTIONS AND ARGUMENTS CONCERNING THE DISTINCTION OF CIVIL AND CHURCH GOVERNMENT.
The reverend brother said in his sermon, “I could never yet see how two coordinate governments, exempt from superiority and inferiority, can be in one state.” To overthrow this general thesis, I brought some instances to the contrary; such as the governments of a general and an admiral, of a master and a father, of a captain and a master in a ship. He being thus put to his vindication, replieth, “The Commissioner acknowledgeth he did not apply them to the Assembly (I said the General Assembly) and Parliament; yet that was the controversy in hand,” Male Dicis, p. 5. But, by his favour, that was not the controversy; for he was not speaking particularly against the distinction of the government of the General Assembly and of the government of the Parliament (neither had he one syllable to that purpose), but generally against the distinction of church government and civil government, and particularly against excommunication; in all which he excluded presbyteries as well as General Assemblies. Wherefore he doth now recede not only from defending his thesis, but from applying it against the [pg 4-005] power of presbyteries. And so far we are agreed.
2. I having confuted his argument grounded on Psal. xxxiii. 15; Prov. xxvii. 19, he shifteth the vindication of it, and still tells me he grounded no argument on those places, but spake “by way of allusion,” Male Dicis, p. 6. Now let the reader judge. His words to the Parliament were these: “Might I measure others by myself, and I know not why I may not (God fashions men's hearts alike; and as in water face answers face, so the heart of man to man), I ingenuously profess I have a heart that knows better how to be governed than govern; I fear an ambitious ensnarement,” &c. This argument, there largely prosecuted, hath no other ground but the parenthesis using the words (though not quoting the places) of Scripture. And now, forsooth, he hath served the Parliament well, when, being put to make good the sole confirmation of his argument, he tells it was but an allusion. But this is not all. I confuted the whole argument drawn from his own heart to the hearts of others, and gave several answers: but neither before, nor now, hath he offered to make good his argument.
3. The reverend brother cited 1 Cor. x. 33, to prove that all government is either a heathenish government, or a Jewish government, or a church government. This I denied: “Because the government of generals, admirals, mayors, sheriffs, is neither a Jewish government, nor a church government, nor a heathenish government.” What saith he to this? “I deny it; a Jewish general is a Jewish government,” &c., Male Dicis, p. 6. Deny it? No, Sir, you must prove (because you are the affirmer) that a Christian general, a Christian admiral, are church governments. For I deny it. You tell us, p. 7, you are persuaded it will trouble the whole world to bound civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the one from the other. You shall have them bounded and distinguished ere long, and the world not troubled neither. Meanwhile you have not made out your assertion from 1 Cor. x. 33.
4. The reverend brother had cited Rom. xiii. 4, to prove that the corrective part of church government belongs to the Christian magistrate. And now he brings in my reply thus: that I said he abuseth the place, “Because spiritual censures belong not to the civil magistrate;” which, saith [pg 4-006] he, begs the question, Male Dicis, p. 7. I replied no such thing upon this argument. Look at my words again. How can the brother answer it,—to shape answers of his own devising as if they were mine? My answer was, That the punitive part, Rom. xiii. 4, belongs to all magistrates, whether Christian or infidel; which he takes notice of in the second place, and bids me prove “that Scripture-commands belong to infidels;” not observing that the question is not of Scripture-commands, but whether a duty mentioned in this or that scripture may not belong to infidels. There are two sorts of duties in Scripture; some which are duties by the law of God, written in man's heart at his creation, some principles and notions whereof remain in the hearts of all nations, even infidels by nature; other duties are such, by virtue of special commands given to the church, which are not contained in the law of nature. The first sort (of which the punishing of evil doers, mentioned Rom. xiii. 4, is one) belongs to those that are without the church as well as those within. The other only to those that are within.