without fear shame and sorrow that have cast out persecuted imprisoned or otherwise afflicted the true Preachers and Servants of God who did choose to obey God rather than men And to observe his Divine Will rather than the Traditions of men Consider what I say and the Lord give thee you understanding in all things 2 Tim. 2.7 I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way Psalm 119.128 With these fourteen Considerations Vavasor Powel begins his Invectives against Liturgies set-Forms of Prayer and Common-Prayer Books c. which was Printed at London for Livewell Chapman Anno 1661 and was deliver'd to me to peruse and to give my judgment thereof the fore-mention'd part whereof I have consider'd and according to promise do return some of my thoughts upon these considerations in the following words To the Opposers Contemners and Neglecters of Common-Prayer and to the Disputers and Writers against Common-Prayer I Would desire you all in the Name and Fear of the All-seeing All-mighty and All-judging God to set these following Propositions Conclusions c. to your Hearts and your Hearts to them being evidently enough though secretly closed and couched in the wombs of the fore-mentioned Considerations But before I come to open the Contents of the Considerations which I presume are framed especially for a Scare-crow to the Worshippers and Servers of God in the Way of our Church of England by the Book of Common-Prayer and by a Composed Form or Forms of Prayer by the Ministers before their Sermons I desire all that admire the reasons laid down against this kind of Worship to consider that the Author doth not intend only the Condemnation of our Common-Prayers but of any Common-Prayer whatever hath been Composed or shall be for he writes to the Disputers and Writers for Common-Prayer and to the Composers Imposers c. of Common-Praver which terms are indefinite and are equipollent in Logic to Universality so that the Author is against all Common-Prayer whatever have been or shall be Composed or Imposed c. so that you may see by the Immediate succeeding discourse there is no less then a condemnation by the Author of David of St. Paul of all the ancient and modern Churches and Divines yea and of Jesus Christ himself that came into the World to seek and to save that was lost And now to shew ye the blindness of this Guide Disputing and Writing against Common-Prayer and the danger of them that follow him and such as are of his erroneous Judgment First I desire ye to search the Scriptures as concerning this matter where we find Records that Common-Prayers and set-Forms have been Composed Imposed and Used by them that were sanctified yea by them that had Authority from Heaven to instruct and guide men in the Worship and Service of God In the 1 Chron. 16. vers 7. Then on that day David delivered first this Psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren if ye look upon what follows ye have the form of the Thanksgiving If ye look before that 7th Verse ye shall see the occasion thereof and the Quire appointed to sing it unto the Lord in the Ears of the Congregation But come we to look into the Gospel and that in the 11th of St. Luke at Verse the first our Saviour's Disciples desired him to teach them to pray as John also taught his Disciples hereupon Christ composed a Prayer the Form being Our Father which art in Heaven c. yea and imposed it upon them to be used by them when ye pray say Our Father which art in Heaven c. Now this Prayer was and is Common-Prayer 't is a Prayer belongs to every one of Christ's Disciples because it sutes all their occasions and 't is commanded That they use it as oft as they pray When ye pray say Our Father c. but yet not so injoined that they should use no other when they pray but that as good Expositors give the meaning as is the practice of the best Reformed Churches and men of the soundest judgments they should either at the beginning or ending or in some part of their Devotions send up the desires of their hearts to God in that form of Prayer And if upon these Considerations that Prayer be not Common or a set-Form of Prayer I know not what is meant by the notions of Common or set-Form of Prayer King Charles the First of most blessed memory in his Contemplations upon the Ordinance against the common-prayer-Common-Prayer-Book saith of this our Lord's Prayer that it is the warrant and original pattern of set-Liturgies in the Christian Church Further considering Christ's Disciples request there 't is more then probable that John the Baptist had Composed a set-Form of Prayer to be used by his Disciples in their Devotions and Service of God One Precedent more I shall mind ye of for justification for Composing and Using set-Forms of Prayer in the Churches of Christ which I bring from the practice of St. Paul in the beginning of his Epistles to the several Churches of Christ St. Paul knowing as he saith in the 1 Corinth Chap. 3. Verse 6 7. That 't is not of his planting nor of Apollo's watering by the word alone that Grace is begotten or increased in men but that 't is by God's blessing the word thereto doubtless hereupon it was that he ever began his Epistles with prayer to God for spiritual blessings to be to them through the word he sent them And if ye peruse the beginning of his Epistles he being to bring down the same blessings upon the several Churches from God by his Epistles and Prayer to God he useth ever the same set-Form of Praâ—er Rom. 1. Vers 7. and Ephes 1. Vers 2. his Prayer for them is in the same form of words Gâ—ace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ See St. Paul having the same mercies of Grace and Peace to seek at God's hand to be power'd down upon those Churches by his Epistles to them his heart ascends up in desire to God for their spiritual benefit thereby in the same words Nay and 't is not a Common-Prayer or Liturgy for himself only to pray by but for others also for himself and Sosthenes 1 Corinth Vers 2. for himself and Timothy 2 Corin. Chap. 1. Vers 2. and Philip. Chap. 1. Vers 1 2. and Colos Chap. 1. Vers 1 2. Yea 't is a set-Form for himself Silvanus and Timotheus Epist 1. Thessal 1. Vers 1 and 2. Thessal Chap. 1. Vers 1 2. Yea further 'T is a set-Form for himself and the Brethren with him at Rome praying to God through the means of that Epistle for the re-establishing the Galatians in the Gospel from which they were fallen 't is the Prayer for them all Grace be to ye and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ Galat. Chap. 1. Vers 1 2 3. So that the
Pretensions in appointing a Committee of Bishops for that purpose where and when Bishop Reynolds had the Chair So that indeed all that can be said as to the Book in the intention of any of the Composers thereof as concerning net or snare in respect to the Penalties made thereby to be inflicted upon the Nonconformists to it they were only made against perverse obstinate and wilful opposers of the same and so are to be clear'd from the charge of any evil intention against tender Consciences To the 11th Consideration Whether any person can produce any such Liturgy or Form of Prayer from the beginning of the World either among Jews or Gentiles c. As to the justification of Liturgies and set Forms of Prayer I have spoken at large in the beginning of this Fractate and shall therefore answer the Author's Question in this Consideration no otherwise than as our Saviour answer'd the Question put to him in the Temple Mark 11. vers 29 30. And that is by giving a Question to him and his followers to answer and it is this Whether any persons can produce any such long tautological extempory nonsensical Prayers or any such soul-destroying damning Doctrins or Sermons since the beginning of the World either among the Jews or Gentiles or any Churches of Christ till this Rebellion in Scotland and England as theirs were Let any of them answer me this Question and I will answer further to this 11th Consideration To the 12th Consideration Whether if there were no other reason but that this Book hath been so much idolizeâ— by the generality of men and offensive tâ— so many Christians it should not be done with as the brazen Serpent was by Hezekiah 2 Kings 18. vers 4. The opinion of the Author may be set forth in this Proposition The generality of men have much Idolized the Book of Common-Prayer and 't is a just offence to many Christians also Here the Author chargeth first a great evil to have been committed by most men in praying unto God and in worshipping of him in thaâ— Form of the Common-Prayer Book And that is that they have Idolized it Now to Idolize a Creature or Thing is taken several ways out of mentioning two of them is first to esteem it as their God or Saviour In this respect it may be the Author means the generality of men Idolized the Service-Book To which I answer I am confident there 's not a man will set hiâ— heart to that part of the Consideration for who can think men so ignorant as to esteem that their God or Christ to save them which is that Form whereby they go to God and Christ their Redeemer and Mediator for forgiveness of sins and salvation But then secondly To idolize any thing is inordinately to set the heart upon it trusting in it more than in God and above him in this respect Covetousness is called Idolatry Colos 3. vers 5. Thus Mr. Wilson in his Christian Dictionary But thirdly We commonly say men idolize a thing when they have a greater respect to and esteem of a thing than it deserves In this respect I presume the Author means most men did idolize the Service-Book which he thinks sufficiently manifested by their so constant and frequent Worshipping and Invocating of God thereby To which I answer Considering the Counsel or rather the Command of God as to the frequent performance of this Duty of Prayer and Thanksgiving by St. Paul 1 Thess 5. ver 17 18. where he bids us Pray without ceasing and in every thing give thanks because 't is the will of God in Christ Jesus Considering that I say King Charles the first of most blessed memory in his Observations upon the Ordinance against the Common Prayer Book doth fully make void the Author's fore-mentioned Charge and Reason alledged for defence of it in the Eighth and Ninth Paragraphs The King's words I could never see any reason why any Christian should abhor or be forbidden to use the same Form of Prayer since he prays to the same God believes in the same Saviour professeth the same truths reads the same Scriptures hath the same Duties upon him and feels the same daily wants for the most part both inward and outward which are common to the whole Church Sure we may as well before hand know whâ—â— we pray as to whom we pray and in what words as to what sense when we desire the same things what hinders we may not use the same words our appetite and digestion too may be good when we use as we pray for our daily bread Now considering all this where is any cause for taking away this Book of Common-Prayer from the people as the brazen Serpent from them of Israel and Judah But 't is no marvel that the Author and his Followers charge men with Idolizing this Book in offering in Publick unto God their Prayers and Thanksgivings thereby according to the Order and Authority of the Church when I have heard them charge men with idolizing the Lord's Prayer using it but according to the Command of Jesus Christ himself that is in the several Services and Prayers of the Church fitted and appointed to be used upon several occasions before Mattens or Even song be over whereof by especial command of Christ the Lord's Prayer is to be part Luke 11. vers 2. When I consider the impudent Charge I my self heard from one of the Author 's chief fellow Chaplains against some of the Petitions of the Lord's Prayer in condemning one of them in the Pulpit unlawful as to the matter and another not fit to be used by most Hugh Peters at Norwich said of that Petition thy will be done c. What said he pray for an impossible thing and condemning another Petition said See what the Petitions are of that you call the Lord's Prayer as also when I consider the total neglect of our Lord's Prayer in these mens Devotions drawn up by Christ for a Form of Prayer as well as for an help to compose our own Prayers by I say when I consider these things then what David said seeing the transgressions of the wicked of his heart I say of mine namely thus I have said in my heart that they say in their hearts though not in right down words that Christ in Composing and Commanding that Prayer to be said as oft as men pray is accessary to a very great and general guiltiness of Idolatry in this last respect at least Or if they should not own this yet I am sure the total neglect of using it in their Devotions prove plainly they look upon it as a Prayer unworthy to be used which is no less than in their hearts to blaspheme the Saviour of the World But then further he saith the Book was offensive to many Christians He doth not say it was offensive to the Brethren or the weak Brethren as is usually the Phrase in the Scriptures in such cases as this here of the Author And
summ of this alledged out of St. Paul's practice to justifie set-Forms of Prayer whose Desire and Prayer to God for Israel was That they might be saved as Romans the 10th Vers 1. amounts to this That St. Paul Sosthenes Silvanus Timotheus and the brethren with Paul at Rome did put up their Prayers to God for his bestowing spiritual blessings upon the several Churches of Christ through the word of â—â—ace did put them up I say in a Common-Prayer in a set-composed or as the Separatists call it stinted Form of Prayer And considering that the afore-mentioned Christians and Saints continued so long in a Common set-Form of Prayer for those Churches I cannot think but the pride ignorance heady and high-minded Spirits of these men had they lived in days together would have charged St. Paul and the rest that joined with him in Devotion for the Churches with what they cast upon the painful orthodoxal conformable Clergy of our Church in the seventh Consideration where they call them Ignorant Scandalous Lazy and Formal Priests and Ministers to the deceiving and utter undoing of precious souls and should they have had but such Revenues Salaries Tithes and Gleabs gone along with their Labours as our reverend Bishops Deans and Chapters and some of our Clergy had with theirs their Conformity and Uniformity in Prayer especially it being so short how holy soever their lives had been was crime enough for their Houses to have been Plunder'd their Estates Sequestred and their Persons Imprisoned And now to leave off the further confirmation of this unjustly condemned Practice of Devotion by the use of set-Forms of Prayer in the times of the Old and New Testaments and in the times of the Antient Churches before Popery and in the days of the Reformed Churches fallen from the Pope I shall only commend to your consideration the Prayer of St. Chrysostom wherewith we even close our dayly Devotions as in all probability he and the people he was over did conclude their Worship of God in their set-Forms of Prayer Almighty God who hast given us Grace at this time with one accord c. I confess 't is not the Forms of Prayer be they never so Admirable as to Expressions without the fervent desires of the Heart be the man never so righteous that utters them that do avail ought with God but when a man from the ground of the heart ascends up to God in Forms be they never so antient short or Common provided they be lawful as to the Matter and laudable as to the manner of the Expression supplicating praying interceding and giving of thanks then they become at the Throne of Grace such as St. John in the 5th of the Revelations Vers 8. saw in Heaven when the 24 Elders fell down before the Lamb namely barps and golden vials full of odours even the prayer of Saints And hereupon was the exellency of David's Prayer of which he speaks Psalm 11â— Vers 58. I made my petition with my whole heart There are recorded in the Scripture divers Forms of Prayers and Thanksgivings Composed by David and other devout Worshippers of God questionless for the use of themselves and others in the frequent Commemorations of God's Mercies to them and for their Supplications to be made unto God their wants being again the same or alike as formerly But now that which made these Forms of Prayer effectual David mentions in the same place where he saith he did it with his whole heart All the powers and faculties of his Soul were now acting in their several places so as he might prevail with God to supply his wants And a devout soul setting dilligently to this as St. Peter and the rest of the Twelve resolved to do Acts the 6th Vers 4. namely give themselves much to prayer as David did namely petition the Lord with his whole heart let it be in a set-Form that that praying soul goes to God that soul cannot want success long For if the Spirit it self as St. Paul speaks Romans the 8th Vers 26. be not yet helping his Infirmities it will not be long before he be with him making Intercessions for him i. e. working in him gronings that cannot be uttered nor long unanswered by his God if the things petitioned may be consistant with God's glory and the petitioners true good and what hinders that this soul praying to or praising God in a Form as before limited may not be accepted of God seeing God hath his whole demand of him in a way not inhibited by him as is evident Prov. 23. Vers 26. My son give me thy heart So that what St. James said of faith without works and of faith with works may be said of Common or set-Forms of Prayer without the heart going up to God with them and with the heart going up to God in or by them In the 17 Verse of the second Chapter he saith that faith if it hath not works is dead being alone and in Verse the 26th as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also faith with out works is like the body without the spirit it acts nothing to the good thereof Even so the best Forms of Common-Prayer if there be wanting in the man that utters or uses them a spirit or heart of supplication they prevail nothing with God for him they may be Vials but they are without Odours or Incense and so no sweet savour to God But then in the 22 Vers the Apostle that faith by works was made perfect and in the 23 Vers that by virtue thereof faith was imputed to Abraham for righteousness and he was called the friend of God Even so Common Forms for Prayer by fervent earnest supplicating hearts going to God in them the Common Prayers but as dead in themselves are thereby made perfect yea lively and the praying man thereby is owned of God and dealt by as his friend I shall now end my reasoning for the lawful and justifiable use of Common Forms of Prayer that suit our wants our hearts being in a praying condition with the practice of our Saviour in his bitter Agonies Matth. 26. Vers 39 and 42. there is mention of Christ's praying to the father for the Cup to pass from him and having no grant and resolving to seek God further for it in the 44 Vers 't is said he went away again and prayed the third time saving the same words And lastly To prevail with ye to come off from the dangerous Frrour ye are in as concerning the present I shall mind ye with the Reasons King Charles the First of most blessed memory hath laid down for the present purpose in his Observations upon the Ordinance against the Book of common-Common-Prayer I will write down some Paragraphs in that Tractate that they that have not his Book may read the Judgment of that blessed Martyr concerning the matter now in hand In the sixth Paragraph his Words are these For the manner of using set
and prescribed Forms there is no doubt that wholsome words being known and fitted to mens understandings are soonest received into their hearts and aptest to excite and carry along with them judicious and fervent affections In the eighth Paragraph thus he writes I could never fee any reason why any Christian should abhor or be forbidden to use the same Forms of Prayer since he prays to the same God believes in the same Saviour professeth the same Truth reads the same Scriptures hath the same Duties upon him and feels the same dayly wants for the most part both inward and outward which are common to the whole Church In the ninth Paragraph he goes on thus Sure we may as well before hand know what we pray as to whom we pray and in what words as to what sense when we desire the same things what hinders we may not use the same words our appetite and digestion too may be good when we use as we pray for our dayly bread I will write down here the thirteenth Paragraph which though it justifies Common Forms of Prayer yet condemns not but rather approves what our Adversary so magnifies as to down with set-Forms of Prayer provided it be done with a religious and prudential care His words follow Though I am not against modest discreet and humble use of Ministers Gifts in publick the better to fit and excite their own and the peoples affections to the present occasions yet I know no necessity why private and single abilities should quite justle out and deprive the Church of the joynt Abilities and concurrent Gifts of many learned and godly men such as the Composers of the Service-Book were who may in all reason be thought to have more Gifts and Graces inabling them to Compose with serious deliberations and concurrent advice such Forms of Prayers as may best fit the Churches common wants inform the hearers understandings and stir up that fiduciary and fervent application of their Spirits wherein consists the very life and soul of Prayer then any private man by his solitary abilities can be presumed to have with what they are many times even there where they make a great noise and shew the affectations emptiness impertinencies rudeness confusions flatness obscurity vain and ridiculous repetitions the sensless and oft-times blasphemous Expressions all these burthen'd with a most tedious and intolerable length do sufficiently convince all men but those who glory in that pharisaick way And the said King Charles having in the 15th Paragraph shewed the necessity of the use of Forms of publick Composure in the performance of Sacramental Administrations and the like in the 16th Paragraph his words are as follow A serious sense of which Inconvenience in the Church inavoidably following every mans several manner of Officiating no doubt first occasioned the Wisdom and Piety of the Antient Churches to remedy those Mischiefs by the use of constant Liturgies of Common Composure And now for a close at present as to my Meditations upon the present subject of Common-Prayer what can solidly or commendably be said against the Use of Set and Composed Forms of Prayer to put up to God the servent desires of our hearts by If the said Forms be lawful laudable and convenient as to the Matter and Expressions suiting together with our wants seeing we have such a cloud of Authentick Authors for it as David Jesus Christ our Saviour St. Paul John the Baptist besides the Fathers the Antient Churches the devout and pious Modern Divines yea and I might have recounted even all late Reformed Churches till these late upstart anti-Christian heady high-minded late Factions arose disturbing the Unity and blessed Peace of our and other true Churches of Christ denying the Lord that bought them and without Repentance bringing upon themselves and their Proselytes swift destruction And now I shall end my Meditations as to what preceded the Author's proposed fourteen Considerations following now to be considered of in the very Words of the before quoted King Charles of Blessed Memory with which he ends his Observations upon the said Ordinance against the Book of Common-Prayer I wish saith he their Repentance may be their only Punishment that seeing the mischeif the disuse of publick Liturgies hath already produced they may restore that Credit Use and Reverence to them which by the Antient Churches were given to Set Forms of sound and wholesome Words And now having shewed the groundless Oppositions of the Author to Common and Set Forms of Prayer given me to peruse and to give my opinion concerning the aforesaid subject and having also from the Sacred Scriptures and otherwise justified the Use and manifested the Aptness of Common-Prayers for our Devotions Worship and Service to be put up and performed to God I now come to speak to the Fourteen Considerations which the Author proposeth to the World as unanswerable Evidences in his judgement to make the aforesaid kind of Worship and Service though never so Conscientiously Sincerely and Heartity performed to be damnable because abominable to God and not required of us by him as is to be collected out of his four first Considerations I shall therefore now spend a little time about the said Considerations and look into the Bowels of them they being in the whole like the great Horse framed at the Seige of Troy in the Body whereof were inclosed men enough to deliver up the City to Destruction For in this Fabrick and Womb of these Considerations are inclosed conclusions and opinions enough to deliver up treacherously the City of God the Souls Redeemed by Christ's Blood to Hell and its Assistants the Beseigers thereof to Eternal Destruction if impenitently followed and persevered therein I will therefore open the Door of this Monster composed by deceitful Workers having transformed themselves in the Apostle's sence into the Ministers of Christ And letting out the deadly Enemies therein the false conclusions shall slay them with the two edged Sword of God's Word and known Truth That they make no further devastation hereabout upon them for whom Christ dyed In he Considerations the Author falls from the way he begâ—n in as to the quantity of a proposition namely the universality of his condemnation of Common-Prayer in his Indefinite term for now he endeavours especially to keep the Common-Prayer Book of our Church of England from a glorious Resurrection which had been Crucified Dead and Buried so long time by the long Parliament and their Armies For all his Magazine is spent in killing again what they thought they had killed before for ever namely the Common-Prayer Book In the four first Considerations are contained four positive Conclusions which the Author endeavours to make good by Scripture and thereby to overthrow the Common-Prayer Book of our Church for which purpose even the whole part of the following Pamphlet is spent Look upon the first Consideration beginning thus How Jealous the Lord of Heaven and Earth is of his own Worship and of all the parts