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23700-129

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The Bishop of BANGOR'S Prefervative Defended, &c.

S.I.

AT LORD,

HEN fome of the Bishops, and a fmall number of our Clergy, refus'd the Oaths that were appointed Anno 1689, I have very good Reafon to believe, not one of 'em had it in his Thoughts, at first, to form a Separate from our Church. The Questions upon which ere was a Difagreement at that time, were chiefly fa Civil Nature; about which there began to be dierent Opinions in the Reign of King James the Fir: yet these were not judg'd to be of that confequece to the Church, as to make it neceflary for a Cavocation to declare its Judgment thereupon.

§. 2. I take it for granted (because I am fure the contrary does not appear from any Authentick A& or Decision made or done in any Convocation held from the beginning of the Reformation) that our Church bas never yet in her Supreme Judicature, after A 2

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a special Deliberation, given us her final and explicite Declaration of her Senfe upon all the Questions that were firft debated between Us and the Nonjurors, in favour of the faid Nonjurors, and against us, who maintain the Juftice of the prefent Settlement. But on the contrary, this we are fure of, from Archbishop Sancroft's Copy of Canons, piblifh'd 1689, that the Senfe of the Convocation, which made thofe Canons about 1606, was entirely on or fide, and fully against the Nonjurors in several Partiulars.

§. 3. 'Tis very well known, my Lord, tht our Bishops in Parliament have frequently concurrd with the State in many fuch Votes and publick Ats, as plainly fhew'd their Sentiments were differet from the Opinions of those Gentlemen who have of late Years refus'd the Oaths: Of this their Men o Reading cannot be ignorant. And certainly it oght to be well confider'd by 'em, that though there as been no Judicial Determination in form by ou whole Church-Reprefentative, upon the several Gestions in difpute between Us and the Nonjurors; yet our Bishops, and our ablest Writers, have oftendeclar'd their Senfe before the Revolution happen: and which is more than that, before the unhapy Troubles in the Reign of King Charles the First, t which time they could be under no Biafs or Ipreffions from their own or the publick Circumftars; and by confequence, their Judgments must havbeen the more impartial. Men of Probity and Miefty can never perfuade themselves, that what wadone and agreed, nay and zealoufly efpous'd by ourishops in Parliament in the Cafe of the Queen of Ss, and of the Affiftance of her Subjects and the Du, against their oppreffive Princes; can poffibly be ppos'd to favour the modern Opinions of our Nonpors. Nor do the Nonjurors pretend to approve the Affiftance that was given, or pretended to be ven, to the Rochellers by King Charles the Firft; oo like the Forms of Prayer then us'd in our Chhes in be

half

half of our Proteftant Brethren in France. No, these Authorities are fully on our fide, and as fully against the Nonjurors; of which they are fufficiently fenfible, and make us fo too, by the weak and evasive Defences they have publish'd against them.

S. 4. As our Convocations, which are our fupreme Ecclefiaftical Affemblys, have not actually decided our feveral controverted Questions about Civil Power and Obedience; fo 'tis not very probable they will do it: because, though Obedience in general to Superiors of all kinds, is a Christian Doctrine; yet the particular Inftances of Civil Power and Obedience are Matters purely of a Civil Nature and Cognizance, and are only and finally determinable by our Laws, and in our Legislative Affemblies, in Parliament; and by no means in a Convocation, who act not there as Legislators, by a fupreme and underiv'd Authority.

S. 5. However, my Lord, we have on our fide the highest Ecclefiaftical Authorities that are extant; I mean, that of our Bishops acting in their Legislative Capacity and we have alfo on our fide the Supreme Civil Authority, in fome Instances or other, in every Reign fince the Reformation, as I fhall fully evince upon fome other Occafion. But, which is above all thefe Authorities, we have alfo on our fide the higheft Authority, I mean the Word of God; and the general Senfe of all Civiliz'd Nations: To which our Adverfaries, the Nonjurors, oppose fome ill-chofen Paffages out of the Homilies, and the Writings of Private Divines; and they are fo unreasonable, as to ftile fuch defective Authorities the Doctrine of the Church, and demand we should receive 'em as fuch. And as to their Comments upon the Thirteenth of the Romans, and fome other Texts in the Old and New Teftament, they are fo injudicious, not to say abfurd and ftupid, that I have often blufh'd to fee fome Men, who in other Matters are not destitute of Prudence and Understanding, openly efpoufing and forming

forming a Party against Church and State, upon fo weak a Foundation.

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§. 6. The Leaders foon grew fenfible, that their Caufe would fink, and their Faction expire, if they built their Hopes upon the Strength of their Civil Notions; and this put 'em upon looking out for Succours. Accordingly they began in their Pamphlets to attack the Royal Supremacy; they maintain'd foon after the Independency of the Church on the State; they advanc'd new Notions of Sacerdotal Power; the Neceffity of a regular and uninterrupted Succeffion; the Invalidity of the Sacraments, and of all Divine Offices adminiftred by our Proteftant Brethren at home and abroad the Efficacy of Sacerdotal Abfolution; the Ufefulness of Prayers for the Dead: and one of their number has been fo hardy as to defend the Natural Mortality of Human Souls. But to compleat their Defign, they have at last agreed upon a Scheme of Civil and Religious Notions, which ftrike at the Root of our Reformation; infomuch that they have publickly declar'd their Hopes of an Union with the Popish Church of France, and at the fame time affert our Church to be Schifmatical, and our Prayers and Miniftrations to be Wicked and Immoral.

§. 7. In this Difpofition are our Jacobite Separatifts, though their Leaders, ABishop Sancroft, Bishop Kenn, and Dr. Hickes, were all within a few hours of taking the Oaths to King William. The two first perhaps, who died fome years fince, little thought of the Schemes that Dr. Hickes and his Adherents form'd afterwards; and had they liv'd, 'tis reafonable to think, would have difapprov'd 'em. By the Death of the reft, Dr. Hickes was left at the Head of the Schifm, and being a Man of Spirit and Animofity, refolv'd to be confiderable: with the Affistance of fome Under-Writers, he has leven'd the Nation with fome Principles inconfiftent with our Conftitution in Church and State; when at the fame time thofe Writers pretend an extraordinary Zeal for

both,

both, and by that impofe upon the Unwary. But now they have thrown off the Mask; they declare our Establish'd Church Schifmatical, and affirm the Jacobite Party to be the only True Church of EngLand.

§. 8. This Party, though inconfiderable in it felf for Numbers or Intereft, yet are confident and turbulent; chiefly because they have receiv'd too much Countenance from fome, who have taken the Oaths to the prefent Government; whom, in requital for that Kindness, the Nonjurors look upon as Apostates.

§. 9. 'Tis no wonder to fee a Fluctuation in Mens Principles, when too many fet out at first without any good Foundation; and fo few give Attention enough to examine the Grounds of the Chriftian Religion, and of our English Reformation and Conftitution. Others are under an unhappy Biafs from Resentment or Disappointment; and the Opinions of most are not owing to Meditation, but Party.

Warm with Prejudice and Party-Zeal, fome have fallen upon the Bishop of Bangor's Prefervative; 'tis not strange he should offend the Nonjurors, for their Cause is defperate: methinks therefore abler Pens fhould have been employ'd. But 'tis furprizing to find two Perfons of our own Communion attack the Bishop with fo little Ceremony. Some years fince a Man would for this have been call'd a thousand Presbyterians; now the Tide is turn'd, to defend our Bishops is a fure Mark of a Presbyterian: if Men indulge this peevish Humour, they will gratify the Papifts, and call our Liturgy and Homilies Presbyterian at laft. The common Enemy boast in their Čorrefpondence abroad, of the Giddinefs of our People, and make use of the prefent ill Temper of the Nation to gain Profelytes; Numbers are become Favourers of Popery, and are ready upon a flight Attack or Invitation to quit our Communion, for a Church that makes the greatest noife about Sacerdotal

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