Reply to the Dean of St Pauls Reflections on the Rector of Sutton, Notes on letter 2
Notes upon the Second Letter, from Monsieur de L' Angle.
ADD P. 420. I have not met with such Writings, said to be lately published, to make Men believe that Communion with the Church of England is unlawful, and that the Ministers cannot permit it to private Persons without sinning. Or if I have seen any such, they are quite out of my Mind.
As to the former of these, do but allow them to distinguish, as you do in your Rational Account, and they will say, They have communion with the Church of England, so far as it is a Church, and very many of them have ordinary Communion in the self-same Worship, so far as it is God's Worship. And what is redundant, it is not necessary that they should have Communion in. It is one thing to say, Communion with the Church of England is simply unlawful, unlawful in it self, and so unto all Men; and another, to say that Communion in the Liturgies, or Ceremonies is unlawful to them, who cannot yet be satisfied that they are lawful.
But we are further supposed to believe, that Communion with the Church of England is intolerable, in what follows, that the Ministers cannot permit it to private Persons without sinning. Here let every one so far as they are called to it, speak for themselves. For my part, I have never made it any of my Work (God, and Men are Witnesses) to warn others to take heed how they had Communion with the Church of England. I have never told any living Soul, that I should sin, if I did not forbid their joyning with Parochial Congregations. Rather it should be my Prayer, I am sure it is my Hearts desire, that sober Conformists, and Non-conformists might once come to joyn each with other, notwithstanding their lesser Differences. But it seems, it is not permitted to you to have Communion with such at Dr. O. and Mr. B. tho you may have Communion with others, from whom you differ in greater Matters (both as to your Judgments, and Practices too) while they do but conform. then is there not some strange secret Virtue, or Inchantment in this Chain of Conformity? It can congregate the heterogeneous, while it separates those who are more homogeneous.
But that this is not the Doctrine of the Non-conformists, that they cannot permit private Persons to have Communion with you, without sinning, I am very apt to conclude, because M. Le Moyne went to several of their private Assemblies. while he was at London, and could never hear any such thing from any of them. Otherwise sure, he that could remember the citing of Pliny, and Vitruvius a hundred times in one Sermon, and tell us of it five years after, (tho I doubt his being so …sy in casting up such Accounts, might be the cause he wa… not at all edified by the Sermon) would not have failed to take notice of such a thing as that▪ being more pertinent and material. And for the same Reason (with others) I cannot believe what follows h…e, p. 423. That The Bugb…ar Words of Tyranny, Oppression, Limbs of Antichrist, are continually beaten into the Peoples Ears. If so, M. Le Moyne had been as likely as any Person to have catched at them; and then had we heard of them again.
But further, some of us have the very same to say, that this Learned Person says, (P. 420, 421.) That In frequenting your Assemblies, and preaching too in …ongregations that are under the Jurisdiction of the Church of England, (when we could enjoy the Priviledg, which indeed …th been very rarely) we have thus also shewn, that we do not believe her … to be unlawful.
Add P. 422. Schism is the most formid…ble …vil tha… can befal the Church: and for the avoiding of this … …Charity obliges all good Men to bear with then Breth… … much less …olerable than those of which the dispute is, … the Eyes of those that have the most aversion fro… ….
I thought it would appear, that these …minent, learned Men did not rightly, and fully understand our case. So the former speaks, as if we did excommunicate the Church of England without Mercy; Wh… alas! we are rather under her Excommunication. And this learne… Person speaks, as if we had not so much Christian Charity as to bear with our Brethren, in the use of a few Ceremonies: but that is not the thing in Question. Many of us (at least) could, and do bear with you… Conformity, and joyn with you notwithstanding. But will it not follow from his own Words, That Christian Charity obliges you to bear with ou… Non-conformity, yet you will not bear with us? I hope you would be counted good Men. Now he says, Christian Charity obliges all good Men to bear with their Prethren in some things much less tolerable, than those of which the dis… is. The Apostle gives Timothy a very solemn Charge (then are not Bishops concerned in it, if Timothy was a Bishop?) 1 Tim. 5. 21. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Iesus Christ, and the Elect Angels, that thou observe these things, without preferring one before another, doing nothing by Partiality. And one of these things, he was to observe, we find, v. 17. Let the Elders that rule well, be counted worthy of double Honour, especially they who labour in the Word and Doctrine. Yet how many that have been …alled to the work of the Ministry, how many of your Brethren, that would gladly labour in the work they have been called unto; and you have been doing them what dishonour you can, loading them with the charge of Schism and unreasonable Separation, while you can bear with things much less tolerabl… in others? Is this your Christian Charity? Or doing nothing by Partiality? Are there no Non-conformists, that use to hear you, when they have Opportunity? I am apt to think there are. And thus they bear with you, as to matters in dispute, farther than you are seen to bear with them.
But this must be noted, It is one thing for us to bear with your Conformity, and another thing by Word and Deed to declare our approbation of Conformity, or to conform meerly because you do so, and require us to do so, tho we suspect it to be sinful. As the Lord Faulkland (I chuse oft to speak to you in others Words; because I suppose if I spake the same things in my own Words, they would not be so much regarded) Reply p. 214. If they have any never so slight Errors, and which appears so to me, which yet they will force me to subscribe to, (and this you know is our case, which M. de L' Angle seems to be ignorant of, or else forgot himself, and in these Lines (I am upon) went quite besides it) if I communicate with them, my Assent would be damnable, or if they require the same subscription to some Truths, which yet after my real endeavours in enquiry, appear Errors to me, I doubt not but my refus…l is …o way damnable. Something more you have immediately before. This is home, and answers M. de L' Angle's charging us with committing a very great Sin.
And where he cites Calvin, and Beza, p. 422. We may well be confident, that they could not have submitted to such Terms, as are put upon us. And if he himself had submitted unto all that is required of us, when he was here in England, had he submitted to Re-ordination, and owned Bishops, a…a distinct order from Presbyters, of Apostolical Institution, I very much question, whether it might not have drawn the displeasure of his Brethren upon him, if not their Censure at his return, as he speaks, p. 421.
Add p. 423. When I see what he says of the First Authors of the Separation, I cannot but wish he had known them. He condemns some Writings, as unreasonable and passionate, possibly he may mean our Answers to your Sermon: but th… fo… ought appearing in this Letter, very probably he hath not seen them. Yet …fter all, he comes to plead for Dissenters.— There is a very great number of good Men, whose Faith is Pure, and whose Piety is …, …This …estimony I hope is true) and who remain separate from you only because their Simplicity is surprized, &c. And whether he should not have had the like Charity for very many Ministers, as he hath for very many of their Hearers, may be a question? I rank these with those weak ones, who said they were not of the Body; and of whom … said they were of the Body for all that.
So why may not they, who are of the same Faith, and have the same Worship for substance, be acknowledged as Brethren, and still owned as in Communion with the Body; tho they have not the same Ceremonies, which are meer Shadows?
But he speaks more fully to the purpose, p. 424.—And I am sure, (I wish he could make us sure here) That if there were nothing wanting to cure it, but the abstaining from some Expressions, the quitting some Ceremonies, and the changing the Colour of some Habits, you would resolve to do that, and something more difficult than that, with great Pleasure.
From hence, as from that earnest Expression he hath in the Page foregoing, [In the name of God then, do all that possibly you can:] On… would easily infer, that he was little acquainted with the Case, he understood not where we have stuck, what hath thus long hindred our full Communion with the Church of England. Otherwise, for ought I can perceive here, we might have had him pleading for us, that such matters of difference might be quite removed, or at least that they might not be urged, and imposed. And by what immediately followeth there, p. 424. it appears, he is a great Stranger to the Savoy-Conference, never truly understood how Matters were carried, or who have been the Obstructors of Union. Had the Non-conformists then, or at any time since, refused to hearken and submit to fair and just Proposals, which would not have pinched at all on that part, which should be kept tender in every one; Then had they been extreamly to blame, and had stood very much in their own Light. But God allows us not to break our Peace with him and our own Consciences, for Peace with Men; neither can true Piety, Zeal, and Charity (three Cardinal Vertues which he commendeth in our Bishops, and prayeth they may be increased more and more) require so much of us, which is not in our Power to grant and yield unto. But seeing (as he says afterwards) he should be past all comfort, if he should not see some new Attempt at least made for the success of a work so holy, and of such Consequence, in a time that seems so proper for it; and Thousands more may say the like, who truly prefer Ierusalem's Welfare before their chiefest Ioy; I cannot but pray that those, who are chiefly concerned; may have all the Qualities of the Head and the Heart, which are necessary to make them able and willing to contribute to this good Work.