XXXVII.

1 Sam. xv.

30.
xxii. 14.

XV. 17.

1 Chron. xxiii. 6.

xxviii. 21.

ART. over their subjects in matters ecclefiaftical. In the Old Teftament, the Kings of Ifrael intermeddled in all matters of reli gion: Samuel acknowledged Saul's authority; and Abimelech, though the High-Prieft, when called before Saul, appeared and answered to fome things that were objected to him, that related to the worship of God. Samuel faid in exprefs words to Saul, that he was made the head of all the tribes; and one of these was the tribe of Levi. David made many laws about facred matters, fuch as the orders of the courfes of the Priests, and the time of their attendance at the public fervice. When he died, and was informing Solomon of the extent of his authority, he told him, that the courfes of the Priests and all the people were to be wholly at his commandment. Pursuant to which, Solomon did appoint them their charges in the service of God; and 2 Chron. both the Priests and Levites departed not from his commandment viii. 14, 15. in any matter. He turned out Abiathar from the High-Prieft's office, and yet no complaint was made upon it, as if he had affumed an authority that did not belong to him. It is true, both David and Solomon were men that were particularly infpired as to fome things; but it does not appear, that they acted in those matters by virtue of any fuch infpiration. They were acts of regal power, and they did them in that capacity. Jehofhaphat, Hezekiah, and Jofiah, gave many directions and orders in facred matters: but though the Priests withstood Uzziah when he was going to offer incenfe in the holy place, yet they did not pretend privilege, or make oppofition to thofe orders that were ifiued out by their Kings. Mordecai appointed the feaft of Purim, by virtue of the authority that King Ahafuerus gave him and both Ezra and Nehemiah, by virtue of commiffions from the Kings of Perfia, made many reformations, and gave many orders in facred matters.

2 Chron. xvii. 8, 9.

chap. x. 8. to the end.

chap. xxvi.

16, 17, 18,

19.

6.

Ver. I.

Under the New Teftament, Chrift, by saying, Render to CaJar the things which are Cæfar's, did plainly fhew, that he did not intend that his religion fhould in any fort leffen the tempoRom. xiii. ral authority. The Apoftles writ to the Churches to obey magiftrates, to fubmit to them, and to pay taxes: they enjoined obedience, whether to the King as fupreme, or to others that 1 Pet. ii. 13. were fent by him: every foul, without exception, is charged to be fubject to the higher powers. The magiftrate is ordained of God, and is his minister to encourage them to do well, and to punish the evil doers. If thefe paffages of Scripture are to be interpreted according to the common confent of the Fathers, Churchmen are included within them, as well as other perfons. There was not indeed great occafion to confider this matter before Conftantine's coming to the empire; for till then, the Emperors did not confider the Chriftians otherwise than either as enemies, or at best as their subjects at large and therefore though

though the Christians made an addrefs to Aurelian in the mat- AR t. ter of Samofatenus, and obtained a favourable and just answer XXXVII. to it; yet in Conftantine's time, the protection that he gave to the Chriftian religion, led him and his fucceflors to make many laws in ecclefiaftical matters, concerning the age, the qualifications, and the duties of the Clergy. Many of these are to be found in Theodofius and Juftinian's Code: Juftinian added many more in his Novels. Appeals were made to the Emperors against the injuftice of fynods: they received them, and appointed fuch Bishops to hear and try thofe caufes, as happened to be then about their courts. In the Council of Nice, many complaints were given to the Emperor by the Bishops against one another. The Emperors called general Councils by their fummons; they fate in them, and confirmed their decrees. This was the conftant practice of the Roman Emperors, both in the Eaft and in the Weft: when the Church came to fall under many leffer fovereignties, thofe Princes continued still to make laws, to name Bishops, to give inveftitures into benefices, to call fynods, and to do every thing that appeared neceflary to them, for the good government of the Church in their dominions.

When Charles the Great was reftoring those things that had fallen under much diforder in a course of fome ignorant and barbarous ages, and was reviving both learning and good government, he published many Capitulars, a great part of them relating to ecclefiaftical matters; nor was any exception taken to that in those ages: the fynods that were then held, were for the greatest part mixed affemblies, in which the temporalty and the Spiritualty fate together, and judged and decreed of all matters in common. And it is certain, that fuch was the Sanbedrim among the Jews in our Saviour's time; it was the supreme court both for fpirituals and temporals.

In England our Princes began early, and continued long to maintain this part of their authority. The letters that are pretended to have paffed between King Lucius and Pope Eleutherius, are very probably forgeries; but they are ancient ones, and did for many ages pafs for true. Now a forgery is generally calculated to the fenfe of the age in which it is made. In the Pope's letter, the King is called God's Vicar in his kingdoms; and it is faid to belong to his office, to bring his fubjects to the holy Church, and to maintain, protect, and govern them in it. Both Saxon and Danifh Kings made a great many laws about ecclefiaftical matters; and after the Conqueft, when the nation grew into a more united body, and came to a more fettled conftitution, many laws were made concerning these matters, particularly in oppofition to thofe practices that favoured the authority that the Popes were then affuming; fuch

as

XXXVII.

ART. as appeals to Rome, or Bifhops going out of the kingdom without the King's leave. King Alfred's laws were a fort of a text for a great while; they contain many laws about facred matters. The exempting of monafteries from epifcopal jurisdiction, was granted by fome of our Kings at first. William the Conqueror, to perpetuate the memory of his victory over Harold, and to endear himself to the Clergy, founded an abbey in the field where the battle was fought, called Battle-Abbey : and in the charter of the foundation, in imitation of what former Kings had done in their endowments, this clause was put; It shall be allo free and quiet for ever from all subjection to BiShops, or the dominion of any other perfons. This is an act that does as immediately relate to the authority of the Church, as any one that we can imagine. The Conftitutions of Clarendon were afferted by both King and Parliament, and by the whole body of the Clergy, as the ancient customs of the kingdom. Thefe relate to the Clergy, and were fubmitted to by them all, Becket himself not excepted, though he quickly went off from it.

It is true, the papacy got generally the better of the temporal authority, in a courfe of feveral ages; but at laft the Popes living long at Avignon, together with the great schism that followed upon their return to Rome, did very much fink in their credit, and that ftopped the progrefs they had made before that time; which had probably fubdued all, if it had not been for those accidents. Then the Councils began to take heart, and refolved to affert the freedom of the Church from the papal tyranny. Pragmatick fanctions were made in feveral nations to affert their liberty. That in France was made with great folemnity: in these the Bishops did not only affert their own jurisdiction, independent in a great measure of the papacy, but they likewife carried it fo far as to make themselves independent on the civil authority, particularly in the point of elections. This difpofed Princes generally to enter into agreements with the Popes; by which the matter was so tranfacted, that the Popes and they made a divifion between them of all the rights and pretenfions of the Church. Princes yielded a great deal to the Popes, to be protected by them in that which they got to be referved to themselves. Great restraints were laid both on the Clergy, and likewise on the fee of Rome, by the appeals that were brought into the fecular courts, from the ordinary judgments of the ecclefiaftical courts, or from the bulls or powers that legates brought with them. A diftinction was found that feemed to fave the ecclefiaftical authority, at the fame time that the fecular court was made the judge of it. The appeal did lie upon a pretence that the ecclefiaftical judge had committed fome abufe in the way of proceeding, or in his

fentence.

fentence. So the appeal was from that abuse, and the fecular ART. court was to examine the matter according to the rules and XXXVII. laws of the Church, and not according to the principles or rules of any other law: but upon that they did either confirm or reverse the sentence. And even thofe Princes that acknowledge the papal authority, have found out diftinctions to put fuch ftops to it as they please; and so to make it an engine to govern their people by, as far as they think fit to give way to it; and to damn fuch bulls, or void fuch powers as they are afraid of.

Thus it is evident, that both according to Scripture, and the practice of all ages and countries, the Princes of Christendom have an authority over their fubjects in matters ecclesiastical. The reason of things makes alfo for this; for if any rank of men are exempted from their jurisdiction, they must thereby cease to be fubjects: and if any fort of caufes, fpiritual ones in particular, were put out of their authority, it were an easy thing to reduce almost every thing to fuch a relation to fpirituals, that if this principle were once received, their authority would be very precarious and feeble. Nothing could give Princes ftronger and jufter prejudices against the Chriftian religion, than if they faw that the effect of their receiving it must be the withdrawing fo great a part of their fubjects from their authority; and the putting as many checks upon it, as those that had the management of this religion fhould think fit to reftrain it by. In a word, all mankind must be under one obedience and one authority. It remains that the measures and the extent of this power be right ftated.

It is certain, firft, that this power does not depend upon the Prince's religion; whether he is a Chriftian, or not; or whether he is of a true or a false religion; or is a good or a bad man. By the fame tenure that he holds his fovereignty, he holds this likewise. Artaxerxes had it as well as either David or Solomon, when the Jews were once lawfully his fubjects; and the Chriftians owed the fame duty to the Emperors while Heathen, that they paid them when Chriftian. The relations of nature, fuch as that of a parent and child, bufband and wife, continue the fame that they were, whatsoever men's persuasions in matters of religion may be: so do alfo civil relations, mafter and fervant, prince and fubject; they are neither increased nor diminifhed by the truth of their fentiments concerning religion. All perfons are fubject to the Prince's authority, and liable to fuch punishments as their crimes fall under by law. Every foul is fubject to the higher powers: neither is treafon lefs treafon, becaufe fpoke in a pulpit or in a fermon: it may be more treason for that than otherwife it would be; because it is fo publick and deliberate, and is delivered in the way in which it may probably

JAR T. have the worft effect. So that as to perfons, no great difficulty XXXVII. can lie in this, fince every foul is declared to be subject to the higher powers.

As to ecclefiaftical caufes, it is certain, that as the magifrate cannot make void the laws of nature, fuch as the authority of parents over their children, or of husbands over their wives, fo neither can he make void the law of God: that is from a fuperior authority, and cannot be diffolved by him. Where at thing is pofitively commanded or forbid by God, the magiftrate has no other authority but that of executing the laws of God, of adding his fanctions to them, and of ufing his utmoft industry to procure obedience to them. He cannot alter any part of the doctrine, and make it to be either truer or falfer than it is in itfelf; nor can he either take away or alter the facraments, or break any of those rules that are given in the New Teftament about them; because in all these the authority of God is exprefs, and is certainly fuperior to his. The only queftion that can be made, is concerning indifferent things: for inftance, in the canons or other rules of the Church, how far they are in the magiftrate's power, and in what cafes the body of Chriftians, and of the paftors of the Church, may maintain their union among themselves, and act in oppofition to his laws. It seems very clear, that in all matters that are indifferent, and are determined by no law of God, the magiftrate's authority must take place, and is to be obeyed. The Church has no authority that she can maintain in oppofition to the magiftrate, but in the executing the laws of God and the rules of the Gofpel: in all other things, as the acts under his protection, so it is by his permiffion. But here a great diftinction is to be made between two cafes that may happen: the one is, when the magiftrate acts like one that intends to preferve religion, but commits errors and acts of injuftice in his management: the other is, when he acts like one that intends to deftroy religion, and to divide and diftract thofe that profefs it. In the former cafe every thing that is not finful of itfelf, is to be done, in compliance with his authority; not to give him un.brage, nor provoke him to withdraw his protection, and to become, inftead of a nurfing father, a perfecutor of the Church. But on the other hand, when he declares, or it is vifible that his defign is to deftroy the faith, less regard is to be had to his actions. The people may adhere to their paftors, and to every method that may fortify them in their religion, even in oppofition to his invafion. Upon the whole matter, the power of the King in ecclesiastical matters among us, is exprefled in this Article under thofe referves, and with that moderation, that no juft fcruple can lie against it; and it is that which all the Kings even of the Roman communion do affume, and in fome places with a much more unlimited autho