E. g. The Time and Place of their Convention must be agreed on by them and the lesser part must yield to the greater or else by diffent no time or place may ever be agreed on So that if the greater part agree on one Translation of the Bible to be used in all the associated Churches or on one Version of the Singing Psalms it will tend much to Edification and agrees with the Scripture Commands of Unity If therefore that which they agree on seem to a particular Church or Pastor no better than another Version or scarce so good yet for Unity if it be not unlawful or like to be more hurtful than the Diversity will be they ought to concur But still be it remembred that the Churches Peace or Unity should be laid by Agreements on nothing unnecessary And therefore all agreements may not be seconded with an avoiding all Dissenters 17. Because in the great Case of taking Members from other Churches or Parishes the Exception from the general Rule of Parish Limits cannot be so enumerated as punctually to resolve each Doubt that may occur let us first lay down what Rules or Exceptions we can agree on at least this general that we will take no such Person into our Churches when it tendeth more to the hurt than the furtherance of the common Good and Christian Cause And therefore that we will first bring the particular case to the Association or at least be there responsible concerning it as we are about other Church Affairs Accordingly when any is actually offended that another hath taken a Member out of his or another's Church or Parish let the Association hear the case on both sides and if they justifie the accused there is an End if not they are to convince him or them that they go against some Rule of Scripture or Nature e. g. against the Honour of Christ and good of the Churches or christian Cause And if neither he nor they can be convinced nor brought to reform after sufficient Admonition it must be considered whether the case be small and tollerable or great and intollerable If the former we must bear with it yet professing our Judgment against it if intollerable we must proceed to disclaim Communion with the guilty and so to exclude them from the Association and common Communion which yet must not be done but in heinous cases And thus the particular cases must be tryed and concluded as they fall out for there is no laying down any Rule beforehand that will fit all cases particularly 18. Those first Associations being composed of such Pastors and Churches as are near and within a capacity of such Communion as aforesaid voluntarily combined should also hold correspondence with Neighbour Associations either by Delegates in some more general Meetings as in each County one or at least by Letters and Messengers which Communion is to be extended even as far as our Natural Capacity extendeth and the Edification or Preservation of the Churches shall require it And thus the Presbyterians and Congregational Men are agreed if they are willing If all will not let those agree that have hearts and not stay for the rest And here you see a Satisfaction to your two Demands My Question was What are the things that the Congregational must have and will insist on the denial whereof doth binder our Unity and Agreement Your Answer was in these words To manage all Church Affairs by the Elders and Brethren within themselves and without dependance unless for Advice on any other Ecclesiastical Power 2. To take in such as are qualified and freely offer themselves to joyn though of other Parishes Yet so as if a particular Church in that Parish which for the Substance is gathered according to the Order of the Gospel and the Party a Member thereof an account is to be given to the Church or the Elders of it of the Cause of his removal that it may be if possible with consent And this is all that hinders our Agreement it seems Alas 1. For the first it is granted you in terminis only in point of Ordination yield but to be Ordained by Teaching Elders which you confess lawful and others think necessary And remember 1. That to depend on other Ecclesiastical Power even for Advice is a great dependance 2. That to depend on them not as a Superiour Power but as a Link upon the Chain for Union and Communion we can never exempt you from nor will you sure desire it There is a fourfold Advice 1. An Authoratative Advice of Governours as Parents Schoolmasters Pastors to their Inferiours who are bound to obey them on a double account ratione materiae authoritatis Thus the Pastors in a Synod advise their Flocks conjunctly 2. The Authoratative Advice of one Officer to another And so as we preach to one another I think as Christ's Ministers we must advise one another 3. An Advice of a Major part among Equals in Order to Union and Concord and this is the Principal to be respected in these Conventions 4. An Advice of a private Person not authorized by Office and this binds but ratione materiae c. 2. To your second you will grant as I hope by the printed Debates that ordinarily Parish-bounds shall be the Rule for Limitation alter Parishes if they be amiss and that you 'l not swerve from this Rule but upon necessary Cause and not when it is to the apparent wrong of the Cause and Interest of Christ and you will yield to be responsible to the Association which you are a Member of concerning the Case when you are questioned And this shall agree us And why should I not add two Propositions for Peace with the Episcopal That way or the Persons are not so contemptible if you consider the Antiquity the great Difficulty their Number and Extent and the Works of many of them as to be refused our Communion though on some Abatements to them Prop. 19. Let therefore these Presbyteries of particular Churches have one to be the stated President as long as he is found fittest and let all the Associations at least where Episcopal worthy Men require it have such fixed Presidents quam diu bene se gesserint as your Assembly at Westminster had by common Consent Bishop Hall and Usher say this will satisfie but it will not without the next Prop. 20. Seeing the Presbyterians and Congregational say That except in case of necessity it 's lawful to forbear Ordination till the President be there and One and to take him with you and the Episcopal say That it 's of necessity therefore let the Case of Necessity and the Title be purposely silenced and left to each Man's Judgment but de facto let your Licet yield for Peace to their Oportet at least for some years trial And agree to Ordain none but in necessity without the President as he shall Ordain none without the Consent of the Association or at least the Elders of the
acquaintance at Court and get some office as being the only rising way I had no mind of his Counsel who had helped me no better before yet because that they knew that he loved me and they had no great inclination to my being a Minister my Parents accepted of his Motion He told them that if I would go up and live a while with Sir Henry Herbert then Master of the Revels he would quickly set me in a rising way I would not be disobedient but went up and stayed at Whiteball with Sir H. H. about a month But I had quickly enough of the Court when I saw a Stage-Play instead of a Sermon on the Lord's-days in the Afternoon and saw what Course was there in fashion and heard little Preaching but what was as to one part against the Puritans I was glad to be gone And at the same time it pleased God that my Mother fell sick and desired my return and so I resolved to bid farewel to those kind of Employments and Expectations While I was in London I fell into Acquaintance with a sober godly understanding Apprentice of Mr. Philemon Stephens the Bookseller whose Name was Humphrey Blunden who is since turned an extraordinary Chymist and got Iacob Behem his Books translated and printed whom I very much loved and who by his Consolatory Letters and Directions for Books did afterwards do me the Offices of an useful Friend § 11. When I was going home again into the Country about Christmas-day the greatest Snow began that hath been in this Age which continued thence till Easter at which some places had it many yards deep and before it was a very hard Frost which necessitated me to Frost-nail my Horse twice or thrice a day On the Road I met a Waggon loaded where I had no passage by but on the side of a bank which as I passed over all my Horses feet split from under him and all the Girths brake and so I was cast just before the Waggon Wheel which had gone over me but that it pleased God that suddenly the Horses stopt without any discernable cause till I was recovered which commanded me to observe the Mercy of my Protector § 12. This mindeth me of some other Dangers and Deliverances which I past over At Seventeen years of Age as I rode out on a great unruly Horse for pleasure which was wont on a sudden to get the Bitt in his Teeth and set on running as I was in a Field of high Ground there being on the other side a Quick-set Hedge a very deep narrow Lane about a Stories height below me suddenly the Horse got the Bridle as aforesaid and set on running and in the midst of his running unexpectedly turned aside and leapt over the top of the Hedge into that deep Lane I was somewhat before him at the Ground and as the Mire saved me from the hurt beneath so it pleased God that the Horse never touched me but he light with two feet on one side of me and two on the other though the place made it marvellous how his feet could fall besides me § 13. While I look back to this it maketh me remember how God at that time did cure my inclination to Gaming About Seventeen years of Age being at Ludlow Castle where many idle Gentlemen had little else to do I had a mind to learn to play at Tables and the best Gamester in the House undertook to teach me As I remember the first or second Game when he had so much the better that it was an hundred to one besides the difference of our skills the standers by laugh'd at me as well as he for not giving it up and told me the Game was lost I knew no more but that it was not lost till all my Table-men were lost and would not give it over till then He told me that he would lay me an hundred to one of it and in good earnest laid me down ten shillings to my six pence As soon as ever the Money was down whereas he told me that there was no possibility of my Game but by one Cast often I had every Cast the same I wished and he had every one according to my desire so that by that time one could go four or five times about the Room his Game was gone which put him in so great an admiration that I took the hint and believed that the Devil had the ruling of the Dice and did it to entice me on to be a Gamester And so I gave him his Ten shillings again and resolved I would never more play at Tables whilst I lived § 14. But to return to the place where I left When I came home from London I found my Mother in extremity of Pain and spent that Winter in the hearing of her Heart-piercing Groans shut up in the great Snow which many that went abroad did perish in till on May the 10th she died At Kiderminster the Town being in want of fire went all to shovel the way over the Heath to Stone-bridge from whence their Coals come and so great and sudden a storm of Snow fell as overwhelmed them so that some perished in it and others saved their Lives by getting into a little Core that standeth on the Heath and others scaped home with much ado § 15. Above a year after the Death of my Mother my Father married a Woman of great Sincerity in the Fear of God Mary the Daughter of Sir Tho. Hunkes whose Holiness Mortification Contempt of the World and fervent Prayer in which she spent a great part of her Life have been so exceeding Exemplary as made her a Special Blessing to our Family an Honour to Religion and an honourable Pattern to those that knew her She lived to be 96 years old § 16. From the Age of 21 till near 23 my Weakness was so great that I expected not to live above a year and my own Soul being under the serious apprehension of the Matters of another World I was exceeding desirous to Communicate those Apprehensions to such ignorant presumptuous careless Sinners as the World aboundeth with But I was in a very great perplexity between my Encouragements and my Discouragements I was conscious of my personal insufficiency for want of that measure of Learning and Experience which so great and high a Work required I knew that the want of Academical Honours and Degrees was like to make me Contemptible with the most and consequently hinder the Success of my Endeavours But yet expecting to be so quickly in another World the great Concernments of miserable Souls did prevail with me against all these Impediments and being conscious of a thirsty desire of Mens Conversion and Salvation and of some competent perswading Faculty of Expression which â—ervent Affections might help to actuate I resolved that if one or two Souls only might be won to God it would easily recompence all the dishonour which for want of Titles I might undergo from Men And
poor Plowmen understood but little of these Matters but a little would stir up their Discontent when Money was demanded But it was the more intelligent part of the Nation that were the great Complainers Insomuch that some of them denied to pay the Ship-money and put the Sheriffs to distrain the Sheriffs though afraid of a future Parliament yet did it in obedience to the King Mr. Hampden and the Lord Say brought it to a Suit where Mr. Oliver St. Iohn and other â—Lawyers boldly pleaded the Peoples Cause The King had before called all the Judges to give their Opinions Whether in a Case of need he might impose such a Tax or not And all of them gave their Opinion for the Affirmative except Judge Hatton and Judge Crook The Judgment passed for the King against Mr. Hampden But this made the Matter much more talk of throughout the Land and considered of by those that thought not much of the Importance of it before § 25. Some suspected that many of the Nobility of England did secretly Consederate with the Scots so far as to encourage them to come into England thinking that there was no other way to cause the Calling of a Parliament which was the thing that now they bent their minds to as the Remedy of these things The Earl of Essex the Earl of Warwick the Earl of Bedford the Earl of Clare the Earl of Bullingbrook the Earl of Mulgrave the Earl of Holland the Lord Say the Lord Brook and I know not how many more were said to be of this Conâ—ederacy But Heylin himself hath more truly given you the History of this That the Scots after they came in did perswade these Men of their own danger in England if Arbitrary Government went on and so they petitioned the King for a Parliament which was all their Consederacy and this was after their second Coming into England The Scots came with an Army and the King's Army met them near Newcastle but the Scots came on till an Agreement was made and a Parliament called and the Scots went home again But shortly after this Parliament so displeased the King that he Dissolved it and the War against the Scots was again undertaken to which besides others the Papists by the Queens means did voluntarily contribute whereupon the Scots complain of evil Counsels and Papists as the cause of their renewed dangers and again raise an Army and come into England And the English at York petition the King for a Parliament and once more it is resolved on and an Agreement made but neither the Scottish or English Army disbanded And thus began the Long Parliament as it was after called § 26. The Et caetera Oath was the first thing that threatned me at Bridgenorth and the second was the passage of the Earl of Bridgwater Lord President of the Marches of Wales through the Town in his Journey from Ludlow to the King in the North For his coming being on Saturday Evening the most malicious persons of the Town went to him and told him that Mr. Madestard and I did not sign with the Cross nor wear the Surplice nor pray against the Scots who were then upon their Entrance into England and for which we had no Command from the King but a printed Form of Prayer from the Bishops The Lord President told them That he would himself come to Church on the morrow and see whether we would do these things or not Mr. Madestard went away and left Mr. Swain the Reader and my self in the danger But after he had spoken for his Dinner and was ready to go to Church the Lord President suddenly changed his purpose and went away on the Lord's Day as far as Lichfield requiring the Accusers and the Bailiffs to send after him to inform him what we did On the Lord's Day at Evening they sent after him to Lichfield to tell him that we did not conform but though they boasted of no less than the hanging of us they received no other Answer from him but that he had not the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and therefore could not meddle with us but if he had he should take such order in the business as were fit And the Bailiffs and Accusers had no more wit than to read his Letter to me that I might know how they were baffled Thus I continued in my Liberty of preaching the Gospel at Bridgenorth about a year and three quarters where I took my Liberty though with very little Maintenance to be a very great mercy to me in those troublesome times § 27. The Parliament being sate did presently fall on that which they accounted Reformation of Church and State and which greatly displeased the King as well as the Bishops They made many long and vehement Speeches against the Ship-money and against the Judges that gave their Judgment for it and against the Et caetera Oath and the Bishops and Convocation that were the formers of it but especially against the Lord Thomas Wentworth Lord Deputy of Ireland and Dr. Laud Archbishop of Canterbury as the evil Counsellers who were said to be the Cause of all These Speeches were many of them printed and greedily bought up throughout the Land especially the Lord Falklands the Lord Digbies Mr. Grimstones Mr. Pims Mr. Nath. Fiennes c. which greatly increased the Peoples Apprehension of their Danger and inclined them to think hardly of the King's Proceedings but especially of the Bishops Particular Articles of Accusation were brought in against the Lord Deputy the Archbishop the Judges Bishop Wren Bishop Pierce and divers others The Concord of this Parliament consisted not in the Unanimity of the Persons for they were of several Tempers as to Matters of Religion but in the Complication of the Interest of those Causes which they severally did most concern themselves in For as the King had at once imposed the Ship-money on the Common-wealth and permitted the Bishops to impose upon the Church their displeasing Articles and bowing towards the Altar and the Book for Dancing on the Lord's Day and the Liturgy on Scotland c. and to Suspend or Silence abundance of Ministers that were conformable for want of this Super-canonical Conformity so accordingly the Parliament consisted of two sorts of Men who by the Conjunction of these Causes were united in their Votes and Endeavours for a Reformation One Party made no great matter of these Alterations in the Church but they said That if Parliaments were once down and our Propriety gone and Arbitrary Government set up and Law subjected to the Prince's Will we were then all Slaves and this they made a thing intolerable for the remedying of which they said every true English Man could think no price to dear These the People called Good Commonwealth's Men. The other sort were the more Religious Men who were also sensible of all these things but were much more sensible of the Interest of Religion and these most inveyed against the Innovations in the
Church the bowing to Altars the Book for Sports on Sundays the Casting out of Ministers the troubling of the People by the High-Commission Court the Pilloring and Cutting off Mens Ears Mr. Burtons Mr. Prins and Dr. Bastwicks for speaking against the Bishops the putting down Lectures and Afternoon Sermons and Expositions on the Lord's Days with such other things which they thought of greater weight than Ship-money But because these later agreed with the former in the Vindication of the Peoples Propriety and Liberties the former did the easilier concur with them against the Proceedings of the Bishops and High Commission Court And as soon as their Inclination was known to the People all Countreys sent in their Complaints and Petitions It was presently known how many Ministers Bishop Wren and others of them had suspended and silenced how many thousand Families had been driven to flie into Holland and how many thousand into New-England Scarce a Minister had been Silenced that was alive but it was put into a Petition Mr. Peter Smart of Durham and Dr. Layton a Scotch Physician who wrote a Book called Sion's Plea against the Prelates were released out of their long Imprisonment Mr. Burton Mr. Prin and Dr. Bastwick who as is said had been pillored and their Ears cut off and they sent into a supposed perpetual Imprisonment into the distant Castles of Gernsey Iersey and Carnarvon were all set free and Damages voted them for their wrong And when they came back to London they were met out of the City by abundance of the Citizens with such Acclamations as could not but seem a great Affront to the King and be much displeasing to him The Lord Keeper Finch and Secretary Windebank fled beyond Sea and saved themselves The guilty Judges were deeply accused and some of them imprisoned for the Cause of Ship-money But the great Displeasure was against the Lord Deputy Wentworth and Archbishop Laud Both these were sent to the Tower and a Charge drawn up against them and managed presently against the Lord Deputy by the ablest Lawyers and Gentlemen of the House This held them work a considerable time The King was exceeding unwilling to consent unto his death and therefore used all his skill to have drawn off the Parliament from so hot a Prosecution of him And now began the first Breach among themselves For the Lord Falkland the Lord Digby and divers other able Men were for the sparing of his Life and gratifying the King and not putting him on a thing so much displeasing to him The rest said If after the Attempt of Subverting the Fundamental Laws and Liberties no one Man shall suffer Death it will encourage others hereafter to the like The Londoners petitioned for Iustice And too great numbers of Apprentices and others being imboldened by the Proceedings of the Parliament and not fore-knowing what a Fire the Sparks of their temerity would kindle did too triumphingly and disorderly urge the Parliament crying Iustice Iustice. And it is not unlikely that some of the Parliament-men did encourage them to this as thinking that some backward Members would be quickned by Popular Applause And withal to work on the Members also by disgrace some insolent Painter did seditiously draw the Pictures of the chief of them that were for saving the Lord Deputy and called them the Straffordians he being Earl of Strafford and hang'd them with their Heels upward on the Exchange Though it cannot be expected that in so great a City there should be no Persons so indiscreet as to commit such disorderly Actions as these yet no sober Men should countenance them or take part with them whatever ends might be pretended or intended The King called these Tumults the Parliament called them the Cities Petitioning Those that connived at them were glad to see the People of their mind in the main and thought it would do much to facilitate their Work and hold the looser Members to their Cause For though the House was unanimous enough in condemning Ship-money and the Et caetera Oath and the Bishops Innovations c. yet it was long doubtful which side would have the major Vote in the matter of the Earl of Strafford's Death and such other Acts as were most highly displeasing to the King But disorderly means do generally bring forth more Disorders and seldom attain any good end for which they are used § 28. The Parliament also had procured the King to consent to several Acts which were of great importance and emboldened the People by confirming their Authority As an Act against the High Commission Court and Church-mens Secular or Civil Power and an Act that this Parliament should not be dissolved till its own Consent alledging that the dissolving of Parliaments emboldened Delinquents and that Debts and Disorders were so great that they could not be overcome by them in a little time Also an Act for Triennial Parliaments And the People being confident that all these were signed by the King full sore against his will and that he abhorred what was done did think that the Parliament which had constrained him to this much could carry it still in what they pleased and so grew much more regardful of the Parliament and sided with them not only for their Cause and their own Interest but also as supposing them the stronger side which the Vulgar are still apt to follow § 29. But to return to my own matters This Parliament among other parts of their Reformation resolved to reform the corrupted Clergy and appointed a Committee to receive Petitions and Complaints against them which was no sooner understood but multitudes in all Countreys came up with Petitions against their Ministers The King and Parliament were not yet divided but concurred and so no partaking in their Differences was any part of the Accusation of these Ministers till long after when the Wars had given the occasion and then that also came into their Articles but before it was only matter of Insufficiency false Doctrine illegal Innovations or Scandal that was brought in against them Mr. Iohn White being the Chair-man of the Committee for Scandalous Ministers as it was called published in print one Century first of Scandalous Ministers with their Names Places and the Articles proved against them where so much ignorance insufficiency drunkenness filthiness c. was charged on them that many moderate men could have wished that their Nakedness had been rather hid and not exposed to the Worlds derision and that they had remembred that the Papists did stand by and would make sport of it Another Century also was after published Among all these Complainers the Town of Kederminster in Worcestershire drew up a Petition against their Ministers The Vicar of the place they Articled against as one that was utterly insufficient for the Ministry presented by a Papist unlearned preached but once a quarter which was so weakly as exposed him to laughter and perswaded them that he understood not the very Substantial Articles of
in to the King's Standard whereas the Londoners quickly fill'd up a gallant Army for the Earl of Essex and the Citizens abundantly brought in their Money and Plate yea the Women their Rings to Guildhall to pay the Army Hereupon the King sent to the Parliament from Nottingham the Offer of a Treaty with some General Proposals which in my Opinion was the likeliest Opportunity that ever the Parliament had for a full and safe Agreement and the King seemed very serious in it and the lowness of his Condition upon so much Trial of his People was very like to have wrought much with him But the Parliament was perswaded that he did it but to get time to fill up his Army and to hinder their Proceedings and therefore accepted not of his Offer for a Treaty but instead of it sent him Nineteen Proposals of their own viz. That if he would Disband his Army come to his Parliament give up Delinquents to a Legal Course of Justice c. he should find them dutiful c. And the King published an Answer to these Nineteen Propositions in which he affirmeth the Government to be mixt having in it the best of Monarchy Aristocracy and Democracy and that the Legislative Power is in the King Lords and Commons conjunct and that the Lords are a sufficient skreen to hinder the King from wronging the Commons and to keep off Tyranny c. And he adhereth only to the Law which giveth him the power of the Militia Out of this Answer of the King 's to these Nineteen Proposals some one drew up a Political Catechism wherein the Answers of every Question were verbatim the words of the King's Declaration as if therein he had fully justified the Parliaments Cause The great Controversie now was the present power of the Militia The King said that the Supreme Executive Power and particularly the Power of the Militia did belong to him and not to the Parliament and appealed to the Law The Parliament pleaded that as the Execution of Justice against Delinquents did belong to him but this he is bound by Law to do by his Courts of Justice and their Executions are to be in his Name and by a Stat. Edw. 3. if the King by the Little Seal or the Great Seal forbid a Judge in Court to perform his Office he is nevertheless to go on Also that for the Defence of his Kingdoms against their Enemies the Militia is in his power but not at all against his Parliament and People whom Nature it self forbiddeth to use their Swords against themselves And they alledged most the present danger of the Kingdoms Ireland almost lost Scotland disturbed England threatned by the Irish and the Ruine of the Parliament sought by Delinquents whom they said the King through evil Counsel did protect And that they must either secure the Militia or give up the Protestant Religion the Laws and Liberties of the Land and their own Necks to the Will of Papists and Delinquents § 49. And because it is my purpose here not to write a full History of the Calamities and Wars of those Times but only to remember such Generals with the Reasons and Connexion of Things as may best make the state of those Times understood by them that knew it not personally themselves I shall here annex a brief Account of the Country's Case about these Differences not as a Justifier or Detender of the Assertions or Reasons or Actions of either Party which I rehearse but only in faithfulness Historically to relate things as indeed they were And 1. It is of very great moment here to understand the Quality of the Persons which adhered to the King and to the Parliament with their Reasons A great part of the Lords forsook the Parliament and so did many of the House of Commons and came to the King but that was for the most of them after Edghill Fight when the King was at Oxford A very great part of the Knights and Gentlemen of England in the several Counties who were not Parliament Men adhered to the King except in Middlesex Essex Suffolk Norfolk Cambridgeshire c. where the King with his Army never came And could he have got footing there it 's like that it would have been there as it was in other places And most of the Tenants of these Gentlemen and also most of the poorest of the People whom the other called the Rabble did follow the Gentry and were for the King On the Parliaments side were besides themselves the smaller part as some thought of the Gentry in most of the Counties and the greatest part of the Tradesmen and Free-holders and the middle sort of Men especially in those Corporations and Countries which depend on Clothing and such Manufactures If you ask the Reasons of this Difference ask also why in France it is not commonly the Nobility nor the Beggars but the Merchants and middle sort of Men that were Protestants The Reasons which the Party themselves gave was Because say they the Tradesmen have a Correspondency with London and so are grown to be a far more Intelligent sort of Men than the ignorant Peasants that are like Bruits who will follow any that they think the strongest or look to get by And the Freeholders say they were not enslaved to their Landlords as the Tenants are The Gentry say they are wholly by their Estates and Ambition more dependent on the King than their Tenants on them and many of them envied the Honour of the Parliament because they were not chosen Members themselves The other side said That the Reason was because the Gentry who commanded their Tenants did better understand Affairs of State than half-witted Tradesmen and Freeholders do But though it must be confessed That the Publick Safety and Liberty wrought very much with most especially with the Nobility and Gentry who adhered to the Parliament yet was it principally the differences about Religious Matters that filled up the Parliaments Armies and put the Resolution and Valour into their Soldiers which carried them on in another manner than mercenary Soldiers are carried on Not that the Matter of Bishops Or no Bishops was the main thing for Thousands that wished for Good Bishops were on the Parliaments side though many called it Bellum Episcopale And with the Scots that was a greater part of the Controversie But the generality of the People through the Land I say not all or every one who were then called Puritans Precisions Religious Persons that used to talk of God and Heaven and Scripture and Holiness and to follow Sermons and read Books of Devotion and pray in their Families and spend the Lord's Day in Religious Exercises and plead for Mortification and serious Devotion and strict Obedience to God and speak against Swearing Cursing Drunkenness Prophaneness c. I say the main Body of this sort of Men both Preachers and People adhered to the Parliament And on the other side the Gentry that were not so precise and
and silly Preachers whose Performances were so mean that they had better kept to the Reading of the Homilies and many of these were of Scandalous Lives Hereupon the Disciplinarians cried out of the ignorant scandalous Ministers and almost all the scandalous Ministers and all that studied Preferment cried out of the Nonconformists The name Puritan was put upon them and by that they were commonly known when they had been called by that name awhile the vicious Multitude of the Ungodly called all Puritans that were strict and serious in a Holy Life were they ever so conformable So that the same name in a Bishops mouth signified a Nonconformist and in an ignorant Drunkards or Swearers mouth a godly obedient Christian. But the People being the greater number became among themselves the Masters of the Sense And in Spalatensi's time when he was decrying Calvinism he devised the name of Doctrinal Puritans which comprehended all that were against Arminianism Now the ignorant Rabble hearing that the Bishops were against the Puritans not having wit enough to know whom they meant were emboldened the more against all those whom they called Puritans themselves and their Rage against the Godly was increased and they cried up the Bishops partly because they were against the Puritans and partly because they were earnest for that way of Worship which they found most consistent with their Ignorance Carelesness and Sins And thus the Interest of the Diocesans and of the Prophane and Ignorant sort of People were unhappily twisted together in England And then on the other side as all the Nonconformists were against the Prelates so other of the most serious godly People were alienated from them on all these foresaid conjunct Accounts 1. Because they were derided and abused by the Name of Puritans 2. Because the Malignant Sort were permitted to make Religious Persons their common Scorn 3. Because they saw so many insufficient and vicious Men among the Conformable Clergy 4. Because they had a high esteem of the Parts and Piety of most of the Nonconformable Ministers 5. Because they grieved to see so many Excellent Men silenced while so many Thousand were perishing in Ignorance and Sin 6. Because though they took the Liturgy to be lawful yet a more orderly serious Scriptural way of Worship was much more pleasing to them 7. Because Fasting and Praying and other Exercises which they found much benefit by were so strictly lookt after that the High Commission and the Bishops Courts did make it much more perillous than common Swearing and Drunkenness proved to the Ungodly 8. Because the Book that was published for Recreations on the Lord's Day made them think that the Bishops concurred with the Prophane 9. Because Afternoon Sermons and Lectures though by Conformable Men began to be put down in divers Counties 10. Because so great a number of Conformable Ministers were suspended or punished for not reading the Book of Sports on Sundays or about Altars or such like and so many Thousand Families and many worthy Ministers driven out of the Land 11. Because when they saw Bowing towards Altars and the other Innovations added they feared worse and knew not where they would end 12. And lastly Because they saw that the Bishops proceeded so far as to swear Men to their whole Government by the Et caetera Oath and that they approved of Ship-money and other such incroachments on their Civil Interests All these upon my own knowledge were the true Causes why so great a number of those Persons who were counted most Religious fell in with the Parliament in England insomuch that the generality of the stricter diligent sort of Preachers joyned with them though not in medling with Arms yet in Judgment and in flying to their Garrisons and almost all those afterwards called Presbyterians were before Conformists Very few of all that Learned and Pious Synod at Westminster were Nonconformists before and yet were for the Parliament supposing that the Interest of Religion lay on that side Yet did they still keep up an honourable esteem of all that they thought Religious on the other side such as Bishop Davenant Bishop Hall Bishop Morton Archbishop Usher c. But as to the generality they went so unanimously the other way that upon my knowledge many that were not wise enough to understand the Truth about the Cause of the King and Parliament did yet run into the Parliaments Armies or take their part as Sheep go together for Company moved by this Argument Sure God will not suffer almost all his most Religious Servants to err in so great a matter And If all these should perish what will become of Religion But these were insufficient Grounds to go upon And abundance of the ignorant sort of the Country who were Civil did flock in to the Parliament and filled up their Armies afterward meerly because they heard Men swear for the Common Prayer and Bishops and heard others pray that were against them and because they heard the King's Soldiers with horrid Oaths abuse the name of God and saw them live in Debauchery and the Parliaments Soldiers flock to Sermons and talking of Religion and praying and singing Psalms together on their Guards And all the sober Men that I was acquainted with who were against the Parliament were wont to say The King hath the better Cause but the Parliament hath the better Men Aud indeed this unhappy Complication of the Interest of Prelacie and Prophaneness and Opposition of the Interest of Prelacie to the Temper of the generality of the Religious Party was the visible Cause of the overthrow of the King in the Eye of all the understanding World that ever was capable of observing it § 50. And whereas the King's Party usually say that it was the seditious Preachers that stirred up the People and were the Cause of all this I answer 1. It is partly true and partly not It is not true that they stirred them up to War except an inconsiderable Number of them one perhaps in a County if so much But it is true that they discovered their dislike of the Book of Sports and bowing to Altars and diminishing Preaching and silencing Ministers and such like and were glad that the Parliament attempted a Reformation of them 2. But then it is as true that almost all these were conformable Ministers the Laws and Bishops having cast out the Nonconformists long enough before insomuch that I know not of two Nonconformists in a County But those that made up the Assembly at Westminster and that through the Land were the Honour of the Parliaments Party were almost all such as had till then conformed and took those things to be lawful in case of necessity but longed to have that necessity removed § 51. When the War was beginning the Parties set Names of Contempt upon each other and also took such Titles to themselves and their own Cause as might be the fittest means for that which they designed The old Names of Puritans
Soldier saith It is my Commission and the High Court of Parliament saith It is the Law declared in a Court of Justice a Parliament seemeth to be the properest Judge As in Controversies of Physick who is to be believed before the Colledge of Physicians Or in Controversies of Religion who before a General Council If the House of York and Lancaster â—ight for the Crown and both Command the Subjects Arms. the poor Peasants are not able to judge of their Titles And if a Parliament shall not judge for them who shall These were the Reasons which caused Men to adhere to the Parliament in this War § 55. For my own part I freely confess that I was not judicious enough in Politicks and Law to decide this Controversie which so many Lawyers and Wise men differed in And I freely confess that being astonished at the Irish Massacre and perswaded fully both of the Parliaments good endeavours for Reformation and of their real danger my Judgment of the main Cause much swayed my Judgment in the Matter of the Wars and the Arguments à fine à natureâ necessitate which common Wits are capable of discerning did too far incline my Judgment in the Cause of the War before I well understood the Arguments from our particular Laws And the Consideration of the Quality of the Parties that sided for each Cause in the Countries did greatly work with me and more than it should have done And I verily thought that if that which a Judge in Court saith sententially is Law must go for Law to the Subject as to the Decision of that Cause though the King send his Broad Seal against it then that which the Parliament saith is Law is Law to the Subjects about the Dangers of the Common-wealth whatever it be in it self and that if the King's Broad-Seal cannot prevail against the Judge much less against their Judgment I make no doubt but both Parties were to blame as it commonly falleth out in most Wars and Contentions and I will not be he that shall Justifie either of them I doubt not but the Headiness and Rashness of the younger unexperienced sort of religious People made many Parliament Men and Ministers overgo themselves to keep pace with those hot Spurs no doubt but much Indiscretion appeared and worse than Indiscretion in the tumultuous Petitioners and much Sin was committed in the dishonouring of the King and provocation of him and in the uncivil Language against the Bishops and Liturgie of the Church But these things came principally from the Sectarian separating Spirit which blew the Coals among foolish Apprentices And as the Sectaries increased so did this Insolence increase I have my self been in London when they have on the Lord's Days stood at the Church Doors while the Common Prayer was reading saying We must stay till he is out of his Pottage And such unchristian Scorns and Jests did please young inconsiderate Wits that knew not what Spirit they were of nor whither such unwarrantate things did tend Learned Mr. Iohn Ball though a Nonconformist discerned the stirrings of this insolent Sectarian Spirit betimes and fell a writing against it even then when some were crying out of Persecution and others were tender of such little Differences One or two in the House and five or six Ministers that came from Holland and a few that were scattered in the City which were the Brownists Relicts did drive on others according to their own dividing Principles and sowed the Seeds which afterward spread over all the Land though then there were very few of them in the Countreys even next to none As Bishop Hall speaks against the justifying of the Bishops so do I against justifying the Parliament Ministers or City I believe many unjustifiable things were done but I think that few Men among them all were the Doers or Instigaters of it But I then thought that whosoever was faulty the Peoples Liberties and Safety could not be forfeited And I thought that all the Subjects were not guilty of all the Faults of King or Parliament when they defended them Yea that if both their Causes had been bad as against each other yet that the Subjects should adhere to that Party which most secured the welfare of the Nation and might defend the Land under their Conduct without owning all their Cause And herein I confess I was then so zealous that I thought it a great Sin for Men that were able to defend their Country to be Neuters And I have been tempted since to think that I was a more competent Judge upon the Place when all things were before our eyes than I am in the review of those Days and Actions so many Years after when Distance disadvantageth the Apprehension A Writer against Cromwel's Decimation recanting his great Adherence to the Parliament in that War yet so abhorreth Neutrality that he likeneth him rather to a Dog than a Man that could stand by when his Country was in such a case But I confess for my part I have not such censorious Thoughts of those that then were Neuters as formerly I have had For he that either thinketh both sides raised an unlawful War or that could not tell which if either was in the right might well be excused if he defended neither I was always satisfied 1. That the Dividers of the King and Parliament were the Traitors whoever they were and that the Division tended to the Dissolution of the Government 2. And that the Authority and Person of the King were inviolable out of the reach of just Accusation Judgment or Execution by Law as having no Superiour and so no Judge 3. I favoured the Parliaments Cause as they professed 1. To bring Delinquents to a Legal Trial 2. And to preserve the Person and Government of the King by a Conjunction with his Parliament But Matters that Warrs and Blood are any way concerned in are so great and tenderly to be handled that I profess to the World that I dare not I will not justifie any thing that others or I my self have done of any such consequence But though I never hurt the Person of any Man yet I resolve to pray daily and earnestly to God that he will reveal to me whatever I have done amiss and not suffer me through Ignorance to be impenitent and would forgive me both my known and unknown Sins and cleanse this Land from the Guilt of Blood § 56. Having inserted this much of the Case of History of those Times I now proceed to the Relation of the Passages of my own Life beginning where I left When I was at Kidderminster the Parliament made an Order for all the People to take a Protestation to defend the King's Person Honour and Authority the Power and Priviledges of Parliaments the Liberties of the Subject and the Protestant Religion against the common Enemy meaning the Papists the Irish Massacre and Threatnings occasioning this Protestation I obeyed them in joyning with the Magistrate in offering
very young but that could not be helpt because there were no other to be had The Parliament could not make Men Learned nor Godly but only put in the learnedest and ablest that they could have And though it had been to be wisht that they might have had leisure to ripen in the Universities yet many of them did as Ambrose teach and learn at once so successfully as that they much increased in Learning themselves whilst they prosited others and proportionably more than many in the Universities do § 118. To return from this Digression to the Proceedings of Cromwell when he was made Lord Protector he had the Policy not to detect and exasperate the Ministers and others that consented not to his Government having seen what a stir the Engagement had before made but he let Men live quietly without putting any Oaths of Fidelity upon them except his Parliaments for those must not enter the House till they had sworn Fidelity to him The Sectarian Party in his Army and elsewhere he chiefly trusted to and pleased till by the Peoples submission and quietness he thought himself well settled And then he began to undermine them and by degrees to work them out And though he had so often spoken for the Anabaptists now he findeth them so heady and so much against any settled Government and so set upon the promoting of their Way and Party that he doth not only begin to blame their unruliness but also designeth to settle himself in the Peoples Favour by suppressing them In Ireland they were grown so high that the Soldiers were many of them re-baptized as the way to Preferment and those that opposed them they crusht with much uncharitable Fierceness To suppress these he sent thither his Son Henry Cromwell who so discountenanced the Anabaptists as yet to deal civilly by them repressing their Insolencies but not abusing them or dealing hardly with them promoting the Work of the Gospel and setting up good and sober Ministers and dealing civilly with the Royallists and obliging all so that he was generally beloved and well spoken of And Major General Ludlow who headed the Anabaptists in Ireland was fain to draw in his head In England Cromwell connived at his old Friend Harrison while he made himself the Head of the Anabaptists and Fanaticks here till he saw it would be an applauded acceptable thing to the Nation to suppress him and then he doth it easily in a trice and maketh him contemptible who but yesterday thought himself not much below him The same he doth also as easily by Lambert and layeth him by § 119. In these times especially since the Rump reigned sprang up five Sects at least whose Doctrines were almost the same but they sell into several Shapes and Names 1. The Vanists 2. The Seekers 3. The Ranters 4. The Quakers 5. The Behmenists 1. The Vanists for I know not by what other Name to make them known who were Sir Henry Vane's Disciples first sprang up under him in new England when he was Governor there But their Notions were then raw and undigested and their Party quickly confounded by God's Providence as you may see in a little Book of Mr. Tho. Welds of the Rise and Fall of Antinomianism and Familism in New-England where their Opinions and these Providences are recorded by him that was a reverend Minister there One Mrs. Dyer a chief Person of the Sect did first bring forth a Monster which had the Parts of almost all sorts of living Creatures some Parts like Man but most ugly and misplaced and some like Beasts Birds and Fishes having Horns Fins and Claws and at the Birth of it the Bed shook and the Women present fell a Vomiting and were fain to go forth of the Room Mr. Cotton was too favourable to them till this helpt to recover him Mrs. Hutchinson the chief Woman among them and their Teacher to whose Exercises a Congregation of them used to assemble brought forth about 30 mishapen Births or Lumps at once and being banished into another Plantation was killed there by the Indians Sir Henry Vane being Governor and found to be the secret Fautor and Life of their Cause was fain to steal away by Night and take Shipping for England before his Year of Government was at an end But when he came over into England he proved an Instrument of greater Calamity to a People more sinful and more prepared for God's Judgments Being chosen a Parliament man he was very active at first for the bringing of Delinquents to Punishment He was the Principal Man that drove on the Parliament to go too high and act too vehemently against the King Being of very ready Parts and very great Subtilty and unwearied Industry he laboured and not without Success to win others in Parliament City and Country to his Way When the Earl of Strafford was accused he got a Paper out of his Father's Cabinet who was Secretary of State which was the chief Means of his Condemnation To most of our Changes he was that Within the House which Cromwell was without His great Zeal to drive all into War and to the highest and to cherish the Sectaries and especially in the Army made him above all Men to be valued by that Party His Unhappiness lay in this that his Doctrines were so clowdily formed and expressed that few could understand them and therefore he had but few true Disciples The Lord Brook was slain before he had brought him to Maturity Mr. Sterry is thought to be of his Mind as he was his Intimate but he hath not opened himself in writing and was so famous for Obscurity in Preaching being said Sir Benj. Rudiard too high for this World and too low for the other that he thereby proved almost Barren also and Vanity and Sterility were never more happily conjoined Mr. Sprig is the chief of his more open Disciples too well known by a Book of his Sermons This Obscurity by some was imputed to his not understanding himself but by others to design because he could speak plainly when he listed the two Courses in which he had most Success and spake most plainly were His earnest Plea for universal Liberty of Conscience and against the Magistrates intermedling with Religion and his teaching his Followers to revile the Ministry calling them ordinarily Blackcoats Priests and other Names which then savoured of Reproach and those Gentlemen that adhered to the Ministry they said were Priest-ridden When Cromwell had served himself by him as his surest Friend as long as he could and gone as far with him as their way lay together Vane being for a Fanatick Democracie and Cromwell for Monarchy at last there was no Remedy but they must part and when Cromwell cast out the Rump as disdainfully as Men do Excrements he called Vane a Jugler and Martin a Whoremonger to excuse his usage of the rest as is aforesaid When Vane was thus laid by he wrote his Book called The retired Man's Meditations
did before possess as far as I can learn from History Sure I am that when it became a matter of Reputation and Honour to be Godly it abundantly furthered the Successes of the Ministry Yea and I shall add this much more for the sake of Posterity that as much as I have said and written against Licentiousness in Religion and for the Magistrates Power in it and though I think that Land most happy whose Rulers use their Authority for Christ as well as for the Civil Peace yet in Comparison of the rest of the World I shall think that Land happy that hath but bare Liberty to be as good as they are willing to be and if Countenance and Maintenance be but added to Liberty and tollerated Errors and Sects be but forced to keep the Peace and not to oppose the Substantials of Christianity I shall not hereafter much fear such Toleration nor despair that Truth will bear down Adversaries 5. Another Advantage which I found was that Acceptation of my Person which Bishop Morley and Dean Warmstry so vehemently dissuaded them from in vain Though to win Estimation and Love to our selves only be an end that none but proud Men and Hypocrites intend yet it is most certain that the Gratefulness of the Person doth ingratiate the Message and greatly prepareth the People to receive the Truth Had they taken me to be Ignorant Erroneous Scandalous Worldly Self-seeking or such like I could have expected small Success among them 6. Another Advantage which I had was by the Zeal and Diligence of the Godly People of the Place who thirsted after the Salvation of their Neighbours and were in private my Assistants and being dispersed through the Town were ready in almost all Companies to repress seducing Words and to justify Godliness and convince reprove exhort Men according to their needs as also to teach them how to pray and to help them to sanctifie the Lord's Day For those People that had none in their Families who could pray or repeat the Sermons went to their next Neighbour's House who could do it and joined with them so that Some House of the ablest Men in each Street were filled with them that could do nothing or little in their own 7. And the holy humble blameless Lives of the Religious sort was a great Advantage to me The malicious People could not say your Professors here are as proud and covetous as any But the blameless Lives of godly People did shame Opposers and put to Silence the Ignorance of foolish Men and many were won by their good Conversation 8. And our Unity and Concord was a great Advantage to us and our freedom from those Sects and Heresies which many other Places were infected with We had no private Church though we had private Meetings we had not Pastor against Pastor nor Church against Church nor Sect against Sect nor Christian against Christian. There was none that had any odd Opinions of his own or censured his Teacher as erronious nor questioned his Call At Bewdley there was a Church of Anabaptists at Worcester the Independents gathered theirs But we were all of one Mind and Mouth and Way Not a Separatist Anabaptist Antinomian c. in the Town One Journeyman Shoemaker turned Anabaptist but he left the Town upon it and went among them When People saw diversity of Sects and Churches in any Place it greatly hindred their Conversion and they were at a loss and knew not what Party to be of or what Way to go and therefore would be of no Religion at all and perhaps derided them all whom they saw thus disagreed But they had no such Offence or Objection there they could not ask which Church or Party shall I be of for we were all but as one Nay so Modest were the ablest of the People that they never were inclined to a preaching way nor to make Ostentation of their Parts but took warning by the Pride of others and thought they had teaching enough by their Pastors and that it was better for them to bestow their Labour in digesting that than in Preaching themselves 9. And our private Meetings were a marvellous help to the propagating of Godliness among them for thereby Truths that slipt away were recalled and the seriousness of the Peoples minds renewed and good desires cherished and hereby their knowledge was much increased and here the younger sort learned to pray by frequent hearing others And here I had opportunity to know their Case for if any were touched and awakened in publick I should presently see him drop in to our private Meetings Hereby also idle meetings and loss of time was prevented And so far were we from being by this in danger of Schism or Divisions that it was the principal means to prevent them For here I was usually present with them answering their Doubts and silencing Objections and moderating them in all And some Private Meeting 's I found they were exceeding much inclined to and if I had not allowed them such as were lawful and profitable they would have been ready to run to such as were unlawful and hurtful And by encouraging them here in the fit exercise of their parts in Repetition Prayer and asking Questions I kept them from inclining to the disorderly exercise of them as the Sectaries do We had no Meetings in opposition to the Publick Meetings but all in subordination to them and under my over-sight and guidance which proved a way profitable to all 10. Another thing which advantaged us was some publick Disputations which we had with Gainsayers which very much confirmed the People The Quakers would fain have got entertainment and set up a Meeting in the Town and frequently railed at me in the Congregation But when I had once given them leave to meet in the Church for a Dispute and before the People had opened their deceits and shame none would entertain them more nor did they get one Proselyte among us Before that Mr. Iohn Tombes being Lecturer of Bewdley two miles off us who was reputed the most Learned and able Anabaptist in England we kept fair Correspondence for a long time and I studiously avoided all Debates with him about Infant Baptism till at last he forced me to it as I shall shew further anon And after one days Dispute with him of Bewdley my Hearers were more setled and the course of his Infection stopt How mean soever my own Abilities were yet I had still the advantage of a good Cause and thereby easily opened the vanity of all Pretenders Deceivers and Dividers that came among us 11. Another advantage was the great honesty and diligence of my Assistants When I came first to Kidderminster after the Wars I found Mr. Richard Sergeant there received as their Preacherâ— whom they took in a Case of Necessity when they could get no other I found him very honest but of no extraordinary Learning and of no taking utterance so that some that were more for Learing than
Churches Good must be first regarded As to the other Question Why we dealt not thus by all the Parish and took them not all for Members without question We knew some Papists and Infidels that were no Members We knew that the People would have thought themselves wronged more to be thus brought under Discipline without and against their own Consent than to 〈◊〉 them to withdraw And we thought it not a Business â—it for the unwilling â—â—â—â—ually at such a time as that But especially I knew that it was like to be their utter undoing by hardening them into utter Enmity against the means that should recover them And I never yet saw any signs of hope in any Excommunicate Person unless as they are yet men and capable of what God will do upon them except one that humbled himself and begged Absolution Now either Discipline is to be exercised according to Christ's Rule or not If not then the Church is no purer a Society as to its Orders than those of Infidels and Pagans but Christ must be disobeyed and his House of Prayer made a Den of Thieves If yea then either impartially upon all obstinate impenitent Sinners according to Christ's Rule or but on some If but on some only it will be a Judgment of Partiality and Unrighteousness whereas where there is the same Cause there must usually be the same Penalty If on all then the multitude of the Scandalous in almost all places is so great and the Effects of Excommunication so dreadful that it would tend to damning of multitudes of Souls which being contrary to the design of the Gospel is not to be taken for the Will of Christ we have our Power to Edification and not to Destruction A few in case of necessity may be punished though to their hurt for the good of all but multitudes must not be so used Indeed a Popish Interdict or mock Excommunication by the Sentence of a Prelate or Lay-Chancellour may pass against multitudes and have no considerable Effect but as it is enforced by the Sword But the Word of God is quick and powerful and when it is thus personally applyed in the Sentencing of a guilty obstinate Sinner doth one way or other work more effectually Therefore in this difficulty there can be but two Remedies devised One is with the Anabaptists to leave Infants unbaptized that so they may not be taken into the Church till they are fit for the Orders of the Church But this is injurious to Infants and against the will of God and hath more inconveniences than benefits Though for my part as much as I have wrote against them I wish that it were in the Church now as it was in the days of Tertullian Nazianzen and Austin where no man was compelled to bring his Infants to Baptism but all left to their own time For then some as Augustine c. were baptized at full Age and some in Infancy The second therefore is the only just and safe Remedy which is That by the due performance of Confirmation there may be a Soleman Transition out of the state of Infant Church-Membership into the state of Adult Church-Membership and due qualifications therein required and that the unfit may till then be left inter Auditores without the Priviledges proper to Adult Members of which I have fully written in my Book of Confirmation 26. Another Advantage which I found to my Success was by ordering my Doctrine to them in a suitableness to the main end and yet so as might suit their Dispositions and Diseases The thing which I daily opened to them and with greatest importunity laboured to imprint upon their minds was the great Fundamental Principles of Christianity contained in their Baptismal Covenant even a right knowledge and belief of and subjection and love to God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and Love to all Men and Concord with the Church and one another I did so daily inculcate the Knowledge of God our Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier and Love and Obedience to God and Unity with the Church Catholick and Love to Men and Hope of Life Eternal that these were the matter of their daily Cogitations and Discourses and indeed their Religion And yet I did usually put in something in my Sermon which was above their own discovery and which they had not known before and this I did that they might be kept humble and still perceive their ignorance and be willing to keep in a learning state For when Preachers tell their People of no more than they know and do not shew that they excel them in Knowledge and easily over-top them in Abilities the People will be tempted to turn Preachers themselves and think that they have learnt all that the Ministers can teach them and are as wise as they and they will be apt to contemn their Teachers and wrangle with all their Doctrines and set their Wits against them and hear them as Censurers and not as Disciples to their own undoing and to the disturbance of the Church and they will easily draw Disciples after them The bare Authority of the Clergy will not serve the turn without over-topping Ministerial Abilities And I did this also to increase their Knowledge and also to make Religion pleasant to them by a daily addition to their former Light and to draw them on with desire and Delight But these things which they did not know before were not unprofitable Controversies which tended not to Edification nor Novelties in Doctrine contrary to the Universal Church but either such Points as tended to illustrate the great Doctrines before-mentioned or usually about the right methodizing of them The opening of the true and profitable method of the Creed or Doctrine of Faith the Lord's Prayer or Matter of our Desires and the Ten Commandments or Law of Practice which afford matter to add to the knowledge of most Professors of Religion a long time And when that is done they must be led on still further by degrees as they are capable but so as not to leave the weak behind and so as shall still be truly subservient to the great Points of Faith Hope and Love Holiness and Unity which must be still inculcated as the beginning and the end of all 27. Another help to my Success was that my People were not Rich There were among them very few Beggers because their common Trade of Stuff-weaving would find work for all Men Women and Children that were able And there were none of the Trades-men very rich seeing their Trade was poor that would but find them Food and Raiment The Magistrates of the Town were few of them worth 40 l. per An. and most not half so much Three or four of the Richest thriving Masters of the Trade got but about 500 or 600 l. in twenty years and it may be lose 100 l. of it at once by an ill Debtor The generality of the Master Workmen lived but a little better than their
sporting with them but he thought Secrecy a Vertue and Dissimulation no Vice and Simulation that is in plain English a Lie or Perfidiousness to be a tollerable Fault in a Case of Necessity being of the same Opinion with the Lord Bacon who was not so Precise as Learned That the best Composition and Temperature is to have openness in Fame and Opinion Secrecy in habit Dissimulation in seasonable use and a power to feign if there be no remedy Essay 6. pag. 31. Therefore he kept fair with all saving his open or unreconcileable Enemies He carried it with such Dissimulation that Anabaptists Independants and Antinomians did all think that he was one of them But he never endeavoured to perswade the Presbyterians that he was one of them but only that he would do them Justice and Preserve them and that he honoured their Worth and Piety for he knew that they were not so easily deceived In a word he did as our Prelates have done begin low and rise higher in his Resolutions as his Condition rose and the Promises which he made in his lower Condition he used as the interest of his higher following Condition did require and kept up as much Honesty and Godliness in the main as his Cause and Interest would allow but there they left him And his Name standeth as a monitory Monument or Pillar to Posterity to tell them The instability of Man in strong Temptations if God leave him to himself what great Success and Victories can do to lift up a Mind that once seemed humble what Pride can do to make Man selfish and corrupt the Heart with ill designs what selfishness and ill designs can do to bribe the Conscience and corrupt the Iudgment and make men justifie the greatest Errours and Sins and set against the clearest Truth and Duty what Bloodshed and great Enormities of Life an Erring deluded Judgment may draw Men to and patronize and That when God hath dreadful Judgments to execute an Erroneous Sectary or a proud Self-seeker is oftner his Instrument than an humble Lamb-like innocent Saint § 145. Cromwell being dead his Son Richard by his Will and Testament and the Army was quietly setled in his place while all Men look'd that they should presently have fallen into Confusion and Discord among themselves the Counties Cities and Corporations of England send up their Congratulations to own him as Protector But none of us in Worcestershire save the Independants medled in it He interred his Father with great Pomp and Solemnity He called a Parliament and that without any such Restraints as his Father had used The Members took the Oath of Fidelity or Allegiance to him at the Door of the House before they entred And all Men wondred to see all so quiet in so dangerous a Time Many sober Men that called his Father no better than a Trayterous Hypocrite did begin to think that they owed him Subjection They knew that the King was by Birth their Rightful Sovereign and resolved to do their best while there was hopes to introduce him and defend him But they were astonished at the marvellous Providences of god which had been against that Family all along and they thought that there was no rational probability of his Restoration having seen so many Armies and Risings and Designs overthrown which were raised or undertaken for it They thought that it is not left to our liberty whether we will have a Government or not but that Government is of Divine Appointment and the Family Person or Species is but of a subservient less necessary determination And that if we cannot have him that we would have it followeth not that we may be without That twelve years time from the Death of the last King was longer than the Land could be without a Governour without the Destruction of the Common Good which is the End of Government Therefore that the Subjects seeing they are unable to restore the King must consent to another That the House of Commons having sworn Allegiance to him have actually subjected the Nation to him And though his Father Trayterously made the Change yet the Successor of a Traytor may by the Peoples consent become a Governour whom each Individual must acknowledge by Subjection That the Bishops and Churches both of East and West as all History sheweth have professed their Subjection to Usurpers in a far shorter time and upon lighter Reasons That this Man having never had any hand in the War but supposed to be for the King nor ever seeking for the Government and now seeming to own the Sober Party was like to be used in the healing of the Land c. Such Reasonings as these began to take with the minds of many to subject themselves quietly to this Man though they never did it to his Father as now despairing of the Restitution of the King And I confess such Thoughts were somewhat prevalent with my self But God quickly shewed us the root of our Errour which was our limiting the Almighty as if that were hard to him that was impossible to us So that the Restoration of the King which we thought next impossible was accomplished in a trice And we saw that twelve or eighteen years is not long enough to wait on God The Army set up Richard Cromwell it seemeth upon Tryal resolving to use him as he behaved himself And though they swore Fidelity to him they meant to keep it no longer than he pleased them And when they saw that he began to favour the sober People of the Land to honour Parliaments and to respect the Ministers whom they called Presbyterians they presently resolved to make him know his Masters and that it was they and not he that were called by God to be the chief Protectors of the Interest of the Nation He was not so formidable to them as his Father was and therefore every one boldly spurned at him The Fifth Monarchy Men followed Sir Henry Vane and raised a great and violent clamorous Party against him among the Sectaries in the City Rogers and Feake and such like Firebrands preach them into Fury and blow the Coales But Dr. Owen and his Assistants did the main Work He gathereth a Church at at Lieutenant General Fleetwood's Quarters at Wallingford House consisting of the active Officers of the Army this Church-gathering hath been the Church◠scattering Project In this Assembly it was determined that Richard's Parliament must be dissolved and then he quickly fell himself Though he never abated their Liberties or their Greatness yet did he not sufficiently befriend them Dictum factum almost as quickly done as determined Though Col. Richard Ingolsby and some others would have stuck to the Protector and have ventured to surprise the Leaders of the Faction and the Parliament would have been true to him yet Berry's Regiment of Horse and some others were presently ready to have begun the Fray against him and as he sought not the Government he was resolved it should cost no
the several Articles which I did in a small Book called Christian Concord In which I gave the reasons why the Episcopal Presbyterians and Independants might and should unite on such Terms without any change of any of their Principles But I confess that the new Episcopal Party that follow Grotius too far and deny the very being of all the Ministers and Churches that have not Diocesan Bishops are not capable of Union with the rest upon such Terms And hereby I gave notice to the Gentry and others of the Royalists in England of the great danger they were in of changing their Ecclesiastical Cause by following new Leaders that were for Grotianism But this Admonition did greatly offend the Guilty who now began to get the Reins though the old Episcopal Protestants confessed it to be all true There is nothing bringeth greater hatred and sufferings on a Man than to foreknow the mischief that Men in power are doing and intend and to warn the World of it For while they are resolutely going on with it they will proclain him a Slanderer that revealeth it and use him accordingly and never be ashamed when they have done it and thereby declared all which he foretold to be true § 170. 15. Having in the Postscript of my True Catholick given a short touch against a bitter Book of Mr. Thomas Pierce's against the Puritans and me it pleased him to write another Volume against Mr. Hickman and me just like the Man full of malignant bitterness against Godly men that were not of his Opinion and breathing out blood-thirsty malice in a very Rhetorical fluent style Abundance of Lies also are in it against the old Puritans as well as against me and in particular in charging Hacket's Villany upon Cartwright as a Confederate which I instance in because I have out of old Mr. Ash's Library a Manuscript of Mr. Cartwright's containing his full Vindication against that Calumny which some would fain have fastened on him in his time But Mr. Pierce's principal business was to defend Grotius In answer to which I wrote a little Treatise called The Grotian Religion discovered at the Invitation of Mr. Thomas Pierce In which I cited his own words especially out of his Discussio Apologetici Rivetaini wherein he openeth his Terms of Reconciliation with Rome viz. That it be acknowledged the Mistress Church and the Pope have his Supream Government but not Arbitrary but only according to the Canons To which end he defendeth the Council of Trent it self Pope Pius's Oath and all the Councils which is no other than the French sort of Popery I had not then heard of the Book written in France called Grotius Papizans nor of Sarravius's Epistles in which he witnesseth it from his own mouth But the very words which I cited contain an open Profession of Popery This Book the Printer abused printing every Section so distant to fill up Paper as if they had been several Chapters And in a Preface before it I vindicated the Synod of Dort where the Divines of England were chief Members from the abusive virulent Accusations of one that called himself Tilenus junior Hereupon Pierce wrote a much more railing malicious Volume than the former the liveliest Express of Satan's Image malignity bloody malice and falshood covered in handsome railing Rhetorick that ever I have seen from any that called himself a Protestant And the Preface was answered just in the same manner by one that stiled himself Philo-Tilenus Three such Men as this Tilenus junior Pierce and Gunning I have not heard of besides in England Of the Jesuites Opinion in Doctrinals and of the old Dominican Complexion the ablest Men that their Party hath in all the Land of great diligence in study and reading of excellent Oratory especially Tilenus junior and Pierce of temperate Lives but all their Parts so sharpened with furious persecuting Zeal against those that dislike Arminianism high Prelacy or full Conformity that they are like the Briars and Thorns which are not to be handled but by a fenced hand and breathe out Tereatnings against God's Servants better than themselves and seem unsatisfied with blood and ruines and still cry Give Give bidding as lowd defiance to Christian Charity as ever Arrius or any Heretick did to Faith This Book of mine of the Grotian Religion greatly offended many others but none of them could speak any Sence against it the Citations for Matter of Fact being unanswerable And it was only the Matter of Fact which I undertook viz. To prove that Grotius profest himself a moderate Papist But for his fault in so doing I little medled with it § 171. 16. Mr. Blake having replye to some things in my Apology especially about Right to Sacraments or the just subject of Baptism and the Lord's Supper I wrote five Disputations on those Points proving that it is not the reality of a Dogmatical or Justifying Faith nor yet the Profession of bare Assent called a Dogmatical Faith by many but only the Profession of a Saving Faith which is the Condition of Mens title to Church-Communion Coram Ecclèsiâ and that Hypocrites are but Analogically or Equivocally called Christians and Believers and Saints c. with much more to decide the most troublesome Controversie of that Time which was about the Necessary Qualification and Title of Church-Members and Communicants Many men have been perplexed about that Point and that Book Some think it cometh too near the Independants and some that it is too far from them and many think it very hard that A Credible Profession of True Faith and Repentance should be made the stated Qualification because they think it incredible that all the Jewish Members were such But I have sifted this Point more exactly and diligently in my thoughts than almost any Controversie whatsoever And fain I would have found some other Qualification to take up with 1. Either the Profession of some lower Faith than that which hath the Promise of Salvation 2. Or at least such a Profession of Saving Faith as needeth not to be credible at all c. But the Evidence of Truth hath forced me from all other ways and suffered me to rest no where but here That Profession should be made necessary without any respect at all to Credibility and consequently to the verity of the Faith professed is incredible and a Contradiction and the very word Profession signifieth more And I was forced to observe that those that in Charity would belive another Profession to be the title to Church-Communion do greatly cross their own design of Charity And while they would not be bound to believe men to be what they profess for fear of excluding many whom they cannot believe they do leave themselves and all others as not obliged to love any Church-Member as such with the love which is due to a True Christian but only with such a Love as they owe to the Members of the Devil and so deny them the Kernel of Charity by giving
not prejudiced by partiality against this Book my Key for Catholicks have let me know that it hath not been without Success It being indeed a sufficient Armory for to furnish a Protestant to defend his Religion against all the Assaults of the Papists whatsoever and teacheth him how to answers all their Books The second part doth briefly deal with the French and Grotian Party that are for the Supremacy of a Council at least as to the Legislative Power and sheweth that we never had a general Council nor can it be at all expected § 195. 39. But the Book which hath furnished my Enemies with matter of Reviling which none must dare to answer is my Holy Commonwealth The Occasion of it was this when our Pretorian Sectarian Bands had cut all Bonds and Pull'd down all Government and after the Death of the King had twelve Years kept out his Son few Men saw any probability of his Restitution and every self-conceited Fellow was ready to offer his Model for a new Form of Government Mr. Hobbs his Leviathan had pleased many Mr. Tho. White the great Papist had written his Politicks in English for the Interest of the Protector to prove that Subject ought to submit and subject themselves to such a Change And now Mr. Iames Harrington they say by the help of Mr. H. Nevill had written a Book in Folio for a Democracy called Oceana seriously describing a Form near to the Venetian and setting the People upon the Desires of a Change And after this Sir H. Vane and his Party were about their Sectarian Democratical Model which Stubbs defended and Regars and Needham and Mr. Bagshaw had written against Monarchy before In the end of an Epistle before my Book of Crucifying the World I had spoken a few Words against this Innovation and Opposition to Monarchy and having especially touched upon Oceana and Leviathan Mr. Harrington seemed in a Bethelhem Rage for by way of Scorn he printed half a Sheet of foolish Jeers in such Words as Ideots or Drunkards use railing at Ministers as a Pack of Fools and Knaves and by his gibberish Derision persuading Men that we deserved no other Answer than such Scorn and Nonsense as beseemeth Fools And with most insolent Pride he carried it as if neither I nor any Ministers understood at all what Policy was but prated against we knew not what and had presumed to speak against other Mens Art which he was Master of and his Knowledge to such Ideots as we incomprehensible This made me think it fit having given that General hint against his Oceana to give a more particular Charge and withal to give the World and him an Account of my Political Principles and to shew what I held as well as what I denyed which I did in that Book called Political Aphorisms or A Holy Commonwealth as contrary to his Heathenish Commonwealth In which I plead the Cause of Monarchy as better than Democracy and Aristocracy but as under God the Universal Monarch Here Bishop Morley hath his Matter of Charge against me of which one part is that I spake against Unlimited Monarchy because God himself hath limited all Monarchs If I had said that Laws limit Monarchs I might among some men be thought a Traytor and unexcusable but to say that God limiteth Monarchs I thought had never before been chargeable with Treason or opposed by any that believed that there is a God If they are indeed unlimited in respect of God we have many Gods or no God But now it is dangerous to meddle with these matters Most men say now Let God defend himself In the end of this Book is an Appendix concerning the Cause of the Parliaments first War which was thus occasioned Sir Francis Nethersole a Religious Knight who was against the lawfulness of the War on both sides sent his man to me with Letters to advise me to tell Cromwell of his Usurpation and to counsel him to call in the King of which when I had given him satisfaction he sent him against with more Letters and Books to convince me of the unlawfulness of the Parliament's War And others attempting the same at the same time and the Confusions which the Army had brought upon us being such as made me very much disposed to think ill of those beginnings which had no better an end I thought it best to publish my Detestation and Lamentation for those Rebellious Proceedings of the Army which I did as plainly as could be born both in an Epistle to them and in a Meditation in the end and withal to declare the very Truth that hereby I was made suspicious and doubtful of the beginnings or first Cause but yet was not able to answer the Arguments which the Lawyers of the Parliament then gave and which had formerly inclined me to that side I conconfessed that if men Miscarriages and ill Accidents would warrant me to Condemn the beginnings which were for another Cause then I should have condemned them But that being not the way I found my self yet unable to answer the first Reasons and therefore laid them down together desiring the help of others to answer them professing my own suspicion and my daily prayers to God for just satisfaction And this Paper is it that containeth all my Crimes Against this one Tomkins wrote a Book called The Rebels Plea But I wait in silence till God enlighten us In the beginning of this Book having reprehended the Army I answer a Book of Sir Henry Vane's called The Healing Question It was published when Richard Cromwell was pull'd down and Sir H. Vane's New Commonwealth was forming § 196. 40. About the same time one that called himself W. Iohnson but I hear his Name is Mr. Terret a Papist engaged me in a Controversie about the perpetual visibility of the Church which afterwards I published the story of which you have more at large in the following part of this Book In the latter I inserted a Letter of one Thomas Smyth a Papist with my Answer to it which it seemeth occasioned his recovery from them as is manifest in a Letter of Mr. Thomas Stanley his Kinsman a sober godly man in Breadstreet which I by his own consent subjoyned To this Book Mr. Iohnson hath at last replyed and I have since return'd an Answer to him § 197. 41. Having been desired in the time of our Associations to draw up those Terms which all Christian Churches may hold Communion upon I published them though too late for any such use till God give men better minds that the World might see what our Religion and our Terms of Communion were and that if after Ages prove more peaceable they may have some light from those that went before them It consisteth of three parts The first containeth the Christian Religion which all are positively to profess that is Either to subscribe the Scriptures in general and the ancient Creeds in particular or at most The Confession or Articles annexed e.g.
reason of his distaste to the Earl of Lauderdaile who prest him but to read one of the Books over which he did and so read them all as I have seen many of them marked with his hand and was drawn to over-value them more than the Earl of Lauderdaile Hereupon his Lady reading them also and being a Woman of very strong Love and Friendship with extraordinary Entireness swallowed up in her Husband's Love for the Books sake and her Husband's sake she became a most affectionate Friend to me before she ever saw me While she was in France being zealous for the King's Restoration for whose Cause her Husband had pawned and ruined his Estate by the Earl of Lauderdaile's direction she with Sir Robert Murray got divers Letters from the Pastors and others there to bear witness of the King's sincerity in the Protestant Religion among which there is one to me from Mr. Gaches Her great Wisdom Modesty Piety and Sincerity made her accounted the Saint at the Court. When she came over with the King her extraordinary Respects obliged me to be so often with her as gave me Acquaintance with her Eminency in all the foresaid Vertues She is of solid Understanding in Religion for her Sex and of Prudence much more than ordinary and of great Integrity and Constancy in her Religion and a great Hater of Hypocrisie and faithful to Christ in an unfaithful World and she is somewhat over-much affectionate to her Friend which hath cost her a great deal of Sorrow in the loss of her Husband and since of other special Friends and may cost her more when the rest forsake her as many in Prosperity use to do those that will not forsake their Fidelity to Christ. Her eldest Son the young Earl of Balcarres a very hopeful Youth died of a strange Disease two Stones being found in his Heart of which one was very great Being my constant Auditor and over-respectful Friend I had occasion for the just Praises and Acknowledgments which I have given her which the occasioning of these Books hath caused me to mention § 208. 51. After our Dispute at the Savoy somebody printed our Papers most of them given in to them in that Treaty of which the Petition for Peace the Reformed Liturgy except the Prayer for the King which Dr. W. wrote the large Reply to their Answer of our Exceptions and the two last Addresses were my writing But in the first Proposals and the Exceptions against the Liturgy I had less to do than some others § 209. 52. When the grievous Plague began at London I printed a half-sheet to stick on a Wall for the use of the Ignorant and Ungodly who were sick or in danger of the Sickness for the Godly I thought had less need and would read those large Books which are plentifully among us And I the rather did it because many well-winded People that are about the Sick that are ignorant and unprepared and know not what to say to them may not only read so short a Paper to them but see there in what method such Persons are to be dealt with in such a Case of Extremity that they may themselves enlarge as they see Cause § 210. 53. At that time one Mr. Nathaniel Lane wrote to me to intreat me to write one sheet or two for the use of poor Families who will not buy or read any bigger Books Though I knew that brevity would unavoidably cause me to leave out much necessary matter or else to write in a Stile so concise and close as will be little moving to any but close judicious Readers yet I yielded to his perswasions and thought it might be better than nothing and might be read by many that would read no larger and so I wrote two Sheets for poor Families The first containing the method and motives for the Conversion of the Ungodly The second containing the Description or Character of a true Christian or the necessary Parts of Christian Duty for the direction of Beginners in a Godly Life These three last Sheets were printed by the favour of the Archbishop's Chaplain when the Bishop of London's Chaplain had put me out of hope of printing any more With all these Writings I have troubled the World already and these are all except Epistles to other mens Works as one before Mr. Swinnock's Books of Regeneration one before Mr. Hopkin's Book one before Mr. Eedes one before Mr. Matthew Pool's Model for Advancing Learning one before Mr. Benjamin Baxter's Book one before Mr. Ionathan Hanmer's Exercitation of Confirmation one before Mr. Lawrence of Sickness two before two of Mr. Tombe's Books and some others of which there are two that I must give some account of The Bookseller being to print the Assembly's Works with the Texts cited at length desired me by an Epistle to recommend it to Families I thought it a thing arrogant and unfit for a single Person who was none of the Synod to put an Epistle before their Works But when he made me know that it was the desire of some Reverend Ministers I wrote an Epistle but required him to put it into other mens hands to publish or suppress according to their Judgment but to be sure that they printed all or none The Bookseller gets Dr. Manton to put an Epistle before the Book who inserted mine in a differing Character in his own as mine but not naming me But he leaveth out a part which it seems was not pleasing to all When I had commended the Catechisms for the use of Families I added That I hoped the Assembly intended not all in that long Confession and those Catechisms to be imposed as a Test of Christian Communion nor to disown all that scrupled any word in it If they had I could not have commended it for any such use though it be useful for the instruction of Families c. All this is left out which I thought meet to open lest I be there misunderstood Also take notice that the Poem prefixed to Mr. Vines's Book of the Sacrament was not printed by any order of mine Having received the Printed Book from the Stationer as Gift it renewed my Sorrow for the Author's Death which provoked me to write that Poem the same Night in the Exercise of my Sorrow and gave it the Donor for his Book and he printed it without my knowledge § 211. Manuscripts that are yet unprinted which lye by me are these following 1. A Treatise in Folio called A Christian Directory or Sum of Practical Divinity In four Tomes The first called Christian Ethicks The second Christian Ecclesiasticks The third Christian Oeconomicks The fourth Christian Polisticks It containeth bare Directions for the practice of our Duties in all these respects as Christians as Church-Members as Members of the Family and as Members of the Commonwealth But there is a sufficient Explication of the Subject usually premised and the Directions themselves are the Answers of most useful Cases of Conscience
when they have none to contradict them and how possible it is that those that never knew me may believe them though they have lost their hopes with all the rest I take 〈◊〉 to be my Duty to be so faithful to that stock of Reputation which God hath intrusted me with as to defend it at the rate of opening the Truth Such as have made the World believe that Luther consulted with the Devil that Calvin was a stigmatized Sodomite that Beza turned Papist c. to blast their Labours I know are very like to say any thing by me which their Interest or Malice tell them will any way advantage their Cause to make my Writings unprofitable when I am dead 3. That young Christians may be warned by the Mistakes and Failings of my unriper Times to learn in patience and live in watchfulness and not be fierce and proudly confident in their first Conceptions And to reverence ripe experienced Age and to take heed of taking such for their Chief Guides as have nothing but immature and unexperienced Judgments with fervent Affections and free and confident Expressions but to learn of them that have with holiness study time and trial looked about them as well on one side as the other and attained to clearness and impartiality in their Judgments 1. But having mentioned the Changes which I think were for the better I must add that as I confessed many of my Sins before so since I have been guilty of many which because materially they seemed small have had the less resistance and yet on the review to trouble more than if they had been greater done in ignorance It can be no small sin formally which is committed against Knowledge and Conscience and Deliberation whatever excuse it have To have sinned while I preacht and wrote against Sin and had such abundant and great obligations from God and made so many promises against it doth lay me very low not so much in fear of Hell as in great displeasure against my self and such self abhoâ—â—ence as would cause revenge upon my self were it not forbidden When God forgiveth me I cannot forgive my self especially for any rash words or deeds by which I have seemed injurious and less tendeâ— and kind than I should have been to my near and dear Relations whose Love abundantly obliged me when such are dead though we never differed in point of Interest or any great Matter every sowr or cross provoking word which I gave them maketh me almost unreconcileable to my self and tells me how Repentance brought some of old to pray to the Dead whom they had wronged to forgive them in the hurry of their Passion 2. And though I before told the Change of my Judgment against provoking Writings I have had more will than skill since to avoid such I must mention it by way of penitent Confession that I am too much inclined to such words in Controversal Writings which are too keen and apt to provoke the Person whom I write against Sometimes I suspect that Age sowreth my Spirits and sometimes I am apt to think that it is long thinking and speaking of such things that maketh me weary and less patient with others that understand them not And sometimes I am ready to think that it is out of a hatred of the flattering humour which now prevaileth so in the World that few Persons are able to bear the Truth And I am sure that I cannot only bear my self such Language as I use to others but that I expect it I think all these are partly Causes but I am sure the principal Cause is a long Custom of studying how to speak and write in the keenest manner to the common ignorant and ungodly People without which keeness to them no Sermon nor Book does much good which hath so habituated me to it that I am still falling into the same with others forgetting that many Ministers and Professors of Strictness do desire the greatest sharpness to the Vulgar and to their Adversaries and the greatest lenity and smoothness and comfort if not honour to themselves And I have a strong natural inclination to speak of every Subject just as it is and to call a Spade a Spade verba rebus aptare so as that the thing spoken of may be fulliest known by the words which methinks is part of our speaking truly But I unfeignedly confess that it is faulty because impruâ—â—â—◠〈◊〉 that is not a good means which doth harm because it is not fitted to 〈…〉 and because whilst the Readers think me angry though I feel no 〈…〉 times in my self it is scandalous and a hinderance to the usefulness of 〈…〉 write And especially because though I feel no Anger yet which is worse I know that there is some want of Honour and Love or Tenderness to others or else I should not be apt to use such words as open their weakness and offend them And therefore I repent of it and wish all over-sharp passages were expunged from my Writings and desire forgiveness of God and Man And yet I must say that I am oft afraid of the contrary Extream lest when I speak against great and dangerous Errours and Sins though of Persons otherwise honest I should encourage men to them by speaking too easily of them as Eli did to his Sons and lest I should so favour the Person as may befriend the Sin and wrong the Church And I must say as the New-England Synodists in their Defence against Mr. Davenport pag. 2. Pref. We heartily desire that as much as may be all Expressions and Reflexions may be forborn that tend to break the Bond of Love Indeed such is our Infirmity that the naked discovery of the fallacy or invalidity of anothers Allegations or Arguings is apt to provoke This in Disputes is unavoidable And therefore I am less for a disputing way than ever believing that it tempteth Men to bend their Wits to defend their Errours and oppose the Truth and hindereth usually their information And the Servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle to all Men c. Therefore I am most in Judgment for a Learning or a Teaching way of Converse In all Companies I will be glad either to hear those speak that can teach me or to be heard of those that have need to learn And that which I named before on the by is grown one of my great Diseases I have lost much of that Zeal which I had to propagate any Truths to others save the meer Fundamentals When I perceive People or Ministers which is too common to think they know what indeed they do not and to dispute those things which they never throughly studied or expect I should debate the Case with them as if an hours talk would serve instead of an acute understanding and seven years study I have no Zeal to make them of my Opinion but an impatience of continuing Discourse with them on such Subjects and am apt to be silent
managing the Lord's Work in our Hands were convinced that for Reformation of our People more ought to be done by us than bare Preaching a brotherly Association of Ministers appeared to be the likeliest course for the attainment of our Desires and accordingly was resolved on And because we knew that many of our Brethrâ—â—â— the Ministry differed from us we resolved to draw up several Proposals wherein we and they by a mutual Condescention might agree as Brethren in Love and Peace to carry on the same Work and therefore required nothing of them but what we proved by the Confessions of the Congregational Brethren their own Party to be of less Moment and not of absolute Necessity Wherein we â—rged they might and ought to yield for the Churches Peace But our Endeavours to gain them were frustrated they were so resolved that they would not so much as read our Proposals and Reasons We therefore set about the Work our selves and made some Progress in it by this time we began to feel what we expected at the first setting out viz the Rage and Malice of wicked Men vented in Railings and Slanders on the one hand and bitter Censures and Suspicions of the Brethren on the other In the midst of all this we received your Book as a seasonable Refreshment Our Hands were much strengthned by it it was a great Encouragement to us to see that other godly and learned Men had walked much what in the same Steps and had pleaded our Cause almost by the same Arguments wherewith we endeavoured to strengthen it But 2. we are hereby quickned up to carry our Design higher Our Propositions for the Substance of them are near the same with yours we agree in a great part of your Discipline our Rules of Admission are competent Knowledge Unblameableness of Conversation and assent to the Convenant of Grace the means to carry it on are the Peoples Consent and Association of Ministers and where we differ from you 't is not because we differ in Opinion but because our People whose Condition and Temper we were forced to set before us in framing our Agreement differ from yours Hence our Examination of the People Knowledge is more general than yours if we understand you right in Prop. 19. Reg. 9. hence instead of your Parish Assistants we are forced to make use of one anothers help in private Examinations and Determination of Fitness as well as in more publick Debates and Consultations Yet in twothings we come short of your Agreement 1. In that we have not as yet propounded to our People your height of Discipline though we never thought secret and private Admonitions and Suspension from the Sacrament such a Measure of Discipline wherein we might comfortably satisfie our selves without farther Progress yet our Hands being much weakened by our Brethrens refusal to join with us our People stubborn and Suspension from the Supper being a piece of Discipline that hath not been here practised till of late and therefore a matter of greater Shame till Custom shall make it more common we resolved to propound and Practise this first as an Essay to try what Success and Entertainment a farther Discipline might find For though the Fear of People flying off and separating is not by us looked upon as a sufficient Discharge for the neglect and laying aside all endeavours to reform Yet we look upon it as a sufficient Ground of proceeding warily 2. Though we always required People Consent to the Terms of the Covenant of Grace and Discipline yet have we not been so full in this as you That which kept us off was a fear of offending some of our Brethren who being more likely to hear of our Practice than of the Grounds and Reasons of it might easily mistake our meaning But now the way of Discipline being made more smooth both by what we have put in Practice already and by what you have declared we are encouraged in both these Respects to make a farther Addition to our former Proposals Some thing there are wherein a farther Explication of your meaning would have been very grateful to us 1. Whether the Infants of such as are suspended from the Lord's Supper and of such as delay or refuse Consent to your Discipline only from Dissatisfaction about the matter of its Management are to be excluded from Baptism 2. Why you reslove to exercise your Discipline upon those only which testifie their Consent seeing you acknowledge your present Parishes before the exercise of this Discipline true particular Organized Churches of Christ if some of those whom you accounted Members should fly off why may they not be Sharers in your Discipline and upon their Refusalâ—cast out rather than silently left out 3. Why if you limit your publick Censures and Admonition to those only that give express Consent Prop. 18 you reslove to censure the scandalous Sinner upon such an offer of Consent as carrieth in the Front of it a plain Refusal of your Discipline Prop. 19. Reg. 10. and how this will stand with the fourth and fifth Reasons of that Proposition in pag. 12. of the Explanation We know that you have of purpose left may things undetermind and that which you have propounded is fitted to the Temper of Parishes in general rather than to some of yours in particular and therefore we do not mention these as an Accusation against your Proposals but for our own Advantage and Satisfaction in case we should receive any Letters from you Brethren pray for us we dwell in the midst of Opposition and as it will be our great Ioy to hear that the Work doth prosper in your hands so shall we be earnest with the Lord for a Blessing upon your Endeavours Thus rest Your unworthy Fello Labourers in the Work of the Gospel Ri. Gilpin Pastor at Graystock John Makmillane Pastor at Odenhall Roger Baldwin Minister of Penrith John Billingssey Minister of Addingham Elisha Bourne Minister at Skelton John Jackson Pastor of Hutton Thomas Turner Preacher of the Gospel Penrith Cumberland Sept. 1. 1653. For the Reverend our much esteemed Brother Mr. Richard Baxter and the rest of the Associated Ministers in the Country of Worcester These To this Letter we return'd the following Answer Reverend and Beloved Brethren WE received your Letters with the love and gladness as for their savour of Piety in general so of Peaceableness and Zeal for Unity in special which we have now learned to take not as a separable Accident of true Religion but as an Essential part We have reverent Thoughts of many Brethren for their singular worth and work who yet for their Activity in dividing ways are the grief of our Souls We further honour many as abhorring such ways and being no Friends to any Dividing Principles nor active either as Leaders or Followers in the promoting them who yet are so passively and passionately unpeaceable in an impatient Entertainment of every Dissenter and making the lesser Errours of their Brethren to seem
our particular Churches we yet offer that we may at that distance that our Infirmities have set us maintain unfeigned Brotherly Love and acknowledge our several Churches for Christian Congregations and hold a Correspondency by Delegates or other convenient Means for the strengthening of each other and observe the Rules exprest in the following Offer 3. To all those that joyn with us in the foregoing Profession of Christianity and yet through their dissent from our Baptizing the Infants of Believers dare not hold Local Communion with us nor yet acknowledge our Churches to be true Instituted Particular Churches we yet offer 1. That we may acknowledge each other for Members of Christ supposing the foresaid Profession of Christianity to be solemnly and credibly made and Members of the Church Universal 2. And that we may converse in the World together in a faithful Observance of these following Rules 1. That we addict our selves heartily to the promoting and exercising of Brotherly Love towards one another and take heed of all things contrary thereto in Word and Deed. 2. That we addict our selves to preserve the Unity of the Church Catholick and Concord of true Christians and the Common Interest of the Godly and to farther the Cause of Christ in the World and take heed of so managing our different Opinions as may be a hinderance to these 3. That we study and addict our selves to promote the Conversion of ignorant ungodly People and the building up of the Weak and that we take great heed lest in the managing of our different Opinions or opposing one another we should hinder these Works hardening the Wicked and offending the Weak 4. That we always in our esteem and industry prefer the greater common Truths that we are all agreed in before the lesser Points that we differ in And that we take heed of so managing our Differences publickly or privately as may tend to hinder the Reception or Success of those greater common Truths in which we are agreed 5. That we publish our Agreements and profess our Christian Love and Resolutions for Peace in our several Congregations and profess there our joynt disowning and detestation of all Errours Heresies and Ungodliness contrary to the Profession wherein we are agreed 6. That we will not preach publickly for our differing Opinions in each others Congregations without the Pastor's consent nor privately to speak for them as is like to tend to the hinderance of God's greater Work in that Place nor hold any private Assemblies in one anothers Parishes which shall be more to the distracting of each others Societies than for common Christian Edification 7. That in our Preaching and Conference we will allow the greater and common Truths such a proportion of our Time and Zeal and Speech as the Nature Necessity and Number doth require and not lay out inordinately such an undue proportion of Zeal and Time and Speech for our different Opinions as shall be injurious to those Truths 8. That we will avoid in Publick and Private all unbrotherly scornful reproachful Speeches of each other especially before ungodly People And that we will not to them dishonour one anothers Ministry so as may hinder their profiting by it but will rebuke all such ungodly Persons that we hear reproaching the Ministers or Brethren of either part 9. That we will not receive into any of our Churches any Scandalous Persons that fly from the Discipline of other Churches and pretend a Change of Opinion to cloak their Scandals but will impartially hear what Accusations shall be sent in against them and proceed accordingly 10. That we will upon any Defamations or Accusations or Rumours of Injury against one another or of violating our Profession by contrary Doctrine or breaking this Agreement be responsible to each other as Brethren and will forbear divulging private or uncertain Faults or censuring or reproaching one another till we have either conferred together to give and receive Satisfaction and duly admonished each other or tendered such Conferences and Admonitions seasonably till we see they are wilfully rejected OFFERERS Richard Baxter Pastor of the Church at Kiderminster c. c. c. WE whose Names are Subscribed dissenting from Infant-Baptism heartily accept this Offered Agreement as followeth In the first Rank In the second Rank In the third Rank Optatus Adv. Parm. l. 3. p. 75. EUM qui ad Deum so conversum esse professus est Paganum vocas Paganum vocas eum qui Deum Patrem per filium ejus ante eram rogaverit 〈◊〉 enim crediderit in nomine Patris Filii Spiritâ—â— Sancti credidit Et tu eum Paganum vocas post confessionem Fidei Siâ—aliquid Christiâ—â—â—â— quod absit unâ—squisque delinquerit peccator dici potest Paganus iterum esse non potest Sed haeâ— omnia vultis nullius esse momenti At si tibi ipsi consenserit quem seducis unus consensus manâ—â— tuae porrectio pauca Verba jam tibi Christianum faciunt de Christiano Et ille vobie videbitur Christianus qui quod vultis fecerit non quem fides adduxerit Lib. 5. p. 86. Denique vos qui baptisma quasi libenter duplicare contenditis si datis alterum baptisma date alteram fidem si datis alteram Fidem alterum Christum Sidatis alternum Christum date alterum Deum Deus Unus est De Uno Deo Unus est Christus Qui rebaptizatur jam Christianus fuerat Quomodo dici potest iterum Christianus Lib. 4. p. 76. Sâ— tu non vis esse Frater ego esse incipio Impius si de nomine isto â—â—cuero Vid. Lib. 1. Fol. 1. § 46. Before this I had occasion to make a more particular tryal for Union with the Independent Brethren I knew Mr. Phil. Nye had very great power with them and he being in the Country I desired him to give me in Writing all those things which of necessity must be granted them by the Presbyterians in order to Concord and Conjunction in the same Associations and Communion He referred me to the Debates in the Assembly at Westminster which are in print I urged him to give them me under his Hand which at that time he did not but the next Year I prevailed with him and he wrote down these two as sufficient Concessions to our desired End The first was that they might have Liberty to take Church-Members out of other Parishes And the second that they might have all Church Power within themselves in their several Congregations I asked him if I accommodated them in both these whether really they would unite with us as aforesaid And he told me that they would Whereupon I drew up this Form of Agreement following which I thought granted them both these But so as that they should be Members of constant Associations and meet with us in our Synods and that they should do this not as subject to the Government of those Synods but as using them for Concord between the Churches and so
Presbyterians and Episcopal Men had but before come to some Agreement they would the more unanimously join against the Fanaticks But since the War the Diocesane Party by Dr. Hammond's means was gone to a greater Distance and grown higher than before and denyed the very being of the Reformed Churches and Ministry and avoided all ways of Agreement with them but by an absolute Submission to their Power as the Papists do by the Protestants and that there is a wonderous difference between the Cause of the one Party and the other For though they are born equally capable of Government or Subjection yet all that the Presbyterians for the most part of them desire is but to have leave to worship God and guide their Flocks in ways of Piety and Concord without being persecuted for it And the Prelatical Mens Cause is that they may be the Governors of all and that no Man have leave to serve God but as they prescribe to him nor to rule his Flock but as ruled by them Yea as soon as a Man doth but side with the Men of that Opinion he presently carryeth it as if by his Opinion he had acquired a right to be the Governor of others But especially I told him that the Number of the Ignorant and Scandalous was so great which the Diocesane Party would restore and set up and the Number of the godly learned able Ministers so great which they would cast out and silence that we look'd on it as the ruine of the Church that we had not any Animosity against them that we desired no Man should be hindred in his Ministry for any thing he had done in the Wars against the Parliament But we desired that the People might have faithful Pastors and not drunken ignorant Readers as he knew in this Country they had had And that every ceremonial Difference might not again be thought a sufficient Reason to cast out hundreds of the ablest Men and put in such insufficient Persons in their steads Persecution and the Ruine of the Ministry and Churches were expected by most if Prelacie got up again and if such leading Men as Dr. Hammond would but before-hand come to Terms of some Moderation and promise to endeavour faithfully to bring things to that pass as now should be thought indifferent it would greatly facilitate Mens Conjunction against the turbulent Sectaries and Souldiers I told him he had long lived here among us and saw the worst of us he saw that our private Meetings were only in due Subordination to the Publick and that they were only spent in such Actions as every Christian might do to repeat a Sermon and Pray and propose his Doubts to his Pastor and sing Psalms and not to any Faction or Sedition and that we had not a Sectary in the Town but were all of a Mind and walked in Humility and Blamelesness and Charity toward all all which he did freely acknowledge and I asked him then whether he thought we were fit to be endured or to be supprest And whether it were not hard that Men who had prevailed in Arms as the Parliaments past had done should beg but for Liberty to live quietly by them or those that were now kept under and not obtain it But we cared little for this as it is our own Interest so that the Souls of Men even Thousands in all Countries might not be injured and undone by an ignorant vitious persecuting Ministry To this he confidently affirmed that he being most throughly acquainted with Dr. Hammond who received Letters from Dr. Morley then with the King could assure me that all Moderation was intended and that any Episcopacy how loâ—â—soever would serve the turn and be accepted And a bare Presidency in Synods such as Bishop Usher in his Reduction did require was all that was intended Yea Bishop Hall's way of Moderation would suffice that there should be no Lord Bishops nor so large Diocesses or great Revenues much less any persecuting Power but that the Essentials of Episcopacy was all that was expected that no godly able Minister should be displaced much less silenced nor unworthy Men any more set up that there should be no Thoughts of Revenge for any thing past but all be equal In Conclusion we agreed that I should make some Proposals to Dr. Hammond containing the Terms of our Agreement and he would bring them to him for he lived but seven Miles from us and procure me an Answer Whereupon I drew up a few Proposals and Sir Ralph Clare shortly brought me back an Answer to them by which I saw that there was no Agreement that way to be made For Dr. Hammond cast all the Alterations or Abatements upon the King and Parliament when as the thing that I desired of him was but to promise his best Endeavours to accomplish it by persuading both the Clergy and the Civil Governors to do their Parts Yet I must say I took the Death of Dr. Hammond who died just when the King came in before he saw him or received his intended Advancement for a very great loss for his Piety and Wisdom would sure have hindred much of the Violence which after followed I wrote him a Reply but never sent it because the Tumults presently interrupted us The Papers on both sides were these following R. Baxter's Proposals sent by Sir R. Clare to Dr. Hammond HAving premised the Terms on which the Episcopal Presbyterian and Independant c. may maintain a Brotherly Agreement in case the Magistrate gives Liberty to them all I shall add some Propositions containing those things that we desire the Brethren of the Episcopal way will grant us as necessary to the Peace of these Churches and the avoiding of Persecution to the hindrance of the Gospel in case the Magistrate should establish their way 1. We desire that private Christians may not be hindered from praying in their Families according to the sense of their Necessities without imposed Forms nor from reading Scripture and good Books catechising and instructing their Families and restraining them from dancing and other Vanities which would withdraw them from holy Exercises on the Lord's Day And that Neighbours be not hindred from meeting at convenient times in each others Houses to edifie themselves by Godly Conference Reading repeating Sermons Prayer singing Psalms so be it they refuse not the oversight of their faithful Pastors in the management hereof nor set up these Meetings in Opposition to the publick Assemblies but in due Subordination to them and be responsible to Governors for all Miscarriages 2. We desire that the ungodly sort of People may not be suffered to make the serious practice of Godliness an open Scorn or to deride the Practice of such holy Duties as by God and our Governors we are allowed to perform 3. That the most able Godly faithful Men be Pastors of the Flocks and the insufficient ungodly negligent scandalous and Heretical be kept and cast out the Welfare of the Church consisting so much in
he would first but spend two Hours in verbal Disputation in the way I had proposed viz. That he should spend one Hour in giving his Reasons for her Change and I might answer them and the other Hour I would give my Reasons against it and he should answer me And after that we would go to it by Writing But a Day or two after when I came for Answer to this Proposal the Lady was gone being secretly stolen from her Mother in a Coach and so I understood the meaning of this Offer and never could see the Face of any of her Priests § 85. At last it was discovered that the Man that seduced her and refused Disputation was this Mr. Iohnson oâ— Terret the same Man that I had before conferred and wrote with And yet when I asked her whether it were he she plainly and positively said it was not and when a Servant went after her Coach and overtook her in Lincolns-Inn-Fields she positively promised to come again and said she went but to see a Friend Also she complained to the Queen-Mother of her Mother as if she used her hardly for Religion which was false in a Word her Mother told me that before she turned Papist she scarce ever heard a Lye from her and since then she could believe nothing that she said This was the Darling of that excellent wise religious Lady the Widow of an excellent Lord which made the Affliction great and taught her to moderate her Affections to all Creatures This Perversion had been a long time secretly working before she knew of it all which time the young Lady would join in Prayer with her Mother and jeer at Popery till she was detected and then she said she might join with them no more § 86. They that stole her away conveyed her to France and there put her into a Nunnery where she is 〈◊〉 dead Not long after her departure she sent a Letter superscribed to her Lady Mother c. and subscribed Sister Anna Maria c. It contained the Reasons of her Perversion And though I knew they were not like to suffer her to read it I wrote an Answer to it at her Mother's desire which was sent to her by her Mother The Letter which I sent her the day before she was stoln away and tthe Answer to that her Letter from the Nunnery I thought meet here to insert which are as followeth The Letter to the Lady Anne Lindsey Madam THE Reasons that moved me to be so importunate with you for a Conference in your hearing with the ablest Jesuit Priest or other Papist you could get were as I told you 1. My very high esteem of your truly Honourable Mother whose Sorrow hath been so great for your Delusion that I must confess though but a Stranger I suffer much with her by Compassion And as it would much relieve her if you were recovered so if God deny her that Mercy it will somewhat satisfie her Conscience that she hath not been wanting in the use of means 2. And for your own sake whom I the more compassionate because you are not only the Daughter of such Parents but of so modest and sober a Disposition your self that I am not out of hopes of your Recovery though the Disease be such as few are cured of that catch it by relapse and desertion of the Truth I can imagine nothing but Consciousness of a bad Cause that can cause them thus to decline a Conference You say the Person well knoweth me though I know not him and dare trust himself c. why then will he not meet me to debate the Case He cannot but have exceeding great odds or advantages of me as to personal preparations for they are trained up meerly to this work I am loath to say to deceive and have all the helps that Art can afford them I was never of any Universitie nor had one Months assistance of any Tutor in all my Studies of Sciences or Theology If you can get no Jesuit Fryar 〈◊〉 Priest that will fairly debate his Cause with one of so poor Preparations and Abilities doth it not shew that they are lamentably diffident of their Cause All the Conditions or Terms that I desire to be before agreed to are but these 1. That I may one day produce my Reasons why you should not have turned Papist and therefore should return and he Answer them as I urge them And that the next day or the first if he desire it he will produce his Reasons why you ought to turn to them as you did and I answer them 2. That we may speak by turns without interrupting one another 3. That whatever Passages must be determined by Books or Witnesses that are not at hand they may be noted down and left till there be leisure to peruse them 4. That there be two Witnesses on each side of whom one to be a Scribe and as many more as he desireth And I and those with me shall be engaged to do him no wrong by any discovery of his Person to endanger him as to the Law or Governours This is all that I should oblige him to beforehand I again intreat you if one will not get another to moderate the Work I understand by you that the Person you depend on avoideth me not in any Contempt for you tell me he hath honourable thoughts of me and well knoweth me If so why will he not confer with me as well as he hath done with Dr. Gunning For Writing 1. It 's like he knoweth that I am here engaged in so much unavoidable Work that I have scarce time to eat or sleep 2. You cannot but know that by Writing it's like to be a year or many years work And themselves have cut me out Work enough already for my Pen if I had no more and now would take me off it that I might be forced to omit one I look not to live to end a Dispute by Writing so many are my Infirmities and are you content to stay so long before you have the benefit 3. If Writings will be useful to you may you not as well read what is written already Many great Volumes are yet unanswered by them 4. I have already written divers Writings against their Delusiâ—ns viz. The Safe Religion A Key for Catholicks c. A Winding sheet for Popery The true Catholick and the Catholick Church described A Disputetion with Mr. Johnson about the Successâ—â—â— Visibility of the Church and they never answered any one of them no not so much as the single Shet that ever I heard oâ— When they have answered them all let them call for more or offer writing 5. But yet rather than be wanting to you let the Person but vouchsafe 〈◊〉 this Verbal Conference first and try what we can do in a few hours there and if there shall then appear to be cause â—o prosecute it by Writing I intend not to fail of taking the first opportunity for it that greater
Officers in the Court Freemen in Cities and Corporate Towns Masters and Fellows of Colledges in the Universities c. are required at their Admission into their several respective places to give Oaths for well and truly performing their several respective Duties their liableness to punishment in case of Non-performance accordingly notwithstanding Neither doth it seem reasonable that such Persons as have themselves with great severity prescribed and exacted antecedent Conditions of their Communion not warranted by Law should be exempted from the tye of such Oaths and Subscriptions as the Laws require § 17. 4. We agree that the Bishops and all Ecclesiastical Governours ought to exercise their Government not Arbitrarily but according to Law 5. And for Security against such Arbitrary Government and Innovations the Laws are and from time to time will be sufficient provision Concerning Liturgy § 18. A Liturgy or Form of Publick Worship being not only by them acknowledged lawful but by us also for the preservation of Unity and Uniformity deemed necessary we esteem the Liturgy of the Church of England contained in the Book of Common Prayer and by Law established to be such a one as is by them desired according to the Qualifications here mentioned 〈◊〉 1. For Matter agreeable to the Word of God which we 〈◊〉 all other lawful Ministers within the Church of England have or by the Laws ought to have attested by our Personal Subscription 2. Fitly suited to the Nature of the several Ordinances and the Necessities of the Church 3. Nor too tedious in the whole It 's well known that some Mens Prayers before and after Sermon have been usually not much shorter and sometimes much longer than the whole Church Service 4. Nor the Prayers too short The Wisdom of the Church both in ancient and latter times hath thought it a fitter means for relieving the Infirmities of the meaner sort of People which are the major part of most Congregations to contrive several Petitions into sundry shorter Collects or Prayers than to comprehend them altogether in a continued stile or without interruption 5. Nor the Repetitions unmeet There are Examples of the like Repetition frequent in the Psalms and other parts of Scripture Not to mention the unhandsome Tautologies that oftentimes happen and can scarce be avoided in the Extemporary and undigested Prayers that are made especially by Persons of meaner Gifts 6. Nor the Responsals Which if impartially considered are pious Ejaculations fit to stir up Devotion and good Symbols of Conformity betwixt the Minister and the People and have been of very ancient practise and continuance in the Church 7. Nor too dissonant from the Liturgies of other Reformed Churches The nearer both their Forms and ours come to the Liturgy of the Ancient Greek and Latin Churches the less are they liable to the Objections of the Common Enemy To which Liturgies if the Form used in our Church be more agreeable than those of other Reformed Churches and that it were at all needful to make a Change in either it seemeth to be much more reasonable that their Form should be endeavoured to be brought to a nearer Conformity with ours than ours with theirs Especially the Form of our Liturgy having been so signally approved by sundry of the most Learned Divines of the Reformed Churches abroad as by very many Testimonies in their Writings may appear And some of the Compilers thereof have Sealed the Protestant Religion with their Blood and have been by the most Eminent Persons of those Churches esteemed as Martyrs for the same § 19. As for that which followeth Neither can we think that too rigorously imposed which is imposed by Law and that with no more rigour than is necessary to make the Imposition effectual otherwise it could be of no use but to beget and nourish factions Nor are Ministers denied the use and exercise of their Gifts in praying before and after Sermon Although such praying be but the continuance of a Custom of no great Antiquity and grown into Common use by Sufferance only without any other Foundation in the Laws or Canons and ought therefore to be used by all sober and godly Men with the greatest inoffensiveness and moderation possible § 20. If any thing in the Established Liturgy shall be made appear to be justly offensive to sober Persons we are not at all unwilling that the same should be changed The discontinuance thereof we are sure was not our Fault But we find by experience that the use of it is very much desired where it is not and the People generally are very well satisfied with it where it is used which we believe to be a great Conservatory of the chief Heads of Christian Religion and of Piety Charity and Loyalty in the Hearts of the People We believe that the difuse thereof for sundry late years hath been one of the great Causes of the sad Divisions in the Church and that the restoring the same will be by by God's blessing a special means of making up the Breach There being as we have great cause to believe many Thousands more in the Nation that desire it than dislike it Nevertheless we are not against revising of the Liturgy by such discreet Persons as his Majesty shall think fit to imploy therein Of Ceremonies § 21. We conceived there needs no more to be said for justifying the Imposition of the Ceremonies by Law established then what is contained in the beginning of this Section which giveth a full and satisfactory Answer to all that is alledged or objected in the following Discourse which is for the most part rather Rhetorical than Argumentative Inasmuch as lawful Authority hath already determined the Ceremonies in question to be decent and orderly and to serve to Edification and consequently to be agreeable to the General Rules of the Word We acknowledge the Worship of God to be in it self perfect in regard of Essentials which hindereth not but that it may be capable of being improved to us by addition of Circumstantials in order to Decency and Edification As the Lord hath declared himself Jealous in Matters concerning the Substance of his Worship so hath he left the Church at liberty for Circumstantials to determine concerning Particulars according to Prudence as occasion shall require so as the foresaid General Rules be still observed And therefore the imposing and using indifferent Ceremonies is not varying from the Will of God nor is there made thereby any addition to or detraction from the holy Duties of God's Worship Nor doth the same any way hinder the Communication of God's Grace or Comfort in the performance of such Duties § 22. The Ceremonies were never esteemed Sacraments or imposed as such nor was ever any Moral efficacy ascribed to them nor doth the significancy without which they could not serve to Edification import or infer any such thing § 23. Ceremonies have been retained by most of the Protestant Churches abroad which have rejected Popery and have been approved by the
Judgment of the most Learned even of those Churches that have not retained them Every National Church being supposed to be the best and most proper Judge what is fittest for themselves to appoint in order to Decency and Edification without prescribing to other Churches § 24. That the Ceremonies have been Matter of Contention in this or any other Church was not either from the Nature of the Thing enjoyned or the enjoyning of the same by lawful Authority but partly from the weakness of some Men's Judgments unable to search into the Reason of Things and partly from the unsubduedness of some Mens Spirits more apt to contend than willing to submit their private Opinions to the Publick Judgment of the Church § 25. Of those that were obnoxious to the Law very few in comparison have been deprived and none of them for ought we know but such as after admonition and long forbearance finally refused to do what not only the Laws required to be done but themselves also formerly had solemnly and as they prosessed willingly promised to do § 26. We do not see with what Conscience any Man could leave the Exercise of his Ministry in his peculiar Charge for not submitting to lawful Authority in the using of such things as were in his own Judgment no more than inexpedient only And it is certainly a great mistake at the least to call the submitting to Authority in such things a bringing the Conscience under the power of them § 27. The Separation that hath been made from the Church was from the tâ—king a Scandal where none was given The Church having fully declared her sence touching the Ceremonies imposed as Things not in their Nature necessary but indifferent But was chiefly occasioned by the Practice and defended from the Principles of those that refused Conformity to the Law the just Rule and Measure of the Churches Unity § 28. The Nature of Things being declared to be mutable sheweth that they may therefore be changed as they that are in Authority shall see it expedient but it is no proof at all that it is therefore expedient that it should be actually changed Yet it 's a sufficient Caution against the Opinion or Objection rather of their being held by the Imposers either necessary or Substantials of Worship Besides this Argument if it were of any force would infer an expediency of the often changing even of good Laws whereas the Change of Laws although liable to some Inconveniencies without great and evident necessity hath been by Wise men ever accounted a thing not only Imprudent but of evil and sometimes pernicious Consequence § 29. We fully agree with them in the acknowledgment of the King's Supremacy but we leave it to his Majesty's Prudence and Goodness to consider whether for the avoiding of the offence of some of his weak Subjects he be any way obliged to Repeal the Established Laws the Repealing whereof would be probably dissatisfactory to many more and those so far as we are able to judge no less considerable a part of his Subjects Nor do we conceive his Majesty by the Apostle's either Doctrine or Example obliged to any farther Condescention to particular Persons than may be subservient to the general and main Ends of Publick Government The Lord hath entrusted Governours to provide not only thà t Things necessary in God's Worship be duly performed but also that things advisedly enjoyned though not otherways necessary should be orderly and duly observed The too great neglect whereof would so cut the Sinews of Authority that it would become first infirm and then contemptible As we are no way against such tender and religious Compassion in Things of this Nature as his Majesty's Piety and Wisdom shall think fit to extend so we cannot think that the Satisfaction of some private Persons is to be laid in the Balance against the Publick Peace and Uniformity of the Church Concerning particular Ceremonies § 30. It being most convenient that in the Act of receiving the Lord's Supper one and the same Gesture should be uniformly used by all the Members of this Church and Kneeling having been formerly enjoined and used therein as a Gesture of greatest Reverence and Devotion and so most agreeable to that Holy Service And Holy-days of human Institution having been observed by the People of God in the Old-Testament and by our blessed Saviour himself in the Gospel and by all the Churches of Christ in Primitive and following times as apt means to preserve the Memorials of the chief Mysteries of the Christian Religion And such Holy-days being also fit times for the honest Recreation of Servants Labourers and the meaner sort of People For these Reasons and the great Satisfaction of far the greatest part of the People we humbly desire as a thing in our Judgment very expedient that they may both be still continued in the Church § 31. As for the other Three Ceremonies viz. the Surplice Cross after Baptism and bowing at the Name of Jesus although we find not here any sufficient Reason alledged why they should be utterly abolished Nevertheless how far forth in regard of tender Consciences a Liberty may be thought fit to be indulged to any his Majesty according to his great Wisdom and Goodness is best able to judge § 32. But why they that confess that in the Judgment of all the things here mentioned are not to be valued with the Peace of the Church should yet after they are established by Law disturb the Peace of the Church about them we understand not § 33. We heartily desire that no Innovations should be brought into the Church or Ceremonies which have no foundation in the Laws of the Land imposed to the disturbance of the Peace thereof But that all Men would use that Liberty that is allowed them in things indifferent according to the Rules of Christian Prudence Charity and Moderation § 34. We are so far from believing that his Majesty's Condescending to these Demands will take away not only Differences but the Roots and Causes of them that we are confident it will prove the Seminary of new Differences both by giving dissatisfaction to those that are well pleased with what is already established who are much the greater part of his Majesty's Subjects and by encouraging unquiet Spirits when these things shall be granted to make further Demands There being no assurance by them given what will content all Dissenters than which nothing is more necessary for the setling of a firm Peace in the Church A Defence of our Proposals to his Majesty for Agreement in Matters of Religion Concerning the Preamble § 1. WE are not insensible of the great Danger of the Church through the Doctrinal Errours of many of those with whom we are at difference also about the Points of Government and Worship now before us But yet we chose to say of the Party that we are agreed in Doctrinals because they subscribe the same Holy Scriptures and Articles of Religion and Books
you know that there are many Dissenters as Papists Quakers c. for whom we never medled And we think this an unjust Answer to be given to them who craved of his Majesty that they might send to their Brethren through the Land to have the Testimony of their common Consent and were denied it and told that it should be our work alone and imputed to no others In Conclusion we perceive your Counsels against Peace are not likely to be frustrated Your Desires concerning us are like to be accomplished You are like to be gratified with our Silence and Ejection and the Excommunication and Consequent sufferings of Dissenters And yet we will believe that blessed are the Peace-makers and though Deceit be in the Heart of them that imagin Evil yet there is Ioy to the Counsellors of Peace Prov. 12. 20. And though we are slopt by you in our following of Peace and are never like thus publickly to seek it more because you think that we must hold our Tongues that you may hold your Peace yet are we resolved by the help of God if it be possible and as much as in us lieth to live peaceably with all Men Rom. 12. 18. § 102. Hereupon some very very learned godly Men renewed their former Speeches That it was a vain Attempt to Endeavour a Reconciliation with such Men that their Minds were exasperated and they were resolved to monopolize the Favour of our Prince and all Honours and Preferments to themselves That there was no hope they would do any thing for the promoting of strict serious Godliness or any thing that deserved the Name of Ecclesiastical Discipline That undoubtedly they do but draw us on partly to spin out the time till they are ready to persecute us without any danger to themselves and partly to set us together by the Ears and otherwise abuse us by drawing us to grant them that which they know our Brethren cannot grant § 103. To all this I answered for my own part That though Charity commanded me to hope that there were some Men among them better than this Description doth import yet my Reason forced me all things considered to have as low Expectations of this Conference as they had and that I made no doubt but that the End would verefie much that was said that for my own part I looked e're long to be silenced by them with many hundred more and that all this was but to quiet Men till the time But yet for all that I was fully convinced that it was our Duty not only to yield to an offered Treaty but to be the Seekers of it and follow it on till we see the Issue 1. Because we are commanded if possible as much as in us lieth to live peaceably with all Men. 2. Because though we have too great a probability of such an issue as they describe yet we are not certain of it and the least possibility of a better Issue may shew us that we should wait on God in the use of the Means till we are disappointed 3. Because we have no other means at all to use To keep our Flocks and publick Work we cannot For the old Laws will be in force again if we say nothing and new ones will further enforce them if there be need And for our parts we are not formidable to the Bishops at all were our Number five times as great as theirs For we abhor all Thoughts of Sedition and Rebellion and they know that this is our Judgment and therefore how should they be afraid of Men whose Consciences bind them to make no resistance to the legal Exercise of a lawful Authority If it were the Anabaptists Millinaries or Levellers they would fear them But for my part I thought it very unmeet that such a Word as intimated any formidableness in us should ever come out of our Mouths either to them or to our People or among our selves for it seemeth to intimate either that we would resist or would have them think so 4. And I looked to the end of all these Actions and the chief things that moved me next the pleasing of God and Conscience is that when we are all silenced and persecuted and the History of these things shall be delivered to posterity it will be a just Blot upon us if we suffer as refusing to sue for Peace and it will be our just Vindication when it shall appear that we humbly petitioned for and earnestly pursued after Peace and came as near them for the obtaining it as Scripture and Reason will allow us to do and were ready to do anything for Peace except to sin and damn our Souls And for my own part I could suffer much more comfortably when I had used these means and been repulsed than if I had used none 5. And Lastly I gave them all notice that I hoped if we got no more to have an opportunity by this Treaty to state our Difference right to the understanding of Foreigners and Posterity and to bear my Testimony to the Cause of Truth and Peace and Godliness openly under the Protection of the King's Authority both by Word and Writing which they that sat still would never do but look on with secret silent Grief till all is gone and then have their Consciences and others tell them that they never made any just attempt or spake a Word to prevent the Ruine § 104. But as to the point of yielding too far to them I told them first that moderate Episcopacy was agreeable to my Judgment and that they knew that I medled not as a Presbyterian but as a Christian that is obliged to seek the Churches Peace And also that others may accept of those Terms as better than worse which yet they cannot take to be the best And if we mist it as to the way or terms our Brethren that thought so had the Liberty to acquaint us with our Error and to set us right § 105. Shortly after this instead of the Diocesans Concessions it was told us that the King would put all that he thought meet to grant us into the Form of a Declaration and we should see it first and have Liberty to give notice of what we liked not as not consistent with the desired Concord◠and so the Diocesans cannot be charged with any mutability as having ever granted us such Abatements which after they receded from We thankfully accepted of this Offer and received from the Lord Chancellor the following Copy of the Declaration This Copy of a Declaration the Lord Chancellor next sent us to peruse and alter before it were published that it might satisfie our Desires Received on Sept. 4. His Majesty's Declaration to all his loving Subjects of his Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs HOW much the Peace of the State is concerned in the Peace of the Church and how difficult a thing it is to preserve Order and Government in Civil whilst there is no Order
It is the very Nature and Substance of the Office of a Presbyter to have the Power of the Keys for binding and losing retaining or remitting Sin which therefore together or apart as there is occasion they are bound to Exercise And this being the Institution of Jesus Christ cannot be altered by Man In their Ordination according to the established Order in England it is said Whose sins thou dost remit they are remitted whose sins thou dost retain they are retained And they are commanded to Minister the Doctrine Sacraments and Discipline of Christ as the Lord hath commanded and as this Realm hath received the same as expresly as the Bishops are And as the late Primate of Ireland observeth in his Reduction That they may the better understand what the Lord hath commanded the Exhortation of St. Paul to the Elders of the Church of Ephesus is appointed to be read to them at the time of their Ordination Take â—eed to your selves and to all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers to feed or rule the Congregation of God which he hath purchased with his blood And it is apparent in this Acts 20. 17 18 28. and 15. 23 25. and 16. 4. 1. Thess. 5. 12 13. 1 Tim 3. 4 5. and 5. 17. Heb. 13. 7 17 24. and other places that it is the Office of a Presbyter to Oversee Rule and Guide the Flock which the Ministerial Rule which consisteth in the Exercise of the Keys or Management and Personal Application of God's Word to the Consciences and Cases of particular Persons for their Salvation and the Order of the Church the Coercive Power belonging to the Magistrate And this was the Practice in the Ancient Church as appeareth undeniably in Ignatius Tertullian Cyprian Hierom Chrysostom c. Concil Carthag 4. Can. 22 23 29 32 34 35 36 37. as is confessed by the chiefest Defenders of Episcopacy 2. If all Presentments and Appeals be made to the Bishop and his Consistory alone it will take from us the Parish Discipline which is granted us and cast almost all Discipline out of the Church As is most apparent to them that by experience are acquainted with the quality of our Flocks and with the true Nature of the Pastoral Work Considering 1. How many hundred Churches are in a Diocess 2. How many thousand Persons are in very many Parishes and of those what a number are obstinate in wilful gross Ignorance or Scandal refusing to be instructed or admonished by their Pastors 3. How long and earnestly and tenderly Sinners must be dealth with before they are cut off by Solemn Excommunication 4. How unsatisfactory it must be to the Conscience of a Bishop or Synod to cut off a Man as impenitent upon the bare report of a Minister before by full Admonition they have proved him impenitent themselves especially when too many Ministers are to say nothing of Passion that might cause partial Accusations unable so to manage a Reproof and Exhortation as is necessary to work on the Consciences of the People and to convict Resisters of flat Impenitency 5. What abundance of Work the Bishop will have besides Constant preaching will require time for preparation Visiting the several Churches Confirming all the Souls in so many hundred Parishes which alone is more than any one Man can do aright if he had nothing else to do Ordaining Instituting and Examining the Persons so far as to satisfie a tender Conscience that takes not all on trust from others and is but the Executor of their Judgments These and much more with the care of Church-buildings Lands and his own Affairs and Family and Sicknesses and necessary absence sometimes will make this great additional Work which must be constantly performed for so many hundred Parishes to be impossible 6. Reproofs and Suspension would so exasperate the Scandalous that they would vex the Pastors with numerous Appeals 7. The Pastors will be undone by travelling and waiting and maintaining such a multitude of Witnesses as is necessary for the prosecuting of Presentments and answering so many Appeals 8. The Business will be so odious chargeable and troublesom that Witnesses will not come in 9. The Minister by these Prosecutions and Attendances will be taken off the rest of his Ministerial Work 10. Bishops being but Men will be tempted by this intolerable Burden to be weary of the Work and slubber it over and cast it upon others and to discountenance the most conscionable Ministers that most trouble them with Presentments which when the Offenders perceive they will the more insult and vex us with Appeals So that the Discouragements of Ministers and the utter Incapacity of the Bishops to perform a quarter of this Work will nullifie Discipline as leaving it impossible Experience hath told us this too long And then when our Communion is thus polluted with all that are most incapable through utter Ignorance Scandal and Contempt of Piety 1. Ministers will be deterred from their Administrations to Subjects so uncapable 2. Bishops that are tender Conscienced will be deâ—erred from undertaking so impossible a Work and of so ill Success 3. And Men that have least tenderness of Conscience and Care of Souls and Fear of God's Displeasure will seek for and intrude into both places 4. And the tender conscienced People will be tempted to speak hardly of such undisciplined Churches and of the Officers and to withdraw from them 5. And hereby they will fall under the Displeasure of Superiours and the Scorn of the Vulgar that have no Religion but what is subservient to their Flesh. 6. And so while the most pious are brought under Discountenance and Reproach and the most impious get the Reputation of being most Regular and obedient to their Rulers Piety it self will grow into disesteem and Impiety escape its due disgrace And this hath been the Cause of our Calamities 3. As to the Liturgy it is Matter of great Joy and Thankfulness to us that we have heard your Majesty more than once so resolutely promising That none shall suffer for not using the Common Prayer and Ceremonies but you would secure them from the Penalties in the Act for Uniformity as that which your Declaration at Breda intended and to find here so much of your Majesty's Clemency in your gracious Concessions for a future Emendation But we humbly crave leave to acquaint your Majesty 1. That it grieveth us after all to hear that yet it is given in Charge by the Judges at the Assizes to indict Men upon that Act for not using the Common Prayer 2. That it is not only Some absolete words and other expressions that are offensive 3. That many scruple using some part of the Book as it is lest they be guilty of countenancing the whole who yet would use it when reformed Therefore we humbly crave that your Majesty will here declare That it is your Majesty's pleasure that none be punished or troubled for not using the Book of Common Prayer
this Trouble who am SIR Your true Friend to serve you Iohn Griggs Aug. 30. 1660. The other was as followeth Dr. Pierce called Mr. Baxter bold impudent sawcy Fellow for preaching such a Sâ—rmon to the King and for printing himself his Majesty's Chaplain and his Sermon to be printed at his Majesty's Command when neither were true and called Mr. Baxter Thief Murderer the greatest of Rebels worse than a Whore-master or Drunkard c. Some of this I heard him speak my self the rest I had from a Friend which heard it from Mr. Price George Brent By this taste the Reader that knew not the Men may judge with what sort of Men we had to do for Dr. Pierce was not without too many Companions of his Temper These Men that witness these Words of his were godly Men who having been Mr. Iohn Goodwin's Disciples had been made Arminians by him and fell in with Dr. Pierce for his Agreement with them in the Arminian Points But they could not lay by Piety and Charity in Partiality for Opinions and being impatient of his Impudence thus made it known to me I purposed to have produced it before all the Bishops when Dr. Pierce was there having no other Opportunity to see him But I had no fit Occasion and was loth in Business of publick respect to interpose any thing that meerly concerned my self and so I never yet told him of it § 117. That the Reader may understand this the better by knowing the occasion of his Malice this Mr. Tho. Pierce being a confident Man that had a notable Stile and Words at Will and a venomous railing Pen and Tongue against the Puritans and Calvanists having written somewhat in Defence of Grotius as a judicious peaceable Protestant in Opposition to some Passages in my Christian Concord where I warn the Episcopal Party to take heed of Grotianism that was creeping in upon them I did thereupon write a little Collection out of the late Writings of Grotius especially his Discussio Apologetici Rivetiani to prove him to have turned Papist and that Popery was indeed his Religion though he communicated with no Church for he expresly pleadeth for our consenting to the Council of Trent and all other general Councils as the Churches Law and to the Pope's Sovereign Government so it be according to those Laws and to the Mistressship of the Church of Rome over all other Churches and to Pope Pius's Oath with much more to that purpose and telleth us that he was turned from us because he saw that the Protestant Churches had no possibility of Union among themselves c. and there is a Book written I think by Vincentius a French Minister called Grotius Papizans which proveth it And Claud Suravia an honourable learned Counsellor of Paris in his printed Epistles publisheth the same from Grotius's own Mouth But Mr. Pierce was vehemently furious at my Book and wrote a Volume against me full of ingenuous Lies and Railing for he had no better way to defend Grotius or himself In that Book he scrapes up all the Words through all my Writings where I speak any thing of my self and puts them together more impudently interpreting them than could have been expected from a Man Because I confess that the place I liv'd in was a Sequestration whence an ignorant Reader had been put out before my coming to them therefore he calls me Thief as if I liv'd on another's Bread As if no Man must ever have been the Teacher of the People till that ignorant Wretch were restored to his Soul-murdering Condition Because I had written to persuade some honest scrupulous Persons that they should not forsake the Churches Communion though some were there that had been drunken or otherwise scandalous and had spoken some Words to draw them to some charitable hopes of a Man that had been drunken or adulterous if he were not impenitent and all this to reconcile them to the Prelatical Party whom they took to be the scandalous People of the Land so little Thanks doth he give me for this Excusing of his Party that he calls me worse than a Drunkard or Whoremonger as if I had pleaded for these Sins and yet in his former Book he had said that if I came that way and would communicate with him and his Church no Man in the whole World should be more welcome dreaming that I had disowned Communion with the Prelatists which I never did for all their publick and personal Corruptions But his Venom against the Puritans is meerly Serpentine He describeth them as the most bloody traiterous wicked Generation unworthy to live and blameth the former Bishops that used them so gently and provoketh the Governors to hang them in greater Numbers than heretofore and especially against Cartwright he falsly but confidently writeth that he was confederate with Hacket Copinger and Arthington whom he feigneth to have been Presbyterians or Puritans who were distracted Fanaticks one calling himself Christ and the other his two Witnesses But Mr. Cartwright himself long ago publish'd a Defence against the Accusations of Dr. Sutcliff on this very Matter § 118. But to return from this Digression A little before the Meeting about the King's Declaration Collonel Birch came to me as from the Lord Chancellor to persuade me to take the Bishoprick of Hereford for he had bought the Bishop's House at Whitburne and thought to make a better Bargain with me than with another and therefore finding that the Lord Chancellor intended me the Offer of one he desired it might be that I thought it best to give them no positive Denyal till I saw the utmost of their Intents And I perceived that Coll. Birch came privately that a Bishoprick might not be publickly refused and to try whether I would accept it that else it might not be offered me for he told me that they would not bear such a Repulse I told him that I was resolved never to be Bishop of Hereford and that I did not think that I should ever see cause to take any Bishoprick but I could give no positive Answer till I saw the King's Resolutions about the way of Church-Government For if the old Diocesan Frame continued he knew we could never accept or own it After this having not a flat denyal he came again and again to Dr. Reignolds Mr. Calamy and my self together to importune us all to accept the Offer for the Bishoprick of Norwich was offered Dr. Reignolds and Coventry and Litchfield to Mr. Calamy But he had no positive Answer but the same from me as before At last the Day that the King's Declaration came out when I was with the Lord Chancellor who did all he asked me whether I would accept of a Bishoprick I told them that if he had asked me that Question the day before I could easily have answered him that in Conscience he could not do it â— for though I would live peaceably under whatever Government the King should set up I could not
said than never to hear it and also that it was said That this Baker was one that he had elected to be a Bishop This greatly troubled the King and he called for the Book that had the Catalogue of the Bishops which Secretary Nicholas brought and said there was no such Name But the King presently spied the Name and said There it was and charged that he should be enquired after The next day we learned that it was another Baker of the same Name with the Bishop And though we also learned that the Bishop himself was a Good-fellow yet because it was not the same Man I went the next day to Mr. Secretary Morrice and intreated him to certifie the King that it was another Baker that so the Bishop might receive no wrong by it which he promised to do Yet was it given out that we were Lyers and â—anderers that maliciously came to defame the Clergy And shortly after the Bishop put it into the News-Book That some Presbyterians had maliciously defamed him and that it was not he but another of his Name So that though the Fact was never questioned or denied yet was it a heinouser matter in us to say that it was reported to be an elect Bishop when it was as ancient a Priest of the same name than for the Man to preach and pray in his Drunkenness I never heard that he was rebuked for it but we heard enough of it § 147. Upon this Fact when we met and dined one day at the Lord Chamberlains among other talk of this Business I said That if I wished their hurt at one of their Enemies I should wish they were more such that their shame might cast them down Mr. Horton a young Man that was Chaplain to the Lord Chamberlain and then intended to conform answered That we must not wish evil that good may come of it To which I replyed There is no doubt of it far is it from me to say that I wish it but if I were their Enemy I could scarce wish them greater hurt and injury to their Cause than to set up such Men and that those are their Enemies whoever they be that perswade them to cast out learned godly Ministers and set up such in their room as these Yet did this Mr. Horton in his complying weakness to please that Party tell Dr. Bolton That I wished that they were all such And Dr. Bolton told it from Table to Table and published it in the Pulpit And when he was questioned for it alledged Mr. Horton as his Author When I went to Mr. Horton he excused it and said That he thought I hâ—d said so and when I told him of the additional words by which then I disclaimed such a sence he could not remember them and that was all the remedy I had though none of the Brethren present remembred any such words as he reported But when the Lord Chamberlain knew of it he was so much offended that I was fain to intercede for Mr. Horton that it might not prove any hurt to him And by this following Letter he exprest his distast For my esteemed Friend Mr. Baxter These SIR I Have just Cause to intreat your Excuse for so abrupt a breaking from you I confess I was under very great trouble for the folly of my Chaplain and could not forbear to express it to him I am concerned with a very true resentment for so imprudent a Carriage Let me intreat you that it may not reflect upon me but that you will believe that I have so great a value of you and am so tender of your Credit as I cannot easily pass by my Chaplain's indiscretion Yet I shall endeavour to clear you from any untrue Aspersions and shall approve my self Your assured Friend Ed. Manchester § 148. I shall next insert some account of the Business which I had so often with the Lord Chancellour at this time Because it was most done in the inter-space between the passing of the King's Declaration and the Debates about the Liturgy In the time of Cromwell's Government Mr. Iohn Elliot with some Assistant in New-England having learnt the Natives Language and Converted many Souls among them not to be baptized and forget their Names as well as Creed as it is among the Spaniards Converts at Mexico Peru c. but to serious Godliness it was found that the great hinderance of the progress of that Work was the Poverty and Barbarousness of the People which made many to live dispersed like wild Beasts in Wildernesses so that having neither Towns nor Food nor Entertainment fit for English Bodies few of them could be got together to be spoken to nor could the English go far or stay long among them Wherefore to build them Houses and draw them together and maintain the Preachers that went among them and pay School-masters to teach their Children and keep their Children at School c. Cromwell caused a Collection to be made in England in every Parish and People did contribute very largely And with the Money beside some left in stock was bought 7 or 800 l. per Annum of Lands and a Corporation chosen to dispose of the Rents for the furthering of the Works among the Indians This Land was almost all bought for the worth of it of one Colonel Beddingfield a Papist an Officer in the King's Army When the King came in Beddingfield seizeth on the Lands again and keepeth them and refuseth either to surrender them or to repay the Money because all that was done in Cromwell's time being now judged void as being without Law that Corporation was now null and so could have no right to Money or Lands And he pretended that he sold it under the worth in expectation of the recovery of it upon the King's return The President of the Corporation was the Lord Steele a Judge a worthy Man The Treasurer was Mr. Henry Ashurst and the Members were such sober godly Men as were best affected to New-Englands Work Mr. Ashurst being the most exemplary Person for eminent Sóbriety Self-denial Piety and Charity that London could glory of as far as publick Observation and Fame and his most intimate Friends Reports could testifie did make this and all other Publick Good which he could do his Business He called the Old Corporation together and desired me to meet them where we all agreed that such as had incurred the King's Displeasure by being Members of any Courts of Justice in Cromwell's days should quietly recede and we should try if we could get the Corporation restored and the rest continued and more fit Men added that the Land might be recovered And because of our other Business I had ready access to the Lord Chancellour they desired me to solicit him about it so Mr. Ashurst and I did follow the Business The Lord Chancelloor at the very first was ready to further us approving of the Work as that which could not be for any Faction or Evil end but honourable to
have been with them upon the lowest lawful Terms Some laughed at me for refusing a Bishoprick and petitioning to be a reading Vicar's Curate But I had little Hopes of so good a Condition at least for any considerable time § 152. The Ruler of the Vicar and all the Business there was Sir Ralph Clare an old Man and an old Couâ—tier who carried it towards me all the time I was there with great Civility and Respect and sent me a Purse of Money when I went away but I refused it But his Zeal against all that scrupled Ceremonies or that would not preach for Prelacy and Conformity c. was so much greater than his Respects to me that he was the principal Cause of my Removal though he has not owned it to this Day I suppose he thought that when I was far enough off he could so far rule the Town as to reduce the People to his way But he little knew nor others of that Temper how firm conscientious Men are to the Matters of their everlasting Interest and how little Mens Authority can do against the Authority of God with those that are unfeignedly subject to him Openly he seemed to be for my Return at first that he might not offend the People and the Lord Chancellor seemed very forward in it and all the Difficulty was how to provide some other Place for the old Vicar Mr. Dance that he might be no loser by the Change And it was so contrived that all must seem forward in it except the Vicar the King himself must be engaged in it the Lord Chancellor earnestly presseth it Sir Ralph Clare is willing and very desirous of it and the Vicar is willing if he may but be recompenced with as good a Place from which I received but 90 l. per Annum heretofore Either all desire it or none desire it But the Hindrance was that among all the Livings and Prebendaries of England there was none fit for the poor Vicar A Prebend he must not have because he was insufficient and yet he is still thought sufficient to be the Pastor of near 4000 Souls The Lord Chancellor to make the Business certain will engage himself for a valuable stipend to the Vicar and his own Steward must be commanded to pay it him What could be desired more But the poor Vicar was to answer him that this was no security to him his Lordship might withhold that Stipend at his Pleasure and then where was his Maintenance give him but a legal Title of any thing of equal value and he would resign and the Patron was my sure and intimate Friend But no such thing was to be had and so Mr. Dance must keep his Place § 153. Though I requested not any Preferment of them but this yet even for this I resolved I would never be importunate I only nominated it as the Favour which I desired when there Offers in general invited me to ask more and then I told them that if it were any way inconvenient to them I would not request it of them And at the very first I desired that if they thought it best for the Vicar to keep his Place I was willing to take the Lecture which by his Bond was secured to me and was still my Right or if that were denied me I would be his Curate while the King's Declaration stood in force But none of these could be accepted with Men that were so exceeding willing In the end it appeared that two Knights of the Country Sir Ralph Clare and Sir Iohn Packington who were very great with Dr. Morley newly made Bishop of Worcester had made him believe that my Interest was so great and I could do so much with Ministers and People in that Country that unless I would bind my self to promote their Cause and Party I was not fit to be there And this Bishop being greatest of any Man with the Lord Chancellor must obstruct my Return to my ancient Flock At last Sir Ralph Clare did freely tell me that if I would conform to the Orders and Ceremonies of the Church and preach Conformity to the People and labour to set them right there was no Man in England so fit to be there for no Man could more effectually do it but if I would not there was no Man so unfit for the place for no Man could more hinder it § 154. I desired it as the greatest favour of them that if they intended not my being there they would plainly tell me so that I might trouble them and my self no more about it But that was a favour too great to be expected I had continual encouragement by Promises till I was almost tired in waiting on them At last meeting Sir Ralph Clare in the Bishop's Chamber I desired him before the Bishop to tell me to my face if he had any thing against me which might cause all this ado He told me that I would give the Sacrament to none kneeling and that of Eighteen hundred Communicants there was not past Six hundred that were for me and the rest were rather for the Vicar I answerd That I was very glad that these words fell out to be spoken in the Bishop's hearing To the first Accusation I told him That he himself knew that I invited him to the Sacrament and offered it him kneeling and under my hand in that writing and openly in his hearing in the Pulpit I had promised and told both him and all the rest that I never had nor never would put any Man from the Sacrament on the account of kneeling but leave every one to the Posture which they should choose And that the reason why I never gave it to any kneeling was because all that came would sit or stand and those that were for kneeling only followed him who would not come unless I would administer it to him and his Party on a day by themselves when the rest were not present and I had no mind to be the Author of such a Schism and make as it were two Churches of one But especially the consciousness of notorious Scandal which they knew they must be accountable for did make many kneelers stay away And all this he could not deny And as to the second Charge there was a Witness ready to say as he for the truth is among good and bad I knew but one Man in the Town against me which was a Stranger newly come one Canderton an Attorney Steward to the Lord of Abergeveny a Papist who was Lord of the Mannor and this one Man was the Prosecutor and witnessed how many were against my Return I craved of the Bishop that I might send by the next Post to know their Minds and if that were so I would take it for a favour to be kept from thence When the People heard this at Kidderminster in a days time they gathered the hands of Sixteen hundred of the Eighteen hundred Communicants and the rest were such as were from home And
that all the Snares that ever they could lay for us never procured them just advantage once truly to say that we disagreed among our selves For though there were enow at a distance who could not have agreed to all that we did yet we so far left them out though to the displeasure both of the Prelatists and them that no discord was found in any of our Proposals or Debates which cut some of them more to the heart than all that else we did to their displeasure § 209. By this time our frequent crossing of their Expectations I saw had made some of the Bishops angry above all Bishop Morley who over-ruled the whole business and did interess himself in it deeplier than the rest and was of a hotter Spirit and a readier Tongue But that which displeased them most was the freedom of my Speeches to them that is that I spake to them as on terms of Equality as to the Cause yet with all honourable Titles to their Persons For I perceived that they had that eminency of Power and Interest that the greatest Lords were glad of their favour did expect that the presence of so many of them should have awed us into such a silence or cowardliness as should have betrayed our Cause or at least that their Vehemency and Passions and Interruptions should have put us out of Countenance But I intreated them to give us leave with the due honour of their Persons to use that necessary liberty of Speech to them as beseemed such as are very confident that they plead for the Cause of God and the happiness and healing of a bleeding Church and that upon the warrant of the King's Commission And I must say that though they frowned at my freedom of Speech they never once accused me of any unmannerly or unreverent Language § 210. When we were going to our Disputation Dr. Pierce asked whether he that was none of the three deputed by them to that Service might joyn with the rest And we told that we cared not how many joyned the more the better for if any one of them could see any Evidence of Truth which the rest did overlook it would redound to our Benefit who desired nothing but the Victory of Truth § 211. And before he began with them he would fain have had one bout with me himself Whereas I moved them to some Christian Charity to all those Consciencious Christians that were to be put away from the Communion of the Church if they did but scruple the lawfulness of kneeling in the reception of the Sacrament though I still profest to them that I held it not unlawful my self when the Sacrament could not be otherwise had Dr. Pierce offered himself to a Disputation to prove that let them be never so many it is an Act of Mercy to them to put them all from the Communion of the Church I easily perceived what advantage his Confidence and Passion gave me and I intreated him to try his skill but his Brethren would not give him leave I earnestly entreated them to give him leave but to try one Argument but I could not prevail with them being wiser than to suffer his Passion to expose their Cause to Laughter and Contempt But yet he could not forbear to cast out his medium and tell us how he would have argued viz. That they that receive the Sacrament being in judgment against kneeling in the Act of Receiving do receive it Schismatically and so to their own Damnation Ergo it is an Act of Charity to keep them from the Communion of the Church Where note That our Dispute was only whether the Legistators should by Laws or Canons keep them away and not whether a Pastor supposing such Laws existent should keep them away And therefore by making it damnable Schism antecedently to our Laws he must needs mean that some Foreign Laws or General Councils do prove it Schism or else the Custom of the Universal Church And as to the first I did at large there prove that the Twentieth Canon of the Council at Nice and the Concil Trull and the most ancient Writers do unanimously decree against kneeling and make it universally unlawful and that by Apostolical Tradition to adore kneeling on any Lord's Day in the Year and on any other Day between Easter and Whitsunday and that no General Council hath reversed this till meer Disuse and contrary Custom did it And for Custom the Protestant Churches concur not in that Custom nor are they Schismaticks for differing from the Papists and others that do so nor is it better for them all to be without any Church Communion than not to kneel in the Act of Receiving Nor do the Papists themselves make every Man a Schismatick that followeth not the Custom of their Church in every particular Gesture unless he separate from their Church it self much less do they pronounce Damnation on all such But if it were the Law of our own Land or Church which he thought made it Schism then he might as well have so argued for sitting or standing and against kneeling viz. That it is Charity to make a Law is keep all from Church◠Communion that will kneel because when such a Law is made it is damnable Schism to kneel But the very truth is I perceived so little Compassion to Souls in the zealous and swaying Managers of these Controversies and so little regard of the Scruples and Tenderness of Godly People who were afraid of Sinning a◠that I scarce thought among Protestants there had been any such Whether they would have abated one Ceremony if they had had an hundred more to keep all the Dissenters in three Nations from being cast out of the Ministry and Church I know not but of those they have they would not abate one which made me oft think that their Spirits are much more like the Papists than their Formal Worship and Discipline is so much do they agree in destroying Men for their Opinions and Ceremonies sake and in Building the Tombs of the Prophets and over-honouring the dead Saints while they go on to hate and destroy the living And it made me oft remember Bishop Hall's Character of an Hyprocrite who boweth at the Name of Iesus and sweareth by the Name of God and would set all the World on fire for a Circumstances And it made me remember what that learned godly Minister Mr Spinage hath oft told me and many others and is still ready to justifie upon Oath that being heretofore familiar with this Mr. Thomas Pierce and saying once to him These Men that you so abhor are very godly Men and have much Communion with God he brake out into this Answer A pou on this Communion with God And it made me think of Augustine's Description of the sottish Worldlings that had far rather thus were one Star fewer in Heaven than one Cow or one Tree the fewer in their Grounds So had these Men rather One thousand eight hundred godly
the sence of the Text to forbid all such commands If it be the sence of the Text to forbid such commands then your Distinction is frivolous and the use of it here prevented and our Argument stands good But it is the sence of the Text to forbid all such commands Ergo The Minor we are to prove hereafter when we are further called to it by your Answers But if by command you mean any other command without penalty or without the penalty forbidden we argue If it be all one as to our Case whether it be so commanded or not then your Distinction is frivolous and our Argument stands good But it is all one to our Case whether it be so commanded or not Ergo This was the Sum of our Rejection of your Answer which we cannot prosecute till you will be perswaded as we have required to explain your Distinction and then we shall know what to speak to But perhaps you take your very Refusal to explain it to be an Explanation and your words may seem to allow us to understand you of any command with this penalty or without where you say That Text which speaks of things under no command at all is brought nothing to the purpose of the things which we debate of being under some command of lawful Authority But still that Text which forbiddeth any such command and so taketh away the Authority of so commanding is something to the purpose as proving that no Humane Authority should so command But this Text forbiddeth any such command and so taketh away the Authority of so commanding Ergo And as it is a command consistent with Receiving Forbearing c. that you may be understood to speak of 1. If you speak de facto de jure and suppose that there be and ought to be no other command then you grant us the Cause that there should be no command upon penalty of being Not-received Not-forborn c. 2. If your Supposition be de facto only then That commanding which consisteth with God's command to Receive and forbear c. altereth not the Case But such is the commanding that now you are supposed to speak of Ergo So still your distinguishing toucheth not our Argument no more than if you had distinguished of the Instructed and Uninstructed and said Paul speaketh of those that were uninstructed only Ergo he is not alledged to the purpose Whereas you say That this penalty that the Minister be enjoyned not to administer the Communion to those that disobey such command is no ways inconsistent with the Receiving and all the Indulgences of that Truth We shall prove the contrary anon in due place For appellation to indifferent persons we also are willing such shall judge whether if your Distinction speak of no commanding but such as is consistent with this Receiving Forbearing c. it leave us not in possession of the force of our Argument and if it speak de jure that there should be no other whether it yield not up the Cause It seems our very phrase of begging the Question being misunderstood by you hath been taken as your greatest occasion of insulting But if we used an unusual Phrase if that occasioned your mistake we can beg your pardon and explain it with less wrong to our Cause or our selves than you can make such use of it as to yours We did not dream of charging you with that begging of the Question which is the fallacy and fault of the Opponent as it is the begging of a Principle undertaken to be proved we know this is not incident ot the Respondent nor to be imputed to him we charged you with no such thing though we confess our Phrase was liable to your misinterpretation But we crave your willingness to understand that we were proving that such things may not be by Rulers enjoyned or commanded under the penalty of Exclusion from Communion and that the latter Branch of your Distinction hath the nature of a Reason of your denial of the Proposition denied viz. because the things are commanded and that by our telling you of begging the Question we mean but this much 1. That you give us a Reason implied in a Distinction which is but equal to a simple Negation and is not we say not the giving a sufficient Reason but the giving of a Reason indeed at all 2. That it is but equal to an unsavoury Denial of the meer Conclusion 3. Yea that it is a preposterous Reduction of the Rule to the Action and of the former to the latter Suppose we had thus phrased our Proposition Rulers themselves are here forbidden to enjoyn or command the rejecting of such as are only weak in the Faith c. And you should distinguish and say Either Rulers have commanded the rejecting them for such things or not If they have then we deny the Proposition that is if they have done it they may do it and the Text that forbids it is to be understood of such Rulers as have not already forbidden it Tell us how you will call such distinguishing your selves and you may understand our meaning It is all one if you put your Exception into the description of the Fault and when we say God here forbiddeth Governours themselves to make any Commands or Injunctions for rejecting such as are only weak in the Faith and mistake about indifferent things and you distinguish thus either the weak offend against such Commands or not If they do sin against such Commands then the Text forbiddeth not the making of such Commands Give this kind of distinguishing and answering a proper Name your selves Or if to our Proposition you say The indifferent things are commanded by the Governours or not If they be then God forbiddeth not the Governour to command the rejection of the persons from Commussion that is Though God forbid Governours to make Laws for rejecting such as err about indifferent things only yet that is on supposition that the said Governours do not first command those indifferent things for if once they command them they may then command the rejection of those that break them But on the contrary He that forbiddeth the rejection of such simply and antecedently to the Laws of Men forbiddeth the rejecting of them mediately or immediately and forbiddeth the framing of such Commands as shall be means of the prohibited Rejection But God in the Text forbiddeth the Rejection of such simply and antecedently to the Laws of Men Ergo he forbiddeth the Rejecting of them mediately or immediately and forbiddeth the framing of such Commands as shall be means of the prohibited Rejection Though we have thus taken off your Answer we shall give you fuller proof in the end of what you can reasonably expect You next Answer this Argument of ours If there be no power that may command such things any further then may stand with the Reception and other Indulgences of the Text then must you not suppose that any Power may
as unnecessary small and doubtful as kneeling in the Reception of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper are to be made necessary to the Communion of the Church Ergo To enjoyn all c. is to maintain and exercise a Principle of Church-Division The Major which only needs proof is thus proved To maintain and exercise such a Principle as 1. Never yet was exercised but it did divide the Church 2. and by which its Divisions have been caused or cherished ever since the Roman Usurpation begun 3. and which cannot possibly consist with Unity whilst Christians are of such different 1. Educations 2. and degrees of Natural Understanding 3. and degrees of Grace is to maintain and exercise a Principle of Church Division But to maintain and exercise this Principle That Things as unnecessary small and doubtful as kneeling in the Reception of the Sacrament are to be made necessary to the Communion of the Church is to maintain and exercise such a Principle as 1. never yet was exercised but it did divide c. Ergo And thus our Dispute at the Savoy ended and with it our Endeavours for Reconciliation upon the Warrant of the King's Commission § 236. Were it not a thing in which an Historian so much concerned in the business is apt to be suspected of partiality I would here annex a Character of each one that managed this business as they shewed themselves But because it hath that inconvenience I will omit it only telling you what part each one of them acted in all this Work The Bishop of London since Archbishop of Canterbury only appeared the first day of each Conference which besides that before the King was but twice in all as I remember and medled not at all in any Disputations But all Men supposed that he and Bishop Morley and next Bishop Hinchman were the doers and disposers of all such Affairs The Archbishop of York spake no more than I have told you and came but once or twice in all Bishop Morley was oft there but not constantly and with free and fluent words with much earnestness was the chief Speaker of all the Bishops and the greatest Interrupter of us vehemently going on with what he thought serviceable to his end and bearing down Answers by the said fervour and interruptions Bishop Cosins was there constantly and had a great deal of talk with so little Logick Natural or Artificial that I perceived no one much moved by any thing he said But two Vertues he shewed though none took him for a Magician One was that he was excellently well versed in Canons Councils and Fathers which he remembred when by citing of any Passages wotried him The other was that as he was of a Rustick Wit and Carriage so he would endure more freedom of our Discourse with him and was more affable and familiar than the rest Bishop Hinchman since Bishop of London was of the most grave comely reverend Aspect of any of them and of a good insight in the Fathers and Councils Cosins and he and Dr. Gunning being all that shewed any of that skill among us considerable in which they are all three of very laudable understandings and better than any other of either of the Parties that I met with And Bishop Hinchman spake calmly and slowly and not very oft But was as high in his Principles and Resolutions as any of them Bishop Sanderson of Lincoln was some time there but never spake that I know of but what I have told you before But his great Learning and Worth are known by his Labours and his aged Peevishness not unknown Bishop Gauden was our most constant helper He and Bishop Cosins seldom were absent And how bitter soever his Pen be he was the only Moderator of all the Bishops except our Bishop Reignolds He shewed no Logick nor medled in any Dispute or Point of Learning but a calm fluent Rhetorical Tongue And if all had been of his mind we had been reconciled But when by many days Conference in the beginning we had got some moderating Concessions from him and from Bishop cosins by his means the rest came in the end and brake them all Bishop Lucie of St. David's spake once or twice a few words calmly and so did Bishop Nicholson of Glocester and Bishop Griffiths of Asaph though no Commissioners and did no more Bishop King of Chicbester I never saw there Bishop Warner of Rocbester was there once or twice but medled not that I heard Bishop Lany of Peterborough was twice or thrice there and talked as is before recited for I remember no more Bishop Walton of Chester was there once or twice and spake but what is before recited that I know of Bishop Sterne of Carlisle since Archbishop of York was of a most sober honest mortified Aspect but spake nothing that I know of but that weak uncharitable word before mentioned so that I was never more deceived by a Man's Face Bishop Reignolds spake much the first day for bringing them to Abatements and Moderation And afterwards he fate with them and spake now and then a word for Moderation He was a solid honest Man but through mildness and excess of timerous reverence to great Men altogether unfit to contend with them Mr. Thorndike spake once a few impertinent passionate words confusing the Opinion which we had received of him from his first Writings and confirming that which his second and last Writings had given us of him Dr. Earle Dr. Heylin and Dr. Barwick never came Dr. Hacket since Bishop of Coventry and Litchfield said nothing to make us know any thing of him Dr. Sparrow said but little but that little was with a Spirit enough for the imposing dividing Cause Dr. Pierson and Dr. Gunning did all their Work beside Bishop Morley's Discourses but with great difference in the manner Dr. Pierson was their true Logician and Disputant without whom as far as I could discern we should have had nothing from them but Dr. Gunning's passionate Invectives mixt with some Argumentations He disputed acurately soberly and calmly being but once in any passion breeding in us a great respect for him and a perswasion that if he had been independent he would have been for Peace and that if all were in his power it would have gone well He was the strength and honour of that Cause which we doubted whether he heartily maintained Dr. Gunning was their forwardest and greatest Speaker understanding well what belonged to a Disputant a Man of greater Study and Industry than any of them well read in Fathers and Councils and of a ready Tongue and I hear and believe of a very temperate Life as to all Carnal Excesses whatsoever but so vehement for his high imposing Principles and so over-zealous for Arminianism and Formality and Church Pomp and so very eager and servent in his Discourse that I conceive his Prejudice and Passion much perverted his Judgment and I am sure they made him lamentably over-run himself in
seeing it is but supposing them to be Men not yet in Heaven and this may be impured to every one that differeth in Opinion from another And we beseech your Majesty to believe that as we seek no greater Matters in the World than our daily bread with Liberty to preach the Gospel and Worship God according to his Word and the practise of the Primitive purest Church so we hope it is not through pusillanimity and overmuch tenderness of Suffering that we have pleaded so much for the avoiding of Suffering to our Selves or others May none of our Sufferings hinder the Prosperity of the Church and the good of Souls of Men May not our dread Soveraign the Breath of our Nostrils be tempted by mis-representations to distast such as are faithful and unawares to wrong the interest of Christ and put forth his hand to afflict those that Christ would have him cherist left their Head should be provoked to jealousie and offence May not the Land of our Nativity languish in Divisions nor be filled with the Groans of those that are shut out of the holy Assemblies and those that want the necessary breaking of the Bread of Life Nor be disappointed of its expected Peace and Ioy Let not these things befall us and we have enough And we suppose those that think the Persons inconsiderable in number and quality for whom we plead will not themselves believe that we have done this for Popular Applause This were not so much to seek the Reward of Hypocrites as to play the Game of Fools seeing the Applause of inconsiderable Men can be but inconsiderable and we know our selves that we are like thus to offend those that are not inconsiderable The Lord that searcheth hearts doth know that it is not so much the avoiding of Suffering to our selves or any particular Persons that is the end of our Endeavours though this were no ambitious end as the Peace and Welfare of the Church and Kingdoms under your Majesty's Government We know that supposing them that are for the Ceremonies to be as pious and charitable as the rest it cannot so much offend them that another Man forbeareth them as it must offend that other to be forced to use them and we know that consciencious Men will not consent to the practice of things in their Judgments unlawful when those may yield that count the Matters but indifferent And for the management of this Treaty it being agreed at our first meeting that nothing be reported as the Words or Sence of either Part but what is by them delivered in writing we humbly crave that your Majesty receive no more as ours and that where is charged on any particular Person he may be answerable for himself And though the Reverend Bishops have not had time to consider of our Additions to the Liturgy and of our Reply that yet they may be considered before a Determination be made And though we seem to have laboured in vain we shall yet lay this Work of Reconciliation and Peace at the feet of your Majesty beseeching you to prosecute such a blessed Resolution till it attain success We must needs believe that when your Majesty took our Consent to a Liturgy to be a Foundation that would infer our Concord you meant not that we should have no Concord but by consenting to this Liturgy without any considerable Alteration And when you comforted us with your Resolution to draw us together by yielding on both sides in what we could you meant not that we should be the Boat and they the Bank that must not stir And when your Majesty commanded us by your Letters Patents to treat about such Alterations as are needful or expedient for giving Satisfaction to tender Consciences and the restoring and continuance of Peace and Unity we rest assured that it was not your sence that those render Consciences were to be forced to practise all which they judged unlawful and not so much as a Ceremony abated them Or that our Treaty was only to convert either part to the Opinion of the other and that all our Hopes of Concord or Liberty consisted only in Disputing the Bishops into Nonconformity or coming in every Ceremony to their minds Finally as your Majesty under God is the Protection whereto your People flie and as the same Necessities still remain which drew forth your gracious Declaration we most humbly and earnestly beseech your Majesty that the Benefits of the said Declaration may be continued to your People and in particular That none be punished or troubled for not using the Common Prayer till it be effectually reformed and the Additions made as there expressed We crave your Majesty's pardon for the tediousness of this Address and shall wait in hope that so great a Calamity of your People as would follow the loss of so many able faithful Ministers as rigorous Impositions would cast out shall never be Recorded in the History of your Reign but than these Impediments of Concord being forborn your Kingdoms may flourish in Piety and Peace and this may be the signal Honour of your happy Government and your Joy in the Day of your Accounts Which is the Prayer of Your Majesty's Faithful and Obedient Subjects § 240. And in the Conclusion of this Business seeing we could prevail with these Prelates and Prelatical Men after so many Calamities by Divisions and when they pretended Desires of Unity to make no considerable Alterations at all the Reason of it seeming unsearchable to some was by others confidently conjectured to be these 1. They extremly prejudic'd the Persons that sought this Peace and therefore were glad of means to cast them out and ruin them 2. The Effects of the Parliament's Conquest had exasperated them to the height 3. They would not have any Reformation or Change to occasion Men to think that ever they were in an Errour or that their Adversaries had reasonably desired or had procured a Reformation 4. Some confidently thought that a secret Resolution to unite with the Papists at least as high as the old Design which Heylin owneth in Laud's Life was the greatest cause of all And that they would never have lost so great a Party as they did but to gain a greater at home and abroad together § 241. And here because they would abate us nothing at all considerable but made things far harder and heavier than before I will annex the Concessions of Archbishop Usher Archbishop Williams Bishop Morton Bishop Holdsworth and many others in a Committee at Westminster before mentioned 1641. A Copy of the Proceedings of some Worthy and Learned Divines touching Innovations in the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England Together with Considerations upon the Common Prayer Book Innovations in Doctrine 1. Quaere WHether in the Twentieth Article these Words are not inserted Habet Ecclesia authoritatem in Controversiis fidei 2. It appears by Stetfords and the approbation of the Licensers that some do teach and preach That Good
him 3. That executively it is to be done by every one in their places the Pastors giving or denying the Sacraments c. and the People holding or refusing Communion or Company with Men according as they are judged by the Church I think there is no Controversie among us about these § 325. 3. And therefore the Work will resolve us of the place viz. That the Execution must be in that place where he had or desired Communion or was capable of it And therefore that the Iudgment should be by those that being upon the place have fullest opportunity to know the Persons and the Case Even by those Pastors who labour amongst the People that are over them in the Lord 1 Thess. 5. 12 13. who have the rule over them and preach to them the Word of God Hebr. 13. 7 17 24. and not by those that are strangers to them § 326. 4. And as to the Manner all Divines are agreed That it is not to be like the proceedings of a Civil Court where there is no more to be done but examine the Cause and pass the Sentence and execute it by Corporal Penalties and Mulcts But 1. That it is to be managed by grave Divines the Physicians of Souls for the saving of the Sinner if it may be with great seriousness and light and weight of Scripture Argument convincing the Erroneous terrifying the Secure with the terrours of the Lord reproving and admonishing and perswading the penitent Offender and all this with Love and Compassion and due Patience and restoring the Penitent with Tenderness and Consolation and necessary Caution From all which it is evident That one single Person thus dealt with in case of Heresie may hold the Pastor or Bishop many days time and one gross Sinner may hold him many hours time before this Work can be done as the Nature and Ends of it do require 2. And it is to be done by the meer Keys of the Kingdom of Christ by managing God's Word by particular Application to the Case and Conscience of the Sinner and not by outward Force of Penalties § 327. 5. And all this is apparent in the Ends of it which is 1. That Churchâ—Communion may be a Communion of Saints 2. That the Sinner may be saved and converted to that end 3. Or however that others may be warned by his sad Example 4. And that the unbelieving and ungodly World may see the Excellency of Christian Religion and not be hardened in their Infidelity and Impietyâ— 5. And so that Christ and the Father by him may be honoured in his holiness among the Sons of Men These are the Ends of Church-Discipline § 328. 3. And as you see what the Discipline is that is to be Exercised so the Number of Persons on whom it is to be exercised may be gathered from what is said in the beginning where is shewed 1. How many hundred Parishes are in a Diocess 2. How many hundred or thousand Souls in a Parish unless the very smallest 3. And how many Hereticks Atheists Papists Infidels or Swearers Cursers Railers Drunkards Fornicators and other scandalous Sinners there are proportionably in most Parishes I leave to the judgment of every faithful Pastor that ever tried it by a particular knowledge of his Flock § 329. 4. And lastly who they be that are to Exercise all this Discipline I have shewed before even one Court or Consistory in a whole Diocess with the inconsiderable subserviency of the Arch-Deacon's Court For the Rural Deans do nothing in it and are themselves scarce known and the Pastor and Churchwardens do nothing but present Men to the Courts and execute part of their Sentences § 330. All this being laid together the impossibility of Christ's Discipline in our Churches is undeniable 1. Because by this Computation there must stand at once before the Court many thousand Persons to be at once examined convinced reproved exhorted or a great Multitude at least whenas they can speak but to one at once 2. Because the second Admonition which should be before two or three is there before an open Judicature which is not suited to the appointed End so that really our Controversie with the Diocesans is the same in effect as if it were controverted whether a thousand or six hundred Schools shall have as many governing School-masters or whether one only shall govern all these Schools and the rest of the School-masters have only power to â—each and not to govern were it only whether one should have a general Inspection over the rest that they may be punished for Malc-administration we should not be so far disagreed for though we might question whether Christ ever made or allowed any such Officer besides the Magistrate yet if the Work were but done by any we should judge it more tolerable Or the Controversie is as if it were questioned whether all the Diocess should have any more than one Physician that should have any power to prescribe any Government to the Patients and all the rest should only read general Lectures of Physick to them and be his Apothecaries to carry them his Prescripts and Medicines which were to question whether most shall have any Physician or none and whether the People shall have their Lives sacrificed to the mad Ambition of some one Man that would be their only Physician Shifting may deceive the unexperienced but let any Minister in England be but so faithful as to know all his Flock and regard their Souls and he can never deny that this is the true Case For my own part the Lord knoweth that I did with too much remisness exercise some Discipline a few years when I had liberty in one Country Parish upon one of the most Reformed People in the Land and that with the help of many Fellow-Ministers and of many of the People in their places and the countenance and presence of three Justices of the Peace and yet I found the burden too great for me and that one half of that Parish would have been enough It is in this as in Military Discipline or Navigation The Judgment of that Man that never tried it is of very little value in the Case Do but try the Government of one Parish in the Scripture way and we shall not differ § 331. And the Nonconformists further prove that our Prelacy maketh this Discipline morally impossible thus Were it not morally impossible some one godly Bishop in England would have executed it as Christ appointeth But no one godly Bishop in England doth or ever did so execute it Ergo The Major will not be denied of a Moral Impossibility or at least of a difficulty next it That which no one Man no not the wisest or the best ever did may well be called morally impossible or neer it And that England hath had some such Bishops we are not so uncharitable as to question when we remember Hooper Farrar Latimer Cranmer Ridley Iewel Grindall Hall and many more And I never met with
that professed great Respect to me and a desire to debate those Controversies with me and it proved to be Cressy the Champion that at that time was most forward and successful in Disputes And in that Paper speaking of the Pope's Licensing Whore-houses at Rome he saith that it is worse in London where are whole streets that have not so much as the Rebuke of any Penalty but when they die the Churchmen bury them as the rest with confidence that God in mercy hath taken to himself the Souls of those dear Brethren and Sisters departed I answered his Paper and to that passage said That I was not acquainted in the Suburbs towards the Court but I never heard of any such thing and if he knew it he would do well to tell the Magistrates who know it not what streets those be But for the City within the Walls my Acquaintance more enabled me to say that I did not believe that there was in all the World such a City for Piety Sobriety and Temperance And about a Fortnight after that part was burned and the rest that he accused did escape § 34. And this is the Third terrible Judgment which London suffered since the King's Return First many score of their Faithful Teachers were silenced and cast out and afterwards banished or confined Five Miles from the City And next in 1665. the Plague and other sickness consumed about an Hundred Thousand And when they began to be setled in their Habitations again the Flames devoured their Houses and their substance And it is not hard for the Reader here to imagine how many Thousands this must needs cast into utter Want and Beggary And how many Thousands of the formerly Rich were disabled from relieving them And how doleful the Case then must needs be when good people that were wont to relieve others were cast into such distress and few able to help them And at the same time so many Hundred Families of silenced Ministers to be relieved that looked to London most for Help And after the Fire the Charitable were disabled and also were in no small straits when they had a little to give between the Ministers and the distressed Citizens whom to give it to such are easilier heard of than felt And it was not the least part of the Calamity that when people saw the Number of the indigent to be so great that when they had done their best it seemed as if they had done nothing and also that on this pretence other lying Beggars pretended themselves to be Londoners it discouraged many from doing what they could and ought § 35. Among others the Famousest Person in the City who purposely addicted himself to works of Mercy was my very dear Friend Mr. Henry Ashurst a Draper a man of the Primitive sort of Christians for Humility Love Blamelessness Meekness doing good to all as he was able especially needy silenced Ministers to whom in Lancashire alone he allowed 100 l. per Ann. and in London was most famous for their succour and doing hurt to none His care now was to solicit the Rich abroad for the relief of the poor honest Londoners And Mr. Thomas Gouge the silenced Minister of Sepulchres Parish Son to Dr. Will. Gouge and such another man who made Works of Charity a great part of the business of his Life was made the Treasurer And once a Fortnight they called a great Number of the needy together to receive their Aims I went once with Mr. Ashurst to his Meeting to give them an Exhortation and Counsel as he gave them Alms and saw more cause than I was sensible of before to be thankful to God that I never much needed relief from others § 36. It was not the least observable thing in the time of the Fire and after considering the late Wars and the multitudes of disbanded Soldiers and the great grief and discontent of the Londoners for the Silencing and Banishing of their Pastors that yet there were heard in the time of their Calamity no passionate Words of discontent or dishonour against their Governours even when their Enemies had so oft accused them of feditious Inclinations and when Extremity might possibly have made them desperate § 37. But yet alas the Effect of all these dreadful Judgments was not such as might have been hoped for but still one Party cast all the Cause upon another and the two Extreams did look more at each other's Faults than at their own There was no confessing the Sin of Persecution or silencing Christ's Ministers by the one side but they justified their ways and hated those that differed from them as much as ever There was no lamenting the Corporation PERJURY by the Citizens that had taken the Declaration and Oath and had succeeded them that were put out because they feared an Oath There was no lamenting former Scandals Rebellions or Divisions by the other Extreme but the Dividers cryed out it s long of the Persecutors and the persecuters cryed out its long of the Schismaticks and it is God's just Judgment on the City that hath been so much against the King and the Bishops and God would not pardon them tho the King did So that while each side called the other to repentance they did both fly from repentance more and more And if there were not between them a sober party that lamented sin most but were guilty of least We should see no Prognosticks of any thing but utter desolation § 38. The great talk at this time was Who were the burners of the City And there came in so many Testimonies to prove that it was the plotted weapon of the Papists as caused the Parliament themselves to appoint a Committee to enquire after it and receive information Whereupon a Frenchman proved a Papist at last tho the prodigal Son of a French Protestant confest openly and constantly to the last that he began the fire hired to it by another French Papist a debauch'd fellow that was gone The Man was sent through all the ruines and shewed them truly the house which he fired where it began which then the Neighbours themselves could not easily have done For which he was tryed at the Sessions and upon his constant Confession was condemned and hanged Sir Robert Brooks being Chairman of the Committee abundance of Testimonies were received that in many parts of the City men were seen to cast fire balls into the houses and some strangers taken with fiery materials in their pockets and some that were taken firing houses were brought to the Guard of Soldidiers and to the Duke of York and never heard of afterward With more such matter out of the Countrey where Divers Papists foretold the fire And the Testimonies were shortly after Printed which is the reason why I give them to you no more parcularly And many stories go about with very credible and undenied Reports that be not in the Printed papers As that of Sir Francis Peter a Jesuited Papist who had Lodgings
that was Governour of our Fort at Sheerness had not fortifyed it and deserted it And so they came up to Chatham and burnt some of our greatest Ships and took away some while we partly lookt on and partly resisted to no great purpose And had they but come up to London they might have done much more This cast us into a great consternation § 45. At this time the King came in person among the Citizens to perswade them not to desert him and made a Speech to them at Tower-Hill not here to be recited And he had now great Experience of the Loyalty of the Citizens who after such sufferings and under such pressures in matters of Conscience and of worldly Interest even in such extremity were neither proved to do or say any thing that was contrary to their fidelity to the King § 46. The firing of London which was most commonly suppos'd to be done by the Papists and the Wars with the French did raise greater Jealousies of the Papists than had appeared before so that weekly News came to London from many Counties that the Papists were gathering Horse and Arms and that some of them had got Troops under pretence of the Militia or Volunteers to be ready for our defence The Parliament hereupon declared themselves more against them than was expected which greatly troubled the Papists The Royalists in many Countries were almost ready to disarm them especially the E. of Derby in Lancashire was wholly true to the Protestant Interest Whereupon the Papists thought it policy to live more privately and to cease their oftentation and to obscure their Arms and Strength and to do their work in a more secret way And some of them Printed an Address to the Royalists to plead kindness and affinity of dispositions with them telling them that they hoped that they that had fought and suffered in one cause for the King against the Puritans should have continued in the same Union and Kindness and that they would not have been so much against them This was answered solidly by Dr. Loid And doubtless the Papists had never so great a dejection and disappointment since the King came in For they seemed to think that the Parliament and Royalists had been so distracted with malice and revenge against the Puritans as that they would have been content that London was burnt and would have done any thing that they would have them even against themselves their Countrey their Religion and Posterity so it had but favoured of that revenge But it proved otherwise § 47. Whilest that all these Calamities especially our loss and disgrace by the Dutch must be laid on some or other the Parliament at last laid all upon the Lord Chancellor Hide And the King was content it should be so Whereupon many Speeches were made against him and an Impeachment or Charge brought in against him and vehemently urged and among other things that he counselled the King to Rule by an Army which many thought as bad as he was he was the chief means of hindering And to be short when they had first sought his Life at last it was concluded that his banishment should satisfy for all And so he was banished by an Act during his Life The sale of Dunkirk to the French and a great comely House which he had new built increased the displeasure that was against him but there were greater Causes which I must not Name § 48. And it was a notable providence of God that this Man that had been the grand Instrument of State and done almost all and had dealt so cruelly with the Nonconformists should thus by his own friends be cast out and banished while those that he had persecuted were the most moderate in his Cause and many for him And it was a great ease that befell good people throughout the Land by his dejection For his way was to decoy men into Conspiracies or to pretend plots and when upon the rumour of a plot the innocent people of many Countries were laid in prison so that no man knew when he was safe Whereas since then tho Laws have been made more and more severe yet a Man knoweth a little better what to expect when it is by a Law that he is to be tryed And it is notable that he that did so much to make the Oxford Law for banishing Ministers from Corporations that took not that Oath doth in his Letter from France since his banishment say that he never was in favour since the Parliament Sat at Oxford § 49. Before this the Duke of Buckingham being the head of his Adversaries had been overtopt by him and was fain to hide himself till the Dutch put us in fear and then he appeared and rendered himself and went prisoner to the Tower but with so great Acclamations of the People in the Streets as was a great Discouragement to the Chancellor And the D. of Buckingham was quickly set at liberty Whereupon as the Chancellor had made himself the head of the Prelatical party who were all for setting up themselves by force and suffering none that were against them so Buckingham would now be the head of all those parties that were for liberty of Conscience For the Man was of no Religion but notoriously and professedly lustful And yet of greater wit and parts and sounder Principles as to the interest of Humanity and the Common good than most Lords in the Court Wherefore he Countenanced Fanaticks and Sectaries among others without any great suspicion because he was known to be so far from them himself Though he marryed the Daughter and only Child of the Lord Fairfax◠late General of the Parliament's Army and is his heir hereby yet far enough from his mind but yet a defender of the Priviledges of Humanity § 50. Before this also the Earl of Bristol had attempted to pull down the Chancellor and to bring in a Charge against him into the Parliament But the King soon quelled him And being a Papist he hath lain latent or quiet ever since as unfit to appear in publick businesses And Buckingham performed the Work § 51. In October following the Parliament gave thanks to the King for removing the Lord Chancellor But they were vehement in seeking an account of the Moneys which have been granted for the publick service and also to have an account of the business at Chatham by whose fault it was that the Dutch were unresisted and surprized our shipping And Committees were appointed for these purposes and a great deal of talk and stir was made about them for a long time but they could never attain their ends but they that were faulty had friends enow to procure their security And tho the Parliament grudged at it and sometimes talkt high yet this made no alteration in our Affairs § 52. One notable disadvantage which we had by the Dutch attempt was that it drew down our new raised In-land Souldiers into Kent towards Sherness where the unhealthful Air
cast such abundance of them into sickness and kill'd so many as greatly weakened many Divers of the most forward Gentlemen of the Countrey there lost their Lives And thus we have taught an Enemy how to undoe us if he can but force us to keep our Inland-Soldiers who are not used to that Air about the mouth of the Thames their bodies are no more able to endure it than if it were the mortallest of our Foreign plantations § 53. But the great stir of these Times was about Money The Parliament said that never had the like summs been laid on the subjects of this Land and that the old way of payments by five or six subsidies at a time was such a trisle in Comparison of this as that it would be scarce observable After many vast sums granted by way of Land-Taxes Royal Aid Poll-money c. there was fetled for continuance the Chimney-money and several Excises and the Customs and the Wine-Tax for a limited Time c. But all was so much too little that more was still needed and demanded The Countrey-people cried out We are undone The Tenants at Will did so many of them give up their Farms that the Gentlemen cried out If we have any more Land-Taxes we are undone What the People said of the Parliament and what of the Court and what of the Bishops and what of the Women I shall not write But Losers and sufferers will take leave to talk But the Parliament grew more urgent to have an account of the moneys as not believing that it was possible fairly to expend so much The Persons that were made a Committee for examining Accounts were very eminent for Ability and Impartiality and sincerity Mr. William Pierpoint the Lord Bruerton Col. Thompson and abundance more They laid the great blame on Sir Geo. Carteret Treasurer for the Navy◠He was accused deeply in the House of Commons He excused himself by laying much on the King's Privy-seals The Parliament said that those Moneys were not to have been laid out on private Uses After long time the King and Council called the Lord Bruerton Col. Thomson and some others and sharply rebuked them as injurious Persons and such as sought to discontent the Parliament and make Differences c. And His Majesty undertook the Decision of the Business and acquitted Sir George Carteret and the Parliament grudged but acquiesced § 54. When the Chancellour was banished Sir Orlando Bridgman was made Lord Keeper a Man that by his seeming moderation to the Nonconformists though a zealous Patron of Prelacy got himself a good Name for a time and at first whilst the D. of Buckingham kept up the Cry for Liberty of Conscience he seemed to comply with that Design to the great displeasure of the Ruling Prelates But when he saw that that Game would not go on he turned as zealous the other way and now wholly serveth the Prelatical Interest but is not much valued by either side but taken for an uncertain timerous man High Places great Businesses and Difficulties do so try Mens Abilities and their Morals that many who in a low or middle station obtained and kept up a great Name do quickly lose it and grow despised and reproached Persons when Exaltation and Trial hath made them known Besides that as in prosperous times the Chief State Ministers are praised so in evil and suffering times they bear the blame of what is amiss § 55. About this time the E. of S a Papist having a very fair Wife Daughter to the E. of C. a Papist also with whom lived Mr. Iohnson alias Terret the Disputing Champion for Popery she liked other men so much better than her Husband that she forsook him and kept her self secret from his knowledg But he believing that the Duke of Buckingham kept her secretly was not content to lose his Wife but he would also lose his Life And sending the Duke of Buckingham a Challenge they met and fought the Duke having Capt. Holmes and Ienkins with him and the Earl of Shrewsbury Bernond Howard and another Where Howard kill'd Ienkins and the Duke wounded the Earl of which wounds he dyed And the King pardoned the Duke but strickly prohibited Duels for the future The Duke also and the Marquess of Dorcester had a skuffle at boxing in an open Committee of Parliament § 56. When the D. of Buckhingham came first into this high favour he was looked on as the chief Minister of state instead of the Chancellor and shewed himself openly for Toleration or Liberty for all parties in matters of God's worship And then others also seemed to look that way as thinking that the King was for it Whereupon those that were most against it grew into seeming discontent The Bp. of Winchester Morley was put out of his place of Dean of the Chappel and Bp. Crofts of Hereford who seemed then to be for moderation was put into the place But it was not long till Crofts was either discouraged or as some said upon the Death of a Daughter for grief did leave his place and the Court And the Bp. of Oxford was brought into his place and Dr. Crew the son of that wise and pious Man the Lord Crew was made Clerk of the Closet § 57. At the same time the Ministers of London who had ventured to keep open Meetings in their houses and preached to great Numbers contrary to the Law were by the King's favour connived at So that the people went openly to hear them without fear Some imputed this to the King 's own inclination to liberty of Conscience some to the D. of Buckingham's prevalency some to the Papists Interest who were for liberty of Conscience for their own Interest But others thought that the Papists were really against Liberty of Conscience and did rather desire and design that utmost severities might ruine the Puritans and cause Discontents and Divisions among our selves till we had broken one another all into pieces and turned all into such Confusions as might advantage them to play a more successful Game than ever Toleration was like to be But whatever else was the secret cause It is evident that the great visible cause was the burning of London and the want of Churches for the people to meet in It being at the first a thing too gross to forbid an undone people all publick worshiping of God with too great rigour And if they had been so forbidden poverty had left them so little to lose as would have made them desperately go on Therefore some thought all this was to make Necessity seem a favour § 58. But whatever the cause of the Connivance was it is certain that the Countrey Ministers were so much encouraged by the boldness and liberty of those at London that they did the like in most parts of England and Crowds of the most Religiously inclined people were their hearers And some few got in a travelling way into Pulpits where they were not known and the next day
because they set not as light by Heaven as others and will go further in Religion than dead Formality and Imagery § 102. But I must return and say something of my own affairs Whilst I lived at Acton as long as the Act against Conventicles was in force though I Preached to my Family few came to hear me of the Town partly because they thought it would endanger me and partly for fear of suffering themselves but especially because they were an ignorant poor People and had no Appetite to such things But when the Act was expired there came so many that I wanted room and when once they had come and heard they afterward came constantly Insomuch that in a little time there was a great number of them that seemed very seriously affected with the things they heard and almost all the Town and Parish besides abundance from Brainford and the Neighbour Parishes came And And I know not of three in the Parish that were Adversaries to us or our Endeavours or wisht us Ill. § 103. Experience here convinced me that the Independent separating rigour is not the way to do the People good After Dr. Featly Mr. Nye and Mr. Elford two able Independents had been the setled Ministers at Acton and when I was there there remained but two Women in all the Town and Parish whom they had admitted to the Sacrament whereof One was a Lady that by alienation from them turned Quaker and was their great Patroness and returned from them while I was there and heard me with rest This rigour made the People think hardly of them and I found that the uncharitable conceit that the Parishes are worse than they are doth tend to make them as bad as they are thought I am sure there were many that spake to me like serious Christians of the poorer sort and few that were scandalous and many I could comfortably have Communicated with And when Threatnings increased they continued still to hear with diligence so that my Rooms would not contain them And had I continued there longer I should have hoped by those beginnings that experience might convince Men that Parish-Churches may consist of capable materials § 104. The Parson of the Parish was Dr. Rive Dean of Windsor Dean of Wolverhampton Parson of Haseley and of Acton Chaplain in ordinary to the King c. His Curate was a weak dull young Man that spent most of his time in Ale-houses and read a few dry Sentences to the People but once a day But yet because he preached true Doctrine and I had no better to hear I constantly heard him when he preached and went to the beginning of the Common Prayer and my House faceing the Church-Door within hearing of it those that heard me before went with me to the Church scarce three that I know of in the Parish refusing and when I preached after the publick Exercise they went out of the Church into my House It pleased the Dr. And Parson that I came to Church and brought others with me But he was not able to bear the fight of Peoples crowding into my House though they heard him also so that though he spake me fair and we lived in seeming Love and Peace while he was there yet he could not long endure it And when I had brought the People to Church to hear him he would fall upon them with groundless Reproaches as if he had done it purposely to drive them away and yet thought that my preaching to them because it was in a House did all the mischief though he never accused me of any thing that I spake For I preached nothing but Christianity and Submission to our Superiours Faith Repentance Hope Love Humility Self-denial Meekness Patience and Obedience § 105. But he was the more offended because I came not to the Sacrament with him Though I communicated in the other parish-Churches at London and elsewhere I was loth to offend him by giving him the Reason which was that he being commonly reputed a Swearer a Curser a Railer c. in those tender times it would have been so great an offence to the Congregational Brethren if I had Communicated with him and perhaps have hastened their sufferings who durst not do the same that I thought it would do more harm than good § 106. The last year of my abode at Acton I had the happiness of a Neighbour whom I cannot easily praise above his worth Which was Sir Mat. Hale Lord chief Baron of the Exchequer whom all the Judges and Lawyers of England admired for his skill in Law and for his Justice and Scholars honoured for his Learning and I highly valued for his sincerity mortification self-denyal humility conscientiousness and his close fidelity in friendship When he came first to Town I came not near him lest being a silenced and suspected person with his Superiors I should draw him also under suspicion and do him wrong Till I had notice round about of his desire of my Acquaintance And I scarce ever conversed so profitably with any other person in my Life § 107. He was a Man of no quick utterance but often hesitant but spake with great reason He was most precisely just insomuch as I believe he would have lost all that he had in the World rather than do an unjust Act Patient in hearing the tediousest speech which any Man had to make for himself The pillar of Justice the Refuge of the subject who feared Oppression and one of the greatest Honours of his Majestie 's Government For with some more upright Judges he upheld the honour of the English Nation that it fell not into the reproach of Arbitrariness Cruelty and utter Confusion Every Man that had a just cause was almost past fear if they could but bring it to the Court or Assize where he was Judge for the other Judges seldom contradicted him He was the great Instrument for rebuilding London For when an Act was made for deciding all Controversies that hindered it it was he that was the constant Judge who for nothing followed the work and by his Prudence and Justice removed a multitude of great Impediments His great advantage for innocency was that he was no Lover of Riches or of Grandeur His Garb was too plain He studiously avoided all unnecessary familiarity with great persons and all that manner of Living which signifyeth Wealth and Greatness He kept no greater a family than my self I lived in a small house which for a pleasant back-side he had a mind of But caused a stranger that he might not be suspected to be the Man to know of me whether I were willing to part with it before he would meddle with it In that house he liveth contentedly without any pomp and without costly or troublesome retinue or visitors but not without Charity to the poor He continueth the study of Physicks and Mathematicks still as his great delight He hath himself written four Volumes in Folio three of which I have
be but the Justice's own Words or Assertion without proof Or if now dwelleth be taken laxly for a distant time then note that here is not any mention of Proof that there was any just or considerable distance between his Preaching and his dwelling here but he might go away the next hour after his Preaching notwithstanding any thing here mentioned For any Man that Preacheth is in the place where he Preacheth while he Preacheth and if he go away the next hour it must be considered in what time he can go five Miles But if now be taken for the Witnesses Words here is no intimation of the least distance And none can imagine that the Law meaneth that the Preacher shall be five Miles off the next Minute or Hour And indeed seeing no Man can tell how many hours must be allowed it is plain that the Act meaneth that the Person must be first legally Convict of Preaching in an unlawful Assembly and also of not having conformed or taken the Oath before the Oath is made of his not removing five Miles 3. This Act not at all enabling the Justices to take Oath about the Conventicles but only about not coming within five Miles and there being but one Deposition mentioned where he now dwelleth being a very part of that one Testimony if it be not the Justice's own Words it followeth that this Oath must be made before the Act against Conventicles was expired because no other Act enableth them to take such an Oath And then the now dwelleth will signifie long ago without any notified distance from his Preaching 4. If where he now dwelleth be part of the Deposition then so must the following Words not having taken and subscribed the Oath which Charity forbiddeth us to believe that they swore seeing I was never accused of it and it 's not possible that they or any Man living should know that I have not taken it heretofore 5. Here is no Oath that Richard Baxter Preached in a Conventicle before this Act which is to be proved as well as that he did it after The great difficulty in this Act is whether the general Words all such Persons as shall take on them to Preach be not to be taken as expounded in the Preamble limited to Non-conformists and the un-ordained as aforesaid And it 's plain that it 's not to be extended to Conformists 1. Because the Law doth not dishonour them so far as to suspect them of poisonous Principles 2. Else what ruin would it make in the Church when every Pastor must no more come within five Miles of his Charge no not the dignified Clergy if any Enemy shall secretly swear that they once preached in an unlawful Assembly 3. All the Conformable Clergy and their Council are of this mind For none of them take this Oath at the Sessions and therefore none of them think they are bound to take it Note it is to be taken unoffered and that on the Penalty of 40 l. if they come within five Miles of their Charge though they were never so willing to take it after Objection 1. The Conformists need it not because they keep no Conventicles Answ. 1. They are commanded many private Meetings as private Visitations of the Sick Baptisms Communions Perambulations in the Rogation-Week when they use in Houses by the way to spend the time in Pious Instructions Prayers c. And many of them repeat their Sermons in their Houses which is as much Preaching as any thing I have ever done 2. And there are few publick Assemblies where some-what is not done contrary to the Liturgy by Omissions c. 3. And every Man hath some Enemy who may Swear that these are unlawful Assemblies Obj. 2. The Conformists have already Subscribed Answ. 1. That proveth that this Act intendeth them not and therefore not me who Conform as far as any Law requireth me 2. It is one thing to say I am of Opinion and another thing to Swear that so it is 3. I may say that the Covenant bindeth me not to endeavour any Alteration of Church-Government easilier than Swear That I will never at any time endeavour it when we once already so far endeavoured it by Command 1660. as His Majesty's Gracious Declaration about Eccles. Affairs expresseth even while contrary Laws were in force § 125. While I stayed in Prison I saw some-what to blame my self for and some-what to wonder at others for and some-what to advise my Visitors about 1. I blamed my Self that I was no more sensible of the Spiritual part of my Affliction such as was the interruption of my Work and the poor People from whom I was removed and the advantage Satan had got against them and the loss of my own publick Liberty for worshipping in the Assemblies of his Servants 2. I marvelled at some who suffered no more than I as Mr. Rutherford when he was confined to Aberdeen that their Sufferings occasioned them so great Joys as they express which sure was from the Free Grace of God to encourage others by their Examples and not that their own Impatience made them need it much more than at other times For surely so small a Suffering needeth not a quarter of the Patience as many poor Nonconformable Ministers and Thousands others need that are at liberty whose own Houses through Poverty are made far worse to them than my Prison was to me 3. To my Visitors I found Reason 1. To intreat my Acton-Neighbours not to let their Passion against their Parson on my account hinder them from a due regard to his Doctrine nor from any of the Duty which they owed him 2. To blame some who aggravated my Sufferings and to tell them That I had no mind to fancy my self hurt before I felt it I used at home to confine my self voluntarily almost as much I had ten-fold more publick a Life here and converse with my Friends than I had at home If I had been to take Lodgings at London for six Months and had not known that this had been a Prison and had knock'd at the Door and ask'd for Rooms I should as soon have taken this which I was put into as most in Town save only for the Interruption of my sleep That it sheweth great weakness to magnifie a small Suffering and much worse to magnifie our selves and our own Patience for bearing so small a thing than which most poor Men in England bear more every Day I found Cause to desire my Brethren that when they suffered they would remember that the design of Satan was more against their Souls than their Bodies and that it was not the least of his hopes to destroy their Love which wâ—s due to those by whom they suffered and to dishonour Superiours and by aggravating our Sufferings to render them odious to the People As also to make us take such a poor Suffering as this for a sign of true Grace instead of Faith Hope Love Mortification and a Heavenly Mind and that
the loss of one Grain of Love was worse than a long Imprisonment And that it much more concerned us to be sure that we deserved not Suffering than that we be delivered from it and to see that we wronged not our Superiours than that they wrong not us seeing we are not near so much hurt by their Severities as we are by our Sins Some told me that they hoped this would make me stand a little further from the Prelates and their Worship than I had done To whom I answered That I wondred that they should think that a Prison should change my Judgment I rather thought now it was my Duty to set a stricter watch upon my Passions lest they should pervert my Judgment and carry me into Extreams in opposition to my Afflictors And not past a Year and half after two Gentlemen turned Quakers in Prison If Passion made me lose my Love or my Religion the loss would be my own And Truth did not change because I was in a Goal The temper of my Visitors called me much to this kind of talk § 126. When I was in Prison the Lord Chief Baron at the Table at Serjeant's Inn before the rest of the Judges gave such a Character of me openly without fear of any Man's displeasure as is not fit for me to own or recite who was so much reverenced by the rest who were every one Strangers to me save by hear-say that I believe it much settled their Resolutions The Lord Chief Justice Vaughan was no Friend to Nonconformity or Puritans but he had been one of Selden's Executors and so Judge Hale's old Acquaintance Judge Tyrell was a well-affected sober Man and Serjeant Fountain's Brother-in-Law by Marriage and sometime his Fellow-Commissioner for keeping the Great Seal and Chancery Judge Archer was one that privately favoured Religious People And Judge Wild though greatly for the Prelates way yet was noted for a Righteous Man And these were the Four Judges of the Court. § 127. My Habeas Corpus being demanded at the Common Pleas was granted and a Day appointed for my Appearance But when I came the Judges I believe having not before studied the Oxford-Act when Judge Wild had first said I hope you will not use to trouble this Court with such Causes asked whether the King's Council had been acquainted with the Case and seen the Order of the Court which being denied I was remanded back to Prison and a new Day set They suffered me not to stand at the Bar but called me up on the Table which was an unusual respect and they sent me not to the Fleet as is usual but to the same Prison which was a greater favour § 128. When I came next the Lord Chief Justice coming towards Westminster Hall went into White-Hall by the way which caused much talk among the People When he came Judge Wild began and having shewed that he was no Friend to Conventicles opened the Act aâ—d then opened many defaults in the Mittimus for which he pronounced it invalid but in Civility to the Justices said that the Act was so Penned that it was a very hard thing to draw up a Mittimus by it which was no Compliment to the Parliament Judge Archer next spake largely against the Mittimus without any word of disparagement to the main Cause And so did Judge Tyrell after him I will not be so tâ—dious as to recite their Arguments Judge Vaughan concluded in the same manner but with these two Singularities above the rest 1. That he made it an Error in the Mittimus that the Witnesses were not named seeing that the Oxford-Act giving the Justices so great a power if the Witnesses be unknown any innocent Person may be laid in Prison and shall never know where or against whom to seek remedy which was a Matter of great moment 2. When he had done with the Cause he made a Speech to the People and told them That by the apperance he perceived that this was a Cause of as great Expectation as had been before them and it being usual with People to carry away things by the halves and their misreports might mislead others he therefore acquainted them That though he understood that Mr. Baxter was a Man of great Learning and of a good Life yet he having this singularity the Law was against Conventicles and it was only upon the Error of the Warrant that he was released and that they use in their Charge at Assizes to enquire after Conventicles and they are against the Law so that if they that made the Mittimus had but known how to make it they could not have delivered him nor can do it for him on any that shall so transgress the Law This was supposed to be that which was resolved on at White-Hall by the way But he had never heard what I had to say in the main Cause to prove my self no Transgressor of the Law Nor did he at all tell them how to know what a Conventicle is which the Common Law is so much against § 129. Being discharged of my Imprisonment my Sufferings began for I had there better Health than I had of a long time before or after I had now more exasperated the Authors of my Imprisonment I was not at all acquit as to the main Cause they might ameâ—d their Mittimus and lay me in again I knew no way how to bring my main Cause whether they had power to put the Oxford-Oath on me to a legal Tryal And my Counsellors advised me not to do it much less to question the Justices for false Imprisonment lest I were born down by power I had now a great House of great Rent on my Hands which I must not come to I had no House to dwell in I knew not what to do with all my Goods and Family I must go out of Middlesex I must not come within five Miles of City Corporation c. where to find such a place and therein a House and how to remove my Goods thither and what to do with my House the while till my time expired were more trouble than my quiet Prison by far and the Consequents yet worse § 130. Gratitude commandeth me to tell the World who were my Benefactors in my Imprisonment and Calumny as much obligeth me because it is said among some that I was 〈◊〉 by it Serjeant Fountain's general Counsel ruled me Mr. Wallop and Mr. Offley sent me their Counsel and would take nothing Of four Serjeants that pleaded my Cause two of them Serjeant Windham afterwards Baron of the Exchequer and Serjeant Sise would take nothing Sir Iohn Bernard a Person that I never saw but once sent me no less than Twenty Pieces and the Countess of 〈◊〉 Ten Pound And Alderman Bard Five and I received no more but I confess more was offered me which I refused and more would have been but that they knew I needed it not And this much defrayed my Law and Prison Charges § 131. When
Sorrow but such as tendeth to raise us to a high Estimation of Christ and to the magnifying of Grace and a sweeter taste of the Love of God and to the firmer Resolution against Sin And that Tears and Grief be not commended inordinately for themselves nor as meer Signs of a Converted Person And that we call Men more to look after Duty than after Signs as such â—â—t Self-love on Work and spare not so you will call them much more to the Love of God and let them know that that Love is their best sign but yet to be exercised on a higher Reason than as a sign of our own Hopes for that Motive alone will not produce true Love to God And as the Antinomians too much exclude Humiliation and signs of Grace so too many of late have made their Religion to consist too much in the seeking of these out of their proper time and place without referring them to that Obedience Love and Joy in which true Religion doth principally consist Reader I do but transcribe these three Counsels for thee from a Multitude of Melancholy Persons sad Experiences § 185. This Year Salisbury-Diocess was more fiercely driven on to Conformity by Dr. Seth Ward their Bishop than any place else or than all the Bishops in England besides did in theirs Many Hundreds were Prosecuted by him with great Industry And among others that learned humble holy Gentleman Mr. Thomas Grove an Ancient Parliament-Man of as great Sincerity and Integrity as almost any Man I ever knew He stood it out a while in a Law-Suit but was overthrown and fain to forsake his Countrey as many Hundreds more are quickly like to do § 186. And his Name remembreth me that Ingenuity obligeth me to Record my Benefactor A Brother's Son of his Mr. Rob. Grove is one of the Bishop of London's Chaplains who is the only Man that Licenseth my Writings for the Press supposing them not to be against Law which else I could not expect And besides him alone I could get no Licenser to do it And because being Silenced Writing is the far greatest part of my remaining Service to God for his Church and without the Press my Writings would be in vain I acknowledge that I owe much to this Man and one Mr. Cook the Arch-bishop's Chaplain heretofore that I live not more in vain § 187. And while I am acknowledging my Benefactors I add that this Year died Serjeant Iohn Fountain the only Person from whom I received an Annual Sum of Money which though through God's Mercy I needed not yet I could not in Civility refuse He gave me 10 l. per Ann. from the time of my Silencing 'till his Death I was a Stranger to him before the King's Return save that when he was Judge before he was one of the Keepers of the Great Seal he did our Countrey great Service against Vice He was a Man of a quick and sound Understanding an upright impartial Mind and Life of too much testiness in his weakness but of a most believing serious Fervency towards God and open zealous owning of true Piety and Holiness without owning the little Partialities of Sects as most Men that ever I came near in Sickness When he lay sick which was almost a Year he sent to the Judges and Lawyers that sent to visit him such Answers as these I thank your Lord or Master for his kindness Present my Service to him and tell him It is a great Work to Die well his time is near all worldly Glory must come down intreat him to keep his Integrity over-come Temptations and please God and prepare to Die He deeply bewailed the great Sins of the Times and the Prognosticks of dreadful things which he thought we were in danger of And though in the Wars he suffered Imprisonment for the King's Cause towards the end he came from them and he greatly feared an inundation of Poverty Enemies Popery and Infidelity § 188. The great Talk this Year was of the King 's Adjourning the Parliament again for about a Year longer and whether we should break the Triple League and desert the Hollanders c. § 189. Before they were Adjourned I secretly directed some Letters to the best of the Conforming Ministers telling them how much it would conduce to their own and the Churches Interest if they that might be heard would become Petitioners for such Abatements in Conformity as might let in the Non-conformists and unite us seeing two things would do it 1. The removal of Oaths and Subscriptions save our Subscription to Christianity the Scriptures and the 39 Articles and the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy 2. To give leave to them that cannot use all the Liturgy and Ceremonies to be but Preachers in those Churches where they are used by others submitting to Penalties if ever they be proved to Preach against the Doctrine Government or Worship of the Church or to do any thing against Peace or the Honour of the King and Governours But I could get none to offer such a Petition And when I did but mention our own petitioning the Parliament those that were among them and familiar with them still laught at me for imagining that they were reasonable Creatures or that Reason signified any thing with them in such Matters And thus we were Silenced every way § 190. During the Mayoralty of Sir Samuel Sterling many Jury's Men in London were Fined and Imprisoned by the Judge for not finding certain Quakers guilty of violating the Act against Conventicles They Appealed and sought remedy The Judges remained about a Year in suspense and then by the Lord Chief Justice Vaughan delivered their Resolution against the Judge for the Subject's Freedom from such force of Fines that when he had in a Speech of two or three Hours long spoke vehemently to that purpose never thing since the King's Return was received with greater Joy and Applause by the People and the Judges still taken for the Pillars of Law and Liberty § 191. The Parliament having made the Laws against Nonconformists Preaching and private Religious Meetings c. so grinding and terrible as aforesaid the King who consented to those Laws became the sole Patron of the Nonconformist's Liberties not by any Abatements by Law but by his own Connivance as to the Execution the Magistrates for the most part doing what they perceived to be his Will So that Sir Rich. Ford all the time of his Mayoralty in London though supposed one of their greatest and most knowing Adversaries never disturbed them The Ministers in several Parties were oft encouraged to make their Addresses to the King only to acknowledge his Clemency by which they held their Liberties and to profess their Loyalty Sir Iohn Babor introduced Dr. Manton and some with him Mr. Ennis a Scotch Non-conformist by Sir Rob. Murray introduced Mr. Whittakers Dr. Annesley Mr. Watson and Mr. Vincent's The King as they say themselves told them That though such Acts were made He was against
them as we could and not to hold any Communion with any that did Conform having Printed his Third Reviling Libel against me called for my Third Reply which I Entitled The Church told of c. But being Printed without License Lestrange the Searcher Surprized part of it in the Press there being lately greater Penalties laid on them that Print without License than ever before And about the Day that it came out Mr. Bagshaw died a Prisoner though not in Prison Which made it grievous to me to think that I must seem to write against the Dead While we wrangle here in the dark we are dying and passing to the World that will decide all our Controversies And the safest Passage thither is by peaceable Holiness § 196. About Ian. 1. the King caused his Exchequer to be shut up So that whereas a multitude of Merchants and others had put their Money into the Banker's hands and the Bankers lent it to the King and the King gave Order to pay out no more of it of a Year the murmur and complaint in the City was very great that their Estates should be as they called it so surprized And the rather because it being supposed â—o be in order to the Assisting of the French in a War against the Dutch they took a Year to be equal to perpetuity and the stop to be a loss of all seeing Wars use to increase Necessities and not to supply them And among others all the Money and Estate except 10 l. per Ann. for 11 or 12 Years that I had in the World of my own not given away to others whom Charity commanded me to give it to for their Maintenance before was there which indeed was not my own which I will mention to Counsel any Man that would do good to do it speedily and with all their might I had got in all my Life the just Sum of 1000 l. Having no Child I devoted almost all of it to a Charitable Use a Free-School c. I used my best and ablest Friends for 7 Years with all the Skill and Industry I could to help me to some Purchase of House or Land to lay it out on that it might be accordingly setled And though there were never more Sellers I could never by all these Friends hear of any that Reason could encourage a Man to lay it out on as secure and a tolerable Bargain So that I told them I did perceive the Devil's Resistance of it and did verily suspect that he would prevail and I should never settle but it would be lost So hard is it to do any good when a Man is fully resolved that divers such Observations verily confirm me That there are Devils that keep up a War against Goodness in the World § 197. The great Preparations of the French to invade the Vnited Provinces and of the English to assist them do make now the Protestants Hearts to tremble and to think that the Low Countries will be Conquered and with them the Protestant Cause deeply endangered Though their vicious worldly Lives deserve God's Judgments on themselves yet they are a great part of the Protestants Humane Strength But the Issue must expound God's purposes without which Men's Designs are vain § 198. This Year a new Play-House being built in Salisbury-Court in Fleet-Street called the Duke of York's the Lord Mayor as is said desired of the King that it might not be the Youth of the City being already so corrupted by Sensual Pleasures but he obtained not his desire And this Ian. 1671. the King's Play-House in Drury Lane took Fire and was burnt down but not alone for about fifty or sixty Houses adjoyning by Fire and blowing up accompanied it § 199. A Stranger calling himself Sam. Herbert wrote me a Letter against the Christian Religion and the Scriptures as charging them with Contradictions and urged me to answer them which I did And his Name inviting my memory I adjoyned an Answer to the Strength of a Book heretofore written by Edward Lord Herbert of Cherbury some-time Ambassador in France the Author of the History of Henry VII called de Veritate being the most powerful Assault against the Christian Religion placing all the Religion that 's certain in the Common or Natural Notices I entitled the Book More Reasons for the Christian Religion and none against it Or a Second Appendix to the Reason for the Christian Religion § 200. The foresaid Mr. Hinkley by his impertinent Answer to my former Letters extorted from me a large Reply but when I was sending it him in Writing I heard that he intended to Print some scraps of it with his Papers the better to put them off Whereupon I sent him word he should not have them till he satisfied me that he would not so abuse them c. The rather because 1. The Subject of them was much to prove that the War was raised in England by an Episcopal Parliament jealous of other Episcopal Men as to Popery and Propriety 2. And it was so much against Diocesanes and their new Oaths as would much displease them 3. And in a sharper stile than was fit for publick View And as to the first Reason I was afraid lest any Papists would lay hold of it to make any Princes that already hate the the Non-conformists and Presbyterians to hate the Conformists and Prelatists also and so to seem themselves the most Loyal And I had rather they hated and cast off the Non-conformists alone than both This mindeth me to add that § 201. About a Year ago one Henry Fowlis Son to Sir David Fowlis an Oxford Man who had wrote against the Presbyterians with as filthy a Language almost as a man in his Wits could do having written also against the Papists His Book after his Death was Printed in a large Folio so opening the Principles and Practices of Papists against Kings their Lives and Kingdoms by multitudes of most express Citatioâ—s from their own Writers that the like hath not before been done by any Man nor is there extant such another Collection on that Subject though he left out the Irish Massacre But whereas the way of the Papists is to make a grievous Complaint against any Book that is written effectually against them as injurious as they did against Pet. Moulin's Answer to Philanax Anglicus and against Dr. Stillingfleet's late Book or the contrary this Book being copious true Citations and History is so terrible to them that their method is to say nothing of it but endeavour to keep it unknown for of late they have left the disputing way and bend all their endeavours to creep into Houses and pervert Persons in secret but especially to insinuate into the Houses and Fantiliarity of all the Rulers of the World where they can be received § 202. The Death of some the worthy Labours and great Sufferings of others maketh me remember that the just characterizing of some of the Ministers of Christ that now suffered for not
received as gifts of Bounty from any whosoever since I was silenced till after An. 1672. amount not in the whole to 20 l. besides ten Pouud per Annum which I received from Serjeant Fountain till he died and when I was in Prison twenty pieces from Sir Iohn Bernard ten from the Countess of Exeter and five from Alderman Bard and no more which just paid the Lawyers and my Prison Charge but the expences of removing my Habitation was greater And had the Bishop's Family no more than this In sum I told the Bishop that he that cried out so vehemently against schism had got the Spirit of a Sectary and as those that by Prisons and other sufferings were too much exasperated against the Bishops could hardly think or speak well of them so his cross Interests had so notoriously spoiled him of his Charity that he had plainly the same temper with the bitterest of the Sectaries whom he so much reviled Our Doctrinal Discourse I overpass § 236. This May a Book was Printed and cried about describing the horrid Murther of one 〈◊〉 Baxter in New-England by the Anabaptists and how they tore his Flesh and flead him alive and persons and time and place were named And when Mr. Kiffen sensible of the Injury to the Anabaptists searcht it out it proved all a studied Forgery Printed by a Papist and the Book Licensed by Dr. Sam. Paâ—ker the Arch-bishop's Chaplain there were no such Persons in being as the Book mentioned nor any such thing ever done Mr. â—issen accused Dr. Parker to the Kiug and Council The King made him confess his Fault and so it ended § 237. In Iune was the second great Fight with the Dutch where again many were killed on both sides and to this day it is not known which Paâ—ty had the greater Loss § 238. The Parliament grew into great Jealousies of the prevalency of Popery There was an Army raised which lay upon Black-Heath encamped as for Service against the Dutch They said that so many of the Commanders were Papists as made Men fear the design was worse Men feared not to talk openly that the Papists having no hope of getting the Parliament to set up their Religion by Law did design to take down Parliaments and reduce the Government to the French Model and Religion to their State by a standing Army These Thoughts put Men into dismal Expectations and many wish that the Army at any rate might be disbanded The Duke of York was General The Parliament made an Act that no man should be in any office of Trust who would not take the Oaths of Supremacy aud Allegiance and receive the Sacrament according to Order of the Church of England and renounee Transubstanstiation Many supposed Papists received the Sacrament and renounced Transubstantiation and took the Oaths Some that were known sold or laid down their Places The Duke of York and the new Lord Treasurer Clifford laid down all It was said they did it on supposition that the Act left the King impowered to renew their Commissions when they had laid them down But the Lord Chancellor told the King that it was not so and so they were put out by themselves This settled Men in the full belief that the Duke of York and the Lord Clifford were Papists and the Londoners had before a special hatred against the Duke since the burning of London commonly saying that divers were taken casting Fire-balls and brought to his Guards of Soldiers to be secured and he let them go and both secured and concealed them 239. The great Counsellors that were said to do all with the King in all great matters were the Duke of York the Lord Clifford the Duke of Lauderdaile the Lord Arlington the Duke of Buckingham the Lord Chancellor that is Sr. Anthony Ashley-Cooper Earl of Shaftsbury and after them the Earl of Anglesey lately Mr. Annesley Among all these the Lord Chanchellor declared so much Jealosie of Popery and set himself so openly to secure the Protestant Religion that it was wondered how he kept in as he did but whatever were his Principles or Motives it is certain he did very much plead the Protestant Cause § 240. In Iune Mastricht was taken by the French but with much loss where the Duke of Monmouth with the English had great Honour for their Valour § 241. In August four of the Dutch East-India Ships fell into our Hands and we had the third great Sea-fight with them under the Command of Prince Rupert where we again killed each other with equal Loss But the Dutch said they had the Victory now sand before and kept days of Thanksgiving for it Sir Edward Sprag was killed whose death the Papists much lamented hoping to have got the Sea-power into his Hands But Prince Rupert who declared himself openly against Popery and had got great Interest in the Hearts of the Soldiers complained sharply of the French Admiral as deserting him to say no worse And the success of these Fights was such as hindered the Transportation of the Army against the Dutch and greatly divided the Court-Party and discouraged the Grandees and Commanding Papists c. § 242. In September I being out of Town my House was broken by Thieves who broke open my Study-Doors Closets Locks searcht near 40 Tills and Boxes and found them all full of nothing but Papers and miss'd that little Money I had though very near them They took only three small pieces of Plate and medled not considerably with any of my Papers which I would not have lost for many hundred Pounds Which made me sensible of Divine Protection and what a Convenience it is to have such a kind of Treasure as other men have no mind to rob us of or cannot § 343. The Duke of York was now married to the Duke of Modena's Daughter by Proxy the Earl of Peterborough being sent over to that end § 244. The Lady Clinton having a Kinswoman wife to Edward Wray Esq who was a Protestant aâ—d her Husband a Papist throughly studied in all their Controversies and oft provoking his Wife to bring any one to dispute with him desired me to perform that office of Conference They differed about the Education of their Children he had promised her as she said at Marriage that she should have the Education of them all and now would not let her have the Education of one but would make them Papists I desired that either our Conference might be publick to avoid mis-reports or else utterly secret before no one but his Wife that so we might not seem to strive for the Honour of Victory nor by dishonour be exasperated and made less capable of benefit The latter way was chosen but the Lady Clinton and Mr. Goodwin the Lady Worsep's Chaplain prevailed to be present by his consent He began upon the point of Transubstantion and in Veron's Method would have put me to prove the Words of the Article of the Church of England by express Words of
account of Religion earnestly declaming against Popery and becoming the Head of the Party that were zealous for the Protestant Cause and awakened the Nation greatly by his Activity And being quickly put out of his place of Chancellourship he by his bold and skillful way of speaking so moved the House of Lords that they began to speak higher against the danger of Popery than the Commons and to pass several Votes accordingly And the Earl of Shaftsbury spake so plainly of the Duke of York as much offended and it was supposed would not long be born The Earl of Clare the Lord Hollis the Lord Hallifax and others also spake very freely And among the Bishops only that I heard of Sir Herbert Crofts who had sometimes been a Papist the Bishop of Hereford And now among Lords and Commons and Citizens and Clergy the talk went uncontrolled that the Duke of York was certainly a Papist and that the Army lately raised and encamped at Black-heath was designed to do their Work who at once would take down Parliaments and set up Popery And Sir Bucknall told them in the House of such Words that he had overheard of the late Lord Treasurer Clifford to the Lord Arundell as seemed to increase their Satisfaction of the Truth of all but common observation was the fullest satisfaction In a word the offence and boldness of both Houses grew so high as easily shewed men how the former War began aâ—d silenced many that said it was raised by Nonconformists and Presbyterians § 255. The third of February was a publick Fast against Popery the first as I remember that besides the Anniversary Fasts had ever been since this Parliament sate which hath now sate longer than that called the long Parliament did before the major part were cast out by Cromwell But the Preachers Dr. Cradock and Dr. Whitchcot medled but little with that Business and did not please them as Dr. Stillingfleet had done who greatly animated them and all the Nation against Popery by his open and diligent endeavours for the Protestant Cause § 256. During this Session the Earl of Orery desired me to draw him up in brief the Terms and Means which I thought would satisfie the Non-conformists so far as to unite us all against Popery professing that he met with many Great Men that were much for it and particulary the New Lord Treasurer Sir Thomas Osborn and Dr. Morley Bishop of Winchester who vehemently profess'd his desires of it And Dr. Fullwood and divers others had been with me to the like purpose testifying the said Bishop's resolution herein I wisht them all to tell him from me that he had done so much to the contrary and never any thing this way since his Professions of that sort that till his real Endeavours convinced Men it would not be believed that he was serious But when I had given the Earl of Orery my Papers he returned them me with Bishop Morley's Strictures or Animadversions as by his Words and the Hand I had reason to be confident by which he fully made me see that all his Professions for Abanement and Concord were deceitful Suares and that he intended no such thing at all And because I have inserted before so much of such transactions I will here annex my Proposals with his Strictures and my Reply To the Right Honourable the Earl of Orery My Lord I Have here drawn up those Terms on which I think Ministers may be restored to the Churches Service and much union and quietness be procured But I must tell you 1. That upon second Thoughts I forbore to distribute them as I intimated to you into several Ranks but only offer what may tend to a Concord of the most though not of every man 2. That I have done this only on the suppositions that we were fain to go upon in our Consultation with Dr. 〈◊〉 viz. That no change in the Frame of Church-Government will be consented to Otherwise I should have done as we did in 1660 offered you Arch-bishop Vsher's Reduction of the Government to the primitive state of Episcopacy and have only desired that the Lay-Chancellours have not the Power of the Keys and that if not in every Parish at least in every Rural Deanry or Market-Town with the adjacent Villages the Ministers might have the Pastoral power of the Keys so far as is necessary to guide their own Administrations and not one Bishop or Lay-Chancellour's Court to have more to do than Multitudes can well do and thereby cause almost all true Discipline to be omitted 3. I have forborn to enumerate the Particulars which we cannot subscribe or swear to or practise because they are many and I fear the naming of them will be displeasing to others as seeming to accuse them while we do but say what a Sin such Conformity would be in our selves But if it should be useful and desired I am ready to do it But I now only say that the matters are far from being things doubtful or indifferent or little Sins in our Apprehensions of which we are ready to render a Reason But I think that this bare Proposal of the Remedies is the best and shortest and least offensive way In which I crave your Observation of these two Particulars 1. That it is the matter granted if it be even in our own Words that will best do the Cure For while other men word it that know not our Scruples or Reasons they miss our Sence usually and make it ineffectual 2. That the Reason why I crave that Ministers may have impunity who use the greatest part of the Liturgy for the Day is 1. To shorten the Accommodation that we may not be put to delay our Concord till the Liturgy be altered to the Satisfaction of Dissenters which we have cause to think will not be done at all Now this will silently and quietly heal us and if a Man omit some one Collect or Sentence without debate or noise it will not be noted nor be a matter of offence 2. And he is unworthy to be a Minister that is not to be trusted so much as with the using or not using of a few Sentences or words in all his Ministration 3. And almost every Minister that I hear all the Year of the most Conformable do every day omit some part or other and yet are not Silenc'd nor taken notice of as offenders at all And may not as much for our Concord be granted to Dissenters in the present case He that thinks that these Concessions will be more injurious to the Church and the Souls of Men than our Uncharitableness and Divisions have been these Eleven Years and are yet like to be is not qualified to be at all an Healer In Conclusion I must again intreat you that this Offer may be taken but as the Answer of your desire for your private use and that no Copy be given of it nor the Author made known unless we have encouragement from our Governours to
his Conscience to baptize any Child who is not thus offered to God by one of the Parents or by such a pro parent as taketh the Child for his own and undertaketh the Christian Education Be it also Enacted that no person shall be constrained against his Conscience to the use of the Cross in Baptism or of the Surplice nor any Minister to deny the Lord's Supper to any for not receiving it kneeling nor read any of the Apocrypha for Lessons nor to punish any Excommunication or Absolution against his Conscience but the Bishop or Chancellour who decreeth it shall cause such to publish it as are not dissatisfyed so to do or shall only affix it on the Church-Door Nor shall any Minister be constrained at Burial to speak only words importing the salvation of any person who within a year received not the Sacrament of Communion or was suspended from it according to the Rubrick or Canon and satisfyed not the Minister of his serious Repentance III. And whereas many persons having been ordained as Presbyters by Parochial Pastors in the times of Usurpation and Distraction hath occasioned many Difficulties for the present remedy hereof be it Enacted That all such persons as before this time have been ordained as Presbyters by Parochial Pastors only and are qualifyed for that Office as the Law requireth shall receive power to exercise it from a Bishop by a written Instrument which every Bishop in his Diocess is hereby impowered and required to Grant in these words and no other To A. B. of C. in the Country of D. Take thou Authority to exercise the Office of a Presbyter in any place and Congregation in the King's Dominions whereto thou shall be lawfully called And this practice sufficing for present Concord no one shall be put to declare his Judgment whether This or That which he before received shall be taken for his Ordination nor shall be urged to speak any words of such signification but each party shall be left to Judge as they see cause IV. And whereas the piety of Families and Godly Converse of Neighbours is a great means of preserving Religion and Sobriety in the World and lest the Act for suppressing seditious Conventicles should be mis-interpreted as injurious thereto be it declared that it is none of the meaning of the said Act to forbid any such Family Piety or Converse tho more then four Neighbours should be peaceably present at the Reading of the Scriptures or a Licensed Book the singing of a Psalm repeating of the publick Sermons or any such Exercise which neither the Laws nor Canons do forbid they being performed by such as joyn with the allowed Church-Assemblies and refuse not the Inspection of the Ministers of the Parish Especially where persons that cannot read are unable to do such things at home as by Can. 13. is enjoyned V. And whereas the form of the Oath and Declaration imposed on persons of Office and Trust in Corporations is unsatisfactory to many that are Loyal and peaceable that our Concord may extend to Corporations as well as Churches Be it Enacted That the taking of the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy and the Declaration against Religion and Disloyalty here before prescribed shall to all Ends and purposes suffice instead of the said Oath and Declaration VI. And whereas there are many peaceable Subjects who hold all the Essentials of the Christian Faith but conform not to so much as is required to the Established Ministry and Church-Communion Be it Enacted that All and only they who shall publickly take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy before some Court of â—ustice or at the Open Sessions of the County where they live and that then and there Subscribe as followeth I. A. B. do unfeâ—gnedly stand to my Baptismal Covenant and do believe all the Articles of the Creeds called the Apostles the Nicene and Constantinopolitane and the truth of the holy Canonical Scriptures and do renounce all that 〈◊〉 contrary hereto shall be so far tolerated in the Excercise of their Religion as His Majesty with the advice of his Parliament or Council shall from time to time find consistent with the peace and safety of his Kingdoms VII And lest this Act for Concord should occasion Discord by emboldening unpeaceable and unruly or heretical men be it enacted that if any either in the allowed or the Tolerated Assemblies that shall pray or Preach Rebellion Sedition or against the Government or Liturgy of the Church or shall break the Peace by tumults or otherwise or stir up unchristian hatred and strife or shall preach against or otherwise oppose the Christan verities or any Article of the sacred Doctrine which they subscribe or any of the 39. Articles of Religion they shall be punished as by the Laws against such Offences is already provided I will here also Annex the Copies of some Petitions which I was put to draw up which never were presented I. The first was intended while the Parliament was sitting to have been offered but wise Parliament-Men thought it was better forbear it II. The second was thought fit for some Citizens to have offered but by the same Councel it was forborn III. The third was thus occasioned Sir Iohn Babor told Dr. Manton that the Scots being then suspected of some insurrection it was expected that we renewed the profession of our Loyalty to free us from all suspicion of Conspiracy with them We said that it seemed hard to us that we should fall under suspicion and no cause alledged We knew of no occasion that we had given But we were ready to profess our continued Loyalty but desired that we might with it open our just resentment of our Case They put me to draw it up but when it was read it was laid by none daring to plead our Cause so freely and signify any sense of our hard usage I. May it Please Your Majesty with the Lords and Commons Assembled in Parliament WHen the Common profession of resolved moderation had abated Men's fears of a Silencing Prelacy and the published Declarations of Nobilitie and Gentry against all dividing violence and revenge had helpt to unite the endeavours of Your Subjects which prospered for Your Majestie 's desired Restoration when God's wonderful providence had dissolved the Military Powers of Usurpers which hindered it and when Your welcome appearance Your Act of Oblivion Your Gracious Declaration about Ecclesiastical Affairs for which the House of Commons solemnly gave you thanks did seem to have done much to the Cure of our Divisions we had some hopes that our common revived Love and Concord would have tended to Your Majesty's and our common joy in the harmony strength and prosperity of Your Kingdoms and that we might among your inferiour Subjects have enjoyed our part in the common tranquility But the year 1662. dissolved those hopes fixing our old Difficulties and adding more which since then also have been much increased Beeing consecrated and vowed to the sacred Ministry we
the 1 st 1662 nor ever since had any nor the offer of any And therefore the Law imposeth not on me the Declaration or the Assent or Consent no more than on Lawyers or Judges 2. I have the Bishop of London's License to Preach in his Diocess which supposeth me no Nonconformist in Law-sence And I have the Judgment of Lawyers even of the present Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Pollexfen that by that License I may Preach occasional Sermons 3. I have Episcopal Ordination and judge it gross Sacriledge to forsake my Calling 4. I am justified against suspicion of Rebellious Doctrine many ways 1. By my publick Retractation of any old accused words or writings 2. I was chosen alone to Preach the Publick Thanksgiving at St. Paul's for General Monk's success 3. The Commons in Parliament chose me to Preach to them at their Publick Fast for the King's Restoration and call'd him home the next day 4. I was Sworn Chaplain in Ordinary to the King 5. I was offered a Bishoprick 6. The Lord Chancellor who offered it attested under his hand His Majesty's Sense of my Defert and His Acceptance 7. I am justifyed in the King's Declaration about Ecclesiastical Affairs among the rest there mention'd 8. When I Preached before the King he commanded the Printing of my Sermon 9. To which may be added the Act of Oblivion 10. And having published above an Hundred Books I was never yet convict of any ill Doctrine since any of the said Acts of King Parliament and others for my Discharge and Justification 5. I have oft Printed my judgment for Communion with the Parish Churches and exhorted others to it And having built a Chappel delivered it for Parish use 6. I was never lawfully Convict of Preaching in an unlawful Assembly for I was not once summon'd by the Justices that granted out the Five Warrants against me to answer for my self nor ever told who was my Accuser or who Witnessed against me And I have it under the hand of the present Lord Chief Justice that a Lawful Conviction supposeth Summons And the Lord Chief Justice Vaughan with Judge Tyrrel Archer and Wild did long ago discharge me upon their declaring that even the Warrant of my Commitment was illegal because no Accuser or Witness was named and so I was left remediless in case of false Accusation 7. As far as I understand it I never did Preach in any unlawful Assembly which was on pretence of any Exercise of Religion contrary to Law I Preached in Parish Churches where the Liturgy was Read as oft as I had leave and invitation And when I could not have that leave I never took any Pastoral Charge nor Preached for any Stipend but not daring perfidiously to desert the Calling which I was Ordained and Vowed to I Preacht occasional Sermons in other Men's Houses where was nothing done that I know of contrary to Law There was nothing done but Reading the Psalms and Chapters and the Creed Commandments and Lord's Prayer and Singing Psalms and Preaying and Praching and none of this is forbidden by Law The Omission of the rest of the Liturgy is no Act but a not-acting and therefore is no pretended Worship according to Law But were it otherwise the Law doth not impose the Liturgy on Families but only on Churches and a Family is not forbidden to have more than four Neighbours at saying Grace or Prayer nor is bound to give over Family-worship when-ever more than Four come in The Act alloweth Four to be present at Unlawful Worship but forbids not more to be present at Lawful Worship And House-worship without the Liturgy is lawful worship And yet if this were not so as the Curate's Omission of the Prayers makes not the Preacher and Assembly guilty suppose it were an Assize-Sermon that for hast omitted the Liturgy so the owner of the House by omitting the Liturgy maketh not him guilty that was not bound to use it nor the Meeting unlawful to any but himself Charity and Loyalty bind us to believe that our King and Parliament who allow more than many Four's to meet at a Play-house Tavern or Feast never meant to forbid more than Four to bâ—â—ogether in a House to sing a Psalm or Pray or Read a Licensed Book or edifie each other by Godly Conference while no Crime is found by any Man in the Matter of their Doctrine or Prayer and no Law imposeth the Liturgy on any but Church-Meetings If after many years Reproach once Imprisonment and the late Distress and Sale of all my Books and Goods and those that were none of mine but another's and this by five or six Warrants for present Execution without any Summons or Notice of Accusers or Witnesses I could yet have leave to die in peace and had not been again persecuted with new Inditements I had not presumed thus to plead or open my own Cause I Pray God that my Prosecutors and Judges may be so prepared for their near Account that they may have no greater sin laid to their Charge than keeping my Ordination-Vow is and not Sacrilegiously forsaking my Calling who have had so good a Master so good a Word so good Success and so much Attestation from King Parliament City and Bishops as I have haâ— If they ask why I Conform not I say I do as far as any Law bindeth me If they ask why I take not this Oath I say Because I neither understand it nor can prevail with Rulers to Explain it And if have a good sence I have not only subscribed to it but to much more in a Book called The second Plea for Peace page 60 61 62. Where also I have professed my Loyalty much further than this Oath extendeth But if it have a bad sence I will not take it And I find the Conformists utterly disagreed of the Sence and most that I hear of renouncing that sence which the words signifie in their common use And knowing that Perjury is a mortal Enemy to the Life and Safety of Kings and the Peace of Kingdoms and to Converse and to Man's Salvation I will not dally with such a dangerous Crime Nor will I deceive my Rulers by Stretches and Equivocations nor do I believe Lying lawful after all that Grotius de Iure Belli and Bishop Taylor Duct Dub. have said for it I think Oaths imposed are to be taken in the ordinary sense of the words if the Imposers put not another on them And I dare not Swear that a Commission under the Broad-Seal is no Commission till I that am no Lawyer know it to be Legal Nor yet that the Lord Keeper may Depose the King without resistance by Sealing Commissions to Traytors to seize on his Forts Navy Militia or Treasure Nor can I consent to make all the present Church-Government as unalterable as the Monarchy especially when the Seventh Canon extendeth it to an caetèra to Arch-bishops Bishops Deans Arch-deacons and the rest that bear Office in the same not
grant the Necessity of such Succession yet we need not grant the Nullity of our Calling 2. I deny that the English Bishops much less the Church of England did ever judge it necessary any farther than ad Hominem 1. Because it is apparent that they do ordinarily in their Writings speak against the Papists supposed Necessity of Ordination as I instanced out of some of them in my Book It is known to be a Point wherein the Protestants have commonly opposed the Papists 2. It is known to be but the later declining Generation of Bishops such at Montague Laud and their Confederates most in King Charles his Days very few in King Iames's and scarce any at all in Queen Elizabeth's that do join with the Papists in pleading the Necessity of Succession Even such Men as were as zealous against Queen Elizabeth's Episcopal Protestants as against the Papists at least many of them 3. The rest do expresly mention Succession and confute the Fâ—ble of the Nag's-Head Ordination in Cheapside to prove the Papists Slanderers So much to your Minor 3. If that will not serve I deny your Major All is not necessary that they thought necessary Protestants pretend not to Infallability in Controversals Many more perhaps ten to one at least of the English Clergy held it not necessary unless as aforesaid Ad 2 um Your second Argument hath all the Strength in it or rather shew of Strength â— first we must needs distinguish of your Terms Mediately and Immediately A Constitution may be said to be from Christ mediately either in Respect to a mediating Person or to some mediating Sign only Also it may be said to be mediante persona 1. when the Person is the cause totalâ—â— subordinata constituendi as having himself received the Power from God and being as from himself to convey it unto Man 2. Or when the Person is but Causa per accidens 3. Or when he is only Causa sive qua non vel quatenus impedementa â—emovit vel quatenus ejus Actiones sunt conditiones necessarie And so I answer 1. Immediately in the first absolute Sense excludendo personâ—â— res no Man ever had any Right communicated or Duty imposed on him by God unless perhaps the immediate Impress or supernatural Revelation of the Holy Ghost to some Peophet or Apostle might be said to do this Moses himself had the Ten Commandments written in Stone which were signa mediantia Those that heard God speak if any immediately without Angelical Interposition did receive God's Commands mediante verborum signo So did the Apostles that which they had from the Mouth of Christ. 2. God is so absolutely the Fountain of all Power that no Man can either have or give any Power but derivatively from him and by his Commission Man being no farther the Efficient of Power than he is so constituted of God the general way of his giving it must be by the Signification of God's Will and so far as that can be sufficiently discovered there needs no more to the Conveyance of Power Whether Men be properly efficient Causes of Church Power at all is a very hard Question especially as to those over whom they have no superior governing Power As Spalatensis hath taken great pains to prove that Kings or other Sovereigns of the Common-wealth have their Commission and Power immediately from God though the People sometimes may choose the Man for the Power was not given to the People first and then they give it the King but God lets them name the Man on whom he will immediately confer it so possibly may it be in Ordination of Church-Officers Three ways do Men mediate in the Nomination of the Person 1. When they have Authority of Regiment over others and explenitudine potestatis do convey efficiently to inferior Officers the Power that these have Thus doth the supream Rector of the Commonwealth to his Officers and Ergo they are caled the Kings Officers and he hath the choice of the very Species as well as of the individual Officers Now this way of mediating is not always if at all necessary or possible in the Church for the Papists themselves confess that the Pope is Ordained or authorized without this way of Efficiency for none have a Papal Power to convey to him His Ordination cannot be Actus Superioris And the Council of Trent could not agree whether it were not the Case of all Bishops to hold their Office immediately from Christ though under the Pope or whether they had their Power immediately from the Pope as the prime Seat on Earth of all Church Power who is to convey their Parts to others How the Spanish Bishops held up their Cause is known And it was the old Doctrine of the Church that all Bishops were equal and had no Power one over another but all held their Power directly from Christ as Cyprian told them in the Council of Carthage Add to this that the true old Apostolical Episcopacy was in each particular Church and not over many Churches together I speak of fixed Bishops till the matter becoming too big to be capable of the old Form Corruptio unius fuit generatio alterius and they that upon the increase of Christians should have helpt the Swarm into a new Hive did through natural Ambition of ruling over many retaine divers Churches under their Charge and then ceased to be of the Primitive sort of Bishops Non eadem fuit res non munus idem etiamsi idem nomen retinerent So that truly our Parish Ministers who are sole or chief Pastors of that Church are the old sort of Bishops for as Ambrose and after him Grotius argues qui ante se alterum non habebat Episcopus er at That is in eadem Ecclesia qui superiorem non habet So that not only all Diocesan Bishops but also all Parochial Bishops are Ordained per pares and so not by a governing Communication of Power which is that second way of Ordination when men that are of equal Authority have the Nomination of the Person Now whether or no he that ordaineth an Inferior as a Deacon or any other do convey Authority by a proper Efficiency as having that first in himself which he doth Convey yet in the Ordination of Equals it seems not to be so for they have no Government over the particular Persons whom they Ordain or Churches to whom they Ordain them nor could they themselves exercise that governing Power over that other Congregation which they appoint another to so that they seem to be but Causae Morales or sine quibus non as he that sets the Wood to the Fire is of its burning or as he that openeth you the Door is of your bringing any thing into the House So that if you will call the Ordainer of an Inferior causam equivocam and the Ordainer of an Equal causam univocam yet it is but as they morally and improperly cause The Third way of Mediating in the
may say as much for the proving of the Universal Churches Practice in this Point as in most it being of constant and solemn use and none that I know of that ever opposed it But if you hold this universal Practice to be the other part of God's Law and do lay any thing much on it in other Points especially in Doctrinals I would advise you to get better Proof of the Universality than others use to bring who go that way As the Romish Church is not the the Universal nor the Romish and Greek together so the Opinion of four or five or more Fathers is no Evidence of the Judgment of the universal Church Till they are better agreed with themselves and one another it is hard taking a view of the Judgment of the Church universal in them in controverted Points Till Origen Tertullian c. cease to be accounted Hereticks till Firmilianus Cyprian and the Council of Carthage be better agreed with Stephen Bishop of Rome till Ruffinus cease to be a Heretick to Hierom and many the like Discords it 's hard seeing the Face of the Church universal in this Glass I was but even now reading in Hierom where he tells Austin that there were quaedam Haeretica in his Writings against him when yet to the impartial Reader the angry Man that morosus Senex had the unsounder Cause As long as the Writings of Clem. Alexandr Origen â—atianus pretended Dyonisius Lactantius with so many more do tot erroribus scatere as long as many Councils have so erred and Council is a great Council and someâ—things are imposed by them under the terrible Pennalty of Anathematizing which Rome it self doth take unlawful to be observed these are not perfect Indices of the Mind of Christ or the universal Church Read Baronius himself Tom. 3. what abundance of Errors in History he chargeth upon Epiphanius and others I suppose you to have read Daille and the Lord Digby on this yet think not that I would detract from the due Estimation of the Fathers or Councils or from the necessity of Tradition to the use which I have expressed in the Preface to the Second part of my Book of Rest. But I know not well in the matter of Not-kneeling and Not-fasting on the Lord's Day Not-reading the Books of Heathens c. how a Man should obey both the former Councils and the present Church of Rome it self yea or how in matter of giving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to Insants and other things the present Church and the former do agree And I would know whether it was not the Practice of that which you call the universal Church then which the following Ages did alter and contradict But all this part of the Answer is but occasional as to your Amplifications and not to the matter under debate I further answer you therefore that the universal Practice of the Church doth prove no more but that it was done and therefore by them judged a Duty to be done and so not to be omitted while they could use it all which I grant you I am not one that would have Ordination used without Imposition but in case of necessity But it follows not from all this that it is essential to Ordination suppose a Church institute a new Ceremony that every Bishop ordained shall have a Helmet on to signify that he must fight valiantly as a Captain under Christ and the Ordainer must lay his Hands on this If I can prove that it hath been the universal Practice of the Church in nudum apertum caput manus imponere doth it follow that this is essential and the contrary null If you ask what necessity there can be of Ordination sine manum Impositione I answer very great and ordinary viz. ut absentes ordinentur for want of which the Church hath suffered and may suffer very much When a Man is in remote Parts of the World and perhaps too scrupelous of playing the Bishop without Ordination if he must travel over Land and Sea for Ordination his Life may be gone or most of it spent while he is seeking Authority to use it for his Master If a few only of the Ordainers were left in a Country or in many Nations and those imprisoned or forced to hide themselves they might by an Instrument under their Hands Ordain when they could not at all or to one of a hundred by Imposition of Hands But yet all this is but the least necessary part of my Answer to your Argument To your Consequence therefore I answer by denying it If the Succession be interrupted what necessity is there that the next must come in without Imposition of Hands what shew of such a Consequence May not the illegitimate Ordainer imponere manus Or may he not himself enter by Imposition of Hands and yet be illegitimate and his Calling null If you think not only Imposition to be essential but also that nothing else is essential or that all are true Ministers that are ordained by a lawful Bishop per manum impositionem then do you egriously tibi ipsi imponere Suppose a lawful Bishop should ordain a Man into an unlawful Office as to be the universal Bishop or should ordain a known Heathen to be a Bishop by Imposition of Hands were not this null Yea and many a lower case as in case of Symony c. if Councils be of any Authority Here then the Succession is interrupted and yet this Man may Ordain others by Imposition of Hands Suppose in the case of Pope Ione the Succession interrupted for want of a capable Sex and yet she might Ordain by Imposition of Hands Lastly I answer This Argument can pretend to prove no more than the former That Ordination is essential to the Call of the Ministry Ergo So far as that is disproved so far is this And indeed it had been stronger arguing a Necessitate Ordinationis ad necessitatem impositionis manuum than e contra because all Arguing should be a Notiore But sure the Necessity of Imposition of Hands is minus notum then the necessity of Ordination Many a Thousand will yield that Ordination is essential I believe that will not yield it of that Imposition Having done with all that I find in this Paper I add this cross Argument for the enervating of all or if you will of your Second which is all If your Arguments do tend as well to prove the absolute Necessity of an uninterrupted Succession quoad modum as to every Mode and Circumstance in Ordination which the Apostles have required as due without express Dispensation for Omission as of legitimate Ecclesiastical Ordination it self then they are unsound At verum prius Ergo The Antecedent is proved thus The full Strength of all your Arguments is here Christ or his Apostles or the Church since have mentioned no other way of Conveying Ministerial Power but by Ordination and Imposition of Hands Ergo There is no other way and this is necessary
fittest manner and Season of your coming off Therefore it seems to me your Duty freely lovingly compassionately to communicate your Reasons to your Auditors if they can prove them unsound which I am sure they cannot in the main then yield to them if they cannot then beg their Pardon for misguiding them and beseech them to return not to any Sin against God but to the Love of the Saints and the Unity of the universal Body of Christ and the Communion of Brethren 3. To return to Mr. I. Goodwin's Church again I dare not dissuade you or advise you but I would not do it if I liv'd in another Parish where I could have Lawful Communion yea or if I could live in such a Parish I would not be a Member of a Church gathered out of many Parishes in such a Place as London Co-habitation is in Nature and Scripture Example made the necessary Disposition of the Materials of a Church 4. My Thoughts still are that you should Preach the Gospel in some Congregation most suitable to you But I am very glad that you give me the Reasons of your Trouble for it is a sad kind of Work for you or another to plead against Troubles in the dark which a Man can give no Reason for 1. Your First I need say nothing to If you had ever had a Temptation to thrust in a wrong Motive into a good Cause it neither proves the Cause bad else all our Preaching were too bad or your Heart bad as you see your Sin I hope you see your sufficient Remedy 2. The Second is carnal to resist so great a Truth and Duty lest good People be displeased what are they your God God must be enough for you if ever you will have enough and it must satisfie you that he is pleased if ever you will be satisfied Tell those Christians you will not cease to Love them by Loving more nor cease any due Communion with them by having Communion with more Keep in with them by Love and Correspondency even whether they will or no even when you have left their Separation Do not reproach them when you leave them but enjoy the Good of their Communion still as you have Opportunity God's House hath many Mansions if your Friends think that their Closet is all the House convince them of their Mistake and confine your self to that Closet no longer but yet renounce it not it may be a part though sinfully divided though it be not the whole 3. The way that you are called to is God's High way and though the Churches have many in them that are dead yet have they with them as many living Members as yours and many more if these parts may be Witnesses I would not be a Member of that Church willingly that is composed of none but not able Christians though I most Love the best and delight most in their Fellowship and wish that all were such yet when I see a Church so gathered I easily find it is a wrong Constitution and not according to the Mind of Christ. I will never join with them that will have but one Form in Christ's School I would have the A B C there taught as well as the profoundest Mysteries 'T is no Sign of the Family of God to have no Children what if I said Infants in it but strong Men only Nor of the Hospital of Christ to have none Sick nor of his Net to have no Fish but Good nor of his Field to have no Tares Flesh and Blood hath ticed me oft to Separation for Ease but it s too easy a way to be of God I undergo another kind of Life you are extreamly mistaken if you think that you are put on so much Duty and Self-denial by many Degrees among your Hundred Professors as we must undergo Your Work is Idleness to ours how then is yours the streighter way 4. For Riches and gay Apparel you may help to cure Excess where you find it What! a Physician fly because his Patients are Sick O that we had no sorer Diseases to encounter than fine Cloaths If you were with me I could tell you quickly where to find Forty Families of humble godly Christians that are as bare and Poor as you would Wish and need as much as you can give them or procure them that scarce lose a Day 's Work by Sickness but the Church must maintain them And I could send you to Sixty Families that are as poor and yet so Ignorant as more to need your spiritual Help When they have sat by me to be instructed in my Chamber they sometimes leave the Lice so plentifull that we are stored with them for a competent space of time Never keep in a Separated Church to avoid Riches and fine Cloaths and for fear lest you cannot meet with the Poor I warrant you a Cure of that Melancholy Fear in most places in England 5. The next is the great Block 1. If you gather out the choicest Members that should help the rest and then complain of Parishes when you have marr'd them you do not justly 2. If you will not do your Duty in a Parish because some Ministers do not theirs your excuse is frivolous 3. If I durst have gathered a separated Church here I could have had one large and numerous enough or such as would allow me ease but I think Parish Work the best We here agree on these Four Heads 1. To teach all In which Work in my Parish I could find Work for Ten Ministers if I could maintain them 2. To admit none as adult Members without a personal credible Profession of Faith and Holiness of which I refer you to my Treatise of Confirmation 3. To exercise Discipline with these 4. To hold Communion of Churches by Associations and Assemblies of the Officers And I bless God I find not my Parish such a dead Body as you speak of Among Eight Hundred Families Six Hundred Persons are Church-Members I hope there is not very many of these without such a Profession as giveth us good Hopes of their Sincerity and none whose Profession I am able any way to disprove and this satisfieth me as God's Way and many I hope Scores there be of those that join not with us on divers Accounts that I hope fear God If you have Charity to judge that our Parishes have Christians you may have Charity to judge that they have Life and some fit for Communion How tender is Christ of his weakest Members and shall not I imitate him yea shall I judge them that am so bad my self and pluck them from his Arms that designeth it as his highest Honour to be admired and glorified in the freeness and fulness of his Grace and Love to the Unworthy 6. Your Followers Souls are by you endangered while you leave them in their Sin will it endanger them to tell them of that Danger and help them out What! to lead Men to Holy Love and Unity with the Catholick
vain If they do then they prove the Duty if not the Necessity of Infant Baptism 3. Ceremonies have not so much laid on them under the Gospel as under the Law Mercy before Sacrifice is the Gospel Canon Ad 2 m 2. That Command Matth. 28. commandeth the baptizing of Disciples I doubt not but it commandeth thereby the baptizing of Infants who are Disciples and made Disciples while proselyted Parents enter them into the Covenant of God according to his express unrepealed Law and Promise 2. But suppose it did not command Infant-Baptism nay suppose it had consequentially forbidden it it proves no more than that it is a sin not a nullity 3. But suppose it had made it a Nullity how are you guilty of other mens omission of Baptism by holding Communion with them when you may at your Enterance declare your dissent from them in that point Your Argument would lead you to avoid Communion with all Churches in the World even the re-baptized that held not all that you take to be the Institutions of Christ because you are bound to hold them But when you have leave to do your own Duty if you will shun all that you think do not theirs you will abhor Catholicism Ad 3 m 1. As to Iohn 3. 5. doubtless that Text speaks of more than the visible Church even the Mystical and the Triumphant And therefore if you will from thence exclude Infants from Baptism and the visible Church you must needs shut them all out of Heaven but Christo dissentiente you shall have none of Christ's consent 2. It is both Water as the sign and the holy Covenant and Cleansing of the Soul as the thing signified that are convincingly meant in the Text. But how one only as a sign and the other as the thing signified and therefore not as equally necessary in point of means though equally commanded Alas how easily understand we such Speeches among Men. If a General say to the Rebels I will spare none of you that will not come and list himself under me every Body will understand that becoming a Soldier and the Military Engagement or Sacrament as the Oath was anciently called is the thing here signified to be absolutely necessary and the Listing or Colours but as a sign for Order and in Cases of Necessity dispensable and regarded but in order unto the thing signified Your Arguments from personal Inconveniencies are none Ad 1 m 1. Do not you startle to hear the Catholick Church called the World and a retirement into its Communion called a Returning to the World I have read Come out from among them that is the World but not Come out of the Catholick Church 2. And do you not startle to hear them call their way Strictness and the other Loosness If they mean a sinful strictness so every Vice or many may have a strictness Malice hath a strictness and Covetousness and Oppression hath a strictness and Superstition hath a strictness But if they mean it of a holy strictness are not they the strictest that are likest to Christ and most conformable to his Will and most accurate in their Obedience And is not Love the new and great Commandment Are not your People loose that are so far from holy Love and Catholick Communion God is Love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God They are strict then in opposing God and the Unity or sweet Communion of the Members of the Lord. Is it an honour to be strict Sinners and Destroyers of the Church and Holy Love Let some take heed least they be too strict to come into Heaven among so many Millions of Souls that never owned any but Infant Baptism which is I think since Christ many hundred to one that is there that never were against Infant Baptism whether do you think Christ or the Phaâ—isees were the stricter when they condemned him for eating with Publicans and Sinners and his Disciples for breaking the ears of Corn and him for Sabbath-breaking c. Sure he more accurately observed his Father's will even the blessed Rule of Love and Mercy though they were more superstitious and strict was it the weak or the strong Christians Rom. 14. 15. that were the stricter about meats and drinks and days The weak superstitiously but the strong did more strictly adhere to the Law of Christ. Do you think that Man that shall say Christ died but for half the Saints themselves to be ever the better for that strict Opinion If you are for such forbidden strictness of Practice why do you not answer it in your Opinions about Grace c. 2. You have cause to be much humbled before the Lord for bringing your People into this Snare and Misconceit and ergo should not be guilty of continuing them in it nor make the fruit of your Sin an Argument to go on Impenitently 3. So great a Truth and Duty as Christian Catholick Love and Communion is not to be bawked for fear of danger Tell you of it plainly and trust God with the Issue It 's doubt those that will turn Quakers that is Infidels or near rather than be reduced to Catholick Love and Communion are never like to come to good if you keep them where they are It 's a fearful thing that any Man should think the better of his Spiritual state because he flieth furthest from the Catholick Love and Communion of Saints that is from the Church from Christ from God from Heaven Ad 2 m Your Communion with differing Saints is not a sinning against your Opinion about Baptism nor a leaving your station You may own your way and yet own Catholick Communion Dear Brother I think the Lord of Love and Peace is laying hands on you and will have you away out of your dangerous Schisms into the Paths of Love and Peace It is Uncharitableness and Separation that hath made the Rebaptized so odious throughout the World Love breedeth Love as Heat breedeth Heat The Christian Charity that appeareth in your Lives I sensibly feel draws out my own Heart in love to you All God's Saints will love you if you will but turn into the way of Love I hear that the Rebaptized in Ireland that grew to the reputation of Turbulent in their height begin now to be thought more peaceable and tolerable than some others there that being lately in the Saddle possessed their Prosperity and unquietness O! if days of Persecution come it will cut your hearts to think how you have refused Communion with your Brethren in days of Peace If we all lay our Heads and Hearts and Hands together for God's Church and Cause it will be too little My motion to you is That you will joyn with us for a Brotherly Agreement between the Men of your mind and ours The Articles shall be but these three 1. That all that can being satisfied in Conscience with their being Rebaptized shall continue loving Communion in the Church 2. That those that cannot be brought
on both Sides If you do it not you lye under some Imputation and it will be taken for granted you cannot vindicate your self If you attempt it and should not do it to the Satisfaction of Impartial Men the latter Art would be thought worse than the first unless you should do it only by way of Apology shewing by what you were induced so to write as in your Key you have done But my thought is you had better never attempt it than not to carry it clearly and if you do that I confess it will be more than I did expect And on the other hand whether your Confutation be fâ—ll or â—aint when it comes abroad it will provoke both the Principal and his Adherents many of whom are honest Independants and Anabaptists prizing him upon a Civil Account at least in great part for his great Accomplishments for Civil Affairs and so indispose them to consider and receive your many worthy Proposals and Directions tending to gather such as were too much scattered And how far you may by such a thing exasperate him and his Confederates against not only you but other Godly Ministers for your sake the thing you mention is considerable But then again if it shall be supposed that he is that way disposed and in Resolulution ingaged to the length of his aim already and whether he be or no I cannot say I would hope otherwise then it will be considerable whether it will not be a good piece of Service to weaken his Interest so far as relateth to his Counsels about Church Affairs by discovering his weakness and unfoundness in things of that Nature And how far your intermedling this way I mean in relation to his unsoundness in your own Vindication may draw on you a Suspicion of Uncharitableness if you should do it is hard to say He is now in place of Power whether upon better Terms than Nero or those under him will not be the Question but how far it would have beseemed a Minister of the Gospel and publickly to have discovered the then Rulers Unsoundness would be a Question I do acknowledge also that a great deal of Care and Tenderness of due belongs to the Reputation of your Person and Name in relation to your place and Office in the Church as well as it does to another in respect of his place in the Common-wealth So that if you could heal the Wound which the Author of the Vindication hath endeavoured to make without wounding the Name or touching the publick Authority now vested in him Sir H. V. I think the case would be clear But then this I think would be without dispute that if you find cause to print that then you carry things with all Christian Sweetness evidencing your Tenderness to the Names of Men so far as may possibly consist with your Faithfulness to a greater and better Interest And I have heard the Author of the Vindication blamed by several of Sir H. V. his Friends for his Edge and Bitterness The less of that appeared the more is gained in any Personal Contests I shall pray the Lord to direct your Thoughts but do not think my self wise enough to be positive in this Advice As for that which concerns the Anabaptists Offence I inâ—line much to think the safect will be not to meddle in it for the present And if you think good to Communicate your Knowledge of the Churches of the Anabaptists their petitioning for Justice to be done upon the late King I shall as I have Opportunity acquaint them what you have in readiness to make good your quarrelled Assertion but that tenderness to them and Christian Peace hath for the present bound your Hands As for the Author of the Sober Word whose Name is Mr. Iohn Iackson â—ormerly Grand Treasurer for the Excise I think from the beginning of it to the Change of Government and now in Commission for bringing in all Arrears of Excise c. you will not need I think to do any thing publickly I meeting him last Night at the Militia where he and I had occasion to be I thought good to acquaint him with so much of your Letter as concerned him And in return he hath promised me a piece of his which he will desire me to send to you for your further Satisfaction touching him as to be no Jesuitical Designer I think it 's made against the Quakers For that which concerns Mr. Tombes his Name I had heard of it more particularly than you express and am troubled that so little hath been done by himself towards his own Vindication unless more hath been done than hath come to my Ear. I question whether he will make it known so as to be communicated to you to be his desire that you should write an Epistle c. If he should a Work of that nature may receive your Countenance and Attestation if it deserve it without concerning your self in his Morals You have if my Intelligence be right in your County and in the County of Gloscester armed Designes brought almost to the Birth and are like to put you suddenly into Trouble if not made Abortive Endeavours are on foot for Prevention some Reserve of Horse and new Arms have been made I believe it concerns you and such as you to be mindful of your own Security by contributing your help towards the Maintenance of the Publick Peace If things are bad now I believe they are like to be much worse if a turn should come by the Hand of War Sir Narrowness of Opportunity hath produced the too much undigestedness of these Lines That the Lord may preserve you and fill you with the Spirit of Wisdom and of Power is the sincere desire of Yours faithfully ingaged in true Affection to serve you Will. Allen. London Iuly 23. 1659. To the Reverend and his worthy good Friend Mr. Rich. Baxter in Kidderminster SIR I Thank you for yours of the 13th currant which I have and I do confess that the several Tempers and Interests of Professors of different Perswasions considered a wise Man can have no great hopes whatever his desires be of any General Accord And to answer your desire in some account of the progress of the Meeting on foot for Agreement Be pleased to understand that however the Work went on merrily whilst Generals only were dwelt on yet it 's almost put to a stand when we come to some Particulars which were thought necessary to be descended to That which hath troubled us most hath been about sending forth or furnishing the Nation with Preachers of the Gospel Though we all agree 1. That it 's all our Duties to promote such a work And 2. That the Persons imployed in it must be godly sound in the Faith and apt to teach And 3. that they ought to pass under some trial for Approbation And 4. that a convenient Maintenance for them should by all meet means be procured yet by whom and how they should be so approved as to be
the Transgressors of it and the Curse of what Covenant it was that Christ redeemed us from in being made a Curse for us For touching these things I confess my self not well resolved The hanging on the Tree was but a Temporal Curse and was not all that Christ redeemed us from And when you have a fitting Opportunity I pray you return them to Your obliged Servant Will. Allen. London May 27. 1671. Those of the Separation that are more moderate do blame Mr. Bagshaw and think you need not answer him and his Temper is to have the last word If you think otherwise a calm Answer will be best Dear Sir I Received your Preface by which you have been pleased to add unto all former Obligations wherein I stand bound I have moved Mr. Simmons about printing the Copy acquainting him with your Preface but not with the Author of the Papers but I perceive he hath no mind to undertake it since when I have not spoken to any other Sir It hath been sometimes on my thoughts to draw up some thing against Separation more then what is in my Retractation at least to be published after my death if surviving Friends should think fit but have â—orborn to publish any thing of that nature hitherto partly to avoid suspition of strengthening the hand of Severity against the Separatists to the doing of hurt to whom I would not be in the least accessary and likewise to avoid the suspition of being acted therein by Carnal Motives However something I have now prepared and herewith sent you presuming yet once more to give you the trouble at your leisure of casting your eye upon it And do pray that you will please to correct or direct me to correct what needs correction and to give me advice whether it will be best to make it publick or to forbear I confess I have been induced to do what I have done at this time upon occasion of the Indulgence as conceiving it not less necessary nor less seasonable to say no more than it was before And your motion of reprinting my Reâ—ractation had its share in inclining me to this present Undertaking As I have been taken in the Snare of Separation for a time so I was in that of Anâ—inomianism about 37 or 38 years ago not long after my first coming to London as not being able to withstand the Insinuations of it and yet to retain the Opinion of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness in that Notion of it in which I had been instructed and never fully recovered my self till I heard Mr. Iohn Goodwin The Experience of what I suffered my self and occasioned others to suffer by my running into those Errours hath put me upon doing more to warn others against them or recover them out of them then otherwise I should have thought fit for me to have done You may perceive in part how frail my memory was by my often blottings and interlinings Excuse me for this time and you are never like to be troubled with any of my Papers more whether I live or die The good God that hath out of good will to the World made you so meet to be serviceable to it continue you long in it and still strengthen you to succeed and prosper you in his Word So prays Your very much obliged Servant Will. Allen. London Iune 29. 1672. I live next the Green-Man in Prince's-street by Stocks-Market and not at the Bottle in the Poultrey Dear Friend I This Day received and read your Book and knowing so well the Author's Experience Judgment and Sincerity it hath made a great change upon my Judgment viz. Whereas I once thought that some Mens Usage of this poor Kingdom and Christ's Ministers and the false Reports and Representations made of them did shew not only Charity but common Honesty and Humanity by which the civil differ from others to be with such Men very low I find now my better Thoughts of those Men much revived by finding that so good a Man as you can in any Measure in such a time and place so far mistake the case as you have done But long Experience hath acquainted me with more of the Cause than perhaps you have observed your self That is 1. All Mens Capacities are narrow and we cannot look every way at once Our thoughts are like a Stream of Water which will run but one way at once and carry down all that 's moveable in that Stream When you were for Anabaptistry and Separation it 's like the Stream of your Thoughts run all that way and you studied more what was for you than what was against you and now the Sense of your Error hath turned your Thoughts the contrary way I may judge by the Effects that you think more what may be said against Nonconformity than what may be said for it 2. And Experience makes me take it for granted that to judge hastily before they fully understand or hear the Cause is the common Disease of Man's depraved Intellect which few are cured of in any great Degree I would not be guilty of it while I blame it if my Frailty can avoid it and therefore I will suppose that you have more Reasons for what you say that I yet understand and shall only as a Learner desire you to help me to understand them And 1. Seeing almost all your Book is against Anabaptistry and Separation I desire you to acquaint me why you entituled it An Address to the Nonconformists when it is certain that the ignorant Multitude who have some such Thoughts already will hence be more persuaded that the Nonconformists are commonly for Separation which being a Calumny I suppose you thus indirectly propagate it for some Reason which I know not Falshood and Hatred are so befriended by common corrupted Nature that they need no Books to be written to encourage them If a Philosopher wrote against Manicheism and called it An Address to the Christians Or a Papist wrote against Anabaptistry and Separation and called it An Address to the Protestants the Intimation were unjust Quest. 2. Will not the Conformists think that you prevaricate in pretending to plead for a National Church p. 101. and when you explain your self speak but of a Church Inorganical that is equivocally and ineptly so called seeing forma denominat and the Word Church in the common Controversy about National Provincial Diocesan Churches is taken for an Ecclesiastical Polity and Society and not for a meer Community A Family without a Master a School without a Schoolmaster a Kingdom without a King and a Church without a Pastoral Regiment are equivocal improper Denominations a materia when you knew that the Nonconformists have long asked which is the true constitutive Ecclesiastical Head of this National Church When you were upon the Subject it would have done well to have told them for an accidental Head the King they confess as much as others Quest. 3. When you plead so much for Parish-Churches are you therein
Publick Worship which yet Mahometans offer him some it is Schism not to obey But if the Bishop do but say the word we may meet daily without Schism and the Place Person Exercise that before was Schismatical if he do but licence them are presently lawful So that the Bishop's word against the King's yea against God's command to preach in season and out can make a thing Schism and his word can make it none again in a moment 17. Whether it be Schism to go to a better Minister in another Parish in the same Diocess though we separate from no Church in their sense the Diocesan being the lowest proper Church is not well agreed on Feigning Schisms is making Schism by turbulent noise and 〈◊〉 Accusations We that impose on no Man and that obey them in lawful things that we for Universal Love and Peace even with that meet in different Assemblies and in different Forms we that hold Communion with all true Churches as aforesaid and yet because we can be but in one place at once do choose the best obeying God's Command Let all things be done to edification and knowing best what edifieth our selves we suppose are farther from Schism than those that as from the Throne of Authority pronounce Schism and never help us to understand the sense and reason of their words but use it as for the advantage of their Cause And as one lately writeth Have led that Bear so long about the streets till the Boy lay by fear and do but laugh at it Nor are there many more effectual Causes of Schism and that harden true Schismaticks against all Conviction then when it is seen that Men of Contention Pride and Worldly Interest first make the Schism by sinful or impossible terms of Unity and next falsly call the most Innocent that obey not their Domination Schismaticks and the greatest Duties even Preaching where many and many thousands have no Preaching nor no Publick Worship of God by the Name of Schism as if we must let London turn Heathens for fear of being Schismaticks Dear Friend though these things have these Forty years had my deep and I hope impartial thoughts and I dare not for a thousand Worlds think to do otherwise than I do in the main yet I shall heartily thank you if by true light you help me to see any Errour which I yet perceive not And seeing Experience hath justly taught you to dread Anabaptistry and Separation think further 1. Whether they that forbid Parents to enter their Children into Covenant with God in Baptism and lay all that Office on those that have no power to covenant in their names nor shew any purpose to perform what they promise and deny Baptism as aforesaid to the Children of such as submit not to this and the Cross be not quantum in se Destroyers of Infant Baptism which is no Baptism if there be no Covenant 2. Again Whether they be not Separatists that both un-Church all the Parish-Churches quantum in se and also deny Communion with the Nonconformists Churches as null or unlawful even when they had his Majesties Licence Be impartial against Antipedobaptists and Separatists I constantly heard and communicated with the Parish-Church where I lived but the Conformists usually fly from the Nonconformists Assemblies as unlawful but if both sides were heard in their Charge against the other I know which would have the more to say Accept this freedom from the unfeigned Love of Your much obliged Friend Rich. Baxter May 13. 1626. The Instances promised you I. WHen I was cast out at Kidderminster and you know what a Minister was there I offered while the Indulgence of the King's Declaration continuâ—d to have been the Reading Vicar's Curate and to have preached for nothing and could not prevail I was by the Bishop forbidden to preach in his Diocess and when I offered him to preach only Catechistical Principles to some poor Congregation that else must have none he told me It was better they had none than me My presence at Kidderminster was thought so dangerous that Force was assigned to have apâ—â—â—hend me and had I stayed it must have been in the Jail and many another for my sake When I was forced away at Venner's Rising I wrote but a Letter to my Mother in-â—aw and it was way-laid intercepted opened and sent up to the Court though there was nothing concerning them in it but some sharp Invectives against the Rebellion which my Lord Chancellour acknowledging caused my Lord Windsor personally to bring me back my Letter so that I durst not write to them of many years My Neighbours I had perswaded to do as you advise to joyn in the Publick Church and help each other as private Men and for so doing repeating Sermons and praying and singing a Psalm many of them lay long among Rogues in the Common Jail and others of them impoverished by Fines II. When I came to live at Acton I drew all the People constantly to Church that were averse sometime I repeated the Parsons Sermon and sometimes taught such as came to my House between the Sermons When the Reverend Parson saw them come into Church he would fall upon them c. And not being able to bear my little Endeavours for their Instruction he caused me to be sent to the Common Jail not one Witness or Person being suffered to come into the Room while I was examined and committed III. I am now in a Parish where some Neighbours say that there are Fourscore thousand Souls suppose they be fewer Not above Two thousand of all these can hear in the Parish Church so that it 's like above Sixty thousand have no Church to go to no not so much as to hear the Scripture or the Common-Prayer Here I need not tell you what Prohibitions I have had and what my Endeavours to teach a few Publickly have lost me and others And lately because one that preached for me did without my knowledge at the importunity of a Parent Baptize a poor man's Child when they told him it was in danger of death the Curate of the Parish came to my House to expostulate the matter when yet many are baptized by Papist Priests for want of others to do it as they say I never my self Baptized a Child or administred the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper these fifteen years but ordinarily received it in the Parish Church at Totterridge and elsewhere one of the first times that I received it in private a Bullet was shot into the Room among us and came near to the Heads of divers of us I never gathered any Church from among them and yet have been usually the first sought after to be imprisoned or ruined in each assault and was put to sell my Goods and Books to save them from Distress Near me in the same Parish liveth Mr. Gabriel Sanger the late Incumbent Pastor of the Parish a Man of Age and Gravity great Moderation and Peaceableness and far from
what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice You shall answer for your own Souls Neither Parents nor Princes have an absolute or a destroying Power over them nor any that divesteth you of the Charge or Government of your selves Prudence therefore in such Cases must look to Order to Publick Good and to your own Edification and preserve all as far as you are able and God will accept you if you do your best though interess'd Factions â—e offended with you XXI It is a great Doubt among Casuists Whether and when the Breach of Humane Laws oblige Men to any other than Humane Penalties So far as God is offended and his Law broken by the breach of Mans so far Punishment from God also is deserved but no further And a Council at Toletum hath an express Canon that lest Subjects by the Churches Laws should have their Souls ensnared in Guilt towards God it is declared that their Provincial Canons bind only ad poenam non ad culpam to bear the Penalty but not to conclude men Sinners The Expressions want skill but the Meaning is manifest XXII The Persons belief that an evil Course is lawful maketh it not lawful to him The esse is before the scire If God's Law have forbidden or commanded Man's Errour may ensnare himself in sin but cannot change the Law of God XXIII Some that I love and honour that have heretofore been ensnared in Anabaptistry and Separation in the sense of their Errour as is usual warp to the contrary Extream and fear not the dreadful guilt of perswading Christ's faithful Ministers to lay by the Sacred Office which they are devoted to yea and would blind us to believe there is no need save only to speak to particular persons privately whereby they should be a year in speaking to those whom they may speak to in an hour and few be able to do it and perhaps be thrust out with wrath by the Parish Ministers as creeping into Houses to seduce silly women or reproached and suspected for it They say truly that he that hath gone their former way of unjust Separation is like one that an travel seeth here a Leg and their an Arm lye in his way and therefore should fear to go on in danger But I tell them further he that readeth Church History and Councils what work Church Tyranny and striving to be greatest hath made with Kings and Kingdoms Churches and Families and the Blood of an hundred thousand Christians for about a thousand years at least is like one that in his travel seeth here a hundred Carkasses and there an hundred and there a stream of Blood and there a City ruined and there a good King surrendring his Crown as an Act of Penance as Ludovicus Pius did and there the Streets covered with the Blood and Carkasses of Monks and others and then cast into the Rivers by the wars and broils of contending Bishops as at Antioch c and if this Man will go on he overcometh another kind of warning than here a Leg and there an Arm Read but the History throughly and judge But what will not Ignorance make men say XXIV Some think that if Sacramental Communion only were left free it would alone heal most of our English differences I confess I that think Men may be forced to hear and be catechized do think the great Priviledges of Sacramental Communion and a sealed Pardon should be given to none by Cramming or as a Drench I mean to none against their wills none but Volunteers or Consenters being capable of so great Benefits according to Christ the Donor's mind But this requireth many Cautions and belongeth not to the Case in hand Numb VII A Letter of Mr. Baxter's about the Case of Nevil Symmons SIR I Think not the Confuting of any of the Calumnies that are cast upon me by Backbiters whether from Ignorance or Envy worth any great care or labour were it not for the sake of the Guilty themselves and others whom they may draw into the same Guilt or hinder from profiting by my Labours in the Calling that God hath placed me in But I will not despise all these so much as not to think them worthy the labour of a few Lines It is not long since some Gentlemen at a Coffee-House affirmed That I had kill'd a Man in cold Blood with my own Hand that is a Tinker beating his Kettle at my Door and disturbing me in my Studies I pistoll'd him and was tired at Worcester for my Life But these Gentlemen were so ingenuous as to ask Forgiveness and confess their Fault and one of them openly to my Vindication Though Dr. Boreman Parson of St. Giles's in the Fields that in a printed Pamphlet led the way never did so Yet lived three or four years Suspended or supposing himself Suspended and so died Another caracterized Iames 3. reporteth that I am so hot a Disputant that at a Gentleman's Table I threw the Plate at him that I disputed with The whole Story feigned nor did I ever know the least occasion for the Report The greatest Reproach that 's laid on me is by Conformists for not Conforming or not giving over my Preaching and Ministry And if they accuse me for not turning Papist and for not giving over Prayer as they did Daniel it would have the same effect with me But now comes a new one my Sufferings are my Crimes my Bookseller Nevil Symmons is broken and it is reported that I am the Cause by the excessive Rates that I took for my Books of him and a great Dean whom I much value foretold that I would undo him Of all Crimes in the World I least expected to be accused of Covetousness Satan being the Master of this Design to hinder the Success of my Writings when I am dead it is part of my warfare under Christ to resist him I tell you therefore truly all my Covenants and Dealings with Booksellers to this day When I first ventured upon the publication of my Thoughts I knew nothing of the Art of Booksellers I did as an act of meer kindness offer my Book called The Saints Rest to Thomas Underbill and Francis Tyton to print leaving the Matter of Profit without any Covenants to their Ingenuity They gave me Ten pounds for the first Impression and Ten pounds apiece that is Twenty pounds for every after Impresion till 1665. I had in the mean time altered the Book by the Addition of divers Sheets Mr. Underhill dieth his Wife is poor Mr Tyton hath Losses by the Fire 1666. They never gave me nor offered me a Farthing for any Impression after nor so much as one of the Books but I was fain out of my own Purse to buy all that I gave to any Friend or poor Person that asked it This loosening me from Mr. Tyton Mr. Symmons stept in and told me That Mr. Tyton said he had never got Three pence by me and brought witness Hereupon I used Mr. Symmons only When I
Controversies against the Anabaptists first and then against the Separatists and in private some of my Worcestershire Neighbours and many of the Foot Soldiers were able to baffle both Separatists Anabaptists and Antinomians and so kept all the Garrison sound Whereupon the Anabaptists sent to Bedford for one Mr. Benjamin Cox an old Anabaptist Minister and no contemptible Schollar the Son of a Bishop and he and I had first a Dispute by Word of Mouth and after by Writing and his Surceasing gave me ease In conclusion a few poor Townsmen only were carried away about a Dozen Men and Women but the Souldiers and the rest of the City kept sound from all Infection of Sectaries and Dividers § 67. While I lived here in Peace and Liberty as Men in a dry House do hear the Storms abroad so did we daily hear the News of one Fights or other or one Garrison or other won or lost the two Newbery Fights Glocester Siege the marvellous Sieges of Plimouth Lime and Taunton Sir William Waller's Successes and Losses the Loss at Newark the Slaughter at Bolton the greatest Fight of all at York with abundance more So that hearing such sad News on one side or other was our daily Work insomuch that as duly as I awakened in the Morning I expected to hear one come and tell me Such a Garrison is won or lost or such a Defeat received or given And do you hear the News was commonly the first Word I heard So miserable were those bloody Days in which he was the most honourable that could kill most of his Enemies But among all these I was especially pleased with the Surprize of Shrewsbury both because it was done without loss of Blood and because my Father and many of my dear Friends were thereby redeemed for when I returned from Wem to Coventry it happily fell out that Sir Fulk Hunkes was made Governor of Shrewsbury by the King and he protected my Father while he was there But at last the Gentâ—y of the Countrey and he agreed not he being too much a Soldier and too civil for many of them and they procured him to be removed and Sir Rich. Oatley first and after Sir Mich. Earnley made Governors Sir Fulk Hunkes was confident when he went that their Drunkenness and Carelesness would shortly lose the Town and so it did indeed fall out His old Mother the Lady Hunkes he left with my Father where she died between 80 and 100 Years old But when he was gone my Father was made one of the Collectors of their Taxes for the King which he justly performed But he would not forcibly distrain of them that refused to pay as not knowing but they might hereafter recover it all of him for which he was laid in Prison by them that swore he should lie and rot there But he had been there but a few Weeks before the Keeper in the night came to him and beg'd his Favour to save him and his House for the Parliaments Souldiers had surprised the Town My Father would not believe it till he heard and saw that which compell'd his Belief and with what Joy I need not tell § 68. There were abundance of strange Providences in these times that fell out for some particular Persons The marvellous Preservation of Souldiers by Bibles in their Pockets which have received the Bullets and such like I will not mention When Prince Rupert put the Inhabitants of Bolton in Lancashire to the Sword Men Women and Children an Infant escaped alive and was found lying by her Father and Mother who were slain in the Streets an Old Woman took up the Child and carried it home and put it to her Breast for warmth having not had a Child her self of about 30 Years the Child drew Milk and so much that the Woman nursed it up with her Breast Milk a good while The Committee desired some Women to try her and they found it true and that she had a considerable proportion of Milk for the Child If any one doubt of this they may yet be resolved by Mrs. Hunt Wife to Mr. Rowland Hunt of Harrow on the Hill who living then in Manchester was one of them that by the Committee was desired to trie the Woman and who hath oft told it me and is a credible godly discreet Gentlewoman and Wife to a Man of most exemplary Holiness and of the primitive Sincerity without Self-seeking Hypocrisie and Guile The Maid her self thus nursed up lived after wards in London This putteth me in mind of that worthy Servant of Christ Dr. Teat who being put to fly suddenly with his Wife and Children from the Fury of the Irish Rebels in the Night without Provision wandred in the Snow out of all ways upon the Mountains till Mrs. Teat having no suck for the Child in her Arms and he being ready to die with Hunger she went to the Brow of a Rock to lay him down and leave him that she might not see him die and there in the Snow out of all ways where no Footsteps appeared she found a Suck-bottle full of new sweet Milk which preserved the Child's Life In Cornwall Sir Rich. Greenvile having taken many Souldiers of the Earl of Essex's Army sentenced about a dozen to be hanged when they had hanged two or three the Rope broke which should have hanged the next And they sent for new Ropes so oft to hang him and all of them still broke that they durst go no farther but saved all the rest Besides universal undeniable Report I had this oft told me by Mr. Woodhouse an honest godly sober Man a Sisters Son of Justice Kettleby of Shropshire who himself stood by expecting Death and was one of the Number of them whose Lives were saved by it If I would here give an account of all the Military Actions of those times which I had the certain knowledge of the manner of taking and losing Towns and Castles the Progress of the main Armies and of the Parties in the several Counties in Cheshire Lancashire Yorkshire Derbyshire Staffordshire Shropshire Lincolnshire Gloucestershire and other Counties where particular Wars were carried on and between Pembrokeshire and the rest of Wales and also the manner of the several great Fights especially that at Marston-moor near York it would fill of it self a greater Volume than I intend and is a matter besides my present purpose and fit to be done in another manner And therefore I shall pass that by and proceed in the Narrative of the passages of my own Life inâ—erposing only Generals and the passages which occasioned them § 69. When by the great Mercy of God I had lived two years in quietness at Coventry the Earl of Essex being weakened by a great loss in Cornwall fell under the great displeasure of some of the Parliament not as to his Person but as to the Conduct of Affairs who prevailed to have him laid by The Causes were all these in Conjunction 1. Though none could deny
but the Earl was a Person of great Honour Valour and Sincerity yet did some Accuse the Soldiers under him of being too like the King's Soldiers in Profaneness lewd and vitious Practices and rudeness in their Carriage towards the Country and it was withal urg'd that the Revolt of Sir Faithful Fortescue Sir Richard Greenvile Col. Urrey and some others was a satisfying Evidence that the irreligious sort of Men were not to be much trusted but might easily by Money be hired to betray them 2. And it was discovered that the Earl of Essex's Judgment and the wisest Mens about him was never for the ending the Wars by the Sword but only to force a Pacificatory Treaty He thought that if the King should Conquer the Government of the Kingdom would be changed into Arbitrary and the Subjects Propriety and Liberty lost And he thought that if he himself should utterly conquer the King the Parliament would be tempted to encroach upon the King's Prerogative and the Priviledges of the Lords and put too much Power in the Gentries and the People hands and that they would not know how to settle the State of the Kingdom or the Church without injuring others and running into Extreams and falling into Divisions among themselves Therefore he was not for a Conquest of the King But they saw the Delay gave the King advantage and wearied out and ruined the Country and therefore they now began to say that at Edghill at Newbury and at other times he had never prosecuted any Victory but stood still and seen the King's Army retreat and never pursued them when it had been easie to have ended all the Wars 3. But the chief Cause was that Sir H. Vane by this time had increased Sectaries in the House having drawn some Members to his Opinion and Cromwell who was the Earl of Manchester's Lieutenant General had gathered to him as many of the Religious Party especially of the Sectaries as he could get and kept a Correspondency with Vane's Party in the House as if it were only to strengthen the Religious Party And Manchester's Army especially Cromwell's Party had won a Victory near Horncastle in Lincolnshire and had done the main Service of the day at the great â—ight at York and every where the Religious Party that were deepliest apprehensive of the Concernment of the War had far better Success than the other sort of Common Soldiers These things set together caused almost all the Religious sort of Men in Parliament Armies Garrisons and Country to before the new modelling of the Army and putting out the looser sort of Men especially Officers and putting Religious Men in their steads But in all this Work the Vanists in the House and Cromwell in the Army joined together out-witted and over-reacht the rest and carried on the Interest of the Sectaries in Special while they drew the Religious Party along as for the Interest of Godliness in the general The two Designs of Cromwell to make himself great were 1. To Cry up Liberty of Conscience and be very tender of Men differing in Judgment by which he drew all the Separatists and Anabaptists to him with many soberer Men. 2. To set these self-esteeming Men on work to arrogate the Glory of all Successes to themselves and cry up their own Actions and depress the Honour of the Earl of Manchester and all others though Men of as much Godliness at least as they so that they did proclaim the Glory of their own Exploits till they had got the fame of being the most valiant and Victorious Party The truth is they did much and they boasted of more than they did And these things made the new modelling of the Army to be resolved on But all the Question was how to effect it without stirring up the Forces against them which they intended to disband And all this was notably dispatcht at once by One Vote which was called the Self-denying Vote viz. That because Commands in the Army had much pay and Parliament Men should keep to the Service of the House therefore no Parliament Men should be Members of the Army This pleased the Soldiers who looked to have the more pay to themselves and at once it put out the two Generals the Earl of Essex and the Earl of Manchester and also Sir William Waller a godly valiant Major General of another Army and also many Colonels in the Army and in other parts of the Land and the Governour of Coventry and of many other Garrisons and to avoid all Suspicion Cromwell was put out himself When this was done the next Question was Who should be Lord General and what new Officers should be put in or old ones continued And here the Policy of Vane and Cromwell did its best For General they chose Sir Thomas Fairfax Son to the Lord Ferdinando Fairfax who had been in the Wars beyond Sea and had fought valiantly in Yorkshire for the Parliament though he was over-powered by the Earl of Newcastle's Numbers This Man was chosen because they supposed to find him a Man of no quickness of Parts of no Elocution of no suspicious plotting Wit and therefore One that Cromwell could make use of at his pleasure And he was acceptable to sober Men because he was Religious Faithful Valiant and of a grave sober resolved Disposition very fit for Execution and neither too Great nor too Cunning to be Commanded by the Parliament And when he was chosen for General Cromwell's men must not be without him so valiant a Man must not be laid by The Self-denying Vote must be thus far only dispensed with Cromwell only and no other Member of either House must be excepted and so he is made Lieutenant General of the Army and as many as they could get of their Mind and Party are put into Inferiour Places and the best of the old Officers put into the rest But all the Scotch-men except only Adjutant Crey are put out of the whole Army or deserted it § 70. And here I must digress to look back to what I had forgotten of the Scots Army and the Covenant When the Earl of Newcastle had over-powered the Lord Fairfax in the North and the Queen had brought over many Papists Soldiers from beyond Sea and formed an Army under General King a Scot and the King had another great Army with himself under the Command of the Earl of Forth another old Scottish General so that they had three great Field Armies besides the Lord Goring's in the West and all the Country Parties the Parliament were glad to desire Assistance from the Scots whose Army was paid off and disbanded before the English Wars The Scots consented but they offered a Covenant to be taken by both Nations for a resolved Reformation against Popery Prelacy Schism and Prophaneness the Papists the Prelatists the Secfaries and the Prophane being the four Parties which they were against This Covenant was proposed by the Parliament to the Consideration of the Synod at Westminster