Peace. The prelates in Queen Elizabeth’s days, kept with more plainness to their principles: for, acknowledging the queen to be supreme in all church causes, according to the title and power of Henry VIII. her father, taken from the pope, and given to him by the parliament, they professed that the queen was not a sheep, but under Christ the chief shepherd, and that the church had not power to excommunicate the queen.
Mr. Barrowe’s profession concerning Queen Elizabeth.
Truth. Therefore, sweet Peace, it was esteemed capital, in that faithful witness of so much truth as he saw, even unto death, Mr. Barrowe, to maintain before the lords of the council, that the queen herself was subject to the power of Christ Jesus in the church: which truth overthrew that other tenent, that the queen should be head and supreme in all church causes.[227]
Peace. Those bishops according to their principles, though bad and false, dealt plainly, though cruelly, with Mr. Barrowe: but these authors, whose principles are the same with the bishops’, concerning the power of the magistrate in church affairs, though they waive the title, and will not call them heads or governors, which now in lighter times seems too gross, yet give they as much spiritual power and authority to the civil magistrates to the full, as ever the bishops gave unto them; although they yet also with the same breath lay all their honour in the dust, and make them to lick the dust of the feet of the churches, as it is prophesied the kings and the queens of the earth shall do, when Christ makes them nursing fathers and nursing mothers, Isa. xlix.[228] The truth is, Christ Jesus is honoured when the civil magistrate, a member of the church, punisheth any member or elder of the church with the civil sword, even to the death, for any crime against the civil state, so deserving it; for he bears not the sword in vain.
And Christ Jesus is again most highly honoured, when for apparent sin in the magistrate, being a member of the church, for otherwise they have not to meddle with him, the elders with the church admonish him, and recover his soul: or if obstinate in sin, cast him forth of their spiritual and Christian fellowship; which doubtless they could not do, were the magistrate supreme governor under Christ in ecclesiastical or church causes, and so consequently the true heir and successor of the apostles.
CHAP. CXXXVI.
15th head, examined.
Peace. The fifteenth head runs thus: viz., In what cases must churches proceed with magistrates in case of offence.
“We like it well, that churches be slower in proceeding to excommunication, as of all other, so of civil magistrates, especially in point of their judicial proceedings, unless it be in scandalous breach of a manifest law of God, and that after notorious evidence of the fact, and that after due seeking and waiting for satisfaction in a previous advertisement. And though each particular church in respect of the government of Christ be independent and absolute within itself, yet where the commonweal consists of church members, it may be a point of Christian wisdom to consider and consult with the court also, so far as any thing may seem doubtful to them in the magistrate’s case, which may be further cleared by intelligence given from them; but otherwise we dare not leave it in the power of any church to forbear to proceed and agree upon that on earth, which they plainly see Christ hath resolved in his word, and will ratify in heaven.”