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 Athenæ 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 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. The 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 confession 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 proposi tions, 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.
Savoy Conf. Pref. p. 18. 19.

the general assembly, and parliament of that kingdom, as the established doctrine and discipline of their kirk; and thus it has been published to the world ever since, though the chapter above mentioned, relating to discipline, received no parliamentary sanction in England; nevertheless, as the entire confession was agreed to by an assembly of English divines, I have given it a place in the Appendix +.

Nor is it to be supposed, that the confession of faith itself, which determines so many abstruse points of divinity, should have the unanimous and hearty assent of the whole assembly or parliament: for though all the divines were in the anti-Arminian scheme, yet some had a greater latitude than others. I find in my MS. the dissent of several members against some expressions relating to reprobation, to the imputation of the active as well as passive obedience of Christ, and to several passages in the chapters of liberty of conscience and church-discipline; but the confession, as far as related to articles of faith, passed the assembly and parliament by a very great majority.

Various censures have been passed by learned men upon this laboured performance: some have loaded it with undeserved reproaches; and others, perhaps, have advanced its reputation too high. Mr. Collyer condemns it, for determining in favour of the morality of the sabbath; for pronouncing the pope to be antichrist; and for maintaining the Calvinian rigours of absolute predestination, irresistible grace, and the impotency of man's will; doctrines, in his opinion, inconsistent with Christianity. But then, he observes very justly, that it falls very short of the Scots claim in points of discipline; it yields the magistrate a power of convening church-assemblies, and of superintending their proceedings; it is silent as to the independency of the church, and the divine right of presbytery, &c. Upon the whole, the assembly's confession, with all its faults, has been ranked by very good judges among the most perfect systems of divinity §, that have been published upon the Calvinistic or anti-Arminian principles in the last age.

While the confession was carrying through the assembly, committees were appointed to reduce it into the form of catechisms; one larger, for the service of a public exposition in the pulpit, according to the custom of foreign churches; the other smaller, for the instruction of children; in both which the articles relating to church-discipline are entirely omitted |. The larger catechism is a comprehensive system of divinity, and the smaller, a very accu

* Savoy Conf. Pref. p. 20. Eccl. Hist. vol. 2. p. 842.

† Appendix, No. 8.

Here may be introduced, as it escaped our recollection in the more proper place, the remark made by Mr. Robinson on the Directory. "The best state in

structions to preachers were given in the Directory by the assembly of divines; but even these (he properly adds) include the great, the fatal error, the subjection of God's word to human laws." Translation of Claude on the Composition of a Sermon, vol. 2. Prefatory Dissertation, p. 63.-ED.

Rushworth, p. 888, 1060.

rate summary, though it has by some been thought a little too long, and in some particulars too abstruse for the capacities of children. The shorter catechism was presented to the house of commons, November 5, but the larger, by reason of the marginal references to Scripture, which the houses desired might be inserted, was not ready till the 14th of April, 1648, when the house ordered six hundred copies to be printed for the service of the members; and having examined and approved it, they allowed it to be printed by authority, for public use, September 15, 1648. The king, after many solicitations, at the treaty of the Isle of Wight, offered to license the shorter catechism with a suitable preface; but that treaty proving unsuccessful, it was not accomplished *.

The chief affairs committed to the assembly being thus finished, Mr. Rutherford, one of the Scots divines, moved, October 24, 1647, that it might be recorded in the scribes' books, that the assembly had enjoyed the assistance of the honourable, 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, viz. their composing a directory for public worship; a uniform confession of faith; a form of churchgovernment and discipline; and a public catechism; some of their number having been present during the whole of these transactions; which being done, about a week after, he and the rest of the commissioners took their leave, and returned home; upon which occasion Mr. Herle the prolocutor rose up, and, in the name of the assembly, "thanked the honourable and reverend commissioners, for their assistance; he excused in the best manner he could, the Directory's not being so well observed as it ought; and lamented that the assembly had not power to call offenders to an account he confesses, that their affairs were very much embarrassed, and that they were still in a chaos of confusion [the king being now taken out of the hands of the parliament, and in custody of the army]; he takes notice of what distresses the parliament were in, while the common enemy was high and strong; and adds, that their extraordinary successes hitherto, were owing to the prayers of their brethren of Scotland, and other Protestants abroad, as well as to their own. He then mentions with concern some other restraints the assembly lay under, but that this was not a proper season for redress."

The commissioners went home under a very heavy concern for the storm that was gathering over England, and for the hardships the Presbyterians lay under with respect to their discipline; and having obtained the establishment of the Directory, the confession of faith and catechisms, the Presbyterian discipline, and Rouse's psalms in metre, for the service of their kirk, they appointed a general fast, to lament their own defection from the solemn league and covenant, and the distressed condition of their