Chap. V. The HISTORY ojtbePuRITANS. 571 · " That the wor!11ip of God is in itfelf pure and perfect, and decent; King · h r h · Th · · I· 'fr d Charles n. c< w 1t out any 1UC ceremomes. at _It IS t 1en mo pu;e an acce~t1660 • " able, when it has leall: of human mixtures. That thefe ceremonies l...rv"'.)J ,, have been impofed and advanced by fome, fo as to draw near to the ' " fignificancy and moral efficacy of facraments. That they have been " rejeCl:ed by many of the reformed churches abroad, and h<tve been ever " the fubjeCl: of contention and endlefs difputes in this church; and there- " fore being in their own nature indifferent, and mutable, they ought to « be changed, left in time they !11ould be apprehended as neceffary as the " fu bfiantials of worlhip themfelves. " M ay it therefore pleafe your majefly .graciouOy to grant, that kneeling " at the Lard's fupper, and fuch hob' days as are but of human infiitution, •• may not be impofed on fuch as fcruple the m~ That the ife of the " jiwplice and crqfi in baptijm, and bo~ving at the name of Jifus, may « be aboli!11ed. And forafinuch as erecting altars and bowing towards " them, and fuch like (having no found ation in the law of the land) " have been introduced and impofed , we humbly bdeecb your ma– " je11y, that fuch innovations m ay not be ufed or impofed for the fu– " ture." When the prefbyterian divines came to court with thefe propafals, the '!heir rmp~ king received them favourably, and promifed to bring both parties toge- tion. gether. His maje11y expreffed a fatisfaction in hearing they were difpofed to a liturgy, and forms of prayer, and tbat they were willing to yield to the effence of epifcopacy, and therefore doubted not of procuring an accommodation. The minifl:ers expeCl:ed to h ave met the biQ10ps wi th their papers of propofals, but none of them appeared, having been better in·firuCl:ed in a private conference with the lord chancellor Hyde, who told them, it was not their bufinefs to offer propofals, becaufe they were in pq/Je/Jion of the laws qf the land; that the hierarchy and fervice book being the only legal eftabliiliment, ought to be the ftandard of agreement; and therefore their only concern was to anfwer the exceptions of the minifiers againft it. Accordingly, inftead of a conference, or paper of propofals, which the minifiers expected, the bi!110ps having obtained a copy of the paper of the prefbyterians, drew up an anfwer in writino-, which w as commu nicated to their minifl:ers July 8. 0 Abjlratl of I h . r. h b'IL k · f h • 'll. ffi . . tbebijhops rt• n t ts antwer, t e 11110ps ta . e notice ? t e mmiHers. conce 1ons m their ply. · preamble, as that they agree wtth them tn the Jub.Jlantzals of doClrine and K. Chron. •worjhip; and infer from thence, that their particular exceptions are of ]e(s P· 2 0o. importance, and ought not to be fiifly infified on to the difturbance of the HL,~~ter's II f h h h 1; e, part , l?eace o t e c urc • .p. 242. :ro
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