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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A34754 The countrey-minister's reflections on the city-ministers letter to his friend shewing the reasons why we cannot read the King's declaration in our churches. Countrey minister. 1688 (1688) Wing C6561; ESTC R7155 9,928 10

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Very good What then I may not Read any thing in the Church but what I approve But are not the People Judges for themselves of what you Read It is not your Reading a thing in the Church that Determines the People unless they pay the Clergy a greater Deference than they deserve After all your Reading and Teaching too be it in a Sermon of your own making which no doubt you prefer much above His Majesty's Declaration Protestants will not follow your Conduct any farther than they are Convinced it is good A Man is not Determined by what he hears otherwise than by the Evidence he hath concerning it Now it would almost tempt People to believe the Declaration hath so much Reason and Light accompanying it as Our Clergy cannot well Answer and that therefore they are afraid to read it least the People should be Convinced and not follow their Conduct so servilely as they would have them But Why may I not then Read a Homily for Transubstantiation or Invocation of Saints if the King sends me such Let the Question be Whether every thing Read in the Church be a part of Divine Service And then if you Consider and Answer it sedately you will find your own Question Resolved If you can prove the Declaration to be contrary to the Word of God I will have no further Contest with you about Reading it in the Church I wish no humane Orders were imposed upon Ministers to be Read in the Church But if any Persons have right to enjoyn them to Read such Orders there certainly the KING has much more The King intends Our Reading this Declaration should signifie to the Nation Our Consent and Approbation of it What have Clergy-men to do to pry into the King's secret Intentions The Declaration speaks plainly for it self But the D●claration does not want Publishing How can you tell that Must the Clergy or His Majesty judge when His Declaration is sufficiently made known But this is designed to serve instead of Addresses of Thanks which the Clergy generally refused though it was only to thank the King for His Gracious Promises Renewed to the Church of England Many of the Clergy have been looked upon a great while as Persons Addicted beyond Measure to flatter their Prince and behold all on a sudden they are become Rude towards him or worse if they may not have leave to Mischief their Dissenting Neighbours they will not thank their Prince for renewed Promises to Protect and Maintain them Was ever ill Manners and Ingratitude towards a Prince thus rudely and disingeniously boasted of Who can think these Persons apprehend themselves to be in danger of falling without Pity who brag thus openly of their Stoutness that they would not so much as give their Prince Thanks for the most Gracious Promise he could make them You say It does not become a Minister of Religion to do any thing which in the Opinion of the most Charitable Man can only be Excused In this I think you are very much in the Right I wish the Multitude to whom your Letters are sent may fix their Hearts on this pertinent Passage No Charity can Excuse at present a great many of your former Practises nor will they find any Excuse at last if not timely repented of If you had hitherto Acted by this Rule you would never have needed to fear your Fall with Contempt or without Pity You mention the Book of Sports which w●● ordered to be read in Churches I will not say how strict the greatest Church-men were for Reading of it nor how well it did Comport with the Fourth Command I only enquire whether the present KING has not as much Right and Power to Order his Declaration to be Read in Churches as King Charles the 1st had to order the Book of Sports to be Read there And which of these two did Thwart the Holy Scriptures most You say It is against the Constitution of the Church of England It is to teach an Vnlimited and Vniversal Toleration which was Declared in Parliament Illegal in 1672 and has been condemned by the Christian Church in all Ages The King's Authority to make Injunctions and Orders has been heretofore cryed up as a main part of the Constitution of the Church of England How comes this Change all on a sudden But what is this Universal Toleration No more but this That no one Party of His Majesty's Subjects shall be trusted with a Power to destroy all the Rest Will nothing serve your turn unless you may continually render your selves grievous to your Fellow Subjects Must none live and enjoy the comfortable Influences of Society and Government but those who will entirely surrender themselves blindly to your Dictates Methinks Sober Understanding and good Clergy-men should be afraid lest any of that which was Levi's Reproach should be a Brand upon them The Instruments of Cruelty are in their Habitation Oh! My Soul come not thou into their Secret Gen. 49. 5 6. I will not intermeddle with Parliaments but only say They are not always of one and the same mind and Time was when many of the Clergy of the Church of England talked very contemptibly of some of them But in that you say It has been Condemned by the Christian Church in all Ages this wants Proof If it be well considered the Christian Church will be found to thrive best under such an Universal Toleration as Constantine did grant before Ease Pleasure and Wealth had Corrupted the Bishops Hence the Proverb Golden Priests and Wooden Chalices Golden Chalices Wooden Priests till the Clergy grew Negligent and Haughty under Constantines Reign It is certain the Orthodox had no Humane Penal Laws whereby to punish Hereticks Say you 1. It is to Teach my People they need never come to Church more To what an Extravagant Indecency towards both their Prince and their Church will the Affection of Tyrannizing over others Transport some Church-men Could any Enemy of the Church of England have advanced any thing more to Her Discredit than to say Her Members are under no Obligation to attend on Her Ministry but what arises from Force and Penal Laws Why may not People have your leave as well as their KING 's to go not only to Conventicles but to the Mass till they are convinc'd that they do ill in going thither It is much better becoming a Minister of Religion to Convince such by Scripture and Reason that their Worship is false then to Contend to have them cast into Prison and by Fines and Confiscations to Compel them against their Conscience to come to Church for their Presence there is no more pleasing to God nor Beneficial to their own Souls whilst their Minds are elsewhere than it would be if they were at a Conventicle or at Mass 2. It is to teach the Dispensing Power which alters what has been formerly thought the whole Constitution of this Church and Kingdom Who are they that thus thought formerly Surely none of