of enquiring into any scandalous miscarriages among 'em and suiting their admonitions to the case of such Offenders and judging whether there be or be not a credible profession of Repentance made by ' em Nor can there be any danger of their abusing that sacred censure of Excommunication by being too rash in it for that danger is fully obviated by the method propos'd in the foremention'd model of AB Usher which refers the decreeing that sentence to the monthly Synod of the Ministers in that Precinct or part of the Diocess of which the Suffragan or Chorepiscopus is the Moderator In the mean time we cou'd wish that Parish-Ministers were more effectually urg'd to observe the 20th Canon which charges 'em not to admit to the holy Cammunion any of their Cure or Flock which â—e openly known to live in notorious sin without Repentance tho we can expect no very considerable effects of such a temporary suspension when it obliges the Minister to turn Informer against such Offenders in the Spiritual Court where they are sure to be put to great charges by which method he is but like to alienate their hearts from him and frustrate the success of all those admonitions by which he shou'd endeavour to recover 'em to Repentance 7. They wou'd farther humbly desire that some more effectual care may be taken for the tryal of those that are to be admitted into Holy Orders For the 32d Canon enjoyns the Bishop to examin 'em in the presence of those Ministers that shall assist at the Imposition of hands or at least take care that those Ministers shall examin them yet we understand this is too often put off to an Archdeacon or one of his Chaplains and at best but too superficially perform'd And we humbly conceive the Canon it self is very defective in not recommending such particular Tryals as are fit for such Candidates of the Ministerial Function to undergo in order to their giving a sufficient specimen of their proficiency in the study of Divinity and in the knowledge of the holy Scriptures And herein we wou'd humbly recommend to 'em the excellent method propos'd by the Westminster-Assembly in their Propositions relating to Church-Government and Ordination viz. That such Candidates be examin'd touching their skill in The Original Languages by Reading the Hebrew and Greek Testaments and rendring some portion of 'em into Latin They are to be examin'd also what Authors in Divinity they have read and trial shall be made of their knowledge of the grounds of Religion and ability to defend the Orthodox Doctrine in 'em against all unsound and erroneous Opinions especially those of the present Age of their skill and sense in the meaning of such places of Scripture as shall be propos'd to 'em in cases of Conscience and in the chronology of the Scripture and in the Ecclesiastical History They are to expound some difficult place of Scripture they are to frame a discourse in Latin upon some common-place or controversy in Divinity and maintain a Dispute upon it and they are to Preach a practical Sermon before the people those concern'd in their Ordination being present This method is so exactly follow'd among the Dissenters that those they ordain commonly pass twice thro these Tryals both when they are first allow'd to Preach as Candidates and at their Ordination And as 't is the most effectual that can be propos'd for preventing an ignorant and insufficient Ministry so 't is the more requisite that the like care shou'd be taken in the Establisht Church where so many are tempted to croud into the Sacred Office by the lure of secular interest and so many Parents from the prospect of preferment thrust those of their Children upon the service of the Church whom they are at a loss how to dispose otherwise of 8. We cou'd heartily desire some more effectual course were taken for the Reformation of such of the Clergy whose scandalous lives stain the honour of their profession For the infectious examples of such Clergymen are far more powerful to spread the contagion of wickedness and vice among their Flock than their doctrine to propagate piety and holiness And 't is no wonder that either the offerings of the Lord are abhorr'd by the people when they see 'em presented by so unhallow'd hands or that they run without restraint into all excess of Riot when they do but herein follow their spiritual Guides 'T is great pitty therefore that the 42d Canon which threatens such scandalous Clergymen with Ecclesiastical censures is not more faithfully executed And it seems unaccountable why it shou'd not as expresly order the suspension and deposition of such as are found incorrigible as other Canons of the Church of England order their suspension and deposition for no greater faults than Omitting the use of any form of Prayer or any other Rite or Ceremony prescrib'd by the service-Service-Book or appointing or keeping Fasts either in publick or in private houses without the Bp's leave For this is to lay greater stress on the Churches Injunctions than on God's commands and to punish non-conformity to the former more strictly than disobedience to the latter We shall only add that if the Law of Moses so carefully provided that its Preists shou'd have no blemish or deformity on their bodys sure much greater care shou'd be taken that those who serve at the Christian Altar shou'd not be persons of deformed souls and of a tainted conversation And we are heartily glad that their Majesties by their Royal Commission have begun so necessary a work in this Kingdom as the purging the Church from such scandalous Clergymen as have too long been the blemishes of their holy profession and hope it may extend to all other parts where there is the like necessity for it as there appears to have been in the Diocess of Down and Connor 9. They wou'd also earnestly desire that so gross a corruption as that of Pluralitys and Non-Residence so universally complain'd of may be at last effectually reform'd In order whereto they desire it may be seriously consider'd whether our Canons themselves do not rather confirm than reform these Abuses For by the 36th Canon every Master of Arts that is a publick and sufficient Preacher is capable of Pluralitys The Time which he that enjoys 'em is to reside in each of his Benefices is not determin'd And by the 41 Canon of the Church of England I find no other bounds set to the number of Benefices than that they must not be more than thirty miles asunder And tho every such Bluralist be requir'd to have under him in the Benefices where he dos not reside a lawful and sufficient Preacher yet it is both unreasonable in it self that such a sufficient Preacher shou'd sacrifice his painful labours to pamper the avarice and ease of another And 't is too notorious that such Pluralists for the most part give so despicable and stingy allowance to their poor Curates that it cannot reasonably
Advice to the Conforming Laity of his Diocess p. 158 159 On his Advice to the Dissenting Laity of it from p. 159 to 170. APPENDIX 1. Concerning Baptism and the use of the Cross and of God-fathers and God-mothers from p. 171 to 177. 2. Concerning sinful Human Inventions in the Discipline of the Church p. 177. Requests to the Reverend Conforming Clergy in 13 particulars from p. 177 to 191. Postscript relating to the Bible Poetry from p. 192 to 198. ERRATA Preface line 2d for momentanous read momentous PAge 13. line 1. blot out and. p. 29 l. 19. for Aventinus and Anoymus read Aventinus Annal. Boior l. 3. p. 300 Edit Ingolst 1554. Aymon de Gestis Francorum lih 4. and cap. 64. and 144. p. 55. l. 15. blot out of p. 88. l. 25. for 2 Chron. 19. ch 23 v. read 29 ch p. 102. l. 18. for condems 1. condemns p. 117. l. 30. read For his first Answer to the Argument brought for fitting from the example of the Apostles when Christ administred this Sacrament viz. p. 137. l. 15 16. r. Not celebrating it oftner in each c. p. 156. last line r. spiritual p. 165. l. 32. blot out a. p. 169. l. 15. And for the common custom of many such Sponsors who pretend to excuse themselves from what they have promis't by devolving the charge back on the Parents as soon as the Baptism is over 't is no better than a profane trifling with so sacred a thing as a publâ—ck Religious Vow and Promise The Book is wrong pag'd from 168 to the end Remarks upon the Introduction UPon the Review of the Introduction and comparing it with the following Chapters I was greatly surpriz'd to find these 3 unusual and palpable defects in it than which I scarce know 3 more inexcusable ones a Writer can be guilty of that pretends to treat a controversial subject Viz. 1. Tho he stiles his Book A Discourse concerning the Inventions of men in the Worship of God Yet he has not in all those 188 pages of which it consists so much as once stated the true notion of 'em or told us what he means by ' em A strange oversight in one that pretends to have so carefully examin'd this matter and has said so many things relating to it which he cou'd not but foresee wou'd fall under the critical examination of those on whose principles and practices he has made so many and severe Reflections especially when he cou'd not well be ignorant that the subject he undertakes to discourse on is very ambiguous and capable of being taken in so different senses But 't is easy to ghess what kind of superstructure he is like to raise when he has forgot to lay the foundation So that we are oblig'd to desire his Lordship to write another Discourse to state the Question that we may know what the Arguments in this are levelled for or against 2. But there is a worse fault this Discourse is chargeable with viz. That as far as his Lp's meaning can be gather'd from his words he has given us 2 inconsistent Notions of human Inventions in the Worship of God which yet he has taken no care to distinguish and tell us fairly when he intends the one and when the other Sometimes by the Inventions of men in the Worship of God he seems to understand some things relating either to the matter or the manner of Religious Worship that are unlawful and sinful Thus in his first Paragraph Our blessed Saviour saith he has taught us that there are some ways of worshipping God which have so great a mixture of human Invention in 'em that they are vain and unacceptable to him for which he quotes 7 Mark 7. A passage which as I shall shew anon plainly refers to those Jewish Traditions which our Saviour there arraigns as guilty of sinful superstition And again in his principles p. 3. he seems to lay down his Notion of the Inventions of men in the worship of God when he there tells us That since God has given us a certain direction for his Worship in the H. Scriptures It is to be suppos'd that all ways of Worship are displeasing to him that are not expresly contain'd or warranted by Examples of H. men mention'd therein 'T is true indeed that if he intend this for a description of such human Inventions we are not much the wiser for it as I shall observe afterwards But this we may certainly inferr from it that he understands by 'em such ways of Worship as are displeasing to God because destitute of scriptural Precâ—pt and Pattern Now I wou'd intreat his Lordship to acquaint us how we shall reconcile this with his owning such things to be lawful to which this very notion of human Inventions do's agree and which he calls by that very name To give him an Instance in his first Chapter about Praâ—se He there charges the Dissenters way of praising God by singing Psalms in metre as destitute of all Command or Precedent from the Scripture and as a purely human Invention p. 24. And yet in the very beginning of that Section that concerns the Dissenters manner of Praising God he desires us to observe for preventing mistakes that he do's not condemn the singing Psalms in Metre as unlawful And no wonder when he foresaw that he must otherwise have condemn'd what is practis'd in the Parish-Churches For tho he tells us this is but a voluntary entertainment of devotion in their publick Assemblies yet there were all possible reason to cast it out if it were a sinful way of praising God according to the first Notion of human Inventions 'T is evident then that he sometimes understands by human Inventions some sinful ways of Worship sometimes such innocent modes of it as are of human determination Nay so jumbled are his notions of this matter that tho he own Sermons to have the warrant of scriptural Example yet he ranks 'em among the Inventions of men p 102. And this uncertain sense of this slippery phrase breeds so miserable a confusion in his whole discourse that when he tells us so often of our human Inventions we are at a loss whether he speak it by way of applause or censure whether he commend our use of Christian prudence or arraign us as guilty of superstition But 3. I have a severer Reflection yet to add viz. That his Lp. has made this strange confusion in his own Notions about human Inventions the ground of the most uncharitable censures of the Worship of his Brethren He do's indeed in some cases accuse the Dissenters of laying aside the commands of God relating to his Worship how justly will appear hereafter But I never find in his charge of human Inventions that his premises amount to any more than some modes of Worship in general necessary but in particular left to the determination of human prudence And yet in his Conclusion he wou'd insinuate into his unwary Readers as if he had prov'd
too defective which occur in the Common-Prayer-Book Or how cou'd any on this supposition excuse their Arrogance in adding to the Forms God has already prescrib'd or annexing those that are of human Composure to those that are of divine But I hope he 'll pretend no more to produce any such For as to the Psalms I have shew'd him before that they were never intended for such Forms of Thanksgiving to the Christian Church whose Praises if confin'd to the matter of 'em wou'd be extremely defective and unanswerable to the Christian Institution which so far transcends the Mosaical Oeconomy For what his Lp. saith of the Dissenters praising God only in a piece of a Psalm of a few verses and in a method of their own finding out I shall only add to what I have already suggested the following Remarks 1. That I think the Dissenters sing as much and usually much more of the Psalms of David every Ld's-day than they do in the Parish-Churches In most they sing 'em thrice in some four times Nor do I know of any obligation laid upon us to sing a whole Psalm every time especially the longer ones and the shorter they often sing whole 2. That tho our method of singing 'em in metre require something of human skill to adapt 'em for that use yet 't is no more than what those Scriptures warrant nay plainly oblige us to that require our singing 'em joyntly in publick Assemblys and to do it in a way most conducive to Edificâ—tion His Lp. indeed tells us That he takes it for granted that he Apostles and primitive Christians prais'd God in prose and that metre and rhime are for ought appears of human Invention But is it not strange that his Lp. shou'd confound those two ways of Praising God which the New Testament so clearly distinguishes That they prais'd God with Thanksgivings in Prose is unquestionable but that they prais'd God in prose Psalms is as I have shewn him highly improbable For as in some Psalms there is plain evidence of metre so we have great reason from the testimony of Josephus to judge the same of the rest And therefore his conceit that the Spirit of God gave no gifts for composing Psalms in verse in opposition to the Heathens who wrote their Prophecys and Hymns in verse is a meer invention of his own For as there is so clear proof that some of the Psalms were inspir'd in verse and so great probability the rest were so many judicious Expositors do conclude the quite contrary from 1 Cor. 14.26 where Psalmestry seems to be intended as one of those extraordinary gifts And 't is far more probable that the Spirit of God by enjoyning the singing of Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs did intend to rescue so noble a thing as Poetry from its wretched abuse by the Heathen Priests that it might be consecrated to the service of God in his Temple and become an incentive and help to true Devotion So that our way of using Psalms is far more clearly of God's Appointment because more conformable to his particular direction for singing 'em and to his general Rules of doing it to Edification than theirs wherein they differ from us as when they are among them only said not sung or sung in prose not in metre and that only by the lesser part of the Congregation So what upon the whole I cannot see the least reason why the Dissenters shou'd in this point be afraid of the Judgment of God to the Rules of whose Gospel this part of their devotions is so exactly conform'd or why they shou'd be asham'd to appeal herein to the judgment of all unprejudic'd men Nay I hope they may venture to appeal to his Ep's own judgment when he is at leisure to review this matter and correct his own unhappy mistakes about it I shall therefore conclude this Chapter with a few Remarks on some passages that occur in his 2d and 3d Section As 1. I see no reason why his Lp. shou'd think the force vigour and loftiness of the Psalms any more lost in a metre than in prose-translation p. 19th 'T is true indeed the metre-translation of Hopkins and Sternhold is but ill done so is that prose-translation which the Common Prayer Book still uses And it seems an unreasonable humour to retain both when there is both a prose and metre-translation far more unexceptionable The metre-version commonly call'd the Scots is far better than that us'd in the Parish-Churches Barton's exceeds that and Mr. Patrick's if he had not taken too great a liberty of paraphrasing excels both and I doubt not if a judicious person wou'd undertake the work 't were easily possible to have a metre-version that wou'd exceed the prose in all these advantages And such a one wou'd be of extraordinary use to raise the devotion of the people in this part of divine Worship 2. The Bp. tells us p. 21. that we have a command to translate the Psalms which supposes into prose because the Original is so but none to turn 'em into metre c. Now if on the contrary the Original was compos'd in metre as I have shew'd to be most probable then by his own Argument the command to translate 'em supposes it must be done into metre because the Original is so And therefore the Bp. has in that and the following page not only groundlesly suppos'd the true sense of David's Psalms when turn'd into metre to be none of God's word but has on that account unreasonably excluded 'em from being any substantial part of God's Worship and speaks slightly of 'em as if they were intended for little better than a pleasing diversion and amusement Now if he really believe what he saith I think he shou'd in all reason warn the People against their present Practice For 't is certain they do by singing 'em in time of publick Worship intend 'em as a substantial part of it and will be surpriz'd to find this use of 'em censur'd as an human Invention whereas if on the contrary the singing 'em in Metre be most conformable to scriptural Precept and Pattern and bare saying 'em dissonant from both the Bp. can never excuse himself on his Principles from thus preferring one of his human Inventions to a Divine Institution As to the imperfect way of singing the Psalms by reading every line 't is indeed a defect but such as we must be forc'd to condescend to unless we cou'd prevail with all our People to get Psalm Books and learn to Read or to commit 'em to memory 3. I wonder why his Lp. shou'd charge the Dissenters with asserting Responses in publick Worship to be unlawful p 23. If he alledg the idle talk of some weak people to that purpose is it Ingenuous in him to mention that as the general Opinion of Dissenters What if we shou'd in Retaliation pick up all the weak and foolish censures of those of his Communion and charge 'em on the Conformists in
be instant in season and out of season to reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine For these latter expressions seem to explain the former And I hope he will allow the Apostle Peter to have preacht in the 2 Acts from the 14th to the 40th ver And yet what he spoke is call'd an Exhortation v. 40. Nay to put the matter out of doubt 't is said of John the Baptist 3 Luke 18. That many other things in his Exhortation he preached unto the people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Again he saith That interpreting the Scriptures applying 'em and exhorting the people from 'em in a Christian Auditory is never call'd Preaching Now either those many discourses of the Apostles recorded in the Acts are not Preaching or else quite contrary to the Bp's notion Preaching was interpreting the scriptures applying 'em and exhorting the people from ' em For I would fain know what else he can make of the Apostle Peter's Sermon 2 Acts from the 14th to the 40th 3 Acts from the 12th to the end 4 Acts from the 8th to the 20th Of Stephen's 7 Acts. Of the Apostle Peter's 10 Acts from the 34th to the 44th Of the Apostle Paul's 13 Acts in which single instance the Bp. will find almost all his Notions overthrown together For v. 15. After the reading the Law and Prophets the Rulers of the Synagogue send to Paul and his company this Message Ye men and brethren if ye have any word of Exhortation for the people say on The Apostle addresses himself to comply with their proposal And accordingly his discourse contains an Explication of several passages out of the Old Testament relating to the promised seed of Abraham an application of 'em to our Blessed Saviour and an exhortation to 'em from thence to believe in him and not despise and reject him And this very discourse the Apostle calls declaring glad tidings or preaching for the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 32. If the Bp. object this discourse was not in a Christian Auditory 't is easily answer'd What can the difference of the Auditory signify to alter the nature of the discourse As if the very same discourse in a Synagogue shou'd be preaching but quite another thing in a Christian Church 'T is plain here that the Apostle preacht when he interpreted the Scriptures relating to Christ applyed 'em and exhorted the people from 'em so that these are the same thing And if he still pretend that such Exposition and Application had some other name given it when us'd in a Christian Auditory than that of preaching I shall to remove this shadow of a pretence farther add I suppose he will not doubt but the Apostle Paul either found or at least planted a Christian Church at Rome long before his two years expir'd and yet he is all that time said to preach the kingdom of God among ' em So no doubt there was a Christian Churâ—h at Ephesus and yet Timothy residing there is exhorted to preach the word to be instant in season and out of season And in the place I first alledg'd the Apostle Paul was desirous to preach the Gospel to those at Rome whose Faith was already so eminent and so publickly known and celebrated And indeed tho the Gospel be in the strictest sense only news to those that first hear it yet it dos not cease to be good tidings or a joyful message for being often repeated So that since the Bp. has so ill hap in every one of his Criticisms I wou'd advise him to be more sparing and deliberate in offering 'em to publick view for his talent dos not seem to lye much that way IV. The Scriptures have left it to human prudence to determine What portion of 'em shall be read in our publick Assemblys and in what order and method To clear this We must consider there are two ways of Reading the Scriptures in order to the peoples instruction from ' em As either 1. When some considâ—rable portion of 'em is read together As some part of a Book or Epistle a Psalm c. For the division of the Scriptures into chapter and verse are but a matter of late Invention 2. When several passages are read out of several Books of the Old or New Testament which are parallel to each other and serve to explain the same Doctrine or clear and enforce the same duty And tho the phrase of Reading the Scriptures be by common custom appropriated to the former yet if we will speak strictly It dos as truly belong to the latter and 't is of this latter way of Reading the Scriptures for the people's instruction that we have the clearest warrant from the examples of the Apostles and the accounts given us in the New Testament of the practice of the Christian Church Nor do those banish either of these ways of reading either an entire portion or several parallel Texts that interpose an explicatory and applicatory Paraphrase between the several parts that are read Nor dos the Bp that I can find so much as pretend to produce any thing from Scripture against the intermixing such a paraphrase in our reading the Scriptures Now if he consult all the Sermons of the Apostles recorded in the Acts he will find that they did read or what is the same did recite verbatim and propose to the consideration of the people several passages of the word of God all tending to illustrate and prove some truth or duty of the Christian Religion And their practice herein was conformable to that of our Blessed Saviour who employd the first Christian Sabbath I mean the day of his Resurrection not in reading an entire portion of Scripture but in expounding to the two Disciples all those passages in Moses and the Prophets that related to himself and his death resurrection and ascention 24 Luke 24 Luke from the 13th to the 28th Nor do I find in that account given of the Worship of Christian Churches 1 Cor. 14 chap. any mention made of Reading the Scriptures as a distinct thing from Doctrine and Interpretation So that I know of no one precept or example in all the New Testament relating to the Christian Church for this way of reading unless what may be inferr'd from the 4 Col. 16. And when this Epistle is read omong you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea But then we must not urge the Inference from these words too far for I know of none that think themselves oblig'd by it to read a whole Epistle at one time tho no doubt it was fit the Colossians shou'd so read this Epistle then as we shou'd be as forward to read a much longer that came newly to us from the same inspired Pen. And yet because reading an entire portion of Scripture was so constantly practis'd in the Old Testament and the reason of it seems in part to extend to us I do
think 't is very fit that that way of Reading shou'd be also retain'd in our publick Assemblys tho how long an entire portion shall be ordinarily read and in what order must be determin'd by Christian prudence according to the general Rules of Scripture V 'T is granted that the Word of God shou'd be read with great solemnity but there is no particular posture prescrib'd in our hearing of it For tho we read 8 Neh. 5. that the people stood at the opening the Book of the Law yet that posture seems there to refer to the Blessing we read of in the following verse And tho we shou'd grant that the people stood here when the Law was read yet they are elsewhere said to sit Thus 33 Ezek. 30 31. when they came professedly to hear what was the word that came forth from the Lord yet they are describ'd as sitting before him as his people And those assembled in the Synagogue on the Sabbath-day 13 Acts 14 15. are represented as using the same posture as sat down while the Law and Prophets were read VI. For explaining and applying the Scripture by way of Doctrine and Exhortation It was a constant part of their Lord's-day worship in Christian Assemblys in the Apostles time Doctrine is mention'd together with breaking of Bread and Prayers as one branch of their stated devotions 2 Acts 42. 1 Cor. 14 26. Nor do we read of one Christian Assumbly that I remember on that day without it And it appears by the testimony of the Ancients that it was constantly practis'd in the first ages of Christianity as the Bp. himself grants p. 76 their Sermons being usually an explication and practical emprovement of that portion of Scripture which had been read Nor dos what the Bp. suggests p. 75. render it probable that this was not constantly done in Christian Churches For what he produces from 13 Acts 15. concerns the Jewish Synagogues and even the argument drawn from thence is not cogent for tho there had been constant provision for Enlargement yet the Rulers of the Synagogue knowing that the Apostle and his followers pretended to some new Doctrine might send that message to ' em For what he saith from 12 Rom. 6 7 c. That St. Paul supposes him who Teaches and him whose office it was to exhort distinct from him that ruled and ministred And it dos not appear that every Church was furnisht with all these Officers I shall only answer It dos not appear from this place that these four things requir'd four distinct Officers We read only of two ordinary Officers in the Christian Church viz. Elders or Bishops and Deacons See 1 Tim. 3. 1 Tit. 1 Phil. 1. 20 Acts 28. To the latter ministring to the poor belong'd To the former Teaching Exhorting and Ruling and as these were several branches of the same Office so probably since there were many such Bishops or Elders constituted in every particular Church 14 Acts 23. 1 Tit. 5. Some might have their talents and abilities more suited to one part of their work and others to another and accordingly they might ordinarily divide their ministrations and each attend what he was qualify'd for And accordingly the Bp. well observes that that the Apostle Paul conjoyns Doctrine Exhortation in his charge to Timothy 1 Tim. 4.13 And 't is probable both are included in the Apostle Peter's Exhortation to Elders 1 Pet. 5.1 2 3. Lastly I do agree with him that there shou'd be such a summary of the principal doctrines of the Gospel as our Catechisms and Confessions of Faith usually contain Which form of sound words shou'd be held fast Tho that the 6 Heb. 1 2. contains that form mention'd 2 Tim. 1.13 is but doubtful and 't is much more doubtful whether that 6 Heb. 1 2. contain'd six distinct principles or heads of doctrine Of which more afterwards Having consider'd the Directions of H. Scriptures in reference to Hearing I shall now examine the Application the Bp. makes of 'em to the Practice of the Establisht Church and that of the Dissenters IN representing the practice of the Dissenters he promises to do it with the same Candor and Sincerity that he has hitherto endeavour'd to observe What sort of Candor and Sincerity that is the Reader has already had a sufficient tast of and he will find the Bp. dos not in this Chapter vary from the Precedents he had given in the former For how little regard he has had to Truth in the following Accusations will appear upon a particular review of ' em I. He charges the Dissenting Ministers with disregarding Scripture-Rules and Example and with laying aside all those methods of Instruction the Scriptures recommend to us except it be that of Exposition and Exhortation Insomuch saith he that tho a man frequent your Meetings all his life yet he has no security or hardly possibility of learning from your publick Teachings all the great mysteries of his Religion or the necessary principles of his Faith For which he alledges these two things for proof 1. For first your Teachers are entirely left to their choice what place of Scripture they will explain or what Subject they will handle And hence it happens that hardly any one man in his life ever goes thro the necessary Articles of Faith or of Practice in his publick Sermons And for the truth of this he appeals to our selves 2. You have no sumary of Principles enjoyn'd to be either read or taught in your publick Assemblys Answ There are some Accusations so gross and shameless that 't is hard for a man to treat 'em with decency and to such Accusers we are often forc'd to apply the Archangel's language Ep. Jude v 9. But our Author has that peculiar infelicity that the more notorious untruths he delivers he is still the more confident in 'em and nothing will serve him but appealing to thâ—se for the truth of what he says who most certainly know it to be false For with what face can the Bp. say That a man may frequent the Dâ—ssenters Meetings all his life-time and yet have no security or hardly possibility of learning from their publick Teachings all the great mysteries of his Religion or Principles of his Faith and appeal to our selves as witnesses that hardly any one man in his life ever goes thro the necessary Articles of Faith or of Practice in his publick Sermons Dos he indeed hope to persuade the world that the great mysteries and Principles of the Christian Religion Fx. gr the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity the Incarnation of Christ his Offices as our Mediator Faith in him and Repentance towards God or Regeneration and Conversion the priviledges of all Believing Penitents their Pardon and Justification their Adoption and Right to the heavenly Inheritance the office of the H. Spirit as our Sanctifier and Comforter the necessity of his supernatural Aids the different future states of the Righteous and the Wicked the general Resurrection and
justle out the word of God out of your solemn Meeting to make room for your own Sermons I beseech you to consider whether this be not laying aside the Commandments of God for men's Inventions unless you 'll call your Sermons as some Quakers are said to do as much the word of God as the Bible Answ Dos his Lp. indeed imagine that a sermon which chiefly consists of several parallel passages of the word of God compar'd togther and recited in that order as may illustrate or apply each other justles out the word of God Or dos a Lecture which is an entire portion of Scripture read and explain'd justle it out Is the word of God excluded by being explain'd and applied when 't is read Or do those less honour the Word of God in their hearts who desire to hear it expounded and applied then those that are content to have it read without any such additional help to understand it and profit by it May we not as wisely tell our Author that he has just led out this Text by paraphrasing it especially when he has done it so untowardly and so little agreeably to the design of our Blessed Saviour Nay how comes he here to call Sermons the Inventions of Men Dos he think that God has not as expressly enjoyn'd Teaching and Exhortation as Reading the Scriptures to Christian Pastors Nay of the two more expressly there being far more numerous and plain passages for the former then for the latter as distinguisht from the former How comes he then to make that a human Invention which he owns has scriptural Example to warrant it p. 75. nay for which I have produc't him plain precepts too Nay how comes he to assign us so wonderful a Reason why we must own Sermons to be men's Inventions viz. that otherwise we must call e'm as some Quakers are said to do as much the word of God as the Bible Dos he indeed espouse that sottish Opinion of the Quakers who account every thing in the Worship of God a human Invention that is perform'd in the exercise of our own rational Faculties and requires our Study and Meditation in the composure of it If he do I am afraid he must abandon the Reading of the Scriptures as an human Invention too because that requires the use of our Eyes and some small use of our Vnderstandings too to read right Nay he must on the same account call all the Collects in the Liturgy human Inventions as the Quakers do because he cannot pretend 'em to be as much divinely inspir'd as the Prayers recorded in the Bible And dos he expect that we should regard such uncharitable censures as are founded on such wild and confus'd Notions as these are any more than we do the senseless clamours of the Quakers themselves who at least in this matter speak more consistently with themselves then his Lp. dos when he talks of human Inventions His Lp tells us p. 88. Many of our common People are strangers to the History of the Bible and the first Principles of Christianity Answ Either he means they are more so in proportion to those that are members of the Establish't Church or he dos not If not to what purpose dos he upbraid the Dissenters with it If he dos I wou'd desire him to consult his credit a little better then by obtruding so notorious untruths upon the world 'T is impossible to make exact Computations of this kind But I doubt not that if he takes a thousand Families of each Communion he will find that for one of the Conforming Laity that reads the Scripture dayly in their Families there are ten or more of the Dissenters I am credibly inform'd by such as live in the North that most Families of Dissenters read the Scriptures dayly and especially on the Lord's day both before they come to the publick worship and after And 't is partly on that account that the Ministers lay down their Expository Lectures in the depth of Winter Whereas since comparatively so few Conforming Families have the Scriptures read in 'em there may be perhaps the greater necessity for the reading a larger entire portion of 'em in the Parish Churches I may say the same as to the other branch of the Accusation For the account given before of the care of their Ministers to catechize every particular person in their Parishes renders it absolutely incredible that their People should be greater strangers to the first Principles of Christianity then others on whom no such particular pains are bestow'd The Bp. tells us p. 95. Reading a Verse or two and trusting to the Minister's Application without the Peopl's being acquainted with the whole Body of Scripture dos put Christians too much in the power of their Teachers c. This is the very Artifice whereby the Romish Priests keep their People in Ignorance And your Teachers using the same method seems too like a design on their Hearers and tempts the World to suspect that they are afraid of the naked simplicity of the Scriptures since they dare not trust the People with hearing 'em publickly read except they add their own glosses on ' em Answ Has his Lp. any just ground for this invidious Comparison Do the Romish Priests when they Preach put Bibles into their people's hands Do they read it to 'em in their Mother Tongue Do they urge their people to bring Bibles with them and like the Noble Beraeans to examin all they deliver and not to take things on trust from their Teachers without trying what they hear by that infallible Test And yet he knows this is the Dissenters practice to whose Meetings most of their people bring Bibles whereas few comparatively bring 'em to the publick Churches unless it be that small part of 'em which the common-prayer-Common-Prayer-Book contains Nay do not those rather imitate the Romish Priests who tho they lock not up the Scriptures in an unknown Tongue yet never open 'em when they read 'em by a judicious Exposition Or dos he think bare reading the Scriptures without ever comparing 'em will best acquaint the People with the body of ' em Or dos he think the People are in greatest danger of being seduc't when the Scriptures are explain'd as well as read to 'em and that they are then likest to take up the right sense of 'em when they have no Interpreter to guide ' em Were the Apostles afraid of the naked simplicity of the Scriptures because they took so much pains to add their own glosses on ' em Or dos he think that meer Readers have done more to recover Christianity to it's primitive simplicity and purity and to reclaim the world from the delusions of Popery then the most laborious Expositors Why then do we not throw away all our Commentaries on the Bible Why dare not his Lp. in this Discourse trust us with the naked simplicity of the Scriptures he quotes in it without adding his own glosses on ' em Or will he own
and religious have the same violent passion for prescribed Forms 3. We must beg his Lordships pardon if we cannot easily believe 't is only Conscience that makes the Conforming Clergy so generally decline Extemporary Prayers For if by Extempore Prayers he means such as are free and unconfin'd to any prescribed Forms he seems himself to own p. 54. That there are some occasions that require it even in publick p. 54. and I see no ground to doubt but that they are ordinarily more convenient then set Forms if those Prayers be most convenient that tend most to raise true Devotion in the minds of the People But we must much more beg his Lp's pardon for not believing what he adds for Confirmation of this account of their disusing free Prayer For it seems a very surprizing Discovery that he has made to us when he tells us p. 186. 'T is manifest that Extemporary Prayers wou'd be much more easy to most of us and less burthensom then the service we use You may think otherwise but assure your selves that you are mistaken And I dare appeal to those that have tried both whether is most easie There are such both amongst you and us that have made the experiment And I dare refer it to 'em to declare on their Consciences which of the two Services they look on to be the greater burthen to him that performs ' em Whatever you may think if we wou'd indulg our selves It were no hard matter for the meanest of us to pass an Extemporary Prayer on our Auditory or turn the heads of our Sermon into one Ans We pay a great deference to his Lp's Judgment but we cannot without offering great violence to our own understandings bring 'em to assent to so incredible a Paradox meerly because 't is deliver'd with so extraordinary an Air of assurance much less can we entertain that as a manifest Truth which to us seems so contrary to common sense For we cannot imagine what unsupportable burthen it shou'd be for a man to read the Service of the Church when he has the Book before him unless when he is pain'd with sore eyes or terribly hoarse with a great Cold For then it may possibly be some considerable Trouble to him But for a Minister to deliver a free Prayer in a Publick Assembly And the Bp. knows the Dissenters are seldom accused for theirs being too short requires both serious Meditation before hand to suit it to the occasion and to the state of his People and the Laborious Exercise of his Judgment his Invention and Memory which is a real burthen and difficulty to those that are not by deep Study and frequent Exercise habituated to it Nay tho the Dissenters shou'd Pray in that new way his Lp. has contriv'd for 'em by patching together several pieces of old Forms to make a new dress of it yet this wou'd require some Exercise of their Judgment and Memory to tack 'em right together and to repeat 'em without hesitation And this sure is not so easie a matter as what he cannot deny every School-boy to be capable of viz. to turn over the leaves and Read what is usually in a fair and large Print His Lp. may if he please appeal from common sense to Experience but by all that I have yet convers'd with on this Subject his assertion seems as strange to them as it does to us Nor can I meet with any of these Vertuoso's in Devotion that pretend upon any Experiments they have made to give their suffrage to his new Observation We do not indeed doubt of his Lp's Abilities but he must allow us to doubt of those of the body of the inferior Clergy who I fear wou'd think it a severe imposition upon 'em if their Diocesans shou'd oblige 'em to the frequent Exercise of their Talents this way For I have heard several Clergy-men of no mean parts complain of the unhappy inability for free Prayer that general disuse had brought upon 'em and I believe I might herein with much better reason appeal to Experience But since his Lp's hand is in for Paradoxes I think he shou'd have added one more viz. That 't is manifest that 't is a far greater burden for the Clergy to Read the Homilies of the Church or other Mens Sermons than to Preach Sermons of their own and I doubt not he may with as much reason appeal to the Experience of those that have tried both to attest the Truth of it And if he can make good the Truth of these two Paradoxes the N.C. Ministers will hence forward pass for lazy Drones while the poor Readers of the Church are accounted the truest Labourers But to give the latter their due the most of 'em take too much pains for that sorry hire that 's allow'd 'em by such of their Brethren as are laborious enough to engross Church-Livings but too far consult their ease to make the Duties of their Function any burthen to ' em Lastly For his Request to the Dissenting Laiety That they wou'd believe he heartily desires and studies the good of their Souls I hope they are willing to gratify him herein as far as rational Charity can allow Only it wou'd greatly facilitate their Belief of it if they found him more tender of their good Name and just Reputation And they are sory to find that notwithstanding all his professions of good-will he shou'd shew so little regard to that not only in a continued Series of unjust Accusations through his whole Book but especially in the following words in which he has drawn up a comprehensive Summary charge sufficient to render 'em odious if it be believ'd but they are confident too apparently groundless to gain credit with any that will pass a Righteous and Impartial Judgement on these matters His Lp's words are For how is it possible that any Man that has a Zeal for the Purity of God's worship shou'd not have his Spirit mov'd within him to see a well meaning People so strangely mis-led as to content themselves to meet together perhaps for some years with a design to worship God and yet hardly ever see any thing of God's Immediate Appointment in their Meetings Now to my thoughts this is manifestly the case of many of you since a Man may frequent some Meetings among you for some years and never hear a Prayer a Psalm or Chapter which has been imediately dictated by God and never be call'd on to bow his knee to God or see either Minister or People Address themselves to him in that humble posture Lastly never see any body offer to Administer or desire to Receive the Food of Life in the Lord's Supper These are melancholy Reflections to me who believe that God has requir'd these in his Worship And therefore I hope you will take it in good part that I Endeavour to Restore them to you Ans If the Case of the Dissenters be truly such as the Bp. Represents it His Zeal to recover the
in Order or Office as Mr. Humphreys has largely prov'd in a late Book called the Healing Attempt We wou'd humbly desire 'em to use their interest that that unhappy Clause may be ras't out of the Preface to the present Book of Ordination in which 't is so peremptorily asserted That 't is evident to all men diligently reading the H. Scriptures and ancient Authors that from the Apostles time there have been these three Orders in Christ's Church Bishops Priests and Deacons That by three Orders they mean three Offices is plain from the very following words which Offices were evermore had in such Reverend Estimation c. Now it seems to us very unreasonable that all Ministers shou'd be by the Act of Uniformity oblig'd to profess their Assent to this proposition when 't is so contrary to the current judgment of the generality of the most Eminent Protestant Conforming Divines in those 3 foremention'd Reigns to whom we might add several very learned ones in the Reign of K. James the first and K. Charles the first and 2d but especially when 't is a Proposition at best disputable both among learned Protestants and Papists and as far as we can judg rather evidently contrary to the holy Scriptures and to the first and purest ages of Christianity So that we fear that few Ministers can sincerely profess their Assent to this Assertion who have taken the pains to make any impartial enquiry into this matter And we are the more desirous of having this Clause ras't out because this new Opinion of Episcopacy being a distinct Order and Office from Presbytery is the ground of that uncharitable practice of the Establisht Church in requiring Reordination in all such at home as have been ordained by Presbyters i. e. true Scriptural Bishops and Pastors as a necessary condition of being admitted to the exercise of their Ministerial Function nay in urging Reordination too on all the Ministers of Reformed Churches abroad who never had Diocesan Bishops among ' em As if all the administrations of those Eminent Ministers in France who are now so honourable Confessors in the cause of Reformed Christianity were mere Nullitys till Prelatical Hands were laid upon ' em 2. Since the Archbishops and Bishops claim the Government of the Church as their Province we humbly wish they wou'd endeavour to recover the spiritual part of their Authority out of their Chancellor's hands who have so long usurpt the keys of sacred Discipline and have hitherto so scandalously manag'd 'em as to bring the solemn censures of the Church into general contempt And no wonder when they are prostituted to so vile a purpose as that of filthy lucre and thereby the Temple of God is turn'd into a House of Merchandize We do not speak this against the power of the Spiritual Courts in those Civil Causes or in those Ecclesiastical ones which their Majesties in pursuance of their just power circa sacra may authorize 'em to determine but only their assuming the cognizance of all cases of scandal so far as they subject men to the censures of the Church and being entrusted with the infliction of those censures even in reference to all the numerous causes that come before 'em so few of which properly belong to an Ecclesiastical Judicatory For besides that we think That the power of inflicting those censures belongs to Pastors and cannot be delegated by 'em to a Layman it seems a certain and unavoidable tho pernicious consequence of such Spiritual Courts being entrusted with the sentence of Excommunication to enforce all their Decrees that the most awful judgment on earth is like to use my Ld Bacon's expressions to be made an ordinary process to lacquey up and down for fees * Consider for the better establishing the Ch. of Engl. We doubt not their Lp's have read Bp Bedel's Life wrote by the present Bp. of Sarum wherein there is so loud and just a complaint of the gross abuses of this kind and so noble an example set 'em of zeal for the Reformation of ' em And no doubt if they wou'd concur in their imitation of it they might do it with rational prospect of greater success and be happily instrumental to wipe off some part of that stain brought on the Church by her tolerating these corruptions which as the foremention'd Bp of Sarum relates pious Archbishop Usher so greatly lamented and apprehended it wou'd bring a curse and ruine upon the whole Constitution See Bp. Bedel's Life p. 86 87 3. We cou'd heartily wish that when their Lp's have recover'd their own Authority out of their Chancellors hands they wou'd exercise it in concurrence with the Presbyters of their several Dioceses And herein also the foremention'd Bp. Bedel set 'em an excellent pattern Ib. p. 90. And we hope the Bp of Derry will urge 'em to an imitation thereof since he has laid it down as their common Opinion and Judgment p 175. That the Government of the Church in such districts as those of our Dioceses ought to be in a Presbytery with a Bishop as President and Governour by Christ's Appointment 4. We wou'd also humbly desire 'em to restore that Godly discipline which the Common-prayer-book tells us was in the primitive Church for bringing such as were convicted of notorious sin to publick profession of their Repentance For since the Church in the Office of Commination yearly declares that the Restoration of the said Discipline is much to be wish't It will look like a mocking of Heaven yearly to repeat such lazy wishes of it when there are no serious attempts made towards it And we can seee no reason why the Curses peculiar to the Mosaical Dispensation shou'd be substituted instead of it 5. We cou'd wish that part of the Office for Visiting the Sick might be review'd which concerns Absolution For since there is no other Absolution own'd in the Reformed Churches but either publishing the conditional offers of pardon in the Gospel or a ministerial releasing those from the Censures of the Church on whom they had been inflicted before We think it dos too much countenance the judicial power of Absolution claim'd by the Romish Priests for the Minister to absolve the uncensur'd in so peremptory terms I absolve thee from all thy sins in the name of the Father c. For they seem to make the Minister pass a more positive judgment of the sick man's Repentance than he is capable to do 6. In order to the more effectual exercise of that godly discipline foremention'd We wou'd earnestly request that the Parish-Ministers may be restor'd to that Pastoral power which Archbishop Usher in his model of Episcopacy shews that they were invested in according to the former Book of Ordination but of which they seem now depriv'd by the many changes made in the new See the Healing Attempt p. 57 58 59 c. 'T is certain they are most capable of a personal inspection of the lives of their Flock and consequently