A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbytery in Scotland, or, A modest and…A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbyterie in Scotland, or, A modest and…

The goodness of God and his good pleasure is the cause why God giveth the power of the keys to some persons and not to othersome, the grace and holiness of a man is not the cause. It is dangerous to aver that the power of the keys is more or less in persons, according as they are more or less sanctified and graced of God, for then Mary Magdalene hath more power of the keys, and hath more ecclesiastic authority than Judas, or any unbelieving Pastor duly called of Christ, and his Church. And therefore it is a sickly consequence to reason from the excellency of the promises of grace and the measure of holiness to the power of the keys, or the measure of the power of the keys. Our Divines reason well from a greater majority of grace and light pastoral, or of gifts pastoral or ecclesiastic to infer the majority of power of jurisdiction, and of this speaketh Whittaker and our Divines, There is a greater measure of the Spirit of prophecy and of grace ministerial, promised to the whole representative Church of Christ, convened in a Council Ecumenic, than to one man, the Pope, or to a Prophet, and they give, but do not grant that the Pope is a Prophet, when they hold him to be a thief or a robber. Hence they prove well the Pope to be inferior in power of jurisdiction to a general council of Pastors and Elders. 2. It ⟨p. 42⟩is utterly false that they say, where there is more stability of grace and holiness, there is more authority and ecclesiastical power, When both the subjects are not capable of ecclesiastic power, now the subjects are so here, the Eldership is a subject capable of the keys, but the community of believers that are private Christians, and no more, are not capable of this power, and they beg the question who reason with us in this argument. It is soul reasoning to say, the snow is whiter than a Raven, because there is more of cold qualities elementary in the snow, nor in the Raven because the Raven is not white at all.¹ Aristotle taught us long since at the Schools that the comparative degree could not be ascribed to the subjects of whom the positive degree is denied. Because a Raven is not white, it is vanity to prove that snow is whiter than a Raven. Believers are not capable of the keys remaining only believers, except God freely call them to the Ministerial state.

The goodnesse of God and his good pleasure is the cause why God giveth the power of the keyes to some persons and not to othersome, the grace and holinesse of a man is not the cause. It is dangerous to averre that the power of the keyes is more or lesse in persons, according as they are more or lesse sanctified and graced of God, for then Mary Magdalene hath more power of the keyes, and hath more ecclesiastick authoritie than Iudas, or any unbelieving Pastour duely called of Christ, and his Church. And therefore it is a sickly consequence to reason from the excellencie of the promises of grace and the measure of holinesse to the power of the keyes, or the measure of the power of the keyes. Our Divines reason well from a greater majoritie of grace and light pastorall, or of gifts pastorall or ecclesiastick to inferre the majoritie of power of jurisdiction, and of this speaketh Whittaker and our Divines, There is a greater measure of the Spirit of prophecy and of grace ministeriall, promised to the whole representative Church of Christ, convened in a Councell Occumenick, than to one man, the Pope, or to a Prophet, and they give, but doe not grant that the Pope is a Prophet, when they hold him to be a thiefe or a robber. Hence they prove well the Pope to be inferiour in power of jurisdiction to a generall councell of Pastours and Elders. 2. It