readers, I will give below in the note. warranted by God's word. I desire to know who is to be judge of that: whether the whole church, the succession whereof has continued to this day without interruption; or particular men, who have raised schisms for their own advantage? of a paper I found in "This is a true copy written in his own hand. The Second Paper: "JAMES R." "It is a sad thing to consider what a world of heresies are crept into this nation. Every man thinks himself as competent a judge of the scriptures, as the very apostles themselves: and 'tis no wonder that it should be so; since that part of the nation, which looks most like a church, dares not bring the true arguments against the other sects, for fear they should be turned against themselves, and confuted by their own arguments. The Church of England (as 'tis call'd) would fain have it thought, that they are the judges in matters spiritual, and yet dare not say positively that there is no appeal from them: for either they must say that they are infallible (which they cannot pretend to), or confess that what they decide in matters of conscience, is no further to be followed than it agrees with every mans private judgment. If Christ did leave a church here upon earth, and we were all once of that church'; how? and by what authority did we separate from that church? If the power of interpreting of scripture be in every mans brain, what need have we of a church or church-men? To what purpose then did our Saviour, after he had given his apostles power to bind and Such was the personal character of this loose in heaven and earth, add to it, that he would be with them even to the end of the world? These words were not spoken parabolically, or by way of figure. Christ was then ascending into his glory, and left his power with his church even to the end of the world. We have had, these hundred years past, the sad effects of denying to the church that power, in matters spiritual, without an appeal. What country can subsist in peace or quiet, where there is not a supream judge from whence there can be no appeal? Can there be any justice done where the offenders are their own judges, and equal interpreters of the law with those that are appointed to administer justice? This is our case here in England in matters spiritual; for the protestants are not of the Church of England, as 'tis the true church from whence there can be no appeal; but because the discipline of that church is conformable at that present to their fancies, which, as soon as it shall contradict or vary from, they are ready to embrace or join with the next congregation of people whose discipline and worship agrees with their opinion at that time: so that, according to this doctrine, there is no other church, nor interpreter of scripture, but that which lies in every mans giddy brain. I desire to know, therefore, of every serious considerer of these things, whether the great work of our salvation ought to depend on such a sandy foundation as this? Did Christ ever say to the civil magistrate (much less to the people), that he would be with them to the end of the world? Or, did he give them the power to forgive sins? St. Paul tells the Corinthians, Ye are Gods husbandry, ye are Gods building; we are labourers with God. This shews who are the labourers, and prince; under whom, therefore, it is easy But we have the but consider, in who are the husbandry and building: and in this whole chapter, and in the preceding one, S. Paul takes great pains to set forth that they, the clergy, have the spirit of God, without which no man searcheth the deep things of God. And he concludeth the chapter with this verse: 'For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? mind of Christ.' Now if we do humane probability and reason, the powers Christ leaves to his church in the gospel, and St. Paul explains so distinctly afterwards, we cannot think that our Saviour said all these things to no purpose: and pray consider, on the other side, that those who resist the truth, and will not submit to his church, draw their arguments from implications, and far-fetched interpretations, at the same time that they deny plain and positive words; which is so great a disingenuity, that 'tis not almost to be thought that they can believe themselves. Is there any other foundation of the protestant church, but that, if the civil magistrate please, he may call such of the clergy as he thinks fit for his turn at that time; and turn the church either to presbytery, independency, or, indeed, what he pleases? This was the way of our pretended reformation here in England; and, by the same rule and authority, it may be altered into as many more shapes and forms as there are fancies in mens heads. "This is a true copy of a paper written by the late king, my brother, in his own hand, which I found in his closet"." * Published by his majesty's command. Lond. Printed by Henry Hi'ls, printer to the king's most excellent majesty, for his household and chapel, 1686. to believe, popery was highly favoured, These papers, as it may be supposed, did not long remain without answers. Stillingfleet and Burnet, able controvertists, made their remarks on them. The lat ter of whom expresses himself about them in the following manner :I pay all the reverence that is due to a crown'd head, even in ashes, to which I will never be wanting: far less am I capable of suspecting the royal attestation that accompanies them; of the truth of which, I take it for granted, no man doubts. But I must crave leave to tell you, that, I am confident, the late king only copied them, and they are not of his composing for as they have nothing of that free air with which he expressed himself, so there is a contexture in them that does not look like a prince: and the beginning of the first shews it was the effect of a conversation, and was to be communicated to another: so that I am apt to think they were composed by another, and were so well relished by the late king, that he thought fit to keep them, in order to his examining them more particularly; and that he was prevailed with to copy them, lest a paper of that nature might have been made a crime, if it had been found about him written by another hand and I could name one or two persons, who as they were able enough to compose such papers, so had power enough over his spirit to engage him to copy them, and to put themselves out of danger by restoring the original "."He, afterwards, takes notice of his having had the honour to discourse copiously of these matters with the late king himself, and of his majesty's having proposed to him some of the particulars he found in those papers. : a * Burnet's Collection of Papers, p. 188. 4to. Lond. 1689. This is explained more fully in the "History of his own Time."- "The two papers found in his strong box," says the bishop, "concerning religion, and afterwards published by his brother, looked like study. and reasoning. Tennison told me, he saw the original in Pepy's hand, to whom king James trusted them for some time. They were interlined in several places: and the interlinings seemed to be writ in a hand different from that in which the papers were writ. But he was not so well acquainted with the king's hand, as to make any judgment in the matter, whether they were writ by him or not. All that knew him, when they read them, did, without any sort of doubting, conclude that he never composed them: for he never. read the scriptures, nor laid things together, further. than to turn them to a jest, or for some lively expression. These papers were probably writ either by lord Bristol, or by lord Aubigny, who knew the secret, of his religion, and gave him those papers as abstracts of some discourses they had with him on those heads, to keep him fixed to them. And it is very probable that they, apprehending their danger if any such papers had been found about him writ in their hand, might prevail with him to copy them out himself, tho' his laziness that way made it certainly no easy thing to bring him to give himself so much trouble. He had talked over a great part of them to myself: so that as soon as I saw them I remembred his expressions, and perceived that he had made himself master of the argument as far as those papers could carry him ".". Lord Halifax judges, "he might write these papers. Though," adds he, "neither his temper nor education made him very fit to be an author; yet, in this case a Burnet, vol. I. p. 614. |