A call to Archippus

Whether you had your Commission, Office and ¹Authority from the Magistrate, and your Power in, and relation to the Church, be of a Civil Stamp? We know the Magistrate doth not pretend to this: And if none but Christ did, nor could Commissionate you, can any but He discharge you? or can the Relation between the Church and you (if Divine and Spiritual) cease upon the interposition of a Power merely Political, which is toto genere distinct? If the Magistrate did not constitute and cause this Relation, how can he make it to cease? or take away what (confessedly) he ⟨p. 12⟩cannot give? were not this to make it to be at the Magistrates pleasure whether Christ shall have any Ministry or no? any Service or no? whether there shall be any Preaching or not? and so indeed, whether God shall have any Church or no? And if the Magistrate cannot make your Relation to the Church to cease, how can he make the Duty of that Relation to cease? sith the shadow doth not more naturally and necessarily follow the substance, than the Duty doth the Relation. In a word; Will it be a sufficient Answer, at God's Righteous Judgement, when the Lord shall ask us why we did not preach the Gospel as he had bid us? to say, Lord, it was because the Magistrate did forbid us. God is our Record in Heaven, that we are of those that do unfeignedly fear the Lord, and honour the King; to whom we shall ever yield obedience in licitis, deny submission in nullis. Only we are afraid, that it will not be sufficient in that dreadful day, to produce the Magistrates Warrant for our discharge, when directly contradicting the tremendous Charge of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge both quick and dead at his appearing. We verily fear, the Magistrates Dispensation will not be allowed before his Tribunal; and then what a sorry case were we in, should we desist thereupon from our work?

Whether you had your Commission, Office and ¹Authority from the Magistrate, and your Power in, and relation to the Church, be of a Civil Stamp? We know the Magistrate doth not pretend to this: And if none but Christ did, nor could Commissionate you, can any but He discharge you? or can the Relation between the Church and you (if Divine and Spiritual) cease upon the interposition of a Power meerly Political, which is toto genere distinct? If the Magistrate did not constitute and cause this Relation, how can he make it to cease? or take away what (confessedly) he