the Book of Tobit by which saith one of them we give too much countenance to the Church of Rome and supplant Canonical Scripture c. Now to see how very little reason is for this Objection let it be observed 1. That our Church always calls these Books Apocryphal and thereby sufficiently distinguisheth them from the Canonical and her self from Popery 2. In the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion she declares That she reads them for example of Life and instruction of Manners but yet doth not apply them to establish any Doctrine 3. All our Divines that have written upon this Subject especially Reynolds and Cosins have so Learnedly and unanswerably baffled the Papists that they have never thought good to reply to them 4. Our Church hath taken so great care in this matter to avoid giving offence that several of these Books are never Read in the Church at all as the Maccabees Books of Esdras Prayer of Manasseh and the famous Fifth Chapter of Tobit about him and his Dog which hath been left out of our Church from the beginning of King James the 1st almost an 100 Years the other Books that are ordered to be Read in the Church are never read on Sundays but only Week-days Now our Church in allowing of them sometimes to be Read doth much better agree with the Primitive Church than she would if they were shut quite out for 't is certain that they publickly Read them Athanasius or the Author of the Synopsis calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. not received into the Canon but read in the Church Ruffinus in Symb. Alii libri sunt qui non Canonici sed Ecclesiastici a majoribus appellati sunt Tobit Judeth c. quae omnia legi quidem in Ecclesia voluerunt non tamen Professi ad Authoritatem fidei confirmandam i. e. There are Books which are not Canonical but Ecclesiastical as Tobit Judeth c. all which are read in the Church but not produced to confirm any Article of Faith Which is exactly agreeable to the words of St. Hierom in his Preface to his Commentary upon Proverbs and which are quoted and approved of by our Church in the Thirty Nine Articles Gregorius Magnus in Moral l. 19. c. 13. Art 6 may speak for the succeeding Ages where he calls these Books though not Canonical yet published for the Edification of the Church That they were Read in the African Churches appears from one of the Carthaginian Councils at which St. Austine was present 3 Carthag Can. 47. That they have been all along read in the Western Churches appears from Isidore de Eccles Off. Rabanus de instit Cler. c. And lastly the Lectionarius published by Pamelius and which goeth under the name of St. Hierom and hath been of great Use and Authority in the Western Churches gives an account of particular days when particular places of the Apocryphal Books were appointed to be read in the Church As to the Greek Church besides the author of the Synopsis already mention'd Origene in his Epistle to Affricanus saith that the history of Susannah was read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every Church of Christ And again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Churches make use of the book of Tobit And as to their present practice besides their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 printed at Venice A. D. 1596. which contains their several lessons for the whole year and hath several taken out of the Apocrypha we have the express authority of one that lived amongst them Mr. Rycaut in his History of the Greek Church p. 372. In the Greek Church they receive the Apocryphal Books as we do in England In the Ethiopick Churches they read the Athcpocryphal Books as appears from Ludolfus's History of those Churches and lastly by the works of Hippolytus Origen St. Chrysostome St. Hierome Theodore◠Asterius Leo Magnus and others it appears that the Fathers not only wrote Comments upon these books but frequently preach'd upon them and took their Texts thence not to mention that Conradus Pellican Drusius and some other Reformed Divines have without any offence wrote comments upon them as upon other parts of the Bible If from this general agreement of all the Christian Churches in the World we consider in the last place the judgment of the Reformed Churches we shall find them also agree with us 1. For the Lutheran Churches they gerally use them as we do and Alsted in Theol. Pol. p. 287. gives this account of them that they are sacri secundum quid populare quadam ratione merito proxime a vere divinis locum obtinere possunt i. e. that they are in a sense sacred and deserve the next place to the Canonical Scriptures And Chemnitius in examen post 1. de ser can speaking of the Apocryphal Books saith A fidelibus in Ecclesiis leguntur i. e. they are read by the Orthodox in the Churches And then for the Churches of the Calvinists first hear Calvin himself in Psychopannichia Melius nos decent sacrae literae corpus quod corrumpitur aggravat animam i. e. the holy Writings teach us better that the corruptible body oppresseth the Soul And yet those Sacred Writings are the book called the Wisdom of Solomon from whence that sentence is taken Conradus Pelicanus in his preface to his Comments upon the Apocryphal Books saith of them that they are Ecclesiastici ac Biblici in Ecclesia Catholica ab Apostolorum temporibus fuerint cum reverentia lecti i. e. these books are read in the Church and bound up with our Bibles and have with reverence been read in all Christian Churches from the very time of the Apostles and he was a famous Professor at Zurich Lud. Capellus in Thes Salm. expresly approves of the Declaration of our Church in her 39 Articles and saith that profit may come to the Church by their being read publickly and so they were read in the Primitive times for the instruction of manners Episcopius Professor at Leyden in Tom. 2. Part. 2. p. 75. though the Apocryphal Books cannot serve to confirm an Article of Faith yet may profitably be read in ' the Church And indeed of the Dutch Churches we have their solemn judgment declared in the Synod of Dort Art 6. We make a difference betwixt the Canonical and Apocryphal Books which last are the 3d and 4th of Esdras Tobit Judeth c. which the Church may read and take instructions in them agreeable to Canonical Scripture The Bibles of Holland Geneva and other reformed Churches have these books printed Quere in Deodats Ju 〈…〉 Bibles and bound up with the Canonical as we have and in the Preface to the Apocryphal Books they commend the very sentences of Ruffinus and St. Hierom which declare for the publick reading of them in the Churches And the like is done by the Publishers of the Harmony of the Confessions of all the Reformed Churches Printed at Geneva and lastly the Reformed Churches of
France in their Book of Discipline p. 391. have this rule Les livres de la Bible soit Canonique ou autres ne seront transformez en Comedies ou Tragedies i. e. the books of the Bible whether Canonical or others shall not be used in Plays in which Words they first call these Apocryphal books part of the Bible and then take care that they be not prophaned And thus it 's evident that all the Primitive and Purer Ages of the Church all the Eastern Western and African Churches all the Lutheran and Calvinistical Churches beyond Sea do either read these books publickly in their Churches or very expresly approve of it nor is there any one instance of any Reformed Church that since the Reformation read them publickly as we have done but still continues to do so and our English Dissenters are condemned by all the Churches in the World in leaving them out of their Bibles who were the first body of Christians as far as I can find that ever did so To make this the more evident I shall here give a Catalogue of the publick large Bibles of all the Countries I could meet with in all which upon examination I find the Apocryphal added for the same intent as in ours viz. For the Example of Life and the Instruction of Manners A Catalogue of Bibles Printed with the Apocrypha English with Archbishop Cranmer's Preface Lond. 1541. By Coverdale Lond. 1550. By Command of Q. Eliz. Lond. 1578. Welch Lond. 1588 Scotch Edenburgh 1596. English translated by Wicliff a M. S. with a Prologue in which are these words Holy Church readeth Judeth and Toby and the Books of Maccabees but receiveth not them among Holy Scriptures so the Church readeth the two Books Ecclesiastici and Sapience to edify the People not to confirm the Authority of Teaching Bohemian 1613. Danish at Copenhagen 1550. French at Geneva 1588 At Amsterdam 1669 German 1604 Of Luther's Translation Heidelberg 1617 Dutch at Frankfurt 1580 Armenian at Amsterdam 1666 Spanish by Protestants Amsterdam 1602. Hungarian by the Protestant Bishops of Hungary at Hannover and Oppenheim 1608 Muscovitish at Ostrogoth 1581 Italian by Deodate 1607 Latin by Castalion dedicated to King Edward the 6th Bas 1573 By Junius dedicated to William Prince of Orange 1592 By Robert Stephens Paris 1540 Critici Sacri 9 Tomis Lond. 1666 Hebrew Polyglott 〈◊〉 Lond. 1567 Septuagint Syrtach Vulgar Latin And indeed amongst all the Bibles which I have seen I find them only left out in the Spanish Bible examin'd by the Inquisitors printed at Ferara 1553 and that of New-England in the Virginian Tongue printed at Cambridge in New-England 1663. So that if to comply with our English Dissenters we must strike out these Apocryphal books I know no Bibles we shall follow but that of the Inquisitors of Spain and the Commissioners of New-England And to conclude this head I shall put down these five observations First That no Papist ever made use of this as an Argument that our Church own'd these Books as Canonical so that there could be no feal ground for this objection Secondly That there neither is nor ever was any one Christian Church in the whole World that had set Lessons appointed for every day in the year as we have but some of them were taken out of the Apocrypha Thirdly That no one foreign Church whatsoever did ever declare themselves offended with the Church of England in this matter but as I have shewed generally approve it Fourthly That these very persons who complain of our reading Apocryphal Chapters for Lessons make no complaint of having Hymns printed in their Bibles before and after Davids Psalms in meeter and being frequently used in the Church instead of them Which is agreeable to the practice of Holland where that Church before Sermon sings a Hymn composed by one John Wittenhaven as we do any one of our Psalms Fifthly That the great Promoters of this objection do not stop here but urge it to the laying aside Sermons and Homilies as not being within the Canon yea and the Scripture and Lessons themselves and as we have reason to fear laying aside all publick service whatsoever T. C. in his admonition p. 221. would have no Homilies read in the Church because nothing but the voice of God and holy Scriptures should sound in his Church and this will destroy Sermons and Preaching also The Author answered by Bishop Nicolson in his Apology p. 184. is angry with our Church for reading two Lessons and would have but one And that Lesson also is in danger by the Author of the Letter to the Convocation p. 21. where he proposeth the leaving out the first Lesson in the Afternoon upon short days and in Country Parishes to read Prayers without Lessons So that upon the whole however it seems to some a small to others a reasonable matter I do not say to leave out for then that should have been done at first but to reject the Apocryphal Lessons yet in this we shall separate from the Primitive the Eastern Western and African Churches from most of the Reformed Churches we must alter the 39 Articles of Religion which have been so generally received and applauded for they declare that the Church doth read them We must alter our Apologies and Canons for there Canon 30. Juells Apol. p. 170. it 's declared that it was so far from the purpose of the Church of England to forsake and reject the Churches of Italy France Spain Germany and other Churches in all things which they hold and practis'd that as the Apology of the Church of England confesseth it only departed from them in those particular points wherein they were faln both from themselves in their ancient integrity and from the Apostolical Churches To this agreeth the Apology for Protestants by a French Divine and translated A. D. 1681. p. 23. As to the reproach cast upon our first Reformers it is one of the greatest injustices in the world for nothing can be clearer from their own writings than that it was never their intent to subvert the ancient Government of the Church nor to abolish those Religious Rites and Holy Ceremonies which the piety of the primitive Christians had introduced but only to take away the abuses of them So that in making unnecessary changes in these things we shall destroy the very foundation and principle of the Reformation And that this rule is properly applied to the matter in hand is evident from the declaration of our Church at the beginning of the Liturgy where the reading of the Lessons as is appointed is called a godly and decent order of the ancient Fathers agreeable to the mind and purpose of the old Fathers Upon all which accouuts it is evident that we ought not to consent to the taking away the Apocryphal Lessons and that the Reformed Churches do not desire it of us Secondly As to the Rules and Tables for finding Easter great objections have been raised against our Church
and their words to the end of the world Rom. 11. 10. And bow down their back alway Psal 69. 24. in the Liturgy And ever bow down their backs Psal 69. 23. in the Bible And make their loyns continually to shake 1 Pet. 3. 11. Let him eschew evil Psal 34. 14. in the Liturgy Eschew evil Psal 34. 14. in the Bible Depart from Evil. So that it was no doubt the wisdom of those that compiled this Version in our Liturgy to consider the Authentick Translation made by the Holy Ghost in the New Testament and if we should admit the same Version of the Psalms into the Liturgy which is in the Bible these men of scruples might be at as great a loss to reconcile the Psalms and the second Lesson read presently after them as they now are to reconcile the two Versions of the Psalms and at as great a loss to reconcile both with the Singing Psalms which were certainly composed by as old or older Version than that in the Common-Prayer-Book As to that one place Psal 105. 28. which hath been often urged by the Presbyterians from the very days of Queen Eliz. and as often answered so that I cannot but admire at the ignorance of the diligent Will. Prynne in this matter who in his Pacifick Examination of the Common-Prayer p. 6. where having proposed this objection against the Translation of Psalm 105. 28. tells us that it was occasioned by the Printers omission of one syllable to wit Obedient for Disobedient not the Translators But to pass this by Hooker and Fuller in Miscel shew that the Translation in the Liturgy best agreeth with the Hebrew and their judgment is comfirm'd by the Septuagint Syriack Arabick and Ethiopick Versions In the old Latin Versions it was read both ways as St. Austin observes Tom. 8. enarrat in Psal and yet it made no disturbance in the Church in that or the following ages Not to mention that both Versions are very good sense and not at all contradictory in the Liturgy they were not obedient refers to the Aegyptians mention'd v. 27. In the Bible they rebelled not refers to Moses and Aaron v. 26. and even so our old Version is to be preferr'd it being more natural for a Verb to refer to the last verse than the last but one but both are very good sense and as properly retain'd in our Church as the different readings were by the Jews preserved in their Bibles And whoever shall give himself the trouble to compare the Versions of the Bible shall have far greater objections than this Deut. 21 12. She shall pare her nails in the Margent of our Bibles She shall let them grow Gal. 2. 3. in the Greek Titus was not circumcised In many Latin copies Titus was circumcised And again v. 5. in the Greek To whom we have not yielded in the Latin To whom we have yielded and this latter was used by Ireneus l. 3. c. 13. a Greek Father By Tertullian l. 5. in Marcion p. 463. St. Ambrose in locum c. and many of the Fathers as St. Hierom Primasius Sedulius Haymo c. freely take notice of both readings I might instance also in 1 Cor. 15. 51. where some read We shall all sleep of which St. Hierom hath a large discourse Also in Mat. 2. 6. compared with Micab 5. 2. and many other places not to mention what those very Translators of the Bible whose Version is contended for declared That they in many places set diversity of senses in the Margin for that to determine of such things as the Spirit of God hath left in the judgment of Judicious questionable can be no less than presumption As St. Austin saith That variety of Translations is profitable for finding out the sense of the Scriptures so diversity of sense in the Margin where the Text is not so clear must needs do good yea is necessary as we are perswaded But if any Learned Person hath taken pains to make a more correct Version than either of these the English Church now useth I hope he will not envy the Church the benefit of his labours but will make it publick as Rob. Gell. Printed an Essay towards the amendment of the English Translation of the Bible Lond. 1659. But I can by no means think it proper to have it proposed to the Convocation who upon some short examination of it should Authorize it When the Clergy are called to the Convocation they are most of them remote from their Boods and in London want leisure to examine the many difficulties that will arise St. Hierom made a more exact Translation of the Psalms than that the Latin Church before used he made it publick and proposed it to the care and study of Learned Men to examine it and when an Universal Approbation had for some Ages given it Authority it was at last received into the Church instead of the other but not till some hundreds of years after the time of St. Hierom. And when Gregory the Great about the year 600 composed Hymns for the use of the Church it was out of the old Version of the Psalms Nor can it seem strange that the same Church should use two different Versions of the Psalms for this was done in all the Western Churches in the time of Gregory the Great who in his Epistle Dedicatory in the beginning of his Comments upon Job saith Sedes Apostolica utraque utitur the Roman Church useth both Editions Leander in Spain about the same age wrote a comment upon both Versions and Card. Bona tells us that the old Version was in frequent use till the time of Pius V. is still used in the Church of the Vatiean and continued in their Breviaries When only a Catechism was composed not by a single person but a whole Assembly of Divines at Westminster it was Printed and sent about and publick intimation made to the Assembly in Scotland that whoever had any objections might put them in And when a great many Learned Men were called together by King James l. to correct and review the Translation of the Bible they were no less than three years about it as they themselves tell us in their Preface So that I heartily desire that Reverend person would publish his new Version and when time and an universal approbation hath given it authority it may be received into the use of the Church not in the common-prayer-Common-prayer-book only but Bible also And this hath been done by several who have made excellent composures of the Singing Psalms and far better than those we now use and yet the prudence of our Church hath not yet thought fit to give any one of them the stamp and seal of authority for this reason chiefly because the Church hath been long used to these she hath and can sing many of them by heart which as it's the best reason for the continuance of the old Singing Psalms so is much more a reason for the continuance of that Version in
ordained by Presbyters as is evident from that very Place in the Life of Bishop Bramhall from whence this Author quotes a Passage and what he did for Peace Sake was only this That in some of their Certificates of their being ordained by him he declared That this New Ordination did not destroy their former Orders if they had any c. And it s abundantly evidently that that Bishop did re-ordain many of them To the last of these three ways I return no Answer because he himself doth not tell us what it was that was proposed in the Bill of Union The second was the principal Method insisted on and that is Hypothetical Re-ordination in which the Office of Ordination was to be omitted and the Person kneeling before a Bishop the Bishop was to say If thou art not already Ordained I Ordain thee or else in these Words I pray God that thou be ordained c. And this is justified by the Instance of Hypothetical Baptism To all which I reply 1. That the Presbyterians the Persons we are to satisfy have already declared against Hypothetical Ordination so the Presbyterians at the Savoy in their Petition for Peace p. 2. We earnestly beseech you that Re-ordination whether Absolute or Hypothetical be not made necessary for the future Exercise of our Ministry now to grant them what they have already declared against is no probable way to the Union pretented 2. Hypothetical Baptism is of Two sorts 1 st When 't is not known that the Child hath had any pretended Baptism with Water in the name of the Trinity and then the case is not the same as this Of such hypothetical Rebaptization the 5th Council of Carthage c. 3. is to be understood where they commend the Words of Leo Iteratum dici non potest quod nescitur ess factum i. e. That cannot be said to be repeated which was never known to be done The 2d is when all that hath been done is exactly known but the authority of the Persons Baptizing or Authenticalness of what is done is called in question and in this case the Presbyterians do not allow of Hypothetical Baptism witness the Synops pur Theol. p. 617 Neque Baptismus conditionalis probandus est qui a Pontificiis observari solet i. e. neither do we approve of Hypothetical Baptism which is used by the Papists for they to gain respect to their own Church endeavour to perswade such other Christians as are admitted into their Church to be hypothetically Rebaptized of which we have one famous instance in the Church of the Abyssines reported by Ludolfus in Hist Aethiop l. 3. c. 6. Patres Societatis Habessinos omnes promiscue rebaptizaverunt sub conditione tamen si videlicet prior Baptismus non rite fuisset peractus quae res magnam illis invidiam conflavit i. e. The Jesuites rebaptized all the Habessines with this condition namely if their former Baptism was not rightly performed which thing occasioned great troubles against them Which troubles he reports cap. 13. The Habessines hated them for nothing more than their repeating of their Baptism as if before that they had been Heathens and Publicans And is it not evident that Hypothetical Re-ordination will produce the same troubles here when by this very Act our Church plainly supposeth that they were not ordained before But to make all this matter plain I will first set down the opinion of the English Presbyterians then the opinion of the Foreign Reformed Churches 1. For our English Presbyterians T. C. the Ringleader of that Party having been ordained by a Bishop is said to have renounced his orders and taken new orders from Presbyters in Scotland The Presbyterians reordained Mr. John Cuningham formerly ordained Priest by the Bishop of Galloway Ravil rediv. p. 29. A whole Synod of the Puritans at Coventry A. D. 1588 June 10 condemned Ordination by Bishops as unlawful and farther declared the very calling of Bishops unlawful Bancroft's Engl. Scotizing p. 86. T. C. in his Admonition p. 127 desires the Bishops to be laid aside from ordaining Ministers and to bring in the true Election by the Congregation And in his Prayer before his Sermon at Banbury printed in the Life of Archbishop Whitgift p. 47. O Lord give us grace and power all as one Man to set our selves against the Bishops Apologetical Narrative It s a sin to take Episcopal Orders or to own the Authority of Bishops And to mention no more in the Solemn League and Covenant the Presbyterians of both Nations swore to the Extirpation of Prelacy i. e. the government of the Church by Bishops And accordingly in Scotland the Presbyterians have generally persecuted all those that had Episcopal Ordination 2. For the Foreign Reformed Churches observe 1sit That the Churches of Denmark and Norway are governed by Two Archbishops and Fourteen Bishops The Churches of Swedeland are governed by One Archbishop and Six Bishops the Churches of Hungary and Transylvania are governed by Bishops the Reformed Churches of Bohemia have a succession of Bishops as we in England Pass we next to the Reformed Churches of Germany which are in effect governed by Bishops whom they call Superintendants Their Office is described in the Harmony of Confess p. 227. to visit Parochial Ministers to preside in Synods to examine and ordain Persons fit for the Ministry c. To which agreeth Carpzovins Jurisp Eccl. l. 1. Comenius in Annot. ad rat disc fratr Bohem. where he observes that St. Hierom calls a Bishop Superintendant in Armenia the Bishop is called Martabet which signifieth Superintendant saith Rycaut Hist of Arm. Churches p. 392. And Zanchy saith that the Protestants have Bishops and Archbishops but that instead of good Greek Names they call them by bad Latine ones Superintendants and general Superintendants And when in the Book of Policy A. D. 1581. for the Kingdom of Scotland the Office of Superintendants is described it is in these Words Imprimis The Superintendant of Orkney his Diocess shall be the Isles of Orkney c. The Superintendant of Rosse his Diocess shall be Rosse c. The Superintendant of Edenbrough his Diocess shall be c. The Superintendant of Glascow his Diocess c. In all Ten Superintendants for that Kingdom Then follows the Function and Power of the Superintendant He shall plant and erect Churches order and appoint Ministers Visit c. See the Proceedings at Perth p. 14 15. And in all such Churches where they have Superintendants there is no Ordination allowed but by them An Account of the Persecuted in Scotland p. 58. There is not a falser Proposition in the World than that the Inclinations of the generality of the People in Scotland are against Episcopacy and let us have a Poll for it when they will and you shall quickly see the Demonstration Of the Vulgus the Commonalty not a Third Man throughout the whole Kingdom is a Presbyterian And of Persons of better Quality and Education not a Thirteenth In all the Country on
be extinguished if only Forms be allowed in the Church and p. 55. The Abatement of Ceremonies with the Exclusion of all Prayers but what are Read will not satisfie us The Author of a Letter to the Convocation would have many of our Prayers and Services left to the discretion and choice of the Minister p. 21 22. And the Lords and Commons A. D. 1644 and 1648 ordained That if any Person used the Common Prayer Book he shall forfeit for the 1st Offence 5 l. for the 2d 10 l. and for the 3d Offence a Years Imprisonment and every Minister that shall not strictly use the Directory shall forfeit the Sum of Forty Shillings and whoever shall Preach Write or Print against it shall forfeit betwixt 5 l. and 50 l. The Churches of Denmark Swedeland Saxony and all other of the Ausburg Confession have their set Liturgies and forms of publick Worship yea the Churches of France Geneva and Holland have their set Prayers composed by Calvin himself as Luther composed Prayers for the German Churches and Zuinglius for those of Zurick The Divines of Holland in Synops pur Theol. Disp 36. Sect. 33. declare set Forms not only lawful but very profitable The attention of Auditours is much helped by having a constant form Some of the Churches of Zealand thus declared themselves to our English Presbyterians We account it grievous to condemn all those Churches which from the Apostolical times and the Primitive Church to this day have celebrated the publick worship of God by prescribed Forms wherefore we blame the precise singularity of those who cast out all Forms out of Divine Worship In almost all the Reformed Churches Church-Liturgies and Forms of Prayers are approved as profitable and conducing to Edification Capellus Professour of Samurs in France in Theses Salm. A set Form of Liturgy is highly useful and necessary hath been always used in all the Christian Churches in the World for above 1300 Years and now is used every where except only by some Vpstarts in England c. The Greek Church Armenian Coptick Ethiopick and all the Eastern Churches have set Forms of Prayer Calvin Epist 87. I do very much approve of a set Form of Prayer and Ecclesiastical Rites that it be so certain as that the Ministers shall not recede from it that hereby the levity of some Innovators may be hindred there ought to be a set Form of Prayer c. Baxter himself in his Def. of the Cure of Divisions p. 55. He that separateth from all Churches amongst us on the account of the unlawfulness of our Liturgy doth separate from them on a reason common to all or almost all Christian Churches upon Earth As to the Prayer before Sermon Calvin constantly used the same Form faith Beza in his Life it 's Printed at beginning of his Sermons on Job so had St. Austine after Sermon The Ministers of France Geneva and Holland use a set Form before Sermon Lavater of the Rites of the Church of Zurich saith 'T is not the custom of that Church for the Preacher to contrive new Forms of Prayer and repeat them in the Publick Assemblies but to keep the usual one And Durell tell us that there is not one Minister in France but hath made to himself a set Form of Prayer which he constantly useth before Sermon and no other So that in this also our Presbyterians are singular that they affect Novelties and extempore Expressions and Variations in their Prayers before Sermons I say that are singular and different from the Pastours of most of the Reformed Churches in the World I know it 's objected against our Liturgy that it 's taken out of the Mass Book as if the Lord's Prayer the Creed or other parts of our Service were the worse for being found there also but yet those that have strictly examined this find the Objection false L'Estrange in his Alliance c. p. 30. The beginning of our Morning-Prayer Sentences Exhortations Confession Absolution rehearsing the Decalogue c. are not to be found in the Mass Book nor any Popish Service And Dr. Stillingfleet in Antiq. Br. ch p. 232. All these parts are retained in the excellent Office of our Church not from the Church of Rome as our Dissenters weakly imagine but from the consent of all the ancient Churches in the use of them c. And p. 237. From which discovery it will appear that our Church of England hath omitted none of those Offices wherein all the ancient Churches agreed and that wherein the Brittish and Gallicane Churches differed from the Roman our Church hath not followed the Roman but the other and therefore our Dissenters do unreasonably charge us with taking our Offices from the Church of Rome And therefore the Romanists have ever been as zealous in opposing our Common-Prayer as the Presbyterians themselves Mr. Harding John Ould and other Papists wrote Books against it Several of our Martyrs were put to Death in Queen Maries Dayss for using the Book of Common-Prayer saith Fox in Acts Mon. And the Author of Calvino Turcismus p. 360 hath these words The English Liturgy as to the substance of it is more corrupt than the Turkish Alcoran as to the Form it in great measure agreeth with it And it 's not probable that the Papists would thus abuse a Book that was so like to their own Mass as the Presbyterians would have it Our Common-Prayer Book is now printed in Ten several Languages which cannot be said of any other Liturgy in the World and so great was the esteem our Forefathers had of it that I find in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth Coppin and Thacker were both punished for publishing Brown's Book against the Common-Prayer And now if all the Protestant Churches in the World have their set Liturgies it must needs be a very improbable way to promote the Peace and Union of the Reformed Churches by destroying the Liturgy we have always used And to pass by other things most of the Reformed Churches have declared in their Confessions of Faith that no Separation ought to be made for different Rites and Ceremonies where there is an agreement in Doctrine See Praef. ad Confess Helv. Art 17. 27. Conf. Gallican Art 32. Bhoem c. 15. Argent c. 14. Augustana Art 7. Polon p. 220. Calvin Instit l. 4. c. 10. s 27. Is so far from condemning Rites and Ceremonies that he would have them in every Church be fix'd and certain without which the Nerves and Sinews of a Church will quickly be dissolved c. O Ecolampadius in his Epistles p. 169 177 182 184. Is vehement in pressing every particular Church to an Vniformity in Ceremonies that tho they are different in several Countries yet all that are subject to the same Goverment should be bound to the same Rites c. And how little these eminent Reformers agree with our new Modellers will appear from the Letter to the Convocation p. 9. If any of the Laity scruple the Cross
in Baptism the Minister may be permitted to Baptize without it or if kneeling at the Sacrament the Person scrupling may have it delivered him in another Posture and so for God-fathers p. 15. Let a Rubrick be inserted before the Athanasian Creed signifying that the Creed may be read or may be let alone or with an alias this or the Nicene p. 21. Let the Litany be left to the discretion of the Minister to read or omit let it be left to his discretion one day to read one part and another day another that it be permitted in the Afternoon to leave out the first Lesson or the like p. 22. That it be left to liberty and discretion to use the Prayers without the Lessons and the Litany alone on Wednesdays and Fridays so Preface to the Directory complain'd that they were urged to read all the Prayers And after this manner we must have nothing six'd and settled but all our Rites and Prayers left indifferent which is so far from promoting Union and Peace that its the most likely way in the World to divide us perpetuate and establish Schism and make us an casie Prey to our Enemies Even the Author of naked Truth p. 23. saith That a Liberty left to add or detract Ceremonies or Prayers according to the various Opinions and Humours of Men will certainly cause great Faction and Division Again the length of our Liturgy is complain'd of Letter to the Convoc p. 18. It 's proposed that the Sunday Service be shortned p. 19. It s a tedious and prolix Service which tho it agreed with the complaints of the Presbyterians A. D. 1603. Who then desired the longsomness of the Service to be abridged yet doth so little suit with our later long-winded Presbyterians that at the Savoy 1660. p. 9. They complain of the Brevity of the Common-Prayer-Book and therefore desire to have leave to pray more copiously and p. 55. They complain'd of too many Prayers not too much so that should we in complyance with this Projector have shortned our Prayers we should have displeas'd not sweetned the Presbyterians to a Complyance If we look upon the most eminent Protestant Princes that we have had they were all for strict Conformity Queen Elizabeth would have the Discipline of the Church of England of all Men duly observ'd without alteration of the least Ceremony Life of Arch-Bishop Whitgift p. 29. And King James the First in his Proclamation the first Year of his Reign We admonish all Men that they shall not exâ—ect nor attempt any further alteration in the Common-Prayer We are not ignorant of the Inconveniences that arise in Government by admitting Innovations in things once settled by mature Delibaration and how necessary it is to use Constancy Such is the unquietness of some Dispositions affecting every Year new Forms Our frequent alterations of our Religious Rites hath been justly laugh'd at by Foreigners Erasmus for this very Thing derided the English in his time and Cardan in Tetrab c. 3. Tex 12. saith That the English are still changing their Rites and Manners of Religious Worship sometimes to the better and very often to the worse Not to mention what St. Austin Epist 118. adjan observ'd Ipsa mutatio consuetudines etiam quae adjuvat utilitate novitate perturbat i. e. The very change of a Custom tho to the better breeds a disturbance by its novelty Malum politicum bene positum non est movendum In sine give me leave to repeat what the Ingenious Lord Faulkland long since told us viz. That all Mutations are dangerous even where what is introduced by that Mutation is such as would have been very profitable upon a primary Foundation and it is none of the least Dangers of Change that all the Perils and Inconveniences that it brings cannot be foreseen and therefore such as make Title to Wisdom will not undergo great Dangers but for great Necessities such as cannot I presume be here pretended Upon all which Accounts its evident that the Convocations complying to make the Alterations proposed is the most probable way to displease most of the Foreign Protestants that are now in League with us and make us no longer esteem'd as we hitherto have been the very Center of Union I will add but one Reason why we should not make these Alterations for the sake of our own Dissenters and that is because they are resolved they wâ—â— have no Union with us but whensoever we are making Proposals to unite with them they run farther off and be sure make fresh Complaints of these very Changes and steps towards them For the Alterations made in 1660. Mr. Baxter likes things worse than before and hath declared frequently in Print That many of our old Episcoparian Divines had they been now alive would have been Nonconformists and that the new Impositions make the Ministerial Conformity harder than formerly Def. of Cure of Divis p. 55. The Presbyterians at the Savoy after p. 35. complain of the paucity of Concessions tho lately said to be 600 And again In one of your Concessions in which we suppose you intend to accommodate with us you rather widen than heal the Breach When about ten Years since some of our Church had a project of Comprehension the Presbyterians were farther off than before and under the Name of a Plea for Peace put out bitter Reflections upon the Church of England Dr. Stillingfleet unreas of Separat Pref. p. 36. In Scotland the Presbyterians administred the Solemn League and Covenant to the People and made them Swear never to hear the Orthodox Ministry more and gave them the Sacrament thereupon Ravil Rediv. p. 29. The like is said to have been lately done at Northampton and some other Places And how have they behaved themselves in this juncture we may take it from one of the great Promoters of Alterations in his Letter for the Bill of Union p. 4. I do own that in some of the Dissenters there is more then an appearance of Aversion to this Bill of Vnion or else Books levelled against Liturgy and Episcopacy would not come out as they do in this p juncture fresh from the Press In a Word There are two Things that have formerly made the Government very averse from favouring Dissenters 1. Their Disloyalty 2. Their readiness upon all Occasions to joyn with the Popish Interest against the Church of England as they famously did in the Year 1588. at the time of the Spanish Invasion and again 1688. in the late Reign of King James II. as appears from their numerous Addresses their Complyances with the Dispensing Power their Promises to take off the Test and Penal Laws their new Ordinations and their great neglect both in Pulpit and Press to defend the Articles of the Protestant Religion against the many Writings of the Papists two Tracts only amongst the numerous Dissenters having upon the severest computation been found publish't by them during the whole Reign of that King we had great reason to hope that these Failings had been both mended especially at a time that Popery was discouraged and the Government had been so kind to the Protestant Dissenters and yet behold quite contrary to all sober Mens Expectations tho there are but two Things required of all that are Hearers in Conventicles in order to a full Toleration 1. An Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity to the King and Queen 2. Making and subscribing a Declaration against Popery and so giving satisfaction to the Government in these two particulars yet they are still either so steddy to their old Principles of Disloyalty or so far managed by Popish Agents and withal so peevishly perverse and froward in opposing every thing that is commanded them by the Laws that to this day so far as I can learn there is not one in an Hundred of them that hath done either FINIS