for the future, can be a Rebel in this Nation, without being either an Hypocrite, or an Atheist.

"Let no Seditious Antimonarchical Principles, be fo much as Nam'd among us, as becometh Good Subjects, and Good Chriftians. Let no New Doctrines "be Advanc'd, nor any old Ones be Re"viv'd, whereby to Leffen the security of "the Crown under the Specious Pretence of Maintaining the Rights and Liberties of

re

"the People.

..

Dr. Eyre's Serm. preach'd before the H. of Commons, Jan. 30. 1707-8. In the Margin over against this Paffage,is this Reference, Sce Mr. Hoadley's Sermon before my Lord Mayor, Sept. 27. 1704. N. B. Dr. Eyre is thank'd for the

EXCELLENT Sermon by him Preach'd before the House.

"This is the True Foundation of that Common Axiom, The King can do no Wrong, "because there is no Right, nor Remedy against his Royal Perfon.

66

66

Dr. Kennet in a Sermon preach'd before the Houfe of Commons, Jan. 30. 1705-6.

It was Declarative of Our Original Conftitution that Dr. Kenc Our Legislature upon Occafion of this Day would have net's Ser"it Exprefs'd, That by the Undoubted and Fundamental mon, Ibid. Laws of the Kingdom, neither the Peers of this Realm, nor "the Commons, nor both together in Parliament, or out of Parliament, nor the People Collectively, or Reprefentatively, nor any other Perfons whatsoever ever had, or ought to have any Coercive Power over the Perfons of the Kings of this Realm.

८८

fore the H. of Commons Jan. 1708.

Dr. De

laun's Sermon before

"Let the furprizing Wickedness of this Day raife in Dr. Pel"Us a just Deteftation of thofe Pernicious Doctrines ling in his "which made way for it; That of the Lawfulness of Sermon "Rebellion in particular, which the Scriptures Reprefent preach'd beto be as the Sin of Witchcraft, a kind of Combination "with the Infernal Powers of Darkness, however "PALLIATED or DEFENDED of late, I had almost faid made a NECESSARY DUTY. "The Civil Laws of a Country, are of the Nature "of Articles of Agreement between the Rulers and the Subjects; Duty, and Obedience is fecur'd on One hand, "and on the Other Protection in Civil Rights; if the Sub- the House of ject breaks His part of the Covenant, (as I may call it) Commons "His Punishment is at hand; and if the Supreme Power Jan. 30. "breaks His, his Punishment is no lefs certain, tho' more Remote. For he is Guilty before God, who is "His Ruler, tho' it is impoffible he fhould be Accountable "for it in his Own Dominions, for that would infer a "Power Superior to the Supreme, which is a flat Contra"diction.

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Collections

1702-3.

Collections of Paffages referr'd to in the
Answer to the Third Article.

In the Answer to the Third Article it is faid,

T

HE faid Henry Sacheverell denies that He hath either afferted, or fuggefted the Church of England to be in a Condition of great Peril, and Adverfity under Her Majefty's Adminiftration; but he doth freely acknowledge that He hath in his Sermon fuggefted, that when National Sins are ripen'd to a full Maturity to call down Vengeance from_Providence on a CHURCH and KINGDOM debauch'd in Principles, and corrupt in Manners, and instead of true Faith, Difcipline, and Worfhip, given over to all Licen rioufness both in Opinion and Practice,then We (that is evidently, all the Members of a CHURCH or KINGDOM) are in Danger under fuch deplorable Circumstances.

And in the Anfwer to the fame Article it is farther faid, As the Vote of Beth Houfes made four Years ago, did concern thofe only who did then infinuate the Church of England to be in Danger under Her Majefty's Adminiftration; fo it cannot, He prefumes, affect those who do now fuggeft the Christian Faith, which is the Foundation upon which every Chriftian Church ftands, to be Endanger'd, by thofe Atheisti cal Irreligious Principles, which are daily from the Press Propagated amongst Us, notwithstanding the Provifion made by the faid Act for Suppreffing Blasphemy and Prophaneness. So that the faid Henry Sacheverell thinks that he might with Truth affirm (as he did in his Sermon Preach'd at Derby) that there never were fuch Outrageous Blafphemies against God and All Religion, Natural, as well as Reveal'd, Vented Publickly with Impunity in any Chriftian Church or Kingdom in the whole World, as at prefent in Our Own. Of which affertion the faid Henry Sacheverell is ready to produce Undeniable and ample Preefs.

Blafphemy, Irreligion, and Herefy.

Mifcellaneous Tracts, Ef Jays, Satyrs, &c. written by Edmund Hickeringhill. Prieft-craft. Part .p.12,

The fecond Pretender to Infallility is the Bible: and that I admit too, fo foon as 'tis agreed which Chapter and Verfe is God's Word, and which not, and why For as for fome Verfes and Claufes in the holy Bible, the very Pen

men

or no

men thereof did not fometimes know very well whe ther the fame were the Dictates of the Spirit of God, -Sometimes they write-Thus faith the Lord And not I, but the Lord commands, fo and fo: and then again in a Qualm or Quandary, modeftly pretend to gueffing, I think alfo, fays St. Paul, that I have the Spirit of God.

For Sabbathifing. The Sabbath, oh the Sabbath- Ibid. call'd by the cunning Prieft-craft, not by the holy Scripture, the Lord's Day, to recommend it the better to the unthinking Mob- of all the other feven Days the Prieft's best Market-day to put off his Wares, and turn them into Money.

Family Duties are the next plaufible piece of Prieft- p. 21. craft-Divinity, I mean praying with the Family, (not that I condemn it) tho' our Bleffed Saviour feems to condemn it by his Practice and Preaching.

Saying Grace, an univerfally cry'd-up piece of Di- p. 23. vinity, Superftition, or Prieft-craft; for we never read that Chrift or his Apoftles faid Grace either before Meat, or after Meat.

King Saul found to his Coft, that he had better have difpleafed all Ifrael than Samuel the good High-Priest, and had better have rent the Cloaths off from his own Back, than have rent Samuel's Caffock it fretted the good Old Gentleman, and in a Paffion he said, God hath rent from thee the Kingdom alfo, and bath given it 1 to thy Neighbour that is better than thou.

P.50.

Then the Lord answer'd, Take an Heifer with thee and p. 51. Say, I am come to do Sacrifice to the Lord: The Policy of Heaven, we fee, jumps with our late Prieft-craft in this,to make Religion the commonCovert to hide a Plot.

His Kingdom which was given to David, because he was a Man after God's own Heart, (not in Holiness, that is not meant, for befides his Adultery and Murder, his many other Sins, as curfing his Enemies to the Pit of Hell is unaccountable) but after God's own Heart is an Hebraifm, and in English fignifies as much as a Man for my turn, he will kill and flay as the Prieft directs, by Orders received from Heaven; he will fulfil all my Will, faith the High-Prieft..

p. 52, 53.

I can by no means perceive that this Commiffion Effays. to Teach, Baptize, Excommunicate, or Abfolve, does Part 2. properly or more appertain to a Grey-Fryer, or any p. 4. Black-coat, more than to a Grey-coat, or Lay-man.

Speaking of the Confecration of Churches: To fay, the Ufe P. 14. (being for God's Service) fanctifies it: fo may a Meeting-house, a Tabernacle, or my Dining-room be confecrated, when we pray and preach there, or fay Grace there pro bac vice ; and vice versa, it is unconfecrated,

c fecrated, when Dinner-time comes, or the Punch.

Bowl.

Obfervator, from Aug. 7. to Aug. 10. 1704. Vol. 5. Numb. 42. Rights of the Church.

p. 165.

Ib. p. 108.

He skips from the Green Boughs of Nature to the dry Branches of Revelation.

Speaking of the Paffover and the Lord's Supper-At the clofe of the Supper, the great Meal with them, the Master of the Feaft diftributed among his Guests fmall pieces of Bread; and having firft drank of the Grace-Cup, deliver'd it to be handed about. To which Chrift, who inftituted no new Rites, fuperadded the Remembrance of his Sufferings; and directs his Difciples, as often as they did this, that is, celebrate fuch Feftivals, and close them with the Poftcanium, to commemorate Him after this manner.

Does not every one, as well as the Minifter, equally apply the Bread and Wine to the fame holy and fpiritual Ufe, in commemorating the Benefits receiv'd by our Saviour, and in offering up the fame Prayers, and defiring the fame Bleflings? and whoever does this with a due application of Mind, rightly confecrates the Elements to himself; any thing farther than this may rather be call'd Conjuration than Confe cration.

Blount's Oracles of Reafon.
Pref. P. 3.
Ib. p. 108.

P. 296.

Reafon is able to furnifh us with enough to make us happy, and that is as much as we need care for. Speaking of our Saviour's Entry into Jerufalem. When He made his Cavalcade upon an Afinego, they extoll'd Him as the Defcendant of King David; but his untimely Apprehenfion and Death, together with his Neglect to improve the Inclination of the People to make him King, did allay the Affections of the Jews towards Him.

The 7th Chapter of the 2d Book of Dr. Burnet's Archeologia Philofophica, is one entire Ridicule upon the Mofaick Hiftory of Paradife, and the Fall of Man, and among many other Scoffs, and Reflections upon the Veracity of Mofes, and the Juftice of God, He has thefe Words, Id utiq; videtur graviffimum, & afperrimum in hac Narratione, quod Gentem humanam plexiffe, imo perdidiffe dicatur Deus ob rem exiguam, & fæminilis Ingenii levitate perpetratam: This feems most hard and harsh in this Narration, that God is faid to have punish'd, nay to have ruin'd Mankind for a Crime of a trifling Nature, and committed by the Levity of a Woman's Fancy.

Indeed,

The Principle of the Preteftant Reformation plain'd. Lond. Edit. with other Tracts, p. 191, 192, 193.

Indeed, "Since the Gofpel Simpli<< city hath been worn off, the Priests "of all Churches have agreed, ift, That "'tis neceffary for all Chriftians to Communicate at the Lord's Table. 2. That this Sacrament cannot be rightly adminiftred without the Af ". fiftance of a Prieft, who muft Confecrate the Elements. No wonder then, that fo great a Noise hath "been made concerning this Sacred Commemorative Repaft. The Chriftian Communion which you read " of, as practis'd in the Apoftles Days, was nothing "elfe but a Religious Converfation of Chriftians one

66

among another. 'Twas for Society-fake they went "from Houfe to Houfe, that they Eat and Drank together frequently. Now 'tis plain, that this "fort of Religious Converfation may be kept up among Chriftians, without either Pricft, or Altar, or any fet form of Prayer, or Praife. And what if you fhould farther confider, if there be any part of this "Primitive Church-Communion that might not have "been perform'd by a Woman as well as a Man

"When the Primitive Chriftians met together to "break Bread, from House to Houfe, had any of the "Women craved a Bleffing on that Bread, we have no "reafon to doubt but that God would have heard her "Prayer.

59.

Speaking of God's ating for his own Glory, and punishing Letter conMen for Doubting of his Existence, He has the Words; Is the cerning En doing good for Glory's fake fo divine a thing? Is it thufiafm.p not diviner to do good, even where it may be thought inglorious, even to the ingrateful, and thofe who are infenfible of the good they receive? How comes it then, that what is fo Divine in us fhould lofe its Character in the Divine Being? And that, according as the Deity is reprefented to us, He fhould more refemble the weak, womanifh, and impotent part of our Nature, than the generous, manly, and divine?

Upon the fame Subject. One would think it were eafy Ibid. p. 63. to understand, that Provocation, and Offence, Anger, Revenge, Jealoufy in point of Honour, or Power, Love of Fame, Glory, and the like, belong only to limited Beings, and are excluded a Being which is perfect and univerfal.

Speaking of God, and the little reafon we have for the Fear of Him, He fays, It is Malice only, and not Goodness, that Ibid. p. 9. can make us afraid.

For no body trembles to think that there should be no God, but that there should be one.

Ibid. p.63.