Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	church_n	doctrine_n	invocation_n	1,848	5	11.0599	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44620	How the members of the Church of England ought to behave themselves under a Roman Catholic king with reference to the test and penal laws in a letter to a friend / by a member of the same church.	Member of the same church.	1687 (1687)	Wing H2961; ESTC R6451	60,453	228

plain proof that some people believe the Promise of protecting the Church of England Which makes them shelter themselves under it but I suppose it will be no longer than the Storm is impending In fine unless it be that we want his Majesties presence at the Royal Chappel we find no alteration from what was in King Charles the Second's time and the generality of the people finding the Clergy so boldly to stand to the Protestant Religion respect and reverence them more than ever So that if the flourishing state of a Church be to be known by the number of Communicants by the populous Auditories conformableness to the Ecclesiastical Doctrine and Discipline If by the decency of the Churches the full free and solemn Exercise of the Rites of our Religion by the eloquent learned and painful preaching of the Ministers by the full and free enjoyment of their Revenues the uninterrupted Exercise of the Ecclesiastical Laws and Discipline The present state of the Church of England is as flourishing as we can desire and may so continue if we can be content to yield Roman Catholics a favour next to a Tolleration SECT VIII The Self-denial of the King in the Exercise of his own Religion SINCE I am discoursing of the paralel of the flourishing state of the Church of England formerly and now I think we ought seriously to reflect how gracious our King is to us and how little a share of liberty to his Catholics he is content with None sure could have counted it injustice if our Sovereign had chosen his own Royal Chappel in his own Palace to have performed his Devotions in whereas he quits that to the Prince and Princess to the Archbishops great Ministers of State the Nobility Bishops and Protestants of all ranks and contents himself with the Queens Chappel at St. James's hath only one Bishop his Confessarius and a small number of Chaplains and circumscribes his Processions within the Cloyster of that small Convent And at Windsor his Summer-Palace leaves the Collegiate Church to Protestants and only keeps to himself the small new Chappel adjoyning to St. Georges Hall which if he had not taken though some unquiet Spirits made such a noise at it he must have had no place there for his Devotion The King graciously allows us the Cathedrals Parish-Churches and Chappels and the free and unrestrained exercise of our Religion have we reason then to grudge him two or three small Chappels and the Subjects of his Faith their Private Oratories We have had a further Instance of his Majesties tenderness in protecting the Church of England in the Letter sent to the two Arch-bishops at such time when it was generally bruited abroad we may judge by whose Artifice and Malice that the King intended to prohibite preaching of Controversies betwixt the Church of Rome and us and to take away Lectures and Afternoon Preaching whereas we find by the Instructions annexed to the Letter That it was no more than had been done in King James's and in King Charles the First 's time and was verbatim what had been published by King Charles the Second And in stead of restraining our Ministers from preaching in defence of the Church of England it is allowed yea appointed them so it be done according to the Instructions Let us therefore receive these largesses of Princely Favours with dutiful and thankful Hearts and by no petulancy or unnecessary eagerness for more indanger the loss of what we enjoy And I doubt not but Roman Catholics will allow something to a people devoted to their Religion and distinguish betwixt those that are and ever will be truly Loyal even under Sufferings and a party that seek all opportunities to repine SECT IX The difficulty of effecting a Change of Religion First from the Peoples general Prejudice against it TO proceed more particularly to the further Reasons why I think the Protestant Religion is in no such danger as some labour with all their Arts to make us believe I shall desire it may be considered How averse the body of the People are to it Protestantism here has taken deep Root and the prejudice against and even abhorrence of Popery hath been instilled into us with our first Rudiments So that the generality may as well be prevailed upon to embrace Turcism or Heathenism as the Religion which hath been represented to them as Idolatrous and so contrary to Scripture Education and a long Series of contrary Usage are great Impediments in the minds of all Men to admit of any change in Customs much more in Religion The great Obstacle that hinder the common people from complying with the Roman Catholic Religion are That the Publick Service is celebrated in an Unknown Tongue in which they know not how to joyn as they do in our Liturgies and the multitude of mysterious Ceremonies do no less amaze them who will be rather contented to be accounted thick-skulls than they will be at the pains to learn them The Clergy and those who are able to consider the matters in dispute betwixt the two Churches cannot after that vast number of Books that have been writ on both sides satisfie themselves in the Doctrine of Transubstantiation Invocation of Saints worship of Images Purgatory Merit and several other matters in which difference they unite with other Reformed Churches And there is something peculiar which will be a constant Remora to the Clergy especially viz. That First the Reformation was here more regular than in any other Country Secondly That Episcopal Government is maintained in good order and such a Liturgy and Ceremonies used as come nearest to the Primitive usage as they think themselves very able to maintain Thirdly They are unwilling to yield the Roman Catholic Church to be the Judge of Controversies betwixt them And as to the Supremacy of the Pope The English Clergy will most unwillingly yield it after so long a renouncing it Lastly The Indispensible Celebacy of the Catholic Clergy is an insuparable hinderance of English Ministers submission to that Religion since the married here will be incapable of preferment and on the contrary must suffer degradation and beggery Who seriously considers those things will not only judge it an attempt unseazable especially when the prospect of a Protestant Successor is an Ensuring-Office to our Religion but may satisfie any of the groundlesness of those Fears some people are too prone to suggest more I think out of design than that they believe it themselves That the Protestant Religion is designed to be overthrown There are but four ways by which this can be effected Either First by the freedom of preaching of the Fathers Secondly Their Writings Thirdly Their Conversation Or Fourthly by Force which I shall now consider As to their Preaching 1 That it will not be effected by the preaching of the Fathers First It is observeable That it is a most rare thing to hear any discourse of Controversies in the King 's or either Queen's Chappels or

he had a great Veneration yet he could not but observe however since the Presbiterian Plot they preached up the danger of Phanaticks to be more than of Papists and that to disinherit the Duke was against the Law of God Which said oppinions said he If they should be Imbibed by the People what would the Associating Bill signifie or any other Law against Popery J. B. Another said That People were come to know that the Clergy may be good Divines but not so good Politicians And that the Clergy-men might be in a possibility of being advanced by Popery if they submitted but the Laity under a probability of loosing all notwithstanding all Submission And added That he doubted not but that many of the Beshops and Clergy would as soon die for the Protestant Religion as any Person in the Nation but he was jealous there was some over-ruling Power yet amongst them something answerable to that of a Popish Successor This Gentleman seemed kinder than the rest in that he charged them mostly with want of foresight and inadvertency that some Leading Men of their Order were decoying them to overlook their Interest But surely in this they Acted like good Politicians as well as Divines in that thereby they saved a great effusion of Blood which necessarily must have followed such an unjust Bill And I hope they will retain the same Integrity and Wisdom with a good Conscience as to afford no occasion to their Enemies to censure their defect of Religion or Policy or allay the King-Affection and Grace to them for that Service then done to him SECT IV. The Calumnies against the Loyal Members of the Church of England in the foregoing times I Think it not unfeasonable here to refresh your Memory with a Summary of the Calumnies laid upon the Loyal Members of the Church of England in the Reign of the two late Kings of Glorious Memory In King Charles the First 's Reign the People being wrought upon to repine at some ways of levying Money not usual and some Rules of Uniformity either disused or not so Universally practised before chose in most places such Members of Parliament as they thought would be most ready to redress those Grievances who no sooner were met but the Designers amongst them set the People upon petitioning against Innovations Then the Bishops and most of the dignified Clergy were accused of an intention to bring in Popery and to make some approaches to a Conformity to the Church of Rome Every where hideous Crys were heard of the apprehensions of the Inundation and Inflowing of Popery when the thousandth Man scarce knew what it was or who were the Preservers of the Banks which most powerfully kept it out and having got Power by those Suggestions and gained an Aversion in so many against them before they had over powered the Monarchy voted down and in the effectualest way they could totally overthrew the English Hierarchy And all that asserted the Government then exercised in Church and State were branded as Betrayers of the Subjects Birthright Priviledges and Liberties and Favourers of Popery and Arbitrary Government Which Epithets they never failed to interweave and on whomsoever they fastned such of their Petars they were sure to have their Reputation blasted and all their subsequent Actions rendred odious to the Commonalty who the soonest of any Mortals are blear-cy'd and distorted with the suspitious squint In the late Kings time all Loyal Men who profest most strict conformity to the Church of England and were not for the Bill of Seclusion or Comprehension were stigmatiz'd with the names of Papists in Masquerade How efficacious these Calumnies were to Arm so great a part of the Subjects against the blessed Martyr of his People and bring him to that tragical end is too fresh in our Memories to need a recital And when we found the powerfulness of those Fictions and Imaginary Goblins in both Kings Reigns to endanger the Subversion of the Monarchy and Episcopacy Have we not reason to believe that there are a great number of Republican Spirits yet at work who subtily mingle themselves with all Male-Contents and dissatisfied Parties and by their sly insinuations inflame every small Scratch and rancle it into a venomous Boil by their pestilent and contagious Breath Those are continually raking into the Ashes of every of these by-past Designs keeping some Brands always in the Embers ready upon every light occasion to be blown into a Flame Can we believe those to be now at rest and quiet to have hushed or mortified their eager Concupiscence of advancing the Good Old Cause No no let us not believe the Fox hath forgot his Shifts and Wiles or the Crocodile his Tears or the Asp his venemous Bite Let us fear the gilded Snake in the Grass yea rather lurking in every Thicket where repining murmurs sears jealousie or discontent can lodge SECT V. The Affrightments and Arts now used to make the Subjects believe that the Protestant Religion is to be extirpated here THese are a set of Men who by their whispering dissatisfaction and suspitions of the danger of the Protestant Religion are but fitting their Mouths and preparing their Lungs to blow the Bag-pipe of Sedition And when they have allured the Crowd will endeavour to decoy them into the same Designs with themselves and excite us to follow the Methods they used in our Fathers days That new Japan doth much resemble the old Varnish only they have found out new Exotick affrighting Figures And whereas before the Emblem of Venient Romani was placed at so great a distance from the Sight that it was but faintly delineated as in a remote Prospect Now they think they may be bold to place it in a nearer Light and hope to allure the Tender-sighted and well Affected to the Church of England to believe the reality of the Representation which is no other but that the Roman Altars are to be placed where Communion Tables now stand That the great Fabrick of St. Pauls is to have a Cupula with the Sword of that Saint and the Keys of St. Peter upon it That our Common Prayer is to he changed for a Mass-Book And in fine that the Protestant Religion is designed to be extirpated The Plausible Inducements they pretend to have to believe this are the Liberty the King grants to all his Catholic Subjects to Exercise their Religious Worship the suspending the execution of all the penal Laws against them and the placing of Catholics contrary to the Provision made by Act of Parliament to exclude them These Proceedings of the King they would make us believe are manifest Demonstrations of his intentions to recede from his Royal Promise of protecting the Church of England and consequently that it will crumble to nothing by his withdrawing it This they endeavour to infer by the consideration of the influence the Pope and the Catholick Fathers may have upon his Majesty who will be continually instilling into his Royal Mind how