The countermine, or, A short but true discovery of the dangerous principles and secret practices of the dissenting party, especially the Presbyterians shewing that religion is pretended but rebellion is intended : and in order thereto, the foundation of monarchy in the state and episcopacy in the church are undermined / by one who does passionately wish the prosperity of the Church, his King and country.

Title

The countermine, or, A short but true discovery of the dangerous principles and secret practices of the dissenting party, especially the Presbyterians shewing that religion is pretended but rebellion is intended : and in order thereto, the foundation of monarchy in the state and episcopacy in the church are undermined / by one who does passionately wish the prosperity of the Church, his King and country.

Author

Nalson, John, 1638?-1686.

Publication

London :: Printed for Jonathon Edwin ...,

1677.

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Subject terms

Presbyterian Church -- England -- History.

Dissenters, Religious -- England -- Early works to 1800.

Dissenters, Religious -- Early works to 1800.

Great Britain -- History -- Charles II, 1660-1685.

Link to this Item

https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A53135.0001.001 content_copy

Cite this Item

"The countermine, or, A short but true discovery of the dangerous principles and secret practices of the dissenting party, especially the Presbyterians shewing that religion is pretended but rebellion is intended : and in order thereto, the foundation of monarchy in the state and episcopacy in the church are undermined / by one who does passionately wish the prosperity of the Church, his King and country." In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A53135.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 5, 2024. content_copy

Contents

• title page
• THE CONTENTS.
• THE COƲNTERMINE; Or, a short but true DISCOVERY, &c.
  • CHAP. I. The Reasons and Occasion of the following Discourse. The imminent danger of the Church and State, by reason of the restless Endeavours, industrious Malice, and secret Contrivances of dissenting Separatists.
  • CHAP. II. Of the Policy of the Enemies of the Church and State, to amuse us with the old Stratagem of Fears and Jealousies of the danger of Popery. Hereby they in∣gratiate themselves with the Common People. The improbability that the Romish Perswasion and Government should ever be established again in these Nations: if it has of late increased amongst us, we are obliged for it to Dis∣senters, who have made those breaches by which those Enemies enter. By these Fears and Jealousies, which they sow in the minds of the People, they endea∣vour to make them hate the present Go∣vernment and Governours, both in Church and State, perswading them they are Popishly inclined and Anti∣christian, and thus secretly undermine the foundation of Monarchy and Epis∣copacy.
  • CHAP. III. An Account of the Heads of these Facti∣ons amongst us, from whence we may conjecture what their Intentions are: Of their way of Education in the Times of the late Rebellion, in the Ʋniversities, or in the Army. Of their Lay-Teach∣ers, and Shop-Doctors; how they came by their Gifts and Talent in Preaching; the Advantages they made of Religion in their Trades; the Employments they had under the Ʋsurping Governments; the Incouragement they had to invade the Pulpit: The desire they have of an alteration in the present Government, to recover their former Power and Pro∣fit. The great unfitness of these men to officiate in the Church, who are guilty of Sacriledg, Murder, and Perjury.
  • CHAP. IV. Of the Ways whereby they decoy others to be of their Perswasion. Of the great pretensions they make to Zeal and Holi∣ness. Of the great Veneration they seem to have for the Scriptures, when yet they are directly against them. In∣stanced in two Positive Commands, to obey Magistrates in the State, and those that have the Rule over them in the Church. The unreasonableness of the Pleas they make for their disobedi∣ence, which if allowed must take away all the Power of Superiours, and can∣cel all the Duty of Inferiours. The Im∣potency of that Plea of expecting express Scripture as the only Warrant for all our Actions. The unpracticableness of it shewn in a familiar and very possible Instance.
  • CHAP. V. Of the several Arts they use to gain Love, Credit, Esteem, and Veneration. Of their pretences to Exemplary Piety in their Actions, Words, Looks, Gestures, Habits. Of the way of their mainte∣nance by Free-will Offerings, the Ad∣vantages they have thereby over the Clergie of the Church; it eases them of a great trouble, and preserves the love of their Auditors, who liket his Gospel-way, where they may at their pleasure withdraw their Bounty, it secures them from the Penal Laws. Of the Advan∣tage they make of Punishment, by cal∣ling it Persecution; of their seeming Constancy in suffering for what they call Conscience; hereby they gain love, pity, and money: They make this Persecution an infallible Mark of the trite Church; the use they make of it, to render the Government odious to the People, and to dispose them by degrees to endeavour the alteration of the present, which they call Reformation. The same Arts made use of to promote the late Re∣bellion.
  • CHAP. VI. Of their Endeavours to insinuate them∣selves into the Favour of Persons of Quality: And that notwithstanding their Flatteries, they are the greatest Enemies to Gentry, Nobility, and Royal Dignity. Of the manner how they creep into Populous Places, and the Arts they use to endear themselves to the People, by putting them out of a good Opinion of their Lawful Minister. The Reason of their settling in Market-Towns or Po∣pulous Villages, where there is not al∣ready some prevailing Sect. Trades∣men lovers of Reading, and have time to peruse their poysonous Writings. Here∣by, they propagate their way, the Shop∣keeper mingling and retailing their Do∣ctrines amongst his other Wares: With their design upon Corporations in future Elections of Parliaments.
  • CHAP. VII. After they are settled in such Places, of the Manner of their behaviour in the Meeting-House. Of their Extempore Prayer. Examined and exposed to open View. Of the Pretence they make to gain Veneration, that they Pray by the Spirit. The ill use they employ it in, to make the set and appointed Formes of Publick Prayers Nauseous and Odious to the People. Proved from Scripture and the Express Command of our Savi∣our, that it is not of Gods appointment, nor a fruit of the Spirit. By Example of the most infamous and abominable Sin∣ners guilty of Rebellion and Witchcraft, who had this faculty even to admiration. Extempore Prayer shewn to be a meer Art, the way how they or any Person in∣dued with a tolerable measure of Confi∣dence may attain to it. A probable Philoso∣phical Reason, why they fancy themselves inspired in these Enthusiastick Effusions.
  • CHAP. VIII. Of the Doctrines they chiefly insist upon, and in which they first instruct their Hearers. And first of the Doctrine of absolute and irrespective Decrees of E∣lection and Reprobation; Of their Way of trial of their Followers, whether they he the Elect, by knowing the pun∣ctual time of their Call, Repentance, sorrow for sin, &c. The agreeableness of this Doctrine to their Followers, whom for being such, they perswade that they are certainly the Elect; and that they cannot fall totally and finally from Grace. Their signs of Election proved false from Judas the Son of Perdition, who had all they make the infallible Marks of Election, and something more, viz. Restitution, which they will not be be perswaded to.
  • CHAP. IX. Of the great danger of this Doctrine as they apply it. First, to themselves; It fills them with a groundless and false confi∣dence of the goodness of their Spiritual Condition; makes it almost impossible to convince them by Reason or Scripture, though they live after the Flesh, in Ha∣tred, Envy, Malice, Disobedience, &c. but that they have the Spirit, and live after the Spirit, and are new Crea∣tures. It fills them with Pride, and Pharisaical contempt of others; puts them into Security, the most dangerous Condition a man can be in.
  • CHAP. X. Of the ill Consequences this Doctrine has upon the private Communities where it comes. From hence proceeds a certain breach of Ʋnity. No People so addicted to Debates, Envyings, Strife, Back∣bitings, Whisperings, Slanders, condemn∣ing, censuring all who are not of their Way to be Reprobate, as are the Separa∣tists. Ʋncharitableness and Atheism hereby extremely propagated; they sepa∣rate the dearest Eriends, and by creep∣ing into Houses, and beguiling silly Wo∣men, divide those whom God had join∣ed together; they are curious busie-bo∣dies in espying out the faults of all o∣thers; which they publish to make them∣selves appear the Elect, and all others Reprobates. All this is done to fit them to act upon the publick Theatre of the World which they practise in private Vil∣lages, or where ever they dwell.
  • CHAP. XI. Of the Wicked Design they have, by the strength of this Doctrine to overthrow the present Church and its Govern∣ment. Which, by their pretending to be the Elect who Worship God in Spirit and Truth, they endeavour to make unlawful and Antichristian. This Do∣ctrine contrary to Gods promise to be with his Church to the End of the World; and derogatorie to his Honour. Of the false aspersions they secretly cast upon the Church, and the publique Service of God. Of the inconvenience of arguing with them; and the advan∣tages they make thereof. Their impu∣dence in boasting themselves and argu∣ments invincible. Of their dislike of Places of publique Worship; of the treat∣ment they met with in the times of their Power, the house of Prayer made a Den of Theeves. Of their inveterate Hatred against Bishops and the Liturgie. Of the dangerous Tenent they maintain, that all People, Princes and Magi∣strats are bound to pull down Anti∣christ which with them is Episcopacy; and that if Princes will not, the People may if they can get the Power into their hands. Which makes them grasp conti∣nually at Dominion.
  • CHAP. XII. Of the Desperate influences this Doctrine has upon the State and Civil Govern∣ment. This Amazon Fury bred in Re∣bellion, and ever since nurst up with blood, proved from our own and all Eu∣rope's sad Experience. This Doctrine inclines men to Aristocracy, or the Go∣vernment of a Common-wealth. Of the little kindness they have for Monar∣chy. Salus populi Suprema Lex, their fundamental Principle of Government; abused to perswade Men. that the Peoples Election and approbation are necessary Ti∣tles to a Crown. That a King is Major Singulis, Minor Universis, and may be deposed and punished by the People, proved from their practice. The great Encouragement it gives to Rebellion, and Courage to Rebels. The same Do∣ctrine of Fatality taught by Mahomet to inspire the Turks with Courage against the Christians.
  • CHAP. XIII. Of their Doctrine of the necessity of Se∣paration from the Wicked, which they teach in Private; and by their Example in Publick. These uses they make of it; to know their strength and numbers, which they always boast of, if possible to bring Authority to comply with their Desires: hereby they engross a Trade amongst them∣selves. Of their undermining Authority by making it contemptible, by their daily affronting it. Of the unlawfulness of Sepa∣ration, from the example of our Savi∣our, and from Scripture. Separation by St. Jude made a mark of Reproba∣tion. Jeroboams Policy the End of their Separation.
  • CHAP. XIV. Of their Exaltation of Preaching, and the Reason why they do so. Of the great Ve∣neration people have for the Pulpit. The advantages they make of it, to gain the love of People for being so painful La∣bourers; dispersing their Doctrines, and procuring Benevolences. Hereby they bring the Prayers of the Church to be nauseous, accustom People to variety and novelty, and have opportunities of displaying their Gifts and Abilities, as well as in Extempore-Prayer. The Abuse they put upon the Church, that it is against Preaching. A vindication of the Church from this aspersion. Of the Primitive and Modern Preaching: It is against preaching themselves, and their own Interests and wicked Designs that the Church declares it self.
  • CHAP. XV. A short View of some other of their Do∣ctrines. Of their Judaizing the Lords Day. Of their censuring all their Ance∣stors, and even their own Children to Damnation. Their subtilty in denying all these Accusations, and disowning the Actions of the late Rebels, when yet they tread in the very same steps. That they have the same Design, manifested from their great Industry in all late New Elections of Members of the present Parliament, to get Voices for such as will be favourable to their interest. A proba∣ble Conjecture that they have had a prin∣cipal hand in the late unhappy Differen∣ces betwixt the Two Houses; and of the great Desire they have of a New Parlia∣ment; and their hopes when that shall happen.
  • CHAP. XVI. Of the Artifices which these men use to ren∣der all applications ineffectual; by their tiring out the Inferiour Magistracy with their Obstinacy. The advantage they make of the suspension of Laws to forti∣fie their followers, and perswading them it is a particular effect of the care which God takes of them and the Cause. That place in the Acts, of Gamaliel''s Counsel, If this Work be of God it will stand, by which they frighten some, and endeavour to discourage all people from meddling with them considered, and proved to be the Word of Gamaliel a Doctor of the Law, but not the Word of God, because not universally true.
  • CHAP. XVII. A more particular Survey of their Policy in rendring all Expedients useless which have been applied to reclaim them, from that place in Ezra 7.16. Of Capital Pu∣nishments. Of Imprisonment, how they make of advantage to them, to confirm their Cause and Followers, and to bring a general Odium upon the Laws and Government: their evasions to escape Forfeitures. Of their complaints of the injustice and oppression of the Penal Laws. Of Banishment: A Coffee-house Dialogue about it, betwixt Mr. Kinglove of — and a Grand-child of Martin Mar-Pre∣lates.
  • CHAP. XVIII. The Heads of Separation brought to tryal by the Scripture, proved to be false Prophets by their Fruits, by the Descrip∣tion of them, by the Time of their ap∣pearance; the Signs given to know them by. Wolves in Sheeps Clothing. Their pretence to be the Ministers of Righte∣ousness. The way they would evade these Signs; their Plea of not guilty, because not guilty of all, manifested to be vain; and such as, if admitted, will clear all, even Mahomet, from the guilt of being false Prophet.
  • CHAP. XIX. A further pursuance of the discovery, and that these Men are False Prophets from the Description of St. Paul and St. Pe∣ter St. Peter's , and St. Judes , considered as particularly de∣signed to shew their Infectious Contagious Doctrines. Of their despising Domini∣ons, querulous, unsatisfied and com∣plaining Humour. A short vindication of the Church from their malicious As∣persion of being Guilty of Idolatry.
  • CHAP. XX. THE CONCLƲSION.
• A Catalogue of some Books print∣ed for Jonathan Edwin, at the three Roses in Ludgate∣street.