As the full title intimates this book is divided into two major parts. The first part contains, "a justification of the Gospel ministry in general, the necessity of ordination thereunto by imposition of hands, the unlawfulness of private men assuming to themselves either the office or work of the ministry without a lawful call and ordination, etc."

Part two covers "a justification of the present ministers of England, both such as were ordained during the prevalency of Episcopacy from the foul aspersion of antichristianism: and those who have been ordained since its abolition, from the unjust imputation of novelty: proving that a Bishop and Presbyter are all one in Scripture; and that ordination by Presbyters is most agreeable to the Scripture pattern. Together with an appendix, wherein the judgement and practice of antiquity about the whole matter of Episcopacy, and especially about the ordination of ministers, is briefly discussed."

Moreover, The Divine Right of the Gospel Ministry gives us a further glimpse of how different the old and faithful jus divinum of presbyterianism (taught by English representatives at the Westminster Assembly) is from our modern, so-called "presbyterianism."

Hall notes, "So strongly were they committed to this thorough-going jus divinum view that they stated the following 'four things that justly deserve to be abhorred by all good Christians:

• 1. An Universal Toleration of all Religions
• 2. An Universal Admittance of all men to the Lord's Suppe
• 3. Universal Grace, that is, that Christ died equally for all, and that all men have free-will to be saved
• 4. Universal Allowance of all that suppose themselves gifted to preach without Ordination'" (Introduction to the Naphtali edition, p. xxi).

Hall further states that "these ministers viewed their commitments to both of these jus divinum aspects (i.e. to the divine right of Presbyterian church government and the divine right of a Presbyterian Gospel ministry--RB) as to 'the seamless coat of Christ.' Throughout this second document, the authors speak in continuity with the earlier volume with the main error to be corrected, as stated as: 'That there is no such Office as the Office of the Ministry; or That this Office is quite lost; or That every man that thinks himself gifted, may intrude into the Ministerial Office.
These opinions we judge destructive to Christian Religion, and an in-let to Popery and all error, to all disorder and confusion, and at last to all profaneness and Atheism" (Ibid.).

In short, when the ministry is disparaged (and open to every heretic and schismatic who calls himself to this sacred task) the truth of Scripture will be trampled underfoot, the visible church (constitutionally) rent in pieces (by those denying a biblically covenanted uniformity), and the toleration of every foul error will become commonplace (sounds like today, doesn't it?).

This is an English Presbyterian classic written by some of the men who attended the Westminster Assembly.

It is a companion volume to their earlier Divine Right of Church Government and should be studied in conjunction with this unsurpassed work.