Baxters Narrative of His Life and Times, Part 2 · Section 10 · Floating text 11 – Floating text 12
Our Petition to the King, upon our Sight of the First Draught of his Declaration.
May it please your Majesty,
SO great was the Comfort created in our Minds by your Majesty's oft-expressed Resolution to become the effectual Moderator in our Differences, and your self to bring us together by procuring such mutual Condesc…ntions as are necessary thereto, and also by your gracious Acceptance of our Proposals, which your Majesty heard and received not only without blame, but with Acknowledgment of their Moderation, and as such as would infer a Reconciliation between the differing Parties; that we must needs say, the least Abatement of our Hopes, is much the more unwelcome and grievous to us: And it is no small Grief that surprizeth our Hearts, from the Complaints of the Students ejected in the Universities, and of faithful Ministers removed from their beloved Flocks; and denied Institution, for want of Subscription, Re-ordination, or an Oath of Obedience to the Bishop; but especially from many Congregations in the Land, that cry out they are undone by the loss of those Means of their Spiritual Welfare, which were dearer to them than all Worldly Riches, and by the grievous Burden of Ignorant, or Scandalous, or dead unprofitable Ministers set over them, to whom they dare not commit the Guidance and care of their Immortal Souls, and whose Ministry they dare not own or countenace, lest they be guilty of their Sin: And it addeth to our Grief and Fear in finding so much of the proposed necessary Means of our Agreement, especially in the point of Government here passed by, in your Majesty's Declaration, as if it were denied us. But yet remembring the gracious and encouraging Promises of your Majesty, and observing your Majesty's Clemency in what is here granted us, and your great Condescention in vouchfasing not only so graciously to …hear us in these our humble Addresses and Requests, but also to grant us the Sight of your Declaration before it is resolved on, with Liberty of returning our Additional Desires, and hope that they shall not be rejected; we re-assume our Confidence, and comfortably expect, that what is not granted in this Declaration that is reasonable and necessary to our Agreement, shall yet be granted upon fuller Consideration of the Equity of our Requests.
As our Designs and Desires are not for any worldly Advantages or Dignities to our selves, so have we not presumed to intermeddle with any Civil Interest of your Majesty, or any of your Officers; nor in the matters of meer Convenience to cast our Reason into the Ballance against your Majesty's Prudence; but meerly to speak for the Laws and Worship and Servants of the Lord, and for the Peace of our Consciences, and the Safety of our own and Brethrens Souls. It lifts us up with Joy to think what happy Consequents will ensue, if your Majesty shall entertain these healing Motions: How happily our Differences will be reconciled, and the exasperated Minds of Men composed: How Temptations to Contention and Uncharitableness will be removed: How comfortably your Majesty will reign in the dearest Affections of your Subjects; and how firmly they will adhere to your Interest as their own: How chearfully and zealously the united parts and Interests of the Nation will conspire to serve you: What a Strength and Honour a righteous Magistracy, a learned, holy, loyal Ministry, and a faithful praying People will be to your Throne: And how it will be your Glory to be the King of the most religious Nation in the World, that hath no considerable Parties, but what are Centered (under Christ) in you: What a Comfort it will be for the Bishops and Pastors of the Church, to be honoured and loved by all the most religious of their Flocks; to see the Success of their Labours and the Beauty of the Church promoted by our common Concord, and Brethren to assemble and dwell together in Unity; serving one God, according to one Rule, with one Heart and Mouth.
[And on the contrary, it astonisheth us to foresee the doleful Consequents that would follow if (which God forbid) your Majesty should refuse the most necessary,All this enclosed part was left out of the Petition as presented to his Majesty: This only being inserted in the room of it. [And on the contrary should we lose the Opportunity of our desired Reconciliation and Union, it astonisheth us to foresee what doleful Effects our Divisions would produce, which we will not so much as mention in particulars lest our Words should be misunderstood. And seeing all this may safely and easily now be prevented, we humbly beseech the Lord in Mercy to vouchsafe to your Majesty an Heart to discern a right of Time and Judgment. moderate Ways of Concord, and be engaged by a party to exalt them by the Suppression of the rest! How woful a Day would it prove to your Majesty and your Dominions, in which you should thus espouse a Cause and Interest injurious to the Interest of Christ, and the Cause of Unity and Love, and contrary to your Majesty's gracious Inclinations be engaged unawars in a seeming necessity to deal hardly with the Ministers and Servants of the Lord! How considerable a part of the Three Nations for Number, Wisdom, Piety and Interest, you would be drawn to govern with a grievous Hand; and to lay them under the greatest Sorrow who restored and received your Majesty with Joy! How the Dissent of Ministers from the Government and Ceremonies of the Church, were it expressed but by their Groans and Tears, and moderate Complaints to God, or Not-praying for that Church Government which they dare not pray for, would be reckoned as Discontent and Sedition; and it would be judged a Crime to feel when they are hurt! What Occasion this would give to irreligious Temporizers to arrogate the Name of your Majesty's best Subjects, and to let out their Malice against the Upright, and make Religion a Reproach! And then what a Hindrance that would be to the Conversion and saving of the Peoples Souls! and what a fruitful Nursery of all Vice! How grievously Charity would be overthrown, while the People are engaged in the hardest Thoughts and Speeches of each other! What a Temptation it would be to the afflicted part, to abate their Honour and due Respect to those they suffer by, when they are deprived of that which is dearest to them in the World; and when the Groans and Cryes of afflicted Innocents arrive at Heaven, and have awakened the Justice of the King of Kings, the greatest cannot stand before him. And what a Snare and Grief will it be to the Bishops and Pastors of the Church to be esteemed Wolves, and to be engaged to suppress them as their Adversaries, that else might be the Honour of their Ministry, and the Comfort of their Lives. And when Divisions and separated Assemblies are thus multiplied (the People being driven from the publick Congregations) either it will bring them under Trouble, or let in Papists and others that are intollerable into an equal Tolleration; and such Discontents and Distractions in the Church, will not be without their Influence on the State. And by all this how much will Satan and the Enemies of our Religion be gratified, and God dishonoured and displeased. And seeing all this may safely and easily be now prevented, we humbly beseech the Lord, in Mercy to vouchsafe to your Majesty a Heart to discern of time and Judgment.]
And as these are our General Ends and Motives, so we are induced to insist upon the Form of Synodical Government conjunct with a fixed Presidency or Episcopacy, for these Reasons:
1. We have reason to believe that no other Terms will be so generally agreed on. And it is no way injurious to Episcopal Power; but most firmly establisheth all in it that can pretend to Divine Authority or true Antiquity. It granteth them much more than Reverend Bishop Hall (in his Pe…re-maker) and many other of that Judgment, do require; who would have accepted the fixing of the President for Life, as sufficient for the Reconciliation of the Churches.
2. It being most agreeable to the Scripture and the Primitive Government, is likest to be the way of a more Universal Concord, if ever the Churches arrive on Earth at such a Blessing. However it will be most acceptable to God, and to well informed Consciences.
3. It will promote the Practice of Discipline and Godliness without Disorder; and promote Order without the hindering of Discipline and Godliness.
4. And it is not to be silenced (though in some respects we are loath to mention it) that it will save the Nation from the Violation of the Solemn Vow and Covenant, without wronging the Church at all, or breaking any other Oath. And, whether the Covenant were lawfully imposed or not, we are assured from the Nature of a Vow to God, and from the Cases of Saul, Zedekiah, and others, that it would be a terrible thing to us to violate it on that pretence. Though we are far from thinking that it obligeth us to any Evil, or to go beyond our Places and Callings to do Good, much less to resist Authority; yet doth it undoubtedly bind us to forbear our own Consent to those Luxuriances of Church-Government which we there renounced, and for which no Divine Institution can be pretended.*This was thus expressed in the Petition that was presented [not presuming to meddle with the Consciences of those many of the Nobility and Gentry, &c.] It is not only the Presbyterians, but multitudes of the Episcopal Party, and the Nobility, Gentry, and others that adhered to his late Majesty, in the late unhappy Wars, that (at their Composition) took this Vow and Covenant†What follows in this double inclosure, was omitted in the Copy presented, this only being inserted in the room of it. [We only crave your Majesty's Clemency to our selves and others, who believe themselves to be under its Obligations. And God forbid that we that are Ministers of the Word of Truth should do any thing to encourage your Majesty's Subjects to cast off the Conscience of an Oath.] [[And God forbid that ever the Souls of so many thousands should be driven upon the Sin of Perjury, and upon the Wrath of God, and the Flames of Hell: Or, that under Pretence of calling them to repent of what is evil, they should be urged to commit so great an Evil. If once the Consciences of the Nation should be so deba…ched, what good can be expected from them? or what Evil shall they ever after be thought to make Conscience of? or what Bonds can be supposed to oblige them? or how can your Majesty place any Con…idence in them, notwithstanding the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy which they take? or how can they be taken for competent Witnesses in any Cause, or Persons meet for human converse? or how should those Preachers be regarded by their Auditors that dare wilfully violate their solemn Vows? and it would be no Comfort nor Honour to your Majesty to be the King of a Persideous Nation. And, whatever Palliation Flattery might at Hand procure, undoubtedly at distance of time and place (where Flattery cannot silence Truth) it would be the Nations perpetual Infamy! And what Matter of Reconciliation would it be to the guilty Papists, when we blame their impious Doctrines that have such a tendency? How loose would it leave your Majesty's Subjects, that are once taught to break such sacred Bonds]] Till the Covenant was decried as an Almanack out of date, and its Obligation taken to be null, that odious Fact could never have been perpetrated against your Royal Father: Nor your Majesty have been so long expulsed from your Dominions. And the Obligation of the Covenant upon the Consciences of the Nation, was not the weakest Instrument of your Return. We therefore humbly beseech your Majesty (with greater importunity then we think we should do for our Lives) that you will have Mercy on the Souls and Consciences of your People, [*This enclosed part was quite left out of the Copy that was presented. and will not urge or tempt them to this grievous Sin, nor drive them on the insupportable Wrath of the Almighty, whose Judgment is at hand, where Princes and People must give that account, on which the irreversible Sentence will depend: For the honour of our Religion, and of your Majesty's, Dominions, and Reign, we beseech you], suffer us not to be tempted to the violating of such Solemn Vows: and this for nothing! when an Expedient is before you, that will avoid it without any detriment to the Church; nay, to its honour and advantage.
The Prelacy which we disclaimed is [That of Diocesans upon the Claim of a Superiour Order to a Presbyter, assuming the sole Power of Publick Admonition of particular Offenders, injoyning Penitence, Excommunicating and Absolving (besides Confirmation) over so many Churches, as necessitated the Corruption or Extirpation of Discipline, and the using of Humane Officers (as Chancellors, Surrogates, Officials, Commissaries, Arch-Deacons) while the undoubted Officers of Christ (the Pastors of the particular Churches) were hindered from the Exercise of their Office].
[The Restoration of Discipline in the particular Churches, and of the Pastors to the Exercise of their Office therein, and of Synods for necessary Consultation and Communion of Churches, and of the Primitive Presidency or Episcopacy for the avoiding of all shew of Innovation and Disorder] is that which we humbly offer as the Remedy: beseeching your Maiesty, that if any thing asserted seem unproved, an Impartial Conference in your Majesty's hearing may be allowed us in order to a just Determination.
Concerning the Preamble in your Majesty's Declaration, we presume only to tender these Requests.
1. THAT as we are perswaded it is not in your Majesty's Thoughts to intimate that we are guilty of the Offences which your Majesty here reciteth, so we hope it will rather be a motive to the hastening of the Nation's Cure, that our Unity may prevent Mens Temptations of that Nature for the time to come.
2. Though we have professed our willingness to submit to the Primitive Episcopacy, and a Reformed Liturgy, hoping it may prove an Expedient to an happy Union, yet have we expressed our dislike of the Prelacy and present Liturgy, while unreformed. And though Sacriledge and unjust Alienation of Church-Lands is a Sin that we detest, yet whether in some Cases of true Superfluities of Revenues, or true Necessity of the Church, there may not be an Alienation which is no Sacriledge, and whether the Kings and Parliaments have been guilty of that Crime that have made some Alienations, are Points of high Concernment, of which we never had a Call to give our Judgment: And therefore humbly beseech your Majesty, that concerning these Matters, we may not to our Prejudice be otherwise understood, than as we have before and here expressed.
3. That as your Majesty hath here vouchsafed us your gracious Acknowledgment of our Moderation, it might never be said, That a Ministry and People of such moderate Principles, consenting to Primitive Episcopacy and Liturgy, could not yet be received into the Settlement and countenanced Body of your People, nor possess their Stations in the Church, and Liberty in the Publick Worship of God.
4. And whereas it is expressed by your Majesty, That [the Essence and Foundation of Episcopacy might be preserved, though the Extent of the Jurisdiction might be altered], this is to us a ground of Hope, that seeing the greatning or the lessening of Episcopal Power is in your Majesty's Judgment but a Matter of Convenience, the Lord will put it into your Heart to make such an Alteration in the alterable Points, as the Satisfaction of the Consciences of sober Men, and the Healing and Union of these Nations do require.
As to our Plea for Primitive Episcopacy, the Offices and Ordinances of Christ must be still distinguished from the alterable Accidents. Though we plead not for the Primitive Poverty, Persecution, or Restraints, yet must we adhere to the Primitive Order and Worship, and Administrations in the Substance; as believing that the Circumstantiating of them, is much committed unto Man, but to institute the Ordinances and Offices is the high Prerogative of Christ, the Universal King and Law-giver of the Church.