Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A52594
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A discourse of ecclesiastical lawes and supremacy of the kings of England, in dispensing with the penalties thereof by Mr. Philip Nye.
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Nye, Philip, 1596?-1672.
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1687
(1687)
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Wing N1490A; ESTC R41353
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35,351
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41
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be discovered by this indiscriminating Severity that is who are Dissenters upon Principles of Conscience and who of them so pretending are notwithstanding of a Seditious Spirit These can never be distinguished one from the other when Dissenters and such as conform not be it upon what ground soever are all of them equally branded with the same mark of disloyalty and so represented to His Majesty and all the Nation There is a necessity that this Pretence of Conscience be removed and Seditious Persons discovered and left to condign Punishment and others these stumbling-blocks being removed may by their peaceable Obedience to all other His Majesty's Lawes justifie and vindicate their Integrity which can no ways be done while the Righteous are thus condemned with the Wicked and no relaxing those Lawes which shut up all both Guilty and Innocent under the same Condemnation His Majesty who hath had a clear prospect all along of these things and thence publickly declared his avowed readiness in that Proclamation of 10 July 1669. and otherwise to indulge tender Consciences hath upon these afore-mentioned and the like weighty Considerations been necessitated to Publish this his Gracious DECLARATION of March 15. 1672. where he hath fully performed his Promise made at Breda and so often repeated Thus His Majesty as a Wife and Prudent Prince whose Station is fixed in an higher Orb like the Sun exhaling and consuming or serving to refresh and to shew the dark Foggs and Mists here beneath hath by the Light and Liberty shining forth from his gracious Indulgence refreshed multitudes of his good Subjects and delivered them from the dark misapprehensions of others Nor is this their great relief in any thing prejudicial either to the Estates or Liberties of men otherwise minded nor are such men abridged in any of their concerns Spiritual or Temporal hereby His Majesty hath made sufficient Provision for the satisfying their Consciences in a careful continuing those Ceremonies and Forms of Worship they have been accustomed to Let it not be grievous or offensive to them that their Brethren have obtained from His Majesty in respect to their Consciences the like favour Quest Since these Ecclesiastical Lawes of Restraint were Enacted by Parliament the King giving his Royal Assent had it not been convenient if His Majesty had so pleased that the dispensing with these Lawes had been by Parliament Answ 1 The King and Princes of this Realm His Majesty's Predecessors did Establish many Things and Orders by Parliament relating to Ecclesiastical Matters but did yet nevertheless often exercise their own Power in dispensing with the Penalties at least of such Lawes A constant acting with others in the exerting hereof might tho no Prescription against the King yet introduce at least into the Minds of Men a kind of Suspicion especially in the Vulgar that such Proceedings of the Supream Majesty by his sole Power to be an assuming an Arbitrary Government 2. The Parliament did still continue in this their former Opinion and first Judgment namely That a way of Severity was the only means to settle Peace and Unity They had newly passed the Act for Uniformity without any abatement of what was offensive by reason whereof arose that general Discontent which before we have mentioned His Majesty being sensible hereof did by that Declaration of Decemb. 26. move a second time That an Act might be prepared c. not doubting their chearful co-operation with him being a Matter wherein he conceived himself so much engaged both in Point of Honour and in what he oweth to the Peace of his Kingdoms which we profess saith he we can never think secure whilst there shall be a colour left to the malitious and disaffectionate to inflame the minds of so many Multitudes upon the score of Conscience with despair of ever obtaining any effect of our Promise for their Ease The House returns this Answer We your Majesty's Loyal Subjects who are now returned to serve in Parliament from those several Parts and Places of your Kingdom for which we were chosen do humbly offer to your Majesty's great Wisdom That it is in no sort adviseable that there be any Indulgence to such Persons who presume to dissent from the Act of Vniformity and the Religion Established for these Reasons c. whereof this is one It will in no wise become the graver Wisdom of a Parliament to pass a Law at one Session for Vniformity and at the next Session the reason of Vniformity continuing still the same to Pass another Law to frustrate or weaken the Execution of the former So that now His Majesty had no other Remedy but either 1. To retreat from that Pious and Seasonable Resolution for Liberty of Conscience expressed in Letters to the Parliament then sitting from Breda a Resolution so acceptable to them as the whole House Nemine Contradicente by Letters returned Thanks to him and Blessed the Name of the Lord who put such reconciling thoughts into the heart of the King. And he himself likewise owned an especial Blessing from God upon his Affairs after he had expressed that intention 2. Of break that Promise he solemnly made assuring this Liberty and had professed to the world upon this occasion in his Speech May 8. 1661. That he valued himself much upon keeping his Word and whatsoever he promised to his Subjects and that no man can be his Friend and wish him well who would perswade him to consent to the breach of that solemn Promise 3. Or leave the Nation under greater Distractions and Sufferings about Religion then he found it And that upon 12 years Experience of other means which extended rather to increase the Distempers These dishonourable things I say His Majesty must have suffered and undergone or make use of that Power GOD and the NATION have intrusted him withal tho not with Concurrence of Parliament so much and so often desired by him even so oft as he came to them as he tells them in his Speech July 8. 1661. yet nothing at any time was done to his Satisfaction in Liberty of Conscience by the Houses being obliged in their Judgments to proceed in the other way CHAP. V. Of former Examples for Indulgences HIS Majesty's Gracious Declaration contains not a greater Indulgence altho it be extended to a greater number of Persons than what was granted by His Majesty's Predecessors which before we have mentioned to the French and Dutch Congregations 1. There was an uniform order of Church Government and Divine Service to which not only His majesty's Subjects but all the Inhabitants in His Majesty's Dominions were to conform and no man to absent himself And were enjoyned not to hear or be present at any other Forms of Prayers and Administration of Sacraments then what is in that Book prescribed under Penalties of Ecclesiastical Censures Fines to the King Poor of the Parish c. 2. The Dispensation and Exemption was by the SOLE Authority of the Sovereign and stands thus A Liberty to
Separate and Absent themselves from the Parish Assemblies and to gather themselves into distinct particular Churches or Congregations to choose and ordain their own Ministers also to establish such a Church-Government or Discipline and Form of Worship and Divine Service as they amongst themselves judged to be most conformable to the Scriptures Established by His Majesty's Patent as a Corporation within it self and independent upon any Superiour Jurisd ction Spiritual but His Majesty all Bishops Mayors Sheriffs c. to protect them and suffer them quietly to enjoy and exercise these Liberties with a NON OBSTANTE 3. The Grounds and Considerations upon which such Liberty and Exemptions were granted were these 1. The Care of Religion that ought to be in all Christian Princes and to be shewed forth especially in the relief and encouragement of those that are of the same Religion in their Sufferings for Conscience of their Duty towards God. 2. Persons of the same Religion with us and Sacraments administred by them according to the Word of God and Practice of the Apostles ought to be tolerated in their way of Worshipping of God tho they differ from us in Ceremonies and Discipline 3. The Kindness we found in other Protestant Countries when we were forced to leave our Native Soil for preserving our Consciences 4. There were also great Advantages in Matters of Trade from their Skill-and Industry to the great benefit of this Nation and prejudice of their own Lord Herbert Hist H. 8. The Premises considered we further say 1. His Majesty's Protestant Subjects to whom the gracious Indulgence is extended are generally of the same Religion with others of his Subjects and the present Establishment in respect to Matters of Faith and Worship in external Forms and Ceremonies they are not more differing from the Church of England then those Congregations to whom the same Indulgence hath been granted by His Majesty and his Predecessors and is still enjoyed And when these Strangers had removed their Families and come among us had not this gracious Indulgence been granted and continued to them their Consciences would have engaged them to depart hence and seek Habitations where the like Liberty might be obtained And this also is our Condition Many Hundreds of His Majesty's Subjects with their Families have left their Native Country and disposed themselves into other Parts of the World upon the same account 2. If it be so grateful a Charity and deserving so solemn an Acknowledgment the kind Entertainment our Subjects have found in other Parts when not suffered to live in their own Land upon the account of Conscience doubtless it 's a greater Charity to be so indulgent to our own as not by Severity to enforce them for Conscience to become Strangers in other Countries And for Matters of Trade the Advantages have been great by encouraging those Strangers But the Disadvantages in the same kind far greater from Severity by which Native Subjects have been so greatly discouraged and not only those hands hang down that were most industrious in upholding the Staple Trade of the Nation but by reason Artificers removed into other Parts for their Consciences the mysteries of our chiefest Manufactures have been made common and others therein equalled if not exceeded us A great sense hereof His Majesty hath expressed in his Gracious Declaration Obj. It is said these be Strangers Objects of Charity being driven out of their own Country understood not our Language they were educated and accustomed to other Forms of Discipline and Worship in the exercise whereof their Consciences had of a long time testified to them Answ 1 It 's true the first grant of this Liberty was to such but in process of time these Churches were increased and spread into divers Parts of the Nation and this Grant being confirmed by Queen Elizabeth King James and King Charles the First English born and born Subjects of this Realm they had fully the same Liberty granted them as formerly insomuch as the Persons now enjoying these Priviledges are his Majesty's Native Subjects 2. The greatest number of His Majesty's Protestant Subjects that have benefit by this present Indulgence have since they had understanding been trained up in and acquainted with no other Forms of Discipline and Worship then what was found among us at His Majesty's return the other formerly established having been for many years totally disused King James himself being educated under other Forms when he came into England scrupled many things in our Liturgy and Rubricks Conf. at Hampton-Court Finally it is more then a Century of years wherein these Dutch and French Churches have enjoyed this Indulgence and there hath been much quiet and peace among themselves following their Callings without Disturbance neighbourly and friendly converse with those that are of different Perswasion in Matters of Religion no troublesome Disputings or Reasonings about the same no Judging or Despising others Experience we have found hereof beyond denial in London Norwich Canterbury c. where diversity of Practices in the Forms of Religion and Worship are constantly held forth in the view of all men for so many years And why should not we expect the like peaceable and inoffensive converse mutually between those that enjoy now the like Liberty from this Gracious Declaration and others of our Brethren whose practice is otherwise And the Lord who hath put this in the King's heart put it also in the hearts of our Senatours to be like minded with him And as His Majesty hath condescended to them in their way for the space of these Twelve years as he tells them so it is to be desired that they if it may stand with their great Prudence would concurr with him but half so long in the way himself hath chosen for the Peace and Vnion of his Subjects in Matters of Religious Worship or at least until there be the like evident Experiments of the ineffectualness of it THE END