A survey of the summe of church-discipline. Wherein the vvay of the churches of New-England is warranted out of the vvord, and all exceptions of weight, which are made against it, answered : whereby also it will appear to the judicious reader, that something more must be said, then yet hath been, before their principles can be shaken, or they should be unsetled in their practice. / By Tho. Hooker, late pastor of the church at Hartford upon Connecticott in N.E.

Reply.

These are words which darken, and by a mistake mislead the rea∣der from the mark, but rightly discerned and searcht into, do nothing make for the cause; for, when it is said, they meet in Court, and govern the nations with common royall authority, this authority was a new superadded authority, which came not from the King of Edom, or from that royall office (let me so speak) of the regall power he had there, for then it should have belong∣ed to none but him. But this is a common royall authority, and that was another authority wherewith, not only he, but all the rest of the confederate Princes were invested, as well as he, and that

was wholy distinct from that Kingly power, that each King had in his own kingdom, and was received, when by the choice of the people or the Parliaments in all the kingdoms, they set up all those confederate Princes: Suppose the King of Edom, Babylon, Emperour of Persia, Prince of Transilvania, Duke of Florence: &c. this one and joint power of confederate Princes, to act in such a manner, in such things, with such limitation, as distinct from that particular princely power they had in their own territories. This is the truth in the example, and let M.R. parallell this in the case in hand, and we shall soon come to an agreement, namely,

That the Elders who had speciall office, and the power of it in their proper charges, yet when by the combination of all the Churches they are to meet in a Classis, and have power put upon them to act in such things and in such a manner, which they ne∣ver had before; this is not now an office of a Pastor, but the power of a Commissioner, wholly distinct therefrom; and that is a hu∣mane creature of mans devising: the Churches dealing therein, as the civil states do, who have allowance, and they in this case take allowance to adde and institute new places and new powers in the Church, so that they were all chosen Commissioners, but never a one of them was a Pastor, which is that which M.R. will not al∣low, and yet this frame is not able to gainsay it.

The issue then is, had they been Pastors, they must have been chosen and maintained, which was the consequence of the reason, and stands untouched, upon that supposition. But they are Com∣missioners: And that his words intimate, which the nature of the thing forceth unto, that they promise tacitely obedience and subje∣ction to every one of the Kings of the nations, not simply as they are Kings in relation to such a kingdom; that is, by parity, and pro∣portion of reason, the people promising subjection to Elders, not as to Pastors, but as to Commissioners, which are humane creatures of mans devising.