King James the Parliament sitting Dr. Harsenet Bishop of Chichester Preached a Sermon at Whitehall upon Mark 12.17 Give unto Caesar c. wherein he insisted that Goods and Money were Caesars and therefore they were not to be denied unto him at which the whole Parliament stormed and took great Offence which that wise and peaceable Prince endeavoured to calm and qualifie by moderate Exposition thereof to the Lords and Commons for that purpose Assembled in the Banquetting-House viz. That the Doctor meant it according to the Laws and Customs of the Country wherein they did live This did mollifie but not satisfie and therefore the Sermon was burnt to satisfie their Indignation against such vile and destructive Doctrines for which he was well rewarded by being translated to Norwich Rush 177. then to York a shrewd sign that such Doctrines did please the Court tho' not the Parliament Likewise Mr. Ric. Montague who 21 Jac. printed an Answer to the late Gag of Protestants and about 22 Jac. printed another Book Entituled A Treatise of the Invocation of Saints 1 Car. 1. he printed another Entituled An Appeal to Caesar which Books contained so many Erronious and false Doctrines contrary to the very Articles agreed on in the Convocation held at London 1562. that they disobliged the whole Nation so much that the Commons House exhibited Articles against him 1 Car. and prayed that he might be punished This Cause began 21 Jac. when he had published a former Book called A new Gag for an old Goose and was then questioned in Parliament and committed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and ended in an Admonition only given to Montague by the Archbishop who disliked that Book and thought to suppress it but could not It was printed and dedicated to the King and his Cause was recommended to the Duke of Buckingham by the Bishops of Oxford Rochester and St. Davids all mighty Church of England Men not Puritans whereby they espoused it as their common Cause and Concern and Montague is made his Majesties Chaplain yet his Majesty was so just and prudent as to leave him to the Parliament which did not please the Bishops and the Commons House did exhibit Articles against him and prayed his Book might be burnt and himself punished but the Bishops prevailed so much with the King on their own behalf that he was made first Bishop of Chichester and then Bishop of Norwich and his Book only called in by Proclamation yet so as all Answers thereunto by Preaching or Writing were forbidden For the several Answers made by Dr. Featly Dr. Gâ—ad in their Parallels by Mr. Burton Ward Yates Wetton Rouse in a Book called King James's Religion were all suppressed and some of the Printers questioned in the High Commission and Montague had a Royal Pardon which was inquired into 4 Car. by the Commons House In the same Parliament a Petition was exhibited from some Booksellers and Printers in London complaining of the restraint of Books written against Popery and the contrary allowed of by the only means of Dr. Land Bishop of London and divers of the Printers and Booksellers were sent for by Pursevants for Printing Books against Popery and the Licensing is only restrained to the Bishop of London and his Chaplains Ph. de Comines complained That tho' the King of France had a wise Council yet they rid all upon one Horse And must we be Priest-ridden by a Bishop and his Chaplains Upon which Mr. Selden declared That there was no Law to prevent Printing of any Books only a Decree in Star-Chamber and he advised that a Law might be made concerning Printing else one may be Fined Imprisoned prisoned and his Goods taken from him by vertue of such Decrees which is a great invasion upon the Liberty of the Subject About the same time also came out Cosins his Book of Seven Sacraments containing strange things against whom the Commons House exhibit 21 Articles whereof one was for calling some Gentlewomen Whores and Jades and Pagans and for tearing some of their Clothes when they were in their Seats in the Church because they would not bow to the Altar nor at the Name of Jesus c. Nalson 789. About this time the Clergy had wrought themselves with great Power and Interest at Court which encouraged the Inferior Clergy to great boldness and to pulpit any thing that might please as the very Road of Preferment Teach for Hire and Divine for Money Another that did appear bare faced and without any Vizard was one Sybthorp Vicar of Brackley scarce Batchellor of Art who preached Feb. 22. 1626. at Lent Assizes at Northampton on Rom. 13.7 Which Sermon called Apostolical Obedience tho' full fraught with many Theses destructive to all human Society yet had such countenance from the Court-Clergy that they procured his Majesty to send to the Archbishop of Canterbury to License it for the Press for the better grace of the business which his Majesty did feveral times by Mr. William Murrey but the Archbishop like a true Nathaniel refused to give it an Imprimatur but not without great Reasons humbly submitted to his Majesty for his so doing It was afterwards carried to Dr. Worrall Chaplain to the then Bishop of London who having hand over head Licens'd it afterward took advice of Councel who told him That if all in that Sermon were true there was no meum tuum left to Subjects and that he might be called to an Account for it and hanged Whereupon he blotted out his Name again and the Book was afterward Licens'd by Laud then Bishop of London who gave it a great and stately Allowance and caused it to be dedicated to the King and published upon his Majesties Commission for the Raising of Money by the way of Loan which was by such Royal Authority to give greater countenance thereto It taught that the King's Duty is to direct and make Laws that nothing may excuse from Active Obedience but what is against the Law of God or Nature or Impossible That all Antiquity was absolutely for Absolute Obedience in all Civil and Temporal Things Laud also allowed the Book called The Seven Sacraments with all its Errors which were afterwards expunged Another bold faced Priest that did appear about the same time was Dr. Manwaring who promoted the same Design in two Sermons preached before the King and Court at Wintehall called Religion and Allegiance in which he declared That the King was not bound to observe the Laws of the Realm concerning the Subjects Rights and Liberty but that his Royal Will and Command in imposing Loans and Taxes without common consent in Parliament doth oblige the Subjects Conscience upon pain of Eternal Domnation that they who refused to pay this Loan offended against the Law of God and the Kings Supreme Authority and became guilty of Impiety Disloyalty and Rebellion and that the Authority of Parliament is not necessary for Raising the of Aids and Subsidies c. for which he was impeached
the Emperors Decrees were not executed by the bounty of Constance Cloro Caesar who governed it But a while after Constantine and Licinius granted freedom of Religion to the Christians approved of the Ecclesiastical Colledges called Churches granted generally throughout the Empire that they might gain and acquire stable Goods as well by Gift as Testament exempting also the Clergy from personal publick services that they might attend the Duties of Religion more constantly But the Clergy made so ill use of these Favours that Princes were forced to regulate them by Laws in the Year 370 Which St. Jerom confesseth to have been a Remedy against the Corruptions entred amongst the Clergy which was of getting Temporal Estates But that Law not being sufficient to suppress their greediness of getting Temporal Estates another Law was made Anno 390 to the same end and purpose this excess of getting was so unpleasant to St. Austin who lived in those Days that he openly declared against them saying The Ecclesiastical Ministry consisted not in getting and distributing much but in getting and distributing well Likewise he abhorred the new indirect ways they had found out of increasing their Stock and would never permit them in his Church and often declared in his Sermons That he had rather live on the Primitive Oblation than to have a care of Possessions which hindred from attending intirely upon the Principal Charge of a Bishop i. e. Spiritual things Notwithstanding all Laws Reprimands and Checks yet the Ecclesiastical Goods increased excessively above what it ought but the ancient manner of Governing and Distributing lasted till the Year 420. both the Oblation and the Ecclesiastical incoms from real Estates were in common and governed by Deacons Sub-Deacons and by other Assistants and distributed for the maintenance of Ecclesiastical Ministers and of the Poor The Colledge of Priests and the Bishops were the Superintendants so that the Bishops disposed of every thing and the Deacons executed it But after France Spain and Africa were divided from the Empire the Churches were differently governed The Eastern Church retained the common Government but in the Western the Bishops by Administrators and Superintendants made themselves Masters and to govern the Goods of the Church Arbitrarily from whence arose Confusions in the distribution of them and the Buildings fell to ruine and the Poor neglected and forsaken For which cause about the Year 470 in the Western Church it was ordained that the Ecclesiastical Goods should be divided into Four parts which alteration was also soon abused And also other changes made in the Government which in and through all things proved contrary to the Ancient as also the manner of chusing Ministers was instituted by the Apostles That Bishops Priests and other Ministers of God's Word and the Deacons Ministers of Temporal things should be elected by the Universality of the Faithful and should be ordained by the Bishops with laying of Hands on the Head a thing which lasts without alteration to this Day Which Custom continued about 200 Years The Bishops were chosen by the People and ordained by the Metropolitan in the presence of all the Com-provincial Bishops or else by their Consents c. And afterwards many Provinces for a better Form of Government were subject to one Primate whose Consent was also required for Ordaining Then the Priests Deacons and other Clergy Men were presented by the People and ordained by the Bishop or else nominated by the Bishops and with the Consent of the People ordained by him An unknown Man was never received neither did the Bishop ever Ordain one who was not approved of and commended or rather presented by the People and the Consent of the People was judged so necessary that Pope Leo the First treated amply that the Ordination of a Bishop could not be valid nor lawful which was not required by the People and by them approved of which was the Opinion of all the Saints of those times A thing worthy to be noted now a Days when that Election is declared to be illegitimate and null where the People have any share Thus is seen how things in the Government of the Church are degenerated from what they were in purer times even quite contrary that now accounted lawful which was then accounted wicked and that now unjust which then was reputed holy The Clergy finding the sweet and great Advantages of the Favours granted by Princes did improve them to the uttermost but by such means as were not pleasing to the Faithful of which St. Austin and St. Chrisostom greatly complained in their times For they increased the common Stock by undue practises and distributed over much to themselves and neglecting the Poor And their Wealth so vastly and unjustly increasing they instituted new kinds of Government which they changed at pleasure until at last it came to that we see at this Day Not content with the old ways of getting about the 500 Year another sort of Religious Colledges called Monasteries were erected Monkery began in Egypt about the Year 300 and from thence past into Greece whereby St. Basil at the Year 370 it was formed in the manner which yet continues But in Italy about the Year 350 it was brought to Rome by Athanasius but had little encouragement till about the Year 500 when St. Equitius and St. Benedict gave it a settled Form The Institution of Equitius increased but little but that of Benedict spread it self all over Italy and beyond the Mountains The Monks in those Days were not Ecclesiasticks but Seculars and in the Monasteries without the Cities they lived on their own Labour Arts and Husbandry together with some addition out of the publick Oblations and were governed by the Abbot The Abbot Tritemius makes Account that Monasteries of the Benedictine Monks were 15000 besides Prepositures and lesser Convents The Monks themselves chose their own Abbots by this time the Bishops by tricks and cunning Artifices became absolute Dispensators of the Fourth part of the Churches Goods which made the haughty Clergy mind Temporal Goods more than Spiritual and to make themselves Eminent and Popular whence arose Discords Seditions Tumults and Blows to the great Disturbance of Civil States especially about the Election of Clergy Dignitaries which Primarily at the first Institution was in the People beyond contradiction but afterwards by the cunning craftiness of those that lay in wait to deceive it was sometimes in the Clergy sometimes in the Prince sometimes in a mixture one chusing and another confirming as the Interest and Power of the one or the other could prevail Elections being then used not as the end of Divine Service but for secular Interests and worldly Ends. Antiquity knew of no distinction between Ordination and Benefice and Ordaining was then the same thing as to give an Office and the right of having ones livelihood from the common Goods of the Church But afterward through Wars and Confusions the Clergy being driven from their Ministries had recourse and retired
in Parliament 4 Car. for that they tended to alter and subvert the whole Frame and Fabrick of this State and Commonwealth that they tended to infuse into the Conscience of his Majesty the perswasion of a Power not bounding it self with Laws which King James in his Speech March 21. 1609. to the Parliament calls Tyranny with Perjury he endeavours to perswade the Conscience of the Subjects that they are bound to obey commands illegal yea he damns them for not obeying them he robs the Subject of the Property of their Goods and seeks like Faux and his fellows to blow up Parliaments and Parliamentary Power c. That they hold it a great presumption for a private Divine to debate the Right and Power of the King which is a matter of such high Consequence as to be handled only in Parliament and that with moderation therefore upon the whole matter he was censured to be Imprisoned during the pleasure of the House Fined 1000 l. to make his submission at both Bars suspended three Years from the exercise of his Ministry disabled to have any Ecclesiastical Government or Secular Office for ever disabled to Preach at Court his Book to be burnt in London and in both Universities and the re-printing thereof to be inhibited by his Majesties Proclamation Notwithstanding all these Censures Reprimands and Judgment of Parliament yet such Juglers were the mighty Church of England Priests and Prelates and such was the Prevalency Potency and Impudency of the then Court Clergy no Nathaniels that they procured their Royal Pardons of all Errors heretofore committed by them either in Speaking Writing or Printing and Manwaring was immediately presented to the Rectory of Stampford Rivers in Essex and had a Dispensation to hold it together with the Rectory of St. Giles's in the Fields Rushwerth's Collect. when as the justness of the Nation required their severe Reprimands nay their Punishments nay the Muzling of their Mouths These and their Abettors no Nathaniels Bishops of London Durham Rochester Oxford and others being of the same Quire and Chorus sung the same Tune and boasted themselves to be the true Church of England Men but the Archbishop-Abbot though Primate and Metropolitan of all England and multitudes of others both Bishops Priests and Lay much more Loyal and more True Church of England Men than themselves were branded for not being right Church of England Men and reviled as Puritanical Factious what not Under which Notion the Archbishop Abbot suffered being disgraced at Court commanded to withdraw into the Country Sequestred c. Whoever will seriously consider how Industriously Active and Instrumental the Bishops then in Vogue who were the Bishops of London and his Complices viz. Durham Rochester Oxon. St. Davids and others were to procure Dr. Alexander Leighton a learned Scotch-man Mr. Burton B. D. Mr. Pryn Barrister and Dr. Bastwick to be so inhumanly censured in the Star-Chamber and High Commission viz. Imprisoned Fined Whipt Pillored Ears cut off Cheeks branded with other Severities fitter for Infidels nay for Brutes rather than Christians and for what not truly for Crimes scarce Peccadilloes but rather for Rebukes of Sin as their Works do testifie in respect of what abominable Doctrines their own Priests preached countenancing and preferring those that Preached them espousing their Cause as their own and so became participes criminis tho' against the Interest and Sense of the whole Kingdom assembled in Parliament whereby and by their being a constant dead wait for the Court against the Kingdom they brought so great a Disdain and Contempt on their Hierarchy and those Courts that the Nation was not able to bear them and was forced to take away both these Courts and their Priviledge of Sitting in the House of Lords On which I shall only Remark thus much viz. That those Ecclesiasticks that preached Prerogative highest tho' to the ruine of the Nation and tho' condemned by the whole Kingdom in Parliament and that severely and with high Resentments yet when the Parliament was up Bishop Laud and his Complices no true but Mungril Church of England Men so improved their Interest at Court that they were preferred and others that did but Write and Preach against their violent and unconscionable Proceedings were barbarously censured and used which the Parliament so laid to Heart that they took away both these Courts And when those Three viz. Prin Bastwick and Burton returned from their designed perpetual Imprisonment they were met and caressed all along the Road and received by the City with great Joy and Acclamations And some while after Bishop Laud came to his unhappy Doom how deservedly I judge not If so to countenance and prefer those that Preach Doctrines so destructive to whole Nations and to Persecute learned and pious Men by the Character of a right Church of England Man I must confess that I cannot distinguish between Nathaniels and those that can swear by the Lord and Melcom I Appeal to the whole World whether of those two Contemporaries Archbishop Abbot or Bishop Laud were the Nathaniel the truest Church of England Man Abbot refusing and Laud granting an Imprimatur to Sibthorp's Sermon which was condemned to be burnt and yet Abbot Discountenanced Sequestred sent into the Country c. and Laud advanced Besides I verily believe that it cannot be proved by any plain place of Scripture that there is any Power under Heaven Ecclesiastick or Civil that hath lawful Authority to forbid any Man lawfully qualified to Preach the Gospel or to Prosecute any Man for denying submission to the use of Ceremonies no ways Essential to the Salvation of Souls If so what are we modestly to think of those Ecclesiasticks and their Adherents that ever since the Reformation Persecuted our Dissenters for Non-conforming to such commands What made so many of our Learned Pious Conscientious Clergy and Laiety Orthodox both in Life and Doctrine cry Migremus hinc and plant themselves in Foreign Barbarous Countries but Persecutions for their Consciences and for Rebukes of Sin rather than for any Crimes or Sins And yet their Persecutors had the Impudency of Abab the son of Omri who did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that went before him to tax them for Troublers of Israel when themselves Abab-like troubled it for they medled not with the Conformist but the Conformist with them not considering that Christ came to take away the heavy Yoke of Jewish Ceremonies and he and his Apostles never used nor prescribed any other and why any other Authority should impose any other Ceremonies and compel Obedience to them whereby they require other Conditions of Gospel-Communion than ever Christ himself did or his Apostles after him is past all Understanding They would oblige us to shew us by any one plain place of Scripture that Christ hath given any Charter to his Church or to any Officers thereof to require more Ceremonies to be admitted into his Fellowship and Worship than he himself hath done or to