MASTER NEGA TIVE 
 
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A UTHOR: 
 
 [BINCKES, WILLIAM] 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 PRE F ATO R Y 
 DISCOURSE TO AN 
 EXAMINATION... 
 
 PLACE: 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DATE: 
 
 1702 
 
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>>v 
 
 .■%>N 
 
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 -—"lErti^;^ 
 
 Prefatory Difcour% 
 
 Mv^t »-^ 
 
 7i 
 
 ( 
 
 TO A N 
 
 EXAMINATION 
 
 O F 
 
 A late BOOK, Entitulcd 
 
 ( 
 
 A N 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Thirty Nine Articles ^of the Church of £«5/dH</, 
 
 B Y 
 
 Gilbert, Bifliop of Sarum. 
 
 fy 
 
 WITH 
 
 An Examination of fome Paffages in the Preface to 
 the Expofition by way of Appendix to the Fore 
 going Difcourfe. 
 
 By a Presbyter ot the Qhuich of Bngla?id.^ 
 
 LOl^I>OHy Printed for <^hert Clayell at the 
 feacock ia St. Tauh Churchyard. 1701. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
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 » I I > ■ ■ V ■! 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 Atf r»troJuaioH, giving art Account oj the Complaint 
 made againfi the Bijhop cfSzrum's Expofnion by the 
 
 m Cmplatnt confifiing of Three Heads, S 6 
 
 The ftrft Head of Complaint confided d, viz. That the fa id 
 
 Book tends to introduce fuch a Latitude and Diverfity 
 
 ^i.** »/t""°"*» ^ ^"^^ ^"""c'es were fram'd to avoid, p. i 
 The Moderation of the Church of England in framing the Ar^ 
 tjcles rightly flated, and fhewn not to conjijl in the U^ 
 t'tude propofed in the ExoofitioH, „ ,, 
 
 7heJecond Head of Complaint confidered, viz. That there 
 are many PafTages in the Expofition, which appear to 
 be contrary to the true meaning of the Articles, a 39, 
 and contrary to other receiv'd Do<arines of our Church, 
 
 '^^V.s^Iiw'^ < ^T^r^! ""^'^'''^^ ^«- That ''i\£^ 
 arc fome things m the faid Book which feem to be of 
 
 dangerous Cbnfequence to the Church of England as by 
 
 SformS ^^ °^^^^ ^''°'" ^^^ ^°"°" ""^ '^' 
 
 ^STrn /iV R''ff^'>ti<>» vindicated, hy clear fng ft 
 oftheDefethtmpHted toit, . . A'f 
 
 Some Pafages in the Preface Jit to he more particularly con/,. 
 dered tn the nature of an Appendix to the foregoing Dif 
 
 ! O^i^pivines i^rongfuBy charged with fuhfcrihingfime Ar> 
 ttckstn a different Senfe frm that u>berein they appre- 
 
 bend them to have heen pennd, p.$>8. The 
 
i 
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 The Archlijhops and Bi/hops leing faiJ to have afprovJi of 
 the Expcfition^ Jheivn to be mprolalle ; and that there 
 wiujl befome Mijiake therein. p. 90. 
 
 Jle many Differences in Point of Religion between the E- 
 
 flablifHd Church and the Dijenters^ fhevm to be of things 
 
 ef far greater moment than at the end of the Preface 
 
 fu^efiedto be of Forms of Government andWorfhip^ and 
 
 of things in their own nature indifferenty P* ^J"* 
 
 The^ader if Jefired to corre^ tk/e fim^ Faults 
 
 committed in the Trefs. 
 
 AN 
 
 < 
 
 Prefatory Difcpurfe 
 
 TO AN 
 
 XAM 
 
 OF THE 
 
 #tfllop Of ^arum's 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Thirty Kline Articles &c. 
 
 T INTRODUCTION. 
 HERE hath not perhaps been anv ^i.:„„ e , 
 Years publifli'd in DivTnity tZ hS f ^"' 
 continu'd to be the Coi^mon T^^^^^^ ofT/ 
 courfe , or hath given greater rSnl V u 
 
 of Noife for a \\ hile becaufett ».,c r . f ^ ^reat deal L^ /, 
 
 ^ . and ' 
 
V 
 
 inr^oDUCTioK. 
 
 and Defgn of it did very ill agree ; which was to under- 
 mine the Church, throw down its Walls, and lay all o- 
 pen. What was principally aim'd at, and zealoufly con- 
 tended for, was, Liberty of Thought and Opinion , fcarce 
 allowing it to be fit to tie Men up to any fort of Dodrinc 
 by Creeds or Subfcriptions ; much Icfs to confine Men 
 to any particular Conftitution, be it that of Epijcopacy or 
 any other what foe ver. * 
 
 . Though this was very vifible, upon a View taken of 
 die Whole , yet were the feveral Parts of it fo drawn 
 tip, and put together, that a great deal of it could not 
 but be allow'd to be true, and Orthodox , fo as to be 
 very well lik'd by the unwary Reader ; Nor was it eafle 
 tor thofe that read it with Care, prefently to point out by 
 way of Specialties, very many down-right falfe Aflertions, 
 or Exprtl!ions ; which, whental^en by themfelves, could 
 be either charged with Herefie, or be faid to be in any 
 Refped-, notorioufly obnoxious ; and yet the Alarm it 
 gave, and the many Anfwers it receiv'd, plainly fhew'd 
 of how great Concern it was thought to be to the E(k- 
 blifli'd Church, that the World (hould be acquainted with 
 the dangerous Confequences of a Defign fo deeply, and 
 artificially laid. 
 
 Whatever Profpea the Author of that Book might 
 have at the time he publifli'd it, the Oppofition, which 
 the Projed: of a Comprehenfion fcored out in it, met with 
 at that time, qualh'd all Hopes of it during that 
 Reign. 
 
 but, upon the late Revolution, fome People imagining 
 that mighty Alterations in the Church were intended to 
 be made in Convocation Anm 16S9, it was re.printed 
 and fome other Pamphlets publifli'd, to the famcEffed: 
 After which, all ending at that time, in a Toleration (as 
 what the Generality oF DiiTenters feem'd well fatisfyM 
 with^ Things once more, as to Religion, are known to 
 have continued quiet feveral Years , and might, in all 
 likelihood, ftill have fo done, had there not been too great 
 an Occafion given for frefli Alarms and Jealoufies, by a 
 
 Revi- 
 
 >r 
 
 t^r%ot>ucTio n. 
 
 Revival of the Old Exploded Proka anri - *xi ^ • 
 vance fee on foot, to brine it ti Sc j New^ Contri- 
 Pretence of doing tl^eSchof l5l ""f"' '^' ^^'''''>^' 
 piece of Service? and t is by one £ '" ^T^'''^'"^^^ 
 have been the laa thouffht of ^f-orr u \"/?^o% 'liould 
 being a ihing p^nSSXnt JSt tn^'iT'^T^ I '' 
 aPerfon of Learning Ld one rll?c r ^^ "^f'^ '^' ^^^^^ 
 ftandthe W^oridvervwell f^,lfh '"PP?''*^° ""^er- 
 
 odd a Turn in irfo^lch ou of The'^P'" ^ '" T^'' ^^ \ 
 other People, as to have oon^s'd 1 n "^"^"^V ^°'^^ ^^ 
 in a Reply to NakeTZ^^li L" T.^V^^ ^^ he did 
 
 I 
 
 in a Reply to NakeJ nu^^f^,^, i"e tZl^T '" ''' 
 
 in another 
 
 the Obligation to fubfcri^them Keth r iir'^r^'"^ 
 fo as to be no fort of Barr.^agTkaft aTALlff X' 
 
 ^tLnZVglit^^'''''^" ^'^^"^"y '^ that hath 
 
 Such a Defign as this, to be «(her'd into the Worfd wirh 
 fo much Ponf»p and Noife nor «oK, .k vt !? ^''^" 
 
 great Prelate, fet in tte Fr'ont of if ^ '^' ^^T-^l ' ""''^ 
 tatory to the' King . L iTthe vJ""^ an Ep^ftle Dedi- 
 
 Productof many YeaS^St^dv L?f 1^' ^1 *^ ^ '^'^ 
 
 »i«iy ic ears 5tudy, and to have had the Benefit 
 
 ^^ of 
 
 ? 
 
4 
 
 lNT(!i^O 'DUCTIOK 
 
 of Corredions and Amendments, and the Approbation at 
 lad of Archbifliops and Bifliops, and many Learn'd Divines. 
 This werealmoil enough to make a Man diflruft his own 
 Senfes , confidering the great Deference the EngliQi Cler- 
 gy are upon all Occafions known to pay their Metropolitans 
 and Bifliops. Such a new Scene of Things were enough to 
 ftartlc many of them, and make them turn over all their 
 pad Studies, and look back to fee whether they have not 
 hitherto been miftakcn in their firll Principles, as well in 
 Divinity as in Morality ; that is, as well with refpecfl to the 
 common-receiv'd Senfe of the Articles, as the known Du- 
 ty of a Subfcriber as to his dealing fmcerely with his Supe- 
 riours, who impofe the Subfcription in fubfcribing accord- 
 ing to the Natural and Ufual Import of the Words, with- 
 out any fuch far-fetch'd Equivocations^ or mental Refer- 
 vations,as may foon render all Subfcriptions, Declarations, 
 and Oaths, of fo little Ufe, as to be no fort of Security to 
 diofethat impofe them. 
 
 When a Great and Learned Prelate fliall avowedly have 
 publifh'd a Reverfe to the ufual Notion we have of fub- 
 fcribing ex artimo^ and at the fame time put new Conftru- 
 dions upon feveral of our Articles, tho' the Generality of 
 the Clergy might through Modelly, be filent for a while , 
 and out of a profound Refped to the Station and Chara- 
 cter of the Author, content themfelves with declaring to 
 one another their Diflike of fo ill a defign'd Book , yet at 
 the fame time it could not but make them be the more 
 fenfible of the Want of Frequent Convocations, wherein 
 they may Mith the more Decency upon all fuch Occafions, 
 utter their Refentment in a Regular Way, whenever they 
 apprehend the Church to have Wrong done her, by any 
 Innovations, or Projeds of the like kind. And hence it is, 
 and not out of any private Animofities or Defigns, that 
 fome have fo earneftly contended for the Rights of the 
 Lower Houfe of Convocation^ to the end that they may not 
 come to be interrupted in their Examination of any thing 
 within their Sphere, wherein the Welfare of the Church is 
 concerned : And thofe who have confider'd this mat- 
 ter 
 
 h 
 
 nsLT(!^oT>ucTi on. 
 
 xtr very wtII, cannot but think that fuch an Expofiti- 
 on of the Articles fet forth with fo great a Shew of pub- 
 lick Approbation and Authority, is of as great Concern to 
 the Church, as ahno.l any thing that has been pub- 
 liilied fince the Articles were fram'd : forafmuch as perhaps 
 the very Orthodoxy of a Religion does not more depend 
 upon the Words themfelves, wherein an Opinion or Belief 
 is declared, than it does upon the Senfe thofe Words are 
 made to bear, if any fuch Senfe be declared in fuch man- 
 ner as to feem to be Authentick ; and if the Senfe deli- 
 vered varies from the known Doitrine and Pradlice of the 
 Church, it is in effed: to frame new Articles of Religion, 
 and bids fair for putting the Reformation upon a new foot, 
 or at lead does change the Boundaries, and alters the 
 Terms of Communion. 
 
 No fooner therefore were the Clergy of the Lower 
 Houfe of Convocation in any fort of Condition to take 
 this Matter into Confideration, but a very great Majority 
 were found to concur in the Opinion, that they ought 
 not to let flip that their firfl: Opportunity of exprefling 
 their Zeal for the EftabliflVd Religion, and for the keep- 
 ing things upon their Ancient Foundation : And though 
 the Charadter of the Author of this Book, and the Re- 
 fped: due to a Billiop , and a Member of the Upper 
 Houfe of Convocation of the fame Province, might make 
 them move the more warily, lefl; a feeming Precipitancy 
 miglit look like trefpaifing upon the Rules of Decency 
 and Good Manners , yet diey could not but apprehend 
 themfelves to lye under an indifpenfible Obligation of 
 doing their utmoil to rcfcue the Articles from any falfe 
 Glol^s or Interpretations, that Ihouki at any time happen 
 to be put upon them, incon.iftenc with, or in any de- 
 gree repugnant to what appears to have been all along 
 the Senfe of the Church ; it being well known, that 
 the Articles were originally the proper Ads of Convo- 
 cation, and confequently as they naturally fall within 
 their Cognizance, and cannot be luppos'd to be fubjed to 
 any private Interpretation^ lo it docs belong to them in a 
 
 more 
 
■ r 
 
 6 
 
 y^T^ODU cTion 
 
 ThL uL A.^ "''.T^f '° g"''"^ ^h^"i from Violence^ 
 mature Deliberation .n J r F xf '^u".'^"' ^"'^ ^ft^r 
 
 of the Authnr 4nTo I ^°"'" ""''^'■' "P°" the Account 
 Bodfandt he SefitV^^^^^ ^^^^F^^ both to the 
 
 A 58. was done with all th/t^^^^^^^ '^' p^ST "°"''^» 
 Dmy imaginable, /A^r^'r'^^^^^ -^"^ 
 
 /-&<fr«« , What thev chLL^l^ 1 • . t^^W^ Opinion 
 
 for Brevhy/V:!;:^ S^<, ^ t=" "ite S '"' 
 Heads; and which were laid befn4 hi. ,- following 
 Lordlhips accordingly. " ""^ °"« ^"<l 'har 
 
 Icfs , 
 
 <^ 
 
 lefs, or that any part of it does want for Proof » but ra^ 
 ther, that the Learned Author himfelf, maybe morefen- 
 lible than perhaps he is , how much his Book ftands in 
 need of Amendments : Thofe that were more immedi- 
 ately engag'd in drawing up the Complaint, have thought 
 themfelves oblig d to give their Reafons for it, and en- 
 deavour to make it out to the fatisfadion of others, to be 
 
 l"5'^ '^°P,'"^ ^ '^^' ^^^y '^° '^^'■^'"' ""^y at leaft have this 
 EHea , that what his Lordfliip promifes in his Preface he 
 will accordingly perform, v/z. That if in fuel, Variety 'fome 
 important Matters are forgotten, and if others are miflaken 
 he wiUbefo far from reckoning it an Injury to have thofe dif- 
 coverd, that he wi a gladly receive any Advices of that kind- 
 be will confider them carefully^ and make the he} ufe of them 
 he can for the undeceiving of others, as foon as he is con- 
 vinced that he has mifled them. 
 
 That this his Lordfhip is very capable of doing, no one 
 doubts, he can fet things in their true Light, and fet them off 
 to as good Advantage as any one whatfoever, if he is not 
 unhappily in the wrong himfelf: And though, notwith- 
 ftanding the Chrijlian Humility and Patience he fpeaks 
 of m his Preface C which are Qualities to be highly e- 
 fteenj*'^ in all. and in amoft efpecial manner needful in 
 a Btlhop) it is podible, through the Frailty of Humane 
 Nature, hisLordlhip may think it beneath him to have re- 
 gard to the Judgment of any Tingle or private Ferfon 
 whatfoever, yet it is to be hoped he will not take it ill, 
 that fuch a Body of Men, in a thing which fo proper- 
 ly lies before them, ihalt have taken upon them to offer 
 their Opinion to the Archbifliop and BiQiops in Synod , in 
 fuch manner as they did, as the moft Regular and De- 
 cent Method they could think of in fo extraordinary a 
 Cafe, and at the fame time allow it to be but fit in their 
 own Vindication, to give the World feme Satisfad-ion. 
 upon what Grounds and Motives they have proceeded fo. 
 far, and to flicw, that fo great a Complaint made a- 
 gainft his Lordlhip's Expofition of the Articles, was not? 
 
 vvitiiT 
 
•^^M 
 
 8 
 
 m 
 
 The Ftrft Head of Complaint conftderd. 
 
 without juftCaufe; or othervvife, than as there lay a fort 
 of Neceffity upon them to do as they have done, left the 
 pairing it over in filence, might by fome be interpreted as 
 a degree at leaft of Approbation and Aflent. 
 
 To do this fo fully as the Cafe would bear, and fome 
 perhaps may exped, fo as to point out all the obnoxious 
 Paflages and Suggeftions, to be met with up and down 
 under every particular Article, would require a Volume e- 
 qual in Bulk to the Expofition it fclf , and confequently, 
 if called for, mud be a Work of time. But from this cur- 
 lory View taken of the Whole in the following Sheets 
 with a particular Regard had to the general Defign of 
 it, in the way of Introduction only to a more particular 
 Examination of it, if need be, any common Reader will 
 lee enough to juftifie the Condudof the Clergy in Convo- 
 cation herein. 
 
 What is for the prefent chiefly proposed, is to keep with- 
 mthe compafsof the three Heads of Complaint, the firft 
 whereof is againft the general Defign of the Book as it 
 tends to introduce fuch a Latitude and Diverjity of Opinions 
 as the Articles them/elves were frarnd to avoid. 
 
 To make this the more obvious, it will be needful firft 
 to confider the Defign of the Church in framing the Arti- 
 cles, what Benefit was propofed, or what Inconvenience 
 was intended to be avoided thereby ; and then, Secondly 
 the Scope and Defign of the Expofition muft be fo far 
 look d into as to difcover what it chiefly points at, what 
 fort of Latitude is laboured therein ,- and whether it* be not 
 fuch as is inconfiflent with the Defign of the Church in fra- 
 ming the Articles. 
 
 Firft, As to the Defign of the Church in framing the Ar- 
 ticles, though it is not to be doubted but that they were 
 fram'd for feveral good Ends and purpofes, yet the only 
 thing mentioned in the Title of them, as the thing chiefly 
 aim*d at, is to avoid Diverfities of Opinions, and to ejlahlijh 
 Confent touching True Religion. It u as not, it feems, fo much 
 for the Satistadion of other Reformed Churches abroad 
 
 that 
 
 71)6 Firjl Hud of Complaint confider i. 
 
 that the Articles were made as for the Benefit of Unity 
 and Peace at home. True it it is, that (ome of the Re- 
 formed Churches abroad, upon their firft fetling and 
 modelling themfelves, and in oppofition to the Corrup- 
 tions of the Church of Romey did judge it proper to 
 make their particular Confeflions; as that of Aushurg 
 firft, and then Bajil, and Saxony ^ &c. in which they fol- 
 lowed the Example of the Primitive Catholick Bilhops, 
 who at their firft Elevation to their Epifcopal Thrones, 
 gave as w-ell in behalf of themfelves, as of thofe commit- 
 ted to their Care, a Summary of the Religion they profefs'd, 
 the better to maintain Communion and Fellowihip with all 
 neighbouring Bilhops and Churches. And tho' fomething 
 of this kind might be intended by thofe that compifd our 
 Articles,and fome regard in the framing them might be had 
 to other Reformed Churches, whom they defir'd to hold 
 a good Correfpondence with ; yet, as it is not to be ima- 
 gin'd, that they ftiould have their Eye more upon others 
 than upon themfelves (as my Lord -of Sarum is pleas'd 
 to fuppofe them (bmetimes to have had^ fo neither is there 
 fo much as any notice taken in the Title of any thing 
 of this kind , but all is levefd at the Unanimity and 
 Peace to be fecur'd in the firft place at home , that all 
 who are Members of this particular Church, may be fure 
 to be of one Mind, (b far as concerns not only Fundamen- 
 tals, and the known Articles of Faith, but even in all ne- 
 ceflary Dodrines, with rcfped: to the Difcipline and 
 good Government of the Society, to the which they 
 belong ; the Head and Founder whereof is known to be a 
 God of Order ; not the Author of Conjufion , hut of 
 Peace. 
 
 Now, as the moft effedual Way of compading this fo 
 much w iili'd for General zAgreement in Principles, as well 
 as Uniformity in Worihip in a Church, is to take care 
 that thofe whofe Bufinefs it is to inftrud others, ftiallbe 
 fure to be firft very well agreed among tliemfelves- fo 
 due care accordingly is taken, and Provifion made, that 
 all fuch efpecially as look towards the Miniftry, ftiall be 
 
 C trained 
 
10 
 
 The Firfl Head of Complaint confide/ 1 
 trained up in the fame Notions of things, and generally 
 peaking, in the lame Schools and Un^erfities ; and be- 
 Jore they are admitted into Holy Orders, they are not 
 only under their Hands to declare to the World, as well 
 as to the iiilliop that admits them, that this is their Senfe 
 ol thmgs and what they do from their Hearts very wil- 
 ingly fubfcnbe to ; but leaft they Jhould mif-lead others 
 hereafter, by not rightly underftanding w hat they fet their 
 Hands to, they are to be examin'd in thofe very Articles 
 of Religion, to the u hich they fubfcribe ; and they muQ 
 be able to fliew how well they underftand them by prov- 
 I",^ F^f "I. u^m Scripture (as they are all of them very 
 capable of being proved.) After all which, if Men will be 
 lincere, and delign to be lonefl and true to that Promife 
 ^hich is imp ly'd in fubfcribing, viz. to adhere to the Do 
 grine contain d in tholb Articles, a more efTedual Courfe 
 !,Wn'"^"°'''r^''°"Shtof byaChurch, whereby /. 
 avoid Diverjittes of Opmons, and to fiablijh Confent toulhim 
 *rueMtgton If Men will in any reafonable degree of 
 Chnnian Submi(Tion hearken to their Teachers, and 
 thofe Teachers keep to what they have under their 
 
 Points of MAnent fit to be taught ; there can be lit- 
 thp'"nn^''°°'"f ? for any material Difagreement in 
 Churc^i "" ^°''^"'''' ''"'^ eftabliih'd 
 
 fnJi'T ''^^ Laity as well as the Clergy, are in fome mea- 
 fure taken care of by the Church in framing the Articles 
 
 in all her Children in general : But as to the Clergy, and 
 fij^ch as are by Law requir'dto fubfcribe the Articles fuel! 
 
 think ,t poflible that the Obligation they lie under to 
 be of one mind as to whatever is determin'd in the Articles 
 ftould ever come to be difputed. ""i«-ks 
 
 True it is, that upon fome extraordinary Occafions the 
 Security requir'd by the Civil Power, by Declaratio^ En- 
 gagemcntsand Oaths, hath fometimes upon Principles of 
 
 State- 
 
 TJje Fir a Head of Complaint confiekrci. 
 State-Policy ,been fuch as to imply a Latitude intended by the 
 Impofers, the better to pleafe and take in Men of different 
 Parties and Perfwaftons : But, as this is lefs proper to be done 
 in Matters of Religion, fo it is undoubtedly a great Miftake 
 to imagine that our Church intended any fuch thing as a 
 double Meaning in framing the Articles. Had they been 
 fram'd with a Defign to take in Variety of SeSts, and 
 Men of different Parties, to make the better Shew and 
 fwell up our Communion to fo much the greater Num- 
 ber, they might indeed properly enough have been term'd 
 Articles of Union and Comprehenfion ; but the Title they 
 now bear, muft have been left out , which plainly con- 
 tradids all Defigns of that kind, unlels to avoid diverjity 
 of Opinions be the fame as to encourage them, and the way 
 to Jlallijh Confent touching^ true Re lip on, is to allow Men 
 to diffent from one another as much as ever, and continue 
 to be of different Minds as to the very things wherein it 
 is propos'd they (hould agree. If we do but read the Title 
 of the Articles, this matter cannot but be very plain, the 
 Words are thefe : 
 
 Articles whereupon it was agreed hy the Archhifhop and 
 Bijhops, and the whole Clergy^ &c. for the avoid- 
 ing of the Diverfities of Opinions, and jor the fiahlifk- 
 ing of Confent touching true Religion, &c. 
 
 The Defign of the Church is exprefly declar'd to be, that 
 fuch as fublcribe to the Articles, lliould agree in the things 
 therein contain'd. It muft be confefs'd that there may 
 happen to be fome Obfcurity or Ambiguity in the moll 
 cxacfJ and beft compos'd Declarations of Dodirines and O- 
 pinions ; and every Subfcriber may not have the fame In- 
 iight into the true Meaning and full import of every Ex- 
 prelfion ; and fo far fome Scope there may feem to be for 
 fome little varying from one another : But the Defign of 
 the Church being declar'd to have been to avoid diverfity 
 of Opinions, it could not but be the Defign of the Compi- 
 lers as much as in Jthem lay, to avoid all fuch Obfcurity 
 and Ambiguity ; fo that if any Scope be left for diverfity oj 
 
 C X r^ Opt' 
 
 It 
 
II 
 
 T%e Fir ft Head of Complaint conftdtr d. 
 
 ^Opinion ^ it is but by Accident : Some for want of due 
 Knowledge may happen to have different Sentiments of the 
 Things that arc dated in the Articles , but it cannot have 
 been the Defign of the Church that it (hould be fo, but the 
 contrary. 
 
 And if ever it be poflTible to avoid Obfcurity and Ambi- 
 guity, there was as much care taken in the Cafe before us 
 as can well bedefired ; for though no fingle Perfon can be 
 fo fecure of his Stile, or pretend to be fo great a Mafter of 
 Expreffion as to be fure to render himfelf intelligible to all 
 alike, or make his Words carry the (ame Senfeto all tliat 
 read them, yet when fo many of known Abilities Call of 
 them fuppofed to be Men of Int^rity and Mafters of 
 Language) fliall make it their Bufinels to draw up the Sub- 
 ftance of the Doilrine of the Church to the which they 
 belong, and reduce it to Articles which are to be by way 
 of Teft upon Men, whereby to know whether they are o{ 
 the fame Communion or not ; It is not eafie to fuppofe they 
 could fofar fall (hort of their Defign, as to leave Men as 
 much at liberty as before, and what they have fram'd fall fo 
 ftiort of its defign as to take little or no hold of the Subfcriber. 
 
 This is fo far from having been the Cafe, that to the 
 Honour of the Compilers of our Articles, it muftbe ac- 
 knowledg'd, that for the fevenfcore Years lafl: pad, fmce 
 the Publication of them, they have prevented Diverfity 
 ef Opinion in the Church to that degree, that little or no. 
 Difpute hath hitherto been about the different Senfes the 
 Words may in common and unforced Condrudion be made 
 to bear. All have look'd upon the Articles as a fort of Text 
 or Standard of Dodrine, from which fuch as have fubfcri- 
 bed, have not hitherto thought themfelves at liberty to de- 
 part : Some Learning may have been employ 'd about the 
 meaning of Chrid's Delcent into Hell, but it is the Claufe 
 in the Creed, and not the Article, hath been the Subject- 
 matter of it ; as we take it for granted that the one means 
 the fame as the other, and neither more nor lefs. Some o- 
 ther Indanccs there may be of the like kind , and yet: 
 k cannot be faid that this bowing to Mens taking 
 
 upoa 
 
 < 
 
 > 
 
 T^e Fir ft He4d of Complaint conftde/d 
 
 upon them to put different Senfes upon the Articles ; But 
 there being fome difputable Points not determined in the 
 Articles wherein Men happen to differ , fome, the better 
 to give countenance to their private Opinions, will needs 
 draw the Articles to thtir fide, and endeavour to fix things 
 upon the Articles which in truth do not belong to 
 them, as will be Ihewn more at large by and by. 
 
 In the mean time there is this to be faid, that over and 
 above the great Care taken in wording the Articles, fo as 
 to avoid, as much as is poffible, all Obfcurity or AmbU 
 guity of ExprelTion ; that which dill confines Men fo 
 much more to the true Senfe of the Church, and excludes 
 all pretences to fuch Latitude, as cannot but end in Diver- 
 fity of Opinions indead of avoiding it, is the having many 
 Helps whereby to underdand the Articles as we ought, 
 without prefumingto put our own Senfe upon them, and 
 make them fpcak what Language we pleafe. The Articles 
 no doubt, as well as other Compofitions, notwithdanding 
 all the care that hath been taken about them, might be lia- 
 ble to many different Interpretations, fince even the Scri- 
 ptures themfelves are fo : But that which makes it not ve- 
 ry eafie for a diligent Enquirer to be at any great lofs as to 
 the true Senfe of our Articles, is our having fo many dan* 
 ding Expofitors and Interpreters of them provided by the 
 Church it felf ; all which do fpeak its Stak, and are of 
 the fame Authority as the very Articles themfelves. If any 
 thing in the Articles may feem to carry a double Meaning, 
 or may be laid to be obfcure, we have the Homilies, the 
 Liturgy, tlic Kubrick, the Canons; we have the uninter^ 
 rupted Pradtice of the Church, and the Writings of the 
 many Learned Divines our Church hath been blcfs'd 
 with for Sevenfcore Years and upwards, by way of 
 fure Conveyance of what may l>e called Tradition:- 
 All thefe Helps we have whereby to be afcertain'd of 
 the true Import of the Articles, infomuch as to make it hard ' 
 for any one to plead Ignorance in any thing material ; fo^ 
 cffedually hath tlie Church provided sgaind Diverfity of 
 Opinions in thofe who are admitted to the Minidry, and are 
 ^alify'd thereto, by fubfcribing to the Articles^ there be- 
 
 M 
 
H 
 
 Tl,e Ftrjl Head of Complaint conJJJer'd. 
 
 '^^frTr^XA:&^^^^^^ '""l ^^'^g" °^ ^'- Church 
 
 flahlin/in^A • '^" .'"'^'"g^^^'^fo her known e- 
 
 n rnrh 1 ?""'.'' • '''''' '^'' ^" ^^r Children fliould aiee 
 
 o Sit to..^f ''^ ^T' °^ ^^^'8'°" '' fl^^ hath thouglftfit 
 
 aion of ^.1 ? i' '^' "'^^'^^'^ Information and ]£! 
 
 S/^nT^r—ft^- s^^S/^^'^ 
 
 the very Points therein determin'H <,n J r^ • ^ "'°"^ '" 
 known to be the mernhff of X 7, °1 ^"'^^^'^"''y made 
 
 truly laid to ^n6ZZi1j^l?Tt.rr:r t' "^ 
 way^ is the next^^hf^tb^rcl^/er'^'" '''"^ ^^^ '^- 
 
 Church, andTun atT tf DeZ of ^"^^^^^^ ^'^'''P^'"^ ^'^^ 
 Opimcs in fome mafe S Po f "sfn R^fv ^ ""'"'ff' "f 
 thing be thought of mo^eSialJnfucifr'?^ r'°" '^ ^">' 
 find out a Way of encouragfnX^^^ a Latit^H^ '^/^ '° 
 fcience as well as of Oninion 1 Latitude of Con- 
 
 fubfcribing fo many ArK ftil? ^.T'^'r ''"'"'^'"^ ^^"^ 
 and as dilrent fro^ o e t otSe t tr ZT' ^''^'^ 
 ly not by their Judgment be reftr^Jn'/f' ^"^.cpnfcquent- 
 
 thers a Notions'aT:;: Sly^^pSltTtf th ? '"^° " 
 receiv'd Do^rines of the Ch»rl ^^r^ ^° ^"e common 
 
 greatmoment as no tobekft undLtermf -rK " 1^'"^^°^ ^ 
 
 but fuch as are Hated and f^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 they have fubfcrib'd > articles to the which 
 
 .omeSfco1.£.^^^"Sflrn;f?^ 1?"/^"^^'^ ^^^ ^- 
 nough for Oich as fufer^by tS^^^^^ \u^^' ^ "^^ "''^^ e- 
 ticles, to exprefs their Rp^.„^!l J^bfcribing to the Ar- 
 chers'Cas ^Ba'J^^^^ft:'^^^^ J 'f/^ f -y able Prea- 
 be excluded the Service of tZr^^ t°"''^ ^^ '^'^ means 
 feme fuch way fortHr^^go'l t?em t ot tt" '^'^"^ 
 does not become a Biihop.^LrBrehs'" uX^^i," 
 
 Oc. 
 
 V 
 
 r 
 
 > 
 
 "^ 
 
 Tk F/>y? Red of Complaint confide/ d. 
 
 Occafions to exad the Subfcription of others , as being 
 entrufted with the Care of it by the Church. 
 
 And, yet fo it is, that a very great Bifhop inflcad of 
 lecondmg the Defign of the Church in compihngthe Ar- 
 ticles, thinks fit to expound them in fuch a manner, and 
 introduces his Expofition with fuch a fort of Preface and 
 Prehminaries, as to make it very practicable and natural 
 for Men of different Opinions, as to the very things 
 determined in the Articles to make no difficulty of Sub- 
 fcribing : Whatever the Church may have declar'd to be 
 her Meaning be it never fo obvious any other way, if it 
 happens not to be (o fully exprefs 'd in the Wordj of the 
 Article but that they may be made to bear a double gram- 
 matical Senfe, whatever may have been done in the way 
 of Explanation any other w^ay, though never fo authen- 
 tically it matters not, my Lord of Sarum hath entered no* 
 Provifo of any fort in laying down his Scheme for La- 
 titude ; but if the Words of the Article will bear it, or if 
 a Man be but Grammarian good enough, as in his own 
 Opinion, to make thenv bear it, he may liibfcribe in his 
 own Senfe, and be an honeft Man, and a good Church- 
 man, and all fliake hands and be Friends. 
 
 That this is not to carry the Matter further than his 
 Lordftiip defigns it, will appear from a due and faithful 
 recourfe had to his own Words, in Page 8. of the /NT /f 0- 
 Dt/C 770 N,where the Scene is laid for Latitude; and weare 
 there in plain Terms told how far his Lordftiip would have it 
 
 be made to reach. The Words are thefe. an Article leing 
 
 conceivJ in fuch general Words that it can admit of different 
 literal and grammatical Senfes^ even when the Senfes given 
 are plainly contrary one to another^ loth fidet may fuhfcrile the^ 
 Article with a good Confcience and without any Equivocation;, 
 To make this the more fenjihle^ IJhall give an Inflance of 
 it in an Article^ concerning which there is no Difpute at frefent. 
 The Third Article concerning Chriji's Defcent into Hell , is 
 capable of three different Senfes^ and all the three are loth 
 literal and grammatical. Thefirfl is^ that Chrijl defc ended 
 locally into Hell and pt each' d to the Spirits, there in prifoni 
 
 Ai 
 
 '«y 
 
i6 
 
 H>e Ftrjl Bead of Complaint conJiJerd. 
 
 , , ^fecondSenfe of which this Article is capalle, is 
 that by Hellts meant the Grave,\€<orJing to the Siznifica- 
 
 ^tton of the Original Word in the Hebrew a third 
 
 Senfeis that by Hell, accordini to the Signification of the 
 Greek Word, is to he meant the Place or Region of Spirits 
 feparated from their Bodies, &c. AH thefe three Senfes dif- 
 fer very much from one another, and yet they are all Senfes 
 that are literal and grammatical -, fo that in which of thefe 
 foever a Man conceives the Article he may fuhfcribe it and 
 he does noways prevaricate in fo doing : If Men would there- 
 fore underfland all the other Articles in the fame larzenefs 
 and With the fame Equity, there would not he that Occafion 
 given for unjufl Cenfure that there hath heen 
 
 The Words of the Article whidi my Lord of Sarum fays 
 may be fubfcnb d m any of the three foregoing Senfes 
 and not prevaricate, are thefe. 90 €bm Dpti fof tIB atlH 
 
 S?o liT' ^'^'*^ *^ ^" ^ ^^'^ ^^^ ^^ ^""^"Sn 
 
 TJiis is the whole third Article ; the Words indeed are 
 few, but } et one would think they are fufficient to exclude 
 one of my Lord of 5<»raws Grammatical Senfes at leaft fo 
 as by Hell not to mean being huried, when it is fo plainly 
 faid, that as C^ff Opli anO m$ fttlticH (which is the fame 
 as being laid into a Grave) fa nlfoitfsf tO 6e bClfelJCD that 
 
 ee mnmmUxtomi XheBifhop^s fecondSmat^a 
 6enfe makes Chritt's Defcent into Hell and being buried 
 
 u u ./^""^ but this cannot be unlefs we will fuppole 
 that the Meaning of the Church may be, that as Chrijl 
 dyed and was huried, fo alfo it is to be believ'd that he uas 
 buried again; and yet according to this Grammatical 
 Scnieof the Words, upon the Account of Hell fometimes 
 ^gmlying no more than the Grave, my Lord of Sarum is 
 ot Opinion, that if a Man fubfcribes the Article, and means 
 no more by ,t than fo, it is what he may uftify L 
 Words!" """-^ P'''''''"''te in fo doing, are his LoVdAiips 
 
 Such a Liberty as this, which in effed is to make the 
 Article either fpcak Nonfenfe, or fignify juft nothing at 
 
 ail, 
 
 / 
 
 r 
 
 r" 
 
 Tht Ftrft Head ofCompUfit mfiderl 
 
 all, is the Meafure of Latitude my Lord of Sarum ^opo- 
 fes to be us'd in fubfcribing to all the reft of the Ar- 
 ticles ; and could he perfwade others to be of his mind 
 herein, it is hard to fuppofe an Article to be fo very ex- 
 prefs, as not to be capable of being perverted and made to 
 fignifie fomewhat or other, which is, very wide of the 
 true Senfe of the Church ; and leave room enough for e- 
 very one to enjoy their own Opinions as much as ever, 
 notwithflanding their Subfcribing to the Articles. If we 
 are neither bound to confider what the Church in all like- 
 lihood intended, nor look any further than to fubfcribe 
 in fuch a Senfe, as according to true Grammar, the Words 
 will bear ; no one need defire greater Scope than this, 
 whereby to evade the Force of Subfcriptions, Declarations, 
 and Engagements : No fort of Security can be had by 
 thefe ufual means of knowing Mens Minds : Nothing Ihall 
 hold a Man that can come up to thefe Meafures : And yet 
 this is what my L^rd of Sarum very plainly makes to be 
 the Standard of his Latitude, with refped to all the Arti^- 
 cles. His Words are thefe : If Men would underfland aC 
 the other Articles in the fame Largenefs^ and with the fame 
 Equity^ there would not he that Occafion given for unjufl Cen- 
 fure that there has heen. 
 
 What his Lordfliip means by Unjufl Cenfure^ which he 
 is fo defirous to avoid, is not eafie to fiiy, unlefs he refers to 
 an Objedion he has thought fit to ftart in the Beginning of 
 the Introdudion, againft fuch a Number of Articles as 
 we are there faid to have. It may feem fomewhat flrange 
 to fee fuch a CoHe^ion of Tenets made the Standard of the 
 Doilrine of a Church that is defervedly valu'd for her Mode- 
 ration, &CC. This Difficulty my Lord of Sarum tdkes ef- 
 fedhial care to remove, by fo ordering the matter that our 
 having fuch a CoUedion of Tenets to be fubfcrib'd to, (hall 
 be only reckoned as a thing of courfe ; and Men may 
 be of as many different Opinions as ever, notwithftanding 
 fuch their Subfcription. 
 
 ir 
 
 D 
 
 That 
 
.^■P«^' 
 
 1 8 
 
 Tl'e Firfl Head of CompUint conftderd. 
 
 That this is noforc'd Confequence at all, but the nattr^ 
 ral Refult of my Lord of Sarum's Largenefs and Emity 
 will foon appear, if we do but defcend to fome Particul 
 lars: iNorneed we to look out any further than as my 
 Lord ol Sarum himfelf will be found to make ufe of his 
 own Scheme in expounding feveral of the Articles : though 
 one would thmk the Church did propofe fome fort of Ad- 
 vantage by framing the Articles , and did intend to Ihut 
 out fome fort of People from the Miniftry by fo flridlv 
 requiring them to be fo often fubfcrib'd by way of Bar- 
 rier againa ill principl'd Men ; yet were my Lord of 
 Sarum to prefide in a Court of £^«/V^ upon this occafion 
 the following Inftances will ihew how eafie it would be* 
 for Variety of Sedaries, and Men of unorthodox Princi- 
 ples, to qualifie themfclves for the MiniOry by fubfcribinii 
 our Articles. . *' 
 
 The very ufe my Lord of Sarum makes of his o\^n 
 Rule will fufficiently lay open the Abfijfdity of it (pardon 
 the Exprellion, the Inconvenience it may at leaft be call'd J 
 that mull needs attend fo great a Liberty. As now for in- 
 ilaace. 
 
 How far a Man may think himfelf at liberty to queOion 
 the Authority of good part of the Canonical Scripture 
 notwithftanding his having fubfcrib'd the 6th Article, may 
 be fit to be confider*d. In which Article there is this 
 Claufe : In the Mame of the Holy Scripture we do under- 
 jt and thole Canonical Books of the Old and Netv Te (lament 
 
 iu rilr '^"J'^VP r' '"^"' ""y ^'"^^ '" '** ' Church. 
 Thefe Words, if we look no further, and take this part 
 ot the Article by it felf, without conneding it to what 
 follows, will very eafily bear fuch a Grammatical Senfe 
 as to exclude feveral of the Epiaics from being Scripture • 
 
 / ^ fl^^l ^tT ""^ *'" ^^fy ^""y Juftifie what his 
 Lordfhip hath been often blam'd for, in calling into que- 
 Ihon, and inefFeca rejeding the Authenticalnefsof a lext 
 mS. Johns firftEpiaie, c. 5.7. which the Socinians and U- 
 . nitarians would very gladly get rid of, viz. There are Three 
 \Jhat bear record tn Heaven, &c. It muft be confels'd, that 
 
 this 
 
 / 
 
 w 
 
 c 
 
 «P 
 
 the Br II Head of Complaint mftierl 
 
 S7?v^'' "jf^-lPntroverted ; there hath been Douh 
 made of it in the Church ; my Lord oi Sarum who is a 
 Biftiop of the Church hzs doubted of it before now, and 
 hath figmfy d as much in Print, fo as to feem to bring it 
 within the Words of the Article ; But as the Ufe made of it 
 in our Litumy (hews that the Church it felf does not que- 
 ftion the Canonicalnefs of it (whatever here and there 
 one, in his own private Judgment may think himfelf at 
 liberty to do,; fo is there in the fame 6th Article enough 
 faid torefcue it, and all thofe Epiftles, from being exclu- 
 ded the Authority and Denomination of Scripture, which 
 
 ""k^k /^'^'"'•f ^^''^. ^^^" queftion'd by fome. That 
 
 which fufficiently explains the Rule laid down, as to what 
 
 IS to be caeemd Canonical Scripture, is this, that the 
 
 very Books of the Old Teftament receiv'd by our Church 
 
 are named and then follows this general Claufe : AH 
 
 the Books of the New Teftament, as they are commonly re- 
 
 cetv d, we do receive and account them Canonical Thus 
 
 whoever has a Bible to look into, will according to this 
 
 Article, know whether the Text my Lord of Sarum hath 
 
 fo mean an Opinion of, ought to be receiv'd as Scripture ♦ md. t.^*- 
 
 or not. If tnus one part of an Article may be allow'd to P- 4'- 
 
 explain another, my Lord of Sarum'sUhtny is not more 
 
 to be defended in queUioning the Validity of the Text than 
 
 in putting a wrong Conllrudion upon the Word Hell 
 
 in the Ihird Article : the Advantage lie takes of the 
 
 known Ambiguity of the Word Hell, a.s he finds it at the 
 
 End of the Article, will not juttifie his not looking back to 
 
 the conneding Term of fo alfo, which plainly points out 
 
 fomethingmoretobebeliev'd, thamthat Clmft wasVead 
 
 and buried, or laid into a Grave. 
 
 The 8 th Article obliges us to^lieve the Three Creeds 
 made ufe of in our Church. The Words are thefe • Che 
 tlj?ec CrwDS, Nice Creed, Athanafius Creed, aitti tbatllJbfEfi 
 fe conimonlp CalletltrjeApoaiesCreed,OtlffIjt tSMuStoS 
 
 Warrants Ot IjO p «&cripttire. Such as have a good hand at 
 putting fartctch d Conlirudions, and Grammatical Senfes 
 
 • ^-^ ^ upon 
 
m* ^ 
 
 SO 
 
 11 
 
 The Fufi Head of Compldnt conftdtrd. 
 
 upon Worck, will tell you, that the Foundation of our be- 
 lieving and receiving thefe Creeds being but upon the Sup- 
 pofition of their being warranted by Holy Scripture; and 
 that being given as the Reafon of it, a Man may himfdf 
 beft judge whether they are fo to be prov'd from Scripture 
 or not,and believe them accordingly • it being a known Rule, 
 that a Church as well as a private Perfon, may happen to 
 miftake in matter of fad ; and fo far as any thing 
 that is enaded is built upon a wrong Suppofition, fo far 
 at lead in Equity it falls fliort of being obligatory. 
 
 That this may not be thought to te an overflraining the 
 ufe that may be made of my Lord of Sarums Latitude, 
 nothing lefs than this can excufe his Way of managing 
 the Article before us : The Article may call this Nice CreeJ^ 
 ^nd xht othtr Athanaftus Creed, if the Church thinks fit; 
 but inftead of giving any Reafon why they may well e- 
 nough be fo called, his Lordfhip makes it his Bufinels to 
 prove both the one and the other to be of much later date, 
 and confequently that the Church was miftaken, and that 
 they neither of them were what they are faid to be. The 
 next thing he does by way of Expofition, is to flrip all the 
 three Creeds of any Pretence they may be thought to 
 have from Antiquity, or the Authority of Councils ; that 
 they may not be thought to have any thing that looks like 
 Claim to any degree of Authority more than barely as they 
 have Scripture on their fide tofupportthem,be ittheif hav- 
 ing been received by the Catholick Church for fo many A- 
 ges,or any thing elfe ; all Pretences of this kind,his Lordfliip 
 either endeavours to refute, or leflen, or make nothing df. 
 His Opinion of the Apoftle's Creed it felf (though he owns 
 it to be beyond difpute above Twelve Hundred Years old, 
 and he might fafely own a great deal more) his Remark up- 
 on it is this, That // wasfo late, that neither this nor the (?- 
 ther Creeds have any Anthority upon their own account. And 
 again, PVe receive thofe Creeds not for their own fakes, nor for 
 the fake of thofe that prepared them, but for the fake of the 
 Doilrine that is contained in them, hecaufe we believe that the 
 
 Doilrine which they declare is contained in the Scriptures 
 
 . there- 
 
 T%€ Firji Head cf Com^nt conjiderd 
 
 therefore we do receive them. That for this reafon chiefly 
 it is, that we receive them and believe them is true; but 
 this ought not to be exclufive of all other Collateral Mo- 
 tives to Belief ; forafmuch at it brings the Creeds upon the 
 level with any good Book, which has good flore of Proofs 
 from Scripture to warrant the Subftance of it ; and where 
 we apprehend that either the one or the other is wanting 
 of fuch Proof, fo far, according to my Lord of Sarum^ our 
 Obligation to believe cither the one or the other, ceafes 
 ootwithftanding our Subfcription. 
 
 That a Scene is laid for (uch a Latitude in fubfcribing 
 the next Ten Articles, as is inconfiftent with the Defign of 
 the Church in framing them, is very plain; for that his 
 Lordfliip takes occafion under them to (late feveral Que- 
 ftions which have been darted under the feveral Heads of 
 Original Sin^ Free WiH^ f unification, Predeflination, Eleilion^ 
 and the like, with fo much profefs'd Indifference, and; 
 leaves things in fo eaual a Poize in the way of different 
 Grammatical Senfes (fairly intimating that fuch Senfes the 
 Articles will bear) as fufhciently encourages a Liberty of 
 Subfcribing in any of thole Senfes ; and yet fome of thofe 
 Opinions which his Lordfliip hath thought fit to let off to 
 fo good Ad vant3ge,and does not offer to difprove, amount to 
 little left than Herefie, or at lead may be reckoned among 
 thofe Errors the Articles were ddign'd to oppofe. Others 
 are diredly contrary to what, not only from all our great 
 Writers fmcethe Reformation, by way of Tradition, but 
 by feveral Colleds in our Liturgy (which are the beft 
 Comments on our Articles, and the moft authentick Exr 
 pounders of our Dodrine) appears to be the received Do- 
 <arine of the Church of England as to thofe Points, and 
 confequently the many Opinions laid down and left unre- 
 futed, are plainly inconfiftent with the Defign of the Ar^ 
 tides themfelves. But to defcend to particulars, in matters 
 of fo much Intricacy, would be to draw out this Difcourfe 
 beyond its intended Length ; and therefore, though there 
 may be occafion to fay fomething more of it before we 
 have done, yet the lUuftration of it will mcare naturally 
 
 fall 
 
 II 
 
Kmqp 
 
 •i^^tf^mm^ I ■mn pi l am 
 
 ■t^ 
 
 j^" < ^ 
 
 ""^'•p»"*iNfi 
 
 •TvaHa 
 
 2t 
 
 Tlx Firft Head of Complaint confier'd. 
 [hemfefves. '^' ^"'^'"^" Examination of the Articles 
 
 Proceed we therefore to the Articles of the Cburch and 
 Church-Government, for the fake of which in all likdJ 
 hood^th,s whole Scheme for Latitude in OpinLwaJ'S 
 
 The 19th Article, vh. of the Church mav with fnm.. 
 pains be made to bear very different GramScd SenfTs 
 
 ^iTpr^'i'- ''^^'■'^'"g '° ^he Bifl,o^sSLdeand 
 7Z °[.f ^PO"nding, may in fome very wrone Senfe. h? 
 
 it is, th« when we come to S tato fc' ""r •^" "? 
 this Article, we find my Lord bVod 'J'^"?"''"''" »f 
 
 vmue of his Latitude (hkTr^l^ZJ tZ S\^ 
 trive the matter and evor^r^ i-uA^ f f^quitji) lo con- 
 degree, that if Men arrb7n?,'J ^^^ °^ '^^ ^''"^'^ ^° ^h" 
 whom it is done ^f we^rbo; m'"'"'" "'''>' ''"'^ ^^ 
 Effentials of Wa'ter and of b^L '' "•''" ^° '■«^'" ^^« 
 Father, Son and Holy GhoS^ thol^h^ '" '}^ ^^"^^ °^ 
 Ordinance, theDowernfl- ™8^^<^<^0'-dingtoChria*s 
 
 derof Men/tru^RubrKflT^r'''^'?^ ^'■ 
 Baptifm, implies no left An-?.^ T '^^ '^°'"'" ^^ P^vate 
 as ro pre^g^yet^elN^^^^^^^^^ ^o true 
 
 have but a R.gin to be called Z^.^^.^/^^S f ^^.^ Jj^f,^ 
 
 more 
 
 > 
 
 77;^ Er/? He4i/ of Complaint conftder'd. 
 
 more (liall make a ^//f^/f Church of them, according to 
 my Lord of Sarurns Notion of a Church, or according to 
 fuch a Notion as a Man may eafily frame to himfelf of it, 
 by the help of my Lord of Sarums Scheme and Manage- 
 ment : A Man that hath no better a Notion of a Church 
 than this, may fubfcribe to this Article, and his Integrity 
 not be queftion'd by my Lord of Sarum for his fo doing ; 
 his Lorddiip not having been pleas'd to confider, that in 
 this Article, without refped: had to particular Cafes of Ne- 
 ceflTity, which fuperfedes all Ruleof courfe, a Definition is 
 given of the mMt Cl)Urc|) Of €Wi^ in general, wherein it 
 is not to be fuppos'd there (hould want either Preaching or 
 AdminiftringtheSacraments aCCOjWlljJ tOC&?lIf0 ©Sliinance 
 in a regular Way ; and to fet this forth, and prefs the Ne- 
 ceflTity of it, where there is no Necedity to have it other- 
 wife, ought to have been the Bufinels of an Expofitor, in- 
 ftead of labouring Ways and Means to evade the Force of 
 the Article, as his Lord3iip hatli tho'ight fit to do. 
 
 Again, Article lo, of the Authority of the Churchy accord- 
 ing to the Bifliop's Largenefs and Equity^ it is eafie to fuppofe 
 notvvithftanding a Man's lubfcribing to this Article, that 
 the Church hath really no power to enforce the Obferva- 
 tion of Rites or Ceremonies ; much lefs hath (lie any Au- 
 thority to make Decifions in Matters of Faith : for though 
 we are generally apt to imagine no lefs than all this from 
 the Article, yet the Words will bear a Grammatical Senle 
 amounting to nothing of all this, if to any fort of Power 
 at all. 1 lie Words are thefe : C!je Cf)UtCl) 6at!) potDCr 
 
 to Bectee Eites 0? Cetcnioniosf, ann 9utl)a?(tp in matters 
 
 of Jfaftd^ Thcfe Words a great many have been fo much 
 ofTendcd at, as to have made a great deal of Buftle about 
 them ; and Archbilhop Laud was accufed of having put 
 them into the Article, his Accufers pretending they were not 
 in the Original. But had my Lord of Sarum s Notion of 
 different Grammatical Senfes, been thought of in thofe 
 Days, there had been no need of any Difputeof this kind ; 
 for what fignifie the Words at lad? The Church may have 
 power, to decree Rites or Ceremonies ; but it does not fay^ that 
 
 any 
 
 *j 
 
wmm 
 
 Th Ftrji Beai of Complaint conjiier'd . 
 
 any are bound to obferve them. The Church mz^r have 
 Authority in matters ef Faith, true : For hath flie not Au- 
 thority to preach the Fundamentals of Chriflian Rdigion 
 and propagate the Gofpel, and teach fuch things as are 
 Matters o[ Faith > And what Diflenter is there that will 
 deny the Church this Power ? But this does no way come 
 up to what the Article has all along been fuppos'dto im- 
 port. True it is, that the Bifhop ot Sarum hath not in ex- 
 prefs Terms jua under this Article, made this ufe of his 
 Rule for Latitude : But the Favour (hewn to different Con- 
 Ilitutions under other Articles is inconfittent with the Al- 
 lowance of fuch a Power in the Church, as this Article is 
 luppos d to allert. 
 
 In the 2iy? Article concerning the Authority of General 
 Councils, we have thefe Words : CWlTffS O^aillCD bj) tftem 
 
 m nftelTarp to aanatfon, mt nmet %txmm m au-- 
 mm unlcf0 ftmapte Beciareo t&at tfiep are taften out 
 
 of JDOIP ^pture0. That things ordain'd by a S.ndl 
 fhould be taken out- of Hoh Scriptures, will bear fuch a' 
 Grammatical Senfe as to affed our moft authentick Creeds • 
 for whatever Proof may be made of them by fair* 
 Deduaion and Confequence, not one of them can be faid 
 to be taken out oj Holy Scripture .-There is no one of them to 
 be found either in the Old or in the NewTeflament, totidem 
 Verba, or in the Form they now fland : And how far this 
 Declaration of the Church in this Article may have help*d 
 his Lordlhip m his paying lo little refped to the Creeds, 
 and bringing them fo very low, and even upon the level 
 with any Orthodox Book that he himfelf Ihall happen to 
 write (as hath been already Ihewn) may be fit to be confi- 
 de r d. 
 
 / TJie nextArticle which offers it felf upon this occafion.is the 
 
 / 2y,<j/MlN18TRlNG IN THE CoNGREOATION.Perhaps 
 
 ** "^ '^^"^^ ^V °"^ ''^'"g ^"^^ <^hurch of England hath taken 
 more effedual care to fecure by all the ways imaginable, than 
 a regular Admiflion totheMiniftry by Epifcopal Ordina- 
 tion^ asfound to be moft Ancient and Apoftolick, if not 
 of Divine Inftitution. This, in oppofition to'Presbytery, or 
 
 any 
 
 
 V^ 
 
 r- 
 
 <' 
 
 Dot Firfi Head of Complaint confider'd. 
 
 any other way of Intrufion into the Church is effedually 
 fecured by the Laws of the Land,as well Civil as Ecclefiafti- 
 cal. Our Rubrick and Liturgy (both which are fufficiently 
 plain and exprefs) are confirm'd and eftabliib'd by Adl ot 
 Parliament. To this we may add,nnt only the Canons of the 
 Catholick Church, but thofe of the Church of b^igland ^' 
 creed upon in Convocation, and by Royal Sandion made 
 obligatory, as the Rule of that Canonical Obedience, 
 which all Clergymen are bound to upon Oath. The Form 
 of Conlecration of Archbifliops and Bilhops, and Ordina- 
 tion of Minifters (as the only way whereby Men are to be 
 call'd into the Vineyard in this Church) being annex d to 
 the Book of Common-prayer, and eftablifti'd by the fame 
 Authority as the Book it felf fufficiently fets forth the Diftin- 
 aion of the Three Orders of BiQiops, Priefts and Deacons 
 and the Authority of each ; and as much is there faid 
 as can be defired, or could well be thought of, whereby to 
 fliew the Neceffity which the Church thinks fit to lay up- 
 on Epifcopal Ordination, as the only regular way of being 
 made a Minifter of Chrift. 1 his Book of Confecration, 
 S?c. fo very explanatory of the Dodrine of the Church as 
 to this point, is requir'd to be fubfcrib'd under a diftind 
 Article, viz. 36th. and yet after all this, though the Church 
 has taken all this pains not to be mifunderflood in fo mate- 
 rial a Point ; yet by the Help of this Expofition, and that 
 Largenefs and Equity which it allows ; a Presbyterian or 
 Independant may fubfcribe and -not be charg'd with In- 
 fincerity or Prevarication. ^ » ^^ , 
 
 • 1 he Words of the Article are thefe : 3it 10 not latDtttl 
 
 fo? anp^antotafte upontitmttje ©ffice ofpuMicltP?ea- 
 cWim 0? ^iniffcinB tfte ©actamcntjf in tljc Congccffa'^ 
 tion tefo^ De be latofuHp callen, anu fent to etecute tfie 
 fame ; ans tbofe loe ougW to ^ge laiufuHp callcB tm 
 fent, tiJljttt) be cI)ofcn ann caUcti to xm ©no?h bp ^en, 
 iDho baue publick auttioiitp gton unto tbem in tlje Congee' 
 cation to call anti CenB s^inittetjs intotlje %m^ aJinc* 
 patO* 
 
 '. E Any 
 
 »y 
 
 X 
 
 M 
 
z6 
 
 rbe Ftrft Head / Com^Uim mftdia 
 Any one that lives m Ewland and I'c h„* • 
 acquainted with our Con Si r^ "', '" "^ ^^g^e 
 that is in Authorhy in^e Sr/ "" '° ^"°^ ^'^° '^ is 
 
 thatitistheKinraiVt'nl' ^ffSffi^-^^^^^^ 
 Commiflion and bv his Anrhnr.v„ J ymcesa(aby his. 
 Perrons who have puSi4 Au7^ ?lfo know that the 
 ?nd fend MiniftersTntf thi" Lord? Vin;^^^ '° "j'" 
 .ng to that Law which requires tSfeAttcirtn' K7k" 
 fcribed, are the Biftops only and nn onf ^ 'V'^ 
 
 that the Article when fram'd^or wheS ?end?r'd T^'^ 
 Bifhop to be fubfrrih'H n,^»u render d by the 
 
 Me have taken upon thtn, J jJi .^ '* ""^'^^ 
 The Article does Z rlfhe it rf/\ " '*" '"''^'^'•• 
 Covflitution, but leaves tZ M J ^ ''^'' "^y Particular 
 for fuch AcciJem I td TaZJj"' ""i ''r ^"'^^ 
 fghtm happen; th^ uZdretThij .u'i ^"'^ « 
 Several Churches before ttr Eye^ tbatlJl ^''iJ *^' 
 reformed, and altLfh tZtrorln hJ t ,H'''/'ff'''**h 
 0"* of the beaten Path L7 l" '^' ^"'"^ " I' 
 
 that an things alnAMves 7/ '' ' >^'' *^ ^'^^ 
 thofe Rules that oZhftoTraZj T «''" """''^'"l *o 
 
 '-^J^La.,anduTllV:iM^^ ^'^'^^ 
 
 therwife defign'^an S hTb^^J^i^Jj^r^^^^ <>- 
 Church upon the level with fome ChS! Z '"^T^ o""* 
 are after C^/x;i,'s Modd whichTt f fS r - ^^'"'"^ ^'''<^'» 
 detrads from theKr rf ir R^f^ "'"" ^"'^^ ™"^^ 
 fliewninitsdueolaw ThJcS? ^/fo"nation, aswili be 
 having been ^& ij^r'^^^^1^^'^^- o^our 
 fome others is to mabe I iLi, I storming, as we 1 as 
 
 fome pretending to MmVu pS^. •fo'oilention'd ; 
 
 iend- 
 
 Tlje Firii Bead of Comphim confulerj. 
 
 fending Labourers into the Vineyard. Thck diaatingPeo- 
 pie are m^ 1^9, call'd the ffotter Spirits, and fuch as the 
 Expofitor fufficiently intimates not to fuit with his Humour 
 as not coming up to his Meafures : He is not of their 
 Clafs ; he hath not only different Notions of things him- 
 fclf, bat he will have the Article it felf, and confequendy 
 the Church, to intend to leave the matter open and at large • 
 as who knows what may happen in England, as well as 
 what hath happen'd of late in a neighbouring Countrey ? 
 A pretty good Knt of a wary Man that looks forward 
 to purpofe. 
 
 In the mean time, till that Day comes fo much wilh'd 
 for by fome, as which cannot but of courfe bring along 
 with it fuch a thorough Reformation as will foon root 
 out Epifcopacy, under the Notion of a Popilh Ordinance, 
 and be attended with feveral other Alterations in the efta- 
 bliOi'd Religion of the like kind. Thus much advantage 
 fuch as are weil-\w(hers thereto, may reafonably promife to 
 themfelves, from this Notable Difcovery of a Lati- 
 tude intended by the Church to Men of different Con- 
 ftitutions, that ^oia^asmy Lord of Sarum'i Credit will go 
 \wth the Presbyttrjan and Independant (and that it will go 
 a great wayjwth either of them, we may reafonably fup- 
 pofe^neither of them need make any difficulty of quali- 
 fying themfelves for fome good Cure or D^nity in the 
 Church, by fubfcribine to this Article : For, as to their 
 taking Epifcopal Orders, whatever Notions fome may 
 heretofore have had of it, (b long as a Man hath no Scru- 
 ple upon him, as to the Validity of thofe Orders, which 
 he hath already receiv'd, and the Article of the Church 
 concerning Minifiring in the Congregation, may be fo un- 
 derflood, as not to make any other Ordination neceflary, 
 but what they have had already ; what hurt can there 
 be in fubmitting to fuch further outward Formalities, 
 with refpe(5t to Epifcopacy, as the Laws of the Land, 
 which are only humane, and no further obligatory, may 
 require? 
 
 ^7 
 
 £ z 
 
 When 
 
^»^" 
 
 18 
 
 TJje Fir ft Head of Complaint conpder'l 
 When thus fome of thofe worthy Men Mr. Baxter usU 
 ^° v^ of thofe Men of different Conaitutions (liall have 
 qualified themfelves for the MiniHry, it hath been already 
 lhe\vn how they may eafily get over the Article of RITES 
 and CEREMONIES, and all that tends to Decency and Or- 
 der ; and by thefe means in a while things may be brought 
 toaveryhopefu!pafs; infomuch as thole of the ChuFch 
 of E>igla>icl, as now by Law eftablilhed, may come to be 
 content to leave their Parochial Meetings to thefe new 
 Coiners and be glad any how to get together, and (erve 
 Ood in their own way, as they were fain to do within 
 the Memory of Man upon the fame Occafion 
 
 Not to dwell longer on this Topick, but tofliut it up, 
 with the fame Article, as we may reafonably prefume the 
 Expofitor had a particular regard to when he firft cart his 
 Scheme j forafmuch as what for tlie prefent feems to carry 
 with It a Face of more than ordinary Chriftian Temper and 
 Moderation, may come to do good Service to fome Peo- 
 ple upon occafion. Whoever confiders the ufe that may 
 be made o^ different Grammatical Serifes to be put upon 
 Words mutt needs be fenfible that the Articles of the 
 Church (though never fo carefully fram'd} may come to 
 loofe all fort of Benefit that the Church can propofe to 
 reap from them ; and the Expofition before us mutt be al- 
 low d to be the firft Attempt of this kind of any note, to en- 
 courage any fuch thing, ^ ' 
 
 It mutt be confefs!d, that there was once an Author fbut 
 fuch a one as ought not to be nam'd the fame day with my 
 Lord Bifliop of Sarum^ one Chrijlopher Davenport a Fran- 
 cifcan Fryar, known by the Name of Francifcus deSam 
 C/<«-^,, vyhoby theHepof aParaphrattical Expofition of 
 our Articles, endeavour d to make them fpeak the Romifli 
 Dialed. But, as on thq other hand, Sincerity or Wrhingn 
 earnettisnot what that Tribe of Men will always pretfnd 
 to, when they are. to encounter anAdverfary; fo neither 
 on the other hand, can that Defign at bert, pretend ta 
 compare with my Lord of Sarum's Scheme, as upon a part^ 
 eular Inquiry made mto the nature of each, would very 
 
 plain- 
 
 <i 
 
 The Firft Head of Complaint confiderd 1 ^ 
 
 plainly appear. Something of the fame nature may be trac'd 
 in Mr. Baxter's Writings ; but he never could nur(e up his 
 Notion to any Maturity : He made a fliift to get over 
 mott of the Articles, fhe himfcif indeed, not to do him 
 wrong, is fuppos'd to have difpens'd with them all when E- 
 pifcopally ordain'd :) Fie made it eafie enough to fubfcribe 
 to all the Articles except three or four : But thofe which 
 concern the Church and Church-Government in his riper 
 Years he knew not how to reconcile either with Presbytery 
 in general, or with his own peculiar Fancy of Parochial 
 EpiTcopacy. This was a Task too hard for him, and he 
 was fain to leave it to a more able Pen, and to one of a 
 much greater Charafter to accomplifli. 
 
 And much the fame may be faid of the Francifcan Fryar; 
 it was his Misfortune to live too foon, fo as not to have feen 
 my Lord of Sarum's Expofition : For by the help of the 
 Latitude allow'd by his Lordfliip to different Grammatical 
 Senfes, he might have made it very Hard to be fo run down, 
 as * Dr. Ward in a Letter to Bilhop UJher, relates he was at * o?*^* Let- 
 aPublick Commencement at Camhridge, in the Vice^Chan- L^t.'i'sit^^ 
 cellour's Speech, for pretending to reconcile our Articles- 
 with the Decifions of the Council of Trent : a very nota- 
 Undertaking for a Fryar it was ; but not to be effeded un- 
 lefs by the Help of my Lord of Sar urn's Scheme, without " 
 incurring the Imputation of notorious Prevarication. 
 
 So much as hath been faid, may fuffice to fliewthat our ■ 
 Expofitor's Scheme for Latitude tends to introduce 
 Diverfity of Opinions into the Church by encouraging Per- 
 fons of very different Perfwafions, and oppofite Conltituti- 
 ons, to fubfcribe to the fame Articles, under colour of the 
 Words admitting different Grammatical Senfes : A things, 
 which did not tiie Title of the Articles fufHciently provide 
 againft, yet tofuppofeto beintended by the Church, would 
 not redound very much to its Credit, if f Bifliop Taylor in t duB. DuUt, 
 hisDuHor Duhitantium, be in the right: Where, fpeaking ^'* +• '^- +• ■"• 
 of the Lawfulnefs or Unlawfulnefs of Subfcribing with this ^^' ' ' '*' 
 fort of Referve, he has this Exprefiion ; This is the lafl 
 Remedy, hut the iiporfi : It hath in it fomething of Craft, hut * 
 
 very -. 
 
JO 
 
 The Ftrft Head of Com^amt conftier'd. 
 
 very little of hgemity ; W //// can ferve the Ends of Peace 
 wf ^^^''"i ^/'^''Jfy. it cannot ferve the Ends of Truth 
 Hohnefs, and Chriflian Smplicity. To talk of what the 
 Words will bear, may do well enough in Pleadings upon 
 Deeds and Covenants in Common Law ; bat where Re- 
 ligion IS concern d Men are fuppofed to proceed accord- 
 ing to Equity, and with Sincerity ; When the Senfeof the 
 Church IS any way fo made known to us, as that we can- 
 not well be Ignorant of it, without (hutting our Eves fo 
 clofe as to amount to an aff-eded Blindnefs? we are not 
 to pretend to put Conftruaions of our own upon the Deci- 
 
 i^nfrll w 7'^''' under colour of fome Grammatical 
 Senfe ^the Words may with fome force be made to bear ; 
 though, where we have no fuch way of coming to the 
 right Senfe of an Article, and the Church by itf Silence 
 
 Sr Tll'°M '"' ^'" 'ru'^''' °^" Thought ; there no 
 fho L ^ ^j? .^'^ " ''^"^» ''^e Church not having 
 thought It needful to provide againft Diverjities of Opint 
 
 *»i. in things of left moment, determining only the more 
 Efl-ential nece^ary Do«arines in Religion ; but^what^oS 
 appear to be determined by the Church in her Art idw 
 
 And to frame fuch a Scheme for Latitude in fubfcribine. 
 as to take in Men of different Judgments as to t£ veS 
 things contained in the Articles to the which they fubfcribe 
 IS what very plamly tends to introduce fuch a Latitude as the 
 Articles toere framed to avoid. 
 
 Though thus the firft Head of Complaint cannot but 
 
 fEalnV"?' his Lo«,(hip having'laid too wkle a 
 
 We? n^hlxK^'i'^*^* ? ""'^^"6 ^^ Three Grammaricd 
 Senfes of the Third Article, to be the meafurt of what S 
 
 would allow m fubfcribing to all the reft ; yet before we 
 go any further, it may be needful by way of ttgreflion to 
 obviare an Objedion which may feem to lie agaSft the op^ 
 pofing uch Latitude as the Expofition encoufaga ft be°.L 
 §2"^^^^^'" ?^°P^e f^ken for granted, thSh wj 
 ^ Moderation of the Church of England \n compiSgTh^ 
 
 Ar- 
 
 The Ftrft Head of Complaint confider'd 
 Articles, as well as in all other her Proceediilffs « f« 
 leave a great deal of room for LihernT^f /¥'* • -^ 
 feveral things. This is ^hat k may^ need^rirr,'; 
 fomewhat of, and fet in its Trup t to^Nr uf '^ ^^Y 
 
 ^^^ r ^^ -"L-"oV&.^^ratTE 
 
 to confider it, he may think fit to change his Scheie 
 for Latitude in fubfcribing, andqualifie it fcc^L^y 
 It cannot be denied but thai- nnr ru *v"l""'s'y« 
 
 Articles 35 the Ff£I?«f l>f j " ^^""'^^'^ m framing her 
 /irncies as tiie httedt of Moderation, did defien a Irp^^ 
 
 deal of Latitude and Freedom of fho^hror theS 
 of Subfcnbers, not tying Men up at th?me the ^S 
 of Rom IS known to do all thofe of her Commw.^ dt 
 termining things which are better left unX^rmined Z 
 quiring many things to be believed as ArticL of FaidL 
 Im^l Z dl"'^^" ''T ^riptur " and ford^ 
 
 Stion tVI^ ^' r""'^"^ ^^ !«•" °f Excommunfe 
 cation. Thefe are Impofitions we are freed from 
 
 w^f ll"t 'ul/ '^'' ^^ ^° .^^'"P'^- of = " ncl ifX 
 th^Churrho?/ '"°"f^ '°"'''^" '^' Difference between 
 the Church of Rme andf us, as to Terms of Communion 
 
 IVVT^ confiderable: But this is far from beSgT. 
 the Moderation of the Church of England goes much 
 fj^her as «.I appear upon a due Enquiry Se^nto 
 rtie^ature of ,t, as well with rerpe<a to ^Laity as Z 
 
 ',. r i7^^ Mpderation of the Church of England (hews 
 It felf in this, that the Generality of the Laity are 
 not bound up to a ftrid Acknowledgment of the Ar- 
 nr l^ii o^hj'-w.fe than as they (hall be found to be com- 
 
 fh^^.Z 9^^^"^ ^' '* ^^^y ^""^ e^'i^ntly true in 
 them(elves^ and may be proved from Scripture, or at 
 
 Ill^h.'V ^ ^'^ f ^"'S' °f P^^^^ ^"d Acquiefcence 
 n the Docarine of the Church to the which they be- 
 long ; which beuig read to them fometimes, to the end 
 that they may be acquamted with them, they are not to 
 contradict them or affirm them to be erroneous, but keep 
 their Opinion of them to themfclves, if there be any 
 thujg in them that they do not like. 
 
 ?» 
 
 v.. 
 
^ 1 T%e Firjl Head of Complaint conpderd. 
 
 A Layman may happen to be unacquainted with the 
 Contents of feveral of the Articles all his Life-time, and 
 yet not be charged with Infincerity for profefling himfelf 
 to be a true bon of the Church of England ; but *tis 
 otherwife with all fuch as are of the Miniftry : No 
 one ought to pretend to offer himfelf for the Miniftry ; 
 cr in order to his Admittance into it, prefume to fub- 
 fcribe to the Articles, without having firft duly weighed 
 and confider'd every one of the Articles , it being the 
 Defign of the Church by the Subfcription enjoyncd, to 
 be fecure of their being rightly principled themfelves, who 
 are to teach others fo as not to mif-lead, leaft, Ihould 
 the Blind lead the Blind^ both might be in danger of falling 
 into the Ditch. 
 
 X. OurChurchisfo far from following the Example of 
 the Church of Rome^ in denouncing Anathemas on thofe 
 that do not believe every particular Article, that we have 
 but one dired Inflance of it throughout the whole Sett ; 
 and that is by way of Enforcement of the i%th Article, as 
 the Conclufion of feveral that go before, relating to the 
 fame material Fundamental Dodrine of our being laved 
 by the Merits of Chrift alone, and upon no other Bot- 
 tom whatfoever. This the Church has thought fit to 
 lay great Streft upon, and yet fays nothing but what 
 was firft preach'd by our Saviour himfelf, and by St. Paul^ 
 towhofe Words, <?^/. 1.8. in all likelihood the very Phrafe 
 of Accurfed v^zs defign'd to refer. 
 
 3. The Moderation of the Church of England is very 
 remarkable, in making fo very few Dodrincs to be as 
 Conditions of Communion (contrary to what is objeded 
 in the Beginning of the Introdudion ;) it may be tru- 
 ly faid, there is in our Articles very little, if any thing 
 more than what is either borrowed from the Creeds, or 
 what are E>odrines highly fit to be allerted, as in Subfer- 
 viency to Fundamental Truths , or what is diredly in- 
 tended as in oppofition to Popery, and to f^nce againft 
 
 the 
 
 f 
 
 < 
 
 The Brft Bead of Com^tgrn conjider% 
 
 th€ erroneous Doiarioes %nt fuperftitiow Ria<aices aiwl 
 Corruptions of the Church of Rome, or fuch as zSt for 
 them under fome DifguHe or orher. It were very eafie 
 to ihew that there are very few things laid down in our 
 Articles, which can, according to the BiOiop of Sarums 
 Notion, be termed Do^rinal Points ; not one efpecially of 
 all the ten middle Artides, from the 9th, to the 19th, be- 
 ing fuch as he fuppofes them to be; all of them, on the 
 contrary, in truth being one continued Explanation of, or 
 an Enlargement upon, the moft necelTary Part of our 
 Chriftian Faith, couched under the latter part of the A- 
 poftles Creed, in very few Words, viz. the Forgivenefs of 
 Sins, and Lije Everlaftittg. We have in thefe Articles the 
 Nature and Confequence, as well of Original as of Adu- 
 al Sm. Our Incapacity of doing any thing as of our felves, 
 IS acknowledged, that our Sins mua be forgiven us 
 by the Merits of Chrift ; we muft be juftified by Chrift 
 alone, and through Faith in him, in order to eternal 
 Life : It is lie alone that calls us, and makes our Peace 
 with God. Here we are told how God did Jaree and 
 purpofe from all Eternity thefe Means of Salvation t» 
 Mankind for the fake of his Son ; That before the Foun- 
 dations of the World were laid, he pre-ordain'd Man 
 to Life, callhg, or ekning, or chufing all fuch to be 
 Jus adopted Children and yeffels of Honour, that fliould be- 
 lieve in his Son, and live according to the Rules which 
 he hath given us in the Gofpel; and at the fame time ex- 
 cluding all from the Bane. St of this Eternal Predefiinati- 
 on, Jujnjication and Ele£lion, who Ihould rejed thele means 
 of Salvation tlius tender'd by Chrift, and to be attain'd 
 by Faitli in him, and by no odicr means whatfoever. 
 
 This is the whole of what is contained in all thofe 
 Ten Articles, and is the Subftance of feveral Homilies 
 and notliing truly controverfial or difputable about Ahfo*- 
 lute Decrees, or the Efficacy of Gods Grace, but plain ne- 
 ceifary Ciiriftian Truths will be found to be here Jaid 
 down and allerted; Some few Scliolaftick Terms indeed 
 Casthe known Language of the Learned of thofe times) 
 
 F do 
 
 )) 
 
■■«SW>"«l»w»^ 
 
 34 T^Ftr/i Head of Complaint con ftder'd. 
 
 do fometimes occurr: But if we carefully examine every 
 Propofition, and do not go about to lay Weight upon 
 fingle Words, and draw Inffrenccs from them, fuch as 
 Tredejiinatioti^ Eie£lion, Vejjels of Honour, or the like : If 
 we only look to what is fairly affirmed or denied, and 
 go no further, we Ihall not meet with any one Propo- 
 fition in all the Ten Articles , bu^ what every Ortho- 
 dox Chriftian will be ready to fubfcribe, let them vary 
 never fo in tiieir Sentiments. Here is really nothing but 
 lohd Divinity, wherein all Men in a manner agree, that arc 
 not Favourers of Felaghs or Stcittus. 
 , So that upon a due Examination of the matter, my 
 Lord of Sarum will be found to have fpent a great deal 
 of time and pains upon the middle Sett of Articfes to 
 little purpofe ; and particularly in his Expofition of 'the 
 xyth Article of PreJefiination and EleUion (wherein he 
 leems to think he has done his bett} he will be found to 
 Ihoot all the while at Rovers, and wide of the Mark* 
 loading the Article with Quenions which do not belong 
 to It, and fcarce faying any thing of what it really and 
 truly imports, as will be eafily lliewn in^ its due 
 place. 
 
 In fome other Countries a great deal of flrefs may have 
 been laid upon foraeabflrufe Notions wherein the Term* 
 ot Art may be the fame as our Articles make ufe of or 
 they at leaft are made to be the Titles of them fthoush 
 they are alio Scriptural, and for that reafon therefore 
 chiefly retain d ;) fuch as Jujiification, EMion, Vredefllna-^ 
 ttoK, &c. And about thefe the Lutheran and Calvinill lliall- 
 have hot Difputes : But thefe Points which make fo much- 
 Noife abroad, our Church fays nothing of at all ; She is al- 
 together filent as to what their Quarrel is about and 
 would have all her Children be fo to^: The medlingwith 
 Fata hty, and Prefcience, and Reprobation, and otheTfuch 
 Matters asjiandled by Foreign Divines, is what iiath been 
 olten torbid, and is always diltountenanc'd by our Church • 
 Nor IS there any thing to be found in any of the Articles' 
 which by being aflerted, does naturally engage a Subfcriber 
 
 to 
 
 V 
 
 77;^ Virfi Head of Complaint confide/ J. 
 
 to concern himfelf about them ; and they that from Words 
 only and Modes of Expreflion, go about to draw any of 
 our Articles into thofe Quarrels, do our Church a great 
 deal of wrong. It is the Effed of Moderation in our 
 Church, to avoid determining fuch over-nice Queflions, as 
 have occafion'd thofe unhappy Divifions, things about which 
 Men may difpute to the Worlds End, and be never the 
 wifer ; and which, after all, there is no Occafion for Men 
 fo nicely to enquire into, as to make them (o much as any 
 part of their Study, fo far as Chriflianity is concerned. The 
 Method our Church hath taken , is to keep to fuch 
 Dodrines and Pofitions as are Scriptural : And whoever 
 makes any of our Articles to be tranfcribed or copied from 
 St. At4flh^ or from any other uninfpired Writer, very much 
 millakes the matter. Thofe very Articles my Lord of 5^- 
 rum points at, were in all likelihood intended to be a Tran- 
 fcript from the Scriptures in general, and from St. Paul in 
 particular, and from no one elfe. 
 
 4. Lafily^ The Moderation of the Church of England 
 being fuch, as to be very fparing in her Decifions and De- 
 terminations of any thing, but what in fome refped or o- 
 ther appears to her to be in a manner neceflary to be held 
 and maintained towards the fecuring an Orthodox Faith, 
 there cannot but be very great Scope for Latitude and Di- 
 verfities of Opinions in lefler matters, and fuch as are not da- 
 ted or defined. No Church allows more Liberty of Thought 
 as to Things in their own nature indifferent, or which are 
 merely Philofophical, and not plainly Theological ; or, I 
 rather fliould fay. Evangelical-revealed Truths, and in fome 
 meafure Fundamental : But where the Church thinks fit 
 to didate and define, there her Children (fuch efpecially as 
 are of the Minifiry, or are to inftrud others} are not to 
 contradid or gainfay ; but on the contrary, they mud agree 
 withher, and with one another, and conftquently, as em- 
 ploy'd by her, muft fpeak her Senfe, or not pretend to be 
 fentbyhen 
 
 M 
 
 < 
 
 F z 
 
 And' 
 
1* 7fe Ftrft Htaiff Cmplmt conpde/d. 
 
 And leaft any one fliould plead Ignorance in this cafe, 
 and take the Advantage of ambiguous Terms and Exprefli- 
 ons Cif any fuch there be) or pretend to feveral Grammati- 
 cal Senfes contrary to one another , it hath been al- 
 ready obferved, and it is what ought to be obferv'd,. 
 that the Church hath many other Ways whereby to 
 let us know her true meaning in her Articles, which when 
 we know, we muft not take the Liberty todiffent from, and 
 yet for worldly Advantage fubfcribe. Where either the Ca- 
 nons, the Liturgy, or Homilies, the uninterrupted Pradlice 
 and known Dodtrine of the Church ever fince the framing 
 the Articles come in by way of Information or Teftimony, 
 We muft not fhut our Eyes againft fuch Light : But where 
 there is nothing of this, and one Article does not explain a- 
 nother, nor the Article to be fubfcribed, explain it felf; 
 there we are at liberty, and not at all bound up to any one 
 Grammatical Senfe more than to another ; in fuch Cafe, and 
 fuch only Men may fubfcribe the (ame Article, and yer 
 be of contrary Opinions : the Reafon being plainly th's, 
 that either the Church is altogetder filent Cas Ihe is as to ma- 
 ny Points which fome will needs tack to our Articles, 
 though they do not belong to them) or it does no way ap- 
 pear, but that one Opinion may be as agreeable to what the 
 Church would have us believe, as another, as not being of 
 that moment, as to come within the exprefe Decifions of the 
 Church in any authentick Obligatory Way. 
 
 Hence it is that Men of Learning, notwithftanding their 
 having fubfcrib'd to our Articles, may be of different Opi- 
 nions as to fome things relating to Chrift s Dcfcent into 
 Hell ; they may differ, not only as to the nature of the 
 Place to the which our Saviour went when dead, but al- 
 fo as to the Defign of his Defcent, or what he did in 
 the Place which the Creed and our Article (keeping to the 
 Term made ufeof in the Creed) calls Hell ; neither the 
 nature of the Place, nor the Dcfign of Chrift's going to 
 it, is defioed in the Article ; only fo much is faid, as in op^ 
 pofition to the ApoUinarian Herefie, to aflert that Chrift 
 being perfedt Man as well as perfe<a God, his Body was not 
 
 only 
 
 \\ 
 
 TTie Firji fiead of Complaint conjtderd ' 
 
 only aduatrd by the Godhead, but had a Humane Soirf, 
 which Soul went to the Place appointed it when the Body 
 was laid into a Grave. This excludes the Biftiop's fecond 
 Grammatical Senfe of the Grave and Hell fignifying the 
 fame, and yet leaves a great deal of Scope for Critical 
 Learning, and for Search into Antiquity, and the meaning' 
 of feveral Texts in Scripture, the better to difcover what 
 neither the Creed nor the Church in the Article hat*F 
 thought fit to define. The fame is to be faid for thofe 
 Articles, upon which fome have grafted fo many intri- 
 cate Queftions concerning God's Decrees, and the Effi- 
 cacy of Grace. It is a great Miftake to think that any 
 wife Man of our Church that either underftands himfelf, 
 or the Articles, or the Duty of an honeft Man, believes 
 thofe Articles to be a Tranfcript of any Man's Dodrine, 
 from whom at the fame time, they differ in the very 
 things denned (zs my Lord of Sarum is pleas'd to fuggeft 
 in the beginning of his Preface;) but the Reafon why fo' 
 many have taken the liberty to differ upon thofe Points, is 
 becaufe they are really not defined in our Articles; nor is 
 it at all likely that the Church did intend to trouble her 
 Subfcribers with fuch nice Speculations ; but on the con- 
 trary, to keep to the more fubftantial neceffary Truths, 
 in the way of Moderation and Indulgence : So that nei- 
 ther of thefe Inttances will ftand the i3i(liop in any (lead 
 in the way he endeavours to make ufe of them : Thefefhall 
 not warrant a Latitude in fubfcribing any Article in a 
 Senfe different from that, wherein either by the fame Ar- 
 tide, or by any other, or by the current DocTnne or 
 Praftice of the Church, it appears to have been framed. 
 To differ in things not determined by the Church, will not 
 warrant Diverfity of Opinions in things which plainly ap-- 
 pear to be determined, and in which we cannot but know 
 the Intention of the Church. 
 
 ^ The Moderation of the Churchof England, with rcfpeCt 
 to her Articles, the better to fecure her Doarine, ismucb 
 the fame as it is with refpeft to her Canons and Kubricks, 
 for the Efiablidiment of Ecclefiaffical Difcipline and a Uni- 
 formity 
 
 17 
 
%S 'The Virft Bead of Complaint confukrd. 
 
 formityof VVorfliip. Nothing of Rigour can be com; 
 plain'd of in either, no draining upon the Conicicnces of 
 Men, nothing more required than needs muft, to make our 
 Faith come up to the Scope and Defign of the Gofpel, and 
 our way of ferving God be according to the Apoftles Rule 
 of having all things done decently and in order : But when 
 our Dodrines are fix'd, and our Rules laid down, thofe 
 that call themfelves moderate Men, do very much miftake 
 the Moderation of our Church, in making it to confift in 
 waving this or that Dodrine, or in being unconcerned at 
 the Omiflion of this or that outward Performance or Ce- 
 remony. Such fort of Moderation is what our Church 
 difclaimsand difcountenances upon all Occafions: She is 
 eafie in her Injun<aions, but not at all remifs in requiring a 
 due Conformity and Obedience. The more indulgent Ihe 
 is in what fhe enjoins, the more Rcalon there is to cxped: 
 a pundual Oblervance, and to refent any wilful Failure 
 therem. All Degrees of unwarrantable Liberty, are the 
 more blameable under an eafie Rein. If we are really ig- 
 norant of what our Church would have us believe and 
 teach, It IS fomewhat j but if we have fufficient means 
 whereby to know it, and do know it ; if we are fenfible 
 and m our Confciences believe the Church did intend one 
 thing, and at the fame time take the liberty to difTent from 
 her, and be of another mind, and yet refolve to intrude 
 into the Miniflry by fubfcribing to her Articles, upon pre- 
 tence that the Words may be otherwiie underftood accord- 
 ing to true Grammar , this is neither the part of a 
 true Son of the Church of England, nor of an honeft 
 Man. 
 
 The Lenity of a Church is not to be abusM, or made to 
 lerve as a Cloak to Prevarication and dittioneft PracSices • 
 Men muft not thence conclude they may do any thine with 
 her, and prefume upon her good Nature and Forbearance • 
 
 ^^KTh S' ^"^^"'■i!^ to Conditions of Communion! 
 and both believe and teach the contrary. This is not 
 fair dealing; and (hould it be countenanc'd, ought not to 
 be call d Moderation, but a Snare. To lay a Scene for 
 
 fuch 
 
 y 
 
 \ 
 
 The Second Head of Complaint confderd. 1 9 
 
 fach Latitude, is what too naturally leads Men^ into Tem- 
 ptation, and gives fo much countenance to Deceit, as it is 
 not to be fuppos'd my Lord of Sarum can, upon fecond 
 Thoughts, approve of it. The very Defign of having Ar- 
 ticles to be lubfcrib'd, is hereby fruftrated, and ill Men 
 fliall be let into the Church, whofe Principles will prompt 
 them to pull it dow n asfoon as they can, that they may build 
 it their own way. God is faid to make Men to he of one mind 
 in an Houfe^ and that in his Houfe efpecially, which is the 
 Church, they fliould be (a, is one main thing intended by 
 the Articles ; the Framcrs thereof propofing thereby to 
 avoid diverfities of Opinions^ and to flahliflo Confent touching 
 true Religion. Whoever therefore goes about to fcore our 
 a way for Men toefpoufe quite contrary Opinions touching- 
 the very things to the which they fubfcribe, and make the 
 Articles, as well as the Subfcribers, wage War with one ano- 
 ther, muft needs be to blame : And all fuch Undertakings' 
 may be truly faid, to tend to the introducing fuch a- 
 Latitude and Diverjity of Opinions^ as the Articles were^ 
 framed to avoid. 
 
 Tl?e Second Head of Complahit conjtde/d. 
 
 This being faid of the Firft Article of Complaint a-* 
 gainft my Lord Bifliop of Sarurns Expofitioa, come we- 
 now to the Second, .x/iz* 
 
 TJjat there are many Pajfages in the Expofttion of feveral 
 of the Articles which appear to be contrary to the true 
 Meaning of them^ and to other receivd Do^rines of our 
 Church. 
 
 Though fo full a Proof of this, as may pofllbly be ex- 
 
 peded, would require a more particular Examination of ^ 
 
 the' Expofition Article by Article, than is here proposed ; 
 
 yet if we were to look no further than to what hath been al^ 
 
 ready obferv'd, fomefortof Guefs might be made, how 
 
 far this Aflertion will admit of pregnant . Proof. 
 
 Kevev 
 
'. I 
 
 I 
 
 40 Tlye Second Head of Com(>Umt conjiderd. 
 
 Here are two things complain'd of, both of them fit 
 to be conf\(krd. Firft, with refped to tiie Articles them- 
 felves, as Tome Paflages in the Expofition appear to be con- 
 trary to the true Meaning of them : And i^/^, with refped: 
 tofomeotlier received DocSrines of the Church, and which 
 are fufficiently known to be fo ; though they may not per- 
 haps in exprefs Terms be contain'd in the Articles , there 
 are Paflages in the Expofition which appear to be contrary, 
 as well to the one as to the other; and this will be the 
 more eafily allow'd, if either be proved, when we confider^ 
 that whatever is contrary to the one, cannot well but be 
 contrary to the other aifo. To be fure, what is contrary to 
 the Articles, is contrary to the received Dodlrine ; and 
 whatever is contrary to the rcceiv'd Dodirinc, cannot ea- 
 sily efcape being contrary to the De/lgn at lead of one 
 Article or other ? fince in this Body of Articles, the 
 main Subftance of the Doctrine of the Church of £«g. 
 /aftJ^ is knoun to be contained. However, to make this 
 matter tlie more clear, it may not be ami(s to give 
 fome Inftances of each : Nor will it be found to be kfs 
 blameable in it felf, though poflibly not fo dircdly with- 
 in the Reach of the Canon, to contradid: fome common 
 received Dodrines, than it is to put falfeGlolTes and In- 
 terpretations upon the Articles themfelvcs, contrary to the 
 true Intent and Meaning of them. 
 
 It hath been already obfcrv'd that the Church hath ma- 
 ny other ways, befides the having this Body of Articles, 
 whereby to inform her Children what her Mind is of 
 things fit for them either to know or do. As, ijl. The 
 Bock of Homilies, which is in effed: fubfcribed to, 
 or at leaft approved of in grofs, as containing good whol- 
 fome Dodrine under the ^5/A Article. iJly^ The Liturgy 
 which is fubfcrib'd to under part of the 36'^ Canon, and 
 pul^lickly declared to be aflentcd to. We declare, or aflent 
 and conlent to it in the Face of our Congregations ; and 
 one part c£ it, viz. that of Confccration and Ordination, 
 is fubfcrib'd to in the ^6//; Article, ^///y, The Canons, which 
 the Clergy are in fome fort oblig'd to obfcrve upon 
 
 Oath ; 
 
 ■,7 
 
 \ 
 
 V 
 
 77;e Second Head of Complaint conjiderd. 
 
 Oath ; and which are the undoubted Ads of- the Church, 
 as agreed to, and fubfcrib'd at firft by both Houfes of Con- 
 vocation. 4. There is alfo fuch a thing as an uninterrup- 
 ted Pradice, as to Difcipline and common Confent as to 
 Dodrine, in fome things which are tranfmitted down to 
 us in the Writings of many Learned Men fince the Refor- 
 mation, who in their time were zealous Aflerters of 
 the Dodrine and Difcipline of the Eftablifli'd Church. 
 
 By all thefe feveral Ways we are let to know the 
 Senfe of the Church to the which we belong, and whofe Do- 
 drines and Rules we are fuppos'd to follow and embrace. 
 If indeed there were nothing of all this, and the 39 Arti- 
 cles were the only means afforded us befides the Scriptures, 
 whereby to learn our Religion , and things fliould happen 
 to be obfcurely exprefs'd in them ; it were perhaps reafo- 
 nable, that fuch as may be competently well afliir'd of their 
 being capable of judging for themfelves in things of that 
 kind, (liould take the liberty of fubfcribing in fuch a 
 fenfe as the Words will bear, according to the Rules of 
 true Grammar, and at leaft feemingly proper Signification : 
 but yet even then no one fliould take upon him fo to ex- 
 pound an Article, as either to make it contradid it felf, 
 or be inconfiftent with any other of the Articles ; or fo 
 as to make the Church be inconfiftent with it felf, in requi- 
 ring us either to ad or declare any thing contrary to what 
 we fubfcribe : Which being premis'd, come we now to con- 
 fider what fort of Liberty is taken in the Expofition before 
 US; beginning firft with what concerns the Articles them- 
 felvcs, before we fpeak of other Dodrines. 
 
 The fecond Grammatical Senfe of the Third Article, 
 which in the Expolition feems to be preferr'd before any o- 
 ther, hath been already fliewn to be inconfiftent with the 
 very Words of the Article it felf, if we will fuppofe the 
 Church either to Ipeak properly, without Tautology, or in- 
 deed to fpeak Senfe. 
 
 To difcredit all the Three Creeds, and leflen as well their 
 Antiquity as their Authority, cannot but be acknowledged 
 to be againft the Intent and Defign of the 8th. Article, and 
 
 G in 
 
 41 
 
4 1 TI)e Seco7id Hetd of Complnhn confiderd. 
 
 in effea: againfl the Article it fclf, which fays, Cf)eP OUSfjt 
 tIj?Clllj6l}) to be retCltltl aim bellWH. What the "Article 
 calls Nice Creed and Athanafius Creed^ it would have been 
 proper tor an Expofitor to make the beft of, in giving 
 fomeRealon (as he very eafily might) why they may 
 well enough be lb call'd , rather than to take fo much pains 
 to fliew w hy they ought not to be fo reputed. And as to 
 the latter, there is this moreover to be faid, That the part- 
 ing Blow given it, cannot but be very acceptable to the 
 Sociman^ and fuch whofe Bufinefs it is to difparage it, and 
 run it down, in hopes it may one day be laid afide : Inflead 
 of enforcing the Reception of it upon any other Motive, 
 than barely as it may be fupported by down-right Scripture 
 Proof, inftead of fetting it off to any fort of Advantage, 
 after having lower'd it fufficiently in point of Antiquity, 
 laying /. io6. It ivas never heard of till the Sth Centu- 
 ry y and grew into credit in Ages that ivere not criitcal 
 enough to judge of what was genuine and what was fpurious. 
 Though this be a fufficient Intimation that the Creed it 
 felf is fpurious^ and was at firft imposed upon fome igno- 
 rant Ages, and fo grew into credit by degrees, no body- 
 knows how nor when ; yet, lead what feem*d needful to 
 befaid concerning the Apoflles Creed, and of Creeds in 
 general, as to their being received for the fake of the Do- 
 ctrine they contain (which is as little as can well befaid) 
 lead this lliould look too much in favour of the Athanafian 
 Creed ; a fort of Caveat is entered at laft to prevent any 
 ones having too good an Opinion of it. The Expofition 
 concludes with thefe Words, that they may be fure to rell 
 upon the Reader s Mind : Though we mujl acknowledge^ that 
 the Creed ajc riled to Athanafius, as it was none of hisy 
 fo it was never efiahlifhed by any general Council. 
 
 Whether this be io in Fad, or not, is a Queftion that 
 does not lie before us at this time : But whether luch a Com- 
 phment pafs'd upon this Creed in particular, does very well 
 comport with the Article, which is made in favour of all 
 the three Creeds, is very eafic to determine. 
 
 But 
 
 Th Second Head of Complaint confderd. 
 
 But to proceed : If what hath been already fuggefted, and 
 in fome meafure hath been fliewn, be granted ,• that the 
 ten Articles, from the ^th. to the igth. do principally, if 
 not altogether, concern the great Fundamental Doftrineof 
 the Chnftian Religion, of Forgivenefs of Sins and Eternal 
 Salvation^ tendered to Mankind by the Mediation of 
 Chrift, notwithftanding Man's Original Corruption, and 
 Fafl from Righteoufnels : That notwithftanding his hav- 
 ing been dead in Sin, and thereby become incapable of 
 doing any thing that of it felf can be pleafing or accep- 
 table unto God ; yet is Life Eternal procured for him, and 
 he is ordain d and caW^d thereto by God's Eternal Purpofe 
 and Secret Counfely through the Mediation of Chrift:, upon 
 condition of believing in him, and of obeying his Gofpel ; 
 and by no other means, or upon any other terms whatever, 
 can we hope to be fav'd. If this be the main Scope and 
 Defign of all that Sett of Articles, exclufive of all abftrufe 
 difpu table lefs momentous Points, about Jujiijication^ Free 
 iVill^ Vredeflination^ &c. (which fome have to fo little 
 purpofe fpent fo many Thoughts upon ) if upon a right 
 View taken of thofe Articles , it fo prove, that all the 
 odd Notions of fome People, as to Reprobation and Fata- 
 lity Cas the Refult of Divine Prefcience^ are induftri- 
 oufly avoided, then the Expofition given us of thefe Ar- 
 ticles, which is to revive all thofe Queftions, cannot but be 
 contrary to the Defign of the Articles. So often to bring 
 upon the Stage God's Decrees^ and the Efficacy of Grace^ and 
 the Dotlrine of St. Auftin, and the old Stories of Suhlapfa* 
 tians and SupralapfarianSy is but to do wrong both to the 
 Reader and to the Articles themlelves, upon w^hich fuch 
 Speculations are grafted, as do no way belong to 
 them. 
 
 If from our Homilies, and (everal CoUeds in our Li- 
 turgy? the Doftrine of the Church of England ^ as to what 
 is intended in thofe Articles, fufficiently appears ; then to 
 lay down feveral other Opinions, and leave them uncontra- 
 dided, and encourage a Latitude of fubfcribing in any of 
 
 G X thofe 
 
 4? 
 
44 ^^^ Second Head of Complaint conftderd. 
 
 thofe Senfes, is fo to expound the Articles, as to make way 
 for Opinions contrary to the Articles themfelves. 
 
 And as to the lad of thefe Articles, i//z. the i8/^, Ofol- 
 taining Salvation only by the Name of Chrifl (u hich whoe- 
 ver contradids, is by the Article declar'd to be accursd ;^ 
 - whether the Expofition be confident with the Words 
 of the Article, may be gather'd from a remarkable PjlG- 
 iage, which muft be allow'd to have been a very unhappy 
 Millake (if altogether owing to Inadvertency) and that is 
 the better to take off the fevere part of the Article, to be 
 told, as we are, ^ 171. That there is a great difference le^ 
 ' tvoeen being faved by the Law^ and faved in the Law. The 
 his Lordfhip fays, is condemned^ but not the other. 
 
 one. 
 
 Now this is a Difkrence the Church was fo far from in- 
 tending fhould bs made, that a particular care is taken to 
 \ fence againft it, by making the Latin Article to be in lege^ 
 I and the Englifli by the Law ; and it is well known, that 
 both ahke, as well the Latine as the Engli(h, were figned 
 in Convocation. Thus the Difference the Expofitor would 
 have to be obferv'd, proves none at all ; but at the fame 
 time it cannot but be obferv'd, that here was a very fair 
 Endeavour to take off" the Anathema laid upon fuch as p|e^ 
 
 / fume to fap tfiat e&erp ^an Cball to fa&li b? tge LatD o; 
 
 %za t»WCf)l)e PJOfelleti) : Which is a thing there are too 
 many do prefume to fay in the Age we happen to 
 \ live in. 
 
 What hath been already faid of the %\d Article, may 
 /fufficeto prove, that to call an infilling upon Epifcopal 
 I Ordination in oppofition to other Conditutions, Magijleri- 
 I al Stiffnefsy (making it only to be found in the hotter Spi- 
 rits^ is neither confident with the Defign of the Article, 
 I nor with the receiv'd Dodrine of the Church. To ima- 
 gine that an Epifcopal Church (hould frame an Article fo 
 loofely, as to leave room for Presbytery or Independency, 
 is very particular, and what it will not be very eafie to per- 
 I fwadeany one to believe ; and yet if this be not fo, unlefs 
 I this be granted, thus to manage the Article as to fuppole 
 \no lefs, is certainly to make it fpeak againd it felf. 
 
 What 
 
 Tie Second Head of Com^alnt conftderd 
 
 What is given us under the ^jth Article of BAPTISM^ 
 fo far as Infant- Baptifm is concerned therein, very plainly 
 contradids the Article it felf,/^. ?o6. It is taken for granted 
 that There is no exprefs Rule or Precept in the New Te- 
 fiamentfor the Baptifm of Infant s^ and yet in the Article it 
 
 is affirm'd that %^z TBaptifm Of pouttff CWInien (0 f n anp 
 ttiffc to be retafneD in tbe Cijurcb a0 mott affterable 
 
 tmtb tbe anffitUtfOn of Cb?tlt Ut cum injlitutione Chriflt 
 optime congruat^ faith the Latin ; which takes off'all feemmg 
 Ambiguity of our EngliQi Expredion mofi agreeable, Md 
 diews the Church's Senfe to be, that Infant-Baptifm is as 
 much according to Chrid's Inditution as any thing can be; 
 which if it be, and nothing can be faid to be indituted by 
 Chrid, but what is recorded in Scripture, it cannot be true 
 that there is no exprefs Rule or Precept for Infant-Baptifm in 
 the New Tedament, unlefs there be fuch a thing as a Real 
 Didindtion between Divine Inditution, and Divine 
 Rule or Precept, and the one may be without the 
 
 Whether there be or be not any exprefs Text m the 
 New Tedament for Infant-Baptifm in particular, as in 
 contradidindion to that of the Adult, may be a Quedion 
 fit to be confidered in its proper Place : But if the Article 
 fays, as it doth, that it is according to Chrifl s Inflitutton, 
 the only Quedion at prefent, is, whether, to fay there is no, 
 Exprefs Rule or Precept in the New Teflament, is not con- 
 trary to the Article. That it is contrary to the Article, 
 will be the more eafily admitted, if we confider one thing, 
 which the Expofitor does not feem to have been aware ot ; 
 and that is this, that there may be an exprefs Rule or Pre^ 
 cept whc-re there are not exprels Words for every individual 
 Perfon concerned in the Injundion, as is evident from 
 QhxyfXsInjlitutiondi the other Sacrament, Dothisasojt 
 as ye do it, in remembrance of me, fuppofes an Obligation 
 laid upon all that are capable of remembrtng Chnlt, lo as 
 to include Women as well as Men : And tho' there is no 
 one Text in Scripture that exprefly fays, that Women are 
 to receive the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or^ 
 
 45 
 
46 
 
 "Be Second Head of Complaint conftderd. 
 that they did receive it j yet no one ought to doubt of 
 he,r being included in the l.Jiitutior,, Ru/e, or PrecT t 
 l.ke manner the Inftitution of Baptifm bei^ig deliver'd n 
 general Terms, as general as 'tis pofl-.ble,%/^. 7./ , ' 
 e«. y.v T«, Except any one, &c. (not except a Man, as vve hai" 
 pen to tranflate it) and again' Mat. .8. .9. G.'w J/a>S 
 all Nations laptmng them, &c. Since Children are by the 
 Divme Inftitution o^ Circumcifion /hewn to be capaWe of 
 
 whefelTher'r ."^'^"^"i °^ ""''''> '^^ ^hey' are "o 
 Where in the Gofpel excepted or excluded , it necc/Tarilv 
 
 lleTtlv fhaJT'"' ^"^'"^'^ '" '^'' /W/i.«;aTd con- 
 lequently that there is an exprefs Rule or Precept in rh^ 
 
 New Teftament for their being baptized, though Infams are 
 not named m exprefs Words. ^ Jnranrs are 
 
 miHlt'/dSf "^ ^" r'2:"' ^'° ^'^^ ^^"^^ many more 
 betore us ly ,n many refpecfts inconfiftent with what is 
 contamd in the Articles : in like manner, it w5l b^ ea! 
 fie and indeed more eafie, to give many InSces of ks 
 not agreeing with the common receiv'd DoSes of the 
 Chur^ch where the Articles themfelves may htrhapU'd 
 
 V^J^f^J-L:L fr/rmonTeaJef Va^ 
 
 "^^s^T^^"^^^^ ^^^ BootwifL t; 
 
 crament our Liturgy in the Commn,^;^ J^ ' ^ '".* ^^■ 
 
 to call a^ol, 4^X^ar2lTm"adrra%''^ 
 manner to eat the flejh of cS W^ ! i a Spi^tual 
 
 nary, .nward, Spfritial MSy''' t,,'* °* f "'T'"; 
 
 and 
 
 T/;e Sicmi Head of Complaint confiderd. 
 
 and to drink of that Cup, is as the Means voherehy we re^ 
 ceive that Grace as uell as Pledges to affure us thereof* 
 After this, and confidcring withal, what is known to be 
 the Dodrine of the Lutheran Churches, and the French 
 Protcflants, as taught by Calvin^ and of the Greek Church, 
 and what is found to be the current Doftrine of the 
 Primitive Chriftians, and Fathers, and of our firft Refor- 
 mers, and of mofl Writers fince the Reformation of any 
 note ; and the Article it fclf making mention more than 
 once of our receiving the Body and Blood of Chrifl:, 
 one would not exped fuch an ExpDution to beaitix'dto 
 this Article, efpecially as to the Myfterious Part, as iliall 
 make this Sacrament as plain, and intelligible, and void 
 of Myftery, as any other Evangelical Precept. We are 
 told ^. ? 1 4- If ^^^^ Sacrament had been that myjlerious and 
 unconceivable thing which it hath been fince believed to 
 he^ we cannot imagine hut that the Book of the New Tefia- 
 ment, the A^sof the Apojlles and their Epijiles Jhould have 
 contained fuller Explanations of it, and larger Inftruflions 
 about it. If Tranfubftantiation were that myjlerious uncon- 
 ceivable thing referr'd to in thefe Words, it were indeed 
 unreafonable to expedt an Explanation of it in Scripture, 
 it being a thing altogether unknown to the infpir'd Writers, 
 and not to be heard of for the fir ft five or fix hundred 
 Years after Chrift, or any colour for it ; but that fome 
 things relating to this Sacrament may be fit to be believ- 
 ed, and yet be left unexplained in the way of Myilery, 
 may well enough be fuppos'd, if we confider that the 
 Cafe is the fame with refped to that which is even Uill 
 more Myfterious, viz, the Dodrine of the Trinity. There 
 are, no doubt, Expredions enough in the Acls of the Apo- 
 files ^ and in the kpiflles, as well as in the G of pels, to fhew 
 that this Holy Sacrament was intended to be one or the 
 great myfteries of the Chriflian Religion ; and thereiore 
 no wonder if it be not unfolded to every body's Mind^ 
 and in fuch manner as to make it ceafe to be a My- 
 ftery. 
 
 47 
 
 Ic 
 

 ^"^ 
 
 mi* 
 
 P 
 
 7k 5f f c;ji/ Head of Cmplaint c&nftderd. 
 
 Itiseafie to imagine that the more mynerious anv 
 •thmg .sdefign'd to be, in the way of Tria or Emrifc 
 of our Faith and to heighten our Admirat.on of the God 
 we adore the lefsis faidof it in Scripture, in the wav 
 of Expontion. to bring it down to our Compr henHon 
 and Capacities : And hence it is, that there is fo very hfe 
 If any thmg, to be met with in Scripture, to explain he 
 Trinity ; nor js it vv hat any one ought to pretend to eTpIain 
 any further than to prove that a Trinity in Unity and 
 Unity in Trinity, according to what is reveai'd S^'us in 
 Scripture, is to be worihipp'd. '° 
 
 It is plain, that the God we worOiip doesexoecSt a dnnhl^ 
 
 sZ'^tT. "/>• ^^'^^•-JP-^ ^'vvill be Sipped"' n 
 fnlT T^ ^^P^^^^^" '"^ard as well as an outward Obed" 
 
 wel asif '[he"Sll^TK"^'^'"'^rf '^' Undemanding i 
 well as of the Wi 1 : There muft be an Aftnt to uhat God 
 
 s S^elT. A° 7'f '^°"S^- ""'''' ^° ^'"^ ^° be unde ftood! 
 as well as a Conformity in our Adions to his Laws in 
 
 things which may not perhaps be very eafie to Flerti and 
 Blood As this may be faid of Myfteries in genera fb^ 
 may be truly faid of the Sacrament of the LoEpper in 
 particular, that there is enough revealed to us in Scrfptu.^ 
 concerning It, to (hew it was ^efignd to be a Mydery and 
 confequently that we ought to look upon it as amountS 
 to fomething more than what the Expofition feems to en? 
 deavour to bring it to in the following Words 
 Tl. I '^'"' underftand our Saviours hfiitution thus • 
 
 h n/if ^il". "*' ^'"'^ > f'e i„te„ded that thh 
 hn Death and Suffering JhouU he ft ill commeJratedL 
 allfuch as look for Remiffton of Sins by it notoni l 
 the^r noughts and Devotsons, hut in a vifille ReLfenta! 
 on M he appointed fhould he done in SyM thaTioufi: 
 hoth very plain and fimple, and yet very eZeOilofthL 
 >^^'ch he intended fl.0Hld he rememher'dhy them ^ 
 
 All this may be very well; but this is far from being all 
 
 ;. indeed m this Account of it, a Com- 
 
 me- 
 
 The Second Head of Complaint conjiderd. 
 
 memoratlon and Reprefeiitation of Chrifts Death,iiot only 
 in Thought and Devotion, but in Symbols fufficiently ex- 
 prefTiveof thethingto be remembred: But if this be all, 
 what becomes of the ftrengthening and refrefliing of out 
 Souls by the Body and Blood of Chrift, where is the 
 receivingof the Body and Blood ofChrift as the inward 
 part or thing fignified in this Sacrament, over and above the 
 continual Remembrance of the Sacrifice of the Death of 
 Chrift ? Where is the myfterious Conveyance of God s 
 Grace whereby we are cleans'd from our Sins, and re- 
 concil'd to God ? There is a great deal of this kind an 
 Expofitor of this Article might in defence of the Dodlrine 
 of our Church contained in our Catechifm, have found 
 good Occafion to enlarge upon ; and fometliing at leaft, 
 of this, might have been more proper than to didate the 
 contrary with an Air of Difdain, as if all that have writ 
 another way, were beneath our Expofitor's Notice or 
 Regard. 
 
 Should any one happen in his own private judgment to 
 favour the Zwingliau Dodrine in this particular, it were 
 certainly however but fit to keep it to himfelf, and not 
 publilh it to the World, profefledly oppofing the common- 
 receiv'd Dodrine of the Church of England in Co material 
 a Point, under colour of expounding her Articles. For 
 whether the Article it felf be fo very exprefs or not Cand 
 perhaps for fome Reafons at the time when the Articles 
 were fram'd, it was thought mod proper not to fay more 
 than is faid ;) yet, as it certainly does fay more than the 
 Expofition any where comes up to ; fo the Church, upon 
 adding the Dodrine of the Sacraments many years after 
 to the Catechifm, hath fufficiently explain'd her felf; in- 
 fomuch, as were a Declaration to be penn'd againft the Ex- 
 pofitor's lowSenfe of the Sacrament, it is not eafie to (ay 
 how any thing could be more full and expreft for receiving 
 the Body and Blood of Chrift fpiritually and by Faith, than 
 the Words of the Catechifm are : And what we are enjoin 'd 
 to teach our Children, may very properly be termed 
 the common receiv'd Dodrine of our Church. 
 
 H It 
 
 49 
 
5 » Tie Secmd Head of Complaint conftderi. 
 
 le having been fufficiently labour'd in the Expofirion to 
 bring down the ufual Notion we have of the Lords Supper, 
 not allowing it to be myjierious , but making it very 
 plain and intelligible, by reducing it to little more than a 
 Conimemoration or Reprefentation of Chrift's Sufferings 
 Cwhich fome may be apt to think may be as effedual in 
 our Clofets, as with the ufual Formality of going to 
 Church, or of kneeliqg at the Lord's Table ,) fuch Do- 
 carine bearing no proportion to the Dignity and Solemnity 
 ot 10 Divme an Inftitution : It is thelefs to be wonder'd 
 at, that fo little regard is elfewhere had to Excomnjunicati- 
 0n, or what we call the Power of the Keys as to binding 
 and loofing. The being debarred the Benefit of the Sacra- 
 ment by Ecclefiaftical Cenfure and Authority, muft needs 
 fell fhort of its due Efficacy, when the Sacrament it felf is 
 brought lo very low : And whether in thefe two Particulars 
 01 Excommunication znd Ahfolution^ the Expofition before 
 us doth not advance Interpretations of Scripture, which do 
 by no means come up to the Do<arine of the Church of 
 England, may be fit to be confider^ in this place, 
 though to be met with elfewhere, and not under this^ 
 Article. 
 
 The Power of Excommunication and of Abfolution, the 
 Church of Chrift hath all along been fuppos'd to be en- 
 truHed with by our Saviour. As to the firft, the ufual 
 Notion which our Englifli Divines have of it, may be ga- 
 therd from the \i,d. Article to the which they fubfcribe 
 
 where we are told that a pctfon tDl)tcl) bp Open Denuncto' 
 tton of cljt orijiitc!) is riBljtip cut off from t&e mxtp of tfie 
 wcf), anu ewottittmntcate, mm to be taken of the 
 ^umtntie of tfte jFaitWul, ad a t^eatfjen ano a ©ubit 
 can, until be be open!? reconciieu bj) ^tm\tz, &c. who^ 
 
 ever reads this Article, muft needs conclude that thofe 
 . that tram d It, had our Saviour's Expreflion before them 
 Mat. i8. 17. and copied from his Words, 1;/^. Te/l it to thl 
 thurch'andifhe negUa to hear the Church.Ut him he unto thee- 
 as an Heathen Man and a Fuhlican. Here the Verjon Excom^ 
 «w;y/ftf/c IS in the w^ay of Punifhment, rendred unfit to be 
 
 con^ 
 
 17;^ Second Head of Complaint conpderd, 
 
 conversed with, which any Man that is but duly ienfible 
 of the Benefit of Society, (if there were nothing more in 
 it, as no doubt there is, with refpedto Spiritual Commu- 
 nion and Fellowfliip) would dread, and do his utmoft not 
 to incurr. Now quite contrary to any thing of this, our Ex- 
 pofitor hath thought fit to put fuch a ConftruiStion upon 
 the Words of our Saviour, as not only implies that the 
 Compilers of the ^5^. Article did really not underftand 
 them, but alfo that the being (hunn'd as a Heathen and a Puh^ 
 lican, is not to belook'd upon as the Effed: or Confequence 
 of Excommunication, but antecedent thereto. His Words 
 are thefe, />. xoj. If thy Brother Jin againjl thee, firfi, pri- 
 vate Endeavours were to he us'd; then the Interpofitton of 
 Friends was to he tryd , and finally, the Matter was to he 
 referred to the Body or Affemhly to which they belonged: 
 And thofe which could not he gained hy fuch Methods, were 
 no longer to he efteemed Brethren, hut were to he lookd up' 
 on as very had Men like HEAT HEii S. They might 
 upon fuch Refractor inefs , he excommunicated^ and profecuted 
 afterwards in Temporal Courts, fince they had hy their ter^ 
 verfenefs forfeited all fort of Right to that Tender nefs and 
 Charity, which is due to true Chrifiians. Here is a (ending 
 Men to Temporal Courts for further Punifliment, but no 
 notice taken of teS it to the Church, any otherwife than as 
 a few Neighbours got together, be it in a Veftry or Com- 
 on-Hall, or the like, may be called the Church ; and yet 
 this Notion, which fonie late 5(^f/»/4;* Writers are fond of, 
 is herecountenanced with that leeming Aflurance, as fcarce 
 to allow the Text to be capable of any other Interpretation. 
 We are very pofitively told, that this Expofition does fo fully 
 agree to the Occafion and Scope of the Words, that there 
 u no Colour of Reafon to carry them further. 
 
 That the Church of England hath thouglit fit to carry 
 them further, is very plain ; and, if we do but look to 
 what follows, as well as to what goes before, it cannot bttt 
 appear, that what bc^ns with relation had to private Diffe- 
 rences, plainly ends in the Suppofition of an extraordinary 
 Power lodg'd in die Chiarch, whereto to have rccourfe upon 
 
 H 2 aU 
 
 s» 
 
>» 
 
 ne Second Head of Complaint confid./^ 
 all extraordinary Occafinne wu . i 
 
 ie hound in Heaven ■ J,7.l ^r ^ ^""^ "" ^^f*K (halt 
 fhallhe loofedrHeJve: itf''^"' ^' t^^ ^<^ <>» Ea, K 
 theforegoingTm7;.//^r/rJT/'^l''^^''^ ^'°^ds ,a 
 
 feffieient CoJour to ca^/v Sie w T"^^ f^'"*^ ^^^^-^ ^^re 
 a little further than Se^Exnnr^ ' °^''^^ " ''' ''^^ ^'«'««^ 
 ^Jj.e lefs to be wX^rwS;:^.;':"^^^ l^^ 
 ^n^t IS put upon the Texr Jr Jf ? z ^/^ ^"^ ^^at 
 ^& which we Sowcome torVnfif ' °^ ^f '^'^^ '^"^ V- 
 of departing ^0^ the knowrn i^ '' ' C""^^^ 
 withrerpe<ai^j^2.l '" ^°'^""' °^ "^^ Church, 
 
 -w^rsTatthl^itetn?^^^^^^^^^^ ^^e Prie., 
 
 OccaHons, plainly fup^ofes a Poteffi ^7''**' P^^'^^'^r 
 of rmittinizxiA\etJnS J- ^^^"^ 'o^gd in the Church, 
 asinChrift^Name bvhf, f ^ "P«" "rtain Conditions, 
 behaving been p?eafe7t''ii^'^°"^^' ^"^ in his flead 
 famein4aven. Ththrrh^S'"'^', * ^^i^cation of the 
 
 Authori^ toS Apoftles ^HT'^^'^'^c? ^° ^'^^ ^his 
 MetephoJof opening wCiSi ^"^^'S°" ""^^'" ^he 
 
 committedtotLJci^e Sw'"'"^^^ ^° »hofe 
 fuch Terms and fuch Ju^lifiJ?.- ^^3;?' and according to 
 
 Gofpeldireds. ButSais^iha? r^^^^r^'^?^^ ^^'he 
 no Notion of at all rSvTns tnr???^'°'" '^f '"^ ^° ^avs 
 wpon which this Dodrine?, fn„*. ^ ^^""^^ °^ Scripture, 
 ^ making the ComSon to h. V' ^"''' ^f^rentturn 
 
 tCh 
 
 ■A! 
 
 77;e 5^cowJ Hf 4^ q/" Complaint conjlderd 
 to be tranfcrib'd : The Words BINDWG and LOOSING are w 
 fed hy the Jewifh Writers in thefenfe of affirming or denying the 
 Obligation of any Precept of the Law that might he in dijpute. 
 So according to this common Form of Speech^ and the Senfe for- 
 werly given to the Words KINGDOM OF HEAVEN^ 
 the meaning of theje Words mujl he, that Chrifi committed to 
 the ApoiUes, the difpenfing his Gofpel to the World^ hy which 
 he authorized them to dijfolve the Obligation of the Mofaicat 
 Laws^ and to give other Laws to the Chrifiian Churchy which 
 they Jhould do under fuch vifihle Chara^ers of a Divine Au- 
 thority, empowering them and conducing them in it^ that it 
 Jhould le very evident that what they did on Earth was alfo 
 ratified in Heaven. Theje Words thus under flood, carry in 
 them a clear Senfe which agrees with the whole Defign of the 
 Gofpel. 
 
 Wliat is here meant by a clear Senfe, is not eafie to fay ; 
 but that it is fuch a Senfe as lays afide the received Do^ 
 (Strine of the Church of England^ of a Power of binding 
 and loofing lodg'd in the Church by Chrift, not confined 
 to the ApoRles, but to continue to the World's end, is ve- 
 ry plains* Tlie Power of difpenfing the Gofpel, and dif- 
 charging Men from the Obligation and Burden of the 
 Ceremonial Law, is all the Expofitor allows to belong to 
 this CommifTion, given by our Saviour in fo folemn a 
 manner as we know it .was, both before and after his Re- 
 furredion. It fcems to have been defign'd as a lad Legacy, 
 bequeathed to the Church in Joh. lo. n, ^^. He breathed on. 
 them^ and faith unto them^ Receive ye the Holy Ghoji :. 
 Whofefoever Sins ye remit, they are remitted ; and whojfe^ 
 Soever Sins ye retain, they are retained. 
 
 As it isevident thathere is a Power given amounting ta 
 more than barely preaching the Gofpel, or diffplving the. 
 Obligation of the Mofaical Laws, or erf introducing other 
 Laws in the room of them, by their preaching with Autho-- 
 rity : And as it would not be hard to Ihew tliatthe Catho-^ - 
 lick Church hath in all Ages underftood it to extend to 
 more, viz. to a Relaxation at lead of EcclefiafticaL Cen- - 
 ftu-es. and Puniihmems upon true Reppntaoce ^ fo it is mod 
 
 plain.- 
 
 u 
 
^y 4 %e Second Head of Com^taint conftderd. 
 
 plain and undeniable, that our Church in particular in her 
 Form of Ordination does intend fomething more ; which 
 if prov'd, is all that is needful at prefent whereby to fhew 
 that the Expofitiott h contrary to the receiv'd Doarine of 
 the Church. 
 
 Whoever looks into our Form of Ordination, will find 
 that the Bilhop gives the Prieft his Commiffion at twice. 
 Firft, he fays, Receive the Holy Ghofi for the Office and Work 
 of a Frieft in the Church of God now committed mto thee hy 
 the Impofition of our Hands, whofe Sim thou dofi forgive 
 they are forgiven, and whofe Sins thou dofi retain, they are 
 retained-, and he thou a faithful Difpenfer of the Word of 
 God and of his holy Sacraments, &c And then follows the 
 Delivery of the Bible, faying, Take thou Authority to preach 
 the Word of God, &c. 
 
 This were a needlefs Formality thus to feem to give a 
 twofold Commiffion, if they really and truly meant but one 
 and the fame thing. Here is plainly a Power given of l>indin<t 
 W/«.//#gdiftin<a from the Power of preaching the Word 
 ot God, if we will allow the Expreflion o( forvivinv znd 
 retaining Sins to be the fame as iinding and loofing, or 
 the one to be the Confequence of the other ; and that they 
 are the fame, or at leaft referr to the fame thing, may be 
 gather d from the promifcuous Ufe made of the Exprefli- 
 ons by him that gives this extraordinsiry Power, and by their 
 always being taken to be the fame by all Commentators 
 and Writers of any Note, and one may fay by the Catho- 
 IrckXhurch, as appears by the primitive and uninterrupted 
 Pradice m a 1 Ages, in purfuance of an Authority fuppos'd 
 
 *°o K^^lll ^ r^ ^^""^ ^^ ^^^ Saviour s Commiflion, Matt. 
 18.18. Whatfoever ye fhall hind on Earth, fhall he hound in 
 Heaven-, and>^ xo.x;. Whofe-fiever Sins ye remit, they 
 are remitted; and whofe- foever Sins ye retain, they are re- 
 tained. -' 
 
 As for our Expofitor'sGlofs, (if what is taken from fiich 
 Authors as Epifcopius and CurceiUus may be called mv 
 Lord o\ i^arums ) though it may very well agree with 
 fome fort of Divinity, and fome fort of People , yet it is 
 
 by 
 
 The Second Head of Complaint cmjiderd. 
 
 by no means fuited either to the Doarine or Di(cfp!ine of 
 the Church of England^ or the Notions which our Divines 
 have been bred up in. Such critical Difcoveries and Refi- 
 nings upon Scripture, may give fome Men a Reputation 
 with thofe that fetup for Wit and Delight in Novelty, efpe- 
 cially where the Difcoveries tend to the leflening the Au- 
 thority of the Church : But, of all things, they do fuit 
 the worft with an Expofition of our Articles. ^ 
 
 It is what feems by no means to become an Expofitor of \ 
 them thus to pafs by (as if not worth his regarding) fuch 
 Men zsJuelfi^/heryMoufftacut (the two former being rrferr'd 
 toby the latter upon this Subjed, ^467. Orig. Eccl. Tomi 
 primi pars pofter?) or fuch as Biftiop i4;/^r^HJj, Dr. Hammond^ 
 and other Learned Divines, who follow St. Chryfoflem^ and '\ 
 the generality of the Fathers of the Church ; and inftead 
 of thcfe, to borrow Notions in Divinity from Leyden and 
 Geneva^ and affed the following fuch Authors as areby no ! 
 means approved of in our Univerfities ; but have been ^ 
 judged to be unorthodox and dangerous. 
 
 Upon the whole matter, after this curfory View taken -^ 
 of fome few fcatter'd Paflages to be met with in the Expo- 
 fition^ it maybe truly faid, that over and above the Defign 
 of an unjuftifiable Latitude which is difcoverable through- 
 out the Book , there is this further Obfervation to be 
 made, though not exprefs'd in the Complaint made in Con- - 
 vocation againft it ; that though the Articles were many 
 of them penned in oppofition to fcveral other Adverfaries 
 as well as the Papifts, which our Church at that time had, 
 and flill continues to have to deal with , the Expofitor is ^ 
 found unhappily to have kept his Eye fo much upon one 
 fort of Men, viz. the Papifts, as in great meafure to have 
 overlooked the Danger we are in frojpany of the reft. It muft 
 be acknowledged, that a great deal is extrcamly well faid a- 
 gainft Popery ,• but whether after the many admirable 
 Trads upon all Subjedls of that kind the late Reign produ- 
 ced, fo very much of the fame again was fo very needtul 
 at this time of day, his Lordiliip may beft judge. But, as 
 for all cur ether Adverfaries, which are very mimerous (and 
 
 fome . 
 
 5T 
 
5??3< 
 
 )6 ^ SecoridHead of Comi>laintconftderd. 
 
 fome of which we do not obferve to be the more m odett 
 or more indimng to Peace, for the Toleration granted them 
 by the State; if againft thefe our young Students in D Sint 
 tyfliaU need any Help to vindicate their Articles, it is not 
 to this Expofmonoi them they are to have recourfe, if they 
 hope for any Affiftance: So far from it, that under the 
 Name of an Expolitor, his Lordfliip feems rather to fet 
 himfelf betvveen the Church of £^^/Wand the Di/Tenters, 
 m the way ot Moderator, and very often leaves the Point 
 as he finds It: But when he does vouchfafe to fpeak out 
 confideringheishimftlf a Bifhop of the Church of £«.! 
 W, he IS wdhng to keep from the Imputation of Partiah- 
 ty. This he does m fuch manner as an unprejudiced Rea- 
 der would be apt to miftake him, as he himfelf tells us in his 
 Fretace />. 6. fome have really done, as to what fide he is 
 of, wKh refpeca to the Dodrine of /'r../.;?/;,^/^^^^^ he carries 
 thmgswith foevenan hand,or rather fo feemingly inclining 
 againftthe^enabhOiy Religion, making the Articles S 
 times fpeak againtt themfelves,and very often againft there- 
 eeiv d Dodnnes of the Church, and tothe Advantage of the 
 DifTenters, and of fuch Conftitutions as are oppofit? to our 
 own , as one would be apt to take this Expefition as a Ba- 
 th".? ^;'>'^^^^^^^ general. His Lordfliip manages 
 
 in? '"'^'^'^"^ ^^^^ ^^ "^"^h Calmnefs of 
 
 Temper ^nd IndifTerence, when in behalf of our Conftituti- 
 
 r^K D ^"^ (^^ ? Adverfary, that no one can charge him 
 With Partiality, io much as to his own Order ,• he manages 
 the whole m fuch fort, with refped to the Church, as accor- 
 dmg to the ufual Phrafe, may be faid to be without Favour 
 ^r Affbdion : Witnefs thisfliort Recapitulation of his way 
 of dealing with feveral fortsof Adverfaries which have hap- 
 ned to come in his way. ^ 
 
 Hp^hf ?^'^^ ^f. '^'^ Texj of St. John unJer the firft Arti- 
 £ fo. •^J^^^^r^^^cej^^^nly v^ much oblig'd to his Lord- 
 ih p for. By w'hat is faid of the Creeds, and efpecially that of 
 Athanafm not only the &c/.L, bu 
 
 l^th^f 1 ^!^f ^tify'd ; and fo likewife by the Diftindion 
 without a Difference of tn the Law and iy the Law, under 
 
 the 
 
 Hoe Second Head of Complaint conjiderd. 
 
 'the i^th. All fo!t of loofe Sedaries, who have no regard to 
 Divine Commi(rion,but look upon any Lay-man or Mecha- 
 nick, to be as well qualify'd to baptize or preach, as thofe 
 that are called Priefts or Deacons. Thefe have under the 
 i^th Article fufficient Encouragement to truft to the Word 
 preached, and Sacraments adminidred in their wa3^ The 
 Presbyterians and Independents are under the x^^/ Article 
 treated in the mod courteous manner that can even by 
 themfelves bedefired. The Anabaptifts have the great 
 thing they contend for fuppos'd in the %'jth Article: 
 Grant that there is no exprefs Rule or Precept in Scripture 
 forlnfant-Baptifm, and they reckon their Point gained. 
 The i%th Article is brought beneath the Calvinifl^ 
 and the Dodrine of it brought upon the level with 
 the Zwiftglian and the Socittian, by allowing little 
 or nothing of Myftery in the Sacrament of the Lord s Sup- 
 per : And whereas there is one fort of Men who were 
 not in being when the Articles were fram'd ; and confequent- 
 ly one would fcarce exped to have them (hare in his Lord- 
 fliip's Favour in this Expofirion : Yet, what was in the laft 
 Article leveled at the old Anabaptifts, with refpedto Swea- 
 ring, coming now to be the Cafe of the Quakers, they 
 are extreamly oblig'd to his Lord [hip for what he fays 
 of the Two Texts in Scripture which they chiefly reft 
 upon. The 39/^ Article takes notice both of our Savi- 
 our's and of St. ^James's Words, and gives us the true mean- 
 ing of them, and at the fame time aflerts the Lawfulnefs of 
 Swearing when call'd thereto by good Authority. Now, 
 tho* after fome pains taken with Men that are not eafily per- 
 fwaded to any thing, they are come at length to fome fort of 
 Reafon ; and the better to avoid fome Worldly Inconveni- 
 ences, do think fit to difpcnfe with bearing teftimony by a 
 folemn Declaration in the Prefcnce of God ; yet at the fame 
 time being willing to fancy with themfelves, that they keep 
 to their old KyjXtoiyea^yea^ nay ^nay^znd [wear not at j//.That 
 riiefe People may have their due proportion of my Lord of 
 Sarums Kindnels, in expounding the Article wherein they 
 happen to be concerned, he repeats the two Texts, viz. 
 
 I Mat. 
 
 sr 
 
 \\ 
 
5 8 Tie Third Head of Complaint conftderd. 
 
 Mat. 5. ^4. and Jam. 5. ix. And though his Lordfliip hath 
 not thought fit to fay diredlly that the Quakers are in the 
 right ; yet this he does (ay for them , that /t muji he con- 
 fefs'J that thefe iVordsfeem to befo exprefs and pofitive^ that 
 great regard is to he had to a Scruple that is founded on an Aw 
 thority thatfeems to he fo full : But w hether this Authority 
 does feem to be fo full, may be gather'd from the Texts 
 themfelves, as well as from the Article . St. James, to be 
 fure, muft be fuppos'd to mean the fame as our Saviour, 
 and to referr to his Command ; which when we turn to, 
 we find explained by w^hat he fubjoins, viz. Let your Com- 
 munication he yea^ yea^ nay, nay • confining the Rule of 
 Swear not at ally either to the doing it by any Creature, or 
 s^ in common Converfation. After all thefe Fnftances of 
 my Lord of Sarum's Moderation and Temper, if not Fa- 
 vour, (hewn to the Adverfaries of our Church, though they 
 arc but few in comparifon of what might be produced ; 
 yet, (hould the Expofitor or any one think fit to reply to 
 thefe Sheets, it may feem to be but a reafonable Requeft 
 in the way of Anfwer, to pick up and put together but 
 the like Number of PafTages throughout the whole Folio 
 Book, which may be fairly (liewn to be meant in favour of 
 the Church of England^ as by Law e(lablifli*d, in dired: 
 Oppofition to any of her Adverfaries whatfoever, except 
 thePapift. - 
 
 This being faid, it is prefumM the Second Head of 
 Complaint againft the Expofition^ will be allowed to be 
 for the prefent fufficiently made good. Come we now 
 to the Third, viz. 
 
 That there are fome things in the faid Book, which 
 feem to he of dangerous Confequence to the Church of 
 England as hy Law eflahlifhed^ and to derogate from 
 the Honour of its Reformation. 
 
 Here arc two things to be confider'd : Firft, that there 
 ar^fome things in the Book he fore us which feem to he of dan- 
 gerous Confequence to the Church of England as hy Law ejlah- 
 
 lifh'dy 
 
 , 
 
 » 
 
 ^e Third Fiead of Com^lamt conjUerd. 
 
 ltfh'd\ and Secondly, there are things in it, which feem to 
 derogate from the Honour of its Reformation. 
 
 As to the Firft,well is it, if what we find in the Book,(hall 
 only feem to he of dangerous confequence to the e(labli(h'd 
 Church, and not really prove fo in the Event. 
 
 Before we come to particular Paflages, there are fome 
 things may be fit to beconfiderM in gro(s, with refpedt to 
 the Confequences they draw after thero. As firft, It can't but 
 be of ill confequence, that any private Perfon (hall at plea- 
 fure take the liberty of putting what Senfe he pleafes upon 
 the publick k&s of the Church ; for fuch the Articles are 
 known to be ; and by them we are to be guided in our Judg- 
 ment of things. Byway ofExcufe, and the better to ju- 
 ftifie (b new an Undertaking, we are told in the beginning 
 of the Preface, That it has heen often reckon d among the 
 things that were wanting, that we had not a full and clear Ex-- 
 planation of the ^9 Articles, which are the Sum of our Do- 
 Urine, and the Confeffion of our Faith. 
 
 k full and clear Explanation of any thing is, no doubt, 
 what all, except fuch as think Ignorance an Advantage to 
 Religion,mu(l needs very heartily wi(h, and defire,and a little 
 repine at the want of, be the thing to be explain'd of what 
 nature foever. But the Queftion is, u hlch way in the Cafe 
 before us, fuch a full and clear Explanation was to be hop'd 
 for, when for any private Perfon to undertake it and mif- 
 carry in it, muft needs be of dangerous Confequence to the 
 Church : the Modefiy therefore and Caution,to the which the 
 Preface imputes the want of any fuch Explanation hitherto, 
 feem to have been very commendable Qualities in our Di- 
 vines ;as it might very juftlyT^^w to them too a (fuming for any 
 private Perfon to venture onfuch an Undertaking, confidering 
 how apt Men are to be miftaken, when by endeavouring to 
 explain a thing and makeT:t clear, they fometimes rather ren- 
 der it more intricate and confufed than before. Perhaps for 
 any one to undertake An Expoftion of the 39 Articles, and 
 publilh it as fuch, was one of the things the lead wifli'd for 
 of any thing of that kind whatfoever, by all wife Men : 
 
 Hi and 
 
 5? 
 
6o The Tl?ird Head of Complaint conftder^d. 
 
 and could our Great Men have forefeen what proves to be 
 the Effedtatlaft of fuch an Undertaking, they would 
 not only have wifh'd againft it, but would have oppo- 
 fed it. 
 
 It is very well known, that fince the Year 1^61, when 
 the Articles were fetled as we now fubfcribe them, there 
 have been very many learned Men, who by their Writings 
 upon other Subjedls, have fliewn they neither wanted Abi- 
 lities nor Induftry, they neither wanted Parts nor good 
 W ill to fcrve the Church in this or any other Way that 
 might be thought expedient ; and yet the more Judicious, 
 by their letting this alone, or chufmg to do what of this 
 kind they judg'd needful, in another way (as Hooker^ Bifhop 
 Fearjon^ and fome other great Men, are known to have 
 done) by their not attempting a dired Expofuion of the 
 Articles as they lie, or pretending to give their Senfe of 
 them under that Name ; they have not only given very 
 good Proof of their Modefij , but of their Wildom alfo, 
 as they forefaw an unanfwerable Inconvenience was like to 
 attend luch an Undertaking : For, as on the one hand, it is 
 a thing too great for any private Perfon to pretend to, (and 
 a Bifliop is no more in refpedt of the Church of England -re- 
 prefentedin Convocation;) it is too much for any private 
 Perfon to offer at, unlefs the Work, before it be made pub- 
 lick, be fubmitted to the Examination of a Synod, as we 
 find a whole jSiuarto Book to have been. Page by Page, in 
 Bifliop Ox/^r^/s time; fo, on the other hand, fl:iouldfucha 
 Work be prepared, ard brought before a Convocation, there 
 would be as great an Inconvenience in the Publication of it 
 by the Authority of the fame Body of Men that firft gave 
 the Articles their Being; forafmuchas fuch an Expojniou 
 fo warranted, would look too like an unreafonable Addition 
 to the Terms of our Communion. 
 
 But, be it as it will, whether a iMrfett Expofuion publilh- 
 ed to the World as fuch, was either needful or proper, is a 
 thing not eafie todetermine; but thus much is plain, that fmce 
 all our great Men for the fevenfcore Years laft paft (and 
 thofe efpecially who lived fo near the Fountain-head, and 
 
 were 
 
 T}ie Third Head of Complaint conjiderd 
 
 were Men of excellent Abilities, and fully underftood our 
 Conftitution) thought- it too affUming for any Man to venture 
 upon fuch an Undertakings without a Command from thofe who 
 had Authority to give it^ till it had been better known where 
 that Authority islodg'd, that can render an Expofuion of our 
 Articles Authentick. It had been happy for the Church if 
 my Lord of Sarum had thought fit to have been reftrain- 
 ed by the fame means of Modefly and Prudence, or be it 
 Cautiony as his Lorddiip terms it, till it had been regularly 
 determined in Convocation, (as thither, no doubt, the Que- 
 (lion ought firft to have come) whether an Expofuion of 
 the Articles were needful or not ; and if it were, then who 
 were the moft proper Perfons to be employed therein, whe-^ 
 ther a Stranger, or fome of our own Divines. 
 
 This being faid of the ill Confequences that may attend 
 the Example of what hath not hitherto been thought to be 
 a juftifiable Liberty to be taken by wife and modeft Men; 
 Come we now in the next place, to confider the Authority 
 that is pretended to by the Author of this Expofuion where- 
 by to juftifie the Undertaking. It is fuggefted that the late 
 Archbifliop put him upon this Work , he encoura- . 
 ged the Progrefs made in it, and approved of the whole 
 when finifli*d. The Approbation of both our prefent Me-- 
 tropolitans^ many of our Bijhops^ and Learned Divines is al- 
 fo brought to warrant the Publication of it. This, fo far 
 as concerns Matter of Fad, it may be more proper«to con- 
 fider elfe^herc: But it is the Confequence of all this, fo 
 far as it affedts the Eftablilh'd Church.^ is the thing to be con- . 
 fider*d in this place. 
 
 And can any thing look more fatal to the EdablifliM 
 Church, than to have a Platform laid for Comprehcnfion, 
 and a Way fcor'd out to evade the Force of all Subfcripti- 
 ons , and this to be uHier'd into the World with fo much 
 fceming Authority? The Name of a Great Prelate is in the • 
 Front of it, and the Approbation of feveral Archbilhops,' 
 and Bishops, and many Learned Divines, pretended to, and 
 a Shew made, as if publiih'd at their Defire. May not this - 
 give too great an Alarm to all true Sons of the Church of \ 
 
 61 
 
6t 
 
 the Third Head of Cm{>lamt conftJerd. 
 EMghnd^ and make them imagine that fomething very extra- 
 ordinary IS at the Bottom of all this ? Is there not here a very 
 greatOccafion given for fuch Fears andjealoufies as have of 
 tete ftiewn themfelves in warm Difputes between the Two 
 Houfes of Convocation ? And if fuch Difputes may be (aid 
 to be o\ dangerous Cmfequence (as no doubt they are; it may 
 be very fit to confider how far they are or have been owine 
 to the firft Leaf of the Preface of this Book, where fo ma- 
 ny great Men are made to countenance a Work which the 
 Clergy in general cannot apprehend to be of Service to the 
 Church, but very much the contrary. 
 
 It is very unhappy that the Lower Houfe of Convocation 
 Ihould at this time of day be found to complain of the Wri- 
 tings of one of their own Bifliops ; and yet confidering with 
 how much feeming Authority this Book pretends to come 
 forth, this IS what could not be avoided, unlefs we could fup- 
 pofe it were fit that the whole (hould pais for the future as the 
 Senfe of the Church, and the Clergy would be contented to 
 fit down by It upon all Occafions as an Authenick Expofition 
 whenever It (hall come to be quoted upon them by the Ad- 
 vcrfaries of our Church, be it either the Papift or any o- 
 ther DifTenter. The Name of a Bilhop alone goes a areat 
 way with the Englilh Clergy j and the Authority o^ feveral 
 Archbtfhops and Btfkops muft needs go fo much the further 
 And though this part of the Preface, when it comes to be 
 examined, may poflibly admit of different Grammatical 
 cT'o as to acquit the many that are faid to approve 
 of the Book : Yet, to have fo great a Man as the late Bi- 
 fliop of Worcefier brought upon the Stage to countenance 
 what IS generally thought to be very oppof.te to his laft 
 and ripelt Notions of things, is very furprizing : And 
 however It may prove upon a full Examination of The mat- 
 ter in point of Faca, it muft be acknowledge that to be 
 forcd to queftion what (if any regard is^o be had to 
 
 Vllt^^"^^ '° "^c^^'"^^ ^y ' ^'"^^P °f °"r Church! 
 u ,^°^ '/' confequence; and nothing can be more 
 
 lllitKntTrier'^^^^ ^- '^^ 
 
 3. A- 
 
 m 
 
 The Third Head of Cmplaint confider d. 
 
 V Among the many things to be found in this Book, 
 which may ftem to be of dangerous confequence to the Efiab* 
 lifli'd Church, all the wrong Conftrudions put upon the 
 Articles contrary to the received Dodrines of the Church 
 (which have been already Ihewn) might very well be rec- 
 kon d, and fo, no doubt, may the Latitude contended for in 
 fubfcribing, the Inconvenience whereof hath been already 
 confidered under the Firft Head of Complaint. It \s not 
 eafie to fay what can be of worfe confequence to an Eftab*. 
 lifli'd Church than fuch Projects as undermine Foundations 
 and fruftrate the Defign of having Articles to be fubfcrib'd 
 to : w hich cannot but be fuppos'd to have been with a par- 
 ticular Regard had to Men of different Perfwafions, and to 
 keep them from being of the Miniftry, by whofe Prea- 
 ching the Minds of vvell-difpos'd Chriftians may come to 
 be difturb'd, if not deprav'd and drawn into Error. 
 
 But this is not all that naturally comes under this 
 Head ; and therefore from thefe Generals defcend we to 
 Particulars. 
 
 I. We no fooner look into the Book, but in the very 
 firft Leaf of it we meet with that which may prove of ill 
 confequence ; and that is, the giving his Majefty a wrong 
 State of the Cafe, as to our Differences in Religion in Eng- 
 land. Such Impreffions to be made upon a Prince, who 
 came a Stranger amongfl: us, and may be fuppos'd to have 
 great regard to what is faid by fo great a Man, may prove 
 very diladvantagious to the Eftablifli'd Church. A great 
 deal of blame may feem to lie at our door, were it really 
 true, that the Wounds and Breaches made among thofe who 
 in common profefs the fame /^^//)&, are owing to their hei^ig 
 uyihapp'ily disjointed and divided by fome Differences that are 
 of LESS IMPORTANCE. 
 
 To fliew that this is no Slip or Miftake, at the End of the 
 Preface the fame thing is in a manner repeated, or fuggefted, 
 in a Difcourfe our Author had with a Foreign Divine, a 
 hutheran is brought in obje^aiig agaiaft our Churchy that 
 
 our 
 
 ^1 
 
 / 
 
\ 
 
 64 IT^eTlnrdlieadof Complamtconjiderd. 
 
 eur Difputes are only about Forms of Goverftment ani 
 Worjhip^ and about things that were of their own nature IN- 
 DIFFEREtrr ; things of lefs moment by far than what 
 the Lutherans and Cahinijls differ about, v^ith refpedl 
 to Predeftination. How the Lutheran was anflver'd, we 
 are not told ; but we may eafily guefs to what effed it 
 was, by the Prayer which follows ; which is, that God would 
 ' enlighten and direS all Men to confider well how it ought to 
 he anfwered: which looks as if he that thus prays, were 
 of the fame Opinion with the Lutheran. That our 
 Church ftiould be thus mif-underflood boch at home and 
 abroad, is very unhappy. It is much to be lamented, 
 that fo great a Traveller (hould not firft have been bet- 
 ter acquainted with the State of the Church to the which 
 he was fuppos'd to belong : For who is there almoft 
 does not know that the Cafe is quite otherwife ? This is 
 indeed pretended by our Adverfaries, but is far from 
 being true. It is well known that the Difienters from 
 the Church of England^ who pretending to profefs the 
 fame Common Faith with us, make all our Wounds and 
 Breaches, are the Papifts, the Socinians, the Deifts, tlie 
 Quakers, the Anabaptifts, the Presbyterians, the Indepen- 
 dants, and fome others, (who having not yet arriv'd to 
 the Perfection of a fettled Sed, feparate from the Church 
 without a Name. ) Thcfe arc the Men that make all 
 our Wounds and Breaches : And whether our Divifions 
 ("while thefe are the Men we are daily obliged to encoun- 
 ter) can befaid to be of things of lefs Importance^ let any 
 one judge. 
 
 a. If It be of ill confequence to a Church to have its 
 Clergy mif-reprefented both to the King and to the World, 
 there does not want for a further Inftance of this kind : 
 In the very beginning of the Book ,• the firtt Paragraph of 
 the Epiftle, and again, the very firft thing we meet with 
 in the Preface, gives a very odd z^ccount of our Divines. 
 What is (aid of them, can by no means redound to their 
 Credit, in point of dealing fincerely cither with God or 
 
 NTan. 
 
 \ 
 
 Ithe Ihird ticad of CompUfit cM]iier% 
 
 Man. In the Epiftle they are fuppos'd to have prayed for 
 two Kings fucceftively as Defenders of the Faith^ whom at 
 the fame time they apprehended to le led into the Defign of 
 overturning it. This, it is (aid, we were aftiam'd to do ; 
 but yet this it (eems we did : But whether this be a juft 
 Imputation upon fuch as were Preachers in thofe Days, or 
 not, depends upon thefe two Points : i. Whether by the 
 Title of Defender of the Faith ^ we muft neceffari- 
 !y mean Defender of the Proteftant Religion, or only 
 the Chriftian Faith in general ; fmce that Title was inhe- 
 rent to the Imperial Crown of this Realm long before the 
 Reformation, x. Whether, if we enjoy the Profeflion of 
 our Religion, and have the Protedion of the Law, under 
 the Adminiftration of a Prince that happens to be of a 
 different Perfwafion , this may not be fufficient to juftific 
 the terming fuch a Prince Defender of the Faith. Some 
 Salvo of this kind had been more to the Advantage of 
 the Clergy of the Church of England, than to make them 
 take Shame upon them(elves for prevaricating with Almigh- 
 ty God. 
 
 In the very Beginning of the Preface, our EngUfti Di- 
 vines are again brought to acknowledge a like Piece of In- 
 (incerity : It is told in fuch a manner, as if they really nei- 
 ther thought any hurt in it, nor would pretend to difguife 
 It. The Words are the(e : // hath been likewife often fugge^ 
 Jled, that thefe Articles feemed to be fo plain a Tran* 
 fcript of St, Auftin'j Doilrine in thofe much drfputed Points 
 concerning the Decrees of Godj and the Eficacy of Grace^ 
 that they were not expounded by our Divines, for that ve^ 
 ry reafon ; fince the jar greater Number of them is believed 
 to be now of a different Opinion. W hat is here faid to be fug- 
 gefted, the Expofitor doth himfelf elfewhere again fug- 
 geft,^. 168. which, if true, the very Example might in- 
 deed very much countenance the Pradice of fubfcribing 
 one thing, and meaning another, fo as to recommend the 
 Latitude fcor'd out in the Expofnion ; but, at the fame time 
 it cannot but refiledt upon the Church, were it true that 
 the Clergy allow'd themfelves a Liberty of fubfcribing in 
 
 K luch 
 
 &{ 
 
mmmetm '^ t > ' PHiWH 
 
 66 
 
 the third Head of Complaim confiderd, 
 
 fucli a manner as muft of courfe render all Subfcripdons 
 of no effect. 
 
 I. A very ill ufe might be made to the Prejudice of the 
 Church, ot a very groundlefs Suggeftion to be met with 
 both at tlie End of the iHtroJuilion, and at the Beginning 
 of the Expofition of the xoth Article ; in both m hich pla- 
 ces the Reader is led to imagine, that the printed Articles 
 to the which we fubfcribe, do vary in very many particulars 
 from the Originals, fome of which Variations are very 
 confiderable : And to make this the more obfervable , our 
 Articles are collated in p. ici r, ix, ^<r. with the Symdalia 
 •laid up m Corpus Chrijii College Library in Qamhridge. Now, 
 though in fome refpeds thofe Manofcripts may be call'd 
 Originals, or Authentick Draughts ; yet are they not by a- 
 ny means to be look'd upon as the laft Originals, from the 
 which our Articles were printed. The laft Record was 
 doubtlefs either burnt in the Fire of London^ An. 1666. or 
 hath otherwife hapned to be loft. 
 
 True it is, that as much as this comes to, feems to be in- 
 timated at the End of the Indroduilion, fo as in effea to 
 make the pompous collating of Copies to be altogether 
 infignificant, and of no ufe : But if we turn to the loth 
 Article, where the Church is faid to have PotiJer tO Decrtt 
 
 Kttcji 0? Ceremonies, anti auf ftoiitp in mattets of jFoitft 
 
 We are there told what revives the Difficulty, and leaves 
 It unanfwer'd : For the Expofitor is pleas'd to fay p. igi 
 The jirfi Words of this Arthle were put in this Place ac- 
 cording to the printed Editions, though they are not in the 
 Original oj the Articles figned hy both Houfes of Convocati- 
 on, that are yet extant. Who would not hence inlerr that 
 thefe Words were not in the Original Hgn'd in Convocati- 
 on, whtnas his LordOiip can only mean the Manufcript 
 m C>r^«) C/rr//?/ College : Forthat they were in that Origi- 
 nal from u hence our Articles were printed (and which was 
 figned m Convocation, as well as that imperfe<a Draught 
 ftill remaining) u as put beyond all Difpute or Queftionby 
 Archbilhop Laud, in a Speech in the Star-Chambcr, and 
 
 by 
 
 f 
 
 lb Third Head of Complaint confiderd. 
 
 by Dr. Heylin in his Hid .of Presbyt. p. 268. as there may be 
 occafion hereafter to (hew more at large. 
 
 The Truth of this Fad, fo great an Hiftorian as is my 
 Lord of Sarum^ cannot be fuppos'd to have been ignorant 
 of, which makes it the more unaccountable, why fuch a 
 Saying (hould be plac'd in the Front of the Expofition of 
 that very Article, and be left unexplained, whereby the Rea- 
 der may happen to be but too eafily milled, and imagine the 
 old Cavils raifed againft the Claufe to have been juft : by his 
 calling thofe Manufcripts Originals^ too much Credit may 
 come to be given to a thing, which after a great deal of 
 noife made of it in the World, hath fo publickly and (b 
 many Ways been refuted : And to this we may add one 
 further Inconvenience which may happen to attend the 
 keeping up fo groundlefs a Scruple, (and the more Variati- 
 ons are pointed out, the greater dill (hall be the Objedion) 
 the Clergy in general, upon the Suppofition of thofe Ma- 
 nufcripts being true and Authentick Originals, may feem to 
 labour under (bme Difficulty with refpe<St to the Obligati- 
 on they lie under to read the Articles pafs'd in Convocati- 
 on An»oi^6zj in the Face of their Congregations within 
 luch a time after their AdmiflTion to any Spiritual Prefer- 
 ment ; and this they do from the Printed Editions : which 
 if not truly taken, but on the contrary, innumerable Varia- 
 tions are to be met with, and fome of thofe of Length and 
 of Moment ; fuch an Objediion (were the Fadl true upon 
 which it is grounded) might create a great deal of Trou- 
 ble : But of this enough. 
 
 The feveral foregoing Inftances of the Expofition being 
 in many refpeds of dangerous Confequence to the Church, 
 might fuffice to make good that part of this Third Head 
 of Complaint which is now before us : But there is ftill 
 fomething behind of greater confequence than all that has 
 been faid as yer, and which will therefore deferve to be fully 
 confider'd ; as what, if not fet in its true Light, may one 
 time or other prove very fatal to the Church. 
 
 67 
 
 K X 
 
 Sucli 
 
^> 7%e 7%^d Bead of Complaint mfider'l 
 
 Such is the Nature of our ConAitwion both in Church 
 and State, that things being fetkd upon a good Foondati- 
 en, and many whofefome Laws being provided to our 
 ftands tor the good Government both of the one and of 
 the other j (And it being natural for all wife Men to defire 
 a Continuance of that which they have long enjoy 'd the 
 Beneft of.) Our Happinefs in fome degree may be faid to 
 conr.ft m the Security we have of never undergoing any 
 confiderableAlteration, but by our own Confent ; no confidi 
 Mile Alteration can be made in the State, but with the Con- 
 
 rT u T ^^"'P^''*' Reprefentatives. No regular Change of 
 Church Government or of any thing that is ot moment in Di- 
 vine Worlhip or the Eflablifh'd Religion, but with the Ap. 
 probation and Concurrence of our Spiritual Reprefentatives 
 allembled in Convocation. So fecure is the Church of its 
 continuing in a quiet Po(reffion of all its iuft Rights ac 
 cording to Its prefentEftabliftiment: It being only in cafe 
 of great NeceOity, that the Secular Powcf does evereo a- 
 bout to over-rule that Authority that \s lodged in the 
 Church, fo as to include all Spiritual Perfons in their San- 
 dions, without their more immediate and explicit Con- 
 lent. This m things purely Spiritual, hath rarely been 
 exercis d, and never but upon extraordinary Occafions, and 
 wherethe Welfare of the Seate hath been judg'd through 
 prefent Emergencies tobe coHcera'd. ^ 
 
 ^ The King, as the Head of the LegilTative Power, is b« 
 the Law declared to be (as even without fuch Declaration he 
 undoubtedly would be, and is) Suprem, as well in Church 
 as State: And the Church of EnglaHJ has been always fo 
 «ry careful to ackno wledge it in its fiiH Extent and Lati- 
 tude, as never to have given the leaft Occafion of Tcalo*- 
 fie ; but hath rather run into it chearfiilly, as its great Hap. 
 pinefs and Security tohaveitmaintain'd ; and yet we maS 
 W^Ta "■ ?^ '^Pt«:hen we lay under a Neceffity of ma- 
 king a ftand in behalf of our Conftitution, denying the 
 
 Laws, or of making AUerations, contrary to Law by W 
 
 joU. 
 
 [ 
 
 'tht Ihiri Had of Ccmflami cmJiJer'cf 
 
 Authority alone ; becaafe this comes too near to themaiii^ 
 R€w La\^s by the fame Poirer. 
 
 Upoa the whole matter, fiich is tlie nature of our Coo- 
 flitution, and the wile Contrivance of k, both with, re- 
 fped tOx Church and State, aad with a due regard had to 
 the Monarchy at the feme time, that it cannot cafiJy hap* 
 pen tliat any of the three {hoirid fuffer by the one break* 
 ing in upon the other, unlefeit be brought to pafe by fome 
 fatal iateftine Divifions and Feuds : And fijch was. the 
 Cafe when all the three did fuilet? an E^lj^fora time, it 
 was owing to no lefe a Caufe tliaa wabfcAtite unhinging o£ 
 the Government y wd a foct of Dttlolution of the 
 • whole. 
 
 When thus the^Happinefs^ of our GonnftitutiQQ confifts 
 in a due Poize aod good Corcefpoodence. between, the 
 Monarchy^ and its Spiritual and Temporal Sifrf^jecJs, what 
 could be thought of more effcdually to lead to a geoeral 
 Mtfunderftanding, tiiiari: ^ go abcait: to cafl; the whole 
 into a new Mould, and put thi©^ upon a new Bottom .^ 
 To throw down our Boundaries, and let in all fbrts of Ad- 
 yerferies into our very Bowek by a n^w Schemfi of Lati- 
 tude in fubfcribtng to the Articles, i& bad enough : But tor 
 carry it fo far, as to make all forts of Changes pm<a:icable^. 
 without going the round-about way of Convoeational I!)eci- 
 fions,orAd:s of Parliament, isr certainly much worfe : A Way 
 to be fcor'd out to ba63e all Security from the pre(ent Eftab- 
 lilhment ; fuch a Notion to be ftarted, and often fuggefted 
 by a BifiiQpCwhich was with great reafon univer&lly explo- 
 ded, when the Conf(?quences of it began to appear in the 
 late Reign) is very furprizing ; and yet this is what we do 
 often nieet with up arjd down^ and feems to be taken for 
 granted upon all Occafions in the Expofition^ viz. Thata^ 
 PrincQ finding, or at leaft apprehending his Clergy to be 
 cofirupted^ or to be fo ftobborn.and refrskilory, as not eafily 
 tp be brought to fuch Meafures of Reformation as he thinks, 
 needful for the good of the Church, may call fome few 
 Divines to his. Alliftanqe, whom he takes to be the mod 
 knowing and fitteft Couafellours ;, and with their Advice 
 
 ha 
 
 ^? 
 
 ^ ■ iii^ii i i 
 
70 
 
 The third Head of Complaint confider'd. 
 he may bring things to what Shape he pleafes. by his 
 fiegal Authority, U this be not of dangerous Confe- 
 quence to an Eftablifli'd Church, and a free People, where 
 all things are fetled and bounded by Laws, it is not eafie 
 to fay what is. An abfolute Sovereignty in Spirituals is 
 that whicli exceeds all Pretences even of the Pope 
 himfelf : And what the late King Jams, to the Lofs 
 ot his Dominions, was flattered into the Exercife of is 
 nothing in refped of what the Expofitor Cunlels he (liall 
 think fit to explam himfelf, which is much defired ) 
 feems at prefent to promote. And though the Notion if 
 carry d to the Height, be of as pernicious Confequence' as 
 can well be imagin d , yet the Expofitor feems fo very fond 
 of it as to be found to (catter the Suggeftion up and down 
 his Writings in fome other Books, as well as in this 
 laft, which he is willing we ftiould believe to have been 
 written with Care. His Hiftory of the Reformation gives 
 us every now and then a Tafte of it, taking much lefs 
 notice of the Concurrence of the Clergy in Synod, or 
 of the Part they bore in that great Revolution, than he 
 might have done. There is no Conftitution flands better 
 attededtothe Supremacy than the Church of Em land • 
 But to carry it beyond what ever any Proteftant Prince fincc 
 the Reformation has ever defired it Ihonld be carried, or is 
 m truth, confident with the known Laws of the Land is 
 not to complement, but to dif-ferve the Crown • and 
 therefore it is hoped his Lordfhip does not mean fo 
 much as his Words , upon reading, do leem to im- 
 port. 
 
 Our Expofitor's great Unhappinefs in this particular, 
 <^"°"o '"ake It more than an unhi^py JVIiftake) is want 
 o\ fufficiently diHinguilhing between the Regal and the 
 LegiHative Power in EHgland ; but that, through this 
 Miltake, he feems to labour an unlimited Power of ma- 
 king Alterations in the Church at Will to be in the Prince 
 appears "ot only from what we Ihall find infinuated 
 ? 'm J^i^^^y^^^P^^ as to what he is willing 
 Ihould be thought to have been in Fad, upon the firftfet- 
 
 ling 
 
 The Tkird Head of Complaint cmftderd: 
 
 ling the Reformed Religion in England, but alfo from 
 leveral other Parts of the Book- As for Inftance, />. 15-9. 
 there is this PalTage which will need to be explain'd and 
 foften'd, if otherwife meant. fVhen the Body of the Cler- 
 gy comes to be fo corrupted, that nothing can be trufied to 
 the regjilar Decifions of any Synod or. Meeting called accor- 
 ding^ to their Conflitution; then, if the FRINGE fhatl fe- 
 leB a peculiar Number, and commit to their Care the exami- 
 ning and reforming both of DoElrine and Worfhip, and JhaU 
 give the legal SanSlion to ivhat they (hall offer to him, we 
 mufl confefs that fuch a Method as this runs contrary to the ■ 
 
 ejlablifljd Rules. But Jlill here is an Authority both in 
 
 FACT and RIGHT \ for if the Magifirate hath a power to 
 make Laws in Sacred Matters, he may order thofe to be prepa- 
 red by whom, and as he pleafes. 
 
 When by Magiftrate, is. meant the whole Lcgiflative. 
 Power^ the Queftion is difFerent, and confequently^the 
 ExprelTion at bed, in a thing of thehigheft Importance, is 
 left ambiguous; in the one Senfe it is not true, and in 
 the other it ftands in need of fome Proviftts, with refped to • 
 the Law of God, and the particular Conftitutions of States- 
 and Kingdoms. 
 
 But the Apology made for the Irregularity, as being con- 
 trary to the Eflablifh'd Rules, feems to take ofFall Ambi- 
 guity, not leaving room for fo favourable an Interpreta- 
 tion, as by Prince to mean only as in Conjundion with 
 the Three Eftates off the Realm. The Power attributed to 
 the Fri»f(?, is fuppos'd to . I)e againft the Eflahlifh'd Rule, 
 which, were all the Three Eftates fuppos'd to concurr, can-, 
 not be faid to be the Cale. This tlierefore feems to reftrain 
 the Senfe, and makes what is faid to be only meant of 
 the Prince himfelf. Now, whatever may be the Cafe of an 
 Abfolute Sovereign, this is certainly what does not fuit 
 with the ConRitution of England : And, as we fliall find 
 that it was not fo /* Fa^ at the Reformation, fo neither, 
 hath it ever been allow'd, that there is a fufficient Authority 
 any more in Right than in Fail ; and to have fuggefted : 
 fuch a thing in the late Reign, might have feem'd to jutli- 
 
 fier 
 
 71 
 
7 * Tfe Thkrd He^d of Comfiaint iimfiinL 
 
 i?ie what even in fome few Steps taken towards it, Avas 2ea- 
 loufly opposed. 
 
 True it is that this Autliority of Fail and Eighty is upon 
 the Suppofition that the Clergy are (b corrupted, as that 
 nothing can be trufled to a regular Decifion. But is not the 
 Trince left to judge when this is the Cafe, and when it is 
 not ? And may not a Refufal to fufpend when commanded, 
 be reckoned a Degree of this Corruption, as was the Cafe 
 in the late Reign? Or may not the Clergy be looked upon 
 to be hcadftrong and intemperate when they are only do- 
 ing their Duty, and what becomes them in behalf of the 
 Church, and thereby be adjudged not fit to be trufted with 
 a regular debating of any thing in order to their coming to 
 Synodical Decifions. 
 
 This abfolute Power in the Prince in Matters Ecdefiafti- 
 cal, is more than fuggefted in the Expofition of the ^^jth 
 Article, viz. Of the Civil Magtflrate. Many Inftances are 
 brought from Scripture of the Kings of Ijrael^ importing 
 a Power in the way of Precedent or Pattern to us, which 
 neither they , nor our Princes can ever be fliewn to 
 have exercis'd or claimU ^/^/. /. ^83. and then in the 
 next Page no notice being taken of the many regular Sy- 
 nods, whofe Advice and Concurrence was required in the 
 firft framing the Canons and Edidts, to be found in Theodo- 
 Jiuss and 'jujiinans Code^ and the Capitulars oj Charles the 
 Great (all which may, notwithflanding be made to run in 
 the Names of the feveral Emperors, and be term'd their 
 Ads, as all Ads of Convocation in England are rightly 
 ttrm^6 the Kings Ecclefiaftical Laws) the Expofitor, vvith- 
 out any regard had to the manifeft Difference between 
 theirConftitutionof Abfolute Monarchy, and ours, which 
 is otherwife ; the Words given us, and which we are to make 
 the beft of we can, are thefe. When the Church came to fall 
 under many lefer Sovereignties, thofe Princes continued to 
 
 make Laws and to do every thing that appeared necejfary 
 
 to them for the good Government of the Church in their D(h 
 tninious. 
 
 But 
 
 Vye lUrd Bc^ of Cofr^l^t confikrd. 
 
 But, with his Lordftiip's good leave, fome of thofe Prin- 
 ces (and thofe of this Kingdom in particular^ have for 
 many Ages aded both in .^irituals and Tcmpc*als, accor-^ 
 ding to fuch Laws, only as have firft been confented to by- 
 the Reprefentatives of all Parties concem'd. This is (lid o-* 
 ver, and not taken notice of, and the Notion of the 
 Supremacy carried on at the fame rate as in the Cafe of 
 the Roman Emperors, and even beyond what they really 
 did take upon them to do. 
 
 Leaft this new Scheme laid for a new capacious Church, 
 and a way fcor'd out for the ereding it, (hould alarm the 
 Clergy too much, and the Methods to be purfu d in order 
 to it, lliould not fo very readily bedigefted. The better to 
 adert a Right, the fame is fuggefted in the IntroduHion as to 
 Fad ; and our Reformation is made to be owing to the 
 fame irregular way of proceeding, and the Exerci(e o^ 
 this extraordinary Power. What Methods may have beert 
 purfaed in other parts of the World, the better to throw off 
 the Ufurpations of the Pope and PopiQi Superftition, is nod 
 of prefent concern to enquire; that this might be the Cafe 
 clfewhcre, is very polTible : But to fix it upon England, is 
 very much to derogate from the H&nour of our Reformatio 
 (^n: Which is the other part of this Head of Complaint, and- 
 the iaft thing to be made out. 
 
 One that has given the World fo large an Account of\ 
 thofe times, as to have publiQi'd two /v//^'j under the Title 
 of the Hiftory of the Reformation^ ihould, one v\ould think, 
 be fo well acquainted with all material Circumftances of 
 that whole Affair, as not to over-look the moft confide- ^ 
 r.ible part of it; and which moft of any thing, redounds ^ 
 to the Honour of our Church ; and that is the having 
 had all things tranfaded in a more regular way tlian per- 
 haps in any other reform:'d Church whatfoever. Things^ 
 generally fpeaking> were carry 'd on according to the an- 
 cient Rules of 6} nodical Debates and Decifions. A provi* 
 dcntial Jundureot Affairs made many tilings pradlicable! 
 lierc, which other C^ountries could not be fo happy as to- 
 come lip to,. This is wljat ue haye realon, to value aur 
 . . L felves 
 
 u 
 
 Miiwwa 
 
74 *The Third Head of Complaint cmfiderd. 
 
 (elves upon, and blefs God for, and not go about in 
 Complement to others, (the better to bring our fclves up- 
 on the level with them) to pafs over in Silence, ordit 
 guile. ' 
 
 So confiderable a Part as the Convocation bore in all 
 the molt material Steps that were made towards the Re- 
 formation, aswell in framing the Articles and Canons as 
 the Liturgy, was what one would have expeded to be 'ta- 
 ken notice of at every turn in fuch a Hittory, and not find 
 It oftentimes crowded into fo little Room as we do, and fo 
 Jlightly mentioned, as if it were fcarce worth the obferving 
 One would really take that part which ought to have been 
 mott dwelt upon (and ftood moll in need of an Hiftorion s 
 Pains to fet it in the belt Light he could; to be but as a 
 thing by the bye, a mere Circumftancc that hapned to at- 
 tend that mighty and happy Revolution in the Church 
 n IS very often fo mentioned, as one would not take it as 
 any thing of an efficient Caufe, or as what did in any 
 meafure help on the Work, or contribute towards the per- 
 teaing of it. ^ 
 
 xJ^x^ '\ ^^^?- ,^"y ^"^ ^^g^ about to detrad from a 
 ?i '. t'.^'^^, "^^'^^^ ^^^ ^"^^^^ hath fo defervedly had the 
 pubhck Thanks of both Houfes of Parliament,, but as he 
 never thought it wortli his while to have the like Thanks in 
 Convocation though many have fate fince the Publication 
 ofthat^Book,.;foitmufl be confefs'd he has throughout 
 Ihewn but too little regard to that part of our Englilh Con- 
 Uitution. So far as the Reformation was carry'd on by 
 Con vocational Decifions . previous to publick Sanilions 
 there feems to be a fort of defignM Concealment, and a 
 more than accidental Silence. 
 
 It is well known,that Convocations were not only in thote 
 days,as well as now, convened by the common Courfe of the 
 Law; but alfo as conOantly met and fat , as did the Parlia- 
 ment: And asm Convocation, things of the Church are 
 moft properly cognifahle, io it is not to be imagined, that fo 
 many Learned Men fat idle, when there was fo great an 
 Qccafion of Appkcation and Diligence j and yet our 
 
 great 
 
 75 
 
 The Third Head of Complaint conjiderd. 
 
 great Hiftorian fometimes makes a Line or two ferve for a 
 whole Sedion, at that very critical Juncture when thcgrea- 
 teft things of all were tranfaded. A rcffnarkable In- 
 ftance we have of this, /). 195. * fW. 2,. A. ijjx. after a *BurnetV w- 
 large Account given of the Proceedings in Parliament, zt^'^yf!^'^'' 
 which time the Reformation received many finiHiing Strokes/"*'^^""'' 
 It is faid, on the i ^th of April the Parliament was difTolv'd, 
 STc. Then follows this fliort Account, The Convocation at 
 this time agreed to the Articles of Religion that were prepaid 
 the lafl Tear. This is fo flender an Account of that matter, 
 looking as if it were dropt into the Hiftory by chance, thatf 
 one would be apt either to overlook it as an infignificant 
 Parcnthefis, or run it over as an accidental thing , as little 
 worth the Reader's notice, as feemingly difregarded by the 
 Author, fo far as may be gathered from his way of expref- 
 fmg it. 
 
 Whether more might not have been faid of that Years 
 Convocation, we fliall fee by and by. In the mean time, 
 that the Reformation was not carry 'd on in the way it is in 
 the IntroJuilion made to be, may be learn'd from Dr. Bur- 
 net himfelf, without going any further; and his Authority 
 in this cafe ought not to be queftion*d, whilft be will fo ef- 
 fectually be found to confute what is fuggefted by the Ex- 
 pofitor ; the Hiftorian willfoon fatisfie the Expofitor that 
 the Church did not lie under that fatal Neceffity which he 
 feems to fuppofe it did. There was no want of a regular 
 Decifion of Matters in Synod; nor were things altered by 
 Regal Sanilion only, as we are made to believe in the In-- 
 trodutlion^ according to what the Papifts fometimes will 
 pretend to objed to us, as if our Religion were at firftmeer* 
 ly Secular and Parliamentary : That which is faid upon this 
 Occafion feems very full and exprefs,as wefind^.56.of the 
 Introduction ; where mention being made of the Articles, 
 and of the manner of their being fram'd, we have thele 
 Words : 
 
 This may ferve in general to jujlifie the Largenefs and 
 
 the Particularities of this (JonfeJJion of our Faith. Some 
 
 Steps made- in a large Book under the Title of the Ne- 
 
 L X --^ celTary 
 
7^ 
 
 The TfnriHeai of Complaint conjtitr'i. 
 
 cefTary Erudition. Ma,^ of the Errors of Popery v>ere 
 
 laid opert and condemned m it Jut nonewereohliged to ajfent to 
 ft, or to fuhfcrih it. After that, the mrjhip was reform- 
 td^ af being that which prefs'd mofl, and in that a Foun. 
 datton voas laid for the ARTICLES, which came quickly 
 after tt. How, or hy whom they were prepared, we do not 
 
 certainly know. ^eflions. were f ram' d relating to them. 
 
 Thefe were given about to many Bifhops' and Divines who 
 
 gave in their feveral Anfwers. AH Sides had a jree and 
 
 fatr Hearing before Qouchfions were made. In the Fermen- 
 tation that was working over the whole Nation at that 
 tim?, it was not pojfible that a thing of that nature 
 could have pafed by the Methods that are more necef- 
 fani in regular times , and therefore they could not be 
 efered at firfl to Synods or Convocations. The Corrupti~ 
 ens complaineJ of were Jo beneficial to the whole Body of 
 the Clergy, that it ts juflly to be wonder d that fo great a 
 Number was prevail' d with to concur r in reforming them • 
 hut without a Miracle, they could not have been AGRRtD 
 TO BT A MAJQR PART. They were prepared, as is 
 mqfl proLable by Cranraer aW Ridley , and publifbed by the 
 R$G4L AUfHORITT. . Not as if our Kings had pretend- 
 ed to art Authority to judge in Points of Faith, or to decide 
 CoMtroverfies ; but as every private Man mufl chufe for 
 him/elf, and believe according to the Convidions of his Rea- 
 fon and Con[cien(;e ; fo every Prince {or Legiflative Power') 
 mufi give the publick Sancton according to his own Perfwa- 
 
 fion, Thus the Part that our Princes had in the Reforma- 
 
 ,tion, was only this ; That they being fatisfy'd with the 
 grounds on which it went, received it t hem fe Ives, and en- 
 
 4Med it for their People It was alfo remarkable, that 
 
 the Law which ^d jfrjl in JuR'maa' s CODE, was an Ed/d 
 *f TheodofiusV , who finding the Roman Empire under 
 great Diflradions by the DIVERSITT OF OPINIONS in 
 matter of Religion, did appoint that DoHrine to be held 
 which was received by Damafus Bifhop of Rome, and Vt- 
 ter Bip>p of Akxindrk. Such an Edid as that being 
 put iM fo confpicuous a Part of the Law ^ was a full 
 
 and 
 
 Tl^e Ihiri Head of Cmtplmt conJUerd 
 
 and foon olferved Precedent for our Princes to ail according 
 to it. 
 
 Here are two things fee m very obvious: The one, that 
 the Englifli Clergy were fo governed by their Intereft, that 
 a Mjjor Part oF their Reprcfentatives in Convocation 
 could never have been brought to confent to the Articles, 
 which were prepared in order to a Legal Eftablifliment of 
 the intended Reformation, which began in Henry Vlllth*s 
 Reign, and was brought to great Maturity the very firft 
 Year of K. Edtv. VI. The Second Thing is, that for want 
 of that which could not be expeded without a Miracle^ the 
 Articles were publidi'd by Regal Authority , without any 
 Synodical Decifion. An Apology is made for this way of 
 proceeding, as if things had not been done in a regular 
 way r But there was a NecefTty for it. Roman Emperors, 
 who had the entire Legiflative Power, are brought as a 
 Precedent for making Edids to prevent the Diftraitions a- 
 rifing from Diver fit y of Opinions in Religion (which is the 
 very thing Our Articles were framed to avoid ^) and accord- 
 ing to this, our Princes are fuppos'd to have ai^ed upon the 
 ^ hke Occafion : And who would not after this imagine- 
 that our Articles were required to be fubfcrib'd by Regal 
 Authority only whether tlie Clergy lik'd it or not ; and the 
 Articles tliemfelves fram'd by thefame/f<?g^//^^//'i:>/*//j', and 
 the Clergy in Convocation had nothing to do either in the 
 Gompofing them, or in agreeing to them. This feems to; 
 be the Expofitor's Notion of tliis matter : Come we now 
 to the Hiilorian, and karn from him true Mattel*- 
 
 of Fa*. ^ ' 
 
 The great Step made tovvards the Reformation in the- 
 Reign of \\, PJenry WIW, confilled in the acknowledgment 
 of the King's Supremacy : And what Foundation that lead> 
 ing Doflrine had from the Ads of Convocation,and how far 
 k was eflablifli'd by the famous Ad of Submiflionjs too well 
 known to need any Proof, or to be dwelt upon. Whatever 
 other Progrefs was made in that Reign, favoured more of 
 Inclinitioa and Defrre of Reformation in tlie generality of 
 
 tl>e 
 
 r 
 
78 
 
 T)« Tfcira Bead of Comfkint cmfder'l . 
 
 the People than of any a<aual compleat Change. Nor 
 
 ^ kI I .^'.'^ ^^'^ '"^ ''""g conf.derable was done, or fo as 
 to be look d upon to be fixt and eflabliQi'd till the Parlia- 
 ment fate m K. EJw V W/s Reign, which « as within left than 
 a Twelvemonth after he came to the Crown. In which 
 Parliament many things were enaded for the better EOab- 
 
 t^TLf M^ ^'^°;^"'''^ ^"''g'°" ' ^"' whether things 
 WTre done without a Convocation, or whether tiie Clergy 
 
 of £«^/Wwere a Body ofMenfo felf interefted, as not 
 
 re^.^^^f'T^TV''''^ '^'^ Corruptions of Ron,e by 
 reafon of the Benefit they reaped fromthera, may in fome 
 
 .^jfSitryT^iS.^::^^^^^ ^^'^^^- - ^'- '-' 
 
 This Ad was occaftoned hy a Speech that Archhifhop Cran- 
 m^r had fn Convocation ; in which he exhorted the Cleriiy 
 to gtvethemfelves much to the Study of the Scripture^ and 
 
 ZeT^t/"""^^ "^r ''""^^ "'''' '" '^^ Church that 
 piil^TT" ' '^'^'-^^ ""'y "''&''' '*-""' out all the 
 y^]:f '^'^r' ""' y' ''^""^ Upon this, fon,e in- 
 tmatedtohm that as long as the fix Articles flo din force 
 tt was not fafe for them to deliver their OpLns \w^ 
 
 KS mo3 ''^^'f P°'"ting out a Step fo very needful to 
 onAc K ' °r'^ ^'Sues that they aded with Caution, 
 LL r 7 '' ^""'^ f ^?'^y °f M^"- ^''^ "'^s reported 
 
 Fa. Ti' "r^'V*^^ ^^^^^''^^ A<a of Repeal- 
 
 conclr'nin; rt .; " ^"'^ '° be brought into Parliament 
 concerning the Sacrament, and fo were feveral other Bills 
 
 ?utina wii.'a°;'r ^,'^^^^^^ but f.nce a ConvocaJSn w" 
 
 nSKeLhM ni ''oP?''''' "'^^ ofthem,fowellincli. 
 ned,(,unlefs the Lower Houfe were fuch People as theExooH- 
 or reprefents thcm,which we llwll know mL of d efemlv S 
 It IS not at all lively, that the Houfe of clXs S 
 dehretohavethe firA debating of fuch PoTts as i^that 
 of the Sacrament, and of Communion in iSth kinds wt^^ 
 
 d/ w'tet";': ^'"^^ !^J' ^° ^^^ upon fudi tSs 
 
 The Tlird Head of Complaint confiderd. 
 
 vocation, though the Popish' Party was fo prevalent in hoth 
 Houfes, that Cranmer had no hopes of doing any thing, tiU 
 they were freed of the Trouble which fome of the great Bi- 
 fhops gave them. There were, it feems, fome in the Lower 
 Houfc fo far influenced by (bme great ones of the Upper 
 Houfe, as to obdrad Bufinefs, and make things go on 
 but heavily : But if the Convocation did not proceed (b 
 Vigoroufly as might be wifli'd, "it looks as if the 
 Fault lay more in the Ujjper Houfe of Convocation than 
 in the Lower. 
 
 We are told, the nroft important things they did, was 
 the carrying up four Petitions to the Biihops: x.That 
 there might he Perfons empowered to reform the Ecclefiaflical 
 Laws. 1. That accordinz, to the Ancient Cuflom of the tJation 
 find the Tenor of the Bifh'>p's Writ to the Parliament, the In- 
 feriour Clergy mv^it he admitted again to fit in the Houfe of 
 Commons ; or that no Ail concerning Matters of Religion might 
 pafs without the Sight and Affent of the Clergy. 3. That 
 fince divers Prelates and other Divmes had heen in the late 
 Kings time appointed to alter the Service of the Churchy and 
 bad made fome Progrefs in it, that this might he hrought to 
 its full Perfeilion, 4. Among other things, a Defire to know 
 whether they might fafe ly f peak their Minds about Religion 
 without the Danger of any Law. The Nature of thefe Peti- ' 
 tions is fuch as docs not at all look like favouring of Popery, 
 or as if the Inferiour Clergy were fo inleparably link'd to 
 their old Religion by their Interefl, as the Introdu^ 
 dion makes them to have been. But to proceed ^ 
 though thele Petitions are faid to be the mofl; confiderable 
 things they did, yet there ftill follows fomething more, 
 whicli may be worth our obferving ; becaufe it comes home 
 to the Point in hancf^^. 50. On the X9th u/November a De- 
 claration was fen t down jrom the Bifhops concerning the Sacra- 
 ments being to he received in hoth kinds, to which Jo. Tyler' 
 the prolocutor, and Jeveral others, fet their Hands ; }nd be- 
 ing again brought before them, it was agreed to by all without- 
 a contradichry f^ote, 6^ being prefent. And that this was 
 antecedent to the Ad of Parliament concewring it, appears 
 
 from 
 
 79 
 
8o 
 
 The TI?irdHead of Com{>la'mtconJiderd, . 
 horn p. 41. where we find the Bill concerning it was not 
 fent down to the Commons till Dec. lo. Oh the mh of 
 Dec. the TroptfitioH cimcernifii the Marriage of the Qlerr* mat 
 fent to them anj/nkfcrikj hy 5 5 affirmatively, and iy 1 4 La- 
 twely iJoitwasorJer'dthat aEiU Jhould he drawn conctrn- 
 tng It. Which Bill, pag. 47. was brought into the Houfe of 
 Commons Df C.I 9. and fent up to the Lords on the xi/? -but 
 did not pafs that Houfe that Seflion, nor till theVear follow- 
 ing w? in a Parliament which metonN<7v.z4.iy48. In which 
 1 arliament we alfo find an Ad made to confirm and eftab- 
 i|h a new Form of Divine Service, provided by the Arch- 
 bilhop and Bifliops in purfuance of an Ad of the fore- 
 going Convocation. Nor is it to be queHion'd but that the 
 Convocation had their Hands in the Progrefs that was made 
 in the Reformation, as well in this fecond Parliament as in 
 the hrit, and lo m others ; though the Hiflorian ci- 
 ther for w ant of Authentick Remains, orforfuch Reafons 
 as are beft known to himlelf, takes no notice at all of a 
 Convocation either this Parliament or the next, thougli fuch 
 undoubtedly there was. b " 
 
 As to what Alterations were made in tlie Intervals of . 
 Parliaments they were not only in great meafurctranfaded . 
 by the Archbifliop, with the ready Compliance of the Pa- 
 rochial and inlcnour Clergy j. but in moft I'articulars they,' 
 may alfo be obferv d to have been little more than the Con- . 
 lequenceot things begun in Con vocation, or in the way of" 
 temporary Provuion, and preparatory to a further EUablini. 
 ment : and when in the Year ijji. ;.. i66. tte Articles 
 began to be thouglit of, which required fomc time to be 
 well digefted and argued by Divines ; ills faid, Upon thefe 
 Conjiderations that Work was delayed ttU this Tear in which 
 they Jet about it, a»dfimlhed it before tl^t Convocation n,et in 
 the next February : Not fo finiflied, as to be the Ads of the 
 Church, but brought to fuch Perfcdion as to be laid before 
 the Convocation, as we find they were the Year following •• 
 the very Title whercoF is more exprefs tlian the H.ilorian 
 (fo very fiiort he is in relating it as hath been already ob- ' 
 ierv A). In the Title to the Articles, we have this Account^ 
 ■' that 
 
 / 
 
 77;e Ihtrd Htad of Vmplmt c<mpder% 8 1 
 
 that they are agreed upon by the Bi/hops and other Learned 
 and Godly Men in the Convocation at London, Anno icjx. to 
 root out the Difcord of Opinions, and eflablijh the Agreement of 
 true Religion. Pullijhed by the Kings Majeflys Author ity^i f J 5 . * ^''- Spar- 
 But as for any Publication of them by the Regal Authority^"^"^'' ^''''^'' 
 before they were thus regulary agreed upon, or any juft *"' ^' '^' 
 Occafion given to apologize for the King's taking upon 
 him to do any fuch thing, we have not the leaft Footfteps 
 of it , neither in Dr. Burnet's Hiftory, or in any other that 
 is extant that we know of : And why the Expofitor fliould 
 quote the Edids of Emperours in the way of Precedent 
 on this occafion, is not eafic to conceive : And whether 
 wilfully or not, furmiz'd to the Difadvantage of our Refor- 
 mation, it is that which an unwary Reader may make very 
 wrong Inferences from. This whole matter we may find 
 fet in a much more advantagious Light by Dr. Heylin from 
 Archdeacon Philpot'% Mouth in Queen Marfs Reign, for the 
 which he quotes /4^j<jW/Wl?»,y(7/. I igz. in his Hiftory of 
 the Reformation, under the Year 1551. The Account gi- 
 ven of the Catechifm, upon its being objeded that it was 
 rot pafs'd in Convocation, doth fully anlvver for the Arti- 
 cles alio, and for many other things of the like nature, 
 which was to this effed : That the Convocation had em- 
 power'd leveral Bilhops and others, to ad in their (lead, and 
 to draw up their Senle ; which being a Work of fome time 
 might be done in the Interval of Parliaments and Convo- 
 cations, and the Compilers being fuch as they had an entire 
 confidence in, and the Archbilhop at the Head of them ; and 
 the fame lieing ratify *d upon the next Opportunity by a ta- 
 cit Acquiefcence, if not otherwife, and more explicitly by 
 formal Vote, it ought not at this time of day to be objeded 
 againft fuch Compofitions, as if they wanted the regular 
 Decifions of a Synod or Convocation. And liad our Ex- 
 pofitor faid any thing of this fort (though he had borrows 
 cd it from Dr. Ueylin, to whom it had been no Difparage- 
 menttobe obliged for a great deal more than this comes 
 to;) or had he turned to the Place from whence this Speech 
 of Phitpot'% is taken, and may be feen at large, any Account 
 :. M ■ of 
 
8i 
 
 1# 
 
 The third Head of Gmplaim conftderd. 
 
 of this nature had certainly Ijeen better than to fugged the 
 contrary, by apologizing lor the Irregularity of things being 
 done by the Regal Authority only. By fomething of 
 this kind he might have done'both the Church and himfelf 
 more right than he hath , and had not been near fo ob- 
 noxious as he hath been (hewn to be to that part of the 
 Ck)mplaint of Jerogatiug from the Honour of the Reforma- 
 tioH. 
 
 Other Pafliges there arc of the fame nature and tenden- 
 cy ; as particularly one that hath been already touch'd upon 
 under the xi,d Article. The better to cool the Hotter Spi- 
 rits, who will be MagifieriaUy didating for Epifcopacy, in 
 oppofition to other Conflitutions. We are there told, that 
 thofe that fram'd the Articles, left things open and at large, 
 confidering that all things among them/elves haj not gone ac- 
 cording to thofe Rules that ought to le jacred in regular times, 
 clofing with a common Saying that will ferve all Conflitu- 
 tions alike, but does not ufe to be pleaded w here there is 
 no Occafion for it : IJecefftty hath no Law, and is a Law to its 
 [elf. What the meaning of this is, or wherein there was 
 any Occafion for this laft Refuge, is not any w here faid • 
 furely it cannot mean the Fable of the Nag's Head, or any 
 of thofe thread-bare Objedions concerning a regular Con- 
 fecration and Succefllon of Bifliops, which was no fooner 
 urged, but was as fully anfwered in the late Reign: But 
 fome great Defed or other we are given to imagine 
 there was in our Reformation , though not generally 
 known. Somethiug, no doubt, the Expofitor had in his 
 Eye, or elfe there could have been no Occafion for fo un- 
 ufual a Plea as is that of t^eceffity What t^eceffitv this 
 Church lay under, not to be regular in its way of relorming 
 is not eafie to fay. 
 
 It is certain this, that no Church in the Wonld hath 
 greater reafon to be thankful to Almighty God for thofe 
 happy Opportunities given us , to have all things done 
 accordmg to Canon and Primitive Pradice, to the 
 degree of putting to filence even Calumny , it felf, 
 andj fo as to enable us to deal with the known Enemies 
 
 of 
 
 7he Third Head of Complaint conflderj. 
 of our Reformation the Papifts, at their own Weapons ^ 
 and appeal to Antiquity, and Councils, and Fathers, more 
 fa ely and juftly than they themfelves can do. And as 
 all the Reformed abroad, who are in any meafure entituled 
 to the Name of a Church have readily allowed the 
 Church ot England the right-hand of Fellowlhip as 
 being the main Bulwark ot Proteftantifm, as in oppo- 
 fition to Popery ; fo may it be obferved, that Ihe hath 
 been more invidioufly Itrook at by thofe that ad for 
 Rome, than all others of the Reformed put toee- 
 ther. ^ 
 
 This being faid, as well to lay open the more remarka- 
 ble PaOages m the Expodtion which feem to be of dm- 
 gerous confequence to the Ellablidi'd Church, as to re- 
 icue our Reformation from any unwary Suggeftions or 
 Infinuations to be met with to its Diflionour. ° What re- 
 mains, is only in all dutiful manner to re-mind the Learn- 
 ed Author of the Expofition, that he hath in the Preface 
 promis'd, pag. 6. not to take it ill, or reckon it as an Injury 
 to be (hewn wherein he may in what he hathwrittei happen 
 to mif-lead ; to have any MiRakes difcover'd to him, that 
 he may confider them carefully, is what he feems to d'efire : 
 And therefore it is to be hop'd he will not be offended at 
 what is here done, or may further be found needful to be 
 done of the like kind. To wait the feeing a better Work of 
 the fame kind from fome body elfe (as in a fort of Chal- 
 lenge feems to be called for, if this be found fault with; 
 is a little too much, efpecially confidering that to pretend to 
 expound the Articles of our Church, is what hitherto hath 
 not been thought to be a proper Undertaking for any 
 private Divine : But what is defired, is, with all Calm- 
 nefs and Candour to allow for the Neceifity the Clergy in 
 Convocationapprehended themfelves to lie under upon fo 
 extraordinary an Occafion, and to confider withal that it is 
 more eafie for any fingW Perfon, even though it be the Bi- 
 fliop ot Sarum himfclr, to be miftaken, tiian for fucb a ' 
 Body of Men , to judge fo ill of a Book, as to complain 
 of it publickly without good Caufe. This being well con- 
 
 M z fider'd. 
 
 8? 
 
 
84 71:6 Third Head of Complaint confder^d 
 
 fider*d,my Lord of Sarum need not defpair feeing a better 
 Work of the fame kind, and yet be his own : It being no 
 hard matter for foable a Pen to makefuch Alterations and 
 Amendments in another Edition, as not only to make the 
 Book to be of very good ufe to young Students in Divinity, 
 but alfo todeferve and have the Thanks of the Church, and 
 thofe as publick as the prefent Complaint againft it hath 
 been. 
 
 But fliould his Lordihip not like his being thus taken at 
 his Word, and look upon it as too great a piece of Conde- 
 fcenfion Cnotwithftanding his Promife) to recal any thing 
 he hath faid ; yet if he will but be pleas'd fo to explain him- 
 felf, as that the Adverfaries of our Church may not be able 
 to quote a great BiQiop of our own againft us upon all Oc- 
 caftons, at the fame time allowing, that whatever is new to 
 us Englifh Divines and peculiarly owing to his Lordlhip's 
 own Thoughts and Notions of things, ought not to be 
 look'd upon to have been publilliM with that Authority and 
 Approbation of Archbifhops and Bidiops, as in the Preface 
 feemsto be fuggefted , but is in truth his Lordiliips fingle 
 peculiar Expolition, and no ones elfe. If his Lordfliip fliall 
 think fit to gratifie thus far thofe that declare themfelves of- 
 fended at the Book, and have appeared with fome Concern 
 againft it, a very little Pains this way might contribute 
 very much to the removal of fuch Scruples as the Expofi- 
 tion in its prefent Drefs hath rais'd in them, and may pofti^ 
 biy prevent any further particular Examination of it, 
 though it is generally believMthat fuch both is intended and 
 prepared. 
 
 AN 
 
 ».' 
 
 A N 
 
 EXAMINATION 
 
 O F 
 
 Some Paffages in the 
 
 R E F A C 
 
 i 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Expojttion of the Vnrty Nine A%71CLES. 
 
 NOT to trouble the Reader w4th every particular 
 Padage to be met with in the PREFACE^ which 
 may feemjuftly liable to Exception, all that i$ 
 proposed to be confider'd under this Head, is fo much of it 
 only as fliall be found either to refled upon our Divines in 
 general , or does affed the Reputation and Credit of our 
 Archbifhops and Biihops in particular, or by a Mif repre-^ 
 ftntation of things, may tend to the Prejudice of the E- 
 ftablifh'd Church, and prove of ill confequence, ftiould Men 
 take for granted what is but too plainly fuggefted to its 
 Difad vantage. 
 
 There are three Remarkable Paflages, all w^hich have 
 been already taken notice of in the foregoing Sheets , but 
 come now in the nature of an Appendix, to be refumedy, 
 becaufe, rather than to break the Thread of the Difcourfe 
 by long Digreflions, a particular Difcuflion of them was 
 then deciin'd, and referv'd for a further Opportunity. 
 
 They 
 
 «v 
 
H 
 
 An Examination of fome fafages in the 
 
 They are all of them Fads fit to be con/lderU and 
 -which, when accounted for, may polTibly make a furtlier 
 Examination of the Preface the lefs needful, when fome o- 
 ther Parts of the Books may come to be look'd into. 
 
 TJie Firft thing the Clergy have reafon to complain of, is 
 
 the txpofitorsfervinghisovvn purpofeof a propos'd Lati- 
 
 • tude m (ubfcribing the Articles at the Expence of other 
 
 Peoples Credit ; and our Divines are brought in by way of 
 
 f^?A? ^°c^ ^'f^''^^ ^hich does by no means favour 
 of Chnftian Simplicity and upright Dealing. The Preface 
 beginswithanOfTeratfome Reafons why there hath not 
 hitherto been any Expojjtion of the Articles of any Note 
 beftowedupon the World. The firfl Realon given, is fo 
 good a one, as it might have ferv'd very well without look- 
 ing out for any other, and that is MaJefty znd Cautior,- our 
 Divines not having thought it either proper or decent to at- 
 tempt it: But my Lord oUarum did not think fit to reft 
 here, but goes on to a Second Reafon, which is as bad as 
 the other is good ; and whether it be true in Kaft, or not is 
 thething to be confider'd in this place. The Words are kw 
 and therefore the more eafily tranfcrib'd * 
 
 /th^sheen like^vife of ten fu^ejled that tbofe Articles feem- 
 u Ir^ /^ " ^'""J'^'P' of Sf' Audins Dcarine in thfe 
 much dtjputed Poms, concerning the Decrees of God and the 
 Efficacy of Grace, that they ivere not expounded hy our dI 
 vtnes for that very reafon, fince the far greater Uutnler of 
 then. tsheUeved to be norv of a different Opmion. W £ fs 
 here f^^dtoh, often fuggejled, is no wJiere contradided by 
 the Expofitor; but on the contrary, is very otbcn taken iZ 
 granted in the Body of the Book f Nor is it to be doubt d 
 but that itis placed thus advantagioufiy in the vtry Front* 
 
 t^enftjfM"'rlc\^'''^ " ^''y ^'"^^^ Inllancefif 
 true, ol fome Men fubfcnbingm a Grammatical Senfediffe 
 rent from that which they apprehend to have been in en. 
 ded by the Church. The Truth therefore of this fSTs, 
 
 what 
 
 .5 
 
 I 
 
 preface to the Ex^ojition on tk } 9 Jrtkki. 
 
 what it may be needful to inquire into, and be fatisfied in; 
 as it is plain that very much depends thereon. 
 
 And here it mud be acknowledged at the very firft » 
 View , that the Reafon our Divines are thus made to 
 give for their not Expounding the Articles, is a very weak' 
 one, and by no means fatisfadtory : For Qiall their happen- 
 ing to differ a little from our firft Conipilers of the Ar- 
 ticles in fome few Points (were the Cafe to be taken as it i 
 isftated) excufe their Silence as to all the reft, which are 
 at leaft ten Parts of twelve ? Could not they have pafs'd o- 
 ver two or three Articles after the fame manner as my 
 Lord of Sarum hath thought fit to do, and let no one be 
 the wiler for what is (aid of thofe intricate Points, and ; 
 employ their Pens upon fuch Dodirines as are more ufeful 
 and of greater Concern ? Where was the neceffity of hav- 
 ing the whole Body of Articles unexpounded, becaufe two 
 or three of them feem to them to have been pennM or 
 tranfcrib'd from St. Aujiin^ whom they do not in thofe ^ 
 Points exadly concurr with in Opinion ? 
 
 But then, Secondly, hou^ does it appear that our Divines 
 have adted upon this Principle^ or have ever been of this » 
 Opinion ? This is what ought to be very clearly made out ; . 
 or elfeitis laying a thing to the charge of our Divines 
 which is not at all for their Credit, and which they will 
 have no reafon to thank my Lord of Sarum for charging 
 them with. How does it appear, that any of our Divines 
 that either underftood themfelves or the Articles as they > 
 Ihould do, did ever fuppofe thefe Articles, (where God s 
 Decrees and the Efficacy of Grace may feem to be con- 
 cerned) were a Tranfcript of any other Dodrine 
 than that of the Scriptures in general, or of St. Paul - 
 in particular, who isveryexprefs upon thefe Points. 
 
 1 roe it is, that fome have been apt to imagine that the^ 
 Compilers of our Articles were a little Calviniflically giv- 
 en ; and that, though they have worded things cautioully, 
 yet one may difcern fomething in the i-jth Article that 
 looks in favour of the Dodtrine of Tredeflination in oppo- 
 
 firion 
 
 87 
 
% 8 ^^ Examinatim of fome Tajfages in tin 
 
 fition to the Univerfalifts (as the Generality of our 
 Englifli Divines are now fuppos'd to be;) but this Sur- 
 mile is nothing but a vulgar Error grounded upon want 
 of Hiftory and Chronology, not confidering the time 
 \v^hen thofe Articles which fome would draw thefe In- 
 ferences from, were penn'd. There is no body doubts but 
 that fome confidcrable Divines that had been driven a- 
 broad by means of Queen Marys Perfecution, did return 
 with a Taint of the Principles of thofe Countries where 
 they had been : And therefore had the Articles really 
 been framed in Queen Elizabeth's Reign Caccordin<y to the 
 Date of them as we now fubfcribe them,) fomething might 
 be faid for this Suggeftion ; not but that, confidering that 
 whatever they prepared, was to be agreed upon in a Con- 
 vocation of good Enghlh Divines (the Majority whereof 
 in all likehhood, were for downright Englifli Divinity :) 
 it would eventhen have been needful for the Predeftinarians 
 to have been upon their Guard, and not to have been too o- 
 
 pen and exprefs in their introducing then" private Opinions, 
 or in impofmg them on the Church. 
 
 But that which fets afide all Surmifes of this kind, as to 
 what the Compilers of the Articles were in their own pri- 
 vate Judgments, it is plain, that whatever Alterations hap- 
 pen'd to be made in the Articles, Anno 1562. thofe that 
 may feem to touch upon God's Decrees and the Efficacy of 
 Grace , are either the fame that were agreed upon in 
 King Edward's Reign, Anno ifyi. or what is altered in 
 them, is rather to fence againfl the Predeftinarian Do- 
 drine (according to the modern Acceptation of the Word) 
 than any way de/ign'd in favour of it : Witnefs the addi- 
 tional Claufe in the 17//^ Article, the better to provide 
 againfl: tlie Prefumption of fuch as might build too 
 much upon their being predeftinated or called. JrUttljcr* 
 
 mo?e, toe mult receite «5oo'0 l^jomtfiKi in fuel) toife ajs 
 tfjep tie generallp fet foitlj to us m i|)olp gctiptute, anii 
 mouc DotnffjSt^tiLUiilof <Soti 10 to be foIiotDei), Ui&\^ 
 toe Ijatw e]cp?eap Oeclarea unto U0 in tfje mm of ©ca. 
 
 This 
 
 K 
 
 %refaa to the ExfH>fitmmthe i^ Jrticles. 
 
 This is fuch a confining all that had been faid of Everlafl- 
 tng Parpofes, Decrees, and Councils , to the known and 
 common Methods of Salvation fcor'd out to us in Scrip- 
 ture by the Merits of Chrift, and to a ftncere Repentance 
 and Amendment of Life, as wholly lays afide all thofe 
 vam Hopes of being fure of Salvation, if we can but 
 work our felves up to the Opinion of oor being of the 
 Number of the fi/fd', and that fuch as arc the chofen ones 
 can never mifcarry. 
 
 Not to defcend to the Niceties of the Schools, or 
 the peculiar Dodrine of ^t. AujUn upon this point of Pre^ 
 deft mat jon ; as it hath been already in great meafure 
 fliewn (and may perhaps hereafter be more fully made 
 out; that the Articles of our Church were not intended 
 to reach thofe needlefs Speculations which my Lord of 
 Sarum hath taken fo much pains about under the i^th 
 Article , fo may it very truly be faid, that there is not 
 the leaft colour of Reafon to imagine that they were 
 penned in any other fenfe than fuch as fubfcribe may ve- 
 ry heartily and readily come up to : And confequently it is 
 to do our Divines a great deal of Wrong to luggeft the 
 contrary, or to infinuate, that though they apprehend them 
 to have been meant one way, yet they fcruple not to lub- 
 fcribe them in another : They fubfcribe the Words, but 
 do not come up to what they apprehend the Church inten.. 
 ded ihould bebeliev'd and taught. 
 
 This hath been often fuggetled by (ome People who firft 
 fancy to themfelves that tlie Articles are on their fide, and 
 then perfwadethemfeJves that every body miSd needs an- 
 derftand them their way, though at the lame time they 
 happen to be of another Opinion. Uut this ought not 
 to be furmifed by any one that pretends to write with an 
 Expectation of being believed , unlefs he could be able to 
 perfwadc fome Divines of Note to own this to be true 
 of them, which it is believed my Lord of &ir«iw woaU find 
 it verv difficult to do. 
 
 8, 
 
 ••N 
 
 My 
 
I*»- 
 
 j6 Jft Exarmnatim offome ^ajfages in the 
 
 My Lord of SaruM himrelf in his IntroJunhn informs 
 us, that the Articles were firft prepar'd by Cranmer and 
 RiJlej before the Year 1551, and his Hiftory tells us 
 they were pafs'd in Convocation that Year ; all which 
 was before our Divines could be fuppos'd to be infeded 
 with Calviniftical Principles, or the uncouth Notions of 
 the Schools abroad. The Terms which were commonly 
 made ufe of, are retained as being Scriptural , but the Do- 
 drine is (bund and Orthodox, and not juftly liable to any 
 Cavil or Difpute ; and therefore not likely to have been de- 
 clined being expounded by our Divines , becaufe not 
 altogether agreeing with their Sentiments of things. 
 
 1. The Second thing to be con fider'd in the Preface^ is 
 a lar^e Account given of the mighty Encouragements 
 the Author of the Expofition had from our Archlijhops 
 and Bijhops to undertake and publilh this Work. We are 
 told, he was firft movJ to undertake this fVork by that 
 Great Prelate that then fat at the Helm, meaning Archbifliop 
 Tillotfin : But, had not my Lord of Sarum firll fufficiently 
 intimated to his Friends how well he uas prepared for the 
 W- ork, and furnilhed with Materials of Thirry Years {land- 
 ing, it may not be unreafonable to doubt whether that 
 Primate (who was fuppos'd to know Men very welQ would 
 have pick'd out his Lordihip as the mod proper Perfon 
 to be thought of in the Church for fuch an Under- 
 taking. 
 
 A great deal is faid of that Great Man's applauding the 
 Performance Vhen finilh'd; but yet it fo happens, that 
 fomething is faid of that Primate, which does not very u ell 
 agree with this Account ; and that is, that the Papers lying 
 before him, and telling a certain great Man what they 
 were, he did exprefs a Diftruft of the Succefs they v\ ere 
 Kke to meet with in the World, (hould they be publilhed 
 without a great deal firft done to them : And it is obfervable 
 that they came not forth till after his Death. It is very well 
 known, that our late Primate was a Perfon of great Candour, 
 \ from whom no Expreffion could fall that v\ as harlli even to 
 ^ the 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^nfixce to the Expo/idon of the ]^ Sticks. 
 the greateft Stranger, and much lefs to a Friend; and 
 therefore what in him might be only matter of Civility 
 my Lord of Sarum miglit interpret to the bcfl advantage' 
 and take to be fohigh a Commendation, as in point of Be"- 
 cencY, hr thinks ought to he fupprefs'J. 
 
 We are further told, that the late mofl Learned Bifhop 
 of WorceOer read it very carefully ; he marked every thit^ 
 that needed a Review, and his Cenfure was in all points fuh- 
 mitted to. He exprefs'd himfelf fo well pleas'd with it, 
 that my Lord of Sarum does not think it becomes him to 
 repeat what he faid of it 
 
 To pretend to contradid my Lord of Sarum in this or 
 in any other Relation of Matter of Fad, would by no 
 means be confident with good Manners, whatever fome 
 out of a due regard to the Memory of that great Man, 
 have been apt to furmize. But thus much any one may 
 be allowed to fuggeft, that though fo much as that Great 
 Man did read, as it is now publilhed, it is poflible he might 
 approve of : yet, that there are now fome things in it which 
 he could not approve of, may be gathered from a Paflage 
 under the very firft Article, p. 40. unlefs we can fuppofe 
 him to have approved what he both writ and fpoke againft 
 with a great deal of Warmth and Concern to the very laft. 
 The famous Text of St. John, i Epifl.^.j. viz. There are 
 three that hear record in Heaven, &c. is in the Expofition fo 
 very courfely handled, that no one that knew Bilhop Stil- 
 Unmeet, can fuppofe he could have endur'd it, after havmg 
 writ very largely in behalf of that Text in a Book againft 
 th^Socinians, printed Jnno 1697. />. 164. He there an- 
 fwers all the Objecaions againft it, and vindicates it to the 
 height: And fuch was his Zeal in aftertingthe Authentical- 
 nefs of it to the laft, that thofe who were ordained by him 
 a little before his Death, will atteft, that in his examining 
 them, he took occafion to Ipeak of it, and declared it very 
 unfit for any one that gives his Aflent and Conlentto the 
 Liturgy C where the lext is twice us'd) to pretend toque- 
 ftion Its being Scripture. From this one Inltance it is eafie 
 to conclude, that civil Exprellions of Thanks orgood liking, 
 
 N 2 are 
 
 pi 
 
■ '■'■# 
 
 5>i i*r Exammtm of /(me ^^Jfages In the 
 
 art not to be taken too flridfy, or to be look'd upon as ^ 
 fufficient Warrant for all that is faid in (o large a 
 Book. ^ 
 
 As this may fuffice to account for the two great Prelates 
 that are dead ,- come we now to thofe that are alive. Botb the 
 M4 Reverend Anhhjhops^ with feveralof the Bifheps, and 
 
 a great many Learned Divines, have alfo read it. They 
 
 looked upon this Work as a thing of that importance, that I 
 
 have reafon to helieve they read it over f eve rely. Tet^ 
 
 after all tbefe Approbations, and many repeated Defires to 
 me topulliJhit,6ic. This, according to the ufual Accepta- 
 tion of Words, may feem to import, that both our pre- 
 fent Metropolitans, and many of the Bifliops, read the 
 whole in Manufcript, approved of it, and defired the Pub- 
 hcation of it: But it muft be confefs'd that the Words may 
 bear fome other Grammatical Senfes, and may not be meant 
 toexprefs fo much as this comes to. One that hath read 
 fome part of a Book, may in a figurative way of Exprefli- 
 on, be faid to have read the whole. Nay, for anyone ta 
 have had it a while in his cuftody to read, may feem to be 
 fufficient to warrant an Author to fuppofe it to have been 
 read, (as who could forbear immediately perufmg fo excel- 
 fcntand etaboratc a Piece coming from fo great a Man) and 
 yet, upon a diligent Enquiry, it may have fo hapncd, that 
 ferae that are faid to have read it, might read but very 
 little of it ; and many of the Bilhops, who for their Learn- 
 ing, and fome other Reafons, were the mod likely Per;- 
 fons to have been conluhed upon this Occafion, might not. 
 fo mtich as read a Line of it till after it was publilhed ; and 
 BO one of the Order may at prefent be very ambitious of 
 the Honour of vouching for the Book. 
 
 Upon the whole matter, fo far as the Credit of our 
 ArchbUhops and Bilhops may feem to be concerned in this 
 matter, it may truly be faid in vindication of them, that 
 even fuppofing what is faid of them to be meant as the 
 Words do feem to import, though the Expofition may be 
 faid to have been read and corre^ed by them, yet this is 
 ^eitheraifirm'd,, nor probably fo much as intended to be 
 
 a£- 
 
 freface to th Expofition on th %^ Aftieles. 
 
 affirmed of the Epiftle, or Preface, or the Tntrodullion ; 
 thefe fwhich are all of them filled with exceptionable Pt^ 
 fages) the Author might look upon but as outward En*- 
 betliihments,and not reckon them as a part of th^Expofition. 
 And it is certain this, that in them, more than any where 
 elle, the Scheme that is drawn for Latitude difcovers it 
 felf ; and without them, Cby way of Key and Tnlet into the 
 grand Defign) the whole is fo artificially put together, that 
 unlefs it be here and there that we meet with fome very 
 glaring Exprefliions, and bold Strokes, a great deal might 
 pafs on well enough, and a hafty Reader not difcern 
 from a few odd Notions fcatter'd up and down, the Ufe 
 intended to be made of the whole. 
 
 z. It is not fo much as pretended that the Author had the 
 leave of any of thofe that perufed any part of the Book,, 
 to brins their Names upon the Stage to warrant the Publi- 
 cation of what comes forth in fuch a Drefs, as fcarce to be 
 known by them to be the fame, now that they come to 
 fee it again : Nor will many, if any of them think it rea- 
 fonable to be made to anfw^er for or make good every civil 
 Compliment or ExpreflTion curforily coming from them to 
 one of their own Order, upon a feeming Defign of doing 
 wonderful Service to the Church, and whom they might be 
 un willing, confidering all things, to fufpecSt to mean other- 
 wife ; or that the Produdof (o many Years Labour Ihould 
 not deferve their Thanks. 
 
 My Lord of Sarum may be pleased to remember a Story^ 
 which is not foreign from theBufinefs in hand, wherein he 
 was more than a little concernM. 
 
 About Twenty Years ago Dr. Enmet publiflied a very 
 excellent Book, take it all together, called JheHifloryoj the 
 Reformation : It had in effed: the publick Thanks of the 
 Kingdom, imply'dinthe Votes of bothHoufes of Parlia- 
 ment, obtained by the Author in its favour, which may feem ^ 
 to include the Approbation of Archbiftiops and Biihops: 
 And who would exped after this, that any Fault worth ta- 
 king notice of ihould be found in fuch .a Book ? And yet, 
 
 when 
 
 51? 
 
 w 
 
•!•■•?• 
 
 mmf 
 
 *m^^ 
 
 
 •9^ 
 
 *^^t* 
 
 TPW^ 
 
 94 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 ^n Exammt'm of fome ^ajfages in the 
 when this Hittory came forth, a very great Prelate of our 
 Church, very eminent for Learning, and on many accounts 
 very highly cfteemed and reverenc'd, took Offence at a 
 raHage in this Hiftory, and fent for tlie Author, and re- 
 prov d him ftarply for having done great wrong to the 
 Memory of ArchbiOicp Cranmr, one of ourfirR Reform- 
 ers, one of the Compilers of our Book of Cmmon Prayer 
 and one whom ue fuppofe had a good iliarein drawing up 
 the Articles of Relig.cn. The biflicp did not tax the Hi- 
 ftorian with any faHe Record, or faying any thing that was 
 not really true in it felf but for not living «ke^n due ^are 
 
 Xi w !§' 7 ^"A ''S^^^' ^5 '° Pi'^vent a Miflake which 
 the World had been apt to run into ; whicli v^ as , 
 tha Cr,.n,er was an EraHian, whenas by hisfubfcribingto 
 BiHiop Zf/g/-Ws Anfwer to the King's QL,cftions it ao- 
 
 SU f n'^^''^"' I't '"'g'^^ ^g" « Prefiden; of the 
 College of Bifliops, and by that means might be obliged to 
 
 tS M^.•?'''"'■"'."S^''^^P'"'°" ^'^d Dcterminatfn of 
 the Majority yethe washimfelfin his own private Jude- 
 
 Tnf^J:'^''t''' ri ^'^^«rdingly fubfcnbed to ilTopil 
 fide Now'^n I '-'^ 'r"'^ fP^^^^"'^ ^•'"'"^'^' °" »'^e Hght 
 
 this matter^ his Anf^^.S! nS '^/t^aX- X 
 It very well, as any one would do that reads it • but 
 
 ImeT .f S""/'' ^•'^"'--ding over two flch Vo- 
 jumes, he Jhould examine every Quotation and loot 
 into every Record, and compare Hands, and "d the Cr^ 
 tick from Page to Pace A {irear Afol L,Tnur ,., 
 cjep^nd cp„„f „e Fide£, o ASnl7 an'3 htXpu," 
 tionmult anfwerfor Miftake« nf rh^r v V ^ i^^puta- 
 
 Print; 
 
 /-"j^^ 
 
 Tre/ace to the Expojum on the ] 9 Jr tides. 
 
 Print , and he did what he could toexcufe it; but not be- 
 ing willing to acknowledge himfelf in the wrong, he 
 never could in the Opinion of the World get clear of the 
 Charge- 
 
 What thofe that are faid to have read, and to have ap-* 
 prov'd of this Expofition of the Articles, may have to fay 
 of the Uke kind, perhaps it would not be to the Advan- 
 tage of the Expofitor to enquire : But this one Inftance may 
 funice, to (hew that the Author of a Book, notwithftand- 
 ing any the mod Authentick Imprimatur^ mufl: after all, ex- 
 ped to anfwer for himfelf, and not think that the Civili- 
 ties of his Friends will fcreen him from the Imputation of 
 Error and Miflake. In the Expofition before us, no one will 
 deny but that a great deal of Learning is (hewn, and Ma- ; 
 terials there are fufficient for an excellent Work : But when 
 we come to fearch to the Bottom of the Defign, and fee 
 to what it tends, it is a very great Queftion whether ei- 
 ther of our Archbifliops, or any of our Biiliops or Learn- • 
 ed Divines, will care to engage themfelves in behalf of the 
 Book, or undertake to patronize what fo plainly di(covers 
 a Partiality for Foreign Conftitutions , by making our 
 Articles bend to them, and reconciling them to other Peo- 
 ples Notions of things very different trom the Doilrine of 
 the Eaabli{hM Church. 
 
 This being faid in vindication of our Archbifliops and 
 Biiliops, the better to remove the great Difficulty the Cler- 
 gy in Convocation laboured under, with refped to the 
 feeming Authority, wherewith this Expofition would be. 
 thought to come forth. Come we now to the third thing 
 to be confider'd, as a thing of great Concern to the Eftab- 
 Ulh*d Church, as it is what gives a very wrong^tate of our 
 Cafe with refpedl to our unhappy Divifions in England in 
 point of Religion, there being nothing more common than 
 to fee Altar againft Altar,and Men prolelfing the fame Faith,, 
 avoiding the Communion of each other, refufing talay their 
 Prayers together, or to ferve God with one Mind, and with 
 one Mouth, as all good Chriftians ought to be willing to do. 
 Where the Fault lies hath been for many Years, and flilL 
 
 95 
 
 conr. 
 
■^iw 
 
 9< Jn Examination »f fotm ^aft^es m the 
 
 continues to be the main Qvteftion between "the DJft.- 
 te«and the Eftablifhed ChuS,; and to thro ^ the ^ifrae' 
 
 i^VT'"' '^ '^^ e*""^ Endeavour of our AdverfariS 
 and which to admit, is certainly the greateft Piece S-nr' 
 a^aion to the Church that can well bfexprefTed .nd ?« 
 th,s ,s what at the larter end of the Preface the Expofito 
 (eems to incl.ne to much more than is confiaent with the Re 
 putation of theChurch,it being a thing not to brdenied hm 
 that, were .t true that oor Differences with SSm wS 
 only of things i«^if.r<r«nnthemfelves, and allo^ Br^ 
 ches might be made up by making fom^ few Cor^crtfonT 
 great Regard ought to be had to the Weakneft of J Rri 
 ther and little things ought not to keep us afunder Bu^ Tf 
 this be not theCafe^ then to reprefent it in fuch m'anne 'i 
 
 rr^ •^°' r'f ^° '^' "^^'"''^ ^8^^« deal of wX 
 This being faid come vv^ now to fee what the Prelkce 
 fuggefts touching this matter j and then we will enouS in 
 to the Truthof the thing, and fee whether he Ex^fi 2; 
 
 S'd itself Tl'w Jf "^^°^"°^ asOpportunitri th 
 otter d It leU. The Words we are to confider, are thcfe 
 
 IJhall conclude this Prefaced a RepL J j%,,,. 
 emne.t Dzvme am»g the Lutherans /« GermTnvJJ^ 
 when I u,as prejjing this matter cf U.ionJiTZ rt 
 
 vmxiis upon hm. Hefaid, he mnJer'd to fee Tott. 
 
 of the Church of England prefs that > Jh en L Jhl 
 rve, mtmthftandtng the Dangers u>e iere in (7t Z'intZ 
 Tear i6Z6.) could not agree our Differences : They d^7^d 
 
 and hs Frovtdence ', concerningthe Guilt of Sin ivhetherit 
 ivasto ie charged on God or on the Sinnlr ; and'ZVer 
 Men ought to make good ufe of their Facuhie^ J fu 
 ought to truft entirely to L irUflihleG^:'!^ 1 \'Z 
 Matters of great moment. But he [aid we in vLunAjJ 
 edonly about FORMS OF GOFERkmNffm jfoR 
 
 firl . I' J J ''f "" ^"^ ^"^ H^^rrelling about thefe 
 ior above an hundred Tears, and u>e were not yet To J It 
 
 fir b^ all the mifchief that this had doneus.JUlZZ 
 
 eluded 
 
 freface to the Expofttiononthe ;p Articles. 
 
 eluded. Let the Church of England heal her own Breaches 
 and then all therefl of the Reformed Churches wiU with great 
 Refpea admit of her Mediation to heal theirs. I will not 
 prefumeto tell hm [ anfiuerd this : But T pray God to enlighten 
 and dtreH all Men, that they may confider well how it ought to 
 be anfwered. The Objedion was natural enough for a 
 I,«/*f/-a»tomake, who by living a great way off, might 
 wen be a Stranger to our Affairs, and to the nature of our 
 Ditterences. He might probably have been told by fuch as 
 correfponded with our Diffenters, that our Church is very 
 ftna and ngorous.bearing hard upon the weak Brotherhood, 
 breaking with them upon fuch Trifles as the Sign of the 
 Crofs, or the Colour of a Habit, one defiring to have it 
 black, and the other will have it white, and the like. But 
 furely no Divme of the Church of England could be at a 
 lofs for an Anfwer to fuch a frivolous Objedion, grounded 
 on a Miftake fo very grofs, and fo eafily refuted. 
 
 That which makes it the more fufpicious that Dr. Burnet 
 Oor in i686. he was no more; dW not take care to do our 
 Church Right, by anfwerinff the Lutheran zs he might have 
 done , IS his declining to tell what his Anfwer was, at the 
 lame time concluding with a Prayer which argues a Dif- 
 truft of the Caufe, and implies that fo good an Anfwer 
 could not be made as he could wifli. 
 
 But wliatever Dr. Burnet or the Bifliop oiSarum's Notions 
 may have formerly been, or are of this matter , it may be 
 ht to enquire whether what the Lutheran fuggefts be reallv 
 true in Fad or not j for if it be otherwife. then it muft be 
 acknowledged thatnothingcan be more injurious to the E- 
 flabhOied Church, than to have fuch wrong Notions of its 
 Temper inftilled into People, be it either amongft our 
 lelves or abroad. ' & "» 
 
 If our Divifions are about things of lefs Importance as is 
 fuggelled in the Epijlle, if they are about things that 'are of 
 their own nature indifferent (as in the Words before us^) it 
 mua be contcffed, that they that divide from the Enablifli'd 
 Church, are fo much the more to blame: But yet it is but 
 natural to conclude, that the Clergy of the Eftablifli'd 
 
 O Church 
 
 97 
 
5>8 Jn Exmmatm of/oim faff ages in tk 
 
 Church at the fame time muft needs be a proud ftiff fort of 
 People, quarrclfome in their Nature, and too ready to take 
 advantage of having the Law on their Side, if by receding 
 trom foine few indifferent things, alJ might be well , and a 
 Union of a!l forts of Proteftants througliout the Kinn^donr 
 were fo eafily to be had : Whether therefore this comes a- 
 ny thing near to a true State of things in £WjW is the 
 thing to be confidered. * 
 
 i hat our Dillenters have very little to objcca a^rainft our 
 Dodnne or way of VVordiip ; thattliev are fain o^^n the one 
 hand to find tault with things of/efs Importance, and things 
 ^\\\d\^x(tirjtheiroivfi nature indifferent^ for want of beim^ 
 able toobjedt any thing of moment, may be true enouglh 
 But, on tiie other hand, it is by no means true, that our Di- 
 vifions mErtgiandzxt owing to any of tliofe indifferent things 
 The Things we break upon, are of the Hi^hejl Importance 
 as will plainly appear, when we confider who are the Merr 
 that make the moll confiderable Parties of DifTenters 
 from our Church, who they are that make the Wounds 
 - and Breaches amongft us. They are (as hatli been already 
 oblerv^d) the Papilis, the Socinians,the Dcias, the Quakers 
 the Anabaptifts, the Presbyterians, the Independents be! 
 fides many otherHereticks and Schifmaticks. As to the 
 Papills, no one will deny but that our Differences with them 
 are of things of the highea/w/^/'/^;;c(r, though they profefs 
 the fame Faith. But is it not a thing of as great Importance 
 to deny the Divinity of Chrifl, and run into the embracing 
 fe veral Herefies condemn'd by the Catholick Church, as the 
 Socinians and Deifls are known to do ; who, for denyingtb;: 
 Lord that bought Vw,and renouncing theSatisraftion wrought 
 for them by his^uflerings, are condemn'd by S. Peter, and 
 are by the Spirit of God faid to bring upon themfelves fwift 
 Deftrudion ? Is it a thing indifferent in it felf, and of lefs 
 Importance to lay afide both Sacraments, as the Quakers 
 aEeknowntodo, and bring all Religion to Enthufiafm, and 
 an unintelligible Jargon of a Light within, the better to 
 put out the Light of the Gofpel, and make the Scriptures as 
 a dead Letter, to.fignifie little,- and all this the bet- 
 ter 
 
 Preface to tlje Expofition of the ] 9 /tides. 
 
 ter to difguife a Disbelief of fe vera! of the Arttdes of the 
 Greed ? 
 
 Is it a thiug fo very eafie to be complied with, to admit 
 that we are none of us Chriftians, becaufe we were bap- 
 tized in our Infancy ? And yet this is the Doarine of the 
 Anabaptifl: which we cannot come up to ; befides many 0- 
 ther extravagant Opinions, as to a Power of Preachi.ng, 
 without any Pretence to Orders of any kind ; as alfo with 
 refpedl to Civil Government, which any one of common 
 Senfe mufl: allow, and the Lutheran Divine himfelf would 
 foon have allowed to be far from being oi their own na- 
 tare indifferent. Then, Laftly, as to fuch as it is pfobabfe 
 the Biihop had his Eye upon moft, when he feems to 
 think the Objedion is of fo great weight as to beho\re us 
 to confider it well : Is it a thing of fmall Importance, 'a 
 thing indifferent to an Eftabliihed Church, to have it difpu- 
 tcd whether the Members of it are a Church or nor? 
 whether the Church, as a Mother, hatha right to- any 
 degree of Honour and Refped from • her Children ? 
 Can it be reckoned as a thing indifferent to an Epifco- 
 pal Church to have it queflioned whether Epifcopacy be 
 a lawful Inllitution or not? or whether we ought for 
 Peace fake to thrc/.^^up the CommiiTion we can fo plainly 
 prove to defcend down to us from the.-rt'poilles themfelves, 
 (and confequently from Chrifl: } «nd for the future derive 
 all Spiritual Power, either from the Choice- of the People, 
 and a Call from a Congregation in the hidependant way; 
 or change Epifcopacy, though as ancient -as Chriftianity, 
 for Presbytery, which was never pretended to as an Eftab- 
 lilhment,till Ca/vin^z'nd that only at firftupon the Account 
 of abfolute Neceiiity ? And yct/unlefs we will come up/to 
 this, all oth^r Overtures for Peace/ we sre abundantly via-- 
 tisfied will fignifie nothing. Thefeare tht principal Wik^nds 
 and Breaches \n the Church of E^g/arfd 7 Thcfe ar6 t-llc 
 Points that keep us from being all of Ofte'Mind : It is »tJy 
 thcfe Differences we are unhappily disjoin fUl and divided : 
 But v\hether thefe are of things of lefs Importmoe^ ^^i whe^' 
 ther the Lutheran had been rightly in(ormed,4sHiot hard* tO 
 judge; or whether we differ. .only about Forms .of Gqvero- 
 
 O z ment 
 
 99 
 
I 
 
 loo 
 
 Jn Examination offome fajfa^es in the 
 
 mnt MdWorfhlf, and about things that are of their own 
 
 T\Z'if"'-''\' ?^^' '^^''''y '^^^ very plain and iX 
 ".able that ,t looks very odd that the Bifliop fhould ft v 
 
 wir. "Jf /»'-cA««'^^^/.^ us W he anf,verd the Lutheran ! 
 Hhenas there .s no true Son of the Church of EnM 
 
 l.n I I'r' ''"■ '"i;"',^ 'f J'^°"g'«^ fo ^'i^'e Matters, but e- 
 vcn be.^re ever he had the Benefit of theBidiopofV^m^'s 
 Prayer for h,s further Enhghtcning, knew very well how to 
 
 an ObjeSn ''"^"''' '' ^° '°""'°"' ^"^ ^^"^^ ^ "^^ 
 
 thi.'^Sr'rin".- '"^^''^^''P '?P^"^'^ ^° °^^«^" ^° ^°"ch upon 
 t IS S ring and infinuate his VVifhes of Compliances on 
 
 ^.t?nZ^? ^i'd ^"^ '^' ''^^''"g °f Differences, and the 
 uniting of Protenants as our Diffenters exped to be call'd 
 
 fn S ■^''^il'^P/'^;"^'' ^ ^^''"g 'f '^ '■" ^^«'"'e to have he 
 to be made by the Church, even before they are ask'd • let 
 
 to b?:,g ;; t"^^^^^^^ ''^ '"^"^^ ^°^^ ^'-^^ -« ^^^ oM 
 
 I 
 
 .Jw^ ''"■""' '''^ have DifTenters of feveral forts, and they 
 could never yet agree, Cnor is it likely they ever fliould a- 
 
 r^rirr '''''' ^'™'°[ ^'^^^^^'^'^^ to be made in our 
 Tn?n? G°v^''"'?^^'lt and Wordiip they would all come in 
 
 ro endeavour to pleafe one and difpleafe another, is only a 
 lure way of bringing all things into Confufion, and can n^ 
 
 X. Before we can come to the Union denr'd, we muft 
 
 Pow^^^^^^^ ' ^'^"^^h which c^nfZn. 
 
 l^ower from Chnn and his Apoftlesto preach the GofDcI 
 
 onsforthe carrymgon the Service ot God, and leave eve- 
 
 br?ak afe^^ ??^ ^'^''l' ^ '^^^ '^^ P'^^*^'^' ^"d thus 
 
 Si^ff" V- "''' u ^1'^^ ^"^ Communion, with a Pro- 
 if>e<a of «nm«ig with we know not who. 
 
 This 
 
 Preface to the Expo futon on the ] 9 Articles. 
 
 This is in effed to un-church our felves with the Hopes 
 of having a few more than now we have to join with us in- 
 the Offices of Religion, which is the bed Term it will bear, 
 for Communion it cannot be call'd. 
 
 V To be able to join without Protcftant DifTenters (ta- 
 king only five or lix of the chief St&s amongft them; be- 
 fore we can do it, we mud lay afide feveral of our Articlcs> 
 (which if done in due time, might have favcd the Bilhop of 
 SarumB. great deal of trouble in expounding them) we 
 mufl: cancel our Canons, renounce our Orders, or declare 
 them needlefs, if not fuperftitious and Popifli ; We mufl 
 throw away our Common-Prayer Book, quite alter the 
 Conftitution of rhe Government fo far as concerns the 
 Lords Spiritual : We mull: perfedly new-mold bothChufcli. 
 and State : We mufl:, to pleafc the Anabaptifts, be all bap- 
 tized again ,• and to pleafe the Quakers, renounce Water- 
 Haptifm and the Uieof all outward Sacraments : We mult, 
 deny the Divinity of Chrift, and never give Glory to any 
 but the Father, if we hope for Peace with the Socinian. 
 Thelc and many other, are the Terms we mufl: come up to 
 if we have any Thoughts of a general Union, and would 
 not have it any longer faid that we differ with them in. 
 fh/ffgs of lejs importance^ as is fuggefled in the EpiAle , or- 
 aUut thitfgs indifferent^ as in the Vrejace before us. 
 
 But no vv, on the other hand, fmce it is impoflible for the- 
 Church to come up to fuch Terms as will pleafe all Diflen- 
 tcrs, thereby to put an end to our Differences, till they are 
 all agreed among themfelves(whicltitis morally impo.Tible • 
 to fuppofe they ever Ihould be,.) It is evident that the blame 
 oi Separation wholly lies at the Door of tlie Diilenters : It is 
 to them, andnottotiK: Church,, we owe our Divifions. 
 1 here is not any thing of moment they can objeca to us^^: 
 But if there be fuch a thing as Herefie or Scliilm ; if 
 there be fuch a thing as a Cliarch or ChurcivGovernment,.^ 
 if there be an-Obligationto Decency and Order in Relign 
 on ; if all are not upon the level, bu: there is in Scripture- 
 lucli a thing as being ///^;>c/ one to another :^ and fo^iething 
 
 ©i 
 
 104 
 
 t/r 
 
 
101 
 
 Jn Exmimiion of fome ^djj'ages in the 
 
 of<;overnment there muft be both in Church and State 
 then that which the Church of £.^Whathto fay for S 
 
 T. ^l!,^h^- '° a^T'P^y V'^' ^''' ^''''^^ Adverfarics, is 
 this, that It IS impoflible to pleafe them all, efpecially confi- 
 
 dermg, that what they infia upon and oppofe, are things 
 fo very matenal as to be of the very Efrence of^a 
 Church,, and at the fame time, what we have to objcca 
 againft them is , that for the moft part they feparate 
 
 wSh"!] "P°? PrT""" °^ ^ few Ceremonies ^nly 
 ^vhch they themfelves cannot but acknowledge to be 
 
 onf^uoiv».aturei.^,ffere»f. they may come in to us by 
 
 andrlnf '''"■^^'"r'^ u^'^^ of ChriRian SubmiHion 
 andComplancej^butforthe Church to pretend to eo in 
 to all that difTent from her, cannot end in any thiifg lefs 
 tliananintireceafingtobeaChurch. 
 
 This being the true State of the Cafe between the Church 
 of £«^Wa^d our Dijlenters, with refpedto the offltences 
 mRehgion betiveen themand us, it plainly follows, that t ho* 
 a Toleration be very pradicable.and is no more than whatTs 
 now granted by I aw yet a Comprehenflon is imprXa- 
 ble ; and though the ExpoJitio» feems altogether to look that 
 way, and one would beapt to guefs it to have been penn'd 
 for that purpofe; yet, Ihould it meet with any Coun^e- 
 nance from Authority, it muft necelTkrily, and of'courfe 
 end m the utter Deftrudion of the Eftablill'ed Church and 
 in as much Gonfufion as would be the having no Face of 
 Government in the State. ° 
 
 To.be without fome fort of Government, and a comoe- 
 tent degree of Subjedtion and Conformity i^ aU InSr^ 
 towards their Superiours, be it in the Charch or H" 
 State, according to what the Laws of each do require can- 
 not but be highly deOrudive, andin its Confequcre 've"y 
 fatal as. well to the one as to the other ^ 
 
 -.V^^fiTZi^Jl "°^ ''^"-d '« J^dge whether fpch a Clofe of 
 a Preface could be meant m favour of the Eaablilh'd Chtitth 
 Foran Aurhor to raife^an Objcdion rbeit fromhimfelSr 
 from another) and then not only decline the givTng it a 
 proper • Anfwer, but by concluding with a Prayer to God 
 
 - for 
 
 * 
 
 Preface to the Expofu'm on the \ 9 Jrticles. 
 
 for a particular Anifiarce upon fo extraordinary an Occa- 
 fion, as if an extraordinary Illumination were needful in 
 this cafe, and that the uliial ordinary Means were notfuffici- 
 ent to remove fo great a Difficulty ; Thus to make 
 a Shew of the Objedion being next to unanfwerable, 
 is to leave the Reader much mere at a lofs than he finds 
 him, laying a Necellity upon him to recurr to his own 
 firft Notions of things, and the ftrength of his ownReafon- 
 ing,to extricate himfelf from the Difficulties, which, by 
 what he hath been reading, he finds himfelf under : And, 
 fliould the reft of tlie Work be of a piece with this Begin- 
 ning, a Man will be apt to give over very often with no 
 Imall Difguft before becomes to the End of the Book, very 
 juftly complaining of being difappointed, and rather put 
 back than advanc'd, when thus he muft be forc'd to help 
 himfelf at every turn fome other way, inftead of being bet- 
 ter inform 'd by whatiscall'd an Expofition. 
 
 10} 
 
 Finis. 
 
rrr^ 
 
 He:. 
 
 •4 \ 
 
 I 
 
 ■ "' .-m 
 • -0 4^ 
 
 V 
 
 
 •^, 
 
 
 7 
 
 jDEF&NCE 
 
 O F TH E 
 
 G H T RE V ERE N D 
 
 THE 
 
 op of S A RUM. 
 
 IN 
 
 
 S W E 
 
 To a BOO ft, Endtuled, 
 
 A Prefatory Difcourfe 
 
 An E SC A M I N A T I O N of the 
 
 BISHOP o£ SARWM'^ 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 O F T H E ~ 
 
 XXXIX :»tticfc6roe eje ctwwn of EDghad,&c^ 
 
 L X> N D Ny 
 
 Printed, ind to be Sold by: A. Baldtpw, near the Oaiford* 
 Arms in mn9ielU.Me. M DCC III. 
 
 ■./•.I 
 
 I 
 
 >. . 
 
JU^ 
 
 t" 
 
 ••1 
 
 ^T 
 
 PREFA 
 
 vr \ 
 
 |f/e Reader mdf ftrhtps wdnier fhdt^ fo /otig rfter ^ 
 FMi€dtion of 4 Bookf there jhl^uld come oftt m Anfwfer 
 to it. The true Reafon ofit^ is^ That I had not fttH 4he 
 Booky tiU d good while dfter ^twds Publifi>d ; and when I 
 hdiy I thought thdt either the Bifhop would Anfaer itj or thdlt it wds 
 his Opinion it did net dibferve dn Jnfwet ^ And I found Ttothink in it 
 thdt could work nf on d Con ftdei^ing MdW.^ *' 
 
 But when the Defignfeep$d to he profecutedy dnd pdrticuldr Avtiol^ 
 cdme to he exdmin% iftdthe fdme wds thredtend to the reft ; dndt^ 
 BiibopV AftRvcr WdtridicuPdy dnd HifnftlftdirdT\it)gik^^^^): 
 of Compendious AtifWering (by One tfho is ugredter^ dnd r^koWas 
 given more Compendious Anfwers himfelf to Books written kgdinfi 
 himj even none at dU) I begdn to thinky thdt the Cry might indke dn 
 Imfreffion upon thofe^ who did not redd^ but only hedtd the ^oife ; 
 undthe Silence on this Side be imputed uConfeffton by piuny of ihof^ 
 dlfothdt dtd. _ ■ ,, 
 
 Nor wdS I much difpkdfd dt hdving fuch rleiis, foir khtting ^dinfi 
 this Treatife, ofer'd me. For its Artful^ Cunning, Stated W0 (q 
 Deceive J dnd Impofe upon the RcdLdoty dnd its Groundtefs\ H^ich^^ 
 ritdbky Vndeferved Tredtment of the Bifhop, hdd provoked me * vff 
 RefpeEl to the Biftiop'i Station^ dnd Chdrdlfer^ hdd inpi^ed m^; d^^ 
 the Ed fine fs oftheMdtttrhddencourd^dme: dnd fo IwdSy vfithout 
 dnygredt difficulty^ determined to give the Book this Anfwer. 
 
 And this I wdS the moreredhto doy becdufe I w^iwMng to (hew 
 whdt Terms of Conimunion /ome Mert^ymon'us, more thdn the 
 Church does ; dnd thdt Thofey who hdve the Opprobrious 'Mark of 
 Moderate Men fet upon themy hold dU thdt the Church requires ; 
 dnd therefore ought not to be robbed of the Title of Her True-Sons, dny 
 more thdn they rob the others^ whom they bUme not for holding more 
 
 A 2 thdn 
 
\ V, 
 
 than the O^nrch requires, hut for impofing //. Tbtt there are fucb 
 Men as Ujfuch Weights ufon us,, and that All who approve The Pre- 
 fatory pifcourfe4re/«cA, Ihave, I hope, w fome mea/ure made out : 
 '< I doubt not, ihallfeel. For, I make noquefiton, IfhaBbe counted 
 No Church-man, for daring to undertake tie Defence of « Man 
 whom 'tis the Mark of a Party to Vilifie, and DifrefptSi ; gad the 
 Confutation of a Book, that they Cry up, and Admire. 
 ■ This is aU the Account I have to give of the foBowing Anfwer 
 Such as ft ts, I commit it to the Candid and Impartial Readers if 
 there be any fuch. From fuch as are Sworn to a Party, againfi that 
 
 WorthtMan / Defend, I neither deftn Favour, nor txpiS 
 Jufttce. ' ^ 
 
 ^tcau[e 1 have often had Occasion to mention the Declaration of 
 mg Charles the Firft, in treating, of the Senfe in which the Articles 
 are to be fuhmitnd to -which Declaration, the King teOt us, was 
 »4ic with the Advice of fp many of the 3i(hops, as might cJnvc- 
 Aicntly be CaDed together ; andhtcaufe itisver, much tTour pre fent 
 Purpofe^ I have therefore thought it proper to lay Part of it before the 
 « 'Sfe That therefore in thefe, both furious, and uihappy 
 ^ Diflerences, which haveforfo many Hundred Years, in diffeiSnt 
 W Jr^^n r P*^^' ^^^tCK'd the Church of Chrift ; We Will. 
 
 ^ut upin Gpd s Proraifes, as they be generally fet forth to Us 
 in the Holy Scriptures, and the G e n e r a l M e a n i n g of 
 « So/ 1^' °1 ^^^ CWy £«^/4»^ according to them. And 
 a ?". >° ^^ hereafter fljall either Print, or Preach, to draw the 
 
 ^r^ll ■ ^® *7 "^^y* ^^^ ^^" ^"'^•n" to «» in the plain and 
 ^. tull Meaning thereof : and Ihall not put his own Senfc, or Com- 
 
 ment, to be the Meaning of the^r//c^, but Ihall take it in 
 the Literal, and Grammatical Sense. 
 
 From hence let any One judge, with what Juflice the BiQiop <»/Sarum 
 
 «T'l* •' j"' ■{ ^u^'H' "ry-'^rMLatitudinarianDe/^*. 
 MS may prejudtte the Church of England. '^ * 
 
 M 
 <( 
 
 t '- 
 
 
 •i ' 
 
 . \ 
 
 '.\\.: 
 
 A N 
 
 
 (i) 
 
 A N 
 
 N 
 
 W 
 
 R 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 Prefatory Difcourfe, &c. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 PERMIT me, afkcr the Freedom that you have taken in handling the 
 BiOiop of Sarum in the manner you have, to be only bfree with yon, 
 though unknown, as to addrefs my felf to you, in the pfence of a 
 Work which is as much above your Cenfure as its Author is above 
 Reeardine it 'Tis not worth His While, to leave his more Important 
 p„fini.r« to take Notice of every one who unjuftly and malicioufly makes it his to 
 ReS and Abufe Him, either bJcaufe be cannot or will not underftand him But 
 I having a little Lciibre, thought it would not be thrown away, ifl took fome 
 P^im in fairly reprefenting His Lordftiip's Notions, m clearing them from your 
 foTlLS tonkas weak Objcaions i and letting the World f«, thai you 
 «^n» a Sr Caufe, or your Caufe a better Advocate. This I could have done 
 rnSorte andclS^^^^^ eafier to m, felf, than I have now chofen ; 
 
 buU knew what fort of a Man I had to deal with, and therefore I refolved to 
 ?race you through every Paragraph, to Qiow there was not a Syllable in you I 
 was aHd oG and to take away all occafion of Pretence from you, that I had 
 Sd by any thing Material : And Pardon me, if I fometimes exprefs a Refent- 
 ment for vour treating the Bilhop with fo unufual minfolence. 
 " You Jigbw th that, which, iS the fmall Knowledge I have had, is n^oriouay 
 Falfc- The Book indeed has been th, generatTofKkofDtfcoHrfe, but with qute 
 LVhlrrhoraAer than voH mention. For thofe that I have heard fpeakof it, 
 aS en^u^d £t K hale given it a Name as if they thought it Ufeful, and 
 « Fxaft as a Book of that Nature could be. It was Sold and Praifed at no ordi- 
 nlr^Rate and Recommended to the Clergy by no ordinary Men. But you might 
 r'r^rh^o. know this Mcn's Converfations lie different ways, and we dont 
 Se'^or ?r S, and fo don't remember what thofe talk, who are not of the 
 Opinion we have any ways pleai'd to take up. But 
 
 
 
^:^:^uZS^f^:^ ^ly-f .0 «ake ie look odious. 
 
 for a 0.,.;,..yj.„. and which Do§or§;JrtSd Th V 'p ^^"^ ''^'^2"'^ 
 though wnw^ B,i,;b a prtat did oF Art ^^J r ■ °- c ^''^^^ook, it feems. 
 People would not r^f in tZ rLI Zt SZ"^,i. St to deceive Unwary' 
 r.y fed mighty Chan^^s^ a.d th^B^Z "f^PMVd ' /^'^T^ ^"f'"''^^ ^ 
 of the fame fort. Bucal the MifcES? fo^SK ' ""^ ^j'""^"^ ^"Homc more 
 gaining ^ Tolerate. Whenftch onen ntifnL ''i^' be done the Church, was 
 the Latitudw,rUm, who had lain ft?n . »hi/ ^ 7°"'^ "°' *"" ^° g^od Accounr 
 ''"'M at laft brokrthe Peace „ h , r ''l°?'^"'''"g "P^" ^"'"^ and c4"J* 
 
 derafhewofScTvice: doing bi^ the C Wa a! . !? ^''^ir wicked Defigns, un- 
 Sentence, give him a'coolword or^iTt theS t ''/ V^ ^'^^^ '" ^''^ "^« 
 Reflexion, in the fecond part ofit? fan the heav^e? ^ inH*^ 'I' ""^^^ '° "'^'^^ ^h^ 
 head of this but the Bilhooof LvLJ Jt^i. i^"^" „^"^ "''^ 'houW be at the 
 /■«»*-?, made fo i^^.Sinit as^[^^^^^^^ - ^ts Maruiin^ ^he mrU 
 
 and to promote a Defign noi^ whi?h £ b'efSre op^o's^S ?\t l^ ''!"?' Y'^"'' 
 odd ; When he was a 5rr>»wr a JV*;.*^r n„,K- "^ , « '^"'^ '" ""^^ '*"' '>>« more 
 kind to the Church, as toSefwS^rt I t'^'^^.^'nongft us, he wasfo ' 
 e.« of the mofi Enl.ent IISS of tlfZVL X. T ^' " ' ff"" ^"f^f^ '« 
 
 «« wWrnr, and have Things reduc'd w 7hTcomf^tSup f^'^T^^'' *" P"'- 
 ^a;u>. serioufly, this is,as you fay, fo JIrl« j{ j!11.r '^^^^ ^"^*^'"'^- 
 beljeveit: and vourheartuill win«.,:^!io^Tj '"*'"•* *^°"'''^ering Man can 
 
 the Gafe vlith fHaSrSva oTs '« ^^^^^^^ l^V''!" '^ "»^'<^ ^ to lo"d 
 Praftice. that Men, ou^t oSereftor Soke „n ^'h''^"'''' ^? '^"°«' ^y their 
 defertthem: But for a M^n to rSLniff ^ • " •^^^^ "P their Principles, or 
 once, and have the fatlsSon of 2^ Jlf '^^^^^^^^^^ f^ hisIntereftU Z 
 think yoa of it ? Were thisXS tr e^ aid^Je n^°'^ T" ^i"""^^f ' ^^^ 
 one another, all that could be faid wouS be rh J ,E fe ^'te^Iy oppoUte to 
 Better or Worfe than in a former S If ^ll *^°f *'='' S™*'" either 
 
 would allow the Change to ber«mS u ^^T ' ^""^ o^^e who thinks fo 
 Worfe -, it would be for their Sr^rT .''''''/'"^ ""^ 't in every Body If 
 donable for feJr theX^T^^^.T^^l'^'^F''^^^ to a,|ow it'at leaftPa - 
 done fo. But if ail this be Falfe • Tf there be t' ."'L'" u*^ "« f°""d to have 
 Charge ; !f my Lord oisIrZ. ' il I I "° ^"<^'' thing as you lay to his 
 
 £»?/W in fixh manner asKs doSTtJ'"^ ."if ^"'^'^ °f '''^ <=''^'^of 
 tnOfi„io„, any farther t^an the JSS SlrM* ''T" " ^'^'">^ f<^ Lmtnde 
 th, Ms themfelve.^ ^TllZro s^}^^^^^ '^ »>« Account of 
 
 but fuch as becomes iFmhrHlExlTor'o.A ^^l''''"' ^' «ot pmicMl,rly New 
 ftch as the Church did 2defgTfcovtle"aT^- ^""'•^"'^ '«^ »« "°"« but 
 
 ^e£farr^;»G^oi%%^^ ^^ 
 
 makes 
 
 (3) 
 
 makes fcow/ Men look back, and fufpefl: their Firfi Primifles in Divimy 
 and Morality. You cannot, for your heart, out of your Singular Refpeft 
 to the Bi[l:of^ with which all your Expreffions are even furfeited believe 
 your Eyes. Though, let me tell you, There are fome Things in a 
 Set of Writings, that would fooner make a Man diftrufl his Senfes, confidcrtnjr 
 the great Deference the Englifli Clergy are upon all Occafions kriown to pay their 
 MetropoUtans and Bijhops. Confidering this, 'twould naake a Man ftare to 
 fee One of the Btlhop^ Station, and Charader, and Merits, every where 
 made Mean, and Defpicable, and Wicked , and never allow'd a Civil Word 
 but when 'tis to make another Word more Uncivil ; to fee a Bijhop almoft in 
 plain Terms call'd the Snhvmer of the Church, the Encourager of the Enemies 
 oj It, an unfinctrc Prevaricator , and in this very Paragraph, in efFeft, an 
 ignorant Knave ^ who can't Cell the common received Senfe of the Articles^ and 
 the Dnty a of Subfcriher^ and makes Subfcriptions^ Declarations and Oaths offo little 
 ufe^ as to be no Security to thofe that impofe them : Such things, I fay, wonid 
 make a Man ftzxt, confidering the great Deference of the Clergy of that Church 
 of which you write your felf a Presbyter. It looks as if you and your Friends 
 made a Jeft of this Deference, notwithftanding all your Obligations to it, 
 when you fcarce ever ufe fuch Expreffions, but in Sentences fo void of the 
 thing, that it looks ridiculous to fee them fo match'd, and is no better than 
 the King'^s j4nthority in a Parliament Declaration. You'd do well to confider 
 what Refpe^i to Bijhops, and Truth are, and ad hereafter as if you thought 
 them, things for which you are one day to be Anfwerable. 
 
 That the Bijhop has pMjh^d a Reverfe to the nfaal Notion of Suhfcribing, 
 ex animo^ is glaringly Falfe, to any one that looks but into his Introduftion : 
 That he has put new Con/lr unions upon fever al of the Articles^ I hope will be fo 
 prefently. If there were the leaft Reafon to think he had, every honeft Man 
 would rejoyce that the Convocation had Genfured him, though at the Time 
 and in the Manner they did. For their private Animofities, let them fee to't - 
 They are to Anfwer for it. Decency and Regularity are fuch defirable and 
 lovely things, that, if they be not obftrv'd, no honefl Church of England Man 
 vnU complain of the want of frequent Convocations. What they meant, who 
 wrote and talk'd for the Rights of the Lower Houfe^ whether 'twere that 
 they might not be interrupted in what they were doing for the Service of the Church 
 or for fome other by-End, the World will judge, now the Difpute is publilh'd! 
 The Difpute, I'm fure, did nothing towards that Service. An Expofition 
 of the Articles, is, no doubt, of great Concern to the Church ^ and as it is now 
 perform'd, of as great Advantage. And, laftly, I can fairly acknow- 
 ledge. That to deliver a Senfe which varies from the Dorrrine of the Church 
 is yvork than framing a New Article, becaufe it's contradiding the true one: 
 And could I in my Confcience beperfuaded that the Bijhop had done fo, I 
 would be as Oppofite, though not as Rude to him, as any one. 
 
 Could there any thing be ftiown, in tht Expofition, againft the Efiahlifh'd 
 Religion^ or the Foundation it flands upon, {xhzZed for which made iIk Houfe 
 
 B 2 vpfth 
 
 i 
 
 ;:» 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 with fo much Caution^ Good Manners^ and Decency^ take the fir fi of port unity of 
 aaing according to their tvdifpenfihle Obligation) ihofe, that arc not now of the 
 fame Opinion wit!} them, would think themfelves under the hmtindifpenfibic 
 Obligatton of re(mg in their Decifion, and thanking them for refcmng the 
 jirticles from Glojfes inconfiftm with^ or in any degree repngnant to the Senfe of 
 the Church ^ and of praifmg their Courage, in defending them againfi a Member 
 of the Vpper Houfe^ as weU as their Watchfulnefs in fitch Important Matters which 
 naturally fall within their Cognizjtnce. But it muft be confefs'd, after all, that 
 fome having fairly and impartially confider'd the Cafe, cannot induce them- 
 felves to think that what they complain'd of did deferve any fuch Terms at 
 their Hands ; leaving them and the Bifliop of Hereford to difpute about the 
 Dnty^ and Humility^ and Sincerity^ the Complaint was prefcnted with. 
 
 However, Prefented it was, drawn up in Three Heads : And they who 
 were immediately engaged in Drawing it «;, you fay, now count themfelves obliged 
 tofattsfie the World and His Lordfhip, if poflible, that the Charge is Juft ; and 
 in the next Paragraph, you hope that My Lord's ChrifHan Humility and Patience 
 (which become a Bijhop juft as much as fome other Vertues would become 
 a Presbyter) will get fo much the upper-hand of his Humane Frailty, as to 
 make him not take it ill to have fuch a Body Vindicate their Judgment againft 
 him. The Requeft is fo Juft, that His Lordfliip, I dare fay, is not againft 
 It, if we may take his Word, which he has not yet forfeited. That he will 
 be Thankful to have any Faults fliow'd him : efpccially fure by fo great a 
 Body of Men, in Defence of ( the Church and ) their own Opinion. But, 
 for all this, whether they be the Work of the Body, or have had their 
 Review and Approbation, or be only the Confidence of a private Member, 
 we don't know. I am apt to think indeed, fome of thefe Rcafons might be 
 thoie that brought on that Cenfure, and that there are no better for it : 
 but I can't perfuade my felf, that a whole Body of Men would ufe fuch rude 
 Irreverences, as this Book is fraught with, to a Bilhop. He may poflibly 
 have err'd, and fo may They, confidering Httmane Frailty, and 'tis no fault 
 to tell either of them fo refpettfully : But IncivUity, I think, can as little 
 cfcape fo grave a Body, as it can become a fingle Presbyter. 
 
 To paint out all the obnoxious Faff ages and Suggeftums under every Article, would 
 reqftfre a Volume as big as the Expofition it felf : but this which you have done, 
 mil ferve to jujiifie the Condu^ of the Houfe. After the rate indeed of your 
 Writing, which is half Repetition and Infinuation, it might fwell to a 
 pretty big Volume -, enlarging too upon every Fault, (and enlarge you muft 
 agood while, before you can makeitlook like one) which aquick-fighted 
 Ma ice can think it has found , or, contrary to its thoughts, make. But 
 really you might write a Book of fuch Faults as you have found tuft as bie as 
 the Expofitm, even the ExpofitiBn it felf 5 there being nothing in it but 
 what s as blameablc as moft, I may fay, all of thofc Miftakes you have 
 pitch'd upon. ■' 
 
 But 
 
 4 
 
 ' But this Paragraph was only meant, I fuppofe, to blacken the Caufe, 
 and not for folid Troth. And fo too the whole IntroduAion is nothing 
 but a Flourifh ^ which 1 have not given a full and particular Anfwer to^ in 
 all its Parts, becaufe we (hall have them over and over again, this being only 
 Opening the Cafe. And I dare fay, no Caufe in Chancery was ever Open'd 
 with more Infinuations and Blackening, and lefs Charity and Truth. Becaufe 
 it wants this laft Vertue 'tis, that it ftands in need of thofe other Qualities ; 
 and if it did not need them, no one would be fo injurious to it, as to make it 
 look, by the Ufe of them,as if it did. It is a fiirewd fign Men fufpedt their own 
 Strength, when they ufe fuch Arts. Nor is it Juft to the Reader, to ufe any 
 Tricks to Prejudice and put a Byafs upon his Judgment : But he fairly ought 
 to Determine for himfelf upon the Reafons offer'd , and yield to thofe 
 whofe Arguments, and not whofe Foreheads are hardeft. I will fpeak as 
 plainly therefore to the Matter in hand, as your flying from it into Generals, 
 and talk of the Church, and Infinuations fcattered every where among your 
 Reafons, and your loofe Style, and my own Abilirics will give me leave j and 
 jihall, I hope, however I am upon thefe Accounts fometimes forcM out the 
 Road, keep within the Bounds of Decency and Charity, from which you 
 have (hiamefuUy wandered, under greater Obligations and lefler Temptations 
 than 1 have. • ^^ 
 
 We come now to the Matter in hand : And the Firft Head crfComplaint is. 
 That the Expofition tends to introduce fuch a Latitude in Opinion^ as the Articles 
 were framed to avoid. And a ftrange Expofition that muft be, and the Author 
 of it none of the honefteft,Men, whofe very Defign is contrary to the Defign 
 of that whereof it is the Expofition. To make this out, you, ifl* Confider 
 the Defign of the Church in framing the Articles ^ and herein you, for the raoft 
 part, fay nothing but what may be fairly allow'd : And therefore when 
 you come, 2dly. To prove the Scope and Defign of the Expofition to be inconfiflent 
 with that of the Articles j either you do not pr()ve it to be fo, or elfe you 
 prove that the Bijhop is inconfiftent with himfelf: for he certainly contends 
 for no more Latitude than you allow in the Articles. 
 
 The Articles might be framed for many good Ends and Purpofes '^but the only thing 
 mention d in the Title^ is to avoid Diver fries of Opinions, and to eftablifi Confent, 
 touching True Religion, ^Twas more for the Benefit ofVnity, and Peace at Home, 
 than the SmisfaSion of other Reformed Churches Abroad, that they were made. 
 Something of that there might be, becaufe the Church defhr^d to hold agood Cor^ 
 refpondence with them ^ but the chief Defign was Vnanimity at Home, not only in 
 all Fundamentals and known Articles of Faith, hut in neceffary Doctrines with refpeS 
 to the Difcifline of the Society. This is all true : And from hence it will follow, 
 that whenever they»had fecurM the Difcipline^ and thofe Fundamentals, 
 the thing they aim'd at was done v and they did not defign to exclude any 
 that differM not in the Fundamental, but only in Paints jiot neceffary 1 
 or to abufethe Churches abroad, which there was no rcafon the Sobfcribers 
 to our Articles (hould be oblig'd to condemn, fo they acknowledged Ours to 
 
C«5) 
 
 be good. This you raufl; allow: For acknowledging Our Difciplinc to be 
 Good, is nifficient to make them maintain ftAu and Vnanmity at Home 
 which you know is the chief Befign of the Articles : and thinking that fectkd 
 Abroad to be fo too, does not ail deftroy it ^ and therefore could not be 
 intended to be Condemn'd by Our Church, which, next to Vnammity at 
 Nome J de/ires to hold good Correffondence with thofe Abroad, The Church took 
 <:are to Exclude fuch as difFer'd in Points afFefting the Purity x)f Faith, or its 
 own necefTary Difcipline, not fuch as might have Notions ( perhaps not 
 true, but yet) not prejudicial to either of them. The Articles have con- 
 firm'd Our Conftitution, but not affronted Others. And this is all the Bilkof 
 fays in the Place which you have fairly left us to guefs that you referr to. 
 He does not in the lead imply that their Eye was firil upon the Churches 
 Abroad, but only that the Article was fo worded, as to allow, or at leaft not 
 difallow their Ordination to be Lawful. The place is in the XXIIId ArticU^ 
 and the words are ; This is put in very general Terms^ far from that Magifierial 
 Stiffnefs in which fame have tak^n upon them to dilate in that Matter : The Article 
 does not refolve this into any particular ConfiitHtion^ but leaves the Matter open and 
 at large for fuch Accidents as had happen d^ and might jiill happen. They who drew 
 it^ had the State of the Churches before their Eyes that had differently Reformed &c. 
 We /hall have occafion totalkof this PalFageby and by : Let but any' one 
 for the prefent read the Article^ and*fee whether it is not left fo general • 
 and do you confider whether having the State of the Churehes before their Eyes 
 amounts to any more than defiring to hold a good Correfpondence with them • 
 and whether 'twould have been reafonable, or becoming thofe who defird to 
 hold fuch a good Correfpondence^ to Exclude all that thought the Orders were 
 Valid in Other Churches, when they thought Ours not only fo, but upon a 
 better Foot, and lefs out of the fettled Way ^ ststh^ Sijhop fays; andfo could by 
 their Opinion do us no Damage.^ 
 
 The mofi efe^ual way of accomplifhing this their Befign of Vnammity ^ is^ to 
 taksi care that the Teachers be agreed : and therefore all that look towards the Minifiry 
 ^e generally trained up in the fame Notions of Things ; and before they are admitted 
 into the Minifiry^ are to Subfcribe the Articles ; in which alfo they are Examin^d^ 
 to (how that they Miderftand them aright^ and can prove them from Scripture. 
 I fhall not take notice of the two pretty Befigns in this Paragraph ; the one 
 of a blind Education, to prejudice thofe that are bred up Scholars, to an 
 Implicit Belief of all the Things containM in the Articles^ and of the Proofs 
 their Teachers (hall be pleased, or able to give them of them ; the other, of 
 making it neceffary for them to Believe the Articles^ in the fame Senfe that 
 the Examiner does ^ nor tell you how Popilhly they look, and what Handle • 
 they give to Men of freer Thoughts to ridicule o«r Church : but fliall 
 only fay. That as to the main Defign of this Paragraph, the Bifhop will 
 agree with yeu : Tis his Opinion, that every Man ought to Subfcribe the 
 Artules^ ex ammo •, and then I dare anfwer for his Honefty fo far, that he 
 would not have any Man Teach or Aft contrary to his Subfcriptioo, becaufe 
 
 'twould 
 
 ( 1 y 
 
 'twould be Ading contrary to his Confciencc. And obliging Men to this, he 
 aUows them in no material Difference : And if you'll Ihow me where he once 
 
 5!lL^n/r ^V \T '° Subj:"»'« that differ in any Material Point, 
 lllgiveupthcCaufe. Mmrul, I fay; and you your felfufe the word, be- 
 caufe you can't but be fenfible, that the ^mV/« have not provided againft 
 Difference in Opinions m mmr$al, but by general and indetermin'd Expref- 
 fions have purpofely left room for thofe thatfo Differ, to Subfcribe as we 
 Ihall find you too bountifully allow for Ten yirtkks together ' 
 
 ThH, both Clergy and Laity arc taken Care of : But of the Clergy fach particnlar 
 Care u taken that one wodd not think it poJfMe, that the Obligation they lie under 
 to be of one Mmd as to whatever is determined in the Articles, fhould ever come to 
 be dtbmd. I don't know any one that difputes it, as to whatever is determined 
 mthe Articles, except thofe that take them for Articles of Union ; who, I 
 believe, could fay fo much for their Opinion, that, with their PerW, you 
 would have accepted it. But the BiShop 6iSarum has the ill luck, not 
 to be in your favour; and therefore you'llinfinuate, that he difputes their 
 Obligation, when you know he proves it in the 7th and 8th Paces, asfullv 
 as can be. , ° ' ' 
 
 The Civil Power does fometimes allow Latitude to take in different Parties. 
 I doubt, t was not the Latitude of the Oath, but of Men's Confciences, that 
 let them in to the Government which they were no hearty Friends to. I 
 can t fee what Intercft the Government can have in fuch a Latitude, except 
 It be letting us Enemies into its very Bowels. However, I won't difpute it, 
 becaufe I won t difturb you ; but leave yon as eafie as you thought your feif 
 under this Subterfuge. Bm this is not proper in Matters of Religion • and its a 
 great Mi/lake that our Church intended any fuch Double-meaning. If the Articles 
 had been made to take in different Parties, they might have been caPd Articles of 
 Union: but the Tttk fays, they are to avoid Diverfity of Opinions ; and therefore 
 they cannot bethought to encourage them, and allow Men to be of different Minds 
 ^ to the very Things wherein it was proposd they jhould^gree: and for this, you' 
 bid us but look upon the Title. I have look'd upon't, and think you fight with 
 y°"r °«'n Shadow. Tht Articles were certainly made, to take in fo many 
 of different Parties, as differ not in any material thing, touching true Reli- 
 gion : and the Church fo much loves Number, as not to exclude any honeft 
 Man whofe Opmions differ from another's in lefs important Matters, that 
 ^?""J" . "°* the Purity of Faith. It took care to fliut out only thofe that 
 dittcr dm fuch important Points as concern'd Pure Doftrine, and NecefTary 
 Dircipline; not others : So that you fay true, atlaft. The Articles were not 
 mended to admt thofe who are of different Opinions, as to the very Points in which 
 K w/ proposed they Should agree. But in thofe things wherein it was not fo 
 propos'd, they may flili differ; and in all Points not material, it was not: 
 though in fixing the material ones, they are forc'd to touch upon fuch Points; 
 but they always do it in a manner that fhows there was Care us'd not to de- 
 termine them. Before I leave this Paragraph, I cannot but take notice of 
 
 your 
 
J 
 
 (8) 
 
 • 
 
 your Chriftian Hint, That the Vi^o^ takes them for Artklti ofVmon : Which 
 is falfe. And its being fo, plainly (hows, he had no defign of introducing 
 ftch a Latitude as is contrary to theirs. Had he been fo minded, his way 
 ivould have been to have made the beft of thai Opinion, and of the Autho- 
 rities that give credit to it. There are many true Church oi ErtfLwdUtn 
 of that Opinion j Men to your own Mind. That there have been fuch, you 
 know i and therefore, as I believe you would excufe that Opinion in thofe 
 that did hold it, fol would not have you lay it as a fault to thofe that 
 do not. 
 
 Well : The Dtfign of the Churchy by the Titkj is declared to fc. That fuch 
 as Subfcrihe r^c Articles, (honU jigree to the Things therein contained. There 
 may happen to be Ohfcurity and jimbigmty in Expreffions ; bkt it could not but be 
 the Defign of the Church to avoid it^ when it declares its Defign was to avoid Diver^ 
 fities of Opinions. If there be a Scope for Diver fit j of Opinions^ it is but by Jkci- 
 dentsy and the Defign of the Church mufi have been contrary. The Title declares 
 the Defign of the jirticUs to be, to avoid Diverfily of Opinions in Matters 
 touching True Religion : And the Scope for which the Bijhop contends, Is in 
 Matters not afFcfting fA^r. The Church fliows, it did not intend to avoid 
 what you falfly call Obfurity or j^mhiguity. ^ word's oh [cure and ambiguous^ 
 when we either don't underftand the word, or elfe don't know which of its 
 Senfes it is to be taken in. But when we plainly undcrftand the word, and 
 fee that any of its Senfes can agree with the connexion of the Difcourfe, we 
 may fairly fuppofe, that Any of them equally exprefs the Speaker's meaning : 
 and then it can't properly be call'd jimbiguous ^ becaufe, take it in which 
 fenfe you will, you hit the meaning of the Speaker ; who, by not reftraming 
 it, fliows, he did not intend to exclude that. Befides, Obfcurity and Am^ 
 higuity are not the only ways to leave room for Diver fity of Opinions. There 
 are fuch things as general Words, general ExprcflTions, and Definitions, that 
 will do it efFeftually. And we are fo civil to the Churchy as to fuppofe, that 
 it as much as poffible avoided thofe^ and ufed thefe ; which, we fliall find, it 
 did not by Accident^ but Defign, 
 
 You go on and fay. That a private Man may be Ambiguous : but whenfo many 
 Men ofk^own Integrities and Abilities make it their bufwefs to reduce the DoShrine 
 of the Church to Articles, which are to he a Teft upon Men, whereby to try whether, 
 tbey are of the fame Communion or notj it'^s not eafie to thinks they fall fo fhort of 
 their Defign^ as to take little or no hold of the Subfcriber. No body fuppofes, 
 as I know, that they dofalljhort of it. The words fully exprefs, what they 
 were defign'd to exprefs ; and are fufficient to exclude all whom they defign 
 to exclude. We can't think that fuch Men fliould make things not afFefting 
 the Purity of Faith ( fo the Bifkop calls, what the Title to the Articles calls 
 True Religion !) a Test whether Men are of ti^e fame Communion or no; and 'tis 
 in thofe only that we imagine there is what you call an j^mbiquity. To 
 turn the Argument upon you : Since fo many Men of Honefly^ and Integrity, 
 and Maflers of Style j have evidently left an open and free Entrance for Men 
 
 of 
 
 (9) 
 
 
 \i 
 
 ^■' 
 
 i i\ 
 
 i 
 
 of different Opinions in things not affeftiog the Purity of Faith and tr„<. 
 
 L, rXl^S^S rfS^c'r "'""^''^ '^ in aJisrSal' 
 
 Sili u). J > '; . f ?""/'"' I" "hat the, mended Cmrm ImU i, 
 Cttn*to Ic"'.e S-'S'? "/'^"' T "="» "i»nru.at 
 
 Ir^g. 9] Where the Articles are conceiv->d in lar^e S^crd W^l Inl 
 havem mre ffeaal and refiratn^d Terms in then.^ ougS otaKeZ' fZt 
 f.rehd,cam>, thattke Church does not intend toti^Men itoofSehtoIart^ 
 
 hfar TU/L ^^'l^'^f^TP '« """'"'^ ^"'^ ''"forc-'d ConftrstEiion be made to 
 »n U ^ 'iTr ^'">'^i''PO" "' 'l'^ ^"'"dard. The diferent OptnioZabm 
 
 S^lL'ilS^l^^^^^^^ Jh^e has been no- 
 
 tbe>/.of the.wor^ U whit'is t S i^?/ ^ ard^'&lS! 
 
 S'''"f^/& "wT^t- ^""horeDifpute;."'rS.P°?aZ 
 «*/?,« the Creed. Well : and you your felf grant, that the very /i«* 
 thing ts meant tn both ■ no more, nor no lefs. If then the word Hell h^JZ 
 by diiFerent Men, .n different Senfes, in the Creed ^ h it nT^KoiJthtS* 
 And .s not the Cr««' too Subfcribed to in the Arhdes, aK the ftme Seti 
 that tbc^rttctes themfelves are ? ffeU indeed hath nor can have Ze one 
 real and true5.«/., either in the Cree-,' or the^mc/. Tand fo onefort of 
 Men only can be .n the right : but neither the ^.^V/J nor the S haJe 
 defin'd which IS the right Senfe ; and conftquently, it is not ma7erial to 
 True Rehgion, which of the Common Senfel Men take it in. ™ at th re? 
 foraeth.ngmore There are lilcewife /.;«e ^^>«/,^ />«,«, v>herdnMnJZ 
 2^^.^b Party imgs the Articks to favour his Side : bnt yet that is nToJEtl 
 Mens tahng ufon them to p.t diferent Senfes .fon the Article. Why ^*^one 
 Party thinks that the jirttcle is of his Opinion ; and the other that ''tis of 
 h.s Don'ttheytakeitthen in different Senfe's? Ay, EuSX V li 
 thtnk that it may be taken in Tm Senfes. That's their^ want of Cha/ity to 
 
 ^ thofe 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 thofc that differ fro:Ti them. B«it an impartial Man would tell them, that 
 the Jrticle would bear either of their Senfes, fince it is not contrary to either 
 of them, and fo both of them may Subfcribe. And you your felf tell them 
 fo, when you fay, that tk Articles belong to neither of them : for then certainly 
 bo'th may Subfcribe them. The Fundamental Errour all through your Book 
 feems to be this. That the Bijhop allows a Latitude in Things determined by 
 the Articles : Whereas all the Latitude he contends for in the Articles^ is. 
 That they Kdve not Deter min'^d them. If you fay, that nothing UndeterminM 
 is found in the Articia : This is not fo much again (l the Bijhop's Latitude, 
 as againft Truth : For there are plainly many things, contained in the Jr^ 
 tkles^ not Determined, as I (hail have occaOon to (how hereafter. But, to 
 proceed, Suffofing the Articles »of clear ^ there are many Helps fortheVnder^ 
 /landing them^of the fame Authority with the Articles, the Kubrick, Homilies, &c. 
 This is certainly true,That we cannot, w //o»f/?>', Subfcribe the-/^mWri in any 
 fenfe different from any thing Determin'd in any of thefe,becaufe we likewife 
 Subfcribe thefe \ and our Subfcriptions cannot honefili contradift one ano- 
 ther. But there are the Writings ofthofe that UvUfrom that time downwards^ by 
 way of fure Tradition^ and the Pr,<iEiice of the Church. The latter no body 
 denies good, where it don't contradift any of the fore-mentionM Rules. BuC 
 the Writings you talk of, what are they for ? Why, to tell us the meaning of 
 the Churchy ih the Articles. Why fo ? When the Articles are as plain as the 
 
 u/.^*i*,,e i-hnmfpltfAc Rntr in tvhat- are thefe Writinas ro inflrnr'V nc > fn 
 
 things not determined by the Articles ? Or, In the manner how we arc Co 
 underfland thofe Things that arc Determin'd, which it felf is not ? You 
 don't mean this, furc : If you do, I muft beg your pardon •, becaufe I 
 think, that as they who compilM th^ Articles have plainly Determin'd all that's 
 neceffary •, fo, they did not intend to put their Opinions upon us, about the 
 manner ofourunderftanding them, which is not neceffary. It'sneedlefs to 
 put fuch a Complement upon them ; and unacceptable 'twould be, becaufe 
 not defir'd by them. For Example ; If I knew that'their Opinion had been, 
 that ail Church-Government, without fpi/cop^ry, was contrary to the Law 
 of God, and that there were Abroad no lawful Mimfiers but fuch as are 
 
 haveexprefs'd in the Article^ 1 don't want their Book^ to tell me what they 
 meant by it ^ and what they have not, I don't think my felf oblig'd to foU 
 low them in. Their Opinion may be true in it, and the contrary may 
 be true i audit is no matter, as to my Suhfcription^ which I take. For fure, 
 fuch Men as they, fo qualify d with Integrity^ and Skill in Style^ could not chufe 
 bat exprcfs themfclves fo as to be fully underftood in what was of fo general 
 Concern. And therefore) if you pleafe, the Articles alone will fcrve my 
 
 turn 
 
 A 
 
 '4 
 
 turn, astoSubfcriftioni though, for underftanding the Reafons and Grounds 
 of them, their Writings may be of excellent Ufe, as ihQ Bijhop hasfliown. 
 And every oncwho is admitted to theMiniflry, ought to Thank him, that 
 He has with fo much Pains collected, and with fo much Judgment ftated the 
 difterent Opmions Men have had concerning thofe Things contained in the 
 Arttcles j and fhown how far they will agree to, and are to be comprehended 
 m the Artfcles j that He has with fuch Strength reprefented the Arguments 
 on which thofc Things determined in the Articles xtUt ; and has thus faved 
 them Labour, and Pains, and done for them much better than they could 
 for themfclves, either for want of Abilities, or Books. And the Church 
 ought to Thank Him, that He has put fuch a Body of Divinity into her Sons 
 Hands, as will make them fitter to receive her Holy Orders ; which they 
 ought not to enter into, without a tolerable Underftanding, not only in the 
 Points determtn'd tn the Articles, but in thofe lefFer ones (in which they can'r 
 help haying fome belief or other) that depend upon, or flow from, thofe 
 mam Points. But in thefe Things they may have wrong Opinions, and yet 
 honeflly Subfcribe the Articles -^ as well as a Man may fay, that he believes 
 the Scrjptures, though he has wrong Notions of fome Texts, relating to 
 things not Fundamental. And 'tis in thofe only, that the Scriptures are 
 liable, by fincere Men, to be miftaken ; as it was only in things not affcfting 
 the Purtty of Faith^ and o«r oir« Difcipline, that tht Articles were intended 
 to be General. And when the Bifhop makes themfo, and no farther, He is 
 far from fruftrattng the Defign of the Church ^ and introduces but juftfuch a Lati^ 
 tude^ asthe Articles were framed to admit. 
 
 Indeed, as the next Paragraph fays, 'Twould effeHuallydif appoint the ChurcWs 
 Defign, to encourage a Latitude in Opinion in Things of fuch Importance, as not 
 to be left undetermined by the Church. But I muft tell you again. The Latitude 
 is Encouraged only in thofe things that are not of that moment, and arc not 
 determined. His Rule is. Where the Articles are conceiv d in large and general 
 Words, and have not more fpecial, and re drained Terms in them, S>^c. And let 
 any one judge, whether that be not in things not determined. 
 
 It's nothing therefore to me, whom fuch a Proje6i would become : For here's 
 no fuch Projea, Let Mr. Baxter^s Friends anfwer for his Projtth. The Bifhop% 
 I'm fure, is what becomes Him : though your Comparifons are not what become 
 a prudent and candid Man, however you may think they become you. 
 
 And now comes,after thefe two Paragraphs of Preparation and Heightning, 
 the Charge upon HisLordfbip, in the old ftrain^ That he has given way for 
 People to come in, of different Opinions, even tn Things determined by th£ hxtkXts. 
 How often,and how pofitively foever you affirm this,(and you do it very often^ 
 and very pofitively) the foftefl Anfwer 1 can give you, is, That it is a Miftake, 
 and a very grofs Miftake. But we muft obferve what follows. Let it^ fay 
 you, be never fo authentically any other way explained what the meaning of the Church 
 is, it matters not ^ My Lord of Sarum has made no Provifo : but if the Article 
 will bear it^ oti^ if a Man be but good Grammarian enough to makp it, in his opinion^ 
 
 C 2 bear 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 bear tt^ he may Stthfcnbt in his own fenfe^ and all's well. Well, and To it is.- 
 
 For, I. \f the Man be an honeft Man, and in his Confcience think the 
 
 words will bear it, he may Sabfcribe ; and if he bs not an Honeft Man, ' 
 
 he'Jl not ask any Queftions about it. And then, 2. Its impoflible that a 
 
 Man, with any degree of Honefty^ or Senfe, can Subfcribe an Article in a 
 
 S^nfe contrary to the Senfe of the Churchy expref/d in any other Authentical 
 
 Explanations ; becaufe every one of thofe Authentical Explanations (the Biffliop 
 
 knows as well as your felf ) are likewife Subfcribsd to : For, the Church, 
 
 let me tell you, has Barriers enough againft any Confcientioi^s Man that 
 
 differs in Opinion from her ; and againft a Man that is not fo^ there's none 
 
 fafficienf. But, 3. For ought you have (hown, the Articles will not bear a 
 
 ^Grammatical Senfe ditFerent fiom any Senfe fixM in any of ihok Atahentical 
 
 Explanations j nor do I believe you can make them, nor any one elfe. 
 
 Indeed, you feem to me, not to know what Grammatical Senfe is, or elfe 
 
 you make as if you did not, more effeftually to abufe the Bijhop. 
 
 But now for the Scene for Latitude-^ and how far His Lordjhip wonld have it 
 reach. And to amufe the Reader with a Show of Fairnefs, you give him 
 His Lord/hip's words ; but neatly conceal thofe before and after. The 
 whole then is thus : There wen Difptaes about the Decrees of God ^ Both 
 Sides appeal' d to the Articles : which look, a little^ and may be made to favour 
 Both. Vpon this, a Royal Declaration was fet forth ; in which, after that 
 mntion ts made of thofe Difputes, and that the Men of aU Sides did ta\e the 
 Articles ro be for them. Order is given for flopping thofe Difputes for the future^ 
 and forjlmtttng them in God's Promifes, as they be generally fct forth in the Holy 
 Scriptures, and the General Meaning of the Articles of the Church of England * 
 according to them ; and that m Alan thereafter (hould put his own Senfe, or Com^ 
 ment, to be the Meaning of the Article, butjhould take it in the Literal and Gram, 
 mattcal Senfe. f So that, it feeras, the Proje6i of a Literal and Grammatical 
 Senfe was none of the Bifljoph Invention, though you always give him the 
 Glory of it, but His Majejly's, and Confirm d by His Declaration.] hj this 
 there has been fnch a general ac^uiefcing, that the fiercenefs of thefe Difputes have 
 gone of, while Men have been left to Subfcribe the Articles in their Literal and 
 Grammatical Senfe. From which Two things are to be inferr'^d : i . That the 
 Subfcription does import an Affent to the Article. 2. That an Article being con. 
 cetvd in fuch General Words, that it can admit of different Literal and Gram, 
 matical Senfes, even when the Senfes are plainly contrary one to another -, Both 
 Sides may Subfcribe the Article with a good Confcience, and without any Ecjlivoca. 
 tton : and fo on, as you quote. And then the Bijhop concludes •, IVhere the 
 Articles are conceived in large and general Words, and have not more fpecial 
 and refirained Terms in them ; we ought to tak^e it for a fure Indication, that 
 the Church does not intend to tie Men up too fever ely, &c. Now upon this, let 
 me ask a few Queftions. Was it fair, to conceal the King\ Declaration. 
 and lay that upon the Btfhop, which you that laid it, with great Refpca to 
 Authority, thmk fo blameable ? Don'c the Declaration fay the very fame 
 
 . thing 
 
 i 
 
 
 ',-< 
 
 ^ '3 ) 
 
 thing with the Bijhop ? For, Doth it not fay, that the General ExpYeJftoft 
 will Literally and Grammatically bear the different particular Opinions ? 
 Otherwife, how could it pretend to [hut up thofe Differences in the Words of 
 ^ff Article? Don't it fuppofe, that the Articles are worded in General 
 Terms ^ and therefore, that they ought not to be drawn to any Particular Opi- 
 mon, or Interpretation of the General Terms f And is not this the very fame 
 the Bijhop fays, when he (hows how different Grammatical particular Senfes may 
 every one of them be fairly, and without Prevarication, Subfcribed to^ 
 under iht general Word? And does not thz Proclamation not only allow the 
 fame Largenefs and Equity with the Bifhop, but Order that no one reftrain or 
 check it, by making the general Words of the Article bear their particular 
 Senfe, exclulive of the others ? If thefe things are true, you ought to beg 
 the Bifhop\ Pardon, and the Declarations, for abuling them -, and aft here- 
 after accordmg to the Largenefs and Equity of the Bijhop, which is founded 
 upon the Order of the King. 
 
 The next Paragraph is exaftly and fully true : For thofe are certainly 
 all the words m l\\t Third Article. And as the expreffion /f^//, is general-, 
 fo, I fanfie, it may make a fhift to fignifie all the three things the Bifijop 
 would have it. Though, if it (ignifyM but two of them, 'twere as good as 
 two thoufand. Two of them you never deny ; but that of Hell's being the 
 Grave, you do. It's Nonjenfe, you fay, to think the Avtkkjhould fay. As He 
 died, and was buried, fo likewife He defcended ii^to the Grave ; that is, was 
 burted. All the fault here lies in the Tautology j and that Tautology Is vouch'd 
 by no lefs Men than Vjljer, Hammond, Pearfon, Stilling fleet, Barrow, and 
 Lightfoot ', Men fure of Learning, Honefty, and Steddinefs to the Church 
 of England. The Bijhop has not given any Hint, to make it thought his 
 Opinion : But whofe foever Opinion it is, I'JI do him the kindnefs to 
 tranfcrtbe a few Sentences out of Dr. Barrow, to Vindicate the Tautology o( 
 it j which may fervc for an Anfwer to the Work you make about it. 
 It is pojfible, ( and might be declared fo by many lih^e Injlances ) and perhaps not 
 unlikely, that they ( viz. who put thefe words, defcended into Hell, into the 
 Creed) might both themfelves upon probable Grounds believe, and for pUufthk 
 Ends propound to others the belief of, this Propvfition, without apprehending any 
 diJiinEt Senfe thereof And after ; // we interpret this Defcent into Hdl, of 
 Our Saviour*s Interment, we jhall he fure therein not to err -, the Propofition being 
 mofl certainly true, fo under (lood : we J})all alfo hereby be able fairly to Jutisfie the 
 firB and be^r ( if not the only ) Reafon of this Propojition^s being commended to 
 our belief If it be ohjefhd. That this was before exprtft^d in plain words, dead 
 and buried, and fo is a needle fs Repetition: I anfwer, i. That this ObjeElion 
 concerns them who infcrtcd the words there, who yet {even fuppoftng the Truth of 
 this Expnfnion) might be excufable, as fufpetVng it p^Jfible that Our Saviourh. 
 being ^ aJ^m, might imply more than this, although they knew not what dijlin^ly. 
 And, 2. That a greater Inconvenience feems to arife from Expounding them^ 
 otherwife \ ii refie^ing upon the more ancient Compilers both of this and moB other 
 
 Greeds, 
 
__ (i4) 
 
 S^r^f "t f ^'TT'. Tr. .^'9', "PO" St. Paul himfelf, who mmlons 
 
 only Chnfi's Death, Bmrtd.^and Refmrtaior,, i Cor. 15. 4. Whoever will 
 look into Dr. Barrowh Expofiiw^ may find a great deal move to the fame 
 purpoTe. And no one need think it any AfFronc, to fay of the Compiki s of 
 oav yirtules, what Dr. Barrow thought it none, to the Inferters of this 
 Paflage into the Creed, to fay of them : feeing the yirticU too means but 
 }uft as much as the Creed ; and its Compilers took the words from thence 
 
 perhaps without any diftinftOpiaion about them at all, but only as fo manv 
 words that they found there. ' 
 
 But fuppofing ray Lord ofSurum had made a \;iftake here, the thing that 
 He brings thefe three different Senfes to prove, will ftand juft as well con- 
 firm d. For K the jirtkle can be honeftly Subfcribed in but Two Grammatical 
 Senfes, thefe will uphold the intended Z-^wWe as well as Two Thoufand • 
 leeing thofe Two are as contrary to one another as the Three are, or as any 
 ot the Two Thoufand fignifications of the word would be, fuppofinp it 
 tad fo many. Should then my LordofSanm perfuadc others to be of 'his 
 Mmd, (though there are Tery few but what arc already well fati^fyd that 
 the ji^mc/si will bear different particular Senfes) Men of different Opinions 
 might all Subfcribe, without being wide of the Senfe of the CWfl!., which 
 has left Men room enough to enjoy their own particular Opinions, in Sub- 
 fcribing to the general Words of the iirtides. Will you have the face to 
 lay, that a Man who has the Opinion, that Chrift dtfrended into the Place 
 ot Torment, cannot fafely, withont Prevarication, Sub:cribe this Article ? 
 That, we know, was the Opinion of thofe that firft Penn'd it, and was 
 never contradifted. Or, May not he likewife, whofe Opinion is, that his 
 Soul went mto the Place of departed Souls, the Hades, with Dr. Pear fon' 
 We know, the Chw^ch defign'd not to exclude thefe ; fince tboui^h they did 
 not condemn the former Opinion, yet they took ofFthe Rcfliidion to it 
 which was in the former ^tick. If they Both may, then here's Room 
 enough ror Men to enjoy their own private Opinion,, notwitbltandine their 
 Subrcribing the^«c/«. If they may not, Ihew us what the Church! in all 
 Ukelyhood, iptended, out of any of her jiuthenticd Explanations. Till von 
 ran do that, in all thefe Cafes, we muft imagine, that the Chm-ch, when 
 fte ufed general Words, intended not to Exclude any from 5«t/inW who 
 hold any of the particular Senfes comprehended under thofe general Words 
 We are not to fix our p-ir»f«/<,r Senfe to what the Church has left «»er4/ - 
 nor are thofe that differ from us to do it : but we muft Subfcribe the Words 
 in the Grav,matical Senfe as they ftand ; and then, as the PmcUmation with 
 good reafon fuppofes, AH may Subfcribe : fince every f^«i«/<,r Senfe is a 
 feirly GrajnmatKdontoi the ^ew^/ Word. And yti here's no fiope at oB 
 for to evade the force oftheSubfcriptions, Declarations, and Engacments. For 
 we ftill cannot get out of that, which the Church would confine us to the 
 gneralWord: For that will hold a Man, do what be can, that «L„ ^ « 
 thefe mMfmt. Wc have our freedom to chufe which of the pmicuUr Senfes 
 
 feems 
 
 ( IS :i 
 
 feems moft reafonable, but yet cannot evade Subfcribing to the general 
 Word, and being confined to fome received Senfe of that Word b/ our 
 Subfcription. So that your Expreffions are a little too hot ; No fort of 
 Security can be ha J -^ Nothing can hold thtm. Sure you take Grammatical Senfe ^ 
 for fome ftrange Thing or other : or elfc your Heat hath carry'd you out 
 of your Knowledge. When you have fettled your Notions about it, I 
 hope you'll cool your Expreffions, and let it be fome Reftraint ; though^ it 
 teach you to allow fnch a Largenefs and Eqnity as wodd take of the Occafion 
 given for imjufl Cenfare. 
 
 But you do not know what His Lordjhip means by Vnjajl Cenfure. How 
 pcrfcftly unacquainted Men are with themfelves ! But you Vuppofc 
 His Lordfhip means that about the Number of Articles .- But Tha^^ you fay. 
 Bis Lordjhip has removed effe^ually^ by making them things of courfe\ and Men 
 may be of as different Opinions as ever. This is the moft VnjuFt Cenfure in the 
 World, and deferves worfe Words than any one, but he that makes it 
 will venture to give. 1 muft, in plain terms, fa , It is Diflioneft, for a 
 Man that hath Eyes, to pafs over that full Anfwer my Lord of Sarum gives 
 to that Objedtion, in the ifl:,2d, 3d, 4th and 5th Pages of thz IntroduUion^ 
 and put it upon the World as his own : and to fay, he has left room for at 
 different Opinions as ever. I fuppofe you mean, that, with his Grammatical 
 Senfe^ a Roman Ca^holick^ may Subfcribe the j^rticle of the Sacraments ; or an 
 jinabapm^ that of Baptifm ; or a Jew^ that of Chrifl\ RefttrreBion ; or a 
 Mahometan^ all of them. Do you mean fo ? If you do, pray (how us 
 how. It they can't, then we find Grammatical Senfe will Exclude fome 
 People ; and even all that were defigned to be Excluded. For in all the 
 jirticles concerning Things of great Moment, the words are full as ftrift as 
 in thefe ^ but are \dt general and undetermind only as to things of lefs moment 
 But to give you an Anfwer. What, I fuppofe^ His Lordfhip meant by Unjuft 
 Cenfure, was. That the Clergy are of different Minds, after the Subfcribing 
 oith^ Articles^ from one another, and from the Articles ihemfelvesj and tha( 
 they muft therefore, fome of them, when they Subfcribe them, aftagainft 
 their Confciences. Now one of the Bifkop^ Opinion, could tell a Man that 
 (hottld thus accufe us. That our Differences were about things not daermind 
 in the Articles : That we did not fix our particular Opinions as the Senfe of 
 the general Word, but left thofe who difFer'd as to the particular Explanation 
 of it,or Thoughts about it,to Subfcribe the^ewr^/ Word with as good Senfe 
 and as clear a Confcience asourfelves, according to the Liberty that the 
 Church it felf allow'd them, when it us'd fuch general Expreflion?. And, 
 // all Men would under fland the Articles with fuch Largenefs and Equity^ there 
 would not be that Occafion given for Vnjufl Cenfujre that there h)sis been, and 
 by you is. 
 
 That my Lord of Sarum makss the Articles only things ofcourfe^ byaMowing 
 different Grammatical Senfes^ is noforcdConfecjuence^ you fay. I think I've 
 fhown it is, when I fhow'd, that, allowing alLthe different Grammatical Scnfts 
 
 V youi 
 
( lO 
 
 you could of a Word, yet fome body would be Excluded by It, and as many 
 as the CWf/? intended. And if we defcend to Particulars, we (hall find iE 
 with a witnefs. For in all the Examples you have given of my Lord of 
 SarHm*s Equity^ you have not once fhown that He has allowed any L4mW(r 
 which the Church does not ; that He hath not fully feconded the Delign She 
 Sd profofe to htrf^lf in framing the Articles ^ or that He has Let in any Senary ^ 
 or Man of unorthodox Principles, 
 
 You tell us indeed, you'Jl (how us, and (how us over again -, but when we 
 come to fee the Sight, we find only fuch MiPreprcfentations, fuch forced 
 and manije^ ft raining of his Words ^ agatnft the Senfe he h.sfo cofiohjly ajferted, 
 that we mnft fay the Bsjhop has occajion to complain of the Injnftice^ and at the 
 fame time to appeal to the jttJUce ofGod^ as you ought to do to His Mercy^ if 
 your Accufations and Infinuations be found at laft to be nothing but Slander. 
 But to come to your Inftances. 
 
 The Sixth Article fays ; In the Name of Holy Scripture^ we do underjland 
 thofe Canonical Books of the Old and New Teftament^ of whofe Authority was 
 never any Bouht in the Church. Thefe Words ^ you fay, if we look no farther^ 
 but take them by thtmfelvesy without conneEiing them to what follows^ will eajily 
 bear fuch a Grammatical Senfe^ as to exclude feveral of the Epiftles. A very 
 pretty Fancy this is of Grammatical Senfe -^ the taking a piece ofan-^mV/e, 
 without connefting it to the reft. For my part, I have always had fuch a 
 filly Notion of Grammar^ as to think the connexion of the parts of a Sentence, 
 or of two Sentences or more together, was a part of ir. its i'Tipoffibls to 
 anyone, who knows what it is, to make that Grammatical Senfe out of the 
 former part of the-^mc7e, without confidering the latter part of it, which 
 determines the former, and explains the Rule laid down, viz.. TheCat^ngue 
 of the Books of the Old Tefiament ^ and this general Claufe, All the Books of 
 the New Tejtament^ as they are commonly receiv'd^ we do receive^ and account 
 them Canonical. He muft make a Senfe of the firft Sentence quite contrary 
 10 what the fecond determines : Which fuppofe he could Grammatically do, 
 would be of no ufe ^ becaufe he muft Subfcribe this latter part of the Article^ 
 as well as the former. And then, if he cannot force a Grammatical Senfe of 
 this toagree with the former, he muft Subfcribe very honeftly to two Contra- 
 diaions. So likewife, if he could make a Grammatical Senfe of any one whole 
 Article^ which would not agree with the Senfe fixM in another Article^ or in 
 any other Authemical Explanation of the Church's Mind, 'twould fignifie juft 
 nothing ; becaufe he muft Subfcribe them alfo. And he muft be an odd 
 fort of a Man, that can Subfcribe to Contradiftions. As for the Bi^op*^ 
 queftioning that Text that you fpeak of ^ if it be contrary to the Article ^lYi^n 
 all Farious LeUions are fo too. And whoever prefers any of them to the 
 received one ^ or indeed, whoever prefers another TranfUtion of any Word 
 to the received one, falls within the Accufation. No wonder Dr. Mills 
 don't publifh his Teftament^ when It is full of noihmghMt Heterodoxy -, of 
 which, itfeems, the Greek Teflament we have had from Oxford already muft 
 
 ftand 
 
 r 
 
 (17) 
 
 ftand condemnM. As for the word Hell^ 'tis Anfwer'd already ; and if you 
 will but look uponthc Bijhop s Explanation of ih^t Article^ you'll find he did 
 fee the So alfo ^ in pag. 57. 1. 21. 
 
 The Vlllth Aiticle obliges us to believe the Three Creeds : For it fays ^ They 
 may be provd by moft certain Warrants from Holy Scripture : which Reafon, he 
 that Subfaibes the Article^ alfo Subfcribes to. You fay. That a Man^ with 
 a good far^fetch'^d Grammatical Senfe^ ntayfay^ ^hat the Foundation of the Creeds 
 betng received is Scripture-proof-^ and a Man may be judge whether they are fo to be 
 proved^ and believe them accordingly. Were the Words, as in the Article of 
 Councils, That they are to believed as far as they can be proved from 
 Scripture, this were true. Fut now, as they ftand, here are Two direft 
 AlTertioPs ; one the Reafon of the other. And I Subfcribe to them both ; and 
 cannot in any fenfe Subfcribe, if 1 don't both believe the Crce^/, and believe 
 they can be prov'd from Scripture. As far indeed as a thing is built upon a wrong 
 Suppofttion^ fo far it is not to be fupposd Obligatory. But when I Subfcribe to 
 the Truth of the Suppofinon^ \ can never get ofFthen either from the Obliga- 
 tion to believe tbat^ or the thing founded upon it. And this is the Cafe in 
 the Article. 
 
 You fay. Nothing elfe can excufe my Lord'/ managing the Article. Why 
 then, it is not worth His while to be excus'd. His Lordjyp proves the Nice 
 ^»<^ Athanafius Creed not to be what they are call'd. If they are not He has 
 done right, not to ferve the Church with a Fraud. And at laft, 'tis no more 
 than th^ Article it felf has done by the Apoflles Creed. He then ftrips them 
 of all Authority from Councils or Antiquity. The Church has left them bare 
 of it too, and fix'd 'em only upon the foot of Proof from Scripture. And had 
 He at all given them that Authority from Antiquity and Councils that you 
 pretend, it would (ignifie nothing ; lince thofe Co^wz/j- muft come upon the 
 fame foot of Scripture by the Twenty ^r^ Article. What Grounds coUat rai 
 to Scripture you believe them upon^ I don't concern my felf with ^ but I'm fure 
 that alone is as ftrong as can be : Becaufe whatever I fay is certainly warranted 
 from Scripture^ I muft believe as Scripture ^ and 1 can believe nothing more 
 firmly than 1 dorW. But it is not true, that my Lord of S^\ urn fays, that 
 as far as they want Proof from Scripture^ they are not to be bdtev'^d notwith^ 
 ftanding your Suhfcription. No ; He fays. We believe them^ becaufe ire believe 
 the Doilrine declared in them^ is contain d in the Scriptures. His becaufe is 
 pofitive : And if you do not believe they are/o comairPd ^ He, and Gramma^ 
 ttcal Senfe^ will both tell you, that you cannot honeftly Subfcribe the Article. 
 What Pretence then, or Excufe can you alledge, for your fixing it upon the 
 Bifjop^ as his Senfe, that j^o« may Subfcribe this Article^ and yet believe the Creeds 
 only as far di they are ^ in your Opinion ^ contain din Scripture, 
 
 In the Suhfcribing the next Ten Articles^ you fay, there is a Scene Lid for 
 Latitude inconfijlemwith the Church's Defign ; for the Btjhop h^s ftated Que ft ions 
 under them with fuch an Indifference^ as Jufficiently encourages Subfcribirjg in any of 
 thofe Stnfes : though fome of the Ofinions .are no better than Herefie^ &c. But. 
 
 yon 
 
Ci8 ) 
 
 you will not defcend to PdrticMlars ; they wiOfdIl better under the fstrtkul^r Exami^ 
 nation o/'fib^ Articles. Till then, I muft let them alone for an Anfwer. For 
 the prefent, I can only fay. That I can find no fuch thing : Bat I find in the 
 XVIIth a particular Head, to (how, how far we of this Church are determined 
 by the Article, and how far we are at liberty to follow any of thofe different Opi^ 
 nions. And the Bijhof muft haje ftrangely failM of his Purpofe, if He have, 
 notwithftandingthis, done as you fay. In another place, his Accufation 
 upon this Head, is, (tating Quejlions under thtfe hvticlQS that they have nothing 
 to do with. I don't know how you'll make thefe agree: Forifthe-^^rriV/^x 
 have nothing to do with thofe Opinions^ I can't find any fault in ftating them with 
 fuch an Indifference as fufficiently encourages Subfcribing in any of thofe Senfes, 
 Which you cannot but allow any one to do j fince you fay the Church is 
 not at all to be brought into thofe Difputes^ as we (hall fee prefently you do ; 
 tho' yet you fay here. There is a Scene laid in them for Latitude^ inconjtfient 
 with its Defign, I am pretty confident, had you known any of thofe 
 Heretical Particulars^ we (hould have h^d them; for you are not fo fparing 
 of your Paper, but that you can fpoil ten times as much, as thofe Partis 
 culars would have taken up, in the needlefs ^e^eww» oi ^o\xt General Ac* 
 
 ckfation. 
 
 Now we come to the Articles, fefr the fak^ of which^ in all likelyhood^ this 
 Scheme for Latitude was framed. How come you to know the Bifhop^s Mind 
 fo exaAly ? He gives another Account of his Defign himfelf. But you will 
 not believe what a Mznfays^ when^would juftifie -^ but wiWguefs at what he 
 thinkj^ at a venture ; and make it contrary to what he fays^ chat you may 
 condemn him. But if the Bijlwp is fuch a bitter Enemy to Churchy and Church- 
 Governments as to have taken the Pains to Expound away ail the other Articles^ 
 merely to get his Ends of thefe ; yet I hope King Charles I. and Archbifliop 
 Laud^ were no fuch f^d Levellers^ as to have had any fuch comprehending 
 Thoughts: and 'twas the D^c/rfr^riow that laid the Scheme for Latitude you 
 rail at, and i\\t Bijhop has only cited the very Words of ^W. The Bi[Jjop 
 then had not, when he began, thefe Articles before his Eyes, if we may 
 believe him. Nor will the Scheme at all hurt them ; though, if it did, the 
 King and the Archbtjl^op muft anfwer for it, whom you have wounded 
 through the Bifhop\ fides ; foblindj and fo refolved^ is yoxiv Anger, 
 
 The Words of the XlXth Article you have fet down. You fay. The 
 'Definition here given^ is very plainly reftrain^d to a Regular Admmflration of tht 
 Sacraments according to Chrift^s Ordinance^ and fo it is as to the Preaching part 
 alfo. \ don't know what you mean by very plain \ but if you can fee any 
 thing like what yon fpeak of, you have better Eyes than I have. The Article 
 fays, in all things that of necefftty are reqmfite to the fame. Now I think it is 
 very plain^ even as plain as words can make it. That the Sacraments may be 
 Adminiftred in all things that of Neceffity are retjuifite to the fame^ and yet the 
 Adminiftration be far from Regular. Nay, your felf Ihall confefsthis, ex- 
 cept you have quite forgot your Logich. For you fay. The Definition is 
 
 given 
 
 ( 19 >> 
 given of the Church of Chrift in General. Now then, a Definition of a 
 Church in General^ moft have nothing in it but what is and mujl be in every 
 particular ; that is, nothing but what conftitutes the very E/fence of a 
 Church ; and which being taken away, the Church it felf is deftroyed. Now 
 if you'll fay, that Regularity in Adminijiration of the Sacraments is Neceflary 
 to the very Being of the Sacraments^ and confequently to the Being of the 
 Church ; then you may come off from contradidling your felf^ but not 
 common Reafon. For there are fuch things as Irregular Churches •, which 
 'twere impoflible there (hould be, were Regularity a Part of their Effence. 
 Were you your felf to define a Man in general ^ Would you put any thing 
 into the Definition, but what every One muft have neceffarily^ if he be 
 call'd a Man; or would you define him to bz Hand fome^ which only fome 
 few arc ^ Juft fo it is here ; the Definition is of a Churchy and not of a 
 Pure Church. So that the Bijhop of Sarum had done Right to the Articky 
 bad he only told us what was indifpenfahly necejfary to the Being of a Churchy 
 and how it might truly be call'd a Churchy if it had thofe Things that were 
 fo neceflary : but over and above thatj he gives us Cautions, That All 
 Churches zxt not to be Communicated with, without Sin ^ That they may 
 have ail Things in them Necijfary to make them Churches^ and yet be fo 
 far vitiated^ as to oblige us to leave them. And if this be not prejfmg the 
 Neceffity of doing things Regularly^ when there is no neceffity to do them other- 
 wife J but be, as you fay it is, labouring Ways and Mean< to Evide the force 
 of the Article, 1 have done. I cannot here but take notice of an Inftancc . 
 of your Charity and Integrity^ in this Paragraph. You fay. When we come to 
 look in the Expofition, we find my Lord 0/ Sarum can fo Contrive the Matter^ 
 and Evade the force of the Article to that degree^ that if Men are BaptiCd^ it 
 matters very little by whom it be done ^ tbongh^ according to Chrifi^s Ordinance^ 
 the doing of it belongs to a diftin^ Order of Men ^ &c. He allows indeed, that 
 the being Baptized by thofe that ought not to do it, &c. does not deftroy the 
 Being of the Sacrament \ nor the allowing it, the Being of a Church : but as 
 for faying it matters not^ all thofe Cautions about the Purity of a Church 
 (how He did not think, fo. Til give you a Sentence or two, that are contrary, 
 in plain terms, to what you affirm of His Lordfliip. [Pag. 181.] We think 
 none ought to BaftiTLe^ but Men dedicated to the Service of God^ And Ordained 
 according to that Confiitution that was fettled in the Church by the Apoflles. 
 And a little after •, A plain Difference is made between our owning that a Church 
 may retain the fundamentals of Chrifiianity^ a true Bapttfm^ and true Order t ^ 
 and our joining with that Church in fuch AEls as are, we think , fo far vitiated^ 
 that they become unlawful to us to do them^ &c. What ? are Hcnefty and Jufiice 
 nothing but mere Names? and the Day of Judgment notbingy when every 
 idle Word is to be accounted for ? Is this the Charity of the Chriftian Re- 
 ligion? and is it grown a Markof C^f/?'sDifciples, to accufe their Bre- 
 thren malicioufly, againft clear Eye-fight and Knowledge? I wifh you 
 would conlider this, and make your Acknowledgment as publick and plain 
 
 D 2 as 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 as - our Abufe IS : and if you can't help your Under/landing ; yet hereafter 
 govern your P^flions and keep them from hurrying you into wilful SUnden 
 A mn cannot honcftly lay Words to any one's charge, diredly contrary to 
 what that Perfon lays, and he muft fee before him ^ but a Man may hojfliy 
 inth^fimfhcuy of his Heart, make a Blunder in his Reafoning, and his 
 Underftanding or Explanation of a Sentence: And therefore, though youVe 
 be /./W^ for the Inftance I have given; yet, for fome other things in 
 this Paragraph, you are only tobepy'^. ^ 
 
 In ^mr/. the XXth you fay, m fVorJs will be4r a Grammatical Ser^fe to 
 which a Man maySHbfcrihe, not with jlar^ ding he may think the Church hath m 
 Tower to Enforce Rites or Ceremonies , The words are thefe ^ The Church hath 
 Fower to Decree Rites or Ceremonies, Now, how a Man can Subfcribe thic 
 and yet think the Church hath no Power ^ I don't underftand. This is Graml 
 mattcal Non.fenfe. Oh, but you fay. That the Article does not fay Any are 
 bound to Ohferve them. Power is generally taken to be a Relame :\nd 
 therefore how the Church can have Power, and No-body that it has Power 
 ox/^r you muft make out. And fure, All thofe whom it has Power over 
 are bound to Obey its Power in Decreeing Rites or Ceremonies. When I fay' 
 The Ordinary has W to Command things to be Read in Divine Service • 
 Isn't It Che fame thing as if 1 /hould fay, "aH under his P.rrel;; ( and Smel 
 body there muft be tnder it, if he have it) are bound to Obey that 
 Command ? So when I fay. The Church has Power to Decr^RLand 
 . Ceremonies, I plainly fay. All under her Power, All in the Church, are bound 
 to Obferve that Decree ; if it be within the due Bounds of her Power A^d 
 fo, for the latter part of the ^mV/., The Church has Authority in Matter ^of 
 Faith ; I cannot believe you think Any one can Grammatically Subfcribe it and 
 yet believe She has no Anthority. What meafure he fets in^his Mind, o\hat 
 Powtr and t\izt Authority^ \ am not to examine. For the Article has worded 
 K fo loof^Iy, that It does not Exclude Thofe who have lower Notions of the 
 CWc^'s Poir^r And no One can Subfcribe the Articles, but by that ler. 
 Subfcn^tion}^^^^^ 33 ^j,j^^^^ j^X^ I 
 
 pable of Subfcnbing this ^mr/. in a very good Senfe. When you (hew how 
 the Explanation of other Articles does not confift with the Power the Church is 
 
 In the XXIft Councils are brought to the Teft of Scripture ; and their 
 Becrees^re no farther Valid, than they are agreeable to Holy ScrLure. You 
 fay, This wil affe^ our Creeds. One of them, we know, was never Confirm'd 
 by ^Council ; and yet we muft as firmly believe it, as any of the reft • be- 
 caufe we have Subfcrib'd, that it may be prov'd from Holy Scri^l^rl yL 
 r^^mtohnngthis Article,;ind that of the Creeds, upon the Level V Whereas 
 
 nnonTif. Tn^'l'"' '"""^T '^^ ^'''^'' ^°^ ^^"'^ ^"^ "^ ^^e Belief of them 
 upon us, andrK quite the contrary, to (how that General Councils were 
 not fo firmly to be trufted to. If that of the Creeds had been worded like 
 
 this *, 
 
 ( 21 ) 
 this ; The Three Creeds are not to be believed, unlefs it may be (hown that they arc 
 taken out of the Holy Scriptures •, it would have m^de me fufpeft, there was 
 fomethmg in them not io to be pi oved. And had this been worded, as that 
 of the Creeds is. The Decrees of Gtneral Councils are fi-mly to be received, and 
 believed, for that they are to be proved by certain Warrants out of Holy Scripture ; 
 I (hould have thought my felf oblig'd, in Subfcribing it, to have believ'd 
 the Decrees • and alfo, that they were proved by certain Scripture. But as 
 they now ftand : He that can make, /or thty are , and, not unlefs they are, the 
 fame thing, has a knack at Grammar beyond any ordinary Capacity. 
 
 The XXllId Article is that, of Minifirina in the Covgregation. And in this 
 the CWf^ has been fo careful, that She has provided Bars, over and over 
 again, againft an Irregular Admiffion : and all thefe you take care to count 
 up. The life I make of your Catalogue is this : That fince thofe things 
 you mention, arc to be Subfcrib'd to, as well as this Article, it would be no 
 matter if the Article did not Exclude any of them ^ (ince there are many Pro- 
 vifions againft Presbyterians, and Independents, in ail thofe other things, 
 which its impoffible they (hould get over. You'd make as if every ^rf ic/i? 
 in the Set, was made agJiinft every Body ; and if the Bifljop does but interpret 
 any one, as you think, fo as to let in a dangerous Man, you flieat him, 
 though there are ten or twelve other Guarcis which he muft make his way 
 through, before he can have entrance. But yet I'll venture to put it upon 
 this. That if the Bijhop has interpreted this Article againft the Grammatical 
 Senfe^ or the Senfe of the Church in any other of Her Books, he has done 
 wrong. 
 
 The Words of the Article you give us : and the latter part of it, we find, 
 determines and defines the General Expreffion in the former. 
 
 Every One^ you fay, that lives in England, knows, that according to the 
 Conflitution of our Church, the Perfons who have Puhlick Authority to fend La^ 
 bourers into the Vineyard, are Bifhops. Every One does know it ^ and every 
 Church of EngUnd. Man, and the 5i/?;o/; among the reft, thinks than no One 
 can Subfcribe ihh Article, but who Acknowledges it: ( Though, if they 
 could, 'twould fignifie nothing ^ fince, by Subfcribing, they acknowledge a 
 Power in the Bilhop who impofes the Subfcription ; and fince there 
 are, by Subfcription to other Articles and Rules, fo many Bars againft 
 any Dangerous Opinions in thefe Cafes.) For He plainly fays, (to the very 
 fame fenfe that you do at the beginning of this Paragraph ^ ) p. 258. That 
 which we believe to be Lawful Authority, is that Rule which the Body of the Paftors, 
 or the Bjihops and Clergy of a Church, Jhall fettle j being met in a Body, under \ 
 due RefpeH to the Powers that God jhall fet over them. And no One can make 
 the Article bear any Grammatical Senfe, fo as to take in any of thofe Men 
 you fpeak of: fince no One can pretend, that they are CalPd by Men who have 
 Puhlick^ Authority given them to fend them. At leaft, if fome Men (hould 
 underftand Grammar and Senfe fo little, as to think 'twill bear it, we have 
 other Bars they cannot leap over i and their Miftake is not to be laid to the 
 
 ^ Charge : 
 
IH 
 
 ( " ) 
 
 Oxirgt of the Declaration, but to their own want of Scnfe : nor to the 
 Bflbof, who plain y affirms no fuch Ufe can be made on't, in the words be- 
 fore : except you'll fay, their Ordainer, are the Paftors ofom- National Church 
 and Met ,mder a due RefpeH to the Civil ^mhorit,. And therefore, I wonder* 
 how you can have the Confidence to fay, that rvefind another Story told and 
 then quote vvprds of the Biffi,op>s for it. which plainly refer not to our Church 
 but to the Churches abroad : which the Article cafts fo favourable an Eye 
 upon, as not to condemn, though at the fame time it does not direftlv an- 
 prove of them. The Words of the Article you can't deny to heitneral 
 and not appropriated to any f articular Conftitution. as the Btfliop favs •' 
 though every One that Subfcribes them, does by that Subfcription oblige 
 himfelf to think None latvfully Called, in our Confiitution, bat tbt Epifiopfl/^ 
 
 ^if", .,^- ' ''^'"6 "° °'''"5 "" ^'^ ^ faid f o be fent by Men who h^e 
 Fubltck. Authority gtven them to fetid Labourers into the Lord's Fineyard. 
 
 The Bijl:ofs Suggeftion, you fay, is to bring our Church upon the Level mth 
 the Churches abroad, after Calvin'/ Model. He plainly fays. Ours had been 
 u '"T ("."f." ""L °f '*' teaten-Path, than any other. How is this a Level ; 
 Wlien he plainly affirms, that Our Reformation vas more Regular than Theirs as 
 bavtnggone lefsfrom thofe RuUs that ought to be Sacred in Regular Times ? This 
 welhall haveOccafion to fpeak^of more fully in the Third Head 5 as we (hall 
 likewife prefently, of the Magifierial Stifnef, of fome Hotter Spirits, which 
 10 dilturbs you, and caufed you to utier that charitable Reflexion at the End of 
 this Paragraph. ^ 
 
 ,v"°1' y°" ""i"??g'"e ^!lf ^'d'op ftould mjhfor a Change,} an\ underfland ; 
 except you think He s willing to part with one Conftitution,for another which 
 
 He declares kfs Regular. My Lord ofSarum no where fuppofes an Indepen. 
 
 dentot Rresbytertm can Subfcribe ihh Article. He plainly Excludes Them 
 as I have/hown before : And the Church hath fufficiently provided, if he had 
 not, in thi% Artule, That no fuch Man (hall Come in, if he have any Honeftv 
 or Confcience m him •, and if He have not, there's no Remedy. But if 
 you re for having a Way, I'll tell you one. Do but you, or any of your 
 Writmg Friends for you {whofe Credit tvillnow go as far with an Meptrdent 
 
 noUftf''*!' Ll'f'' ''?''' ^ P'*^^^' ^^^^ ^fioufe of Presbyters, Met by the 
 ^^1 ot the Archbtjhop, is co-ordinate wirh» and indtptndem upon, a Houfe of 
 £tJhops, to whom they have Sworn Canonical Obtdience ; That thtv are 
 Impower d to Adjourn Themftlvcs, and Aft feparately from Them, &c 
 and I U promife you. Not only 1 hey you fpeak of, but Every One elfe" 
 who having Subfcribd to fuch an Obedience, may have fome Scruple of Aall 
 mZi'^Ll' Vt "'^^ Nature of Ou, Confluution, fliall, upon fuch dI 
 monftration think al that relates to Ep,fcofacy, ox Obedience, mere Out- 
 ^hZlTTfw'i' »r.Advar,uge wtll fuch u not.hl, Difcyvery give all that 
 
 that are tll.lV,ft:ers to the Church as now Eftabliflj'd in Bilhops Superiour to 
 Presbyters. But as you have not (hown, that the Btjhop hns faidanvthir 
 like that you lay to bis Charge ; fo, I'rafathfy'd, you never can 
 
 « And 
 
 T 
 
 wf J„H";hl^A5r ^''^'"^c'^!- ^^ ^^^ ^'fl"^' Expofition, the Grammatical 
 Senfe and thcObhgatm our Subicription toother things lays upon us, made 
 neceflary to be thought the -i:-n./«/ Ordination by eviry SobfcJSer A?d if 
 ikcwifc the Article o'Rtt:,a„d Ceremonies, which you your felf, againft your 
 Will, acknowl, dge the ».y».-^ h .« rot dam.gd, remain firm ; you? SflJ 
 this next Paragraph, o{,h:ngs hein, bu..ht ,0 u hopeful pa/s,\y thofcvol 
 jeering y call li'ortby Men, m^ry of whch .re .^^n^m, /ii 'abus'd" wilf bJ 
 fool.lhly vain and ungro^ndrd. For, fuppot.r.g they could get cv^r a| the 
 -^mc/e. ; you cant be fo fond as to f.ar .>,Jcr J Decency Jhould be aZe 
 confounded and W'/ when thefe Men, before they leave their o:rn, to iSe 
 upon your Parocbtal Meetings, mud Snbfcrihe, .nd declare their unfeigned aZ 
 and Confent to theVfe of all the Thi,g, contained in the Book of cLL W 
 and therein, to the Rda of Order and Decency in the Ruhrick} ^ * 
 
 And thus we have done with this Topick 5 in the handling of which von 
 have niown a particular Difrefpeft to the Btfhop, and to Trlh ; and a Vem! 
 per which carries not the Face of Chrifliunuy, or Moderation ; and have 
 thereby done good Service to fome People, who rejoyce at our Divifions 
 
 Wnf R„r if rithT""^' ?f S.""^ f "''""" ""*^ ^""-^ to be the famc 
 S fiL .nr ' "g^'^'y conlider'd, and apply'd, it is fo certainly true, and 
 fo fully anfwerable to the Defign of theCWci!,. that I'm refolv'd you IhaS 
 not be fo civil to the^,^^ as to let him carry away the Honour of the firft 
 Attemptmit; but will have that Latitudinarian, KingCW/«I. firftferv'd 
 
 jr^S^C I-S"°"'''' '"' ''*"""'"''' ''* '"' ''^' ""' '*"= ^''"^^ 
 The next Comparifbn ( though you civilly fay there is none ) of the Bil},op 
 
 T^^SZl^T 'l!f Tk' ".'^'■yU"i"ft' «"d "-indeed defign'd for no 
 End but Abufe ; becaufe there is not any Argument in it, their Aftions not 
 at all refpeftmg the B^jhop. Yo» have ftiown us by this, as by the reft of 
 your Proceedings, that fry*r. are not the only Perfons that cannot pretend tl 
 Smertty or Wrutng tn Earnefl, when they are to encounter an Adve^L. One 
 
 ?!?^A uTr/'l ' """"u •'!!5 '^"'""lend the fr^-r for, and that s, that he 
 had the Wit to know, tbn Grammatical Senfe was not for his Pur^fe and 
 
 ;t"/Lrr "t/^r''""'^ "'"" you count, t7...L./v, 
 
 1 won't fay how great a Complement you have put upon the Roman Catho- 
 Hckf ', and what a piece offervice you have done the Church, by fuDDofin? 
 \rL '^^ ^^'"^'"'''i ,S"'A of Out Articles is Popifh : but ftall, as fairly Is 
 I can, fet Grammattcal Senfe in a true Light ; which, as, I hope, it may 
 mform you ; fo I doubt not, will fully evince, that ou^ ArticUs' ^^^t 
 favourable to /*m. if the Truth were known, 'twas nothing but Sc 
 Crammanc4 Senfe of the Articles, that Davenport was fo confomded by ! 
 with which It's no bard matter to run down any one th^t frtterids to recoJik. 
 thtm to the Couttal of Ttmt. </ • »»»«. 
 
 CrsMf. 
 
«^. **•- ^^V^U 
 
 •0f^ 
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 others... with which ictSnnStfhe";!^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 ^i EvfrvW^n' '^^"l! '"'/° ''^^ Other Parts of the molcnlpT 
 isJ. Every Word muft be taken in forae received and prooer Senfeofir.* 
 
 t^ liVf a'i?th°orrtL?r"\"Pr V"^ ^°^^' ^^ -P'-^ -n:°ry"ti 
 
 rhp rAft./x<: ..i,«c / L oe always lucnanoneasisnot contrary to 
 
 ?^nr^nV.7„ K^ ""derftand IE m a Senfe, confonant to the reft Sf The 
 Sn^oor Kw"'' " '\?"^ '° "J"'*^^ welikewife Subfcribe • and in a 
 
 n,ade ^....<«,V./ ../J thing SaTC L ough t^UtZ ' 'S 
 your felf, in your Accufation of the Bijhop, always make EaK,rh« 
 
 »P0D Ibe Ground of ,„„" aS.S o! ST, «S ^J"'^ '° '" '?"=• 
 
 bears 
 
 / 
 
 .4 
 
 (25) 
 
 bears to the reft of the Sentence ; that Sentence likcwife beine conflder'il 
 with relation to the Whole Difcourfe j there, and there only dfesTeclairn 
 
 Tho^rrr "•^'''f ?^"'"' °p'"'°"^ ^ ^^ I have « ^^^^^^^ 
 
 I hope, fuMy, m what follows. ' • 
 
 And this is fufficient to fliow, That the Bf(hop>j Lmtude dots mtmrodnee 
 ptvtrfuy ofOptnmswto the Church, any farther than the JtlufShe. 
 mroduce them. Nor does the TitU of the Articles at ail co«radi4 k fin« 
 th.s cannot at ail hurt True Religion. Nor does Bifl^f T^kri^ol' I^^X 
 belong to .t i as having nothing in it but true Se»fc and fMr llSy -and 
 being fo h^ Uom not fervins the End. of Truth, Ld HoUnefs, on^ordng 
 a Senfe upon Words, which they will notnaturaUy bear ; that it is the S 
 
 Re Itch U'sTh n^n^lfw '° P",! '^'"i"'''"^ Senfe upon the Decifions 
 01 cue c hurcb. It s the only Way we have, of comine to the Rishr Senfp «f 
 
 the^^rK/e, whicb,tobeftre, is the /.«;./ W G^^lL Se ; SreM 
 you 11 fay, their true Ser,fe is neither Uteral «or Grammatical. It's that SenfJ 
 
 i^ S nr^''"''f*l-^'''"'" *"' ornotSubfcribe; and is ne^er dffFerene 
 Vh "^^/'"V "'"i!°? ^V^' ^''¥<>" which arc Deterniin'd by the 
 ^ttaJS An ''' •? things <>f 4 «,<.«,«, in which the ChurVh has 
 not thought fit to provide againft Dtverfity of Opinions havine Determinvl 
 us only to the general Word, which aWisfuffici^nt o tle&Slernt 
 f! wut^^" *'"^R'^"l^' T'"i'"^ and not to any particular Notion of 
 
 It, which being not Neceffary, is not Determined 
 
 What you cA\ Determined, indeed, in the former Paragraph, you only 
 rail Cmaw^d, in this : whereas they are not the fame. For Things may bJ 
 Contaptd in thtArtuUs, as I havefaid before, which are notXrS 
 as f f "^-i«-. arc under a £?r«r./. if you fay. That the ParticuuTs arc 
 "° in 'he^rfic/r. butonly yomGeneral; it will be allow'd yourforiS 
 only a aatbble, and amounts to the very fame thing. For all that was ever 
 meant, was, that there were diferent Particular*! Indtr the S""" and 
 dtferent Manners oi Ex^Xzmngfome Exfrefftom j and 'twas no matter vJhich 
 we took, as to the Honefty of our Subfcription : which you your felf muft 
 ^mT'i?!'' 'j'^''f^.^V"i^'^'^^^^''>»'*^r>'>dintheJrticles; wehaS 
 a full Liberty of Opinion in all Things not c<,«««V therein. So that, tak !| 
 either manner of Exprefllng it, and the manner that His Lor^ mS 
 Ufc of in hand ling t\itArttcUs according to it j we (hall find, that neither 
 the 0;,«<,« It felf, nor his Application of it, will "ntroduce fuch a iZJ^asZ 
 Attldes were fram'd to avoid. """fwy^c 
 
 .u^°Xu^it- "°^' whit larger, than what you allow in your Anfwerine 
 the Objeftion of t.^^ Moderation of the Church of Engird: And by hi 
 
 ^aflV}} J^'^-^JT. • 'X '^°"."' y°" y°"^ ie^iv^o^ft the Accufation 
 againft His Lard^tp to be Unjuft, and his different Grammatical Senfe, to be • 
 Allowable. % < * iwuc 
 
 You 
 
mm 
 
 ^smtm 
 
 mmm 
 
 ( t6 ) 
 
 You fay, Our Church dots not tie Men up at the rdte of the Church of Rome, 
 Determining things that are better left Vnr^etermin^d \ and forcing an jfjfent to 
 them^ as to things of the greatest Confequence. This is all that's dcfirM to be 
 Allowed, That Xht Church has left thofe things of fe/i Coff/f^«e«ce Undcter- 
 iniii'd, and has not forc'd the f articular Opinions which are io, upon us, but 
 only has ty*d us down to the general^ that being all that's necellary to found 
 DoSrinCj or neceffarj Difcipline, 
 
 Firft : The Moderation of the Churchy &c. This Paragraph is certainly 
 
 true, and is nothing almoft but what the Bijhop fays in his IntroduElion^ j[p. 7] 
 
 in a little better Words, and more clofe Exprefiions. To the Laity they 
 
 . are only jirticles of Peace \ but to the Clergy^ otberwife : as He has fully, 
 
 contrary to what you once or twice more than inlinuate, prov'd. 
 
 Secondlf : Our Church is fo far^ &c. This is (rue likewife, with a candid 
 Conllruflion ; for it won't bear a very ftrift one : becaufe of the alfo joined 
 to occur fed^ which looks as if they were accurfed that held Opinions contrary 
 to the Doctrines before ftated. 
 
 Thirdly : The Afoderatton of the Church is very remarkable^ in making fo very 
 few DoSrines to be Conditions of Communion^ contrary to what is objeiied in the 
 beginning of the IntroduilioDi c^c. Objeftcd by whom ? You'd fain have 
 People believe by the Bijhop : But if they'll look into the IntroduSlion^ they'll 
 find the full and only Anfwer to it. The ObjeSion is natural enough, and 
 we know has been made even againft the Creeds themfelves^ and therefore 
 defery'd an Anfwer. The Biffaop gives a general one, that will Anfwer the 
 ObjeSion^ from the making of the Creeds^ to the making of the Articles ; 
 by telling the neceffary Occafions that came upon the Churchy of making par* 
 ticdar Explanations of Her Seafe, in thofe Fundamtntal Points^ and our partis 
 cular Occafions of encreafing the Number of our Articles above what they 
 need otherwife have been, for the Exclufion of Roman Catholicks. And 
 furely, if the ObjtSion were thought worth an Anfwer, when made only 
 againft the Creeds^ as too particular^ in that which the Word of God 
 had made general ; How much more is it fo, when *tis made againft 
 XXXIX Articles^ One of which contains all th^k Three Creeds ^ and the 
 reft farther Limitations of fome of the Things contained in them. God 
 forbid that I ihould fay the ObjeElion is Juft ; but yet it is fuch an one, as 
 nothing but the necefftty of the Churchy to fecure her Fundamentals j could 
 aofwer. And therefore, It^lht ObjeSion (hould lie unanfwerable againft 
 our Churchy whofe Moderation, I muft needs fay, you have fnlly reprefentcd \ 
 I am refolved never to believe that She has Determined any thing but what 
 is neceffary towards Securing the Do^ines of true Religion^ and the 
 ncctffary Qmt of the Conftituted Church. You blame my Lord, that He 
 will havelome Do^inal Points found in them : but you alTure us, that 
 there's fcarce any fuch thing. The BiJhoiL does not fay thcfe DoSrinal Points 
 are few or many ; nor does He fay any tningof it, as to particular Articles : 
 He fays ,only. That in DoSrinal Points 4 Lay-man m^ differ^ and yet hold 
 
 Communion 
 
 ( ^7 ) 
 
 €ommmm with the Chmb ; for th^tfnch Pmts are mtfome(fary toSdvatm, 
 MS that withem helicvpig thm, no Mart hath a Fccdtral R^ht to theCovtnmof 
 Grace ; a, Articlts of Faith are. And this is not more than you allow, in the 
 Firft Note of Moderation, where you fay, That aL^.man u not bmnduf 
 toaftriiijicknowledgmemofthe Articles, othermfe than a, they ^ be found 
 to he comfrit.id in »k Creeds, or are evidently True tn thmfelves,andn,aybe 
 Proved from Scripture: That is, no farther than he fliaU tbmk them fo. 
 For if you mean in reality, he's bound to believe them aU, becaufe they aU 
 may indeed be thus proved ; though there are fome jfc«»jf i m them, which, 
 whatever he thinks of their Tr-^fc, are neceffary to him, if he pretends to 
 a Faderal Right, and thefe are jirticks ofFatth : and others that he jnay be m 
 the wrong in, and himfelf think the Chnrch in the wrong »"♦ without being 
 out of the Covenant of Grace, or out of the Commmon of the Chitrcb. Thus 
 vou Allow Dbarinal Points in the jirticles, which you blame w ^""[f, "f 
 Allowing, notconfidering your felf. Indeed, ^hc main Accufetion wdl ^^^ 
 
 upon you, as we (hall fee But to go on. You fay, Jh^ frtmUr^ 
 
 hthe T«. Articles, from the IXth to the XlXth, there are no fuch 1 beluve. 
 you arc the very firft that ever made them neceffary to a Fctderal Rtghtj 
 and, accor^ng to «i Lord ofSivam's Notion, aU other but fuch as are/o «- 
 «/r^, zre DoQrinal Points. No Man, itfeems, can have a different Notion 
 oiOrigindSin; or interpret thofe Places of Scripture, which we bring to 
 prove it, otherwife than the>4rttV/c determines it, without lofing his Ri|h£ 
 to the Goffel C<mnant. No One can be for ^bfolnteReprobatton ^^f^/"* 
 ito which Ofinion, you fay, the^rticle is contrary) but he lofes his F«^«r^ 
 Right, and fo on. You'd fain make all the Eight, to be equaUy f w/" ^ 
 Fmth oDDofed to DoHrinal, with the XVIllth : whereas thisistheF«w<4. 
 ment^mrine, without which it's impoffible for any One to have a F«i»r-/ 
 Right. Nor arc they, becaufe relating to the Fimdamntal, equally ^j»fe of 
 Ftith with it ; becaufe a Man may believe the main Thing, under different 
 Explanations >\i the Pa^fls do X.\it Forgtvenefs of Stns, through Chrtfiahne, 
 and the Life EverUfting, though they differ from Us m fome of the Arucles 
 which relate to that rWiiwm*/. . 
 
 You fay next. That there is nothing truly Controverflal, or DtfputabU,tn theje 
 Ten Articles, but plain neceffary Chrpian Truths, which every Orthodox Chrt/ftan 
 may Subfcribe, let them vary never fo in their Sentiments. The Btjljop of Sarum 
 does Exclude, particularly in the XVlIth jinicle, the SupraUpfarums ; whom 
 you cannot Exclude by your Rule, becaufe in their Opinions there is forae- 
 ihine truly Co«/rot/trM or Difputahk, and nothing that deftroys the Ortho. 
 doxyofChrifiianity, asyouoppofe it to Doarinal Potnts, of which you had 
 
 Sen talking, being Men may hold that Opinion, and yet have a Ft^dcral 
 S in the Covenant of Grace: which Ihows, that it is not one of the 
 JticUs of Fmth that the Uiifcqp defines, and which you call 0«fc««/wC*r.. 
 tunity. And here you allow a greater Latttu^ than the S^p, and that 
 i. thefe Article,, which arc not without rcafon fupposM to look a partico lar 
 
 « E 2 way^ 
 
mmt 
 
 Bes=! 
 
 C t6 ) 
 
 You fay, Onr Church does not tie Men up at the rate of the Chnrch of Rome, 
 Determining things that are better left Vncetermin^d j and forcing an jijferjt to 
 them^ as to things of the greatest Con fec^uence. This is all that's defirM to be 
 Allowed, That tht Church has left thofe things of /f/i Co»/e^«e»ce Undeter- 
 mined, and has not forc'd the f articular Opinions which are (6, upon us, but 
 only has Cy'd as down to the general^ that being all that's neceflary to found 
 Do^rinCj or neceffary Difcifline, 
 
 firft : The Moderdtim of the Churchy &c. This Paragraph is certainly 
 
 true, and is nothing almoft but what the Bijhof fays in his IntroduSlion^ fp. 7] 
 
 in a little better Words, and more clofe Expreffions. To the Laity they 
 
 . are only Articles of Peace \ but to the Clergy^ otherwife : as He has fully, 
 
 contrary to what you once or twice more than inlinuate, prov'd. 
 
 Secondly : Our Church is fo far^ &c. This is true likewife, with a candid 
 ConllruAion ^ for it won't bear a very drift one : becaufe of the alfo joined 
 to occur fed^ which looks as if they were accurfed that held Opinions contrary 
 to the DoArines before ftated. 
 
 Thirdly : The Moderation of the Church is very remarkabtej in mak^g fo very 
 few Do^rines to be Conditions of Communion^ contrary to what is obje^ed in the 
 beginning of the IntroduftioD^ &c. Objefted by whom ? You'd fain have 
 People believe by the Bijhop : But if they'll look into the Introduction^ they'll 
 find the full and only Anfner to it. The ObjeSion is natural enough, and 
 we know has been made even againft the Creeds themfelves^ and therefore 
 deferv'd an Anfwer. The Biflaof gives a general one, that will Anfwer the 
 ObjeSion^ from the making of the Creeds^ to the making of the Articles } 
 by telling the neceffary Occafions that came upon the Churchy of making par* 
 ticular Explanations of Her Senfe, in thofe Fundamental Points^ and our parti* 
 cular Occafiofjs of encreaiing the Number of our Articles above what they 
 need otherwife have been, for the ExcMon of Roman Catholicks. And 
 furely, if the Objection were thought worth an Anfwer, when made only 
 againft the Creeds^ as too particular^ in that which the Word of God 
 had made general ; How much more is it fo, when *tis made againft 
 XXXIX Articles^ One of which contains all thtk Three Creeds^ and the 
 reft farther Limitations of fome of the Things contained in them. God 
 forbid that I fliould fay the ObjeSion is Juft ; but yet it is fuch an one, as 
 nothing but the necefftty of the Churchy to fecure her Fundamentals^ could 
 anfwer. And therefore, U^lht Objection ihould lie unanfwerable againft 
 our Churchy whofe Moderation, 1 muft needs fay, you have fully reprefentcd $ 
 I am refolved never to believe that She has Determined any thing but what 
 is neceffary towards Securing the Doftrines of true Religion^ and the 
 neceffary i^t of the Conftituted Church. You blame my Lord, that He 
 will have iome DoSrinal Points found in them : but you alTure us, that 
 there's fcarce any fuch thing. The BijhoiL does not fay thefc Doctrinal Points 
 are few or many ; nor does He fay any tningof it, as to particular Articles : 
 He fays .only, That in DoSrinal Points a Lay.man m^ ^ifcr^ and yet hold 
 
 Communion 
 
 f 27 ^ 
 
 €mmmim mh the Church j for thstfHch Pmts are mtfo neceffary toSalvatm, 
 Mj that without believing them, no Man hath a Fcederal R^ht to the Covenant of 
 Grace ; a, Articles of faith are. Aod this is not more than you allow» m the 
 Firft Note of Moderation, where you fay, That aLa^.man u not bound ^^ 
 to a ftrm Acknowledgment of the Articles, otherwfe than as they fhaH ^J P'^^ 
 to be compriud in jk Creeds, or are evidently Trne tn themfelves.andmaybe 
 Proved from Scripture: That is, no farther than he (haU thinic them fo. 
 For if you mean in reality, he's bound to believe them aU, becaufe they aU 
 may indeed be thus proved j though there are fome thtngs mthtm, which, 
 whatever he thinks of thar Truth, are neceflary to him, if he pretends to 
 a F<^ral Right, and thefe are Articles of Faith : and others that he jnay be m 
 the wrong in, and himfelf thinis the Church in the wrong m, without being 
 out of the Covenant of Grace, or out of the Commumon of the Church. Thus 
 vou Allow Doilrinal Points in the Articles, which you blame w Lord tor 
 
 Allowing, notconfidering your felf. Indeed, t^V^^'r ^' r&'Si«£ ! 
 
 upon you, as we ihall fee But to go on. You fay, That f^^ttcular^ 
 
 in the rcn Articles, from the IXth to the XlXth, there are '«>M- Jj^'f"*' 
 you arc the very Brft that ever made tkem necelTary to a Faderal Rtghtj 
 and, according to my Lord of SarumV Notion, aU other but fuch as arc /o »e. 
 «/^, are Doarind Points. No Man, itfeems, can have a different Notion 
 oi Original Sin ', or interpret thofe Places ofScripturc, which we bring to 
 prove it, otherwife than the ^rw/c determines it "«hout lofing his Right 
 to the Goffel Ctrvenant. No One can be for Abfolute Reprobation and Ektim 
 ( to 9hUh Opinion, you fay, the Article is contrary ) but he lofes his FcederaL 
 kiCnd fo on.' Wd Vain make all the Eight, to be equally W«^ 
 Fmth, oppofcd to DoOrinal, with the XVlllth : whereas this is the F.«^ 
 mentJimrine, without which it's impoffible for any One to have a F«Ar4/ 
 Right. Nor are they, becaufe relating to the Fundamental, equaUy ^W&^ 0/ 
 Fdthmtbit; becaufe a Man may believe the main Thing, under diffcrat 
 E^eplanations .- as the Pafifis do the Forgve>^fs ofStns, l.^oughCi^rtfijUme, 
 and the Life Everlafting, though they differ from Us m fome of the Aruclcs 
 which relate to that Fundamental. r n • l r 
 
 You fay next. That there is nothing truly Contrwerftal, or Dtfputable,tn theje 
 Ten Articles, but plain neceffary ChriJfianTruths, which every OrtMox Chrtftion 
 mav Subfcribe, let them vary never fo tn thetr Sentiments. The BiM of Sarum 
 does Exclude, particularly in the XVlIth Article theSupralapfartans ; whom 
 WH cannot Exclude by w«rRule, becaufe m their Opinions there is fome- 
 £rtruSSoS*rM or Difp'^ahle, and nothing that deftroys the Ortho- 
 SofChrifiiamty, 4syouopiK>fe it to DoOrinal Points, of which you had 
 S talking, bdig Men may hold that Opinion, and yet have a Ftedtral 
 S ,« the Covenant of Grace •• which (hows, that it is not one of the 
 Jticles of Faith that the Bijho, defines, and which you call Or»Wo^Ci«- 
 iLly. And here you allow a greater Latitude than the iJ./fco,, and that 
 ii thefe Articles, which arc not without rcafon fuppos'd to look a particular 
 
 • El way. 
 
SiM 
 
 —■nil 
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 way, though not to determine it ft, as that a Rmwfiraitt need at afl 
 fcruplctheSubfcribingtothem: as the 5./I«p proves. Cp-/. 168.1 
 
 And fince you allow fiich a Latitude, I wonder you ftiould fay, the Bifhop 
 
 mn as fettled m the ^mck, without having /ow^ 0;«w« about it or other • 
 
 u'^ «wl °?n .^.'" ''.'.8'^d to fee what can be faid for sO the Opinions about 
 It : which wiUlikewife g.ve Light to the General Doftrine. I don't think 
 He could, without this, have anfwer'd the Ends of an Expofiwr. That 
 Office rcquir'd him to (how upon what Grounds the Article Rood, what 
 Arguments It had to fupport it, what Opinions it was contrary to what 
 was to be faid for thofe Opinio^, and what was to be faid for thofe againft 
 ofThi ^?"/ • '' u'^y '^f' '"^''*"'' '"'^ y« "" agreed with the Words 
 Jrn,nH^ ' °"^'" 'Z •".'" "'^P'''"*^' '"«* ^^e Arguments they were 
 «X vx7«'!?VTP°/''.' that Men might be able to chufc for therafelves, 
 ^L nft ^°r r^ • • ''^^ ^'l'"!. ^ ^"'*'°"'' ^'"' •«= fi>™ifli'd with Arguments 
 r!S V 9^1"' •"" '^^'.''' ""'■^ ""'^a^y to the Words of the Article 
 Befides, It can t be imagined, a Man ftould be ft well vers'd in the Proof 
 
 SL'J .fr''^f'^''-''^<^'''7eh thefe ^r.ic/« have fomewhat more than 
 Ihf ;J!. 7^°^"'"" ttsOppofers, without being likewife acquainted with 
 the partfCHl^r Optnms about it, how they are to be defended what Texts 
 are cued for them and what againft them, the naturarSkequenc« of 
 
 ?o^&?f' '1' u^T'^^? V DiJ^advantagcs of them to Rel^ia^Thh 
 you muft allow to be the Bufiners of an ExpofiHon ; except at the fame time 
 
 and irtr^r^'" the£.,o/««„.in the wVrld. W-^^t^X W^ 
 
 SCTipturE "' ""'' "'"''' '"'y ''" P'°P"'y ""'<* f^oA'J of 
 
 mthout dmg u ^ong. But fince there^c fuch aaarrels, and fL of, lei 
 as you fay, comr^ to thtSenfe o/^/fceCWfAi aU that enter it fliould S 
 
 Sfn^'"''rr''*''"''^''^^'""^''^'^^^ fo a^ ^o be abe to Confute tJofe 
 Opinions which are contrary to the Determinations of the CWrA Ac to 
 
 what you fay, TW ,i, church has avoided Determining ^h nkeojLT- 
 n ft exaftly agrees with what the 5#pfays about Vefe Sef ha't • 
 methinks it would excufe fo long a Digrefllon (if the i?Lt^ werc'one5 
 were it for nothing but to Second the D^t^n of the Church, by ^tryir^o pui 
 a ftop to the unhappy Divifions thefe MfpJes have rais'd. The Lft and 
 on y way to do^hich, islhowingwhat Charity they owe one another when 
 they confider the ftrength of the Arguments on the other Side -For -..^^r 
 compromfingthe Matter othermfe, thertisnohZ ^^'^'' ^°' "' ^"^ 
 
 L.Mjtly : The Moderation of the Church of England is M &c I er »„« nn^ 
 
 J\?f ' 1^ ^"^* ' you fay, he grcdt Scope and LMtitude for Diver City 
 
 ixzzs:- fofs "' ^tK." h "' ^*"' '^ w ™rist3 
 
 inc zfjjftsp delires , for there iVDX>s:X\»zGrmmMic»lSenfe contrary to the 
 
 , * Stated 
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 Sutei and Defined one. Bnt where the Church think^s fit to Mate and define^ 
 there the Children mnft follow Her. If you mean this againft the Bifijof^ you 
 are mightily ouc ; for you have not once fliown that the Bilhop has not done 
 fo : And if you had, it would have been afting contrary to His own Rnlc^ 
 which is as exprefs as yours. 
 
 You repeat again your ways ot coming to the knowledge of the ChwrcVs 
 Mnd', and 1 repeat my Anfwer toit. That toSubfcribc tht j^rticles in a 
 Senfe contrary to any thing Determined in thefe Explanations, would be 
 Non-fenfe and Difhonefly. But I rauft defire you, when you talk of the 
 Churchy to leave out that you call the Do^rine of the Churchy or Tradition ; 
 becaufe by the DoElrines of the Churchy I underftand only thofe DoSrines 
 which are required to be Subfcribed by every one that Enters \ and I don't 
 love to have more put upon me than needs. Thofe Writings and PraBices may 
 be of good life, but not in the leaft Obligatory to be believed or followed : 
 And if 1 think i fee reafon, I may bequite contrary to them in Opinion^ and yet 
 ^K^ycWitf , whereas in the of^^r C<i/ej 1 cannot. But now: IVhere there is ngthing 
 ofthis^ and one Article does not expUin another^ nor the Article to he Suhfcrihed^ 
 explain it felf^ there we are at liberty^ and not bound up to any one Grammatical Senfe 
 more than to another : In fuch Cafes^ and fuch only^ Men mxy Subfcribe the 
 Articles, and yet he of different Opinions^ &c. Now if the Bijhop fays one 
 word more than this, let me never fee what's Senfe again, [p. 8.1. 38. j j^n 
 Article being conceived in fuch general Words ^ that it can admit of different Liter d 
 dnd Grammatical Senfes^ (and that, to be fure, is in fuch cafe and fuch only when 
 ^tis not explain d by another^ or itfelf) both Sides may Subfcribe the Articles with 
 M good Con fcience. Then he gives an Example which you allow of, in the 
 next Paragraph i and then fays again, [p.p. I.21.3 Where then the hxlxQXt^ 
 are conceivU in general Words^ (and that, to be fure, is not when they are any 
 ways determind) and have not more fpecial and refirained Terms in them 
 ( D'ye mind ? ) there we m^y take it as a fure Indication^ that the Church does 
 not intend to tie Men up^ &c. Now thefe are the very fame things you 
 fay : For you allow, there are different Literal and Grammatical Senfes^ as well 
 as the Bifhop ; and the Bifhop allows, that there are no fuch, but where the 
 Terms are general^ and unreflraind, as' well as you ; snd fays, they are fuch 
 z% agree mth the Purity of Faith: which, if they do, they arc what you call 
 things of not that moment^ as to come within the exprefs Decifions of the Churchy 
 in an Authentick Oligatory way. All the difference is, the Bifhop docs not 
 mention the other Authentick Obligatory Explanations of the /Irttcles. But 
 this is no difference indeed, for Two good Reafons : i. Becaufe to- talk of 
 a Grammatical Senfe of an Article^ contrary to an Explanation of it, equally 
 Obligatory with the Articles, is no better than Non-fenfe; as I have Blown 
 before: And, 2. Becaufe if 'twere not iVb«-/f»/e, 'twould be Difhmfiy^ to 
 Subfcribe in the Articles one thing, and the contrary in another, (the Kubrick.^ 
 fuppofe : ) which I muft do, if I Subfcribe tht Articles in a Senfe different 
 from any Determin'd in that. All that His Lord(hip is more culpable thaa 
 
 you 
 
■ •^i»«!h» ■ 
 
 TT 
 
 (50) 
 
 yonin/if, that He did not makcufeof a needlefs Limitation ; which a Man 
 mud fee, exctpt be be both Fool and Knavi ^ ^ndyon did, and then make a 
 
 Plouri/h with it, as if 'twas all in all 
 
 r Thtrtfort you /ijr. Men may differ about Hd \ that being not defined : only 
 fo much is defined^ in ofpofition to the Apollinarian Hercfy^ as to ^ffert^ That 
 Chrifi had a Soul. This exclndes the Bifljpfs fecond Senfe, Thai Senfe olHeB 
 I have vindicated already : but I cant imagine why you ibould think that 
 Article was made againft the jipollinarians ^ when if it be fo, 'tis very ob- 
 fcure^ and therefore cou!d not only be intended as an Explanation of the 
 Paffage in ihz Ath^afianCreed^ which is mightily plainer, and moredireft 
 againft the ApoHinarians, who cannot poflibiy deny Chrift had a Soul, and 
 Sabfcribe that Creed. And fo^ you fay, Men may differ ahim thoft Points 
 grafted upon the Ten Articles , which are not the Tranfcript of St. Auftin'/ 
 Do^rine^ as my Lord fuggefts^ &c. As you have proposM them, I confefs. 
 Men may Subfcribe them, and Differ about them, with a witnefs. If you 
 can prove they are no fuch Tranfcript^ you 11 fatisfie a great many honeft 
 Men who think they are, and yet think them not fo exprefly decided, as to 
 Exclude thofe of the contrary Opinion. Your laft Sentence is the old falfe 
 Accufation, That the Bifltop^ Latitude warrants Diverfity of Opinions in 
 Matters plainly Determined by the Church : which it does not in the leaft, but 
 juft the contrary, in Things only which the Church has left general and 
 undetermined. 
 
 And in many Cafes ( in dS that the Biilop intends by his Rule^ or has made 
 it to do in his Expofition) the Church has done it ^ fo that no Rigour can bt 
 complained of^ There^s no jiraining upon the Confdences of Men. Nor do any 
 moderate Mtn^ that I know of, fo miftake the Moderation of the Churchy as to 
 allow any Remifsnefs in Conformity or Obedience to what it has Determined. Their 
 Moderation confifts in requiring no more than the Church ; and they are 
 Immoderate Men that require more, and thereby give an occafion for that 
 Diftin^ion of Church-men, To think that the Church intends one tUngj and y$$ 
 thrufi our felves upon Her^ with a pretence of Subfcribing in Afferent Grammattcal 
 Senfes that the Words wiU bear^ is neither the part of a true Son of the Church of 
 England, nor of an honeft: Man^ as you truly fay. And if the Bifhop had 
 AllowM any fuch thing, I Ihould have faid he Abus'd the Church ; as you 
 ( who fpeak fuch things of Him, as, if you underftand plain Englifli, you 
 muft know He did not intend, and can*t prove that He has praOis'd ) now 
 do Him. 
 
 it is indeed fuch a Dejign^ to Subfcribe to Conditions of Communion^ and both 
 Believe and Teach the contrary^ thai the Bifliop could not, upon firft Thoughts^ 
 approve of it ; and He has been fo far ixomfruftrating the Defign of the Churchy 
 Chat He has fully proved, that the Title of the ArticUs obliges thofe that 
 Sabfcribe them, to do it ex animo ; and has Himfelf, throughout his 
 Expofition^ afted according to that Principle : Though you won'd fain 
 prove thai He has not done the Uft^ I believe, contrary to your Opimon ; 
 
 becaufe 
 
 (30 
 
 becaofe you fo often, contrary to your Knowledge^ infiouate that He does not' 
 allow thefirB. Since then, to fumm up all, you have not prov'd that He 
 does once give occaOon to any One to Subfcribe with an Opinion that the 
 Articles dont allow : Since He gives no Scope for different Opinions, but 
 what the Articles admit, and the King^s Declaration commands : Since yon 
 your felf bold the very fame Principles of Latitude that He does, and ia 
 Ten Articles together countesaocc a much greater : The Declaration^ and 
 the Bifhop J and To/v, muft ftand and fall together, and either be condemn'd 
 or dear'd of the Accufation of introducing a Diverfity of Opinions^ which the 
 Articles were framed to avoid. And I believe in my Confcience, Tou All 
 ( except as to thofe Ten Articles ) ftand fuUy clear of the Imputation. 
 
 We have now done with the Firfi Head ^ and if that does not hold, the 
 Two other will neceftarily fall of tbemfelves : For it's impoffible that any 
 thing fluiuld be cmttrary to the true Meaning of the Articles, and to other 
 received DoSrines of our Churchy except there be a Latitude allow'd for 
 Diverfity of Opinions^ which the Articles were franfd to avoid. For, I fuppofe, 
 M the Diverfity of Opittians that the Articles were framed to avoid^ is avoided 
 and exduded in them, otbcrwife they don't anfwer their End : And if it 
 is, then nothing can be contrary to the Meaning of them^ but what introduces 
 an Opimon which they were framed to avoid. And, if nothing in the Exfofitiott 
 contradifts 2ny Article^ and confequently 2iny othfir Authentical Exptanatiom 
 of the ChurcU^s Mind, there can be nothing diac is of dangerous Confisfienpt 
 to the Lawful EftaU^hment of the Churchy or the Hmour of the Reforutation t 
 all the Lamfuk Efiabl^ment of the Churchy and all its Refortnation from thf 
 Church of Romcj being included and fettkd in fome of tbefe Authemcal £«- 
 flanatiotts : Aod to infinuate jby tbeie di/ferent Heads, as if tber(s wer^ 
 Ibmcthing more uithem, looks like making fome NewTern:isofCommii«' 
 nion ^ and being as much above tbtChurch'^s Moderatiou^ as yoQCOOSpIaincf 
 Others for befog below it. 
 
 The Second Head of Complaint, is, 
 
 That there are many P^^ges^ in the Expofition of feveral of the Articks, 
 whitk appear to it contrary to the true Meaning ofthem^ and to other re^ 
 ceived DoSruies of our Church. 
 
 This, it feems, mufi flay to he provd fuBy, in the particular Examination of 
 the Articles .• which, when they come out, we Aall know what to fay to ; 
 but we may give fome fort of a guefs, by what has been faid^ what Proof it wiU 
 admit of. A Man might indera give dguefs, what manner of Proof wejhould 
 have : And we did naturally expeO, according to the Sample ypu had given^ 
 what we have fince found to be true, by the Examination of thofe Two 
 Articles akead; come out, that what yon call PriHif,^ would be nothing but 
 
 Uncharitable 
 
( 30 
 
 Uncharitable InfinuatioDs, Unfecmly Reflexions, mlx*d with very little True 
 or Tolerable Reafoning. 
 
 You fay then. That whatever is contrAry to the Articles, is c(mtr«ry to the 
 received DoClrim of the Church : which is certainly true j and then you turn 
 it. That what is contrary to the received DoSrine^ is contrary to the Defign at 
 leafi of fome or other of the Articles. If you mean, by received Doihhte^ 
 that which is exprefs'd to be fo in any other Explanation of the Churchh M ind ; 
 »tis certainly true, that no One can Subfcribe the jlrticUs in any Senfe 
 different from fW. But if you mean, in any private Writer, or any number 
 of them i I can't allow it to be the Doiirine of the Church : becaufe 1 tiiink 
 thefc Explanations contain not only the main Subftance, but aU the Coiirine of 
 the Church j all that She requires any One to believe, that Enters himfelf into 
 her Body. 1 wiflj you would keep to your Rules of Latitude in the Account 
 of the Moderation of the Church of England : but 1 fee, 'twas nothing bul 
 the ftrength of rr«t/», thatwrefted thofe Allowances from you; whenever 
 yon come to your felf, you forget that Moderation^ and fix New Terms 
 upon us, which are fo far from being Obligatory, that they don't in the leaft 
 belong to us, any farther than we fliall think them Reafonable. 
 
 You are at it again, in the next Paragraph, and at the Old Trick of 
 telhng us the Church'^s Ways and Means. The Three firft of which you 
 rightly determine OUtgatory, but the lafi of them (as diftinguilh'd from 
 the Three former ) 1 am no more obliged to confider, than the raoft diftant 
 thing in the World. Obliged, I fay j for nothing is required more, to de- 
 nominate me a True Son of the Church, than what is neceflarily to be Sub- 
 fcribed, and Aflenied to, for my Entrance into it : and to make any thing 
 more, and to fix it upon Men, before you'll allow them the Name, is 
 making New Terms of Communion, which the Church does not lay upon us. 
 Nothing is the DoSrine of the Church, but what is contained in fome of 
 thofe Explanations ; and to call fuch particular Men as arc of my Opinion, 
 the Church, is only a Trick to viiific others, who hold all that the Church 
 enjoins in any of thofe Things they Aflent to j but in all other Things 
 connt themfelves as much at liberty to follow Cahin,orEpifcopiusy or the worfi 
 Man in the World, if they think he fpeaks truth, as Montague or Jewell, or 
 any the befi Man. Thefe Impofitions are what the Moderate Men complain 
 of; and think ( though they have as good Opinions of thofe Writfrs as any 
 Body can have ) that They who would fix them upon Men, arc not fo 
 Moderate as the Church is, whofe degree of StifFnefs they exaftly defire to 
 keep to. 
 
 As for the Three J?r/? ways, all Doarities and Rules fettled by Them, we 
 are bound to follow and embrace : And 1 don't think any thing in them fo 
 ^Jcurely exprefs*d, as that we can't fee what's meant by it ; and very often, 
 ( that is, always where it is fo ) we can fee that 'twas meant, not to fix 
 OS to the Opmions of Thofe that compil'd them, but to leave us to our own 
 Liberty as to the particular Opinion, it not being of any Confequence. 
 
 Boc 
 
 I 
 
 But yon, on the contrary,make the received Opinion,ss you call it the Determ, 
 
 TntenTol t'5:; f "1 ^f """"''' 'V"^ ^^'"^ "^ SubfaibeVwh^eS 
 Intent of the ^rttcles plamly was to determine only how far we fliould be 
 
 • obliged to receive the r,c«WO;i«,;,. The ^m.^ i fty ^ru how far 
 ThTJo^/'^''* '" f°l°^}}''-""-"i Opinion, and not th llcZopZX 
 what Senfe we are obl.g'd to nnderftand the Article. This was the liten! 
 of the Articles- otberwife it bad been as eafie to have put down thei own 
 Opmion, ^s the general mrd: but that was fo hard, ihat when thev h!d 
 done ,t m One ^«./,, 'twas Correfted, and left Genera . A^d iSdeed 
 
 ack"noSe'd5tJ/f i!°r'r''^'"''^" ^^^ gave that Account ofXSj 
 acknowledge this by Confequence : For in ail thofe r«« ^r«c&, you give all 
 • Liberty of Subfcnbing, fo they hold the Fundamental ; wheLs if thU 
 that you call the DoUrine of the Church be Obligatory, eve y One m„i Sub- 
 
 thi^ht""" t1^^ ^'V^\^P^^°" ""^'^'^ hf knew Thofe who compU^ 
 rli 75«isa New Term, I think, ot Communion, The OpinZof t^ 
 
 frZ^h7"«rh. T*r "" ""''" "°,"^.'"8' ^^ received Doarine, but rKdiftinft 
 from the other Three, as you plainly make it. If you do, tell me what it 
 
 rVl'^^V'"' '^" ".« O^-^o^; and, if it be, ho'w we S Se 
 S^)ir^\ST"\"""'''^^ft'' (o-cof which is as ObUgatoryVZ 
 ther) fincc that Rejeftion muft be begun by fome private Perftn , who if 
 he were in the wrong, all that follow'd him were fo too ; fo? 3<W 
 can never be ma4c Truth by the Multitude that Durfue it. OmJr'Sfs 
 never its plain, were thus ftifl^, and we defire to%e no ftifFer than Sev • 
 
 trary to them •becankaW the Latitude defir'd, and which you erant is in 
 Things not Determin'd in them. We do not'think a Man caS SuSbl to 
 tbtCram^attcal Senfe of an Article (which is the Bilhop>s ifWO in fuch a 
 Senfe as to make ,t contrad,a it fdf, or any other Artkle • becaufe Contra 
 diftions can never make anySenfe at all /And I can fcarce Sk you Tavc' 
 rLlTh " ^?''°l of Crammarical Senfe, as to make none a aHf it f 
 
 tn a Senfe, hat the Words mUbear, according to the Rules of true Grammar 
 ^r,d feemtngly pptr Stgmfication, and yet fuppofe at the fame time ~; 
 l^/'-POunhhe Kmcl. he Subfcribes, as to Zke it contrJmt^'Tfot 
 
 t^t^T n-J''"' r" y^":"":^!^"^ Notion oi Grammatical Seife, iC 
 »\ f r'^^'r' '-J""', o^herwife you need not have told us 'twasZl 
 
 altAy Sfd^fng '^'^""' '' '''' "°"'^ "^^ ^^ » ^^^ ^" 
 
 sJrEu.li!jX *''"" y°» 5^1^ « ""ind to Ihow the ill Ufe of Grammatical 
 Senfe, fall upon the /«o»^, and the word Hell : whereas, if you fay true ie 
 makes the Artule fpeak Nonfenfe ; and then, if you thought S,aU 'the 
 fiult you could lay to the i?,^f's Charge, would be, miftak ng in tJe ' 
 Pradlice of his own Ruk. You are upon all Occafions, making this fecmL 
 Senfe the Meafure of the Sfjhoph Latitude : whereas Gra„matic!i Senf/S 
 
■ii\ 
 
 Ch ) 
 
 Mesfure ; and that^ if this fecond Sertfe be Nonftnfe^ is contradi(f):ed and 
 ruin'd by it. But you play (till more foul, wiien you fay, Tkis fiems to 
 he preferred in the Expofition. Let but any One read the laft Paragraph of 
 that-^mc/e, where Bijhop Pearfonh Opinion is rcprefented, and look in the 
 Contents before the IntrodnElion^ p. xviii. What may be the true Senfe of this 
 jirticle^ and he cannot but think it Uncharitable. 
 
 The Rnnning^down r/>e Three Creeds, and Diffaraging them^ as you call it, 
 is againft the Defignofthe Article. I am forry to hear, that fpcaking Truth of 
 the Creeds^ is Difparaging them. For thatfays^ thty are thrOMghly to be receivU^ 
 and believed. But pray, why does it fay fo? For they are to be proved from 
 Scripture, You fee, it puts the Belief of them upon no other Foot ; and 
 that's fo fure an one, that it is alone as fufficient as all the other. For 
 except they can be proved fo, all the Anticjuity and Authority of 
 General Councils^ according to Article XXL would fignific nothing : And, if 
 I Subfcribe that it can, I muft firmly believe it, though made but Yefterday, 
 as if made a Thoufand Years ago, or indeed as the Scripture it felf ; juft as 
 I do all the Articles 1 Sobfaibe, with the fame firmnefsthat I do the Creeds^ 
 though in Point oi Antiquity they differ. If it be true, th^t tht Athanafian 
 Creed was never heard of to the Vlllth Century^ 'twas not the Meaning of the 
 Church to have it fo believ d. If it were never Confirm'd by any General 
 Council, 'twas not the Meaning of the Church to oblige Subfcribers to think 
 fo. Indeed, the Church)i^A no Meaning at all about it, ^d has not fpoken 
 the leaft word concerning it, but has left the Creeds upon only the foot 
 of Scripture \ but fo pofitively, that no Man can Subfaibc this Article^ 
 without believing they can be proved from Scripture. And Thofc that do 
 not think they can, are not in the leall: favour*d, by making them have no 
 Advantage from Antiquity ^ becaufe, whatever Advantage they might have 
 from thence, it would not at all affedt a Man who thought they were not 
 only not to be proved from Scripture, but contrary to it, as the Socinians 
 do : except you'll fay, a Man ought to believe Antiquity, when it contradids 
 Scripture, Thefe again, I muft tell you, are New Terms of Communion^ 
 making the Meaning of the-/^r«V/fj to be what is not fo much as exprefs'd or 
 mentioned in them ; and the Meaning of this particularly to be for the 
 Antiquity of the Creeds, and the Confirmation of them by Councils, though 
 againft Truth ; when it felf does not only not mention any fuch thing, but 
 rather the contrary, and, as you call it, Difparages the Apoftles Creed it felf. 
 We (hall have Things finely managed, when you are to play the CWrfc, and 
 make it fpeak what's your Will, even againft its own. 
 
 Tou dont here enquire, whether it befo in Fa^ or not : but its a great Complement 
 pdjfed upon this Creed, which does not very well comport with the Article which is 
 made in favour of all the Three Creeds. How far in favour of them, pray ? 
 As to ih^ Antiquity, and this having been ConfirmM by 2l General Council: 
 Kot a word of it, but only it fays, They are to be proved from Scripture. If 
 indeed the Bifhop bad faid the Creeds were not to be proved from Scripture^ 
 
 or 
 
 or if the Article had faid they had been confirm'd aS by Councils it had been 
 a fcurvy Complement to the Church : but when the IZS 3 1 that the 
 ^tAT ''f ^" ""' do welltoaccufeHim, for L'^^^^^.^^^^^^ 
 TasHntHncJ ,^';J^^"f^/,<^^'-jf"JJ^ in a thini the Cib«r.fc 
 
 Th. ?i? "" ^''t . '^ '^"."^^ " ""'^ ^dd' '^ hear a Cht^ch.man fay, 
 
 JoZ^^Tl' "''' ""^fr ''''''''' ''""''^ ^^'^ rvhether fuch a Complement 
 to the Creeds be not agawfi the Article : as if, fuppofing it True, it were not 
 
 sfuote^ "^^ ^'^^^"''^ '^^' ^ whi?h IsTmuch 
 
 tLSof h J ^T^ i '*' '^''''^' '^ ^^ P^'^^» f^'- yo° can never prove 
 5rUiT^ ? ™,!^' "''? ^'r ^"^h Complements do Men put upon the 
 ttrebi' rilTnff ffi'L''!f ^''.^^^have^...^.^, that are not in them; and 
 thereby, 2g^in{t2ll Moderation, make it neceflary to Men to Subfcribe to 
 
 2?hV!i?f ''v 5^''" ''"''^P"^ upon the ^mc/^ then 'tis not the Meaning 
 hnl^ ar ' ^^^J^ """''^ P^°^^"y '"^'^^ ^^^ Words bear any fuch Meaning, 
 «h^rh'*?'2fr"'J? '' '^''''?°-- '"d ^ M^" does all the CWcfe can reqS 
 ZafJL^^T}^'^ "'"^'^^"8 to the Senfe exprefs'd in it, not 
 
 regarding any Additions that you will think fit to make. And fince the Bijhop 
 has prov'd all that the^mW. has exprefs'd, or any One isoblig'd to Sub. 
 Icnbc to, I wonder you can fay, He has contradi^ed the Meaning of the Article 
 Pray confider how you deal with the Bijhop here, where there is not the 
 lealt Evpreffion in the Article that looks like what you call the Meaning 1 
 and how you deal with Him, about his Sug^eftion of the Ten Articles beinl 
 ^Jl^'^MtptofSt Auftin's Doarines, in which there are Expreflions looking 
 that way • and fee how you can make them agree. 
 
 You have not in the leaft ftown before, that tho/e Articles refpeSt only the 
 Prtn.tpal Do6irUie, and have nothing to do with any of the lefs momentous Di/putes. 
 You have faid it, indeed ; but have done nothing to convince any One 
 that thought rhey look'd to that we call the C^/^i;;//?/^^/ Opinion ; nor do 
 very Undcrftandmg Men believe you can. We know, that the receiv'd 
 
 R^a^a'c ^r^^Ji^^y ^^^^ ^^"^^^ "^^^ ^^ 5 and that Adventrous Armi^ian 
 that firftSubfcrib'd them, broke quite through your Fourth Way of coming 
 to the CWc^s Mind: and all that have fince follow'd him through the 
 Gap, have, notwithftanding there were no fuch thing exprefs'd in the 
 Arttcle, run quite contrary to the Church's Meanings and the received Doarine. 
 Tis yourown way of Talking in other >^mc/r/, where there is not the leaft ' 
 mention or glimpfe of what you call their Meanivg • and therefore be 
 pleas'd to take it in xh^k Articles, where there's fomewhatmore than bare 
 Appearance of it,and where moft Great Men have thought there was fo. But 
 I won tdifpute the Cafe with you -, they fiiall be whatyouM have, becaufe 
 I am a Friend to as much Latitude as can reafonably be ailow'd. What will ' 
 ?^^?^^ J^*^^ ^*^^" ^^^ £^fo/7ao« given us oftheAxikks, which is to revive 
 thofe Huefitons, cannot but be contrary to the Defgn of thtfe Articles : and to 
 brtng thofe things upon the Stage^ is but to wrong i he Reader, and the hnkXts^ 
 
 P 2 upon 
 
a 
 
 f ( J^ ) 
 
 "po^rvhich theJiSpecuUtms are grafted, that Jo not belong to them. But let 
 mc telJ you Thofe ^eftms don't want reviving ; they never yet Ire 
 dead, nor, 1 doubt, ever will be. Every Body can fcarce hSabJu:. T 
 one or other of thofe Opinions ; and thereforrW nTmorc th^^^^^^^^^ 
 ^Z,''^ f"'^' '''■'''' ''°'^^^'" -nyofthem, and wS it excluded 
 
 a fair Light, and to give them an Anfwer, is furely the Work of an 
 f^V^^io^ If our Sermons be fuch. Much more is it fo, when thev are 
 an agreeable to the Thing to be Expounded. For, you knowTwe general J 
 ^t forth the different Interpretations, and Manner's if ExpSing ?S ma J 
 Head, and on what Grounds the different Parties go, and then which " 
 moft agreeable to the main Defign : or. if there beVo material diSci 
 ( however great ones have been made ) fliow how thofe different OniS 
 
 S£7 xt-' ^ ^r '''°^' ^h"' ^°^'^ 'hem ought to bear with one 
 another. This we call an Expo/Ition, and this is all the Sifhn^ l«c h«„ 
 
 of His De/ign. Yoa fay. The Expofition is to revive aU r iKS. ^^ 
 
 wpJ. so that this Z «Z5 yT^FllJ:'£Z VI T"' t'^' 
 
 o^^Defign, whoknewitbeft: C;4^VII,V,II ofth^^^^^^^^^^ 
 among others, that led me to follow the Mlhodjh^^^^^ One Reafon 
 
 ts to offer at the be/l M,at„ i ,^« / l- ,/ '^ ■'* ** '" '*" Controverf*. 
 
 one a.oLrl!ZZ'' "^eTM'JZo:]^^^^^ " ^""^ underfiandinjlf 
 
 . to an Agreement : and the JettXt t '"■ ^'^'.T^ "" "'"'' '" ^^"ugh^ 
 theConfentson thathasaJflcZitl^^^^^^ r.tU never%y 
 
 Argumenuthat lie on the other sT-thJ^th'mL Z,C "^' "^ '*' ^''" '^ ''" 
 hta arefHch as m^ prevail on t^Ce JdZdM^ ^^V'' "" "1 '^«'«^"W', 
 
 910$ 
 
 :\\ 
 
 C ?7 ) •[ # 
 
 Si! 'J« 7„ ',l"^r tV "? ^"^"^ O" ^'''^'" " "i^^'i on, though neither 
 ' DR^nZ tU"""rT 'X r^"" '*"/"' '"^"^^^- You* fee here. His 
 And fij^v L^'~" u ''"^. ^*''''*' "/ ^"^'"'"''^ •" a General Agreement. 
 hS Wav ?<;»/./°> "'^'^^^ ''^'" have been pardoned, if He had miflook 
 "kelv a'^ MeS ' nH ^»V ^^P'' help faying. That He has chofen fo 
 ChlhlfF«li / "'^ P"'/""^ '^ ^° ^^'of^'y* 'hat if the Defign of the 
 rl7tnZ^ti "p' '° ^'" ^^" ""•'«'■ •" 'he General, and bear with 
 rOne can eaS rhrrf "' '^ accomplilh'd as much a's it can be : for 
 SearSefi «,irh«„r ^' Arguments, fet off with fo much Strength and 
 
 UrelSion bit all.? k"'^ "^^ IT*^^^""^ '^' "PP'''^^^ ^P'"'**" ^' "^""y' «nd 
 very Hnmhu"„H m!5 i'."'i'""''y '» Embrace it, at leaft, without being 
 
 to mak! Men Jlc f*^'^ '" ^'^ T"" ^'^^ ' helieve 'tis the readieft Way 
 anereJS Jni i ' ^^Z '"w*?'"!"' '^' "'<'"•> ^^'«^''' "'herein both Sides 
 wherein th^„/?fF ^'^ u °"''i' ''l''' "^^''^ ""h the P-r/fc^/^r. «<,. neceffary, 
 therrmen^tPfr.' *!'''^" 'h^? find'' a DrawrftBattle, as 'twere, betieen 
 and PwTaolT, r"'"^ '*•"?' '""^ ^oth Sides to have their Advantages. 
 ?hat f The ffi «f /k' ""'"^'!"5''^' Difficulties belonging to them. So 
 onW the M.ii^^^,nH ""^^r* of England ^,rt to havl her Sons believe 
 DifDU able^nrr^^" r'Vo'''' '".^ ""^ ''°"°'« 'h""" Heads with the 
 cowt ?n?h.r ?r'^''/°'"o' '/••"= ^'^'"^ has taken the readieft way to 
 S and ?. i« """"eflary Porfuit, to check their hot-headed Forward^ 
 
 « laft defi?e vo^r^S" '^'• ""'^u ''f.^*'^ ^^'"'*- though I muft here, 
 rhif i'li Vu- ^ " ^° '"•'* '?°"'^^' ^hat it is no One's Opinion, that I know 
 
 w^tb 2r d!?fnteT.h°"? '^ I" J"? ^''^^"' "' ""'^"f"! to be meddkd 
 "o 'l am£ kcan^ fi''''''o'- ?" y°" have to fay, why thefe fliould 
 n„f U« ?>^ ?' L ' he ^o*r Opinion ; becanfe yo» make fome thines 
 
 S"^ n'? '" """"» '° ''^ ^'^" *««fl'^'-y- Confider thefe ThLs the 
 KLf& y°"'-.A^<^"f«io"i Repent, and beg Pardon If y?J Ja„ 
 tell what thofe 0;««(,«. are, t:o»rr<,ry to the Article^ for which, you fav 4 
 
 rfco«^i the Enghlh he OB?, -»^ the Englijh W riS,f L.w were iotfc Sw?S 
 
 cnen, jn :^'i« often fignifies no more than 'hPthe Lawi butTBttV/^™ 
 So that if 1h" i" "? '* ^" ^'.S'' '" "* higSefb and moft geSle^fe 
 '^3?^' ht''^^^^^^^^ they n3?ant no more • 
 
 3111 i?a mn'rh ml^^ .*"'• J° P"' 'h'^ beyoad all poffible Difpute i 
 Jin IS a much more general word than T5p. If it be tLn here iS the 
 
 moftr 
 
( ?8 ) 
 
 moft general and iargell fenfe of it, the ^rtkh is this ; They m to be 
 Mcurfed, who fay ^ a Man he favtd in the Law heprofejfeth ; whereas thtre is 
 no balvamn bnt m the outward Profefflon of the Chnflian Rdmon : for fo 
 jnChrtft in thelargtft fenfe, fignifies. This mufl: be your fcnfe of the 
 j4rnck, if you oppofe the Btihop% which fays all but this. And, fup- 
 pofing this were ih^ Determtr.ed ^pxik of the ^mV/f, I believe every One 
 would Subfcribe it, with the fame Senfe they do the Damnatory Sentence of 
 tht ylthanafian Crted, vtz. fuppofing they had it fufficiently prov'd, and 
 explam d to them. And with that Salvo.ih^yirtideh nothing more than the 
 Bt^op fays, m that you blame Him for. This is the Confcqiience, I fay 
 fuppofing 'twere fi^lly determined, to take %\\ in the largcft Senfe : but 
 that jsnot poliible, as the Article is now woidcd^ for thouc^h the Latin 
 would do It, yet the £;;^////; cannot poflibly; IBp never fignify7ng fo much 
 as Jit, in that large Senie : And the Erjaltflj and iht Latw Signifying juft 
 the fame ^ the Lattn muft be made to fignific no more than the EnaliJJj 
 becaufe the En^hfi; cannot be made to Ijgnifie fo much as the Lattn. So 
 that a particular care is takeri^ to proude for this difference^ by the very Men 
 that compiled the jirttcks, who have determin'd the fignification of k\x 
 
 ^^ ^rn ""^^ °?°[^ ^'^i" '^^^ ^'"y^ iuppofing the Jlnicle, both Latm and 
 Lnglifh, had been Jlt, no reafonable Man would have denyM that they 
 might fignifie no more than QBP ^ becaufe in the Hthrew, Greek Lattn 
 and Enghih Old and New Teflament there is Jn molt commonly ufed, 
 when It can be no more than %^, The Places are fo many, that i won't 
 fuppofe you Ignorant of them, though 'twere more for your Credit to be 
 ib. For 'twould make any One blufh, to confider that you have abufcd 
 tht Btjhop^ in telling the World, He has taken of the ^p.m hen. a-, when He 
 has given it the fulieft Senfe Igp is capable of : and you have laid an 
 jinathma upon all that believe that Senfe ^ making the Belief to be determin'd 
 by the^mc/^, as necellary to Salvation : which it's impolTibl^ the Words 
 Ihould bear ^ and which if they would bear, would not at all exclude this • 
 becaufe the very fame Words will very often beai both, as taken in a gene- 
 ral, and in a rcltrain'd Senfe. 
 
 Your next Paragraph is of a Piece wi h this. I can indeed fcarce believe 
 that you think the ^//7;9/? meant, oy M^^tfteri IStijfnefs^ any One's trjfijlin^ 
 upon Epifcopal Ordtrs^ tn optofitwn to other Conftuntions. He blames not cheir 
 Opinion who think them neceflaiy, any fjrthtr than as they abufe other?, 
 as not being of the Chnr.h of England^ who have thoughts that other 
 Ordination is Lawful ^^iro^^ •, and thereby Di^au Magi jier tally ^ in laying 
 that upon us as a neceflary Interpretation of they^/r/c/^, which'the ^rnWe 
 it felf is not foftiff as to determine, or oblige its Subfcribers to believe. 
 But it lets in none but fuch as believe Epifcopal Ordination necelfary to an 
 Admittance into Our CWc^; nor does ihc Expo/itton of it : and therefore 
 you imagine for the B:jhop, when you make Him think that it leaves Room for 
 Presbytery^ or Independency, He never was fo particular ^ aod they wrSt he 
 
 very 
 
 # 
 
 (^9 ) 
 
 vtry eafie, who are perfuaded to believe that He Has manag'd the Article 
 fo as to make xile^ve fnch Roov,, andfpeak a^ahfl it fdf. 'Tis but a Man's 
 looking upon the Expfinor,, [p. 158. /. 25.J and his own Eyes will con- 
 vince hira that you had »we, or none of fomething that's bmtr. \ have 
 fliown this before, when you fpoke of this ^mV/e. 
 
 The XXVth Article is of Baptifm : And there the 2f#p fays, Tkre h 
 no exprefs Rde, or Precept for the Baptifm of Infants. This, you f^y pILu 
 contruMls the Amde u felf The ^m.fc then it feems, fays, t£.T2 
 exprefs Rde, or Precept. I'm fure, it does not exprcfsh fa/ fo. But e^s 
 hear you prove this. You fay Though the E.^tih, is'mft agree Je, ll 
 t 4T' °''"™^ '°"^/"''' '"^" "-^'^^ ^«%««^ Can't I very fairly 
 S' flv Th rV"'-'"''^' ^'" \,£"i^-"^ for fuch or fuch a thing j but 
 yet fay. That it is as agreeable as' is pojfMe to the exprefs Law But 
 archer : Hrft of all. This Congruat is in i'lsubj.nmve Mood : and 1 be- 
 lieve that IS not near fo Affirmative as the IndJtwe .- And then your Senfe 
 oiOptme ,s a little too ftrift for Chat of the Super ative : And, 3^ The very 
 word Congruat, which fignifies no more than that it is agreeable to the 
 Jnfittutwn, feems to fuppofe that 'tis not the very exprefs Inftnutwn ic felf 
 Buctowavech.s-— The5//7.«;, 1 think, plainly Ihows that he means no 
 more by eA-^r./.,chan that Infant Baptifm is not in terms, in fo many words de- 
 dared and commanded m Scripture : And I'll cell you why 1 believe fo; i (i Be- 
 caufe in this Article, though He fays 'cis no exprefs Rule, yet He proves that 
 CIS .^r«.W. ro the Infiitut.on of ChrOt. And' therefore^ when^Sou prove 
 thztheca^fe hts agreeable to the InJittHtton of ChrtB, it ts an Exprefs Rule • 
 
 TnH^r T""' 'r'" ""u ^'^''''' ^"'^ °"'y 'l""^^! ^boutthe word £xpr./-;. 
 ^nd, Uk. Becaufe in the ^m./. 0/ 0-/^,, He fays the Command feem to be 
 Exprefs agaw/} Any^ and yet proves them to be Lawful ; In both chefe 
 places He makes f.^-re/. fignifie no more than that chey are, or are not in 
 fo many words, commanded or allowed: and He fully fhows He does not 
 mean what you do b^ Exprefs, becaufe He fays the Rule is not ITp^^l 
 
 tunon 0] Chrtjl, ( which, in your Senfe, is expref. ) * ^ 
 
 There may, you fay, be an exprefs Rule, or Precept, where there are not exprefs 
 Word' for every JndmdualPerfon concerned ,n thelnfiuutton. Accordinrto 
 ih.B>fl,ofsSM Exprefs, chere cannoc ^ nor indied, in any^o^d Sfnfe 
 That, 1 fuppofe which comes by Dedudion and Inference, i^^oi Exprefs : 
 for, were it fo 'twould be deduc'd from it felf. The nearer the Dedudion 
 IS, fo much the nearer Exprejs is the Thing proved by it. I am vet! 
 willingto admit that theRulcfor Womens ^««m«e the Sacrament is £^prS 
 becaufe 't., at ffrfl fight, without any Dedudion, 1 palpable as the Men{- 
 for which the Inftitution is not a whit more Exprefs than for the 
 Womens^ But the Cafe in Baptifm is quite otherwife. Here there i' a 
 long, and very hard, and no defpicable Difpute againft the Capacity o{ 
 
 Jnfantt 
 
m 
 
 Repenunce, id^'akhX n,S^ £V mo ^ '^^^^'"'^ - 
 
 ro their being acquainted with the N tu 7of t a't Repmatc ''an7p""J 
 
 Side. Now, nz;:£:^i^:%^x '?ht t'h""rr" °" r'^ 
 
 not Exclude them hnr rh.f fhJ argue, 1 hat the Inftitution docs 
 
 Cove..n, of C r1,ce^^{n r^'lr' ^'="""^'^' "P°" 'heir Accent; int^ a 
 Inftitntion^is not VL^/} ir^fc>"'^-''''K ^'J''''^?'' ^ow that the 
 capable to Receive afd;'.^.-.^ be f.vp^/, to all that are 
 
 All, that .re no ;ho ?y ^Pa , "l?^Tr ''^ '^'' ^~^P^^'^>' ' ^^en to 
 This is a pretty hard S viri a i'/ V ^- "r^'?" '^^^""^"'"y =^s to Any. 
 Capacities'of Mants, 'd^rown ^t Eu? ^'^'fT"^ thcdiflcrer'c 
 let rae ask vou • Were Inf^nrT ^or. m r u ' -^ ^° Inf^mt Communion, 
 
 were not, Sth'^yrw hot h ffa L^'s R^^^^^^ W- ^' ''' 
 
 a C(r.'t«<,w o/£7r<.J bv orf Wr m '? ^ ' "^'g'^' be admitted into 
 
 Grace in their Right bv.mSfTn^' Tl' ?"P''''*^ ^^ ^^"'^''"g ^"7 
 
 capable, then i^ bfZte y t eV'rf trffl' t™,?^'"' .'^ ^'^^^ ^^^ 
 C3ufe there is an E.pref, il' " I'/, '''/^fo; u?°"''^ ^' '^""'"'^^ i be- 
 vvho are capable of being fo. ' The Par^Il? mth^ 1!"'"'"" °[="' '^°^' 
 1 do it not, I'll aflure you, to bring y<li?S ,^7?.'"''^'' ^'''^''■ 
 upon the Level; I am far from doing tJsbnfl Hif C'^ ""' ,^^— '^^ 
 that there are different Deerees ofrJ^rr' i '^ "' ""'^ '« ^o^v 
 necelTary to/... in an j^ut on whirh /' '"'' '^-' ^'^'"^^ '"^V be 
 o'feer., for w^hom neverthe left h "' aTe xTe^ 1"°' ''^^^''"l^^ ^Wfor 
 nient. Though if all 1 ha e faid he V'lr ^ ^^ reafonablc and conve- 
 for the ^<Yl;.p,\hat He has m.£ rh . o ' -^^ ^""^ ^^^^ '"^^'^ ^ave prov'd 
 For youiaj that.'^accoXg'' o tb "^^^^^^ ^°^ Infant Ba';tirm. 
 
 P^ecepr, for every thine thar if .l.„^ ^.^''"'^ '^ ^^ ^-^r^f' ^"/f, or 
 
 Inftitution i therefore He has pml'd ktlT:? ^' according to Chrifts 
 you knew He had done th s ^vou fho^lH h ^ ^"^ '° ^'°"' ^^^^'^ ^'hen 
 about the Word, when joXh atee in h' x J" ^"f ^^''''' '^■'^'^ Him 
 that He meant, only, /^/ir wfe n^namcd in^^t?/: ^^^^^ ''''°'' 
 
 , wnich are noc. How jou prove That that's more cafi^ we 
 
 come 
 
 ii 
 
 (4^ ) 
 
 come now to fee : only I miifl except again/l the common received Doarint, 
 be^,g ac all Obligatory. You can't name one, in whIchXe are not 
 different Opiraons among equally good Church-m n : anSofe that we ca^ 
 now recav>:d DoHrwes, were perhaps once not fo, but others from which nr 
 vatc Men, who had no Authority fo to do, if they were Ob ig to y^SSe 
 liberty to depart, and many have follow'd them. What moreover fliall he 
 nhe Standard of received Dotin.e ? What will be fufficiTnt to give nj 
 
 a?whX 1 n"^- ■ ^""^ ^^° "''" ^' '^' -'"''6^ '" f« ""««3in a Matter^ 
 Ji n.A ?'^n "' '°'^"/P '? '^' ^''"'^^'•'^ • For niy part. I count 
 
 all Dodr.nes and Opmions free for me, which are not fix'd in fotne 
 ^uibem,cM Expla„atms : and, if you can tell rae any that are not fo and 
 
 11 "r'^M^'n r"'"- ^'"'' r'f ' ^™ °"^ '" i AlTerdon, and the 
 CWrfc ,n Her Defign in impofing the Subfcriptions. This Opinion of yours 
 
 I think, leaves every Man to be a Judge, ^ho'sz Church of EM^all 
 according to his own Notion of the recepnor, of an Opinion : and if he have 
 confidence enough to fay any thing is fo received, the Man Ihall be dedar'd 
 what fcr will This IS thereafon, Ifuppofe, you fay it's «ore w/e to prove 
 his ; becaufe indeed nothing can be eafier than to find a Man tripping, in 
 o uncertain and loofe a thing as received Opwion 5 and nothing fafer for 
 the Accufer, who can lie cover'd under the Proteftion of his own Con- 
 fidence. The Doannes of the Church are fixd and certain, and eafie to 
 be known by any One that will but look into the j^rtides, Hoiinlies, Common. 
 Prayer.Book, and Canom: and fince fome of thefe, though Subfcrib'd to. 
 are but in fome fort^ or in fame mea/nre, binding ; its very hard, to have 
 things put upon us as necejfary^ which we never Subfcribe to and which 
 we may very honeftly never Know. ' 
 
 But however let us try your Specimen ■ and I doubt we /hall find you 
 applfd your fdf to the Examwatton «f the Book with a very great degree of 
 Malice, and a very fmall one of Attention. . ' ° 6 » 
 
 The XXVnith Article is concerning the Lord's Supper : and you count UD 
 all you can find, tomakea Myftery in it; when, 1 muftconfefs, I think it 
 very plain and hmple. All the Myftery can be in it, is the Manner 
 of the Conveyance of the Grace ; and with th^t we have nothing to do 
 hut the Communion-Service calls it a Myftery The Commwnoa. Service favs 
 thus i ft u my Duty to Exhort you m the mean time, to confider the Dimty of 
 that Holy Myflery, and the great pertl of the unworthy Receiving thereof We are 
 faid here to 'ecetve the Myftery, and to receive it too fometimes«»n.oni,7». 
 What can be meant by Myftery, but the Bread and Wine ? I wonder 
 you did not bring the other two places in the Communion Service ; He hath 
 
 inftttutcd und ordained Holy Myjiertej, at PUdges of his Love Who have 
 
 duly received theje H4y My ft cries Then you might have proved 
 
 fomething like, that there were no lefs than Two Myfteries in the Holy Sacra- 
 ment. Hie are made by (>, m a Spiritual manner, to eat the Flejh ofChrifi, and 
 
r 40 
 
 Jruikhis Blood. So fays the Bifljop^ CP- 3^2,.] Since Eternal Life does dltvjy 
 
 ■ follow the Eatwg of Chrifl's Fltjh^ .^nd Drinking his Blood, ana cannot he had 
 without it ^ then this mufi be meant of an Internal afjd Spiritual tte mg on him: 
 and both before and after, for a Page or two together. The Spiritual 
 Nourifljmert^ you fay, we receive from jr, is compdr'*d to the Natural Recruit 
 oar Bodies have from' Bread and Wine. So fays the Bi\l}0p^ \. p. 3' 5-1 ^hc 
 NoHnJhment which the Types^ the Brea ' and Wme^ give the Body^ are anjwer'^d 
 
 in the Efcfls that the Thin^ fg^Hy*^ ^'V '^■'^'^ ^'^^ "P^" ^^^^ ^^^^' ^^" ^^^ 
 ag.in : Our Catcchifm telUns, That tfjC TDOtlt^ ItHtl 'BlOOO Of €1)210 iltC 
 
 torilp i\m inDcco taltcii anu rccciuctj Dp tfjc f aitljfiil m tijc Lojd's-^ 
 
 Supper* So docs the Bii^70p^ [p. 312 3 2 here is fomewhat Emphatual tn 
 thefe words^ My Fk(h is Meat indeed \ Jt^ice the word Indeed, tj not dded tn vaw^ 
 bnt to give weight to the Exprejfion. And [p 317.] iVe afftrt a real Frefence of the 
 Body and Blood ofChrifi. Yon go on ^ We are there told of an extraordinary 
 Spiritual Efficacy : There is nil IntUatO S^piritUal ®?aCe ', and that to Ea: 
 oft e Sacramental Bread, and Dnr\of the Cup, is as tfjeC^Cantf, tDlKtCbP 
 
 m receiiie tfie fame, ano tljc l^lcBrye to alTurc m thereof, so fay^s 
 
 the Bijhcp, [ p. 268, 169. ] A Sacrament is an Inftithtton of Chrijt, in which 
 fome material thing is far>nifyd by theVfe of fome Form of Words, in and by 
 which, Foedcral jl^s of Rtligion do pafs on both Sides ^ on onrs, by Stipulations^ 
 and Proffffions, or Fows j and on GocPs, by his ftcret Affiflances. He calls 
 them, three Lines after, Eocderal Acls, to which a Conveyance of Divine Grace 
 is tied : and then, in applying this to the Lord[^s Snpper, [^ p. 270. ] It is alfo 
 the Communion of the Body and Blood of Chrijl, that is, the Conveyance of the 
 Bkffings of our Partnerfinp in the EfeUs of the Death of Chnjl. And Cp. 3 1 7.] 
 ^11 Chrtftians, who receive this Sacrament worthily, have, by their fo doings a 
 (hare in That which is reprefented by it, the Death of Chrifi, and the Expiation 
 and other Benefits that follow it. After you have feen all this, 1 can't 
 imagine what you'll fay, for thus fhamefully mif-reprefenting the Btfliop • 
 whofe ExprelTions, though they mayn't reach Confuhflantiation, or the 
 Doilrines oi fome Churches, or fome Figurative Expreffions of the Fathers, 
 yet they fully come up to what our Church fays, I am very fure, and, I be- 
 lieve, to far the major part of our Writers. The Body of Chnfl^ fays the 
 Article, is given, taken, and eaten^ in the Supper, only after an Heavenly and 
 Spiritual manner : And if the Expofition, for two Pages together, does not 
 prove that, and in all the whole Explanation of the Sacrament fay as much, 
 I have no Eyes. How can you then fa , th;^t when we come to the 
 Exfofition we don't find it fo ? No Myftery indeed we find : No more is 
 there any in all this, and you have not told us one bit where it lies, nor the 
 Texts that prove it to be fo, but only fay 'tis. I doubt not, a Man may 
 have fuch a Notion of thofe Texts, and thefe Expreflions, as are not a 
 Myfiery, but next door to Nonfenfe .* and when he has confounded himfelf 
 by making them intelligible to his own mind, and others by trying to explain 
 them to them, he has nothing to do but to fay it's a Myfiery^ and order us 
 
 to 
 
 ( A^ ) 
 
 to fubmit our Vnderjiardinf^^ when there's no need at all of it; the Texts 
 being plain, and the Dodune intelligible, if we go the right way to work. 
 As for thofe words you bring out of fag, 314. they are fpoken againft 
 'Tranfnbftantiation and Confuhflanttaticn, and in juflification of our Doftrine : 
 and we muji have expeBed fomewhat more of it in the Scriptures, had there bee^ any 
 fuch thing. Tell us thofe Expreffions you fpeak of in the Scriptures, and 
 1 (hall know what to fay •, for 1 think, as yet, 'tis unfolded to every Body's 
 Mind that will confider, and in fuch nianner as to make it no Myfiery, 
 
 You need not therefore have fpcnt your next two Paragraphs. By the 
 
 frfl, I can make any hard Text, that is not any where elfe explained, a 
 
 Myftery. h y the fecond, Y\] defend it as neceflary to be believ'd. It requires 
 
 nothing but Fancy, and Refolution. What are to be believed as ^/^me/, 
 
 are, 1 think, all of them fully and plainly revealed in Scripture, as neceflary 
 
 to be believed ; though they are not explain'd, nor do I think can be, as 
 
 our Underftandings now are : and we are nofarther engag'd to believe any 
 
 thing of them, than as it is revealed. When a thing is revealed plainly to 
 
 be, and I can't apprehend how it can be, nor is it reveal'd how v here lam 
 
 to fubmtt my Vnderfianding : but when a thing is not only reveal'd, but often 
 
 explain'd, and I can make a fair, intelligible, plain fenfe both of the thing 
 
 it felf, and all reveal'd about it, I cannot fee any thing to fubmit my Zander- 
 
 /landing to ', except you would have me fet about making as many Myfteriesas 
 
 1 can, where there's no need. If you'll fhow me any thing reveal'd of the 
 
 Lord^s Slipper, which I cannot, without any ftrefs to the words, fairly explain, 
 
 and make intelligible, I will believe it a Adyjlery \ till then, you and. I 
 
 mull d lifer. 
 
 You now give us the Bijloph Account of the Inftitution : which is very 
 true, and to the fame purpofe with that the CWr/? gives over and over 
 again. Tis as much as our Catechifm fays ; and no more than our Communion 
 Service three or four times, and particularly in the very Prayer of the Con- 
 fecratirg of the Elements. All this, you fay, is very well, but this is far from 
 being all that our Church makes us to under fl and hy this hjlitution. Yes, fure, 
 here's a full Account of the Influutin, though not of the Grace fubfequent 
 upon the Worthy Receiving according to it. A Man may Prophane this 
 Inftitution, or a Man may Receive according to the full Defign of it ^ and 
 upon thefe follow the Benefits or Damages which the Bijhop fpeaks of, \n the 
 page af.d half following the words you quote. W^hen you ask therefore. 
 
 What becomes of t\)z ftrciistfjcnins anti refrcajing of tfieSoul bp tfie 
 
 T130DP aUD 151030 of C{)?lft f Look afterwards upon the Benefits of 
 Worthy Receiving, and there he fays, The Nouriflment which the Bread and 
 Wine give the Body, are anfwer'*d in the tffiEls that the Body and Blood of Chrijl 
 have upon the Soul, Where is the Receiving the Body and Blood of Chrifl, as 
 tlje tntUnrS p,^rt O^tljinryflCnifiCtl by the Bread ^,ndWine, over and above 
 the Remembrance? All tlic whole ^i6th and 3r7th Pages are fpcnt upon 
 Explaining the Commumon of the Body and Blood of Chrift ; and his 
 
 G 2 Conclufion 
 
(44) 
 
 Conclulion is, IVe tjfert a Re*l Prefence of the Body and Blood of Chrijl ■ but 
 not of hu Body, as u is mw glorified in Heaven, but of hit Boay a, it vat 
 broken on the Crofs, 
 
 The BiJInp then no where oppofa the DoHrine of the Church of England : 
 He fays 3^ much as comes up fully lo the j4rticle, or the Camhifm The 
 C4tech;fm is exprefs indeed for Receiving the Body and Blood o' Chnfl SftrtinaHy 
 andbyFMh: and fo is the Bifhop, in his Explanation of the Dilcourfe of 
 Our Saviour's, and in tins of ihe Commumon of the Body and Blood o' Christ 
 And if you would have pleas'd to look b^ck upon His Article of the Sacra- 
 mms, you would have found He had no fuch lov Nottms of a S^crtmenr 
 L p. 268. 3 The other Extreme that we likewife avoid, is that, of finktng the 
 Sacraments fo low, as to he mere Rites or Ceremonies The Phrafc 
 
 Communion oftfie 'Bon? aim 1510011 Of Cfj2ift, u above the nature of 
 
 *«Anniverfary or MemoruLFea/}. (You fee, here's fomething over and 
 
 above tl)z cootmual Ecmemb^ance,) nis opin,on, we thtn\, is yery 
 
 T/Tt'f '° !^°f'H'' E^prefions : And we do not doubt ( Pray obferve, and 
 blulh ) hut that Chrifi who Jnjiituted thofe Sacraments, does JiiU accompany them 
 With a particular Prefence tn them, and a Blejfmg upon thetti ; and Worthily Re. 
 tetvtng, we do certainly Receive in them particular Largeffes of the Favour and 
 Bounty of God. They are not bare and nakfd Remembrances and Tokens 
 ( What have you to fay for your felf ? ) but are ailuated and animated by 
 aDtvtne Bleffwg that attends upon them And p. 170. In the Lord's Supper 
 there u Bread and Wtne for the Matter. The giving it to be eat and drunk, 
 with the words that Our Saviour ufed in the Ftrft Supper, are the Form. Do this 
 in Remembrance of me, is the Injiitution. Ye (hew forth the Lord's Death 
 till he come, ts the Federal AB: on our part. It is alfo the Communion of the 
 Body and Blood of Chrtfi, {whzt tht Catechifm ci\h (HcrilP anO {tia(.tX\ 
 
 tafemg anercceiwng: tOc TBoop anD TSIooo of CD^itt; and what the 
 
 Communion C3\h SpuuuaHy eattng the Fkjh of Chrifi, and drinking his Blood- 
 What the Article calls After a Heavenly and Spiritual Manner ; what the 
 Church means by real Prefence, or all that is meant by thefe Expreflions. is 
 .uUy anfwer d in ) the Conveyance of the Blejfmgs of our Partmrjhip in the 
 Effeas of the Death of Chrtfi. I cannot Comment upon thefe words • 
 they are fo exprefs againft your Accufation of the Btflwp, that I fhall leave 
 Men to their Eyes, and yon to your Confcience. A Man's Reputation is a 
 lerious thing, and fo is Truth ; and you muft, except you repent of thefe 
 plain and open Neglefts of them both, make, in the Great Day, a terrible 
 Recoropence to them. And as for your own fake, and the Honour of the 
 Gofpel of Truth, which you take in your Mouth ; fo for my own fake alfo. I 
 wifli you had fliewn more Refpeft to Truth, that there might not be that 
 Diladvantage mOppofing : For it's a fort of a prejudice againft me, that 
 n^^'o '?''" yo"?. You're in the Wrong, oftener than the moft ill- 
 natur'd People arc willing to think any One can be. 
 
 Let 
 
 >, 
 
 (40 
 
 winJ^ofT"'"'*''^''*^''""''''^'*^^^''^' " to Bwding, and hoofing, the 
 2fl«5frr7r"''"' 'i ^^/"^"^'on, and fee how Aifhop h Jmade it 
 taUJhort of Its due Efficacy ; and whether He advances Interpretations of Scripture, 
 
 ^t.hJ Zr^'L ""', "'' '" '^' ^'^^''"^ of '*-* C*""-^^- T-Z-rA Interpretation] 
 Tohctl ItiZtri'^ T''"" ^'"^'^- 'f "^ ^^^' P^°v'd this Article 
 Tex s h^'t "f „^ ' ^''^:5^«-<'requires 5 though Hehave not done it by thefe 
 we ri nft n^r I.f J r ^^«'',3"'l Sound Reafon. I. is very pleafant; that 
 
 TexT Yon m L rh^'Af"'*!. I '^'"^^ ''"' ^'^^''' " "P°" '"^^ ' P^^icular 
 Text. You make the Church humourfome, which will have its Doftrines 
 
 SriLr^,n ' ^"'rV''^ '" ^^^'^ ^ ^^y' ^^^ ^y fuch Texts, f the 
 ft^ He nro / K'""" J l""' ^''""^' '' ^'^'^^^ '' y^^ "" i "hat matters 
 L\i h. H^/n 'H '^"°^.''y =» Text, which, to a Confidering Man, may 
 fairly be deny'd primarily to belong to it, and was never appropriated bJ 
 
 SLfhTst^ K > ^°' T' ^^y •'' "^^^^ ^° ''^' notice of what the 
 ^//fcflf has faid, be it never fo much in Defence of the Do^rine of, he Church 
 
 rifl n^'"' ?"i, '- Y '^''^ "J^"^* ^"y ^hing, either as queftionable, or 
 hfr !;i7v'^ r ^V'l"'^''^ "P^" ^^^" Ar'gumentforit, you catch at 
 rhic V„ 1 , 'r°"ly ^^'"8 the Doanne depended upon. You have done 
 
 aI.JJ '■ ^"u- ?■ ''°"''' "' '° g'^e '^^ Enemies of the Church a vaft 
 thinlr rhf 'o!" S'"^ "' Doctrines are fo flightly grounded : And if you 
 think they are not fo, you fhould not abufe the Bijhop, for painng by one 
 
 ttfSfn''"°"?^n"i*^'' ^"'''""■■^' «nd undoubted, when'^at the fame 
 S r,rhi^"jr' i' ^fn"'"'Jy unanfwerable, and indifpuEably true ones. 
 Mifrhfpf 'J.^" the 2?.><,p fhall not be ill handled, you'll do the C)!,«rcfe a 
 Orl Inl„"i' " f' °PP°'^"e the Rights and Privileges of the Epifcopal 
 Or^r, only in oppofition to the P^r/o^, Veiled with it 
 
 You give us the XXXIIId ^mr/f, and th^ fay. From hence we mufi needs 
 conclude, that the Compilers had Our Savtour^s Expeffion before them. WeU 
 
 Z^°%\"lu'\'"i^T°'' ' ""^ furetheJhSd, might not 1, for al 
 n rt R hf ^'k '^"l ^''^- "°' ' "^^' Interpretation of the Text, as t ftands 
 in the Bible ; though as it is here, I could not deny it to be true for words 
 fpoken upon one occafiori, may be applied to another. To put it in a Cafe * 
 th t you cannot, 1 think deny — The Article, you know, about HeU,Zl 
 
 Prtfon that ts, tn Hell, and preached to them, as the Place tn St. Peter tefitfieth. 
 JnrJf 1""^'^°!} determines the Interpretation of that Place of Scripture 
 wPr. L fr ' r ^"^i^PPO^"? ^^e lafl words, -. the PUce in St. Peter teflifeth, 
 HU 1 p? ' '?i^"PP'>''"8 my Opinion were, that Chrift's Soul was in 
 f^ !;! rhi'^r ^??'"^^'''^ P'^'^^"''^ to the Spirits there? Might not 
 JnKf K ?f '"i^'"^, ' ['* '^^ cWc^hadits Eye upon this Text, honeftly 
 
 vet thi'nlc' rh' ;^:k r "T J ^"' ^"l '">"' '^ """"^ "° -""^e thanW.^, nd 
 yet think that the Text had a much properer,and morepertine tSignifi- 
 cation ? Or will you, who have Subfcribd to the General Daftr ne of 
 the Homiltcs, pretend to ftand by the Interpretation of every Text in them 
 
 as 
 
as the mof! proper ^ !f ynii wi!! nor, von come tinder the Bifliofs Ac- 
 
 cufation, 7^4/ yon m-ne the Corrptiers of titm not realty k^idtrjland thew. 
 This IS the Anfwer i ihoul d give you, fuppoiing the Bi(hop had iiich Notions 
 ofth^tText as you make Hihi, different from what you make the Article^ 
 by reafon of a couple of words borrowed from ii : becaufe the Text may be 
 very true (and fo honeflly SubfcribM to) though not truly interpreted. 
 But^ I muft tell you, you have mif rcpreilntcd the Btjl.op^ who has no fuch 
 low Notions of it, as to confine it to mere private Qiiarrels, but makes it an 
 Argument, .: mwort^ againft publick Stubbornnefs and Offences. Before I 
 begin, I mufl take notice of one thing, and that is. That you your fclf 
 have made the j^rtscU mif-interpret the Text, and fhown, that the Compilers 
 did not really ttr.derfiandit. You find fault with the Bijhgp^ for putting fuch a 
 ConfiriiHu7, itpnn the il'ords 4S itr.tiies^ thjc t^e hetrjff [Imvnd as a Heathtti^ a?id 
 a Publican^ u not f) he looked upon as the Fjfetl or Conjtcjaence of Exiommnmca^ 
 flow, but dfitecidem thereto : whereas the ^Irticle makes it confecjuent. Now 
 if the Text makes it Antecedent, you will, I hope, fuppofe that the Com. 
 ptler$ though they had it before their Eye, yet did not defign this as the 
 Senie of it, left you (hould be guilty of that great Crime of thinking the 
 Compilers did not knderjUnd the Text, The Text is this ; If he negk^h to hear 
 theChMTth^ let htm be as u Heathen Man ^ and a Ptthiican. Here, you fee, his 
 betnj^ diCOknted a Heathen Afan^ and a Pnllican^ follows immediately upon his 
 ftoi btMring theChttTth. Now I fuppofe you will not fay, that negle^in^ to 
 hcMT the Churchy and hdr:g Exiommuncated^ is the fame thing. Therefore, 
 his betff£ accounted a Heathen^ and a PMcan^ is in the Text antecedent to 
 Excommumcattoft^ or at leaft not coniequcnt, as it is in the ^rnV/c. Then 
 you give us the BtJJjcpS W or ds^ and make this Comment upon him. That- 
 here's fendvig thtm to Temporal Qoarts, And don'c you know, that Excom- 
 raonicaiion in the Church would be nothirg legarded, were it not for de- 
 livering Men up to the Civil Power ? And is it not the Way that the 
 Chufih it fclf takes to enforce its Excommunications ? though the Bt[l}op\ 
 Difcourfc there is about Profecutions on Private Offences. And i fuppofe 
 here's fomew hat more meant by the Body or y^ftmHy to whuh they are nrnted^ 
 than a Uw Xctghhurs ma w a l^eflry^ or Common- Eiall \ bccaufc tlie Punifh- 
 ment enfuing upon being Refiadory, and not Hearing that j^fflmhly^ is 
 Excomrrumcatun^ and forjeuing 7 hat that^s dut to Chrtjluns. This is a Punifli- 
 raent that you can't think the Bijhop will allow to be due, upon rot hearwg a 
 fern Neighbour s : and if you are rcfolved to have it fo, that the ^/?;op, upon 
 fuch an account as you have framed for Him, allows fuch terrible Punifh- 
 rocnts, you can never complain, fure, of his not allowing fuffcient Power to 
 ihe Churchy when He allows fo much to a few Private Men, as you ftrangely 
 imagine He does. There is fomc Notice then taken of Till it to the Chmch^^v^n 
 fo much as to have Bxcommunication follow upon being B. fra^lory. But this 
 Exp$fitiony you fay, is fet off with fnch Affnance^ as fc-^rce to allow the Text 
 to btcapabe of arty other liner fret mion, Ihe Bijhop's words are thefe ; Thts 
 
 Expo fit ion 
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 Expofitwn does fo fully agree to the Occafm and Scope of the Words^ that thereof 
 m colonr o; Reafon to carry them farther. This the Btjhop fays, in Anfwering 
 the Papifls Texts they cite for Infallibility, one of which is this, Tell tt to the 
 Church ; and if he refttfes to Hear the Church,^ let him he as a Heathen Man^ 
 and a Pabltcan : He fays, this refers to Private Deferences, which Our Saviour 
 is fpeakjrig of, and there^s no colour of Reafon to carry it farther •, that is (as any 
 Man that did not read things with a fettled Refolution of finding as many 
 Faults as he could, would imagine) to no other Matters but fuch as con- 
 cern the Peace and Quiet of the Members of that Body, or j^ffembly : And 
 therefore the Roman dnhoUcks have no colour of Reafon to apply them to every 
 thing that the Church Determines, fo as to pronounce Men Heathens, and 
 Publicans, that don't believe it. And if you had looked into pag, 357. you 
 would have feen this ; for there the Btjhop carries that Text fo far (though 
 not in Matters of Faith, yet in Matters of Publick Peace ) as to make fuch as 
 defptfe the Obligations to that Peace, and Order, to be well lookd on as Heathens, and 
 Publicans. Though, fays he, thefe words of Our Saviour, of Telling the 
 Church, may perhaps not be fo [iriEily applicable to this Matter in their Primary 
 Senfe, as Our Saviour firfi Jpak^e them -, yet the Nature of Things, and the 
 Parity of Reafon^ may well lead us to conclude. That though thoje words did 
 immediately relate to the Compofing of Private Differences, and of Delating 
 intractable Perfons to the Synagogues, yet they may be well extended to all thofe 
 Publtck Offences which are Injuries to the Whole Body -, and may be now applied to 
 the Chrijiian Church, and to the Paftors and Guides of it, though they related to 
 the Synagogue when they were firfi fpok$n. 
 
 Thus then, you fee, He has fhown, that they may fairly be c^rr/^/zfrrfcerj 
 though he had, in the Expo/ition, before carry'd them fo far, as to afert an 
 Extraordinary Power lodged in the Church, upon fuch Extraordinary Occafions ; 
 and, by Parity of Reafon, prov'd a Neceffity of Preferving the Peace and 
 Quiet of the Church on All. And there's no Reafon at all to think thaE 
 the Church any otherwife thought this Text belonged to it, than by fuch a 
 Parity: And if the P^riV; be prov'd, as it eafily may, the Te^cf fufRcienily 
 belongs to it, and proves its Authority. And that Authority of Excom^ 
 municating, the Bifhop proves to belong to the Church, by other exprefs 
 Texts, in as high a Senfe as the Church any where Claims ir, or can with 
 Reafon do fo \ and by Arguments naturally arifing from the Conftitutions 
 of all Societies whatfoever. Nor does the Connexion which you 
 fpcak of in the former Paragraph, and repeat in this, at all prove that 
 this Text in its Primary Signification, or any otherwife than by Parity of Reafon^ 
 imports as much as you would have it. For we very well know that Our 
 Saviour takes occafion from any particular Matter of Faft, to give a general 
 Charge to his Difciples, arifmgnaturally from that Matter of Fafl; ^ but not 
 at all obliging us to give as general a Signification to the Occafion, as to 
 the Charge. So here, all before may relate to Private Differences, and the 
 ?oviQV olih^Jewifh Synagogttes in them, 2indthb^lVhatfo€verye{l3aiibind^S<c. 
 
 max 
 
A 
 
 ( 4^ ) 
 
 as the moft proper ? If you will not, you come tinder the Bijhop^s Ac- 
 cufation, JW yon makjs the Cowpilers of them not reaHy underfianci them. 
 This !<; the Anfwer 1 fliould give you, fuppofing the Bt^of had fuch Notions 
 of rh^.t Tf.vf as you make Hiiii, differcnc from what you make the -^fjr/f, 
 by reafon of a couple of words borrowM from it : becaufe the Text may be 
 very true (and fo honeftly Subfcrib'd to) though not truly interpreted. 
 But, f muft tell you, you havemif-reprefented the Bijhop^ who has no fuch 
 low Notions of it, as to connne a to mere private Quarrels, hut makes it an 
 Argument, a minori^ againil pi/DliiK Stubbornnefs and Oftences. Before I 
 begin, I mud take notice of one thing, and that is. That you your felf 
 have made the Arttck mif-interpret the Text, and (hown, that the Comptlers 
 did not really underfiand it. You find fault with the Btjhgp^ for pHttin^ fuch a 
 Co7if^ru[lt07i upon the Words us implies y that the beinff (htmnd as a Hcathtn^ and 
 a Publican^ is not to be looked upon as the FffeEi or Confecjnence of Excommunica^ 
 tion^ but antecedent thereto : whereas the uirticle makes it confe^juent. Now 
 if the Text makes it x\ntccedent, you will, I hope, fuppofe that the Com- 
 pilers, though they had it before their Eye, yet did nocdefign this as the 
 Senfe of it, left you (hould be guilty of that great Crime of thinking the 
 Compilers did not underjUnd the Text, The Text is this ; If he negktl to hear 
 the Churchy let him be as a Heathen Man^ and a Publican. Here, you fee, his 
 being accounted a Heathen Af an ^ and a Publican^ follows immediately upon his 
 vot hearing the Church, Now 1 fuppofe you will not fay, that negletlwg to 
 hear the Churchy and being Excommunjcatedy is the fame thing. Therefore, 
 his being accounted a Heatheny and a Publicany is in the Text antecedent to 
 Excommunication y or at leaft not confequent, as it is in the v^rr/r /t\ Then 
 you give us the Btflwp\ Words, and make this Comment upon him, That- 
 here's fending thtm to Temporal Qourts, And don't you know, that Excom- 
 munication in the Church would be nothing regarded, were it not for de- 
 livering Men up to the Civil Power ? And is it not the Way that the 
 Church it felf takes to enforce its Excommunications ? though the £i[ljop^s 
 Difcourfe there is about Profecutions on Private Offences. And I fuppofe 
 here's fomewhat more meant by the Body or Jjfcm''rly to which they are ur.ued^ 
 than a few Neighbours met in a l^eflry^ or Common- Pi aH y bccaufc tlie Punifh- 
 ment enfuing upon being Refiadory, and not Hearing that j^ffimblyy is 
 Excommunicatfony and forfeiting That th^t'^s due to ChrtJIuws. This is a Punifli- 
 mcnt that you can't think the Bijhop will allow to be due, upon not hearing a 
 few Neighbours : and if you are rcfolved to have it fo, that the B>jJ)opy upon 
 fuch an account as you have framed for Him, allows fucli terrible Funifh- 
 racnts, you can never complain, fure, of bis not allowing fuflkient Power to 
 the Churchy when He allows fo much to a few Private Men, as yon ftrangely 
 imagine He does. There is fome Notice then taken of Tell it to the Churchy^v^n 
 fo much as to have Excomtnumcation follow upon being B. fractory. But thts 
 Expsfttiony you fay, is fet off with fuch Jjf usance y as farce to allow the Text 
 to be capable q/" any other Interpret mion. The Btjhop's words are thefe ; Thts 
 
 Expo fit ion 
 
 \ 
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 Expoption does fo fully agree to the Occafm and Scope of the Words^ that there's 
 no colour o; Reifon to carry them farther. This the Btjhop fays, ID Anfwering 
 the Paptfis Texts they cite for Infallibilityy one of which is this, Teli it to the 
 Church ^ and if he refufes to Hear the Churchy let him he as a Heathen Mm 
 and a Publican : He fays, this refers to Private Dijferencesy which Our Saviot^ 
 tsfpeakng of^ and there^s no colour of Reafon to carry it farther •, that is (as any 
 Man that did not read things with a fettled Refolution of finding as many 
 Faults as he could, would imagine) to no other Matters but fuch as con- 
 cern the Peace and Quiet of the Members of that Body^ or y^femhly : And 
 therefore the Roman CathoUcks have no colour of Reafon to apply them to every 
 thing that the Church Determines, fo as to pronounce Men Htathensy and 
 Tnhhcans, that don't believe it. And if you had looked into pag. 7,61. you 
 would have fecn this y for there the Bifhop carries that Text fo far ( though 
 not m Matters ot Faith, yet in Matters of Publick Peace ) as to make fuch as 
 defpife the ObligMions to that PeacCy and Order y to be well look'd on as Heathensy and 
 FMcans. Thoughy fays he, thefe words of Oar Saviour^ of Telling* the 
 Church, may perhaps not be fo ftriElly applicable to this Matter in their Primary 
 Senfe^ as Our Saviour firft fpa^e them • yet the Nature of Things, and the 
 Parity of Reafon^ may well lead us to concludey T^hat though thofe words did 
 immediately relate to the Compofwg of Private DtjferenceSy and of Delating 
 intraaable Perfons to the SynagogueSy yet they may he well extended to all thoft 
 Publick Offences which are Injuries to the Whole Body ; and may be now applied to 
 the Chriftian Churchy and to the Pajlors and Guides of ity though they related to 
 the Synagogue when they were firfi fpo^en. 
 
 Thus then, you fee, Hehasfhown, that they may fairly be c^rr/^/mfeer j 
 though he had, in the Expo/it iony before carry'd them fo far, as to ajfen an 
 Extraordinary Power lodged in the Churchy upon fuch Extraordinary Occafions - 
 and, by Parity of Reafony prov'd a Neceflity of Preferving the Peace and 
 Quiet of the Church on All. And there's no Reafon at all to think that 
 the Church any otherwife thought this Text belonged to it, than by fuch a 
 Parity: And if the P^m^f be prov'd, as it eafily may, the 7^;^? fufficienily 
 belongs to it, and proves its Authority. And that Authority of Excom^ 
 mumcatingy the Bifhop proves to belong to the Churchy by other exprefs 
 Textsy in as high a Senfe as the Church any where Claims ic, or can with 
 Reafon do fo \ and by Arguments naturally arifing from the Conftitutions 
 of all Societies whatfoever. Nor does the Connexion which you 
 fpcak of in the former Paragraph, and repeat in this, at all prove that 
 this Text in its Primary Significationy or any otherwife than by Parity of Reafon^ 
 imports as much as you would have it. For we very well know that Our 
 Saviour takes occafion from any particular Matter of Faft, to give a general 
 Charge to his Difciples, arifing naturally from that Matter of Fail ^ but not 
 at all obliging us to give as general a Signification to the Ocwylow, as to 
 the Charge, So here, all before may relate to Private Differences, and the 
 PoviQV of ititjewilh Synagogeies in them ^ ^nd this^iVhatfoever ye fhaUbind^&cc. 
 
 roaj 
 
 \ -» 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 may be a general Declaration of the Difciples Authority in the Chriflian 
 Church, ^ which naturally arofe from what he had beeii talking abouC 
 the Jewifh. 
 
 What you fay next, is true, The Church has a Forrer of Remitting and 
 Retaining Sins^ upon certain Conditions : This is called, The Power of the Keys, 
 The Nature of this Power^ and how far the Apoftles Commiffion belongs 
 to us, has been a Difpute between the Church of /^ow and Us i and amongft 
 equally good Church-men there are different Opinions. None, 1 think, will 
 venture to claim the fame Power with the Apoftles, becaufe we cannot now 
 pretend to ihe fame Difcerning of Spirits. By that Knowledge, they were 
 always aflur'd that their Determinations Ihould not clalh with any thing 
 ratified in Heaven : but Ours, we muft confefs may, and doubtlefs often do. 
 Whether we Excommunicate or Abfolve or no, whether we Bind or Loofe, 
 or whatever we do, all is the fame in Heaven. An innocent Perfon is there 
 innocent, however here declared ; and a Sinner there, a Sinner, however 
 here connived at, and fufFer'd. All therefore that our Abfolutions can 
 mean and reach to, is the prefent Comfort of true Repenters, and the 
 Reftoring them to the Privileges of the Society, if they have been Excom- 
 municated i as our Excommunications ferve only to the Prefervation of the 
 Society, the Shaming of Sinners, and by that bringing them to Repentance. 
 For none can know, in many Cafes, whether they be ratify'd in Heaven, 
 but the Perfon on whom they fall ^ and therefore they are to be warily 
 us'd, not always indeed, but never indeed infulted, and abus'd. All this 
 depends upon the Nature of a Society ; and, fuppofmg Chrift had, in all 
 his CommilTions, given only an Authority to his Apoftles to fettle Laws in 
 his Church, is included therein : becaufe Penalties, and the Relaxation of 
 them, muft belong to the Governours of every Society : And where the 
 Laws are Spiritual, the Enforcements of them are fo too properly ^ though, 
 to make them regarded, the Civil Power is, necefTarily alraoft, calPd in. 
 This Doftrine then may be founded upon Texts of Scripture, where 'tis not 
 exprefs'd, but only by Confequence implied : And He that gives fuch an 
 Interpretation of thofe Texts as necefTarily fuppofesthat Confequence, does 
 by no means deftroy or weaken the Proofs the CWc^ has of its Doarine j 
 but yo/t rather, who imply as if they were all the Texts it has to prove it by! 
 The Commiffion doubtlefs was fuch as was in a manner confi)Pd to the j4po(iUs • 
 for you your felf cannot deny, that in a manner only it is applicable to us' 
 viz.. So far as we aEl according to thofe Laws and Conditions that Our Saviour' 
 or His Apoftles, by Virtue of His CommilTion, Enafted and Settled. If we 
 Aft under fuch due Limitations, we Bind^ and Loofe ; but 'tis only in fuch 
 things as would have been equally Bound and Loofed in Heaven, without 
 our Declaration : If we Aft contrary to them, Things remain as they were 
 there, notwithftanding our Afting. Why therefore we fhould be fond of 
 forcing a Text to prove a needlefs thing (in all Cafes but thofe 1 mention^ 
 before, which are prov'd by the Nature of the Society, and the Orders, and 
 
 V Praftice 
 
 i 
 
 ( 49 ) 
 Praftice of the Apoftles ) I can't imagine. If this Text be, by the Bi(hof^ 
 made to extend t« giving Laws to the Chriftian Church , and He Himfelf 
 prove, by the Praftice, and Exprefs Orders of the Apoftles, that they did, 
 upon this CommifTion, give Laws to the Church for all thofe Purpofes, which 
 you bring this Text to maintain ; I can't tell what you can defire more. 
 And this He does, as you may fee in thefe words of this Explanation of 
 that Text, He jiuthoriz^^d them to give other Laws to the Chrifiian Chnrch : 
 And in the XXXlUd j^rticle He fliows where they have given fuch Laws, 
 and the necefTary Reafon they are founded upon. 
 
 The fenfe He gives then of thefe words is ckar^ fo that any One may 
 underftand it , and fuch an one, as, joined with the Apoftles Praftice, 
 and Orders, continues down the Power of Binding and Loofwg to w/, in as high 
 a degree as the Church lays Claim to. Though, if it did not, I think 
 every Man's at liberty to interpret a Text as he fees moft reafon, when it is 
 no where determined by the Churchy though it have been all along brought to 
 prove the Doftrine of the Churchy which he allows upon other good Reafons, 
 but does not think depends upon that Text. 1 his were juftifiable, were it 
 the -ffi//;op's Cafe ; but, I prefume, this is not fo. For, Difpenfing the Gofpel^ and 
 giving Laws to the Chriflian Churchy ( which you fairly leave out in this Para- 
 graph ) will amount to as much as what you bring this Text to confirm, 
 when back'd with the Apoftles Praftice upon this Commiflion, and St. PauPs 
 Command to Timothy and Titus^ &c. You bring this Text upon the Level 
 with that in St. 3ohn, Whether it be fo or no, or whether that be not, in a 
 manner, confin'd to the Apoftles, or whether that fignifie any more than the 
 Bifljop has made this, are Queftions that you have no where fatisfy'd. 
 
 This Text^ of Retaining Sins^ &c. you fay, has been always underflood to 
 extend to a Relaxation of Ecckftafiical Cenfures. If you'll yield the Text, and 
 compound for the Thing, I'll promife you the Bi^op (hall allow fuch a Power 
 in the Church : becaufe He allows the Power of Ecclefiaflical Cenfures to he not 
 only Lawful^but Necejfary^upon feveral Confederations : And the fame Power that 
 can Lay on, to be fure, can Take off. Nay, fuppoling this Text to be the 
 fame with that of Binding and Loofwg^ He will allow it from this Text. 
 For though you fay, that this Relaxation comes to fomewhat more than Intro- 
 ducing Nevo Laws under the Gofpel Difpenfation^ in the room of thofe Diffolvd • 
 1 know not how you'll prove it : becaufe the Power of Laying on Punifti- 
 ments, and the Relaxation of them, is a Neceflary Confequent of a Society ^ 
 and whoever have Power given them to Make Laws, for the Regulation of 
 any Society, have Power thereby to Cenfure and Abfolve, to Bind and Loofe^ 
 to Retain and Remit, But this is not the main of the Accufation : The Church 
 of England it felf has carry'^d this Text farther^ in the Form of Ordination, 
 
 You give us thereupon the Words our Church ufes, and they are the very 
 words of Scripture, without any Comment upon them, or Senfe given of 
 them. We muft therefore fuppofe the Senfe of the Churchy in them, to be 
 fuch as isconfiftent with the Power it allows to Thofe to whom they are 
 
 H fpoken ; 
 
l*?(!WHf«P"<W«> 
 
 ''*J*%.- *wi ' »' 
 
 •mmT- 
 
 C 50 ) 
 
 fpoken ^ and gather its meaning, from the Power it givc«, by Thcai to every 
 iingle Prcsb>ter. Thefe words are pronounced to ever^uch : The Power 
 the Church thinks given by Thera, is given to every fuch. If therefore the 
 Churchy by the Form oiOrdination^ has carryM the Words to fignifie and 
 confer a Power of Cenfuring, and Relaxing ( and that is the leafl, you 
 make of them ) then thcChnrch^ by the Form o{ Ordination^ confers a Power 
 of Cenfuring, and Relaxing, on every Iingle Presbyter. This, you know, 
 it does nor, but only a Power of Declaring what the Governours of the 
 Church Order. And might not I, from hence, with much more Reafon 
 than you, argue, That the Church did not think this Text the Support of 
 its Authority, but other Texts, and folid Reafons ; fince it no where ap- 
 plies it to it felf, but to thofe only to whom it allows no fuch Authority as 
 you plead for from this Text. However, I'll promife to give the fame 
 Extent to the latter part of it, that you will to the former. Receive yc the 
 Holy Chofi : and they mult go together, one being the foundation of the 
 other. 
 
 You bring this Qiiotation out of the Ordination Form, to prove, that the 
 Church don'*[ mean only^ Preaching the Word, by that Text. I don't know who 
 fays it does. There's fome difference, fure, between Difpen/in^ the Go/pel^ 
 Diffoving the Obligation of the Mofaical Law, ^nd giving other Laws to the 
 Chriftian Churchy and h^vQ Preaching the Word^ which every fingle Presbyter 
 has Authority given him to do, and fomething more. Tis the former of 
 thefe, which the Bijhop fays is the fenfe of Bindings and Loofwg ^ and con- 
 fequently, if they lignifie the fame, of Retaining^ and Remitting, Indeed, 
 the two laft parts of that Authority belong not to us, but were confined 
 to the Apoftles ^ but we may, from that Power committed unto them, 
 claim a Power to Act according to the Orders and Laws the Apoftlcs fettled 
 in the Churchy in purfuance of the CommilTion given them in thofe Texts, 
 which immediately belonged, and were, in a manner^ confined to th^m : and 
 it is upon thofe Laws, and Orders, that the Bifljop^ in the XXXlUd Article^ 
 founds our Power. Your whole Argument upon this Matter runs thus — — • 
 The Text of Retaining and Remitting Sins^ is of the fame import with that 
 oi Binding and Loofwg. Now the Text of ^f/^iwiV;^^ and Remitting Stns^ has 
 been all along fuppos'd, and is, by the Chnrch of England^ m^de to fig ni fie 
 more than Vreachmg the Word : And confequently the Btjljop^ when He 
 gives fuch a Senfe of Binding and Loofing^ as was, in a manner, confinM to 
 the Apoftles, and gives hs no Power but that oi Preaching the Word^ gives 
 fuch a fenfe of Binding and Loofmg^ as is inconfiftent with that which the 
 Church gives o{ Retaining and Ren^ttmg, I think this is the full force of your 
 Argument: And to this I Anfwer, 1. That the Chnrch no where fuppofes 
 they arc the fame ^ and your Proofs that they arc, may be very well doubted. 
 2. That fuppofing they are, the ^;/fco/?'s Senfe of ^/w^/«^ and Looftn^^ join'd 
 with the Praftics of the Apoftles, gives the C^/^rc/? a greater Power than it 
 any where claims from the Text oi Retaining and Remitting, 3.' That both 
 
 thefe 
 
 'V 
 
 thefe Texts were, in a manner^ confinM to the Apoftles ^ and all we can 
 pretend for applying them to «/, is our acting according to the Laws fettled 
 by Them, upon the Commiffion given Them in thefe Texts. And, 4. That 
 the Church no where applies any of them to Her Self, but to fingle Presbyters ; 
 and Her Power is fufficiently proved by other undeniable Arguments, if 
 any One fhould be fo bold as to fay thtfe prove it not. And, 5. That the 
 Church only ufes the bare Words of Scripture, and puts no Interpretation 
 upon them ; and we are ai as much liberty in our putting what we think the 
 beft upon them, as we were when they Itood in the Bible. And, 6. That 
 your Argument, That they fignifie more than Preaching the Word^ is no 
 good One: becaufe, make the beft of it you can, there will be fomewhat 
 like an Authority oi Preaching given in the/r/? Commiffion to the Prieft to be 
 Ordained, though 'tis more Exprefs in i\\tfecond. You may take which of 
 thefe Anfwers you pleafe ^ but all together, Tm fure, they over and above 
 prove againft you. 
 
 To your Two Paragraphs following, Ifhall only fay. It \sTruth^ and not 
 j^tithority^ we are to yield to. Therefore, I don't concern my felf to look 
 whether you reprefent thefe Great Men rightly or no, becaufe 'tis not to 
 the Purpofe. Dr. Hammond never loft the Reputation of a Church-man, 
 for fetching his Annotations from as Unorthodox a Stranger as any you men- 
 tion : And no Man ought any more fcruple taking Truth out of the worfi 
 Author, than yield to Faljlwod o}^t of the heft. 
 
 You find fault with His Lordjhip^ in the next Paragraph, for pajfmg by 
 other Enemies of the Church, and fixing his Eye fo much upon the Papifts, as^ in 
 a great meafure^ to Overlook, the Others. His Lordjhip has kept his Eye upon 
 the Papijh only where He fhould, in the Articles that were made againft 
 them : and, if He had not done it there, He had not done the v^mV/^^juftice, 
 which lie under the fame Imputation, of having kept their Eye upon the fame 
 Men. There was a great deal faid agawji them^ in the Ute Reign : but the 
 Bijhop was not to take notice of that, but to colleft out of thofe Books the 
 Arguments againft thofe Enemies, and reduce them under the >^r/iV/ej, that 
 they might be ready at hand for young Studerts in Divinity, againft the 
 Attempts of thofe reftlefs Men, who are very Numerous^ andnotwithftand- 
 ing all thofe Writings, and the late A C T againft them, very Bold and 
 Induftrious. By your Argument, His Lor^pip n^cd not have meddled with 
 our other Adverfaries, ajter the many admirable Tra^s againB them^ in a late 
 Reign, which are in more hands than thofe againft the Papifis : and thence 
 cur young Students might fetih Arguments^ if the Bijhop had none, which He 
 has. He acknowledges Himfelf to be rather a Collt^or^ than a Writer • 
 and a yourg Student may provide himfelf with Arguments, out of Him, m 
 the Articles made agairft thofe other Adverjaries you fpeak of. I think, 
 there aie few of ihok Articles \ and to have run away from the Bufinefs' 
 to Encounter /fc(w, would have made Him Ridiculous. We have ktn Men 
 indeed fo hotujon a Nction, and fo angry at a Man or two, as to have 
 
 H 2 k^ept 
 
( 50 
 
 kept their Eyes nnluc^tly ufon tkm^ and to have left their Texts to fhift for 
 themfelves. But this is not the prudent, or honeft Part. The Btfhof 
 fpeaks out, where-ever the jirtides do, oppofes all that they oppofe, 
 Anfwers the Objeftions againft them, never has once made them fpeak^a^ainft 
 themfelves^ or the received DoCirines of the Churchy nor to thz advantage of the 
 Diffenttrsy nor o( Conftitmons oppofite to oftr own^ except not Damning them, 
 as th^ Articles do not, befpeaking to their Advantage: And this, 1 hope, 
 I have Ihown before, in Anfwering thofe ftrain'd Particulars you brought 
 to prove thefe things againft His Lordjhtp, He has manag d them with 
 Temper, and I wifh you had learn'ditof Hira : Hehasnot VilifyM anyOnc, 
 nor Condemn'd any, but what the Articles do ^ but He has not over-done 
 this, fo as to be indifferent, or unjuft to our Conftitution, and His own 
 Order, having given them all the Artie es empower Him to do, not thinking 
 it proper to zn Expofition ofthe-«^mV/fjtorun upon Additions, which will 
 not be in the leaft lerviceable to an Explanation of^them, which they do 
 not give the leaft hint of, which the Compilers of them, it's likely, never 
 thought of, or, if they did, thought not to make them Terms oiCommimion^ 
 as the Arti.les are. 
 
 I have already given an Anfwer to all your Particulars j but becaufe you 
 re-capitulate, I muft do fo too. The Text in St. John is only a Fartons LeElion^ 
 and the Socinian don't want it granted not to be Genuine, becaufe he'll never 
 be convincM by what he fufpedls is not. What the Bifhop fays of the Atha^ 
 vafianCreed^ relates only to its Confirmation by Councils^ not to its Truth % 
 and *tis that the Socinian difputcs againft, and cares not how old you make 
 it, fo it be not in the Scriptures. However, be he gratifyM or no by it, 
 both that Text is not in thofe Mannfcripts^ and this Creed never was Con- 
 firm'd by a General Council : And if you will have the Truth defended by a 
 Lye, you muft get fome Body elfe to do it. The Diftinftion of Ju the Law^ 
 and TSj) the Law^ muft be necelTarily made in the Article ; and the Article 
 cannot, by all the Art in the World, be made to (jgnifie any more than T6p* 
 But the Vein- is not a whit gratifyM hereby, for he denies Salvation l^y 
 Chrift, in all places. Under the XlXth j^rticle^ No Lay^man^ or Mtchanuk^ 
 is allowed fialffy^d to Baptiz.€^ or Preachy but only fuch as aft according to 
 the Rule whuh the Body of the Pafiors or Btfliops of a Church have Settled^ being 
 Met in n Body^ under due Refpe^ to the Powers which God has fet over them : as 
 you may fee, comparing the XlXth with the XXXIlId. in which the Prat^- 
 terians and Independents have not the leafl Courtefy fljown them^ except they be 
 fuch Perfons, and fo Met, as he fpeaks of in that Definition of Lawful Au^ 
 thority. The Anahaptifis have nothing allowM them in the XXVlIth. but 
 what the Nature of the Difpute muft force from us : and if they reckon thetr 
 Point gain^d^ as you kindly infmuate for them, upon fuch Allowance •, I believe, 
 upon what follows in the Bifhop^ they'll find as much reafon to change their 
 Note, as can be. The XXVlHth Article brings the Doftrine of the Sacra- 
 mm to plain Truth, and Senfe ; and if it does fo, and makes no Myftcry 
 
 of 
 
 C5?) 
 
 of it, I am oblig'd to think it right, becaufe we are to make no Myfteries 
 but where we are forc'd. And then for the Quakers, zW Wis Lordfh.p hys, 
 IS J he lexts feem to be cxprefs, and ^reat Regard is to he had to a Scruple 
 jo founded: but He proves the Lawfulnefs ofO.r^;, notwithftanding that 
 feeming Exprefnefs, for two Pages together ^ and in the laft but one in 
 the Expofitton Anfwers thofe two Texts juft as fully as you do. 1 don't 
 takenotice of yourCritical Remark, o{ the Quakers not being then known: 
 For If the Article was made againft the Anabapnfis, who then did the fame 
 the Quakers do now, and the Article remains ftill in force ; then the Article 
 is now againft the Quakers^ who do the fame now, that the Ajahaptt/ls did 
 then. Indeed, the Bijhop names neither of them, but talks only of the 
 Thing It felf, as exprcfs'd in the Article. 
 
 And now to Anfwer your Reafonable Request : One that has thought fit to 
 Reply to your Sheets 2nd take upon him a Trouble far below the Btjhop! will 
 give you as many Paffages agatnfi the Enemies of the Church, befidet the Papifts 
 as you have pretended to bnng tn favour of them. Though, 1 if. I muft fay, I have 
 already done it, by ihowing, That none of the Paffages you bring, are in 
 their favour. And, ^dly. \ might do it, by faying. That the Btfhop has given 
 the right Senfe of the Articles, and fome of them are penned tn oppofition to thofe 
 Adver fanes He has given the Arguments on which they are founded ; 
 and therefore all thofe Arguments may fairly be faidtobe me^nt in favour 
 of the Church of England by Law EJiabltjh'd, in oppofition to thofe Adverfaries. 
 Kut 1 will not put you off fo, but give you exprefs Paffages againft thofe 
 very Enemies, you fay, he has favour 'd. i. fhen, Againft the Socinians, 
 There are Five Arguraerts to prove that Jefus ChriH is God, the True God 
 trom ;^4^. 44, to jr. fome of which you muft allow to be found, and 
 unanfwerable For the 5^./,/...%;;, pag. 53. Itisnotpoffthle for ustopreferve 
 ""!? a'.T' ^'" '^V^'"' Tefhment, or the miters ofit^ fo far as to think them 
 HonefiMen, not to fay ^ I mndy Infpir'd, if wc can imagine, that in fo Sacred 
 and Important a Matter, tiny conld exceed fo much, as to reprefent That to bl 
 our Sacrifice which is not truly fo : and then, quoting the Paffages, He fav^ 
 In thefe, and a great many more Paffjges, it's as plain as words can make any thin^ 
 ThattheDeathofChtmupropofedtous as our' Sacrifice, and Reconciliation, our 
 Atonement^ and Redemption : and fo on, till He fays. It has indeed removed 
 hazmsSm, but It has dune a greM deal more befides, &c. And, pa^^. 68. The 
 Adverfaries of the Trinity will have the Spirit, or Holy Spirit, tofignifieno Perfon- 
 but only the Dmne Gits, and Operations : But in oppofition to this, it is plain &c' 
 to the end of the Paragraph, where He fays. The Holy Spirit is proposed to hs 
 as a Per ion under whole Oeionomy are all the various Gifts, Adminifl rations and 
 Operations that are in the Church : and at the end of that Article, He isVaid 
 to be God, hy plain and clear Proofs. For the Athanafian Creed, Hefavs It 
 imports no more than the Belief of the Do^rine of the Trinity, which has been 
 already proved. In the Article of Original Sin, He Anfwers them for fome 
 Pages together, too long to tranfcribe. Good God ! Whither are ?;>/?/r^ 
 
 and 
 
r 
 
 ) i 
 
 ) 
 
 and Homjly fled ? That ever any Man, who has in {o many places, and fo 
 
 fully faid fuch things as thefe, and many more, fhould be accus'd of favour- 
 
 ing i\\tSQcmAns^ becaufc of a Ttxt^ which, he fays, is not in fuch or fuch 
 
 A^aruffcripts ! If the belt Book in the World were to be handled at this rate 
 
 what would become of our Religion ? Nay, what is become of it alreadv' 
 
 when the very iMarkof it, Charuy^\% fo fadly difregardcd ? But, 2. Againft 
 
 the Deijls^ The whole Proof of the Truth of the Holy Scriptures, from 
 
 pag. 5p. to f^g.6ji^. and He concludes thus that of Cbyijl's Refurrcftion ; 
 
 When all this is Utd together^ it is the moft nnreafor^ahle thing imaginable^ to think 
 
 there was an Jmfojlure in thts Matter^ when no Colonr^ or Shadow of it ever 
 
 dffeard^ and when all the Clrcumftances^ and not only Prchakiltttes^ bnt even 
 
 Moral Pofihilities^ are fo full to the contrary: and pag.SS. and before, He 
 
 gives an Account of the Inffiratwn ofthoje Sacred Writings. 
 
 But perhaps you don't count thefe Paflages to be meant in favour of the 
 Chnrch o/England, as by Law EftabltjVd^ but merely of the Chnfltan Do^rine. 
 But I would have you remember, that you cxprefsly accufe Him of being 
 Courteous to thefe ; that you count thefe Perfons, where they have nothing 
 to do, as we fhall fee by and by, among the Enemies that divide the Church : 
 And therefore you muft give me leave to number them where they have 
 fomewhat to do, the jirticles being Part of our Legal Eltablifhment. If you 
 mean Efiahltjh^d by Law^ as opposM to thofe we commonly call Diffenters^ we 
 muft not look for much againft them in the Artules. There's but one againft 
 the Jnabaptifts^ and but one or two that look againft the Presbyterians^ and 
 Independents^ and as many Againft the Quakers. The reft concern the com- 
 mon Dodrines of pure Chriftianity, and our Differences with the Paptfts^ 
 and therefore they could not chufe but have moft faid agamft them. How- 
 ever, againft all Dtffemers in genera], pag. 194. is faid, after a great deal to 
 the fame purpofe j We who are under thofe Obligations to Vnity^ and Charity 
 with all Chridians^ ought to maintain the Vmty of the Body^ and the Decency 
 and Order ^ that is neceffary for Ptace^ and mutual Edif cation. And juft after '- 
 Jf either Church or State have Power to make Kides^ and Laws^ in fuch Matl 
 ters^ they mufi have this Extent given them^ That nil they break tn upon the Laws 
 of God^ and the Gofpel^ we mujt be bound to Obty them, A Mean cannot be put 
 here : Either they have no Power at all^ or they have a Power that mujl go to every 
 thing that is not forbid by any Law of Cod. And juft after ; The only Quejiion 
 in Point of Obedience^ muji be^ Lawful^ or Unlawful. For Expedunt^ and 
 Inexpe&ient^ ought never to be brought into Qutfion^ as to the Pom of Obedunce • 
 fince no Inexpediency whatfcevtr can haLnce the Breaking of Order.^ and the 
 Dijfolving the Peace of Society : and fo on. , And in the XXXlVth Article^ 
 from one end almoft to t'other ^ A Schifm that is occafwn'^d by any church'^ s 
 impofing VnUwful Terms of Commumn^ lies at their door who i/?:po/e them, and 
 wholly theirs. But without fuch a NecejTity^ it is certainly^ both in its own Na^ 
 ture^andtts Confequences^ one of the great eji of S'm^ to create ntedlifs Difiurbarces 
 in a Church, and to give Occafon to all thai Alienation of Mind, all thofe Rajh 
 
 Cenfures, 
 
 ( 55) 
 
 Ctnfures, and Vnjufl Judgments, that do arife from fuch Divifiont. This re. 
 caves a very great Jggravmon, if the Civil Mthority has concurrd, by a Utp 
 toenjotn the Ohferva«ceof fueh Indifferent Thwgs. Can any thing be more 
 Exprefs than this, when faid by One who thinks all Things enjoin'd in the 
 Chnrch of England Lawful, and that while He's Interpreting an Article of 
 tbzt very ChurchJ There's a great deal more of the fame in that place, 
 which I mould be a weary to write, and you afham'd to read 
 
 Againft thofe that Z)(//-e«f upon the Czk of mtx'd Communion, and warn of 
 Dtfcpltne, befides what is faid in otbn ^rtwles generally, He fays, r.368. 
 IftheExecHtionofChurch-AHthority jlwuld happen to fall into great Diforders fo 
 that many ScandaloHs Per fins are not Centred, and a ProwtfeuOHs MnltitHdeis 
 fulfer d to break tn upon the moft Sacred Performances ; this cannot juflifie private 
 Per Ions, who, upon th^, withdraw from the Communion of the Church AU Order 
 and Government are diftrofd, if private Ptrfons take upon them to Judge and 
 Cenure others, or to Separate from any Body, becaufe there are Jhufes in the Vfe 
 of thts Authority. ' ' 
 
 Againft thofe loofe Seftaries, who look upon any Mechanic^, or La^-man 
 as well Qualify d to Baptize, or Preach, as thofe that are cali'd PrteRs and' 
 Beacons, He lays, pag. 25,.. Thefe R.les given to Timothy and Titus, do 
 plainly import, that there was to he an Authority in the Church, and that no Man 
 was to affume that Anthority to himfelf, &c. And after having fhown, that 
 the Apoftles fettled Orders in the Church, not fo much for their own Times 
 as for thofe that come after. He f^ys. The Argument for this, from the liandin^ 
 Rules of Order, and Decency, of the Authority in which the Holy Things ought to 
 be '"'^"tained and the Care that muft be tak^en to reprefs Fanity and Infoknce 
 and all the Extravagancies of light and ungovem'd Fancies, is very clear. For 
 tf every Man may affume Authority to Preach, and perform Holy FunUions it's 
 certain. Religion muft fJl under contempt. And at laft ; If once the PublickOr. 
 ders, and the National Conftuatton (Obxerve you ) of a Church is diffolvd ■ 
 the Strength and Power, as well as the Order and Beauty of aU Religion will foon 
 go after It: For, humanely fpeakjng, they cannot fubfifi without it. 'can VOU 
 
 your felf find out Exprcliions more home, and carneft ? Caa any One 
 Ipcak more to the Purpofe th^n this ? 1 b:g your Pardon for the Incivility 
 but leant hclpdcfiring the Reader to compare thefe Expreffions with one 
 
 °r^"°,°'^^"'?' f"-'^:^^- "" ^0''4»P f^<^»'s 'ofet himfelf between th,Chmc\\ 
 of England ^^^reDillenters, in the way of Modtizior : No One can charge 
 Him with Partiality ; He manages the Whole in fuch fort, with refpeB to the 
 Church 'ts, according to the u/ual Phrafes, may be faid to be without Favour 
 orAffetlion. Pag. 57. All fort of loofe SeHaries, who have no regard to Di- 
 vine Commijfwn, but look upofi any Lay. man, or Mechanick, as well O„alify'dto 
 Baptt7-e, or Preach, as fhofc that are call d Priefts, and Deacons, hT^ fukient 
 Encouragement to tru(i to the Word Preach'd, and the Sacraments Adminiflred in 
 their Way. And, pag. 22. // Men are DaptizJd, it matters very little by whom 
 tt he done, fo the Pffenti^ls of Water, &c. be retain'>d: And fo, for Preaching-., 
 
 Let 
 
^'flWl-»^^P^^?l 
 
 ^T'- 
 
 ( •'" ) 
 
 < »• i C -■ , 
 
 -r *^n^ /'/■■';r:f -*->^ ^-.u-n '' ^';i' iF 
 
 f ^ 
 
 L »f . ^ ; » /■ ,< J' ; 
 
 , J 
 
 f .f ?■' 
 
 .1 
 
 
 voii n r 
 
 • ''.- i. Li '" V I 
 
 riwru in rncic plicc?, ot haviru; livour vi '-;:>■■ /^^i-t-/. /if ^-.-, ami .>■( Hire ru- 
 and /; ■:€ Scdjr;^:., Let biu -I'-^y ■ Jnc then cnmpirc Hi- /.vrr ?//..■>;,, wiiii \0'ir 
 ^LdfMi'^nt and then iiidi!;:: ol \ocr t andciir, and IntLgnty, h^r"' the 
 f/^it^>ftrL<>^.^, and //-^ifpez-^u'^r', they arc cxc hided from being L.htUi:.} C'jhc.', 
 by ihc ia[C=.r vdiol: rnMnigr:]| Ji in :he 2 )Sth P;ice , iho' I can't [n-onnfc yen:, 
 they iliail thinA^ihcniu Ives 10 ■ No more woyld they by the yhtuU it klL 
 Agairdr iUc*^'.uv.ipft;r^ f-ig. 3 6. Hei"i>-, Ik a lu^ j f>' trt: h^.a^ m:r^;n^ 
 
 drtn J. line (u tht J/rr.jr; jna EiiiUrij i ■■' tht i'O'Vii f/;t>r n f-^ 'ejlnn tot^nnK 
 thdt t'.:u viinj •) t'liuy ct '' ^~tt-, and .ifJuYca r? the 'cw^ i*-i tht Old ft'tjrr^n 
 CJiriil j/;''/</^ f;. f ^^4-f irt:..:::a to cm Parttt^ :he i upu (.^^mfnrti urd Jijnra),,e(, 
 i?) ^n: 6 '^e/, that ihey haan/:a^r r^. Lair 0* Mo^es. Sr^rr ^'if^;i';f u jutd a^ .i;r:r 
 n^ we muy Lonti^iat^ 'rom tht Natit:-^ 0" r^:e7\i') Ihfpty::jtt{*:'^ .:>.a i^t fl '. por- 
 tion Mid Grudaiion t,^:it u v.t^Jit^ 'K(rr^ (the vuy Argm-nnt thit \0!i ih\i 
 againll the >^#-P, out of Himkh'- tl:M C^maren /<»^de d/r .V-:r 7r/n/^-^,; 
 art A Holy Sced^ us vreu a^ '^:ty iF'u /;?.Ynr ft- 0/d , ^ecn *> e^-?;n .r?>e(; r^ji 
 
 i.d)ie! ^ e thole 
 
 they ni-^y ir nnw Paptizta^ asntU ^. '';c> :rtrt t^ft^. CtrcH 
 
 words, ^f rrdi as^ and coniidcr ^ our .\cini ir;on. And nberr^ard- he con- 
 
 eludes it again, from ihc J\x: of the i hildicn bio^eght 10 narSnioyr^ 
 
 Whatever their Trcrd> 
 
 
 /jff«' Chilartr: tr.ay he admittta in/o r*-- Dt . • ». .i/;;;;. o- /-rM^ddii .r.d !',?;n-. 
 r/;re^:f/y, f^^f r;>f> w.^)^ k />^prinr^, 1 hb, ! ieppoir, is /^^/zfr' r /^;t An.d)^p- 
 tllls all tfjty dtfirt^ as you Uy. 
 
 Againll the Qiiakers, f^e A-ftr ih-a rr(>f 'eM^/pir*; ird/ ». r/'f \!-nrJe«: irfM 
 
 : S 5 A'of 
 
 n M?. ;' II i.rfv. y. t 
 
 maat^ as you fhrcwdly obicrve, Me iivs r./^ 
 
 leJCi'^^ like theWon:tf:'l rttfts am^rro tr i //?«%•-, ir^;-; nt/f ^finrfrf r, bt fiu^a 
 wt'h a B^cchick fury . And :dxM:['h' / ^.-^^ a.et . - 1L<^, and r 01/- ■ f^i /'arr 
 
 znd rejijn^ia Eitl^ ( though H. d ., { i\ -.i lo Ui^-r^, -> ^:Ma\n r nt ir^r./, // 6»/«r 
 
 Saii'-ar jctrn tj Vt txpri: , .^r.apnU) f-e fi\-, Lt,^. .1 :h: t Jic.r. , 'p^K'tn 
 0' t'c'urt^ :re aoutt K^t^ int ^ .*.' IWiy . ;r^?c^ 4rf ort^i^ j.^y^ a> e-. r>- - 7 (Jclj- 
 jij?i ()- thtm^ Dtdnfivt^ thnt([rh^ r. />( pojrrefsc' t^.tr: :>(y }-:ii; ^v'/:.e /r 0?d ?/- 
 /:dn, t^.i> ^'f L^T//d. And, LadiV, Aho^r an e/^;. ^ Vje aKow^ a'^ He\. in 
 jaflly to them, and ya prc\v^ the L.- wtnin js of i^ t'-onndin Id-anipic of 
 the Patriarchs thejewini Conilitation, a.d;! h:n, lonf^ anu (..cd idimielf d 
 and Aniwcrs the Ohjcdwn bv ihevei-n the iight mcanna' cl ; ''■f^numtdtic- 1 
 and concludes ^^-^^ ^ A^>^'^ f^^y Sircar ^ :r>'f^. t^ e Mjjtit'-.i^c rt 7>nr r tr. 
 
 Thus have! given you what ^oa eaifd fnr ; rhmun dv\aaao nadi very 
 TMJonablt: RecjHej}^ confidcring the Numb- r or rhe A>'u'U. :aa.andr 'du; /a?n;r ■', 
 
 u Keep ro, 
 
 .\ d ^ > / » . ^ ■ ' ' v^ t ■ 
 
 i Ki - 
 
 a 
 
 iMaMi 
 
 and the general Expreflionsthc £ 
 
 in compliance with the ^r?kd:./. Idoubcr^a, 1 mujii, n; -e-, ■ ^b -fl Seai (.:, 
 have found many more particidir one-^, nu: ihvie .neuiough. Vox d we 
 
 will but bs as tavourable to Hi^- Lord.hind Compohuons, a:.'wc are to ihe 
 
 DlVin^ 
 
 
 
 ^mA^. fe:.: 
 
 f^'^Wf^ '^mT! 
 
 P*' 
 
 ■•<■«. c 
 
 
 ■:n ■ *f^% 
 
 S^r^? 
 
 *'M 
 
 ( 5r) 
 
 £^^ ones, and interprrt the Places whicb are more general md doubtfoj* 
 ^ by thofe which are more determinate and particular, we fl^ll fom 
 drar His i::'ar<//fe#p of your Charge: and if we will nor, we are very Uojuff, 
 and deny thofe Grains of Allowance to a Humane Compofure, wJdioaC 
 which even the Divine Oracles may be wrcfted to any Senfe, or none at iB, 
 as wepleafe. Had you read HisLordfliip with the fame Spirit that yott 
 advife your Hearers to read the Sctiptures, we h^d not been troubled 
 with fuch grpundlefs Charges of Him : If you did not fo read him^ neithw 
 do you fo read the Scriptures as you advife your Hearers. TheywooMf 
 hav^ taught you another Temper, and Carriage, to a Man, aCbriftiafl, 
 and a Biftop. 
 
 All I (hall beg of you, in Return to this tedious Digreflionr is. If yott 
 think fit to Reply to thefe Sheets, to make your Expofition olth^ArtkUs 
 agree with the Defiin and Meaning of them, the received Do5lrine of the 
 Church of England^ the Honour of the Reformation^ and with common ^fe, 
 and Truth. If you cannot ^ How much more juftlywill you fa^ under the 
 Ccnfure of the Convocation^ than you can pretend to have had their Appro- 
 bation ? The Articles then, according to you, .are thefe. 
 
 ' . . • *' ' ' 
 
 a ART, VI. Whoever faysj that the Text in St. Jobn'j Epiftle, c. %, 7. 
 ij no$. in the Manufcript at Zurich, or in thofe two at Bafil, or at Strasburg, 
 andthinS^Sy though there are confiderable things urged to fupf(^t its Authority^ yet 
 that it is fafer to build upon fure and indifputable Grounds , favours the Sc|cinians, 
 dots not believe the Canonical Scriptures j and cannot hone ft ly Suhjcribe to 
 thtrn^ 
 
 ART. VIII. The Creed cali'd the Nicene Creed was made by the Council 
 of Nice ; and that caPd the Atfaanafian, by AthanafiUs ; and was beard of 
 before the Eighth Century^ and was Confirmed by a Cenetal CounciL^ ^ *i^ 
 
 ART, IX. to the XIX. The fs AttMts are neceftry to be belie^^^e^^ 
 One who has a Feeder al Right in the Covenant of Grace^ for thefsSOm^yoe 
 Do^rinal^ but Fundamental Points ; an dither ef ore they are accurfU (1^ tht 
 XVIIIth fays^ which is only the Summof tbefe) who hold not all confainMin 
 them: particularly, * w -^ 
 
 ART. XVlII. They are to he accurfed^ whofay^ th^ any A^at^m be favtM 
 &i(l|rJbe Law or SeB that he profeffeth^ fothat he be diligent to frat^^s lAfe^^ 
 to that L^w^. and the Light of Nmur^^ For Hoif ^j^mt^d^b^ 
 th to us^ That Men cannot be Saved, i0 %;^f:t)mward Profeffion of]^ 
 
 ^RT.XIX. The P^tble Church of m^.ita (M^^Mn of F4^ 
 Mm% ^ which the pure Word ^f ^My^^'^^^^ ^d the Mu:ram^ms /Ately 
 Admniftred according to the Qrdinance ^^1^^^ sB tfAngs reejidfi^i^ a 
 regular Adnnniftration of the fame. i ;^^ .. ' ' ^ ^*^ 
 
 ART. XXIII. It is m lawfdfof^ Mm to t^0t him th^0ce 
 of P0^f reaching^ or Amiftring the ^acr^memi in tm cMngregation^ ieftnn 
 
r*, |1 
 
 ( 5^ ) 
 
 Ltt a mmherofMen^ for their Honefly^ have but a Ri^ht to he call' d Faithful 
 and a very little morejJiall make a Ftfihle Church of them. And you have accusM 
 Him, in thefe places, of having favoured our Indeftndents^ and Presbyterians 
 and loofe Sea arte s. Let but any One then compare His Expreffms with your 
 Jccufattons, and then judge of your Candour, and Integrity. For the 
 Presbyterians^ and Indefendents^ they are excluded from being Lawfully Called^ 
 by the latter whole Paragraph in the 258th Page; tho' I can't promife you, 
 they (hall think^themfclves fo : No more wo«ld they by the Jrticle it felf. 
 
 Againft i\\t*Ai^iabafti(ls^ pag. 50<^. He fays, In a thing of this k^nd^ in which 
 the jiift Tmdernefs of Humane Nature does difpofe Parents to fecure to their ChiU 
 dren a Title to the Mercies and Blejfings of the Gofpel^ there is no reafon to thinl^^ 
 that^ this being fo fully fet forth ^ and affured to the Jews in the Old Tefl amen t] 
 C\m[t fljould not have intended to give Parents the fame Comforts and Jffurances^ 
 by his Gofpelj that they had under the Law of Moles. Since nothing is /aid againft 
 ir, we may conclude^ from the Nature of the Two Difpenfations^ and the Propor- 
 tion aud Gradation that is between them^ (the very Argument that you usM 
 againft the Btfljop^ out of Himfelf) that Children under the New Teftament 
 are a Holy Seed^ as well as they were under the Old ; and, by confecjuence that 
 they may he now Bapti^ed^ as weU as they were then Circumcifed. Obferve thofe 
 words, as well as^ and confider your Accufation. And afterwards He con- 
 cludes it again, from the Text of the Children brought to Our Saviour, 
 Whatever thefe words may fgnifie myftkally^ thi literal meaning of them is^ That 
 little Children may be admitted into the Diiptnfation 0/^ rA.e Miflias, and confe^ 
 ^uently^ that they may he Baptiz^td. This, 1 fuppofe, is grantirg the Anabap- 
 tlfts all they defire^ as you fay. 
 
 Againit the Quakersj the Men that were not known when the AxikUs were 
 maat, as you fhrcwdly obferve, He fays, ;?^^ 7.55. Not ft^fering Women to 
 Teach^ like the Women-Vritjl s among the Heatktn^ who were believed to be filled 
 wvh ^Bacchick Fury. And ^ho\}i the Law; nine f s ojW'ar^ and going to Law ^ 
 and refijlmg Evil, ( though He's fo civil to them, as f-O fay, the words of Our 
 Saviour feem to be txpre/s^ and full) He fays, Vfon all thefe Account s^ fpoken 
 of before^ we doubt not^ but that Wars^ which are originally.^ as to tht frft Occa^ 
 fan 0; them, Defenfive^ thnngh.^in the progrefs of them, they muft often be Offen^ 
 five., may be Lawful. And, Laftiy, About an Oath, He allows all He can 
 juftly to them ^ and yet proves the Uwfulncfs of it, from the Example of 
 the Patriarchs, the Jcwifli Conftitution, Our Saviour, and God Himfelf: 
 and Anfwcrs th^^ObjtawN, by ihewing the right meaning of Coww«wc^r;e« ^ 
 and concludes, That a Man may Swear ^ when the Magiftrate requires it. 
 
 Thus have 1 given you whai you call'd for: though 'twas no fuch very 
 reajonableRequefi, confidcring the Number of the j^rticles againft the Papifts, 
 and the general Exprellionsthc Expofttion was reafonably oblip/d to keep to, 
 in compliance with the Artida. I doubt not, I might, upon :\[Uit\ Search, 
 have found many more particuhir ones, but thefe are enough. For if we 
 will but be as favourable to Hir Loidlhip'sCompoliuons, as'we are to the 
 
 Divine 
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
 Divine ones, and interpret the Places which are more general and doubtfaj, 
 by thofe which arc more determinate and particular, we fhall foon 
 clear His /^or/^/Jj/f of your Charge: and if we will not, we are very Unjuft, 
 and deny thofe Grains of Allowance to a Humane Compofure, without 
 which even the Divine Oracles may be wrefted to any Senfe, or none at all, 
 as we pleafe. Had you read HisLordfliip with the fame Spirit that you 
 sdvife your Hearers to read the Scriptures, wc had not been troubled 
 with fuch groundlefs Charges of Him : If you did not fo read hm^ neither 
 do )0ufo read the Scriptures as you advife your Hearers. They would 
 hive c lught you another Temper, and Carriage, to n Man, a Chnilian, 
 
 r^ 
 
 ana a Ciiliop. - ' ' 
 
 All i Oiail big of you, in Return to this tedious DigrefTion, is. If you 
 think fit to Reply to ihcfe Sheets, to make yo^r Expolition oi the j^rticles 
 agree with the Dtfgn and Akaning of them, the rectivcd DoBrwe of the 
 Church of England^ the Honour of the Rt^formamn, and with common Senfe, 
 and Truth, if you cannot •, How much more juftiy will you fal] under the 
 Cenfure of the Convoc^ition, than you can pretend to have had their Appro- 
 bation ? l[\^ Articles then, according to you, are thefe. 
 
 ART. V^ Whoever faysj th^t the Text in 5^ John'^ Epiftle, c. y. 7. 
 is not in the Manufcript at Zurich, or in thofe two at Bafil, or at Strasburg, 
 and thinks^ though there are confiderable things urged to fnp^ort us Authority, yet 
 that tt is fufer to build upon fure and incitfpiaable Grounds . favours the Socinians, 
 does not believe the Canmcal Scriptures^ and cannot honejlly Suhfcrihe to 
 
 them. 
 
 ART. VIII. The Creed called thi Nlv:cnc Creed xvas made by the Council 
 of Nice ; and that calPd the Athanafian, by Athanafius ; and was heard of 
 before the Eighth Century, and was Confirm'*d by a General Council/ 
 
 ART. IX. to the XIX. Thefe Artkks are rcccfury to be believed by every 
 One who has a Eocdcral Right in the Covenant of Grace^ for they contain not 
 Do^rinal, but Fundamental Points ; and therefore they are accurfed (as the 
 XVIIith ftysj which is only the Sifrnm of theje ) who hold not all contain d in 
 them : particularly, * • 
 
 ART. XVI i I. They are to be accurfed, who fay, that any Man can be faved 
 in the Law or Stcl that he profejfeth, fo that he be diligent to frame his Life ac" 
 cording to that L.\w^ a?}d the Light of Naure. For Holy Scripture doth 
 fa forth to Ht, That Men cannot bf Saved j but in the Outward Prof ejfion of the 
 Chrtfiian Rtli^:on. 
 
 A R T. XIX. The rifihle Church of Chrifi, is a Congregation of Faithful 
 Men^ m which the pure Word of God is Preach'^d^ and the Sacramerts duely 
 Admmfired according to the Qrdinance of Chrift^ in all things reqUifite to a 
 regnhr A dmintj} ration of the f^me. 
 
 ART. XXI 11. It is not lawful for any Man to take upon htm the Office 
 of Public k Preach. n^^ or Mimjhwg the Sacraments tn the Congregation^ before 
 
 . " 1 *»* 
 
C 58 ) 
 
 he bt Law fully Called^ and fent to execute the fdme. And thofe we ought to jud^e 
 Lawfully Called and Sent^ and only Thofe^ who are fent hy Biflwps^ and^ vchdu 
 foever National Conjiitntion they Itve under^ haze Epifcopal Ordination^ For none 
 but They have Power to fend Labourers into the Lord'^s Fmeyard: And therefore 
 all thofc Preachers in Forei^^n Churches not fo Ordai>ied^ have no Lawful C all ^ .re 
 no Lawful Preachers. 
 
 A RT, XXVII. The Baptifm of young Children is neceff airily to he retalml 
 in the Churchy for that u is exprefslj commanded ui the hflitution ofChrtj}, 
 
 ART, X\X!II. That Per fon^ which ^ by open Denunciation of the Church 
 is rightly cut of from the Vrity of the Churchy and ExcommHnicatc^ ought to be 
 taken by the whole Multitude of the Faithful as a Heathen^ and a Publican ; as is 
 proved by the Text in St. Matthew, chap.xml 17. where the being looked upon 
 as a Heathen^ and a Publican^ is confecjuent to his Excommunication, 
 
 A RT, XXXIX. There is no refpeti to be had to the Scruple ofthofe^ who 
 think an Oath to be Unlawful, For in thofe Texts, Mat. 5. 34. and]2im. 5. la. 
 there is not fo much as a feeming Exprefsnefs in their favour^ 
 
 I raightadd thnt oiHell^ and ♦'hat of the A^y [I ery in the Sacrament -, but 
 they are not fo notorious as thefe : fome of which are not true ^ and the 
 others, if true, not of fuch Importance as to be made lerms of Communion, 
 You cannot deny, either that thefe are your Articles, or that you have unjuftly 
 and falfly Abus'd the Bifl^op, For,give me leave to ask you a few Quefllons — 
 Don't you fay, this is the meaning of thofe Articles r Don't you fuppofe 
 that every One muft Subfcribe them in this Senfe ? For, Is not this the Senfe 
 which is, you fay, colleaed from other Authentical Explanations of the 
 Church's Mind ? And are not Men to take their Meafures, in Subfcribing 
 to ihQ Articles, and be Directed therein by them f Don't you find fault 
 .with the Btflop for not interpreting them in this Senfe, as going contrary 
 to their Meaning ? And is the Bifliop in any fault, if He interpret them in 
 fuch a Senfe as any One may Subfcribe them in ? And can any One Subfcribe 
 them in a Senfe contrary to their Meaning ? And is not the Meaning of the 
 Article, which every One raufl: Subfcribe them in, the Article it felf, the 
 Term x>f Communion .-? And are not thefe that you have proposed as the 
 Meaning of the Articles, very hard things to be made fuch Terms ? I don'£ 
 fee how you can get off of this: And if you can't, I don't fee how you can 
 get rid of your Account of thQ Moderation of the Church of England^ which is 
 utterly inconfiftent with it. I will fay no more, but leave you to your 
 own Thoughts, and proceed to the Third Head, ( vt^. ) 
 
 That there are fome Things in the faid Book, , which feem to be of dangerous 
 Confe^uence to the Church of Enghnd as by Law EflabUJh'*d^ and to derogate 
 from the Honour of the Reformation, 
 
 ft car?t hut be of iH Confequence^ you fay, that any private Perfon (haS^ ae 
 fUafure^ tak% the liberty offntting what Senfe he pleafes upon the Publitk -^<J^ of 
 
 the 
 
 \ 
 
 
 ( S9 ) 
 
 the Church. No Man can put what Senfe he pleafes upon them, bccaufc 
 the Words will determine him to fome Senfe-, but a private Perfon may, 
 nay, every One that Subfcribes, does and cannot but, put that Senfe, 
 which he thinks tnc trueft, on them. And what is allowed to All that 
 Subfcribe, who don't All do it in the fame Senfe, can't be deny'd the 
 Biihop, who would teach them to undeiiland ih^ Articles^ and be able to 
 
 bfcnbe them in a right Senfe, formed upon good Confiderations. Rogers 
 
 vcntor'd upon it : His Book had tts Vfe and Courfe, and flood long witjhout 
 
 Ceniure, notwnhjlandirg his Partiality to one Si e. Are not the Oracles of God 
 
 more Sacred Things^ than the Articles of our Church f And yet what are all 
 
 Paraphrafes^ Notes, and Commentaries, but Expoftions of the Word of God f 
 
 Suppofe any part of a Faraphrafe, or Commentary, jhould be jound to be wrong ; 
 
 Do Men clamour upon that, andtUnk^the Word of God iscorrup:ed F Is not the 
 
 Apoftles Greed one of the mofl important Farts both of our Worjlnp, and one of 
 
 our Articles / but was it ever thought a Prefumption^ to write an Expofition of, 
 
 that Common Symbol of Chriftians i Articles, to which every One who Serves tn 
 
 the Church mufi Subfcribe willingly, and from their Heart, profeffing that they 
 
 believe them to be agreeable to the Word of God, ought to be well undcrjlood bf 
 
 thofe, whoprofefs their unfeigned Affent to them, Thefe are'the Biflwp^ words. 
 
 This will ferve for an Anfwer to your next Paragragh : adding this ; 
 That this Book was written upon the Authority of a Sovereign, and aSupcrwur ; 
 was communicated to many Eminent Perfon s ^ W2isf}ri[}ly examined by them, and 
 candtdly cenfnfd. And, I doubt not, notwithftanding what you fay, the 
 Biflwps, who felt the ill Confequences of Subfcribers Ignorance in the /tr- 
 ttcles, and thought themfdves therefore oblig'd to Examine their Clergy 
 with fome Care, and did not know* how to admit them to Subfcribe ^r- 
 tides, to which they were fuch Strangers, now feel the Good of what ma»f 
 wife Men wifti'd for, and fee fome happy Effefts of fuch an Underteking, 
 
 Thofe Great and Judicious Men, who did what of this kj^d they judgd needful in 
 another way, and Explained, as they had occafion, Matters belonging to tbe 
 Articles, under the Name of much more Sacred Things, (how'd by that, 
 that they did not think the Articles were too Sacred to be meddled with. 
 For an Explanation of any of them, is as much an Explanation in another 
 place, as if it flood in its own, and under its own proper Titla; and any 
 thing that ConrradiAs or Mif-interprets them, is as much a Contradiftion or 
 Mif-intcrpretrition of them, under any Name, and in any Book, as if it 
 went under the Name of an Expofition of them. Their Alodcjly and Caution con- 
 fifled only in avoiding the Clamours of Hot Men, who would not have born 
 anything jn that Nature contrary to their Sentiments. But Matters were 
 row grown to that pafs, as not to dffpenfe with that Modejly and Caution zny 
 longer: 2ndzBiflwp, who had bell reafon to know the Ufe, havingfeltthe 
 Want of it, did venture to colleil a Provifion for young Students, before 
 they conic to receive Holy Orders. 'Twas a Bold thing indeed : but Bold- 
 nefs and Kcfoluticn is, in fome i>laces, and upon fome accounts, neceifary ; 
 
 I 2 efpecially 
 
( 6o ) 
 
 efpecially ina Man, wliO when he is to do Good, has always Difadvantages 
 to cope with, and who, had he compos'd the jirticles themfelvc?, might 
 have probably expecTled a like, or a fevercr Cenfure. The rcfl of our 
 Paragraph is not to the Purpofe, after what has been faid. 
 
 But your next Paragraph is for having an j^nthe^nick Evpo/ition •^ and the 
 Matter Deh^ted in Co^ivocation ^ and the Pcr/onj appointed by Ihcm^ to Com- 
 pofc ic. To fpeak feriouily, I think a Binding and Obligatory Authority 
 upon fuch a thing as that, would be no happinefs to ihz Church-^ and, as 
 good as it is, it is well that the Btflmps hath it not, but that every One's left 
 to form his own Judgment upon it. As for your Argument agalnft Him as 
 a Stranger^ One that knows nothing of our Conflitution, that came hither 
 but t'other day, and has no Infight into the Matters of our Church, I mull 
 confefs 'tis unanfwerabk. 
 
 So much for the Undertaking, Kow for the pretended Authority it comes out 
 with. The late Archbtjhop put Htm upon it ; trcoura^d^ and Approved it. It 
 had the Approbaiion of our two prefe^:t Metropolitans^ many of our Btjhops^ and 
 learned Divines, This the Biflwp fays Himfelf, to Recommend, and Juftific 
 His Work: And for you to call it pretended.^ is no: becoming either your 
 Cbarac^ter, or His. 
 
 Andean any things you fiy, lo k more Fatal to the Ejlahlifj'd Churchy than 
 to hdve a Platform laid for Comprehenfion^ and a Way fcord out for Evading the 
 Force of all Sub fir ipt ions ^ and this to be u[he)'d in with fo much feemmg Authority, 
 if you mean by that Scare- crow Compreherfion^ a Fortifying the Churchy by as 
 great an Vnion as C6u!d confij} with her Principles^ and with the Dc fires of themofl 
 Ef^iinent Men that h.ive been of our Communion^ both in the prefnt and laft Agt\ 
 it is a Noble and Excellent Defign. If 'you mean fomething as bad by it, as 
 fou do by the Evading the Force of Subfcription •, I have (hown you, there's no 
 fuch thing : and had I not, I fhould have ventured to truft to the Approbation 
 of thofc Great Men, that there's no fuch ill DeOgn in the Book -, and to 
 the ^f/Jjop's Word, that they gave their Approbation. Their Judgments, and 
 His Honelty, ar? as much to be depended upon with me, as yours. But I 
 cannot but a little wonder how you can fmit: the Bifnop from ail fides thus. 
 Sometimes 'tis the Attempt of a private Man -^ and then, lis Bold ^ and Impu- 
 ^ent^ void of Mode fly ^ and Caution. Again, when you find it has a feemmg 
 Authority^ ihcn'^tis Dangerous^ 2nd g\vts Alarms and jcaloufcs toTrue Church- 
 men, Thcfe Jealonfics occafin Difputes : Thefe Difputes do Mtfchicf. All 1 
 can fay to that, is, That fince they do Mifchief, they Ihould be, as much 
 as pofiible, avoided \ never courted and embraced. If Jult Occafions be 
 offer'd, thofe that offer them are highly to be blamed ; if Unjufl: one's be 
 taken, thofe that take them. Let othtrs jultifie their own Behaviour in 
 Ibefe Difputes, and the neceility of undertaking them ^ I am to juftifie the 
 Bifljop^ That He never ofFer'd anyOccafion for them : which, 1 think, I 
 eafily can. For his Book has no more Authority belonging to it, than as Men 
 (hall think fit to pay a modeft Deference to that, which has pafsM the Cor- 
 
 reflions 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 
 (6i) 
 
 rcftions offo exaft Judgments, and fhall find reafon to yield totheArgu- 
 mcnts and Reafons brought in it. Tis not Bound upon any One, any 
 farther than all Truth and Reafon is ; Men are at liberty to follow or rejeft 
 it, as they think it confonant or repugnant to that : And if there (hould be 
 anything in it which any One fhduld objeft againd the Church of England^ 
 and She (liould be afham'd to own as Her Doftrine, She may fairly renounce 
 it. The Bijhop Himfelf formally difclaims any fuch Authority, pag,\\. in 
 the Preface : After all thefe Approbations ^ and many repeated Depres to me to 
 P libit fli it^ I do not pretend to tmpofe this upon the Reader as th^^lVori^ of Authority. 
 My Defign^ in giving this Relation of the Motives that led mefirfl to Compofi^ and 
 now to Publifl: this Work-^ is only to juJUfie my felf both in the one and the other^ 
 and to fljew that I was not led by any Prefumption of my Own^ or with any Deftgn 
 to Dilate to Others. 'Twould make a Man almofl refolved to depend 
 fooliOily upon himfelf wholly, to run into the World with Heat, and Incon- 
 fideration, and rcjedl and defpiG: theCounfel, or Judgment, or Gorredion 
 of his Friends, and prefer Ralhnefs and Prefumption, before Goolnefs and 
 Exaftnefs •, to fee a Man Abus'd, for the very thing that He did to prevent 
 all Abufes ^ and that laid to Him as a Fault, which He us'd to make Him lefs 
 faulty than He would have been otherwife thought- That indeed, I believe, 
 is your Vexation ^ and His Caution in being Exaft, is a Fault ; becaufeHis 
 being fo, is a Difturbance. 
 
 This is an Anfwer likewife to your next Paragraph : You complain there 
 of an Vnhappinefs that is very eafily remedy'd, and wou'd be fo, did the Name 
 of a Bijhop,, or a whole Houfe of Bifhops, go fo far as you jeeringly pretend. 
 If any Papifl^ ov Diffenter,, which there's no fear of, ihould quote any thing 
 out of that Book,?s the Dodlrine of our Church, againft Thofc they oppofe, 
 r/;eyrau[t do, as in other Writers, defend it, if it be true ^ and deny it to be 
 bcourDoiflrine, ifitbefalfe, and not in any of they^«r^fw/c4/ I'ooksofthe 
 Church, Your Sentence about the Bifhop ofWorcefler,, fhall be Anfwer'd in its 
 due place \ your modeft Confidence cannot,no more than it can beparalleird. 
 A Presbyter giving a BiP^jop the Lye, only upon an idle Sufpicion, againft 
 plain Afl^ertions, and all the while complaining of the Z/^^ib^/j/jiw/jr that puts 
 that Force upon him, is a Chara(fler that I hardly ever law to the Life before. 
 
 Your next Paragraph is already Anfwer'd, by Anfwering thelnftances you 
 brought to prove it. There I have (hown. That there's no Vndermining Fotm. 
 dationf, nor Frufirating Def^ns ; but the fame Regard is had to Men of different 
 Perfuafions^ to kfep them from the Minifiry.^ as in the Articlej. 
 Let us now come to your Particulars. And, 
 
 r. In thefirf} Leaf^ His Majefly has a wrong State of the Cafe given Him^ ai 
 to our Differences in Religion : and a great deal of blame might feem to lie at our door^ 
 were it really true,, that the Wounits and Breaches made among thofe.^ who in common 
 frofefs the fame Faith., are owing to their being unhappily disjointed^ and di'Medhy 
 fome Difference Sy that are of lefs Importance. You take the Confequence here 
 upon your felf, That if we are disjointed by Different in things of lefs Jmpor- 
 
 k 
 
 tance 
 
 m • 
 
 fci*^'^^ a 
 
( ^o 
 
 tartce (than thofe in which we are agreed, or, than that ought to disjoin uO 
 we nre then to bhme. I can'c imagine how yoo will clear your felf fron^ rh- 
 Alliimpnor-, and therefore the Cor.dnfion muft be yours too. I find many o\ 
 themcaird, by the befl Defenders of our Church, Indiffmvt Mmtrs, AUt^ 
 nrs of kjs Concnn, of kfs Momm • and mafty fuch Expreffions, which amount 
 to the fame thing with Marten oiUfs Importance. 
 
 You need not have taker, rho Pafns ro Inow that this is no Sltp^ or MiflAe, 
 fromthtylHthor'j n^^fco^rrfe with a Foretg?! Dnwe; becaufe, 'tis what no Body 
 need be aOiamyno own. The Lutheran iskroaiht w^ objeain^ a^nwfl c^y 
 Chfirch^ That our DiJ pates are only aboin Forms of Cover rime fit, and Hlrjhip, and 
 About things that were in their own nature hdiffhert. How the Lutheran was 
 Anfuer'^d ^e are not told, but we may cafdy gnej] 'to what EfcB tt was^ by the Prayer 
 which follows, which ts, That God would dircSh ard enlf^hten all Men to co^Jider weli 
 how it ought to be Anfwer'^d : which look^s as if he that thus frays wtreoj the fame 
 Opinion with the Lutheran. What if he were of the fame Opinion with him, 
 and did wi(b, that after we had been quartlling above thefe Hundred Tears^ wl' 
 might at iajlgrow wifer^ and might all of hs be enlightr,ed and dire^ed, fom'e to 
 leave our Heights, and make tolerable Concedions, and others to accept 
 of them, and come in : For the Prayer refers much more to the Diffenters^ 
 than tot;/. And, if there were any hopes, that, upon the receding from' 
 Tome Indifferent Impofition?, they would Come in, and make One Body with 
 Us, I don't know how an Honeft Man could be angry at it, or ai any One 
 thae prays for it. All that any obied againfi it, is the Imprafticablenefs of 
 It s but if they yvcve enlightned, arJ dircUed ia the bed Way, that would go 
 off; and the Suppofition is always put. If it were Praaicable : and there- 
 fore 'tis not fiir for Any to -Exclaim againft thofe that think 'twould be 
 then Reafonable, becaufe they themfelves think it not Prafticable. You here, 
 according to yourufualFairnefs, and Upright Dealing, conceal part of the 
 Story, which was put in to avoid Miftakes: viz,. It was in the Tear 16^6. 
 and then you count up our Enemies Pa^ifis, Socmians, Deifls, Quakers, &c. 
 when every One mull know thefe are not fuch as the Difputes were then with : 
 
 Thefe are not fuch as difer only in Forms of Covemmext, and H^orjlip, and 
 Indifferent things •, thefe are not fuch as m common profefs the fame F.nth wuhus : 
 nor would you have thought tfaey were [o, but that you wanted an Occafion 
 to make a difmal Exclamation or two. 
 
 2. Something is faid of our Divines to the King^ which can by no means redo'^r.d 
 to their Credit, in point of dealing Sincerely either with Cod, or Man. They are 
 fnppos'dto have fray'd for two Kings fncceffively, as Defenders of the Faith, whom 
 at thejame time they apprehended to be led into the Defgn of Overturning it. This 
 is not rightly reprefented : for though tlie Bijhop ufcs the word thofe, it's 
 plain to me, He means only King James -, and it's a common thing to ufe the 
 Plnraffov the Singnlar : nor does He fay any thing that they ^ippnhcnded their -• 
 Defigns : He fpeaks oftheDefign, as a thing paft, lilo had been fatally led, 
 and that's enough to make a Man afham'd of giving them that Titk. 
 
 But 
 
 /A 
 
 (^3 ) 
 
 But you ny , ' ris a qucilion whether by the Title 0/ Defender of the Faith, 
 
 . we^r.uf, mujjartly me<tr,. Defender of the Protcfiant Reltgw., or only the Chnihan 
 Rehgm xn Ce,nr.\ fnce that Tule was Inherent to the l4erUl Crown of this Reahn 
 lo^'g before the Reformation As that Tide is continu'd on to our Kings fin« 
 vaSlTf"".! '" * ^™'^ft^"^ Country, it feemsto refer to the Faith Here 
 Eflabhfh'd. However, I would grant it fuch a Title, as we need nof be 
 ajUmd to give, were your id Point true, which the5;/?;o/,, when Hefavs 
 this fuppDfes to be faife, and which certainly is fo, nameIy,'^Vi., ," S VZ 
 t,e Proftjfwn of our Relt^ton, and the ProteSwn of the Law, this may be [efficient 
 
 n^"! t, '' kT'"-^ '-^i^' "''^ "' '^""^ '"«' '^ ^^'^ been fomewhaTlikc 
 Juaifiable : but as 'twas )uft the contrary, I wonder you were not ajhani'd to 
 
 put the Queftion. A Man may be aflum^d of what be has done, without 
 Prevartcatton ; and Shame may be often very innocent. wiuioui 
 
 uimther hke Ptece of Inftncerity is laid to o«rEngli(h Divines Charjre in the 
 .begtnmng of the Prdacc: you quote the words, and fay, h ts ^<rmn fLaetied 
 Vui'nP^' p. .68. where you might likewife have met with an An fwer. 
 The Btfhop>, words there are thefe .• It is not to be denitd, but that the Article 
 
 fcems to be framed according to St. Auftin'i DoQrine Bnt that in which the ■ 
 
 Knot of the whole Difficulty lies is not defined^ that is. Whether Cod's Eternal Pm- 
 pofe, or Decree, was made according to what He forefaw his Creatures wohU do 
 or fwreh nfonan AbfoUitemil, in order to his own Glory. It is very probable thJi 
 they who penned tt meant that the Decree was uibfolHte-, but yet, fince they haie not 
 fatdu, thofe whoSHbfcrtbe the Articles rfo not feem to be bLdto any tLjr that is 
 mtxprefi'd tn them. And therefore, fmce the Remonfirant, do noideny but that 
 Cod, having fore feen what all Mankind would, according to aU the different Gircnm. 
 fiances ,n whtcb they wouU be put do, or not do; He, upon that, did, by a Firm 
 and Eterna Decree, lay that whole Defign in aUits Branchy, J>Uh He execute, 
 t. Tm, ; they may fubfcrtbe tms Artkh, without renomcZ their Opinion a, to 
 thu Matter 1 leave it to the Reader to judge whether this be fo heinous a 
 Prevarication as you repreiect it. »«iuuus d 
 
 3. Avery ill Vfe might be made of a very groundUfs Suggeflion to he met with 
 
 XXth Article ; m both whtch the Reader ,s led to imagine, that the Frulted htlkla 
 Vt^'^'^^ftf' Tl'" ""^y J"'"'y P'^^'icdars from the Originals ^7 
 ^'a^'^?'! °r'^' /«fr.j^««««, if any One will pleafe to look the?e. hi wS 
 find a full Anfwer to this Difficulty, and thatyou took from it alUhatm 
 here fay agamft the Btfhop. You fay, Thofe Articles in Corpus Chrifti ConcM 
 are to be by no means looked upon as the lafl Originals from the which our Artlrl^ 
 are Printed. The lafi Record was dodtlefs either bint iLhe Fire J Unin 6 6? 
 c. hath othcrmfe happened to he loft., Wherehad you this, but from tbeEndof 
 the Introduaton ? where the Btfhop fays, The true Account ofthts DifficuUy is this • 
 Wher, »k Articles wtre fir ft Settled, they mre Subfcrib'd by both Houfes upon Paper • 
 but that being done, they wtre afterwards Engrofs'dinParehmm, and made up kt 
 Fotyn^ to rmm as Record, — - Thifi Alteration, thm ^»(re made between the 
 _ tim 
 
 f m r -i im 'W Hi^ *sj-asr«*^««»»r , ■ 
 
r i 
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 time they were fir fi Subfcriyd and the lafi rotirtg of them, Bnt the Original Record/ 
 wmh^ tf-exram^woM have cleared the whole Matter^ having been hnrnt in the Fnl 
 of London, u is not pofflhle to appeal to them ; yet what has been profos'd^ f?:. y 
 ferve, I hope ^ faHy to dear the Difficulty. Refleft upon whti >ou l.avc faid 
 and fee if you can juftifie ic to God, and your own Conicience. ' 
 
 You fay indeed. As much as this feems to be intimated at the End of the Intro. 
 duftion; that IS, in ^whokFolto Page, on purpofe to clear the Difficulty. 
 A praiyjeemtng Intimation. Bat in the XXth Article irc are told what revives 
 the Difficfihy ; that is, we han't there this Paiie over again, becaufc the Bijlwp 
 thought every One v\ho read the Boo^^ would read the Irnrod^tlton. [ don't 
 know whether you did read it or no, when you Anfwer^d Him. But let U5 
 go on -~- You lay, In the XXth Article, The Expofuor luys. The fir/} words 
 of thts Article were pat tn this pUce^ according to the Print e^ Editions^ though they 
 4re not m tioe Original of the Articles that are yet extant. Who wo;ild not hence 
 ^nfer^ fay you upon this, that thele words were not in the Original Signed m Con- 
 vocation., whtnas His Lordjlip can only mean that Alannfcnpt tn CoVpus Chrilli 
 College. His Lordjhtp means that, to be fare , and any Reader may fee He 
 docs, by thofe wordc, yet Extent . for His Lord[iiphiid told them before, 
 that tht: Engrofs'd Originals were burnt. You go on — For that thty were 
 in that Original from whence our Artkk^ were Printed^ (and which was Sign'' d in 
 Convocation^ as well a; that imperf a Draught fi ill remaining ) was put beyond all 
 Difpute orQuefiion by Archbifhop Laud, m a Speech in r/;^ Star- Chamber, and 
 by Br, Heylin, m ^7. Hillory of Presbytery, p. 268. as there may be occafwn 
 hereafter to fkew more at large, i believe I fliall free you from the (hame of laying 
 hold on that Occafion, by giving the Reader the Bifhoph words, and 1 feriouily 
 profefs they are his : p. i6. Theje Ankks were firfi Printed in theYear\^6^. 
 conform to the pre fern Impreffms which are ftill m Vfe among hs. So the Alterations 
 were then made when the thing was fre[h^ and well known ^ therefore r^o Fraud or 
 Artifice is to beftifpeSledj fmce fome ObjeUions wonld have been then made^ efpeaally 
 by the great Party of the complying Papifts who then.continned in the Chnrch : They 
 would not have fail'd to have made much nfe of this., and to have taken great Advan^ 
 tages from it., if there had been any occafwn fcr it ^ andytt nothing oj this kind was 
 then done. One Alteration of more Importance was made m the Tear 1571. Thofe 
 words of the XXth Article^ TbeC hurch has Power to Decree Rites or Ceremo- 
 nies, and Authority in C ontroverfies of 'Vaith, wfre left out both m the Manu- 
 fer'ipts^ end in the Printed Editions^ but were afterwards rejiored., according to the 
 Articles Printed Anno i 563. / cannot find out tn what Tear they were again put 
 in the Printed Copies, They appear in two feveral Impreffions in Queen Elizabeth'/ 
 time., which are in my hands. It pajfes commonly^ 4 hat it was done by Archbifiiop 
 Laud ^ and his Enemies laid this upon him., among other things That he had cor- 
 rupted the Do^rine of this Chur.h^ by this Addition : but He cleal^d him ft If of that, 
 as well he might, and in a Speech tn the Star-Chamber appeaCd to the Original, and 
 affirmed theje words were in it. I mufl: again allure the Peader, that thefe are 
 the Bijhop's words, and defire him to look to the place ; for, in this Cafe', 1 
 
 fcaice 
 
 
 (65 
 
 
 ' 
 
 fcarce dare truft my owd Eyes, and am afraid therefore i'e wiil not my Word* 
 If a Man may beallow'd thus to mif-reprefent Others, we can never be fafe in 
 what we fay. No fort of Security can be had from Mens Words, the ufual Means 
 of cxprejfir.g their Aiinds : Nothing can hold a Man that can com.e up to thefe 
 A^e-^fures. And yet this is the Method that you fettle^ in handling ih^ Bijhop 
 of Sarum, 
 
 You fee then, fo great an titfiorian as My Lord of ^ixwrw is, was not ignorant 
 of this Matter of Fa^, And you mufl: know, He was not, if you look into the 
 introdHHion^ where he fully clears the Difficulty, and takes otF^// Scr/p/e that 
 might other wife lie upon Mtmfiers, who are to read the Articles in the face of the ■ 
 Congregation. And now tell me, I pray you. What has the Bijh^ of Sarum 
 done, to be thus ufed ? Wherein has he fo forfeited all the Rights of Humane 
 Nature, as to have the Due?, I won't fay, o{ Refped;, or Charitable Favour y 
 but even of Common Jufitce, deny'd Him ? Whither do Party and Paffion 
 hurry a Man ! How does the Hatred or Love of a Man, or a Sett of Men, 
 make him to forget his Religion, his Confciencc, and the terrible Day of the 
 Lord ! Thefe are Serious and Important Matters, not to be jelled, or 
 difpenfed with, when we fee fit. ' 
 
 The Instances you have mention'd being all of them falfe, do not prove 
 what you brought them for, That the Expofition is of dangerous Confecjuence to 
 the Church, in many Refpcfts; Let us fee now, whether that which is behind, 
 of greater Confeguence when fully confider'd, prove what you fugged it 
 does : and whether you have not herein alfo falfly accused the Bifljop of doing 
 what may, one day or other, prove fatal to the Church, 
 
 I (hall keep here to the Difpute in hand, and not enttr into any thing foreign 
 thereto. The King's Power in Spirituals, is a tender Point, and above my 
 reach, and bcfide this Controverfie, which feems to turn only upon this, 
 Whether our Kings did not by their own Authority, with the Advice of fome 
 few of theC lergy, make fome Steps in the Reformation »of the Church \ and 
 therein did not obferve thofe Rules that ought to be Sacred in Regular Times : 
 and whether this Procedure of theirs, confidering the Exigencies and Circum- 
 ftances of thofe Times, was not juftifiable, bccaufe neceilary to the bringing 
 about that Glorious End, which, without a Miracle, could not have been 
 expedted otherwife to be gained ? That is, whetHer they had not a Lawful 
 Fower to do as they did, though that Power were not then exercifed accord- 
 ing to the Methods it ought to be. I (ball therefore pafs by your firft three 
 Paragraphs in this Head, and fuffer them to be true, though there are many 
 things in them very exceptionable. Your Fourth blames the Bifhop^ for 
 throwing down the Boundaries, in his Scheme for Latitude ^ and more, for making 
 all Changes PraBicable, without going the Round-about Ways of Convocation and 
 Parliament. You Exclaim at it very highly, and Argue againft it very earneftly^ 
 and ridiculouQy, from the Abufes- that have been, or may be made of it. 
 The Bif^m fays. When the Body of the Clergy comes to be fo corritfted^ that nothing 
 can be trujted to the Regular Dcnjions of any Synod^ or Meetings then the King may 
 
 K felea 
 
 w^iiiwf wpii.| .aim ii)u ^n 
 
ftUcl a peculiar Nnmhr'^ andgivt the Legal SanUion to what they fiull offer Hiw 5cc. 
 The Qp-i^iori is, whether this be a true Rule j not, whether ic be liable to 
 Abufe: for that's no queftion, ofthebeft and moft necefTary things in the 
 
 World. You your felf allow fomething like this, in another Cafe It is 
 
 only ( p. 6 3.) tn Cafes of great Necejfity^ that the Stcuhr Power does ever go about 
 to Over-rule that Anthority that is lodged in the Churchy 6cc. And might not I 
 argue againll yoi!, That here, tlie Secular Power it felf being Judge of the 
 NecelTiCy, you open a Way for ic to do what ic lifts wiih the Churchy when- 
 ever it plealcs to think there is fuch a ^/eat Neceflity. Men, donbckfs, may, 
 out of a mifguided Confcience, or an Arbitrary will, think there is, or make 
 fuch a Neciflity, and ad upon thofc Thoughts according as a real N^jcedity 
 would warrant them to do ^ bnt as this does not cxcufe them, h it docs no 
 prejudice to a renl and not miftakcn Neccllity. This way of Arguing ofyours 
 would fpoil all the Rules in the World, if bccaufe thofc M.n who mud bo 
 Judgesof the Rule, may miftake it, therefore the Rule it fclf is to be rejected. 
 If thert^s needof a Reformatior?^ there ought to he cne^ is a certain Rule: and 
 yet, the Prince being Judge of this Rule, ic was as much abus'd by Queen Ahry^ 
 as 'twas rightly ufed by King Edw.ird^ or as it had like to have been again abufcd 
 by King James ; and yet the Rule's a good one fiiil, though never ip liable to 
 be raiilaken. If there be a Real Necefiity, whether ic be a^^f.?r one, or a 
 little one, as you learnedly diftinguifn, you know, of old, tliac ic over^mles 
 things of conrfey and makes Regularity and Order yield to it. Now if Men 
 would deftroy Regularity, and Order, and break throughthofe Mcafures of 
 Decency, and Cultom, upon a fuppos'd NecefTity of doing ic, towards the 
 attaining Ends of greater Moment than Decency and Order are, let them bear 
 the blame, and let all concerned make a (land^ in oppoficion to their Practices ^ 
 but don't let Necefliry,Real and Unfeign'd Neceffity,fuffer in theConflift, but 
 let it be allow'd its due Superiority over thofe AUtters of Courfe. The Bifl:of^ 
 in thofe words,* fuppofes fuch a Neccfficy ^ and therefore, 1 hope, maybe 
 favoured with what you can't deny to be the necefTary Confequences of it. 
 How much foever it may be abus'd, by being falfly fiippos'd, and put upon 
 us, when it really does fail out. Regularity muft give place. You talk of His 
 promoting an Ahfolute Sovereignty in Sfintiials^ and delire He would Explain 
 Himfelf. If thefe Words' want Explanation, Til promife He fhall : They 
 were Prepared (fays He, p. 5.) ^s is mofl probable, fcy Cranmer, rf«^ Ridley, 
 snd Pkbltjh^d by the Regal Authority, Not as if our Kings had pretended to an 
 Authority to Jndge in Points of Faith j or to Decide Controverjies^ ficc. He never 
 any where afferts any fuch Abfolutt Sovereignty^ or any thing like it \ nay. He 
 Excufesj and Juftifies their departing from the Settled Methods, by the 
 Neceflity of it, as we (hall fee in the next Paragraph. 
 
 ¥ou briog there the Bifhop^s Words, and carefully conceal the Main of them 
 in this Matter. After the w.ovds^Eftabltjh'd Rules^you make a long Stroke : but 
 the Bijhop fays thus ; And that therefore it ought to be very feldom put in PraHice, 
 md never but when the gremnefs of the Occafion will balance this Irregularity that ts 
 
 in 
 
 1 
 
 jj 
 
 V 
 
 ( 6-7 ) 
 
 hit. But flill here is^ Sec. (as you quote it.) This fomewhat explains, and 
 foftens that PalTage. And, I prefume,noB9dycandcny, that when there is 
 a great and neceffary Good co'bcdone, and no hopes of doing it in the Ordi- 
 nary, and Regular, Cuflomary Methods of doing things of that Nature, 
 there the Prince may break through thofe Methods, and perfcft the Defign, by 
 his own bare Authority. The Qucftion is put upon Suppofition, that the 
 Good to be done, is of greater C.onficieration than Regularity is ; and then iE 
 will follow, i\\2t Rfgidartty, zwi Legal Cajlom, muft yield to it : And, as you 
 muft: then grant, it ought ^ fo, on the other hand, we v*^ill readily grant you, 
 that without fuch an apparenc greater Good to be done, the %/i/^r Methods 
 ofSynodicM Dtbatej^^Vid Dtcifions^ ought not to have been ncgkfted, and pafs'd 
 by, as they certainly were, in many iteps ofthc Reformation. 
 
 But though this, confidei'dlingly, be certainly true, and the Rule be in no 
 more dangftr to be abufed, than all others are ; yet the Bifliof^ way of guard- 
 ing it is luch, as to have taken off all Ambiguity, fuch 2iS has given it all the 
 Provifo's It ftands in need of\ if He may be allow'd the favour all Writers have, 
 of having one PalTage explain'd and determin'd by another. He fays, {p. 5. 
 where He is fpeaking of the Articles ) They were Prepar-d^ as is moft probable^ 
 ^yCranmer, ^^^ Ridley, and Puhlijh'^d by the Regal Authority, Not as if our 
 Kings had pretended to an Authority to Judge in Points ofFaith^ or to Decide Con^^ 
 troverfies. But as everyprivate Man ;>;;//? chufefor himfelf.^ and believe according 
 to the ConviElions 'of his Reafon, and Confcience ; Jo ev^ry Prince^ or Legijlative. 
 Power (You fee. He diftinguilhes them) muB give the Publick Sa^i^ton^ and 
 Authority^ accordtrg to his own Ptrfuafion. This makes indeed fuch a SanBion to 
 become a Law^ but does not alter thg Nature of Things, nor oblige the Confciences of 
 SubjeHs^ unltfs they com under the fame Perfuafwns. Such Laws have indeed jhe 
 Operation of all other Laws ; but the DotJrines Authorized by them have no more 
 Truth than they had befcre^ nithou* any fuch Publicafion, Here's a Limitation^ 
 you fee, nith reffeO; to the Law of God -^ and thofe words;. The Prince^ or 
 LegiJJattve Power^ are a Limitation, with refpeB to the Conjiitntion of States^ 
 or Kingdoms, 
 
 You fay, The Apology made for the Irregularity^ in the Faflage quoted from 
 ihf: Btfiwp, (Jrivs He meant only the 'Prince^ not in ConjmElion with the Three 
 Eftatesofthe Rc.dm. Suppofe now, for once, that the Bt^op ( though His 
 Exprcflions be General, and applicable to All C onftitutions) mt^r\ti\i^ King 
 of England^ acfling after that manner in the /?e/<9rw^rw« ^ we fhall find thar 
 the FM is true, and the Right indif^^utable, though irregularly exercis'd : 
 but this can no m.ore juftifie the Proceedings of a late Reign^ than a true Rule 
 can all the AUftakes in applying it. 
 
 Your next Paragraph I have Anfwei'd already. 'Xis an Extravagance, to 
 rail againft any Rnle^ or Order ^ for the Abufes of it ; being they depend not 
 upon it, but upon Mens Wickcdnefs, and Felly. But this is not the firft 
 Presbyterian Argument that hath been ufcd in Wniings,of the like Nature with* 
 the Prefatory Difcourfe, ® . . 
 
 K 2 Thofe 
 
Thofc iriilanccs from Scripture in the XXXVIIth jdrtick you Ihould not 
 only have affirni'd, but provM to have been /^/y2y cited^ arid applied. Till I 
 know what you have to fay, I know not wh?t I have to anfwer. And fo 
 likewifc yoa fhocld have told us thofe Regular Synods whofe Advice and Con, 
 £r«rre;;rf you blame the i^/;/'.o/? for palling by. This might, in jiillice, have 
 been expeded from you: and yonr leaving it undone, looks as if you fpoke 
 at ajkxnture, upon .an Imaginary Scheme you have laid in your Head. I am 
 fure, except \ ou allow fuch a Power in the Pi incc, upon Extraordinary Occa- 
 lions, without the Advice and ( oncurrcnce of a Rt^uUr Symd^ you cannot 
 juftifie the Proceedings inthQReform^tijn. And them youdo jiilttfie, and yet 
 allow fuch irregularities in them, as we (hill fee by and by. 
 
 You need not ask His LordJI}!p''^ Leive to fay what you do. His LordiUpml] 
 allow it generally to be true, and rcqullitc that they Ihould, and always but 
 when there's fuch a Good to be done, which cannot be done the RtghUr Way, 
 as will balance the Irregularity, Re gives as much Authority and Force as 
 you can to Chfiom and RegitUri:y, ard fuppofcs them to yield only to a 
 Necejfity-j in which they mu.T; be Hep.: over, or bioke through, or clfe 
 fomethingof greater Concern and Importance be loll. 
 
 Thus much for the Right. Now wc come to enquire whether in any Part 
 of our ReformAtion there were any fuch Irregular Steps made, as to require fuch 
 a Juflification. Tlns^ you fay, the Btjliop juggefts^ and t[\^\xh^ derogMts jrom 
 she Honour of the Refcrmution. This is a fad thing, tha^t either all Proceedings 
 muft have been Regular^ or elfe our Reformation Difhonourable. If this Con- 
 fequence be NecelFary, the Honour of the Reformation mud fink. For no Man 
 gandeny, and you your felf grant, there wqre fome fuch Steps ; and, if you 
 did not, might be foon brought to confefs it, when almoft every Action of 
 KingHemy^ by his Fie ar- Central^ in making Canons, or Injuncftions, without 
 going the Round. dom Way of Convocation ^ and thofe in King Edrrard\ Reign 
 iikewife are fo. evidently againfl: you. For my part, 1 can't fee how the 
 Honour of -the Reformation is at all touchM by the Irregularity of thefe Aclions, 
 fmce, humanely fpeaking, there could have been no Reformation without it. 
 Twas an happinefs there were no more \ but had there been, upon the fame 
 Grounds, it had been no Diftionour to yield to NecelTiCy. 
 
 You fay. What moft redounds to the Hohour of our Charch^ is^ the having had 
 aU things tranfa^ied in a more regnlar w.iy^ than perhaps in any other Reformed 
 Chnrch xvhatfoever. Who will deny this ? Not ih^fifljop^ whocxprefsly fays, 
 That We had been lefsforc'd to go out of tU heattn-Road than They. Things^ ^eve- 
 'rally /peaking y you fay, were carry'' d on according to the ancient Rules of Synodic al 
 Debates^ andDeciftons, Here you acknowledge ^// things were not: and if 
 your perhaps^ and your generally fpeaktng^ don't am.ount to as much as the 
 Stjhop fays, to derogate from the Honour of the Reformation^ let the Reader judge. 
 They hew^ fays He, that though they had been lefs forced to go out of the beaten- 
 Path than others^ yet all things among themfelves had not gone according to thofe 
 Rtdes^ that ought to bt Sacred in Regular Times, What jullify 'd their departure 
 
 from 
 
 ( 69 ) 
 from thofc A'lethod?, in thofe fewer things, was Neceffty : And, fuppofing 
 there had been the km^Necefity fordoing it in more; there had been no 
 help, they mud hive yielded. 'lis your unhappincfs, to do, what you blame 
 th^Btftjopfory and Truth f(^rces.y6u to, againft yonr own Accufation. And 
 this you do, as before, fointhis parricularly, where you fay as much as the 
 BifJwp^ to bring us upon the Levdwith other Churches-. 
 
 As for your next Paragraph, 'cis merely the Imagination of your own 
 Brain, without the leaft Light of Hillory : The Convocation bore a Confiderable 
 Par t in the mosl tnat trial Steps that were made towards the Reformation. It fignifies 
 not whether they did or no-, for, if there were ^^^ in which they did not, 
 thofe were Irregular. But 'twould be worth your while to Ipecifie fome of 
 them till Queen Ehz^uheth^ and to give us fome of the Canons they made ; to 
 make. out, that they fram'^d the Articles^ and the LrV/ir^^. Indeed, as the 
 Re'ormAtwngvc\^ nearer to a Head, the ^/z/^ny' 'in Proceedingg.encreas'd, 
 and the ConvocAtion grew to have a greater Hand in it •, but beforgnthat, m^ny 
 things properly belonging to them, and in Regular 1 imes their due, were 
 traniacted without them : and had the Bifl^op any where taken notice^iiore 
 than He does (for t\\Q Honour of the Reformation) of thQ Convocation^ it had 
 been fo eadly refuted, thdt, inftead of doing the CWr^ Service, He had 
 forfeited his own Honour and Credit, *• 
 
 His Hijiory is not in this Place to be defended : It is far above your weak 
 Defigns to kllen it ; and it hath flood the Attack of as ready a Heart, and a 
 much abler Hand than your own, without any material Prejudice. But it's 
 no wonder that it fhould not take much notice, as of a Leading thing, of the 
 ConvocAtionai Dectfions you fpeak of, fince they are, for the moft part, merely 
 the Fancy of your own Head, perfed Romance, to be met with no where, 
 except, perchance, iw fome well kept and inacceffible Extra<fls. * 
 
 In your next Paragraph, after a fmall fault, of the Convocations co«y?4«f/;i 
 Meeting and Sitting with the Parliament^ you blame the -g//fco;?, for giving fo 
 fliort an Account of the Convocation in the Year 1552. which, whether it 
 don't comprehend all that they did Material as to that of which he was 
 writing the Hiftory, wearetofec by and by, befides P^Z/^o^s Story, which 
 he has in another Place. 
 
 You then come to fet the Hiflorian againfl the Expofitor^ and make him fliow 
 that the Church did not lie under that Fatal Neceffity^t he In trod uft ion fftppofes it did^ 
 that tl)tre was no w^nt of a Regular Decifton of Matters in Synod -^ and that our 
 Religion was not Parliamentary. If you mean, h^ i Parliamentary Rdigion, 
 that it was Settled by AEt of Parliament -, let the Papifts objeft it, if^hey pkafe, 
 'tis what every One's glad of: If you mean,^nd they objeft, that many 
 things were done by the Secular Power, and the Parliament, before they;, 
 had gone through the Convocation ^ 'tis not tobedeny'd, with any Coun- 
 tenance, in all the^ri? and Leading Steps towards a Reformation ^ nor need, 
 it, becaufe fo ealily to be defended, from the Neceffuy of a Reformation^ and 
 the highell Improbability, not to fay more, of carrying it againft a i^rry^ 
 
 which) 
 
-*>• 
 
 ( ?o ) 
 
 rhicb, wlioever fays was not then the major part of the Cler^y^ mull know 
 iiUlc of chat Time.* But let's try your Comparifon. 
 
 You give us the Bijlop's Words from the 5th and 6th Pa^es of the /«rro- 
 JuBior: ; and chop off the words as you think fit^ none indeed very material, 
 bu< fome of them as I (how'd before, Explanatory. 
 
 Here^ you fay, TwoThwfs feemvery obvious-: I. That the Englifh Clergy 
 xvc,'e fo govern d by thar Intertst that a major f.irt of their Reprefematives in Convo* 
 nation could nevtr have bnn brought to Confem to the Articles, which were prepared 
 in order to a Lf^ul EfiablifhmeKt of the Reformation. Thc^Btfliop only fays, That 
 chcy cOuW not have pafs d by the Methods that are more neccflary in Regular 
 Times^ and therefore they could not beoffer'd ^t firfi- to Sy?wds^ or Convcca^ 
 mm^ and therefore were Prepared by fome few Men. 2. That for want of 
 thof, which coiiid not be expelled wuhont a Miracle^ the Article^ were PnblijlPd by 
 Regal Authority. An 'Apology is made^ from the Necejfty of it^ for this way of 
 FrQceeding.'^ThQ Apology is made for their noL being olicr'd at fU co the Con- 
 vocation. And 'ds plain, from what was done in other refpccls without them, 
 and from what Dv.Wake fays (pag, 599. of his State of the Church) that the 
 Archkijlop d'ld^ in this of they^m//f/, before they came into the Convocation, 
 He did btjeech the Council to prtzail irnh the Kirg^ to give Authority to the Btjhops to 
 caAfe their refpilfive Clergy to Subfcribe them •, thai He thought the Kingh Au- 
 thority, in thofe times, fufficienc, withouuhe Concurrence of the Co;/wr-;i- 
 tion ^ that He had^Sufpicions that the Articles would not pals the Convocation!^ 
 3t kail, not unlefsthey were afraid that, if they did not Agree to them, they 
 would bo Enafted by the Rtgai Authority without them. You go on — \Vm 
 would not^ after thi^^ imagine that our Articles were Commanded to be SnbfcriPd to 
 by the Regal Authority ordy^ whether the Clergy Itl^dt^^ or not -^ rfWr/;? Articles 
 themfdves^ framed by the fame Regal Ainhonty ^ a>^d the Clergy i;i Convocation^ 
 had nothing to do^ either tn the Compoftng them^ or Agreeing to them ? That our 
 Articles- were framed by the Regal Authof tty^ and that the Clergy \\\ Convocation 
 had no hand in framing them, is fo ndtorioMly plain, that it need not be 
 proved : That they were Publifh'd by the Regal Authority ^ and that that gives 
 chera all the Force they have, is as certain : That they were Ag' ecd upon", or 
 to, \Ti Convocation^ is plain, from the Tide of them ; but many that Agreed 
 to them did not l:ke them, nor would (though upon fome Confidcrations, 
 as in other things, they Agreed to them ) have framM <hcm, as they are, had 
 they regularly began in Convocation^ is probable, iiom vhat I fa id before, 
 and from what the major Part of the Clergy prov'd aftu waias. That the 
 Bijhop knew they Agreed to them, is evident from vvhat you quote out of His 
 -We/?ory concerning it ^ but He mightnot think tlial r^^^Y Agreement was any 
 part of the Authority they were Enaftcd by, feeing fome thingv w^re Enafted 
 by the Regal Authority^ and afterwards rcquii'd to be Agreed ro, in Convoca^ 
 tton. All you can lay to the Bifr:op\ Charge, is, not putting into his Account 
 the Agretmentof the Convocation. JBut-that, it's plain, he omitted not with 
 any ill Defign ; becaufe He tells us of that Agreement in His Hijlory -, bccaufc 
 
 He 
 
 ( 7i 
 
 
 > 
 
 ^ 
 
 He had intimated It beiore m thofe words, firft offered ^ hecaiife ^cis in the 
 Tttlc of chofc A-ttcks : And, laftly, becaufe all the Authority of them proceeds 
 from the AV^ J Ena^ing them. He thought the %«/^my of the Pioceedin-s 
 in It was not very material to be mentioriM ^ feting'twas not exadly obferv'd 
 and many other things were EnaOicd without that Regularity, ^/e fhail have 
 more cccafion to talk o( this by and by, and thither i refer what 1 have more 
 to fay of It.* 
 
 You come now to compare what the Hiftorian fays to thic If H^ fay any 
 thing contrary to it, in plain terms, it would look hard on the ^^7/;Vsfide- 
 If He fay things thai feem, or may be wrcfted another way only, then CW- 
 Jitan Charity would obhgeiis to interpret the Places foas to make them agree 
 and r^ How a Biilnp to fpcak conHftently, if we can ; efpecially confideringthac 
 He did not think or intend to contradid any thing there faid, mthtlntro^ 
 'dultton, as we may gather from a Difcoitrfe, much of the fame Nature with 
 this in the fntrodutUon, m the Preface to the Second Part of that Hikory 
 where He appears to have been of the fame mind then, that He is now. 
 1 he Convocation, you lay, had a Hand /^ r^e Reformation under Kini\\tmy 
 rie was the word Man you could have picked out; One would have thought* 
 for your Purpofe^ feeing He fonotoriouflydifregarded all the Regular Me' 
 thods of Synod ical Debates, and Decidons. What Foundation that Leading 
 Doanneof the King's Supremacy had from the Alts'of Convocation^ and how far 
 uwasEflabliJJPd by //;f f^^;;o/</ Aft of Submiflion, is too well known, to need any 
 Proof. And how that A^ was forced from them, upon their running into a 
 Praemunire, in Afting againfl: the ATiat/s Supremacy before Settled, is as well 
 known. I luppofe, by what you fay afterwards, that you don't count the 
 InjunEliom ftnt by Crommll to the Bijhops to be any Step towards the Reformat 
 tion, in which there fs not the leaft mention of the Convocation^ Decifions of 
 thjm. No more do you thofe, and the Homilies in the Reign of King Edward^ 
 but all pafsM the Convocation^ with you. Indeed, this is downright VVhimfy* 
 And in thofe very Points you bring to prove that the Convocation concurred 
 with the Parliament, or that their Concurrence was thought neceOary ( and 
 I believe it had been i:o, had it been likely to be obtained ) we Ihall find fome 
 that feem to prove jufl: the contrary. 
 
 You give us fome words out of the 40th Page, and fay. They Jhow a crood 
 Inclination, rather than an Averfion^ to what was propgs'd. Thofe/o;wahat inti- 
 mated this to the Archbiflwp might have a good Inclination, and yet the 
 major Part an Averfion to it : Or they might, perhaps, do it only as an Excufc 
 tor not Afting, 1 would fay. Debating ; for, it fe«ms, they were not trufted 
 with a Ltcenfe till after two Petitions, which looksa little fufpiciousofihem. 
 
 The former part of the next Paragraph I will Anfwec prefently : The 
 latter part was only to bring in that Refleftion, which you did not confideT 
 your own Cafe when you uttered ^ being it is much more parallel to it, than to 
 that to which you would apply it; for 'twas the w^/or Part of the Lower Hoaft 
 was oa the Side againft the ^formers. Sure,you could aot mean il to prof^, 
 
 %hat 
 
i* 
 
 ( 72 ) • 
 
 what you were abo::r, that they bad a good hclinatkn to the Rtformatton y 
 viz. bccmtfe the Popiili P^rty was fj frcvMent in both Houfcs, that Cranmcr had 
 no hopes of ^oi^g uny thing. 
 
 But noyv toinake the Ei'I.oj noi only contr^dift his IntrodiitiiQn^ but chc very 
 words he had fpoken the tine before, Thut the Popifti Party was Prevalent ; you 
 lay>thac they preienced fb«r Pe-r/V^'o;;/, that lionet at aIlluok,favottring of Fofery, 
 The I ft. ts^ That there might he Per fans hr.powcr V to Reform the^EcclefiJtfhcal Laws. 
 No doubt they felt an Inconvenience of having fucb a Power lodg'd in the 
 King^ as was bj that ^tt ^ whereby He Difpenfed witji, or Confirmed, 
 C<i«;»j by Kispwn Power ; and beiides too, they faw filings managM by 
 fewer Men than Thirty Two, among whom there were not any thac much 
 favoured Popery. The 2d. xvasj To Sit in Parliament ^ or, Tj^at no yit}s con- 
 cerning Matters of Religion might Pafs^ withont the Sight and j^fjtnt of the Clergy. 
 And this one thing fatisfies rae, thac they were not, what you think, inclined 
 to a Reformation : though 'twere np wonder if thefe Petitions were fome- 
 what that way ', becaufe Men can, and will'diflcmble, when they fee them- 
 felves not tiulled with thofe things, which they would be trufted with, were 
 they fure and fteady, and o'thers doing them more thoroughly than they wifli 
 them done. But it's a perfed Demonltration againft what you faid jult now 
 in the 78th Page, Th.it many things were done in Parliament^ but not without the 
 Convocation : and afterwards, That^ fwct a Convocation was Sitting.^ with an 
 ^rchhijhop at the Head of them Jo well endtn'^d.^ it is not at all likely that the Houfe 
 of Commons wonld have the fir ft Debating of fuch Points^ as is that of the Sacra- 
 ment, .^;?<:^ r/;^; 0/ rk Communion in both Kind?, without hearing what the 
 Clergy ha.l to fay upon fuch Subjcn:s. This is Argumtnt agiinft Aiatter ofFa^, 
 1 think the Reafon Ihould have ftood t'other wav : Th^t, (ince the Commovs 
 had the firll Debating of thofe Points, it's a certain (ign the j^rchbtjhop., who 
 was the beft Judge, however well enclinM liimfelf, did not think the Honfc 
 fo; otherwife He would have got them 2i Liccnfe bdo:z the Commons had 
 meddled with thefe things, and have lee the Debates have been firsl in the 
 Convocation^' as they fhould have been according to Regularity ; which, it is 
 not to be thought, He would ilep over, without an apparent Reafon. And 
 that the Matter of Faci was thu^', however nniikely you think it, is evident 
 ixomiht Petition it felf. For Men ufe not to Petition for that, which they 
 have in their hands ; and jf, as you fay, the Commons did not do thofe things^ 
 without hearing what the Clergy had to fay.^ (that is, the* Opinion of the Convo- 
 cation) *twould have been very idle and ridiculous, for the Clergy to Petition, 
 That nothing might Pafs in tht Houfe of Commons, without their Stght.^ andj4([ent. 
 And that they Bad no I.^e»/e to Aft, is likewife clear, beca.ufe in their Srcow^ 
 Petition they delire one. Can any One fuppofe, had the Clergy been well 
 difpos'd, that the ^rchbijhop ( He that knew them fomewhat better than we 
 can pretend, at this diftance, who yet will guefs, (from \tryObfcure Minutes^ 
 and from fome Petitions, which the Circumftances of Things forc'd from 
 them, and which look, at beft, but very little ihat way, that they were of 
 
 another 
 
 i 
 
 ( 7? ) 
 
 another temper than He fhow'd He thought them) Would the y^rchbifhop, 
 1 fay, have let them be without a Licenfe ? \Vould He, without any reafon, 
 have let the Commons break in upon the Regularity of Proceedings in purely 
 Religious Matters ? It is Incredible. Things were done as they were, becaufe 
 there was no likelihood yet of doing them as they (hould be. This will ferve 
 for an Anfwer to the other Two, being much of the fame Nature with riie 
 Fiift, and the defire of taking off the Six Articles. When they procured a 
 Licenje^ is not certain j but on the 29th 0/ November a Declaration was feat 
 down^a^c. as you quote it. This Subfcriptton oft'e Lower Houfe is aritecedent^ 
 you fay, to the Aa of Parliament. To its Patting, indeed, it is ; bat the Bill of 
 thQ Sacrament was Read Four times ^ and the Bi/l (or Receiving in. both Kinds^- 
 was brought in on November the 24th. which was all before the Convocation 
 meddled with it -, fo that it wasy?r/? Debated in the Houfe of Commons, lih 
 likely, that the Convocation, upon feeing that Things would be done in the 
 Houfe without them, made their Petitions ; .which,' looking pretty well, 
 gained them a Licenfe ^ and then, after they had one, they would not feem 
 utterly excluded, but yielded to fome things, by the ^rc;%kp's labouring 
 with them, and their ovj^n fear that things would have been done otherwife 
 without them. This is a Conjedure indeed, but withXome Shew of Proba^ 
 bility i as yours is likewife, without any. They Paf^dalfothat of the M^rrhgz 
 of the Clergy, before its coming into Parliament, You here have gotten an 
 Inftance and an half, and from them argue that they had a Hand in* ^// the 
 Steps were made. Whereas, for one fuch Inftance, you cannot but know that 
 you may h^ve twenty produc'd on the other Side, in which Things were done 
 by the Kings Authority, without Them. But at laft, what's all this to prove ?» 
 Why i There's a Difpute between Some that hate the Reformation^ and Us : 
 They objedl to Us,the Irregularity of our Proceedings,that the Reformation was 
 carry'd on, as begun, not h^th^ major Part oithz Bifhops2ini Clergy^ but by a 
 few feleited Bi'^iops and /^^J^^wj^, who,being fupported by the/Ci«^'s Authority, 
 did frame things as they pleas'd, &c. Now Dr. Burnet^ in his Hiftory, hz\\x\g • 
 found fomething like this, in his Preface Anfwers, from Che Neceflity oik-^^ 
 and defends the A^'s Authority : and the Bifliop^ not having yet forgot that 
 He wrote th^t Htjiory, 2nd Preface, talks much to thefame purpofe in the 
 Imrodutiun, You, on the other hand, for the Honour of the Reformation.^ will 
 have it fpotlcfs, zni Regular -., and, with the Help of Dr. //ey^, prove tha£ 
 ail things went on ^ccordingto the Steps that ought to be Sacred in fuchK^. 
 gular Times : Th.y werePafs'd in Convocation^ and by the Authority offW, 
 and the Kt^g, Enafted, and Publifli'd. This you prove, beyond all Difpute: 
 For, on the 29th of November^ after it had been twice fent them, they Agreed 
 to the Declaration about the Communion j and on the 1 7th of December.^ to the 
 Marriage of the Ckrgy. And fo, no doubt, they had a hand in allotbtvjas^ 
 and the Papifls have not a word to fay. 
 
 But to go on — - You fay, That as to what ^Alterations were made in the ^^ 
 Intervals 0/ Parliaments^ they were not of'ly tranfa^ed by the Archbifl)op^ withjthe 
 
 L ready 
 
 — r-—,--. 
 
(74 ) 
 
 naay Coirza.i-ce of the Parochial and Inftriour CUrgy ; hht in moft Particulars 
 (ii fhould luv. been ^zll^ or it's nothing to your purpoft) were little more (ano- 
 ther ic'fccning word) than the ConJecjiteKce (another) of things begun (another) 
 in ConvocMio?i, How you are forc'd to raince the Matter ? and yet, as 'tis 
 with all the alleviaung Expreffions, 'tis fo without reafon, focontrary to 
 pi^in Hlftory, that all I can fay, is, Wlien Men cannot find^ theymyft muke 
 
 things as they would have ti;]em ^-^^^ In the Tear : 5 5 i . r^e Articles began 
 
 to be thought oj\ which required feme Time to be digefted and argued by Divines - 
 aP'd irs [aid in the Htjlory^ Vpon theft Covfiderations that Worl^was delayed by the 
 ulrchbtfljop till this Tear^Jr? which they fet about it^ andfimjh^d it. before the Convo^^ 
 cation mc in next Febrnary. Not fofinifli^dy as to he theAEls of the Churchy you 
 fay, but brought to facb Perfe^ion^ as to be laid before the Convocation^ as thty were 
 the Tear following^ and Agreed to : ^s therefore for any Publication of them by the 
 Regal AHthority only^ before they were thus Regularly Agreed on^ or any juft Occafiori 
 given to apologia for the King^^ doing anyfkch things we have not the leafl Foot- 
 Jleps ofit^ &c. The^/7p%y i<, for the Jrticks not being ^rft offered to the 
 Convocation^ as they (hould regularly have been ; for, as for whst is fpoken 
 by the Bifliop>^ of the Kingh Authority, He would have faid the fame, had they 
 gone regularly through the Convocation. What Thoughts, fuppofe you, had 
 thofc of the King's Authority, who would have had the Archhijhop begun with 
 thQJrticles^^ as you may fee in the fame Page ? Or what Thoughts had the 
 y^rchbiflwp oiit^ ^nd ofihQC onvocatiomnd Clergy^ when He would have had 
 thei^% give Authority to ihQ Bijhops to make their C/er^> Subfcribethem, 
 before they came into Convocaticn ? &c. But we (hal! Ice a little fai ther into 
 this, and inroyour way of rcprefcnting Matters. Vou tell us, outof Fo.v, what 
 Anfwer Phthot gave about the Catechifm^ and the fame xvillfcrve for they^rtules: 
 
 and fo does Dr. ^. join them together, and give the fame Account of them, 
 snd the fame Authority to them: They were drawn up by a Grand Co^n^ 
 mttree^ &c. And is this the Regular W^y of having aity Matters pais thcCowo- 
 cation F Is it not Cuftomary, that is, Rigular ( for Cuftom is the Rule in the 
 Proceedings of any.Body ) for the Committee to Report to the Houfe, and the 
 Houfe to Agree to it ? And was there any thing in the Catechifm^ and fo, ac- 
 cording to you and the Doftor, in the ^Irticles^ like this ? Did the Catechifm 
 ever come into the Convocation? Mr. Philpot talks of no Gr rd Committee^ 
 he plainly means thofeCommiffioners to whofe Care the^<^ of Parliament had 
 trulted ihz Ecckfiaflical Laws : He does not fpeak one word of a Tacit Ac^ 
 c^mfctnct (which befide?, if 'twere towhat only aCc;w;7j;rreeofthe5yWdid» 
 IS cot RfguUr') any farther than ^sthtj^BofSabmiJfwn makes the Clergy give 
 fuch an one. 'lis w 01 ih while to fee how you icprefent this.artd how finely you 
 manage it. This Jccoum anfwtrs for the Articles, and for many other things of the 
 like nature. If it do fo, then, you'll give me leave to fay. That the Btjhof mghl 
 well leave out the Agreement of the Convocation^ fince the Catechifm never had 
 that Agrecrritnt, and the Articles arc upon the fame foot. Nay, the Catechifm 
 does not fo much as mention the Co^.vQiatwn in iis Title. And feeing Mv.PhUpot^ 
 
 however 
 
 / 
 
 n 
 
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 1 
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 D 
 
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 V. 
 
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 ( n ) - 
 
 however in the wrong, fpokeoftheCowwi/Z/o^^r/, the -5//?jop likewife mlghr 
 havepoffibly (though He did not) thought the like, and havcfaid they were 
 publiflu'd by Regal Jutlprity^ becaufe by ihQCommi [[loners'^ as Mr. Pi^tlfot 
 did give them the Authority of the Synod^ becaufe the Commiffioners had that 
 ■ by the ^S- devolved upon them. To go on -- Thus you reprefentMr.P/i?i/^ 
 for's Spieech ; That the Convocanonhad Impowtr'^d fevnalBifl}Qps^ and Othtrs^ to 
 •<?^ in their Steady and to draw up their Sence ^ which behg a IVorl^of Time^ might 
 be done in the Intervals of Parliaments^ and Convocations ; and the Ccmplkrs being 
 fuch as they had an entire confidence in^ and the Archbifljop at the Head of them -^ 
 and the jawe btmg ratiffd^ upon the next opportunity^ by a Tacit Acqttiefcence^ if not 
 otherwife^ and more Explicitly by a Formal Fote ; it ought not^ at this time of day ^ to 
 be objeSied againfifuch Compofitions^ as if they wanted the Regular Becifions of 
 Synods^ ^nd Convocations. Who obje^s any fuch thing? What time of day is 
 this, that One may not fay they were not at firfl oifer'd to them ? and where 
 had you thefeftrange Notions ? Mr. Philpot has not a word of them : but . 
 you have an excellent knack at turning Mens Words as you pleafe, and have 
 here made him fpeak for ever) thing from one end of ih^ Re fortfiation to t'other. 
 Let's hear his own words ;, The Catechifm beareth the Title of the Synod of 
 London lafi before thts^ although many of them which are prefent were never made 
 privy thereof^ in fet ting it foyth : for that this Houfe had granted Authority to make 
 Ecclefiafiical Latvs^ unto certain Ptrfons to be Appointed by the Kin£s Afajefiy 5 and 
 whatfoever EcckfiajiicalLawi they^ or the moft fart ofthem^ did fet forth, accord- 
 ing to a Statute in that behalf provided^ it might be well faid to be done in the Synod 
 of London, although f ah as be of this Houfe now^ had no Notice thereof^ before the 
 Promulgation: And now, if you^ll have the Articles on the fame foot, you fee 
 that, though the Name of the Synod he before them, yet the 5>^o^ might 
 
 never fee them, as they did not the Orfc^i/m. But more It^ plain, 
 
 from Dr. A. that the^rr/c/fj did not Pafs both Houfes^ as an AEl oiiheSynod 5 
 becaufe he fays this Synod had no Lie en fe from the King : and neither He, nor 
 any One elfe, ever yet contended for fuch a Power as to make Synodical Deci^ 
 fions^ and Pafs A^s without a Luenfe, So that, though they were Agreed to, 
 by the Perfons in both Houjts^ (pci haps not the majcr Part neither, for fo the. 
 Title bfthem will beai) yet they Faf^'d them not in a Synodic at \^2^)\ but only 
 as they were fent them by the Ktng^ to be SubfcribM to. 1 don't argue here, 
 as from truth, for 'tis certainly falfe that they had no Licenfe^'ov that the 
 AlrticUs are upon the famic foot with the Catechifm ^ but I argue from what you 
 love better, what Dr. A. and your felt fay. The truth, as Dr. Wake reports 
 it in the P/^cf cited before, is, that the -^rr/V/^; did VdkthtCojruocatiotj) and 
 fo the Bifljop Himfelf fays in the Hifiory. Had He repeated it heic, it would 
 have taken off indeed your Occafion ol Cavii ; but it's plain. He had no ill 
 Defign JTileaving it out, becanfe He tells it in His Hifiory ; nor was it material 
 to tel] it nere, any farther than He intimates it in thok vjoxds^at firfi of efd-^ 
 becaufe, hovit\cv Irregular thofe Axtkltsv^ii, it touches not r/30/e we Sub- 
 fcribe to, of which He undertooK the Expofttion *, becaufe the Difcourfe^ 
 
 which 
 
 ( 
 
 ♦ 
 
V 
 
 • ( 76 ) 
 
 wtiich He there introduces, mthc Re^aUiatJunt)^ 15 equally true, whether 
 they ^mt Regularly ox /rrfg/f/r/^) Enacted, and as much belongs to tbuvy^nif/w 
 
 we oowSubloibc, which arc pobii!li-d by the fame Authority, as to them 
 He W.1S fpeaking of. Your Biifineis bad been, to fhow, that that Difcourfe was 
 faUc, and dangerous^ (which you learnedly do, from the poffible Abufes of 
 
 the Power) ard roi be sngry with the Bi^-iof for chat omiH.on of a thing 
 
 vb'ch doc^'-o" 'ifRd or concern 05, andwhic'% t'r:- ^'^ ^^or, 1^ neither a Dc-' 
 ivHcero' bl i.»ie';t the^^!?-w.i?/()rf. K s Lordiiiphzd r 1.^ //n - rJ fovtoo, 
 and Iv-t: lt)^r^hf^l^.h<AThllfoth in HxsHi-to^j , lu: I kkc:1^iqK yoa!ook*d 
 intc H';n, c-cept iuil to fick ciu lorae things to t i: It Him witli, without 
 con^dtr'ng [heir connexion. Whether we do it in the Am ■:^c'*no, we 
 muH in fome things run to the Regd Juthoruy^ or dk wc can : d^^^end the Ke^ 
 'formation; and whether they who take that way of defendir^i:, or^hey who 
 follow yours, are moft likely to fecure its Honoii! , ice tne \V ci id ,adge. 
 
 Your laft Obfervation is, That fen- the Honour of the Rcfonr.ation, th 
 ■^^t!Op tills Hs^ That among themfeUcs ail t^Pig- had n^A gons according '. "^■-' a^J: c 
 tbat mglt to he Sacred w RegkUr T)ma and thcrffon: our Rijorm-^ . kftthc 
 Artuk of Ordination general^ having their Eye upon or^e^ Churches^ who thy 
 knew had hem Irregular in tljAt Pot^.t. Here you candidly make a RefiefUon, 
 as if the Stmop thought there was fom.c Flaw in our Reformation, tn the Point 
 of Oratrs '^ 2i\6 prudently pitch upon the Story of the xV*^^'i //e^J, which 
 the Bijhop, in His Htflory^ has fo fully fet right. Let but any One read the 
 Bifl:op^ and they'll fee He means no more, than that our Reformers did not 
 think it reafonable to condemn other Churches^ becaufe they failM in one 
 Point, any more than that other Churches (hould condemn them, as having 
 fail'd in other. And was this any more but Charity ? Would it have been 
 reafonable to have condemnM other Churches, and have obligM all that 
 enter'd into our Communion to do it, for not proceeding according to thofe 
 Rules, that ought to be Sacred in-Regular Times, in one Cafe, where they 
 were forcM out •, when we knew, there were fome things (and They might 
 xeturnituponlls) wherein We had left thofe Rules, by reafon of the fame 
 Force ? feeing that Argument which excufes Us in a leis, will likcwifc excoie 
 i Them in a more Important Matter ; Necejjity havng no Law, The Saying' 
 * is a Common one, and ib is your Argument ngainfl it ^ but the one is a Com- 
 mon Truth," and the other a ( ommon Sophifm ; and no One ought to con- 
 demn Che Rule, where truly appiy'd, bzcaulc h may be and is ■a!j!y. 
 
 Your Diicouric that reni--ns falls of it illf, if what I have fiid be true ^ 
 and thcBiJhop needs not ^oi^r Advice. 1 fh.m'c give you mine, but :!iy f/^^r, .■, 
 Th.it Cod would pj^r tnto yo.ir Htart tha' ^noff e^:ce!unt e*'^ '>' Ciiaiity^ and 
 therewith, having alread. writ*:c" ^r; iMf ..^mo'X out ofP.uivnLCj and quite 
 out of fear of bc'ng cai;M a Compendiotts A'^huo-^ I Conclude. 
 
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