ments, you would imparually confider - What is the true Nature and Conftitution of the Chriftian Church and what the Allegiance, which, as a Subject of JESUS CHRIST, you owe to Him the only Law-giver and King in the Church; who will fhortly call you to Account for your Conduct in this Respect.

To come then to the Point- THE CHURCH you fay, and folemnly fubfcribe it, hath Power to decree Rites, and Authority in Matters of Faith. This is the grand Hinge upon which the whole Controversy turns. Now here, Sir, let me ask you,

FIRST, What CHURCH is it, to whom this Authority "and Power is given? You will, doubtlefs, fay, the Church of England; for the Church of England exprefly claims and exercises this Power; and you avow and defend it in this Exercise and Claim: Yea, this is the very Bafis on which its whole Frame and Hierarchy ftands. It obliges all its Minifters to fubfcribe to Articles of Faith, which it hath authoritatively decreed; and to use in religious Worship Ceremonies and Rites, which it hath authoritatively enjoyned.

1844

But mind, Sir, I befeech you, the Confequences of this Claim. If the Church of England hath really this Authority and Power, hath not the Church of France the Church of Spain the Church of Rome, the very fame? Hath England, in this Matter, any Frivilege from GOD, any fpiritual Prerogative, any Character from Heaven, which its neighbour Countries have not? Your will not pretend it has. But if it has no Privilege nor Prerogative of this kind, then the Church of France, and the Church of Rome have alfo, you acknowledge, Power to decree Rites and Ceremonies in GOD's Worship, and Au THORITY in Points of Faith; confequently, all the Fopperies and Superftitions of the Romish Church, at least, which cannot be proved to be contrary to the Word of GOD, are to be reverently fubmitted to by all the Members of the Church, and cordially received.

But

But will not your claiming this Power for the Church, abfolutely overthrow the Reformation itfelf, and fubvert the very Foundation of the Church you feek to establish? For till you can fhew, why the Church of England is poffeffed of this Power, but not the Church of Rome; why a Body of acknowledged fallible Men in Britain have Authority to make and to enjoin Articles of Faith, but not a Body of pretended infallible Men at Trent; whence ENGLAND came thus fpiritually-gifted, and endowed beyond all its neighbour Kingdoms Separation from the Church of Rome is incapable of a juft and folid Defence.

your

To this, perhaps, you will reply. But our Church hath exprefly guarded against any fuch Abufe.of the Power it claims, by adding in the XXth Article

Tet

is it not lawful for the Church to ordain any Thing that is Contrary to God's Word written; neither may it fo expound one Place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another. But, upon this, I entreat your Patience for thefe two Remarks:

Ift, Whatever Ceremony or Rite then cannot be fhewn to be CONTRARY to God's Word, your Church, yea, the Church of Rome hath, you acknowledge, full Authority to enjoin: Confequently, as your Church, by Virtue of this Authority, hath enjoined the Crofs in Baptifm, it hath full Power alfo to require you to crafs your felves, whenever you enter the Place of Worship, fay your Pravers, look towards the Eaft, touch the Bible, fit at Meat It hath full Power to enjoin the Ufe of Salt and Spittle in Baptifm, Chrism, extreme Unction, and an hundred other Things which are no more contrary to GOD's Word than the Crofs in Baptifin is.

As your Church now confecrates Ground, it has every whit as much Power to confecrate the other Element, and to make holy Water, as well as holy Earth; and to order it to be decently fprinkled upon its Members. ( for all Things, you know, are to be done decently and in Order) in Token that they hall keep themfelves pure from

B.

Sin:

Sin: It hath Power to confecrate holy Knives to cut the facramental Bread; holy Basins and Ewers for the Priests to wash in before the Sacrament, boly Vestments and Robes, and a great Variety of holy Utenfils, lighted Tapers for the Altar, &c. (all which, you know, Sir, was done by your admired Bishop Laud) knocking on the Breast, bowing towards the Eaft, Proftration before the Altar.--All thefe, I fay, and innumerable other Ceremonies your Church claims Authority and Power to enjoin; for none of these can be fhewn to be more contrary to the Word of GOD, or to be a whit more fuperftitious, ridiculous, or abfurd, than the croffing at Baptifm, or the folemn Confecration of Churches and their Yards. But,

2dly. The Limitation or Guard, which the Article feems to put upon this Power of the Church, is really of no Force, and amounts to nothing at all.

For tho' it fays - That the Church may not ordain any Thing CONTRARY to GOD's Word, nor fo expound one Scripture as to be REPUGNANT to another Yet of this Repugnance and Contraiety, the CHURCH alone, you will obferve, and not every private Perfon, is allowed to be the proper Judge: For elfe the Article is abfurd; it actually overthrows itself; and takes away, with one Hand, what it gives with the other. For, if every private Perfon hath Authority to judge of the Church's Decifions, and to reject them, if they appear to him repugnant to Scripture; then the Church's Authority in Points of Faith comes to juft nothing at all. It is an Authority to decree, where none are bound to fubmit; that is, an Authority over no Body, an Authority to do nothing. But fuch a fenfelefs, unmeaning, impertinent Claim, can never be the Design and Import of this Article. It does claim therefore for the Church fome real Authority to fettle Points of Faith; confequently, to Points thus authoritatively fettled by it, private Chriftians, its Members are, reverently to fubmit, even tho' to their own Judgments they appear repugant to the Word of God.

This

This, Sir, must be the real Meaning and Intent of the Article, notwithstanding the restrictive Claufe.. Ac. cordingly, in Confequence of this Claim, your Church have authoritatively decreed Thirty-nine Articles of Faith; and these it declares to have decreed for the taking away Difference of Opinion, and to establish an Agreement in true Religion. The plain Language of Authority. These Articles it obliges all its Minifters to fubfcribe; and our Princes, as Heads and Governors of the Church, have authoritatively forbid its Clergy to preach any Thing repugnant to them, and required them to frame their Sermons according to the Plan here prefcribed. From all which it appears, that, notwithstanding the pretended Limitation, there is a real Authority claimed by the Church, that is to fay, by itsGovernors, to fettle Points of Faith But if there be fuch Authority really vefted in them, then the People are bound to fubmit to their Decifions, and have no Right of private Judgment to examine or reject them; for there cannot be two CONTRADICTORY Rights; a Right in Governors to prescribe, and a Right in Subjects to refufe. But if the Church of England has really this Authority and Right, the Church of Rome had it before her; and, as the elder and Mother-church, ought to have been obeyed. The Reformation, therefore, as we are wont to call it, was a Rebellion against Superiors, a Difobedience to the Authority vefted in the Church, and ought, as fuch, as be renounced by returning to the Church of Rome..

In this Manner, Sir, a Romifh Priest will turn upon the Church of England its own dangerous Artillery; and by the mere Conceffions of this XXth Article, thousands of Profelytes have, no doubt, been gained from you. Nor, with all your Ingenuity, would you find it eafy to ward off the Force of fuch Arguing, fhould any of your Parishioners be likely to be feduced. And this,

* Preface to XXXIX Articles.

perhaps

Sin: It hath Power to confecrate holy Knives to cut the facramental Bread; holy Basins and Ewers for the Priests to wash in before the Sacrament, boly Veftments and Robes, and a great Variety of holy Utenfils, lighted Tapers for the Altar, &c. (all which, you know, Sir, was done by your admired Bishop Laud) knocking on the Breast, bowing towards the Eaft, Proftration before the Altar.-. All thefe, I fay, and innumerable other Ceremonies your Church claims Authority and Power to enjoin; for none of these can be fhewn to be more contrary to the Word of GOD, or to be a whit more fuperftitious, ridiculous, or abfurd, than the craffing at Baptifm, or the folemn Confecration of Churches and their Yards. But,

2dly. The Limitation or Guard, which the Article feems to put upon this Power of the Church, is really of no Force, and amounts to nothing at all.

:

For tho' it fays - That the Church may not ordain any Thing CONTRARY to God's Word, nor fo expound one Scripture as to be REPUGNANT to another Yet of this Repugnance and Contraiety, the CHURCH alone, you will obferve, and not every private Perfon, is allowed to be the proper Judge: For elfe the Article is abfurd; it actually overthrows itself; and takes away, with one Hand, what it gives with the other. For, if every private Perfon hath Authority to judge of the Church's Decifions, and to reject them, if they appear to him repugnant to Scripture'; then the Church's Authority in Points of Faith comes to juft nothing at all. It is an Authority to decree, where none are bound to fubmit; that is, an Authority over no Body, an Authority to do nothing. But fuch a fenfelefs, unmeaning, impertinent Claim, can never be the Defign and Import of this Article. It does claim therefore for the Church fome real Authority to fettle Points of Faith; confequently, to Points thus authoritatively fettled by it, private Chriftians, its Members are, reverently to fubmit, en tho' to their own Judgments they appear repugat to the Word of God.

This