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A42392
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Reflections upon the animadversions upon the Bishop of Worcester's letter by H.G.
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H. G.
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1662
(1662)
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Wing G25; ESTC R40433
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9,578
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13
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REFLECTIONS UPON THE ANIMADVERSIONS Worcester's LETTER By H. G. Quis coelum terra non misceat mare coelo Clodius accuset moechos Catilina Cethegum In Tabulam Scyllae si dicant discipuli tres LONDON Printed by A. W. for John Martyn James Allestry and Thomas Dicas and are to be sold at the Bell in St. Pauls Church-yard 1662. Reflections upon the Annimadversions upon the Bishop of Worcester's Letter by H. G. IF he be inexcusable that Judges another because he condemns himself what excuse then shall he have that condemns another in what he himself allows With what face then can D. E. declame so against the Bishop of Worcester's Passion when as were he so guilty as D. E would have him yet in this very thing doth D. E. so cleerly outvy the Bishop that no impartial Reader but must grant this phrensy he hath antidated the Dog-days above four Moneths the usual season indeed D. E. shall do well to glory in his Victory herein for unlesse you grant him his Arguments for propagation of Paganisâ— you shall neither find Sense nor Reason in Animadversions upon the Bishops Letter The second Paragraph contains a Concession of the Cause in controversie between the Bishop and Mr. Baxter upon supposition it to be stated as Dr. Gunning and Dr. Pearson do attest yet is he much unsatisfied with many things of general concernment as 1. First That Kings and Bishops are of such inseparable dependance that they must needs stand and fall together and all who are enemies to one must needs be Enemies to the other Nor was this passionately affirmed by the Bishop for if men may argue a posteriori from the effect to find out the cause or that men may take warning from others harms then do I affirm that no where in the Christian world that ever Christian men if they be worthy to be called so did ever cast off their obedience to Episcopal Government but when they acquired force proportionable to their will they did or did attempt to subvert the State Government either in person or Specie besides in reason if men may arrogate to themselves a licenciousnesse of casting off their obedience to the Church what then can restrain them to their obedience to the State for it is the same Spirit which commands men to hear the Church and to submit to Higher powers and if this were not to the Church governed by Bishops I would desire D. E. to shew any Church in Christ endome before Calvin otherwise governed and certainly D. E. upon better consideration cannot believe our Saviour to have with his blood established a confused Church to continue till his next coming again without any Order or Government especially having the constant custome of Christianity to the contrary and he that is possest hath title good enough untill he be evicted by a better title or arguments than D. E. can find against this How much D. E. is in his Judgement for the Order of Bishops will appear by and by in his second Objection against the Bishops assertion 1. D. E his first Argument against the Bishops assertion is that It is clear from Story that Kings were in all parts of the World in their most flourishing state defore ever Bishops were heard of and no reason can be given why what hath once been may not be with the same convenience again a pretty convenient argument this is why certainly D. E. is not so very a Heathen as not to believe the Bishop to be a Christian or that the Bishop did not speak to Christians or affirm this of a Christian State Why let D. E. shew that ever in the Christian world Episcopal Government was rejected and yet Regal continued unless in Scotland when King James was a child and made an Instrument to advance the Kirks seditious ends and he says something unlesse D. E. by his convenient argument would utterly abolish Christianity from us and introduce Paganism and Heathenism again amnog which he very handsomely prosecutes in his next argument viz. 2. Bishops as they are established by Law in England are purely the Kings subordinate Ministers in the management of Ecclestastical affairs which his Majesty may conferr upon whae Order of men he pleases though they be as much Lay persons at you or I am It is therefore very injurious to the Kings Authority to aver that he could not otherwayes uphold and maintain it than by preserving the undue and as some think Antichristian Dignity and prelation of his inferiour Officers So that one of these two consequences do inevitably follow either that Christ left no Episcopal Power and Ministers in his Church or else that by the Law established in England it and they are utterly suppressed and the Bishops in all acts of Preaching Baptizing Consecrating Ordaining c. are not Christs but purely the Kings Ministers And in truth I do not know any thing which hath rendred Christianity and all Christian Religion nay and Gods taking our Nature upon him to redeem and save mankind so vile as this argument hath done I desire to be satisfied as a Christian to know what Christ hath established that does any way repugn my duty as a man which I ow my King I am sure he most certainly and positively commands all obedience to Kings and higher Powers I am sure the Administration of the Sacrament the Preaching of Christ crucified the Burial of the Dead and consecrating proper places for Gods Worship and Service and Ordaining separated persons for such purposes no way hinders the Kings Supremany over all the persons of his Subjects even in these very cases but they are as much his Subjects after such Ordination as before Nay I affirm that in a Church planted the free exercise of this power in all Kings Dominions and all Glebes and endowments whatsoever are Donations and Concessions from them Nor was the practice of Christians when there was a Christian Church and no Christian State though D. E. thinks it absurd and insignificant to distinguish them ever better to Princes in their obedience than in the primitive times Having thus shewed that the Bishops nor any thing ordained by our Saviour is any ways injurious to the King I desire the Reader to take notice how much D. E. hath verified his Judgement for the Order of Bishops which makes it a meer Civil Sanction and so hath not any dependence on or creation by Christ 3. He sayes that Bishops are of so little use to support Regal Dignity which is founded upon a distinct Basis of its own that upon enquiry it will be found none have been greater enemies to it than some Bishops for want of argument to shew that Bishops are no support to Regal power D. E. here only affirms against some Bishops to have been Enemies to it and I can tell D. E. of twenty times more Bishops have been active suffered for it and so D. E. if he wil have the personal faults of particular men
thing in Moses at another time to put off his shooes it was not so when God bid him put them off because the place was holy But D. E. hath two reasons against the Bishops reason for non-admission of such as will not kneel at receiving the Sacrament viz. that it become not the Law-givers to endanger the Churches peace for their sakes one is it did much more become all Law-givers in the things of God to observe the Law of Christ which is a Law of Love and Liberty When D. E. shews that kneeling or observing things duly required of us in Gods service does become destructive to Christs Law of Love and Liberty then he says something in the mean time I think D. E. to be a wondrous proper instrument to plead for Love and Liberty in Religion for his love it appears by his Animadversion and for his Liberty sure his Religion is yet to chuse His second is the Churches peace to be more endangered by pressing things doubtfull than by the forbearance of them for since by enforcing of such things as God hath no where commanded our Christian Liberty is enfringed from hence it follows if it ought not yet we may lawfully refuse such impositions as our Saviour did not washing his hands before meat and the Apostle Paul in case of Circumcision What though God hath not commanded things in his worship and service shall therefore nothing be done in it nothing less for it is sufficient to me that God commands me to hear and obey the Church and commands the Church to do all things decently and in order in his worship and service what things therefore the Church commands for decency and order in Gods worship if they be not contrary to Gods Laws are not things doubtfull but ought in conscience to be submitted to upon penalty of the breach of Gods Law in not hearing and disobeying the Church For D. E. his instances of our Saviours and the Apostles refusing to observe the Pharises in washing of hands and Circumcission it is both blasphemous and false for our Saviour was in the power of the Pharises in reference to the Ceremonial Law and therefore D. E. cannot assume to himself like liberty with our Saviour and Circumcission being typical was fulfilled by our Saviour and the use of it a denyal of his coming in the Flesh 7. Nor is that a Rope of Sand which the Bishop affirms that from diversity in external Forms arises dislike from dislike enmity from enmity opposition thence Schism in the Church and Sedition in the State For as Socrates objects to Eutyphro that there must necessarily be something to which men in difference must indifferently submit to or their dissentions will be endlesse and if the established Rules in the Church for Gods Worship and Service be not that thing to which D. E. and I must indifferently submit to then is there nothing in the power of D. E. or my self which can prescribe another and so by consequence there can be no decency nor order in the Worship and Service of God but all things therein left in confusion and disorder which is expressly against the Divine Canon Nor did ever D. E. or any seditious men begin at Sedition directly but alwayes pretended conscience and made Religion a stalking horse thereunto according to that of the Poet Quoties vis fallere Plebem Finge Deum And I chalenge D. E. to instance in any Age or Place where men invaded the Peace of the Church but they at least attempted the like in the State and now see how vain and Idle â—ll 3 of D. E. objections against the Bishops assertion are his first reason is that in Diversity of external Forms without any dislike as to the Person the Apostles that preached to the Circumcision gave the right hand of fellowship to the Apostles of the Gentiles although their outward Rites and publick Worship were far more different than those which by any of the most distant perswasions are now practised in England So that D. E. grants the Bishop that external Forms in Gods Worship is an Apostolick practice without any prejudice to the Bishop's assertion for since God in our nature hath not left in what external Form he will be worshiped but to every Church her liberty and therefore divers Apostles and divers Churches ever did and now do use divers external Forms in their Worship of God And therefore the Church of England may use one external Form different from that of France and that of France another from that of Greece c. without any dislike yet doth it not therefore follow that D. E. may raise Schism in the Church of England or France any more than that because the Laws of England and France are different therefore D. E. is not obliged by them but may make Rebellion and raise Sedition in them Certainly if D. E. had Logick enough to understand his Arguments I would not wish the Bishop a better Advocate But whereas D. E. in his second objection thinks for want of reason he hath so sure a Topick in his instance of a Pagan State existing without Bishops and therefore in Triumph he again objects it give me leave to speak as a man and Christian I say then as I am a man I acknowedge Regality to be a sacred Order and founded by God in Nature and so ever continued both before and since the Flood in all the world where it was not invaded and violated by Seditious men and that by inherent birth-right I ow my Sovereign Lord the King all Allegiance next under God and this being founded in Nature is an indelible Character and cannot be dissolved but by God alone but is due in all places whether I be in the Kings Dominions or not but since mans fall there was nothing in Nature left him whereby he might attain that blessednesse from which he fell therefore God was pleased to take extraordinarily our Nature upon him to redeem us that by believing on him and observing his commands we might attain that happinesse from which our Parents first fell and I acknowledge it his grace that I am baptized into this Faith But because parum est jus nisi sint qui possunt jura gerere it had been to no purpose for our Saviour to have made a will unlesse he had made Executors to execute it he was therefore pleased to ordain 12 Apostles and 70 Evangelists his Executors with power to propagate it to others untill his next coming again I say this power no wayes intrenches upon the Regal for it only hath reference to Christ and him crucified and Gods Worship and Service And as the Power no wayes intrenches upon Regality so is there nothing in Christs will against it but to advance it For there we are commanded to pay tribute to Caesar and are taught that Higher Powers are Gods Ordinance to which men must submit for Conscience sake but as this Ghostly Power no wayes intrenches