vsed vpon them in publike assemblyes Diuers Churches also among vs are called by the names of those Saincts which they were dedicated vnto but to say that we do therefore dedicate Churches vnto them is very ridiculous In the City Athens there was a place of Iudgement which bare the name of Mars S. Luke calleth it by the same name doth he therefore dedicate it also vnto that heathen God of battaile When we call S. Peters Church or Paules Churchyard it is but to distinguish them by the names by which they are commonly knowne and called Then follow our Comminations Rogations Purifications Touching Comminations they be a part of the Canonicall Scripture which is to be read in the Church Rogations I take to be the compassing in of the limits and bounds of Parishes which is commaunded only to auoide contention and strife that might growe and there is nothing in the booke of Common Prayer touching these that euer I could finde Purifications are annexed only to make vp your riming figure for neither the booke nor the doctrine of the Church of England doth speake of any Purification but only in the bloud of the Lambe There is a Thanksgiuing prescribed for Women after Childbirth but neyther for Iewish Purification or Popish Superstition therefore not in such sort to be condemned After comes in our Tithes Offerings Mortuaries For the Tithes and Mortuaries I do not finde them once named in the booke the Offrings in déede are But ye will say that is no great matter séeing they be in our Church That is true but yet they are but for maintenance of the Ministerie not as a matter tyed of necessitie vnto a Priesthoode as in the time of the Lawe and if they were the error could not be fundamentall In the next place are brought in our manner of visiting the sicke and howsling them with the Sacrament our Absolution blasphemous Dirges and Funerall Sermons ouer and for the dead There is prescribed a manner of visiting the sicke and so is there in the leiturgies of some other Churches that professe the Gospell but where haue ye séene it practised or the practise vrged by those that haue the gouernment of our Church at their hands which are able and diligent Pastors Whereby your iniurious dealing may appeare in charging all the assemblies as they generally stand in England with matters which the greater part do not practise nor yet are required For if the sicke man be by the Minister of the word instructed exhorted comforted and strengthened in faith and repentance yea euery way prepared to depart ioyfully in the Lord it is that which the booke aimeth at neither is there any more required although he vse no prescript forme set downe By your phrase of howsling with the Sacrament ye would make the simple beleeue that the Popish Howsling is retained among vs. This is but a false kind of packing seeing our Church vtterly condemneth all the wicked blasphemous corrupt doctrine of the Papists touching the Lords Supper and also denyeth that a man is of necessitie to receiue this Sacrament at his death If yes replie that howsoeuer we teach yet the booke implyeth a necessitie which appeareth by that it doth appoint a priuate Communion I answer that euen the booke doth denie it to be a matter of necessitie and doth appoint it but to relieue the trouble which might arise in weake consciences through the want thereof for these be the words of the booke The Curates shall diligently from time to time but specially in the Plague time exhort their Parishioners to the often receiuing in the Church of the holy Communion of the bodie and bloud of our Sauiour Christ which if they doo they shall haue no cause in their suddaine visitation to be disquieted for lacke of the same And if any sicke person that would receiue this Sacrament hath any impediment that he can not the Booke willeth the Minister to instruct him that if he do truly repent him of his sinnes and stedfastly beléeue that Iesus Christ hath suffered death vppon the Crosse for him and shead his bloud for his redemption earnestly remembring the benefites he hath thereby and giuing him hartie thanks therefore he doth eate and drincke the Bodie and Bloud of our Sauiour Christ profitably to his soules health although he do not receiue the Sacrament with his mouth How maliciously then do you charge the assemblies in England with howsling the sicke with the Sacrament when all the learned faithfull diligent Pastors do as the booke requireth exhort those that be of their flockes to the often receiuing of this holy Sacrament in the publike assemblie as the due place for publike seales and the people by instruction being growen so strong that they do not in their sicknesse require it and so in the most Congregations which are well taught the thing is not practise◠The Sinagog of Antichrist deuised a purgatorie which is blasphemous against the bloud of Christ They had indéed their Dirges euen blasphemous prayers for the dead That Purgatorie do we vtterly deny as a wicked inuention we condemne prayer for the dead and therfore where ye tearme those prayers which are read at burials blasphemous Dirges ouer and for the dead yee are more then impudent in lying Funerall Sermons I finde not inioyned by the booke nor commaunded by any Lawe Ye adde further our corrupt manner of administring the Sacraments the Font the Crosse in Baptisme Baptisme by women Gossippings the blasphemous Collects that we vse vnto this Sacrament Byshopings with all the hereticall Collects of the Booke which as ye say is a wearines vnto ye to repeate though not to vs both to tollerate and defend When ye shewe some reason why the Font is an abhomination I shall knowe what to say Touching the Crosse it must needes be confessed that it was blasphemously and horribly abused in Poperie they ascribing vnto it power to driue out and expell Deuils and worshipping it with deuine honour In my iudgement also the holy Church of God within short time after the blessed Apostles and the reuerend godly Pastors did offend in taking ouermuch libertie to ordeine Ceremonies Symbolicall as that and such like yet no doubt very reuerend godly learned men led by the example of those holy Fathers of olde haue iudged it lawfull for the Church to ordeine such Ceremonies Touching the Baptisme by women it is condemned both by the chéefe gouernours in our Church and others and is not practised vnlesse it be among the popish and supersticious ignorant sort By Gossyppings I suppose yée meane the witnesses at baptisme a thing vsed in the best reformed churches and thought to be expedient so that yée doo not heerein condemne the Church of England but all Churches Bishoping of children is little practised for vnlesse the people require it by offering their children few Bishops doo vrge them thervnto onely this excepted that they be taught and instructed in the Catechisme The
blasphemous collects which we vse in the Sacrament and all the hereticall collects of the booke doo trouble yée very sore and weary yée to repeat But if it pleased God I would ye were as weary of lying and slaundering as ye should be in séeking in all the collects of the booke if yée were bound to séeke and to finde I will not say some faultes séeing all things framed by the best men may haue imperfections and faults but some blasphemies or heresies If yée haue any regard at all what ye say gather your wits together consider what is blasphemie and what is heresie and then note the collect where it is and what it is There shall neuer any man be able to prooue that the Church of England dooth tollerate much lesse defend either blasphemie or heresie Yet you as if your words were true as the Gospell clap your wings and crowe saying but this candle may not be lighted least the people should sée into the abhominabl◠ingredients which you their Antichristian ministers doo giue them or rather sell them in the whore of Babilons cuppe All this is but your foule toong which is no way so eloquent as in rowling out slaunderous accusation of blasphemies heresies and abhominations with such like Moreouer whereas the case standeth thus in the church of England that there is controuersie about the Booke and that one part dooth approoue all things in the same as good and alowable or at least as tollerable the other condemne certaine things as corruptions and such as néede reformation I would know how ye could abandon all the assemblyes to this ye make a double answer first that vsing a part they do homage to the whole This is a foolish answer void of all reason for can we not praise the good things in a man but we shall allowe his faultes and imperfections Your second answer is this Neither can the cunningest of ye all make the best part of it other then a péece of Swines flesh an abhomination to the Lord. Who could imagin that such a frensie might take hold of any that in mad furie they should not spare after a sort to strike at God and to blaspheme that which is most holy for ye knowe right well that there is in the booke of Common Prayer much of the sacred Canonicall Scripture there is the Lords prayer the tenne Commaundements with many other partes and sentences there be the articles of the Christian faith are all these become Swines flesh an abhomination to the Lorde Let not simple men wonder that ye are bold to proclaime all the Ministers of the Gospell within this land to be the marked seruants of Antichrist when ye dare presume to set your stincking brand of pitch vpon the most holy things of God Ye will héere cry out of iniurie and say that ye estéeme all those parcels of the sacred Canonicall Scriptures in thēselues to be holy and pure What is it then which turneth them into Swines flesh and maketh them an abhomination to the Lord is it because they be bound together and make one booke with the hereticall Collects then take you héede least being in prison and fettred with heretikes ye be turned also into Heretikes If ye say it is our abuse which turneth so holy things into Swines flesh I aunswere that the abuse of holy things is abhominable but the things themselues remaine vndefiled and ye must remember that we deale touching the partes of the booke but abuse is no part thereof When ye say the best part thereof is no other then a péece of Swines flesh it can not be transferred from the partes vnto the abuses If it were graunted vnto ye which yet is to be denied as most fantasticall that all read prayer offred vp vnto God as a sacrifice is Idolatrie neuerthelesse your saying is wicked and blasphemous seeing that the reading is not any part of the booke neither doth it peruert or defile the things themselues which are read Thus your first accusation that we worship the true God after a false manner is with false sclaunder and furious outrage of spéech crying out of Idolatrie blasphemies and abhominations when as ye can shewe no one ground of the holy Religion and worship of God which is not holden sound and entire among vs only ye rippe vp corruptions and spots in Ceremonies orders and circumstances which touch not the foundation but are such as men may erre in and yet be Gods déere children and true woorshippers The Brow Iohn 4. 23. 24. God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and truth The reasons why wee disalow of read prayer in stead of spirituall prayers that though they may be read for meditation as any other mens writs yet is it Idolatry to offer vp to God such manner of sacrifices eyther priuately or in publique assemblyes 1 No apocripha must be brought into the publique assemblyes for there only the liuely voyce of Gods owne graces of the word and the spirit must be heard in the publique assemblyes And more lawfull is it to vse Homelyes then reade prayers vnto God 2 To do any thing in the worship of God without the testimonie of his word is sinne but there is no ground in the Scripture for such manner of praying as hauing no witnesse of the word whether God be pleased with them or no. 3 Admitte that it were a thing indifferent as we call it for the forme of prayer which is but a mockery to call reading in stead of spirituall calling on God to be but altering the forme or chaunging the manner whereas in deede it is changing the worke of the Spirit into an Image or Idoll Yet is it a bondage and breaking of that libertie which Christ hath purchased for vs and therefore most detestable 4 Because true prayer must be of faith and knowledge vttered with the hart and liuely voyce vnto God I am perswaded it is presumptuous ignorance to bring a booke to speake for vs such things as we could not otherwise vtter in Gods sight 5 To worship the true God after another manner then he hath taught is Idolatry but he hath commaunded vs to come vnto him being heauy loden with contrite hearts yea to cry out vnto him in the griefe of our soule yea and as S. Paule sayth The Spirit helpeth our infirmities with groning and sighing that can not be expressed and how dare we then being a dead tree vnto God to stand reading of the same in stead of faithfull petitions quenching the Spirit 6 We must striue in prayer with continuing with feruency without wauering which we can not doo vppon a booke 7 We must call vppon God in prayer at all times as the necessities of the time requireth not making a babling of many things whereof we haue not any present necessitie but stinted seruice cannot be so applyed so it is but a babling of vaine repetitions 8 All the deuises of Antichrist though it were otherwise lawfull not
being necessary ought to be abhorred of true Christians especially such reliques as maintaine superstition but to reade other mens bookes to God in stead of true prayers and stinted seruice were deuised by Antichrist and maintaine superstition and an Idoll Ministerie therefore ought to be disallowed The prayers and worship of such Ministers and people as stand vnder a false gouerment are not acceptable nor haue any promise in Gods sight not only because they aske amisse but because they keepe not his commaundements G. G. Read prayer is one chiefe thing for which yee condemne our worship as Idolatrous and most detestable and for that cause to be annexed vnto this first accusation God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth The Brow THE Scripture doth most briefely and pithily seuer all fantasticall deuises of man from the pure and sincere worship of God prescribed in his Word For seeing all flesh is grasse and the wisedome thereof foolishnes with God it must needes follow that mē earthly minded should please themselues in such pretended religion as agreeth nothing with the diuine nature of God It is needfull then in the worship of God that we thus alwayes consider with our selues we haue to do with God himselfe and not with men who is so farre differing from vs that those things which are most easy and pleasing vnto vs is a wearisomnes and abhominable sacrifice in his sight and although God dwelleth in the heauens in his diuinitie incomprehensible yet haue we a perfect rule whereby we know what is agreeing to his will namely his written word for that we may be heere taught 1. That all hipocrisy in such things as hee hath commaunded be carefully auoyded 2. That wee attempt not to do any thing in his worship whereof we haue not speciall warrant from his word of which sort we take all manner of stinted prayers offered vp as a worshipping of God disagreeing from the nature of God which seeth in secret and so agreeth with our fleshly nature that we can not pray as we ought so we seeke to help our selues with such a broken staffe wearying our selues with our owne deuises without any promise to receyue blessing thereby And therefore where you affirme that a man may pray in spirit and truth with sighes and grones proceeding from faith when prayer is read that is not true for if their sighes came from faith it would minister matter and prayer without a booke yea no doubt a troubled mind is the penne of a readie writer and to worship God in spirit is when the inward faith of the heart bringeth forth true inuocation and it is then in truth when simply it agreeth with Gods word But you would teach men in stead of powring forth their harts to help themselues vpon a booke yea to fetch their cause of sorrowing sighing from an other mans writing euen in the time of their begging at Gods hand We graunt that prayers conceaued without faith ar not acceptable yet may the same be called spirituall because it is the gift of the Spirit though not sanctified in him that so hipocritically mocketh with God But what maketh this to our question of stinted read prayers in Gods worship But say you to make read prayers only to serue for meditation is false doctrine wherein me thinke you offer great iniurie for we affyrmed that it had such vse as other of mēs writings haue But it seemeth you make little cōscience to slander vs and heere you fall into an error your selfe affirming and going about to proue that reading of prayers is not for meditation at all the proofe you bring is that Christ said not to his disciples whē ye meditate say thus Our Father but when you pray say thus c. Where beside that you make no difference between your owne Liturgies the holy word of God which is not of any priuate interpretation Besides this I say you seeme to proue that the Lords prayer all other prayers in the Canonicall Scripture serue not at all for meditation Well you haue hereby made the matter apparant that read prayers vpon a booke are as acceptable as faithfull prayers conceiued by the spirit vttered with vnderstanding You say that prayers read or conceiued being void of faith is but vaine babling we say the same but what of this forsooth you cannot see by what censure it can be called Idolatry If false worship cannot be called Idolatry let the first and second Commaundements be witnesses so that it is not our pennes but the penne of Gods own finger that hath iudged all deuises of man hipocriticall worship of Idolatry And although all the breaches of the first Table were not Idolatry yet you know that to worship our own deuises is Idolatry Is not prayer a speciall part of the first Commaundement and our Sauiour Christ comprehendeth all the foure first Commandements in this that we loue God aboue all the transferring of any part whereof from God must needs be idolatry But say you if we do thus hold withall that no idolator can be saued thē surely are all lost c. This is countrey diuinity if the Salt haue lost his sauour what should be sesoned therwith we hold that no idolator cā be saued without true repentance renouncing their sinne so far as God shall shew it thē yea craue with Dauid for pardon for their hidden secret sins And doo you thinke any man liuing is void of idolatry either inwardly or outwardly so long as we liue or that we can keep any one cōmandement in perfection The Lord therfore giue vs repentance for in some things we sin all Methinks this should not be M. Giffords language to be so ignorant in the principles of religion if you haue waighed our arguments no better then your preface it shall be greeuous to me to make any aunswer To condemne and ouerthrow read prayer yée bring as the ground or foundation of all your matter this sentence God is a spirit and to be worshipped in spirit Iohn 5. This scripture indéed is cléere and strong to cut downe all carnall worship as disagréeing from the nature of God And if any doo maintaine that the very bodily action of reading prayer is the worship of God it may fitly be alledged against them But to apply it in that manner which you doo against red praier is friuolous vnlesse as I say yée could prooue that a man cannot pray by the spirit of God with sighes and grones procéeding from faith when the praier is read vpō the booke or vttered after a prescript forme To this you reply with diuers arguments The first is that if the sighes and grones were of faith it would minister matter of praier without a booke This reason by a connection is drawne from and dependeth wholy vpon the force and effect of faith to minister matter of prayer It is to be framed thus If the prayer with sighes
taught his holy Prophets and seruants to vtter in their prayers and that this is the reason why there be so many prayers prescribed in the booke of the Psalmes and in other bookes of the Scriptures that whatsoeuer thing befall a man wherein he is in the feruent affection of his heart to pray vnto the Lord if he haue in memorie the spéeches which holy men in such distresse vttered it is a great help vnto him if not he may help his memory with a booke To this you reply that touching the vse of sentences and phrases of scripture you could easily consent but that ye perceiue I would not agrée with ye in certaine points the first that this is required only at the hands of Gods children with promise to be heard and accepted I wonder with what eyes ye can sée that I would not agrée with ye in this thing I put ye out of doubt I hold assuredly that none haue promise to be heard and accepted but Gods children though they vse neuer so much the sentences of Scripture in their prayers The first hinderance of your consent is remoued The second is that ye sée I would not agrée with ye that the same spirit doth now teach Gods childrē to pray which taught the Prophets holy men in other ages I professe vnto ye that I hold it a wicked opinion to deny that the same spirit doth nowe teach Gods children to pray which taught the Prophets c. and so the second let is remoued In déede héere you and I dissent that I hold that as our faith is wrought by the word of God so is it nourished and quickned vnto prayer and euery good work by the same and that the holy Ghost hath not only taught matters by the Prophets Apostles but also spéeches and phrases sit for to vtter y e same And you hold that because the same spirit now teacheth to pray which taught the Prophets Apostles that either we may not or we néede not vse their spéeches The third stop remaineth which is that I take it God should be delighted with words and sentences You greatly mistake it and do but cauill for I shewed my minde not that God would regard words sentences but we should be holpen and comforted by them Thus the third and last hinderance is also remoued and now you may consent that in our prayers we may vse the prescript formes sentences and phrases of the word of God To my next wordes where I sayd the reason why there be so many prayers prescribed in the booke of the Psalmes is that whatsoeuer distresse befall a man c. you reply yée thinke I halt greatly that our question being about Idolatrous leiturgies I séeke to shrowd my selfe vnder the vse of Canonicall scripture Indéed this would be a learned question whether idolatrous leiturgies be idolatrie or whether it be not idolatry to pray an idolatrous praier who would looke for so childish a shift you know our question is about the reading of a praier when one prayeth And if it be not idolatry to vse the praiers of the scriptures euen in their prescript forme then all read praier offred to God as a sacrifice is not idolatrie I reason thus it is not idolatry to pray the Lords praier or any other prescript forme deliuered in the Canonicall scriptures therefore it is no idolatry to vse a prescript forme of praier which is framed after the rules of true praier as to aske of God alone through the onely mediation of his sonne and for no matters but such as he hath promised to giue Yée say it is not true doctrine that those Psalmes and Scriptures were written that we should vse in our praiers the words there set downe Your reason is because there be other vses I doo confesse there be other vses but that might yet be a speciall reason why there be so many praiers prescribed Then yée say yée do not disalow the speaking according to the word of God but that we might not affect so much the phrases of spéech as the true féeling of our wants He that hath not the féeling of his wants in praier but affecteth phrases is but an hypocrite But ye are in a vaine opinion if ye thinke the vse of the phrases and sentences of scripture being fitly applied is any hinderance either to the féeling or opening our wants because where skill or memorie faileth I would haue them vse the helpe of a booke I am you feare papistically affected vnto words and sentences I haue already shewed that this is not to affect the words and sentences but the instruction the support and quickning which our faith receiueth by those words sentences And this doctrine is not as you charge it disagréeing from the counsell of the Holy ghost which willeth vs to continue in praier to striue in praier nor contrarie to Dauid which said O my soule c nor to Paul who teacheth that the spirit helpeth our infirmities and maketh request for vs. But your doctrine which saith we must continue in prayer therfore we may not vse such helps the spirit dooth helpe our infirmities and maketh request for vs therefore we may not be holpen by the praiers or by the words of the holy scripture is phantasticall for the Holy ghost doth helpe our infirmities and teach vs to pray by the written word You thinke it were hypocriticall worshipping of God to take helpe by a booke when we know not what to aske If a man know not what to aske he shall be able to vnderstand little by the booke But a man may know what he should aske and yet not so well able to expresse the same without helpe both for memory and feruencie Stinted praiers yée say are as Cushions for idle papists hypocrites and Atheists I graunt that such people doo abuse all the best things shall the godly therefore be debarred from the vse I doo teach that whether a man of himselfe pray without a booke or vpon a booke if he pray not in spirit with faith he dooth but offer the sacrifice of fooles his praier is abhominable Therfore it is but your lauish spéech when ye say I giue libertie to the lame sacrifices on the contrary if a man pray in faith vpon a booke or without a booke it is true praier and such as God heareth God will haue no strange fire put vpon his Altar say you I graunt it is so but praiers framed by the rules of scripture and offered vp in faith are not strange fire Yée wish all men to take héed of this craftie doctrine and I wish all men not to be to hastie in receiuing new phantasticall opinions Your answer vnto those two Psalmes which I noted were giuen as a prescript forme of praier to be vsed of the Church and the forme of blessing prescribed to the Préests to blesse the people withall Num. 6 is more then friuolous For touching the first which is 92 appointed for the