191 / 846
P
A
R
T
II.
Reverend
Mr.
Richard
Baxter.
a
57
t
t.Kneeling at the Sacrament
is
a
Novelty introduced
many hundred years after
Chrift,
and
contrary
to
fuçh
Canons and Cuftoms
of
the Church, to
which for
Antiquity
and
Univerfality, you owe muchmore
refpea,
than to the Canons
of
the
late Bithops
inEngland.
-
ta-
If
your General Rule hold that you Band bound
by
all
Canons, not
repeal-
ed
by'equal Power, you have
a
greater burden on your
back
than you are aware
of,
which
if
you bore indeed, you would know
how
little this ufurped
L-egif-
lative
Power
befriends
the Church
:
And
amongothers,you
-are
bound
not to
kneel
in
the'Church'on
any Lord's
Day,
in Sacramentor Prayer.
Grafters de imperio
Sum.
potei?,
would
teach much more Moderation in
thefe
Matters
than
I
here
per-
ceive.
Ad
Q
r9
^.
t.
It's
too much Self
-
conceitednefs and Uncharitablenefs
to
pafs
fo
bold
a
Cenfure
as
your Suppofitiondoth contain, of the
.
viable
ruling Church
be-
ing
Schifmatical,
and
fo
Heretical. Which
is
the
ruling
Church
?
I
know none
in
England betides Bithops
that pretend
to
rule any
but their
own
Provinces; and
but
few
that pretend Order toRegiment. Perhaps when the
Schifm and Herefie
come to
be
opened, it will
not
be found to lye where you imagin,
nor
fo eafily pro-
ved
as
rattilyaffirmed,
or intimated.
2.
Donot
be
too
fenfible
of
Perfecution, when Liberty
of
Confcience
is fo
pro-
claimed, though
the
Reftri8ionbefomewllaton
your
fide.
O
the difference
of
your Perfecution,
and theirs
that
fuffered
by
you.
!
;.
The
only
confcionable and
fafe
way for the Church and your own
Souls,
is
to
love, long
for, pray, and confult
for
Peace. Clofe
in the unanimous pra&ice of
fo much
as
all
areagreed
in
:
In
amicable Meetings endeavour
the
healing
of
all
breaches
:
Difown
the ungodly
of
all
Parties
:
Lay
by
the
new violent Opinions
inconfiftant with
Unity.
I
expel
not that
this advice fhould pleafe
the
preju-
diced
:
But
that
it's
the only
Cafe
and comfortable way
, is
the Confident Opi-
nion
of
lour
Brother,
Richard
Baxter.
All
the Difturbance
I
had
in my
ownParilh
was
by
Sir
Ralph Clare's
refuting
to
Communicate with
us,
unlefs
I
would give
it
him kneeling on
a
diftinû
Day, and
not
with
thofe
that
received
it fitting.
To
which Demand
I
gave
him this
follow-
ing
Anfwer.
SIR,
T
/Pon
Confultation with others and my
own
Confcience, I
return
this
Anfwer
1.1
to
your lab motion;
befeeching you
to
believe
that
it had
been more plea-
tiing,
if
it
would have
flood
with
the
pleating
of God
and my own Confci-
ence.
t.
In:
general
it
is
my refolution
to
be far
frdm being the Author
of
any
Di-
vifions
inany
part
of
the Church
of
Chrift,
as
that
I
!hall
do
all
that
lawfully
I can
to
avoid
them.
2,
I am
fo
far from
theJudgment
and
Praékices
of
the
late Prelates.
of
England,
in
point
of
compelling
all
to obey
or
imitate them in
geftures
and other indifferent
things, on pain
of
being deprived
of
God's greateftOrdinancçs ( which
are
not
in-
differents), befide the ruine
of
their
Eftates,en.
that
I
would become
all
things
{lawful)
to
all
Men
for
their good, and
as
I know that the Kingdom
of
God
ftandeth not
in
luth
things,
fo
neither would
I
'hut
any out of
his vifible
King-
dom
for fuch things
i
as
judging
that our
Office
is
to
fee
God's Law obeyed
as
far
as
we can procure
it,
and not to be Law-
givers
to the Church our
felves,
and
in
Circumftantials to make no more Determinations
fthan
are neceffary
; left
they
prove but Engines
to
enfnare Mens Confciences,
and
to
divide the Church. And
as
I would impofe no
fuch
things
on other
Churches
if
I had power,
fo
neither
will
I
do
it
on
this
Church
of
which
I
-have
force overtight.
;.More particularly,I
am certain
that
fitting
in the
receiving
of
the Lord's Supper
is
lawful
or
elfe
Chrift
and
his Apoftles,
and
all
his Churches for
many hundred
years after
him did fin,
which cannot
be.
And
I
take
it
to
be
intolerable arrogan-
cy