BBTDIFG LIST wo V 1 1923
A
T S E S TV
O F T H E ^^ ? , i
Church of England^ Loyalty :
. R > v v ./ , ^ ; s ;
T
Whiggifh Loyalty i
....,.. ;. ,::1 : :;;. AND ^J,f|l ! :
Church Loyalty
COMPAR D.
"
Printed in the Year 1702.
a H
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a
o
fi
ANEW
E
OF THE
Church of England s Loyalty.
IN all the unhappy Contentions among
Parties and Factions in this brangling
Nation, the Champions of the Church
of England^ as they mud have themfelves
call d, have laid it down as the diftinguifhing
Mark of their Hierarchy, that it is her Pra-
Hce, and has be^n deriv d from her very Con-
ftitution, as well as Doftrine, to fix in all her
Members Principles of unfhaken Loyalty to
her Prince, entire and undifputed Obedience
to all her Commands, and an Abhorrence of
the very Thoughts of thole Hellifh Princi
ples, That it can beia^fu/cn any Account whatfoever
to rejift the eftablffid Power of their Kings.
B Twou d
C >
Twou d be endlefs to quote the Reverend
Dr. Bge, who from the Text in the
Rejifl not the Powers, &c. for whatjoever
Powers are, be ordained of God; whofoever therefore
rejifteth the Power, rejifteth the Ordinance of God ;
tells us, c That if the King fhou d by his
* Royal Command execute the greateft Vio-
< lence upon either our Perfon or Eilate, our
c Duy was to fubmit by Prayers and Tears firft
to God Almighty, to turn the Wrath of His
Vicegerent from His Servant* an^ by hum-?,
4 ble Entreaty to beg his MajefHes Grace and
c Pardon ; but to lift up the Hand againft the
c Lord s Anointed, or refift the Evil of PuniJ]}-
< went he thought fit to infli$<> tiiis Wre a
< Crime unpardonable either before God or
< Man, and a Crime, (fays the Reverend Dr.)
< which we.bleik Godr the very Principles of
< ^oiifcwr Loyal Mother, the Church of Eng-
4 land, abhors and detefts.
VLetJncendiaries, Phanaticks, and Bloody
4 Peace-breakingWhigs (fays another Learned
4 Divine) nourii-hi the Vip rous Principles of
4 Treafon andRebellion ,and let them meet-the
4 due.Reward of th/eir Factious Doings in the
4 Refentments of a Righteous, but Provok d,
* Nation : B^t God bepraifed 5 our Mother-the
* Church t)f England has always brought up
b ? ov 4 her
.
her Sons in an unfpotted Loyalty and Obedi-
; ence; none have been found lifting up their
c Hands againfl their Soveraign, or poflefiing
1 the Rights of the Anointed of God, &c.
4 The very Being and Life, the Original and
c Principles of the Church of England, (fays a-
* nother }oth of January Sermon) is Loyalty
< and Fidelity to God as the Immediate Su-
c pream, and to the King as the lively Image
* of Divine Authority, whole Power is imme-
c diately deriv dfrom, holds of, and is accoun-
c table to none but to God Himfelf.
To avoid Prolixity of Quotation, the Rea
der is defir d to accept of thefe as fufficient
Proofs of what I lay down upon this Conditi
on ; nevertheless ^ that befides the general Ap
peal which I might make to the Memory of
moft Men, I oblige my felf upon Demand to
produce Ten Thoufand fair Quotations out
of the Writings of our late Modern Authors
fmce the Reftauration ; wherein the Do-
trines of Non-reliftance of Princes, PaffiveO-
bedience, and the Divine Authority of the
Kingly Power, is own d and declar d to be an
Eflential Part of theProfeffion and Pradice of
the Church of England ; and upon this Foot,
which I hold to be lutficient, I think I cannot
becenfured if I take it for granted.
B 2 Now,
1-4?.
No.w,as this too much dividedNation has al
ways been compos d of two contending Parties,
thofe Par ties have been diftinguiih d, as in like
Cafes* by Names of Contempt ; and tho they
have often chang d them on either fide, as Ca
valier and Roundhead, Royalifis and Rebels,
Malignants and Phanaticks , Tories and
Whigs, yet the Divifion has always been
barely the Church and the Dijfenter, and there
it continues to this Day.
As the Church of England Party have boaft-
ed of their own Loyalty, fo they have brand
ed the Diffenter with Rebellion and Faction,
not only in their Nature, but in their ve
ry Principles; they have laid it down in their
Writings and Sermons, and Multitudes of
their ignorant Hearers believe it, that the
very Doffrine of the Dijfenter is made up of
Principles in their own Nature r tending to
ConfuftQn and Rebellion ; they wont be con
tent that we (hou d own there may be
Men among all Parties of bad Defigns, and
who wou d on all Occafious embroil their
Native Country, but it muft be woven with
the very Articles of Faith, and that tis the
Religion of a Diffenter to difturb Govern
ment, kill Kings, and oppofe Laws.
f
The Phanatical Enemies of our King and
6 Church (lays the Learned Dr. P n) drink
in Rebellion as Water ; tis the very Sub-
* ftance of their Schifmatical Do&rine to over-
whelm and deftroy ; and Commonwealths
and Confufions are the Dodrines they
* preacho r ;j
He that lays out one Groat with a DiiTen-
ter (fays the worthy Sir Roger in one of his
famous Obfervators ) contributes juft fb much
as- the Profits of that Groat amounts to in
Trade towards the Subverfion of the Monar
chy, and erecting; a Common wealth; for the
very Nature and Tendency of their frofeffion
is-d^ftru&iye of Kingly iPdwer, and the Go
vernment of tlie Nation; -d <
This bas been the Opinion of the Church
Q% England, both of themfelves on one Hand,
and of" the Diffenters on the . other Hand. I
fhou d be glad if Icou d only i ay r < /i . has been,
for we find tis ftiil too much their Opinion.
Let no Man lay that .the Author of thefe
Sheets i* ekher widening or keeping unheai d
the Breaches of this Nation ; for if Tcan make
it appear that there is really no Occaiion of
iuch unnatural Divifions ; and thit neither
the extraordinary Opinion of " themiel ves,
nor the Contempt of their Neighbours, as to
the
C 6 ];
the Matter f Loyalty, is a becoming Princi
ple; no, nor .a rational one neither: For
that as to Loyalty, Paffive Obedience* Non-
refiftaace, Jyc. there is really no great Diffe-
rence between one fide Qr other. I go as far
towards healing the Breach as any Man ; for
there can be no better way to end the Strife
OR both Sides, than to prove that neithef Side
has any juft Caufe to contend.
To examine the Matter on both Sides
%ms very ujfeful at this time, in order to
reconcile Parties, and to fettle the Univer-
fal Character of the Nation.
The Government of England is a limited
Monarchy, compofed of King, Lords and
Commons. Each have their feveral, their fe-
parate,and their conjundlive Powers; which
acting in Concert* make the Harmony of
the Conftitution. I fhall not invade the Pro
vince of thofe learned Gentlemen, who have
undertaken to fet forth the Branches of the
Conftitution in all their Powers, Limitati
ons and Prerogatives : Tis enough to fay the
Conftitution is known, the Government is
confin d by Laws, the Crown limited by Sta
tutes, and the Peoples Right confirmed by the
Conceffion of Ages.
To
. j 1 7 ,
To this Government, all Diftincirion of
Names let apart, I am of the Opinion all
Parties have in their Tunis been equally
Loyal : I was going to fay, equally Dill 03? alt
And if I were to ufe the Language of late
Times, it wou d be a very proper way of
fpeaking.
Affirming without demonftrating* is a&
abfurd way of arguing, and therefore it will
be needful to come to Particulars, and to es&-
mine the feveral A<5ts and Deeds~of both Jlr-
ties when the Kingly Prerogative has ihock d
or clafli d with the People.
In order to this tis needful to examine the
Date of the Difference, and ib to enter a lit
tle into Hiftory.
Ourfirft Reformation from Popery was in
the Days of King Edward the vVI. I call it:
the firft, becaufe twas under him that t lie-
whole Nation and the Government embraced
the Proteflant Refovm d Religion \ this -Pi-ote-
ftant Religion was e(tabliflrd^by J l^r 4 ZhT&^
King, and by his Parliament, backed with the
Force of Laws, and coniihrrcl by all the San-
tion of Authority it was capable of, and here
i?t began to be call d the etiBTch of Etibl
Sdtrte 1 enquiring Chriltians were for^iakii%
farther Steps, and caiTyni^ u oiri:htrllVfbrn^
toii
[8]
tiontoahigher Degree; and if that good re
forming King had liv d, his Zeal and Inte
grity was fuch, that there was no doubt he
wou d have gone on to perfect every thing he
had begun, as new Light or more Knowledge
had encreafed; but the Return of Popery un
der Queen Mary put a Stop to the Work in
general, and went very tar towards over
turning the whole Structure of the Reforma
tion.
Queen Elizabeth reftor d it again ; but as
{he was a Zealous Proteftant Queen, yet (lie
was not for fubjefting the Reformation to
any Amendment. Not that ftie-.believ d.it
perfed ; but Ihe was a Politick Princefs, fur-
rounded with Enemies that were not to be
dally d with,, and (lie was loth to fuppofe fuch
Defeats in the Reformation as were ak
ledg d, becauie twas to leflen the Reputation
of it, and confequently her Intereft in the
World.
Thole who infifted upon the further Refor
mation were then call d Puritans, becauie they
fet up for a greater Purity of Worihip, and
they ieparatedthemfelvcsfrom the^jkblilhxi
Churcij, becaufe, as they faid, their Conlci-
ences inform d them they cou d ferve God
more agreeable to his W ill.
TTT
I fliall not meddle with the Arguments made
ufeofonboth Sides, either to defend or ex-
pofe this Principle ; tis fufficient to acquaint
my Reader that this is the true Original of
the Diflenters : We are now to examine a lit
tle further back, Before this Reformation
there was nofuch thing as Church of England-,
it was then the Church of Rome that was the
eftablifh d National Church.
The Proteftants under the Titles of Lollards,
Wickliffians, Huflites, &c. what did they do ? Did
they, as our Modern People fay every Body Jkoud,
conform to what the Government comman
ded ? No, the prefent Church of England Party
were the Diffenters,the Schifmaticks and Pha-
naticks, in the Days of King Henry VIII. were
perfecuted for not coming to Church ; many
of them put to Death, and always treated with
Scorn and Contempt, as Enemies to the Go
vernment, Broachers of new Opinions, and
Contemners of Authority ; as in the Cafe of
that famous Proto-Martyr of Chrift s Church,
John Lambert, and others.
In the next Ages thefe come to have the
Power in their Hands, and forgetting that
they had Af6und it righteous in the Sight of
God to obey God rather than Man, they treat
thofe whole Confciences oblige them to diiTent
from them, with the fame Contempt which
themlelves had receiv d from the Rowan Go
vernment. C Thus
io j
Thus far they are upon even Terms, as to
Obedience to their Superiors.
The Diffenters have the firft Occafion after
this to (how their Submiffioii under extraor
dinary Prefiures. Qpeen Elizabeth dilcounte-
nanc d them continually ; and as good a
Queen as (he was, put fome of them to Death.
King James I. hunted them quite out of the
Kingdom, made Thoulands of them fly
into Holland and Germany, and at la ft to New-
England*
During the long Reign of theft two Princes
we find no Charge of Treafon or Rebellion
upon them; they bore the Difpleaiure of
their Princes with Patience and Paffive Obe
dience $ if I way be allowed that Ridiculous
Phrafe ; being perfecuted in one City, they
fled to another \ they bore illegal Prolecuti-
ons, and things contrary to their Right, as
Engtijb Men, but never took up Arms againfl
their Prince.
Under the Reign of King Charles I. the Cafe
alter d, the King and Parliament fell out a-
bout Matters of Civil Right, and Invalionof
the Liberty and B operties of the People, the
Puritans or Diffenters, call them what we
pleafe, fell in unaniraouily with the Parlia
ment.
And here tis worthy Remark, that the
firft Difference between the King and the
Englifi
L ll J
Englifh Parliament did not refpet Religion,
but Civil Property ; nor were the Majority
of the Houie Puritans^ but true Church Fro-
teftants, and Engli/h Men; who flood upon
the Rights of the People, as Englijh Men ;
and none were more Zealous in the firft Dif-
putes than the Lord Digby, Sir Thomas Went-
worth, and frach as were afterwards deep Suf
ferers for the King.
But the Parliament finding the Puritan
Party ftuck clofe to their Caufe,they alfo came
over to them when things came to a Rupture,
and fo the War begun 011 the Score of Right,
Invailon of Liberty, Breach of the Laws, Pri
vate Leagues, and Male Admi niftration - a
Game we have feen play d over again by the
very fame Church of England that have ex-
clairn d fo much againft it ; fo damn d it, and
fo damn d themfelves, by Oaths, Declarati
ons, Tefts, and God knows what, againftit.
Tis allow d here the Puritan broke thro
his Loyalty, and his former Obedience, and
fought his Way to the Liberty he demanded.
Well, the War ended to his Advantage, he
fubdued his Soveraign, and brought him to
the Block, to the Aftonifliment of the whole
World.
I wont dilpute here which or which Party
did or did not do it, but to give the Enemy
C 2 all
L J
all juft Advantage, I am willing to grani it
in the largeft Sence that the DifFenters, or
Phanaticks, or Whigs, call them as you
pleafe, did embrue their Hands in the Blood
of the Lord s Anointed, put to Death that
blefled Martyr, King Charles the L whom a
learned Divine, in a Sermon on the joth of
January before the Parliament, compares both
in the manner of his Sufferings, and the Peo
ple by whom, to our Saviour and the Jews,
and boldly runs on in the Blaiphemous ParaL
lei, to (hew that the Indignities and Suffer
ings of King Charles exceed thofe of Jefus
Chiift.
I think I have granted as largely as a fair
Adverfary can deiire ; for I have yeilded for
Peace- fake to feveral things which I cou d
fairly difprove.
Nor (hall I return to a Repetition of the ill
Ufage the Diffenters have received from the
contrary Party on this Account for above go
Years; the conftant Reproaches they and
their Children after them have met with
from thole Gentlemen, who on all Occafions
have ( as 1 hinted before) particularly taken
care to extol their own unfhaken Fidelity to
their Prince, till at laft an Occafion prefenjrs
to touch them in the fame moft feniiblePart,
their ^jgkt and Property ; and al<u ! their
Loyalty, what became of it ? Truly the Faith
ful,
L M J r. ^ .;
ly Obedient JUnJkakenly toy til Church, re-
turn d to the Original Nature of their Neigh
bours, and did the fame thing exactly which
the Whigs, the. Factious Rebellious Whigs* had
ddne before.
No, that s falfe, (fays a Difciple of Dr.
Sherlock s) we did not kill our King, we did
* not dip our Hands in Royal Blood, nor
c hurt the Lord s Anointed.
No, that s true* but the Lord s Anointed
may thank himfelf for that ; for my part I
think the Difference only lyes here ; the
Whigs in 41. to 48. took up Arms agairift their
King ; and having conquer d him, and taken
him Prifoner, cut off his Head, because they
had him : The Church of England took Ariiis
againft their King in 88. and did not cut off
his Head, becaufe they hadhim not. K.ingCharles
loft his Life, becaujehe did not runaway^ and his
Son, King James* lav d his Life* btcaufe^he did
run away.
Tis fuch a Jeft, fuch a ^Banter, to fay,
We did take up Arms, but we drd not kill
him : Blefs UA, kill our King, we iPQud rtof have
hurt a Hair of his Head! Why, every Bullet (hot
at the Battelof the Eoyne was. a, killing the
King ; for if you did not, twas becaufe you
cou d not hit him. : c f b idi bn B f r-
If a Highwayman fires at you upon the
Road> wheo -he isr taken, and brought upon
his
L L TvJ
his Trial, our learned Recorder, before he
pronounces Sentence of Death, harangues
him in this manner: And be/ides all thi : s, Sir y
you are plainly guilty of Murther \ for you not only af-
faulted this hontft Man, in order to take away his
Money , but you endeavoured to murther him for you
Jhot at him, in order to kill him ; and the Intention of
Murther is equally Criminal in the Eyes of God with
the Aft it felf.
Now who did we (hoot at at the Boyne ?
7/j true<> King James generally flood out of the way,
but who did we fhoot at ? What ! was our
Orders to fight againft both fmall and great, and
not againft the King o/Ifrael? Had your Bul
lets Gommiffion to (hew their Loyalty, and
not to touch the Lord s Anointed ? If he had
charg d in the firft Squadrons of his Horfe,
had you not kill d him if you cou d ? I think
this needs no further Proof.
Nay, if Arguments may be allow d to
have equal Weight on both Sides, the Whigs
have been the honefter of the two ; for
they never profelir aay fuch blind, ablb-
lute and undifputed Obedience to Princes as
the others have done.
It has always been their Opinion, That Go
vernment was originally contrived by theCon-
fent, and for the mutual Benefit of the Parties
Governed, that the People have an Original
Native Right to their Proper ty, the Liberty of
their
L . 5 J
their Perfons and Pofleffions, unlefs forefaulted
to the Laws>ihzt they cannot be diverted of this
Right but by their own Confent, and that
all Invafion of this Right is deftrudtive of
the Conititution, and diflblves the Compact
of Government and Obedience.
They have always declared, That they un-
derfland their Allegiance to their Governor*
to be , ytypjfolg they govern them according
to >the Laws of the Land; and that if Princes
break this Bond of Government, the Nature
of it is inverted, and the Comf litutioa ceafes
of courie. i&y*
Buchanan in Scotland* Mgernmn Sidney in:
England? have let their Names, and the latter
his Blood, to this Doctrine, and the Author o
the True-born Englijhman is worth quoting in
the Cafe,
~fi., r iiA - ;
The Governments mgirt when Juftice dies?
And Conftitutions are Non-Entities 9 .
The Nations all a Mob, there s no fuch thing
As Lords or Commons, Parliament or King:
A great promiscuous Crowd the Hydra lyes^
Titi Laws revive, and mutual Contract tiesi
A Chaos free to chufe for their own Share ^
What Cafe of Government they pieafe to wear.
If to a Kmg they do the Reins C3ntm<t r
All Men cue bound in Conference tojubmif,
t
But
L l6 J
But then that King muft by his Oath affent
To Ptift data s of the Government. .
Which tf he breaks, he cuts off the Entail,
And; Powe r retreats- to its Original,
f) True-born Englifhman, P. 74,
.sbf t ^tbsdi ) bruj r 3.m fro vox i-15
This has been the avow d Doftrine of the
Diffenters, and is indeed the true Sence of
the ConfHtution it felf ; purfuant to this
Doftrine they thought they had a Right to
oppofe Violence with Force ; believing that
whea Kings break Goronation Oaths, the
Soumn Compact with their People, and
encroach upon their Civil Rights , con
trary to the Laws of the Land, by
which they are fworii to Rule , they
ceafe to be the Lord s Anointed any longer,
the Sanction of their Office is vanifh d, and
they become Tyrants and Enemies of Man
kind, and may be treated accordingly.
Now tis no wonder to find People of thele
Principles vigoroufly withftanding their Go
vernors, when they tread upon the tender
fore Places of the ConfHtution ; tis nothing
but what they all along pretended to, and
declared to be their Opinion.
But to find the Church of -.England-Men*
Jwhofe Loyalty has been the"Subje6t of a Thou*
fend Learned Authors, and number lefs Ser
mons,
L 1 7 J
rnons, whofe Character and Mark of Diftin-
tion has been chofen more for her fteddy
Adherence and Fidelity to her Prince than
to God Almighty ; whofe Obedience to her
Monarch has been declared to be Inviolate and
Immovable ; and who pretends to be Famous
thro the whole World for her Faithfulnefs to
Kings ; for her, as foon as ever the King did but,
as it were, feemto aim at crulhingher Au
thority, as foon as he did but begin to call her
Clergy to an Account, and clap up her Gol
den Candlefticks for Difobedience ; for her to
winch and kick, fly to foreign Princes for
Protection, and rife in Arms againft her
Prince, O Pelinl O Brady ! OSberlockl O Homi-
nem\ O Mores \
Where s the worthy Dr. 6 ges Loyal
ty now ? His immovable Loyalty, that after
all his Abiblute Submiffioii is fo far from be
ing a Martyr to his own Dodbrine, that he
cou d notlofe a fmall Benefice for it ?
Where is the Famous Dr. 5 k ? Who
having flood out long in his old antiquated
Bo&riiie of Paffive Obedience, and confirm d
the Faith of his Suffering Brethren, by ftrong
and wonderful Arguments, at laft, at the
powerful Inftigation of a Wife, and a good
Sallary, has Sold all his Loyalty for a Mefs of Pot~
tage-> folving his Honefty with the wretched
Diftin&ion of a Power De Fafto, and a Power
D D
as if the Church of England s Credit
con d be fav d by fuch an impotent Shift, or
as if he cou d make Amends to the Prebenda
ry for his helping him to Sacrifice his Bre
thren to Father his Converfion upon reading
honeft Dr. Overall, whofe Dodrine, tis well
known, the Doctor knew before ; but that he
was loth Dr. South fhou d have the Honour of
bringing him over to fuch Old Phanatick
Principles ?
Behold the Loyalty of the Church of Eng
land; now let s examine their Confcience, as
to taking Oaths ; and if I do not bring them
to be all Whigs, and Forty-One- Men* or elfe
prove them all Perjur d, then I do nothing.
The Clergy, alltheMagiftratesand Officers
of theHoufhold, of the Civil or Military Go
vernment, were Members of the Church of
England^ other wife they coiid not be employ d;
the Sacramental Teft has done the DifTenters
this Kindnefs, that tis plain all the Mana
ging Hands in the Kingdom were Difciples
of the Church ; and as an additional Circum-
ffoiace, the Oath of Allegiance which they
took, and which was (God be praifed) of
their own making, bound them to that fame
Abfolute Blind Obedience which they pro-
fed, and confin d it to the King, his Heirs and
Succeffors,
- i> iu; o. ; i
l If
L 9 J
If this Oath be confider d literally, I am
content to be filenc d, when one fair Argu
ment can be brought to evade it ; the Decla
ration followed, it, wherein they deteft and
abhor that devilifh Dodrine, that tis lawful
on any Pretence wbatfoever, (Mark the Emphajis)
to take up Arms againft the King ; this (equal
to an Oath) is declared in the Prefenceof God ;
and the Particulars being material to our Pur-
pole, are as follows :
iji
/ A. B. do Declare and Believe that it is not Law
ful upon any Pretence whatfoever to take up Arms
again/} the King ; and that I do abhor that Traite-
rous Pojition of taking Arms by bis Authority againft
thofe that are commtj/ioned by him.
So help me God.
Notwithftanding this, you have taken up
Arms againft, depoled, and as far as you were
able, put to Death your lawful King, the
very King you fwore Allegiance to.
Now pray Gentlemen give Commi/ion to fame
worthy Champion of your Churctts Loyalty to bring
you fairly of of your Oath and Declaration if you
can ; and till you do, be not angry with
us for making one of thefe Conclufions
from the Premifes, and you ihall chufe for
your felves.
rtc>i3BJuq3.H xbfi3 baiihJi i jii ;..<?: riJte.O
D *
L J
Firft, That this Do^rine of Abfdute, ?alHve
and Non-refiffeant Obedience, is an Abfurdity
in it felf, contradictory to the Nature of Go
vernment and Allegiance, and politically in-
trodued by State Engines into the Church of
England, to abufe her, and betray her JVfem-
bers into unforefeen Mifchiefs and Inconve
niences.
Or5&co/7^That the Members of theChurch
of England are all Apoftates front the very
Fundamental Doftrine of their Church,
<Perjur din the Sight of God and Man, Noto
rious Hypocrites, and Deceivers ; who having
fworn Obedience without Relerve to their
Prince, are become Traitors, Rebels, and
Murtherers of the Lord s Anointed, and their
Lawful Soveraign j and not having the Fear
of God before their Eyes, have depos d and
traiteroufly dethroned their Rightful King,
God Almighty s Vicegerent, accountable to
no Earthly Power, Supream under God, Ab-
folute, and from Divine IhfHtution, Undoub
ted Sole Lord of them and their Country.
Or, Lafily, That they only are the true
Church of England , who according to their
avow d Profeiiion 5 have firmly adher d to their
King in all his Sufferings and Solitude, have
never: blacken 3 d their Conferences, nor gone
back from their Obedience, forgotten their
Oaths, nor fullied their Reputation with
the
the horrid Crimes of Ireaibn and Rebellion,
as they think it to be.
Now, as a fair Difputatif, I am willing the
Refpondeht (hall 1 chufe which of thefe three
Consequences he will ftand by in Behalf of
the Church of England s Loyalty ; but if they
woii d take the Advice of a. Friend to the Hc-
neft Part of them, I wou d recommend the
firft Conclusion to be fitteft for them for the
following Reafon.
i. Becaufe fince Humane Infallibility is
(and with good Reafon) difown d by the Church
of England, both for her felf arid every Body
elfe, it can be no Diminution to her Reputa
tion, when (he has found her felf 4 miftaken,
and impos d upon, toacknowledge her Error;
A wife Man will always own, rather than defend.
^. Becaufe tis my Opinion that their Way
is hedg d up agairifi any other Pretence, Eva-
fioii, or Reiervation, and therefore tis with
me the only thing that Charity can lay for
them, and muft remain fo, till 1 find fome-
thing elfe faid that is more to the Purpofe.
ButtheMifchiefof all is, that if this be.
honeftly acknowledg d (as is doubt lefs mofi true)
that the Church of England was miffaken,
arid iinposd upon, to elpo ufe a Senlleis Ab-
furd Prindple, cbitti-ary to the Nature of
Govern-
L 22 J
Government and Allegiance, .fac. why then
they come over to this^Conlequence.
That Government and Allegiance are both
Conditional, and Oaths of Subjects are always
tobeconilder d in a Conftru6liveSence > with
Conditions of Protedi on, and the like; a
thing which is without queftion the real
Meaning of all Oaths of Allegiance ; other-
wife Subjects may be put under an abfolute
Neceffity^of PerjuryV or State Martyrdom,
by often fwearing what may be impoflible for
them to perform.
The Town ofAeih in Flanders has been about
6 times, and the Town of Rhinebergh in Guel-
dre about 1 2 times, taken and retaken ; and
as often as new Matters had PofTefflon of the
Place, fo pfteh the poor Inhabitants have
Iworn^ to their new Lords: What can the
Meaning of fuch an Oath be, but that they
will be faithful to them fo long as they keep
Pofleffion of the Place ? Twou d be ridicu
lous to imagine the Impofers of the Oath re-
quir d any more.
If pur Zealous Churchmen worded an Oath
contrary to the very Nature of Swearing Al
legiance, let them anfwer for it who firft
made it, then took it, then broke it : But
the Nature of the thing can leave Room for
no other Suggestion that 1 know o
Till
Till then fome further Argument is pro-
duc d, it muft reft here, that the Church of
England was Miffekeu, Impofed upon, <&c.
that ihe finds when the Laws are Broken, the
Right of the People Invaded, the Root of the
Government Struck at. Church and State
Under mind, and Deipotiok Tyranny at the
Door, the Native Right ot the People is Su
perior, and they may ailume a Fower to Right
themfelves.
And fo we are brought back to Whiggifm and 41 ;
and, Gentlemen * there* is no Remedy for it, help it if
ye can.
Where now is the Difference between
Church Loyalty > ; arid, Whiggiih t Loyalty >
Roundhead or Cavalier, Churchman or Di
fenter, Whig or Tory ? All are alike ; they are
pleased, when legally Govern d; Qjarreirome
and Unruly, if Oppreft; and will Defend
themfelves, if Aflaulted; tho it be by their
Kings, or any Body elfe.
Why then is the Difference kept up ? Me*-
thinks they might all be Friends together,
for they are all alike ; the Diflenters have
been in their times as Loyal, and the Church
of England in their time as Dilloyal as one
another. Vice verfa ; the Diflenters have been
as Difloyal, and the Churchmen as Loyal as
one another upon the fame Occafion j they
have been both Sufferers, and have fubmitted
to
. C =4 ]
to the Government; ay, and to the Oppreffi-
ons and Perfecutions of their Superiors and
Soveraigns ; and again, upon the like Occafi-
ons, they have both of them been Rebels, if
their own Language may Jo far be wid , they have
both of them, in their Turn, taken Arms
againft, and depos d their Rightful and Law
ful Kings.
So that in my Opinion, with a Latitude to
all that think othermje to think a<; they pleafe,
the Church of England, and their Neigh
bours the Diffenters, have nothing to quar
rel with one another about, as to Loyalty ;
as to other Matters I have nothing to lay to
them, nor (hall not mingle it with this Dif-
courie.
Nor do I think! am writing a Satyr againft
the Church of England, nor is it at all intended
to be fo ; and to Hop all Pretences that v/ay,
I take the Freedom to fay here hf.s been no
Crime, the Church of England has been in the
right of it ; not in taking A mis, but the Er
ror was in Efpoufing, Crying up, and Pre
tending to a Blind Abfoiute Obedience to
Princes, be their Commands never fo Abib-
lute, Tyrannical or Illegal ; this neither
the Doctrine nor Practice of the Church of
nsland, nor of any Church or People in the
ChriftianWorldjever pretended to; and there
fore the Fault lay in thole People, who being
them-
themfelves Members of the Church of England,
fuffer d themfelves to be deluded by State Mi-
nifters, to fofter a Tenent upon the Church
which her Original Conftitution never pre
tended to, and then call it the Doarine of
the Church of England.
The firft beginning of their pretended Do-
clrine was found in Manwaring s and Sibt horp s
Libels, in the Days of King Charles I. cajoling
the King ; and then to pleafe him, endeavour
ing to wheedle the People into a Belief of the
Divine Right of Kingly Government ; and
affirming, that the King was not oblig d by
the Laws in the Admmiftration of the Go
vernment.
Upon this prepofterous Foundation they
built the Illegitimate Structure of Abfolute
Undifputed Obedience; for if Kingly Power
were once prov d to be immediately deriv d
from Divine Authority, Abfolute Obedience
wou d be aConfequence 110 Body cou d dilpute,
fmce the fame Obedience without Referve
wou d be due to the Delegated Power, as to
the Power Delegating.
And tho* this is a Point eafily enough con
futed, yet being willing to kgep the prefent
Dilpute within as fmall aCompafsaswecan,
I think our Argument has nothing at all to
do with it.
Whether Government be of Divine Origi-
~ E nal
L 26 J
iial or not, feems not the Queftion here; for
if it be not fo, then, as before, the Church of
England have been Miftaken, andlmpofed up
on ; and if it be fo,then the Church of England
has trampled under Foot their own Doctrine,
turn d Rebels to God, and Apoftates from
the Faith they have profeft, have Sacrilegi-
oufly and Traiteroufly taken up Arms again ft
their Prince, aflaulted the Lord s Anointed,
rejifted the Powers which are the Ordinance of God,
depofed their Lawful Sovereign, broken their
Allegiance, and conlequently are a Parcel of
Periurd ,R^beh ; every Jot as bad as the worft
Roundhead Regicide, and Rebel of the Year
Forty One.
What more or lefs can be faid I profess I
know not, and am in great Expectation of
fomething new in the Matter; for I cannot
find in all the Writings I have met with any
thing to contradict it.
The bringing Government and Obedience
to the proper Circumftances of mutual Com
pact between King and People , feems to
me to be the only Method to unravel this
Skein of entangl d Principles ; the Nature of
Government ha,s made it the neceflary Con-,
fequence of all Argument relating to Power ;
and I cou d give Inttances in all the Nations
in the World, that fome time or other, even
the Right of Succeffion to Government, which
* muft
L 2 7 J
muft be as f acred a* the Power, has been Interrup
ted and Limited by the People, in caie of Ty
ranny and Illegal Governing ; and every Na
tion, and this among the reft, has oftentimes De-
pos d their Princes for the Prefervation of the
State, when either Incapacity for Govern
ment , Tyrannical Usurpation , or other
Male- Administration, has been the Cafe.
But thisl think allo needlefs here; everyone
that is vers d in Hiftory can read the nume
rous Examples in the Roman, Grecian and
Perfian Hiftories, even Sacred Hi/lories, where
Kings were more particularly of Divine $(igbt than
anywhere, are full of them; the Hiuories of
Spain, Portugal^ France, Lombard), the Empires
of Germany and Mufcovy, even the Papal Chair,
have luffer d Convullions and Revolutions,
the Depofmg and Difplacing their Soveraigns,
when the People s Good, which M> and ever
was, the Soul, the Center** the End, and the Caufe
of all Government, came to be in the Difpute.
But to return to the Principles of the Two
Parties we are now difcourfmg of; theWhigs,
as before, have always aflerted this to be theiir
Notion of Government and Governors; and
the Church of England, however fome among them
have topt an empty Notion upon them, have all a-
long, and now at laft once for all, own d it by
their Practice,
E z That
2O
That Kings when they defcend to Tyranny,
Dijfclve the Bond, and leave the Subjeft free.
True-born Eng.Man, P. 47.
o
The Aft for the further Limitation of the
Crown part in the laft Parliament, and the
Right of the ?eople therein Declar d and Re-
cogniz d, I wou d ask my Opponent whole
A <3 and Deed it was ? Will they lay it was
a Whiggilh Aft, made by a Phanatical Houfe
of Commons? I dare fay there wot not Ten Dif-
/enters in the Houfe ; let them defcend with us
into Particulars, let them draw out a Black
Lift of Members, who in that Loyal Honeft
Enghih Parliament gave their Hands to the
laft Settlement and Declaration of Right, and
let us tell Nojes, and put a Brand upon the
Phanaticks among them.
Will they tell -us it was a Phanatical Parlia
ment that let the Crown upon the Queen s
Head ? I hope they will own Her Ma/efty
and their LordOiips the BiOiops are part of
the Church of England; for if the Head and
the principal Members are not, we know not
who are.
Will they tell us that Sir E. S. Sir B..S.
Sir J-. B, MY.H -y, SirC + M-ue, and
a Hundred more of that Side, were Whigs
and Commonwealth-men ?
How
.
How comes it to pals in England that no Pa-
piii can inherit ? Divine Right ought to fuper-
cede ail Precautions, and the young Prince o/ Sa-
voy,not the Houfe 0/Hannover,ought to reign
with a NonObflante to all Humane Limitation,
if all was from Heaven : Where are our
Right-Line- Men now / Why, truly the
Reaibn is plain, the Church ^England, People
of England, a Church of England Parliament of
England^ have thought fit to declare, that for
the Good of the People, to which all ^(ight of
SucceJ/ion to Power wuft give way<> becauje from them
all Power it felf does derive^ and by the Voice of
that People (in which Authority fufficientis
Legally Grounded) it is TJnanimoufly agreed,
that we will not have a Papift to Reign over m.
All this is too plain to admit of a Difpute ;
and now to me it feems Prepo-f ierous why any
Men (hou d keep up the DifHntion between
Parties as to Loyalty, when indeed there is
no manner of Difference in the Cale.
I have talk d feveral times of Bearing, Suf
fering, being Perfecuted and Opprels d, as
the Difienters in their time have been more
than enough, and again in their Turn the.
Church of England have been 1 erlecuted too ;
ft G J,
tor as I noted before, they were once theSch/f-
maticks^ the Whigs, zndt\iQT>iJfenters. Now I
think tis not very foreign to my Argument,
to examine whether of theT wo behav d them-
felves
C 30]
felves under their Sufferings with the great-
eft SubrniiSon, who Ihow d nuft Ablblute
Obedience to their Superiors, andwho/r/h or
oftenefl rebelled againfc their Lawful Sovereign.
The Proteftants under Henry VIII. were the
firft Diffentersj they were kepr Under, Per-
fecuted, and put to Death as Rebels and Schii-
maticks. Now upon due Search it will be
found, that under the Protection of Two Pro-
teft ant Queens, Wives of King Henry VIIL
they had more than onceform d fuch Intereft
at Court, and in the Kingdom, as to begin to
be formidable to the Popilh Powers then reign
ing ; and the Pall of the Lord Cromwell was
thought a neceffary Policy in King Henry, to
prevent the Plots of the Phanatical Church of
England Heretics ; along Account of which
may be read in the Life of that Prince.
King Edward the VI. a Zealous and Pious
Prince, made no Scruple for the Propagation
of the Proteftant Church of England, of
which he was the Glorious Founder, to fet
A fide the Lawful and Undifputed Succeffion
of his own Sifters, to Eftablifh the Crown
in the Lady Jane Grey, who he know wou d
carry on the Work of Reformation.
There s an Infiance of the Zeal for Succe/ion in
the Right Line* in the Firft Proteftant Head that ever
the Church of England bad.
After
,
After this, the Gofpellers, that is, the Church
of England hoteftants of Suffolk, having forne
Sence of Injury done to the <princefs Mary,
and willing to have the Succeffion go on in
the Right Line, provided they cou d both
Prelerve their Religion and Loyalty too. Ca
pitulate with her, and Promiie to iland by
her, provided (he wou d Promiie to Preferve,
and make no Alteration in their Eftablifh d
Church of England.
Here the Church of England Men own d
the Liberty of their Religion to be Su
perior to their Loyalty to her ; and that
they had a Right to Submit, or not to Sub-
/ mit, as their Liberty was, or was not, Se
cure ; and accordingly Conditioned with her,
before they wou d Acknowledge her to be
their Queen.
And we fee how Heaven punifh d them for
venturing on the Word of a Prince when,
their Religion and Liberty was at Stake,
In this Queen s Time the Church having
been again Supprefs d, and Popery Ereted 5
Sir Thomas Wyatt-> an honeft Church of Eng
land Proteftant, with a very good Body of
Men, took up Arms againft their Lawful
Prince, for breaking her Word in Defence of
their Dear Religion, Eftabli/h d by .B/e/ed King
Edward, which were the very Words of the
Manifefto they Publifhed : The Londoners,;
.
with 800 Men, fent by the Queen agamil
them, thought it no Treachery to Ueiert
their Lawful Popim Queen, and go over to
their Proteftant Church of England Brethren.
We have nothing to do with the Jnrtifica-
tion of this Fad ; tis fufftcient that ib it
was, and that thefe were Proteftants of the
Church of England, in the firft and pureft
Part of their Principles, and let them juftifie
the Fad if they pleafe.
Queen Elizabeth Succeeds, and then the
Church of England (hone in its Meridian Glo
ry, and then V ew U P ome who all ^ ln
*: \ I fad before, at a further Reformation; and
the Church refufing to hearken to it, form d
anew Party of Diflenters, and theie were
call d Puritan^ and fmce that Phanatuks
Now I Challenge the Defender of this
Caufe to tell me one Difloyal Aft, one Mot
a2 ;amftthe Government, one Difturbance of
the Civil Peace, among thefe Diffenters, from
the beginning of this Queen, xvhich wastht
own beginning, tothekeignof KmgCbarles
which was a continued Term of 80 Years,
and yet, during this time, they luted all
manner of Indignities, Reproaches, Finings,
^prifonings , Bahiilmimt , Conhications ,
and Corporal Punifhments.
So that hitherto thePaffive Obedience of the
Diffenters hath far exceeded that of theChurch
33
tt Thefe had but Five Years Oppreffion under Queen
and in that Five Years they once Capitulated with their So-
gn to make her aueen upon Conditions and once took Arms
s sspstt E
hf (Sered 7 ail that their w cruel Brethren of the ; Church of
"oYeaTs Sgether exercis d that Paffive Obedience which they never
Pr AUa ft theV took Arms -, and .when they did, they did it to
iSffJStS before them, fubdued Monarchy, cut off their
- return to their oil OJK
nel, and 30 Years more the Diffenters endurd another Egyptian
Servitude, were Petfecuted, Punder;d, ^&JSSS^
Plagu d with Impofitions, Stigmauz d with a ThoufandReptoaches v
their Meeting houfes Demoli{h d, their Eftates Confifcated, then
-S-S^JS K
notwithftanding all ihefe Oppoikions.^- ; 7 ^ , n(1 ,,.
After this comss King James the Second to the Crown, and .he
ttfd e ^^ale and,44er with Invafion of Liberty, falh upon
n ^S^^^rS^ ^ (he ought t S
done-, Defend her Liberty and Religion by Force, afH^ W*
Invafion and Tyranny ; nothing but what all the Nations in the
World have done, and wou d do again if they cou d
The only Error we Charge upon the Church of EngLmd, wa.
fitting up Pretences of what they .-really wqu d not Prate crying
up themfelves for Fools, when we knew they were Wifer Men,
calling themfetves Humble Slaves, but when the Trial came, proving
Stubborn, RefraQory, Liberty-Mongers, even as bad as the worlt
Whig or Phanatick of them all,
ill
L 34 J
For the future, then if a Humble Moderator might be permitted
to give Advice to the Gentlemen of the Church of England it
fhou d be in thefe fhort and friendly Terms.
Pray Gentlemen never be Impofed upon, to pretend to more
Loyalty and more flavifh principles than you intend to Pra&ice
Never pretend to more Obedience than your Sovereign
Requires. Our Late King, who I am not aihanrd to (how as
a Patera for future Ages, required 5 and Her Prefent Majefly, without
Affront to Her Ma je fly s Authority it may be faid, requires no
further Obedience from ihe People of England than the Laws of
England requires.
To Govern according to Law, is a full Satisfaaion to the People
and to Obey according to Law, is a full Satisfaftion to the Sove*
reign. The Laws are the Teft both of the Royal Authority and of
the Subjeas Obedience ; and to pretend to more Obedience than the
Law requires, is abufing your Prince, and abufing your Selves
Never be aiham d to own with your Brethren the Whigs that von
are willing to Submit to Authority, but that you expeft to be
govern d according to the Laws and Statutes of this Realm
Let the Scotch Motto be fet upon your Liberties, and according
to your ccnftant Practice, as well as ours: Let all Men know you
deiign to make it Good. Nemo me Impune Laceffit.
And as it really never was the Principle of the Church of
England, nor were a hundreth Part of the Members $ the Church
tainted with it \ fo for the Future tis hoped you will not fuffer fuch
to Mingle themfelves among you, or to Aft in the Name of the
Church of England, who pretend to a Blind Abfolute Obedience to
Princes.
And Loft fa Gentlemen, a little more Modefty to your Humble
Servants your Proteftant Brethren, the Diflenters, or Whigs I mean
as to Matter of Loyalty : For in Truth, Gentlemen, we do not fee
any Reafon you have to Reproach us in that Matter, you being
in every Particular as faulty that way as your Neighbours.
FINIS.
