After all, it was a hard case on both sides; the incumbents thought it hard to be obliged to all the duties of their place, and another to go away with a fifth of the profit, at a time when the value of church lands was considerably lessened by the neglect of tillage, and exorbitant taxes laid upon all the necessaries of life. To which may be added, an opinion that began to prevail among the farmers, of the unlawfulness of paying tithes: Mr. Selden had led the way to this in his book of tithes, whereupon the parliament, by an ordinance of Nov. 8. 1644, "strictly enjoined all persons fully, truly, and effectually to set out, yield, and pay respectively, all and singular tithes, offerings, oblations, obventions, rates for tithes, and all other duties commonly known by the name of tithes." Others who had no scruple about the payment of tithes, refused to pay them to the new incumbent, because the ejected minister had the legal right; insomuch that the presbyterian ministers were obliged in many places to sue their parishioners, which created disturbances and divisions, and at length gave rise to several petitions from the counties of Buckingham, Oxford, Hertford, &c. praying, that their ministers might be provided for some other way. The parliament referred them to a committee, which produced no redress, because they could not fix upon another fund, nor provide for the lay-impropriations.

CHAP. IV.

Of the several Parties in the Assembly of Divines, PRESBYTERIANS, ERASTIANS, INDEPENDENTS. Their Proceedings about Ordination, and the Directory for Divine Worship. The Rise, Progress, and Sufferings of the English ANABAPTISTS.

BEFORE we proceed to the debates of the assembly of divines, it will be proper to distinguish the several parties of which it was constituted.§ The episcopal clergy had entirely deserted it before the bringing in of the covenant, so that the establishment was left without a single advocate. All who remained were for taking down the main pillars of the hierarchy, before they had agreed what sort of building to erect in its room.

The majority at first intended only the reducing episcopacy to the standard of the first or second age, but for the sake of the Scots alliance, they were prevailed with to lay aside the name and function of bishops, and attempt the establishing a presbyterial form, which at length they advanced into jus divinum, or a divine institution, derived expressly from Christ and his apostles. This engaged them in so many controversies, as prevented their laying the top stone of the building, so that it fell to pieces before it was perfected. The chief patrons of presbytery in the house of commons, were Denzil Hollis esq; sir William Waller, sir Philip Stapleton, sir John Clotworthy, sir Benjamin Rudyard, serjeant Maynard, colonel Mussey, colonel Harley, John Glynn, esq; and a few others.

The erastians formed another branch of the assembly, so called from Erastus, a German divine of the sixteenth century. The pastoral office according to him was only persuasive, like a professor of the sciences over his stu

The name of Puritans is from this time to be sunk; and they are for the future to be spoken of under the distinction of Presbyterians, Erastians, and Independents, who had all their different views. Dr. Warner's Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii. p. 561. Ed.

dents, without any power of the keys annexed. The Lord's supper, and other ordinances of the gospel, were to be free and open to all. The minister might dissuade the vicious and unqualified from the communion, but might not refuse it, or inflict any kind of censure; the punishment of all offences, either of a civil or religious nature, being reserved to the magistrate. The pretended advantage of this scheme was, that it avoided the erecting imperium in imperio, or two different powers in the same civil government; it effectually destroyed all that spiritual jurisdiction and coercive power over the consciences of men, which had been challenged by popes, prelates, presbyteries, &c. and made the government of the church a creature of the state. Most of our first reformers were so far in these sentiments, as to maintain that no one form of church government is prescribed in scripture as an invariable rule for future ages; as Cranmer, Redmayn, Cox, &c. and archbishop Whitgift, in his controversy with Cartwright, delivers the same opinion; "I deny (says he) that the scripture has set down any one certain form of church-government to be perpetual."-Again, "It is well known, that the manner and form of government expressed in the scriptures neither is now, nor can, nor ought to be observed either touching persons or functions.-The charge of this is left to the magistrate, so that nothing be contrary to the word of God. The government of the church must be according to the form of government in the common'wealth." The chief patrons of this scheme in the assembly were Dr. Lightfoot, Mr. Colman, Mr. Selden, Mr. Whitlock, and in the house of commons, besides Selden and Whitlock, Oliver St. John, esq; sir Thomas Wid. drington, John Crew, esq; sir John Hipsley, and others of the greatest names.

The independents, or congregational brethren, composed a third party, and made a bold stand against the proceedings of the high presbyterians; their numbers were small at first, though they increased prodigiously in a few years, and grew to a considerable figure under the protectorship of Oliver Cromwell.

Baxter's Life, p. 139.

We have already related their original, and earried on their history till they appeared in public about the latter end of the year 1640. The divines who passed under this denomination in the assembly, had fled their country in the late times, and formed societies according to their own model in Holland, upon the states allowing them the use of their churches, after their own service was ended, with liberty of ringing a bell to public worship. Here (as they declare) they set themselves to consult the holy scriptures as impartially as they could, in order to find out the discipline that the apostles themselves practised in the very first age of the church; the condition they were in, and the melancholy prospect of their affairs affording no temptation to any particular bias. The rest of their history, with their distinguishing opinions, I shall draw from their Apologetical Narration, published in 1643, and presented to the house of commons.

As to the church of England (say they) we profess be'fore God and the world, that we do apprehend a great ❝ deal of defilement in their way of worship, and a great 'deal of unwarranted power exercised by their church governors, yet we allow multitudes of their parochial church'es to be true churches, and their ministers true minis'ters. In the late times, when we had no hopes of returning to our own country, we held communion with 'them, and offered to receive to the Lord's supper some 'that came to visit us in our exile, whom we knew to be godly, upon that relation and membership they held in 'their parish churches in England, they professing them'selves to be members thereof, and belonging thereto. The 'same charitable disposition we maintained towards the 'Dutch churches among whom we lived. We mutually 'gave and received the right hand of fellowship, holding 'a brotherly correspondence with their divines, and ad'mitting some of the members of their churches to com'munion in the sacrament, and other ordinances, by virtue of their relation to those churches."*

The scheme they embraced was a middle way between brownism and presbytery, viz. that "every particular con'gregation of christians has an entire and complete power Apologet. Narr. of the Independents, p. 78.

of jurisdiction over its members, to be exercised by the elders thereof within itself. This they are sure must have been the form of government in the primitive church, before the numbers of christians in any city were multi'plied so far as to divide into many congregations, which it is dubious, whether it was the fact in the apostles times. * "Not that they claim an entire independency with regard to other churches, for they agree that in all cases of offence, the offending church is to submit to an open examination, by other neighboring churches, and on their 'persisting in their error of miscarriage, they then are to renounce all christian communion with them, till they repent, which is all the authority or ecclesiastical power that one church may exercise over another, unless they 'call in the civil magistrate, for which they find no authority in scriptare.

"Their method of public worship in Holland was the same with other protestants; they read the scriptures of the old and new testament in their assemblies, and expounded them on proper occasions; they offered up public and solemn prayers for kings, and all in authority; and though they did not approve of a prescribed form, they admitted that public prayer in their assemblies ought to be framed by the meditation and study of their ministers, as well as their sermons; the word of God was constantly preached; the two sacraments, of baptism to infants, and the Lord's supper, were frequently administered; to which was added, singing of psalms, and a collection for the poor every Lord's day.

"They profess their agreement in doctrine with the articles of the church of England, and other reformed churches.

"Their officers, and public rulers in the church, were pastors, teachers, ruling elders (not lay, but ecclesiastical persons, separated to that service) and deacons.

"They practised no church censures but admonition ; and excommunication upon obstinate and impenitent offenders, which latter they apprehended should not be pronounced but for crimes of the last importance, and

Apologet. Narr. of the Independents, p. 12, 15. 1) Ibid. p. 18.