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A61495
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A discourse of Episcopacy and sacrilege by way of letter written in 1646 / by Richard Stewart ...
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Steward, Richard, 1593?-1651.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing S5519; ESTC R15105
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29,953
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44
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Church to another upon emergent Occasions which I think they will not deny if so who knows that the Parliament will transfer them to Lay-Lands They profess no such thing and I hope they will not but continue them for the maintenance of the Ministry I conceive the Bishops Answer would be That it is no Sacriledge to transfer Land from one Church to another but yet there may be much Rapine and Injustice the Will of the Dead may be violated and so Sin enough in the Action Men may be injuriously put from the Estates in which they have as good Title by the Law of the Land as these same Men that put them out To say then that the Church Lands may be totally given up because the Epistler hopes the Parliament will commit no Sacriledge is a pretty way of persuasion and may equally work on him to give up his own Lands because he may as well hope to be re-estated again in that the Parliament will do no Injustice And now Sir having thus observed your Commands yet one thing more I shall adventure to crave your Patience in and 't is to let you know That if this Epistler had been right in both his Conclusions That Episcopacy is not of Divine Right and that Sacriledge is no Sin yet if you cast your Eyes upon His Majesties Coronation Oath wherein He is so strictly sworn to defend both the Episcopal Order and the Church Lands and Possessions you would easily acknowledge That the King cannot yield to what this Letter aims at And though I must needs guess and that the Epistler knew well enough his Juratory Tye yet you will the less blame him for his concealment in this kind because he was not retain'd of the Churches Councel His Majesties Oath you may find published by Himself in an Answer to the Lords and Commons in Parliament 26 May. It runs thus Episcopus Sir Will You grant and keep and by Your Oath confirm unto the People of England the Lavs and Customs to them granted by the Kings of England Your Lawful and Religious Predecessors and namely the Laws Customs and Franchises granted to the Clergy by the Glorious King Edward Your Predecessor according to the Laws of God the true Profession of the Gospel established in this Kingdom and agreeable to the Prerogative of the Kings thereof and the ancient Customs of this Realm REX I grant and promise to keep them Episcopus Sir Will You keep Peace and godly Agreement intirely according to Your Power both to God the Holy Church the Clergy and the People REX I will keep it Episcopus Sir Will You to Your Power couse Law Iustice and Discretion in Mercy and Truth to be exeruted in all Your Iudgments REX I will Episcopus Will You grant to hold and keep the Laws and rightful Customs which the Commonalty of this Your Kingdom have And will You defend and uphold them to the Honour of God as much as in You lieth REX I grant and promise so to do Then one of the Bishops reads this Admonition to the King before the People with a loud voice Our Lord and King we beseech You to pardon and grant and preserve unto us and to the Churches committed to our Charge all Canonical Priviledges and due Law and Iustice And that You would protect and defend us as every good King in His Kingdom ought to be Protector and Defender of the Bishops and the Churches under their Government Then the King ariseth and is led to the Communion Table where He makes a Solemn Oath in the sight of all His People to observe the Promises and laying His Hand upon the Book saith The Things which I have before promised I shall perform and keep So help me God and the Contents of the Book In the first Clause it is plain He makes a promissory Oath to the whole People of England a word that includes both Nobility Clergy and Commons That He will keep and confirm their Laws and Customs And in the second He swears a particular Promise to the Clergy That He will keep the Laws Customs and Franchises granted to the Clergy by the Glorious King Edward And again more plain in the fifth Clause he makes the like promissory Oath to the Bishops alone in behalf of themselves and their Churches That He will preserve and maintain to them all Canonical Priviledges and due Law and Iustice And that He will be their Protector and Defender Where since He swears Protection to the Bishops by Name 't is plain He swears to maintain their Orders For he that swears he will take care that Bishops be preserved in such and such Rights must needs swear to take care that Bishops shall first be for their Rights must needs suppose their Essence And where the King swears Defence it must needs be in a Royal Kingly way Tu defende Me Gladio Ego defendam Te Calamo is the well known Speech of a worthy Churchman to his Prince For sure where Kings swear defence to Bishops I do not think they swear to write Books in their behalf or to attempt to make it clear to their People That Episcopacy is Iure Divino But a King whose Propriety it is to bear the Sword swears to bear it in defence of Bishops For though it be against the very Principles of Christian Faith that Religion should be planted and reformed by Blood yet when Christian Kings have by Law setled this Religion and sworn defence of those Persons that should preach it he ought sure to bear his Sword to defend his Laws and to keep his Soul free from Perjury as well to them as the rest of his Subjects And as by Canonical Priviledge that belong to them and their Churches there must needs be implied the Honour of their several Orders as that Bishops should be above Presbyters c. together with all the due Rights and Jurisdictions And the words Due Law and Iustice cannot but import That His Majesty binds Himself to see that Justice be done to them and their Churches according to Law then in force when He took that Oath And the King swears Protection and Defence that Clause must needs reach not only to their Persons but to their Rights and Estates for He swears not only to Men but to Men in such a condition to Bishops of their Churches And whereas He swears to be their Protector and Defender to His Power in the Assistance of God those words To His Power may seem to acquit Him of all the rest if He fall into a condition wherein all Power is taken from Him But Sir I will prove that a mistake for one of the greatest Powers of the King of England Is His Negative in Parliament so that without Him no Law can be Enacted there since 't is only the Power Royal that can make a Law to be Law So So that if the King should pass a Statute to take away the Churches Lands He protects it not
he would have proved it of Apostolical Institution But it seems it was certainly in Practice amongst the Primitive Christians at Antioch whose Example he does alledge for its Justification for he says They Lampoon'd the Beard of the Emperour Iulian and Burlesqued his Princely Whiskers Surely this Instance serves much better to prove the Lawfulness of Reviling the King than to Confute the Doctrine of Passive Obedience But yet this Revolted Divine would pass for a true Son of the Church of England though he Renounces her Doctrine and Practice for he is very Angry she will furnish her Magazines with no other Weapons than Tears and Prayers for he thinks he could manage a Carnal Sword for Preferment much better than a Spiritual and for that Reason likes the Alcoran beyond the Gospel I know he blames our Saviour in 's Heart for commanding St. Peter to put up his Sword and for not making use of those many Legions of Angels that would gladly have Rescued him from the Iews But Alas this Son lyes in his Mothers Bosom only to Betray her and stays in the Vineyard for the same Reason the Boar does that he may have the better Conveniency of Rooting of it up I know how unpalatable a Doctrine is maintained in this Discourse but though like the best Physick it be bitter it is wholsome and will certainly Cure the Divisions of the Church for they can have no pretence to Quarrel Episcopacy if once they be perswaded that the Government by Bishops is Iure Divino Neither do I believe the Notion of Sacriledge will have a better Taste in their Mouths for it will not be worth while to pull down the Bishops if the Church-Lands cannot be shared God Almighty being the real Proprietor I hope this little Book may convince some of their Errors but if not I am sure it will confirm those that have embraced the Truth SIR YOU have put an odd task upon Me in commanding my judgment on a Letter lately sent to a Doctor in Oxon with a Commission to shew it to my Lord Dorset and to as many more as own Reason and Honesty for thus it is in the Post-script and many like passages more in the Letter As That the more Wise and Honest Party would make use of that Reason c. And I know you to be too great a Master of Reason to be unsatisfied which makes me fear if perhaps I should dissent in opinion from this Epistler I might be thought at least in his conceit to incur a sharp Censure both of Reason and Honesty which I confess at first somewhat troubled me till I remembred you were wont to say That when once Vessels make such noises as these it was a shrewd sign they were empty He who wrote the Letter seems most desirous of Peace and truly so am I. Besides we agree in this That we must not commit sin for a good Cause So that if peace it self cannot be obtained without that guilt we must be content with a worse Estate But you very well know with how many several deceits our Affections can mislead our Reason you remember who it was that said it to the very face of a Prophet I have kept the Commandments of the Lord and yet his sin remained a great sin still and much the worse because he excused it for his guilt is less that commits a sin only than his that undertakes to defend it because this cuts off all Repentance nay it makes a sin grow up to that more wicked height of a scandal and so it is not only a snare to the sinner himself but it warrants many more to be sinful Whether this Oxford-Londoner for so I take this Epistler to be hath not defended or made Apologies for sin and hath not in that sense done Evil that Good may come thereof I am now to make enquiry and I shall follow him in his two Generals 1. The Delivering up of the Kings friends whom they above call Evill Counsellors And 2. In the business of the Church 1. For the Kings friends he sayes I know not how you can with Reason gain-say the bringing of an Offender to Iustice. Indeed nor I neither but what if they be not offenders What if they be brought to Injustice I know no man will refuse to be Judged by a Parliament whose undoubted Head is the King sitting there with an unquestioned Negative nay for His Majesty to refer Deliquents to be judged by the House of Peers sitting in a Parliament and judging according to the know Laws of the Realm is that at least which in my opinion will be stuck at But the Parliaments Prerogative which this Letter speaks of being now so extended we have cause to think it is a doubt in this case Whether not only in point of Honour but in point of Justice and Conscience the King for His own peace can leave his Friends to such men whom he is bound by so many grand Ties to protect But this Sir I shall commit to you to determine and if you return me a Negative I shall not presume to question either your Reason or Honesty Nor shall I perswade the Kings Friends that they should banish themselves unless it were to do that great favour to the two Houses of Westminster as to keep them from some future inhumane Act of Oppression and Blood because they shall have none left to Act them on 2. For the business of the Church which he again divides into two parts 1. That of Episcopacy 2. That of Sacriledge In those Sir I shall speak with less Hesitation and clearly tell you the Epistler is quite out And though you know me a great honourer of your Profession yet I cannot hold it fit for you to decide cases of Conscience or in humane Actions to tell us what is sin or not sin And I am confident Sir you will not take this ill at my hands 1. For Episcopacy his words are if I mistake not and if I do I pray you inform me The Opinion that the Government by Bishops is Jure Divino hath but lately been Countenanced in the Church of England and that but by some few of the more Lordly Clergy These last words makes me suspect some passion in the writer as being in scorn heretofore taken up by men who for a long time were Schismaticks in Heart and are now Rebels in their Actions And since the Laws of the Land makes some Church-men Lords I do the more marvel that the Epistler who seems so Zealous for the Laws should be angry at that So that though his profession be that he has undergone labours and hazards for the Episcopal Government Yet truly Sir I must think that it is then only fit for the Church to give him thanks when she has done all her other business But grant the Tenent to be but of late countenanced it thence follows not that it is any whit the less true For in respect of the many hundred years