upon it is an Imposture enough discover'd and unmask'd Speak out is there any thing Sinful or Unlawful in the Liturgie Or that is not agreeable to Gods Word Prove but that and then you do something for the Church holds in her Articles of Religion That it is not Lawful for her to ordain any thing that is contrary or besides the Word of God Besides have not your requests been gratified in many things in altering several passages in the Liturgie as in the Offices of Marriage Churching of Women and Burials what is it you would then have all or none Cannot you be pleased without it be wholly cast aside Will no Concessions else serve your turn O that you would make some weighty exceptions and not use such a frivolous and vain Cavilling against it not worth the Answering or that you would shew the World one of your own that were better before you take away this that would be reasonable and worthy your undertaking And since some of you have allowed of a Liturgie and for peace sake of many inconvenient Circumstances in Gods Worship Baxt. Disp p. 487. Safe way p. 198. and acknowledg also that the Governors of the Church have a decisive power in things undetermined in Scripture why should you not yield to accept of this equitable Proposition to accept of and Conform to this Form of Prayer and these Rites of the Church till better be Instituted or Ordained As to the Cross in Baptism a Moral Hiroglyphick only of our Saviours Death and Crucifixion Godfathers and Godmothers Confirmation Kneeling at the Sacrament Bowing at the Name of Jesus Standing up at Reading the Creed and other things of the like Nature are these things worthy to cause an Eternal Separation betwixt you Are they of so great moment as to make so wide and long a breach in a Nation Are they of worth and value to make you run into Contempt and Rebellion Let us know your Minds if any of these should be yeilded to your tender Consciences and disused to please you would you then Conform in all the rest Would not your Answer be as formerly to Queen Elizabeth That you would not leave a Hoof behind All the Ceremonies of the Church must be laid aside you would have a naked Religion without Cloaths which is not seemly Ceremonies are but the Garments and decencies of Religion not part of it but somewhat that it cannot well be seen without they are like our Cloaths that may be altered that may be cut to the mode and size of the Times without altering the form of our Body There have been Laws made for prohibiting the use of some Garments and that have injoyned the wearing of others though before it was at the choice of the People to wear or not wear them after such Laws made they were no longer indifferent It is even so of our Ceremonies they are indifferent things of themselves but being injoyned by Authority they are now no longer so Obedience is no indifferent thing that is absolutely injoyned by the Word of God 't is obedience to Ecclesiastical Laws that is required This obedience is either justly due to these Laws or it is not If it is why then do you disobey If you say it is not 1 Pet. 2.13 you contradict the Scriptures Submit to every Ordinance of Man whether it be unto the King as Supream or unto Governors c. Rom. 13.1 Let every Soul be subject to the higher Powers However it is the safest way to obey should they Command things doubtful let the blame lie upon them you will be excused God requires not impossibilities But certainly God has given to the Governors of the Church a Power of making Laws and Canons Let all things be done decently and according to order 1 Cor. 14.40 And according to this Rule of the Apostle the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England are as few decent comly and fitting as in any Church of the Christian World and all Exceptions against them that I ever could yet see empty and of no substance Manton on Jude Some of you have told us there are but two Lawful Causes of Separation from the Church Persecution and a general corruption of Doctrine for both these Causes and no other have we Separated from the Church of Rome and if you can prove these two marks of Separation to be inherent to the Church of England you will have sufficient to ground your Separation as Lawful and have some plea for what you do but till then I beseech you set your face towards the Temple of Obedience and be refractory no longer and since these things which make this Breach between you are not of any great Moment are but Ceremonies and the outward Garments and Garnatures of Religion leave off that obstinacy and submit your selves to the Ordinance of Man for the Lords sake The great Cry that you have made against these Rites and Ceremonies of the English Church hath been that they were Popery and of Popish extraction borrowed from the Church of Rome but all this while you tell us not what Popery is neither can you disown or dissent from all that is held or practised by the Church of Rome Certainly our Forefathers to whom we owe these things our Reformation from the Romish Church and the Purity of our Religion would not have laid down their Lives and have been Martyr'd by the Church of Rome if it had then been thought either by themselves or by the others that what they had done as to the Reforming the Ceremonies of the Church or towards the maintaining the Doctrines they Held or that the Orders and Discipline they had Constituted had been Popery or rather not opposite in some measure thereto As by Dissenting she shewed the Church of Rome that she had no dependency upon her and that she so far disowned her as she had disowned God by laying aside all those gross Corruptions for which our Church Separated from her so on the other side by retaining some of her harmless and innocent Ceremonies they shew'd her they did not do any thing by the Spirit of Opposition only whereby they might take offence without having a just ground and cause for it But Bishop Sanderson in his Preface to his Sermons tells you what in Truth Popery is Sand. Pref. Sect. 15. That it is those Doctrines which are contrary to the Word of God or but superadded thereunto as necessary Points of Faith to be of all Christians Believed under pain of Damnation and all those Superstitions used in the Worship of God which either are Vnlawful as being contrary to the Word of God or being not contrary and therefore Arbitrary or Indifferent are made Essentials and imposed as necessary parts of Worship From all which the Church of England hath been sufficiently Vindicated and Cleared and you cannot but know in your own Consciences that she disowns the shaddow of all those things and you
Evil and your Opinion that you may Separate and not Conform can never make it Good to you notwithstanding your scruples nor can any ways Justifie your Actions because Disobedience is of it self a great Evil. Now our Governors or those in Authority over us have Commanded those things to be done about which you scruple and that by the Authority of the Scripture 1 Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done decently and in Order which gives them a Power to make such Constitutions therefore all your scruples of Conscience cannot take off the greater Obligation of Obedience which you are expresly bound to in Conscience by Gods Command and you are no longer sui juris where a Superior Power has determined your Liberty If you scruple to play at Cards and Dice or any other indifferent thing of which you have Power to determine to do or not to do if you do it against your Conscience you sin because you are sui juris in that Case there being no Obligation upon you to the Contrary but if you scruple coming to Church because of the Ceremonies being both a good Action and Commanded by Authority not to do it must certainly be a great Sin notwithstanding your scruples to the contrary for you are not at your own choice but under Obedience and thereby bound in Conscience as if God had Commanded them himself for he hath given you his strict Command to obey the higher Powers Rom. 13.1 1 Pet. 2.13 and to submit to their Ordinances neither will it avail you to plead your scruples of Conscience Rom. 13.5 since you are Commanded to obey for Conscience sake and since what is Commanded is no Sin For if the Magistrate should Command us to take Gods Name in vain or to Commit Fornication we may with a safe Conscience disobey because we have an higher Obligation upon us for that God has Commanded the Contrary and we are bound to obey God before Man Be at last Convinced and stand no longer upon these niceties and scruples about things of lesser weight when greater Dangers are impending and much trouble is ready to arise by reason of this Separation and Disunion between you Salust have a care that by your discord you do not ruin your selves Discordia maximae Res dilabuntur it is able to overthrow Kingdoms give the Hag no longer entertainment among you let her be banished from our Churches as well as from our Kingdom that at last we may meet with oneness of Heart and singleness of Mind as becometh Brethren 1 Pet. 1.22.3.8 Love one another with a pure Heart fervently Be ye all of one Mind having Compassion one of another Love as Brethren Whatsoever the pretences of many are yet we find that Interest sways more with them than Religion very few do refrain purely for Conscience sake Many do it because they have been bred so and will not or care not to be better inform'd most remain Nonconformists without being able to shew any tolerable Reason why they are so besides those Idle Opinions they have of the Impurity of the Church of England Methinks these sort of People who shun the Church out of a certain squeamishness of her nearness as they falsly think to Popery should be afraid of those visible advantages their Separation gives to those of that Religion to contrive its setting up again in this Land and that this fear should let them see that it is their Common interest to Unite with and strengthen the Hands of their Brethren Certainly though you intend no such thing yet you are a means of the great increase of Popery in this Land by your Divisions How would that Party rejoyce could they see Episcopacy as it is now Established in this Land pulled down they would not much care what Form you would set up for they believe and not amiss that Confusions and Distractions would soon follow on which they ground their not improbable Hopes of Raising up their own Church upon our broken Pillars You cry out continually with no little noise of the growth and increase of Popery or of People perverted to Popery in this Land but look not on your selves as the Means and Cause by your Separation giving them the same pretence for that plea of yours Liberty of Conscience and that they ought not to be compelled any more than your selves Luc. 6.31 Do as you would be done unto If you would not be compelled why should they Prout vultis ut faciant vobis homines vos etiam facite eis similiter What reason have you to lay any force upon others when you will not have any laid upon your selves The Common Interest could make Herod and Pilate though Enemies to become Friends for fear of a Common Enemy the King of the Jews See I beseech you now if it be not your Interest to close with those of the Church of England against your Common Enemy of Rome and if it be not now most seasonable to effect it This Union would be the best means in the World to frustrate all their Plots and Designs against us It would put them quite out of Heart and dash all their Hopes They would then lose their sheet Anchor their last Refuge It would take away all their Advantages and put them past all their shifts It is the only way to bring Peace and Happiness to the Nation We need to fear no Enemies abroad if we were thus United at home we should be like the bundle of Arrows not to be broken together but being parted asunder into Factions easily broke into pieces Union is the Life and Blood of Government both in the Church as well as in the State A Doeg or Achitophel at home is worse than the Philistines or Moabites abroad Our mischief is from our selves Eras Apoth Patriae periclitantis potius habenda est ratio quam privatae incolumitatis We should rather regard the safety of our Country than of our selves Cicero said their was a select place of Happiness and Eternal felicity reserved in Heaven for those who preserved helpt and brought good to their Country Som. Scip. And I am of the Opinion that by your Conformity you will merit more than by all your scruples of Separation By your submission you will deserve the Reward of Victors you shall have the Garland of Praise to adorn your Brows the Palm of Conquest shall be put into your Hands and the Olive Branch of Peace shall be placed on your Trophies your Country shall applaud you your King shall cherish you and your Brethren shall rejoyce with you you shall have the right hand of fellowship given to you and there shall be no longer any difference in our Israel Cic. Off. l. 1. Pro patria quis bonus dubitet mortem oppetere What good Man doubts to meet Death for his Countries sake says Cicero The task is not so difficult that is required of you you are desired to Live for your
bring upon your selves by this obstinacy of not Conforming and by this dangerous and pernicious Separation Now is the time for you to look about you and to carry your Eyes in your Head lest Venient Romani become a Prophesie See what you have got already by forsaking your Mother the Church of England a Company of Spurious Brats that you would disown but are the Fruits of your Separation They have entred into the World by the same Gap that you first made you have multiply'd your selves into Divisions and Subdivisions and are become like the Phistines at Gibea every Mans Sword against his Fellow 1 Sam. 14.20 Have a Care I say that Popery does not overrun us by your means Consider the Scandals and Advantages that you give to those strenuous Engins they know how to Fish in our troubled Waters and to get by our Confusions There can be nothing more Beneficial to their Intentions or that can Further their Designs more than to see us divided into so many Fractions and to stand lik Adversaries ready to devour one another They had no hopes so long as the happy Band of Unity remained unbroken they know well the Maxim Divide Impera Divide and Raign It has been all along their Policy to cause Separation they are a Cunning as well as a Malicious Generation they are too Skilful for you in Politicks their Jesuites are bred Statesmen they are the Boutefeus of Kingdoms they are in all places ready to set People and Nations together by the Ears they make it their business to cause Divisions and to promote Separation Their Spleen and Malice is against the Church of England 't is at her they only aim she is the mark of their Spite and Envy They are a subtle sort of People they know you will soon perish by her ruin and that her fall must crush you to pieces Therefore 't is her Policy to make you like Vipers to gnaw asunder the Womb of your Mother and to eat your way to Separation thorow her bowels See at last I say the Malice and Cunning of your Adversaries take example by your Enemies learn of them to Unite for your own Security What is it that makes the Roman Church yet so Potent in the World notwithstanding her many Errors and more filthy Corruptions 'T is the Basis of Unity that very thing which they Inculcate as a Principle to all of her Perswasion Believe as the Church Believes tyes them so strictly together into one band that they cannot easily be broken 'T is this Unity which they endeavor to maintain with all their Might and Force which keeps them together and makes them so Strong They are like the Grecian Phalanx not to be broken and therefore Invincible or like the Roman Bands that lock'd one another fast together with their Shields as if they were all but one great Penthouse against the falling Darts of their Enemies They hinder therefore all Disputes in their Religion that there may be no Divisions 'T is the Strength of their Unity that makes them so Formidable And as they know by that their own strength so they are sensible that nothing can more weaken their Adversaries than to cause Separation among them By this Policy they have done more mischief than by their Arms and when they cannot Convince by Argument nor Confound by Force they this way overthrow by Cunning by Policy by Subtilty making their Enemies do the Work for them and by their breaking the Bands of Unity Separate them one from another and make them to become a Prey to them who stand ready to make use of the Advantage and like the Kite in the fable carry away the feeble Combatants pecking at one another with Bulrushes and Bents Are you not sensible that they are among you That they are disguised Papists Jesuists transformed into the shapes of Presbyterians Independents Anabaptists Quakers that foment the Difference and Disunion from the Church of England They are very Proteus's they can vary their Figures they can feign Sanctity and transform themselves into Angels of Light They are in your Pulpits they can speak your Words they know how to Counterfiet your Voices your Tones and your Dress They become all things with all Men in another fense than St. Paul meant They do all this to promote their Cause and which they are sensible they can no ways better do than by widening the breach of Separation by keeping you asunder and by increasing your Divisions Open your Eyes at last and behold the subtilty of your inveterate Adversaries give them no longer this Advantage against you hearken not to their wicked Suggestions when they whisper Rebellion into your Ears under the Notion of Liberty of Conscience and Disobedience under the pretence of Sanctity and Holiness when they bid you not Submit and Conform to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church under the perswasion of your Purity You have hearkned to them too long at length know the Voyce of this Syren that Sings so melodiously in your Ears 't will at last draw you into the Sea of Perdition and Destruction and betray you to more Miseries than you have yet felt I am Credibly informed they had the chief Hand in the late Insurrection in Scotland and that two of them suffered for it under the garb and shape of Holiness indeavoring to promote the old Cause with a new Rebellion These are they that appear as harmless Doves but are Ravenous Vultures you take them to be harmless Sheep of your own flock but they are Wolves that secretly devour you They are subtle Foxes that secretly prey upon you and are worse than Samson's that had Fire-brands at their Tails Hos 12.7 They are like Ephraim they carry the Ballances of Deceit in their Hands they are cunning Merchants that know how to weigh your Tempers and Dispositions Prov. 11.9 They are the Cut-throat Hypocrites that destroy their Neighbours with their Mouths Pelliculam veterem retinent Pers Sat. 5. fronte politi Astutam vapido gestant sub pectore vulpem These are they that endeavour to keep you from Conformity and with a thousand cunning fetches and most specious Pretences work you to their Wills and never leave you till they have drawn you from Unity to Separation from Separation to Rebellion and so to Ruine and Destruction and there they leave you But if you will not believe all this and shall think it feigned of them to affright and scare you and that you cannot be made sensible of their close and Hypocritical Intreagues can you forget their unmask'd Cruelties Their Horid Massacres And Bloody Persecutions Do not you tremble lest you should fall anew under their Power Are you not afraid more of their Tyrannical Yoke than of Uniting with your Brethren of the Church of England Had you rather stoop to the Idolatrous Church of Rome than to your own Reformed Church Will you rather admit again of all her Superstitions than a few