such being Engines of Division and Persecution what promises are necessary is further to be opened nor is Re-ordination or Re-baptizing to be forced on the truly Ordained and Baptized VI. The just Ordainers must needs be the discerning Iudges whom they shall Ordain to the Ministry as such And the Magistrate is Iudge whom he shall approve and maintain as publick Teachers and whom to tolerate as tolerable And every man is a discerning Iudge to whom he shall trust the Pastoral care of his own-Soul as he doth what Physician he shall use for his Life to which Self-love and Self-government do Authorize and Oblige him and no erring judgment of Superiors can disoblige him much less every Patrons Choice VII Truly Ordained and Called Ministers must Preach to their Flocks though they have no other Licence and are by Office Authorized to choose their Subject due Method and Word And if a Form of Liturgy in Prayers Praise Psalms be imposed by Agreement or Authority that all the Church be not left at utter uncertainty what worship they meet to offer to God till it be pass'd out of the Minister's mouth let it be agreeable to Scripture-direction in Matter Method and Words blameless orderly and without just cause of suspicion or offence and let it not be made a snare for Contention and Division by the rigorous urging of needless things nor worthy men be silenced and cast out that cannot Declare Assent and Consent to all things contained in it and prescribed by it by fallible men nor for every omission or abbreviation through scruple or necessitated hast or for not officiating in a Surplice And let the Canons 6. 7. 8. 9. and others that unjustly fetter the Ministers and Flock be Altered or Repealed VIII Let no Minister be Silenced Suspended or Ejected for not publishing Excommunications pass'd by Bishops or Lay-Men against any of his Flock best known to the present Pastor whom be judgeth not guilty or for scrupleing a Ceremony especially upon such Canons as the 6. 7. 8. c. that Excommunicate ipso facto every man not excepting Parliament-ment Lords Iudges or Iustices Parents or Wives or Children that do but affirm That any thing is unlawful or repugnant to the word of God in the Liturgy or Ceremonies or Ordination or in the Government of the Church by Arch-Bishops Bishops Arch-Deacons and the Rest that bear Office therein seeing Wise and Godly Ministers judge such things too light to deserve an Excommunication and dare not so dishonour those Superiors whom God hath commanded us to honour yea and think all Excommunicating ipso facto sine sententia Judicis to be sinful and contrary to the use of Excommunication which supposeth Impenitence And let no Minister or People be forced to publish or execute any Excommunication Arbitrarily Decreed or against their Consciences And let none be forbidden to Preach the Gospel who do not more hurt than good while Iustice may be done by other Penalties IX As Christianity Baptism and Sacramental Communion are gifts from God of unspeabahle value so none at age but willing Consenters to the Covenant of God can have any right to them Therefore no unwilling person should be forced to Baptism or the Lord's Supper and so to profane Gods holy Ordinance and corrupt the Church But in each Parish the meer Auditors or Catechized must be distinguished from the Communicants as meer Catechising and Teaching is from Pastoral Oversight and Church-Conduct X. The Kingdom consisteth of Ministers and People Approvable Tolerable and Intolerable though the publick Temples and Maintenance be at the Dispose of the Sovereign Power and Magistrates yet are not all Laymen that can but Buy or Inherit a Patronage Advowson or Presentation either Authorized by God or Qualifyed with sufficient Wisdom and Piety to choose such as Pastors to whom though Ordained by a Bishop all men are bound to commit the Pastoral care and conduct of their Souls as is aforesaid Therefore to this Relation the Peoples Choice or Consent is necessary And because Parish Churches are by fixed Neighbourhood the most convenient Order the Rulers should either make those the Publick Teachers whom the People can take for their Pastors or the People after take those for their Pastors who are truly Capable whom the Rulers first choose for the Publick Teachers But in case they cannot so agree each man must be Tolerated to choose and join with some other Parochial or more private Minister for his Pastor so be it 1. They fess the essentials of Christianity and Church Communion 2. And live peaceably and loyally in their Preaching and Practice 3. And pay the publick Teachers and Magistrates their dues renouncing Heresie and Popery and all Foreign Iurisdiction and Treason The TEST or Profession of the Maintain'd Ministers supposing the amendments of Discipline I Do sincerly as before God Profess that I believe the Canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the True word of God and supposing the Light and Law of Nature the Divine sufficient Rule of Faith and Holy Living according to which we shall be Iudged which no humane Laws or Power can Abrogate or Suspend being all but subordinate thereto And I will Preach nothing as necessary to Salvation which cannot be proved or warranted thereby And more particularly I believe all the Articles of the Creed called the Apostles as a summary of our Faith and Consent to the Lord's Prayer as the summary of our Desires and to the Decalogue as expounded by Christ as the summary of our obedient practice and I resolvedly Consent to the Gospel-Covenant with God the Father Son and Holy Ghost which these summaries explain and which is celebrated in Baptism and the Lord's Supper And I do own and honour the Church of England that is This Christian Reformed Kingdom containing the Approved Pastors and their Flocks both the Publickly Maintained and the Duly Licensed and United under one Christian Reformed Sovereign and Renouncing all Foreign Jurisdiction And I do honour with thankfulness to God the Reformation and Concord of this Church in Doctrine Worship and Discipline and will labour to preserve its Unity and Peace renouncing all Treasons Seditions Popery Foreign Iurisdiction Heresy Schism and Profaneness And I do promise to Exercise my Ministry with diligence for the edification of the Church and the saving of mens Souls The Ministers being of three sorts 1. The Maintained or Promoted 2. The Licensed to Preach as Candidates or Lecturers without the publick maintenance or Helpers to Incumbents who desire them or occasionally such as sound Protestants continuing Non-conformists should be 3. The Tolerated that have only a Grant of Protection and Peace without either Mainterance or Approving Licence I leave it to Superiours how much of the aforesaid Profession shall be required of the two latter This would much reduce the Kingdom to a Holy and Happy Unity and Peace which yet containeth nothing that Protestants have any just cause to reject And we are not
Ministry on such terms V. They never accused the use of Holy dayes as dayes of Thanksgiving to God for giving such Holy Apostles to the Church and whose memory we honourable commemorate VI. They never accused our Kneeling at the Lords Supper as unlawful but only the casting Godly persons from Communion for not using it when they take it to be sin About the Kneeling the old Nonconformists were not of one mind some thought that every objectum motivum of Adoration was forbidden that was a Creature But others said that every Creature in the World may be such an object Our Meat is objectum motivum when we pray for a Blessing on it If I see the Relicts or Picture of a Friend that I wronged while he was alive I may well be moved by it to beg pardon of God. All his works must move me to adore and praise him But we may not make any Image objectum terminativum or ad quod to which we direct our Divine Worship as a Medium of our sending it to God. The only great difficulty about this is from the argument of scandalous hardening the Papists that live among us Though indeed our Doctrine avoideth that scandal VII They never accused the Ceremony of laying the hand on the Book and kissing it in taking an Oath VIII They never spake against the Ring in Marriage IX They meddled not with the Surplice Tippet Hood Rochet Cope but only the casting men out of the Ministry that dare not use them thinking them unlawful Though we justifie them not X. They accused not all significant use of the Cross but only that in Baptism it seemed to have all or most of the nature of a Humane Sacrament of the Covenant of Grace as it is expounded in the Liturgy and Canon XI They spake not against Episcopacy as it is a presidency among and over Presbyters differing in Degree and not in Office called ORDER and that in a Church of the lowest Species XII They opposed not Arch-Bishops as over many such Churches and Bishops nor Diocesans as Arch-Bishops ruling but by Gods Word XIII They said nothing against Metropolitans Patriarchs Lay-Chancellors Commissaries Officials Surrogates Archdeacons c. as Officers of the King appointed to do nothing besides the Sacred Ministry if they be Clergy-men but what belongs to Magistracy XIV They said nothing against any promise of Obedience to them only in the capacities and in the exercise of the power forementioned XV. Much less did they ever oppose or question Swearing to the King according to the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy And I with divers others also being for some ends entered as his Chaplains in Ordinary took also that Oath of Fidelity which the Kings Houshold Servants take XVI We never were for any dishonouring of Kings by publick Excommunications much les by Subjects or Forreigners whom Kings never choose to be their Pastors but only in case of necessity for such a denyal of Sacramental Communion to them as Bishop Andrews in Fortura Torâ— and Bishop Bilson plead for which is but to forbear our selves a sinful act XVII We never pleaded for any Elders or Chancellors power of the Keys who are but Lay-men XVIII We never held that Magistrates are bound to add their force by the Sword to the censures of the Church as such and to punish men more because the Church hath by Excommunication cast them out or because they are not reconciled XIX We never thought that things indifferent do become unlawful to us because the Magistrate commandeth them XX. We never held that the Scripture is a particular Rule commanding every accident and circumstance about Gods Worship but only a general Rule requiring all to be done in Love and Peace and to edification and decently c. in those circumstances which must be some way determined and God hath left to variable Humane determination Such as are Time Place Utensils Translations Sections Metres Tunes Methods and Words in Preaching and Prayer Habit Gesture and many such XXI We never held it unlawful to do one of these actions though it were by mistake unlawfully commanded e. g. If the Rulers prescribe a Time Place Metre Tune c. unfit if it be not so bad as to overthrow the ends and use of the Worship the fault of the Commander will not disoblige us from the duty of obeying And whereas some argue that no man hath authority to sin ergo we are not bound to obey that which is no act of authority I answer Rulers have authority to command that which is good though not in a faulty manner and when we cannot do the good without the faulty manner it is their fault and not ours e. g. If an inconvenient Time Place Text Tune c. be chosen the Union and Concord which is held by agreeing in those Modes is necessary He that will not joyn in them cannot joyn in the Worship So that we obey the Ruler or Guide as a determiner of the means of Concord which is necessary and not sub ratione erroris as misdetermining though in that which is misdetermined If a Master bid his Servant go at an unseasonable time about his work it 's his duty to go at that time We never pray without some fault in the manner and yet must rather do it so than not at all The mistaken Ruler bids us not sin It 's his sin to choose a mis-circumstance and it is not his own action that he bids us do but ours And it s to us a lawful circumstance because necessary to Concord and commanded though mistakingly XXII We never held it unlawful to joyn with a Church or Minister that hath some faults both Personal and in their acts of Worship as if all that joyned were guilty of all the faults there committed No not though we knew before hand that some false Doctrine would be uttered or fault committed Else we must separate from all the world and all from us XXIII We never thought it a duty to separate from every Church that culpably neglecteth Discipline and hath open wicked men therein If we be not guilty of it and cannot lawfully live in the Communion of a more obedient reformed Church XXIV We never judged needless affected singularity a duty but judge it best in lawful things for Concord sake to Conform to the custom of the Churches where we live or come XXV Though we think not that men may command us to destroy our Neighbours Souls by scandal yet when disobedience to a Rulers Law is like to do more hurt than the scandal taken at it comes to we are for avoiding the greater hurt XXVI We never separated from any tolerable Parish Ministers or Churches as if they were no true Ministers or Churches nor perswaded any so to do nor to take the Communion of such Churches for unlawful to us either occasionally or constantly when we can have no better without more hurt than benefit to our selves and others XXVII We hold
such as he may not with a good Conscience subscribe unto let him be Excommunicated ipso facto and not restored but only by the Arch-Bishop after his Repentance and publick Revocation of such his wicked Errors L. I hope you that agree with the Church in Doctrine have nothing against Publishing such an Excommunication M. I Subscribe to the Doctrinal Articles as true because I judge of them by what I take to be the Author's meaning But 1. The words in the obvious sence are divers of them liable to Exceptions 2. And some of them about Traditions Ceremonies c. are of small moment and dubious 3. And every word that is true is not an Article of the Creed nor necessary to Church Communion so that all Men must be cast out of the Church that dissent from it And this Excommunication extends to Lay-Men who are not bound to know as much as Ministers L. What is therein the Articles that any good Man can scruple M. Article 3. Learned Men doubt of Christ's going down into Hell. Art. 4. That Christ's Body in Heaven hath Flesh and Bones is contrary to two General Councils that of Nice and that before it at Const. which it confuteth And in this they agree Art. 8. That Athanasius's Creed ought to be omnino recipiendum credendum wholly received and believed when the Damning part is scrupled by many Conformists Art. 9. Bishop Ieremy Taylor was against that of Original Sin. Art. 10 Many called Arminians are against that No Power to do good Works Art. 11. Many Conformists are against the word We are accounted Righteous before God only for the merit of Christ because a subordinate Righteousness is mentioned many Score or Hundred times in Scripture Art. 12. Many think that good Works spring not necessarily from Faith but freely Art. 13. Many think that merit of Congruity may be held and that Men by natural or antecedent Works may be made meet to receive Grace which Dr. Hammond in his Annotations seemeth much to insist on under the Name of Probity Art. 14. The said Dr. Hammond and many other write for good Works over and above God's Commandments as only counselled by God and voluntarily done which this Article calleth Arrogancy and Impiety And many follow Dr. Hammond and yet subscribe this Art. 15. Is denied by them that think Infants sinless when Baptized Art. 16. Many deny falling from Grace given Art. 17. Dr. Hammond and his Followers seem to deny the absolute Election here described Art. 18. Many good Men think some are saved that live up to the Light of Nature and yet this Article curseth them that say so Art. 19. The Description of the Visible Church greatly disagreeth from that now given by many great Church-men not at all mentioning the Bishops or their Government in it And some deny that the Church of Rome hath Erred De Fide. Art. 20. The Churches Power to decree Ceremonies as not limited here is doubted of by good Christians And they see not how that is not made necessary to Salvation contrary to this Article which is made necessary to avoid Excommunication as for wicked Errour Art. 21. Too many deny what is said here against gathering Councils witout the Will of Princes and that Councils may 〈◊〉 in things pertaining to God c. Art. 23. Seems defective about calling Ministers to them that are for uninterrupted Canonical Succession c. Art. 25. Contrary to this Article some great Church-men think that Confirmation at least is a Gospel Sacrament and that it hath a visible sign ordained by God. I will proceed no further herein By this it is evident that many Subscribers are great Nonconformists and if they speak their Minds are Excommunicated ipso facto L. You make our Articles of Religion a doubtful thing what certainty then is there of the Protestant Religion M. The Protestant Religion is the Holy Scriptures older than our Form called the 39 Articles which are a laudable sound account how we understand the Scriptures but not of such perfection that all Men must be Excommunicate that say any word in them is faulty Chap. XXV Point XXII Of Publishing the Sixth Canons Excommunications L. WHat is the Sixth Canons Excommuication M. Whosoever shall affirm that the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England by Law Established are wicked Antichristian or Superstitious or such as being commanded by lawful Authority Men who are Zealously and Godly affected may not with any good Conscience approve them use them or as occasion requireth subscribe unto them Let him be Excommunicate ipso facto and not restored till he repent and publickly revoke such his wicked Errors L. I confess it sounds harshly to lay so great stress on every Ceremony of the Church as to Excommunicate every one that Calleth any one of them unlawful What could be said more of the Ten Commandements or the Creed If it be a wicked Errour to mistake about a Ceremony or to account a Cope or a Pair of Organs unlawful the Lord have Mercy on us what a Case are we all in by wicked Errours What shall my poor Country Neighbours and Tenants do that few of them understand one half the Creed M. Yet 1. The Articles and our Ordination-Vow oblige us to believe and teach that nothing is necessary to Salvation but what is contained in the Scripture or certainly proved by it And that General Councils and all Men are fallible And sure they are very near to Infallibility who are so Infallible about every Rite and Ceremony that they dare bind all the Land to justifie or notblame them on pain of ipso facto Excommunication 2. Yet Grotius and Bishop Taylor that justifie some Lying are Men that deserve Praise with them and in truth And Oh! how many Thousands live quietly in their Communion who err in greater Matters than a Ceremony 3. And judge by what I have said of the Symbolical Crossing in Baptism Godfathers c. whether it be a wicked Errour deserving Excommunication and Ruine to charge any one of their Rites with Sin. 4. Was it not enough to cast us out of Ministry and Maintenance for blaming a Ceremony but they must cast us out of the Church what is Pharisaical if this be not Chap. XXV Point XXIII Of Publishing the Seventh Canons Excommunications M. THe Seventh Canon is Whosoever shall hereafter affirm that the Government of the Church of England under His Majesty by Arch-bishops Bishops Deans Arch-deacons and THE REST THAT BEAR OFFICE in the same is Antichristian or repugnant to the Word of God Let him be Excommunicate ipso facto and so continue till he repent and publickly revoke such his wicked Errors L. Mark here that And connexeth all these Offices it is not OR disjunctively So that you fall not under this Canon if you condemn every Church Office save one if you condemn not all M. That 's a meer violent unjust exposition The Government is the thing named as consisting of many
on Earth bound solemnly to worship the God that made them And do not all the Idolatrous Heathens and the Mahometans offer their God some publick Worship And must not Christians publickly worship Christ Are not holy Assemblies for Doctrine Prayer Praise and Communion Commanded to that end and the Lord's day separated thereto and all forbid to forsake such Assembling Q. 7. Let the Bills of Mortality and the knowing Inhabitants tell you Whether there be not some Hundred Thousands in the great Parishes in and near this City more than can come into their Parish-Churches and hear If they would all but shew their willingness to come in if they could and Twenty Thousand stood at St. Martin's in the Church-Yard and Streets and as many at Stepney and at St. Giles Cripplegate and Ten Thousand at Giles in the Fields and so of the rest and should say We are here desirous to come in and cannot What would you say to them Are they not more miserable that are content to stay at home Q. 8. What would you have all these Thousands do Multitudes of them are hardened already by this seeming necessity into self-excusing and a custom of neglecting all publick Worship And how think you do they spend their time at home Is it not the time for sinful Practices or Idleness at the best And would you have all these Thousands turn Atheists or live more impiously than Mahometans And are not these to pay to the Church that cannot come in it and the Weak that cannot stand and can get no Seats And are not the Church-wardens bound to present all these Thousands that have no Room And shall all these suffer as Recusants while the Rich that can pay for Seats escape If you say they should seek room in other Parish Churches do you know what it is for a man to wander into the City with his Family to seek room he knoweth not where The Tabernacles where Churches stood are small and we see the Church full already where is profitable Preaching and the Seats at least possest and the worse men are the more need they have but the less they feel it and are unlikely to seek help at such a rate who would come in if it were near them Q. 9. Are all these many Thousands that stay at home or worse hunted and prosecuted fined and imprisoned for it as seditious and Enemies to the King or to the Peace as some are that worship God as wisely as they can And do you believe that such a Worship of God as hath nothing in it contrary to the Holy Scripture or contrary to the Practice of the Apostles of Christ is worse than none at all or than meeting at Plays and Taverns and deserveth scorn imprisonment and ruine Q. 10. Suppose it be Ignorance and Errour in such Ministers as take it to be a sin against God yea a heinous sin to take all the Oaths Declarations Subscriptions and Covenants imposed for Conformity while they willingly take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy and suppose it be an Errour in those People who think their Souls need better Pastoral Helps than they can have in many Parishes shall this Errour be punished with keeping them from all God's publick Worship unless they will sin against their Consciences or change their Judgments which they cannot change Yea suppose some Communion or Ceremony be indifferent which they mistake for sin will you forbid all men to worship God till they have no Sin or Errour Is there any one such a man on earth Are you such your selves And shall all the World be driven therefore from worshipping God Little do men know how great a part of the daily Thoughts even of Orthodox Learned men are Errours Q. 11. Can there be a more horrid thing in the world than either to condemn or excommunicate all men who dare not do that which after their best search they think to be more heinous Sin than they dare name lest the very naming of it offend and are desirous to have their Reasons heard and to make it necessary to Communion or to their Liberty to worship God that all Men and Women must know even all indifferent things to be indifferent or lawful in God's Worship which men may impose on them Have not all sober Peaceable Divines agreed that things necessary for all to know are few and that Christian Concord can never be expected on any other terms than by agreeing in those few plain necessary things And who knoweth not that indifferent things are numberless as well as small no mortal man knoweth them all And if a poor Christian that feareth the Justice of God do take that Oath that Covenant that Declaration or Subscription yea or that humane Symbolical Badge of Christianity or other Ceremony to be a heinous Sin which others say is a thing indifferent Must all as Atheists be kept from worshipping God till they know all these things to be indifferent Q. 12. Did not the Lord Iesus himself make it his prime Gospel Law That all that profess Repentance and Faith in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost should by Baptism be made visible Christians and all Christians live in Love to one another and Holy Communion and jointly worship God Q. 13. Was it not the Nature of all the Old Heresies to depart from this Universal Christian Love and Unity and that on pretence of some singular Opinion of their own in which they thought they were wiser than others and would have had all to be of their mind and should those that cry down Heresie go the way of Hereticks if they can but get Number and Power to pretend Catholicism Q. 14. Did not the Holy Ghost by St. Paul as plain as the Pen of Man can write determine Rom. 14. and 15. and Eph. 4. 6 7 c. and 1 Cor. 12. that Christians should receive each other into Communion and live in Love and Peace notwithstanding differences about Meats Days and such indifferent things yea or Weaknesses in Faith and Holiness And did not Christ mind the Ceremonious Pharisees That God will have Mercy rather than Sacrifice and that they worshipped God in vain while they preferred their Ceremonies and Traditions to his Word Q. 15. Had it been Reason or Impudency rather in the Pharisees if they had cryed out against Christ and his Apostles for not Conforming to their Traditions You are Schismaticks and disturb the Church's and the Nation 's Peace and cast all into Confusion And was it not Turbulent Arrogancy that made the Iewish Christians so urgent with all the Gentiles to be Circumcised when they were left to their own Ceremonies and no body medled with them or hindred them If men love that Diet let them use it But must none live that cannot love the same Q. 16. Will you give men leave to open all the real Faults they can find in the Diocesan or Parish Churches And if they prove far more than they can prove in