Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A50100
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Master Edmund Calamies leading case
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1663
(1663)
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Wing M1061; ESTC R7623
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7,937
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16
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silenced Here you onely and a few others are suspended So that now Christ is preached and you may rejoice 4. They were suspended by the prevailing power of oppressions You are silenced by the reasonable power of your own Representatives in Parliament Jewes silenced them without a Law you by a Law which the men you have chosen have made have silenced your selves 5. A necessity which lay upon them who were called of God to reveal the Gospel which was hid from Ages doth not ly upon you who many of you are not so much as called by man to preach that Word which for many years God be thanked hath dwelt richly among us 6. They loved not their life unto the death that they might preach the Gospel you love your opinion so well that you will rather not preach the Gospel then hear it they would not be silenced to save their lives you silence your selves to save your repute and esteem Mr. Calamy O add not reproach unto affliction O Sir we would not have left our callings and stations for fear of death we must now leave them for fear of that which is worse then death we would willingly die rather then not serve the Lord in our calling we must rather not serve the Lord in our calling then sin An honest man Really I am afraid that while you think you avoid sin by refusing Ceremonies which are indifferent you committed sin in neglecting your calling which was necessary Mr. Calamy Let every man be fully perswaded in his own mind what is but indifferent in your apprehension was sinfull in mine and every man must give an account of himself B. S. It is not what you think of the thing imposed can secure your conscience but what they are that which is good remains good and that which is evil evil and that in the very same degree of good and evil as it was before neither better nor worse any mans particular judgement or opinion thereof notwithstanding Mr. Calamy That 's true indeed yet what is good or indifferent in it self If I am perswaded it is evil it is evil unto me to him that esteemeth any thing to be unlawfull to him it is unlawfull Rom. 4. 14. B. S. To him that thinketh a thing unlawfull and is at liberty whether he doth it or no to him it is unlawfull but to him that thinketh a thing unlawfull but yet is enjoyned by lawfull authority to do to him if he hath not a clear rule to the contrary it is lawfull Whatsoever is commanded us by those whom God hath set over us either in Church Common-wealth or Family which is not evidently contrary to the Law and will of God ought to be receivved and obeyed no otherwise then as if God himself had commanded it because God himselfe hath commanded us to obey the Higher Powers and to submit our selves to their Ordinances Rom. 13. 1. 1 Pet. 2. 23. Mr. Calamy I hope I must not go against my Conscience within me to comply mith my Superiours above me B. S. What a strange thing is this that when the blessed Apostle commanded you to obey for conscience sake you should disobey and that for conscience sake too Your Governors charge you upon your Conscience to be obedient and you pretend your conscience to be free from that subjection It is a sad thing that you have brought your selves and other poor souls to such a strait between two sins and you can by no means possible avoid both as long as you persist in this way for if you do the things commanded you go against the perswasion of your own conscience and that is a great sin and if you do them not you disobey lawfull Authority and that is a sin too Mr. Calamy Truely neither fancy faction nor humor makes me not to comply but meerly for fear of offending God And if after the best means used to satisfie my selfe as prayer to God discourse study I was not able to apprehend the lawfullnesse of what was required if it be my unhappinesse to be in an errour surely men will have no reason to be angry with me in this world and I hope God will pardon me in the next Mr. Sprin. When I was called upon either to conforme to the Laws for Uniformity or to leave my Ministry I asked of my self two things Whether I would rather suffer death then use the things imposed in Church professing the foundation and urging them as things indifferent not pressing them as binding conscience in themselves or as needfull to salvation And whether the execution of my Ministry which was pressed upon my conscience with a wo if I neglected it should be as dear to me as my life P. S. Good God to see to what pass small errors have brought us how difference of apprehension hath brought forth difference of judgement and difference of judgement hath brought forth difference of practice and disagreement of affection The difference of practice hath moved Authority to silence and suppress refusers of Conformity The disagreement in affection doth move you who are deprived to speak and act against persons in Authority whereby in the event the course of the Gospel is interrupted and of Popery enlarged the friends of Sion are grieved the enemies rejoyce the enemy of Mankind is gratified and the Lord is displeased the Church is rent with schism the Truth scandalized by dissention the Ministers undone by loss of living and the unity of brethren living in the same house professing the same faith and rejoycing in the same hope is pulled in pieces and this like to continue God knows how long Mr. Calamy It is sad that Magistrates should enjoyn such things as should cause such divisions as cause great thoughts of heart B. S. It is sad indeed that Subjects cannot submit to such things as are enjoyned for peace order and decency L. M. I wonder you should not consider how dangerous it should be to affront the most solemn injunction of the whole Nation a Law so universally desired so deliberately resolved on so seriously pressed as the greatest security of Church or State Mr. Calamy I was several times persecuted for owning his Majestyes Authority and Interest I did not think I should live to be imprisoned for opposing it Sr. T. E. The more favour his Majesty had for you for former service the more sorry he is that you have forfeited it by your present indiscretion His Majestie thought that Mr. Calamy would not have done so of any man in England Mr. Calamy Really I did not do it upon mine own head but upon the request of divers honourable and worthy persons who were otherwise like to be disappointed of a morning Sermon Sr. R. B. It is generally reported and upon the extraordinary concourse of people to your Church as generally believed that it was designed before hand several Citizens inviting one another to your Church to hear you preach Mr. Calamy It might be a design upon me it
MASTER Edmund Calamies LEADING CASE Behold how he seeketh a quarrel against me SPICANTE DEO LONDON Printed in the Year MDCLXIII Mr. EDMVND CALAMIE'S LEADING CASE Lord Mayor's Officer with a Warrant FOrasmuch as I have received a Certificate from and under the Hand and Seal of the right Reverend Father in God Gilbert Lord Bishop of London That Mr. Edmund Calamy late Curate of the Parish Church of St. Mary Aldermanbury in the said City of London being according as is provided and enacted by the late Act of Parliament made for the Vniformity of Publick Prayers c. by reason of his Inconformity disabled to Preach or Read any Lecture or Sermon in any Church or Chappel within his MAJESTIES Realm of England or Dominion of Wales and Town of Berwick upon Tweed and continuing and remaining still so disabled did since the Feast of St. Bartholomew last past upon two several daies viz. on Tuesday the twenty sixth day of August last past and upon Sunday the twenty eighth day of December 1662. in the said Church of St. Mary Aldermanbury presume and take upon himself without any lawful approbation and licence thereunto to Preach or Read and did Preach or Read two several Sermons or Lectures publickly before the Congregation then and there in the said Church assembled contrary to and in contempt of Authority of the said Act of Parliament These are therefore as I am required by the said Act in His MAJESTIES Name to will and command you to receive into your Custody within the Gaol of Newgate the Body of the said Edmund Calamy brought unto you herewith and him there detein for the offence aforesaid for the Term of three Months from the day of the date hereof without Bayl or Mainprise according to the tenor and effect of the Act of Parliament aforesaid And this shall be your Warrant therein Dated this fifth day of January 1662. Church-Members FAr be this from you good Sir spare your self and retire until this Calamity be overpast Come my people enter thou into thy Chambers Is 26. 20. and shut thy doores about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast Mr. Calamy What mean you to weep and to break mine heart for I am ready not to be bound Act. 21. 13 onely but to dye for the Lord Jesus Brethren Now you will not be perswaded we must cease and say The will of the Lord be Acts 21. 14. done Calamy The Lord Jesus did not hide himself when he was to be taken for me but said Here I am I will not hide my self now I am to be taken for him but will say Here I am only I shall entreat some of your Company to my Lord Mayor to whom you may give an account of that daies proceeding Brethren With all our hearts Lord Mayor As I would upon other occasions have been glad so really I am now sorry to see you Mr. Calamy equally sorry I am that I must inflict such a punishment as I am obliged by the Act upon a Person of your Years and Profession and that such a Person should deserve it In charity I could not think your Conscience could have allowed you at any time so open an affront to the most Solemn Establishment of Authoritie I reason I could not think your prudence could have allowed it at this time when His Majestie was so full of gracious thoughts towards you and all sober men of your way Calamy In prudence I should not at this time have displeased his Majestie In Conscience I cannot at any time displease God Lord Mayor I hope His Majesties Government is so just so moderate so agreeable to the great Principles of Religion and Reason upon which mankind joyn in a Society or Christians in a Church that there is no discreet and knowing Person put upon the sad Dilemma of either provoking God or opposing the Authority ordained of God Calamy Necessity is layd upon us yea woe unto us if we preach not the Gospel That you 1 Cor. 9. 16 may have a reason of that which was done by me and so may not think I did it unwarrantably I offer your Consideration what hath been much upon my spirit from the 5. of the Acts As the Apostles taught the People the Priests the Sadduces the Captain of the Temple came upon them being grieved that they taught the People And they layd hands on them and layd them in hold against the next day Howbeit many of them which heard the Word believed and the number of the men was about five thousand And when they had called them before them they a ked them by what Power or in what Name have you done this Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said unto them Ye Rulers of the People and Elders of Israel if we be examined this day of the good deed that we Acts 14. have done be it known unto you all we have done it it in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ And when they saw the boldnesse of Peter and John they marvelled and they took knowledg of them But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the Councel they conferred among themselves saying What shall we do to these men for that indeed notable things have been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell at Jerusalem and we cannot deny it But that it spread no further among the People let us straitly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this Name And they called them and commanded them That they should not speak at all in the Name of Jesus But Peter and John answered and said unto them Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto God more than unto you judge ye for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard So when they had further threatned them they let them go finding nothing how they might punish them because of the People L. B. L. If it were not our businesse rather to manifest our obedience to the Act of Uniformity in performing duty then to dispute your disobedience in neglecting yours we could easily show you how many waies you have wrested this Scripture as the unlearned and unstable wrest them to their own damnation and how wide your case is from theirs For 1. They were silenced by no Law you are silenced by a Law they could say with St. Paul Acts 25. 8. for themselves and answer That neither against the Law of the Jewes nor against the Temple nor against Caesar have we offended at all You must confesse That against the Law of the Nation against the Church and against Caesar in many things have you offended all 2. They were forbid to preach in the Name of Jesus You are onely forbid to Rebel in the Name of Iesus They were restrained from publishing the Truth You are restrained onely from publishing Errors 3. There the whole Ministry was to be