whoever pleaseth and that there should be no remedy nor as much as any way of clearing In other Cases the Law takes care of mens Names as well as of their Estates and there is no reason but it should they are and ought to be as dear to us and our greatest Interests depend on their security And if it be not done in this Case here wants one great provision for the Liberty of the Subject and our common safety from Tyranny and Arbitrary Power There is nothing in the world more Arbitrary than mens Tongues let loose and if they are not restrain'd and tied up here as in other Cases we are all Slaves and all exposed to suffer the greatest Evils from one another without any way of Redress and so fall into state of War This is a real and mighty Grievance and 't is to be desired and hoped that suitable Provision will be made against it There is yet another branch of this Folly and Injustice which is uncharitable Censure and suspicion of all that turn from Popery as if they were really and at the bottom the same still Some men are for keeping up their numbers full and will not allow of their Conversion except they are converted over to their Sect or some way or other serve their Interest except they run with them in the ways of Schism and are factious against the Government if they do thus they are dear applauded Converts but otherwise if they are only come into the Church of England and stick there if they are friends to the King and assert Him and the establish'd Order in Church and State they shall be Papists still in spight of them There are many Instances of this unworthiness but among them all there is not a greater than in the case of an eminent Nobleman which you and I have had discourse of His Ancestors most of them perhaps were Papists all were not so for the great Grand-father was Lord Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth The Lord that now is hath profest the Protestant Religion these thirty Years that is as long as he hath been capable of making a judgment for himself He married a great Lady an eminent Protestant of a famous zealous Protestant Family hath for many Years fifteen or sixteen to my knowledg kept a Protestant Chaplain of the Church of England in his House who hath read the Publick Liturgy twice every day there his Lordship hath always accustomed to be present at them and useth to be as regular in those Devotions as any Member of our Church can be And not only so but he frequents the Communions also which at the appointed times are there duly Administred His Children likewise are carefully bred in the Protestant Way of the Church of England Some two or three old Servants his Lordship hath who have lived all their days in the Family of the Popish Religion they being ancient and having no other dependance my Lord still keeps them there and 't would be very unbecoming his Nobleness to do otherwise but all the Servants else are Protestants And I know that both this Lord and his Lady take great care to have them all receive the holy Communion according to the Church of England And it was not long since that his Lordship himself spoke to a Divine of our Church whom he sent for on purpose to instruct his eldest Daughter then newly of Years for it in order to the receiving the Sacrament which the young Lady piously did as the course of the Family is This Lord you know is in great Command and by the Laws is obliged to give all other proofs which I dare say he sincerely doth He is a Member of his Majesty's Council of this as well as of the former and to all Acts of Council against the Papists his Name is still one And yet notwithstanding all this such is the perversness and malice of some men that they voice him up for a Papist though all things he doth and all things he saith declare the contrary and they seem resolved that so it shall be let his Lordship say or do what he will This is strange Treatment and looks as if we wanted Papists and were resolv'd to make as many as we can possibly find any colour for It shews that those men really do not fear them but rather fear the want of them to furnish out pretence for their Designs and Projects Otherwise 't were very strange that so great a Person and his Family should not be welcomed and joyfully received into our Protestant Communion and other Noblemen of the Popish Religion incouraged by the civil and kind reception to do the like But it being so much otherwise in this and many other Cases it is plain that notwithstanding all their clamour and talk some men desire there should be more Papists than really are for colour and shew to assist and countenance their Stratagems and perpetual contrivances against the Government both in Church and State Whatever they have a mind to overthrow and destroy they mark with the brand of Popish or Popishly affected whether with Reason or without any matters not Popery is and justly so the object of the greatest hatred and the most general so that 't is but spending this Imputation on those we would ruine and their business is near done Whether this be not the reason of the present injustice of this kind offered to the Church of England and especially to her Clergy let those that know some men and their manner judge They are sure the Church-men Divines and others will adhere to the Government and are not to be drawn into their ways and the grand Business of some is to overthrow the Church and them so that they must be branded blackned and rendred popularly odious and what so effectually doth that as putting the Comprehensive mark of all mischief that of Popery upon them But on the Contrary all those they shall have occasion to use in order to their destructive designs shall be united in the dear name of Protestants 'T is no matter though many are Atheists many Debauches meer Worldlings and Politicians some acting from malice and revenge some from ambition some to repair their broken fortunes by a shuffle some out of greedy desire to be fingring Church-Lands again yet all declaring against Popery are Protestants though they never heard themselves reckoned of any Religion before So the Sects of all denominations that agree scarce in any thing positive that hate and vilify each other and will scarce allow that any but themselves are Christians yet these also are all tack't together by the kind denomination of being Protestants All but we of the Church of England are so that is Those that are of no Religion and never pretended to be of any those that were bred of the Papists and taught their Principles by the Papists those that never took Oaths or Tests against Popery and that many of them refuse to take any Or
the most immediate consequent of want of Power in any Church is general Carelessness and Neglects and the loss of all Solemnity in Worship Congregations will be thin and their Deportment and publick Devotions negligent and indecent which greatly scandalize the regular and truly devout who are therefore the more easily tempted to put themselves among those with whom there is more appearance of decence and solemnity in the exercise of Religion This hath been a Rock of offence and Stone of stumbling The way to remove it and to prevent the further Mischiefs would be to Establish the Church of England and to give it Authority We are at present very zealous against Popery thanks be to God for any true Zeal against false Worship but methinks too much of our Zeal is only Negative we are for throwing down Popery but we talk little of establishing any thing and while 't is so our Zeal is lame and imperfect and will never effect any thing to purpose If we will secure our selves against Papism effectually we must fix and establish some Constitution of Religion that may be a constant Fence against it Popery we will not have so far we are right but what are we for Something we must Popery will not be run down by Atheism if we have no Religion or none Establish'd which will come to the same the Roman Religion will prevail at long run in despight of us Some Religion the worst will be too hard for none at least 't will have mens Hearts and then above half the work is done We must not think to keep out Popery by meer brutal force as the Heathens attempted to extinguish Christianity If we would go the right the effectual way we should endeavour it by professing by settling a better a more Catholick more ancient more holy Religion than theirs A bad Religion is most effectually driven out by a good not by none Well something must be establish'd And what do we desire Would we have Presbytery That is new that is different from the Primitive usage of the Christian Church that is unformed yet by the very Nation of the Patrons 't is an Idea different as every mans phancy is the men themselves have not yet agreed upon the Scheme and God knows when they would agree if the Matter were left to them and when that is done What may it cost us before it can be establish'd How long may it be before the People are well reconciled to the Novelty And if ever it be establish'd the Ecclesiastical Supremacy is gone from the right place and indeed the Royal Power every where is lost The King is a Subject He hath only changed his Lord one for many the Pope for the Synod and Elders The Gentry and People are ipso facto Slaves and then we have talkt and contrived well for Liberty Let Presbytery be considered where it hath been in Geneva Scotland little Essays of it in England and then let any tell me if it be not so He that owns not this knows it not We shall then neither Marry nor take a Servant nor dispose of a Child nor order any of our Domestique Affairs without the cognizance and arbitrement of the Elders Every word we speak every thing we do must come under their censure and be exposed to their Chastisement It will in short be a Yoke to our Necks which neither We nor our Children will ever be able to bear And I doubt not but those that understand themselves and it will be ready to say We would not have this Let those that know it not read the late History of Scotland and then speak if they would But what then would we be at Is it Independency we would have This is a thing different from the practice of the whole Christian World unknown to Ancient or later Times except here in the days of Rebellion and in New England now Popery takes away one of the Elements from the Laity in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper this takes away both Elements from all but a very few for they impropriate the Communion to their separated Company Popery takes away part of one Sacrament these take away the whole of both Sacraments for they allow not Baptism to be Administred but to the Children of their own Sect. Popery keeps the Scriptures up in an unknown Tongue and these make it a dead Letter a nothing to all but those that have their Spirit to understand and interpret Popery damns all the World that is without the pale of their pretended Catholick Church and these unchurch unchristian all but a few Hypocrites Phanatiques of their own sort One of them Lewis Du Moulin Cromwel's Historian in Oxford hath writ a Pamphlet lately to prove That not one in an 100000 nay probably not one in a Million since Adam shall be saved and that one is an Independent no doubt Popery requires auricular Confession to a Priest and these require a particular Story of every mans Conversion before their Congregation as the first necessary condition of Communion Popery pretends that the Roman Church is Infallible and these reckon every one of their private Spirits to be little less So that this in many things symbolizeth with and is as intolerable as Popery it self and what the Tyranny of it is may be read in the Story of our late Confusions particularly in the History of Independency And New England can let us know how gentle they are where they have Power and how much for Liberty of Conscience for they there Hang up their own Off-spring the Quakers for professing and living to the Principles that they themselves teach And both Presbyterians and Independents agree with Papists in this also viz. In binding the heavy burdens of their own disputable and some of them impious and absurd Doctrines upon the Minds and Consciences of men under the penalty of being Vnchurch'd and Ruined They are both severe Inquisitors into mens Opinions and will allow no latitude of thinking beyond their dear Orthodoxy contain'd in their large Confessions of Faith which are Creeds they make over and above the Apostolick and Primitive ones as the Papists do teaching for Doctrines necessary fundamental Doctrines the Traditions of men those of their own Party These therefore I suppose and hope will not suit us I am sure they will not suit either Monarchy in Government nor the Liberty of the Subject No they will comport with nothing but Democracy or Anarehy both which are Tyrannies and the worst sort And I believe few or none of the intelligent English Gentlemen can think of them But what then can we desire what can we propose to have Is there some know not what yet to be found out Is there any new Models yet to be invented unknown unpractised in any Age or Nation of the Christian World Many there are in the Brains of conceited men whose Wind-mill shall be set up What shall give it Reverence and Authority What shall secure it against the
earnestly invited by our Lord and his Messengers How many earnest Sermons how many excellent Books press this Duty upon us and give us direction in it And yet we are little moved We come for fear of the Temporal Penalties when we have entred into Offices and Trusts but the Authority of our Supreme Legislator and the eternal Penalties he threatens prevail little This is scandalous Neglect And we declare to all the World that Religion hath no power upon us when it cannot obtain thus much from us Of this carelesness we ought to repent deeply to reform speedily Solemn appearance at the Lord's Table would give us the face of a Church and make our Religion look like something the contrary exposeth it to Contempt Our Zeal also should ingage us to study the Constitutions of our Church more to search into the grounds of our Government and Discipline that we may be acquainted with their Antiquity Reasonableness and Piety and thereby inabled to stop the mouths of Gain-sayers and to contend intelligently for our Profession and Practice The Lord's Day should be more diligently and religiously observed by us This is the publick solemn time for the exercise of Devotion so it is acknowledg'd whether it be of Divine or only of Ecclesiastical Institution and therefore should be reverenc'd by those of each Opinion and kept as a Day separate from other days and other uses Places we think and say ought to be so Churches and Altars and with reason we believe this There is at least the same reason for Times some others we allow and this also in Doctrine let not the zeal of our Adversaries in this instance abate and quench ours The reverence and all the great interests of Religion are in great part maintain'd and kept alive by the due observance of this Day Let us express our Zeal and Devotion here also To devote one day of seven to God and his peculiar Service should not methinks be grievous to us In this there is no Fanaticism nothing but what is very agreeable to the Doctrine of the Church of England which we should strengthen and do honour to by such practice This Zeal is honest laudable necessary and 't is popular And in Christian Prudence we should do and study all lawful things that tend to the inlargement of the Church and the edification of its Members There is yet another Instance in which Zeal should be more exprest which I have reserv'd for the last because I shall take the liberty to inlarge on it It is concerning Preaching and hearing Sermons I pretend not to teach but shall with submission to better Judgments deliver my opinion which is That in Preaching Ministers should chiefly mostly treat on plain practical awakening Subjects speaking of them gravely and affectionately without Vanity or Affectation with design still to do good and to make themselves and their Hearers better Such I think should be the matter and such the measure of Preaching And 't would do no hurt if our Preachers generally took more Zeal into their Pulpits than is usual with us Zeal without Folly Methinks our Divines should not suffer others to out-do them here much-less should they quit this to them The too usual want of this Zeal here is a principal cause of our Mischiefs Some are almost ashamed or affraid to be zealous in their Pulpits The preaching of too many is Declamatory they deliver not Theological Sermons not such as are apt to instruct or edifie but seem to design the gratifying vain Phancies and the pleasing of wanton Hearers They aim at Wit and fine Sayings to gain applause among the injudicious by silly Affectations and when they are commended they have their end and the work is done They move no devout Affections seem not to design it Their Sermons are lifeless dull Harangues full of studied Vanity without Piety or as much as good Sense Hence many Religious are scandaliz'd and they nauseate such Preaching and are tempted by it to run away into Corners and Sects and here is one great ground of Separation and loss of our People Now one and a chief occasion that this Humour hath so much obtain'd is that many of the Laity and such as pretend much to the Church of England are for the formal unedifying wittilizing Way they have not the patience to hear a Grave Serious Affectionate Sermon that plays no Tricks But will be ready some of them to Stigmatize and rail against such a Preacher as a Presbyterian though he be zealously opposite to their Principles and Ways and most hearty and affectionate to the Church of England These would have none it seems but affected insipid sensless Fops of it They are willing to give away all or most of the men of Reason and Religious Zeal to the Sects take them who will they will not own them These men have done the Church of England the great Mischief and have raised most of the Clamour and Opposition against it No Church in the World hath better Preachers than this and there are not upon Earth worse than those I have last describ'd or rather they are none at all what they do is not Preaching it is throughout doing another thing Declaiming silly childish speech-making what you will there is scarce any other abuse of Speech bad enough to resemble it to I cannot speak of it with too much Contempt Such Preachers are Prophaners of sacred things contemptible even in the things they aim at their Oratory their Wit is so neither true both boyish ridiculous despicable to men of Sense And yet as I intimated some that pretend Zeal for the Church of England that is the Name the Shadow applaud those Triflers Players and thereby tempt young men to take up after their Way and the affecting such stuff hath spread far to the Scandal of the Church and the discountenancing the serious earnest effectionate Method which is so much out of fashion among this sort that they cannot endure that the Preacher should as much as seem to be in earnest They will not allow him to speak warmly to move in the Pulpit or to preach off his Notes All must be dead cold Form to please them If this humour be not supprest and Preachers generally as all the Wise already do don 't take another course the Church will never recover its just Interest and Esteem Preaching must be more Serious Affectionate Zealous this is in the power of every Preacher to be Profound and Learned is not so In the many poor insufficient Livings we may not expect men of great and deep Knowledg and where such are this Qualification doth not recommend them to the generality of the People their Zeal doth much more In this the meanest Preachers may abound and by this they will affect their Hearers though Wit and shews of Learning are wanting These as things are the least able endeavour to ostentate and such most but the highest they can attain to in it is but