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ly feared that her ingratitude fhould not long lack punishment. And to the Queen herself, Knox wrote a letter to the fame purpose, telling her "that it was God's peculiar and extraordinary providence that brought her to the kingdom, and that she was not to plead her right by defcent or law;" and he plainly fays "that if fhe began to brag of her birth, and to build her authority and regiment upon law, her felicity would be fhort, flatter her who fo lifteth."*

In this opinion Knox did not ftand alone; the fame rebellious doctrine which went to the root of hereditary monarchy and the English conftitution, was publicly maintained by fome of the principal nonconformifts in England, parti cularly by Chriftopher Goodman and William Whitting

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But this was not the only inftance in which these reformers attacked the civil government and the regal prerogative. Their first and fundamental propofal of the popular election of minifters, and that no person fhould be admitted to a benefice without being chofen and called by the people, was a direct invafion of the rights of the crown, and the property of the universities and other corporations, as well as of private individuals who were poffeffed of advowfons.

In the famous "Admonition to Parliament" drawn up by Cartwright, in the name of the diffenting brethren, is the following modeft request ;

"Your wifdoms have to remove Advowfons, Patronages, Impropriations, and Bifhops' Authority, claiming to them. felves thereby right to ordain minifters; and to bring in that old and true election which was accustomed to be made by the congregation."

This fcheme entirely took away the right of Patronage, how justly foever acquired, and must have occafioned great confufion and difturbance in the nation; and in many places where the people were ftill popishly inclined, have opened a door to the election of popish priests. Nor do we find at this day, any fuch good effects from popular elections of the clergy, as to recommend that method to our practice. No body pretends that thofe clergymen who are chofen by the people, are remarkably diftinguished, either for learning or behaviour, from fuch as are prefented by the proper patrons.

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The propofition, however, was flattering to the populace, and the earneftnefs with which the puritans contended for what they called the Rights of the People, increased their confequence, and multiplied their followers.

But in the reign of Elizabeth, the vigilance of government prevented the mifchiefs which the puritanical principles were calculated to produce. The faction, however, continued their fecret operations, and by a masked conformity in the enfuing reign fowed the feeds of fanaticism and rebellion with fuch diligence all over the kingdom, as produced the catastrophe we this day commemorate.

*

Under the denomination of lecturers, the ministers of this caft contrived to get poffeffion of the pulpits in many of the churches of the metropolis and large towns, from whence they diffused the principles of difaffection to the ecclesiastical government, and of difloyalty to the civil power. They made all religion to confift in long prayers and much preaching, to the contempt of the prescribed liturgy, and the falutary prac→ tice of catechifing. The doctrines commonly preached were matters of fpeculative enquiry, well adapted to make men arrogant and prefumptuous in the estimation of their own religious character, from the fancied knowledge and fpiritual feelings which they poffeffed, and at the fame time rigid and uncharitable in their judgment of others, whom they treated as mere carnal or moral profeffors.

The inculcation of the plain Chriftian virtues, and the practice of obedience, formed no part of the preaching of these men, whose aim was to pass for teachers divinely called and inftructed of the Spirit, and as minifters deeply acquainted with the things of God.

A fpirit of infubordination, and refractory difcontent, was the concomitant of puritanism, and as its principles spread among

*These lecturers were generally chosen by the people, but some were maintained by a corporation of puritans who also bought up what livings they could, in order to place therein the most violent or zealous men of their party. There was likewise a running lecture, so called, because the lecturer went about from village to village for the purpose of illuminating the dark corners of the kingdom. Such were the artifices and exertions of the old puritans, in which they are followed by the puritanical metho. dists of the present day, who have their associations for the support of seminaries, the purchase of livings, the maintenance of lectures, and the establishment of itinerant missions, to spread the light of the gospel, as they pretend, in the dark corners of the land.

among the people, their minds became foured against the civil government, and impatient of controul. Artful demagogues in the parliament did not fail to take advantage of this powerful inftrument to promote their factious views. The outcry against ceremonies, the hierarchy, and Arminianifm, was echoed from the pulpit to the fenate, and by means of feditious fermons, inflammatory fpeeches, and fcandalous libels, produced all the effect that the rebels and fanaticks could defire. Religion was made the ground for rebellion, and the poor deluded people were roufed to take up arms against their fovereign by the popular preachers, who pretended that the caufe of the parliament was the caufe of God, and that they who refused to efpoufe it were accurfed.

The patriots, as the enemies of the king were called, had other views than a regard for religion, in kindling that unhappy war, but they knew that without making this the oftenfible pretence, they should not be able to gain over the people to their fide; and on that account they encouraged the fectaries against the church as the fureft and fhortest way to effect the deftruction of monarchy. Of this the noted Hampden was very fenfible, for being afked by a friend "why he and his party pretended religion for what they did, when the chief ends were liberty, property, and temporal matters," he replied, "Should we not ufe the pretence of religion, the people would not be perfuaded to affift us."

It has been roundly afferted by the hiftorian of the puritans, that the minifters of that party never preached against the king; but, that on the contrary, though they inveighed feverely against the vices of the clergy, they inculcated the religious obfervation of the political maxim that the king can do no wrong. In anfwer to this, and to give a fpecimen of that pernicious eloquence which proved fo fatal to the conftitution, it may be worth while to felect a few tations from the public fermons of the most esteemed preachers of that party.

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In the year 1641, at the very breaking out of the rebellion, Edmund Calamy preached a Sermon before the Houfe of Commons, in which, instead of healing advice and loyal exhortation, he made ufe of this language: "You must know that God repents as well of his mercies, as of his judgments; when God made Saul king, and he proved ftubborn and difobedient, he repented that he had made him king." If the hearers mistook the proper application of this remark, it must be confeffed that it was not owing to any want of plain

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nefs in the preacher. But what fhall we think of the fame Calamy's fpeech at Guildhall, in October 1643, where he, exerted his oratorical powers and perfonal influence to prevent a restoration of peace between the king and the parliament?" If you would have a peace with popery," fays he, "a peace with flavery; if you would have a Judas peace, or a Joab his peace, you know the ftory. He kiffed Amafa, and then killed him: If you would have a peace, that may bring a maffacre with it, a French peace; if you would have fuch a peace, it may be had eafily: but if you would have a peace that may continue the gofpel among you, fuch as the godly in the kingdom can defire, I am confident fuch a peace cannot be had, without contributing towards bringing in the Scots." Here was a minifter of the gofpel of peace exhorting his fellow-citizens to fubfcribe liberally, not in the seṛvice of love and charity, but to call in a band of mercenary cut-throats against their common fovereign!

Thomas Brook, a minifter much followed in the city, and whose works are ftill held in great repute among the Calviniftic methodists, made the following declaration in a Faft. Sermon before the Houfe of Commons, December 26, 1648,. at the time when the execrable faction were about to bring the king to the block :

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Right honourable," fays this meek minister of the gofpel," consider this, thofe perfons who have neglected the.. execution of juftice upon their most implacable enemies when God has given them into their hands; thefe God has left to perifh bafely and miferably. See it in Ahab: God gives Benhadad into Ahab's hands: "Because thou haft let a man go, that I had appointed to deftruction, therefore thy life fhall be for his life." So concerning Saul's fparing Agag, he would fhift off the command, and therefore God shifted him out of the kingdom; when he neglected to do juftice to an implacable enemy when God had given him into his hands." If this was not a call upon the men in power to murder their royal captive, under the pretence of doing juftice, there is no meaning in words. The day after that bloody deed was committed, the hypocritical Commons had a folemn faft, when the celebrated Dr. John Owen preached before them, and thus vindicated the infamous act: "When kings command unrighteous things, and people fuit them with willing compliance, none doubts but the deftruction of them both is juft and righteous."

But it was not in their Sermons only that these men justified rebellion in the name of religion; they had alfo the

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abominable audacity to make the Almighty a party in the cause, and in their prayers to addrefs him with the coarseft familiarity.

Mr. Evans, preacher of St. Clement's, in the Strand, thus expoftulated in his prayer before fermon: "O Lord! when wilt thou take a chair and fit amongst the House of Peers? And when, O God! when I fay, wilt thou vote amongst the Honourable House of Commons, who are so zealous of thine honour ?" And Mr. Vines, a leading man among the Prefbyterians, in his prayer in the fame church, made ufe of this language: "O Lord! thou haft never given us a victory this long while, for all our frequent faftings: what doft thou mean, O Lord! to fling us in a ditch and there leave us ?”

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One Mr. Cheshire, who was also much followed and admired as a preacher, in a prayer before his printed Sermon preached at St. Paul's, fays, "Lord! thou hast been good one year; yea, Lord, thou hast been good to us two years; Lord, thou haft been good to us fourfcore years; but, Lord, thou art wanting in one thing."

After the exhibition of these teftimonies from the principal men of the faction, and many more might be adduced, who can doubt for a moment that Puritanifm was the great fource of the rebellion which blackened the annals of this country with the horrid murder we are called upon to de plore on this day? The fact is notorious; and is proved, not merely by the declaration of hiftorians, but by the printed difcourfes of the men themfelves, which clearly fhew that fchifm is nearly allied to rebellion, and that fanatical principles in religion, fo far from being innocent and harmlefs, are the most destructive of the loyalty of the fubject, and dangerous to the security of the state.

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ON MR. LANCASTER'S MISSION, &c.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S

MAGAZINE.

SIR, HAVE not feen publicly noticed and expofed the itine rant miffion of Jofeph Lancafter, for the purpose of collecting fubfcriptions to maintain his seminary in Southwark,

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