of the Church of England against all Popery and Popish Innovations within this Realm contrary to the same doctrine and according to the duty of my Allegiance His Maiesties Royall Person Honour and Estate As also the power and priviledges of Parliaments The lawfull Rights and Liberties of the Subiects and every person that maketh this Protestation in whatsoever he shall doe in the lawfull pursuance of the same And to my power and as farre as lawfully I may I will oppose and by all good wayes and means endeavour to bring to condigne punishment all such as shall either by force practice counsels plots conspiracies or otherwise doe any thing to the contrary of any thing in this present Protestation contained And further that I shall in all iust and honourable wayes indeavour to preserve the union and peace betwixt the three Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland And neither for hope feare nor other respect shall relinquish this Promise Vow and Protestation Wheras some doubts have been raised by severall persons out of this House concerning the meaning of these words contained in the Protestation lately made by the members of this House viz. the true reformed pâ—otestant Religion expressed in the Doctrin of the Church of England against all Popery and Popish Innovations within this Realm contrary to the same Doctrine This House doth declare that by those words was and is meant only the publike Doctrine professed in the said Church so farre as it is opposite to Popery and Popish Innovations and that the said words are not to be extended to the maintaining of any firme of worship discipline or Governement nor of any Rites or Ceremonies of the said Church of England If it were so that the doubts of the Oath stood up as your Quere hath it against the Protestation or that they were an invitation of scruples against it it were not my fault for my book of doubts was made though not printed before there was any intimation or expectation of a Parliament especially by those whose mansion is so remote from the mysteries of State so farre below the orbe of the highest Intelligence as mine is 2. I doubt not to make it plain that the differencies betwixt the Parliamentary Protestation and the Canonicall Oath are so many and so weighty that a man may with good conscience and discretion suspect much perill in taking the Oath and be well assured of the safety in taking the Protestation composed in the Parliament Reall differencies betwixt the Protestation of the Parliament and the Oath of the Canon first in the matter of them both the Doctrine established THe differences betwixt the Protestation of the Parliament and Oath of the Synod are Reall and Personall The Reall are such as concern the matter and forme of them both The matter wheron you ground the chief cause of your doubting I shall distinguish into that which is common to them both and that which is peculiar to either That which is common to both is the asserting of the Doctrine established in the Church of England especially as in opposition to Popish Doctrine wherof as it is set down in the Canon there be three doubts 1. c What is meant by the Church of England 2. d What is meant by Popish Doctrine 3. e What establishment of Doctrine is here mâ—ant and how farre it may be said to be established which doubts with their reasons whosoever reads with an impartiall and unprejudiced apprehension will never apply to the Protestation of the Parliament And in what sence we may well understand these words in the printed Protestation though I will not take upon me to interpret it except for satisfaction to my self and to such as require my Judgement of it in my conceipt is very clear especially by the Declaration annexed to many printed copies of that Protestation though that which you sent me came forth without it in this tenour by these words The true reformed Protestant Religion expressed in the Doctrine of the church of England against all Popery and Popish Innovations within this Realme contrary to the same Doctrine was and is meant only the publike Doctrine professed in the church of England so farre as it is opposite to Popery and Popish Innovations And that is as I take it without taking upon me the Authority of an Interpreter of it save as before I have said the Doctrin contained in the 39. Articles For First that is the most publick Doctrin of the Church because in the Church of every Parish all that are admitted into Benefices must publiâ—ly read the 39. Articles unto the people within the first month of their admission to them upon perill of loosing their livings by falling into lapse 2. That Doctrin is most professedly the Doctrin of the Church of England for all Doctours and teachers of the Church are bound so farre to professe it as to subscribe unto those Articles without which subscription they are not to be allowed for publike Preachers or teachers at least not admitted into pastorall charges in the Church of England 3. The Doctrin of those Articles is most opposite to Popery and popish Innovations for they were framed and tempered of purpose for an Antidote to Popery in the Raign of Queen Elizabeth about four yeers after her coming to the Crown for she began her f raigne November 17. 1558. and in 1562. were these Articles concluded on to be the publike and professed Doctrine of the Church of England This Doctrine and these Articles are in congruity of right Reason to be intended in this Protestation Yet not all of them neither though none of them be denied or renounced but onely those which are opposite to Popery and popish Innovation as these that follow The Protestant Doctrin of the Church of England The Popish Doctrine opposite unto it Art 6.  2 Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to Salvation a The Papists joyne traditions unwritten as of equall authority with the written word In the name of the holy Scriptures wée doe understand those canonicall bookes of the old and new Testament of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church i. e. al the books of the old Testament from Genesis to Malachy as they are placed in our ordinary English Bibles and all the new Testament And the other Books as Hierom saith the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners but doth not apply them to establish any Doctrine and those are they which in many English Bibles begin after Malachy and end with the Maccabees b The Papists mingle Apochryphall books with the Canonicall as of the same authority with them thus lest any one should doubt what books of Scripture are to be received they are these underwritten the five books of Moses Genes Exod. Levit. Num. Deut. Ios. Iudg. Ruth foure books of Kings accounting the two books of Samuell for two of the foure two books of the Chr. Esd. 1. and
will come forth so plainly declared by the same authority that proposeth it that we may both conceive it well and conceive well of it and so addresse our selves to conformity to it Thus much for comparison of the Oath of the Canon and Protestation in respect of the matter of them both The difference in forme betwixt the Parliamentary Protestation and the Canonicall Oath may induce us to the one and with-hold us from the other IF we consider them in their forme we shall finde that difference betwixt them which may make us more willing to hee Protestants then Canonists For the Protestation goeth no further then to vow promise and protest but the sixt Canon requireth a solemne Oath Now though aâ—vow lawfully made and we may say the same of a Promise and Protestation must be carefully kept Numb. 30. 22. Deut. 23. 21. Psalm 50. 14. Ps. 76. 11. Esa. 19. 21. Eccles. 5. 4 and though made unto men the performance of it as of conscience to God be a religious duty and albeit a vow in e some sort be referred to a premissary Oath and sometimes be a part of divine worship as well as an Oath in which respect the Papists are justly charged with Idolatry for their vowes made unto Saints and though as f Bernard saith he that breaketh a vow is perjured yet there is great difference betwixt a Promise vow Protestation and an Oath for an oath is more then a Promise though promises only have served in former times for consent and ratification of g Canonicall Decrees for that is but a simple expression of a purpose for somewhat to come A vow is that and somewhat more viz. h a religious engagement of man with reference to God and i with intention to binde the conscience to the thing vowed but an Oath goeth beyond all this and so it giveth vigour and obligation to a vow whence it is k that the Jewes when they meant to give their vowes the strongest degree of Asseveration and assurance added an Oath unto them and an Oath is more then a Protestation for that as Alâ—â—at defineth it is no more l but a declaration of the mind made for the acquiring or preserving of some Right or for depulsion or driving away of some damage And because it is made many times with vehemency and vigour of spirit it is defined by some to be a loud m or shouting testification for Caution to him that makes iâ— But an Oath as we see by that which but now I noted of the Jewes engageth the conscience more deeply then a single promise â—ow or protestation doth and the breach of it bindeth over the forsworne man to the perill of a greater punishment And of Oaths there be divers kinds in respect of the different Formalities and Ceremonies wherwith they are taken Some Oathes are called verball some corporall n a corporall Oath is that which hath an outward gesture annexed to it as the verball hath not and of these gestures or Ceremonies there is much variety The manner of old even as old as to Abrahams time was by lifting up the hand Gen. 14. 22. The like we read of the Angell who lifted up his hand to Heaven and swore by him who liveth for ever and ever Rev. 10. 5. upon which place o Bezaes note is That it was the gesture accustomed to accompany an Oath as at this day in p France the Judges use to say to him that is to take an Oath as in England is said by the Clerke of the Assize to the Prisoner at the barre hold up thy hand but an Ecclesiasticall person is bidden to â—ay his hand on his breast In the * Palatinate Paraeus observes the manner of taking of an Oath to be by lifting up three fingers with reference to the blessed Trinity attested in it There is a difference also in regard of the dignity of the person who is to sweare so in the sixt Councell of Millan a q Bishop or a Prelate was for reverence of his place or dignity to be put to no more when he was to sweare then to lay his hand upon his breast wheras the Inferiour Clergy were to use another Ceremony as I shall shew anon Sometimes the r Superiour caused the Inferiour to put his hand under his thigh to whom he swore so did Abraham when he sent and swore his servant to make choyce of a wife for his sonne Gen. 24. 2. So also did Iacob sweare his sonne Ioseph for his buriall out of Aegypt In which Ceremony s St. Augustine imagined a great mystery viz. a prophesie of the promised Seed to be derived from the loynes of Abraham and so of Isaack his sonne and of Iacob his Grand-childe c. The most received Ceremony since the Gospel had the protection of Christian Princes hath bin to lay the hand upon some part of Holy-Writ this was required of t sub 〈◊〉 Deacons and Presbyters by the Councell of Millan when Bishops were onely to lay their hands upon their breast but with this difference that in u lesser matters it would suffice inferiour Clerks unlesse a Prelate were present to use the same Ceremony but in greater matters they were to take their Oath with touching of the Bible Of this formality the first instance I meet withall is the x imperfect worke which goeth in Chrysostomes name upon S. Matthew But I find not the expresse manner of it untill the sixt Councell of Constantinople where y Georgius Chartaphylax a Deacon gave testimony to two parchment books touching the holy Oracles of God saying by these holy vertues and by him who hath spoken by them in truth and verity these are the two bookes which contain the acts of the fifâ— generall Synod which the z Magdeburgenses note upon the seventh Century and about the ninth a Century I finde first mention of kissing of the Booke Afterwards about the eleventh Century the forme of an Oath was varied thus as may be seene in an example of Arnulpus giving an Oath to a Bishop in this manner He gave him one hand and laying the other hand upon the Gospell averred the truth of his words with this conclusive clause b so helpe me God and these holy Gospels The manner of an Oath among us is commonly knowne to be this he that sweareth layeth his hand upon the Bible or some part of it especially the Gospell and having delivered the matter to be assured by swearing concludeth it with these words so helpe me God in Iesus Christ sealing up all with kissing the Book In the forme of the Oath required by the sixt Canon are all the ingredients which with so much doubtfull matter may make it formidable to a scrupulous and timerous conscience for it is concluded thus This I do heartily willingly and truly upon the Faith of a Christian so helpe me God in Iesus Christ wherto
be administred to all Christian men alike and I take it for no lesse then h Heresie and a most impious presumption and damnable Sacriledge of the Popish Prelates so to crosse our Saviours expresse prescription and practice anâ— to defraud so many thousands of halfe that holy portion of the Sacramenâ— which his beneficence bequeathed to them when he left this world Therefore Sir there is certainly very good cause though you seeme to doubt of it why you and I should contest in this controversie against the Seminaries Tenet Yea why the Protestant Church should be for ever at unreconcilable odds and opposition with the Church of Rome I shall not need much to insist on that you say by way of i comparison betwixt the Seminary and me touching the manner of the presence of Christ in the Sacrament since First my words gave you no cause to suspect me as either unsound or ambiguous in that point For they are these nor is Christ lesse present to the faithfull in the one then in the other whereby you may well enough perceive I meane as a true Protestant should doe such a presence as is determined in the 15. Article of our Religion viz. the body of Christ and the same must necessarily bee conceived of his blood is given taken and eaten in the Supper onely after an heavenly and spirituall manner and the means whereby it is received and eaten in the Supper is faith And supposing your Seminary Priest as in congruity of reason you must to be a Papist you need not doubt but he holds such a presence as you set downe for the k second member of your four-fold distinction of presence a corporeall presence by transubstantiation which according to the 38. Article of our Church I condemne as repugnant to the plaine words of Scripture and destructive of the nature of a Sacrament This is enough to make me an Hereticke to Papists and that Papists for their Sacramentall Sacriledge are Hereticks to me you might have observed in the next leafe of my Case of Conscience l before the words wheron you ground your comparison betwixt the Seminary and me so that your joyning of him and me together in this sacrilegious Synecdoche of a part for the whole whom Religion hath put a sunder at further distance then Rome where the Seminary resided and London where my Booke was printed is a match as unmeet as their divorce is unjust and unlawfull who sever the Sacramentall Elements with a Canonicall curse which our Saviour joyned together with a blessing in the first Institution My words which you take for the ground of your doubt cleared of ambiguity and the truth declareâ— how Christ may be said to be received with one kind how with both HAving purged my selfe I hope from all appearance of participation with your Romish Seminary I shall now cleare my words from your three demands which you raise upon them and shall further declare how Christ may be said to bee received with one how with both the parts of the Sacrament Your first demand is what I mean by these words There is no more necessity of the use of the one Element then of the other whereupon m your words are I cannot tell certainly what to understand whether you meane comparatively for dimension or number If I have pusled you in that I have said you have cryed quittance with me in your distinction of comparatively for dimension or number for I cannot understand with any congruity to the point in hand what you meane by the difference betwixt dimension and number if you had said for degree or number the termes of your distinction being lodged in divers predicaments might have been more easily conceived and then I should have taken your doubt to be whether the necessity be as binding for the one as for the other and no more binding for both but that one alone might serve for both kindes If you enquire of the comparison of one single Element with the other I have answered you to that already if of one with both my words give you none occasion of such a doubt for I compare but one with one not one with both yet the Case of Conscience being mooved upon the inability of one to receive the bread of the Communion I conceived it most probable that in such a case it is better to receive the Sacrament in n Wine onely as for them that have an o Antipathy to Wine to receive it in Bread onely then either to forbeare both or to make use of some other thing instead of that which they cannot have or cannot take which I propound as in a probleme but by way of probability not meaning to binde any one to this resolution nor to contend with any for it who is otherwise minded which you may perceive by that p I say of substituting some other matter analogicall to bread or wine in some cases of extreame and extraordinary necessity And for mine opinion in that point conformable to the judgement and practise of the q reformed Churche in France confirmed in twenty severall Synods I r rendred two reasons which have had the approbation of as learned and judicious Divines as any I know The one is that by receiving the one kinde re the other â—oto the one Element in deed the other in desire when it cannot really be had or not so received the party receiveth Christ and with Christ both his body and blood The other is that it seemes hard measure to debarre any from both parts of the Sacrament because God hath enabled them to partake but of one especially if they much desire it and be enclined to scruples and discomforts if they should want it The latter Reason is obvious to a meane understanding Of the former an intelligent Citizen accustomed both to reading and reasoning more then ordinary Tradesmen made some question but he was not more scrupulous in his doubt then ingenuous in receiving satisfaction by mine answer unto it And because others may haply be scrupled as well as either you or he though I be not made acquainted with it as I am with your doubts I will briefly deliver how I conceive Christ may be said to be received with one kinde how with both It is the constant and s common Doctrine of the Papists that whole and entire Christ is wholy and entirely under each kind and that as whole Christ and a true Sacrament is received in one kinde so as touâ—hing the fâ—uit they are defrauded of no grace necessary to salvation that receive only one kinde and that not onely t whole Christ is contained under the species of bread and under the species of wine but under every part of the consecrated host and consecrated wine And this so commonly held and pleaded by the Romanists that it commeth in continually like the Cuckoes note as u Chamier observeth and giveth it a name accordingly