in five of which he most grosly abuses him The first is That all Reformed Churches have Liturgies This I say follows not from any words of Capellus if Mr. Durell say it doth his Logick is his own let him make use of it The second is That the Liturgy of the Church of England is judged by this great man to be not onely pure and free from all Popish Superstition and Idolatry but also from all such things as were onerous and troublesome or which did contribute but little to the Edification of the Church as well as other Reformed Churches Twenty Cart-ropes will not pull this observation out of Capellus his words He onely speaks of the Liturgy made by the first Reformers of our Church which vastly differs from the present Liturgy that Mr. Durell takes upon him to defend The third Observation is of all most marvellous thus worded If these Liturgies ought to recede as little as possible from that of the Primitive Church as he doth intimate undoubtedly the Liturgy of the Church of England is the best and most perfect of them all If Mr. Durell will have this observed we will observe it as the issue of an over-confident fancy yet humbly praying that he would allow us to think that this observation hath no relation in the world to any words of Capellus If he may be judge our Liturgy differs more from the Primitive Liturgies then the Liturgy of any Reformed Churches for he sayes Primitive Liturgies were most brief and most simple consisting of a few prayers c. Now if we should grant our Liturgy to be very simple certainly it is not very brief nor does it consist of but a few Prayers let Mr. Durell officiate according to it Morning and Evening which I never knew any Conformist to do and I will be bold to say his Sermons afterwards shall not be over tedious The fourth Observation is That of all who call themselves Reformed the Presbyterians are the first that ever left off the use of set Forms of Prayer Capellus hath not the word Presbyterians in his work nor am I certain whom Mr. Durell understands by them perhaps he means the English Presbyterians but how came they to be Presbyterians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Capellus was too wise a man to say that they were the first that left off set Forms of Prayer he knew well enough unless he onely was a stranger in Israel that many years before the Assembly met at Westminster set Forms of Prayer had been laid aside and condemned as unlawful by huge multitudes who were angry with the old meer Nonconformist because he would not seperate from the English Church as well as endeavour a Reformation of some things The fifth Observation is That the many reasons for which the Presbyterians had rejected the Common-Prayer Book are very light and almost of no moment at all 'T is true that Capellus hath written something to this purpose but it is the same Capellus who hath written so many bug-bear words against our English Bishops in his Theses de descrimine Episcopi Presbyteri de vario Ecclesiae regimine the former Theses he concludes thus That there was no cause why the Bishops and their Patrons should so greatly insult and onely not grow insolent against those whom invidiously they called Puritans and Presbyterians And let it be observed that if the Presbyterians had onely reproved and not cashiered the Common-Prayer Book their Reasons might have been sufficient notwithstanding any thing Capellus saith to the contrary Sixthly Mr. Durell would have it observed That the Presbyterians themselves who are the known Authors of the Directory are in Capellus his Judgment a froward peevish and superstitous Generation of men Capellus does indeed call the Composers of the Directory morose and froward but seems unwilling to call them superstitious and the same Capellus had commended them for shaking off the Yoke of Episcopacy in his Theses de Vario Ecclesiae regimine Sect. 24. Let Mr. Durell when he puts out next English these words for they seem framed according to the Heart of the Presbyterians and let him then also tell us why he calls the Presbyterians the known Authors of the Directory That Assembly that presented the Directory to the two Houses was as to most of its Members when first called Hierarchical and under an Oath of Canonical obedience there are not very many of them living at present of them diverse conform and are as deeply engaged to use Liturgical worship as Mr. Durell himself let him therefore when he has opportunity enquire of them whether they consented to have the Liturgy cashiered and how they came to fall in love with it again and what made them so fearful least the old subscription should choak us when as they themselves can swallow these new ones that are far bigger and more bulky By this time I hope it is come to my turn to make some observations upon the Theses of Capellus and my Observations may be the fewer because I have already suggested so many and the first thing I observe is That the men against whom Capellus was so not could not be the English Presbyterians unless they were falsly represented to him for these are his words pag. 710 711. They with whom we have to do bewray a manifest enough hatred against Formula's of Symbols or Confessions of Faith and of Catechism and the both antient and recent use and custome of them received in the Christian Church If these are the men he had to deal with then had he nothing to do with the English Presbyterians no men having more contended for Confessions of Faith and Catechisms in set words than they Secondly I observe that he represents himself and his fellow Professors as not condemning or inhibiting a free use of Prayers composed by Ministers themselves Nay these are his words pag. 713. We plainly think it both lawful and consentaneous that they who can do it should discover their gift and industry in praying as in preaching this onely we will that the use of such prayers ought not to hinder the Liturgy constituted by publick Authority and to take away and abrogate all use of it out of the Church And a little after he adds We deservedly condemn the rigour of those who under pretext of a praescript Form of Liturgy do study to eliminate out of the Church all use of Prayers conceived by Ministers themselves Let Mr. Durell consider whether this Damnatory sentence do not fall upon many of his own Patrons and Abettours Thirdly I observe that when the Professor comes to contract what he had said he determines concerning Formula's as if Smectymnuus had too much influenced him for he saith first That they are not absolutely in every time and place and with all men necessary because the Christian Church wanted them for some time and it does not appear from sacred or exotick History whether the Jewish Church did not want them before Christ and
Chapters ia both that are never agpointed to be read Whether the Church do well to appoint above an hundred of Apocryphal Chapters to be read and about an hundred eighty eight Canonical Chapters never to be read is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 certainly he that would adventure in a Sermon to say de facto That the Church had appointed the whole Bible to be read over once a year had taught his tongue not much to regard Truth So had he also who adventured to say pag. 23. That it is required of the people that they repeat aloud the Confession of sins No such thing is required of the people rather it is required that they should repeat the Confession of sins with a lowly and submiss voice Should all lift up their voyces aloud there might be more confusion then Mr. D. is aware of But though I am confident Mr. D. is mistaken about the two last mentioned particulars yet I must profess I am not clear about the Churches meaning in either of them After order taken for the reading of the Psalms we are thus directed Then shall be read distinctly with an audible voice the first Lesson taken out of the Old Testament as is appointed in the Kalendar except c. Any man by this would think that the first Lesson were alway by the Kalendar appointed to be taken out of the Canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament yet the Kalendar appoints many Apocryphal Chapters to be read for the first Lesson Is Apocrypha become a part of the Old Testament I know our Church had no intention to make it so yet the Phrase used by her in a Complex Notion sounds as if she did I suppose therefore she calls all Books preceding the New Testament whether Canonical or Apocryphal by the name of the Old Testament If this supposition hold than the admonition to all Ministers Ecclesiastical prefixed to the Second Book of Homilies will warrant them to change all the Chapters Apocryphal that shall fall in course to be read on every Sunday or Holiday into a Chapter of the New Testament for in that Admonition such Liberty is granted or rather such course is prescribed in reference to the less edifying Chapters of the Old Testament But perhaps by assenting and consenting to all and any thing Ministers have given away their liberty to make any such exchange Let those whom it concerns consider Where I live I have little opportunity to hear Apocrypha read publickly and if in my Family I make choice of Divinely inspired Writings to read I hope I am no transgressour of the Law Nor really do I know what is meant in our Liturgy by a loud voice In the old Common Prayer Book after the absolution the Minister was appointed to begin the Lords Prayer with a loud voice In the new loud is changed into audible and we are also required at that time to repeat it after the Minister which was not required in the old But now coming to look upon our directions for the rehearsing of the Lords Prayer after the repeating of the Creed I find that not only the Minister but Clerks and people are appointed to say it with a loud voice I cannot think the phrase is meerly varied by Chance nor yet do I see the Reason of the variation nor do I observe any either Priests or people thus to vary by straining their voice higher at one time than another Perhaps our last Amenders of the Liturgy did put audible instead of loud in some places that we might know that voice was loud enough on the Ministers part which the people could hear but what shall be called either an audible or loud voice on the peoples part Are those people that kneel at one end of the Church to speak so loud as they may be heard of those who kneel at the other end or loud enough to be heard of the Minister or only loud enough to be heard of those who are next to them Mr. D. hath had many occasions and opportunities to assent and consent to all and every thing contained and prescribed and therefore is ignorant of none of these things Let him be him be intreated to help us poor Ingrams for our Countrey Priests are as unable to untie these knots as our selves All this I have written not out of any dislike to those who put out their Books in the defence of the English Liturgy for I should be right glad of the pains of any who would justifie it against all the Objections with which it is pressed provided he would do it like a Scholar and like a Christian grounding whatever he writes upon such Reasons as are apt to move those who have Consciences and do remember that God will bring them to a strict account for all that they do in his Worship but Mr. D. evidently is no meet person to make our Churches defence for he has been so highly rewarded is so overwhelmed with Ecclesiastical Preferments and Dignities that the World will hardly think any thing put him upon writing besides filthy lucre If he would have done our Church service be should have contented himself with some one Ecclesiastical Preferment spending himself in that going to his people from house to house perswading them to credit the Liturgy by excelling all those in Virtue that used no Liturgy he should have conjur'd them to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and to use their best wisdom so to order their affairs as that they might have leisure to come Morning and Evening every day and receive the benefit of their Churches Liturgy but as the Apostle said That they who themselves were circumcised kept not the Law so we say that they who have assented and consented do not observe the Orders and Rules to which they have given assent and consent nor yield that Obedience which they have sworn to yield How few be they that Catechise half an hour every Sunday and Holiday How few be they that have called and advertised notorious evil-livers not to approach the Lords Table until they have truly repented and amended their naughty lives How many have subscribed the Articles who never so much as read the Homilies that by the Articles they are to approve I once happened into the Company of the Rectour of a Parish who signifying to me that he had lately been with the Bishop to receive Orders from him I asked what things were required of him in order to Ordination He told me among other things he had subscribed the three Articles in the 36 Canon but when I demanded of him what those Articles were he confessed he knew not what they were nor had he ever seen them but followed his Leader and not long since one had confidence enough to come to a Reverend Minister of my acquaintance with a purpose to perswade him to Conformity but my Friend arguing for his Non-conformity from a very plain passage in the Liturgy he denied that there was any such passage
the French Rubricks upon Sundays in the morning the following Form is commonly used The meaning whereof he tells us there is That it is to be alway used and no other A gloss that sounds marvellous strange to our English ears which have been accustomed to distinguish betwixt Commonly and Always and will not easily unlearn that distinction and so when we hear out of the Harmony of the Belgick Synods a Minister shall pray either by a certain Form proposed to himself or else the Spirit shall dictate we are wont to imagine that the meaning is not that a Minister shall never pray but by a Form it may be Mr. Durell is of another mind if he be he may do well to communicate to the world the grounds of so singular an opinion and when he shall so do he may do well also to give us his thoughts concerning the practice of the Bohemian Churches where it seems the Ritual Books or Formula's are delivered onely to the Pastors the Reason whereof Comenius in his Annot. pag. 101. saith is That the Auditors might be more attent and more profoundly admire the grace of God for says he if onely prescribed things are alwaies recited what is there that may stir up attention Curiosity rather will be stirred up whilst this and the other man attends whether the Minister reads exactly the same things which they behold in their own books nor addeth he must we think that the Ministers are tyed to the very words and syllables of the books delivered to them it is free according to variety of occasions to use any thing drawn out of the Treasures of mystical wisdome which makes for the exciting of zeal whence it eomes to pass that pious Auditors are scarcely ever present at holy Mysteries without a new motion of heart My imagination on the reading of these words is that Comenius was not hugely fond of prescribed Formula's in which the people were as well versed as the Minister he seems rather to be of opinion that if words flow from the mouth of the Minister which the People had not seen before hand they will be heard with the more Devotion whether Mr. Durell's imaginations agree with mine time may discover mean while I may have leave to guess what it was that moved Mr. Durell's pen to run into such excess of riot against the two Houses and Assembly and I conceive it was the extravagance of his Country-man Ludovicus Capellus in his discourse about Liturgies unhappily inserted into the Theses Dalmurienses for his words Mr. Durell has punctually transcribed and done into English a Scholler may find them in the third part of those Theses p. 707. I shall follow Mr. Durell's own Translation pag. 15. One hundred forty years ago when the separation was made from the Church of Rome and that the Christian people coming out of Babylon did cast off the Popes Tyranny the sacred Liturgy was purged of all that Popish Superstition and Idolatry and all such things as were overburdensom or which did contribute but little or nothing to the edification of the Church And so were framed and prescribed in several places divers set forms of holy Liturgies by the several Authors of the Reformation that then was and those simple and pure in Germany France England Scotland the Netherlands c. differing as little as possible from the antient set Forms of the Primitive Church which set Forms the Reformed have used hitherto with happiness and profit each of them in their several Nations and districts till at last of very late there did arise in England a froward scrupulous and over nice that I say not altogether superstitious Generation of men unto whom it hath seemed good for many Reasons but those very light and almost of no moment at all not onely to blame but to cashier and abolish wholly the Liturgy used hitherto in their Church together with the whole Hierarchical Government of their Bishops instead of which Liturgy they have brought in their Directory as they call it On the words thus translated I adventure to say First That I am not much in love with the Professors Chronology He gratifies the Papists too much to say or but to intimate that no secession was made from their Church till an hundred and forty Years before he put forth those Theses some Churches had gone out of Babylon much sooner some not so soon Secondly I am less in love with his jumbling together of the Liturgies of Germany France England Scotland Belgia for if the Germans did purge their Liturgie of every thing that was over-burdensom and troublesome or which did contribute but little or nothing to the edification of the Church let a reason be given me why we leave any thing out of our Liturgies which they retain did this Professor of Divinity think that nothing is retained in the Lutheran Liturgies that is burdensom and operosous or that makes little to edification or did he conceit that none of the Lutheran Churches are German do the Lutherans Latine Songs contribute much to edification are their Images apt to teach the soul did ever any one get much good by having the bread put into his mouth instead of having it broken and delivered into his hand what is I wonder the advantage of Exorcism certainly if the Lutheran Liturgies recede as little as may be from the Forms of the Primitive Church other Churches have receded very much from them Thirdly It was a great misadventure to affirm that the Reformed had with profit and happiness each of them in their several Nations and Districts used set Forms till lately the Liturgy was Cashired in England Had not Calderwood told the world long since that for many years he had not used set Forms whilst he was Minister in Scotland was not the Liturgy laid aside in Scotland before in England Fourthly It is a sign of no great humility for one Professor so severely to censure the actings of a whole Assembly of Divines in which were many Superiour to himself in Learning but let not Episcopal Divines much glory to find the Assemblies Reasons so vilified they will find the Reason of Mr. Hooker their Oracle as much vilified in this Censor's Thesis de Festis Fifthly It is very Probable the good Professor had never read the Directory else he would not have left it on Record that the Directory contains onely the Arguments of things to be said and done in the Administration of the Sacraments for in the Directory the words for Administration of Baptism are prescribed so are the words for the Administration of the Lords Supper Mr. Durell therefore by translating Capellus into English hath but uncovered his nakedness exposing him to contempt who was before become too contemptible by decrying the Hebrew points and Scripture Chronology so opening a door to down-right infidelity Yet as if he had not done him spight enough He not only gives us his Text but also draws six Observations from it pag. 15 16.
occurs would let it pass uncensured but I have heard that in our latter Editions of the English Annotations Dr. Feateleys Notes are not altered if so the Debator hath reason to be ashamed of his impudence and railing accusation for any one may see that Sacriledge is sufficiently condemned at Rom. 2.22 and it is severely Censured Acts 5. as also Prov. 20.25 and if that be not also censured Ezekiel 48. who must bear the blame but Bishop Richardson to whose share it fell to Comment on that portion of Scripture Certainly the second and third Editions of the English Annotations were Printed in times in which it was all out as dangerous to reprove Sacriledge as in those times in which the first Edition was put forth In those Editions I have already referred to enough that makes against Sacriledge yet if need were I could referr to much more and possibly should so do were it not that the work had been long since done to my hand by an Episcopal Divine in a Discourse Printed 1648. with this Title Church Lands not to be sold He that will be at pains to peruse that book shall soon find that no one could keep the Covenant and not be against the alienating of Church Lands page 27. he quotes these words from Mr. Gearee an holy Nonconformist To abolish Prelacy and to seize the Lands of Prelates to private or civil Interest undoubtedly could neither want stain nor guilt adding I am confident by the discourse I have had with the most able of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster that at the least three parts if not all of them are of the same Judgment with Mr. Gearee and that they would openly profess as much if they were put to answer the Question But saith Mr. Durell some of the many who made nothing of purchasing and detaining Church Lands were Presbyterian Ministers and to prove this in the Margent he puts Dr. Burgess never so much as adding an c. so that in his Arithmetick Dr. Burgess is some Presbyterian Ministers But he should first have proved that he was one Presbyterian Minister before he had gone about to perswade us that he was sundry Presbyterian Ministers He is not that Dr. Burgess who defended the three Ceremonies against Dr. Ames but yet he is the Dr. Burgess that took care to have that Defence Printed and beautified the Margent of it to make it he more pleasing to the Readers eye and he is the Dr. Burgess that did write for Baptismal Regeneration which the Presbyterian can by no means swallow I have heard indeed that he took the Covenant but not till he saw that it was dangerous not to take it I have heard also that he was employed to make a Speech in answer to Dr. John Hackett who was to plead for the continuance of Deanes and Chapiters but in that Speech he openly declared the utter unlawfulness of converting Dean and Chapiters Lands to any private persons profit so that he then delivered the same Doctrine with Dr. Hackett only differing in the Application as Mr. Fuller words it book 11. page 179. It seems afterwards he himself was a Purchaser and a great Purchaser contrary to the Doctrine delivered by him for which I leave him to his own Master unto whom he hath some years since given his Accounts Mr. Durell as if he were a Privy-Councellor in Heaven presumes in his Latin book to say That the Cancer of which he dyed befel him for his Sacriledge I dare not so say the Providences of God are too great a deep for any man to venture himself into and methinks Mr. Durell might have been deterred from such presumption by the example of Gods dealing with Bishop Gawden who after that he had written for the Liturgy and against Sacriledge dyed not long after of a Disease as loathsome and far more painful than that which brought Dr. Burgess to his Grave and this Disease was that very Disease unto which he had compared the Presbyterian Sermons and befell him in a very short time after he had made the Comparison yet all these Circumstances notwithstanding no man shall ever hear me say That the sickness was a stroak of Divine Justice inflicted on him for his fierceness against the Presbyterians Indeed the Providence of God is to us so hidden and secret that there is no concluding from it either love or hatred and therefore the Sons of the Church have no reason to thank Mr. Durell for saying page 17. of his Sermon That the wonderful manner of raising our Church up again is an evident proof that she is her Beloveds and her Beloved hers and an Argument that her Reformation since neither mens Craft nor violence which so far prevailed against it were never able to destroy it is certainly the work of God and his Counsel which shall stand Non tali auxilio nec defensoribus istis Our Church needs no such Tophicks she will think that he has a minde to betray her who useth them on her behalf for who knows how soon God provoked by our sins may turn the stream of his Providences and bring our Church Governours under as great poverty and reproach as ever If the stream of Providence should never turn yet all Theological ears will abhor to hear our English Reformation called the Counsell of the Lord which shall stand That is a Scripture Phrase and Printed as such by Mr. Durell and therefore ought not to have been so palpably wrested by him Dare any man think that the Decrees and Counsels of God are changed unless our Reformation as attended with all its Rites and Cermonies endure from generation to generation But I have almost run away from the business of Sacriledge If any man desire to know how zealous Reformed Divines have been against this sin he may quickly inform himself from Dr. Hornebeckes Examen bullae Papalis I only adde that some men have been so hardy as to to say that our Impropriations are a kind of Sacrilege The Lord Bacon seems to be of that mind and charges all the Parliaments since the 31. of Henry VIII with debarring Christs Wife of a great part of her dowry if so Mr. Durell may find more Sacriledge among his friends then he is aware of and he may do well to enquire whether the impropriations of the several Cathedrals to which he himself belongs are so disposed of as that the Incumbants residing upon them have a sufficient and honerable maintenance allowed them His Majesty hath graciously emitted a Letter that it might be so if the Letter have been universally obeyed I rejoyce in the obedience given to it but I am sure heretofore no Impropriators allowed less then Clergy-men no parishes were worse supplied than those in which the Titles went to the Cathedralls unless Mr. Durell be sure that he and his Fraternities be free from this sin it will not be seasonable for him to throw stones at other sinners least it should be said thou
the Congregation could neither hear nor see the Minister what I say but meer Superstition 14thly Page 42. He falls again to the abusing of Presbyterians saying That they ought to have as bad an Opinion of the Trine aspersion of the Cross in Baptisme adding towards the end of that Page his confidence That if the Trine aspersion were used in our Church or if she had retained the Trine immersion as at the beginning of King Edward rhe Sixth's Reign it would be counted a great Superstition This is a great slander no Presbyterians that ever I heard of have any such Principles from which they can charge Superstition upon Trine immersion or upon Trine aspersion they say it is the command of God that water should be applied to the Baptized had he commanded that this application should be by dipping or sprinkling once or twice his command must have been observed seeing there is no such Command they say that Superiours are at liberty to appoint which they please provided nothing be appointed that is imprudent or uncharitable and now that we are fallen upon this point I would gladly know what it is that our Church hath appointed by the Liturgy I see the Minister is appointed to dipp the Child in the water if the Sponsors certifie that the Babe can well endure it but if they certifie that the Child is weak it shall suffice to pour water upon it so that here is no allowance of any Rite but Dipping unless there be a Certificate of the Childs weakness But when I wonder did any Baptist demand such a Certificate as for the Quoties no meaner a man than Bishop Mountague in his Articles of Visitation positively asserted that the Child is thrice to be aspersed with water on the face So that the Act of Uniformity notwithstanding it seems the Doctors of the Church were not agreed and for ought I can observe notwithstanding any Rubrick or Canon now in force Ministers are at their Liberty to apply the water once or thrice though I think Bishop Mountague was much mistaken when he said that the Child was thrice to be aspersed the Church hath not commanded Trine aspersion but there is no constat that she hath forbidden it Nor is this the only thing in our Administration of Baptisme about which I am at a loss Immersion I do hugely approve yea I cannot see how it can be forborn unless charity or modesty on something of that nature do forbid it But what may be the Reason that our Church allows not pouring water upon Infants without a Certificate that they are weak and yet in the form of Baptism appointed for adult persons leaves it wholly at the Ministers discretion either to dip them into the water or to pour water upon them There is another thing in which aqua mihi haeret I am marvellously also perplext about the Administrator or Administratrix of Baptism In the Hampton-Court Conference K. James stumbled something at some expressions in our Liturgy which seemed to give Liberty to women and Maids to Administer Baptisme in case of extreme necessity and he was then answer'd by Archbishop Whitgift that Baptism by Women and Lay-persons was not allow'd in the practise of the Church but was enquired of and censur'd in the Bishops Visitations and that the words in the Book inferred no such meaning But Bishop Bancroft declared that the Church by those words did intend in case of necessity a permission of private persons to Baptize and that this permission was agreeable to the practise of the ancient Churches Withal opening the absurdities and impieties of their Opinion who think there is no necessity of Baptisme I confess I could not but wonder that they who had so strongly pleaded for the Liturgy and pleas'd themselves in silencing those who could not conform unto it should be as contrary as North and South in expounding a material passage of it But however for the credit of the Ordinance I rejoyced greatly to find that at the motion of the King it was ordred that the words A Lawful Minister should be put into the Rubrick for by this means I thought us sufficiently secured against any female Baptizers But he who doth not love to conceal any thing Dr. P. H. in his necessary Introduction to the History of Bishop Laud pag. 27. hath quite took away the cause of my rejoycing for he saith The alteration was greater in sound than sense it being the Opinion of many great Clerks that any man in cases of extreme necessity who can pronounce the words of Baptism may pass in the notion of account of a lawful Minister By any man I suppose he means any one that is de humano genere and by consequence either a Child or a Natural but I hope some one will give check to this extravagant Notion that so a stop may be put to the Licentiousness of those unto whom God hath no more given a power to Baptize than to Ordain Ministers And therefore I wish that to stop this gap instead of the Minister of the Parish or any other lawful Minister it had been said the lawful Minister of any other Parish and then I should have thought it impossible for any man to be so impudent as to opine that our Church had not restrained Baptisme to the Clergy But they who made our new Liturgy were wiser then I and some that have subscrib'd it it seems had got some such way of Interpretation as no Logick ever led me into 15thly Pag. 103. He makes bold with the whole Church of England For of her these are his words She holdeth subordination of Ministers in the Christian Church to be of Apostolical nay of Divine Institution having as she conceiveth for Grounds of this her Judgment besides Scripture the Practise of the Holy Apostles in their time of the Universal Church ever since until this later Age and which is more of Christ himself who ordained the Apostles and the Seventy Disciples in an imparity as two distinct Orders of Ministers in his Church I suppose this Reverend Praedicant doth not pretend to any faculty of discerning the secret thoughts and inward conceptions of our Churches heart farther then when she discov'rs them by some words or other signification let him therefore tell us where the Church hath declared her self thus to hold thus to conceive as in the fore-quoted words is represented That the Church holds subordination of Ministers to be an Apostolical Institution is plain enough and therefore Mr. D. beats the Air as oft as he brings any Testimonies for Episcopacie which do not place it among Apostolical Institutions but I cannot finde that the Church any where distinguisheth Apostolical and Divine much less doth she say that she hath besides Scripture the practice of the Apostles and of Christ himself The Practice of the Apostles and Christ himself are recorded in Scripture and be a part of Scripture and therefore it is not sense to say that she
to be found and had not this man then well read and studied the Book to which he so solemnly gave assent and consent I profess where-ever I come I make it my business to reconcile people to the publick Assemblies my Conscience would fly in my face if I should do otherwise but I find my self unable to prevail with them through the prejudice they have taken up against the Liturgy and their prejudices are grounded for the most part upon the wicked lives of those that are the most constant Readers and frequenters of it I shall never upon this account cease to joyn in prayers and to hear Sermons but yet I rejoyce that a great Prelate lately in his Visitation openly declared in his Speech his resolution to proceed and deal more severely against those who should be found loose and profane than against those that differed from him only in Ceremonies The Lord give hearts to those whom it concerns to think immorality worthy of presentment and to set a mark upon all whose feet run into all excess of Riot and whose Tongues are set on fire from Hell that so we may have wherewith to stop the mouths of those who are bent upon Separation and employ their Rhetorick in nothing more than in perswading the people that God is departed from us It would be a small trouble to me to find the Non-conformists disarmed did I find the Weapons of their Warfare put into the hands of those who would use them more to the disadvantage of the World Flesh and Devil I have mentioned one thing that makes Mr. D. not the fittest person in the World to manage this Controversie that is his not being free from at least the suspicion of Covetousness I will suggest one or two more He seems to be very injudicious and therefore puts into his Book such cold Commendations of Church and Liturgy as do only not dispraise it I instance only in Monsieur Vauqueline whom he brings in Pag. 189. thus extolling our Liturgy The Book of Common Prayer is very far from any Idolatry and there is not in it any formal Superstition Is not this a rare Elogium But above all he disparages himself by giving flattering Titles unto men Pag. 87. he tells us that Monsieur Goyen is as versed in Antiquity as possible a Commendation too high to be given to any man and such as that Reverend persons worth will never suffer him to accept of or so much as to commend the love of him who gave it let any one read the Epistle Dedicatory to his Book he will find the Lord Chancellour so highly commended that any one may see the Commendations were rather given to his Place than to his Virtues all the Authority of the Nation hath lately sentenced him to Banishment and yet Mr. D. could not find so much humility as either to bewail his fault or his unhappiness who had bestowed such praises in a printed letter upon him whom the Kingdom has declared to have deserved ill of it and of the Church too I may well think you will begin to say what is all this to the Latine Book that I sent you Or how can I by all you have hitherto writ perceive your Judgment about it Surely Sir the things I have noted out of the English Book are sufficient to let you see that his 2d Book is not worth your reading Scarcely can you find more words put together to less purpose The very Title-Page sufficiently exposes him either to the scorn or pity of those whom he chose for his Adversaries Vindiciae Sacrae Ecclesiae Anglicanae What is this Holy English Church Does he mean that Company of men and women in England who exercise themselves therein that they may be holy as God is holy Quis Lacedaemoniorum vituperat Why is this Church vindicated that no sober man ever went about to accuse If by the Holy Church of England he mean the late Convocation then he hath written as our Episcopal men are wont to write and by the Canons of 1603. it is made a very dangerous point to deny that a Convocation is the Church of England by Repraesentation and I have no mind to try how near I can come to that danger without incurring it Seeing Mr. D. has professed with thankfulness that he learned Divinity under Amyraldus he may do well to try whether he can confute his Master in his Theses de Ecclesia nomine ac definitione and de ratione convocandorum Conciliorum which do not look very smilingly upon that form of Speech which we use in England or upon the way of constituting our Convocations Mr. Jeanes a man of a very Scholastical Head had called the Convocation The Church of England but in the Second part of his Divinity he wonders upon what account he or any one else could think it to be the Church of England he instances in his own Diocess in which there was one Dean one Prebend three Arch-Deacons whereas the whole Clergy of the Diocess chose but two so that he thinks our Convocations may be rather called Repraesentatives of the Bishops and Cathedrals than of the Church of En-England And he asks whether if the King should chuse two hundred into the House of Commons and the people one that Meeting could be called the Representative of the People of England Mr. D. who has used this Title should have done well to give satisfaction to such kind of Questions is these and to have shewed us Synods in other Churches the Major part of the Members whereof are neither chosen by the people nor by the Clergy instead of doing so he hath left it doubtful what he means by the Church And it is much more doubtful to me whom he means by his Schismaticks against whose vociferations he pretends to defend his Church When you have called a man Schismatick you have call'd him every thing but I believe no man in the world thinks that all those against whom he vents his spleen in this Book deserve to be called Schismaticks I am sure according to the definition of Schisme that is given by Dr. Hammond they are not Schismaticks Mr. D. seems to thrust out his sharpest sting against Mr. Baxter Now it is notoriously known that he constantly went to the publick Congregation it s known also that he has in the publick Congregation received the Sacrament of the Lords Supper according to the form that is by Law established he has Communion with the Church of England in all Ordinances takes a great deal of pains to resolve the doubts of those who scruple Communion with her and yet is in Mr. D's account one of the Heads of the Schismaticks Let him take heed that he do not throw this dirt into such mens faces if he do it will fly back into his own The Case of hundreds of Non-conformists stands thus When they were School-boyes or Under-graduates in the University the King called the so much talked of Long-Parliament in which