Mr Hussey in that _Epistle to the Parliament_, p. 5, saith, "Oh
that this honourable court would hasten to set up classes consisting only
of ministers whose work should be only to preach the word, and weekly meet
in schools of divinity!" Here is a double contradiction to the ordinances
of Parliament, for in the directions of the Lords and Commons for choosing
of ruling elders, and speedy settling of presbyterial government, it is
appointed that ruling elders shall be members both of classes and
synodical assemblies, together with the ministers of the word. Again, the
ordinance about suspension of scandalous persons from the sacrament
appointeth other work to classes, beside preaching and disputing, namely,
the receiving and judging of appeals from the congregational eldership. Mr
Coleman, in _Male Dicis_, p. 12, professeth that he excludeth ruling
elders from church government, yet he can hardly be ignorant that as the
Parliament hath voted "that many particular congregations shall be under
one presbyterial government," so their votes do commit that government to
pastors and ruling elders jointly.

I will not here repeat the particulars wherein I showed in my _Nihil
Respondes_ that Mr Coleman hath abused the honourable houses of
Parliament, unto which particulars he hath answered as good as nothing.
The honourable houses, in their wisdom, will soon observe whether such
men, whose avouched tenets are so flatly repugnant to the parliamentary
votes and ordinances, are like to be good pleaders for Christian
magistracy.

CHAPTER VI.

MR COLEMAN'S WRONGING OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

Mr Coleman ends his _Male Dicis_ with a resentment of accusations charged
upon him by a stranger, a commissioner from another church. The lot of
strangers were very hard, if, when they are falsely accused to authority,
they may not answer for themselves. He may remember the first accusation
was made by himself, when in his sermon to the Parliament, he did flatly
impute to the commissioners from the church of Scotland a great part of
the fault of hindering union in the Assembly of Divines, as having come
biassed with a national determination; his doctrine also at that time
being such, as did not only reflect upon the government of the church of
Scotland, but tend to the subversion of the covenant in one principal
point, without which there can be small or no hopes of attaining the other
ends of the cove