Answer to a Book, Part 13
XIII. Upon the calling in of the Scots and thir comming.
IT must needs seem strange, where Men accustom themselves to ponder and contemplat things in thir first original and institution, that Kings, who, as all other Officers of the Public, were at first chos'n and install'd onelyonly by consent and suffrage of the People, to govern them as Freemen by Laws of thir own framing, and to be, in consideration of that dignity and riches bestow'd upon them, the entrusted Servants of the Common-wealth, should notwithstanding grow up to that dishonest encroachment, as to esteem themselves Maisters, both of that great trust which they serve, and of the People that betrusted them: counting what they ought to doe both in discharge of thir public duty, and for the great reward of honour and revennue which they receave, as don all of meer grace and favour; as if thir power over us were by nature, and from themselves, or that God had sould us into thir hands. Indeed if the race of Kings were eminently the best of men, as the breed at … is of …orse, it would in some reason then be their part onelyonly to command, ours always to obey. But Kings by generation no way excelling others, and most commonly not being the wisest or the worthiest by far of whom they claime to have the governing, that we should yeild them subjection to our own ruin, or hold of them the right of our common safety, and our natural freedom by meer gift, as when the Conduit pisses Wine at Coronations, from the superfluity of thir royal grace and beneficence, we may be sure was never the intent of God, whose ways are just and equal; never the intent of Nature, whose works are also regular; never of any People not wholly barbarous, whom prudence, or no more but human sense would have better guided when they first created Kings, then so to nullifie and tread to durt the rest of mankind, by exalting one person and his Linage without other merit lookt after, but the meer contingencie of a begetting, into an absolute and unaccountable dominion over them and thir posterity. Yet this ignorant or wilfull mistake of the whole matter, had tak'n so deep root in the imagination of this King, that whether to the English or to the Scot, mentioning what acts of his Regal Office, though God knows how un willingly, he had pass'd, he calls them, as in other places, Acts of grace and bounty, so heer special obligations, favours to gratifie active spirits, and the desires of that party. Words not onelyonly sounding pride and Lordly usurpation, but Injustice, Partiality, and Corruption. For to the Irish he so farr condiscended, as first to tolerate in privat, then to covnant op'nly the tolerating of Popery: So farr to the Scot, as to remove Bishops, establish Presbytery, and the Militia in thir own hands, preferring, as some thought, the desires of Scotland before his own interest and Honour. But being once on this side Tweed, his reason, his conscience, and his honour became so streitn'd with a kind of fals Virginity, that to the English neither one nor other of the same demands could be granted, wherwith the Scots were gratifi'd; as if our aire and climat on a sudden had chang'd the property and the nature both of Conscience, Honour, and Reason, or that he found none so fit as English to be the subjects of his arbitrary power. Ireland was as Ephraim, the strength of his head, Scotland, as Iudah, was his Law-giver; but over England as over Edom he meant to cast his Shoo; and yet so many sober Englishmen not sufficiently awake to consider this, like men inchanted with the Circaean cup of servitude, will not be held back from running thir own heads into the Yoke of Bondage.
The summ of his discours is against setling of Religion by violent meanes; which whether it were the Scots designe upon England, they are best able to cleare themselves. But this of all may seem strangest, that the King who, while it was permitted him, never did thing more eagerly then to molest and persecute the consciences of most Religious men, he who had made a Warr and lost all, rather then not uphold a Hierarchie of persecuting Bishops, should have the confidence heer to profess himself so much an Enemie of those that force the conscience. For was it not he, who upon the English obtruded new Ceremonies, upon the Scots a new Liturgie, & with his Sword went about to score a bloody Rubric on thir backs? Did he not forbidd and hinder all effectual search of Truth, nay like a beseiging Enemy stopd all her passages both by Word and Writing? Yet heer can talk of faire and equall disputations: Where notwithstanding, if all submit not to his judgement as not being rationally convicted, they must submitt (and he conceales it not) to his penaltie as counted obstinate. But what if he himself and those his learned Churchmen, were the convicted or the ostinate part long agoe; should Reformation suffer them to sit Lording over the Church in thir fatt Bishoprics and Pluralities, like the great Whore that sitteth upon many Waters, till they would voutsafe to be disputed out? Or should we sit disputitg while they sate plotting and persecuting? Those Clergimen were not to be driv'n into the fold like Sheep, as his Simily runs, but to be driv'n out of the Fold like Wolves, or Theeves, where they sat Fleecing those Flocks which they never fed.
He beleeves that Presbytery though prov'd to be the onelyonly Institution of Iesus Christ were not by the Sword to be set up without his consent; which is contrary both to the Doctrin, and the known practice of all Protestant Churches; if his Sword threat'n those who of thir own accord imbrace it.
And although Christ and his Apostles, being to civil affairs but privat men, contended not with Magistrats, yet when Magistrats themselves and especially Parlaments; who have greatest right to dispose of the civil Sword, come to know Religion, they ought in conscience to defend all those who receave it willingly, against the violence of any King or Tyrant whatsoever. Neither is it therefore true; That Christianity is planted or watred with Christian blood; for there is a large difference between forcing men by the Sword to turne Presbyterians, and defending those who willingly are so, from a r fiousfu inroad o bloody Bishops, arm'd with the Militia of a King thir Pupill. And if covetousness and ambition be an argument that Presbytery hath not much of Christ, it argues more strongly against Episcopacy; which from the time of her first mounting to an order above the Presbyters, had no other Parents then Covetousness & Ambition. And those Sects, Scisms, and Heresies, which he speaks of, if they get but strength and numbers, need no other pattern then Episcopacie and himself, to set up their ways by the like method of violence. Nor is ther any thing that hath more marks of Scism and Sectarism then English Episcopacy; whether we look at Apostolic times, or at reformed Churches; for the universall way of Church goverment before, may as soon lead us into gross error, as thir universally corrupted Doctrin. And Goverment by reason of ambition was likeliest to be corrupted much the sooner of the two. However nothing can be to us Catholic or universal in Religion, but what the Scripture teaches; whatsoever without Scripture pleads to be universal in the Church, in being universal is but the more Scismatical. Much less can particular Laws and Constitutions impart to the Church of England any power of consistory or tribunal above other Churches, to be the sole Judge of what is Sect or Scism, as with much rigor, and without Scripture, they took upon them. Yet these the King resolves heer to defend and maintain to his last, pretending, after all those conferences offer'd, or had with him, not to see more rationall and religious motives then Soldiers carry in thir Knapsacks; with one thus resolv'd it was but folly to stand disputing.
He imagins his own judicious zeal to be most concernd in his tuition of the Church. So thought Saul when he presum'd to offer Sacrifice; for which he lost his Kingdom; So thought Uzziah when he went into the Temple; but was thrust out with a Leprosie for his opinion'd zeal, which he thought judicious. It is not the part of a King, because he ought to defend the Church, therfore to set himself supreme Head over the Church, or to meddle with Ecclesial Goverment, or to defend the Church otherwise then the Church would be defended; for such defence is bondage; nor to defend abuses, and stop all Reformation under the name of New moulds fanct'd and fashion'd to privat designes. The holy things of Church are in the power of other keys then were deliverd to his keeping. Christian libertie purchas'd with the death of our Redeemer, and establish'd by the sending of his free Spirit to inhabit in us, is not now to depend upon the doubtful consent of any earthly Monarch; nor to be again fetter'd with a presumptuous negative voice, tyrannical to the Parlament, but much more tyrannical to the Church of God: which was compell'd to implore the aid of Parlament, to remove his force and heavy hands frō off our consciēces, who therfore complains now of that most just defensive force, because onelyonly it remov'd his violence and persecution. If this be a violation to his conscience, that it was hinderd by the Parlament from violating the more tender consciences of so many thousand good Christians, let the usurping conscience of all Tyrants be ever so violated.
He wonders, Fox wonder, how we could so much distrust Gods assistance, as to call in the Protestant aid of our Brethren in Scotland; why then did he, if his trust were in God and the justice of his Cause, not scruple to sollicit and invite earnestly the assistance both of Papists and of Irish Rebels? If the Scots were by us at length sent home, they were not call'd to stay heer always; neither was it for the peoples ease to feed so many Legions, longer then thir help was needfull.
The Goverment of thir Kirk we despis'd not, but thir imposing of that Goverment upon us; not Presbytery, but Arch-Presbytery, Classical, Provincial, and Diocesan Prebytery, claiming to it self a Lordly power and Superintendency both over Flocks and Pastors, over Persons and Congregations no way thir own. But these debates in his judgement would have bin ended better by the best Divines in Christ'ndom in a full and free Synod. A most improbable way, and such as never yet was us'd, at least with good success, by any Protestant Kingdom or State since the Reformation: Every true Church having wherewithall from Heav'n, and the assisting Spirit of Christ implor'd, to be complete and perfet within it self. And the whole Nation is not easily to be thought so raw, and so perpetually a novice after all this light, as to need the help and direction of other Nations, more then what they write in public of thir opinion, in a matter so familiar as Church Goverment.
In fine he accuses Piety with the want of Loyalty, and Religion with the breach of Allegeance, as if God and he were one Maister, whose commands were so oft'n contrary to the commands of God. He would perswade the Scots that thir chief Interest consists in thir fidelity to the Crown. But true policy will teach them to find a safer interest in the common friendship of England, then in the ruins of one ejected Family.