Or is't not rather both their shame and sin, Too thin, to stand Her need in any stead, much less to be Take pity on her, Lord, and heal her breaches; All the despite that's done unto her reaches Rich precious stones, To shine each of them in his proper place, THE DEACON. THE Deacon! That's the Minister. True, taken generally; And without any sinister Intent, used specially, He's purposely ordain'd to minister, In sacred things, to another officer. At whose appointment, in whose stead, In some things, not in all is led By Law, and custom too. Where that doth neither bid, nor forbid, he Loves not to vary, when he sees To what's commanded he agrees, Knowing how highly God submission prizes, Lord, thou didst of thyself profess And freely choosest to go less, Though none so much deserved. With what face can we then refuse to be Thy way to exaltation But we, proud generation, No difference of degree In holy orders will allow, nay, more, But, if thy precept cannot do 't, Nor thy example added to 't, If still from both we swerve, Let none of us proceed, till he can tell, How to use the office of a Deacon well. Which by the blessing of thy Spirit, Thy Vicar here, we may inherit, Though not so well as thou may'st well expect, 1 THE PRIEST. THE Priest, I say, the Presbyter, I mean, As now-a-days he's call'd By many men but I choose to retain The name wherewith install'd He was at first in our own mother tongue : The Priest, I say, 's a middle Officer, The Deacon; as a middle offerer, Which in the Church doth stand Between God and the people, ready press'd In the behalf of both to do his best. From him to them offers the promises For them to him doth all their faults confess, The Word and Sacraments, the means of grace, He duly doth dispense, The flourishes of falsehood to deface, With truth's clear evidence; And sin's usurped tyranny suppress, The public censures of the Church he sees But nothing rashly of himself decrees, Wiser than his superiors; whom always Lord Jesus, thou the Mediator art And fully didst perform thy double part To reconcile the world, and to atone Yea, after the order of Melchisedeck, Thou art a Priest for ever. With perfect righteousness thyself dost deck, Like to thyself make all thy Priests on earth, Thou camest to do the will of him that sent thee, More than thine own: well may it then repent thee, To have admitted them into the place Of sons, that seek their fathers to disgrace. Lord, grant that the abuse may be reform'd, Upon thy poor despised Church, transform'd Thou that the God of order art, and peace, THE BISHOP. THE Bishop? Yes, why not? What doth that name Import that is unlawful, or unfit? To say the Overseer is the same In substance, and no hurt, I hope, in it But sure if men did not despise the thing, Such scorn upon the name they would not fling. Some Priests, some Presbyters, I mean, would be But one Superior, to oversee Them altogether, they will not endure: This the main difference is, that I can see, But who can show of old that ever any To assist them, 's probable, not these from those. However, a true Bishop I esteem The highest Officer the Church on earth All order first from unity ariseth, |