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A97293
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A sober reply to a serious enquiry. Or, An answer to a reformed Quaker in vindication of himself, Mr. G. Keith and others, for their conformity to the Church of England, against what I have written on that subject. By Trepidantium Malleus.
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Trepidantium Malleus.
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1700
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Wing Y88; ESTC R230924
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4,979
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18
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A SOBER REPLY TO A Serious Enquiry OR An ANSWER to a Reformed QVAKER in Vindication of Himself Mr. G. Keith and others for their Conformity to the Church of England against what I have written on that Subject By Trepidantium Malleus LONDON Printed and sold by A. Baldwin and John Marshal 1700. A SOBER REPLY to a SERIOUS ENQUIRY YESTERDAY when I remov'd my Habitation from London to Mortloch the Serious Enquiry came to my hand I grew weary of a City of Contention and never intended to write more about their Controversies but apply my self to a large delectable Habitation nigh the King's Park by Richmond in some of the best Air in the World hoping to cure as many distemper'd Bodies as I had distemper'd Minds in that now forsaken City Horace highly commends a Country Life Beatus ille qui procul negotiis Vt prisca gens mortalium Sir Kenelm Digby after he had in lively colours describ'd the Excellency of a Country and in apt ones the Vanity of a Court Life it self as well as a City one says at last And if Contentment be a Stranger then I 'll ne'er seek it but in Heaven again These with many others make a Country Life an Emblem of the Golden Age. But my hopes of a Life free from Controversy were nipt in the bud by this Oppugner of me For Silence in me might look like Victory in him and a betraying of my Righteous Cause Had Mr. Lesly whom I greatly honour or Mr. Keith whom most men now as greatly despise no better Advocate for their now common Cause or no fitter Censurer of me than one who never vindicates them or himself from one of my Arguments against Conformity but is not ashamed to say p. 3. It might be endless to answer some of your grand Objections Ay Sir say you so Is this all And instead of answering one of my Arguments you offer about 60 Queries and Particulars most of them ridiculous and impertinent If I am as you say you have heard and found in my Books a man of that ability that I can answer Queries and Doubts of Conscience I have something else to do than to answer all your Queries but will single out such as are material You say Great were my pains to convince you when Quakers That you now bear testimony to G. Keith 's found Doctrive A Quakerish Phrase and Cant. It is a Query among some of you Whether Mr Lesly hath fully answer'd my Arguments against Conformity in our printed Epistles Let Mr. Keith essay it if he thinks he can So My first Friendly Epistle to him against Episcopacy Why must I be plagu'd with old stale Objections and my Replies taken no notice of An intolerable Practice among some short-sighted men or men of no depth Now to your chief reasons why you turn not Independents offer'd by way of Query But I must contract 1. They paganize and make Antichristian all the Churches of Christ in the World except themselves This Charge is so foul and false as I have proved in my Apology for them that I hope in you it came from Ignorance I fear from Malice perhaps from both Cotton in his Keys Jer. Burroughs in his Irenicum Du Maulin in his Plea for Congregational Churches and all I have read of abhor'd such black Notions Do they make Anabaptists Pagans who are often said to have too great Affinity with them Call they not Presbyterians their Brethren Read the London Vnion Du Maulin that Great Good Man in his Moral Reflections singles out Bp Hall often as one of the greatest Saints on Earth I confess some of them are as mad upon some of their Notions as Mr. Lesly Mr. Keith and your self on the Divsne Right of Episcopacy I am sorry a man of worth and sense tho not of temper was so weak in his Plea for Congregational Churches to lay down four Arguments to prove the House of Stone was not the Church of God As Christ died for the Church but he died not for the House of Stone Ergo c. What is more common than a Metonimy of the Continent for the thing contained as I drink off such a Cup or Glass eat up such a Dish for the Drinks and Meats in them 2. The second is false for the Independents own the Church-Membership of Infants and so their Baptism inseparable Truths 3. About living by the Gospel c. What Independant denied it or the Lawfulness of Tythes What Penry did in the days of Q. Elizabeth or some Brownist they are not to be answerable for In Oliver's days this was no Controversy 4. You say They set up Preachers that have no knowledg of the Tongues What they only Where they make one some Bishops have made two and Good Bp Crofts justifies it Naked Truth But these things I have consider'd in my Apology 5. To the fifth I say That not only they but the Anabaptists now own and practise Ordination by laying on of Hands Read some of their Confessions 6. What Independents gather Churches from York to London I know not No doubt they have gotten some Knaves as you some good Men. But you have forty to one 8. You say they expect New Modifications Have not yours often changed Doctrine and Discipline Organs Bowings c. See the abominable Worship at Paul's Your Changes are for the worse Popish ones What Changes they make are for the better Protestant ones 10. To the tenth Query Mr. Hales thinks the Power of the Keys nothing but declarative and so no more belongs to Ministers than private Christians Popish Absolutions and and yours have been so ill managed that most of yours are sick of them now Why in a time of Death only are men absolved 12. If they think our Reformers worshipped God in a wrong way Do not you think so of some Reformed Churches France Holland Geneva Scotland of old and now Do not Tome of you unchurch them and Mr. Lesly unchristian them See his Black Book of Episcopacy Did ever any Independent write in such bloody Characters And yet this man is your Oracle and you all plow with his Heifer They who were our Reformers were not our Apostles Mr. L. would be I fear if occasion were as very an Incendiary as Hugh Peters that madd Independent Keep to such as he and go on as one of yours did on his Execution Here is the last and best Edition Of Hugh the Author of Sedition He that shall say will surely miss That Hugh now Independent is To call Jacobite Quakers Honest Loyal ones as Mr. L. doth is to be abhor'd by all true English-men No more of this Pudet dicere piget tacere Rebellion is now call'd Loyalty To your Reasons why you turn'd not Presbyterians by way of Query Whether Christ did not bid his Disciples to say Our Father Whether they did not say Our Father Whether it be not evil to expunge Our Father are made three Questions tho I put them and so
might he into one 1. The Assembly of Divines recommended the use of it and some do it to this day Mr. Shower and others 2. Yet secondly I must confess not only I think there is no command here but that it is not convenient to use it See my Answer to W. C. a Churchman his Trepidantium malleus intrepidanter malleatus in favour of G. Whitehead and the Quakers against me Mr. Keath and Mr. Lesly too And I add That tho our Bible I think is not only well but laudably translated yet on much and long consideration and enquiry I do aver That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not truly nor tolerably translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no more daily than weekly or monthly And I boldly assert That Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie is a foul Translation tho used by Papists and Protestants If it be ask'd how must it be read I answer it is no easy Question Superessential supersubstantial Bread are not proper not being understood by the Vulgar tho Mr. Pool mentions them He was a famous Nonconformist by the way of whose Synopsis D. Barlow said Opus esset non unius viri sed totius saeculi si tu non suscepsses I think Tremellius gave the fairest stroak Panen nostrum necessarium da nobis hodie Give us this day our necessary Bread I humbly offer this to the consideration of such Dissenters as use this Form As for the Clergy their Ears are bor'd at the Prelates Doors that they are sworn to serve them for ever They dare not alter it but must keep to their old Mumpsimus notwithstanding my new Sumpsimus for fear of being excommunicated and sent as a Token to the Devil for this offence For my part one reason among others why I use it not is the great Superstition of some men so for this reason I sometimes put on my Hat in hearing and will justify this if occasion be You ask us Sir whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be not a different word from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yes Sir as Ensiis and Gladius but not a different thing And are indeed Bishops call'd Presbyters because once so Would it be proper to call my Lord Mayor Mr. Alderman because once so or a King Prince of Wales because so before Bishop is a name of Office Presbyter of Duty say you Learnedly distinguish'd say I. The naming of Timothy Bishop of Ephesus and Titus of Crete and Jerom's Authority are all of a piece as I have proved long since Whether K. James or Bp B. said first No Bishop no King is no matter being confuted in Scotland Aeirus his damnable Doctrine against the Trinity c. made him a Heretick not denying Episcopacy else Jerom had been one the Reformed Churches-abroad had been heretical What madness is this The Canons of the Apostles and Ignatius his Epistles are justly questioned whether legitimate or spurious by Protestants of all sorts Yet if Ignatius his Epistles were genuin a Bishop was but a Bishop of one Church one Altar In after Ages the difference was not of Order but of Degree Shew a new Ordination or Consecration Did St James make a Liturgy or Common Prayer-Book or One for him The Lord's Prayer and Creed p. 3. and 4. you prove every word by Scripture at large Do we deny it Was ever such mad work made till now The Query about sudden Death All Women labouring with Child c. is foreign to our business Are you and G. Keith on immediate Inspiration still that you say That the Petition in the Form of Marriage that they might live as Isaac and Rebecca not as Abraham and Sarah for he had a Hagar too not as Jacob and Rachael for he had a Leah too was from Inspiration from the Holy Ghost not human Invention Was Cristmas Man known of old There is Praying by the Spirit as to Gifts as well as Grace You commend him that called the Common Prayer-Book Optimmm Breviarium the worst name I think he could ever give it What is it the best mass-Mass-Book Agreed One being ask'd how they could say of K. C. II. our most Religions King He said It is the most Religious King we have we have not a better So say I it is the best Breviary we have we have not a better The last Propositions in the third and last-part are common to all they can have no place here Now Reader if thou hast read my Snake caught thou canst not think this a Reply I am ready to prove 1. That it is more scandalous for Ministers to read other mens Prayers to God than read other mens Sermons to the People 2. That the Church of the Jews tho laden with Ceremonies every one of Divine Appointment had no Liturgies in this its Infancy and therefore worse is it now 3. That a Diocesan Bishop is not a Creature of God's making and can no more take upon him the sole Power of Ordination than of Baptizing or giving the Lord's Supper To say nothing of their lazy vain Lives 4. That to swear Canonical Obedience to such to read Writs of Excommunication against the best of men for Toys or Trifles or swear Church-wardens if occasion be to Articles none do keep or can keep c. is double-died Iniquity big-bellied Wickedness 5. That for these and other reasons Separation from the Church of England is no Sin but a Duty I wish your Mr. L. and our Mr. A. might meet together or Mr. K. and my self To Mr. KEITH SIR THE Air at Mortlock being good for Distempers in the Head as well as Body and therefore Lodgings are for a time here taken up by many Londoners I offer you the best Room in my House till you are cured Is it fair to imploy or help or countenance such a Bigot of yours as C. I. only that it might be said I was answer'd tho it matters not how You are Sir if ever man was what the Poet says Et tantum constans in levitate sua Ovid. Some of C. I. his Queries are as little to the Controversy as theirs who query of you 1. Whether you did not say You could better bear Death than Poverty and so conformed because your Turners-Hall Hearers and Mathematical Scholars dropt away and you saw you could not be the Head of a new Party 2. Whether before your Ordination you did not discourse according as your Company was about Conformity or Non-comformity Or if I should now ask 3. Whether the Apostles wore a black Gown c. What would you say of any of us at least that we were Impertinents Aut illud quod dicere nolo Juven Be not angry Sir if I tell you to answer such as he is but the work of one Afternoon without any Book by me but the censured Paper Many years have I been from my Study and to be plain in my present Circumstances care for none Farewel Mr. Changeable and yet Mr. Infallible I intend to answer every thing against me but not against other men I have been at great cost and Pains let others be so if occasion be Farewel London Farewel Controversies FINIS