rememember the time when Clergy-Men thought it their Interest to maintain that the Sanction of a meer positive Law lies in the Penalty Vid. Grand Question concerning the Bishops voting in Cases Capital Pag. 68. The Sanction of the Law is ceas'd which was irregularity Pag. 69. If the irregularity be taken away the Sanction is gone And if the Sanction be taken off in a meer positior Law the force of the Law is gone too And therefore this Canon Law which forbids Clergy-Men being present in Capital-Cases and giving Votes therein is wholly taken away by the Reformation Wherefore some would ask what now becomes of the Laws about Conformity the Penalties being taken away Though I must own the late Act to be penn'd with abundant Caution to prevent the Cavils of a nice sort of Men yet it speaks of separate Assemblies for Religious Worship permitted or allowed by it And gives such encouragement to them as to exempt their Preachers from certain secular Employments the better to attend to the Work of their Ministry And tho God Almighty may permit or suffer Sin as he does not necessitate the avoiding it yet he cannot be said to allow it it being difficult to distinguish between allowing and approving much less can he be thought to encourage it Nor can that be thought a Sin against which he has denounced no Judgment especially where he declares there shall be none And if any thing became a Sin by humane Law if that declare there shall be no Penalty one would take it to be a virtual declaring that it ceases to be a Sin unless we can imagine that the Law which frees the Body would ensnare the Mind Nay the Doctor seems to forget that he had called the late Act Page 27. an Indulgence granted the Dissenters in the Page immediately before his Assertion that the Laws do not undertake to justify the Thing he was then speaking of which was the Liberty of Conscience which they give as if it were no Sin Which surely is a palpable Reflection that the Laws give indulgence to Sin. But in charging this Sin of Schism the Doctor here must needs go upon the Supposition that the Terms of Communion with the Church of England are enjoyned by Christ's immutable Law Upon which I dare say the Dissenters will readily join Issue Nor do they belive that Christ has made any Law for England but what he has made for all Mankind Yet the Doctor thinks he had proved them guilty from the Notion of Schism Page 18. it being as he says the strict and proper Notion of Schism for Persons causlesly to rend themselves from the particular Church whereof de jure they are Members If it be causlesly in the Judgment of the Party that divides it were something But according to him the Protestant Dissenters who divide upon Dissatisfaction notwithstanding such real Dissatisfaction without any thing of Malice or Hypocrisy are Schismaticks For he will have their Division to be causless in it self For such to say they agree in Doctrinals it is only upon account of Ceremonies that they separate Vid. Dr. Bringhurst's Sermon before the Ld. Mayor May 26. 1689. The spirituality of God's Worship under the Gospel being a necessary qualification of it some Men may possibly scruple without any Malice or ill Design some Rites or Vsages in the Worship of God as being contrary to its Spirituality Nothing but Order and Decency may be designed by them or some external Ornaments for the Service of God and by a fair and rational Interpretation they may be so us'd without being impediments to the purity and spirituality of Divine Worship yet seeing all Men cannot have the same sense of these things and seeing what a Man scruples he can never be edified by it we are to consider the infirmities of our Brethren for Order and Decency here is best when they are in subservency to Edification seemeth says he so far from excusing the Thing it really maketh it worse But since Men are not apt to make due Allowances for humane Infirmities till the Case comes to be their own it may not be amiss to put it so as may affect some of our present Clergy For them to rend themselves from their People and to intermit or wholly leave off their Ministry causlesly must needs be as Schismatical and as great a Breach of the Political Union as for the People causlesly to separate from them But we say and are ready to prove that they who are suspended or may be depriv'd for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary causlessly rend themselves from their People If they say that they really scruple Why should causless Scruples excuse them from Schism and not the more ignorant Laity If it is so far from excusing the last that it makes it worse that they scruple not upon account of Doctrinals the same will return upon them whose Scruples are founded upon a supposed knowledg of humane Law in which they are evidently mistaken And herein the Point turns the stronger upon them that whereas the Law with great Equity gives Indulgence to Consciences scrupulous about Religious Worship and doubtful of the Power of humane Laws concerning it the Law neither does nor can without Injury to the Publique give Indulgence to them who unless they give reasonable Assurance of Fidelity are to be look'd upon as of a contrary Allegiance and so no Friends to the Power which protects them And this is the rather to be believed because no Man who will take any promisory Oath can scruple swearing Allegiance now but upon Supposition that the subject matter of his former Oath remains and the late King still continues his Leige Lord according to the Laws of the English Government For Allegiance must follow the Law it being nothing more than the Fidelity and Obedience which the Law requires Were it more we should swear our selves Slaves and the King Absolute Though in relation to a future State it may be too severe to charge all Men of Understanding with the immediate and obvious Consequences of what they hold many being better than their Principles Yet it may be as needful for Civil Governments to judg accordingly as to preferve themselves But as poor Dissenters are suppofed to be shut out of God's Church and depriv'd of all the ordinary means of Salvation because of their Mistakes 't is requisite thus to turn the Question upon them who cast the first Stone And some will be ready to suggest that Obstinacy Vanity to be at the Head of a Party an Expectation of being considerable enough to be bought off too great Pride to acknowledg an Error or the like are more truely Ingredients in the Clerical Schism than Malice or Hypocrisy in that which the Laity are aspers'd with But to return to our Doctor He had own'd that Christ's Mystical Body is an Aggregation or Collection of all throughout the Face of the
Earth who embrace the Faith he hath delivered From St. Austin he tells us Schismaticks are not to be look'd upon as Christians And yet they who agree in the same Faith and separate or are driven or kept out only upon the account of Ceremonies nor are charg'd with want of Charity are Schismaticks with him and that though many of them were bred up under other Pastors and cannot be faid to have rent themselves from the Church of England This indeed must be said for him that though St. Austin and other antient Fathers make no Degrees of Schism and knew of none but in such as divide out of Malice or Hypocrisy or at least from such terms as Christ required Our Doctor makes Degrees of Schism without Authority from the Apostles or the Fathers He tells us some are greater Schismaticks than others yet the least are guilty of the Sin of Schism And so perhaps we may find a Schism which is not a Rent from God's Church nor a Breach of Charity among Christians And then I would gladly know how the Nature of Schism remains And indeed it is evident that as he applies the Name of Schismaticks to them who embrace the Faith Christ has deliver'd and whom he cannot in general charge with dividing from other Christians out of Hypocrify or Malice he imputes Schism to them who certainly remain true Members of God's Church and maintain that Bond which unites them to their Fellow-Christians Yet notwithstanding all the seeming Softnings 't is plain the Doctor will not allow such to be true Members of God's Church For he says to be a Member of the Catholick 't is necessary to be of some particular Church Nor can it be deny'd that he charges the Protestant Dissenters with failure of what is necessary to being of the Catholick Church And though in the Choice of Churches he restrains it to such as God may be acceptably served in Yet I shall foon shew he makes it absolutely necessary to be of some visible Church and therein agrees with the Papists and differs only in that he will have the Church of England so called that is they who are united under the same Ecclesiastical Polity to be the Church Yet some would think that as Christ's mystical Body or Church Universal is a Collection of all throughout the Face of the Earth who embrace the Faith Christ has delivered Wherein according to this Doctor himself Visibility is by no means essential to the being of the Church-Universal for embracing the Faith is a pure Act of the Mind so the Church of England as it is a part of the whole is a Collection of them who embrace that Faith in England Every part must be in some place but it would not cease to be a part if there were no other part upon the place to join with And therefore a single Person may make as true a part of Christ's Body as the greatest Numbers But examine the ground for the Imputation of Schism upon our Protestant Dissenters Page 18. because they causlessly divide or rend themselves from that Church of which de jure they are Members Page 16. This he had explained before where he says that I call every Mans particular Church not which it may be he himself doth call so but which the lawful Authority of the Country where he liveth hath made so Now I would gladly know by what Law Dissenters are still obliged to comform to the Ceremonies of our Church and in that respect to become Members Is it because the Law leaves others the Possession of the material Churches made with Hands Page 18. This indeed I think he offers at when he tells us how they under whose spiritual Conduct such Persons put themselves can satisfy their own Minds he knows not But I should think they might say Are Ye Ministers of the Gospel So are We. Are Ye to take care of the Flock over which Christ hath made you Overseers So are We. Nay what if they should say Your Bishops look over the Clergy and not the Flock Vid. The Prayer in the Lyturgy for Bishops and Curates and at the Consecration of Bishops Bishops the Pastors of the Church Your inferior Clergy are not Pastors but Curates to the Bishops Wherefore we are ready to enter upon the Trial which of us are most properly Pastors of Christ's Institution Vid. The same Protestant Principles Or what if they should say farther Your Bishops Lord it over the Flock and contrary to the Apostolick Example and the antient usage in England claim a Power of making Laws Canons and Constituons in the Church without the Laity Vid. Spelm Council de modo tenendi Synodos apud Anglos with this only difference among them that some place the Power in every single Bishop and so far are Independants others in the Episcopal Colledg Vid. Protestant Principles Licens'd or Assembly of all the Bishops in a Kingdom The last of which I think is most agreeable to their Notion who are only for a National Church Vid. Protestant Principles the others seem not aware that according to them every distinct Diocess makes a Church And if it should fall out that the primitive Diocesses were but single Assemblies of them who worship'd God in the same place with one Heart and one Mind Vid. Clackson's Primitive Episcopacy though with different Postures then every Protestant Congregation may chance to put in for as compleat a Church as any and others may be as great Schismaticks in refusing to Communicate with them as they for not Communicating with others The Doctor indeed speaking of the Dissenting Ministers receiving those whom he takes de jure to be Members of the Church of England Pag. 18. They under whose spiritual Conduct such Persons put themselves Na be no where takes the Ministers for Brethren says How opposite soever they may be to the Pope in other matters in this his Vsurpation they agree with him and can no more be justify'd in it than he And thus in the Spirit of Meekness and with many gentle stroakings to the Laity the Preachers are call'd Usurpers the hearers Schismaticks For my part waving the Question about a compleat Pastor and the due Government of the Church I should rather fear that the Charge of Schism might be retorted upon them whoever they are who so far usurp upon Christ's Office as to make more or other Terms of Communion than Christ hath made And whosoever insist upon Conformity to other Terms I should think to be real Schismaticks howmuch soever others suffer under the Name Sure I am Schism lies in something else besides causless Separation from external Communion for other wise the Apostle would never have charg'd it upon them who continued in the same external Communion as did the Corinthians to whom alone he appli'd the word If the Apostle applied this to them who continued the same external Communion and never to them who divided
contend no Man can be of the Catholick who is not of the particular Church where he lives if that be a true Church or such an one in which he may serve God acceptably and finally save his Soul Then such a Church requiring other Articles of Belief or in other words than Christ or his Apostles required makes those Articles necessary to Salvation and if they who are shut out of one true Church ought not to be admitted into any other without Letters Commendatory from the Church of which he had been or de jure was a Member then at least there may be a total Exclusion from the Catholick Church for such terms as Christ or his Apostles never required and thus Men may become Schismaticks for Doctrinals as well as Ceremonies which they honestly scruple They who hold this would do well to preach up St. Zavierus his new Gospel Vid. Dr. Stillingfleets Fanaticism of the Church of Rome invented with the like pious Intention But when they talk of these things for the Peace of the Church I cannot but apply the old observation solitudinem faeiunt pacem vocant but for certain how merciful soever God Almighty may be hereafter you must believe as the Church where you live believes if you would have Peace here But if there ought to be a Catholick Communion on Earth and they who are deprived of one Churches Communion ought to be of all this shews how necessary it is that Communion should be upon terms truly Catholick The contrary to the other Notion shines methinks with native Light in an excellent Discourse of my learned Friend Dr. Bringhurst who adorned his Doctrine by a steady Adherence to it in the worst of times We says he Vid. Dr. Bringhursts Sermon before the Lord Mayor May 26 1689. Page 24. make this Yoke and Burden uneasier than Christ has made it to one another when we impose as necessary Articles of our Faith either what it is certain our Saviour and his Aposties never imposed or uncertain whether they did or no. Articles of Faith necessary to Salvation can derive Authority from none but God he only can tell us what will be acceptable to himself so that the Scriptures only of the Old and New Testament by all Protestants being the Revelation that God hath given of his Will in this case to us Whatever is made necessary that is not here must be a very uneasy Yoke and heavy Burden for 't is not in a Mans Power to believe as Men would have him we cannot believe beyond our Evidence and our Evidence must be as we can understand it so that what is necessary must be supposed to be intelligibly revealed to all concerned in the Belief of it Vid. P. 8. Wherever the Scripture it self does imprint a Character of necessity either for Faith or Practice we cannot speak plainer to one another than that doth to us And if any thing be revealed which we cannot comprehend as for Instance the Article of the Trinity yet the Revelation is plain and in all matters of Revelation we are to believe no more than is revealed and no otherwise of it than as it is revealed c. This hath often made me think that we should be easier to one another were the Articles of our Faith given us in the very words of the Scripture I am sure that both the Orthodox and the Arians in the Council of Nice concurred in this that all the Mischiefs in the Church of God were caused by bringing in words into the Creeds of the Church which were not in the Scriptures Consequences indeed are as sure as the express terms of the Scriptures but Infallibility in these Consequences seems to be necessary for Articles of Faith because infallible Authority only can create them Certainty may satisfy a Man's Conscience for his own sense and Compliance but for terms of Communion that may not be sufficient because that is so according to Mens different Capacities and Apprehensions c. We are to believe no more than the Word of God declares to us and also as it declares it and if we desire more of one another we make Christ's Yoke more uneasy and his Burden heavier than he hath made it As all Men are presumed to have some end in what they do unless where they act in passion without Consideration It were worth enquiring to what end this Sermon which for the sake of my Country I cannot but disrobe was preach dat this time Was it to convince the Dissenters Then since he could not expect that such should be his Hearers it must have been preach'd to be printed Which may take off Mens Surprize at such a Command more likely to be obtained than given ex mero motu Unless it should proceed from Dislike and be intended as it has proved a gentle enjoyning of publick Penance which all must agree to be suitable to his Majesties great Judgment and Clemency However there was small reason to believe that they were thus to be brought over now who persisted in their Dissent when they could not serve God in publick without being made Rioters And to be a Diffenter was counted not only a Dividing from God's Church but the being of a Faction against the State. And in all respects both themselves and all who wish'd well to them suffered accordingly Was it to induce his Majesty to withdraw his Protection and Favour from such as being shut out from God's care and not worthy of his Majesties But surely 't is not to be supposed that his Majesty who had reason to believe that he serv'd God acceptably in Holland where there was no National Church should be perswaded of the Necessity of being a Member of such a particular Church that one may be a Member of the Catholick Was it to raise a Contempt of the Protestant Dissenters in the Generality of the Hearers and thence to animate a party for the Church This may with better ground be look'd on as the encouraging a Faction against the State at a time when the Union of Protestants is little less than essential to its being Whoever goes to make the King a King of one party of Protestants under a pretence of advancing the Interest of the Church of England would certainly have a Reward according to his Merit if the late King should be the Advantages such put into his Hands come again to be its Defender Such must understand that though the greater part of the Nation have fewer Scruples than the Dissenters have yet as they are united with them in the same Profession of Faith and Affection to the present Government they cannot but desire to live with them as Men who must stand or fall by the same common Interest And if they who are otherwise minded are not guilty of making a Schism in the State I am sure they who refuse to swear Allegiance to King William and Queen Mary are And this more truly answers the Apostles Notion