NE of the most remarkable of this prefent Year's domestick Occurrences, which therefore we must not wholly pass over in Silence, was what happen'd in Relation to the Right Reverend Father in God Dr. Benjamin Hoadly, Lord Bishop of Bangor, who having publish'd a fmall Treatife which he call'd, ♫ Prefervative against the Principles and Practices of the Nonjurors, both in Church and State; and preach'd a Sermon before the King, at the Royal Chapel at St. James's on the 31ft of March, intitled, The Nature of the Kingdom or Church of Chrift, the Lower House of Convocation took fo great Offence, and were fo highly feandaliz'd, at fome of the Doctrines advanc'd by that Prelate in those two Difcourfes, that they unanimously appointed a Committee of fix of their Members, who were Dr. Mofs, Dr. Sherlock, Dr. Friend, Dr. Sprat, Dr. Cannon, and Dr. Bifs, to draw up a Reprefentation to be laid before the Archbishop and Bishops of the Province of Canterbury, against the faid Politions and Doctrines; which the Committee having accordingly done, it was read in the Lower House on the roth of May, and voted, nemine contradicente, to be receiv'd and enter'd in the Books of the faid Houfe: This Representation is as follows.

To his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and to the Lords the Bishops of the Province of Canterbury, in Convocation affembled, this Reprefentation from the Clergy of the Lower Houfe of Convocation,

Humbly fheweth,

HAT, with much Grief of Heart, we have obferv'd, what, in all dutiful Manner, we now reprefent to your Grace and your Lordihips, That the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Bangor hath given great and grievous Offence, by certain Doctrines and Pofitions by him lately publith'd, partly in a Sermon entitled, The Nature of the Kingdom or Church of Chrift, and partly in a Book entitled, A Prefervative against the Principles and Practices of the Nonjurors, both in Church and State.'

The Tendency of the Doctrines and Pofitions contain'd in the faid Sermon and Book, is conceiv'd to be, (1.) To fubvert all Government and Discipline in the Church of Chrift, and to reduce his Kingdom to a State of Anarchy and Confufion

(2.) To impugn and impeach the regal Supremacy in Caufes Ecclefiaftical, and the Authority of the Legiflature, to inforce Óbedience in Matters of Religion, by civil Sanctions.

The Paffages in the Sermon and Book aforefaid, which are conceiv'd to carry the evil Tendency exprefs'd under the first Article, are, principally, thefe that follow:

Sermon, Page 11. Octavo Edit.

His Lordihip affirms As the Church of Chrift is the Kingdom of Chrift, he himself is King: And in this it is imply'd, That he is himself the fole Law-giver to his Subjects, and himself the fole Judge of their Behaviour, in the Affairs of Confcience and eternal Salvation; and, in this Sense therefore, his Kingdom is not of this World: That he hath, in thofe Points, left behind him no visible human Authority, no Vicegerents, who can be faid properly to fupply his Place; no Interpreters upon whom his Subjects are abfolutely to depend; no Judges over the Confciences or Religion of his • People. This Paffage feems to deny all Authority to the Church, and, under Fretence of exalting the Kingdom of Gift, to leave it without any vifible

human

human Authority to judge, cenfure, or punish Offenders in the Affairs of Confcience and eternal Salvation.

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Which will be confirm'd by the Paffage next to be produc'd, Page 15, 16. If therefore the Church of Christ be the Kingdom of Chrift, it is effential to it, That Chrift himself be the fole Law-giver and fole Judge of his Subjects, in all Points relating to the Favour or Difpleasure of Almighty God, and, that all his Subjects, in what Station foever they < may be, are equally Subjects to him; and, that no one of them, any more than another, hath Autho<rity either to make new Laws for Chrift's Subjects, or to impofe a Senfe upon the old Ones, which is. the fame Thing; or to judge, cenfure, or punish the Servants of another Mafter, in Matters relating purely to Confcience or Salvation. If any Perfon hath any other Notion, either through a long Ufe of Words with inconfiftent Meanings, or through a Negligence of Thought, let him but afk himself, Whether the Church of Chrift be the Kingdom of C Christ or not? And, if it be, whether this Notion. of it doth not abfolutely exclude all other Legiflators and Judges, in Matters relating to Confcience, or the Favour of God? Or, whether it can be his Kingdom, if any mortal Men have fuch a Power of Legiflation and judgment in it?'

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To the fame Senfe he fpeaks, Page 25.

No

one of his Subjects is Law-giver and Judge over others of them, in Matters relating to Salvation, but he alone.'

If the Doctrine contain'd in these Paffages, he admitted, there neither is, nor hath been, fince our Saviour's Time, any Authority in the Chriftian Church, in Matters relating to Confcience and Salvation; not even in the Apoftle's themselves: But all Acts of Government, in fuch Cafes, have been an Invafion of Chrift's Authority, and an Ufurpation upon his Kingdom.

To which Effect his Lordfhip farther expreffes him-. felf, Page 14. When they (i. e. any Man on Earth) make any of their own Declarations or Decifions, to concern and affect the State of Chrift's Subjects, with regard to the Favour of God, this is fo far the taking Chrift's Kingdom out of his Hinds, and placing it in their own. Nor is this Qqz Matter

Matter at all made better, by their declaring themfelves to be Vicegerents, or Law-makers, or Judges under Chrift, in order to carry on the Ends of his Kingdom.'

Which Words are not restrain'd to fuch Decifions as are inconfiftent with the Doctrines of the Gofpel; as appears, not only from the general Manner in which he hath exprefs'd himself, but from his direct Words, Page 15. And whether they happen to agree with him, or to differ from him, as long as they are the Law-givers, and Judges, without any Interpofition from Chrift, either to guide or correct their Decifions, they are Kings of this Kingdom, and not • Chrift Fefus

Whether these Paffages exclude the facred Writers, as well as others, from making Decifions, and interpreting the Laws of Chrift, your Lordships will judge by a Paffage, Page 12. Nay, whoever hath an abfolute Authority to interpret any written or fpoken Laws, it is he who is truly the Law-giver, to all Intents and Purposes, and not the Perfon who first wrote or fpcke them. When a Diftin&ion is made between the Interpreters of the written and fpoken Law, the facred Writers only can be meant by the later: Others have had the written Law; They only, of all Interpreters, heard it fpoke by Chrift. And his Lordfhip has left us only this Choice, either to deny their Authority to interpret the Laws of Christ, or to charge them with fetting up for themselves, in Oppofition to their Mafter.

Thefe Doctrines naturally tend to breed, in the Minds of the People, a Difregard to those who are appointed to rule over them: Whether his Lordship had this View, the following Paffages will declare, Page 25. The Church of Chrift is the Num<ber of Perfons who are fincerely and willingly Subjects to him, as Law-giver and Judge in all Matters truly relating to Confcience, or eternal Salvation. And the more clofe and immediate this Regard to him is, that they are of his Kingdom,

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Page 31. If Chrift be our King, let us fhew our felves Subjects to him alone, in the great Affair of Confcience and eternal Salvation: And, without Fear of Man's Judgment, live and act as becomes thofe who wait for the Appearance of an all-know

ing

ing and impartial Judge; even that King, whofe Kingdom is not of this World.'

To thefe Doctrines his Lordship's Defcription of a Church doth well agree: He afferts, Page 17.

That it is the Number of Men, whether fmall or great, whether difpers'd or united, who truly and C fincerely are Subjects to Jefus Chrift alone, as their Law-giver and Judge in Matters relating to the FaC vour of God, and their eternal Salvation. -And Page 24. The groffeft Miftakes in Judgment, about the Nature of Chrift's Kingdom, or Church, have 'arifen from hence, that Men have argu'd from other < visible Societies, and other vifible Kingdoms of this World, to what ought to be visible and fenfible in his Kingdom.' And Page 25. We must not frame our Ideas from the Kingdoms of this World, ' of what ought to be, in a visible and fenfible Manner, in his Kingdom.

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Against fuch Arguings from vifible Societies, and earthly Kingdoms, his Lordship faith, our Saviour hath pofitively warn'd us, Page 25, and yet the Scripture-Representations of the Church, do plainly exprefs its Refemblance to other Societies, in many ReIpects. And we prefume his Lordship could not be ignorant of the 19th Article of our Church, entitled, Of the Church, viz. The vifible Church of Chrift is a Congregation of faithful Men, in the which 'the pure Word of God is preach'd, and the Sacraments be duly adminifter'd, according to Chriff's Ordinance, in all Things that of Neceflity are requifite to the fame.' Though, in Difparagement of this Article, by himself folemnly and often acknowledg'd, he afferts, Page 10, That the Notion of the Church hath been fo diverfify'd, by the < various Alterations it hath undergone, that it is almost impoffible fo much as to number up the ma< ny inconfiftent Images that have come, by daily Additions, to be united together in it.'

We with, that in his Lordship's Account, no Images, neceffary to form a juft and true Notion of the Church, had been left out; he omits even to mention the preaching the Word, or adminiftering the Sacraments: One of which, in the Words of the 27th Article of our Church, is a Sign of Regeneration, or new Birth, whereby, as by an Inftrument, they that receive Baptifm rightly, are grafted into the Church."

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