of this Raillery it did chance to be laid to his charge that their Disciplinarian way did smell of Donatism and Anabaptism and was a kind of Papism Now what defence does he make If amongst the filth of their Heresies viz. the Papists Donatists and Anabaptists there may be found any good thing as it were a grain of good Corn in a great deal of Darnel that we willingly receive not as theirs but as the Jews did the Holy Ark from the Philistins whereof they were unjust Owners Yea it may come to pass that the Synagogue of Satan may at some time have some one thing with more convenience than the Catholick Church of Christ Our Liturgy is indeed taken from them but as gold is purg'd from dross And there are divers things wherein we agree with them because it is no crime to agree with them there where they do not disagree with the word of God And because it is not hard to believe that running into a contrary extream that an Aversation from what is Innocent among them does harden them in their Errors as much yea a great deal more than a retaining some Customs which may honestly be retain'd If we do not symbolize with them in the superstition of their Rites there is no reason we should be charg'd with superstition because we do not run a madding from them as far as we are able into another extream This is that I had to say to the second general Proposition which hath exceeded the proportion of the other because it was my chief design The Doctrines upon which the Conformity of the Church of England is established are not superstitious Opinions 3. The Opinions that are superstitious Sect. 19. such as are divers which obtain in the Church of Rome and elsewhere are rejected by the Church of England There are many differences between us and the Church of Rome and they are not all reducible to this Topick of superstition There are Doctrines among them of other denominations because they serve some secular Interest of profit or pleasure or honour so is it easy to evince that the Doctrine of Purgatory and Celibacy of Priests and others are Doctrines of men who reckon gain their Godliness The Doctrine of Indulgences and Dispensations c. does not only design profit but together with other loose Doctrines of Morality makes a very easie way to Heaven and so is sensual and pleasurable And the Supremacy of the Pope and exemption of Ecclesiasticks from secular Jurisdiction is a Doctrine of Mundane greatness and unsufferable Ambition There may be a mixture of superstition in all or any of these according as mens apprehensions are concerning them But there are other matters wherein I give account of their superstition Bishop Morton hath comprehended this in three generals wherein he does at the same time vindicate the Church of England and condemn that of Rome Our Church in her Service-Book does Presentment of a Schismatick p. 14. make known to all the World that she does detest the superstition of the Romish Ceremonies by condemning their superstitious Opinions First In making them necessary parts of Gods Worship Secondly In ascribing an efficacious sanctity to them Thirdly By arrogating a meritorious condignity from them to themselves I need not restrain my discourse to Ceremonies only be it in Ceremony or be it in substance If I make it appear that they esteem that a necessary part of Gods worship which ought not to be so esteem'd and so for the other two I shall conclude right when I charge them with superstition An Enumeration of particulars will be the best evidence in this matter I therefore give Instances to show that for these several reasons the Church of Rome is guided by superstitious Opinions to superstitious practices by which it will also appear that the Church of England does renounce those practices at least if for other reasons some of them be retain'd yet the Opinion which is the original of their practice is disowned by us 1. That opinion is superstitious whereby men judge and esteem any usages in Religion necessary when they are not so or more necessary than indeed they are When men advance any thing in the worship of God beyond its nature judging that to be holy and to have a relation to God which hath none or to have a nearer relation than in truth it hath Pius IV. in a Creed which he impos'd Oruphrius in Vit. Pii 4. p. mihi 384. furnishes us with sufficient Instances When he had by his Diploma allow'd and confirm'd all that was done at the Council of Trent he proceeded to direct in what manner Bishops should be made Then it follows Hanc Fidei formulam quam Episcopi designati profiterentur instituit He appointed a certain Creed which all that were to be made Bishops should make profession of In the Conclusion of which Creed are these words Hanc veram Catholicam fidem extra quam nemo salvus esse potest sponte profiteor c. This true Catholick Faith out of which no man can be saved I willingly profess Now among the Credenda which he reckons and obliges others to reckon necessary to Salvation are such as these That there are seven Sacraments of the New-Testament properly so called instituted by Jesus Christ The propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass Transubstantiation Purgatory Invocation of Saints worshipping Reliques and Images and lest enough should not be crowded into that Creed it is added Caetera item omnia à sacrosanctâ Tridentinâ Synodo tradita definita declarata indubitanter recipio atque profiteor All that was determin'd at the Council of Trent is to be receiv'd without scruple This is the Faith without which they say no man can be saved How these Opinions are rejected by our Church is too plain to need proof It rest to say however otherwise faulty and dangerous they are this makes them superstitious that they are made necessary whereas indeed they are false I mean not every thing established by that Council of Trent but the Articles before-named and divers other like things decreed in that Council If the Intendment of this Essay were principally against the Church of Rome it would the less be an excursion if the things now mention'd were severally consider'd and their repugnancy to Scripture shown but being design'd rather for the Vindication of the Church of England and that for the sake of those who agree with us in rejecting these Doctrines I am not willing to engage in all these Controversies I think it sufficient to add another instance under this Head and so convict them together of superstition The Council of Trent does advance Histor Concil Trident. Sess 4. Unwritten Traditions to an Authority equal with the word of God When the question is mov'd what are these Unwritten Traditions their Authors distinguish between such as are Divine Apostolical and Ecclesiastical Those which they call Divine are in the Account of
of Religion so is Superstition an extream on the other hand an Excessive Religiousness when men go beyond their bounds in Divine Worship so that all false worship goes under the name of Superstition A man may be righteous over-much and over-much wise so may he also be not too holy or too good yet too religious when he exceeds and practises in matters of Religion upon Opinions false and unworthy of God This hath been the use of the word in approved Authors of divers Ages It hath sometimes been determined to particular practices as Magick and Enchantments but upon a general reason because these are undue mixtures in Religion for so both in Heathen and Christian Authors this difference is commonly assigned between them Religio est Ubi prius veri Cultus superstitio falsi as Lactantius hath it When we worship God aright that is Religion when by any undue additions we corrupt Religion in all those things we are superstitious 2. The Enquiry into the Nature Sect. 4. of the thing still remains Whereby does it appear whether the worship we here or others elsewhere perform to God be regular and Religious or excessive undue and so superstitious The Resolution I give to this question I form into these Propositions 1. Superstition is first in the Opinion and thence influences upon the practice 2. The Doctrines upon which the Conformity of the Church of England is established are not superstitious Opinions 3. The Opinions that are indeed superstitious such as are divers that obtain in the Papacy and elsewhere are rejected by the Church of England 4. There are superstitious Omissions of which men may be guilty and that then when they seem to have a great Zeal against Superstition 1. Superstition is first in the Opinion before it can have any influence upon the practice Practices are unlawful when they transgress the Commands by which they are obliged but superstitiously unlawful they cannot be unless they proceed from such Opinions Hence it comes to pass that the same practices are sometimes superstitious and sometimes not according as mens Opinions are by which they are perswaded to them So is the difference between the Ch. of England and of Rome in the use of the Cross in kneeling in the act of receiving c. as will afterwards appear I am not alone in thus stating the Notion of Superstition A superstitious act is that Bishop Durham Morton Sermon on 1 Cor. 11. 16. which is founded upon a superstitious Opinion It was not meerly the Pharisees often washing but their Opinion of some especial purgation thereby which Christ reprehended in them Nor was it the having an Altar for which St. Paul reproved the Athenians when he called them superstitious but the opinion of honouring a God thereby they knew not whom To a like purpose Mr Hooker Superstition is when things are abhorred Eccles Polity Book 5. §. 3. or observed with a zealous or fearful but erroneous relation to God And in words just before Superstition is always join'd with a wrong opinion touching things divine Conformably to both these says a late learned Author All Superstitious Falkener Libert Ecclesiast B. 1. Chap. 5. Sect. 2. §. 7. or other sinful honour of the Elements must be founded in embracing those false apprehensions and corrupt Doctrines which our Church rejects 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 refers to the inward sense and apprehension of our minds or if it must be distinguished between the thoughts of the mind and the passions of the Soul it is evident that fear arises from such opinions and apprehensions as administer to it Yea though superstition be as hath been said an excess of Religion and though this excess may discover it self in the practices of men yet the reason and that which occasions this excess is in the Opinion False Notions and apprehensions of God tempt men to try by undue ways to please him Men have a conceit that such services are more grateful to him than they are Or there is a superstitious observation of some Accidents as Prognosticks of Events because of an Opinion taken up that God Almighty does by such signs declare his pleasure or displeasure In all these Cases the First Seat of Superstition is in the Opinion and from thence it is derived into practice for did these false Opinions which thus mislead men cease by a better information of the understanding the practices and observances that depend on them would also cease or if they were continued they would be hypocritical or vain or any thing rather than superstitious For Example It is superstitious say we to worship an Image or to pray a Soul out of Purgatory c. because they are false and superstitious Opinions that induce men so to do If it may be supposed that men who opine right who do not in their judgment yield more to an Image than they ought and who do not in truth believe Purgatory may yet perform the same Ceremonies and make the same prayers I ask then for what reason are these things done If not for this reason because men are of opinion that the Image deserves it that the dead may be profited by their Devotions then is it a vain and ridiculous piece of Pageantry Or if some politick reason and secular Interest tempt men these ways what they do may be excused from Superstition because it is not intended for the honour of God and so is not performed as a part of his Worship but it is otherwise faulty because by pretences of Religion they advance their Interest and gain becomes their Godliness If in truth there be any Religious intendments in these performances then this is that which plainly renders them superstitious because they Originally proceed from superstitious Opinions This I have first said because upon this depends the Vindication I design of the Usages of the Church of England For if what is done in Divine Worship be not otherwise superstitious but as it proceeds from and is directed by superstitious Opinions then if it can be evinc'd that we are not guided by any such Opinions it will follow that our Rites and Ceremonies are void of superstition And this I trust to make appear in what next follows 2. The Doctrines upon which the Sect. 5. Conformity of the Church of England is established are not superstitious Opinions Of which matter I give this Account which I shall take to be sufficient till by an Enumeration of some other particulars of which I am not aware it be made appear that there are some other Doctrines that may be suspected of superstition which the Church of England in justification of her Conformity is obliged to maintain 1. All Circumstances relating to the Worship and service of God are not particularly determined in the word of God 2. Therefore notwithstanding the Determinations of the Holy Scripture some things do remain Indifferent in their own Natures 3. The Governours of the Church have power to
greater mistake It was reported to him that there was great danger lest many pious men should be turn'd out of their Livings upon this Occasion yea it was told him that there were plerique Episcopi that must be some considerable number of the Twenty six that are in England and Wales Viri omni eruditione pietate insignes qui malint Officio loco cedere quam istiusmodi vestes admittere There were many Bishops that would not conform Now who that knows any thing of the State of the Church of England Anno 1571. when that Letter was written knows not that the Bishops of that time were sufficiently satisfied with the Conformity that was then urged nor was there one among them for so far as I can now find that made so much noise about these things as Bishop Hooper of Glocester did under Edward the Sixth If therefore Zanchy may be excused for endeavouring what he could in favour of those good and Learned men whose exauctoration he fear'd yet that not being the case the earnestness of his Letter if we should yield more to his judgment than of necessity we are obliged to do will not signify much to the reproach of our Conformity But we have greater assurance that Zanchy was our Friend For when he had dated his Letter to the Queen from Heidelberg Sept. 10. 1571. he dates another the very next day Zanch. Epist lib. 2. p. 181. Tom. ult to Bishop Juell though it be doubtful whether he lived to receive it because he died the 23d of the same Month from the tenor of which I conclude that in his Letter to the Queen he says nothing to prove the usages of our Church unlawful to be practis'd whatever his opinion might be of the conveniency of Imposing them or if he did he unsays it again the very next day in his Letter to the Bishop which of so Learned and fix'd a man is not easily to be believed For the very occasion of that second Letter was to desire Bishop Juell and other Bishops to use their Authority with the rest to perswade Ne si Regina amoveri nullo modo possit à sententiâ ipsi propterea suas deserere malint stationes quam edicto Regio obtemperare If the Queen were resolv'd and would be obey'd he would have all the Clergy rather obey than leave their places and Employments He goes on declare his Opinion that for such things as these Ministers may not leave their Flocks He acknowledges the Case that where things are in their own nature evil we must with the Apostles obey God rather than Man and then adds Si vero res suâ naturâ adiaphorae lege mandatoque regio praecipiantur quando alterutrum necesse sit ut aut cedatur loco aut tali mandato obtemperetur obtemperandum potius esse c. When the Magistrates command Indifferent things upon this necessity that men must obey or forsake their Ministry they must rather obey Nay he reckons this Case so clear that he concludes Esse vero hanc sententiam it a certam perspicuam tum in sacris literis tum apud patres in Historiis Ecclesiasticis ut supervacaneum omnino sit ullam adferre probationem apud illos qui vel mediocriter in scripturis sunt exercitati Nunquam enim propter res suâ naturâ adiaphoas deserenda est vocatio legitima necessaria They who ever consulted the Scriptures or Fathers or Ecclesiastical Historians will need no proof of this That it can never be lawful for men to leave a necessary Employment such as that of the Ministry is for the sake of Indifferent Rites If this will not convert a Non-Conformist yet I hope it will make them asham'd to quote Zanchy's Letter to the Queen as if it were much to our disadvantage as the Replyer Vid. Burges Answer Rejoin'd Chap. 1. Sect. 19. upon Bishop Mortons defence does let both his Letters be compar'd and much good may they do them That this was Zanchy's setled Judgment appears from what he elsewhere says in defence of Garments peculiar to Divine Service Quod veteres Episcopi coenam administraturi Zanc. Tom. 4. de Cultu Dei externo lib. 1. Cap. 16. aliam induerint vestem ad mutationem coenae nihil pertinet Non enim Christus jussit ut communibus vestibus induti coenam administraremus sicut ipse indutus erat sed tantum ut faceremus quod ipse fecit Idem de multis aliis rebus dici potest tam in Baptismo quam in coenâ Dominicâ Whereas the Bishops of old did celebrate the Eucharist in a peculiar Garment this makes no change in that service for our Lord Christ did not command us to be clothed as he was but to do what he did And the same may be said of many other things both in Baptism and the Lords Supper The sum of all he thus expresses Quae addita sunt sed tanquam adiaphora propter ordinem propter decorum ad aedificationem ea substantiam Sacramentorum eoque cultum non mutarunt Those things that are added for Order Decency and Edification make no alteration in the substance of the Sacraments or of Divine Worship I conclude then though we yield Zanchy theirs as to his Opinion that it is not well done to impose these Indifferent things yet he is clearly ours as to the Proposition I maintain When Indifferent things are once determin'd whatever Governours may have to answer for such Impositions because they are not in their own nature evil it is better to obey than to disturb the peace of the Church But Mr Calvin is a greater man Sect. 11. than Dr Zanchy and the cause which he condemns shall ly under a great prejudice his opinion therefore M. Durell View of Government and publick worship in the Reform Churches beyond the Seas pag 161. c. must be consider'd However he be generally esteemed no great friend to Episcopacy yet M. Durell hath endeavour'd to vindicate him from being very Antiepispocal Be that as it will if our N. Cts will stand or fall to Calvins Judgment our advantage is as great as we need desire 1. For first he does greatly admire set forms of Prayer So he says in a Letter to the Protector of Edward the Sixth Quod ad formulam precum Calv. Epist 87. Dat. 1548. Rituum Ecclesiasticorum valde probo ut certa illa extet à quâ Pastoribus discedere in suâ functione non liceat I do greatly like that forms of Prayer and the Rites of the Church should be stated so as Ministers in the exercise of their function should not have leave to vary from them His reasons are Three Ut consulatur quorundam simplicitati Imperitiae Ut certius constet omnium Ecclesiarum inter se consensus Postremo ut obviam eatur desultoriae quorundam levitati qui novationes quasdam affectant First For the supply of some mens
IMPRIMATUR Hic Liber cui Titulus A Discourse of Superstition c. May 11. 1678. Guill Sill R. P. D. Henr. Episc Lond. à sacris Domesticis A DISCOURSE OF Superstition With respect to the PRESENT TIMES WHEREIN The Church of ENGLAND is Vindicated from the Imputation and the Charge retorted not only on the Papists but also on men of other Perswasions By William Shelton Rector of St James Colchester LONDON Printed by J. M. for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lyon in St Paul's Church-Yard MDCLXXVIII To the RIGHT REVEREND FATHER in GOD AND RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRY LORD BISHOP OF LONDON One of His Majesties most Honourable Privy-Council c. May it please your Lordship THere is none to whom I owe account of my self and Studies more than to your Lordship as my Diocesan None to whom I more readily submit this Essay which endeavours to do Right to the Church of England whose Honour and Security is so great a part of your Lordships care as to challenge the acknowledgment of all Pens The Moderation of our Church which ought to be esteem'd her Glory in receding no farther from the Church of Rome than she has receded from Primitive Christianity is objected as a Crime by the eager men of the separation Our First Reformers were Wise men and Thanks be to God so are their Successors too Their Wisdom in the first compiling and late Review of our Liturgy has directed them to keep the mean between the Two Extreams of too much stiffness in refusing and too much easiness in admitting variations So by the good Providence of God have we been deliver'd from the superstitions of the Romish Church and so have we been preserved from a superstitious avoiding superstition As the Kingdom of England is famous for being the Balance of Europe so is the Church of England for being by a regular Reformation well fix'd in a due distance between the superstitious additions of the Church of Rome where Supremacy Infallibility and the Inquisition compel men to swallow Camels and the superstitious Abstinences of those who strain at Gnats and either will not Understand the notion of a thing Indifferent or will not rightly infer from it To evince this is the Design of the following Tract which in all humility I offer to your Lordships Patronage being thereto embolden'd by the Experience I have had of your Lordships Candor and Favour which by how much the less I have merited I ought the more to acknowledge God Almighty preserve your Lordship to a long Presidency in this Church and bless the joint labours and cares of the Right Reverend my Lords the Bishops to such an happy Repair of our Breaches that neither the Wild-Boar nor the Foxes may spoil our Vineyard to be such a defence upon the Glory of this Church that neither the Romanist nor Separatist may stain or darken it So prayeth Your Lordships in all Humility and Obedience W. SHELTON THE CONTENTS SECTION I. THE Occasion of this Discourse The Church of England charg'd with Superstition In the times of Queen Elizabeth King James The reproach restrain'd by a Canon to no purpose The Jealousy encreas'd in the beginning of Charles I. and in the time of the Covenant The design of this Discourse Pag. 1 SECT II. The use of the word first inquir'd into Then the nature of the thing How Greek Authours use 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Smith's select Discourse Plutarch Max. Tyrius Antoninus Dr Hammond's Tract of Superstition consider'd What Latin Authors mean by Superstitio Tully opposes it to Religion Lactantius not agreeing with him in the reason of the word p. 11 SECT III. Other Etymologies Superstitio quasi super statutum Lucretius huffs at all Religion as super stans Nigidius Figulus account of the word Seneca Tacitus Suetonius Pliny take it in a bad sense so Festus and St. Paul St Austin differs not who comprehends many particulars under this General according to whom many superstitious observations obtain still in the World Three Definitions of superstition out of Aquinas Zanchy Ames to the same purpose Religion True Worship Superstition false worship p. 18 SECT IV. The Nature of the thing consider'd in several Propositions First Superstition is first in the Opinion then in the practice To which agree Morton Hooker Falkener The same practice superstitious or not as the Opinion is by which it is guided This the Foundation of what follows p. 28 SECT V. Second Propos The Doctrines upon which the Conformity of the Church of England is established are not superstitious Opinions Those Doctrines are as follows First All Circumstances relating to the worship of God are not particularly determin'd in H. Scripture T. C. gainsays but it is manifestly true Our Adversaries acknowledge and build upon it p. 34 SECT VI. Secondly Some things notwithstanding Scripture determinations do still remain Indifferent in their nature This denied by Bradshaw and Brook Bradshaw chang'd his mind but his followers propagate his first Opinion A gross mistake A Thing Indifferent not a mean between Good and evil but between Commanded and forbidden p. 40 SECT VII Brooks notion Optimum est eligendum not always true In divers cases no Best Many dishes at a feast Many Inns in a Town Many Shops in a City He that stays till he know which is Best will in many cases never determine because he hath nothing to determine him but his own choice The Ceremonies of our Religion not altogether so Indifferent but in specie neither Commanded nor forbidden p. 45 SECT VIII Thirdly The Church may make Determinations in things Indifferent Scrupled by Brooke whose Discourse of Episcopacy is again examin'd The weakness and Unworthiness of it detected Denied also by others Modest Discourse c. and Bagshaw but upon insufficient grounds p. 55 SECT IX This acknowledged by the Presbyterians in their Directory Confession of Faith Other Authors that have written since Acknowledged also by the Independents in their Confession of Faith 1658. p. 66 SECT X. Fourthly Where the Governours of the Church have power to determine they ought to be obey'd Zanchy and Calvin on our side When Zanchy would not have these things impos'd yet he would have them yielded to if impos'd rather than any man should quit his Ministry p. 71 SECT XI Calvin of the same mind Much for a stated Liturgy and Ceremonies which though he would have few yet those he finds fault with do not now obtain in our Church What he did not like he would have born with As the Surplice in Bishop Hoopers case and Unleaven'd Bread at Geneva p. 80 SECT XII Besides these M. Durell cites about 40. Foreigners all of the same Judgment As were also our Countreymen T. C. Humfrey Rainolds Knewstubs others And of late Mr Baxter These Testimonies concluded with St. Ambrose and St. Austin's determination p. 87 SECT XIII Fifthly It is lawful for the Church to appoint significant Ceremonies This denied by N. C ts How they differ from
Sacraments The Presbyterians require sitting at the Lords Supper because significant Their pretence of the Example of Christ not sufficient Because p. 93 SECT XIV First That Example does no more oblige in this than in other Circumstances of Time and place unless in the significancy of it which then is as much superstitious as our kneeling For secondly They have not Example for the same manner of sitting Thirdly Not certain whether they have Example for any manner of sitting at all p. 100 SECT XV. They use another significant Ceremony in the Covenant and consent they require of people whereby they should own their Minister Worcestershire Agreement gives account of it Distinction between Discipline and Worship will not help them p. 108 SECT XVI Upon these Grounds the Church of England not superstitious unless the number of Ceremonies be too great Which hath been complain'd of without Cause and some of them acknowledge in our favour A Digression about the number of Ceremonies Or unless our Rites be requir'd as somewhat more than Indifferent In which the Prefaces to our Liturgy vindicate us p. 112 SECT XVII Two Objections 1. Ceremonies impos'd as Indifferent are not so So they were once believ'd But now some N. C ts think not so of them Answer Where no Law no Transgression Not forbid in the second Command nor elsewhere The Surplice and Kneeling and the Cross particularly consider'd p. 123 SECT XVIII 2 Obj. Though in Nature Indifferent yet some Accidents may render it sinful to impose or practise them They are thought by Bagshaw to be laid as snares for tender Consciences If so it would be Tyranny rather than superstition But it blasphemes Dignities so to think The Accidents consider'd Because they are offensive because they come from Papists The law of not giving offence does not disoblige the subject from obedience in things in themselves lawful Nor does it disable the Magistrate from making laws in things Indifferent The abuse of Popery signified nothing to T. C. in his own case The second General Proposition concluded p. 132 SECT XIX Third Proposition The Opinions that are superstitious are rejected by the Church of England Divers Objections against Popery besides superstition but that now to be consider'd They are superstitious First in making their Ceremonies necessary parts of Gods worship Pius IV. Creed impos'd upon all Bishops makes all the Doctrines of Trent necessary to salvation They equal Traditions to the written word and so introduce false Doctrines They teach for Doctrines the Commands of men and so are superstitious p. 144 SECT XX. Secondly They ascribe an efficacious sanctity to their Ceremonies They worship the Cross with Latra and affirm that it scares away the Devil drives away diseases and sanctifies the things on which it is made This is superstition to expect effects as by divine Institution which we have no warrant to expect Estius endeavours to salve the matter but not to satisfaction They teach that the Sacraments confer Grace Ex opere Operato and that is superstitious Bellarmines distinction between opus operatum and operantis to their prejudice p. 154 SECT XXI Thirdly Their Doctrine of Merit is superstitious Bellarmine ascribes Merit and satisfaction to good Works His famous acknowledgment to the contrary We own a necessity of good works but exclude Merit Whatever else is any where done upon a Religious account farther than Religion ought to be concern'd is superstitious The Church of England not guilty in any of these Cases p. 163 SECT XXII The Fourth Proposition There are superstitious Omissions of which men may be guilty when they seem greatly to abhor superstition A Negative Superstition A superstitious fearfulness of which Lord Bacon and St. Austin complain Such was that of the Jews who would not defend themselves on the Sabbath day Of the Souldiers in Sfetigrade The N. C ts have reason to examine whether their Abstinence be not such To abstain from that which is lawful as believing it Unlawful this undue opinion of Religious Matters is superstitious The Conclusion p. 171 ERRATA PAge 95. line 9. for where insignificant read wherein significant p. 149. l. 13. for rest r. rests the lesser faults are left to the ingenuity of the Reader to correct or pardon THere is lately published the seventh Edition of a Body of Divinity c. By the most Reverend Father in God James Usher late Arch-Bishop of Armagh to which is added his Life containing many remarkable passages never before Extant Sold by Jonathan Robinson at the Golden-Lyon in St. Paul's Church-Yard A DISCOURSE OF Superstition With respect to the PRESENT TIMES c. THE prejudices and disaffections Sect. 1. which have alienated so many from the Communion of the Church of England owe themselves to no Original more than to an Opinion taken up that some Usages in our Church are Superstitious An Opinion strongly concluded but upon weak grounds and by a Process very illogical For when the Adversaries of our Order and Peace have amply represented how jealous God is of his Honour how severely he hath threatned the breaches of the second Commandment and how sorely he hath punished the Idolatry of the Jews in the application of these things to our Times Superstition and Idolatry are frequently join'd as equally forbidden in that Commandment and without more proof the Church of England is supposed guilty of Superstition and good people are exhorted to come out of her upon pain of partaking of those Plagues which Idolaters have reason to fear From the times of Queen Elizabeth down to our days Superstition hath been laid to our Charge Mr Hooker acknowledges and resents it Ecclesiastic Pol. Book 5. §. 4. So it is judged our Prayers our Sacraments our Fasts our times and places of publick meeting together for the Worship and Service of God our Marriages our Burials our Functions Elections and Ordinations Ecclesiastical almost whatsoever we do in the exercise of our Religion according to Laws for that purpose established all things are some way or other thought faulty all things stained with Superstition One of the Treatises that were sent abroad as it were to give new light to a new World 1660. under the name of Mr William Bradshaw is about things Indifferent where he thus speaks in the Marginal Notes Notes on the fifth Chapt. of things Indifferent The Doctors of Oxford ask what hurt can a wise Man see in a square Cap and a Surplice Indeed there is no outward hurt or evil in it but it must be considered whether there be not any inward hurt therein for if it can be proved that by them the Souls of many are poisoned with superstitious conceits then it is apparent that they have inward hurt in them This is but a supposition but it follows dogmatically The Ceremonies Ibid. Notes on Chap. 8. in Controversy have been and are the special means and occasion of the Schism of many Hundred Brownists of much Superstition in many
Thousand Ignorant Protestants and of Confirmation of many Infinites of wilful Papists in their Idolatry He concludes the Treatise thus The Ceremonies in Controversy are either excellent parts of our Religion which he not yielding must believe the other part of the Disjunction or notorious parts of Superstition This is the dirt that was cast upon the Church of England in the beginning of King James his Reign that he might be out of love with her A reproach of which the Convocation of 1603. was so sensible for though that Treatise came first out a little after the Convocation yet the suspicion was rife before that they pass this Canon among Canon 6. others Whosoever shall hereafter affirm the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England by Law established are wicked Antichristian or Superstitious c. Let him be Excommunicated c. This Canon did not restrain the petulancy of Censorious men for besides Mr. Bradshaws confidence in the defence that Dr Burges makes for Bishop Morton it appears Burges Answer Rejoined Chap. 4. §. 1. that the N. C sts of those times did thus argue The Ceremonies of the Church of England have been and still are abused to Idolatry and Superstition by the Papists And that we Id. ib. §. 4. cannot be thought sincerely to have repented of that Idolatry and Superstition except we cast away with detestation all the Instruments of it Once more they say That a superstitious construction is Id. ib. ◠79. made of our Cross not only by the Papists but by our own Canons and Canonical Imposers of it These Jealousies did but fly in the dark during King James his Reign but soon after Charles the First came to the Throne he received divers Complaints of this nature The Parliament Anno 1628. Rushworth Historical Collections p. 526. complains of Idolatry and Superstition as some of those heinous and crying sins which were the undoubted Cause of those evils that were fallen upon them The Remonstrance which the Commons Id. ib. p. 621. of the same Parliament made against the then Duke of Buckingham expresses their fears concerning Innovation of Religion A while after Mr. Rouse makes a Speech concerning Religion wherein he desires it may be considered what new paintings are laid on the old face of the Whore of Babylon How the See of Rome does eat Ib. p. 645 646. into our Religion and fret into the banks and walls of it for a remedy of which he propounds the expedient of a Covenant to hold fast God and Religion to which Covenant he would have every man say Amen This man does not it is true speak of Superstition but he is understood to mean it by another Orator of the same House Mr. Pym who complains that the Law Ib. p. 647. was violated in bringing in superstitious Ceremonies After whom another in the same Session Sir John Eliott apprehends a fear of some Ib. p. 649. Bishops then in place that if they should be in their power they might be in danger of having Religion overthrown because some of them were Masters of Ceremonies and laboured to introduce new Ceremonies into the Church After those eager Debates the motion for a Covenant slept for some years but was renewed again in the Unhappy Times of the Fatal Parliament In the times when it was a great part of the Impeachment against the Great Arch-Bishop of Canterbury that he had traiterously Artic. of Impeach 7. 10. endeavoured to alter and subvert Gods true Religion by law established in this Realm and instead thereof to set up Popish superstition and Idolatry and that he traiterously endeavoured to reconcile the Church of England with the Church of Rome In these times it was that Mr. Rouse's motion ripen'd up to a Solemn League and Covenant wherein they obliged themselves to endeavour the Extirpation of Popery Prelacy and Superstition By which words the Covenanters as some of them have since declar'd believe themselves obliged against Conformity for this reason they give in a Book they call a Sober and Temperate Discourse concerning the Interest of words in Prayer c. in which the Title of one of their Chapters is The Ministers Third Reason viz. Chap. 10. why they do not meddle with the Common Prayer as are the words of the Chapter is because they have sworn to endeavour a reformation in worship and to endeavour to extirpate Superstition Nothing now can be more evident than that both of old and in our times Superstition is objected to us It does not come in my way to condemn nor do I take upon me to justify the practises of all particular persons I concern my self only in the legal Establishments of our Church and they would little need a vindication if men would take the pains to enquire into the nature of Superstition for they would soon find the Innocence of our Rites would defend themselves from this suspicion But it is our Unhappiness that we have to deal with men who take things upon trust who are not easily undeceived because they will maintain a Conclusion before they have examined the premises observing Superstition to be a word that signifies somewhat bad they condemn us without a Tryal and before they know what it means conclude us guilty of Superstition I have waited some while in expectation that some abler Pen would engage in this Argument but not finding that of late days the Nature of Superstition has been particularly and fully discovered or described I have now undertaken the task in which because I desire to be understood I labour for no other ornament of stile than perspicuity And without farther Preface I proceed to enquire what is this Superstition with which the Church of England is so much upbraided There is no Precept in the Holy Scripture that forbids Superstition by that name nor does any sacred Author mention it except St. Luke in two places to be considered in due time when I examine how the word is used in other Authors For by this Method I conceive I shall best accomplish my design if First I enquire into the use of the Word And secondly into the nature of the thing signified by such a Word 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which the Greeks Sect. 2. express'd that which we now commonly call Superstition signifies most literally a service perform'd to God or to a Daemon rather out of fear than love An over-timerous and dreadful apprehension of the Deity as the learned Smith who also calls it Select Discourse of Superstit p. 26. 36. a compound of Fear and Flattery such an apprehension of God in the thoughts of men as renders him grievous and burdensome to them But however this may be the primary sense of the word yet that it hath been transfer'd to signifie more largely is evident from Greek Authors Plutarch in his Tract 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 constantly discourses of it as of an extream to
it belongs to Synods and Councils to set down rules and directions for better ordering the publick worship of God and Government of his Church which Decrees and determinations if Consonant to the word of God where it is worthy observing that when they are establishing their own Authority and way they expect not express Commands for every thing they do however they have been observed to huff at Episcopacy and to require Commands for our establishments are to be received with reverence and submission not only for their agreement with the word but also for the power whereby they are made as being an Ordinance of God appointed thereto in his word Since these first attempts of the Assembly we find some writing conformably to their dictates and professing thus We freely grant that the Discourse Liturg. c. Chap. 16. Civil power or the Church orderly assembled may determine at what hours on the Lords-day the Congregation shall meet as also it shall determine particular times for Fasting or Thanksgiving as Gods providence shall administer Occasions and yet some of this way are against keeping Christmass c. that places of publick worship shall be erected frequented kept decent and an Hundred things of that Nature which even reason and nature it self teaches all sober persons to be such as that without some Order to be observed in them the worship of God either would not be performed or would be undecently performed True it is that the same men say in the same Chapter The Assertion of the Churches power in appointing Ceremonies and Circumstances of Divine Worship is the very root of all the Pandora ' s Box the very Fountain head of all those Impositions which have bred so much trouble disturbance and persecutions in the Church of God Which how to reconcile to what is just now quoted I well know not nor to another passage in the same Chapter where though they desire to distinguish between Circumstances and Ceremonies of worship yet they acknowledge thus That the word of God hath left many things not possible to be determin'd by it to the Authority of the Christian Magistrate cannot be denied whether any Ceremonies or no is a question divers Circumstances relating to the worship of God are undoubtedly so left When I compare these things I know not how to understand the Coherence of them unless it be thus When Church-Governours are Episcopal and shall assume a power to appoint Ceremonies and Circumstances of divine worship this is the fountain head of Impositions that breed disturbance and persecutions But if they shall chance to be Presbyterian then there are an Hundred things not determin'd by the word of God but left to their Christian Prudence For Example A Convocation may not by a Canon or Rubrick appoint a font of stone at the West end of the Church nor kneeling at the Sacrament of the Lords Supper nor that the Bread and Wine be severally distributed to every Communicant but the Directory may make appointments contrary to all these and an hundred things of the like nature For the Ordinance of Parliament all the Authority it had which established the Directory says The Directory for publick worship herein set forth shall henceforth be used pursued and observed in all exercises of the publick worship of God in every Congregation Church Chappel and place of publick Worship within this Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales The Independents in their Confession of Faith set out from the Savoy 1658. speak to the same purpose There Chap. 1. Sect. 6. are some Circumstances concerning the worship of God and Government of the Church common to Humane Actions and Societies which are to be Ordered by the light of Nature and Christian prudence according to the General Rules of the word which are always to be observed Now I must crave leave that our Adversaries would judge whether they are not unequal to us in denying us a liberty which they grant to themselves In this general Consideration of things it is not material to ask for what reason they scruple our Ceremonies whether as significant or popish c. which shall be examined in due time All that I now conclude is no more than what they themselves believe and practise viz. It is no superstitious Opinion to believe that the Church may make Determinations in things Indifferent 4. Where the Governours of the Church Sect. 10. have power to determine it can be no superstitious opinion to believe they ought to be obeyed in the exercise of this their lawful power Yea if it should be granted what I do not by any means grant only to come as close as may be to our Adversaries I suppose the case that it is not well done to Impose such things Indifferent yet if they be not in their own nature evil it is better to obey than to disturb the peace of the Church and to separate from established order Zanchy and Calvin are professedly our Advocates in this Matter on whose Testimony I build the more because they are of great Authority with those who dissent from us Zanchy wrote a Letter to Queen Elizabeth wherein he did earnestly perswade her not to Impose the Surplice and such like things upon the Clergy of England This he did with Zanch Epistol lib. 1. p. 111. Tom. ult great Zeal and it may seem with some acrimony as if he had been a great Patron of Non-Conformity and I will not deny that it seems by that Letter he did greatly dislike such Impositions and but that he was commanded by his Prince to write as he did he did Coactus scribere as he professes it is a Letter that might argue him to meddle too much in the affairs of another Church but we take it as we find it and notwithstanding all that is there said it is manifest that Zanchy was of our side That he was abused in the Information that was given him of our affairs appears by his Letter to the Queen wherein he complains of her introducing and establishing all the Massing attire of the Romish Priests for so he calls them Vestes albas ac lineas quibus in papatu utuntur sacrifici Antichristi supellectilem Papistarum Impiam pompam Idololarriae superstitionis Papisticae reliquias vel saltem symbola that is in the English of some of our Malecontents All the rags of the whore of Babylon Whereas the attire of their Priests is made up of six Vestments as a Learned man of our own hath observed out of their Ritualists Amictus Alba Cingulum Falkner Libert Ecclesiast lib. 2. Cap. 4. §. 9. Stola Manipulus Capsula all far different from the Surplice and these six Garments are accounted holy Garments used by their Priests and all of them have their particular Consecrations as the Surplice in the Church of Rome hath not Zanchy then thus mistaking the case was more eager than he needed to have been but he was under another and
inabilities a reason that our modern N. C ts in this time of Gospel light think an undervaluing of them Secondly That the several Churches of the same Dominion may appear to consent together Thirdly For a security against Innovators and in that also I wish they were not concern'd Upon this last reason Calvin adds that there should be summa quaedam doctrinae ab omnibus recepta quam inter praedicandum sequantur omnes ad quam etiam observandam omnes Episcopi Parochi jurejurando adstringantur ut nemo ad munus Ecclesiasticum admittatur nisi spondeat sibi illum sensum inviolatum futurum Extet praeterea communis Catechismi formula c. Which I thus accommodate to our Usage he could not think it unlawful to subscribe to the thirty nine Articles 2. Because some Ceremonies must accompany Divine Service it appears by the former words that he would have them stated too I conceal not his Opinion that he would have but few Ceremonies for fear of Superstition Nihil consultius video Epist 303. Dat. 1560. quam parcissimis Ceremoniis uti in Ecclesiâ satis enim Experientiâ constat quà m proclivis sit lapsus in superstitionem Now if any shall hence infer that Calvin if he were alive would judge us to abound in superfluous Ceremonies I oppose his former Letter to the Protector where he speaks de abolendis radicitus evellendis abusibus corruptelis of rooting out abuses but he instances but in three things Praying for the dead Chrism and extream Unction All which having now no place in our Church and it being undeniable that we are reformed to some greater degrees than in Edward the Sixths time we have fair reason to say that the present state of things is such as Calvin would not disallow at most if he would have advised to have omitted some of our Ceremonies yet in the same place where he desires Ceremonies should be few he adds Aliud vero est cum nobis jus non est admittendi aut repudiandi quod videbitur Si non licet obtinere quod cupimus feramus istos defectus non approbemus Where we are to obey and not to rule let us bear with those defects which we need not approve 3. But Calvin is the man who called some of our Rites Fooleries Because our N. C ts shall have liberty to make the most of that word I so translate it though others think it may be rendred Unfitnesses Let them take the advantage of it provided they will acknowledge that at the same time he calls them tolerable The words are in a Letter to some English Divines at Frankford in Queen Maries time In Anglicanâ Ep. 200. Dat. 1555. Liturgiâ qualem describitis multas video fuisse tolerabiles Ineptias Calvin being at a distance takes things as they were represented to him therefore he speaks of the English Liturgy according to the description they gave of it and there is some reason to suspect that they who gave him that account misrepresented the case I am not alone in the Imagination M. Durell is before me who View of Government c. p. 117. undertakes it at large But Calvin says moreover video fuisse so it had been he thought in Edward the Sixths time and who knows not what perfective alterations have been since made Suppose at most he did not like some things yet this is certain that he did not think it worth while to contend about them for so he says in the same Letter In Id. ibid. rebus mediis ut sunt externi Ritus facilem me flexibilem praebeo In such Indifferent matters as outward Rites are I am an easy man and ready to be perswaded And I give but Two Instances more that I may have done with him When he writes to Bullinger about Bishop Hooper's Scruples and troubles he says De pileo veste Ep. 120. Dat. 1551. lineâ maluissem ut illa etiam non probem non usque adeo ipsum pugnare idque etiam nuper suadebam Though I do not much like the Square-Cap and Surplice yet I wish Hooper had not been so fierce against them and so I lately perswaded him Yea in an affair of their own Beza reports him to have been of the same temper Some there were at Geneva who had upon some pretences introduc'd the use of Unleaven'd Bread and of that only at the Communion At this others were so offended that they inclin'd rather to stay away than Communicate Calvin who Bez. Vit. Calvini An. 1538. was then withdrawn from Geneva hearing of it advised them ne ob istud 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 litem moverent sic obtinuit panis Azymi usus de quo etià m postea restitutus Calvinus nunquam contendendum putavit minimè tamen dissimulans quid alioqui esset magis probaturus He would not have them quarrel about such an Indifferent matter So the use of Unleaven'd Bread was established which when Calvin return'd again he did not think fit to make any disturbance about though he did not dissemble that he rather wished it had been otherwise It appears then Calvin was not so inflexible in all matters of Conformity as many of our Modern N. C ts are To Calvin and Zanchy it is easy to Sect. 12. M. Durell View of Government c. p. 119. deinceps add like Testimonies out of other Authors magnified by the N. C ts M. Durell hath brought about forty mostly Divines as it were into Council delivering their Opinions about Ceremonies and Circumstances of worship All unanimously agreeing against our present Dissenters that these things viz. the Surplice and Cross c. are not such for which a separation is to be made and if all do not speak to every particular matter in Controversy between us yet all speak to some and some to all by all which it appears that the Church of England is not condemned by the Reformed Churches beyond the Seas nay she is justified nay she is admired For the particular purpose of the Argument now in hand I offer a few of our own Countrymen and I cannot begin better than with T. Cartwright who is quoted as professing Burges Preface to Answ Rejoin'd p. 3 4. to oppose our Ceremonies as inconvenient but not as unlawful and therefore perswaded Ministers rather to wear the Garments than cease their Ministry and taught men to receive the Sacrament kneeling if they could not have it otherwise because though the gesture be as he takes it incommodious yet he says it is not simply unlawful Mr Sprint also assures us that Dr Humfrey Dr Rainolds Cassand Anglic. p. 163. Dr Sparks Dr Chaloner Dr Ayray Mr Chaderton Mr Knewstubs though they stood out and testified their dislike against sundry of the Ceremonies established yet they did in case of deprivation yield to them and studiously perswaded others in this case to this practice Of latter days Mr Baxter hath
determin'd that it may be very sinful to command some Ceremonies when yet it may be the subjects duty to use them when they are commanded Upon which Proposition he says farther If a thing Baxt. Disputat of Church Government p. 460. be simply unlawful as being forbid by God himself there no command of man can make it lawful But if it be but inconvenient or evil only by accident or circumstance it is possible for the command of Governours to take off that accidental evil and make it become a duty I have dwelt at large upon these Testimonies not because the Reason of the thing is doubtful so as to need such a Confirmation nor because if it were other Testimonies as considerable could not be produced but to comply with the humor of the N. C ts and to deal with them at their own Weapon They have made a great noise about the consent of the Reformed Churches and did Covenant to endeavour a Reformation according to the Example of the best Reformed Churches as if all that go under the name of the Reformed Churches beyond the Seas did as much believe us Superstitious as these men pretend to believe Whereas beside the Veneration which Spanhemius expresses to have for the Order Epist ad tertiam partem Dub. Evangel An. 1638. of the Church of England in a time when Conformity went higher than of late days besides Bogerman's acknowledgment at Dort to the Bishop of Landaffe that then was Domine nos Bishop Hall Episcopacy by Divine Right Sec. 4. non sumus adeo foelices It was their misfortune not to be under Episcopal Government we have many more clear evidences of the great respect which Foreigners bear to the Church of England I conclude this Proposition with the grave and excellent determination of St. Austin in which he gives account of St. Ambrose too Monica coming to Milan and observing the Order of the Church there that they did not fast on Saturday as was usual in other Churches was troubled about it for her satisfaction St. Austin advises with St. Ambrose who answers him and resolves her by his own practice Cum Romam Augustin Januario venio jejuno Sabbato cum hîc sum non jejuno sic etiam tu ad quam forte Ecclesiam veneris ejus morem serva si cuiquam non vis esse scandalo nec quenquam tibi When I am at Rome I fast on Saturday as they do there here I do not so I would have you wheresoever you come observe the Order of the place if you would neither give nor take offence An Answer which satisfied Monica and passed for an Oracle with St. Austin who adds of his own in the same Epistle Some things Universal tradition had so confirmed that he did not think fit they should be alter'd as the Observation of Easter and Whitsuntide c. but then Alia quae per loca terrarum Id. ibid. variantur sicut est quod alii jejunant Sabbato alii non alii quotidie communicant alii certis diebus c. si quid aliud hujusmodi animadverti potest Totum hoc genus rerum liberas habet observationes nec disciplina ulla alia est in his melior gravi prudentique Christiano quam ut eo modo agat quo agere viderit Ecclesiam ad quamcunque forte devenerit quod enimneque contra fidemneque contra bonos more 's injungitur Indifferenter est habendum pro eorum inter quos vivitur societate servandum est As to those Observances which are divers in divers Countries that some fast on Saturday others not some communicate every day others at stated times All such things as these are free and a grave and prudent Christian can follow no better rule than to behave himself according to the Order of the Church to which he shall chance to come For whatsoever is enjoin'd that is not against Faith nor good manners is to be esteemed Indifferent and to be practised according to the Company with which we converse St. Austin does rightly state the Notion of a thing Indifferent suppose the Surplice somewhat in its own nature not necessary therefore in a Church that does not enjoin it it may be omitted somewhat in its own nature not Unlawful therefore in a Church that does enjoin it it ought to be used 5. It is no Superstitious Opinion to believe Sect. 13. Discourse of Liturgies Chap. 16. §. 9. that the Church may appoint significant Ceremonies This is another matter wherein the N. C ts speak big It is not true that they have any Authority to appoint significative Ceremonies where are sensible signs to affect the Understanding this is to give them Authority to institute Sacraments Another formerly All humane Ceremonies being appropriate Abridg. Lincoln See Burges Answer Rejoin'd Chap. 3. Sect. 1. to Gods service if they be ordain'd to teach any spiritual duty by their Mystical signification are unlawful But such are these Three the Surplice the Cross in Baptism and Kneeling in receiving the Communion Ergo they are Unlawful There is a clear difference between signs of Grace inwardly infus'd and signs of duty enjoin'd It is the nature of a Sacrament to be an outward sign of inward Grace Wherefore because Christ is the Author of Grace as it belongs to him whose the deed of Gift is to set to his Seal so is it the Prerogative of our Lord Christ to institute Sacraments for his Church But signs of duty are other things and this distinction is thus expressed by the Learned Morton There be two acceptions of the word Mystical See Burges ut supra Chap. 3. Sec. 4. one Sacramental by signification of Grace confer'd by God the other only moral signifying some duty of men to God The Mystical Ceremonies condemned by Learned Writers are Sacramental all the Ceremonies which we defend are Mystical Moral not Sacramental They who have written of these things have given us divers Instances both out of the Old Testament and New where insignificant Ceremonies have been allowably practised although they have not been strictly Sacramental nor of Divine Institution That which I offer to consideration is somewhat not fully retorted upon our Adversaries that I have any where observed therefore I take liberty to inlarge upon it when I have first mov'd one question Put the Case a Canon or Constitution of our Church should enjoin the Sexton to make his Graves East and West and to take care that they who are buried be laid with their Feet to the East I ask would it be lawful or unlawful to obey this Constitution Unlawful How can that be so when it is commanded which is now generally practised and that without scruple If lawful then is a significant Ceremony allowed lawful for though all men may not think of it or may not so design yet there can be no doubt but the Original of that Custom had a Respect to the Resurrection of the
which they now urge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 26. Luke 22. the two words used by the Evangelists upon this occasion do not signifie such a sitting as is now in use It is therefore generally agreed that their posture was more like to lying than sitting So that the best of their Argument can be but thus Because our Blessed Saviour gave the Sacrament to his Disciples in that gesture which they used at Meals which was a kind of lying therefore we ought to receive it in the gesture now used at Meals which is sitting where we must desire their Logick to tell us what degree of necessity is in this sequele because they did one thing we must do another Yet neither is this the worst of it all this is but a supposition of that which they are never able to prove For 3. It is not absolutely certain in what posture they did then receive the Lords Supper Probably they continued in the same posture but who can peremptorily conclude it Who can demonstrate to the contrary but that when our Blessed Saviour while they were eating solemnly betook himself to the Institution of a new Sacrament they to address themselves to a new service might betake themselves to a new gesture I cannot prove they did nor for ought I can find can any body prove they did not There is nothing conclusive in any of the Evangelists that they did certainly continue in the same posture Unless the Order of St. Luke be insisted on who Chap. 22. after the Institution of the Sacrament hath these words But behold the hand of him that betrays me is with me at the Table Which Order signifies little to those who will not yield Judas to have been at the Sacrament as divers of our Adversaries will not but admit he was there as seems very probable yet though they were all at the same table as before and who can demonstrate but it might be another table yet it does not appear certain that they were in the same posture as before This doubt I move not as a thing in it self considerable but to represent how strongly some men and even the same who call so much for Scripture grounds and for a divine warrant for Circumstances of worship as minute as this will build upon probabilities when it serves their turn Because it is not said they rose up it is by consequence gather'd they sat still If they did it was not our manner of sitting but another If they had sate as we yet this Example is no more obligatory than it is to other Circumstances of the same Institution Yet through all these If 's and Consequences and Suppositions they conclude to the expedience if not to the necessity of a significant Ceremony though in us they call it Superstition The lifting up the hand at the Covenant the laying the hand upon the Book in swearing and other like Ceremonies have been objected to them by others I urge not that but add another Instance whereby it will plainly appear that many of the N. C ts though they suspect so much superstition in a significant Ceremony yet can themselves allow and urge the use of a Ceremony and that in a Religious matter and because it is significant although the particular Ceremony be no where in Scripture commanded They who have endeavour'd to Sect. 15. settle Presbyterated and Associated Churches have determin'd to do it by way of Covenant so consenting to be a Member of such a Church The Agreement of the Associated Churches in Worcestershire will give us light in this thing who thus express themselves Because Ministers should Agreement of the Associated Churches in Worcestersh §. 18. have a particular knowledge of their Charge which now is uncertain and for divers other reasons propounded and debated among us We judge it very fit if not of necessity to desire a more express signification of our peoples consent to our Ministry and Ministerial actions and in particular to submit to this discipline as the members of that particular Church Afterwards they tell us in what form of words they require this consent to be given I do consent to be a Member of the particular Church of Christ at whereof Teacher c. The reasons why this was required Mr Baxter gives in his Explication of that Agreement not as his Ibid. own but as those that mov'd the Association to make that determination The reasons are Twelve In all which there is not so much as a pretence of a divine Institution nay it is confessed in the Preface that the sign it self of this consent is not particularly determin'd and Mr Baxter after the reasons adds this Memorandum Remember yet that I maintain that God does in Scripture require only consent signified a thing which I do not now debate but hath not tyed us to this or that particular sign for signifying it but having given us general Rules that all things be done to Edification decently c. he hath left it to humane prudence to determine of the particular sign whether voice subscription c. So then such a form of words is own'd to be a sign signifying consent It is also own'd a sign requir'd only upon General Rules of Scripture What unpardonable crime is it then if the Church of England agree upon some Ceremonies significant by virtue of the same general Rules of Edification and Decency In which Cases if private men will be so wise as to abound in their own sense whether or no such things be decent and edifying the same Mr Baxter hath determin'd the Controversy in the same place where though he assert that the Pastors are to consult with the people about the convenience yet he positively concludes That people are to obey the determination of their guides And how now comes it to pass that the power which they in their times assum'd should be denied the Church of England viz. Power and Authority to appoint significant Ceremonies If they will distinguish between Discipline and Worship and allow a significant Ceremony in that but not in this I reply that in their contentions for Discipline about Mr Hookers time that Axiome of theirs Nothing ought to be established in the Church which is not commanded by the word of God was applied to Discipline as well as worship and therefore Eccles Pol. Lib. 3. Sect. 5. Degrees in the Universities sundry Church-Offices and Dignities were struck at Yea they did affirm that the Discipline was no small part of the Gospel Survey of the pretended Holy Disciplin p. 440. that without this Discipline there can be no right Religion that they who reject the Discipline refuse to have Christ reign over them However it is clear A significant Ceremony because allowed in Discipline is not in the Nature of the thing unlawful Nor does it deserve the name of a Sacrament properly so called Nor does the Church of England deserve to
be upbraided with superstition because of such appointments If these grounds be firm and good I conclude that the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England unless they be either burdensome in their Number or requir'd as somewhat in nature and kind greater and more necessary than things Indifferent are not faulty or superstitious Both which Cases deserve Consideration 1. If our Rites be in their nature Sect. 16. Innocent no man hath reason to find fault with their Number The Compilers of our Liturgy have been aware that an Objection might be here made and have taken care to prevent the scruple Some Ceremonies are Preface to the Liturgy of Ceremonies put away because the great excess and multitude of them hath so increas'd in these latter days that the burden of them was intolerable whereof St. Austin in his time complain'd c. This our excessive multitude was so great and many of them so dark that they did more confound and darken than declare and set forth Christs benefits to us That Complaint of St. Austin is in his Epistle to Januarius where he acknowledges Aug. Januario Ep. 119. Quamvis enim neque hoc inveniri possit quomodo contra fidem sint ipsam tamen Religionem quam paucissimis manifestissimis celebrationum sacramentis misericordia Dei esse liberam voluit servilibus oneribus premunt ut tolerabilior sit conditio Judaeorum Admit that such observances be not against the Gospel yet in as much as the Merciful God would have Religion free from the burden of many Ceremonies they have so clog'd it with burdensome services that the condition of the Jews was more tolerable than of Christians now adays That there may be no such Cause of Complaint among us the Church of England hath been very moderate in this thing Not so as to escape the ill will of her Adversaries when they were resolv'd to find fault for the Preface to the Directory complains of the many unprofitable and burdensome Ceremonies contain'd in the Liturgy which occasion'd much mischief yet in cool blood some of the party are constrain'd to acknowledge the Disc of Liturgies p. 91. number of Ceremonies retain'd in our Church pretending to any legal Authority but small The Surplice and Cross and Kneeling at Sacrament are we think all And they do us much wrong if they refuse this acknowledgment For a great number of observations which obtain in the Church of Rome in the Celebration of the Sacraments which from their number of seven we have reduc'd to Two and in other parts of Divine Worship have no place in the Church of England lest they should divert the minds of men from worshipping God in spirit and truth Ceremonies harmless in themselves may yet be hurtful in respect of their number therefore hath our Church abrogated a great number of Saints-days and other like Customs as Mr Eccles Pol. lib. 4. Sec. 14. Hooker hath observed Wherefore such is the present state of our Church that we may securely defy our Adversaries in this matter if it were as easy to cure their Jealousies of what may be as to answer their objections against what is established But here they make difficulty Though our present Number of Ceremonies be but small yet they raise a doubt how far a Church may go how many Ceremonies may be establish'd before the number be burdensome Where is the Maximum quod non and the Minimum quod sic of superstition This is thought a great Argument why no Ceremonies beyond what are of direct necessity should be imposed because of the Bagshaw's Two great Queries p. 10. Impossibility to fix a point where the Imposer will stop For do but once grant that the Magistrate hath power to impose and then we ly at his mercy how far he will go And they who allow our present number to be but small yet think them too many because though there Discourse of Liturgies p. 91. be no more Ceremonies established by law as yet there are many probationers and they can see no reason but the Churches power if allowed to appoint any save only such without which the service of God would apparently to all rational men be perform'd indecently and disorderly may appoint Hundreds It is also one of Mr Baxters reasons against the Imposing Crossing and the Surplice c. When we once begin to let in Humane Baxter Disput of Ch. Government p. 477. Mystical Rites we shall never know where to stop or make an end On the same ground that one age invents three or four the next think they may add as many and so it will grow to be a point of devotion to add a new Ceremony as at Rome it hath done till we have more than we well know what to do with I answer The Writings of Moralists are not thought defective though when they have given General Rules for Temperance that men may not drink till they disable their Reason and impair their health c. they do not descend particularly to determine how many Glasses a man may drink and precisely to say such a draught makes him Intemperate Nor did Mr Chillingworth think he was wanting to his Adversary who counted it prodigiously strange that Protestants Chillingw Religion of Protest c. p. 128 129. could not be induc'd to give in a particular Catalogue of points Fundamental when he calls it an Unreasonable demand because variety of Circumstances makes it impossible to set down an exact Catalogue of them I think I may have as much reason to reckon it no Imperfection in this discourse if I do not venture punctually to determine how great a number of Ceremonies may be required before we come at Superstition When the number becomes so great that the shadow darkens the substance When the substantial service of God which should be performed in spirit and truth is prejudic'd by the attendance that is given to the outward Ceremony when the use of the means renders us uncapable to obtain the end then does it rise to that excessive multitude of which our Church speaks But because the use of our liberty in other lawful things cannot be fix'd in an Indivisible point but alters according to the various Circumstances of times and persons and conditions and relations of men therefore no wise man will give one particular determinate rule which shall oblige equally in all Cases In like manner as our Church reckons Ceremonies Indifferent so at the same time are they concluded alterable and it is acknowledged that upon weighty and important considerations Preface to the Liturgy according to the various exigency of times and occasions such changes and alterations should be made therein as to those in place of Authority should from time to time seem either necessary or expedient And here sure must the thing rest It must be left to the prudence of our Governours If they shall impose any thing in which the Consciences of
occasion of cavil or quarrel against the Liturgy of the Church They have then imposed nothing but what they judg'd not only lawful but expedient which Impositions being already prov'd Indifferent unless the Circumstances that attend them render them such may not be judg'd superstitious It is therefore to be consider'd whether either of the two suspicions now mention'd be reason enough to charge our way of worship as superstitious 1. Suppose the Governours of the Church do not err in esteeming these things in their own nature Indifferent yet say Dissenters in as much as they are offensive to many Godly and Conscientious men they ought not to be impos'd or if they be it will be doubtful whether the great opinion they have of such matters as to enjoin them notwithstanding their offensiveness be not a superstitious Opinion I answer If the Act for Uniformity should contradict those Precepts of the Gospel that oblige us not to lay stumbling-blocks nor give offence to our weak Brother in as much as giving offence and not walking charitably are the same thing this procedure would be a trespass against the second Table rather than the First would be uncharitableness rather than superstition It will be replyed Though directly it be an offence against our Neighbour yet reductively it is against the First Table because such a practice is declarative of some undue and superstitious Opinions of those things which are so impos'd Let it be added therefore So long as private persons are not determin'd by the Laws of their Superiors it concerns them warily to use their liberty to take heed that their doing that which is lawful may not tempt others to do the same thing while they judge it unlawful which is the offending of our Brother of which St. Paul speaks to the Romans and Corinthians who only discourses of what ought to be done in those Cases where no lawful power had interpos'd to determine them one way or other For eating flesh and letting it alone were both lawful and remain'd Indifferent in nature and use too Now so long as the case remains thus the Law of not scandalizing a weak Brother is a Moral Law because it is an instance of the great Law of loving our Neighbour as our selves and doing to others as we would have them do to us wherefore so far as it is practicable it obliges But this may not be extended to disoblige the subject from obeying his superiours in lawful things nor to disable the Magistrate from making laws in things Indifferent First it does not disoblige the subject because the law of obedience to our Superiors being also a Moral Law either we are at the same time oblig'd by two laws which contradict or one must yield to the other If wearing the Surplice offend I must either disobey the Magistrate or offend my Brother Which then of these two must give place According to the N. C ts we must relinquish a certain Rule for that which is uncertain What the Magistrate commands is certain it is also certain that I am in my Conscience resolv'd of the lawfulness of that which is so Commanded taking it abstractly from its offensiveness If I must now demur in my obedience lest I give offence how shall I certainly know whether I offend or no how shall I know how many I may offend What assurance shall I have but my Non-Conformity may offend as many on the other side I shall now proceed by an uncertain Rule because I know not whither it will carry me and I am in a Case wherein one Moral Law must give place to another Whereas upon our Principles things are fairly reconcileable In matters undetermin'd by Law where we are at our liberty we must walk charitably and take heed that we give no offence that our liberty become not a stumbling-block 1 Cor. 8. 9. this is the Moral Law and this is Gospel But there is no Precept of the Gospel that commands us to disobey our Superiors lawful commands for an uncertain danger of giving offence Wherefore when we practise Conformity in obedience to establish'd Laws although peradventure we should offend our weak Brother yet do we not thereby declare a superstitious Opinion of the Ceremonies we use We may think our selves oblig'd to obey our Governours in all lawful things and yet not think of the Surplice or Cross c. more highly than we ought to think 2. And as it does not disoblige the subject from Obedience so neither may it be thought to disable the Magistrate from making laws about things Indifferent For if it did it were not safe to make any laws about Decency and Order because the Magistrate can never be secure but his Determinations may be so cross to the opinions of some of his subjects as to make them offend if they obey But it hath been already evinc'd that the N. C ts yield the Magistrate a power to proceed according to the Rules of Christian Prudence in governing the Church And the frame of the Directory and the urging of the Covenant do sufficiently assure us that the hazard of scandalizing a weak Brother was no restraint to an Ordinance of the Lords and Commons He who in his Conscience thought there was no way of worship so Regular as that of the Church of England He who thought he should sin if he should conform to the Directory was not thereby excus'd from sequestration Yet I dare say they would take it ill if they should be suspected of superstition of having an undue opinion of their manner of Divine Service And I cannot yet see why they commanding men to receive the Sacrament sitting when probably that would tempt some men not to receive it at all did not as much offend their Brother and did not as much declare that they had a superstitious opinion of such sitting as the commands that now require Kneeling may be so interpreted 2. Nor does the second scruple weigh much Our Ceremonies are suppos'd to have been abus'd among the Papists and this is made a great Argument by the N. C ts why they should not be retain'd To this the Answer hath been so often given to this purpose that by the same reason our Churches may not be now us'd nor our Bells which have been Christen'd nor any thing retain'd that relates to Divine Worship but what is of absolute necessity and is particularly commanded that I dwell not here any farther than according to my former Method to give a Testimony how little this objection signifies when it is made against them It had been laid to T. C ' s. charge that he should thus declaim against the Church of England The Communion Survey of the H. pretended Discipl p. 315 316. Book was taken out of the Mass-Book that it were better to conform our selves in outward things to the Turks than to the Papists Whatsoever comes from the Pope which is Antichrist comes first from the Devil c. In the time
appendage of satisfaction and Indulgences I have not now to say The superstition of these Opinions is now to be consider'd Bellarmin's Controversies would not have deserv'd the Character given them by Albertus Hungerus in his approbation prefix'd to the First Tome viz. Integerrimum pulcherrimum absolutissimumque Controversiarum omnium corpus A most Entire and Compleat body of Controversies if he had balk't any of the Doctrines currant at Rome So he must write when he pleads for a party but I think it no very difficult task to find some acknowledgments even in those same Books of Controversies which would greatly weaken most of the things in difference between us Bellarm. de Justificat lib. 5. Cap. 7. which he would establish In this of Merit who hath not heard of that famous resolution of his Propter incertitudinem propriae Justitiae periculum inanis gloriae Tutissimum est fiduciam totam in solâ Dei misericordiâ benignitate reponere Because of the Uncertainty of our own righteousness and the danger of vain glory It is most safe to put our whole confidence only in the mercy and goodness of God Sisic Omnia dixisset How well does this agree with what we say in our Office of the H. Communion We do not presume to come to this thy Table O Merciful Lord trusting in our own righteousness but in thy manifold and great Mercies c. And with our 12 Article Good works which are the fruits of Faith and follow after Justification cannot put away our sins and endure the severity of Gods Judgment We will join against the Antinomians and with great zeal assert the necessity of good works if the merit of them may be excluded but that we can't but charge with superstition He who gives Alms c. does a good work acceptable to God by Jesus Christ but he who opines he thereby merits the favour of God any otherwise than because God has promis'd to accept such services He who apprehends such a worthiness in what he does as that for its own sake he may expect to receive some reward because there is some proportion and equality in it ad praemium vitae aeternae as Bellarmine speaks He who designs to oblige Almighty God by his good works hath a proud conceit of himself who when he hath done all he can is but an Unprofitable servant and he has a false and undue Opinion of God to think a man may be profitable to God as men may be one to another Therefore are these services superstitious because they are perform'd upon false and undue Opinions and he who thus worships God does that which is not requir'd at his hands If these things wanted evidence I might add their works of supererogation their Austerities and penances so far as they apprehend a Merit in Opere Operato Also other things might have a place in this Argument and might range by themselves if they be not reducible to any of Bishop Mortons general heads Such as are Their publick Prayers in the Church in a Tongue not understood of the people Their requiring and using such a vast number of Ceremonies which by their great excess and multitude become a burden intolerable as the Preface to our Liturgy acknowledges These and such like things can't be excus'd from superstition Together with these I might add a number of observations which are neither proper to Popery nor indeed to the Christian Religion but are scatter'd all over the World Such as St. Austin means when he complains of Millia inanissimarum observationum c. and such as Aquinas comprehends when he makes divers kinds of superstition Divinationes varia observationum genera Of which Customs Mahometanism and Gentilism are very full But having given account of these before I pass them with this general acknowledgment Whatever we do upon a Religious account where Religion properly so called ought not to be concern'd When any undue Opinion of God excites us to any action when we exercise our selves in that which may be deservedly called Indebitus Dei Cultus when we think God is pleas'd with such a manner of performance which does not please him as it does well agree with the Import of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an over-timorous and servile apprehension of the Deity so may it properly be called superstition But in as much as it is very evident that the superstitious Opinions of the Church of Rome are rejected by the Church of England in as much as it can't be prov'd that any of our service is enjoin'd upon any other Opinion equally superstitious we conclude there is wrong done us when superstition is laid to our charge Yea if peradventure some of our Church should have private Opinions of their own that might render their particular practices superstitious yet this is enough to deliver our service from the Imputation and in this we persist as our just Vindication There is no Canon nor Rubrick no Article nor Injunction that obliges any within our Communion to any superstitious Opinion 4. Proposition Sect. 22. There are superstitious Omissions of which men may be guilty and that then when they seem to have a great zeal against Burges Answer Rejoin'd Preface p. 64. superstition It was laid to the N. C ts charge in King James his time that they were guilty of negative superstition A phrase cavil'd at by those who reply upon Bishop Morton but Dr Burges has sufficiently vindicated it and commends them to their friend Ames who comprehends it in his definition of superstition For when he had defin'd it to be an excess of Religion He adds cujusmodi Medul Theolog. lib. 2. Cap. 13. excessus non tantum est in exercitiis positivis sed etiam in Abstinentiâ à quarundam rerum usu ut à cibis This excess of Religion is not only in what we positively do but may be also in what we abstain from as Meats True it is that superstition is an excess as it hath been defin'd yet the defect in the practice may be superstitious because it may proceed from excess in the Opinion For if a superstitious Opinion be the reason why men abstain from the use of a Ceremony that abstinence is as properly superstitious as the use of it upon a superstitious Opinion can be My Lord Bacon says well and wisely There is Bacon Essay of Superstition a superstition in avoiding superstition when men think to do best if they go farthest from the superstition formerly received There is a superstitious fearfulness in some men of which St. Austin complains August Januario Ep. 118. thus Sensi saepe dolens gemens multas infirmorum perturbationes fieri per quorundam fratrum contentiosam obstinationem superstitiosam timiditatem qui in rebus hujusmodi quae neque sacrae scripturae Authoritate neque Universalis Ecclesiae traditione neque vitae corrigendae utilitate ad certum possunt terminum pervenire tantum quia subest