Some expressions in it bordering upon the Popish doctrine of Transubstantiation. My Lord Bishop of Salisbury may surely be allowed to be a more competent Judge, in this matter, than you: He saith, Page 30, of his Memoires; The Liturgy had some Alterations from the English, which made it more invidious, and less satisfactory-The imposing it, really varied from their former Practices and Constitutions.Page 33, The Lords petitioned, complaining against the Liturgy, and Book of Canons; offering, under the highest Penalties, to prove they contained things both contrary to Religion and the Laws of the Land. Page 36, The Earls of Traquaire and Roxburgh, by Letter to the King, ' advised him to secure the People of that which they so much apprehended, the fear of Innovation of Religion; saying, that they found few, or none, well 'satisfied.-Page 33, The Earl of Traquaire went to Court, and gave ac 6 count, that all the Troubles were occasioned by the introducing the Liturgy: with which scarce a Member of the Council (except the Bishops) was well-satisfied; 'neither were all these cordially for it; for the Archbishop of St. Andrews, from the beginning, had withstood these Designs; and the Archbishop of Glasgow was worse pleased. C C See, now, what the Scottish Nation offered against this Liturgy, which you, Doctor, are sure, it had been better for them, and the Christian Religion, if they had received and used it; Their Commissioners in their Charge against Laud, (ex. hibited in our Parliament, in 1641,) say, Page 11, &c.) This Book inverteth the Order of the Communion in the Book of England; of the divers secret Reasons of this change, we mention one only: In joining the Spiritual Praise and Thanksgiving, which is in the Book of England, pertinently after the Communion, with the Prayer of Consecration before the Communion; and that, under "the Name of Memorial or Oblation, for no other end, but that the Memorial and Sacrifice of Praise, mentioned in it, may be understood according to the Popish Meaning, Bellar. de Missâ, lib. 2, cap. 21. Not of the Spiritual Sacri'fice, but of the Oblation of the Body of the Lord. 6 The corporal Presence of Christ's Body is also to be found here; for the 'words of the Mass-Book, serving to this purpose, which are not to be found in the Book of England, are taken-in here; Almighty God is incalled [or invoked], that, of his Almighty Goodness, he may vouchsafe so to bless and sanctify with his Word and Spirit, these Gifts of Bread and Wine, that they be unto us the Body and Blood of Christ. On the other part, the Expressions of the Book of England, at the delivery of the Elements; "Of feeding on Christ by Faith, and of eating and drinking in remembrance that Christ died for thee," are utterly • deleted. Now one would think, that, if such a whiffling Doctor as you are, were not past all shame, (as you affirm me to be) it would make you blush, (but we may sooner expect to see you burst) that you, (who appeared but now very tender of passing a Judgement upon the Actions of the accursed Star-Chamber), should be found so pragmatical, so arrogant, as to censure King Charles the First, (who damn'd this very Book by Act of Parliament) and the Kingdom and Church of Scotland in this Point; and declare, That you are sure it had been better for them, and the Christian Religion, if they had submitted to the Usage of this Babylonish Book and continued it ever since. But you are so inflexible, that there's little hope of reconciling you to that Nation, (I had almost said, to the King, and Queen) unless this well-approved Liturgy be sent-down once more, and entertained there. For then (you say, pag. 18.) the worship of God would be performed with Order and Decency], and in a way suitable to his Divine Nature and Perfections: And, consequently, could not have been nauseous to the soberly-wise, and seriously-devout, part of that Kingdom, [as now it is by reason of those rude and undigested Addresses, those ex-tempore and unpremeditated Expostulations with God; those bold and saucy Applications, that, for want of a good Book, or a well-framed Form of Prayer, [of their own before-hand, and committed to memory] are so commonly made use of in their Pulpits; too many of the accounts of which we have lately, since the great Turn in Scotland, received from very good Hands and undeniable Testimonies. This is, I am sure, a nauseating, if not an ungodly and prophane, way of Talking: You, poor, weak Man as you are, run-away with a gross Mistake; that because there were Bishops in Scotland till the great Turn, (as you term the legal Settlement of that Church by their present Majesties) they had also a CommonPrayer-Book: but, (believe me, or let it alone, as you please,) they had no such thing; it was detested, even by many of their Episcopal Clergy. I shall not pretend to remark upon your most unbecoming and malicious Representation of the praying of the present Ministers of that Kingdom; but, 'tis well known that their Divines are of good Ability, and every way well qualified for the discharge of the Ministerial Function. And, whereas you pretend to recommend a well-framed Form of Prayer of their own, before-hand, and committed to Memory, for the prevention of rude and undigested Addresses, bold and saucy Applications; I would fain know of you, what Canon allows a Minister of the Church of England to frame his own Prayer, and to mutter out a good part of it, so as nobody can tell what he says: And, then, to rise constantly in his Voice, when he comes to the Ox and the Ass. 6 But, to talk seriously of this most serious Matter; pray, see what the Devout and Learned Bishop of Salisbury says of such Doctors as yourself, in his Sermon, Jan. 30, 1680, pag. 9. Many weak Persons, who, by the Heat of their Tempers, are 'inclined to entertain Prejudices, hold, that Addressing to God in Prayer, and the being guided by the inward Motions of Grace, and God's Holy Spirit, are but illusions of Fancy, if not the Contrivances of designing Men. Pag. 10. Earnestness in Prayer, and depending on the inward Assistances of "God's Holy Spirit: How have Men, who know or value these things little themselves, taken occasion to disparage them with much Impudence and Scorn? Now, Sir, upon the whole Matter, I do think it might tend to the Publick Peace, if my Lord Bishop of London would please to suspend such a dry and insipid Doctor as you are, from publishing even ex-tempore and unpremeditated Defences, and to injoin you a well-framed Form of Defending, so that it may be performed with 6 Proofs that the Scots book composed by Laud, was sent to Rome for the appro bation of the Pope and Cardinals. with Order and Decency, and not be exposed to Contempt and Scorn, by reason of any rude and undigested Addresses, bold and saucy Applications, to their most Sacred Majesties, the Most Reverend and Right Reverend, the Arch-Bishops and Bishops, &c. For I perswade myself, that the Ex-tempore Rhimes of some Antick Jack-Pudding, may deserve Printing better than your empty and nonsensical Pamphlets; and that it had been better to have set some Ballad-singer to have bewailed the King's Misfortunes, than so ridiculous an Orator as you are found to be, who are so insipid, that there's not the least Spirit in any thing you say. Where are you now, Sir? Aye, bu this Bold-face, says, This Liturgy [for Scot land] was not only composed by Bishop Laud, but sent by him to the Pope and Cardinals for their Approbation; and this Story I must not dare to deny. But, wi'b your leave, Mr. Modesty, I will venture upon that piece of Confidence, as to tell you, I do not believe it, and that, because you assert it. Now, I do agree that I did say so; and I am indeed a Bold-face, if I have not good Authority for what I thus charge upon Arch-Bishop Laud; for no Man's bare Assertion may pass in such a Case as this. But there is more in this Matter, than the short-sighted Chaplain at Aldgate is aware of. You may find the Story of Laud's sending the Scots Common-Prayer, to be ap proved by the Pope and Cardinals (as I told it) in a Book of good Credit, entituled, A new Survey of the West-Indies, wrote by a Reverend Divine of the Church of England, Mr Thomas Gage, Minister of Deal, in Kent; 'tis in page 280, in the Folio Impression. He there tells you, That, being a Friar, he went to Rome with Letters ' of Recommendation to Cardinal Barbarini, the Pope's Nephew, intituled, The Protector of England: That, coming acquainted with Father Fitz-Herbert, Rector of "the English Colledge of Jesuits, he [Fitz-Herbert] highly praised Arch-Bishop Laud, ' and said, That he had, not long since, sent a Common-Prayer-Book (which he had composed for the Church of Scotland) to be first viewed and approved by the "Pope and Cardinals; and that they liked it very well for Protestants, to be trained 6 6 6 up in a Form of Prayer and Service; yet the Cardinals (first giving him Thanks for ⚫his Respect) sent him word, that he [the Pope] thought it was not fitting for Scotland." That Father Fitz-Herbert told him, he was Witness of all this, being sent-for by 'the Cardinal to give him his Opinion about it, and of the Temper of the Scots. And that Laud, hearing the Censure of the Cardinals concerning his Intention and • Form of Prayer, to ingratiate himself the more in their Favour, corrected some things in it, and made it more harsh and unreasonable for that Nation. C This good Man, Mr. Gage, after he had there related the Matter as above, expresses himself thus; This most true Relation of Arch-Bishop Laud, I have oft spoke-of in private Discourse, and publickly in Preaching; and I could not, in Conscience, omit it here, both to vindicate the just Censure of Death, which the • Parliament gave against him, and to reprove the ungrounded Opinion and Error of some ignorant Spirits, who have, since his Death, highly exalted and cried him up for a Martyr. ' You may also find something like this of Mr. Gage in Bishop Burnet's Memoirs, pag, pag. 83, he relates, That in the year 1638, one Abernethy, who, from a Jesuit, turn- Now, it takes not much from the Credit of Abernethy's Relation, that Con denied You come next, with a most convincing Argument, to shew the Falsehood of my last Assertion: What! (say you, pag. 19.) Bishop Laud send to the Pope and Cardinals for their Approbation of a Liturgy almost the same with ours? I think this vexatious Ghost will never be laid; I thought we had done with Laud; but here he appears again: What! Laud send to the Pope to approve a Liturgy almost the same with ours? Aye, Laud was the most likely Bishop in England to do it. For you say, That bis Heart [was set] upon Designs of Uniformity: And was not this the most probable Course to accomplish those designs? Mr. Whitlock (whom you will credit ) shews (as I but now told you) that Laud declared, That the Protestant Religion, and the Romish Religion, were all one; and, if the one was false, so was the other. That he brought the Romish and English Churches (I think I must say Steeple-houses, to be rightly understood) to such an Uniformity, that the Popish Priests knew no difference between theirs and ours. Why, then, may we not believe that, in pursuit of that Plot of Uniformity, which his Heart was so much set upon, he sought the Pope's Approbation of the Liturgy; whom (as Mr. Whitlock himself declares) he held to be the Metropolitan Bishop of the World; so that Laud was to him, (as that Traitor, Turner, the late Bishop of Ely, was to Sancroft,) but a younger brother? Proceeding to argue the Point, you say; Sure, Sir, you have forgot the Bull of the Pope, in the 10th of Queen Elizabeth, which commands all his pretended Catholick Children, not to attend upon the pubiick Liturgical Devotions of our Church; and you bave forgot that [the Papists, upon that account, and by virtue of the Authority of that Bull, have declined our Publick Service ever since]; and therefore it is very likely Bishop Laud should send a Liturgy to Rome for its Approbation. Most likely, for this very reason; and one who did not well know you to be a Hare-brain'd Blunderbuss, would be ready to conclude, with that ingenious Jacobite, of the Lacedæmonian Society, who, inveighing against my Letter, told a Friend of mine, it must be answered by a better Pen; for the Doctor writes, said he, as though he play'd booty. I appeal to any Man of common Understanding, whether a better Reason can be invented, to persuade the World of the Probability of Laud's sending the Common-Prayer Book to be approved at Rome, than that which you have here assigned: The point is already settled, that his Head was set upon Designs of Uniformity, the Pope was his elder Brother; the R 121. the Papists came to the Common-Prayers of our Church for the first 10 years of Q.Eliza beth; and by consequence, might have so done to this day, had not Pope Pius the 5th prohibited them. Let any Man shew me a more probable way to obtain a Repeal of that Bull, (which hath made the Papists ever since decline our Liturgical ChurchDevotions,) and to bring them to Church again, or, rather, to bring us to go to Church with them, than by introducing a Liturgy allowed and approved by his Holiness; a Liturgy, in which (as I said, and you do not deny) all the material Parts of the MassBook seemingly were; and wherein Transubstantiation was rather allowed, than denied. But that empty Head of yours is carried round, so that you do not know what is fit to be said. What have we next? Page 20. Well, Sir, you say, If [the Common-Prayer-Book] was sent into Scotland; pray, let me ask you one Question; In whose Name, and by whose Authority, was it sent? The Answer is as obvious as short, and you needed not to have sent to Switzer land to have a Resolution in the point. The Common-prayer-book was sent into Scotland in the name of one, who had not Authority to impose it upon the Sect according to their Laws. You go-on, saying, Why, if they did not like it, did they not, first, submissively petition their lawful King, and let him know how disgustful the Liturgy was to many of bis Subjects in that Kingdom? Why, 'tis most evident, from all the Historians of that time, that they did, in the very beginning, petition in the most submissive manner against the imposing this Liturgy; and that thereupon, after the first reading it, in the great Church of Edin burg, upon the 23d of July, 1637, the Council of Scotland yielded that it should not be further urged by the Bishops, till his Majesty's Pleasure were known: Upon which, the Petitioners returned satisfied to their Habitations. But, upon the 18t of October, there being a great conflux of People at Edinburgh, to hear the King's Determination, a Proclamation was published, commanding them, upon pain of Re bellion, to depart the City; and, shortly after, the King commanded the Privy-Council to receive no more Petitions against the Common-Prayer-Book. Nevertheless, you confidently demand, Why, if they did not like it, did they not, first, submissively petition? But the Scots shall here answer for themselves; take their own words in their Charge exhibited in Parliament against Laud; Our Supplications (say they) were many ' against this Book. But Canterbury procured them to be answered with terrible Proclamations. We were constrained to use the remedy of Protestations: but, for 'our Protestations, Canterbury procured us to be declared Rebels and Traitors in all the Parish-Kirks of England. When we were seeking to possess our Religion in Peace, against these Devices and Novations, Canterbury kindled War against us.--Our Scottish Prelates petitioned that something might be abated of the English Ceremonies; as the Cross in Baptism, &c. But he would not only have these kept, but others super-added; which was nothing else but adding Fuel to the Fire. Read also their Expostulation in their Remonstrance, 1639, Pag. 4. Certainly, Posterity will hardly believe (as we, who have seen it, cannot but wonder) how it hath come to pass, that we should have so long petitioned our Native Prince to do LIS |