His majesty, having in vain attempted several other reprefentatives of the people, determined fome time before his death to change the conftitution, and govern by his fovereign will and pleasure; that the mifchiefs, which could not be brought upon the nation by confent of parliament, might be introduced under the wing of the prerogative; but the Roman catholicks, not fatisfied with the flow proceedings of a difguifed Proteftant, or apprehending that the difcontents of the people and his own love of eafe might induce him fome time or other to change measures, refolved to have a prince of their own religion, and more fanguine principles, on the throne, which hastened the crisis of the nation, and brought forward that GLORIOUS REVOLUTION of king WILLIAM and queen MARY, which put a final period to all their projects.

The nature of my defign does not admit of a large and particular relation of all the civil tranfactions of thefe times, but only of fuch a fummary as may give light to the affairs of religion; and I could have wished that the memory of both had been entirely blotted out of the records of time, if the animofities of the feveral parties, and their unchristian principles, had been buried with them; but as the remembering them may be a warning to pofterity, it ought to give no offence to any denomination of christians of the prefent age, who are no ways answerable for the conduct of their ancestors, nor can otherwife share in a cenfure of it, than as they maintain the fame principles, and imitate the fame unchriftian' behaviour. At the end of each year I have added the characters of the principal non-conformist minifters as they died, partly from the hiftorians of those times, but chiefly from the writings of the late reverend doctor Calamy, whofe integrity, moderation, and industry, deserve a peculiar commendation. My defign was to preferve the memory of the reverend affembly of divines at Westminster, as well as of the little army of confeffors, who afterwards fuffered fo deeply in the caule of non-conformity.

In paffing a judgment on the feveral parties in church and ftate, I have carefully diftinguifhed between thofe who

went into all the arbitrary measures of the court, and fuch as stood firm by the proteftant religion and the liberties of their country; for it must be allowed, that in the reign of king Charles II. there were even among the clergy fome of the worst as well as beft of men, as will appear to a demonstration in the course of this hiftory; but I defire no greater ftrefs may be laid upon facts or characters than the quality of the vouchers in the margin will fupport. Where thefe have been differently related, I have relied on the best authorities, and fometimes reported from both fides, leaving the reader to choose for himself: for if facts are fairly represented, the hiftorian is discharged. I am not so vain as to imagine this hiftory free frome rrors; but if any miftakes of confequence are made to appear, they fhall be acknowledged with thankfulness to those who shall point them out in a civil and friendly manner; and as I aim at nothing but truth, I fee no reafon to engage in a warm defence of any parties of christians who pafs before us in review, but leave their conduct to the cenfure of the world. Some few remarks of my own are here and there interfperfed, which the reader will receive according as he apprehends them to follow from the premises; but I flatter myself, that when he has carefully perufed the feveral volumes of this history, he will agree with me in the following conclufions:

First, That UNIFORMITY of fentiments in religion is not to be attained among chriftians; nor will a COMPREHENSION within an establishment be of fervice to the cause of truth and liberty without a TOLERATION of all other dutiful fubjects. Wife and good men, after their moft diligent fearches after truth, have feen things in a different light, which is not to be avoided as long as they have liberty to judge for themselves. If Chrift had appointed an infallible judge upon earth; or men were to be determined by an implicit faith in their fuperiors, there would be an end of fuch differences; but all the engines of human policy that have been fet at work to obtain it have hitherto failed of · fuccefs. Subfcriptions, and a variety of oaths and other tefts, have occafioned great mischiefs to the church; by thefe means men of weak morals, and ambitious views,

have been raised to the highest preferments, while others of stricter virtue, and fuperior talents, have been neglected and laid afide; and power has been lodged in the hands of those who have used it in an unchriftian manner, to force men to an agreement in founds and outward

appearances, contrary to the true conviction and sense of their minds; and thus a lafting reproach has been brought on the christian name, and on the genuine principles of a protestant church.

2dly. All parties of chriftians, when in power, have been guilty of perfecution for confcience fake. The annals of the church are a moft melancholy demonftration of this truth. Let the reader call to mind the bloody proceedings of the popish bishops in queen Mary's reign; and the account that has been given of the Star Chamber and High Commillion Court in later times; what numbers of useful minifters have been fequestered, imprisoned, and their families reduced to poverty and difgrace, for refufing to wear a white furplice, or to comply with a few indifferent ceremonies! What havock did the Prefbyterians make with their covenant uniformity; their jure divino difcipline, and their rigid prohibition of reading the old fervice book. And though the Independants had a better notion of the rights of confcience, how defective was their inftrument of government under Cromwell! how arbitrary the proceedings of their tryers! how narrow their lift of fundamentals! and how fevere their restraints of the prefs! And though the rigorous proceedings of the Puritans of this age did by no means rival thofe of the prelates before and after the civil wars, yet they are fo many fpecies of perfecu tion, and not to be justified even by the confufion of the times in which they were acted.

3dly. It is unfafe and dangerous to intruft any fort of clergy with the power of the fword; for our Saviour's kingdom is not of this world, if it were (fays he) then would my fervants fight, but now is my kingdom not from hence. The church and ftate fhould stand on a diftin&t bafis, and their jurisdiction be agreeable to the nature of their crimes; thofe of the church purely fpiritual, and thofe of the state purely civil; as the king is fupreme in the state, he is also

head,

head, or guardian, of the church in those spiritual rights that Chrift has intrufted it with. When the church in former ages first affumed the fecular power, it not only rivalled the state, but in a little time lifted up its head above emperors and kings, and all the potentates of the earth: the thunder of its anathemas was heard in all nations, and in her skirts was found the blood of the prophets and faints, and of all that were flain upon the earth. And whenever it recovers the wound that was given it at the Reformation, it will undoubtedly refume the fame abfolute coercive dominion. It is therefore the intereft of all fovereign princes to keep their clergy within the limits that Chrift has prefcribed them in the New Teftament, and not to truft them with the power of inflicting corporal pains or penalties on their fubjects, which have no relation to the christian methods of conversion,

4thly. Reformation of religion, or a redress of grievances in the church, has not in fact arisen from the clergy. I would not be thought to reflect upon that venerable order, which is of great usefulness, and deserved honour, when the ends of its inftitution are pursued; but fo strange has been the infatuation, fo inchanting the luft of dominion, and the charms of riches and honour, that the propagation of piety and virtue has been very much neglected, and little elfe thought of but how they might rife higher in the authority and grandeur of this world, and fortify their ftrong holds against all that should attack them. In the dawn of the reformation the clergy maintained the pope's fupremacy against the king, till they were caft in a pramunire. In the reign of queen ELIZABETH there was but one of the whole bench who would join in the confecration of a proteftant bishop; and when the reformation was establifhed, how cruelly did thofe proteftant bishops, who themfelves had fuffered for religion, vex the Puritans, because they could not come up to their standard! How unfriendly did they behave at the Hampton-court conference! At the refloration of king Charles II. and at the late revolution of king William and queen Mary! when the most folemn promises were broken, and the most hopeful opportunity of accommodating differences among proteftants loft, by

the

the perverfeness of the clergy towards thofe very men who had faved them from ruin. So little ground is there to hope for an union among chriftians, or the propagation of truth, peace, and charity, from councils, fynods, general affemblies, or convocations of the clergy of any fort whatsoever.

5thly. Upon these principles, it is evident that freedom of religion, in fubordination to the civil power, is for the benefit of fociety, and no ways inconfiftent with a publick eftablifhment. The king may create dignitaries, and give fufficient encouragement to thofe of the publick religion, without invading the liberties of his diffenting fubjects. If religious establishments were ftripped of their judicial proceffes and civil jurifdiction, no harm could be feared from them. And as his majesty is defender of the faith in Scotland as well as England, and equally the guardian of both churches, he will, no doubt, hold the balance, and prevent either from rifing to fuch a pitch of greatness as to act independantly on the state, or become formidable and oppreffive to their neighbours; the former would create imperium in imperio; and there is but one step between the church's being independant on the STATE, and the STATE becoming dependant on the church. Befides, as freedom of religion is for the true honour and dignity of the CROWN, it is no lefs for the fervice of the community; for the example of the neighbouring nations may convince us, that uniformity in the church will always be attended with abfolute and defpotick power in the STATE. The meetings of diffenting proteftants were formerly called feditious, because the peace of the publick was falsly supposed to confift in uniformity of worhip; but long experience has taught us the contrary; for, though the non-conformists in thofe times gave no difturbance to the administration, the nation was far from being at peace; but when things came to a crifis, their joining with the church, against a corrupt court and miniftry, faved the religion and liberties of the nation. It must therefore be the intereft of a free people to fupport and encourage liberty of confcience, and not to fuffer any one great and powerful religious body to opprefs, devour, and fwallow up the rest. Finally,