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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	law_n	parliament_n	prerogative_n	2,334	5	9.9399	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61705	Some remarks upon a late pamphlet, entituled, An answer to the Scots Presbyterian eloquence wherein the innocency of the Episcopal clergy is vindicated, and the constitution and government of our Church of Scotland defended, against the lies and calumnies of the Presbyterian pamphleters.	Strachan, William.; Ridpath, George, d. 1726. Answer to the Scots Presbyterian eloquence.	1694 (1694)	Wing S5776; ESTC R1954	92,648	108

Assembly could have no such Pretence against those few Episcopal Clergy that ●…esired to be United to them in a share of the Government They were willing I suppose to own the same common Principles of Unity with the Presbyterians in reference to the Discipline of the Church that is to be governed by the major part of all their Assemblies and to submit always to what is carried by a Plurality of Voices in their Meetings though sometimes they themselves when they see it for their Interest destroy this Principle of Unity so fundamentally nece●…ary to all Democratical Societies and allow the lesser Number to preponderate the greater as in the Case which happened in the Synod of St. Andrews an 1591 about settling a Minister at Leuchars And this methinks is enough to shew that the Church of England had far more reasonable Grounds to oppose the Comprehension with the Dissenters than the Scots Presbyterians had to reject the desire of the Episcopal Addressers But this Author will needs have the Disadvantage appear wholly on the Church of England's ●…ide and therefore we must consider a little the Reasons he brings for his Assertion His first Reason is Because the King is really the Fountain of all their Church Power as ●…aving the making of the Bishops and does still remain Head of th●…ir Church whereas he hath actually renounced Name and Thing in Scotland where the whole Ecolesiastical Jurisdiction is by Law settled in the Church The King is indeed owned by the Church of England to be in his own Dominions Supream over all Persons and in all Causes Civil and Ecclesiastical but that he is the Fountain of all their Church Power is what I believe the most Erastian Principled among them never dreamed Their 37th Article asserts the contrary in as plain words as can be desired where it is said ' ' That they give not to their Princes the Ministring either of God's Word or of the Sacraments but that only Prerogative which they see to have been always given to all godly Princes in holy Scriptures by God himself that is That they should rule all Estates and Degrees committed to their Charge by God whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal and restrain with the Civil Sword the stubborn and evil Doers From whence 't is plain that the Church of England in her Articles allows the Civil Magistrate no Power or Jurisdiction in Matters purely Spiritual he cannot Administer the Sacraments nor Consecrate either Bishops or Priests neither can he inflict any Spiritual Censures upon obstinate Offenders The Civil Power may for strengthening the Hands of the Church and making her Discipline the more dreaded and regarded inforce her Spiritual Censures with Secular Punishments but can lay no claim to the Power of the Keys as his own Right It is from him the Church derives that Power of having Civil Penalties inflicted on such as contemn and despise th●… Ecclesiastical Censures as in the case of Excommunication which renders the Party excommunicated obnoxious to Temporal Imprisonment and incapacitates him from carrying on any Suit or Action in the Civil Courts The Church cannot by her own Authority use the Civil Sword to punish the stubborn and evil Doers and therefore in so far as the Civil Magistrate extends the Churches Jurisdiction to some Secular Matters and impowers her to inflict Civil Penalties for the better preserving of her Ecclesiastical Discipline the Clergy must own the King to be the Fountain from whence they derive this Power But as for their Spiritual Authority and Jurisdiction which only can be called properly the Church Power they derive it from a higher Original from God himself who is the true ●…ead of our Church and it cannot be conveyed to us by the Hands of any Lay-Person God has instituted a distinct Order of Men in our Church whom he has authorized to transmit this Spiritual Power down through all the Ages of Posterity that there might still be a constant Succession of Pastors and Governors in the Church to administer his Wor●… and Sacraments to his People And it is from this Sacred Order of the Divine Appointment that our Clergy derive their Spiritual Power it is from their hands they receive Holy Orders and a Power of Ministring in Holy Things and none but they alone can Divest them of this Authority Our Author's Expression of the King 's having the making of the Bishops is somewhat ambiguous If he means that the King is allowed by the Church of England a Power to Consecrate and Separate the Bishops for their Sacred Function it is such a notorious Falshood as needs no Confutation the practice of the Church to the contrary being so visible But if his meaning is That the King has Power to Nominate any Clergy-man to a vacant Bishoprick it is no more than what they themselves allow to the Laity in their popular Elections And if the Laity in these Elections may be allowed to Nominate their own Pastor and Spiritual Guide I see no reason why the Church should be blamed for allowing the King to Nominate and Recommend to them a Person ●…itly Quali●…ied for the Sacred Office of a Bishop especially since 't is to his Bounty they owe all the Temporal Priviledges and Honours which are annexed to the Episcopal Sees The same Power in the external ordering of Spiritual Matters with which the ●…ing is Invested by the Constitutions of this Church and Nation does likewise belong to him by the Laws of Scotland ●…e has the Power of Nominating the Bishops and 't is by his Authority the Clergy of that Kingdom are allowed to meddle in Secular Matters and to in●…lict any Civil Penalties upon such as d●…spise their Spiritual 〈◊〉 What this Author alledges about the Res●…inding of the whole Supremacy in Sc●…tland by Act of Parliament since this Revolution is a gross mistake as may easily appear f●…om this short Narrative thereos By the 129th Act Parl. 8. ●… Jam●…s VI. the King 's Royal Prerogative of Supremacy over all Estates as well Spiritual as Temporal is acknowledged and rati●…ied and it i●… d●…clared That none shall d●…cline the ●…ing's Power in 〈◊〉 Premisses under the pain of Treason Thereafter by the ●… A●… 2. Parl. K Charl●…s II. there is an Exp●…ication of this Act and Prerogative whereby it is declared That whatever Constitution the King s●…all make concerning the ord●…ing and disposing of the external Government of the Church shall be obeyed as Law This last Act was thought to give ●…he King too much Power since he might thereby have aboli●…hed the Government of the Church by his own immediate Authority and so there was some pretext for Rescinding this last Act and it is Rescind●…d by the first Act of the second Session of Parliament of ●… W●…lliam but the ●…irst Act is not Rescinded and there was an 〈◊〉 Order to the Commissioner not to consent to any Act in prej●…dice the●…eof So that the King then by virtue

better preserving the Unity and Discipline of the Church each Bishop should be accountable for his Administration to the whole Colledge of Bishops And therefore although the Bishops should yield up some of their Right and for the entertaining the better correspondence with the Clergy of their Dioceses condescend to give them an Account of their diligence in the Offices of their Function yet this could not be supposed to degrade them of their Office or make them to be no Bishops We grant that the Superintendents did yearly give an Account of their Diligence in their Functions to a National Synod but this Synod consisted of none but the Superintendents and Bishops of the other Dioce●…es and of the most Eminent of the Presbyters who were allowed by the Superintendants to sit in that Meeting There was no Minister permitted to be a Member of that Synod till he was first approved of by the Superintendants as a person sitly qualified to judge of such matters as were brought be●…ore that Assembly And I would willingly know of this Author whether the Superintendants were any more a●…countable to this National Synod than the Bishops who went along with the Reformation and notwithstanding of this their being accountable were still looked upon as Bishops and left in full possession of all their Temporal and Spiritual Rights which they enjoyed before the Reformation And if those Men who were acknowledged on all hands to be Bishops were as much accountable as the Superintend●…nts then it is no Argument that the latter were no Bishops The next instance which this Author brings of the Episcopal Party their bearing an inveterate Malice against the Presbyterians is a long Enumeration of the Laws and Statutes made by King Charles II. and his Parliaments for suppressing the many Seditions and Rebellions raised against his Government by the Presbyterian Faction He sums up all the Acts of Parliament made against that Rebellious Crew and these he highly aggravates as the greatest instances of Cruelty in any Government But as to this point the Learned and Worthy Sir George Mackenzie has quite stopt the Mouths of this clamouring Party by his excellent Treatise wrote in defence of the proceedings of the Government of K. Charles II. against the Presbyterian Dissenters He has there given us a summary account of the mild and calm Methods used by the Government to reclaim this obstinate Party who were even hardned in their Rebellious Principles He shews that the enacting of these Penal ●…aws against them which this Author has scraped together was nothing but what the Governours of any Nation would have been out of absolute necessity forced to do for its safety and security He has collected the most considerable of the pretended instances of Cruelty against particular persons which the Presbyterians do now most grievously complain of and do mostly insist upon in their Railings and Belchings against the Government To all these instances he has given such a full and satisfactory Answer that every impartial Reader must needs own and acknowledge that these persons met with no severity but what their Rebellious and Treasonable Actings against the Government did justly deserve that the punishments inslicted upon them for their op●…n and avowed designs of subverting the Monarchy were conform to the Laws of the Nation and the proceedings in their Tryals very fair and legal and that the Methods of proceeding in our Criminal Courts of Scotland which this Author so grosly belies pag. 30. 31. are the fairest and justest and the Panna●…s indulged the greatest advantages for their own defence of any Nation in Europe All which he has clearly demonstrated to the conviction of every disi●…teressed person who upon Reading the History of these times will be apt to say that the mildness and clemency of that Government towards the Rebellious Sectaries was its greatest Cruelty So that it is but Labour in vain for this Author to be so sull and copious in relating these sufferings of his Party unless he can disprove what Sir George Mackenzie and others have demonstrated against them of their being guilty of such srequent Seditions and Rebellions against the State as would have provoked the mildest Government on Earth to have quite extirpated them But all the Attempts which either this Author or another who pretends to Answer the Vindication of K. Charles II. Governm●…nt makes that way are only some weak esforts upon Sir George's personal ●…ame and Reputation which are sounded upon such a Rock as the greatest Malice of this party is not able to undermine His admirable qualities of Learning Loyalty and Religion have so justly recommended him to the Favour and Esteem of all Virtuou●… and Ingenious Men that for these Scriblers to Attempt the blemishing of his ●…ame is to as little purpose as the Dogs barking at th●… Moon What this Author alledges against Sir George's ingenuous dealing in his Vindication of Printing some Fanatical Covenants and Declarations published by the Presbyterians and the urging these as ●… ground ●…or enac●…ing those severe Laws against them although the Laws wer●… made long before the publishing of th●…se Declarations I say what he alledges on this score is most notoriously false For these Covenants and Declarations were only annexed to Sir G●…orge's Vindication of the Government by the Publisher and that with design to let the World see with what impudence this Party did accuse the Government of severity when it appears from their own Authentick Declarations that they were still pe●…sisting obstinately in their Wicked and Rebellious Practices against the State There was no necessity of recurring to these Posteriour Declarations of Rebellion to justifie the making of these Laws against the Presbyterians since their former Trea●…onable Actings under the Reigns of K. James VI. and K. Charles I. were sufficient grounds to direct the Wisdom of the Nation to enact such Laws as might tend most ●…o suppress the sedition of Rebels and secure the Peace and Quiet of the Kingdom Their srequent Insurrections against K. Jam●…s VI. in laying violent hands on his person at the Castle of Ruthven in the year 1582 and keeping him Prisoner th●…re for several Months together in raising an Army against him in the year 1585 in the South parts of the Kingdom and advancing therewith streight towards St●…rlin where the King then was and in tumultuously getting to Arms at Edinburgh and there Besieging the Session-House where the King and his Counsellors were met together and by that Insurrection had like to have done considerable mischief had not their Rage been stopt by the Loyalty of some Citizens who instantly Assembled together in Defence of the King's Person and the many other Commotions they raised against his Government by their Seditious Libels and Sermons besides that the whole Reign of King Charles the First that mo●…t just and clement Prince was nothing else but a perpetual Succession of Rebellions raised against him by these Presbyterian Votaries I say all these

impowered by the State to Inflict censures upon obstinate Sinners These were the Terms proposed to them by the Civil Government for carrying on this Union and this they think they might have law●…ully done without owning so much as the validity of their Ministry and I am sure much more without being obliged either to approve of or to enquire into their Lives and Conversations since in matters of Religion the bad ●…ives of Christians is never a sufficient Ground for separating from their Communion if it be in all other Respects lawful The design of the first part of this Pamphlet is to shew That the Episcopal Party bear an invetera●…e M●…lice against the Presbyterians and there●…ore their Testimony ought not to be of any Authority in these Accusations whi●…h they bring against them But our Author if his Spirit of Revenge had not been too predominant might have saved himself all this trouble since the Episcopal Party do not o●…er to urge any thing against th●…m upon their own bare Authority but what they can evidently prove from Authentick Reco●…ds and from the A●…testations of Men of ●…nspotted Fame and Credit who were Eye-Witnesses to m●…ny of the Villanies and Injuries done to our 〈◊〉 And this I am certain they have already done beyond th●… possibility of a Con●…utation in the Case ●…f ●…he Afflic●…ed Clergy ●…nd som●… other Discourses which they have Published relating to their lat●… Barbarous Persecution Late I ought not to call it since it Rages almost as much now as ever It 's tru●… the Clergy are not so much exposed to the Rage and ●…ury of the Rabble as they were by whose instigation is very well know●… not very long ago But their Miseries are far f●…m b●…ing at an end they sti●…l rem●…in in Exile from their Churches and Houses are exposed to all th●… Miseries of Poverty and Want have not the least 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 wher●…by they may gain Bread to 〈◊〉 their crying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mis●…rie do daily increase upon them and whi●…h is most discouraging they have no prospect of Deliverance ●… pray ●…od may enable th●…m p●…tiently to undergo this Fiery Try●…l to withstand all the Temptations of Interest and World●…y Po●…iticks and to remain firm and stedfast in asserting those Prin●…iples of our Re●…igion for which they at presen●… suffer that so having no other aim before their Eyes but to keep a Conscience void of Offence both towards God and Man th●…y m●…y have a well grounded hop●… of Receiving at la●… as a Reward of their Sufferings that Eternal Crown of Glory which Christ hath purchased to all those that suffer for well doing But let us pursue our Authors Thread of Discourse and see what the Grounds are whereon he Accuses the Episcopal Party with inveterate Malice against the Presbyterians And the first instance we meet with of this kind is That they were the First Aggressors and impugned the Governm●…nt of the Church of Scotland by Presbytery which was the first it had after the Reformation It is not a little surprizing to see what pains the Presbyterians take to delude the ignorant people into a belief That our sirst Reformers Condemned and Exploded the Ancient Government of the Church and that it was no less Odious to them than the Romish Superstitions When there is nothing more plain ●…rom History than that at the beginning of the Reformation there was not the least Controversie about the Church Government and the Bishops who did not oppose the Reformation were lest in full possession not only of all their Temporal Dignities but likewise of their Spiritual Authority and Jurisdiction Suc●… of the Bishops as persisted in the Romish Errors and Corrupti●…ns were not allowed to Exercise their Spiritual Authority over the Clergy but some of the Reformed Communion under the Name of Superintendants were placed over their Dioceses and invested with the whole Episcopal Jurisdiction and Authority over the Clergy of these Provinces who were obliged as appears from the Acts of our National Synods to pay to their Superintendents all the Canonical Obedience that is due to other Bishops And by a Commission of the Assembly met at Leith in January 1572 the Government of the Church was declared to be in the Arch-bishops and Bishops and their Elections to be made by the Dean and Chapter which Declaration was ratified by Act of Parliament the s●…me year and likewise by a General Assembly held at Perth in ●…gust thereafter Till the year 1575 about fifteen years after the ●…gal settlement of our Reformation there was not the least disturbance in the Kingdom about the Government of the Church that Mr. And. M●…lvil returning ifrom G●…eva where he had been bred up with the Presbyterian Parity began to raise Commotions in the Church by attempting to have the Geneva Model Established in 〈◊〉 But a fu●…ler Account of the Government of our Church after the Reformation you may see in a Treatise Published by Arch-bishop Spo●…swood upon this Subject and Entituled Refutatio Libelli de Regimine Eccl●…siae Sco●…icanae and likewise in a late Discourse where the same Argument is at Large considered and in which it is undeniably proved from the Records of Parliament that Episcopacy was not only the first Government Established in our Church immediately upon the Reformation but wha●… is more that although the Episcopal Authority was frequently Weakned and Interrupted by the popular Insurrections of the Presbyterian Party yet it was never by Law Abolished in that Kingdom till the unhappy Civil Wars broke out under the Reign of King Charles I. In the year 1592 when they pretend their great Idol of Parity was Erected there was indeed a greater Jurisdiction and Authority allowed by Act of Parliament to Presbyteries and Synods than what was Granted them before which the King was forced to yield to to put a stop to the many Seditions and Commotions raised by Melvil and his Accomplices But yet notwithstanding this the Bishops did still continue to exist by Law and in all Parliaments they did Sit and Vote as the first of the three Estates as appears from the Records of these Parliaments And in the year 1596. L●…slie Bishop 〈◊〉 Ross dying at Brussels Mr. David Lindsay was presented by the King to the Bishoprick the very next year which is a plain demonstration that at that time Episcopacy was look'd upon as existent by Law all which is made out very plainly and evidently in this Apology But our Author will by no means allow th●… Superintendency Established in the Church by our first Reformers to be a Species of Prelacy And his Reasons are first That those Superintendents had the very same Form of Ordination with other Minister●… Before I proceed to consider the force of this Objection it will be needful to premise something concerning the occasion of this Institution At the beginning of the Reformation it was not thought safe that the Popish Bishops who still adhered to their