Chap. T. The HISTORY of the PURITANS. mere creature of the Rate; that their minifters were not rightly called and MT6Joam39 ordained, nor the facraments duly adminiftered ; or fuppofing it to be a true church, yet as it was owned by their adverfaries [the conforming ) puritans] to be a very corrupt one, it mutt be as lawful to feparate from it, as for the church of England to feparate fromRome. The conform - ing puritans evaded this confequence, by denying the church of Rome to be a true church; nay affirminn it to be the very antichrift;, but the argument remained in full force againft the bifhops, and that part of the clergy who acknowledged the church of Rome to be a true church. It is certainly as lawful to feparate from the corruptions of one church Remarks. as of another ; and it maybe neceffary to do fo, whey,thofe corruptions are impofed as terms of communion. Let us hear archbifhop Laud, in his conference with the jefuit Fifher. " Another church (lays his grace) firchblfbop " may feparate from Rome, ifRome will feparate from Chrift, and fo far Laud'sfenti- " as it feparates from him, and the faith, fo far may another church parution " feparate from it. I grant the church ofRome to be a true church p. 140. " in effence, though corrupt in manners and doétrine.----_And corru r28. " tion of manners, attended witherrors in'the dot-trines of faith, is a juft p caufe for one particular church to feparate from another.- -" His grace then adds, with regard to the church of Rome; " the caufe of the p. 48. " feparation is yours, for you thruft us from you becaufe we called. for " truth and redrefs of abufes; for a fchifm mutt needs be theirs whole " the caufe of it is; the woe runs full out of the mouth of Chrift, even againft him that gives the offence, not againft him that takes it. " It was ill done of thofe, whoever they were, who firft made the fe- P. 133. paration [from Rome] ; I mean not aetual but caufal, for as I Paid be- " fore, the fchifm is theirs whole the caufe of it is; and he makes the fe- p. 142, 14+ " parationwho gives the firlt juft caufe of it, not he that makes an anual feparation upon a juft caufe preceding." Let the reader carefully con- fider thefe concef ions, and then judge how far they will juftify the fe- paration of the browni/Is, or the protcflant non-conformi/ls at this day. This year was famous for the difcovery of the Gu N-POWDER-PLOT, rhos. which was a contrivance of the papifts to blowup the king and the `Thegun- whole royal family, with the chief of the proteflant nobility and gentry, powderplct;: November 5th, the firft day of their affembling in parliament; for this purpofe a cellar was hired under the houfe of lords, and ftored with thirty-fix barrels of gun-powder, covered over with coals and faggots. But the plot was difcovered the night before, by means of a letter fens' to the lord Monteagle, advifing him to abfent himfelf from the houle, becaufe they were to receive a terrible blow, and not to knowwhohurt them. Monteagle carrying the letter to court, the king ordered the apartments about the parliament-houfe to be fearched ; the powder was found under the:
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