Several sermons and discourses of William Dell Minister of the Gospel; sometimes attending both the generals in the army: and now Master of Gonvil and Caius Colledge in Cambridge. Heretofore published at several times, and on several occasions; and now gathered in one volumn, for the benefit of the faithful, and conviction of the world.

The fourth bond of the true Churches unity, is, ONE LORD.

The right Church hath not many Lords, but One; and this one and only Lord, is the Lord Jesus Christ: And so all the subjects of this Kingdom are fellow servants to one Lord, to whom they do owe equal obedience; and this also is a strong bond of Ʋnity.

For when there are divers Lords, there are divers minds, and wils, and ends, and so divers laws; and these breed divisions, and dissentions, and wars among men; but where there is but one Lord, there is also but one Law; and where people live by one Law, under one Lord, unto whom all are equally subject, this breeds peace and union.

Now the Lordship of the Church, is the Royal Prerogative of Christ, and no creature must presume to arrogate this honour to himself; seeing unto the very Angels he hath not put in subjecti∣on this world to come, whereof we speak. And for men, Christ hath charged his own Apostles (who if there were any difference among Believers, might undoubtedly challenge the preheminence) I say, Christ hath charged even them on this sort, Matth. 23. 10. Be not ye called Masters, for one is your Master, even Christ; but he that

is greatest among you, shall be your servant: That is, you may and ought to be servants to one another, but not masters: and this same doctrine the Apostle James preacheth, Jam. 3. 1. My brethren (saith he) be not many Masters, knowing that we shall re∣ceive the greater condemnation: it is not fit for brethren, who are equal among themselves, to make themselves masters over one another. Christ also hath spoken again, so plainly to this matter, Math. 20. that one would wonder, that ever the Beast, or his image, should dare to arrogate to themselves, Lordship over the People of God, in so clear a light: Ye know (saith Christ to the twelve) that the Princes of the Gentiles exercise Dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority over them: but it shall not be so amongst you: he speaks it peremptorily; that some Believers should not exercise dominion and authority over Be∣lievers; no not the greatest over the least, all being fellow servants alike, under one Lord. Wherefore they that are puffed up in their hearts against their fellow servants, might better think thus with themselves, why Christ is our Lord, as well as theirs, and is as much over us as over them; and we are not over our fellow ser∣vants, nor they under us; but both of us are equally under Christ, and Christ is equally over us both; and so Christ hath given us the same laws, he hath given them; to wit, that we should believe in him, and love one another; and he expects the same obedience from us, as from them; and so we are not to command one another; but are all alike to be commanded by him. It was the evil servant, that beat his fellow servants upon hopes of the delay of his Masters coming.

And this is the fourth bond of the true Churches Ʋnity, Ʋnity of Lord.

Now they break this bond, of the Churches Ʋnity, that either make themselves, or others, Lords over the Church, besides Christ, and parcel out this one Kingdom of the Son to many Lords, to the great dishonour of Christ, and dis-union of the Church.

The Pope was the first that professed himself to be the general Master in the whole Church of God: and after the Pope, a general Councel took this honour to it self; and by degrees, this last be∣came as hard, yea, a harder taskmaster to the Church, then the former. After, when particular Kingdoms fell off from the Pope

and his Antichristian Church, the mystery of iniquity, was not by this means wholly dissolved; but only was contracted and brought into a less compass; for then the Archbishop made himself gene∣ral master of the Church in each particular Kingdom, as the Pope before had done in all; and after the Archbishop rises up a Natio∣nal Assembly, as the General Councel after the Pope; and each of these in their courses, usurp Lordship over the Church of Christ, to the sad dissolution of its unity.

Most evident then it is, that during the time of the Apostasie, the Church hath been most miserably Lorded even amongst us; for the Priest he Lorded it over the People, the Arch-deacon over the Priest, the Dean over the Arch-deacon, the Bishop over the Dean, and the Arch-bishop over the Bishop; under which woful bondage the Church cried out, as Isa. 26. O Lord our God, other Lords besides thee have had dominion over us. And is this bondage of the Church now eased, by casting off those strange Lords? Yea, do not men rather seek to encrease it, by setting yet stranger over it, whose names are so full of mystery, that the common people cannot understand them? for now they would have the Classical Presbytery set over the Congregational, and the Provincial over the Classical, and the National over the Provincial; for so it is Voted, THAT IT IS LAWFULL AND AGREE∣ABLE TO THE WORD OF GOD, THAT THERE BE A SUBORDINATION OF CONGREGATIONAL, CLASSICAL, PRO∣VINCIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH: Now here is mystery, and nothing but a certain rising up into the old power, under a new name. And mark how they prove this subordination of Congregational, Classical Provin∣cial and National Assemblies, to wit, by that Scripture, Mat. 18. where it is written, If thy brother trespass against thee, and will neither hear thy admonition nor councel, nor the admonition, and councel of other brethren, TELL THE CHURCH; that is, the Congregation of the faithful. Now from this place they prove the fore mentioned subordination of Assemblies, just as the Pope once proved himself to be above the Emperour, to wit, be∣cause it is written, Gen. 1. That God made two great lights, the Sun to rule by day, and the Moon by night. Now if this might be

brought about, which they design, the Church would be so far from being eased of its strange Lords that it should have them exceedingly multiplied; for what is a National Assembly, but an Archbishop multiplied? and what a Provincial Assembly, but a Bishop multiplied? And a Classical, but a Dean and Arch deacon multiplied▪ And thus the former Lords being removed, they would in their stead, cause the Church to swarm with Classical, Pro∣vincial and National Lords, and would by no means suffer Christs own Kingdom to return to his own Lordship and Domini∣on. And thus whilest they by secular power, seek to enforce these Ecclesiastical Lords over the Church, they absolutely break in pieces the unity of it, even whilst they bear the simple people in hand, that they above all other men seek to preserve it: seeing the plurality of Lords, is alwayes the cause of Schisms and divisi∣ons in the Church, which can never be one but under one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Notes

• The right Church hath one Lord.
• Who break this bond of the Churches Unity.
• The Assem∣blies vote for their govern∣ment.