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this is not that the two Powers cannot exist independent on each other, but because those who have the Exercife of thefe two Powers are not contented with the Boundaries fet to each Power, but will make Encroachments one upon the other: Whereas when each keeps within his proper Bounds, they may, and will not only exift very well together, but will mutually preferve and fupport each other. Thus the Spiritual Governors will fupport the Civil Magiftrate by teaching the feveral Flocks committed to their Charge the Principles of Loyalty and Obedience, and enforcing the Practice of them by threatning the Penalty of Damnation: And the Civil Magiftrate will fupport and protect the Church by making Laws in its Favour, and corroborating her Decrees and Canons by his Temporal Authority. But if the Magiftrate will exercife a Spiritual Power, and take upon him to minifter the Word and Sacraments, and to judge when and to whom they fhall be miniftred, or the Spiritual Governors fhall challenge a Temporal Power independent on the Magiftrate, and pretend to judge and determine when Civil Penalties fhall be inflicted; then indeed two Independent Powers acting in fuch Manner will not fubfift tagether, without frequent Contentions; but thefe Contests cannot arife from the Powers themselves, but from the ufurpations of one Power upon the other; för, let each keep within the Bounds of his own Power, and not ufurp upon the other, and there will be no interfering.

5 XXIII. Again, as thefe two Powers are thus plainly diftinct, and may very well exift together independent of each other in the Exercife of their feveral Powers on the fame Perfon and in the fame Caufes, and were plainly fo defigned to be by our Saviour, fo alfo are they independent with regard to the granting Spiritual or Temporal Commiffions. For as a Bishop can give no Temporal Commission, or

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authorize any Perfon to execute a Temporal Office; fo neither can the Civil Magiftrate give a Spiritual Commiffion, or ordain any Perfon to a Spiritual Office in the Church: And as they cannot give, fo neither can they deprive any one of fuch Office as it belongs not to them to bestow. The Civil Magiftrate can no more take away the Office of a Bishop, Prieft or Deacon, than any one of thofe can deprive him of his Office. Feftus had certainly no more Power or lawful Authority to deprive St. Paul of his Apostleship, than St. Paul had to deprive him of his Presidency of Judea Neither had Feftus any more Power to make St. Paul an Apostle, than St. Paul had to make him a Prefident or Procurator of a Province. And as the Magiftrate cannot give or take away a Spiritual Office, fo neither can he forbid a Spiritual Officer the Exercife of his Office; (1) for when the Sanhedrim of the Jews called the Apostles, Peter and John, before them, and forbad them the Exercise of their Apostleship, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the Name of Jefus, Peter and John answered and faid unto them, Whether it be right in the Sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. And again, when they were taken up (m) and examined, why they had not obeyed this Command, Then Peter and the other Apostles anfmered and faid, We ought to obey God rather than Men. And though (7) they were beaten for this Answer, and again commanded, that they should not speak in the Name of Jefus ; yet they judged it their Duty not to obey in this Cafe, And they departed from the Prefence of the Council, rejoycing that they were count ed worthy to fuffer Shame for his Name. And daily in the Temple and in every Houfe they ceased not to teach and preach Jefus Chrift. Nor let it be faid, that though the Apostles might thus exercife their Commiffion,

(1) Ad. iv. 18, 19. (m) 4ft. v. 29. (b) A. v. 40,41, 42.

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though forbidden by the Civil Power, yet it does not follow, that other Minifters of the Gospel may do the fame, because the Apostles were immediately fent by Christ himself; but those who come after them are not fo fent. For the Commiffion which Chrift gave to his Apoftles was not Perfonal to them only, but to them and their Succeffors, as appears from the very Commiffion itfelf, wherein (o) he promifes to be with them alway, even to the end of the World. What Chrift therefore committed to them, the fame did they commit to others, giving them Commandment to commit the fame to others alfo after them in a continued Succeffion. Thus particularly St. Paul (p) committed this Charge to his Son Timothy, and commanded him to give Attendance to reading, to Exhortation and to Doctrine, not to neglect the Gift that was in him, which was given him by Prophecy with the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery. And likewife directs him to give the fame Commiffion to others, faying, (9) The Things that thou hast heard of me among many Wineffes, the fame commit thou to faithful Men, who shall be able to teach others alfo. And Ecclefiaftical History fhews, that these Succeffors of the Apostles were forbidden the Exercise of their Miniftry as well as the Apostles themselves had been; and yet that they did not forbear to preach and teach in the Name of Chrift, and to minifter his Sacraments and execute his Difcipline, notwithstanding thofe Prohibitions. A fure Argument, that they did not think the Civil Magistrate had any Authority either to deprive them of their Miniftry, or to forbid the Exercise of it; For they endured ten fevere Perfecutions, rather than fubmit to fuch Civil Deprivations and Prohibitions; and God fhewed his Approbation of their Conduct in this Matter, not only by giving them Grace and Strength to fuffer the

(0) Mat. xxviii. 20.
(p) 1 Tim. i. 18. and iv. 13, 14.

(q) 2 Tim. ii. 2.

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greatest Tortures for his Name's fake, with a most undaunted Courage and Conftancy, but also enabling them to work Miracles, and to conquer by their Sufferings: So that inftead of being fuppreffed and quelled by thefe violent Perfecutions, they increased and multiplied till they had brought even their Enemies into the Church, and those that most hated and perfecuted them became their great Friends and Protectors.

S XXIV. Indeed after the Empire was come into the Church, and Princes and States had given large Endowments to it, and had vefted the Bishops with many Civil Privileges, then indeed they thought it proper to know before-hand on whom fuch Privileges fhould be bestowed, and took upon them to nominate or recommend fit Perfons to thofe Bishopricks they had endowed, as others of the Laity alfo nominated or recommended a fit Perfon to be made the Minifter or Prieft of fuch a Parish-Church as he had endowed with Manfe and Glebe. But as the Patron of a Parish Church never pretended to give his Clerk whom he nominated, or prefented to a Parochial Cure, a Spiritual Commiflion, or to veft him with the Cure of Souls, or give him the Orders of Priesthood; fo when a Prince or State nominated or recommended a Perfon to a Bifhoprick, they never pretended to make him a Bishop, but only prefented him to the Bishops as one whom they judged a fit Perfon to be advanced to fuch an Office. But in one Cafe as well as the other, if the Bishop or Bifhops to whom fuch Perfon was recommended or nominated to be made a Priest or a Bishop, did not fee fit to ordain or confecrate him to that Office, the Patron, King or State did not pretend to make him, a Prieft or Bishop notwithstanding. And as we have many Instances of a Bishop's refufing to ordain a Man Prieft, who has been recommended or nominated by a Patron to a Parochial Cure, fo we want

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not Inftances of Perfons who have been nominated to Bishopricks by Sovereign Princes whom the Metropolitan and College of Bishops have refufed to confecrate; and he that has been fo refufed was forced to continue what he was before; the Prince could not make him a Bihop. But although Recommendation or Nomination will not make a Bifhop or Prieft without Confecration or Ordination, yet Confecration or Ordination will make a Priest or Bishop without any Recommendation or Nomination; and Priests are to this Day frequently made fo; and fo were Bishops alfo in the Primitive Church both before and after the Empire became Chriftian; Chriftian Princes having no more Right to grant a Spiritual Power or Commiffion than an Heathen Emperor. But any Prince, whether Chriftian or Infidel, may recommend or nominate a Man to be made a a Priest or a Bishop, and there is no Harm in the Bishops accepting and ordaining him, if they find him qualified for the Office. But then it is not the Prince, but the Metropolitan or the College of Bifhops that makes fuch Perfon a Bishop. Sovereign Princes, whatever they be, will have that Influence over Bishops, their Subjects, that they will not lightly refuse what they ask of them; and upon this Account when Sovereign Princes had obliged their Bishops by their liberal Endowments of the Church, the Bishops would not lightly refuse to confecrate whomfoever they recommended or nominated to them. And when fuch Nomination was become a Cuftom, then Princes began to challenge it as their undoubted Right: And the Bishops having fo long complied with it, knew not at laft how to recede from it. And at this time, as our Laws now ftand, they cannot recede from it without incurring a grie vous Temporal Penalty,

§ XXV.

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