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<DATE>2011-07-07</DATE>
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<NAME>Greg Schutz</NAME>
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<P>The Second PART OF THE APOLOGY OF Socrates Chri&s;tianus; OR, A Plain <HI>Declaration of the Authority,</HI> by which he acts; freely offered to the Con&s;ideration of all Serious, Con&s;iderate, and unprejudiced Chri&s;tians.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="essay">
<P>IT was not to Conceal my own <HI>Name,</HI> that I a&s;&s;um'd that of <HI>Socrates Chri&s;tianus</HI> at the fir&s;t: For that I never did my &s;elf, or de&s;ired my Printer &s;hould, from any who de&s;ired to know it. But having long &s;ince purpo&s;ed never to Print my Name with any thing I &s;hould Publi&s;h (unle&s;s for &s;pecial nece&s;&s;ary Cau&s;e) I a&s;&s;umed that upon Occa&s;ion of the <HI>Manner of Writing</HI> I then u&s;ed: And that I have re&s;umed it again now, was not without &s;pecial Cau&s;e from the Compleat <HI>Agreement ob&s;ervable be|tween his Ca&s;e and my own. His Apology</HI> Con&s;i&s;ts of <HI>two Parts:</HI> In the one he refells the Lyes, Calumnies and Fal&s;e Accu&s;ations brought again&s;t him by three Principal Adver&s;aries; <HI>Melitus</HI> Pa|tron of the Poets (generally <HI>Latitudinarians</HI>) <HI>Anytus</HI> of the, Craft&s;|men and <HI>Politici</HI> (a Proper Name of the &s;ame Sect) and <HI>Lycon</HI> of the Orators and Sophi&s;ters (as truly <HI>Latitudinarian</HI> as any.)
<PB N="2" REF="2">The&s;e were the Men, who rai&s;ed the Clamours, and &s;tirred up the People again&s;t <HI>Socrates;</HI> and have all revived to act their part in my Ca&s;e. But I thought it &s;ufficient to refell their Fal&s;e Re|ports and Calumnies without noting the Per&s;ons, &s;ince they have not appeared openly, but under hand again&s;t me. And this part I hope I have done to the Satisfaction of all Hone&s;t, Im|partial, and Intelligent Per&s;ons: As for the re&s;t, their <HI>Weakne&s;s</HI> is to be pitied, and their <HI>Ra&s;hne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Reproaches</HI> to be born with Pati|ence upon the Encouragements of the Religion we Profe&s;s, till Mrs. <HI>Experience</HI> convince them of their Error, and how much they are abu&s;ed.</P>
<P>In the other part he declares <HI>by what Authority</HI> he did tho&s;e things which he did; and that no le&s;s than Divine Authority; That it was <HI>a Duty impo&s;ed upon him by God;</HI> that he was <HI>by God Appointed to the Care and Over-&s;ight of the City, and con&s;tituted Su|pervi&s;or thereof.</HI> It is now near Seven Years &s;ince I, being to fulfil all Righteou&s;ne&s;s in receiving Commi&s;&s;ion (&s;uch as could be had here) from Men, was &s;olemnly demanded in the Pre&s;ence of the People, to An&s;wer this important Que&s;tion: <HI>Do you tru&s;t that you are inwardly mov'd by the Holy Gho&s;t, to take upon yon this Office and Mini&s;tration, to &s;erve God for the Promotion of His Glory, and the edifying of hit People?</HI> Which I &s;hould never have an&s;wered in the Affirmative as I did, had I not been fully &s;o per&s;waded; or had I had any doubt either concerning &s;uch <HI>Motions</HI> in general, or of &s;uch &s;pecial Motion in my own Ca&s;e, and to that very Ser|vice, I was then to engage in. And being well &s;atisfied of &s;uch a <HI>Divine Call,</HI> I dur&s;t not refu&s;e it for any Scruples at the other; Nor do I think fit to de&s;ert that Service now, for any Defect of Humane Authority I have &s;ince di&s;covered; though I confe&s;s I would not have refu&s;ed to have had tho&s;e Defects &s;upplyed by competent Ordinary Authority, notwith&s;tanding any Temporal Laws again&s;t it, if it might have been upon &s;uch Terms, as I could have &s;ubmitted to. But &s;ince that could not be, I am well &s;atisfied with that, which is mo&s;t <HI>Nece&s;&s;ary</HI> and <HI>E&s;&s;ential,</HI> and as much be&s;ides, as the Legal Clergy of this Nation can pretend to.</P>
<P>But if <HI>the Ca&s;e</HI> be as I take it to be, there will appear more in it, than, for ought I know, any Man el&s;e in this Nation can pretend to. Almighty God had appropriated the Prie&s;thood under the Law to the <HI>Tribe of Levi,</HI> yet <HI>Samuel,</HI> who was not of that Tribe, Mini&s;tred before the Lord, Girded with a Linen Ephod, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.18. and offered Sacrifice, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 7, 9, 17. It was indeed an Extraordinary Ca&s;e: His Mother had dedicated him to the Lord,
<PB N="3" REF="2">and the Lord accepted him. He, who obligeth others to his Ordinance, doth not thereby always oblige him&s;elf: And he that grants a General Commi&s;&s;ion to many, may notwith|&s;tanding grant a &s;pecial Commi&s;&s;ion to one, if he plea&s;eth, up|on a &s;pecial Occa&s;ion. I pre&s;ume not to &s;ay this is my Ca&s;e; or how far it is &s;o, I leave that to others to judge upon due Con&s;idera|tion of the Particulars I have to relate. And I hope <HI>Socrates Chri|&s;tianus</HI> may &s;ind as much Credit with true Chri&s;tians, as <HI>Socrates Philo&s;ophus</HI> with Infidels and Apo&s;tates.</P>
<P>What <HI>my Mother</HI> did for me, I cannot &s;ay; but &s;he was a Wo|man of Parts and Piety, and all I remember of her is only part of a Prayer &s;he taught me, That God would make me <HI>an In&s;trument of much Good in his Church, and in the Common Wealth;</HI> but this I might have &s;aid, <HI>When my Father and Mother for&s;ake me, the Lord taketh me up.</HI> For I remember neither; yet this I remember ve|ry well, that when I was a Boy the very Names of <HI>Wi&s;dom and Virtue</HI> were Precious to me: But no particular in&s;tructions do I remember, to which any &s;uch <HI>Impre&s;&s;ions</HI> might be imputed. Though I was &s;tudiou&s;ly inclined and loved <HI>Retirement,</HI> yet was I always very ready to <HI>appear and Act</HI> for the Service of the Pub|lick, or of my Friends; and, when but fifteen years of Age, went to &s;erve the King with as much Sincerity and Pure Zeal as any one could. Before I was twenty, I applied my &s;elf with much Gu&s;t and great Satisfaction to the Reading of the Antient Chri|&s;tians, the Antient Philo&s;ophers, and the Spiritual Writers. And when I was about thirty I knew experimentally the My&s;tery of <HI>So|crates his Genius:</HI> And while I heedfully ob&s;erved that Conduct, I lived in a Ble&s;&s;ed Condition; All my Affairs &s;ucceeded with ad|mirable Ea&s;e, as in a manner done and di&s;patch'd to my Hand; and I had &s;uch An&s;wers to my <HI>Prayers</HI> for People in Difficult and Dangerous Ca&s;es, as were little le&s;s than Miraculous. But I never did any thing contrary, though with all the Con&s;idera|tion and Care I could u&s;e, and the be&s;t Advice of Friends I could get, but it proved very un&s;ucce&s;sful and unhappy. But in this my <HI>Notices</HI> were &s;omewhat different from tho&s;e of <HI>Socrates;</HI> for they were as well <HI>To</HI> &s;ome Actions, e&s;pecially to Prayer, as <HI>From</HI> &s;ome others. And once I was &s;o unhappy in Di&s;obedience to one of tho&s;e, that it was like the Sin of <HI>Adam</HI> to me, and the In-lett to all the Unhappine&s;s, which hath &s;ince befallen my Fa|mily; and I had pre&s;ently upon it as &s;en&s;ible Notice of it, as if it had been a Sentence declared again&s;t me: And much of that Favour hath ever &s;ince been withheld front me.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="3">
<P>Before this, near forty years &s;ince, I think it was, or rather more, that in the next Pari&s;h, where was a great Family of my Relations, I per&s;waded and prevailed to have THE HOLY COM|MUNION Celebrated <HI>Monthly,</HI> which was rarely then any where el&s;e in the Nation, above once, or twice, or thrice at the mo&s;t in the Year. Afterwards when I removed to another Pari&s;h, where I was both Lord of the Mannor and (as we call it) Pa|tron of the Church, I not only continued <HI>Monthly</HI> Commu|nions, but at la&s;t brought it to <HI>Weekly;</HI> and it &s;o continued till I had occa&s;ion to remove thence for my Health to a City, where it was then &s;o Celebrated. Nor was I &s;atisfied with this, but being frequently at <HI>London,</HI> I wrot to the then Arch-Bi&s;hop <HI>Sancroft,</HI> that it might be Ordered to be <HI>Daily</HI> in one or two Churches about <HI>London.</HI> And my Letter was well taken by the good man, though it was not done, whatever it was that hindered it. But at la&s;t, when I had little or no Hopes of what I had &s;o long De|&s;ired, it plea&s;ed God to grant me my de&s;ire in a <HI>Surpri&s;ing man|ner.</HI></P>
<P>I had brought back a Per&s;on, who had been Ordain'd according to the pre&s;ent Church of <HI>England,</HI> from the Di&s;&s;enters, to frequent the <HI>Early Communion</HI> at St. <HI>Laurences;</HI> and I had &s;ent to the place, where he was ordained, and had a Certificate of his Ordination from the Regi&s;ter; but not in the lea&s;t then thinking of what after followed. But returning one Morning from that Early Communion with him and &s;ome other Devout People, I over|heard one of them &s;aying &s;omething of the Comfort and Bene|fit they found in it: Whereupon, I replyed, Ay, what would ye &s;ay to have it &s;o <HI>every day?</HI> And when &s;everal of them decla|red how glad they &s;hould be of &s;uch an Opportunity, I replyed again, that if they were in good earne&s;t, I knew how it might be; for there was one in the Company, who to my knowledge was in Orders according to the Church of <HI>England,</HI> and would, I doubted not, be willing to Officiate. And thereupon we a|greed to meet at his Hou&s;e at Night, and there farther agreed to begin the next Morning that DAYLY COMMUNION, which has been continued ever &s;ince with many as <HI>&s;urprizing Steps</HI> under the &s;ame Sacred Conduct, by which it was at fir&s;t begun. This was in Autumn 1692.</P>
<P>I had before this left off my <HI>Profe&s;&s;ion of the Law:</HI> After that had received a Providential <HI>Qietus,</HI> as I apprehend it, from &s;ome other things, wherein I had, <HI>Socrates</HI>-like, endeavoured to &s;erve my Country: And I had al&s;o <HI>for&s;aken the World,</HI> and &s;ettled all
<PB N="5" REF="3">my E&s;tate upon my Wife and Children, as ab&s;olutely as I could, without any Re&s;ervation whatever, ca&s;ting my &s;elf wholly upon the <HI>Providence of God,</HI> without any thoughts of any thing more than a Solitary Retirement: And I have by that Providence e|ver &s;ince been &s;o provided for and Conducted, as to me hath been far beyond all the Enjoyments of the World, and all Hu|man Wi&s;dom whatever. Our little <HI>Society</HI> was <HI>begun</HI> upon the&s;e <HI>three Principles;</HI> To <HI>meet every day early at the Holy Communion;</HI> To <HI>follow the Example of the Ancient Christians, as near as we can;</HI> and, <HI>To avoid all Offence, as much as we may.</HI> It was begun at his Hou&s;e who did fir&s;t officiate: but after a little time, &s;ettle in another, mean and di&s;picable, but very convenient Place, and where we enjoyed that Serenity and Satisfaction, which is not commonly to be met with in Princes Courts, or the Palaces of Great Per&s;ons in the World.</P>
<P>But it was not long before the Per&s;on who did officiate, was removed from us, and I my &s;elf brought into &s;uch Circum&s;tances, that I neither could, unle&s;s I would let the Work I had been &s;o much concerned for, &s;o long promoting, and was &s;o far enga|ged in, fall to the ground, nor dur&s;t refu&s;e to <HI>take Orders,</HI> to which I was invited, and not only led by a <HI>&s;urprizing External Con|duct,</HI> but al&s;o obliged by &s;everal <HI>Internal Motions,</HI> both correcting my Reluctance, and encouraging my Submi&s;&s;ion. And after I had done this, and had begun to officiate my &s;elf, it was not long before we were as unexpectedly and &s;urprizingly led from our private Lodgings, to perform that &s;olemn Service in a <HI>Pub|lick Church,</HI> and of one of the greate&s;t Pari&s;hes, of the City, but without the Walls: And after &s;ome time, to <HI>another,</HI> ju&s;t with|in the Walls, &s;omething le&s;s, but much more to our Satisfaction, by rea&s;on of its Privacy. But neither were we permitted to con|tinue long there; Nor could we obtain the u&s;e of any <HI>other,</HI> by any Means we could u&s;e, but <HI>in the very Heart of the City:</HI> And both the Services being more than I was able to perform, we had no other expedient, but were forced to meet daily at eight of the Clock at <HI>Bow,</HI> and then to walk thence along <HI>Cheap-&s;ide</HI> to St. <HI>Matthews,</HI> as if on purpo&s;e, that what we did, might the more be taken Notice of, whether we would or no. And then I began to be &s;en&s;ible what <HI>our Bu&s;ine&s;s</HI> was, to which were led by &s;o many <HI>&s;urprizing Steps</HI> of &s;uch a <HI>Secret Conduct;</HI> viz. to bear <HI>a Tacit Te|stimony for God</HI> again&s;t the common wilful Neglect of that So|lemn Wor&s;hip, which we there performed, in all other Parts of the Nation.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="4">
<P>It was my de&s;ire to re&s;tore this Holy Wor&s;hip of the <HI>Chri&s;tian Sacrifice,</HI> not only to its due <HI>Frequency,</HI> but al&s;o to its ju&s;t <HI>Inte|grity,</HI> which had been much deformed and di&s;ordered by <HI>Cran|mer</HI> and his Foreign Agents, though I knew not then by whom, or what Practices it was done, only perceived that it was &s;o; and therefore Compo&s;ed a <HI>Form</HI> as near as I could to the Mind of the Antients, but taking in all the Common Form; and had a few Copies Printed, which we u&s;ed, while we continued at our Private Lodgings. But this I could not expect would be permitted to be u&s;ed in a Publick Church; and therefore I was forced to u&s;e the Common Form, only &s;upplying what I could from other parts, and re&s;toring what had been di&s;ordered, to the proper places. And yet this was not ea&s;ily permitted, till being Que&s;tioned for it, I was to make my Defence, the &s;ame good Providence, which had ordered the Bui&s;ne&s;s all along, brought (as &s;ea&s;onably as unexpectedly) to my hand one of tho&s;e <HI>Book,</HI> which were <HI>Compo&s;ed for the Church of</HI> Scotland; under the In|&s;pection, and with the Approbation of the Engli&s;h Bi&s;hops, in the Reign of King <HI>Charles</HI> 1. as compleatly agreeable to my mind, as as if I had done it my &s;elf; and not long after, the fir&s;t and on|ly true <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Liturgy, compo&s;ed by the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Clergy in the Reign of K. <HI>Edw.</HI> 6. but wickedly deformed by <HI>Cranmer</HI> and his Foreigners, and his deformed Changeling, Schi&s;matically obtruded upon the Church, by the Parliament, without the Con&s;ent of the Clergy in the Convocation, in&s;tead of it, which was the Ori|ginal, from which that for <HI>Scotland</HI> was taken. Upon &s;ight of the fir&s;t of tho&s;e, I printed my Defence, which I had before &s;ent only in writing to the Arch-Bi&s;hop; and not long after, when I had met with the other, <HI>The Liturgie of the Antients repre&s;ented, as near as well might be, in</HI> Engli&s;h <HI>Forms; with a Preface concerning the Re&s;titution of the mo&s;t Solemn part of the Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip, to its Inte|grity and ju&s;t Frequency:</HI> and pre&s;ented it to the Arch-Bi&s;hop, Bi&s;hop of <HI>London, &amp;c.</HI> u&s;ed it in the Church, and offer'd to &s;tand a Tryal with any that would que&s;tion me for it, notwith&s;tanding the Sta|tutes of 1 <HI>Eliz.</HI> and 14, <HI>Car.</HI> 2. again&s;t it.</P>
<P>But there I continued the u&s;e of it between two and three Years, and might undoubtedly have done &s;o till this day, if I had thought fit: but that I did not, con&s;idering how unworthily and &s;hame|fully it was neglected by the Clergy: there being in the fir&s;t Church we u&s;ed no le&s;s than three in Prie&s;ts Orders, and not one of them ever came to join with us, unle&s;s the Reader once or twice at the mo&s;t: and there, after their Preaching and Printing
<PB N="7" REF="4">for frequent Communion, they not only after &s;ome time, put a &s;top to our daily Communion, but reduced their own from weekly to monthly: In the next Church we had, we never had any of the Clergy, but once two, who came upon a &s;pecial Occa&s;ion: and then again after &s;ome time, upon &s;ome little Temporal Con&s;ide|ration, we had Warning given to remove within a time limited. In the third place indeed, the Dr. liv'd at a great di&s;tance; but he was always kind to us: but then it became more known, we had Communicants, who came frequently from all Parts, and for &s;ome time &s;eldom &s;o few as thirty daily, and on the Lord's Day and other Holy-days, a con&s;iderable Number; but not above three or four times any of the Clergy; but on the contrary upon Ho|ly-days, another Communion was &s;et up at <HI>Bow</HI> he Arch-bi&s;hops peculiar, in oppo&s;ition, as I &s;uppo&s;ed, to it; and others falling off, till we were not ordinarily above twenty, I began to think we had done our Bu&s;ine&s;s, and <HI>fini&s;hed our Te&s;timony;</HI> and con&s;ider|ing this Neglect, I wi&s;h'd for a Di&s;charge from that Publick Place, fearing it might be but expo&s;ing of &s;uch Holy things, if continued much longer; yet did not think fit to leave that Station without either &s;ome <HI>Prohibition</HI> to proceed, or &s;uch <HI>Invitation</HI> to &s;ome other as might &s;atisfy me to do it: and &s;uch an one we had &s;oon after, and a very con&s;iderable one indeed: but the only Effect of it was fir&s;t <HI>a Satisfactory Di&s;charge</HI> from that Publick Service, and next a <HI>Review of the Reformation,</HI> for which I had a Commo|dious Retirement, and other Considerable Advantages; and Mo|tives &s;ufficient before I left the City. And of the Ob&s;ervations I made upon that Review in Relation both to Church and State, I gave &s;ome Account to &s;uch as I thought mo&s;t proper.</P>
<P>And here again we had another Admirable Evidence of that Wi&s;e and Gracious <HI>Providence,</HI> by which this Work had been or|dered all along: For we had certainly been involved in much Trouble and Difficulties, had not the &s;ame infallible Providence both fore&s;een it from the beginning, and as &s;ea&s;onably and &s;uffi|ciently provided for it. But the &s;everal <HI>Manifestations of a Di|vine Conduct</HI> over us to this time, are more than need to be re|lated, or can be &s;o &s;en&s;ibly under&s;tood by &s;uch as were not con|cerned in them, or have had no Experience of the like. Nor perhaps was it nece&s;&s;ary that it &s;hould ail be &s;o manife&s;t to any other as, to my &s;elf, who was to Act, and yet do nothing which needed any <HI>Extraordinary Authority,</HI> or Atte&s;tation for the Sa|tisfaction of &s;uch as were concerned in what I did. But it &s;eems to have been providentially ordered, that &s;o much &s;hould be &s;o
<PB N="8" REF="5">manife&s;t to me, as is &s;ufficient not only to &s;atisfy &s;uch <HI>Scruples</HI> as might be rai&s;ed in my own Mind, but al&s;o to an&s;wer the <HI>Ob|jections</HI> of others.</P>
<P>The <HI>Principal Objections</HI> are again&s;t my Performance of the <HI>Office of Priesthood</HI> without other Ordinary Authority, than what I my &s;elf now think not &s;ufficient. But to the <HI>Political Clergy,</HI> who make this Objection, I an&s;wer; 1. That for Ordinary Au|thority I have as much as them&s;elves: 2. That that was &s;uffi|cient for &s;ome purpo&s;es, and particularly for a tacit Te&s;timo|ny again&s;t them: 3. That I have be&s;ides what doth &s;atisfy my &s;elf; and that, whether Ordinary or Extraordinary, is &s;ufficient for them: And to <HI>all others,</HI> that I take not this Office of my &s;elf, but was <HI>called of God,</HI> as <HI>Samuel</HI> was; fir&s;t Dedicated to his Service by particular Dedication (if not by my Mother, which might be too, for ought I know) however, by my &s;elf, which is not le&s;s, and accepted by him; and this manife&s;ted by an <HI>Extraordinary Concurrence of various Cau&s;es,</HI> many of them in a &s;urprizing and yet orderly and nece&s;&s;ary manner, to the producing of &s;uch ju&s;t, rea&s;onable and nece&s;&s;ary <HI>Effects,</HI> as our Daily Communion; my Engaging in that Service; our Performance of it under &s;uch a Conduct from de&s;picable private Lodgings to the very Heart of the City; and then there, for &s;o long time, a &s;ufficient time, without any Interruption, notwith&s;tanding the Laws again&s;t the Form I was known to u&s;e, Then my Di&s;charge in due &s;ea&s;on, and to my Satisfaction; and our Conduct thence to a conveni|ent Place of Retirement; with &s;ea&s;onable Provi&s;ion for un&s;u&s;pe|cted Difficulties; and our Reduction back again, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> &s;o many Circum&s;tances &s;o orderly concurring, as can no more be ac|counted for without a Providence, than an orderly Compo&s;ure of proper Letters, into a Ver&s;e or Sentence without the Skill of a Compo&s;itor and a Founder: and be&s;ides, all this <HI>Structure</HI> built upon the <HI>Foundation</HI> of a <HI>Con&s;tant Di&s;po&s;ition</HI> of &s;o many years Continuance, to what neither any thing in Nature, nor any Temporal Pro&s;pect was any Motive or Inducement: and farther yet, my Acceptance of the Office not without &s;uch &s;pecial <HI>Inter|nal Motions,</HI> as I had had Experience of many years before, to what the Laws of the Land require, &s;o that I could with clear Con|&s;cience an&s;wer the Que&s;tions to be propo&s;ed to me. The Con|currence of all the&s;e, 1. Of &s;uch a <HI>Di&s;po&s;ition</HI> of &s;o many years Continuance; 2. Of &s;o many External <HI>Providential Occurrences,</HI> &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, &s;o orderly &s;ucceeding, and in &s;o &s;urprizing a man|ner and 3^l^y. Such <HI>Internal Motions:</HI> And all to the &s;ame ju&s;t, and
<PB N="9" REF="5">rea&s;onable, and nece&s;&s;ary <HI>End;</HI> is to me &s;o <HI>Satisfactory</HI> an <HI>Evi|dence,</HI> as I can hardly think can be rejected by any one, who doth not disbelieve either a Divine Providence, or at lea&s;t, one of the Chief Principles of the Go&s;pel; but think &s;ufficient for <HI>Caution</HI> to all con&s;iderate Per&s;ons, and for <HI>Conviction</HI> before God of &s;uch as pre&s;ume to oppo&s;e or di&s;pi&s;e it.</P>
<P>If my <HI>Commi&s;&s;ion</HI> be defective in the <HI>Ordinary Conveyance,</HI> who&s;e Fault is that? But may not that Defect be &s;upplied by what is <HI>Extraordinary?</HI> Is God's Hand &s;hortened? Has our Saviour limi|ted his Power by His Commi&s;&s;ion to the Twelve? How then came <HI>Paul</HI> to be an Apo&s;tle? Is there not as much need now here, as there was in the days of <HI>Samuel</HI> then? Con&s;ult Bi|&s;hop <HI>Andrews,</HI> Con&s;ult Bi&s;hop <HI>Taylor,</HI> Con&s;ult Dr. <HI>Sherlock,</HI> Dean of St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Famous Cathedral, in the Principal City of the Na|tion, in his la&s;t Chapter of Religious A&s;&s;emblies, and others that might be named. Are not many Teachers either &s;hamefully Ignorant of the mo&s;t Solemn and peculiar Part of the Chri&s;tian Wor&s;hip, or notoriou&s;ly &s;elf-condemned here, and in danger to be damned hereafter for their unfaithfulne&s;s, and wilful Neglect of what they know? And is not &s;uch an <HI>Admonition</HI> highly <HI>ne|ce&s;&s;ary</HI> in &s;uch a Ca&s;e and very <HI>&s;uitable</HI> to the Methods of the Divine Wi&s;dom and Providence?</P>
<P>And for <HI>the rest of my Bu&s;ine&s;s,</HI> what is it, but what is a Common and Ordinary Duty? The Service of God, The Service of my Country, the Reformation of Manners; the Pre&s;ervation of Peace by re|moving the Seeds of Di&s;&s;ention, and great Occa&s;ions of Wars, and making that impregnable which is now indefen&s;ible; the Re&s;taura|tion of the Genuine Primitive Chri&s;tianity; Healing the Breaches of the Church of Chri&s;t, and promoting the Re&s;tituti|on of its Rights by A&s;&s;ertion of Truth, nece&s;&s;ary Truth, and &s;uch Truth as all my <HI>Adver&s;aries</HI> are not able to gain-&s;ay or re&s;i&s;t. Nay, does not their very <HI>Dealings with me</HI> at the &s;ame time both di&s;cover them to be of the Spirit of the <HI>Fal&s;e Prophets,</HI> and Atte&s;t and Confirm <HI>My Mi&s;&s;ion,</HI> as a true Di&s;ciple of Chri&s;t? This is <HI>My Bu&s;ine&s;s</HI> to a&s;&s;ert and bear My <HI>Testimony</HI> to the <HI>Truths of God</HI> in &s;uch Manner and Order as he is plea&s;ed to order and di|rect; and tho&s;e not any <HI>New Revelations,</HI> but the Truths once de|livered to the Saints, and received by the Churches; Catholick Truths, oppo&s;ed by none but <HI>Hereticks,</HI> and <HI>Schi&s;maticks,</HI> and <HI>Fal&s;e Teachers,</HI> who corrupt the Doctrine of the Go&s;pel, to gra|tify their own Lu&s;ts, and to plea&s;e the People; who can un|concernedly behold the <HI>Growth of all Sects,</HI> even of' <HI>Infidelity</HI> and
<PB N="10" REF="6"><HI>Apostacy,</HI> and notorious Oppo&s;ition of all revealed Religion un|der the Notion of <HI>Dei&s;m</HI> and <HI>Sociniani&s;m,</HI> except only &s;uch as they think (like them&s;elves) aim Chie&s;ly at their Cathedrals and Preferments. This is their <HI>Diana</HI> for which they are concern|ed; and for which they can ea&s;ily <HI>join and combine with Infidels, and Dei&s;ts, and Commonwealths Men,</HI> to &s;ecure that again&s;t &s;uch as they think may lay Claim to it: And &s;o they can but &s;e|cure that, they can willingly enough give up one part of the re&s;t to the State, and the remainder to the Sects; nay be well appaid to have their Pa&s;toral Charge performed by them, &s;o they may but quietly enjoy the Revenues and Profits to them&s;elves; and upon Confidence of &s;uch A&s;&s;i&s;tants without either Shame, or Scruple of Con&s;cience, or Fear of Scandal, hold &s;uch <HI>Charges at incon&s;i&s;tent di&s;tances,</HI> as good Chri&s;tians here|tofore would have dreaded to undertake but one of them. And certainly their &s;o great <HI>Concern</HI> in the one Ca&s;e, and &s;o little Concern in all others of Religion (of which the in&s;tances which might be given are undeniable and notorious) is &s;o &s;can|dalous, that it is not to be doubted, but it is one of the greate&s;t <HI>Temptations to Athei&s;m and Dei&s;m</HI> that is in this Nation: For the <HI>Scandals</HI> of the mo&s;t gro&s;ly Scandalous is nothing &s;o effectually Scandalous, as &s;uch as appears <HI>under Sheeps Cloathing.</HI></P>
<P>It was my <HI>plain Reproof</HI> of the&s;e things, and charging them with <HI>Filthy Lucre,</HI> that fir&s;t provoked an <HI>Angry Letter</HI> to my &s;elf, then the <HI>Appeal</HI> &s;ent me in a Penny-Po&s;t Cover, then that <HI>fal&s;e and fooli&s;h Letter,</HI> el&s;ewhere mentioned, and at la&s;t that Reli|gious and Loyal <HI>Combination</HI> of <HI>Latitudinarians</HI> with Dei&s;ts and Commonwealths Men, of like Concern in the State, as the o|thers in the Church; and all that <HI>Noi&s;e and Clamour,</HI> where|with the People have been abu&s;ed, the King affronted, and all good and &s;olid Methods, and the Advantages, which the good Providence of God had put into our hands at this time, for a Happy Settlement of a la&s;ting Peace both in Church and State, madly di&s;turbed, and the Peace of the Nation greatly en|dangered, unle&s;s more Prudent Coun&s;els and better Cour&s;es be taken in time. And indeed what <HI>Mi&s;chiefs</HI> may not rea&s;onably be expected from a <HI>Combination of two &s;uch Factions;</HI> if they be but a little animated at the fir&s;t, either by Authority, or, which is more to them, by an incon&s;iderate, well meaning, abu&s;ed Peo|ple! Of the <HI>One</HI> we have had Experience enough within our own Memory; and they have given the Nation a fair Warning of what they would be at now again, by a bold attempt to &s;up|pre&s;s
<PB N="11" REF="6">the Anuual Memorial of it, by a very Virtuous and Reli|gious Preacher of Mr. <HI>Toland</HI>'s Club upon the Thirtieth of <HI>Janu|ary,</HI> which I hear is &s;ometimes vi&s;ited by a like Virtuous Chair Man of the &s;ame Party in his Chair; A very proper and &s;ea&s;o|nable Preparative for &s;o furious reviving the old Pretence, from which that day at la&s;t became &s;o Memorable. The <HI>Other</HI> is as very a Faction too; and that appears by like Practices to pro|mote their own De&s;igns, in keeping <HI>the Convocation</HI> from &s;itting and acting: For did they not know that the greate&s;t part of the Clergy of this Church are again&s;t what they would have, and in Matters of no &s;mall Moment, they would never be guilty of &s;o foul a Practice. And that it is done by their Per&s;wa&s;ion or Mi&s;information and Encouragement, doth likewi&s;e appear by the An&s;wer to the Letter to a Convocation Man.</P>
<P>And how foul a thing this is, will appear, if the Manifold Evils apparent in it, be&s;ides what may be latent and not yet di&s;covered, be well con&s;idered: 1. It is a <HI>Betraying</HI> of the <HI>Rights of the Church</HI> of Chri&s;t, and <HI>E&s;&s;ential Rights,</HI> as to its being one Bo|dy and a formed Society: 2. It is a Betraying of the <HI>Rights of their own Order,</HI> and Rights <HI>ab&s;olutely Nece&s;&s;ary</HI> for the Di&s;charge of their Duty in common to Con&s;ult and Advi&s;e concerning the Great and common Concerns of the Church. 3. And this is done at a time of as great need as ever, of an A&s;&s;embly of the Clergy; when Immorality is grown to that height, that all the Bi&s;hops of <HI>England</HI> did not dare to bring in a Bill, drawn at their own Reque&s;t, and peru&s;ed by able Coun&s;el, and all the Judges then in Town, into the Parliament to &s;uppre&s;s it; and to that Impudence that a Notorious Scandalous Cau&s;e, and of one in Great place, hath not only been defended in the Courts of Law in <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> but at la&s;t brought by Appeal before the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and no notice of the Scandal, though undeniable, taken by all or any of the Bi&s;hops, as if there was nothing of Di&s;cipline left in the Church of <HI>England:</HI> and Impiety to that height and Impudence, that one of their Lord&s;hips hath complained to me that they are put to prove their Creed, and the fifth Chapter of St. <HI>Matthew:</HI> But a great|er in&s;tance than this I have lately given in my Letter to Sir <HI>R. C.</HI> which hath produced only a more notorious Confirma|tion of it. 4. This Antichri&s;tian Treachery is &s;o peculiar to this Faction, that I know no Sect be&s;ides them&s;elves that is guilty of it: Nay what they deny to their own Brethren, they them&s;elves will not deny to any of the Di&s;&s;enters, nor &s;o much
<PB N="12" REF="7">as to the Quakers, though Con&s;tantly, Annually Notorious and complain'd of, 5. It is an injury to the whole Body of the Clergy of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> joyned with Abu&s;e and Mock|ery (in Effect;) and repeated and continued for many years together: For what el&s;e is it never to let them Sit and Act, when they are &s;o often Call'd and A&s;&s;embled?</P>
<P>Nor, 6. Are the Mi&s;chiefs to the State and Government, le&s;s than the&s;e to the Church. They betray the State into Sin by encouraging a U&s;urpation, which is one of the greate&s;t Acts of <HI>Sacrilege</HI> that can be; and that by as Gro&s;s and Pernicious an <HI>Here&s;y,</HI> condemned by all Parties but their own Faction; and be&s;ides are charged with <HI>Schi&s;m</HI> by a Con&s;iderable Part of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> who make out &s;ufficiently by &s;trength of Argument, what they want in number of Per&s;ons. But of &s;uch Latitude are their Principles, that they comprehend as great Matters as all this, as ju&s;tifiable, or excu&s;able enough, for at|taining their End, and therefore one of them, <HI>Melitus</HI> him&s;elf, who fir&s;t began the Clamours, could tell me, <HI>Do you think that King</HI> William <HI>will part with &s;uch a Flower in His Crown?</HI> Yea, &s;ay I, why not? and with his Crown too for ju&s;t and nece&s;&s;a|ry Cau&s;e, if he be indeed a Chri&s;tian. But they who are them|&s;elves &s;o much for getting and keeping, that they can &s;train their Con&s;ciences for it, cannot ea&s;ily believe that others will be per&s;waded to part with what they have once gotten, upon any Terms or Con&s;ideration. Such Flowers to the Eye of a worldly minded Man, are to a Chri&s;tian indeed no better than Weeds, &s;tinking Weeds, and are really Poy&s;onous Weeds in their Effects. And certainly it is no more con&s;i&s;tent with the Duty of a faithful Pa&s;tor of Chri&s;t's Flock, than of a good Subject and true Friend to his Country, to &s;uffer his Prince to take &s;uch Poy&s;on without Warning. But what wonder if they, who make no &s;cruple to betray the Rights of Chri&s;t's Kingdom, make as little to expo&s;e their Prince and Country too to dan|ger for their own Ends? And what el&s;e do they, who encourage a Prince, who&s;e Title is doubtful, or it may be, none at all in the Judgment of his Neighbours, to do and continue what is offen&s;ive to &s;o con&s;iderable a part of his Sub|jects, and ca&s;t the Odium of their own Evil Coun&s;els upon his Will and Plea&s;ure, to the Prejudice and Scandal of his Govern|ment? The <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> are an Active and Bold People, and as &s;en|&s;ible of the Violations of their Rights as any: And when they are free from Wars abroad, are not like to be very quiet at
<PB N="13" REF="7">Home, upon &s;uch Occa&s;ions and Provocations. And <HI>Rights of the Church</HI> have in the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Laws been always heretofore as carefully provided for as any, and particularly in the <HI>Corronation Oath.</HI> And <HI>the Rights of the Convocation,</HI> which are well vindicated in a Learned Book lately publi&s;hed, are &s;o well under&s;tood by many Learned Men of this Church, that I wondered that none did it before, or that the Univer&s;ities and the Clergy of the &s;everal Dioce&s;&s;es, did not by &s;ome Publick In&s;truments, declare their Judgments, or at lea&s;t revive the Antient good Cu&s;tom of <HI>Communicatory Letters</HI> in much u&s;e, when under Heathen Emperours they could not enjoy the Liberty of Sy|nods to Con&s;ult of the Common Concerns of the Church. But I hear of another coming out; and more may rea&s;onably be expected if this Cour&s;e be &s;till continued. Surely it is time both for the Clergy, and for the Commons of <HI>England,</HI> the Commons, I &s;ay, not their Tru&s;tees, e&s;pecially &s;uch as are notoriou&s;ly known to have made a Trade of their Employment, to look about them; for I do not apprehend that the Chri&s;tian Religion and the true <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Go|vernment can be in greater Danger than from <HI>two &s;uch Factions in Combination.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>One</HI> is &s;o full of the Spirit of the World, and &s;o tempo+rizing and compliant to the Powers of the World, and with their Prudentials, which is nothing el&s;e but the Wi&s;dom of the World, &s;uch corrupters of the Simplicity and Genero&s;ity of the Chri&s;tian Religion, in their Explications, and Betrayers of Souls and States into Sin, that if the other prevail to get the Power into their hands, there is little doubt to be made of their Compliance, whatever the Religion be which they &s;et up; be it Dei&s;m, Soci|niani&s;m, or whatever el&s;e. I know one of them, who objected &s;uch Matters of Con&s;cience again&s;t his Acceptance of a Preferment propo&s;ed to him, that I could not in Con&s;cience per&s;wade him to accept it, and yet &s;oon after he did accept it, and holds it too to this day, with another of it &s;elf, a &s;ufficient Charge for any man of Con&s;cience to undertake. I have known the &s;ame Per&s;on very warmly reprove a Ma&s;ter of a Family for not allowing his Family the U&s;e of &s;uch Pomps and Vanities of the World, as he thought renounced in their Bapti&s;m, very di&s;agreeable to the Example and Precepts of our Saviour, his Apo&s;tles, and the Primitive Chri&s;tians, and of evil Con&s;equence to the living of mo&s;t People; and thereby encourage them to live in Di&s;obedience to his Grief, and their Shame and Prejudice. And yet this Man pa&s;&s;es for a good Man. To the Author of the Appeal, <HI>It looks like</HI> Madne&s;s <HI>to attach a Religion, when it be|comes
<PB N="14" REF="8">the Religion of the Country; when it has the E&s;tabli&s;hment of the Laws of the Con&s;titutions:</HI> And in his Wi&s;dom, &s;uch Zeal for the Souls <HI>that</HI> Newgate <HI>could not e&s;cape their Diligence,</HI> is an Ag|gravation of a Crime of the Prie&s;ts; and &s;uch a Crime it is as &s;uch good Men are little guilty of; and might be a&s;hamed to men|tion a Matter &s;o reproachful to them&s;elves. Such Prudentials as the&s;e have been noted by others in their late Patriarch, and may ea&s;ily be traced to their Original, in their Protopatriarch him&s;elf. And &s;uch Agreement there is in &s;ome of their Prin|ciples with Mr. <HI>Hobbe</HI>'s, and &s;uch kindne&s;s have they common|ly &s;hewed to one of the mo&s;t Active Promoters of Sociniani&s;m, that their Complyance and Officiou&s;ne&s;s to <HI>the other Faction,</HI> if they &s;ucceed, is not to be que&s;tioned.</P>
<P>And for the <HI>other Faction,</HI> which lay concealed for a time among many Hone&s;t well-meaning Men in the <HI>long Parliament,</HI> and hath lain concealed among many &s;uch, call'd Whiggs, in the <HI>late Reigns,</HI> it pre&s;ently appeared after this King came in, how they &s;tood affected to Religion; and is now &s;ince the Peace apparent enough, how they &s;tand affected to the Government too: Both might ea&s;ily be perceiv'd by &s;uch as have had Admittance to the Calves Head Club, and to Mr. <HI>Toland</HI>'s Clubs before now: But now appear bare-faced enough, &s;o that they are no My&s;teries. And the <HI>Whiggs</HI> are now commonly reputed the verie&s;t Knaves of the Nation by many Hone&s;t Men, who were heretofore taken to be of their Party. While I was wri|ting this, I took notice in a Book&s;ellers-Shop of this Title of a Book, <HI>A brief History of the Times,</HI> which opening at page 40. I ca&s;t my Eye upon the&s;e Words: <HI>The Plot-Faction De&s;ign'd the Ruine of the late King; and to compa&s;s it by leaving him neither Money, Power, Credit, nor Friends.</HI> And when I had looked far|ther into it, I ob&s;erved &s;uch Agreement between what is there related, then to have been, and what I am &s;atisfied now is in Agitation, as do mutually confirm the Truth each of other, and doth fully &s;atisfy me of <HI>the Mystery of the late Pretence and Clamours of the growth of Popery,</HI> to be no other than to Affront the King (as I was told expre&s;ly by a Per&s;on lately deceas'd, who had as much rea&s;on to know as any one I know) to le&s;&s;en his Reputation with his Confederates abroad, and the Affections of the People to him at Home; to draw their Hearts to them&s;elves, and Abu&s;e and Amu&s;e them with that Pretence, while they compa&s;s their own De&s;igns of re|ducing Religion to Dei&s;m, and the true <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Government
<PB N="15" REF="8">to a Commonwealth, mo&s;t like to end in Anarchy and Con|fu&s;ion, as it did before. And who&s;oever &s;hall well con&s;ider that Book (which I Confe&s;s I had never &s;een before) will there find &s;uch Truths &s;o unan&s;werably a&s;&s;erted, as will both &s;atisfy him con|cerning the Truth of what I &s;ay here, and make him more cau|tious and more wi&s;e than to be any more impo&s;ed up|on by &s;o wicked, and gro&s;s an Abu&s;e and Deceit, but rather turn his Indignation again&s;t &s;uch Impo&s;tors and Di&s;turbers of the Peace of his Country.</P>
<P>The&s;e things I take to be all Truths, and &s;uch Truths, as I thought my &s;elf obliged to declare: I have endeavoured faith|fully to di&s;charge my Duty; and now leave it freely to o|thers to judge as they think fit, and to the Con&s;equences of their own Judgment. Nor have I written any thing here out of ill will to any, but out of good will to my Country, and e|ven to tho&s;e very Per&s;ons, who may be thought to be mo&s;t par|ticularly and mo&s;t &s;harply reproved; and in due order to them, to whom I have performed my Duty before in private; who&s;e Reformation I de&s;ire; but not Confu&s;ion, other than truly Penitential. And &s;uch Fruits as the&s;e, are they, by which accor|ding to our Saviour's Rule, the Tree is to be known.</P>
<P>I know no <HI>Sin</HI> more <HI>Epidemical</HI> and common in this Nation at this time among &s;uch as make Profe&s;&s;ion of Religion, than that, which by the Puni&s;hment denounced in the Go&s;pel, &s;eems one of the greate&s;t, Di&s;owning or not owning Chri&s;t or his Words, for Fear, or Shame, or worldly Compliance: And none more noto|riou&s;ly Guilty than <HI>Latitudinarian</HI> and <HI>Nemine contradicente</HI> Profe&s;|&s;ors. It was in my Mind, when I was Writing the Letter now Publi&s;hed, that &s;hould Almighty God let lo&s;e &s;ome of their Con|&s;ciences upon them, we &s;hould &s;oon have more <HI>Hamdens</HI> among&s;t them. Nor &s;hould I have mentioned it now but to prevent &s;o great a Mi&s;chief, and put them in mind to con&s;ider the things which belong to their Peace in time, confe&s;s their Faults, give Glory to God, and expiate their Former Mi&s;carriages by &s;o much the more generous Acts of Chri&s;tian Magnanimity upon all Occa&s;ions hence forward.</P>
<P>To &s;uch as are apt to A&s;&s;ault me with their &s;piteful <HI>Argumentum ad Hominem</HI> concerning my Authority, when they have well con&s;i|dered what I have to &s;ay to for my &s;elf, I &s;hall recommend to their Con&s;ideration for their own &s;elves what is well &s;aid in an ill Hi&s;tory of the Reformation upon the Que&s;tions in the Book of Ordi|nation: And with that I &s;hall Conclude, as followeth, <HI>An</HI> 1550.
<PB N="16" REF="9">in the Ab&s;tract p. 118. which the Reader may &s;ee more at large in the Hi&s;tory, p. 145.</P>
<P><HI>There were &s;ome</HI> Spon&s;ions <HI>promi&s;ed, as a Covenant, to which the Ordination was a Seal: The</HI> fir&s;t <HI>of the&s;e was, That the Per&s;ons that came to receive Orders, profe&s;sed that they believed they were</HI> in|wardly moved <HI>to it by the Holy Gho&s;t. If this were well con&s;idered, it would no doubt put many that thirst after Sacred Offices to a &s;tand; who, if they examine them&s;elves well, dare not pretend to that, con|cerning which, perhaps they know nothing, but that they have it not: and if they make the An&s;wer pre&s;crib'd in the Book, without feeling any &s;uch Motion in their Heart, they do</HI> publickly Lye to God, and again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>and have no rea&s;on to expect a Ble&s;&s;ing on Orders &s;o obtained. But too many con&s;ider that only as</HI> a Ceremony in Law, <HI>nece&s;&s;ary to make them capable of &s;ome Place of Profit, and not as the Dedication of their Lives and Labours to God, and to the gaining of Souls. It were happy for the Church, if Bi&s;hops would not think it enough barely to put the&s;e Que&s;tions, but would u&s;e great &s;trictne&s;s in examining before-hand the Motives that &s;et on tho&s;e who come to be Ordained.</HI> Another <HI>Spon&s;ion is, that the Prie&s;ts &s;hall</HI> teach the People, <HI>committed to their Charge, and exhort them both in private and publick, and Vi&s;it the Sick. By this they plight their Faith to God, for the care of Souls, to be managed by them in Per&s;on, and upon that they mu&s;t find the Pa&s;toral Care to be a Load indeed: and &s;o will neither de&s;ert their Flocks, nor hire them out to weak, and perhaps Scandalous Mercenaries. In which the faultine&s;s of &s;ome have brought a blemi&s;h on this Church, and given &s;candal to ma|ny, who could not have been &s;o ea&s;ily per&s;waded to divide from it, if it had not been, that they were prejudiced by &s;uch gro&s;s and pub|lick Abu&s;es.</HI></P>
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<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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