Luke xii.

Nay, further to say: did not our Lord and Master Jesus Christ refuse this worldly authority himself, when it was offered unto him, and the one brother desired him to "divide the inheritance" betwixt him and his other brother? He would not, but said, "Who appointed me a divider betwixt you?"-as though he should say, It is not my calling, nor belongs to me. His kingdom was not of this world; but he came to teach his Father's will. Likewise he taught his Luke xxii. apostles not to challenge this superiority, saying, "The princes of the people have rule over them, but it shall not be so among you; but he that would be the greatest, shall be the least;" that they might follow his steps truly.

kph. iv.

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But the manifest place, where the proper signification of this word appears, is in Paul, where he reckons what officers God has set in his church, and says, "First he set some apostles, other prophets, some evangelists, other shepherds and teachers." These shepherds, which are noted there by the same word that they claim their authority by, are placed by St Paul almost the lowest officers in God's church: then much more they cannot have the highest room in the commonwealth and church both.

I know, the Greek poets attribute this word to kings, but I trust they build not on heathen men's writings; and yet that name there is given them for their fatherly love towards their subjects, rather than their royal authority. But compare them with shepherds that keep our sheep in deed, of whom they have their name; and easily their nature, property, office, and authority shall be spied. God's people are called oft Psal. lxxix. in the scripture sheep, (as, "We thy people and the sheep of thy pasture will praise thee;") and their teachers are called shepherds because the one should in living follow the simplicity and obedience of sheep; and the other, the careful pains and diligence of shepherds, in feeding, healing, relieving, guiding, correcting, &c.

:

Look then, what temporal authority the shepherd has over his sheep; and the same spiritual power have the bishops over the church. The good shepherd will not let his sheep feed in hurtful and roating' pastures, but will remove them

[Rooty, rowty: coarse, or over-rank; said of grass or corn. Brockett's Glossary of north country words. ED.]

to good feeding grounds: no more will God's good shepherds let God's people and his brethren be poisoned with false doctrines, but by his authority root out and confute them. The true shepherd, if he see the wolf or fox come to devour the flock, he will watch and defend the fold: so should the good bishop by his office. The good shepherd will save the scabbed sheep, bring home the stray, and feed the weak and hungry so will the good bishop, according to his duty. The good shepherd, if his sheep be unruly, will set his dog to pull him down and tame him: if any cannot be healed, he will cut it off, and kill it, for infecting the rest: so will God's good bishop with the threatenings of God's vengeance pull down the unbridled stomachs of the people, make them to tremble and quake at God's judgments; and if any cannot be reclaimed, he will cut him off by excommunication, separate him from the fellowship of God's people, not suffer him to communicate the Lord's supper, which is the band of brotherly love, and forbid all good folk his company, if through such shame he may be brought to knowledge his fault and amend, that he may joyfully be received as a brother in the company and fellowship of God's people again, and communicate with them in prayer, doctrine, discipline, and sacraments, as afore.

In these points the authority of bishops is so great, that it extends to prince, pope, and prelate, and none is exempt; but as they be subject to God's word, sacraments, and doctrine, so must they obey God's true minister and discipline. As for example, the good bishop Ambrose did sharply correct and excommunicate the emperor Theodosius for a rash murder done by his commandment: and whether he is more praiseworthy that would or durst rebuke and excommunicate so mighty a prince, or the good emperor, that willingly submitted himself and obeyed his correction, it may be doubted3.

The power and authority then of bishops is spiritual, belonging to man's soul, as their office and ministery is; and it stands chiefly in these two points, in doctrine and discipline. As the temporal officer in the commonwealth has not the sword committed to him in vain, but to defend the good, and punish the evil; to smite the enemy and save the subject; to prison the froward, and loose the guiltless: so has God's minister in his

[See above, p. 381. ED.]

church full power and authority to teach sound doctrine and confute the false; to beat down haughty minds, and raise the weak; to bind and loose the conscience by virtue of God's word; to throw into hell the obstinate, or lift into heaven the penitent; to cast out of God's church, and receive again, such as he rightly judges by the scriptures meet for mercy or justice. And as St Peter calls Christ our Lord "the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls;" so those bishops that follow Christ will challenge no more authority to them, than their Master Christ had.

I am sure this pleases him well to hear, specially of my mouth, that such spiritual authority is given to spiritual ministers, to execute on all sorts of people: for as they belie us in other things, saying, we teach false doctrine, and move the people to sin; so they say, that in denying them their usurped authority, we take from them that which is due to them. Yet in granting thus much unto them I mean not, as they teach, that priests and bishops have this power of themselves, or when they be greased with the pope's oil, that they may execute it when and on whom it pleases them; but that God works it by them, as his wisdom thinks good, when they use them as he appointed them. For as the judge or pursuivant, that brings the king's pardon to save a thief on the gallows, is but the prince's servant, and not the chief saviour and deliverer of the condemned; so in this absolving and raising up the sinful clogged conscience, the chief praise and work is God's, and the bishop or minister is but God's servant, going his message by his word and commandment, to save and loose them whom it pleases God to offer this grace unto.

But methink I hear him say, If bishops in temporal causes have not this authority, why sit they so oft by commission now under the gospel in temporal matters? Indeed, forsomuch as they sit by commission, it proves that it belongs not to their office, as appointed by God, but in that they serve the prince, as they be bounden. Who wills and commands them by commission to serve in such place and time? The bishop's office is chiefly taught in the scripture by the Holy Ghost, and from him he receives his commission, and is not invented by pope or man. If ye compare together St Paul's bishop, described in Timothy and Titus, with such toys as the pope's prelates are ordained to play and feed the people withal, they

are as like as black and white. St Paul's bishop is in the first place licensed to marry: the pope's are forbidden wives, and allowed whores for money. St Paul's bishop must preach: the pope's think it shame to stand in the pulpit. St Paul wills his bishop to "have his children obedient with all reverence :" the popish priest's children sit by other men's fires, and brought up most wantonly. The pope has commanded his bishops to christen bells and ships, to hallow mitres and staves, rings, church-yards, altars, superaltars, albs, vestments, chalices, corporas, palms, ashes, candles, water, fire, bread, oil, cream, flowers, strips, swords, crowns, fingers, &c. This is their whole life; and yet not one such word appointed them by God in scripture. What is this but to forsake God's ordinance, and follow their own devices, to prefer man and his doings to the wisdom of the Holy Ghost? When he has done all these things, he may say, he has served his master the pope, and done his commandment, but not one thing that God bids him.

Yet remains one doubt unanswered in these few words, when he says, that "the government of the church was committed to bishops," as though they had received a larger and higher commission from God of doctrine and discipline than other lower priests or ministers have, and thereby might challenge a greater prerogative. But this is to be understood, that the privileges and superiorities, which bishops have above other ministers, are rather granted by man for maintaining of better order and quietness in commonwealths, than commanded by God in his word. Ministers have better knowledge and utterance some than other, but their ministery is of equal dignity. God's commission and commandment is like and indifferent to all, priest, bishop, archbishop, prelate, by what name soever he be called, "Go and teach baptizing in the name Mark xvi. of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost:" and again, "Whose sins soever ye forgive, they are forgiven, and what- John xx. soever ye loose in earth, it is loosed in heaven, &c." Likewise the Lord's supper, by whomsoever, being lawfully called, it be ministered, it is of like strength, power and holiness. St Paul calls the elders of Ephesus together, and says, "the Holy Ghost Acts xx. made them bishops to rule the church of God:" he writes also to the bishops of Philippos, meaning the ministers: for neither Ephesus nor Philippos were so great towns, but one little

bishoprick is a greater compass of ground; then they needed not many bishops. Therefore this diversity of absolving sins, invented by idle brains, that a simple priest may absolve some small ones, other greater belong to the bishop; the archbishop claims another higher sort; the rest and foulest sort pertain to popes and cardinals, as the fathers and maintainers of them; Ministers' these, I say, are so foolish and childish to believe, that I think of like it not needful to speak of them: they are not grounded on

authority is

power, all.

God's word, and therefore must needs be untrue, and not to be
credited, because our faith hangs only on the holy scripture.
Greedy covetousness to enrich themselves has invented these,
as also the rest of their superstition, which they term religion.
St Jerome, in his commentary on the i. chapter ad Tit. says,
that "
a bishop and a priest is all one;" and in his epistle ad
Evagrium he says, that "the bishop, wheresoever he be, he is
of the same power and priesthood'." Rome makes him not
better, nor England makes him worse.

A bishop is a name of office, labour, and pains, rather than of dignity, ease, wealth, or idleness. The word episcopus is Greek, and signifies a scoutwatch, an overlooker, or spy; because he should ever be watching and warning, that the devil our enemy do not enter to spoil or destroy. And as in war the watchmen, scouts, or spies, if they fall on sleep or be negligent, they betray their fellows, and deserve death; so in God's church, if the bishops watch not diligently, and save their sheep, God has pronounced sentence of death against them by his prophet. Ezek. xxxiii. "I made thee a watchman to the house of Israel, says the Lord: thou shall hear the word of my mouth, and declare it them from me. If I say to the wicked, Thou wicked, thou shalt die, and thou wilt not warn him to take heed to his way, he shall die in his wickedness, but his blood I will require of thee."

But I think the holy bishops he cracks so much of, have

[Qui, qualis presbyter debeat ordinari, in consequentibus disserens, hoc ait, Si quis est sine crimine, unius uxoris vir, et cetera, postea intulit, Oportet enim episcopum sine crimine esse, tanquam Dei dispensatorem. Idem est ergo presbyter qui episcopus. In Titum, c. 1. v. 5. T. 1v. p. 413. Paris. 1706.-Ubicunque fuerit episcopus, sive Romæ, sive Eugubii, sive Constantinopoli, sive Rhegii, sive Alexandriæ, sive Tanis, ejusdem meriti, ejusdem est et sacerdotii. Epist. cr. Ad Evangelum. ("Falsely inscribed," say the Benedictine editors, "in the old editions, Ad Evagrium.") T. IV. Pars ii. p. 803. ED.]