A Plea to an Appeal, Title page – Dedication
A PLEA TO AN APPEALE: Trauersed Dialogue wise.
By H. B.
August. De Tempore. Sermo. 98.
Idcirco Doctrinam Catholicam contradicentium obsidet impugnatio, vt fides nostra non otio torpescat, sed multis exercitationibus elimetur.
Ibid.
There must be heresies euen among you, that they which are approued, may bee made manifest among you.
1. Cor. 11. 19.
Printed at London, by W. I. 1626.
TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE, CHARLES, KING OF GREAT Britaine, France and Ireland; Defender of the Faith, &c.
Most gratious Soueraigne:
IF it be a mans glory to passe by an offence: how much more a Kings? who being armed with power to reuenge, his pardon is the more glorious, the more gratious. This is Your Maiesties glory: that You hauehave passed by the offence of Your seruant: and Your glory how beautifully shall it shine forth, if Your noble pardon shall be sealed with Your Royall Patronage of this poore Plea? which if it passe not vnderunder the Priuiledge of the Caesarean Maiestie; it is like to fare the worse for the Atturneys sake; whom (besides his many personall imperfections) the very scarres of his late disgrace with so gracious a Maister, expose, with his Plea, as no lesseridiculous to the Antagonists, then Dauids sling was to Golia…, and his Philistims. Who, if they aske me, vponupon what hope I presumed, to impleade an Appeale to Caesar: I cannot answere with Solon, vponupon old age; rather, vponupon pouerty; rather, vponupon Caesars equity▪ rather, vponupon the causes verity. Yea, my duty to God, to your Maiestie, to the sacred memory of your Royall Father, to the Church of God, to my Mother Church of England, to the State, to my Reuerend Fathers, to my reproached Brethren, all these summon me from my sweete, safe Priuacy, to runne a hazzard vponupon the Theater of importune opposition.
And see also, Dread Soueraigne, how deeply You stand ingaged in this Plea. Therein seuen Plaintifes sollicite Your Grace for justice.
First, Truth: she complaines of hard vsage, how shee is driuen to seeke corners, sith shee cannot passe the Presse Cum Priuilegio, but must be silēced, yea Gagged, least, while shee refuseth to subscribe to An Appeale, she should by writing, cleare her Doctrines from the infamous terme of Puritanisme, and her selfe from being reproached for a Puritan.
The next Plaintife, is Gods Glory, Grace, Gospell, complaining they are vndermined, ouerturned, by an Appeale: wherein Gods foundation of his free grace and mercy in electing vsus in his Son to saluation, is laid vponupon the sandy ground of Mans freewill. his eternall and vnrepentant louelove to his Elect, made to depend vponupon the haire of humaine mutability, standing on its owne vnsteddy bottome to fall totally, finally.
The third Plaintife, is the Sacred Ashes of Your Royall Father of famous memory, complaining His honor is polluted, prophaned in a high degree by An Appeale, so much depressing the Synod of Dort, which His Maiestie so much graced, and exalting Arminianisme, which His sacred Maiestie so much detested.
The fourth Plaintife, is Gods Church, especially our Mother Church of England, iustly complaining, how impiously she is abused, and her Doctrines traduced, by an Appeale, as if in the very Fundamentalls, (as Praedestination, Election, Freewill, Iustification, Faith, Perseuerance in sauing grace, Certainty of saluation, and the like) shee iumped with the Apostatized Church of Rome, and her confederate Arminians: as if her Doctrines were not the same with the holy Scriptures: as if they must be rated by a few priuate spirits, ingrossing, as by a Monopoly, the name of the Church of England, reducing Ecclesia Romana to Curia Romana: as if her Doctrines were as mutable, as their vniust Iudges, who Cameleon like will change colour with eueryevery obiect of time.
The fifth Plaintife is the State, complaining of a ruefull distraction and rent it suffereth, by a most factious and seditious Appeale, which coming very vnseasonably, like a disastrous Comet, portendeth vniuersall ruine both to Church and State, if the vast breach made thereby, for the grand enemy to enter, bee not all the sooner and surer (if possible) made vp againe.
The sixth Plaintife is the Ghost of some of the Reuerend forefathers of our Church, as Doctor Bancroft, once Bishop of London, and Doctor Ouerall, once Deane of Pauls, and Bishop of Norwich, complaining, that their speeches in the Conference at Hampton Court (Ianua. 14. 1603.) now lately printed, the one about Praedestination, the other, Perseuerance in grace, are pitifully and palpably peruerted in An Appeale, to the great reproach of their owne Credits, and in them, the scandall of the Church of England.
The seuenth Plaintife is the Communion of Saints militant, in this Church, and elswhere (yea some, now Triumphant in heauen) complaining, that notwithstanding they striue both in faith and practise to come as neere, as is possible for humaine frailtie, to Christ and his Apostles, yet for that very cause they are persecuted and reproached in An Appeale, with the odious name of Puritan, and what not?
Now all these Plaintifes, most noble King, do as by speciall interest, craue iustice at Your Maiesties hands. Truth claimes it, as You are King of England, Defender of the faith; that as It makes You free, so You would it, with full priuiledge to plead its owne cause. Gods glory claimes it of You, as whom (aboue all Princes in Christendome) He hath put such a rich crowne of grace and glory vponupon, that thereby Your Maiestie might learne how highly to prize His infinite glory, which the more You stand for against its enemies, the more firmely it shall make You to stand against all Your Aduersaries. The Sacred Ashes of Your royall Father of pious memory require justice of You, not onelyonly as you are a King, but as the most pious Son of such a Father, that as by An Appeale, You are called to be an vmpire, You would accordingly determine, whither in Your judgement the Synod of Dort, with the Decrees of it, be rather to be reiected, and set at nought, for the Appealers vilifying and disclaming of it: or religiously maintained by Your Maiestie, at least for the incomparable judgement of King IAMES, who both sent thither a learned select representatiue Church of England, and Himselfe also gaue His royall assent to all the conclusions of it, as being in all points consonant to the Doctrine of the Church of England. The Church of England, with the State (like Hipocrates twinnes, mutually affected with each others weale or woe, both liuing together, both dying together) with one heart and voyce humbly craue justice of Your Maiestie, as being next vnderunder Christ ouer both, in all causes, ouer all persons, the onelyonly supreme Gouernour; that You would chastise their contumacious children, who fasten reproaches, and hasten ruines to both. The fame of our Forefathers craveth justice of Your Maiestie, to free them from the false aspersion of blasphemy, and from the opinion of being Arminians. All Gods children, co-heires with Your Maiestie of the same Kingdome of glory, implore Your iustice, to rescue their innocency from the reproach of Puritanisme, the very name, being enough to cause Truth to be taken for Heresie; sincerity, for hypocrisy; a peaceable Conformitant, for a seditious Schismaticke; a loyall subiect, for a traitor; an honest man, for a varlet.
Thus by iustice, shall Your Maiesties throne be established. Thus may fearefull consequents bee preuented, if the causes be timely remoued. I reade but of two maine things, which wrought Ierusalems wracke: the one, Idolatry, causing often desolations, and miseries vponupon that Church and state: the other, Heresy, in reiecting of Christ, and his righteousnesse, seeking iustification by workes. This later alone, euen without the other (for in Christs time, and after, not an Idol, or Image was found in Iudea) caused that fatall and finall irreparable ruine, once for all.
Parallel to these two, are Pontifician Idolatry, and Arminian Heresy, the summe whereof is to abolish the true, and to establish a new Religion. For the first, it is grosse enough to bewray it selfe, and to deserue to bee cast out, least such lading not onelyonly cause, but conspire with the storme to drowne the ship it is carried in. For the second (because it is somewhat more refined, and hath learned to goe vailed vnderunder the Maske of the Church of England; the more dangerous both for seducement and sedition; as a poyson, the more subtile, the more mortall) be your Maiestie pleased to take aduertisment of the more proper markes of an Arminian. An Arminian is in his personall qualities, just like his Religion. First, he is no lesse ambitious of head-ship ouer men, then his Religion is of copartnership (at least) with God, in His glory. Secondly, as his Religion flatters him, so he men; very officious in soothlesse soothings, the Spaniels, that finde his ambition game. Thirdly, as his religion is contrary, so hee cannot away with Reformed Churches, and their learnedest and foundest writers, as Caluin specially beyond the Seas. Fourthly, as he hates to be reformed, so one peece of his Sermon must be an inuectiue against a reformed Christian, his Puritan. Fifthly, sith his Religion complies so well with Popery, he will therefore euer preferre the Church of Rome before any, yea, all Reformed Churches. Sixthly though he louelove to be a droane, yet brings he a kinde of honey to Preferments hiue. And he is now so fleshed with confidence, that (as eueryevery where abroad) hee will more frankly at Court make the theames of his Sermons to be, Uniuersall grace, equally offered to all, to receiue if they will: when a man hath receiued grace, he may fall away totally, yea, finally from that grace of God and iustification: Hee teacheth also, that man can hauehave no other certainty of saluation, but coniecturall: that God hath predestinated none to glory, but those, whom hee foresaw would both by their Freewill receiue grace, and would or could of themselues perseuere to the end: that in the maine and fundamentall points of religion, the Doctrine of the Church of England agreeth with the Councell of Trent. These, and the like, bee the Doctrines of the Appeale; which how true, this insuing Plea will plainly shew.
Pardon my plaine zeale, gratious Prince. The Romaines despised not the noyse of their geese, whereby their Capitol was preserued from the Gaules. Let mee be accounted one of them for telling truth, so our dangers may thereby bee preuented. Yea, those geese were highly rewarded: I desire no other, but that I may bee a common sharer in those blessings, which shall attend both Church and State, if but those Plaintifs bee righted, whose satisfaction shall bee Your Maiesties honour, the setling of Your Crowne, the comfort of Your best friends, the confusion of Your greatest foes, the retaining of Gods fauour vponupon Your Maiesties Person for grace, peace and prosperity here, for glory and immortality hereafter: for all which, I shall be, as I am euer bound,
Your Maiesties most humble Orator, though vnworthy seruant, HENRY BVRTON.