Sermon on 15 March 1684, Title page – Dedication
A SERMON Preached at a Publick ORDINATION AT St. Peter's Cornhill.
MARCH 15th. 1684/5;
BY EDW. STILLINGFLEET, D. D. DEAN of St. Paul's, and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY.
LONDON, Printed by M. Flesher, for Henry Mortlock, at the Phoenix in St. Paul's Church-yard. 1685.
TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER in GOD, HENRY, LORD BISHOP of LONDON, One of the LORDS of His MAJESTIES PRIVY COUNCIL, &c.
My LORD,
WHen I lately received Your Lordships Command for Printing the Sermon I Preached at Your last Solemn Ordination, I thought Your Lordships Authority and Judgment ought to Over-rule my own Inclinations; although the Experience of a former Storm, on a like Occasion, might justly make me unwilling to venture abroad again, unless there were some Hopes of a Calmer Season. But whatever the Issue be, I have the Satisfaction of doing my Duty; and I hope others will have so much, at least in Reading it, as to be convinced, how unjustly I have been, not long since, represented to the World, as an Enemy to the very Being of Churches in general, and to the Constitution of this Church in particular.
A Calumny so groundless and ridiculous, that the Authour of it doth not produce one considerable Argument (for I envy him not the rare Embellishments of his Style) to prove the Church a distinct Society; which I had not made use of to that Purpose in a Discourse published above Twenty years since.
But this must never be taken notice of, nor any of those passages in my later Writings; wherein I had fully asserted and vindicated the Churches Power in general, and the particular Constitution of this Church, lest the World should laugh at the Folly and Malice of such an unskilfull Maker of Controversies, who follows the Schoolmen onelyonly in two things, viz. a Barbarous Style, and a Rude Way of Disputing with his Brethren.
But that is a small thing with him, who in one Of the subject of Church Power, p. 514.single Page of his Book, charges no less than two of our Renowned Archbishops, Whitgift and Bancroft, and the Learned Bishop of Winchester, Bilson, with Writing Inconsiderately; and that for a new sort of Henrician Heresie, viz. deriving the Magistrates Power from Christ.
If this Person had not with great humility written himself the Vicar of Cosmus Blene, one might have thought, by these passages, he had fancied himself another kind of Vicar; especially, when he proceeds so like a Judge of Controversies, and after an imperious manner, summons me, by a kind of Citation, to answer to such Questions as he should demand of me; but out of Respect to Your Lordships Authority, and Jurisdiction over me, I declined giving any Answer to him. And he hath since Printed his Monitory Letter in the Preface to his Book. Therefore left my silence on this Occasion, should make others think, there were some ground for such a Publick Accusation of me; I shall, in few words, lay open before Your Lordship, (to whom I owe an Account of my Actions) the Nature and Merits of this Cause, and the onelyonly Foundation of all this Noise and Clamour, that Your Lordship may Judge, how well I am treated by this Accuser of his Brethren.
It happen'd, my Lord, that in my younger days (about Twenty five years since) I thought it necessary to inform my self, as well as I could; in the state of the Controversie about Church Government, which had been managed with so much Heat among us, and was then like to be revived. And to that end I applied my self to the Reading and Considering the Authours of greatest esteem on both sides; and by diligent perusing of them, I thought them more happy, in overthrowing each others Hypothesis, than in setting up their own. And supposing no better Reasons could be produced than I found in them, I from thence concluded, that the Form of Church Government was left at Liberty by any Law of Christ, and was therefore to be determined, as served best to the great Ends of Peace and Order; which were the plain and standing Laws of the Christian Church.
To make this more clear, I considered the Nature and Force of Laws; what there was in the Christian Society, which was taken from the Law of Nature, what from Divine Positive Laws; whether the Places of Scripture, or Testimony of Antiquity, or Reformed Churches, did determine this Matter. All which being put together, I did adventure to publish at that time, hoping by that means to bring over those to a Compliance with the Church of England (then like to be Re-established) who stood off upon the Supposition, that Christ had appointed a Presbyterian Government to be always continued in his Church; and therefore they thought Prelacy was to be detested, as an unlawfull Usurpation. In the very first Chapter of the Book I set my self to Answer the Presbyterian Arguments, without mentioning their Books, in which they may be still seen, and so Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici, &c.quite through I omitted nothing that was pleaded by them against Submission to Episcopal Government. And I dare challenge any Man to produce one Passage in the whole Book that tended to incourage Faction or Schism, or Opposition to the Church of England; but on the contrary, I endeavour'd to recommend the Episcopal Government, as having the Advantage of all others, and coming nearest to Apostolical Practice; and I concluded all with the Proposal of King Charles I. at the end of his second Paper at the Isle of Wight, as most highly just and reasonable, viz. The reducing Episcopacy and Presbytery to such a well-proportion'd Form of Superiority and Subordination, as may best resemble the Apostolical and Primitive times, so far forth as the different condition of the times, and the exigences of all considerable circumstances will admit.
And now, my Lord, You see my Crime; and if in this last I erred, it was with a most Excellent Prince, and a True Friend to the Church of England, whose Sufferings could never make him warp from what his Conscience and Judgment directed.
I do not deny, my Lord, that I do now think much more is to be said for the Apostolical Institution of Episcopacy, than I at that time apprehended (as will fully appear in the following Sermon:) But I confess, I yet see no Cause for such Clamours against this Book, as though nothing could satisfie but a Recantation of it, as Publick as the Errour, Scandal and Offence given by it. These are the Terms prescribed me by the Lofty Superintendent of Cosmus Blene; but they are, in Truth, a Reflexion on all my Superiours in the Church, who, for so long a time, have been pleased to treat me with more Kindness, than so much as to mention any such thing to me, with respect to that unlucky Book, as my Accuser calls it. For they were so wise, to consider the Time when it was Written, viz. before the Church was Reestablished; And with what Design it was Written, viz. to gain upon the Dissenters from our Church. And it did not want Success that way, both here, and in a Neighbour Kingdom. But suppose there were Errours and Mistakes in it (as no doubt there were) they were so wise to make Allowances for the Scepticalness and Injudiciousness of Youth, and for the Prejudices of Education. All Men are not so happy to be born or bred in settled times, when they have had no Temptation to think otherwise than they doe: but suppose a Man brought up when all things are in Confusion, and every one at liberty to chuse his own Way; Was it not a fair step towards the Church of England, even then to receive Episcopal Orders, and to follow the Directions of an Excellent Bishop of this Church? Which things I can truely affirm of my self at that time. And for many years since it is well known, that besides the constant Duties of my Place (in which I have always opposed Faction and Schism) I have made it my Business to defend the Church of England, against its Enemies on both sides.
But it seems nothing can Atone for such an Errour with these Implacable Men, but a Publick Recantation. And are we sure that will doe it? It seems to me to be a Commendable Piece of Ingenuity in any Person, to Retract a former Opinion upon full Conviction, when it proceeds from Judgment and Choice; (for otherwise a Man is but like a Speaking-Trumpet, uttering the Words which others put into him:) but yet some Men love to be still rubbing upon the old sore, and upbraiding such a Man with what he hath Publickly Disowned, and with his very disowning of it: Which looks, as if they were glad he had been in the Wrong, and were unwilling he should be otherwise. So that, when Men are resolved to find Fault with others, no Recantation can doe them good; but it is very hard for us now to be under such a rigorous Dispensation, which makes every slip unpardonable. Especially, when it is set up by those, who have been such Offenders themselves. For some of these are most apt to be severe towards others; as if it were some Atonement for their own Miscarriages, to be always finding fault with their Brethren. And I heartily wish, my Enemies have none greater to answer for, than such as arise from too great a zeal for Peace and Unity among our selves. Yet if even therein I have gone beyond my bounds, I beg pardon of my Superiours; Since it is too evident, that an untractable Spirit on one side, as well as a pretence to an Infallible Spirit on the other, render all Projects of Accommodation useless.
This I mention, my Lord, because I hear some Proposals of mine, when I was Writing against the Dissenters, have given offence to some, and have been made use of to ill purposes by others. But those who consider the Design and Tendency of them, and the Circumstances of that Time when they were made, will see no Cause to pass any severe Censure upon one, who Designed to serve the Church of England by them; as the Dissenters themselves confessed, and thought they would end in the Ruin of the Separation; and therefore never thanked me for them.
And now I hope Your Lordships Goodness (of which I have had so large Experience) will excuse all this Unpleasant Discourse (as usually Apologies are) but since my Accuser thinks Posterity will be concerned in his Writings in this Cause (I dare say not to make a Pattern for Style out of them) I was willing to take this opportunity to clear my self for once, to Your Lordship and the World.
As to his Accusation about Archbishop Cranmer's MSS. I think he hath heard enough of that already: and he owes me a Publick Recantation upon his own Terms, for charging me, with Unfaithfulness therein, for the Scandal and Offence hath been very Publick.
I am afraid I have exercised Your Lordships Patience too long, and therefore humbly beg your Lordships Blessing upon,
My Lord, Your Lordships most Faithfull and Obedient Servant. Edw. Stillingfleet. London, June 1st. 1685.