Neathir yit must ane Minister be permitted to frequent and commonlie hant the Court, onless it be for a time, when he is eathir send be the Churche, eathir yit called for by the Authoritie for his counsall and judgement. Neathir yit must he be one of the counsall in Civill effaires, be he never judgeit so apt for that purpose; but eathir must he cease frome the ministerie (whiche at his awin plesour he may not do,) or ellis from bearing charge in Civill effaires, onles it be to assist the Parliament yf he be[527] called.
The office of the Deaconis, as is before declared, is to receave the rentis, and gadder the almous of the Churche, to keip and distribute the same, as by the ministerie of the Kirk shall be appointed. Thay may also assist in judgement with the Ministeris and Elderis, and may be admitted to read in the assemblie yf thei be required, and be fund abill thairto.
The Elderis and Deaconis, with thair wiffeis and houshaldis must be under the same censure that is prescribit for the Ministeris: for thay must be cairfull over thair office; and seing that thay ar judgeis to the maneris of uthiris, thair awin conversatioun aught to be irreprehensible: Thay must be sober, humill, luifaris and interteinaris of concord and peace; and, finalie, thay aught to be the exempill of godlines till otheris. And yf the contrarie thairof appeare, thay must be admonisched by the Minister, or by some of thair brethren of the ministerie, yf the falt be secreit; and gif it be oppin and knawin, it must be rebucked before the ministerie, and the same ordour keipit against the Seniour or Deacon, that before is describit aganis the Minister.
We think it nott necessarie that ony publict stypend shall be appointed, eathir to the Elderis, or yit to the Deaconis, becaus thair travell contineuis bot for ane yeare; and alsua becaus that thay are not so occupyed with the effares of the Churche, but that reasonabillie thay may attend upoun thair domesticall besynes.
THE NNYT HEADE, CONCERNYNG THE POLECIE OF THE CHURCHE.[528]
POLECIE we call ane exercise of the Churche[529] in suche thingis as may bring the rude and ignorant to knawledge, or ellis inflambe the learned to greater fervencie, or to reteane the Churche in gude ordour. And thairof thair be two sortis: the one utterlie necessarie; as that the word be treulie preched, the sacramentis richtlie ministrat, common prayeris publictlie maid; that the children and rude personis be instructed in the cheaf pointis of religioun, and that offences be corrected and punisched; these thingis, we say, be so necessarie, that without the same thair is no face of ane visible Kirk. The other is proffitable, bot not of mere necessitie; as, that Psalmes suld be sung; that certane placis of the Scripturis suld be red whan thair is no sermon; that this day or that day, few or many in the weeke, the churche suld assemble. Off these and suche utheris we can not se how ane certane ordour can be establisched. For in some churcheis the Psalmes may be convenientlie sung; in utheris, perchance, thay can not. Some churcheis may convene everie day; some thryise or twise in the weeke; some perchance bot onis. In these and such like must everie particular Churche, by thair awin consent, appoint thair awin Polecie.