firebrand to the civill warres that followed In this time Peckam Archbishop of Can. in a Synod was tempering with the Kings liberties but being threatned desisted But his successor Winchelsey on occasion of Subsidies demanded of the Clergie made answer That having two Lords one Spirituall the other Temporall he ought rather to obey the Spirituall governour the Pope but that he would send to the Pope to know his pleasure and so persisted even to beggerie The Bishop of Durham also cited by the King flies to Rome In the deposing of this King who more forward then the Bishop of Hereford witnesse his Sermon at Oxford My head my head aketh concluding that an aking and sick head of a King was to be taken off without further Physick Iohn the Archbishop of Canterbury suspected to hinder the Kings glorious victories in Flanders and France by stopping the conâ—eyance of moneys committed to his charge conspiring therein with the Pope But not long after was constituted that fatall praemunire which was the first nipping of their courage to seeke aide at Rome And next to that the wide wounds that Wickleffe made in their sides From which time they have beene falling and thenceforth all the smoke that they could vomit was turned against the rising light of pure doctrine Yet could not their pride misse occasion to set other mischief on foot For the Citizens of London rising to apprehend a riotous servant of the Bishop of Salisbury then Lord Treasurer who with his fellowes stood on his guard in the Bishops house were by the Bishop who maintained the riot of his servant so complained of that the King therewith seized on their liberties and set a Governour over the Citie And who knowes not that Thomas Arundell Archbishop of Canterbury was a chiefe instrument and agent in deposing King Richard as his actions and Sermon well declares The like intended the Abbot of Westminster to Henry the fourth who for no other reason but because hee suspected that the King did not favour the wealth of the Church drew into a most horrible conspiracie the Earles of Kent Rutland and Salisbury to kill the King in a turnament at Oxford who yet notwithstanding was a man that professed to leave the Church in better state then hee found it For all this soone after is Richard Scroop Archbishop of York in the field against him the chiefe attractor of the rebellious party In these times Thomas Arundell a great persecutor of the Gospel preached by Wifclefs followers dies a fearefull death his tongue so swelling within his mouth that hee must of necessity starve His successor Chickeley nothing milder diverts the King that was looking too neerely into the superfluous revenewes of the Church to a bloody warre All the famous conquests which Henry the fifth had made in France were lost by a civill dissension in England which sprung first from the haughty pride of Beaufort Bishop and Cardinall of Winchester and the Archbishop of York against the Protector Speed 674. In the civill warres the Archbishop sides with the Earle of Warwick and March in Kent Speed 682. Edward the fourth Mountacute Archbishop of Yorke one of the chiefe conspirators with Warwicke against Edward the fourth and afterwards his Jaylor being by Warwickes treason committed to this Bishop In Edward the fifths time the Archbishop of York was though perhaps unwittingly yet by a certaine fate of of Prelacie the unhappy instrument of pulling the young Duke of Yorke out of Sanctuary into his cruell Unckles hands Things being setled in such a peace as after the bloodie brawles was to the afâ—licted Realme howsoever acceptable though not such as might bee wished Morton Bishop of Ely enticing the Duke of Buckingham to take the Crowne which ruin'd him opened the vaines of the poore subjects to bleede afresh The intollerable pride extortion bribery luxurie of Wolsey Archbishop of Yorke who can bee ignorant of selling dispensations by his power Legantine for all offences insulting over the Dukes and Peeres of whom some hee brought to destruction by bloodie policie playing with State affâ—ires according to his humour or benefit causing Turnay got with the blood of many a good Souldier to be rendred at the French Kings secret request to him not without bribes with whom one while siding another while with the Emperour hee sold the honour and peace of England at what rates hee pleased and other crimes to bee seene in the Articles against him Hol. 912. and against all the Bishops in generallâ— 911. which when the Parliament sought to remedie being most excessive extortion in the Ecclesiasticall Courts the Bishops cry out sacriledge the Church goes to ruine as it did in Bohem with the Schisme of the Hussites Ibid. After this though the Bishops ceased to bee Papists for they preached against the Popes Supremacie to please the King yet they ceased not to oppugne the Gospel causing Tindals translation to be burnt yet they agreed to the suppressing of Monasteries leaving their revenewes to the King to make way for the six bloodie Articles which proceedings with all crueltie of inquisition are set downe Holinsh. pag. 946. till they were repealed the second of Edward the sixth stopping in the meane while the cause of reformation well begunne by the Lord Cromwell And this mischiefe was wrought by Steven Gardiner Bishop of Winchester The sixe Articles are set downe in Speed pag. 792. The Archbishop of Saint Andrewes his hindring of Englands and Scotlands Union for feare of reformation Speed 794. As for the dayes of King Edward the sixth we cannot but acknowledge to the glorie of the rich mercie of God tâ—at there was a great reformation of Religion made even to admiration And yet notwithstanding we doe much dislike the humour of those that crie up those dayes as a compleat patterne of reformation and that endeavour to reduce our Religion to the first times of King Edward which wee conceive were comparatively very imperfect there being foure impediments which did much hinder that blessed work The three rebellions One in Henry the eighths time by the Priests of Lincolne and Yorkeshire for that reformation which Cromwell had made The other two in King Edwards dayes One in Cornewall the other in Yorkeshire The strife that arose suddenly amongst the Peeres emulating one anothers honour Speed pag 837. The violent opposition of the Popish Bishops which made Martin Bucer write to King Edward in his booke de Regno Christi Lib. 2. cap. 1. and say your Majestie doth see that this restoring againe the Kingdome of Christ which wee require yea which the salvation of us all requireth may in no wise bee expected to come from the Bishops seeing there be so few among them which doe understand the power and proper Offices of this Kingdome and very many of them by all meanes
Kingdomes yea all the neighbour Churches and if we may say the whole Christian world and no small part beyond it had rung with the lowd cryes of no lesse then Treason Treason Truth is in his Antiquity we find that this his uninterrupted sacred Government hath so far invaded the Civill and so yoked Monarchy even in this Kingdome as Malmesbury reports That William Rufus oppressed by Bishops perswaded the Iewes to confute them promising thereupon to turne England to their Religion that he might be free of Bishops And this is so naturall an effect of unalterable Episcopacy that Pius â—he fourth to the Spanish Embassadour importuning him to permit Bishops to bee declared by the Councell of Trent to be Iure Divino gave this answer That his King knew not what he did desire for if Bishops should be so declared they would be all exempted from his Power and as indepedent as the Pope himselfe The second thing observable is the comparison hee makes betweene the late Alterations attempted in our Neighbour Church by his Episcopall faction and that Alteration that is now justly desired by the humble petitioners to this Honourable House The one being attempted by strangers endevouring violently to obtrude Innovations upon a setled Church and State The other humbly petitioned to the Heads and Princes of our State by Multitudes therein almost ruined by an Innovating Faction yet doth not this Remonstrant blush to say if these be branded so he cals the just censures of this Honorable House For Incendiaries how shall these Boutefeux escape c. thus cunningly indeavouring either to justifie the former by the practise of the latter or to render the latter more odious then the former The attempts of these men whom he would thus render odious hee craves leave to present to your Honours in two things which are the subjects of this quarrell The Liturgie and Episcopacy and we humbly crave your Honours leave in both to answer SECT II. FIrst the Liturgie of the Church of England saith he hath bin hitherto esteemed sacred reverently used by holy Martyrs daily frequented by devout Protestants as that which more then once hath been confirmed by the Edicts of religious Princes and your own Parliamentary Acts c. And hath it so whence then proceed these many Additions and Alterations that have so changed the face and fabrick of the Liturgie that as Dr. Hall spake once of the pride of England if our fore-fathers should revive and see their daughters walking in Cheapside with their fannes and farthingales c. they would wonder what kinde of creatures they were and say Nature had forgot her selfe and brought forth a monster so if these holy Martyrs that once so reverently used the Liturgy should revive and looke for their Letany stampt by Authority of Parliament they would be amased and wondering say England had forgotten her selfe and brought forth c. Martyrs what doe we speake of Martyrs when we know Sir that one of your owne Bishops said it in the hearing of many not so long since but you may well remember it That the service of the Church of England was now so drest that if the Pope should come and see it he would claime it as his owne but that it is in English It is little then to the advantage of your cause that you tell us it is translated into other languages and as little service have they done to the Church of England who have taught our Prayers to speake Latine againe For if it be their Language chiefly that overthrowes the Popes claime take away that and what hinders then but the Pope may say these are mine As for other Translations and the great applause it hath obtained from Forraigne Divines which are the fumes this Remonstrant venditates what late dayes have produced we know not but the great lights of Former ages have beene farre from this applauding we are sure judicious Calvine saith that in the Liturgy there are sundry Tolerabiles Ineptiae which we thinke is no very great applause To vindicate this Liturgy from scorne as he calles it at home or by your Honours aide to reinforce it upon the Nation is the worke of his Remonstrance for the effecting whereof he falls into an unparallell'd discourse about the Antiquity of Liturgies we call it unparalleld because no man that we have seene ever drew the line of Liturgy so high as he hath done Concerning which if by Liturgy this Remonstrant understand an Order observed in Church assemblies of Praying reading and expounding the Scriptures Administring Sacraments c. Such a Liturgy we know and do acknowledge both Iewes and Christians have used But if by Liturgy hee understand prescribed and stinted formes of Administration Composed by some particular men in the Church and imposed upon all the rest as this he must understand or else all hee saith is nothing wee desire and expect that those formes which he saith are yet extant and ready to be produced might once appeare Liturgy of this former sort we finde in Iustine Martyr and Tertullian But that there were not such stinted Liturgies as this Remonstrant disputes for appeares by Tertullian in his Apol. Cap. 30. where he saith the Christians of those times did in their publique assemblies pray sine monitore quiâ— de pectore without any Prompter but their own hearts And that so it should be the same Father proves in his Treatise de Oratione Sâ—â—nt quae petantur c. There are some things to be asked according to the occasions of every man the lawfull ordinary prayer thaâ— is the Lords Prayer being laid as a foundation It is lawfull to build upon that foundation other prayers according to every ones occasions And to the same purpose S. Austin in his 121. Ep. Liberum est c. it is free to aske the same things that are desired in the Lords Prayer aliis atque aliis verbis sometimes one way and sometimes another And before this in that famous place of Iust. Mar. Apo. 2. He who instructed the people prayed according to his ability Nor was this liberty in prayer taken away and set and imposed formes introduced untill the time that the Arian and Pelagian Heresies did invade the Church and then because those Hereticks did convey and spreade their poyson in their formes of Prayer and Hymnes the Church thought it convenient to restraine the liberty of making and using publike formes And first it ordained that none should pray pro Arbitrio sed semper eaedem preces that none should use liberty to vary in prayer but use alwaies the same forme Conc. Laod. Can. 18. yet this was a forme of his owne composing as appeares by another Canon wherein it was ordered thus None should use any forme unlesse he had first conferred Cum fratribus instructioribus with the more learned of his brethren Conc. Carth. 3. Can. 23. and lastly that none should use set
of their revenues were taken away Bishops would not decline the great burthen and charge of soules necessarily annexed to their places as much as the ancient Bishops did who hid themselves that they might not be made Bishops and cut off their eares rather then they would bee made Bishops wheras now Bishops cut off the eares of those that speak against their Bishopricks How it comes to passe that in England there is such increase of Popery superstâ—tion Arminianisme and profanenesse more then in other reformed Churches Doth not the root of these disorders proceed from the Bishops anâ— their adherents being forced to hold correspondence with Rome to uphold their greatnesse and their Courts and Canons wherein they symbolize with Rome And whether it bee not to be feared that they will rather consent to the bringing in of Popery for the upholding of their dignities then part with their dignities for the upholding of Religion Why should England that is one of the chiefest Kingdomes in Europe that seperates from Antichrist maintaine and defend a discipline different from all other reformed Churches which stand in the like Separation And whether the continuance in this discipline will not at last bring us to communion with Rome from which wee are separated and to separation from the other reformed Churches unto which wee are united Whether it bee fit that the name Bishop which in Scripture is common to the Presbyters with the Bishops and not onely in in Scripture but also in Antiquitie for some hundreds of yeeres should still bee appropriated to Bishops and ingrossed by them and not rather to bee made common to all Presbyters and the rather because First we finde by wofull experience that the great Equivocation that lyeth in the name Bishop hath beene and is at this day a great prop pillar to uphold Lordly Prelacy for this is the great Goliah the master-peece and indeed the onely argument with which they thinke to silence all opposers To wit the antiquity of Episcopacie that it hath continued in the Church of Christ for 1500 yeeres c which argument is cited by this Remonstrant ad nauseam usque usque Now it is evident that this argument is a Paralogisme depending upon the Equivocation of the name Bishop For Bishops in the Apostles time were the same with Presbyters in name and office and so for a good while after And when afterwards they came to bee distinguished The Bishops of the primitive times differed as much from ours now as Rome ancient from Rome at this day as hath beene sufficiently declared in this Booke And the best way to confute this argument is by bringing in a Community of the Name Bishop to a Presbyter as well as to a Bishop Secondly because wee finde that the late Innovators which have so much disturbed the peace purity of our Church did first begin with the alteration of words and by changing the word Table into the word Altar and the word Minister into the word Priest and the word Sacrament into the word Sacrifice have endevoured to bring in the Popish Masse And the Apostle exhorts us 2 Tim. 1.13 To hold fast the forme of sound words and 1 Tim 6.20 to avoid the prophane novelties of words Upon which text we will onely mention what the Rhemists have commented which wee conceive to be worthy consideration Nam instruunt nos non solum docentes sed etiam errantes The Church of God hath alwayes been as diligent to resist novelties of words as her adversaries are busie to invent them for which cause shee will not have us communicate with them nor follow their fashions and phrase newly invented though in the nature of the words sometimes there bee no harme Let us keepe our forefathers words and wee shall easily keepe our old and true faith that wee had of the first Christians let them say Amendment Abstinence the Lords Supper the Communion Table Elders Ministers Superintendent Congregation so be it praise yee the Lord Morning Prayer Evening Prayer and the rest as they will Let us avoide those novelties of words according to the Apostles prescript and keepe the ole termes Penance Fast Priests Church Bishop Masse Matâ—in Evensong the B. Sacrament Altar Oblation Host Sacrifice Halleluja Amen Lent Palme-Sunday Christmasse and the words will bring us to the faith of our first Apostles and condemne these new Apostates new faith and phrase Whether having proved that God never set such a government in his Church as our Episcopall Government is wee may lawfully any longer be subject unto it bee present at their Courts obey their injunctions and especially bee instruments in publishing and executing their Excommunications and Absolutions And thus we have given as wee hope a sufficient answer and as briefe as the matter would permit to The Remonstrant With whom though we agree not in opinion touching Episcopacie and Liturgie yet we fully consent with him to pray unto Almighty God Who is great in power and infinite in wisdome to powre downe upon the whole Honourabe Assembly the Spirit of wisdome and understanding the spirit of Councell and might the spirit of knowledge and of the feare of the Lord. That you may be able to discerne betwixt things that differ separate betweene the precious and the vile purely purge away our drosse and take away all our tinne root out every plant that is not of our heavenly Fathers planting That so you may raise up the foundations of many generations and be called The Repairers of breaches and Restorers of paths to dwell in Even so Amen FINIS A POSTSCRIPT THough we might have added much light and beauty to our Discourse by inserting variety of Histories upon severall occasions given us in the Remonstrance the answer whereof wee have undertaken especially where it speaks of the bounty and gracious Munificence of Religious Princes toward the Bishops yet unwilling to break the thread of our discourse and its connexion with the Remonstrance by so large a digression as the whole series of History producible to our purpose would extend unto Wee have chosen rather to subjoyne by way of appendix an historicall Narration of those bitter fruits Pride Rebellion Treason Vnthankefulnes c. which have issued from Episcopacy while it hath stood under the continued influences of Soveraigne goodnesse Which Narration would fill a volume but we wil bound our selves unto the Stories of this Kingdome and that revolution of time which hath passed over us since the erection of the Sea of Canterbury And because in most things the beginning is observed to be a presage of that which followes let their Founder Austin the Monk come first to be considered Whom wee may justly account to have beene such to the English as the Arrian Bishops were of old to the Goths and the Jesuits now among the Indians who of Pagans have made but Arrians and Papists His ignorance in the Gospell which he preached is seene in his idle