more facilitating of their purposes they advance the secular power of Princes and of all soveraigne Estates above all that themselves either crave or desire alone for this end that their clerks may ride upon the shoulders of Soveraignitie to tread under the feet of their domination first the Subjects and then the Soveraignes themselves The tyrannous usurpation of the Canterburians are as many and heavie as these of the Romist Clergie How much our men are behinde the greatest tyrants that ever were in Rome let any pronounce when they have considered these their following maximes They tell us first that the making of all Ecclesiastick constitutions doth belong alone to the Bishop of the Diocesse no lesse out of Synod then in Synod That some of the inferior clergie may bee called if the Bishops please to give their advice and deliberative voice That the Prince may lend his power for confirming and executing of the constitutions made but for the work of their making it is the Bishops priviledge belonging to them alone by Divine right (a) Samuel Hoards sermons pag. 7. By the Chruch I meane the Churches Pilots who sit at the sterne Heads members divide all bodies Ecclesiasticall and civill what ever is to bee done in matters of direction and government hath alwayes beene and must be the sole prerogative of the heads of these bodies unlesse wee will have all common-wealths and churches broken in picees Ibid. pag. 8. The key of jurisdiction which is a power of binding and lousing men in foro exteriori in the coutts of justice and of making lawes and orders for the government of Gods house is peculiar to the heads and bishops of the church Ibid. p. 31. what was Ignatius and Ambrose if we look at their authoritie more than other bishops of the church That libertie therfore which they had to make new orders when they saw cause have all other prelats in their churches Edward Boughanes serm Pag. 17. Submit your selves to those that are put in authoritie by kings so then to Bishops because they are put in authoritie by Kings if they had no other clame But blessed bee God they hold not only by this but by a higher tenor since all powers are of God from him they have their spirituall jurisdiction what ever it be S. Paul therfore you see assumes this power unto himselfe of setting things in order in the kirk before any Prince become Christian 1 Cor. 11.34 The like power hee acknowledgeth to be in Titus 1.5 and in all bishops Heb. 15.17 Ibid. pag. 18. Kings make lawes and bishops make canons This indeed it was of necessitie in the beginning of Christianitie Kings made lawes for the State and bishops for the kirk because then there was no Christian Kings either to authorize them to make such lawes or who would countenance them when they were made But after that Kings became nourishing fathers to the Church in these pious and regular times bishops made no Canons without the assent and confirmation of Christian Kings and such are our Canons so made so confirmed Chounei collect pag. 53. Reges membra quidem filios Eccesiae se esse habitos reiecisse contempsisse nonnunquam audivimus obediunt simulque regnant Iura quibus gubernari se permittunt sua sunt vitalitatem nativam ex praepositis Ecclesiae tanquam ex corde recipiunt vivacitatem ex ipsis tanquam ex capitibus derivant Samuel Hoards pag. 9. Nor did they exercise this power when they were in Counsell only but when they were asunder also Speaking of apostles as they are paterns to all bishops 2. That in a whole Kingdome the Bishops alone without the privitie of any of the clergie of any of the laitie may abolish all the Ecclesiastick judicatories which the standing and unrepealled lawes which the constant customes ever since the reformation had setled and put in their rowme new forraigne courts which the kingdome had never known scarce so much as by their name (b) Our Chrurch Sessions our weekly presbyteries our yearly generall Assemblies whereof by our standing lawes wee have beene in possession are closse put downe by our book of Canons and in their rowme Church-wardens officiall courts synods for Episcopall visitation and generall Assemblies to bee called when they will to be constitute of what members they please to name are put in their place That at one stroke they may annull all the Acts of three or fourscore National Afsemblies and set up in their roome a Book of Canons of their own devysing (c) So is their book entituled Canons and Constitutions Ecclesiasticall gathered and put in forme for the governement of the Church of Scotland and ordained to bee observed by the clergie and all others whom they concerne That they may abolish all the formes used in the worship of God without any question for threescore yeares and above both in the publicke prayers in the administration of the Sacraments in singing of Psalmes in preaching the Word in celebrating of Marriage in visiting the sicke and in ordination of Ministers Neither this alone but that it is in their hand to impose in place of these accustomed formes foure new Bookes of their owne of Service of Psalmes of Ordination of Homilies All this our Bishops in Scotland have done and to this day not any of them to our knowledge can be moved to confesse in that deed any faile against the rules either of equitie or justice what ever slips of imprudence there may bee therein And all this they have done at my lord of Canterburies direction as wee shall make good by his owne hand if ever we shall be so happy as to be permitted to produce his owne authentick autographs before the Parliament of England or any other Judicatorie that his Majestie will command to cognosce upon this our alleadgance Readily Rome it self can not be able in any one age to paralell this worke which our faction did bring foorth in one yeare It is a bundel of so many so various and so heavie acts of tyrannie Certainly England was never acquaint with the like wee see what great trouble it hath cost his Grace to get thorow there one poore ceremonie of setting the Communion table altar-wayes for there themselves dar not deny that it is repugnant to the established Lawes of their church and state for any Bishop yea for all the Bishops being joined to make the poorest Canon without the voices of their convocation-house or Nationall Assemblie yea without the Parliaments good pleasure (d) VVhites examination of the dialogue pag 22. By the lawes of our kingdome and Canons of our Church many learned persons are appointed to be assistants unto bishops and in our nationall Synods in which all weightie matters concerning religion are determined nothing is or may be concluded but by the common vote and counsell of the major part of the convocation which consisteth of many other learned Divines besides Bishops Andrews sermons
judges he may resist the grace of God offered Not onely doeth he thus farre proceed but also he avowes that all the difference which is betwixt the Church of England Rome in this head of freewill to be in nothing materiall a reallie long agoe to be ended and agreed amongst the most judicious and sober of both the sides (o) Ibid. p. 95. Thus having with as great diligence as I could examined this question inter partes of free-will I doe ingenuously confesse that I can not finde any such materiall difference betweene the Pontificians at least of better temper and our Church For the fifth Also the fifth of perseverance he is as grosse as any other Remonstrant or Molinean Iesuite professing that no man in this life can have more assurance not to fall away both totally and finally from all the grace he gets then the divels (p) Antigag p. 161. Man is not likely in the State of grace to be of an higher alloy then angels were in the state of glory then Adam was in the state of innocencie Now if Adam in paradise and Lucifer in heaven did fall and losse their originall estate the one totally the other eternally what greater assuraÌ„ce hath any man in the state of proficiencie not of consumatioÌ„ had once in heaven and Adam once in paradise Behold the Arminian ensigne fairly now displayed in England by the the hands of Montagu and White under the conduct of D. Laud Bishop of S. Davids even then the President and chiefe of Ecclesiasticall affaires of the Duke of Buckinghames secret Counsel At the first sight of this black banner a number of brave Champions got to their armes pulpits over all England rang presses swat against the boldnesse of that but small hand full then of courtizing Divines Their craftie leader seeing the spight of opposition and finding it meet for a little to hold in and fold up his displayed colours did by the Duke his Patron perswade the expediency of that pollicie which the Iesuites had immediately before for that same very designe moved the Roman consistorie to practise He obtained a Proclamation commanding silence to both sides Silence by proclamation injoyned to both sides discharging all preaching all printing in these controversies a stricting to the cleare plaine and very grammaticall sense of the articles of England in these points without all further deductions By this means his intentioÌ„s were much promoved opeÌ„ avowers of Arminianisme were by publicke authority so exâ—emed from any censure a reall Libertie was thus proclaimed over all the Land for any who pleased to embrace Arminianisme without opposition Hereby in two or three yeares the infection spread so farre and broad that the Parliament was forced in the 28. to make the encrease of Arminianisme The Arminians in England advanced their chiefe grievance to his Majestie But at that time D. Laud was growne greater He had mounted up from the Bath to London and to make a shew there in Parliament of his power in the eye of all the complainers hee raised up Montagu to the Episcopall Chaire of his owne Diocesan D. Carletoun who had lately chastised him in print for his Arminian appeal D. White his other chiftane that all great spirits might be encouraged to run the wayes which D. Laud pointed out to them in despight of these Parliamentarie Remonstrants was advanced from Bishoprick to Bishoprick till death at the step of Elie did interrupt the course of his promotion that to Wren a third violent follower of his Arminian Tenets way might be made for to climb up the remaining steps of the Ladder of his Honours Now to the end that the world may know that my lord of Canterburie doth nothing blush at the advancement of such men heare what a publicke Testimony of huge worth and deserving hee caused his Herauld Peter Heylen to proclaime to that Triumvirat not onely at his owne directions for that moderate answer of Heylens is the Iusto volumine which his G. did promise to the World in his Starre Chamber-speach but also in name of Authoritie If Heylen lye not who sayes Hee writes that booke at the commandement of the state There after the cryasse of Canterburies owne extraordinarie praises (q) A moderate answer pag. 78. you will be troubled to finde Canterburies equall in our Church since K. Edwards reformation whether yee look to his publick or prâ—vate demeanours the renown of his three underleaders is loudly sounded as of plaine non-suches (r) Ibid. pag 84. White Montagu and Wren whom you so abuse are such who for their endeavours for this Churches honour fidelitie in their service to the King full abilities in learning have had no equals in this Church since the Reformation All these his Graces favours to his followers Their opposites disgraced and persecuted would have beene the more tolerable if hee would have permitted his orthodox opposites to have had some share in their Princes affection or at least have lived in peace in their owne places But behold all that crosses his way must downe were they the greatest Bishops in the Dominions For who else wrought the late Arch-bishop so farre out of the Kings grace that he remained some yeares before his death well near confined to his house at Lambeth Who hath caused to be caged up in the tower that great learned Bishop of Lincolne what ever else may bee in the man What fray makes that worthie Primate Vsher to foretell oft to his friends his expectation to bee sent over Sea to dye a pedant teaching boyes for his bread by the persecution of this faction whose wayes he avowes to many doth tend to manifest Arminianisme and Poperie This their resolution to persecute with all extremitie every one who shall mint to print or preach any thing against Arminianisme they avow it openly not onely by deeds for why else was poore Butter cast by Canterburie in the Fleet for printing of B. Davenants letter to B. Hall against some passage of Aâ—minianisme at the Authours direction as we see it set downe by Huntly in his Breviate but even in open print for when Burton complaines to the King that he was silenced by Canterburie for expounding of his ordinary text Rom. 8 Whom God had predestinate those he hath called and applying it to the present Pelagianisme and Poperie of the Arminians Christopher Dow (s) Chr. Dow. Answer to Burton Mr. Burton did preach on the highest point of predestination in a controverted way with disputes and clamarous invectives against those who dissented froÌ„ him in opinion his questioning suspending for this cause was nothing contrary to his Majesties declarations Ibid. pag. 40. Bee it so that the doctrine of election effectuall vocation assurance oâ— perseverance are by the Kings declaration suppressâ—d rather then the peace of the Church should be disturbed we might truely say of that time when his Majesties declaration was published that men
without all occasion to keepe your selfe off the Irish oath â—ff these Scottish Ministers whom yee did banish from Ireland off the excessive praises of your patron the Deputie These and such other passages of your booke lift up your maske and lead any who will under the shaddow of the Jesuites hart to behold D. Leslies head that upon it without mistaking may be cast all the garlants of honour which the penning of so brave a piece in so necessary a time doth deserve But whoever you bee whether Leslie or Maxwell or Michell The laÌ„ds griefe is the CanterburiaÌ„s joy or who else of the faction certainly yee are a mirrie man in a very unseasonable time When the whole Yle is in sadnesse and dule in feare and trembling ye are upon your congratularie Epistles And why not These are the dayes yee have panted long for fire and Sword is your Element rather then Episcopall honour should lye in the dust fire water heaveÌ„ hel must all goe thorow other yet who knoweth but your singing in so foule weather may end in mourning to you and jot to all those who now are weeping for that black storme which ye his Grace your Prince have raised in our clemat If wee in one point our adversaries in an hundreth are Iesuited The onely point wherein yee make Covenanters draw neare to Iesuitisme is in their doctrine of the civill Magistrate which ye branch out in 16 particulars Is it not then your mind that whoever leaveth the Protestants in one head of doctrine doth give to the Iesuites matter of congratulation and a good ground to expect their totall apostasie to the popish religion This is the onely scope of your whole booke What then doe you thinke of your fellowes whom I have assayed to convince by their owne testimonies of a defection from the Protestantâ— to the worst of the Iesuites not in one head but so exceeding many that very few contraverted heads doe remaine wherein they are not joyned long agoe with the Jesuites Shall partialitie so farre predomine with you that we Covenanters for conformitie with Jesuites in one point alone must be reputed Apostates from the reformed church of Rome yet ye Canterburians though ye declare your conformitie with Rome in twentie in an hundreth yea well neare in all the contraverted heads of Doctrine yet no man without a great dash to a charitie may begin so much as to doubt of your full Protestanisme That one point wherein ye make us Iesuited is the doctrine of the Magistrate This to you is the head of the Protestant Faith and all their other teners but members following that head your practice is very consonant to this your profession for your new doctrine of the Magistrate is the first and most beloved article of your Creed which above all other ye preach and presse with extreame violence Your new stamped oath of alleadgeance and Supremacie whereby yee would set up the King in a place so farre above the ty of all Lawes divine and humane as his royall heart hath ever abhorred to be maâ—e such an idol Good Princes in this are like the Saints in glory all which giveth to them a degree of honour exceeding the Sphere of man and entrenshing upon Gods proper glorie they esteeme them as they are indeed nothing but flattering effronters of their sacred persons That which ye call the head of all Protestant Religion The bounds of Princes power and peoples subiectioÌ„ are points of state not oâ— Religion readily doth not concerne Religion at all Religion indeed doth oblige the conscience to give unto all Magistrates their due honour and obedience but the bounds and limits of that obedience which is the onely point ye speake off Religion meddleth not with them till the civill Lawes of States Empires have clearly defined them No Religion will oblige a Spaniard to be so farre subject to King Philip as a Grecian slave must be to the Great Turke neither doth any Religion equall the Polonish Subjection to their King with the Spanish to theirs Doth any Religion oblige the Electours of Germanie to be so much subiect to their Emperour as the Nobles in Pole are to their King or so little subject as the Venetian Senate is to their Duke or the States of Holland is to the Prince of Orange The civill Lawes and Customes set downe the limites both of the Soveraignes commanding and the subjects obedience Religion causeth these march-stones conscienciously to bee kept when once Policie hath fixed them It seemeth ye intend to make England quit their Priviledgâ— and burn their magna charta to make Scotland bury their Assemblies Parliaments that a blank may be put in Canterburies hand to write down what Lawes he will for the Church and State of both the Nations But thankes be to God that King Charles doth live to be judge betwixt you and us in so materiall a question Yee tell us further in your preambles The present danger of this Yle to fall in hands of the Pope Spaniard before ye come to your first paralell of Pope Vrbans hope to make Scotland return to Rome yee might have told us further from your companion Con who is more acquainted with Vrbans secrets then other men that the Pope hath a pretty confidence to joyne England to Scotland that so the reduction of the whole Yle your Iâ—eland with it to the Sea of Rome may be set up as an eternall trophee to the honour of this pâ—pes family Surely the ground-stones of this hope are laid on so deepe plots that except the hand of God and the king in this present Parliament pull them up Pope Vrban for all his age may yet live to putt the triumphall cope stone upon that building We grant you also that the Pope and Jesuites as yee say â—re hovering above the head of us all to fall upon the prey of â—ll Britaine when both parties which your mallice will compell to fight are wearied with mutuall wounds in this prophecie we thinke you but too true divines specially if ye will adde which all without the gift of prophecie may see to be consequent that when the Pope hath gotten the soules of those who out-live this warre for his part his Sons the French or Catholik King will not be quiet except for their share they gett the bodies The most hated of the covenanters proceedings their covenant it self is approved by the king the goods and liberties of all this poore Yle Your other gybes at the Covenanters proceedings yee might have holden in if the honour of the King had any wayes been deare unto you the worst of all our actions even that which ye were wont to proclaime our most vile and hellish rebellion Sedition Treason and what else ye could devise is now by our gracious Prince after a full search of it to the very bottome not onely absolved of all crime but so farre approved that by act of Assembly Counsell
of some Parliaments we did recognosce and that alone in their Ecclesiastick part with the good leave of the Kings Commissioner As for the civill sanction of Parliament according to the ordinary Ecclesiastick proceeding of our Church in all by gone times wee did appoint Commissioners from our Assembly to supplicate the Parliament for the abolition thereof Neither doe we meddle at all in our Synods with secular affaires remember what your selfe in your Canons doe pronounce to be the due and lawfull Subject of Ecclesiastick jurisdiction ye will finde that our generall Assemblies did never take in so much matter as ye appropriate to any of your officiall Courts Our act anent the going of Mills and Salt-pans upon the Sabbath-day was but a renovation and that with the Commissioners consent of an old act in a former Assemblie whereat King Iames was present It seemeth it grieveth you to see the Sabbath sanctified among us that yee are but like your brother to whom Sunday is no Sabbath but a day wherein games of all kinde also diverse kindes of Husband labour should publickly be allowed for the crossing of that Jewish Superstition whereby Puritanes abuse that Festivall What further here ye obiect of our unwillingnesse to subscribe at the Counsels direction the Covenant at it was dated in the yeare 1581. without the application of it to your later corruptions which addition we had sworne before yee will finde that we had good reason so to doe your selfe being judge for ye tell us that all these your corruptions even the Service-Booke it selfe are very consonant with that Covenant and that the main end why the Subscription thereof was urged was the cleane quiting of these additions formerly sworne and now by the mercy of God fully approved by the King by his Commissioner by his Counsell by the Assemblie by the articles of Parliament and all but men of your stuffe who resolve to die let all the world about you be never so fickle with the untainted glorie of constant obstinacie In your tenth Paralell Yee act the Iesuite so perfectly 10. Paralell Both out CovenaÌ„t and posteriour proceedings shew us no wayes to be opposite to the oath of alleageance that few hereafter will hope for the praise of going beyond you in their arts your pen drops so many Sentences so many cursed lyes so many blasphemous wrestings of mens words and writs Deny we the Oath of alleadgeance the words of our Covenant and mutuall defence whereupon yee would build that denyall let be that they are approved by our King as said is doe not they stand expresly in King James Covenant yea in the vesy first Confession of our Faitâ— Is not our late Covenant an expresse renewing of our oath of alleadgeance in so strict tearmes as is possible Did our armed defence in that desperate extremitie which your faction put us unto import any danger to the Kings person or Crowne Did we not then before all the world give a sufficient proofe of our humble loyaltie and practice of our Covenant At the very hight of all our advantages and your too well knowne unreadinesse at that time for fighting at the least appearance of his Majâ—sties minde to lay by armes to leave the prosecution of your bloudy desires were we not content to cast our selves at his feete to put our Munition in his hand and all our Castles in his power to be stockes to our feet and roaps to our neckes had our hearts been in the least measure so treasonable as you slander would these have been our actions What ye speake of our Forfathers actions in Queen Regent and Queen Maries dayes ye are into it but answerable to your name a true Jesuite The defence of the Religion and Liberties of the Kingdome against the Guisian usurpations in the minoritie of our Queen and our Queens voluntary dimission of the government to her Sonne King James after many unspeakable misaccidents These and such like proceedings of our Forfathers confirmed by our standing acts of Parliament Iesuites of old wont to blaspheme but all the reformed and none more then the Bishops of England especially Doctor Bilson doe vindicate from their wicked aspersions which yet ye have a stomach to resorbe to spew them out once againe upon our face But yeâ— are priviledged to speake all your pleasure for yee are here on a Stage under the maske of a furious phrentick Iesuite at the back of this curtaine yee may belch out what yee will all is conforme to the person yee sustaine In your eleventh twelve and thirteenth parellel 11. 12 13. Para. Blinde obedience to mens Lawes binding of the conscieÌ„â—e by them works of Supererogation are not ours but your tenets ye doe but toy the three faults ye object to us of blinde obedience of binding the conscience workes of Supererogation we are free of them all But see if ye can free your owne faction of any one thereof for your brethren teach that all men must give quicke obedience unto all their injunctions not only in the midst of their deepest ignorance of any reason for these injunctions but also in the midst of never so many doubts and perplexities and strong inclinations to thinke your acts most unlawfull Ye will admitt neither ignorance nor the greatest doubtings to bee any impediment to the present obedience of your Episcopall injunctions how farre is this from that yee pronounce in us blinde obedience Againe yee make all the commandements of the Church to be branches of the fift command and to be obeyed as the precepts of God which we suppose doe binde the conscience For the third yee teach more merite of workes then Bellarmine yea yee proclaime that the following of the counsels of perfection that the keeping of the three Monastick vowes doth deserve an augmentation as ye call it an Aureola above common happinesse In your fourteenth also yee cast upon us your owne domestick fault of Equivocation 14. Paralell No equivocation used by us in any of our proceedings Are you ignorant how your brethren the Bishops of Scotland did swear their famous caveats In the very time while they were dressing for our Church their Canons and Leiturgie which the large declaration tells us were alwayes in hand from the 16 yeare to the 38 how oft did they swear to many who proponed to them their feares of their underminding practices that they were utterly ignorant of all further novations to bee brought into our Church As for these matters wherein yee make us equivocators we were farre in any of them from that Crime We truely without any equivocation doe thinke our Covenant to be for the King and no wayes against either his persoâ— or authoritie we thinke in our minde that in some cases resistance to Princes is much better service and one day will be so acknowledged then present obedience How oft have Princes professed at last themselves much more beholden to those who with displayed banners hath come against their Campe then