de Polycarp Mart. swearing by the Emperor and his Genius for not ‖ Omnes Dei cultores sacrificare vel mori cogebat Martyrium Ignat. sacrificing to Idols and the Emperors * Epist ad Trajan l. 10. 97. Statue And the Albigenses for not worshipping of Saints and Angels and the Host as the Papists call their Breaden God or thirdly For worshipping of him in an undue manner whether it be positively so as the Primitive Christians were persecuted by the Jews for not worshipping of God according to their manner after it was abrogated or naturally so as the Protestants are persecuted for not worshipping of him according to the corrupt manner of the Papists which is polluted with the worship of Creatures and with many Sacrilegious Idolatrous and truly superstitious Rites and Ceremonies which utterly deprave and defile the Religious offices to which they belong Or secondly upon a positive account for worshipping the true God as Daniel was persecuted for worshipping of God as afore-time after the decree of Darius was made not to ask any petition of God or man for thirty days except of the King So likewise with respect to matters of Justice and Charity a man is also persecuted upon two accounts either for not doing of something which is unjust or uncharitable as the Egyptian Midwives were in danger of being persecuted by Pharaoh for not murdering the Hebrew Infants and many of the Primitive * Clem. ad Cor. Epist c. 54. p. 114 Edit Oxon 1677. Rom. 16.4 Christians for not betraying or delivering up their Brethren into the hands of the persecutors or for doing some just or charitable action which ought to have been done as many of the Primitive Christians and Protestants have been persecuted for harbouring and relieving their distressed Brethren and many of his Majestie 's loyal Subjects for harbouring relieving and assisting of him These are all the cases for which a man ordinarily speaking can be persecuted it must be for matters of Faith or matters of Practice for matters of Divine worship which belong to the first or matters of Justice and Charity which belong to the second Table of the Law All righteousness or matters of Religion for which a man can be truly persecuted are reducible I say to Faith or Practice and all matters of Faith are either such as are necessary to be known that they are revealed and they are but few or that are necessary to be believed when they are known and they may be very many and all matters of practice in short are such as God hath made it either absolutely necessary or in such circumstances for man to do or not to do But if men will believe things to be Articles of Faith which God never made so and also make rules for matters of Christian practice and Communion which God never made if they will believe false or impious or uncertain Doctrines to be certain and true and set up new notions which Primitive and Virgin Christianity never understood or professed and revive old Errors and Heresies which were condemned by the Catholick Church In a word if they will impose upon their own and other mens Consciences and teach for Doctrines of God the Traditions or Inventions of private men let them suffer never so much or be never so much perswaded in their own Consciences of the truth of them yet they cannot be persecuted for them though when they are honestly minded with their erroneous Consciences and their errors do not tend to the publick disturbance nor thwart the common fundamentals of Christianity they may be too severely used I say men that coine new Doctrines and Rules and Precepts for Christian Practice and Communion which God never made let them suffer never so much from Authority in the defence of them yet they are not persecuted but rightfully punished and suffer not as Christians but as Criminals and though God will be merciful to their mistakes when they proceed not from an ill mind and pardon their ignorance when it is not wilful and affected yet they can neither suffer as Confessors nor Martyrs nor shall they receive the promised reward for their sufferings in the world to come No! whosoever is truly persecuted must suffer for Doctrines and Laws which God hath given us for the common principles of Christianity not for private fancies and inventions and therefore when you hear men cry out of persecution consider for what Scriptural Truth for what Article of the Creed for what * Because I have here made mention of the common principles of Christianity which I call Catholick principles I shall here explain my self in the words of the most Learned Dr. Beverege who hath deserved so well of the Church Catholick in his Prooemium before his Codex Canonum Vindicatus Si praegrande hoc omnium cujusque seculi Christianorum corpus quod Catholica sive universa Ecclesia vulgo appellatur ut ubique semper constitutum attenti perlustremus certa quaedam quasi communia in eo deprehendemus principia quae totum percurrunt omnesque illius partes sibi invicem capiti connectunt Equibus primum illudque è quo catera oriuntur est Sacram Scripturam sive vetus novúmque Testamentum Divinitùs esse inspiratam Verum enimvero haec sacra Scriptura etiamsi in iis quae ad cujusque salutem absolutè sunt necessaria praeceptis clarissima sit omnibus manifesta quantum tamen ad doctrinam spectat externam Ecclesiae disciplinam ea pro ipsâ suâ altitudine non uno codémque sensu ab omnibus accipitur ut observavit olim Vincent Lirinensis ex haereticis schismaticis satis supérque constat qui nempe singuli pravas suas opiniones praxésque è sacris Scripturis suo modo interpretatis cliciunt In hujusmodi itaque rebus si non errandi nec offendendi certi esse velimus imprimis procul omni dubio cavendum est nè privatis nostris aliorum opinionibus aut conjecturis pertinaces nimis adhaereamus sed nobiscum potiùs recolamus quid universa Ecclesia vel maxima saltem pars Christianorum de istis senserint in cá acquiescamus sententiá in quam Christiani per omnia secula consenserunt quemadmodum enim omni in re consensus omnium vox naeturae est ut ait Cicero sic etiam in hujusmodi rebus consensus omnium Christianorum vox Evangelii meritò habeatur Multa autem sunt quae licet in sacris Scripturis expresse ac definitè non legantur communi tamen omnium Christianorum consensione ex iis eruantur Ex. gr Tres distinctas in sacrosanctá Trinitate Personas venerandas esse Patrem Filium Spiritum Sanctum hósque singulos verum esse Deum tamen unum tantummodo esse Deum Christum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 esse verè Deum ac verè hominem in unâ eâdemque personâ Hac similia quamvis totidem verbis ac
syllabis nec in veteri nec in novo instrumento tradantur de iis tamen ut utroque fundatis inter omnes semper convenit Christianos demptis tantummodo paucis quibusdam haereticis quorum in religione haud major habenda est ratio quam monstrorum in naturâ Sic etiam Infantes sacro Baptismate abluendos esse sponsores ad illud Sacramentum adhibendos dominicum sive primam per singulas septimanas feriam religiosè observandam esse Passionis Resurrectionis Ascensionis Domini ad Coelum nec non Spiritûs Sancti adventûs commemorationem per singulos annos peragendam Ecclesiam ubique per Episcopos à Presbyteris distinctos iisque Praelatos administrandam esse Haec per mille quadringentos ab Apostolis annos in publicum Ecclesiae usum ubique recepta fuerunt nec ullam intra illud tempus invenire est Ecclesiam in ea non consentientem adeò ut quasi communes sint notiones omnium ab origine Christianorum animis insitae non tam ex ullis particularibus Scripturae locis quam ex omnibus ex generali totius Evangelii scopo tenore ex ipsâ religionis in eo stabilitae natura proposito atque ex constanti denique Apostolorum traditione qui Ecclesiasticos hujusmodi ritus generales ut ita loquar Evangelii interpretationes per universum terrarum orbem unà cum fide propagarunt Alioquin enim non credibile imò vero impossibile prorsus esset ut tam unanimi consensione ubique semper ab omnibus reciperentur Vid. etiam Cassandri defensionem officii pii viri adversus Calvinum Catholick principle for what part of Christianity for what Gospel Doctrine they suffer or in obedience to what Gospel Law for 't is no matter how much they are perswaded in their own Consciences and to what degree they suffer but do you enquire after their opinions and then try if they are any part of Christianity and if upon trial they be not found to be so their clamour and noise about persecution must be unjust and vain As for example there is now a loud cry among the Papists of the persecution of the Catholicks as they mis-call themselves and of the persecuting Laws against the Catholicks in England but suppose all our Laws were executed against them for what Article of the Creed for what Gospel-doctrine or Precept for what Catholick principle or for what part of Christianity would these Pseudocatholicks suffer are these gospel-Gospel-truths or Catholick principles that the Bishop of Rome is Christ's Vicar General and that he is Supream above all other Bishops of the Catholick Church Can they prove either by the Scriptures or by universal Tradition that he is infallible either in the Chair or out of it and that there is no Salvation to be had without the Pale and Communion of his Church Are these not to mention Transubstantiation Image-worship the Invocation of Saints and Angels Praying in an unknown Tongue c. any parts of the Christian system or did the Primitive Christians or so much as one Church of Primitive Christians know or profess these things No! they are not Articles of Faith nor Gospel-doctrines nor common notions of Christianity but contradictions to all these and the Doctrines and Traditions of men In like manner not to mention the late * Mitckel King Kid Hackston c. Malefactors in Scotland our dissenting Brethren here have made grievous cries about Persecution and their writings are full of reflections upon the persecuting Laws of invectives against the makers of the Law for Uniformity but for what Gospel-truth or Precept for what Catholick principle or for obedience to what Law of Jesus Christ did they ever yet suffer or can they suffer by those Laws Is this a Gospel-doctrine or Catholick principle that the original Government of the Church was Presbyterian and that the Government of it by Bishops above Presbyters and distinct from them is an alteration of the original Government and an usurpation over the Church of God If it be let them shew us when this disparity of Bishops from Presbyters began Let them assign the time of this universal Aberration and Apostasie from the Primitive platform whether it was done in the time of the Apostles or in the times next unto them If it was done in their time let them tell us whether it was done with their consent or without it or if in the times next unto them let them tell us the names of those Diotrepheses who did first attempt or atchieve it let them shew us so much as one Record that doth make mention of it or let them tell us how so great an alteration was made both over the Presbyters and over the Church and yet not one Church or Presbyter assert its right Or how it came to pass for example that Ignatius an holy Martyr Presbyter of Antioch should so early usurp the Ecclesiastical Government of * Ad Rom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Syria at a time when there were such vast multitudes of Christians in it and elsewhere that ‖ Epist ad Trajan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tyberianus President of Palestine told the Emperor Trajan under whom he suffered that he was wearied with punishing and killing the Galileans and * Neque enim civitates tantum sed vicos atque etiam agros superstitionis istius contagio porvagata est satis constat propè jam desolata templa Pliny Propraetor of Bithynia told the same Emperor that the Christian Religion had so infected the Cities Towns and Villages in his Province that the Heathen Temples were become desolate and unfrequented or if Bishops then had not many particular Congregations under their inspection how should the same holy Martyr in his Epistle to the Church of Smyrna distinguish between personal Communion with the Bishop 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and with another Minister licensed by him and disallow all other Communions but such In like manner is it a Gospel doctrine or Catholick principle that Book-forms of prayer are unlawful or that God cannot be so worthily worshipped by them or in so spiritual a manner as by extemporary prayers Is there one place in the Bible that prefers extemporary before prescribed Forms of Prayer Doth the practice of the Catholick Church prefer those before these Or is there any thing in Scripture or Antiquity to shew that it is a sin for a Minister to wear a Linen garment when he officiates in the Church Are National Churches unlawful or inconsistent with the progress of the Christian Religion or the notion of Christian Union and Communion Doth either the Gospel or any thing in Christianity teach us that the use of Ceremonies is unlawful in Divine worship or that the Sign of the * Clem. Alex. Strom. l 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tertul de resur Caro abluitur caro signatur De corona Ad omnem frontem Crucis signaculo terimus
himself in Conclus Apol. pro Hieronymo which by the importunity of the Agents of the general Assembly he was prevailed with to leave out with great numbers more to be seen in Dr. Fern against Champney Bancrofts Survey ch 8. Mason's defence of the Ordination c. Dr. Durell of the Reformed Churches and the posthumous piece of Bishop Morton published by Sir Hen. Yelverton Lastly see Mr. de Langle and Mr. Claude's Letters at the end of the most worthy and most learned Dean of Pauls his Vnreasonableness of Separation which the late Agent at Charenton did in vain endeavour to make them retract though they have not Bishops yet their and other Reformed Writers have approved the Office and protested that they would if they could have retained them and desired that their rejecting of them might be imputed to necessity and not to their choice They have generally declared that they will submit to their own Bishops if they will Reform and some of them for want of Episcopal Government which they believe to be of Apostolical Institution have thought their own Churches deficient and in that respect not so perfect as ours They are formed into a National Church and are for National Churches detest Sovereign Independent Communions and their Ministers officiate in a distinct habit and are so far from disliking or undervaluing Liturgies that they Pray Baptize and Administer the holy Communion in Liturgical Forms They silence and suspend Ministers in their Consistories and Synods They would have had Church-Musick Organs I mean if they might and would condemn all those as guilty of Schism who only under the infinite pretence of purer Ordinances and purer Worship would set up private Congregations and erect private Altars in opposition to the publick and then teach the People that the Magistrate hath nothing to do in Ecclesiastical matters but that they ought to repair to those Congregations where they find they can profit most No! they dissent not upon such thin and absurd pretences as these but for the same reasons that their noble Ancestors the Albigenses and our Ancestors since them dissented from the Church of Rome They do not only pretend Conscience and say their Consciences tell them that such and such things are unlawful but they produce the Rules and Precepts and Doctrines of the Gospel which those Doctrines which they cannot profess and those things which they cannot practise plainly contradict The reasons of their Non-conformity do not vary as time serves but they are the same that they were from the beginning and they are not such as would overthrow all Communions and destroy all the Churches that are or can be in the world In a word they dissent and disobey in the defence of the Gospel and of the plain and undoubted gospel-Gospel-truths They are the most noble essential and integral parts of Christianity which they adhere to and it is not so much a Christian as a Pagano-Christian a most corrupt tyrannical and Idolatrous Church to which they refuse to conform As Rome is mystical Babylon the Great the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the Earth So the Gallican-Church is a Province belonging to the mystical Babylon a Daughter of that Mother of Harlots full of Fornication and also drunk with the bloud of the Saints Her Kings have all committed Fornication with her but these are come out of her that they might not be partaker of her Sins This is their hard case they are reduced to a necessity of sinning or suffering and therefore their sufferings are truly and properly Persecutions for they suffer for Righteousness-sake and the Gospels-sake and according to the will of God 'T is for Conscience towards God that they endure grief for a good Conscience as the Apostle speaks which is opposed to an evil Conscience defiled with sinful principles and sin A good Conscience in the Scriptures is otherwise called a pure Conscience 1 Tim. 3.9 2 Tim. 1.3 and it is compared to a body washed with water Hebr. 10.22 1 Pet. 3.21 because it is devoid of all sinful prejudice and corrupt affections which pervert men's understandings and render them indocile and are able to make them call black white and white black The same is called in the Parable of the Sower an honest and good heart because it receives the Truth with all readiness and impartially searcheth the Scriptures whether things be so or no and in what person soever this sort of Conscience is he would be glad to obey his Sovereign and be of the established Communion because he knows these are indispensable duties when they can be done without denying Gospel-doctrines or breaking Gospel-Laws Such ingenuous Souls will be ready to hear and ready to give an answer to every man that shall ask them a reason of their doings with meekness and fear and when they suffer for doing good as our French Brethren and fellow-members now do they are made partakers of Christ's suffering in this world and shall be made partakers with him in everlasting Glory among Martyrs and Confessors in the world to come III. Having now shewn first what Persecution is and secondly That our French Brethren are Persecuted I proceed in the Third place to shew to what a degree they are Persecuted and how deplorable their sufferings are and how uneasie and dangerous it is for them to continue in their Native Country where they are treated more like Slaves than Subjects and daily vexed with Julian Edicts and Decrees For they are deprived of the ancient Liberties which were granted unto them by former Princes the Father and Grandfather of this present King Many of their * Sedan the Colledge of Roche-foucaut and that of Châtilion Universities are dissolved and more than half their Temples razed contrary to the Faith of Oaths and Edicts and against the common right of Prescription of Three and Fourscore years They are not allowed to erect Free-Schools for the Education of their own Children nor Hospitals for the maintenance of their own Poor nor can they have the benefit of any already Erected without turning to the Popish Religion The Lords of Mannors among them who formerly had right to keep Ministers and set up the Reformed Worship in their own Houses and call their Neighbours and Tenants unto it by the sound of a Bell are now in a most Arbitrary manner deprived of that priviledge And in the Cities where they are most numerous Colledges of Jesuits or Houses of Mission for propagating the Faith are erected into which undutiful Children or Servants under a pretence of turning Catholicks may retreat when they please and in the greatest of those Cities where perhaps Ten School-Masters could hardly teach all their Children the late Laws allow them but one and their unjust Magistrates commonly none They are forbidden to set up the Fleurs de Luces in their Churches because they must not bear any marks of Royal favour and as a further token of Royal displeasure and contempt their chief