A LETTER TO THE Reverend Dr. SNAPE; Wherein the AUTHORIT OF THE Chriftian Priesthood IS MAINTAIN'D; The UNINTERRUPTED SUCCESSION of BISHOPS from the Apoftles Days is lineally deduced; and the Cavils of HERETICs and FANATICs are anfwer' d. By a CURATE of WILTS,` From the THIRD EDITION. First Printed in the Year 1718. YOR LIBRAR NEW-YORK A 3 ки S INCE writing letters in print to a friend, is fo much in fashion, I hope I shall not incur your displeasure, if I run in with the herd of thofe, who, following your footsteps, have with the utmost familiarity addrefs'd themselves to their fuperiors: and, though but a country curate, presume to apply myself to you, who are at present one of the most renowned champions of our distress'd church, which has been fo violently attack'd of late, by men whose interest as well as profeffion fhould have led them to defend her. *Thefe two letters to Dr. Snape have been ge nerally afcribed to Bishop Fleetwood: and the late Dr. Birch, a good judge in these matters, told me that he always underfood Bishop Fleetwood to have been the author; but that Dr. Herring's timidity made him omit them in the collection of the Bishop's works. VOL. III. A 4 We We all fee how fhe has been torn and mangled of late, how her power hath been queftion'd, her honour debafed, and her true grandeur vilify'd; and all this hath been done, only to make way for carnal reafon and bare religion as if power, honour and riches were no effential part of our church. It is true; reafon and religion are very good things, when locked up amongst the Acana of a church; but shen they come to be once profituted to the hands of the vulgar, they are the most dangerous inftruments of its ruin. Then will the sheep begin to judge of their Shepherds fermons, and calling loudly for their bibles, pretend to be their own interpreters; and this deteftable licence fhall be commended under the fpecious name of christian liberty. Our great adverfary the bishop of Bangor, hoping to get all the fanatics on his fide, and thereby more effectually accomplish his pernicious defigns against us, has trump'd up this doctrine of fearching the fcripture, and submitting our confcience to no man's direction. To. fupport which berefy, he tells us, that no fet of men (not even the clergy whom we very juftly call the church) have any authority to • direct the confciences of men; that Chrift is king in his own kingdom, and that no power on earth can add by-laws to the laws of " Chrift; and that to add fanctions, rewards, or punishments to his laws, is to dethrone Chrift; that we priests are not by divine right, but only a laudable humane inftitution; and that our claim to our facerdotal powers by 'an uninterrupted fucceffion from the apostles, ' is a chimera; that our excommunications are • idle terrors of men; and that the laity may go to heaven without our intervention, 'without benefit of clergy. If this be not wrefting out of our hands the very leadingftrings of the laity, and at once destroying the power of the clergy, if this be not making the church of Christ a Babel, and his kingdom a realm of confufion, I know not what is. Thus does a governor of our church fhew himself lefs zealous for her, than the filverfmiths at Ephefus were for their Diana; whilst they cry, Great is the goddess of the Ephefians, he cries, Small is the power of the church of England. However fince your great self are pleafed to enter the lifts against him, fince you have been follow'd by fuch an able fecond as the dean of Chichester, and fince Mr. Law has laid down his plan of church power, to the utter confufion of the new herefy; I fhall not fear to throw in fome few of my anfwers to the bishop's arguments; which I will venture to fay no one has handled with more freedom, nor declared themselves against with |