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A23665 A friendly call, or, A seasonable perswasive to unity directed to all nonconformists and dissenters in religion from the Church of England, as the only secure means to frustrate and prevent all popish plots and designs against the peace of this kingdom both in church and state / by a lover of the truth and a friend to peace and unity. Allen, William, d. 1686. 1679 (1679) Wing A1064; ESTC R10550 37,078 70

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abuse her when you tax her of Popery or Superstition by reason of her Rites and Ceremonies But you too often confound Superstition and Idolatry together sometimes the keeping of Christmas is Superstitious the Cross the Surplice the Common Prayer Book the Holy Days the Vigils Lent all Superstitious and sometimes 't is the Idol Christmas the Idol Common Prayer Book the Idol Saints Days and the like But as you know what Idolatry is the giving an Holy and Religious Worship to any thing that is only due to our Maker the only true God so you may know also that Superstition is not the doing or omitting of any thing more or less than is necessary in matters of Religion by reason of the Obligation laid upon them by Superiors but it is the performing or not performing those things by reason of a necessity that is laid upon them that they are sinful of themselves whereby the Consciences of Men are inslaved and terrified And by this means all things that you Judge to be Unlawful though indifferent in themselves till commanded by Authority you prohibit under the Obligation of Sin thereby imposing on the Consciences of others a necessity of not using them though commanded by Authority as being of themselves vile and sinful and this is truly Superstition But what is it you would have Would you have no Government No Discipline No Form in the Church If any why not this as is already Established Since you are not able to Convince it or Convict it either of Popery or Superstition You would have your own you think that purer and better but you must then stay till you can Convince the Magistrate also you must Convince your King and Governors make them first of your Perswasion exhibit to them your Arguments your Reasons your Perswasions all you have done hitherto is nothing you see Thousands are not of your Mind and they will not believe your Church Government and your Classical Form to be any ways Quadrate with such a Monarchy as this is it may perhaps be fit for a small City a little Commonwealth a Province or so it may be fitted for the Constitution of Geneva or some Cantons of the Switzers but it can never be made to sit well about the Necks of these three Kingdoms neither will you be able to perswade the King to pull down the Bishops to set up arbitrary and boundless Tryers to lay aside the Ancient Liturgie and to bring in its place your Directory to put down Ecclesiastical Courts and set up Commissioners we have had too late tryal of your Way and the Tyranny of your Church Government cannot so soon be forgotten when every the Heads of your Classes were as Absolute as Popes and your Inferior Clergy as Proud as Cardinals But had the King and State a mind to gratifie you and to set up your Form would not there still be as many Dissenters for you are not yet agreed among your selves you have not yet shaped a Form that would please others the Independent Anabaptist Quaker Cry out against it and had rather live under the Rule of the Bishops than under the rigid Government of Presbytery it will be impossible to please you all and you may as soon hope to fit a Garment for the Moon Till you are agreed then of a better Form of Ecclesiastical Government and that you are able to Convince the King and the State and your other Dissenting Brethren that you have a better and one more agreeable to the Constitution of this Nation to the Primitive Institution and Purity without the unlawful Argument of the Sword and Rebellion submit I say in Gods Name and for Conscience sake to this as is set up and be no longer Separatists and Congregate no longer by your selves but be perswaded as you ought to hearken to the Call both of God and Man of the Scriptures that press you to Unity and Amity of your Brethren that invite you to Conformity and Communion and to your Superiors who Command you to Submission and Obedience As to the Doctrine of the Church of England you have not wherewith to find any the least shaddow of Cavilling against it you cannot but Confess its Principles to be found but all your Pique is against its Discipline or Church Regiment which as the Learned and Rational Mr. Hooker Law of Eccl. Po● Lib. 3. Sect. 3 Hooker tells you is a thing different from Matters of Faith and Salvation But who is it that ought to lay down the Rules and matters of Church Polity and to frame the Laws and Constitutions of Church Government Are they not Men And such to whose care the Governance of the Church is Committed To Kings the Nursing Fathers and to subordinate Ministers as Bishops c Would you have all Laws already laid down in Scripture And nothing left for the exercise of the Light of Reason in these matters But there is no doubt but these Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity may be made by Man Legally and by the Authority of God Luminis naturalis dictatum repellere non modo stultum est sed impium August Lib. 4 de Trin. Cap. 6. and in which Man may make use of his Reason following therein the Rules of the Law of God and the Law of Nature which in the substance is one with the Moral Law of the Scripture and also though these Humane or Canon Laws be not expresly set down in any part of the Scripture yet they ought upon unerring Principles to be deduced therefrom or at least without Contradiction unto any positive Law or Command in Scripture By this means the Laws of Man may be said to be the Laws of God For he owns the very Laws of the Heathen to be of himself though framed by the Light of Nature only and by him written in their Hearts by which the Gentiles were either Excused or Condemned 2 Rom. 15. Why then fly you from these Laws as such Bug-bears Why do you not in all Humility and Singleness of Heart yield Obedience to them for the Lords sake Where lies the Illegality of them Because you cannot find Lawn Sleeves and Rochets in Scripture therefore must they not be worn And because you do not Read of Gowns Tippets square Caps and Canonical Girdles therefore 't is unlawful for Ministers to wear them When God gave us the Light of the Scripture he did not take from us the Light of Reason this indeed is but a dim Light in respect of the other and ought not be trusted to in matters of Faith Divine and Supernatural things but being in Conjunction with the greater Light of Gods Word we have a clear and perfect Sun-shine to see as far as an Humane condition will permit of into the business both of Doctrine and Mannors and we are thereby inabled to give Rules in matters of Faith and Life For though the Scripture is a perfect and absolute Rule in it self and contains all things within it self