"This Profession was Read, and Subscribed by the Bishop, in the presence of

'Dr. Green, the Parish-Minister, who administred.

'Dr. Hicks, Dean of Worcester.

'Mr. Jenkin, his Lordships Chaplain.

'Mr. Powell, his Secretary.

'Mr. Wilson, his Amanuensis; who all communicated with him.

'You see, Sir, His Lordship had a certain Prospect of Death, and looked upon himself as a dying Man, when he made this Profession, and scarce expected to finish the reading of it, but apprehended that he might probably be seized upon by Death, and called before the dreadful Tribunal, before he could utter these words.

'As soon as his Chaplain had Written it, His Lordship ordered him to read it over to him, which he did, and then the Bishop read it over himself, in a distinct and audible Voice, and it was afterwards transcribed by his Amanuensis, and then at the Celebration of the Holy Communion, was again audibly and distinctly read over by his Lord. ship, and subscribed by him immediately before his receiving the same. When the Communion was over, he called to Mr. Powell his Secretary, and ordered him to make an Act of it: The Lord Bishop of Norwich coming to visit him soon after, His Lordship pray'd him to look over the Paper, and then desired the Dean of Worcester to carry it with him to Lambeth, and discoursed of it to my Lord Bishop of Ely, who that evening made him a visit; so that nothing perhaps, in all its circumstances, was ever more solemnly and deliberately done.

'Now it is not easie to imagine what exceptions can be made against a Profession, which carries with it such evident proofs of a truly Charitable and Primitive Spirit: Yet the Person of Quality in the North you see, Sir, is much offended at it, and has been pleased to Print a Letter full of angry Objections against it. It seems his just Tribute of sorrow for Bishop Lake's Death was soon paid, that he could at this time of day be at leisure to pay another sort of Tribute to his Friend in London, of a different Passion. His Civility and due respect for the memory of the late Reverend Bishop, I should with all thankfulness most readily acknowledge, if I could think it not designed, with the better Grace and more Ceremony, to cast a Blemish upon one of the last and most solemn Acts of his Life.

'He rightly observes that his Lordship was sufficiently distinguished, and his fame secured to all Posterity, in that he was one of the Seven Bishops, whose Courage and Constancy will remain upon Record until Time shall be no more. But how his being a great Maintainer and Assertor of the Protestant Religion, and the English Liberties, is inconsistent with his being a great Champion, as he calls it, for Passive Obedience, I cannot understand. I can assure him none of Bishop Lake's Friends ever thought one of those two honourable Characters would obscure the other, but that they never could be so entire and truly honourable, as when they are together.

'What the design must be of publishing the Paper, doth not at all concern his Friends, who had no Hand in it, but that His Lordship

had a great and good Design in making that Profession before he left the World, I imagined had been very obvious to Persons of less Rank and Quality, than this Gentleman would be thought to be of.

"The Reasons for the Doctrine of Passive Obedience, all men of Reason, methinks, should know, could not be contained in so small a 5 compass, and are not well consistent with the design of a Profession," which should be short, in full and expressive terms; and of this nature are all the Professions, which the Bishops of Old used to send one to another, at the first Promotion to their Sees. This was all they did in their perfect health, and to expect a long Series of Reasons and IO Arguments, of Objections and Answers, from a Man upon his DeathBed, is next to expecting that one should arise from the Dead to convince us. Rather let us hearken to Moses and the Prophets, to St. Peter and St. Paul; let us read Romans 13. and 1 Pet. 2. with the best Commentators upon them: let us read the Works of our own Divines, 15 who to their honour have been wanting to no Subject, and as little to this as any. I suppose he is very well satisfy'd with the Creed, though it contain no Arguments, and this being a Profession of Practical Doctrine, as that is of Faith, he had as little Reason to expect Arguments here: And this he confesses himself in effect, when he thinks he 20 can take any advantage by it; why else does he say. That in his Opinion, it would more have become his Lordship, if, as the Office for the Sick directs, he had made a Confession of the Christian Faith, contain'd in the Apostles Creed? But do not Atheists and Hereticks expect Reasons of us for our Christian Faith? And then the Profession of 25 that too, must have been really impertinent, because He had certainly given the World as convincing proofs of his Opinion before. If I might be so bold, Sir, I would venture to say, that in my Opinion it would have more become the Person of Quality to have spared this Reflexion; for he that professes he dyes in the Religion of the Church of England, 30 professes I hope sufficiently that he believes the Christian Faith contained in the Apostles Creed. Yes, says the Letter, unquestionably he believed it, and I can assure him he as unquestionably professed it: and as the Office for the Visitation of the Sick directs, declared, that he stedfastly believed all the Articles of it. For his Lordship, who was 35 always so strict and punctual to the Canons of the Church, would have no part of the Office omitted.

'But he had submitted to a Suspension, and had certainly given the World as convincing proof of his Opinion, as if he had printed a thousand Volumes about it. And some have written so many Volumes, 40 that it was thought they had given the World convincing proofs enough of their Opinion, tho they have not yet submitted to a Suspension. But there are those who would perswade the World, that the Case of the Bishops is very different from the rest of the Clergy, and would make it a point of Honour in them, rather than of Conscience. 45 His Lordship therefore declares that he had incurred a Suspension in consequence of the Doctrine of Passive Obedience. And that as he had inculcated it upon others, so he thought himself obliged to practise it upon this and all other occasions. He now only declares what he before so often taught, to testifie to the World that he was still of the 50

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same mind, that he found no reason to change his Judgement; that no Ambition or worldly Interest had tempted him to preach this Doctrine; but that he was ready to forfeit all, even Life it self, rather than contradict or abandon it: That what he had professed before the World, he was not affraid now to dye in the profession of; and to profess it before God in the most solemn act of conversing with him in this World, and when he every moment expected to be summoned to appear before him in the next....

P. 24 (the first): 'You see, Sir, how conspicuous all the true marks of a Primitive Piety are in this Profession; but his Lordship had not that only reason to say that he was educated in this Doctrine, and was resolved never to abjure or renounce it, tho it were at the peril of his Life, because after so long experience he could discern no ill in it, but thought it Orthodox; he had this further Reason to say it, He had lived to hear it affirmed that Passive Obedience is a Doctrine of but 40 or 50 years standing, and his Testimony alone being sufficient to confute that Error, it was most proper and requisite for him to aver, that he was educated in this Doctrine: and that it was not only as old as he could remember, who was now 65 years of Age, but that he was taught it as an ancient Doctrine, and always lookt upon it to be of the same Antiquity among us, with the Reformation it self, and part of that Primitive Doctrine which was then revived and established in the Church of England. This, Sir, was the way of maintaining the Truth of Old, by pleading against Hereticks, and if some Men in our days, take the confidence to say that so material a Doctrine is but of 40 or 50 years date, shall it be cavill'd at, if a Reverend and Learned Bishop declares that to his own certain knowledge it is ancienter than so, and that he received it from his Childhood, as the constant Doctrine of the Church of England, from the time of the Reformation?...

30 P. 44: But I shall not pretend to give you, Sir, a second part of the History of Passive Obedience: I shall only say, that when his Lordship saw this Doctrine treated in the vilest and most opprobrious Language, and compared to the most absurd Doctrines of Popery, even to Transubstantiation it self, by such as value themselves notwithstanding upon their being Members of the Church of England: He had then too great occasion to declare, that he had ever this Notion of the Church of England, that it was as upon other accounts, so upon this particularly distinguished from Popery and Fanaticism, that it never taught the resisting and deposing Doctrines, as the opposite Parties have both done.

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'Nor doth this imply, that all who have taken the Oath have thereby renounced the Church of England, as he would insinuate, nor so much indeed as that they have renounced this very Doctrine, tho whoever hath renounced it, the Bishop truly did suppose, that they had so far departed from the Doctrine of our Church. But as there are several different Hypotheses to reconcile men to the taking of the new Oath, so there is but one of them which is thought inconsistent with the Doctrine of Passive Obedience. For Conquest, Abdication, the taking of the Oath in a lower sense, or with a Declaration, are held so well consistent with it, that some who are Zealous Advocates for

the Oath, yet have lately written in behalf of Passive Obedience. And I believe if a computation could be made, of all who have taken it upon the account of some one or more of these Notions, those that have taken it upon contrary Principles, would not be much considerable either for Note or Number, though our Person of Quality should 5 happen to be among them. One way, indeed, the Men of those Principles have to make themselves considerable, they are always most busie and violent, fancying that they have a share in Sovereignty, and valuing themselves upon being nearer a Throne, than others dare presume to be. But I hope we shall not always see affronts upon Ma- 10 jesty pass for Wit instead of Argument, and that Men will not always be suffered to be Wiser than the Laws. What Duty or Service can it be to Their present Majesties, to tell the people twice or thrice a Week from the Press, that Soveraign Princes are upon their good behaviour?

'I shall not doubt to say, that these who cannot take the Oath, yet 15 wish better to Their Majesties than these their violent Adversaries, and in the end will prove better Subjects. Their Majesties are the two Persons in the World, whose Reign over them, their Interest and Inclinations oblige them most to desire, and nothing but Conscience could restrain them, from being as forward as any in all expressions of 20 Loyalty. This is one of the strongest Temptations they meet with, and upon this account we have seen so great an example of Self-denyal since the Death of K. Charles II. that the like can scarce be shewn in any Age; in a Bishop to whose Care and good Instructions is in great measure owing the Protestant Succession to the Throne, who so long 25 has run all the hazards of the Court, and is still forced to decline the rewards of his eminent Services, with the same good Conscience wherewith he performed them. And in general, I have this one Request to make, to all who are true Sons of the Church of England, that they would be pleased but to consider with themselves, at what time in 30 their Lives before, they took the Suspended Clergy to be the Men they now seem to be taken for? Did they at any time till just now, suspect them to be so fond of suffering for an empty and groundless Opinion? They can best judge who were so lately in the same dangers with them, they acted then unanimously upon a Principle of Con- 35 science, but considering men know how impossible it is, for all men to have the same sense of things in such a juncture as this. And must those of the Church of England only, not be allowed to have tender Consciences?

'I perceive I am carry'd too far; but who can forbear to be con- 40 cerned, to see some men lose their Charity, as fast as others are losing their Preferments? I believe the suspended Clergy as little regard the hopes as the fears of that Lay-Gentleman, who declares publickly and in Print, that he hopes they will meet with little compassion; they will excuse him his compassion, if he will but act with more Charity, and 45 in his cooler thoughts seriously reflect upon the ill treatment he has used towards a Bishop who would have been a Glory to the Church in any Age, and he and many more, are reserved by Providence for Blessings to the present Age, if we will not deprive our selves of them. We have seen two snatched away almost at the same time, let us so 50

lay it to Heart, as not to provoke God to send down upon us, those Judgements, which he is wont to deliver the Righteous from, by taking them away to himself.

'These two good Bishops spent their dying Breath in recommending the Doctrines of Peace, and in following their Masters example, as far as it was possible for them, by bequeathing the Blessings of Peace and Unity to the Church; which is the best Legacy that any Bishop could leave, though it has been called so in derision by one, whose scurrility nothing can escape, since it has had the good luck to be mistaken by some for Wit....

P. 50: 'If this be a Digression, Sir, I hope it is a very excusable one, since occasions are so industriously sought for, to asperse the Suspended Bishops; but what I have now said, is not so much to vindicate them, as to observe to you, that they have been slandered by him. For after the universal commendation and applause of the Kingdom, nothing could be added to compleat their Praises, but the Reproaches of such men as he.

'The Writer of the Letter observes, That King James has done more mischief by the divisions he has occasioned among us, than he could have done by his Persecutions. And I beseech him, who raised these Divisions, they who desire only to enjoy their own Consciences in Peace, or those who fill the Nation with complaints, if a dying Bishop declares that he acted purely out of Conscience. What could tend more to the healing our Divisions than this, if men would but consider it, and make a due use of it? But when this Gentleman must needs know, that his Lordship at the same time received the Holy Sacrament, at the hand of a Reverend Divine who has taken the Oath, to insinuate that he would hardly allow those who have taken the New Oath, to be so much as Out-lyers of the Church of England, is a thing, I confess, that I can scarce reconcile to any degree of Charity. And can any thing inflame mens Minds, and widen our Divisions, more than such forced Interpretations of an Action which did so naturally tend to our Peace?

"There was indeed great Reason to hope that the words of a Dying Man just going to receive the Sacrament, would be the more credited, and make the deeper impression; for so good a Man could not be easily deceived himself, and at such a time it's certain did not design to deceive others. Tho he doth the Bishop wrong to say he declared, that his not taking of the Oath was the great consolation he had at that time. His Lordship declared, 'tis true, that he found much inward satisfaction from it, but he had all the Consolations besides, as great as so good a man could have when he came to dye. The comfort of having always stood firm to his Duty, the remembrance of a well spent Life here, and the joyful hopes of a better in Heaven. But it was then most requisite, that he should particularly express his inward satisfaction as to this matter of the Oath, when Humour and Obstinacy, and any thing rather than Conscience, has been suspected to hinder Men from taking it; when some men could not be allow'd to suffer with as good a Conscience, as others to avoid suffering. 'Twas then certainly the most proper, and the most seasonable and charitable thing a dying Bishop