expressly commanded, [viz. publick Prayers in the vulgar Tongue, and Communion in both Kinds] and yet you for. bear, and forbid them. Our Worship is therefore purer, and more Orthodox than yours. Vind.

tions,

L. Sr, 'tis falfe, that publick Prayers in the vulgar Tongue, and Lay-Communion in both Kinds are com manded by God; as I shall demonftrate, when We come to treat of thofe Subjects by themselves [2, Part. §. 39. 53.] But, as to the four first Quefwhich you fay are concerning Things no where enjoin'd by God, yet practifed by us; Pray, Sr, has the Church no Authority to ordain any Thing, but what God has expressly enjoin'd? Has a Child no Obligation to obey his Parents but in Things, for which there is an exprefs Command of God? Is it lawful for Subjects to refufe Obedience to fuperiour Powers, unless they can prove their Commands from fome exprefs Text of Scripture? May Soldiers lawfully difobey their Officer, when he commands them to march, or halt , or go upon an Attack, unless he can produce a Text of Scripture for it? Or has the Church less Authority than the State, or an Officer, or private Parent to require Obedience in Things, that are not expressly commanded by God?

Sr, I put these Queftions to you to place before your Eyes the frivolousness of yours, and convince you, that we are bound to do many Things, which God has not enjoin'd us by any exprefs Command, and that by Confequence my Soul may be in Danger by Refufing to obey the Authority, he has eftablish'd. Yet a certain Friend of yours has had the Weakness not only to cry up your Questions as unanswerable, but to Triumph in a very undecent Manner over his Adverfary, because he let them pass without an Answer. Take this then for your final Anfwer, that, tho God has not enjoin'd' the

Elevation of the Hoft, the Hanging of Pictures or Ima ges in the Church, &c. By any exprefs Command jt fuffices that he has commanded us to hear and obey the Church, and not raise Schijms by an obstinate Difobedience to her Laws. God has not enjoin'd you to baptize with the Sign of the Croß, and yet you practife it: Neither has he commanded the Common Prayer-Book, and yet you use it. Suppofe then fome Phanatical Diffenter should put fuch Queftions as thefe to you. Would there be any Hazard of your Soul's Salvation, if you should baptize without the Sign of the Croß? If the Common Prayer-Book were not used in the publick Service? Or, if you laid afide the many Popish Ceremonies, you still retain? Pray, Sr, would you think fuch Questions to be unanswerable? Nay would you not rather think them impertinent and frivolous ? In short, Sr, it is my Judgment, that I cannot be faved, unless I keep in the Communion of the true Church.

» G. I prefume your Lordship means the Commu»nion of the Church of Rome. pag. 2.

L. Sr, I mean the whole Church in Communion with the Church of Rome; whofe Bishop being the Succeffor of St Peter gives her the Authority and fu rifdiction of the Mother-Church over all particular Churches, which compofe the great Body or So~ ciety of Men call'd in the Nicene Creed the One, Holy, Catholick, and Apoftolick Church,

§. I.

Rome the Mother-Church.

6. M the Mother-Church, where Chrift firft a

Y Lord, it is certain that Jerufalem was es

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planted the Gospel, and commanded that it should « be thence propagated to all other Nations, as « himself said, beginning at Jerufalem. Luke 24 47. « And till after the Vision of the Sheet to St Peter. « Act. 11. 19. They travelled preaching the Word to « none but unto the Jews only. So that the Jewish Chrif tian Church was the only Church for some Time, « and she it was who converted the Gentile Nations, « and therefore was the Mother-Church to them all. « And Rome was not the first Gentile Church. For the Difciples were call'd Chriftians firft in Antioch. Act. « II. 26. And the Greek Church was before the Latin: « the New Testament was writ in Greek for their Ufe. « Therefore the Greek Church could not be the « Daughter of the Latin Church, which was born after «<< her. « If your Lordship alledge that St Peter was Head of the Church, and Bishop of Rome. I answer, This « will not make her the Mother-Church. You may « call her Supreme, Abfolute, Univerfal, or what you « pleafe, any Thing but the Mother - Church, to e which it is impoffible she should have any Title. « pag. 2.3. "

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L.

Sr

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it is not only poffible, but clear Fact. What you have faid proves indeed, that both Jerufalem and Antioch, and perhaps many other Towns received the Chriftian Faith before the City of Rone. And the only Confequence I can draw from it is, that Rome is not the oldeft Chriftian City, nor the most ancient Epifcopal See in the World. But you

are pleased to inferr likewife from it, that therefore she cannot be call'd the Mother-Church, and your Reason for it, viz. because the Mother cannot be born after the Daughter, is fo very witty and Pretty, that I fear I shall be thought impertinent in not yielding to the force of fuch folid Reasoning.

But

However be pleased to take Notice, that Mother Church is a Metaphor, and a very proper one. truly, Sr, we shall be forced to lay afide all Meraphors, tho, never fo proper and beautiful, if they must all stand the Teft of your Logick. That is, there must be a Refemblance in all Refpects between what they fignify figuratively, and the Thing fignified literally by them.

if

As for Inftance, a crafty Man is by a very proper Metaphor call'd a Fox. But if fome wifeacre should argue thus, let him be as crafty as he will, he neither has the Smell, nor Colour, nor Head, nor Tail, nor Shape of a Fox, therefore he is no Fox: I believe he would not get the Reputation of a profound Wit by it. Now, Sr, your Argument Againft my Calling the Churb of Rome the Mother-Church is much of the fame Force. You fay, she is not of Age to be the Mother of all Churches. I anfwer it is not Age, that gives her that Denomination. But she has the Jurifdiction, the Power and Authority of a Mother over other Churches and that fuffices to give her a just Claim to that Title. As the late Queen Ann was ftiled the Mother of her People, tho she was not the oldest Woman in the Nation."

:

King James the first stuck not to own her Title in a Speech to the Parliament An. 1603. I own (fays he) the Church of Rome to be our Mother-Church. And indeed her Claim to that Title, particularly in Relation to the Church of England, is unquestionable, because the whole Kingdom of England ows it's Con

verfion

verfion from Paganism to Christianity to the See of

Rome.

G. My Lord, in the Converfion of Gentiles to « Christianity one Man and one Nation must receive « Faith before another. They were not all conver- a ted on a Day. And as when one Man converts «☛ another, fo it is of Churches and Nations, it gives . the one no Superiority over the other, except that « of Gratitude and Efteem, but Nothing of Authority. pag. 3. 4. «

L. 'Tis very true, Sr, that one Nation converting another gives the former no Authority over the Latter. And therefore, thô the Church of Rome deserves even upon that Account the Title of being the Mother-Church to the Church of England, becaufe she begot her Fore-fathers in JESUS-CHRIST through the Gospel. I. Cor. 4. V. 15. Yet 'tis not on that Title her Claim to Superiority is grounded. For this was the Cafe of the Jewish Chriftian Church, which (as you obferved before) converted the Gentiles; and the-. refore was their Mother indeed, but not Superiour.. Nay Jerufalem, where the Christian Faith was firft planted, is the very laft of the Patriarchal Sees in the East: And in St Jeram's Time had not even Jurifdiction over Palestine, but was fubject to Cefarea. it's Metropolis, as appears from his 61. Epift. to Pam machius. So that, tho ferufalem was the first in the. Order of Time, it became afterwards inferiour in the Order of Government.

The Title therefore, on which the Church of Rome grounds her Claim to Superiority over other Churches, is the Supremacy of her Bishop, who in Quality of Succeffor to St Peter is Head of the Catholick, that is, Universal Church. And this gives her a Spiritual Furifdiction or Authority over all other particular Churches.

B