with them And if such general accusations may serve in a matter of publick and common fact there is no way for the justification of the Innocent And that it is no such common Guilt will seem more propable to them that consider that such conceived Prayers both prepared and extemporate have been ordinarily used in the Pulpits in England and Scotland before our dayes till now and there hath been power enough in the Bishops and others before the Wars to punish those that speak ridiculously seditiously impiously or blasphemously And yet so few are the instances even where jealousie was most busie of Ministers punished or once accused of any such fault in Prayer as that we find it not easie to remember any considerable number of them there being great numbers punished for not reading the Book for playing on the Lord's dayes or for Preaching too oft and such like for one that was ever questioned for such kind of praying And the former shewed that it was not for want of will to be severe that they spared them as to the later And if it be but few that are guilty of any intolerable faults of that nature in their Prayers we hope you will not go on to believe that the mischiefs that come by the failings of those few are far greater than the benefit of conceived Prayer by all others We presume not to make our experiences the measure of yours or other mens you may tell us what doth most good or hurt to your selves and those that have so communicated their experiences to you But we also may speak our own and others that have discovered them to us and we must seriously profess that we have found far more benefit to our selves and to our Congregations as far as our Conference and Converse with them and our observation of the effects alloweth us to discern by conceived Prayers than by the Book of Common Prayer we find that the benefit of conceived Prayers is to keep the mind in serious imployment and to awaken the affections and make us fervent and importunate And the inconvenience is that some weak men are apt as in Preaching and Conference so in Prayer to shew their weakness by some unapt expressions or disorder which is an evil no way to be compared with the fore-mentioned good considering that it is but in the weak and that if that weakness be so great as to require it Forms might be imposed on those few without imposing them on all for ther sakes as we force not all to use spectacles or Crutches because some are pur-blind or lame and considering that God heareth not Prayers for the Rhetorick and handsome Cadencies and neatness of expressions but will bear more with some incuriosity of words which yet we plead not for than with an hypocritical formal heartless lip-service for he knoweth the meaning of the Spirit even in the groans which are not uttered in words And for the Common Prayer our observation telleth us that though some can use it judiciously seriously and we doubt not profitably yet as to the most of the vulgar it causeth a relaxing of their attention and intention and a lazy taking up with a Corps or image of devotion even the service of the lips while the heart is little sensible of what is said And had we not known it we should have thought it incredible how utterly ignorant abundance are of the sense of the words which they hear and repeat themselves from day to day even about Christ himself and the essentials of Christianity It is wonderful to us to observe that rational Creatures can so commonly separate the words from all the sense and Life So great a help or hinderance even to the understanding is the awakening or not awakening of the affections about the things of God And we have already shewed you many unfit expressions in the Common Prayer Book especially in the Epistles and Gospels through the faultiness of your Translation as Eph. 3. 15. Father of all that is called Father in Heaven and Earth and that Christ was found in his apparel as a man that Mount Sinai is Agar in Arabia and bordereth upon the City now called Jerusalem Gal. 4. 25. This is the sixth Month which is barren Luke 1. And when men be drunk Joh. 2. with many such like which are parts of your publick Worship and would you have us hence conclude that the mischiefs of such expressions are greater than all the benefits of that Worship And yet there is this difference in the Cases that weak and rash Ministers were but here and there one but the Common Prayer is the Service of every Church and every day Had we heard any in extemporary Prayers use such unmeet expressions we should have thought him worthy of sharp reprehension yea though he had been of the younger or weaker sort Divers other unfit expressions are mentioned in the exceptions of the late Arch-Bishop of York and Primate of Ireland and others before spoken of and there is much in the prejudice or diseased curiosity of some Hearers to make words seem idle impertinent or ridiculous which are not so and which perhaps they understand not some thought so of the inserting in the late Prayer Book the private opinion of the souls of the departed praying for us and our praying for the benefit of their Prayers As for the Security which you call for though as is shewed you have given us none at all against such errors in your Forms yet we have before shewed you that you have as much as among imperfect men can be expected The same that you have that Physitians shall not murder men and that Lawyers and Judges shall not undo men and that your Pilot shall not cast away the Ship you have the power in your hands of taking or refusing as they please or displease you and of judging them by a known Law for their proved miscarriages according to the quality of them and what would you have more Sect. 5. To prevent which mischiefs the former Ages knew no better way than to forbid any Prayers in publick but such as were prescribed by publick Authority Con. Carthag Can. 106. Milen Can. 12. Repl. To what you alledge out of two Councils we answer 1. The acts of more venerable Councils are not now at all observed as Nice 1. Can. ult c. nor many of these same which you Cite 2. The Scripture and the constant practice of the more antient Church allowed what they forbid 3. Even these Canons shew that then the Churches thought not our Lyturgy to be necessary to their Concord nor indeed had then any such form imposed on all or many Churches to that end for the Can. of Coun. Carthag we suppose you meant Coun. 3. Can. 23. mentioneth Prayers even at the Altar and alloweth any man to describe and use his own Prayers so he but first cum instructioribus Fratribus eas conferre take advice about them with the
to make Profession of known or suspected falshood as to put in practise unlawful or suspected actions 2. Further we humbly desire that it may be seriously considered that as our first Reformers out of their great wisdome did at that time so compose the Liturgy as to win upon the Papists and to draw them into their Church-Communion by varying as little as they well could from the Romish forms before in use so whether in the present constitution state of things amongst us wee should not according to the same Rule of Prudence and Charity have our Liturgy so composed as to gain upon the judgements and affection of all those who in the substantials of the Protestant Religion are of the same perswasions with our selves Inasmuch as a more firm union and consent of all such as well in Worship as in Doctrine would greatly strengthen the Protestant interest against all those dangers and temptations which our intestine Divisions and Animosities do expose us unto from the common Adversary 3. That the Repetitions and Responsals of the Clerk and People and the alternate reading of the Psalms and Hymns which cause a confused murmure in the Congregation whereby what is read is less intelligible and therefore unedifying may be omitted The Minister being appointed for the people in all publick services appertaining unto God and the Holy Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament intimating the peoples part in publick prayer to be only with silence and reverence to attend thereunto and to declare their consent in the cloze by saying Amen 4. That in regard the Letany though otherwise containing in it many holy petitions is so framed that the petitions for a great part are uttered only by the people which wee think not to be so consonant to Scripture which makes the Minister the mouth of the people to God in prayer the particulars thereof may be composed into one solemn prayer to be offered by the Minister unto God for the people 5. That there be nothing in the Liturgy which may seem to countenance the Observation of Lent as a Religious Fast the example of Christs fasting forty daies and nights being no more imitable nor intended for the imitation of a Christian than any other of his miraculous works were or than Moses his forty daies fast was for the Jews And the Act of Parliament 5. Eliz. forbidding abstinence from flesh to bee observed upon any other than a politick consideration and punishing all those who by preaching teaching writing or open speeches shall notifie that the forbearing of flesh is of any necessity for the saving of the soul or that it is the service of God otherwise than as other politick Laws are 6. That the Religious Observation of Saints-daies appointed to be kept as Holy-daies and the Vigils thereof without any foundation as wee conceive in Scripture may be omitted That if any be retained they may be called Festivals and not Holy-Daies nor made equal with the Lords-day nor have any peculiar service appointed for them nor the people bee upon such daies forced wholly to abstain from work And that the names of all others now inserted in the Calender which are not in the first and second books of Edward the sixth may be left out 7. That the gift of Prayer being one special Qualification for the work of the Ministry bestowed by Christ in order to the Edification of his Church and to bee exercised for the profit and benefit thereof according to its various and emergent necessity It is desired that there may bee no such imposition of the Liturgy as that the exercise of that gift bee thereby totally excluded in any part of publick worship And further considering the great age of some Ministers and infirmities of others and the variety of several services oft-times concurring upon the same day whereby it may bee inexpedient to require every Minister at all times to read the whole It may bee left to the discretion of the Minister to omit part of it as occasion shall require which liberty wee finde to bee allowed even in the first Common prayer-Prayer-Book of Edward 6. 8. That in regard of the many defects which have been observed in that version of the Scriptures which is used throughout the Liturgy manifold instances whereof may bee produâ—ed as in the Epistle for the first Sunday after Epiphany taken out of Romans 12. 1. Bee yee changed in your shape And the Epistle for the Sunday next before Easter taken out of Philippians 2. 5. Found in his Apparel as a man as also the Epistle for the fourth Sunday in Lent taken out of the fourth of the Galathians Mount Sinai is Agar in Arabia and bordereth upon the City which is now called Jerusalem The Epistle for St. Matthews day taken out of the second Epistle of Corinth and the 4th Wee go not out of kind The Gospel for the second Sunday after Epiphany taken out of the second of John When men bee drunk The Gospel for the third Sunday in Lent taken out of the 11th of Luke One house doth fall upon another The Gospel for the Annunciation taken out of the first of Luke This is the sixth month which was called barren and many other places wee therefore desire instead thereof the New Translation allowed by Authority may alone bee used 9. That inasmuch as the holy Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation to furnish us thorougly unto all good works and contain in them all things necessary either in Doctrine to be beleeved or in Duty to bee practised whereas divers chapters of the Apocryphal Books appointed to bee read are charged to bee in both respects of dubious and uncertain credit It is therefore desired that nothing bee read in the Church for Lessons but the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament 10. That the Minister bee not required to rehearse any part of the Liturgy at the Communion-Table save only those parts which properly belong to the Lords Supper and that at such times only when the said holy Supper is administred 11. That as the word Minister and not Priest or Curate is used in the absolution and in divers other places it may throughout the whole Book bee so used instead of those two words and that instead of the word Sunday the word Lords-Day may bee every where used 12. Because singing of Psalms is a considerable part of publick worship wee desire that the Version set forth and allowed to bee sung in Churches may bee amended or that wee may have leave to make use of a purer Version 13. That all obsolete words in the Common-Prayer and such whose use is changed from their first significancy as Aread used in the Gospel for the Monday and Wednesday before Easter Then opened hee their wits used in the Gospel for Easter Tuesday c. may bee altered unto other words generally received and better understood 14. That no portions of the Old Testament or of the Acts of the
the Milâ—ennium or of Angels corporeity was generally received as an Opinion it will not warrant you to receive either of them as a certain necessary truth If you finde that the general Councils forbad Kneeling in any Adoration on the Lords days but without force against Dissenters you may not go deny the Sacrament to all that kneel nor yet forbid them to keel in praying So if you finde some little parcels of our Liturgie or some of our Ceremonies used as things indifferent left to choice forced upon none but one Church differing from another in such usages or observances this will not warrant you to use the same things as necessary to order unity or peace and to be forced upon all use them no otherwise then the Churches used them We heartily desire that according to this Proposal great care may be taken to suppress those private Conceptions of Prayers before and after Sermon lest private Opinions be made the matter of Prayer in Publick as hath and will be if private persons take liberty to make Publick Prayers The desire of your hearts is the grief of our hearts the Conceptions of Prayer by a publick person according to a publick rule for a publick use are not to be rejected as private Conceptions We had hoped you had designed no such innovation as this in the Church VVhen we have heard any say that it would come to this and that you designed the suppression of the free Prayers of Ministers in the Pulpit suited to the variety of the subjects and occasions we have rebuked them as uncharitable in passing so heavy a censure on you And what would have been said of us a year ago if we should have said that this was in your hearts Nothing will more alienate the hearts of many holy prudent persons from the Common-Prayer then to perceive that it is framed and used as an Instrument to shut out all other Prayers as the Ministers private Conceptions Such an end and designe will make it under the notion of a means another thing then else it would be and afford men such an Argument against it as we desire them not to have but we hope you speak not the publick sense As the Apostles desired as aforesaid that all would speak the same things without giving them that ever was proved a Form of words to speak them in so might we propose to you that uncertain opinions be made no part of our Liturgie without putting all their words into their mouthes in which their desires must be altered Your hearty desire and the reason of it makes not onely against extemporary Prayer but all prepared or written Forms or Liturgies that were indited onely by one man and have not the consent antecedently of others And do you think this was the course of the Primitive times Basil thus used his private Conceptions at Câ—sarea and Greg. Thaumaturgus before him at Neocesarea and all Pastors in Justin Martyrs and Tertullians days And how injurious is it to the Publick Officers of Christ the Bishops and Pastors of the Churches to be called private men who are publick persons in the Church if they be not Every single person is not a private person else Kings and Judges would be so And have you not better means to shut out private opinions then the forbidding Ministers praying in the Pulpit according to the variety of subjects and occasions You have first the Examination of persons to be ordained and may see that they be able to speak sense and fit to manage their proper works with judgement and discretion before you ordain them And some confidence may be put in a man in his proper calling and work to which he is admitted with so great care as we hope or desire you will admit them If you are necessitated to admit some few that are injudicious or unmeet we beseech you not onely to restore the many hundred worthy men laid by to a capacity but that you will not so dishonour the whole Church as to suppose all such and to use all as such but restrain those that deserve restraint and not all others for their sakes And next you have a Publick Rule the holy Scripture for these men to pray by And if any of them be intolerably guilty of weaknesses or rashness or other miscarriages the words being spoken in publick you have witnesses enow and sure there is power enough in Magistrates and Bishops to punish them and if they prove incorrigible to cast them out In all other Professions these means are thought sufficient to regulate the Professors His Majesty thinks it enough to regulate his Judges that he may chuse able men and fit to be trusted in their proper work and that they are respoâ—sible for all their male-administrations without prescribing them Forms beyond which they may not speak any thing in their Charge Physitians being first tryed and responsible for their doings are constantly trusted with the lives of high and low without tying them to give no counsel or medicine but by the prescript of a Book or determination of a Colledge And it is so undeniable that your reason makes more against Preaching and for onely reading Homilies as that we must like it the worse if not fear what will become of Preaching also For 1. It is known that in Preaching a man hath far greater opportunity and liberty to vent a false or private opinion then in Prayer 2. It is known de eventu that it is much more ordinary And if you say That he speaks not the words of the Church but his own nor unto God but man and therefore it is less matter We answer It is as considerable if not much more from whom he speaks then to whom he speaks as the Mâ—nister of Christ in his stead and name 2 Cor. 3. 19 20. And it is as a higher so a more reverend thing to speak in Gods Name to the people then in the peoples name to God and to speak that which we call Gods Word or Truth or Message then that which we call but our own desire we make a God a lyar or corrupt in his words if we speak a falshood in his Name we make but our selves lyars if we speak a falshood to him in our names the former therefore is the more heynous and dreadful abuse and more to be avoided or if but equally it shews the tendeâ—cy of your reason for we will not say of your designe as hoping you intend not to make us Ruffâ—ans We do therefore for the sake of the poor threatned Church beseech you that you will be pleased to repent of these desires and not to prosecute them considering that to avoid a lesser evil avoidable by safer means you will bring a far greater evil on the Churches and such as is like to strip these Nations of the glory in which they have excelled the rest of the world even a learned able holy Ministry and a people sincere and serious
that a convenient conjunction of both might be a well-tempered means to the common constitutions of most But still we see the world will run into extreams whatever be said or done to hinder it It is but lately that we were put to it against one extream to defend the lawfulness of a Form of Liturgie now the other extream it troubleth us that we are forced against you even such as you to defend the use of such Prayers of the Pastors of the Churches as are necessarily varied according to subjects and occasions while you would have no Prayer at all in the Church but such prescribed Forms And why may we not adde That whoever maketh the Forms imposed on us if he use them is guilty as well as we of praying accordiâ—g to his private Conceptions And that we never said it proved from Scripture that Christ appointed any to such an Office as to make Prayers for other Pastors and Churches to offer up to God and that this being none of the work of the Apostolical or common Ministerial Office in the Primitive Church is no work of any Office of Divine Institution To that part of the Proposal That the Prayers may consâ—st of nothing doubtful or questioned by pious learned and Orthodox persons they not determining who be those Orthodox persons we must either take all them for Orthodox persons who shall confidently affirm themselves to be such and then we say First the Demand is unreasonable for some such as call themselves Orthodox have quâ—stioned the prime Article of our Creed even the Divinity of the Sâ—n of God and yet there is no reason we should part with our Creed for that Besides the Proposal requires impossibility for there never was nor is â—or can be such Prayers made as have not been nor will be questioned by sâ—me whâ— call themselves pious learned and Orthodox if by Orthodox be meant those who adhere to Scripture and the Catholick Consent of Antiquity we do not yet know that any part of our Liturgie hath been questioned by such And may we not thus mention Orthodox persons to men that profess they agree with us in Doctrinals unless we digress to tell you who they be What if we were pleading for civil coâ—cord among all that aâ—e loyal to the King must we needs digress to tell you who are loyal We are agreed in one Rule of Faith in one holy Scripture and one Creed and differ not you say about the Doctrinal part of the 39 Art And will not all this seem to tell you who are Orthodox If you are resolved to make all that a matter of Contention which we desire to make a means of Peace there is no remedy while you have the Ball before you and have the Wind and Sun and the power of contending without controul But we perceive That the Catholick consent of Antiquity must go into your definition of the Orthodox but how hard it is to get a reconciling determination what Ages shall go with you and us for the true Antiquity and what is necessary to that consent that must be called Catholick is unknown to none but the unexperienced And indeed we think a man that searcheth the holy Scripture and sincerely and unreservedly gives up his Soul to understand love and obey it may be Orthodox without the knowledge of Church-History we know no universal Law-Giver nor Law to the Church but one and that Law is the sufficient Rule of Faith and consequently the test of the truely Orthodox though we refuse not Church-History or other means that may help us to understand it And to acquaint you with what you do not know we our selves after many Pastors of the Reformed Churches do question your Liturgie as far as is expressed in our Papers And we profess to adhere to Scripture and the Catholick consent of Antiquity as described by Vincentius Liniensis If you will say that our pretence and claim is unjust we call for your Authority to judge our hearts or dispose us from the number of the Orthodox or else for your proofs to make good your accusation But however you judge we rejoyce in the expectation of the righteous Judgment that shall finally decide the Controversie to which from this Aspersion we appeal To thâ—se Generals loading publick Form with Ch. pomp garm Imagery and many Superfluities that creep into the Church under the name of Order and Decâ—ncy iâ—cumbring Churches with Superfluities over-rigid reviving of obsolete Customes c. We say that if these Generals be intended as appliable to our Liturgie in particular they are gross and foul Slanders contrary to their profession page ult and so either that or this contrary to their Conscience if not they signifie nothing to the present business and so might with more prudence and â—andor have been omitted You needed not go a fishing for our Charge what we had to say against the Liturgie which we now desired you to observe was here plainly laid before you Answer to this and suppose us not to say what we do not to make your selves matter of reproaching us with gross and foul slanders Onely we pray you answer Mr. Hales as Mr. Hales whom we took to be a person of much esteem with you especially that passage of his which you take no notice of as not being so easie to be answered for the weight and strength which it carries with it viz. that the limiting of the Church-Communion to things of doubtful disputation hath been in all Ages the ground of Schism and Separation and that he that separates from suspected Opinions is not the Separatist And may we not cite such words of one that we thought you honoured and would hear without contradicting our Profession of not intending depravation or reproach against the Book without going against our Consciences If we cite the words of an Author for a particular use as to perswade you of the evil of laying the hurches unity upon unnecessary things must we be responsible therefore for all that you can say against his words in other respects We suppose you would be loath your words should have such interpretation and that you should be under such a Law for all your Citations Do as you would be done by It was the wisdom of our Reformers to draw up such a Liturgie as neither Romanist nor Protestant could justly except against and therefore as the first never charged it with any positive Errours but onely the want of something they conceived necessary so it was never found fault with by thâ—se to whom the name of Protestants most properly belongs those that profess the Augustine Confession and for those who unlawfully and sinfully brought it into dislike with some people to urge the present State of Affaires as an Argument why the Book should be altered to give them satisfaction and so that they should take advantage by their own unwarrantable Acts is not reasonable If it be blameless no man can
kept as Holy-dayes but they are useful for the preservation of their memories and for other reasons as for Leases Law-dayes c. Repl. The antiquity of the Translations mentioned is far from being of determinate certainty we rather wish than hope that the Syriack could be proved to be made neer the Apostles times But however the things being confessed of humane Institution and no forreign Power having any authority to command his Majesties Subjects and so the imposition being only by our own Governours we humbly crave that they may be left indifferent and the Unity or Peace of the Church or Liberty of the Ministers not laid upon them Sect. 1. This makes all the Lyturgy void if every Minister may put in and leave out at his discretion Repl. You mistake us we speak not of putting in and leaving out of the Liturgy but of having leave to intermix some Exhortations or Prayers besides to take off the deadness which will follow if there be nothing but the stinted Forms we would avoid both the extream that would have no Forms and the contrary extream that would have nothing but Forms but if we can have nothing but extreams there 's no remedy it 's not our fault And this moderation and mixture which we move for is so far from making all the Lyturgy void that it would do very much to make it attain its end and would heal much of the distemper which it occasioneth and consequently would do much to preserve the reputation of it As for instance if besides the Forms in the Lyturgy the Minister might at Baptism the Lords Supper Marriage c. interpose some suitable Exhortation or Prayer upon special occasion when he finds it needful should you deny this at the visitation of the sick it would seem strange and why may it not be granted at other times It is a matter of far greater trouble to us that you would deny us and all Ministers the Liberty of using any other Prayers besides the Lyturgy than that you impose these Sect. 2. The Gift or rather Spirit of Prayer consists in the inward Graces of the Spirit not in extempore expressions which any man of natural parts having a voluble tongue and audacity may attain to without any special Gift Repl. All inward Graces of the Spirit are not properly called the Spirit of Prayâ—r nor is the Spirit of Prayer that Gift of Prayer which we speak of nor did we call it by the name of a special Gift nor did we deny that ordinary men of natural parts and voluble tongues may attain it But yet we humbly conceive that as there is a Gift of Preaching so also of Prayer which God bestoweth in the use of means diversified much according to mens natural parts and their diligence as other acquired abilities are but also much depending on that Grace that is indeed special which maketh men love and rellish the holy Subjects of such Spiritual studies and the holy exercise of those Graces that are the soul of Prayer and consequently making men follow on such exercises with delight and diligence and therefore with success and also God is free in giving or denying his Blessing to mans endeavours If you think there be no Gift of Preaching you will too dishonourably level the Ministry If reading be all the Gift of Prayer or Preaching there needs no great understanding or learning to it nor should Coblers and Tinkers be so unfit men for the Ministry as they are thought nor would the reason be very apparent why a Woman mightnot speak by Preaching or Praying in the Church Sect. 3. But if there be any such Gift as is pretended it is to be subject to the Prophets and to the Order of the Church Repl. The Text speaks as Dr. Hammond well shews of a subjection to that Prophet himself who was the Speaker Inspiration excluded not the prudent exercise of Reason but it is a strange ordering that totally excludeth the thing ordered The Gift of Preaching as distinct from Reading is to be orderly and with due subjection exercised but not to be on that pretence extinguished and cast out of the Church And indeed if you should command it you are not to be obeyed whatever we suffer And why then should the Gift of Prayer distinct from Reading be cast out Sect. 4. The mischiefs that come by idle impertinent ridiculous sometimes seditious impious and blasphemous expressions under pretence of the Gift to the dishonour of God and scorn of Religion being far greater than the pretended good of exercising the Gift it is fit that they who desire such liberty in publick devotions should first give the Church security that no private opinions should be put into their Prayers as is desired in the first proposal and that nothing contrary to the Faith should be uttered before God or offered up to him in the Church Repl. The mischiefs which you pretend are inconveniences attending humane imperfeotion which you would cure with a mischief Your Argument from the Abuse against the Use is a palpable fallacy which cast out Physitians in some Countries and rooted up Vines in others and condemneth the reading of the Scriptures in a known tongue among the Papists If the Apostles that complained then so much of divisions and Preaching false doctrine and in envy and strife had thought the way of cure had been in sending Ministers about the world with a prayer-Prayer-book or Sermon book and to have tyed them only to read either one or both of these no doubt but they would have been so regardful of the Church as to have composed such a Prayer-book or Sermon book themselves and not left us to the uncertainties of an Authority not infallible nor to the divisions that follow the impositions of a questionable Power or that which unquestionably is not universal and therefore can procure no universal Concord If one man among you draw up a Form of Prayer it is his single conception and why a man as learned and able may not be trusted to conceive a Prayer for the use of a single Congregation without the dangers mentioned by you as one man to conceive a Prayer for all the Churches in a Diocess or a Nation we know not These words that the mischief is greater than the pretended good seem to express an unjust accusation of ordinary conceived Prayer and a great undervaluing of the benefits If you would intimate that the Crimes expressed by you are ordinarily found in Ministers Prayers we that hear such much more frequently than you must profess we have not found it so allowing men their different measures of exactness as you have even in writing Nay to the praise of God we must say that multitudes of private men can ordinarily pray without any such imperfection as should nauseate a sober person and with such seriousness and aptness of expression as is greatly to the benefit and comfort of our selves when we joyn
abler Brethren If there had been a stated Form before imposed on the Churches what room could there be for this course And even this much seems but a caution made newly upon some late abuse of Prayer The same we say de Concil Malevit Can. 12. if they were but a prudentioribus tractatae vel comprobatae in Synodo new Prayers might by any man at any time be brought in which sheweth they had no such stated publick Lyturgy as is now pleaded for and even this seemeth occasioned by Pelagianism which by this caution they would keep out We hope your omission of our eighth Desire for the use of the new Translation intimateth your Grant that it shall be so But we marvel then that we find among your Concessions the alteration of no part but the Epistles and Gospels As they would have no Saints dayes observed by the Church so no Apocriphal Chapter read in the Church but upon such a reason as would exclude all Sermons as well as Apocripha viz. because the holy Scriptures contain in them all things necessary either in Doctrine to be believed or in duty to be practised If so why so many unnecessary Sermons why any more but reading of Scriptures if notwithstanding their sufficiency Sermons be necessary there is no reason why these Apocriphal Chapters should not be as useful most of them containing excellent Discourses and Rules of morality it is heartily to be wished that Sermons were as good if their fear be that by this means those Books may come to be of equal esteem with the Canon they may be secured against that by the title which the Church hath put upon them calling them Apocriphal and it is the Churches Testimony which teacheth us this difference and to leave them out were to cross the Practise of the Church in former Ages Repl. We hoped when our desires were delivered in writing they would have been better observed and understood we asked not that no Apocriphal Chapter may be read in the Church but that none may be read as Lessons For so the Chapters of holy Scripture there read are called in the Booâ— and to read them in the same place under the same Title without any sufficient note of distinction or notice given to the People that they are not Canonical Scripture they being also bound with our Bibles is such a temptation to the vulgar to take them for Gods Word as doth much prevail and is like to do so still And when Papists second it with their confident affirmations that the Apocriphal Books are Canonical well refelled by one of you the R. Reverend Bishop of Durham we should not needlesly help on their success If you cite the Apocripha as you do other human Writings or read them as Homilies when and where there is reason to read such we spake not against it To say that the People are secured by the Churches calling them Apocripha is of no force till experience be proved to be disregardable and till you have proved that the Minister is to tell the People at the reading of ever such Chapter that it is but Apocriphal and that the People all understand Greek so well as to know what Apocriphal signifieth The more sacred and honourable are these Dictates of the holy Ghost recorded in Scripture the greater is the sin by reading the Apocripha without sufficient distinction to make the People believe that the Writings of man are the Revelation and Laws of God And also we speak against the reading of the Apocripha as it excludeth much of the Canonical Scriptures and taketh in such Books in their steads as are commonly reputed fabulous By thus much you may see how you lost your Answer by mistaking us and how much you will sin against God by denying our desires That the Minister should not read the Communion Service at the Communion Table is not reasonable to demand since all the Primitive Church used it and if we do not observe that Golden Rule of the venerable Council of Nice let antient Customs prevail till reason plainly requires the contrary we shall give offence to sober Christians by a causless departure from Catholick usage and a greater advantage to enemies of our Church then our Brethren I hope would willingly grant The Priest standing at the Communion Table seemeth to give us an invitation to the holy Sacrament and minds us of our duty viz. to receive the holy Communion some at least every Sunday and though we neglect our duty it is fit the Church should keep her standing Repl. We doubt not but one place in it self is as lawful as another but when you make such differences as have misleading intimations we desire it may be forborn That all the Primitive Church used when there was no Communion in the Sacrament to say Service at the Communion Table is a crude Assertion that must have better proof before we take it for convincing And it is not probable because they had a Communion every Lords day And if this be not your meaning you say nothing to the purpose To prove they used it when there was a Communion is no proof that they used it when there was none And you your selves disuse many things more Universally practised then this can at all be fairly pretended to have bin The Council of Nice gives no such golden Rule as you mention A Rule is a general applyable to particular Cases The Council onely speakes of one particular Let the ancient Custom continue in Aegypt Lybia and Pentapolis that the Bishop of Alexandria have the Power of them all The Council here confirmeth this particular Custom but doth not determine in general of the Authority of Custom That this should be called a Catholick usage shewes us how partially the word Catholick is sometime taken And that this much cannot be granted us lest we advantage the Enemies of the Church doth make us wonder whom you take for its Enemies and what is that advantage which this will give them But we thank you that here we find our selves called Brethren when before we are not so much as spoken to but your speech is directed to some other we know not whom concerning us Your reason is that which is our reason to the contrary you say the Priest standing at the Communion Table seems to give us an invitation to the Holy Communion c. What! when there is no Sacrament by himself or us intended no warning of any given no Bread and Wine prepared Be not deceived God is not mocked Therefore we desire that there may be no such Service at the Table when no Communion is intended because we would not have such grosse dissimulation used in so Holy things as thereby to seem as you say to invite Guests when the Feast is not prepared and if they came we would turn them empty away Indeed if it were to be a private Masse and the Priest were to receive alone for want of Company
Brethren or hinder that peace healing of the Church For Order is for the thing ordered and not contrarily For example there is much disorder lies in the Common-Prayer-Book yet we would obey it as far as the ends of our calling do require It wouldbe undecent to come without a Band or other handsome Raiment into the Assembly yet would we obey if it were commanded us rather than not worship God at all We are as confident that Surplices and Copes are undecent and kneeling at the Lords Table is disorderly as you are of the contrary And yet if the Magistrate would be advised by us supposing himself addicted against you we would advise him to be more charitable to you than you here advise him to be to us We would have him if your Conscience require it to forbear you in this undecent and disorderly way But to speak more distinctly 1. There are some things decent and orderly when the opposite species is not undecent or disorderly 2. There are some things undecent and disorderly in a small and tollerable degree And some things in a degree intollerable 1. VVhen things decent are commanded whose opposites would not be at all undecent their Charity and Peace and Edification may command a Relaxation or rather should at first restrain from too severe Impositions As it is decent to wear either a Cloak or a Gown a Cassock buttoned or unbuttoned with a Girdle or without to sit stand or kneel in singing of a Psalm to sit or stand in hearing the Word read or preached c. 2. VVhen a Circumstance is undecent or disorderly but in a tolerable degree to an Inconvenience Obedience or Charity or Edification may commaud us to do it and make it not only lawful but a duty pro hic nunc while the preponderating Accident prevaileth Christs instances goe at least as far as this about the Priests in the Temple breaking the Sabbath blamelesly and David's eating the Shew-bread which was lawful for none to eat ordinarily but the Priests And the Disciples rubbing the ears of Corne I will have mercy and not Sacrifice is a lesson that he sets us to learn when two duties comes together to preserve the greater if we would escape sin And sure to keep an able Preacher in the Church or a private Christian in Communion is a greater duty caeteris paribus than to use a Ceremony which we conceive to be decent It is more orderly to use the better translation of the Scripture than the worse as the common-prayer-Common-prayer-book doth and yet we would have no man cast out for using the worse It is more orderly decent and edifying for the Minister to read all the Psalms than for the people to read each second verse And yet we would not cast out men from the Church or Ministry meerly for that disorder It is more orderly and decent to be uncovered in divine worship than covered And yet rather than a man should take cold we could allow him to hear a Chapter or Sermon covered why not much more rather than he should be cast out But let us come to the Application It is no undecent disorderly worshiping of God to worship him without our Crosse Surplice and kneeling in the reception of the Sacrament 1. If it were then Christ and his Apostles had worshipped undecently and disorderly And the Primitive Church that used not the Surplice nor the transient Image of the Crosse in Baptism but in an unguent yea the Church for many hundred years that received the Sacrament without kneeling 2. Then if the King Parliament and Convocation should change their Ceremonies it seems you would take your selves bound to retain them for you say you must not worship God undecently But that they may be changed by Authority our Articles determine and therefore Charity may well require the Magistrate to change them without any wrong to the worship of God 3. VVe appeal to the common judgement of the Impartial whether in the nature of the thing there by any thing that tels them that it is undecent to pray without Surplice in the reading place and not undecent to pray without in the Pulpit And that it is undecent to Baptize without Crossing and not to receive the Lords Supper without And that it is undecent for the Receiver to take the Lords Supper without kneeling and not for the Minister to give it him standing that prayeth in the delivery Sect. 8. These promised we Answer to your first Reason that those things which we call Indifferent because neither expresly commanded or forbiden by God have in them a real goodness a fitness and decency and for thâ— cause are imposed and may be so by the Rule of St. Paul by which Rule and many others in Scripture a power is given to men to impose Signs which are never the worse surely because they signifie something that is decent and comely and so it is not doubtful whether such power be given It would rather be doubtful whether the Church could impose such ildle Signs if any such there be as signifie nothing Repl. To your first Answer we reply 1. We suppose you speak of a moral Goodness and if they are such indeed as are within their power and really good that is of their own nature fitter than their opposites they may be imposed by just Authority by equal means though not by usurpers nor by penalties that will do more harm than the things will do good 2. Signs that signifie nothing we understand not It is one thing to be decent and another to signifie something that is decent what you mean by that we know not The Cross signifieth our not being ashamed to profess the Faith of Christ crucified c. do you call that something that is decent It is something necessary to Salvation 3. Signes are exceeding various At present we use but two distinctions 1. Some are Signs ex primaria intentione iustitnentis purposed and primarily instituted to signifie as an Escucheon or a Sign at an Inne door in common matters and as the Sacrament and Cross in sacred matters and some are Signs but consequently secondarily and not essentially as intended by the Institutors so Hills and Trees may shew us what a Clock it is and so every Creature signifieth some good of Mercy or Duty and may be an Object of holy Meditation so the colour and shape of our Cloaths may mind us of some good which yet was none of the primary or proper end of the Maker or Wearer 2. Signes are either arbitrary expressions of a mans own mind in a matter where he is left free or they are Covenanting Signes between us and God in the Covenant of Grace to work Grace on us as moral Causes and to engage us Sacramentally to him Such we conceive the Cross in Baptism to be The Preface to the Common Prayer Book saith They are apt to teach and excite c. which is a moral operation of
Book or to read or learn it or to beware that he add or diminish not whereas the holy Scriptures that were then given to the Church men are exhorted to read and study and mediate in and discourse of and make it their continual delight and it s a wonder that David that mentions it so oft in Psal. 119. doth never mention the Lyturgy or Common Prayer Book if they had any And that Solomon when he dedicated the house of Prayer without a Prayer Book would onely beg of God to hear what Prayers or what Supplication soever shall be made of any man or of all the People of Israel when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief and shall spread forth his hands in that house 2 Chro. 6. 29. and that he giveth no hint of any Lyturgy or Form so much as in those common Calamities and talks of no other Book then the knowledge of their own sores and their own griefs And in the Case of Psalms or singing unto God where it is certain that they had a Lyturgy or Form as we have they are carefully collected preserved and delivered to us as a choice part of the holy Scripture And would it not have been so with the Prayers or would they have been altogether numentioned if they also had been there prescribed to and used by the Church as the Psalms were would Christ and his Apostles even where they were purposely giving Rules for Prayer and correcting its abuse as Mat. 6. 1 Cor. 14 c. have never-mentioned any Forms but the Lords Prayer if they had appointed such or desired such to be imposed and observed These things are incredible to us when we most impartially consider them for our own parts as we think it uncharitable to forbid the use of Spectacles to them that have weak eyes or of Crutches to them that have weak Limbs and as uncharitable to undo all that will not use them whether they need them or not so we can think no better of them that will suffer none to use such Forms that need them or that will suffer none to pray but in the words of other mens prescribing though they are at least as able as the prescribers And to conclude we humbly crave that ancient customs may not be used against themselves and us and that you will not innovate under the shelter of the name of Antiquity Let those things be freely used among us that were so used in the purest Primitive times Let Unity and Peace be laid on nothing on which they laid them not let diversity of Lyturgy and Ceremonies be allowed where they allowed it May we but have Love and Peace on the Terms as the Ancient Church enjoyed them we shall then hope we may yet escape the hands of uncharitable destroying zeal we therefore humbly recommend to your observation the Concurrent testimony of the best Histories of the Church concerning the diversity of Lyturgy Ceremonies and modal observances in the several Churches under one and the same civil Government and how they then took it to be their duty to forbear each other in these matters and how they made them not the test of their Communion or Center of their peace concerning the Observation of Easter it self when other Holy-days and Ceremonies were urged were less stood upon you have the judgement of Irenaeus and the French Bishops in whose name he wrote in Eusob. Hist. Eccl. l. 5. 6. 23. Where they reprehend Victor for breaking peace with the Churches that differed about the day and the antecedent time of Fasting and tell him that the variety began before their times when yet they nevertheless retained Peace and yet retain it and the discord in their Fasting declared or commended the concord of their Faith that no man was rejected from Communion by Victors Predecessors on that account but they gave them the Sacrament and maintained Peace with them and particularly Policarp and Anicetus held Communion in the Eucharist notwithstanding this difference Basil Epist. 63. doth plead his cause with the Presbyters and whole Clergy of Neocesarea that were offended at his new Psalmodiâ— and his new order of Monasticks but he onely defendeth himself and urgeth none of them to imitate him but telleth him also of the novelty of their own Lyturgy that it was not known in the time of their own late renowned Bishop Greg. Thaumaturgus telling them that they had kept nothing unchanged to that day of all that he was used to so great alteâ—ations in 40. years were made in the same Congregation and he professeth to pardon all such things so be it the principal things be kept safe Socr. Hist. Ec. l. 51. c. 21. about the Easter difference saith that neither the Apostles nor the Gospel do impose a yoke of bondage on those that betake themselves to the Doctrine of Christ but left the Feast of Easter and other Festivals to the observation of the free and equal Judgement of them that had received the benefits And therefore because men use to keep some Festivals for the relaxing themselves from labours several Persons in several places do celebrate of custom the memorial of Christs Passion Arbitrarily or at their own choice For neither our Saviour nor the Apostles commanded the keeping of them by any Law nor threaten any mulct or penalty c. It was the purpose of the Apostles not to make Laws for the keeping of Festivals but to be Authors to us of the reason of right living and of Piety And having shewed that it came up by private custom and not by Law and having cited Irenaeus as before he addeth that those that agree in the same Faith do differ in point of Rites and Ceremonies and instancing in divers he concludeth that because no man can shew in the monuments of writings any command concerning this it is plain that the Apostles herein permitted free Power to every ones mind and will that every man might do that which was good without being induced by fear or by necessity And having spoken of the diversity of customs about the Assemblies Marriage Baptism c. He tells us that even among the Novatians themselves there is a diversity in their manner of their praying and that among all the Forms of Religions and parties you can no where find two that consent among themselves in the manner of their praying And repeating the decree of the Holy Ghost Act. 15. To impose no other burden but things necessary he reprehendeth them that neglecting this will take fornication as a thing indifferent but strive about Festivals as it were a matter of life overturning Gods Laws and making Laws to themselves And Sozomen Hist. Eccl. l. c. 18. and 19. speaketh to the same purpose and tells us that the Novatians themselves determined in a Synod at Sangar in Bythinia that the differenoe about Easter being not a sufficient cause for breach of Communion all should abide in the same concord and in the same
what is to be amended in these Collects therefore to say any thing particularly were to answer to we know not what Repl. We are glad that one word in the proper Collects hath appeared such to you as needs a Reformation especially when you told us before That the Lyturgy was never found fault with by those to whom the name of Protestants most properly belongs which lookt upon our hopâ—s of reformation almost as destructively as the Papists Doctrine of infallibility doth when we deal with them As for the Collects mentioned by us you should not wonder that we brought not in a particular Charge against them For first we had a conceit that it was best for us to deal as gently and tenderly as we could with the faults of the Lyturgy And therefore we have under our Generals hid abundance of particulars which you may find in the Abridgement of the Lincolnshire Ministers and in many other Books And secondly we had a conceit that you would have vouchsafed to have treated with us personally in persence according to the sense of his Majesties Commission and then we thought to have told you particularly of such matters but you have forced us to confess that we find our selves deceived Communion Service Sect. 1. P. 17. Kyries Ans. To say Lord have mercy upon us after every Commandement is more quick and active than to say it once at the close and why Christian People should not upon their knees ask their pardon for their Life forfeited by the breach of each Commandement and pray for Grace to keep them for the time to come they must be more than ignorant that can scruple Repl. We thank you for saying nothing against our four first Requests Though we be thought more than ignorant for our scruple we can truly say we are willing to learn but your bare opinion is not enough to cure ignorance and more By your reason you may make kneeling the gesture for hearing the Scriptures read and hearing Sermons and all If you will but interweave Prayers he must be more than ignorant that will not kneel The universal Church of Christ was more than ignorant for many hundred years that not only neglected but prohibited Genuflexion in all adoration each Lords day when now the 20. of Exod. or 5. Deut. may not be heard or read without kneeling save only by the Clergy Sect. 2. P. 18. Homilies Ans. Some Livings are so small that they are not able to maintain a Licensed Preacher and in such and the like Cases this provision is necessary nor can any reason be given why the Ministers reading a Homily set forth by common Authority should not be accounted Preaching of the Word as well as his reading or pronouncing by heart a Homily or Sermon of his own or any other mans Repl. 1. When the Usurpers would quickly have brought Livings to that competency as would have maintained able Preachers we may not question whether just Authority will do it 2. When abundance of able Ministers cast out would be glad of liberty to Preach for nothing this pretence hath no taste or sense in it 3. When we may not without the imputation of uncharitableness once imagine that your Lordships with your Deans and other Officers do not value the saving of Souls above Money we may conclude that you will voluntarily allow so much out of your ample Revenues as will supply such places or many of them the rather because we find you charging them as inordinately desiring the Honour and Wealth of the World that would have had all Ministers to have had 100 l. or 80 l. per annum a piece and therefore may conclude that you will take no more if you hate that sin more than they do that are accused of it But the next part of your Anâ—wer firghteth us more to which we say That we will not differ with you for the name whether reading Homilies may be called Preaching but we take the boldness to say that it is another manner of Preaching that Christ and his Apostles sent men to perform and which the Church hath gloried in and been edified by to this day and which thousands of Souls have been brought to Heaven by and which we again desire may be enjoyned and not left so indifferent Sect. 3. Sentences Ans. The Sentences tend all to exhort the People to pious liberality whether the Object be the Minister or the Poor and though some of the Sentences be Apocriphal they may be useful for that purpose Why Collection for the Poor should be made at another time there is no reason given only change desired Repl. We have oft told you why the Apocripha should be cautelously used in the Church that Usurper that should pretend to the Crown and have a more numerous party than the King that hath the undoubted Right will be lookt on more suspitiously than ordinary Subjects 2. It is a sordid thing for Ministers to love Money and it 's sordid unless in extraordinary necessities to have them beg and beg for themselves and beg under a pretence of serving God even in times when the Clergy seems advanced 3. We confest our selves deceived in thinking we should have free personal debates with you which made us reserve many of our Reasons Our Reasons are 1. For less disturbance 2. Because the Peoples affections are much more raised usually and so fitter for returns when they have received 3. Especially because it is most seasonable to do the Acts of Gratitude when we had received the obliging benefits and so say What shall I give the Lord for all his Benefits when we have partaked of them and to offer our selves first and with our selves what he giveth us unto him when we have received him and his Graces offered to us These are the Reasons that brought us under your Censure of desiring a Change Sect. 4. P. 19. 3. Exhortation Aâ—sw The 1. and 3. Exhortations are very seasonable before the Communion to put men in mind how they ought to be prepared and in what danger they are to come unprepared that if they be not duely qualified they may depart and be better prepared at another time Repl. But is it not more seasonable that in so great business such warning go a considerable time before Is there then leisure of self-examination and making restitution and satisfaction and going to the Minister for Counsel to quiet his Conscience c. in Order to the present Sacrament We yet desire these things way be sooner told them Sect. 5. Exc. 1. Answ. We fear this may discourage many certainly themselves cannot desire that men should come to the holy Communion with a troubled Conscience and therefore have no reason to blame the Church for saying it is requisite that men come with a quiet Conscience and prescribing means for quieting thereof if this be to discourage men it is fit they should be discouraged and deterred and kept from the Communion till they have done all that