Ob. 4. It is unreasonable that a Prelate or a Pope should rule me, and not teach me, and we condemned this in Prelates that they would onely rule, and not teach: But the classicall presby∣tery doth fall in that same fault, for they governe the whole classicall Church, but they doe not teach the whole classicall Church; It is dreadfull for a man to watch for the soules of one single Congregation, as being under necessity to give an ac∣cempt; Ergo, far more dreadfull it is to watch also for a whole tract of thirty or forty Churches, the Apostle will have Him who watcheth for one flock to entangle himselfe with no other imploy∣ments. How then shall hee take the burden of thirty, or forty Flockes?

Answ. It is unreasonable that Prelate and Pope should rule me, and so many hundred Churches 1. as the sole and proper Pastors, and all under them be but suffragans and deputed Pastors, doing by borrowed authority from Pope and Pre∣late. 2. That their sole Office should be to command feeders as Pastors of pastors, and not to feede with knowledge the flocke, that is most true; but the classicall presbyters are neither prin∣cipall nor proper pastors of the whole classicall Churches col∣lectively, nor are two or three pastors under them as deputies. 3. Nor is their Office to rule onely, not to feede with knowledge also. 2. The pastors of independent flocks are obliged by brotherly association, to be Vine-Keepers, Governours, fel∣low-Counsellers Page  332 to forty sister-Churches, for they acknow∣ledge * that Churches cannot subsist in good government with∣out the helpe of Synods; Now if wee distinguish onerous∣n•sse, care, and labour of B•therly watching over one another, and oner•u•n•sse, care, and labour, by way of Jurisdiction, the former is as great in foro Dei, in the Court of Conscience as the latter, and so ou• Brethren make Governing without Teaching, as well as wee doe; They in a Brotherly way, wee in a way of Jurisdiction. I prove that their way is as dread∣full and labo•ous in the •oynt of conscience, and in a way of giving accompt to God, as our way. For 1. A divine command that wee be our Brethrens keepers, and we watch over one another commandeth onerousnesse, and care in Bro∣therly governing to them, as to us. 2. Wee make the ground and foundation of governing a Classicall Church that band of Love and Union of the members of one Body of Christ, and this band of Lovely and Brotherly consociation of many Congregations commandeth, and ti•th us to doe no more in Governing and i• Helping, and promoting the edification of sister-Churches, then if wee had no further warrant to pro∣m•te edification, then the alone relation of Brotherly con∣sociation, for the onely and very reason why the Wisdome of our Law-giver Christ hath put a speciall Commande∣ment on consociated Churches to make one Presbytery, and to governe one Classicall Church, in these common poynts that concerne the whole Classicall Church, in the poynt of sound Doctrine and lawfull and Ministeriall Jurisdicti∣on, is the necessity that Members of one Body have of Bro∣th•rly Helpe, Light, Direction, Comfort one of another. Which poynt I desire carefully to bee observed: for wee see no ground to make the powers of a Congregation, of a pres∣bytery, of a Province. of a Nationall Church, powers for∣mally and essentially different, they differ onely in more or lesse extension, as the adjunct or genuine property of one and the same great visible Body, which is one integrall part; That same. 1. Covenant of God. 2. That same Lord 3. That same Spirit. 4. That same Faith and Baptisme. 5. That same power of the Keyes in Nature and Essence be∣longeth Page  333 to all; onely the power must bee more or lesse, as the Body is more or lesse, as there is more of that vis loc•∣motiva, the power of moving in the Hand then i• one Fin∣ger, and in the whole Arme then in the Hand onely, and in the whole body then in the Hand. And I cleare it in this, a man is a gifted Preacher in a Congregation in an Island, there is none other gifted of GOD to Preach the Gospell but hee onely. I would thinke, as a Brother hee were under as great an Obligation of care, and laborious onerousnesse of conscience to bestow his Talent for the gaining of Soules by preaching, though hee were not called to bee their Pa∣stor, and that by vertue of his Brotherly relation to the people, as if hee were called to bee their Pastor. I desire to know what the naked relation of Authority, or Juris∣diction addeth to his care and onerousnesse in poynt of la∣bouring by preaching the Gospell. Indeed now being cal∣led, his care is Pastorall and more authoritative. But if ac∣cording to the measure of the Talent, every one is to pro∣portion his paines to gaine more Talents to his Lord, and if the relation of a Pastor adde no degrees of gifts to His Talent, as wee may suppose, I thinke his onerousnesse in labouring was as great before hee was a Pastor as after: but I speake not this, to say that in a constituted Church there is no calling required other then giftes. Nor doe I speake this to say, that a calling is not a new motive why a man should imploy his gifts for the honour of the Giver; But on∣ly to shew that CHRIST hath united powers of Juris∣diction in Congregations, in Presbyteries, in Churches of Provinces and Nations; that so, not onely gifts might conduce to helpe and promove edification, but also uni∣ted powers of Jurisdiction which are also gifts of God, and though some may say that a calling to an Office layeth on M•n a more speciall Obligation, to make accompt for Soules, then gifts onely (which in some sense, I could al∣so yeeld) yet seeing wee thinke the relation of the Elder∣ship to a whole Classicall Church is not founded upon an Office different from the Offices of Pastors and Elders which they have, and are clothed with in relation to their Page  334 particular Congregations, but onely authoritative acts of the same Office, and that for the common promoving of edi∣fication in the whole Classicall Church, grounded in the depth of his Wisdome who hath seven Eyes, upon a Bro∣therly Consociation, in which they must either edifie one another, and occasionally partake of these same holy things, or then scandaliz• and leaven one another, with their pub∣lique transgressions; wee cannot see how presbyteriall El∣ders are more to give accompt for the Soules of the whole Classicall Church in Scriptures sense, Hebrewes 13. 17. then consociated pastors and Elders of consociated Churches are to give an accompt to GOD for sister Churches, over which they are to watch, and whose Soules they are to keepe, and so farre as they are Brethren must make a reck∣oning to GOD for them. And how can the presbytery be more said to intangle themselves, in governing the Classi∣call Church in some things, with things not proper to their calling, seeing consociated Churches, in a Brotherly way, doe medle with those same things, though not in a way of Jurisdiction? For helping the Classicall Church by way of Fraternity is not unproper to a Christian calling of Bre∣thren, and the joyning of power of Jurisdiction; I meane of power lesser to another power greater, to helpe the Classicall Church, upon the same ground of Fraternity, cannot bee unproper to the calling of a Colledge of pres∣byters.