racter of the Epifcopal College or our high-Priefts, extremely hurtful to the Church, and detrimental to the Chriftian Religion, which are received for Law, and lawful, which ought not to be fo in any Chriftian State. Such as these that follow: That Patronage, or the Right of presenting Clerks to Cures, is a Lay fie. That Tithes and Offerings may become Lay-fees. That Bonds of Refignation are lawful. That the King is fupreme Ordinary. That Canons made by the Church Regent, or Epifcopal College, oblige not Chriftian People in Confcience, without or against the King's Confent; and that they ought not to be received by them as Canons, cr Spiritual Laws of the Church, without his Leave, or an Act of Parliament. That Kings, though Subjects of the Church, as well as other Men, ought not to be excon municated, bow wicked foever they are. That a King, by an Act of Parliament, may deprive Bishops, and diffolve the Relation between them and their Flocks. To this I may add, the Writ of Quare impedit, founded upon the first of the former falfe Maxims; the ill Ufe of Prohibitions; the laft Appeal or Refort of our Church in fpiritual Caufes; the Unchriftian Acts of Parliament, touching the Election and Confecration of Bishops, &c. which, I think, I am able to fhew, have been the Natural, as well as Judicial Caufes of all the Miferies in the Church and State among us for many Years; and of the great Atheism, Deifm, or Unbelief of revealed Religion, Contempt of the Priesthood, even of the Royal Priesthood itself; Scepticism or Indifferency in Religion; together with all the Herefies, Schifms, Immoralities, and Height of Profaneness, that now overflows the Land. I could give other Inftances of falfe uncbriftian Maxims, and unrighteous Laws, Ufurpations, which have almoft quite deftroyed the Power and Authority of the Epifcopal College, and with it the Difcipline of the Catholic Church of England; which, by the firft Article of Magna Charta, as well as by Christ's Laws ought to be free. But instead of enjoying her Freedom, her own Sons have made her a Slave, to the great Decay of Chriftian Faith, and the great Dishonour and Contempt of Chrift; from whom our High-Priefts claim all their Spiritual Rights; under whom they are fupreme over the Church, which Chrift hath purchased with his Blood.

XXXIV.

That Schifm in the Church, when it confifts only in withdrawing our Subjection and Obedience from our rightful Bishops, is the fame thing in Christ's Kingdom, or any Part of it, as Sedition in the State or Kingdoms of the World. But when it comes to refifting and oppofing the rightfu! Bishop, or driving him out of his Throne, and placing an Ufurper in it, then it answers. to Rebellion in both Cafes It is the Sin of Corah, Dathan, and Abiram in the Ringleaders, though they be Prelates, Kings, or Princes, and of their Company in those that follow and affift them, and adhere to them, as hath been obferved by St. Clement and St. Cyprian, and all the holy Fathers that have written about Schifm.

XXXV.

For Chriftian fecular Powers to drive rightful Canonical Bishops out of their Thrones, by fecular Force, is plainly a Dethroning of the fpiritual Sovereigns by the spiritual Subjects: A driving away the Shepherds by the Sheep; the Fathers by

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by the Sons; and by confequence, utter Rebellion against Chrift, as well as an Outrage upon the Rights of the Church.

XXXVI.

This way of Dethroning and Depriving lawful rightful Bishops, is in itself utterly null and void from the Beginning, though done by lawful fecular Power, whofe temporal Magiftrates may punish Bifhops as well as other Subjects, by imprifoning, fining, or banifhing of them, or by Death itfelf: But they have no Power or Authority to deprive them indeed, no more than the Bishops, as they are fpiritual Superiors, have to depofe Kings, though they may and ought, when it is requifite, to inflict fpiritual Cenfures upon them, as impofe Penances; fufpend them from the Sacrament; nay, even to excommunicate them, as well as other Perfons, when it is requifite for God's Glory, the Safety and Honour of Religion, and the Prefervation of the Church. But here, to prevent Misconftruction, it is to be understood, That fuch Excommunications have no other than fpiritual Effects, and ought not to be drawn into any confequences against the King's temporal Rights, or Regal Dignity and Government.

XXXVII.

Bishops dethroned and deprived by fecular Powers, upon any Pretence what ever, ought not to fubmit to fuch Deprivations; becaufe fuch Submiffions would be a giving up their Authority and Jurifdiction, which they derived from Christ alone, to the incompetent fecular Powers; a betraying their own Order, and the Rights of the Epifcopal College, and the Defence of the Church; which Chrift, with all its Rights, as well as Doctrines, hath committed unto their Charge and Truft.

XXXVIII.

That it is the Duty of the Clergy and People, to adhere to their Bishops and Confeffors; but becaufe fuch Deprivations are null and of no Effect, thefe Bishops fo deprived remain their Bishops ftill; and as long as they remain their Bifhops, they cannot in Confcience be discharged of their Fidelity and Obedience to them, howfoever oppreffed by the fecular Powers.

XXXIX.

That the dethroning and depriving of rightful Bishops, by the fecular Powers, for adhering to their Chriftian Duty, is yet a greater Sin, and alfo receives further Aggravations, when thofe fecular Powers are not lawful, but ulurping Powers. Thofe Priefts, or Bifhops, who dare ufurp the Thrones of their Fathers or Brethren fo unjufly, fo illegally, fo invalidly deprived, and driven from their Thrones, are of all others the deteftable Ufurpers, Breakers of the most facred Bands of Peace, Amity, Subordination and Charity, by which the Kingdom and City of God doth fubfift. They are Corals, and Princes of Schifm, from whom the Lord's People, by the Laws of the Gospel, and the Doctrines of the Catholic Church, ought to feparate at the Peril of

their Souls. Their Electors and Confecrators are Architects of the Schifm, and in the fame Degree of Guilt with them. The rightful Bishops, that join in Communion with them, become Collegues in the Schifin, and forfeit their Rights by fo doing: Those that are fo confecrated and ordained by them, are Continuers, Supporters and Propagators of the Schifm, and partake of the fame Guilt with them. To conclude: As they are all in the Schifm, so they are all out of the Church, and can perform no Acts of Pricfthood, neither from Men towards God, nor from God towards Men, that are of any Virtue or Force. God ratifies nothing in Heaven, which they act in his Name upon Earth; he is not obliged to hear their Prayers; the Miniftry can claim no Benefit of God's Promifes; no, not of his affifting Grace, nor of Remiffion of Sins, though they beg it at the Sacrament, through the Merits of Christ's Blood. To be fhort: The Prayers of fuch Bifhops are Sin, and their Sacraments Sacrilege. And though they, or any that adhere to them, fhould die Martyrs in the Schifm, their Martyrdom would not be accepted by God; they would lofe the Crown of Glory promised to it.

The

The true Caufe of all our Miferies, difcovered in their vifible Effects: As I find it (to my great Satisfaction) most manifest in The Layman's Religion, lately publifhed. Licensed October 1, 1690.

Which vindicates the Doctrine of the Church of England, (above all others,) to allow Liberties of Confcience, according to the Tenor of the Gofpel: Unveils the undermining Jefuit, and defigning Sectary; and detects the groffeft Frauds and Cheats, impofed on the Honest and Wellmeaning, under the most facred Vizors and Pretences. Worthy to be received, and feriously confidered of Minifters of State, Lords and Commons, as well as all other inferior Subjects, (of every Perfuafion,) in order to our lafting Safety and Settlement.

We find it impoffible to prevent the fly and fubtle Whispers of defigning Hypocrites; who, in fecret, do mifrepresent the best of their Majefties Subjects, to create a Misunderstanding of them, and their beft Actions, only to gain a good Opinion of themselves, and to carry on their own Defigns. But none (without a Forehead of Brafs) dare openly queftion fuch experienced Truths, as have been exemplified in bloody Tragedies, within the Compafs of our own Memory. Therefore it must be acknowledged, That whoever is the Author of that Book, he deals plainly and impartially with all; beginning at Home, with cenfuring the Criminals of his own Party, both Clergy and Laity; expofing Hypocrify and Immorality (as the two Extremes) in all. And therefore I have fingled out this Sheet, as the beft Service I can do their Majefties, and the Government; heartily wifhing it might be diftributed throughout the whole Kingdom, for Inftruction to all, in order to fecure and tranfmit our Civil and Religious Rights to Pofterity: Which therein thus follows, Page 21.

S God Almighty hath various Ways and Methods to reform and difcipline his Children, according to their various Tempers and Difpofitions; fo the Devil by his Janifaries, defigning Hypocrites, and Time-fervers, (who can readily take any Impreffion in Religion, be of two or three Perfuafions at once, to promote their own Intereft,) puts himself into various Shapes, and baits his Hook with various Objects, fuited to Men's different Inclinations, that he may catch both Pharifee and Publican; as well the fpiritually Proud, as the Debauchee, that no Fish may efcape his Net, and (if it were poffible) the Elect too fhould be cheated by him.

Thus he baits the Luxurious with Pleasure, the Avaritious with Riches, and the Ambitious with Pride, Dominion, and worldly Defign.

When

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When he defigns to fubvert a Kingdom, or overthrow a Government, he doth not appear immediately in Arms and open Hoftility; but firft under a Difguife of Zeal for Reformation, which he generally profecutes, by removing all Foundation laid in the firft Principles of Religion; and then proceeds to create various Opinions in the Minds of honeft and well-meaning Perfons, of eafy and credulous Difpofitions; continually raifing Niceties and Scruples, (be fore any Foundation be laid in fundamental Knowledge of the first Principles of our Religion, contained in the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commands, and the Creed) and thofe Niceties and Scruples are more and more irritated by subtle and defigning Teachers, under a Difguife of Liberty of Confcience.

God forbid Liberty of Confcience (if regulated by the Standard of the Scriptures,) as it is the Birth-right of every Chriftian, fhould be denied to any that in Sincerity defire it, to live peaceably under the Government in all Godliness and Honefty; because many Perfons of honeft and well-meaning Principles, may, from their Education in foreign Parts, or in, Families of different Perfuafions, either mifapprehend, or not rightly understand the Truth of our Doctrine and Difcipline eftablished among us..

And many others, in the Simplicity of their Hearts, when they fee the vicious Lives and Actions of fome of our Members, or the Scandal of fome of our Clergy, in Things that are open and manifeft, may be impofed upon by Jefuitical Whispers on the one hand, and private infinuating Teachers on the other hand; as to imagine that our Religion established, muft either countenance or allow of fuch Evils in the Profeffors of it.. Which is the Cafe of the Gospel itself.

Now, forafmuch as our Government is founded in the Law of God and Nature, and our Religion established, is fettled and framed from no other Model or Original but God's revealed Will in the Scriptures, and fo both may be a juft Standard for all other Governments: It must therefore be a Strain of great Arrogance and Prefumption in any State Mountebank, to propofe any foreign Precedent for Alteration of either.

And to filence all Complaints but theirs, whom nothing lefs than All will fatisfy, as our Religion and Government fo eftablifhed, do allow a peaceable and innocent Liberty of Confcience, the grand Charter of Chriftianity itself; (which we have found by Experience, no other differing Perfuafion but ours would ever allow any longer than they wanted Power to reftrain it;) fo nonecan deny it to be both prudent and juft in the Government, (from the Law of Self-prefervation,) to take care of, and fecure itself againft all Abufe of fo great a Bleffing, by fuch, who have pure Religion only in their Mouths, but the rankeft Poifon of Ambitition and worldly Defign in their Hearts, making no Scruple (as Opportunity ferves) to devour Widows Eftates, as well as the Houfes and Patrimony of them and all others, to make way for their own ambitious Designs; for we find it most certainly true, by woeful Experience, that it is impoffible to fecure any Government in the World on a lafting Foundation, but by annexing it to the Religion established, fo as to make them infeparable, according to the Policy of New England (where Liberty of Confcience fuft planted their Law Makers.) They that do not first approve of

and