Hiera dakrya, Ecclesiae anglicanae suspiria, The tears, sighs, complaints, and prayers of the Church of England setting forth her former constitution, compared with her present condition : also the visible causes and probable cures of her distempers : in IV books / by John Gauden ...

CHAP. II.

THe chiefest apparent cause,* 1.1 and most pregnant out∣ward occasion of our Ecclesiastick mischiefs and miseries (as I humbly conceive) ariseth from that inordinate liberty and immodest freedome, which of later years, all sorts of people have challenged to themselves in matters of Religion, presuming on such a Toleration and Indulgence, as incourageth them to chuse and adhere to what doctrine, opinion, party, perswa∣sion, fancy or faction they list, under the name of their Religion, their Church fellowship and communion: nor are people to be blan∣ked or scared from any thing which they list to call their Religion, unless it have upon it the mark of Popery, Prelacy, or Blasphemy; of which terrible names, I think, the common people are very incompe∣tent judges, nor do they well know what is meant by them, as the onely forbidden fruit: every party in England being prone to charge each other with something which they call Blasphemy, and to suspect mutually either the affecting of Prelacy, or the inclining to Popery, in wayes that seem arrogant and imperious in themselves, also inso∣lent and injurious to others; each aspiring so to set up their particu∣lar way, as to give law to others, not onely proposing, but prescri∣bing such Doctrine, Discipline, Worship, Government and Ministry as they list to set up, according to what they gather or guess out of Scripture, whereof every private man, and woman too, as S. Jerom tells of the Luciferian hereticks, flatter themselves, that they are meet and competent judges, since they find themselves no way di∣rected by any Catholick interpretation, nor limited and circumscri∣bed by any joynt wisdome and publick profession of this Church and Nation; which heretofore was established and set forth in such a publick confession of their faith, such Articles and Canons, rules and boundaries of Religion, as served for the orderly and unanimous car∣rying on and preserving Christian Doctrine, Discipline, Worship, Mi∣nistry, or Government.

This wide doore once opened, and still kept open by the crowding and impetuosity of a people so full of fancy and fury, spirit and animo∣sity, so wilfull and surly, as the English generally are; besides that they are naturally lovers, and extremely fond, as children, of new fashions, as in all things, so in Religion it self; it is not (I say) ima∣ginable (as at the pulling up of a great sluce, or opening of a flood∣gate) what (vortices & voragines opinionum) floods and torrents of opinions, what precipitant rushings and impetuous whirlings, both in mind and manners, have every where carried a heady and head∣strong people quite headlong in Religion: not onely to veniall no∣velties, softer whimsies and lesser extravagances in Religion, which are very uncomely, though not very pernicious; but also to rank

blasphemies, to gross immoralities, to rude licentiousnesse, to insolent scandals, to endless janglings, to proud usurpations, to an utter irreli∣gion, to a totall distracting, confounding and subverting of the Church of Engl. All this, under the notion of enjoying whatever liberty they list to take to themselves, under the name and colour of Religion: which anciently imported an holy Obligation of Christians to God, and to each other, carried on by a Catholick confession, an unani∣mous profession, an uniform tradition, an holy ordination and order∣ly subjection; but now, they say, it is to be learned and reformed, not by the old wayes of pious education, and Ecclesiastick instructi∣on, not from the Bishops or Ministers of this or any nationall Church; but either by the new wayes of every private spirit's interpreting of Scriptures, or by those new lights of some speciall inspirations, which, they say, are daily held forth by themselves and others of their severall factions, or according to the various policies of Lay-men, and those pragmatick sanctions which serve the preva∣lent interests of parties.

This, this is the project, so cried up by some men, for propagating the Gospel, and advancing the Kingdome of Jesus Christ, so rare, so new, so untried, so unheard-of in any Christian Church, ancient or later, that it is no wonder, if neither the Church of England, nor its learned Clergy, nor its dutifull children, can either approve, admire, or fol∣low such dubious and dangerous methods, or labyrinths rather of Religion, any more than they can canonize for Saints those vagrants and fanaticks of old, who were justly stigmatized for damnable here∣ticks, or desperate schismaticks, for their deserting that Catholick faith, tradition, order and communion of the Churches of Christ, which were clearly expressed in their Creeds and Canons, founded upon Scripture, and conform to Apostolick example.

The Gnosticks, Cerinthians, Valentinians, Carpocratians, Circumcel∣lians, Montanists, Manichees, Novatians, Donatists, Arians, and o∣thers, were esteemed by the Primitive Churches as Foxes and Wolves, creatures of a wild and ferine nature, impatient of the kindest restraints, not induring to be kept in any folds, or bounds of Christs flock, which ever had an holy, authentick and authoritative succession of ordained Bishops and Presbyters, as its Pastors and Tea∣chers; also it had its safe and known limits for Religion, in faith and manners, Doctrine and Discipline, for order and government, both in lesser Congregations and larger Combinations. The true Christian liberty anciently enjoyed by Primitive Christians and Churches, was fullest of verity, charity, unity, modesty, humility, sanctity, sobriety, harmonious subordination, and holy subjection, ac∣cording to the stations in which God had placed every part or mem∣ber in those bodies; they were the farthest that could be from Schism, Separation, mutiny, novelty, ambition, rebellion, while every one kept the true temper, order and decorum of a Chri∣stian.

Certainly, if either particular Congregations, or private Christi∣ans

liberty had consisted in being exposed or betrayed, as Sheep without their Shepherds, to all manner of extravagancies incident to vulgar petulancy and humane infirmity; those Primitive Churches and an∣cient Fathers, those godly Bishops and blessed Martyrs, those pious Emperours and Christian Princes of old, might have spared a great deal of care, cost, pains and time, which were spent in their severall Councils and Synods, Parlaments, Diets and Conventions; whose design was not to make new, but to renew those Scripture-Canons and Apostolicall constitutions, which were necessary to preserve the faith once delivered to the Saints, and to assert,* 1.2 not onely the com∣mon salvation, but also that Catholick succession, communion and order of Churches transmitted from the Apostles: in which endea∣vour the piety and wisdome, the care and charity of ancient Councils, expressed in their many Canons made for the keeping of the unity of the Spirits truth in the bond of peace among Christians, were so far (in my judgement) from being meer heaps of hay, straw and stubble, bu∣rying and over-laying the foundations of Christian soundnesse and simplicity (which seems to be the late censure of one, whom I am as sorry to see in a posture of difference from the Church of England, as any person of these times, because I esteem his learning and abilities above most that have appeared adversaries to, or dissenters from Her) that I rather judge with Mr. Calvin (a person far more learned, ju∣dicious and impartiall in this case)▪

They were, for the most part,* 1.3 very sober, wise and suitable superstructures, little deviating from, & no way demolishing any of those grand foundations of Faith, Ho∣liness, or Charity, which were laid by Christ and his blessed Apostles, which ever continued the same, and were so owned by their pious successors, however they used that liberty and authority in lesser mat∣ters, which was given them by the Scriptures, and derived to them by their Apostlick mission or succession, for the prudent accommo∣dating of such things as concerned the outward polity, uniformity, order and peace of the Church, or for those decent celebrations and solemnities of Religio••, which were most agreeable to the severall geniu'ses, and civil rites of people, and the mutable temper of times; all which who so neglects to consider, will never rightly judge of the severall counsels, customes and constitutions of either ancient or later Churches.

The best of whose piety and prudence the Reformed Church of England chose to follow, as exactly as it could, first in Her decer∣ning, declaring, determining, translating and communicating to her children those Canonicall Books of holy Scripture; also in the owning, professing, and propounding to them those Anci∣ent, Catholick and received Creeds, which are as the summaries and boundaries of Christian Faith, containing those articles which are necessary to be believed by all: after this it used those discreet li∣mits and rules which it thought fittest to keep the visible profession of Christian Religion in due order and decency, according as occasi∣on required, and the state of this particular Church would bear.

Nor was the Church of England in any of these things ever blamed or blamable, by any well-reformed Church; nor by any men that impartially professed Christianity: among whom I cannot reckon either the politick Papist, or the peevish Separatist; much lesse those later rude rabbles of libertines and fanaticks, who abhor all things in any Church or way of Religion, which they suspect to be contrary to their loose principles, and these must be conform to their several se∣cular ends and interests; which truly in England are now neither small, nor poor, nor modest, but grand, high, and aspiring, extreme∣ly inconsistent with those publick principles and ends of good order, polity, peace and unity, which formerly were established and main∣tained in the Church of England, as they ought to be in all well-orde∣red Churches: whose work and design was, not loosely to tolerate different publick professions of Religion in the same nation or com∣munity, according as every man lists; but seriously and impartially to constitute and authorize some one way, grounded upon Gods Word, and guided by the best examples, as the publick standard of Religion, for Doctrine, Duties, Worship, Devotion, Discipline.

Which methods of Piety and Charity were ever highly commen∣ded, and cheerfully followed by the wisest and best Christian Magi∣strates in all ages; and possibly they had been ere this recovered and renewed here in England, if the beast of the people, getting the bridle of liberty between its teeth, had not so far run away with some riders, who had too much pampered it, that it is no easie mat∣ter (not to be done by sudden checks, or short turnes) to reduce that heady and head-strong animal to the right postures of religious managing: besides, that wise men are taught by experience, that nothing so soon tames the madnesse of people, as their own fiercenesse and extravagancy;* 1.4 which at length, as S. Cyprian observes, tires them, by taking away their breath, and vainly exhausting their fe∣rocient spirits. Time and patience oft facilitate those cures in Church and State, which violent and unseasonable applications would but more enflame and exasperate. I do not ••oubt but the greatest patrons for the peoples liberty in matters of Religion, will in time (if they do not already) see how great a charity it is to put mercifull re∣straints of religious order and government upon them, which are no lesse necessary than those sharper curbs and yokes of civil coercions. No wise States-man will think it fit, in honesty or safety, to permit common people to do whatever seems good in their own eyes, as if there were no King or supreme Magistrate in Israel: nor can any good Christian think it fit,* 1.5 that in Religion every man should be left to profess and patronize what he listeth, as if there were no Christ, as King, and chief Bishop of our souls, or as if he had not left us clear and setled foundations for faith; also evident principles, besides patterns of Christian prudence, and Church-polity, for order and office, disci∣pline and duty, direction and correction, subordination and union. What these measures and proportions have been, both as to the judgement and practise of the universall Church, from the very Apo∣stolicall

times, and their Primitive successors, till this last century, is so plain, both in Scripture and other Ecclesiastick records, that I wonder how men of any learning can be so ignorant, or men of any honesty can be so partiall, as by their doubting and disputing, to divide the minds of Christian people, and by rude innovations to raise so unhappy factions, as have at this day overspread this Church and Nation like a leprosie, which is a foul disease, though it may seem white as snow, blanched over with the shews of liberty, but be∣traying men to the basest servitude of their own lusts, and other mens corruptions as well as errours.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Inordinate liberty in reli∣gious affaires the chief cause of m••series in the Church of Engl.
• * 1.2

  Jude 2.
• * 1.3

  Tametsi illo∣rum temporum Episcopi mul∣tos Canones ediderunt, qui∣bus plus viden∣tur exprimere quam sacris li∣teris expressum sit; eâ tamen cautione totam suam oeconomiā composuerunt ad unicam illam verbi divini normam, ut fa∣cile videas ni∣hil ferè habuisse hac in parte à verbo Dei alie∣num. Cal. Inst. l. 4. c. 4. sect. 1.
• * 1.4

  Schismaticos semper inter in∣itia fervere; in∣crementa vero capere non pos∣se, nec augere quod illicite coe∣perint, sed sta∣tim cum prava sua aemulatione deficere. Cypr. ep. 52.
• * 1.5

  Judges 21.25.