Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	call_v	church_n	king_n	6,073	5	3.8254	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93136	A letter from a clergy-man in the city, to his friend in the country containing his reasons for not reading the Declaration.	Halifax, George Savile, Marquis of, 1633-1695.; Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707, attributed name.	1688 (1688)	Wing S3294C; ESTC R202491	7,794	4

Test and Penal Laws which most of the Nobility and Gentry of the Nation have declared their judgment against It is to condemn all those great and worthy Patriots of their Country who forfeited the dearest thing in the world to them next a good Conscience viz. The favour of their Prince and a great many honourable and profitable Employments with it rather than consent to 〈…〉 of taking away the Test and Penal 〈◊〉 which they apprehend destructive to the Church of England and the Protestant Religion and he who can in conscience do all this I think need scruple nothing For let us consider further what the effects and consequences of our reading the Declaration are likely to be and I think they are matter of Conscience too when they are evident and apparent This will certainly render our Persons and Ministry infinitely contemptible which is against that Apostolick Canon Let no man dispise thee Titus 2.15 That is so to behave himself in his Ministerial Office as not to fall under contempt and therefore this obliges the Conscience not to make our selves 〈…〉 to render our Ministry our Counsels Exhortations Preaching Writing of no effect which is a thousand times worse than being silenced Our Sufferings will Preach more effectually to the People when we cannot Speak to them but he who for Fear or Cowardize or the Love of this World betrays his Church and Religion by undue compliances and will certainly be thought to do so may continue to Preach but to no purpose and when we have rendred our selves ridiculous and contemptible we shall then quickly fall and fall unpitied There is nothing will so effectually tend to the final ruine of the Church of England because our Reading the Declaration will discourage or provoke or misguide all the Friends the Church of England has can we blame any man for not preserving the Laws and the Religion of our Church and Nation when we our selves will venture nothing for it can we blame any man consenting to Repeal the Test and Penal Laws when we recommend it to them by reading the Declaration have we not reason to expect that the Nobility and Gentry who have already suffered in this Cause when they hear themselves condemned for it in all the Churches of England will think it time to mend such a fault and reco●●●●e themselves to their Prince and if our Church fall this way is there any reason to expect that it should ever rise again These Consequences are almost as evident as Demonstrations and let it be what it will in it self which I foresee will destroy the Church of England and the Protestant Religion and Interest I think I ought to make as much conscience of doing it as doing the most immoral action in nature To say that these mischievous consequences are not absolutely necessary and therefore do not affect the Conscience because we are not certain they will follow is a very mean Objection Moral Actions indeed have not such necessary consequences as Natural Causes have necessary effects because no Moral Causes act necessarily reading the Declaration will not as necessarily destroy the Church of England as fire burns Wood but if the consequence be plain and evident the most likely thing that can happen if it be unreasonable to expect any other if it be what is plainly intended and designed either I must never have any regard to Moral Consequences of my Actions or if ever they are to be considered they are in this case Why are the Nobility and Gentry so extreamly averse to the Repeal of the Test and Penal Laws why do they forfeit the King's Favour and their Honourable Stations rather than comply with it if you say that this tends to destroy the Church of England and the Protestant Religion I ask whether this be the necessary consequence of it whether the King cannot keep his promise to the Church of England if the Test and Penal Laws be Repealed we cannot say but this may be and 〈…〉 Nation does not think fit to try it and we comme●d those great men who deny it and if the same questions were put to us we think we ought in Conscience to deny them our selves and are there not as high probabilities that our Reading the Declaration will promote the Repeal of the Test and Penal Laws as that such a Repeal will ruine our Constitution and bring in Popery upon us Is it not as probable that such a Complyance in us will disoblige all the Nobility and Gentry who have hitherto been firm to us as that when the power of the Nation is put into Popish 〈…〉 of such Tests and Laws 〈◊〉 Priests and Jesuits may find some salve for the King's Conscience and perswade him to forget his promise to the Church of England and if the probable ●ll consequences of Repealing the Test and Penal Laws be a good reason not to comply with it I cannot see but that the as probable ill consequences of Reading the Declaration is as good a reason not to read it The most material Objection is that the Dissenters whom we ought not to provoke will expound our not Reading it to be the effect of a Persecuting Spirit Now I wonder men should lay any weight on this who will not allow the most probable consequences of our Actions to have any influence upon Conscience for if we must compare consequences to disoblige all the Nobility and Gentry by Reading it is likely to be much more fatal than to anger the Dissenters and it is more likely and there is much more reason for it that one should be offended than the other For the Dissenters who are Wise and considering are sensible of the snares themselves and though they desire Ease and Liberty they are not willing to have it with such apparent hazard of Church and State I am sure that though we were never so desirous that they might have their Liberty and when there is opportunity of shewing our inclinations without danger they may find that we are not such persecutors as we are represented yet we canot consent that they should have it this way which they will find the dearest Liberty that ever was granted This Sir is our Case in short the Difficulties are great on both sides and therefore now if ever we ought to besiege Heaven with our Prayers for Wisdom and Counsel and Courage that God would protect his Church and Reformed Christianity against all the devices of their Enemies Which is the daily and hearty Paryer of SIR Your Friend and Brother May 22. 1688. POSTSCRIPT I Have just now seen H. Care 's Paper called The Publick Occurrences which came out to day and cannot but set you right as to his News about the Reading of the Declaration on Sunday He tells you That several Divines of the Church of England in and abou● this City eminent for their Piety and Moderation did yesterday Read his Majesty's late Declaration in their Churches according to the Order in that behalf but some to the great surprize of their Parishioners were pleased to a●●●ine it You in the Country are from this Account to believe that it was Read here by the generallity of the Clergy and by the Eminent Men among them But I can and do assure you that this is one of the most impudent Lyes that ever was printed For as to this City which hath above a Hundred Parishes in it it was Read only in Four or Five Churches all the rest and best of the Clergy refusing it every-where I will spare their Names who read it but should I mention them it would make you who know this City a little heartily to deride H. C's Account of them And for the Surprize he talks of the contrary of it is so true that in Wood-street where it was Read by one Dr. M. the People generally went out of the Church This I tell you that you may be provided for the future against such an impudent Lyar who for Dread can vouch and put about the Nation the falsest of things I am Yours

and recommend it to them with all the Sophistry and artificial Insinuations in obedience to the King with a very good Conscience because without our consent If it be said this would be a contradiction to the Doctrine of our Church by Law established so I take the Declaration to be And if we may read the Declaration contrary to Law because it does not imply our consent to it so we may Popish Homilies for the bear reading them will not imply our consent no more than the reading the Declaration does But whether I consent to the Doctrine or no it is certain I consent to teach my People this Doctrine and it is to be considered whether an honest man can do this Thirdly I suppose no man will doubt but the King intends that our reading the Declaration should signifie to the Nation our Consent and Approbation of it for the Declaration does not want Publishing for it is sufficiently known already but our reading it in our Churches must serve instead of Addresses of Thanks which the Clergy general refused though it was only to thank the King for His Gracious Promises renewed to the Church of England in his Declaration which was much more innocent than to publish the Declaration it self in our Churches This would perswade one that the King thinks our reading the Declaration to signifie our Consent and that the People will think it to be so And he that can satisfie his Conscience to do an action without consent which the nature of the Thing the Design and intention of the Command and the Sense of the People expound to be a Consent may I think as well satisfie himself with Equivocations and mental Reservations There are two things to be answered to this which must be considered I. That the People understand our Minds and seo that this is matter of Force upon us and meer Obedience to the King. To which I answer 1. Possibly the People do understand that the matter of the Declaration is against our Principles But is this any excuse that we read that and by reading recommend that to them which is against our own Consciences and Judgments Reading the Declaration would be no Fault at all but our Duty when the King commands it did we approve of the matter of it but to consent to teach our People such Doctrines as we think contrary to the Laws of God or the Laws of the Land does not lessen but aggravate the Fault and People must be very good natured to think this an Excuse 2. It is not likely that all the People will be of a mind in this matter some may excuse it others and those it may be the most the best and the wisest men well condemn us for it and then how shall we justifie our selves against their Censures when the world will be divided in their Opinions the plain way is certainly the best to do what we can to justifie our selves and then let men judge as they please No men in England will be pleased with our Reading the Declaration but those who hope to make great advantage of it against us and against our Church and Religion others will severely condemn us for it and censure us as false to our Religion and as Betrayers both of Church and State and besides that it does not become a Minister of Religion to do any thing which in the opinion of the most charitable men can only be excused for what needs an excuse is either a fault or looks very like one besides this I say I will not trust mens Charity those who have suffered themselves in this Cause will not excuse us for fear of suffering those who are inclined to excuse us now will not do so when they consider the thing better and come to feel the ill consequences of it when our Enemies open their eyes and tell them what our Reading the Declaration signified which they will then tell us we ought to have seen before though they were not bound to see it for we are to guide and instruct them not they us II. Others therefore think that when we read the Declaration we should publickly profess that it is not our own judgment but that we only read it in obedience to the King and then our reading it cannot imply our consent to it Now this is only Protestatio contra factum which all people will laugh at and scorn us for for such a solemn reading it in the time of Divine Service when all men ought to be most grave and serious and 〈◊〉 from dissembling with God or Men does in the nature of the thing imply our approbation and should we declare the contrary when we read it what shall we say to those who ask us Why then do you read it But let those who have a mind to try this way which for my part I take to be a greater and more unjustifiable provocation of the King than not to read it and I suppose those who do not read it will be thought plainer and honester men and will escape as well as those who read it and protest against it and yet nothing less than an express Protestation against it will salve this matter for only to say they read it meerly in obedience to the King does not express their dissent it signifies indeed that they would not have read it if the King had not commanded it but these words do not signifie that they disapprove of the Declaration when their reading it though only in obedience to the King signifies their approbation of it as much as actions can signifie a consent let us call to mind how it fared with those in King Charles the First 's Reign who read the Book of Sports as it was called and then preached against it To return then to our Argument If reading the Declaration in our Churches be in the nature of the action in the intention of the command in the opinion of the People an interpretative consent to it I think my self bound in conscience not to read it because I am bound in conscience not to approve it It is against the Constitution of the Church of England which is established by Law and to which I have subscribed and therefore am bound in conscience to teach nothing contrary to it while this obligation lasts It is to teach an unlimited and universal Toleration which the Parliament in 72 declared illegal and which has been condemned by the Christian Church in all Ages It is to teach my People that they need never come to Church more but have my free leave as they have the King 's to go to a Conventicle or to Mass It is to teach the dispensing Power which alters what has been formerly thought the whole Constitution of this Church and Kingdom which we dare not do till we have the Authority of Parliament for it It is to recommend to our People the choice of such persons to sit in Parliament as shall take away the