T£§T|Tv||rt§J YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE RIGHTS O F T H E Chriftian Church ASSERTED, A gainft the Romish, and all other Priests, who claim an Independent Power over it. WITH ^{ ^A - A PREFACE concerning the Government of the Church of E n g l a n d, as by Law eftabliiiVd. PART I. €$e ifourtlj eci tim Ccv;:^r No Man can ferve two Jvlaj-cn, M.'t. 6. 2.-1. _ . A Kingdom divided init felf ' c.mr.i.t [ta; ,C Mir!.' i-2. a. Hunwni Juris 8c Naturalis rotef-atis unia:irjL- cm-. pntaverit colere. TsrtuL ad Scr.f. LONDON, Printed in th- Tear ( i" ) THE PRE FA C E; ~Y Othing is more difputed at prefent, than who is the be ft Church -man,both High and Low Church laying claim to it ; andjherefort it can't be doubted, but both will approve my Defign, infetting this Pifpute in a fair Lighty and fbewing what is meant by the Church of England as by Law eftablijb'd : wherein 1 {ball make it appear that they who raife the greateft Noife about the Danger of the Church, are the greatefi Enemies to it, by afferting fuch Notions as undermine both Church and State, and are j» dire 61 oppO' ft ion to the Principles of {he Reformation ; and that they mean fame other Church A 2 befdes iv The( Preface. be fides the Church of England, which be- ing eftablifb'd by AcJs of Parliament, is a perfect Creature of the Civil Power ; 1 mean the Polity and Difcipline of it , -and "'tis that which stakes all the Contentions for as to the DoBrines exprefs^d in the Ar ticles, 1 don't find High Church to be in any manner of pain', ^but they who lay claim to mojl Orthodoxy can difiinguijb themfelves out of them. 2. Th$s the^6th Canon exprejly com mands \the Clergy to. [ubfcribe the Articles willingly and ex. animo, and to acknow ledge all and every Article to be agree able to the "Word of God ; and tho the i$th of Eliz. c. 12. obliges every Bene ficed Clergyman to make a Declaration of his urifeign'd AiTent ; and the Title of the Articles, which fhews the Intent of thf impofers, is, that they were agreed on in Convocation for a voiding Diver- fitys of Opinions, and for eftablifhing Confent touching true Religion : Tet for all this it has obtain' d rvith High Church, that they are not Articles of Be lief, hut of Peace ; and that their fuh- fcr thing'' em is not to be conftderyd as a Declaration of their Opinion, but as a hare Obligation to Silence, which yet they break every day with relation' to the Arti cles concerning Predeflination, Ele'Uion, &c. And if Men of oppofite Sentiments can The Preface. v can fubfcribe the fame Articles, they are' as much at liberty as if there were none. The late Btfbop of Worcefter affirms,1 that a Man might be very right in the vindic. of Belief of an Article, tho miftaken in.^eTrin". the Explication of it; which is fuppo- Prtf.p.n. /ing it fufflcient for Men to agree in Sounds, tho they ever fo much differ about the Meaning of 'em. And one wbu'd think it was no fmall Crime with High Church to put any Meaning at all upon, 'em, fince they rati fo much at the Bifhop of SarUm for prefuming to write an Ex- fofttion of 'em. Thefe Men treat the Articles as they do the Oath of Allegiance, which they fay obliges 'em not actually to ajfifl the Government, but to do nothing again ft it ; that is, nothing that wou9d bring 'em, to the Gallows : So the Articlei are fuffcciently kept, if nothing is faid. Againft 'im, which endangers their Pre ferments: ' Jf then thefe ftiens Zeal is chiefly, if not wholly confn'd-to the maintaining of the eflabl:[h'd Government and Polity of the Church, 'tis to' be hop' d they will not condemn me for /hewing that the Doctrine oj Two Independent Governments, one be longing to the Clergy by Divine, the other to the Kjng and Parliament by Human Right, is inconfiftent with the Conftitu- tion of the Eftablifh'd Church : Which A 7; before vi The Preface. before 1 attempt, it wiH be neceffary to (hew what is contain 'd in the Idea of Govern ment. j. It wou'd be in vain for one InteUi- gent Being to pretend to fet Rules to the Actions of another,- if he had it not in his power to reward the Compliance with, or puni/h the Deviations from his Rules, by fome Good' or Evil, which is not the natural Conference of thofe Actions ; ftnce the forbidding Men to do or forbear an Action on the account of that Conve nience or Inconvenience which attends it, whether he who forbids it wiH or no, can be no more than Advice. All Government therefore fuppofing a Legiflative Power, if the Clergy have the Government of the Church by Divine Right, they mufi have the fame Right to make what Laws they judge conducive to the Good of the Church, in determining allfuch Matters as they jadg can't conveniently remain undetermin'd; or, in other words, apply ing the general Rules of the Gofpel, as the Magi/Irate does thofe of Nature, to particular Things and Per sons : and con/equently they mufi have aO. that's neceffary to Legifiature, as ajfem- bling when and where they pleaf'e, fitting as long as they think fit, &c. And as they alone 'can. make Ecclefiafiical Laws, fo they alone cjin fufpend or repeal 'em; and a Divine Right to. make Laws, fup- . , pofes The Preface. vii pofes the fame Right to put ''em in execu tion, and confequently all that's neceffary to that End, And becaufe this Govern ment is to be continu'd from Age to Age^~ they muft have a Right to convey toothers the fame Power they themfelves enjoy. And fnce thefe three things are effential to any Government that's to laft above an Age, we fhall confider the Conftitution of the National Church as to each of 'em. And, 4. Fir ft, as to a Legifiative Power, if that belongs to the Clergy by Divine Right, it mufi be when they are ajfembled in Convocation : but the 25 H. 8. cap. 1.9. is a Bar to any fuch Divine Right, becaufe that Act makes it no lefs than a Praemunire for them fo much as to meet without the Kjng's Writ ; and when they are met, they are tfd ¦'¦ up by the fame Penalty from attempting to do any thing without the Kjngs Licence firft obtain' d ; and afterwards no Refolution of theirs can have the Force of a Canon, unlefs the Kjng is pleas' 'd to confirm it; nor is it even then valid, if it be contrari- ant t;q or repugnant to the Laws, Sta tutes, and Cuftoms of this Realm, or be to the Damage or Hurt of the King's Prerogative Royal. 'And confe quently, if the Laws of the Land are chang'd ever fo often, all Canons are A 4 utterly Viii The Preface.^ i* utterly void whiffy at any time are found inconfifient with them : and the 'Power, of the Parliament reaches tofhe.anmiHing of " Canons, even.fnthe moft Spiritual Things ; as when they §na$\. that no Canon/h^Ube etnz.ci.^^ which is contrary to the Form they eftdblifb for thfConfecrating of Bifhops. And if the Parliament can annul ' Eccle-. ftaft/cal Laws.,: they muft be able to make. 'em, ftnw po greater Power is requir'Afor dne than the other ; and confequently the invocation has'. n.O\Pow&$; whickis got de-i r-hP d from .and ^pendent on them, which t.k$y., can abridge, curtail, and.anngl, as they think fit.. . .> •.-.¦»•;•.. .-5 '.'How other wife cou'd they make. 'all the' Affis of .a Convocation mere Nullitys, and the Clergy liable to the fever eft Penalties, if they do. not obferve all thofe Forms and Met body they pre fir jhe 'em in their Sitting and Acting ? And if the Parliament did not think, they had a Plenitude of JPpwer in this matter, they wou'd not have damn'd aM.the Canons of 1640. nor declar'd no v? c..r. 2. other Ecclefiaftlcal Laws, or Canons to he binding, not formerly confirmed, al- lovv'd, pr ena&etiby Parliament, or by. tijeEftabliuYd Laws of the Land, as they iiood.in 1639. T.Kiui5 <^ -. 5. De Majoribus Omnes was a Fun- Mu-. Gn. lament al awvfcgft ourAnceftors long be fore tfay aniv'd in. Great Britain, and Matters The Preface. ix Matters of Religion were ever reckon' d a- mong their Majora : and all the Laws in the Saxon and Britifh Times which con cern' dthe whole Church, were, as our Hifto- riansteftify, made by the fame Power which made the Temporal Laws, and put in exe cution by the fame Perfons. The tearing the Eccleftaftical Power from the Civil, was. the curfed Root of Antichrift ; thofe Powers were not Jiftintt till the See of sXomegot the Aftindant, and without that the Canon Law cou'd never have broke in upon us : Then, and not till then, did the Clergy attempt to bind the Laity by Laws they never confente,d to ; but their Deftgn was never brought to Perfection, for tho the Eccleftaftical and Civil Courts were di vided in William the Conqueror's Time, yet during his and fever al of his Succejfors Reigns, as is fhown from undeniable Autho rity s by Mr. Wafhington, there were no obkrv. on Laws enacted concerning Religion but bythe £cc,er- the great Council of the Kjngdom : nay, t|ie Kin„s the determining who fhou'd be acknowledg'd °f £»g- for Pope in the Schifms that happen' d in landm the Reigns of William Rufus, Henry II. and Richard II. (which one wou'd think was purely Eccleftaftical) was not left to the Clergy, but fettled by Parliament, and Laws made topuniffj the Clergy who wou'd not own the Parliamentary Popes. And after th(s, even during the great efi Dark- nefs x The Preface. nefs and Superftition, this Notion of Li berty, that no Man ought -to be bound by a Law he does not confent to, was fo ftrongly engraven on our Anceft or s Minds, that nothing cou'd efface it : and we find 'em often protefting, that this and i 'other 40 e. ^a!^*^ d°es not bi1K* 'em» becaufe done 7,8. Rpt. without their Confent; that tliey wou'd Pari.5E,3. not be bound by any Ordinances of the Kot.4Pa'ii. Clergy without their AiFent ; that they 6 r. 2. n, wou'd no more fubjeft themfelves ' to the Clergy, than their Anceftors had* done. And when by the abolifhing of the Pope's Power things were brought back- to their antient Channel, the Parliament's Right in making Eccleftaftical Lawsreviv' d ofcourfe. > And tofuppofe a Canon, which the Parliament has not confirmed, or which has not obtain' d by long Vfie, can bind the People, is to make. a Canon obligatory in defiance not only of Common and Statute Law, but of the very Conftitution it fielf; of which from the very Beginning it has been a Fundamental, that the People are boundto no Laws but of their own chufing : and Chriftianity was never deftgn'd for the fubverting of our Conftitution, or de priving Englifhmen of their fo much valu'd Liberty, in fubjetting'em to Laws they never confent ed to, by themfelves or Reptefentatives. And that the People are bound by no Laws or Canons, which are The Preface. ' xi are not confirm' d.by Parliament, or. eft a- bjtfh'dby the Law of long Vfe andCftftom, is by the 21 of H. S. c. 2 1 . declar'd in as esiprefs Words as can be. -; ..<.. // diflinB fioufis, one, of Bifhops, t'oth/rfof Presbyters* . 6. This, I think, is fufficieni yto fhow, that by the Conftitution of our Church the Clergy are not fuppos'd to have any Di vine Legiflature, becaufe That mufi. loe fu* perior to all Worldly Power : and then the Clergy might as well forbid the Parliament to. meet, but when and where they pleafe, and The Preface.' a^prorogue or dijfolve 'em as they think fit; and not fuffer.'wto treat or debate of the fubjeff Matter, of any Law, with out a previous Licence from, the Arch- H/bop; nor allow any Law to be valid till conftrm'dby him, nor then neither if in~ conftftent with the, Cufioms or Canons Eccleftaftical, or the Archiepifcopd Prero gative: Then they might as well appoint thirty two Perfons, half Clergy, to exa mine the Laws of the Land, and abrogate or continue, with the Confent. of the Arch- bifhop, what. Laws they think fit. This Ifp, the Clergy, if Governors of the Church by Divine Right, might as well do, with relation to the State, as the Civil Governors do the fame with refpeff to the Church. And .the only reafon why the Clergy can't do this, is becaufe Civil Power is not dertv'dfrom nor dependent en 'em. .f?'J.he next thing to be confider' d is JU- nfdiction, which is infeparably united to Legiflation, becaufe the Penalty is the SanBion of the Law ; which SanBion wou d be to nopurpofe, if they who enaBed the Law had not a Power to execute it and confequently a Right to ereff Courts' of Judicature, appoint Judges, andinveft em with ajufftcient Power to.fummon Wttneffes, and to do every thing elfe ne ceffary for conviBing Offenders, in or der to have the legal Pumfhments infliffed XV xvi The Preface.! on 'em. And whoever the Legijlatofs entrufi mith doing this, ate their Mi- nifters, in putting their Will, the Laws, in execution': to which they can have only a precarious Right, dependent on the Plea- fare of the Legiftators-, except where the Executive Power is lodg'-d with one with* out whofe Confent no Law can be made i But as no Bifhop has a Negative, fo what* ever JurifdiBion any one of 'em is in* trufied with, . mufi be derPv'd from the Convocation, if the Legifiative Power of the Church is in Them ; to which he can have only a precarious Right depending on the Will. of the Bifhops and Presbyters, conftder'd as two diftinct Bodys that make ap the Convocation : which not only puts the Presbyters upon a Parity with the Bifhops in the higheft AB of Church- Government, but like wife fhews that aS the JurifdiBion of the Bifhops is as much deriv'd from the Lower as from the Vpper Houfe; ftnce their Share in the Legiftature, from whence all JurifdiBion refults, is equal. But we do not find any Bifhop or other Eccleftaftick pretend to have his JurifdiBion, either immediately or mediately, from the Provincial Sy nods of Canterbury or York : and then there's no other Legiftature except that of Kjng and Parliament, from whence any JuriJdiBion, either Eccleftaftical or Civil, can The Preface. can be deriv'd. And as our Kjngs and Parliaments have thfefole Legifiative Pow er, fo they have trufied the Supreme Exe cutive Power, in Ecelefiafiicals as well as Civils, with the Kjng or Queen, as ap pears by fever al ABs made in the Reigns of Hen. 8. Edw. 6. and ^ Eliz. of which I fhall only mention two or three. 8. The j 7 H. 8. c. 17. declares, That " Archbifbofys, Bifhops, Archdeacons, and " other Eccleftaftical Perfons, have no " manner of .JurifdiBion Eccleftaftical, le but by and under the King's Majefty, " the only undoubted Supreme Head of (i the Church of England, to whom by u Holy Scripture Power and Authority is " given to hear and determine all manner " of Caufes Eccleftaftical, and to correB " Vice and Sin whatfoever, and to all fuch " Perfons as the King's Majefty fhall ap- " point thereunto ; and that all Laymen " being DoBors of Law, &c. being con- " ft it uted Chancellors, &c. by the Kjng' s " Majefty or Succeffors, or by any uirch- *' bi/hop, Bi/hop, &C may lawfully exer- " cife and execute all manner of Jurifdic- " tion commonly call'd Eccleftaftical, and " all Cenfures and Coercions appertaining, " or in any wife belonging to the fame : reciting withal, " That the Bifhop (f " Rome and his Adherents minding ut- " terly, as much as in them lay, to abo- a " rtfbt xviii The Preface. " lift}, obfcure, and deletethis Power given " to the Princes of the Earth, that there- " by they may gather and get to them- 11 f elves the Government and Rule of the " World, had made divers Ordinances, " that no Layman fhou'd or might exer- 11 cife or occupy any JurifdiBion Eccle- " fiaftical; left their falfe and ufurp'd 11 Power which they pretended and went " about to have in Chrift's Church^foou'd li decay, wax vile, and be ' of no Reputation, " &x. Which being directly repugnant to " the Kjng's Majefty, as Supreme Head " of the Church and Prerogative Royal, " bis Grace being a Layman, and albeit 25 H. 8. " the faid Ordinances are utterly abolifb'd, c. 19. « ygf yecaufe the contrary is not put in " praBice, be it enaBed, &c" 9. Tho the Clergy had own' d the Powers here mention' d to be in the Kjng, by re cognizing in their Convocations that he was jufily and rightfully Supreme Head of the Church of England, as is fuppos'd by 26 H.8. c. 1 . yet that Parliament adds, " For " Corroboration and Confirmation thereof, lf be it enaBed that the Kj^gs of this " Realm /hall have full Power from time " to time to reform and correB all Errors, " Herefys, Enormitys, Offences, Abufes, " Contempts, whatfoever they be, which by " any manner of Spiritual Authority or ^ JurifdiBion ought or may lawfully be " reform'd:' The Preface. xix c< reform' d'' And the Commiffion to Cromwel, who as the Kjng's Vicegerent 3 1 h. 8* in Eccleftafticals was by AB of Parliament c' I0* jtlac'd above the Archbifh.op of Canter bury, was as full and Ample as Words cou'd make 'it. And in the next Reign, the Statute}. Edw. 6. c. 2. recites, that all Authority of Jurifdiftion Spiritual is drawn and deducted from the King's Majefty, as Supreme Head of the Churches of England and Ireland, and fo juftly acknowledg'd by the Clergy of thefe Realms. And this AB being reviv'd by ijac. i.e. 25. which repeals the Repeater 1 M. C 2. may be reckon'd a new Parliamentary Acknowledgment of the Regal Supremacy in that Reign. And tho in Queen Elizabeth'* Time, the Title of Supreme Head was chang'd into that of Supreme Governor, yet by the firftAB of her Reign, infilled, An Ad to reftore to the Crown the antient Jurifdiftion over the State .Ecclefiaftical and Spiri tual, it is efiablifb'd and enaBed, " That " fiuch JftrifdiBions, Privileges, Supe- " rioritys, and Preheminences Spiritual 11 and Eccleftaftical, as by any Spiritual or " Ecclefiaftical Power and Authority have il hitherto keen, or may lawfully be exercis'd tl or m'd for the Vifitation of the Eccle- 11 ftaftical State and Perfons, and for the . ** Reformation, Order, and CorreBion of as " the xx The Preface. 11 the fame, and of all manner of Errors, " Herefys, Schifms, Abufes, Offences, " Contempts and Enormitys, fhall for ever " by Authority of this prefent Parliament, li be united and annex'd to the Imperial " Crown of this Realm'' And fucb Zeal did the Parliament fhew for fettling thefe Powers in the Crown, that this Claufe is again repeated in 8 Eliz. C. I. And to tie the Clergy and all others to acknowledge this Regal Spiritual Supremacy according to the Extent, and Meaning of it, in i Eliz. c i. it is enaBed, That for the better Obfervation and Maintenance of this A£t, all that take Orders or Degrees in the Vniverfttys, and all that have any Office under the Government, are to take the Oath of Supremacy, in which they ac knowledge, that the Queen is Supreme Governor in all Spiritual or Eccleftafti cal Things or Caufes ; and that they - will to their power aflift a nd defend all Jurifdict-ions, Privileges, Preheminen- ces and. Authorities granted or belong ing to the Queen, her Heirs and Suc- celfors, or united or annext to the Im perial Crown of this Realm. And as ¦ ^Elizabeth was invefied with the fame Power and Authority her Brother and Fa- 1 ? Ca>. 2: ther had, fo the fame is continu'd down to c 12. this day, except it be that the High-Coth- wiffton Court, which made thePrince Judge. The Preface. xxi of Original Cnufes, and thereby prevented the Benefit of Appeals, is abolifh'd : which yet does not, as thaiAB declares, abridge or ibid. diminifh the King's Supremacy, or hin der but that all Spiritual Caufes, which cart be try' d by any Bi[bop or other SpiritualPer- fbn whatever, are finally determin'd by Judges delegated by the Kjng, who exercifs. all manner of Eccleftaftical Cen fares, with out having fid much as any Priefi to pro nounce their Sentence. For how cou'd the Archbifhop himfelf, or any by his Authority, pretend to pronounce a Sentence in a Caufe which is appeal' d from him to a fuperior Judge ? And fhou'd the Delegates fuffer this, they: wou'd betray the Authority by which they ,aB. And tho Bifhops are fome- times join'd in Commiffion with the Com mon and Civil Lawyers, .yet they feldom concern themfelves till the final Sentence ; all intermediate ABs being generally per form' d by the Civilians, who excommu nicate for Non-appearance, or any other Contempt. And if the Kjng can revoke any Spiritual Cenfures of the Bifhops or ABps, or can excommunicate, fufpend, or deprive them, or any other Ecclefiafiical Perfons ; nay, can by his Proclamation far- don all Excommunication , and reflgre Peo ple to the Communion of the Church ; it /hews that there's no Branch of Spiritual JurifdiBion which is not vefiedin him, and ' a 5 that Xxii The Preface. that all the JurifdiBion which the ArchBps, Bifhops, or any other inferior Eccleftaftical Judges have, is deriv'd from him. ' Nay, 10. Had our Governors in the Popifh Times thought that Bifhops had a Divine Right to exercife Eccleftaftical Jurifdic-- tion, they" wou'd never have prefum'd to exempt Places from their Power; of which it wou'd be tedious to recite all the lnftan- Hift"f\e tes' ^he Abby of Glaffenbury was ex^ Ref.'^r.i! ewpted h Ki^g Ina, that of St. Albans />. 142. by OfFa, that of Abington by Kenulph Kjng of Mercia, that of St. Edmondf- bury by Kanute, and that of Battel by Williarit the Conqueror : and all thofe Abb'ys which weie of the King's Founda<- Repl<46 tton,> An^ 'a^ fke King's Donatives, were ' fubjeB oiily to theVifttation of the Lord Chancellor, or of Jpecial Commiffioners ap pointed under the Great Seal. And if any 6H.7.c.iafr*v*te Perfon h*d theKirig's Licence to found a Free.Chappel, it was exempted from Epifcopal JurifdiBion, urilefs the 'Founders otherwife direBed : and the Bifhops who wou'd not allow tbofe Ex emptions; have for their Preemption been punifh'd by the Kjng's Temporal Courts. And tho the Clergy fome times got the Pope's Bull to confirm thefe Exempt tions, yet they were never judicially al low' d here ; nor cou'd any Perfon plead 'em without danger : nay} the pleading a The Preface. xxiii a Pope's Bull of Excommunication was ad- 3° Ed™-3- judged no lefs than Treafon by Common Law, pi/ ,. ' before any Statute made it fo. 1 1 . When Religious Houfis were dif- folv'd,theP arliament impower' d H.8. either 3 1 H. 8. to reftore the Churches belonging to tbofec,1l' Houfes to the JurifdiBion -of the Bifhops ; or to beffow 'em on any other : who purfuant to that Power*deliver'd many of em to Lay men, who there exercife Eccleftaftical Jurif diBion. And none is thought uncapable of this Trufl, who is capable of any other Pof- feffion ; it being, like all other Poffeffions and Inheritances, tranfmitted and affign'd according to the Rules of the Common Law. As here none has a Right to exercife any ABs of Ecclefidfiical Power but the Lord, and under him his Steward ; fo in each of the Vniverfitys, the Judg of the Court, who has Power to infliB Eccleftaftical Cen- fures, is ufually a Layman, and aBs in the place of the Chancellor, who often is, and always may be a Layman, as both are now. 12. As the Eccleftaftical and Civil Courts were not diftinB till William the Conqueror, fo till then the Clergy cou'd not exercife any Independent Power. Nay^ till Kjng John' s Time, all Appeals from the Archbifhop were to the King's Court, according to the Statutes of Clarendon, which are frequently call'd, A vitas Con- fuetudines Regni. And when the Pope in a 4 Henry xxiv The Preface. Henry %d's Time attempted to get Appeals to himfelf, and the Kjng ts part of the Penance he was to do for killing the Trai tor Becket, was forc'd to fubmit to it ; the Nation wou'd not fuffer it, but re- new'd the Affize of Clarendon ; and they who had appeaPd to Rome were to be out law' d, if they did not in a certain time ftare juri in Curia Domini Regis. This, Gervafius Dorobernenfis,w^o wellunder- •jioodit, tells us was but renewing the Affize of Clarendon. And the Law has all along fet the fame Bounds to the Eccleftaftical as to the Civil Courts, both as to Perfons and Things ; and the Temporal Courts punifh'd any Ecclefia flick who prefum'd to jinusAng. exceed thefe Bounds. The Bifhops cou'd 9f'_ ?ee not for anycaufe whatever excommunicate any of the Kjng's Officers or Tenants, who were very numerous, without his Licence : or if they excommunicated any who by pecu liar Privileges were exempt from Epif- copal JurifdiBion, or for what the Common Lawyers judg'd to he a Temporal Caufe, the Courts of J u ft ice were open to receive the Complaints of thofe Perfons, whom under pretence of a legal Pr oft cut ion they Coke 2. had injur' d. And there are many Pre- *" ' 62$' cedents of IndiBments prefer 'd again ft Bifhops on this account, who have been forc'd to make fatisfaBion to the Perfons injur' d. Nay, our Lawmakers, in the dark- eft The Preface. xxv eft Times of Popery, trufted the judging of the moft Spiritual Things with the Juftices of Peace and Affize, whom by 2 H. 5. c. 7. they impowerd to enquire of certain Here- fys, Errors, and Lollardies, which they fpecify'd, and to punifh thofe they found guilty ; by which the Parliament not only excluded the Clergy from judging what He- refy was, butfuffer'd them not to be Inftru- ments in reforming what they hadpronounc'd fuch : fo that they refus'd to fubmit them felves and the People to the Laws of the Clergy, but fubjeBed the Faith of the Clergy to the Examination and Cenfures of Lay men. They fufpeBed the Love of Power natural to Churchmen, and their Holy Ar tifices to acquire and inlarge it beyond all bounds ; and fear'd perhaps, that if they trufied'emwith the Execution of this" Law, they wou'd perfidioujly abufe their Power to the Oppreffion of thofe who gave it 'em, of which they had as many Inftances,as the Cler gy had Trufls beftow'd on 'em. And if the Parliament, even in the very Height gf Popery,prefcrib'd to the Eccleftaftical Courts in what Caufes they fhou'd aB, and againft" what Perfons, and after what manner, and plac'd an over-tuling Power in the Tempo ral Courts to punifh 'em if they exceeded thofe Bounds they fet 'em ; it fhews they were, Authors of the Laws by which both . Courts aBed, ftnce only the Legifiative Power xxvi The Preface. Power can direB, order or prefer ibe to the Executive. And if at the Reformation, the Parlia ment invejled the Kjng with the Executive Power in all Spiritual Matters, mufi not the whole Legiftature be in Them ? And if the Clergy have no Spiritual JurifdiBion Inde pendent of the Kjng, they can have no Le giftature ; becaufe they who have no inhe* rent Right to execute the Laws, can have no Right to make the Laws. So on the contrary, if they had a Divine Right to make Laws, they mufi have the fame Right to execute 'em. And if in the Caufes of Wills, Marriages, andfuch-like, the Cler gy judg'd by an Authority deriv'd from the Laws of the Land ; muft they not from the fame derive their Power to in- fliB Spiritual Cenfures in thefe Caufes ? And if the 2 and 3 of Edw. 6. c. 1 5. enables the Eccleftaftical Judge to excom municate in a Cafe in which he cou'd not doit before : and if the 5 and 6 IB.. 6. makes itjawful in a certain Cafe for the Ordinary (which fuppofes it was not fo before) to fufpend, a Layman ah ingreflu Ecclefiae, and a Clerk from the Adminiftration off his Office, the Parliament muft be able to grant him fuch a Power. Nay, we find the Parliament has taken upon 'em to ex- , communicate : of which if the 5 Jac. 1. e. 5. which fays, that whoever is convict The Preface. -xxvii vi& of Recufancy fhall ftand and be reputed to all intents and purpofes dif- ablecl, as a Perfon lawfully and duly excommunicated, as if he had been fo denounc'd and excommunicated ac cording to the Laws of this Realm, be not a full Proof , yet Certainly the 5 and 6 of Edw. 6, C. 4. is, tehkh £,-;.. Bs, that if any Perfon fhouUftrike,;or lay vio lent hands . on another- in thexCkurch or Church-yard, then ipfo faBo. every one fo offending (hall bedeem'dexcommu- nicate, and be excluded from tfte.Fei- lowfhip and Company ', pf .Ch.rift's Congregation; and that every Perfon that draws a Weapon to ftr ike Another, be and ftand ipfo faBo excommunica ted. And if in this Cafe it. has been thought neceffary there fhou'd be a declara tive Sentence in the Spiritual Court > pur- fuant to this Statute, it alters not the Cafe : for that's not from any Doubt of the Par liament's Power of excommunicating, but that the Offender might judicially appear to have been guilty of the FaB. And when by the Court he is found to be fo, they declare the Sentence of the Parliament upon it, and do not pronounce their own. To this I might add, that Deans and Archdeacons exerciftng the highefi ABs of Epifcopal JurifdiBion, is wholly incon- ftftent with the modern Notion of Bifhops being xxviii The Preface. being by Divine Right Governors of the Church : and if the JurifdiBion of the former is but of a late Date, and a hu man Conftitution, it can be built upon no other than a Parliamentary Founda tion* i j. If after what has been f aid, any fhou'd yet doubt whether by the Legal Conftitution of our Church the Clergy have an Independent Power, let him try whether the Laity can have any Civil Power, except what as deriv'd from the Clergy, fuppofing thefe have the fame in Civils as the Kjng and Parliament have in Ecclefiafiicals. If it belong' d to the Clergy to eftabli/b a Civil Confti tution, and make Laws in all matters relating to it, even to the ordaining of Civil Officers : wou'd not they who put thefe Laws in execution be their Minijlers, aBing only by an Authority deriv'd from them ? And is not the Cafe the fame, if the State makes Laws with relation to Ec cleftaftical Officers, and appoints after what manner they fhall be made^ and by whom, and how they fhall be qualify* d, and upon what terms they /hall hold their Offices, and who fhall fufpend and deprive 'em, and for what Caufes ? Which brings me to that which is next to be confider' d, whe ther an Independent or Divine Power in the Clergy of making and depriving Eccle ftaftical The Preface. xxix ftaftical Officers and Minifters, is not in- con fifient with the Laws. 14. If to divide a National Church in to DifiriBs and Parifhes, and appoint Ec cleftaftical Officers for them, can't be done without a Legifiative Power, becaufe no thing lefs can give them, excluftvely of all others, a Right to thofe particular DifiriBs and Parifhes, and make it a Duty in all who live within 'em to own 'em for, their Eccleftaftical Officers; then this moft evidently appears with relation to Bifhops, becaufe all of 'em, each in his own DiftriB, are invefted with Power and JurifdiBion, which none can beftow except the Legiftature. Now if thofe Bifhops, who ftappen to be author iz'd by the Kjng to confecrate other Bifhops, have no Legif tature themfelves, nor aB by a Commiffion deriv'd from the Convocation, in whom the Legiftature wou'd be invefted, if the Clergy of the National Church had fuch a Power ; the JurifdiBion any Bifhop has, and his Right to have a fhare in the making of Eccleftaftical Canons, and the Power of conftituting inferior Minifters, muft be deriv'd mediately from the Par liament, but immediately from the Kjng, as having the Supreme Executive Power. Nor can this be evaded by faying the Scrip ture requires Obedience to Bifhops, for fo it does to Judges and other Civil Officers ; and xxx The Preface. and yet now can have .a Might to make them, ex> °vt ;-ie who is a Legiflator+bimfelf, or iBsby his Authority. So, is.it not the fame, to give .this or that Perfon Eccle ftaftical JurifdiBion over the Inhabitants of this or that Place ? There's no way of evading this, except by making. the Church a private Society, and allowing no wore Power to belong to it than to other private Companys and Clubs ; and topfequen-tly, that all., the Right any arte has to be an Eccleftaftical Officer, and the Power he is entr ufled mth, depends on the Confent. of the Partys concern'd, and is no greater than they can beftow. 15. If the Clergy had a Divine Right to make the Bifhops of the National Church, and, which is neceffarily included in it, to afftgn to each the DifiriB he was to govern; the Magifirate cou'd no more have a Right to name 'em, or to afftgn to each the Limits of his JurifdiBion, or to deprive any of 'em even for a time only, than the Clergy cou'd do any of thefe things, with relation to thofe Of ficers who in their feveral Divifionj have Civil JurifdiBion. But our Par liaments have from time to time depriv'd Bifhops as well as other Ecclefiafticks ; which is a jufficient Proof they thought they had not their Bifbopricks by a Divine Com- miffion, becaufe they cou'd no more take awayy The Preface. xxxi away, or even fufpend fuch a Commiffion, than give, it : and -they might, for in- flance, as well have made Cardinal ?Cam- pegi and De Chinuchii Bifhops of Salis bury and Worcefter, as have enaBed, Bumtt's that their feveral Sees and Bilhopricks Hift- Ref- were utterly void. And there has not l^J' been a Reign fince the Reformation, in Co\kd. p. which the Parliament has not made Laws I2I,w-48- for depriving Ecclefia (ticks. Were not a great number depriv'd by Parliament upon the Re ft or at ion? And fince the Revolu tion, have they not depos'd Bifhops as well as other Ecclefiaflicks ? Nay, have they not trufted this Power rvith our Princes ? And upon an Appeal from the Archbifhop, whofe JurifdiBion extends to the depriving Bifhops as well as other Ecclefiaflicks, does not the Supreme Cognizance in this matter belong to her Majefty' s Delegates ? Nay, did not Queen Elizabeth deprive all the Popifh Bifhops, and was it not declar'dgood and valid by 39 Eliz. c. 8 ? And might not Charles I. if there had been juft caufe, as well have depriv'd Archbifhop Abbot as fufpended him ? • 16. If the Legifiative Powers can dif- folve a Bifboprick, as they did that of Durham by the 7 of Edw. 6. they muft be able to unbifhop a Man ; fince Bifhops and Bifhopricks are Relatives, and confequent ly can't fubftft one without the other ; And Xxxii The Preface. And when they confolidate or make two Bifhopricks into one, they wholly deprive one Bifhop of all his Epifcopal Power, fince he can have no more Right to exercife his FunBion in that Bifboprick he is de priv'd of, than in any other where the See is full. And had not the Parliament thought they had an Abfolute Power in this matter, they wou'd not have pretended 31 h. 8. to' authorize Henry 8. to nominate fuch c- 9. number of Bifhops, and Sees for Bifhops, as he thought fit. Arid do not the Bifhops of Oxford, Briftol, Glocefter, &C. owe the Foundation of their Authority to the Civil Powers, who Created thofe Places into Bifhopricks ? Nay, were not 1 jac. 1. all the Archbifbopricks and Bifhopricks c" 3' founded by the Kjngs of thefe Realms ? And is not the Kjng the rightful Patron of all of 'em ? And were not the Bifhops^ till the Time of Hen. 1. as is plain from the Hiftorians of thofe Times j eleBed in Parliament ? and did they not receive their Inveftiture from the Kjng, per dationem Annuli & Baculi? 17. In a mfd, if all the Bifhopricks are founded by the Kjng, or, which is al one as to this cafe, by the Kjng &nd Par liament, and they can increafe or diminifh their Number as they pleafe ; can the Bi fhops of thefe Sees be Independent of them, when all their Rover ftands or falls with their The Preface. xxxiii their Bifhopricks ? The Parliament fup- pofe their Power in making Bifhops, as great as in making other Officers : which, as it can't be done without fome Form or other, fo they author iz'd Kjng Edw. 6. 3&4E.& to appoint fix Prelates and fix other Per fons to devife a Form and Manner of mak ing and confecrating Archbifhops, Bifhops, Priefis, Deacons, and other Minifters of the Church ; and that in which the Majori ty (in which there might be only one Pre late) agreed, if fet forth under the Great Seal, fhou'd be us' d excluftvely of all other. And had they not a Legifiative Power in this matter, they cou'd not enaB, , that d#8 Eliz. ci* which has been done relating to the Confe crating of Bifhops, fhou'd be good to all Intents and Purpofes. 1 Nay, had they not vefted the Power of making Bifhops in the Queen, they cou'd not have added, u That " divers Perfons by the Queen's Supreme 11 Authority have been eleBed, made, and u confecrated Bifhops ; and thatfhe by her " Supreme Power and Authority had dif- " pens' d with all Caufes' or Doubts of any tl ImperfeBion or Difability : fo thai aU " who confider the Intents of the J aid Sta- tl tutes, and of the Supreme and Abfolute " Authority of the &ueen, and which fhe 11 has us'd in and about the making and " confecrating of the faid Archbifhops^ c* Bifhops, &c." And if the Queen has b Supreme C. 20 xxxiv The Preface. Supreme and Ahfolute Authority in and about making and confecrating of Bifhops, 'tis moft plain that the Bifhops itnplofd by the Queen in confirming, invefiing, and confecrating of other Bifhops, aBedminifte- r tally by virtue of her Abfolute Authority. And the manner of eleBing, confirming, and confecrating of Bifhops, plainly fhews that the Clergy act miniflerially : fince the Chapter is oblig'd within twelve days to chufe the Perfon the Kjng names in the 25 h. 8. Conge d' Elire •, and if they do not, the Kjng's Nomination without more ado is fufficient. And the Archbifhop and Bifhops, to whom the Kjng's Signification is di- reBed, as they are commanded and re- quir'cLto confirm the Election, and to inveft and confecrate the Ele£t with all Speed and Celerity ; fo if they do not confirm and confecrate the Elect within tiventy days, as well as the Chapter prefent him within fo many days, they all incur a Premunire ; a greater Penalty than the Civil Minifters fuffer for difobeying the Royal Mandate. But had the Bifbops a Power from God to make Bifbops, nothing cou'd be more facrilegious than for a Prince to command his Eccleftaftical So vereigns, on the greatefl Penalty except Death, in a matter on which the whole Government of the Church depends ; and where, by thisSuppofition, he has nothing more The Preface. xxxv more to do, than to obey the Ruler the Bifhops fet over him. Shou'd the Bifhops pretend to command thus in Civil Matters, they wou'd be guilty of Treafon. 1 8. None can difpofe of the Power of a deceas'd Bifhop, except he or. they to whom upon his Death it devolves. Now it can't be pretended it devolves to all the Bifhops, or a fet Number, or a ftngle Bifhop ; be^ caufe the Kjng may appoint any Archbifhop with two other Bifhops, or any four Bifbops, to confecrate the EleB, (the Confirmation being perform' d by the Vicar General, who is for the moft part, if not afways, a Lay man) and the Parliament need not have confin'd him to that Number. Nor can it be pretended that they whom the Kjng com- mif/ions, aB by an inherent Right, for then he cou'd not have nim'd any others ; becaufe no more than, one Perfon, or fever alfo uni ted, can have an inherent Right to beflow the- fame thing at the fame time. And fince 'tis impoffihle there fhou'd be feVeral Originals of the fame thing, the' Power of the deceased Bi/hop muft devolve to the Kjng alone ; and the Bifhops commiffion'd by him mufi derive all the Authority they exercife in dijpofing of this Power to a new Bifhop, from him who commiffions 'em to aB accor ding to the LfiwS already mention' d : which fuppofes that all Spiritual Power is vefted in the Kjng, and that whatever the Bi- h 2 fttopi xxxvi The Preface. /hops or other Ecclefiaflicks have, is deriv'd from him. And if the Bifbops are made by the Kjng's Authority, whatever Power they have of making Priefis and Deacons in the National Church, muft likewife be deriv'd from him ; becaufe whence they de rive their Bifhopricks, they muft derive all the Power which belongs to 'em. And if Tithes and Fir ft- Fruits are paid to Spiri tual Perfons as fuch, the Kjng or Queen is the moft Spiritual Perfon, becaufe the Bifhops themfelves pay him or her their Fir ft- Fruits and Tenths. Thus, I think, I have made it plain from the Laws which relate to the Church, that nothing is more inconftftent with 'em than an Empire with in an Empire, and that all the Power the Clergy have in the National Church is de riv'd folely from the Parliament ; and con fequently that none cm be for the Church as 'tis fettled by Law, who don't abhor all Independent Power in the Clergy. 19. After what has been here f aid, it is needle fs to fbew the Senfe ,of the Clergy, fince their private Opinions cou'd not alter the Law, or make the Church to be other- wife fettled than it is: and having all fworn to the Regal Supremacy, we ought not to prefume that they fuppofe that Supremacy inconftftent with any Powers which they claim by Divine Right ; and if they do, it only fhews that, Inter eft can get the The Preface. xxxvii the better of their Confidences. And how great foever their Authority may be in a Point which is again ft their Inter eft, yet certainty it can.be of little weight, when'tis to gain over Princes and States, as well as the reft of Mankind, an ahfolute and un confutable Power, of which only God can deprive ',em. But "ftnce fo much ftrefs is plac'd in the Opinions of the Bifhops and other leading Divines at the Reformation, which fome endeavour to mifreprefent to the prejudice of the Eft ablifh'd Church ; it mil be proper to give an account of their Sentiments. And the 25 H- 8. c. 19. being enaBed at the Requefiof the Clergy, and pertd in the very Words of their Pe tition, there can be no greater Argument of their difowning all Independent Power; And as we find 'em in the firfi Tear of Kjng Edward'.* Reign humble Petitioners for the K/ng's Licence to authorize 'em to attempt, intreat, and commune of Burnet's fuch Matters, and therein truly to give "^ ^j. their Confents, which otherwife they n. i 17. cou'd not do ; fo they have never fince attempted to make any Canons, without the Kjng's Licence fir ft obtain' d to confer, de bate, treat, confider and confult : and the firfi Canon of thofe made in 1640. declares, " That the Power to call and diffolve " Councils, both National and Provin- " rial, is the true Right of all Chrifiian b 1 " Kjngs xxxviii The Preface. " Kjngs within their own Realms ; and 11 when in the firfi times of Chrift's " Church Prelates tis'd this Power, 'twas a" therefore only, becaufe in thofe days they " bad no Chriftian Kjngs." Which Sup- pofition makes all Arguments for any Power of the Clergy, built on the PraBice of thofe. Times, inconcluftve. And agreeably to this Notion of that Convocation, the Hift.of the Qreat Puffendorf affirms, " That becaufe n" ** Sovereigns did n>t at firfi: concern them- " felves with the Welfare of 'the Chriftian 11 Religion, the Chriftian s therefore with- " out their affift once conftitu'teda Miniftry, tl and an outward Church-Government " among ft. themfelves, which was main- " tain'd by them as well as. it cou'd'' 20. All the Bifbops, upon the Clergy's owning Hen. 8. to be Supreme Head of the Church, took out Qommifffons for -the ex- prcifing of their Spirit ualf JurifdiBion; ABp Cranme^,, as Anthony Hamer has fbewh, 'hading the way. And upon Kjng Edward5* coming to the Throne, the re newing of thofe Comntiffiqns was thought, fo neceffary for carrying on the Refor mation that one of the fir ft things or der' d was, th.t the Bifhops fhou'd take out new Comm'tffions of the fame Form. And purfuant to this Order, Archbifhop Cranmer'^ Commiffion bears date the nth of February, 1547. and the King came to The Preface. xxxix to the Crown but the z6tbof the precedent January. And in thefe Commiffions they Hift- Ref- acknowledge " all fort of JurifdiBion, as n'*'1% " well Eccleftaftical as Civil, to have u flown originally from the Regal Power, 4 as from a Supreme Head, and as a l( Fountain and Spring of all Magiftracy Cl within his own Kjngdom ; and that they " who exercis'd this JurifdiBion formerly, u had done it only precario ; and that " they ought with grateful Minds to ac- " knowledge this Favour deriv'd from the " Kjng's Liberality and Indulgence : and li that accordingly they ought to yield it up u whenever the Kjng thought fit to require " it of 'em." And among the Particulars of Eccleftaftical Power given them by this. Commiffion, is that of ordaining Presby ters, and of Eccleftaftical Correction ; and all this to laft no longer than the King's Pleafure. And thefe things are faid to be f5er & ultra, over and above what belongs to 'em by Scripture, which is fuppoftng that thefe things do not belong to the Office of a Bifhop by Scripture : but tho they did,, yet fo long as the Magiftrate gives one a Right to that Office in the Na tional Church, he gives him a Right to all thofe ( things in which the Scripture makes the Office to confift. And in that Refbr.Leg. Reformation of the Ecclefiafiical Laws ^^h S (which wou'd have been confirm' d pur fu ant jurifdift. b 4 to Pmn- Jud- xl The Preface. to the ABs made about it, had not the Kjng's Death prevented it) it is dhlar'd that the King /b* pleniflimam Jurifdic- tionem over the Clergy, and that both Eccleftaftical and Civil Jurifdi&ionis deriv'd from the King as from one and • the fame Fountain. It's true, in H. VIII'* Time all the Divines did not come into this Notion, or at leaft till after i 540; For at a Confulf of the moft eminent of xurnet's tem^ fo^ y Windfor, there were three Colieft.6 3. whofuppos'd Laymen cou'd not excommuni- p. 240. cate, but the reft were unanimous that they Cou'd ; and fome of 'em faid it was given to the Church (taking it in the fenfe in which our Articles explain it, the Congre gation of the Faithful) and to fuch as the Church fhall injlitute. 21. / need not mention more Authority s on this head, fince nothing can be more no torious than that the Kjng's Spiritual Supremacy, as fettled by Acts of Parlia ment, was by our Divines made the Cha- raBeriflick of the Church of England againfi Popery and Fanaticifm ; and was not only the Means by which the Re formation was carry' d on, but the Ground on which the whole was juftify'd. Nor was itpoffible for them to defend the EJla- hlifb'd Church againfi all Oppofers, without juftifying all thofe Powers the Kjng and '^Parliament exercis'd in Church-matters. And The Preface. xli And we find the Canons as low down as King James'* Reign require the Clergy not only to obferve themfelves, but to oblige all Can. 37. . others to, their utmoft to keep and ob ferve all and every one of the Statutes and Laws that were made for reftor- ing to the Crown the antient Jurif- didion it had over the Ecclefiaftical State : And they declare, Whoever fhall Can- 2- affirm that the King has not the fame Authority, in Ecclefiaftical Caufes as the pious Jewifh Princes and Chrif tian Emperors had, or fhall endea vour to hurt or extenuate it, as 'tis fet tled by the Laws of this Kingdom, is ipfo faBo excommunicated, and not to be reftor'd but by the Archbilhop, af ter he has publickly recanted thefe im pious * Errors. And among the Jews there were not two Independent Powers to limit each other, as that High Churchman Mr. Thorndike owns, who faith, That ch. i7. of it only becomes the Wilfulnefs of then! 01fst,^; who neither underftand the Scriptures gedJV*" themfelves, nor will learn them of [heChuich others, to imagine an Ecclefiaftical Court diftind from the Secular, un der the Law, in which the Priefts were the Judges. And Archbifhop Bancroft, ^oke ¦->• in the Articuli Cleri deliver'd to tbe^-l6°1' Kjng in the Name of all the Clergy, owns, That tho heretofore the Ecclefiaftical and Temporal JurifdiBion were de fado, tho ' not xlii The Prefaced not At jure, deriv'd from feveral Heads,, yet that now they are both annex t to the Imperial Crown of this Realm. Irenic.07. 22. Dr. Stillingfleet has made it ap pear, that the Generality of our Divines have all along acknowledg'd the Mutability of Church-Government, and that it be long' d to the Supreme Powers in every Na tion to model it as be ft agrees with the Ci vil Conftitution. And Archbifhop Whit- Jhitgift gift j-ajs ^at it is the Opinion of the on- oeft Writers, that there's no one certain bright, kind of Government in the Church, %t7-S' which muft be perpetually obferv'd ; and, he adds, that the Jurifdidion of the Chriftian Magistrate implies a Change in the firftkind of Government. But becaufe I fhall, in the following Treatife /hew that the Mutability of Eccleftaftical Government was the receiv'd Opinion of the Nation, Clergy as well as Laity, I will now only mention the fir ft AB of the fie- ' cpnd Parliament of Ch. II. in Scotland, .to which all the Bifhops there concur'U, and none of the Laity protefted againfi it, tho it enaBs, " That the Difcipline of the ex- " ternal Government and Polity of the 11 Church is in his Majefty and his Suc- " cejfors, as an inherent Right of the " Crown ; and that they may fettle, enaB, " and limit fuch Confiitutions, ABs, and " Orders concerning the Adminiftration « of The Preface. xliii f of the external Government of the Church, and the Perfons employ'd in the fame, and concerning all Eccleftaftical Meetings, and Matters to be propos'd and determin'd therein, as they in their Royal Wifdom fhd/I think fit?' And Cliarles II. in his^ Royal Wifdom thought fit that the Bifhops fhou'd hold their Bi fhopricks during Will and Pleafure : and I do not find that High-Church complain' d of this as an Encroachment on the Divine Right of Bifhops. In a word, that the Clergy of the Na tional Church have no Independent flower, is fo very plain, from the Laws, of the Land, that all which is pretended to the contrary is, that our Princes do not preach or adminifier.the Sacraments, but that the Laws leave this in the National Church to the Clergy^ excluftvely of all others. But, • 23. This does not prove that they are more Independent than Lawyers, Phyficians, and Men of other Profeffions and Employs, to whom the Laws allow the fame Privi lege ; but they are, like ,aU others, in the Exercife of their FunBions, fubjeB to the Laws which the Supreme Powers pre- fcribe'em, arid are fufpended, depriv'd, or Otherwife punifh' d for the breach of 'em. Nay, have not the Common-Law Judges a Power to determine whether a Man has xliv The Preface! has a legal Right to the Sacrament, and to give Damages to a Perfon whom they judge to be injur' d by the Prieft refuftng it him ? Tho our Princes can no more judge in Perfon than exercife the Ecclefiaftical FunBion, yet thdt does not hinder but all the Judges Ecclefiaftical [ and Civil derive their Power from 'em ¦: and fince they are to fee that all Ecclefiaflicks in their feveral Stations do their Duty, they may be term'd, as they have been of old by the Clergy them felves, Paftores Paftorum, Epifcopi Epifcoporum, Pontifices Maximi, Vi- cariiDei, &c. 24. If the Defgrt of the Bifhop of Rome and his Adherents, in excluding Laymen from exercifing Ecclefiaftical Ju rifdiBion, was, as the 370/H. VIII. de clares, to get and gather to themfelves the Rule and Government of the World*: Way not the Intent of the Convo- dnott ideation of 1640 much the fame, when they declare that no Excommunications fhall be good or valid in Law, untefs pronounc'd by a Prieft ?' ftnce that is nothing lefs than re pealing the 37 H. VIII. c. 17. and thofe other Laws which empower Laymen to in flict all Eccleftaftical Cenfures, and is a di- reB ftr iking at the Regal Supremacy. For how can the Kjng be the Supreme Judge in Appeals from the Bifbops, if the Goodnefs and Validity of his Sentence mufi be owing to The Preface. xlv to a Bifhop, or a Presbyter aBing by his Authority ? And is not this making all Caufes relating to Wills, Adminiftration of perfonal Eftates, Marriages, &c. to belong to the Clergy by Divine Right ? for it wou'd be abfurd to fuppofe they had a Power from God to punifh in Caufes of which they cou'd take no judicial Cogni zance, untefs author iz'd by the Civil Powers. And tho 'tis plain enough what form of thefe Men aim at who continue, as well as thofe who begun this PraBice ; yet it will not do their, bufnefs, becaufe to or der Clergymen to pronounce the Judgments made by Laymen (as all the Judges of the Archbi/bops, and mo ft of the Judges of the Bifbops Courts are now, and from the time of the Reformation have been fo) is im- pofing on 'em a Servitude, and not vefiing "*em with Power ; their ABs being purely minijlerial, in declaring what Laymen have adjudg'd, and in the manner they prefcribe. If, as the Clergy wou'd have us be lieve, the EffeBs of their Excommunica tions are fo very terrible, what can be more unaccountable, than that for a Groat, or fuppofe a Shilling, they fbou'd be ready to pronounce any Sentence the Lay Judge pleafes to decree, without knowing any more of the Caufe than of the Law? Giving Men thus blindly to the Devil, is . an Xlvi The Preface! an extraordinary piece of Comp.laifance to a Lay-Chancellor. But, . If for any to maintain,, on any pre tence whatever, any Independent co- adive'Power, eithe'r.Papal or Popular, whether diredly Or indiredly, is, as the firfi of the Canons made in 1640. affirms, to undermine the great Royal Office of Kings, and cunningly to 0- verthrow that Sacred Ordinance which God himfelf has eftablifh'd, and fo is treafonable againft God as well as the King: If their Reafoning, I fay, be good, will it not as well hold againfi other Eccle fiaflicks as the Pope, if they claim an In dependent coaBive Power ? Nor will leav ing out the word Coadive make any dif ference, becaufe without CdaBion there can be nothing more than Advice : and whe ther the iftb Canon does not at leafl iri- direBly aim at an Independent Power, the Reader may fudge. ^2<;. During thofe Reigns, when what the People had fuffer'd by the Independent Power of the Popifb Clergy was frefb in their minds, they did all that was poffibte to guard againfi any fuch Power for the future ; and the Clergy minding Religion more than their private Interest, difown'd all pretences to that Power : but after this, when they imagin'd the Court had a Defign ' on the Liberty of the People, they thought their The Preface. xlvii their coming in to that ProjeB with aS their Force, might deferve to have their fetting up for an Independent Power con- niv'd at, if not encourag'd; -^wbich came to that height in Charles P* time, that the Bifhops openly deny'd the receiving of their JurifdiBion from the Crown, and that even when they fat in the Kjng's High-Commiffion Court : a /bort Account of which I /ball recite from Whitlock'*p-2r> 22- Memoirs. During Prynn'* Imprifonment, Dr. Baftwick a Phyftcian was brought into the High-Commiffion Court for his Book call'd Elenchus Papifmi &: Flagellum Epifcoporum Latialium, in anfwer to one Short a Papift, who maintained the Pope's Supremacy, the Mafs and Popery : and Baftwick** Epiftle to his Book declar'd^ that he intended nothing againfi our Bi fhops, bat againfi thofe at Rome. Tet this Defendant was fentenc'd by the Court in athoufand Pounds Fine, to be excommunicated, debar'd his PraBice of Phyfick, his Books to be burnt, and he imprifon'd till he made a Recantation; and this was for maintaining the King's Prerogative againfi Papacy, as the Doctor But on the other part, one who was a fierce Papift, nam'd Chowney, wrote a Book in defence of the Romifb Religion xlviii The Preface. and of the Church of Rome, averring it to be a true Church ; and the Book was Dedicated to and Patroniz'd by the Arch bifhop : fo far was Chowney from being punifh' d and queftion' d for this DoBrine. In the Cenfure of Baftwick, all the Bifhops then prefent deny'd openly that they had their JurifdiBion as Bifhops from the Kjng, for which perhaps they might have been cenfur'd themfelves in Kjng Henry II'* and Kjng Edward IH'* Times. But they affirm' d, they had their Jurif diBion from God alone : which Denial of the Supremacy of the Kjng under God, Kjng Harry VIII. wou'd have taken very ill, and it may be wou'd have confuted them by his Kjngly Arguments, & Regia Manu. But thefe Bifhops publickly dif avow'd their Dependence on the Kjng. And the Archbifhop maintain' d the Book ofChowney, and that the Romifb Church was a true Church, and err'd not in Fun damentals. Thus far Whitlock. This Archbifhop Laud was forc'd to affirm of that Church, in order to derive from thence that Popifh Independent Power he was fitting up here. And nothing is Aichb;- more Jefuitical than what at his Trial he ?°P fays in defence of this, and for expunging Lauds J y r n r n -n rr r • r [ n Tn'nl, pub- ou * Of Books all Paffages which call or liftied by intimate the Pope to be Antichrift : not p.Ts*!. f^at ^e was> t0 ^0 him juftice, for ad- , vancing The Preface. xlix njancing the Power of the Pope, or car'd for the Romi/h Religion more than for any other. And this was neceffary for him to affert, in order to derive from thence that Independent Power which he and his Adherents were fetting up in defiance of the Laws of the Land, the Oath of Supre macy, the Principles of the Reformatio^ and of the Church he pretended fo much Zjal for. . But his whole Defign was to advance the Eccleftaftical Power above the Law of the Land (one of the Articles on Rufhw. which he was impeach' d) and therefore^'2' P* while he was aiming at a Papal Power, afi feBing to be call'd His Holinefs and Moft Heyim's Holy Father, as the Vniverftty of Ox- Yalfp, ford in many of their Letters .and Ad- 2?j. ' '' dreffes ftil'd him, 'tis no wonder if he were no Friend to the Pope's Supremacy or In fallibility. But for the other Popifb Doc trines which ferv'd to fet up an Englifh Popery, we need go no further than his Life written by his own Chaplain Dr. Hey- lin, to fee how ready he was to favour all who promoted 'em, and how feverely he treated thofe who oppos'd 'em : and the Books of the rankeft Papift s on thefe jvy»»'s DoBrines were either ticens'd by his Chap- **'&• oi tains, or approv'd by himfelf ; and not Trial*;!. only new Books again ft Popery were hin- 178, h-c der'd from being publifh'd, or call'd in,^^' and Paffages againfi Popery deleted in p. 513.' c ethers, 1 The Preface. others, but thofe which had been formerly ticens'd by Authority, as Bi/hop Jewel* Dr. Willet, Fox'* ABs and Monuments, &c. not fuffer'd to be reprinted. Nay, his Zgal was fo great in this matter, that Rufi. vol. he was petition d againfi by the Printers i'p:fiX" and Bookfellers, even while Bi/hop of L.on* mem of ft, don, for re/training Books written againfi vol. i. p. Popery ; and they coriiplain'd that divers of 4' 9' 'em were in the hands of Purftvants for printing againfi Popery, and that the Books againfi it were not allow' d by him or his Chaplains, who had the fole.licenfthg of Books. And he not only concerned himfelf in thofe Parts of Popery which direBly ad vance Prieficraft, but even with Popifk see liisDe- Images and PiBures, caufing that of the ience in Trinity, where God the Father was drawn 463T' P Hh a huh Old Man, to be painted afrefh Hisintrod. at his Chappel at Lambeth. Dr. Heyliri to the owns, that many Churchmen then held the p £ ' e< Real and Corporal Prefence of the Natural Body ofChrifi in the Eucharift : and what Rnjlizv. Laud'* own Opinion was, may be ga- voi. 2. p. ther'd from his Reafons for bowing to the l8J\Ahrf Altar, the Form of the Sacrament in the 210, ere. Scotch Liturgy, and his Behaviour in re- lb. /1. 3 8<5. ceiving the Sacrament when he confederated '7?- the Church of St. Andrews. Thefe things, together with the pompous Thea trical Worfhip, and Ceremony s tending to create a Super ft aitious Veneration for the Priefis, The Preface. li Priefis, which he labour d to introduce, made him the Darling of the Papifts, ex cept iri the point of that Independent Prynx,?. Power he fet up for himfelf, which they 4°2> ^ diflik'd, > becaufe it interfer'd with the> Pope's' Supremacy* And 'tis well if thefe are not the Reafons why fome, who pretend to be Prot eft ants, have fo great a Venera tion for him. ,26. Becaufe Archbifb&p Laud and his Adherents were the Perfons who, contrary to the Bent of the Nation, incouragd, abetted,and promoted an Independent Power- in the Clergy of the National Church, 'twill not be impertinent to -mention what' Opinion the great Lord-V&hih >d (-.vhpfe Zjalfor the Church was no ?t The Preface. "¦that Senfe is /be has receiv'd from 11 Chrift and his Apoftles ; commanding, li under Penalty s and -Cenfures, all her *' Children to receive that Senfe, and to " profefs it in fuch expreffive Words and K Form as may direBly determine the 11 Doubt. And in Controverfys about 11 DoBrines, where [he has receiv'd no li fuch clear Determination from Chrift 11 and his Apoftles, fhe has Power to de- 11 dare her own Senfe in the Controverfy, lc and to determine which part fhall be " receiv'd and profefs' d for Truth for " her Members, and that under Eccle- " ftaftical Cenfures and Penaltys. The *' Sentence fhall bind to Submiffion, tho " the Superiors may err in the Sentence : u better that Inferiors be bound to ftand u. to fuch fallible Judgment, than that il every Man be fuffer'd to interpret Laws 11 and determine Controverfys" And this Power he allows not only to General, but to Particular Councils. As the Church of Rome can't carry a blind Submiffion further than this Right Reverend Father, fo I think there was then none that oppos'd him, or rather, who did not affert the fame thing. 30. The Expreffion which the Clergy as'd, when they pray'd for the Kjng be fore their Sermons, viz. That he is next and immediately to God and Chrift Supreme The Prefaced Ivii Supreme Moderator and Governor, in all Caufes, and over all Perfons, as well Ecclefiaftical as Civil, fhews that when this Form was firfi contriv'd they thought no Eccleftaftical Caufes exempt from his Ju rifdiBion. Tet has not this Form been dropt by degrees, and is it not now quite omitted? For which can there be any other Reafon, than that they think there's another Supreme Governor for Ecclefi aftical Caufes ? And while Men believe this, it had been grofs Hypocrify for 'em to have continued the old Form of Prayer. But, 3 1 . The Parliament having, without any regard to thefe Notions, exercis'd their Power in Spirituals by depriving the Nonjuring Bifhops ; and the Sees being by the Kjng's Authority fill'd again, it has caus'd a Schifm in High-Church : and they who adhere to the Bifhops depriv'd by Parliament, condemn thofe who do not, as aBing contrary to their common Prin ciple of Church and State being under a diftinB Government. Which Principle the others on the contrary are fo far from difowning, that they endeavour to recon cile it with their deferring the Bifhops depriv'd by the Lay Powers ; and thereby betray, as I fhall fbew in the following Treatife, their Caufe infilead of defending it. Iviii The Prefaced it, and expofe themfelves to tfa Scorn and Contempt of their Adverfarys. But, It being the Deftgnof this Difcourfe to ¦ jufiifytbe'Eftakifb'd Church again ft aft her Eneritys, no Man can condemn me for endeavouring to confute thofe Notions by which fuch as call themfelves the true Church of England, attempt to prove the prefent Church guilty of Schifm and Herefy ; unlefs he had rather have the Church thought Schifmatical and Heretical, than their Notions fhown to be falfe, who upon the Principle of two Independent Go vernments in the fame Society, raife aft thofe Engines with which they batter the Church. And were this Principle as in come ft able as both fides admit, the Autbdr of the Regale and- Pontificate aw*'*/ be P- ir, 12, in the right in faying, " That for Kjngs I2" " to have the Nomination of the Bifbops^ il is a betraying of their Truft in the B/\ " /hops, whom Chrift has left the Gover- li nors of the Church ;" and in making it every whit as reafouable, l( that the Church u fhou'd have the Nomination and Depo- " fwg °f K,ings, and that no Parliament u /hou'd meet or tranfaB any thing rela- u ting to the Civil Government of the lt Nation, without Licence obtain' d from 11 the Bi/bops, nor enaB any thing but in " the BiftjQp Name and by their Autho- ^ rity, as that the State fhorfd have this " Power The Preface. ljx " Power with relation to the Church. Ei- 11 ther of thefe Cafes is, as he fays, a Dif- if folution of the one Power, and giving it li up to the other : and where the Choice w of the Governors of one Society is in the u hands of. another Society, that Society " , must be dependent and fubjeB to the o- ic ther. So/f the Power of the Church ex- (i tends to the making Laws for the State " in Temporals, or if the State makes Laws 11 binding the Church relating to Spiri- u tuals, then is that Society intirely fub- fC jetf to the other : and if one Society 33« " felves, tho with the hazard of their u Crowns, to a foreign Bifhop, who aft " ferted a Superiority over 'em both in " Spirituals and Temporals, than to have " no Bi/bop at all to be fubjeB unto even « in The Preface. Ixi " in Spirituals, which is indeed to be " quite out of the Church ; and that ma- u ny in the Church of Rome, for fear Ci of falling into f&eRegale Eraftianifm, p. 162. " dare not pufh on a Reformation ; and " that the Wejlern Church like its Mafter, Ci was crucify' d between the Vfurpation.of *' the Pontificate on one fide, and the Re- (l gale on the other. Popes and Kjngs ic are equal Enemys to Epifcopacy: atlihe^-^2. (l Choice left to it was, who fhou'd be its7' ll8> " Executioner. And if the French keep 11 as clear of the Regale, their Refor-v. 255. if motion will exceed ours, which GodEdlt' 2- 61 "grant ; and let them not take it ill that 11 we warn 'em of the Rock, on which il we are fplit ; Eraftianifm having run lb- P- 23°* " down like a Torrent from the Reforma- ie tion, and the Regale being made, tho " very unjufily, the CharaBerifiick a- " gainft Popery and Fanaficifm. " And he condemns Charles I. for keeping the Elec tion of Bifhops in Scotland to himfelf, yet fays, He made great amends after- ib. p. 131. wards ; he fet himfelf for the Refcue of the Church from the Encroachments of the Secular Courts and Eraflian Laws, which was made a Handle by defigningMen to ftir up theRebellion againft him ; and he is juftly enroll'd among the Noble Army of Martyrs. To make the People fight for the Laws, and lxii The Prefaced and the Prince (who has no Power but according to Law, which he has fworn to defend) endeavour to defiroy 'em, is not the likelieft way to make one a Martyr and the other Rebels ; tho it fhews what thefe High-flown Blades wou'd put Kjngs upon, if they had Power. And tho nothing now is fo common as to call the oppofing-.of the DoBrine of two Independent Powers the Eraftian Herefy, yet 'tis plain by the Letters annex' d to E raft us'* Treatife of Excommunication, that the able ft of the Reformers abroad were in his Sentiments; Selden de and that here, as Mr. Selden fays, fome cfio. p.'* °f thegreateft among the Clergy, and who 436, 437. had the chief hand in managing the pub* lick Affairs, prevail' d upon Eraftus'* Wi dow, or her Husband Caftelvetro, to let them have the Copy of that Book ; and by their direBion and encouragement tt was fir ft printed at London, in 1589. and that in the ABs of the Stationers Company 'tis regifier'd, that CtjOItiaS moif etttteti fo? fjts €o$> a Creattfe Of &fjOttia#€ra(htg, de Excommuni- catione, repojteu b? $&? jfo&tfctte to beartotDCUbp t&e atcfjrjjfl&op of Canter- uiicp. And Mr. Selden further fays, that there is reafon to believe that the Archbifhop had fingdlar regard to thepub- li/hing this Book ; arid that not only he, but feveral other Learned and Pious Men, whom The Preface. lxiii whom England did then abound with, and who were very frequently with the Arch- bifbop, did with great Z^al encourage the fablifhingit, as what was very agreeable to the PraBice then in ufe, (and in full op- ¦pofition to the Presbyterian^ or any other JurifdiBion, under the name of Eccle ftaftical, which was not mdriag'd accor ding to the Rules of the Ehglifh Confti tution, that is, according to a purely Hu man Law) and ferv'd to juftify the Regal Supremacy + which for a long time had ob tain 'd here. He adds, That he had feen in the Lambeth Library this Book finely gilt, with thefe Words written in a fpare £w/,Intusquam extra formofior, which he fuppofes was prefented to the Archbifhop by the Publifber. And tho it is very likely this was wrote by the Archbifhop himfelf (for who fbould prefitme to write" iri bis Book i '¦) yet I own my felfmifiakeri in quoting Mr. Selden, as 1 did in the ift Edition, ¦ for faying it was writ by the Archbifhop himfelf; and therefore 1 freely retraB thai, as I fhall any thing I have faid, as foon as I dm convinced it is d Miftalte, tho it fbould not chance to be, as this is, purely incidental. Aridl beg leave to fay, that ndtwithflanding fhis^ the Archbifhop' s Approbation of this Book plainly appears, which was the end for which I cited Mr. Selden. 32. But lxiv The Preface.' 32. But to return, fo high does the Author of the Regale, &c. carry the Authority of the meanefl Ecclefiaflicks, P. i94« that he will allow no Layman more than one Chaplain, becaufe no Man can ferve two c.32?.'8' Maftirs; tho our Law, which is to deter mine Mens Condition, calls the Patrons of Chaplains their Mafiers. And he will not allow it proper for a Layman to fay my p. 182. Chaplain, otherwife than as he fays my Ed. 2. King or my God ; and he makes it one of our modern Improvements, that lb. p. 22 1. Dukes and Dutcheffes, who only have Pa tents of Honour from an earthly K/ng, fhou'd be moreeftimable and of higher Dignity than thofe that have Chrift's Commiffion : " For in our Forefathers u Time, , and in all Countrys and Ages, " the Mitre flood next it 0 the Crown, " even in the Civil Conftitution; and 11 that not only on the Head of one Arch, li but of every Bifbop." And he fays, p. 26. " That the Office afcrib'd to Kjngs and " Queens by Ifa. 49. was an Office of " Servitude, and not of Authority : and " that a Kjng is only the Church's Fofier- " Father, that is, a Nur fee's Husband? whofe Office 'tis to carry the Child in his Arms or on his Shoulders, when there is occafion to travel, &c. p. 201. But as for the People, the be ft Epi thet is that of Beafts, which he isfo fond The Preface. lxv of, that he repeats it in another Difcourfe, Memi.' which I think is the only Mark of Ingenuity ^"eccL in his Book ; fince 'tis fit that he who is for Hift. be- ufing them as Beafis of Burden, fhou'd let ^fs^""T 'em know what they are to trufi to. And bn'dgment as for the Clergy, he wou'd have 'em be olEufeb. twenty times more than they are, fome of whom are to be employ' d in Parliament, EflTay cone. in Council, and the other great Af-*ejjWvine fairs of the Nation, and thofe of lower Tifhes,^. Rank as Jufticesof the Peace, 4nd 0-232,233* ther Officers for the Diftribution of Juftice. And as he complains our Kjngs exaB the Tribute due to the Chief Paftor, Firft-Fruits and Tenths ; foheResi]e> p« affirms, the Bifhop, as having no Supe- 1?u rior, being the immediate Reprefentative Efay of of Chrift, is not under the Tithe of™6!^ Worfhip, for it muft end fomewhere. And as he arraigns the Lay- Impropriators as guilty of Sacrilege, fo he fays, There lies a heavy Curfe on this Nation, p. 227. which can't be removed without Refti- tution of what we have robb'd from God : and as an Inflame of Gad's Judg ments, he fay Si fo much has the Crown p. i<5o« gain'd by the Acceffion of Sacrilegious Wealth, as from Impt rial vig;uty,and a Pi opriety paramount in all th^ Lands of England^ to become an Honourable Beggar for its daily Bi £ad. This Re* fleftion is not ftr&nge front one who fays,, & that Ixvi The Preface. Diffenat. that the fcandalous and facrilegious Hift.'Ecc1' Impropriations of Tithes made by the Popes, were worfe diverted by thofe who fhou'd have reftor'd 'em. In his Preface to the Regale, he fays, P. 21. u The Secular Spirit which the Principled 11 of Eraftianifm have begot in the Clef^ " gy, muft be exorcis'd^ and their poor " Fear of Temporal Powers. They muff} " be brought to believe at lafi that God1 " is fiHtonger than the Devil, and Chrip " than all the Kings on Earth, (a rare PiBure of the Clergy indeed, if at prefeni, they do not believe it I) And he bids 'em, " not to glare on Legal Eftablifbment,- " but- to ajfert their Divine Right in full- P. 28. « Tail; leave not an Hoof of 'em be- '*' hind who dare oppofe what they acknow- " ledge to be Divine ." And upon fuppo- fition that the AB of Submiffion forbids the Bifbops to cenfure Books without Li- V.V,%2.cence of the Kjng, he fays, " Here's a But, Let me ask this Sampfon, whether he wou'd renounce any of his Opinions, fhou'd the Bifbops in Convocation condemn 'em ? And if he wou'd not, why wou'd he have , others fo little Proteftants as to pin their Faith on the Determination of a Convo cation, or be influenc'd further by' em t hah they cou'd give reafon for what they fay ? And what can be more hypocritical than thus in his Preface to make the Power of thefe Bifhops in cenfuring Books, fo neceffary for Religion, when the Defign of the Book it felf is to make 'em guilty of Schifm, nay of Herefy ? which, he fays, according to theantient Notion of it, is any Separation made oh any Princi- p. 79. pie. And as he continues to rail againfi the AB of Submiffion, which he calls a poor one; Jo he fays, " Have we not 7. 32,33. " fhaken off Popery yet ? Are our Bi/hops " ftill bound by thetr Submifftons ? Cou'd da *' they lxviii The Preface. " they give away the Right of their Suf- " ceffors, the Proteftant Bifbops? Let u the Lawyers therefore look to it ; let " them (the Bifbops) try whether any '" Judge in Weftminfter-Hi// will hold 11 up an AB of Parliament againfi the P. 23. « Gofpel. None of 'our Divines dare op- tl pofe it ('viz. the Independency) without " at the fame time con) effing to it. The '.' Truth is grown fiagrant, none dare op- " pofe it barefac'd f Jo that if he is Judge, p* IU they who oppofe it muft aB (as he inti mates the Clergy who took the Oaths did) out of an Hypocritical Compliance. 3 3 . I had not fo long infified on what this Author fays in oppofition to the Church eftablifh'd by Law, if he had not been in fo great vogue with High-Church, in whofe defence he weekly engages, and has receiv'd larger Contributions from one of the Vniverfitys than any fingle Perfon be- fides Trufty Sir Roger ; and becaufe too many of. the young Gentlemen there are poifond with thefe most pernicious Prin ciples, which they look on as unanfwerable, and fo wou'd every one elfe who only confi der s how little has been faid againfi 'em. 'too&r. of The Profound Mr, Dodwel calls the SXtto0^ °t Supremacy, as explain' d by the tbeVndep. 11 H 8. an ' extravagant and impious of the Notion; and admires that fuch a * Be- f"M\j.' ir~ayer of Ecclefiaftical Rights as Cranmer *&• & ' . fhou'd The Preface. Ixix fhou'd by our Eccleftaftical Hiftorian of the Reformation be propos'd as an exemplary Hero ; and that the 3 licentious Principles3 §• 17. he inftil'd into Kjng Edward were de- fir uBive of all Religion, and the very, Fundamentals of the Church : but what he is moft provok'd at, is, ' that this mofi glorious Reformer and Martyr fuppofes the Ceremonys of Confecration indifferent things, and that there's no more Promife of God (for fo Cranmer expreffes it) that Grace is given in committing the Ecclefiaftical, than in committing the Civil Office. Mr. Dodwel fuppofes the Su-%. 24. premacy was chang'd in Qgeen Elizabeth'* Time, notwith (landing the Oath of Supre macy was enjoin' d for the better Obferva- tion of 1 Eliz. in which the 37 H. VIII. and the other" AB< * -^ing to the Regal Supremacy were reviv'd and confequently became a Part thereof ; becaufe the 5 Eliz. Ci. declares, " That the Oath of Su- u premacy fhall be taken and expounded in *' fuch Form as is fet forth in her Ma- " jefiy's Admonition ; that is to fay, to " confefs and acknowledge in her Majesty, 11 her Heirs arid Succeffors, none other " than that was challeng'd and lately as'dby <{ the Noble KjngsU. VIII. and Edw.VI. i(C. i. §. need not mention, confidering it has made 38. 39* fo great a noife, and is quoted in Latin as well as Englim/> Amyntor ; where, in- ftead of fhewing we have as good a Proof for the Divine Authority of Bifbops, as we have for that of Scripture, he en deavours to prove we have no better for the Scripture than for Bifhops: and that d 4 they lxxii The Preface, they may both be fet on a level, he weakens the Authority of the New Teftament, by pretending to fhew that the immediate Ages after our Saviour, and fo fucceft fively down to Adrian'* Time, did not di- ftinguifb between the genuine Books of. the New Teftament, and thofe which are fpurious; nay, that till that time the Canonical Writings lay conceal 'd in the Coffers of private Churches or Perfons, and that if they had been pubUfh'd, the) would have been overwhelm'd under a multitude of Apocryphas and Suppoft tit ions Books ; that a new Teftimony wou'd be neceffary to dyftinguifb 'em from thofe which are falfe. Vpon which the Author of Amyntor put this Query, That if the immediate Difciples of the Apoftles cou'd fo grofiy confound the genuine Writings of their Mafters with fuch as were falflf attributed to 'em, and fince they fo very early were in the dark about thefe mat ters ; how came fuch as follow 'd 'em by a better Light ? But the learned Mr. Dod wel, in/lead of anfwering this and fuch like Queftions, publifh'd a Piece to jufti- fy Muftck in Churches ; as tho when he deftroy'd 'em for betfer Vfes, he wou'd ftill employ 'em as places to fiddle in. Nay, in his *• 24-30. Para?nefis lately publifb'd, he affirms much the fame, where tho he fuppofes, that till at leaft to An. 104. the Bifhops of Jerufa, lern The Preface. lxxiii lem were the Pflpes of Chriftendom, from whom aB Ecclefiaftical Power was deriv'd, and to whom all Churches were fubjeB, and that tho there are not any Fo0tfieps\.of the prefent Church-Difcipline in Scripture; yet if we follow Reafon, we /ball, fays .he^^'-'Vt- be fiurer of this new Difcipline eftablifh'd, as he imagines, by a College of Apoftles about An. 106. at Ephefus, than of the Canon itfelf. To which maybe added, that tho the Truth of the Prophecy s of the Old Teftament are a great Proof for the Truth of the New Teftament, being what Chrift and his Apoftles upon all .occafions appeal to ; yet he puts "*em on . the fame foot with the Divinations of the Heathen, and fays in his fecond Letter about going into Orders, ". That Divination was originally u Heathenifm, and that the Means the " Jews had of under fianding their Pro- " phecys was according to the Principles of u the Heathen, to which they had been " inur'd ; nay, that the Indulgence of *', God in granting the Spirit of Prophecy " was plainly accommodated to the PraBice *' of the Heathen Divination." And he pretends to fhew a Parity between 'em, as " that the Jewifh Prophecy by Dreams u anfiver'd the Heathen Divination per * Somnium; and that the Rules of the ** Heathen for interpreting their Divina-, ?* tions was the proper means for under- " fianding lxxiv The Preface." 11 fianding the Prophecys, which wou'd " have been for the mo ft part unintelligible tc without \m ; and that was fuch a fort u of Learning as was folemnly ftudfd by tt the Jewifh Candidates for Prophecy. Sisacer. " % he fait h, 'tis manif eft that the Jews p 350. " made ufe of Wine, among other bodily t( Helps, to obtain the Propherick Spirit." And tho his old Admirers may be dif pleas' d with him for fhewing in his late Epiftola- ry Difcourfe how different the Theology of the Primitive Fathers is from that now in vogue, particularly as to the Natural Mor* iality of the Soul : yet no doubt they will forgive him for the great Power he beftow's on the Bifbops, in fuppoftng that they, and they alone, can immortalize it to eternal Rewards ; and that the Dead, not except-* *'2'>7>i'>8 ing the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apoftles,. Martyrs, and even the Bleffed Virgin" her felf, are now in flavery to the De vil, and may be reliev'd by the Pray ers of the Living from their Difquie* tudes. A DoBrine which may be impj ov'd to as good ufe as the Romifb Purgatory. 35. 'Tis fomewhat ftrange, that tho the Lower Houfe of Convocation, who thought themfelves at liberty to cenfure\ Books without a Royal Licence, complain' d of feveral, yet none of the Jacobite Books which condemn the Church as guilty of Schifm and Haefy, were of the number : Nayy The Preface. lxxv Nayj what notice was taken of a Bundle of Papers dedicated to the Prolocutor, and, as the Author fays in the Poftfcript,printed ' tho not publifh'd except for the Members of the Convocation, notwith fianding thefe ~?PLn teLme-> difpirited, drowfy il Body, that are in love with their, own ** Fetters : and this is the only feandalous " Part of our Paffive Obedience, to be " not only filent, but content with an " Oc n of our P — rs, which are " not forfeitable to any worldly Powers * * whatever." And here by the way of R i- dicule he fays in the Margin, be fure to- except the Church of England :.andhe calls Dr. Wake'* juftifying the Kjng's Power over Ecclefiaftical Synods an en- p. ^. Having Hypothecs ; and fays, " 'tis not " poffible to make, any true andftgnal Con- p. 12i. " verfions to the better, as long as there's *' a common Slavery upon the Hierarchical " Powers: lxxviii The Preface: " Powers :" and that the not defending preface in the Divine Right of Synods, will be JSSL0' the utter Extirpation of all Religion out of the World, and therewith an Extirpation of the Priefthood. So that Religion feems to be inftituted for the fake of the Priefthood, fince the reafon why the Extirpation of Religion is fo much to be fear'd, is becaufe it comes with the Lofs of the Priefthood. $j. The Author of the Charader of a Low Churchman fays, " That what u our Authority calls the Ju(t Prerogative '* of the Crown, was no part of the Pre- " rogative before the 25 o/H. VIII. and u therefore is no effential Prerogative of ic the Crown, but adventitious by AB of " Parliament; and by AB of Par lid- 11 ment, without any Hurt or Difberifen " of the Crown, may be taken away. Arid " 'tis fufficiently known how the Church V has groan' d under this Prerogative Alt *4 of the Letter Miffive — even the beft il Churchmen ever fince have compfain'd *' of it as a mighty Grievance and Bar- « den." Ecd. syn. jjr% Kennet thinks he can't expofe his Adverfary (tho he carries the independent Rig'nts of Power of the Eeclefiafticks as high a* any) nvocat' more than to make him fay, the Ad of the Knilifli Convocat. f. 12?. Submiffion is no Grievance ; of whom ECio Sio8 ^e Mewife-toMffbhis, That he quotes not one The Preface. lxxfc one Text for the Divine Rightof Coun cils, he propofes no one Reafon for the Neceffity of fuch an inherent and ori ginal Power in the Church; he-does not labour to prove that a Chriftian Magi- ftrate can't retrad, nor a National Clergy reeedeirom antecedent Rights: and he adds (as if thefe two are incon ftftent) he waves the Chriftian, and ads only the Englifhman. 3 8 . 7 mufi deftrS thefe Gentlemen, who rail againfi the AB of Submiffion as in conftftent with the Divine Right of Synods, to reconcile their Notion with the lith of Kjng James'* Canons, which declares, That whofoever fhall afprm that it's lawful for the Order either of Minifters or Laicks /for the Words are Miniftro- rum aut Laicorum Ordini^ to make Canons, Decrees or Conftitutions in Ecclefiaftical Matters without the King's Authority, and to fubmit them felves to be govern'd by them, are ipfo faBo excommunicated, and not to be abfolv'd before they have repented, and publickly renounced thefe Ana- baptiftical Errors. But this is not the only Canon, by a great many, which excom- niunicates the Claimers of Independency. Tis ft range that this Notion of an In<- dependent Power in the Ecclefiaflicks fhou'd, in oppofitton to the Senfe of the firfi Re- Ixxx The Prefaced Reformers*, and to aB. the beft Lights of the Church afterwards, to the PraBice of the Ecclefiaftical Courts, to the Canons, Articles, Laws, and the very Oath of Supremacy, in a fhort time fo prevail, thai they whofe Principles are nearer to the Church of Rome than to that of Eng^ land, fhou'd be reprefented as the only Churchmen ; while others, becaufe oftheit unfbaken Z^al for the Church as by Law ejlablifb'd, which they efleem the great Bulwark againfi all Eccleftaftical Tyranny, either Papal or Presbyterian^ are repre fented as Enemys to it. And this is the true ground, whatever fbam Reafons may be pretended, of the Hatred feme Men have for the Whigs ; while the Jacobites and Papifts, the great Affertors of two Independent Powers, are carefs'd : tho it be notorious that the Mark the Papifts al ways have, and always will aim at, is the DefiruBion of the National Church, as being the moft confider able for its Number, Quality, Power and Riches,, And not- withftanding this, do not they and High\ Church in all EleBions join their Forces together ? Have they not the fame Friends.1 and the fame Enemys ? And do they not con cur in the fame Defigns ? If there is any difference, it is that the latter are bitterer Enemys to their own Bifhops, whom they ridicule for the hazard they ran in writing Againfi The Preface. Ixxxi againfi Popery : and how well- they have obey'd their "Bifhops Orders, in giving 'em an Account of the Tapifls within their 'Parifhes, is worth the Reader's Enquiry. 'But to return. ^9. Nothing cou'd more fhew her Ma jefty' s Goodnefs and Tendernefe, than bear ing fo long withfo many repeated Affronts to her Ecclefiaftical Authority. And it was highly neceffary at lafifor her Majefty to declare, as fhe has now done, her Refo- htionto maintain her Supremacy, asaHerMaje- Fundamental Part of the Conftitution fty's Let- of the Church of England as by Law aL? 'Feb. Eftablifh'd. cAnd 'tis not only the Duty, 25. 1 70^. hut the Interefl of the Laity to affift her Majefty in defending the- Church of Eng land as by Law Eftablifh'd, and particu larly the Regal 'Prerogative in Spiritual Matters. For fhou'd the Clergy, by the Repeal of the 25^ ofH.. 8. c. 1 9. (which feme have fo much labour' d at) come to a&jys independently as their Popifh Tre- deceffors, the Laity will quickly find themfelves under as infupportable Tyran ny as ever their Ancestors were, nay, much greater, if feme were to have their Wills, who look on feveral "Privileges the Laity enjoy' d under "Popery, by Agreement betweenTopes and Princes, as injurious to the Divine Rights of the Clergy ; and therefore complain of their being cvufh'd e between Ixxxii The Preface. Mnnkip. between the Upper and Netfier Milk keg.1! ftones. And if, for infiance, the Kjng's 112. Nominations to Bifhopricks be an EffeB of Popery f will not Layniens Nominations to other Ecclefiaftical Preferments be the fame? And will not thefe Men fo far ffjew their Zjal againfi Popery, as to de- fire at teaft that this EffeB of it be remov'd ? Men might in the worft Time's of Popery marry without the Confent of Vo.p. 3, q.the Bi/hop, but now we are told that Mar riage ought not to b? made without it; and to he fure this muft be fo, fince thereh a very antient Father, if the Author of the Regale does not mifireprefent him, who affirms it. 40. Becaufe I fhall in the following Difcourfe fhew that an Independent Power in our own Ecchfiafticks mu/f probably be more fatal than that which the Popes for merly exercis'd, I will now Only add, that fince the Laity muft lofe what the Clergy gain, it can't be an unneceffary Caution to 'em to be upon their guard • efpecially fince both Houfes of the laft Convocation agreed (and 'tis the only Thing in which cf late Tears they have agreed) in addreffing the Queen, That whatever may be wanting to reftore our Church to its due Rights and Privileges, her Majefty may have the Glory of doing, and fe- curing it to Pofterity : which is in effeU charging' The Preface. Ixxxiii charging : the Queen's Anceftors, at leaft from the Reformation, as well as her fetf (fince fhe claims no Power in Ecclefiaftical Matters which they did not enjoy) with de taining from *em feme of their Divine Rights and Privileges. In fuch a Charge as this they ought to have declar'd what thofe Rights and Privileges are, which the Church wants to be refior'd ta. But, - As her Majefty has no, Power in Eccleft- aftieals except by the Laws of the Land, and can't dive ft her fetf of any Part of it with out Confent of Parliament ; fo both muft be equally concern' 'd in this Charge, which amounts to no lefs than Sacrilege, in de taining from the Church feme of thofe Rights and Privileges which fhe claims as given her by God. For what the Law allows, are not pretended to be wanting ; and I hope Things are not brought to that pafs yet, that a Man fib all run any hazard for endeavouring to vindicate the Queen and Parliament from fo heavy a Charge. And the Clergy, who pretend to be fo zealous for the Church, muft, one wou'd think, be pleas' d to find that the Church, as wanting none of its due Rights and Privileges, is more perfeB and compleat even than they reprefent it ; at leafi they will not be angry with me for thinking better of the Church than they do, efpecially ftnce they lead me e 2 into lxxxiv The Preface. into this Opinion, by conftantlf- reprefen- ting it as the moft perfeB, mod compleat,< and heft conflituted Church : whereas if the Government of it did belong to the Clergy by a Divine Right, as their &4d- drefs feems. to itifinuate, it muft be, as every one may dtfiern, as to its Govern ment andDifciplineithe worfi conflituted Church in the World. * 41. eAnd now I have nothing fur ther to add, than to defire, the Reader to take notice, that tho' in the folhwiug Difcourfe I ufe the Word Clergy in gene ral, I wou'd not be under flood to mean thofe who maintain the 'Principles of our Eftablifh'd Church : 'But the Pofifh, Ea- ftern, Tresybterian, and Jacobite Clergy, {who are infinitely the Majority) as ¦well as too many who pretend to tie of the Church of England, falling into No tions inconftftent with our Legal Eft ablifth mmt, I was oblig'd to make ufe of that Word generally, to avoid Circumlocutions, or perpetual Exceptions. And I Iike& wife defire the Reader to take notice, that when If ay fuchTowers, Privileges, &c. do not belong to the Clergy, I do not mean by the Law of the Land, but, as the Thread of the Difcourfe fhows, by Divine Right. I muft likewife put the Reader inmind, that tho' I endeavour to prove there are not The Preface. Ixxxv not two Independent^ msaers in the fame Society, and that the .Magiftrate has all in Religious Matters which Man is capa ble of, I do not defign to carry this 'Power fo far as, to make void the 'Principle on which the Reformation is built, viz. the Right every one has of .judging for him felf, and of aBing according to his Judg ment in all thofe things which relate only to God and his own Confeience : and if the. Magiftrate can't extend his 'Power to thefe things, 'tis not becaufe it wou'd be ufurfingan Authority which belongs to an Independent Ecclefiaftical Magistrate , but becaufe they are thofe Natural Rights of Mankind which can't be made over to Prince or PrieH. Which Rights, after 1 have once clear' d up in the Introduction^ I need not afterwards nicely diffinguifh hetvoeen thofe they can make over and thofe they cannot : Or if I fhou'd chance fometimes to ufe the Words People, Sove reign, Reprefentative, or Magiftrate promifdtoufly, it cannot be material as to this Controverfy, if I prove that the Clergy have no 'Power which is not de riv'd from one or other. 42. If any Member of the Church of England as by Law eftablifh'd thinks fit to write againfi me, I hope he will take care not to wound the Church thro' my Sides, but willjuflify thofe Laws relating e 3 to Ixxxvi The Pfeface. to it which its Enemies condemn as Era- ftian , and whl$},\ they fayr render the Oath of Supremacy: extravagant and im pious ; or at leafi, that in endeavouring to evade the trk? Senfe of 'em, he will not ¦ufe fuch DifiinBions as muft make all Ldtis, Divine arid-. Human, ufelefs and infigniftcant ; or veiH \ not fo interpret the Oath of Supremacy ', as may make it con fift ent with the Spiritual Authority the Pope claims over the Nation : For if the Kjng's Power extends only to the Tens* porals annext to Spirituals , as all the Highfliers maintain, they may as well aft. firm, that the Pope's Supremacy in Tenfr porals annext to Spirituals, is only taken away ; ftnce the Words are no fuller in one Cafe than the other. But, if my Adverfjiry writes, as the Author Pref. to of the Municipium Ecclefiafticum de* Mumc' dares he does, that the Publick may take occafion to review thofe Laws through which the Church is, as he faith, fallen under her prefenc Impotency ; all I defire of him is, not to play the Hypo* crite fo far as to pretend he writes for the Church eftablifh'd by Law, or lo cen- fure me for taking the fame liberty in defending the Laws, which he does in oppo* fing 'em ; and that he will explain thofe lYcrds which principally relate to this Gontroverfy, as Orqination, Confecra* tion, The Preface. IxKxvii tion, the Power of the Keys, of Bind ing and Looting, of Retaining and Re mitting Sins, the Giving the Holy Ghoft, Excommunication, and fuch like: And that he will, untefs when he declares the contrary, conftantly apply the fame Idea's to 'em ; but above all, that he mil tell us in what Senfe he ufes the Word Church : For then it will appear whether what he or I write is moft for the Benefit of the Church, taken in the Senfe of the Scripture, in which it always fignifies the Chriftian People, fometimes with, and fometimes without their Mi nifters : Whereas Divines, tho' contrary to the Articles, which define the Church to be ¦ a Congregation of the Faithful, have induftrioufly labour'd to have it fignify the Clergy, excluftvely of the Peo ple, for no other Reafon that I can fee, than to deprive 'em of thofe glorious Privileges and Powers which the Scrip ture declares to be their Right, and thereby to give defigning Men a Pre text to infult and domineer over the Church. And as the mif applying of the Word Church in the Popi/b Countries, has given the Priefis an Opportunity to enfiave the People ; fo others follow the Copy they have fet 'em fo exaBly, that they never fail to reprefent any one who has the Courage to endeavour to refcue the Ixxxviii The Preface. the. Church of ChrisT from Eccleftaftical Tyranny, as an Enemy to the Church, even from thofe Texts which make for the (Authority of the People oven their Minis! ers. eAnd when thefe Clergymen a/fume that venerable Name to them felves, riothing can be too great and glo rious for Them, or too mean and fervile Reg.p.2 And the Storys of certain Nations being fo very barbarous as to entertain no Religion, are either con- tradided by later and better Obfervations, or elfe they are not lirik'd together in So ciety, or are fcarce above Brutes in Under- ftanding : So that Men when they affociated on a Civil, were oblig'd to do the fame on a Religious Account^ one being neceffary for the Support of the other. Hence it is plain, howabfurdly fome Men argue, when to gain an independent Power in Religious Matters, they wou'd exclude the Magiftrate from any Power therein, on pretence that the Welfare of the Civil Society is his only Province ; fince that obliges him to con cern himfelf. with all fuch, as conduce- to the Happinefs of Human Societys ; which tho they are the moft fubftantial Parts of Religion, yet I fhall fo far com ply with Caftom, as to call them Civil only, 14 The (Rights of the only, in diftindion from others to which Men appropriate the Name of Religion. And fince Men have generally interwoven into their Religion fome merely fpecula- tive Points and particular Modes of Wor fhip, with certain Rites, Ceremonys, and other indifferent things ; and are fo much divided about 'em^ that there's fcarce any Country which is not as much diftinguifh'd by fome things peculiar in thefe, as by its Situation : theQueftion is, whether the Magiftrate has any Power here ; which can only be known by examining whether Men had any in the State of Nature over their own or. others Adions in thefe mat ters. 19. Nothing at firft fight can be more obvious, than that all being under an in- difpenfable Obligation to worfhip God after the manner they think moft agree* able to his Will, and in all Religious Mafc ters whatever to follow the Didates of their Confidences,, none cou'd make over the Right of judging for himfelf, fince that wou'd caufe his Religion to be ab- folutely at the difpofal of another. And as none has fuch a Power over his own Perfon, as to be able to authorise the Magiftrate (were it poffible any cou'd be fo mad as to defire it) to ufe him ill for worfhipping God as he thought moft a- greeable to his Will A fo he .can as little impower him to ufe another ill upon that account, becaufe none in worfhipping God according to hisConfciehce, or in believitfg and profeffing fuch fpeculative Matters as he Ckriftia.n Ckwch, &c. 15 he thinks true, does another any Injury ; the only thing which in a State of Nature cou'd give one a Right to punifh another. Nay, in that State fhou'd any have at tempted fuch an abfurd thing himfelf, or ihtk'd others to do fo, be might have been juftly treated as a common Difturber and Enemy ; and confequently they who by the command of any perfecuting Magiftrate de prive one of his Life, Liberty or Property on this account, are guilty of as great a Crime as if they had done it of themfelves without any Commiffion from him ; becaufe as to thefe matters Men are ftill in a State of Nature, without any Sovereign Representa tive to determine for them what they fhall believe or profefs: And 'tis impoflible that Men fhou'd ever fubmit to Government, but with an Intent of being proteded in fo ne ceffary a Duty as worfhipping God accor ding to Conference, as well as in any other matter whatever. 2c. 'Tis a grand Miftake to fuppofe the Magiftrate-'s Power extends to in different things ; for then he might de prive Men of all Liberty, and render his Power infupportable, in hindering them from managing their Private and Family Concerns as they pleafe ; which they have not only a Right to do, but to form what Clubs, Companys or Meet ings they think fit, either for Bufinefs or Pleafure, which the Magiftrate, as long as the Publick fuftains no Damage, cannot hinder without manifeft Injuftice, and ading contrary to the main End for which he was intrufted ifj .The (Rights of the intrufted with* Power, the Prefervation of MensLibertys in all fuch things as cou'd be done without detriment to the Pub-. lick. And therefore the Magiftrate's Power, the End of Government being the true Meafuve of its Extent, reaches not to indifferent Matters, but to fuch only as are for the Publick Intereft; under which 1 reckon the determining of all thofe things, which the Good of theSocie-; ty will not permit to remain uncertain- And therefore if Confcience was not con>* cern'd about the Manner of worfhipping God, the Magiftrate cou'd have no Right to abridge Men of their Liberty, but is as much oblig'd to proted 'em in the way they chufe of worfhipping him, as in any other in different matter. : But becaufe the Dodriasi of Perfecutiqn, notwithstanding this and all the Pleas, of Confcience, is hotly main- tain'd by felf-interefted and defigning Men, I fhall take leave to add a little more on this* Head. 21. 'Tis contrary to the Honour of God, as well as the Good of Mankind, that any Human Power, fhou'd exceed thefe Bounds^ fince all which God, who commands not Impoffibilitys, requires of us, is an impar tial Examination ; and confequently that alone, provided we ad agreeably, makes us acceptable to him, and therefore ought to render us fo to Men, who can have no Right to fix Rewards and ; Punifhments to things which are not of a moral Nan ture, becaufe they tend to hinder the grand Duty of Coofideration. For Men, when Chriftian Church, Bcc. iff when they become capable of chufing their Religion, will be difcourag'd from impar tially examining thofe Opinions to which Preferments are annex'd, for fear- of find ing 'em Falfe ; and frighten'd from con fidering thofe to which Punifhriients are affix'd, left they find 'em True. And there fore all Awes and Bribes are religioufly to be avoided, and the Magiftrate to treat all his Subjeds alike, how much foever they differ from him or one another in thefe Matters : fince, as the contrary Method can only ferve to prejudice thofe who are to chufe their Religion, fo it can have no effed on thofe who have already made their choice (which for the moft part, were it not for thefe Impediments, wou'd be impartially done) except to make them Hy pocrites even in the moft folemn Ads of Devotion. And how great an Affront that is to God, I need not fhow ; and 'tis no lefs injurious to Man, fince the Ties of Confcience being broken by a perpetual Difiimulation, Men are ready to perpe trate the greateft Villanies: And where this Effed does not follow, it makes thofe, whom 'tis the Intereft of the Com monwealth chiefly to proted, the Con- fcientious, to fuffer ; or elfe it forces Men to defend by Arms thofe Natural Rights, of which no Human Power can have a Right to deprive 'em. So that Violence, which is only to he us'd in prevention of a greater Inconvenience to the Publick than it felf, muft in this cafe have moft fatal Confequences. G 22. To t 8 / Tl?e '(Rights of the ,j 22. To prevent which, the Magiftrate, may punith^tbofe who preach up Perfe*{ cution, as juftly as if 3they had--preach'dj up Robbery, Murder,.or anyother Crime} becaufe it isr the moft confummateVil- lany,, in making Men fuffer for doing the beft thipgs they are capable of,- and with out which they can neither be good Sub" jeds to God or the Magiftrate. * And! Perfecutprs. alone, , unmov'd by, Pjtjtf or any. other Confideration, ' which fret*.) quently difarms other Criminals, continue their Cruelties, tiH they make Men not on-, ly become. Villa ins by deftroying all Con?, fcience, the greateft Security one Man caflj have from another, but blafpheme, afc; front and outrage God himfelf by a hor-; rid Diffimulation. So that Perfecution isi the moft cpmprebenfive of all Crimes!,; in deftroying the End and Defign of- all Refi Iigion, the Honour of God, and theGoodii of Mankind-, Future as well as Prefent:; And, confequently the Magiftrate ought; not only to punifh all who teach this mQffc pernicious Doctrine, but to fuffer none to enjoy any Employment either Ecclefiaftisatr or Civil, who will not in exprefs Term}; renounce it. 0 u ._ , lt a But here it may be demanded, If a ManU Confcience makes him do fuch Acls, as tht~ Good of the Society, aUtthings confider di. re quires a flop to be put to by Earce, whether thti Sucre dnefs of 'Confcience, ought to. tie. up the Magiftrate' s Hand? 23- As all Atheiftical Principles deftroy Confcience, fo they cannot plead a Right to Chriftim Church, ice. I? to a Toleration upon the account of Con fcience : And it being the Dodrine of Per fection alone which makes Men play the Devil for God's fake, I'cannot fee, were it not for that, how any fuch Cafe cou'd happen^' but if it fhou'd, the Magiftrate no doubt is to make ufe of his reftrain- ing Power, becaufe as Men in the State of Nature had a Right, nay were in Con fcience bound, to defend themfelves againft an Invader, tho he pretended Confcience, fo either they had a Right to intruft the Magiftrate with this Power, or elfe with none at all , fince otherwife all Crimi nals Wdu'd be fure to plead it : not but that fuch a Confcience, upon fuppofition it had done its beft to be rightly inform'd, wou'd be innocent before God, yet that wou'd not hinder the Magiftrate from dif- charging his Duty in proteding his Sub^ jeds. But if he has no pretence to ufe Force when no Perfon is injur'd, tho Con fcience were not concern'd, much lefs ought he, for Reafons already- mentloh'd, to do it when Confcience is concern'd; and con fequently his Pdwer is confin'd to fuch Reli gious Matters as are likewife Civil, that isj where the Publick has an Intereft; 24; To go further than this, and to fuppofe the Magiftrate has a Rir1 1 to ufe Force for the promoting of Trim- in his DorhinioBSi muft fupp^.'e he has a Right to , jodge for his Subjeds what isTruth, and rhafc they ate bound to ad ?ccording to his De terminations i fince a Right to punifh Peo ple for not fftfag according to his Deter- G * * minaiionsj 20 The (Rights of the minations, neceffarily fuppofes he has a Right to determine for them. 25. There's no need of any more Power than what I have laid down, to anfwer all the Ends of Government ; fince this gives the Magiftrate a Right, when the Good of the Society requires it, to cut off any one, whether Lay or Clergy, from all Church- Communion, by Banifhment, Imprifon- ment, or Death. And by virtue of this Power he can oblige any of his Subjeds. to ferve his Country, tho that Service con fine him to Places which have no Chriftian Church, or none he can communicate with •, nay, to fight for the Safety of his Country againft Men of his own Church and Religion : which fhows that the Good of the Society is the fupreme Law, and that all Church-Confiderations, as well as every thing elfe, muft give place to it ; and that no Perfon, on any Church-Pretence whatever, can be exempt from the Magi- ftrate's Jurifdidion, and confequently that there cannot be two Independent Powers in the fame Society ; but that he has the fame power over Men when met together for, the Worfhip of God, as when met together upon other accounts : whom he is then fo far from having a Right to difturb, that he is oblig'd to fecure 'em from all manner of harm, as long as they do nothing prejudicial to the Publick, but much more fo, if their Meetings tend to promote the general Good, as Mens affembling to worfhip God according to their Confciences does. 20". In fome fenfe the Magistrate's Power feems Chriftian Church, &c. 2 1 feems to be greater with relation to the Church than to other Societies, fince he re quires no more of 'em than that they enter tain no Principles deftrudive of the publick Good : but here he is to fee that all Dodrines which make for it are to the utmoft incul cated ', and for that end may ordain or au thorize Minifters, publickly to inftrud his Subjeds to avoid all fuch things as he has a Right to reftrain by preventing Force, and to pradife all fuch as he ought to encourage by fuitable Rewards ; fince this is a lefs Power than t'other, and tends to the fame End. And nothing can be more abfurd, than to exclude him from a Right of autho rizing Perfons publickly to mind him of what he owes to his Subjeds, and them of thofe Duties they are to render to him and one another, and the Motives and Reafons on which they are founded ; and to place this in Perfons who have no Jurifdidion in fuch Matters. And as he may fet Minifters apart for this End, fo he may deprive, de- pofe, or filence them, if they negled this Duty, or ad contrary to it. And if the M i- nifters have acquir'd greater Riches, than 'tis the Intereft of the Commonwealth they fhou'd (as certainly there may be an excels that way) he has a Right to redify this A- bufe j becaufe Mens entring into Political Societies, neceffarily fubjeds their Property to fuch Laws, as for the Publick Good their Rulers fhall make about it: And confe quently they can hinder Men not only from difpofing of their Property to the prejudice of the Publick, but make any Difpofition C 3 void, 22 The (Rights of the void, which is found to be fo: And the fame Reafon which obliges them to make Statutes of Mortmain and other Lawsagainft the Peo ples giving Eftates to the Clergy, will equal ly bold for their taking them away when gi ven. But the Good of the Society being the only reafon of the Magiftrate's having any power overMens Properties, I can't fee why he fhou'd deprive his Subjects of any part thereof, for the maintenance of fuch Opini ons as have no tendency that way : for as no Man, upon his entring into Civil Society, cou'd be prefum'd willing to give the Magi ftrate a power to deprive him of any part of his Property, for the maintenance of fuch Opinions as no ways contribute to the Publick Good, but are, as he judges, preju dicial to his Soul ; fo no one having power over the Property of others on any fuch ac count, cou'd give their Reprefentatives a greater Power than themfelves had. For my part, I muft own I know not how to anfwer their Arguments, who fay that Men might as well be prefum'd to have empow- er'd the Legiflature to chufe Speculative O- pinions for 'em, as to take from 'em any part of their Property for the Support of thofe Opinions^: and that if it be the high- eft Injuftice to* force Men to profefs fuch Speculative Opinions as they don't believe, it can't favour much of Juftice to make 'em contribute to the Support of 'em ; efpecially confidering it can have no other effed than advancing Superftition, if not in all, yet in moft parts of the World. And therefore they conclude that People are injur'd, when they Chfiftim Church, &c. 23 they- are forc'd to labour and toil, not for their common Benefit, but for maintaining fuch Notions as the Publick receives no ad vantage by. Befides, 27. The tacking the Priefts Preferments to fuch Opinions, not only makes 'em, in moft Nations, right or wrong, to efpoufe them, and to invent a thoufand fophiftical and kna- vifhMethodsofdefending'em,to the infinite prejudice of Truth ; but is the occafion that Humanity is in a manner extind among thofe Chriftians, who by reafon of fuch Ar ticles are divided into different Seds : their Priefts burningwith implacableHatred,and ftirring.up the fame Pailions in all they can influence, againft the Oppofers of fuch Opinions. That this is the Caufe of Chriftians treat ing one another with fo much Barbarity, is evident from this one Confideration, That no fuch Effeds follow by Mens differing in fuch Opinions wherein the Clergy have no Intereft ; but here their very Livelihoods and Subfiftence are at ftake. 28. As this is all the Power Men could in vert the Magiftrate with in Religious Mat ters, fo where this does not reach, they can be under no other Human Power, but re main ftill in a natural State, fubjtd to God and their own Confciences only} fince no Man's Religion, like his Lands, defcends from Father to Son, but every one, when capable, is to chufe his own Church. And theonly Motive thatis to determine him, is the favinghis own Soul: for as heis oblig'd, tho all Human Power commands the contra- C 4 ry, 24 , The (Rights of the ry, to join himfelf with that Church which he judges will beft conduce to it ; fo the fame Reafon, as often as it occurs, will ob lige him to feave that Church : and confe quently he has an inherent Right, which cannot on any pretence whatfoever be de legated, to judge of the Terms of Commu nion in any Church, before he makes himfelf a Member of it. And 'tis not his joining to it yefterday, which obliges him to continue in it to-day, but a conftant perfonal liking ; unlefs you fuppofe Churches made like Traps, eafy to admit one, but when once he is in, there he muft always ftick either for the pleafure or profit of the Trapfetters. So that all Men in forming themfelves into So cieties for the Worfhip of God, are in a na tural State, neither Prince nor Prieft having any more Power over the Peafant, than he has over either of them ; but all are to be govern'd by the fame Motives. And tho no Church, more than any other voluntary Society, can hold together, except the Mem bers agree on fome Place, on the Perfons to officiate, and fuch-like Circumftances ; yet none has a Right to prefcribe to another, but every one has for himfelf a Negative: So that here's a perfed Equality, for no Man has any more power over another, than another has over him ; and as no Man is ca pable of being reprefented by another, eve ry one muft judge for himfelf of the Forms and Modes of Worfhip', the Dodrines, Rites and Ceremonies of any Church, not only before he joints himfelf to it, but after wards. And therefore if the determining of Chriftian Church, Sec. 2 £ of fuch things, as are neceffary to be agreed on in order to form a Congregation for the Worfhip of God, is to be caHed Church-Go vernment, 'tis impoffible any Government can be more popular,becaufe none are oblig'd even by a Majority ; but thofe who cannot go with 'em, are to form themfelves into a Church after the beft manner they can •, and two or three thus gathered together in the Name of our Saviour, have the PrOmife of his being with them. Nor can this be other- wife, without deftroying the very Being of a Church : becaufe when People meet to gether upon any other Motive, than wor fhipping God according to that Method they judge moft agreeable to his Will, they cannot deferve the Name of a Church ; but are met together rather for the affronting than worfhipping of God. 29. What has not a little contributed to make Men fuppofe there are Umpires, Judges or Governors in Religious as well as Civil Matters, is the Magiftrate's an nexing Profits and Privileges to the Teach ers of his own Religion, exclufively of others ; and determining who fhall licenfe thofe that are to have thefe Advantages, and on what Qualifications ; and who fhall deprive 'em, and for what Caufes, and fuch-like. And the chief of the Clergy being the Magiftrate's Deputies in this Matter, and all of 'em in moft Countries being, generally fpeaking, of the Reli gion to which they find Preferments an- nex'd, do, in order to bring others right or wrong into the fame Sentiments, call this z6 The (Rights of the this Efiablifhing their Religion -¦> and Church by Law, and make it Schifm, and confe quently Damnation, not to be of the Church eftablifh'd by Law: which not- withftanding all the noife and din the Clergy make about it, ought not to biafs Men, much lefs take from 'em their na tural Right of judging for themfelves in Matters of Religion, unlefs they ought to be in all Countries of that Religion to which they find thefe Emoluments annex' d, For if one Magiftrate has a Right to judge to what Religion he will affix thefe} all Magiftrates, Supreme Power being every where the fame, wou'd have an equal Right ; and confequently this, no more in one Country than another, ought to be a Motive to determine Men in the choice of their Religion or Church. 30. By what's faid, 'tis plain how hap- • py Human Societies wou'd be, did not their Rulers ufurp more Power than they cou'd be invefted with by their Subjeds; who cou'd not oblige themfelves to afGft 'em with their Force, except in fuch Cafes only as themfelves had a Right to ufe it in the State of Nature : and what thofe Cafes are, they cannot well be miftaken in -,j and / confequently the Commands of a Tyrant are fo far from juftifying orexcufing their affifting him either in unjaft'ly invading their Neighbours, or injuring their Fel low-Citizens, that they are oblig'd by the common Ties of Humanity to affift one another in oppoiing Tyrants, who by be traying the higheft Truft, become the greateft Orfiftian Church, &c. 2.7 greateft and bafeft of Traytors. • And had Meo» inftead of becoming the cnrfed In- ftrumentsof Tyranny, affifted one another in defending their Natural Rights by whomfoever invaded, as by the Law of Nature they were oblig'd, the greateft part of Mankind wou'd not for fo many Ages have groan'd under an infupportable Savery} nor thofe few, but brave Na tions, which are fo happy as yet ta be free, have been at fo great Expence of Blood and Treafure in-maintaining their Liberties, for which thofe who at prefent reap the mighty Advantage, cannot without mon strous Ingratitude condemn the Condud of their Anceftors, or the noble Principles which thus animated them. 31. The Benefit wou'd be as great upon an Ecclefiaftical as Civil Account, if So vereigns did not endeavour to extend their Power farther than their People cou'd authorize 'em •, for then all Perfecution, and all thofe other innumerable Mifcbiefs both to the Souls and Bodies of Men, which have been occafion'd by not fuf- fering 'em to worfhip God according to the Didates of their Confciences, wou'd have been avoided* But of this fully, when I treat of the Method the firft Chriftian Emperors fhou'd have taken to pre vent Ecclefiaftical Tyranny and Prieft- craft, and to make the Clergy as ufe- ful both to State and Church, as for want of it they haire in moft places been pre judicial to both. What's premis'd con cerning the Natural Rights of Mankind, was 28 The (Rights of the was neceffary ; left when I fhow that there cannot be two Independent Powers in the fame Society, and that the Magiftrate has all the Power relating to Religion which Man is capable of, I might feem to give him as "great a Power as Hobby compli mented hini with } between whom and tjiofe who claim an Independent Power k Church-Matters, how much foever thty may rati at him, there's no other diffe rence, than that he will have the Magi ftrate to judge for the People as well as him felf, but they wou'd have both blindly fol low them. 32. There's no Argument the Clergy can ufe to exclude the^agiftrate from Pow er in Church-Matters, which will not hold as much for Mens Natural Rights againft them. For will not their having a Right toprefcribeTermsbf Communion for the People, make their Religion to be at their difpofal, as much as it wou'd be at the Magiftrate's, if he had fuch a Power? And if a Right in him to oblige the People to acquiefce in his Interpretation of Scripture, wou'd be the fame as a Right to make Scripture, can any infalli ble Set of Priefts be foyereign Interpret ters of it ? 33. In fhort, Men cannot have a Right to the End, but they muft likewife have to the Meansj and confequently if they are oblig'd to worfhip God as they thin,k moft agreeable to his Will, they muft have an inherent Right of ordering all fuch Things as they judge neceffary to the Chriftian Church, &c. 20 the End } ptherwife they muft either be oblig'd to worfhip God in a manner they judge he condemns, when their pretended Jure Divino Governors command 'em fo to do, or elfe .to remain without anv Worfhip at all, if thefe Governors will hot fettle thofe things, without a fpe- cial Determination of which, no Reli gious Worfhip can be perform'd. Nor can it be. pretended, that tho the Right is in the Prieft, yet, that in fuch cafes. it reverts to the Peqple } becaufe nothing can revert to them, which was not at- firft deriv'd from them : which tho the Magiftrate might plead, the Priefts can not, becaufe they do not fo mnch as pre tend to derive their Power from the People. 34- Nothing can be more abfurd than maintaining there muft be two Inde pendent Powers in the fame Society} otherwife the Chriftian Religion cou'd not have fubfifted when the Magiftrate was not of it : Since till the coming of Chrift, all Religious Societies which were not of the Magiftrate's Perfuafion (and I may add thofe that were, except they were fo be caufe it was his) did fubfift by this Natural Right, without ever dreaming of an Im- perium in Imperio. And there can be no manner of Pretence why thofe Chriftian Religious Affemblies which are not of the Magiftrate's Perfuafion, may not maintain themfelves by that Natural Right by which all others have done it, from their firft Exiftence to this very day. 35* And 3° . The turning 'em out of the Church, and obliging all; Perjfqns to fhun and avoid em} and that for all manner of Sins, for the breach' of the Commandments of the fecond, as. well as of the firft Table : And that the better to do this, they, like all other Independent Powers, have a Right to ered Courts of Judicature, fummon Wit- neffes, and to do whatfoever they judge neceffary for the Support of their inde pendent Juiiifdidion } of the Extent of which, themfelves;, under God, are the fole Judges, and confequently can excommu nicate their Spiritual Subjeds for whatever they fhall judge to be Contempt, Contuma cy . and Difobcdience : And. that they have this great Advantage above the Laity, that they are capable of the higheft Civil as well as Ecclefiaftical Power; but that 'tis an 3 1 The (Rights of the an impious Uferpation and horrid Sacri* lege in all, except thofe to whom the true Succeffors of the Apoftles have by laying oh of Hands given the Holy Ghoft, to ex-* ercife any Ecclefiaftical Jurifdidion, Office or Employ} and that whatfoever they attempt of this nature, is null and void, for want of a Commiffion, which none are authoriz-'d to beftow, except thofe who derive their Power from God in a direct^ SBCceflioh from the Apoftles. TheCOn- fequence of which is, that theirs is the moft abfolute,- arbitrary, unlimited, un- controuiable Power in the world} becaufe having it without any Intervention of the People, or their Reprefentatives, they Cannot be accountable to thern for any Male- ' adminiftration, but to God alone, from whom they receiv'd their Power. As thefe are the Powers which the ge nerality of the Clergy claim for them felves as Gbvernours of the Church by Divine Right (of which none who is the leaft converfant in their Writings can be ignorant) fo thofe amongft 'any who wou'd not be thought to abet theft Notions, muft needs countenance and commend my Defign, in endeavouring td confute an Error which has fo univerfally obtain'd. In order to the doing of which, the firft thing 1 fhall examine into, is the Poffibility of two Independent Powers in ' the fame Society } becaufe if that proves to be repugnant to the nature of things^ the whole Hierarchy, as built on it, mult nc* Chriftkn Church, &c* 2, 3 neceffarily fall to the ground, and great will Chap. t*. be the Fall of this Spiritual Babylon. U^Yxi C H A P. I. That there cannot he two Independent (Powers in the fame Society. 1 ' A L L Independent Power muft be Su- J~\ preme,hecaufe what is not fo, muft be; dependent } and no Power can be Su preme, which does not neceffarily carry Le giflation with it. Now there cannot be two fuch Powers at the fame time, either about the fame or different things. About the fame 'tis impoffible, becaufe by one Power a Man may be oblig'd to do a thing, by t'other forbid to do it : fo that the fame Adion wou'd be a Duty and a Sin } a Duty in obeying one, and a Sin in difobeying the other. Nor is it more poffible there fliou'd be two fuch Powers about different things, becaufe a Man can be no more at the fame time under different Obligations, than at different Places } fince he may be bound to be at a Camp and at a Church, or before an Ecclefiaftical and Civil Tribunal, at the fame time : Nay, he may be oblig'd to do not only different, but oppbfite and contrary things. 2. For one Power may command him to keep Holy-day upon an Ecclefiaftical, D t'other 34 The (Rights of the t*other to work upon. a Civil account: one may require him to feaft, Mother to faft} as it happeh'd at Edinburgh ij8i. the Independent Kirk comnwiKHng*af!Bft on the fame day the Ring had oblig'd the Citizens to treat the Embaffadors of the French King at a fplendid Dinner. The Ecclefiaftical Power may oblige a Perfon to exercife his Spiritual Fundion, in this or that place } the Civil Power (for reafons relating to the State) may command him from thence : So one Power may, upon an Ecclefiaftical account, excommunicate a Perfon, and thereby oblige People to fhun and avoid him ; the other may, upon a Civil, make it neceffary for 'em to have frequent Communion with him. So the Magiftrate may forbid his Subjeds to have any Correfpondence with fuch a Perfon } on the contrary, the Clergy may put him in fuch a Poft in the Church, as muft make it neceffary for their Spiritual Subjects to converfe with him. In fhort, a thoufand things of this nature will occur. Nor can the firft Abfurdity be avoided, of thefe Powers being converfant about the fame things : For if the Magiftrate is to judge what is Civil, he muft unavoidably judge what is Ecclefiaftical, becaufe Civil includes all that is not fo } and if the Prieft be aUow'd to determine what is Ecclefiaftical, he muft (there being no Medium) determine what is Civil: which is fuppofing two Indepen dent Powers judging at the fame time, with relation to the fame Perfons, con cerning all things whatfoever } becaufe all things Chriftian Chuhh, &c. 2,5 things are either Civil or Ecclefiaftical. Chap, r.' Who is there to judge between 'em in thofe V/VN* almoft infinite Particulars which require a fpecial Determination ? How can the com mon Subjed at the fame time obey both, when both wou'd be own'd as Supreme in the fame things ? And can it be fup- pos'd, that God {who is the God of Order* and not df Confitfion) wou'd ever involve us in fuch inextricable Difficultys, as to fub- |ed us to two Powers, which are either apt to clafh and interfere continually about the fame things, or elfe to corhmand, if not contrary, yet different things at the fame time ? 3. Infhort, they who pretend to fet up two fuch Powers, do in effed confound both } becaufe their Commands being e- qual, they muft deftroy each other's Force and Virtue, and confequently free Men from the Obligation to both. To avoid which, if you fuppofe one muft be forc'd to give Way, that which does fo cannot be independent, but by virtue of that Obligation is fubjeded to the other. And a Power to null an Obligation, does infer a Right to make one } becaufe no greater Power is. requir'd for the one than for the other. a.i To imagine two fuch Powers ruling the Body Politick, is as abfurd as to fup pofe two Souls independent of one ano ther to govern the Body Natural. Two Heads to the fame Body, whether Natural or Political* can ferve to no other ufe than loflSakeaMoafterof it. D 2 5, This %6 The /(Rights of the > ,¦ 5. This Suppofition of two Independent Powers, tends to deftroy the proof of one Supreme Governor of the Univerfe. For if there may be two fuch in every Society on Earth, why maiy there not be more than one in Heaven ? But this feemM fo abfurd to the Primitive Chriftians, that from the Impoffibility ofit, they confuted the Multiplicity of the Heathen Gods} which had been no very good Argument in them, had theyimagin'd two fuch Powers in every Society on Earth, who certainly are more apt to clafh with one another. So that this Notion, inftead of being founded inChriftianity, favours moft grofly of Heathenifh Divinity. 6. And if you allow more than one Power in every Society, there's no reafon to ftop at two } but you muft multiply them, till all, or at leaft all neceffary Society s have a diftind Independent Head. But, 7. If it be contrary to the nature or things, that there fhou'd be more than one Power in a Family, every one fees that the fame invincible Reafon forbids more than one in a Society, made up of feveral Fa- milys} for the greater the Communityj the greater Diforder and Confufion will- the Attempt of introducing more create. To avoid which, it was neceffary that the Father and Husband, tho both have their Power from God, fhou'd befubjectTfo the Son and Wife, when entruftedF'by the People with the Government} by which they are empowe^d not only to corhmariu1 both, Chriftian Church,' Sec. 37 ootb, but for juft reafons to put them to Chap. 1. death. <>'W> What has been here faid, proves, that all Supreme or Independent Power muft be indivifible } and that he who has any fuch in Ecclefiafticals, muft have the fame in Civils, and confequently all Power what- foever. But becaufe the Clergy pretend that their Ecclefiaftical Power may be di vided from, and no ways interfere with the Magiftrate's Civil Power } I fhall now Ihow the contrary, even in thofe things they iriragine the moft unlikely to clafh with it, viz.. an independent Right of making and depriving Ecclefiafticks, and of Excommunication. 8. As to the firft, this wholly excludes the Magiftrate from having a Right to put a Clergyman to death } becaufe in Depri vation of Life is included Deprivation of all Offices and Employs whatsoever : and confequently without having the lefs, he cou'd not have the greater, in which that is contain'd. And if the Clergy hold their Offices by a Divine Commiffion, the Magiftrate can have no more Right to de bar or hinder their executing them, than to fufpend or fuperfede fuch a Com miffion. And a Divine Independent Right in any one to an Office, neceffarily fuppo fes the fame Right to the Place where he is to exercife ir, and to the Perfons on whom he is to exercife it : and confe quently the Magiftrate can, upon no pre tence whatfoever, banifh, imprifon, re move, or any way hinder a Perfon from D 3 exer- 2 8 The'fRigbts of the extecdfing his Spiritual Function in that Place, where the governing Clergy have oblig'd him to refide ; much lefs incapaci tate him by any Punilhment from perform* ing it at all. And by the fame reafon he has as little power over a Layman } becaufe if he puts him to death, banifhes, impri- fons, or removes him from the Diftrid he belongs to, he deprives the Governor of that Diftrid of a Subjed, to whofe Spi ritual Obedience he has an Independent Right. 9- As to the fecond : If the Power of Excommunication belongs independently to the Clergy, the Magiftrate cou'd no more do that which neceffarily deprives one of the Communion of the Church, than a Prieft can that whereby one's Death una voidably follows } becaufe if the Govern ments areequal, by being both Indepen dent, the Magiftrate can have no more Power over Men diredly or iridiredly in Ecclefiafticals, than the Prieft has in Ci vils; and confequently he cou'd no more by Banifhment, Imprisonment or Death, hinder one from communicating with his own Church, much lefs with all the Chur ches in the World (as by the laft he moft effedually does) than the Prieft cou'd do any thing, whereby Deprivation of Coun try, Eftate, Liberty or Life, is the necefr fary Confequenee. But this is not all } for the Power of Excommunication in the Priefts, takes from the Magiftrate the Right of depriving one of the Exercife of any Profeffion, Cal ling, Chriftian Church, Sec. $9 ling, Employ, or Trade whatfpever ', fince Chap. 1. none can exercife 'em, who is to be fhun'd i>*V>o by all People, And if the Clergy can ob lige every body to fhun thofe they ex communicate, they muft confequently be able to deprive whom they pleafe of their Profeflions, &c. which muft debar the Ma giftrate of doing the fame, fince both cannot have a Right to the fame Pow er at the fame time. Nay, confidering no Perfon can long fubfift without the Affiftance of others, which cannot be had, where People are oblig'd to avoid all Commerce and Converfe with him} a Sentence of Excpmmunication,if ftrid- ly pot in execution, wou'd not only de prive one of any Employ whatfoever, but caufe him for fome time to lead a Life more to be dreaded than Death it felf, and at laft to perifh moft miferably: and confequently an Independent Power of Life and Death wou'd * belong to the Clergy } and there is no Perfon whatfoever exempt from this Punifhment, no not the Magiftrate, fince he is their Ecclefiaftical Subjed, and mayberedue'd to this mife- rable and forlorn Condition, by the Cler gy's drawing their Spiritual Sword fas they term this Cenfure) againfi: all of his Party, Soldiers and others } and obliging them to avoid, fhun, and confequently defert him, on pain of having Heaven's Gates fhut againft 'em, and being deli ver'd over to Satan. And Men certainly in common Prudence will be fure to com ply with thofe who have this Power over D 4 their 40. The (Rights of the their Souls, rather than with the Magiftrate, who has Power Only over their Bodys. ip. If it be faid, they' have not this Power over the Magiftrate, becaufe 'tis inconfiftent with his Civil Rights } will not the Argurnent hold as to the People ? For. is he not in Ecclefiafticals as much a pri vate Perfon as any of 'em } and in Civils; has he any Rights except what they give him for their own fakes, being their1 Creature, as St. Peter calls! him, made by , them, as well as for thein .?~ And does not every one, as well as he, fuffer by this Punifhment, in his Civil and Natural Ca pacity ? fince the Conirerfation of his Fel low-Citizens is abfolutely neceffary to his Well-being, here } to which, unlefsheads Contrary to the common Rules of focia- ble and rational Creatures, he has a natu ral Right, built on the neceffity Men are in of one another's Affiftance;,' each Per- fon's Infufficiency for himfelf, being the- Foundation of all the mutual Dutys be tween Man and Man. And he that's in the right in fpeculative Notions,, can as little. live without the Concurrence of others, as he that's in the wrong : and whofoever will not be fhun'd for the fake of his Opinions, ought to obferve the fame mea- fure with refpedto others, who have the fame Privilege of judging for themfelves.. The contrary Treatment, fince it can no ways convince the Underftanding, but is apt to produce Hatred and DilTimulation, ought only to be us'd for breaking thofe common Rules, by which Mankind fubfift ia iftian Church, &c.' 4 J. in Societys. And if the Clergy claim a Chap, t.' judicial Power in thefe Matters,. what can;L/rv>J be exempted from their Jurifdidion? ¦* By what's here briefly touch'd at, *tis> plain that an independent Right in the Clergy, of Deprivation,,; and of Excom-* munication, ' does not only clafh,' but is wholly inconfiftent with the MagiftrateV Civil Power. However, let us a little more fully confider, what'effed an inde pendent Right iri the Clergy to Excom munication will have on Mankind. 11. If he, who has power over Mens Lives, muft needs command their Proper- tys, becaufe they wou'd willingly part with one to preferve t'other } how great muft their Power be, who can exclude Men " from everlafting Life ? Nothing lefs than that being, as the Priefts pretend, the Con- fequence t)f their Excommunication-, Men wou'd be moft notorious Fools, not to let all in this World, their Lives as well as Propertys, be at their difpofal, to prevent or take off this infinitely great Punifhment. But the temporal Effed of it, without the affiftance of its fpiritual Force, is fufficient td enflave Mankind } fince the depriving one of all Converfe muft needs be insuppor table to fo fociable a Creature as Man : for who can indure to be fhun'd as a fright ful or infedious Animal, and to be lefta- lone and folitar y in the midft of Mankind ? This fingly, tho one was able to fubfift without the Concurrence of others, being too much for Human Nature to fupport } what wou'd not Men do or fuffer to avoid it? 12. 'Tis 4* TheMighpoftfe^ 1 2. 'Tis in vain to deny that the Clergy have this Power, even in the moft ftrid and leverefenfe: for if „ it belongs to^them to prohibit People from converfing. with whom they pleafe, it muft* likewife belong to them (for who can interpofe in things of their Cognizance ? J to judge of, the mea- fure of the Prohibition} and confequently' when they extend it to the qtmoft, by forbidding all manner of Communication, people are obUg'd to obey them. . 13, The- turning out of the Synagogue amongft the Jews (a), tho it did not debar one from the Legal Worfhip, nor wholly exclude him from all Converfe, but only oblig'd him to keep a certain diftance} yet was thought fo fevere 'a Punifhment, that the Rabbys, and other great Men, by way of Commutation, had the favour of being foundly beaten (tho fome fince, more fubtle than Jews, have manag'd-Commuta- tions more to their own advantage, by enriching themfelves, and beggaring, if Fame be not a Lyar, many an honeft Dif- fenter) and the Jews now chufe (6) t6f fubmit not only to Stripes, but to Banifti- ment rather than to it. Among the Efi fines (c), the ftrideft Sed of the Jews, " Excommunication was fo terrible, that " they who incurr'd that Sentence, came " probably to a miferable End,being driven (a) Selden de Synedriis. (l>) Grotius de Imperio fummarum poteftatum circa facra, cap. 9. §. 10. (0 Jofephus de Eello Judak», lib. 2. cay, 7. " to Chriftian Church, Sec. 4*, «« to graze like Beafts till the Flefh rotted Chap, i . «' from the Bone. In this Diftrefs, the So- OVVJ ** ciety had fometimes the Charity, when " they were at the point of death, to re- " ceive'em again." Thefe, 'tis true, ob lig'd themfelves to refufe Affiftance, tho offer'd j but wou'd it not be as bad if all were bound not to offer it ? 14. The antient Germans (d) thought Excommunication fo infupportable, that many laid violent hands on themfelves, ra ther than endure it : And not without good reafon } for who wou'd not be kill'd out right, rather than be oblig'd to fuftain Life in an uninhabited Place ? And the being amongft Men, when they agree to have no Communication with him, is far from ma king his Condition more eligible. 15. The Druids (e), who got the fole power of Excommunication to themfelves, by virtue of it govern'd all things; and Kings were only their Minifters to execute their Sentences. And have not the Chrif tian Druids, by pretending an independent Right to it, rul'd the Chriftian World as they pleas'd } efpecially in the moft igno rant times, when the Pope, as Head of the Church, infulted and lorded it over both Kings and People } who (as the Indians do the Devil) ador'd him out of fear, fo ap- prehenfive were they of the Thunder of his Excommunications ? (i) Tacitus de moribus Gerawiorum. (0 Chryfoftom, Orat. 49. 1 6. Of 44 The (RighU of the io\ Of this had not the Nation been fenfible, they wou'd not have declar'd (f), " That the Reafon why the Pope and his " Adherents hinder'd Laymen from ex- ** ercifing Ecclefiaftical Jurifdidion, was, " that they might gather and get to them- V felves the Rule and Government of the " World." 17. If this Cenfure does not now-a-days ftrike every where fuch a Terror into Men } 'tis not becaufe it does not naturally pro duce it, but becaufe they do not ftridly and religioufly avoid all Converfe with the Excommunicated} whom they cannot think to be in a very defperate Condition with refpedto' t'other World, when they confider the trifling Caufes for which that Penalty is commonly inflided. Befides, where' there are feveral Churches, being cenfur'd by one of them, feldom makes a Man lefs efteem'd by the reft : which poffi- bly is one reafon why the Clergy make what they call Schifm to befo heinous a Sin. 18. Can'any fay the Magiftrate has all the Power neceffary for the Protedion of his Subjeds, if Excommunication belongs by Divine Right to the Clergy ? For then, tho by the' Terror of this dreadful Pu- nifhment they drive the moft ufeful Citi zens and their Trades into Foreign Parts, to the Ruin of the Commonwealth } or any other way, by virtue of it, odprefs his Subjeds } he is fo far from having a Righ? (/) 37 of Henry VIII. chap.ij. to Chriftian Church, Sec. 45 to hinder it, that the Attempt in him Chap. 1. wou'd be no lefs than fpiritual Rebellion. <«/W> And what can more difcourage him from ading for the Good of the Commonwealth, when contrary to the Intereft or Defigns of the Clergy, than his being fubjed to this Punifhment ? And tho his own Perfon werfe exempt, yet that wou'd fignify little, f6 long as thofe heads by are liable to it. But tho both the •Magiftrate and Minifters were ever fo willing to proted the People, yet they are depriv'd of the Means, be caufe, ; 19. The Cognizance almoft of all Caufes muft belong to the Clergy } fince whofo- ever offends, or injures his Brother, com mits a Sin : and the Arguments they ufe for their fpiritual Jurifdidion, fuch as Reformation of Manners, the Good of Mens Souls, Avoiding, Scandal, &c. give them a right to excommunicate for one Sin as well as another } and confequently for Invafion of Property, no fteall Sin. And whofoe- ver puriifhes for this, muft, if he be not a mere Executioner of another's Sentence, judge concerning the Matter of Fad, whe ther the Defendant has injur'd the Plaintiff, &c. and Judgments wou'd be in vain, if People were not to fubmit to the Determi nation of the Judges. ' By the fame reafon, the Clergy muft have a' right to excommu nicate for all Crimes againft the publick Good, thefe being Sins of the firft Magni tude : And, to infiance in Rebellion, they cannot have a Power to cenfure Men for it, without a right of judging to whom Alle- ' ! giance 4fj the (Rights of the gijdlce is due } fo that all publick and pri vate Right is fubjed to their Determina tion. 2c> And confidering the fame things are both Civil and Religious, and there s 'no thing relating to one's felf, one's Neighbour or the Publick, but where Religion is, or may be concern'd, and where the Clergy, as a matter of Confcience, are to advife } this wou'd give them, if ,.-Aaf, In a word, there's nothing, if the Clergy were Governors of the Church, whichwoujd not. belong to their judicial Cognizance: as for inftance, they wou'd, have a Right 'to judge concerning all Laws, Leagues "abd Contrads } and .'when they find them prejudicial to the Church (of which they arethe proper andfole Judges) to declare 'em void and null. So their Power on a Chur'ch^account wou'd extend to all that Trade and Commerce which is carry'd on by People of different Religions and Per? fuafions,- becaufe tljofe who are in the right cannbt deal with thofe in, the wrong, without ebhverfihg with 'em } and fo the Church muft beinfeded, which its Gover* nors muft have a right to prevent- 25. If the Clergy are Governors of the. Church by an independent Right, they muft have the famef Right to everything neceffaf ry for the Support of the Government •, be; caufe that, without which the Government cannot fub'fift, cannot be fepairated from the Government } with which the Clergy being invefted, of courfe they muft have an independent Right to lay on their Sub jeds what Taxes they judge neceffary for xnaintainingthe, Ecclefiaftical State, its Of ficers and Minifters, and for the Building and Repairing of Churches, and all other Ecclefiaftical Edifices: and therefore the Magiftrate cannot, by depriving a Man of his Limbs and Libertys, "or by burdening him with Civil Taxes or other ways, difa- ble him from paying his Quota of thofe fpi ritual Affeffments his Ecclefiaftical Cover* nors fhall impofe. 16. If Chriftian Church, Sec. 49 25. If the fame People are to be under Chap. 1 . different Governors ^independent of each L/VNJ other, the Civil Governor can have no more power on a Civil Account over the common Subjed, than the other on an Eccle fiaftical; nor can they hinder one another of the Obedience due to each : and confe quently the Magiftrate cannot deprive one of his Life or Liberty, or ufe any other re- ftraining'method } becaufe this muft either for ever, or for a time, rob the Ecclefi aftical Governor of a Subjed, to whom he has at all times an independent Right. And by the fame reafon, he cannot remove him from the Diftrid of his Spiritual Gover nor, or indeed from his Parifh } becaufe he cannot deftroy the Relation between him and his Parifh-Prieft, nor lay any Com mands on him, which are either as to Mat ter or Time inconfiftent with thofe of his other Governor. Then as for the Ecclefi- afticks themfelves, the Magiftrate can ob lige ^em to nothing, that will in the leaft divert 'em from attending the feveral Sta tions in which they are plac'd by the Go vernors of the Church. ^ 27. On the contrary, the Ecclefiaftical Governors cannot oblige People to avoid and fhun a Man, becaufe they have no Right to hinder them from converfing a- bout Civil Matters, thefe being under the Cognizance of the Civil Magiftrate : And the common Subjed will find it a pretty difficult Bufinefs to give his Neighbour the Right he has to his Convention on a Civil Account, and yet wholly to fepa- E rate jo Th^ghts. of the ) rate from h«n-,upon an Ecclefiaftical,. 28. In brief, as the Civil Magiftrate can* not command nor punifh his Civil Subjed, without commanding or punifhng 'the Sub ject of the. Ecclefiaftical Magiftrate} fo 'tis the fame vk.e,verfa : and confequently they muft needs deftroy each other's Power, and free Men from all Subjedion ftp either. ,,- 29. Then as to the Governors themfelyes, what can be more abfurd, than, J0 imagine that one can be Subjed to, &qc\ Sovereign, of the fame Perfon, and be oblige to pu nifh him for Rebellion, and yet in fo do-f jflgibe guilty of the fame Grime againft him, , as tl>e Magiftrate plainly is, , when he puts his,>;Ecffefiaftieal' Governor to death ? fince cUflolving the Relation be tween the Sovereign and his Ecclefiaftjcal Subjeds^ if done by one of 'en|, .is nothing lefs than a spiritual Rebellion. If on one band 'tis faid that no Governor, of a compleat Body Politick can; .want}Wha$j jpeceffary for its Prefervation, '^?^*c^\ feqjiently.- the Magiftrate, fr!o^ ;tbat ac count, has a Right to put any of his Sub jeds to death : On the other fide it wiQbe f eply'd, that the Church, - by. reafon of its pivine Inftitution, is the moft, compkat Body Politick } and therefore its Gover nors (as -no fuch Body can be withojif it) muft have a Right, to meet, wfafcn and where. they;pfeafe,j fit as, often and as long as they think, fit,: which is incanfiftent with a Right in Jihe Magiftrate to put 'em to death, or by Punifhmeat or any other way to hinder, 'em from ^xercifing . this ¦•*:- Power} CWifimn Church, t&c. c i Power; 'becaufe then they wou'd be de-Chap. i. pendent^on- him in the higheft and moft t-^W> effential part of Government, that of Le giflation. But' we are not to ftop here; for, • 30. This '-Hyjpothefis gives the Ecclefia ftical Governors, whenever t the Safety of the Church, 'ffcie Supreme Law, requires it, of which they are the Judges/' a Power over the Temporal Sovereign } for the lefs Noble rauftgive place to the more Noble, the Temporal yield to the Spiritual, and the Church be preferr'd before the State. And therefore 'tis no wonder " that not *l onlyFopes (g) and Councils have affer- *' tedth^aepofing Dodrine, but that the " Chriftian World for more than fix hun- "¦ dred years did acquiefcein it } and that " during that whole time not fo much as " one Divine, Civilian, Canonift or Ca- " fuift, writ againft it } and thofe Writers *c the depos'd Princes got to undertake " their Defence,' do not in any of their " Books pretend to call the Dodrine in "¦ general in queftion." -And 'twas not the ¦Pope only, but other Bifhops, who took topon 'em to depofe theii? Sovereigns : as nothing was more folemn than the French Bifhops, Anm 833. depofing the Emperor Ludovkus Pius, which in their condemna tory Sentence they declare ylmeby thesCoun- ftl±f God Md the Authority of \4io Church; and apply all thofe Arguments of the Good Q>) Bifliop of Sarum'; Expof. of the 19th Article. *i E 2 of 5 1 The (Rights of^the of Mens Souls, &c. made ufe of for an In dependent Power, to juftify their Condud : and to prevent his being reftor'd, they firft force him to take the Habit of a Penitent, and then declare that no Man after fuch a Penance ought to return to a Secular Mi litia. 31. By what has been here urg'd, 'tis very plain, that there cannot be more than one Independent Power-, and if that belongs to the Magiftrate, the Clergy can have none, except it be deriv'd from him, as all dependent Power muft be. But if this is in the Clergy, the Magiftrate can be no more than their Subjed in CiVils, as well as in Ecclefiafticals } and therefore they who are for fuch a Power in the Clergy, however they may compliment the Magiftrate, deal with him, as the Epicureans did of old with God, Verbis ponere, re tollere. 32. It maybe faid, no Clergymen own all thefe Confequences: the Popifh Priefts own as many as ferve to exempt themfelves (tho the Reafon holds as ftrongly for the Lai ty) and all that belongs to 'em, from the Magiftrate's Power, and to make him no better than their Executioner} and upon refilling that noble Office, to forfeit his Do minions. Nay, Bellarmine (li) goes |fo, far as to affert, that 'tis no lefs than Herefy to deny that the Pope has it in his power to difpoft of all private Mens Efiates, as well as the Dia- (h) Bellarrriine'i Anfwerto Barclay, of the Temporal Pewtr of the. Pope. demt Chriftian Church, Sec. 5 3 demt of Kings, if he fees it good and profitable Chap. I. for the Holy Church. And it cannot bp ima- \^\T\J gin'd, that thofe of the Proteftant Clergy who maintain the Dodrine of their Inde pendency, do it barely as a fpeculative Opi nion } but for the fake of its advantageous Confequences, which fhou'd they pretend to all at once, they wou'd be fo far from gaining their Point, that they wou'd make Men fee the Abfurdity of that Principle, whence fo many enflaving Dodrines follow. 33. Their way is to get one thing by it firft, then another, next a third } till at laft every new Step being made a new Ar gument, it will be too late to deny them any thing. It was by this method (for Rome was not built in a day) that formerly the Priefthood by degrees advanc'd it felf to fo prodigious a height ; tho there are fome now, who with too general an appro- * bation have, by virtue of this Principle, tho contrary to the Laws of the Church and State, and their very Oaths, fet up for more Power of late, than in former times was claim'd in fome Centuries. And if the Ecclefiaflicks, when they were open ly debauch'd, and fcandaloufly ignorant, and therefore not fo much in Credit with the Laity, cou'd carry things fo high ; there's no reafon to think, but that now fince the reftor'd Learning of Europe is principally lodg'd with 'em, and they do not appear fo diflblute in their Manners, and confequently have a greater influence on the People, they will be able by degrees to make 'em, if they are once fo foolifh as E 3 to 54 The all the reft of ,his < Subject!?' of correfponding* with him-, 4>ecaufe-i*lw3 all the Chriftians of that Bifhop'g Diftrid, as well '¦ as all others', • are bound in' Confcience to i avoid Corre spondence -"With him all hi* Life. To fup pofe the' fptoitutti Authofritfy of the Bifhop over his Flock independent of the Ma giftrate, as founded on a diftind Charter ; and yet to fuppofe it fo precarious, that he can t&keit from hirn byvirtue of} 'or as a Confeqoehce of his Secular Authority, is to fuppofe-theBifhop's Power diftind from, and independerit of the Magiftrate's Power, and at the fame time fftbjed to, and at the mercy of it. But the handling this Point fully being fo effential for 'determining the Gontroverfy, 1 hope the Reader will not think I infift too long on it, tho before I part wi(ih it >1 demand} »} a 35- Whether the Clergy, when they ex communicate for things of a Civil Nature, fuch as Wills, -Adminiftration of Peufonai Eftates, &c. ad by a Power derived from Chrift, or from the Magiftrate ? If from the former, why do not all other Matters • relate to their Cognizance as well as thefe ? r for why are Perfonal Eftates more of an Ecclefiaftical nature than Real? Or to give another -Inftance, why are the moft grofs and carnal Caufes, fuch as Fornication, A- duftery, &c. more fpiritual than others? And if thefe belong to their Ecclefiaftical E 4 Jurif- J Anfw. If the Magiftrate is to affift the Governors of the Church, as the Clergy call themfelves, it can be in thofe Matters only to which his Power extends ; for as to any other he is no more than a private Per fon, and therefore can have no Right to iffue out Writs de excommunicato capiendo, or any otherwife to punifh a Perfon for being cenfur'd by the Clergy: fince his Power reaches not to Excommunication, nor to the Caufes for which they inflict it } and confequently in punilhing for thefe things, if they belong not to his Cogni sance, he punifhes unjuftly. And there fore the Clergy in Scotland ad now very confiftently, in not fuffering the Magiftrate to back their Spiritual Excommunication with any Temporal Force. To go further than this, and affirm that the Publick is bound to employ their Force in executing the Decrees of the Clergy, neceffarily fup pofes they have a Right to command it} and that the Magiftrate, as well as the reft of the Laity, is only their Executioner, being oblig'd right or wrong to enforce' their Commands: For the Magiftrate muft ad minifterially, if he executes not his Own, but Another's Laws, and can|have no more Power than what he derives from that Legiflature. But if you fay it is his own Laws he executes, then the Clergy, like other private Perfons, can offer Ad vice only } of which he is to judge, and enad or not enad according to Discretion. If 5 I'M, ^-the>*R0tM)%f) ; if yon %^!VnoWoV^^e, 6u»to«hf«f^; then the Abfurdity^ you weus»a»aSi&, »w>ill return1,- thatr'the Clergy'have ¥ Mgftt to command' the. Force, of the Sotftty ; and that the Magiftrate' 'adVas their Mihifter ien^, and1 can have no "Right to ufe Force tifflefs theyl could giveTt him. The Po- ffl'fi Clergy fpeak plain irr this Matte*, ykdffi declarey that if the, Magiftrate ckles 'tf«t obey fee Commands M the Church in extirpattngall thofe they judge to be Here- ticks, he forfeits his Dominions. Butathers moft gfofly1 oo'ntradid?1the^nfelves/: for firft they fay^thbt al! E of the J on the breach of his Laws, of which he may either judge- in Perfon, or by a De puty : But without this no Man is capable of Jurifdidion, becaufe where there is no Power to make La ws^ there can be no Pre tence to punifh for Breach of Laws. And therefore not only the Magiftrate's, but evenljod's Right to inflid Puniftiment is built on his Right to Legiflation ; and aH Sin or Guilt, and confequently' all Puniffc- ment, fuppoiffesPBreach of Law. But what Breach of Law, Difobedience,r Contempt or Contumacy (the ufual Pretence for Ex communication,) is therein notfubmitting to the Decrees of the Clergy v when then- very pretending to Legiflation is Treafon againft their Sovereign, and a grofs Ufur- pation on the Rights of their Fellow-Sub- jeds ? ; 41. And yet without this Power 'tis impoffihle they1 flvotfd be able to beftow an Ecclefiaftical Office, even where there is no Jurifdidion an nex'd to it} becaufe as that is commanding the Perfon who has it to' exercife it,' fo 'tis forbidding all others: And what is Commanding or Forbidding, except Legiflation ? The feme may be faid of Deprivation } becaufe byit they render the Exercife of that Office, which before they had made a Duty, ua- lawful. And in giving or depriving one of an Ecclefiaftical Office, they make it not only a Duty in the Perfon to execute or not execute it, but in others to join or not join with him. And what can Legiflation do more than make a thing morally Chriftkn Church, $sc. 6 3 marally,nece(Iary, or marally^mpoffibie ? , Chap." 1: 42. jThe fame may be faidjj^f j^xcom- OVN^ munjcation; for w'hat can cajrjgf mpreof, Legiflation than the commanding -every one of the Society to be the Executioners of their Sentence, by obliging 'emjtbqlhqn and ayoid the Perfon they excomnpp'rijfcate, on pain of the fame Puniihment/2 \f"., .43. To evade, this 'tis faid, Tjhat the Peo ple are bound to avoid the Converfati^ of M Men, and that the Clergy by their Excommuni cation only declare this. Anfw. If aPow^r in general to "declare an iu\Man is to be avoided,, ; were all to which" they pretend, every Lay and Pri vate Perfon, who is oblig'd, as often as he fees occafion, to declare as much, might excommunicate. But this can be no man ner of Pretence for ereding Courts of Ju dicature, and punifhing Pc.fons for Non appearance, and all other Contempts of their Independent Jurifdidion, and judi cially pronouncing a Sentence of Excom munication againfi this or that Perfon, iftd-by virtue af itWiliging PVPfy rjpp tn fhun all Converfe with him} till they are pleas'd to abfolve him, without giving 'em leave to judge whether he is guilty of the Crime for which they condemn him, or if guilty, whether he has fufficiently re pented of it. 44. In a word, if the Clergy have no ligtflatlvev Power, nor are entrufted to put the Will of the Legillator in execu tion, they can only have a Right to advife ; there being no Medium between that and Legif- 64 The tyt}** °f the Legiflation : Nor can they pretend to more iri thofe things where there can be no Le gifiative Pbwer, but every one is to judge for himfelf} and confequently in the ma king Ecclefiaftical Laws or Perfons, or in- fliding Ecclefiaftical Cenfures, or in the managing any other Ecclefiaftical Matters, they can claim no more Power by Divine Right than any other Members of the Church. Thus having prov'd in this Chapter, that, the Clergy, for want of Legiflation, have no Temporal or External coercive Power ; I fhall fhew in the next, that they have no Internal or Spiritual Jurifdidion given 'em by God. CHAP. Chriftian Church, Sec. 6 c Chap. 2. CHAP. II. That the Spirituality s claim d by the _ Clergy1 who fet. up for an Indepen*'1 dency, are either fuch as are peculiar to the Divine Nature, - or elfe were-*'* only heftow'd on the Apoftles 3 and that both thefe* ferVe 'em as a Pre tence for inYading the Rights of the (people, and of their Reprefentatives. i*. VT O T to infift on what I have already ,i.\| prov'd, that if the Clergy have no Legiflation, they have no Jurifdidion of any fort whatfoever } I fay, • that their affuming to themfelves a Jurifdidion, and terming it Internal, in contradiftindion to the Magiftrate's, which they call Ex ternal, is only amufing the People with Words, and a"* Blind to make Men be lieve a Difference where there's none, in order to ufurp a Power which belongs not to 'em. For the Church being a viable Society, the Adions of the Governors of it, when they ufe a coercive Power, muft be as vifible and external as any relating to the Com.-, ,,.,--, .aiih. A-. for inftahce, is not Exommunicacnn j-> ex ternal as Outlawry ? and Deprivation of F Ee 66 The wn'cn wou'd be againft all in 1637. tne Rules of Charity, were he not in fuch a State as made all Prayers for him to no pur pofe, So that 'tis plain they claim a Judicial Power, and by virtue of it the Go vernment of the Church } and thereby (par don the, Expreffion) become Traitors both to God and Man. 10. Some fay that the natural Idea of thefe words,' By Authority committed unto,. ,&.c. I • al folve thee from thy Sins, is, that the Prieft has a Power of pardoning 'em. And what helps to confirm 'em in this Opinion is,, as they fay, that 'tis not per mitted to a Deacon, who is allow'd to have Authority enough for the reft of the Pray ers, to pronounce this, or any other Form of Abfolution *. Mr. Johnfon upon the * The Bp ofSat\im'fuppofes,-that tho the idea naturally arijingfrom thefe words, 1 abfblve thee, c?f. is, that the Prieft pardons -Sins,yet ive of this Church under ftand. by it only thefu-ll Peace And Pardon of the Ch'ufch ;" and that this Form, fcarce known till the l^th Century, became in little more than Jixty years the univerfal PraMicc of the whole Latin Church. So fut>e a thing, adds he, is Tradi tion, and fo impoffihle to be chang'd, as the Papifts prtteniy that wichin:the'fiompafsi>foneAge the newForm,l'ab(b\vc thee, was not fo much asgenerally known ; and before the end ofit, the old harm of doing it in a Pjrayer with Impofi- tion of Hands }was quite worn ott/.Exp. of An. p. 28 3 ,284. Aleflieurs Chriftian Church, Sec. 75 Meffieurs of Port- Royal faying on this Text, Chap. 2." Prov. 28. t 5. As a roaring Lion and a**/^**^ ranging Bear, fo is a wicked Ruler over the poor People, iln' appartinent que Dieu de dire des verites fi etonantes } replies, tl That God is fo good Authority, that " any Man may fafely fay fuch aftonifhing " Truths after him." Which. I may apply to this Point, and fay, that if the Clergy mean by their Abfolving Power, only a de claring that God will pardon a penitent Sinner } God is certainly fo good an Autho rity, that anyone, as well as a Prieft, may venture to affirm fuch a Comforting Truth after him. Clergymen, when they are prefs'd hard with the Abfurditys of a Judicial Power, acknowledge that an unjuft Judgment of theirs has no effed } yet then they fay, 'tis not for want of fuch a Power, but be caufe the Sentence was pronounc'd, clave erran'te, as they phrafe it. But if God will not reward a Good, nor punifh an 111 Man, more or lefs for their Decrees } what can be more abfurd than to call that a Ju dicial Power, which has no manner of Effed or Operation? Who is there that mightnbt as well pretend to fuch a Power with re lation to this World } and upon gueffing, at the Doom of a Prifoner, tho he cou'd no ways alter it, cry, that he either judg'd clave errante oxnon err ante ? But it a Man, who on no better Pretence than this, in vaded the Rights.of the Magiftrate and of his Feilow-Subjeds, ought to be punifh'd as a fenflefs impudent Impoftof •, what muft he 74 T^e Rights of the he deferve1, who does the fame thing on the 'ittoftitnpious Pretence which can be, that ; of claiming^-a Judicial Power with refped to the next World? «' 11. In fhort, the Clergy have no Pre tence for claiming an independent Jurif. didion, which is not either invading the Incommunicable Rights of Godr.or elfe affuming fuch a Miraculous Power as belong'd to the Apoftles : of which I fhall give an Inftance or two. The People, fay they, cannot make a Clergyman, becaufe they cannot give the Holy Ghoft ; this being a Privilege peculiar to themfelves, and effential to the Being of a Clergyman. I wou'd gladly know of thefe Gentlemen. what they mean by Giving the Holy Ghoft: His Perfon, I fuppofe, they will not pre tend to difpofe of} and then they can only mean his Gifts, either, Extraordinary or Ordinary. If the firft, then they can beftow the Gift of Miracles, fuch as Pro- phefying, fpeaking with Tongues, reftq- ring the Blind or Lame, and curing Dif- tempers with a Touch or Word's fpeaking, &c. As to the fecond, if they can beftow the ordinary Gifts, as Meeknefs, Patience, Love, Charity, Moderation, Humility, &c. no Clergyman wou'd be without thefe, fince all have the Holy Ghoft given 'em- Plainly the Clergy cannot now pretend a Right to the difpofing of the Extraordi nary Gifts of the Holy Spirit, unlefs they had a Power equal to fhat of the Apoftles (who beftow'd 'em alike on the Laity as well as on the Clergy) nor to the Ordinary, with- Chriftian Church, \ Sec. ,fj without affuming a Power greater .than Chap. 2.' theirs} Thefe being the Gifts of God o'VO alone, referv'd for thofe who, by tfieir Lives and Converfations make themfelves meet to receive 'em. But if by giving the Holy Ghoft be here only meant giving a Right to exercife an Ecclefiaftical Office } to fay no others can give fuch a Right, becaufe they cannot beftow the Holy Ghoft, is only faying they cannot give a Right becaufe they cannot, both fignifying the fame thing: And if they mean any tfjing more by giving the Holy Ghoft, as necef fary to the Being of a Clergyman, there has been none fince the Apoftles, trme. And therefore I fhou'd be glad" to fee fome good Reafon affign'd, why Ordaining a Clergyman is by fome call'd Giving the Holy Ghoft } fure it cannot be in order to cheat the People of their Righ,t, and create in mens Minds a Veneration for the Clergy at prefent, equal to what they have for the Apoftles. The Bifhop of (g) Sarum, tho he confeffes, " that the, Ufe of the " Form of giving Orders by thefe words, *' Receive ye the Holy Ghoft, is not above 500 *' Years old, and is taken from Words of " our Saviour, which the Church in her " beft Times thought were not apply'd " to this, tho proper for Him to ufe who " had the Fulnefs of the Spirit to, give " at pleafure } and therefore feems to " have a Sound too bold and too affuming, (g) Expofition of the $6th Article. " as y6 The(Rjg$tsof-.the *c as if we cou'd convey the Holy Ghoft." Tho he, I' fay, grants this, yet he endea vours to jaftify this Form, and fuppofes it to be in the nature of a Wifh or Prayer: but no man's Wifhes or Prayers that ano ther may receive the Holy Ghoft, can be a reafon to debar thofe to whom it of courfe belongs from making of Clergymen ; and I hope the Magiftrate, or any one elfe, without :being guilty^of Sacrilege, may pretend to beftow the Holy Spirit, if no thing elfe is meant by that folemn Ex-. preffion, Receive ye the Holy Ghoft, befides wifhing the Clergy to be better* than they are. 1 2. The fame may be faid of Confecra ting a Bifhop } for if by it they mean, they can beftow any Holinefs on him, or give aay Gifts of the Spirit, either Ordinary or Extraordinary, nothing can be more falfe : But if they pretend only to pray to God that he will'give the Bifhop fufficient Holi nefs to execute his Office rightly,- that can be no reafon for them to engrofs the mak ing him to theinfelve?. 13. And here I cannot but obferve,. that the Popifli Clergy make very bold with the three Perfons of the Sa cred Trinity. The Firft they employ as their Executioner, to put their Judicial Sentences in force. The Second they make out of a bit of Bread, and then eat him, (tho there are others who allow this Pri vilege to the Teeth of the Faithful only.) TheThird they very freely difpofeof,at leaft Gifts, to all they lay hands on } tho there are Chriftian Churdhj &c. 77 are fome who fay, that if the Fopifh Chap. il Priefts have ahy Spirit beftow'd on 'em in o^VX^ their going into Orders, 'tis that of the Prieft of Apollo, when full of the God he cry'd, '!' ' .]., Jam furor humanum noftro de petlrore fenfum Expulit, & totum fpirant pracordia Phcebum. And that what fhare foever they might have of the Holy Spirit before Ordination, they then are polfefs'd of no other Spirit than that of Pride, Ambition, Covetouf- riefs, Uncharitablenefs, I rapofition, Malice, Revenge, Perfecution, &c. And they fay this is no wonder, when in fo ferious a Concern as making of Bifhops and Priefts, both the Ordain'd and the Ordainers in that Church ad with fo folemn a Mockery, one in pretending a Call from, and the o- ther in giving the Holy Ghoft. As this by no means ought to be ob- jeded to the Clergy of the Church of Eng land, fo 1 hope that which fome ! of 'em ad at the Eledion of a Bifhop, is no man ner of kin to this Holy Farce of the Pa pifts, in imploriag the Diredion of the Holy Ghoft to chufe a fit Perfon, tho they are refolv'd beforehand to proceed according, to the Diredion of the Conge d'Elire, and name only him whom they are bound to take by that Writ. And agree able with this was the Bifhop Eled's fo- lemnly declaring three times fa Cuftom now difcontino'd) Nolo Epifcopari ; no fmall piece of Hypocrify, except he fpoke it with 7 8 The (RjgHs of the with relation to the Duty, and not to the Honor or Profit of the Place } for herein he was too'often as good as his word. But not to digrefs : 1 4. A Clergyman, 'tis faid, is God's Em* baffador, therefore the People neither Col- ledive or Reprefentative can make one, be caufe they have no power to fend Embaf- fadors from Heaven. But taking Embaffa* • dors in that fenfe, it will, I'm afraid* prove there are now no Clergymen } fince they who pretend to the fole Power of makirig''em, can as little fend'an Embaffa? dor frdm God, who alone chufes his own Erribaffadors. Chrift, and his Apoftles, as they were commiffion'd by God, fo they brought their Credentials with 'em vifible to Mankind} viz.. the Power of working Miracles : But W'hat Credential,' or what Miffion can thefe Gentlemen pretend to ? or what Go- fpel, never before known to the World, are they to difeover ? Are they not at the beft only Commentators, Note-makers, or Sermon-makers on thofe Dodrines which the Embaffadors of God once deliver'd to the Saints ? which many of, 'em have render'd by their abfurd Gloffes and falfe Comments fo perplext and intricate, that only a new Commiffion from Heaven /eems able to fet 'em in their due Light } yet they do not fcruple to call their Pulpit-Speeches, the Word of God, and apply thofe Texts to themfelves, which belong only to the Em baffadors of God. 15. But Chriftian Church, Sec. 79 1 5. But let them confider, if he who Chap. 2« feigns a Commiffioh from an Earthly King, u^Tk) and ads as his Embaffador, without having Authority from him, deferves a fevere Pu nifhment } what muft they iexped, who falfiy pretend aCommiffion from Heaven, and to be no lefs than the Embaffadors of God to Mankind ? on whofe Wifdom 'tis no fmall Refledion, to imagine he has cho- fen fuch Perfons to reprefent him. Tho if 'we will take one Of the Treafon-abfolv- ing Prieft's words for it, (h) Every Prieft it one of the principal Minifters in God's Kingdom, to prefide in his Worfhip, publifh his Laws, pafs his Pardons, and reprefent his Per fon. 1 do not wonder that Men fo fan- guine, as to think thus of themfelves, are puft'd up with intolerable Pride and In fa ience j and that they look down with Scorn and Contempt on the fimple Laity, who (poor Men) can hope for no Abfolution, if fome of thefe principal Minifters in God's Kingdom will not vouchfafe to pafs their Pardons. £ ir And in truth, a Man cannot well help being ftrarigely elated in his Thoughts, to find himfelf exalted, he knows not how (perhaps from a poor Servitor, and run ning on College- Err ants) to fo great and glorious Preferment, as to be a prime Mi- nifter in God's Kingdom, to reprefent no lefs than the Perfon of the Omniprefent Being, to be able to difpofe of the Holy (h) Collier'* View of the Immorality of the Stage, p. 127, 128. Ghoft, 80 The (Rights of the Ghoft, to have the Keys of Heaven and Hell at his Girdle } and as a Canfequence of this, to have Kings and Emperors,, as well as the Mafs of Mankind, render him fpiritUal Obedience. So great, fo miraculous a Power confer'd by the for* mality of laying hand over head on^a Man, tho ever fo vile and unworthy, is fufficient to make him, if weak enough to believe it, vain, giddy an& infolent* But, Were it not for thefe extravagant, wild, and profane Notions (which fojme call their Spirituality s) nothing can be plainer than . that all Ecclefiaftical Power has no othe^, Foundation than the Confent, of the So-* ciety. Toinftanceinthe two chief Points* the making of Clergymen, and Excommu nication. As to the firft -, i ie". What's more requir'd to give one a Right to exercjfe the Office of aMinifter in any particular Congtegation, than an Agreement among them to chufe a Perfon capable, and; willing to take upon him that Fundion," and confent to hear him fay Prayers, preach, and adminifter the Sacra ments ? And what is depriving or depo^ fing him, except agreeing not to hear him any longer, or own him any more for their Minifter ? And this private Churches may. do by a Right natural to all Societys what foever, fince 'tis only a Liberty of their own Adions in hearing, or not hearing fuch a Perfon pray or preach, or in receiving or not receiving the Sacraments from him. And this they muft have had a Right todo, before Chriftian Church, Sec. 8 i before National Churches came in ufe: for Chap. 2. till then, as no Minifter nam'd his Succeffor, i^W fo each Congregation being independent of another, and the Magiftrate not interpo- fing, muft have had a right of conftitutihg their own Minifters, and of ordering all other Church-Matters } and no other cou'd be concern'd than by their Confent and Ap probation. So that here's no room for the independent Power of any Set of Priefts : And as little is there for it in a National Church, which only the.Legiflature of that Nation can conftitute } and confequently one cannot fuppofe a National Church, without allowing the Magiftrate the Power of dividing it into Parifhes, Dioceffes, Pro vinces, or otherwife modelling it as he thinks fit, and of determining the Form of Ecclefiaftical Government, and the Quali fications of fuch as are to be admitted into any Ecclefiaftical Benefices under that Form } and upon what Terms they fhall hold their Livings, and who fhall have the Power of depriving 'em, and putting o- thers in their room} and likewife, of ma king Laws about all other Matters relating to the National Church, and appointing who fhall put their Laws in Execution. And therefore the Clergy, who contend not only for the Lawfulnefs but Neceflfryof National Churches, give up all their Pre tences to an independent Power in every thing relating to 'em, even in the moft fpe- culative and myfterious Points } for if they allow that the Magiftrate can enad, that no Perfon fhall enjoy any Preferment in the Na- G tional g2 The (Rights of the tional Church, who does not profefs fuch or fuch Articles, they cannot deny him a Power to deprive any who fhall difown 'em } becaufe 'tis only putting thofe Laws they acknowledge herhas a Power to make, in ex ecution : and by whomfoever he does this, whether Lay; or Clergy, they ad as his Deputies, fince a Church, as 'tis Political or National* is a part of the Civil Conftitution. And none can doubt of this*- who confider that 'tis only the different Sentiments of the Supreme Powers in every Nation, which ¦make the National Churches, or Religions eftablifh'd by Law, to be fo infinitely diffe* rent : andby the Reafoning of the Genera lity of the Clergy, every Man is oblig'd to be of the National Church, becaufe they every where plead for the Magiftrate's hav ing a Right to punifh all his Subjeds as Schifmaticks who are not of it. And 'tis a forry Evafion to fay the Magiftrate has this Right only, when 111© National Church is the true Church} becaufe True Church, till .apply'd to fome particular Church, is only an abftraded jNotion : which if every one is to apply .for himfelf, the Magiftrate has no more power in this cafe than any other} but if he has the applying k for his Subjeds, then a Right to punifh 'em for.not being of the True Church, or of the Church he judges to be True, is the fame thing-} and confequently muft every where alike oblige . People to be of the National Church, or every where alike fub- jed 'em to Punifhment : and accordingly -we fee 'tis every where urg'd by the Priefts who Chriftian Church, Sec. '83 Who are uppermoft. But to return: Chap. 2'. 1 7. The Point next to be cohfider'd is O'VO the Power of Excommunication, which the Clergy pretend gives 'em a Right fo debar Men not only from the Church} bat from all Civil Converfe and Se'ciety. Yet Men in the State of Nature, as they had a Right of keeping, or not keeping company with whom they thought fit, (this being on ly a Liberty of their own Adions) fo upon their changing that State, they had the fame Hight of invefiing the Magiftrate with a power of reftraining this as well as any "other Liberty } and of obliging them for juft Reafons to avoid Converfe with this Or that Perfofl. And I can fee no Caufe why the Cletgy may not as well pretend to tile Force, as to exclude whom they think fit from converfing with the reft of the So ciety, as they do even ^about. Civil and Temporal Affairs : becaufe a Liberty of Mens Adidnsin Converfing Or not ConveT- fing, was certainly as much in their power, as a Right to ufe Force on others} and con fequently, when they form'd themfelves into a Body Politick, they cou'd entruft the Magiftrate with one as well as the Other. 18. But fince the Magiftrate cannot pre- fcribe to^ all -Men what Company they fhall keep or avoid, they will 'ftill retain fo much Liberty as to have that, in all thofe Cafes where he does not interpofe, in their owndifpofal} as 'tis plain from, the prac tice of all private Societies, 'Companies and Clubs* who daily exclude thofe Metri- G 2 bers 84 The (Rights. of the . bers who ad not conformably to the Rules they have agreed on. 19. And it was by this^ Natural Right that the Primitive Chriftians aded} fince at firft for fome Centuries, the Confent of the whole Congregation was requir'd, and every Member had a Vote in Excommuni cation : and this is naturally fo vefted in the Community, that he who goes about to excommunicate them or a Majority, is himfelf the Sufferer. And here it ought to be remember'd, that there is an, infinite difference between private Men agreeing among themfelves to refufe their Fellow- fhip to any Member of their Society for breaking their common Rules, and one's having an arbitrary Power to exclude from all Communion Ecclefiaftical and Civil of a whole Nation, not to fay of aWChriftendom, whom he pleafes, and as long as he pleafes} every one fees this wou'd be dividing the Sovereignty, and by degrees fubjeding all to himfelf. 20. All that can be faid for the Clergy's having this Power, is, that 'tis neceffarily annex'd to the Right they have of turning Men out of the Church of Chrift, the or dinary way of Salvation, and of delivering 'em over to Satan } becaufe it muft needs be an impious thing in the Laity, to coun tenance with their Converfation, Men fo dealt with} fince converfing with 'em is a Crime next to keeping Company with Satan himfelf. But, 21. Having already prov'd that the Clergy have no Power in, relation to the 4- next Chriftian Church, Sec. 85 next World, I fhall only furtheradd, that Chap. 2. the Defign of all Ecclefiaftical Punifhraent i^W> was, as I thought, to bring Men into, and not turn them out of the ordinary way of Salvation : This an ill Man is apt to do of himfelf, without the Affiftance of a Prieft. That a Minifter of Satan fhou'd be zealous for his Matter's Service, and endeavour to put into his Clutches as many as he y cou'd, is no wonder} but that they who pretend to be the Minifters of Chrift, and whofe Bufinefs it is to free Men from his Power, fhou'd claim no lefs than a Divine Right to do this, is wholly aftonifhing: Which Attempt of theirs, tho it certainly can have no effed on others, yet how it will operate on themfelves, I will not further determine, than by putting 'em in mind, that the Scripture affures us, Men fhall be judg'd as they judge, and the Meafure they mete to others fhall be meafur'd to them again. But however this may affed 'em hereafter, it muft (cou'd they once get it firmly believ'd) make all things here their own } for Men wou'd be glad to compound for all they have in this World (efpecially when they are going to leave itj not to be debar'd the Happinefs of the next. 22. Obj. Perhaps it may be faid, Tho the Clergy have no Spiritual Coercive Power (if by that be meant a Power which extends to the next World) yet may they not be able in this Life to infiitf a Spiritual Puniftsment ? Anfw. Tho what has been already faid is fufficient to prove they have no Coercive Power at all } yet left they fhould amufe G 3 Peo* 84 The (Rights of the. ) £ ; l People with Words, and claim what Power *-*/-. they have a. mind .to, by calling it Spiri tual} 1 fay, no Punifhment can be other- Wife Spiritual, than as it tends to hinder Wickednefs: and if this did belong to the Clergy, they wou'd have a Right not only to punifh for all Crimes whatfoever, but to ufe the moft forcible Means} becaufe Punifhment having no tendency to con vince the Underftanding, but to curb the Faffions only, what is moft powerful to that end, muft be moft Spiritual } that being the only reafon why any. Punifhment can be call'd fo : and confequently, if any Other Punifhment be more effedual to that end than Excommunication, it muft be more Spiritual. If the, killing Ananias* putting out Elimas's Eyes, and the caufing People to be tormented in their Bodies, which in Scripture is call'd delivering over to Satan, were then Spiritual Punifhments } there's no reafon they are. not fo now, if Miflided for the fame or as proper Ends: for its being by an Ordinary or Extraordi nary Power, does not alter the nature of the punifhment. Chrift's whipping the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, was truly a fpiritual Punifhment } but the Jewifh Priefts excommunicating thofe who believ'd in him was far from being fo, except it may deferye that name for advancing the fpiritual Kingdom of Darknefs } to which Excommunication, ever fince the Clergy have claim.M an independent Right to it, has been moft inftrumental. ¦ 23. The Chriflicm Church, &c. 87 23. The Clergy affirm, that if they had Chap. 2« not the Power to exclude Men from the^ l^VVj Church, its -Unity cou'd not be preferv'd, nor Divifions or Schifms, prevented : which is in effed to fay that the way to keep Men in the Church, and thereby pre- ferve its Unity, is to divide t^ie Church, by turning 'em out of it \ and that the fe- parating Menfrom the Church, is a proper Courfe to prevent Schifm, in it: Juft as gopd Senfe, as to affirm, that the putting Men out of the common road of Salvation, is the way to fave 'em. G 4 CHAP. 88 The (Rights of the CHAP. III. That the Clergy's pretending to haVe a XfiVtne Right to exclude (people from the Church of Chrift is as abfurd, tV_ 0 their claiming a Tower to debar 'em from the public kJVorfhip is un* charitable: And that this Cuftom was borrow d from the fieathen (priefis, particularly the Druids. Of the Advantages they gaind by it. i. T Cannot fee- but it is contrary, to the X Rules of Charity to exclude Men from the Church, if that be, as the Cler gy contend, depriving 'em of the Means of eternal Happinefs } fince they affirm that they, who are not in Communion with 'em, are out of the Pale of the Church, and out of that there's no vifible Means of Salvation. If fo, nothing can , be more uncharitable than depriving Peor pie of all the known Mean* of being fav'd. Q 2. But fince Men cannot be turn'd out of any Church, for fuch Matters of Dodrine or Chriftian Church, Sec. 89 or Difcipline as are no Terms of Commu-Chap. 3. nion } and for thofe which are, as foon as ^/Y^ one is convinc'd they are unlawful, if he ads confcientioufly, he will voluntarily re nounce all Communion with that Church : and tho nothing can be more common, or more ridiculous, than to pretend by Ex communication to turn out of a Church thofe who never were ofit, or have left it } yet none can properly be faid to be excluded from any Church, except he who approves its Terms of Communion, and is willing to continue a Member of it } and therefore it can only be for wicked and immoral Adions that one can be hindred from joining with ' the Church in the Publick Worfhip of God, But, 3. What can be more unaccountable, than to hinder a Man from performing one part of his Duty (efpecially fo great a one as the Publick Worfhip of God) becaufe he has fail'd in another ? or if he has offended God publickly, what can be more abfurd than to debar him from as publickly defiring his Pardon? But if the not doing one Duty can make amends for the breach of another, he who negledsthe Divine Service, ought to be debar'd from doing his Duty to his Neigh bour, and fo vice ver fa ; fo that a Man by o- mittingthe Laws of either Table, wou'd be oblig'd to obferve neither. But the greater Sinner one is, there's the lefs reafon to de bar him from hearing fuch Sermons, as are made up of Reafons to perfuade him to his „ Duty both to God and Man. And he ought to be frequently told, that till he repents he is ^o The (Rights of the is in a ftate of Damnation, tho not exclude d ' from the Publick Worfhip : whereas oath? contrary, as; much as he is petfujaded that his being' punifh'd in the next World depends upon the Clergy's judicially excluding.him the Church, fo much itleffens his Belief qf theheinOufnefsof Sin, and tempts hiirtto contrive, not how to avoid the Sin, but how to fin in private } or elfe fo to ingratiate himfelf with the Clergy,. as not to be tura'd out of the Church : Whicbas it wou'd make it their Intereft that Men fhou'd fin in abun*- dance, becaufe then they wou'd have 'ena at their mercy^ and ina manner be under a neceffity of complying, with 'em in all thingf} foitwou'd encourage People^ efpecially their Favourites, to gratify all their loofe Defusa: and' confequently. this Notion, inftead of promoting Religion, is a moft admirable Contrivance to fpoil both.Prieft and People. But, w * 4. What- Pretence can there be for hin dering a Sinner from publickly praying to God to- have his Sins.fongiven} and to be enabled by his Grace to perform; thofe Du ties he is fo apt to fail in? If he is to do this in private (nay the greater the Sinner is, the more reafon he has "to do it J why not in publick? fince that is own'd.tobe a greater Duty, and more likely to prevail with God. So, why may not he praifeGod in publick for the Mercies he receiveff>here, and may hereafter, if he obferves this,, as well as other Duties? Or why may not he publickly exprefs his Gratitude to Chrift, by commemorating- his Death,; fince our Sa- Chriftian Church, $ec. 9 1 Saviour defign'd that all, were it not their Chap. 3. own fault, fhou'd reap the Fruit of it, and i-^WJ the not doing it will add to their Sins. 5- But tho the Right of debarring People from the Lord's Supper, is what the Cler gy chiefly infift on, yet they generally talk very inconfiftently about it : for fometimes they will tell you, 'tis the moft dreadful Punifhment that can be, infinitely greater than any the Magiftrate can inflid } yet at other times they are fofar from making it a Punifhment,, that they fay, 'tis a greater kindnefs than denying a mad Man a Sword to kill himfelf, for one wou'd only de ftroy his Body^ but t'other his Soul } and God forbid they fhou'd be any ways inftrur mental. 6. In fhort, Men muft be in fuch Circum- ftances as make their receiving either a Crime, or a Dutyvor a thing indifferent. If the firft, the Clergy's Refufal can have no thing of Punifhment in it, becaufe 'tis only refuting to contribute to. another's Sin, which is every one's Duty to avoid as well as a Clergyman's. If the fecond, the Cler gy can never have a Right to hinder a Man from doing his Duty } nay, the fup poftng it his Duty neceffarily fuppofes him, who cannot be forc'd to Impoffibilities, ob lig'd to receive it, upon their refufal to adminifter it, without 'em } for the End cannot be a Duty, but the Means neceffary to it muft be fo too. If the third, then the Clergy only ufe a Liberty of their own Adions, in not doing what was in their power eitherto do or refufe, and by which ^ none 9 2 The (Rights of the none is prejudic'd : fo that in none of thefe Cafes is there any room or pretence for their having any Jurifdidion- * 7. Another thing as little accountable, is, that the Clergy, tho they pretend 'tis their Duty to exclude from the Sacrament thofe they judge unworthy, yet at the fame time are for obliging all by Penal Laws to receive it, and for having none qualify'd for Preferment, who take it not of them.: Which is either contradiding themfelvesy and owning none ought to be excluded from it} or elfe a Defign to make whom they- pleafe to be punifh'd, and likewife incapa-* ble of Preferment. The laft of which High Church would fain at prefent fet on foot, to fupply the place of a Perfe-? cuting Bill which has happily mifcarried. But, 8. Tho an immoral Perfon may be punifh'd by Peoples fhunning his Com pany and Converfation } becaufe he who is govern'd by his brutal Paffions, and re- fufes to live according to the common Law of Reafon, has forfeited his Right to the Society of rational Creatures : Yet 'tis contrary to the Rules of Charity, to hin der him from coming to Church } becaufe by hearing good Sermons he may meet with ftrong and powerful Motives to per- fuade him to leave his wicked Gourfes} and by feeing the real and fervent Devotion of good Chriftians, he wou'd be excited to the fame himfelf} which, in my poor Judg ment, is a likelier way to reclaim him, than the excluding him from the Means de fign'd Chriftian Church, Sec. 93 fign'd to render Men wifer and better} the Chapi.3. want of which can only harden a Man in his tJrY^J Impenitence, and by degrees take from him all Senfe of Religion. And People's fhunning as much as poffible the Converfa- tion of an ill Man, fufficiently fhews they do not countenance him in his immoral Pradices } fo that there's no need to ex clude him from Divine Service on that ac count. And 'tis thus treating him that's fo grievous to him } for he who wou'd be well enough pleas'd to be difpens'd with from going to Church, cou'd not be much affeded in being depriv'd of a Liberty he feldom or never us'd. *¦ 9. In brief, nothing can be a feverer Re- fledion than what many of the Clergy caft on themfelves, and their own Profeffion } in fuppofingthe beft way to make a notorious Offender turn from his evil Courfes, is to have nothing to do with their Miniftry : and therefore he is to be hinder'd from hearing their Sermons, receiving the Sa crament from their hands, or coming near the Church where they officiate, left by fo doing he fhou'd be harden'd in his wicked and impenitent Condition } but inftead of it, he is to be deliver'd over to Satan, as a fitter and properer Minifter for his Con- verfion : Whereas fince the Sick and not the Whole need the Phyfician, the Clergy fhou'd, like our Saviour, who frequently convers'd with Sinners, apply their Miniftry chiefly to fuch. But, 10. The Clergy were fo fond of the con trary Method, that they have forbid not only 94 The (p^hts of the only fingle Perfons and Families, but whate Provinces and Kingdoms, to worfhip God publickly. This Nation, for inftance, was for above fix Years together under an In- "terdid in King John'% Time, which was ta ken off upon no other Terms than his fub- mitting the Crown and Kingdom to the Pope, as Head of the Church, and becoming his Vaffal and Tributary. n. To have the Doors of Churches fhut, when 'tis to prevent the Worfhip'Sf God from being perform'd in 'em, "and yet to have 'em open as a Sanduary for all forts of Rogues and Villains, gives a true, tho faint Idea of the ufe the PrieflS, where they ad independently, make of their pretended Spiritual Power, and of the Rights arid Immunities of. Holy Mother- Church. And what heightens the Idea, ii, to confider how they have, on pretence that Oaths are Spiritual Things,and fo belong to their Jurifdidion, encourag'd Perjury in the World, by abfolving Subjeds from their Oaths to their Sovereign's, and Sovereigns from theirs to one another, and to their Sub jeds } as the Pope in this Cafe did King John, who at the fame time gave his Sub jeds to the Devil, for infilling on their juft Rights and Privileges. 12. It maybe here demanded, Why the Clergy introduc'd fo unaccountable a Cuftom, and which at firft fight fetms fo little for their Honour ? For the fame reafon, in all probability, that othefj Abfurdities creptin to Religion } To advance their Intereft and Power. For had Chriftian Church, ' Sec. 9*; had Excommunication confiftcd, as at firft, Chap. 3. in avoiding the Converfation of an ill t^^/sj Man, and perhaps placing him at fome diftance from thertft of the Congregation, as the Excommunicated were among the |ews, the Glergy cou'd not well pretend any more Power in this matter, than the reft of the Church. But this was no ways agreeable to their Ambition, which cou'd only be fatisfy'd with Abfolute Power } and therefore they made it their bufinefs to perfuade the People, that receiving the Lord's Supper was neceffary to Salvation, and that only They had a Right to give it, being appointed by God the fole judges, who fhou'd and who fhou'd not communi cate } which was no lefs than claiming a Power of putting whom they pleas'd in a ftatebf Damnation. And the more to in cline People to think fo, they pretended a . Right not only to exclude 'em from the Sa craments, but from all GhurctwDuties } which they declar'd was turning Men out of the Church of Chrift, the ordinary way of Salvation. But..not content -with this, which one wou'd think fhou'd fatisfy the moft Ambitious, (fince it was claiming a Divine Power, and fetting themfelves in the Place of God) they declar'd thofe they excommunicated ought to be fhun'd and avoided by every one } becaufe they ought not to converfe with thofe the Divine Good- nefs does abhor, but lhnt 'em out of their , Company, againft whom they had fhut Heaven's Gates : which was affuming to themfelves a Power of making People moft mifera- 96 The (Rjgbtsof the miferable here, as well as hereafter} eii ther of which is fufficient to enflave the World, but both are intolerable. Yet the Clergy did not fcraple to keep Men under this Bondage for five or ten Years, and fometimes for their whole Life } nor did they always abfolve 'em at the time of their Death, tho they affirm'd nothing lefs than Damnation was the Portion of thofe who died excommunicated, to whom for that reafon they wou'd not allow Chriftian Bu rial. 13. This was all they cou'd pretend to, before the-Emipire turn'd Chriftian} but then they obligM-the Magiftrate to deny 'em Juftice, and to put^em out of his Pro- tedion : nor were the Clergy content with this, but in exprefs Terms they declar'd, * Decret. that he who remain'd * excommunicated a deHxre't. Year was anHeretick, who had no Right c 13- Si to Truth, Property, Liberty, or Life} and 1u!s' therefore among Protectants as well as Pa pifts, Hereticks were every where, till of late, put to death. And at this very day an excommunicated Perfon is out of the Pro- tedion of the Law, fo that Men are under no legal Obligation of keeping Faith with him. 14. The excluding all thofe the Clergy diflik'd from the Publick Worfhip, was a Dodrine, which had not fo eafily gone down with the People, had they not before their Converfion been made familiar to fuch Pradices by the Heathen Priefts } who us'd to drive out of their Temples all r who were not initiated, as profane Per fons, Chriftian Church, Sec, 97 fons, when they celebrated their, impious Chap. 3. and abominable Myfterys: And another U^T^ Set of Priefts, that they might have the better pretence to exclude People from the Lord's Supper, not only reprefented (as appears by their Letters to one another). that moft plain and fimple Inftitution as a moft Horrible, moft Dreadful,' aad Vnutte* rable Myftery, but made it a Grime of the firft Magnitude to entruft the Secret, not, only with the; Heathen, but with Chrifti ans of the loweft Form, the Catechumens. And as the Uninitiated among the Heathens were bid to, turn out of the Temple of the God, whofe Myfterys were to be celebra ted } Co the others were commanded by the Deacons to quit the Church, when the Myftery (or Mafs of the, Faithful, as it was ufuaily call'd) was, to be faid. By which they refleded the greateft Difho- nour imaginable on the . Chriftian Reli gion, as if it. wou'd, not bear theTeft-, and thereforeta principal part of it was not fo much" as to be mention'd, except to thofe who were engag'd in a manner paft retreat. And tho this, ridiculous Refer- vednefs gave occafion to thofe vile Storys the Heathen raisM of what was pradis'd at their private Meetings-, yet it cou'd not hin der the Clergy from ading like the Priefts of Ceres or Bucchm, fince by it they got the fame Power of excluding from their Myfterys thofe whom they declar'd to be un worthy. And therefore Tertullian, when the Secrecy of the Myfterys of the Chriftians was objeded to them, endeavours to juf- H tify 9-8 The Rights of the * Apol. tify it, in faying, * 'Tis the very Nature of Of. 7. Myfterys to be, conceafd, as Ceres'* were in Samothracia. How differently from this do the great Pretenders to Primitive Pradice. ad, when upon all occafions they publickly carry the Hoft in Proceffion ? 1 5. None among the Jews were excluded from the Paffover, Temple, or Synagogue, for any moral Uncleannefs: and Mr. Selden, in his Synedriis has by many Arguments, as well as Authoritys^prov'dthattheChriftian Priefts borrow'd this Cuftom from the Hea thens } and it was very well worth their while, fince they faw what Advantage their Clergy made of it, particularly the Druids, who by excluding from the Sacrifices whom they pleas'd, got all Power into their hands. -¦ \6. The Account which Cafar gives of the Druids, fhows that they have been pretty well, eopy'd; " OO 00 The Druids, fays he, manage " Divine Matters, give Orders concerning *' publick and private Sacrifices } and are *l Interpreters of Religion. " (2.) They determine all Controverfys w both publick and private. M (3-) If any private Man, or State, do " not (a) Be Bello GaI, lib. 6. 1. Illi rebus divinis interfunt, facrificia publica & privata procurant, Religiones interpretantur. 2. De omnibus Controverfiis publicis privatifque con« ftituunt. 3. Si quis privatus, aut populus, eorum decretis non ftetjr, Sacrjfiriis interdjcunt ; hsec prxna apud eos gra- vJlTima. 4. Qiiibus Chriftian Church, Sec. 99 c* not fubmit to their Decrees, they put Chap. 3. w 'em under a religious Interdid} and^/'V>^ '* this they account the greateft of Punifh- ** ments. 1 " (4.) Such as are thus interdided, are " reckon'd in the number of wicked and "impious Men } nonewill fpeak to 'em or " meet 'em, but all fly from 'em as infec-/ " tious, '.. *' (5-) Neither have they juftice when " they require it, nor any Refped or Ho- *' nour. which is due to 'em. " (5.)' The Druids are exempt from " War, and free from Taxes?' 17; The Cuftom of facrificing, Men a- mong the Heathens was owing to their Priefts, efpecially the Druids (it prevail ing wherever they did) who by the Power they had of appointing the human Offer ings, kept every one ina moft miferable dread of 'em. And the facrificing of Chriftians upon account of their religious *" Tenets (for which Millions have fuffer'd) was introdue'd for no other reafon^ than that the Clergy, who took upon 'em to be the fole Judges of Religion, might, without controul, impofe what felfifh DOdrines they pleas'd. 4. Quibus ita eft interdi^bum^ ii numero impiorum & fceleratorum habentur ; ab hisomnesdecedunt, adi- tum eorum Sefrhphemq; defugiunr, ne qtiid ex coma* gione incommodi accipiartt. 5. Neq; its peterttibus jus reddltur, neque honos ulluS communicatui-. '6T 'DruiJes a bello abeffe eonfueverant, neq; tributa turn reliquis pendunt. H 2 18, The too The (Rights of the 1 8. The moft material Difference be tween thefe Chriftian and thofe Heathen Druids, is, that one facrific'd Men to the Deity, but t'other to the Devil } and by- burning them alive, make 'em asfar as they can tafte of Hell, before they fend 'em thither : of which to perfuade the Speda- tors,. they drefs 'em up in a San-benito, or a Coat all painted with Devils and Flames } and they take their leave of each Sufferer with this' moft charitable Expreffion, Jam animam tuam tradimut Diabolo. And their Truth and Mercy equal their Cha rity : for When they deliver over the con- demn'd Perfons to the Secular Powers, tho they dp it with no other Intent than to have them put to the moft cruel Death } yet they moft earneftly conjure 'em by the Mercys of God, and the Bowels of Jefttt Chrift, to touch, neither Life nor Limb : Which grefs Diftmulation, fays a moft wor thy Prelate (b), we are put in mind of by the Preamble to a late Bill. But to re turn: 1 9. The Priefts, after they had prevail'd on the People to let 'em debar from the Pubjick Worfhip whom they thought fit, told feveral Storys of the Excluded being pofl'efs'd with the Devil } as Stilieon's Scribe upon Ambrofe's excommunicating him : And the Eaftern Clergy at prefent, to make the fimple Laity ftand more in awe of ( b ) bifhop of SarumV Speech on the Zilhjgajnjl Oitafional Conformity. '' their Chriftian Church, -Sec. i-oi their Excommunication,, perfuade 'em that Chap. 3* the Bodys of thofe who die under this t-zTVXJ Cenfure, donotconfume, but remain black and fwoln, till they are taken up and ab- folv'd. Several Inftances you have of this in Malaxus and Ctucius'% Turco-Gracia, and a great many more in Selden*, who fays, *l.i.c.io. the Clergy mention it in their Inftruments de Syned. of Excommunication } and relates a Com- mination of Cyril Patriarch of Alexandria, in which are thefe words, (c) The Excom municated remain after Death bound and un- diffolv'd btrth here and hereafter, and ftretch'd like a Drum. By virtue of thefe and fuch like Pretences, the Bilhops did more tyran nize over thefe poor Chriftians than the Turks themfelves. • 20. I cannot here avoid obferving ther great difference between the Greek and Latins Churches as to this matter } for one makes the Body of an inter'd Perfon remaining, a confiderable time intire, a Mark of his being a Saint, and the other of his being a Devil. , 21. Nothing wou'd expofe Prieftcraft more, than an Hiftorical Account, how, and upon what Motives, the Clergy vary'd in their Notions and Pradices concerning the Lord?s Supper : As firft, how they made it a Myftery in the'Heathenifh fenfe of that word, and for Heathenifh Reafons, that they might have the fame Power as the- Priefis of Idols had, to exclude whom they (t) Kcti(n{j&h TVl^nUflKOt- H 3 were 102 The Rights of the were pleas'd to term Unworthy. Wbiclfe Power, when they had by this ' means fuf- ficieotly fettled, nothing lefs wou'd ferve 'em, in order to magnify their Confecra- tion, than that it produc'd the Real Pre fence of the Body and -Blood of Chrift (tho the Modus of it they did not prefume to determine till afterward) and made it a Real Sacrifice, and the Minifters Real Priefts, and the Communion-Table an Al tar, which placing in the Eaft, they made profound Bows and Cringes towards it. So that the Heathen cou'd no longer fay, as they did at firft, that the Chriftians had no Priefts, no Altars, no Sacrifice: for: no thing then did more frequently occur in the Writings of the Fathers than thofe Terms •, and they made not only the Sacra ment, but almoft every thing elfe relating' to Religion, a Sacrifice, and themfelves to be fure the only Sacrificers. And the; better to carry on their Defigns, they en- ter'd into a Confederacy among themfelves, not to fuffer any who was excommunica ted by one Bifhop, to be receiv'd into Com munion by the reft : So that they were re- folv'd, right or wrong, to juftify one ano ther's Proceedings } and no Perfon, un- lefs he 'had a Certificate from the Bifhop of his own Church, whatever occafion he had to remove, was to be admitted to communicate with any other } nay, ifone*s *Dodw. swn * Bifhop was for excluding a Perfon e ; schif. fQl. ever from the Qlurcu others t]10 thi$ ip° Pradice was contrary to their Sentiments, oblig'd themfelves never to admit him to Com- Chriftian Church, Sec. 10$ Communion. So if a Bifhop did believe the Chap. 3. Baptifm of Hereticks to be null and void, t/'VVJ as Cyprian and the other African Bifhops did, yet he was to admit one fo baptiz'd to Communion } but on the contrary he was not to admit him, if his own Bifhop did not think his Baptifm valid, tho him felf did. And, 22. After they had thus agreed among themfelves, they declar'd, in order to make People ftand more in awe of their Excommunication, that the receiving of the Body and Blood of Chrift was abfo* lutely neceflar'y to the Salvation of all, In fants (whofe Throats they thruft it down) not excepted } and this Pradice continu'd in the Church * for above fix hundred years. * Maldon. And then nothing lefs wou'd fatisfy 'em m J°h- <5. than making the Great God, who made all 1 * things } and as he made the World by his Word, fo they wou'd Him by Theirs. And to magnify theSacrednefs of the Priefts, all others were excluded from the Privilege of the Cup, and only adult Perfons to eat the Bread, yet not till they had ador'd it as the moft High God. And what cou'd the moft extravagantly Ambitious defire more, than to have Mankind proftrate at their Feet, begging Abfolution } and their God in their hands, diftributing hiin as they pleas'd? And if they cou'd make him, 'tis not to bequeftion'd 'but they had an ab folute Power of difpofing of their own Cre3ture-God. ' ¦ Here one's at a, ftand which to ad mire moft, the mad lnfolence and daring H 4 Im- 1 04 /The (Rights of the Impiety of the Clergy, brthegrofs Stupi dity and wretched Abjednefs of the Lai ty } one in thus impofing, and t'other in being thus impos'd on. 23. At the Reformation we were fo far from countenancing thefe Notions,- that by the Articles of Edward the Sixth the Real Prefence is exprefly condemn'd, and by this invincible Argument, the Impoffibility of two Bodys being in. the fame place. But in a fhort time after, that Paragraph *Bpof$&.* was left, out by the Convocation, on tum'sExp. pretence of not giving. Offence rto the Art. 28. Adorers of a Corporeal Prefence } and another put in its room, fo worded, that the Papifts fhou'd not fcruple it. Which piece of extraordinary Complaifance bad no other effed than to make the Papift? moreobftinate} and poffibly was no fmaft occafion that a-Man cou'd fcarce be thought a true genuine Son of the Church, without believing the real Prefence : and by degrees* Prieft, Sacrifice, Altar, &c> were again reviv'd. sii%- 2: . '.-... j' 24. To conclude : Tho fome Priefts af fume to 'themfelves an Arbitrary Power of excluding Men from the Lord's Supper^ yet the Scriptures no where make the receiving, it from the Hands of a Prieft, neceffary, : nay, not one Inftance of the Laity's receiving it fo, can be produc'd frorn thence. The Paffover and other Feftivals among the Jews were never celebrated in the Temple or Synagogue?, but in their private Houfes, whither, as Chriftian Churchy " Sec. i o 5 as («) Grqtius obferves, they invited their Chap. 3» Kindred, Friends and Neighbours, to the ^^V"NJ number of above ten, but under twenty } which Jofephm calls a Fraternity .- and at the clofe of the Supper, the great Meal, with them, the Matter of the Feaft diftributed among his Guefts fmall pieces of the fineft Bread} and. , having firft drank of the Grace-Cup, deliver'd it to be handed a- bout. All 1 this t.was accompany'd with Thanks to God for having created Bread and Wine, which was follow'd by fome Relation futable to the Feftival, and the Eucharifty or Hymn of Thankfgiving} to which Chrift, who inftituted no new Rites, fuperadded the Remembrance of his Suf ferings, and direds his Difciples, as often as they did this, that is, celebrate fuch Feftivals, and clofe them with the Poft- ccenium, to commemorate < him after this manner. And this fame Author fhows, from the Inftitutions of Clemens, from Jvftin, Irenaus, and Origen, that the an- tient Chriftians , began their Eucharift with Praifes to God for Creation of the World, particularly of Bread and Wine } and then proceeded to commemorate our Saviour's Death. And tho arnong the Gentiles;,, where. the Rich, accord ing to an- tient Cuftom entertain'd the, Poor, there were, by reafon of their Numbers, great Diforders in their Love-Feafts, where (a) In his Difcourfe, An fit femper communicandum per Symbola. .. after io6 " The (Rights of the after the fame manner they remember'd our Saviour's Suffering : yet the Apoftle no where declares, that for prevention of the like, none for the future fhou'd prefume to take any Bread and Wine, except from the Hand of a Prieft} but only that every one fhou'd examine himfelf, which is not only^ overlooking the Prieft Y pretended Power, but is wholly inconfiftent with it. And if St. Paul, notwlthftandiflg thefe ExceffesJ deny'd none this Liberty, nor have we air Inftance of any Perfon, no not Judas him felf excluded from it } what Pretence can there be for the Clergy to be Sovereign Judges who fhou'd be admitted, and who not ? which at firft they cou'd not, uniefii they were neceffarily to be invited to all thofe Meals, in the Clofe of which our Savi our's Death was to be commemorated, and had likewife a Power to forbid theGuefts they did not like. And if this Sacrament, as the Name of the Lord's Supper fhews, was firft celebrated at Meal-time, either the People who fat or lay down at Supper, muft hand the Bread and Wine to one ano ther } or elfe fome muft wait at Table for this purpofe : an Office the Clergy wou'd not be fo fond of, as of the prefent Cuftom of the whple Congregation's attending the Prieft at the Rails of the Altar, and there kneel* ing at his Feet, humbly to wait till he diftri- butes to them the Bread and Wine from within the Rails : a Place it feems too too Holy for the profane and vile Laity to be ad mitted into •, and therefore the Prieft, clad in his pompous Formalitys, is to ftand there alone. Chriftiatt Church, Sec. 107 alone. * Tertullian not only owns the re- Chap. 3. ceiving the Eucharift from the hands ^Y^fc^ the Bifhop in the Affenlblys which met be-Milit^ fore br esk of day, to .be an Innovation, butalfo fays, that by our Lord it was com mitted to AM, and at. Meal-times', and con fequently the whole Difcipline that's built o,n it muft be an Innovation. And if the Priefts have fo grofly impos'd on the Chrif tian World in this matter, there can be no reafonto depend ontheir Authority, or 60 take any thing to appertain to 'em, tho it has ever fo long or univerfally obtain'd, un tefs they can fhew a fufficient Proof from Scripture for it. And confidering this, it can't be thought ftrange that that excel lent Man who firft fow'd the Seeds of the Proteftant Religion here, the '1- famous Wick- \ Fafdcul, lijf, fhou'd maintain that the chief Comfort Rerum of the Faithful is, that Excommunication tndffi1*^ Stfpenfion, and fuch-like Cenfures, are novar'u I7#" founded in the Law of Chrift^ but cunningly' invented by Antichrift. 25. The Proteftant Cantons cairy'd the Reformation the furtheft of any in this Point } and wou'd not allow that excluding Men from the Sacrament was any part of Ecclefiaftical Difcipline, or that the Priefts had any Authority in it : in defence of which, the Great Eraftus wrote his excel lent Treatife printed here, and licens'd, as Mr. Selden |j has made evident, by Arch- ||De Syne. bifhop Wbitgi ft' sown Hand. Nor do we'-1- c-10* or any other Proteftant Nation allow the Clergy an Independent Power inthis mat ter } which is a fufficient Proof that they do Ip8 The (Rights of the do not believe it belongs to them by Divine Right. 5,1 . ,..-..,,, 26. 'Tisufuatly faid, That People can't take the Sacrament without a Prieft, becaufe' he only can confecrate the Elements. Among Chriftians, one no more thanano* ther cah:be reckon'd a Prieft from Scripture} becaufe the only Sacrifices of our Religion' axzPrayers, Praifes and Tkankfgivings ; which every; one of the Congregation offers up for himefelf t and there's no more reafon to affirm that, the Minifter offers up the Peo-. pies Prayers, than they his } uhlefs it can be fuppos'd that God hears him only who . talks the loudeft, in that he's the Servant' of the Congregation , heing imploy'd by. 'em to fpeak with an audible Voice, that all ! may join together in offering up the fame Prayers. And the Clerk has as gobcf. a Ti tle to the Priefthood as the Barfon } fince* the People join with him in offering up their: Sacrifices of Spiritual Songs, Hymns, and- Thankfgivings. To make this pertinent to the; prefent purpofe } Does not every one as well as the Minifter equally apply the Bread and Wine to the fame Holy and Spiritual Ufe, in commemorating the Be.- nefits receiv'd by our Saviour, and in of fering up the fame Prayers, and defiring the fame.Bleffings? And whoever does this with a due Application of Mind, rightly cqnfecrates the Elements for himfelf, fince this is the only Confecration they are ca pable of: And may not any thing further than this be as well call'd Conjuration as Con fecration ¦? But Chriftian Church, Sec. i op But defigning to treat of all this Matter Chap. 3; more fully hereafter, I fhall now only add, L/*\~\J that a Pretence to a PriefthoodjaOrSacrifi- cing, not in common to all Chriftians, is no fmall piece of Prieftcraft : to prevent which, the New Teftament, when it applies Prieft 01 •'¦•Sacrifictr- ta Chriftians, which is nota- bove twice, applies it to them in general, as 1 Pet. 2.5. being all alikexoncern'd in offering up the Rev- 5-io- Sacrifices, of the Chriftian Religion. And yet. what abfurd and fenflefs Notions do not only the Popilh, but other High-Church men maintain about; this plain and fimple Inftitution, in, order to make themfelves Priefts in a peculiar and real manner ? , As I have fhown how little reafon there is for the Clergy to pretend an Independent (Right to exclude* from the Church and all publick Worfhip whom they pleafe } fo I muft now obferve how they claim, as pecu liar to themfelves, and as a part of their Divine Jurifdidion, the reproving or re buking of People. But, 27. Nothing can be weaker, than pre tending that this is.peculiar to themfelves, or a part of Jurifdidion : fince 'tis in com? mon to thofe who have no Jurifdidion, as well as thofe who have*, and not onlyE- quals, but Inferiors, obferving the Rules of Decency, have a Right, nay are bound, as they have o&portunity, to reprove their Superiors : wr inftance, I, tho with all Humility, rebuke the Clergy for thus grofly impofing on the Laity } and this I am bound to doj ^according to the Divine Precept, which fays, Thoufhalt in any wife rebuke t 1 0 The (Rights of ihe rebuke thy Brother, and not fuffer Sifrdpon him; and yet I pretend no Jurifdi&iofc over them, but to fet this matter in a due light. 28. Men, tho theyrefign'd to the Pub lick thedifpofing of their Force, yet ftiB retain a Power of approving or difapproV- ing the Adions of thofe they live affloagflf} and confequently the Clergy, if they can not punifh or reward Men for thofe Adions they commend or condemn, by fomeGOod or Evil which is not the Cofffequence of the Adions themfelves, c which operate whether they will or no, Can pretend to n« more Power than what belongs in com mon to the reft of the People, whofe 0- pinions muft have a great Influence on Mens Adions : unlefe it can be imaging that being Efteem'd, Honour'd, Admir'd, Lov'd, Courted and Cafefs'd } or being Slighted, Difgrac'd, Defpis'd, Hated and Abhor'd } are not ftrong Motives to a Mah to accommodate himfelf to the Sentiments of thofe he converfes with. There's -not one in ten thoufartd able tobear' the conftafit Diflikeand Condemnation of his own So ciety, nor can live in perpetual Difrepute and Difgrace with thofe he converfes with : much lefs can he indure the Thoughts of being fo abhor'd by everyone, as that they fhall confpire to fhun all Conyerfation with him. 29. Of this the, Clergy are fenfible, and therefore pretend they have a Divine Right to command the Opinion and Affec tions of the People, by obliging all to hold thofe Chriftian Church, Sec. 1 1 1 thofe they excommunicate, or declare to Chap. 3. be guilty of Schifm or Herefy, in fo great lSV\> a Deteftation as to avoid converfing with 'em. And when Men are once perfuaded, that the Clergy are Judges in Religious Matters, and that God fo much abhors thofe they pronounce Heterodox, as to damn them eternally, and that he loves others as much for holding what they de clare to be Orthodox } there needs not much perfuading 'em that 'tis their Duty to imitate God in loving thofe he loves, and hating thofe he hates. And if thofe) the Clergy turn out of the Church, are to be fhan?d by every body, on the Penalty qf being condemn'd to fuffer the fame} there can be no reafon why they who by Schifm or Herefy turn themfelves out of the Church, fhou?d be us'd after a better manner. And- the Clergy need not take touch pains to perfuade Men to ufe thofe ill in this Life, whom God will eternally damn in the' next. No Pity for fuch Per fons can hinder 'em from thinking any Method too feVere for preventing the Propagation of damnable Dodrines. This, Charity to the Souls of Mankind in gene ral, were not their Children, Friends, and Relations concern'd, wou'd oblige 'em to, do: and as they cannot fuppofe the Clergy can have too great a Power to inquire into fufpeded Perfons, fo they likewife will be for putting all the Hardfhips imaginable on excommunicated Perfons^ in order to force 'em to fubmit to the Terms the Cler gy require for their Admiffion into the Church. i i z The (Rights of the Church. Anjd when fuch NOj^ons as thejg, once prevail, it will not. be fafe for the Magiftrate to proted thofe the Clergy have, thus represented to the People. But did not this Method neceffarijy deftroy all man-. ner of J^jndnefs and Friendfhip, and intra* duce immortal Hatred for unavoidable Dif ferences in Opinion •, yet things being good or evil on^ account of their Effeds, that which produces, jthe fame Confequences as Hatred does, is every whit as bad : and I fuppofe 'tis all one to the poor People who are burnt by the Inquifitors, what Princi ples they are aded by ; and every one fees that thefe Notions naturally end in an In- quifition. '., 30. Nothing can tend more to the dif- couragement of all Virtue and Morality, and the utter confounding of all thofe Du? tys which Men owe oneanpther, than this pretended Pqw,er of the -Prieft.: For if I muft look, on a Man, tho ever fo moral, or tho,. I was; ever fo much „ oblig'd by him, or ftand in the neareft; relation to him, as one abbqr.'d by, God on thetac- count of his Opinions, sand to. be fhun'd as fome noxious Animal }. how can I treat him with that Kindnefs which is due to his Virtue, or as Gratitude or the Relation I have to him requires of, me? Nay, fo deftrudive is this Nopion of MoT rality, that the more moral a Man is, the worfe he is to be ,'us'd, becaufe the greater is the Danger of his making his Heterodoxy to fpread and obtain. So the fame Reafon will oblige People to treat an immoral thriftian Church, -&c. 1 1 5 immoral Orthodox Man with all the Kind- Chap. j. nefs imaginable } nay, the worfe he is, the c/VN*. better he is to be us'd, if a different Treatment brings the leaft prejudice to Orthodoxy. But the reafon of Mens mutual Efteem or Difefteem, Kindnefs or Unkindnefs, is built on a quite different Foundation than Orthodoxy or Hetero doxy. For, 31. Man being a Creature not able to iubfift without the Affiftance of others} whoever expeds they wou'd not put the leaft Inconvenience on him, or love or efteem him the lefs for the fake of his Opi nions, ought to ufe thofe who differ from him after the fame manner} and confe quently all Good and Moral Men, whether Schifmaticks, Hereticks, Turks, Jews or Gentiles, have a Right to be treated by the Orthodox as theyexped to be treated by them, or in other" words, as the mutual Good of Mankind obliges 'em to treat all moral and virtuous Perfons, without regard to Orthodoxy, which every Sed confine to themfelves. On the contrary, they who live not up fo the common Rules of Hu manity, but indulge their brutal Paffions to the prejudice of their own Kind, have no; Right, notwithftanding they are Orthodox, wonderfully Orthodox, to the Efteem or Friendfhip of rational Beings} but may 'be fhunn'd and avoided by them as perni cious Creatures of an inferior Rank, with". whom their renouncing thecommon Law of Reafon has levcll'd them. i 32. Ther'eV 1 1 4 The Right} of the 32. There's no Man who lives in a Country where the Religion is different from his own, who fees not the abfolute Neceffity of this Condud, and curfes the Bigotry of the People for being fo influ- enc'd by their Priefts, as to make him fuffer in his Perfon, Goods, or Reputation,, for the fake of fuch Opinions as they re ceive no prejudice by : And he will be apt to confider, that tho God had implanted in our Natures a Senfe of Pity, and a De fire of being belov'd, in order to oblige Mankind to treat one another kindly } and has not only made it their mutual Intereft, but oblig'd 'em to it by the Ties of future Rewards and Punifhments } yet the Priefts have perverted all this, and made Religion the great Incentive for Men to ufe one ano ther ill, without regard to Intereft, Repu tation or Pity. Which laft is reprefented as a Suggeftion of the Devil in favour of Heterodoxy: and the crueller Men are on this account, the greater Reputation they get. Thus he perceives that Religion is render'd much worfe than Atheifm it felf} for as that affords Men no Motives from another World to ufe one another ill, fo it takes away none they have from this to ufe one another well, ; or any way hinders 'em from giving that Efteem and Repu tation to Virtuous and Moral "Men,; which the moft immoral, in regard to their own Intereft, are ready to pay them. Tho Men reafon thus, when themfelves are ill treated on the fcore of Religion } yet alas, how few can make the fame Refledion when Chriftian Church, &c. tt£ : When the Tables are turn'd? Men then, Chap* $ fo much are they impos'd on by their own i^vNJ Priefts, commit the very fame Crimes they abhor'd in others, and on the fame Pre tences } fince the Honour of God and the' Good of Mens Souls are alike pleaded by all Parties, and alike ferve as a Pretext for do ing all the Mifchief the moft Diabolical Ma lice can produce. 33. ACommiffion from God, authorizing a Prieft to punifh People by Ecclefiaftical Cenfures, for things in which a third Perfon has no Intereft, and which Only relate to God and a Man's own Confcience, neceffa rily fuppofes Qualifications fufficient for the executing of it} and confequently that his Cenfures have a power to change the Mind, otherwife 'tis punilhing to no purpofe, or worfe than none; the making Hypocrites } and that he is infallible, elfe the Change may be for the worfe} nay,' that he is Omnifcient} and can judge of Mens Hearts^ otherwife he may punifh a Man for that which is no Offence before God: becaufe to make any thing except Ihfincerity a Sin, is to make God himfelf the Author of Sin, in fo framing our Un* derftanding, that after we have done all we can to avoid it, we neceffarily fall into it.- But had any Priefts fuch Qualifications, That albne wou'd not prove they were to reprefent God, and punifh in his ftead} unlefs God had given 'em fuch a Commit fion } which cou'd not appear, if their Names were not writ in it, or their Per fons fo defcrib'd as every one might find I x Jerri tl 6 The (Rights of the 'em out} fince what is in common with others, who equally pretend to this Com- tniffion, cou'd never do it. Without this Power, whatever Prieft takes upon him to punifh Men for worfhipping God ac cording to Confcience, not only depofes God, as far as he is able, from his Empire over Confcience, but makes the not af fronting him by a grofs Diffimulation, a Crime, for which a Man is not only to be depriv'd of the Converfation of his Fel low-Creatures, but to be eternally damn'd. A Sin greater than that of Lucifer, who fell not for claiming a Superiority over, but only an Equality with his Maker* But here the Prieft difputes the Dominion with the Almighty: for God commands Men, on pain of eternal Punifhment, to follow the Didates oi their Confciences •, but the Prieft, without any regard to this, pretends to a Power, not only of making Men miferable in this Life, but of damning 'em eternally, if they thus prefer obeying God before what he requires of fern. But, 34; If Sincerity be our Duty, Infince- rity muft be a Crime} and confequently being in the right, if pccafion'd by a blind Submiffion to the Prieft, or any other Ac cident* will not make amends for the neg- led of the grand Duty of Confidtration, With which Ecclefiaftical Cenfures are as inconfiftent as any other Perfecuting Me thod } and can only tend to create new, and eftablifh old Prejudices, fince Gentle* flefs and Kindnefs are the only way to remove Chriftian Church, See* T17 remove 'em: for whatever is propos'd Chap. 3 T with Heat, makes Arguments, as every one l/"V"\j may find by himfelf, lofe fomewhat of their Efficacy} and therefore whoever wou'd perfuade, ufes all the kind, all the oblig ing, all the infinuating Methods to difpofe People for the more favourable Reception of his Arguments. And St. Paul, tbo no thing cou'd more effedoally remove Preju dices than his Power of doing Miracles, yet not content with that, became all things to all Men, that he might-gain fome. And if the Clergy, who cannot pretend to a power of working Miracles, inftead of obferving the fame Method, are for endeavouring to make thofe who differ from- 'em fall under the Contempt, Dif- grace and Hatred of the People, and threa ten 'em with no lefs than Damnation-, 'tis a Prefumption, they do not defign to con vince, but to fright Men into a Compliance with fome villanous Dodrine, which they are fenfible will not bear the Teft of Exa mination. 35. 'Tis an amazing thing to confider, that tho Chrift and his Apoftles inculca ted nothing fo much as Univerfal Charity, and enjoin'd their Difciples to treat, not only one another, not withftanding theirDit% ferences, but even Jewsand Gentiles, with all the Kindnefs imaginable } yet that their pretended Succeffors fhould make it their Bufinefs to teach fuch Dodrines as deftroy all Love and Friend fhip among People of different Perfuafions } and that with fo good Succefs, that never did Mortals hate, I 3 abhor } 1 8 The Rights of the abhor and damn one another more hearti ly, or are readier to do one another more Mifchief, than the different Seds of Chrif tians. Human Nature, God be thank'd, if left to it felf, wou'd not be fo de- prav'd : for then Men wou'd as kindly re ceive Arguments offer'd to their Confidera,- tion in Religious as in Philofophical Mat ters } and love and efteem People for fet. ting 'em fo good a Precedent as worfhipping God according to Confcience. Opinions, which each Side may hold without the leaft prejudice to the other, are not in their own nature apter to create Unkindnefs, than different Features and Taftes: And of this we may be conyinc'd by the Condud of the World, even when it lay for fo ma ny Ages together, as the greateft part at prefent does, under Heathen Darknefs } for there were no fuch Feuds and Animofities on this account among them, tho their Dif ferences were more and greater. Which (hews, that the beft Religion has had the Misfortune to have the worft Priefts } and if the Heathen World was, as Divines tell us, under the Power of Satan, I fhou'd be glad to fee how they avoid this Confe- quence of Nature's not being fo much per verted then, as fince under the Govern ment of certain Priefts, who are no better than fpiritual Make-baits, Bareters, Beau- tefeus, and Incendiaries, and who make Churches ferve to worfe purpofes than Bear-gardens, wher$ Beafts are only the Combatants } but here Chriftians are ha- loo'd on to worry and devour one another, and Chriftian Church, Sec. 1 1 cy and all in defiance of the Scriptures, which Chap. 3. teach the forgiving even of the greateft l^W> Injuries, while they require People to treat thofe who have not done 'era the leaft Inju ry, after the moft barbarous manner. 36. If in the time of that wife Heathen Ammianus MarceUinus, the Chriftians bore fuch Hatred to one another, that, as he complains, (a) No Beafts were fuch deadly Enemies to Men-, as the more favage Chriftians were generally to one another : What wou'd he, if now alive, fay of them, when in the Popifh Countries he beheld their Princes and Nobles proud of ferving the Inquifition in the vileft Offices, as carrying the holy Faggots for burning of Hereticks} and the Commbnalty, without the leaft Senfe of Pity, teftifying their Joy with the lou- deft Acclamations at the infupportable Agonies of thofe tormented Wretches! Nor wou'd he think this the Spirit of Po pery only, when he perceiv'd Proteftants, tho allowing private Judgment, nay tho building their Separation from Rome upon it, zealous for burning Hereticks, and treat ing one another with the utmoft Inhumanity for mere Trifles, things own'd by the Perfe- cutors themfelves to be indifferent. But moft of all wou'd he be furpriz'd at the late Condud of fome, and thofe none of the meaneft among our felves, The fatal Effects of whofe unreafonable Humour and (a) Nullas infeftas hominibus beftias ut lint -fibi fciiles plerique Chriftianorum, Lib. 22. I 4 Ani- I iq The (Rights of the Animofity we have, as we are told from the Throne, fo narrowly efcap'd. 37. In a word, thefe Mifchiefs are una voidable, as long as any befides Moral Cau fes are allow'd to be fubjed to the judicial Cognizance of Human Powers* or as long as the Clergy, by Excommunication or other* wife, can oblige the Magiftrate or any of his Subjeds to treat thofe who differ from 'emy in what relates only to God and their own Confeiences, with the leaft Unkindnefs or Partiality. And tho only an infpir'd Wri ter cou'd exprefs how happy, upon the re moval of thefe curfed Effeds of Prieftcraft, the reviv'd Spirit of Chriftianity wou'd render its numerous Votaries } yet every one, who knows any thing of that great Love, Benevolence, Gentlenefs, Meeknefe* Moderation, and all fuch like Virtues, which our Religion fo pathetically recom- mends^muft needs perceive that their Hap* pinefs wou'd be as compleat as Human Na ture, exalted to the higheft Pitch of Per* fedion, was capable of} and fo much the greater, as it freed 'em from that extreme Mifery, to which Prieftcraft in moft Places had fo long fubjeded 'em. 38. As in this Chapter 1 have prov'd that the Pretences on which the Clergyv wou'd build their Independent Power, are fo fat from having any Foundation in Religion or Reafon, that they are Abfurd and Impious } I fhall in the following part of my Difcourfe fhew that this Dodrine isfo far from ferving the Ends of Religion, that, Chriftian Church, Sec. in (1.) It not only prevents the further Chap. 3, fpreading of the Gofpel, but is the Caufe of l/V>J its having already loft fo much ground, (2.) That it is moft deftrucliive to the Intereft of Religion, and is the Caufe of thofe Corruptions under which Chriftianity labours. (3.; That it neceffarily hinders all Refor mation, except where thofe Perfons who are fuppos'd to have this Independent Power do confent. (4.) That it hath been the occafion of in finite Mifchiefs to the Chriftian World, and has, wherever it prevail'd, render'd the Community moft miferable. And befides this, I fhall prove, \ft. That 'tis inconfiftent with the De fign and End of Ecclefiaftical Government, that there fhould be any particular Immuta ble Form ofit, or that any Set of Perfons fhould have an Unalterable Right to it } but that every Community is oblig'd, according to theCircumftances they are under, to alter and vary all things relating to it, as they judge moft conducing to the End for which that was inftituted. 2dly, That this Hypothefis, of none being capable of governing the Church, except Bifhops, (and the Reafon equally holds as to Presbyters) and that none can be Bifhops except fuch as derive their Power by a continu'd uninterrupted Succeffion from the Apoftles, deftroys the very Being not on ly of all Proteftant, but of all Churches whatfoever, CHAR 122 The (Rights of the CHAP. IV. That 'tis inconftftent with the (Reafon,, 'Defign and End of Eccleftaftical, pifcipline, that there fhotid be any particular Immutable Form of it, or any Set of Perfons with an Un* alterable Right to manage it ; but that Men are obliged, according to the Circumftances they are under, to alter and Vary all things relating to it, as they judge moft conducing to the End for which That was in- ftituted. < i. A L L things relating to Religion are il either Means or Ends; the Laft, as carrying real Worth with 'em, are to be embracd on their own account: but the Firft, as having no fuch Excellency, are obligatory for the fake of the laft only } and confequently are to be continu'd or chang'd, as ferves beft to promote thofe Ends for which they were inftituted. 2. The Ends for the fake of which all Means are ordain?d, are only two (in effed the fame) the Honour of God, and the Good Chriftian Church, Sec. 123 Good of Mankind; but the Means to Thefe Chap. 4. are as many and various, as the Circum- CO/Vi ftances Men are under.} and therefore all Ecclefiaftical Difcipline, that is, all Things relating to the Government and Policy of the Church, which all own to be Means only, ought not to be continually the fame, but to undergo from time to time fuch Al terations as are beft futed to the Ends it was inftituted for. And it muft needs fre quently happen, efpecially in a Religion defign'd to laft to the End, as well as to reach to the utmoft Bounds of the World, that no particular Form of Ecclefiaftical Difcipline can be fo proper at all Times and Places as fome other : and then not to al ter that which is lefs conducive, nay per haps prejudicial, is to make Ends give place to Means } and confequently the only way to prove this or that Form of Eccle fiaftical Difcipline, in this or that Place, to be Divine, is to fhew that 'tis there the fitteft for the End it was defign'd to pro mote. For when any Circumftances hap pen, which caufe Means to lofe the Fitnefs they had before, God by . caufing thofe Al terations does as much take off their Ob ligation, as if he had exprefly declar'd it ; fince Ads do as fully exprefs the Mind as Words. And if God himfelf did not command whatfoever thofe Circumftances, he has plac'd us in, require, it wou'd be impoffihle to prove there was any fuch Law as that of Nature : fince that confifts in nothing elfe than ading according to thofe Circumftances Men are in, with relation to '*:' God 124 The Rights of the God and one anptherj and confequently, to be unalterably ty'd up to any particular Form of Ecclefiaftical Difcipline, is incon fiftent with the Law of Nature, and the infinite Wifdom of God, which requir'd Means moft adapted to the Ends they are defign'd to promote. 3, The firft Chriftians cou'd not be con- fin'd to any one Form of Difcipline, efpe cially when under Perfection, becaufe that muft have fubjeded 'em to innumerable In conveniences. How eafily cou'd the Roman Emperors have deftroy'd the Church, if the Bifhops, for inftance, were only capa ble of governing it, by feizing 'em all at once ? Or what a Confufion muft it have caus'd, to have only imprifon'd 'em, or the greateft part of 'em, confidering they ftill retain'd a Right to that Power they were incapacitated from exercifing? In all fuch Cafes no Church can be fafe, without being at liberty to ad in Things of this. nature as they fee occafion, 4. The Circumftances of a few private Chriftians, form'd into particular Congre gations, independent of one another, as at firft, and thofe of the now National Churches, being fo very different, muft re quire a very different Polity. The fame Garment may as well ferve Children and Men, as the fame Regimen can fit People for all Times and Circum ftances. Clothes made of Beafts-Skins may now as well be pretended to be of Divine Obligation, becaufe God himfelf fo cloth'd our firft Parents* as any particular Difci pline Chriftian Church, &c. 12 5 pline be now binding, becaufe Religion was Chap. 4> at firft cloth'd with it. ly^v*NJ 5. God, tho he wou'd have Gofpel- Churches in all Countries, yet does not de fign they fhould in the leaft be prejudicial to the Civil Polity} which wou'd be un avoidable, if upon fuppofition of a Na tional Church, the Form of its Govern ment was not to be fitted and accommo dated to the Model of the Civil Govern ment. 6. Moft Nations, as Experience fhews^ do prefer one fort of Ecclefiaftical Govern ment before another} and therefore to force 'em to live under any other, perhaps one they are prejudic'd againft, muft be contrary to their Spiritual as well as Tem poral Intereft, efpecially when it has be fore been turn'd to the prejudice of Reli* gion, and to advance the immoderate Power of the Clergy. Therefore 'twas in feveral places pru dently done of the Reformers, knowing how the People were fet againft Bifhops by reafon of their Tyranny, to alter the Form of Church-Government : Had they not done this, they wou'd have given occa fion to the People to think they only found fault with their Bifhops, to get into their Places. 7. We find that the Chriftians at firft comply'd with the Model which obtain'd among the Jews, in order to bring them over to Chriftianity, and Churches were form'd, as they who have examin'd this Matter acknowledge, after the manner of the 1 26 The (Rights of the the Synagogues, with no other difference^ than that one Party believ'd the Meffias al ready come, arid the other expeded his coming. 8. Nay, for a long time the Difciples, as their Mafter did all his Life, frequented the Jewifh Synagogues, which they cou'd not do without fubmitting to their Government : but then defpairing of the Jews, the Al terations afterward made in Matters of Difcipline, were defign'd to bring the Hea thens into the Church } and fo were ac commodated as muchas cou'd be to their Cuftoms, and the Model of their Civil Po lity } which fome Men, who frankly own this, wou'd yet obtrude on us as of an E- ternal Obligation. And ought not all o- thers to ad after the fame manner, and not prejudice any Nation againft the Chrif tian Religion, by endeavouring to obtrude on them a Church- Government to which they are averfe? Nor can that among Chriftians, which is forc'd on People, do fo much good, as one they have a kindnefs for. 9. If People cannot determine, who fhall exercife all Ecclefiaftical Offices, but this by a Divine Right belongs folely to a particular Set qf Men, and whom they adopt into their Body } 'twould be no lefs than Sacrilege, in others to preach the Gof pel to Heathens, or to form 'em into a Church : nay, it wou'd he a Sin in Infidels to encourage fuch facrilegious Attempts, by being converted and baptiz'd by 'em. 10. By Chriftian Church, Sec. 127 10. By this Dodrine fhou'd a parcel ofchap^. Lay-Chriftians be caft on a Land, which (-/VX; had no Communication with any Chriftian Country} 'twou'd be unlawful for 'em not only to preach the Gofpel to the Infidels, but to form themfelves into a Church } becaufe none among 'em has a Right pub lickly to fay Prayers, or adminifter the Sacraments, the very Attempt being a Pro fanation of the Holy Ordinances. Nay, tho they had Priefts among them, if only Bifhops can make Priefts, they upon their death muftceafe to be a Church : nor cou'd their Children be entitled to any of the Advantages of Chriftianity, tho they liv'd ever fo religioufly. 11. If it be granted, that in fuch Cafes Laymen may exercife the Ecclefiaftical Fnndion, as Frumentius and feveral others, with the Approbation of the Catholick Church, have done } it proves there's no thing in that Fundion, of which every Chriftian, provided of Abilities, is not capable : fince a mere Negative, the Abfence of Priefts, cannot create a new Right, but calls People to the Exercife of a Right which was in them before. 12. We need not pnt extraordinary Ca fes, becaufe if any Set of Ecclefiaflicks (fuppofe of Bifhops) are neceffary to the Being of a Church, all that are without 'em muft be unchurch'd. To fay, the Pureft Faith, the Soundeft Dodrine, and the moft Exemplary Life, avail not to the Health of Mens Souls without this or that Set of Ecclefiafticks, is 12 8 The (Rights of the is as abfurd, as to iiippOfe the moft wholes fome Meat will not nourifh the Body, be caufe the Cook who drefs'd it, was not made one with fuch Formalities} but that for the fake of thefe, another Cook, tho he mingles Poifon with the Meat, is to be pre- ferr'd. And what elfe do they fay, who allow the Romifh Church, which in cook ing lip the Heavenly Food, mingles Poifon of her own, to be a true Church } and yet deny a great part of the Reform'd, where the Food of Life is to be had pure and un-1 mix'd, to be a Church, becaufe their Spiri tual Cooks are not made with fuch or foch Formalities ? But, 13. As the fole End and Defign of the Miniftry is the Propagation of the true' Faith, and wholefome Dodrine } fo where thefe are taught and preach'd, there muft be a true Miniftry, and a true Church } which the Food of Life will nourifh, from1 what Hand foever it comes. As every Church, all implicit Faith be ing forbid,, muft judge whether their Mi nifters preach agreeably to the Scripture fo they muft have a Right to conftitute fuch for that End, as they judge will do fo, tho no Bifhop or other Ecclefiaftick will lay hands on 'em} and to remove thofe they judge do not their Duty, tho they had Hands laid on with all the Formalities ima ginable. And therefore, tho it be cufto- mary to admit none to the Miniftry, who' have not the Approbation of the Cler gy } yet that is only a Truft they receive from the Church, which fhe is bound to' re-- ¦v Chriftian Church, r Sic. 129 reaffume, when fhe finds they betray their Chap. 4* Truft, and will only ordain Enemies to the u^vX» Truth} unlefs that muft "give place to a Thing, which cou'd be inftituted for no Other end than the Prefervation of Truth. And therefore thofe Priefts who make the Church to depend on the, Miniftry, by Chriftianity mean only Themfelves, and their own Power. But if Means muft give place to Ends, and Religion and the Good of the Church be preferred before the Power of any Set of Ecclefiafticks, the People muft have a Right to make and un make Minifters as they judge moft conve nient for the End the Miniftry was de fign'd. And if the En*d of the Miniftry is "the Good of the Church or People, that neceflarily infers they have a Right to judge when they ad for their Good } which wou'd be to no purpofe, if they had not a Power, as in all fuch Cafes, to place or difplace'em, as they judge their own Good requires. And nothing can be more incon fiftent with the Good of the Church, than for their Minifters to ad independent ly } fince then they have no hopes of any Redrefs, unlefs they, whofe Temporal In tereft chiefly confifts in lording and domi neering over God's Heritage, will redify the Abufes they have introduc'd into the Church for the fake of their own Advan tage. And, 14. Nothing can be more evident, than that too many of the Clergy prefer their own Temporal Intereft before the Eternal GOod of Mens Souls : fince when the Dif- K puts 130 The* Rights of the pure is only about the Mode of Church- Government, they wou'd rather a Man Ihou'd continue with 'em, tho ever fo wic ked, than become ever fo religious by leaving their Communion } and therefore are for ufing Awes and Bribes to bring Men, tfto againft their Confidences, into theft own Churches. 15. The Protectant condemn the Popiffi Clergy for being guilty of an abominable piece of Prieftcraft, in fuppofing the Inten tion of the Minifter neceffary to the Vali dity of the Sacraments, arid confequently to Salvation } as tending to keep the Laity in a miferable Snbje/tion, and making their Salvation depend on a thing wholly out of their power. And has not the making the Validity of the Sacraments to depend on their being adminifter'd by a Set of Ec- clefiafticks, deriving their Power in a Line of Succeffion from the Apoftles, the fame effed ? fince they are then bound to fubmit to their Yoke on pain of Damnation } and the Piety and Virtue of the People can no more contribute to this Succeffion, than to the Intention of the Prieft} nor are they better Judges in one Cafe than t'other. Is not making a Minifter's forging his Or ders, the Damnation of his Parifh, (the ne ceffary Confequence of this Hypothefis) altogether as abfurd as the Dodrine of In tention ? 16. If the Office of a Clergyman was fo appropriated, that 'twas unlawful for others to meddle with it, they ought not to vifit the Sick, reconcile Differences, or inftrud Chriftian Church, Sec. 1 3 1 Inftrud one another in thofe Duties they Chap. 4. owe to God and each other } which every t>"vr>»J one, as he has opportunity, is oblig'd to do : and that fome have more convenience than others, depends on the People's al lowing 'em a fufficient Maintenance wholly to attend that End. Every Chriftian is oblig'd to reprove, rebuke, admonifh-, exhort and warn one another } and nothing can be plainer, than that their ' negleding to do this to a Brother, tho a Clergyman, if he walk'd diforderly, and avoiding, if he was not reclaim'd, as far as conveniently they cou'd, all Converfe with him, has not a little contributed to the Immorality and Wickednefs fo common among 'em}' efpe cially to the Pride and Haughtinefs of the Clergy, who wou'd think themfelves af fronted, fhou'd the Laity prefume to deal thus with Men of their Gharader. And 'tis no wonder there has been fuch a Negled in this Matter, fince People were made to believe this belong'd to the Clergy, as part of their Spiritual Jurifdidion } to meddle with which, they were told was no lefs than Sacrilege. 17. In a word, every one is bound to do all he can for the faving another's Soul, and therefore moft things which the Cler gy are oblig'd to perform are the Duty of every Man. And tho there fhou'd be fome things, which, confidering the prefent Circumftances, cou'd not conveniently be left in common, yet that's for Order- fake only, and not on the account of any peculiar Spiritual Power or Privileges K 2 which 132 The Rights of 'the which thofe who are fet apart for the doing 'em have from Heaven, fince others in fome Circumftances are bound to do the fame. 18. Nay, were not all Matters relating to the Polity of the Church of a mutable nature^ the Office of Preaching, which the Clergy now appropriate to themfelves, ought to be, as in the Apoftles Time, in common, when every one had a Right to exercife it. For St. Paul fuppofes the Laity as much bound to fpeak in their Religious Affemblies, as to affemble } making one the reafon for the Heb. 10. other : for after he had faid* Let us confi- 243 25- der one another, to provoke unto Love and Good Works ; he adds, not forfaking the Af- fembling of our felves together, as the man ner of fome is, but exhorting one another. And we are bid to do this, fo much the more, as we fee the Day approaching. So that now the" Reafon is by 1700 Years more forcible than it was then: And if the danger of being harden'd in Sin is at leaft as great now as it was then } is not the reafon as ftrong for applying the Apo- Heb.3.i3.ftolick Remedy of exhorting one . another daily, while it is call'd to-day, left^ any of you be harden'd thro the. Deceitfulnefs of Sin? And as this Duty of Teaching and Admonishing one another, when met to gether, is frequently requir'd, fo 'tis on Col. 3. 16. the higheft Motives, fuch as, That the Word of Chrift may dwell in you in all Wifdom, and iThefT.^. t'„at you may comfort and edify one another. xu And tho there happen'd as great a Dif- order as poffible in the Church of Corinth by Chriftian Church, Sec. 1 3 5 by this Liberty of all, every one of the whole Chap. 4. Church one by one Preaching or Prophtfying ; ¦''T*f>iJ yet the Apoftle is for continuing thisPrac-1 °1- I4' tice, with only one Exception as to the Wo men, which infers the Right of the Men : and therefore he labours to redify the Abufes (which had not crept into other Churches of the Saints) by bidding 'em obferve thofe Rules of Order and Decency, which made this Liberty pradicable in other Af femblies. And we find the whole Church of Jerufalem (who as they were the firft Con verts, fo they were very numerous, fince there were 3000 converted at one Sermon) -all turn'd Preachers} for the Text faith, the Church was fcatter'd abroad, and they who A.fts8. 14. were fcatter'd, preach' d the Word ; fo that there was a whole Army of Lay-Preachers: and 'tis a -Commendation given the Bre thren, That many of 'emfpoke the Word with- Phil.r. 14. out fear. 19. And this Liberty did not only caufe the Brethren, as St. Paul bids 'em, to 1 Cor. 14. excel to the Edifying of the Church ; and to 12. fpeak, as St. Peter requires 'em, as>J&e Ora- iPet.4.10. cles vf God: but it made 'em vie with one another in Love and Good Works, and was a great Incentive for the Clergy to do their beft, left they fhou'd come behind their Brethren, who were oblig'd in their Publick Affemblies to bid 'em take heed to their Miniftry, and to fulfil it } as the Co- lojjians were to bid Archippus, a Fellow- Col. 4. 16, Soldier of the Apoftles, to do, when they were 17' met together to read his Epiftle. But when ;1 em* 2' this Cuftom was alter'd, and the Minifter K 3 might 134 The (Rights of the might broach what Dodrine he pleas'd, without any of the Brethren daring to con- tradid him, the People became negligent and ignorant, and the Clergy had it in their power to impofe what felfifh Doc-. trines they pleas'd : whereas if any of 'em before had offer'd at an Innovati on, he wop'd have been oppos'd by the whole Congregation } and if he wou'd not have defifted, they wou'd, not only have withdrawn their voluntary Contributions, by which he fubfifted, but have fhun'd him as a falfe Teacher, Seducer, and Deceiver ; which muft have preferv'd Religion in its primitive Purity, the People's Temporal as well as Spiritual Intereft obliging 'em to be ftrid Guardians of it againft all fuch as had no ways of Lording it over God's Heri tage, unlefs by perverting it. And if not* withftanding all this, things are fo alter'd, that there are now fufficient Reafons, as no Clergyman will I fuppofe deny, to for bid atl except himfelf fpeaking in the Church } how can he pretend there's any thing relating to Ecclefiaftical Difcipline immutably fix'd, fince there's nothings more pofitively requir'd, and upon ftronger Mo tives, than this Duty of Teaching in Reli gious Affemblies, from the Brethren ? And what can one think of thofe Men, who dare affirm, That the Brethren are either forbid to fpeak in the Congregation by the Law of Chrift, or that they are not capable of it for want of the Gift of the Holy Spirit, which they alone are em- power'd to beftow on thofe they authorize to Chriftian Churchy %Sec. 135 to preach ? Some fay, that the Laity have Chap. 4. power to preachJCharitatively, but not, Au- l/"W/ thoritatively : and pne would think they put a great Strefs on this Di/tindion, and. therefore .feem refolv'd not tp preach Cha- ntatiyely,' left it look like Lay-Preaching } for which if the Brethren are fufficiently authoriz'd, 'tis no great matter If they are not qualify'd for any Preaching which is not fo. 20. The fame Argument may be urg'd for the Laity's Baptizing } the Command. given to the Apoftles no more excluding 'em from that, than from'Preaching or Re ceiving the Sacrament. But the Apoftles, as the Perfons then alone prefent, and who alone were either willing, or knew how to execute the Commiffion, were bid to prpfelyte People, by Teaching, and then Baptizing 'em : But after they had publifh'd the Glad Tidings of Salvation, it became the Duty qf the new Converts, according to their Abilities and Opportunities, to increafe the Number of Chriftians } and therefore, as that very antient Author Pfetido-Ambrofe * obferves , all at firft * Comm. taught and baptiz'd. And the Command inEpM. given to the Apoftles to baptize, did not oblige 'em to do it themfelves, but only to caufe it to be done } and therefore St. Peter does not baptize Cornelius and his Houfhold himfelf, but only commands it, A£b 10. and which muft be perform'd by fome of 48. the Brethren, becaufe the Text faith, Ver. 23. there were none with him except cer tain Brethren. So that here even Lay- K 4 men 136 The (Rights 'of the men baptiz'd the Firft-fruits of the Qen-» tiles, tho the Chief of the Apoftles was prefent. And there we're great Numbers A£ts8. 1 2. in Samaria,' who upon Philip the Deacon's Preaching were baptiz'd } which, if don? by him, cou'd be by no other Right than what was common to all Chriftians, be caufe no fuch Power was included in his Commiffion of looking after the Poor} and 'twas that alone which diftinguifh'd him from other Chriftians. And if it was done by others, the Converts muft i baptize one another} at leaft, the Apo ftles being all at Jerufalem, there cou'd be none except Brethren to perform it. Aflso. 19. And as it was a Layman who baptiz'd the Great Apoftle of the Gentiles } fo he x Cor. 1. declares he was not fent by Chrift to baptize, *7« ,but to preach : the meaning of which muft •be, (his Commiffion no doubt being the fame with the other Apbftles) That tho he was fent to preach the Chriftian Re ligion, and to teach 'era to make a pub lick Profeflion of ;t by Baptifm} yet he was under no Obligation of doing it with his own Hands, any more than Jofttua, 'Jolh. <5. 2. who tho bid to circumcife the Ifraelites, was not oblig'd to perform the Operation himfelf. And in all probability, thefervile Office of wafning the Filth of the Fleft), was left to the Meaneft and Loweft : and there- John^ 2. f°re our Saviour baptiz'd none himfelf, but left it to the Difciples } as Peter did the Baptizing of Cornelius to the Brethren. And When the 3000 were converted and added to the Church the fame day, the Apoftles alone cou'd Chriftian Church, Sec. 137 cou'd not baptize in fo fhort a time foChap. 4." many, confidering the way 'then was going i/YV down into the Water with the Perfon to be, baptiz'd, and wafhing hirii all over. But I need not infift on the Power the Laity have to baptize from Scripture, fince the Clergy have all along allow'd the Va lidity of the Baptifm , not only of Laymen who were within the Church, but even of Scbifmaticks'arid Hereticks who were out of the Church: Nay,' they have own'd that of Boys, tho done in fportand jeft, to be good } witnefs the '/famous Story which Sozomen declares of Athanafiks, That Lib. i. being a Boy, and at play with other Lads,c« l7- he baptiz'd feveral of his Play- fellows, which upon a folemn Debate was efteem'd valid by the Bifhop of Alexandria and his Clergy. And the Papifts themfelves, tho they will not allow the other Sacrament can be validly perform'd by any befides a Prieft} yet they own that the Baptizing by Women is valid. So that the Altera tion from the primitive Pradice of every one's baptizing, can only be on the pre tence of Order. And if every Chriftian is capable of performing the Subftantials of Religion, which confift in offering up Prayers and Praifes to God, and receiving both the Sacraments } 'tis abfurd to imagine h? is not capable of fuch Circumftances, as Praying aloud, diftributing the Bread and Wine, (of which I have already fpoken} or according to the prefent Mode, of fprink- ling an Infant, and repeating a Set Form of Words, 21. If 138 The Rights Qf $g 21. If it bp a fooUfh and wicked Qb- ftinacy to occafion the Defr,rudion of the Church for the fake of the Power of any peculiar Perfons, which can be of no vafue or ufe, unlefs as 'tis for the Service; of the Church } no Set of Ecclefiaflicks can have an Independent Power by Divine Right : becaufe if they had, Men who muft pat do Evil that Good may come of it, wpu q bp bOQod, to adfiere to them, tho it be in fuch Circumftances that the inevitable Ruin of the Church wou'd attend it. . 2.2. No wife Man can doubt, that the Chriftians in the Mahometan Empire have all along aded yerydifcreetiy in.fubmitting, upon being allow'd Liberty of Religiog, to the Government's putting in and turn ing out their, Bifhops } fince fhou'd they have done ptherwife, in all probability they wou'd have provok'd the Infidels to deftroy the Church ("as they have adually done in their African Xcrritories) within their Dominions : To this the Good of the Church, and not any Power the Infidels have in thefe Matters, obliges them to fubmit. So the Reform'd in France did very well in acquiefcing in a Presbyterian Form of Church-Government, what Kind- nefs foever they might have for Bifhops} if uppn thofe Terms, only, as fome fay, they were to be allow'd aToleration. 23. 'Tis no wonder, that all things re lating to Church-Difcipline are to be al- ter'd according to Circumftances -y finCc thefe fometimes take off all Obligation to Church-Communion : as fuppofe one in a Country, Chriftian Church, &c.' 139 Country, where there's no Chriftian^' is by Chap. 4. reading the Bible or otherwife convinc'd ivy"VJ of the Truth of Chriftianity } in tha,t cafe he is not bound by the Laws of Chrift, which make no Alteration in his Civil State, to leave his, Friends, Relations, and Country, in order to be baptiz'd and Join. himfelf to anyGhorch} and confequently he may be a good Chriftian without be* ing a iCburehvMn> And cohfiderjng what is generally meant by. it bat Word, a Gmi Chriftian and a Good CburclMmnare, I ana afraid, very incpnififtent. Nay, fuch may a Man's Circumftances be, as to be bound to leave all Church-Communion } as an Embaffador from an Infidel, who during his Embaffy becomes a Chriftian, is obligM to return, and remain at home, if the Service of his Country requires it, tho he cannot there have any Church-Communion. The Ethiopian Eunuch no doubt was a good Chriftian, tho he return'd to his.own Coun try, where there was no Church or Chrif tian befides himfelf, even before he had communicated with any Church-wha.tever. And, 24. There are other Reafons why a Man may be of no Church } as if that where he lives impofes the Profeffion of fuch Opinions, as neceffary to Communion', which he in Confcienqe cannot confent to : which, confidering the impofing Temper of Churches, muft needs frequently happen to a thinking Perfon. In this cafe, as he is bound not to communicate with that Church } fo he is not oblig'd to for&fce bis 140 'the (Rights of the his Country to join with any other. Grotitu * m his * gives two other Reafons for abftaining Treatife, from Communion. Anfitfem-, Fjrflr} wnen it is made a Teftand a Mark ELfcHT of Diftindion for a Party and a Fadion-, dum per and we are by it to fignify, that we rejed Symbola. and difown other good Chriftians, who a- gree with us in the Fundamentals of Re ligion} and live as pioufly as our felves; Which fuppofes that the Famous Grotius was not only for Occafional Communion himfelf, but thought none were to be com municated with, who did not approve that charitable Principle. Secondly, when a Perfon by not com municating, where there- are Parties, with either fide, may be in a better Capacity to exercife his Charity towards all. This he makes' to be the Reafon why St. Chrys foftom for feveral years refus'd to commu nicate with the Parties where he liv'd } whofe Example, he fays, was "afterwards follow'd by great numbers in Egypt and the Eaft. 2% So that it is the greater Good which is to determine Men in this Point : and the Generality may fafer venture to go to Pefthoufes, than to fuch Churches, where Charity, Moderation, and other Chriftian Virtues, fo neceffary to our future as well as prefent Happinefs, are preach'd againft} and Men are taught} on pretence of Zeal to Religion, to extirpate natural Pity, and to hate and moleft innocent Perfons for / unavoidable Differences of Opinion, even tho thofe Differences are never fo ex- plain'd, Chriftian Church, Sec. 141 plain'd-, as that the People have a juft Chap. 4: Account of them} the Common SortL/^W* learning little elfe than to hate, with out knowing why or wherefore, all whom their Parfons rail at. But not to di- grefs : 26. Nothing can be plainer, than that all thofe infinite Divifions, with their fa tal Confequences, which have happen'd a- bout Church- Difcipline, Modes, Forms, or Ceremonies, relating to Publick Worfhip, are wholly occafion'd by not allowing all things, which are only Means to an End, to be of a mutable nature, and to be deter- min'd by the Parties concern'd, as they think beft. Were this once granted, we fhou'd have no more Quarrels about them, than about the Forms, Methods, and Modes of adminiftring Juftice, or any other Civil Affair: And were the Clergy, like Men of other Profeffions, content to claim no Right to their Employs, or to any Privileges, not in common with other Chriftians, befides what they deriv'd from Human Confent} not only thofe fhame- ful Quarrels which divide the Proteftants about the Divine Right of the Epifcopa- rian, Presbyterian, Independent Forms of Church-Government, wou'd fall to the ground, but the Pope's Supremacy, and the whole Prieftcraft of the Romifh as well as of all other Churches, muft inevi tably fink. As this wou'd prevent all Schifm on the account of Ecclefiaftical Difcipline, fo did not Priefts fet them felves in the place of God, and impioufly require 14* The Rights of the require a Divine Faith to be given to their dubious Inferences and uncertain Conclu sions, and as fuch impofe 'em on the People as neceffary Terms of Communion, inftead of letting every one, as the Law of God requires, judge for himfelf} there cou'd be no Herefy on the account of Opinion, nor rOom for any tJncharitablenefe, Hatred, or Ferfecution } but the Chriftian Religion wou'd, as it was defign'd, render all its Votaries wonderfully happy : Then, and not till then, will the Communion of Saints be pradicable } to Which the Principles of all Parties, the Occafional Conformifts only ex cepted, tho they all make it an Article of their Creed, ftand in dired oppofition. 27. That which is fo much for the Good of the Church, the only Reafon of all Church-Polity, cannot be contrary to the Will of God, .who has oblig'd Mankind by the Law Of Nature to ad according to dif- cretipn in all things which are only Means. And can it be prefum'd, That God became fuch an Enemy to the Chriftian Church, as to occafion, by depriving 'em Of their Na tural Liberty, fo great a Train of Mif- chiefs ? No, this cannot be faid of an All* good and an All-wife Being } and confeqaent- ly thefe owe their Original to the Ambition of fuch Men, whom nothing wou'd fatisfy befides governing the People arbitrarily, and uncontroulably, and who have made no bet ter ufe of their Power than to enflave all who fubmitted to it, and to render thofe miferable who wou'd not own it. And, 28. They> Chriftian Church, Sec. 1 4| 28. They fo manag'd the Credulity and Chap. 4. Simplicity of the poor Laity, as to make t>*W 'em fight their fiatteh, and ruin and de ftroy one another, upon this fingle Quef- tion, Whether they fhou'd be Slaves (the neceffary Confequence of a Divine unalte rable Power) to this or that Set of Eccle- fiafticks ? How, for inftance, has our unhappy Land of late Years been haraTs'd upon a Point of ho greater Importance, than, Whether the fame Ecclefiaftical Power fhou'd be in the hands of a fingle Perfon, or of feveral } in a Bifhop, or a Bench of Presbyters? Good God! with what Un- charitablenefs , Malice, Fury and Rage, did the People, at the Inftigation of the Priefts, treat one another ! From Perfe cting they fell to Civil Wars, knd then to Perfections again, which muft have de ftroy'd the very Church they quarrel'd a- bout, had not Our Legiftators, then fuf- ficiently fenfible of the Folly of being in- fluenc'd by a Pack of defigning felf-inte- refted Men, put a ftop to thefe unchriftian Pradices, by a Law, worth all that the Revolution, as dear as it has been bought, has coft the Nation : • and fince. that time the People, nothwithftanding their going to different Churches on Sundays, have treated one another like Brethren all the Week after } tho the Highfliers, who think themfelves in a State of Perfecution, while they are ty'q up from perfecuting others, have etfer fince the Death of the late King, affifted by the profefs'd Jacobites and Pa pifts, *44 The (Rights of the . pifts, done the utmoft to difturbthe grow-! ing Quiet of the Nation, and to fet all things in confufion, in hopes of breaking in on the Sacred Ad of Toleration. 29. WThich is not fo much to be wonder'd at, fince the Generality of the Ecclefiaflicks in moft Places, by the Ghurch feem to mean only Themfelves, and by Religion only their own Power and Dominion } and look on every thing elfe as of a mutable nature, ei ther Good or Bad, as it makes for or againft this End. The Caufe of the Church, taking it in this Senfe, fhall fandify all manner of Calumnies, Lyes, and Frauds, as well as all oppreffive and violent Methods. To this the Peace, Quiet and Welfare of their Country fhall be facrific'd : For this, Charity, Benevolence, Moderation, mutual Forbearance, and all other Chriftian Virtues fhall be ridicul'd, and their Contraries cry'd up as the only Virtues : For this the Chrif tian World has in a manner been perpe tually engag'd in Wars, ever fince it had the Power of the Sword. 30. 'Twas by thefe Methods that Popery, which is High-Church with a vengeance, fo far prevailed as to fwallow up all Reli gion } and 'twas the Bufinefs of the Re formation to refcue Religion from the all-devouring Jaws of! that High-Church. Our firft Reformers were as Low for Church, as they were High for Religion: And as they own'd all for their Brethren, who feparated from the Errors of Popery, how much foever they differ'd from 'em in. Chriftian Church, Sec. 145 in their Forms of Ecclefiaftical Govern- Chap- 4. ment } fo they did what was poffible to root iVVVJ out all Claim in the Clergy to an Indepen dent Power. And 'tis the Laws made to this end, which the Highfliers now rail at as deftrudive of the Rights of the Church } and treat not only the prefent Bifhops, but Archbifhop Cranmcr, and the reft of the Reformers, with as much Bitternefs as the Jefuits themfelves do. But, 'Tis no wonder the Highfliers treat 'em fo, fince in all their Notions concerning the Power of the Clergy, they are too High for the Reformation, as they are too Low in Matters of Morality: tho fome fay, that their Lives might ferve for a very good Rule, i£-MnV wou'd ad quite con trary to them } for then there's no Chrif tian Virtue which they cou'd fail of ob- fervlng. 31. And here I muft take notice, that never did any Men more grofly and noto- rioufly facrifice the Ends of both Civil and Ecclefiaftical Government to very Unfit, or rather No Means, than thofe Protectants who were in the Intereft of the Abdicated King} and are now in that of his Pre tended Son, nurs'd up in Popery, FrenchTy- ranny, and a fettled Hatred to the Englifh Nation-, and whofe Coming in (which God avert) as it muft be attended with a Civil War, fo it will unavoidably introduce both Popery and Slavery. 32. It fhows to what a degree of Folly and Madnefs Men nurs'd in Bigotry can be brought, when they fhall not only rejoice L at 14<* The Rights of the at the Misfortunes which befal their Coun-' try, but contribute all they can towards them, by increafing our Divijions at. home, and endeavouring to render all-, our At tempts abroad- ineffedual} and in a word, do their utmoft to facrifiee the Proteftant Religion and the Libertys of all Europe to the . Ambition of the French Tyrant : for which they can have nothing to .plead, but that this may enable him to impofe on us the pretended James -III. not as a King, but. a. Viceroy oyer a Conquer'd Province, as w.e muft inevitably be, if this Tory Scheme fucceeds'} for then it will be too late, to think of putting any Bounds to his Power or our Mifery. Where's the Dif ference between our , felves- deftroying the beft, ..Religion and,. the ;beft -Conftitution, the |, only valuable; things with refped to this Life or the next } or putting it inthe Power of the fworn, Enemy of both to do it? ' Nothing can equal the Wickednefs of fuch a Defign, except the Folly of think ing our Religion and Libertys fafe if that fucceeds. For if the French King be. once fo ftrong,, that nothing can hinder him from iin poling on the Nation a Prince;.. to whom upon the account of his Religion and French' Education they have a mortal Aver - fion, and whom by the ftrideft Oaths they are bound ^ to oppofe } what can prevent' him from impofing, any thing elfe, when he is fo much the more powerful by having plac'd his Deputy here ?. Can our Religion be fafe in the hands of an im placable Bigot, or our Libertys. feoire in the Chriftian Church, Sec. 147 the Power of a Tyrant, who ufes his own Chap. 4? People, efpecially thofe who fecur'd him the f.ip.7.8.wou'd be utterly inconfiftent with what is faid of it by the Prophets, and in the New Teftament. And, 38. If among the Jews there was a fre quent Neceffity of Change, and God as their King, to whom they might on oc cafion appeal, not only direded 'em what to do in doubtful Cafes, but when any Law by alteration of Circumftances hap- pen'd to be inconvenient, difpens'd with the Obfervation of it, in preferring Mercy before Sacrifice; and yet their Body of Laws became an intolerable Burden, or in Ezek. 20. the Prophet's words, Laws that were not £5. good, and Jvdgments by which they cou'd not live; infomuch that God thought it ne ceffary for the Good of that People wholly to abrogate 'em, even tho he bad "declar'd more than once they fhou'd laft for ever: 1 may add, that had God aded as King of any other Nation, their Laws, whether relating to Ecclefiafticals or Civils, wou'd have as much differ'd from thefe of the Jews as their Circumftances-, and that they wou'd have been alter'd by him from time to time as their Condition requir'd, as 'tis ' pradis'd in all other Govern ments. Thefe things, I fay, plainly fhow, That where God ads not as a Political Prince in making Alterations from time to time, there can be nothing relating to Ec clefiaftical Polity obligatory, except gene ral Rules? fuch 3s doing all things for the Honour Chriftian Church, Sec. i 5 1 Honour of God, for Edification, Peace, Order, Chap, j- Decency, &c and that Men are to, alter 'S~v^J and vary all Means, as feems beft to that Difcretion God has given them for this End } and that this muft be neceffarily fo, where a Religion is not only to laft to the End of the World, but in time to extend to all the Nations of it. And confidering how widely different Nations are in all Circumftances and Refpeds, there can be no particular Form of Church-Polity which muft not fomewhere or other be prejudicial to the End it was inftituted for. 59- One grand Caufe of Mjftake in this Matter is, not confidering wliem God ads as Governor of the Univerfe, and when as Prince of a particular Nation. The Jews, when they came out of the Land of Bon dage, were under no fettled Government, till God was pleas'd to offer himfeif to be their King, to which all the People ex-Exod. 19. prefly confented} and upon the Covenant's being ratify'd after the moft folemn man- Deut. 5. ner which cou'd be,. God gave 'em thofe Laws which bound no Nation except thofe that had agreed to the Horeb Contrad. But were thefe that are now Chriftians, with out any Government upon Chrift's coming into the World ? Or did God by Chrift make any fuch Contrad as that of Horeb with them? Or did Chrift ad, like Mofes, as God's Viceroy ? No, he came as a pri vate Perfon, whofe Kingdom is not of thus World, to give not one Nation only, but all Mankind, Precepts relating to our Duty L 4 to 1 5 z The (Rights of the to one another as well as to God,- without depriving any of the Right they were in vefted with : and confequently in whofe hands the determining of Civil or Eccle fiaftical Matters were before his Coming, in thofe he left them. And, 40. All we are to learn from the Difci pline of the Primitive Chriftians, or the Diredions they receiv'd from infpir'd Per fons, is not that we are oblig'd to obferve the fame, but that like them we ad agree ably to the Circumftances we are in. "Twas this Gonfideration which quickly caus'd the Apoftolick Command of Saluting with a Holy Kifs, to be laid afide •, and the fame Reafon abrogated the whole Order of Deaconeffes, and imploy'd Deacons to o- ther Purpofes than ferving of Tables, the only Reafon of their Inftitution. So that Deaconfhip, when it was no longer im ploy'd in looking after the Poor, became a new Office under an old Name : and Epif copacy it felf, as diftind from, and fupe- rior to Presbytery, muft likewife be rec- kon'd a new Office } fince prasbyter and Bifhop in the New Teftament are always us'd fynonymonfly : there being no Elec tion or Ordination, Charader, or any thing elfe to diftinguifh 'em } butthe Office of bo.th is made to confift in doing the fame things. So that all the Skill of the Prelatifts is not able to difcover the leaft diftindion} and 'tis irripoifiblethe Apoftles. fhou'd, conftitute diftind Offices, and yet iio where -diftinguifh 'em, but on the con trary, ,t very where reprefent 'em the fame,. as Chriftian Church, Set. 1 j -i as if it were on purpofe t« confound thofe Chap. 4. Fundions in the Church, the diftinguifliing '->"V"NJ of which is generally fuppos'd effential to its Being. How unlike is this to the Cafe of the Jewifh Oeconomy, where even the minuteft Matters are defcrib'd with the ni- ceft Exadnefs ? 41 . If Things which are not of a Moral Nature, oblige us now by virtue of the Commands given to the firft Chriftians, why are not the Sick anointed with OU .? and why do not Men abftain from Blood and Things ftrangled, forbid with the greateft Solemnity imaginable ? What can be more ftridly requir'd than to wafh one another's Feet? one of the laft Commands of our dy ing Lord } which the more to enforce, he not onlyfets his Difciples a Precedent, but declares that He who is not wafts' d has no part John ij« in him. 42. If thefe are feveral Things not ob ligatory to us now,, tho injoin'd the firft Chriftians even in the fame Precept with thofe which are, as Oil with Prayers, Blood and Things ftrangled with Fornication } what other way can we diftinguifh 'em, than that Moral things being on their own account eternally obligatory, muft bind us as Well as them } but that other Things, which by reafon of their Circumftances ob lig'd them, do not bind us ? For whatever obliges all Mankind, and, at all Times, muft be declar'd to do fo, either by Reafon or Scripture. Now it cannot be pretended that by Reafon any but Moral Things are cbligatbry, under which I reckon thofe gene ral 1 5 4 the Rights of the ral Rules relatftg to Ecclefiaftical Polity, given to no purpofe, if the Partys con cern'd had not a Power to apply 'em as they faw occafion. Nor can it be faid that by Scripture, Things which are not of a Moral nature bind all Mankind in all Ages, becaufe there are no Texts relating to 'em fo ex ten five as to reach future Generations: and if things by being barely enjoin'd the firft Difciples, affeded Pofterity, all things requir'd of 'em equally wou'd. And fince it muft happen that particular Pradices will be inconfiftent with general Rules, there's a neceffity that one muft give place to the other } and which fhou'd, I need not determine. 43. The Clergy pretend it was neceffary for the Being of the Church, that the A- poftles fhou'd have a Right to govern thofe they converted, antecedent to their Con- verfion } and that for the continuance of the Church, they were to. convey this Power to others, and they again, on to the end of the World. But, . This is moft certain, that where God requires Things to be done, and appoints not any certain Perfons to do 'em, or orders who fhall, of common Right it belongs to the Partys concern'd to deter mine among themfelves who fhall have the doing of 'em } and therefore the Apoftles having a Divine Commiffion to convert Men to Chriftianity, did not hinder their Converts from having a Right to order all Things, which requir'd a fpecial Detefmi* natiop, according to thofe Rules they taught 'em. Chriftian Church, Sec. ij^ 'em. So that Churches might not only be Chap. 4." -gather'd at. firft, but for ever continue in ^/^NJ being, and yet no Perfons have any Pow er, except what was deriv'd from the Peo ple. 44. If one might teach Men to form themfelves into a Civil Society, without. thereby acquiring a Right to govern 'em, tho he aded by a Divine Commiffion, there can be no pretence why it might not be, the fame in relation to forming Men info an Ecclefiaftical Society. . And the Apoftles requiring People to obferve cer tain Rules in their Affembling to worfhip God, and to have Minifters fo and fo qua- tify'd, neceffarily fuppofes the Power re lating to thefe things to be fundamentally lodg'd in the People} otherwife they may either, be oblig'd to be without any Wor fhip, or go contrary to thefe Rules, and fubmit to Minifters who have not the Apof- tolick Qualifications, as they do at prefent in almoft all places where the Priefts ad independently. f Shou'd any Milfionarys nowra-days convert Nations of Infidels, tho that wou'd not give 'em a Right to govern 'em} yet their Converts wou'd no doubt be willing to be direded by 'em in the management of their Ecclefiaftical Concerns, as thofe the Apoftles converted were by them} who having the Power of difcerning Spirits, and bellowing extraor dinary Qualifications for the Difcharge of the Minifterial Fundion, were in duty bound to recommend Minifters, and the People oblig'd to receive 'em, not for any Domi- i $6 The Rights of the Dominion or Power the Apoftles had over 'em, but for the Good of their Souls } as for the Good of their Bodys, they are to fubmit to the Prefcription of able Phyfii cians. And had any now-a-days the Power of beftowing extraordinary Qualifications for the difcharge of the Civil Miniftry, the State no doubt wou'd be bound for its own Good to imploy fuch as had thofe Qualifications given 'em } and yet that wou'd not hinder but the whole Power wou'd be ftill in the State. 45. 'Tis not therefore enough for thofe who affirm the People are divefted of the Power of managing their Ecclefiaftical Concerns, according to the general Rules of the Gofpel, to fhow that the Govern'- ment they contend for was of the Apof- tolick Age } or that there are Commands of fubmitting to it, for fo there are to the Roman Emperors. No, they ought to produce fome pofitive Depriving Law, reaching to all Chriftians in all Ages, as plain and exprefs as the Law of Nature which gives the People this* Right } .and it ought as plainly to appear in what Set of Men this Power is immutably invefted. But, _, 46. Whofoever without prejudice looks into the New Teftament, will be fo far from finding any fuch Law, that he muft perceive, efpecially by the General Epi- ftles, that as each Church was without any Subordination or Dependence on any 0- ther, fo all things relating to Decency, Orr der, ' Peace, Edification, the Suppreffion of Chriftian Church, Sec. 157 of Scripture-Schifms, or any other point Chap. 4. of Difcipline, belong'd to the People, or t-^W> in other words the Brethren, the Maithful, the Belov'd of God, the Elett, the Saints, to whom thefe Epiftles were addrefs'd. As God is to judg thofe without, fo they are 1 Cor- 5. to judg thofe within, or their own Mem- 12, 13. bers. 'Tis they, as the Apoftle tells the People of Corinth, who are to purge the old Vet. 7. Leven, and to put away the wicked Peofon: *3- and therefore he blames 'em for not centr ing, when they were gathered together, the Ver. 4, 5. inceftuom Corinthian} which Cenfure of theirs he afterwards calls the Punijhmettt 2Cor.2.6. inflicted of the Many. And as the Brethren^ the Spiritual Brethren, are to reftore one Gal. 6. 1. taken in a Fault; To they are to warn the iTheff.5. Unruly, and to fee that none render Evil for *4> • $• Evil, and to mark thofe who Caufe Offences, t_ *f'- and avoid them ; and not to keep Company !Cor. 5. with a Brother that's Covet om, or a Drun- 11. hard, Rosier, Fornicator, &C And Cle* mens Romania, whom I mention With the Apoftles, becaufe he was, as (a) Bifhop Fell, one of the Editors of his Epiftle to the Corinthians, fays, an Author antienter than fome of the Writings even of the New Teftament, and read with 'em publickly in the Churches, being by moft efteem' d as a Perfon infpir'd by G«d: He, I fay, calls the Cenfures of the Epift. ad Church, Thities commanded by the People'. £°""th* 7 •* J * Ed. Oxon. 4W. (a J Author novi Teftamenti ipfius fcripcis nonnul, lis anriquior ; & in Ecclefiis una cum ipfis publico Ice. tus, & tanquara QtirvtsK a plcrifque habkuj. And '158 . The (Rights of the And in the Apoftolick Age we hear only of Diotrephes,. who fo far affeded Pre-eminence as to prejume by his fingle Authority to throw Men out of the Church : and it wou'd be tranfcribing a great part of the Epiftles^ to fhow how all things relating to Edifica tion, Peace, Order, Decency, are refer'd to the People. ¦ And tho the Epiftle to the Phi- lippians is direded to the Bifhops and Deacons, I mean in due order after the People, viz. to the Saints with their Biftiops and Deacons, yet there's nothing in particular addrefs'd to Them, but there as well as every where elfe, all is to the Body of the People. And as 'tis plain, by the General Epift les, that all Church-Power was in the People } fo we find 'erri, before thefe were written, exercifing this Power: for they voted nqt only in the Aftsrf. 5. Eledion of Deacons, but even in the making an Apoftle, they firft appointed out of their, Number two as Candidatei.for the Apoftle- fhip-, and then, according to the Jewifh Guf- Afts 1.22. torn, determin'd the Perfon by giving forth their Lots, So it wasthey who fent forth Afts 11. Barnabas, and they appointed Companions and 22' Affift ants for the A gbftle Paul in his Travels j ' 2 Cor. 8. whom he terms tfre Apoflles of the Churches, *9> 23- and the Glory of Chris!. And if they were thus concern'd in chufing extraordinary. Mii nifters, it can't be , thought but they exer- cis'd the fame Power in chufing the Ordina ry: and therefore tho the Apoftles, as chief Diredors, are faid to ordain, yet it was, as Epift. ad their Cotemporary Clemens Romanus allures p9r'P«5>7' us, with the Confent of the whole Church ; or as the old Tranflation juftly renders the Text, by Chriftian Church, Sec. "159 by holding up the Hands of the People, the Chap. 4.' ufual way of expreffmg their Confent. At -^"V the famous Council of Jerufalem; the Bre thren were concern'd as well as the Apoftles Afts 15. and Elders } and the Letters were written 23* in the name of thefe three Orders : and as 'tis in the Church, which in Scripture air ways fignifies the People, that our Saviour Mat« *8- places the dernier Refort ; fo we find the A- l7" poftles themfelves think it their Duty to give an account of their Adions to them, Acfeii.^, as Peter did in the cafe of Cornelius. And, 47. The Apoftles, as appears by their Commiffion, had no Power befides what was miraculous, except to declare his Will by whom they were commiffion'd } 1 C0T.7.6. and, where they do not ad as his Meflengers a Cor.9.7, or Embaffadors, to pretend only to offer Advice: and they do not preach themfelves (as they wou'd, bad they any Law-making Power) but Chrift, and themfelves their (the 2 Cor.4.5. Peoples) Servants for Jefm fake. Nay, St. Paul faith, 'Tis the Man of Sin, the Son 2 Theff.2. of Perdition, the Adverfary, who exalts him- 3> 4* felf 'above all that is call'd God, or worfhip'd ; he. as God fitting in the Temple of God, plow ing himfelf that he is God. Which Charac ter, as it can't belong to any Heathen, be caufe none of 'em can be faid to fit in the Temple of God } fo no Chriftian Layman, on this pretence, exalts himfelf above all Sovereign Powers, who in Scripture are ftil'd Gods : and confequently. it muft de note an Ecclefiaftick, who on pretence of Sitting (a word fignifying Authority) in the Temple or Church of God, claims the Govern- f6o The Rights of the Government of the Church to himfelf, and confequently Power over thefe Gods of the Earth, as his Subjeds in Ecclefiafticals : and Vets. 9,10. this he brings about fey the effectual Working of Satan, with alt his Power, and Signs, and "lying Wonders, and in all theVndeceivablenefs- of Vitrigbieoufnefs : or in other words, by holy 'Cheats} lham Miracles, and all man ner of Lyes and Forgerys y fuch as claiming a judicial Power of Binding and Looting, a Power of giving the Holy Ghoft, con ferring Grace, & c. And this is agreeable to what ¦ our Saviour declares, That there Mat. 24. fi>aft arife falfe Chrift f and falfe Prophets, and 24. fiiall fhew great Signs and Wonders; fo that if it were poffible, they fhall deceive the very Elecl. Arid tho Antichrift in the Prophe- tick Stile, is defcrib'd as a fingle Perfon } yet his Name is Legion, fince all are more or lefs concern'd, who claim an Independent Power* and by virtue of it exalt the Church above the' State, and the Clergy above the Laity. But 'tis not .ftrange this My ftery of ^Iniquity fhou'd have fpread it felf far and wide, fince it was working even in the Apoftles time. But of this more hereafter. 48. What's chiefly urg'd to encounter thefe and a great number of other Proofs to be mention'd hereafter, are either Texts of the Old Teftament relating to the Jew ifh Government, which every body may fee are foreign to the Matter} or elfe figura tive Expreffions of Binding and Loofing} which did they belong to the Minifters in a peculiar manner, as 'tis plain from Scrip ture Chriftian Church, Sec. 16 1 ture they do not } yet they who urge 'em Chap. 4= dare not ftand by fuch a Senfe as gives 'em ,V*V,_' a Judicial Power : or elfe they are fuch ,, Phrafes as Know them who labour among you, 1 TheiT.r. and are your Leaders in the Lord, or as we 12' tranfiate it, are over you in the Lord ; or, Remember your Guides who have fpoken to Heb. 13.7. you the Word of the Lord ; or, Be perfuaded Heb. 1 2. by your Guides, which we render, Obey thofe ll- who have the Rule over you, tho the word vrelde&i, as often as it occurs, is never tran- flated fo in any other Place. And tho 'tis faid in the fame Verfe, Submit to them ; yet fo are the Younger bid to do to the Elder : 1 Pet.5.5. nay which is more, all are commanded to be fubjetl to one another. As thefe Texts interpret one another, fo to take 'em in a ftrid fenfe is not only contrary to Rea fon, but to a great number of plain Texts, which oblige Men to try, examine, and judg the Dodrine of their Guides } and if they take 'em to be Seducers, Deceivers, or falfe Teachers, to avoid and fly from 'em. And if they are to treat 'em thus, not only on account of their Dodrines, but Lives, as the Rule extends to all immoral Men without the leaft exception } they have all the Power over their Guides which 'tis poffible for Men to have on a Church- Account : Since feparating from 'em for any of thefe Reafons, and owning 'em ftill for Guides, are inconfiftent. And this laft is fo much the Right of the People, that we find as late as the third Century, a Council where St. Cypricn was Prefident, applauding the People of Spain for depollng M a \6z e^Tlie (Rights of "the a Couple of ill Bifhops, and chufing others in their (a) Places. And in their Synodi- cal Epiftle they tell 'em, " That what tc they did was according to Divine Laws} tc and that if they, had continu'd to com- " municate with 'em, they had been accef- " fary to their Guilt, and offended againft " thofe Commands which oblige Men to tC feparate from a Prieft who is a Sinner'} " and that it principally belong'd to them " to chufe Worthy, and rejed Unworthy u Priefts." And after the fame manner L.4.C.44. St. lremus declares himfelf. But, Foi. Gen. 49- j can>t omjt tne Texts, which the ^^ Clergy fuppofe gave the Apoftles a Right, not only to govern the Church themfelves, but upon their Deceafe to appoint Succef fors, with an Authority for them to name theirs, fo that the Succeffion might be con tinu'd to the end of the World : and they are a piece of a Verfe in John the 20th, As my Father fent me, fo fend I you ; join'd with a part of a Verfe in the laft of Matthew, Lo I am with you to the End of the World. But Chrift, as appears by the foregoing Verfe, tho he . had all Power given him after his Refurredion, yet he gives none to his Difciples further than authorizing, or rather requiring 'em to teach Nations to obferve all things, whatfoever he had com manded 'em. So that the Senfe in which fa.) Epift. 68. §.138. p. 20&. Cyprian. Oper. Fol. Edit. Sim. Gouland. apud Johan. le Preux, 1593. the Chriftian Church, Sec. ir5; the Apoftles were fent by Chrift, as he was Chap. 4." by God, was not to do their own Will, but OOTSJ his who fent 'em } or, as St. John explains it, To declare what they had feen and heard: In the doing of which Chrift promifes to be with 'em all the days even to the end of the Age, for fo it is in the Original. Now if it be unnatural to extend to other Per fons a Promife given to the Apoftles, to en able 'em to execute What they alone were intrufted to do, and in performing which they cou'd have no Succeffors} all the Power the Clergy claim by thefe Texts falls to the ground : and if For ever, till the Coming of the Lord, and fuch like Expref- fions which -occur in Scripture, extend no farther than the Perfons they are fpoken to, tho they do not live for ever, or till the Coming of the Lord } there can be no pre tence why this Promife fhou'd reach further than the Apoftles, and the Age they were to live and fpend in that Employ, for the fake of which the Promife was given. But if it muft extend to all other Ages, what Reafon can there be for this grofs Partia lity of confining it to the Clergy, and not letting it extend to the Church or Body of Chriftians, who in all Nations, by means of the Apoftles, were to be converted ? Are they not juft mention'd before, and are not they the Body which Chrift as the Head iseonftantly with? and have not the Lay as well as the Clergy the Promife of the Spirit ? Or does it appear by the Condud of the Clergy, that Chrift is more with them than with the Laity ? But fuppofe the M 2 Pro- \6\ The (Rights of the Promife was made to the Clergy alone, they cannot pretend that Chrift is with them as he was with the Apoftles-, or that he faid, As I fend you, fo fend you others, and they on to the end of the World } or that thefe Words immediately follow'd one another. So that tho it be taken for granted that the Government of the Church was in the A- poftles, and the Promife was made to the Clergy exclufively of all others, theQuef- tion will be, whether Chrift's faying, / am with you to the end of the World, fignifies any more than walking with them, never leaving or forfaking them, being in the midst of 'em: Phrafes which import God's peculiar Care and watchful Providence over them. Does Chrift, when he fays, He will be in the midft of two or three gather' d together in his Name, give 'em the Government of the Church, with power to appoint their Sue-* ceffors r And they who think that a Right to govern the Church by way of Succeffion from the Apoftles, with a power to com municate it to others, muft be included in this Expreffion of ChrisTs being with them, muft either think there's no other way of his being with 'em, than by giving 'em Power over the Church} or that when ever they get this Power, God is with 'em. And one wou'd be apt to fufped that this was the Senfe of too many of the Clergy in moft Ages, fince that has been their fole Aim, and they have equally embrae'd all means which ferv'd to promote if. But what mainly contributed to rob the Body of the Faithful of thefe glorious Pri- 4- vileges Chriftian Church, Sec. i<>5 vileges and Powers, which by Scripture be- Chap. 4- long to 'em under the name of the Church, _^/V> is the Clergy's applying that Word to them felves, exclufively of all others And tho the^ Method of retaining Names when Things are alter'd, is what Tyrannys gene rally pradife, in order to make the Change more eafily go down with the unthinking Multitude} yet this has been no where pradis'd with fuch Succefs as in Ecclefi aftical Matters, and the Chriftian World has be'en*infinitely abus'd by new Senfes being put on the words Church,' Schifm, Herefy, and the like. 50. What I have mention'd here con cerning the Government of the Church from Scripture, is to prevent the Reader from being fo ihtirely poffefs'd with a Be lief of the Clergy's having a Divine Right to it, as to be deaf to all the Arguments from Reafon to the Contrary. And left he fhou'd imagine that Things relating to Ec clefiaftical Difcipline were always as at pre fent they are, I fhall beg leave to hint at the great Remains of the Primitive Democra- tical Form even in the third Century } arid to that end fhall' only quote the ' famous Cypftan, who flourifh'd* in* the middle Of it, the rather becaufe he fays, 'tis a dang erotts £p. 73. thing for any in Divine Matters to recede from his full Power and Authority. And therefore it cannot be prefum'd, had he thought the Government of the Church by Divine Right belong'd to the Clergy, but he wou'd have forbid the Laity from facrilegioufly meddling with it. But he, M 3 good \66 The Rights of the gopd Man, on the contrary declares, That Ep.6. §.$. he wasrefolv'd to do nothing by his own private V- 1 7« Judgment without the. Confent of the People of his Diftritt } and that all Affairs, as their mutual Honour requir'd, fhou'd be debated in Common. And accordingly he profeffes himfelf not fuf ficient to judg of the Mifdemeanots of two Ep. 28. §. Subdeacons and an Acolyth, but fays* they 2. p. 62. ought to be try'd by all the People.. So he der E - clares the Schifm. of Felicifimn* was to be 1. p.9'4. ' judged according to the Arbitriment and com mon Counfel of thy People; and that trie Laps'd Ep. 10. §. were not to be abfolv'd, tho in a time of 4. p. 30. Perfecution, till Peace was reftor'd to .the Ep. 55- §• Church, that they might plead their Caufe be- 1 7- P-l^'fore an the peQpU. So he affirms, that who- Ep.40. §. foever was excommunicated, it was by the 1. p. 92. Suffrages of the People. And as Pontius his In vita Deacon fays, That he was made Bifhop by Cyprian, the Grace of God, and the Favour of the People; EP- ie» fo he himfelf in feveral Epiftles acknowled- 11,40. ges jjg OWes his Advancement to them : arid Ep. 34. not only declares that in all Ordinations he aded by their common Counfelj but makes Ep. 6%. it a General PraBice, and of Apvft&Uck Ob- fervation, and of Divine Inftitutim, for the Bifhop to be cho&n by the Suffrages of the People} to which he adds the Judgment and v Adviceof the neighbouring Bifhops. Not tha^ we can fuppofe he thought -they had an equal Authority with the People in this Matter, becaufe that wou'd be inconfiftent with what both he and thefe Bifhops had de clar'd in their Synodjcal Epiftle before quo ted, that Plebs maxirne habet Potestatemvel cUgci;di dignos Sacerdotes vel indignos recufandi. 51. And Chriftian Church, Sec. 167 51. And 'twas not in Matters of theChap.4. greateft, moment, but in all others, as he '.>^v^o owns, that the People were concern'd: asEP-6-§-> for inftance, a Letter cou'd not be fent to p- 17' a foren Church before the Brotherhood a- Er.5g,. 55. §. 2t. p. U4- M 4 blames ltf8 The Rights of the blames 'em, 'tis not for affuming a Power not belonging to 'em, but for making a wrong ufe of it, in turning out fuch Bifhops as they themfelves had chofen, and who ferv'd the Flock of Chrift with all Humility, &c. And therefore he compares 'em to thofe who a- bus'd a rightful Power in punifhing Daniel, &c. And herein thefe Perfons fay nothing difagreeable to the Senfe of St. Paul, who as he forbids the People to glory in their i Cor. 3. Teachers, tho Apoftles, fo he fays, That 21,22,2-$. They and all Things (meaning all they cou'd do) are yours, and ye are Chrift' s, and Chrift a God^s. Had there been any fuch Climax fpoken concerning the Clergy, that the Peo ple and all things are theirs, and they are Chrift's, and Chrift is God's } we fhould have had perpetual Harangues about it, ef pecially from our Modern Divines. 52. The moft antient Fathers acknow ledg that they owe all unto, and receive all from the Church or People. Hence Tertullian takes it, in building Arguments on it, for a receiv'd and unqueftionable De Cadi- Truth, u That the Diftindion between the £<"- " .Laity and Clergy was owing to the " Church } That otherwife Laymen might " exercife the Prieftly Office, Chrift hav- *' ing made us all Priefts to God } and " that where three are gather'd together " in Chrift's Name, theie'sa Church, tho " three Laymen} it being -the Will of " God, that at all times we fhou'd be ca- " pable of the Sacraments." And 'tis plain fiom this Father, That the Heterodox not only ajlow'd Laymen to be capable of ex- ercifing Chriftian Church, Sec. 169 ercifing Ecclefiaftical Fundions, but en- Chap. 4. join'd 'em fo to do : and therefore as to tV"v"V the Capacity of the Laity for thefe Fundi ons, the whole Chriftian World was agreed, tho the Heterodox were more on their guard againft Prieftcraft} fince to prevent it, they had a fort of Rotation of Ecclefiaftical Offi ces : for Tertvllian fays, " With them one IbiJ| table nature, do in effed own fo much, by fuppofing it was model'd according to the Pattern of the Roman Civil Govern ment. 59. If what Mr. Dodwel fays over and over in his Par&nefis ad Exteros be true, that the Difcipline of the Church is not to be found in the New Teftament, being much later than That } and that for the firft hundred years there were but two ordinary Orders in the Church, Presbyters and Dea cons, and that the Presbyters had no Jurif didion } and appeals to the Scripture for any one Ad of it done by them : and in a- ndther place fays, that the Clergy then cou'd De Jure have no Power to exclude People from the Sacerdoc.| Sacrament, that being adminifter'd by the Laicor' Gifted Laity. If thefe things, I fay, be true (none of our Divines having thought fit to anfwer his Par&nefis, tho publifh'd in Englifh as well as Latin) it fhows how much in the wrong the Clergy are, in having re- courfe to Scripture for proof of their Power and Authority. The ever memorable Mr. Hales is fo can did as to own, " That they do but abufe " themfelves and others, who wou'd per- " fuade us that Bifhops by Chrift's lnfti- " tution have any Superiority over other " Men } for we have believ'd him who " told us, that in Jefus Chrift there's nei- " ther High nor Low, and that in giving " Honour every Man fhoud be ready to " prefer another before himfelf: which Say- " ing \?& The (Rights of the " ing muft certainly cut off all Claim to " Superiority by Title of Chriftianity, " except Men can think thefe things were " fpoken to poor and private Men. Na- " ture and Religion agree in this, that " neither of them had a hand in this He- " raldry of Secundum, Sub & Supra ; all " this comes from Compofition and A- «' greement of Men among themfelves." And Father Paul, tho a Papift, yet being a Perfon of great Ingenuity as well as Judg ment, not only affirms in his Treatife of N. 6\. Beneficiary Matters (a Difcourfe fit for eve ry one to read, who wou'd be Mafter of this Controverfy) that in the Beginning the Government of the Holy Church had al together a Democratical Form, but gives a large Account how by degrees it came to be alter'd. 60. If any thing was particularly deter min'd in Scripture, relating to Ecclefiaftical Government, there can be no reafon to imagine that the Perfon or Perfons, who fhou'd have the naming of the fuppos'd Jure Divino Governors of the Church, the Bifhops, wou'd be omitted. To fay this belongs to the Bifhops themfelves, con demns the conftant Pradice of the Church for feveral of the firft Centurys, when the People chofe 'em } and of all Princes and other Laymen, who have fince prefum'd to name them } and of all thofe Presbyters,who in their feveral Chapters have chofen their Bifhops : and if thofe Eledions were void, as not made by a competent Power, all Confecrations built on them muft be fo too. Chriftian Church, Sec. 177 too. If it be faid that this Right be- Chap. 4* longs either to People, Prince or Presby- iWXJ ters, by a Divine Authority, the fame Ab furdity will follow : fo that there's a ne- ceffity of owning that the Scripture has de termin'd nothing about itj and confe quently, that of courfe it belongs to the Partys concern'd, as every thing muft, which is not by fome pofitive Text taken from them. 61. If their chufing a Perfon to execute an Ecclefiaftical Office, be not fufficient to give him a full Right to it } it muft be ei ther becaufe God by fome pofitive Law has declar'd none to be capable of fuch an Office, who has not fome fupernatural Powers or Qualifications beftow'd on him by certain Ecclefiafticks ; or elfe there muft be fome Text produc'd, which in part de prives the People of the Power of making their Minifters, and divides it between them and the Clergy, where one is to chufe, and t'other to approve. But, As to the Firft, tho pretending to be ftow fuch Qualifications now, be as grofs a Cheat as Tranfubftantiation it felf, fince there's no more Change wrought in the Man in the one cafe, than in the Bread in the other} yet the making and unmaking Ecclefiaftical Officers wou'd ftill be in the People, without any other Obligation upon 'em, than to pitch on a Perfon who had thefe fupernatural Qualifications beftow'd on him. And, As no Text can be fhown for the Se cond, fo it fuppofes the fufpending or N depri- 178 T7;e (Rights of the depriving of a Clergyman cannot be done without the joint Concurrence of the Laity and Clergy } becaufe the Power of Unma king muft be divided between them as well as the Power of Making. But if there's no ground for neither of thefe Pretences, the Peoples chufing a Perfon to execute" an Ecclefiaftical Office is; fufficient to give him a Right thereunto. . 62. That great Reformer and glorious Martyr, Archbifhop Cranmer (at a Con sult of the moft .eminent Divines of the Nation in 1540. where to avoid the In conveniences of verbal Difputes, they gave their Opinions in writing) affirms, " That cc the Ceremonys and. Solemnitys us'd in a admitting Bifhops and Priefts, are not " of neceffity, but only for good Order a and feemly Fafhion } and that there's u no more Promife of 1 God that Grace is " given in committing of the Ecclefiaftical " than Civil Office He that's appoin- " ted to be a Bifhop or Prieft (between whpm, he fays, at, firft there was no dif tindion) " needs no Confecration by the " Scripture } for Eledion or Appointing " thereunto is fufficient." What the pro of the Se- found Mr. Dodwe.ll; fays, agrees very well" parat.of wjt{, this } " That' as only the Society it p J„ ' " -felf can make a valid Conveyance ' of 322, 523. " '^$. Right, fo 'tis not conceivable how " the Society can do it but by its own " Ad : and whenfoever a Perfon is in- " vefted with Supreme Power, it muft be " by them, unlefs by his Predeceflbr, " which no Society can depend on for a " con- Ujrtjtum imrcb, &ec. 179 " conftant Rule of Succeffion. I am apt Chap. 4? " to think this muft have been the way ^-/V^* " obferv'd at firft in making Bifhops : " This feems beft to agree with the Abfo- " lutenefs of particular Churches, before " they had by Compact, united themfelves " under Metropolitans and Exarchs into " Provincial and Diocefan Churches. And " this feem'd to.be fitted to the frequent " Perfecutions of thofe earlier Ages, when " every Church was able to fecure its own " Succeffion, without depending on the cc Meeting of the Bifhops of the whole *' Province } and the Alteration of this, ia " giving the Bifhops of the Province art " Intereft in the Choice of every partial- " lar Collegue, feems not to have been for, " want of Pbwer in the particular Chur- " ches to do it, &c" This is a fufficient Acknowledgment that Bifhops may be made without the Confecration or Concurrence of any Bifhop} fince every particular Church had at firft a Right of making its own Bi fhop, or, as he terms it, of fecuring its own Succeffion } and that whatever Right: the Bifhops of the Province came to have afterwards, was deriv'd from the Confent of particular Congregations or Churches ; and that it was to their Compads that Dio cefan Epifcopacy ow'd its Being. N 2 C H A Pj l:8jo The Rights of the CHAP. ,V. The Clergy's endeavouring • at an Inde pendent (Power, not only preVe?i% the further jf reading of the Gofpel^ hut is the Caufe of its having al ready loft fo much Ground. NOTHING can give Unbelieving Princes a greater Prejudice againft the Chriftian Religion, than that if it pre vails, they muft become fubjed either to Strangers or to their own Subjeds, not only in all things they plea'fe to call Ec clefiaftical, Spiritual or Sacred, but indi- redly, & in ordine ad Spiritualia, in all mat-: ters whatfoever. Princes are naturally very jealous of new Dodrines, left they create TJifturbances, or any ways diminifh their Pterogative } and confequently muft heeds be enrag'd, when they find their Power fo much* ftraitned and limited by a new Reli gion: and prefently conclude' thofe Impo- ftors who preach it, fince they defign to get for themfelves no lefs than an Independent Power over them. 2. 'Tis no wonder therefore that feveral Stations who at firft tolerated Chriftianity, did afterward, when they found what the Clergy Chriftian Church, Sec. 18V Clergy aim'd at, extirpate it with Fire Chap. 5- and Sword } tho at the fame time they al- <-^V>0 low'd of other Religions every whit as dif ferent from theirs : Nor cou'd the Romifh Priefts, the only Perfons who make it their bufinefs to convert Infidels, exped any where better Treatment, did they not at firft dif- femble (at which they are very dextrous) this part of their Dodrines. • 3. Had they who firft propagated the Chriftian Religion, made fuch a felfifh Scheme of it, as that it exalted 'em from the meaneft Condition, to be no lefs than Ecclefiaftical Monarchs} and that it gave them, andwhomfoever they laid hands on, an Independent Power over the whole World in all things they ; pleas'd to de clare of an Ecclefiaftical nature} and that they had a Power to punifh whom they thought fit, not only in this Life, by ob liging People to avoid all Converfe with 'em (a thing infupportable to human Na ture) but in the next with eternal Torments, nothing lefs than that being the Effeds of their Excommunication: Had they, I fay, pretended to fuch Powers, inftead of gain ing Profelytes, they wou'd have been look'd on as impudent Cheats and Impoftors. But where do we find, they ever told the Emperors, that, tho it were true, till the Times of Chriftianity there were not two Independent Powers in the fame So ciety, yet that God, the Immutable God, was then pleas'd to change his Mind, and made the Emperors, as well as the People, abfolute Slaves to thofe. who before were N 3 their r iSz The (Rights of the their own Subjeds, in all things which they, the fole Judges, .fhou'd determine to be of an Ecclefiaftical nature } who having their Power only from God, without the Intervention of the People or of their Re- prefentatives, cou'd be accountable for the Abufe of it to God alone-} and that there fore it was not lawful for the Roman Em peror, tho he fhou'd become a Chriftian, and fo employ his Power aright, to retain the Title, much lefs the Office of Pontifex Maximus, but muft refign that to the Bi fhop oi Rome, or fome other Prieft ? Had, I fay, this Dodrine of Imperium in Imperio been the Produd of Chriftianity, the Em perors cou'd not have fail'd. to ufe it as an Argument to juftify their Ufage of the Chriftians, who were for a doublerheaded Sovereignty, unknown before in the World, and inconfiftent with the Power, which they and the Commonwealth ever fince its Foundation had enjoy'd. And the Hea then Authors wou'd have eternally in- fulted the Chriftians on this Point } who, had the thing been true, cou'd not be fo wanting to themfelves, as to negled of fering at fomething in their frequent Apo- logys for their Juftification. But on the contrary, Tertvllian in his Apology declares, agreeable to the fenfe of Mankind, that 'tis the Nature of the Supreme to admit of no Equal. 4. Befides, with what face, upon this Suppofition, cou'd the Chriftians have af- ferted the Difintereftednefs of thofe who firft preach'd the Gofpel, as a grand Argu ment Chriftian Church, Sec. 183 ment for the Truth of it ? or how1 cou'd Chap. 5. they have added, That thofe who fue- tbc \Mopr(. Such an Ayerfion had the Corruptions introduc'd by the Clergy caus'd inthofbTnfidels, tho defcended from Chriftian Anceftors, againft the Chriftian Religion. , 11. As this Independent Power occa- fion'd Mahometifm in the East, fo it pro- duc'd Popery in the Weft, which tho it ftill retains the name of Chriftianity, is yet a greater Corruption of it } which at the time of the Reformation had been every where intirely extirpated, if too many of the Proteftant Clergy (who at firft difown'd any Independent Power, and thereby very much contributed to the Encouragement they re ceiv'd from Princes as well as People) had not put a flop to it by claiming (the Pref- byterians leading the Van) fuch a Power themfelves. This made Princes begin to think it not only more honourable, but lefs hazardous (as prccul a Jwe, procul a Ful- mine) ujrjjvian Lburch, iiec. i8c> mine) to fubmit to the Wefterh Patriarch Chap. 5. then not a little humbl'd, and living att>W» fuch a diftance as Rome, than to let their own Subjeds become their Ecclefiaftical So vereigns } who, as being nearer at hand, might not only be more troublefom, but by degrees, having better Opportunitys, carry their Power further than the Popes them felves did } fince they cou'd fcarce claim any, tho ever fo extravagant, which this Dodrine wou'd not juftify. 12. Ina word, if Love, Charity, Meek- nefs, Benevolence, Moderation, Condefcen- fion, and fuch-like Virtues, be effential to a Chriftian Church, I fhou'd be glad to fee a Church even among the Reform'd, where thefe are not in a great meafure deftroy'd by the Hatred and Animofity the Clergy have fawn, and the Feuds, Quarrels and Perfecutions they have occafion'd about their Independent Ecclefiaftical Power. But more of this-in the next Chapter. CHAP. 190 The (Rights of the CHAP. VI. That the Clergy s claiming an Inde-, pendent ,(Power, • is of all things the moft deftruEtive to the Intereft of (Religion, and is the Caufe of thofe Corruptions under which Chriftianity labours. i. >*T*I S abfolutely neceffary,' for the pre- 1 fervation of Religion in its Purity and Simplicity, that all the Power Man is capable of, fhou'd belong to the Laity -, be caufe they can have no Motive, no Temp tation to abufe it, by corrupting Religion, to advance their Temporal Intereft : fince every Deviation from it (That being de fign'd to fecure and promote the Happi nefs of human Societys) muft be to their detriment } and confequently their Tem poral Intereft obliges 'em to take care, that Religion be preferv'd in its native Purity and Simplicity. 2. But 'tis the Clergy's Intereft, on the contrary, to have it corrupted } becaufe they, as fuch, have no other way to gain. a Power of Lording it over their Brethren. And there's no Notion fo abfurd but what's their Intereft to advance, tho it feems to have no dired tendency, that way } fince, when Chriftian Church, Sec. ipi when once believ'd, it will ferve to draw Chap. 6. on others which have. Let Reafon be baf- L/"\"N> fled in one point, and you can never plead her Sovereignty in another: Vno abfurdo dato, mille fequuntur. And a Rational Re ligion will not make Men depend much on the Authority of the Priefts } becaufe themfelves can judg of that by its own Evi dence. But the more Unaccountable, Un certain, Obfcure, Perplex'd, and Unintelli gible Religion is, the more 'tis above their Underftanding and Capacity, and the more they muft pay a blind Deference and Submiffion to the Didates of the Priefts. And therefore 'tis no wonder, if Religion has been more or lefs confounded, as they have been more or lefs trufted with Power: And 'tis naturally impoffible it fhou'd be othsrwife } fince to be fure, fome will be always attempting, tho ever fo much to the prejudice of Religion, to introduce fuch Opinions as are for their Intereft, and ferve to render their Perfons facred,and raife their Charaders. Which Opinions need not very ftrong Arguments to go down with the Generality of 'em } and they who oppofe 'em (as fome at firft might) wou'd not do it very heartily, and tho they did muft quickly be overpower'd : and confequently foch Opinions muft by degrees become cur rent among the Clergy -, which then they will not fcruple to impofe on the People by their own Authority, efpecially when af- fembl'd in a Synod } for then 'tis only Ex communicating and Anathematizing all fuch as fhall prefume to fpeak againft their Deter- icyz Tlx (Rights of the Determinations, and (if they are fo favo rable to let the Perfons efcape) judicially condemning their Adverfarys Writings to the Flames, as the moft expeditious way of confuting 'em. 3. And this certainly is no more than what they ought to do, if they have a Right to oblige People to fubmit to their Determinations in all difputable Points, which in effed is in all ; for if the Laity fwallow what they impofe, they have their' End } but if they queftion and difpute it, then that very thing gives 'em a Right to decide it } fince it belongs to Them, in all difputable Points, to judg for the People. And this all Councils and Synods in fad do, when they determine Controverfys, atid oblige People to fubmit to whatever Side they declare for : fo that by this means Intereft becomes the Father of Religion, and Ignorance ( the Confequence of an im plicit Submiffion) the Mother cf Devotion. But, 4. What a Folly and Madnefs is it, to take the Clergy's word in Things relating to their own Power and Jurifdidion } and fuffer 'em to judg in their own Caufe, and decide where their own Intereft is con cern'd, as they muft if they are Judges in Matters of Religion ? Then to be fure, their own Independent Power fhall be a fundamental Article. There never was a Council, fince the times of the Apoftolick Purity, that has not determin'd fomething or other in pre judice Chriftian Churchy &c. 193 jadice of the true Religion, which was cor- Chap. 6. rupted proportionably to the frequency of ^^W Synods ; where no Dodrine, tho' ever fo abfurd , and which Men fingly perhaps wou'd have been afham'd to maintain, was not long buggl'd at, provided it was fuffici- ently adapted to their Intereft ,- witnefs all the jPopifii Tenets, fo very unaccountable, that the Clergy, except they had been af- fembl'd in Council, where Numbers coun tenance one another, and where chey^ have the JPretence of the Spirit to fandify what ever they do, durft not have attempted to impofe them on the People. $. 'Tis no wonder that the Clergy mag nify Synods at fo great a Rate, fince there were no Doctrines which advanc'd the Power Ecclefiaftical, or created a Reverence fo the Clergy, the Contradiction whereof was not made Herefy by fome Council or other, and the Emperors oblig'd to punifh the Hereticks with Death or Ba- njfhment. And at laft it came to that pafs, that Princes and States, unlefs they purg'd their Dominions of all the- Clergy call'd Hereticks, were excommunicated and in- terdided, and their Subjeds let loofe upon 'em : Infomuch, that to a ferious and con fidering Perfon there was nothing fo dange rous, as to enquire concerning bis own Sal vation, or the Holy Scripture •;• die carelefs, cold Chriftian, was fafe, and the skilful Hy pocrite a Saint. 6. If any think this partial, let 'em only confider, That the greateft part of Man kind, in their feveral Callings and Profef- O fions, i 9 a The Rights of the Cons, are too apt to prefer their private Intereft before any Motive whatfoever, efpecially when they ad in Bodies: For then Reputation and Honour, Shame and Difgrace, which frequently influence fingle Perfons, quite lofe their Force} and no Good can be expeded from 'em, where the publick Intereft and their own are not the fame. And confequently , what can be hop'd from Affemblies of Priefts, whofe private Intereft, as it is diametrically op* pofite to that of the People, fo their Sy nods have been, generally fpeaking, corfl- pos'd of the moft Ambitious, the moft Crafty,, and moft Defigning, better vers d in the Arts of Flattering and Fawning on great Men, than in the Knowledge of Reli gion? 7. By the Account the Orthodox give of the many Arian Councils, one wou'd think they were fpeaking of Devils and not of Men } and by what remains of the ArUn Writers, 'tis plain they are not behind with the others. ' But there's no need of having recourfe to them; for the moft partial Hiftorians of their own fide give fuch a Relation of their Condud (too notorious it feems to be eon- ceal'd, and too foul to be difguh'dj as makes 'em appear not much better. 8. That 'tis poffible for Councils to ad after this manner, we have the Confeffion of an Englifh Synod, who acknowledge,- as tteifen's taught by Experience, " That there is not, Mft- °f K nor can be any Thing in the World mora H.8. a peftjient or pernicious to the Common* p"471- '< wealth Chriftian Church, &£. 195 tc wealth of Chriftmdom, or thereby thsChap.tf. " Truth of God's Wonf hath in Times ^V^ ' paft , or hereafter may be foorier de- " fac'd and fubverced, or whereof may en- " fue more Contention and DifcOrd, or 0- " ther devilifh Effeds, than when Gene- " ral Councils have, or fhall hereafter be " affembl'd, not Chriftianly nor Charita- " bly, but for and upon private Malice and " Ambition, or other worldly or carnal " Confiderations. And this Opinion they confirm by the Authority of St. Gregory ftaz,ianzen , who in his Letter to Proeopim , tells him , " That he fled all Affemblies of Bifhops, Tom. 1. " becaufe he never faw a good and happy Ep- 42» " End of any Council, but that they did " rather increafe than leffen the Evil ; that " the love of Contention and Ambition " always overcomes their Reafon." Naz,i- an-ztn'% Judgment is the more to be regard ed, becaufe 'twas the Refult of frequent Trial and long Experience } for he had been at feveral Councils, particularly at the General and Creed-making one of Conftan- tinople. And that this was his fixt Opinion, is plain from his fo very frequently repeating it, as he does in feveral qf his Letters, Letter 71, and in his Poetick Pieces, where he again 7*, 74. declares his Refolution " of never going to PaS So. " any Council, becaufe nothing is to be " heard there but Geefe and Cranes, who " fight without underftanding one ano- " ther. There one may fee Divifions, " Quarrels, and (hameful Things, which O % *' were 'tl 196 The Rights of the < " were hid beforehand are colleded into one " place with cruiel Msn. 9* If there ever was a Council which aded upon other Principles, there is little doubt '. it was the ; Firft and Oecumeni- tf/ftorkaL cab 'one of- JVi«s " Which yet, as Mr. Ejjayof .«¦ i\4^rmi juftly obferves, was a pitiful Corals, ;„ HuiTian BufinefSj attended with all the ll ilf Circumftances of other worldly Af- " fairs , conduded by a Spirit of Ambi- " tion and Contention } the firft, and fo "uhe greateft Oecumenical Blow, that by " Chriftians was given to Chriftians. It 'rwas, fays he, their Impofition of a new Article or .Creed upon the Chriftian " World, not ; being contain'd in exprefs " Words of -Scripture , to be believ'd ;" with Divine Faith, under Spiritual and r" Civil Penalties, contrary to the Privi- " leges' of Religion ; and their making a ". Precedent, follow'd and improv'd by all ;" fucceeding Ages, for moft cruel Feffecu- /c:ttons, which only cou'd animate me. "?In digging thus for a new Dedudiori, -*' they underrnin'd the Fabrick of Chrifti- c anity : To frame a particular Dodrine, " chey departed from the general Rule of :" their Religion, and violated our Saviour's i" firft Inftifytion of a Church, not fubjed to any Additions in Matters of Faith, nor liable to Compulfion. 10. To which may be added, That the 'Dodrine of thofe Fathers was not, tb.it ¦ there's only one Divine Effence in Nurn- tber, but in Kind ; as, is moft evident from Bet'avius , Curxclleus , Cudwortb , Le Clerc, : ;*w Dr. . (C Chriftian Church, See. 197 Dr. Bull, and feveral' others; and in a Chap. 6. Word, the fame which the Heads of ;the-v-^ Univerfity of Oxford riot 40ng fince con- deran'd as Falfe , Impious arid Heretical. Tho' this muft be faid for that Synod, that in all probability they had not declar'd them felves of this Opinion, had they not been clofeted by the Emperor; who, as Ew/i-Lib.g.cap, bius fays, confer r' d ' with 'em apart, courte- i^devit. cufty and mildly telling 'em what was his 0vm^'jnUw Opinion of the Matter, after be had pati-- ently liftend to every one, and took every one's Opinion without the Acrimony with which it was delivered; helping each Party where they dif agreed , and reconciling 'em by degrees, when they were in the fietceft Contention. And in all likelihood, the great Pains he took, both in publick' and private, to bring 'em to his Sentiments (not to mention the noble Entertainment he gave 'em all the while) had no fmall Influence upon 'em. And this ought the rather to be believ'd , becaufe when left to themfelves, they were of a different Opinion ; as at the Synod of By- thinia, held fome Time before che Council of Nice, and at Antioch in the Year 329. and at Tyre 334. where no fmall Number of Bifhops from Egypt , Lybia , Afia , and Europe, were affembl'd. And with thefe agreed the Bifhops who met at Jerufalem, and afterward at Conftantineple, where they were preparing a Council to examine a- frefh the Matter agitated at Nice; and had appointed a Day to difcourfe of ic, and to condud Arius into the Chur«h , having before depos'd Atbanafius , and O \ caus'd. 198 The Rights of the caus'd the Emperor to, banifh him to If the Nicene Fathers did not fubfcribe the Creed out of Complement to the Empe ror, but becaufe they underftood what they did ; what made them fall fo foul upon one another about the meaning of it, particular- Socrates, ly of the Word Confubftantial ? Whofe Quar- L i. c. i3. relSj the Hiftorian fays, did not ill refemble a Combat in the dark, where they befpatter'd one another with Calumnies, whether they had caufe or not. n. But were this fo or no, 'tis certain they gave up their Creed not long after; and at the Council of Arimiium ( double in number to that of Nice) they all fignM the Arian Confeffion } fo much did they value their Bifhopricks above their Faith : Tho' at Nice there were Seventeen who took a contrary Method „ and chafe rather to part with their Preferments than Confci- ences. Which, confidering their Condud; in thofe Days, feems to be almoft incredi ble : For tho' they were moft obftinate as tp Power , they were moft flexible as to Faith ; and in their Councils complemented the Emperors with whatfoever Creeds they had a mind to, and never fcrupl'd to re cant what they had before enaded, or to re-enad what before they had recanted. Nay, fo very variable were they, that St. Hilary Bifhop of Poiclitrs fays ( as M,v. Marvel obferves ) " That fince the Nicene " Synod we do nothing but write Creeds \ *c that while we fight about Words, while1 " we raife Queftions about Novelties, while " we Chriftian Church, &c. 199 we quarrel about Things doubtful, and Chap. 4. about Authprs, while we contend in Par- ^^V^ ties, there's almoft none that's Chrift's. We decree every Year of the Lord a new " Creed concerning God } nay , every " Change of the Moon our Faith is al* tf ter'd. We repent of our Decrees, we " defend thofe who have repented of them j a we anathematize thofe we defended : Or c • while we condemn other Mens Opinions " in our own, or our own in thofe of other " Men, and bite at one another, we are all il of us torn to pieces. 12. Mr. Le Clerc, than whom there ne ver was a more impartial or abler Judge, gives us a fhorr, yet lively Picture of thefe Times : " Weak princes, as far from being ArcCri- " Good as Wife, affembl'd a pack of pal-" c cap. 5. " try Greeks, who had fpent their Lives l; in the Art of Cavilling about Words, " without the leaft Knowledge in Things ; " fo very fond of wrangling, that they " were eternally in Feuds among them- " felves. To thefe were added fome few " from the Weft, more ftupid and ignorant " indeed, but not a whit more honeftj; '* who after much fcandalous Quarrelling, " did at laft, by their own Authority, efta- ** blifh certain unintelligible Propofitions, " in fuch Terms as were for the moft " part very improper, which the Vulgar " implicitly reverenc'd as moft Heavenly " Truths." This, as fevere as it feems, is fofter than what the great Kpifcopus fays of thofe Councils, that they were led on by Fury, FacJion and Madnefs. And zoo The Rights of the Rule of > ?what Dr. TiUotfon fays of that Council which F^,p*4.£rie papifts calLthe Seventh General One, 5' 4 That if a General Council of Atheifts had met together , with a Defign to abufe Religion, by talking ridicttloufly concerning it, they tould not have Jone it mere effeBually, may be apply'd not to a few other Councils even long before that Time. 15. I have been the longer on this Point, becaufe fome Men think they cannot pay too great a deference to the Authority of the Holy Synods of thofe Times ; tho' in Truth there's fcarce any Thing (as the ju dicious Dr. Wake obfervesj' in Antiquity, Ai'thmty li which either more expos'd our Chriftian of Chrifl. " Profefljon heretofore, or may more de- Princes, " ferve our ferious Confideration at this P-3°7- « f3ayj than the Violence, the Paffion, the " Malice, the Falfenefs, and the Oppref- " fion, which reign'd in moft of . thofe Sy- M nods held by Conftantine firft, and after " him by the following Emperors, upon " the occafion of the Arian Controverfy. " Bitter are the -Complaints which we are t: told that Great Emperor made of tbem. Soxomcn, " The Barbarians, fays he, in a Letter to 1.5. c. 28.** one of them , for fear of us, worfhip " God-; but we mind what only tends to ^ it. What Good can be expected from the Meeting of Men, " when their Paffions^w/J, •" are, as an Author juft now cited fays,o/C£w/?. " let loofe, and their Minds diforder'd '^Princes, " when their Intereft and Defigns, thelrP"317' c: Friends and their Parties } nay, their very " Judgments and Principles lead 'em diffe- " rent ways, and they agree in nothing fo " much as being very peevifh and very an- " £rY w'cn one another ; when their very '•' Reafon isi deprav'd, and they judge not "according to Truth and Evidence, but " with refped to Perfons ; and every one " Oppofes what another of a different Per- " fwafion moves or approves of? 19. As to the Pretence of Synods being influenc'd by the Holy Spirit, I need only fay, That their Condud is a fufficient De- monftration to the contrary , fince thofe benign Virtues which are the Produd of that Spirit, are likelier to be found any where elfe than in fuch Affemblies; and 'twou'd be ftrange if Divinity fhou'd chufe to dwell where Humanity was feldbm to be found. Can the Holy Spirit be fuppos'd to influence Councils, which contradid one another fo much, that there have been few or no Queftions of any moment (ba ting what they fay of their own Power) agitated in them, which have not receiv'd oppofite Determinations ? This is fo no torious, that none who is the leaft ac quainted with Church. Hiftory ',- but muft with honeft ChiBngwonh fay-, " I fee plain- 2q6 The. Rights of the 'cfthe Re-l( ly, and with my own Eyes, that there iigionef* te are popes againft popes, Councils againft ch6 " Councils, fome Fathers againft others, a. 56. " the fame Fathers againft th.emfe4ves, a " Confent of the Fathers pf one Age a- 'u gainft the Confent of the Fathers of " another Age, the Church of one Age " againft the Church of another Age." h it not the Way to have a curfed Church, if the Clergy, for Inftance, in one Council (hall curfe and anathematize all who wor fhip Images, and quickly after in another curfe all who will not worfhip 'em ? How did the Clergy curfe themfelves at the (Council of Calcedon for what they did at the Council of Ephefus ? And after that, how frequently did they declare for and againfi the Council of Calcedon, and feldom with out bitterly curling themfelves ? So that the Religion of the Clergy of that Age feems moftly to have confifted in Curling: And 'tis well if it had been of that Age only, fince there's fcarce a Man in being, who is not under the Anathema of fome Canon or other. 20. Can the Hply Spirit be fuppos'd to dwell with thofe, who, as in the Cafe of Eutyches and Neftorius, for different Terms Only, fet the Chriftian World in flames, and made fuch a Divifion as remains to this very Day ? Tho' 'tis much the laft fhou'd be treated as a Heretick, after his Orthodox Zeal had made him fay to Theo- foctah dofias the Younger, Give me, Q Entps- lib. 7. roTi tbe Earth weeded from Hereticks, and I, ** 2?" in my turn , piS give you Heaven j depJroy with Chriftian Church, &c. 207 toith me the Hereticks, and I will deftroy the Chap. fright more patient Perfons than the Em perors or: their Deputies from attending 'on that 'Affair ;;-, and .-.therefore 'twas not S°cratlib- ftrange that Le?«/a;,, who reprefented the a. c. 48. Emper'ot Conftans, bid the Bifhops, upon their defiring hiin to return to the Affem- bly, Go prate arid trifle in the Church without him. 'trz 23. To fay all on this Head which cou'd be laid, wou'd be to write a Hiftory of Councils, and tranfcribe their Canons ; one Adriarw of which is, That no Man ought to receive Epit.ofthethe Ttftimony of a Layman againfi a Clem- old Cations T J iX - c .. 1 r r ¦ &/ ¦ publi[l,-dbymatt- * C0Ud "0t IaV 'e»S' "nCe eVen a" Canefius. monS th°fe wbo in Words deny the Infalli bility of Councils, there are too many who in Fad own it, by endeavouring to im pofe on us Things which have no Founda-* tion Chriftian Church, &c. 209 tion either in Scripture or Reafon , nay are Chap. 6. fometimes contrary to both, on their bare V'VX Authority ; which ferv'd formerly as an An- fwer to all Objedions. It was this made Socrates fay, That tho' the Fathers at Nice were EccI.Hift. as fimple and ignorant as the Biftiop of Heraclea*' l' repr'efented 'em ; yet being guided by the Light of Grace, they cou'd not depart from Truth: and the Monks at Jetufalem, in the Reign Nicephot of Anaftafius Vicorus, declare, " That theE«l.Hift. " four Councils were to be join'd with the '33' " Sacred Books ; and they pronounce an A- " nathema againft all who equal 'em not " with the four Evangelifts ; and tell the " Emperor, that for that caufe they will " contend even to Blood. 24. How fhall we know which Side the Holy Ghoft chufes, when Cpuncils com- pos'd, as with us, of diftind Bodies, differ among themfelves ? And fuch a Queftion may properly enough be ask'd, fince we have no reafon to think that Synods now are not as much guided by the Light of Grace as formerly: Fpr thp' the Clergy at prefent, for Reafons obvious enough, extol the Coun cils of ancient Times above any now-a-days in this degenerate Age of the Church, as they call it ; yet he whp confiders one as well as t'other, will fee little Reafon for this mighty Preference, and upon the whole ba induc'd to think, that tho' Religion may have undergone a great many Changes, yet the Spirit and Temper of the Clergy, whether in or out of Convocations, generally (beak. ing, is tp theic immortal Honour ftill the fame, P. 2?. A SIO Tloe. Rights of the Of the. tru* -^ 2 j. A learned and judicious Author Gnsunis ef fjy^ « jt was nGt unnatural in the Begin- E"lef'Re'"-.mngs of the Reign of Edward VI. and SIJ " Queen Elizabeth, to think the Lords and ec Commons were better Judges of Reli- ie gion than the Bifhops and Convocation* " Houfe." And the Reafon he gives for it is, "That the whole Body can have no ' *- finifter End or Intereft to blind 'em ; *' but the whole Clergy, which is but a "Part of the whole Body, may; and ".' therefore the whole Body is to judge of IC this. But this Reafon will make the " Parliament,! not only then; but always, ". better Judges of Religion." Nay, what he adds, will make the meaneft Layman as good a Judge as the greateft Prieft } for he fays, " The meaneft Man is as much in-. ' ' terefted and concern'd in the Truth of ** Religion, as the gfeateft Prieft; for tho* and Chriftian Church, fkc i \ i and tend, to, advance the Intereft pf the Cfi(y>. «?. Clergy, and-" to deprefs that of the People, <'v'"tf"v, would have been brought into the Church. And what Depravation is there eftablifh'd in any Church whatfoever, which does not dp this, 'either diredly or indiredly, imme diately or mediately ? And what other Rea fon is there why the Church of England is fo pure, than that the Laity had the chief Hand in reforming it ? 27. As the Clergy, tho' few in compan ion of the Laity, were the Inventers, Con trivers, and firft Broachers of Corrupti ons ; fo on the contrary, wherefoever any Reformations have happen 'd, they have been carry'd on by the Laity in opppfition to the Body of the Clergy: For, tho' per haps there were here and there a few to honeft as to prefer the Truth before their In tereft, yet the Majority of the Clergy have always been againft all Alterations for the better. And if a Man examines the State of Chriftendom, he will find that the more they have in any Nation abounded in Number, Power, and Riches, the more Religion has been deprav'd } and on the contrary, the lefs Power and Riches they have had, and the fewer their Numbers have been, the more it has been preferVM pure and intire : As if to keep it fo, no thing more had been requir'd', than not to allow the Priefts fufficient Means to cor rupt it. What other Reafon can be affign'd why Religion is in fome Popifh Countries more perverted than in others , than that the P 2 Num- 5 1 1 The Rights of the Number, Power and Riches of the Clergy sire greater there ? And this you will find vifibly true, in comparing 'em one with another. 28. And as there is a vaft Difpropor- tion in thefe refpeds between the Popifh and Proteftant Clergy, fo Religion in the laft. is proportionably purer. And will not the fame hold in comparing Proteftant Countries one with another ? For can it be deny'd, that where the Power, Intereft, and Authority of the Clergy is at the low- eft ebb, there is not only lefs of thofe Dia bolical Vices, Hatred, Malice, Animofity, Perfecution, &c and in the room of thefe, more of the Angelical Virtues of Love, Charity, Friendfhip, Benignity, &c but Men are lefs Immoral, Leud, Vicious, De- bauch'd, and Irreligious } and have more of Sobriety, Frugality, Induftry, and all other moral and facial Virtues ? 29. And 'tis no wonder, becaufe too ma ny, in order to advance their Intereft, teach Men to lay fo much ftrefs on things which no ways influence a good Life; to which Impertinencies the more regard Men have, the lefs they attend the Duties of Morality ; and therefore the great Neg- led of it among the Heathens as well as Chriftians, muft be imputed to their Priefts, in perfuading 'em to place Religion in Rites, Shows, Ceremonies, and other indifferent Things; which fince Men can pradife without controuling their darling Paflions, they will be fure religioufly to obferve, to make amends for indulging them- Chriftian Church, cxc. 21 3 themfelves in their beloved Vices, efpe-Chap. 6. cially if they are perfuaded fuch things are UrVv; expiatory of Sins : and therefore the moft Superfluous Nations have always been the moft Immoral. And one wou'd think they had no Pther Notion of Religion, than that it was, as defin'd by a late Author, an Expedient which Men had found out to fatisfie themfelves that God was fatisfy'd with them, tho' they neglecled the common and plain Duties of Morality. 50. And if it were not fo now-a-days with tPo many, what's the Reafon, that if a Man, tho' ever fo vicious, be but a great Stickler for the Church in fafhion, that good Quality alone (hall (like Charity J not only hide a multitude pf Faults, but too pften fandify the greateft Villanies and Impieties ? Therefore your immoral Men feldom fail to pretend a great Zeal for the Church, to atone for their real Enmity to Religion: And 'tis not ftrange, that Men under Perfecution cou'd not forbear com plaining, that they had not fo much Liberty to ferve God, as .the Church's Friends had to ferve the Devil. ;i. 'Tis Sir William Temple's Obfervation," That Religion, or rather the Pretence to it, does the leaft mifchief in Holland : and the Reafon is, becaufe the Clergy have lefs Power and Authority there, than any where elfe : Tho' even there, when they had an Influence on the People, and the States were guilty of fp much Imprudence as tp call a Synod at Dort, .then Bitter- nefs, Rancor and Malice were infus'd into P j Mens 214 The Rights of the Mens Minds,' and by confequence Dis orders and Tumults did abound, which had like to have intirely fubverted their Li berties: But by their fuffering no more Synods, and carrying a ftrid Hand over their Clergy, thefe, by degrees wore off; (nothing being found more effedual to keep a pragmatical Prieft within fome bounds, than the Apprehenfion of having a Staff and a pair of Shoes laid at his Door) fo that now more Charity and Candor is to be found among Perfons of different Perfwafions there, than any Where be- fides. ;z. The Synpd of Dort , tho' call'd be^ fore the Spirit of Reformation ran fo low, (hows what lictle Good is to be expeded from fuch Meetings of Clergymen; fince it only fervd co increafe. the Uncharitablenefs, Arfimofities, and other Mifchiefs it was call'd to prevent. And as the great Schifm about Jthe Pre- deftiuarian Points , which has caus'd fo much Mifchief in the United Provinces, and which was made ufe of by fome Men as a Handle to do more here, was whol ly owing to that Impofing Synod } fo all other fc)ivifions on the account of Diffe rence in Opinions, which go under the Name pf Schifms and Herefies, flow from the fame Caufe, the Clergy's putting themfelves in the Place of God, and requiring the fame Faith to their uncertain Inferences, and du bious Conclufions, as to the Divine Word it felf. Bur, 13- To Chriftian Church, &c. 215 23. To look at home, nothing made foChap. 6. much way for the Reformation, as Henry ''"VVJ VIII's depriving the Clergy of fo great a Part ' of their Power and Riches. For as it was their abounding in thefe which enabled 'em to corrupt Religion, fo it was their being ftript of them, which difabled 'em from con tinuing the Corruptions, or pppofing the Lay-Reformation. Mr. Fpx very juftly obferves, " That Pag. 976". ' e (hortly after the Overthrow of . the " Pope, begun by little and little the " Ruin of Abbies and Religious Houfes in " England^ in a right Order and Method, " by God's Providence : For neither cou'd "the Fall of Monafteries have follow'd af- " ter, unlefs the Suppreffion of the Pope " had gone before ; neither cou'd any true " Reformation of the Church have been *' attempted, unlefs the Subverfion of the " Superftitious Houfes had been join'd " therewith." And yet, we have thofe of High Church, who fcruple not to condemn not only Henry VIII. for depriving the Clergy of thefe Eftates, but thofe who at prefent poffefs them, as guilty of Sacri lege , for with-holding them from the Church; tho' taking Church in the Scrip- ture-Senfe, they are now in the Hands of the Church , and have ( ever fince the Church or People were poffefs'd of 'em) been a great Bulwark againft Popery : But whilft the Clergy had 'em, they were a great Caufe of promoting and continuing it; and confequently they who gave the Eftates to, rather than they who took P 4 'era 2l6 The Rights of the 'em from the Clergy, were guilty of Sa crilege. And 'tis the Intereft of thofe who now enjoy 'em, to oppofe fuch high Notion-;, fince if thefe prevail, they are in danger of lofing thofe Eftates, and with 'em their Religion; which, as there's no Inftance of, fo 'tis impoflible it fhou'd be preferv'd uneorrupted in any Nation, where the Clergy have fuch powerful Means of ruining it. Therefore our Wick- liff, and all others ferioufly aiming at a Reformation, have conftantly endeavour'd to difarm the Clergy of thefe, as finding it abfolutely neceffary to carry on their pious Defigns j in which if Luthtr abroad, and our Reformers at home were more happy than others, it was becaufe -they did nor, like them, mifcarry in this Point, This enabled 'em to ftrike at the Foun dation of Popery and Prieftcraft, the In dependency of the Clergy. 14. Which thofe at the Helm here took all poffible care to root out ; and had they not done fo, 'twas impoflible the Reformation fhou'd have been carry'd on, fince the Clergy, generally fpeaking, were Enemies to it. And in the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign, the Sees being full of Popifh Bifhops, and the Convocation, with Bonner at the head of it, oppofingiall Alteration, the Reformation, to the great Scandal of the Papifts and High-Church, may juftly be call'd Lay or Parliamentary. Had Men reafon'd at that time as fome cl'ZcZt*0 now-a-day, " That all Religious Doc- on man, fc Wines and Opinions ought to be left to p. 8. " the Chriftian Church, &c. 217 ¦" the Convocation as the proper Judges } Chap. 6. SN Notions, there has all along been fo good an Underftanding, tho' at prefent greater than ever, between the Papifts and High- Flyers. 37. Let us from the Beginning of rfje Re formation afcend to that of Chriftianity, and fee how Things were then manag'd. Then Churches by the Laws of the Em pire were incapable of poffefling Lands or Inheritances, and the Clergy, as they fub- , fitted by the Alms of the People, fo they were in all other Matters, as I (half fully prove hereafter , wholly dependent upon them*, and then Religion wonderfully flou- rifrVd and inereas'd. But, When they no longer depehded on their Choice, or their Alms, but came to be no minated by one another, and to have Re venues and Poffeflioris of their own, which neceffarily gave them Authority and Power in proportion to 'em, then Religion went to wreck, and they abounded with all man ner of Vices } Men running into Orders for the fake of worldly Grandeur : And too many of 'em had no regard to Religion, as a divine and excellent Science, and of real Benefit to Mankind, both fingly, and in So cieties, but ohly as they made it a Trade to enrich themfelves, and infatuate the Vulgar. 38. And the Reafon why in fome barren Places of Chriftendom, Religion, notwith standing the Ignorance of the People, was not fo much -deprav'd as in happier Cli mates, 2 2© The Rights of the mates, is becaufe thofe Countries cou'd not fupport any great number of Priefts, nor be llow any great Revenues on the few they had } and confequently the Clergy were not able (nor was it fo much worth their while,) to introduce or keep up Corruptions here as elfewhere. Befides, their Ppverty was a further Se curity to them, by hindring 'em from having? fufficient leifure to attend the vain and groundlefs,, tho' amufing and fubtle Diftin- dions the Priefts coin in favour of an Inde pendent Power. And therefore 'tis no wonder that when the greateft part of Cbriftendom had moft fcandaioufly deprav'd Religion, thofe who were term'd the Poof Men • of Lyons, Waldenfes, Albigenfes, &c; preferv'd it in fome tolerable degree of Pu rity. And they were fo far from fetting up two Independent Powers, that they who officiated amongft 'em (as I fhall prove hereafter) were fuch as we term Laymen, and generally of fome fecular Imployment, fo that they were no burden to the Commu nity : I do not wonder therefore that fuch a Precedent was fufficient to alarm the Pope and all bis Adherents, and raife a Croifado in order to extirpate this Generation of Men. 39. Had the Clergy been fuch every where elfe, Religion (which is (hort, plain, and eafie in it felf, as adapted to the Capa city of the Generality of Mankind, the Simple and Unlearned,) had not been ren- der'd fo obfcure, perplex'd and intricate, nor mixt and blended with fo many pro- Chriftian Church, &c« 221 profound and ufelefs Metaphyfical Notions, Chap. t. and abftrufe, nice and needlefs Specula- '•-or*-' tions ; the Introdudion of which requir'd a great deal of Labpur and Pains, Art and Skill, and cpu'd not be cpntriv'd by plain (imple Men, whp had other Callings to mind, but muft be the Work of thofe who liv'd at eafe, and were Matters of their whole Time ; whp faw how much it was their Intereft tp render Chriftianity Per- plex'd and Unintelligible^ that the Laity. might not pnly admire 'em for their deep Knowledge in Religion, but likewife leave it wholly to their Management, asbeingin- finitely above their poor Capacities, and be yond their weak Apprehenfions; 40. Which Defign fucceeded accordingly,1 and thefe profound Theologues impos'd on the eafy Pepple what felfiih Dedrines they pleas'd. • And tp prevent their perceiving hpw grofly they were abus'd, on pretence of in forming their Underftanding, they in- duftripufly kept 'em in Ignorance, by amu- fing 'em with artificial Cant and learned Gibberifh, made up of obfcure, doubtful, and undefin'd Words ; by virtue of which they can defend any advantageous Dodrine, tho' ever fo abfurd } fince it Terves 'em to confound, not only the Ignorant and Men of Bufinefs with hard Words, but to im- ploy the Ingenious and Inquifitive in intri cate Difputes, upon unintelligible Terms, and hold them perpetually intangl'd in an endlefs Labyrinth ef Words. And there fore 'tis no wonder that fuch Learning (if 3^3 The Rights of the it may deferve that Name) is not only taught every where in the Schools (none being capable of taking a Degree in the Univerfities without- a competent Skill in it) but that* Tutors read*it to young Gen tlemen ; who, if they apply themfelves»in earneft to the Study of it, have their Brains generally fo confounded by this Jargon^, that they are in great danger .of never undeV fianding Things clearly : But the mol3fc they can exped, after great Labour and In- duftry (befides an Air of Pedantry, a Nar? rownefs of Mind, and Obftinacy in OmV nion) is to arrive at the Art of Thinking confufedly, Reafoning wrongly, and Wrang* ling eternally. : . ,..t 41. But if the Crabbe;dnefs and Barren^ nefs of this Study gives 'em an Averfipn to Learning, then they confume their Time in Idlenefs, and confequently in Debauchery^ and fuch a Habit once contraded, is feldora, pr never remov'd. By both which Means fome Men equaljy gain their Ends, fince by Jbotb, they equally keep People in Ignorance, and confequently can influence 'em as they pleafe; tho' the laft mention'd Gentlemen, as being moft in number, make the greateft Noife, and every where baul the loudeft for High Church ; and are the chief TopIs with which thefe fubtle Clergymen wprk^their Defigns, who lately cut out fuch a Tacking job for them, as, had the Experiment fucceeded, muft have ruin'd the Nation, and with it the whole Proteftant Intereft. 42. And Chriftian Church, &c. 223 •42. And fince Ignorance is the MptherChap^. of jDevotion, tho? not to God, yet to the ' ' Priefts, who are, in a manner, ador'd where the People are thoroughly Ignorant, 'tis un- reafonable to exped that they (hpu'd in ear ned endeavour to make thofe, whofe Edu-* cation is intrufted with 'em, fo learned or wife, as to be above Prieftcraft. No, inftead pf that, they made 'em, even in Philofophy^the better to prepare 'em for it in 'Religion, yurare in verba Aiagiftri: For as no other Philofophy, except that o£ jtriftotle, was to be taught, fo his ipfe dixit was fufficient for a blind Submiffion : And his Obfcure Metaphyfical Notions, calcu lated, as it were, for the Defence of their abfurd felf-interefted Dodrines, quickly became the fundamental Laws, not only pf Philofophy , but Divinity. And a great Cardinal (a) has not ftuck to acknowledge, That without his Help we fhou'd have wanted many Articles of Faith ; for which Reafon the Magiftrate was bound to ufe the fecu- lar Aid in proteding his Writings, and the Courts of Judicature to intereft themfelves in his Defence. And the Parliament pf Paris, for Inftance, in 1629- made an Arreft againft fome Chymifts who were too free with him, upon Information from the Sorbonifls , that his Principles cou'd not be writ againft or leffen'd, with out prejudicing the receiv'd Divinity of (.a) Senza Ariftotele noi mancavatemo mold Aiticoli dafedc. Cardinal lalliwh. the 224 The Rights of the the Schools. Nay, his Dodrines were held in fuch Religious Veneration, that 'twas nothing lefs than Herefy to oppofb them ; Which poor Ramus found to his Coft, who for making fome Obfervations tending to diminifh their Credit, was mur- der'd at the Maffacre of Paris, with the fame Zeal as the Calvinifts were. And Sis Apol. Laurentius Valla, for Herefy againft the ten to Tope Predicaments, and fome fuch like Opini- Eugemus onSj ^ad it, not been for the powerful In- terceffion of Alphonfus,. King of Naples, had been opprefs'd by the Inquifition. Upon the firft Difcovery of Ariftotle's Wprks the Scene was quite different, the Clergy being then in a terrible Apprehenfion about them ; and not only a Pope, but a Council at Paris, forbad the reading 'em on pai^of Excommunication : and feveral, as Me&e- ray faith, were, for the fake of his Ophu\ ons (the countenancing thereof being the' chief Crime objeded to 'em) burnt for He reticks. In a word, till they found thofe Parts of his Writings, fo much afterwards in Repute with the Schools, full of that vain babling Philofophy St. Paul condemns, they were as apprehenfive of 'em as fome * Mr. Men are of the Works of a * late Philofo- Locke. pher ; which they are afraid will let too much Light into the World, and improve Humane Under fianding more than is for their Intereft. Intndutl. ^ 4;. The Sieur Puffendorf, in mowing how to Hift. inftrumental the Univerfities were in pro- p-420. moting tne power 0f tne p0pe, faith, " That the Divinity and Philofophy Pr°- i " fefs'd Chriftian Church, &C. 225 "fefs'd there; »were not taught with an Chap. 6. " Intention to make Students more learned 'S-'"V>"' *-' or underftanding , but that the Inge nious by thefe confus'd and idle Terms might be diverted from thoroughly invef- "tigating thofe Matters , which wou'd have led 'em to the whole Difeovery of the Popifh Intrigues. Their Scholaftick "Divinity is for the moft. part intangl'd in ufelefs Queftions, invented chiefly by " Lombard, Scotus, and other Patriarchs " of Pedantry. *And what they call Phi- " lofophy, is nothing elfe than a Oolledion " of foolifh Chimera's, empty 'Terms, and " very bad Latin. With thefe Trumpe- " ties the Univerfities were not only over- " run during the former barbarous Times., " but even continue to this~very Day ; and " tho' moft Sciences are fo much improv'd, " the old Leven is with greatlnduftry.pre- " ferv'd and propagated." If this Method of teaching Booty was, as he obferves, " contriv'd that the Popifh Priefts might " not want means to domineer over the " Laymens Confciences, and to entangle " 'em with fo many dubious and double- " meaning Infinuations , that they are *c therebys render'd incapable to examine " and rule their Adions according to folid " Principles, but are> oblig'd to be guided " blindfold , according to the Pleafure of " their Father Confeffors." If this, us he fays, was what the Popifh Clergy aim'd at, will not the Ill-natur'd be too ape to fuf- ped that others , if they fall into the Came Methods , have the fame Defigns of Q Domi» 226 The Rights of the Domineering over the Confciences of the Laity ; and that cou'd they, like the Popifh Priefts, add to this a Reftrai.nt on the Prefs, their' Bufinefs wou'd be effedually' done ? 44. It may be worth obferving, that the Clergy, before they contriv'd this Jargon of the Schools, did not only endeavour to infufe into their Auditors an Averfibtrto all Books of Human Philofophy an* Learn ing, on account of their being wriftfi^by the Heathens, but took 'en? away fi$ib>the Students committed to their Care! '..4jHay, even the Bifhops themfelve*, at the C^aincil oi Carthage, about the Year 400, were for bad reading Heathen Authors-, and St. Jerom, as 'tis faid, was whip'd wt6h;||Lods?by >%n Angel for reading Cicero's .^ffcks. Which. no doubt occafion 'd the Lol ¦'•of many tsf* eellent Works, to the Unfpeakable Damage ©1 the Commonwealth of Letters. But when fome Nations cou'd be no longer kept frotir prying into Learning, this miserable Gibbe- rifh of the Schools was contriv'd. To which had it been confin'd, the Mif- chief had pot been fo confiderable ; but it has unhappily invaded the chief Concernments of Human Life, and Society ; obfcur'd and perplex'd the material Truths of Law and Divinity ; brought Confufion, Diforder, and Uncertainty, into the Affairs of Man kind, and in a great meafure render'd ufelefs the Rules ofReligion and Juftice. - » 49. A Clergyman, by the help of this profound Learning, tho' he had taken the Oath of Supremacy ,- nay, t ho' he had t erore his Chriftian Church, &c. 227 his Sermon pray'd for the King as Supreme Chap. 6. Head and Governor of the Church, next, k-/"v%*' and immediately under Chrift, yet cou'd in his Sermon eafily diftinguifh this away, and place the Government of the Church in his own Tribe, next, and immediately under Chrift, independent of all Human Powers whatfoever. To which let me add, that as nothing cou'd be more contrary to High-Church Notions, in relation to Civil Government, than the Oath of Allegiance upon the Revo lution, fo Men could not change their Sen timents on a fudden ; and confequently, too many either diffembl'd, when in the former Reigns they preach'd up their enflaving Doctrines, or elfe in the late Reign they took the Oath againft their Confcience ; unlefs fuch Diftindions cou'd help 'em out as muft deftroy the Force of any Oath whatfoever^ And poflibly it was by the Affiftanee of thefe, that they never thought themfelves better employ 'd, than in doing fomething or other, which lefs fubtle Men wou'd con clude was diredly contrary to," and in defi ance of their Oath. 46. As fome Men are fo Very learned that no Oath can bind 'em, of which their diftinguifliing away one fo fully exprefs'd as the Oath of Supremacy, is a fufficient Proof; fo their Knowledge is fo very pro found, that they can evade any Precept of Morality ; as for Inftance, the Rule of do ing to others as you would be done unto, obliges Men to allow one another the Liber ty of judging for themfelves whieh is the Q 2 true 22$ The Rights of the true Religion, and; likewife of ading ac cording to their Judgment, fince this is the very fame Thing they exped from all others.- And yet how many are there, who by the help of tfieir tranfcendent Metaphyficks, have invented a Thoufand Diftindions to evade this plain Rule ? And they who have Learning enough to make this great Law in- fignificant, ftrike in a manner at the Founda tion of all Morality. 47. None ad more abfurdly than your High Flyers, who wou'd , confound this grand Duty of Moderation on no better pretence, than "becaufe 'tis no Commenda tion to be moderately ('meaning indifferent ly) honeft or wife. A Charader yet too high for fuch as on fo grofs a Fallacy en deavour to divert People from treating thofe of different Sentiments with Chrifti an Moderation. Men muft either be ve ry weak themfelves, or elfe believe Peoples Underftanding no better than their own Honefty, if they hope 'to impofe on 'em by fuch trifling Sophiftry. But the Author of Moderation difplay'd'is very free with this Chriftian Virtue, and makes ir, in'fpite of the Bible , to derive its Original from Hell and its Fiends } tho' one wou'd think the Heat of that Place/ and the gnaftffng of Teeth there, feem more, naturally to de- fcribe the Enemies of Modersition. But to return. 48. I need not mention any more Ih- ftances of this Nature, fince there are as many Examples ofit, as thefe Gentlemen have By-interefts to ferve. And whofo- ever ChrSftim Church, Ike. 229 ever will give himfelf thertrouble to read Chap. 5. their Syftems of Divinky, will find them V-^V^/ full pf mere verbal Diftindions and Words, of none, or at leaft no certain Significa tion; but fometimes taking 'em in one, fometimes in another Senfe, .juft as 'tis :fot their turn ; very well knowing that Error being unacceptable to the' Mind of Man, there's no other Defence for Abfurdity than Obfcurity, and that the only way for ftrange and fenfelefs Dodrines to gain Ad mittance, is to guard 'em round with Le gions of obfcure, doubtfuL, and undefin'd Words. , 49. And had it not been the Defign of the Clergy, by thefe and fuch like Artifices, to keep the Laity in Ignorance and Super- ftitton; what's the Reafon that thofe pre vail, according as the Ecclefiafticks advance in Power, Influence and Intereft? As for Inftance, are not the. People more Ignorant and Superftitious in Spain or Portugal, than in Venice, or lately in France ? And what other Account can he given of it, than that the Authority, Power and Influence of the Clergy is fo much greater? A°d now in France do not Ignorance and Superftition proportionably increafe, according to the large Steps which Prieftcraft (by their King's growing a Bigot and Perfecutor) takes there ; which are fuch, that in a fhort time they will have little to objed to Spain upon this account ? But, yo. Does not this hold in Proteftant as well as Popifh Countries ? Are not People more Ignorant and Superftitious in Sweden Q \ or 2 2Q The Rights of the or Denmark than in Holland or England* Have not the Clergy in thofe Places fo great an Authority, that they hinder all Liber ty of Confcience ? And do not the People pay them now as blind and implicit Sub miffion, as they did to their Popifh Prede- ceffors? But in thefe freer Countries, as the Clergy have lefs Power, Authority, and Intereft ; fo Religion is better understood, and more ufeful and excellent Difcourfes are made on that Subjed, than in all the World befides. And if you compare the Parts of Great "Britain, you will find that the Clergy have a greater Afcendant over the People in Scotland than in England ; and are they not accordingly more ignorant, bigotted, and uncharitable ? fi. And in England, are not thofe whom the Papifts carefs as fit Tools to bring about their wicked Defigns, ignorant, bigotted, Prieft-ridden Wretches ? 'Tis not the mode rate Churchmen who join with the Jacobites and Papifts, in all Eledions, and other De figns ; 'tis not they who are lo infeparably united to 'em, as to have the fame Friends Enemies. If the, Church of England is the Bulwark againft Popery, it cannot belong to them (tho' they wou'd engrofs the Name of the Church to themfelves) whom the Papifts and Jacobites affift in all their pious Defigns, and in none more, than oppofing the Bifhops and moderate Churchmen. 52. There's no nfed to infiance in 'any snore particular Countries, tho' it holds in all Chriftian Church, &c, 2 3 l all without exception } when 'tis notori- Chap. 6. ous that in thofe Ages which are fo in- ^^V^ famous for the Univerfal Ignorance and Barbarity which then overfpread the Face of Chriftendom, the Clergy prodigioufly abounded in Number, Power, and Riches j and Prieftcraft arriv'd at its greateft height. And 'tis as evident, that as this palpable Darknefs vanifh'd in any place, and the true Light of the Gofpel (hone forth, fo the Clergy have depreas'd in Number, Power, Riches and Credit : So certain is it that Church, taking the Word in the Senfe of the High-fliers, and Religion, can never flourifh together, but as one rifes t'other falls. q4 CHAP, 22 2 The' Rjghts of the C H A P. VII. That this Hyfothefif'offanfAn&e^ pendent Power in any Set. of Clergymen, makes ail Reforma* tion unlawful^ .except where thofe, who are fuppos'd to have this . 'Fewer,, do confent. • ¦ i i. A N Independent Power in the Qer- j[~jL gy is a certain way, not only to have Corruptions get into the Church, but to perpetuate 'em ; except the Clergy, the firft Introducers of 'em, and whofe tem poral Intereft 'tis to have 'em continu'd, do confent ; for if the People, without their Ecclefiaftical Governors, can reform thefe Corruptions, there s an end of their Inde- pendent7"E^clefi"attical Government, fince that is a difowninjj; all their fpiritual Ju rifdidion, and fecting up a Church-Go vernment in oppofition to them. So that 'tis neceffary to own, , that either their Power depends on the People, or elfe, that thefe are. oblig'd to fubmit to whatfoever Terms of Communion thofe are pleas'd to impofe ; for if they have the Government, not from them, but from God, then, as he alone gave ic 'em, fo he alone can take it away ; and confequently, till God makes ic ap- Cbriftipn Churchy y§tc. 2 2 g appear by fome new Revelation, that he has Chap. 7. depriv'd 'em pf it, their Subjeds, are oblig'd y*rV>*J to own them as their fpiritual Governors. ' But fince nothing of this Nature is- now to be expeded, Men muft for ever pay Eccle fiaftical Obedience to thofe Governors, tho' they teach ever fo falfe and heretical Doc trines, or require ever fo wickpd or impious Terms of Communion. ,. ,..•-». . / 2. To fay that the People^, if they judge they require- fuch Terms, or ithink they teach fuch Dpdrines, can difowa 'ern, and chufe others tp manage their Church-Af fairs, makes 'em- not only dependent in thq Management of .their Ecclefiaftical Em ploys, but fuppofes, all the Rig.bc. they have to 'em deriv'd from the People, -becaufe upon their judging thera guilty of Male-Admi- niftration they' may deprive, 'epn of this Rj$ht, which cou'd not be, did it not at firft flow from them. ,, , %. The Reafon why the People may upon juft Grounds Withdraw their Allegiance from the Civil Magiftrate, is, becaufe all the Power he has is given him by them, in order to ad for their Good ; and they who depute him, muft needs referve to themfelves a Power to judge whether their Deputy ads according to the Truft lodg'4 in him. But had he not his Power from the Peo ple, but immediately from God, be cou'd never forfeit his Right, or be accountable to any befides God ; and pnly the Divine «Pp!wer, which gave it him, qpu'd take it away. 4. By 3 2 4. The Rights of the 4. By this Argument, the fawning, flat tering Priefts, in former Reigns, endeavour'd to eftaHifh an abfolute, arbitrary Power in the King; which they very well faw was an unavoidable Confequenee pf a Divine Right, But, If Gpd has not plac'd Mankind in re fped to Civil Matters (as thefe defigniftg Men wou'd perfwade the Wprld) under an' abfolute Power, Upon no Account to be re- fifted, but has permitted 'era in every So ciety to ad as they judge beft for their own Safety, and to that end has given 'em a Right of forming what fort of Govern ment they pleafe, and tp intruft it with what Perfons they think fit; and of re, fufing to fubmit to them when they ad contrary to the End for which they were conflituted: If God has, I fay, allow'd the Civil Society thefe Privileges; can we fup pofe he has lefs Kindnefs for his Church, which, if depriv'd of this Liberty, might not only lofe the Power of ading as free ly for the Advantage of the True, as others of a Falfe Religion, but be likewife oblig'd to fubmit to whatfoever Terms of Communion (tho' ever fo falfe and wicked ) a few. Ecclefiaflicks fhall impofe upon 'em ? f . There's more to be pleaded for fuch a Power in Ecclefiaftical^ than in Civil Mat ters ; becaufe Men may refufe Communion with thofe Clergymen who pretend to have the Government in Ecclefiafticfils, without drawing on 'em any of thofe Diforders which too pften attend Pepples defending then;. Chriftian Church, Sec. 235 their Civil Rights. Befides, a Man may Chap. 7. pay#external Obedience in Civil Matters to ^VV> the Determinations of the Magiftrate, tho' he dpes not believe 'em juft } but in Eccle- fiafticals, all Compliance which is not inter nal, is unlawful, becaufe a Man has not the fame Power over his Faich or Religion, as he has over his Eftate. 6. Therefore, as much as Mens eternal Happinefs is to be preferr'd before their temporal, fo much is the claiming a Power not deriv'd from the People" in Religious Matters, of more fatal Confequence than in Civil ; tho' they whp are for it in either, are Enemies to the Rights and Liberties of Mankind, and can defign nothing lefs than making 'em Slaves to Priefts or Princes. 7. This cars'd Hypnthefis had, perhaps, never been thought on with relation to Ci- vils, had not the Clergy (who have an in- exhauftible Magazine of oppreffive Doc trines) contriv'd it firft* in Ecclefiafticals, to gratify their infupportable Itch of Ty rannizing over the Laity, and over one another } for it as much inflaves the ge nerality of themfelves, fince thofe few who have the Government of the Ghurch by Divine Right, enjoy k as independently of them as of the Laity } which muft prevent all Reformation, except a Majority of the governing Clergy' chance to reform all to gether (which nothing lefs than a Miracle can bring about) and the Attempt in all other Clergymen muft be unlawful, becaufe it cannot be done without difowning their fpiritual Governors, in refped pf whom they 236 The 'Rights of the tbey are only private Perfons, and may.bej wholly reduc'd to a Lay-State by ch^pi^, becaufe a Sentence pronounc'd by a comper' tent Authority is valid,, tho' not right; and chofe who have fufficient Power to make^ muft have the fame to unmake Cler gymen. Therefore in order to ferve theme (tho* I exped little^ Thanks for my La-, hour) I (hafj: add fomewhat more on this Heatf- ... 8, The Light of Nature, as well 3s.tbe Gofpel, obliges People to judge of them felves, and 19 take heed to what they- , bear* to try the Spirits , to avoid, and flee felfa Prophets, Seducers, and Deceivers, and blind Guides, &c. And if Men are to avoid fuch, tbey are to judge who they are, elfe the Command wou'd be to no purpofe; Which is inconfiftent with continuing thofe in the Station of fpiritual Guides whom they judge *o be falfe Teachers. And. as they ar*e oblig'd to refed^'eHH, fo they are bound (unlefs tbey muft re gain without any Ecclefiaftical Officers) to take thofe they judge Hoaeft and Sincere, and who will preach * the Truth. And bow does this differ from a Right to make, or deprive their Ecclefiaftical Minifters? To own they can unmake, or deprive. 'em, by thus feparating from .'em, and to deny they can make or ordain' others, is abfurd, fince no more Power is requir'd for the one than the other : Cujus eft deflruere ejus eft cmdere, and fo vice verfa is a certain Maxim. But if they could not thus der prive them, all thofe Commands pf fleeing falfe 'Chrifttan Church,* 8zc. 257 falfe Prophets, Seducers, &c. wou'd be iriv-'Chap. 7. pbffible, fince whatever they judge of their ''A^T^J Eccfefiaftical Guides, they are ftill pblig'd to communicate with 'em as fuch. And there fore upon this Suppofition, the Popifh Cler gy are in the right, when in exprefs Terms they forbid the People to judge for them felves, but implicitly fubmit to their Deter minations. 9. In a Word, it can belohgohly to the People to appoint their own Ecclefiaftical Officers, fince 'tis for their fake that any Officers of that Nature are inftituted, and tis their Intereft alone which is concern'd, arid their Good of 111 which depends on the Choice of their Minifters-, and confe quently, that any fhou'd have a Right of obtruding whom' they pleafe on them, is moft unnatural, and contrary to the re ceiv'd Rule, of having thdt which concerns All approv'd by All. And therefore there's no need of any particular Texts of Scrip ture to prove this Power belongs to the Church, fince 'tis an inherent fundamental Right of all Communities. The contrary Notion not only makes the Church tp be founded for the fake of its Minifters, who may rule and domineer as uncontroulably as they pleafe, fince the Faithful can never difown them, tho' they ad ever fo arbitra rily, and tyrannize ever fo barbaroufly; but it neceflkrily fuppofes ("provided there muft be Church-Officers) that God either prefers an abfolute Obedience to the Wilt of the Priefts before the Salvation of Man kind, and therefore wou'd have 'em "fubmie tp 238 The Rights of the to the moft impious Dodrines thofe dare to impofe, rather than throw 'em offj and put others in their Places -, or elfe there's no fuch Thing as Truth and Falfhood, Vir tue and Vice, Piety and Impiety, but all Religion confifts in paying a blind Obedience to them, without any regard to the Na ture of the Things which they impofe, as neceffary Terms of Communion. Nay, this Hypothefis makes it to depend on the Clergy, whether there fhall be any Re ligious Worfhip or not ; fince they may, as has been adually done in feveral Places, put People under an Interdid ; and this may be done by the Caprice, if not of a Pope or Patriarch, yet of the governing Clergy, who are few in comparifon of the reft, and who may fufpend, deprive, or degrade, the inferior Clergy, if they prefume to be difobedient to their Com mands. 10. But if thefe Things are too abfurd to be admitted, the Church cannot be depriv'd of their fundamental Right of making and unmaking their Minifters, and of re gulating all Church- Matters, as they judge moft conducive to the Advantage of their fpiritual Intereft. And the Scripture, in recommending to the Faithful the taking diligent heed to the Prefervation and Con firmation of their Faith, and to propa gate it to their Children, gives 'em by that very Thing a fufficient Right to make ufe of all proper Means in order to that End. And if it be allow'd, that the Mi niftry is one of thofe Means, the Obliga tion Chriftian Church, &c. 239 tion the Faithful are under to preferveChap. 7. and propagate the Faith, includes creating >,^y^ their own Minifters. And therefore thp' it be cuftomary to admit none to the Mi niftry who are not approv'd by the Bifhops, or other Priefts, yet that is pnly a Truft they receive from the Church, which they are bound to reaflume when 'tis abus'd by laying Hands on fuch as have npt neceffary Qualifications, or are Enemies to the Truth, of which every Church (all implicit Faith being forbid) muft judge. Nay, if every one has not an inherent Right to chufe his own Guide or Paftor, but others are to do it for him, then a Man muft either be pf the Religion pf his Guide, or elfe be bound to continue him in that Employ, tho' he believes the Path he direds him in leads to Hell.' But none will fay , for inftance , that a Proteftant is oblig'd to take a Papift for his Guide, tho' Popery was the Efta blifh'd Religion, and a Popifh Patron had a legal Right to prefent to his Parifli } or on the contrary, that a Papift, as long as he continu'd fuch, was oblig'd to take a Pro teftant Guides or that any Man was to con tinue his Guide, if either of 'em fhould change his Religion. And the fame Reafon which Obliges a Man not to take a Paftor of a different Religion, equally obliges him to chufe among them of his own Perfuafion whom he thinks moft likely to promote his Eternal Happinefs. As every one can beft judge what tends moft to his Edification, fo he can beft tell what Guide edifies him moft, as being alone able 24,0 'The{ Rights of the able to;difcover who fpeaks mpft fuirably to his Apprehenfion, or moft raifes his Affedir 6ns to heavenly' Things, or aijy other ways beft advances his fpiritual, Injereft. .. • .. n. Noneprerend eo impofe a Condudpfy or Diredoron another in temporal Af&irfy but every one is left to manage 'em a^ he tbinks beft for his own Intereft, as beieg prefum'd to underftand it better than ano ther ; and therefore is to chufe his own Lawyer, Phyfician, Brewer, Baker/ &e. and by the fame Reafon he ought to chufe his own fpiritual Condudor }- nor can he, if he has any Concern for his Soul* which muft be fuppos'd to be dearer to him than to any other, leave to another a Thing of fuch vaft Confequence to himfelf. -Nor wou'd any contend for ir, 'were it not to gratify a temporal Intereft ; and 'tis moft itnnfi tural to think, that they c-f all Men are to chufe Guides. for the People,, who have no other way to arrive at immenfe Honour, Power and Riches, than by nominating fucht as will pervert Religion for. the fake of thefe. 12. Not only the Popifh Clergy, be* too many who wou'd be thought Prqteftants, inftead of fuppofing a Man is to chufe his own Guide, as a necenary Confequence of chufing his own Religion,' affirm the Laity are bound to fubmic to whatever Terms of Communion the Clergy require of 'em in their Provincial Synods, except thofe Terms are condemn'd by a general Council; and then they are not to vary from what that requires. 1 5. This Chriftian Church, &C. 241 1^. This is fuch an abfolute blind O-^p-T- bedience, that'thefe Men, tho' they pretend ^^V** the contrary, will not ftand by it. Fpr tho' they require fuch an entire Sub miffion to thofe Councils which they ap prove, yet they fcruple not to condemn and rejed others compos'd of a greater Number of Bifhops, and fent from more Nations; and in exprefs Terms fay, no Council has Authority which is not Ortho dox. But this is fubjeding the Authority of Councils to the Reafon of every pri vate Perfon : for as that obliges him to ap prove fuch Councils, becaufe it tells him they judg'd aright, fo it wou'd have made him condemn them had they determin'd otherwife ; and by confequence , he is oblig'd to ad contrary to all of 'em, whe ther Provincial or General, if his Reafon, by which he is to judge of 'em, informs him they are all in the wrong. And ac cordingly we find the Reformers did not think themfelves bound by the Popifh Doc trines, tho' feveral of 'em had been con- firm'd not only by National, but (if there were ever any fuch J by General Councils: So that this is a miferable Subterfuge , which, inftead of fuppprting, deftroys the Independency of the Clergy, and fup pofes a Power in the People to rejed them and their Authprity, when they require fuch Terms of Communion as they judge unlawful. If it had been otherwife, the People cou'd not have feparated from Paulas Samofatenus, Arius, or any other Hefetick, till Come Council, either General or Pro- R vincial, ^4.2 The Rights of the vincial, had declared 'em fo. But if they may feparate from their Ecclefiafticks for fpeCulative Opinions, there's no reafon why they may not do the fame for falfe Dodrines. When the Clergy are prefs'd hard on this Point, the laft Shift they have recourfe to is, that the People, when their Ecclefiaftical Governprs require unlawful Terms of Communion, are freed from all Subjedion to 'em } yet that infers no De priving Power in them, but that God firft Jnterpofes, and deprives 'em himfelf, which makes ic then lawful for the People to leave 'em- But, 14. Since the People's Right of deferring the Communion of the Clergy, depends on their judging of their Dodrines, and con fequently they are as much bound to dif- pwn thofe they judge to be falfe Teachers, asif tbey were really fo ; 'tis the fame Thing whether you fay God or the People de prives them, fince they will be depriv'd whenever the People think they are bound in Confcience to feparate from 'em. Some who love to raife a Mift about every Thing, queftion whether they are oblig'd to fol low their Confciences when erroneous; bujc that is the fame Thing as to queftion whether they are pblig'd to follow their Confciences at all ;; becaufe, as long' as one in Confcience is perfwaded of any Thing, he cannot think it an Error; and it muft deftroy all Conference , if Men were oblig'd not to follow it, left it might lead 'em into Error ; and confequently, as long as the People's Confciences tell 'em their Chriftian Churchy &c. 240 Ecclefiafticks require unlawful Terms ofChap. 1. Communion, Or are falfe Teachers, Sedu-*^"^*^ cers, Deceivers, &c. tttey are oblig'd to re nounce 'em. To fuppofe that God by an antecedent Deprivation diffolves the fpiritu al Relation between 'cm, is to fay that God deprives the Ecclefiafticks of the Power he gave em, tho' they ftand up for the Truth, whenever the People think 'em in, the wrong ; and that he continues the Divine Commiffion to the moft heretical, if the People think 'em in the right. And fhou'd any one fay this, it woU'd no more prejudice the People's Power, than ic wou'd the Magi ftrate's, if any had a mind to banter, and fay he cou'd nor deprive one of any Civil Employ, but that God alone cou'd do ic, and that he always did fo, whenever the Magiftrate wou'd have him remov'd. if. Here I can't avoid obferving how ab furd it is for Proteftants to infift fo much oa the Authority of Councils ; when (if ic be not unlawful to (peak Truth concerning 'em) there was fcarce any, which; -as tbey had an Opportunity, made not their Mar ket of Religion, and fold it to the faireft Chapman ; and Were fo fubjed, either out Of Defign or Ignorance* to be in the wrong, that 'tis forty to one that every one of 'em, taking one with another, was fo. Nor. can this be deny'd without giving up the Prote ftant Religion, fince fo few of 'em favour it, and therefore engaging with the Papifts on that foot, is putting it to the Iffue tbey defire. R 2 CHAP, The Rights of the CHAP. VIII. That the Clergy* pretending to an Independent 'Power has been the Occafion of Infinite Mif chief to the Chriftian World \ and is utter ly inconfiftent with the Happinefs of Human Societies. 1. ^T1 H E Clergy, who can't deny that 'tis JL abfolutely neceffary for Order and Government, that all others in their feveral Profeffions and Employs fhou'd be fubjed to the Magiftrate ; yet make an Exception for their Dear Selves, and would not only be Independent in the Exercife of theit Profef- fion, but as the Confequence of it, have him Dependent on them in all things rela ting to their Office, viz. all Ecclefiaftical Matters. But no other Order of Men, fhou'd they pretend to an Independent Power, are capable of doing fo much mifchief to the Publick as the Ecclefiafticks } becaufe they have, by the Education of Youth being en- trufted to 'cm, the opportunity of ftamping on their early Minds, capable then of any Impreffipn , what Notions they pleafe } which, tho' ever fo abfurd, fuch is the Power of Educatipn, are feldom after to be rooted out. And they are fo pofted in every Pa- rifh, that they can harangue in publick ibe Body of the People, at leaft twice a Week j Chriftian Church, &c. 24.5 Week; and in private, and in the ten* Chap. 8; dereft Seafon, inculcate what they have V"*V"V had the Secret to compofe ; or that no Bread and Wine cou'd ferve for the Sa crament, which was not to be had from them : If they, I fay, cou'd get thefe Things believ'd, might they not fet what value they pleas'd upon 'em, to the infi nitely enriching of themfelves, and impo- verilhing, and confequently enflaving all others? For wou'd not they; who thought their Salvation depended on having this Water, or this Bread, give all they had in the World, efpecially when ready to leave it, rather than be without 'em ? And why will not the fame Confequences. hap pen, if it be once allow'd, that only fuch Men, and whom they (hall admit into their Fraternity, have the fole Right not only of adminiftring the Sacraments, but an Arbitrary Power pf refuting 'em to whom they pleafe ? Do not the Greek and Armeni an Patriarchs get infinite Profit by claiming the fole Power of making Holy Oil ; which they pretend muft neceffarily be us'd in giving of Orders, in Chiftnings, in Sick- nefs, and, if I am not miftaken, in Mar riages? By which means, as they pillage the Clergy, fo thefe make Reprifals on the Laity, by putting what Price they pleafe on this ineftimable Liquor. 5. In a W.prd, nothing Ls plainer* than that when a Set of Men can perfwade People they are neceffary tP their eternal, Salvation, they may fo eafijy work, ori their Fears and Superfticions, as by de, R 4 ffi«* 24S The Rights of the grees to be Matters of whatever they ppffefs ; efpecially if they are capable pf Receiving every Thing, and Parting with nothing, and have frequent Opportunities, not only in publick but in private, even when Men are a dying, to perfwade 'em that what is given to the Church (meaning themfelves,) is given to God, and is the likelieft way tp atone for their Sins : And confequently the Confining the Adminiftration of Ecclefiafti cal Affairs to a particular Set of Men, who difclaim receiving their Authority from the Community either Colledive or ReprefenT tative, is the worft and moft grievous- of all Monopolies, and which muft render us, the Laity, what we are fuppos'd to be in Sciop- piw's Definition of a Church, A Stall, or tferd, or Multitude of Beafis and Affes ; ana '< that they (che Priefts.) bridle us, they faddltl us, they harnefs us, tbey fpur u,s, they lay Tokes and Burdens upon us. 6. The Romifh Clergy, feeing what Ad vantages are to be got by fuch Ecclefia ftical Monopolies, have not only inereas'd the Number of the Sacraments, and made their Validity to depend on their being adminifter'd by one of the Monopolizers ; but to create a greater Reverence for him, fuppofe his very Intention neceffary ; and knowing that increafjng their Fraternity is lifting Soldiers againft the State, as ha.r ving the fame common Intereft of enflaving the People, they raife infinite Numbers of 'em, to the unfpeakable Oppreffion of the Commonwealth , which the Magiftrate .fenows not how tp hinder, having fooliflily allow'd Chriftian Churchy Ike. 24.9 allow'd 'em an Independent Power in or- Chap. 8. daining Ecclefiafticks : A fure Foundation V^V>^ for carrying their Authority to ?the higheft Sitcb, haying it then in their Power to br ain thofe whp (hoii'd be for aggrandizing their own Order, to the Oppreffion of the Civil as well as Religious Liberties of the Pepple. And what cannot a continu'd Suc ceffion of fuch Men bring about on a Super ftitious Laity? ready to receive whatever they tell 'em relating to their own Power? -for heavenly Truths ? 7. How certain a Method to enflave the State, a Monopoly of the Power of Excom munication is, I need not here mention, having already fpoken fufficiently on that Head : And it can be as little doubted, that the believing the Abfolution of a Prieft ne ceffary to the obtaining pardon of Sin, muft have the fame effed- Our King Henry cou'd not ohtain Abfolution for the Murder of. 'Becket, tho' own'd to be done without his Privity, but by abfolutely difannulling, ac cording to rhe Cant or thofe Times, the wicked Statutes of Clarendon, and all other ill Cuftoms obtruded on God's Holy Church- The late King of Spain, as 'tis faid, beipg forc'd by Cardinal Portocanro,. on pain of having Abfolution deny'd him, to fign^a \Vill, as contrary to his Inclinations, as it was to the Intereft of Spain, and to all Juftice ^nd Equity, is a fatal proof of this ; and vvhich alone one wou'd think fufficient, if not to open the Eyes of the Popifh Laity, yet to hinder Proteftants from believing any fuch Power in their Priefts. 8. Had 350 The Rights of the $. Had the Clergy an Independent Pow* Cr to oblige People to do Penance, this, wou'd affed their Properties as weil as Perfons, and by degrees fubjed both tp Them; fince it wou'd be eafy for 'em, not only to impofe fuch Penance as Peor pie wou'd be glad to commute for Moneyf but fuch as diredly affeds their Properties. A notable Inftance we have of this in the French Bifhops forbidding Lewis the Godly. Anno%T.%. by way of Penance, to meddle] again with fecular Affairs, that is, to re- affume the Crown they bad depriv'd him; of, &c 9. I need not infift on Particulars, to, prove how deftrudive 'tis to the Com? monwealth for the Clergy to pretend to any Privileges or Powers they receive not from the People or their Reprefentativesi becaufe, as 'tis plain from Scripture as weil as Reafon, that a Kingdom divided in it felf, cannot ftand , fo 'tis as plain, that they who are for fetting up more than one In dependent Power (the only way a King dom can be divided,) do endeavour its Ruin and Deftrudion, and therefore ought to be treated as Publick Enemies. Nor will the Diftindion of Civil and Ecclefiaftical at all mend the Matter, fince two fuch So vereigns muft, as has been already prov'd, neceffarily clafh with one another, and de ftroy the Society by confounding each. other's Power. How fatal the Clergy's endeavouring at an Independent Power Is,, the Hiftories of thofe Places, where they have moft prevail'd, make very evident; Chriftian Church, Sec. 25 1 for from them 'tis plain, that according to Chap. 8. the Meafures they had of it, the People ^-^V^ have been proportionably impoverilh'd and ruin'd. jo. On the contrary, where any Na tion! wou'd not let their Clergy erijoy fuch a Power, they have grown Populous, Rich, and Potent ; as if to keep the Priefts with in iflue Bounds, was- a certain way for a People to acquire all thofe Virtues, which are neceffary to make 'em thrive and profper. *»' . ¦ In a Word, it holds true in all Ages, and in all Places, ever fince the Clergy have daim'd an Independent Power, that the People have fuffer'd more or lefs, according as they have been indulg'd in it. '•• ¦• 11. How wretched and miferable are they made by it in the Popifh Countries? And fince there are degrees of it among 'em (Prieftcraft not being every where carry'd to an equal Height ) fo there are of the People's Mifery in proportion to it. 'Tis very apparenr, as Dr. Burnet obferves, Tfkat no Subjetfs are fo very Unhappy . 17. Next tp Holland, and the other United "Provinces, may not England be reckon'd in the beft and moft flourifhing' Condition r And have they not, next to them, the Clergy moft in fubjedion,; having, always been mm jealous of the Clerical tJifurpations ? And not without good Reafon, fince,the Danger of .lofing their Liberties has been greater or lets, according as the Clergy have had more or lefs Power; for which Reafon, upon the Reformation, the Wif dom of the Nation did all that was poffible to hinder them from pretending to an Independency; eafily forefeeing, if that obtain'd, the Nation wou'd quickly be in as great, if not a greater degree of Ec clefiaftical Slavery, than When under the Pope,s, who living at fo great a diftance, cou'd not carry on their Defigns fo well,, as if on the Spot, and their Power might be more eafily evaded : And accordingly we fee their Legates frequently prevented frotri criming over, and their Bulls from being publifh'd. 18. The Chriftian Church, &c. 355 i8* The Bifhop pf Samm pbferves (and Chap. 8. 'tis well worth epnfiderbig) " That itv-^>ta/ " was out pf fear of the Bifhops affuming e^. 4,.. " more Power than the Popes, that the*«. ai. " Princes of Europe came tp an Agreement &° 37* " with 'em in Ecclefiaftical Matters ; for " upon their being long at Avignim, and " the great Schifms afterwards at Rome, " the Councils. began to pretend that the " Power of governing the Church was in " them ; and they declar'd that both Popes " andPrinces» who fhou'd attempt to bin- lt der their frequent Meetings, were fallen " from their Dignity ; and they carry'd it " To far, as to make themfelves Independent " of the Civil Authority, particularly in " the Points of Eledions. This difpos'd " Princes generally to enter into Agree- " ments with the Pppes, and they yielded " a great deal to be proteded in what they Sf had referv'd to themfelves. This (hows to what a height Prieftcraft was carry'd, when the Supreme Powers had no way to efcape the heavier Oppreffions, and more infuppoftable Ufurpations of their own Clergy, than by fubmitting to the Pope's milder Yoke and gentler Autho rity. 1^. If the Laity are not now as much under the Domination of, the Clergy as formerly, it muft be either becaufe the Clergy (which they have given us no caufe to fufped) are become lefs fond pf Power, or that the Laity (Experience having made 'em wifer) ftand more on their guard, which they doing more in fome 256 The Rights of the fome Places than in 'others, is the true Rea fon they are not in all Places alike impos'd on, even tho' under the fame Form of Ec clefiaftical Government. 'Tis that, for in ftance, which" makes the Hollanders, a wifii and jealous People, lefs Prieftridden than they are in other Presbyterian Governments. And if the Clergy are more dependent iri England than in fome other Epifeopal Places, it is the fole Effed of thofe Laws, which the Wifdom of the Nation made at the Re formation (when what they had fuffer'd be fore was frefh in their Minds) to reftrain and curb the Infolence of the Priefts. Of which Laws fome now not only heavily Complain as a Violation of the Divine Rights of the Ecclefiafticks, but (as may be'feen in the Preface) demand for them felves, in the Name of the Lord, greater Powers than the Popes were in Poffeflion of; nay, make it owing to Popery>(and probably what they moft diflike in itj that the Lay Powers meddle with the Ele- dion of Bifhops ; which muft make the Pep- ' pie again, if thefe Men had iheir Willj have refcOurfe to the Pope to be skreen'd from the more intolerable Tyranny of their own Priefts. But 'tis to be hop'd, that God will be fo gracious to this Nation (which has hitherto better than moft others pre» ferVd it felf againft Sacerdotal Incroach- ments) as to prevent their being fo blinded by the Artifices of defigning Men, as not to perceive their Danger before it be tod late. 20 . This Chriftian Church, &c. 257 %o. This Warning I think highly ne- Chap. S. ceffary, fince all fuch Dodrines as favour s"*rY>*/ the Independency of the Clergy, muft, if at all, be fupprefs'd very early. 'Tis too late, when once they have been fuffer'd to take Root, as thofe Princes have found to their Coft, who have beeninfulted, ill us'd, and fometimes depos'd, for endeavouring to reduce their Clergy to their Duty ; when by the Folly and Bigotry of their Prieftridden Anceftors , the Belief pf an Independent. Ecclefiaftical Government had once obtain'd. 21. If Father JWwas fo long fince few- letters in fible of the Danger this Nation was in of Englifr, being again Prieftridden , and therefore1^/- P-51' expreffes. himfelf after this manner : " For the Englijh I am in fear; the " great Pbwer the fiifbops have, tho' un- " der a King, makes me very jealous ; for " (hquld they have an eafy Prince, or an " Archbifhop of a high Spirit, the Kingly " Power muft fink by the Bifhops afpiring '* to an abfolute Dominion. Methinks I " fee in England the Horfe bridled and fad- " died, and the old Rider, as I guefs, will " quickly get upon his Back : But Divine " Providence over-rules all Things." I fay, if that good Father were in fuch Fears then, what, if now living, would his Ap- prejjenfions be ? And how wou'd he adore the Divine Providence, which has given fuch a Chriftian Spirit to the prefent Archbifhop, and moft of the Bifhops, who inftead of joining with the Lattdean Fadion in Eccle fiaftical Incroachments , dare provoke the S Malics 258 The Rights of the Malice of a Rampant High-Church- Party, by fignalizing themfelves in the Defence pt Liberty ? The very Apprehenfion of thOfe fatal Confequences which their ading a con trary part wou'd have produc'd to.the Pro teftant Religion, and the Liberties of Europe, are enough to make one tremble who feri- oufly confiders it. 22. There's nothing all good Governors ought to be more apprehenfive of, than the Notion of two Independent Powers. For if no Man can ferve two Matters., but he will hate the one and cleave to the other, 'tis eafy to determine which of their Independent Sovereigns Men of thefe Principles will cleave to. They will con clude, no doubt, as we fee they always do, that the Temporal Empire muft give place to the Spiritual, the Profane to the Sa cred; and that they who rule the Body only, and whofe Province reaches to earthly Things alone, cannot come into Compe tition with thofe who govern the Soiil, and whofe Power extends 'to heavenly Matters ; which in effed is no lefs than declaring that upon all Occafions they are ready to facrifice the Good of the Community to the Intereft of this or that Set of Eccfe- fiafticks. And when Men think they are bound to play the Devil for God's fake, and their Church-Principles oblige 'em to ad againft the State, there can be no quef tion they will be fufficiently adive, and ftick at nothing, tho' ever fo fatal to the Commonwealth, when 'tis for the fake of, lhat Church-Gfivernmenr, which having,' Chriftian Church, &c. 259 -as they fuppofe, an Eftablifhment purely Chap^. Divine, muft on no Account whatever un dergo any Diminution pr Alteratipn : And confequently, Men muft be depriv'd of all Human Rights, rather than the Clergy lofe one jot of their Divine Power; which necef farily brings in Perfecution, than which no thing can be more prejudicial to the Com monwealth; fince, 23. It makes a Country defolate, by rendring Property uncertain, by deftroy ing Induftry , by driving out the Inha bitants ; is fure to ruin the beft Subjed?* the moft Confcientious, and to change others into the worft, and make 'em ready to perpetrate^ when the Ties of Confci ence are once broken, all manner of Vil- • lanies, tho' ever fo deftrud&e to the Pub lick. Yet thefe falfe Priefts, and thofe they govern, are every where for forcing all People to fubmit to their Independent Power : And Perfecution prevails accord ing to the Influence they have in a Nati on ; and where this is the greateft, there they carry that to the higheft degree of Cruelty upon all who diffent from 'em. And by their Principles they are pblig'd tp make no difference, becaufe they hold that all who fcrupfe tP communicate with them are out of the ordinary Way of Salvation, the utmoft they can fay of the greateft Hereticks or Infidels. And the Reafon is, becaufe all alike by Separation difown the Clergy's Power and Govern ment, the Teft it feems by which all Offen ses are try'd : And therefore whenever S 2 tbey 2fjQ The Rights of the they pretend to indulge one fort of Diffen* ters rather than others, 'tis pure Defign, the becter to hinder 'em from joining all together for their common Safety ; and I am glad to find the Quakers now fenfible of this. ±4. And here I can't but take Notice! that tho' the Heathens were more divided among themfelves than the Chriftians, yet that did not make 'em perfecute one ano ther; nay, we find 'em perfwading ChrU ftians to a mutual Forbearance ; as for In ftance, Themiftius a Heathen Philofopherj out of Concern for the Good of Mankind, offer'd fuch cpnvincing Arguments to Va- lem the Emperor againft Perfecution, that it made him, in fpite of all the Sollicita- tions of his own Clergy, put a flop for • fome Time to his Cruelties. This is the fame Heathen who in his Confular Ora tion celebrates Jovian for giving a 'toleration in the Chriftian Religion, thereby defeating the flattering Bifhops ; a Sort of Men, adds he, who do not worfhip God, but the imperial Purple. 2 j. As the Heathens did not perfecute one another, fo they had no Wars on a Thucydi- Religious Account. For tho' fome Cities in dcs,lib. ^.Greece, in making War upon the Viola tion or Ufurpation of fome Temple, or ratheF the Treafure contain'd therein*, have call'd it a Holy War, becaufe that was Sacred or Holy, i. e. fet apart for the common Neceffities of Greece, whereof the Temple was only the Repofitory ; yet that happening on Matters of Fad, and not of Faith, Chriftian Church, &c. 261 Faith, in which every one was free, oughtChap. 8. noftobe efteem'd warring for the fake pf -'"V^ Religion. But when the Chriftian Clergy came to govern the Confciences and Coun cils of Princes, there was nothing more frequent than Holy and Religious Wars. It muft be a melancholy Profped, to one fe- ripufly concern'd for Religion, to confider how from Cmftantine's time downward, Cbriftendom has been the Scene of perpetual Wars, Maffacres, Murders, Perfecutions, and all manner of Violence and Villany, on pretence of extirpating Schifmaticks and Hereticks, Men it feems fo prefumptuous as not to pay an implicit Faith to the Priefts who were uppermoft, but who T\i Cleri contra Hareticos. What Wars, MafJ. facres and monftrous Cruelties have happen'd fince on the pretence of Religion, tho' in reality for the fake of the Independent Power pf this or that Set of Ecclefi afticks, is as endlefs to recount, as 'tis me lancholy to confider that there's no like lihood of preventing 'em, till the Laity ceafe to be govern'd by the Clergy, or the Clergy renounce their Pretences to fuch a Power ; the promoting of which has done more Mifchief to Human Socie ties, than all the grofs Superftitions of the Heathens, who were no where ever fo ftupid as to entertain fuch a monftrous Contradidion as two Independent Powers in the fame Society } and confequently their Priefts were not capable of doing fo much Mifchief to the Commonwealth as fome fince have been. 3:8. What can be more deftrudive to the Publick Intereft, than prohibiting fuch Numbers, as thofe they call Religious in moft places are, from marrying ? Which was chiefly done for thefe two Reafons, that whatever Riches were got by any of their Number, might be continu'd amongft 'em, and that the State might have no Pledges of their Fidelity, as Wife and Children are the only remaining Pledges, where the Perfon and Eftate are exempt ; Which made unnatural Lufts fo frequent and publick, that St. Bernard in a Sermon Burnet'* pi^ch'd to the Clergy of France, affirm'd ExP-?-$& S 4 Sodomy 264 The Rights of the Sodomy to be fo common in his time, that Bifhops with Bifhops liv'd in it. 29. That Men fhou'd think there was a mighty Holinefs in their Celibacy, they perfwaded 'em that the Height of Spiri tual Perfedion confuted not in regulating,1 but extinguifhing their natural Inclinatl* ons ; whereas '*the Defire of propagating the Species being by the Divine Wifdom the moft ftrongly implanted in Man, next to that of his own Prefervation, attain ing from it muft be fuch a Grime as is exceeded only, by refilling to preferve one's own "Being ; and on fome Confiderations greater, fince This prevents the Exiftence of an Immortal Soul, That only diffolves the Union between it and the Body ; and both equally wou'd, with a few Years dif ference only, put an End to the Race of Mankind ; the only Reafons of the moral Turpitude of unnatural Lulls. And yet notwithftanding thefe and all other Rea fons for incrt'Hiing the Number of Inhabi tants in every Nation, the Clergy did ftrongly difcourage Matrimony, by repre- fenting a fingle State infinitely more accep table to God ; nay, made fecond Marriages" little better than Adultery, fince they who were guilty of 'em were "not only to do Penance, but to be for a time excluded from Communion. And one of the Councils of Toledo declares, " That whofoever fhou'd '* prefume to violate their Decree againft " fecond Marriages, tho' a King, fhou'd be ^ cut off from all Communion withChri- *' ftians, and; be deliver'd up to be burnt, Chriftian Church, *&c. 265 v in a Fire of Brimftone in Hell with the Chap. 8. " Devil. And, ^^^ The Clergy had been bound as early as the. Council of Nice to part with their Socrat.l.i. Wives, had not Papbnutms prevail'd on thatc. n. Synod to change their Sentiments : and Ibid. Conflantine who was intirely govern'd by the Bifhops, not only repeal'd thofe excellent Laws made by the Commonwealth in favour of Matrimony, but gave no fmall Privilege to Celibacy. ;o. A State fuffers not fo much by the lofs of a Member, as by his living idly j becaufe he then is not only ufelefs, but a Burden. For one to contribute nothing to theSubfiftence of others, and yet exped they fhould maintain him, - is contrary to the Rule of doing as one wou'd be done unto, and a very grofs Immorality.. And yet the Clergy reprefented nothing fo me ritorious as fuch a Life, on pretence of retiring from the World, and dedicating one's felf to the Service of God 4 whereas we can no otherwife ferve God, who wants npthing, than as we affift one ano ther : And Religion, properly fpeaking, was not made for God, who being infi nitely happy in Himfelf, receives no Ad vantage or Difadvantage by what we do, but for our felves, to oblige us to do all .thofe Duties in which our common Happi7 nefs confifts. And 'tis not Solitude, but Converfation which civilizes Men, and teaches 'em to fubdue their Paflions, which in Monafticks and reclufe Perfons are moft ftrong and violent ; and they are generally as 266 The Rights of the : as great a Burden to themfelves as to the Publick, and frequently do that Juftice on themfelves whichfuch a Life deferves. And yet how quickly was th£ Empire over-run with' prodigious Numbers of thefe idle Drones; who the betterto cheat the World, took to themfelves the Name of Religions > But bad the Empire roaintain'd only the tenth part of fo many difciplin'd Troops, as ic did of Religious :of both Sexes, it might eafily have fubdu'd all its Enemies. But while the People were continually ha1* rafs'd by Perfecutions, and by maintain* ing fuch Numbers of iazy • Ecclefiafticks, and were oblig'd, on pretence of honouring dead Folks, to fpend a great many Days in Idlenefe ; and Marriages were not only for bid the Clergy and Religious, but difcoun* tenanc'din the Laity ; and SuperftitionSj injurious to the Publick, daily, inereas'd ; 'tis no wonder that the Empire became an eafy Prey to the Barbarians, as little acquaint ted with the Rules of War, or true Military Difcipline, as they were, with Civil Arts and Sciences. ¦<¦ 31. Other falfe Religions were generally fet up by fome Politick Legiftators, for the Support of their Government : but the Superftitipn which upon the Ruin of Chriftianity was brought in by Popes and Prelates in favour of their Independency, has fuffer'd no Orders or Maxims to take place, which might make a Nation wife, honeft or wealthy ; but has in a manner de ftroy'd all the good Principles and Morality. left us by the Heathens, and introdue'd Chriftian Church, Sec. 267 impolitick, fordid and wicked Notions, Chap. 8. by which they fubjeded the Chriftian ^-^V^ World to themfelves. It wou'd almoft aftonifh a wife Man to imagine how thefe Men ihpu'd acquire a Ppwer fo- deftrudive of the Chriftian Religion, and pernicious tp the Intereft of Mankind, did he not confider, that for many Ages together they have been on the Catch, and were a form'd united Party againft the Purity of Religion, and the Intereft of Civil Societies, which are infeparable; and likewife the 'ufe they made of the blind Devotions of the People, efpecially of the Northern Nations, and of the Avarice and Ambition of Chriftian Princes. 52. What is it has made the Dodrine of unconditional Obedience to the Will of a fingle Perfon, which on no account what ever may be refitted, to be preach'd up fo much of late, unlefs that Arbitrary Power renders Men very ignprant and very fuper- ftitious ; and gives 'em mean and abjed Thoughts } and confequently makes 'em rea dy to fubmit to whatever the Ecclefiafticks are pleas'd to impofe upon 'em ? Nor is it in the nature of things to be otherwife : for where Pepple are fo prefs'd in their Cir cumftances, that they have little leifure to examine Matters of Religion in private, nor dare debate 'em freely in Converfation, much lefs publifh their Thoughts ; and the Pulpits ring with nothing fo much as Im plicit Belief and Obedience : There, I fay, 'tis impoflible but Mens Underftandings muft be debas'd to fuch a degree, as to be 268 The Rights of the be ready to embrace the moft abfurd Opi nions for Divine Truths, whenever a de- figning Priefthood (hall pronounce 'em fuch. And therefore 'tis no wonder that the In dependent Power of the Clergy (Slavery of Body and Mind being infeparable) increafes proportionably to the Civil Tyranny the People groan under. %%. Nature makes not a greater diffe rence between Man and Brute, than Gas,, vernment does between Man and Man. That which is free, always caufes Light; and Knowledge in the World ; which mufi ; confound Prieftcraft, a Bird of Nigbt which flees the open Day. On the contrary, that which is arbitrary, fo cramps Peoples Un*-. derftanding, that as it never did, fo it ne ver can ferve to any other ufe in Religiouf than to produce Superftition and Prieftcraft. in abundance.And as Men are moft ignorant under fuch a Government, fo the blind Deference they pay the Priefts, is in exad Pro portion to the Ignorance they labour under. , Of this the old Lord Halliftx was not infenfible, when he told Dr. Echitd , That he had not in his Book of the ^ Contempt of the Clergy hit on the true Reafon ofit, viz. the Knowledge of the Laity : To which the Dodor, as 'tis (aid, readily reply'd, " That, God be t' thank'd, there was Ignorance enough ftill among the Laity to fupport the Au* 5! thority of .the Clergy. TU rChriftian Church, &c. 26^ 54- 'Tis not without Caufe, that many Chap. 8. Priefts have fuch an Averfion to Free Go- ^^V*** vernments, fince all ufeful Learning and Knowledge is deriv'd from them. 'Twas this that made all ingenious Arts and Scien ces flourifh fo wonderfully in Greece and R&»»e. But as Arbitrary Power prevail'd; thefe decreas'd, and Ignorance and Bar barity inereas'd ; of which the Writings of the Fathers are a fufficient Demonftration- And 'tis in fome meafure due to the Ty ranny they liv'd under, that they are full of fo many abfurd Notions, and ridiculous Superftitions. -,5-. The Slavery under which the Jews were bred in Egypt, made 'em fo prone to Idolatry, and all manner of Superftition, that a cpntinu'd Series pf Miracles was fcarce able to reclaim 'em. And their Un- derftandings were deprav'd to fuch a degree on their coming out of the Land of Ben- dage, that they were npt capable of a Spi ritual Religion; fo that the Laws Gpd gave 'em, were in a great meafure accom*. modated to their grofs and carnal Appre- henfions. %6. If the Clergy dp nPt find their In tereft in promoting Tyranny, what's the Reafon that if a Prince is fo very weak as te be govern'd by them, they put him on viplent and arbitrary Methods , till he either ruins himfelf, or, which is wprfe, his Country ? And we need not go Abroad for Examples, fince this unhappy Nation, in the Memory of Man, has felt two fatal In- ftances of it, by the Court's being bigptted to 270 \ The Rights of the * to fuch a degree in the Reigns of both Fa ther and Son, as to endeavour to fubvert the Civil Conftitution for the fake of the Church, tho' each Court meant a different Church* So that 'tis all one of what Perfwafion they are, whether a Laud or a Peters, who have the Management of the bigotted Prince, finot the People, as well as the Prince, are in like danger of being undone. 37. That this was the Ruin of King James, is frefh enough in our Memory ; and we need go no further to prove this the chief Caufe^of his Father's unhappy Suffering, than a Book lately publifh'd in his Vindica tion ; which (tho' printed fo many Years after, and in aH likelihood with more Pair tiality than the Author himfelf was guilty of) plainly enough difcovers that thofeun- natural Wars were pccafion'd by the Ufat- pations of High Church, who to maintain the Pomp and Power of their Hierarchy, put the Court upon fuch oppreffive and ar bitrary Meafures as were infupportable to the beft natur'd People in the World. From this Condud of the High-flown Clergy, fome have taken the Liberty to compare a High Church Prieft in Politicks to a Monkey in a Glafs Shop} where as he can do no good, fo he never fails of doing Mifchief enough. 28. The more inclin'd Princes are to Re ligion, the greater is the Danger, if they are not able to diftinguifh between That and Superftition, of their being influenc'd by the Qergy to ad againft the Publick Gpod. What Chriftian Church, &c. 271 What a contemptible vile Charader hasChap. 8. the Popifh Queen Mary, and how odious V^V>-^ is her Memory to the Nation 1 And yet (he was very good-natur'd in her feft, as well as extremely devout: But not being able to fee thro' Prieftcraft, and delivering her felf up to the Condud of her Clergy, they quickly made her put off the Tender- nefs of her Sex , and become cruel and bloody, as well as ungrateful and falfe to thofe who were moft inftrumental in placing the Crown on her Head. Where as her Sifter, as fhe was no Bigot her felf, fo none'of her Counfellors were that way inclin'd. And how Happy, Great and Glo rious was England made by her Condud! which red uc'd the Power of Spain fo low, that (he became abfolute Sovereign of the Seas ; the Dutch, tho' increafing in Trade, being fufficiently bridl'd by thofe Towns (he had in the Heart of their Country} and the French not fo much as daring to build a Man of War in the Ocean without her leave. So that She left the Nation in a Condition of being Mafters of the Trade and Riches of the Univerfe, and of giving what Laws they pleas'd to the remoteft Shores ; for which nothing is dearer to a grateful People than Her immortal Memo ry : Whilft fome Priefts, tho' they think no Commendation too large for thofe, who by their Bigotry and Folly have hazarded the very Being of the Nation, will fcarce allow her a gopd Word ; becaufe (he wou'd not indulge their Independency, but tcok from 'em the Means of lupporting it, viz.. a great 272 The Rights of the " great part of thofe Church Lands which were fpar'd by her Father and Brother ; in the latter of whofe Reigns, tho' Popery was abolifiVd, and the true Religion eftablifh'd, yet the famous Heylm, upon the fame Rea fon}. reprefents his Death as a feafonable. Mercy to the Church, fo much does he pre fer That to Religion. 39. In Queen Elizabeth's, Reign there was ho Notion of Paffive Obedience, to hinder her from affording her Affiftance to the French Proteftants, who took Arms in Defence of their Religion and Liberties ; or from proteding the Infant States of* Holland againft the Tyranny of Spain. But by the.. Prevalency of Folly and Bigotry we had been fince reduc'd to the laft Extremity^ had it not been for the late, happy Revot lution, which refcu'd us from Tyranny and Prieftcraft } and among other innume rable Bleflings, has given us a Queen, who; treads in the Steps of that glorious Pr incefs, Who is now the Support and Protedrefs ©f diftrefs 'd Princes and diftrefs'd Subjeds;; who, by extending her Favour to all Ijer People, is as happy in her Government at home, as fuccefsful in her Ccnquefts abroad ; who can diftinguifh True Religion from Prieftcraft, and will not fuffer her Power to be made fubfervient to the ill Purpofes of a Party, whofe reftjefs Malice is never to be fatisfy'd; without treading on the Necks of all who are not as bigotted as themfelves. With what Zeal did this Party come in to all the Meafures thofe Courts which aim'd at Arbitrary Power ana Chriftian Church, *8cc. 273 and- Popery ? But fince the prefent CourtchaP- 8- has nothing fo much at Heart as fecuring v*^v-s the Englifh Liberties and Proteftant Religi on againft the Power of the French Tyrant, grown fo formidable by means of -.that Prince whom thefe Men ina manner ador'd, they take all occafions to fly in the Face of the Government. So that the great Strug gle at prefent is for Liberty and the Pro teftant Religion, againft French Tyranny, a Popifh Succeffor, and Popery it felf : On one fide are the Queen, Lords and Com mons, and all the fober and fenfible Part of the Nation ; on the other fide, thofe who have been pbifon'd with wicked Principles in their Education ; or in other Words, thofe whom the Wifdom of the Nation de clares to be malicious Incendiaries, fpiteful and dangerous Enemies to the Church and State ; and who to cover their own DifaffecTipn to the prefent E(labli[hment and Adminiftration, endeavour to diftracl the People with unrea finable and ground less Difir.uEls and Jeal'oufies. 41. The Papifts are not fo blind, as in feveral Places not to perceive how de- ftrudive the Principles of the Priefts are to Government , and therefore do what they can to fence againft it. The Venetians,$umet's for inftance,' are fo very jealous. of all Church-^Letters. men getting into their Publick Council, that as a Noble Venetian by going into Orders lofes bis Right of voting in the Publick Councils ; fo when any of them are made Cardinals, the whole Kindred and Family muft, during their Lives, withdraw from the Great Council, and are incapable of all Preferments. By fuch T means * 274 The Rights of the means as thefe this wife State has longer preferv'd it felf than any ever yet did* But, J4.2. Their Jealoufy of Ecclefiafticks does not carry them fo far as it does the little Re- Suppte- public^ 0f Ttforcia, which the more effe- Burnet'j dually to (hut out the Priefts from having Letters, any thing to do in their Government, makes every one who can write or read, incapable of having a Share in it. By this extraordinary Caution, which they moft religioufly obferve, tho' they live in the Pope's Territories, and within twenty five Miles of Rome, they preferve the Power of making Laws, and of chufing their own Magiftrates. 43- 'Tis not Popery, as fuch, but the Do drine of a blind Obedience, in whatfoevisf Religion found, which is the Deftrudion of the Liberty, and confequently of the Happinefs of any Nation. And he who takes a view of the Proteftant Countries abroad, which have loft their Liberties even fince they chang'd their Religion for a bet ter, will be convinc'd of this. In the Proteftant Countries of the North, as the Author of the Account of Denmark (a Book much the beft of its kind which has beentwritten for many Ages ) obferves, " the Principles and Dodrine of the Cler- " gy are thofe of Unlimited Obedience ; " and thro' the Authority they have with the common People, Slavery feems to be . " more abfolutely eftablifh'd there than in f France it felf, and in effed is more pra* * dis'd. 44. And Chriftian Church, &c. 275 44. And 'tis not only fince thofe Princes Chap. 8. became Abfolute, that thefe Dodrines have -^v*^- been preach'd, but it was chiefly owing (as this Author obferves) to the Clergy, that they became fo, as well as that they are * like to continue fo. And he makes the fame Remark concerning Mufcovy, " Thac " as the Government is as Tytannkal as in " any of the Eaftern Monarchies, fo 'tis the "Priefts who have very much contributed, " not only to the keeping, but to the ma- " king it fo. 4f. And if thefe Proteftant Kingdoms have yet preferv'd their Liberties when all others are enflav'd3 'tis not owing to thofe Clergymen who did their utmoft to deftroy the beft Conftitution in the World, by preaching up Unlimited Obedience to the Will of a Limited Monarch, and who by the Influence they had over the Minds of the People, had fo prepar'd 'em for Sla very, that had King Charles been fuffer 'd to live, or had not his Brother tolerated the Diffenters, in all Probability we fhou'd have been in no better Condition than the Pro teftants in the North. 46. If one epnfiders by what means Eu rope, which not long fince was for the moft part free, loft its Liberty, he will find that the enflaving People's Minds, made way for that of their Bodies } the Education of Youth, on which is laid the Very Founda- tipn-StPnes of Liberty, being committed to the fole Management of fuch as made it their Bufinefs to undermine it. And as Printing and fome pther Accidents occa- T 2 fion'd 276 The Rights of the fion'd in the Laity Light and Knowledge, always fatal to Prieftcraft ; fo the Ecclefia fticks doubled their Force for.eftablifhing Tyranny, as moft effedual to reduce 'em to their priftine Ignorance and Super ftition : not that they themfelves believ'd one tittle of their enflaving Dodrines j fince there are few of 'em who cannot upon occafion as unanimoufly preach them down, as ever they preach'd 'em up ; and when they find -a- Prince becomes the com mon Parent of all his Subjeds, and prefers the Good of his Country before their fepa rate Intereft, then they can run. from one Extreme to another , and have no more regard for his Prerogative, than at other times for. the People's Liberties-, thinking, by breaking the Ballance of the Gonftkw* on, to bring things into Anarchy and Con fufion, which naturally ends in the Tyran* ny of a fingle Perfon. In other cafes, their Intereft obliges 'em diredly to promote Tyranny, as the likelieft way tp lord it over the Laity. 47. Tyrants are always fo advantageous to an Ambitious Priefthood , that sthey even know how to turn their. Qualms of Confcience (which the greateft are not fometimes without) tp the Detriment of the Publick. For then- they;, will not fail to perfwade 'em, that if they, ad for the Good of the Church, by increafing their Power and Riches, and by persecuting; aH Schifmaticks and Hereticks '(viz,, all who dare ufe, their •. Reafon, and not blindly fubmit Chriftiafi Church, &c. 277 fubtnit to them) they fhall not only atone Chap. 8.' for all their Crimes, but merit Heaven by ^""VVI thofe ' glorious Adions. And Perfecution agreeing with their ' violent Tempers, they will eafily comply with it ('efpecially when they are to partake in the Spoil ) by which means they become ten Times greater Devils than otherwife they wou'd be. - Of this the Tyrant of France is too fignal an Example, whofe fingle Bigotry, by the dextrous Management of the Priefts, has made him fo great a Morifter of Cruelty and Oppreffion: 48. And Hiftory informs us, that no Princes have been more infupportable, and done greater Violence to the Common wealth , than thofe the Clergy have ho- nour'd for Saints and Martyrs ; who after they had robb'd other People, thought to make amends by letting the Church (hare in the Spoil- And 'tis from fuch Benefadors the Priefts have got the greateft part of their Riches. s On the contrary, the greateft Patriots who oppos'd their Incroachments, have been reprefented as the worft of Men, and tra- duc'd by a Thoufand Lies and Calumnies, So that one may be -pretty certain, that thofe Perfons they rail at moft, have more than an ordinary Stock of Merit, and thofe they cpmmend mOft (to fay no worfe) no Pretence at all to it. 49. The. Mifchiefs which have all along attended this Dpdrine pf the Independent T \ Ppwe? 578 The Rights of the Power of the Clergy, are fo very numer rou?, and fo very great, that what Amos the Prophet in another Senfe fpeaks pf the Lord, may be fitly* enough apply'd to them, Is there any Evil in the City, and have they not done it? There being no Chrifti-? an Nation which has not been frequently embroil'd upon this Oqcafion. Innumera ble have been the Quarrels of the reftlefs, Clergy with Kings and Emperors about the Right of Inveftiture, the Exemption of Clerks, the Protection of San&uaries , the Cognizance of Civil as well as Ecclefiaftical Caufes, and fuch like, all occafion'd by a Pretence to an Independent Hierarchy ; for the pro moting of which, they have not boggl'd at any Means, tho' ever fo vile, till by der grees (for what cannot fuch a Confederacy do?) they made the Chriftian World fob'-* mit to them. Yet then they cou'd no! agree among themfelves about (baring their Ufurpations, but at laft the Bifhop of Rome prevail'd over the reft, and became the Head of this Independent Society ; and then the Civil Powers had fcarce any Thing left 'em, except the Honour of being his Executioners, in murdering all who wou'd not own his Supremacy, with all the ptber Pick-pocket Dodrines of Popery* And to what a miferable Condition Cbri- ftendom was then reduc'd, is too notorious, tp be here mention'd. 50.. Nor have Things fucceeded much better fince the Breach with Rome ; for no fooner was the Pope thrown off, than too many Chriftian Church, &c. 279 many of the Proteftant Clergy fet up for an Chap. 8. Independent Power ; and quarrel'd as fierce- ^^C^ ly about it, as ever the Patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople did. To go no further than this Ifland, have not the People by turns been harrafs'd and perfecuted, both by the Epifcoparians and Presbyterians } too many of the Clergy pf both Sorts, as they had Power , endea vouring to get all Diffenters treated with the utmoft Rigor? And how much that perfecuting Spirit in one of 'em contri buted to the Civil Wars, is top well known to be here mention'd. And after the Refioration , no Experience making fome Men wifer, I defire to know whether the Condud of the Clergy was any ways alter'd for the better, or their perfecuting Humour abated, tho' by it they became Tools to the Papifts ; of which they were fo fenfible in the Day of Diftrefs, that the moft Eminent among 'em, with the ge-^ neral Approbation of the reft, made fo lemn Declarations of eating their Prote ftant Brethren, when Providence fhou'd put it in their Power. Yet when the Convo cation in 89 had by the Favour pf Heaven an Opportunity of performing thofe Pro- mifes; was there not a Party among 'em who refolv'd to keep Faith as little with Schifmaticks , as fome former Councils with Hereticks ? And therefore with fcprn they rejeded all Terms pf Accommodationy and thought the very reccmmending ta 'em fuch Alteratfons in Things indif^ T 4 Wk a % o ' The ' Rights of t he rent, as wou'd rriake -Conforming to the Church fo eafy as ' few Proteftants. either at home or abroad fhou'd fcruple , .an Affront never to be forgiven ; which was the Foundation of the inveterate Malice with which that -Glorious Prince, to whom we owe our Religion and Churchy was to the laftperfecuted : Nor cou'd the Bifhops, even thofe who had fignaliz.'d themfelves in defence- of the Church, receive better Quarter. 51: It may be. worth inquiring, whe* ther the Difference between the . feveral Seds in" England has not hinder'd the Clergy from making the. beft of a Doc trine, which, if carry'd to the height, gives 'em greater Power than the Po pifh Priefts enjoy; and if by their united Force Slavery had been brought into the Church, .whether the State cou'd remain frae. •-. <"• Q/J2*- Some go further, and queftion whqr rKer our Religion and Civil Liberties wou'd -have been fafe, if there had been a better Underftanding even between the Clergy of the fame Church; that is, if' the Bifhops .•and Moderate Churchmen wou'd have jein'd in the Methods of .High-Church. If fo, it affords a very melancholy Gonfideration, J.bat in Xbeibeft cofiftituted Church Things are • brought to- that- p-'fs,- that the greateft Good .which, can be expired of the Ecclefiafticks, r!SLiifnm their Divifims. Thisis certainly fc, where nothing jefs than an Independent Power will.fatisfy 'em, for then a Uniqn amongft Chriftian Church, &c. 281 ampngft 'em is the leaft defirable Thing in Chap. 8. the World : And they who wou'd ;*:om pafs kS*f>*i it by deftroying the Toleration, are making Rods for themfelves and Pofterity ; becaufe as People have been, , fo the Prefumption is,, they always will be miferably ridden by the Priefts, when they are clofely link'd together in promoting their Independent Bower. , .» ., , '_'. 9;. The Jefuits teach us what a fmall Number (for fo they are in Comparifon of the whole Body of the Ecclefiafticks) by being ftridly united among themfelves, can effed ; for tho' they, are hated in all Places of their own Religion, yet they gpvern in all. C4. If the Clergy, from fo fow a Rife as fubfifting on the Alms of the .People, cou'd poffefs themfelves of immenfe Riches and power, and notwithftanding fo.many Di vine Prohibitions,, lord it over their Bre-r thren as they had a mind to ; are they now fo low, that they cannot, unlefs hinder'd by one another, become as formidable as ever ? •What cannot fuch, a Confederacy, on ptetence of R^Ugion, bring about, when moft pay a blind Deference to what they teach ? And of thofe few who do not, who is there fo regardlefs of his own Safety, as by oppofing their felf- interefted Dodrines, to create to himfelf fuch a num ber of relentlefs Enemies, to whom the Motto of Nemo me impune lacefiit^doss moft properly belong ? And therefore thofe Di- Yjfions which are amongft 'em cannot he tQ 282 The Rights of the to the Prejudice pf Men's Civil or Religion* Liberties. yy. The Laity of the Romifh Religion have receiv'd no fmall Benefit by the Pro teftants feparating frpm the Church of Rome, in caufing their Priefts to retrench a great deal pf an exorbitant Power, which was daily increafing, and muft long be fore now have grown to fuch a height, as to have divefted the Laity of all Pro perty j- and made 'em no better than Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water to their Clergy Landlords ,' and which muft inevitably happen, if ever the Clergy are again United- under one Head. So that 'tis the Intereft of Popifh Princes, if they have no mind to be in greater Subjsdion to their Priefts, not to endeavour to deftroy ProiC* ftantifm. y6 Among the different Seds, who are there fo blind as not to fee that all Priefts befides their own are for enflaving the Peo^ pie ; and never fail to do it, when they have got Power enough in their Hands? Arid yet how few are there who are not for giving their own Priefts all the Power they can*; as if the Quarrel had not been againft being Prieftridden, but only againft being fo by this or that Set of Ecclefiafticks ? And we have not a few Inftances of Men who have left the Presbyterian way they were bred in, and rail at the Tyrannical Power of Claffes and Synods ; and yet at the fame Time come into all the extravagant Notions of High- Church ; which is running from one Fana- tiqifm to another, 57- A* Chriftian Church, 8$c, 285 57. As the High-Churchmen of any Sed,Chap^8. if a Prince has a mind to trample on the^-^^^ Laws and Liberties pf the People, will al ways be ready to join with him, provided he can make them believe he will fet up their pretended Jure Divino Church-Go vernment; fo. 'tis impoflible they fhou'd love a Prince who makes the general Good of his Country his Care, and will not al low one Sed to put Hardfhips on another. Then to be fure he (hall be reprefented as one who has no Regard to Religion, or Kindnefs tp the Eftablifh'd Church ; tho' both owe their Prefervation to him, or tho* he has given no inconfiderable Part of his Revenue for the Support of the Clergy in it. Which, tho' her Majefty has been gra- cioufly pleas'd to do, yet, as (he allures us from the Throne, there have not been wanting fome fo very Malicious as to fufped her Affedions to the Church, and to re prefent it in great Danger under her Gor vernment; and Prayers have been made from the Pulpit in the Loyal Univerfity of Oxford, to continue the Throne free /WwMatherV; the Contagion of Schifm. And tho' theSerm. on late King fo feafonably refcu'd the ChurchMay JS>«, fromthe All-devouring Jaws of Popery, and " 7°5- took fuch Care of it afterwards, as to pre fer thofe Men to the moft confiderable Sta tions, who in former Reigns had fignaliz'd themfelves in its Defence, none being ad vanc'd by him, except a Monfter or two of Ingratitude, who wou'd not have deferv'd their Pofts in the moft Primitive Times ,• and \\\o' his indefatigable Zeal* was not fatisfy'<$ with 284- rThe Rights of the with this, but he refolv'd to-fecure the Church from all Dknger for the future, and trferefdre n6tonly,gaKjpP(iis Royal Affent to a Law for excluding aH;P©pifh Princes from the Tyrone fprev^r,ibutlikewife provided thatthe-Pro- teftant Succeffors fhou'd be Membersof the Eftablifh'd Church; yet thefe, and feveral other liaws for its Advantage, he havingdone more for it than any Prince before did, can% hinder the High Flyer^ frorn bafely reviling his facred Memory, and reprefenting him as an Enemy to the Church. - j8.: If other Princes, according to the Pattern lately fet 'em by '> ours, wou'd en deavour to hinder all Usurpations over the Minds and Confciences of the People" ("the K. Willi- conftant Prayer as well as Pradice of the late am'/iWj^iug) tney Wou'd make Mankind much Kfb'Tby *iaPP^er trian at -prefent they are. But this tieBijhop can never be expeded* while the Clergy, if Nor- who claim an Independent Power, have fo wich. great an Influence over 'em ; becaufe their Interefty arid that of the People, beingas oppofite as Light and Darknefs, Knowledge and Ignorance, Religion and Superftition, Freedom and Slavery, Plenty and Poverty, they will continually be carrying on a- uni form and fteddy Defign againft the Liberties and Underftandings of the People, whom they can't render too low, abjed and wretch ed for their impofing Purpofes. And the fame Reafon which makes' 'em to be for Ar bitrary Power and Perfecution, Things fo infinitely to the Difadvantage of the Com monwealth, will engage 'em to oppofo every Thing that's for its Intereft. Chriftian Church,' & c . ¦ 285 , C9. IF Diffenters being concern'd in Cor-Chap. 8. porations for the Poor, when all they gets-^Y>^. by it is bellowing their Time and Money in fo neceffary a Charity, -is upon the Church's account to be hinder'd by Law, as was not long fince attempted, what is there which the Church mayn't be pleaded in bar of? Some indeed fay 'tis no wonder if High Church are not fond of Corporations for employing the Poor ; becaufe as the Ma nagement of fo troublefome and expenfive a (Bufinefs will fall to the Sober and Induftri- pus, whom they defpair to bring over to their Intereft ; fo they think that will be apt to give 'em in all Places where thefe are ereded, too greatan Intereft. Of this Brir ftol is a remarkable Inftance ; and the pub- lifhing an Account how differently Things are there now maoag'd, from, what they were when in the Hands of Tories, might not a little contribute to (how the 'fnPft pre- judic'd, how unlikely any Place is to thrive, where High Church prevails, which in former Reigns was for deftroying Trade it felf, as prejudicial to its Intereft : and there are many leud Harangues in Parker, Good man, and other fuch like Authors,- on that - Subjed. 60. What can be more for our Advan tage than a General Naturalization of all, at leaft of the Reform'd Religion ? And is not Church the main Obftacle to this ? And is there not the fame Objedioh againft uni ting all her Majefty's Subjeds under one Le giftature ? Nay, is not this made ufe of as an 286 The Rights of the an Argument to hinder even the Nor thern Counties from being put into a Pofture of Defence ; tho' arming and difciplining the People in the adjacent Kingdom makes their j being on their Guard highly ne ceffary ? And if High-Church is in deep Apprehenfion that the Church of Eng land as Well as the State is in danger from Arms being put into the Hands of the Peo ple of Scotland, it muft be fome ftrange My ftery indeed which hinders 'em from being willing that the Englijh People fhou'd be put in a Pofture of Defence, in order to prevent or repel thofe Dangers. And is not the fame Plea urg'd with the utmoft Violence againft a better Union of her Majefty's Subjeds at Home, by allowing all who hold no Opinions prejudicial to the State, and contribute equally with their Fellow-Subjeds to its Support, equal Pri vileges in it, and thereby making it their equal Intereft to fupport it ? 61. Do not Juftice and Righteoufnefs, by which Kingdoms nourifh, demand that they who alike contribute to the Bur den, fhou'd alike receive the Advantage ? A natural Right of which Chriftianity is fo far from depriving Men, that no Party can do it without breaking in on the grand Rule of doing as they wou'd be done , unto. How can a Government , . which is willing to ad for the general Good of all the People, put Hardfhips on any part of them, efpecially if they are very numerous, for doing that without which they can't be good Subjeds or Citi zen?, Chriftian Church, '&c. 287 fcens, viz. the worfhipping God according Chip. & to Confcience ? And the Good of the Na- ""^V^ tional Church, where different Seds are tolerated, requires this Treatment } be caufe then if one of 'em attempts any thing to its Prejudice, all the reft in Inte reft will be bound tooppofeit; efpecially with us, where none of the Seds, the Presbyterians only excepted, are by their Conftitution capable of becoming the National Church . So that all they can defire is to be on a level in Civil Mat ters. And as no Church was ever ruin'd by taking gentle Methods, fo the con trary Courfe, by uniting the Sedariesj which that alone can do, has within the Memory of Man more than once deftroy'd the National Churches both of England and Scotland. ,;; 62. Suppofing the Good of the State is the fupreme Law, I can, with Submiffion, fee no neceffity for a Religious Teft in- Ci vil Imploys (a thing unheard of till the times of Popery) if it not only debars the Government of the Affiftance of all its Sub jeds, tho' the Occafion be ever fo great, but tends to alienate the Affedions of thofe who are put under this Incapacity -, fince, befides other Inconveniences, it reprefents 'em as Enemies to their Country, and is a Mark of Difgrace and Infamy, as well as a Badge of Servitude. And if a State is fecure, as there's no Inftance to the contrary, where juftice is fairly and impartially adminiftred, there can be no Alteration in the eftablifh'd Mode of Church- Difcipline, which is not made 288 The Rights of the madVitt a Legal Way. And Difcipline be ing, as is already prov'd, of a mutable na ture, ought always to undergo fuch Changes as are agreeable to the Inclinations of the People } which will mainly conduce to keep the Clergy who are uppermoft within Bounds,- a thing on which the Security of the Church highly depends, fince only the Violence and Fury of the High-fliers" can prejudice it. 6;. If the Prefervation of any Form of Ecclefiaftical Difcipline is the grand Law, and that is to befecur'd by Perfecution, as every thing is which upon this account puts a Man in a worfe Condition than his Neighbours ; nothing lefs than Banifhment or Death ought to be the Fate of all Dif fenters, fince any Hardlhip below this muft turn to the Prejudice of the National Church. 64. If the great Advantage, as well as Security, which both Church and State have got jby the Kindnefs already fhown to Dif fenters, will not teach us to make it com pleat -, yet we might lea in from our Ene mies not . to keep Diftindions among Prote ftants, fince 'tis that by which the Papifts have all along endeavour'd to ruin us : And our more f eftlefs Enemies the Jacobites have appear'd fo zealous for the Occafional Con formity-Bill, that there's fcarce any of 'em capable of Scribling, who have not pub- lifh'd fomething on its behalf. 6y. This grand Law, the Good of the Church, poffefs'd the Papifts at a ftrange rate, when it cou'd bring 'em into a Gun powder Chriftian Church, 'tkc. 289 Powder Plot : Which in probability muft Chap. 8- have ended in their own Ruin, at leaft it v*rVV was not likely to be fo fatal as the Tack; which if it had fucceeded in the manner as fome Men wifh'd, muft have endanger'd the Liberty of all Europe, as well as the Pro teftant Religion both at Home and Abroad. Buty 66. There cou'd be np Cofour for a Thou- fand Things which obtain in moft Places, diredly contrary, to the Publick Gopd, on pretence of fupporting this or that Form of Ecclefiaftical Government, if Bigots did not blafpheme the infinite Wifdom as well as Goodnefs of God , by fuppofing bis two grand Laws inconfiftent ; and therefore are perpetually ading againft the publick Good on pretence of advancing the Honour of God; which is fo far from being oppofite to the Good of Man, that t 'tis in effed the fame, fince the Happier Men are, the more Reafon they have to honour Him who made 'em fo; and the more they do that, the more will they ob- ferve thofe Duties in which their mutual Happinefs confifts. ¦ 67. Religion, properly fpeaking, was not ordain'd for God's fake, who wants nothing, but for cur own, in order to make us do all thofe Things which are for ouc general Good ; or in other Words, fo In finite is God's Goodnefs, that (as I. fhall fully %demonftrate in the next Part,) he re quires nothing to qualify Mankind for their future, which does not tend to their pre fent Happinefs. And as God before the U Com- 2 qo The Rights of the Coming of Chrift requir'd only moral Qua lifications for People in publick Poft«, fo Chrift never defign'd the Holy Sacraments fhou'd be proftituted to ferve a Party ; or, fthat promoting his Church fhou'd be made a Pretence to deprive People of any Privi- Jfege, to which otherwife they wou'd have a Right ; and that People fhou'd be brib'd by a Place to receive unworthily ; or that fuch Stumbling-blocks, to the great Jricreafe of Irreligion and Hypocrify, fhou d be laid in Mens Ways on a Church Account. But, 68. While Bigots think any one Form of Church-Government of Divine Appoint ment, the Regard to that, and thofe Pow ers the Clergy claim on pretence of it, ' will influence 'em in all their Adions ; and they will be for preferring Men to Civil Pofts, not according to their Integrity and Capacity to ferve the Publick, but for their Zeal to the Church, which fhall not only recommend the moft Unqualify'd, but Sup port 'em in their Employs, tho' they be have themfelves ever fo ill, and are guilty of Cowardice or Treachery, even in fuch Expeditions as the Safety of the Nation de pends on ; while others, tho' ever fo Brave and Honeft, fhall either not be imploy'd at all, or upon frivolous Pretences be laid afide. 69- Bigotry being blind to the Faults of its Votaries, thofe who, are in the French or Jacobitifh Intereft will endeavour to dif guife their curs'd Defigns on pretence of being for the Church : For. then examining their former Adions, or prying too nar rowly Chriftian Church, &c. 291 rowly into their prefent Condud, (hall be Chap.j?. interpreted Envy to the Church ; and un der a feeming Zeal for That, they fhall not only recommend any Thing which tends to divide and embroil the Nation, but attempt to ruin thofe, whofe Principles make 'em true Friends to the Government, and who dare oppofe their pernicious Defigns. So that amongft others befides profeft Papifts, the Church now becomes, and in the very worft way too,, a Sanduary for ill Men and ill Pradices. And, 70. If at laft the Eyes of the Govern ment are open, and it is refolv'd to em ploy none,- notwithftanding their Church Pretences, who betray Counfels, Who en deavour to render all Defigns for the Pub lick Good abortive, who oppofe every Thing tending to reduce the Enemy, ftrengthen the Allies, or unite the People ; then the Church, if we may believe the Memorial which goes under its Name, is in great Danger ; and its Nature being very apt to rebel, the odds, it fays, are vaft on Na ture's fide: And thofe Enemies its Nature & to be rous'd againft, are they who have con tributed moft to the Safety of the State ; as if beating the French at Hochftei, and managing the Revenue after a moft frugal and prudent manner, were fuch Ecclefiafti cal Crimes as are never to be forgiven. But, 71. High Church can, it feems, work Miracles, and has a fort of Tranfubftan- mting Power, which on a fudden con verts a Villain into a Patriot, a French Pen- U 2 fioner 292 The Rights of the fioner into a true Englifh Man, an Atheift into a Saint ; and it makes one who never did a good Adion, or ever was thought to have one good Quality (except his great Humility in condefcending to the meaneft Cheats, may be reckon'd fuch) the firft Man in the foremoft Rank of High Church Champions} and it can turn a formal Blockhead into a deep Statefman, and qualify even the Author of the Grand Tour for the Grand Chair ; and can reconcile Paffive Obedience Principles to a Revolu tion Government, and the Unalterable Right of the Lineal Succeffion with the Ab juration Oath, and calling over the Princefs Sophia : Nay, its can make fuch as ridicule the Dangers of Popery, even on a Day fet apart by Law to (hew the juft Apprehen- fions of it, the beft Proteftants, and qualify one of 'em, notwithftanding he made Luci fer's Rebellion againft God a lefs Crime than that againft King Charles ; and putting him to Death worfe than murdering our Saviour, to be Prolocutor of the Lower Houfe of Convocation. High Church can make the Peers Commonwealth's Men, the Bifhops Presbyterians, and the Lower Houfe, which fets up for a Presbyterian Parity, and claims a Co-ordinate Power with the Bifhops, the only Men for, Epif copacy. Nay, what can it not do, ftnce it can make a drawn Battle equal to the compleateft Vidory, and one voted by Par liament an Enemy to the King and King dom, one who with other High Church Champions was in King James's High Com miffion Chriftian Churchy Sec. 295 million to deftroy the Church, and for fe- Chap. s. cret Services had not only a Sum of.Money, ^"V"^ but an extravagant Penfion for Life, one who iffu'd out Orders for levying Cuftoms without Confent of Parliament (and how fairly his Accompts were kept, the Hearth- Money-Book is a fufficient Proof) one who qppo»'d the Abdication, the Recognition, and all thofe Methods which brought the Queen to the Throne ; one who was againft a War with France, and kept it off fo long till the French King fettled himfelf in his new Acquifitions : Yet he, even he, I fay, fuch is the wonder-working Power of High Church, is the only fit Man to be Prime M— r and T- — r. And if ano ther Great Perfon, as the Tories wou'd infi- nuate, was once in the Intereft of the Fami ly at St. Germains, their Railing at him now with fo great Bitternefs, is a Demonftration that he quitted it, fince as long as they fup pos'd he efpous'd it, none was more carefs'd by 'em. 72. As 'twould be endlefs to reckon up all the Miracles of this Nature, fo there has been a Time, when the heft Friends to the Conftitution both in Church and State, for not coming up to the extravagant No tions of High Church, were reprefented by thofe who Were undermining both, as Fanaticks and Commonwealths Men. Then Juries and Judges too had' more regard to the Charader of High Church, than any other Con fide ration ; and the Queftion feem'd not to be, who had the Right, but whd was a right Church Man. And fo in- U % toxicated 294- Thet Rights of the toxicated were the People with the High- flown Dodrines of thofe Times, that our! Liberties and Religion were within an ace of Ruin. If Men make no better Ufe of fo won derful a Deliverance, than to be drawn into the fame' Danger on the very fame Pre tences, and by the very .fame Men, they. have little Reafon to imagine -Providence will interpofe again in fo extraordinary a manner. j%. Thefe abfurd Notions, relating to the Independent Power of the Clergy, had not prevailed on fo many, but lor the Prejudice of Education, at a Time, when the Mind is capable of having any Impreffion fo ftrongly ftamp'd on ir, that 'tis very feldom, or ever after, worn out. "And therefore they who, have any regard for the Publick, or any Concern for their own Off- (bring, fhou'd not truft their Education with fuch, as in ftead of inftilling Noble and Generous Prin ciples into them, and teaching 'em to make the publick Good the chief Defign of their Lives, infufe in 'em a blind Zeal for the Power, of the Church, as the Clergy, who are uppermoft, call themfelves; and per fwade 'crn to Sacrifice the Good of their Country, the Liberties of the People, and every Thing elfe which is valuable, to that Idol. A Man who imbibes fuch Principles, mult, _ as has been already fhpwn, in a, Thoufand Inftances, adlikean Enemy tohi$. Country-. And the Reafon why the middle. fort of People retain fo much of their an- tient Chriftian Church, &c. 295 tient Virtue, and are intirely in the Intereft Chap. s. of the Nation, is becaufe no fuch pernicious <-/*VSs-' Nptions are the Ingredients of their Educa tion ; which 'tis a fign are infinitely abfurd, when- fo many of the Gentry and Nobility can, notwithftanding their Prepoffeffion, get clear of 'em. 74. The Greek and Roman Citizens, as they were the moft paffionate Lovers of their Country, and ready on all Occafions to facrifice their Lives and Fortunes for its Intereft ; fo that was owing to the Hap pinefs of their Education, in having fuch Tutors, as triads it their principal Bufinefs to infpire their Youth with truly Noble and Generous Notions; which being early inculcated, made fuch Heep Impreffions, that they were fteddily influenc'd by them as long as they liv'd. Tbey were fo far from being perfwaded, that there was an Intereft diftind and feparate from »the State, and to be preferr'd before it, that they were taught, that the beft and chiefeft Part of Religion confifted in promoting the publick Good (a) ; and that thofe who were fignally inftrumental in it, fhou'd en joy hereafter the greateft Share of Happi nefs. And therefore 'tis no wonder, that fuch different Education has created in {a) Omnibus qui Patriam confervarint, adjuverint, auxerint, certum effe in coelo locum ubi beati asvo fempiterno fruantur. Nihil enim illi Principi Deo qui omnera hunc raumlum regit, quod quidem in terris fiat acceptius quam Concilia Ccetulque hominum jure fociati, quae Civicates appellantlir. Somn. Scipionis. U 4 Mens 296 The Rights of the Mens Minds fuch different Sentiments with relation to the Publick. Had Men nowa days the fame. Notions early infus'd into 'em, there's no doubt it wou'd make the fame lafting Impreffions, and produce the fame generous Effeds. 7 j. But if New Rome (to mention no other Place) has fo prodigioufly degene rated , as to have few or none of thofe Noble or Social Virtues which fo adorn'd the Old, it can be imputed to nothing (the Climate being ftill the fame) except the different Notions, which are infus'd into People in their Educations. And Prieft craft is fo rank a Weed, that it will not fuffer ,a Plant of any Virtue to grow near it. And yet who wou'd not have pre fum'd, but that New Rome fhou'd have ex- cell'd the Old in all manner of Virtues; fince one has the Light of the Gofpel, and an infinite Number of Clergymen to make it fhine the brighter, and the other was in Heathenifli Darknefs- And yet, notwith- ftanding this Heathenifli Darknefs, the Education of their Youth was fuch, that (to ufe the Words of an Author, whofe Love to his Country equals any of the Ro- ?ref.iotlemans} " 'c tended to make 'em as ufeful to Account " the Society they liv'd in as poffible. of Den- " There they were train'd up to Exercife mark, « an(j Labour, to accuftom themfelves to <( anadiveLife; no Vice was, more infa- " mous than Sloth , nor any Man more tc contemptible than him who was too iC lazy to do all the Good he cou'd. " The Ledures of theirt Philofophers " ferv'd Chriftian Church, &c. 297 " ferv'd to quicken 'em up to this ; they Chap. 8. ce recommended above all Things the Duty ^Y^ " to their Country, the Prefervation of ** the Laws, and publick Liberty ; fubfer- " vient to which they preach'd up moral " Virtues, fuch as Fortitude, Temperance, " Juftice , a Contempt of Death , &c. " They taught their Youth how, and " when to fpeak pertinently ; how to ad " like Men, to fubdue their Paffions, to be " Publick-fpirited, to defpife Death, Tor- " ments and Reproach, Riches, and the tc Smiles of Princes , as well as their lt Frowns, if they flood between them " and their Duty. This manner of Edu- " cation produc'd Men of another Stamp f< than appears now upon the Theatre of ,e the World, fuch as we are fcarce wor- " thy to mention, and muft never think to " imitate, till the like manner of Inftitutfon tc grows again into Reputation, which in " enflav'd Countries 'tis never like to do, as " long as the Ecclefiafticks, who have an l< oppofite Intereft, keep not only the Edu- ct cation of Youth, but the Confciences of " old Men in their Hands. 76. How wou'd the antient Philofophers, who by their Examples as well as Precepts inftruded the Youth committed to their Care to facrifice even their Lives for the Prefervation of publick Liberty ; how, I fay, wou'd they have been furpri^'d, cou'd they have forefeen the Condud of our mo dern Philofophers ? Who not content in being the vileft Flatterers of Arbitrary Power themfelves, taught their Pupils, that ¦v.*- Oxford Decree, 298 The Rights of the that it was an indjfpenfable Duty to fub-, mit to Slavery and Death , rather than prbferve Liberty and Life by oppofing Tyranny. The infamous School- Mafter, who de- coy'd the chief Youth of the Falifci his Scholars into Camillus's Camp, thefe Phi lofophers wou'd not have condemn'd guilty of fo bafe a Treachery, as they wou'd thofe, who by a Decree which they folemn- 1685!' ty enaded, betray'd their Pupils, the young Nobility and Gentry, into a Belief, That Men were Slaves by Nature, and that they cou'd not free themfelves, how • much foever they fuffer'd, from the Info- lency pf Tyrants ( which by the En couragement of this Dodrine grew daily more infupportable ) without running in to the only worfe State, that of Damna tion. 77. Thofe Philofophers wou'd have thought the Affertors of this Dodrine, which they pretended was to prevent all Rebellion, guilty of the greateft; fince it broke down all' the legal Fences, fubverted the whole Conftitution, in making an Ab- V folute and Unlimited Obedience due to the Arbitrary Will of One, who had no Power to fufpend, repeal, or make Laws, but only puc thofe already made in Execu tion. Thofe Philofophers wou'd have conclu ded, that they had no more regard to Re ligion than Liberty, to the Church than the State, who made it a damnable Doc- IM. trine to affjrt the Lawfulnefs of precluding the Chriftian Church, &c. 299 the next Heir from the Right of Succtf- Chap. s. fion to the Crown, tho' they knew him to ^^Y^ be of a Church which oblig'd him to ex tirpate all Prpteftants , who were ty'd up by this Decree from making the leaft Refiftance. 78. I fhou'd not have, faid fo much of this Dodrine, were it not almoft as cav-Ufrjerf- rent now, as. when an abfolute, uncondi -*?* J-ddr- tional Obedience to'K. James, was declar'd '/^g by that Univerfity as the Dodrine of the 4^^ Church, wtnch they were bound to abide Congratu- by ; infomuch, tljat the publick Orator be- latory gun his Complement to the Queen aheiVerfe1' this manner ; Cum. Principibus et iam Tyrannts Vid. Epi- nec in Subdilorum falutem, fed exitium nat is, nicion quamvis ab Us male merit urn, Obfequium fa-Oxoni- mcn paratijTtmum debcamus pra flare, & easene' deofculari manus a quibus -laceramur. And the famous Author of the CharacJer. of ap. 12. Low Church Man, makes an unconditional, ab folute Paffive Obedience, without any Limitation or Exception , an eternal and indifpenfable Truth 1 and laughs at applying it-only to Le gal Governments and Legal Methods ; as a filly time-ferving, rebellious Diftindion of Low Church, Trimming Villains, who are not, and?-21" by their Principles are oblig'd not to be, Chri- flians. And as he makes Sir J. P- — : » a Hero for his Steddinefs to High Church p. 2d. Principles, fo to recommend him the more effedually, he fuppofes his Adverfary will " allow that the Charader he has, and de- " ferves in his Country, is, that he is an " Enemy to all Accommodations, Com- " prshenfions. Moderation; and that he " is 200 The Rights of the " is High for the uninterrupted Succeffion." But if this be the Pidure of a High Churchman, his Principles will no more preferve us from a Popifh Succeffor, than from Slavery : And this Author muft be well acquainted with High Church Prin ciples, being cull'd out for this Performance as the Champion of his Party, and no fault: found with this his admir'd Piece, except that there was not Gall enough mixt with - his Ink. I never heard that the Univerfity, Oxford which decreed it Damnation to exclude the £*->¦«, 83. next Heir, recanted that wicked Decree,' tho' it condemns all "Self-defence , and is inconfiftent with their Oaths to K. William and Q. Anne, as well as the Abjuration- Oath, and the Succeffion of the Houfe of Hanover. Nay, does it not hang up ftill, or at leaft very lately did (not to mention other Houfes) at the upper end of Ch Ch—— — Hall, not far from the Dean's Chair ? . Which fome fay, if the Cuts of the Oxford Almanack had wanted explain ing, wou'd have ferv'd for a Key, tho' not I hope to unlock any of thofe Reafons which influenc'd the late lower Houfe of Convo- Epift.Ved. cation in the Choice of a Prolocutor. And '" Tri- does not Dr. S — th fay, that Decree is fo juftly £tmlm- u the Credit of that Univerfity ? If Mens Adi ons beft befpeak their Minds, and it appears thereby that fome think none fo fit to re prefent 'em, as they who agreeably to this Decree appear'd moft zealous againft the Revolution Principles, by oppofing the Va cancy pf the Throne, the Recognition, the Affo- Chriftian Church, ckc. 501 Aflbciation, the Abjuration ; will not the Chap. 8. ill-natur'd World entertain fome Sufpicion v-^V>ta/ that this Decree influences 'em ftill, efpe cially when they fee fuch Things printed in the Epinicion Oxonienfe, as refled on the late King's Title to the Crown ? Was a Book with fuch Exprefllons relating to the late King, as Dubiique Tyranni * inftabile* 'Tis faid Imperium, a fit Prefent for his Succeffor,'*^ Epithet whofe Right to the Crown is on the hmeatfif . Foundation? ^m>fuitl- 79. This Condud will be apt, I fay, to make Men think that fome as much ad here to rthis Dodrine, as they do tp that pf Perfecutipn ; for which even while they endeavour to perfwade the Diffenters they are for preferving the Toleration in violable, they can't forbear to talk, preach, and write. Is there any Difcourfe S 1 has printed, which does nofdeclare for it ? Does not T y in a Sermon preach'd be fore the Univerfity, fay, That a Separation The xoth front our Church ought to be condemn d and of Jan. punifh'd? And whether it be Diffenters only,1^- or even fome of the Bifhops, whom he wou'd have juftify'd after the Scotifh manner, the Reader may eafily judge, as well as what Principles, and what Oaths he means, when he fuppofes the Danger the Church is in to flow from our going off from our old Princi- Affize Ser. pies, and Ruffling with our Confciences ; our preach'd trifling with Oaths, and bringing down thebefore the High and Holy Name of God to our own Va-U/!feftyt ntty, to fecure our prefent little inconfiderable f„iy I9) Interefts. And are not thefe the Men who 1705. ' are chofen to do Honour to a certain Uni- 302 The Rights of the Univerfity on folemn Occafions ? And has not the Author who anfwer'd Mr. Lock's Letters of Toleration, thought fit lately to publifh, after Fourteen Years filence, another Letter for laying Penalties on the Diffenters ? And indeed the Pains the- High Church are at to find fome flaw in the Ad of Toleration, and the taking all Opportunities of profecuring' thofe they imagine have made the leaft flip in obferving' that Ad, with the immoderate Hatred of all their Brethren who are for treating the Diffenters with Moderation, give fhrewi Sufpicions that this abfurd Dodrine is ftill their Favourite. 80. As the beft Things, if corrupted, become the worft ; fo the Univerfities can not have too great Encouragement, while they inftrud the Youth in fueh Principles' as are for the*Good of All her Majefty '« Subjeds; but if they take a quite con trary Method, and teach fuch Dodrines as are for the Good of none of her Ma- jefty's Subjeds except themfelves, nothing can be more to the Prejudice of the Pub lick. What can fave the Nation, if the No bility and Gentry fhou'd again be infeded with the wicked Dodrines of Perfecution, and of Kingly Power, taken in the moft abfolute Senfe, being of Divine Right; and that it can only be tranfmitted in a Defcent in the Right Line; and when fo tranfmitted, there can be no Abufe in its Exercife, for which the King can be ac countable, or which the People ought not quietly Chriftian Church, Sec. 303 quietly to bear? And 'tis no Argument Chap. 8. fome Men have chang'd their Sentiments K*~V~S*J in ading after a different manner with a King who had no fuch Defcent. 81. If Spite, Hatred, Malice, Refent- ment and Revenge, fo far got the better of their Principles, as then to appear fond of fome Laws which limited the Prerogative ; it only fhews that thofe Paffions which are moft Diabolical in others, are the only Things which have the leaft Refemblance of Virtue in a Tory. If Men can ad contrary to their known Principles, to gratify thofe predominant Paffions of Malice and Revenge ; what will they not fay or do, when in purfuit of 'em they have a Profped of confounding all Whigs, and Whiggifh Notions of Liberty? Any Thing then is to be done, every Thing to be hazarded, rather than thefe fhou'd prevail again. But, 82. As it was to defend the Church of England againft the Papifts, Jacobites, and other High Flyers, that caus'd me to engage in this Controverfy ; fo none can have a jufter Efteem for all her Clergy,, who, ac cording to the Dodrine of the beft Gorifti- tuted Church, difown all Independency ; and as for them who do not, I cannot dp 'em a greater Kindnefs than to (how 'em the pernicious Confequences of their Error, and how it neceffarily makes all who are govern'd by it guilty of the moft villanous Pradices. A Method, which as 'tis the moft proper in it felf, fo 'tis what all our Divines ufe, when they write againft cer tain 504. The Rights of the tain Dodrines of fthe Church of Rome. But I need not labour to juftify my felf, fince none can cenfure me , who don't withal condemn the moft Approv'd of our Clergy as well as Laity. However, I (hall mention only two or three, and the firft (hall be that great Man myLocd*C/«- rendon, who 'tis not doubted was the Per fon of Honour who writ Animadverfymt upon Creffy'* Fanaticifm fanatically imputed P. 130. to the Catholick Church: He faith, " That " that unreafonable, inconvenient, and " mifchievous Diftindion of Eccleftaftical " and Temporal, as it exempts Things and " Perfons from the Civil Juftice and the " Sovereign Authority, and as it ereds ano- " ther Tribunal , and fets up another tc diftind Sovereign Jurifdidion Superior " and Independent on the other, has colt " the Chriftian World very dear in Trea- " fure and in Blood, and has almoft heav'd " the Gcvernment (which ought to pre- " ferve the Peace and Order of Chriften- 11 dom) off its Hinges. . That there are " Offences and Crimes of an Ecclefiaftical " and Spiritual Nature, according to the " Manner and Cuftom of (peaking; and " Perfons, who by their Fundions to which " Independent each of other, then muftP*14^ " all Chriftians be put into that perplex'd State of repugnant and incompatible Ob ligations, concerning Which our Lord faith, No Man can ferve two Mafters, for either be will hate the one arid love the other, or elfe he will hold to the one and defpife " the other. They will often draw feveral " Ways, and clafh in their Defigns, iri ' their Laws, in their Decifions ; one wil- c ling and commanding that which the " other difliketh and prohibiteth : it will " be impoflible by any certain Bounds to " diftinguifh their Jurifdidion, fo as to " prevent Conteft between them. AH " Temporal Matters being in fome refped " Spiritual (as being referable to Spiritual " Ends, and in fome manner ally'd to " ReligionJ and all Spiritual Things be- *' coming Temporal, as they conduce to " the fecular Peace and Profperity of* i* State, there is nothing which each of X " thefe 3 06 The R ights of the "thefe Powers -.will not hook within the " Verge of its Cognizance and Jurifdidi- " on -. each will claim a Right to meddle " in all things; one pretending thereby to cc further the Good of the Church, the " other, to fecure the Intereft of the State. " And what End or Remedy can there be of " the Differences hence arifing, there being lt no third Power to arbitrate or moderate! " between them ? ¦'" Each will profecute its Caufe by its " Advantages, the one by Inftruments of " Temporal Power, the other by Spiritual " Arms of Cenfures and Curfes, And in " what a cafe muft the poor People then " be ? How diftraded in theft Confciences, '.* how divided in their Affedions, how dif- " cordant in their Pradices, according as " each Pretence has influence upon them " by its different Arguments or peculiar Ad- |J (erting two fuch Powers to flow from Po-^'p *4' pery. And with them do our Divines agree, when they undertake the Defence of the Regal Supremacy : Then either with the Bifhop of Sarum they affirm, " That aWExpof. " Mankind muft be under one Obedience ^-'.5 7- " and one Authority ; " or elfe they fay, as Dr. Scot does, " That before the Coming Chriftian " of Chrift the Authority of Princes was£#f'Vo1- " bounded by no Law but that of Na- a" § 1' " ture; and that the Chriftian Religion is " fo far from retrenching their Power, " that it abundantly ratifies and confirms " it." And 'tis to the Law of Nature that Mr. Hooker refers us, in fuppofing w That Eackf. Toil, " what Power foever Kings and States had Boot 8. ,c in Religious Matters before the Cpming " of Chrift, they are fully authoriz'd by " the Gofpel to exercife the fame in all " Affairs pertinent to the State of the " true Chriftian Religion." Now by the Law of Nature there were not two Inde pendent Powers in the fame Society to, li mit one another ; and whenever the Magi ftrate did exceed the Bounds of hi? Autho rity, 'twas not by invading the Right of any Ecclefiaftical Magiftrate, who hid an Independent Power from Heaven, but by ufurping on thofe Natural Rights of the People, which they cou'd not make over to any one, whether King or Prieft : And .what thofe Rights are, has been (hown in the Introdudion. X % ' 8*.Shott'd 2 jp. The Rights of the 8.y . Shou'd thet Clergy condemn me for Sfferting thofe very Dodrines they them felves maintain againft the Papifts , they wou'd give the World too juft' ground to conclude that 'tis only for being confiftent with my felf, in not approving in any Church, what they as well as I condemn in the Papifts ; in whom (confidering the ma ny Engagements we lye under to renounce any fuch Doctrine,) the Fault is not quite fo unpardonable. And indeed none is qualify 'd to believe two Independent Powers , who has not Faith enough for Tranfubftaotiation ; fince it neceffarily, as has been already fiiown, fuppofes a Body may be in feveral Places at pnce, and about different Adions at the fame Time; and all Mankind, who have allow'd that the Bpdy Politick cou'd not move different Ways at the fame Time, have own'd that the Supreme Power was indivifible : Arid therefore I fhall only quote one Autho rity more, that of a Papift, and no lefs a Man than Father Paul of Venice, to (name, if poffible, thofe Proteftants who maintain two Independent Powers : He fays, " This litters, " Opinion makes a Monfter of Govern- jFngl. " merit j and that the Abfurdity will not tfranflat. " De declin'd in faying they are co-or- &**,. 123. « dinate - and link'd together by mutual - " Helps, as fo many Bonds; fo that the *e -Primate has Power over the King in " Cenfures, arid the King over him in ^Punifhment. For. what if the King and j. Primate fhou'd ''both take the fame to; ^ themfelves,, wou'd not the Common- cc wealth t Chriftian Church, &c. 3 1 1 tf wealth be difturb'd at this? As for In-Chap. s. *' ftance, in the Venetian Controverfy: The:y^w^SJ "'' are a Chriftian , before a Np-Chriftian Church. j. That there are too many ading agreeably to this Principle, is fo apparent as • not to be deny'd ; and who have not fcrupled to own they have more favourable Thoughts of the , Papifts, whom they re verence as a true Church, than of the Pro teftant Diffenters, whom they reckon no other than (the vileft Thing in their Eyes) a mere Lay Meb. 6. How much this Hypothefis weakens the Proteftant Caufe, and what. Advan tage it gives to the common Enemy, cannot well be imagin'd, without confi dering the daily Increafe, aod growing In tereft of Popery ; which tho' npthing ex cept the late happy Revolution hinder'd from being the Eftablifh'd Religion, not only of thefe Kingdoms, but pf all Europe, yet thofe wfio are for Epifcopacy being Jure Divino, if they ad confiftently with their Principles, can have no favcurable Thpughts of it, fince it was the Occafipn by which People in England are permitted to join with thofe Sedaries, who for want of Bifhops cannot pretend to the Name of a Church, and whereby in Scotland the true Church, by the Abolition of Epifco pacy, has been deftroy'd. And therefore Wou'd be no wonder if the High Flyers here rail at the Revolution, and the Epif- copals there have fo -much Charity for that unchurch'd Nation, as to endeavpur re- o \ 6 The Rights of the re-uniting 'em to the true Church, tho' it be by returning to Rome ; and for that Reafon be intirely in the Intereft of the St. Ger main's Family, as the only Means to bring it, about. How well Men of thefe Senti ments are qualify'd to joyn with the Dutcb^ and the reft of our Presbyterian Allies, againft Popery, accompany'd with Epifco pacy, let the Reader judge. 7. If I were worthy to advife fome Peo ple, I fhou'd defire 'em not to ad like the Executioners of the Three Children, in ven* wring to burn themfelves, that they might be fure to throw others far enough into the Fire ; and that they wou'd no more attack the" Diffenters on fuch Principles as un church all who departed from Rome, thofe who have, as well as thofe who have not Bifhops. In order to prove this the Confequence of their Principles, I here demand, If the Church of Chrift be (as they affirm) but One,, and that thofe who refufe Communion with it, cut themfelves off from it ; Whether the Romifh Bifhops were at the Time of the Reformation, Bifhops of this Church, or not? If they were, the Proteftants by feparating from 'em, and fetting up a Communion in Oppofition to 'em, became Schifmaticks, and thereby cut themfelves off from this One Church ; fince two op- pofite Communions, as the Clergy on all fides hold, can't be both Members of the. fame Church : And if one is a Member of the true Church, the other can't be fo too ; and a falfe Church is no Church, ar leaft Chriftian Church, &c. 317 ieaft pf Chrift; and confequently the Pro-Chap. 9. teftant Bifhops can't be Governors in the N-rY,>ta' Church of Chrift3, becaufe Ecclefiaftical Headfhip fuppofes a Union with the Body, and they who break that Union muft deftroy any Headfhip, Power, or Authority they had before over the Body, or any Part pf it, fince by their Schifm they ceafe to belong to the Body. On the contrary, if the Romifh Church at any Time before the Reformation ceas*d to he a true Church, they ceas'd to have a Right tp thofe Privileges belonging to it, pf which the receiving and conveying Spiritual Power or Government is on all Sides allow'd to be one ; and confequently they were un- capable of beftowing any on the Proteftant Bifhops. 8. What can be more abfurd than tP fuppofe that a Man may be united tp Chrift, by being in Union with fuch Bi fhops as are cut off from Chrift ; or that thofe Bifhops have a Right to govern the Church, who have no Right to the Church, or any of its ' Privileges ? For how can there be a Power to ordain, or admi- nifter the Sacraments, where there's no Miniftry nor Sacraments ? Or how can they who are themfelves excluded the Church, admit People into or turn 'em out of the Church ? As they cannot Bind , fo they cannot Loofe ,;' and as they de ftroy the Unity of the Spirit, fo they can have no Right to" the difpofirig of the Holy Ghoft, The T'he Rights of the The Confequence of which Prem$§iis,, that if the Proteftants by feparating from the Church of Rome were guilty of Schifm, they can have amongft'em none of that Spi ritual Power or Government whicb is de riv'd from the Apoftles by way of Succefii- on in the Catholick Church; On the contrary, if the Papifts were Schifmaticks, they cou'd be no Mediofri for Apoftohoal Succeffion, as not, being capable of receiving or con vej^ng, thofe Spiritual Powers which . the Clergy on all Sides fuppofe neceffary to triei'Exi- ftence of a true Church, ; and which cari be no ptberwife obtain'd than by an un interrupted Succeffipn from the Apofi^ei; in the , truly Apoftolick and CathoU$k' Church. 9. So that there never was fo unlucky an Hypothefis : for whether you allow the Papifts to be, or not to be a true Church,' it rhuft , binder the Proteftants from being fo ; for if they were no true Church, they cou'd not, convey to. others that Spiritual Power which is rieceffary to the Being of a true Church ; or if they were, the Proteftant Bifhops, with thofe who adher'd to 'era; cou'd not be fuch a Church, as being gpfl- ty of an unneceflary Separation. But if the Separation was neceffary, then the Church pf Rome cou'd not be a true Church, for that certainly cannot be filch a Church, if it be not lawful to join with her; and Men, as they become convinc'd of the Unreafonablenefs of her Terms of Com munion, are bound to feparate from her, ai Chriftian Church, &c. gi£ iasthe.Gree^ and Eaftern Churches did IpngChap. 9. before our Reformation. ^V»~/ 10. To me 'tis very ftrange, that thpfe who have fubfcrih'd. the Articles of our Church, fhou'd allow the Papifts to be a part of the vifible Church of Chrift, which by the 20th Article is defin'd tp be A Congre-r gation of Faithful, Men, in which the pure Word of God is preacii'd, and the Sacraments duly ad- minifter' d according to Chrift's Ordinance, in all that of neceffity are requifite Jo the fame Can our Churchluen apply this Definition to, the Papifts, when they affirm that among them the Word of God, is fo far from being preach'd pure, that 'tis mix'd with a pro digious Number of abfurd Traditions? Or can our Church, which affirms the Wine to be an effential Part of the Lord's Sup per, fay that that Sacrament is duly admi- nifter'd in the Rotnifh Church, according to Chrift's Ordinance, in all Things which of neceffity are requifire tp the fame, when the Cup is allow'd pnly tp the Prieft? Or, ? . 11. Can that be a true Church, which not only obliges all her Members tp. maintain a Blafpbcmous Fable (as all who have fub- fcrib'd the Thirty firft Article muft own their Dodrine ' of the Sacrifice of the Mafsto be) but is likewife guilty oi Idola try, fince that Article affirms, that the Ho milies, which charge her upon a great many Accounts with it, contain a godly and wholefome Dodrine ? Which, were not the Charge true, wou'd be fo far from contain ing fuch a Dodrine, that they wou'd be full of 5 26 The Rights of the of an unjuft Cenfure of fo great a Body' of Chriftians.! ti. At the Reformation our Divines eve ry where charg'd the Pope with being Ah- tichrift, and made %ome the Spiritual "Baby lon ; and with fuch clear Proofs as conver ted more than any one Topick whatever. They did not fcruple then to charge her with Idolatry, and other monftruous Crimes, left by proving her no Church they cou'd not make out their own Title to the true Church. Vfeiglts They did not belfeve, like Mr. Thomdike and Mm- (the Oracle of High-Church) that they *UYei- were guilty pf Schifm , whp feparated from the Church of Rome, as an Idola trous Church ; nor did they refufe to li- cenfe the Books the Diffenters wrote againft Rome, becaufe they charg'd her with fuch Sentiments as prove her to be no Church, and then rail at 'em for not writing againft Popery. 1%. In a word, if Blafphemy againft God, Or Tyranny over Men ; if defacing the Ideas of the Deity, if corrupting the Principles of Virtue and moral Honefty ; if fubverting the Foundations of natural Religion, or overthrowing the effential Ar ticles of the Chriftian Faith ; if the moft avow'd or bold Affronts offer'd to Heaven, and the bloodied and moft brutal Outrages executed on the beft of Men : If all thefe, I fay, are fufficient to exclude Men from being a Part of the truly Catholick and Apo- ftolick Church, the Romanifts can have no pretence to it. 14. No-* Chriftian Church, Sec. 321 14. Nothing befides an extreme Fohd-Chap.9. nefs to an Hypothefis, can make any fup- ^^^W pofe, that the Church of Some, rtotwith- ftanding her grofs and notorious Idolatry, and her other Dodrines fo derogatory to the Merits of our Saviour, and fo deftiuc- tive of a good Life , fo oppoflte to the Happinefs of. Human Societies, and fo in confiftent with the Duties we owe both to God and Man, is a True Church : and her claiming the Name of Chriftian, while fhe ads fo Unchriftianly, muft needs heighten her Guilt, and make :her appear the more Antichriftian. iy. The Muffulmen may with a better Grace pretend to be a true Church ; for they do not fo abominably corrupt the Old and New Teftament, by adding the Senti ments of Mahomet, as the others by their; Oral Traditions, and the Decrees of their Infallible Church ; which maintains, befides whatever is ridiculous in other Religions, peculiar Abfurdities more grofs than were ever known among the moft Barbarous of Mankind. 16. The Mahometans cannpt be charg'd with any thing tending to Idolatry, as the Papifts juftly are with the fouleft j nor do thofe allow of any fucb Dodrine as not keeping Faith with Hereticks ; not does the Mufty, like the Pope, pretend tp ab- folve People from their Oaths ; nor do the Followers of Mahomet perfecute like the Papifts, who think it meritorious to mur der all who differ from 'em, which renders a Religion more pernicious than Atheifm it Y felf : g22 The Rights of the . felf ; nor are thofe fo uncharitable as to Alchoran damn all Diffenters, but acknowledge that A*oara3.all> whether Jews pr Chriftians, &c who adore God, and. do good, (hall undoubtedly obtain his Love. , 17. In fhort, they who allow the Church of Rome to be a true Church, do it for no other Reafon , than becaufe by their Hypothefis of Ecclefiaftical Government , they find it neceffary for the Support of their own. But certainly the lefs the Papifts appear to be a true Church, the greater Ground there is to account thofe who oppofe her Corruptions to be fo; and' that 'tis a moft fenflefs Hypothefis , which cannot allow them who juftly fepa rate from a Church, to be a true Church, except that wbich they feparated from is fo likewife. 18. It muft be no fmall Diverfion to the Papifts, to fee their Adverfaries labpur to do their Bufinefs, by driving to prove 'em a true Church, as a thing abfolutely ne ceffary to make their own fo ; while with out any refped to this kind Ufage they treat our Church, as (he does the Diffen ters, like a meer Lay-Mob. And thefe are the Notions which caufe the Papifts to flat ter themfelves, that thofe Perfons can have no great Averfion for their Church, who own it to be a true Church of Chrift , even tho' they deny any Heretical or Schifmatical Church to be fo ; and then they think 'tis eafy to judge -who were the Schif- maticks. at the Separation. And they do not defpair that the Sticklers for thefe Notions Chriftian Church, Sac. 523 Notions may be brought fome Time or Chap. 9, pther to ad agreeably &o their own Prin ciples, and that they will at fome critical Jundure, when there^s no great hazard in if, reunite, themfelves -to that True Church from whence their Anceftors fepa- rated, upon Principles which will not pafs mutter now. And as the Deftrudion of the National Church, let it be Epifcopal or Presbyterian, by reafon of their Num bers, Power and Riches, is the chief Aim of the Papifts ; fo were phey to form Princi ples for her in order to profelyte her, they Cou'd not contrive better : and 'tis too evi dent in Fad, that as thefe have inereas'd, the Danger of Popery has inereas'd with them. 19. Tho' we fuppofe the Church of Rome a true Church, and that our Church by fe parating from her is not guilty of Schifin^ and confequently that two oppofite Com munions may be both Members of the true Catholick Church : yet did , not thofe Bi fhops who renoune'd her Communion , thereby, quit all the Ecclefiaftical Power and Jurifdidion they got by being in that Church ? In any other Body Politick, a Man by leaving it lofes all the Powers he had by being of it, and there's no reafon why 'tis not the fame in an Ecclefiaftical Society ; and confequently all the Church- Powers the Proteftant Bifhops cou'd have, muft be deriv'd from the Members of the new Church with which they then join'd themfelves. Bur; ¦Y a 20. If 324- The Rights of the 20. If a Bifhop by leaving the Church of Rome, did not by that Ad lofe all the Epif- copal Power he had when he was one of the Governors of that Church, efpecially con fidering no Commiffion can well be exten ded to authorize the oppofing him who beftow'd it ; yet the Popifh Bifhops had as much Power to deprive or degrade him, as to ordain him : fince a Sentence is valid, tho' not right, when done by a. competent Authority ; and confequently the Popifh Bi fhops in the time of Queen Mary or Queeni Elizabeth had as much Right to unmake, as they had to make a Bifhop in their Father's1 or Grandfather's time. This, tho' no more were faid, plainly (hows that the Hypothefis of Ecclefiaftical Government belonging to fuch Bifhops on ly, as derive their Power by way of Succef fion from Catholick and Apoftolick Prede- ceffors, unchurches not only all the Re- form'd who are without Bifhops, but all the Epifcopalians likewife. xi. To which we may add another Ar gument with relation to the Church of Eng land, to fhew that her Bifhops have no Pow er by way of Succeffion. For, The Popifh Bifhops in Queen Elizabeth's Reign either had or had not any Spiritual Power deriv'd by way of Succeffion from the Apoftles : If they had not, the Pro teftant Bifhops cannot pretend to receive any fuch Power from 'em ; if they had, no Lay-Powers cou'd deprive 'em of what be* Iong'd to 'em by a Divine Right, and confequently they retain'd their Spirituali ties.' Chriftian Church, &C. 325 ties. So that all which thofe who were put Chap. 9/ into their Places cou'd poffefs, were their ^^VV Temporalities only ; and they cpu'd beftow no more on their Succeffors than they had themfelves. But, 22. Becaufe Mr. Dodwel endeavours, upon thefe Principles, to maintain the Validity of the Deprivation of the Popifh Bifhops by Queen Elizabeth, I (hall now examine his Reafons. " The firft is, That' the Popifh Bilbops Utihinief " taking out Commiffions from H. 8. iottheCh.of " their Spiritual Power, was a fufficient EnElan.d " Reafon for the Validity of the Queen's^Ti^ '* Deprivation ; becaufe in taking out thefe pendency of " Commiffions, they might in Law be fup the clergy, fC pos'd to renounce the better Title they &c> §• l8. " had from Chrift and his Apoftles ; fince " there cannot be two Originals of the " fame Power, and therefore the taking " one from the Magiftrate muft be renoun- ft cing any other. If this in the Popifh Bifhops was a re nouncing their better Title ; the Prote ftant Bifhops renounc'd theirs too, fince they, as he owns, did the fame- And 'tis notorious, that they not only took out the fame in H. VIII's Time, but renew'd them upon his Son's coming to the Crown, as ne ceffary to enable 'em to exercife their Epif- copal Authority ; and confequently this is a farther Proof that the Bifhops have no Divine Power. 2;. H»s next Argument is, " ThattheS-'S- l< Deprivation of the Popifh Bifhops wa,s %f pnly of their Temporalities ; their Sees, Y \ 'In 22^ The Rights of the <: as to their Spiritualities , being before " vacant ; the Proteftants owfthg 'em no ?c Duty even in Confciertce before Depr*. " vation". t .» ,; ¦ ¦¦,: If thofe Bifhops were not Bifhops of the Proteftants before their Deprivation, then they had no Bifhops, and confequently by bis own Principles, no Priefts, rto SacrSp jnents, no Chriftian Church ; and if thSy were not obliging in Confcience before Deprivation^ ic was becaufe the People judging 'em guilty of grofs Errors, had by renouncing all.Communiori with 'em with- 1 drawn their Obedience from 'em, and de priv'd 'era Of all the Spiritual Jurifdidion tfee'y had over 'em: which, contrary to the whole Drift and Defign of his Book, proves that the Bilhop's Power is deriv'd from and dependent on the People ; and what they cou'd do thus, themfelves by a tacit Agree ment* they might authorize the Queen to do folemnly and formally ; or rather the People having, by renouncing their Com munion, depriv'd 'em of all the Spiritual Power and Authority they cou'd pretend to pvfeif 'emK the ; Queen took from 'em all thofe legal Powers and Privileges with which the Law had invefted 'em. e 24. His third Argument is,. " That tho' " the Popifh Bifhops upon the account of the *c Invalidity of their Lay- Deprivation, ftill " retain'd a Right in Confcience over " the Proteftants; yet the Duty to 'em €t ceas'd with their Lives, and became due " to their Proteftant Succeffors;: tho" it was " in their Power to have perpetuated the Chriftian Church, &c 327 " Invalidity of our Succeffion, by keepingChap. 9. " up one of their own .down to ourv-r>v^w/ " Times." Upon this I cannot avoid remarking thefe four Things. Firft, That the Proteftants who fepara- ted from the Church of Rome, by fo doing were guilty of Schifm, and continu'd fo during the Lives of the Popifh Bifhops. Secondly, That if the Popifh Bifhops , notwithftanding their Errors , retain'd a Right in Confcience to the Obedience of the Proteftants ; then there are np Errors which cari juftify a Reformatfon in any Na tion, when they cannot do it without dif- pwping their erroneous Bifbops. Thirdly, That the very Being of our. Church fubfifts by a mere Accident, the Negled pf the Papifts in cPntinuing tbe Suc ceffion of their own Bifhops down to our Times : tho' fome fay the matter of Fad is otherwife ; and that they have, at leaft in Ireland, moft* religioufly kept up the Succef fion ; and confequently, the Popifh Bifhops there have ftill a Right to oblige the Con fciences of Men qf thefe Principles. Fourthly, Whether the Papifts have or have not done this, the Engtijb Church by his own Reafoning muft be without Bi fhops, becaufe they who are ordain'd to Sees already full, are, as he afferts in at leaft forty Places, no Bifhops t and their Confecrations null and void : And " ix.Vindkat.of " was, as he fays, a Principle univerfally^^Me " receiv'd in the Catholick Church, as an-jV^ " tient as the Pradice of two pretending^" & .**, 3 $8 The Rights of the *e to the fame Bifhoprick , that the Ser " cundus was always look'd on as Nullus " fora.s alienus ; fo far from being a Bifhop ft pf the Church, that the Attempt divi- " ded him from it. And this, he fays, is " as evident from Reafon as from Au- " thprjty, becaufe no Man can convey " the fame thing twice ; and therefore in " all Monarchical Diftrids, none can " fuppofe an Antimonarch's Title good, " till he has (hown the firft Monarch's " Title is not fo." And confequently, the Attempt, tp make Proteftants, Bifhops pf thofe Sees which were full of others, muft be null and void : and if they were riot Bifhops of thofe Places to which^ they were ordain'd , they were Bifhops pf no others, and therefore no Bifhops at all ; finee npne, as he owns, can bp a Bifhop of the Catholick Church, other- wife than by being Bifhop of fome particular Diftrid. Nor cou'd the Death of the Popifh Bifhops make thofe who were not fo much as Members of the Catholick Church, to become Bifhops of it. Had he fuppos'd 'em true Bifhops,, and only hinder'd from exercifing their jpower as long as the Popifh Bifhops liv'd , their Death wou'd have let 'em Jnto. a full Exercife pf their Epifcopal Authority : and if their Confecrations were from the beginning null, the Death qf the Popifh Bifhops ccu'd no more make 'em become Bifhops, than if they had no Confecration ; fince {.here's no difference between that and Chriftian Church, &c. 329 a Confecratinn which has nn effed : Npr Chap. 9. cou'd they who were no Bifhops them-^VV (elves, make others fo; and confequent ly the Church of England, by pur Au thor's own Reafoning, has been ever fince Queen Elizabeth's Time without Bifbops, if they are not to be reckon'd fuch who have no other Right to their Power, than what they derive from Human Autbo- rity. iy. The Excufe given for the High Flyers careffiog the profefs'd Enemies of Church and State, the Nonjurors, while they (hew fuch Bitternefs to thofe who diffent only on a Church Account, is, that the Church Schifm will be heal'd by the Peath of the Nonjuring Bifhops, and that then they will all come into the Church. But this Reafon, as poor as it is, will not hold, fince the Two Defences of the De priv'd Bifhops, which contain the Reafons of their Separation, and whicb they are not a little proud of, upon all Occafions referring to 'em , make the prefent Church of England guilty of the greateft: Herefy, as (hiking at what is fundamen tal in the higheft degree, as being funda mental to other Fundamentals, the Suc ceffion pf Bifhops, without which the Church can't fubfift. And on this Head tragical Declamations are made of the great Danger the Church is in *, foe which there cou'd not be the leaft ground, were the prefent Poffeffbrs of the Sees fuppos'd to be tru: Bifhops, and confequently capable of continuing the Succeffion. So that fhou'd the 2 3o The Rights If the ' the depriv'd Bifhops die without Ccnfecra- ting others, the Nonjurors wou'd by thefe Principles be as far from pwtting the prefent ChurCh as" State. If fame Men wou'd fpeak out , they mignt upon thefe Principles better extfufe their Treatment of the prefent Bifhops than any- yet they have offer'd; becaufe they Who are plac'd * in the Sees of the Bifhops depriv'd by Parliament,, can only plead a Human Right. For, If the Spiritual Relation their Predeoef- fors had to their feveral Diftrids was deriv'd frpm God, no Human Powers cou'd diffblve it ; and the fame regard muft be had to their Authority after as before a Lay- Depriva tion .- therefore one wou'd think that they who' undertook tp juftify the prefent Bi fhops, wou'd not, unlefs they had a mind to betray the Caufe they, pretended to defend, affert an Independent Power in the Bi fhops. 26. tiut the moft Learned Dodor, who flgnaliz'd himfelf in • this Controverfy , loth to deny the Bifhops fuch a Power, and 'as unwilling to own himfelf and the reft of the Clergy Schlfmaticks, took a middle way to juftify them; by bringing a number of Precedents, where the Clergy and the People deferred5 the Communion pf Bifhops depriv'd by "Lay-Powers, and adher'd to others put in their Places; which muft fhOW, that either they thought the Bifhops had nP Independent Power, or that they aded contrary to their own Confciences. And of what Authprityare Mens Chriftian Churchy &c. 33 1 Mens Pradices, When they ccntrSdfd, their chiP-9- Principles. "•¦ v , ¦" »-•<-¦ ^Yy '27. To yield that Lay-Deprivatipns are unjuft and invalid, and at the fame time to argue for cur Compliance with 'em, gives the Author pf the Regale', and the other Enemies' of the Church oi England, too great caufe to irifult and* triumph, and Cry' up their Champions pf the Depriv'd Bifhops , as if they had unanfwerably pin'd dnwn Schifm on the Church. "And they .are not fo much in the wrong, if nothing elfe cou'd be faid to juftify the Church, befides, what this,' and another as Learned Author, the Writer of two fmall Pamphlets to clear the Church from the Guilt of Schifm and Herefy (the Only Perfons who have exprefly undertaken her Defence} have urg'd in her behalf againft thofe numerous Pamphlets which upon thefe common Principles have Charg'd her borne. This laft Author, as much as the other, owns the Power of the Bifhops to be Jure Divino; and as a Confequence of that, will not allow the Magiftrate to deprive 'em of any Of their Spiritual Rights : yet to jufti fy the Church for renouncing 'em upon a Lay-Deprivation, he makes a Bifboprick to be a Temporal Thing ; and that as Fuch, the Magiftrate, he owns, can lawful ly deprive him of it ; yet his Spiritualities are untouch'd, and he remains, juft as he was before, a Bifhop of the Catholick Church. But, 28. No- 332 The Rights of the 28. Nothing can be more fenflefs, than the Notion of a Bifhop without a Bi: (hoprick; becaufe that carries Spiritual Power apd Jurifdidion with it, which fuppofes Qbedfence and Subjedion. They therefore who owe this to any Bifhop are his Subjeds, and within his Bifboprick: So that a Bifhop and a Bifboprick, Di ftrid or Diocefs, are Relatives ; and as 'tis impoflible there can be a Bifhop with out a Bifboprick, fo 'tis as impoflible two can have the fame, or a Right to the fame, And if one Bifhop' s Diftrid was as" large as the whole Church, there cou'd be only one Bifhop, and the whole Church his Dio cefs ; and confequently, to fuppofe each to be Bifliop, not of a Part only, but of the whple Catholick Church, is to make as many Contradidions, fave one, as Bi* (hops. But, "29. 'Tis worfe tp fuppofe that they who have no Bifhopricks, as being lawfully depriv'd of 'em, are ftill Bifhops, an'd each of 'em a Bifhop of the Catholick Church : Which is as abfurd as to fay, that there may be Kings without any King^ doms, pr a Right to any; yet each is a King pf the whole World, and can make as many fuch Kings as he pleafes ; There being nothing by this Hypothefis to hin der the depriv'd Bifhops from making every Man in the Nation as good a Bifhop to all Intents and Purpofes as any of them felves. Men durft not vent fuch Abfur-r dities, when they talk of Civil Govern-? ment ; but N,onfenfe feems facred, when apply'4 Chriftian Church, &c. 333 apply'd to Ecclefiaftical. As wretched a Chap. 9; Blunder as this is, yet 'tis all pur Learned s/"Y>^ Authpr has tp clear the Church pf Eng land from the Guilt of Schifm and He refy. %o. Had this Author confider'd, that un lefs every Bilhop's Power was limited tp a particular Diftrid, nothing befides Confu fion and Diforder muft happen, the People not knowing whom to obey,.pn account of the Multiplicity and Cpntrariety pf Orders ; he wou'd confequently have made both Jure Divino, or both Jure Humano. And if a Diftrid be only Human, the Righ a Bifhop has to it can't be Divine ; but both the Relatives, which can't fubfift without each other, muft have the fame O- rigin. And, This Author certainly was not in the wrong, in fuppofing Diftrids tc be pnly of Human Right; unlefs he ccu'd have found out the particular Bifhops who had a Divine Authority to divide the Chriftian World into Parifhes, Diftrids, Provinces, &c But if every Nation can apppint the Number pf its own Diftrids, and dimi nifh and enlarge 'em as they pleafe, 'tis plain all the Power the Bifhops have is de riv'd from the People ; fince they cannot only appoint what Number they think fit, and enlarge or diminifh a Bifhop's Power with his Diftrid, but by Ccnfoli- dating or turning two Diftrids into one, they wholly deprive one Bifhop of his Power, and beftow it on another : and then he can't pretend to dp any Epif- cppal 2 34- The Rights of the copal Ad there; without ufurping upon his , Right to whom the Diftrid is given. 3 1. Thus 'tis, that thefe Men, for the fake pf an Independent Power, betray the Church inftead of defending it ; and therefore the Clergy, as one in Reafon ought to fuppofe, (hou'd pardon a Layman who clears the Church from fo heavy a Charge as Schifm and Herefy, tho' he does it upon Principlef inconfiftent \ with their Independency. Yet (hou'd tbey* not forgive my attempting to prove them neither Hereticks 0r Schifma- ticks, I hope the Laity will not *ake it amifs, that upon foiid and rational Principles,: and fo much to their Advantage, I vindicate 'em from any fuch Guilt, as well as juftify the Reformation in all its Steps, which the con trary Notions can never do. 3 a. If the Bifhops in England fince the Refoimation (and the Reafons equally hold for the Proteftant Bifhops abroad., tho' they had been cpnfecrated by Bifhops) can claim, no Power deriv'd by Succeffion from the Apoftles ; the Presbyterians (thp' 'twere granted this Ppwer njight be cpn- vey'd by Presbyters as well as Bifhops,) can have no Right at all to it,, becaufe they don't pretend the Ordinations of the Romifh Church are valid : and therefore when any of their Priefts come over to 'em, tbey have Hands laid on 'em. anew, before they will permit 'em to exercife the Minifterial Office ; reckoning all done before nwlt and void, as, done by an Ido latrous Antichriftian Church, which is un- capable of conveying any Spiritual Power. I Chriftian Church, &c. £35 I cannct fee therefore why the Presbyteri-Chap. 9. ans fhou'd cenfure the Anabaptifts and In- ,-,rV**-'f dependents for having Lay- Minifters , or fuch as have no Right to their Office, be fides what they derive from their Congrega-f tions. %%. At the famous Conference at Poiffy, Thaan. between the Papifts and Proteftants, when Hift.Tom want of a Call and Authority was objec-2* /- z8' ted to the Reform'd Minifters, Bez,a de-p'*5' clares, " That to a Legitimate Call, Impo- " fition of Hands was not neceffary ; but " that the chief and fubftanrial Tokens " thereof, were a good Life, found Doc- K trine, and Eledion ('meaning of 1 the tc People) nor was it to be wonder'd at, if " tbey had not receiv'd Impofition of Hands " from them, whofe corrupt Lite, Super- " ftition, and falfe Dodrine they weue to " reprove. Or how cou'd if fee. exped§4 " they fhou'd ever be allow'd of by them, " who were 'Enemies to the Truth they de- " fended ?" After the fame manner does the excellent Moflfieur £/Wr*J ceffary to her Being, that (he did not be lieve Epifcopacy to be of Divine Appoint ment : for the Book intitled , The Infti- tution of a Chriftian Man, fubfcrib'd by the Clergy in Convocation, and cpnfirm'd by Parliament, owns Bifhops and Presbyters by Scripture to be the fame ; and yet the Nation thought themfelves at Li berty to have an Order fuperior to that of Presbyters : a fufficient Acknowledg ment that they thought np Form of Go vernment fix'd by Chrift. And what the Senfe of our Church was in 1610, is plain from Archbifhop Bancroft's and the reft^.spbtf- of the Bifhops owning the Ordination ofwoodv Presbyters to be valid, and therefore re--e^P-5'4 fufing to re^ordain the Scotifh Presbyters who were then to be made Bifhops ; de claring withal, That to doubt it, was to doubt whether there was any lawful Voca tion in moft of the %eform'd Churches. And even till after the Refioration this Notion generally obtain'd, it being de clar'd 12 Car. 2. That every Ecclefiaftical Per fon or Minifter being ordain'd by any Ecclefi aftical Perfons before the 21ft of December laft, was to enjoy his "Benefice, if he came into a vacant one : which 'tis to be prefum'd wou'd never have been allow'd, if Ordina tion by Bifhops had been thought necef fary. And even at this Day Presbyters with us not only exercife all manner of Epifcopal Jurifdidion, but have, equally with the Bifhops a neceffary Vote in the Z Supreme 328 The Rights of the Supreme Ads pf Church-Gpvernment, the making of Ecclefiaftical Laws. And before the Act. pf Uniformity there was nothing I know of to hinder Perfons ordain'd by Presbyters from being capable of Church Preferments ; Travers, Mafter of the Tem ple, having no other : and Bifhop Morton fent pne Calendrini, who was unknpwn to him, to the Minifters of the Walloon Church in London- for Ordination: who being met in a Colloque or Synod, did ordain him, and he had a Brotherfhip of the Savoy con- fer'd on him as a Minifter Of the Church of England ; the Account of which may be feen at large in the Records of the Walloon Church in London. And this ought not to be thought ftrarige, fince the Papifts at this Day allow the Ordinations of Abbots Sovereign, who are only Presbyters, tp be Annals va^ and regular : and the famous Alex- Focock's andrian Church for the firft 22.7 Years had Erfif.f328.no Bifhops, but who had Hands laid on Jerom. adthemby Presbyters only. And 'tis very Evagr. p(0bable that thofe Bifhops who converted ^' 5' fo many of our Northern Parts to Chri ftianity, were ordain'd by the Abbot of Hye, Bed.Eccl.a presbyter, to whofe Ecclefiaftical Jurif- ™ ' ' 5' didion Scotland was fubjed ; altho' fome, infer, de who can't agree about the Perfon, fuppofe Eccl. Brit.he had a Jouttiyman Bifhop to ordain for Primord. him. t'l°i- -ifi. The twenty third Article is fo far from confining the Power of making Mi nifters to Bifhops, that ic only in general Terms declares, Minifters are to be fent by thefs who have publick Authority , with out Chriftian Church, &c. 330 put determining whp they are ; becaufe the Chap. 9. Church, as the Bifhpp of Sarum pbferves, £x"v"*"/ " fuppofe they might be different in diffe-ff 'Art,c< rent Places', and therefore allnw'd all Proteftants who feparated from Rome, thp' ever fo widely differing in their Notions of Church-Government , and the Power of Ordination, to be true Churches. And he adds, that neither the Reformers nor their Succeffors, for near eighty Years after thefe Articles were publifh'd , did ever queftion the Cpnftitution of fuch Churches , where Princes wou'd not fuffer their Subjeds to 'go out of the Kingdom , tho-' to be regularly ordain'd. Nay, he affirms, that if a Company of Chriftians, tho' no Clergymen join with 'em , feparate from fuch a defil'd Worfhip as they in Confcience can't comply with, and chufe fome of their own Number to minifter to 'em in holy Things, this is not annul'd or condemn'd by this Article ; and that whatever fome hotter Spirits have thought of this fince that time, yet we are fure that not only thofe who pen'd the Arti cles, but the Body of the Church for a- bove half an Age afterward, did, not- withftanding thefe Irregularities, acknow ledge foreign Churches fo conflituted to be true Churches. If fo, 'tis plain they thought no Spiritual Powers neceffary for the Exercife of the Minifterial Fundion, except what the People cou'd beftow on fome of their Body. Z 2 vj. 'Tis 340 The Rights of the %j, 'Tis certain, the Opinion of Bifhops being neceffary to the Church did not pre vail, even with the Clergy, till the Treaties of Marriage with Spain and France : but then fuch unhappy Notions generally obtain'd, as tended to difunite Proteftants, advance Popery, and eftablifh Slavery. ('¦¦- And when our Ambaffadors went no longer to Charenton, and other fuch Meet ings, and the Laudean Fadion wou'd no longer own 'em for Churches of Chrift, 'twas then no wonder they fuffer'd Perfe cution : for with what Grace cou'd we quarrel with the Papifts whom we own'd to be a true Church, for their fake whom we accounted no Church ? And^ how fa tal our breaking off Communion with the Reform'd Churches was to the common Proteftant Caufe, we may learn from our late Famous Hiftorian, who gives an ac- Claren- countj « That Jn the Rejgn of Eiward\l. VoV% t" when the Reform'd Churches were per- 74»75- fecuted abroad, great Numbers of French, " Dutch, and Walloons, came over to Englani " with their Families, and fettledfmany ufe- "< ful Manufadures here ; how that King " with great Piety and Policy granted " 'em many Immunities, the free Exer- fC cife of their Religion, and Churches in c* London, Norwich and Canterbury, where- " by the Wealth of thofe Places marve* " loufly inereas'd. He adds, that Queen " Elizabeth enlarg'd their Privileges, and " made great ufe of thefe People in her " Tranfadions with France and Holland, u and by their means kept up an ufeful •' Intereft Chriftian Church, &c. 34.1 '* Intereft in i all foreign Dpminipns, where Chap. 9. " the Proteftant Religfon was tolerated. ^vg He then goes on and fays, " That " fome Years before the Troubles, when " the Power of the Churchmen grew more " tranfcendent, and indeed the Faculties " and Underftandings of the Lay Counfel- " lors more dull, lazy, and unadive (for &c. 34.3 Pepple at heme , but pf the Proteftant Chap. 9. Churches abroad, who all rppk part a- """"VV gainft the King pn that acccunt. And my Lord Clarendon , notwithftanding all his palliating, is forc'd tp own that the. Bi shops by this extraprdinary Condud of perfecuting the Proteftant Churches at homeland by feparating from the Prote ftant Churches abroad, did it with a defign, if not to unite with the common . Adverfary, yet to (hpw their good Inclinations. And thofe ridiculous Innovations brought into the Church by Laud, cou'd have no other End than to make our Separation greater from other Proteftants, and to bring us to a nearer Cpnformity to the Church of Rome : But the People not enduring thofe Innova tions, it put a flop to further Attempts of that kind. 59. The Church is indebted to the State (bme Millions, not only for being the oc cafion of fending fo many of her People and Manufadures into Foreign Parts, but by hindring others from coming over and fettling here, and in , Ireland, as the poor perfecuted Proteftants of Savoy defign'd in Charles II's Time. And I cou'd never meet with any other Reafon, than the Intereft of the Church, why the Bill for Naturalizing the Proteftants of Orange did not pafs both Houfes ; and there can be no doubt that the Proteftants of both thofe Places wou'd have improv'd the Linen Manufadure, as1 much as the French Refugees have feveral others, to the infinite Gain of the Nation- But to return. v Z 4 4»« ! 344- The Rights of the 40. I can't fee but that thofe of pur Churchy who refufe all Communipn with other Reform'd Churches, are upon theit own Principles guilty of Schifm, becaufe they affirm that Churches, tho' erroneous, if they impofe not Things unlawful, have a Right to Catholick Communion : And this, I fuppofe, they build on the Pradice of the Apoftles, who communicated not only with the converted Gentiles and be lieving Jews, but the unbelieving alfo ; each of which muft be reckon'd different Communions, if feparate Meetings, diftind Teachers, Difcipline and Government, as well as different and oppofite Dodrines, can make Men fo. And if the unbelieving Jews and believing Gentiles can be rec kon'd the fame Church, there can be no fuch Thing as diftind Communion : Nay, the believing Jews themfelves, becaufe the Gentiles cou'd not comply with their Rites and Ceremonies, wou'd fcarce endure any civil Converfe with 'em, much lefs join with 'em upon any occafion in their Pub- lick Worfhip. Which Miftakes, as the Apoftle Paul labours to redify, fo he efteems Occafional Communion fo much a Duty, that he highly blames the great Apoftle of the Circumcifion for refuting it,, out of fear of the Jews, to the Nonconforming Gentiles : But had our High Flyers been to judge, St. Paul muft have pafs'd for the Hypocrite. 41. At the Reformation the Proteftants,, tho' they differ'd about Modes of Church Pifcipline, did not therefore forbear, com municating Chriftian Church, &c. 34.5 municating with one another : But the Chap. 9. People here, as well as in Foreign Parts, V-""Y,>-' fometimes went to the Political, fome times to other Churches, as they thought moft proper for maintaining mutual Cha rity ; and none fcrupl'd communicating with the Proteftants abroad ; and the Calvinifts declar'd, That their differing incalv.lnft. their Model of Church Government from l. 4- c 10. other Reform'd, ought to be no manner §• 32- pf ground for a Breach. And fo fixt was this Principle, that the Papifts themfelves, till forbid by a Bull, frequently came to our Churches. And tho' Perfecution by degrees abated Mens Charity, and confe quently this Pradice, yet we find the Inde pendents did in 16 j8 (a), when in Power, approve and ratify Occafional Communion. And even at this Day there are great num bers who pradife this moft Chriftian Duty, and in which, till Very lately, they have been encourag'd by our Divines ; and the Law fo far favours 'em, as to make 'em capable of Places of Truft and Pro- fit. 42. 'Tis for want pf that Charity which is the Cpnfequence of Occafional Commu nion, that Churches are in a perpetual State of War, and that their Priefts make a Man's receiving the Sacrament from them (a) See the Declaration of their Faith and Order, ** thar Order ? If fo, to what erid did the Papifts degrade John Hufs, jerom of Prague, Luther, Cranmer ? &c. And why did fome modern Bifhops and other Divines degrade the late worthy Mr. Samuel Jbhnfon ? And why do fome boaft that a Clergyman is never executed, being before reduc'd to a Lay-State by Degradation ? Why too many of the Clergy in this Matter de clare one thing , and pradife the contra ry, is, becaufe the Cuftom of degrading or reducing Ecclefiafticks to a Lay-Com munion , was in ufe many Ages before this Notion of I know not what peculiar and indelible Charader was thought of, and fo cou'd not well be difcontinu'd af terwards. And tho' in the primitive Times we have many Inftances of Bifhops, who were wholly depriv'd of their Office, and only admitted to Lay^ Communion ; yet that Favour was not always allow'd. For to inftance in Bafilides, be wou'd have been tyP1"- E* extremely glad if the Church had per^1' 6^j' mitted him to communicate only as a Layman. And at Rome it felf the Clergy were fo far from thinking Orders indelibly plac'd on any, that the Council of Va-Ca».aj Uncia under Pope Damafus injoin'd thai all, whether of the Order of Deacon , Presbyter, or Bifhop, convid of deadly Sin, fhou'd be remov'd from their Orders. And there are a great Number of prher Canons, which for feveral Crimes made Ordinations null and void; as wh«n a A a Man 354 The Rights of the Man gets into an Ecclefiaftjcal Office by Simony, or other corrupt Means. And do not the Popifh liiftorians confefs , that for fome Ages there Was fcarce a Pope made without moft wicked and uncanonical D*-.Bumet Methods ? Was not Eugenius with feveral of Ordba- others notorioufly guilty pf Simony, ahho' *"*• the Second Council of Nfce declar'd the Orders of all Simoniacks to be void ? And 'tis plain that in Pope Stephen's Time this Notion of Orders being Indelible did not obtain ; for he null'd the Ordinations of Conftantine , who from a Layman was chofen Pope, not flaying fo long in the intermediate Degrees as the Canons re quir'd. Nor did this Opinion prevail even in Stephen the Sixth's. Time, fince upon the account of fome Irregularities he annull'd the Orders given by Pope Formofm ; and after that, as Platina obferves, it became cuftomary for the following infallible Popes to undo the Ads of their Predeceffors. So that Bellarmine, who is not often guilty of any thing which tends to the Difadvantage of the Roman See, . is forc'd to acknow ledge, " That for above eighty Years to- " gether, the Church, for want of a law- " ful Pope, had no other Head than what " was in Heaven. Which whether itde- ftroys the Uninterrupted Succeffion of a vifible Head, let our as well as their Cler gy confider. And does not Baronius talk much to the fame purpofe, in faying ; Tom. 10. " How deform'd was the Roman Church, Ann.900. « wnen Whores, no lefs powerful than " vile, bore the chief Sway at ftwvand " at Chriftian Church, &c. 35 j " at their Pleafure chang'd Sees, and ap-Chap.9, " pointed Bifhops ; and, which is horrible WV " to mention , did thruft into St. Peter's " See their own Gallants, falfe Popes? " Chrift was then, it feems, in a very " deep Sleep ; and , which was worfe, " when the Lord was thus afleep, there " were no Difciples to awaken him, being* " themfelves all faft afleep. What kind of " Cardinals can we think were chpfen by M thofe Monfters ? &c. yo. One of the Learned and Judicious Examiners of Bellarmine' s Notes of the Church, faith , " 'Tis probable' that the " Roman Church wants a Head, and that " there is now no true Pope, nor has been' "' accordingly interpreted by Erafmus, Beza, Diodati, and thofe who tranflated the Switz, French, Italian, Belgick, and even Englifh Bibles till the Epifcopal Corredion, which leaves out the Words by Eleclion, as well as the Marginal Notes, which affirm, That the Apoftles did not thruft Paftors into the Church thro' a Lordly Superiority , but thofe and plac'd 'em by the Voice of' the Con gregation. Of the Truth of this Clemens^- l- ad Romanus, a Cotemporary, if not Compa- or,?-57« nion of the Apoftles, is a Witnefs : and Pope Anacletus, who liv'd not long after, affirms this Right belongs to the Spirit tual People, and good Priefts. And there's no Inftance in the firft three Centuries, of any one being made a Bifhop, except by the Eledion of the whole Church. And this Pradice continu'd, with little or no_ _ ^ InterruptiPn, for many Ages after; ^^ Ben Matt. even in Rome it felf, the People till 1147,5. "!¦ eleded their Bifhop ; and the famous Coun- Theodor. eil of Nice, in a Synodical Epiftle to the J- *• c- 8-P« Church of Alexandria, forbids any to be*47"5*1* ordain'd Bifhop without the Eledion of the Pepple : and the Council of Conftan- tinople 582. in an Epiftle to Damafus, and others, fay, that they ordain'd Neclarius Hift. Tri- tuncJa decernente Civitate, and Flavianus om- Part* 1- 9' ni Ecclefia decernente. And the firft Canon c' £*' p' of the fourth Council of Carthage 394. fays, a Bifhop is to be ordain'd cum omni «»/«»/« Concil. : Clericontm & Laicorum. And another Coun- s^^" cil, even in 6yo, make the Ordination iu?A9'x. A a 4 of 360 < The Rights of the pf a Bifhop to be void, where he, is not eleded by the People. And Father Paul . Of Bene- faith, " That Pope Leo fhews amply that,,, fie Mat-u tne Ordinatipn of a Bifhop cou'd not be; fcr«,§.z9. ct iawfui or valid, which was not requir'd " or fought for by the People , and: by "fthem approv'd of; which is faid by all " the Saints of thofe Times : and St, Gre- " gory thought Conftance cou'd not be con* " fecrated Bifhop of Milan, being- eleded " by the Clergy, without the Content of the " Citizens, whp by reafon of Perfecution " retir'd to Genoa .-. and he preyail'd that "they fhou'd be firft fent unto to know,. "their Will ; a thing worthy to be noted, " in our Days, when that Eledion is de^ " clar'd to be illegitimate and null , in' t(: which the People have any Share.' Thus " Things are chang'd and pafs'd into a '?, quite Contrary Cuftom, calling that Law- " ful which then was accounted Wicked, " and that Unjuft which then was reputed *' Holy-" This, I think, makes it plain that the Bifhops themfelves did not for feveral Centuries imagine, that the Right of making Bifhops was appropriated by God to them, much lefs that this was an Indelible Charader imprinted on them , when we fee that they thought all they did in this matter was null, excep- where there was a previous Eledion of the Peo ple ; which, if the Ordaining (taking that Word for Conftituting or Appointing) Bi fhops bad by Divine Right belang'd only to that Order, wcu'd be fo far from being neceffary, that ic wou'd be Sacri lege Chriftian, Church, &c. 361 lege in the People to meddle with it. But Chap. 9. if ,the Power of chufing Ecclefiaftical Offi- ^Y^ cers does naturally or of courfe belong to the Pepple, their Choice alone is all that's P IJ4? neceffary, as has been already prov'd, ex-i55, 155, c'ept there's fome Law of God which divides 176, i77> the Ppwer of making Ecclefiafticks between J78> them and the Bifhops. And had the Apo ftles been charg'd to declare to Mankind that God had depriv'd the People of thofe Rights, either in whole or in part, which the permiffive Law of Nature allow'd 'em, they wou'd no doubt have declar'd it in fuch Terms as fhou'd have made it as plain to all fucceeding Generations that they had loft thofe Rights, as that once they had 'em. The utmoft which Precedents can dp, is to (hew that if we were in the fame Cir cumftances with the primitive Chrifti ans, it was lawful or expedient,, but not ne ceffary, to ad as they did ; and 'tis as ri diculous to fuppofe we are more oblig'd to take Crete or Ephefus for a Pattern in ma- paging our Ecclefiaftical than our Civil Affairs, unlefs there's fome Law which commands it :: and then no doubt we fhou'd have had an exad Defcription of their Pradice. And tho' the manner of making Deacons or Overfeers of the Poor is more particularly declar'd with all its Circumftances, than can be pretended for the making of Elders ; yet none think we are any more oblig'd to take that Method ' in providing for the Poor, than we are to have a Community of Goods, becaufe it was pradis'd by the firft Chriftians ; but that 362 The Rights of the that People may, notwithftanding any thing faid there, appoint what Deacons or Over- fee rs they think fit for the Poor, and make 'em after what manner they pleafe, no Ec- clefiaftick having more Power from God than any other. And the Right pf appoin ting Clergymen wou'd be as little difputerl as the making Overfeers for the Poor, if no more was to be got by it. y %. It is faid the People are to ad accor ding to Difcretion in providing for the Poor, and appointing what Officers they pleafe to look after them, becaufe they have the Power of difpofing their Alms as they think fit. But wou'd not this have given 'em as great a Power with relation to their Ec clefiaftical Minifters, fince they alike fub- fifted by their Alms ? And this is fo notori ous, that in theantient Roman Miffals the Per. Sim. Prieft faid, Remember, 0 Lord, thy Servants Hiftcry of and Handmaids , who make me fubfifl by their Ecclef-Re- Alms, which was daily deliver'd out to 'em p!Tw" v rize tp perform the Cerempny of Confe- cration, 3^4 -The Rights of the eration, ad minifterially, and by virtue of. the Royal Mandate. ..# yy. HOW comes a Bifhop's Power of Ordination to be more indelible than the Shares of Legiflation, or the . Jurifdidion he claims, if they are alike of Divine O- riginal? In what Law of God is this Di ftindion to be found ? And if it be by vir tue of his Biflioprick he has this as well as the reft of his Power, muft not the Lofs of that deprive him of one as well as of the o- ther ? How can a depriv'd Bifhop convey toothers that Government or Jurifdidioa which he himfelf can't pretend to have ? Or how can the Canons forbid a Bifhop^ whether depriv'd or not, to ordain in ano-1 tber's Diocefs, if he has a Divine Righr indelibly fixt in him to ordain over the whole Church ? Which is fuppofing: one Bifhop to have fuch a Right as he himielf can't 'part with, and yet that others can :or- bid him to exercife it. Divines ufuaUy.di- ftinguifh between a Rig'hi to an Office, and a Right to execute an Office : but what is a Right to execute an Office, if not to do thofe Things in which the Office; conr fifts ? Andean any have a Right to an: Of fice without having a Right to do thofe Things •: in which the Office confifts ? So that 'tis an Ecclefiaftical Figure, by Lay men commonly call'd a Bull, to diftinguim, between 'em. And if the Priefthood too be an Indelible: Charader, no Prieft can be hin der'd, no not for a Time, from doing thofe Things in; which the Priefthood confifts ; and: \t muft .-deftroy all the Schemes of Ecclefia-. flicalj Chriftian Church, &c. 365 ftical Government which have been yet in Chap. 9. the World. ss^r** 56. In a Word, no one can be appointed to goVern a particular Diftrid, or to be a Paftor of any Congregation , if not by the 'Confent of the Parties concern'd, ex cept by a Legifiative Power; becaufe Le giflation alone can make it a Duty in the People to acknowledge him for their Biffiop or Paftor. But as there can't be two Le gifiative Powers over the fame People, fo the TJifhops with us are allow'd no other Power in this Matter than that the Peo ple or Patron can't appoint any Paftor who is not firft licens'd or approv'd by fome one of "em ; which I will npt deny may be proper enough to be permitted to Bifhops Who are not depriv'd. But nothing cab be more ftrange, than to allow this Licenfing Privilege to Popifh Bifhops, or to thofe who are thrown out of their Diftrids for being in the Intereft of an -Enemy tb our Religion and Government, and who Condemn our r Church as SchifrnaticaL But enough on this Head. And now X (hall'; as I promis'd, endeavour to prove, That this Hypothefis, which fuppofes the Being of the Catholick Church depends up on a right Succeffion of true Bifhops, and ,that none can be a true Bifhop who de rives not his Power and Government in a Line of Succeffion from the Apoftles, deftroys the very Being of the Catholick Church. f 7. If in fo long a Procefs of Time, as that from the Apoftles, there's no Civil Govern- 366 The Rights of the Government where the Succeffion has been preferv'd intire ; can it be imagin'd that'Ec- clefiaftical Government has been better kept, and not fo much as one Link in the whole Chain broken ; efpecially confidering a Suc ceffion of Dodrines 'as well as Perfons is ne ceffary, and that Schifm and Herefy break this Chain ? DoBrine of Mr. Dodwett, whom all muft allow to be the Ch.ofas Well vers'd in Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, as foxmit ^e is zeal°us f°r Epifcopal Succeffion, cou'd the'lttde- not av°id owning, " That in a Revolution pendency of" of Ages, there's no Succeffion in the the Clergy," World, but has fome unjuftifiable Turn. §•33- " Nor is there, fays he, any Thing in the " Nature of Ecclefiaftical Government, as " 'tis a Government of external Bodies, ma- " nag'd by Men of like Infirmities with " thofe who are engag'd with Civil Go- " vernment, that can fecure it againft the " like Violences of ambitious and unreafon- " able Men, who wou'd judge too partially " in their own Cafe. Such Violences on " the Government may fometimes make a " Breach in the due Succeffion, and affed " the dired Conveyances of that Authority *' from God, which is requifite to the giving " a Title to thofe Spiritual Benefits to Souls* " which are the great Defign of Ecclefiafti- " cal Communion. f8. And if we needed another Confeffion in fo clear a Cafe, the Author of the Cafe of the Regale, &c. a moft furious Man fop the Divine Right of Epifcopacy , very '•77- frankly owns, "That it wou'd be hard to M- *• ? find a Bifhop againft whom fome of " thefe Chriftian Church, &c. 367 * thefe Objedions (relating tp Succeffion,) Chap. 9. " do not lie : for Example, all the Bi-' (hops of the Reformation, as well in Evs!a?J as elfewhere, are (truck off at " Pt Blow; for they all deriv'd from ( thofe whom they now account to be, " and then to have been Hereticks. And " tht Ordinations of the Church of Rome " muft go off too , efpecially fince the " Council of Cmftance, that turn'd out " all the Popes that were then in the " World , which were three Antipopes " contending cne with another. And they " cannct fay of any of their Ordinations " at this Day, that they are not deriv'd " from fome pf the Antipopes. Nay, all " the Churches, as far at the Avian Herefy " reach'd , may come under this Objec- " tion : for many of their Ordinations fC were deriv'd from fome or other who " were Arians, Semi-Arians, &c. Ncr are we to ftop here, fince, as far as we have any Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, we find the Chriftians divided into a great Number pf Seds; each pretending to be the true Succeffors of the Apoftles, and excluding the reft from being Members of the Ca tholick Church, either as Hereticks or Schifmaticks. And the nature of Schifm is acknowledg'd by the Clergy to be fo exten- five, that not only they who caufe the Breach, but thofe who communicate with 'em, or with thofe they communicate with, are guilty of it. yg. And when Princes became Chriftians, they every where depriv'd Bifhops for Matters 368 The Rights of the Matters relating to State, as well as Church'/ whofe Deprivations being invalid, as by this Hypothefis they muft be, thofe who fuc^ , ceedect 'em cou'd be no Bifhops. To which! it may be added, that great Numbers have been made. Bifhops who were not rightfully eleded. And this muft needs be fo, fince Councils have determin'd contrary ways about the Right of Eledi on: And a Choice made by Perfons who have no Right to chufe, is an Error of" the firft Concodion, not to be repair'd. Some have been put into Sees, of which the^ were incapable by the Canons; others canonically depriv'd, have remain'd in their Sees ; fome turn'd out of the Church by Excommunication, have continu'd to exer cife their Epifcopal Fundion in the Church. And can fuch as thefe any more maintain the Succeffion, than Perfons who are not validly baptiz'd, both as to Matter and Form? And if Women are not capable of baptizing, fince the Church of Rome allows of it, That alone might have ftrange effed on the Succeffion. 60. If the Succeffion in the Church of Rome, which pretends to have had fo great a Care in the preferving ir, has, as we have prov'd in this Chapter, been deftroy'd ; we have no Reafon to think it intire in any other Church : And then, in what a mife rable Condition is the Chriftian World ! For God himfelf cannot make a Succeffion which has been broke, not to have been broke. And when once thofe Spiritual Powers, fuppoi'd neceffary for the Being of Chriftian Church, ,&c. 369 a Chriftian Church, have fail'd for want of a Chap. 9. due Succeffion, it is the fame Thing as if s-rV^-/ they never had been. This, inftead of build ing the Church on a Rock, is placing it on a very fandy Foundation. 61. All that is. faid to help the poor Church in this lamentable Condition; is urg'd by the charitable Mr. Dodwell, " That Independ. " this Breach of the Succeffion is a Necef- fthic'?" " fity of God's making, in conftituting his ch '• 3s- " Church fuch a Body, when he might " have made it otherwife. And being a " Neceffity of God's Contrivance, by Man " perfedly unavoidable, his Equity is more " oblig'd to provide for the Confequence. And he makes as to this Point no Difference between Ecclefiaftical and Civil Govern- ;£e™Jc ment, but faith, " Both are ufually chang'd ef the r'£ " by Prefcription ; which by the Laws of ;r.v<* Bi- " Nations, and with relation to the GoodJH^-46- " of Mankind, and Government in gene- '" ral, is in procef of Time fufficient to ex- " tinguifh an Original Right ; and make " that Right, which at firft was no other " than Invafion and Viojence : and that " Nullities in trad of Time may be in full " force. But, If God intended the Clergy fhou'd have an Independent Power, and that it fhou'd be convey'd by way of Succeffion ; I de mand*, whether he defign'd this Succeffion to laft to the end of the World, or for a Time only ? If to the end of the World, will it not argue a want of Forefight in God, to conttive fuch a Medium for the convey ing of this Power, as muft in fome fhort B b time 3 jo The Rights^ of the time fail? Or, rather, is it not to make God ad inconfiftently, and defign perfed Contradidions ? For what can be more fo, than to intend a Succeffion to continue to the End of the World ; and at the fame time manage Matters fo, that it muft in a fhort time fail, thro' a Contrivance of God's own, by Manperfedly unavoidable ? But, If the Succeffion was to continue only for a time, is it not as ridiculous to infift on it when the time is expir'd as the only Title to Church-Government, as 'tis to pretend the only Right to Civil Government is founded on being Adam\ Heir (about which fome even now keep fuch a mighty pother) when 'tis impoffihle to find out this Heir ? 62. To be fhort, nothing can be plainer (if that Power which was fuppos'd to be given by Revelation to certain Perfons and their Succeffors, for the Government of the Church, has fail'd for want of a due Succef fion) than that the Church is either diffolv'd for want of fuch Governors, or elfe the Peo ple have a fufficient Power within themfelves to manage their Church-Affairs, and to give fome of their Body a Right to exercife all Ecclefiaftical Offices. And, If Prefcription, as this Author owns, can make mere Nullities to become good and valid,, nay, caufe that to be "Right which at firft was Invafion and Violence, the Laity may be capable of all manner of Ecclefiaftical Power .- for their feizing on it can be only Violence and Invafion, and was a mere Nullity at firft. And this he asknowledges in the Inftances he gives of " the Chriftian Church, ckc. 37 1 " the Macedonians firft, and the Romans af-Chap, 9, " terwards, by Prefeription acquiring a*"*^™0 " Right of making and unmaking High " Priefts at their Pleafure. And thofe made by the laft, we cannot doubt to be lawful and rightful, fince Chrift himfelf communicated with 'em. Nay, he fuppo fes " the Cafe to be the fame with the " Greeks, who, as he faith, are brought " to that pafs v now, that their Patriarchs " have not their Power for their Lives, " but during the Pleafure of the Infidel " Magiftrate. Which neceffarily fuppofes the Clergy have no fupernatural Powers or Privileges ; which being out of the reach of Force and Violence, the Magiftrate can never by fuch carnal Weapons gain a Right by Prefeription to deprive any one of 'em. And if the unbelieving Magiftrates have no Spiritual Powers, their Creatures, High- Priefts and Patriarchs, whom they make and unmake at Pleafure, can have as little as their Creators. 6$. This Author wou'd do the World no fmall Kindnefs in letting 'em know, how long Time is neceffary for Lay- Prefeription in Spiritual Matters, to pafs into a Right ; becaufe till then 'tis Schifm, and, as ho faith; Herefy too, not to adhere to a Bifhop de priv'd by Lay-Powers ; but then it muft be the fame to adhere to him. ¦ And this I demand the rather, becaufe ever fince the Reformation our Legiflators have depriv'd both Bifhops and Priefts , and the Crown upon an Appeal is intrufted toith the Power pf doing ic. And if fo Bb 1 long %J1 The Rights of the lpng a Time is fufficient to create a Right, then our. Author, and the reft of the Men of the True Church of England (as they term themfelves) are by their own Princi ples guilty of Schifm and Herefy, in adhe ring to the late Bifhops. Nay, This Author muft either acknowledge himfelf and the reft of the Nonjurors Schifmaticks and Hereticks, or elfe own that the Jewifh and Greek Churches were diffolv'd by the Magiftrate's depriving their High-Priefts and Patriarchs : for if he had not a Power to do this without the help of Prefeription, their Deprivation muft be at firft invalid, and they retain'd, as ftill obli ging in Confcience, all their Spiritual Pow er ; and thofe who intruded into their Places were (to ufe his Expreffion) nulll foras ali en! ; who, as they had no Title themfelves, fo they cou'd convey none to any other- And therefore this Hypothefis can't pre- ferve either the Jewifh or Greek Church, without owning that the Magiftrate, tho' an Infidel, had this Power even from the beginning belonging to him. And if Infi dels have this Power, it wou'd be abfurd in him to deny it (Supreme Power being every where the fame) to Chriftian Magiftrates. Nor, 64. Can Prefeription be of any force, except in thofe Things only which have no higher Original than Human Confent. To prefcribe in Things of a Divine Origin, is prefcribing againft God himfelf. But if Prefeription, which is only a tacit or pre fum'd Confent, gives a Right, certainly that Chriftian Church, cxc. 373 that which is exprefs does as fully ; and Chap. 9. therefore the Magiftrate can gain nothing x/V*>- by Prefeription, except what the People by their exprefs Confent are able to give him. But, . 6y . Prefeription, Length of Time, Laws of Nations, which only relate to the Things tranfaded between different Nations, have nothing to do in giving a Right upon Change of G°vernment : Becaufe as Men muft needs be in a State of Nature, in all Cafes where the Suddennefs of the Danger hinders 'em from having recourfe to the Magiftrate; fo they are wholly in that State, when their Governors, by Abdica tion or any other ways, become incapable of proteding 'em: And then the Right they have of ading for their own Good, of which they can't diveft themfelves, obliges 'em, notwithftanding any Oatns or Obligations they were under to their for mer Governors, to come out of that State, by having recourfe to thofe Powers which are beft able to proted 'em ;' who the firft minute the People have by Words or Add ons own'd 'em, have the fame Right to their Obedience, as if they had been fettl'd a Thoufand Years. But were Men oblig'd not to own the Government in whofe Power they were, till it cou'd plead Pre feription, in what a miferable Condition muft they be ? becaufe they who difown it muft be as much in the State of outlaw'd Perfons, as if the Government had dif- own'd 'em ; which wou'd not only provpke the Government to treat *em as fworn fl b 5 Enemies,, 374 The Rights of the Enemies, but fubjed them and theirs to the Infult of every one. And confidering bow frequent Revolutions are, there wouu be few Governments which Men of thefe Principles cou'd own, one Ufurpa'tion ge nerally fucceeding another, before any had obtain'd a Right by Prefeription. But if we are to be govern'd by the Good of Mankind (fince the lefs Time a Govern ment has been fettl'd, the more need it has of Reft) that requires Obedience at the very firft, and not to ftay till Prefeription has .gain'd a fuppos'd Right ; which is an Hypo thefis To very abfurd, that no Perfons were ever inflUenc'd by it, no, not this Author .himfelf, nor any of the other Jacobites, who contend fo zealoufly for it ; fince, 66. Tho' they pretend 'tis againft their Confciences to own the prefent Govern ment for want of a fufficient Prefeription, Length of Time, &c. yet 'tis in Words only : For by their Adions they do, and have all along own'd it, in claiming all manner of Protedion from ic, which is fufficiently •acknowledging any Govern ment : for he' that's willing not to be a Prey to every one who is too ftrong for him, but to be proteded by the Govern ment, muft be willing, tho' he pretends ever fo much the contrary, to pay it all the Obedience' neceffary for that end. And if he thinks it lawful to allow the Govern ment a coercive Power over all others, to hinder 'em "from injuring him ; he muft think it as lawful that it fhou'd have the fame to reftrain him from injuring them. And Chriftian Church, &c. 375 And in appealing to the Courts of Juftice he Chap. 9. pwns himfelf ready to fubmit to the Deter-. ^"VV minatibn of the Judges, and confequently to the Laws and Authority "by which they ad, and in whofe Name all PrPceffes are. 67. In the State of Nature every one was to judge for himfelf ; and Men came out of that State, when they had recourfe to a common Umpire, to determine Differences, and redrefs Injuries by known and ftated Laws. And are not the Jacobites in the State of Nature ftill, for any Protedion they receive from the pretended James the Third, or thofe commiffion'dby him ? And if having conftant recourfe to a Government for its Protedion be not owning it, nothing is j fince 'tis That alone which makes the diffe rence between a Natural and a Political State. And they who allow the Governors of the Country they live in all that's neceffa ry to proted 'em (and who is fo much a Jacobite as not to be willing to do that ?) grants 'em all they can jhftly claim ; be caufe if they extend their Power to other Ends, they exceed their Cpmmiffion, and turn Tyrants. 68. And 'tis by thefe Adions, in com mon to the Jacobites with other Subjeds, that the greateft part of Mankind ever own'd any Government. And fhou'd Men once think themfelves bound in Confcience to de ftroy that Government to which they have recourfe for Protedion in their Lives, Fa milies, and Properties, for no other Reafon than becaufe it has not protected 'em for a long Time together, which yet it wou'd do, $ b 4 m 2 n 6 The Rights of the did not they themfelves endeavour to prevent it; what a havock wou'd this make in the World ? And what a miferable Uncertainty n;uft the Bulk of Mankind be reduc'd to, if the Lawfulnefs of Obedience muft depend on contefted Titles, or a fufficient Preferip tion , the certain Time of which none can affign ? So that Men of thefe Principles, in ftead |of being influene'd by the Good of the World, the Foundation on which this Author wou'd build his Hypothefis, may be juftly reckon'd common Enemies to Mankind. By what's here faid, 'tis plain, if Eccle fiaftical Government is chang'd after the fame manner as Civil, both are built on the Confent of the People; and confequently the Jacobites have no Pretence from what this Author has faid concerning Prefeription , Laws of Nations, or the Good of Mankind, net to fubmit to the prefent Government in Church and State. - -69. This Author has given' up the Caufe of Prefeription in the Cafe in View confider' d, , a Pamphlet juft now publifh'd ; becaufe he there fuppofes the Death or Refignation of the Depriv'd Bifhops (which might have happen'd immediately on their Deprivation) fufficient to give a Right to the prefent Pof- feffors. But if the fecond Donation was, as he faith, null and invalid by the Donors having exhaufted their whole Power by the firft Donation, I wou'd know of him the Difference between an invalid Donation and no Donation ; or what Spiritualities the fuppos'd Ufurpers can have, and by whom tbey were convey'd. So I wou'd likewife ask' Chriftian Church, &c. 377 ask him, what other Reafon his Bifbops, Chap. 9. whn have not prefum'd to do anyEpiicopal V^Y^ Ads fince their Lay Deprivation, cou'd have not to refign all this while, except it were Occaf. to keep the Nation in Communipn with the Com. Devil, as he affirms all Schifmaticks tp be. "• "> 22. Annther Thing I wpu'd ask him is, Whe ther all he had faid to heal a broken Succef fion is not deftroy'd by his affirming, " That Defence of ** the Church requires Governors authoriz'd the vinau. " by God, more than other Civil Societies "/'^^r " do ; and that he has not given Men *&-%%? " fon tp exped, that when the Breach ffialPp/j^ "fall, he will extranrdinarily empower " Men ? &c And therefore he concludes, " That the only Way for fecuring the " Church, is by fecuring the Succeffipn." But now 'tis more than Time to have dpna with this profound Author, admir'd abroad as well as at home for his great Learning in Ecclefiaftical Matters, and his deep Skill in Con trover fies of this Nature, and to proceed tp other Arguments. CHAP- 2^8 The Right$ pf; the C Ji A P. X. That the Catholick Church confifts of feveral Bodies Jndependent on each other ; and that none of thefe have 'power to make Clergymen, except for themfelves ; and that the contrary Opinion neceffarily fuppofes a Univerfal Bifiojp or ^ope. l.npHO' 'twere eafy to prove, that JL .every Congregation, how fmall fo ever? gather'd together in the Name of Chrift, is a compleat Body Politick with refped to Ecclefiafticals, as having every Thing within it felf requifite to the Being of a Church ; yet I fhall not infift on it, becaufe 'tis fufficient to my prefent pur pofe, if every Chriftian Nation be fo : And if England, jgr inftance, were not fuch a Body, we have neither any Ecclefiaftical Laws nor Perfons among us, becaufe we neither have, nor defire the Confent or Ap probation of any other Perfons in the making either of 'em. Nay, is not the Reformation built on this, and do not our Clergy, and others, ("wear to difown any foreign, Chriftian Church, &c. 379 foreign Power, JurifdidiPn, and Authority Chap. ~io. whatfoever in Ecclefiafticals ? And do not V-^ all Proteftant Nations claim the fame Pow er ? If it be otherwife in Popifh Countries, 'tis only their Folly or Ignorance Which Caufes 'em to be impos'd on by the Bifhop of Rome. 2. What Argument is there to prove any Nation to be a compleat Body Po litick for Civils , , except that they have as to Thofe a Legifiative and Executive Power? And will not the fame hold as ftrongly in Ecclefiafticals? And if tbey who have the fupreme Temporal Power in one Country, cannot give one a Right to exercife any Civil Jurifdidion, or eVen any Minifterial Office, in another not fubjeci to them ; the Reafon is equally concluding as to Ecclefiafticals. And by the fame Rea fon, he who is excommunicated in one Na tional Church, is no more fo in any other, than one who is outlaw'd in pne Cpuntry is (bin others. ;. In a Word, when any Power gives one a Right to exercife any Empfoy what foever, that Right can extend no farther than his Power does who beftow'd it, and can never be made to reach to any Inde pendent Place. And therefore 'tis evident that he who is made a Prieft or Bifhop in one Natfon, is pnly a mere Layman in another ; where if his Ads are valid , without any new Ordinatioq, Cnnfecra- tion, &c. it can be upon n6 Pther fppt, than that the Confent of the People is fufficient to authorize pne to exercife any "' ' * part o The Rights of the part of the Ecclefiaftical Fundion, and that the Clergy (fince there 'cannot be two Ori ginals of the fame Power) derive all their Right, from thence. And asvevery Church in the Apoftle's Time was Independent of any otjher, fo the Elders or Bifhops were ordain'd ., only for a particular City, or Church within, that City ; and confequent ly, out of it they had no more Right to exercife an Ecclefiaftical Office than any other Chriftian. 4. To avoid thefe Confequences, it is faid, That every Nation isnot a compleat Body Politick within it felf, as to Eccle fiafticals; but the whole Church, fay they, eompofes ,'fu.ch a Body, and Chrift is the Head of it. ' But Chrift's Headfhip makes Chriftians no more one Body Politick with refped to Ecclefiafticals than to Civils. His Precepts equally, extend to both, and the whole Earth 'is' God's and Chrift's Kingdom; and, yet the Kingdoms of the Earth are diftind and independent of one anp- ther, and fo are all National Churched But, ' If Chur,ch-Government dpes not in every Nation flow from the Confent of the Parties concern'd , but was plac'd by God in the Apoftles and their Succeffors ; then fince each of the Apoftles , and each of their Succeffors cou'd not (that implying a Contradic tion) have the Government pf the whole Church, each muft have aL Part only, or all muft be fo join'd as to make only one Govern- Chriftian Church, &c« 381 Government; or elfe the Supreme Power Chap, id muft be lodg'd in one, and the reft be no ^^"^ other than his Deputies. 5. As to the Firft : If each of the Apo ftles was a Governor of a Part only of the Church, That muft during their Lives be divided into as many independent Bo dies, as there were Apoftles ; and after their Death, into as many more, as they had Succeffors ; ea:h qf which being Su preme in his own Diocefs, cou'd have no Superior except God, to whom alone he's- accountable : and confequently all the Bi fhops iri the World cou'd not inflid the leaft Spiritual Cenfure on him, for that wou'd make him accountable to his E- quals, who cou'd make no Laws relating to his Diftrid, becaufe the Supreme Go vernment of that belongs to him indepen dently of all others. Nor cou'd any Syno- dical Ads, tho' all the Bifhops fhou'd agree, bind any of their Succeffors, fince they have their Authority by the fame Divine Right, and as independently as their Pre- deceffors. Nor can the Ads of any one of 'em, whether of Excommunication, Ordi nation, &c. reach further than the Church within his Bifhoprick, becaufe all other Churches are under Independent Governors of their o An ; and confequently as to them he is a mere private Perfon. Thefe Things ( not to mention any o- thers ) fufficiently demonstrate that the Government of the Church was not fo divided among the Apoftles firft, and their prete'nded Succeffors afterwards, as that each 382 The Rights of the each was Supreme and Independent in a particular Diftrid. 6. As to the Second : If the Government of the Church was in all the Apoftles fo united as to make only one Supreme Pow er, no lefs than a Majority cou'd make Laws, or difpofe of Offices and Employs : and this wou'd be the fame in relation to their Succeffors , and confequently all the Bifhops of the Catholick Church muft be fo united as to make only one Govern ment ; which fuppofes a Neceffity of their being form'd into an Affembly, in order to debate and conclude Things by a Majo rity, and that none cou'd have a Right to any Ecclefiaftical Office, except what he muft derive immediately or mediately from this Grand Senate : and whofoever had any Church-Power or Jurifdidion , muft ad as their Deputy, by an Autho rity deriv'd from them, to whom the laft Appeal upon all Occafions wou'd be : and for any other befides them to attempt to make Laws or Canons for the Church, or any Part thereof, wou'd be Spiritual Trea fon and Rebellion. But there never was a General Affembly of Bifhops (at leaft till the Empire became Chriftian) and con fequently from the Deceafe of the Apoftles to that time, the Church was without Go vernment, and fo (lie muft have been ever fince the Empire was cantoniz'd into fo many Provinces. And this holds, efpeci ally among the Proteftants, where each Na tion ads as independently in Ecclefiafti cals as in Civils, and is as much a diftind Com- Chriftian Church, &c. 383 Community with relation to one as to theChap.io. ether. Nor in reality was the Church evers-^Vv- pne Body Politick, by virtue of any Affem bly pf Bifhops ; becaufe the greateft num ber of 'em that ever met in a Council, were only a few in Comparifon of the reft : For in the Primitive Times a Bifhoprick, and what we now call a Parifh, were the fame thing ; a Bifhop had only one Altar or Church belonging to him, fo that he cou'd daily infped all under bis Care.f,, And even after that time their Dipcenes were fmall ; For in that Part of Africa which befong'd tp the Chriftians, St. Auftin tec-f^^ kons nine hundred Bifhops; and Barpniuscum-pmc^ fays, that as low dpwn as 1147. there rk. were a thoufand in Armenia ; and yet at the General Council of Nice there were a- bout three hundred, and at that of Conftan- tinople not above half the Number. 'Tis true, at the Council of Ariminum the num ber of Bifhops was double to that of Nice ; but nothing can be prov'd from thence (fince that will not be allow'd to be a Ge neral Council) except that the greater the Number, the likejier they are to be in the wrong. 7. Befides, thefe Councils did not ad by an Independent Power , but were call'd , prorogu'd , and diffolv'd at the Pleafure of the Emperors , who affembl'd 'em by the fame Right as they did any of their other Subjeds, to advife with ; and as they thought fit, pafs'd or not pafs'd their Re- folve?, I mean fuch as were the Subjed of Human Power, into Laws, no ways obli- 3 8 4 The R ights of the obligatory on ahy Chriftians beyond the Bounds' of; the Empire.' And this Right all other Magiftrates^ have in their Domi nions. And indeed General Councils are lb far from being the Church- Reprefenta- tive, that Whatever they determine can have no Virtue,, except the Supreme Powers give it the Fdrce of Laws : and Where thefe enad any Thing contrary to the Senti ments of fuch Councils, they who compofe thpfe* Councils, as well as all others, are boundby it. And indeed all Human Laws whatever, as has been prov'd in the Intro- dudion, muft be refolv'd into the Will of the prefent Legiftators , whofe prefum'd Will it, is, that all Laws enaded by their Predeceffbrs (hall be Valid, till they declare otherwife ; and if it were not fo, 'twou'd be impoflible for 'em to repeal any Laws formerly made. Nay, even God's Laws do not depend upon his having enaded 'em in former Times, but becaufe it's the Will of the Ever- living Being that they (hall bind at prefent. This (hews how abfurd 'tis to have recourfe to the Pow er and Authority of former Councils , or any other Affemblies of Ecclefia fticks. In a Word, if the Bifhops are not Su preme, each in his own Diftrid, nor fo united, as to compofe only one Govern ment for the whole Catholick Church ; there remains no other way to make the Church only one Body Politick, or its Government of Divine Appointment, than by fuppofing fome one of the Apo ftles, Chriftian Church, &c. 385 ftles, and his Succeffors after him, tp Chap. 10. prefide pver the whple Church, as Univer- ' (al Bifhop ; and the reft to ad as his Depui ties, and by his Authority, and be deprivaT ble at his Pleafure, to whom is the laft Ap peal, and in whofe Determinations all muft acquiefce. No Ppwer lefs than this can make the Ads pf any Clergyman, whether of Ordination, Excommunication, &c va lid thro' the whole Church ; fince that can only be done by virtue of an Authority which extends fo far, and is the Fountain, Foundation and Center of Catholick Union and Communion. ' 8. Indeed when Men do not think it fufficient for Salvation to be united to Chrift by true Faith, and to one another by Chriftian Love, leaving every Commu nity to form what Ecclefiaftical Govern ment they think fit ; but make it neceffary to the very Being of Chriftianity to be united by fome one external Head or Go vernment, as the Centre of Catholick U- niOn and Communion ; I cannot fee how a Popedom is avoidable, which muft have Authority to judge of the Differences be tween Provincial and National Churches that are equal among themfelves, there by to promote the Communion of Saints, and to hinder the Body of Chrift from be ing divided. And there can be no Argument fram'd for a Power in a National Church to judge of Schifms, Herefies, ejrc. which will not equally hold for the .Catholick Church. And nothing can be pleaded for C c the 306 n thd Rights of the the Neceffity of uniting fo many Congre gations as make up a Diocefs under a Bi fhop, and fo many Dioceffes as make Up a province under art Arch-Biffiop, which Will npt as ftrorigly hold for all the Provinces be ing united under the Pope. 9. Who is there that claims this PPWer except the Bifhop of Rome, as deriving; il from St- Peter ; to whofe Succeffors bad not this defcended, muft it not upon the Death of the reft of the Apoftles have fallen to St. John, and after him to bis Succeflbfs ? But we do npt find the Suceeffpfs of any Apoftles befides St. Peter pretend to this Power. In a Word, there are feveral other Ar guments, which upon this common Hypo thefis of the Clergy, make for the Neceffity - of a Spiritual Monarch in the Church ; as for inftance, ... 10. If we deny a Nation, upon their Gonverfion to Chriftianity, foflncieht PoWer to make their Church-Governors, we muft admit of fome UniVerfal Bifnop, to whom Nations, as they turn Chriftians, becPine fubjed, and to whom it belongs to inveft fome, as his Deputies, with a Right to exer cife Ecclefiaftical PoWer over- 'em ; which he cou'd not beftow on others, were it not firft in, himfelf. And this Power cannot at the fame Time belong to more than one ; and confequently, there's a Neceffity, if you rejed the People, to have recourfe to a Pipe. All Chriftian Church, &c. 387 All that can be faid in anfwer to this is, Chap. 10. that either he who converts a Nation has a w/"V**«' Right to govern 'em, or elfe, that they may chufe their own Ecclefiaftical Gpvernors, provided they are fuch as have Epifcopal Ordination. As to the firft, perfwading People to frame themfelves into a Church, gives one no more Right to govern 'em in Eccle* fiafticals, than reafoning 'em into a Com monwealth does in Civils. Befides, if the Converter be no Bifhop, there's no Pre tence for this Suppofition, unlefs it fubjeds 'em to the See from whence he came, which wou'd place all Chriftians under that pf Jtrafalem. If the Pepple may chufe whom they think fit tP govern 'em, provided they have Hands laid upon 'em by Bifhops ; it (hows 'tis their Choice alone which gives 'em this Power ; and that what the Bifhops do is at the moft only qualifying 'em to receive it : As in a parallel Cafe, if none be capable of Regal Power who is not anointed by a Bifhop, fuch an Undion wou'd only put him in a Condition to be* a King; but the Power wou'd be adually deriv'd from thofe who chufe him, and fo wou'd the Right the Bi fhop had to perform the Anointing Ceremo ny, fince they migju appoint what Bifhop they pleas'd, and he whom they appoint-, wou'd ad only minifterially, being oblig'd to anoint whom they chufe. And 'tis noto^ riaus, that with us ("and fo it was every where formerly, as I (hall prove hereafter) C c 2 the 388 The Rights of the the Bifhops ad minifterially, being under i^Hen.S.fiO lefs Penalty than a Premunire oblig'd to confirm and confecrate the Perfon nam'd in the Conge d' Elire. n. This Argument holds not only to a Nation which is to fettle their- Ecclefiafti cal Government, but to any which defigns to change their old Form for that of Epif copacy. In this Cafe, as they may chufe what Bifhops they pleafe, fo all the Power thefe have over 'erri is deriv'd from their Choice ; none having any till then, and then 'tis their Choice alone which prefers them before others. . 12. To carry this further, none can have a Right to difpofe of the Ecclefiafti cal Power of a deeeas'd Bifhop, except he or they to whom upon his Death it de volves ; and that muft devolve, if to thofe of the Epifcopal Order, either to all, or to a determinate. Number, or to a fingle Bi fhop. If to the firft, the Confent of all, or at leaftof a Majority (in which the reft are included) is neceffary to difpofe of what devolves to all : And this is the fame, if it devolves to any fet Number. But as neither can be pretended, fo either wou'd prove that there's now no fuch Thing as a Bifhop, becaufe there's none who derives his Power from all , or any fet Num ber of ¦ Bifhops. But if it devolves to neither of thefe, there remains no other than a fingle Bifhop to have the fole Right of conftituting Bifhops for the Catholick Church, and affigning to every one of 'em the Chriftian Church, &c. 389 the Limits of their Diftrids1, and of aiig-.Chap._io. menting or decreafing their Number, as the w"~ Good of the Church requires. And then in what a Condition are all thofe Churches which have no recourfe to this Univerfal Bifhop or Pope ? 1 ;• There's no Scheme which can give the Proteftants any Bifhops, without fuppo fing the Power of a deceas'd Bifhop devolves to the People, to be difpos'd of by them, or by an Authority deriv'd from them. For it cannot be pretended, fuppofing the Power a Bifhop had over his Diftrid was owing to the Bifhops laying Hands on or confecrating of him, that the Bifhops ad in their own Right, or by a Power in herent in themfelves difpofe of the Power of the deceas'd Bifhop, as upon his Death devolving to them ; becaufe then only they to whom it devolves, whether they are all the Bifhops of the Catholick Church, or a fet Number, or fome one Bifhop, cou'd dif pofe of it again : which wou'd be inconfi ftent with the Magiftrate's authorizing any two or three Bifhops, or even any fingle Bi fhop, exclufively of all the reft, to lay Hands upon him ; and confequently the Power which in this cafe is fuppos'd to be con- fer'd on him, is deriv'd from the Magi' ftrate, who commiffions which of 'em he pleafes, to give one a Jurifdidion in a Diftrid where they had none themfelves : and 'tis he :who impowers them to do more for other Bifhops than they can for themfelves, fince they cannot appoint Cc? their 2$0 The Rights of the their own Succefforsi As no Bifhop by his own Authprity can give another Power out of his own Diftrid, out of which he has none himfelf ,• fo none can give one a Jurifdidifjin greater than his own, not on ly over his own Diocefs, but over tbe whole Province and all the Bifhops of it, as Primates, Metropolitans, and . Patriarchs , have: 14. With us (and 'tis the fame in other Proteftant Countries which have Bifhops) nothing can be plainer than that the Bi- fliops ad only minifterially, and by vir tue of the Regal Commiffion , by which the Prince firmly enjoins and commands 'em, on the Fidelity by which tbey are bound to him , to proceed according to the Form of the Statutes in Chufing , Confirming , and Confecrating : Strange Words for one who is fuppos'd to be a „ Subjed to them in this Spiritual Matter , but more ftrange that the difobeying him in not chufing , confirming, and confecrating the Man he appoints, is under no lefs Penalty than a >5 F. 8, Pnmtmire, a greater Puniffiment than the c. jo. Civil Minifters fuffer for not obeying the Royal Mandate. And the Bifhops have fo religioufly in this Matter obferv'd their Princes Commands, that there's no Inftance of their fcrupling, to comply with the King's Writ, ever fince the Parliament in vefted the King with all manner of Spiritual Power, which from him as the Fountain is deriv'd to the Bifhops and other Ecclefiafti cal Perfons. But had the Bifhops an Inde pendent Power tp make Bifhops, every onefees Chriftian Church, SfC 351 fees the Magiftrate epu'd have no morecfiap.io. Right to name the Biffipps, than they had °"V^ tp name the Judges or other Civil Officers : nay, they might as well pretend to appoint the Perfons who are to fucceed in the Civil, as the Magiftrate itbofe who are to fucceed in the Spiritual Empire. AU that is faid in an fwer to this is, that we muft obey the Su preme Pdwers in all lawful Things ; which fuppofes it lawful for them to command in thefe Matters, and confequently that the; Bifhops (fince there cannot be two com manding Powers about the fame Things) ad only as their Minifters in obeying their Commands, when they confecrate the Bi fhops of their appointing. 1 j. What's here faid, tho' a great deal more might be added, is, I think, fufficient to fatisfy an impartial Reader , that the Clergy who affert it neceffary fo the Being of the Churcjj of England, that the Bifhops fhou'd derive an Independent Power from the Papifts, in the way of Succeffion from the Apoftles, inftead of defending, expofe and betray the Church to the Papifts ; who can't defire a better Hypothefis with rela tion to her Government, to confound her jfrom one end to t'other, and to re-eftablifli the Papal Supremacy. 16. Tis pot in this alone, but in other Points, eveq the moft abfurd, that fome Pro teftant Divines affert fuch Maxims as too much ccuntenance Popery : of which to mention a few will not be foreign to our purpofe ; as, Cc4 Firft, 2Q3 The Rights of the Firft, How can they condemn the Pa pifts for denying the Magiftrate a Power over the Lives of the Clergy, when they affert that the Right they have to then4 Ecclefiaftical Offices is not fubjed to him upon any account whatever, as being de riv'd from an Authority Independent of, and Superior to all Human Power ? Since in Deprivation of Life is included a Depri vation of all Offices whatever, can one who has no Right to put a Man to Death, have a Right to hinder him from breathing ; and is that more neceffary for Life than Life is for an Office ? 17. Secondly, There's nothing cur Cler gy more rhetorically exclaim againft, than the Uncharitablenefs of the Papifts, in con fining Salvation to their own Church ; and yet dp they not the fame in applying Schifm, which they affirm is a damnable Sin, to all who refufe |to communicate with their Church ? A greater Uncharitablenefs than that of the Papifts , becaufe their Difference with Proteftants is much greater and wider than that between Proteftant and Proteftant. 'Tis no doubt intolerable Impudence in the Papifts to appropriate to themfelves the Name of Catholick Church ; and yet I do not fee how thofe Churches can cenfure them, which as well as the Papifts exclude from the Catholick Church, either as Schifmaticks or Here ticks, all who will not join in Communion with them. 18. Thirdly, Tho' nothing can be more wicked than the Pppjfh Dpdrinepf npt keep ing Chriftian Church, &c. go 3 ing Faith with Hereticks, yet if the Law chap. 10. pf Gpd, as too many of the Clergy pf all V^"Y>-' Sides affirm, obliges the Magiftrate tP punifh them, he is, notwithftanding any Promifes, Vows or Oaths to the contrary, under a prior and an indifpenfable Obli gation to God to profecute 'em. And if Herefy makes Men forfeit their Right to Property, Liberty, and even Life, why net their Right to Truth, efpecially when telling Lyes may be any ways advantageous to > Orthodoxy ? And when Men once think that Sincerity and Impartiality are not fufficient, but that the Belief of fuch or fuch Dodrines are neceffary to Salva tion, will they not be tempted to ufe Falfhood and Deceit, whenever they ima gine thefe proper or effedual for the pro pagating or promoting thofe Dodrines ? For if they think it lawful to deceive Chil dren, melancholy and tick Perfons, &c. for the fake of their bodily Health, or tem poral Advantage ; may they not be apt to CPnclude that the obtaining infinitely great er Benefits for Mens Souls will juftify the fame Method ?. And the beft we can fup pofe of the Ecclefiafticks is, that all the Holy Cheats, pious Frauds, and godly For geries which from Time to Time they have been guilty of, were owing to this Princi ple. One of Mr. Chillingwortlos Reafons for going over to the Romanifts was, becaufe, as he fays, The Proteftant Caufe is Preface to now, and hath been from the beginning main-^'S'™ *f iain'd with grofs Falfifications and Calumnies, ¦> whereof the Prime Controverfy-Wfitexs are no- torioufly 2Q4. The Rights of the torioufiy and in a high degree guilty. And upon his return hp does not difown this, but only fays, lliacos intra muros peccatur & extra, Pbe Papifts are more guilty of this Fault than Proteftants. It were tp be wifh'd that antient Writers were not criminal in this Point as well as mpddrn ; and that St, Jerorn had no Reafon for faying, Com. in Ecclefiafiici Viri non Dogmatum cuftod'mnf Ezek. 34. Veritatem, fed de corde fuo eonfingunt, Jl4aT giftrumtjue habent prafumptiontm fuam.; or for what he affirms of aU the Fathers in general down to his own Time, that in managing Cpntroverfies they did not fpeak as they thought, but as it made 'fox their purpofe : Non dicunt, fays he, quod fair tiunt, fed qttpd necejfe eft. And this is one Reafon, among many others , why the Judicious Daillee fuppofes the Authority of the Fathers is fo little to be rejy'd on. 19. Fourthly, If the reftraining of He refy by Civil Penalties be, as too many of the Clergy affert, neceffary for prefer- ving the Peace, Purity, and Unity of the Church, they can't deny its Governors a Right to deppfe thofe Princes whp proted Herefy ; unlefs they fay that the Church wants what's neceffary for its own Supporr, which they are fo far from owning, that they do. not only fuppofe the Church the moft compleat Body Politick, as being Di vinely form'd, but fay that the Temporal Empire muft give place to the Spiritual, the State to the Church, the Gpod of which they efteem the Supreme Law. And Chriftiap Church, 8zc. 395 And they who fuppofe that : People by Chap. 10. Herefy forfeit their Properties, can't well^^V^ deny that Princes dp their Gpvernmem, which was prdain'd Pnly for their lake ; and confequently it can't be mere facred cr lefs forfeitable. 20. Fifthly, If the Priefts have, as ma ny of 'em claim, more than a Declarative Power ( between which and a Judicial there's no Medium) of Binding and Loof- ing, they ought not to ufe fo great a Truft blindly, but "make Men, before they ab- folve 'em, confefs all the Particulars and Circumftances of their Sins, fince thefe fo much alleviate or aggravate the Guilt. And, 21. Sixthly, If the Clergy can judicially bind or loofe Mens Sins to all Eternity ; why may they not have fo fmall a Branch of this Power, as to free Men by their Prayers from Puniffiment in a State (call it PUrgatpry or what you will) where they can remain only for a Time, till the Refur- redion ? At leaft they who claim an infi nitely greater Power, can't with any good Grace condemn the Popifh Clergy for being guilty of' an abominable piece of Prieft> craft, in pretending to the leffer. 22. Seventhly, Why may nnt the Pppifh Clergy confecrate Water, Beads, Candles, &c as well as Proteftants dp Timber, Stpne, Lime, and other Materials of Churches I For they are not farisfy'd with allowing thefe Places a mere relative Hplinefs on the account of Peppks meeting in 'em to worfhip God, becaufe that's the fame if they 296 The Rights of the they met in Places unconfecrated ; and as " 'tis wholly owing to their Meeting , fo no Place can have any longer a Right to it when that's difcontinu'd. But the Eccle fiafticks contend that they lnfufe a fort of they know not what peculiar Sandity into the very Materials of the Churches, which is fo inherent in 'em, that 'tis profane to put 'em to any Secular, when they ceafe to be irnploy'd for a Religious Ufe. And why may not the Papifts as well pretend to infufe the like inconceivable Holinefs into the Trinkets they blefs ? The Priefts even in the Primitive Times found out a notable Pretence for their Confecration, or rather Conjuration , that the Devil was in all things unconfecrated by them ; and there- Jnqu'iryin-ioie 'twas not lawful, for inftance, to ufe to.theCon- any unconfecrated Water in Baptifm, till tgution, they had exorcist tne Devil out of it. jrwi But then from this General Rule they ex- 'Shunh, cepted certain Pieces of old Wood, rufty $art i. Iron, rotten Bones, and fuch-like Relicks ; which they maintain'd were fo far from having any Devil in 'em, that they had Vir tue enough to drive away ten thoufand evil Spirits, and do a prodigious Number of other miraculous Feats. This ftrange unconceivable Virtue and Holinefs, which is fuppos'd to be in ina nimate Things upon Confecration , has been the occafion of infinite Superftitions, and has introduc'd into the Gentile World the Worfhip of Images, which 'twas im poffihle the People fhou'd be fo abfurd as to imagine red Deities ; but they only thought, Chriftian Church, ckc. 397 thought, as the Fathers themfelves own, Chap. 10. that the Priefts by their Confecrations infus'd ¦' into 'em- a certain Divine Holinefs, and made their Gpds to inhabit there, 'as fome fay God now does in Churches, after an in conceivable manner : and therefore they pay as profound a Refped to their Images, as fome do to a confecrated Table plac'd Eaft- ward. Which Notions "the Heathen Clergy propagated to create a greater Veneration to themfelves ; and how well they have been copy'd by feme Chriftian Priefts, the Rea der, I fuppofe, wants npt tp be inform'd. Therefore I fhall only add, that 'tis to thefe Notions that moft of the abfurd Dodrines relating to the Lord's Supper are in a great ftieafure owing : For when Men began to believe that Sacramental was not on ly diftinguiffi'd from Common Bread, by the Holy Ufe the Receivers apply'd it to, but that the Confecration of the Prieft made a great difference between them, tho' they knew not where to fix it, they ne ver left running from one Abfurdity to ano ther, till at laft they fuppos'd it had fuch powerful Charms as to caufe a Change in the Subftance. 23. Eighthly, If Reafon is to be Client, why muft we rejed Tranfubftantiation, fo Agreeable to Chrift's Expreffion, This is my Body? But if her Voice is to be heard, how can the Real Prefence ftand its ground ? And yet is not that the Belief of all Pro teftants, except a few, call'd in derifion Sacramentarians* or Zuinglians ? What can be more expreffive of it, than faying, the 298 The Rights of the the Body and Blood of Ghrift are verily and indeed, and confequently not figuratively, and not indeed taken or receiv'd ? And aCcord- Anfiver to ingly Archbifhop Bramhal affirms, That no Meiitiere genuine Son of the Church -/ prpv'd from Scripture is not requifite to Salvation, who affirm that Biffiops, as a diftind Order from Presbyters, are ne ceffary to the Very Being of a Chriftian Church? But if they have fo great a Deference for Tradition, why have they not for Prayers for the Dead, fince no thing can be plainer front the arttient Li turgies, and Teftimonies pf the Fathers pf the feccHd and third Centuries, that that was the general Pradice pf the Church. jVnd is not Aerius Cohdemn'd as a Here- fick for oppofing it ? Nay, have we npt Fathers, whofe Authority is fopk'd on as Sacred in other Matters, even for Prayers tc the dead ? Tp which let me add, that, . 2 j. If the Thoufandth Part pf the Mira cles were true, which the Fathers of the f're'a,teft Name and Authprity, as Jerotit, afil, Aufttn, &c affirm with the grfeateft tffurance, and fome of 'em of their own ncwledge, tp be done by Relicks ; the Ve« neratibh which the Church of Rome pays to 'em can't juftly be blam'd. But, 26. Tho' the Popifh Dodrines were evef fo abfurd , and the Proteftant Clergy taught nothing in particular which kept 'em in countenance, yet too many of 'em maintain fuch Maxims, in order to oblige People to yield an implicit Faith and blind ^Deference to their Didates, as muft con demn all Separation from the Church of kome pn the Account Of her peculiar Doc trines ; d.00 The Rights of the trines ; in fome pf which I (hall beg leave to inftance, and which may ferve for a Reca-. pitulation. (i.) Government neceffarily fuppofes a Right of judging and determining all Mat ters within its Sphere : And confequently, if the Clergy are Governors of the Churchy they muft determine all Controverfies re lating to Ecclefiaftical Matters ; and if they have this Government from God, as he alone gave it 'em, fo he alone cou'd deprive 'em of it: And confequently, for their Sub jeds in Spirituals to difown, on pretence of judging for themfelves, the Government under which God has plac'd 'em, is a Crime next to difowning God's own Government. Nayj (2.) If the Clergy had no other Power than that of admitting Men into, and turning 'em out of the Church, which fup pofes 'em Judges of the Terms of Admifli- on ; the Laity, as they valu'd being Mem bers of the Church, were oblig'd to own thofe Terms. {%.) There's no Medium between being govern'd by one's own Reafon, and by the Authority of others : for if God requir'd the firft, they who did this, how much ' foever they differ'd in Judgment with one another, wou'd be equally acceptable to him,, as having alike done all he requires of 'em to difcover his Will. But this is oppos'd by the Clergy of all Denomina tions, who fuppofe their Interpretations of, and Inferences from certain Texts to be Fundamentals; and condemn all other Chriftians Chriftian Church, &c. 401 Chriftians who prefume to follow their Chap. 10. own Judgment in interpreting Scripture, /^J either as Schifmaticks or Hereticks, for differing from 'em in the Meaning of thofe Texts. Nay, (4.) They affirm, that the Liberty of private Judgment wpu'd "deftroy the Peace and Unity cf the Church, by caufing in a manner as many Religions as Perfons : for the preventing of which, private Per fons ought tp fubmit to the Determina tions pf their Spiritual Governors in Reli gious, as tp their Civil in Secular Matters ; and that the Church Governors, confider ing the many Spiritual Privileges they enjoy above the Laity, and the Promife of God to be with them to the End of the World, muft be fuppo's'd as well qualify'd to judge in Religious, as others are in Civil Matters ; and that it faveurs of Pride and Prefump- tinn tp fet up a private Judgment in Pp- pofition tp the Church, the Ground and Pil lar of Truth, which whcfoever negleds tp hear, is no better than a Heathen or Publican. (j.) If Gcd requires the Belief of thofe Things, which the Bulk of Mankind, for want of Ability, Leifure or Learning, are not able to judge of, as 'tis plain there are fuch in all Churches ; fome muft be appointed to judge of thefe Things for them. And, (6.) The conftant and univerfal Pradice of the Church, the beft Interpreter of her Right, has, 'tis faid, put this Power of the Clergy out pf difpute ; fince Councils D d and LOl . , The Rights of the and Synods have all along taken Upon 'em to 'fudge for, the People, by framing their De- dudions from,: and Interpretations of Scrip ture, into Creeds, Articles and CariOns; and have oblig'd all under Spiritual Cenfures to fubmit to 'em. Nay, (7.) Have they not inferted this Power of theirs in an Article of the Greed, com monly call'd, the Apoftles, fz'&. I believe the Catholick Church ? For tiow cm any pre tend to believe the Catholick Church, who relies not on her Authority, in taking that for Truth which fhe declares to be fo, but tries every Dodrine by the Touchftone of his own private Reafon ? As 'tis talking in a Circle to fay fuch Dbdfines are true becaufe the Catholick Church Holds 'em, .and this is the Catholick Church becaufe *it holds thefe Dodrines ; To 'tis no lefs than a Contradtdipn to fay, I believe tKe Catholick Church, and yet at the fame'time affirm, I am bound to judge of her Doc trines, and take aqd rejed as 'tis moftagree- able to my private Judgment. And if there wereiiot fuc}, a Church always in being, to be diftinguifh'd by fuch Notes and ^Marks-as jail might know her, in order to believe "as , (lie believes ; this Anicle rwoq'd be as imper tinent as one's believing fome body or other had a certain Remedy for his Diftemper, without knowing the Perfon," or" having a"riy -Marks to diftinguiffi him from a great ma"riy others, who.wich equal Affurance pretended to. the fame Receipt, tho' they only admi- niftcr'd 'deadly Poiion. If Chriftian Chirch, &c. 403 If thefe, and fuch like. Maxims are .|rjie,Chap. 10. then our Forefathers Separajipn from- jtfee,^'"^*''-' Church of, gome, uppn. pretence of private Judgment, mutt be unlawful, and fo muft our continuing in a Separation thus unlaw fully begun. \o '.,.;.',; u , 27. Betides? how can thePrpteftantspre- tendxo.be a Part of the Apoftoliek Catholick Church, if Thaty as the Clergy on all fides hold, .basffiad frpm its .firft Beginning a con tinu'd : perpetual Exkftianee; ifince their Churches, are but pf -Yefterday, as owing their Being to their Separation from Rome? Nor will the ufual Anfwer, tha-t they only reform'd .that Part of theCathoUck Church they were Members of before, ferve their turn : Vot if the Church of Rome was part of the Catholick Church, assthis, Anfwer fuppofes, thofe who feparated from that Church can lay no claim to it ; fipce the Cathclick Church, as both jParties agree, is not large enough to hold twopppofite Com munions. And this the Proteftant, as well asPopifhClergy, take to be fo unqueftion- ableaTruth, that all their Notions relating to Schifmatical Churches are founded upon it. To which may be added, 28. That if no True Church can be ,vathout an Independent Power belonging to their Ecclefiafticks, the Church of England, as 'tis plain from the Laws .which eftablifh her, does:not,claim any fuch Power : And as flittle can ihe pretend (as may be pergeiv'd by what has been already faid) another fup pos'd Effential of a Church, an uninterrup ted Succeffion. D d 2 29. Wuh- 404 The., Rights of the 29. Without fome Vifible Head or Uni verfal Bifhop, the Church cou'd not be fo united within it felf, as all Parties agree it is : for if the Bifhops had each the fame Power frpm Gpd, they muft be equal to, and independent of one another ; and confequently, each wou'd be unaccountable to all the reft, who by their Decrees cou'd not oblige him or his Diftrid in which he was Independent. Nor cou'd any A- greement among the Biffiops, if every one did confent, alter this Form of Govern ment which God had fettl'd for his Church, either by placing the Power in an Ecclefiaftical Senate of all the Bifhops of the Chriftian World, or by dividing the Church into feveral Independent Na tional Bodies. And without a Common Head, to whom the. Power of the Bifhops as. they die - devolves, 'tis impoflible there fhou'd be a Succeffion of Bifhops .- fince no one can beftow Epifcopal Power, where he has none himfelf: Nor cou'd any be fides fuch a Head , to whom Men upon their Converfion become fubjed, add to -the number of the Biffiops, and by affigning to each the Limits of his Power divide a newly converted Country between them. And without fuch a Head no Ads of any .Bifhop , relating to Excommunication , Ordination, &c. cou'd be valid further than his own Diftrid ; to extend 'em to the whole Church can only be done by an Authority which reaches fo far. Nor with out fuch a Head cou'd any Differences be tween Churches independent of pne ano ther Chriftian Church, &c. 4.05 ther be compos'd. And the Clergy can't Chap. 10. urge any Argument for an Authority to ^V^* decide Differences between Members of the fame Diftrid, which will not hold much ftronger for an Authprity, which for this Reafon is to extend to all the Diftrids of the Chriftian World. Thus it is that the common receiv'd Notions favour a Papal Supremacy, nay, make it neceffary for the Center of > Catholick Union and Commu nion. ;o. That which gave the Papifts To great Advantage, was Clergymens talking (I mean in fome former Reigns) fo very inconfiftent with themfelves, not only when they endeavour'd to reconcile the Regal Supremacy with what themfelves claim'd by Divine Rigtit, but when they difputed with Papifts and Diffenters ; ufing the very fame Arguments- againft the lat ter, which they were under a neceffity of condemning in the former. Nor wou'd they allow thofe who feparated from 'em the fame Plea which themfelves us'd to juftify their Separation from the Papifts, but talk'd like 'em when they had to do with Diffenters, and like Diffenters when they had to do with Papifts : for then they affirm'd that no Man was ob lig'd to fubmit to the Dodrine or Difci pline of any or all the Churches in the World, if he- judg'd it not agreeable to the Word of God; and commended the brave Luther, as ading nobly and heroical ly in feparating, tho' by himfelf, upon this Principle from all the Churches then D d 3 in 4.06. The Rights t>f\'iheyrj iri:being. But when $iey argu'd wish thd Diffenters, and- at all other Timesf: they j talk'djdiamstritfally oppofite to this, and carry'd the Power -arid; Authority -i»f the Church as high as the Papifts themfelves ; as m£y be feen not only in *Bifhop Sparrow's Preface to Cfellcfltiffs of Articles, $!c> : men tioned in my Preface, bUt in. the reft of the Writers of thofe, Timds. ¦* And their Prac tice, made their .Principles j, too :. evident, fince they were not only for hindring Men by a Refttaint-of the Pre-fs frohTfeeing any i Arguments which made agamfA their DfiXfrminairoris, bi^for forejnlg -'em by Ec clefiaftical and Civil: Penalties eascprnply, rho'ever fo much againft their Confciences. And what did:the:PBpifts, pc <.-&%$*' they do mote for the fake1 of a blind Obedience and • an implicit .B&lief ? Arid did not the Eenair Laws, extend- 10 Property* Liberty, affld.-Life?-'? r ¦}'.'(¦ - * ¦'- . .< -,- ^ci l' %i. If the Effenee of Proteftant'ifm con- fids', as Mi*. ChiU'mgwirth maintains, in this Chap. 6. fillgle Article,. T.but God does fio'i, -and there- fi, 51S, fefe'-Min, ought vot to require any, more of a M.in'i, iban to* belitve> the Scripture to be the Word of God, and to endeavour' to find 'out the true Senfe of, it ; no . Proteftant Clergy can claim Authority in Matters of Faith, or take upon 'erri judicially to cenfure Opinions, or to frame their Inferences from Scripture into Articles, &c. or endeavour to exclude all frforn Church Preferments who will not aff&nt and confent to them ; or to put the Laity under an Incapacity for Places of Truft and Profit,* or under any other Hard- ftip, Lhfijtiqn i^burcp, <5tc. 4.07 (hip, for doing their Duty in ading acqord- Chap. 10. ing to this Proteftant Principle,' to which ^"V^ all fuch Things as tend to prejudice Men in judging of the Senfe of the Word of God,' are diredly, opppfke. 22, The pifference between Mr. Chilling' worth, and thofe who writ fometime before him againft the Papifts, is, that they had carry'd, their Notion of Church- Authority fq high, as tp rnake the Separation from ff-Qfne unjuftifiable : But ' tho' he effedually luftjifies it , yet 'tis by ''deftroying all Chui-chrAuthprity. What tan be more oppofite "jq it than his, faying, " That"chaP.4. ' this prefumptuous imrjofing of the Sen-". 16. " feVpf J^ep, upon the"'"Wdrds' of God, " the. Special Senfes pf Men upon the '¦' GiperalWiords pf God, and laying 'em upon. Mens Confciences together^ under " the equal penalty of Death and Dam- " nation ; this vain Conceit, that ,we can " fpeak, pf, the, Things of Gpd better than " the Words of God ; this Deifying our lc own Interpretations, and tyrannous en- " forcing 'em on others ; this reftraining " the Worth pf God from that Latitude " and Generality, and the Underftanding ,ff pf Men from tnat Liberty whereih " Chrift and his Apoftles left, 'em, is and " hath, been the only Fountain of all the " Schjfms of the Church, and that which " makes 'em immortal, the common In- " cendiary pf Cbriftendom, and that which " tears in pieces not the Coat, but the " Rowels and Members of Chrift, Ridente " Turca, nee dolenre Judao ? Take aw^.y D d 4 " thefe a,q8 The Rights of the "thefe Walls of Separation, and all will " quickly be One : Take away this Per- te teeming, Burning, Curfing, Damning " of Men for not fubferibing to the Words he- tray'd the Reformation*, and tempted Peo ple to belieye; that they bad a bad Caufe indeed toaaanagej when they fuppos'd it neceffary, for the Prefervation of their own Churchi, to ad quite contrary tp that Principle to which it ow'd its very Being; and that their exclaiming againft the Church. Chriftity Church, $$c. 411 Ghuroh pf Rami}, for doing (tho', confiftent Chap. io. with her own ,-Prinp iples) the : very, fame ^W Things they pradis'd, themfelves, requir'd, to, fay no wp|feqa very good Stock of Affurance. 'Twas this: Condud. of ' theirs Which occafion'd that, Remark pf their be- lpv'd Charles II. when, in ^comparing th^j two Churches, be faid, One feem'd to be^ in earneft, and t'other in Since this Difcourfe grows too bulky for pne Volume, I (hall finiffi the reft in the next ; where, if the Author may be allow'd to be a competent Judge, the Reader will find a full Anfwer to all the Arguments drawn from Scripture as well as Reafon, for the Independent Power of the Clergy. 39. Now I fhall conclude with a Word or two in behalf pf the Author, who hopes 4*4. The Rights of the hopes .that no Perfon, cpnfefer'd either as a Man, can .blame him for defending the NaquratI ."-Rights of \Mankind .; or as a Chtifbaii, for ftriking at the Root of An- tichriftian Prieftcraft. And ,be can't ap prehend; but that every real Proteftant muft approve bis Attempt of maintain ing in ftheir full Latitude, rbpfe. almoft forgotten ^Principles ion which the Refor mation was built, and 'Wfeidb render Po pery, that has nothing to. Support it. ex cept theiabfiind Np^oos.' df , High-rChiiiicb, naked and defencelesfs ; and. o£ deftrby- ing thofe unnatural Heats and Feuds which Difference in ^Difcipline creates among, ibe Reform'd, and., thereby , pre vents their hearty Union againft the- com mon Enemy. And. .he hopes all of the National Church will approve this Defign, fince only the Principles he goes on can juftify .its Conftitution , with relation to the Dependency of .the Clergy. Nor can thofe who differ from :bim, have any juft reafon to be diffattsfy'd for bis giving 'em an opportunity to expofe and baffle all the contrary Arguments: fince if .they have Truth on their -fide, nothing can dp their Caufe a greater kindoefs than muf- tering up thofe ReaTons which oppofe it. For Truth, the more 'tis try'd, the clearer and brighter -it appears; efpecially if thofe who defend At have all the Advantages which Wit) and Learning can afford. And they who are iond pf Truth, will be fo indiffbrentiwhether.any '.particular Opinion be Chriftian Church, %cc. ij.i^ be true, aV t6 embrace all 'Opportunities Chap. 10. pf, having it fairly "debated. Aiid^hofo-v-rVN> ever 'takes a Contrary Method, 'rfc plain "(that fcmewhat befide a Regard 'tof'Trifrh does influence him : and if iri this* cafe the Luft of Power prevails, and the Author for his Love to Truth, and Zeal for the Church by Law eftablifh'd, be fo unhappy as to fall under the Difpleafure of fome Ecclefiafticks even of the National Church, for ftriking at their Great Diana, he hopes the Laity will take him into their Protedion, and not difcourage., , as they have hitherto done, abler Pens from engaging on their fide againft their mortal Enemies , who claim an Abfolute Uncontroulable Power over their Minds, and by confequence over their Perfons and Eftates : which had not obtain'd, as it does in moft Places, had not the Laity been highly inftrumental in putting on their own Fetters, and in ruin ing thofe who attempted tot knock 'em off; whofe Sufferings the Clergy then re- prefented as the juft Judgment of God, for having moft Atheiftically (nothing fooner giving a Man the Charader of an Atheift than being an Enemy to Prieft craft) oppos'd their Sacred Authority. But fhou'd he be ever fo much expos'd -to -the -Malice of fuch Men,, who ..almpft as feldom want the Power.as they do the Will to cruffi all that oppofe their In tereft, yet nothing can deprive him of the inward Satisfadion he finds in en deavouring tp prpmpte the Spiritual as well ^l6 The Rights, &c. well as Temporal Welfare of Mankind, in ppppfing a Dpdrine which has in a great meafure made ineffedual .that Angelick Wiffi, cf Glory to God on High, Peace on Earth, and Good Will towards Men ! THE END. An Alphabetical TABLE OF THE Principal Matters. A. ABfolution by a Prieft only, being be± Uev'd neceffary, a ready means to cn- < flave.a State 249 Albigenfes and Waldenfes eitdeavosir'd to be extirpated through the inftigation of the Clergj 262 Alteratipns in Government art by the Confent of the Parties concern'd 9 Anne, Queen, a Cbara&er of her Zfz Appftles had not a tight to govern ibeir Converts, antecedent to their Converfion I £4 Requiring Rules to be obferv'd in Chriftian Affemblies, fuppofes a Power ht the People 1 f J- E e , Only An, Alphabetical Table. Only offer their Advice when they act not as the Ambaffadors of Chrift 1 5-9. Whether they had a Bjgh}. to govern the Church and appoint Succeffors, conftder'd 162^ &C Only Go vernor i of Part's of the Church 381. ~ If they had been one Supreme Power, no Laws could have beenmade but by a Majority of them 382 Apppintmenft Divine of Bifhops, fee Bifhops Atheifts cannot plead a Right to Toleration on the Account of Confcience 1 8 B. BAptifm frequently in the Primitive Times adminiftet'4 ty Layme* I ? J • ^BW a^~ minifter'd then l%6 Bifhops, &c: the Choice of 'em in th\e Patties concern'd in the Church 'IJJ, \f&. Which gives 'em a full' Right to the Office fjj. Not to be divided between them and the Clergy 1 78. Their being by Divine Appointment, &c. the Abfurdities thereof 31;. Without them, by it. no .Religiota Society can be 'a, Chriftian Church *$i'4. Weakens the Proteftant j&aufe % if. Proteftants can't be. a true Church 518. Englifh have no. Power by Suocefiton 324. Their Power of Ordination not more indelible than t heir JurifdiBion 363. Can't be appoint ed, over any Diftricl but by a Legifiative Power 364. If not fupreme in their own Diftriil, neceffarily infers an Univ.erfil One 3 84- Their Power to govern onjy lies in the People's Choice 387. In England ail My Minifterially, by virtue of a Regal Commiffion 590 JJriftpl, a rfniarhabte. Inftance of High Church being againft employ fng the Poor 285- An Alphabetical Table. C. CHarity Univerfal, the Want of it among Chriftians owing to the Priefts, &c. 117 Chriftians, the firft not confin'd to any oni Form of Difcipline 124. ¦ Follow' d at firft the Model of the Jews 125-. Frequented their Synagogues 126. All oblig'd to do what they can for the faving another's Soul i;i. In the Mahometan Empire fubmit to their Bifhops being put in by the Go* tfernment 138. One may be a good one, tho' of no Church 159. Their Difcipline teacher us to ail agreeably to the State we are in 1^2. Have a Power to fudge in all Matters relating to Religion , prbv'd ' by Scripture 162. And the Fathers 165", &C At firft manag'd their Affairs by a Majority 169. How they came to lofe their Power 171. The Primitive ones ne ver after ted the Independent Power of the Clergy 181. Affert ed the Diftnterefted- nefs of the firft Preachers of the Gofpel 182 Church, or Religious Society, to be chofen by every one for" himfelf 25. The Power of making Clergymen, &c. belongs to it 80. Excluding Men from it contrary to the Rulet ' of Charity 88* The Government of it ought not always to be the fame 12?. Every one a compleat Body Politick in refpecl of Ecclefiafti cal Matters 578 Churches Evangelical not defign'd by God to be prejudicial to Civil Polity 125-. Muft judge whether Minifters preach according to E e a the An Alphabetical Table, the Scripture 1 28. Have a Right to confti- tute fuch for that epd, ibid. What is for their Good can't be contrary to the Will of God 142. No particular Form of their Govern ment of Divine Appointment 1 74 Clarendon, Earl of, the Mifchief sr he aferibes to the- owning two Independent Powers in the fame State 504. Shews how fatal to the , Proteftant Caufe our breaking off. Communion - with the Reform'd Churches was 340 Clergy excluded from the Civil Magiftrate's Jurifdiclicn, if Ecclefiaftical Power be In dependent %-j: Their Power of Excom munication takes from the Magiftrate -the Power of diftpoffeffing any for a Crime, 38. By an Independent Power have a. Right to ex communicate for Crimes againft the publick Good 4?. By which they have a Right to every thing neceffary for Government 18. 'that Power gives 'em Authority over the Temporal Sovereign yi. Whether they excommunicate by Power dtriv'd from Chrift or the Magiftrate, confider'd jf. Are not for two, but one Independent Power, vizi their own 60. Have not a coercive Power 61. AnObjeilign anfwer' d 6%. Have only a Right to advife ibid. Their Bower not In ternal 66. Puniflments inflicted by them not Eternal 67. Their Powir only Decla rative • for if more, it is Judicial 68. By it they invade the P'eophs natural Right and the Magiftrate's Prerogative 69. Pretend to a judicial Power 70. By if they invade the incommunicable Rights of God 74^ How the Ambaffadors . of God ¦ 78. ; Whe ther they can infiicl Spiritual Punifhment s, con- An Alphabetical Table. confider' d 8f. Have no JurifdiBion to ex clude Men from Communion for immoral Actions 90. Nor to oblige Men to their Communion by penal Laws 92. Why tbey introduc'd that Cuftom'^. Their Ways to make the People ftand in awe of their Ex communication 100. Their Diftribution alone of the Lord's Supper an Innovation 106. Reproving and rebuking People not peculiar to them 102. Which tends to the Difcouragenient of Virtue and Morality 112. Qualifications neceffary to their fo doing ny. Submiffion to them will not make amends for the Negleil of Confide^ rdtion 116. Some prefer their own Tem poral Intereft before the Eternal Goodfo Souls 129. Have often embroil' d ¦ the Laity in Defence of their Order 14;, &c Their Intereft to have Religion corrupted 190. Their Poverty a Means of keeping the People from Corruption 219. Keep the People in Ignorance, and why 221. By their Edu cation of Touth capable of doing much Mif chief to the Publick 244, &C The Re gular more dangerous to a State than the Secular 2f2. Their being exempt from worldly Employs deftruilive to a State 26c. Why they have an Averfion to Free Govern ments 269. For promoting Tyranny wben they can govern Princes ibid. Thofe are. juftly to be efteem'd who difown all Inde pendent Power 20;. In writing againft the Papifts they generally difown it 2,of..- For the Three firft Centuries refui'd not lay ing Hands on any the Church chofe %6\. Maintain fuch Maxims as muft condemn, E e \ «tt An Alphabetical Table. all Separation from Romeow account of Do ctrines . 399, &c. Congregations Independent and National muft needs have a different Polity 124. How they have a Right to make or unmake their Minifters . 1 29 Confcience, whether it ought to bind the Magi ftrate's Hand . \ . 18 Confecration of the Elements in the Load's Sup per not peculiar to the Clergy 108 Confent of Men the Original of Government 7 What Power this gives the Magiftrate in Mat ters of Religion 1 1 Confideration of our Duty inconfiftent with Ecclefiaftical Cenfures 116 Councils generally act from a Principle of Self- Inter eft 104. An Account of that at Nice 1 96, ejrc. By undermining the Chrifiian Re ligion, deftroy'd the Ejfence of it 20 2. Not inftuenc'd by the Holy Spirit 205. Ailed not by an Independent Power, but as, the Em- ptrsrs pleas'd 2 3 3. What they do, has no .force .unlefs the Supreme Power confirms it. 384. Sec, Synods. Cyprian St. his Judgment concerning the Power , of "the People in Church- Affairs i65,&c, D. DEgradation is nothing, if there is an inde lible Char alter beftow'd by Ordination 352, Difcipline of the Church muft be alter 'd accor ding to various Circumftances 138 Dif- Aei Alphabetical Table. DJfintereftednefs of the firft Preachers of the Gofpel contradicts the) Independent Power of the Clergy 52U&K. Divines foreign own two Independent Powers in one State to be Antichfiftian 308, &c. Dodwel 1 Mr\ his Arguments to prove the Va lidity of the "Deprivation of the Popifh Bi ffiops by Queen Elizabeth^ confider'd, 325, ' ¦-. . &c. Druids, by having the Power of Excommuni cation, gvvehn'd all Things 43, 98? De fer ib'd by Julius Csefar . 98 ECclefiaftical Power, .Pretenders to it, who 1 . Clafhes with the' Magiftrate's Civil Power 37. Wherein the Right of difpofing of a deceas'd Bijhop's Tower confifts 388 Ecclefiaftical Polity, if belonging to a particu lar Set of Men, the Conferences Jhewn 1 25, <&c. Deftroys every Chriftian' s T>uty to ano ther 131. The Reafons of its Mutability 147. If immediately from Cod, no Re* formation but by the Confent of the Clergy 235 Ecclefiaftical Officers muft be appointed by the People only, becaufe they are for their fakes 237. By their Independent Power do much mifchief to the Publick 244, &c, Ecclefiafticks, T>ivifions aniong them the means to pre ferve "Rjligion and Civil Liberty 280, Always narrow'd the Terms of Communion^ and why 346 Education of Youth, why not to bf intrufted t« fhe High-Church Clergy 294 E e 4 Emperors, An Alphabetical Table. Emperors, after they became [Chriftian, made. great Alterations in Church-Government 1 72 England, how preferv'd in Liberty, notwith- ftanding the Doctrine of Paffive-Obedience preach d up 275. The Church of, at the beginning of the 'Reformation thought no Form of Church-Government fix'd by God 337.. Its twenty third Article confines not the Power of making ^Jldinifters to Bifhops only 338 Equality among sJMcn can't be loft without their own Confent . 6 Efteem and Kindnefs among Men, the Foun dation of them 1 1 3, Sec. Excluding Men for immoral Actions from "Re ligious Communion unaccountable 89. lAnd contrary to the Rules of Charity 92. Reflects on the Clergy themfelves 93 Excommunication, the Power of it in the Cler gy, how detrimental to the Magiftrate 38, Its Effect on all ^Mankind 41. TheTerri- blenefs of it to the Jews 42. And Germans 43. Why it does not now ftr ike fuch Terror into Men 44. Takes from Magiftrates the Power of protecting their Subjects, ibid, &c. That 'tis only declaring "People Jhou'd avoid the Converfation of ill Men, anfwer' d 63. Belongs to the whole Church 83. Taken from the Practice of the Heathen Priefts 9$ *A.hht\i\, being oblig'd topreferve the Faith, includes the Tower of making their own Minifters 229 Esthers, An Alphabetical Table; Fathers have not an arbitrary, but reftrain'd 'Power over their Children 4 G. GOD afis differently, as governor of the Vniverfe, and as Prince of a particular Nation 151 Gofpel cou'd not have been maintain'd, if the Independent Power of the Clergy had been af fert ed by its firft Preachers 1 83 Government is only by the Confent of the Par ties concern'd 7- An Objection againft it an fwer' d 8. Alteration in it by the fame way 9. Having recourfe to any fuch for Prote ction is owning it 375 Governors good ought to be moft apprehenfive qf the Nation of two -Independent, Powers 258 H. HEathens, their Cuftom of facrificing Men taken from, the Druids 99. Thd' they differ'd, did not perfecute one another 260. 'jPfor make Wars on Religious Accounts ibid. Heathen Priefts the Original of Excommunica tion 9(3 High-Church facrifice the Ends of Civil and Ecclefiaftical Government to very unfit tJMeans 145. Their Folly and Madnef^ ibid. Love not a Prince who makes the Good of his Country his greateft Care 283. Why they like not Corporations for employ ing the Poor, &C 285. The Miracles they > can Ah Alphabetical Table. cm Work 29 1 * Their Abfurdity inatteiiftog Papifts to be part of ttie viftble Church of Chrift 312. Why thsy maintain the Church of Rome to be a "hue one 222. Their Excufe for carejfing the profefs'd Enemies of Church and State, confider d 129. By refu- fing Communion wfeh the Reform'd Churches abroad, guilty of Schifm 244. The . main difference between theniandike Papifts, where in it lie's 410 Holinefs, in inanimate Things on Confecration^ the Occafion of manifold Superftitions ^96 Hply Ghoft, Qiving it in making a Clergy* man, what it means 74 JAcobites, &c. by pretending to be for the Churchf prevent an Examination of their Conduit 290 Jews excluded none from their Synagogues for Moral Uncleannefs 98. Their Laws^r&e beft when fram'd, becaufe moft adapted to their Circumftances 149. Frequently chang'd, and at laft abolijh'd by God himfelf 150. Why fo inclined 'to Superftition 269. Their Le vites not ordain'd by laying on of Hands { 362 Ignorance, &c. in the Laity increafes ac cording to the Clergy's Power in any Place 229 Immoral Adipns , excluding Men from Re ligious Communities for them unaccounta ble 89. Contrary to the Rules of Charity ?? \nie- An Alphabetical Tabled Independent Power, Two fuch in the famt State, the Impoffibility fhewn %%, &c- Converfant about the fame Things abfurd 34, Tends to deftroy tbe Proof of' one Supreme Governor -of. the Univerfe %6. Unjuft , becaufe it fubjetts Men to' two Trials for the fame Crime 46. In the Clergy of Ordination", inconfiftent with the Magiftrate's Right of protecting the Com monwealth 47. How it muft be brought in <$%. In the Clergy , what offer' d by them for it not" to the purpbfe 161. Pre vents the GofpeVs further fpreading 180. The firft Preachers never own'd it 181. Mens fuffering for it not fufficient to fupport the Weight of it 184. The chief Occafion that Chriftianity loft fo much ground 186. Produc'd Popery in the Weft j 8 8. By it all Reformations unlawful, -without the Clergy's Confent 232, &C, Not to be allow'd 'em by the Magiftrate in Things Ecclefiaftical 246. Deftructive to Morality, &c. 266. Debafes Mens Minds 267. Serves to produce Super ftition in the Laity 268. Mifchiefs at tending its DoBrine 277- How it came to prevail fo much 294. The Clergy to be juftly efteem'd who difown it 20;. The Belief of it equal to that of Tranfubftan- tiation ?l° Judicial Pcwer pretended to by the Clergy 70, &q. I- AnT Alphabetical Table* L. LAity imbroil'd in the Quarrels of their Efchfiafticks - 142. .How affected to the Clergy at tbe beginning of the Reforma tion in England 21 j...Sbou'd not do what the Clergy impofe in Provincial Synods and Councils 240, &c Are pblig'd to renounce their Teachers, if erroneous 242. Why not now; fo much under tbe j Domination of tbe Clergy, as formerly 25?$-. Of the Popifb Re- ligion, how they receiv'd: Benefit by tbe Pro teftants feparating from them 282. Their Prefeription in Spiritual Matters, how long Time neceffary to make it pafs into Right -.'> • 271 Laymen frequently preach'd in the Apofto lical Times 132. And baptized 125. Their Knowledge being improv'd fatal to Prieftcraft 276. Preach'd frequently in the Univerfities in Queen Elizabeth 'j Time ¦n • ?49 Legiftators, in making Laws have had re gard H> the Tempers, &c. of their Subjects 148 Levites among the Jews not ordain'd by laying on of Hands 262 Lord's Supper in being held fuch a Myfttxy by the Primitive Chriftians, reflected Dif- bonottr upon tbe Chriftian Religion 97. jfi&/ the Clergy vary'd in their Notions and Prac tices concerning it 10 1. Why tbe receiving it was thought abfolutely neceffary 103. Not neceffarily to be receiv'd from the Hands of a P"eft 104 An Alphabetical Table* M. MAgiftrate, what Power be has in Mat ters of Religion n. Whether he has any in tbe Speculative and Ceremonial Parts of it 14. Has none over indifferent Things ic. . Nor to abridge any of their Liberty in Worfhipping God 16. For the Good of the Society may cut any off from it 20. Has on fome Accounts greater Power in Ecclefiaftical than other Matters 21. Lofes his Power of protecting his Subjects by tbe Clergy's Power of Excommunication 44. Has no Right to ufe Force, but as he is tbe Supreme Power j6. Whether oblig'd to affift the Clergy in putting their Decrees in execution 77. That they have all Civil Power in Ecclefiafticals ftoewn C9. Theit Prerogative invaded by the Clergy's pretence to Spiritual Power 69. Intrufted by tbe Civil Society with Power of excluding fuch as do ill 8;. Why tbey may be depos'd by the People 223. Why taught by the Clergy to. be immediately from God 2;c. Tho' In fidel, muft have a Power of depriving Eccle fiafticks 272 Mankind moft apt to prefer their own Intereft to any Motive 194 Marriage being prohibited to Ecclefiafticks, de-. ftruclive to the publick Intereft 265 Maxims which fome Proteftant Divines affert too much countenance Popery 291, &C. Means to an End mutable, tbe Cenfequences of denying it 14 1 Men, An Alphabetical Table. Men, before Agreements and Compacts, in a State of Equality %. Why fome fuppofe Go vernors in Religious as well as Civil Societies zy. Tho' they refign their Force, yef not the Power of approving or difproving thofe the)/ live among ft no Metaphyfical Notions, m&t with Religion, of great Advantage to the Clergy to -maintain their Power r 220 Minifters being obtruded on a.People, unrent able , 227 Miniftry in Religion, its End and Defign 128 Monarch Spiritual in the Church, Arguments us'd by tbe Clergy for the Neceffity of one \ 186 Monopolies Ecclefiaftical, moft prejudicial to the State ^jsr/ Moral Things only obligatory to all Men at all Times 1 j j Morality much difcourag'd by the Priefts pre tending alone to a Power of Reproving, &c. / 112 Muffulmen among tbe Mahometans, why ra ther a true Church than the Papifts 221. Can't be charg'd with any Thing tending to Idolatry ibid. N. NAtlons, their Mifery where the Clergy moft enjoy an Independent Power 2fO. Whence the Danger of lofing their Liberties 2C4. Upon becoming Chriftian, if tbey have not a Power of making Church-Governors, muft admit an Univerfal Bifhop 286 Naturalization, a General one, why oppos'd by High-Church 28 f Nazi- An Alphabetical Table. Nazianzen, Gregory, bis Opinion of General Councils ., .,, Xae Nice, tbe firfi General Council there, Mr. Mar vel'* Opinion of it 196. Tbe Doctrine of it what ibid. NOrcia, Republick there, bow it keeps Priefts out of the Government 274. Northern Counties, why their being arm'd was oppos'd by High-Church 286 o. O Bedience blind, fo the Doctrine of the Clergy, deftruBive to the Liberty, of any r Nation . 274 Ordination of Minifters by the Clergy not men tion'd in Scripture • •« > ' 3 c 8 Orthodoxy, &c. not tbe Foundation. of Efteem and Difefteem of Men . - • • j 1 3 Oxford Dfcree 0/1682. concerning the Vninter- rupted Succeffion, cenfur'd 298, &c, - PApifts in fome Places fee how deftructive the Principle of their Clergy is to Government 273. No Part of the true Apoftolick Church 220. Take groat Advantage from tbi Proteftant Clergy talking inconfiftent with themfelves 40 f. Paul, St. makes the Clergy's claiming an Inde pendent Power to be Antichriftian 1 5:9 Paul, Father, his Fears o/England'j being Prieft ridden 2 j 7. His Teftimony againft two Inde pendent Powers in the fame State 210 Perfecution for Confcience-fake tbe ready way to make Men Hypocrites 17. How dan- An Alphabetical Table. dangerous to Society 18. Deprives God of bis Empire otter Confcience 116. Moft prejudicial to Commemttealths icty Philofophers, the Antient, how tbey wou'd be furpriz>'d to fee tbe Conduct of thofe now, and why 297 Popedom not to be avoided, fuppofing the Ne ceffity of one external Head in Ecclefiafticals Pppifh Clergy make very bold with the Holy Trinity 76. And Druids, wherein tbey dif fer 100. Their Zeal for Ariftotle, and why 222. Their indelible Character confider 'd 2 Co, &c. Which obtain'd not for fome Ages among the Clergy 35-3 Pcwer naturally in the Body of tbe People 6. Tbe Abfurdity of two independent ones in tbe fame Society 29. Independent muft be Su preme 2 2> The Impoffibility of two fuch in tbe fame Society ibid; Why only one fhou'd be in a Society 26. Civil more to be plead-. ed for than Ecclefiaftical 224. Can't extend further than it felf reaches 379. See Inde pendent Preaching not appropriated to the Clergy, but common in tbe Apoftle' s Time 132. The Con- fequences of the Breach of that Cuftom 1 24 Presbyter and Bifhop in the New Teftament al ways us'd fynonymoufty 172. Why a Superi ority in one was eftablijb'd 172 Presbyterians have no Pretence to an uninterrup ted Sueteffion from the Apoftles 3 34 Prefeription of no force, but in Things of Hit man Confent 272. Gives no Right upon Change of Government ibid. Priefts, An Alphabetical Table. Priefts, Heathen, the Original of Excommuni cation 96 Princes, the more they are inclin'd to Religion, the more liable to be influenced by the Clergy againft the- publick Good 270. Hindering Ufurpations over the Confcience, wou'd make Men happy 284 Proteftant Cantons allow not Excommunica tion to be any Part of Ecclefiaftical Difci pline 107. Writers acknowledge there is no ¦ particular Form of Church Government of Di vine Appointment 174. Why Proteftants forbid tie Meeting of Synods 202. Their Ad vantage over the Papifts 273. Their Clergy as zealous for Independent Power as the Po pifh 2J9. At the Reformation, tho' differing about Model of Difcipline, forbore not com municating with one another 344. Can have no Bifhops without fuppofing the deceas'd Bi fhop' s Power devolving to the People 389. Di vines affert fome Maxims too much counte nancing Popery : What they are 391 Prpteftantifm, its Effence,wberein it confifts 406 Puffendorf, Mr. ftsews how the Univerfities were zealous for promoting the^ Power of the Pope 224 Punifhments, Eternal, belong only to God 67. Ecclefiaftical, the Defign of 'em 8c. How tbey may be faid to be Spiritual 26 R. REal Prefence in the Sacrament , why taught by the Popifh Clergy, 103. But re jected by the Reformers, 1 04. The Opinion qf ' moft Proteftants 397 F f R> Ah Alphabetical Table. Refprmation in tbe Church has been by Laymen^, '" in Oppofition to tbe Body of the Clergy 21 r. < In England \ promoted by 'King Henry VIIIV depriving the Clergy of part of their Power and Riches. 2rc. Unlawful, if. then is an Independent Power in the Clergy 232 Religion, bow neceffary to the Support of Hu man Societies 13. To be chofen by every one for himfelf 2%. In the Proteftant Countries purer than in the Popifh 212- Why not fo corrupted in fome Places as in others 219. Not ordain'd for God's, but our fake 289 Reproving and rebuking People, not, peculiar to the Clergy 1Q9. Qualifications neceffary for it 11c Roman and Greek Citizens, why they were fuch Lovers of their Country 29 c. Why it is otherwife with them now 296 SAcraments, their Validity deftroy'd by affer- ting a particular Set of Ecclefiafticks 1 30. Why their Number was inereas'd by tbe Ro- mifh Clergy 248 Schifm prevents any Claim to Apoftolical Power 3 C I School-Divinity, why contriv'd by the Romifh Clergy 226. What Advantage to the Clergy, ibid. Of ufe to fome to evade Oaths 227 Scripture takes not from, nor adds any Power to the Magiftrate 2. Makes no mention of any particular Form of Church-Government 174. Gives the People of a Church fufficient , Right to 'wake ufe qf what Means tbey pleafe 23§ Self? An Alphabetical Table. Self-prefervation the Original of appointing Go- vernment 10 Succeffion, an uninterrupted one of Bifhops, the Abfurdities of it ¦ %i%. By it no Religious . Society without them can be a Chriftian Church 214. Weakens the Proteftant Caufe 31c. Proteftants by it catft be a True Church 318. Tbe Line now uncertain , &c. 349. Deftroys the very Being of a Church 367. If it has ¦ .been interrupted, the People had Power to make their own Officers 376 Synods, why fo magnify'd by the Clergy 193. , Ail commonly for their own Intereft 194. Why forbid by Proteftants 202. Tho' not abo- lifh'd in England, yet their Power curtail' d 203. Not infiuenc'd by tbe Holy Spirit 20c. If compos'd of- Lay-Men, there wou'd not have beenfo many Corruptions in the Church 210 T, TEmpIe, Sir William, his Obfervation on Religion in Holland 213 Temporal Conduclers not being impos'd, Spiri tual ought not 240 Teft, a Religious, why there fhou'd be none for Civil Employs 287 Teftament, the New, no where fhews a Law depriving People of their Right of Ailing in Church Matters 1 c 6. But the contrary 1 C7 Texts to prove the Apoftles had a Right to govern the Church, and appoint Succeffors, &c. con fider' d 162, &c. Tyrants, their Commands juftify not thofe who affift them 26- Advantagious to an ambiti ous Clergy 2l6 V. An Alphabetical Table. VEnice, the Senate of, Supreme in Eccle fiaftical, as well as in Temporal Affairs ' 253. Fences it felf againft tbe Principles of the Priefts 273 Univerfal Head or Biftiop, without it the Church canndt be United in it felf, confider' d 404 Univerfities, why zealous fot the Power of the Pope 224. If ben moft prejudicial to tbe Pub lick 302. Why they affert the uninterrupted Succeffion of Bifhops 348 w. WAldehfes, endeavour'd to be extirpated at the Inftigation of the Clergy 2.62 Wars on Account of Religion, frequent when tbe Clergy came to govern Princes 261 THE E ND, YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 09863 0123