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A32788 Persecutio undecima, or, The churches eleventh persecution being a brief of the fanatick persecution of the Protestant clergy of the Church of England, more particularly within the city of London : begun in Parliament, Anno Dom. 1641, and printed in the year 1648. Chestlin. 1681 (1681) Wing C3786; ESTC R23249 54,531 40

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Judges of Divinity When Lawyers perk into a Chair for Religion and Coblers preach both alike lawful no marvail if Religion be voted illegal and the Priests be thought to go so awry and in these times to the Lawyer must the Divine go if he will preach without fear of being made a scandalous Minister or imprisoned for every Sermon I have known some twenty shillings Fees given to a Lawyer to plead at the Committee for Religion in the behalf of some Doctrines preached in a Sermon for which the Preacher never got twenty pence no defence being left for the Priests Doctrine or officiating in sacris unless allowed by an Act of Parliament or some common Law-trick insomuch that a Learned Doctor of Divinity being accused of Popery for calling the Communion-Table an Altar alledging the Scripture in the Hebrews Habemus Altare we have an Altar of which they may not eat meant of the Christian Eucharist could not hereby be acquitted of the Popery but producing the words of an Act of Parliament of Edward the Sixth yet unrepealed calling the Eucharist the Sacrament of the Altar the Committee for Religion were fully answered And several Actions at common Law of Assault and Battery were brought against a Divine in Essex who out of zeal to Gods house as the Priests did with Vzziah thrust some people out of his Church who sending for Cakes and Ale from an Ale-house were prophanely carousing on the Lords Table in the Church yet could not this Crime be admitted a lawful plea in the Common Law to save the Minister harmless from being overthrown in the Action but consulting with a Lawyer he was advised to plead his institution and induction into the said Church where the fact was done and so by a Rule in the Law that any man may thrust another out of his House if he behave himself uncivilly therein the Minister was secured from the Actions of Assault and Battery so that would our Saviour now beat out the buyers and sellers from the Temple the Lawyers would afford an Action against him of Assault and Battery And not long before this Parliament did the Lawyers find out ways of Indicting Clergy-men at the publick Assizes for standing up at the Creed or for denying to give the Sacrament to people obstinately refusing to kneel at the receiving thereof and to come up to the Rails about the Holy Table that I have known some Sectaries in London command their servants to go to the Sacrament and to sit in the lower places of the Church to try whether the Minister would bring the Sacrament to them in their seats that so they might have an Action of Law against the Minister or else complain against him to the Parliament nor will it be too long a digression to remember a former vent of the Fanaticks malice in a Parliament at the beginning of King Charles his Reign urging strongly a motion of making Adultery death in a Clergy-man but not in any other person purposely to throw scorn on that profession and how safe any Clergy mans life should have been may the conspiracy of the Lady Laurence witness against a grave Divine which the justice of the Star-chamber found out and censured righteous judgment no doubt is to be expected when such a malitious Faction shall get power to make themselves Judges of the Clergy as now they have done Good God! have our Preachers been these Eighty years confuting the superstition of the Papists to be made the stalking horses to a Sacrilegious Superstitious and Rebellious Faction by whom themselves are at last crowed down for Papists under the same pretence of Reformation having been taught to hate Popery without discretion no marvail if such people now question their Teachers and think they have forfeited their power and knowledge to them whom they have taught no better and what use these men have made of this pretended power let their own actions testifie But that they may seem to be no usurpers of any power at first they derided at Episcopacy or Monarchy but that is not the subject of this discourse to be Jure Divino though never so plain in the 10. of St. Luke by Christs Election of 12 Apostles and 72 Disciples of an inferiour order out of which Mathias was in the first of the Acts preferred to be numbred with the 11 in the room of Judas and were there any scruple who more fitting to resolve the doubt than those who lived in the Apostles time as did Ignatius whose works as also the continued succession of Bishops in all Christian Churches for 1500 years together were argument enough to those who have not denyed their Faith forgetting their Creed I believe the holy Catholick Church And against such men a Christian ought not to dispute But now began new principles of Divinity to be broached by the new State-Chaplains vid. That the Law of nature bade the Parliament that is the House of Commons the peoples Representatives to reassume all power into their hands it being so universally complained of that the King and the Bishops had abused their trust intending to ruine the Kingdom and destroy Religion the two great bugbears wherewith the Fanatical Faction who felt the pulses of the people beating strongly after property or Religion kept the people continually affrighted and it being as generally believed for qua volumus facile credimus that all power in Church and Common-wealth was derived from the people and their Representatives and not from God immediately Aristotles Politicks is made Scripture for this new Divinity and surely an excellent Religion will nature teach Christians to justifie what they have or shall do so manifestly against the Law of God and man If this argument be not strong enough their Lecturers who were wont in former Parliaments also to attend the House of Commons door making Legs to the Members in transitu praying their Worships to remember the Gospel by which they meant their Presbytery these preach to them that their power to Reform Religion is Jure Divino why forsooth because the people called them thereunto and vox Populi est vox Dei was their beloved unquestionable Oracle indeed vox populi cried up Rebellious Absalom against his King and Father Vox populi cryed against our Saviour Crucifie him Crucifie him Vox populi called for the Golden Calf from whence to the silver-Smiths of Diana Scripture may teach us that Argumentum pessimi turba and that in Religion vox populi is rather vox Diaboli than Dei. Yet this vox populi must choose our Religion and Religion-makers but who gave the people power to choose the Kings writ for Elections then all power is not in the people nor can any Electors invest their Elected with the jus Tertii for nemo potest plus juris transferre in alium quam ipse habet the power of the Kings and of the Church being not in the peoples power to commit to their Trustees Laws