of the Protestant Religion cannot be built upon a narrow Interest Let it be considered that the adverse Kingdom to wit the Papacy is ample and powerful Should not the Protestant Religion and the Church of England aim at enlargement and lengthen their cords to take within their line all those that are intirely affected to them Then might they send forth much more numerous Forces of able Champions against the Armies of Antichrist So should this National Church become terrible as an Army with Banners Besides those reasons for Unity which concern all Kingdoms and Nations in the like case there is one reason peculiar to this Kingdom or rather to this Island of 〈◊〉 Brâ—ttain which is a little world apart It is a â—â—â—able saying which hath been taken up That England is a mighty Arrival that cannot dye except it destroy it self God hath so seaâ—ed and placed 〈◊〉 Island that nothing but 〈◊〉 within it self can hurt it 〈…〉 section do not make 〈…〉 Country and destroy 〈…〉 the hope of Forrein Enemies 〈…〉 for ever cut off Wherefore 〈…〉 s be the wisedom of this 〈…〉 â—â—ther all dividing 〈…〉 â—â—lish all partial Interests 〈…〉 â—â—â—mon Interest of England may 〈…〉 exalted I am not ignorant that designs of Pacification between disagreeing Parties are liable to much suspition misconstruction and hard censure that the attempts of Reconcilers have commonly proved fruitless and sometimes matter of disreputation to themselves and no marvel that such cross effects should commonly follow such attempts for sometimes they are made to reconcile light and darkness the Temple of God and Idols This was the way of a Great One even a Prince in Learnings Empire who would make an accord between the Augustane Confession and the Council of Trent and also of a certain Romish Ecclesiastick who would make the like accord between the said Council and the Articles of the Church of England than which nothing could be more absurd and vain for it could be nothing else but a violent wresting of those Decrees and Articles to a forced sence against the propriety of language and the scope of the whole matter and the apparent judgment of both Parties and so it could never heal the breach For if both Parties were drawn to subscribe the same forms of Confession but with meanings so far distant from each other as are the Doctrines of the Protestant and Roman Churches they would not really advance one step the nearer to peace and concord Such designs as these sometimes proceed from lukewarmness or indifferency in Religion and an undervaluing of main Truths together with a contempt of godly Zeal as a thing superfluous and impertinent And sometimes they proceed from vastness of mind whereby some through too great a sence of their vast abilities assume to themselves a Dictatorship in Religion to approve or condemn admit or reject according to their own estimation of things which is a dangerous kind of ambition and as a learned man speaks is to take up the Office of an Umpire between God and men But many times such a design is set on foot with much craftiness for the undoing of one of the Parties as it hath been undertaken by some Romish spirits for the undermining of the Protestant Churches A Divine of chief rank observes the arts and stratagems of some Popish Preachers even of those Orders that have been held most implacable whereby far otherwise than the accustomed manner they extenuate the controversies and acknowledge that too much rigor hath been used in some points and in others too little sincerity yea some Jesuites went about making fair promises yet in the mean time abating no point of the chief foundations of Papal Authority which standing firm they knew that the other Concessions granted for a time might easily be drawn back and the opposite rigors imposed on those that had been taken in the snare by a pretended yielding to some reformation Philip Melancthon as the same Author observes being a most Pious and Learned man and zealous of the Churches peace at first whilst he conceived that some Reformation might be hoped for from a General Council was free and forward in some points of yielding to the Papists but when he found that such a benefit was neither hopeful nor possible he testified by his writings how far distant he was from the aim of the Conciliators But the Pacification here propounded is not by aggregating things inconsistent nor by devising mongrel ways and opinions made up out of both extreams which can satisfie the consciences of neither Party but by taking out of the way such extreams on both sides as both may well spare and part with being such as are acknowledged no part of the Foundation nor yet of divine Institution but mutable according to times and occasions and therefore cannot be of that importance as to break unity amongst brethren that agree in the Doctrine of Faith and the substance of Divine Worship This desired Union is grounded upon the Apostles Commandment and the pursuing thereof is no other then the urging of St Pauls Doctrine throughout the whole fourteenth Chapter to the Romans That none judge or despise another about things indifferent or Ceremonious Observances wherein as several men will abound in their own sence so it is meet that every one be perswaded in his own mind concerning his particular practice that nothing be done with a doubting conscience His MAJESTIES Wisedom hath rightly comprehended this Matter in His Declaration touching Ecclesiastical Affairs wherein He saith VVe are the rather induced to take this upon Us that is to give some determination to the matters in difference by finding upon a full Conference that VVe have had with the Learned men of several perswasions that the mischiefs under which both Church and State do at present suffer do not result from any formed Doctrine or Conclusion which either Party maintains or avows but from the passion and appetite and Interest of particular persons which contract greater prejudice to each other by those affections then would naturally arise from their Opinions In old time there was a partition wall of legal Ceremonies and Ordinances raised up between Jews and Gentiles but when the fulness of time was come wherein God would make both Jews and Gentiles one in Christ he was pleased to take down that partition wall which himself had reared up In these latter times there hath been a partition wall of mans building namely controverted mutable Rites and forms of Religion which have kept asunder Christians of the same Nation and of the same Reformed Protestant Profession Both reason and charity pleads for the removing of these offences that brethren may dwell together in Unity And to transgress this rule of Charity is not only to lay a yoke upon the necks of Christians but also to lay snares for their Consciences Nor will any defect in the State Ecclesiastical insue upon the removal of these matters in controversie for the points of Doctrine
use of His Majesties Favour and with great thankfulness have they expressed their sence thereof in their acknowledgments to God and men His Royal and Paternal Charity is precious to them But suppose that some of this way were guilty of some provoking forwardness should grave Patriots and wise Counsellors thereupon destroy the weak Part or rather heal it A prudent Father is not so provoked by the stubbornness of a Child as to cast him out and make him desperate whilest there is yet hope concerning him It is meet indeed for Princes to express their just indignation when Subjects presuming on their clemency do not contain themselves within their duty and the seasonable expression of such disdain wisely managed is of great force in Government nevertheless if it get the mastery it is exceeding perillous It was the Counsel of indignation that proceeded from Rehoboams young Counsellors But there is yet a greater mischief when the cloud of this passion darkens the Understanding that it cannot distinguish between present dis-satisfaction and incurable pride and malice When a peoples present dis-satisfaction about remediable grievances shall be deemed implacable enmity commonly pernicious counsels take place Then it will be suggested to a Prince that the Acts of Grace bestowed upon such a people make them but the more insolent For none may hope to overcome pride by condescention or inveterate malice by good turns which is indeed a true saying but perverted by mis-application In this case to judge rightly of things that differ let a Prince consider diligently whether the present aversness proceeds from rooted Principles and a fixed Interest inconsistâ—nâ— with the security of his Estate or from the pressures of the grieved Party in things which are not the necessary props of his Power and without which his greatness may well consist and let him never question the gaining of such a people whose Principles and designs are not against the true and proper Interest of his Estate whatsoever their present distempers be for the grievances being redressed time will wear out those distempers And in that case a people will not less value their Prince because he yieldeth to them with respect to his own concernments for they will not judge it a forced yielding because that proceeds from force which is yielded for present necessity and against the main Interest but they will cleave to him the more by discerning that his and their good do agree in one for it makes them hope that he will seek their good as his own When Governours resent the non-compliances of a party their best remedy is to remove the occasions when it may be done without crossing the Interests of State or maximes of Government then will the honest-minded be mollified and moulded and towards the residue of obstinate persons if there be any such severity will be used more succesfully It is the wisedom of rulers by all means to lessen offences and to contract the number of offenders For where there are many sufferers upon a Religious account whether in truth or pretence there will be a kind of glory in suffering and sooner or later it may turn to the Rulers detriment Another great impediment of publick concord is an erroneous confidence in the more numerous Party that they need not seek nor mind the way of peace for they reckon themselves sure to carry it by the major Vote in all Councils and Conventions they see wind and tide serving them But they who consider but few things do make a sudden judgment which commonly falls short Great prosperity oft-times blinds the wise as well as fools and great advantages divert the mind from heeding many important circumstances of a business that the judgment made concerning it is most imperfect Wherefore in the present case it should be minded that the dissenting party is not small that it is not made up of the rabble multitude nor yet of Phanatique spirits but of honest and sober people who act from principles of knowledge and can render a reason of their practice in things pertaining to conscience with as much discretion as any sort of men in the Nation that the instances which they make do not concern by matters and mutable occasions but matters of conscience that will never cease nor vary that they are not a Party far distant but very near I mean not only in respect of place for so the Papists that live among us cannot be far from us but of agreement in Principles of Religion that they cannot be well severed nor kept in a divided State nor yet be rooted out but they will grow up under the influence of the Doctrine professed in the Church of England that in many deliberations they may be able to put things to a stand and in debates of great consequence to lead the indifferent sort of men and also many temperate spirits of the other perswasion by the apparent equity of their proposals All these things and more of the like nature do challenge a due regard from those that would see through a business and make a perfect judgement Besides the judicious should consider not onely the bulk and corps of a party but what spirit doth quicken them with what vivacity and constancy their motions do proceed and their interest is pursu'd It comes also within the compass of this inquiry to know the intrinsick strength of the Hierarchy and what they can do when they stand by themselves alone for their adventitious strength may fail them We need not tell them that on their side at present the advantage is very great yet haply it may appear in shew greater then it is indeed Though the English Nation appear to affect a stated Order in the Church nevertheless they may not serve the designs of the Hiearchy nor yet be conscious thereof Upon the late great revolution the multitude do easily run from one extream to an other thinking they can not run too far from those troubles and discomposures which last oppressed them But as the prudent ponder their paths at present so the passionate multitude may at length know where they are and discern alike the evil of both extreams Many that are lifted up may give offence and fall under great displeasure they that are cast down may be better advised by their sufferings and remove the occasions of stumbling and so become if not indeared yet inoffensive to the Nation Such vicissitudes of love and hatred do happen in every age and there is no new thing under the Sun An other Obstacle in the way of this conjunction is an opinion of many that the sure and only means of preventing schism and maintaining unity in the Church is by multiplying Ceremonial injunctions and Canons by requiring full conformity to controverted forms which might well be spared by exacting not onely submission of practice but assent of judgement declared by subscription to all particulars of Doctrine Worship and Discipline in ever jot and tittle thereof But in
very deed this is the sure way of endlesse dissention among a people that are not bottomed on this principle of believing as the Church believes This kind of imposing hath discomposed all Christendom and rends the severall Churches from each other and makes the rent incurable It is the way of the Church of Rome w th upon this account is guilty of the foulest schism that was ever made in the Christian world It is a notable saying of Chillingworth Not Protestants for rejecting but the Church of Rome for imposing on the faith of Christians Doctrines unwritten and unnecessary and for disturbing the Churches peace and dividing unity in such matters is in a high degree presumptuous and schismatical God is jealous for his worship and consciences well informed and duly tender are likewise jealous concerning it lest they should provoke God to jealousie Minds truly religious doe set an high price on matters of conscience and will expose all to sail rather then cross their principles Wherefore if in matters of perpetual controversie between godly wise persons the Church shall make peremptory decrees and severe injunctions it must needs dissolve the band of unity But the best and surest means of preventing and suppressing Schisms is to prevent corrupt administrations and real scandals in matters Ecclesiasticall and seasonably to reform abuses and not to interpose in lesser differences Furthermore a great prejudice is taken up against Bishops ruling in consociation with Presbyters and against Classicall or Presbyterian meetings as inclining to Faction and likely to produce alterations which evils are supposed to follow the distributing of the power among many Whereupon the Government of a single Person or a Bishop having sole jurisdiction is apprehended to be the surest means of keeping Church affairs in a fixed state This prejudice having a great shew of truth we must stoop to pry into it more narrowly And first we have this political maxime to direct us in this inquiry that the condition of the people to be governed is the best rule of discerning the aptest form of Government And according to this principle we resolve that absolute Prelacy is the onely Government to hold a people that content themselves with a customary service and the Religion of their Country and of their fore-fathers whatsoever it be All Discourses Debates Disputations and all occasions of aontest touching Religion and particularly that exeâ—cise which is called prophesying must be avoided But this Government is not so agreeable to a people that are given to search the Scriptures and try Doctrines In England where the inferior Clergy or parochial Ministery is not rude and ignorant but in a great part learned conscientious where the common people in a great part try all things that they may hold fast that which is good the Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction can not conveniently reside in a Prelate alone governing by severe Canons and denouncing excommunication against all those that express any dissent from any particulars of the received Forms of Worship and Discipline For among such a people this is a likelier way to beget some great distemper then to keep all in quietness and deep silence But a form of Government more free by distributing the power among many and regular meetings for free debates within certain limits will be much more peaceable and succesful It is here acknowledged that in such an order of things dissentions may arise and cause some interruptions Nevertheless no great inconvenience but sometimes much advantage may follow The stirrings of warm contests may be unadvisedly condemned For as Thunder purgeth the Air so these stirrings may purge the Church from Corruptions ingendering in it Let the frame and order of things be so established that both parties may be made hopeless concerning factious attempts of promoting this or that extream that the contests may not be on the one side for Dominion nor on the other side for inordinate liberty but on both sides for Truths due freedom and then they will end in peace If great mistakes should arise in such meetings and seem for a while to pass currently there may be found some persons of that wisedome integrity and reputation as to be able to shew the fallacy and to convince those of both sides that intend uprightly In which case if they perceive an evil spirit on work and an evil design hatching among some they will turn away with indignation from the contrivers of such mischief Wherfore let the frame of Ecclesiastical polity lean neither towards Tyranny nor Anarchy but be set upright for just liberty Let good orders be kept and priviledges not violated and the greater number of those who mean honestly will not be led into the snare of faction And selfish ambitious pragmatick spirits that trouble them will easily be detected and abandoned Unto this reasoning let the authority of an eminent pacifick Bishop be superadded concerning the way of order and stability in the conjunction of Episcopacy and Presbytery Bishop Hall in his Discourse Intituled A modest offer of some meet considerations to the Assembly of Divines at Westminster commends the method of the Church of Scotland for prevention of Error and Heresie by a gradual proceeding from the parochial meering to the Presbytery from thence to the provincial Synod and from thence to the general Assembly for determining any controversie saying This bears the face of a very fair and laudable course and such as deserves the approbation of all the well-willers to that Discipline But let me add That either we have or may have in this very state of things with some small variation in effect the very same Government with us Instead of Presbyteries consisting of several Pastors we have our combinations of Ministers in our several Deanries over whom the rural Dean is chosen every year by the Ministers of that Division as their Moderator This Deanry or Presbytery may be enjoyned to meet every moneth or oftner in some City or Town next to them and there they may have their exercise of Prophecying as I have known it practised in some parts of this Kingdom as it is earnestly wished and recommended by that Excellently Learned Lord Verulam in his prudent Considerations where if any Question fail of determination it may be referred gradually from the lesser to the greater Assemblies till it be brought to a National Synod In the same discourse the said Bishop commends one constant prudent vigilant Overseer superadded to a Grave Judicious Presbytery without concurrence of which Presbytery the Bishop or Overseer should not take upon him to inflict Excommunication or any other important Censure Having discovered certain general Impediments I proceed to Argue upon the particular Concernments of the King of the Nobility and Gentry and of the Episcopal Clergy His Majesties Concernment in this grand Affair transcends the particular concernments of all others whether Parties or Persons and that beyond all comparison Others may advance themselves and Families by the present occasions
irruption upon the Prebyterians even as vehemently as now I pursue the design of peace and I verily think my reasoning however it takes with them will convince them of my good intention If they decline moderate counsels and resolve to run high they may attain to a lofty standing howbeit they will always stand on a pinacle In a little time they have greatly inlarged their borders and lengthened their cords it were good that now they should strengthen their stakes and make good their ground By moderation only can they be established Some may say in their hearts The bricks are fallen down but we will build with hewen stones the Sycomores are cut down but we will change them into Cedars Indeed their advantage is well known nevertheless let them consider their constant strength and accordingly limit their hopes for this is an high point of wisedom Let them that have gotten a victory use it wisely and take care that they lose it not in hope of a greater The issue of things oft times have proved unfortunate to those that have waxed insolent and unreasonable upon unexpected successes There is not a greater errour then to refuse tearms of Agreement that are profered by a Party which cannot be rooted out but will be alwaies considerable either as friends or enemies especially when those tearms do comprise some part of their victory that should accept them Let the Episcopal Clergy observe the spirit of the Nation and the condition of the Times that they may rightly comprehend the measure of their own hopes The English are a generous Nation and as they delight in the Majesty and Glory of their King so also in the splendid condition of subordinate Governours that their manner of living be in some sort conformable to the dignity and opulency of the Nation Accordingly they seem to take pleasure that the Ecclesiastical State be upheld by a fair Revenue and competent Dignity yet with moderation For if the Clergy do rise to Princely or Lordly wealth and power they may become the envy of the Nobility and Gentry Let them remember they stand by Grace not by their own strength but by their Prince His Favour The Nation in general may be taken with a grave and masculine decency in all Sacred things sutable to their spiritual Majesty but I make a Question whether in this noon-tide of the Gospel they will fall in love with excessive gaudiness pompous shews and various affected gestures in Sacred Administrations and not rather esteem them vanities too much detracting from the dignity and purity of Gospel Worship In this noon-tide of the Gospel the Bishops cannot magnifie their Office but by other courses then what were taken in former and darker times Meer formalities will no longer dazle our eyes We shall think they have work of an higher nature then to look only to the observation of outward Forms and Rites and Ceremonies they must make a nearer approach to the Presbyterian practice in the constant Preaching of the Word in the strict observation of the Lords Day in keeping a true watch over the Flock and in correcting the real scandals that break forth in mens conversations And if they walk in these paths the Prelatists and Presbyterians will not be far asunder Perhaps the friends of Prelacy may imagine that in this coalition Presbytery may at length undermine Episcopacy but reason shews that Episcopacy will stand more firm in conjunction with Presbytery then by it self alone In the body natural there is some predominant humour as sanguine cholerick melancholy or phlegmatick yet none of these do subsist alone without the mixture of the rest in a due temperament In like manner the Body Ecclesiastical may be of several complexions or constitutions as Episcopal or Presbyterial according to the predominant quality Now if the Presbyterian Churches would become more firm and stable by the superintendency of one grave President and the truth is in all Presbyteries there appeareth some Episcopacy either formal or vertual so an Episcopal Church may be judged more firm and stable by a Bishops superintendency in consociation with assistant Presbyters And to remove the fear of the incroachments of Presbytery it is easie to discern that Episcopacy if it contains its self within moderate bounds will be always in this National Church the predominant quality In the Conclusion of this Discourse let me offer these few Essayes concerning the pathes of peace The glorifying and pleasing of the highest Potentate and universall Monarch and the eternall happiness of immortal precious souls are the most noble and blessed ends of Government Let his Majesties Raign be happy and glorious in attaining these ends A Christian King esteems it the excellency of his regal Power to hold and manage it as the servant of Jesus Christ to be a Protector of the true Church the Body of Christ the Lambs wife for whose redemption Christ dyed and for whose gathering and perfecting the world is continued It is the Character of this true Church to make the holy Scriptures the perfect rule of their faith and life to worship God in spirit and in truth according to the power and spiritual worship of the Gospel to walk by the rule of the new Creature in spiritual mortification and crucifixion to the world to study holinesse in sincerity to strive to advance it in themselves and others and to have influence upon others unto sound knowledge faith humility godlinesse justice temperance charity The true Church lies in the middle between two extreams Formalists and Fanaticks They are of circumspect and regular walking no way forward in attempting or desiring alterations in a civill State A Prince doth hold them in obedience under a double bond For they know they must needs be subject not onely for wrath but for conscience sake Indeed we will not conceal that in lawful wayes they assert that liberty which is setled by the known Lawes and fundamentall Constitutions the maintaining whereof is the Prince's as much as the Peoples safety That being the happiest Politie that is founded in true Religion and most fully suited to mens everlasting concernments it greatly behoveth Governors to mark and avoid those things which bring Religion into contempt and tend to the increase of Atheism and infidelity The many various Sects and absurd opinions and fancies and pretended Revelations of these latter times have much lessened the reverence of Religion in England This is a great evill and much observed and decryed by the present times There is an other evill no less injurious to the honour and estimation of Christian piety to wit Ceremonial strictnesse with real prophaness or at the most but lukewarmness in the real part of Religion And this is the true state of the Papacy by occasion whereof Atheists have so abounded in Italy Machiavel observes in his time that Christianity was no where less honoured then in Rome which is the pretended Head thereof Let this evil be seen prevented and remedied that the