HISTORY

OF

THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY HISTORICAL SKETCH.

PERIOD FIRST-1530-1558.

THE remark has frequently been made, accompanied with expressions of surprise and regret, that no separate historical account of the Westminster Assembly of Divines has yet been written. Every person who has directed his attention to the events of the seventeenth century, whether with regard to their civil or their religious aspect, has felt that it was impossible fully to understand either the one or the other line of study, without taking into view the character of the Westminster Assembly, the purpose for which it met, and the result of its deliberations. Yet, notwithstanding this universally felt necessity, the subject has never received an adequate investigation, and consequently still remains in such obscurity as renders it exposed to every kind of misrepresentation. Some have regarded it as comparatively an isolated event, not very influential on those around it, and serving chiefly to display, in a combined form, the characters of the men and measures of those times; others have viewed it as the abortive attempt

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of a parcel of narrow-minded and yet ambitious fanatics, serving to reveal their dangerous pretensions, and then, by its failure, exposing them to deserved ridicule. The mere

student of civil history will doubtless see little in it to attract his notice, engrossed, as his attention will be, by the schemes of politicians and the din of arms; while, on the other hand, the mere theologian will generally be little disposed to regard any thing about it, except its productions. But the man who penetrates a little deeper into the nature of those unrevealed but powerful influences which move a nation's mind, and mould its destinies, will be ready to direct his attention more profoundly to the objects and deliberations of an assembly which met at a moment so critical, and was composed of the great master-minds of the age; and the theologian who has learned to view religion as the vital principle of human nature, equally in nations and in the individual man, will not easily admit the weak idea, that such an assembly could have been an isolated event, but will be disposed earnestly to inquire what led to its meeting, and what important consequences followed. And although the subject has not hitherto been investigated with such a view, it may, we trust, be possible to prove, that it was the most important event in the century in which it occurred; and that it has exerted, and in all probability will yet exert, a far more wide and permanent influence upon both the civil and the religious history of mankind than has generally been even imagined.

Intimately connected as the Westminster Assembly was both with the civil and the religious history of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, it will be absolutely necessary to give a preliminary outline of the leading events in both countries, from the time of the Reformation till the meeting of the Assembly, in order that a clear conception may be obtained of the cause of its meeting, the circum

stances in which it met, and the object which it was intended to accomplish. We shall then be in a fit condition to investigate the proceedings of the Assembly itself, to understand their true character, to mark their direct bearing, and to trace their more remote results.

The circumstances that led to the disagreement between Henry VIII. and the Pope are so well known, that it is unnecessary to do more than merely allude to them. Whether Henry actually began to entertain conscientious. scruples respecting the lawfulness of his marriage with Katherine of Arragon, his brother Arthur's widow, before he became enamoured of Anne Boleyn, or whether his incipient affection for that lady induced him to devise a method of being released from his wife, is an inquiry of no great moment in itself, except as to its bearing on the character of the monarch. Suffice it to state, that the King consulted the Archbishop of Canterbury, and required him to procure the opinions of the bishops of England on the subject. All, with the exception of Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, declared that in their judgment it was an unlawful marriage. But as a Dispensation had been obtained from the Pope, before the marriage took place, it became necessary to procure a Papal recognition of the intended. divorce; which was a matter of no little difficulty, both because such a measure would seem to invalidate a previous Papal Bull, to the discredit of the doctrine of infallibility, and because there would arise a serious question respecting the legitimacy of the Princess Mary, and offence might be taken by the King of Spain. All these dangers were clearly seen by Cardinal Wolsey; who, accordingly, without venturing directly to oppose the King's desires, contrived to cause delays, to procure evasive answers, and to protract the proceedings by every method which fear of the issue could prompt and deep craft could devise. At length

Cranmer, till then a comparatively unknown man, suggested, that, instead of a long and fruitless negotiation at Rome, it would be better to consult all the learned men and universities of Christendom, to ascertain whether the marriage were unlawful in itself, by virtue of any Divine precept; for if that were proved, then it would follow, that the Pope's Dispensation could be of no force to make that lawful which God has declared unlawful.1 When the King heard of this suggestion, he immediately adopted it, sent for Cranmer, received him into favour, and placed such confidence in his honour, integrity, and judgment, that it was never afterwards thoroughly shaken, either by the artifices of enemies, or the varying moods of the capricious Sovereign himself.

Cranmer prosecuted the scheme which he had suggested so successfully, that he procured, both from the English universities, and from nearly all the learned men in Europe, answers to the effect, that the King's marriage was contrary to the law of God. These answers were laid before the Parliament, which met in January 1531, and assented to by both Houses, as also by the Convocation of the Clergy, which was met at the same time. Still the Pope had not consented; and the hostility between him and Henry was necessarily increased by what had taken place regarding the proposed divorce. Henry was not disposed to pause. now, till he should have secured his power over the clergy; and as they were all implicated in some of Wolsey's proceedings, which had been declared to have involved him in a præmunire, they were held to be amenable to all its penalties. Their danger rendered them submissive, and in the Convocation at Canterbury, a petition was agreed upon to be offered to the King, in which he was styled, "The Protector and Supreme Head of the Church and the Clergy 'Burnet's History of the Reformation, vol. i. p. 125.

of England." Gratified with this title, the King granted a pardon to the clergy; but did not, as they had probably expected, permit it to remain an empty title. In May 1532, he informed the House of Commons that he had learned that all the prelates, at their consecration, swore an oath quite contrary to that which they swore to the Crown-so that it seemed they were the Pope's subjects rather than his; referring it to their care to take such order in it that the King might not be deluded. The prorogation of the Parliament prevented the immediate collision be tween the civil and the ecclesiastical powers, which the investigation of that point would have caused; but it was now abundantly evident on what the King had bent his mind. The question respecting the Pope's supremacy was now the subject of inquiry and discussion throughout the kingdom; and at length it was formally brought before Parliament, and on the 20th of March 1534-5, a Bill was passed, abolishing Papal supremacy in England, and declaring the King to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England; and in the following June, a circular letter was sent by the King, not only to all the bishops, but also to all the justices of the peace, requiring the universal promulgation of the decree respecting the abolition of the Pope's supremacy and the recognition of his own; and empowering the civil functionaries to ascertain whether the clergy did their duty sincerely. So delighted was King Henry with his title of Supreme Head of the Church, that he caused it to be enacted that it should be forever joined to the other titles of the crown, and be reckoned one of them; and even caused a seal to be cut for public use in his new ecclesiastical office; and when directing a visitation of the whole clergy of England, dated the 18th of September 1535, added these words-" Under our scal, Burnet's Hist. Ref., vol. iii. p. 144.

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