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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40812	A vindication of liturgies shewing the lawfulness, usefulness, and antiquity, of performing the publick worship of God by set forms of prayer, wherein several other things also of considerable use are occasionally discussed : in answer to a late book intitules, A reasonable account why some pious non-conforming ministers in England judge it sinful for them to perform their ministerial acts in publick solemn prayer by the prescribed forms of others / by William Falkner.	Falkner, William, d. 1682.	1680 (1680)	Wing F336; ESTC R24032	135,488	300

shall give a faithful account of the substance of his Arguments and leave it to the impartial Reader to judge of the validity of my Answers And that I may the more gratifie such who will compare his Discourse and mine I shall keep to his method which he hath used except where he speaks to the same thing in different places and in that Case I shall think it sufficient to have spoken to it once for all And I shall so order my Answer that my first Chapter may answer his first my second his second and so onward to the end of his Book 6. But touching my former Discourse which this Writer opposeth he seemeth not very well pleased with my having chosen that subject c In his last leaf to the Reader to write on viz. the defence of our Liturgy nor with the time when my Book was written which he saith was in that nick of time of his Majesties most Gracious Indulgence if it was possible to perswade the Parliament that there was no need of any indulgence towards them Now as to the subject matter of my Livertas Ecclesiastica if he dislike my having engaged therein or my undertaking now to defend so much of two Sections thereof as he hath opposed I am content so far to bear his dislike and censure but I think my self to have given a sufficient d Libert Eccles B. 1. Ch. 1. account thereof And if what he observes concerning the time was true I think that was a fit time to defend and justify our Communion when they who divide themselves from us made the greatest opposition against it and involved themselves in the heinous sin of Schism But the truth is I was engaged in that work before that Declaration came abroad but may Book was not published till after his Majesty had cancelled that Declaration the Declaration which was made March 1671 2. was Cancelled about the end of 1672. and my Book came abroad in Octob. 1673. 7. But as to the perswading our Governours against any Indulgence or favour towards them it is possible the positions of this Writer may do more to that purpose than I have done I did indeed justify the lawfulness of performing what is required of Ministers concerning the Liturgy which was no more than to vindicate what the practice and acknowledgment of every conforming Minister had before owned But I think it my duty to leave the ordering of publick affairs to my superiours and did not by any expression that I am aware of interpose in their work 8. But I know not how far such Discourses as this of this Author ma● 〈◊〉 vince superiours that such persons ar● 〈◊〉 capable of being taken in into any duly regulated and setled establishment because of the unreasonableness of their demands and the weakness of their Arguments since he declareth against the enjoining the ordinary use of any Liturgy or set form whatsoever in publick Ministrations And we may see by e Ch. 10. p. 164. the close of his Book that he accounteth it the only medium he can fancy for a just comprehension that there be no Forms of Prayer enjoined though they may be recommended by superiours and left at liberty And yet it seemeth probable from his f In the two last leaves Preface that all this is not enough for he there tells us of other six things he hath to put in dispute besides this I do not doubt but all those six things may be as easily answered as produced and the Reader may make a probable judgment of the strength and force of those other things by this one which he hath singled out from the rest and therefore surely he thought it to be as considerable as any of the other 9. And it might be expected that he who is curiously severe in judging of a fit time for publishing other mens Discourses should have a sufficient care of the seasonableness of his own And he who considers the business of our Enemies abroad and how they are encouraged by our discords at home may well think that they who have any true value for the Reformation should at this time encline to promote a setled establishment of the Church which may tend to uphold and secure it And since our dissenters by sufficient tryal found in our late distracted times that they could not erect much less maintain any establishment in their way we may thence discern that no settlement can reasonably be expected but upon the foundations of the Church of England which hath also the advantage of truth and agreement with Primitive Christianity And therefore it was no fit time now to vent such notions which widen our breaches are inconsistent with any publick establishment of a Church and which put advantages into the hands of other Enemies and serve their purposes And yet I confess this of the time is the least fault of this Discourse but that which is the greater is that the drift thereof tends to confusion and the things contained in it are unsound and untrue which I shall now come to manifest CHAP. I. Of stating the Question concerning the established constant use of Forms of Prayer in the publick service of God IN managing his opposition against the constant use of prescribed Forms of Prayer The Question proposed concerning the lawfulness of using Forms by Ministers who have gifts the forementioned Writer doth in his first Chapter give us the state of the Question which he undertakes to dispute and therein he expresseth what he yieldeth and granteth as lawful and what he judgeth and esteemeth to be sinful and undertaketh to prove it so and herein he hath declared himself with sufficient clearness and plainness What he contends for he thus expresseth a Reasonable Account p. 5. All that we affirm is this That our Consciences do from arguments which to us at least seem highly probable judge That it is unlawful for Ministers having the gift of prayer ordinarily to perform their ministerial acts in solemn stated publick Prayer by reading or reciting forms of Prayer composed by other men confessedly not divinely and immediately inspired although our superiours do requrie this of us 2. But he alloweth and acknowledgeth b p. 2. that their labours are profitable who have drawn the matter of Prayer into Forms c p. 3. that any Form of Prayer contained in the Scripture may be used as part of our Prayer whether it be under any command or no but if it be commanded it undoubtedly ought to be used d ibid. That if a Minister distrusting his own memory or invention shall compose Prayers for his own use he may do it e ibid. that it is lawful yea necessary for them who join with others in Prayer to make use of their words which yet are but a Form to them f ibid. that he that ministers in Prayer to others may use a prescribed Form of anothers composure if he have not the gift

more devout we are to the higher degree we are raised of this temper and active disposition of mind This is indeed of great consequence in our addresses to God and as c Aug. de Temp. Serm. 157. S. Austin saith Prayer being a spiritual thing it is so much the more accepted of God by how much our spirits and affections are answerable to this duty If this be what he means by his attention and intention it will be readily granted that that way or model of service which hinders these duties and is not consistent with their exercise is thereupon unlawfull And this seems to be his sense when he saith d p. 33. attention is for the soul hoc agere to do what it pretends to do and by e p. 34. intention and fervour he means an holy zeal and heat of the inward man of sorrow in confession desires in petition joy in thanksgiving But there may be too great a stress laid upon zeal earnestness and fervency since this is sometimes found even to some degree of ecstasie in men of hot heads strong imaginations and deluded minds in whom it is far from the temper of sober devotion Sect. I. And an awful reverence of God a Religious and godly fear a humble submissiveness and sober exercise of other Christian graces is far to be preferred before it Now I doubt not but that a pious man may pray seriously religiously and affectionately either in the use of a Form or without one but I think the former hath in many cases the advantage and specially in the publick service of the Church as may hereafter appear 3. When he comes to prove that the use of set Forms of Prayer hindreth attention and fervency he useth high words and saith f p. 25. it is to them next to a demonstration and g p. 26. it is impossible for any without self-condennation to deny it But if after all this his proofs shall appear shallow and insufficient then these will be evinced to be rash words and talking lavishly with immoderate confidence 4. In his discoursing concerning attention instead of Arguments he proposeth three questions which he would have considered First h p. 25. Whether it be possible for any person to read any discourse with that degree of attention of thoughts Diligent attention may be easily given to what is read as he must pronounce the same with by heart To which I Answer that it is certain this may be easily done and I think it strange it should be questioned How usual is it t●● read the Scriptures and other Books wi●● as great attention as the same things ca● be spoken without reading Particular●● in considering his Arguments I shoul● have thought him big with strange conceits who should tell me that I must b● at the pains of getting them withou● Book before I could attend to their sense● and I know I can do it better by viewing them in his Book If our Author ca●● not do thus much he cannot be of capacity to make any great proficiency by any thing he hath read and he must b● the unfittest man of any I know to answer other mens Writings when he cannot well attend to their sense in readin● them And it is strange to me that any man should write a Book if he think 〈◊〉 man can much attend to its sense in reading it and he that is of this opinion needs not be much concerned how carelesly he writes 5. The ancient Christians declared the reading the Holy Scriptures to have had 〈◊〉 mighty efficacy upon their minds and spirits insomuch that he devout Reade● was thereby as i Orig. cont Cels Origen expresseth it i● a manner inspired which could not have been without a diligent attention 〈◊〉 them But if our Authors way of Dicourse course were of any force the delivery of Christian Doctrine by Oral Tradition must be much more vigorous lively and powerful than by the Scriptures I confess he doth make a particular exception concerning the Scriptures when he speaks of oft reading what we are before acquainted with and saith k p. 27. God hath secured an abiding reverence for them in all pious souls But I suppose he doth not mean that this is done in any extraordinary and miraculous manner And it is plain that even the Scriptures are read by many with carelesness and have been long observed to have been perverted and abused by l Iren. adv Haer. l. 1. c. 1 c. 15. Tert. de praescript adv Haer. c. 17. Hereticks Wherefore the reverence that pious men have for the Scriptures in reading them is chiefly with respect to God because they are his word and his laws whereby his will is declared to men But since as m Aug. de Temp. Serm. 112. S. Aug. observed when we pray we speak to God and when we read God speaks to us a Religious honour and fear of God so far as it prevails will secure a reverence to the frequent use of the same Prayer because therein also we have to do with God and address our selves unto him 6. A second thing he would have considered which as the former hath particular respect to him that Ministreth is whether any thing can more conduce to 〈◊〉 the thoughts upon the duty and God n p. 26. than when a man can trust his affection to thrust out words A pious temper of mind doth more six mens hearts on God in Prayer than the greatest freedom of expression can do Now having considered this I think it past all doubt th●● a devout sense of Gods presence and o● his purity and of the great assurance w●● have of his readiness to help and ble●● them who Religiously and diligently see● him together with humble considerations of our dependance upon him and a careful preparing our hearts to approach unto him do wonderfully more conduce to fix our thoughts and minds upon God and our duty than using our own word with freedom of expression and a voleble tongue can do And by this method the whole Christian Assembly as well as the Minister may be prepared for the right performance of this service Our Author● method may occasion him who ministreth to attend the more carefully 〈◊〉 his words but this only is that which commands and guides the heart And that mens hearts may be as much composed an● their Spirits as fervent in the use of a fet Form as in any other way is manifest from what I formerly observed o Libert Eccl. B. 1. Ch. 4. p. 135. that our Saviours praying more earnestly in his agony was in repeating again and again the same words And the Leyden p Syn. pur Theol. Disp 36. n. 33. Professors observed that when upon his Cross he said my God my God why hast thou forsaken me he used a Form of deprecation from the Psalmist and yet sure no Christian can think that he the less attended to what he