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¦ 4 - The successful improvement he made of this liberty drew another storm of reproach upon him and his brethren ; for they were now charged with beingpopishly affected , and joining with the Papists to ruin the Protestant interest . Against this he vindicates himself ( in 1687 ) , alleging that " of all the imputations cast upon them , none could be more unhappily invented than this ; " which allegation he supports by ten very pertinent and cogent reasons ; but they are rather too long to be inserted in this sketch . It ought here to be remembered that most of the Dissenters at that time looked with a very suspicious eye upon James ' s < € Declaration of Indulgence * "
considering it as an iU-meant and insidious project of his , and therefore refrained from availing themselves of it , or addressing him with their thanks on the occasion t- We need not wonder , therefore , that the Church-people should entertain a somewhat similar idea , and so urge against Mr . O . and his friends
and others who acted as they did , " the impropriety of their using that liberty of conscience , which was given on purpose to break the church of England , and introduce popery , " To this Mr . O . replied" 1 . Do we not preach the same Protestant doctrine with
you ? Wherein can our Protestant assemblies more prejudice the Church of England than one parish " assembly does another ? " 2 . By the time you have suffered by the Papists as much as we have suffered by you , you will be as glad of liberty as we now are : though we desire not the evil day , God he knows it . y
iQ 3 . It is certain that persecution has * been hitherto the interest of popery in all nations and ages ; therefore liberty can ' t promote it . And why are you so angry with us for usino * our liberty , seeing the Papists have the use 6 f it ? Will our not using it make it ineffectual to them ? Seeing it is the King ' s pleasure to tolerate them , is it not better we should have our
liberty with them , than they without us ? " 4 . The Papists had their liberty ever since the King came in , and there was no complaint then ; but now his Majesty is pleased to extend the same favour to us also , and your choler is moved . Had the Papists the liberty of their religion , and yoij the liberty of your beloved persecution , all had been well .
" 5 , I would fain know if preaching the Gospel be not one of the most effectual means by which Popery must fall ? To f Many , however , did address him , both among the London and also the country ministers : among the latter were Mr . Matthew Henry and Mr . Harvey , t ^ e two Dissenting ministers at Chester , while the King passed , in hi 3 progress , through that city . They were , however , severely censured by soinc of * h > eir brethren for so doing , —Neal > as before , v . 45 , note .
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59 $ Biographical Sketched
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1806, page 398, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1727/page/6/
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