The Works of Mr. George Gillespie Part 30

NIHIL RESPONDES: OR A DISCOVERY OF THE EXTREME UNSATISFACTORINESS OF MR COLEMAN'S PIECE.

NIHIL RESPONDES:

OR

A DISCOVERY

OF THE

EXTREME UNSATISFACTORINESS OF MR COLEMAN'S PIECE,

PUBLISHED LAST WEEK UNDER THE t.i.tLE OF

"A BROTHERLY EXAMINATION RE-EXAMINED."

WHEREIN HIS SELF CONTRADICTIONS;

HIS YIELDING OF SOME THINGS, AND NOT ANSWERING TO OTHER THINGS OBJECTED AGAINST HIM;

HIS ABUSING OF SCRIPTURE; HIS ERRORS IN DIVINITY;

HIS ABUSING OF THE PARLIAMENT, AND ENDANGERING THEIR AUTHORITY; HIS ABUSING OF THE a.s.sEMBLY;

HIS CALUMNIES, NAMELY, AGAINST THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND AND AGAINST MYSELF;

THE REPUGNANCY OF HIS DOCTRINE TO THE SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT;-

ARE PLAINLY DEMONSTRATED.

BY GEORGE GILLESPIE,

MINISTER AT EDINBURGH, 1642.

"Understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."-1 TIM. i.

7.

EDINBURGH:

ROBERT OGLE, AND OLIVER & BOYD.

M. OGLE & SON, AND WILLIAM COLLINS, GLASGOW.

J. DEWAR, PERTH. W. MIDDLETON, DUNDEE. G. & R. KING, ABERDEEN.

W. M'COMB, BELFAST.

HAMILTON, ADAMS & CO., AND JAMES NISBET & CO., LONDON.

1645.

REPRINTED BY A. W. MURRAY, MILNE SQUARE, EDINBURGH.

1844.

After that Mr Coleman had preached and printed such doctrine as I was, in my conscience, fully persuaded was contrary to the covenant of the three kingdoms, and destructive (if it were put in practice) to the reformation of religion, he having also flatly and publicly imputed to the Commissioners from the church of Scotland a great part of the fault of hindering union in the a.s.sembly here, I thought myself obliged in duty, and in the trust which I bear, to give a public testimony against his doctrine (which others did also) upon occasion not sought, but by divine providence, and a public calling then offered, first for preaching, and after for printing, in either of which I think there did not appear the least disrespect or bitterness towards the reverend brother. The Lord knows my intention was to speak to the matter, to vindicate the truth, and to remove that impediment of reformation by him cast in; and if he, or any man else had, in meekness of spirit, gravely and rationally, for clearing of truth, endeavoured to confute me, I ought not, I should not, have taken it ill; but now, when this piece of his against me, called "A Brotherly Examination Re-examined" (I think he would or should have said _examined_, for this is the first examination of it), I find it more full of _railing_ than of _reasoning_, of _gibing_ than of _gravity_; and when polemics do so degenerate, the world is abused not edified. He tells me if I have not work enough I shall have more. I confess the answering of this piece is no great work; and the truth is, I am ashamed I have so little to make answer unto; yet I shall do my best to improve even this work to edification.

When other work comes I wish it be work indeed, and not words. _Res c.u.m re, ratio c.u.m ratione concertet_, as the father said: Arguments, Sir, arguments, arguments, if there be any: you have affirmed great things, and new things, which you have not proved. The a.s.sertions of such as are for a church government _in genere_, and for the presbyterial government _in specie_, are known; their arguments are known, but your solutions are not yet known. If Mr Prynne's book against the suspension of scandalous persons from the sacrament be the work for the present which he means, I hope it shall be in due time most satisfactorily spoken unto, both by others and by myself. I desire rather solid than subitane lucubrations. In the meanwhile, "Let not him that putteth on his armour boast as he that putteth it off." And let the brother that puts me in mind of other work remember that himself hath other work to do which he hath not yet done.

I have, for better method and clearness, divided this following discourse into certain heads, taking in under every head such particulars in his reply as I conceive to be most proper to that point.

THAT MR COLEMAN DOTH NOT ONLY PREVARICATE, BUT CONTRADICT HIMSELF, CONCERNING THE STATE OF THE QUESTION.

He tells us often that he doth not deny to church officers all power of church government, but only the corrective part of government; that the doctrinal and declarative power is in the ministry; see p. 11, 14. He denieth that he did "advise the Parliament to take church government wholly into their own hands: I never had it in my thoughts (saith he) that the Parliament had power of dispensing the word and sacraments." I must confess it is to me new language, which I never heard before, that the dispensing of the word and sacraments is a part of church government; sure the word _government_ is not, nor never was, so understood in the controversies concerning church government. But if it be, why did the brother in his sermon oppose doctrine and government? "Give us doctrine (said he); take you the government."

But behold now how he doth most palpably contradict himself, in one and the same page; it is the 11th. "I know no such distinction of government (saith he), ecclesiastical and civil, in the sense I take government for the corrective part thereof; all ecclesiastical (improperly called) government being merely doctrinal; the corrective or punitive part being civil or temporal." Again, within a few lines, "I do acknowledge a presbyterian government; I said so expressly in my epistle; and do heartily subscribe to the votes of the house." If he heartily subscribe to the votes and ordinances of Parliament, then he heartily subscribeth that elders.h.i.+ps suspend men from the sacrament for any of the scandals enumerate, it being proved by witnesses upon oath: this power is corrective, not merely doctrinal. He must also subscribe to the subordination of congregational, cla.s.sical, and synodical a.s.semblies in the government of the church, and to appeals from the lesser to the greater, as likewise to ordination by presbyteries. And, I pray, is all this merely doctrinal? And will he now subscribe heartily to all this? How will that stand with the other pa.s.sages before cited? or with p. 17, where it being objected to him, that he takes away from elders.h.i.+ps all power of spiritual censures, his reply neither yieldeth excommunication nor suspension, but admonition alone, and that by the ministers who are a part of the elders.h.i.+ps, not by the whole elders.h.i.+p consistorially. Again, p.

14, he confesseth: "I advised the Parliament to lay no burden of government upon them, whom he, this commissioner, thinks church officers, pastors and ruling elders." Now I argue thus: He that adviseth the Parliament to lay no burden of government upon ministers and ruling elders, he adviseth the Parliament to do contrary to their own votes and ordinances, and so is far from subscribing heartily thereunto. But Mr Coleman, by his own confession, adviseth the Parliament to lay no burden of government upon ministers and ruling elders; therefore, &c. How he will reconcile himself with himself let him look to it.

Page 11. He takes it ill that one, while I make him an enemy to all church government, then only to the presbyterial. _Only_ is his own addition. But I had reason to make him an enemy to both, for so he hath made himself; yea, in opposing all church government, he cannot choose but oppose presbyterial government, for the consequence is necessary, _a genere ad speciem_,-negatively though not affirmatively. If no church government, then no presbyterial government.

THE PARTICULARS IN MY BRIEF EXAMINATION, WHICH MR COLEMAN EITHER GRANTETH EXPRESSLY, OR ELSE DOTH NOT REPLY UNTO.

My argument, p. 32, proving that as many things ought to be established _jure divino_ as can well be, because he cannot answer it, therefore he granteth it.

Page 5. He had in his sermon called for plain and clear inst.i.tutions, and let Scripture speak expressly. Now, p. 7, he yieldeth that it is not only a divine truth (as I called it) but clear scripture, which is drawn by necessary consequence from Scripture.

He hath not yet, though put in mind, produced the least exception against the known arguments for excommunication and church government drawn from Matt, xviii. and 1 Cor. v. He tells the affirmer is to prove; but the affirmers have proved, and their arguments are known (yea he himself, p.

1, saith, "I have had the opportunity to hear almost what man can say in either side," speaking of the controversy of church government); therefore he should have made a better answer than to say that those places did not take hold of his conscience; yet if he have not heard enough of those places, he shall, I trust, ere long hear more.

He had said, I could never yet see how two co-ordinate governments, exempt from superiority and inferiority, can be in one state, p. 35. I gave him three instances: A general and an admiral; a father and a master; a captain and a master of a s.h.i.+p. This, p. 8, he doth not deny, nor saith one word against it; only he endeavoureth to make those similes to run upon four feet, and to resemble the General a.s.sembly and the Parliament in every circ.u.mstance. But I did not at all apply them to the General a.s.sembly and the Parliament; only I brought them to overthrow that general thesis of his concerning the inconsistency of two co-ordinate governments, which, if he could defend, why hath not he done it?

His keeping up of the names of clergy and laity being challenged by me, p.

36, he hath not said one word in his _Re-examination_ to justify it.

I having, p. 37, 38, confuted his argument drawn from the measuring of others by himself, whereby he did endeavour to prove that he had cause to fear an ambitious ensnarement in others as well as in himself, G.o.d having fas.h.i.+oned all men's hearts alike, now he quitteth his ground, and saith nothing for vindicating that argument from my exceptions.

I showed, p. 40, his misapplying of the king of Sodom's speech, but neither in this doth he vindicate himself.

That which I had at length excepted against his fourth rule concerning the magistrate, and his confirmation thereof, he hath not answered, nor so much as touched anything which I had said against him, from the end of p.

42 to the end of p. 48, except only a part of p. 43, and of p. 44, concerning 1 Cor. xii. 28. Some contrary argumentations he hath, p. 21, of which after, but no answer to mine.