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.

Argument. 3. That action which is common to persons and performances or im∣ployments, and applied to them, when there is no Office at all given, that action cannot properly be said to be a specificating act to make an Officer, or give him a Call.

For if it was such an act, that would certainly bring in the form of an Office; where that was, an Officer would be.

But the action of imposition of hands, is applyed to persons and to per∣formances, as speciall occasion is offered, when there is no Office given, nor indeed intended.

Therefore it is not an act which gives in the essentials to an Officer.

The minor is evident by instance, Acts 13.2, 3, 4. As they were ministring, some Prophets and Teachers, the Spirit said, Se∣parate unto me Barnabas and Paul, unto the work which I have called

them: and when they had fasted and prayed, and laid on their hands, they let them go.

Where for our purpose in hand, these particulars are present∣ed to our view.

First, the Spirit had formerly called Paul and Barnabas to the work, and therefore, the words are in the Preterperfect tense, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Nay, secondly, we read of Paul his Call and Commission given him expresse, Acts 9.16, 17. And lastly, the Office being extraordinary and immediate from God, it could not be, that the Officers or Elders of the Church could be the cause of the call, for that implyes a contradiction, to be mediately and immediately called.

Secondly, that the Church by her Officers were therefore appointed to separate them to that service, unto which they had been before called of the Lord.

Thirdly, this separation is signified & performed by prayer, and laying on of the hands of the Officers; which was not to put a new Office upon them, but confirme their sending unto the Gentiles, Chamierus lib. 4. de Sacram. N. T. cap. 24. p. 25. Non putamus hanc impositionem manuum, ullam fuisse ordinationem ad novum munus Ecclesiasticum, sed confirmationem missionis, &c. whence it's plain, That imposition is an act which is common to per∣sons, and applied upon other occasions; therefore is not a speci∣ficating act to bring in this call of an Officer.

And upon this ground it seems it is, that the Church of Scotland is so far from conceiving laying on of hands necessary in Ordinations, that they do not onely not use it, but judge it unlawfull to be used, unlesse some speciall considerations be attended; as it may appear in that accurate work called, &c.