His majesty, in his return from Scotland, in 1617, passing through Lancashire, imagined that the strict observance of the Sabbath-day enjoined by the magistrates and clergy, tended to prejudice the minds of papists against the strictness of the Church of England. Complaints being made to the king that the people were prohibited from all sorts of diversions and sports on the sabbathday; wherefore in order to discourage Puritanism and to silence the objections of Papists, his Majesty published a declaration called "The Book of Sports," to encourage recreations and sports on the Lord's day!

It is said that this book of sports was drawn up by Bishop Morton; it was dated, "Greenwich, May 24, 1618." The substance of it is the following: "That for his good people's recreation, his Majesty's pleasure was, that after the end of divine service, they should not be disturbed, letted, or discouraged from any lawful recreations; such as dancing, either of men or women, archery for men, leaping, vaulting, or any such harmless recreations; nor having of may-games, whitsun ales, or morris dunces, or setting up of may poles, or other sports therewith used, so as the same may be had in due and convenient time, without impediment or let of divine service; and that women should have leave to carry rushes to the church for the decorating of it,

according to their old customs; withal prohibiting all unlawful games to be used on Sundays only, as bear-baiting, bull-baiting, interludes, and at all times (in the meaner sort of people prohibited) bowling." A restraint was annexed to this indulgence, that no papist or recusant was to have the benefit of this declaration; nor such as were not present at the whole of divine service, nor such as did not keep to their own parish churches, i. e. puritans who probably frequented other churches, instead of that of their own parish, on account of the character of the several ministers. Now this royal declaration was not only an inlet for the gross violation of the divine command, "Remember to keep HOLY the sabbath day,;" but it tended to demoralize the people. It was contrary to the king's proclamation in the first year of his reign, and to the articles of the Irish Church, ratified under the great seal, 1615, in which the morality of the Lord's day is affirmed.* But the Puritans, being the objects of his Majesty's aversion and hatred, by their preaching and practice,

* Article 56. The first day of the week, which is the Lord's day, is wholly to be dedicated to the service of God, and therefore we are bound therein to rest from our common and daily business, and to bestow that leisure upon holy exercises, both public and private."

See the Articles at large in Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. 5. Appendix iii.

were inculcating the strict observance of the sabbath; and therefore the fasts and festivals of the church were rather neglected, and in order to counteract this, his Majesty thought proper to command those idle and vain sports on the Lord's day; in order to prevent the growth of Puritanism and Popery! or, in other words, to prevent the blessed effects of true religion in the minds of his subjects, and to encourage all vice and immorality!

This royal declaration was ordered to be read in all the parish churches of Lancashire, and was intended to be read in all the churches of England, but that Archbishop Abbot, being at Croydon, the day on which it was ordered to be read in the churches, expressly forbad it to be read there. Several of the bishops also and clergy declared their opinion against this book of sports. Most probably Dr. Hall disapproved of it highly, as he afterwards did when Bishop of Exeter; when he and several of the bishops would not urge the reading of it, when a second edition of it, revised and enlarged was set forth by royal authority in the ninth year of Charles the first. *

The publishing of such a declaration, as it may

That Bishop Hall was an advocate for the morality of the sabbath, we may see in an account of the manner of his spending it, in the 7th vol. of his Works, p. 256.

be well imagined, made a great noise: for it was certainly an imprudent project as well as a source of grief to all sincere protestants, and friends of religion. And had the k ng persisted in ordering it to be read publicly in all the churches, under the penalty of suffering from the high commission, it would probably have produced much greater convulsions than it did in the following reign, about fifteen years afterwards.*

It is difficult to account for the distinction between lawful and unlawful sports on the Lord's day; if any sports are lawful, why not all? No reason can possibly be given why dancing, revels, wakes, may games, and such like, should be more lawful than bear or bull baiting, interludes, and bowls. The nature of both is immoral, for they have equal tendency to promote vice and immorality. The exceptions in his Majesty's declaration are truly extraordinary; could the king believe that those who were puritanically inclined, or who went to other parish churches for their better edification, would now make use of the liberty of his declaration, when he must know that they conscientiously believed in the morality of the fourth commandment, and that no ordinance

Warner's Eccles. Hist. of England, vol. ii, p. 500. Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, vol. ii, p. 115.

of man could make void the law of God? His majesty also debars recusants, i. e. papists, from this liberty, which popery always had indulged them with; but the Papist is now to turn Puritan, with regard to the sabbath, being forbidden the use of sports and recreations on the Lord's day, in which he always indulged; and protestants are to dance and revel on that sacred day to preserve them from Puritanism and Popery: how absurd, unreasonable, ungodly and profane was this book of sports of King James I. * When a second edition of it was set forth in the next reign, some further particulars and remarks concerning it will be given.

In the year 1618, the troubles and disputes about religious matters began in Holland, between the Calvinists and Arminians, or, as they were also termed, remonstrants and contra-remonstrants. Their controversies were reduced to the following five points;-election-redemption-original sineffectual grace-and perseverance. In order to decide these difficulties, the States-General resolved to convene a national Synod at Dort.

* Dr. Warner in his Eccles. Hist. of England, gives the following account of King James I. and his court--"It was said that the court gave a very ill example to the rest of the nation; nothing was to be heard there but oaths and language bordering upon blasphemy, from which the king himself was not free." Vol. ii, p. 500.