Grace Of Confirmation by the Bishop BUT these are not the last Tears of our complaint whilst that excellent Rite of Confirmation labours or languishes under such apparent disadvantages And though I see no reason to sublime it into a Sacrament So is there as little to put the Administration of it under such hatches of restraint that there 's scarce one of five but for want of conveniencies is necessitated to live and die without it This Office being so narrowly circumscribed hâ—at (a) And that meerly in honorem ordinis But is not the Honour of God and good of Souls to be preferred to that one single Person in a Diocess only must be allowed to administer it to whom many either through Poverty or Infirmity are not able to travel for it which if it were thought fit might be brought nigher even to the Door for why should such Ministers as have the care of Souls committed to them be deprived of any expedient by which they might build them up in their most holy Faith or the People deprived of any means which may conduce to their Spiritual nourishment and * In confirmatione augmentum praestat scil sp 3tus ad gratiam in baptismâ— ablâ—imur post â—aptisâ—â—m roboramur inquit Papa Mâ—lâ—biades growth in Grace The Office cannot be pretended to be above those Ministers or they beneath it to whom is committed the Dispensation of the Oracles of God and holy Sacraments And though Bellarmine saith that the Grace which is initiated in Baptism is perfected in Confirmation and so ought to be dispensed by the chief Ministers of the Church yet allows that Presbyters may be Licensed to dispense it According to the daily Practice of our own Church which gives Licenses to Deacons to administer the Sacrament of Baptism Gregory granted Licenses for this purpose which Aquinas mentions and approves of 3. q. 72. viz. of Presbyters executing the Office of Confirmation Yea Richardus Armochanus though a Romish Catholick confesseth That the Office of Confirmation belongs to the Presbyters as well as Bishops This Bonaventure Durandus and Adrianus do deny but that they may do it by Dispensation all agree * Lib de Sacrament 2. Cap. 12. Bellarmine acknowledgeth it to be not only the Opinion of Aquinas but of all his Disciples and many other Divines as Richardus Paludanus Marsilins and others (a) The Waldenses in their Confession of Faith own that this Rite may be performed either by the Bishop or by the Presbyter Talis ad Episcopum aut sacerdotem duci statuique debet qui interrogatus de fidei veritatibus c. Manus postremo impositione ad firmanda Promissa dei Profess fidei fratr Waldens in Artic. de Confirmatione together with all the Canonists And shall we be so stanch and reserved as to confine the execution of this Office to the Person of the Bishop who by reason of the extent of the Diocess In which many times the Cure of more than a thousand Parishes is incumbent upon him as also Avocations by secular Concernments is incompetent to discharge And this done too for no other end than to aggrandize the Order of Episcopacy which will scarce refund or answer for the Omission of so useful a Rite and Ordinance in the Church For would it not very much conduce to the Honour of god Edification and building up of the People in their most holy Faith if every Person baptized into the Christian Faith should be obliged when he comes to Years of discretion to appear in the Publick Congregation there to make a Confession of his Faith to recognize his Primitive Engagement to avow that in his own Person which was done for him by proxy And that the Minister of the Congregation should by imposition of Hands where it is not scrupuled recommend the Person to the Grace of God that he might be strengthned setled stablished in the Christian Faith That he might persevere in the stedfast Profession and Practice of it and continue his for ever And let the Honour of the Bishop give a yieldance to the Honour of God and good of the People although it will be hard to prove that 't is a more honourable act of the Ministry to confirm than to baptize Yet the Cardinal of Aâ—les owns it as due to Presbyters His words are At sâ—â—â—â—râ—sbyteri debent Ecciesiaâ—â— in comâ—uni regere satis notâ—m est quod ad eos quoque decide e â—es spectat Ecclesie dubias And that they have a governing Power he proves from St. Austine and he from Scripture Aen. Sylv. de gâ—st Con. Basil p. 25. or administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper though St. Jerom saith that for this Cause viz. The Honour of the Priesthood Bishops were only to lay on Hands but the Law did not injoin it Hieronimus in dialogâ— contra Luciferianos dicit ob honorem Sacerdotii fieri ut soli Episcopi manus imponant non oblegis necessitatem which our Church is not so stanch in the Bishop having always the Concurrence of Presbyters who lay on hands with him in conferring the Orders of Priesthood Concerning Ecclesiastical Discipline AS to the Matter of Discipline and Jurisdiction I shall say little lest it should be interpreted an itching desire after Rule and share of the Government of the Church Sir Edward Dering that great and learned Man in the first long Parliament where he laboured much to prevent the Extirpation of Episcopacy (a) Sir Edw. Der. Collect Speeches p. 32. did declare that they could never be able absolutely and utterly to root out Popery unless they took away the Soleship of Episcopacy I believe good Reasons might be given why the Minister of the Parish should be impowred to assist the Bishop when any of his Flock are called or convented as Criminals Forbs the Bishop of Edinburgh concludes against the Power of the keys being solely in the Bishop Post institutos Episcopos iâ—ud Preshyterium quod habet Episcopum Jurisdictionem non exerceat sine Episcopo suo neque Episcopo eam potestatem exercere fas est seorsim absque Presbyterio Bishop Hall saith that 't is universally agreed upon by all Antiquity that in the Primitive Government all things were ordered and transacted by the Consent of the Presbytery moderated by one constant President thereof The Primary and perpetual (b) Peace-maker pag. 48 49. Hanc formam commendâtunt patres observavit antiquissima Ecclesia iâ—o quod est totius rei caput instituisse videtur ipse Christus per Apostolos Theol. Gall. de Discipl Eccles Anno. 1622. Cap. de Episcop St. Austine upon these words of St. Matt. Tibi dabo claves saith that Jurisdiction was given to Presbyters as well as Bishops Dicit per illa verba datam esse Judiciariam potestatem toti Ecclesiam Episcopis Presbyteris Practice whereof no Man can doubt of that hath but seen the Writings of Clemens and Ignatius St. Ignatius in his
secured them from those scorching Beams which lay too hot too heavy upon them They answered their desires kindly and spake good words to them by which they have obliged them to be their * On the conâ—rary the â—rench Proâ—erb proves â—ften true viz. â—ubant d'eniâ—is que dâ—sâ—aves as if â—nmity were â—e certain â—roduct of â—lavery Votaries and Friends for ever They have taken care that there be no decay not leading into Captivity no complaining in our Streets nor oppression in our Gates for Conscience sake †Isa 21.6 8 9. Now the Wolf may dwell with the Lamb the Leopard may lye down with the Kid c. the sucking Child may play on the hole of the Asp and the weaned Child shall put his hand on the Cockatrice den They shall no more burt nor destroy in all our holy mountain But yet we cannot go to the House of God in Company not there take sweet Counsel together How happy were it if the Partition-wall were broken down or so wide a Door made in it that we might go in and out and find rest to our Souls that every thing were cut off which troubles the Church and which are as Goads in the Side and Thorns in the Eye of Conscience Obj. 'T is not Conscience but Ignorance and that wilful too when after the plain and plentiful Informations we have received we continue pertinacious refusing instruction and hating knowledge by which we are justly fore-closed both as to pardon and pity Qui vult decipi decipiatur Res A wilful obstinacy is a sin of a Scarlet Dye and Crimson Tincture If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth Heb. 10.26 there remains no more Sacrifice or Atonement for sin the highest Resentments both of God and Man are very just Retributions for so unpardonable a guilt But as the stain is deep so as to the nature of it 't is so recluse and (e) Crimes which make a Man an Heretick in questions not simply Fundamental are Actions so Internal and Spiritual that cognizance can seldom be taken of them Lib. of Prophe 286. p. cryptical that many times God only knows whether those we accuse be guilty or not And to condemn a Man for that which is scarce to be understood but by the Confession of the Party upon some slight or presumptive Evidence is to conclude more than the premises will prove which is both Illegal and Illogical Besides Arguments may in themselves be convincing and powerful yet through the weakness of our Faculties we may not discover the Evidence they carry along with them Shall we blame the Person for his mistake who tells us That he sees Men walk like Trees because the Object is in a due position the medium well disposed and fully inlightned when the indisposition of the Organs and weakness of the visive Faculty is the true cause of the misrepresentation This is a Parable but the design of it lies so fleet that we need not dive for to understand it Perhaps some will say In this thou reproachest us also But I hope I have said nothing to give offence to any just or good Man and for others jacta mihi est alea. But if any thing have dropt from my Pen in any part of this Discourse which had better have been forborn I shall not despise a Reproof Let the righteous smite me it shall be a kindness an excellent Oyl which shall not break my head In the mean time I can satisfy my self with the integrity of my aim as having spoke what I esteem to be Truth intending nothing but forbearance of those who are weak binding up the Broken-hearted promoting the Peace Union and Interest of the Church of Christ I beseech you forgive me these wrongs Quest But were it not then the wisest and safest Course for such as are not so quick-sighted to be led by those who can see further and discern better than themselves Res 'T is great wisdom for men to observe the Conduct of our Spiritual Guides to obey those that have the rule over them in the Lord and submit St. Cyprian (f) Quod sacerdoti Dei non obtemperatur Cyp. Epist CorFor Faeli And in the ensuing Tract you 'll find with what Zeal St. Ignatius presseth the people to be obedient to their Bishops and Presbyters ascribes the Schisms of the Church to a disrespect of their Governments We have been too ready to say to those whom God hath set over us who have curam regimen Ecclesiae ye take too much upon you seeing all the Congregation are holy every one of them Yet Man is not like a Bruit Beast which hath no understanding I am not of (g) Quand il S'agit de la religion que la seule regle infallible â— laquelle on doit S attacher est P autorité de P Eglise pour laquelle on doit une obeysance aveugle sans restriction his Mind who saith That the only infallible Rule to which we must adhere is the Authority of the Church to which we ought to pay a blind Obedience without reserve but if we wink so hard and shut our Eyes so close it will be hard to see or know how to chuse a Guide or when we have chosen him to follow him Must we give up the Care and Conduct of our Souls to we know not who Né disputer jamais de mysteres poincts de la religion mais simplement croire recevoir observer ceque l' Eglise enseigne ordonne Char. de Sagesse We must no dispute the Mysteries and â—oints of Religion but must simply believe receive and observe that which the Church Declares and Ordains or may we look before we leap If so then we must first examine the Doctrine which is taught us before we can own or follow the guidance of that Church or the Ministers of it tho they pretend to have a rule and dominion over us St. Paul commended the Bareans for examining the Doctrines taught by him and Silas and for seeing whether they were so or not And counselled none to follow him any further than he follow'd Christ and that if be or an Angel from heaven taught any other Doctrine than what they had received they should be accursed Should we take every thing for granted which they who pretend to be the only true and Catholick Church and to have the greatest Power and Authority upon Earth have delivered to the Saints as matter of Faith there must be some other Gospel than what we have received somewhere immured or shut up in some Wall in some secret place like the Law in Josiah's time not yet come to light In the mean time let us follow the light of that Gospel we have received and by a judgment of discretion try whatever is injoyn'd us For as many as walk by this Rule Peace shall be upon them A Man 's own private Reason and Judgment is that
to all that esteem the Herbs soure which are appointed to be eaten with it In which case we may use the words of the Poet. Nimium seritatis in illo est Est aliud levius fulmen c. St. Austin thought it an unworthy thing to Censure or Condemn one another for those things which no way recommend us to God Indignum est ut propter ea quae nos Deo neque digniores neque indigniores possunt facere alii alios vel condemnemus vel judicemus 'T is very well observed by a Conforming Member of our Church That our Differences are not so great as to exclude the opposite Parties from being made Members of one (l) Dr. Potter asserts that no Man who believes the Creed and all the evident consequences of it sincerely and heartily cannot possibly if he also believes the Scripture be in any Error of simple Belief which is offensive to God nor therefore deserves to be deprived of his Life or to be cuâ— off from the Churches Communion or Hope of Salvation Church Militant and Joint-heirs of Glory in the Church Triumphant Obj. But the Crime is Contumacy against the Commands of our Rulers than which there can be no greater Sin and for which there ought to be assigned no less Punishment Res Is an awful regard of the Supreme Lawgiver a Contempt to Humane Power and Magistracy to which we give all just respect and deference where we suppose we may without intrenching upon the Divine authority which is Paramount to any Dominion upon Earth Were it a pure despight to authority it would appear in other things as well as these Ceremonies of Religion we give Fear to whom Fear Honour to whom Honour Tribute to whom Tribute is due nor can there be any occasion found against us unless it be concerning the Law of our God and if we do not pay an actual obedience to some of those Injunctions which we fear are Intrenching upon the Divine Sanctions we are not guilty of Contumacy or Disobedience to Magistracy unless by accident it being a thing which is neither designed nor without injury to weak Consciences to be avoided whilst we continue in the Communion of the Church not daring to make any Schism in it or separation from it As to the design of this undertaking I shall add nothing more but stand to the Mercy of every Man's Opinion To be sure it could not be Interest or Secular Advantage for I believe too many will think if it be (m) Pro laborum meorum proemio vix impetravi veâ—iam pardoned 't will be beyond its desert rewarded Tho the Church I am of Opinion may thank her Preferments for the extreme Zeal of many of her Votaries in the Case of Conformity The Roman Clergy had never stickled so earnestly to have advanced their Bishop above the Council if the latter could have given Dignities as well as the former The Whore of Babylon ne're wanted Pledgers whenever she drank to them out of her Golden Cup whatever Abominations 't was filled with But I am afraid I have transgressed the Rules of proportion in framing so wide a Gate to so straight a Fabrick spinning the Preface too much beyond the Staple Yea perhaps may have forestalled the Reader and in some things anticipated the ensuing Argument Yet cannot conclude till I have recommended it to those in Authority that they would consider such as are still pressed down under the same Burthens and forc'd to draw In an uneasie Yoke That they would put the Tears of their Complaint into their bottles and that they may be no longer like Water spilt upon the ground nor always driven to eat our Passover with bitter Herbs God delights not in grieving the Children of Men but makes his ways pleasantness and his paths peace Let us beseech you who have wisdom to judge of and power to redress our grievances by the Mercies of God in general and our late unparallel'd Deliverance in particular by which he hath saved us out of the hands of our Enemies that we might serve him without fear That you would imitate the Divine Providence in breaking every Yoke loosing every Burthen and letting the oppressed go free Permit me to speak with the words of the Prophet in his advice to the King Dan. 4.27 Wherefore let my counsel be acceptable to you break off your sins by repentance and your iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor if it may be a lengthning out of the tranquility which is my Heart's Desire and Prayer to God both for Church and State A PLEA for Abatement in Matters of Conformity to several Injunctions and Orders of the Church of ENGLAND c. IF the many earnest and repeated Promises of Persons in extremity can lay an Obligation of Performance upon them to pay their Vows whenever they become solvend How many are there of no small Figure and Interest in our Church under no mean tie to find out an expedient and temper to heal those Breaches cement those Schisms which several bandied and controverted Rites and Ceremonies of the Church have unhappily occasioned How many Families in this Quarrel have been ruined How many Garments rolled in Blood not excepting his who sate upon the Throne What Blood and Treasure have been spilt and spent in their defence can be easier lamented than counted Nor is the Nature of them grown less prolifick or productive of Distractions amongst us they being almost the only bones which makes us snarle at yea bite and devour one another So zealous are we to maintain the Fence that is made about them that we neglect the main Bank which keeps out the most raging Waves of the Sea of Rome I mean Popery and Arbitrary Power the Cup we so lately drank of which at this time swells high and bears hard against us not only from Foreign Inundations of open Enemies but private overflowings of the Gall of some over-jealous Men amongst us As if it were evil to unite Dissenting protestants upon those just equitable and safe Principles which many Wise and Pious Bishops and other Conforming Members of the Church of England have propounded as fit Terms and Expedients for Union and Peace than to cause the Reformed Religion to run a most dangerous Risque and Adventure Suppose some of our Tackling should be rent and Sprucery sullied yet it were a Misfortune no way comparable to that of dashing the Ship against the rock And what Shipwrack the Storms which some Zealots among us are ever upon the least alteration of that Rigging though upon the justest Reasons raising may occasion God only knows if he that stills the Raging of the Sea does not quiet the Madness of the People Suppose the Decency and Order of our most exact and innocent Rituals to be ten times more than what really they are yet they can never commute for the hundredth part of that Blood and Treasure which have been expended in their Quarrel But shall we not
at least in this our day see the things that concern the Peace and Welfare of our Church and State 'T is not possible for any who is a true living Member or either Body to be so past feeling as to find no regret or simpathy when he sees either of them reel and stagger to and fro like a drunken Man What Member of the Bâ—dy can be in health when the whole Head is sick and Heart faint But thanks be to God we have made one step in order to a Cure that we can see the Rock of Offence from whence these Distempers are hewen and the Hole of the Pit from whence they are digged We can tell what those Bryars and Thorns are and who hath planted them which have not only rent our Garments but rolled them in Blood too And that for no other cause than that they were not all of a colâ—ur But is there no Balm in our Gilead Is there no Physician of that value there that can bind up our Wounds and mollifie them with Ointment 22 Rev. 2. Undoubtedly we have viz. a Prince who hath made Propositions like to the Leaves of the Tree of Life which are for the healing of the Nations Who that he might compleat our deliverance having saved us from the Hand of our Enemies that we might serve God without fear is designing to reconcile us to our selves that having abolisht the Enmity 2 Eph. 15. even the Law of Commandments contained in Ecclesiastical Ordinances we might have Peace We have Bishops now not like those Egyptian Task-masters that when the People cryed to them for ease were sent back with a Reproach viz. Te are idle ye are idle away to your Burthens But such as are kind and compassionate Fathers and Pastors of the Flock who considering its weakness will not over drive it Yea like the wisdom from above they are gentle and easie to be intreated to lose every Burthen and to let the oppressed go free Binding up the broken-hearted knocking off those Shackles which have so long gauled the Consciences Declaration from Breda Declaration concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs Another in the 1 Year 1672. c. and hold Captive the Souls of Men. For which purposes how often have Promises been made Tempers found Projects offered and proposed which by the prevailing Interest of Men highly addicted to the Form of our Worship have been stifled and supprest And who are always in so high a stickle and stifle to disappoint and cassate all the fairest Purposes and Propositions whenever they are made in order to a firm Settlement and lasting Peace Nor will consent to part with one Hair though the whole Head be sick c. and though we should admit it to be true that nothing hath been injoined in the Worship of God but what might be lawfully submitted to yet it hath been a very unruly Truth and which we have found so hard to manage that like a restiffe Jade it hath cast the Riders and dangerously struck them when they were out of the Saddle It was a Reverend Bishop's Opinion in this case That better is a quiet Error Bishop Hall's Peace-maker than an unruly Truth And Erasmus was so great a Lover of Peace that he could not fancy a troublesome and tumultuous Truth Mihi saith he adeo invisa est discordia ut veritas etiam displiceat seditiosa Which may admit a more favourable Construction when it respects only the Outworks of Religion Our Controversies saith Dr. Potter are none of them in the Substance of Faith but only in disputable opinions not clearly defined in Scripture Charity mistaken p 185. Why then should such things be made Terms of Communion and mere Circumstances of Divine Worship which may or may not be observed and yet the Ordinances of God duly administred For instance in the case of Private Baptism the Child may be I think I may say according to the Rubrick ought to be baptized without Sponsors and not to be signed with the sign of the Cross and yet the Child is declared by the Rubrick to be sufficiently baptized without either and requires none to make any doubt of it And therefore King James's Project which he sent to Cardinal Perroon might highly conduce to an accommodation were we but so happy as to apply it viz. That we should sever (a) Istam distinctionem serenissimus Rex tanti putat esse momenti adminuendas Controversiâ—is que hodie Ecclesiam dei tantopere Exercent necessary from unnecessary things That as to the first which he saith are not many we should agree and leave the rest to liberty In non necessariis libertati Christianae detur locus This he thought was the shortest (b) Nullam breviorem ad incundam concordiam viam fore c. cut to Peace as may be seen more at large in the Epistle wrote by Causabon to the Cardinal at the King's Command upon this Subject Yet so great and mistaken too hath the Zeal of Men been concerning the Rites of Religion that we have herd that whole Churches have bandied at and censured one and other for things of no great moment such were the Saturday-Fast and Celebration of Easter Erasmus in his Epistle before Irenaeus his works commends that Father for his earnest Desire and Love of Peace and for blaming the Bishop of Rome for his (c) Non de catholico dogmate sid de ritu vel ritus potius tempore Not for any Catholick Doctrine but for Ceremony c. So Petavius cutting off many Churches from his Communion because they did not agree with the Western Church in the Celebration of Easter and Observation of Fasts Ecclesiasticae Concordiae tam fuit studiosus ut cum Victor Romanus Pontifex multas Ecclesias amputasset à Communione quod in Celebratione diei Paschalis in Observatione jejuniorum morem obtinerent à Romanâ consuetudine diversum Magna libertate Victorem reprehenderit Now that things of this nature are the Scene in which our present Disputes lie there 's no Man ignorant To moderate which his Majesty hath interposed his Wisdom and Authority But though he hath charmed wisely yet our Adders have too much Sting and too little Ear to listen to those things which concern the Peace and Welfare of our Church From whence have sprung our great Zeal and Stickle in Parliamentary Elections to pick up Men of those tenacious Principles that would sooner part with an Article out of their Creed Eras Epiâ— od â—ernbard Trid. Episâ— than the least Rite or Ceremony out of the Rubrick The Answer which the Arch-bishop with the rest of the Bishops presented to the late King was That it was no want of Tenderness to Dissenters that they could not comply with the Declaration for Liberty but that they only waited till it should be considered in Parliament and Convocation The first hath very kindly and with Justice to former Promises granted them their Liberty To the
(a) Hegâ—sippus in his relation of the Life of St. James saith that he only was admitted into the Sanctuary because he was clad in Linnen but this Work is falsly ascribed to that Author Altar This is one of those Hairs which is run through the Sieve of the Reformation which * Let us hear the Opinion of that reverend and worthy Man Mr. Fox in our present case who gives us an account of one Blomfeild an Informer who threatned a good Man and Minister for not wearing a Surplice in his publick Ministration and that he would put him forth or deliver him up to the Officers as is there said Wherefore saith he 't is pity such Baits of Popery are left to the Enemies to take Christians in God take them away or ease us from them for God knoweth they be the Cause of much Blindness and Strife amongst Men So that this Rite hath been accounted an ancient Nuisance in the Church Acts and Monuments Vol. 3. p. 764. Edit 1684. hath choakt some and made others keck and strain in drinking down the sincere Milk The Reformers of our Church those Evangelical Fisher-men or rather Fishers of Men being not so stanch as other Churches who reformed from Popery though fit to knit their Net of somewhat a wider shale than they insomuch that several of the Fry spawned in Tiber have run through the Masks of it which Roman Lampreys several wise and good Men have thought to have a poysonous Sting of Superstition run through the Back of them Jewel Bishop of Salisbury had as judicious a Palate as another yet profest he found the same Flavour who in a Letter dated Febr. 8. 1566. wishes that the Vestments together with all the Remnants of Popery might be thrown out of their Churches and of the Minds of the People and laments the Queen's fixedness to them Bishop Hooper that constant Martyr refused to be consecrated Bishop unless he might be dispensed with as to the Attire viz. The white Rocket c. as Mr. Fox stiles it beseeching the King either to discharge him of his Bishoprick or else to dispense with him for such Ceremonial Orders Which the King did and wrote to the Arch-bishop Acts and Monuments p. 120 2d Vol. 3d. Vol. and indemnified him for omitting and Licensed him to let pass certain Rites and Ceremonies offensive to his Conscience Sands Arch-bishop of York gives them no better Character than what the aforesaid Bishop of Salisbury had Engraven upon them Contenditur de Vestibus Papisticis utendis vel non utendis sâ—d deus dabit his quoque finem Disputes concerning the Popish Vestments are on Foot whether they shall be used or not but God saith he will put an end to those things Zanchy also in his Epistle to Queen Elizabeth tell her That most of the Bishops had rather leave their Offices than admit of such Garments Horne Bishop of Winchester in his Letter dated 16. July 1565. writes of the Act concerning the Habits with great regret and expresses some hopes that it might be repealed next Session of Parliament if the Popish Party did not hinder it And seems to be in a doubt See Burnet's Letters containing an Account of his Observations in Switzerland c. whether he should conform himself to it or not Upon which he desires the Advice of Bullinger And in many Letters wrote on that subject it is asserted that both Cranmer and Ridley intended to procure an Act for abolishing the Habits Grindal in a Letter dated 27. August 1566. writes that all Bishops which had been beyond Sea dealt with the Queen to let the Matter of the Habits fall And must they still stand to grieve the Consciences of good Men scandalize those that are without drive out those that are within Especially considering we have a Prince that is willing to compassionate the Infirmities of the Weak and Bishops who are ready to remove the Nuisances of the Church could we but be so happy as to be delivered from the Strivings of some over-formal People who are as obstreperous for these things as the Ephesians for their Diana Whereas these Garments no more than Meats commend us to God for neither if we wear them are we the better neither if we near them not are we the worse Some stumble at these Rites of wearing Linnen Garments as supposing them originally derived and borrowed from the Customs of the Heathens Suetonius whose Priests used such a kind of Dress when they appeared before their Gods In linteâ relligiosâ veste Sacra Isidis propalam celebrate Non discolor ulli Ante aras cultus velantur Corporaline Sil. Ital. Alba decent Cererem Ovid. Evolvam busto jam numen gentibus Isin Etâ— tectam lino spargam per vulgus Osirin Juvenal calls the Priests Grex liniger And though every thing is not to be rejected which the Heathens used for then perhaps we must wear no Garments at all Yet God commanded the Jews 12 Deut. 31. Not to do so to the Lord their God that is as the Heathens did And Cajetane from thence observes that God plainly forbid them to Worship him with such Rites and Ceremonies as the Heathens worshipt their Deities His Words are Praecipitur ad literam ne colant deum similibus ritibus Ceremoniis quos servarunt Ethnici Colentes Elohe suos Others are scandalized at them because these Rites and Habits are used by the Papists or rather abused Nec cum haereticis Commune quicquam habere voluerunt Magd. Cent. 4. Cas 6. Col. As to these Arguments I shall only say Valeant in quantum valere possunt Yet sure they may have Tincture enough to colour the Requests we make to our Imposers that they would consider how they put a Stumbling-block to those that are weak that they would not use the Sword of their Authority to the wounding the Consciences of their Brethren for this is a Sin against Christ which may supersede all other Arguments that might be alledged and pleaded in redress of this Grievance hoping our Superiors are of the same Mind with St. Paul that if the Injunction of this Rite as to Habit make our Brethren to offend they would never injoin it whilst the World stands And that for the future the Righteousness of the Saints may be a sufficient Qualification for the Ministerial Office though they should appear in no other clean Linnen to worship in 19 Rev. 8. For the fine Linnen is the Righteousness of the Saints Of the Cross in Baptism II. THE Sign of the Cross in Baptism This is a Stone of Stumbling and Rock of Offence A retained Rite in our Reformation from Rome which other Protestant Churches thought fit to reject as a Superstitious Ceremony and Popish unnecessary addition to the Holy Sacrament of Baptism nor were they to be blamed when the end for which the Primitive Christians in several Cases made use of it was ceased They living among those Heathens
in doubt To which methinks the Scripture replies There be three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which cannot be interpreted for a bare Unity of Consent because it seems contradistinguished from it and which is mentioned in the following words there be three that bear Record upon Earth the Spirit the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Besides that I may not be suspected guilty of Socinianism I will beg the Reader 's Patience to dispense with a small Digression in giving some little account of that Faith which is in me and reason of it He that is to be worshipt with Divine Honour is God but Christ is so to be worshipt and therefore I believe him to be God The major Proposition is built upon the tryed Foundation of a Divine Law viz. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Besides when St. John fell down to worship the Angel he forbad it and the reason was because he was his fellow (a) 10 Acts 25. and as Peter was coming in Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipt him But Peter took him up saying stand up I my self also am a Man Creature Now this reason which the Angel gave was good or it was not if it was good then a Quatetenus ad omne valet consequentia If it had not been good which I suppose none will be so bold as to assert then St. John might have reply'd Though you be a Creature yet you may be worshipt for Christ was so and yet he is not only allowed but commanded to be worshipt And let all the Angels worship him 1 Heb. 6. which words so convince Socinus that in his disputation with some Arrians in the Hall of Paulicovius he cried out Tam certus sum Christum esse adorandum quam me pileum in manu habere But that which is a further Ground and Pillar to this Faith which is in me is the Parity and Likeness of that Honour which is given to the Father and the Son And for this purpose it was that all Judgment was committed to the Son namely that all Men might honour the Son as they honour the Father From whence I argue thus that betwixt a Creature and the great Creator there is an infinite disproportion for one is finite and the other infinite but there is no such disproportion betwixt God the Father and his Son Ergo. The Minor is proved thus where Objects are infinitely disproportionate and beneath one and other there the same Honour and Worship is not to be paid and performed But the same Honour and Worship is to be given to the Son which is paid to the Father therefore they are not so different and disproportionate for shall we offer that to God that we will not offer to our Prince Shall we pay the same Reverence to him that grindeth at the Mill which is due to him that sits upon the Throne Shall we worship the Creature with the same Worship which we give to the Creator Wherefore if God command us to worship the Son as we honour the Father we may account it no robbery to esteem him co-equal to him and co-essential with him which would be impossible where there is an infinite distance as there is betwixt God and the most exalted Creature in Heaven or Earth Yet to have this Article of Faith spun out and wyar-drawn into too many and nice Propositions by a single Doctor of the Church and then imposed upon it to all Generations upon pain of Damnation seems too strict an Imposition upon the Faith of Christians 22. q. 1. art 10. R. ad 3. an Aquinas saith it was not composed per modum Symboli sed per modum Doctrinae not with a purpose to impose it upon others but to declare his own Belief Dr. Taylour saith Lib. of Proph. p. 46. that many of the ancient Bishops who did believe this thing yet did not like the Nicety and Curiosity of expressing it yea many wise Personages think the Church had been more happy if she had not been in some sense constrained to alter the simplicity of her Faith and make it more curious and articulate insomuch that he had need be a very subtle Man to understand the very Words of the new Determinations When we stand upon the brink of this great Mystery for without Controversie it is no less it cannot but make us cry out Oh the height depth length and bredth of it How unsearchable is this Divine Essence this Being which is past finding out And tho' with that ancient * Tertullian Father I have so far given up my Faith to the Conduct of Divine Writ as to say Propose me any thing out of this Book and require whether I will believe it or no and seem it never so incomprehensible to humane Reason I will subscribe it with Hand and Heart as knowing no demonstration can be stronger than this Chilling p. 376. The Relig. of Protestants Credo quia impossibile To believe what the Scripture saith though I cannot untie every knot and solve by my feeble Reason every 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in it Yet I think such things ought to be stated with Modesty and urged with Candor upon the Consciences of Men. I believe that he which serves God with his whole Heart that honours the divine Being in whom he is sensible he lives moves and hath his Being that out of a Principle of Love and Duty observes his Laws both of the first and second Table so far as he is able he that fears God and works Righteousness shall be accepted of him though he should not have so clear and distinct a Notion of the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity or have a settled Faith and Belief of every Proposition expressed in the Systeme composed by (o) If he was the Author of it Athanasius but not designed as some affirm to be the Standard of the Churches Faith viz. That there are not three Lords but one Lord that the Son is of the Father alone the Holy Ghost of the Father and of the Son that none of the Persons are before or after each other These are nice Speculations and intricate Propositions And that every single and well-meaning Christian must perish everlastingly that believes them not is a Censure too uncharitable to offer to the Church or to be used by the Church And that whoever will be saved must thus think of the Trinity Hosius the Bishop of Corduba speaking of this subject saith That it is a Matter so nice so obscure and intricate that it was neither to be explicated by the Clergy or understood by the People Besides there be several difficult Propositions concerning that great this Mystery of Godliness Is not this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ manifest in the
Epistle to the Magness seems to advise the fame thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let all things be done the Bishop presiding as God's Vicegerent and the Presbyters sitting in Council representing the Apostles which seems to be much like the Wish of a more modern Divine whose Words are these Sane â—aec Ecclesiae administrandae ratio quam dixi in quâ Episcoporum porestas certos limiter habeat à synâ—do Coetu Presbyterorum circumscriptos est res magis optanda quam speranda Epist ad Verdae St. Ignatius in several of his Episâ—les frequently mentions a Subjection and Submission due to the Presbyters as well as to the Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the Teams he useth being sufficiently expressive of Jurisdicton and Authority I will give you a few Instances for the Proof of what I have assumed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Smyr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let all follow the Bishop as Christ his Father and the Presbyters as the Apostles which as Vossius observes was the Opinion of Polycarpe His Words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is be subject to the Presbyters and Deacons as unto God and Christ Notae Voss 261. Ignatius in his Epistle to the Magnesians written from Smyrna speaking of Zotion whom he had kindly entertain'd commends him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because he was subject to the Bishop and Presbytery in the Grace of God and Law of Jesus Christ And in his Epistle to the Trallians though he faith they ought to take the Bishop along with them so they should also be subject to the Presbyters as to the Apostles of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad. Trall p. 156. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. But what need we hear more Evidences out of this ancient Father a for the time and I believe the Reader 's Patience would fail should I particularly recite what he hath said to this purpose in his other Epistles to the Brethren of Tarsus Antioch c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the People be subject to the Presbyters and Deacons The same Advice he gives to the Philippiâ—ns in his Letter to them as also in his Epistle to the Ephesians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad. Smyr If the Bishops and Presbyters are to be observed and followed as Christ obey'd his Father and as the Church was bound to be obedient to the Apostles then sure the sole Jurisdiction was not in the single Person of the Bishop It was strongly argued in the Council of Basil against Panormitane by Ludovicus Cardinal Arlotensis that there were most evident Testimonies for the Defence of Inferiors For the chief and principal of all Divines st Austine upon the Words of St. Matth. where Christ faith I will give thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven affirmeth that by those words the Judicial Power was not only given to Peter But also to the other Apostles and to the whole Church the Bishops and Priests The famous Dr. St. Jerome doth also agree with St. Austine whose Words are these upon the Epistle of Paul to Titus Before that difference was made in Religion by the Instigation of the Devil or that it was spoken among the People I bold of Paul I of Apollo and I of Cephas the Churches were governed by the common Consent and Council of the Priests for the Priest is the very same that a Bishop is And further he saith That Priests are of lesser Authority than Bishops rather by Custom than by the Dispensation of the Truth of God and that they ought to rule the Church together Mr. Lambert that learned man and constant Martyr in his Defence averred the same thing and that Priests were called Bishops being all one and no other but Bishops The Bishop of London and Duresme in their Letter to Cardinal Pool acknowledge the same thing urging the Authority of St. Jerome in his Epistle to Evagrius and in his Commentary upon Titus Sciant ergo Episcopi se magis ex Consuetudine quam dispensationis dominicae veritate Presbyteris esse majores And in both places prove that the Government of the Churches yea the Patriarchal Churches was by the common Consent and Agreement of the Clergy Acts and Monuments Vol. 2. p. 290. Impress 1684. But I shall refer my Reader and my self as to this Matter unto the Proposal made by Charles II. in his Declaration concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs 1660. p. 15 In short I think that excellent Project concerning Church-Government might very well deserve the Consideration of out Superiors especially if Presbyters might have Power granted not only to assist by their Advice but (c) Si judiciariam habent potestatem in Ecclesiâ Presbyteri quid eos prohibet vocem in conciliis habere terminativam Card. Arelat Aen. Sylv. p. 24. de gest Con. Basil Vote too which was strenuously pleaded for and learnedly defended to be the Right of Presbyters in the Council of Basil Acts and Monuments But if as to some doubtful Matters in Doctrine some scrupled Rites and Ceremonies in the Church which have occasioned not only many hot Disputations bitter Contests and the rolling many Garments in Blood our Consciences may be indulged let them take such to govern as they esteem best of in the Church may we but stow out Cargo right secure our Lading and avoid Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience let who will carry the Flag Only give me leave to say verily there hath been a Fault amongst us that whilst our Discipline hath been very quick-sighted in Matters of Conformity as to the smallest (a) We were once complained of in Parliament by a great Member of that Assembly in these Words The Vines have both Grapes and Leaves And Religious Acts both substance and Circumstance but the Gardener is much to blame who gives more charge to the Workmen of the Leaves than of the Fruit Sir Edward Dering Collect. Speech p. 33. Ceremonies it hath been comparatively dull in hearing and slow in espying the greatest Immoralities We have been ready to discern the More but have overlookt the Beam Tender of the Rubrick but less concerned for the Decalogue And so long as our Whoredoms do remain 't is impossible out Church should have Peace Let us be never so zealous for Conformity to the Canons and Rules of it for if God hath a Controversie with us the best Disputant will find the Contest hard and Victory impossible We may blame the Dissenters for our Schisms but I am sure we may thank our selves for them nay with grief and shame may we confess it that to such a pitch hath Prophaneness risen among us that it hath been a Scandal to be good and a Crime to be Religious Tea Truth faileth and he that departeth from Evil maketh himself a Prey or is accounted mad as the Margent reads it 59 Isa 15. Loyalty and Conformity were the whole Cry upon which Cardinal-Vertues for they have been deemed no less
the Flames which have been so industriously blown up may now be blown out and for ever extinguished that virulent and peevish Men may never be intrusted either in Church or State But that a Spirit of Meekness and Moderation may act our Wheels yea the Wheels within the Wheels viz. The Privy-Councils and most secret Transactions that a Spirit of Peace and Love may preside in all our Civil Assemblies And as the Philosophers fancied the Angels were to the Heavens be the great Intelligence to move them As for him whom the King of Heaven and Earth hath by his miraculous Providence set over us and raised up to rescue us from all those Miseries that were come and coming upon us May all the Blessings which ever made Princes good Hic vir non invidet mihi gratiam and great light upon him and as for the ease which his Protestant Subjects injoy in the free Exercise of their Religion we are so far from envying it that we bless God the King and Parliament for it Might but an act of Comprehension be joined to that of Indulgence might the Church Doors be set so wide that all True and Orthodox Ministers and People too might go in and out and find rest to their Souls might but that Project and Platform of Accommodation which his Predecessor Charles II. in his Declaration concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs formerly published and propounded be once enacted and setled as a Law we might live to see Schism baned Truth and Peace setled It hath pleased God to deliver us out of the Hands of our Enemies to serve him without fear might there but be a Temper to appease our angry Friends and why should we fall out for we are Brethren we might sing our Conclamatum est the Work of God would be finisht But when all is said we recommend this great Work to the Providence of God and Wisdom of our Prince Pleading as the Estates of Germany did with Ferdinand in much the same case Te quidem summum à deo nobis datum Magistrum agnoscimus libentissime quidem ac nihil est omnium rerum quod non possis aut debeas à nobis expectare sed in hâc unâ re propitium te nobis esse flagitemus That is we freely acknowledge you to be our Supreme Lord and given to us by God himself nor is there any thing of what we possess which you cannot or may not justly expect from us In this thing only which was Liberty in Matters of Religion we most earnestly intreat your Majesty to be kind and propitious to us Obj. 1st But if this be admitted the Church can never appoint any thing but upon pretence of Scandal to tender Consciences it must be presently cassated and rescinded so that there can be no Establishments of the Church made or Order maintain'd Res 1st These Establishments and Orders have cost the Church dear it once sunk in the Defence of them and with it one of the best of Kings that ever ascended the Throne since the Reformation This was foretold long since by a true Prophet I mean the Learned Zanchy in a Letter to Queen Elizabeth 1571. Your Majesty saith he being perswaded by some otherwise great Men and carried with a Zeal but not according to Knowledge to retain Unity in Religion hath now more than ever resolved and decreed yea doth Will and Command that all Bishops and Ministers of Churches shall in Divine Service put on the white Linnen Garments which the Popish Priests use now in Popery yea it is to be feared that the Fire is so kindled and cast its Flames so far and wide that all the Churches of that most large and mighty Kingdom to the perpetual Disgrace of your most renowned Majesty will be set on a flaming Fire And are there not many yet alive to justifie the fulfilling of that fatal Prophesie Had it not been better then if the Church had not been so tenacious of these Rites to have dispensed with some of its pretended Beauty and Uniformity to have cast something of its Ceremonial Cargo overboard and to have somewhat lightned the Vessel than to have endangered the bottom and suffered as it did Shipwrack of the whole When the Disease grew inveterate and Humors of the Populacy into an extreme ferment our Physicians could have been content to have applied the Remedy but it was too late Sero Medicina paratur Cum mala sinceras penetrat gangrena medullas Time was when the loping off some Luxuriances might have saved the whole but no Temper could be found nor Expedient listned to to prevent a Rupture till at last nothing but Root and Branch Branch and Rush as in one day could satisfie the Victors 2dly If this Objection be admitted are not all the Designs of indulging tender Consciences superseded St. Paul the Apostle directs those which are strong to bear the Infirmities of the Weak To become all things to all Men that we might gain some not to cause our Brother to offend That there be some who prefer one day before another others esteem every day alike some believe they may eat all things another who is weak eateth Herbs What 's to be done in this case We must not despise one and other but forbear one and other in Love not giving any Scandal to our Brethren for he that offends his Brother sins against Christ Which Rules of forbearance are as obliging to the Church in general as to private Christians in particular But if this Objection carry any force with it it might be replied how can this yieldance be for then no sooner shall the Church have appointed by its Decree any thing to be observed but upon the pretence that some nice and scrupulous Conscience is offended all must be given up 3dly Notwithstanding this Objection wise and worthy Men have judged a Latitude and Liberty fit to be used and practiced in these things The Reply of King James to Cardinal Perroon returned him by Causabon was to this purpose That the Church should do well to sever necessary things which are not many from unnecessary and that the latter be left to Christian Liberty This was that which the Council of Jerusalem had regard to when they declared that it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to them to lay nothing upon them but what was necessary viz. to abstain from Fornication from things strangled and from Blood Doctor Potter observes that as the ancient Worthies and Fathers of the Church were most zealous to defend even with their Blood to the least Jot or Title the Rule of Faith or Creed of Christians or as the Scripture calls it the form of sound Words the Principles of the Oracles of God so again they were most charitable to allow in other things a great Latitude and Liberty Would to God the Fathers and Worthies of our Church would do so and our Work were done 4thly Decency and Order may be had and maintained though
these scrupled Rites should be omitted unless we condemn all our Brethren of the Reformed Churches who have thought fit to lay aside the Practice of those Ceremonies which among us have ever since the Reformation been a Stone of stumbling and Rock of offence and that not only to some of our weaker Brethren but also to many of the greatest Bishops and Prelates of the Church as I have already hinted Insomuch that Zanchy in his aforesaid Epistle told the Queen that most part of the Bishops Men greatly renouned for all kind of Learning and Godliness had rather leave their Office and place in the Church than against their own Consciences admit of such Garments which are at the least signs of Idolatry and Popish Superstition and so defile themselves with them and give offence to the Weak by their Example 5thly An Abolition of these Rites does not oblige the Church to be subject to every querulous and teachy Complainant suppose a Prince grants the Petition of a Criminal and gives him his Life for a Prey will it therefore follow that he shall never know when he hath done and that Justice shall never be executed because it hath upon some earnest Applications given place to Mercy and yielded to Clemency The King hath thought fit to annul the Act for Chimney-money will it therefore follow no branch of his Revenue must stand unrepealed Suppose the Church should repeal and cassate the Laws for the Ceremonies for the Reasons that have been alledged will it therefore follow that nothing must ever be setled for the maintaining of Order and Decency For though it may grant some things with Reason will it follow therefore it must yield up every thing without Reason 6thly If nothing must be granted by way of Relaxation in point of Conformity upon the Reason objected then the Church's Peace can never be secured For more than an hundred Years viz. over since the Reformation the Church hath had and suffered many a bitter Pang for the sake of these offensive Rites and Ceremonies she hath had a constant struggle in her Womb by reason of them They once fretted out her Bowels and they are again and have been ever since their Restoration with Charles II. as Moths fretting her Garments They have been the constant Troublers of our Israel And I am afraid if with Jonas they be not cast overboard they will at one time or another sink our Ship Though I earnestly wish whatever be the event of this Essay there may never be any occasion to lament the fulfilling of this Prophesie among us as with bitter cries we have lived to bewail the Fate of Zanchy's And shall we ever retain that Leven that is so apt to sowre the whole lump shall it never be purged out Oh that it might once be Augustus Caesar caused all the Glasses to be broken lest the use of them should occasion Blame and Terror to the Servants and create Strife in the Family the thing applies it self c. 'T is true we are Brethren we have the same Father the same Faith the same Baptism the same Religion as to all the Substantial parts of it Why should we have a Partition-wall built betwixt us Whilst we are two Flocks differences will be apt to arise and cause the Herds-men to fall out and what Flames such Sparks may kindle among us our former Ashes and Experience are sufficient to make us dread the Incendiaries and Boutefeus Let us then no longer shut our Eyes that we should not see the things which concern our Peace Let us now be one Sheepfold under one Shepherd An Act of Comprehension would effect this Were the Declaration of Charles II. concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs cast into the Form of a Law I believe our Schism would in a great measure presently in process of time be totally extinguished And the hurt of the Daughter of our People by the Balm which distils from it effectually cured Which was formerly the Opinion of an excellent and reverend Divine of our Church I shall give it you in his own Words If ever saith he a Divine Sentence was in the Mouth of a King and his Mouth erred not in judgment I verily believe it was thus with our present Majesty when he composed that admirable Declaration which next to Holy Scripture I adore and think that the united Judgment of the whole Nation cannot frame a better or a more unexceptionable Expedient for a firm and lasting Concord of these distracted Churches Solomon saith a Man of Understanding is of an excellent Spirit and the worst wish I have for our Mother the Church is that all her Sons were of no worse Temper Then we should have our wish viz. one Sheepfold nay what 's better the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace Sir Matthew Hale Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench Sir Matthew Hale was of Opinion That the only means to heal us was a new Act of Uniformity which should neither leave all at liberty not impose any thing but necessary In the mean time it were to be wisht that publick Authority for Peace and Union sake would strictly prohibit and restrain the Pulpit from uttering Invectives against our Dissenting Brethren and that the Mouths of such as speak high-swelling Words against them may be stopt This would be a very good Preludium to Union and Peace if this Rallery might be curbed and such as cause Divisions in the Church might be markt Obj. 2. Is it reasonable to indulge those who dissent from the Orders and Constitutions of the Church granting to them a Liberty of Conscience when our reverend Fathers and Brethren cannot be dispensed with viz. The deprived Bishops and Clergy who for Conscience sake dare not submit to swear Allegiance to our present Sovereigns And are not their Consciences as tender to them as other Or do not they who when time was stood against the pressing Inundations of Popery and extravagant Exercise of Royal Power as much deserve Indulgence as those that on this account desire it Res 1st To put a Curb into the Chap of Tyranny or Hook into the Nostrils of Popery are Actions becoming true English Men and Protestants Nor is the Defence which was made against both by the censured Prelates ever to be forgot and how they Jeoparded themselves in the high Places in the Defence of our Christian and Civil Liberties â— Ezek. 20. But if a righteous Man shall forsake his Righteousness and do that which is evil all the Righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembred 2dly Supposing their refusal to comply is Matter of Conscience I most heartily wish and in my Place and Station would so far as I am able make it my endeavour as I desire Liberty for my self and others that they may be treated with all the Indulgence and Compassion which the Powers in being can extend towards them and that they may never meet with such measure as have been meeted out to
our Dissenting Brethren from the fatal Bartholomew till the first or second Year of the late King James But methinks whilst I am engaged in this Argument I am furnished with a new one to plead with our Reverend Fathers and Brethren to a just and charitable Condescension and Consideration of our Complaint viz. That there is no such infallibility or fixedness of any Condition here that will supersede that charitable Resolve of doing as we would be done by An Argument urged by a Reverend Bishop to the same purpose If there be variety saith he in humane Affairs if the event of things be not setled in a durable Consistance but is changeable every one of us all may have need of it Dr. Taylor 's Preface to the Liberty of Prophesying There was a time when our Reverend Fathers being upon the very Pinacle of Preferment and Power I believe little expected that the Indulgence to tender Consciences which they would by no means for several Years lissen to should now be the great thing they want and desire God is my witness whom I serve in my Spirit that I speak not to insult over them in their Affliction or grate upon the Misfortunes of others I thank God that I have not so learned Christ But only that they would but consider whether their inexorableness towards others may not have been a just Provocation unto the Almighty to deal with them as they have dealt with their Brethren in Matters of Conscience and whether their case be altogether unlike that of Joseph's Brethren 42 Gen. 21. And they said one to another we verily guilty concerning our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us Let me then plead with you most Reverend Fathers to engage your Interest and Endeavours with the Members of the Convocation or any other who shall have Opportunity or Power to give ease to such Consciences which are weary and heavy laden by reason of a Conformity to all and every thing comprised in the Liturgy Put on Bowels of Mercy towards those that want it It may be a means and way for your selves to find it Why should not our Church imitate our Saviour in making her Yoak easie and Burthen light Especially to such who in regard to the Peace and Unity of the Church and to avoid Schism thought it their Duty to submit to things of doubtful disputation till it pleased God to find out fit and proper Expedients to redress our Grievances 3dly But suppose the worst that the Dissenting Clergy who refuse to swear Allegiance should not meet with such dispensations and allowance as they desire yet it can be no colourable Argument to reject our present Plea there being a vast Gulf betwixt their Case and ours For as the Sovereign Powers never promised any Toleration or Indulgence in the Affairs of the Church but to such as should plight their Faith to be good Subjects to the State so neither had they ever the Brow to expect it or Face to ask it upon any other terms whatever Obj. 3. But who is this which darkens Wisdom with Words condemning himself in the thing which he allows and so strenuously pleading against his own Practice But this is like some others of the same Profession who take the Oath of Allegiance to the present King and then declaim against it and the Magistrate for imposing it Res To swear Allegiance to one Prince when we believe our selves the natural Subjects and bound by a preceding Oath to another is a Matter directly unlawful and renders us at the same time to be guilty at least in foro Conscientiae both of Perjury and Treason which the greatest Good nor Evil can never be sufficient Arguments to oblige us to commit But thâ—se things very much out-do the Matter in hand Did we believe our Conformity unlawful and contrary to the Divine Law we then have a plain Rule to direct us to obey God rather than Man But yet they have been accounted as inexpedient by several Reformed Churches and therefore they thought fit to reject them They have been always scrupled and often offensive to Persons of great Wisdom and Abilities a Yoak which gauled the Neck of many good Mens Consciences who yet rather than * It would be our Sin to uâ— it of choice viz. the Liturgy while we may prefer a more convenient way whatever we ought tâ— do in case of necessity when we must worship God inconveniently or not at all Grand Debate at tâ—â— Savoy p. 35. desert their Stations or lay down their Offices to which they were called have unwillingly submitted (a) As we have observ'd already As Horne Bishop of Winchester who scrupled to accept his Bishoprick unless he might be dispensed with as to the Habits and wrote to Bullinger on that subject who rather advised him to submit than refuse to serve God in that Station Hooper Bishop Elect of Worcester refused to be consecrated till the King granted him a Dispensation in point of the Habits Yet such was the Zeal of some about the King for those Rites that when he was to preach before him he was fore'd to put on that Attire which that good Man and Martyr I believe would not have done had he judged the thing unlawful and yet no little disturbance to him its like if we consider how earnest he was to be dispensed with by the King which was granted him before he was admitted to his Bishoprick What case of shame saith Mr. Fox The strangeness hereof was that day to that good Preacher every Man may easily judge But this private Contumely and Reproach in respect of the publick Profit of the Church which he only sought he bare and suffer'd patiently And I would to God in like manner they which took upon them the other part of that Tragedy had yielded their private Cause whatever it was to the publick Concord and edifying of the Church Acts and Monuments 3 Vol. 1 Col. p. 121. And so do I in this and the like cases now and to which I hope all the true Sons of the Church and Enemies to Schism will say Amen Obj. 4. But why should we pretend Conscience against Conformity when the Church commands nothing contrary to any Divine Precept and then we may safely obey Res A thing may be forbidden directly or consequentially Suppose I be not directly forbidden to wear the Attire of a Priest prescribed to him in the publick Ministration yet I am forbidden to offend my weak Brother for whom Christ died and so the Attire may be consequentially forbidden But does this Rule admit of no restriction For sometimes Matters commanded by the Church Praeter legem as well as those which are injoyn'd Contra legem may be questioned Though from hence Forbs Bishop of Edinburgh concludes That the Church may command us to pray for the Dead because there 's no
is certain that there was a time when the People had no Kings but afterwards when Lands Possessions came to be divided there were Kings ordained for no other case but only to exercise Justice c. Not only the People but also the King to be subject to the Laws c. If a King contemn and despise the Laws violently rob and spoil his Subjects deflower Virgins dishonest Matrons and do all things licentiously and temerariously do not the Nobles of the Kingdom assemble together deposing him from his Kingdom set up another in his place which shall swear to govern uprightly and be obedient to the Laws Fox Acts and Monuments p. 762. Ed. 1684. The Substance of which is that he who hath Sovereign Power or Authority but limited by certain Rules or Conditions which he hath sworn to observe If such an one shall become a Tyrant it is in the Power of the States and Peers of the Realm to restrain him for saith he the Office of the Subject is twofold ordinary in respect to Time Place and Imployment they have in the Common-wealth the other extraordinary which is to be exercised according to the Circumstances of Affairs which can be bound by no certain Rule except that of the publick Safety which must ever be consulted for and which * Lib. de repub Quo fit ut leges non solum populum sed reges etiam obligare sciamus at si regem contemnere leges Raperebona subditorum violare Virgines stuprare matronas omniaque suae libidini temeritati committere vidiamus numquid Congregatis regni proceribus illo summot◠alius sublimabitur qui bene gubernare juret legibus obtemperare Aen. Sylv. de gestis Con. Basili Bodin calls Suprema lex But if Monarchy be absolute and under no Restrictions we must then patiently suffer the most unjust Exercise of Power there being no other appeal but only to the Divine Tribunal Thus Daniel paid Allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar and our Saviour to the Roman Emperor Pareus de potestate civili Propos Primâ saith Episcopi pastores magistratibus suis impiis aut injustis possunt ac debent resistere non vi ant gladio sed verbo dei That is Bishops and Pastors must not resist evil Magistrates by force or by the Sword but by the Word in which he speaks honestly for the Weapons of our Warfare are not carnal but spiritual In his second Proposition he saith Subditi non privati sed in magistratu inferiori constituti adversus Superiorem magistratum se rempub Ecclesiam seu veram Religionem etiam armis defendere jure possunt c. That is not private Subjects but such as are placed in an inferior Order of Magistracy may by force of Arms defend themselves and the Common-wealth the Church or the true Religion without the Breach of any Law Supposing the Supreme Magistrate be degenerated into a Tyrant an Idolater and is become highly oppressing of the People provided they act sincerely and for the publick good because he saith Princes are bound by their own Laws Imperator testatur incodice se contra jus nolle ut sua decreta injudiciis locum habeant sed debere Irrita fieri si fortasse cognoscantur à justitiâ discedere c. Lib. 4. Cod. de leg Prin. Adeo digna est vox Majestate regnantis legibus alligatum se Principem profiteri That all his Commands contrary to Law were void and that it was a Saying becoming the Majesty of a Governour that a Prince is bound by Law Trajan was commended by Dion who giving the Sword to the Praetor used these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is take this Sword if I rule well use it for me if ill against me But as to private Persons he saith Moriendum potius quam resistendum Yet for several Reasons I cannot take his Words in the Sence which that excellent and learned Person D. Fabritius would put upon them restraining his Meaning to the Princes of the Empire who are Sovereign Princes and invested with Royal Power It never being a question whether such had Authority for the Preservation of their Rights and redress of Injuries to levy War against another Prince though in some respects greater than themselves But if in no case the Nobility and Commonalty of a Nation may interpose to prevent the imminent Ruine of the Church and State it would be very difficult to vindicate the late Revolution as is already hinted from those severe Imputations by such as have very little good will to our Sion cast upon it I shall not in so great a case interpose mine own Judgment it being easie to prick our Fingers in such a Thorny question Yet I may say if any for the breaking of their Yoak have ascribed too much to the (b) Though the Bishop of Burgen to prove the Church above the Pope argued from an unexpected Topick endeavouring to prove the Body of the Kingdom to be above the King To which Tho. Corsellis agreed Adductoque intestem summo omnium Philosophorum Aristotele dicebat in omni regno bene instituto illud in primis desiderari ut plus regnum posset quam rex Si contra reperiretur id non regnum sed tyrannidem dici debere Aen. Sylv. degest Con. Basil People granting them too great a Liberty of contesting their Rights with their Sovereigns others in hopes to espouse Princes to their Interest in grieving and oppressing their Dissenting Brethren have beyond measure fawned upon and flattered them till they nurst up the best tempered Monarchy upon Earth into an intollerable and tyrannick Exercise of Regal Power But this is a digression which by pursuing the Extravagancies of some Mens Opinions I have been led In which if I proceed a little further being once out of the way I must beg the Readers Patience and Pardon For having perused the Case of Allegiance due to Sovereign Princes by W. S. I could not but with very much regret observe that in the whole drift of that Discourse we can find little or none other Argument to enforce our Allegiance to King William c. than what would bespeak it for the greatest Usurper and Intruder who hath had the good Fortune to gain an actual Possession of the Crown which looks to say no worse very ungratefully upon him whom the Lords Spiritual and Temporal invited over and who by the universal Consent and applause of the People declared by their Representatives in Parliament was invested with the Royal Government and to whom we owe next to the Divine Providence all that is dear to us To reflect then so unworthily upon him as if he were no better than one who usurps the Government and that hath no further Right to the Kingdom then what Power Possession and Success can convey to him seems no way reconcilable to Duty or good Manners This Author in his Preface tells us that he never did any thing to cause the World
that which must be the Rule of our Faith and Worship From the beginning these things were not so Now if our Religion agree with the Primitive Rule of Faith and Practice of the most ancient Church 't is I am sure before theirs which hath been often made appear by the best records of Antiquity and Evidences of Scripture So that we are at no loss to tell them where our Church was before Luther and Religion we profess though it was sometimes Subterranea and fore'd to hide it self in the Clefts of the Rocks our Duck if they will have it so was sometimes fain to dive being often hunted and pursued by the Romish Spaniels those insatiable Blood-hounds We can very well tell where our Religion was of old which is that which Christ planted and delivered to the Saints But alas like the Spouse fallen into ill hands which wounded her and took her Vail from her yea deflowred and defiled her But it hath pleased God to deliver her and save her and us too out of the hands of our Enemies that we might serve him more purely In short Christ was both the Author and Finisher of our Faith not Luther not Calvin though we are very much obliged to them for putting us in a way to cleanse the Vessels of our Sanctuary and scowre off the Rust they had contracted But if Antiquity be necessary to legitimate the Doctrine of Faith what was the Romish Faith I mean their new framed Articles in their first Edition Particularly that main Point of it viz. The Pope's Supremacy which the (a) Later Coun. Sess 11. Dat. Rom. 1516. 14 Cal. Jan. cum de necessitate salutis existat omnes Christi fideles Romano Pontifici subesse Scult Ann. 1516. Council of Lateran first cast and moulded into an Article of Faith making the Belief of it necessary to Salvation This was decreed in the very same Year that Luther began to assault Rome as Scultetus observes I chose to instance in this though divers other of their Doctrines have no great Plea to Antiquity because several of our late Converts have when time was laught us to scorn and thought us extreamly at their Mercy if they did not hiss us out of our place for placing a Supremacy in the Chief Magistrate What say they Must the Son be Head of the Mother the Child Superintendant to the Parent According to this Divinity they make the Blessed Virgin to have a Command over her Son As thou art a * Jure matris impera redemptori Mother command thy Son But this is a piece of Popery which seems destructive of it self for Christ to be sure was the undoubted Head of the Church and to have one higher than the highest and Power to command him is neither good Sense nor Divinity But I never designed to have entred upon any thing of this nature if the Clamours of such as turned Renegado's to our Church the Pinacles of whose Temples they were once over-zealous for had not occasioned it whom I am apt to believe could they have foreseen that their Temptations to have deserted the Church of England would have been so great and that their Reign after their Conversion to Rome would have proved so short would not have been such Zealots against those who in some things dissented from the first nor so dogmatical and pert in asserting the Supremacy of the latter Which Gregory the Great though Bishop of that See was so far from pretending to that he declared it was a Sign of Antichrist for any other to claim it When Boniface Sozimus and Celestine sent to the Council of (*) At which Synod St. Austine was present and subscribed with his own hand Carthage to make challenge of it alledging the Sixth Canon of the general Council of Nice the Fathers of that Synod sent him word that they having only a Latin Copy by them in which they found no such Canon took the pains to send to Antioch Alexandria and Constantinople to procure and consult the Greek Copies But found nothing in the least favouring their demands and therefore wrote to Celestine that seeing no such thing was to be found in the Acts of Nice they desired him for the time to come to acquiesce denouncing to him that they would not suffer any cause either great or small to be carried out of their Country by way of (a) The Milevitan Synod decreed the same thing appeal for which they had better Authority from the Council of Nice than the Bishops of Rome for their Supremacy which defined that all Matters should be determinable in the Province and decreed the Patriarchs should be chief within their Precincts viz. The Bishop of Antioch in the East the Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt and the Bishop of Rome about Rome He that reads the Epistles of Cyprian will find him no way favouring the Supremacy or universal Superintendency of the Roman Bishop nay in that ad Quintinum he argues expresly against it His Words are Nam nec Petrus quem primum dominus elegit super quem aedificavit Ecclesiam suam cum secum Paulus de circumcisione post modum discepsi aret vendicavit sebi aliquid insolenter aut arrogantèr assumpsit ut diceret se Primatum tenere obtemperari à novellis posteris sibi potius opportere Cypr. ad Quint. St. Peter did not saith he defend himself against St. Paul when he contended with him by alledging his Supremacy and that all succeeding Bishops were to bow before him and obey him (b) St. Austine and St. Jerome affirmed that the Rock of the Church was Christ or St. Peter's Confession But Stapleton saith they were mistaken Ferus the Monk did not think so who saith that fides Christiana veritas Evangelica firma in concussa est petra illa In Matth. Cardinal Cusanus makes all the Apostles equal in Power and Dignity But what need we any further Proof or Witnesses against our Adversaries whilst they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and may be condemned out of their own Mouths Fatentes habemus reos Did not Stephen Gardiner Bishop of Winchester forswear and deny with an Oath the Supremacy of Rome and declare ex animo or ex mero motu freely and frankly that that Bishop had no Jurisdiction nor Power over the Church and Realm of England In pursuance and proof whereof he wrote his Book de Verâ Obedientiâ in which he defended the Supreme Power of Kings and his own Practice instancing in Solomon who according to his Father's appointment ordained the Offices of the Priests in their Ministries and Levites in their Orders To this he adds the Example of Hezekias 2 Chron. 29.5 6 c. Aron he saith obey'd Moses and Solomon gave Sentence against Abiathar the High Priest To this Book Edm. Bonner Bishop of London wrote an Epistle recommending the Work to the perusal of all that loved the Truth where he calls the Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome
the great Sin of the Conformists that they did not do what they might have done when they had a Power for Composing the Differences amongst us And is it not the Sin of such as dissent not to do what they may and have done occasionally pro hic nunc to serve themselves and secure their Interest for the attaining an higher End and more eminent Purposes viz. healing the Breaches and curing that inveterate Distemper I mean the Schism which hath so often disturbed the Peace and raised Confusions in the Church Obj. How can we comply and correspond with such as hate us Can we walk together with those that never will agree with us 'T is true we are upbraided for standing out when at the same time they are glad and loath we should come in When it was complained of to a great Bishop in Charles the Il's time that it was to be feared that the Act of Uniformity would be drawn up so strict that not many of the Presbyterians would conform his answer was He was afraid they would Besides the Treatment of those who have submitted to it have been such as affords little invitation to others to come over into the Tents of the Church of England whilst they have been accounted and used by the Conformists as false Brethren who came in meerly to spy out their Liberty and betray their Church upon which account they are disrespected and slited nay many times despitefully used they watching for their halting and glad when they stumble that they may fall into their hands and be used by them at their pleasure But not one Hair from their Heads would they part with to render the Yoak of Conformity easie or gratifie those that have been tender of the Peace and Unity of the Church Res Do they hate you then observe the Royal Law and Rule of our Saviour love those that hate you Don't they love you Let me ask you Is there any Love lost on either side Is not the distance of Affection the same on both sides I am afraid 't is as far from Athens to Thebes as 't is from Thebes to Athens If we love only those that love us what reward have we Let us heap Coals of Fire upon their Heads 't is the onlâ— way to melt them and force them to say as Saul to David You are more Righteous than we As for such who for Conscience sake have made no breach but have held Communion with the Church and yet have notwithstanding been lookt a squint upon that ought not to discourage you nor turn away their Faces or make them to despair of some reasonable Relaxation in Matters of Comformity For the righteous Lord loves Righteousness his Countenance does behold the upright But perhaps the appointed time of our Vision is not yet come and therefore we will wait for it for it will come and not tarry In the mean time le ts go on and build God's House with as much care and diligence as we can whatever Discouragements we may meet with from the Tobiases and Sanballats that may rise up against us Let us bear the Indignation of the Lord because we have sinned against him for he will plead our Cause and execute Judgment for us Let us pray that he would turn the Faces of our Brethren towards us that we may live in Peace and Love together and the God of Love and Peace shall be with us But this is a Lamentation 19 Ezek. 14. and must be for a Lamentation that Fire is gone out of our Branches that we still quarrel and fall out by the way for Matters of no higher value and greater figure in Religion than some appendant Rites and retained Ceremonies of Worship nor can we without regret observe how wide a Cleft those smaller Wedges have occasioned when they have been fiercely driven in the Beams of our own Timber The Dispute and Conference which was betwixt Arcicetus Bishop of Rome and Polycarpe concerning divers Usages and Customs of their Churches particularly that great-make Bate the time of celebrating Easter it was so managed as not to make any distance betwixt them But though it was concluded each Church should retain and practice their own Rites and observe their own Customs yet they did not break off their Fellowship but received the Sacrament together and held a friendly Communion one with the other Whilst Pope Victor as Irenaeus relates more stifly insisting on and urging the Practices of the Roman See upon other Churches they became as remote and distant from each other as the East is from the West in affection as well as Situation There was also in Cyprian's time a great Question which much exercised the Primitive Church viz. Whether Hereticks ought to be rebaptized before they were admitted to Church-Fellowship to determine which St. Cyprian calls a Council at Carthage who together with the rest of his (a) Sententiae Episcoporum de haereticis baptizandis Opera Cypr. 339. Impress Basil 1521. Brethren gave their Opinions that they ought not to be admitted into the Church without being rebaptized yet with so much indulgence and allowance to others as not to judge or censure them but to hold Communion with such as were otherwise minded Super est ut de hâc re quid singuli sentiamus proferamus nemirem judicantes aut â jure Communionis aliquem si diversum senserit amovenâ—es And could we but once come to be guilty of that Error which the Primitive Christians were charged with viz. of loving one and other (b) Minutius Felix's Dialogue betwixt Octavius and Cecilius too well we might yet maintain an holy Correspondence and Fellowship each with other taking sweet Council together and going to 〈◊〉 House of God in Company notwithstanding any Religious Rites in debate amongst us FINIS