Yea further, In a civill State there may be alteration, raising the dignity
of the office,3. and making of it lower then before; but in the Church no such
thing, the officers of the Church are alwayes the same, no raising, no depres∣sing,
why? because they hold upon the Head. Others depend upon mans
prudence, but these are institutions by Christ, and hold of the Head.2.2. All Ordi∣nances hold to Christ the Head. Christ is the Head in regard of rule, because all Ordinances hold on
Christ too, and all Lawes. I will put both together, Ordinances and Laws,
and Institutions do hold upon Christ the Head. It is not in the liberty of
man to erect any new spirituall Ordinance in the Church, no nor to make
Laws in the Church that are spiritual, that shall tend to the spirits of men,
(according as I shall open it by and by.) No new Ordinance, no new In∣stitution
can be in the Church. In the civil State there may be thousands of
new Institutions.What the nature of an Institu∣tion is. I call that an Institution that hath an efficacy in it for the
attaining of such an end by vertue of the Institution, not by vertue of any na∣turalnesse
that is in the thing. As for example to instance in Divine Institu∣tions.
The Sacrament is an Institution, and therefore is a virtue, a spirituall
efficacy to be expected from that and by that, through the strength of the In∣stitution
more then it hath in it in any naturall way. So in preaching the
Word, and Ecclesiastical censures, there is more to be expected, more effi∣cacy
to worke upon the soule, for the spiritual man, by virtue of the Institu∣tion,
then there is in the natural things that are done there.So for Lawes. Christ makes a law in the Church, it being an institution
there is to be expected a spiritual efficacy and virtue to goe along together,
with that thing that Christ commandeth, beyond what it had before it was
commanded. Now then in rhis way no man in the world can make any
Church institution, no, nor Law for the Church, so as to appoint any thing,
to have any spirituall efficacy by vertue of that institution beyond what it
hath in a natural way. We must take heed of being so bold, that when Christ
hath made an institution, an ordinance, and revealed it to us, for us to think
we may imitate Christ and make another Ordinance, or another institution
like that, because Christ hath done so, because we finde such a thing in the
Word therefore we may do so too; No, this is too bold, this is to set our post
by Gods post, for which the Lord did charge the people, Ezek. 43. 8. In Esay
33. 22. it is said, The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Law-giver, the
Lord is our King in this thing. But yet you will say, how is that opened fur∣ther?
(for indeed it needeth opening) that there can be no new institution,
nor no new Law made in this sense, but all must hold of Christ?For the opening of that I shall afterward come to speake more fully about
the power of Governours and what their authority is, but thus much for the
present.No man can make any new Institution in the Church. VVe are to consider that there are some things belonging to the
Church (I beseech you observe) that are common with all other societies,
to them, that is natural and civill, and
there wer of man may come in, there the
may order things. Those things I say that belong to the
0
|