་ be fupporters of religion to draw men off from the practice of it in their families and clofets, by enticing them to public diverfions. People are fond enough, of their own accord, to run into extremes of this fort, without any excitement to -provoke them to the practice thereof; there is more need of fome reftraints in this particular, than encouragement and provocation; but the wisdom of these times thought otherwise. The court had their balls, masquerades, and plays, on the Sunday evenings; while the youth in the country were at their revels, morrice dances, may-games, church and clerk ales, and all kinds of recreations. The writers who have extolled the piety of Laud and King Charles the First, have certainly had an uncommon fhare of effrontry, who could attribute piety to men, who not only were guilty of profaning the Lord's day themselves, but punished fuch as would not conform to their methods of finning. Their pre tended piety could be no more than a mafque of hypocrify, to varnish over a multitude of fins. Laud's intention was principally to purge the church of the Puritans, whom he hated mortally; they were ordered to read the King's declaration on the Sunday, which was in effect to tell their hearers, that it was lawful to profane the fabbath; which no honeft minifter could do with a good conscience. The Archbishop preffed this declaration with fo much rigour, that great numbers of the Puritan divines were obliged to throw up their livVol. II. M m m ings, E ings, and flee to other parts of the world. fome went over to Holland, and fettled there; others went to America, and never returned. Some, who had lefs refolution than the reft, read the declaration, which afterwards gave them much uneafinefs of mind; but all who did not conform in this particular, were fufpended ab officio & beneficio, though there was no authority from the King's declaration for fuch feverity. Laud and the high commiffion fufpended or deprived Meffrs Player, Hieron, Calmer, Wilfon, Wrath, Ebrey, Jones, Whitfield, Garth, Ward, Farrol, Peggs, Snelling, all for refufing to read the declaration. Some of these divines were likewife excommunicated on the fame account; and as far as church authority could extend, were deprived of all enjoyments both in heaven and earth, for refufing to teach the people to profane the fabbath. No defences were admitted, for when Mr Snelling offered to prove by the canons of the church, and the laws of the land, and from the declaration itself, that he was not obliged to read it, the Archbishop faid, in open court, that whofoever should make fuch a defence, it should be burnt before his eyes, and he laid by the heels. Such tyranny as this is not to be found in the hif tory of any proteftant churches; even the church of Rome never proceeded fo far as to perfecute honeft minifters for refufing to profane the fabbath. The Archbishop entered now upon a project; he wanted to reform the book of com→ mon T mon prayer, and render it more agreeable to popery and Arminianifm: thofe paffages which feemed to favour the doctrine of election were left out, and those that feemed to oppofe popery were expunged, particularly that paffage which calls the Pope Antichrift, was left out, and inflead of being directed against the church of Rome, was levelled against the Puritans. In the epistle for Palm Sunday, inftead of, In the name of Jefus, as it was before Laud's time, it is now, according to the laft tranflation, At the name of Jesus every knee fhall bow. It was great prefumption for Laud, who was only a fingle clergyman, or any number of them, to alter a service book, established by act of parliament, and impose these alterations upon the whole body of the clergy. The Puritans had long objected against bowing at the name of Jefus, as a fuperftitious practice, which implied that there was more reverence due to the name of Jefus, than the names Chrift or Emanuel; and, indeed, it is impoffible for any perfon, who reads the Greek New Teftament, to find any truth in the prefent translation of that paffage. The Greek words εν τω ονομαζι ought neither to be read as in the fore mer version, nor does the paffage imply any fuch practice as bowing the knee at the name of Jesus: for it is both contrary to the genius of the Greek language, and the fcope of that paffage, to render it as in our tranflation. That paragraph according to its true fcope and intention, fhould be read, For, or on account of the name of Jefus Mmm 2 every every knee shall bow, and every tongue confefs: For the apoftle is affigning the reafon why all things in heaven and earth are made fubject to Christ, because he humbled himself, and became a faviour for finners; and the bowing of the knee is applied to things in heaven, and under the earth, as well as to men who live upon it; which plainly fhews, that literally bowing of the knee is not the thing which is intended to be taught from the paffage. It is full as manifeft that every person who hears the name of Jefus, fhould immediately confefs with the tongue that he is Christ, as that they fhould bow the knee at hearing his name mentioned. After the Archbishop had reformed the Prayerbook, he next proceeded to reform the churches; the communion table, which had hitherto been -placed in the most convenient parts of the churches, where the communicants might be eafieft ferved, were now to be removed, and fixed under the Eaft wall of the chancel, with the ends North and South in form of an altar, and raised two or three fteps above the floor, and to be encompaffed with rails. The church-wardens in St Gregory's church, near St Paul's, oppofed this fcheme, affirming, that it was their prerogative to order matters of this kind; but after they had tried this caufe in the court of arches, they were obliged to fubmit to the will of this haughty metopolitan. Many minifters and church-wardens were excommunicated and obliged to do penance for neglecting the Bishops injunctions, and fuch perfons perfons as refused to come up to the rails to receive the facrament, were fined or excommunicated according as the Bishop thought meet. Several books were written upon this new controverfy, and with as much zeal and warmth, as if the whole of men's future happiness had depended thereon; charity was not the characteriftic of those times, for all who would not, or could not fubmit to their neighbours opinion, were confidered as unworthy of any favour either from God or man. Laud was now refolved to carry his point, and profecuted this affair with unrelenting rigour all over the kingdom, punishing thofe who opposed him with great feverity, without the leaft regard to the laws of the land. This created a divifion among the Bishops, and raised a great clamour among the inferior clergy: the Laudean party took upon them to make alterations in many places, without the advice of their fuperiors, and thinking themselves fafe under the fanction of the Archbishop, frequently offered affronts to their own diocefans, which produced litigious law fuits, and made the church of England truly a church militant. The clergy who oppofed the alterations, where called Doctrinal Puritans, and thofe who promoted them, were confidered as Doctrinal Papifts. The court clergy were of the latter fort, and were really fufpected of a defign of introducing popery, on account of the fuperftitious bowing towards the altar, not only in time of divine fervice, but in paffing through the church. This was a practice unknown to the laity of England 1 |