162 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. EDWARD PHILIPS, A.- M.-This zealous puritan was educated in Pembroke college, Oxford. Afterwards he settled in London, and became preacher at St. Saviour's, Southwark, where he had a large congregation, mostlyper- sons of puritan principles, by whom, says Wood, he was esteemed " a person zealous for the truth of God, power- ful in hiscalling, faithful inhis ministry, careful of his flock, peaceable and blameless in his life, and constant and com- fortable in his death." And surely the people of his own particular charge were as likely to know these things as any others. Our author denominates him a zealous Calvinist, an avowed enemy to popery, andconstantly laborious in the propagation of puritanism and practical religion,. His excellent endowments were not, indeed, a sufficient protection against the oppressions of the times. For, in the year 1596, he was, cited before Archbishop Whitgift and other high commissioners, when he was suspended from his ministry and committed to the Gatehouse. The crimes for which he was thus punished, were contained in the follow- ing articles :-1. " That he broke the order appointed, by preaching on a Thursday, instead of Wednesday, whichwas appointed to be observed as a day of fasting and prayer. - 2. That by preaching on Thursday, he turned a day of re- joicing and feasting into a day of mourning and abstinence ; which, by hindering hospitality, made the case worse.- 3. That he continued the service much too long, even from nine o'clock till one.-4. That as soon as the service was ended, he very schismatically led many people to hear Mr. Down- ham's sermon.-5. That he agreed with Mr. DoWnham to keep his exercise with fasting in the afternoon." These were the marvellous charges alleged against him, for which he met with the above oppressive treatment. Our learned historian, indeed, says, " "It is but just to observe, that Mr. Philips did observe the Wednesday, only he preached on the Thursday, because, being his regular lecture day, he was likely to have a larger congregation : that he went not to Mr. Downham's church till an hour and a half after he had finished at his own : that when he went he had only the company of Mrs. Ratcliff and his fellow minister, and both their wives ; and that he did not persuade Mr. Downham to keep his exercise in the afternoon; but he had purposed so to do, even before he spoke to him about it, as Mr. Down- ham himself confessed before the high commissioners."+ tt Wood's Athena Oxon. vol. 1. p. 276, 277. + Strype's Whitgift, p. 490; 491
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=