A Birchen rod for Dr. Birch, or, Some animadversions upon his sermon preached before the Honourable the House of Commons, at St. Margaret's Westminster, January 30, 1694 in a letter to Sir T.D. and Mr. H.

A Birchen Rod for Dr. BIRCH.

MEthinks the Doctor has not done the Royal Martyr any great Honour in comparing him with Saul, who, tho he was the Lord's Anointed, was a very ill Man, and one who did actually play the Tyrant; and was far more zealous for his own Honour, than ever he was for the Glory of God, as appears by his laying hold of Samuel's Garment, after he had denounc'd the impending Judgments of the Almighty against him, 1 Sam. 15.30. and saying, Honour me now, I pray thee, before the Elders of my

People: but not one word of desiring Samuel to intercede with him at God's Hand for Pardon. So that I think it's Ve∣ry plain that he was for advancing his own Prerogative over the People, tho he was told that God had rejected him. And some malicious Persons won't stick to say, that seeing the Doctor takes the liberty of comparing the Royal Martyr with Saul, that he cannot be angry at them for alledging, that the words which were put into Samuel's Mouth to tell the Israelites the Manner of the King that. should reign over them, seem to have foretold K. Ch. 1. tyrannizing over his Subjects, and invading their Property by the Ship-money and Loan-money, obliging them to lend him such Sums as he de∣manded, take Patents for Knighthood, and serve in his Fleet and Armies against their Wills, and forcing the Country to be at the Charge and Trouble of carrying the Baggage of the Court as they removed from place to place; exactly according to what was foretold of Saul, 1. Sam. 8.11. He will take your Sons, and appoint them for himself, for his Chariots, and to be his Horsemen, and some shall run before his Chariots. Ver. 14. And he will take your Fields, and your Vine-yards, and your Olive-yards, even the best of them, and give to his Officers and to his Servants. Ver. 15. And he will take the Tenth of your Seed, and of your Vine-yards, and give to his Officers, and to his Ser∣vants. Ver. 16. And he will take your goodliest young Men, and your Asses, and put them to his Work. Ver. 17. He will take the Tenth of your Sheep, and ye shall be his Servants: And all this in direct Opposition to the Law, which the King was obliged to read and observe, Deut. 17.18, 19. viz. That he should not multiply Horses to himself, nor cause the People to re∣turn to Egypt, ver. 16. That he should not greatly multiply to himself Silver and Gold, v. 17. That his Heart be not lifted up above his Brethren, and that he turn not aside from the Commandment to the Right or to the Left; and contrary to the Practice of good old Samuel, who could ask of them be∣fore God, whose Ox or whose Ass he had taken, whom he

had defrauded and oppressed, or of whose Hand he had re∣ceived any Bribe? 1 Sam. 12.3.

Or, if some should have a mind to carry the Parallel fur∣ther, and compare K. Charles's Spirit of contending with his Parliament to advance an unlimited Prerogative, to the evil Spirit which was sent from the Lord upon Saul; his Preten∣sions to Divinity, with Saul's being among the Prophets; his concluding a Cessation of Arms with the Irish Papists after they had cut the Throats of the Protestants, with Saul's sparing of Agag and the Amalekites; his persecuting of those Ministers who could not comply with the Book of Sports on Sundays, to Saul's cutting off the Priests of the Lord; his levying War against his Subjects, to Saul's unjust pursuit of David; his matching his Eldest Daughter to the Prince of Orange, like Saul's marrying of Michal to David; his seeming Condescensions to Treaties with his Subjects, as that at Ʋx∣bridg, &c. with Saul's acknowledging of his Faults to David; his continuing Hostility against them afterwards, to Saul's con∣tinuing his Persecution of David; his taking upon him to be the supream Judg in Church-Affairs, and countenancing Bi∣shop Laud's Innovations, to Saul's usurping the Priestly Office, and offering up Sacrifice; and his falling upon the Scaffold, by his own stubborn Humour, and the superstitious Stiffness of his Chaplains, to Saul's falling on Mount Gilboa by his own Sword, when his Army was defeated by the Philistines: I say, if any perverse Man should run the Parallel thus, the Martyr's Friends will have but small reason to thank the Doctor for putting it in their Heads. But the mischief on't is, our Clergymen are never aware of the Consequences of their own Doctrine, witness that unhappy one of Passive Obedience, which was good, nay superlatively good, and the Characteri∣stick of the Church, so long as the Court and the Church did agree together; but whenever the Court came to touch the Church in her own Property, then this Characteristick was laid aside, and Passive Obedience turn'd to actual Resistance. It

was horrid, nay damnable Doctrine in my Lord Russel, the Earl of Essex, and the Nobility, and Gentry, and Laity, to Associate for the defence of their Lives, Liberties and Re∣ligion, and Mutinous for them to Petition their Prince on that Head; but it gave the Seven Petitioning Bishops a Right to the Title of Confessors, to Address and Cabal against King James, for giving Liberty to Dissenters.

But to come to our purpose. The Doctor, Pag. 1. says, That no Raptures but those of a King and a Prophet could present us with Expressions of Grief suted to the Occasion. By which one would think that the Doctor condemns himself for medling with the Subject; for whatever parity there may be in the Occasions, there's none betwixt the Doctor and David, for I know of no body that looks upon the Doctor either as a King or a Prophet.

Ibid. He tells us that this Lamentation was over the Fall of a Prince that was Literally the Lord's Anointed and Suc∣cessor; or if any prefer the being VICE-GERENTS TO THEIR INFERIORS, the Desire and Choice of the Peo∣ple. So that here the Doctor concedes that a King may be the Lord's Successor, and the Peoples Vice-Gerent too; which I suppose the Jure Divino Men will not thank him for: Because this seems to insinuate, That Kings may be accountable to God and the People both, and tacitly to approve of what was done to the Martyr, viz. The People call'd Him first to an account as their Vice-Gerent, and then sent him to God to give an ac∣count as his, according to Mr. Johnson. But that which sticks in the Doctor's stomach is, that any should Prefer being Vice-Gerents to their Inferiours, which I confess is enough to star∣tle any Man of Metal; but it's a Question worth the Doctor's while to answer, Whether the People in this case be their Vice-Gerents Inferiors or not? It would be look'd upon as a Solecism in common Discourse to say, that the King were Inferior to his Vice-Gerents, or Deputies and Commissioners in Ireland and Scotland; that a Colonel were his Lieutenant-Colonel's

Inferior, or the Doctor an Inferior to any of his own Curats: and therefore the Doctor may avoid this Absurdity if he pleases, by considering, that though the King be Major Singulis, yet he is Minor Ʋniversis, and both by Laws Divine and Humane God's Minister for the Peoples good, Rom. 13.4. So that he is Created for them, and not they for him: And by the Doctor's own Concession, when the Theocracy ceased, Kings of the Peoples own choice and de∣sire were appointed to succeed: And so careful was the Almighty of this Privilege of the Peoples, that he did not su∣perceed their Choice even by his own Nomination and Uncti∣on; and long before they had any King, gave them a Law to Regulate both his Election and Prerogative, Deut. 17.15. Thou shalt in any wise SET him King over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall CHƲSE. One from among thy Brethren shalt thou SET King over thee: Thou mayest not SET a Stranger over thee. And then as to the Limitation of his Prerogative, you may read from the 16th Verse to the end of the Chapter. So that we may see how little of Soli∣dity there is in the Doctor's Witticism of Kings prefer∣ring being Vice-Gerents to their Inferiors, to their being the Lord's Anointed, seeing in the Jewish Government they went hand in hand together: And thus David though Anointed by God's Command, and determined to be King over Israel; yet e're he entred upon the Government, was first made King at Hebron by the Men of Judah, who are said to have Anointed him, 2 Sam. 2.4. and then King over all the Tribes of Israel by the Elders, who first made a League (or Original Contract) with him, and Anointed him again at Hebron, 2 Sam. 5.3. And we find, that when Rehoboam his Grandson would not grant the Terms required by the Chil∣dren of Israel who were come to Shechem to make him King, that they did thereupon revolt, 1 Kings 12. and God forbad Rehoboam to make War upon them to reduce them, v. 24. So that if the Peoples Election was required as to those Kings

who were Nam'd and Appointed by God himself, à forti∣ori it is much more needful to give a Right to all Kings now, when he gives us no such positive Indications as to the Person who shall Reign over us: And therefore, when God by his Providence determines the Peoples Choice upon a Person or Family, it's reasonable to conclude that it's ac∣cording to his Will, if there be nothing in it which contra∣dicts Revelation; so that to be the Vice-Gerent of the People, is not a thing distinct from being the Lord's Anointed, as the Doctor would seem to insinuate: But on the contrary, The Choice of the People is all the Evidence which we can now have of any King's being the Lord's Anointed. Not that I think it necessary, that the Choice should be renewed in a limited Monarchy upon the Death of every Possessor: for our Laws having provided to settle the Succession on Their Present Majesties, and Their Posterity, if God should be graciously pleased to bless the Nations with such a Mercy as to afford them any, they must in all reasonable Construction be ac∣counted the Peoples Choice and Desire so long as that Law is unrepeal'd, of which there will be no hazard, except any of Their Posterity should be so infatuated as to overturn the Foundations, and destroy these Laws by which they hold Their Crown; and in that Case it's a hundred to one but the Original Contract will be enquired into then, as well as it has been now. And though this Doctrine was in the late Reigns cried down as Rebellious, yet most thinking-Men are sufficiently convinced, that it was without any shadow of Justice: and if it be otherwise, as the Doctor would seem to hint by the Tenor of his Discourse, it shews how well he de∣serves to eat Their Majesties Bread, who would go about to shake Their Title.

Pag. 2. He mentions a cause for David's Grief, which I am sure he does not find in his Text, viz. Because he had made up the Rear of Achish's Battel, when he went out to fight a∣gainst Israel. Nor is there the least of Reason in the Doctor's

Argument, that David should be overwhelm'd at Saul's Death, because his Heart smote him meerly for cutting off the Skirt of his Garment; for the latter was his own Act, but in the former he had no Concurrence, having been discharged out of Achish's Army long before the day of Battel. But if the Doctor thinks from this to prove the unlawfulness of taking up Arms in any case against a King, or any Commissionated by him, he will find himself mightily mistaken: for we have the Testimony of God himself, that David was a Man ac∣cording to his own heart, except in the matter of Ʋriah; and yet it cannot be denied but he carried Defensive Arms against his Father and Soveraign for a considerable time, which if God had disapproved, he would certainly have made it a part of the Exception, seeing it was not a Sin of Frailty, or the surprize of a sudden Temptation, but practised for many Years; and yet we never heard that David either repen∣ted, or that God reprov'd him for it, as surely he would have done, had he been guilty of Rebellion, which he himself has declared to be as the Sin of Witchcraft. Nor could it have been inconsistent with David's Duty, to have made use of those Arms against Saul, which he carried to defend himself from him, had God determined the People to invite him to rescue them from Saul's Tyranny, as the People of Eng∣land invited his present Majesty to rescue them from Pope∣ry and Slavery: so that there being no Parity in the Case, his present Majesty never having been the late King's Sub∣ject, and having an Invitation and Concurrence, which David wanted, he was not obliged to make David's Carriage to Saul the Pattern of his own to the late King, even against his apparent Interest, and the highest Provocations, as the Doctor would seem slily to infer in the beginning of his third Page. There being also this remarkable difference, that Saul, besides the Peoples Choice, was appointed to be King by God himself; which cannot be said of any Kings now, no not of those whose Crowns are Hereditary, seeing it was only the Peoples

Choice, or at least Consent, which made them so Originally, as is evident from the Histories of all Nations.

Pag. 5, 6, and 7. The Doctor gives us a very strange Com∣mentary on David's Lamentation, and endeavours to confirm it by as strange an Argument. The substance of his Commentary is expressed thus, p. 7. That it was a just Grief and Deprecation of that Guilt wherein the whole Land was involved, and which hangs over all Countries, that imbrue their hands in the Blood of God's Vice-Gerents. Whereas to every intelligent Reader it must appear, that it was a true Grief for the Judgment of God up∣on his Country, and his own near Relations, his Father-in-Law Saul, and his Brother-in-Law Jonathan, whose love to∣wards himself he owns to have exceeded the love of Women. Nor is it unreasonable to think that David's Natural Affecti∣on to his Wife, should make him more than ordinary sensible of the Death of her Father: But as it appears by the Con∣text, the principal Cause of this Holy Man's Concern was, that the Uncircumcised Philistines should have reason to Re∣joice and Triumph, that the Beauty of Israel was fallen up∣on the High Places, 2 Sam. 1.20. But there's not one word of his Deprecating the Guilt wherein the Land was in∣volv'd, and which hangs over all Countries that imbrue their hands in the Blood of God's Vice-Gerents, as the Doctor would have us to believe, there being not the least shadow of rea∣son for it. The Israelites fought in his defence, and did not contribute any way to his Death, if it was not by conniving too much, and not resisting his Wicked Courses, which brought those Judgments upon himself and the Nation: and this will not answer the Doctor's Design. Nor could David have any reason from the Amalekite's story of his having kill'd Saul, to charge it upon the Nation of Israel, seeing a Stranger accu∣sed himself of the Crime, and that also with this Alleviati∣on, that it was according to Saul's own desire to rid him of the Anguish which he laboured under, because his Life was yet whole in him: So that in short one cannot tell what to

make of the Doctor's Expression in this Case, as to that Guilt which impends over all Countries that imbrue their hands in the Blood of God's Vice-Gerents, for Saul imbrued his hands in his own Blood; and if there was any truth in this Ama∣lekite's Relation, it must be, that he killed him quite, to rid him of his Pain: but if the Mountains were guilty because they received Saul's Blood, David is so far from deprecating of the Guilt, that he curses them: and if this last be the Doctor's meaning, let him curse the Window of the Ban∣queting-House, whence K. Charles issued to Execution, the Ground whereon the Scaffold stood, and that which con∣tained the Guard and Spectators: and if neither Dew nor Rain fall upon them, we shall not be so often troubled with Dirt there as at present; and we hope that the Doctor will also afford us a Birchen Broom to sweep away the Dust from thence; for with the one or the other the Street about White-hall is always infested. This I confess may seem too light for the Gravity of the Subject; but I hope the Rea∣der will excuse me; for the Doctor's Comment appears so ridiculous, that I think no Man can read it in Company, without saying Risum teneatis Amici. And I would further pray the Doctor to tell me, Whether Saul could at this time be properly called God's Vice-Gerent, when Samuel told him long before, that God had rejected him; and he himself did tell the Counterfeit Samuel, when rais'd by the Witch of Endor, that God was departed from him? I do not know the Doctor, but suppose he may have some Curats under him; and if he has once rejected them, I be∣lieve he will scarce allow them to be called his Vice-Gerents afterwards.

The Doctor will further oblige the Publick to answer this one Query more, viz. Whether the Cavaliers were not more guilty of King Charles's Blood, than the Israelites were of Saul's, when they fought it to the last in the Field, and the Cavaliers sat drinking their Master's Health in Taverns,

while he was upon the Scaffold, without any Endeavours to rescue him; in which they might have been sure of Sir Tho∣mas Fairfax's Assistance, tho a Presbyterian, who designed to have attempted it with his own Regiment, if he had not been impos'd upon and prevented?

And the Doctor would do well to consider, Whether or not such of the high-flown Clergy as himself, were not very accessary to that Prince's Tragedy, by possessing him with false Notions of things; preaching up his uncontroulable Autho∣rity over the Purses, Persons and Consciences of his Subjects, pushing him on to a War against the Scots, for propaga∣ting the Ceremonies, which they themselves call indifferent, and hindring all Accommodation, when he seemed inclinable to it, at the Treaty at Ʋxbridg, &c. as appears by Rushworth's Collections, Whitlock's Memoirs, and Col. Bamfield's Apo∣logy.

But now to the Doctor's Argument for confirming his Comment from the parallel Instance, as he calls it, of Job's cursing the time of his Birth, Job 3. which, says the Doctor, was not a piece of Blasphemy or Distrust in God, but a design'd Demonstration of the Bitterness of his Troubles, and the Contempt he had of his Life. Now suppose all this to be true, the most that it will amount to, if the Instance, as he says, be parallel, is this, That what David said was not a piece of Blasphemy or Distrust in God, but a design'd Demonstration of the Bit∣terness of his Grief, and his Contempt of those Mountains on which that fatal Defeat was given; but nothing of a Depre∣cation of that Guilt wherein the whole Land was involved, for imbruing their hands in the Blood of God's Vice-Gerent.

And the Doctor's Argument to prove that Job did not sin in cursing the time of his Birth, Job 3. because it is said Job 1.21. That in all this Job had not charged God foolishly; is just as if one should say, Dr. Birch did not offend the Com∣mons by the Sermon which he preached before them on the 30th of January last, because he did not offend them in that

which he preached before them on the 27th. And as for the Doctor's Similitude, that we may as well apologize for Christ's praying that the Cup which he came down from Heaven to drink might pass from him, as to say first that Job murmur'd, and then to call it an Infirmity. I wish the Doctor were either more modest in his Comparisons, or clearer in his Reasonings: for I suppose it's obvious to every one that there is a great difference betwixt desiring an Affli∣ction to be removed, and cursing the time when it happened; the one was a Desire of pure uncorrupted Nature, and the o∣ther an Evidence of murmuring, at least in a Man whose Nature was corrupted.

As for his odious Comparison, P. 8. of commemorating our Saviour's Death, by which he would seem to insinuate, or at least illustrate our Obligation to an Anniversary Com∣memoration of that of K. Charles's. I wonder that Men who are Divines by Profession, are not afraid of profaning the greatest Ordinances of the Gospel, by comparing them with such mean things: But I confess I need not, for it's na∣tural to Men of his Kidney; and they who can pervert the Institution of Christ so far as to say, Do this, that you may keep an Ale-house, or be an Ensign, Lieutenant, or Captain of Granadeers; Dragoons, &c. whereas Christ commanded us to do it in Remembrance of him, may say and do what they will.

Pag. 9. The Doctor tells us, that to draw King Charles's Image, or venture upon his Character, would require a Soul as great as his was; and that it were a Profanation in any ruder Hand to attempt it; which being compared with what he says of Saul, p. 2. That his Obsequies were fit only to be solemnized by one like himself, the known Inheritor of his Kingdom and Spirit, would seem to infer, that the Doctor himself has a mind to the Throne; for in the following Pages he very boldly at∣tempts King Charles's Character, and warbles out his Elegy the best that he can: so that either the Doctor must think

himself to be the known Inheritor of King Charles's Kingdom and Spirit, or to have a Soul as great as his was; or, according to his own Proposition, he is a profane Fellow to attempt his Character, or the solemnizing of his Funeral-Obsequies. But certainly the Doctor does not think so ill of himself as this last comes to, and therefore it's probable that he intends the former; and if the Nation have a mind to chuse him for King, the Doctor has one very good Qualification, if you take his own word for it, which (according to him) their present Majesties want, that is, he is a true blew Protestant, the Re∣ligion which he tells you, p. 23. K. Charles's Murder did force his Posterity out of; and by consequence, King William and Queen Mary, who are both of his Posterity, must be of that number who were forced out of their Religion. Rea∣der don't laugh, for this is as good a Consequence as some of the Doctor's.

Pag. 13. The Doctor quite outdoes David's Lamentation, he did not so much as imprecate Vengeance upon the Amale∣kites, tho one of that Nation had confess'd his Murder of the Lord's Anointed, and that the whole were ordered to Destruction by God himself, he is satisfied with imprecating a remarkable stroke upon the Mountains where the Defeat of his Country happened. But the Doctor seems to be very angry that England enjoys the Blessings of Dew and Rain, that our Houses are safe from Fear, and the Rod of God not upon us; by which it would seem that the Doctor has a mind to pray in the French, on whose Assistance the Jacobites lay the Foundation of their Hopes. But his Choler is further enflamed, that the Wicked do still live and become old and mighty in Power; and that the old Arts, as he is pleased to express it, are still advancing to our Ruin. The Doctor would do well to explain his meaning in this Exclamation; for he's very much concerned that some should still live, much more that they should become old and mighty in Power. In the late Reigns such Expressions might by

Innuendo's have been made High-Treason; for there's no body that pretends to grow mighty and in Power, but his Majesty; and most honest Men are sorry that his Might and Power are not much greater than they are, as they would certainly have been, if Men of the Doctor's Kid∣ney had not obstructed his Measures: and if by the Old Arts which are still advancing to our ruine, the Doctor means any of the late Publick Acts which were denied the Royal Assent, the Commons are mightily oblig'd to him for telling them so to their Faces.

Pag. 14. He tells us of Pliny's Peevish Creatures that had Gall in their Ears: but the Doctor exceeds them by far, for he not only had Gall there, but also in his Heart, Tongue and Pen; nothing less will serve him than the cutting off of those whom he calls Wicked, that they should not live. And though to the Doctor's grief a general Indemnity has secured their Persons, yet that shan't take off his Pen from stabbing their Reputations, and that of the Government too; who spare the Wicked, though God says there is no peace to them. And then to give you a taste of his Charity, he charges the whole Dissenting Party with being King Charles his Mur∣derers, and imparts his Noble Resolution to the World, that they shall hear of it once a Year, but hopes that it won't be taken for an Invective, though you may be sure the Doctor designs it for one, and the best that his Talent is able to fur∣nish.

But I am afraid that some perverse People will give him Rowland for his Oliver, and exhibite an Account of the Action thus.

When after our Reformation, in which there was too great an Allay of Carnal Policy, which is always an Enemy to Gospel Simplicity, some of our lukewarm Protestants had begun to taste the sweetness of the Popish Ecclesiastical Courts and Dignities; they did like so well of this Romish Broth, that, as Bonner prophesied, truly they longed also for their

Beef: And though they abolished the Gross of the Popish Doctrine, yet they retain'd what ever was gainful in their Discipline. For as Pardons and Indulgences brought Money to the Pope, Commutation for Penance brought Silver to our Churchmen, and the Incomes of Doctors-Commons made their own Commons the better: So that though in her Publick Liturgy she laments the want of the Antient Discipline, yet she was resolved in her Practice never to ad∣mit it, but would rather tear the Churches Body than their Popish Ephod; Misrepresented all Enemies to their Cere∣monies, as Enemies to the Civil Government; and join'd with the Papists in persecuting them, as they did John Knox, &c. at Franckfort; and would rather connive at a Liberty to Papists, than Indulgence to Puritans; insomuch, that they not only forc'd some of their own to the Desarts of America, where they found more Hospitable Entertain∣ment from the poor Heathens, than they found at home from the Ceremonious Protestants; but they also fell foul upon their Neighbours in Scotland, influenced their Kings to overturn the Church there, as by Law Established; whilst at the same time they couniv'd at their Prince's seeking for Popish Matches; his taking off all Laws against Roman Ca∣tholicks, permitting their Priests to swarm in his Domini∣ons; countenanced Plays at White-hall, and the reading of the Book of Sports through all England on Sundays; Join'd with the Papists to raise an Army to invade Scotland, and Excommunicated that Church, whilst the Papists did cut the Throats of the Protestants in Ireland; Preached up the Di∣vine Right of Ship-Money, Loan-Money, and the King's Ab∣solute Power in England; countenanc'd him in refusing to let those who were accused of Murdering his Father be brought to Trial, whilst they rail'd against Queen Elizabeth for taking off his Grandmother according to Law; sided with him in denying all redress to the Grievances of his People re∣presented in Parliament, and preaching up his Prerogative

to such a height, that the Parliament finding them the prin∣cipal Incendiaries in those unhappy Troubles, broke the Frame of their Hierarchy all in pieces: After which they join'd with the Irish Cut-throats against their Fellow-Subjects, and countenanced His Majesties Cessation of Arms with them, whilst they assisted to carry on the War against his Protestant Subjects, and in fine rendered his Majesty so deaf to all Proposals of Accommodation with his Parliament; that though he was inclin'd of himself to listen to their Propo∣sals, yet they kept him from it, though at the same time he granted to the Irish Papists, that they should not be bound to swear Allegiance; that all Laws against them should be taken away, and that they should be independant on the Parliament of England: and thus by the stubborness of our high-flown Church-men, with whom Papists and Arminians, and all who were Enemies to the Civil Liberties of the Na∣tion herded, His Majesty was overperswaded to his Ruine. So that it was the Doctor's Old Race of Saints that Preach'd and Pray'd the Nation into Confusion and Bloodshed, and the Royal Martyr from his Crown and Life; for had he been but as willing to secure the Parliament of England in their Just Pretensions, as he was the Papists of Ireland in their unreasonable Demands, the Parliament and he both might have been safe form the Fury and Insults of an Anar∣chical Crew who ruin'd them and him too.

Pag. 16. The Doctor alledges, that the Chief Pillars of his Church and State were made perfect through sufferings. So that I observe he is more cautious and afraid of pro∣faning King Charles his Character, than of profaning the Word of God, and the chief Mysteries of the Gospel by his abusive Metaphors: does the Doctor think that any but him∣self can suppose a Parity betwixt the Captain of our Salva∣tion's being made perfect through sufferings, and those of Laud, Strafford and King Charles the First? I wonder that the Doctor is not afraid of making such blasphemous Appli∣cations

of Scripture Phrases, which are applicable only to Christ alone.

In the next Paragraph the Doctor is very zealous for the Honour of his Established Church, which he wishes may so continue; and consequently bewrays his Apprehensions of Danger, which is a malicious Insinuation against the Govern∣ment, as we shall see anon.

Ibid. He says, She had always the same Enemies, and the same Fate with her Kings; they were ever Persecuted, Op∣pressed, Defamed, and have fallen together; her Obedience was a Nobler thing than to let them perish unattended.

But I suppose the Doctor was not aware of what Questions might be raised upon these bold Assertions: As,

1. Whether or not the Majority both of the Clergy and Laity of his Church did not comply with Charles the First's Enemies, when the King was no longer able to protect them?

2. Whether the Presbyterians were not the Men who stickled most against Oliver for saving the King's Life and Interest, as can be evidenced by the Petitions and Behaviour of the City of London, where Presbytery was most predomi∣nant; by the Behaviour of the Presbyterian Members of the House, till they were excluded by the Army, and forc'd to dis∣perse some of them beyond Sea, and others into the Country; by the Opposition made by the Scotish Kirk, Committee of Estates, Parliament, Army, and Commissioners, to the King's Confinement, Trial and Execution, protesting against them all, as contrary to the Articles agreed on with them at the surrender, to the Union of the Nations, His Majesties just Right, and the Solemn League and Covenant; And lastly, by Sir Thomas Fairfax's design to rescue Him after His Sen∣tence?

3. Whether the Majority of the Church-of-England-Cler∣gy did not comply with the course of the Times both in Church and State, when of the Ten thousand Ecclesiasticks

which are generally reckoned in England, not above two thousand were Nonconformists after Charles the Second's Restauration?

4. Whether the Church of England was oppressed, perse∣cuted, defam'd, and fell with the late King James; and how it came that, according to the Doctor, their Obedience was not so noble then as not to let him perish unattended; and why they did not follow the Example, which he says was show'd to guide them hereafter, if ever the like occasion return? Perhaps the Doctor may rejoin, that if K. James had been cut off, they would not have let him perish unat∣tended, but they did not think fit to Abdicate with him. But the Answer is easy; he that won't be faithful in a Little, will never be faithful in Much: And to tell the Doctor the plain Truth, If the Royal Martyr had imprisoned their Bishops, fallen foul upon their Colleges, and given Liberty to Dissenters, he should even have had leave to perish un∣attended as well as his Son; and therefore it were best for the Doctor to save his Breath, and not brag so much of his Church's Loyalty to the Martyr: they cut off his Grand∣mother, because they were afraid that she would be their Enemy, and they drove his Son from the Throne when∣ever he began to touch their Copy-hold, tho they spent their Lungs in crying down the Bill of Exclusion, so long as they thought that the Duke was their Friend. And hence I con∣clude in spite of the Doctor, that his Church will neither serve God nor the King for nought.

Pag. 18. The Doctor urges, that he that resists, receiveth to himself Damnation. But I wish that he would a little ex∣plain himself, whether this ought to be taken only in rela∣tion to Kings, or other Governours also; and if only to Kings, then whether he does not allow of Rebellion against Republicks; and if he does allow of the latter, how he will reconcile it to the Divine Command, 1 Pet. 2.13, 14. Sub∣mit your selves unto every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's

sake, whether it be to the King, as Supream, or unto Governours, as unto them who are sent by him, for the Punishment of Evil∣doers, and the Praise of them that do well.

And I would fain ask the Doctor, that seeing by this Text Obedience is due to other Governours as well as to Kings, What becomes of the Divine Right of Monarchical Go∣vernment exclusive of all others? And seeing other Species of Government are of Divine Right as well as that, Whe∣ther it must not be the Choice of the People only, that can now determine which of them is most sutable to them∣selves? And if the People can determine whether one or more Persons shall be their Vice-Gerents, whether it can be properly said any otherwise than in sensu diviso, that they are their Vice-Gerents Inferiours? And whether seeing all sorts of Government are here called the Ordinance of Man, and that at the same time it is said they are sent by God, the Choice of the People, and the Lord's Anointed, be not now one and the same thing?

But to come to the Point of Resistance; The Doctor would do well to explain himself, whether he means Re∣sistance in concreto, or abstracto; if in abstracto, we are a∣greed that the Sin of resisting any Government duly con∣stituted, is damnable as well as all other Sins are; and in so far Passive Obedience is a true Doctrine: If he mean in con∣creto, that it's unlawful to resist the Person or Persons clothed with the Government: I would willingly know, whether he understands Resistance to the Persons of all Governours in all cases whatsoever to be damnable; or only the Re∣sistance of such as govern according to the Laws of God and the Land? If he mean the latter, we are agreed; but if he mean the former, I would know what's his Reason? and if it be drawn from that Text, Rom. 13.2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the Power, resisteth the Ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves Damnation; Whether it be not plain from the Text, that the Government, and not the

Governours, are here understood, or at least both in concreto? And the I would ask the Doctor further, Whether it be not plain from the third Verse, For Rulers are not a Terror to good Works, but to the evil; that it's only damnable to re∣sist such as are so, and as all indeed ought to be; but not those who invert their Commission, and are a Terror to Good Works, and an Incouragement to Bad? tho at the same time we will allow the Doctor, that if any private Person or Persons resist the Magistrate by Military Force, except it be in case of pure Self-defence; I say, in this case we all allow that such shall be punish'd, as David did the Amalekite, for putting out their Hand against the Lord's Anointed, even tho they be guilty of Male-Administration.

But if the Doctor will not allow of this Doctrine, I would fain know how he can clear his Church from meri∣ting Damnation, for resisting and dethroning the late King James?

And if he do allow it, I would desire him to answer, why he is so very severe and uncharitable to the whole Nation, as to imprecate and wish for Judgments upon them, because a certain Party, without the Consent of the whole, cut off King Charles the First; who, if our Histories be true, made as great Invasions upon the Liberty of the Subjects as ever K. James the Second did; but with this difference indeed, that the Father supported, whereas the Son invaded the Doctor's Church, which was the cause of his Ruin: for tho they had suffered him and his Brother tamely to devour most of the Civil Rights and Liberties of the People, yet when-ever he came to touch the Church, they who made Conscience of excluding him before, made none to kick him out then: So that I am afraid, upon due Scrutiny it will be found, that it is not damnable to resist the King, but damnable to resist the Doctor's Church.

But to come to an end with this Point; I would advise the Doctor, that seeing his Church, and the Party against whom he inveighs, are guilty of the same Crimes, tho in different degrees, that he would remember the Lord's-Prayer, which he has said so often, that I don't doubt but he has con'd it by Heart: and as he and his Church would have the Forgiveness of their own Sins, they would also show themselves ready to forgive others, and not to rip up old Sores by a Yearly Commemoration; for the dethroning of King James being of a later Date than the beheading of King Charles, it's ten to one but it may be as long remem∣bred. And let the Doctor and his Gang preach while they be weary, and charge all the Calamities of those unhappy Civil Wars upon the score of Dissenters, for refusing to obey K. Charles's unjust Commands, and resisting him when he came to invade their Properties; they will constantly rejoin that thousands of the Church-Communion were Socii Criminis; and that the Ruin of the King and the Misery of the Na∣tion are owing to those of the Doctor's Kidney, who preach'd the King out of his Duty, and the People out of their Liberties, and by consequence were the chief occasion of his Tragical End: as their Concurrence all along with the Arbitrary Methods of the two last Reigns does en∣title them to be called the Instruments of our present Mi∣series.

So that it will appear to every unbiassed Reader, that the Carriage of the highflown Clergy in times past and present, with their loosing the Reins of Discipline, and exalting the Hearts of their Kings above those of their Brethren, is as good an Argument to prove, that they are the Authors of all our Calamities, as any thing that they can charge upon the Dis∣senters in relation to King Charles the First.

Pag. 19, and 20. The Doctor ascribes it to King Charles's Murder, That his Church's Excellent Religion, which hath no Foreign Dependances, and whose Prosperity alone is founded on that of our Country, should be forced to truckle either to the Practi∣ces of Rome, or to a Riot of Enthusiasts; and that they are still threatned, either with no Church at all, or the worst among Christians.

But he does not consider that his Antagonist will reply, That if the Prosperity of his Church's Religion be founded alone on that of our Country, it must then be different from the Protestant Religion, which blessed be God hath obtain'd over so great a part of Europe: For the Protestant Religion has prospered there, when neither it nor our Country pros∣pered here, as in Queen Mary's time and since: And as for the danger which his Church is in from Papists, who are the worst Christian Church, or Enthusiasts, by which he means Dissenters in general, that are no Church; it were more rational for him to ascribe the first to the Popish Matches, which his Church allow'd their Kings to conclude; and the great Privileges, which from time to time they granted to their Religion and its Followers. And seeing Papists are as great Enthusiasts as any under Heaven, he may also charge his Enthusiasm on that same score. But see∣ing he will allow the Papists to be a Church, and the Dissen∣ters no Church; though the great Body of them do main∣tain the Doctrine of the Church of England more sincerely than many of her own professed Sons; we find that the Doctor himself prefers an Unity in Discipline, to an Unity in Doctrine, and would shake hands with Papists sooner then Presbyterians, which are far the greatest Number of the Reformed Churches; and that he looks upon such things to be the Essential and Constituent Parts of a Church, which do not so much as come within its definition.

I have all along suspected the Doctor's Enmity to their Majesties Title, because of his impugning defensive Arms by which they made a Conquest of England's Affections, and then had her Consent to sit down on her Throne. But pag. 20. he falls foul on his Majesty's Government, re∣viles the Liberty of Conscience, of which K. VVilliam was the Royal Solicitor, his Laws as Snares to entrap the Inno∣cent, the Fountain it self to be troubled and muddy; that he hath set up Spiritual Wickednesses in our High Places, and made such to be Fathers to our Church who were never her Sons. If the Government don't find themselves oblig'd to make the Doctor explain his Meaning, it's not fit for me to enquire further after it: but these are as heavy Crimes, if they be true, as any that the Church could fasten upon K. James; and therefore K. VVilliam has rea∣son to take heed, for if the Doctor's Faction be strong enough, they'l quickly send him a Bill of Divorce.

But to his Reflections on the Liberty of Conscience, for that was the Thing which prov'd K. James's Bane, he says, That it's rather a Step to Dominion than Devotion, and proves a Liberty of Impiety, Licentiousness and Error, and to bite and devour one another; and the last, the Doctor is resolv'd to put in practice: But curs'd Cows have short Horns. If the Doctor would speak out his true Grievance, it's because he is not at liberty to bite and and devour Dissenters, and angry that Men of Modera∣tion have by his present Majesty been preferr'd to Mitres. What pity it is that never one of them did fall to the Lot of this Reverend Doctor, who as we have already been inform'd by himself, has the Spirit of a King, and that's more than of a Bishop: And if the Doctor please to put on his Spectacles, he may find that his Church's slackening the Reins of her own, and neglecting the Use of the Antient Doctrine and Discipline, or withdrawing

their Concurrence from their Majesties repeated Orders, have more influence upon the Impiety and Licentiousness of the Age than the Liberty of Conscience, which he ought as little to reflect upon as he would have others to reflect upon his Church, seeing both are alike establish'd by Law.

Well, but pag. 22. the Doctor is resolved to try a Hea∣ling Touch, though aut fabrum forceps, &c. he has made a horrible Mistake; and that is, He hopes we shall not be found less sound in the Doctrine of Civil Obedience than the Jews, or think it altered by the late Exercise of that provisional Power which is necessarily reserved to a free People upon all extraordinary Emergencies. This I suppose the Doctor in∣tends as a Complement to the present Government, but does not consider that no such provisional Power can ever be allowed by his Hypothesis, who makes it a damnable Sin to resist any King, denies Original Contracts, or that they are accountable for their Administration: Or if he do allow these things, then why so many sly Insinuations against their Majesties Title? and why so many Decla∣rations against advancing the old Arts that, according to him, must tend to our Ruine?

And seeing the Doctor owns that all these are Questions of Law and Constitution, and were of old little thought to belong unto Divinity; then why does he meddle with them now? And how comes his Church to assume the Doctrine of an unlimitted Passive-Obedience and Non-Resistance as her own Characteristick, and press it upon others on pain of being ruined both in Soul and Body?

Pag. 23. he says, That the Murder of K. Charles forc'd is Posterity out of their Country and Religion together;

which is but very little for the Credit of his Church, who punish'd others for saying so formerly: And I suppose his Friends will give him but little Thanks for this Asserti∣on; which is, in plain English, as much as to say, that K. Charles II. liv'd and died a Dissembler both with God and his People. But 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Doctor and his Church may do and say what they please, Their Tongues are their own, and who's Lord over them?

Pag. 23. The Doctor grows charitable, and having ac∣quainted us with our Danger, he tells us also how to a∣void it: The VVay then, says he, to appease the VVrath of God, and to wash out the guilty Stain of our Soveraign's Blood, is not to unite in forgetting it, or to add Impudence to the Crime by seeking to depress his Credit; but to make the Remembrance of his undeserved Sufferings still more so∣lemn and effectual to turn us from our Transgressions, and make us bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance. Who can stand before so much Reason? The Doctor divides his Text like a skilful Workman, and gives you both a Ne∣gative and a Positive Receipt; and that you may not think it lost Labour to put it in practice, consider what you have already suffered for not obeying the Doctor's Prescription before you heard it, viz. Pag. 19. That we so long heard the Cries of the Oppressed, and there was none to comfort them; that we beheld Servants on Horses, and Princes walking as Servants on the Earth; that our Law, our Liberties, and our Religion were made a Prey to such as scoff'd at Kings, and made Princes a Scorn; that God rais'd up a Foreign Enemy to make VVar upon our Coasts, that he sent the Pestilence into our Streets, and a devouring Fire to lay waste our Metropolis: — That this is among the Causes why Distress and Perplexity still remains upon the Nation, Mens Hearts failing them for fear, and for looking

after those things which are coming on the Earth. P. 20. That we are still left open to a bitter and hasty Nation to land upon our Coasts, and possess the Dwelling-places which are not theirs. — Pag. 23. That it hath entail'd upon us disputed Titles, and for ought yet appears, endless VVars. But that which is worse than all, he says pag. 13. that we are at length to meet a Vengeance worthy of God, and drink up the Dregs of his Fury.

Now who would not to avoid all these Evils, if they were sure that the Doctor's Receipt had had a Probatum est, put it in execution, and make the Remembrance of the Martyrdom still more solemn and effectual? But what shall we do for more Men like the Doctor, that may be the known Inheritors of his Kingdom and Spirit? for he says, pag. 2. that his Obsequies were fit only to be solem∣niz'd by one like himself: Nay, and that must also be too little; for the Doctor says this in respect of Saul, who is not to be nam'd on the same Day with the Royal Martyr.

But now when the Doctor has done his best, and raised his Voice a Note above Ela, to tell the Presbyterians their Transgressions, and the whole House of Dissenters their Sins: What if some perverse Fellow from amongst the Herd should reply upon the Doctor, and find him other Causes for his List of Judgments, and these more probable by far than any of his own confused Heap; as thus, That we so long heard the Cries of the Oppressed and none to comfort them, because the Clergy did preach in Defence of the Prince's Op∣pression, and the People did not rescue the Oppressed out of their Hands, and therefore God made our Sin our Judgment. That we beheld Servants on Horses, and Princes walking as Servants on the Earth, because God would punish the Pride of our Princes,

who had exalted their Hearts above the Hearts of their Brethren, by the meanness of those whom they had oppressed and despised. That God raised up a Foreign Enemy to make War upon our Coasts, because of our going on to do wickedly; and therefore God would punish both us and our King by the Hand of those to whom he had been ungrateful for the Kindness which they shewed him in his low Condition. That he sent the Plague into our Streets for our Ingratitude to himself in turning his Grace into Wan∣tonness, and running into all manner of Abominations after our King's Restoration; and because we did not look into the Plagues of our Hearts, God resolved to punish us with a Plague in our Bodies. That a devouring Fire should be sent to lay waste our Metropolis, where we had burn'd the Oath of God which was so solemnly taken by the Representatives of the Nation, and to purge the City from those Sodomitish Impurities, with which the Prince had polluted it the first Night of his Arrival, and was but too much imitated by the Citizens themselves. That Distresses and Perplexities are still upon the Nation; and that we are left open to a bitter and hasty Enemy, have disputed Titles and endless Wars entailed upon us, for the reigning Im∣pieties of the present Generation; and because the Doctor's Church will still hold their Brethren in Bondage, expose the most solemn Ordinances of the Gospel to the greatest of Contempt, have poisoned the Nation with dangerous Principles, deprive the King of the Service of the best of his Subjects; prevent or stifle the Discoveries of Plots, because so many of her own dear Sons are concern'd in them, and invite the French to re∣store the late King.

Now I say, If any stubborn Fanatick should reason thus, who shall judg betwixt him and the Doctor? for both of them to be sure will think their own Cause best: and let the Doctor clamour till his Tongue drop out against that sort of Men, they will still tell him, That the bad Example of his

Non-jurant Bishops, the disaffected Practices of many of the swearing Clergy, and the most zealous Disciples of Passive Obe∣dience, are the principal secondary Causes of our present Incum∣brances; and that if by the Interest of his Church, Charles the Second was supported in swallowing up the Peoples Liberties, and James the Second brought to the Crown over their Bellies, all the Miseries which we have left, do now feel, or are like to suf∣fer in time to come, by the Tyranny of the Late Reigns, the Wars, Taxes, and disputed Titles in this, are justly chargeable on the Doctor's Church: and therefore it's pity, seeing they have been the chief Causers of the War, but their Purses should principally bear the Weight on't. It would be a good way to prevent their medling with Affairs of State in time to come, though all that they are worth can never compensate the Damages which they have done the Nation. And thus I leave it to the Doctor's Consideration against the next Thirtieth of January, to tell us whether or not the Repentance of his Church for these Faults; and many others which might be enumerated, be not as likely a way to make God shine upon our Counsels, and go forth with our Armies, as the Nation's repenting for the Murder of K. Charles the First: for if we must explain the Mind of God by his Providence, as the Doctor would seem to do; the Repentance of this Crime seems to be demanded of his Church as the Principal Accessaries, though not the Actors, because the Miscarriages of our Counsels and Armies have hitherto happen'd in the hands of those of his Church; and some will take upon them to prophesy that it's ne∣ver like to be otherwise so long as they alone must be in∣trusted with the Management. For what reason have they to expect the Blessing of God, who have all along perse∣cuted their Brethren for things indifferent; prophane the Sacrament of the Lord's-Supper, by applying it to the most sordid Uses; admit the Clean and Unclean to his Table,

without any distinction, make no Conscience of putting their Discipline in Execution against those of their own Society, but hug the greatest Debauchees as their truest Sons: Or how they can acquit themselves of their breach of Oath to the late King, contrary to their Principles of Pas∣sive Obedience, which they do so much labour again to re∣vive; and how they can be faithful to His Present Majesty, who came to the Crown by such Methods as they do all along condemn, I cannot conceive. And therefore it were Wisdom in the Doctor to consider whether those of his own Party be guiltless, before he throw the Stone at others; for if he will needs take the liberty to speak what he plea∣ses, he must be content to hear what pleases him not.

Reader, these Animadversions have been writ in so much haste, that I cannot tell whether they be Sense or Nonsense: I beg thy favourable Construction on my honest Endeavours, which are truly aim'd at England's Welfare.

FINIS.