Practice and set up themselves against the Authority of the whole Catholick Church I come now to consider the Opposition it self their Allegations and Reasons Such is the Wit of Man and the Subtilty of Satan that scarce any Truth is so evident but they can find out some specious Appearances to set up against it But such is the Mercy and Wisdom of God that he hath provided sufficient means for Direction for all such as keep within the Bounds of Humility and Obedience that is in Subjection not only of their Wills but also of their Intellects and Understandings to his Orders Ordinances and Prescriptions the very Business of their Lives in this World for Preparation for another And to such besides the Common Means he will kindly vouchsafe a special Guidance sufficient for their Circumstances Of the Danger our Saviour and his Apostles have given to all fair Warning and great Caution acquainting us with the End why the most Wise and Gracious God permits it for Tryal and Exercise the Danger and Subtilty of the Ministers of Satan such as should deceive if it were possible the very Elect the special Marks to know and avoid them viz. Their Fruits specious Pretences Sheeps Clothing and Distraction and Disagreement among themselves crying Here is Christ and There is Christ and special Directions Believe them not Go not out after them All this Provision hath the Devil attempted to undermine partly by raising real Scandals and Offences and partly by strongly representing Imaginary ones But against all this Humility and Charity will fortifie us and the Grace special Guidance and Mercy of God will preserve us if we be careful to continue in those Graces It was Pride and Arrogance and Discontent in Aerius which gave the * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Epiphan p. 905. a. Devil Advantage to instigate him to the first Opposition of such a Catholick Practice It was Pride Vanity and Ostentation of Parts by which he set Gobarus to work to shew his Learning and Acuteness in finding out Differences of Opinions among them who perhaps in many of those things differed no more than the Writers of the Sacred Scriptures seem to do For I do not find that he made any special Opposition against this Practice But I doubt it was not imaginary but real Scandal and gross Abuses of a good Practice by which Waldo and his Followers and the Albigenses were moved to oppose all without Distinction tho' there seems to have been in him with a Zeal for God but without Knowledge a Mixture of Pride and Conceitedness And it was real and not imaginary Scandal by which Luther was at first moved to oppose Indulgencies and his Followers at first to oppose even this innocent and commendable Practice But in such Men as Vsher and Bucer it was the Reputation of the Cause they had espoused in gross and Compliances with the Times and their particular Interests by which they were moved But let us but carefully follow our Saviour's Admonitions and Directions wisely distinguish the Ingredients of the Composition of Truth and Falsehood and honestly imbrace hold fast and own the Truth when we have the Opportunity and we shall not want sufficient Light and Evidence to find it The specious Appearances set up against this Catholick Practice of the Church of Christ are these 1. That there is no Scripture Authority for it 2. That the Ancient Practice was to Pray for all such as were at Rest 3. That the Ancients were not agreed in their Opinions concerning the State of Separate Souls or the general Intention of the Church in those Prayers To detect the Fallacy Falsity and Impertinence of these Allegations as briefly as may be To the first I say it is a meer Fallacy and grounded upon a false Supposition that nothing is to be admitted in Doctrine or Worship but what there is Scripture Authority for if it be understood of a special Authority and their usual Pretences of not Adding or Diminishing are to be understood of those particular Parts or Books of the Scripture as is plain by the Additional Writings and Practices of Holy Men afterwards 2. It is inconsistent with the Tradition of the Doctrine and Institutions of the Gospel and of the Ordinances of the Apostles which were all by Word and Deed without Writing as the Common Laws of this Nation were at first settled and much of what was written was written upon special Occasions and much with that Brevity and Conciseness by the special Providence of God as was sufficient for them for whom it was intended and yet so as should need an Authentick Explication to preserve the Authority of the Catholick Church 3. It is contrary to the express Directions of the Scripture to contend for the Doctrine once delivered to the Saints in general and to hold the Traditions they had received whether by Word or Epistle c. And if it be understood of a general Authority the Allegation it self is false For it is contrary to all those Scriptures which declare the Authority of the Church and require Obedience to Superiors And either way it is contrary to the Sentiments Testimony and Practice of the Ancient Christians who in Questions of Difficulty and Contests with Hereticks always inquired not only what was written by the Apostles but also or principally what was delivered by them to the Churches which they founded in all Parts of the World of which the Catholick Church doth consist which the Scripture it self stiles the Pillar and Basis of Truth 1 Tim. 3.15 v. Grot. not only for the Sense and Meaning of the Scripture as Lawyers with good reason do when in doubts about the Construction of Writings they inquire how the Usage hath gone for in that case the Writing is the Principal Evidence but in this case what was delivered to the Churches which were compleatly and plainly instructed and ordered by the Apostles was the principal Inquiry and the Scriptures but an accessory Evidence as our Year-Books are of the Common Law in Questions concerning the Common Law But I doubt not but there was a special Providence in it that so much was written and no more and that it was written in such a manner Lastly This hath been the Practice and Pretence of Hereticks and Schismaticks in all Ages to the intent with the better colour to set aside the Authority of the Catholick Church that they might so make way to set up their own private Opinions and Conceits in the Place thereof but never more grossly nauciously and scandalously than by some of the Principal of the late Reformers Calvin especially on the one side inculcating and crying up The Pure Word of God The Pure Word of God and on the other abusing it by straining wresting it to serve their own turns and eluding and evading what is plainly contrary to them which is now past all doubt not only by the Confessions of Mr. Baxter and Le Blank but the many of all
living amongst us or they who were Witnesses before us and who held the same Tradition in the Church before us which they had received from their Parents and their Parents had learned from their Ancestors as the Church to this day observes the true and sincere Faith which it received with the Traditions from the Fathers In all this we may observe 1. The Practice of the Church both in the General Commemorations and in the Prayers agreed on both Sides 2. The End and Intendment of the Church that it was the Profit and Benefit of the Deceased also agreed 3. The Question between them Whether the Prayer of the Living could profit or benefit the Dead as the Church intended 4. That this was what Aerius did principally deny and therefore that the Practice was reasonable as a necessary consequence 5. His only reason was that it would make Piety and good Life needless 6. Epiphanius his Answer 1. from Reason 1. as it is a seasonable and excellent Declaraction of the Faith and Hope of the Church 2. as an Act of Charity for the Benefit of the Deceased 2. from Authority as received in the Church by Tradition from our Saviour and the Holy Spirit And now how does our great Man elude this Epiphanius saith he doth not Name this viz. That Prayers and Sacrifice profiteth not the depa ted in Christ an Heresie 2. Nor doth it appear that himself did hold that they bring such Profit to the Dead as these Men Dream pag. 236. 3. He doth not at all charge him with forsaking the Doctrine of the Scripture or the Faith of the Catholick Church but with rejecting the Order p. 237. 4. Aerius his Argument would have been in force indeed if the whole Church had held as many did That the Judgment after Death was suspended until the General Resurrection and that in the mean time the Sins of the Dead might be taken away by the Suffrages of the Living But he should have considered as Gobarus as great an Heretick as himself did that the Doctors were not agreed upon the Point p. 238.5 It was a foolish part in him to confound the Private Opinion of some with the Common Faith of the Universal Church 6. That he reproved this particular Error he did well but that thereupon he condemned the General Practice of the Church he did like himself headily and perversly ibidem As to the first of these I must refer the Reader to Epiphanius himself for the Character he gives of the Person and Opinions of Aerius a very Vile man a thorough-pac'd Arian and who exceeded Arius himself in his new Opinions which he imputes to the operation of the Devil though he doth not particularly name them Heresies yet it is plain he and S Austin too accounted them such and of the rest the Reader may judge by what is here laid plainly before him S. Ephraem was not much before these but because he was neither Greek nor Latin but a Syrian and a Man of Parts and extraordinary Sanctity greatly esteemed by the most excellent Persons of that time and of so great Reputation that his Writings were read publickly in divers Churches after the Holy Scriptures I cannot pass him by without taking notice of his Testament his Discourse to his Disciples upon his Death-Bed wherein he tells them he is Dying and desires to be mentioned in the Commemoration of their Holy Prayers and bewailing his Sins and declaring his Sense of the terrible Judgment of God he doth admonish exhort and strictly enjoyn them to remember him constantly after his exit and passage in their Prayers and after some Admonitions to them and account of himself he again desires to be remembred in their Prayers Then he strictly forbids his being Buried under the Altar or in the House of God all Solemn Pomp and Funeral Orations and Encomiums and all cost of rich Vestments of Grave Cloaths of Spices of Odors of Candles and the like but desires that all that Cost may be bestowed upon the Poor and for himself that in the place of all such Pomp and Funeral Orations they will accompany him with Psalms and help and assist him with their Prayers and Bury him in the Church-yard where the contrite in heart are Buried Then he bids them come near and imbrace him for his Spirit fails him and again intreats them diligently to make Oblations for him and prettily represents the Communion of Saints by a Simile of the Sympathy of things in Nature the Wine which flowers in the Cellar when the Vine Buds in the Vineyard and the like And tells them that the Oblations of Priests under the Law were effectual for those who were slain in their Sins and how much more the Priests of Christ under the New Testament And gives great caution that when they come to his Memory I suppose he means the Thirtieth Day which he expressly mentioned before and his Anniversaries ne quisquam in Sancta peccet that none commit any thing unmeet for holy things by any Excess but that the Vigil be kept attentively and reverently and humbly and holily and purely for it would be a miserable thing for him if by occasion of his Memory he should be accountable to his God for their inordinate Actions Thus this Holy Man an Instance equal to a very ample Testimony of the Practice in those parts About the same time was S. Cyril Bishop of Jerusalem He in his Mystagogick Catechism concludes all with a Description and Scheme of the Liturgy then in use wherein after mention of the Holy Trisagium Hymn * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore saith he do we recite this Seraphick Theology delivered to us that in that Coelestial Hymnody we may communicate with the supra-mundain Militia the Heavenly Host and thus by such kind of Hymns sanctisying our selves we pray the most benign God that he will send out his Holy Spirit upon the proposited Elements that it may make the Bread the Body of Christ and the Wine the Blood of Christ. For certainly whatever the Holy Spirit doth touch it is sanctified and transmuted Then after that Spiritual Sacrifice that unbloody Worship is done that is after the Consecration and Oblation in Commemoration of the Passion of Christ over that very Host of Propitiation do we obsecrate God for the common Peace of the Churches for the Tranquility of the World for Kings for their Armies and Confederates for the Sick and Afflicted and in sum for all who need Help We commemorate also those who have fallen asleep before us First the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs that God at their Prayers and Deprecations would accept ours Then we pray for the Holy Fathers and Bishops deceased and lastly for all who are deceased amongst us believing it to be a very great Help to the Souls for whom the Obsecration of that tremendous Sacrifice which is placed on the Altar is offered I will add but one instance more for the flourishing times of the Church
and so comprize the whole time of the four first General Councils from first to last Eusebius in his 4th Book of the Life of Constantine describing the Martyrium of the Apostles built by him at Constantinople adds chap. 60. All these did the Emperor dedicate that he might consign to Posterity the Memory of our Saviour's Apostles But he had another Design in his Mind when he built this Church which was at first concealed but in the end it became known to all For he had designed this place for himself after his Death foreseeing by a transcendent Alacrity of Faith that his Body after Death should be made Partaker of the Apostles Apellation that even after Death he might be esteemed worthy of the Prayers which should be performed there in Honour of the Apostles believing that their Memory would be useful and advantagious to his Soul And afterward describing the Solemnity of his Funeral chap. 71. he saith that a vast Number of People together with those Persons consecrated to God not without Tears and great Lamentation poured forth Prayers to God for the Emperor's Soul thereby performing a most grateful Office to this pious Prince And herein also God demonstrated his singular Favour towards his Servant because after his Death agreeable to his own most earnest Desire the Tabernacle of his thrice blessed Soul was vouchsafed a place with the Monument of the Apostles and that it might be joined with God's People in the Church and might be vouchsafed the Divine Rights and Mystick Service and might enjoy a Communion of the Holy Prayers This was but 12 years after the Nicen Council and a great and most illustrious instance of the common received and settled Practice of that time And here before I proceed further it is fit to consider how far the continuance of that wicked and shameful Abuse by Cranmer put upon the Church of England in his clandestine Corruption of the True English Liturgy I say the Continuance of it to this day whether by supine Negligence or base Compliance with a Faction of Sectaries be consistent with that Profession of Reverence to Antiquity in general and to those first four General Councils in particular which is made by all who pretend to be genuine Sons of the Church of England with their use of the Constantinopolitan Creed in the most solemn Office so fouly deformed contrary to the Publick Office at that time used in the Church and attested by S. Cyril Bishop of Hierusalem who was present at that Council and a principal Man there How consistent with the Statutes of most ancient Colleges in both the Universities and the Oaths taken by so many Scholars for the Observance of them How consistent with the Belief of One Holy Catholick Church and of the Communion of Saints with that Reverence and Respect which the Holy Scriptures require should be paid to the Body of Christ the Depository of Christian Verities and the Pillar or Monument and Basis of Truth with that Reverence and Honour and Esteem which all true and genuine Christians cannot but have for so many glorious Saints as flourished in the Church of Christ and all agreed in this pious Practice for more than 1200 years from the time of Constantine who himself was none of the least being converted in an extraordinary manner by special Vision from our Saviour and the Truth thereof confirmed by very remarkable Victories and afterward so great a Promoter of Christian Piety that he was as Eusebius relates partaker of the Apostles appellation being called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Offices of the Greek Church and deservedly How it can be consistent therewith and with Christian Modesty to set up a Calvin a Bucer a Cranmer an Vsher like little Idols above all and not rather an undeniable proof of the very Spirit of Hereticks and Schismaticks Mr. * Life Appendix p. 55. Baxter's Questions in another Case not unlike this may very properly be proposed to our modern Opposers of this Catholick Practice Would they have held Communion with the Catholick Church for a Thousand Years together Or would they not if they had lived in those times If they would then why not with us who are of the same Judgment Was it a Duty then And is it unlawful now If they would not in all those Ages have held Communion with the visible Church what would they have done but separated from the Body and so from the Head and cast off Christ in all his Members and taken him to be a Head without a Body which is no Head and so no Christ What would they have done but denied his Power and Love and Truth and consequently his Redemption and his Office Hath he come at the end of 4000 years since the Creation to redeem the World that lay so long in Darkness And hath he made such wonderful Preparations for his Church by his Life and Miracles and Blood and Spirit c. and promised That the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it and that his Kingdom shall be an Everlasting Kingdom and his Dominion endureth from Generation to Generation and yet after all this shall he have a Church even as the Seekers say but for an Age or two Thus Mr. Baxter and very good but if this be good in the Case of Baptism of Infants why not as good in the Case of Prayers and Oblations for the Dead which I think hath as good Evidence of Apostolical Original as that or the Lord's-Day or Episcopacy or a good part of the Scriptures of the New Testament And if they stand all upon the same Foundation why should they not stand or fall together There is also an Assertion of St. Augustin 's which deserves to be here considered in this Case That * Quod universa tenet Ecclesia nec in Consiliis institutum sed semper retentum est non nisi Authoritate Apostolica traditum rectissimè creditur cont Donat l. 4 c. 24. what the Vniversal Church doth hold and was not instituted in Councils but always retained is most rightly believed to have been delivered by no other than Apostolical Authority For as this is a Practice which none did ever pretend was instituted by any Council so amongst all who have written concerning the Original or first Invention or Introduction of things none has ever assigned any Original of it in the Catholick Church later than the Apostles or in any part of the Catholick Church later than of the rest of Christianity it self So that could we trace it no further back than the time of Constantine it would be unreasonable to believe that the whole Christian Church so largely spread over the Face of the Earth and planted by so many several Persons at first and in Places so divided and remote one from another should so unanimously agree in such a Practice did it not proceed from some Common Cause which could be no other than the Mutual Agreement of all the Apostles in it
ever since 11. Whether in these Divisions in the Churches called Reformed the Socinian Heresy hath not had great Advantage by their Neglect of so Pregnant a Testimony of the Catholick Church against it as this of the Solemn Memorial of the Passion of our Saviour before the Father as the great Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World 12. Whether all these Churches called Reformed Note The like Judgments of God are observeable upon divers particular Persons who neglect the Opportunities or refuse the Invitations they have for this great Duty and necessary Means For there is as much Unworthiness and Dis-respect done to this Holy Sacrament by Neglect or Refusal of Communion as by Unworthy coming to it or Irreverence at it And most of the Pretences which People make to excuse their Omission will be found but Hypocrisy at last But many have not Opportunities or discerning to observe this in particular Examples have not great Reason to fear and expect a further Judgement upon them for this Neglect if they be not moved by those before mention'd speedily to reform the same that is to be delivered into the Hands of their Enemies as it happened to the Greek Churches and hath happened to some of these already and particularly to one of the most Ancient and best Reformed of them all in all other Respects the Bohemian besides others since 13. Whether there can be any Objection or Exception against the constant use of this Holy-Worship which doth not reflect upon and imply either great Ignorance or something more shameful in such as make it 14. Whether all such as Oppose or Discourage the frequent Rever and Vse of this Holy-Worship do not therein greatly gratify the Devil and do him a very pleasing Service 15. Whether as well from the Nature of the Thing as from the Authority and Practice of the Catholick Church this Holy-Worship ought not to be restored to a daily Frequency in all Cathedrals with Prayers there to be offered up with this Solemn Memorial for the whole Diocess more particularly besides those for the whole Catholick Church and the Nation as also in all great Towns and populous Places where there are a competent number of People to frequent it daily but especially in the Universities and to a Weekly Vse that is every Lords-Day at least in all other Churches 16. Whether all the Clergy belonging to such Churches or in such Places ought not Constantly and Reverently to attend this Solemn Worship except when hindred by sufficient special and extraordinary Occasions 17. Whether our Offering up to God a defective or imperfect Service in a superficial formal Manner hath not been a great Offence and Provocation to many to forsake the Church and go over to the Dissenters and the Restitution of the compleat Christian Worship reverently and devoutly performed would not be as likeâ—y to reduce them 18. Whether our Neglect of the daily Sacrifice so manifestly contrary to the Practice of the Catholick Church hath not been a great Scandal and Offence â—o many of the Papists and hindred their Communion with us and the Restitution of it with all Decency and Reverence be not a likely Means to invite them to come in especially if we did but therewithal restore some more of the undeniable Practices of the Catholick Church and particularly that Solemn Manner of Treating of Penitents so Honourable to God and Beneficial and Necessary to Men 19. Whether though of all the ancient Liturgies that of the Greeks the Form of which may be seen in Cyril of Jerusalem and much of the Matter in the Ancient Book called Clements Constitutions not much different from that which bears the Name of St. James be both more Ancient and more compleat than any now extant of any of the Latin-Churches there be not notwithstanding a great Agreement among them all in all the Principal and Essential Parts of this Holy-Worship and between them and the most Ancient Forms of the Jews in such things as are common to both as many are and not peculiar to the Christians and therefore Whether all Persons ought not to be very cautious how they use either their own extempore Conceptions or Forms composed according to their own private Phansies or Opinions in so Solemn Worship of God 20. Whether it be not the Duty and the Wisdom of any Church or People as well as of particular Persons to give Glory to God by an humble Acknowledgment of their Sin and a speedy Resolute and effectual Reformation but a foolish and dangerous thing either to palliate or cover the same for fear of Weakning their Authority or to delay or procrastinate the Reformation or do it insufficiently or imperfectly upon any other prudential Considerations FINIS THE PREFACE THE Method which our Blessed Saviour prescribed for the Reformation of what is amiss in individual and private Persons and Matters viz. That it be gradual and first as gentle as may be by tacit Admonition or private Reproof and if that will not do then to proceed only to the Audience of one or two but still in private that there may be Witnesses to attest the orderly Proceeding as well as the Obstinacy of the Offender and then indeed if that will not do to report it to the Church or Holy Assembly of the Faithful but never to expose the Person till all other Means have been used and found ineffectual and unsuccessful the same is doubtless according to his Will ordinarily much more to be observed in publick Persons and Matters And this I have endeavoured and do desire to observe in the Matter in hand which is of no mean Moment but concerning a Principal Matter of the Christian Religion the most Solemn and Peculiar Part of the Christian Worship For upon diligent Search under the Conduct of the Hand of God into Miscarriages and Matters amiss therein having plainly discovered and detected the same to my own Satisfaction I have given Notice thereof to such as were concerned to promote a Reformation and expected a just time for something to be done or at least be begun for that Purpose And having done all that could be done in Secret I am now by a regular Course of Proceeding to make my Report to the Church and for that since there is no appearance of any opportunity to do it in a Synod there is no other way left but this of the Press And this I have been careful to use with all the Gentleness and Deliberation that is fit in this Case to be used if we consider who is concerned in it and how far I have already out of respect to those in Authority for no inconsiderable time in a manner suppress'd communicating but to a few and some of the principal men what I had Printed though it did but in part open the Faults and now I do but propose a Specimen of a Remedy to Consideration without expressly noting what is amiss desiring only Leave to use it with my own
do no Good thing without thee grant us the Help of thy Grace that in keeping thy Commandments we may please thee both in will and deed through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen * ALmighty and everliving God by whose Spirit the whole Body of the Church is sanctified and governed Receive our Supplications and Prayers which we offer unto thee for all Estates of Men in thy holy Church that every Member of the same in his Vocation and Ministry may truly and godly serve thee through our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ Amen Then the Collect of the Day with one of these Two for the King ALmighty God whose Kingdom is everlasting Power infinite Have Mercy upon the whole Church and so rule the Heart of thy chosen Servant N. our King and Governour that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy Honour and Glory and that we and all his subiects duly considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him in thee and for thee according to thy blessed Word and Ordinance through Iesus Christ our Lord who with thee and the holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever One God World without end Amen Or. ALmighty and everliving God we are taught by thy holy Word that the Hearts of Kings are in thy Rule and Governance and that thou dost dispose and turn them as in thy most excellent Wisdom thou seest best We humbly beseech thee so to dispose and govern the Heart of N. thy Servant our King and Governour that in all his Thoughts Words and Works he may ever seek thy Honour and Glory and study to preserve thy People committed to his charge in Wealth Peace and Godliness Grant this O merciful Father for thy dear Sons sake Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Then turning toward the People The Epistle written in the Chapter of at the Verse And when he hath done Here endeth the Epistle The Holy Gospel c. People Glory be to thee O Lord. And at the end of the Gospel Pr. So endeth the Holy Gospel Pe. Thanks be to thee O Lord. Then turning toward the Altar I Believe in one God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible And in one Lord Iesus Christ the onely begotten Son of God Begotten of his Father before all Worlds God of God Light of Light Very God of very God Begotten not made Being of one substance with the Father By whom all things were made Who for us Men and for our Salvation came down from Heaven And was incarnate by the holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary And was made Man And was Crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate He suffered and was buried And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures And ascended into Heaven And sitteth on the right hand of the Father And he shall come again with Glory to judge both the quick and the dead Whose Kingdom shall have no end And I believe in the holy Ghost The Lord and giver of Life Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified Who spake by the Prophets And I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church I acknowledge one Baptism for the Remission of Sins And I look for the Resurrection of the Dead And the Life of the World to come Amen * WE praise thee O God we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the Earth doth worship thee the Father everlasting To thee all Angels cry aloud the Heavens and all the Powers therein To the Cherubin and Seraphin continually do cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabaoth Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory The glorious Company of the Apostles praise thee The goodly Fellowship of the Prophets praise thee The noble Army of Martyrs praise thee The Holy Church throughout all the World doth acknowledge thee The Father of an infinite Majesty Thine honourable true and onely Son Also the Holy Ghost the Comforter Thou art the King of Glory O Christ Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father When thou tookest upon thee to deliver Man thou didst not abhor the Virgins Womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of Death thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the Glory of the Father We believe that thou shalt come to be our Iudge We therefore pray thee help thy Servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in Glory everlasting O Lord save thy people and bless thine heritage Govern them and lift them up for ever Day by day we magnifie thee And we Worship thy Name ever World without end Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day without sin O Lord have Mercy upon us have Mercy upon us O Lord let thy Mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in thee O Lord in thee have I trusted let me never be confounded * ALmighty and everliving God who hast given unto us thy servants Grace by the Confession of a true Faith to acknowledge the Glory of the eternal Trinity and in the Power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Vnity We beseech thee to keep us stedfast in this Faith and evermore defend us from all Adversities who livest and reignest One God World without end Amen ALmighty Everliving most Merciful and most Gracious God who hatest nothing which thou hast made and dost forgive the Sins of all them who are Penitent create and make in us New and Contrite Hearts that we worthily lamenting our Sins and acknowledging our Wretchedness may obtain of thee the God of all Mercy perfect Remission and Forgiveness through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE Liturgy of the Ancients Represented c. PART II. The Office of the Faithful The Priest turning toward the People Pr. * The Lord be with you Pe. And with thy Spirit Pr. Christ our Pascal Lamb is offered for us once for all when he bare our Sins on his Body upon the Cross For he is the very Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World Wherefore let us keep a Ioyful and Holy Feast with the Lord. YE who do truly and sincerely Repent you of your Sins and are in Love and Charity with your Neighbours and intend to lead a new Life and heartily to follow the Commandments of God and to walk from henceforth in his Holy Ways Draw near * The Men on the one side and the Women on the other saith the Rubrick in the first Book of E. 6. after the Offertory and such was the Ancient Usage with Faith and take this Holy Sacrament to your Comfort and make your humble Confession to Almighty God meekly kneeling upon your Knees Then Kneeling ALmighty God Father of our Lord Iesus Christ Maker of all things Iudge of all Men We acknowledge and repent us of our manifold Sins and Wickednesses which
Temporal Interests and Respects and Pre-ingagement of Reputation for maintenance of Opinions received especially when intermixed with something of Truth to support them it is absolutely necessary to the Discharge of this Duty Securing of this Interest and Exercise of this Wisdom Esteem and Reverence to consider well and settle it in our Minds that those are no Principles of Truth but commonly of Error and Means of which wicked Spirits make great Advantage to harden Mens Hearts and make them obstinate in the Errors which they have intermixed with the Truths of God and therefore be assured that since we are all Fallible there may be as much Truth on their side with whom we contend as on our own and that it is more likely that both Parties are in Error than that either is intirely in the Right and thereupon to set generously and impartially to examine and distinguish and retain what is plain and clear reject what is manifestly false and leave what is doubtful and obscure till God shall reveal that also in the mean time as of less Importance and where there is occasion of consulting others make choice as in consulting Lawyers or Physicians of such as are not only well versed in such matters but also disinterested unbyassed and faithful And because to resist reject or make light of any Truth but offered by the gracious Providence of God is a Sin of great Ingratitude and very offensive to his Divine Majesty and usually provokes subtraction of his Grace and Spiritual Judgments it greatly concerns all who have any true Devotion to God and considerate Care for their own Souls to be very cautious that they do not unadvisedly reject or neglect any such when proposed to them but especially if such as have been believed professed and practised if of that nature by the most eminent Saints in all Ages and in all Parts of the Church of Christ and more-especially if such as concern the Honor of God and of our Saviour the Interest of his Church which is the Kingdom of Christ upon Earth the Communion of Saints or the Salvation or Consolation of Souls whether in the Body or out of the Body and more yet if there appear just cause of Suspicion of the contrary Opinions as when the first Teachers differ and fall out among themselves and principal Men of their Followers afterward confess that what was greatly magnified by them before was greatly mistaken when Charges or Accusations are of themselves monstrous and unreasonable as that Catalogue of Errors of the Church of Rome published by two several Persons eminent in their own Parties which computed amount to above Five Hundred a great sign of more Partiality than Prudence more Heat than Truth and of more Contention and Calumny than of just cause of Accusation and one of the same Persons after-terward confessing that those of that Church are unjustly and untruly charged in many things and especially when that remarkable Note of the Apostle viz. Going out 1 Jo. 2.19 according to his Masters Cautions before Luk. 17.23 21.8 which by the Ancient Christians is so much insisted on as a certain Note of Heresie and Schism is manifest beyond all contradiction In all such cases a Godly Jealousie and Circumspection is highly necessary that we do not obstinately persist in Error and resist the Truth So much is required of all Men as Rational Creatures that they be faithful to their Creator and their own Souls in the due Use and Improvement of their Talent of Natural Reason and Understanding But Christians should farther consider that they have many subtile and powerful invisible Adversaries to contend with called Principalities and Powers and the Rulers of the Darkness of this World and one chief called the God of this World who commonly puts on the Appearance of an Angel of Light blinding the Minds of Worldly and Carnal Men least the Light of Truth should shine unto them and therefore be very watchful against their Wiles beware of their Snares be not conformed to this World but transformed by the Renewing of their Mind be mindful of their Baptismal Covenant their Renunciation not only of the Devil but of the World and the Pomps and Vanities thereof and of the Flesh with its Lusts and Affections which are two great Engines of the Adversaries that they may attain to true Purity in Heart that the Light of Truth may shine into it and be kindly and effectually received For this they have first the implicit Document of the Great Example of their Redeemer their Lord and the Captain of their Salvation which they must follow if they do sincerely indeavour to attain the End and besides the Explication of it in manifold express written plain Declarations affectionate Admonitions obliging Exhortations and strict Injunctions they must be Doers of his Will if they will know the Truth of his Doctrine and be careful to avoid Pride seeking Honor of Men Jo. 5.44 and Conceitedness the common Levin of Hereticks and Schismaticks be mindful also of the other part of their Baptismal Covenant their Profession of Faith observe and consider well the Order of the several Articles of their Belief and study to understand the Importance of each For there is nothing in that Form of Sound Words either in Matter or Order but is of Importance to be noted and understood and consider well what special Means and Helps our Lord hath provided for them for Evidences of his Word and Doctrine and be careful they neglect none of them much less set them one against another and abuse what they pretend to receive as is very usual I know not any Means whereby Men are more effectually imposed upon than by Misapplication of manifest Truths nor any Matters wherein in this part of the World they are more commonly deceived or deceive themselves than in false Notions concerning the Two great Evidences of the Christian Doctrine and Institutions the Catholick Church and the Sacred Scriptures which rightly understood and used do mutually confirm and corroborate one the other but misunderstood separated and abused are the very Principles of all our Differences and Confusions The Catholick Church is the Kingdom of Christ upon Earth and to have great Regard to the Interests of it is certainly the Duty of all Christians but to despise or slight the Testimony or Authority of it is a great Sin in it self and the Inlet to many others and a Fundamental Error To conclude they who sincerely desire to understand and imbrace the Truth of Christianity must consider what is required before their Engagement declared by our Saviour in two Comparisons Luke 14.28 31. what is to be performed after declared likewise by two other Comparisons Matt. 13.44 45. and what are the Terms upon which only Men may be Christ's Disciples indeed in express Terms inculcated upon divers Occasions Matt. 10.35 37 38. and again Matt. 16.24 Luk. 9. and again to the Multitude Luk. 14.26 33. and the Danger of Denying or being
ashamed of Christ or his Words the Doctrines and Institutions delivered by Him in Person or by his Apostles to the Churches Matt. 10.28 32. Mar. 8.34 and lastly the Danger of a fruitless and ineffectual Profession expressly declared in the conclusion of our Saviour's first Sermon upon the Mount Matt. 7.21 c. and in his Farewel Discourse when he went last out of the Temple in the whole 25th chapter of St. Matthew all concerning Professors whence it appears how far People may go in a Profession and yet at last fail of their Expectation upon the consideration whereof it may be doubted whether as many Souls do not miscarry by Security in an ineffectual Profession as by living in gross and scandalous Sins To Souls thus prepared Truth will undoubtedly find admittance and the Good Spirit will be ready to lead them into all necessary Truth The Discourses above-mentioned are OF Prayers for the Dead With a Preface shewing the Necessity of a Retraction of the mistaken Reformation for a more firm Settlement of the Peace of the Nation A Profession of Faith comprizing the Ancient Forms of the Catholick Church with other Articles concerning the Roman Terms of Communion A Letter to a Young Man of one of the Religious Societies in London concerning Separation and the Proceedings of the Reformation Common Principles of a just Vindication of the Rights of the Kingdom of God upon Earth OF PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD Whether the Practice and Tradition thereof in the CHURCH be truly CATHOLICK and a competent Evidence of Apostolick Original and Authority Humbly tendred to the Consideration of the Right Honourable the JUDGES and of the Gentlemen of the Honourable Profession of the LAW With a PREFACE concerning the Reasons thereof and the Concern of the Nation that the Differences about Religion be better considered in order to a more firm Foundation of an Honourable and Lasting PEACE LONDON Printed in the Year 1699. To the Right Honourable John Lord Summers Baron of Evesham Lord High Chancellour of England Sir John Holt Lord Chief Justice of the Kings-Bench Sir George Treby Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas Sir Edward Ward Lord Chief Baron and the rest of the Honourable Judges May it please Your Lordships THough at first to some it may seem strange and improper to offer a Theological Controversie to the Consideration of Magistrates and Judges of Civil Causes yet if the present Constitution of the Church of England the Nature of the Question and the special Qualifications of the Persons for the Consideration of such a Question besides the Common Concern of all States and Persons in Matters of Religion be well consider'd nothing can be more reasonable A Church professing and glorying in the Profession of a Religion Established by Law and so intirely subject to the Authority of the State that it cannot call a Synode choose a Bishop Dean or Prebend make a Canon or alter any publick Prayers of the Church without it a Question of Prescription Vsage and Custom than which none are more frequently examined tryed and determined in our Civil Courts and by consequence no Persons more proper to give a Judgment upon such a Question because none more versed and expert in Cases of that nature than those of the Honourable Profession of the Law Besides Your Lordships and the rest of that Honourable Profession have another Qualification indispensably requisite to a just and true Judgment Indifferency and Freedom from any special Prejudice more than what is common to the whole Nation and as much above that as any Persons in it I mean that of Education by which tho' the inconsiderate Vulgar and People of little Judgment are very strangely affected and moved either fondly affecting or childishly abhorring what hath nothing of real Good or Evil but what proceeds from an abused or deceived Imagination yet Men of Parts Judgment and Experience can more easily extricate themselves out of the fetters and manacles of such Impressions and Prejudice upon consideration of sufficient Grounds and Reasons But the Generality of the English Clergy and Non-Conformists are under a double special Prejudice and Pre-ingagement the Authority and Credit of their Party and their own in particular having not only imbibed a Special Opinion in the Case but inconsiderately asserted and so espoused it also besides the Prudential Caution of not disobliging or offending their Auditors tho' many Protestants in other Parts are of another Opinion and the most learned here have deserted the old Cause both in their Disputes in the Vniversity and in their Controversial Writings And therefore as every honest Man in any Difference would desire the Judgment of such as are most indifferent unbyassed and impartial so every wise Man will desire that they may be Persons of most Ability Skill and expert in such Matters And in both these respects I know none more proper to judge of this Case than Your Lordships and the Gentlemen of Your Honourable Profession Nor is this all that You are thus qualified to judge of this matter but you have also a Concern a double Concern in it but that it may be fairly and truly determined a Concern which obligeth you to Impartiality that the Truth may be cleared and an End put to such Differences both in regard to the Places you hold and the Interest you have in the Civil State of the Nation and in regard of your Personal Interest and particular Concerns both in this Life and hereafter For Matters of Religion are of no little Importance to the Well-being of States as well as of particular Persons and to the Well-being of particular Persons as well in this Life as hereafter And all this in a double respect in respect to the Providence of God and in respect of their Natural Efficacy and Tendency It is very manifest that almost all the Vnhappiness Troubles and Disturbance which this Nation hath suffered for more than 150 Years last past have proceeded from unhappy Differences about Matters of Religion And it would be as evident if duly considered that there is as little Likelyhood if Possibility of any long Continuance of Peace without some proper Application to so fatal a Root of Mischief amongst us for the Extirpation or Suppression of it Nor is this so vain unreasonable or impracticable a thing to be thought on or attempted as most Men are apt to presume upon the Vnsuccessfulness of the Attempts which have been made if better consider'd It is no unusual thing for Men to learn from the Errors of former Attempts so to correct their Methods and Measures as to accomplish with ease what others with great Labour were not able to effect Many things in Practice are like Riddles in Speculation which after many have found insoluble by their utmost Study appear at last when the Secret is once revealed very plain and easie to the meanest Capacity But in such Differences as these there is usually a double Secret the one Supernatural managed by
and eminent Sanctity was by the Importunity of the People made Bishop of Nola in Campania so that he also was every way qualified for another Witness in this Case and these two I suppose sufficient for their time especially for the Latin Church S. Paulinus in an Epistle to St. Augustin says as much as need to be in few Words that * Vacare non posse quòd universa pro Defunctis Ecclesia supplicare consuevit ap Aug. de Cura pro Mort. pr. It cannot be in vain that the Vniversal Church is accustomed to pray for the Dead Not the Church but the Vniversal Church not only did at that time but was accustomed so to do that is time out of mind without any known beginning And what was it accustomed to do Not barely to commemorate but to pray and supplicate for them Vniversa pro Defunctis Ecclesia supplicare consuevit As ample a Testimony I think as can be expressed in so few words S. Augustin in confirmation of this alleadgeth the Book of Maccabees and addeth ‖ Sed etsi nusquam in Scriptuâ— is veteribus omnino legeretur non parva tamen est Universae Ecclesiae quae in hâ—c consuetudine claret Authoritas ubi in preâ—ibus sacerdotis quae Domino Deo ad ejus altare funduntur locum suum habet etiam Commendatio Mortuorum S. Aug. de Cura pro Mortuis c. 1. But altho' we did no where at all read this in the ancient Writings yet is not the Authority of the Vniversal Church which is clear in this Custom a small matter when in the Prayers of the Priest which are poured out to the Lord God at his Altar the Commemoration of the Deceased hath also its proper place In this Testimony are divers things observable and very considerable 1. The Authority of the Universal Church not of a Particular Church of a City of a Province of Hippo or Africa but of the Universal Church which however manifested or declared is no small matter 2. But in this it is declared in the most Solemn Acts of the Church her most Solemn Address to Almighty God at his Altar So that here is the greatest Authority that is among Mankind and that most solemnly declared 3. It is no new Resolution but a Custom Consuetudo Vniversae Ecclesiae an ancient Custom and a universal Custom which he elsewhere upon another occasion expresseth in this manner * Hoc à Patribus traditum Universa observat Ecclesia ut pro eis qui in Corporis Sanguinis Christi Communione Defuncti sunt cum ad ipsum Sacrificium suo loco commemorantur oretur pro illis quoque id offerri commemoretur S. Aug. de verb. Apost Ser. 32. c. 2. This being delivered from the Fathers à Patribus traditum doth the Vniversal Church observe that for them who are departed in the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ when they are remembred at the Sacrifice it self in their place Prayer be made and it be commemorated that that is offered for them also Not only for the Living but for the Dead also and in their proper place 4. This Custom and Tradition was not only for a general Commemoration but for a special Commendation And here because this excellent Person hath written much and therefore affords more observable matter than is ordinary in any one Author I will indeavour out of him alone to present the honest and ingenuous Reader with a Scheme of the whole Custom and Practice of the Ancients whereby he will the better understand their Testimonies and decern the Fallacies Evasions Cavillings and Shufflings of the Adversaries of it What was done by them on behalf of the Deceased was either Publick or Private What was done in Private was Prayers such as S. Augustin offered for his Mother in his Confessions lib. 9. cap. 13. Fasting and Alms c. What was Publick was done either by the Relations or Friends of the Persons deceased and that was presenting their Oblations whether ordered by the Deceased or freely offered by their Friends on their behalf Which if they departed in Communion of the Church were received otherwise rejected unless they were in the State of Penitents and were surprized in such case as the Priest should have absolved them if he could have been present or what was done by the Bishop or Priest with the rest of the Clergy and People And this was either a general Commemoration pro omnibus in Christiana Catholica Societate defunctis as he speaks de Cura pro Mat. c. 4. for all departed in the Christian and Catholick Society or Communion without any particular recitation of their Names or a more particular Memory of them by Name with others or a more special Commendation of a particular Person at his Death and besides certain other days upon their Anniversaries And these were all performed at the Altar and with the Holy Sacrifice except that at his Death in case that happened after the Priest had eaten and then by some Canons it was to be performed solis Orationibus with Prayers only but otherwise Orationibus Oblationibus that is with Prayers and Sacrifice both for that is there to be understood by Oblationibus And as S. Augustin did intend all this in what he saith of the Universal Custom by Tradition from the Fathers so did he believe that the Souls departed were benefitted by them all For his words immediately preceeding those before-recited out of his Serm. de Verb. Apost are * Orationib vero S. Ecclesiae Sacrificio salutari Eleemosynis quae pro eorum spiritibus erogantur non est dubitandum mortuos adjurari ut cum eis misericordius agatur à Domino quam eorum peccata meruerunt It is not to be doubted that the Dead are helped by the Prayers of the H. Church and the Salutary Sacrifice and the Alms which are distributed for their Spirits that the Lord should deal more mercifully with them than their Sins have deserved This was one End and Benefit of those Commemorations and Prayers and therefore was not only comprehended in the general Intendment of the general Commemorations but was expressly prayed for both in the Common Prayers and in the more special Commendations as we shall see further hereafter but this does not exclude Others of which I think fit to take notice of one in this place which is mentioned by S. Austin and others and which concern two Articles of our Creed but little understood or consider'd amongst us It is in his Book de Civ Dei lib. 20. cap. 9. in these words †Neque enim piorum animae mortuorum separantur ab Ecclesia quae etiam nunc est regnum Christi Alioquin nec ad altare Dei fieret corum memoria in communione Corporis 〈◊〉 Christi Nor are the Souls of the Pious deceased separated from the Church which even now is the Kingdom of Christ Otherwise neither at the
express Hom. 21. in Act. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not in vain are Oblations for the Dead Not in vain Prayers Not in vain Alms For all these things did the Spirit Order willing that we should mutually help one another .... Doubt it not the Fruit will be pleasant It is not a light thing that the Deacon calls out to pray For those who are departed in Christ and For those who offer for their Memories And the same he saith also Hom. 41. in 1 Cor. 15. and adds †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For if Commemorations were not made for them not so much as this would be said For our Matters are not Stage-Plays Far be that For these are done by the Ordination and Disposition of the Spirit Let us therefore afford them help and perform their Commemorations c. The Propitiation proposed is common to the World therefore do we then confidently pray for all the Worthy and name them with Martyrs with Confessors with Priests for we are all one Body tho' some Members more splendid than others .... Why dost thou grieve and lament so much Favour may be obtained for the Deceased And that he himself formed a Liturgy which is at this day in use in the Greek Churches is affirmed by the Greeks and cannot with any good reason be denied and tho' 't is likely there may be some Alterations or Additions in it yet what relates to this matter is so confirmed by this and by more ancient Authority that it cannot reasonably be questioned The other is S. Epiphanius Bishop of Salamis the Metropolis of the Isle of Cyprus a Man of good Reputation for Ability and Piety and particularly studied in all the Doctrines and Practices of the Church and the several Heresies contrary thereunto In him we have a double Testimony that of Aerius and his own in a Book of all the Hereticks and Heresies In that of Aerius is observable 1. The Matter of Fact and common Practice viz. commemorating the Names of the Dead and Praying for them 2. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The End for which it was done viz. That they might be benefitted by the Pardon of their Sins at the Prayers c. of their Surviving Friends and the Church Both these he opposeth and that is a Proof of both and by the Testimony of an Adversary which is reputed the most convincing 3. The Opposition without any denial or question of the Antiquity or Universality of the Practice or Observation or of the Tradition of either the Practice or the Intention and Doctrine which if he had had any colour or pretence for it he would certainly never have omitted but he is able to say nothing against either the Practice or Benefit of it but If it be so it is in vain to be pious it would be sufficient to get People to pray for the Pardon of ones Sins after his Death In all these respects is the Opposition of Aerius a very considerable Testimony of both the Practice and Intention and consequently of the Doctrine of the Church in this case But because our great Man useth his utmost Skill and very grossly to evade and elude these Testimonies I will here present them both intire according to his own Translation with Notes of the Pages where most of the distracted Parcels may be found in his Book that the Reader who hath a mind to entertain himself with a Prospect of his Ingenuity may the more plainly discern it The Objection of Aerius For what reason do you commemorate after Death the Names of those that are departed He that is alive prayeth or maketh Dispensation of the Mysteries what shall the Dead be profited hereby And if the Prayer of those here do altogether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 profit them that be there then let no body be Godly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let no Man do Good but let him procure some Friends by what means it pleaseth him either by persuading them by Money or intreating Friends at his Death and let them pray for him that he may suffer nothing there and that those inexpiable Sins which he hath committed may not be required at his hands p. 238. Epiphanius his Answer and Testimony As for the reciting of the Names of those that are deceased what can be better than this What more commodious and more admirable that such as are present do believe that they who are departed do live and are not extinguished but are still Being and Living with the Lord and that this most pious Preaching might be declared that they who pray for their Brethren have hope of them as being in a Peregrination p. 240. But the Prayer also which is made for them doth profit altho' it doth not cut off All their Sins 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here answers to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Objection Yet forasmuch as whilst we are in the World we oftentimes slip both unwillingly and with our Will it serveth to signifie that which is more perfect For we make a Memorial both of the Just and for Sinners For Sinners intreating the Mercy of God of the Just both the Fathers and Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles and Evangelists and Martyrs and Confessors Bishops and Anchoretes and the whole Order that we may sever our Lord Jesus from the Rank of all other Men by the Honour that we do vnto him and that we may yield Worship unto him while we thus judge p. 240. That our Lord is not to be compared unto any Man tho' a Man live in Righteousness a thousand times and more for how should that be possible considering that the one is God the other Man and the one is in Heaven the other in Earth by reason of the Remains or Reliques of the Body yet resting in the Earth p. 242. Except those who being raised from the Dead entred together into the Bride-Chamber as saith the Holy Gospel c. But forbearing these things I return to what I was about The Church doth necessarily perform this having received it by Tradition from the Fathers And who may dissolve the Ordinances of his Mother or the Law of his Father p. 237. as Solomon saith Hear my Son the Words of thy Father and reject not the Laws of thy Mother declaring by this that our Father that is God the Only begotten and the Holy Spirit hath taught us both in Scriptures and without Scripture But our Mother the Church hath Ordinances settled in her which are inviolable and may not be broken Seeing then there are Ordinances established in the Church and they are well and all things are admirably done this Seducer is again refuted p. 237. This is the Answer of Epiphanius the words inclos'd in Crochets are not in Vsher To this we may well apply what he saith before concerning Easter the Observation of which was another thing which Aerius quarrelled at But who knows these things best This seduced Fellow who is but newly sprung up and now
* Nostra quidem Scripta cur ignibus meruerunt dari Cur immaniter Conventicula dirui in quibus Summus oratur Deus Pax cunctis venia postulatur Magistratibus Exercitibus Regibus Familiaribus Inimicis adhuc vitam degentibus resolutis corporum viâ—ctione lib. 4. suo fi But tho' this might be sufficient yet have we further Evidence to trace it even through the more troublesome times of the Churches so near to the Apostles that no Man without Disparagement to his Judgment or his Honesty can question its Original to be indeed Apostolical For tho' those troublesome times have left us so few Monuments of the Primitive Christianity in comparison that all will hardly equal the Writings of some one of the Writers of after-Ages yet among those few have we what is sufficient Arnobius an eminent Professor of Rhetorick who had been a bitter Enemy against the Christians even in the time of Persecution under Dioclesian turned Christian and wrote Seven Books against the Gentiles in the fourth of which he expostulates with them in this manner Why have our Scriptures deserved to be cast into the Fire Why our Meeting-Places to be cruelly destroyed in which the Great God is prayed to Peace and Pardon is besought for all for Magistrates Armies Kings our Familiars and Enemies for those yet living and those released from the Bond of their Bodies Where he speaks of Prayers for these last as as common as for any of the rest About 50 years before this was S. Cyprian Bishop of Carthage a Person of great Worth and most deserved Reputation in the Church and at last a Holy Martyr He in his LXVI Epistle with his Collegues in Council tells the Clergy and People to whom he wrote that their Predecessors upon religious Consideration as a necessary Provision had decreed That no Christian Brother at his Departure should name a Clergy-Man for Guardian or Executor and that if any one should do this there should be * Si quis hoc fecisset non offeretur pro â—o nec sacrificium pro Doâ—mitione ejas celebretur Neque enim c. no Offering for him nor Sacrifice celebrated for his Departure for he doth not deserve to be named at the Altar of God in the Prayer of the Priests who would call away the Priests and Ministers from the Altar And therefore since one Victor †Contra formam nuper in Concilio à sacerdotibus datam contrary to the Order lately made in Council by the Priests had presumed to constitute a certain Presbyter for a Guardian ‖ Non est quod pro Dormitione ejas apud vos fiat Oblatio aut Deprecatio aliqua nomine ejus in Ecclesia frequentetur there should no Oblation be made among them for his Departure or any Deprecation commonly used in the Church in his Name that the Decree of the Bishops religiously and necessarily made might be observed by them and Example given to others c. This Prohibition of those things to be done by way of Punishment is a plain Evidence of what was accustomed and should have been done if there had been no Prohibition and an Evidence not of a single Person but of a Council and not of Matter of Opinion but of plain Matter of Fact and that so notorious as was well known to all and of such Importance in the Opinion of all as the Prohibition was adjudged a competent Punishment for such a Crime as they all thought no little one It was a kind of Excommunication Another fifty years before this lived Tertullian a Man of very great and universal Learning very acute Parts and very strict for Discipline and for the Orders of the Church He mentions this Practice in divers of his Writings not only as common and usual but also as delivered by Tradition and so well known and unquestionable as to be it self an undeniable Instance and Proof of unwritten Traditions This he doth in his Book de Corona Militis § 3. where amongst the Instances which he alleadgeth for proof of the Authority of unwritten Traditions this is one Oblationes pro Defunctis pro Natalitiis annua die facimus We make Oblations for the Dead upon the Annual day of their Departure which the Ancient Christians called their Natalitiae or Birth-Days And after all concludes * Harum aliarum ejusmodi discipiinarum si Legem expostules Scripturarum nullam invenies Traditio tibi praetenditue auctrix Consuetudo confirmatrix Fides observatrix If of these and other Matters of Discipline you seek for a Rule of Scriptures you shall find none Tradition is alleadged for the Author Custom for the Confirmer and Faith for the Observer But of Traditions in general he hath other Discourses elsewhere and of this particular Tradition which he does but only mention here as an instance of Fact not to be denied we have farther mention in other of his Writings In his Book de Monogamia against second Marriages speaking of the Custom of the Widow's praying for her deceased Husband he says * Et pro anima ejus orat Refrigerium interim adpostulat ei in prima Resurrectione Consortium offert annuis diebus dormitionis ejus § 10. She prays for his Soul and intreats for Refreshment for him in the interim and Consort in the first Resurrection and offers for him on the Annual days of his Departure Again in his Book de Exhortatione Castitatis he thus upbraids him who had had several Wives †Et jam repete apud Deum pro cujus Spiritu postules pro qua Oblationes Annuas reddas Stabis ergo ad Deum cum tot Uxoribus quot illa oratione commemoras offeres pro duabus commemoras illas duas per sacerdotem de Monogamia ob pristinum de virginitate sanctitum circumdatum virginibus univiris ascendet sacrificium tuum iibera fronte inter cete ras voluntates bonae mentis postulabis tibi uxori castiatem◠§ 11 Say before God for whose Spirit thou dost pray for which thou dost make thy Annual Oblations Wilt thou therefore stand before God with so many Wives as thou dost in that Prayer remember and offer for two and commemorate those two by a Priest once married by reason of the ancient Sanction of Virginity incompassed with Virgins and once married Women And will thy Sacrifice ascend with Confidence and amongst other Habits of a good Soul wilt thou pray for Chastity for thy self and thy Wife This I think is plain and full for the common Practice both in private and in publick by the Priest at the Altar and for the Tradition But it is objected that Tertullian when he wrote these Books was a Montanist and wrote them against the Church And it is as easily answered that it is not Matter of Opinion but Matter of Fact for which they are here alleadged and it is certain he was no Fool which he must have
relied not upon any Hypothesis but upon the received Custom of the Church And that he did rely upon as is confessed But he did not in the least rely upon any thing at all of the pretended Sibyl Nor hath this Champion produced I think any one Proof that either Tertullian or any other of the Ancient or Modern Christians did at all rely upon any such Authority for that Practice but all unanimously relied upon Tradition from the Apostles His whole Book is full of Fallacy and Deceit and of the very Spirit and Genius of an Heretick who makes no scruple to abuse the whole Church of Christ and the most Excellent Persons in it to maintain his own Principles It is certain that divers of the great Truths of Christianity were known to the Gentiles long before and received by Tradition from the Common Parents of Mankind but received as Articles of Faith by Christians upon the Authority of Christ and his Apostles And such was this which he fathers upon an Impostor and pretends the Church received it from him without any Proof of either whereas if he was a Christian it is much more likely that he received the Hypothesis from the Practice of the Church at that time and is therefore rather an Evidence of it Other matters of this Book have been considered by learned Men of our own Country and I think I need say no more of this with any regard to him But as to the Practice besides all this positive and Affirmative Evidence I do deny that any competent Evidence can be produced among all the Churches of the World of any where the Christian Religion was planted without it or where it was introduced by any particular Person upon any special Occasion at any different time after the first planting of Christianity there in all those Ages since the Apostles being verily persuaded that no such thing can be produced but what will strongly confirm and illustate the contrary Evidence like Mr. Vsher's Flourish with his most ancient Manuscript Missals wherein the Commemoration of the Dead doth no where appear which yet were but two in all if not all but one mentioned by two several Authors and that no compleat Missal neither but only Liber Sacramentorum an Abstract and it self at last not to be found as his expression habebatur seems to imply a good Argument of the Agreement of all or most others in that particular that so industrious a Searcher into ancient Records and Monuments of Antiquity of that kind especially could neither see nor hear of any other either at home or abroad wherein it was not Such another Exception may perhaps be met with which may serve to confirm the general Rule but not any thing considerable I believe to any other purpose Certain it is it must either have been settled in all those several Places in the World where Churches were planted together with the rest of the Christian Doctrines and Institutions and then it must have proceeded from the same Founders who agreed as unanimously in this as they did in other necessary things of which sort this may therefore be concluded to be one or it must have had a several distinct particular Introduction by it self in all or most of those several Places and be derived from several Authors Originals Occasions and Times and then the Accounts of its special and particular Introduction in all probability would have very much varied in several places at least have remained upon Record or by Tradition in some But not a word of any such thing can I find that was ever heard of in any part of the World but a Unanimous Agreement in all both in the Practice continued by Custom and Original by Tradition from the Apostles And thus much for Proof à posteriori from Evidence of Matter of Fact which I think enough to satisfie any reasonable Man of competent Ability and to convince any Man of Modesty and Sincerity yet because simple genuine Truth is always consistent with all that is such it may ex abundanti gratifie an honest ingenuous Reader to observe briefly the Vniversal Agreement of this Catholick Practice of the Church of Christ 1. With common Reason and the Nature of things 2. With the common Sentiments of the Primitive Christians concerning the middle State of Souls 3. With divers plain Texts of the Holy Scriptures And 4. with the common Practice of the Jews in and before our Saviour's time never reprehended by him or any of his Apostles and therefore allowed by all and indeed practised by them and on the contrary the Inconsistence of the obstinate Opposition with Truth and Justice in divers respects As for Common Reason The Universe is of vast and unconceivable extent in it we see are many great Bodies Orbs and Regions the Life of Man upon this of the Earth is very short the Time from the Resurrection of our Saviour to this is near 1700 years and how much more it may be to the General Judgment no Mortal knows in the mean time the Souls of Mortals go out of their Bodies in infinitely various States of Purity and Impurity And certainly it is most reasonable that there should be not only one general Distinction of Souls but moreover many distinct Places States and Conditions wherein the separate Souls are disposed according to their several Qualifications when they go out of the Body And as that curious Observer of the Works of Nature as well of the Holy Scriptures the late Lord Chief Justice Hale speaking of towardly Plants by Death transplanted into another Region a Garden of Happiness and Comfort adds And possibly by continuance of time as they received Improvement and Perfection here so in that other Region they add to their Degrees of Perfection and are promoted to farther Accessions and Degrees and Stations of Happiness and Glory till they come to the State of Spirits of just Men made perfect Now in all these Varieties of States is there nothing capable of receiving Benefit by the Prayers of the Living Is there no Communion of Saints between those in the Body and those out of the Body But if there be how can it better be exercised or expressed than in the solemn Offices of the Church For the Common Sentiments of the Primitive Christians because it would be too long to recite so many Testimonies in this place and they are collected already to my hand by Sixtus Senensis and others I need but refer the Reader to them But this also is confessed and asserted by Blondel and Dalle but they would have us believe that they received them from an Impostor a Counterfeit Sibyl a groundless impudent and impious Calumny The Agreement with plain Scriptures is observable in that expression of our Saviour concerning the Sin which shall not be forgiven neither in this World neither in the World to come Mat. 12.32 and that which agrees with this of being cast into Prison and not coming out by any means till
Payment of the last Farthing Mat. 5.25 Prisoners of Hope Zechar. 9.11 12. Sins blotted out when the times of Refreshing shall come Act. 3.19 Such as shew the Incertainty of many Souls in their separate State even such as were Professors of a high Form in this World of what their final Doom shall be at that Day as Mat. 7.22 23. and 25.44 45. c. And the Recompence of Rewards at that day 2 Thess 1.6 7. 1 Cor. 5.5 Luk. 14.14.2 Tim. 4.8 c. Which if our confident Opposers had sufficiently considered one would think they should not have presumed to make so light of that middle State as for the maintaining of Parties to deprive so many Souls there of all Benefit they might receive by their surviving Friends here which many Apparitions even among Protestants do frequently signifie The Practice of the Jews I have noted already and shall add only here That in Discourse lately with one of them he assured me that the Form they now use for that purpose is generally believed by all to have been composed by Eâ—ra and the Great Congregation I there also remembred an instance of the Practice of the Apostles themselves in St. Paul's Prayer for Onesiphorus in such a Form as is hardly to be met with for any Person living however proves it not in vain to Pray for any Person of whom there is Hope but not Certainty till that day So that tho' our great Man with more Considence I doubt than Conscience and without any Proof or Reason at all doth positively affirm him then living p. 210. he gets nothing at all by it Thus we see in this a Universal Agreement in all things but on the contrary if we examine the Obstinate Opposition of it throughout we shall find nothing solid and consistent in it neither with Truth nor Honesty nor any good Consequence but a plausible Pretence of the Pure Word of God to cover an impure Inclination and Desire to set aside the Authority which God instituted and set up themselves and their own Conceits in the place of it 2. Inconsistent with it self first denying or cavilling at the Antiquity or Universality of the Practice and then when they thought they had found out an Evasion confessing that which they could no longer for shame deny and betaking themselves to their new Invention 3. Inconsistent with the Sincerity Simplicity and Ingenuity of the Gospel in their shameless Shuffles Cavils and Evasions of which I have noted divers and many more might be observed but there is one not to be omitted here their alleadging the Writings of Epiphanius Chrysostome Augustin and others against not only their own but the confessed ancient Practice of the Church in their time in this Case Inconsistent with that Modesty Respect and Decency which the Gospel requires toward all in their Censuring as delirous not only some particular Persons but generally all the most Holy Ancient Christians in what was their common Sentiments and is believed by the most learned of the Church of England to be plainly taught in the Holy Scriptures 5. Inconsistent with that Reverence and Regard that Christians should have for the Honour of the Church of Christ his Promises to it and Care of it in so foul and scandalous an Imputation as that they received their common Notions of the present State of separate Souls in the other World from an Impostor which was not their Impudence therein as notorious as it is groundless and destitute of any proof at all might prove a Tentation to unsettled Souls to suspect all to be no better And for other Consequences it is plain they lead the way to all others to reject their own usurped Authority with the same Ease and Impudence that they do that of the Church of Christ and to set up their own Conceits against theirs and pretend Scripture for it and so to an endless Course of Separations Schisms Sects and Confusions and in conclusion set up that Authority over others which they themselves in the mean time reject as by their Synod of Dort and others in France appears And besides all this it is much to be feared that they lead multitudes of Souls into that miserable Security and Presumption wherewith our Saviour hath acquainted us that many will find themselves deceived at that day Mat. 7.22 And therefore if these be not pertinacious Schismaticks and Hereticks speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them and therefore carefully to be avoided I know not who are or what so many Cautions in the Scripture to that purpose do signifie FINIS The Doctrine of the Scriptures concerning The Middle State of Souls And the Tradition of the Church for Prayers for the DEAD Summ'd up by Dr. Jer. Taylor late Bishop of Down and Conner With the Judgment of Mr. Herbert Thorndike a late most Learned Prebend of Westminster ALtho' there hath been lately Printed a Discourse of Prayers for the Dead proving the Practice and Tradition thereof in the Church to be truly Catholick and a competent Evidence of Apostolick Original and Authority wherein divers Learned Protestants are alleadged to have been of the same Opinion yet for the Readers farther Satisfaction in that respect it hath been thought fit to Print the Discourse of these two other eminent Persons of the Church of England more at large than was thought proper for that place And first that of the late Bishop Dr. Jer. Taylor 1. Of the Middle State of Souls THE Holy Jesus promised to the blessed Thief That he should that Day be with Him in Paradice which therefore was certainly a Place or State of Blessedness because it was a Promise and in the Society of Jesus whose penal and afflictive part of his Work of Redemption was finished upon the Cross Our Blessed Lord did not promise he should that day be with him in his Kingdom for that day it was not opened and the everlasting doors of those interior Recesses were to be shut till after the Resurrection that himself was to ascend thither and make way for all his Servants to enter in the same Method in which he went before us Our Blessed Lord descended into Hell saith the Creed of the Apostles from the Sermon of St. Peter as he from the Words of David that is into the State of Separation and common Receptacle of Spirits according to the Style of Scripture But the Name of Hell is no where in Scripture an appellative of the Kingdom of Christ of the Place of final and supream Glory But concerning the Verification of our Lord's Promise to the beatified Thief and his own State of Separation we must take what Light we can from Scripture and what we can from the Doctrine of the Primitive Church St. Paul had two great Revelations he was wrapt up into Paradice and he was wrapt up into the third Heaven and and these he calls Visions and Revelations not one but divers for Paradice is distinguished from the Heaven of the