by the force of temporal authority. It is true, fhe got the magistrate on her fide, but she engaged him too far: for fhe knew, Chrift did not leave Cæfar executor to his last will and testament; and that that should be the reason why he did fo, was none of the best ornaments to her reformation. That fhe was but a party, though the biggest, by the advantages that temporal power brought her, I fhall eafily prove; but I will introduce it with a fhort account of our state-reformation here in England. Henry the eighth was a kind of hermaphrodite in religion, or, in the language of the times, a trimmer ; being a medley of Papift and Proteftant, and that part he acted to the life, or to the death rather; facrificing on the fame day men of both religions, because one was not Proteftant enough, and the other not Papift enough for him. In this time were fome Anabaptifts; for the diftinction of church of England, and Calvinist, was not then known. Edward the fixth fucceeded; a prince that promifed virtues, that might more than balance the exceffes of his father; and yet, by archbishop Cranmer, was compelled to fign a warrant to burn poor Joan of Kent, a famous woman, but counted an enthufiaft: but to prove what I faid of him, it was not without frequent denials and tears, and the bishop's taking upon him to answer for it at God's judgment; of which I hope his foul was discharged, though his body, by the fame law, fuffered the fame punishment in the fucceeding reign. Thus even the Proteftants began with blood for meer religion, and taught the Romanifts, in fucceeding times, how to deal with them. At this time the controverfy grew warm between the church of England and the Calvinists, that were the abler preachers, and the better livers: the bishops being moftly men of ftate, and fome of them looking rather backward than forward; witness the difficulty the king had to get Hooper confecrated bishop, without conformity to the referved ceremonies. Queen Queen Mary came in, and ended the quarrel at the ftake. Now Ridley and Hooper hug, and are the dearest brethren, and best friends in the world. Hooper keeps his ground, and Ridley stoops with his ceremonies to the other's farther reformation. But this light and union flowed from their perfecution: for those abroad at Franckfort, and other places, were not upon fo good terms: their feuds grew fo great, that the one refused communion with the other; many endeavours were used to quench the fire, but they were ineffectual; at best it lay under the afhes of their affliction for another time; for no fooner was Queen Elizabeth upon her throne, than they returned, and their difference with them. They managed it civilly for a while; but ambition in fome, and covetoufness in others on the one hand, and difcretion giving way to refentment on the other, they firft ply the queen and her minifters, and when that ended in favour of the men of ceremony, the others arraigned them before the first reformers abroad, at Geneva, Bafil, Zurich, &c. The leading prelates by their letters, as Dr. Burnet lately tells us, in his printed relation of his travels, clear themselves to thofe first doctors of any fuch imputation, and lay all upon the queen, who, for reasons of state, would not be brought to fo inceremonious a way of worship, as that of the Calvinifts. At this time there were Papifts, Proteftants, Evangelifts, Præcifians, Ubiquitifts, Familifts, or Enthufiafts, and Anabaptifts in England; when, the very first year of her reign, "A law for uniformity in worfhip and difcipline," was enacted, and more followed of the fevereft nature, and fometimes executed. Thus, then, we fee that there never was fuch thing as a church of England fince the days of Popery, that is, a church, or communion, containing all the people of the kingdom, and fo cannot be faid to be fo much as a twin of the reformation: nevertheless, she got the bleffing of the civil magiftrate; fhe made him great, to be great by him: if SHE might be the church, HE should fhould be the bead. Much good may the bargain do her. Now is the time for her to ftand to her principle. I never knew any body exceed their bounds, that were not met with at laft. If we could escape men, God we cannot; his providence will overtake us, and find us out. By all this then it appearing, that the church of England was not the nation, the cafe is plain, That ⚫ the penal laws were a make-bate,' for they facrificed every fort of people whofe confciences differed from the church of England; which firft put the Romanifts upon flattering prerogative, and courting its fhelter from the wrath of thofe laws. The addrefs could not be unpleasant to princes; and we fee it was not; for King James, that came in with invectives a gainst Popery, entering the lifts with the learned of that church, and charging her with all the marks the revelation gives to that of antichrift, grew at last so tame and easy towards the Romanists, that our own ftory tells us of the fears of the increase of Popery in the latter parliament of his reign. In King Charles the firft's time, no body can doubt of the complaint, because that was in great measure the drift of every parliament, and at last one reafon of the war. On the other hand, the feverity of the bishops against men of their own principles, and, in the main, of their own communion, either because they were more zealous in preaching, more followed of the people, or could not wear fome odd garment, and less lead the dance on a Lord's day at a maypole, (the relick of Flora, the Roman ftrumpet) or perhaps for rubbing upon the ambition, covetoufnefs, and laziness of the dignified, and ignorance and looseness of the ordinary clergy of the church, (of which I could produce five hundred grofs inftances) I say these things bred bad blood, and, in part, gave beginning to those animofities, that at last broke forth, with fome other pretences, into all thofe national troubles that agitated this poor kingdom for ten years together; in which the church of England became the greatest greatest loser, her clergy turned out, her nobility and gentry fequestered, decimated, imprisoned, &c. And whatever fhe is pleafed to think, nothing is truer, than that her penal laws, and conduct in the Starchamber, and High commiffion court, in matters of religion,' was her overthrow. It is as evident, the same humour, fince the restoration of the late king, has had almost the fame effect. For nothing was grown fo little and contemptible, as the church of England in this kingdom, which the now intitles herfelf The church of: witnefs the elections of the last three parliaments before this. I know it may be faid,The perfons chofen were churchgoers;' I confefs it, for the law would have them fo. But nobody was more averfe to the politicks of the clergy; infomuch that the parfon and the parish almost every-where divided upon the question of their election. In truth, it has been the favour and ⚫ countenance of the crown,' and not her intrinfick interest or value, that has kept her up to this day; elfe her penal laws, the bulwark of the church of England, by the fame figure that she is one against Popery, had funk her long fince. I hope I may, by this time, conclude, without offence, that the penal laws have been a make-bate in the great family of the kingdom, fetting the father against his children, and brethren against brethren; not only giving the empire to one, but endeavouring to extinguish the reft, and that for this the church of England has once paid a fevere reckoning. I apply it thus is it not her intereft to be careful she does it not a fecond time? fhe has a fair opportunity to prevent it, and keep herself where fhe is; that is, 'The 'publick religion of the country, with the real maintenance of it;' which is a plain preference to all the rest. Violence and tyranny are no natural confequences of Popery; for then they would follow every-where, and in all places and times alike. But we see in twenty governments in Germany, there is none for religion, religion, nor was for an age in France: and in Poland, the Popish Cantons of Switzerland, Venice, Lucca, Colonia, &c. where that religion is dominant, the people enjoy their ancient and civil rights, a little more fteadily than they have of late times done in fome Proteftant countries nearer home, almost ever since the reformation. Is this against Proteftancy? No; but very much against Proteftants. For had they been true to their principles, we had been upon better terms. So that the reformation was not the fault, but not keeping to it better than fome have done : for whereas they were Papifts that both obtained the great charter, and charter of forefts, and, in the fucceffive reigns of the kings of their religion, industriously laboured the confirmation of them, as the great text of their liberties and properties, by above thirty other laws; we find almost an equal number to deftroy them, and but one made in their favour, fince the reformation, and that fhrewdly against the will of the high church-men too; I mean, the petition of right, in the third year of Charles the firft. In fhort, they defire a legal fecurity with us, and we are afraid of it, left it should infecure us; when nothing can do it fo certainly as their infecurity; for fafety makes no man defperate. And he that feeks eafe by law, therefore does it, because he would not attempt it by force. Are we afraid of their power, and yet provoke it? If this jealoufy and averfion prevail, it may drive her to a bargain with the kingdom for fuch general redemption of property, as may diffolve our great corporation of confcience, and then fhe will think, that half a loaf had been better than no bread; and that it had been more adviseable to have parted with penal laws, that only ferved to dress her in satire, than have loft all for keeping them; especially when it was but parting with fpurs, claws and bills, that made her look more like a vulture than a dove, and a lion, than a lamb. But I proceed to my next reafon, why it is her intereft to repeal thofe penal laws, (though a greater VOL. IV. D d cannot |