Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

ministers, in Shrewsbury and the neighbourhood. Their fervent piety and excellent conversation profited him exceedingly; and discovering that these were the people persecuted by the bishops, he began to imbibe a prejudice against the hierarchy on that account; and felt persuaded that those who silenced and troubled such men could not be followers of the Lord of love. Still, when he thought of ordination he had no scruple about subscription. And why should he? for he tells us himself "that he never once read over the book of ordination; nor the half of the book of homilies; nor weighed carefully the liturgy; nor sufficiently understood some of the controverted points in the thirty-nine articles. His teachers and his books made him think, in general, that the Conformists had the better cause; so that he kept out all particular scruples by that opinion." It is very easy to keep free from doubts on any subject, by restraining the freedom of inquiry, and giving full credit to the statements and reasonings of one side.

About this time, 1638, Mr. Thomas Foley, of Stourbridge, in Worcestershire, recovered some lands at Dudley, which had been left for charitable purposes; and adding something of his own, built and endowed a new school-house. The situation of head master he offered to Baxter. This he was willing to accept, as it would also afford him the opportunity of preaching in some destitute places, without being himself in any pastoral relation, which office he was then indisposed to occupy. Accordingly, accompanied by Mr. Foley, and his friend Mr. James Berry, he repaired to Worcester, where he was ordained by Bishop Thornborough ; and received a licence to teach the school at Dudley. Thus was he introduced to that ministry, the duties of which he discharged with so much diligence and success for many years; which proved to him a source of incessant solicitude, and of many trials; but its blessedness he richly experienced on earth, and now reaps the reward in heaven..

P Of Thornborough, I have not observed that Baxter has said any thing. He lived to a great age, dying in the year 1641, in his ninety fourth year. He was the author of a few pamphlets of a philosophical and political nature. What he was, as a religious man, I cannot tell. - Wood's Athen. Ocon. (Edit. Bliss,) vol. iii. p. 3.

CHAPTER II.

1638-1642.

Baxter preaches his First Sermon-Examines the Nonconformist Controversy -Adopts some of the principles of Nonconformity-Progress of his mind -Residence in Bridgnorth-The Et-cætera Oath-Examines the subject of Episcopacy-In danger from not conforming-The Long Parliament Petition from Kidderminster-Application to Baxter-His ComplianceCommences his Labours-General View of the State of Religion in the Country at this time-Causes of the Civil War-Character of the Parties engaged in it-Baxter blames both-A decided Friend to the Parliament -Retires for a time from Kidderminster.

BAXTER preached his first public sermon in the upper church of Dudley, and while in that parish began to study with greater attention than he had formerly done the subject of Nonconformity. From some of the Nonconformists in the place, he received books and manuscripts which he had not before seen; and though all his predilections were in favour of the church as it was, he determined to examine impartially the whole controversy.

On the subject of episcopacy, Bishop Downham had satisfied him before; but he did not then understand the distinction between the primitive episcopacy, and that of the church of England. He next studied the debate about kneeling at the sacrament, and was satisfied, by Mr. Paybody, of the lawfulness of conformity to that mode. He turned over Cartwright and Whitgift; but, having procured Dr. Ames' Fresh Suit against Human Ceremonies in God's Worship,' and the work of Dr.

• Ames' ' Fresh Suit,' 4to, 1633, is one of the most able works of the period, on the subject on which it treats. Its author was a man of profound learning, great acuteness, and eminent piety. This work enters very fully into all the great points relating to the exercise of human authority in the things of God, and the introduction of human customs and ceremonies into divine worship; and though not professedly an answer to Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, embraces every thing of importance in that noted work. It has also the advantage of the Polity, in the higher respect it everywhere discovers for the Word of God, and the decided appeal it uniformly makes to it. In a sentence or two of the Preface, he gives the turning point of the whole controversy :— :-"The state of this war is this: we, as it becometh Christians, stand upon the sufficiency of Christ's institutions for all kind of worship. The word, say we, and

Burgess, on the other side, he devoted himself chiefly to the examination of these two works as containing the strength of the cause on both sides. The result of his studies at this time, according to his own account, was as follows: Kneeling at the sacrament he thought lawful. The propriety of wearing the surplice he doubted; but was, on the whole, inclined to submit to it, though he never wore one in his life. The ring in marriage he did not scruple; but the cross in baptism he deemed unlawful. A form of prayer and liturgy he thought might be used, and, in some cases, might be lawfully imposed; but the church liturgy he thought had much confusion, and many defects in it. Discipline he saw to be much wanted; but he did not then understand that the very frame of diocesan episcopacy precluded it; and thought its omission arose chiefly from the personal neglect of the bishops. Subscription he began to judge unlawful, and thought that he had sinned by his former rashness; for, though he yet approved of a liturgy and bishops, to subscribe, ex animo, that there is nothing in the articles, homilies, and liturgy, contrary to the word of God, was what he could not do again. So that subscription, the cross in baptism, and the promiscuous giving of the Lord's supper to drunkards, swearers, and all who had not been excommunicated by a bishop, or his chancellor, were the three things to which at this time he became a nonconformist. Although he came to these conclusions, he kept them, in a great measure, to himself; and still argued against the Nonconformists, whose censoriousness and inclination to separation he often reproved. With some of them he maintained a dispute in writing, on kneeling at the sacrament, and pursued it, till they were glad to let it drop. He laboured much to repress their boldness, and bitter

nothing but the word, in matters of religious worship. The prelates rise up on the other side, and will needs have us allow and use certain human ceremonies in our Christian worship. We desire to be excused, as holding them unlawful. Christ we know, and all that cometh from him we are ready to embrace but these human ceremonies we know not, nor can have anything to do with them. Upon this they make fierce war upon us; and yet lay all the fault of this war, and the mischiefs of it, on our backs."

[ocr errors]

The work of Dr. John Burgess, to which the Fresh Suit' was a reply, is his Answer to the Reply to Dr. Morton's Defence.' 4to. 1631. Bishop Morton had written A Defence of the Innocence of the three Ceremonies of the Church of England-the Surplice; the Cross after Baptism, and Kneeling at the Sacrament.' 4to. 1618. To this Dr. Ames published a reply. Morton did not think proper to meet Ames himself, but devolved the task on Burgess, who gave hard and abusive words in abundance, but great poverty of argument, as the work of Ames very successfully shows.

ness of language against the bishops, and to reduce them to greater patience and charity. But he found that what they suffered from the bishops was the great impediment to his success; that he who will blow the coals must not wonder if some of the sparks fly in his face; and that to persecute men and then invite them to charity, is like whipping children to make them give over crying. He who will have children, must act as a father; but he who will be a tyrant, must be content with slaves.

It is gratifying and instructive to be furnished with such an account of the progress of Baxter's mind. It strikingly displays his candour, and his fidelity to his convictions. Whether he employed the best means of arriving at the truth, may be questioned; the shorter process, of directly appealing to the Bible, might have saved him a great deal of labour and perplexity; but this was not the mode of settling controversies then generally adopted. The conclusions to which he came, were fewer than might have been expected, or than afterwards satisfied his own mind; but they probably prepared him for further discoveries, and greater satisfaction. He who is faithful to that which he receives, and who studies to know the mind of God, will not only be made more and more acquainted with it, but will derive increasing enjoyment from following it.

Baxter continued in the town of Dudley about a year. The people were poor but tractable; formerly they were much addicted to drunkenness, but they became ready to hear and obey the word of God. On receiving an invitation to Bridgnorth, the second town in Shropshire, however, he saw it his duty to leave Dudley, and to remove thither. Here he acted as assistant to Mr. William Madstard, whom he describes as a grave and severe divine, very honest and conscientious; an excellent preacher, but somewhat afflicted with want of maintenance, but more with a dead-hearted, unprofitable people." In this place Baxter had a very full congregation to preach to; and was freed from all those things which he scrupled or deemed unlawful. He often read the Common Prayer before he preached; but he never administered the Lord's Supper, never baptised a child with the sign of the cross, never wore a surplice, and never appeared at any bishop's court. The inhabitants were very ignorant. The town had no general trade, and was full of inns and alehouses; yet his labours were blessed to some of the people, though not to the extent in which they were successful

in some other places. He mentions that he was then in the fervour of his affections, and never preached with more vehement desires of men's conversion; but the applause of the preacher, was the only success he met with from most of the people.

The first thing which tried him, while here, and, indeed, threatened his expulsion, was the Et-cætera oath. This oath formed part of certain canons or constitutions enacted by a convocation held at London and York, in 1640. The main thing objected to in it, was the following absurd clause: "Nor will I ever give my consent to alter the government of this church by archbishops, bishops, deans, and archdeacons, &c., as it stands now established and ought to stand."s This oath was ordered to be taken by all ecclesiastical persons on pain of suspension and deprivation. Alarmed at this imposition, the ministers of Shropshire, though all friends to episcopacy, appointed a meeting at Bridgnorth, to take it into consideration. Here the subject was argued pro and con by Mr. Christopher Cartwright, a man of profound learning, on the one side, and by Baxter on the other. Baxter's objections to the oath appeared to the ministers more formidable than the answers were satisfactory, so that the meeting broke up in a state of great consternation. An oath binding fallible men never to change themselves, or give their consent to alterations however necessary, and including in an "et cætera" nobody knows what, is among the greatest instances of ecclesiastical despotism and folly on record. A measure more ruinous to the church could scarcely have been devised.

Its effect on Baxter was, not only a resolution never to subscribe to it, but a determination to examine more thoroughly the nature of that episcopacy, the yoke of which he began to feel so insupportable. For this purpose he procured all the books he could get on both sides, and examined them with great care. Bucer de Gubernatione Ecclesiæ, Didoclavii Altare Damascenum,

s Neal, ii. 203. The Altare Damascenum,' is the work of David Calderwood, author of the True History of the Church of Scotland,' and one of the objects of James the First's implacable dislike. It was published in Holland, in 1623, where the author was in exile, on account of his opposition to the court and episcopacy. It is intended as a refutation of Linwood's Description of the Policy of the Church of England;' but it embraces all the leading questions at issue between Episcopalians and Presbyterians. It attracted great attention at the time; so that King James himself is said to have read it, and replied to one of the bishops, who affirmed it would be answered-" What the devil will you answer, man? There is nothing here but Scripture, reason, and the fathers."

« AnteriorContinuar »