The Faith of the Church of England, Title page – Preface
THE FAITH OF THE CHVRCH OF ENGLAND CONCERNING GODS WORK ON MANS WILL. PVBLIKELY CONFIRMED BY THE SVBSCRIPTIONS OF ALL the Famous Martyrs, and Divines thereof.
Faithfully gathered out of the Authenticke Records of the CHVRCH.
By Francis Tayler B. in D. and Rector of CLAPHAM in SVRREY.
LONDON. Printed by I. L. for Nicholas Bourne at the South entrance to the Royall Exchange. 1641.
TO Sir EDWARD DERING, of Surenden-Dering, in the County of Kent, Knight and Baronet; and one of the Knights choſen by that County to ſerve in the Commons Houſe of Parliament.
SIR,
THat little intereſt I have in Kent, was the firſt motive that incited me to deſire your worſhips acquaintance. And the report of your zeale, for the eſtabliſhing of Religion, and our lawfull liberties, encreaſed this deſire. The courteous entertainment and familiarity you have ſince vouchſafed me, hath made me bold to preſent this enſuing Treatiſe to the view of the world under your protection, whom God hath enabled to judge truly of it & to defend it. The truth is, that of late years, the Law and the Goſpell have bin ſo dreſſed, both in the Pulpit & in the Preſse, that we neither knew what we beleeved, nor what we had. Our intereſt in heaven and in earth, were like to be both alike unknowne unto us in a little time. The Proverbe is, Evill manners beget good Lawes. So our good God can bring good out of will. The Myſtery of Babylon hath wrought among us by upholding the Arminian tenets under colour of pulling downe Puritanes, to take away the faith of Proteſtants. Andrews, Bilſon, Whitakers, Perkins, Calvin, Beza, have beene ſtrange names. Peter Lumbard, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, have bin too familiar in our Vniverſities and Pulpits. The ſilence enjoyned in Pulpits and Preſses, hath burſt out on the wrong ſide, while the right ſide might neither ſpeake nor write. Our hope of correcting theſe diſorders next under our great God, and our moſt gracious Soveraigne, is in the two Honourable Houſes of Parliament, Of one of which your Worſhip is a member. My ſuit then is, that your laſt workes may be better then your firſt, and that as you have been a meanes to diſcover our by-paths; ſo you will be an inſtrument to reduce us to our firſt love. Let us know what we have beleeved, that know not what wee doe beleeve. If you pleaſe to move the Honourable Houſe, that the Records of our Church may be ſearched by certaine grave Divines, and the writings of our elder and ſoundeſt Writers now out of date, may be reviewed, and a ſumme of our Religion ever ſince the reformation profeſſed, collected out of theſe; I ſuppoſe it will be a great meanes to quiet our troubles, and appeaſe our differences at home, and to regaine us a good opinion with other Churches abroad; Some of which have thought ſo ill of us, as that they have forbidden their young Students to come into England, as I have heard from a young man of excellent parts, who adventured to come hither, being ſent from Berne into Holland: I have endeavoured to give ſome light to this buſineſſe in this Treatiſe, wherein I ſhew the judgement of our Church in one maine point, upon which, all, or the moſt part of Arminianiſme depends. I could wiſh I might be a ſhoing-horne to draw on men better able to doe the like, againſt all new opinions of Arminianiſme, Socinianiſme, and Popery, which are thought to grow ſecretly among us, and ſhew themſelves by fits in Preaching and Printing. I beſeech Almighty God to incline the hearts of all to whom he hath given parts, to further this great work, of ſetling the grounds of our Religion by a ſweet Harmony. This will be for Gods glory, the honour of our Church, the good of our poſterity, and the stopping of the mouths of our Adverſaries, who trumpet out our diſſentions for their owne advantage. Sir, my requeſt is, that you would favourably accept this ſmall Preſent, and that God would bleſſe it to the furtherance of the publike good. So praying for the true well-fare of you, and all yours, I reſt,
Clapham Febr. 20. 1641. At your Worſhips ſervice in the Lord, FRANCIS TAYLOR.
Fourteene books publikely allowed, out of which all theſe proofes are taken.
1. The Book of Common Prayer.
2. The Book of Ordination.
3. The Book of Articles with the Commenmentary of Mr. Thomas Rogers Chaplain to Archbiſhop Bankcroft.
4. The first Book of Homelies.
5. The ſecond Book of Homelies.
6. The Catechiſme allowed by authoritie.
7. Prayer on Auguſt. 5.
8. Prayer on November 5.
9. The thankſgiving for the ceaſing of the plague, 1604.
10. Prayers for ceaſing of the rainy weather, 1613.
11. Prayers on the Kings day, March 27.
12. Prayers in the Faſt, 1625.
13. The thankſgiving for the ceaſing of the plague that yeere.
14. Prayers in the Faſt, 1626.
Fourteene heads to which all the proofs in this Treatiſe are to be referred.
1. Our owne inſufficiency to any good.
2. Gods omnipotency ſhewed in our converſion.
3. Gods ſpeciall grace.
4. Gods working in infants.
5. The giving of internall grace to men.
6. The receiving of grace.
7. The internall effect of grace.
8. The purification of the heart.
9. The externall effect of grace.
10. Gods governing us.
11. Gods preſerving us in godlineſſe and from ſinne.
12. The progreſſe of the regenerate.
13. The prayers of holy men.
14. Gods grants.
To the Reader.
WOnder not (Chriſtian Reader) that ſo much paines hath been taken to ſearch the authenticke records of this our famous Church of England, for the worke of God upon the will of man. That over-large power given by the Adverſary to the will of man hath been the navell-ſtring, whereby the misbegotten bratts of Arminianiſme have beene nouriſhed, while they lay lurking in the wombe of nature. It is in vaine to talke of predeſtination out of faith foreſeene, if there be no power in mans will to beleeve. It is as if a Phyſitian ſhould foreſee, that a man mortally ſicke would of himſelfe recover, but give him nothing to recover him. How can God foreſee, that ſuch a man mill beleeve who hath no power to doe it, unleſſe God give it him? Gods generall intention to ſave all men by Chriſt will not ſerve the turne, unleſſe there be in every man a power to apply Chriſts death unto them. Otherwiſe it is like Phyſicke prepared for a dead man that cannot take it. To ſay that faith is wrought in us onelyonly by Gods morall ſwaſion, is ridiculous if it be not in our power to doe as we are exhorted in all things. To teach that Gods work in mans converſion is ſuch as may be fruſtraed of the ſaving effect by mans will reſiſting, when God hath done as much as he nſeth to doe in regenerating men, is abſurd, unleſſe it be left every way indifferent to man to beleeve or not to beleeve, and he have power indifferently to doe either. It ſeeme as ſtrange to affir me that the regenerate may totally fall from grace, unleſſe he be left altogether to his own will, and made his owne onelyonly keeper. To dreame of attaining to a perfect keeping of Gods law here on earth without a great power in mans will, were to ſet a man quite beyond the Cape of all good hope. It is not then an unneceſſary labour to play the midwife and to cut this navell-ſtring of free-will, and ſend theſe Arminian impes abroad into the wide world to cry for foode. Vndermining was ever held a more ſure and leſſe dangerous way to overthrow cities; then the tempeſt of Canons. If the foundation of Arminianiſme beraſed by the plaine doctrine of our Church, the walles of it muſt with Dagon fall downe before the Arke. The proofes are all upon record. The words are therefore ſet downe, leaſt the Adverſary ſhould complaine of forgery, or the reader be to negligent to ſearch them out himſelfe. The Lord guide us all to the knowledge of his truth, diſpell the miſts of errors, confirme his ſervants in love and peace on earth, and bring us to glory in heaven.
Thine in Chriſt Ieſus, FRANCIS TAYLER Clapham.
The faith of the Church of England concerning Gods worke on mans will.
The Preface.
IN all diſputations the firſt thing to be done, is to ſet out the right ſtate of the queſtion. Which if it be miſunderſtood, men fight with their owne ſhadowes. We agree often in words, when we differ in the ſence. Our concluſion that we muſt drive at throughout the whole worke muſt be this, that God works alwayes powerfully and effectually upon the will of man in the regeneration of a ſinnner. Nothing is difficult but the terme of effectuall working, whereby we doe not underſtand onelyonly in a generall ſence, that ſome effect or other follows upon Gods work: nor yet that regeneration follows after Gods worke oftentimes, for ſo it may though it be not an effect of it. Neither do we intend, that God ſo takes advantage of the time, place, affection, and diſpoſition of a man, that he offers grace to him in ſuch a point of time, as he knowes that mans will is inclined to receive it, for this were to commend Gods wiſdome in regenerating of us, but to deny any worke of his power in it, and to make regeneration not Gods worke, but the worke of mans will. Our meaning plainely is, that in the worke or regeneration, God works ſo powerfully upon mans will, that regeneration infallably followes, as an effect of it, and that this kind of working powerfully is onelyonly found in ſuch as are elected before, and all in whom God works thus, are by that powerfull work of his regenerated. So that the cauſe of their regeneration is not any way their own will, but Gods powerfull working in them by his ſpirit. Neither doth God work thus in any other, but ſuch as prove converts, for if he did work ſo powerfully in others, they would have been regenerated alſo. In a word there is a particular powerfull work of Gods Spirit in his elect only, whereby they all, and onelyonly they are truly regenerate. In others there may be illumination, and ſome weak motions to goodneſſe in their wills, but alwayes in effectuall, becauſe they are left to mans will, and God doth not ſo work in them, as he doth in his elect. Where God powerfully works, there regeneration neceſſarily follows, where he doth not, there it cannot follow. We will reduce all to fourteen heads, all which confirme the former concluſion againſt the power of mans will, and demonſtrate Gods powerfull work. The proofe of each is the words of the records. Sometimes we ſhall make uſe of the title in ſome prayers given to God, becauſe we doubt not, but the wiſdome of the Church in her prayers would give ſuch titles to God, as were moſt anſwerable to the things in thoſe prayers deſired of God. The concluſion is, let the Reader well weigh the heads themſelves, and the arguments brought to prove them, and conclude in his own ſoule, which is the doctrin of the Church of England.