Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
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A33842
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A collection of papers relating to the present juncture of affairs in England
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Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing C5169A; ESTC R9879
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296,405
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451
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at once and yet no place Flesh and no Flesh several Members without distinction a substance without quantity and other Accidents or Substance and Accidents that cannot be seen felt or perceived so that they make a Monster of their Saviour or nothing Popery That utterly overthrows the Perfection of Christ's satisfaction for if all be not paid how hath he satisfied If Temporal Punishments in Purgatory be yet due how is all paid And if these must be paid by us how are they satisfied by him Popery That hath made more Scriptures than ever the Holy Spirit dictated or the Ancient Church received and those which it doth make Imperiously obtrudes upon the World and while it thunders out Curses against all that will not add these Books to God's seems to defie the Curse pronounc'd by God himself to those that add unto his Word Rev. 22. 18. Popery That erects a Throne in the Conscience to a meer Man and many times rather a Monster than a Man and gives him absolute Power to make a sin of that which is none and to dispense with that which is to create new Articles of Faith and to impose them upon Necessity of Salvation to make wicked Men Saints and Saints Gods for even by the Confession of Papists lewd and undeserving Men have leap'd into their Calendar yet being once install'd there they have the Honour of Altars Temples and Invocations some of them in a stile sit only for their Maker Popery That robs the Heart of all sound Comfort whilst it teacheth us That we neither can nor ought to be assured of the Remission of our sins and of present Grace and future Salvation that we can never know whether we have receiv'd the true Sacraments of God becausewe cannot know the Intention of the Minister without which they are no Sacraments Popery That racks the Conscience with the needless torture of a necessary shrift wherein the vertue of an Absolution depends on the fulness of Confession and that upon Examination and the sufficiency of Examination is so fuâ—l of scruples besides infinite Cases of unresolved doubts in this feigned pennance that the pour soul never knows when it is clear Popery That under pretence of Religion plays the Bawd to sin whilst both in practice it tolerates open stews and prefers Fornication in some cases before honourable Matrimony and gently blanches over wilful Violations of God's Law with the favourable title of Venial Crimes Popery That makes Nature vainly proud in joining her as Copartner with God in our Justification Salvation and idly putting her up with a conceit of her Perfection and Ability to keep more Laws than God hath â—ade whence their Doctrines of Merit and Supererogation c. Popery That requires no other Faith â—o Justificâ—tion in Christians than may be found in Devils themselves who besides â— confused Apprehension can assent to the Truth of God's revealed Will and Popery requires no more Popery That instead of the pure Milk of the Gospel hath long fed her starved Souls with such idle Legends as the Reporter can hardly deliver without laughter nor their Abettors be told of without shame and disclamation so that the wiser sort of the World read these Stories on Winter Evenings for sport which the poor credulous Multitude hear in their Churches with devout astonishment Popery That requires nothing but meer Formality in our Devotion the work wrought suffices alone in Sacraments and in Prayers if the number be repeated by Rote no matter for the Affection as if God regarded not the Heart but the Tongue and Hands and while he understands us cared little whether we understand our selves Popery That hath been often dyed in the Blood of Princes that in some cases teaches and allows Rebellion against God's Anointed and both suborneth Treasons and excuses pities honours and rewards the Actors Popery That overloads Men's Consciences with heavy burdens of infinite unnecessary Traditâ—ons far more than ever Moses Commented upon by all the Iewish Rabbins imposing them with no less Authority and exacting them with more Rigour than any of the Royal Laws of their Maker Popery That cozens the vulgar with nothing but shadows of Holiness in Pilgrimages Processions Offerings Holy Water Latin Services Images Tapers rich Vestures garish Altars Crosses Censings and a thousand such like fit for Children and Fools robbing them in the mean time of the sound and plain Helps of true Piety and Salvation Popery That cares not by what wilful Falshoods Equivocations Perjuries and Abominations it propagates it self and maintains its credit And therefore being conscious of her own Villainies goes about to falsifie and deprave Authors that might give Evidence against her to outface all ancient Truths to foist in Gibionitish Witnesses of their own forging and leaves nothing unattempted against Heaven and Earth that might advance her Faction and disable her innocent and just Accusers This this is the true figure of Popery through whatever false Opticks your Highness may have view'd it This is that for which you are resolv'd to hazard a Crown of Glory and three temporal Diadems to boot and to which you sacrifice both your own Fortunes and the Tranquillity of many Millions of Souls What then can the World that knoâ—s the clear light of your Highnesses Elevated Understanding imagâ—â—â— can be the Cause of your Revolt Will they not be apt to conceive that you have not espoused this Mock Religion purely for its own sake but for some promised Dowry of an Absolute Monarchy or Arbitrary Power which she might pretend to bring one day with her to your Embraces But as this is far below the Justice and Generosity of your Highness so 't is unworthy the thoughts of any considerate Politician For suppose any Prince to whom the British Sceptre may hereafter devolve intoxicated with the Tinsel Glories of the French Monarch's blustering Grandeur should be so vain as to hope to subjugate the English Liberties and destroy the Constitution of the best Establish'd Government on Earth by assuming to himself the whole Legislative Power raising Money and draining his Subjects at Pleasure without their common Consent in Parliament c. and should be so extravagantly enamour'd on this fatal Project fatal I say because for above Five hundred years it has shipwrack'd all that coasted that way as to be content to shift his Religion and exchange his Faith and turn Papist on a presumption that the same might facilitate and accomplish his Enterprize As King Iohn 't is said resolv'd once to embrace Mahumetism rather than not to be reveng'd of his Barons claiming their just Liberties Suppose I say all this should be and that the present Papists to get their Religion publickly establish'd should comply with his Designs yet still is it not most reasonable to believe That having once gain'd their Point therein they or their Posterity will soon recal to mind their Birth rights and Privileges due to them as English-men and will they not then be perpetually
The Necessary Eruâ—ition And consequently that the Bishop could not have or exert any Jurisdiction over the Subject unless warranted and derived from the King without danger of a Premunire which made Bonner wiâ—h others hold his Bishoprick by Commission Upon this ground if it should please His Majesty to chuse some persons of the Dissenters to this Office authorizing them to it no otherwise than by a like Commission which they should also hold with the Judges quam diâ— se benâ— gesseâ—unâ— As none of them could scruple then the acceptance so must a Union from that day forward commence in England especially if he would not leave filling up the Vacancies that fall with such till they in some measure equal the Conformists We are sensible unto what Distress the Ministers of a Particular Congregation of all sorts may be brought in the exercise of Discipline over some potent turbulent and refractory Members and what relief he might find in such an external Ecclesiastical Officer as this We are sensible how many inconvenices of Congregational Episcopacy may by this means only be saved Their work in general should be to supervise the Churches of all parties in their Diocesses that they walk according to their own principles in due Order agreeable to the Gospel and the peace of one another And more particularly in the observance of all Laws and Limitations Rules or Canons which the King as Supreme Head shall by advice of a Convocation oâ— the consent of his three Estates in Parliament make on purpose and impose upon them with respect both to the publick Emolument and the safety of his own Person Dignity and Dominions For example suppose this to be one Canon or Injunction That no Novice but such as are Grave Men only among the Sects be admitted to be Teachers Another this That the doors be kept open in all Conventiâ—les for any that wilâ— to come in and hear that no Sedition be there hatched or broached There are such and many the like Impositions may be found very fit to be laid on some Persons not needful for others and it is Time and the Trial and Experience which must be the Mother to bring them forth and cultivate them after to their best advantage To the making such Canons we humbly motion a third Clerk for the Convocation to be added to the two in every Diocess and chose out of the Dissenters with indifferent respect to all sorts of them that mutual Satisfaction and Concord my thereby be prosecuted with unanimity of Heart and Good will throughout all the Churcheâ— And the two Provinces of Canterbury and York should unite in this Convocation for the making them one National Church and not two Provincial ones in a diverse Assembly By this means shall one Organ more be added to this great Political Society for deriving an influence from the Head to these parts of the Body as well as others which now seem neglected and to have no care taken of them The more especial business of such an equally Modell'd Convocation should be the revising the Book of Canons for the reversing the main body of them having been fitted to that narrow scantling which is unworthy the Church of England and for the leaving only those and making new as we have exemplified in one or two for instance-sake even now which do and will suit to that larger Constitution thereof intended by this Paper And having now said thus much for Explanation of this Design we must say some little also in favour of it The Design of such an Accommodation as this shall advance not lessen the outward power and honour of the Bishop extending it over those who before had no conscientious regard for their Function while yet it would ease them of the tremendous burden of such a Cura Animarum they take on them otherwise as must be of impossible performance This Design which is suppos'd to find us in our Divisions and not to make any shall by little and little with God's blessing on it cool Animosities and enkindle Charity and Holiness among all parties which now is so much wanting while those that are Catholicks and those that are Protestants and much more those that are Conformists and those that are Nonconfrmists do agree in the substance of one Christianity having the same Scriptures the same Articles of Faith in the three Creeds and the same Rule of Manners in the Decalogue There is one Body one Spirit one Lord one Faith one Baptism They cannot indeed have both Communion in the same External Worship but they can have it in the Internal Adoration of the same blessed Trinity and in One Hope of our calling unto eternal Life through Christ Iesus They must separate into several Congregations but there shall be no Schism in the Body by this means for all that For as while the Supreme Power allows only the Parochial Meetings as established by Law it hath bin accounted Schism to go to Separate Assemblies So if the Scene be altered and these Separate Congregations be also made Legal this Schism or Mens being called Schismaticks in that regard must vanish and be at an end Indeed these divers Congregations will Accuse one another as guilty of Sin and Schism before God for each separating from the others Communion and threaten his Judgment but so long as there is no separating from the Church whereof the King is Head while he tolerates the Meetings of both and makes them parts of it as National there shall be no prosecution of Law against any but all quiet as fellow-Members upon that account Only as to the Roman Catholicks it is not indeed for them to imagine that a Protestant King and Parliament should allow of their Mass in Publick as they do of the Service-Book This were not to tolerate the Papists but to set up Popery whereas the Determining what is to be permitted to one Party and what to another so as no Detriment may be brought to the Church or State and no Sin or Guilt upon the Nation by that permission is a nice thing and the business of this Parliament There is one Motion farther should be added and that is for another Bill also to be brought in to take away Pluralities which is the Pest of our present Conforming Clergy I mean both of Livings and Dignities impartially to this end that the King may have wherewithal to engage those he receives into the Church thus enlarged and consequently restores to their Labours by this Accommodation for that is a thing will make the favour indeed significant to such persons I will conclude with one Argument for what I have proposed There is no power given upon Earth for any Man to command that which he in his Conscience does judg to be Sin. Non datur potestas ad malum But to conform in all things to the present Church according to Law is Sin in the judgment of Dissenters Catholicks and others and the Late King was a