Five disputations of church-government and worship

Now how absurd all this is, I need not manifest: that whole Countries sh•ll have no Government for want of […], that Kings shall so alter Church Officers at their pleasure •hen they intend it not, merely by altering the Civil Privileges of their people; that a King may make one Diocese to become an hundred, and an hundred become one, by such means. And yet all this doth undeniably follow, if the Law be that every City and only every City shall be a Bishops Sea where there are Christians to be governed.

Now how absurd all this is, I need not manifest: that whole Contre•e• sh•ll have no Government for want of 〈…〉, that Kings shall so alter Church Officers at their ple•sure •hen they intend it not, meerly by altering the Civil Priviledg•s of their people; that a King may make one Diocess to become an hundred, and an hundred become one, by such means. And yet all this doth unden•ably follow, if the Law be that every City and only every City shall be a Bishops Sea where there are Christians to be governed.

Reason 7. There is no sufficient Reason given, ¹why subject P••s•byters should not have been set up in the Scripture times▪ as well as after, if it had been the Apostles intent that such should be instituted. The Necessity pretended, was no necessity, and the Nonnecessity is but pretended. First it is pre•eed that there were so few fit men that there was a Necessity of forbearance. But this is not so: For, 1. The Church had larger gifts of the Spirit then, then now, and therefore proportionable to the flocks they might have had competent men, then as well as now. 2. They had men enough to make Deacons of, even seven in a […]: And who will believe then that they could find none to make such Elders of? Was not Stephen or Philip sufficiently qualified to have been a subject Elder? 3. They had many that prophesied, and interpreted, and spake with tongues in one Assembly, as appears,