^ ^ w • % Ex Libiii \ C. K. OGDEN THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 'Z/,/- EIGHT CHARGES DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESES OF OXFORD AND CANTERBURY. TO WHICH ARE ADDED INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES for ORDERS3 AND A LATIN SPEECH Intended to have been made at the Opening of the Convocation in 1761. By T H O M A S S E C K E R, LL. D. Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. - — ■ — -_.. ,, , , ._, m- Publifhed from the Original Manufcripts, By Beilby Porteus, D.D. and George Stinton> D.D, His Grace's Chaplains. The fourth EDITION. LONDON: Printed for John, Francis and Charles Rivincton, N° 62, St. Paul's Church yard; and Benjamin Whitx and Sow, in Fleet ftreet. 1790. C xe^"^^^ 5X ^034- CONTENTS. Cr'HE B'tpp of Oxford'i Charge to his JL Clergy in the Tear 1738, Page 3 T'he Bijhop of Oxford'j Charge to his Clergy in the Tear 1741, 47 I'he BiJJjop of Ox ford 'j Charge to his Clergy in the Tear 17^7, ^7 The Bifiop of Oxford'i Charge to his Clergy in the Tear 1750, 123 The Bifiop of Oxford'i Charge to his Clergy in the Tear 1753, i6_j The Archbijl^op of Canterbury'^ Charge to his Clergy in the Tear 175B, 205 The Archbifjop 0/ Canter bury'j Charge to his Clergy in the Tear 17 bi, 245 The ArchbiJl:op o/' Canterbury '5 Charge to his Clergy in the Tear 1766, 2B7 Jnflruciions given to Candidates for Orders af- ter their fill fcribing the Articles, 327 Q ratio quani coram Synodo Provina)^ Cantiia- rienfis anno 1 76 1 convocatd habendam fcrip' ferat^ fd morbo prapcditus non habuity ArchiepifcopuSy 349 J 048077 LATELY PUBLISHED, By JoHxN RiviNGTON and Sons, in St. Paul's Church-yard i and Benjamin White and Son, in Fleet-Street; I. /t Rchbi{hopSECKER's Lectures on the CatechiTm, /-\^ in Two Vols. Octavo, Seventh Edition, Price I2S. bound. II. Archbifiiop Secker's Sermons on feveral Occafions; to which is prefixed, A Review of his Grace's Life and Charadter. In Seven Vols. 0«Stavo, Price 2I. 2S. The above Nine Volumes were publ'ijhed from the original Manufcripts, by his Grace's Chaplains^ Beiley Por- TEUs, D. D. now Lord Bi/hop of London^ and George Stinton, D.D. III. Archbifhop Secker's Nine Sermons preached in the Parifh of St. James^ Weftminjlcr^ on Occafion of the War and Rebellion in 1745. Publiflied in his Grace's Life-time. To which are added. His Grace's Anfwer to Dr. Mayhew, and his Letter to Mr. Horatio VValpole. The Third Edition, Price 6s. IV. Archbifhop Secker's Fourteen Sermons on feveral Occafions. Publifhed in his Grace's Life-time. The Second Edition, in one Vol. 0<Slavo, Price 6s. ^ The above mentioned Eleven Vols, with thefe Charges, compleat his Grace's Works in Twelve Vols. Odavo, Price 3I. I2s. neatly bound. THE CHARGE OF THOMAS Lord Bifhop of Oxford T O T H E CLERGY of the Diocese, HIsPRIMARY VISITATION1738. Tuhlijhed at Their R e (^^u est. The seventh EDITION. Reverend Brethretiy I AM very fenfible, that you cannot meet together on this Occafion, without making deep Refledions on the Lofs, which you have faffered, for the public Good, by the Removal of a Paftor, whom the Experience of fo many Years hath taught you to efteem and honour fo highly. It is your farther Unhappinefs, that He is fuc- ceeded by a Perfon, very unequal to the Care of this confpicuous and important Diocele. But your Humanity and your Piety will, I doubt not, incline you, both to accept and to alTill: the Endeavours of one, who can aflure you, with very great Truth, that he is earneftly defirous of being as ufefal to you all, as he can; and ferioully concerned for the Interefts of Religion, and of this Church. Would to God there were lefs Need of ex- A 2 prefTmg 4 "The Bifiop <?/ Ox F OR d'^ prefling a Concern for them, than there is at prefent ! Men have always complained of their own Times: and always with too much Reafon. But though it is natural to think thofe Evils the greateft, which we feel ourfelvesi and therefore Miftakes are eafily made, in com- parii^g one Age with another : yet in this we cannot be millaken, that an open and pro- fefled Difregard to Religion is become, through a Variety of unhappy Caufes, the diftinguifhing Charafler of the prefent Age; that this Evil is grown to a great Height in the Metropolis of the Nation j is daily fpreading through every Part of it 5 and, . bad in itfelf as any can be, mull: of Neceffity bring in mod others after it. Indeed it hath already brought in fuch DifTolutenefs and Contempt of Principle in the higher Part of the World, and fuch profligate Intem- perance, and FearleiTnefs of committing Crimes, in the lower, as muft, if this Tor- rent of Impiety ftop not, become abfolutely fatal. And God knows, far from flopping, it receives, through the il] Defigns of fome Perfons, and the Inconfideratenefs of others, a continual Jirft Charge to /j'u Cl'E'b.gy, 5 a continual Increafe. Chriflianity Is now ridiculed and railed at, with very little Re- ferve: and the Teachers of it, without any at all. Indeed with Refped to Us, the Rule, which mod of our Adverfaries appear to have fet themfclves, is, to be, at all Adventures, as bitter as they can : and they follow it, not only beyond Truth, but beyond Probability: alTerting the very worft Things of us without Foundation, and exaggerating every Thing without Mercy ; imputing the Faults, and fometlmes Imaginary Faults, of particular Perfons to the whole Order ; and then de- claiming ag-ainft us all promifcuoufly with fuch wild Vehemence, as, in any Cafe but ours, they themfclves would think, in the higheil Degree, unjuft and cruel. Or if fometimes a few Exceptions are made, they are ufually made only to divide us amongft ourfclves : to deceive one Part of us, and throw a greater Odium upon the other. Still, were thefe Invedives only to affed Us perfonally, dear as our Reputations are and ought to be to us, the Mifchief would be fmall, in comparifon of what it is. But the Confequence hath been, as it naturally mull:, A 3 that 6 The Bif:op of Oxford'^ that Dlfregard to Us hath greatly increafed the Difregard to public Worfliip and In- Aruclion : that many are grown prejudiced againlt Religion j many more, indifferent about it and unacquainted with it. And the Emiflaries of the Romijh Church, taking the Members of ours at this unhappy Difadvan- tage, have begun to reap great Harvefts in the Field, which hath been thus prepared for them by the Labours ©f thofe, who would be thought their moft irreconcileable Enemies. Yet, however melancholy the View before us appears, we have no Reafon to be dif- couraged: for let us take Care of our Duty, and God will take Care of the Event. But we have great Reafon to think feriouily, what our Duty on this Occafion isj and ftir up each other to the Performance of it : that where-ever the Guilt of thefe Things may fall, it muft not fall on our heads. For it mujl needs be^ that Offences come: but wo to that Man, by whom the Offence cometh*. Our Grief for the Decay of Religion might be attended with much Comfort in Regard to ^ Matth. xviii. 7. ourfelves> Jirjl Charge to his Clergy. 7 ourfelvcs, could we but truly fay, that no Faults or Infirmities of ours had ever given Advantages againft it. But though, Gcd be thanked, we are far from being what our Adverfaries would reprefent us; whofe Re- proaches perhaps were never lefs deferved, than now when they are the moft violent : yet, it muft be owned, we are not by any Means, even the beft of us, what we ought to be. And the prefent State of Things calls loudly upon us, tocorredl ourMiftakes, to fupply our Deficiencies, and to do all we are able for the Honour of God, and the Happinefs of Mankind, If we can be unconcerned now, we have neither Piety nor common Prudence in us. And if we are concerned in Earneft, we fhall be very defiroua, both to avoid all wrong Methods of {hewing it, and to make ufe of all right ones. Complaining of our Superiors for thofe Evils, which perhaps they cannot prevent; or complaining of them with Difrefpec^t, for what we may apprehend they could prevent, would both be undutiful and im- prudent Condud: would give our Adverfaries A 4 jov. 8 *Thc Bifiop o/* Ox F rd'^ Joy, and do our Caufe Harm. Indeed to beg earneftly of God, that He would diredl the Hearts of thofe, who prefide over the public Welfare J and humbly to reprefent to them* on all fit Occafions, the declining State of Religion, the Importance and the Means of preferving it ; thefe Things are un- queftionable Duties. But then we muft always approve ourfelves, at the fame Time, confcientioufly loyal both in Word and deed; reafonable in our Expedlations ; fincerely grateful for the Protedlion, which we are affured of enjoying j and duly fenfible, that every Thing of Value to us, in this World, depends on the Support of that Government, under which we now live. We cannot be good Men, if we are bad Subjeds; and we are not wife Men, if we permit ourfelves to be fufpeded of it. A fecond proper Caution is. That to fpcak unfavourably of Liberty, religious or civil, inflead of carefully diftinguifhing both from the many Abufes of them, which we daily fee ; or to encourage any other Reftraints or either, than public Utility makes evidently needful ; can only ferve to increafe that 6 Jealoufy, firjl Charge to bis Clergy. 9 Jealoufy, which, being in former Ages grounded too vvell, hath been moO: induflri- ouily heightened, when there never was {o little Pretence of Ground for it; that the Claims of the Clergy are hurtful to the Rights of Mankind. It concerns us greatly to remove fo dangerous a Prejudice againft us, as this: not by renouncing thofe Powers, which the Gofpel hath given usj for we are bound to affert them: but by convincing the World, that they are perfedly innocent; and avoiding all Appearance of affuming what we have no Right to: by fhewing our Abhorrence of Tyranny, efpecially over the Confciences of Men; and latisfying them fully, if pofiible, that we preach ?2Gt ourjehes^ but Chriji Jefus, ike Lord-, arid our [elves , their Servants for his Sake ^. Then, with Re- fpecft to the Privileges, that we derive from human Authority: as, on the one Hand, receding from any of them without Caufe is only inviting frefli Encroachments, and giving needlefs Advantages to fuch as will be fure to lofe none: (o, on the other, draining them too far is the likelielt Way * 2 Cor. iv. 5. to 10 ^he Bijhop of Oxford's to deflroy them all at once: and both our Ulefulnefs and our Security depend very much, on our appearing plainly to defire nothing inconfiftent with the common Good^ to have the truefi: Concern for all reafonable Liberty, and to be zealous only againft Li- centioufnefs and Confufion. Thirdly, If we (hould be tempted to oppofe Profanenefs, by encouraging the op- pofite Extreme of Superilition: this alfo would be unjuftifiable in itfelf ; would have bad Effedls upon as many as we might miflead ; and give great Opportunities to all that (hould fee them milled, either of ac- cufing Religion, or expofing us, as Corrup- ters of Religion. Not that we are to give up inconfiderately, whatever fome Perfons are pleafed to charge with Superdition : for there would be no End of Conceffions at that Rate: but only to avoid encouraging any Thing, that can be juftly charged with it; and then we (hall (tand upon fure Ground. For nothing can be more unjud:, than thofe Imputations of it, which our Adverfaries are fo fond of throwing, fome upon Chriftianity itfelf, others on the Dodrine and Wor(hip of that Jirjl Charge to his Cl'E'RGY. i i that Church, of which, through God's mer- ciful Providence, we have the Happinefs to be Members. Another very pernicious Error would be, if we fhould think to ferve our Caufe by intemperate Warmth in it. Chriflian Zeal indeed is a Dutv, that never was more needful, and never lefs fhewn. But PafTion will do no Good. If exprelTed againft thofe, who are indifferent about Religion, it will turn them into Enemies : if againft the Enemies of Religion, it will make them yet more vehement Enemies. Befides, the ex- travagant Things, that Men fay and attempt againft us and our Profeflion, are not always defigned Injuries j but frequently the EfF^dts of Mifreprefentations, and Prejudices, that have imperceptibly taken hold on Perfons, who otherwife mean tolerably well. Nov/ Mildnefs to fuch as thefe, is but Ju(lice : and to all others, it is Prudence. Railing is the Province, which our Adverfaries have chofen : and let us leave it to them. For whatever Succefs They may meet with that Way, as indeed they excel in it, We fl:iall meet with none : but only make the Spirit of 12 I'he BiJJjGp cf Oxford's > of ChriTiianity be mifunderftood and ill fpoken of, by cur own Want of it. There- fore, how injurioufly foever v/e may be treated, let us return neither Injuries nor harfli Treatment for it: nor endeavour to mark out thofc Perfons for Objeds of po- pular Hatred, who are ever fo unwearied in labouring to make Us fo. Yet, at the fame Time we muft never court irreligious Men by wrong Compliances j never contribute to increafe their Power of doing Harm ; never defert our Duty, either for Fear of them, or Favour from them. But then let us defend both Religion and ourfelves, with that Fair- nefs and Decency, as well as Courage, which becomes our Funftion: acknowledge inge- nuoufly whatever can be alledged againft us with Truth, only claiming equitable Al- lowances ^ and where Charges are untrue, yetufe mild Expoftulations, not Reproaches; and try to ihame our Oppofers by the Reafonablenefs of what we fay, rather than exafperate them by the Vehemence of it. They indeed have little Caufe either to com- plain or to triumph, if, under fuch grofs Provocations as they give, our Tempers fome- times firjl Charge to his CiERCY. 13 times fails: but wc have great Caufe to do our utmoft, that it fail not. And if undue Severity of Speech muft be forborn towards profefled Enemies; much more to thofe, who may, for aught we know, d-fign thcmfelves for Friends. In- deed, when it is evident, that Men only put on a Pretence of wifhing well to Chriftlanity, or the Teachers of it ; and, whillT: they afFed to charge us with Uncharitablenefs for queftloning their Sincerity, would defpife us for believing them : there we muft be al- lowed to fee what plainly appears; and to fpeak of them, both as Adverfaries, and un- fair ones. Or when Dodrines, whatever the Intention of propagating them be, are in- confiftent either with the Whole or any Part of our Religion; it is no Uncharitablenefs, but our Duty, to lay open the Falfhocd and the Danger of them. Nay, fuppoiing only the legal Efi:ablifhQ:ient of Pvcligion, or fome Branch of it, be attacked ; yet the Attempt may both be injurious enough to Us, and detrimental enough to the Public, to defervc a vigorous Oppofition. But to Oiew Paffiou and Bitternefs in any of thefe Cafes; to take Pleafurc 1 4 ' 'The BJJJjop of Oxf o R d'^ Pleafure in making Mens Miftakes or Defigns thought worfe than they arc i to judge harfhly of them with Refpe(ft to another World, or expofe them to ill Ufage in this; to refufe them due Allowances for human Infirmity, or be more backward to own their Merits, than to fee their Faults : fuch Behaviour, in- flead of promoting Truth, will prejudice the World againft it i will give Unbelievers dread- ful Advantages, and for ever prevent that Union amongft Chriflians, which would pro- cure us, above all Things, the Efteem of Men, and the BlelTing of God. From thefe improper Methods of fup- portlng Religion, let us now proceed to the proper ones. And they will naturally fall under the general Heads, of cur Inftrudions and our Lives. Giving Inftrudlon requires Knowledge. And therefore, as a competent Degree of it is juflly expe(5ted of Peribns, before they enter into Holy Orders: fo, when they enter, the Care of making a continual Progrefs in it is folemnly promifedby them, andcovenanted for with them. What may be a very good Beginning, is by rvo Means a fufficient Stock to Jirft Charge to hts Cl-e^gy, 15 to go on with; and even that will lefTen, if no Pains be taken to increafe it. Continued Application then is a Duty of Importance. Perfons of lower Abilities and Attainments are in Danger, without it, of being ufelefs and defpifed: and they, who fet out with greater Advantages, are bound to endeavour at doing, in Proportion, greater Services to the Church of God. Without Exception therefore, all who are engaged in fo ferious an Employ- ment as ourSj if they have any Regard either to their Duty or their Charader, muft take care not to be more remarkable for their Di- verfions than their Studies ; nor iiidolently to trifle their Time away, inftead of employing it to good Purpofes. And though moft Parts of Learning will be ufeful to us, and all Parts ornamental; yet we mufl: be fjrc lo remem- ber what we have been folemnly admonished of, that no Attention to any Thing elfe, ought ever to draw us away from the Purfuit of fuch Knowledge, as is properly Theological. For to excel in other Things, and be deficient in that, cannot but cafl a grievous Refiedion ; either on us, for not ftudying what we pro- fefs; or on our ProfeiTion, as having little in it 1 6 The Bijhop ofOxTORfy's- it worth {ludying. Our principal Bufinefs therefore inuil: be, to obtain a thorough Ac- . quaintance with the Chriftian Faith: firft the Grounds, then the Dodrines of it. And the previous Qualifications for attempting this are, a due Knowledge of the Rules of right Reafoning, and of the moral and reli- gious Truths which Nature teaches ; of the State of the World in its earlier Ages, and in that when Chriftianity firft appeared. Thefe Preparations being made, the great Thing re- quiiite in the next Place is a diligent Search into Holy Scripture. For there it is, that both the authentic Syftem of our Belief, and the chief Evidence for it, arc exhibited to. our View. Scripture therefore, above all Thii|j|, the Infidel endeavours to ridicule; the miftaken Chriftian, to wreft- in Support of his Errors: and if we defire, either to con- fute them, or to fatisfy ourfelves; our only Way muft be, to underftand it well. For which End it is quite necefi!ary, that we make the original Language, at leaft of th? New Teftament, familiar to us: and were that of the Old more commonly ftudied, the Advantages would be very confiderable. In fiijl Charge to his Clergy. 17 In order to fee clearly, on what Grounds our Belief ftandsj together with the facred Volumes themfclves, the Writings of fuch learned Perfons, as have proved their Autho- rity, and vindicated their Accounts of Things^ muft be carefully read; and attentively com- pared with thofe Objedions againfl them, which have been revived of late, drefled up with fo much Art, and fpread abroad with fo much Diligence. For in our prefent Circum- flanccs we are always liable to be attacked : and confider, what an unhappy Triumph it would afford, (hould we be found unprovided of a rational Defence. It is very true, the ge- neral Evidence, which we have for our Faith isabundantlyfufficientofitfelf, to overbalance many Difficulties concerning it, and ever fo many Cavils againft it. But yet our being unqualified to give more particular Anfvvers, where they can be given ; as indeed there are few Cafes, where they cannot; may often prove a great Reproach to Us, and a great Stumbling-block to others. Next to the Grounds of Religion, the Doc- trines of it, cfpecially the more important and difputed ones, ought to be fludied, with fuch B Diligence 1 g ike BiJI:op of Oxford'^ • t)iHgence and Impartiality, as may befl dirco«« ver to us the Nature of every Opinion, and the Force of every Argument : that fo we may neither load Chriftianity with what doth not belong to it ; nor betray, inftead of defending it> by giving up what doth 3 but faithfully keep that which is committed to our ^ruft'\ both entire and unmixed. To fecure this great End, we mud ever adhere ftridiy to the Word of God, fairly interpreted by the Help of all fuch Means as Providence hath given US; and carefully avoid, on the one Hand, Fondnefs of Novelty; and, on the other, over-great Reverence of Antiquity, efpecially fuch as comes fhort of the earlieft. But againft the former of thefe, it is peculiarly- needful to caution the rifing Generation; whom the Rafhnefs of Youth, and the petu- lant Spirit of the prefent Age, too often hurries into a Orange Vehemence for any Imagination, which they have happened to take up: and prompts them to fly out againft eftablifhed Doftrines, without having always the Patience even to underftand them. Such therefore fliould be exhorted to learn a pro* ' I Tim. vi. 20. ' • per Jirjl Charge to his CleRgy. 19 J3er Degree, both of Silence and Sufpence, till cooler Thought, and farther Inquiry, make them fitter Judges of Things. But befides thofe Controverfies, to which this Caution chiefly relates ; that between the Papifts and Us deferves at prefent to be well ftudied, by fuch of you, as live in the Neigh- bourhood of any. For feldom have they fhewn more Zeal or more Artifice^ than of late, in their Attempts of making Profelytcs. And therefore it is of great Confequence, that we provide ourfelves againft them, with a fuf- iicient Knowledge of their real Dodrines, their moft fpecious Pleas, and the proper An- fwers to them. Another Subject, with which we are concerned to be well acquainted, is what relates to the Government and Worfhip Difcipline and Eftablifhment of our own Church. Different Parts of our Ecclefiafti- cal Conftitution are frequently cenfured, by different Sorts of Perfons, with very different Views: though indeed the moft oppofite of them have appeared, ibr lome Time, unac- countably difpofed to unite againft us ; and Believers to join with Infidels in ufing their Chriflian Brethren ill. It may therefore be B 2 of 2 O The Bi/J:cp ^ O x r o R D V of great Ufe, to inform ourfeives diligently concerningeveryThingof this Nature, which is fpoken of to our Prejudice j and be always ready to fhew the genuine State of the Cafe, with Mildnefs and Fairnefs. But no Con- troverfies, however needful, mufl: be fuffered to divert our Attention from what is of all Things the moft needful, the Study of prac- tical Religion, and of the common Duties of Life. Thefe are the Things, which Man- kind are moft apt to fail in, and moft con- cerned not to fail in : and therefore fpending much Time upon them, obtaining a thorough Infight into them, and having a deep Senfe of them, is the very Foundation of doing good both to others and to our own Souls. A competent Provifion of Knowledge be- ing fuppofed, the next Thing is communi- cating it to thofe who are under our Care, in fuch Manner as their Circumftances require. The Proofs of Religion, both natural and revealed, all Men /hould be taught, and efpe- cially at prefent, in the moft intelligible and convincing Manner. As for the Objections againfr cither : fuch as it may be fuppofed they have thought or heard of, (hould be diftindly- Jirjl Charge to his Cl e R G v. 21 diftindly anfweredi but the reft obviated only as Occafion oiFcrs. For to enter into them farther, would be mllpending Time. Next to the Truth of Religion, they fliould have its Importance laid before them. The Ne- ceflity of a moral Life mod Men will own in general Terms: only what they are pleafed to call fo, is often a very immoral one, both with Refpedl to their Fellow- Crea- tures and the Government of themfelvcs. But Regard to Piety is ftrangely loft, even amongft Perfons, that are otherwife tolerably ferious. Many have laid afide all Appearances of it j and others, who would feem to keep them up, do it with evident Marks of Indifference and Contempt. It fhould therefore be in- duftrioufly ftiewn and inculcated, that an in- ward Senfe of Love and Duty to God, founded on juft Conceptions of him, and exprcfiing itfelf in frequent Ads of Worfhip, conftant Obedience and Refignation to him, is in Truth thefirjl and great Comwa}idme?jt^^ the principal and moft important of moral Obligations. But then, befides thofe In- flances of Piety, which Reafon requires of ^ Matt. xxii. 3S» B 3 us, 22 TbeBIJ/jopofOxTOTMi^s us, there are others, founded on Relations equally real, and confequentlydeferving equal Regard, enjoined by Revelation. The utmofl Care therefore ought to be ufed, confidering the prefent Difpofition of the World, to con- vinceMenof what Moment theDodrines and 'Duties of the Gofpel are. To make Reafon fufficient for Nothing in Religion is, to over- ^ turn every Thing. But to infill on its Infuffici- ency for many mod valuable Purpofes, which Revelation is fully fufficient for, and on the Neceffity of obferving whatever God hath thought fit to command, this is doing but common Juftice, though a very feafonable Piece of Juftice, totheDodrineof ourBleffed Saviour, and the Authority of our Maker. When once Men are brought to under-f ftand the Value ot Chriftianity, thenextThing is, to give th'^m a proportionable Solicitude for it : to make them obferve, how vifibly the Belief and P: adice of it decay, and howdread- ful the Confequences muft be, and are : to fliew them, that Religion is not the Concern of the Clergy merely, but the common Concern of All Men; the great Thing, on which public and private Happinefs depends in this Life, as weH Jirfi Charge to bis Clie.KG\\ 23 well as eternal Felicity In the next : that therefore, if they have any Value for thefe im- portant Interefts, they muft take the neceflliry Means of fecuring them: their Children, their Servants and Dependants muft be dili- gently watched over and inftruded; private Devotion muft be pradifed, Family-WorHiip revived, and the Service of God in the Church regularly and ferioufly attended upon. For laying afide thefe Things hath almoft ba- niflied Religion from amongft us : and No- thing, but reftoring them, can bring it back. Piety is indeed feared in the Heart : but to give it no Vent in outward Expreffion, is to flifle and extinguifh it. Neglecting the pub- lic Exercife of Religion, is deftroying the public Regard to it : and teaching Men to defpife their own Form of Religion, is enough very often to make them defpife it under any Form. Great Pains have been taken by our Ad- verfaries to give the Vs^orld an ill Opinion of religious Inftrudion: and we muft take equal Pains to give them a good one of itj by re- prefenting to them, both the natural Influence ir hath, and the divine Authority that enjoins B J. it, 2 4- ^^e BiJ}:op of Ox FOR D'i it. But after all, the only effedual Convidloii will be that of Experience. And therefore the chief Point is, endeavour that Men may feel the Benefit of our teaching : feel at leaft, that it is their own Fault, not ours, if they do not become the wifer, the better and happier for it. To this End, we muft all dwell pfcen and ftrongly pn the great Duties, and great Failures of Duty in common Life: firft explaining the Obligations of Religion fo as that they may be pradifed ; then infixing ori it, that they muft : entering into the Particu- lars of each with fuch Plain nefs, that every one may clearly fee his own Faults laid before him; yet with fuch Prudence, that no one may fo much as imagine himfelf perfonally pointed at : and taking the flridefl: Care, that no Part of what we fay may feem in the Icafl to proceed from our own Paffions, or our own Interefts; but all appear evidently to flow from a true Concern for the Good of thofe that hear us. Diligent Confideration, what our Subjed and our feveral Charaders will bear us out in, puft dired us, when to give our Judgment with Diffidence, when to lay Strefs upon it; in frjl Charge to hi s Clergy. 2j in what Cafes to exhort ivith all Loiig-fuffer^ ing " ', in what, to rebuke with all Authority K But whichfoeverwe do, neither our Language fhonld be florid, nor our Manner theatrical : for thcfe Things only raife an ufelefs Admira- tion in weak Perfons, and produce great Con- tempt in judicious ones. Nor yet on the other Hand, fliould our Expreflions be mean, or our Behaviour lifelefs : but both mufl: be fuitable to the Employment we are upon j both befuch as come naturally from the Heart of the Speaker, and therefore will naturally move that of the Hearer. To this our public Teaching it will be a great Help, and indeed a valuable Part of it, if we perform the feveral Offices of our ex- cellent Liturgy devoutly and properly : neither with an irreverent Precipitation, nor a tedi^ ous Slownefs: neither in a f^at and languid Manner, nor yet with an affedtcd LivelinefSj or a Vehemence ill-placed or over-done: but lb as may be ft exprefs the Senfe and the Im- portance of what we read j and, by (hewing pur own Atteution to it, engige that of all around us. • 2 Tim. iv, 2ft fTit. ii. 15. Befides 2.' .6 ^'he Brfiop of Oxford's BeCidcs our general Inftrudions, it is very needful, th:it we give the Youth under our Care, in particular, an early Knowledge and Love of Religion, that may abide with them: and fcard the Trials, to which thtir riper Years vAll of CouiTe be expofed. I hope you sre all diligent in that mofl ufeful Work of Catechizing ; and have done your utmofi: to prepare for Confirmation, thofe whom you prefent to me. And 1 earneftly recommend it to you, that the good Impreffions, which rnay well be fuppcfed to have been made upon their Minds at this Seafon, be not fufFcred to wear off again; but be improved into fettled Habits of Religion and Virtue, by ftill far- ther Exhortations, and leading them, as foon ?s poflible, to the Holy Communion. But though all the Youth deferve our peculiar Attention i yet if any of them be educated in Charity-Schocis under our Infpedion, for theie we flipuld think ourfelves f^ill more nearly concerned, than for the reft; and, by fird taking Care, to have them taught what- ever is proper, and Nothing elfe, then making linovvn the good Management they are under, put an End to thofe Acquiations, of their learnini^ Jirfl Charge to bis Clergy. 27 learning Tdlenefs and Pride, Superftition and Pilloyaityj which may have bcen,fometimes one of them, fometimes another, in fome Pegree deferved ; but have been carried with ^ wicked Indaftiy mofi: (hamefully beyond Truth, and lefl'ened the Credit of this ex- cellent Inftitution, even with many good Perfons, to the great Detriment of Chrifr tianity. Another very ufeful Method of fpreading the Knowledge of Religion, and teaching Men a ferious Regard to it, is by diftributing, or procuring to be diftributed, fuch pious Books, efpecially to the poorer Sort, as are befl fuited to their Capacities and Circum- ftances. For there is great Variety of them to be had : and at fo very low Prices, that much Good may be done this Way to con-» fiderable Numbers at once, in a mofl accept^ able Manner, for a trifling Expence. But Nothing will contribute more to make pur public Inftru^ftions effectual, than private Converfation, direded with prudence to the fame End. The better we are known to Per- fons, the greater Influence we may hope to Jiave upon them : and the better we know them. 2 8 ^he Bijhop of Ox for d's them, the more didindly we fliall fee how tQ make Ufe of that Influence to good Purpoles. By reprefcnting proper Truths, at fit Times, with a modeO: Fieedom, we may very much abate the Prejudices of Men, who have any Fairnefs remaining, both againft Religion and ourfelves : at leaft we may prevail on them, for the Sake of pubh'c Order, and Example, to keep within the Bounds of Decency j and fo prevent their doing Harm, if we cannot make them Good, Perfons, that err in par- ticular Points of Do6lrine, friendly Difcourfe may {liew us what led them into their Miftakes, and enable us to lead them out again. Such as difTentfrom our Church Government and Worfliip, talking amicably with them, and "behaving in the fame Manner towards them, if it doth not immediately bring them over, may however bring them nearer to us, both in Judgment and Affedion. Such as are faulty in their moral Conducljferious and afFcdionate Remonftrances, given in private and kept pri- vate, and joined with a Tendernefs to their Characters in public, may often do a great deal towards reforming them j and fooneror later, the Seed thus fown may fpring up in their Hearts^ firjl Charge to his CLV.Yt.cY» 2^ Hearts,and produce happy Fruits. WerhouKl not indeed prels upon perfons, when there is n^) other Prolpeift than that of provoking ihem: butwe ought to watch allOpportunIties,whilfl: there is any Hope left; and not only make it our Endeavour to convert the Miftaken and Vicious, but flir up the Negligent to ferious Thought, and the Good themfelves to more eminent Goodnefs. Efpeciallyfuch Per fens of Rank and influence, as we find well difpofcd, thefe we mud earneftly excite to appear and give Countenance to the Caufe of Religion-, ever remembering that awful Declaration of our Blefled Lord: Whofoe'verfiall be afJoamed of vie and of my Words in this adtdtcrous ayidfin- fid Genera tic7i, of him alfojhallthe Son of Man be afJjamed^ 'when he ccmethin the Glory of his Father y n^ith the holy Angels ^ We muft con- vince them of the urgent Neceflity there is, for interpofing in Behalf of Piety and Virtue; and (ug'^td to them the Means for engaging with Succefs in this excellent Employment. Yet muft we never fpcnd fo much of our At- tention on the higher Part of the World, as tMark viii. 3t. to 30 The Bifiop of Oxfords to give the lead Sufpicion of negleding tne lower; whofe Number is io much larger, vvhofe Difpofitions are ufually fo much more favourable to Religion, and whofe eternal Hap- pinefs is of equal Importance to Them, and ought to be of equal Concern to Us : but we muft prove we are in earneft in our Work, by making it our Care, as it was our Ma- iler's, that the Poor have the Go/pel preached to them^. And one Opportunity of preach- ing it with fingular Advantage, both to the Poor and the Rich, is when Sickncfs brings them, the View pf another Life. At fome near to Times indeed the Sick may be incapable of attending to Exhortations : at others they may be endangered by them : and at all Times great Prudence is requifite, to avoid the Extremes, of terrifying or indulging them too much. But, provided due Caution be ufed in thefe Refpedts j laying before them what they ought to be, and reminding them to confult their ov^n Confciences what they have been, is a mofi: likely Method of exciting in them fuch Affections and Refolutions at that Seafon of *Matt. xi. 5. Recolledion Jirjt Charge to his Clergv, 3^ Rccolledlion and Serloufnefs, as, though the Bleffing of Heaven, may produce the happicfl Effeds. To thefe excellent Offices therefore we muft all of us chearfully apply ourielvcs^eacli in fuch Degree as his Station requires. If they do require Pains, if they do take up Time, if they are inconfiitent with agreeable Amufe- ments, and even interrupt ufeful Studies of otherKindsi yetthis is the bufinefs which we have folemnly chofen, and the Vowsof God are upon us : it is the moft important and m.ofl honourable, it ought to be the mod: delight- ful tooofallEmployments: and thereforewe have every Reafjn not to feek the Means of evading our Duty, but of fulfilling it; and each to take the Overjtght of the Fleck of God, committed to him, Jiot by conjlralnty but wil^ iitigly '. For if we only juft do what we can be punidied by our Superiors for neglefting, we Hiufl neither expert Succefs nor Reward. But then to fecure either, the chief Thinor requifite, is flill behind : that our own Tem- pers and Lives be fuch, as we fay thofe of other Perfons /hould. For if we, who teach 'Pet, V. 2. Religion, j^ 77> BiJIdop of Oxford s Religion, live, or fuffer our Families to IIv^, with little or no Senfe of Religion, what can we poffibly exped, but thatMen will improve fo palpable an Advantage againft us to the ut- moft : will argue, that we believe not our own Dodrine; and therefore it deferves no Belief: or, we pradtife not our own Precepts ; and therefore they cannot be pracStifed ? Thus we fhall increafe that infidelity and Wickednefs, which our bufinefs is to oppofe. Too much of it will be really ov/ing to us : and the Whole will be laid upon us. The Enemies of Religion will have the beft Pretence in the World to ruin us ; and the Friends of it will grow uncon- cerned for us, and ready to give us up to them^ But, were thefe Confequences not to follow^ flill very bad ones muft follow. Men, irreli- gious or vicious themfclves, cannot be hearty in oppoiing Irreligion and Vice : they cannot do it with Boldnefs, if they were hearty: and could they be ever fo bold, it muft fit much too ill upon them, to have any good Effe6t. Wrong-mindedPerfonsvvillbefurnifhedwith the moft plaufible Excufe imaginable for dif- regarding them intirely : and the righteft- minded Perfons that ever were, cannot, if 3 they Jirjl Charge to his Cl^^cy. 33 tbey would, regard them as they ought. This will be the Cafe, even with Refpe(ft to their public Teaching: and as for private Ad- monitions, they will feldom have the Face to venture upon them, and never fucceed in them: whereas every Word, that comes from an exemplary Man, hath great Weight; and his bare Example is mod valuable In- ftru6tion of Itfelf. But, were a bad Life not to hinder at all the Succefs of our Miniftry ; yet we muft remember, it will abfolutely hinder the Salvation of our Souls : and fub- ytSi us to that forer PmiJJmienty of which he may well be thought worthy, who, teaching others^ teacheth not himfelf^ but through breaking the Law dij}:onoureth God^. Nor is it fufficient by any Means for us to be guilty of no Vice, This is fmall Praife, for one of our Order. Wc are bound to be Patterns of the mod diligent Practice of Vir- tue, and the flrifteft Regard to Religion: and we fliall never make others zealous for what we ourfelves appear inditFercnt about. It is very true, that peculiarly in our Cafe, the Generality of the World both ex'pc6\ and find >' Hcb. X. 20. Rom. ill 21, 33. C Fault, 34 ^^^ BifjGp of Oki^ord's Fault, quite beyond Reafon: and doubtle^ they are much to blame in doing (ck But then furely we are no lefs to blame, if, when we know the Severity, with which our Con- ^ud: will be examined, we do not watch over it with equal Severity ourfelves ; and take the only Way to be looked on as good Men, that is, being fuch undeniably. And who- ever bath a due Senfcof this Obligation, will confcientioufly abjiaifi^ not on\y from all Evil^ but, all Appearance of it too • ^ Such a one, for Inftance, far from ever offending againft Temperance, will be noted tor it: and think the Imputation of being mighty to drink Wine^ almofl: as infamous, as that of being overcome by it. Far from being guilty of Indecency in his Behaviour or Difcourfe, he ■will keep at a Diftance from every Thing liable to the Confrrudion of it. Far frotn being remarkable for Luxury and Deli- cacy in his Manner of living or appear- ing, he will be fure to preferve himfelf, on all Occafions, at leaft as remote frorr^ Indulgence, as he is from Aufterity. And though he will never difguft the Perfons,, ' iThefT. V. 22 s . ""If. V. 22. with Jirft Charge to his Cl'E.'RGY. 35, with whom he converles, by a Gravity afFeded or ill timed: yet he will be equally careful, never to expofe himfelf, by a Light- nefs of Carriage unbecoming his Fundion; nor let any Thing be a Part of his Character, much lefs a diftinguifhing Part, that can only tend to lower it. For we can never be ufeful, if w« arc defpifed: and we {hall be defpifed, if we w^ill give Opportunities for it. Even they who feem well pleafed with us will think meanly of us inwardly; and perhaps of the whole Order for our Sakes. Yet at the fame Time, we (hall be greatly miftaken, if we aim to avoid Contempt by Haughtinefs: which will only add Hatred to it. Our Rule therefore muft be, to ex- prefs, in every Thing, Condefcenlion to the lower Part of the World, without being im- properly familiar; and Refped to the upper, without being fervile: recommending our-- fclves at once to the Love and EHeem of both by a mild Kind of Dignity and in- genuous Simplicity, kept up through our whole Behaviour. Mildnefs of Temper is the Duty of every A4an; but efpecially re- C Z quired 36 The Bifiop of Oxford'5 required of Us " ; and abfolutely necelTary, both to our preferving Regard, and doing Service in the World. Therefore, whatevei* Provocations we meet with from thofe, a- mongft whom we live, as indeed we often meet with great ones, it neither belongs to our Charadler, nor will be for our Intereft, to take Offence and exprefs Refen ment; but by Prudence and Patience to overcome. Evil with good''. For we ihall often do it this Way, and nevsr any other. Inftead of being engaged in Enmities of oui own, it . Should be our Endeavour to compofe the Differences of other Ferfcns: not by inter- meddling in their Affairs, when we are not called to it; but by laying hold on every fit Opportunity given us, for difpofing them to a mutual good Opinion, where there is Room for it; or at lead to mutual Good-will. Too many Occafions indeed for friendly In- terpofition, our unhappy Party- Difputes furnifh us with, had we no other. Entering into thefe with Vehemence, and that Jnjuftice which never fails to accompany Vehemence, " Matt. X, 16, iTim.iii. 3. 2 Tim. ii. 24. •Rom xii, 21, firfi Charge to his ClERGr. - ^'f 'is what all Men fliould avoid : but we, who inun: caution them againft it, fhould avoid it with uncommon Care: (hould religioufly pay that Refpedl to every one, which is their Due, efpccially to our Superiors j think well of Mens Anions and Defigns, unlefs wc have evident Caufe to think otherwife; judge with Modefty, where perhaps we are not qualified to judge; and whatever our Opinion be> preferve our Behaviour inofFen« five: give the lead Provocation, that may be, tobad Men of any Sidej and a(ft in fuch Manner, as may gain us, if pofTible, the united Efteem of good Men of all Sides. For theirs is the Friendfhif>, of which wc ought to be ambitious. Familiarities with profane and vicious Perfonsi beyond what necelTary Civilityj or a real Profped of re- forming them requires^ will, whatever we may promife ourfelves from their Favour or Intereft, always difcredit and weaken us in general; and much oftener prove hurtful, than advantageous, to any of us in particular. But to cultivate the gojd Opinion of the wife and virtuojSj to recommend ourfelves to their Protedion, and, whatever elfe they C 3 m*y J 1% ' ^be Blfiop of Oxford's may differ about, engage their common Zeal in the common Caufe of Religion ; this will procure us both Security and Honour, and every Way promote the great Defign of our Piofeffion, Another Point, on which our Charader will not a Httle depend, is our being, in a reafonable Degree, difinterefted. A very large Proportion indeed of the Clergy have too much Caufe to endeavour at bettering their Circumftances : and it is barbarous Treat- ment, to accufe them for it, inftead of pity- ing them. But over-great Solicitude and Contrivance for advancing ourfelves will always make Impreffions to our Prejudice, let our Condition be ever fo low: though defervedly much ftronger Impreffions, in Proportion as it is higher. We fhall be thought to have no Attention, but that, of which we difcover too much : and the Truth i J, we cannot ferve two Majlers ^. Nor will it be fufficient, that we avoid the Charge of immoderately defiringmore; unlefs we avoid alfo that of Selfifhnefs, in the Management t)f what we have already r a Matter, in which ' Matthr vi. 24. i it firjl Charge to bis Clergv. 39 it is very difficult, and yet very important, to give no offence. We are bound, both to thofe who belong to us, and thofe who ihall conne after us, to take a proper Care of our legal Dues: and prefcrve them faithfully from the Encroachments of fuch, as tell us Very truly, that we ought not to be worldly- minded J but forget, what is equally true, that they themfelves ought not to be fo. But then the ftrongeft Reafbns of all Kinds oblige us, never to make unjufi: or litigious Claims; never to do any Thing, either hard and rigorous, or mean and fordid : to (htvi, that we defirc always the moft eafy and amicable Method of ending Difputes j and whatever Method we may be forced to take, never to let any Thing force us into the leaft Degree of Unfairnefs, Paffion or Ill-will; but endea- vour, by all Inftances of friendly Behaviour, to win, if poflible, upon the Perfon we have to do with; at leaH: to convince every Body elfe, how very far we are from intending Wrong to Him, or any one. And Nothing will contribute more, to acquit us from the Sufpicion of being felhlli fn our Dealings with other Perfons ; than C 4 approving 4® 'The Bijhop of Oxford'/ approving ourfelves charitable to the Poor I a Virtue which becomes us fo extremely, and is fo peculiarly expelled from us, and will give us fo valuable an Influence j that we fhould willingly ftraighten ourfelves in almoft: any Thing befides, that to the full Proportion of our Abilities, we may abound in giving Alms. And together with this, would we but, each in his Station, take the beft Care we can to fee Juftice done them in that Provifion, which the Law hath in- tended for them, it would generally prove a much more confiderable Benefadion, than all that we are able to beftow on them of our own. To the above-mentioned Inftances of right Condudt we muft always add, what will render them very engaging, the occafional kind Offices of good Neighbourhood ; with a- decent Hofpitality alfo, if our Circumflances will permit it: and then, notwithftandlng the Cenfures of thofe, who complain that we are of little Ufe, and endeavour to make us of noDCi we may furely well hope to do Service to God, and be efteemed of Men: efpecially if, together with fo exemplary a Behaviour towards Jitjl Charge to his Cl-ergy. 41 towards others, we are fiiendly and com- panionate, candid and equitable amongn: ourfelves. Great Injuftice, I am fatisfied, is done us on this Plead : and many groundlefs Accu- lations brought confidently againft us, by Perfons, who neither enquire into Fadts, nor confider Circumftances. But there are few Things, in which it concerns us more, to clear ourklves where we are innocent, and to amend ourfelves where we are faulty. For fo long as we are thought in the World, either infolent to our inferior Brethren in general, or void of Generolity and Pity to iuch of them as we employ ; we muft net expc(5l to receive better Treatment, than we are underllood to give. And if we arc believed to be chargeable^ beyond other Men, with mutual Bitternefs and Vehemence, when any Kind of Controverfy rifes amongft us ; this too Is a Charader, {o very different from that which ought to be ours, that the utmoft Care fliould be taken to guard againft it. Not that we are obliged, either to fpeak of or behave to men of bad Lives, or bad Principles, as if they were ^^ood ones, be- caufe 42 ' ^e BtpOp of OXTOKD^S caufe unhappily-they belong to our Orr^erV Making no Diftindion would be on all Ac- Counts wrong: and making a proper Diftinc- tionwill be very ufeful. But then v/e fhould never think worfe of our Brethren, than Evidence forces us ; never pubHfirj our ill Opinion, without lufficient Reafon -, nor ex- ceed, when we do publifh it, the Bounds of Moderation : we Qiould be ready to fhew them all fitting Kindnefs, even v/hilft they continue blameable; and receive them back with the moft charitable Tendernefs, when they return to their Duty. For there is no Manner of Need, that we (hould give either fo much Advantage or fo much Pleafure to the Adverfaries of Religion, as to let them fee thofc, who fhould be the Joint-defenders of it, engaged in domeftic Wars : and bringing fuch Charges, and raifing fuch Pre- judices, one againft another, that it is hard to fay, whether believing or difbelieving our mutual Accufations will make the World think worfe of us. Our bleffed Lord there- fore, after reminding his Difcipies, that fbey ipere the Salt of the Earth ; were defigned, by the Purity of their Dodlrine and Ex- ample, firfl Charge to his Clergy. 43 ample, to keep others from Corruption; and after giving them that prophetic Warning, that we fliall find Men zealous to fulfil, that if the Salt ha'ucjo/i its Savour ^ it Jhall be cajl out and trodden under Foot '^-y refuming the fame Figure at another Time, concludes his Exhortation thus. Have Salt in purfehesy and have Peace one 'with ano" iher ^ To thefe Things, Brethren, If we have any Concern for the Interefls of Reh'gion or our own, we muft always induftriouHy at- tend; but efpecially in fuch Times, as by no Means admit of Negligence or Mifmanage- ment. Yet vain will k<\ix bed Endeavours be, unlefs we conltantly add to them our fervent Prayers, that God would enable and ftrength- en, both Us, and all that ferve him in the Gofpel of his Son, to perform our Duty with Faithfulnefs and Succefs. For nsje are not fufficient to think any T^hing of curjehes : cur Sufficiency is of God\ What therefore wc ought, every one of us, to beg of him at all Times, let us all at prefcnt jointly addrefs to * Mattb. V. 1 3. - Mark \x. 50. » z Cor. iii. 5. him 44 1'^^ Bijhop of Oxford's Chargty &c. him for, in the comprehenfive and cxprefiive Words of our public Service. Ahnighty and e'verJaJIing God, by ivhofe Spirit the ii'hole Body of the Church is governed and fanSlified-y receive our Supplications and Prayers, ivhich we offer before thee for allEJiafes of Men in thy holy Church; that every Member of tly: fame, in his VO' cation and Minifry, may truly and godly ferve thee, through our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrifl, Amen \ * Second Collcfl for Gsod Friday, A CHARGE A CHARGE DELIVERED TQ THE CLERGY of the Piocess OF OXFORD, la the Yeah i74i« 'Reverend Brethren^ W HE N I had fir/l the Pleafure of meeting you, being very much ^ Stranger, I could only lay before you fuch general Admonitions as appeared tQ be feafonable in this unhappy Age of Irre- ligion and Libertjnifm. But having now obtained a fuller Acquaintance with Things, chiefly from your Anfwers to my printed Enquiries, which have given me many Rea- fons to cfleem and refpedt you; I fliall at prcfent deicend into fome farther Particulars: and considering you, not merely as Minifters of the Gofpel at large, but as Miniders of the feveral Pariflies in which you officiate, remind you ot fome plain Diredions for your doing it more fuccefsfully : which \ 4hall deliver with lefs Diffidence, and you will receive with greater Regard, for their being chiefly fuch as have been often rccom- 2 mended 48 Hoe BiJ].->Gp of Oxford'! mended with good Effcdt on fuch Occafions a? this. I begin with one of the loweft in Appear- ance, but not the lead important of ecclcii- aftical Employments: Catechizing the Chil- dren under your Care. The Catechifm coniifts of the fundamental Articles of Chriftian Faith and Pradlice. Without learning thefe we know not fo much as what it is we profefs to be ; and there is great Danger that unlefs Perfons learn them at firft, they will never learn them thoroughly : but only pick up from what they hear or read, unconnected and fometimes ill grounded Notions, that will never unite into a com- plete or a confident Form of found Doc- trine : as I apprehend we have had too much Experience. The Rubric therefore requires, that every Ferfon learn the Catechifm before his Cc?ifir?natic72 : and the 59th Canon, that every Incumbent jhall examine and infirucl the yGung and ignorant of his Parifh in it for half an Hour or more tvery Sunday. Every fecond Sunday had been appointed before ; but that J fuppofe was judged afterwards infufficient. Not that a firidt Obferv^ition of this Rule was probably fecond Charge ic his Clergy, 49 probably expe<fled, during the Winter Sea- ion, in the Generality of Country PariHie?, or where the Children being few, were more eafily taught. But plainly it was intended^ that how much Time foever was needful to do this Work well, fliould be faithfully em- ployed in it. I thank God, there are very few Places in this Diocefe, and I hope there will foon be none, where Catechifing is omitted. But I obferve that in many it is pradtifed only during Lent. Now I {hould apprehend that the Summer Seafon would in general be much more convenient both for the Minifter and the Congregation. But at leail the Space of a few Weeks is by no means fufficient to fix the Knowledge of their Chriftian Duty fo firmly in the Minds of young People, but that in the many Months which pafs from the End of one Lent to the Beginning of ano- ther, a great Part of it will be to learn again. Therefore whenever this Exercife is begun, it fhould be continued much longer: and whenever the conftant Repetition of it is left off, it fhould be occafionally refumed for a Sunday or two, at proper Diftances of Time. D Another 50 The BiJJjop of Oxford^ Another Defe(fl in fome Places is, tha| barely the Words of the Catechifm are taught without any Expofjtioii. Now the very plained Expreffions in it will need to be varied into others that are equivalent : elfe Children will too often learn nothing but the Sound : and unlefs this Danger, which is a very great one, be guarded againfl:, you will have fpent both their Pains and your own to but fmall Purpofe. Befides, all Sci- ences have their Terms, which muft be in-: terpreted to Beginners: and fome of thofc in the Catechifm are figurative ones j very prudently ufed, as they comprehend in a little Compafs much Meaning, and lead to the underftanding of the fanie Figures in Scrip-r ture^ but undoubtedly ufed on Purpofe to be explained : without which they are liable tQ make cither no ImprefHon, or a wrong one. And farther ftill, a Syfteni (q fhort as to be learned by Heart, muft haveNeed, were itever fo clear, to be enlarged on ; the Proofs of its Truth, the Connexions and Tendency of it^ Do6liines, the Ufe and Extent of its Precepts to be (hewn ; and therefore fin ce the Ca- fecond Charge to his Clergy, 51 von with great Reafon enjoins, not only that you examine, but inftrudt the Children in their Catechifm, I hope you will think this a very needful Part of that Inftrudion. As to the Manner of it, that may be diiFercnt, not only in different Places, but in the fame at different Times. Sometimes a aintioued Difcourfe of fooie Length may be requifite: as it will lay before the adult Part of your Parifhioners a methodical Summary of Chrif- tian Dodrine; which they often want very much for themfelves, and will thus be enabled to teach fomething of to their Children, af- ter they have heard it together from you. Sometimes a curfory Expofition of the more difficult Exprellions may deferve the Preference. But afking the Children Qoefti- ons, relating to each Part, and procuring them to learn Texts of Scripture confirming each, will be always beneficial. The Words of the Catechifm itfelf may be very ufcfuUy broken into fliorter Qu^ftions and Anfwers: to which others may be added out of any one of the many good Expofitions that have been made public. Only you fliould endeavour gs foon and as much as you can to make this D 2 a Trijil 52 ^he BiJl:op of Oxford'^ a Trial and Improvement of the Underftand^ ing, as well as the Memory of young People, by afking fuch Things as they fhould reply to in Words of their own ; making that eafy to them in every pofTiblc Way. And indeed, lif many of your (^ueftions were formed to be anfwered merely by affirming or denying, it would be a very good Metbod; and there is an Expofition drawn up in that Manner^ I am fenfible that fome Clergymen are uni» happily obliged to fcrvetwoChurchesthefame Afternoon : who may therefore plead, that they have fcarce ever Time to hear the ChiU dren repeat their Catechifm, much lefs to ex- plain it to them. And God forbid that any iieedlefs Addition fhould ever be made to their Burthen. But as I am fure they will be dellrous of doing what ' they are able, in a Matter of this Importance, fo I fhould hope that in the longer Days,' at each of their Churches alternatelyj they might hear the Catechifm repeated one Sunday, and expouncj jpart of another, or bear only Part of it re- peated, and expound that, or find fome Way to prevent the intire Omiflion of fo neceffarya puty. And if thefe can do any Thing of this ^ ' ' KindV fecond Charge to his Clergy. 53 kind, there is no Doubt but others may eaiily do more. But a farther Hindrance which I fear you complain of too juftly is, that Parents and Mafters are negligent in fending their Chil- dren and Servants j and the latter efpecially are both unwilling and often afliamed to come. Now the Canon doth indeed make Provifion for punifliing fuch. But perfuading them would be much happier. And furely in fo clear a Cafe, well timed and well judged Arguments, if perfifted in, mud: do a great deal. The Example of their Equals or their Betters, if you have any under yoiir Care that are wife enough to fet a good one ; or however that of your own Families, may help very much : and fuch little Rewards of good Books, or other Encouragements as you can give or procure for them, it may be hoped, will completely prevail with them. Atleaft fuch as think they are either too old or too confiderable to fay theCatechlfm themfelves, tnay be greatly improved by hearing others repeat, and you explain it. But in fome few Places it is pleaded, that the Children cannot read, and their Parents t) 3 either j;4 ^'heBiJIjGpofOxtov.T>*s cither cannot or will not get them taught, and therefore the Foundation for their learn- ing the Catechifm is wanting. But fu rely fome Perfon might be found, within a mo- derate Diftance from every Place, to whom Parents might be induced, at leaft if fome- thing were contributed towards it, to fend their Children tp be intruded thus far. Or at the worft, they who cannot read might eafily by Degrees karn fo much as the Cate- chifm by Heart : efpecially as the three main Parts of it are in every £unday*s Prayers. The Incapacity of reading was almoft ge- neral at the Time of the Reformation : yet even in thofe Days the Clergy were able to teach firfl Parents and Houfholders, then by their Means Children and Servants, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Com- mandments : and afterwards the reft of the Catechifm. Now fmce that grofs Darknefs hath beenfo far enlightened, it cannot be im- practicable to difpel the Remains of it. Afterduelnftrudlion follows Confirmation: an Appointment derived down from Apof- tolical Pradice I andoffuch acknowledged Ufefulnefs, that in the Times of Confufion, a hundred fecohd Charge to his Clergy. 55 hundred Years ago, when Bifliops were re- jeAf^d, fome of their AdVerfaries took upon them to perform this Part of their Function : and within thefe few Years the Church of Geneva hath reftored it in the beft Manner their Form of Church Government will ad- mit, and added an Office for it to their Litur- gy. In our own Church the ancient Efteem of this Inftitution is, generally fpeaking, {^^ Well preferved, that I hope the Defire of being confirmed may not a little ftrengthen that of being inftrufted, as the only Way to it. And yet I muft obferve, that the Numbers from fome Pari(hes have been in Proportion very fmalL This may not have arifen from any Negledt in the Minifter: but as it ought to incline meto make the Opportunities of Con- firmation as convenient as I am able; fo it ought to incline you, agreeably to the Nature of your Fundion,and the exprefs Diredlionof the 6 1 ft Canon, to ufe your beft Endeavours, that your Pariftiioners may gladly take thofe Opportunities. Yet 1 muft entreat you to endeavour at the fame Time, that none be brought, but thofe who, to fpeak in the Language of the Rubric, are come to Tears D4 of 56 The B'ljljop o/OxTo'RDs cfDifcreiion^ who have learned , not the Words only, but in a competent Degree, the Meaning of what was promifed for them in Baptifmj who can fay with Serioufnefs and Truth, (what furely t\{t they ought not to hy at all,) that in the Prefence of God and the Congregation they ratify and confirin the fame in their own Per^ fons\ and who therefore are likely to have ufeful and lading Impreffions made on them by this Solemnity. Undoubtedly fome ar- rive at this Capacity fooner than others, and therefore I have mentioned the Age of Four- teen, not with a Defign of abfulutely tying you down to it; -but as being, for the mofl part, full early enough ; and that, where you fee it rcquiiitej you may, without giving Of- fence yourfelves, oppofe my Order to the in- difcrect Forwardnefs of Parents; whom how- ever, 1 hope, it will make eafy, to allure them, as 1 give you Authority, that fo long as it plcafes God to continue my Health and Strength, Cdnfirmations fliall be frequent in every Part of this Diocefe. I muft alfo de- lire that you will carefullyinftrudlthofewhom ydu do bring, in the whole Nature of the In- « fetation and particularly in this, amongfl: other fecond Charge to his Clergy. ^j other more important Points, that they are never to beconfirmedany more than baptized a fecond Time: that you will dircdt them to make the proper Anfwers audibly through the Whole of the Office, which many of them feem to have no Notion of, though it is To necelTary in the Nature of the Thing, and tends fo much both to fix their Attention, and to give the Solemnity a decent and edifying Appearance. You v^^ill caution them like\vife not to crowd forward and incommode each other, ufmg this Argument for one, that the whole Number who come in at the fame Time, will be difmifled at the fame Time alfo: and laftly you will prefs it flrongly upon their Minds, that what they promife at their Confirmation, they are to remember and keep to their Lives End. I have already de- liredof you, onthefe Occafions, a Liftof fucli as you judge qualified j that fothe Numbers and Perfons may be known: of this you would do well to keep a Copy youi felves,and if it were written alphabetically, both you and 1 fliould be able to confult it upon the Spot more eafily. For the abovementioned Canon, the 6 iff, plainly direds your Attend- ance 58 ^he Bijhop of Oxford*^ ance along with your Pahrhioners; totaled efpecial Care ^for (o the Words run) that 7ione be prefentedhiU fuch as you knolu are Jit • And as your being preft nt to approve or dif- approve muft needs increafe your Influence and Authority amongft your People j itmuft likewile make the Difcharge of my Duty fo very much eafierand more ufeful^ that 1 beg you will never let me be vi'ithout your Af- fiflance in this Work, as you (hall never be without mine in any Thing. And for this Purpofe when Confirmations are on a Sunday, which is the Time I fhali ufually pitch upon, for the Convenience of the Peo- ple, excepting at the Places of my Vifitation> you may omit for that Day the Morning or the Evening Prayers as you fee Occafion. I have not indeed hitherto been able to eiFed:, what would greatly fliorten your Labour, calling up your feveral Parifhes in their Order fepar?rtely. But I (hall be very glad to do it, as foon as ever you can introduce this Order amongft them, which I earneftly recommend to you: and I hope a continued Frequency of Confirmations will foon make that fea- fible without Difficulty here, which is now 3 pradifed Jecond Charge to his Clergy. 59 pradifed conftantly In the populous Cities of London and WejlminfUr, From Confirmation Perfons ought to be led on, if poflible, before the Impreilions of it are much weakened, to the holy Sacra- ment: and it is one material Reafon why Confirmation fhould not be too early, that with a little farther Inflrudion given foon after it, you may eafily bring them, fuch as they ought to be, to the Lord'sTable: which mayprove a much harder Matter, when once they have been a good While out of your Hands. The fmall Proportion of Commu- nicants which I find there is in moil of your Congregations, and very fmall in fcjir.e, inuft undoubtedly (as this Ordinance is appointed for all Chriflians, and for a ftanding Means of Grace to all) be a Subjedt of very great Concern to you. And though it is too true, that the Generality of the World, and per- haps the lower Sort beyond others, are in- credibly obftinatc in their Prejudice?, efpecially in fuch as »t all favour corrupt Nature: yet our complaining of thefc Prejudices is not enough; but labouring to overcome them is our Bufmels, and we are not to grow weary of 66 ^II' Bij7jop cf Oxford's of it. Some imagine that the Sacrament' belongs only to Perions of advanced Years'; Or gfeat Leifure, or high Attainments in Re- ligion, and is a very dangerous Thing for common Perfons to venture upon. Some figain difregard it flupidly, becaufe others,* they fay, who do receive, are never the better for it; or becaufe their Friends before them^ or their Neighbours about them never re- ceived at all;; or not till fuch an Age: and why fhould they? You will therefore re- prefent to them, that whoever receives without Benefit, it is his own Faulty and that how many foevcr omit it either for Part of their Lives or the Whole, not their Ex*^ ample but the Word of Godj is the Rule for Chriflians: that far from being a terrible or enlnaring Inftitution, it is in Reality a moft gracious one: defigned to be celebrated with Humility indeed, but with Comfort and Joy: that all the Preparation it requires is within the Reach of the plaineft Head and the moft laborious Hand, provided there be only an honeft and pious Heart: and that the Judgment v/hich unworthy Receivers eat and drink to ihemfelves, needs no more af- fright fdcond Charge to his Clergy. 6f fright thofe whom God in his Mercy will confider as worthy ; as he certainly will every true Penitent; than the capital Punilhments, threavened by the Law to Crimes, make innocent Perfonsunealy: that he whofe Life iinfits him for the Sacrament, is unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven alfo^ and he, who being qualitied for it, negledis it, neglcvfis ^ dying Command of his Lord and Saviour, intended for the greatefl G' iod to him. But your pubhc Inftru6lions on this Head will be much more effedtual for being followed by feafonable private Applications ; in which you will hear and anfvver their Objedions, bs they of ever fo little Weight, with great Meeknefs -, not be provoked by any Perverfe- nefs of theirs to fhew Anger, but only a friendly Concern ; and even if you meet with an abfolute Repulfe, leave them with an AfTurance that you fhall apply to them agaiq, in Hopes that God will have difpofed them better to obey his Precepts. But befides incrcafing the Number of your Communicants, it were very defirable, that they who do communicate fliould do it more frequently. In the three firft Centuries the Eucharift 6i The Bifiop of OxfordV Euchariil was every where celebrated weekly, and in mmy Places almoft daily. Decay of Piety occafioned an Iniundion in the Sixth, that every Chriftian fhould receive thrice in the Year ; which was reduced in the Thir- teenth, perhaps with a bad Intention, to once. Our Church requires thrice at the Icaji : which evidently implies, that more than thrice is hoped for. And indeed each Perfon will fcarce be able to communicate fo often unlefsthe Communion be adminiftered oftener. But befides, it is appointed to be every Lord's Day in Cathedral and Colle- giate Churches, and Part of the Office for it is read every Lord's Day in every Church, for an Admonition of what it were to be wifhed the People could be brought to. This indeed at bell: mud be a Work pf Time; but one Thing might be done at prefent in all your PariOies, as God be thanked, it is in mofl of them : a Sacrament might eafily be interpofed in tjiat long \n- terval between Wbitfuntide and Chrijlmas : and the ufual Seafon for it, about the Feaft pf St, Michael, (when your People having gathered in the Fruits of the Earth have fome fecond Charge to his Clergy. 63 fome Reft from their Labours, and muft furely feel fome Gratitude to the Giver of all Good) is a very proper Time. And if afr terwards you can advance from a quarterly Communion to a monthly one, I make ng Doubt but you will. Upon this Subjedt I muH: obferve to you farther, that though in one or two Paridies of this Diocefe the old Cuftom is retained, of Dblp.t:ons for the Minifter, as well as Alms for the Poor^ to both which the Sen- tences appointed to be read are plainly adapted: yet in many Parifhes there is no Offertory at all : though it be certainly a fradice of primitive Antiquity, a mofl: pro- per Admonition and Specimen of Charity; which I fear the Generality of Chriftians much want to be reminded ofj a moft feafonable Demonftration of our loving our Brethren for his Sake, who hath loved us; and a Thing exprefsly enjoined in the Ru- bric of the Communion OfBce. Why therefore fhould you not attempt to revive, it, where it hath been intermitted? Merely prefenting to Perfons an Opportunity of giving, if they tjiink fit, and only what they think 6^ J' he Bijlcp of Oxford's think fit, can furely (if the Reafons of it be explained to them beforehand) never keep any one away from the Sacrament. But then, though all who have not abfolutely Nothing, ought undoubtedly to contribute their Mite, yet no difagreeable Notice (hould ever be taken of any, for giving but Httleor not giving at all j and whatever is colledled, fhould be difpofed of, fo that all Perfons may know it, with the greateft Faithfulnefs, Pru- dence, and Impartiality. Another Part of Divine Worfliip, concern- ing which I think it needful to fpeak, is PfaU mody : a Part clearly appointed in Scrip- ture, both exprellive and productive of de- vout Affedions, extremely well fitted to diverfify long Services, and peculiarly to didinguifh the feveral Parts of our own, which were originally feparate. Our cccle- fiafcical F^aws do not indeed require it under kny Penalty : becaufe there may not every where be Perfons qualified to perform it jdecently. But wherever there are, the Ru- bric makes Provifion for it, and I reqom- mend to you that it be not omitted. You will always endeavour th^t your Parifh- Clerks fecond Charge to hisChi.KGY, 65 Clerks be Perfons of Dlfcretion as well as Skill and Serioufncfs. But however you will be much furer of no Impropriety happening in this Part of the Worflilp, if you either dired them every Sunday to fuitable Pfalms, or affign them a Courfeof fuch to go orderly through. And unlcfs the generality of your Parifliioners are provided with Books, and able to make ufe of them 3 ordering each Line to be read, will both fecure a greater Number of Singers, and be very inftrudive to many who cannot fing. All Perfons in- deed who are by Nature qualified ought, to learn, and conftantly join to glorify him that made them, in Pfalms and fpiritual Songs. This was the Pradice of the early Chriftians : it was reftored very juftly at the Reformation : and hath declined of late, within mod of our Memories, very unhap- pily. For the Improvements made by a few in Church-Mufic, were they real Im- provements, will leldom equal the Harmony of a general Chorus ; in which any lefTcr DiiTonances are quite loft : and it is fome- thing inexpreffibly elevating, to hear the Voice of a great Multitude^ as the Voice of 66 7'he BiJJjop of Oxford'^ many Waters and of mighty thunder s^ to fpeak in the Words of Scripture, making a joyful Noife to the God of their Salvation, ajidfnging his Traifes with Under/landing. Perfons of a ludicrous Turn may reprefent every Thing in a wrong Light : but thofe of any Serioufnefs, if they will lay afide falfe Delicacy, and that prepofterous Shame of religious Perfor- mances, with which the prefent Age is fo fatally tainted, will find themfelves very pi- oufly affeded only by hearing this Melody, much more by bearing a Part in it : and therefore I beg you will encourage all your Parifhioners, efpecially the Youth, to learn Pialmody ; and excite them, if there be Need, with fome little Reward : for you will thus make the Service of God abun- dantly more agreeable, and their Attendance on it more conflant. But then, where any Knowledge of the old common Tunes re- mains, you Hiould endeavour principally, that your Learners may perfect themfelves in ihefe J that fo they may lead and affift the reft of the Congregation, who fhould al- ways join with them ^ or if you muft admit a Mixture of new and uncommor^ Tunes, it (hould fecond Charge to his Clergy. 6-j fh uld be no greater than you find yourfelves in Prudence abfolutely obliged to. Elfc the Confeqnence will be, what I fear many of you have experienced, that tiihcr one Part of your People will refent being unjuftly filenced, and this by the Introdud^ion of Tunes often not fo good as their former ones, and fo your Paiidi will be divided and uneafy : or if they agree to the Change ever fo generally, and like it ever fo well, yet your feleift Singers will either be weary in a While of what only Novelty recommended to them, or grow conceited and ungovernable, or die off, or be difperfed, and the Congregation will be left unable to fing in any Manner at all. Where indeed the newer Tunes have quite blotted out the Memory of the old ones, ail you can do is, to make Ufe of what you find in Ufe, to get fome of the eaficil: of them learnt as generally as you can, and keep to thefe. And if, in. order to inftru(ft your People in either Way of Singing, Meet- ings to pradife out of Chuich-time be requifite, you will keep a ftridl Watch over them, that they be managed with all pofilble Decency, and never continued till Candlc- E 2 I'ght, 68 T^he BiJJiop o/Oxtokds light, if they confift of both Sexes. You will likewife difcountenance, at leaft, all frequent Meetings, between the Singers of different Parifhes, and making Appointments to fing alternately at one anothers Churches : for this wandering from their own, which by Lawthey ought to keep to, ufually leads them into ExcelTes and Follies. I am very fenfible, thatfome of the Things which I have been mentioning, are by no Means of equal Importance with others. But Nothing is without its Importance, that relates to divine Worfhip. The mere out- ward Behaviour of thofe who attend upon it is of fuch Ufe, and good Influence, that I muft defire you will be diligent in teaching them, (but fo as to perfuade, not provoke them) what Reverence belongs to the Houfe of God: particularly how very wrong it is to fit inftead of kneeling when they are or (liould be addrefling themfelves to their Maker, and to fhew how indecent that Ap- pearance is of Difregard to him, which they would not ufe on any Account to one of their Fellow-creatures a little fuperior to themfelves. If they could only breed up the younger fecond Chargt fo/jts Clergy. 69 younger to a right Behaviour in this Rcrpe(ft, your Congregations would grow regular in Time. But mild Expoftulations will furely, in fo plain a Cafe, produce fome Effe(fl upon the reft alfo, which will be much facilitated if you take Care that proper Conveniences for kneeling be provided for them. And if you could convince them alfo that ftanding is a more reverent Pofture to fing Pfalms to God in, as well as to read them, than fitting, you would come fo much the nearer to the Apoftolical Rule of doing all Things decently. For as fome of the Pfalms contain thenobleft Ads of Adoration, furely they ought not to be fung in a Pofture unfit to exprefs it. Another Thing, and no fmall one, which I believe many of your Parifhioners often want to be admoni£hed of, is to come before the Service begins. Undoubtedly Allowance is tobemade forneceffary, efpeciallyunforefeen, Bufinefs, and fome Allowance for not know- ing the Time exactly : but I hope you will obviate both thefe Pleas as far as you can, by confulting their Convenience in the Hour you fix, and then keeping pundually to it. And at the fame Time you will remind them, E 3 that 70 The Bificp of Oxford's that a due Degree cf Zeal in Religion v/ould incline them to be rather a great deal too early at the Houfe of God, than a little too late: that no Part of the Service can be liiore' needful for them, than that which comes firil ; the Confeffion of their Sins : that Inftrudion in their Duty is better learnt from the Pfalms and Leflbns, which are the Wordof Godj than from Sermons, which are only our Explanations of it: and that by coming fo irregularly, they not only are great Lofefs ■ themfelves, but difturb and offend others. Butitis notfufficient to give you Diredions about fuch as do come to Church, without taking Notice of the great Numbers which I find there are in many, if not mofl:, of your Pariflies, that omit coming. Now on thefe your Preaching indeed can have no im.medi- ate Influence. But it may however prevent the Increafe of them sand furnifli others with /Arguments againfl them j and with the beft * of Arguments, their Experience of its good Effecfls. You will therefore qucflionlefs do all you can in this Way, without ufmg aqy ExprefTions in Relation to their Fault, which if feco?ui Charge to his CllkGY. yi if repeated to them, may exafperate them. But your chief Dependence muft been private Application to them, varied fuitably to the Occafion of their NeglecS:. If it arifes mere- ly from Ignorance, or Sloth, or Want of Thought, they mufl be plainly toldwhatthcy owe to their Maker, and awakened to the Hopes and Fears of a future Life. If it be Defire of Gain or of Pleafure that keeps them away, they muft be afked what it will profit them to gain the whole World and lofe their own Souls ? or (hewn that to be Lovers of Pleafure more than of God will end in Pains eternal. If they defend themfelves, by pleading, as fome vvill,thatNothingcanbetold them at Church but what they are acquainted with already, it will furcly not be hard ton:iew them that they over-rate their Knowledge : that if this were otherwife they may however be reminded of what they did not think of, or excited to what they divl not pradife : that, were they too perfect to receive any Benefit, it would not be decent for them to tell the World fo by their Behaviour: that at lead they ought to fet others an Example who may be the bet- ter for public Iiflrudion : and laftly, that E 4 receiving 72 ^he BiJJ:op of OxT orb's receiving Inftrudion is not the Whole of di- vine Service, but Praying the chief Part. And though it is allowed they can pray at Home privately, yet without enquiring whe- ther they do, fince God hath commanded, for plain and important Reafons, that we worftiip him publicly, and hath excepted no one : by what Authority doth any one except himfelf ? And what will this end in, but an univerfal Negledl of a Duty which our Maker hath required to be univerfally prac- tifed? If it be any Scruple about the Lawful- nefs of coming to Church that keeps Perfons away, fit Opportunities fhould be fought with great Care, and ufed with great Prudence, to fet them right; and fuch DifTenters, for many there are, as do not think our Manner of Worfliip fmful, but only prefer another, which perhaps ihey are often without the Means of attending upon, fhould be ferioufly entreated to confider, how they can juftify feparating from a lawful Communion ap- pointed by lawful Authority, and even omit- ting all public Worfhip frequently, rather than worfhip with us. But then with which- foever of thefe Perfons we difcourfe, not the 6 leaft faond Charge to his Cl-ergy. 73 leaftperfonal Anger muft be (hewn. Nothing but a Concern about their future Ilappinefs. For by this Means if we make them no bet- ter, we ihall at leaft make them no worfe, and perhaps may leave in the r Hearts what will fome Time or other work there. Per- fons who profefs themfelves not to be of our Church, if Perfualions will not avail, mud be let alone. But other Abfenters, after due Patience, mufl: be told in the laft Place, that unwilling as you are, it will be your Duty to prefent them, unlefs they reform : and if, when this Warning hath been repeated, and full Time allowed for it to work, they ftiil perfift in their Obllinacy, I beg you to do it. por chis will tend much to prevent the Con- tagion from fpreading, of which there is elfe •great Danger : and when once you have got them, though it be againft their Inclinations, within Reach oiyourPulpit, who knows what Good may follow ? Different Cafes may indeed require Difference of Treatment : and both the fame Severity and the fame Mildnefs, that will (ubdue one, will harden another. You will therefore adt yourfelves, and advife your Church- wardens to ad in this Matter, according 74- "^he Biftdop o/'Oxford'^ according to your Difcretion. And after a Profecution is begun, it fhall ftill depend on your Opinion whether it fliall be carried on with Rigour, orfufpended a While in Hopes of Amendment. Only one Caution I would give you. Let not any Perfon's Threatenings, that, if he is profecuted, he will go over to the DifTenters, move you in the leaft. Such will feldom do what they threaten : or if they do, 'tis belter they Qiould ferve God in any Way than none: and much better they ihould be a Difgrace to them thm to us. I muft not conclude this Head without defirina: you to remind your People, that our Liturgy confifts not only of Morning but Evening Prayer alfo ^ that the latter is in Proportion equally edifying and inftrudive with the former^ and fo fliort, that, generally fpeak- ing, there can arife no Inconvenience from attending upon it, provided Perfons are with- in any tolerable Diftance from the Church: that few of them have Bufmefs at that Time of Dayj and Amufements ought furely never 10 be preferred on the Lord's Day before Re- ligion: not to fay that there is Room for both. But befides the public Service, your Peo- ple fecond Charge to his Clergy, ys pie (hould be admonidied to fpend a due Part of their Sabbath in private Exercifes of Piety. For this is almoft the only Time, that the f^r greater Part of them have, for meditating on what they have heard at Church ; for reading the Scripture and other good Books; for' the ferious Confideration of their Waysj for giving fach Inftrudion to their Children and Families, as will make your Work both eafier and more efFwduil. And therefore, though one would not by any Means make their Day of Reft wearifomCjnorforbidCheer- fulnefs, and even innocent Feftivity upon it, much lefs the Exprefllons of neighbourly Civility and Good-will, which are indeed a valuable Part of the gracious Ends of the In- ftitution : yet employing a reafonable Share of it ferioufly at Home as well as at Church, and preferving an efpecial Reverence of God even throughout the freer Plours of it, is necefTary to m.ike it a BlefTing to them in Reality, ini^ead of a Seafon of Leifure to ruin themTelves, as it proves too often. But farther, befides your and their Duty on the Lord's Day, it is appointed, that all Minlfters of Parities read Prayers on Holy- days, j6 7he Bijhop ^Oxford 'f days, on Wednefdays, and Fridays : and un- doubtedly your Endeavours to procure a Congregation at fuch Times ought not to be wanting. Were I to repeat to you the ftrong Expreffions which my great PredecelTor Bifhop Fell ufed, in requiring this Part of ecclefiaftical Duty, they would furprife you. But I content myfelf with faying, that pub- lic Worfhip was from the very firft Ages conftantly performed on the two ftationary Days of each Weekj that all Holydays ap- pointed by the Church were carefully ob- ferved by the Clergy, and the Number of them now is not burthenfome : that where you can get a competent Number to attend at thefe Times, you will ad: a very pious and ufeful, as well as regular Part : that your own Houfes will fometimes furnifli a fmall Congregation j and what Succefs you may have with others, Nothing but Trials, re- peated from Time to Time, can inform you. But they, whofe Pariihioners are the feweft and the bufieft of all, I hope do not fail of bringing them to Church at the lead on Good Friday, and Chriftmas Day, befides Sundays. For though in fome of your An- fwers fecond Charge to bis Clergv. yj fwers to my Enquiries, tbefe are not menti- oned as Prayer Days, yet I prefume that this arofe from your taking it for granted I fliould underftand they were. But if in any Place they be not, I earneftly intreat they may : for at fuch Times there can be no Difficulty of getting a Congregation. I hope likewife, that you are not wanting in due Regard to thofe which are ufually called Sfaie H ly- days : and particularly, that if the public Faft, which hath been appointed thefe tw» lafl Years, fliould be continued (as we have but too much Reafon to apprehend there will be Need) I beg you will endeavour, not only to bring your Parifhioners to Church on that Occafion ; but move them to fuch inward Humiliation for their own Sins, and fuch Fervency of Prayer for this moft corrupt and wicked Nation, as may avert, if it be poiTi- ble, the juft Judgments of God which fo vi- bly threaten us. You mufl: have underflood, Brethren, in all you have heard, that I am not exhorting you to promote in your Parifhes a mere Form of Godlinefs without the Power. Outward Obfervances, by whatever Authority ap- Dointed, yS The BijJjop of OxF otld's pointed, are only valuable in Proportion as they proceed from a good Heart, and become Means of Edification and Grace. They arc always to be reverently regarded, but never refled in : for Perfons may obferve, without the leaft Benefit, what they cannot omit without great Sin. The Bufinefs of your Parishioners therefore is, fo to ufe the exter- nal Part of Religion, as to be inwardly im- proved by it in Love to God and their Fel- low-creatures, and in moral Self-government: and your Bufinefs is to apply both your pub- lic and private Diligence, that this happy End be effedually attained. You have un- der your Care great Numbers of poor Crea- tures, living very laborious Lives in this World, and depending almoft intirely on you for their Hopes of another. It is a noble Employment to diredt their Behaviour and lighten their Toils here, by Precepts and Motives which lead them on at the fame Time to Happinefs hereafter. You will be fure of their Acknowledgements at leaft in Proportion as you fucceed in this Work; but you will be rewarded by God in Proportion as you endeavour it. Think not therefore, that fecond Charge to his Clergy. 79 that I am laying Burthens upon you, but only Jiirring up your Mindi by Way ofRetuembrance, and exhorting you fo to watch for the Souls of Men as they that miijl grce Account^ that you may do it with '^Joy aiid not with Grief. It is very little in my Power either to increafe or leflen your Duty, Our blefTed Mafler hath fixed it ; you have undertaken it : and were I to releafe ycu from ever fo great a Part ofi'-, I {hould only bring Guilt on my- fclf without acquitting you at all. The In-' jundlions of the New Teftament, infinitely ftri(5ler than any of Men, would continue to bind you as firmly as ever. Take Heed there- fore to the Minijlry which you have received in the Lordy that you fulfl it. Having a Subje(ft of fuch a Nature to fpeak to you upon, and being able to fpeak to you in a Body but once in three Years, you muil not wonder if I go fomewhat beyond the Bounds of a common Difcourfe. There are many other Things, and very material ones, relating to you as Parifh Miniflers, which I could have wifhed to mention now: But I was willing to treat firft of fuch Matters as belong So the Bi/hop of Oxford'j belong more immediately to the Worfliip of God. If it pleale him that Hive to another Vifitation I fhall in that proceed to the reft. Permit me now to add but one Word or two more upon a different Subjed:, and I have done. Whilft we are ferving Chriftianity here, with the Advantage of a legal Eftablifhment and Maintenance, there are vaft Multitudes of our Fellow- Subjeds in America^ their Negro-Slaves, and the neighbouring Indians^ amongft whom the Knowledge of God is taught, and the Exercifes of his Worship fupported, if at all, very imperfecfily, and with great Difficulty, by the Society for pro- pagating the Gofpel : the Income of which . depends entirely on the voluntary Contribu- tions of good Chriftians , and is now re- duced fo low, and burthened with 'fuch a Debt, that they find it necefTary to propofe, this next Year, according to the Powers of their Charter, and with his Majefty's recom*- mendatory Letters, a general Colledion, which they have not had for above 20 Years paft, to enable them to go on. Application will ficond Charge to his CleHgy. Si Will probably not be made to every Pari Hi leparateJy. But I hope every Minifter will give this excellent De(ign all the Affiftance in his Power: fuchj as can afford it, either by becoming flated Contributors and Mem- bers of the Society; or at leaft by fome oc- cafional Benefadtion in this Time of Need; ind all, by recommending the Cafe to fuch of their People or Acquaintance as they have Reafon to think will pay Regard to it. If any Perfort defires a more particular Acquain- tance with the Nature and Ufefulnefs and prefent Condition of this Undertaking, I have given fome Account of thefe Matters in a Sermon at their ahniverfary Meeting lately publiflied by me, and fhall be ready to give any of you farther Information, who (hall either how or hereafter Spply to me for it, perfonally or by Letter. But I mufi: hot yet conclude, without mentioning alfo thfe Society for promoting Chriftian Knowledge : who are carrying on the fame good Work in the Ea/l Indies , vvhich that for propagating the Gofpel is in the IVeJi'f and at the fame time are pro- F moling 82 ^he Blfiop of Oxford' 5 moting the Caufe of Religion many Ways here at Home : particularly by felling at very low Rates, Bibles, Common-Prayers, and Numbers of other religious Books, chiefly of fmall Sizes, for the Ufe of the Poor. This they alfo are fupported in by Voluntary Benefactions: to which whoever is able to contribute, will do a very good Work : and whoever can only purchafe a few of their Books for the Ufe of his Parifhioners, fhall have both my befl: Affiftance in it, and my hearty Thanks for it. I do not mean at all in fpeaking of thefe Things to prcfcribe to you the methods of your Charity: but only to lay before you two very deferving ones, which may poffibly have efcaped the Notice of fome of you j and to endeavour, that the Caufe of our Lord and Mailer may be ferved in as many Ways as it can: for you muft be fenlible how very greaj Need there is that none be negle(5led. By zealoufly making Ufe of fuch as are pre- fented to us, we may poffibly be of much more Service to others than we exped : but we (hall be fure of doing infinite Service to ourfelves. fecond Charge to his Clergy. 83 ourfelves. And may Godjlir up the Wills of all his faithful People, that they plenteoufy bringing forth the Fruit of good Works may of him be plenteoufy rewarded through Jefus Chriji our Lord\ f ColIe£l for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, F 3 A CHARGE CHARGE DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY of the Diocese OF OXFORD, In the Y E A R 1 747. o <L' ■ * I Reverend Brethren, I Cannot fpeak to you thus affembled, without congratulating you in the firft Place on the happy Suppreffion of that unnatural Rebellion, which, fince we met laft, hath threatened our Religion and Liber- ties. Nor will either my Duty, or my In- clination, fuffer me to omit returning you my heartieft Thanks, for the unanimous Zeal you exprelTed againft it; and I doubt not were ready to ^xprefs, even before the Ex- hortation to do fo, which I was diredled to fend you, and which you received with io obliging a Regard. Your Behaviour, and that of the whole Clergy, on this trying Occalion, hath abounded with fuch Proofs of Loyalty and affedlion to the Government, under which God's Mercy hath placed and continued U5, that his Majcfly hath declared, F 4 he 8 8 Ihe Bipop ofOxtoRDS he fliall ever have the rtrongefl: Senfe of what you have done for the fupport of his Throne, and gladly (hew his Gratitude by any proper Methods of extending his royal Favour to you and to Religion. It may be hoped alfo, that our Fellovi^-Subjeds will remember, what they owe to our long defpifed and re- proached Labours : and learn, how eflcntial a Part the Church of Ejiglrmd is of our pre- fent Eftablifliment. Indeed, not only the more candid of thofe, who thought amifs of us, have acknowledged our Merit now -, but the lying Lips are put tojllence, which dif^ dainfully and defpitefully fpoke agaifjjius\ And let us go on, Brethren, to exprefs the warmeft and mofl: prudent Zeal for what we doubly felt theValueof, when we feared to lofe it : and fo behave in this atid all RefpecTls, that they who are of the contrary Fart may be ajhamed, having no evil 'Thing to fay of us K For however imperfedly Men may do us Juftice, our Revv^ard from God is fure. I have recommended to you, in the Courfe of my former Vifitations, various Parts of J Pfal. xxxi. 20. > T^t. ii. 8. your third Charge to /^/i Clergy. 89 your Duty: Firft in general, as Minlfters of the Gofpel in a vicious and profane Age; then more particularly, as Incumbents cf your refpedive Parities. Under this latter Head, I began with what immediately relates to the Worfhipof God: and now proceed to another Point, of a temporal Nature indeed as it may fcem, but feveral Ways conneded with Spirituals; the Care you are bound to take of the Incomes nrifing from your Bene- fices. Thefe Endowments are facred to the Purpofesof Piety and Charity: and it is nei- ther lawful for us to employ them unfuitably ourfelves, nor to let any Part of them become a Prey to the Avarice of others. The few that may appear to be larger than was necellary, are in Truth but needful Encouragements to the Breeding up of Youth for holy Orders. And where they lelTened either an infufficient Number would be dcflined to that Service, or too many of them would be of the loweft Rank, unable to bear the Expence of acquir- ing due Knov/ledge, and unlikely to be treated with due Regard. Befides, the mofl plentiful of thefe Revenues may be well applied to re- ligious Ufes: and therefore, as they have been dedicated, 90 The BifJ.op of Oxford'; dedicated, ought to continue appropriated, to i them. But the Generality of them, it will iurely be owned, are fmall enough : and a very great Part left fo utterly incompetent, by the Ravages of former Times, that the little which ren^ains, demands our ftrideft Care now. For, without it, poor Incumbents will not be able to m;^intain themfelves de- cendy, much lefs to exercife Hofpitality and Charity towards others. Yet on thefe Things both their Spirit and their Succefs in doing their Duty greatly depend. And therefore liow indifterent foever any of us may have Caufe to be about our own Interefts ; we rught to confider curfelves as Truftees for our Sncceilbrs. We all blame our PredeceiTors, ir'they have not tranfmitted the Patrimony of t;,e Church undiminifhed into our Hands. Let us think then what others hereafter will fay of us, and with what Realon, if we arc guilty of the fame Fault ; and give away for ever, what we fliould count it Sacrilege in any one elfe to take from us. Indeed fome Perfons imagine orpretend that the only Danger is of the Clergy's encroach- ing on tlie Properties of the Laity, not neg- le^ing third Charge to /;/j Clergy. 91 leding their own. And we acknowlcdi^e there have been Times, when that was th© Danger. Bat they are long paft: and God forbid we fhould defire to revive theni. Placing exceffive Wealth in the Hands of Pcclefiaftics, would both endanger others ^nd corrupt them: as the Examples of pall Ages have too fully fliewn. But the paro- chial Clergy of thofe Times, inllead of being the Authors of this Error, were the heaviell: Sufferers by it. And to renew the Attempt in thefe Days, would be Folly equal to its Wickednefs : of which we fliould (0 certain- ly and immediately be made fenfible, indeed we are fo univerflilly fenfible of it already, that there can be no Need of giving Cautions on this Head. All we wirti for is, the un- molefted Enjoyment of what clearly belongs to us, and a reafonable Allowance of what is confelTedly requifite for us, in order to attain the only Ends of our Inftitution, the prefent and future Happinefs of Mankind. In how many and fad Inftances we fail of poflefTing in Peace fuch a competent Provifion, I need pot fay. Let us all behave under whatever 3 Ufagc 92 Tie Bi//jop of Oxford s Ufage we receive, with the Innocence and the Prudence, which our Mafter enjoins. But we fhall be wanting in both, if we wrong ourfelves, and thofe that will come after us, by improper voluntary Diminutions of what is allotted for our Support : which, through Inconfideratenefsand IndoIence,hath been often done : defignedly, I would hope, but feldom. And we may be guilty of it, either at coming into our Benefices, or during pur Incumbency on them, or when we quit them : to which three Heads I /hall fpeak ia their Order, Yet indeed, as I am now diredling my Difcourfe to Perfons, mofl of them already polTeired of Benefices, it may feem too late to give Cautions refpe(5ling the Time of entering upon them. But all who have a6led right then, will at lead hear with Pleafurc their Conduct approved. If any have ad:ed wrong; which I do not know, that any of you have; cm being (liewn it, they may repent of it, they may confider how far they can undo what they have done, or prevent the bad ponfequences that are likely to flow from it. And tJjird Charge to bis Clergv. 93 And both Sorts may be influenced more ilrongly, to take no improper Steps on any future Occafion, and to warn their Friends againft fuch Errors. I proceed therefore to fay that Benefices ought neither to be given, nor accepted, with any other Condition or Promife, than that of doing our Duty in Relation to them. This Engagement is always underftood, whether it be exprefled or not : and no other fl:iouId cither be required or complied with. For when Bifliops, originally the fole Patrons, to encourage the Endowment of Pariflics, gave others a Right of prefenting fit Perfons to themj or that Right was confirmed or granted by the civil Power : they muft be fuppofed to give it only to be excrcifed for the future, as it had been before : when whoever was appointed to any Station in the Church, enjoyed the Benefit of all he was appointed to, fo long as he behaved well. And therefore attempting to bring the Clergy into a worfe Condition, is Ufurpation : and fubmitting to the Attempt, is encouraging Ufurpation. Yet 94 ^^^ Bifiop 2/^OxFORD'f Yet there is a great Difference between" the Things to which our Submiflion may be dertianded. Some are grofsly and obvi- oufly unlawfuL If for Inftance any Perfon,' in order to obtain a Benefice, promifes to give up fuch a Part of the Income, to con- nive at fuch a LefTening of it, to accept of fuch a Compofition for it, to allow fuch a Penfion or make fuch a Payment to any one out of it: thefs Things are in Effedl the fame with laying down beforehand fuch a Sum for it : which is the neareft Approach^ excepting that of bribing for holy Orders, to his Sin, who thought the Gifts of God might be pur chafed ivith Money, and was an- fwered, 7hy Money perifi mth thee''. Nor can it take away, if it alleviate the Guilty that the Payment or Penfion, thus referved, is allotted to Ufes really charitable. Still it is buying, what ought to be freely beflowed ; this forced Charity mud difable a Man from voluntary Almfgiving, in Proportion to its Amount : and one Compliance in a feemingly favourable Inflance, will only make Way for another in a more doubtful Cafe, and fo on without End. Another Exeufe I hope No- "^ Afts viii. 2C\ body third Charge to his Clergy. 95 body will plead > that Obligations of this Kind may be fafely entered into, fmce they are notoriouily void. For we can never be at Liberty to make an Agreemenr, merely becaufe it is fo bad a one, that neither Law nor Confcience will let us keep it. But fuppofing a Perfon binds himfclF to his Patron, only that he will quit his Bene- fice, when required: even this he ought not to do. For he hath no Right to promife it ; and no Power to perform the Promife. Who- ever undertakes the Care of a Living, muft continue that Care till the Law deprives him of it, or his Superior releaPrs him f:om it"^. Therefore he can only fubjedt himfelf to a Penalty which another may exad at Plea- fure, unlefs he doth what of himfelf he is not able to do, and knows not whether he fhall obtain Permiffion to do. Can this be prudent? Can it be fit? If he pay the Pe- nalty, he gives Money to the Patron, though not for his firft PoficfTion of the Benefice, yet for his Continuance in it : befides that he muft either diftrefs himfelf, or defraud " See Stillingfleet on Bond? of Kefignatlon, ia the third Volume of his Works, p. 731. Religion 9© T^he Bifiop o/*OxFORD'i Religion and Charity of what he ought tcJ have beflovved on them. If then to avoid paying It, he begs Leave to refign; he puts hisBiiliop under very unreafonable Difficul- ties: who by refufing his Requeft, may bring great Inconveniencies on the poor Man: and by granting it, may lofe a Minlller from a Parlfh, where he was ufefu), and ought to have continued : may expofe himfelf to the many bad Confequences of having an im- proper Succeflor prefented to him. At )eaft he will eiicourage a Pradice undoubt- edly wrong and hurtful in the Main, what- ever It may be in the In (lance before him* And why are not thefe fufficient Grounds for a Denial ; fince whatever die Incumbent fuf- fers by it, he hath brought upon himfelf? Befides, in Bonds to refign, where no Condition is exprefled, fome unfair Inten- tion almoft always lies hid. For if It were an honeil one, why fhould it not be plainly mentioned, and both Sides cleared from Im- putations r Afl'uredly unlefs Perfons are to a ftrange Degree inconfiderate, this would be done if it could. The true Meaning therefore too commonly i?j to enflave the In- cumbent third Charge to his Clergy. 97 . cumbent to the Will and Pieafure of his Pa- tron, whatever it fhall happen at any Time to be. So that, if he demands his legal Dues; if he is not fubfervient to the Schemes, political or whatever they are, which he is required to promote i if he re- proves luch and fuch Vices ; if he preaches, or does not preach, fuch and fuch Do6trines; if he ftands up for Charity and Juftice to any one when he is forbidden : the Terror of Refignation, or the Penalty of the Bond, may immediately be fhaken over his Head. How fhamefully beneath the Dignity of a Clergy- man is fuch a Situation as this ! Hovi^ griev- oufly doth it tempt a M^n to unbecoming, and even unlawful Compliances! What Suf- picions doth it bring upon him of being un- duly influenced, when he is not! Or however he may efcape himfelf, what a Snare may his Example prove to his poor Brethren of weaker Minds, or lefs eftablidied Charaders ! To prevent thefe Milchiefs, both the an- cient Laws of other Churches, and thofe of our own* dill in Force, have flridly G forbidden • StilUfigfiet In bis Letter about Bonds of Refignation in Mifcell. Dircourfes, P. 42. &c. Ihews fvveral S«risof Con- tracts 98 1^ he EiJJjop of Ox? o^D'f forbidden fuch Gontrads^ Particularly thtf Council of Oxford, held in 1222, prefcribed an Oath againft Simony, for fo it is entitled, by which every Clerk {hall fwear at his Inftitution, that he hath entered into no Compadl in order to be prefented ^. And Archbifhop Courtney, in his Injundlions to all theBifhops of his Province in 1391, con- demns thofe, as guilty of Simony, who^ be- fore Prefentation, engage to refign when required ^ -, and appoints all Perfons infti- trafls that are allowed ; and obje£ls not againft Trufts and Confidences ; [as indeed I have been affured that Dr. Bentley held a Living in Trull for the Bifhop's Son] nor againft tvhat is done, in Confideration of Service, without a Com- pad : but only againft a legal Obligation on the Party, be*- fore his Prefentation, to perform fuch a Condition j and if he Uo not, to refign. •"The Council o{ Weftmlnjler, 1138, appoints that when any one receives Inveftiture from the Bilhop, he fhall fwear that he hath neither given nor promifed any Thing for his Benefice. Spelm. Vol. z. P. 39. apad Giblon Cod. P. 845. « The Words are, quod propter pr^fentationem illam nee pro-> tnijerit nee dederit aliquid pvitfentanti^ vec aliquant propter hoc hiierit pa^ionem : where hoc moft naturally refers to negotiutn prafentationis underftood. See Cone. Oxon. C. 18. in Wilkins, Vol. i. P. 588. and Lynd^ood, L. 2. de Jurejurando, cap. prafenti, in Wah^% Charge 1709. P. 34. and Stillingfieet on Bonds, ^c. P. 721. and Letter about Bonds, P. 39. ^ But it appears, by the Preamble, that it was defigned only againft putting it thus in the Patron's Power to diipofe of the Profits, or turn the Incumbents out, and give Plurali- ties of Livings to fuch as he favoured. tuted. third Charge fo his ClerCjY. 99 tuted, to be fworn '\ that they have not given, to obtain Prefentation, either Oath or Bond to refign ^. Again, the Conftitutions of Cardinal Pole, when Archbifhop, in 1555, cenlure, as being iimoniacal, all Bargains or Promifes for procuring of Benefices ^ and aflert that Benefices ought to be given with- out any Condition, and order that the Perfon prefented fliall fwear, he hath neither pro- mifed, nor given, nor exchanged, nor lent, nor depofited, nor remitted, &c. any Thing, nor confirmed any Thing given before*. And a Convocation held under him, two Years after, complaining that, of late Years, Peifons have procured Benefices et Praia' turasy [Parifh-Priefis are prcelati : fee Index to Lyndwood in Prcelatus ;] not only vacant, but likely to become fo, nonprecibus & ohfe^ quits ia?ituf77, fed ©* apertis muneribus, fo that ek6lionum faluhcrrima formcE qua per canones libera ejje dcbcrent, 'velfr audi bus obt€?iebraia » Wilkins, Vol. 3. P. 2 1 6. Wake, P. 3 5, 36. ^ The Injunftions oi Efi. 6. in 1547, appoint that fuch as buy Benefices, or come to them by Fraud or Deceit, fhal] be deprived, &c. And fuch as fell them, or by any Colour b*- llovv them for their own Gain or Profit, (hall Jofe their Right of prelenting for that Time. Wilkins, Vol. 4. P. 7, 8. ^mlkins,Yo\.^.?. 124, 125. G 2 fUflty 100 The BiJJiOp of Oxfcrd'j flinty "vel ad compromifji necejjitatem redadfa : directs, that Bifhops prevent thefe Things, and take Care by themfelves and their Offi- cers, efpecially quos in pralatorum eleSfionibus tanquam direBores Q? confidtores interejfe con," tinget, t\\'3iifraudes & pa^iones be excluded : and if any one have got, per pecunia & mu~ 7iertm fordes, prcelaturam vel beneficium eccle- Jicifticum, he be puniflied "". It is indeed true, that the great Evil, at which thefe feve- ral Dirciffcions Vy^ere levelled, was giving or promiling Money for Prefentation, or re- ceiving it for Refignations". And there- fore it may be argued, that where no Mo- " ^Fz7-{?>j, Vol. 4. P. 165. *The Tenor of them fhews this. Particularly the cor- rupt Refignations were to get Penfions out of Benefices, or Money for quitting them, or Exchanges gainful to the Pa- tron or his Friends. The Ref. Leg. EccL Tit. de Re?iuncia- lipae. Cap. 3. foibids only Refignations for Confideration of Gain. See Wake, P. 48. And Tit. Je admiltsndh ad Be- neficia Ecclefiajlica, C. ?4. only obliges a Perfon at Inftitution to fwear that he neither hath given nor promifed, nor will give, any Thing. And Tit, de benejiciis cotiferendis forbids only Compafts by which Benefices are le/Tened. See Woke, P. 36. who goes too far ia faying the Words are general ' againft all Manner of Contradts or Fromifes. The Preamble of the O^th in Can. 40. condemns only buying and felling oi Benefices. The Latin is Nundi?iatio, But Stillir.gjieet faith, P. 719, this takes in any Benefit accruing to the Patron, becaule mnnne emptionis ^3 venditionis intdligitur omnis con^ $ra£lus non gratuitus% ney third Charge to his ClergV. toi ney Is direflly paid, or taken, or covenanted for, nothing illegal is done. But the Opi- nions delivered, and the Judgments pro- nounced, by the Canon Lawyers, plainly extend the Prohibition to whatever is equi- valent to Money". And it hath been urged that by how much fosver a perfon lefTcns the Value of a Benefice to himfelf by a Bond of Refignation to the Patron in order to pro- cure it, as unqueftionably fuch a Bond doth lefien it, fo much in EfFed he pays to obtain it P. Or allowing, that in fome Cafes this doth not hold : yet Nothing will prevent unlawful Contracts in many Cafes, but pro- hibiting in all Cafes abfolute Contrads to refign upon Demand ; which therefore the abovementioned Conftitutions have rightly done. And as the Oaths, prefcribed in them, exprefs the Denial of having made fuch a Contrad:; the Oath prefcribed at this Time muft naturally be underftood to imply the fame Thing, f'or its being lefs explicit is " See Wake, P. i8, 24. StUllngf.eet^ P. 7 19, 722. and I.e% ter about Bonds, P. 46. ^V. The Injundicns oiEd. 6. Jorbid Patrons felling Livings, or by any Colour bellowing cheui for their own Gain and Profit. Wilkins, Vol. 4. P. 7, 8. ^ Stilling fleet y P. 722. G 3 no 102 I'he Bifiop of Oxford'^ no Proof, that, what in common Accepta- tion came under the Name Simotiiacal before, doth not come under it ftill. However, we muft acknowledge, that Bonds of Refignation on Demand have been declared by the temporal Judges valid, and not fimoniacal '^. And they are indeed the proper Judges, whether they are fuch by the Common and Statute Law. But whether the Ecclefiaftical Law permits them, is not fo clearly within their Cognizance. Indeed all Qoeftions about this crime feem to have been entirely out of if, till an Ad was . made, ^ Stillingjleet, P. 735, ^c. Wah, P. 415, Ifc. Indeed Stiilingfieet, P. 735. fays that the Court, having given Judg- ment for fuch a Bond in the Cafe of Jones and Laurence, 8 Jac. I. held, feven Years after, <vi%. 15 Jac. i. in the Cafe of Pafckal and Clerky that it was Simony within the Statute; and he cites T/fy, 22. for it. V^nt IVake mentions not this : and Watfon, C 5, P. 40. fays it doth not appear by the Roll that there was fuch a I'rial; and if there was, it is of no great Authority, nor hath been regarded fince. ' See Wake,?. 39, 50. The Preamble of 5 Eliz. C. 23. compared with§ 1 3, fufficicntly intimates that Simony is an Offence appertaiiing merely to the Jurifdiflion and Deter- mination of the Eccicfiaflical Courts and Judges. Yet Stil- lingfleei,?. 718 cites iTom Croke, Car. '^61 . the Judges as faying, in the Cafe of Mackaller and Toddenck, that the Common Law before 31 Eliz. iook Notice of a fimoniacal Contraft. But Coke in Cazvdriis Cafe, 5th Rep. Fol. 8,9. as cited by I'Faie, P. 50. puts Simony among the Crimes the Conufance whereof belongs not to the Common but Ecclefiailical third Charge to his Cl er G r. 1 03 made 31 Eliz. C. 6. which for the avoiding of Simony and Corruption in Prefentations and Collations^ infilds Penalties on thofe who (hall either give or procure them for any Sum of Money, Profit or Benefit j or for any Promife, Bond, or AfiTurance of it, diredly or indiredly : but at the fame Time allows the ecclefiaftical Laws to punifli the fame Offences which the A(5l doth, in the fame Manner as they did be- fore. Now making thefe Provifions is not faying, that Nothing (hall be deemed fimo- niacal by the fpiritual Judge, but what the temporal Judge lliall think is forbidden by this Ad*. And therefore, though the lattec Q 4 may Ecclefiaftical Law, and repeats the fame. P. 40. And C>-oke, Fol. 7S9. fays that the Judges in the Cafe of Baker, \z Eliz. held that it appertains to the Spiritual Court to determine what is Simony, and not to this Court to meddle there- with. ' Stillingfeet,'?. -jii. faith " the Words Simony or fi- *' moniacal Contraft are never mentioned in this Statute." And H'ake, P. 50 cites Noy, Rep. Fol. 25. as faying that " in it there is no Word of Simony ; bccaule by that Means *' the Common Law would have been judge what fhould *' have been Simony, and what not." And Stillhigfett, ibid, allows, that, if the Word had been there, the Judges would have had fufficient Reafon to declare what was Simony and what not. Now in Truth that Part of the Ad which relates to the prefent Affair begins thus. ♦• And for " the 1 04 The Bijhop of Oxf ord'^ may apprehend abfolute Bonds of Refignation to be confiftent with the Statute; yet the former may juftly apprehend them to be inconfiftent with the Conftitutions of the Church, which we ought to obey; and with the Oath againft Simony, which ought to be taken in the Senfe of thofe who originally enjoined and ftiil adminifter it; and not to have its Meaning changed on the fuppofed Authority of their Opinions, who neither have undertaken to interpret it, nor, if the Judgment of their Predeceflbrs be allowed, have a Right to do it. At leaft refufing fuch Bonds, on Account of the Oath, mud be the fafefl; Side : efpe- cially, as the greateft Divines of this Church have declared againft them; and I think *' the avoiding of Simony and Corruption in Prefentations, " Collations, and Donations of and to Benefices, &c. and in " Admiffions, Inftituticns, and Indudion? to the fame, be « it further enaded, that, if any Perfon, ^c." This may feem to imply that no other Things but thofe mentioned afterwards were Simcny: otherwife the Aft would provide only for avoiding feme Sorts of Simony. Accordingly Gib/on Cod. P. 839. and Stilling fi. Pref. P. 714. and Dif P. 7:8. think it only means to punifh fomc particular remark- able ^orts fpeciiied in it : and Wake agrees that it abrogates no ecclcfialtictti Law. And this agrees with what is obferved here, Note". But ftill the Judges : after this Adl, thought that judging of Simony did not belong to them^ See here. Note '. 8 none third Charge to his Clergy. 105 none for them. Though indeed, were the Oath out of the Queftion j the Bonds arc apparently fo mifchievous, as to be for that Reafon alone fufficlently unlawful. It may be faid, that if the Patron attempts to make any ill Ufe of them. Equity will relieve the Incumbent. But I have lliewn you, that their Confequences muft be very bad, what- ever Ufe the Patron makes of them. And befides, how expenfive, indeed how uncer- tain, this pretended Relief will be ; how feldom therefore it will or can be fought for; and how much better on all Accounts it is to avoid the Need of it j every one muft perceive. But let us now fuppofe, that a feemlngly reafonable Condition were exprelTcd in thefe Bonds: for Inftance, to refign when fuch a Relation or Friend of the Patron's comes to the Age of being prefented, who perhaps hath been educated with a View to the Be- nefice vacant ^ Now I do not fay but a Perfon ' Stillingjieet, P. 716. fuppofes this to be the Intent, with which an abfolute Bond is required; and faith, it is a Cafe, wherein a Bond may be thought far more reafonable than in others. But he exprefTcs no pofuive Approbation of it ; nor doth he mention there giving a Bond with this Con- dition io6 The Bljhop of Oxford'^ Perfon may very lawfully, and fometimes very charitably, from an Intention of refign- ing at fuch a Period, if Circumftances then fhould make it proper 3 and may alfo fignify fuch Intention beforehand. But if he bind himfclf to it abfoluteiy, befides the Diilruft of him, which requiring this implies, perhaps when the Time comes, the young Perfon will refufe to take the Benefice, or the Patron to give it him: and yet the Incumbent muil continue in perfeift Dependance thencefor- ward : for his Cafe is become the fame, as jf his Bond had been originally without any Condition. Befides, this Contrivance for pro- curing an immediate Vacancy at fuch a parti- cular Time, encourages Perfons, even of low Rank, to purchafe Patronages, feparatc from dition exprcfTed. But, in P. 736. he hath that Cafe in View where he faith, " that there may be a lawful Trull in fuch a *« Cafe, I do not queftion:" yet adds, " but whether the «' Perfon who takes this Trull can enter into a Bond and *' take the Oath, I very much queftion;" And Wake^ though in P. 22. he names this as one of the moll favourable Cafes that can be delired, condemns it notvvithllanding ; a? aa Obligation, which the Patron has no Right to impofe, nor the Clerk any Power to enter into; as contrary to the Cannons, and the Authority of the Bifhop, and the Oath of yielding him canonical Obedience, and of doing what in the Clerk lies to maintain the Rights of his See; but he doth not i^":! it is contrary to the Oath againfl Si- njony. the third Charge to his Cl-ergy^ 107 tlie Manors on which they were anciently appendant, merely to ferve interefted Pur- pofcs. And the Generality of thefe, inftead of confidering their Right of Prefentatioii as a fpiritual Truft, to be confcientioufly dif- charged, will of Courfe look on it as a tem- poral Inheritance, which fince they have bought, they may fairly fell, at any Time, in any Manner, for what they can : or at bed merely as the Means of providing a Mainte- nance for fuch Perfons as they pleafe : who therefore, unlefs they will be cafl: off intirely by their Friends, maft, when they are of Age, however unfit for the Cure of Souls, however averfe from it, fubmit to be pre- fented, and perhaps cannot be rejected. Then further, in Proportion as this Cuftom pre- vails. Benefices, and particularly the more valuable ones, coming to be of a temporary and precarious Tenure, contrary to what they were intended ; Perfons of Character and Abilities, and a proper Spirit, will not fo often care to take them. Or if they do, they will not ufually, indeed it cannot fo well be expelled they {liouldjcitherdefend the Rights of them, or exercile Hofpitality and Charity upon lo8 T^he Bljldop of Oxford'^ upon them, in the fame Manner, as if they were to hold them for Life. Nor will the People, generally fpeaking, refpeift thofe who come in thus, and rnuft behave, and go out again thus, as they ought alv/ays to refpe(5t their MiniO:ers. But ftill Perfons may plead that whatever is objeded againfl other Engagements from Incumbents to Patrons, yet if they engage only to be conftantly rcfident, to do faith- fully the whole Duty, which the Laws of the Church enjoin them, or perhaps fomewhat more ; this mufl: be allowable. And doubt- lefs it is, provided the Engagement be only a fmcere Promife of adling thus, as far as they can with reafonable Convenience. Nay if they bind themfelves by a legal Tie, to do any Thing, which either belongs of Courfe to their Benefice, or hath by ancient Cuftom been annexed to it, learned and judicious Authors juftify them ^ But covenanting thus to do even a laudable Acflion, as teaching School, or prefcribing to the fick, if their Predeccflbrs were not, without a Covenant,' * Wakens Charge, ^7^9' ?• 24. Sti//i>tg/eet^s Letter, P. 54. obliged third Charge fo his Clev^gy. 109 obliged to it, hath been held unlawful and fimoniacal^: becaufe it is promifingto fave, which upon the Matter is promiiing to give, fo much Money cither to the Patron, or however to thofe for whom he interefts himfelf. And indeed, though Perfons were to promifc only what in Confcience they are antecedently bound to -, yet if they tie themfelves either to do this, or to refign ; whenever they fail in any one Part of it, as to be fure they will in fome, fconer or later, though perhaps very innocently; fuppofmg the Rigour of their Bond infifted upon, (as who can fay it will not ?) they are at the Mercy of the Patron ever after. He becomes their Ordinary; and is vefted, by their Im- prudence, with a much greater Authority than the Bidaop hath : an Authority of re- ftraining their Liberty, where the Wifdom of the Church hath not reftraincd it'': an Au- thority of proceeding fummarily; and de- pnvmg them, for whatever Failures he ha'h thought fit to infert in the Bond, without Delay and without AppeaJ : and this Autho- rity he may exercife ever after, when he pleafes. 1 1 o ^he Bifiop of Oxfor d'j pleafes, tojufl: the fame Purpofes, as if they had covenanted at firft to refign when re- quefted. Still, without Quedion, many good Per- fons have both required and given Bonds of Refignation of thefe latter Sorts : and in many Cafes, as no Harm at all hath been intended, fo no particular Harm hath been done by them. But in fo many more there hath, and it is fo neceifary to go by general Rules J and one fpecious Exception doth fo conftantly produce others that are a little lefs fo ; till at lafi: the mofl pernicious Pradlices creep in y, that there is abundant Reafon to refufe making any Contrads whatfoever in order to obtain Prefentation : and more ef- pecially there is Reafon to refufe them, on Account of their mifchievous Influence on the Revenues of the Church : which was the immediate Occafion of my (peaking of them now j though I thought it by no Means proper to omit the other Arguments againft them. Perhaps it may be faid : if Patrons will have Bonds of Reiignation, what can Clergy- y fVaki, p. 25. men third Charge (o his Clergy, lit men do ? I anfwer. If Clergymen will not give them, how can Patrons help them- felves ? They mufl: prefent without them, or their Right muft lapfe to the Bifhop, who will. It may indeed be replied, that though one Perfon rejedts the offer, another will ac- cept it : and therefore he may as well. But this would equally be an Excufe for the worfl: of wrong Compliances in every Kind : and confequently it is an Excufe for none„ Be~ fides, it may happen, that by arguing with Pa- trons againft fuch Contrads, they may be convinced j and learn fo juft an Efteem for thofe, who refufe them decently and refpecfl- fully, as not only to prefent them with double Fleafure, but do them afterwards greater Services, than they intended them before. At leaft whatever Clergyman behavesinfo worthy and exemplary a Manner, will aflliredly, if the reft of his Condu(5t be fuitable to that Part, either by the Care of God's Providence, be raifed in the World fome other Way ; or, by the Influence of God's Spirit, be made cafy and happy in his prefent Situation. But it may be objeded further, that Bifliops argue 112 ^heBiJbopofOxTORD's . argue with an ill Grace againft Bonds at Pre- fentation, while they themfclves take them at IniYitution. And it muft be owned, that in feveral Diocefes, particularly that of Lin-- coin, out of which this was taken, and of Pe- terboroiigh^ which was alfo taken from thence ^, there is an ancient and immemo- rial Cufiom, (Cuftoms, you are fenfible, not being the fame every where j) for the Clerk prefented to indemnify the Bifiiop and his Officers from all Suits at Law for inftituting bim. And accordingly in this Diocefe, Bonds appear to have been taken for that Purpofe at all Inftitutions for 1 20 Years pafi: : within which Time, there have been nearly, if not quite, 700 given, that are now lying in the Regiftry : And hence we may prefume the Practice hath been the fame from the Eredtion of the See. The Original of it probably was, that a Commiffion of Inquiry being formerly fent out, as old Regifters prove, upon every * In Uncohi Diocefe they are taken only when the Bifliop hath any the leaft Sufpicion about the Patronage : in Petci'- borough and Litchfield always : in Canterbury whenever a new Patron prefents : m Cloucejiir ^nd>. jEx^r they were taken till the Time of the prefent Biihops, Va- third Charge fo his Clergy . 113 Vacancy* alledged, to certify the Bifliop, whether the Hving was really vacant, who was atprefent the true Patron, and whatever elfe it was requifite he fliould know in order to inflitute : and the Expence of this Com- mllTion, and of the Proceedings upon it, being of Necefiity confiderable to the Clerk, who bore it**; the cheaper Method of a Bond from him to fave the Bifhop harmlefs, was fubftituted in its Room. And a further Reafon might be, that, the Bifhop having 28 Days allowed him, after the Prefentation was tendered, to confider and inform himfelf, whether he fliould inRitute the Clerk pre- fented or not; the Clerk was willing andde- iirous, rather to indemnify the BiQiop, if he would confent to inflitute him fooner, than to bear the Inconvenience, and pcrhaj s Charges, of waiting to the End of that Tiiiie. 'That it was on every Vacancy appears frpm Archbifhop StratforiTs Conftitution. Srvva, A. D. 1342. m-Lindiv P. 223. and from Li^d-u-, P. 217. on Archbifhop P<?f/^v;;w's Con- flitution p'r nofirajn prcvincicnn verb. Iiiqiafjisrurr., and from JBifhop Gihjon\ Codex, P. 8 5 7* *" It appears from the above Conftitution o^ Stratford, thit the Cleik paid for the CommiHion, and thcreJorc of Courl'e for all that was done upon it. H At 1 14 The Bifiop of Oxford's At lead the only Defign of this Bond was and is, that if the Clerk's Title to Inftitution be queftionable, the Bifhop may not fufFer by granting it. Now a Covenant for this End is furely a very lawful one, and fubjed to none of the Mifchiefs, which, I have fhewn you, attend Bonds to Patrons. Nor was any Conftitution of Church or State ever pointed againft it: nor I believe hath any Harm ever happened from it. But I mufl owai too, that there is another Condition added to thefe Bonds, that the C:ierk (hall relign his Benefice, if required by the Bifhop, in Cafe any Controverfy arife, whether his Inrtitution be rightful. But this P.ovifionis, in the Bond, expreikd to be made only for the fame Purpofe with the former, the Indemnification of the Bi(hop: and the Penalty of the Bond is fo moderated, as to ferve that Purpo(e and no other. Accord- iiigiy I have not heard, that any one Perfon hath ever fcrupled, in Point of Confcience, to enter into this Engagement; t]:e Meaning oFit being only, that if he prove to have no R-^ht, he fliail quit: nor indeed, that any one third Charge to his Clilrgy. i 15 one hath found Caufe to fcruple it in Point of Prudence. For as you may be fure the ful- filling it would never be required without Neceffity ; fo I believe it hath never yet been required at all. That neither the Intention cf this Covenant was bad, nor the Reafons for it contemptible, you will readily allow, on being told, that it began to be inferred conftantly in this Diocefe, at the Time when ourprefent moH: Reverend Metropolitan was placed over it: which feeming Innovation was indeed only conforming more exadlly to the old Example of our Mother See^ But ftill as it is a Condition, the infifting on which, in fome Cafes, might have bad Effecfls, that were not fore fecn "^j though in fuch Cafes it probably never would be infifled on, as it never hath : I have determined, with his * I have feen a Bond from the Bifliop of T.hicolns Regiftry with this Covenant in it, printed in the lime of Jac. 2 and the Bilhop informs me the Covenant hath been ufed ever fince the l^eftoration ; how nmch fooner he knows not. ^f.g. A Suit may be begun which would have proved incffettual. Yet it the Incumbent refign, the Expenceof a fre(h Prcfentation and Inflitution will atleaft be ntcefTiry for him : but indeed the Patron may prefent another: and in the Cafe of alternate Patronage, another will prefent. H 2 Grace's 1 1 6 The Bifiop cfOxFO r d*^ Grace's intire Approbation, to omit it for the fijture. And in every Thing, I fliall not only be careful to make your Burthens no heavier, but if it can be Ihewn me, that I am able to do it, with Juftice and Equity, I (hall be glad to make them hsihter. The Fees taken of the Clergy in this Diocefe, whether at Inftita- tionsor Viiitations, are not varied in any one Article from thofe, which were returned to, and not difapproved by, a Committee of Par- liament in the Time of my Predeceilbr. They are the fame, as he informs me, with thofe taken in the Time of his Predeceflbr. Nor have 1 hitherto found Proof, though I have in- quired with fome Care, that they have been increafed at all materially fince the Bifhopric was founded ^ Thofe of Vifitation I am fure have not in the leaft. And yet the Di- minution of the Value of Money in that In- terval hath reduced the fame Sum in Name and Quantity, to perhaps not a Fourth of what it was in Effect and Ufe : on which Ac- ' i. e. Allowing each of the new Inftruments that are re- quired, to colt as much as each of the old ones. count third ChiU'ge fo /j/'s Clergy. i r 7 count proportionable Augmentations of Fees have been made, I believe, in all temporal Courts and Offices; and ancient Ruks to the contrary have been jullly deemed obfoletc, the Reafons of them hiving ceafed. So that where this hath not b^en done, or not to any confiderable Degree, there is Caufe to ren- der to all their Dues with great SatisfatTLion. And here I mud take the Freedom of fpeaking to you about fome Dues owing to myfelf, Synodals and Procurations. The former are an ancient Acknowledgment of Honour and Subjedion, referved by the Bifhops of the Weftern Church, as long ago as when they fettled their own Share of the Tithes, in each Parifli, to be the future Pro- perty of the fcveral Incumbents : And it took its Name from being ufually paid at the Synodal Meetings. Now fo fmall a Tribute, efpecially if conlidered as a Quit Rent for fo great a Conceffion, can farely never be thought a IIardn"iip. The other, Procurations, are alfo a Payment feveral hundred Years old, fucceeding in the Place of a much niore expenlive Obligation, that of entertaining the Bifhop and his Attendants, when he vifited n 3 each 1 1 8 T!he BiJJjGp cf Ox for d' j each Parifh. Neither of them hath been in- creafed fince their firft Beginning: the Right to both is indifpatably legal : and as I am fvvorn to maintain all the Rights of my See, I promifi myfelf none of you will force me to do it in a Way, that cannot be more dif- agreeable to you, than it will to me. If any one pleads, that complying with the Demand of fo trifling a Sum will be inconvenient to him, it fhall be more than returned him. If any one doubts, whether it is incumbent on him or not : his Reafons for the Doubt, when- ever he lays them before me, fhall be im- partially confidered, and allowed their full Weight. But I hope no Perfon will think it either decent or jufl:, merely to refufe, with- out afiigning a fufficient Caufe : and Difufe for fome Years is not fufHcient, in a Mat- ter, like this, of common Right. Moft of my Clergy have very pundually (liewn me this little Mark of their Regard, amongfl: many greater. Whether any here prefent have omitted it, I do not know. But I truft you with all have the Candor to think I have men- tioned it, not from any wrong or mean Mo- tive, but becauff 1 apprehend it my Duty, and third Charge to his Clergy. 119 and have not the lead Doubt ofyour Willing- nefs to be informed or reminded of every Part of yours. And with this Kind of DigrefTicn I muft conclude for the prefent. If God prolong my Life and Health to another Opportunity, 1 (hall proceed to the Remainder of the Subject. In the mean Time, I heartily pray him to dired: and blefs you in all Things. H4 A CHARGE CHARGE DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY of the D I o c E s E OF OXFORD, In the Year i 750, Reverend Brethreriy IN the Conrfe of my former Vifitatlons of this Diocefe, I have recommended to you various Parts of your Duty, as Minifters of the Gofpel in general, and of your rcfpec- tive Parifhes in particular. After Things, more immediately and intirely of fpiritual Concern, I proceeded, in m.y laft Charge, to the Care, that you are hound to take of your Temporaltiesj with which you are intruded, partly for the Service of Religion in your own Times, partly for your SuccelTors, as your PredecefTors were for you : a Truft, which if any of them broke, or negleded, you are too fcnfible they did ill, to be ex- cufuble to your own minds, if you imitate them. And dividing this Care into the Behaviour, that is requifite at your coming into Livings, during your Incumbency on them, 124 T/je Bi/Jjop of Oxfords them, and when you are to quit them : I went through the firil: of thefe Heads i giv- ing you proper Cautions, more efpecially againU: making any Contrad: or Promife in- confiflent with the Oath then required of you, or prejudicial to your own Benefices, or the common Interefts of the Clergy. There- fore I now go on to the fecond, the Vigi- lance, with which you ought each to fuper- intend the Revenues and Poireflions of your Church, whilft you continue Minifler of it. I have too much Caufe, in every Thing, to be fenfible of my own Unfitnefs to diredt: but, in feveral Articles, relating to this Point, I am peculiarly unqualified : having little Experience in them, and a yet lefs Share of the proper Abilities and Turn of Mind for them. However, I ought not to omit being of fuch Ufe to you, as I can. There may be thofe amongfl you, who are either dill more unacquainted with thefe Matters, or at lead have not confidered them all in the fame Light : as you mufl: have ohferved, that very obvious Inftances, both of WifJom and Duty, efcape the Attention of many, till they are pointed out to them. 7 And fourth Charge fo bis Clergy, 125 And a Difcourfe, neither complete, nor pof- fihly free from Miftakes, may notwithfland- ing do Service, by exciting Perfons to think on the Subjed", more than they have done hitherto. Your Care, in Refped to this Subjed, con- fifts of two Parts : recovering what may be unduly withheld from your Church, and preferving what is left. Jt is very unhappy, that fo troublefome and invidious an Employment, as the former, (hould ever be made neceflary : which yet it hath too often been. Glebe Lands have been blended with temporal Eftates: and Pretences fet up, that only fuch a yearly Rent, far infe- rior to the real Value, is payable from them. Tithes and other Dues have been denied ; under falfe Colours of Exemptions in fome Cafes, and of Modus's in many. Every unjuft Plea admitted makes Way for more. And thus what was given for the Support of the Clergy in all future Times, is decreaf- ing continually ; and becoming lefs futiicient, as if goes down to them. The Laity them- felves, if they would reflect, mu ft fee, that they have by no Means any Caufe to rejoice in t 126 The BiJJjop of OxfordV in this. For, probably few of them In Pro- portion will be Gainers by what we lofe : but the whole Body of them, wherever the Provifion made for us becomes incompetent, mud: either make another at their own Ex- pcnce, or be deprived in a great Meafure of the good Influences of our Office, with Refpedt to this World and the next. But whatever they are, we ourfelves cannot furely fail to be deeply concerned at the ill Afpect which thefe Encroachments bear towards Religion in Ages to come. Whoever is in- different about it, fhews himfelf very un- worthy of what he enjoys from the Liberality of Ages preceding. And whoever is grieved at it, will fet himfelf to confider, not how he can augment the Patrimony of the Church, where it is already plentiful -, or any where, by diihonourabie Methods: (you are very fenfible, what Injuftice and Folly there would be in fuch A^ttempts) but how he can retrieve any Part of it, which is ille- gally or unequitably feized and detained. Now here the Foundation of all muft be, a diligent and impartial Inquiry into the Right of the Cafe : for it v/ould be abfurd to deceive fo urth Charge /o Us Ci'ERGr. 1 2 7 deceive ourfelves ; and unfair to demand of others what we are not well perfuaded is our Due. Therefore to avoid both, we {hould afk the Opinion of ikilful and upright Advifers. If this be in our Favour, the next proper Steps will be, laying our Claim, with the Proofs of it, fo far as Prudence will per- mit, before the Perfon concerned j repre- fenting it, in a friendly and ferious Manner, as an Affair, in which his Confcience is in- terefledi procuring the Affiftance of thofe, who have Weight with him, if we know any fuch ; taking the Opportunity of his being, at any Time, in a more confiderate Difpofi- tion than ordinary; prefiing him, not to rely too much on his own Judgment, where it may fo eaiily be biaffed: yet forbidding him to rely on ours, if he would ; and beg- ging him to confult fome other worthy and able Perfon; offering to pitch on one or more, if Circumflances perfuade to it, whofe Determination fliall conclude us both: and entreating him to fay, whether he would not think this, in any other Cafe, very rea- fonable. If flijl he cannot prevail on him- felf to comply: we may endeavour to lelTen the I2S Th BiJJjOp of 0XF0KD*S the Difficulty, by propofing to accept a fmall Payment, where none hath been made of feme Time j or a fmall Variation, where a cuftomary Payment is pleaded: in Hopes, that either the Defire of enjoying, with fome Degree of good Confcience, the Main of what he withholds now with a bad one; or, at leafl:, that of avoiding the Coft and Hazard of a Contefl, may win him over. If none of thefe Methods (which too com- monly happens) will operate, after a due Seafon allowed them for it; the only remain- ing Remedy is an Appeal to the Law. But here I would be far from exciting any of you to plainly fruitlefs or over-dangerous At- tempts. I am very fenlible, how unfavour- able the Times are to ecciefiaflical Preten- fions, how enormous the Expences of legal Proceedings, how fmall the Incomes of moft Benefices, how flrait the Circumftances of moft Clergymen: Confiderations, that, one (hould think, would reftrain Perfons of any Generofity, nay of any Compaffion, from bearing hard upon them. But they ought not to be pleaded by any of us, to excufe ourfelves from undertaking a necelTary Bur- then; fourth Charge to his Cl-ekgy . 129 then; which perhaps we are as well ahle to fupport, as any, who will be likely to come in our Stead. I am fcnfible too, and would have you be fo, that fcarce any Thing is a more effedual Hinderance to our doing Good amongft our Parishioners, than the Charadler of being litigious ; which many delight to give us : but with how little Jufiice, in ge- neral, one fingle Obfervation amongft feveral that might be alledged, will more than lufficiently fliew 3 that of 700 Suits for Tithes, brought by the Clergy into the Court of Exchequer, which is only about one in 14 Parifhes, during the Space of ^^ Years, from the Reftoraiion to the Year 1713, 600 were decided for them. It is true, our obtaining JufHce againft any Man, though in ever fo clear a Caufe, is very apt to be refented, by himfclf and his Friends at leaft, as grievous Injuftice. But ufing the previous amicable Meafurcs, which I have recommended, mud in fome Degree pre- vent, either fevere Imputations upon us, or however the Belief of them : and if not intirely, yet, by Mildnefs, and Prudenc?, we may certainly regain in Time the Re- I putation. 130 The B(/JjofqfOx¥0'RD's putation, we never deferved to lofe. At leaft our Succeflbrs will enjoy, free from all Blame, what we recover to them : whereas if we acquicfcein the Detention of our Due, they will ilill be more likely to do fo, and thus the Lofs of it will be perpetuated. Therefore in Cafes both fufficiently plain, and of fufficient Importance, when all other Ways have been tried to no Purpofe, and the Right will be either extinguilhed, or much obfcured, by Delay j and perhaps the Example fpread further : 1 fee not, how we can excufe ourfelves from applying to a proper Court of Juftice, if we can hope to procure a Sentence from it, without abfolute Ruin or extream Diftrefs. For it is a mean and wicked Selfifhnefs, to hoard up Wealth, confult our Eafe, or court the Favour of our Superiors, by letting the Inheritance of the Church be impoverifhed, while the Guar- dianfliip of it is in our Hands. But then we mud be doubly careful of what all Men fhould be abundantly more careful of, than mofl are, that we never awe Perfons, efpecially poor Perfons, unjuRly, by threatening them with Law, into a Com- pliance fourth Charge to his Clergy. 1 3 6 pliance with our Demands ; and that no Difpute of this Kind ever entice us to do any Thing fraudulent, or provoke us to do any Thing ill-natured or vexatious. And par- ticularly, if we have a Demand on any of the People called Quakers, we fliould, if we poflibly can, purfue it by that Method only, which the A^, for the more eafy Recovery of fmall Tithes, hath provided : and rather fit down with a moderate Lofs, than do otherwife. For they are a Generation, loud in their Complaints, unfair in their Repre- lentations, and peculiarly bitter in their Re- fledions, where we are concerned: unwearied in labouring to render us odious, and furpri- fingly artful in recommending themfelves to the Great. But I proceed to the lefs troublefome and difagreeable Duty of preferving what we flill poflefs. Now to this End the mofl obvious Way is, keeping the Glebe in our own Hands, and taking; the Tithes and all other Dues, ourfelves: for which Reafon probably^ amongft others, both ancient eccleli tftical Conftitutions, and later Ads of Parliament, have retrained and limited leafing of Bene- 1 2 fices. 132 ^he BiJl:^Gp of Oxford V fices. But many are fo little qualified for this, and would be fo great Lofers by it : and others would find it fuch a Hinderance to the Difcharge of their minifterial Office, or the Purfuit of ufeful Studies : nay, where it hath been long difufed, the People might perhaps be fo much ofifended with the No- velty : that I would by no Means prefs doing it in all Cafes, but only recommend it in proper ones. And where it is done, if a Clergyman v/ere to attend to fuch Matters too clofely 5 and, above all, were to be over- watchful and ftrid: about fmall Demands : it would naturally raife a Contempt, if not Hatred of him. And therefore it will be much better to content ourfelves with giving Parilhioners, by prudent Inflrudlion, ageneral Senfe of their Obligation to pay their Dues ; and by engaging Behaviour, a general Dlf- pofition to it ; than to exadl the minuter Sorts of them with an indecent Eagernefs. But flill, where Rights, that may feem in- confiderable in each particular Cafe, amount to more on the Whole, than it is convenient to lofe; and yet will be withheld, if not in- fifted on ; we mufl do it, with as good a Grace fourth Charge to his Clergy. 133 Grace as we can 5 and remind Perfons, if there be Need, that fuch as make this ne- ceflary, are indeed they, who ad the mean Part: that it is no Fault of ours to require what the Law hath allotted us for our Maintenance -, but a great Misfortune, that fo much of it confifts in thefe petty Ar- ticles. Whatever Tithes it will be incommodious to keep in our own Hands, we may com- pound for with thofe who fliould pay them, or leafe them to others. The tormer Way will ufually be kinder and more obliging, and fo far more eligible. Yet on the other Hand, if we chule the latter, our LeiTeewill probably find it his Interefl to take them in Kind, which will preferve our Title to them in Kind : and therefore it may at leaft be expedient fometimes, in Relation to any queftionable Parts of them. But if a Tenant will rather give up fome of our Rights, than beat the Trouble of averting them, we may be under a Neceffity of doing it ourfelves. And if we let any of our Tithes to the Pro- prietor of what they arife from, or to whom- ibever we let our Glebe, it fhould never be I 3 for 134 The BiJJjop of OxFO'^Ds for too long a Time at the fame Rent : elfe we run a great Rifque of being told, that we are intitled to Nothing more. The Pcrfon indeed, who makes the Agreement with us, cannot think fo : and yet what even he may pretend to our Succeffors, we cannot forefee. But the Perfon, that comes after him, may infift on it even to Us : and though the Evil fhould be delayed longer, it will happen much too foon. Written Agreements, dif- creetly worded, may be an uleful and efFec-' tual Preventive. Yet thefe, in Courfe of Time, may be loft by various Accidents : or Conftancy of the fame unvaried Payment be alledged as a ftronger Argument on one Side, than they are on the other. And if either fliould prove our Cafe, contending at Law with any Paiifliioner will be a very undefirable Thing: and contending with a powerful one may beanimpradicableThing, Therefore we ought never to begin Cuftoms, that may be dangerous : and if they are begun, even by our PredeceiTor's Fault, and yet more if by our own, we fhould think how to ftop them without Delay. But the leafl v/e can do, is refolutely to refufe autho- rizing fciirth Charge to bis Clergy. 135 rizing fuch Invafions, by giving any Thing under our Hands, which may but fecm an Acknowledgment that what we receive is a prefcript and unchangeable Payment, unlefs we are very well aflured that the Law will efteem it fuch. We ought rather to lofe it ourfelves, than procure it by an A<ft, that will prejudice our SuccelTors. Barely con- tinuing to accept it unaltered, is doing more than enough to their Dsfadvantage: therefore we ought on no Account to go further; but on the contrary, labour to procure and per- petuate, if we can, fuch Evidence, as may be of fervice to them. Nor fliould we be careful only to preferve cur Benefices from any Diminution of In- come, but alio from any Addition of Ex- pence, which would amount to the fame Thing: for heavy Burthens, and very unfit ones, of riotous Entertainments in particular, and thofe fometimes at the mofl: improper Seafons, have been introduced and eftabiiflied, in many Places, by the Inconfideratenefs and Supinenefs of Incumbents. We ihall do well, abfolutely to break and annihilate luch Cufioms, if it remains legally polTible : and I4 if 136 ^be Btfiop of OxT0Ri>*s if not, to ufe our utmofl Influence towards procuring the Confent of the Perfons con- cerned, to change them into fomething elfe, lefs exceptionable and more ufeful, to be fecured to them as firmly, as may be ; with a Covenant added, that they fhaii be entitled to return to their old Ufage, if ever they are denied the Benefit of the new. Provided the above-mentioned Precautions be obferved, we are much at Liberty to treat our Parifliioners as kindly, as we will : and very kindly we ought to treat them: never permitting them, if we know it, to go without any Thing, which is their Right; to pay any Thing, which is not due ; or even to take any Thing too dear : always making them equitable Abatements, admitting every tolerable Excufe for their Delays of Payment; and rather chufing to lofe ever fo much by them, than with any Shadow of Juftice be accufed of Cruelty towards them. Yet when we fliew them any Indulgence, we fliould let them fee, wc are fenfible of what we do. for them ; elfe they may impute it to our Ignorance, not our Goodnefs. And we ought not to be fo eafy with them, as to fet them againft fourth Charge to his Clergy. 1 37 againft a Succeflbr, who cannot afford to imitate us ; or difqualify ourfelves, by a pro- mifcuous Kindnefs to all, from being el'pe- cially kind to fuch as want. But whatever Improvements we make in our Benefices, by whatever juft Mer.ns, it will be a prudent Guard againft Envy, as well as a right Be- haviour on other Accounts, to increafe, at the fame Time, either a fober modeft Hof- pitality, for neither Excefs nor vain Shev^r at all become our Fundionj or, which is yet better, and ought never to be excluded by the other, a judicious Charity ^ above ail, to the induftrious and virtuous Poor, extended to their Souls, as well as their Bodies. For the Purpofe of recovering or pre- ferving the Rights of Vicarages, the original Endowments of them may be very ufeful. And thefe you are to feek for in the Regifter- Books of the Diocefe of Lincoln^ out of which this was taken. But I have colleded Copies of fomci and can dired you to Bouks, printed or manufcript, in which are Copies of others ; or to that Part of the Regiller- Books, in which they may be found : and Hull 138 l^he Bipop ofOxFORB^s ihall gladly give any of you whatever Infor- mation is in my Power. But you muft not always conclude your prefent Rights to be neither more nor lefs, than fuch an Endow- ment fets forth : both becaufe there may be a fubfcquent one, with Variations 5 and be- caufe, where no fubfequent one appears, long Cuflom, in particular Cafes, may create a legal Prefumptionjthat there was one, upon which that Cuflom was grounded. For the fame Ufe, in Redorles, as well as Vicarages, Terriers were direded: how anciently, I cannot fay. But the 87th Canon of 1603 enjoins, that the Bi(hop of each Diocefe {hall procure them to be taken, by the View of honeft Men in every Parifli, to be appointed by him, whereof the Minlfler to be one : it fpecifies the Particulars, of which they fhall confift, and orders them to be laid up in the Bifhop's Regiftry. How often they fhall be taken, it doth not mention. But plainly the Changes, which Time in- troduces, particularly in the Names of the Parcels and Abuttals of Glebe Lands, require a Renewal of Terriers at reafonable Diftances. This Canon hath been obferved fo fourth Charge to his Clergy. 139 fo imperfedly, that of about 200 Parlrties, of which this Diocefe confifts, there are Terriers in the Regiftry of no more than about 126 : and of moil of them only one : and of thefe, not 20, fmce the Year 1685. In the Convocation of 1704, Complaints were made of the hke Omiliions elfewhere: and in thofe of 1 7 1 o, 1714, 1 7 1 5, a Scheme was formed, that where no Terrier had been made for 7 Years then laft paft, (which looks as if a Repetition every 7 Years was intended'') the Minifter fliould make one with the Church-wardens, or fuch PariHii- oners as the Bifhop Ihould appoint: that three intended Copies of it in Parchment fliould^be figned by them; one to be ex- hibited at the Bifhop's next Vifitation, the fccond at the Archdeacon's, and the third put in the Parilh Chefl \ But thefe Piopofals having never received the Sanction of due * Prjdeaiix, Directions to Church wardeus, § cjp. faith, that the Bi(hop at every Vifitation ufually requires a new Terrier. Biihop Gib/on propol'cs that there fhould be a new one where there had been none iince the Reftora- tjon. '' See Wilkins, Vol. 4. P. 63S, 656, It was alfo propofed that a Calendar (hould be made of thofe which were put in the Regillry, ar.d that they Ihould not be delivered out, with, out Security given. Authority, Authority, are to be confidered as no more^ than prudent Dired:ions r the Canon of 1 60-^ ilill continues our only legal Rule. And 1 am very delirous to perforni the Part, which it afiigns to me. But then I niuft beg your Afliftance in order to my nominating proper Perfons, that is, Parilhioners of the greateil Probity, Knowledge, and Subflance to be joined in the Work with you. Terriers indeed are of more Ufe in Caufes tried before , ecclefiaftical judges, than temporal : who will not allow the fpiritual Judicatures to be Courts of Record ; but fliil, when regularly made, they will have fome Weight every where. At ieaft they will be valuable and authentic Informations to your SucceiTors : and probably the Parishioners of future Times will be alhamed to infifl on Claims, contrary to what they will fee inferted under the Hands of their Predeceffors, perhaps their Fathers or near Relations. But then, to produce thefe good Effects, indeed to prevent their producing bad ones, they muft be made with great Care. If there be a preceding Terrier, it muft be confulted 3 if it be defcdive, the Defects muft be fupplied ; if it be accurate, there fourth Charge to bis Clergy, 141 there muft be no Variations from it in the new, but where they are neceffary to render Delcriptions intelligible ; or where other Al- terations have been made that require them. For contradictory Terriers will hurt, if not deftroy, each other's Evidence. It will alfo be right to exprefs in them, what peculiar Burthens are incumbent on the Minifter, or that there are none, as well as what Property belongs to him. But if his Right, or Obli- gation, to any Thing, be doubtful : either no Terrier muft be made, till the Doubt is removed; or it muft be fet down there as a doubtful Point; but by no Means given up, to pleafe any Perfon, or ferve any Purpofe whatever. For Terriers, that make againft; the Clergy, will do them abundantly more Harm, than luch, as make in their Favour, will do them Good. And laftly, though it may be needlefs and inconvenient to em- ploy many Perfons in drawing up a Terrier, yet the more fign it, the better; efpecially of Gonfiderable Perfons: for to omit any of them, and multiply the Names of others, will appear fufpicious. And as it may not I alwavs 142 ^he Bijlop ^OxfordV always be eafy to procure fuch Hands, as you could vvilh; favourable Opportunities muft be prudently fought and waited for ; and the Work undertaken, when they offer, and not before. Other very ufeful Precautions, of near Af- finity to this of Terriers, are, that if any Augmentations have been made of your Bene- fices by Payments referved in Church or College Leafes, by the Queen's Bounty, or otherwife: or if any Agreements have been entered into, between you, or your Prede- ceffors, and the Patron and Ordinary, for making any Exchange or Inclofures, or doing any other Ad:, which affeds your Income, or any Part of it, v/hcther it be confirmed by a legal Decree or not: proper Evidences of thefe Things fhould both be kept amongfl your pa- rochial Papers, and depofited in the public Office. Indeed the Law requires that Aug- mentations, made by ecclefiail:ical Bodies or Perfons, be entered in a Parchment Book, to be kept in the Bifhop's Regidry for that End*". And though Acts of Parliament, pafTed for « 7,9 Car, 2. c. 8. § 4, 5, 6. fourth Charge to bis Clergy. 143 any of the Purpofcs above-mentioned, may j be confidered as Things more notorious : yet without the fame Sort of Care, the Memory of thefe alfo may be loft, or fome of the Pro- vilions made in them controverted. There is ftill oneThingmore, that, amongft feveral other Ufes to which it extends, may be very ferviceable to afcertain the Rights of Livings: I mean repeating from Time to Time, the ancient Pradlice of Perambula- tions : which hath been lontj freed from Su- perdition , and, if preferved alfo from intem- perance and tumultuous Contefts, the laftof which Evils may be prevented by friendly Difcourfe beforehand with the chief Inhabi- tants of your own and the neighbouring Parishes : the Thankfgivings, Prayers, and Sentences of Scripture, with which the In- jundions of Queen Elizabeth diredl it to be accompanied, will render it a very pious Ceremony : and the civil Benefits of it may be confiderable. For though, without it, there feldom will arife any Qiienion, to what Pari(b, Lands, that have been long cultivated, appertain; yet concerning others, in the Whole 144 ^^^ BiJJjop c/ Ox F R D V Whole or in Part, there often doth. And feme, that are worth but httle at prefent, may come hereafter to be of great Value. But, befides preferving the Incomes of our Benefices from Encroachments, we arc bound to preferve the Lands and Edifices, be- longing to them, in good Condition. If therefore we con:imit Wafte on our Glebe, or, through Covetoufnefs or Neghgence, impo- verifli it, or fufFer our Tenant to impoverifh it, we a£l diflionourably and unjuflly: as aifo, if we permit our DweUing-houfes or Out-buildings to fall into Decay, for Want of early orfufhcient Repair. A fmallExpencein Time may prevent the NecefTity of a much larger afterwards, and thus, by negledingit, we may hurt ourfelves; which would doubt- lefs be unwife j but defignedly throwing the Burthen on our SuccefTor deferves a harfher Name. And if we either fquander extrava- gantly, or hoard avaritioufly, what we fave thus ; it doubles the Fault. If mere Indo- lence be the Caufe of our Omifiion ; it is by no Means a good Principle; and produces Effeds, as bad, as if it were a worfe. Nay, "if fourth Charge to his Cl'ergy. 145 if we are influenced by the Defire of making only a reafonable Provifion for our Families : we have no right to provide for them by wronging cur SuccclTor: and perhaps de- priving our Parifliioners of the Benefit of having a Minifter refident amongft them. PofTibly fome may fay, that their Executors muft account for whatever they leave out of Order: and therefore they do no Harm. But, it may be, they will leave them nothing to account with : efpecially as the common Law Prefers the Payment of other Debts be- fore Dilapidations ^. At leafl they well know, that the Law, though it will allow more, than Executors commonly pretend: and perhaps more, than would have prevented the Damage, if applied in Time; will not allow enough to repair it afterwards ; or however not to compenfate moreover for the Expence andTroubleof takingthat Remedy; and that therefore, in all Likelihood, a Suc- ceffor, to avoid Law, will chu(e rather to ac- cept of lefs, than he ought to have. Now driving him to this, is doing him a grofs In- "• See Gihfonh Codex, P. 791 . K jury; 146 "The Bifhop of OxfordV jur}^^ and that very probably when he is juft comin'3: into the World in fuch Circum-* fiances, that it will weigh heavy upon hirrij and may put him behind hand for a long Time. Some again will plead, that they really cannot afford to repair their Houfes- And doubtlefs the Condition of many is very pitiable, and deferves the Affiftance, as well as Compaillonj of their richer Neighbours and Brethren, But ftill what Reafon is there to think, that they, who come after them, will be better able, when the Houfes are grown worfe? And what mufl: it therefore end in, unlefs timely Prevention be applied? Others may ailedge, theirs are in Repair; and no Dilapidations will be found, when they leave them. But are they in fuch Repair, (o fubftantial and fo decent, as a Minifter's Houfe ought, that belongs to fuch a Benefice: or onlyjuft habitable, and patched up to hold out a little longer? Perhaps you keep your Houfe in as good a Condition, as you found it. But did you think your Predecef- for adled well, when he left it you in no bet- ter? If not, that which was his Duty, is now yours. Thefe Things all Incumbents ought t^ fourth Charge to hh Cle r g t. 147 to confider: but fome more efpecially; as they who have large Benefices, and they who have two: which may be ordinarily fuppofed equivalent to a large one. Yet thefe latter, in how good Order Ibever they may, for their own Sakes, keep the Houfe they ufually re- iide in, have too often left the other to be treated as a Farmer or Tenant pleafes : till it hath grown, if not ruinous, yet very unfuit- able to its next proper Inhabitant. Again, rich Perfons, that are poffefTed of poor Liv- ings, ought peculiarly to reflect, how noble an Opportunity is put into their Hands of being Benefadors to them : by repairing, or if Need be, rebuilding, and fitting up, the HoufeSi and improving whatever little Space of Ground liesabout them, infuch Manner, as will make both comfortable to the fucceeding Owners. And the very different Method, which they have fometimes taken, of living in better Habitations themfelves, and letting thefe run into Decay, is extremely ungene- rous and illiberal. Yet indeed, on the other Hand, making Parfonages orVicarage Houfss, or the Appurtenances of them, fo large for their own Convenience, as to briog on after- K 2 wards 1 48 ^be Bifidp of Oxford'/ wards too great an Expence in fupporting' them, would be a Markj either of much Vanity, or little Confideration. On this whole Subjedl I might, inftead of Perfuafion, ufe Authority alone. But as the latter would be much lefs pleafing to me : fo I hope the former will be as effedual with you. Elfe, the Laws of the Church in this Nation, empower the Bifliop, if Incumbents do not repair their Houfes in a decent Man- ner^ to take Cognizance of the Negledt ei- ther on Complaint or by voluntary Inquif-y, and to proceed again ft them by eccleiiaftical Cenfures; or, after admonifliing them in vain, to make himfelf what Repair is needful out of the Profits of their Benefices: and what Proportion ofthemfliall be applied to this Purpofe, is left to his Difcretion'^: but the Injundlions of H. 8. Ed. 6. and Q^Eliz. direded a fifth ^ And a further Conftitution *■ Semper tamen rationabilis confideratio fit habenda ad facultates ecclefiae. Conft, Edm. Si ReSior; on which hynd' n<.-Qod's Note is, Quia in beiieficlo pinguiori requiruntur aedi- ficia magis fumptuola quam in benclicio minus pingui. Lib. 3, Tit. 27. de Eccl, aedificandis. Verb. Facultates Ecckfia, ¥.2^1. f See G;7/&«'s Codex. T. 32. C. 3. P. 789, ^V. t See ffUiins, Vol. 4. P. 5. The Ref. Leg. Eccl. Tit, de Dilapidationibus, C. a. P. 77. dire6ls oaly a 7th, of fourth Charge to his Clergy. 149 Ki^Othobon, publillicd in the Year 1268, ex- prefsly orders, that fuch a SequeOiration be made in the Cafe of Houfes fallen down, as well as decayed^. And the Ref. Leg, EccL had provided in the lame Manner for the fame Thing', in Conformity with evident Reafon. Indeed, where no Houfe hath been for a long Time, compelling the Incumbent to rebuild one may feem hard. But is it not harder ftill, that his Parifliioners and Succef- fors fhould never more enjoy an Advantage, intended to be a perpetual one? At lead:, whatever he may think of his legal Obliga- tion, he fhould confider, whether he is not in Confcience obliged to devote fome fitting Share of his Income to this Ufe. Surely, if he doth not think it a ftrid Duty, he mufl think it, nnlefs there be fome peculiar Reafoa to the contrary, an excellendy good Adion. And fuppofing that what he can lay by, will amount only to a tolerable Beginning: yet others may, and probably will, fooner or later, add to it, and complete the Work, »> GibfonS Codex, Tit. 32. C. 3. P. 7S9. » Tit. dcDilap.C. 2. P. 77. K 3 But 150 ^h Bijbop cf Oxford's But whatever Care you ought to take, and I ought to fee that you take, in Relation to your Houfes : there is ftill a much greater, for the fame Reafons and more, due from you, who are Redlors, in Relation to your Chancels : and I am yet more exprefsly au- thorized, by Statute-Law as well as Canons to fuperintend this Matter. Chancels are the snoft facred Part of the Church : and the whole Church ought to be preferved in a Condition, worthy of that Being, whofe it is J and fit to infpire his Worfliippers with Reverence. The Light of Nature taught the Heathens to adorn their Temples^. God himfelf provided, by exprefs and minute Diredions, for the Beauty of his Sanctuary amongfl the Jews: the ancient Chriftians imitated thefe Precedents, as foon as ever the Danger of Perfecution ceafed^: and if the following x-^ges carried their Notions of Mag- nificence and Ornament in religious Edi- fices too far, as undoubtedly they did, in heaping up Treafures there, which had much ^ Her, Od. 15. Lib. 2. and Sat. 2. Lib. 2. v. 103, 104, 105. 1 SccBit'gham. better fourth Charge to UsCl'^.kgy, 151 better have been diftributed to the Poor, than kept to provoke the Envy and Avarice of the Great : yet in this Country, for feveral Generations pall, the contrary Extreme hath prevailed to fo (liamefal a Degree, as muft needs give Papifts an exceeding great Difguffc to Proteftantifm ; and Infidels no fmail Con- tempt of Chriftians, as either defpifing in- wardly the Religion they profefs, or bsing too fordid to pay it the common outward Marks of Refpedt. Now what Hope can we have of bringing our People back, unlefs we fet them the Example? What can we fay to our Parilhio- ners about their Churches, or to Lay-Impro- priators about their Chancels; or, fiy what we will, how can it be expedlcd they ihould mind us, if we are blameable ourfelves on the fame Head ? In refpedl of their Duty in this Point, and fome Concern, (indeed not a lit- tle) which you have with it, I intend to fpeak at large, if God fpare my Life and Plealth to another Vilitation. But at prefent I confine myfelf to what is more immediately and in- tirely the Province of the Clergy. Ancient- ly the Repair of the whole Church was in- K 4 cumbent 152 ^he Bifiop of OxfordV cumbent on the Redor, as of common right '^. I beheve it continues to be.fo ftill \n. other nations : but the Cuflom of ours hath releafed us from the largeft Part of the Burthen : for which Reafon we ought to bear the Remainder very chearfully j and exceed what in Stridnefs might be demanded of us. Plainncfs of Appearance, though carried almofl to the Borders of Negled, in Relation to our own Perfons and Abodes, may be a ju- dicious and inftrudive Mark of SimpHcity and Humility. But it will be much more fo, if, at the fame Time, we are liberal in providing for the Honour of facred Things. And if, inftead of that, we take juft the con- trary Part; dwell, as the Prophet exprefles himfelf, m ceiling Houfesy and let the Houfi of' God He wajie^'y fuffer the principal Part of it, and that with which we are intruded, to be in a worfe Condition, than any common Room we live in; think Nothing too good ior ourfelves, and every thing good enough for him and his Service; it is an exceeding bad Sign; and muft have a moft undefirable ipffed on all who obferveit. I believe Indeed r-. "" SceConJf. Othoh, Tit. 17. and John d? A then. Verb. ''anctltcs, n Hag. i. 4. that fourth Charge to his Clergy. 153 that the Chancels, which belong to Incum- bents, will be generally found in the beft Condition of any. Yet fome even of thefe, I fear, have fcarce been kept in neccflary pre- fent Repair, and others by no Means duly cleared from Annoyances, which mufl: gradu- ally bring them to Decay: Water under- mining and rotting the Foundations, Earth heaped up agalnfl: the Outfide, Weeds and Shrubs growing upon them, or Trees too near them. Where fufficient Attention is paid to thefe Things; too frequently the Floors are meanly paved, or the Walls dirty or patched, or the Windows ill glazed, and it may be in Part llopt up, or the Roof not ceiled; or they are damp, offenfive and un- wholefome, for Want of a due Circulation of Air. Now it is Indifpenlibly requifite to preferve them not only ftanding and fife, but clean, neat, decent, agreeable: and it is highly fit to go further, and fuperadd, not a light and trivial Finery, but fuch Degrees of proper Dignity and Grandeur, as we are able, confidently with other real Obligations. Per- haps they may have been long, or perhaps al- ways, as mean as they are at prefent. But the 154 ^/'''? Bifiop of OxfokdV the Meannefs which m Ages of lefs EIc^ gance might give no Offence, mayjuftly give more than a Httle now. And why fhould not the Church of God, as well as every Thing elfe about us, partake of the Improvements of later Times ? In feveral of your Chancels, I doubt not, every Thing which I have been recommending is done. In others you have refolved to do it: and if any have not rightly confidered the Matter before, they muft be fenfible that it was my Duty to admonifh them, and is theirs to re- gard the Admonition. For, as to the Ex- cufes, which may be pleaded under this Head of Chancels, they have been obviated, under the former of Parfonage-Houfes. It only remains now, that I fpeak briefly to the third Point, our Obligations in rer gard to the Temporalities of our Benefices, when we have a near View of quitting them: whether by Death, which may be near us gt any Time, and muft be fo in old Age; or any other Way. Some> becaufe they were not to continue Incumbents long, have itt themfeives to confult their own Intereits, by Negledl of all expenfive Duties, by commit- ting fourth C/jarge to his Clergy. i 55 tlnf^ Wafte, by allowing others to commit it. A Manner of proceeding, in all Cafes unjuft: when they are removing to a better Income, peculiarly di (honourable: when they fee their latter End approach, fliockingly wicked; unlefs the Decay of their Faculties furnifli fome Excufe for them. Rejeding therefore all fuch Pradices with juft Abomination, we are bound, in thefe Circumflances,toconfider ferioully, what our paft Faults and Omif- fions, relating to this Article, have been: to undo, as far as v/e can, what we have done amifs: to do immediately what we ought to have done fooner : to make the Amends we are able, if any Harm hath happened by the Delay; and indeed, fome Amends for the Chance there was, that Harm migjit have happened. But how rightly foever we may have aded hitherto, there will ftill be Duties, peculiar to the Time, which I am now fup- pofing; that we lecure to our Succeffors, whatever Books, Deeds, and Papers, relating to our Benefices, came down to us from our Predeccflbrs; whatever Evidences our own Incumbency hath furnifhed; in a Word, whatever Notices may be of Importance, con- cerning 1 56 *The Bifiop of O X F o R d'j cerning the Rights, or the Value, of the Living we enjoy. But particularly, if we have been fo inconliderate, as to make any long Agreement, which a fucceeding Mi- nifter may be in Danger of miftaking, or others may be tempted to fet up, for an ef- tablilhed Prefcription -, as may eafily happen if it was done many Years ago : we ought to leave them the moft authentic Proofs of the real State and Truth of the Cafe. Some have through Indolence omitted thefeThings. Others have defignedly kept in their own Power, or left in that of their Executors, all fuch Means of Information ; that their SuccefTors, in order to receive them, may be bound to behave reafonably and kindly, as they are pleafed to term itj that is, may be under a Ncceffity of fubmitting to what- ever unreafonable Things fhall be demanded of them j in refpedl of Dilapidations, or any other Point. This, you cannot but fee, would be making an unfaithful Ufe of thofe Lights, which have been intruded with you by others, and an oppreffive one of thofe which you have added yourfelves. Or fup- pofing that only equitable Requefts are made fourth Charge io his Cle^gY, 157 to a SuccelTor, and that he refufes them: fiill It is not a Chriftian Part, to prevent this Injury by threatning, and much lefs to re- venge it by doingjwhat in all Likelihood would be a far greater Injury; and may extend its bad Effeds beyond the Perfon who hath given the Provocation, to all that fliall fill his Place hereafter, though perfectly inno- cent ; and to every one that might have (hared in the Advantage of their enjoying a more plentiful Income. Nor is it fufficient, that you difapprove fuch Condudt, unlefs you make a due Provifion, that your Reprefen- tatives when you are gone fliall not be guil- ty of it. You may have a better Opinion of them, in this Refpedl, than they deferve: at leaft, there can be no Harm in taking a little more Care of fuch a Matter, than might be abfolutely neceflary. One powerful Motive, to be careful in all the Points which I have been mentioning, is, that few Things will contribute more to your maintaining while you live, and leaving when you die, the Charader of Men of Pro- bity and Honour, amongft your Neighbours in SjS The BiJJ:op of OxfordV in general, and your Brethren of the Clergy in particular, than your diligent and difin- terefted Attention to a6l worthily and kindly in Relation to your SuccelTors, though pro- bably you know them not, or however have no perfonal Connedion with th^ern. Nor will many Things throw a blacker or more lad- ing Stain upon Perfons, than a low Cunning, or a felfifh indifference, in thefe Affairs. But indeed Confcience, as well as Reputa- tion> is deeply concerned in the Matter, as I doubt not, but you are all fenflble. Nor furely will any one elfe imagine, either that my Exhortations to you, any more than yours to your Hearers, imply you to be guilty of, or cfpecially inclined to any of the Faults, againft which they are levelled : or that, by fpeaking thus long of your worldly Affairs, I feem to think them of Weight equal, or comparable, to your fpiritual Fundions. But the befl of us have Need to be admonlfhed of all our Duties, be they Duties of higher Rank or lower^ each in their Turns. Temporal Things are not to be iiegle(5led : and thofe leaft of all, which are fourth Charge lo bis Clergy. 1^9 are fet apart for the Service of Things eter- nal. But then we muft be watchful over them, in order to employ them, as they v^^ere meant to be employed: and if we preferve and tranfmit them ever fo faithfully, but ufe them unfaithfully j fludying only or chiefly to enrich or advance ourfelves, or gratify our fenfual Appetites, or Love of Di-* verfions, or of elej^ant Appearance, by Means of thofe Revenues, which were given us for Ends widely different : (partly to make a comfortable and moderate, not a fuper- fluous and invidious Provifion for ourfelve<5 and ours, and partly to ferve the PurpofeS of Religion and Charity) we offend God, fin againft our Brethren, and provoke Men to take from us what they are too ready to fay we do no Good with: as indeed little would be done, v/ere fuch a Conduft ge- neral. It is true, and the Laity ought to confider it a great deal more than they do« that we have very few of us much, if any Thing, to fpare. But they who have, fhould ii^t their Light J]:inc before Men, and be fecn to lay it out in pious Ufes prudently chofen : and %66 The Bifiop of Oxford'^ . and the pooreft fliould occafionally give what Alms they can ; and make Amends for their inability on this Head, by a double Dili- gence in ufeful Infl:ru6lion, pious Example, and obliging Behaviour, to the meaneft of their People. Without a remarkable Degree of fuch Care, we fliall have few or no Friends: and notv/ithftanding it, we (hall have many Enemies, This is hard Treat- ment : but angry Complaints will only make it worfe ; and the moll: reafonable Expof- tulations not much better, unlefs we firfl conlider, wherein we are faulty or defedtive^ and amend itj wherein we are unjuftly blamed or fufpe(5ted, and clear ourfelves; then patiehtly perfevere in well-doing, in all I'hings approviiig ourfelves as the Miniften of God, by Purenefsy by Knowledge , by Long- fuffering^ by Kindnefsy by Love unfeigned, by the Wo7'd of Truth t by the Armour of Righte- teoufnefs on the right Hand and on the left, through Honour and DiJJ:onoury through evil Report and good Report"", Other Means, if they could fupport us, cannot enable us to anfwer the End of our Inftitution. But by « 2 Cor. vi. 4, 6, 7, 8. thefe fourth Charge to his Clergy. 1 6 i thefe we may ftill hope not only to confute, but which muft ever be our chief Aim, iF pofTible to convert, at leaft to mollify our Adverfaries; and To recommend ourfelves to more impartial Perfons, that they may receive with Meekiiefs the engrafted Word^ which is able to fave their Souls^. Or fliould we, after all, in RefpeCl of ever fo many, labour in vain, and fpend cur Strength for Naughty yet our Judgmerit is with the Lord, and our Work with our God'^, P James i. zt. i Ifa. xlix. 4. A CHARGE CHARGE DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY of the D I o c E s E OF OXFORD, In the Year 1753. Reverend Brethren, I Have never attempted in my former Vifi- tations, nor iLall I in this, to entertain you with any Thing new and curious : think- ing it much fitter for me, and better for you, to fpeak to you of fuch Points, immediately relating to common Pradice, as, though eafily underftood, are too frequently difregarded. With this Viev/ I have gone through the principal Parts of your Dutv, as parochial Miniftcrs, in Rerpect both of Spirituals and Temporals. But beiides what is wholly incumbent on yourfelves, in fome things you are jointly concerned with your Church- wardens: and in others, though not exprefsly commiflloned by Law to entcrpole, you may do it neverthelcls, with peculi^ir Propriety, Weight, and Influence. Lj Of i66 T/6^ Bipop of Oxford'; Of the former Sort are thofe Offences againft Religion and Morals, which the Church-wardens are bound by Oath to pre- fentj and the Incumbent, or his Curate, impowercd and charged by the i 13th and following Canons to join with them in pre- fenting, if need bej or to prefent alone, if they refufe. .This naturally implies, what the 26th Canon expreffcs, that the Minifter is to urge the Church-wardens to perform that Part of their Office. Indeed your firft Endeavour fhould be, by due Inftrudionsand Exhortations, to hinder fuch Offences : your next, by due Reproofs, public or private, to amend them. But if both prove ineffec- tual, what remains is, to get them corrected by Authority. I am perfectly fenfible, that both Immorality and Irreligion are grown almoft beyond the Reach of ecclefiaftical Power : which having in former Times been very unwarrantably extended, hath fince been very unjuftly and imprudently cramped and weakened many Ways. I am fenfible alfo, that fometimes Church-war- dens, nay even Minifters, are fo dependent on PerfonSj who deferve to be prefented, that fifth Charge to his ChZKQV. i6y that they cannot prefent them ^vithout im- minent Hazard of ruining themfclves : and farther fiill, that fome Offenders, if they were thus expofed, would only become worfe, and fet themfelves to make others worfe ; while Ibme again, as the ApoPJe ex- prefTes it in this very Cale, would he /wal- lowed up icitb overmuch Sorrow^. Now furely it cannot have been defigned by our gracious Redeemer, or the Rulers of his Church, that the Power of fpiritual Cen- fures, which the fame Apoftle hath twice declared the Lord to have given for Edifi- cation, not for Defrii^ion^, fhould be exer- cifed in Circumftances like thefe. There- fore when Circumftances are evidently and undeniably of this Kind, I think you fhould not infift on your Church-wardens prefent- ing. But there is much more Danger of their being guilty of toogrcatRemiflhefSjthan run- ning into over much Rigour. And therefore youmuftadvifeand intreuthem to makePre- fentments of Sinners, where probable it wi.ll be ufeful; and to contemn the Difpleafureof bad People, when it can have no extremely ill Conlequences, (of which there is ccmmor.ly * 2 Cor. ii. 7. ^2 Cor. x. 8. and xiii. i . L 4 much 1 68 ^he BiJJjop ^Oxford'^ much more Fear than is neceflary^ for the Hope of their Amendment and the Good of others round them. The very Office of Church-wardens obliges them to this : their Oath yet more firmly. And if they are backward ftill, after being told it dothj you mufl acquaint them, that you are directed by the 26th Canon, (in the Execution of v.'hich however, as in all Points of DifcipHne, Diicretion fhould be ufed,) to refufe them the holy Communion; not indeed for every Negled of prtfenting Offences, but if they wilfully neglecft it in defperate Defiance of their Oath, when they are urged to it by their Neighbours, their Miniiler, or Ordi- nary : for fo the fame Canon defcribes the Cafe : in which Cafe likewife you will in- form them, the Court is authorized, by Ca- non 1 1 7j to proceed againft them for Perjury. But, alon.g with thefe Terrors, you will be fure to join fitting Encouragements, You will prcmife to defend them to the PariOii- oners, and even to the Perfon prefented, as doing only their duty. You will aflure them, as you may, firfl, that the Court will take Notice of their Prefentments, no far- ther, than is proper^ fo that they (hall not incur Jifth Charge io I?is Clergy, 169 incur the Difpleafure of the Offenders and their Friends for Nothing ; than, that it will proceed, not with a View to Gain, but to Reformation and Example ; not with excetfive, nor, if it can be avoided, with the utmofi: Rigour, but with Equity and Mo- deration. If all this be unfuccefsful, you mufl:, in Cafes that reqi:ire it, offer to join v/ith them, or even reiolve to prefent wit'nout them. But you mull: never take any Step in thefe Matters, much leis the more extraordinary Steps from Motives of Refcntment, Intereft, or Party. If fuch Inducements can be with any Colour of Reafon imputed to you, they will fo grievoufly diicredit what you do, tha£ probably you had better do Nothing. But only take Care to fhew, that you adl merely from good Intention, accompanied with Temper and Prudence, after trying gentler Alethods in vain : and fom.e will vindicate, and even applaud you: more will inwardly and filently refpedt you : and the Number ot the reft will not be formidable. But then whoever brings a Complaint, muft enable the Court to take due Cogni- zance 170 The Bijljop of Oxfo'rd''s zance of it: elfe Prefentments v/ill be de- fpifed J and the Coiifcqutnces be worfe, than if they had not been made. Evidence muft of Neceffity be furnifhed : otherwife there can be no Proceeding. Expenccs, I hope I may promife, will be as low as poffible; and they (hould be cheerfully born for the Good of the Parifh and the Public. It is not reafonable that the Court fliould bear them. Temporal Courts never do. And beddes, there is Room for plaulible, though unjuft, Sufpicions of Partiality, where the Judge appears to be in Effwd Profecutor too, and is intereded in condemning the Party accufed. When PerfoDS are prefented, you muft ufe your beft Endeavours to make them fjrry, not merely that they are in Danger of being punillied, but principally that they have finned : and in Proportion as you fucceed in that, recommend them to fuch Favour, as can be fliewnthem. When Perfonsareexcommu- nicated, (which I heartily wifh no one ever ■was but for Crimes, though indeed a wilful Contempt of Authority is a great Crime) you muft pref^ them to confider ferioufly, how they would be affeded, if a Pbyfician or a Lawyer fifth Charge /<? /j/V C l e R g y . 171 Lawyer of Eminence pronounced their Cafe defpcrate J and of how mixh greater Impor- tance the Concerns of Eternity are, than thofe of Time. You muO: alfo admonidi them, that flighting a Cenfurc, palled on them for th;.ir Amendment, will make their Condition ftill more deplorable. And when they have been denounced txcomiTj/.nicate, by the 851]! Canon, the Church-wardens are to fee, that in every Meeting of the Con- gregation they be kept out of the Church. Nor mufl; you fufFcr them to be Sureties for Children in Baptlfm, to receive the holy Eucharift cr to haveChriftian Burial. Far- ther, if they continue without Abfolution for three Monihs, the 65th Canon direcls you to declare them excommunicate in the Parirh Church every half Year; that others, meaning fuch as have no necelTary Connec- tions with them, may thereby be admo- nifhed to refrain their Company, and ex- cited the rather to procure out a Writ de Excommu?ncato capiendo: that is, if the Cir- cumftances of the Cafe make it requifite. Again, when Perfons do Penance, you muft be diligent to make tiiem ferioufly fenfible of 772 7/> Bljljop of OxfordV of the Ukfulnefs of fuch Difcipline 5 and the urifpeakable Obligations they have to the Gofpel of Chrill, which alone alTures Men of Fcrgivenefs on any Terms. And laftly, both on all fach, and all other fit Occafions, you mufl remind your People, that however the Cenfures of the Church may be relaxed or evaded, the final Judgment of God on cbftinate Sinners is both unavoidable and infupportable. Befides the Prefentment of Perfons who give GiFtnce, you are concerned likev^'ife in that of Things belonging to the Church, which are not kept in good Repair and Order, I have already fpoken to you concerning the Repair of your Houfes and Chancels : and enlarged on the Reafons, why both, but efpecialiy the latter, (liould be always pre- ferved not only in a firm and U^t^ but de- cent and refpedable State. Now the fame Reafons hold in regard to the reft of the Church : and after you have fct the Example in your own Part, you may with Reputation and Weight call on your Pariflioners to do what is proper in theirs. And indeed you are bound ffth Charge to JjIsC'lekOy, 173 bound to it. For, as John o^ Atbon hath juftly obferved % Licet per confuetiidinem exoneretur Redlor a Jiimptibus prcpfiandis, non tamcn exi- miiur a cura & Jhlicitudine impendendd. Thus far even the Body of the Church is ftill under your Infpedlion ; and if any Thing be remarkably amifs there, and you take no Notice i good and confiderate Perfons will lament it, as a bad Sign and of bad Confe- quence: others will make your Indifference a Plea to excufe their own j and yet while they are glad of it, will be likely enough to condemn you for it : and perhaps be led by it to think meanly of Religion, as well as of you. Belides, Church-wardens have often but little Senfe of Propriety in thcfe Matters: therefore you (liould labour to give them a Senfe of it: convince them, by Reafon and Scripture, of the Hono'ir due to tb.e Houfe of God: fhew them, that their own Honour too is intereiicd 5 that a Church in a handfome Condition is a Credit to the whole Paridi ; and in particular to the Officers, who have put it in that Condition, and whofe Names will be long remembered on that Account. They are often afraid of the Expence. Argue ' Csr.Ji. Othh, 17. verb, ad he tcntntur. P. 113. wath 174 ^h^ Bifiop of Oxford* s with them, that Things may be done gra- dually, and To the Expence be rendered almoft imperceptible: perfuade them to lefTen their Expenccs in needlefs Matters ; in eating and drinking at Vilitations, and on other Occa- fion'^j fometimes to Excels^ never to any good Purpofe ; and obftrve to them, how much fighter and more commendable it would be, to lay out or lay up that Money for proper Ufes: how Oiameful indeed, to fquander it in Riot and Folly, and be never the better, but the worfe the next Dayj when they might difpofe of it fo, as to fee the good Effeds for Years, and have them feen for Ages. If llill you cannot influence the prefent Church-wardens, try their Succef- iors. You have a concurrent Right with the Paridiioners in chuling them ; and if your Opinions differ, you are to chufe one, they another: unlefs there be a Cuftom to the contrary. Surely then, within fome reafon- able Time, you may get fuch as will hearken to you. If you fail of Succefs that Way, defire your People to rcfledl hov/ their Money goes : not in Fees of Viiitations, which are no higher now, than when the Value of Money ffih Charge to kis Clergy. 175 Money was thrice, perhaps five Times, higher, but in Extravagance and Intempe- rance : that therefore they ought not to complain of the Court, but of their own Officers J indeed ought to difailow the wrong and idle Articles of their Accounts ; and may be affured, the Court will fupport them in doing fo. Sometimes the Church- wardens are willing to lay out the Money as they ought, but the Parifhioners unwilling. In that Cafe you mud acquaint the former, that no Man's Confent is wanted for their repairing and keeping in good Order, both the Church, and every Thing belonging to it, which is either neceffary, or which they found there: nor is the Confent of every Man rcquilite, but of the Majority only of a Parifh-Meeting duly called, for adding any Thing new, provided the Ordinary ijpprove it. However, they fliould do their utmoft, and you lliould afiift them, to procure the Concurrence of all the Parifhioners ; or at lead:, of as many as poflible : to whom you will reprefent for this End, that a moderate Expence now will pre- vent a much crreater hereafter: that almoin all 6 ' the iy6 The Bijhop of Oxford'x the Churches in the Nation were built many Ages ago, and a very great Part of them about the fame Time: that without conftant andfubrtantial Rf^pairSjin another Generation or another Century, they will be falling at the fame Time 3 and how will they be re- built ? Tile Inhabitants, if we may guefs from what we fee at prefent, will be both lefs able and lefs indined. As for Help from Briefs: thofe for other Things produce but little J but thofe for Churches extremely little -y to the great Shame indeed of Perfons, who call themfelves Chriftians : and you fiiould labour to rectify their Prejudices on this Head, and excite them to be more charitable. But God knows whether they will ; and if hereafter they fhould, what can be hoped from it, when almoft every Parifh in the Land will want a Brief ? In many, it is to be feared there will be no Churches j in others, wretchedly mean ones; to the Contempt of all Religion amongft Infidels, andoftheProtcflantReligionamongftPapifts. Repeat and inculcate it therefore on your People, that they moiil taka Care of the Churches they have : if not, their Poflerity will ffth Charge to his Clergy. 177 will run the Rifque of having none. Too many will fcarcely be moved even by that Confideration : but there is the more Need of moving fuch as you can ; and, getting into a Condition of moving more, by all proper Methods of recommending the Gof- pel and yourfelves. But to Perfons of Rank and Figure in your Parlflies, one fliould hope you might apply with very fair Profped; of Succefs. To thefe you may furely reprefent at favou- rable Seafons, that labouring People part very hardly with the Money, which they get very hardly: that therefore their Superiors lliould not only ufe their Influence and Ex- ample to make them willing, but indeed fhould do for them what perhaps they are almoft as unable to do, as they are unu'llling; efpecially what goes any Length beyond Re- pairs abfolutely neceflary : for that People of low Degree, though they may have fome Notion of Ncatnefs and elegance, yet will murmur grievoufly to pay much for it in their Churches, and Part of their ill Flumour will fall on the Doctrine taught there: that efpecially if they are Tenants, their Concern M in 178 "The Bifiop of Oxford'^ in [the Place being temporary, and poilibly alfo fhort or uncertain, they will of Courfe endeavour to (hift oft the Burthen from themfelves: but that Landlords have a mors lafting Intereft, and will find thek AccounC better in doing Things early at their owrr« Coft, than in letting them run on, till the Coft is much greater : for then, in fome Shape or other, it mull come out of their Pockets. With thefe Confiderations you will not fail to join others of a higher Nature : that lacred Fabrics are appropriated to the nobleft of Ufes, the Worfhip of the great God j and to preferve or put them in a Con- dition fuitable to it is one very proper Method of expreffing and cherifhing a Senfe of Piety in their own Minds, and fpreading it through their Families, Neighbours and Dependants j whereas, by fuftering his Houfe to be an; Objecfl of Contempt and Scorn, while per- hapstheyfpare Nothing to beautify their own, they will be underdood, and will tempt alf around them, to defpife the Service perform- ed there, and him to whom it is paid: that repairing and embellifliing their Churches will employ the Poor full as beneficially, as- adorning fifth Charge to his Clergv. 179 adorning their Seats and Gardens, and pro- cure them a much better grounded, and niore general, Efteem. Indeed it is fur- prifing, that Noblemen and Gentlemen will fquander vaU: Sums in the Gratification of private Luxury and Vanity, for which more condemn than applaud them -, and not con- fider, that much fmaller Sums beftowed on public Works, efpecially in Honour of Re- ligion, would gain them the Admiration of a whole Country 5 and the peculiar Blefiing of many, whom they would thus eafe from Burthens : befides that they might fhcw their good Tafte, if that be the favourite Point with them, no lefs in one Way than the other. But even HeathenWriters have obferved long ago, that expenfive perfonal Indulgence, and mean- fpirited Parfimony in what regards the Cotnmunity, are often Companions, and al- ways ill Symptoms'^. But you may prefs the Obligation of re- pairing and ornamenting yet more ftrongly, both on fuch of the Nobility and Gentry, and on fuch Colleges andecclefiafticalPerfons *Cic.pro Tlacco, Hat: OJ.L. 2. \^.Sat.L. z. z. 103, 104, M 2, (at 105. 1 So Ihe Bipop of Ox for d'^ or Bodies, as are Impropriators : and likewife on the Leflbes of thefe latter ; becaufe they have a more beneficinl IntereO: in the Eftate, than the LefTors. Being poffelTtd of the greater Share of what was originally given for the Support of the Service and the Fabric, they are bound, at lead in Confcience, to take Care of both, if it be needful : but of one Part of the Fabric, the Chancel, they are indifputably bound by Law to take Care. And vet too commonly even thofe amoneft them, who fliculd be the moft attentive to this Point, ftrangely negledt itj or throw it on their Tenants, who they know will of Courfe neglecl it; and concern themfelves no farther. So their Chancels are only in fuch Sort of Repair, as their Barns and Out- houfes. Now handfome Benefa(5i:ions to put them in a better Condition, given from Time to Time, and efp.ciaJly when good Fines are received, would fhew Piety and Genero- fity at once; would abate the unjuft Envy and Hatred, to which academical and eccle- fiaftical Owners of Eftates are liable; and fct an Example, which others might pro- bably imitate. I have fifih Charge to his Cleugv. i8i I have alrcidy faid, in Ipeiklng of Chan- cels, that the Ornaments of lacrcd Places ought not to be Hght and gaudy, but modeft and grave. Ai-nongfl: thefe a very proper one, of the clieaper Kind, is, writing on the Walls chofen Sentences of Scripture. This was done as early as the 4th Century ^ : but in Procefs of Time ceafed to be done, at lea ft in the vulgir Tongus : and being reltorcd at the Reformation, was forbidden, as promoting that Caufe, by Billiop Bonner in Qn^een Marys Pvcign^. It not only diver- lifies the Walls very agreeably and decently, but affords ufeful Matter for Meditation to the People, before the Service begins ; and may afford them ufeful admonition, when their Eyes and Thoughts are wandering in the Gourfe of it. For thefe Roafons, I prefume, the 8 2d Canon directs, that fuch Sentences be written in convenient Places; andlikewife, that the ten Commandments be fct 'upon the Eaft End of every Church and Chapel : to which undoubtedly the Creed and Lord's Prayer, though not mentioned in the Canon, 2re very fit Companions, * Bing. viii. S, 3. ^ in/^i/is, Vol. iv. p loS* M 3 Yoii i82 7'he Bijljop cf Oi^tokd's You inuft alfo endeavour, that fuch Care may be taken of the Furniture of the Church, and whatever is ufed in it, as the Canons and Kubricks, and the Nature of the Thing require: that the Surplice be origi- nally of proper Linen, and kept clean, and renewed before it becomes contemptible by Age ; that the Bible and Prayer Books be whole and unfullied, and well bound : that the Veflels for the Celebration of both the Sacraments, and the Cover of the Holy Table, but more efpecially the Bread and Wine placed upon it, be fuitable in all Re- fpe<fi'= to the Solemnity : not fuch as may give Difguft to the more delicate, and tempt them to abhor, as the Scripture Expreffion is, i.be Offering of the Lord^. Thefe are in their Kind, Points of Importance : and fuch as you may for the moft Part eafily carry. Another Thing, worthy of Notice, is the Condition of your Church -yards. I take it for granted, though I am afraid I forgot to name it, that you keep thofe, which belong to yourfelves, neat and decent : not turning in Cattle to defile them, and trample dowa * I Sam. \u 17, the; Jiftb Charge to his Cly'P.gy, 183 the Grave-donesj ard make confecrated Ground fuch, as you would not fuffer Courts before your own Doors to be ; bnt taking the Profits of the Herbage in fuch Manner, as may rather add Beauty to the Place. And I hbpe where a Church-yard belongs to an Impropriator, you will do your beft to ^et the fame Refped: paid it; and to whomfoever it belong?, the Fences well kept up. If, in any or all of the Particulars, which I have fpecified, your Rcprefentations will be lefs offenfively introduced, or your At- tempts be of more Weight, for your being able to fay, that I directed you to make them, I do hereby diredt you accordingly^ and defire you to fay, that I did. Nor fliould you be contented with a tranfient Mention of the Subje<f^ once or twice; but where there is any Hope, return to it on proper Occafions, and try the Force of modeft Im- portunity. If, after competent Trial, you £nd no Effcifl:, you mud urge the Church- wardens to prefent what is aniifs, if they will do no more. Indeed fuch Things aa belorrg to their own Care, they (liould not M 4 prefentj 184 The BiJljDp of Oxford'^ prefent, but amend : and the Canons re- quire not the former, but the latter, Only when they^ have not Time for the latter, the former is all they can do : and when they have, it is better than doing Nothing. For it gives Notice, and furni(hes Room for Admonitions and Injundions. If there b^ Need, here again you mull encourage them to prefent, by engaging to plead their Caufe with the Parifhioners. You may alfo fafely promife thern, that they fhall fuffer no op- preffive or hard Treatment, fhall not be required to lay out upon any Thing mor^ than is fitting, and rhall have reafonabl^ Time allowed, even for that. I need not fay, that both to qualify yourfelves for pref- fing them to prefent, and on many other Accounts, you muil take efFedtual Care^ that Nothing belonging to you be prefentable. Elfc they will have a ready Anfwer for you : and it will be a fad Thing to ftand in Awe and be at the Mercy of thofe, who ought to reverence you. If you cannot prevail on them otherwife, I apprehend you inay join with them] and if you cannot prevail on them at all, I apprehend you may prefent without Jifth Charge to his Clergy. i 8^ without them, in the Cafe of Repairs, as weil as Offences, by Virtue of the Interpretation, which Pradice hath put on the abovemen- tioned Canon : though it fpeaks, I own, ex- prf fsly of Nothing bcOdes Offences. But in doing either of thefe Things, you muft be fare to obferve the Cautions given under the former Head. Yet after all, I am well aware, that you rnayoi ten have great Difficulties to encounter, poffibly fometlmes too great to furmount, and to dimlnifli them for you, I have en- deavoured to procure a parochial Vifitation from the Archdeacon, which he hath pro- mifed. But then, for the Credit of your Parifliioners and your own, let this be an Inducement to put Things in good Order, that he may find them fo: not to leave them in bad Order, that he may redify them. Another very ufeful Inftitution, for thefe and many valuable Purpofes, was that of Rural Deans: which took Place here before the Conqueft, was kept up till the great Rebellion, was redored afterwards in feveral Piocefes, aod particularly in this by the admirable 1^6 uke BijhopofOxvoKxyh admirable Bifliop Fell ^, was found not quite extindl, and was completely revive4 by the late excellent Bifliop of Glocejier % in that County, and is preferved to this Day in fome Parts of the Nation beiideSo Thefe Deans, being chofen out of the re- fident parochial Clergy, could infped:, with fmall Trouble, the Churches and Parifhes within their feveral narrow Diflrids ; and being bound to report what they foand amifs, could do it with little or no Offence. In the latter End of Queen Annes^ and the Beginning of the late King's Reign, the Convocation made fome Progrefs towards the Re-eftablifhment and better Regulation of this Office. When that, or any other Branch of Difcipline, may be the Subjedl of public Confideration again, is very uncertain. I fhould be very glad, with your Approbations to fet it up once more amongft us, in fuch Form as might be moft beneficial and fatif- fad:ory: but contented at prefent with hint- ing the Matter, I leave and reconimend it to your ferious Thoughts. ^ Kennet. Paroch, Ant. P. 653. ' Bi(hop Benfon. % A third fifth Charge to his Clergy. 187 A third Particular, of confider.ible Impor- tance, in which you are jointly concerned with the Church-wardens, is the keeping of the Regifter Book. The 70th Canon direcf^Sj, that it be of Parchment : and though an A(fl of Parliament, lately pafled, allows Marriages to be regiftered in a Paper Book; yet Parch- ment is far more durable: nor is the Diffe- rence of Expence worth regarding, as it returns fo feldom. This Book fhould be ftrongly bound, and not over large; left it fhould be worn and damaged, before it is filled. For the fafe Prefervation of ft, and doubtlefs of all preceding Books of the fame Kind, the Canon orders, that a Cheft be pro- vided with three Locks and Keys ; one for you, one for each of the Church-wardens, who are ordinarily two; and that on Sundays, if there hath been any Chriftening, Marriage or Burial, in the Week before, it fliall be entered there. I am afraid it is feldom thus kept : and yet there would be no great trouble in it, after a little Ufe. Or where that is otherwife, either the Minifter or a Church-warden fhould keep it: and each of them fhould fee from Time to Time, how it 1 88 The Bijlop of Oxford'^ it is kept. The Entries, if they cannot well be made every Sunday, (hould be made very frequently, and in the mean Time the Minifter, if he hath not the Book, fhould take Memorandums. He is the Perfcjn direcSled to write in it, and ufuaily much the fitteft. But if, through any Accident that happens not to be fo, he fhould appoint a proper Perfon, and fuperintend him. The Names and Surnames of the Parents ought to be added, in regiftcring not only Baptifms, where it is enjoined, but Marriages and Burials too, as far as may be: for it may prevent Doubts and Difputes. It v^rill alfo be very ufeful, to put dov/n the Day of the Birth and Death of each Perfon, as well as of the Baptifm and Burial. The late Act above-mentioned hath diredted farther, that every Page of the Regifter of Marriages be numbered, to difcover if any Leaf be after-? wards cut out: and ruled with Lines at equal Diftances, to difcover if any Article be afterwards put in. And you will do very well to obferve the fame Precautions in re- giilering Baptifms and Burials. When a Page is filled, the Canon requires the Minifter and Church- fifth Charge to his Clergy. ioi) Church-wardens to fubfcribe their Names ; which they fliould do juft below the laft Line. And if this be not done immediately, it may without any Inconvenience be done loon after: and was done by me and the Church- wardens, for many Years, in one of the moft populous Pariflies of the Kingdom. Laftly the Canon requires, that an attefted Copy of this Book be annually tranfmitted to the Bifliop's Regiftry, received without Fee, and f^iithfully preferved there: and it authorizes me to proceed againft thofe, who are negligent about any of its Directions. I muft therefore both intreat and infift, that you inquire in what Condition your old and your prcfsnt Rcgifter Books are, and get them kept for the future as they ought. I have more than once been put under great Difficulties in Ordinations, for Want of Ex- aflnefs in the Regifter of Baptifms. That of Marriages is of fo great Concern, that alter- ing it defignedly to eftablifh or void a Mar- riage is by the Adt above-mentioned made Felony. In all Cafes the Book, faithfully kept, is good Evidence : and falfifying it, is puniQiable at common Law. I would only obferve J go T/je BiJIjop of Oxfok d*j obierve farther on this Head, that in the Preamble of a Bill, which paiTed the Houfe of Commons this laft Seffion, and had 2 fecond Reading in the Houfe of Lords, it was allerted as notorious, that *' great In- " conveniences have arifen from tlie prefent ** defedive Manner, in which parochial Re- ** gifters are formed, and the loofe and un- *' certain Method, in v/hich they are kept " and preferved; whereby the Evidence of '^ Defcents is frequently loil: and rendered ** precarious." So far as this may be Fad it will be moll for our Honour to amend it, without the Interpofition of the Legifla- ture. A fourth Point, of which I hope you will think yourfelves bound, if not by Law,, yet in Confcience, to take a joint Care with the Church- wardens, is that of parochial Chari- ties. The Minifter is the Reprefentative of the Church, intrafted with its Interefts; and you ought to endeavour, that fuch Benefac- tions be firft preferved and then applied in a proper Manner. If it be doubtful, whether fuch or fuch a Donation hath been given to your Church or Poor, Jifth Charge to bis Clukgy, 191 Poor, or the Support of a School la your Parifh, you will make proper Inquiry con- cerning the Matter. If it be given by any Writing, you v/ill procure that Writing, or an attefted Copy of it, to be laid up fafely, either in the Parifli CheH:, or the Bifhop's Reglflry 3 indeed a Copy in each Place would be beft; and an Account of the Gift fhould be inferted in your Parifh Book, For if Deeds are left in private Hands, and efpe- cially without authentic Notice where they are left, they are fometimes defignedly fupprefied ; and often undefignedly deftroyed or loft, through the Ignorance or CarelefTnefs of the Perfons poflefTed of them. It will alfo be very proper, to have a Table mention- ing the Charity, hung up in your Church, that a grateful Remembrance of the Benefac- tors may be continued to Pofterity, and others incited to follow their good Example : as a Paper of Direcftions drawn up by the Lower Houfe of Convocation in 1710, hath well cxprelTed it^. If the Bcnefadion be an Eftate veiled in Truftees, it will be very material to get the Truil renewed in due ''See«'7//{;W, Vol.iv. P. 638. Time^ 102 "^he Bijhcp of Oxford'^ Time -, c\(z in all Likelihood there will be Expence, if not Danger; and to Truftees of as good Credit and Ability, as poflible. They muft likewife be warned, never to \tt out fuch Lands in long Leafes, or at very low Rents, in Favour of any Body : but to raife the Rents when they can ; at leafl: to vary them, which will make it eafy to raife them, when there is Opportunity : otherwife it will foon be pretended, that they have no Right to raife them; of which there are fome un- happy Inftances in this Diocefe. If the Gift be in Money, you muft prefs to have it placed in the public Funds, in Cafe it be confiderable enough; or elfe in the heft private Hands, and on the beft Security that can be obtained: paying no Regard in fuch Cafes to perfonal Friendships; and being particularly careful that Parifh Officers do not keep it in their own Ciiftody. If they do, the Intereft will ufually be paid out of the public Money, and irioft pro- bably the Principal will be loft in a few Years. But Charities are preferved in vain, ualefs they are well applied; and they are often fadly fifth Charge to his Clekgv. i93 ladiy mirapplicd. Gifts to the Church, where it is not othervviie expreffcd, mud be fiippofcd intended for beautifying the Church: elfe it will be never the better for fuch Gifts: for it will be equally repaired without them : the Parifhioners are bound to that: and the Chief of the Burden ufually falls upon the richeft, ior whofe Reliet Charities were certainly not intended, ^nd yet fuch Be- nefadions are too commonly employed, not only in mere Repairs, but in what hath no Connexion with the Fabric; in providing Bread and Wine for the Communion, in paying Church-wardens Bills for all Sorts of Things, it may be fof extravagant and riotous Entertainments amongft the reft, in eafing the Poors Rates, in I know not what ; and the Church all the Time, inllead of bein;r any Way improved, fuffered to grow dirty and even ruinous. A lamentable Abufe of this Kind, (where a Steeple fell down, and was in Part rebuilt by Contribution, while an Eftate, more than fufficient to have kept the whole Building in good Order and Beauty, was perverted to other Ufee) I have taken much Pains to redify, but fear it is N not 194 The BiJJjop of Oxfoud'^ not thoroughly redlified yet. Again, Gifts tq the Poor were certainly intended for the Benefit of the Poor ; to make Provifion for fiich of them as are not on the Parifli Lift, or a better Provifion for fuch as are. And yet they are fometimes embezzled and fquan- dered, in a great A4eafure, if not wholly ; fometimes beftowed to ferve private or Party Purpofes: and very freqvicntly funk into the legal Rate; fo the Wealthy are be- nefited; and the Needy have not a Farthing more, than if Nothing had been given for them. I know it is not always cafy, perhaps not always pofiible for you, to remedy thefe ill Practices. But a reat Part of the Blame will be laid on you, right or wrong, unlefs you try to remedy them. And it may prove lefs diflicult than you imagine. Church- wardens and Overfeers perhaps are ignorant, or going on thoughtlefsly, and would be thankful to you for good Advice : or however would be ruled, by it, on your reprefenting to them the Heinoufnefs of robbing God or the Poor J and the Honour it will do them, and the Confolation it Vv'ill afford them, to have fifth Charge to his Clergy. 195 have put Things into a right Channel. Or fuppollng them backward to comply, you may be able to get confiderable Perfons in the Parifli or Neighbourhood to fecond you. At lead you will get the Reputation of a mofl laudable Zeal, and if you condudt that Zeal aright, of Dil'cretion alfo: and thefe together may produce unexpected Succefs ; efpecially where the Abufe is not yet become inveterate. But if Nothing elfe will do, and the Cafe be plain, and the Object of fufficient Importance : Recourfe fliould be had to the Authority of the Law : and you Qiould be willing to bear a Proportion of the Charges, if it be requifite and you are able 3 only taking the ftricteO: Care to proceed with Miidnefs and Fairnefs, I have now finifhcd the Courfe of Direc- tions to you, which I began 15 Years ago. And as 1 can truly fay, that in this and every Part of my Behaviour as your Bifliop, I have, through the Divine Affiilance, dili- gently laboured to do my Duty with Up- rightncfs, and promote your Good and that of your Parishioners, prefent and future ; fo I hope you will accept my Endeavours with N 2 Candour 196 The Bifiop cf Oxford^ Candour and Study to profit by them j ex«» cufing my Fallings, which I know have been many, and will now be too likely to increafe. I am advancing apace into the Decline of Age. Three of my Brethren', my oldeft and teft Friends, have gone before me in lefs than twelve Months. Imuft exped: to follow them 4pon. Whether I may live, or, if I live, whether I may be able, to meet you thus again, God only can forefee. Maybe grant us to meet in a better World ! But before I conclude, permit me to fub- join to thefe general Admonitions, a few Words concerning two particular Occur- rences. In the firft Place I return you my hearty Thanks for the Pains, which you have taken in Behalf of the Society for propagating the Gofpel. The Colledioii hath upon the. Whole been made very fuccefsfully through- out the Kingdom; and amounts to almoft J 9,000/. if not more : whereas ten Years ago it fell fhort of 15,000/. But I believe the Con- tribution of this County hath been in Propor- tion the largefl of any. The laft Time it was » Bi/hops Ei'.lhr, Benfovy and Berkley, barely Jfd) Charge to his Ci.^L'RGY . 197 barely 300/. nor was that to be accounted fmall : and now it is very near 500/. I mean in both Cafes exclufive of the Univer- iity: which diftinguiflied itfelf very honour- ably then, and I doubt not, will at prefent. May God increafe, and blefs, and reward the Zeal of all his Servants every where for fupporting, and enlarging the Kingdom of his Son, and making the Confelfion of his Name efFcdtual to the Salvation of Man- kind. The other Subject, oti which I would fpeak to you, is the Conteft about Reprefen- tatives for this County in the ftext Parlia- ment. Let no one be alarmed. I need not, and I do not mean, to give you at a Meeting of this Nature, my Opinion which of the Candidates you ought to prefer : of that I fay no more here than that you ought to regard, in the firfl: Place, the infeparable Interefls of the excellent Church we are Members of, and, its only human Support, the jufl and gracious Government we live under; then other fubordinate Confidera- tions. My Purpofe is merely to exhort you, (and 1 befeech you, Brethren, fuffer the Word N 3 of 1 98 ^he BiJI^op of OxF ORD*J of Exhortation'^) that on this Occafion, your Converfatlon be fuch as bccometh the Go/pel of Chrijl: in doing which, I have neither one Party, nor one Perfon anriongft you, more in my View than another : but if I may ufe the Apoftle's Words, am jealous with a godly feaktify over you all^. I cannot indeed fup- pofe, that any of you would be guilty of the grofler FauUs too common at fuch Times, or any wilful wrong Behaviour. But in the Midftof fo many Claddings, Provocations, and Difappointments, as v/ill happen, fo many Miftakes and Mifreprefentations as arife one knows not now: the Incitements to uncha- ritable and contemptuous Thoughts, to un- advifedand injurious Words, in Anger or in Mirth, nay to unkind and hard and even unjuft Actions, are very great, and the bell: of us all (hould be continually fuggefting to our Minds proper Cautions for avoiding th.efc Dangers. Elfe we {hall fall into Sin againfl God and our Neighbour : we (hall lofe the Efleem of Part of thofe whofe Improvement by us depends on their efleeming us 5 and fet a bad inftead of a good Example to the Reft. *» Hebxiii. 22. "zCor. xi. 2. 6 • Let fifth Charge to his Clergy. 199 Let every one of us therefore be very watchful over our Condud: or if we have not been fo, ict us.amend it : and if we find preferving our Innocence difficult, let us meddle tlie lefs with thefe Matters: for indeed being over bufy about them is not very fuitable to our Function. But while we are ftri6l with ourfelves, let us be very mild in Regard to others, whom we think to have done amifs: we may blame them without Caufe^ or if we do not, it is eafy to err; and we, amongft others, are fadly liable. to Faults. But let us be efpecially mild towards our own Brethren. For why ihould we diminilh our little re- maining Strength by inteftine DifTentions, and teach yet more Perfons to think ill or meanly of us, than do already ? Surely the common Caufe of Religion and Virtue, which we are jointly intruded to fupport, fhould have intinitely greater Force to unite us, than any Thing elfe to divide us. Next to yourfclves, you will ftudy to pre* ferve as many of your Parifliioners as poffible, from the Sins that fo eafily befef them at thefe -Seafons of epidemical Unreafcnablenefs and Licentioulhefs. Thofe, v.'ho are cf your N 4 , owa £00 '^'he BiJJjop o/Oxfor-d's own Side, you may counfel and reprove more freely. With the reft you muft be extremely calm and patient: take the moft favourable Opportunities, and ufe the moft perftiafive Methods of fpeaking : but in fome Way or other, private or public, all, who need it, ftiould be told, whether they will bear or whether they will forbear, that the great Chriftian Laws of Dutifulnefs to Superiors, mutual Good-will, Forbearance, Forgivenefs, Equity, Veracity, Moderation, Sobriety, lofe not the leaft of their Obligation during the Continuance of thefe Difputes: that all Vir- tues are to be chiefly exercifed, when they are chiefly tried: and that therefore now more particularly, you, as the Apoftle direds, rci\x{ipiit them in Mind, and they muft keep in Mind,/c befubjeB toPrincipalities and Powers, to obey Magi/lrates, to be ready to every good Work, to /peak Evil of no Man, to be no Braw- ler but gentle, fhewijig all Meeknefs unto all Men°. lend this long Difcourfe in the Words of the fame Apoftle: Fi?2ally, Brethren, what- foever Thijtgs are true, whatfoever Things are venerable, (for fo the Word is rightly tranfla- » Tit-ili. r,2. ted Jifth Charge to his Clergy, 201 ted In the Margin) whatfoever l^hings are jiijl 'whatfoever 'Things are pure, ivhatfceijer Things are lovely t whatfoever Things are of good Report, if there be any Virtue and ff there be any Praife, think of and do ihefe T hi tigs : and the God of Peace f^all be with you^. f Phil. iv. 8, 9, A CHARGE I A CHARGE DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY of the Diocese OF CANTERBURY, In the Year 1758. |W Reverend Bretbren, TH E Dirpofer of all Things having permitted his Majefty, by the Advice of his faithful Servants, to nominate me for your Bi(hop: though I faw many Rea- fons to dread this Promotion, arifing from the Difficulties of the Office and of the Times, from the great Qaalities of my Pre- deceflbrs, and my own increafing Weak- nelTes; yet I thought myfelf bound to obey his Commands, and with the fame Gratitude for his favourable Opinion, as if I had wished to receive them: determining, through God's Grace, to perform the Duties of my Station as well as I could j and hoping for the Can- dor, the Affiffance, and the Prayers of good People. To make fome Amends by Dili- gence for my Deficiencies in other Refpedts, 1 refolved immediately to vifit my Diccefe: for which f*urpofe we are here allembled. Thefe 2 c 6 The ArchbiJJjop 5/" C a n i e r b u r y V Thefe Meetings were defigned, partly to [give the Clergy Opportunities of conferring with each other, and confuhing their Supe- riors, on Matters relating to their Profeffion ; and I am very defirous, thatycu fliould ren- der them as beneficial in this Way, as poffi- ble: but principally, to give Bifhops Oppor- tunities of exhorting and cauiloning their Clergy, either on fuch general Subje^^s as are always ufeful, or en fuch particular Oc- cafions as the Circumftances of Things, or I the Inquiries, made at or againft thefe Times, point out; and of interpofing their Authority, if there be Need; which amongH: you, I am perfuadcd, there will not. To provide more fully for your Inftrucftion, I have ordered a Charge to be fent you, which I delivered to the Clergy of Oxforcijljire, and printed at their Requeft, about twenty Years ago. Would to God it w^ere become unfeafon- able now. But, as- unhappily it is not, I ear- neftly recommend the Contents of it to your moft ferious Thoughts : and would have you look on what I (hall at prefent Uy further, as fupplemental to it. Counfcls ■ Jirjl Charge to his Clergy, 207 Counfels and Admonitions to parochial Miniflcrs pre-fuppofe their Refidence, The Founders of Pariilies provided them with Glebes, and built Houfes for them, pur- pofely that they might refide. The Laws of the Church have from the Beginning, and do ftill require, as indeed common Equity doth, that this valuable Confidcration, for which thcfe Endowments were given, iliould be faithfully paid. And going over and per- forming the Service from Time to Time, or engaging feme other Clergyman to take Care of it, or of the occafional Part of it, feldom anfwcrs the original Intention. Your Peo- ple will not fo readily, and cannot fo con- veniently, apply to the Minifter of another Parifh: And when they do, his Afliftancc, for the moil Part, will be lefs early, or lefs confiant, than it (hould: though doubtlefs they, who have undertaken to fupply their Neighbours Abfence, ought to do it very confcientiouHy. But beiides, even the Sun- dav-Dutv, when the Incumbent unnecefia- rily comes from a diilant Place to do it, will be ccniidered as accompanied with fome- thing like a Breach of the Sunday, will not always 2o8 TheArchhlfiop of Can ter bur y'^ always be kept to the ftated Hours, will ofteri be hurried over indecently: the Catechifm Avi.l either not be taught or not expounded, if the Diflance be at all confiderablej nor probably will the Sermon be well adapted to the Audience. For it is only living amongft your people, and knowing them thoroughly that can {hew you, what is level to their Capacities, and fuited to their Circumftances; what will reform their Faults, and improve their Hearts in true Goodnefs. Yet this is your Bafinefs with them: and unlefs you perform it, every Thing elfe is Nothing. Further, fuch as want your Help mod: may not come to your Sermons, or may not apply them to their own Cafe, or may need to have them enforced by Confiderations peculiar to themfelves, and unfit to be fpecified in Public. Speaking to them feparately, and agreeably to their feveral States of Mind and Life, may have unfjre- iztn Influence. And being always at Hand, to order the diforderly, and coun- tenance the well-behaved, to advife and comfort the difeafed and afHicled, to relieve or procure Relief for the neceflitous, to com- pofe Jirjl Charge to his Clergy. 209 pofe little Differences and difcourage wrong Cuftoms in the Beginning, to promote friendly Offices, and keep up an edifying and entertaining Converfation in a Neigh- bourhood, mud add incredible Weight to public Inftrudion. Indeed your Congregations exped: theie Things from you, and have a Right to ex- pect them. The Nature of your Office re- quires them : you have all at your Ordina- tion exprefsly promifed to ufe both public and private Monitions and Exhortations^ both to thejick and whole within your Cures, as Need Poall require and Occajion be given, the Lord being your Helper, Now we cannot ufe them duly, without being refident. But further ftill, fince their Ordination, all Vicars have fworn particularly to be refident unlefs they are difpenfed with, which means by lawful Authority: ncr doth any Difpenfition of a Biffiop laft beyond his own Time; or beyond the Term for which he gave it ; or, if that were indefinite, beyond his Pleafure: Points, which Vicars ought to confider much more ferioufly, than they often do. And every O Reaor 210 "The JrMi/Jjop of Canterbvry's Redor hath fworn in general to obey hh Bifhop in all Things lawful and honejl. Now furely Refidence is lawful and honeft: and what is puniQiable by a Bifhop may, if done without his Leave, be well interpreted Dif- obedience to him: and the Non-refidence of Redors is punifliable jufl in the fame Man- ner with that of Vicars. It muft not therefore be pleaded> that however necefTary the Refidence of fome Minifter may be, that of a Curate may fuffice. For your Engagement is, not merely that the feveral Duties of your Parifli (hall be done, but that you perfonally will do them: and if it were enough to fubftitute another to do them, a Layman would be, in Point of Rea- fon and Confcience, as capable of holding a Benefice, as a Man in holy Orders. Be- fides, a Curate will ufually have lefs Know- ledge and lefs Experience, than the Incum- bent: and he and the Parifhioners will con- ceive, that they are lefs related to each other. He will confider himfelf, as being with then;i only for an uncertain, and he may hope, a ihort Time 3 which will tempt him to neg- lect Jirft Charge to his CleRG v. 2 1 1 )e6l them. And they will confider him, as not the Perfon, who hath Authority over ' themi which will tempt them to difregard him: efpecially as the largeft Salary, that can be legally appointedjOr generally afforded to a Curate, will not enable him to recom- mend himfelf to them by doing Good amongfl: them in any expcnfive Way: whilll yet the people will think, and juftly too, that the whole Income of the Benefice was intended to procure them a Minifler, to do them as much Good in every Way, as could reafonably be expecfred from it. There are indeed Cafes, in which the Law difpenfes with holding two Livings, and by Confequence allows abfence from one. But Perfons ought to confider well : fuppofing they can with Innocence take the Benefit of that Law ; whether they can do it on other Terms, than their Difpenfatioa and their Bond expreffes, of preaching yearly thirteen Sermons, and keeping two Months Hofpitality, in the Parifli where they refide leaft. For the leave given them on thefe Conditions, is not intended to be given them, however legally valid, if the Conditions are O 2 negle(5led : 212 "Tk Archhifiop of Canterbury*^ negleded: always excepting where juft Im- pediments happen. There are likewife Cafes^ in which the Non-refidence of Perfons, who have only one Living, is permitted by Law. But feme of thefe alfo are put under Limita- tions, beyond which the Permiffion doth not reach. Further ft ill, I am fenfible, that Confider- ations of Health and ftrength, and particular Circumftances of Incumbents or their Fami- lies, require Leave of Abfence to be fome- times allowed, where the Law makes no Al- lowance. But then it (hould never be taken for any confiderable Time, without being afked : nor (liould it be afked without good Caufe. And mere Fancy, or Deiire of living more at eafe, or in a cheerfuller, and, it may be, lefs clerical Manner, is by no means a fuf- ficient Caufe. Nor indeed is the Allegation of Health to be urged too far, or to be too much regarded. For Places, called unwholefome, prove upon Trial very wholefome to many Perfons : and thofe, which are leaft fo, muft have fome Minifters in or near them j and whom rather, generally fpeaking, than fuch as enjoy the whole Profits ? Much lefs is In- •lulgencc firji Charge to h's Clergy. 187 dulgence to be granted for every prefent Con- venience, or Proipc^cH: of temporal Advan- tage : which if Clergymen appear to have greatly at heart, and the care of their Pariflies but little, indeed it looks very ill. Another Plea may be offered by fome, that though they live not on their own Cures, they ferve others. And it is not always an in-, fufficientone. But, with very few Exceptions, the moft natural and moft ufeful Method by far ic, that each take the Overlioht of the Parifh, which properly belongs to him : and abfenting himfelf from that, for a little more Income, a little more Agreeablenefs, or any flight Rcafon, is unbecoming and unwarrant- able Behaviour. At the fame Time I acknowledge, that the Poornefs of fome Benefices makes the Re- iidence of a diftind: Minifter upon each of themimpradicable: and therefore they mufl be (erved from an adjoining Pariili, or a greater Diftance ; and no more Duty expefted, than there is a competent Provifion for. But then I fear, indeed I have found, that in fome Benefices, not fo poor, one Minifter fuppiies two Churches on a Sunday j contrary to a re- O 3 pcated 2 1 4 The Archblfiop of CANTEkBURvV peated lujundion of fucceiTive Archblfhops to their Suffragans, which they certainly de- figned toobfcrve themfelvesi and the Words of which are thefe; that y on do not allow any Minijler to ferve more than one Church or Chapel in one Day, except that Chapel be a Member of the Parifi Church, j or united there- unto i and unlefs the Jaid Church or Chapel be not able to maintain a Curate. The Confe- quence of difregarding this Injundion is, not only the very bad one, that the Service is performed in irreverent Hafte, but that Catechifing is negleded in both Places, if not altogether, yet in a great Degree. Nay, per- haps for great Part of the Year, if not the Whole, each of them hath Prayers but once. Where indeed it can be truly alledged in this Idft cafe, that the Inhabitants of each Paridi not only with Convenience may, but adlually do attend at both Churches, the Plea mud be allowed its Weight. But, as to other Ex'cufes: If the Number of the People be fmall, the fervice is not lefs enjoined, and is more eafily performed: If they had rather have a Sermon at anotherChurch,than mere- ly Prayers at their own 5 they ought to have more firji Charge to his Clerg V. 2 1 ^ more than Prayers; an Expofition of the Catechifm, which they will account equi- valent to a Sermon : or you may reduce it with eafe into the Form of a Sermon: and then many of them will come to their own Church, who now go to no other, but pro- fane the reft of the Day : if they are content with Part of the Sunday Service, which how- ever may bcfaid or believed without fufHcient Ground, yet probably they would be glad of the Whole. But fuppofing them to be indif- ferent about it, or even averfe from it, their Minifter is bound to {hew them, that they ought not. And how long foever this hath been the Praf^icej if it ought not to have been fo at all, the longer the worfe. My pious and learned PrcdecefTor, Archbifhop Potter, la- mented heavily to me the Irregularities of this Kind, which he found in this Diocefe: and if any remain, I muft, after his Example, endeavour to have them redified. I hope they will be redified by the befl Method, beyond Comparifon ; your own ferious Reflections on what you owe to your Flocks, and what you owe to the great Shep- herd of Souls. Though you are ever fo ex- O 4 prefsly 2 1 6 ^he Archhijhop of C a nterbury*i prefsly permitted by human Laws to be ab» fent from your Cures, or by your Ordinary to ferve them, or let them be ferved, by Halves j you are anfwerable to an infinitely higher Tribunal for what God, and not Man alone, hath made your duty. Therefore, if you regard the Peace of your own Souls and your final Comfori, you will never do any of thefe Things, unlefs very ftrong Reafons oblige yon to it: and you will never be glad of fuch Reafons, but heartily forry. You will give your Parifhes both Morning and Evening Prayer, wherever it is poffible: and vou will fupply them in Perfon, unlefs particular Cir- cumftances render it impradicable.. or un- lefs, by living at a diftance for rae prefent, you are more ufeful to Religion Jcme other Way, and peculiarly qualified for that Ufe- fulnefs. Far from catching at wei.k Pre- tences, you will rather be diffident about ftrong Inducements : and much readier to follow the Diredions, than folicit the Indul- gence of your Superiors. But if any do chufe the worfe Part, they muft remember, that we Bifliops are bound to oppofe, inftead of ^onfulting their Inclinations, from Concern for Jirjl Charge to his Clergy. 217 for them, as well as their Pdndiionfr. And therefore yoa wild not (urdy think jt real Good-nature to connive at Liberties of this Kind preiuajpta.'uliy talcen withouf ! Cive, or to g^ant Requefts made for them, as Mat^ ter.s oi Courfe : ncj- Impute it to a Fondnefs of exercifiiig Power whsn Compliance with the Rules of the Church is required: nor yet haftily condemn it, as partial Behaviour, if 0p Indulgence, denied to one, is granted to another; for there may be, in the Cafes of different Perfons, confiderable Difparities, unknown to you, or unobferved by you. But when it is ever fo clear, that the Non- refidence of Minifters ought to be allowed, it is at leafl: equally clear, that they lliould ufc their beft '.ndeavours to make their People Amends for it. One Thing, proper to be done for this End, is relieving their Poor: which as they could not with Decency avoid doing, according to their Ability, if they lived amongft them, they ought to do more largely, if they live elfewhere. For no Rea- proach will lie heavier on our Order, than that of reaping all, and fowing nothing; whereas, they who give Alms in their Ab- fence. 2 1 8 '77?^ Arcbbijlop ^ C A n t e r b u R y 'i fence, ^vill be in Effed always prefent to one valuable Purpofe; will be readily prefumed to be Well-williers to Yheir Paritlies in <5very vvayj whilll they are BenefaAors to them in this Way : and by fuch a Specimen of the Influence of Religion uport themfelves will remind their Congregations,' very ac- ceptably, of the Influence, Vi^hich it ought to have upon them; efpeciaily if they make their Charity more diredly fubfervient to Religion, by affording diftinguifhed Encou- ragement to pious and virtuous Perfons, and thofe who appear likely to be made fuch: by procuring Children to be inflruded in their Chrillian Duty, and other proper Knowledge; by diflributing ufeful Books amongfl the needy and ignorant. What is thus beftowedjisof all the Service it can be : where- as injudicious Bountymayeven produce Harm. Another Thing, incumbent on fuch as cannot refide conflantly, is to infpedl how- ever the State of their Parifhes as frequently as they can : fpending Days, or Weeks, or longer Seafons there occafionally^ and in Proportion as their Time is fhorter, ufing more Diligence in public and private la-r flrudions Jirfi Charge to his Clergy, 219 ftru6lions and Warnings. For they nre pe- culiarly bound to do what they are able, who are not able to do what elfe they ought. But if even this be out of their Power, they may at leaft be affiduous in getting Informations from Perfons of Underftanding and Seriouf- nefs, in or near their Cures, with what Re- gularity, with what Spirit and Zeal, each Part of the Parochial Duty is performed; whether true inward Piety makes any Pro- grefs; whether any and what Abufes and Negleds are crept in. And he who reckons it enough, that for ought he knows to the contrary, his Parifhioners go on like their Neighbours, hath by no Means the requifite Concern for their Souls, or his own. But whenever A bfence is necefTary, or the Largenefs of a Parifh, or the Infirmity of a Minifter, hinders him from taking the whole Care of it perfonally, the principal Point is the Choice of a fit Subftitute, to be employed in his Stead, or fliare his Burthen: for no Superintendency will make an unfit one an- fwer the End. And therefore I char2:e it upon your Confciences, not to fufFer Cheap- nefs, Recommendation of Friends, AfFcdion 7 to 2Zo The ^rchi?i/hop of Cant ekbvky's to this or that Perfon or Place of Education, infhort, any Inducement whatever to weigh near fo much with you, as the Benefit of your People, in chufing Perfons to fcrve your Churches. For on you the Choice of them lies in the firft Place : but not on vou alone. The Laws of the Church require, particu- larly Can. 48, that no Curate or Minifier he permitted toferve in any Place, without Exa- mination and Admifjion of the Ordinary : in Confequence of which, one of the before- mentioned archiepifcopal Diredlions to the Suffragans of the Province, is this : T^hat you make diiigent Inquiry concerning Curates in your Diocefe j and proceed to ecclejiajlical Ceu- fures againft thofe, who JJjall prefume to fer*ut Cures, without being Jirjl duly licenfed there- unto y as alfo againjl all Incumbents^ who Jhall receive and employ them without obtaining fuch Licence, Yet I v^ould avoid Rigour in all Cafes. The Expence of a Licence, by Means of the Stamps, may to fome be rather incon- venient, and greater than the Government perhaps intended : at leaft, if they are likely to remove, and fo repeat that Ex- pence, in a (hort time. And fuch Curates I would Jirjl Charge to his Clergy. m would excafe: only defiring them to con- iider, what Security of continuing in their Station, and receiving their Salary, a Licence brings them. But then you cannot think it right, that I fliould be left in Ignorance, who ferves a Church under my Care, till I learn it by Accident, or private Inquiry, per- haps many Months after -, through which OmiiHon, Men of bad Characters, Men not in Orders, may intrude j as there hath lately been a flagrant Inftance in this Diocefe. I am far from looking on the part Failures of giving Notice, as defigned Negligence of your Flocks, or Difrefpedt to your Superiors. But I fhall have Caufe both to think of them and treat them as fuch, if continued after the Warning, which I now give, that no one is to officiate ftatedly, or employ another to officiate fo, within my Jurifdidtion, un- lefs he firfl: obtain my Confent ; or what in EfFe(5l will be mine, that of your very wor- thy and vigilant Archdeacon. Think not, 1 beg you, that this is tak'ng more on my- fclf, than my Fredeceflb: s did. Their own Diredions prove, that they would have done the fame Thing, if they had iczx\ the fame Neceffity, S 2 2 'The Archhijhop ^ C A N r E R B u ii y'j Neceffity. Far be it from me to lord it over God's Heritage* : but I am bound to 7j^^j> that which is committed to 7Jiy Triift '*. When you want Curates, I recommend it to you, firflto enquire after Perfons of Merit, already ordained, and if poffible ordained Priefts, taking Care to fee their Orders, as well as to examine into their Charaders, before you think of granting Nominations to others* The Number of Clergymen indeed is rather deficient, than fuperfluous. But ftill one would not add to it by overlooking unde- fervedly thofe who are of it already. And particularly where help is wanted only for a fhort Time, I {hall infill on this Point : nor will, without abfolute Neceffity, ordain any one upon fuch a Title. And if fraudulent Titles are brought, merely to procure Orders, as I hope I fliall difcover them foon enough to difallow them, fo I {hall be fure to remark and remember, who hath attempted to im- pofe upon me by them. The next Thing to be confidered in Rela- tion to Curates is, their Te{timonials. And here the Canon and Direiflions already quoted » 1 Pet. V. 3. ''I Tim. vi. zo. ' enjoin. firfi Charge to hh Clergy. 223 enjoin, that no Bifliop admit fuch as rcmcce out of another Diocefe toferve in bis, '•ji)ithout the 1'ejiimony in Writing of the Bijhop of that Diocefe y or Ordinary of the peculiar Jitriflic^ tion^ from whence they come, of their good Life, Ability, and Conformitif to the ealefiajiical Laws of the Church of England. For the Clergymen of one Diocefe, or Jurifdidion, at lead their Hand-writing, being ufually unknown to the Bifhop of another, he can feldom, of himfelf, be fure, either that he hath their genuine Teflimony, or how far he may truft it. Therefore it is fit, that he fliould defire the Atteflation of their proper Superior. And even to this it will be prudent to add fuch further Information, as can be got : confidcring how very carelefsly Teftimonials are fometimes granted, even by reputable Perfons. But let me irtreat you never to be guilty of fuch Carelefsnefs yourfelves, for whatever Purpofe one is sfked of you. Both the Na- ture of the Thing, and the Diredions re- peatedly mentioned, require, that no Bifliop accept any Letters T^efijiionial, unkfs it be de^ dared by thofe who Jhall fgn them, that ihcy ta'-je 224 l'heArchbiJhopofCA.^r'EiL-B\5VLY's have perfonally knownt not only the Man, but his Life and Conv-erfation, for the 'Time by them certified', and do believe in their Con^ fcience, that he is qualified for that Order ^ Office or Employment, which he defires. Now Teftimonials concerning fucliThingsasthefe, cannot be Matter of mere Form, unlefs our whole Profeffion be a very empty Form* We, the Bilhops to whom they are given, do not, and mufl not, underftand them to be fo : It would be abfurd to demand them if we did. Some Cuftoms indeed may grow to be Things of Courfe : the Reafons for them ceafing, or not being thought of Moment j and yet the Law for them continuing. But the Reafons for Teftimonials can never ceafe or be thought of fmall Moment. They are the only ordinary Information that we have, in a Cafe of the utmoft Importance, in which we have a Right to be informed. For no one can imagine, that we are to ordain and employ whoever comes, or depend on clan^ deftine Intelligence. We muft therefore and to depend on regular Teftimonials. And if they be untrue, we are mod injurioufly deceived by them: and all the Mifchiefs, 8 that firfl Charge to hh Clergv. 225 ^hat follow from thence, will fit heavy one Day on the Deceivers. But, even excla- fively of this great Confideration, would you be chargeable with declaring a deliberate Falfehood under your Hand? Would you have unworthy Men fill ecclefiaftical Sta- tions and exclude their Betters ? Would you have your Bifliop reproached^ and your Order vilified, through your Fault? If not; remember, how utterly inconfiftent with all Concern for Religion, with all Veracity, Probity and Prudence it is, to Hgn Teftimo- nials at random; how lamentable a Sort of Clergy it will produce; how dreadful an En- couragement to Wickednefs and Profanenefs it will prove. Remember alfo, that you exprefs in thefe Inftruments, not what you charitably hope a Perfon will be; but what you adually know he hath been : not what others tell you at the End of the Time, for which you vouch; but what you have feea and heard through the Courfc of it : io that, if for a confiderable Part of the three Years, commonly fpecified, you have feen and heard Nothing of him, for that Part you can certify Nothing about him. And remember, P laftly. 226 The /irMiJhop of Cat^tjlrbvry^s laftly, that though the Affirmation of a Fer- fon's having lived piouflyj, foberly and ho- neftly, comprehends a great deal, yet the concluding Article, your Belief of his Fit- nefs for what he defires, implies a great deal more. For let him be ever fo good and event learned a Man, he cannot be fit for a Cler- gyman and the Care of a Parifh, without competent Gravity and Difcretion, and a Voice and a Manner fuitable to a public AfTembly: of all v^^hich Things they, that have had feme Familiarity with him, are ufuaily the beft, if not the only Judges. This Part of the Teftimonial therefore is highly neceiTary: and every Part of it mufc be well confidered, before it is given j and no Re- gard paid to Neighbourhood, Acquaintance, Friendship, Compaffion, Importunity, when they fland in Competition with Truth. It may fometimes be hard for you to re- fufe your Hand to improper Perfons. But it is only one of the many Hardships, which Confcience bids Men undergo refolutely, when they are called to them. It would be much harder, that your Bifhop fliould be milled, the Church of God injured, and the 4 poor Jirjl Charge to hh Clerg y* 227 poor Wretch himfelf aflifted to invade facri- legioufly an Office, at the Thought of which he hath Caufe to tremble. And if you fear he will be revenged on you for not yield- ing to him, this furnifhes an additional Rea- fon for denying him : for will you, or can you, fay of fuch a one, that he is qualified to be a Minifter of the Gofpel any where ? But if the Perfons, to whom Candidates apply, would only make it a Rule to meet, and adt jointly on the Occafion, and keep fecret the Particulars of what pafTed^ it might be unknown, from whom the Denial proceeded. Or fuppofe it known, the Refentment of fuch, as deferve to be refufed, will feldom do a worthy Man much Hurt : and a Number of fuch Refufals will do the Pubhc unfpeakablc Good. In- deed the Expecflation of a Refufal's follow- ing upon wrong Behaviour will in a great Degree prevent fuch Behaviour, and turn this whole Difficulty into a Pleafure. But what is unavoidable with Innocence, mufl be virtuoufly born: and inftcad of fubmit- ting to recommend unfit Perfons, you ought, P2 if 22 8 7he Archblflwp o/" C an T e R fi u r r *^ if others recommend them, which God for- bid, to interpofe immediate Cautions againft the Danger, in all flagrant Cafes. Still not every pafl: Fault, nor every prefent Infir- mity, fhould be aliedged, or allowed, as an Impediment. But into an Office, the moft important of all others, none fhould be ad- mitted, who are void of the proper Spirit, or a competent Share of the needful Qualifi- cations for it : and the lefs, becaufe, though we can refufe to ordain them, we often can- not keep them back from very unfuitable Stations, when once they are ordained. After prefenting the Title and Teftimo- nials, whether for Orders, a Curacy, or a Living, follows the Examination. For though the Teflimonial expreifes an Opinion that the Perfon is qualified -, which may be very ufeful, to reftrain fuch from applying as are notorioufly unqualified; yet we Bifliops mud not, efpecially in the Cafe of Orders, refl on a mere Opinion ; but alTure ourfelves by a clofer Trial, whether he hath fufficient Knowledge of Religion and the Holy Scrip- tures to teach them in public, and apply them Jirft Charge to his Clv^iilcy, 229 them In private, and defend them againft Oppofers: the two firft of which are abfo- lutely neceflary; the third, highly requifite. As therefore, on the one Hand, I hope I ne- ver have been or Ihall be over ftricft in this Refped, and rejeding Candidates will give me;almofl:, if not quite, as much Concern, as it can give them: fo on the other, I muft adhere to my Duty 3 againft all Solicitations of Friends, and all Intreaties of the Parties concerned, who little think what they do, when they prefs into fuch an Employment prematurely. I ftiew my Regard to you, when I exclude unqualified Perfons out of your Number: and I fliall never doubt your candid Interpretation of my Condud ; nor indeed your Zeal to vindicate it, when you are acquainted with my Reafons, which any of you fhall, who hath Caufe to all: them. But that no Injuflice may be done to thofe whom I poftpone, any more than to myfelf: I befeech you to confide-r, and, if needful, to fay in their Behalf, that though deficient in Knowledo'e, thev mav have a Goodnefs of Heart, more valuable than the higheft Knowledge : though not qualified yet, they P 3 may 23© '^he Arcbl;iJhoJ) of Cant erbvry's may be foon 3 may already have made a good Progrefs, though not a fufficietit one 5 may indeed have more Learning on the Whole, than many who are admitted, only not have applied themfelves enough to theo- logical Learning. Examination mud occafionally be repeated after Perfons have been ordained. The 39th Canon requires it before Lnftitution to Bene- fices : therefore furely it is advifable alfo be- fore Admiffion to Curacies. A Man, who was fit to be ordained, may have become iince, through Negligence, or bodily Indif- pofition affecling his Mind, unfit to be em- ployed: or he may be capable ftill of what he was ordained for, but not of what he applies for: or his Ordainer, though ever fo duly careful, may fometimes have miftaken, or been mifmformed : and if he hath chanced to be too indulgent, the bad Effects of his Indulgence ought to be prevented^ Accordingly Re-examination is common. My Brethren the Bifhops, I am fure, will not blame me for ufing it : and I truft, you my Brethren will not. When Jirjl Charge fo bis Cltlrcy. 231 When a Curate nominated hath been exa- mined and approved, the next Step is, to appoint him a Salary. And here I am very feniible, that what is far from a comfortable M.iintenance for Life, may however be a tolerable Competency at iirfl:: and like wife, that fome Benefices are fo mean, and fome Incumbents in fuch low Circumftances, or burthened with fo numerous Families, that they muft be excufed, if they endeavour to get Help on as eafy Terms, as they well can. But if any Minifter, who hath either a large Preferment, or two moderate ones, or a plentiful temporal Income, tries to make a hard Bargain with his Brother, v;hom he employs ; and is more folicitous to give the fmalleft Salary poffible, than to find the worthieft Perfon j it is Matter of fevere and juft Reproach: the Friends of the Clergy will be fcandalized at it : their Enemies will take dreadful Advantages of it: indeed the People in general, if we think a Trifle enough for him that doth the Work, will be apt to conceive it very needlefs, that he, who doth little or nothing, fliould have a great deal more. For this Reafon therefore, P 4 amongft 232 I'he Archbifiop ^p/Canterbury'^ amongft imcomparably weightier ones, \\ concerns you much, both to labour dili- gently, and to allow liberally. Accordingly I hope I fhall never have the difagreeable Office thrown upon me of augmenting what is propofed, but the Satisfaction given me of confirming and applauding it. But belides making a reafonable Allow- ance, the Minifter of a Parish ought to provide, with the kindeft Attention in all Refpeds, for the Convenience and Accom-r modation, the Credit and Influence, of his Curate : who is bound in Return to confult faithfully the Minifter^s Honour and Intereft in every thing ^ but above all, to be un- wearied in that bed. Proof of his Grati- titude, a confcientious Care of the Souls com- mitted to him ; not proportioning his Dili- gence to the poor Recompence paid hirn here, but to the unfpeakable Happinefs re- ferved for good Shepherds hereafter. Indeed whether the Principal, or his Re- prefentative, or both refide, their Induftry and Fervency and Prudence will be the Meafure of their people's Benefit, and their own final Acceptance. If you content your- felves firji Charge to his Clergy. 2^5 felves with a languid formal Recital of ftated Offices, and by Indolence, or Amufements, or Bufinefs, or even Studies, are loft to your PariHiioners, while you are in the Midft of them, or by Indifcrctions in Converfation, Drefs, or Demeanour, become dilliked or defpifed by them, you may in Refpedl of any fpiiitual Ufefulnels to them or your- felves, be, almoft as well, perhaps better, ever fo far off. But this is no Excufe for being abfent, but only a Reafon for being prefent to good Purpole. And as the Non- relidence of fome, the unadive Refidence of others, and the oft»;nfive Condu(5t of a third Sort, (which caufe great Sorrow, but mo- derate Complaints amongft wife and good People,) are favourite Topics of Invedive againft us, not only in the Mouths of irre- ligious Perfons, but of a new Sed pretend- ing to the ftrideft Piety ; though we are bound always, we are peculiarly bound at prefent, to behave in fo exemplary a Man- ner, as will cut off Occajion from them 'which dcfire Occafwfi to glory ^ of themfelves, and fpeak Evil of us. It is not rendering to * 2 Cor. xi. 12. them 2 3 4- ^^'^ ArchUfiop (^/^CANTERBURy'i them Railing for Railing^'., it is not ridicu-* ling them, efpecially in Terms bordering on Profanenefs, or arfeding more gravely to hold them in Contempt ^ it is not doing them the Honour of mifcalling other Perfons of more than ordinary Serioufnefs by their Name, that will prevent the Continuance cr the Increafe of the Harm, which they are doing. The only Way is, for the Clergy to imitate and emulate what is good in them, avoiding what is bad : to attend their Cures, edify their Parifhioners with awakening, but rational and fcriptural, Dif- courfes, converfe much with them as Watch- men for their ^ouh^ ^ be fiber, grave, tenipe-^ rate, and fl jew themf elves in alll^hings Patterns cf good Works ^ If the People fee, or but imagine, their Minifter unwilling to take more Pains about them, or preferve more Guard upon himfelf than for Shame he muft, no Wonder if it alienates them powerfully both from him and his Dodrine : whereas when they perceive him careful to inflrud: them, and go before them, in whatever is their Duty to do, they will hearken to him * I Pel. iJi. 9. • Heb. xiii. 17, ^ Tit. ii. 2, 7. with firjl Charge to his Clergy. 235 with great Regard, when he cautions them againft overdoing j and be unlikely tofeekfor imaginary Improvements abroad from Irre- gularities and Extravagances, vvhilft they experience themfelves really improved at Home in an orderly efiablidied Method. But then, to improve them effcdually to their future Happinefs, as well as to filence falfe Accufers,you nuifl be affiduous in teach- ing the Principles, not only of Virtue and natural Religion, but of the Gofpel: and of the Gofpel, not as almofl: explained away by modern Refiners, but as the Truth is in ytfus^y as it is taught by the Church, of which you are Members ; as you have en- gaged, by your Subfcriptions and Declara- tions, that you will teach it yourfelves. You mud: preach to them Faith in the ever- bleffed Trinity: and vindicate, when it is re- quiiite, thofe Parts of our Creeds and OiHces which relate to that Article, from the very unjufl: Imputations of Abfurdity and Uncharitablenefs which have been caft upon them. You mull: fet forth the original Corruption of our Nature; our Redemption, sEph. iv. 21. cccording £3^ 'The Archbijlop o/'CANTERBURY*i' according to God's eternal Purj-zofe in Chrijl ^, by the Sacrifice of the Crols j our Sandifica- tion by the Influences of the Divine Spirit ^ the InfufHcieney of our own good Works, and the Efficacy of Faith to Salvation : yet handling thefe Points in a doctrinal, not controverfial Manner, uniefs particularly call- ed toiti and even then treating Adverfaries with Mildnefs and Pity, not with Bitternefs or immoderate Vehemence. The Truth, I fear, is, that many, if not moft of us, have dwelt too little on thefe Dodrines in our Sermons : by no means, in general, from dilbelieving or flighting them; but partly from knowing, that formerly they had been inculcated beyond their Proportion, and even to the Difparagement of Chriftian Obedience; partly from fancying them fo generally received and remembered, that little needs to be faid, but on fecial Obligations; partly again from not having ftudied Theo- logy deeply enough, to treat of them ably and beneficially: God grant it may never have been for Want of inwardly experiencing their Im- \ Eph. iii. II. portancc. fir ft Charge to /?>/; ClergV. 237 portance. But whatever be the caufe, the Ef- fed hath been lamentable. Our People have grown lefs and lefs mindful, firft of the dif- tinguifliing Articles of their Creed, then, as will always be the Cafe, of that one, which they hold in common with the Heathens -, have forgot in Effed: their Creator as well as their Redeemer and Sanctlfier; feldom or never ferioufly worfhipping him, or think- ing of the State of their Souls in Relation to him; but flattering themfelves, that what they are pleafed to call a moral and harmlefs Life, though far from being either, is the one Thifig needful. Reflections have been made upon us, of different Natures, and with dif- ferent Views, on Account of thefe Thing?, by Deifts, by Papifts, by Brethren of our own, which it is eafy to fliew have been much too fevere. But the only complete Vindica- tion of ourfelves will be to preach fully and frequently the Dodlrines, which we are un- juftly accufed of cafling ofl' or undervaluing : yet fo, as to referve always a due Share of our Difcourfes, which it is generally reported fomeofourCenfurers do not, for the common Duties of common Life, as did our Saviour and 53S "The Archhijljop ^Canterbury'! and his Apoftles. But then we muft enforce them chiefly by Motives peculiarly Chriftian i I will not fay, only by fuchj for the Scrip- ture adds others. And while we urge on our Hearers the Necefiity of univerfal Holinefs, we muft urge equally that of their being found in Chriji 3 7iGt haviftg ihsir own Righ- teoufnefsy which is of the Law, but the Righ^ teoufnefsy which is of God by Faith ^ Copious and intereuing as the Subjed is, I muft now conclude. And I befeech you, Bre^ thren, fiiffir the Word of Exhortation^ : for I have fpoken to you from the Simplicity of a plain Heart, and the Sincerity of a deep Concern for the Interefts of the Church of Chrift, and the everlafting Welfare of every one of you: not as condemning, not as dif- efteeming you, very far from it, but as being jealous over you with godly Jealoufy, and deeply affeded with the prefent State of Re- ligion amongft us. Wickednefs, Profane- nefs, avowed infidelity, have made a dreadful Progrefs in this Nation. The civil Power, in moft Cafes, doth little to check that Pro- grefs : and it is an Unhappincfs in our moft ^Phil. iii. 9. * Heb, xiii. 22, happy Jirjl Charge to his Clergy. i^C) happy Conflitutlon, that it cannot eafily, if at all, do what one might widi. Eccl^fi- aftical Authority is not only too much limited but too much defpifed, as Matters now ftand amongO: us, to do almoft any Thing to Parpofe. In the fmall Degree, that it can be exerted ufefully, I hope it will, and promife my utmod: Endeavours, in all Cafes notified to me, that it (hall. But the main Support of Piety and Morals confifls in the parochial Labours of the Clergy. If our Country is to be preferved from utter Profligatenefs and Ruin, it muft be by our Means: and, take Notice, we cannot lofe our Influence, but in a great Meafure by our own Fault. If we look on what we are apt to call our Livings only as our Lireli- hoods, and think of little more than living on the Income of them according to our own Inclinations: if, for Want of (3 good Coji- fcience or Faith unfeigned}^ we forfeit the Protecftion of God j and by Worldlincfs, or Indolence, or Levity in Behaviour, Talk, or Appearance, (for grofs Vices I put out of the Queftion) lofe, as we aflured fliall, the * I Tim, i. 5. Reverence 240 T^he Archhijlop o/^CANTERBURY'i Reverence of Mankind : there will be n6 Foundation left for us to ftand upon. Our legal Eftablifhment will fhalte and fink un- der us, if once it can be faid we do the Public little Service -, and much fooner if we are fufpcded of difquieting it. Wicked Peo- ple will attack us without Referve ; the good will be forced to condemn and give us up : and well would it be for us if this were the word. // is a f mall lihing to be judged of Mans 'Judgment : He, that judgeth us, is the luord^. But while we teach the genuine Truths of the Gofpel, and evidently feel the Truths we teach ; and are more anxious about the Souls of Men, than our own Pro- jfit, or Pleafure, or Power; while we fubmit Gurfelves dutifully and affedionately, (as we never had greater Caufe) to the Ki7ig and thofe who are put in Authority under him 5 had quiet and peaceable Lives i:i all Godlinefs and honejly^', and join to our Piety and Loyalty and Virtue, but a common fhare of Prudence: we (hall, in Spite of Enemies, through his Mercy, who hath promifed ta be with us alway"", not fail of beiug upheld, » I Cor. iv. 3, 4. "I Tim. ii. 7.. • Matth. xxviii. 20. The firji Charge to his Clergy. 241 The religious will ejleejn us 'very highly in Love for our Work's Sake ^ : the wife in their Generation'^, though not religious, will per- ceive our Importance : the vicious and defti- tute of Principle will be awed by us : and the Seed of the Word, however trampled under Foot by feme, will fpring up and bear Fruit in the Hearts of many. Let us think then ferioufly, what depends on us, what it requires of us, and give otirfehesivhol- ly to it\ God hath placed us in a Station of Difficulty and Labour, at prefent alfo of Re- proach and Contempt from great Numbers of Men. But ftill, if we only learn to value our Fundion juftly, and love it fin- cerely, we fliall be unfpeakably happier in difcharging the Duties of it, than we pof- fibly can be in any Thing clfe. The Things, in which the World places Happinefs, are very Trifles. We may plainly fee them to be fuch now, if we will : and we fliall fee in a little Time, whether we will or nor, that the only real Point of Moment is, to have approved o\x:^c\\ts good andfaithfid Ser^ p I ThefT. V. 13. <» Lukexvi. 8. ' I Tim. iv. 15. Q^ vants 242 7he Ahp, o/'CANTERBURY'i Charge, 5cc^ vants^ to our great Mafter. Let us all therefore bear in Mind continually, how Matters will appear to us then j and heartily pray and earneftly endeavour, Jo to pafs through Things temporal , that ive finally lofe not the Things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Je/us Chrijt's Sake, our Lord\ » Matth. XXV. 21. * Coll. 4th Sunday after Trinity, A CHARGE A CHARGE DISTRIBUTED TO THE CLERGY of the Diocese OF CANTERBURY, In the Year 1762. The Archbishop bcin^; hindered by Illnefs from vifuing thcin in Pcrfon. Qj2 Reverend Brethren^ IT having pleafed God that I fliould live to come amongft you a fecond Time, I think it my Duty to proceed with the fame Kind of Exhortations, which I gave you at firfl:. For though many Subjeds of Inftruc- tion might be proper, there is a peculiar Propriety in thofe, which relate more im- mediately to your Condud : and though I might very juftly give you, in general, Praife inftead of Advice, yet they who dcferve the moft of the former, will be mod defirous of the latter, knowing how much Need of it the bed of us have. And I hope the Freedoms which I {hall take with you in this Refpe6t, will the rather be pardoned, as I both permit and intreat you to ufe the fame with me, v/hen Occafion requires it; being fincerely 0^3 difpofed, 246 The ArchbiJJjop of Canterbury's difpofed, if I know myfelf, to fet you an Example of Docility. I began with your Obligation to Refidence ; and the Appointment of Curates, either to fupply your Abfence when you could not re- fide, or to afliO: you when the Work was too heavy for you. And then I entered a little into the common Duties of Incumbents and Curates, in which I fhall now make fome further Progiefs: more folicitous about the Importance of Direiflions, than the Accuracy of Method; and ufing no other Apology, if I fhould happen to repeat what I have given you in Charge already, than that of the Apoftle : To fay the fame Things, to me is not grievous, and for ycu it isfafe '*. The fame Apoflle's Admonition Co Timothy is. Take Heed unto thyfelf and to the Do^rine°, The main Point is what he begins with, the Care of our Temper and Behaviour. For without that, our Preaching will feldom be fuch as it ought, and fcarceever bring forth its proper Fruits. Now a Chriftian Temper confifts of various Parts : but the |irft Impreflion, which a genuine Faith in ? Phil.iii. i; ^ i Tim. iv. 16. the fecofid Charge fo Lis Clergy, 247 the Gofpel makes on the Soul, and the ruling Principle, which it fixes there, is a deep Senfe of Love to God and our Fellow- creatures, producing an earneft Defire, that we and they may be. for ever happy in his Prefence. Whoever therefore is deftitute of this Feeling, ought not, though free from grofs Vices, to become a Clergyman : and without obtaining it from the Giver of all good Things by fervent Prayer, no Man is qualified to fill the Place of one. For not- "withftanding that he may preferve fome Form of Godlinefsy without which he would be milchievous and (hocking in the highefl Degree : yet not having the Reality and Power thereof ^j he muft profefs, and feem- ingly attempt to make others what he is far from being himfelf. Confequently his Endeavours out of the Pulpit will be infre- quent, reludlant, faint : and in it they will at bcfl: be unnatural and ungraceful, what- ever Pains he may take in his Compofitions, or whatever Vehemence he may affedl in his Delivery. Hence he will be diflatisfied ivithin, detededand difcrteemed by thejudi- « 2 Tim. iii. 5. 0^4 cioui 248 ^he Archhifloop ^ C A N t e R b u R y V cions Part of his Hearers, and of little Ufc to the reft, if lie is not even hurtful by milleading them. Or whatever his Cafe may be amongft Men, his inward Want of the Piety, which he outwardly pretends to, mufl: render him uncommonly guilty in the Sisht of God. Heaven forbid, that I fliould have Need to enlarge on fuch a Charader in this Audience. But have we not mod of us Caufe to apprehend, that our religious Principles, though fincere, are not fufficiently exerted; and therefore produce not the Fruit, which they might? Do we not rather take it for granted, that we approve ourfelves to be duly in earneH:, than find on impartial Examina- tion, that we do? No Man fliould rafnly fay or furmife this of another ; but every one fliould fearch H^ome into it for himfelf. And we fliould attentively read the Scriptures, and the Treatifes written by wife and good Men concerning; the Duties of God's Mini- flers : to fee if we are fuch as they defcribe» and ftir up ourfelves to become fuch as we ought. Good Inclinations, thus excited, will not fail, fecond Charge to his Clergy. 249 fail, through the Afliftance of divine Grace, of direding us into a fuitable Conduct:. And were a Man, who confelledly means well, to overdo a little fomctimes, the Rightnefs of his Intention would plead his Excufc very ftrongly. However, we (houldcarefully avoid Extremes, even on the better Side: not give uncominanded Demonftrations of our Chnflian Zeal, when they will probably ferve no good Purpofe, and be deemed Oitentation, or turned into Ridicule, or provoke ill Humour : but reftrain, according as Times and Places and Company may require, the Sentiments winch elfe we could be gldd to utter. Only we muft do this in fuch a Manner, as not to tempt the mod rigid FrofeiTir of Religion to imagine, or the moft profligate Enemy of it to fuggefl, that we have little or none : but flievv our Concern for it on every fit Occafiun, with full as much Diligence, as we decline unfit ones. And here, I conceive, it is, that we of the Clergy are chiefly apt to fail. We do not always appear in the common Jntercourfes of Life, fufiiciently penetrated with the Importance of our Fandion, or iutliciently 250 ^be Archbljhop c/^Canterbury'j fufficlently afiiduous to promote the Ends of our Miffion. Too poffibly a great Part of our People may like the lukewarm amongft us the better for refembling themfelves, and giving them no Uneafinefs on Comparifon, but feeming to authorize their Indifference, But then, fuch of us can do them no Good. Our Example can teach them Nothing beyond a little decent Regularity, in which they will fancy they need not quite come up to us neither. Our Sermons, and reading of Prayers, they will confider only as Matters of Form: and finding in us hardly any Thing at other Times of what we exprefs at thefe, they will prefume, that our inward Regard to it is not very great, and that they are not bound to have more. Therefore if they are pleafed with us, if they efteem us, while we continue to be of this Turn, it muft be for fomething foreign from our Office, fomething of a middle, or it may be a blameable Nature, not as Teachers of the Gofpel : a Charader which they take us to lay afide as much as we well can. And fo the better they think of Us, the more lightly they fecond Charge to bisCL'Ev.GY. 2 5 F they will think of our Minller ; till at length they join with thole avowed Infidels, who boldly affirm, though often againfl: their own Confciences, that we believe not what we preach, elfe it would have more Influence upon us. Then, at the fame Time, the right Difpo- fitionsof well inclined Perfons will languifh and decay, for Want of that Countenance and Affiftance in ferious Piety, which they fhould receive from their Paftors. For if the Tokens of our Piety be confined to the Church, they will be of little Service either out of it, or in it. Or if fome good People fuffer no Harm themfelves from our Defeds, they will fee with great Sorrow that others do : all of them will be much readier to think the Clerical Older in general carelefs and light, if thofe are fo, of whom they fee moft : their Ears will be open to the Invec- tives, which artful or heated Men are daily pouring forth againfl us; they will eafily be led to undervalue and mifconflrue the befl Inftrudions of thofe, with whom they are difgufted ; and run after any Teachers, who have the powerful Recommendation, for it 252 The ArM/fiopofC ANTE JiBVKY*s it will always, and no Wonder, be a very powerful one, of feeming more in earneft. The Irregularities and Divifions which have prevailed fo lamentably in our Church of late, are greatly owing to an Opinion, that we are ufually indixFerent about vital inward Religion, It is tru's, the Spreaders of this Imputation, which hath been monftroufly exaggerated, will have much to anfwcr for : but fo fhall we alfo, unlefs we take the only Way to filence it, by cutting off hereafter all Occalion for it. Now the firft neceffiry Step to feem good is to be fo; for mere Pretence will be fccn through: and the next is, to let your Light Jhine before Meji^, in the faithful and laborious Ei^ercife of your fundion. Living amongll your Parifhoners, or as near them as may be: inquiring frequently and perfonally con- cerning the Welfare and Behaviour of thofe, with whom you cannot be ftatedly prefent^ reverent and judicious Reading of the Prayers and Leffons in your Churches, inflrudive and affeding Sermons delivered with dif- creet Warmth, Readinefs to take extraor- •* Matt. V 16. J dinary fecond Charge /o /j/i Clergy. 25^ dinary Pains for the occafional AfTidance of your Brethren, Diligence in forming the Youth to a Senfe of their Chriftian Duty, in bringing your People to the holy Com- munion, and where it can be,, to Weck-Day Prayers: all thefe Thing will tend very much both to your Ufefulnefs and your Credit. Relieving or obtaining Relief for fuch as are diftrefled in their Circumftances: hearing your People willingly and patiently, though perhaps low in Rank or weak in Underftanding, when they would confult you upon any Difficulty, and anfwering them with Confideration andTendernefs: difpofino- them to be vifited when fick, praying by them with Fervency, exhorting and comfort- ing them with Fidelity, Compaflion and Prudence; and reminding them ftrongly, yet mildly, after their Recovery, of their good Thoughts and Purpofcs during their Illnefs; will be further Proofs, very beneficial and very engaging ones, of your Serioufnefs: which however you muft complete by going through every other Office of Religion with Dignity. I will fpecify two. One 2 54 ^'^^ Archbijhop c/"Canterbury*j One is that of Baptlfm: which, efpecially when adminiftered in private Houfes without Neceffity, is too often treated, even during the Adminiflration, rather as an idle Cere- mony than a Chriftian Sacrament: or how- ever that be, is commonly clofe followed by very unfuitablc, if not otherwife alfo indecent Levity and Jollity. Now in thefe Circum- ftancesit is highly requifite, that the Minifter ihould, by a due Mixture of Gravity and Judgement, fupport the Solemnity of the Or- dinance ; and either prevent Improprieties in the Sequel, or if it be doubtful whether he can, excufe himfelf, with a civil Intima- tion of the Unfitnefs of them, from being prefent. The other Inflance is, that of faying Grace over our daily Food: which many, if not moft, of the Laity have, with a Profane- nefs more than heathenifii, laid afide: and I am forry to add, that fome of the Clergy hurry it over fo irreverently, in a Mutter or a, Whifper, fcarce, if at all, intelligible, that one might queftion, v/hether they had not better lay it afide too, which yet God forbid, than make it thus infignificant; and expofe to fecond Charge io his Clergy. 255 to Contempt an Ad of Devotion, and them- felves along with it, as doing what they are afhamed of. Indeed far from authorizing any Slights of this Sort by our Example, and as it were our Confent, we muO: through our whole Converfation fteadily and refolutely, though with Mildnefs and Modefty, always keep up the Honour of Religion and our Order, which is infeparable from our own : never fpeak a Word, or ufe a Gefture, which can with the leafl Colour be interpreted, as if we had fmall Regard to our Profeffion, or exercifed it chiefly for a Maintenance : never repeat, never hear, Difcourfes of an irreli- gious or immoral Turn, without exprefling a plain Difapprobation, briefly or at large, as the Cafe may require : yet be on all Occa- fions courteous, and on proper Occafions cheerful j but let it be evidently the Cheer- ful nefs of ferious Men. FooUjlj Talking and yefling are not con^cenient'', not becoming any Perfon : but thofe leaft of all, who fliould know beft, that every idle Word ivhicb Men fiall fpeak ^ they Jhall give an Account * Eph. V. 4. thereof, 256 T!hc ArchhtJIdOp ^Canterbury*^ thereof i according to its Tendency, in the "Day cf yudgment^. Unfeafonable or exceffive Mirth fits peculiarly ill upon him whofe Office muft or ought to bring before his Mind fo frequently, the Afiiidions of this mortal State, the Holinefs of God's Law, his own grievous Imperfedlions, the de- plorable Sins of many others, and the final Sentence, that awaits us all. Doubtlefs we fhould endeavour to make Religion agreeable; but not to make ourfelves agreeable, by leading our Company to forget Religion. We fhould every one of uspleafe his Neighbour for his Good^ : but not fo pleafe Men^ as to fail in the Charader of Servants of Chrif ^^ We fliould be jnade, in a fitting Senfe and Meafurc, all Things to all Men, that we may hy all Means fave fome' : but we fhall lofe ourfelves, not lave others, if we are quite different Perfons in the Pulpit and out of it : nor can we act a more incongruous Part, than to chufe raifing and promoting the Laugh for our Province in Ccnverfation, inftead of duly rellraining our own Liveli- f Matt. xii. 36. 8 Rom. XV. 2. ''Gal.i. 10, ' I Cor, ix. 22, nefs fecond Chargi to his Cle R G r . 2 57 nefs and that of others. For out of the Abundance oj the Heart the Mouth fpeaketh ^ : and our Hearts ought to abound with better Things. I own, both affcded and exceflive Reftraint will do Harm. But if we are fincerely pious, and endeavour to be prudent, we fhall combine ufeful Informations and Refledions with harmlefs Entertainment: our Speech 'will be with Grace, feafoned with Salty that we may know how we ought to anjwer every Mari" : we iliall prove that we have the End of our Minilky conftantly Jn View, by drawing profitable LefTons, ifrequently, but naturally, out of Topics of Indifferences and bringing back the Dif- courfe, if it goes afrray, from exceptionable or unfafe Subjeds, to innocent ones; yet if pofiible without offenfive Reproof, and perhaps imperceptibly. For the Servant of the Lord mufi not ftrive, that is, roughly, and hardily, but be gentle unto all Men ™, even tUe worft. Yet on the other Hand fervile Obfequioufnefs, ov jlattering Words'", even to the beft, are far remote from having ^ Matth.xii. 34. 1 Col. iv. 6. " » Tim. ii. 24. « 1 Th«ir.ii. 5. R our 258 "T/j^jdrcUifiopofCAiiTER^vi^Y's our Ccnverfation in Simplicity a7td godly Sin^ cerity ", Talking with great Earneftnefs about Worldly Affairs^ or with great Delight about Diverfions and Trifles, betrays a Mind over- much fet upon them: and Numbers will reprefent the Cafe, as \vorre than it is. Nay, our being only in a very peculiar De* gree good Judges of fuch Matters, or of any that are unconneded with our Office, ■will, uhlefs we have fome efpecial Call to them, be commonly thought to imply, that we have fludied and love them beyond what We ought, to the Negledt of oUr proper Bufinefs. For we are not to expedl very favourable Conftrudions from Mankind: yet it greatly imports us to have their good Opinion J which we fhali not fecure, unlefs in whatever other Lights they may fee us Occafionally, the worthy Clergyman be the predominant Part of our Characfter. If practical Chriftian Piety and Benevolence and Self Government, with conflant Zeal to promote them all upon Earth, are not the fifft and chief Qu^alities, which your • 2 Cor, i, 12. Parifhioners ^econd Charge fo bisCLT^RGv* i^g Pariftiloners and Acquaintance will afcribe to you; if they will fpenk of you, as noted on other Accounts, but pafs over thefe Articles; and when aiked about them, be at a Lofs what to fay, excepting poffibly that they know no Harm of you; all is not right: nor can fuch a Clergy anfwer the Defign of its Inflitution any where; or even maintain its Ground in a Country of Freedom and Learn- ing, though a yet worfe may in the Midft of Slavery and Ignorance. Adually fharing in the Gaieties and A- mufements of the World will provoke Cen- fure ftill more, than making them favourit* Subjedls of Difcourfe. I do not fay, that Recreations, lawful in themfelves, are un- lawful to us: or that thofe which have been formerly prohibited by ecclefiaftical Rules, merely as difreputable, may not ceafe to be fo by Change of Cuftom. But flill not all things lawful are expedient p, and certainly thefe Things, further than they are in Truth requifite for Health of Body, Refrefliment of Mind, or fome really valuable Purpofe, are all a Mifemployment of our leifure * 1 Cor. vi. ii, K 2 Hours, * 26o I'be ArchlpiJJjop of Cahtekbvry^s Hours, which we ought to fet our People a Pattern of filling up well. A Minifter of God's Word, atreniive to his Duty, will neither have Leifure for fuch Diffipations, public or domeftic, nor Liking to them. He will fee, that Pleafure, or rather a wretched AfFedlation of it, is become the Idol of Mankind 3 to which they are facri- ficing their Fortunes, their Families, their Healths, their Reputations, their Regard to God, to their fecial Duties, to the State of .their Souls^ i^^- cheir future Being. Now what are the Clergy to do in this Cafe ? If we but feem to go along with them, who fhali call them back ? For as to the Pretence of keeping them within Bounds by our Prefencej it is vifibly a mere Pretence. Or were it not, the older and graver of us would fure- ly think fuch a Superintendency no very honourable one : and few of the younger and livelier could be fafely trufted with it. Indeed we none of us know, into what Improprieties of Behaviour, at lead: what Wrongnefs of DifpoHtion we may be drawn by i\\tevilCommu?iicatio?is of thefe AiTemblies : whether, if happily they (liould not otherwife corrupt fccond Charge to h'is Clergy. 261 corrupt our good M(in?iers 'i, we may not how- ever grow inwardly fond of them; come to think our profeffion a dull one, and the Calls of it troublefomci throw off" as much of the Burthen as we can, and perform with Reludance and cold Formality the Remain- der, which we mull. At leaft it will be fufpecfted, that we cannot greatly difapprove the Cuftoms in which we voluntarily join, the Perfons with whom we familiarly afTociate, or indeed any Thing faid or done where we delight to be: that if we do not go the utmoll Lengths, yet we fhould, if for Shame we durff: for thefe Things are our Choice, not the Duties of our Miniftry ; which therefore Declaimers will fay we are not fincere in, or how- ever unfit for. And even they, who plead our Example as a Precedent for themfelves, will ufually honour us much the lefs for fctting it. Still I do not mean, that we fliould be four and morofej condemn innocent Relax- ations, and provoke men to fay, that we rail Qut of Envy at what we have abfurdly tied ^i Cor. XV. 3^. R 3 up 262 The Archbifiop of Canterbury'^ up ourfelves from partaking of: but expref^ our Diflike of them as mildly as the Cafe will bear; flight with good Humour the Indulgences, in which others falfely place their Happinefsj and convince them by our Experience as v/ell as Reafoning, how very comfortably they may live without them. It is true, paying Court to the gay and inconfiderate by Imitation of them, may often be the fhorter, and fometimes thefurer Way to their Favour^ But the Favour of the fafliionable World is not our Aim : if it be, we have chofen our Profeflion very unwifely. And though we fliould fucceed thus with fuch Perfons in Point of Intereft, we rauft not hope even for their Efteem. For they will both think and fpeak with the lowed: Contempt of the complying Wretch, whom yet for their own Convenience or Humour they will carefs, and now and then prefer. Our PredecefTors, that their abilaining from indifcreet Levities might be notorious, wore conftantly the peculiar Habit of their Order. And certainly we fhould be more refpedted, if we follov^'ed their Example iq this fecond Charge to bis Clj^^gw 263 this moreuniverfally. They complained of no Inconveniencies from it: nor did I ever, in a Courfe of many Years, find any worth naming. In the primitive and perfccuting Times indeed Clergymen wore no pecu- liar Drefs: and long after were didin- guidied only by retaining a greater Simplicity of Garb than others. But gradually Superiors difcerned Reafons for enjoying a different 5ort: and furely others may well pay them fo far the Obedience promlfed to them, as always to (hew by fome evident and proper Marks, (for Nothing qiore is expeded) of what Clafs of Men they are. If you do not, it will be faid, either that you are aihamed of your Caufe, or confcious of your Unfkilfulnefs to defend it, or that you conceal yourfelves to take occafionally unfit Liberties. Indeed fome external Reftraints of this Kind, merely as an Admonition airainft unfeemly Difcourfe and Condudl and Company, would, though not prefcribed, be very advifeable for young Clergymen: amongft whom they, who dilllke them the n:koIt, might fometimes perceive, that they Jiave the moft need of them. And we R 4 thit 264 ^he ArchhiJJoop ofCAiiT'ERBVRY's that are older, ftiould keep up the Cuftom for their Sakes, though unnecefTary for our own. Befides, we may all prevent, by fuch Notification of ourfelves, a great deal of unbecoming Talk and Deportment in others : and fo efcape both the Difagreeable- nefs of reproving it, and the Impropriety of not reproving it. Or, if after all it cannot be prevented, they who are offended with it, will immediately fee in us a Refufe from it. But then a Habit, vifibly a Clergyman's, muft be fuch in every Part as befits a Clergyn'ian : have no Look of Efi^eminacy or Love of Finery in it^ For we had better put on the Lay Drefs intirely, than difgrace the Clerical one. And it is doubly contemptible, firft to fhew what a Fondnefs we have for Things utterly beneath us, and then how poorly we are able to indulge it. Therefore let us be uniform : and as our Charadler is a truly venerable one, let us think we do ourfelves Honour by wearing the ancient Badges of it. I need not add, that our whole Demeanour fhouldbeanfwerable to * Uiercn. aJNepotian, §. 9. our fecond Charge to hh Clergy. 265 our Cloathing : that Softnefs and Delicacy of Manner, Skill in the Science ot Eatinfy', and the Perfedion ot Liquors, in fliort every Ap- proach to luxurious Gratification, is ftrangely out of Place in one, who hath devoted hini- fiblf to endure Hardnefs as a good Soldier of Jefus Chri/l \ Still we ought to judge very charitably of thole, who take greater Liberties, than we dare: never blame them more, feldom fo much as they defervej and confine our Severity to our own Pracftice. Only we mufl watch with moderate Stridnefs over our Families alio: not only keeping up the joint feparate Worlhip of God in them, which I hope no Clergyman omits, but forming them to every part of Piety and Virtue and Prudence. St. Paul requires, that not only Deacons^ but their Wives be grave"" : and that the higher Clergy be fuch, as rule well their oicn Hou/es, having their Children in SubjeBion with all Gravity: for if a Man know not how to ride his own Hcufe, how Jhall he take Care of the Church • Hieron. ad Nepotian. §.6. '2 Tim, ii. 3. • I Tiili, Ui. 9. u. i66 7hc ^'cbl>/fiop of Canterbury's of God'''' ^^ Whence we have all promifed at QVjr Ordination, to Jrame and fajhion our FafmlieSj together with ourielves, accor£?ig ta th^ JOo^rine of Chrifty and to make them^ as mu^b as in us lietht wholefome Examples and P^iUKNs to his Flock, They are naturally the firfl Objeds of our Care : we have peculiar Opportunities of inilruding and reftraining tjic^n^. If we negkdt them, we fhall never be ihought to have much Concern for Oi^hers; if vve are unfuccefsful with them, ^ei rhaii be deemed very unfkilful j and bid iti J^k at Home before we reprove the refl of our Flock. But exhibiting Inftances of QoDdnefs and Happinefs, produced under our own Roofs by the Methods, to which we di- rect thofe around us, muft needs add fingular "VV'tight to our Exhortations. For the Importance of the Rules hitherto 1^ down, we have the Judgment of a moft ahk and fuhile and determined enemy, the l^v^p^soT Julian: whodefigningtore-eftabliih Pagvini(m, and accounting, as he declares, the Stridntfs and Sandity, profeiitd by Chrif- tiJ^ns, to be a principal Caufe of the Prevalence ^ I Tim. V.4, 5. of d Jccond Charge to his Cl'^^.gy. 267 ©f their Fa'uh, in two of his Epiftles gives Diredlions, undoubtedly copied trom the In- junctions obfcrved by die Clergy of thole Days, that the He«then Priefts be Men of ferious Tempers and Deportment ; that they neither utter, nor hear, nor read, nor think of any Thing licentious or indecent; that they ba- nifli-far from them all oiTenfjve Jefts and libertine Converfation: be neither expenfive nor (hewi(h in their Apparel ; go to no En- tertainments but fuph as are made by the worthieft Perfonsj frequent no Taverns: appear but feldom in Places of Concourfe ; never be feen at the public Games and Spectacles; and take Care that their Wives and Children and Servants be pious, as well as themfelves^. Let not, I entreat you, thi§ Apoftate put us to Shame, But Clergymen, u^ho are ferious in their wholp Behaviour, and the Care of their Fa- milies alfo, are often too unadive amongft their People: apt to think, that if they perform regularly the ordinary OfHces of ;hc Church, exhort from the Pulpit fuc'h * Ep. 49. ad ^i^■fac. P. 430, 431. Fragm. Ep. p. ^01—305. 4 as 268 The Archbifiop c/'C ante reury'j as will come to hear them, and anfwer the common occafional Calls of parochial Duty they have done as much as they need or well can, and fo turn themfelves to other Matters : perhaps never vifit fome of their Parifhioners ; and with the reft enter only into the fame Sort of Talk, that any one elfe would do. Now St. Paul faith he taught the Ephefians both publicly arid from Houfe to Houfe, tejlifying Repentance toward God, and Faith toward our Lordjefus Chriji ^ ^ and ceafed not to warn every one Day and Night ^. He alfo commands Timothy to preach the Word, and be injiant in Seafon and out of Seafon* 'y at ftated Times and others; not forcing Advice upon Perfjns, when it was likelier to do Harm than good : but prudently improving lefs favourable Oppor- tunities, if no others offered. Thus unquef- tionably fliould we do. And a chief Rea- fon, why we have fo little Hold upon our People is, that we converfe with them fo little, as Watchmen over their Souls. The Paftors of the foreign Proteftants out do us pteatly in this Refpe^t, and are honoured in y A^s XX. 20, 2 1. »Ver. 31. 'sTim. iv, 2. Proportion, third Charge fo his Clergy. 269 Proportion. The Romifli Priefts have their Laity under their Hands, on one Account or another, almofl continually, and acquire by it an ahfolutc Dominion over them. Both the old DilTenters from our Church, and thofc who are now forming new Separations, gain and preferve a furprifing Influence amongft their Followers by perfonal religious Inter- courfe. Why fhould not we learn from them ? At firft fuch Applications may by Difufe ap- pear ftrange ; and have both their Difficulties and thei: Dangers. But the moft apprehen- five of them will be the fafeft from themj and all will improve their Talents by Prac- tice. On young Perlbns you will be able to make good Imprefiions by Difcourfe with them before Cinfivrr.ztion -, thefe may be renewed in private exhortations afterwards to receive the Sicrament : and the fpiritual Acquaintance, thus begun, may be continued ever alter. Other Means mav be found with grown Perfons : on the firil fettling of a Fa- mily in your Pariih ; on Occafion of any great Sicknefs, or AfHiftion, or Mercy -, on many others, if you feek for them, and en- gage worthy Friends to afiiH: you. Even common tyo Tbe /^rMi/Ix>p of Canterbury's common Converfation may be led very na- tural to Points of Piety and Morals ; and Numbers be induced thus to reading proper Books, to public, to private, to Family De- votion, to Sobriety, Juftice, Alms-giving and Chriftian Love, When once you are \vell got into the Method^ you will proceed with Eafe and Applaufe; provided your whole Charader and Conduift be conliftenti elfe you will fall into total Difgrace j and ^particularly provided you convince your Pa- rifliionersj that you fee^^ not theirs^ but 'them ^. A due Meafure of Difintereftednefs is one main Requifite for the fuccefs of a Clergy- man's Labours. You will therefore avoid all mean Attention to fmall Matters : never be rigorous in your Demands of them j never engage in any Difputes about them, unleil a Part of your Income, too large to be given up, depends upon them. In all Difputes you will prefer difcreet References to Pro- ceedings at Law: and when the latter be- 'come necefTary, carry them on in the faired, the leafl expenfive, the friendlieft Manner* ^ 2 Cor, xii. 14, You fecond Charge to hh Clergv. i^l You will be very tender in your Demand* upon the poor, and very equitable toW'fe^d^ the rich j though you will eonfcierttb^irt]^ preferve all the material Rights, with Whiich you are intruded, for your Succeffjrs, If you find Room and Reafon to improve youf Income, you v*^ill ^o it within Boundis'i attd prove, that no wrong Motive inducers you to it, by living with decent Frugality, pi^^ viding for your Families with ModefAti6n> and going as far as ever you are able in i\^3 of good-natured, ahd efpecially of piou^, li- berality; which are the moft valaac^e Tfl themfelves, the moft incumbent on yoii-, ahd the mofl overlooked by others. For Nothi'rVg- gives greater or jufter Offence, than to fefe a Clergyman intent upoh hoarding, or lux^t^^ ous, or fplentlid, indead of being charitable* Few indeed of our Order have much to fpare : and many have Caufc to wifli f^r k more plentiful Subfiftence. Yet even th^fby and much more the better preferred, if th^^ are earneft feekers and impottiirtite Sdli'^U tors for Promotion, lower their Charag^a-i grievoufly: and fuch as ufe indircd M^and to obtain it, are often providentially difap- pointed; 272 Hke Archhifljop of Canterbury'/ pointed ; or though they fucceed, always diflionour themlclves, and never do much Good to othrrs : whereas the loweft of their Brethren will be jullly refpeded, and may be highly ufeful, if he fubmiLS cr;ntentedly to God's good Providence, and labours to live within the Compafs of his Income : ex- ceeding which, without vifible Neceffity, will bring fome Imputations even upon him, and defervedly a much heavier on fuch as enjoy an ampler Provifion. However inoffenfive we are, we muft expedl to receive, from Time to Time, in- jurious and provoking Treatment, as the Scripture hath forewarned us. We ihall hurt both our own Caufe and that of Religion dreadfully, if we return it : and do Honour to both, if we behave under it calmly, with fuch Meebiefs of Wifdom % as may tend to bring our Adverfaries over, if not to our Sen- timents concerning the Matter in Queftion, whatever it be, yet to a good Opinion of our Meaning and Temper ; or may at icaft, if we fail of Succefs with them, engage more impartial Perfons to countenance and protedl *^ James iii. 13. U5, fecond Charge to his Clergy. 27^ lis. Indeed we ought, if poflible, to keep not only ourfelves, but others, o it of all angry Contefts. We folcmnly promifed at our Ordination, to maintain and jet for- 'wards, as ?nuch as lieth in iis^ ^ietnefs. Peace and Love among all Chrijiian People, and efpecially among them that are or JIM be committed to our Charge: and by fo doing, we are bound never to raife or foment per- fonal, family, parochial, political, or eccle- iiaftical Animoiities, but do all in our Power to compofe and extinguifh them: nor will any Thing conduce more to our Credit or to our Ufefulnefs. The political Party-Spirit is, God be thanked, of late Years much abated. Let us guard againO: the Return of it: fhew, in Word and Deed, becoming Refpedl, as we have great Caufe, to our excellent King, and all who are put in Authority under him: not exercife oiirfehes in Matters too high for us^^ but be quiet and do our own Bufmefs^-y let our Moderation, even where we are concerned to] meddle, be known unto all Men^ ; exercifing it even to •* Pfal. cxxxi. 2. "^ 1 Their, iv. ii. <" Phil. xv. 4. S thofc 2/4 ^^'^^ Arcbhijhp cf Cahterbvry's tbofe who have leaft of it; and always remember, that neither Patriot Love to our earthly Country, nor loyal Attachment to our earthly Sovereign, will be accepted by our heavenly Father, without uniform Obe- dience to the Whole of his Gofpel. Another Point of great Importance to Clergymen is, that they be fludious. This will keep your Money from being fpent un- wifelyi and likewife your Time from being thrown away hurtfully or unprofitably, or hanging heavy on your Hands. It will procure you Reverence too, as Perfons of Knowledge: whereas the idle will, even by the ignorant, be thought deiicient. And which is the main Thing, this alone will enable you to underfland the Bufinefs of your Station, and perform it well. But then you muH; apply to fuch Things chiefly, as will fit you molf to anfwer the great End of your Employment; 2ind ^etermwe whhSt. Paul to know Nothing, comparatively fpeak- ing among ft your People, fuve Chrift Jeftis and him crucified'^. The Concern of a Pa- ri(h Miniller is, to make the loweft of his e r Cor. ii. 2. Congregation ftcond Charge to his Clergy. 27^ Congregation apprehend the Dodrlne of Salvation by Repentance, Faith and Obe- dience; and to labour, that when they know the Way of Life, they may walk in it. If he doth not thefe Things for them, he doth Nothing : and it requires much Con- iideration to find out the proper Methods of doing them, and much Pains and Patience to try one after another. Smooth Difcourfcs, compofed partly in fine Words which they do not underftand, partly in flowing Sen- tences which they cannot ^llow to the End; containing: little that awakens their drowfy Attention, little that inforces on them plainly and home what they muO; do to be faved; leave them as ignorant and un- reformtd as ever, and only lull them into a fatal Security. Therefore bring yourfclves down to their Level j for what fuits the meaneft Chriftian will fuit the higheft: ex- amine if they take in what you fay, and change the Form of it till they do. This I recommend for your firfl: Study : and be alTured, you will improve yourfelves by it no lefs than your Hearers. But fo far as you have Opportunity confiftently with thi?, S 2 ^pply 276 'The /Ir c hi) ifiop of Cant -erbvky's apply to any Part of Science, to every Part you can, that is conneded with your Pro- fefiion : only learn, by weighing carefully the Judgments and Reafonings of others, tp think mcdedly of yourfelves: avoid, in the Outfet of your Inquiries more efpecially, drawing hafty Conclufions : be at leaft as much on your Guard againft Fondnefs of new Opinions, as PrepofTeffion for efta- bliflied Doctrines : and beware of being milled, either by the Pofitivenefs of vehe- ment Writers, or the falfe Colours of art- ful ones. You will doubtlefsculdvate peculiarly thofe Branches of Knowledge, which the Circum- ftances of the Times, or of your Parifhes, peculiarly point out to you. God hath per- mitted to us, for our Sins, to be attacked^ in a remarkable Degree, by Infidels on one Hand, and by Maintainers of innumerable ftrange Notic3ns on the other. And we have Need, that every one, who is able to qualify himfelf well, ihouldaffift in defend- ing his Part of the common Caufe. For there are too many unanfwered Books abroad in the World, and more appearing daily, written fccond Charge to bis Clergy. 277 written agalnft Chriftianity and Morals and the Dodrines of our Church. Nor have we of the Clergy, for fome Time pift, borne fo large a Share, comparatively with Perfons of other Communions, in vindicating what we teach, as might be expeded from us. I hope you are not often obliged, in this Diocefe, to encounter Unbelievers from the Pulpit: and you will certainly not chufe to alarm your People, by refuting, in Form, Objedions to which they are Strangers j though it may be ufeful to obviate them briefly, and if pofTible without naming them. But as, probably enough, fome of you will at one Time or another in Company meet with fuch Perfons, or hear of their Talk, I would give you a few Diredions in Relation to them. If any of them are virtuous in their Con^ dud, and backward to offend in Difcourfe, they (hould not be unfeafonably provoked, but treated with Ref|3cd. If anv of them build their Unbelief on fcrious Argument, which plainly very few do, they fhould be direded to the Books, or the learned Men, that are bed fitted to anfwer them: and the S 3 Ufs 278 77;c Archhijlop (5/"CanteRbuRy'^ lefs able fhould prepare for Combat with them, but not engage too far in it prema- turely. If they cannot at prefent be con- vinced of the Falfehood of their Tenets, they fhould be (hewn however, in a gentle Manner, the pernicious EfFeds of promulg- ing them. But if they will obftinately per- fifl to facrifice every Thing valuable amongft Men to their own Vices, or their own Vanity, we mufl openly withiland them, and warn others againft them. Yet even this ought to be done without Paflion or Eitter- nefs, otberwife all the Blame will be laid on us : efpecially without perlonal Incivilities, ' even to the worfl: of them, elfe they will become ftill worfe than they were. But then we mud never afhft the very beft of them in gaining Influence and growing dangeroue -, nor bring our ow^n Sincerity into Queftioa by Intimacies v/ith them, which they vv^ill nfualiy reprefent, and fometimss believe, to proceed from our inwardly thinking as they do. Much Icfs fliould we ever condefcend to the fliocking Meannefs of paying Court for private Ends, either to them, or to wicked Vl^retches of any Kind, though not Infidels ; but fecond Charge fo lis Clergy s 279 but conne6l ourfelves with worthy Pcrfons ; engage their Support, and excite their En- deavours to repreis Profanenefs and Immora- lity. It is peculiarly unhappy, that while we are employed on one Side in defending the Gofpel, we are accufed on another of cor- rupting it. I have net now in my View either the Church of Rome ^ or the Proteftants who broke off from us a Century ago. The Methods of dealing with both have been long fince prefcribed, and I repeat them not; but intreat vour Attention to the Movements of each, efpecially the former, if you have any of them in your Parilhes. Btat I mean to fpeak of Perfons rifen up in our own Times, and profeffing the ftrideft Piety: who vehe- mently charge us with departing from the Dovflrines and flightins: the Precepts of our Religion: but have indeed tliemklves ad- vanced unjiiftitiablc Notions, as neceflary Truths j giving good People groundlefs Fears, and bad ones giouiuilcfs Hopes ; difturbed the Underftandlngs of fome, impaired the Circumrtances of others ; prejudiced Multi- tudes againft their proper Miniltcrs, a-jd S 4 prevented 28 o ^he Archhifiop p/" C a N T e Ii b UR y 'i prevented their Edification by them 3 pro- duced firfl: Diforders in our Churches, then partial or total Sepaartions from them ; and fet up unauthorized Teachers in their Af- femblies. V/here thefe Irregularities will end, God only knows : but it behoves us to be very careful, that they make no Progrefs through our Fault. Now it would not only be injurious, but profane, to brand, with an opprobrious Name, Chrlftians remarkably ferious, merely for being fuch: and equally imprudent to difclaim them as not belonging to us, to let a Scdl gain the Credit of them, and labour to drive them into it. Surely we £hould take, even were they wavering, or acftually gone from us, the mod refpedful and per- fuafive Means of recalling fuch, and fixing them with us. Nay, fuppofing any Perfons irrecoverably gone, we fliould not be hafly to condemn, even in our Thoughts, either them or their Party, as Enthufiafts cr Hy- pocrites: whatfcever they are, it makefb no Matter to in^. And much Icfs ought we to fay of either worfe than we are fure they hpal. ii, 6. deferve. fecond Charge fo Lis Clergy. 28c deferve. When we are undoubtedly well informed of any extravagant Things, which they have alTerted or done, it may be ufeful to fpeak ftrongly of them : but not v/ith Anger and Exaggeration j which will oniy give them a Handle to cenfure our Uncha- ritablenefs, and confute us : but with deep Concern, that when (a few Perfons exprefs any Zeal for the Gofncl, fo many of thofe, who do, run into Extremes, that hurt its Interefts. Nor will Ridicule become our Characfter, or ferve our Caufe better than Invedlive. It may plcafe thofe very highly, who are in no Danger of being profeiyted by them. But what fliall we get by that? Perfons negligent of Religion will at the fame Time be confirmed in their Negligence ; and 'think, that all they need to avoid is being righteous overmuch^ Tender Minds will be grieved and wounded by fuch ill- placed Levity : and crafty Declaimers will rail at us with Sr.cccfs, as Scoffers^, denying the Power cjGodlinefs^. But if we let fall any light Expreflijns, that can be wrefted jnto a feeming Difrefpecl of any Scripture ♦ Eccl. vii. 16. *^ 2 Pet. iii. 3. * 3 Tim. ii. i 5. Dodrine 282 The ArchbiJJjop c/CANTERBuRY'i Doflrine or Phrafe, we iliall give our Ad- verfarles unfpeakable Advantages : and they have (hewn, that they will ufe them with- out Mercy or Equity. Therefore we muft guard every V/ord, that we utter, againfl: Mifreprefentations : be fure to exprefs, in public and private, our firm Belief of what- ever evangelical Truths border upon their Miftakes : and certainly be as vigilant over our Behaviour, as our Teaching; encourage no Violence, no Rudenefs towards them ; but recommend ourfelves to them by our Mildnefs, our Serioufnefs, cur Diligence: honour thofe, who are truly devout and virtuous amongft them, much more on that Account, than we blame them for bting injudicious, and hard to pleafe; and be full as ready to acknowledge the Good they have done, as to complain of the Harm : yet beware, and counlel others to beware, of being dr.iwn, by Eiteem of their Piety, into reliihir,g their Singularities, and patronizing their Schifm. A(fling thus, we {hall not only cut off Occafim from thofe iioho defire Occajton "" to "> 2 Cor. xi. I J, fpeak; fccond Charge to /jis Cle^qy. 283 fpeak Evil of us, and be able to remon- ftrate with Authority and Effeft againft: their ExcefTes and Wildnefles ; but, which is the chief Point, we {hall become better Miniilers of Chrlft for their harfh TiCat- ment of uh;. And we fliould always labour, that every Thing may have this Influence upon us : think witii OLirlclve?, if others go too fbir, whether we do not fall fhort ; aik our Confcicnces, whether we really do all that is in our Power to reforai and improve our People; whether the fmall Succefs of our Endeavours be, in Truth, as it ought, a heavy Grief to us; whether we have carefully fearched out, and try incef- fantly to overcome the Diificukies that lie ia our Way to making them better. Thefc Things, if we are in earned, we (hall chiefly have at Heart: and if we are not in earneft, ive are of all Men the moft guilty, and the tiiojl 7mferahle^. In giving you my Advice thus largely and freely on thcfc feveral Heads, 1 no more fuppofe you culpable in Relation to any of them, than you do your Parifliioners, when " I Cor, XV'. 19. you 2 84 The Ahp, of Can te r b u r y *i Charge. &c. you exhort them to any particular Duties, or warn them againft particular Sins. On the contrary, to ufe the Apoftle's Words, I am perfuaded of you, Brethreji^ that ye are full cf Goodnefs, repknified with all Knowledge, able alfo to admoniJJj one another. Neverthe^ lefsy if I may preiume to adopt, with due Abatements, the fubfequent Words alfo, / have i^dktufomewhat boldly unto you in Party as putting you in Mind, hecaufe of the Grace which is given you oj God^ that 1 jloould be tloe Minifer of Jeftis Chriji to you", as you are to your refpedllve Congregations. And let us all pray for ourfelves and each other daily, that we may fo feed the Flock of God which is among us, and be 'Enfamples to it, that when the chief Shepherd fiall appear^ we may receive a Crown of Glory, that fadeth not {iway^. » Rom. XV. 14, 15, 16. f 1 Pet. v. 2, 3, 4, A CHARGE A CHARGE DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY of the Diocese OF CANTERBURY, In the Y E A R i ^66, I. Reverend Brethren, HAVING diftributed amongft you, above three Years ago, when Sicknefs prevented me from vifiting you in Perfon, a printed Difcourfe, in which I exhorted you, as St. Paul did Timothy^ to take Heed unto your/elves J I proceed now to add, as he did, and to your Dodirine^. To inftrudl Perfons in Religion is the leading Part of a Clergyman's Duty. And though he will do \t i:; a very ufeful Degree by the Example of a Chriftian Behaviour on all Occafions ; yet he will do it more efpe- cially in the particular Difcharge of his Office. When he is only to ufe the Forms prefcribed him, he may, by ufing them with due Re- verence and Propriety, greatly promote both Knowledge and pious Difpofitions in his " iTim.iv. 16. Hearers. 238 The Archh'ijljop o/'CanterburvV Plearers. Therefore we ought to watch di- ligently over ourfel^es in this Refpedl : and then it will be eaficr to convince our People, that they may and fliould learn a great deal from the Exhortations, the Prayers, the Praifes, the Portions of Scripture^ cf which cur Liturgy coniifts ; that therefore, even when there is no other Service, they fhould corns to Church for the Sake of thefe far mere conftantly, and attend to them far more carefully, than the Generality of them do ; indeed fhould have them in much higher Efteem, than the mere Produds of our pri- vate Tiioughts. But I fliall confine myfelf to the Inflruc- tions, which you give of your own -, fpeak- ing of them chiefly v/i'ch a View of fug- gefting fuch Advice to the younger Part of you, as I hops the elder will approve, and enforce. And here I muft begin with repeating, what I need not enlarge upon, for I have done it already, that the Foundation of every Thing in our Profeffion is true Piety within our Breaftr, prompting us to excite it in others. Even Heathens made it a Rule, 1 that third Charge to his Clergy, 2^9 that an 0:ator, If lie would perfuade, muft be a good Man : muJi more muA a Preacher. When a bad one utters divine Truths, we fliut our Ears, we feel Ind'gnation, From yourf^lves therefore througaly, by devout Meditations and fervent Prayer, to Seri- oufnefs of Heart, and Ze d for the eternal Welfare of Souls : for then every Thing elfe, that you are to do, will follow of Courfe. You will earneftly labour to complete yourfelves in all proper Knowledge : not merely the introdudory Kinds, which un- happily are often ahnofl: the only ones, taught the Candidates for holy Orders j but thofe chiefly, which have a clofer Conned^ion with your Work. And tliough, amongO: thefe, the Science of Mor:ils and natural P.eligion is highly to be valued, yet the Doclrines and Precepts of the Gofpel re- quire your principal Regard b-ryond nil Ccm- parifont It is of the Gofpel, that you are Minifters: all other Learning will leave you efTentially unqualified 3 and this alone com- prehends every Thing, that is necelTary. \Vithout itj you will ntwc'c approve yourfaves T to 290 T/jC j^rMiJhop of CAliTERBTJRY*S to Gody as Workmen that need not io he {ifiamed^, nor make your Hearers mfe unto Salvation^ Therefore you muft diligently perufe the holy Scriptures, and as much as you can of them in the Original j that, as the Office of Ordination exprefles it, by daily rcadwg and weighing of them ye may wax riper and flronger in your Mijii/iry, And you mufl: not grudge the Expence, which may furely be well fpared in fome other Things, of procuring, according to your Abilities, the AiTiftance, both of fuch Commentators, as will beft {hew you the true Senfe of holy Writ ; and of fuch alfo, as will beft diredl you, how to draw from it needful Inftruc- tions. General Syftems of Theology, and particular Treatifes on Points of Moment, will enlarge your Stock of Matter : and the moft noted Sermons will be Patterns to you of Ccmpolition. For I fuppofe the Difcourfes, even of thofe who have the loweft Qualifications, to be, in a great Meafure at leaft, of their own Compofition. Elfe they will feldom either fufficiently fuit the Congregation to which ''2Tim.ii.15. «= 2 Tim. iii. 15. they third CImrge io bis Cl'^.'^gy, 291 they are delivered, or be delivered in the Manner which they ought. Befides, if Perfons decline taking this Trouble, they will probably alfo decline that of fitting themfelves in other Ways for parochial Ule- fulnefs, and throw away their Time unwifely, if not worfe. That will foon be obferved to their Dlfadvantage; and if once it be fuf- peded, that through Incapacity or Idlenefs they fteal what they preach, they will have fmall Influence, if any. I do not mean, that no Ufe ought to be made of the Labours of o'lhers : for indeed I have made no little Ufe of them in what I am faying, and about to fay. I would have young Clergymen, efpe- cially, make very great Ufe of the Works of able Divines: not inconfiderately andfcrvilely tranfcribe them ; but ftudy, digeft, contrail, amplify, vary, adapt to their Purpofe, im- prove, if polTible, what they find in them. For thus it will fairly become their own j mix naturally with what proceeds altoge- ther from themfelves ; and prcfcrve their youthful Produdions from the Imputation of being empty and jejune. In the Choice of fuch Authors you will confult religious and T 2 judicious 292 'the Anhbifiop of Canterbury'^ ludlclous Friends, always joining your own Experience. Thofe Writers, whom you find the moft efFedual to enlighten your Under- ftandings, convince you of your Faults, ani- mate you to good Refolutions, and guide and fupport you in the Execution of them, will beft help you to produce the fame Effect on others. Thefe therefore imitate : but with Judgement. If, amidfl: their Excellencies, youobferve Miftakes, Defeds, Redundancies, Flights indifcreetly high, defpicably familiar Condefcenfions, Sallies over-vehement 5 be-r ware of adopting any of them. And re- member too that a very clofs Imitation, of Singularities above all, will both betray you, and be difguftful. When you go about to prepare an In- flrudtion for your People, firft confider carefully of a proper Subject and Text : begging God to direct your Choice, and difpofe you to treat them in a proper Way. Chufing a Text, without Need, that will furprife, or feemingly a barren one, to fhew what vour Art can extract from it, will appear ingenious perhaps to fome, but Vanity to mofi: with good Reafon. Chufing on third Charge to his Cl-e'P.G^, 293 one, that requires much accommodating to your Purpofe, is but mifpcnding Pains and Time: and fo is labouring to clear up a very obfcure one, unlefs it be of great Import- ance. And giving a new Tranflation or Senfe of a Text, unlefs the prefent hath confiderable Inconvenienclee, will only puzzle your Audience, and tempt them to doubt, whether they underftand the reft of their Bible. Such a Text is moft convenient, as will branch out of itfclf into the main Parts of your Difcourfe : but at leaft you Ihoujd make it appear to be the Ground- work of your Difcourfe, and not an After- thought. Plan your Method in the Beginning of your Compofition : but change it afterwards, if you fee Caufe. Never run the Matter of one Head into another, nor digrefs to any Thing foreign : for every Subjed well con- fidered, will afford you enough. It is ufually bed: to propofe your general Heads together, before you proceed upon them feparately, and to give Notice when you come to each. Subdivifions alfo aflift the Memory of the Hearer, if they are not too many : and T 3 pafung 294 ^^^ ArchbiJI.op 0/ Canterbury'^ pafllng from a former Head to the next by an eafy Tranfition, is graceful. But a Dif- pofitlon may be very orderly, without men- tionino; in Form the feveral Members, of which it confifts : and fometimes that For- mality prevents a Difcourfe from flowing with Freedom and Spirit. After the expla- natory Part, Proofs from Reafon and Scrip- ture take the next Place ; then Inferences, if any ufeful ones follow peculiarly from v^hat hath preceded : and laflly Exhortations to fuitable Pradice, which can hardly ever be omitted, and ought to be fuch as may leave a durable Impreffion. The Length of Sermons, though it fhould always be mo- derate, may be very different at different Times. Only give no Room to think, that in a fhort one have you faid but little ; or in a long one have either faid any Thing which was not pertinent, or dwelt upon any Thing beyond what was needful. An indifpenfable Point throughout is to preferve Attention : for if that be not paid, all your Labour is loft. And Perfons are Angularly apt to be inattentive to Preachers. Our Subjeds are^ and ought to be, the moft common third Charge to his Clev^gy, 295 common and trite of any. And hence, un- kfs we ufe a little honeit Art to prevent it, our People will think, will many of them find indeed, that they know beforehand moft of what we (hall deliver to them, and fo will foon grow weary of minding us. Coming to Church, the Bulk of Mankind, even flil], confuler as a Duty: but hearing as they ought, they partly negled', and partly experience to be difficult. Therefore we muft not only admonilli, but aflifl: them. For this End we muft lliew them from firft to laft, that we are not merely laying good Things in their Pretence, butdiredting what we fay to them perfonally, as a Matter which concerns them beyond Expreflion. More general Difcourfes they often want Skill to take Home to themfelvcs ; and oftener yet Inclination : fo they fit all the while flupidly regardlefs of what is delivered. Therefore we muft intereft them in ir, by calling upon them to obferve, by ailving them Queftions to anfwer filently in their own Minds, by every prudent Incitement to follow us clolely. But then we muft make them underiland, that in preaching againfl: Sin we never preach againft T 4 fuch 2 9 6 ^^'^ Archhijldop c/" C A N T E R B U R Y 'i fuch or fuch a Sinner; but mean to amend and improve all, who want it: widiing every one to apply as much as poflible of what he hears to his own Benefit, but nothing to the Reproach of his Neighbour. Still you will prcfs them in vain to pay Attention, unlefs you win them to it by what you have to fay. And one principal Contrivance for that Purpofe is to make your Sermons extremely clear. Terms and Phrafes may be familiar to you, which are quite un- intelligible to them: and I fear this happens much oftener than we fufped. I'herefore guard againfl it. Your Expreffions may be very common, without being low: yet em- ploy the lowefi, provided they are not ridi- culous, rather than not be underfioGd. Let your Sentences, and the Parts of them, be fhort, where you can. And place your Words fo, efpecially in the longer, that your Meaning may be evident all the Way. For if they take it not immediately, they have no Time to confider of it, as they might in read- ing a Book : and if they are perplexed in the Beginning of a Period, they will never attempt going on with you to the End: but give third Charge io his Clergy. 270 give up the Whole, as out of their Reach. Avoid Ruiiicity and GrolTnefs in your Stile: yet be not too fond of fmooth and foft and flovving Language i but fludy to be nervous and cxpreiTive^ and bear the Cenfurc of be- ing unpolillied, rather than unfluencing. Never multiply Arguments beyond Neceffi- ty ; for they will only tire: abftain from weak ones ; for they will difcredit the ftrong. Employ no Arguments to prove Things, which need not be proved ; for you will only make them doubtful. Employ no long or fubtle Arguments to prove any Thing: but refl: your Affertions on the Didates of plain good Senfe. Never exprefs yourfelves on any Point, as hai:ing Tiominion coer the Faith^ of your Hearers; but lay before them the beft Evidence, of which they are capa- ble. In Matters too high for them, let them know, in a modeft Manner, that you fpeak the Sentiments of the more learned, in which Providence hath by their Station direded them to acquiefce: in others, rea- fon more at large, in the Spirit of St. Paul, * 2 Cbr. i. 24; when 298 T^he ArchbiJJjop ^CANTERBURY*i when he told the CorinthianSy I /peak as to ivife Men : judge ye what I fay''. You might perhaps give more Entertain- ment, and procure more Applaufe, by difre- garding fome of thefe Directions. But your Bufinefs is, not to pleafe or be admired, but to do Good : to make Men think, not of your Abilities, Attainments, or Eloquence, but of the State of their ovv'n Souls 3 and to fix them in the Belief and Pradice of what will render them happy now and to Eternity. For this Purpofe J^obferve further) it will by no Means fuffice to teach them outward Regularity and Decency; and let them fancy they have Religion enough, when they come to Church pretty confiantly, and live as well as thtir Neighbours: though, in fome Re- fpeds, ill, and, Icarce in any, well, from a Principle of Confcience. Or be they from a Senfe of Duty ever fo hone ft, and fober, and chafte, and beneficent; another indif- penfable Part of Morals is the Difcipline of the inward Man, An affedlionatc Piety is full as neceffary, as Morals can be: and Gofpel Piety no lefs than natural. • I Cor. X. 15. Here third Charge to hh Clergy. 2()') Here then lay your Foundation : and fet before your People the lamentable Condi- tion of fallen Man, the numerous adual Sins, by which they have made it worfe, the Redemption wrought out for them by Jefus Chrift, the Nature and Importance of true Faith in him, their abfolute Need of the Grace of the Divine Spirit in order to obey his Precepts. This will be addrefling your- felves to them as Chriftian Minifters ought to Chrlflian Plearers. The holy Scriptures will funii(h you with Matter for it abun- dantly. Short and plain Reafonings, founded on their Authority, will dart Convidion into every Mind : whereas if your Dodrine and your Speech be, not that of their Bibles; if you contradid:, or explain away, or pafs over in Silence, any Thing taught there, they who are belT: contented with you, will learn little from you; and others will be offended, and quit you when they can. We have in Fad loft many of our People to Sectaries by not preaching in a Manner fuf- ficiently evangelical: and fhall neither re- cover them from the Extravagancies, into which they have run, nor keep more from going 500 l^he Archbifiop of Can te r bur y V going over to them, but by returning to the right Way : declaring all the Counfcl of Goci^-, and that principally, not m the Words, which Ma?2s Wijdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghojl teacheth e. Yet the obfcurer of fcriptural PafTjges we fhall do well to omit : or if there be Need, illaftrate them, as far as we can, briefly: not to aim at minute Explanations of Myfteries; bat urge the Belief of them from decifivc Pailages of God's Word, quoted according to its real Import, and leave them as that hath left them. For by attempting to throw in more Light, than our prefent State admits, you will only dazzle and blind thofe, who faw before as through a Glafs darkly^. Toil a7'e Debtors indeed both to the wife and to theimwifeK But remember, the ignorant are by far the greateft Number : and unne- ceffary Knowledge, if you could communi- cate it to them, is of fmall Ufe. But you will never be able to enlarge on abflrufe and difficult Points to the Edification of the Generality : whereas you may dwell on the 'Aftsxx. 27. siCor. ii. 13. i* i Cor. xiii. 1 2, ^ Rom. i. 14. c plainfl third Charge to bis Clergy, 301 plalneft to the Satlsfadlion and Improvement of the mori: learned. It is true, declining to fliew Reading or Acutenefs may be to fome a painful Self-denial: but able Judges will eafily perceive, both that you could fhevv them, and why you do not. Therefore enter but little, if at all, into Matters about which your Hearers are not likely to err, at lead dangeroufly. Yet fuffer not either the Evidence or the Fundamental- of Chrif- tianity, or the Honour of the Proteftant Religion, or of the eftablillied Church, to want a due Support, when you are any Way called to the Defence of them. At fuch Times, demonflrate your Zeal; but be fure to do it with a Chriflian Temper; in Meekncfs inJiruBing tbofe that oppofe themfchcs^: at others, avoid a controverfial Manner, and confine yourfelves to brief Inftrudions on thefe Heads. It may pofiibly fometlmes be necefTary in our Sermons to vindicate our Rights, and magnify our Office^. But this mull be done very fparingly and cautioufly; fo as to cut off all Pretence, that we tahc the Ovcrfight ^ z. Tim. ii. zz, ^ Rom. xi. 13. of 302 The Archbijl:op ^Canterbury'j of God's Flccky t'whtv for Jilthy Lucre, or from a Deli re of betiig Lords over his Heritage'^, We muft never fet up an undue, never a fuf- picious Claim : but confefs, that the T^rea^ Jure of the Gofpel is committed to us en- tirely for the Sake of others, not our own ; and that we have it in earthen Vejfels "^ are liable to continual Imperfedlions and Frail* ties. Such Humility is no lefs our Wifdom, than our Duty. For that Clergyman will always acquire the greateft Refpeifl:, who fhcws the moil: Care to deferve it, and the leaft Eagernefs to demand it. Every Part of your Difcourfes muft pre- ferve the Gravity and the Earneftnefs, which is infeparable from Subjeds of a religious Nature. If you can fpeak of thefe lightly and negligently, your Auditors will fulpedt you have little Concern about them : they of Courfe will have lefs in hearing you: their Thoughts will wander to the Ends of the Earth, or their Attention to every Thing be buried in Sleep. But though languid in no Part, you will however be comparatively cool in Expofitions of Scripture, in dodri- ™ I Pet. V. 2, 3. "2 Cor. Jv. 7. nal. third Charge to his Clergy. 303 nal, in cafuiflical Points, referving your chief Warmth for the great Articles of Chriftian Pradice. There your very utmoft Endea- vours will be needful to produce in your Peo- ple a due Senfe of Guilt and Unworthinefs, fervent Defires of Pardon, Love to him who hath loved them, Refignation to God's Plea- fure, firm Purpofcs of obeying his Laws ; ]to caution them effe(flually again/1 Profane- nefs, Lukewarmnefs, Formality, Refentment, Hard-heartednefs , unj uil Love of G ain. Fond- nefs of unlawful Indulgences; to infpire them with Good-will towards ail Men, with proportionably kind Regards to thofe who Hand in nearer Relations to them, Diligence to be ufeful in their feveral Stations, reafon- able Lidifference towards the Things of this Life, pious Longings for a better. Their Degree of Knowledge, Rank and Circum- ftances of Life, their prevailing Notions and Cuftoms, will afford you much further Em- ployment to make your Sermons local, if I may fo exprefs it; calculated to promote the Virtues which they are chiefly called to exercile, and guard agaiiift the Sins of which they are chiefly in Danger. For what per- 6 f.aiy 304 '^h^ Archhijhop o/'CanterburyV fedly fults one Congregation may be ex- tremely foreign from the Exigencies of ano- ther. And further ftill you muft not only urge them to do their Duty, but to ufe the Means of doing it: which mufl: be pointed out to them : avoiding Temptations, keeping clear of bad Company, contradling Friend- fhlps with ferious and prudent Perfons, em- ploying themfelves in proper Bufinefs, read- ing good Books, forming pious, yet prudent, Refolutions, and begging, in private Prayer, Grace to help in ^ime of Need"": not ftriilly confining their Devotions to any Forms, though Forms are very ufeful, but varying them according to their fpiritual Condition. Thefe are the Things, on which you muft inlift with your whole Force: net as pleaf- ing Meny but God which trieth our Hearts p. Yet, while you take without Referve all requjfite Freedom, you muft alfo take Care not to provoke, inftead of reforming them^ but fhew, that you fincerely wifh well to them 5 and think as well of them as you can : you muft praife them when you have Opportunity J give them Cautions oftener •Heb.iv. 16. P 1 Tiieff. ii. 4. than tJjird Charge to his C l i: R g y . 305 than Reproofs, and never reprove harfhly ; but exprefs a fatherly Concern, rather than Anger at their Faults. Reprel'ent no Fault as worfe than it is : and carry no Iiijunition to an extravagant Height. If you do, they will either think you unreafonable, or them- felves incapable of becoming good; or will run into fonie Abiurdity by attempting it. And for their Encouragement, along with the Duties, lay before them, in a flrong Light, the Comforts alfo, prefent and futuce, of Religion. It is but too poflible, that fometimes you mull excite your People to Virtues, in which you are, more or lels, deficient yourfelves. For it would be heinous Unfaithluhicfs to omit or explain away neceflary Precepts be- caufe you are imperfect in the Pradice of them. And lamentable is our Cafe, if there be any Chriftian Obligation, on which we dare not for Shame fpeak freely : yet ftill worfe, if we harden our Confciences, till we venture boldly to enjoin what we habitually tranfgrefs. For in that Cafe, not only cur Credit will be utterly loft, but our Amend- ment almoft abfolutely hopelefs. Therefore U correct 3 6 The Archhifiop ^ C A N T E R B u R Y '^ corred your own Hearts and Lives in the firft Place by the Difcoarfes which you com- pofe: b:come in all Points good Men; and then yoQ may fearlefsly fpeak on all Points like fuch. Yet even good Men muft obferve a Dif- ference. Thofe of lefs Knowledge muft ex- prefs themfelves with lefs Pofitivenefs, thofe of lefs Gravity and Difcretion with lefs Au-* thority and Striclnefs, than their Betters. And every one fliould confider, what his Age and Standings Reputation for Learning, Pru- dence and Piety, will fupport him in faying ^ that be may not take more upon him, thark will be allowed him. Yet all muft aflidu- oully take Pains to acquire, and preferve, fuch Efteem, that they may fay with Pro- priety whatever their Fundion requires. For how unhappy would it be to difqualify yourfelves from XJfefulnefs by Levity or In- difcretion ! But even the beft qualified to exhort muft keep within dueBounds; convince the Judg- ment before they attempt to warm the Paf- fionsi rife gradually into what deferves the Name of Vehemence; and be fure neither 5 i^ third Charge to his Clergy . 307 to rife any higher, nor contiilue in that Strain any longer, than th<:y are likely to carry their Auditors along with them. For if they are cold, whib the Preacher is pathetc, the Impreflion mide upon them will he very different from what he willies. And our Nation is more difp fed, than mod others, to approve a temperate Manner of fpeaking. Every Thing, which can be called Oratory, is apt to be deemed Affcdation : and if it goes a great Length, raifcS Contempt and Ridicule. But were the moft fcrious Emotions to be raifed by mere mecha- nical Vehemerfce, they would be unfairly raifed : and what is beyond Nature will ufually foon fubfide^ perhaps with Scorn, upon Refledion, of what was admired when heard. Or' fuppofing fuch Admiration to continue, bad Effeds may as poiTibly follow as good: whereas Warmth of Affc-dion, ex- cited to a proper Degree by the rational En- forcement of folid Arguments, promifes to be durable, and will never do Harm. The Faculty of moving Hearers thus, is a mod valuable BleiTing. And fuch as have but little of it, may confiderably improve it, by U z labouring 309 The Archhipop ^CANTERBUltY'i labouring to affcift ihemfelves deeply with what they would lay ; and thinking, what Methods of laying it will be moil; p.rlualive. But they muH: not attempt to foice an un- willing Genius too far. If tbey do, what it produces will be io ungraceful and unfuc- cefsful, that they had much better content themfelves to do as well as they can in their ov/n Way. Your Delivery muft in the firft Place be fuch, that you can be heard ; elfe you preach in vain: belides that fpeaking too low argues Indolence and IndiiT^rence j whereas an audible Exertion is a iV/uk of Earneflneis : and the common People are peculiarly pleafed, when their Miniiler appears to take Pains about them. Eat then you muft nei- ther be precipitately quick, (for if your Words be underftood, your Meaning will not) nor tedioufly flow; nor fink any one Fart of your Sentence under its proper Level, efpccially the concluding Part. Diftindnefs will do mucli to fijpply Want of Strength in fpeaking: which however it is very material that you fiiould try to remedy gradually, as many have done, by a prudent Exerclfe of your third Charge to'hh Clergy. 309 your Voice. Yet draining bevond your due Pitch will give your Hearers Pain, make you in Icme De::rec inarticulate, anil pro- duce a finging Sort of C.dence and Trne. This laft indeed hath been fometimes knov'/n to pleaie weak Perfons: but it cannot pt^fTi- bly make them either wifer or better: and it offends the judicious extremely. Many le«rn in their Childhood a provincial Dialed, which they cannot lay alide eafily; and yet iliould endeavour it, eTpecially if they fettle in a diffeient Part of the Nation. Some acquire uncouth Accents one knows not how: fome bring them from the Scho 1 or the College : and now and then one feems to hear a theatrical Pronunciation ; which hath been condemned even by Heathen Writers upon Oratory ; and is the very worft, that a Chriftian Orator can adopt. It re- minds his Hearers, greatly to his Difcrcdlt, where he muH: probably have learnt it: he will alfo appear by Means fA it to be only adting a Part, and be legarded accordingly. Jndced all remarkable Imitation, in Delivery' as well as Compofition, though ot a Perfon 4n your own Pioicirion, and one jult'v nd- U 3 mired. 310 T'be y^rMi/hop of Cant ERBVRy's mired, will be difliked. You will never -attain to any advantageous Refemblance of his Manner: but, by a miftakcn or overdone Mimicry, turn what may perhaps be graceful in the Original, into Oddnefs, Or could you avoid that, you v/ould leflen your Weight and Influence: which muft arife from fpeak- ing in your own Charader, not perfonating another. Every Man's Voice and Utterance, as well as his Face, belongs to himfelf alone; and it is vain to think either of looking or talking like fuch or fuch a one. Therefore preferve what is native to you : free It froni adventitious Faults: improve it, if you can: but remember, that you may deprave it by the Endeavour ; and certainly will, if you change It efTentially. Speak to your People, as you would in Converfation, when you undertake to inform or perfuade a Friend, in a Concern of great Moment; only with more Deliberatenefs, more Strength and Energy, in Proportion to the Numbers : and vary both your Stile and your Elocution, as in Converfation you always do, fuitably to your Matter. For Monotony both abfo-r Jutely prevents Emotion, and foon deadens Attention, third Charge to his Cl F R G Y. 311 Attention, it is woilt nidej(\ when uni- formly unnatural, by degenera.'ng into a kind of Chant. But mtrely to be unifurmly inexprcflivej be it through Heavinefs, or EfFcminacy, or infi-nificant Li^htneli^, is either very blameabk, or, if it cannot be helped, vcrv unhappy. And pernaps, a little even of injudicious Variety is better than a wearifome Saincnefs. In public fpeaking, Perlbns commonly fall into Errors, and ibmetimes great ones, without perceiving if, though they can ob- ferve fmall ones in otiiers. Therfore you will act prudently in dcfinng iome Wcll- wilher, on whofe Judgment and Frankuv^fs you can depenJ, to advertife you of any Thing wrong in the Conducl of your Voice, or in your Adion j and you will {li?w your Gratitude and good Senle by ftudying to amend it. We of this Nation are not given to ufe or to admire much Action, eimcr in ordinary Difcourfe, or twcn in populp.r Haangues. And, were it for this Reafoii only, ^ Preac ler Hiould be moderate in it. But befides, in tl:ie Nature of the Thing, you had far better U ^ havQ 3 1 2 The ArckbiJJ:op o/' C a n t e r b u r y'^ have none, than what is unbecoming, or unmeaning, or unfuitable to what you are faying, or repeated at certain Diftances, what- ever you are faying. Yet fomewhat of Gef- ture, appearing to be artlefs, and regulated by Propriety, may be very ufeful, efpecially in the warmer Parts, of Exhortation, Reproof, or even Argument. For to be altogether motionlefs, when the Subje<5t is animating, and our Language perhaps vehement, feems an Inconfiftency J and may raife a Doubt, whether we are in earnefi. But ftill Defedl in Adlion is better than Excefs. And a great deal cannot well be ufed by thofe who read their Sermons. This is one Objedion againll reading them: and there are Teveral befides. Perfons, who are fhort-fighted, have peculiar Reafons to avoid it. Indeed almofl all Perfons are accuflomcd from their early Years to read in a different Tone, from that in which they read at other Times: and we feldom correct it throughly. Or if we did, what we fay in fuch Manner as to make it feem the prefent Di(date of our own Hearts, will much better rnake its Way into the Hearts of others, thar^ third Charge to ^/i Clergy. 313 than if oar Eyes are fixed all t!ie while on a Paper, from which we vifibly recite the Whole. It will ordinai'ly be uttered too with more df^ngnged Freedom and livelier Spirit. The Preacher alio will be abler to en- force his W. rds by fignificant Looks: to per- ceive from theCoLintenL;nces of his Hearers, what they comprehend, and by what they are moved : and may accordingly enlarge on that Head, or proceed to another, as he finds Caule. Hw may likewife oppofe with Succcfs irregular itinerant Declaimers, who afFcdl and gain Popularity by this Method: and as their credulous Followers are apt to think it a fupernatural Gift, he may undeceive them, by imitating in this Cafe the Pra6lice of St. PW in another, which he defcribes thus: what 1 do J that I will do ; that whereiii they glory y they may be found even as we'^. But then there muft be a long and diligent Pre- paration to do this Well : Ibme will Icarce ever attain fufficient Prefence of Mind, and Readinefs of Expreflion : others will acquit themfelves handfomely in a good Flow of Spirits, but meanly when thefe fail them : ' 2 Cor. xi. 12. and 314 ^^^^ Archbijhop ^ C A N T e r b u r y '^ and though little Inaccuracies will be ob- served by few, yet Hefitations will by all, and every other confiderable Fault by fenfible Hearers, to the Preacher's great Difgrace. Or if fuch do get the Faculty of being always able to fay fomething plaufible, it will tempt them to negled: the Improvement of their Underftandings and their Difcourfesj and to be content withdigretling, vv^henever they are at a Lofs, from their Text and their Subje(ft, to any Point, on which they can be copious: to utter off Hand fuch Crudities, as they could not bear to write down; and think the meanefl: of extempore EfFufions good enough for the Populace. Now on the contrary, pre- vioufly fiudying and writing Sermons tends to fill them with well digeiled and well a- dapted Matter, difpofed in right Order; efpecially, if you will carefully revile them every Time you preach them; fupply Deq- ciencies, blot out Repetitions, corred Impro- prieties, guard againft Mifapprehenfions, en- lighten what is obfcure, familiarize v.' hat is too high, tranfpofe what is wrongly placed, flrengthen the weak Parts, animate the languid ones. YourCompofition needs not be third Charge fo bis Cl'ERGY, 3 T 5 be at all the fiiffer, but »■ ay be the freer, for the Pains thus employed upon it. You may frame it paipofely to befpoken as if you were not reading it: imd by looking it over a few Times when you arc about to ufe it, you may deliver it almoft without being obferved to read it. The more you acquire of this Art, the more you will be liked, and the ftronger Impreflion you will make; But after all, every Man, as the Apoftle faith on a different Occalion, hath his proper Gift of God; one after this Manner^ ayiother after that*: let each cultivate his own > and no one cenfure or dcfpife his Brother. There is a middle Way, uied by our PredecefTors, of fetting down, in (hort N jtes, the Method and principal Heads, and enlarging on them in fuch Words as prefent themfelves at the Time. Perhaps, duly managed, this would be the bell. That which is, or lately was, common amongfl: foreign Divines, of writing Sermons fird:, then getting and repeating them by Heart, not only is unrealonably laborious, but fubjeds Pe.fons to the Hazard pf flopping difagreeably, and even breaking ' I Cor. vii. 7. off 3 1 6 The Archhijlop o/'CanterbitryV off abruptly, for want of Memory. Or if they efcape that Danger, there ftill remains another, of faying their Lefibn with un- graceful Marks of Fear and Caution. Inftead of taking a Text, which compre- hends within itfelf the whole Subje(5t, of which you would treat, it may often be ufeful to chufe one, which hath a Reference to Things preceding and following it, and to expound all the Context. This will afford you a Variety of Matter, and give you Op- portunities for fliort unexpecled Rem.arks ; with which Perfons are frequently more flruck, than with an entire Difcourfe^ for of the latter they forefee the Drift all the Way, and therefore fet themfelves to fence a^ainfl it. Thus alfo you may illuftrate the Beauties, at the fame Time that you fhew the pradical Ufes, of large Portions of Scripture at once: for Inftance, of a Parable, a Converfation, a Miracle of our bleffed Lord ; or a Narration concerning this or that other memorable Perfon, whether defervingof Praifeor Blame. For Scripture Hiftories and Examples are eafily remembered, and have great Weight.. In Proportion as we overlook them, we fliall appeaf third Charge to his Clu\qy. 317 appear lefs to be Minifters of God's Word : and Qur People will have lefs Veneration for us, or for it, or for both. You may al fo in ths Method, as you go along, obviate Ob- jedions to Paffiges of God's Word without itating them in Form, at which othervvife many may ftumble, if they read with Atten- tion: and if they do not attend, they will read with no Profit. Several Things in holy Writ feem to be flrange j hardly confident one ivith another, or with our natural Notions. Of thefe Difficulties, which muil: always perplex Perfon?, and mny often deliver them over a Prey to Infidels, you may occafionally remove one and another; meddling with none, but fuch as you can overcome: and from your Succefs in thefe, you may obfervc to your Auditors the Probability, that others are capable of Solutions alfo. Perhaps they will forget your Solution : but they will re- member that they heard one, and may have it repeated to them, if they pleafe. By thefe Means you wi'l teach your People, what is grievoufly wanting in the prefent Age, to value their Bibles more, and underftandthem better : and to read them both with Plcafure and 3 1 S T'he ArchbtJJdop of Canterbur yV and Profit, drawing from diem ufeful In- ferences and Obfervations, as they have heard you do. Formerly Courfes of Ledures on whole Books of Scripture were cuftomary in Churches 5 and they were doubtlefs extremely beneficial. It would notbeeafy, if pcffible, to revive theie now: but the Pradice, which I have been propofing to you, is fome Ap- proach towards them. I would alfo advife you to inflrudt your Parifhioners, amongft other Things, from fome proper Text or Texts, in the daily and occafional Services of the Church : not with a View to extol either immoderately, much lefs to provoke Wrath againft thofe whodif- fent from us 5 but mildly to anfwer unjull: Imputations upon our Liturgy, and chiefly to fhew the Meaning, the Reafons, the Ufes of each Part ; that your Congregations may, as the Apoflle exprefi^es it, pray with the Vn- derfianding\ In all Compofitions, there will be fome Things, which to fome Perfons want explaining: and, were the Whole ever fo clear. Men are ftrangely apt both to hear and to fpeak Words, that are become familiar to • I Cor. xiv. 15, them. third Charge fo lis CfERGY, 319 them, with fcarce any Attention to their Senfe. And fo by Degrees a bodily Atten- dance and Woifhlp becomes all that they pay: and they return Home almoft as little edified, as they would by Devotions in a Tongue unknown. Convincing them of this Fault, and ailifting them to amend it, mu{l greatly contribute to the Promotion of true Piety amcncrft them. Nor will it be a fmall Benefit, if, in the Courfe of your liturgical Inftrudlions, you can perfuade the Bulk of your Congregations to join in the decent Ufe cf Pfalmody, as their Forefathers did j in- ftead of the prefent fl^iameful Neglecft of it, by almoft all, and the conceited Abufe of it by a few. But a fervent Defire of being ufeful will teach you more than any particular Direflions can, upon every Head. Without this Defire, you will either be negligent ; or if you would feem zealous, you will be deted;ed for Want of Uniformity and Perfeverance. Therefore make fure firfl: that all be right within, and out of the good Treafiire cf the Heart you ivill bring forth good ^hwgs^, naturally and pru- » Matth. xii. 3J. dently. 320 The ArchbiJJjop ^y Canterbury'/ dently, and, through the Grace of the Hol)^ Spirit, efFedually. It is not t?i{y indeed even to inflru6l the willing; much lefs to con* vince the unwilling, and reform the wicked* But ftill thefe are the Purpofes, for which we are God's Embaffadors: and we muft try with indefatigable Perfeverance every Way to execute our Commifiion. We muft ftudy human Nature in our own Breafts, and thofe of others: we muft acquaint ourfelves, by all innocent Means, with the Opinions and Pradices of the World, efpecially of our Hearers, that we may lay their Hearts and Lives open to their View, and make them feel what we fay. We muft confider all the while we compofe, and reconfider as we preach and afterwards : " Is this adapted fufficiently to the Capacities, the State of Mind, the Circumftances of the poor People who are to hear it: will this Part ** be clear, that home enough, a third well '* guarded againft Miftakes : will they go ** back as much better difpofed than they *''■ came, as it is in our Power to make them ?" Perhaps one or more Ways of reprefenting a neceflary Dodlrine or Duty have failed. We muft cc <c third Charge io his Clergy, 321 .muft think, whether a more likely may not be found, or a lefs likely in Appearance prove more fuccefsful. If you have preached a confiderable Time in a Place, and done little or no Good; there muft in all Probability, be fome Fault, not only in your Hearers, but in you or your Sermons. For the Word of God, when duly difpenfed, is to this Day, as it was originally, powerful, andjharper than a two-edged Sivord"^. Inquire then, where the Fault may be. Never defpair, nor be immoderately grieved, if your Succefs be fmall: but be not in- different about it : do not content yourfelves with the indolent Plea, that you have done your Duty, and are not anfwerable for the Event. You may have done it as far as the Law requires : yet by no Means have dif- charged your Confciences. You may have done it confcientioufly, yet not with the Diligence or the Addrefs that you ought. And as we are leldom eaiy in other Cafes, when we fail of our End ; if we are fo in this, it doth not look well. At lead confult ■ Heb. iv. 12. X your 322 The ArchbiJl:op of Can t e r bur y*5 your Hearts upon the Point. And if you have been deficient, beg of God Pardon, Grace and Diredioni endeavour to do more for your People ; confult your Brethren about the Means. Converfation of this Na- ture will much better become Clergymen when they meet, than any which is not relative to their Profefiion, or only rela- tive to the Profits of it. But efpecially alk the Advice of the moft able and fe- rious. I am very fenfible, that in all the Particu- lars before-mentioned I have been far from obferving fufficiently myfelf^the Rules which I have now recommended to you: but hope I fhall make fome Amends, though late, to the Church of Chrift, by exhorting and di- reifiling others. It was my Purpofe, after fpeakiiig of ftated Inftrudlions, to have pro- ceeded to occafionai ones: a very important and fadly negleded Part of the paftoral Care, But my Strength will not fuffice : and I have detained you already too long. If God fpare me to another like ^Occafion, that Hiali be my Subjed, If not, as is moft probable, third Charge fo his Clergy. 323 probable, I fhall endeavour to leave behind me [baie Admonitions to you concern- ing if. At prefcnt I can only intreat you to confider very ferioully, what Numbers there are in moft Parifhcs, and therefore perhaps in yours, whom you cannot think to be in a State of Salvation j and how greatly it imports you to ufe with them, as you folemnly promifed at your Ordination, not only public hut private Monitions, as ISJeed JJmll reqidre^ and Occajion JJmll he given. The eternal Welfare of many poor Creatures may depend on tills : and your own is deeply concerned in it, as God himfelf hath de- clared : who will certainly expedt that what he requires you to do, be done to the very utmofi: of your Ability. Son of Man, I have made thee a Watchman imto the Houfe of Jfrael: therefore hear the Word at my Mouth, and give them Warjiing from me* Jf thou dojl not fpeak to warn the ivicked from his wicked Way J he fjall die in his Iniquity, tut his blood will I require at thitie Hand, * Nothing of this Kind has been found among his Grace's Papers. X z But 324 7heAbp. o/'Cant£RBury*5 Charge^tcc. But if thou warn the wickedy and he turn not from his Wickednefsy he Jhall die in his Iniquityy but thou hajl delivered thy Soul *. * Ezek. iii. 1 7 , 1 8, 1 9, xxxiii. 7,8,9. INSTRUCTIONS INSTRUCTION^ GIVEN TQ CAN D I DAT E S FOR ORDERS ^fter their fubrcribing the Articles, X3 Genthnen, YOU have now made the Subfcription, by Law required. And as, in fo do- ing, you have acknowledged the Liturgy and Articles of the Church of England to be agreeable to the Word of God ; I hope you will think yourfelves bound, as you are, to be careful, that the Inftrudions which you give, and the Dodrines which you maintain, in public and in private, be agreeable to that Liturgy and thofe Articles: that you neither contradi6t, nor omit to inculcate and defend, on proper Occafions, the Truths, which they contain. In the next Place I exhort you to fpend a due Share of the Remainder of this Day in what, I truft, hath employed not a little of your Time already i weighing diligently the X 4 Nature 328 Instructions given to Nature and Importance of the Undertaking, in which you are about to engage; forming fuitable Refolutions; and earneftly begging that Grace of God, which alone can make you able Minijlers of the ISlew Tejlament ". Nothing is better iitted to afTift you in this good Workj than the Office of Ordina- tion, of Deacons or Priefts, as you are re- fpedively concerned. You muft certainly have read it over, before you offered your- felves. Since that, you have been direded to read it again. But I defire you to perufe it once more this Afternoon with your (jeft Attention, that you may join in it to- morrow with a greater degree of rational Serioufnefs; and particularly, that you may anfwer, on more deliberate Confideration, the Queftions, which will then be put to you. For there can hardly be a Cafe, in which either Infincerity, or even Thought- lelTnef?, would carry in it heavier Guilt. And that you may be in no Perplexity concerning the Meaning or Fitnefs of any Part of the Office, it may be ufeful to go through fome Parts of it along with you * 2 Cor. »i. 6, beforehand, |Candi DATES ycT Orders. 329 beforehand, proceeding as they lie in the Book. The firft Thing, which Candidates, both for Deacons and Priefts Orders, after t^^ey are prefented, are required to do, as di:lin(fl from the reft of the Congregation, is to take the Oaths of Allegiance, and Supremacy. For as you are to be Minifters of the Church eftablifhed by Law in this Nation, it is evidently reafonable, that the civil Go- vernment, eftablifhed by Law, fiiould be afTured of the Fidelity and AfFedion of Per- fons to whom it gives and fecures Privileges and Profits; and who are intrufted with the Care, amongft other Matters, of rrraklng Men good Subjeds. Now thefe Oaths bind every Perfon, who takes them, to honour the King^i and by Confeqiience all that are put in Authority under him, both in Word and Deed J and to /W, in Subje(?iion to th^m, quiet and peaceable Lives\ That thefe Things may with a oood Confcience be promifcd and performed^ there is no juft Caufe of Doubt. But if any one thinks there is, he ought to apply for Satisfa6lion; ^ I Pet.ii. i';. = I Tim. ii. 2. and 330 Instructions given to and till he receives it, he ought to abfhln from taking the Oachs. I^or whatever is not cf Fait by is Sin'^ : end in this Cafe it would be no lefs, than Perjury. Nothing is a Plea fufficient for committing any Sin, much lefs one fo heinous: not even all the Force, that can be ufed. But here is no Shadow of Force. You are come voluntarily to offer yourfelves, well knowing that the Oaths muft be tendered to you : that is, you have ^lade it your Choice to take them. But by your Subfcriptionyou have entered - into a further Obligation : to ufe the Liturgy in all your public Miniftrations ^* and therefore, to pray for the King by Name, for bis long Life and Profperity, for his obtaining Vidory over all his Enemies. God forbid, that any one, who doth this, fhould be c^if- aftecled to the Government, under which we live. And if we are Friends, it is both our Duty and our Wifdom to (hew that we are. For thus we fhall flrengthen an Efla- bli{llmen^ on which, under God, the fafe Enjoyment of our Religion intirely depends -, yjQ ihail procure the Support, which we •I Rom. xjv. 23. 'Qa.n.id. 3 cannot CANDiDATEs/^r Orders. 331 cannot but be fenfible, that we want; and we (ball filence, or at lead confute thofe, who love to fpeak defpitefuUy againftus on this Head. After the Oaths, Candidates for Deacons Orders are afked : Do ycti triift that you arc inwardly mo^ced by thje Holy Ghoft to take upon you this Office and Miniflraiion ^ A folemn Queftion : and which ought to be well con- fidered, before it is anfwered. Obferve then ; it is not faid, Do you feel; have you an imme- diate Perception of fuch an Impulfe from the Holy Ghoft, as you can diftinguilh from all other inward Movements by its Manner of imprefling you : but, Do you triiji -, are you on good Grounds perfuaded? What then are the proper Grounds of fuch Per- ' fuafion ? In the fiift Place, if he hath not moved you efFcdually to Xiytfoberly, rigbteoujly, etna godly \ you may be fure he hath not moved you to aiTume the Office of a Minifter in God's Church. Examine yourfelves there- fore ftridtly on this Point: a moft important one to all Men; but to you, if poOlble, ^Tit. ii. 12. above 332 Instructions given to above all : and before you |.)refume to offi- ciate in his Houfe, afk your Hearts, Do you tranfgrefsj do you omit, no Duty, wil- fully or knowingly ? Have you a genuine pradical Faith in Chrifl: ? Are you, on the Terms of the Gofpel Covenant, intitled to everlafting Life ? But fuppofing that you are, more is requifite in the prefent Cafe : and what more, the latter Part of the Quef- tion points out. To ferve God, for thepro^ moting of his Glory\ and the edifying of his Church, This then being the Defign of the Office ; if, (o far as you know your own Hearts, this is your Motive to defire it; and if, fo far as you can judge of your own Abilities and Attainments, they are equal to it in fome competent Degree : then you may fafely anfwer, that you trufi ycu are moved by the Holy Ghofl to take it upon yctf. For we can have fuch Trujl to God- •ward only through Chrifl, who hath fent us the Spirit : 'we are 7iot fufjicient to do or think any Thing as of ourfelves : but our Sufficiency is of God^. Together with this principal IVJotiye, ciferving God by edifying his People, If 2 Cor. iii- 4, 5. you CANDIDATESyi/r OrDERS. 333 you may allowably have the fubordinate one, of providing a decent Maintenance for your own Support, and for thofe who may belong to you : but if you are indifferent or cool about the former, and attentive only or chiefly to the latter :. fince you cannot think that fuch Difpofitions are approved by the Holy Spirit, as proper for the A'liniftry, you will be guilty of lying to him ^, if you af- firm, that he hath moved vou to enter on it with them. Therefore infpedt your Souls thoroughly ; and form them, by the Help of divine Grace, to be duly influenced by the right Principle, before you venture to anfwer this Queflion : which is very wifely made the leading one; becaufe your Inducement; will be the Rule of your Behaviour, and probably alfo the Meafure of your Succefs. The next Queftion, put to thofe who apply for Deacons Orders, and the iirfl: to fuch as have received them, and defire to be admitted Priefts, is, Do you thinks that you are truly called^ according to the Will of Chrijl, and the due Order of this Realm, to the Mi^ nljlry of the Church ? This is, are you con- •> Ads V. 3. fcious '334 H^sn^vcfioNS ghen to fcious neither of any Defed in Body 6f Mind, nor of any other Impediment, which may, for the prefent, if not for ever, be, according to the Laws of God or Man, a jufl Obftacle in your Way ? Such Things ma/ efcape our Knowledge or Memory. There- fore we call upon you to inform us. And you are bound to anfwer with Sincerity. It is not requifite, that I fliould enlarge on every Queflion ; though it is, that you fhould weigh every one ferioufly. That, which recites the Duties of Deacons, may feem to have fome Difficulty in it : as it affigns to them Occupations, which the Acts of the Apoftks do not, in the Hiftory of their Ap- pointment'; and as they are but little em- ployed now in the fingle Bufinefs, therd allotted to them. But that PafTage of Scrip- ture plainly was intended to fet forth, only the immediate and urgent Reafon of or- daining them, not the Whole of what was, then or foon after, given them in Charge^ -For we find in the fame Book, that PMIijf tlie Deacon both preached and baptized K' And the Qualifications, required in Deacons *A6l8vi. * Aflsviii. 5— 13, 26 — 40. by Candidates for Orders. 33^ by St. Taid •, intimate very clearly, that more Things muft, even then, have been incumbent upon them, than administering to the Relief of the Poor. Accordingly, from the primitive Ages downwards, they are defcribed as performing occafionaliy moft of the fame Offices, which they do now; and being, what their Name denotes, affiftant and fubfervicni to Priefls in all proper Em- ployments ^. And the lefs they are engaged in their chief original one, the more Oppor- tunity and the more Need they have, to fhew Diligence in the other good Works, belong- ing or fuited peculiarly to their Station. The next Queftion is common to Candi- dates for each Order: Will you fajljton your cwn hives y and thofe cf your Families, fo far as in you Heth^ to be ivholefome Examples to the Flock ofChrift? This extends to avoid- ing in your own Behaviour, and reflraining in theirs, Follies, Levities, mean and difreput- able Adions, as well as Crimes and Vices. The Apoftle enjoins Deacons and their Wives to be grave • : much more than ought Priefts. ' I Tim. iii. & — 13. "*" SczBiKgham':, Orlg. Eccl. 1. %i C. 30. ' ° I Tim. iii. 8, ii. He 33^ Instructions I'/^-f;/ /(? He enjoins every Cbriftl^n to ahjlainfrom alt Appearance of Evil". And our bleffed Lord enjoins all his Difciples to be wife, as well as harmlefs p. Therefore govern yourfelves and yours by thefe Rules : and confider fre- quently, whether you obferve them well^ For without it you will neither gain Efteem^ nor do good. The lafi: Queflion^ put alike to the whole Number of Candidates, is, Wilt you reverently obey your Ordinary , and them to iDhom the Go- vernment over you is committed? You would bebound to this, though you were not to promife it: for both Reafon and Scripture demand it. Still more firmly you will be bound, when you have promifed it, though it were of fmall Importance. But it is of very great, not only to the Dignity and Eafe of your Superiors, but to your own Intereft, and the Benefit of the whole Church. Our Saviour both commands, and prayed for Unity amongft his Followers in the mofl: cxprellive Terms 'i. Without Union there cannot be a fufficicnt Degree either of Strength * I Thefr. V. 22. P Matih.x. i6. ^ Johnxiii. 34, 35. xvii. II, 13, 21, tz, 23. or CANDIDATESy^r OrDERS. 337 or Beauty : and without Subordination there cannot long be Union. Therefore obey, as the Apoflle diredls, them that have the Rule over you ^ j and promote their Honour, their Credit, their Influence. This will make uS abler to ferve the Caufe of Religion, and protect you. And God forbid that, fo far as we are able, we fhould ever fail to be willing and zealouSi In the Office for the Ordination of PrieftSi after a pious and awful Charge, which I recommend to your mofi: ferious Attention, follow feveral Queftions of the greateft Mo- ment, your Anfwers to which, I hope, you will remember to the laft Day of your Lives. In thefe Anfwers, befides v/hat hath been already mentioned, you promife, that the T)o5lrtne and Difcipline of Chrijif as contained in Scripture, and received in this Church a?id Realm, {hall be the Standard of your teach- ing and adling ; and every Thing contrary to them be faithfully oppofed by you : that you will ufe both public and private Monitions and Exhortatio?25, as well to the Sick as to the Whole ^ within your Cures j and that, as fre- 'Heb.xiii. 17. Y quently ^3^ Instritctions ghen to quently and fully as Need flmll require, and Occajion be given. You promife alfo, that you ivillbe diligent in Prayers and reading the Holy Scriptures i which by the preceding Exhortation evidently appears to mean, pri-. vate Prayer and Reading; and infuch Studies, as help to the Knowledge of Scripture ; laying ajide the Study of the World and the FleJJj : that is, not making, either grofs Pleafures, or more refined Amufements, even literary ones unconnected with your Profeffion, or Power, or Profit, or Advancement, or Ap- plaufe, your great Aim in Life ; but labour- ing chiefly to qualify yourfelves for doing Good to the Souls of Men, and applying carefully to that Purpofe whatever Qualifica- tions you attain. Further yet, you promife, that you iviil maintain and fet forwards, as much as lieth in sou, ^ietnefs, Peace and Love- among all Chriftian People-, and efpecially among them, that are or fjall be committed to your Charge. By this you oblige yourfelves, never to raife or promote perfonal, family, parochial, ecclefiafticai, political, or any other, Anirnofitics ; but to difcourage, and, if pofiiblcj compofe and extinguifii them -, than which CANDiDATEsy^r Orders. 339 which you cannot perform a more ChrlQian Part, or one more conducive to your Honour and your Ufefulnefs. But, befides pondering well beforehand thefe AnfwerSj which you are to make, I earneftly beg you, to read and think them over often afterwards: and particularly, at each Return of the Ember Weeks to exa'mine yourreives,as in thePrefence of God, whether you have made good the Engagement, into which you entered at your Ordination. So far as you have, this Practice will afford you the greateft poffible Comfort : fo far as you may have tailed, it will fuggeft to you the tno{\. ufeful Admonition. After thefe Qj^eftions, a fhort Silence is appointed to be kept for the fecret Prayers of the Congregation, that God would enable and incline you to do what you have under- taken: which Blefiing, I hope, you will afk at the fame Time foryotirfelves very earneftly. Then follows a Hymn of conliderable Anti- quity: and to be repeated with much Reve- rence, on Account of the important Petitions and Dodlrines comprized in it, though it be altogether void of Ornament in that old Tran- Y 2 (lation. 340 I^stAu CT ion s ghen to llation, which we ftill retain. Next to thi?, follows a very proper Addrefs to the Throne of Grace, pronounced by the Bifhop alone, in the Name of the whole AiTembly : which is indantly fucceeded by the Ad of Ordina- tion. The firfl: Words of that, Receive the Holy Ghoft, were ufed by our Saviour to his Apo- ftles, immediately after he had faid, as my Father hath fent me, even fo fend 1 you'', God gave not the Spirit by Meafiire unto him^: and he was able to beftow what Meafure he pleai'ed, both of fpiritual Gifts and Graces, upon others. He meant however by this Benediction to confer only the ordinary ones : for the extraordinary, you know, were re- ferved till after his Afcenfion. Far be it from the BiOiops of his Church to claim, even in Refpecft of the former, the Powers which he had. But flill thefe Words in our Mouths, when fpoken over you, properly exprefs, in the firlT: Place, the Communica- tion of that Authority, which proceeds from the Holy Ghoft. For we read, that the Holy Ghoffaid, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for ' John XX. 21, 22. * John iii. 34, the Candidates for Orders. 341 the Work J iv hereunto I have called them " : and that the latter of thefe exhorted the Elders of the Church of Ephefus, Take Heed to the Flock f over which the Holy Ghofi hath made you Overfeers ^''. They alfo exprefs, in the fecond Place, our earneft requcft to the Father of Mercies, that you may at all Times enjoy fuch Proportions, both of the Graces and Gifts of the Spirit, as will be needful for you: which Requefl:, if it be not your own Fault, will prove effecftual i becaufe having, in the common Courfe of his Providence, appointed us, though unworthy, to adt ia this Behalf, he will affuredly be ready to own and blefs our Miniftrations. It follows very foon : whofe Sins thou do/i forgive y they are forgive n-j and whofe Sins thou do ft retain^ they are retained. Thefe again are the Words of Chrift to his Apoftles, immediately after the former. But he did not grant to them the Power, either of re- taining the Sins of penitent Perfons, or of forgiving the impjnitent. Nor do we pre- tend to grant, by uttering them, all the Powers, which the Apoftles had in this " Afls xiii. z. '"' h^i xx, 2K. Y 3 Refpea 342 Instuctions given to Refped:. They had the Difcernment of Spirits'^ i and could fay with Certainty, when Perfons were penitent, and confequently forgiven, and when not''. They were able alfo to inflid: miraculous punifhments on Offenders; and to remove, on their Repentance, the Puniihments, which had been inflidled, Thefe Words will convey Nothing of all this to you. But ftill, when we ufe them, they give you, firft, an AfTurance, that according to the Ter.ms of that Gofpel, which you are to preach, Men fhall be pardoned Or con- demned : fecondly, a Right of infliding eccleiiallical Cenfures for a {horter or longer Time, and of taking them off; which, in Regard to external Communion, is retaining or forgiving Offences. This Power, being beftowed for the Edification of the Church, muft be retrained, not only by general Rules of Order, but according to the parti- cular Exigencies of Circumftances. And our Church Wifhes, with much Reafon, for Circumftances more favourable to the Exer- tion of it"^. But how little foever exerted, « iCor. xii. 10. ^ Aasviii. 21, 23, * Office of Coraminatioa,. 1 the CANDiDATEsy2?r Orders. 343 the Power is inherent in tlie Oilite of Pricftliood. And though we are no more infallible in our Proceedings and Sentences, than temporal Judges are in theirs i yet our Ads, as well as theirs, are to be refpeded, as done by competent Authority. And if they are done on good Grounds alfo, luhat- ever we J}:aU bind or loofe on Earth, will he bound or loofed in Heaven*, Nor will other Proofs of Repentance be fufficient in the Sight of God, if Subniiflion to the Difcipline of the Church of Chrift, when it hath been s offended, and requires due Satifadion, be obQinately refufed, either from Haughiinefs or Negligence. To thefe Words is fubjoined the conclu^ ding Charge: and be thou a faithful L)ifpcnfir of the Word of God^ and of his holy Sacra- ments. This then is the Scewardlhip com- mitted to vou. And vou cannot but fee, in what a profane and corrupt Age it is com- mitted to you: howgrievoufly Religion, and its Minifters, are hated or defpifcd; how lamentably both they, and its other ProfciTors, are degenerated and divided. Your Bjfmefs » Matth. xviii. i8. Y 4 will 344 Instruction's fl^/i;f;2 /(? will be, each within the Sphere of his In-» fluence, to prevent thefe Things from grow- ing worfe; which, bad as they are, they ftill may; and, if porfible, to make them belter j or at leaf!-, to recover or preferve fuch, as you can, from the general Depravity. But you will never fucceed in your Attempts for this Purpofe, either by Bitternefs againft Infidels, Heretics, and Sedaries, or by Contempt and Ridicule of enthufiaftic or fuperftitious Per- fons. The only right Method is a very different one: diligent Study, to fit yourfelves more completely for teaching and vindicating the Truths of Chriftianity : fcriptural and rational Inftrudion, affiduoufly given, with Zeal and Mildnefs duly tempered, and fuited to the Capacities and Condition of your Hearers : a willing and devout and ^ffc0.ing Performance of all facred Rites, whether in the Church or elfewhere: but above all, a Behaviour, innocent, humble, peaceable, dif- interefted, beneficent, abilemious, difcieet, religious. Take Heed therefore to your Steps : and walk in the prefent evil Days with fuch Piety and Caution, that, as the Office exhorts, you Candidates for Orders. 345 you ??my ?ieithcr off'end, nor he Occajton that others off'end ; but may cut off Occnfion front them which dcfire Occafon^ againft youj that they who are of the contrary Part, and falfely accufe your good Cojiverfation in Chrif^ may be cfoamed^ of thcmfclves -, or however, that your Mafter and Judge may not he afiamedcf you^ at" the great Day, but pronounce over each of you, IP^ell dotiCy good and faithful Ser^ ^antj enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord"^. * 2 Cor. xi. 1 2. « Tit. ii. 8. i Pet. iii. i6. ■* Mirl^ viji. 38. Lukcix. 26. F iVia;:h. xxv. 21. O R A 1M O O R A T I O quam coram S Y N O D PROVINCIiE CANTUARIENSIS Anno 1 761 convocat^ habendam fcrlpferat, fed morbo prsepeditus non habui,t, ARGHIEPISCOPUS, SAtisfeciftls egregie, Fratres, noftrae om- nium expefkatloni, Prolocutore eleifto, quern naturae dotibus cumulatum, fideChrif- tiana penitus imbutum, humanitate politum, cruditione excultum, audtoritate gravem no- vimus : atque adeo dignlffimum, qui a viro laudato iis ornaretur praeconijs, quae in utrumque conveniunt. Conceflb igitur vobis libenter, quern petitis, Referendario, intendamus jam communiter animos in ea, quae hodiernas celebritatis ratio poftulat. Et haec quidem, licet minime idoneus, tamen cum id fit officii mei, conabor exponere^ oratione ufus Latina, (fic enim eft in more pofitum, nequid, puto, intelligant inepti auditores) nulla autem adhibita dicendi clegantia ; quam fi fedlarer tandem poft quadraginta ferme annorum defuetudinem, omnino non afl'equerer; fed familiari admo- dum ac tenui fermone ; Deum orans ut quod c pedore 350 Oratio Synodalis. * e pedore meo proveniet in veftra defcen- dat, etfrudumferat. Ncque enim plaufumji 'ne veftrum quidem, eapto ; de hoc unice follicitus, ut aliquidjfi polTum, proferam, quo fapientiores et meliores utrinque evadamus, ct fervi fideles utilefque domini noflri Jefu Chrifti inveniamur in fupremo Wlo die. ConvenimuSj PatresFratrefquej in id parati^ utopem fer.mus verasreligioni, bonifque mo- hbus, modo quidpiam ejufmodi nobis de- mandetur. Quod cum jam diu non fit fac- tum, rogitant homines procacioris ingenii, quorfum hue ridenda foltnnitate, fic enim interpretantur, congregamur, quibus nihilne- gotii datum eft, nee etic^m dabitur. Sinite quaefo, ut huic pctulantiae, nimium graf- lanti, pauca prius repoaam, quam ad aha progrediar. Illudne ergo fpernendum exiftimant, quod hsec facra Sy nodus eodem antiquiflimo jure conftituta eft, quo comlda procerum & eorum qui plebis viccm gerunti quodque optimi Principis juffa acciti comparemus t Reverebuntur, qui reda fapiunt, utramque partem, tarn ectlefiafticamquam civilem, rei- publican Britannicse, nee vel unum lapidem, praefertim Oratio Sykodalis. 351 praefertim qui fundamenta contingat, ex vc- nerando jedificio dimotum cuplent, ne totius molis, ut fuperiore fasculo, ruina confequa- tur. Multa fecit hie ccEtus in redintegranda puriori fide cultuque, reipublic^ cumprimis utilia : hoc folo meritus, ut Temper in pof- terum honorifice convocarelur. Qua3 porro fit fadurus, vel nunc vel pofthac, quandocun- que concefla fuerit aliquid agendi facultas, in pejus prasjudicari non debet: neque pau- lo modeftiores negaturos putem, quin ab CO non pauca in commune bonum fieri pof- fent, et a nobis fierent lubenter. Quid quod & interim orientur ab hoc confeflu commoda non mediocria ? Videbunt cives noftri in eum intuentes, quinamfimus,quieccleficE Anglica- na:?, Epifcopi, Decani, Archidiaconi, prsfide- mus J qualefque fibi delegerit Procuratores Cle- rus parochialis : unde fore confidimus, ut nihil fibi a nobis extimefcendum efi!e autument, fed omnia quie bona funt fperanda. Congregati preces coram Deo fudimus concorditer : quas quin ille, promifii memor, clementer acce- pcrit, nefas efi: dubitare. Hortationi inter- fuiftis, pietate pariter ac prudentia fumma refertJE, quse ctfi multorum aures recitata practervolaverit. 2S2 Oratio Synodalis. piJEtervolaverit, omnium animoslefla inflam- mabit. Confilia etiam faluberima praefentes invicem pro re naia communicabimus. Li- cebit denique Regem uno ore fuppllciter com- pellare; noflram in ilium fidem & obfer- vantiam, in religionem, virtutem, legitimam libertatem, cum civilem turn ecclefiafticam, fludium teftari; eoque efiicere, ut etlamfi natura atque inilitutione nunquam non fuerit pricconibus veritatis propitius, fiat tamen in- dies benignior, & fpretis male feriatorum ho- minum cavillationibus, quicquid vel fadu vel creditu indignum eft, cohibeat, quantum falva unicuique confcientiac piasrogatlva po- teO: ; quceciinque autem funt vcray qucecimque pudica^jujia, fciiiBa^ amabilia, boned, formes^ y non folum, ut femper, exempio, fed monitis privatim, edidis publice, animofe tueatur. Hasc nihil elTe, nemo dixerit : fatis non t^c^ ultro fateor. Difquiramus igitur, unde quod deeft poflit accedere. Clamabunt extempio fervidiores, argu- mentis, obteftationibus, amicorum depreca- tione, purpuratorum gratia, omni machina » Phil. iv. 8. contendendum. Oratio Svnodalis. 353 contendendum, ut qurecunque jura Synodis prioribus fuerunt attributa, iildem arnietur et haec, regio mandate : refufcitandam demum ejus ope collapfani & emortuam veierls EcclefijE difciplinam, atque excrcendam ftre- nue; noflra enim nos jam pridem eviluific inertia. Et hi quidem pkrumqiie religiofi funt viri, multaque ledione exercitati. Sed parum vident, quid ferant tempora, quove loco fimus. Primum adverfarios habemus cmnes, non modo qui Deum efTe apertc negant, quoa omni tempore fuiiTe paucos arbitror, fed eos etiam qui, ut ifte olim, oratione 7'eiinquunf, re iollunt : & Tub recenti latitantes Deiftarum nomine, fi verum eloqui oportet, Aiheifunt. Nequeenini numen illud fuum bonos remu- nerari, neque improbos punire credunt: unde nullius fcret momenii, exifieret necne. Proinde conflant in eo fibi quod nullum ei honorem, vel una vel Icorfim, quantum ego quidem inaudiverim, exhibeant^ 5c natura;, quas vocant, leges iis limitibus quifquc cir- cumfcribat, qui lubidini i'ux optime con- gruant; eaque forte mutata, confcrtim aliud fibi juris naturalis corpus effingant, vel exceptiones quafdam futiles in fui gratia m 3 Z excogit€nt, 354 Oratio Synodalis. excogitent, ut permilTutn videatur quicquid arridet. Licentiam interim, quam fibi infi- nitam afTerunt, adeo gravate cum piis com- municant, ut a cultu divino quoflibet obvios fanriis &convitiis arceant, fuos vero nonnun- quam interdidionibus minifque; egregii fci- lic.et, immo vero, fi creditis, unici, libertatis vindices. Cum his fere fe conjungunt, neque multo funt nobis squiores, qui do(5trinam Chrif- tianam profitentur quidem, fed parvi pen- dunt, aut erroribus contaminant: item qui dignitati noftrs invident, aut polTeirionibus inhiant. Quot autem univerfi fint, quan- tumque confociati valeant, animus dicere horrefcit. Jam porro, ut de Pontificlis taceam, qui oGCultis licet nunc dierum odiis, immortali- bus tamen, diligenter fibi vires in idoneum tempus comparanti inter ipfos Reformatos, quid de Diffentientium, uti vocitantur, Fra- trum afredu ftatuemus? Hos quidem fpes erat in matris antiquae gremium fe prope- diem recepturos ; utpote tandem Epifcopa- tum & Liturgiam praefcriptam vel probantes, vol ferri polTe confitentes, nee amplius inno- cuis caeremoniis, tanquam larvis, exterritos. Contn . Oratio Synodalis 355 Centra vero nupcr illorum plurcs, partlm opinioncs pravas de variis Fidei Capitibus ar- ripuerunt, partini hoc nobis objiciunt, quod quae legibus ciyilibus fundatur Ecclelia, eo ipfo defilt Chrifto rite lubefTe. Unde cum prius videri poteramus in mutuos ruituri amplexus, nunc ex impiovifo refiliunt, diffi- dentque longiffime : nee raro amicitias cum apertis Chriftiani nominis hoftibus ftudiofe colunt, dum nos afperrime exagitant. Hi igitur omnes, quos had:enus memo- ravi, ftadm ut aliquid aggredi coepimus, cun6taclamoribus opplcbunt, aliud Synoduni prae fe ferre, aliud meditari diditabunt, affedatas tyrannidis dicam fcribent, patulis multorum auribus, quas fibi imaginantur, facile infundent; at que etiam qus ipfi non credunt, aliis perfuadebunt. Etcnim funt mire propenfi homines, ali(iquin baud mali» ad fufpiciones adverfum nos fovend.as : quas cum antehac (nam fatendum eft,) aliquate- nus juftse fuerint, nimium tenaci recondun- tur ufque memoria, nee abfque diuturno labore eximentur, Verum obfepta eft ct aliis obftaeulls via. Non adeo multa fane, quod mihi quidem Z 2 conftat, 356 Oratio Synodalis conftat, prompta habemus, quae in Synodo proponantur : eaque brevi fpatio poflemus ad exitum perducere. Sed cam primum rumor percrebuerit ad negotia tradlanda nos accingi, plurimas illico plurimi molitiones inftituent, fiium quifque commentum invitis ingerens; mille opinionum obtrudentur monftra, mille fpcciofaj, aut ne fpeciofs quidem, rerum no- vandarum formulas, quasdam a malevolis, quaidam ab indodtis aut rudibus, quaedam etiam a cordatioribus ipfis : et quod hie ne- cefTarium, ille exitabile efle pronunciabit. Haec omnia fi rejicimus oblata, fuperbum videbitur; fi fumimus dijudicaada, in infi- nitum res abibit: quoquo nos vertamus, gravem ofFenlionem concitabimus; nee tan- dem fortalTe quidquam decernere, atit fi de- cernimus obtinere ut ratum fit, valebimus. Non fum nefcius morem antiquitus fuilTe fententiarum varietates Synodorum decretis reprimere : fed cum Synodi, fed cum Clerici feparatim, pondus haberent, quo nunc plane carent. Nam hodie quidem plurimis ludus cfl, immo etiam honori fibi ducant, nos pe- tulanter fruftrari, quanquam nee oderint, ncc metuant : quod longe acrius aggredien- 7 ^"^ Oratio Synodalis. 357 tur, cum intermiffa din confilla renovari in- tellexerint. Dicet quis forfan, Regem falutls publicai & fidei Chriftiana2 {ludiofiflimum, fi minus ultro, faltem admonitum, certe ornaturum nos rerum conftituendarum poteftate, & ad- verfus improborum machinationes in tuto collocaturum. Et quidem talem ovanti pa- trijE divinitus contigifTe ex imo pecftore vobis gratulor ; Deumque vcneror ut pofTit, quod velle fcio, in Religionis amorem fuos accen- dere, & Ordini noflro debitum honorem con- ciliare. Sed nee poteft omnia, nee inoppor- tune tempore quidpiam adorietur, nee iis inconfultis, quorum fpedta fide & fapientia merito nitltur. Jam hi, bene quidem nobis voluntj utnemo poiTit melius: fed rerum fua- rum, hac prsfertim tempeftate, fatagunt; & "inde noftris (nam quid apud vos parcam pro- loqui?) aliquanto minus dedunt fe, quam optandum ellet. Metuunt nempe, ne fi res beUicas ecclefiaftlcis cumulent, obruantur negotiorum multitudine. Metuunt etiam, ne quid a nobis, ne quid faltem ab aliis, turbetur. Jufto timidiores, vel fane fegni- orcs, forfan putabitis, qui talia caufentur. Z 3 Nee 355 Oratio Syi^odalis. Nee inteicedo. Habent tamen ilia fpeciem aHquam, qua li capiantur ifll, non eft nimis indignandum. Et jium folenne illud fuum identidem occentant, quieta non movenda, mirum ni affentiatur princeps juvenis, magis aliquando fibi noblfque fifurus. Quill fingamus conceiTam, qu22 expetitur, facultatem. Si pauca tantum, eaque leviora comple(flerctur, multi nos magno conatu nihil agere dicerent : et cum vel minimis aliquod tempus dandum fit, noftrum non exiguus numerus domum pcrtsli diliberen- tur, relifta Synodo infrequente & inhonorata. Quod fi multa & gravia demandarentur, alii nihil reilare integrum clamitarent; 6c pofTet evenire, ut in partes ipfi diftraheremur. Spero equidem, & amplam fpei materiam praebet afpe(ftus vefter, fic nos afFedos efle, ut ardentiores lenioribus, expertis rerum in- exptrd, fe vilient fubmittere, nemo temere aut fecrfim quidquam inceptare, nemo per- tinaciter urgere pcriculofa vel fufpeda. Sed nefcio an haec omnia fpondere quis aufit: quas tamen ii minus praeftabimus, quando- cunque arcefTemur in commune confulturi, opinionum difcrepantitim conflidu incen- dentur Oratio Synodalis. , 359. dentur ircc, fcindemur in ftudia cont ra, lateque a nobis manabunt in publicunii dif- cordias, Hujufmodi multa in civilibus comitiis impune fiunt : in noflris fieb.mt olim : nunc nemo ferret. Undique incurfa- rent, undique impeterent nos: nee mora, pro imperlo edicerent, qui poiTunt, finem hifce diflidiis adutum quoquo modo effc impo- nendum. Abrumpenda efTet repente tela exorfa: conquererentur bonorum non pauci noftra culpa nihil fucccffifle, led omnia de- teriora fadla; & falfe deriderent nos quot- quot funt alieni, vel a Chriftiana fide, vel ab hierarchia Anglicana. Quinetlam fi nulls lites orirentur, eo certlus malignitatem 6c livorem quorundam exflimularemus. Nam qui maxime difTenfionum nos accufant, mi- nime eadem fentire, & bene rem gerere cu- piunt. His de caufis, tametfi prorfus arbltril noflri eflet ad negotia capeilcnda flatim convolare, quid prudentiores exiftimarent, baud dixe- rim: ego ampliandum cenferem. Quid ergo? Jubeone vos de Synodo a(5tu- ofa, deque EccleliiE ftatu per earn emen- dando, defperare? Abfit vero. Semper eni- Z 4 tendum 360 Oratio Symodalis. tendum eft, ut antiqui regiminis non modq retineamus formam, fed et vim inftaiiremus, quatenus vei divino vel humano jure fulcitur. Atque interim manca quodammodo etmutila erit TToKiTeia noftra. Hoc tantum caveri ve- iim, ne, quod fieri, vel tuto fieri, nequit, exoptemusj ne audacibus & calidis inceptis faveamus; ne laqueis implicemur, unde ex- pedire nos erit difficile. Hoc tantum com- moneo, lentis paflibus efle procedendum, cuncftacircumrpedanda, impedimenta fedulo amolienda, & fubfternenda, diligenter medi- tata; ftrudturs firma fundamenta. Non eft igitur oratio mea procraftrinantis, eludendi caufa, fed in juftum tempus differentis. Erit etiam, bona cum venia veftra, praecipientis quo padto maturabitur quod avemus. Pcrmagni ad hoc propofitum intereft, ut fimus ipfi, quofquc pafcimus greges efficia- mus, quantum res patitur, unanimes, potifli- mum in fide falutari. Sunt enim qui fe noftros vocant, nihilo tamen fecius multa quae docemus improbant; fpeciatim, qus ad S. S. Trinitatem pertinent, ad Redempti- qriem generis humani, ad illapfum Gratia C2eleftis in mentes fidelium. Jam vero li longius Oratio Synodalis. 361 longlus proferpferit error lententiam de his receptam repudiantium; vel fi invalelcant qui comminifcuntur, praeter horum perfuafio- nem, bonorum operum feracem, necefla- riam efle fiduciam flivoris apud Dciim, . fenfibus imis infixam fuperne, qux omneni dubltatlonem tollat : controverfiis affiduis vexablmur ; ad Synodos cum efFedu cele- brandas, nofz in melius, ut Apoftoli verbis utar, fed in deferius conveniemus ^. Nee fo- lum conquafTabitur, tandemque diflblvetur hujus EcclefisE pulcherrima compagcsj quin ctiam corrumpetur integritas vitalis dodrinae, fiquidem ego, diu perpenfis 6c fubdudis, an- cipiti quondam animo, rationibus, verum difcernere valeo. Sunt autem porro, qui fe minime de Fide a nobis dilTentire, aut affirmant, aut videri volunt, fed aequum cenfent omnibus placita qucecunque propugnantibus ad menfam eu- charifticam, atque adeo ad facros ordines, aditum patcre, modo in Chriftum fe credere profitcantur. Sed hoc profefli lunt olim Hccrcticorumpeftilentiffimi: nedicam hodie quadantenus profiteri Mohammedanos. Ad- * 1 Cor. xi. 17. mittantur 362 ^Oratio Synodalis. mittantur ergo, alunt, ii foli, qui facras forip- turas venerantur, ejufquc verbis animorum fenfa declararefuiit parati. Quidvero? Pon- tificii, Tremulorum leda, innumerarum in- eptiarum fautcres, nonne in id funt parati ? Hofne ergo omnes honore fungendi apud nos Sacerdotii dignanturr Sin minus; cur alios, pari ratione repellendos ? Verum hoc faltem Candidatis urgent con- cedendum, ut fuis, non alienis verbis fatif- faciant Ecclefise Redoribus : quod et anti- quitus ufu veniiTe monent. Atque ita fepe diuque fadlum nonnegamus; fed idcirco, 6c merito quidern, fieri defiifle credimus, quod fic Epifcoporum quifque, vel oratione fub- dola, cui difcuticndas fpatium non elTet, facile falli potuerit, vel pro arbitrio rede fentienti- bus viam intercludere, prava fentientes ad- mittere: quodque hinc neceffe fuerit fre- quenter evenire, ut eundem hie rcfpueret, ille amplederetur, et difceptandis litibus inde oriundis una Synodus baud fuffice- ret. Efto igitur, idoneos Articulos Fidei in auxilium vocandos : at certe noftros reco- quendos, 6c incudi redclendos, non pauci contendent. Oratio Synodalis. 363 contcndent. NecdiffitcmurpotuifTc quasdam aptius enunciari, et adverlus tani argutias quam hallucinationes melius muniri. Sed prasclare, ut illis temporibu?, inftrudta &c compofita funt omnia : cgentque hodie tantum explicatlone commoda : non vafram & veteratoriam Inteiligo, fed artis gramma- ticas criticacque regulis confonam. Nee leve ell periculum, ne qui, integris manentibus Articulis, nos ab eorum vera mente defcivifle jactitant, inpyo^U^ crimen atrociori longe clamore, triftiorique eventu impingant, fi medicas iis manus, tanquam malefanis, adhi- beamus. Et \y£C eadem velim iibi in memoriam revocent, qui Liturgiam item recenferi re- formarique flagitant. Ornatior quidem, ac- curatlor, plenior, brevior, et poteft ea fieri & debet : fed modefla tradatione, fed tranquillis hominum animis ; non temerariis, qualia vi- dimus & videmnSj aufis, non inter media diflidiii, mutuafque fufpiciones. Verum ut de his ftatuatur, novam faltem Scripturae verfionem defiderari, plurimis vi- detur: nempe ut populus Chriilianus ea luce fruatur, quasfavente Numineoraculis divinis per 364 Oratio Synodalis. per continuas virorum dodorum vigilias aiTuliit, hifce 150 annis proxime elapfis, ante quos confecta eft Anglica Vulgata. Et quis refragetur honeftiffimas petition!? Sed ad hoc opus poft conquiHtum undiqire omnigens eruditionis apparatum demum accedendum tCt; atque in eo veriandum fumma religione, cautela, induftria, cura porro inter multos amiciffime confpirantes, per longum ternpus, difpehita. Prodeunt quotidie certatlm in- terpretes : fed fere proletarii, vel quorum fu- pervacanea diligentia incertiores multo fumus quam dudum. Revivifcit lingus fandae perquam neceffaria cognitio : fed juftas vires iiondum acquKivit, & fomniis fuis fe oblec- tant quidam ejus cultores. Expedanduni idco, fi aliquid opera dignum facere volu- mus, donee hi aut refipuerint, aut erroris manifefti fmt, donee dcferbuerit novorum fenfuum eruendorum aeftus, & nupera hjec pene dixeram rabies emendandi, qua impel- luntur ut mcndis imprudenter referciant .codicem facrum homines probi, nee ineru- diti ; donee denique exitum aliquem habeat laudandum apprime inftitutum conferondi inter fe, & cum primsvis interpretation!- bus, Oratio Synodalis. 365 bus, Veteris Teflamenti librcs Hebraice fcriptos. Ego fane in omnibus, de qulbus dixi, labores vel maximos, quantum patitur ingra- vefcens & jam fere p;a:ceps setas, proEccleHs bono, non detre6lem, ncc cffenfioncs refor- iTiidem. Scd minime velim eorum fufcioien- dorum audor efle, unde magis glifcant nimiae jampridem rixa;. Nam his vigeniibus protelabitur ufque Synodi conventus etlicax, ne nobis permifli bella inteflina fulcitemus, publicis commodis nocitura. Quod fi femcl fatis Concordes videamur, minuetur iile, qui 'pcnitus, quanquam injuria, in virorum lum- morum animis infedit, metus: quern et omnino depulfum fore fperari potefl, modo palam faciamus nos in omnes, utcunque diverfa fentientes, benevolo animatos efle, ut quidem fumus. Quotufquilque enim eft noftrum, quin banc rem lie fccum reputet ? •* Errat quifpiam ; mirum ni et ego: led " aut vocabulo tantum, aut fi re, innoxie. ** Errat vehementer: led non continuo eft *' Hnereticus. Hacrcticus eft : fed Chriftia- " nus tamcn. Ne Chriftianus quidem : ftd ** Homo laltem. Homo maUis forfitan : *' fed 366 Oratio Synodalis. " fed qui poterit in melius mutarl. Fac " denique non pofTe: Deus vindicabit." Nee idclrco aut flagitiis inquinati, aut fano- rum verborum formulae pertlnaciter adver- fantes, non funt a ccetu piorum fegregandi. Sed in mitiorem partem, turn didis, turn fadis, eft propendendum : nee eadem nobis homuncionibus, quae Apoftolis falli nefciis fuit, au<ftoritas arroganda eft. Etenim longc tutlus erit finere ut zlzania tantifper cum tritico fticcrefcant, quam eos ejicere, qiios tandem Judex communis, magno cum noftro dedecore, poftliminio reftituet. Et qui fe- verius agi poftulant, imbecillitatis fus funt immemores: nee vident quod eft apertifli- mum, hac via periculofe concuftlim, forian etiam everfum, iri, quam ftabilitum eunt Ecclefiam. Nee tamen, ut gaudeamus tranquillitate, rerum theologicarum ftudia funt remittenda: fed excitanda ex diuturno quo languent torpoie. Non eft hsee ^tas noftra legendis, prsefertim antlquioribus, aut gravioris argu- menti, libris, nedum attentae cogitationi, vel fcriptioni operofae, fatis dedita. Olim tra(5latibus omnium generum, dodtrina, judicio. OraTio Svnodalis. 367 judlcio, acumine confpicuis, inclarulnius: nunc non e«aruit quidem, fed arefcit, uber- rimus ille laudum fons. Olim contra Infideles, Pontificios, oppugnatores quof- cunque, fumma cam gloria militavimus: quorum venenatis voluminibus, domi forif- que aflatim editis, nunc parum aut nihil reponimus: unde illis famce celebritas, 6c difcipulorum multitudo; nobis opprobium. Nee utique exiftimabitur illos, quorum pauci quidquam feparatim prseftant, multum prsefiituros in Synodum convocatos. Video quid poflit obtendi: & fponte fateor, pro- fpiciendum efle, nam concreditum eft, nobis qui dicimur Beneficiorum Patroni, ne erudita3 diligentias pncmia defint. Dandum fane aliquid hac in re, ut in omnibus, cognatiuni, honeflis minifleriis, precibus amicorum, potentiorum commendationi- bus, julTa verius vocaverim: fed nuliatenus tantum, ut vel mali, vel plane inhabiles, adnfiittanur ad facia munia, vel negledi jaceant boni & litterati. Q'jod utinam plures Cc exhiberent, qui fludiis redte pofitis, et eorum fru^libus in lucem prolatis, omneni nobis exculdtlonft-iiTi pr^Eripcrent, fi quando 7 in 368 OrATIO SViNODALIS. in minus merentes largius squo iimus bcne- fici. Quanto autem quis eft vel doflrina orna- tior, vel conditione fuperior, tanto opor- tebit, hoc potiffimum faeculo, ut fe gerat fubmifiius. Officii paftoralis dignitatem, in qua conftituti fumus, affidue fufpicere & tueri debemus: verum fi amplilicare ag- gredimur infcite, imminuemus non medio- criter. Neque ecclefiaftic.?, neque civilia, quibus potimur, abjudicare jura, aut licet aut expedit : nam qui illis nofmet ultro cxuentes coUaudare nos non definent, exutos ridebunt. Sed d juftam au61oritatem con- fcrvare volumus, ante omnia cavendum eft, ne immodicam vindicemus. Alioquin magis atque magis in auguftum coercebimur : et demum exilis ilia, quae reftat, umbra regi- minis eripietur, fumma cum plurimorum afpernatione. Nee indecore appetentes erimus (modo fapere, et bene audire, atque adhiberi feriis negotiis cordi eft) aut dulcis luccili, aut gradus cujuflibet altioris. Non funt, ex- perto credite, non funt tanti vel honores vel reditus amollffimi Ecclefiafticis deftinati, ut Oratio Svnodalis. 369 ut a quopiam enixe cupiantur. Multum habent follicitudlnis, non parum forfan invi- dias; vere delcdationis nihil, nifi quoties occurrit, occurrlt autem raro infignis, bene- faciendi occafio. Voluptates, etlam honeftiores, parcc ufur- pare, nee a vltuperandis tantummodo, fed a contemnendis vel parvi faclendis, abftinerc fe, ad exiftimationem Clericorum Interefl quam maxime. Si quos e nobis videant Laid, potionum & ciborum lautitlls indul- gentes, corporis cultui 6c vcftium elegantiae praster modum addic^os, in flicetias & rifum perpetuo folutos, muliercularum chartis lu- Jforiis continenter inhiantium circulis & fef- flunculis permixtos, vel inter quafcunque nugas inerti otio fugaces horas difperdentes, iiunquamfeperfuaderifinent, utexfrequentif- fimo talium concilio boni quidpiam proficlfci poffe fperent: quales tamen {i aliquot nof- trum comperiant, ciiteros ejufdem cffc farlnse libenter fibl fingent. Sed mlnime fatis erit vltam ao^ere ca3tera inculpatam, nifi in docendo quoque Evan- gelio, quod munus efl: noftrum, parvi 6c ^nijpli gnaviter elaboremus. Quo effra^natius A a luxuriantur 370 Oratio Synodalis. luxurlantur errores & vitia, quo laxior eft Ecclefise difcipllna, quo lenlor adminlftratio Reipubllcas, eo diligentiorem adhiberi oportet in fide & praeceptis Chriftianis inftitutio- nem : & incaffum ad induilriam hortabimur Sacerdotes inferioris ordinis, nifi exemplo prseamus. Potulmus non ita pridem impetrare, ut delinquentes in bonos mores Magiftratui posnas darent; ut libri impii & impudici e medio toUerentur: nunc illud aegre conceditur; hoc fciens loquor, neu- tiquam. Eft ideo vel Tola vi argumentorum, piffifertim in facris Concionibus, obfiften- cum adverfariis, vel cedendum loco. Et cum praeter adverfarios veteres, novi & do- jneftici nuper ex ipfo Academiarum noftra- tium finu profiluerint, qui fe folos asternas falutis tramitem commonftrare, nos in per- niclem caicorum more evagari, paflim pre- dicant, curatiffime difpiciendum eft, ut redo curfu veritatis viam infiftamus; horum nee aftutiis iiledi, nee timore perculfi, nee odiQ flagrantes: cavendum, ne, fi illi fermoncs fuos ad vulgi captum nimis accommodant, ac demittunt, nos hoc nimis dedignemurji «e, fi illi funt jufto vehementiores, nos frigid i Oratio Synodalis. 371 frigidi videamur, & affe6luum pioruni ex- pertesj ne fi illi efficaclam Fidei immode- rate cum maximo fidclium pcriculo extol - lunt, nos non minori ingrate earn deprima- mus & extcnuemus; ne fi illi inania vifa & phantafmata pro certis pignoribus Remifli- onis Peccatorum habent, nos in genuinum Spiritus Sandi teftimonium fimus impru- denter contumeliod. Egone igitur Clerum Anglicanurn officii vel male intelledti, vel male pra^ftiti, tede infmiLilo? Deus meliora. Qui potcft ut vituperem quos diligo 6c revereorj quorum plurimorum, cum vita fundorum tum fu- perftitum, amicitia diu gavifus fum ; 6c exempla mibi quotidie ob cculos pono, ut ad rede vivendum docendumque me erigam 6c confirmem ? Sed vos auditoribus veftrls, etiamfi fumma laude dignis, monitiones tamen follicite ingeritis. Nam vel fapientes Virgines dormitaffe legimus': thefauriim evangelicum in z'ajis Jidlillbus habemus^ : Sc difficile eft a moribus hodicrnis aliquid contagionis 5c labis non trahere. Ignofcat Pater mifcricors, quod Parceciis primo, de- « Matth. XXV. 5. •* 2 Cor. iv. ^i Aa 2 indc 372 Oratio Synodalis. inde Dicecefibus mihi ordine commlffis, minus intente & peilte, quam oportuerat, invigilaverim ! Ignofcat pariter, fi quid fimile cuiquaui veil:rum contigerit! Illud autem ftatuamus univeifi, audo follicite fludio, compenfare pro virili (nunquam enimfiet fatis,) quicquid peccavimus: idque eo certe potilTimum, ut nos Deo coin- mendemus; partim vero etiain, lU homi- nibus. Neque enim ferent in Clericis ilia, quo- rum facile {ibi invicem dant veniam. Quod fi nobis ^ doolrincSi ex Apoftoli praecepto, attendamui^ ', nequit fieri, quin gradatiin in- altum recrefcat exiftimatio noilraj quin per- fpiciant quotidie clarius quibus rerum ha- benae funt traditse, quot quantifque in rebus opera noftra uti pofTunt; quin tandem non modo concedant, verum 6c Reipublics caufa invitent rogentque, ut quce Ecclefiae defunt communiconfiliofuppleamus. Longaquldem eft hsBc via atque ardua: fed eft ea quae vo- lumus, aut velle debemus, unica ; & quas for- tafleindicabuntalii compendarias, in falebro- fos ducunt & praecipites locos. His artibus flo- « I Tim. iv. i6, ruerunt .->;« Oratio Synodalis. 373 ruerunt primorum faeculorum DoOores: his iifdem nobis fidendum eft : aliarumope noa dabitur in honore ti^Q : vel fi maxime dare- tur, aliaruin ope nee inferviremns hominum utilitati, nee acternum vitam eonfequeremur. Tarde & cunduanter eredo, quicquid faci- emus, de nobis honorifice plerique fentient. IraeundjE tamen querimonias multum aberit ut profieiant -, quorundam animos malevolo gaudio perfundent ; alios movebunt, ut quos contemnunt, etiam oderint, Aceufati vifeif- fim aecufabunt : 8c coram iniquis judicibus caufa nobis erit dieenda. Nee fane pro- derit vehemens negotiorum civilium tradtan- doium ftudium confpiciendum dare. Fer- ventiorem enim hancce cupiditatem, ad pri- vata fpedare emolumerva, non ad communia, perhibebunt fufpicaces & maligni, vulgus credst. Qnae noOra funt ergo rite peragentes, even turn, quern datarus eft Deus, tranquille expedemus. Viros bones eolamus, quam- vis niinime noblfeum in omnibus confenti- ant : impiis nc Tocii quidem fimus, nedum adulatores j nee tamen temere offenfiones demus, kd neecftariam reprehenfionum in jucunditatem verborum humanitate mitigc-, mus: 374 Oratio Synodalis. nius : modicum allis non Inviti permittamuS illorum ufum, licita modo fint, quae ipfi non attingimus : ab omni concertatione longif- fime abhorreamus : injurias 6r opprobia toleranter patiamur : favore, ex quacunque demum parte afFulferit, utamur modefte. Hoc modo nee novas conti-ahemus inimi- citias, & majorum delida aut non luemus amplius, aut luemus immeriti. In utramque idcirco partem parati fimus. Rerun:! facrarum, &, quotquot aliquo vin- culo cum his connexs funt, civilium, fcientia lie nos inftfuamus, quaii brevi efTemus de quaiilionibus graviflimis deliberationes habi- turi: compofiti tamen interim ad fummam asqultatem & manfuetudinem, fi vel in lon- giffimum diem fpes ilia prorogetur; qua fi penitus fruftremur, dolebimus quidem fae- culi, male & iibi confulentis, & nobis gra- tiam referentis, five iniquitatem five incogi- tantiam : hoc vero noftra culpa non obtigiiTe, toto pedtore laetabimur ; ncc fpernendum nihilominus per nos incrementum capiet res Chiifliana. In Synodo fcntentiam non dice- mus : fed feorfim conftanter quod verum atque decens propugnabimus. Canones non 4 condemus : Oratio Svnodalis. 375 condcmus : fed ut omnes omnia fua ad Cano- nem Sacri Fcederis exigant, tam verbis quam exemplo fuadebimus. Anathematum ful- minibus hetcrodoxcs non feriemus : (atquc utinam ab odiofis ejufmodi 6c appellationl- bus 6c inceptis temperavifTent fibi Deceflbres noftri :)fed cum /?Wcy?w,DivinoPaulo edicente, corripiemus eos qui refijlunty ne quando Deua det illis pcenitentiam ad cognofcendam verita- tcm^. In Ckricos vitiis contaminatos aut vecordes non exerccbimus communiter cen- furam : fed ne locum inveniant apud nos, cura privata quantum licet praecavebimus. Libros infames carbone baud notabimus, unde avidius legerentur ; fed accurate refelle- mus. Et quamvis dubio careret, indies im- minutam his in oris atque tandem extinc- tam, forecailellem Evangelii lucem : illachry- mandum quidem effet popularibus noftris mifere pereuntibus j in voluntate tamen di- vina non gravatim acquiefcendum. Quid enim Propheta ? In '■caciiwn laboravi^ & vane fortitudinem me am confmnpfi : ergo judicium meum cum Domino^ Gf opus mcum cum Deo meo *. 'sTim.ii. 25. « Efai- xlix. 4. Con- 376 Oratio Synodalis.' Condonate mihi, Patres Fratrefque, longi hujus alloquii taedium j ex hac Cathedra nunc primum, nunc itidem poflremum, (fie enim prcefagit mens, 6c verifiniile eft) vos com- pellanti. Tuque, Oiunipotem ^ fempiterne DeuSy cujus Spiritu univerfum Ecclejtct corpus regitur JanBumqiie eficituf', fuppiicationes ci?' p'eces ncjirasy pro cujufcunque ordinis hommi- bus, qui in Kcclejiam tuam cooptantur, ohlatas tibi admitte -, ut qui f que ^ ficut fuae convenit va- cattoni & minifierio, tibi Jincere & pie ftr- 'Dtaty per Dominum C^ Servatorem nojtrum Jefum Chrijlum. Amen ^ . • * Collect. 2. Parafcev. FINIS; UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-Series4939 r: SiillTH( Rrj HI (iKitjAi I IBRARY FACILITY AA 000 606 472 9 BX 1790 1