On the other hand, the Puritans loudly complained of thefe innovations, and taxed the authors of them with a design to introduce Popery. The more feverely they were used, the more they increased and continued to do fo, till the meeting of the long parliament in 1640, when the affairs of religion took a new turn. This parliament being compofed chiefly of State and Doctrinal Puritans, one of their refolutions was, to redress the • grievances of the Church.' They began with censuring the authors of the late innovations, and voted them down. A folemn proteftation was drawn up for all to fubfcribe, that they would maintain the true reformed Proteftant religion, expreffed in the doctrine of the Church of England, against all Popery and Popish innovations, &c.' The High-Commiffion Court and Star-Chamber were abolished. The votes and temporal jurisdiction of the bishops were taken away; and afterwards, in complaifance to the Scots, a bill paffed both houses for the utter abolishing all archbishops, bishops, their chancellors and commiffaries, deans, chapters, archdeacons, canons, prebends, &c. Thus the difcipline of the Church was voted away, and no other was erected in its room till feveral years after. In this interval, the clergy were permitted to read more or lefs of the Liturgy, as they pleased, and to govern their parishes according to their difcretion. The veftments were left indifferent, fome wearing them, and others, in imitation of the foreign Proteftant churches, making ufe of a cloak. The Puritan clergy, being zealous Calvinifts, and having been prohibited for fome years from preaching against the Arminians, now pointed all their artillery against them, and infisted upon little elfe in their fermons but Predeftination, Juftification by Faith alone, Salvation by Free Grace, and the inability of man to do that which is good. Moral duties were too much neglected, and, from a ftrong averfion to Arminianifm, thefe divines made way for Antinominanifm, running from one extreme to the other, till at laft fome of them were loft in the wild mazes of enthufiaftic dreams and vifions, and others, from false principles, pretended to juftify the hidden works of difhonefty. In the mean while, the Prefbyterians were labouring the establishment of their form of church-government, as the difcipline of Jefus Chrift,' but in vain; for the parliament, inftead of complying with a petition to that end, voted it fcandalous. Nor could they ever obtain the power of the Keys, Excommunication, &c. for which they were continually applying to the parliament. It is true, by an ordinance of Auguft . 19, 1645, the Prefbyterian church-government became the national establishment, as far as an ordinance of the parliament could make it: and, by another of Sept. 1, 1646, Epifcopacy was abolifhed, and the Church-lands alienated for payment of the public debts. Notwithstanding all this, though the hierarchy was deftroyed, and the beft, if not all the livings of the kingdom diftributed among them, the Prefbyterians were not fatisfied. For it must be obferved, that the Prefbyterian government was more narrow than the Epifcopal, and allowed not a liberty of conscience, but claimed a civil as well as ecclefiaftical authority over men's perfons and properties. Confequently they were ftill difcontented, for want of church power to crush the Sectaries, as they termed all that diffented from them. Of these the Independents were the chief, whofe opinion it was, that every congregation had power to chufe or ordain their paftor, and jointly with him to manage their religious concerns without claffical or fynodical affemblies, and confequently they were for univerfal toleration. These two points, Independency of congregations (from whence they were called Congregationalifts) and Toleration, were the conftant fubjects of difpute between them and the Prefbyterians, who were profeffed enemies to both. The Prefbyterians infifted upon a ftrict uniformity in worship and difcipline, and bitterly inveighed against Toleration, which they called the Great Diana of the Independents. Not content with having their form of Government made the national eftablishment, they were continually folliciting the parliament for a coercive power, in order to perfecute all that differed from them. On the other hand the Independents, who multiplied daily, and the Anabaptifts (who differed from them in little elfe but infant-baptifm) were as ftrenuous for toleration and liberty of confcience, declaring no opinions or fentiments of religion are cognizable by the magiftrate any farther than they are inconfiftent with the peace of the civil government. Little did the Presbyterian divines think, that in lefs than twenty years all their artillery would be turned against them: That they fhould be excluded the establishment by an act of Epifcopal Uniformity, and reduced to the neceffity of pleading for that indulgence which they now denied others. Their thoughts were intirely engroffed with Covenant-Uniformity and the Divine Right of their Presbytery, which, after all, the parliament would never admit in the extent they defired. During thefe proceedings, the Epifcopal clergy felt in their turn the effects of non-tolerating principles. By an ordi nance nance of the 23d of August 1645, the Directory was enjoined to be read openly in all churches, under the penalty of forty fhillings, and whoever spoke or acted against it was to forfeit from five to fifty pounds. The ufe of the commonprayer-book was forbid, not only in any church or place of public worship, but even in any private place or family, under the penalty of five pounds for the first offence, ten for the fecond, and for the third a year's imprisonment. The Covenant was imposed upon them, and whoever refused to take it was ejected. Several thousands of the parochial clergy loft their livings, after the civil wars were begun; fome left them, and fled over to the king's party; others were deprived by the committees of the counties, and the rest for refusing the Covenant. About two hundred mafters and fellows of colleges in Cambridge, befides inferior scholars, were expelled that univerfity; and about nineteen or twenty heads of colleges, befides fellows, were expelled at Oxford: But nothing fhews how far the governing Prefbyterians in those days would have carried the use of their power, if it had been fupported by the fword of the civil magiftrate, than the ordinance against Blafphemy and Herefy, which, perhaps, is one of the most shocking laws to be met with. This ordinance is dated May 2, 1648, and ordains, among other things, that whoever affirms, That there is no God: That God is not omniprefent, almighty, &c. That the Father is not God, the Son is not God, the Holy Ghoft is not God, or that these three are not one eternal God, or that Chrift is not God equal to the Father: That the Godhead and Manhood of Chrift are not diftinct natures: That the death of Chrift is not meritorious: That Chrift is not rifen: That there is no refurrection or a future judgment: That the Scriptures are not the word of God, &c. fhall fuffer death as in cafe of felony. And that whoever fays, That all men shall be faved: That man by nature hath free will to turn to God: That man is bound to believe no more than by his reafon he can comprehend: That the baptifm of infants is unlawful, &c. fhall, upon conviction, be committed to prifon, till he find fureties that he will not publish or maintain the faid error or errors any more. This ordinance was a comprehenfive engine of cruelty, and would have inclofed great numbers, if it had not been laid afide by the influence of the army, till it was voted to be determined (k). The Prefbyterian go vernment, (k) In this ordinance, Papifts, Arminians, Antinomians, Arians, So vernment, which, by the former ordinance, had not been Socinians, Anabaptifts, Quakers, and the other fectaries would have been included, if the confufion of the times had not hindered the Prefbyterians from putting it in execution. (1) The Prefbyterians were fo rigid in point of uniformity, as that, in the treaty of the ifle of Wight, they would not allow the king liberty to have the Common-Prayer read privately in his family. Upon which the army, whofe favourite point was liberty of confcience,' was juftly incenfed against them, and faid, If Prefbyterian conformity fhould take place, what muft the Independents and fectaries expect, fince the king himself was thus ufed by them? What have we been fighting for, if, after all the hazards we have run to fet up Prefbbytery, we must be banished our country, or driven into corners? Thus the rigid uniformity of the Pref byterians threw the army upon the defperate meafures of affuming the fovereign power; bringing the king to juftice; fetting afide the covenant, and erecting a commonwealth. improve it to the common good, waited upon him with the lord Manchester, recommending to his serious confideration the union of his fubjects in religious matters, for which he had now a most happy juncture for effecting, and begging, that only things neceffary might be the terms of union, and that the true exercife of Church-difcipline might be allowed. The king declared himfelf highly pleased with their inclinations to agreement, but told them, that this agreement could not be expected to be compaffed, but by abating fomething on both fides, and therefore defired them to offer fome proposals about Church-government, that being the main difference, and to fet down the most they would yield to.' Hereupon they declared, They could not pretend to speak for, or oblige others, and therefore what they did muft fignify but the minds of fuch as were prefent. The king told them, It should be fo taken. Then they begged, that at the fame time that they offered their conceffions, the brethren on the other fide might alfo bring in theirs, containing the utmoft they could yield on their fide, in order to concord. And the king promised it should be fo. 6 In about three weeks time they agreed to a paper of propofals, in which they offered to allow of the true ancient prefidency in the church, with a due mixture of Presbytery, and propofed that bifhop Ufher's Reduction of Epifcopacy fhould be the ground-work of an accommodation. As to the Liturgy, they defired that a new one might be compiled, or the old reformed; and begged that kneeling at the facra⚫ment' might not be impofed, and the furplice, cross in baptifm,' and bowing at the name of Jefus rather than Chrift, might be abolished. The minifters waiting on the king with their propofals, he treated them very respectfully, told them he was well pleafed that they were for a Liturgy, and yielded to the effence of Epifcopacy, and promised them, that the places, where the old incumbents were dead, fhould (as they had defired) be confirmed to the poffeffors. As they expected to meet (according to the king's promife) fome divines of the other fide, and to fee their propofals, it much difappointed them to find none of them appear. After fome time of waiting for the compliances of the Epifcopal divines, they at length received a fharp anfwer, reflecting on their propofals, in which Ufher's Reduction was rejected as a heap only of private conceptions, the Liturgy was applauded as unexceptionable, but a revifal was agreed to in cafe the king thought fit; and, as for the ceremonies, not one could be parted with. It is very remarkable, that, when the Puritans in 1641 would have been fatisfied with Uther's scheme for |