05a. Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION OF THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY. The Larger and Shorter Catechisms - Inquiry concerning their Authorship - Departure of the Scottish Commissioners - Final Dissolution of the Westminster Assembly - The Ratification of the Directory of Worship, and of Church Government by the Church of Scotland - Also of the Confession of Faith, with an Explanation Guarding against any Erastian Construction - Brief View of Public Events connected with the Assembly’s Proceedings - Struggle between the Parliament and the Army - Cromwell’s Usurpation - Death of Charles I - Dissolution of the Long Parliament and the Westminster Assembly - Synod of London - The Independents in power - Committee of Triers - The Savoy Confession - Restoration of Charles II - Prelacy Restored - Act of Uniformity and Ejection of Two Thousand Presbyterian Ministers on St. Bartholomew’s Day - Retrospective Review and Summary of the Westminster Assembly’s Proceedings - Religious Uniformity in the Three Kingdoms by Mutual Consultation, intended to Form the Basis of a Secure and Permanent Peace - Erastian Element and its Consequences - Mutual Misunderstandings - Mutual Agreement - Effect on the Universities - On Theological Literature - On Education - State of the Kingdom and Army - Sectarians - Toleration - Its True Nature Intimated - How Misunderstood by both Parties - Liberty of Conscience - Unlimited Toleration not Granted by the Independents when in Power - Great Idea of a General Protestant Union entertained by the Westminster Assembly - How yet Attainable - Theological Productions of the Westminster Assembly - Conclusion.
ALTHOUGH the chief duties for which the Assembly of Divines were summoned to meet at Westminster, may be regarded as having been discharged when they had prepared and laid before the Parliament Directories for Public Worship and Ordination, a Form of Government, Rules of Discipline, and a Confession of Faith, yet there remained several matters, subordinate indeed, but still important, on account of which they continued to sit and deliberate for some time longer, an outline of which we now proceed to give, before offering some concluding remarks on the whole subject. A catechism for the instruction of children and of the comparatively ignorant in religious truth will always be regarded as a most important matter by every true Christian Church; and as the Catechism of the Church of England was undeniably both meager and unsound, it formed a part of the Assembly’s duty to prepare a more accurate and complete catechism, as a portion of the national system to be established. The attention of the Assembly was occupied almost entirely by the discussions respecting the Directories of Ordination and Worship, till towards the end of 1644. They then began to prepare for composing a Confession of Faith and a Catechism; and according to their usual course of procedure, committees were appointed to draw up an outline, in regular systematic order, for the consideration of the Assembly. But the progress of the Assembly in these points was retarded by the various events which have been already related, so that little was done till towards the end of May 1645. The committees from that time forward carried on their labors in preparing the Confession and the Catechism simultaneously, but, as Baillie says, "languidly, the minds of the divines being enfeebled by the delay of the House to grant the petition respecting power to exclude scandalous persons from communion." After some progress had been made with both, the Assembly resolved to finish the Confession first, and then to construct the Catechism upon its model, so far at least as to have no proposition in the one which was not in the other; by which arrangement there would be left scarcely any ground for subsequent debate and delay. But political1 movements, answers to the Independents and to the Erastians, and other disturbing influences, so impeded the Assembly’s progress, that the Catechisms were not so speedily completed as had been expected. The Shorter Catechism was presented to the House of Commons on the 5th of November 1647, and the Larger on the 14th of April 1648. After they had been carefully perused by the Parliament, an order was issued on the 15th of September 1648, commanding them to be printed for public use. The king, during his residence in the Isle of Wight, after many solicitations, consented to license the Shorter Catechism, with a suitable preface; but as the negotiations did not end in a treaty, that consent was never realized.
There have been many inquiries instituted in order to ascertain, if possible, by whom the original outline of the Catechism was prepared, but hitherto without success. In our opinion, there is no reason to think that it was done by any one person. Committees were appointed to prepare every thing that was to be brought before the Assembly. We find no separate committee named expressly for the purpose of drawing up the Catechism; and we find repeated proofs of a very close connection between the Catechism band the Confession. It may reasonably be inferred that both subjects were conducted by the same committee, which was composed of Drs. Gouge and Hoyle, Messrs Herle, Gataker, Tuckney, Reynolds, Vines, and the Scottish ministers. Some add Arrowsmith and Palmer; both men of great piety, learning and abilities, and the latter termed by Baillie "the best catechist in England." Palmer, it appears, was appointed to draw up a section in the Directory of Public Worship, on catechizing; but it did not give satisfaction, and that topic was not inserted in the Directory. 2 Scarcely could it be called an unfair inference, were we to conclude from this fact that Palmer had no peculiar share in framing the Catechism. It may be mentioned, that Dr. Arrowsmith was appointed Master of St. John’s College, Cambridge, in the year 1644, before the Catechism was begun, and that his attendance upon the Assembly after that period was only occasional, in consequence of the new sphere of duties on which he was called to enter. Mr. Palmer was also constituted Master of Queen’s College, Cambridge, in the same year; but he continued to attend the Assembly very constantly till the time of his death, in the year 1647, - at which time the Catechism was still unfinished. It has been also conjectured, that the first outline of the Catechism may have been drawn by Dr. Wallis, one of the scribes of the Assembly at that period, and afterwards so justly celebrated as Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, and one of the first mathematicians of the age. This conjecture may have arisen from the fact that he wrote a short treatise, entitled, "A Brief and Easy Explanation of the Shorter Catechism;" which was so much approved of by the Assembly that they caused it to be presented to both Houses of Parliament. But in truth, as has been already suggested, the 3 framing of the Catechism appears to have been the work of the committee, and not of any one individual; and it was brought to its present admirable degree of nearness to perfection by the united deliberations of the whole Assembly. The chief matters on account of which the Assembly had been called together being now completed, so far as depended on that venerable body itself, the Scottish commissioners prepared to take their departure. This, indeed, had to a certain extent already taken place, though not formally. The celebrated Alexander Henderson had been sent to Newcastle to converse with the king, during his majesty’s residence along with the Scottish army, for the purpose of endeavoring to persuade him to consent to such terms as might form the basis of a satisfactory and permanent peace. Exhausted already with the long continuance and severity of his arduous public toils, and finding it impossible to make any impression on the mind of the infatuated monarch, Henderson left Newcastle and returned to Edinburgh; where he soon afterwards died, leaving behind him a reputation unsurpassed by any man since the days of the first reformers. And towards the close of the year 1646, Baillie obtained permission to leave the Assembly and return to Scotland, that he might communicate to the Commission of the Scottish General Assembly what had been done by the Westminster Divines, preparatory for the meeting of the Assembly at Edinburgh in August 1647, when it was expected that the proceedings of the Westminster Assembly would be formally considered and approved of by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, as the ground of the desired uniformity in religion between the two kingdoms. Gillespie and Rutherford still remained, as the Westminster Assembly had been required by the Parliament to add Scripture proofs to the Confession of Faith; but Gillespie left London in time to be present in the General Assembly, Rutherford remaining a little longer. It may be stated, that the Assembly had intentionally abstained from inserting texts of Scripture in the copy of the Confession first presented to Parliament, not because they had themselves any difficulty in doing so, but to avoid giving offense to the Parliament, whose custom had previously been, to enact nothing concerning religion on divine right, or on scriptural grounds. This change4 in the procedure of the Parliament was doubtless intended to cause delay; but its effect was, the rendering of the Confession a much more perfect work than it would otherwise have been. On the 24th of October 1647, Samuel Rutherford moved, that it might be recorded in the books of the scribes, that the Assembly had enjoyed the assistance of the honorable, reverend, and learned commissioners of the Church of Scotland, during all the time they had been debating and perfecting these four things mentioned in the Covenant, namely, a Directory for Public Worship, a uniform Confession of Faith, a Form of Church Government and Discipline, and a public Catechism. The Assembly assented unanimously to this motion; and Mr. Herle, the prolocutor, rose up, and, in the name of the Assembly, returned thanks to the honorable and reverend commissioners for their assistance. He went on to explain the causes which prevented the Directory from being so well observed as it ought to be, and lamented that the Assembly had not power to call offenders to account. He further adverted to the chaos of confusion in which public affairs in England were continuing, the king having been seized by the army, and the Parliament being overawed by the same usurping power; acknowledging that their extraordinary successes hitherto had been granted in answer to the prayers of their brethren of Scotland, and other Protestants abroad, as well as to their own. 5 The business of the Assembly was now virtually at an end. The subjects brought before them by Parliament had been all fully discussed, and the result of their long and well-matured deliberations presented to both Houses, to be approved or rejected by the supreme civil power on its own responsibility. But the Parliament neither fully approved nor rejected the Assembly’s productions, nor yet issued an ordinance for a formal dissolution of that venerable body. Negotiations were still going on with the king; and in one of the papers which passed between his majesty and the Parliament, he signified his willingness to sanction the continuation of Presbyterian Church government for three years; and also, that the Assembly should continue to sit and deliberate, his majesty being allowed to nominate twenty Episcopalian divines to be added to it, for the purpose of having the whole subject of religion again formally debated. To this proposal the Parliament refused to consent; but it probably tended to prevent them from formally dissolving the Assembly, so long as there remained any shadow of hope that a pacific arrangement might be effected with his majesty. In the meantime many members of the Assembly, especially those from the country, returned to their own homes and ordinary duties; and those who remained in London were chiefly engaged in the examination of such ministers as presented themselves for ordination, or induction into vacant charges. They continued to maintain their formal existence till the 22d of February 1649, about three weeks after the king’s decapitation, having sat five years, six months, and twenty-two days; in which time they had held one thousand one hundred and sixty-three sessions. They were then changed into a committee for conducting the trial and examination of ministers, and continued to hold meetings for this purpose every Thursday morning till the 25th of March 1652, when Oliver Cromwell having forcibly dissolved the Long Parliament, by whose authority the Assembly had been at first called together, that committee also broke up, and separated without any formal dissolution, and as a matter of necessity. As the main object of the Westminster Assembly was, to frame such a system of Church government and public worship as might unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, in religious uniformity, and as the Assembly had completed its task, the next point was to lay the result of its labors before the Church of Scotland, that its consent might be obtained. This was in perfect harmony with the whole procedure of Scotland in this great and sacred enterprise. The Church of Scotland had neither the power nor the wish to force its system upon England; as little would it have submitted to English dictation in a matter so important: and although the English Parliament had not fully ratified all the propositions of the Westminster Assembly, yet, since these were completed, the delay of England was no sufficient reason why the Church and kingdom of Scotland should also delay, if satisfied with the system which the Assembly of Divines had prepared. Even before the completion of the Westminster Assembly’s labors, the Church of Scotland had shown its satisfaction and its readiness to promote the desired uniformity; for, in the General Assembly held at Edinburgh early in the year 1645, an act of Assembly was passed on the 3d of February, ratifying the Directory of Public Worship; and on the 15th of February another act was passed, ratifying the Form of Church Government and Ordination, though these had not yet received the full ratification of the English Parliament. Again, in the General Assembly which met in August 1647, the Confession of Faith was taken into consideration, copies having been previously distributed throughout the Church, and was solemnly ratified by an act of Assembly passed on the 27th of August 1647. The Larger and Shorter Catechisms, not being ready at that time, owing to the delays which had impeded the progress of the Westminster Divines, were not ratified till the following year, when both of them obtained the full sanction of the General Assembly in July 1648.
It may be necessary to mention, that so jealous was the Church of Scotland lest her sanction should be given to any thing which bore an Erastian taint, or might, by perverse ingenuity, be so construed, that in the act of Assembly which ratified the Confession of Faith, an explanation was inserted, giving the Assembly’s understanding of some parts of the second article of the thirty-first chapter, which seemed, or might be interpreted to seem, to grant more power to the civil magistrate in the calling of synods than the Church of Scotland was prepared to admit. And still more completely to guard against the very suspicion of any tincture of Erastianism, the Assembly caused to be printed a series of propositions, or "Theses against Erastianism," as Baillie terms them, amounting to one hundred and eleven, drawn up by George Gillespie, embodying eight of them in the act which authorized their publication. It is impossible to peruse these hundred and eleven propositions without being thoroughly convinced, that the General Assembly never would have ratified the Confession of Faith if they had understood it to contain any such Erastian taint as some in modern times have affected to discover in it. Let the third section of the twenty-third chapter be carefully perused by any intelligent and candid person, in connection with the whole proceedings of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and with the hundred and eleven propositions, and he must conclude that it cannot possibly have an Erastian meaning, even though he should be unable to state what it really does mean; unless, indeed, he were to suppose that the Westminster Assembly and the Church of Scotland did not understand the true meaning of their own propositions. But the truth appears to be, that the learned and able men of that period had so thoroughly studied and mastered the essential elements of the Erastian controversy, that they could state the propositions respecting the duty and power of the civil magistrate circa sacra, about religious matters, without admitting his possession of any duty and power in sacris, in religious matters, in terms which, to their practiced minds, marked the boundaries in sharp and narrow but clear and definite distinctions; while men who have not so deeply studied these subjects, and whose mental acumen has not been so much exercised, cannot trace, and are perpetually crossing, these boundary-lines, more, it may be, from want of perspicacity or knowledge, than in willful perverseness. A full and clear history of the Erastian controversy, stating distinctly the great principles which it involves, and their bearing upon liberty, civil and religious, would be a work of incalculable value at the present time, - that very controversy having again begun to disturb men’s minds, and threatening to shake to pieces the most valuable institutions, if not to overturn the entire structure of society.
Although the course of events has led to the statement of the Westminster Assembly’s dissolution, with which this narrative might close, yet, as its influence did not at once terminate with its actual duration, it seems expedient to give a brief outline of some of the leading events which still retained its impress, till they became almost indistinguishably blended with the onward movements of the national mind and history. It will be remembered, that a new element was introduced into the acting powers of the body politic, when, by means of the "self-denying ordinance," members of Parliament were prohibited from holding any post in the army, and new general officers were appointed, while a special permission was given to Cromwell enabling him to retain his military command. From that time forward there was a distinction of aims and interests between the Parliament and the army, although they continued their mutual cooperation till the king’s power was laid prostrate. In the Parliament, the Presbyterian party retained the ascendancy; in the army, the Independents appeared to do so, although they formed but one of the many sects of which it was almost entirely composed. For some time after the king had taken up his residence at Holmby, the disagreement between the Parliament and the army appeared only in the shape of negotiations in the terms of which the two parties could not agree, - the Parliament wishing to disband a large proportion of the troops, and to send a considerable body to Ireland, to suppress the Popish insurrection in that country, - and the army petitioning for an act of indemnity for any illegal actions they might have committed during the war. This petition was stigmatized by the Commons as of a mutinous tendency, subjecting its promoters to be proceeded against as disturbers of the public peace. The army immediately formed a council of the principal officers, to deliberate for their own protection; and to this was added two soldiers out of each company, to assist the officers in their council. To these soldiers was given the designation, adjutators, or assistants; but this somewhat pedantic title very speedily degenerated into the more intelligible word, agitators, - by which name, accordingly, they are best known. The disagreement continuing, the army seized possession of the king’s person, and marched towards London, declaring their intention to new-model the government, as the only method of securing a settled peace to the nation. Eleven of the leading Presbyterian members of the House of Commons were accused as guilty of high treason, and enemies of the army, and, with equally unwise and unmanly terror, left the House. The city of London prepared to meet the danger, - enrolled the militia, threw up defenses, and made ready to repel force by force. But the Parliament was divided. The Speakers of both Houses favored the Independents, and the absence of the eleven impeached members discouraged their party. The two Speakers and about sixty-two of the members retired to the army. This gave to that formidable power what it wanted, - the semblance of being engaged in defense of the Legislature itself, - and with increased alacrity it advanced against the city. Strife and confusion had, in the meantime, done their work. Without men of ability and determination to direct and lead them on, the citizens were unable to encounter a veteran army, and London threw open its gates, and submitted to a power, formidable indeed, but utterly unable to have taken forcible possession of the city, had it been boldly and vigorously defended. The army having thus manifested its power, recoiled a little and allowed the Parliament to continue to sit and deliberate, as if still the supreme authority in the nation, although the king was carefully retained under the superintendence of the military leaders. At length Charles contrived to escape from Hampton Court, with the intention of withdrawing from the kingdom, and seeking the aid of foreign powers to reinstate him on his throne; but not being able to procure a passage, he entrusted himself to Hammond, governor of the Isle of Wight, by whom he was kept in Carisbrooke Castle, in real imprisonment, though treated with respect. A series of negotiations for a treaty was resumed between the king and the Parliament, which, like every preceding attempt, proved abortive, in consequence of that strange peculiarity in his majesty’s character, the union of inflexible obstinacy in one point, with boundless and incurable dissimulation in every other. At the very time that the king was treating with the English Parliament for peace, he was framing a private engagement with the Scottish Royalists, by means of which he hoped to recover his power by force of arms. This led to the march into England of another Scottish army, under the command of the Duke of Hamilton, who had obtained a temporary ascendancy in the Scottish Parliament, but against the opposition, and under the protest of the true and faithful Covenanters. Cromwell marched against this army, defeated it, and returned to London determined to put an end to the struggle, by putting to death a monarch whose principles were of the most despotic character, and upon whose most solemn treaties no reliance could be placed. Again was the Parliament subjected to military force. Upwards of forty of the Presbyterian members were cast into confinement; above one hundred and sixty were excluded from the House; and none were suffered to sit and deliberate but the most determined Sectarians, in all not exceeding sixty. This violent invasion of parliamentary rights is commonly termed "Pride’s purge," from the name of Colonel Pride, the person who commanded the military detachment by which it was perpetrated; and the parliamentary section which was allowed to remain, is known by the designation of the Rump Parliament. The republican revolution now swept onward with great rapidity and irresistible force. It was resolved that the king should be brought to trial, as guilty of treason against the people of England, before what was termed a Court of Justice. The House of Lords refused to give their consent; and the Commons voted the concurrence of the Lords to be unnecessary, the people being the source of all just power. The unfortunate king was brought before the Court of Justice, and accused of treason. He declined their jurisdiction, and defended himself with great dignity and courage. But all his defenses were overruled. The dread sentence was pronounced; and on the 30th of January 1649, he perished on the scaffold, the victim of an inflexible attachment to superstitious observances and despotic principles, and of an incurable perseverance in the art of dissimulation; yet in his last moments displaying a degree of personal intrepidity, firmness of character, and Christian-like calmness and elevation of mind, worthy of a better cause. No sooner had the tidings of the ill-fated monarch’s tragic end reached Scotland, than it called forth a burst of intense sorrow and indignation from the heart of every true Presbyterian Covenanter in the kingdom. Arrangements were instantly made for placing the young prince on the Scottish throne, and supporting him there by force of arms, if necessary, provided he would subscribe the Covenant. To this Charles was unwilling to consent, if he could otherwise obtain his purpose; and with this design held the Scottish commissioners in terms, while conducting a private treaty with Montrose, in the hope of securing the kingdom by his means without any stipulation. But while in this he showed proofs of hereditary dissimulation, when Montrose failed, he consented to swear the Covenant which he never intended to keep: in this respect committing a crime darker far than any with which his father’s memory is chargeable; for though Charles I seems to have regarded dissimulation as allowable in diplomacy, - which perhaps statesmen in general may be thought also to do, - he reverenced an oath, and would not on any account have sworn what he did not intend to perform. But Cromwell was not disposed to permit the establishment of the royal power in Scotland, by which his own supremacy might be endangered. He therefore marched northwards at the head of his veteran army, invaded Scotland, and after a series of military movements, in which he was fairly matched by David Leslie, he gained a decisive victory near Dunbar. The Scottish army rallied and took up a strong position near Stirling; but their flank being turned, and their resources cut off, the young prince adopted the daring enterprise of marching into England, hoping to be joined by the Royalists in that country. His hopes were disappointed, that party being thoroughly broken and dispirited; and being overtaken by Cromwell, a final struggle took place at Worcester, which ended in the total rout and dispersion of the royal army. After encountering many perilous adventures and narrow escapes, Charles fled to the Continent, and Cromwell returned to London to consolidate that power in which he had now no rival but the degraded Rump of the Long Parliament. As he no longer needed the services of that faction, he fostered, or at least encouraged a quarrel between the army and Parliament, and taking part with the former, he hastened to the House of Commons, assailed the astonished members with a torrent of violent invectives, ordered the mace, "that bauble," to be taken away, called in the military to eject the dismayed but struggling members, and having locked the door, put the key in his pocket, and returned to Whitehall. So fell the English Parliament beneath the power of military usurpation; and at the same moment terminated the Westminster Assembly.
It will be remembered, that London and its immediate vicinity had been formed into twelve Presbyteries, constituting the Provincial Synod of London. This Synod continued to hold regular half-yearly meetings till the year 1655, without encountering any direct obstruction from Cromwell, but receiving no encouragement. They then ceased to hold regular meetings as a Synod, but continued to meet as Presbyteries, and to maintain, as far as possible, every other point of Presbyterian Church government and discipline. It is probable, or rather certain, that their ceasing to act as a Synod was caused by the conduct of Cromwell in regard to religious matters. When, upon the death of the king, the government of England was changed to a commonwealth, an ordinance was passed appointing an engagement to be taken, first by all civil and military officers, and afterwards by all who held official situations in the universities; and at last it was further ordered that no minister be capable of enjoying any preferment in the Church, unless he should, within six months, take the engagement publicly before the congregation. The consequence of this was, that while the engagement was readily taken by all the Sectarians, and by many Episcopalians of lax principles, it was refused by great numbers of the Presbyterians, several of whom were in a short time ejected from the situations to which they had been appointed by the Parliament. Cromwell and his council, carrying into full execution this course of procedure, certainly not that of toleration, immediately placed Independents in the situations thus rendered vacant by the ejection of the Presbyterians, prohibited the publication of pamphlets censuring the conduct of the new government, and abolished the monthly fasts, which had continued to be regularly kept for about seven years, and whose sacred influence had often been deeply and beneficially felt by both Parliament and Assembly. The Rev. Christopher Love was beheaded for being engaged in, or cognizant of, a correspondence with Scotland for the purpose of supporting the interests of Charles II. Not long afterwards, in the year 1654, an ordinance of council was issued, appointing a new committee of thirty-eight persons, nine of whom were laymen, to examine and approve all who should be presented, nominated, chosen, or appointed to any benefice with cure of souls, or to any public settled lecture in England or Wales. Of this new committee, commonly called Triers, some were Presbyterians, a large proportion Independents, and a few were Baptists. Any five were sufficient to approve; but no number under nine had power to reject a person as unqualified. In this manner, although the Presbyterian Church government was not formally abolished by Cromwell, its power was transferred to the hands of the committee of Triers, and consequently the Synods ceased to hold meetings which could no longer exercise any authority. This committee continued to exercise its functions till the Protector’s death in 1658, when it was discontinued.
Another ordinance appointed commissioners, chiefly laymen, for every county, with power to eject scandalous, ignorant, and insufficient ministers and schoolmasters. This also superseded the previous arrangements which had been made by the Long Parliament for a similar purpose, and tended to bring every ecclesiastical matter under the direct control of the civil power, and in a great measure under the superintendence of the Protector himself and his council. By this ordinance, as well as by that of the Parliament, it was appointed that ample time should be allowed to the ejected person for his removal, and the fifths of the benefice were reserved for the support of his family. When the Prelatic party silenced and deposed the Puritans and Nonconformists of other days, no such generosity was shown to them or their families; but neither the Presbyterians nor the Independents were so forgetful of the principles of Christianity as to requite evil with evil, but showed kindness to their former calumniators and oppressors. The Independents were now raised to the enjoyment of a large measure of power and favor, though the Protector managed to reserve to himself the reality without the name of ecclesiastical supremacy. They felt, accordingly, that they might now safely adopt a course on which nothing had hitherto been able to induce them to enter, - the preparation, namely, of some public document of the nature of a Confession of Faith. To this they had been often urged by the Westminster Assembly, but in vain.
They were aware that a full and explicit statement of their principles would deprive them of the support of a large proportion of the numerous sects who viewed them as the leading Sectarian party, and might thereby so reduce their influence as to render their hopes of promoting their own system exceedingly feeble. But the Presbyterians were now depressed and overborne; some of the most dangerous of the sects had been forcibly suppressed, such as the Levellers, Fifth Monarchy men, etc.; and they might now promulgate their own views without incurring the danger of losing valuable adherents. Some of the leading men among them accordingly met in London, and having agreed upon the propriety of framing a Confession of Faith, as had been done by other Churches, they requested permission from the Protector to hold an Assembly for that purpose. This was granted with some reluctance, and their Assembly was appointed to meet at the Savoy, on the 12th of October 1658.
They opened their meeting with a day of fasting and prayer; and after some deliberation, resolved to keep as near as possible to the method and order of the Westminster Assembly’s Confession of Faith, in framing a similar document for themselves. A committee was chosen to prepare the outline, consisting of Drs. Goodwin and Owen, Messrs Nye, Bridge, Caryl, and Greenhill. In the short period of about eleven or twelve days they finished their work, which was soon afterwards published under the title of "A Declaration of the Faith and Order owned and practiced in the Congregational Churches in England, agreed upon and consented unto by their elders and messengers in their meeting at the Savoy." The speed with which they completed their task contrasts very strongly with the manner in which they contrived to retard the progress of the Westminster Assembly, but may be readily explained. They followed the Assembly’s Confession very closely, to which indeed their leading men had already assented; they omitted all the chapters which relate to discipline, thus avoiding the discussion of disputed topics; and they had now no object to serve by delay, but many a motive to induce them to make haste. At the end of their work there is a chapter of discipline, consisting of five sections, and giving a brief statement and assertion of the main points in which their system differed from that of the Presbyterians, respecting the power of single congregations, the method of ordination, the administration of the sacraments, the use of Synods and Assemblies to consult and advise, but without authority, and occasional communion with other Churches. This Savoy Confession, as it is commonly called, never6 acquired any importance in the community, and did not supersede the Assembly’s Confession of Faith even in the estimation of a large proportion of the Independents themselves; and as Cromwell, the great supporter of the Independent party, died very soon after its production, on the 3d of September 1658, it never received his public sanction.
Upon the death of Cromwell, he was succeeded by his son Richard, a man of an amiable character, but utterly unfit to conduct the government of the country in such a time of storm and peril. A plot was formed against him by a part of the army, headed by Fleetwood and Desborough, to whom the leading Independent divines, especially Mr. Nye and his party, lent their ready assistance. Richard was persuaded to dissolve the Parliament; Fleetwood and Desborough, and their party, immediately summoned the Rump of the Long Parliament to reassemble, and Richard seeing it impossible to maintain his power without another civil war, and being destitute of military talents, resolved to abdicate his authority, and retire to private life. A new series of dark intrigues followed, in which General Monk acted a prominent part, the issue of which was, the restoration of Charles II on the 29th of May 1660. In consequence of the mutual jealousies of the various parties, the king was restored without conditions of any kind; and thus the liberties, both civil and religious, of the kingdom, in defense of which so much blood had been shed, and so many miseries endured, were laid at his feet. The Prelatic hierarchy were immediately restored to the possession of all their rank, wealth, and power, and speedily proved that the persecuting spirit of Prelacy had sustained no abatement. For a short time the king affected to treat the Presbyterian ministers with respect and kindness; and they were encouraged to hope, that although Prelacy was restored to its former supremacy, yet some modification of it might be made to which it might be possible to conform. After some consultation among themselves, they presented to his majesty a petition expressing their desires for such alterations as might lead to an accommodation and agreement in an amended and modified Episcopacy. This petition was communicated to the Prelates, who returned such an answer as greatly to obscure all prospect of any accommodation. But as matters were not yet ripe for what was intended, the king issued a declaration concerning ecclesiastical affairs, containing so many plausible statements, that the hopes of the Presbyterians were somewhat revived. At length it was arranged that a conference should be held at the Savoy, between twelve bishops and nine assistants on the part of the Episcopalian Church, and an equal number of ministers on the part of the Presbyterians. The first meeting of this conference took place on the 15th of April 1661, and it was continued, with intermissions, till the 25th of July, when it expired without producing the slightest approximation towards an agreement, the bishops refusing to make any alterations in the Book of Common Prayer, to which their discussions were limited, or to make any concession to the conscientious scruples, or more grave and solid arguments, of the Presbyterian ministers. 7 A convocation was held soon after the termination of the conference, in which a few alterations were made in the Prayer-Book, not all for the better; and the proceedings of the convocation were ratified by both Houses of Parliament. It now remained to enforce the Prelatic system by the strong hand of legislative power. This was done by the Act of Uniformity, which, after passing both Houses, by small majorities, received the royal assent on the 19th of May 1662, and was to take effect from the 24th of August following. The terms of conformity specified by this act were:
1. Re-ordination, if they had not been episcopally ordained.
2. A declaration of unfeigned assent and consent to all and every thing prescribed and contained in the Book of Common Prayer, and administration of sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, together with the psalter, and the form and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating of bishops, priests, and deacons.
3. To take the oath of canonical obedience.
4. To abjure the Solemn League and Covenant.
5. To abjure the lawfulness of taking arms against the king, or any commissioned by him, on any pretense whatsoever.
Such were the terms of the infamous and tyrannical Act of Uniformity, which was to come into force on what is termed the Feast of St. Bartholomew; and the penalty for any one who should refuse, was deprivation of all his spiritual promotions. The result was, that when the fatal St. Bartholomew’s day arrived, about two thousand Presbyterians relinquished all their ecclesiastical preferments, abandoned all their worldly means of subsistence, left their homes, and more painful than all, their churches and their weeping and heart-stricken flocks, and became literally strangers and pilgrims in their native country, like their Divine Master, not having where to lay their heads. In their day of power, when ejecting Episcopalian ministers convicted of scandalous offenses or of ignorance, they had allowed to these men a fifth part of their former livings; but no similar mercy or charity was shown to them. They were at once driven and abandoned to utter poverty and homelessness; and to grievous wrong was added not less grievous insult, in the cruel and contumelious treatment which they received from their proud and pitiless oppressors. Yet in one respect the day of St. Bartholomew was a glorious day. It testified to a wondering world the strength and the integrity of Presbyterian principles, in their triumph over every earthly influence; or rather, let us say, it proved that the essential spirit of the Presbyterian Church is the spirit of Christianity itself, and therefore it received divine strength in the day of sore trial, that it might finish its testimony in behalf of the sole sovereignty of Christ over his own spiritual kingdom, to the laws and institutions of which man has no right to add, and which he cannot without sin diminish. Yes, for the Presbyterian Church, and even for the Westminster Assembly, by which that Church had been introduced into England, it was a glorious day. But what was it for Prelacy? A day of everlasting infamy, stamping upon its character indelibly the charge, proved by so many repeated facts, of being essentially A PERSECUTING SYSTEM. But it is equally unnecessary and ungracious to dwell on the detailed results of this tyrannical and persecuting act; and therefore, with a few incidental remarks of some general importance, we shall pass from the painful subject. It must have been observed, that the religious body once known by the name of Puritans, became Presbyterians both in principles and practice, partly before, and thoroughly during the time of the Westminster Assembly. Against them, accordingly, as Presbyterians, was the force of persecution directed, although the demands and the penalties of the Act of Uniformity were equally applicable to the Independents and all other sects of Dissenters; and of the whole two thousand who were ejected by that act, above nine-tenths were Presbyterians. The Independents did not, at that time, number more than an hundred churches in their communion; the Baptists were still fewer; and of the other sects, the greater part had only those lay preachers who had sprung up during the enthusiastic times of the civil war. Of the divines who had constituted the Westminster Assembly, not more than six, or, in strict propriety, only four, conformed. About thirty of them were dead before the act came into operation, some of them very close upon the time, and one or two almost immediately after preaching what would have proved by persecution, as they did by death, their farewell sermons. The names of the six who are stated to have conformed were, Drs. Conant, Wallis, Reynolds, and Lightfoot, and Messrs Heyrick and Hodges. But of these Dr. Conant at first refused to conform, was ejected, and continued so for a period of eight years, when the persuasion of relatives prevailed on him to comply, and he was appointed to a ministerial charge in Northampton, and subsequently obtained other preferments; and Dr. Wallis, who had been one of the scribes to the Westminster Assembly, was made Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, in the year 1649 - an office which in a great measure excluded him from ecclesiastical affairs, and rendered the act of conformity to him little different from a university qualification. It thus appears, that almost the entire surviving members of the Westminster Assembly gave to the principles which they had then declared and advocated the strong and clear testimony of suffering in their defense.
Having now stated all the leading events connected with, and resulting from, the Westminster Assembly, we might here conclude; but in order to obtain as clear and comprehensive a conception of the whole subject as possible, it seems expedient to retrace, for the purpose of combining in one view its leading principles, characteristics, endeavors, and intentions, offering some remarks explanatory of their nature, showing how far they were successful, or by what and to what extent obstructed, what actual impress they gave to the form of society, or what vital elements they infused into its heart, and how far the great objects which they sought to attain may yet be susceptible of resuscitation and accomplishment.
It has been already shown, by a series of historical deductions, that the principle of the sovereign’s supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, conjoined with the encroaching and domineering spirit of Prelacy, had so nearly subverted all liberty, civil and religious, that it became the imperative duty of every Christian and every patriot to unite in resisting the cruel and degrading thralldom with which the kingdom was threatened. To that subject it is not necessary again to direct our attention. Nor need we do more than simply refer to the important fact, that the main purpose for which the Westminster Assembly was called together, and the Solemn League and Covenant was framed, was to produce, so far as might be practicable, unity of religious belief and uniformity in Church government throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland. Even for the sake of procuring and maintaining peace among the nations composing the one British empire, such an uniformity was regarded as almost indispensable. For, as the Scottish commissioners reasoned, there is "nothing so powerful to divide the hearts of people as division in religion; nothing so strong to unite them as unity in religion." The same idea was entertained by both James VI and his son Charles I, and both of them sought to realize it by imposing the English system on the Church and people of Scotland, the one by fraud and the other by force. As might have been expected, neither of them was successful; but the attempt to realize the idea by such methods, both showed its importance, and placed it in a clearer light, as related to the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. The people of Scotland loved their Church devotedly, not only on account of its purity of doctrine and scriptural simplicity of form, but also because by its means alone had they acquired a partial release from that feudal thralldom in which they had previously been held by their haughty and oppressive nobles. And they were compelled to see that their beloved Church would never be safe from the aggressions of Prelacy so long as the prelatic form of Church government prevailed in England. On the other hand, the oppressive, persecuting, and despotic conduct of Prelacy, in its treatment of the Puritans, and in the aid which it so willingly lent to the sovereign in his invasions of civil liberty, had at length aroused the strong and free spirit of England, which determined to shake off the prelatic yoke, and to make such alterations as should render its future re-imposition impossible. Such a concurrence of sentiment and feeling between the two nations held out the prospect that at least an approach to uniformity of religion might now be obtained, such as would form the only sure basis of a thorough and permanent national peace; and that, too, not by one of the two dictating to the other, but in the only way by which real uniformity can ever be effected, - by mutual consultation and consent.
Such were the enlarged, free, and generous views which led to the calling of the Westminster Assembly, and the framing of the Solemn League and Covenant, - such, in an especial manner, were the views entertained by the Scottish Covenanters, both statesmen and divines, as is proved by that remarkably able paper presented by them to the English Parliament in the year 1641. It is, however, a painful truth, that these elevated ideas were not received and held with equal fullness, sincerity, and perseverance, by a large proportion of the English statesmen; and this defectiveness on their part allowed the remaining existence and the subsequent growth and development of those disturbing influences, which at length prevented the grand object from being fully realized. In England the struggle was chiefly in defense of civil rights and privileges, involving also, though somewhat less directly, the still more important element of religious liberty. Hence the ordinary secular opinions and feelings, that mold the course of human action, were allowed to have almost full scope, and produced their common narrowing and self-seeking influence. Had not this been the case, Erastianism would not have characterized so strongly the conduct of the English Parliament, exercising a power so baneful in impeding the final settlement of the desired religious uniformity, involving the nation in protracted anarchy, and exposing the cause of freedom to the crushing grasp of military usurpation. There might be traced, did our limits allow it, a very close connection between the development of Erastian principles in the Parliament, and the successive disasters which befell them through the insubordination of the army in its growing republicanism, - so close, that the latter would almost seem like the direct infliction of retributive justice upon the former, ending in the completed guilt and the final overthrow of the Parliament being almost simultaneous. The great advantage which would arise to Christendom from the existence of something approaching to a general religious uniformity must be apparent to every reflecting mind, both as a general homage to the certainties of revealed truth, and as itself the master element of general harmony anti peace. But it is contrary alike to the nature of religion and to the constitution of the human mind, to suppose that this desirable object can be obtained by compulsion. Open, candid, brother-like consultation may do much, when Christian men fairly and honestly wish to arrive at as close a degree of uniformity, in doctrine, worship, and government; as can be attained, with due respect to liberty and integrity of conscience. It was for this very purpose that the Westminster Assembly was called, and that Scottish divines were requested to be present at and aid in its deliberations. This was right, and bore fair prospect and promise of good; but mutual jealousies and rivalries arose; men misjudged and misinterpreted each other’s intentions; and the intrigues of mere worldly politicians intermingled with, biased, and baffled far higher and holier objects than those with which such men are usually conversant. Probably the two parties of a religious character (we speak not now of mere Erastians), of whom the Assembly was composed, the Presbyterians and the Independents, were both in error; probably they both entertained narrower conceptions of the nature of religious uniformity, and also of religious toleration and liberty, than the terms, rightly understood, imply. Uniformity is not necessarily absolute identity. Neither of these two parties held that absolute identity was necessary, as appears from their respective writings; but each of them dreaded that nothing less than absolute identity would satisfy the other, and to that neither of them could agree. And this misapprehension was enough, not only to prevent the accomplishment of the purpose for which they met, but even to act as a wedge, rending them daily more widely and hopelessly asunder.
Yet, in spite of this unpropitious misapprehension, a very considerable amount of religious uniformity was produced. The Independents expressed no dissent from the Confession of Faith and the Directory of Worship prepared by the Assembly. All the Puritan nonconformists received these documents with cordial approbation. Parliament gave to their most important principles and arrangements its legislative sanction, and England was on the very point of being favored with the establishment of a Presbyterian Church. So far did this proceed, that at first the University of Cambridge, and afterwards that of Oxford, were new-modeled, and the professorships given to Presbyterian divines. Prelatic writers have been in the habit of representing this change as barbarizing these universities. To refute such calumny, nothing more is necessary than to name the men on whom these academic appointments were conferred, - men than whom none more eminent, for learning, abilities, and true piety, ever graced the universities of any age or country. But something still more striking may be said in answer to prelatic calumny. Not only did the new professors ably sustain the reputation of the English universities, they also infused into them a spirit of freedom, originality, and energy of thought, which burst forth in the manhood of the men trained under their care, with a degree of power and splendor that has scarcely been ever equaled, much less surpassed. In proof of this, it is enough to mention the names of Locke, Boyle, Newton, Tillotson, Stillingfleet, Cave, Whitby, South, and many others. In short, the Presbyterian dynasty of the universities infused into them new life, the vigorous tone and movements of which were not exhausted till the lapse of two generations.
Closely associated with the subject of university learning, is that of eminence in theological acquirements and pulpit oratory. On this point also a very prevalent fallacy exists, and is repeated and believed without inquiry. It is very common to meet with extravagant praises bestowed upon the eminent learning and the valuable theological works produced by the Church of England; but it seems to be generally forgotten, that by far the largest and most precious portion of English theological literature was composed either by the Puritan divines, or by the Presbyterians of the Westminster Assembly, or by the generation which was trained up under them in the universities. If all the works produced by these men were carefully marked and set aside, and the works of none but the genuine Prelatists were ascribed to the Church of England, her renown for theological literature would be shorn of its beams indeed. It is not denied that the Church of England has contributed many valuable additions to the literature of Christianity; and considering the ample means at her command for bestowing on her office-bearers extensive education and literary leisure, it would have been strange if she had not. But it is not the less true, that a very large share of her reputation is derived from the writings of the Puritan and Presbyterian divines, and their immediate pupils, - from the very men whom she calumniated and persecuted, and strove to exterminate when living, and when dead, has pillaged of their hard-won honors, which she arrogates for her own, or suffers to be ascribed to her by unwise or unblushing flatterers. Not only was an impulse given to the universities during the short prevalence of the Presbyterian Church in England, but also throughout considerable districts of the kingdom. Strenuous exertions were made to provide an adequate remedy for the deplorable state of ignorance in which the great body of the population had been suffered to remain. The removal of scandalous and ignorant ministers was the first step taken towards this desirable object. Another was, the sequestration of the surplus wealth of the Prelatic dignitaries; a portion of which it was intended to employ in providing academies, schools, and all that was necessary for instituting a national system of education. This noble and generous scheme also was embarrassed and impeded by Erastian interference; because it would have naturally fallen under the superintendence of Presbyteries, to the erection of which throughout the kingdom, with full and due powers, they could not be persuaded to consent. Even when almost paralyzed by this unhappy Erastian interference, the Presbyterian ministers set themselves to promote education to the utmost of their power. There may still be found, in several country districts in England, where Presbyterians once abounded, schools having a right to a small salary to the schoolmaster, on condition that he shall teach the children the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism.7 The people of England do not yet know, and cannot easily 8 conceive, how grievous was the loss which they sustained by the unfortunate failure of the attempt to render the Presbyterian Church the ecclesiastical establishment of the kingdom. To them it would have been a source of almost unmingled and incalculable good, giving to them the advantage of an evangelical, pious, laborious, and regularly resident ministry in every parish, together with cheap and universally accessible education, the constant inspection of elders to watch over their moral conduct, and deacons to attend to the wants of the poor in the spirit of Christian kindness and benevolence; all regulated by the superintendence of Presbyteries and Synods, to prevent the hazard of injury from local neglect or prejudice. And surely a truly wise and paternal government ought to have rejoiced at the opportunity of attaining so easily advantages so inestimable to the nation at large, and consequently to its rulers, and to all that wished its welfare. All this was once attainable, - was very nearly attained; has it become for ever impossible? We will not think so; a time may come.
----- Footnotes ----- 1Baillie, vol. 2 p. 379.
2Baillie, vol, 2 p. 148.
3Reid’s Lives of the Westminster Divines, vol. 2 p. 214.
4Baillie, vol. 3 p. 2.
5Neal, vol. 2 p. 431.
6Neal, vol. 2 pp. 690-692.
7For a full account of this Conference, see History of Nonconformity, Life of Baxter, etc.
8One of these the author was fortunate enough to assist in rescuing from the hands of Socinians, a few years ago, on the strength of that very condition.