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Show 3l 'l<_.uling Elderr, Chap. 2 ' _..::_ ____ ..,...----.::--- Th d of .A111brofodo plainly "learned PtubryterJ. An f. I • · e wor 5 t ofur 1 - -hEftier wasgrownou •e, imply, not only that confo tmg "'" h - 1 wont co be confulted but that the EMm themfelves, W 0 ""!ere d be the Syn<~gogHt with were grown out of ufc alfo: for hts war s > .-GIJ b. ' and ;fterwll!"dJ the Church had Eldm, with/Jilt whofo co ... 'Je not zng war done in the Church,&c. which plainly intihJateth,~~e1~h4 formerly had fuch,but then hath ~em not,t e{te I c. epl,a~ accordingly confulting with them IS obfolete a O· 2 " tiS . ail) thefe Eldm are oppofite to Do8orJ or 'Ieachm, OE ~£you will ~0 con !l:rue them) learned men' and therefore thefe I m were ~CIt her Do[{orJ nor 'Ieacher1, nor Learned men. But .to appropnate the name ofDol1orJ or 'Ieachm,or Learned mtn to Bifoof!. on! y,w<t too great an arrogancy in Bijhop1, and t~o gre~t a? ll~Jury to t Je /e.zmedP aflors&Jzd'Ieachcrs in every age, oil ;1nt~chrifl his d.trkneffc overwhelmed all in ignorance, as well Bifoops as PajlorJ. }· It may be marvelled why thofe larned oppohtes, thatmake.thts exec cion t11ould u:derfland Ambrofe to attribute it to the tdlen~ffc ofche Teachers, that fur their own cafe they g;LVe over. meddling in matters appertaining to government, when as rather It w:~s ~he Bi!hops and their parties idleneffe, tha~ they gave ove~ laboonng iPI Word and Do chine, and their pnde, that they m~offed all rule and government into their own hands_; and thc~efore, ":hen they fay, they cannot Tee how the excludmg of SenzorJ, ana the taking of the whole burthen of government upon~themfdve:, could by Ambrofe be imputed as a matter of Ooth and t~U~nelfe, CJ· thcrin the P t~flou or Bi:fhop~; furely, if n;en do nflt wi!Iingly ili.u their eyes they may fee, and daily expenence maketh It palpabndly evident,that they who are moll: idle in teaching,are moll: bufie a . proud in government; fo that the Vol1ol'llm tkftdia, aut rna_!? Jitperbia which .Ambtofe maketh to be the two cauCes why SenzorJ in the Church and confulting with them, were then both of them grown out of ~li:, need no Comment to expound the fame, butthe perperu.t!l praffice of thofe perfons, who have from t~e fonn; ages, to this very day, u{ilrped all Church-government mto tb own hands. b" Alii If any man fa.y (as fomehave done) that whatfoever t _Is • • broft taith, yet that fatuous Bi!hop Ambrofe doth utlerly dtfclalm it in his Epi!Uc to V .Jcntinian, that any l11y·R:•Ier Jhordd be!Jttdt,•14 ' . ~r Sea.:. Church--offi= anJ caufes ;. let him t.rlce for an anf~r:that which hath been often given ; that we utterly deny thofe rufing Eld<rs to beL~mm,or lay Judges, but part of that Church body which thPfe ancient times called Clerut. Ifit be faid againe (as alfo it is) that Ambroft cal!etb his Presbytm, Antiftiw, and Vicars of God, and fuch like ililcs of high honour, let them underll:and, that the leall office of rule in the Church of God, (to a fpirituall eye) will eafily and &fcly admit as grea.t acknowl(dgements as thefe be; onely to fldb and blood nothin_g .feerueth divine and high but fecular pompc and wocldlr glory •. : " _ · • , . Having thus refcued the T c!Hmony of Ainbroft unto Ruling E/.. tkrJ from all Exceptions (of any colour able weight)made again!l: it; Let us addc oncly one obfervation out of Antiquitie, which may give fome further light to the caufe in hand. It is weU knpwn to all fuch as oue fludious of Antiquitie,that it was countcp a rare and inl<J!ent matter for an Elder to preach in the prefenc.e of a Bi>Jbop, which was the caufe why the good old Biihop Vt~ 1eriM was hardly fpoken of, for fuffering Augu{line, a Pwbyter (though a ~c;arned Pmbyter) to preach betore him ; which is faid never any AfrjiJff Bifbo.p b.ad allowed before him. Now whence !hould. fu~h ·an OJ:Wnce as waa taken again II: VakrifH arife,but fwm cranOating the fllence ofR.ulz'ng ElderJ from Preaching in the prefence ofPaflors and Toachm, unto thofe Presbyter! alfo, who were called ofc ~o preach the Word freely and, diligently as well as the Bitbops themfel,ycs ?, But when through. corruption of times, Bijhop1 claimed rO,tltemfelvc:a the principall paflora/J cure ofSoulcs,then it was taken for an offenfive matter, that 'Ie;tehing E!dm fl1ould preach before them ; as before it was unwonted for ~ling Elders to preach before the Teaching ordinarily, · Obje[{. But there remaines one objea!on or two , which fome learned an? prudent men have made ~tgainll: the office of &di?zg Eldm. · , ·1 Obj1l1. t.lt is not credible that the office of &,ling Eldmlhould ?e of Divine or Apoflolicall ln(limtion, and no footlleps left of it ~~~ any Church of Chrifr, for thefe many hundred ye..r~s. Popery It felre, though it corrupted all Ordinances, yet retaineth fame foot!leps of every Ordinance of Chrill:, though much pcrve!·ted F from |