perfect a master of the Hebrew language, that he was commonly called Rabbi Colman. In the beginning of the civil war he left his rectory of Blyton in Lincolnshire, being persecuted from thence by the cavaliers. Upon his coming to London, he was preferred to the rectory of St. Peter's Cornhill, and made one of the assembly of divines. Mr. Wood says, he behaved modestly and learnedly in the assembly; and Mr. Fuller gives him the character of a modest and learned divine; he was equally an enemy to presbytery and prelacy, being of Erastian principles; he fell sick while the assembly was debating the jus divinum of presbytery; and when they sent some of their members to visit him, he desired they would not come to an absolute determination till they heard what he had to offer upon the question; but his distemper increasing he died in a few days, and the whole assembly did him the honour to attend his funeral in a body March 30, 1646*. About the middle of July died the learned doctor William Twisse, vicar of Newbury, and prolocutor of the assembly of divines; he was born at Speenham-Land, near Newbury in Berkshire; his father was a substantial clothier in that town, and educated his son at Winchester-school, from whence he was translated to New-college in Oxford, of which he was fellow; here he employed himself in the study of divinity with the closest application, for sixteen years together. In the year 1604, he proceeded master of arts; about the same time he entered into holy orders, and became a diligent and frequent preacher; he was admired by the universities for his subtle wit, exact judgment, exemplary life and conversation, and many other valuable qualities which became a man of his function. In the year 1614, he proceeded doctor of divinity, after which he travelled into Germany, and became chaplain to the princess palatine, daughter of king James I. After his return to England, he was made vicar of Newbury, where he gained a vast reputation by his useful preaching and exemplary living. His most able adversaries have confessed, that there was nothing then extant more accurate and full, touching the Arminian controversy, than what he published: and hardly any who have written upon this argument since the publishing Dr. Twisse's works, but have made an honourable mention of himt. The doctor was offered the prebend of Winchester, and several preferments in the church of England; the states of Friesland invited him to the professorship of divinity in their university of Franeker, but he refused all. In the beginning of the civil war, he was forced from his living at Newbury by the cavaliers, and upon convening the assembly of divines, was appointed by parliament their prolocutor, in which station he continued to his death, which happened after a lingering indisposition, about the 20th of July, 1646, in the seventy-first year of his age. He died in very necessitous circumstances, having lost all his substance by the Church History, b. 9. p. 213. Wood's Athen. Oxon. vol. 2. p. 62. king's soldiers, insomuch that when some of the assembly were deputed to visit him in his sickness, they reported, that he was very sick, and in great straits. He was allowed to be a person of extensive knowledge in school-divinity; a subtle disputant*, and withal, a modest, humble, and religious person. He was buried, at the request of the assembly, in the collegiate church of St. Peter's Westminster, near the upper end of the poor folks' table, next the vestry, July 24, and was attended by the whole assembly of divines: there his body rested till the restoration of king Charles II. when his bones were dug up by order of council, September 14, 1661, and thrown with several others into a hole in the churchyard of St. Margaret's, before the back-door of the lodgings of one of the prebendaries. Towards the end of the year died the reverend and pious Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs; he was educated in Cambridge, but obliged to quit the university and kingdom for nonconformity in the late times. Upon his leaving England, he was chosen minister of an English congregation at Rotterdam, with which he continued till the year 1642, when he returned to England, and became preacher to two of the largest and most numerous congregations about London, viz. Stepney and Cripplegate. He was one of the dissenting brethren in the assembly, but was a divine of great candour, modesty, and charity. He never gathered a separate congregation, nor accepted of a parochial living, exhausting his strength in continual preaching, and other services of the church. He was an excellent scholar, a good expositor, a popular preacher; he published several treatises while he lived, and his friends have published many others since his death, which have met with a general acceptance. It was said, the divisions of the times broke his heart, because one of the last subjects he preached upon, and printed, was his Irenicum, or an attempt to heal divisions among Christians. Mr. Baxter used to say, if all the Presbyterians had been like Mr. Marshal, and the Independents like Mr. Burroughs, their differences might easily have been compromised. He died of a consumptive illness November 14, 1646, about the fortyseventh year of his age. He distinguished himself by his writings against Arminianism. The most learned of that party confessed that there was nothing more accurate, exact, and full, on that controversy, than his works. His plain preaching was esteemed good: his solid disputations were accounted, by some, better and his pious way of living was reckoned, by others, especially the Puritans, best of all. Wood's Athene Oxon. vol. 2. p. 40.-ED. He for some time sheltered himself under the hospitable roof of the earl of Warwick. Granger's History of England, vol. 2. p. 193. 8vo. This nobleman was a great patron of the Puritan divines: and not contented with hearing long sermons in their congregation only, would have them repeated at his own house. Ibid. p. 116.-ED. CHAPTER VIII. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASSEMBLY UPON THEIR CONFESSION OF FAITH AND CATECHISMS. PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLIES OF LONDON. THE KING TAKEN OUT OF THE PARLIAMENT'S CUSTODY, AND CONVEYED TO THE ARMY. CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT AND ARMY. HIS MAJESTY'S CONDUCT. HE ESCAPES FROM HAMPTON-COURT, AND IS CONFINED IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT. The THE reverend Mr. Charles Herle succeeded to the prolocutor's chair by order of parliament July 22, 1646, in the room of the late Dr. Twisse, when the discipline of the church being pretty well settled, it was moved to finish their confession of faith. English divines would have been content with revising and explaining the thirty-nine articles of the church of England, but the Scots insisting on a system of their own, a committee was appointed to prepare materials for this purpose May 9, 1645; their names were, Dr. Gouge, Dr. Hoyle, Mr. Herle, Gataker, Tuckney, Reynolds, and Vines, with the Scots divines, who having first settled the titles of the several chapters, as they now stand in their confession of faith, in number thirty-two, distributed them, for greater expedition, among several sub-committees, which sat two days every week, and then reported what they had finished to the committee, and so to the assembly, where it was debated paragraph by paragraph. The disputes about discipline had occasioned so many interruptions that it was a year and half before this work was finished, but on November 26, 1646, the prolocutor returned thanks to the several committees, in the name of the assembly, for their great pains in prefecting the work committed to them. At the same time.Dr. Burges was appointed to get it transcribed, in order to its being presented to parliament, which was done December 11, by the whole assembly in a body, under the title of "The humble advice of the assembly of divines and others, now, by the authority of parliament, sitting at Westminster, concerning a confession of faith." The house of commons having voted the assembly thanks, desired them to insert the proofs of the several articles in their proper places, and then to print six hundred copies and no more, for the perusal of the houses. The reverend Mr. Wilson, Mr. Byfield, and Mr. Gower, were appointed, January 6, to be a committee to collect the Scriptures for confirmation of the several articles; all which, after examination by the assembly, * The MSS. to which Mr. Neal refers, though supported by the authority of Rushworth, made a mistake here: for by a copy of the original order, given by Dr. Grey, in his Appendix, No. 71, it appears, that the order of the house was for printing five hundred copies, and no more, of "The humble advice," &c. See also Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 233.—Ev. were inserted in the margin. And then the whole confession was committed once more to a review of the three committees, who made report to the assembly of such farther amendments as they thought necessary; which being agreed to by the house, it was sent to the press, May 11, 1647. Mr. Byfield, by order of the house of commons, delivered to the members the printed copies of their confession of faith, with Scripture notes, signed, Charles Herle, prolocutor; Corn. Burges, Herbert Palmer, assessors; Henry Roborough, Adoniram Byfield, scribes. And because no more were to be given out at present, every member subscribed his name to the receipt thereof. The house of commons began their examination of this confes sion May 19, when they considered the whole first chapter article by article; but the disturbances which arose between the parliament and army interrupted their proceeding the whole summer; but when these were quieted they resumed their work, and October 2, ordered a chapter of the confession of faith at least to be debated every Wednesday, by which means they got through the whole before the end of March following; for at a conference with the house of lords March 22, 1647-8, the commons presented them with the confession of faith as passed by their house, with some alterations they agreed with the assembly in the doctrinal part of the confession; and ordered it to be published, June 20, 1648, for the satisfaction of the foreign churches, under the title of "Articles of religion approved and passed by both houses of parliament, after advice had with an assembly of divines called together by them for that purpose +." The parliament not thinking it proper to call it a confession of faith, because the sections did not begin with the words I confess; nor to annex matters of church-government, about which they were not agreed, to doctrinal articles; those chapters therefore, which relate to discipline, as they now stand in the assembly's confession, were not printed by order of the house, but recommitted, and at last laid aside; as the whole thirtieth chapter, of church censures, and of the power of the keys; the thirty-first chapter, of synods and councils, by whom to be called, and of what force in their decrees and determinations: a great part of the twenty-fourth chapter, of marriage, and divorce, which they referred to the laws of the land; and the fourth paragraph of the twentieth chapter, which determines what opinions and parties disturb the peace of the church, and how such disturbers ought to be proceeded against by the censures of the church, and punished by the civil magistrate. These propositions, in which the very life and soul of presbytery consists, never were approved by the English parliament, nor had the force of a law in this country: but the whole confession, as it came from the assembly, being sent into Scotland, was immediately approved by Ibid. p. 1035. • Rushworth, part 4. vol. 1. p. 482. brethren in England, who were zealous for carrying on the work of God, but were now oppressed, under pretence of liberty, when no less was aimed at than tyranny and arbitrary power. If the parliament had dissolved the assembly at this time, as they ought to have done, they had broke up with honour and reputation, for after this they did little more than examine candidates for the ministry, and squabble about the jus divinum of presbytery; the grand consultations concerning public affairs, and practising upon the new establishment, being translated to the provincial assemblies, and weekly meetings of the London clergy at Sion-college*. Though the city and suburbs of London had been formed into a province, and divided into twelve classical presbyteries, (as has been remembered under the last year) new complaints were still made to the parliament of certain obstructions to their proceedings; upon which the houses published their resolutions of April 22, 1647, entitled, "Remedies for removing some obstructions in Church-government +;" in which they ordered letters to be sent from the speakers of both houses to the several counties of England, immediately to divide themselves into distinct presbyteries and classes; "they then appoint the elders and ministers of the several classes of the province of London, to hold their provincial assembly in the convocation-house of St. Paul's in London, upon the first Monday in May next ensuing, and to adjourn their * Rapin, vol. 2. p. 297, note. That the reader may form a judgment of what was intended to be established in England, it may not be improper to set before him, in one view, the discipline that was then settled in the kirk of Scotland, and subsists at this time. "In Scotland there are eight hundred and ninety parishes, each of which is divided, in proportion to its extent, into particular districts, and every district has its own ruling elders and deacons ; the ruling elders are men of the principal quality and interest in the parish, and the deacons are persons of a good character for manners and understanding. A consistory of ministers, elders, and deacons, is called a kirk-session, the lowest ecclesiastical judicatory, which meets once a week, to consider the affairs of the parish. The minister is always moderator, but without a negative; appeals lie from hence to their own presbyteries, which are the next higher judicatories. Scotland is divided into sixty-nine presbyteries, each consisting of from twelve to twenty-four contiguous parishes. The ministers of these parishes, with one ruling elder, chosen half-yearly out of every kirk-session, compose a presbytery. They meet in the head town and choose their moderator, who must be a minister, half-yearly; from hence appeals lie to provincial synods, which are composed of several adjacent presbyteries; two, three, four, to eight-there are fifteen in all. The members are, a minister and a ruling elder out of every parish. These synods meet twice a year, at the principal town of their bounds. They choose a moderator, who is their prolocutor. The acts of the synods are subject to the review of the general assembly, the dernier resort of the kirk of Scotland. It consists of commissioners from presbyteries, royal burghs, and universities. A presbytery of twelve ministers sends two ministers and one ruling elder; a presbytery of between twelve and eighteen sends three, and one ruling elder; of between eighteen and twenty-four sends four, and two ruling elders; of twenty-four sends five, and two elders; every royal burgh sends one elder, and Edinburgh two; every university sends one commissioner, usually a minister. The general assembly meets once a year, in the month of May, and is opened and adjourned, by the king's royal commissioner appointed for that purpose." + Vol. Pamp. No. 4. |