Warranty nor any other wise Man Whatever so long as he is able to judge whether God or Man is first to be obeyed It would be a very weak Plea for a Subject to plead the Command of an Inferior Officer in the Commonwealth in excuse of a Treasonable or Seditious Action before the Supreme Magistrate in bar of his Sentence and shall we give that to the King of Heaven which we think unreasonable to offer to our Prince and venture to make more bold with God than Man Obj. But we are leavened with Prejudice which we suckt in with our Milk and were tainted with from our Cradles our Palates are vitiated and pre-occupied so that we cannot taste nor see the Beauty Excellency and Decency which are the real Properties of the Rites and Ceremonies c. commanded by our Church Res This is to beg the Question and to condemn without proof But suppose it to be Truth yet a kind and indulgent Parent will not oblige a willing and obedient Child to feed upon a Dish tho it be both wholesome and toothsome too if his Palate cannot relish it nor Stomach digest it But would rather leave it to the choice of such as come to Table to take or refuse it Were but the same Charity used now which St. Paul recommended to the Brethren nay which our own Church hath propounded to be observed in some parts of Conformity our Work were ended and the ensuing Plea rendred useless and superseded I mean that of the Convocation held in the Year 1640. speaking of the Custom of Bowing in Token of Reverence of God * The like Liberty is left as to Bowing at the Name of Jesus when we come in the Place of Publick Worship saith thus In the practice or admission of this Rite we desire that the Rule of Charity prescribed by the Apostle may be observed which is that they who use this Rite despise not those who use it not and they who use it not condemn not them who use it And I cannot understand why the same Latitude or Charity might not be granted in the other scrupled parts of Conformity Let 's hear what that Excellent and Learned Man Mr. Chillingworth hath spoken to our purpose viz. Thanksgiving reading of Scriptures Prayer Confession in the plainest and simplest manner were matter enough to furnish out a Lyturgy though nothing either of private Opinion or of Church Pomp Garments or prescribed Gestures of Imagery of Musick of Matter concerning the Dead of many Superfluities which creep into the Church under the Name of Order and Decency did interpose it self Now tho we should admit that many may be over-born by too great prejudices against things of this nature yet I wish it might by our Superiours be considered how far notwithstanding they may be indulged and favoured whilst they own the Doctrine of the Church and are very unwilling to make a breach in its Communion In all the Controversies of Protestants saith the last-named Author there is a seeming Conflict of Reason with Reason Scripture with Scripture Authority with Authority which how it can consist with a manifest revealing of the Truth of either side I cannot well understand Besides tho we grant that Scripture Reason and Authority were all on one side and the appearances on the other side all answerable yet if we consider the strange power that Education and Prejudices instilled by it have over excellent Understandings we may well imagine that many Truths which in themselves are revealed plain enough are yet to such or such a Man prepossest with contrary Opinions not revealed plainly Neither doubt I but God who knows whereof we are made and what Passions we are subject to will Compassionate such Infirmities and not enter into Judgment with us for those things which all things considered are unavoidable May our Mother the Church imitate our Father which is in Heaven in the like Charitable Consideration and Allowance I thank God I never had any Addiction or Inclination to the Romish Faith or Religion yet have had so much Charity for the Professors of it as not to think they have generally sinned wilfully against their Knowledge and Belief of the Truth Yet 't is hardly possible to have plainer Scripture or clearer Reason than are pleadable against many Propositions and Parts of it For instance how contrary to Divine Institution on which the Sacraments are founded practice of the Apostles and usage of the Primitive Church is their half Communion and denial of the Cup to the Laity Our Saviour giving command to the Disciples not only to eat but to drink also of the Cup of Blessing Obj. But they were Ministers of the Church and so not to be accounted as Lay-men Res If they were yet they were ministri non conficientes and so according to their own practice were not to have received the Communion but in one kind for were here never so many of the Clergy present at that Sacrament he only that Consecrates receives in both kinds all the rest but in one What need I instance in St. Paul's Celebration of it in the Church of Corinth who delivering of the same according as he had received it from our Saviour advised them not only to eat of that Bread but also to drink of that Cup. Otherwise the unworthy Receivers tho they might have eat yet could not have drunk Damnation to themselves which he cautions them against What need I instance in their Celebration of the Publick Service in a Tongue the People don't understand a thing beyond the compass of the Churches Authority and Power which is only given them for Edification and not for Destruction Whether it was revealed to the Apostle what Errors would creep into the Church in the succeeding Ages of it I know not yet I am sure if they were he could not have spoke * 1 Cor. 14. more pertinently argued more closely or disputed more rationally against that unaccountable practice and rule of their Church And yet so strong and strange are those prepossessions and prejudices with which their early and constant Education in that Communion hath tinctured them that they know not how to receive the plain meaning and unavoidable sence as we would think of that Divine portion of Scripture But how vastly different is their Case and ours Since the Scene of our Dispute lyes only in the Suburbs or Outworks of Religion The Question not being concerning the Ark or the Altar the Tabernacle or the Temple but rather whether the Snuffers and the Snuffing-dishes the Forks and the Spoons be of pure Gold or not Which not only renders our mistakes if they be such in themselves more venial but with our Superiors more pardonable yet notwithstanding we are obliged to observance in the smallest things under the greatest and most severe penalties the Church can inflict viz. Suspension Deprivation Excommunication interdicting the Fellowship and Communion of the Saints and denying the Evangelical Passover
being reviled we bless 1 Cor. 4.13 being persecuted we suffer it being defamed we intreat But how wonderful must the retaliating Providence of God be that no small number of those who have bantred and bespattred us for our pretence of Conscience are now driven to the same Plea for their dissent from our present Constitution and Government This is the Lord 's doing and 't is marvellous in our eyes Which justifies the Truth and Reason of our Argument which a late Reverend (a) Dr. Taylor Bishop urged in the like case It is saith he such a doctrine that if there be variety in Human Affairs if the event of things be not setled in a durable consistence but is changeable every one of us all may have need of it Behold this day are these words fulfilled in our Ears Those whose Nest seemed to be built upon a Rock yea placed among the Stars too high to be reached too strong like Mount Sion ever to be removed have lived to see their honour levelled with the dust How are they fallen from heaven how are they cast down to the ground that did weaken the nations Nor is the wisdom and love of God less conspicuous in that part of our Revolution which gave so happy a reverse of Fortune to our Dissenting and not long since Afflicted Brethren turning all their sorrow into joy and mourning into a good day In which the conduct and method of Divine Providence is very admirable by breaking off the Yoke with those * Vnaeademque manus vulnus opâ—â—â— tulit hands which imposed it The Act of Liberty or Indemnity from the penalty of the Laws for Uniformity c. being passed by the same Authority viz. King and Parliament by Persons whose addictions and practices as to the same Form of worship no way differed from theirs who so strictly obliged us to one general and uniform but scrupled Scheme of Religion Yet have been so kind and considerate of those who are weak in the Faith as not to tye them to matters of doubtful Disputation but have given a yieldance and pardon'd them in those things whereof their Consciences were afraid Should they who had been so long trampled under foot have got into the Saddle wither would they have rode How would they have triumphed over those that oppressed them Root and Branch Branch and Rush ere this might have been the word and nothing to have given satisfaction but an utter extirpation or excision of those that troubled them But the Judge of all the Earth took a better course of doing right than to put the injured Parties into a capacity of revenging the wrongs they had suffered Such was the wisdom of him who is a Physician of the greatest value and knew best how to work the Cure not by shedding the Patients Blood but by alteration allaying the Acrimony of the Humours changing the disposition and temper of our Superiours into a more kind and compassionate regard of an harassed and afflicted people These wisely considering that force was no proper Topick for perswasive Arguments that their raking Medicines did but torment the Patient and inrage the Distemper contrived a more gentle method and have learnt suaviter curare I mean to care the hurt of the Daughter of our People more softly and substantially binding up the broken-hearted and proclaiming liberty to the Captive Compulsion is a Quiver which affords many a sharp Arrow but such as seldom hits the mark Arguments which prove very little of the Question whilst they too plainly demonstrate the Zeal and Passion of the Disputant These worthy Patriots standing upon the Shoulders of their Predecâ—ssors learnt better and saw further into the nature of Religion That 't is a Plant which never thrives in an hot Bed A thing which must be profest (a) Si princeps subditos opinionâ—m varietate multitudine â—ectarum distractos in suam soil Religionem pertrabere volet vim amovere opportet nam quo graviora supplicia irrogabis to minus proficies câ—m ea sit in hominibus vis ac natura ut ad aliquid assentiendum sponte duci velit coginolit freely and without force Religio sponte non vi debet suscipi saith Tertullian For indeed how can the (b) La volonte est nec pour suivre â— entendement comme son guide son flambeau Chorr de Sagess 'T is the nature of the Will to follow the Understanding as its guide and direction 'T is a Light to its Feet and Lanthorn to its Paths 'T is a thing no way pleasing to God to put a force upon the Consciences of Men. Services or Sacrifices which are offered by constraint and not of a willing mind are never acceptable to God seldom if ever serviceable to Men. Emanuel King of Portugal was condemned by the 4th Council of Tollet for taking the Children of the Jews by force from their Parents and Baptizing them will embrace any thing as good which the understanding does not represent as Truths And for a Man to assent to what he knows not is to invert the order of Nature and to act contrary to the Rules of his Constitution which is as hard to do as for Water to ascend high than the Fountain or original from whence it flows If a Person doubts of the Truth of a Proposition constraint or threatning can never clear the scruples or resolve the doubts he labours under And tho' he may be frighted into a compliance yet his assent is the effâ—ct of Force not Faith Such a Proselyte is a direct Hypocrite who like a broken bow is ready upon all occasions to start aside and will stand bent no longer than the Cord holds which strains it or the force lasts which is upon it So that it seems no way conducive to the Interest of Ecclesiastical Polities to use Engines to screw Members into their Communion who will prove no better than false Brethren that will be apt to undermine their Liberties and turn Renegades so soon as they have opportunity to desert the Tents of the Church Carnal Weapons are an improper Artillery for a Spiritual Warfare fiery Darts belong to the wicked one and like the Author of them are false yea inconclusive Arguments of the truth and no way sufficient to decide any questionable part of it Had the Jacobine and Franciscan Friers been burnt who proffered themselves to the Stake to prove pro and con The Protestants of France pleaded with their Ring for Indulgence because it was not the Will of God that the Consciences of Men should be forced Parce cause demande des hommes une Sacrifice voluntaire qu'il neveut pas qu'on force les consciences Dr. Burn. Collect. Letters P. 218. that Savanarola was an Heretick their fiery Zeal might have argued much heat but would have afforded no light to their Cause Besides the Victory we gain'd over our Dissenting Brethren in causing some of them to conform could never
melius correcta fuitque hoc Cranmeri votum ad Calvinum scribentis c. Epist ad Verd. They had abolisht the Mass changed the Service or Celebration of it in an unknown Tongue they had extinguisht Purgatory the Doctrine of Supererrogation Praying to Saints Adoration of Images and many other things they had to say but the People could not bear them then But now God invites the King next under God our Redeemer from an almost Irrecoverable Relapse into Popery invites many of the faithful Fathers and Ministers of the Church invite and plead to perfect our Reformation and to unite the Protestant Interest We have now a Price put into our Hands and have we yet no Heart to improve it Shall we still sell our selves to work Iniquity and to sow the Seeds of Strife those Tares in the Field of our Church Shall we never see the things which concern our Peace Shall we still sacrifice our Interests to our Revenge and reck our Malice upon one another Why should we any longer strive and do wrong to each other for we are Brethren And though perhaps this may be but a techy Argument to treat upon provoking Men to say or think at least that we grutch or envy the Glory that is paid to God or undervalue that absolute Form of Prayer which Christ taught his Disciples which is so far from may design my Conscience bearing me witness if I mistake not my self that I think it needless to spend the least either of my time or Ink to wipe off the Imputation The main Reason why an alteration in this respect is desired being that the Form of our Publick Worship might be so modelled that we may all unanimously and without offence concur in the Celebration of it Concerning Christ's descent into Hell THat the Articles of Faith and subject Matter of Prayer should be clear and perspicuous sure no Man question When they are dark and disputable it will be impossible or very difficult to observe St. Paul's Rule 1 Tim. 2.8 of lifting up clean hands without wrath and doubting Now that Christ descended into Hell is not only daily to be confest and generally owned by the Congregation as an undoubted Article of their Faith 3 Art but particularly subscribed by every Minister of the Church before his admission to any publick Imployment in the Church as one of the Articles of Religion In these words As Christ died and was buried so also it is to be believed that he went down into Hell A Subject very much controverted and hath afforded Matter of great dispute the terms of the Proposition being variously interpreted and taken in a different Sense some expounding descent for a Personal some for a vertual going down into Hell acting as the Sun doth in inferiora per calorem influxum Some will have it for continuing in the (a) Hic mortis status non locus aliquis infernalis aperte intelligitur Sic Euseb Caesare c. Vid. Sanford Lib. de descensâ— ad inferos tertiam State of the Dead Mr. Broughten hath a peculiar Notion of the Phrase viz. That Christ's descending into Hell signifies his going into a Place of Happiness which his Soul took possession of so soon as it was parted from his Body which I may have occasion further to take notice of hereafter As to the place of Descent some think it to be the Grave others the place of the Damned if the former then dead and buried is the same with the ensuing Phrase He descended into Hell for as Ruffinus observes this Article was left out of the more ancient (b) Consule Sanford à Parkero continual lib. 4. de descensu ad inferos pag. 38. Copies of the Creed Vis tamen Verbi eadem videtur esse quod sepultus dicitur This was made an Article of Religion in the time of Edward the Sixth and required to be subscribed to but then they explained the Sense of it and the manner how our Saviour descended viz. That the Body of Christ laid in the Grave till the Resurrection but his Spirit which he gave up was with the Spirits which were detained in Prison or in Hell and preacht to them But since that the Article is continued and in a Synod held in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth is recognized but simply without any Explication In the ancient Creeds this Article is not to be found so Ruffinus observes in Expositione Symboli Sciendum est saith he in Ecclesiae Romanae Symbolo non habetur additum Descendit ad inferna Sed neque in Orientis Ecclesiis habetur hic sermo In the ancient Copies of Creeds delivered to the Church of Jerusalem both larger and lesser there is no mention of this Article the Words being thus expressed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is being Crucified and Buried he rose again from the Dead In that of Alexandria and presented to Constantine by (c) Feigning himself at that time Orthodox Arrius Presbyter of that Church we read thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * Sozom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is he came was made Flesh suffered and rose again In a Copy drawn up and delivered to the Nicene Fathers thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He dwelt among us suffered and the third day rose again In another Copy received by Constantine and all the Arrian Fathers drawn up as Bishop Vsher observes for a more clear Condemnation of the Arrian Heresie it runs thus viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He was made Man suffered and rose again In another larger Copy of the Creed mentioned by Epiphanius as the same Bishop observes The Words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is he was Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate suffered and was buried and rose again the Third day c. In the larger Symbol of Anathasius we find it thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is he was buried he rose again and was received up into Heaven In an ancient Copy written in a Welch Character which the aforesaid Bishop found in the Library at Oxford this Article is not mentioned but only crucified dead and buried be rose again the third day But about four hundred Years after Christ it was brought into the Roman Creed who received it from Aquileia * But what need we retail this truth when as Mr. Perkins observes that in above threescore Creeds of the most ancient Councils and Fathers these words of his descent into Hell are not to be found some think they crept in by negligence Erasmus saith Nâ—c in Symbolo Orientalium Ecclâ—siarum nec in Romano hanc particulam Scil. Descendisse ad inferos â—uisse additam testis Cyprianus nec recensetur apud Tertullianum vetustissimum Scriptorum Colloq Inquis de fide Sciendum sane est quod in Ecclâ—siae Romanae Symbolo non habetur additum Descendit ad inferna sed neque in Orientis Ecclesiis habetur hic sermo vis tamen
Person may rest in the Bosom or external Communion of the Church yet too too often we have little or rather no hope that when he is departed hence he rests in Christ And therefore in our solemn Applications unto God to tell him we have a sure and certain hope of his rest in him and that he shall be raised unto eternal Life when we have no such hope or any tolerable Ground or probable Argument to believe it is to cause our Faith to act contrary to its own nature and to ascend higher than the Fountain of Scripture or Reason from whence it originally flows putting our Charity upon the rack and Conscience upon too great a stretch Besides Incouragement to the bad how many from hence flatter themselves into a Fool 's Paradice where they expect to eat of the Tree of Life though they have sed never so foul upon forbidden Fruit Crying Peace Peace though they have walkt according to the imagination of their own Hearts adding drunkenness to thirst For let a Person live in the Communion of the Church though he be as bad as ever was Caesar Borgia yet he shall have the same Charity extended towards him as if he had walkt before God in Truth and with a perfect Heart giving God thanks for his deliverance out of the Miseries of this Life as if he went immediately to Paradice to make an addition to the Spirits of just Men made perfect begging that God would accomplish the number of his Elect and hasten his Kingdom All which pro subjectâ materiâ are applicable to the Person of the defunct May it not be a just discouragement to Holiness of Life whilst the same Expectancies and Hopes by the publick Judgment of the church are declared concerning the worst Discouragement to the good as well as the best of Men Who from hence might infer and say What is the Almighty that we should serve him or what profit should we have if we pray unto him 21 Job 15. For the same end is to them both to the Good and to the Sinner so that I have cleansed my self in vain and washt mine Hands in Innocency when he that wallows in the Mire and that hath defiled his Garments shall yet sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven which is but consequential or the same to a rest in Christ and a Resurrection to eternal Life seeing then the same Office is to be applied to Persons of all sorts and circumstances we earnestly desire it may be so far reformed and modelled that the bad be not flattered the good offended nor the Consciences of such as minister justly scandalized And seeing that Mercy is a most acceptable Sacrifice to the Almighty why might not this whole Office excepting some decent Expression upon committing the Body to the Ground be performed within the Church where the Minister and People are secured from the Wind and Wet and other extremities of Weather to which they especially who are to attend bare headed are exposed whilst they continue sub Dio and remain in the Open Air. Obj. But the sight of the Grave for the Eye affects the Heart is apt to stamp deeper Impresses and produce an higher Sense of Mortality in the Minds of Men and therefore an alteration upon this account would be for the worse Res 1st And is not the dead Corps a Spectacle within doors as powerful and convincing as that without 2dly If the Priest's Lips will not preserve the Knowledge and maintain the Sense of our Estate and Circumstances 't will be in vain to seek it at the Grave's Mouth We have Moses and the Prophets if we will not hear them neither will we be convinced though one should arise out of the Grave from the Dead so that the reason of our request yet remains unshaken Of the Collects for the King the those in Authority NOR is our flattering of the living in the next place any whit a less Stone of stumbling or rock of offence than our fawning upon the Dead To prevent which how necessary is it for the Reverend Father of our Church into whose Hands the King hath now put a Fan throughly to purge our Floor I mean those Prayers and Collects appointed to be used for the King and those in Authority by the which be a Prince never so debaucht and profligate prophane and dissolute abandoning himself to all the Vices of the Age sublimating Evil to the highest pitch violating all the Laws of God and casting those Cords behind him yet as if the Majesty of his Person were an Elixir which turns all into God changing the nature of Vice into Vertue we are bound to acknowledge him that is greatest to be the best too nay as if the most idolatrous and false Religion could by the touch of a Scepter be legitimated or changed into an Evangelical Worship and reasonable Service We are bound as the Case stands whatever Religion the Prince professes be it roman or Mahometan yet to pray that God would keep and strengthen him in the true way of worshipping him when at that very time we believe and are perswaded it is false A Staff which â—n the late Reign was made use of to bastinado those that prayed by the Liturgy Our Enemies urging that either their way of worship was true or else our Service false and hypocritical If Princes were like Miâ—as changing the Nature of every thing they touch or had the same Power which Bellarmine avers to be in the Pope viz. of making Vertue to be Vice and Vice Vertue Evil to be Good and Darkness to be Light than we might account Slavery to be Liberty and that tender Mercy which is Cruelty We need not scruple to call him Gracious and most Religious Sovereign though he hath abandoned the Sense and Practice of Religion and Vertue nor scruple to call him Rex Christianissimus who is vix Christianus But till these Paradoxes can be proved and justified it is desired by such as be true Sons of the Church that the Liturgy may in this respect be altered and such of its Collects as oblige us to give flattering Titles unto Man may be so revised and amended that if we lived under a Julian or Domitian they might not upon the least account be scrupled nor can we ever expect a fitter Juncture to work this Reformation in than when we are under the Conduct of such Sovereign Princes who are not only willing to condescend to all things which can with any colour of Reason and Conscience be desired of them but also no pretence or conciousness of guilt that is upon them or scruple in us do in the least enforce or influence our request of having such Expressions taken out of our Liturgy as should hinder us in lifting up our Hands without wrath or doubting such as should render us Sychophants towards Men or Hypocrites towards God in our most divine and solemn Approaches unto the Throne of
Epistle to the Magness seems to advise the fame thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let all things be done the Bishop presiding as God's Vicegerent and the Presbyters sitting in Council representing the Apostles which seems to be much like the Wish of a more modern Divine whose Words are these Sane â—aec Ecclesiae administrandae ratio quam dixi in quâ Episcoporum porestas certos limiter habeat à synâ—do Coetu Presbyterorum circumscriptos est res magis optanda quam speranda Epist ad Verdae St. Ignatius in several of his Episâ—les frequently mentions a Subjection and Submission due to the Presbyters as well as to the Bishops 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the Teams he useth being sufficiently expressive of Jurisdicton and Authority I will give you a few Instances for the Proof of what I have assumed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Smyr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let all follow the Bishop as Christ his Father and the Presbyters as the Apostles which as Vossius observes was the Opinion of Polycarpe His Words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is be subject to the Presbyters and Deacons as unto God and Christ Notae Voss 261. Ignatius in his Epistle to the Magnesians written from Smyrna speaking of Zotion whom he had kindly entertain'd commends him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because he was subject to the Bishop and Presbytery in the Grace of God and Law of Jesus Christ And in his Epistle to the Trallians though he faith they ought to take the Bishop along with them so they should also be subject to the Presbyters as to the Apostles of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad. Trall p. 156. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. But what need we hear more Evidences out of this ancient Father a for the time and I believe the Reader 's Patience would fail should I particularly recite what he hath said to this purpose in his other Epistles to the Brethren of Tarsus Antioch c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the People be subject to the Presbyters and Deacons The same Advice he gives to the Philippiâ—ns in his Letter to them as also in his Epistle to the Ephesians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad. Smyr If the Bishops and Presbyters are to be observed and followed as Christ obey'd his Father and as the Church was bound to be obedient to the Apostles then sure the sole Jurisdiction was not in the single Person of the Bishop It was strongly argued in the Council of Basil against Panormitane by Ludovicus Cardinal Arlotensis that there were most evident Testimonies for the Defence of Inferiors For the chief and principal of all Divines st Austine upon the Words of St. Matth. where Christ faith I will give thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven affirmeth that by those words the Judicial Power was not only given to Peter But also to the other Apostles and to the whole Church the Bishops and Priests The famous Dr. St. Jerome doth also agree with St. Austine whose Words are these upon the Epistle of Paul to Titus Before that difference was made in Religion by the Instigation of the Devil or that it was spoken among the People I bold of Paul I of Apollo and I of Cephas the Churches were governed by the common Consent and Council of the Priests for the Priest is the very same that a Bishop is And further he saith That Priests are of lesser Authority than Bishops rather by Custom than by the Dispensation of the Truth of God and that they ought to rule the Church together Mr. Lambert that learned man and constant Martyr in his Defence averred the same thing and that Priests were called Bishops being all one and no other but Bishops The Bishop of London and Duresme in their Letter to Cardinal Pool acknowledge the same thing urging the Authority of St. Jerome in his Epistle to Evagrius and in his Commentary upon Titus Sciant ergo Episcopi se magis ex Consuetudine quam dispensationis dominicae veritate Presbyteris esse majores And in both places prove that the Government of the Churches yea the Patriarchal Churches was by the common Consent and Agreement of the Clergy Acts and Monuments Vol. 2. p. 290. Impress 1684. But I shall refer my Reader and my self as to this Matter unto the Proposal made by Charles II. in his Declaration concerning Ecclesiastical Affairs 1660. p. 15 In short I think that excellent Project concerning Church-Government might very well deserve the Consideration of out Superiors especially if Presbyters might have Power granted not only to assist by their Advice but (c) Si judiciariam habent potestatem in Ecclesiâ Presbyteri quid eos prohibet vocem in conciliis habere terminativam Card. Arelat Aen. Sylv. p. 24. de gest Con. Basil Vote too which was strenuously pleaded for and learnedly defended to be the Right of Presbyters in the Council of Basil Acts and Monuments But if as to some doubtful Matters in Doctrine some scrupled Rites and Ceremonies in the Church which have occasioned not only many hot Disputations bitter Contests and the rolling many Garments in Blood our Consciences may be indulged let them take such to govern as they esteem best of in the Church may we but stow out Cargo right secure our Lading and avoid Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience let who will carry the Flag Only give me leave to say verily there hath been a Fault amongst us that whilst our Discipline hath been very quick-sighted in Matters of Conformity as to the smallest (a) We were once complained of in Parliament by a great Member of that Assembly in these Words The Vines have both Grapes and Leaves And Religious Acts both substance and Circumstance but the Gardener is much to blame who gives more charge to the Workmen of the Leaves than of the Fruit Sir Edward Dering Collect. Speech p. 33. Ceremonies it hath been comparatively dull in hearing and slow in espying the greatest Immoralities We have been ready to discern the More but have overlookt the Beam Tender of the Rubrick but less concerned for the Decalogue And so long as our Whoredoms do remain 't is impossible out Church should have Peace Let us be never so zealous for Conformity to the Canons and Rules of it for if God hath a Controversie with us the best Disputant will find the Contest hard and Victory impossible We may blame the Dissenters for our Schisms but I am sure we may thank our selves for them nay with grief and shame may we confess it that to such a pitch hath Prophaneness risen among us that it hath been a Scandal to be good and a Crime to be Religious Tea Truth faileth and he that departeth from Evil maketh himself a Prey or is accounted mad as the Margent reads it 59 Isa 15. Loyalty and Conformity were the whole Cry upon which Cardinal-Vertues for they have been deemed no less
Divine Command to the contrary And why then also may she not injoin Caelibacy or single Life as she shall esteem it convenient for there 's no command to the contrary as Aquinas observes Nemo ex praecepto tenetur nubere and I believe he spake truth for unless it be in some particular Cases no Man is oblig'd to Marry for then St. Paul would not have said He that marries does well but he that abstains does better And now whatever I have spoken upon this Argument I have done it in the Truth and Integrity of my Heart out of no design to embroil but rather to promote the Welfare and Peace of the Church as well as of the Consciences of private Men and thereby to extinguish those Flames which the Sparks of these controverted Rites have enkindled for Solomon saith If we take away the Wood the Fire will go out Nor have I Wyar-drawn the Truth or warpt the Rule of it to make it agree with Peace Non studendum est paci saith the Father in detrimentum verae Doctrinae But have endeavoured to take Measures from Scripture Reason and Charity But if now I should be mistaken and should have taken my mark amiss I am the more convinc'd of the necessity of Toleration and compliance in Matters which are of no greater Figure in Religion than what we have mentioned Because as Dr. Taylor saith Even then when a Man thinks he hath most reason to be confident he may easily be deceived But I shall leave all to the Judgment and Censure of those reverend and worthy Persons whom the King hath Commissioned to sit on such Matters and to review the Liturgy This was writ during their Authority Let the Righteous smite me and it shall be a kindness Though to those Ralleries with which Tracts of this nature are commonly entertained according to the direction of Mr. Hooker in his Ecclesiastical Polity I shall reply nothing because as the wise Man saith Fool 's rage and are confident But suppose the Matters alledged be not contrary to any Divine Precept yet they may be and are offensive and scandalous to good Christians though perhaps but weak in the Faith and is there not as much Charity and Forbearance to be shewed to such especially living peaceably though uneasie to themselves submitting to the Ordinances of Men for Conscience sake rather than make any Schism in the Church as hath been extended to some who have not only differed from it in Doctrine but wholly abandoned its Communion I shall instance in several Rasures which have been made in the Common Prayer by Arch-bishop Land least Matter of Scandal or Offence should be given to the Arminians and our dear Friends the Papists Hence we find that those Words used in the Morning Prayers for the King viz. Who art the Father of thine Elect and of their Seed were expunged which the Arch-bishop in his Speech in the Star-Chamber excuses as being done in his Predecessors time by the King's Command But this alters not the case in hand but as some have more than guessed that because the Words seemed too much to favour the Opinion of a particular assurance of Election and personal Adoption or Salvation which gave offence to some in the Church who had other Sentiments they were commanded to be rased Others also both within and without the Church who would not allow the Pope to be Antichrist were much offended with these Words in our Liturgy viz. Root out that Babilonish and Antichristian Sect which are changed into these Words viz Root out the Romish and Babilonish Sect Which the Arch-bishop saith he did by the King's Order that he might not offend but remove scandal from the Papists And do we not owe as much to the Members of our own Church Shall we shew such forbearance towards our most implacable Enemies Whilst we hang a Mill-stone about the Necks of our Brethren and Friends even when we are invited to remove the Stones of stumbling and Rocks of offence out of the way The same Arch-bishop declaring That it was of dangerous Consequence to avow that the Popish Religion was Rebellion though this Clause passed saith he in King Jame's time yet he made an Alteration by the King's Command and saw it Printed see the Star-Chamber Speech p. 34. So that the Liturgy it self hath not been a Noli me tangere in former days but have passed an expurgatory Index and forc'd to part with such Expressions and Clauses as have been adjudged scandalizing of and reflecting upon the Roman Party Nor ought we to be uncharitable to any yet shall we do good to all but those of our own Houshold of Faith and Religion Besides what doth the late unpararelled deliverance of our Church from that Ruine it was so lately at the brink of require of us But to do justly to walk humbly and to shew mercy to redeem its former Disciplinary Cruelties and severe Usages by which our Brethren of the same Faith and Reformed Religion have been formerly harassed and treated with My design is not to rifle the two last Reigns or Proceedings against the Non-Conformists for Instances or Arguments to prove our Assumption The Author of the Plea for the Non-Conformists hath given us a taste of that Cup which was bitterly wrung out among us Yet I hope I may look a little further back and show you that the later Severities acted upon our Brethren was by a Transmigration of that ancient Spirit of Cruelty which heretofore informed and ruled in the great Abettors of Conformity By which we shall not only see clearly the Wisdom and Love of God in putting it into the Hearts of our Governours to proclaim Liberty to the Captive and to let the Oppressed go free But also to nominate and appoint Persons of Understanding and consequently of an excellent Spirit to find out such a Temper that those Boutefeus which have formerly put us in a flame may be never able to officiate as Incendiaries amongst us for the future So extreamly Arbitrary were the Censures of the high Commission-Court and Star-Chamber that some have weighed them in the same Ballance against the (a) With the Papists there is a severe Inquisition and with us as 't is used a bitter high Commission Sir Edw. Dering Col. Speech Inquisition This I am sure that the Wisdom and Justice of our Nation thought fit to make a Law to abrogate them and remove them as the great Nuisances which pestered both our Church and State When Ecclesiastical Persons were brisk in inflicting corporal Punishments and pecuniary Mulcts and Amercements Persons of the most liberal Professions and Education have been treated like Rogues and Villains for no other Reasons than their writing and speaking against the most Arbitrary Proceedings and Innovations in Religion and Divine Worship Which were adjudged so enormous and flagitious that they were used kindly if they came off with their Ears cropt their Noses slit their Cheeks burnt and stigmatized with
By which Judgment the King's Title was condemned and the Crown translated from the House of Lancaster to York in which Line it continued till (a) The best Title saith my Lord Cooke of Hen. 7. to the Crown was by Elizabeth his Wife eldest Daughter of Edw. 4 yet before his Marriage the Crown was by Act of Parliament intailed to Hen. 7 and to the Heirs of his Body the Right of the Crown then being in the said Elizabeth eldest Daughter of Edw. 4. Instit 4. Part pag. 37. Hen. 7. who marrying the Heir of that House the Families were united and that fatal Controversie effectually ended But all this may perhaps be thought not only too great a Dâ—scent and Deviation from our first Undertaking but also too unâ—haritable a Reflection upon a Person who it may be not only acted sincerely and according to the Dictates of his Conscience in refusing but likewise hath observed the same Measures in submitting to swear Allegiance to K. William As to the first I know that Church and State are like the Body and the Soul very distinct and different in the Nature of them yet do very much affect and influence the Affairs and Concerns of each other That an absolute and illimited Power in the State have been planted and watered by the Principles and Practices of our great Sticklers for Hyper-conformity and Innovations in Religion hath been already proved by what they have transmitted to the World from the Press and Pulpit For whilst the Wind of Law hath been too scant for them to maintain their course in Ecclesiastical Matters they have endeavoured to tide it up by the Fluxes of Prerogative giving the same Advice that was once the Opinion of the Flatterers of Cyrus That though what he did was not justifiable by Law yet the Kings of Persia might to what they pleased As for the latter I thank God I was never troubled with the overflowing of the Gall It being a thing always contrary to my Inclination to have any Man exposed to the Censure of the Civil or Ecclesiastical Magistrate when any other Measures can be taken to prevent the Mischief of his Error And if our Consciences do not accuse us then may we have confidence towards God and towards Man too Though I could have wisht the Author's Justification had been maintained from some other Medium than that its lawful to swear Allegiance or Fidelity to a King de facto though he may want a civil Right to the Establishment of his Throne And for such who out of meer Conscience to their former Oath cannot do so much I wish them Salvo juri regni as much Indulgence as I could desire for those whose Consciences are gauled though the Cases be vastly different by the Yoak of Conformity in Matters of Religion To perswade which I can urge no better Arguments than what Charles II. alledges to this purpose and with which I shall conclude viz. We do conjùre all our loving Subjects to acquiesce and submit to this our Declaration concerning those Differences which have so much disquieted the Nation at home and have given so much offence to the Protestant Churches abroad and brought so much Reproach upon the Protestant Religion in general from the Enemies thereof Which are very great Truths witness the Complaints that have been made by those of the Reformed Churches without us viz. Of Calvin Zanchy c. And the Judgment of the Divines of Transilvania who have concluded concerning things of this nature thus viz. That if the Observation of indifferent Ceremonies cannot be maintained without the loss of Christian Charity those Ceremonies rather should be laid aside than Charity violated by maintaining them Nor have the Mischiess which have been occasioned by Differences about these Rites at home been a less Evidence of the Truth averred in that Royal Declaration I mean the Ruine of many poor Families Disgrace Poverty Enmity and irreconcilable Hatred which have been bred and brought forth by the late vigorous Prosecution of Dissenters for Conscience sake stretching the Laws straining nay perverting the Design and Intent of them that they might be the better furnished with Weapons of despite A Spirit which hath long since been complain'd of to actuate malicious and ill-disposed Men as may appear by a Letter which I have seen as copied out of the Register written by the Lords of the Council in the Reign of Q. Eliz. upon the like Subject in these Words AFter our hearty Commendations Whereas we are informed that heretofore at your Assizes in your Circuits divers good Preachers and others Godly disposed have been indicted by colour of Law for things not so much against the Matter and Meaning of the Law as in some shew swerving from the Letter thereof namely for not using the Surplice resorting to Sermons in other places for want at home leaving out same Collects on Days of Preaching for using private Parâ—er in their Houses and such like all which we suppose came to pass by the Practice of some Informers not so well disposed in Religion as also Men returned upon the great Inquest Many times such as be still in Ignorance cannot brooke the Gospel and being in â—eve with the License of former times cannot so well endure the present plain Teachers who by laying open their Faults would draw to a more precise and Gospel-like Life These are therefore to require you and heartily to pray you that in every sitting of your Circuit you sift and examine the Affection of such Informers touching Religion and thereafter give ear to them As also to have a special regard that the Inquest at large may be Religious wise and honest And if notwithstanding our diligence in such behalf such Jurors nevertheless creep in as by like Information molest good Men that yet your Speech and whole Proceedings against them at Bar or elsewhere before you may be according to their Quality not * Matching rather watching them at Bar or in the Indictment with Rogues Felons or Papists but rather giving apparent Note in the Face of the Country what difference you hold betwixt Papists dissenting from us in the Substance of Faith to God and Loyalty to our Prince and these other Men which making some Conscience of these Ceremonies do yet diligently and soundly Preach true Religion and Obedience to her Majesty maintaining the common Peace in themselves and their Auditory so shall the Country thereby learn at the Assizes better to reverence the Gospel and love the Ministers and Professors thereof Thus promising our selves thus much at your Hands we bid you heartily farewel From c. To prevent such Mischiefs or rather effectually to cure such Distempers for the time to come I know no better Remedy then what hath been prescribed by that Physician of very great value I mean the Project or Proposition of that incomparable and pious Man Sir Matthew Hale Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench viz. An Act of Comprehension to enlarge
the Communion of the Church and make Conformity easie to those that are or shall come into it with a limited and meet Indulgence to those without it which thing he much laboured to effect in concurrence with that worthy and honourable Person Sir Orlando Bridgman Lord-keeper of the Great Seal Which he put into the Form of a Bill to be presented to the Parliament containing a Comprehension of the moderate Dissenters and a limited Indulgence towards such as could not be brought within the compass of it The one is done we 'd hope the other shall not be left undone sharper Medicines may rake the Patient seldom cure the Distemper The Ancient Fathers thought nothing more against Religion than to force it Violence is no good Argument to beget Faith and is therefore fit for nothing but to breed Form without and Atheism within saith Mr. Chilling He that bunts his Brother with a Net as the Prophet speaks may catch him but ne're convince him Obj. What Reason is there to gratifie factious Men that would divide and destroy our Church Res None at all but the greatest imaginable to have a regard to such as are of peaceable Principles and tender Consciences and 't is very difficult for any one who cannot search the Heart to convict them of the contrary which Charity will not admit without Proof 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Charity is not easily provoked thinketh no evil beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things 1 Cor. 13.5 7. Of the Reformation of Manners BUT this is not the only Scene our Reformers have to act in whilst the * Oportet sacerdotes Ministros qui altari sacrificiis deserviunt integros atque immaculatos esse Cypr. Epist Manners of the Clergy call for a strict Inspection being by far the greatest Nuisance in the Church 'T is true our earnest wish is that the Grievances of Conformity might be redrest that many whose desire it is to worship God in Spirit and in Truth may with greater chearfulness Labour in his Vineyard Nor can we with less importunity plead that the grand Mischief of Debauchery especially in the Clergy may be provided against We may clamber high to pluck off some withered Branches but if a Root of Bitterness yet remains our Church will be accounted but a degenerate Plant. There 's Nitre enough in our Discipline were it duly executed to cleanse our Garments and to take out the Spots in our Feasts The Church stands in need of sweeping and its Floor of a through purging 14 Levit. 39 41. but the Walls most eminently want scraping too to free it from that fretting Leprosie which as it hath been the blemish so it will if not effectually cured prove the bane of it To prevent which I believe a strict Reformation of the Universities might do much for the Sin of those young Men is great And had we no better Argument than that of supplanting the Design and Project of our Romish Enemies who thought upon this Anvile to hammer out our Ruine it were strong enough to recommend the Prescription were Salt cast into those Fountains they would send forth more wholesome Streams and such as would make glad the City of our God giving less trouble to our Governours to correct the Errors of the first Concoction for 't is hard to take out a Fust which a Vessel hath contracted from so early a Taint If these Grafts get a Surfeit in the Nursery they seldom thrive when they are planted out into the Church or bring forth any Fruit unto Holiness These Societies have been very circumspect as to the Mint and Communion of Religion minute and nice in the Form of their Devotion the Men of Athens being in all things very Ceremonious whilst their Discipline hath been too lax and loose in punishing Debauchery or promoting the Practice of Sobriety and Power of Religion But will that Coin be current from the exactness of the Stamp which is made of embased Mettal and reprobate Silver How far this Infection hath spread and from this though not only quarter crept into the Church especially the Leaders of it our daily Experience is an Argument which supersedes all other Proofs to the Scandal of our Communion the maintaining of our Schism opening the Mouths wide of those which gape for advantage against us And though too many of the Dissenters have been unjustly clamorous and turned their Backs upon us where they might have communicated with us yet I am confident but Immoralities have been the great drag to which we may Sacrifice for our Schism for had we separated the Precious from the Vile our Mouth would have been as the Lord's Mouth to them nor would so many have separated from us had we divided from them Who to attone their Extravagancies stickled high for Conformity and zealously stifled against all that dissented fulfilling the Words of the Prophet 7 Mich. 2 3. viz. They bunt every Man his Brother with a Net that they may do Evil with both Hands earnestly It is time then for Judgment to begin at the House of God as St. Peter saith for then where shall the Wicked and Vngodly appear Which Words struck so deeply that excellent Man * Qua non sicut caeteras partes epistolae in transcursu pervolavi sed lectionis impetu aliquantulum remorato concussam horrore quodam quasi repentè suborto mentem in his meam harare coegi atque in se altius verba illa tenaciusque defigere c. Eccl. Pont. Spec. Nicholas Clemangis by his occasional reading them that he forthwith took the hint and wrote his Book De Corrupto Ecclesiae statu May they so far affect our Superiors that they effectually set upon its Reformation For let may Right-hand forget its Cunning if I wish not Prosperity to the Church of England My Heart's Desire and Prayer to God for it is that it may be saved from those unreasonable Men on the one hand whose Designs and Principles are destructive to Order and Decency As also from those on the other who clamour high for the Form whilst they deny the Practice and Power of Godliness who can defile the Altar think they commute by an Adoration of the Gold of it May Learning and Religion flourish in the Clergy Holiness in the Laity and Reformation from that Formality Atheism and Debauchery wherein it is so dangerously and deeply sunk May those Rites be laid aside which are in themselves disputable and doubtful offensive to the Weak indifferent to the Strong so mischievous and pernicious to the Church as to be the Hole of the Pit from whence its Ruine and Destruction were formerly digged How bitterly from this Quarter it hath been assailed in the most august and National Assemblies of England a Cloud of Instances might be induced to prove Sir Edward (a) Collection of Speeches Dering in the first long Parliament made use of this Argument against it His Words
one and maintain the other We have with Patience submitted not for Wrath but Conscience sake to the Commands of our Superiors We have bowed the Neck to an uneasie Yoak earnestly supplicating the Divine Majesty to send a Moses to deliver us from those Burthens which we have received so many Solemn and Royal Promises should never oppress nor grieve us whilst we behaved our selves peaceably under the Civil Government and Constitutions of the Land But here I thought to have made a stand and have eased both the Reader and my self of any further trouble and fatigue in the Prosecution and Pursuit of this unpleasing Argument were I not prest with the Reason of another most just Plea for a Relaxation and Abatement in the Matters aforesaid which I had thought to have omitted lest it should appear too invidious as to others and too opiniative of our selves I mean our Fidelity to the Interest and Constancy in the Communion of the Church in the late Times of Defection and Apostacy when both by Threatnings and Flatteries we were so strongly tempted to make a Breach in it When the Declaration for Indulgence was commanded to be publisht by us in our Churches we did not we durst not submit though we thereby forfeited the Favour and eminently incurred the Displeasure of a Potent Monarch bigotted to the Romish Religion in whose Hands we were and to be used by him at his Pleasure We could have very much rejoiced in a due Enlargement but we rather kept within our Inclosure than brake the Hedges and lay the Fences waste to obtain it I mean a general Violation of the Canons and Rubricks of the Church the enacted Laws and Statutes of the Common-wealth Relying in the mean time upon the Goodness and Providence of God wholly submitting our selves to his Will hoping that he would so far move the Hearts of our Rulers in due time and in a regular way to hear our Complaints and redress our Grievances And that which puts weight into this Ballance is that too many of those who clamoured high and made (a) Who were fierce Despisers of those that were good heady high minded Traytors having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power of it 2 Tim. 3.3.5 a great noise for Conformity to the Rituals of the Church baiting and bantring any whom they supposed guilty of the least defect and omission of their Duty in that respect accounting themselves the white Boys and only Sons of the Church yet were the first that turn'd colour and became Red-letter'd Men divers of which both of the Clergy and Laity I could name but I spare them and are at this day living and looking for a day to retrieve their lost Cause They still retaining those Spots and Crimson Tincture they received from the Scarlet whore which they resolve no Nirre either of Scripture or Reason shall ever take out Whilst such as they accounted and traduced as Betrayers of our Church stuck close maintain'd their Posts and in the day of Tryal proved faithful and true to its Interest We continued constant in the Exercise of our Ministry fortifying our People committed to our Care using the best Arguments we could joined with our own Examples to continue in the Communion of our Church and to stand fast in the open and zealous Professions and Defence of the Faith once delivered to the Saints comforting and to the best of our skill building them up in it notwithstanding the Threats and Menaces we met with from the profest and rampant Enemies of our Church and Religion But lest this should look like boasting I shall say no more but leave the Argument to be considered by our Superiors according to the Merits of it As for those who in the Day of Temptation went out from us because they were not of us we heartily pitty and pray for them and for their reduction to the Communion from whence they departed that they would be zealous and repent considering from whence they are fallen and return For which Reason we should be willing to use all the Weapons of our Spiritual Warfare And they are so happy as to fall into an Age and Hands which design no other we being sufficiently convinc'd that a Club may sooner dash a Man's Brains out than beat Understanding into his Head Only first give me leave to enquire who were the best Sons of the Church of England and deserve most at her hands Whether those who when time was were great Sticklers for Conformity in the strictest manner to all and every of its Rites Great Amorists and much in love with our Church and Religion whilst it lookt plump and fair to the Eye But when the Hand of the Lord had toucht it and was become black by reason of Affliction shrunk and shrievell'd upon the account of its Sorrow forsook their first Love Then their Language was What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved What 's the Church of England more than that of Rome Whether I say were these better Sons of the Church than those who though perhaps not so exactly satisfied with all and every thing that 's injoined yet brake not the Communion of it But buckling on the Helmet and being girt about with Truth were steddy and valiant in her most dangerous Conflict The other are fit to be Members of that Church whereof outward Prosperity is the Mark and Character who so long as ours was triumphant it had no greater pretended Votaries and Zealots than themselves But these Dive-dopping Plant-Animals dropping from the Tree upon which they grew and falling into the Waters of Tiber or Sea of Rome presently set up for Solon-geese mightily gagling for their espoused Religion Who having learnt the Romish Cant from their new Dictators we are ridiculed and lampooned by them in every Tavern and Coffee-house the bottom of whose Dishes and Glasses they better understood than the Reason of their Change and new-fashioned Religion Then they had the Face and Brow to tell us that the Church they once so much clamored for was till an Age or two past a Duck under water By whom the first and trite question we were usually interrogated upon was Where was your Religion before Luther To which we have answered a thousand times and can truly say again that the Platform of it is contained in the Holy Scriptures which is the only Rule of Faith and tried Foundation upon which our Religion is built 'T was instituted by Christ practiced in the Primitive Church though Tares grew up in the Field I mean Corruptions in the Bosom of it and what could not be amended or endured were necessary to be avoided For we can find whatever these Antiquaries may boast of no Foundation for Purgatory Prayers for the Dead or in a Tongue the People understand not no Warrant to direct them to Saints as the Object no Exemption of the Blessed Virgin from original Sin or Communion celebrated by halfs or in one kind c. in all
Powers and Commissions to many wise and worthy Members of it to review our Liturgy to inspect our Ecclesiastical Polity to remove the Stumbling-blocks and to take away the Rocks of offence to the uniting both in the same Communion and common Interest which 't is highly probable it might in time effect and may he never give over till he hath perfected the Work and cut it short in Righteousness How then can we but love him yea and most earnestly pray for him that God would bless him at home and abroad by Sea and Land in Peace and War that his Head may be covered in the Day of Battel that no Weapon form'd against him may prosper that he may put an Hook into the Nostrils and Bridle into the Mouth of that great Oppressor who would lay House to House Field to Field till there be no room left upon the Earth That he may return home with triumph when he shall have restored Liberty and procured Right to be done to the distressed Princes and States of Europe as he hath already done for the People of England to which all honest Men and true English Men will say Amen ADVICE TO THE DISSENTERS BUT before I lay my Pen down may I assume the liberty a little to argue and expostulate with you our Dissenting Brethren and Friends I bear you record you have a Zeal of God which I wish may never want the just Measures of Sincerity Truth and Knowledge But when I observe in you a total Separation and universal Departure from our Communion and yet not only to allow our Communion but further it in others yea in Matters of greatest scruple in some urgent cases practice it your selves it is a thing too hard for me I have known some who have suffered themselves to be deprived both of their Offices and Benefices by the Bartholomew Act yet have sent their Children to our Universities where the strictest Conformity is used and injoin'd the Members of those Societies yea have afterwards put them into the Priest's Office which for Conscience sake they could not submit to execute themselves Many have been elected into places of Magistracy and other Imployments and how stanch soever they have been before and after Yet to avoid the Dint and Penalty of the Law have given a yieldance to the Commands and Authority of the Church submitting to those Rites which at other times they scruple yea renounce But why do you condemn your selves in the things you can upon occasion admit Can you dispense with your Consciences to serve a turn Doth not this justifie the Practice of our Romish Adversaries who can license themselves to take Oaths to hold a Conformity with the Church or dissemble a Compliance to cheat their Rulers and avoid the Dint and Penalty of the Law If you can conform and hold Communion with the Church in Praying Heating and Receiving the Holy Sacrament c. for the Preservation of your selves Why not then for the Preservation of Peace and Unity in the Church I need not tell you how mischievous a thing Schism is or how deep a Stain and guilt it leaves behind it upon the Conscience Is it not a positive and plain Command to be subject to the higher Powers to submit to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake Vir bonus est quis Qui consulta patrum qui leges juraque servat Obj. So we do and will where we can do it with a good Conscience But would you have us offend God and rouse the sleeping Lion in our own Breasts which will tear us in pieces when there 's none can deliver us Res By no means but is it a Sin to do it at one time and none at another Does the Case alter with your Convenience and change with the Persons Is it lawful for the Children to obey where it is a Sin for the Parents to comply Brethren I beseech you judge righteous Judgment Why should you open the Mouths of your Adversaries and justifie their Reproaches viz. That your dissent is nothing but Faction and Humor a Spirit of Disobedience and Contradiction but nothing of Conscience whatever may be pretended as is by you sufficiently proved when you come to the pinch I do not speak this to reflect upon you but as my beloved Friends to warn you if God be God then follow him if Baal be God follow him The Case of Conscience and Matter before us will not turn colour with the Circumstances of your Condition Your Streights and Extremities do not make that lawful which your Liberty and Freedom make sinful I do not take the Case in hand to alter with our State or like a Dove's Neck to change colour according to its Site and Position The various Reflexion of Light may cause different Colours but Truth never varies its hue 't is ubique eadem and is it not an inexcusable thing to commit a deliberate sinful act meerly to secure our Stake and to preserve our worldly Interest We may hereby perhaps avoid Punishment from Men but how shall we escape God's righteous Judgments Obj. Would you then that we should never upon any occasion conform nor hold Communion with the Church Res I would never have you sin to avoid suffering and to act against the Judgment and Dictates though but of an opening Conscience is no less But perhaps I have driven this Nail too far and may become your Enemy for pressing this unpleasing Truth But if I have spoken ill bear witness against me and convince me of it let the Righteous smite me and it shall be a kindness If well Why should you be offended Ought you not to be consistant to your selves and Principles But I find some to have put a more favourable Gloss and Sense upon your occasional Conformity viz. that you do it not in opposition to your Judgments nor Dictates of your Consciences thereby to indemnifie your selves from the Penalty of the Law but that you could hold a more frequent perhaps constant Communion with the Church in her Holy Offices had you not an eminent Addiction to one sort and Aversness to aâ—â—ther sort or party of Men which seems to have as great an antipathy 〈◊〉 each other as Naturalists tells us there is in the Blood of a Bat and Swallow which will not mix tho' they be put into the same Vessel together were the inveterate Spleen and Animosities upon all accounts vented against Persons allaid I am confident there would be such Abatements on the one side and Compliances on the other that the Protestant Communion and Interest would be all of a piece and Schism no longer find a room to fix the Sole of her Foot upon But for this we must earnestly direct our Prayers to him who hath the hearts of all Men in his Hand and that turns them like the Rivers of Water to him that makes Men to be of one mind in an House It was the Observation of the Protestant Reconciler that it was