swallow a Steeple either with the Spire downward lest it should prick their Conscience nor with the Tower lest the Weather Cock should appear at top and shew how the wind blows as I think the Story is fasten'd on A. B. Yet shall make no scruple of swallowing Church and Church Land nay if they are not belied have already divided the spoil and taken into their possession the houses of God not considering that as the Psalmist expresses it Ps 83.13 God hath already once made them like a wheel and as the stubble before the wind that they are not yet so sure of the time but that the wheel that lifts them up may bring them down If I say the contrary things to what I wish they were not guilty of be our unpardonable crimes we must we cannot but own and glory in our Infirmities But that I may not any longer detain your Ladyship from a particular Reply to the Letter which I profess to dedicate to you as the Minister doth his leaving it to your impartial judgment to determine of the Reasons he offers for his Non-Conformity which he grounds upon as he calls them Three grand Declarations requir'd to be made by all those who will conform the first concerning the Book of Common Prayer the second concerning taking up Arms against the King the third concerning the Solemn League and Covenant with reference to all which saith he especially the first and last I have had hitherto insuperable Objections against the making any such Declaration And in all these I shall follow him step by step in what he objects and argues against them Onely I cannot but observe the Pomp in which he dresses his Scruples and that though one of them be against the very Fundamentals not onely of ours but all Government I mean that of Taking up Arms against the King which in truth is to make good the Lawfulness of the Solemn League and Covenant 't is necessary he should assert The Covenant in its nature and design and as 't was applied and made use of by the first Contrivers of it having a direct tendency to Rebellion and for them that inbottom upon Rebellion in the State to profess and defend Schism in the Church is but suitable to the Synod's Principle of Disobedience from whom both proceed This being observ'd I now go on to trace him in the distinct Paragraphs of his Letter in the third of which he sets forth that the first Declaration concerning the Book of Common Prayer is to be made in these very words viz. I A. B. do declare my unfeigned assent and consent to all and every thing contained and prescribed in and by the Book entituled The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church according to the use of the Church of England together with the Psalter or Psalms of David pointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches and the form or manner of making ordaining and consecrating of Bishops Priests and Deacons Madam here is required assent and consent yea unfeigned assent and consent and that it may be is one of his chief Scruples that he may not prevaricate with Authority were there allow'd but a little Equivocation in the case and the Dissenter permitted to give an assent and consent which were not unfeigned the Task had not been so intolerable but to require such an assent and consent as thus searches men to the bottom and beats the Hypocrite out of all his Subterfuges who can bear it And that not onely in this Book of Common Prayer but in the Book of God it self for so he argues in the fourth Paragraph telling us That he questions whether many a sober man would not scruple to declare so much concerning any copy of the Bible now extant in the world in any language whatever even the Originals themselves not excepted which by transcribing may have their faults and therefore every thing contained in them not to be unfeignedly assented and consented unto But to see then on how weak a foundation his Argument stands viz. 1. That to assent and consent to all and every thing contained and prescribed in and by this Book c. is to assent and consent to any Errata or faults that may escape in the transcribing the true copy 'T is I confess a new way of reasoning and such as I think a man of understanding cannot be in the least guided by for by that means there 's nothing in the world the most undoubted Articles of our Faith and unquestion'd Fundamentals of Religion I need give no other Instance than himself doth in the Bible which contains these that ought to be assented and consented to but 't is trivial to insist on such a Cavil and therefore I shall leave this to every man to consider with himself whether in matters of another nature and of the most weight concern in this World such as our Lives and Fortunes we do not think we may safely assent and consent to the contents of any writings that pass an Estate confirm our Liberties and Properties unless we likewise subscribe to the Errata which in the frequent copying out and transcribing the Records or Enrolled Deeds may happen 't is absurd to call those Errata the contents of such writings and if they were so yet neither would such a scruple affect us here because to what is contain'd is added likewise what is prescrib'd in and by the Book and unless A. B. can shew that the Errata are likewise prescrib'd in and by the Book that there is some Rubric to confirm them his Argument I am asham'd to give it that name will be altogether Captious and Nugatory Again 2. He insinuates that for any persons to require assent and consent in this manner is to suppose themselves Infallible this is the sum of his 5th Paragraph But how odious an inference is this and how destructive of the Reason of all Laws Must not by this Argument every Lawgiver be suppos'd to be infallible the end of all whose injunctions are to be assented and consented to and if Men refuse to yield the obedience requir'd they know and are to abide by the Punishment or Sanction of the Law and yet never any yet urged that against their Laws And is it any more that is done here we require not this assent and consent from all that will be Christians the Declaration reaches not Men in their private capacity but only such as shall desire to come into any public charge in the Church and if it be necessary there should be a Rule for Uniformity they thought so I am sure who devis'd and impos'd their Directory 't is necessary that Men subscribe to it subscribe to it not as an absolute Rule of Conscience but as a Rule of Peace and Order and this is all the Church requires that they so far submit their Will and Vnderstanding to their Governors as for these ends
Reward of prosperous Mischief yet will it not be bitterness in the end and can those men that hold out the Argument persons most of them who were actually engaged in the last Troubles and most of them men of Years think that should they escape the Violence they stir up it cannot be long e're Nature would call upon them to give an account how comfortable an account let them consider to say no worse I would speak as charitably as I can of their mistaken Zeal But 't is our Zeal too they are offended at that beyond what our preceding Governours did with reference to this Book of Common Prayer we thus strictly enjoyn that Ministers do declare their unfeigned assent and consent All that they required being That it should be read and used and the Rites and Ceremonies of it to be duly observ'd And was that all they requir'd and yet could they then find in their hearts to rise up against such Meekness and Lenity Or is not the Case very different from what it then was Are not the Men we have to deal with those who were gone off from all Obedience to Church or State and is it not reason we take some Pledge of them for their future Integrity Is any man found guilty of a much less heinous Indictment and yet discharged without giving Sureties for his Behaviour If there were nothing else 't is necessary men should shew their actual repentance in what they have actually offended Shall men who have broken through Oaths of Allegiance to their Prince and of Canonical Obedience to their Diocesans men who have subscribed the Canons and Articles of the Church and have prevaricated in both men that gave the early Test of what they were driving at as we are not without Instances of this nature before the breaking out of the last Civil War to require when called to it in order to their Degrees in the Vniversities that they might Subscribe in their own Sence Shall I say such men be displeas'd if we cannot take the Viper into our breast without pulling out the Sting that we dare not admit men of these Principles and Practises to come into the Church without giving such Caution of their being in good earnest as may justifie those in admitting them who have the care of the public and should be very bad Pastors of Christ's Flock should they knowingly receive Wolves instead of Sheep intot he Fold Although when all the Care is taken that can be I doubt not some such there will be some such whom these men teach to be Hypocrites in so serious a Profession as that of a Minister those I mean whom they pity in their Conformity as doing what they would not do if they were not forced to it Alas good men 't is the restraint that is upon them makes them do what they do and therefore as a Shiboleth to their party how do they Curtail the Prayers With what Negligence and Oscitency do they read what they do not curtail forgetting that whatever they may think God will not be mocked 't is his Name is called upon his Spirit is present and cannot but judge the falshood of such a Heart However these are the men that do their work these are they whom they countenance among us and these whom we cannot but be ashamed of and compassion the poor misguided people who are taught to look upon those as Holy and Godly Men who thus professedly offer the Sacrifice of Fools But to follow A. B. in his Argument he proceeds Parag. 8. to explain what is meant by Assent and Consent Which saith he with reference to the party assenting relates to his understanding and with reference to the thing assented to relates to the truth and rightfulness of it And with reference to the party consenting relates to his will and with reference to the thing consented to relates to the goodness expediency and behoofulness of it According to which Action saith he when I declare my unfeigned assent to all and every thing contained in and prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer 't is as to what is true and right and not to the least error in it from top to bottom not in any Rite or Ceremony not in the form and manner of making ordaining and conscrating Bishops Priests or Deacons no not so much as in pointing the Psalms or in any other tittle or circumstance So again when I declare my unfeigned consent c. it is as if I had declared That I heartily and cordially close in and chuse every thing mention'd and prescrib'd in the said Book as good and expedient as most eligible and behooful to be done practised and observ'd And this is the reason he adds why he dares as well eat hot fire coals as declare his unfeigned assent and consent c. because many things are therein contain'd and prescrib'd which he deems scarce right and true however right and true he doth deem them much less good and expedient to be done and embrac'd To which in summe I answer as above that 't is not necessary to the assent and consent here requir'd that every particular person should take upon him expresly to determine in all these Points 't is sufficient that nothing is sinful much less doth it become his Humility to oppose the Opinion he hath of a thing 's being good and expedient to the Sense and Reason of his Governours 't is matter of Obedience belongs to him and it little avails whether he thinks it expedient as long as those to whose Judgments he hath as much reason to incline as to his own especially in a thing that himself dares not say is sinful though he think it so But to weigh what the things are which he scruples and pitches onely upon two or three viz. 1. The Order of reading the holy Scripture Parag. 9. 2. The Order of Ministration of Baptism 3. The Order of the Burial of the Dead And with these he concludes his Paper Parag. 19. Now to examine how far these are real and just Scruples of Non-Conformity First As to the Order of reading the holy Scripture Parag. 9. the Exception is because many Books of the Apocrypha are commanded to be read and some Books of the sacred Canon are wholly left out some of them but part to be read some of them curtail'd and mutilated as to the several Chapters contained in them Where I cannot but observe a very different Zeal in A. B. Paragr 4. he had said That he questions whether many a sober man would not scruple to declare his Assent and Consent concerning any Copy of the Bible now extant in the World in any Language whatsoever even the Orginals themselves not excepted because by transcribing it may have faults I am very glad to find him now so concern'd for the holy Scripture and there 's no honest Church of England-man who will not joyn with him in it Only we desire that our Governours be not blamed if
Baptism to them who come not according to the Rule of the Church or to question whether it would be Baptism or no to pronounce the Form over the Child of an unbelieving Parent are besides our Argument 't is sufficient that he hath no Title so to do it that he is more serious in his Function than to be knowingly unjust either to the Trust the Church or God himself as I may say hath repos'd in him Thirdly The last scruple with which he shuts up his Paper is with reference to the Order for the Burial of the Dead particularly that Passage of it For as much as it hath pleased God of his great mercy to take unto himself the Soul of our dear Brother here departed we therefore commit his Body to the Earth c. I have only this to say that 't is in the Judgment of Charity we pronounce this of all That some there are of whom we may say it in great assurance of their happy Translation that 't is not necessary the words in great mercy should refer to the persons taken away for it may be mercy and great mercy to them who suffer'd by their Injury or ill Examples supposing them to be such in which no shew of Godness did appear Besides I do not think that when I give my Assent and Consent it is necessary it should reach the sence of the words any otherwise than they relate to their proper subjects some there are of whom this may and ought to be said and 't is a poor Cavil against the Communion of a Church that her Offices are framed to suit those who are her real Members Nor have I ever thought the Person officiating obliged to use this Form of Burials intirely in all Cases nor that it had been however either necessary or Christian to prescribe another indeed it had been a Contradiction because 't is suppos'd to be Christian Burial we give by it and however this be generally us'd yet 't is well known there are those to whom she denies her Office of Burial and something I conceive may even in lower Cases be left to the discretion of the Priest especially with the Advice of his Ordinary In a word the Church provides for those that ought to have Christian Burial and those to whom it doth not belong are not the suppos'd Subjects of this Office What he concludes all with of our adding in the Collect that when we shall depart this life we may rest in him as our hope is this our Brother doth is what hath no insuperable Objection in it there being none so bad but for whom we ought to hope the best The Thief upon the Cross we know found mercy and what may be the dealings of God with the most profane wretch in the last minute What may be the Temptations he hath had to encounter What his Tryals we know not We see the Fall but cannot tell what his Wrestlings were And therefore which is the surest the most Christian way that the Church chalks out and I am sure we have reason to rejoyce that we are of a Church whose Charity is extensive and I pray God our dissenters never give us Occasion to forfeit that Character that if they have the tenderness they boast they would exercise some of it as towards those who in all their contradictions cannot but pray for and pity them so towards those poor Souls they have hitherto seduced and cannot but know that whatever their pretences are why themselves do not conform yet they can never answer it to Almighty God that they so shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men as neither to go in themselves nor to suffer them that are entering to go in Matth. 23.13 To whom amidst all their long Prayers their Zeal to compass Sea and Land to make Proselytes their Nice distinguishing of the lawfulness of an Oath whil'st themselves live in the avow'd defence of Perjury For such is their solemn League and Covenant taken and persisted in against that Oath of Allegiance which they have or ought to take to their lawful Prince and urged as a reason why they cannot conform Their exactness in paying as I may say Tythe of Mint Anise and Cumin in being precise in lesser things whilst they omit the weightier Matter of the Law Judgment Mercy and Faith Obedience to their just Superiours Charity to those that live in greater strictness of Life than themselves their making clean the outside of the Cup and Platter with the likeness they too much bear to whited Sepulchers I shall only leave them to consider how far what is so often denounced by Christ Matth. 23. may concern them viz. Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites And now Madam I cannot but conclude with this short Caution to you and all others whom A. B. and his Brethren are the Occasion either by their Words or Example of with-holding from Conformity That you would seriously consider what 't is to live in Disobedience to your lawful Governours especially in those things which A. B. himself tells you he can say nothing against Par. 7. consider who 't is hath told you 1 Sam. 15.23 that Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft and Stubborness is as Iniquity and Idolatry There 's nothing so opposite to the Rules of Morality and Religion to the Worship and acknowledgment of a God and his Providence for all this is implied in Witchcraft Iniquity and Idolatry as Rebellion and Disobedience to lawful Governours in their lawful Commands and God knows like Idolatry and Witchcraft nothing with which foolish Men are so much bewitch'd no Idol equal to that of their own Brain the Inventions and Imaginations they set up to themselves God in his Mercy to this tottering Nation forgive and prevent the mischievous Designs of those Sons of Belial who are now carrying on both in Church and State and open the Eyes of all the truly conscientious to see the things belonging to their Peace even in this their day There seems still to be a day and a price put into our hand if we have the heart to make use of them God forbid we should be such Fools to neglect the opportunity I am sure if we be no Apology we can make will clear us from being of the Plot against our Religion and Country if we must fall I speak it to all good Subjects all good Christians and amongst them I conjure A. B. and his Brethren as they will answer it at the day of Judgment when the secrets of all Hearts shall be laid open yet let not our selves contribute to it let not that be the fatal Complaint Thy destruction was of thy self O England Madam this is what so few hours leisure as I have had to peruse A. B's Letter and return a Reply to it would allow me to rejoyn to his Objections against the first Declaration concerning the Book of Common Prayer and as he goes on with his Scruples against the second and third Declaration viz. concerning Taking up Arms against the King and the Solemn League and Covenant I shall endeavour through God's Blessing to find time to resolve them if not with much hopes of doing good on their Leaders alas men that act with design and are fond of setting up themselves against Authority are not so easily converted yet of reducing some of those honest well-meaning Souls whom they have led astray nor do I ask God's Blessing upon my Labours any farther than he who knows all Hearts knows that what I write is out of an intire Love of his Religion and Truth in which I am Your real and faithful Servant c. Printed for JOHN BLYTHE at Mr. Playford's Shop in the Temple