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A59258 A serious vindication of the Church of England shewing the nations happiness under the present government : being a seasonable answer to a late pamphlet entituled The naked truth / by a well-wisher to the nations happiness and prosperity. Well-wisher to the nations happiness and prosperity. 1680 (1680) Wing S2619; ESTC R27008 3,685 5

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A SERIOUS VINDICATION OF THE Church of England SHEWING The Nations Happiness Under the Present Government BEING A Seasonable Answer To a late PAMPHLET Entituled The Naked Truth By a Well-wisher to the Nations Happiness and Prosperity IN this sad Dissention and Division of Religion the Seers who are appointed to be the Watch men of the Church can't but observe that the Supplanters and Vnderminers of the Church as is evidently seen are daily by Papism Factions Sedition and Schisms digging down the Foundations of our Church and State as it is now lawfully Established And having by such Instruments already destroy'd so are they running fiercely on again to destroy all Publick Forms of Ecclesiastical Government Discountenance an Excellent Liturgy take off the very Hinges of Vnity Disgrace the Articles of a Pure Religion Pollute Publick Assemblies take away all Cognizance of Schism by mingling all SECTS and giving Countenance to That against which our Power ought to stand upon our Guard against such Rebellious Self-Interested and Bloody-minded People as we have more is the Pity in this our Kingdom They who have seen this our Jerusalem so much involv'd in our late Vnhappy Vncivil Wars and liv'd under the Tirany of Traytors and Vsurpers who Imprison'd and Murder'd their Good KING of ever Blessed Memory and Imprison'd Sequester'd Plunder'd and Beheaded our Nobility Gentry and People for which many suffer to this Day And our now Dread Soveraign and the Royal Family forc'd to flie for Refuge into strange Nations The Ministers of the Church turn'd out and Barbarously Vsed And a Company of Perverse and Wicked Wretches who Preach'd nothing but Sedition and Rebellion against the King and Government were put into their Places and all this done under the Cloak of Religion and being thereunto Inspir'd by a Holy Zeal as they always pretend And thus in short were We inslav'd under those Holy Tirants till God of his Infinite Mercy and Providence brought home our Most Gracious King to his Lawful Throne again and Restor'd the True Church to its former Prosperity which God Preserve from all its Malitious Opposers c. And shall we forget all this and the Order of the Morning and Evening Sacrifices and the Beauty of the Temple and be Tempted to Neglect so Excellent a Ministration and be content with any thing that is brought to us though it be but the very Husks and Acorns of Prodigals and Swine so They may get Money by it We must now take care that the Young Men who were born under that Captivity may be taught how to Worship the God of Israel after the manner of their Fore-fathers For never did the Excellency of Episcopal Government appear so Demonstratively and Conspicuously as now under their Conduct and Order For We have a Church so United so Orderly so Govern'd A Religion so Settled Articles so True Sufficient and Confessed by all sober Men Canons so Prudent and so Obeyed Devotions so Regular and so Constant Sacraments so Adorned and Ministred Churches so Beautious and Religious Circumstances so Grave and Prudent so Useful and Apt for Edification that the Enemies of our Church who serve the POPE 〈◊〉 all things and 〈◊〉 Christ in some who dare transgress an Institution and Ordinance of ●●RIST but dare not break a Canon of the POPE did Despair of prevailing against Us and Truth and know no Hopes but by setting their Faces against Us to Destroy the best of Governments which if they could then they would Triumph without having any Enemy So Balaam the Son of Bozer was sent for to Curse the People of the Lord in hopes that the Son of Zippor might prevail against them that long prosper'd under the Conduct of Moses and Aaron But now instead of this Excellency of Condition and Constitution of Religion the People are Seduced and fallen under the Harrows and Saws of Faction Sedition Railing Despising Drolling Impertinent and Ignorant Self-Interesting Solemn League and Covenanting Preachers who think all Religion is a Sermon and all Sermons ought to be Libels against Truth and Government who think they are Saints and none like them when they are great Hypocrites and Wolves in Sheeps-clothing for by their Fruits you may know them who Expound Chapters that the meaning may never be understood and Pray that they may be thought able to Talk but not to hold their peace Who speak Evil of Dignities Resist the Power and Ordinances of God who take up Religion for a Cloak who Delude silly Women to Cheat their Husbands who care not to obtain any thing but Wealth and Victory Power and Plunder And all the People do reap the Fruits thereof that are apt to grow upon such Crab-stocks They grow Idle and False Hypocrites and careless They deny Themselves nothing that is pleasant They Despise Religion Forget Government and some of them never so much as think of going to Heaven And if at any time they chance to do They think to go thither in such Paths which all the Ages of the Primitive Church did give Men warning of lest they should that way go to the Devil But when Men have tryed all that they can it is hoped they will return to the Excellency and Advantages of the true Christian Religion as it is taught by the Church of England For by Destroying it no End can be served but of Sin and Folly Faction and Death Eternal For besides that no Church that is an Enemy to this does Worship God in that Truth of Propositions in that Unblamable and Pious Liturgie and in Preaching the Necessities of Holy Life so much as the Church of England does Besides this I say it cannot be persecuted by any Governour that understands his own Interest unless He be first abused by False Preachers and then prefers his secret Opinion before his Publick Advantage For no Church in the World is so great a Friend to Loyalty and Obedience as She and her Sisters of the same Persuasion She Preaches no Rebellion against her Prince and is no Councellor Contriver or Projector of PLOTS and Conspiracies but a True Lover of Peace and Quietness c. They that hate Bishops destroy Monarchy And They that would Erect an Ecclesiastical Monarchy must consequently subject the Temporal to it and both One and the Other would be Supreme in Consciences And they that Govern there with an Opinion that in all things they ought to be attended to will let their Prince G●●ern others so long as he will be R●●e●●y Them And certainly for a Prince to persecute the Established Protestant Religion is as if a Physician should endeavour to Destroy all Medicaments and Fathers kill their Sons and the Masters of Ceremonies Destroy all Formalities and Courtships And as if the Pope should root out all Ecclesiastick State Nothing so Combines with Government if it be of Gods appointment as the Religion of the Church of England because nothing doth more adhere to the Word of God and dis-regard the Crafty Advantages of the
World If any Man shall not decline to try his Title by the Word of God It is certain there is not in the World a better Guard for it than the True Protestant Religion as it is taught in our Church For it is Via Tuta the safe way And certain it is that in that day we shall prevail against all Gods Enemies and Ours not in the Purchaces and Riches of the World but in the Rewards and Returns of Holiness and Patience Faith and Charity For by these we Worship God and against this Interest we cannot serve any thing else And there is none can leave our Communion or have Reason to reprove our Doctrine unless they be abus'd with Prejudice and suck in Venom with their Milk And there is a more solid Comfort and Material support to a Christian Spirit in one Article of Faith in one Period of the Lords Prayer in one Holy Lesson than in all the Disputes of the Impertinent Rabble who take more pains to prove there is no Purgatory than to perswade Men to avoid Hell And that a plain Catechism can more Instruct a Soul than the whole days prate which some usually spit forth to bid them get Christ and persecute his Servants It will not be unnecessary to tell you in part as I did at the beginning how our Kingdoms were Ruined as is too well known how our Divines were persecuted how our Churches were Demolish'd and made Stables by Sacrilegious Rebels and Tirants And it 's evidently seen at this day That there are abundance of such Saints among us and if not timely prevented may play the Devils Game over again For have they not began already to Rebel in Scotland They killed in a most Barbarous manner the Arch-bishop of St. Andrews c. What Impious Devilish and Hellish Declarations and Covenants lately by them openly proclaimed How many Conventicles are there contrary to Law How are our Orthodox Divines most scurrilously slander'd by them How bold and Audacious are they daily to publish Answers Joque Droll Libel and Asperse our Able Divines How many go under the notion of Protestants for in Discourse they say they are so when really they are none For you shall have them all the week Railing against the present Government frighten the People into Fears and Jealousies at Coffee-houses Booksellers shops Private Caballs and Factions Clubs up and down the Town And on Sunday they 'l run to a Conventicle and there exhort their ignorant Congregation to do the like c. Much more might be said But I shall conclude with my hearty Prayers that all our Differences may be composed and that we may be United in one True Church and that God would save and Defend Us from the Hands of all our Enemies and Infatuate their wicked Designs That we may study Peace and not Wars Strife Confusion and Discention which lead to the ways 〈◊〉 D●struction That God would Bless Preserve Defend and Keep His Sacred Majesty from the Hands of all his Enemies and to give him Victory over them and send him a Long Happy and Prosperous Reign over Us And that We may live in Gods Fear and in Duty and Obedience to Our King And God bless the Great Councel of the Nation the Parliament And when they shall be Assembled to Direct and Prosper all their Consultations to the Advancement of Gods Glory the Safety Honour and Welfare of our Dread Soveraign and Kingdoms That Peace and Happiness Truth and Justice Religion and Piety may be Established amongst Us to all Generations And let all True Subjects with me say Amen LONDON Printed for A. Banks Anno Domini 1680.