gifts and to use our Authors Argument against the restraint of them 14. The high advantages of the influences and aids of the Holy Spirit in the Church of God are with great thankfulness to God and our Saviour to be acknowledged but the operations of this spirit tend to produce purity holiness and goodness Christians are commanded in the Holy Scriptures to pray in the spirit which besides what was extraordinary and peculiar to those times consists in inward piety of heart and not in variety of words And copiousness of expression is so far from being an evidence of his conduct that in S. Chrysostoms judgment where there is an over-flowing abundance and multitude of words in Prayer this cannot consist with that praying in the spirit which is commanded by the Apostle Eph. 6.18 It is saith he y Chrys in Eph. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to pray in the spirit when any one useth multitudes of words and repetitions And indeed to pray in the spirit as the Apostle directs is to perform the duty of Prayer with a pious temper of mind according to the Christian rules whereas the designed use of variety of words and expressions and the affecting this is contrary to the Precepts of our Saviour The Commentaries under S. Ambrose his name declare z In Eph. 6. Hoc est in spiritu semper or are munda conscientia fide integra precem ad Deum dirigere This is to pray always in the spirit to direct prayer to God with a pure conscience and an upright faith and Calvin explains praying in the spirit by declaring the inward devoutness of affection which is a fruit of that spirit a In Ep. Jud. v. 20. hinc ardor vehementia hinc denique gemitus illi inenarrabiles Hence proceed warmth and earnestness of spirit and groans that cannot be uttered 15. I acknowledge a sober and due freedom of expression to be a gift of God in the same manner that the capacities of mens understanding and all other abilities of mind and body are Gods gifts But it is plain that this liberty of expression is the product of the natural capacities men receive from God which are improved in well disposed persons by ordinary means under Gods blessing And I cannot discern and I think no man else can that a Ministers ability of speech either for Prayer or Preaching or Conference is of any other nature than that freedom of expression which a Lawyer hath to plead or which other persons of good capacities and liberal education and who have accustomed themselves to discourse do make use of concerning such things as they have well considered only it may be advanced by a pious affection towards the things he may discourse of 16. I shall now consider whether it be the duty of Christians or particularly of Ministers to make use of such abilities at all times in the exercises of Religion And besides what I have said before How far Ministers are obliged to exercise all their abilities it may justly be accounted a considerable if not an unanswerable objection against the necessity contended for of a Ministers using a particular gift or ability wherewith he is endued meerly because it is a gift in that this would equally make it his duty to use his present or extempore ability of conception and expression in Prayer or Preaching if he have any such ability and the use of his memory in declaring what he hath himself conceived or thought on before-hand and also his reading what hath been before composed either by himself or by others But the use of these several abilities at the same time is impossible because of their being inconsistent with one another But God obligeth no man to impossibilities 17. And besides this if it be necessary to the obtaining the favour of God for Ministers to use their own gifts in uttering variety of expressions in their Prayers to God because they may not neglect the use of any of their gifts or abilities then it must be necessary also where the person who Ministers hath an ability to perform it and the Auditory among learned men and Scholars hath a capacity to understand it to perform the Offices of Prayer in the use of divers languages some part in one language and some part in another exercising therein all his several abilities For our Authors Argument will as much prove the necessity of this as the necessity of his using his own parts in different ways of expression in his own language since the former is a more eminent and extraordinary ability than the latter and if no gift or accomplishment may be totally neglected in the service of God then not this which is of so considerable a degree But yet if we consider God b Cl. Alex. Strom. l. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he desires not and is not pleased with the variety of sounds of words and languages and the urging such a practice as a necessary duty of Religion would represent Religion as if it was a business of affectation fancy and humour and not of piety and seriousness Now this I mention to manifest hereby of how low and little concernment in Religion the meer exercise of a mans own abilities are further than they have an influence upon the profit and edification of others 18. No duty to use any ability further than is orderly and for edification And there are also many other abilities gifts or perfections of another nature which God bestows upon some Ministers the exercise of which they may lawfully and usefully wholly omit in their Ministerial employments For instance he who is eminently able by critical learning to explicate divers difficult Texts of Scripture or who is one of a piercing judgment to fathom the depth of the greatest controversies will not only be free from sin but may be commended if he silence these his abilities in his popular Sermons and acquaint common Auditories with such doctrines and duties as are both useful for their practice and sutable to their capacities Thus S. Paul dealt with his Corinthians feeding them with milk 1 Cor. 3.2 19. I shall now go further and shew 'T is best for the Church that the ablest men in some cases ordinarily make use of what was formed by others abilities that Ministers who have themselves gifts and abilities of the greatest degree both lawfully may and for the greater good of the Church ought to make use of what is drawn up to their hands by others in some great and weighty cases rather than of their own gifts in the neglect of what is so composed drawn up and established And of this I shall give two instances 20. My first instance shall be concerning the translation of the Holy Scripture Now I presume this Author will acknowledge As the Translation of Scripture that Ministers ought to instruct their people in the doctrine and Religion of Christianity out of the holy Scriptures But
according to his Principles he who is able to give an account of the Original ought not to cite the Scripture according to our English Translation but must use his own gift and ability in making a new Translation of his own and possibly if he be guided by our Authors way of reasoning he must be still making new Translations of the same Text of Scripture when he cites it a second third and fourth time if he be able to vary so oft And yet it is easy to see that a fixed and well considered Translation must be of more value and esteem and of greater use for the instructing people in the doctrine of Christianity than this changeable method And in this case we have the acknowledgment of this Writer himself who saith c Reas Acc. p. 20. both Christ and his Apostles made frequent use of the Septuagint Version 21. Our Author himself proposeth it as an objection against his opinion that according to it d P. 19. Ministers who are able must be bound in reading the Scriptures to make a Translation of their own And here at first he makes a doubt whether reading the Scriptures be a Ministerial act and saith Christ never said to them Go and read and he supposeth the Scriptures may be read by inferiour officers as is done in other Reformed Churches But thus far his Answer is very insufficient if it be considered 1. That the reading the holy Scriptures in the Church hath been a part of the publick Offices in the Christian Assemblies from the time of the e Tertul. Apol. c. 39. Just Mart. Apol. 2. first Centuries and even in the Apostles times and by their Precept Act. 15.31 Col. 4.16 1 Thes 5.27 and that this is included in that charge to Timothy 1 Tim. 4.13 Give attendance to reading is acknowledged by many f V. Dr Hammond in Baldw. in loc Expositors And therefore if all publick offices ought to be performed by the use of mens own gifts why not this 2. Even the publick Prayers were also in the ancient Greek Church usually performed or read not by the chief Officers but by the Deacon as g Chrys in Rom. passim S. Chrysostom oft expresseth 3. That yet when persons of great abilities do undertake to read the Scriptures publickly they must either sin according to his Position in neglecting the use of their gifts or else must make New Translations 4. That what ever such men as our Author will determine concerning the publick reading the Scriptures which was also constantly h Buxt Syn. Jud. c. 9. practised in the Jewish Church Act. 13.15 27. ch 15.21 and where our Saviour himself after he had begun to preach stood up for to read Luk. 4.15 16. Yet so long as instructing the people out of the Scriptures is acknowledged a Ministerial Act they must according to his Argument be hence obliged to make new Translations 22. But for a further Answer he tells us i p. 20. That no single Minister is fit to be trusted with this nor to enter a dissent to the ordinary Version but with great modesty and upon weighty grounds Now I commend the modesty of these expressions though I think in the former clause they run too far into the other extream I do not see what reason our Author hath to condemn S. Hieroms translating the Old Testament out of the Original Hebrew or his Translating the Scriptures for the use of his k Hiâ—ron Sophronio Country-men into the Dalmatian or Slavonian Tongue and the like undertakings of divers other persons because this was performed by a single Presbyter and for this work he hath been deservedly honoured in the Christian Church And I did not think he would have been so severe against the Version of Junius and Tremellius or if they may escape the better because they were two against Beza's Version of the New Testament Yet I suppose all understanding men will grant that the undertaking new Translations of the Bible when the old one is sufficiently perfect is a very needless enterprize to make them more numerous than learned men are 23. But why may not what he speaks of a Version be as well and as truly affirmed concerning the publick Prayers of the Church when there are as great abilities required not indeed of skill in the learned languages and ancient Customs but of true wisdom care consideration and prudence and as much authority also fitly to comprise the common addresses of the Church and to recommend them to be presented to God in its publick service as to make a translation of the Scripture And why private Ministers should have a greater liberty to enter their dissents here than concerning a Translation I do not understand especially since we are more certain that our Liturgy is free from any mistake or errour in the matter of it than we can be in some difficult Texts concerning any Translation yet extant every Age affording further helps for the clearer understanding of some of them And it is as easy a thing to make declamations against them who shall suppose that many Ministers are not able to examine and give the sense of the original Texts especially of the New Testament as our Author can make against them who think all private Ministers not sufficiently able with due fitness exactness and comprehensiveness daily to compose new solemn addresses to God to present therein the common service of the Church And yet if their private abilities could constantly enable them to make Prayers every way as perfect as a well-ordered Form is I shall in the next Chapter shew the advantages that a fixed Form in the publick service would still have above them 24. But besides this I know not how our Author will be able here to Answer his own instance For whatsoever may be said of other Ministers were not l Reas Account ibidem Christ and his Apostles who were divinely inspired of abilities sufficient to be intrusted with usual interpreting the Scriptures from the Original yea and of making an infallible translation also And yet they thought it neither necessary nor fit when ever they cited the Scripture to exercise their gifts in making a new Version but as he himself observeth they frequently and for the most part followed the Septuagint Indeed if our Author should embrace that Notion from Aristaeus which is mentioned by * Phil. de Vit. Mos l. 2. p. 659. Philo and espoused by many of the m Just Mart. Cohort ad Gr. Cl. Alex Strom. 1. Epiphan de Mens Pond Augustin c. ancient Writers of the Church and favoured by the n Novel Tit. 29. Const 146. c. 1. Imperial Law and by some o Salian An. Mund. 3775. n. 71. c. Mr Greg. in Opusâ— and others cited by B. Walton Proleg 9. in Bibl. Polygl learned men of later days that the Version of the Septuagint was framed by a kind of divine inspiration
I have in d Libert Eccles B. 1. Ch. 1. p. 16 17 18. another place observed that the promises of Gods grace and presence are chiefly made to them who embrace Peace and Vnity and that therein is the greatest encrease of Christianity in persons who are serious and diligent 4. And concerning the acceptable worshipping of God I desire that it may be further considered that when our Saviour commands him â—â—â—king V 〈…〉 nd 〈…〉 ing superioâ—rs â—â—in 〈◊〉 sâ—â—â—ces who brings his gift to the Altar if his Brother hath ought against him to go first and be reconciled to his Brother and then come and offer his gift Mat. 5.23 24. this Precept must needs be of the greater force when it hath respect to the whole Church or Society of Christians and also to our superiours For if the Church of which any one was a member hath this against him that he hath unwarrantably broken its peace and unity and forsaken its Communion and if his superiours have this against him that he hath disobeyed that authority which God and our Saviour hath established and hath not yielded due submission and respect thereto he must according to our Saviours direction first return to his duty and be reconciled to those whom he hath injured before he can expect that God will receive his service 5. Concerning the fitness and reasonableness of superiours making laws about Forms of Prayer I shall discourse somewhat in e Sect. 4. a. 〈◊〉 another place But whilest he compareth the enjoining a well-ordered Liturgy 〈◊〉 estâ—â—â—â—ment of the order of â—â—â—â—hip to be honoured which is really of great use to Religion with making a law that all Ministers should pray with their eyes shut which can be of no advantage this looks too like a design of humouring the vain fancies of unruly men in exposing the pious actions of superiours to their contempt and derision as if they were empty and foolish things But these are not things to be sported with when according to S. Peters doctrine 2 Pet. 2.9 10. the speaking evil of dignities is one part of the description of them whom God chiefly reserves to the day of judgment to be punished 6. And there can be no publick worship in any Congregation unless it be first determined to be either with or without a Form And is it allowable and necessary for order that he who officiateth in any Christian Assembly should determine this by his authority but only unsit that our Governours should determine any thing herein though God hath charged them with the care of his Church and hath fixed in them a supremacy in matters Ecclesiastical Without this great confusion But if our Authors opinion be as it seems to be by his discourse that all private Christians ought so to determine themselves as to join in the several different modes of worship according as themselves are inclined and consequently they must change these too as oft as their inclinations vary and all their Church-Covenants and obligations to continue in Communion with any particular Society will be as unjust encroachments upon Christian Liberty as penal Laws and an Act of Vniformity this also is very unaccountable For this makes our Saviours constitution of his Church so far void as to account the members born and baptized in an established Church to be under no obligation to the guides and Pastors of the Church but that they are wholly left to themselves to seek or found a new one and it takes away all possibility of any furture establishment And the Issue of any future establishent And the Issue of this must also be at last that it shall be necessary that there be as many several ways of publick worship exercised in every Precinct as there are different opinions and fancies of men living in it that none of them may be at a loss for such a publick worship which themselves best approve And likewise there must be no care of establishing such things as may express most reverence to God or tend most to the real prosit and advantage of men but in Religion every man must do what is right in his own eyes But this is such a way of confusion as gratifies the fanciful inclinations of men but doth not provide for the honour of God and the care of true piety 7. That Forms of Prayer are not disadvantageous but useful and profitable to piety I f Lib. Eccl. p 121. produced two testimonies against which I supposed our Dissenters would not object The first was of the Leyden Professors who say they contend Of the Leyden Professors that they are not only lawful but very advantageous because every Christian cannot fitly conceive new Prayers and the attention of Auditors in great Assemblies is not a little helped by usual Forms Now oâ—â— Author doth not deny that they 〈◊〉 to this purpose but first saith g Reas Account p. 46. 〈◊〉 without reason signifieth nothing But it signifieth as much as I intended that is to express the sense of such persons whom he cannot charge with partiality but my reasons I afterward expressed But he further observeth that they recommend the ability h Syn. Theol Diâ— 36. n. â— of praying without previous Forms upon emergent occasions But doth their adding this deny what they before declared with some earnestness concerning the ordinary publick service We do esteem such abilities also in their proper place and do set a value upon those Books of devotion which are composed by them with prudence and piety And how far Prayers without Forms are desireable to be used I shall give my sense in i Ch. 5. another Chapter where he treats of them 8. The other testimony I produced Of the Walachrian Classis was from the Walachrian Classis who commend Forms for helping the attention of the Anditors in great Assemblies and for k Consid Cont. in Angl. c. 7. p. 173 174 176. keeping Vniformity preventing scandals and encreasing edification and they declare how piously God may be worshipped in the use of them Now though our Author saith little to the former testimony he hath much to say to this Sometimes he seemeth â—o acknowledge them to speak against his sense and opinion And therefore l Reas Acc. p. 51. 54. he sets himself to answer some few of their Arguments which they urge for the use of Forms And speaking concerning a prescribed Form promoting attenting saith m p. 53. He admire that our Reverend Bâ—â—iren should so much as mention it 〈◊〉 a due medium in the case And he acknowledgeth n p. 54. They have some expressions which would make one think they judged it lawful for some Ministers having the gift of Prayer in publick to use the prescribed Forms of others commended to them sometimes In which words he useth a great deal more wariness of expression than will appear agreeable to their sense And again he saith o p.
the Benediction of Eli the High Priest to Hannah and Elkanah 1 Sam. 1.17 Ch. 2.20 28. He goes on to tell us that they g p. 57. do not think that ever our Saviour intended the Lords Prayer to be used syllabically And h De Casib Consc l. 4. c. 17. qu. 5. Amesius also declares that our Lord did not intend to prescribe a Form of words to be constantly observed in the Lords Prayer Now it may well seem strange that any persons should harbour such an opinion as this if they had not some interest which enclined them to have such apprehensions concerning the Lords Prayer But as our late Gracious Soveraign observed i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 16. its great guilt is that it is the warrant and Original Pattern of all set Liturgies in the Christian Church And I cannot but wonder that k Grot. in Mat. 6.9 in Luc. 11.1 Grotius should entertain this extravagant and unreasonable conceit 29. But that our Saviour delivered this Prayer as a Form to be of ordinary use I gave manifest evidence l Libert Eccles p. 100 101 102. from the expressions of his precept from the occasion of his delivering it from the manner of its composure and from clear testimonies concerning the usual practice of the Primitive Church in the first second and third Centuries in observing it as a Form And our Author thought not fit to answer any thing to these proofs The Lords Prayer was directed to be a Form nor indeed to take any notice of them unto which I shall refer the Reader But this novel and groundless notion is also greatly opposite to the sense of the ancient Church in the following Centuries and would have been then earnestly exploded since they looked upon the Apostles themselves and all other Christians to have been enjoined by divine Precept to make use of this Prayer as a Form S. Hierome declared m Hieron adv Pelag. l. 3. c. 5. Docuit Apostolos suos ut quotidie in corporis illius sacrificio credentes audeant loqui Pater noster c. He taught his Apostles that every day believing in the sacrifice of his body they should say Our Father which art in Heaven c. And n Aug. Epist 89. S. Austin saith Omnibus necessaria est Oratio Dominica quam ipsis arietibus gregis i. e. ipsis Apostolis suis Dominus dedit ut unusquisque Deo dicat Dimitte nobis debita nostra c. The Lords Prayer is necessary for all which the Lord gave to the chief of his flock that is to the very Apostles themselves that every one should say to God Forgive us our trespasses c. 30. Among the Protestants as their Writers do generally acknowledge it to be a prescribed Form so Apollonius and the Classis of o Consid contr Ang. p. 177 178. Walachria observed In omnibus Reformatarum Ecclesiarum Liturgiis c. In all the publick Liturgies which are extant of the Reformed Churches the Lords Prayer is prescribed to be used But our Authors Assertion not only contradicts the sense of the ancient Catholick Church and the generality of Protestants abroad but he herein clasheth as well with the Directory and with that Assembly at Westminster which rejected our Common Prayer as with the Church of England In the p Direct Of Prayer after Serm. Directory they said The Prayer which Christ taught his Disciples is not only a pattern of Prayer but it self a most comprehensive Prayer and we recommend it to be used in the Prayers of the Church And the members of that Assembly in their Annotations affirm that q Assembl Annot. on Luk. 11.2 It is the most exact and sacred Form of Prayer indited and taught the Disciples who were to teach the whole World the rules and practice of true Religion by Christ himself who is best able to teach his servants to pray And again Christ prescribed this Form of Prayer to be used by them 31. Now it is an unreasonable confidence and presumption to oppose and contradict the general sense of the Christian Church in all Ages and even the truly Primitive and Reformed Churches if it be not upon great evidence Wherefore I shall now examine what this Writer hath to say for his opinion He saith r Reas Acc. p. 57. If the Apostles had apprehended it left for a Form of words and syllables we should have found some after record of the use of it But if he mean there would be some record of this in the Scriptures and writings of the Apostles this is very vain since it is certain they do not contain such Prayers as were used in the publick Assemblies and it is as unreasonable to expect this in them as to expect that all Books of instruction written by any of our Church should repeat our Publick Liturgy and it is very usual for such Books to have other expressions of Prayer and Supplication than those of our Common-Prayer And if this objection were of any weight it would as much prove that our Saviour never intended that Christian Baptism should be administred in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost as that the Lords Prayer should not be used though he plainly commanded both 32. But if by record The Lords Prayer used as a Form in the Primitive Church he means evidence beyond all exception from authentick ancient Writers concerning the practice of the Primitive Church though the producing such evidence is not necessary to make the Precepts of our Saviour valid I have sufficiently manifested so much in the place lately referred unto but if he took no notice thereof I cannot help that And besides what I mentioned above n. 29. S. Aug. assures us ſ Hom. 42. inter 50. Ad altare Dei quotidie dicitur Oratio Dominica The Lords Prayer is daily said at Gods Altar And in another place speaking of the Communion Service he saith that the Prayers thereof t Ep. 59. ad Paul Qu. 5. fere omnis Ecclesia Dominica Oratione concludit almost every Church doth conclude with the Lords Prayer And the use of it after the receiving the Sacrament was also observed by u De Sacr. l. 5. c. 4. S. Ambrose 33. But our Author saith 2. If Christ intended it for a Form x Ibid. p. 57. all that can be concluded is that Christ may appoint a Liturgy for his Church which surely none denies But it will also follow that Forms of Prayer are not to be rejected and condemned but ought to be esteemed of profitable use It gives an approbation to other publick Forms For since such Forms were of use among the Jews in our Saviours time as I have observed and shall more particularly manifest in the end of the next Section our Lord was so far from reproving this practice or John the Baptist his conforming to the like that himself taught his own
some things to be genuine in them but with an addition of other things spurious See also Mr Å¿ Of Religious Assembl c. 7. p. 248. Thornedike to the same sense 18. Our Author also takes a slight notice of that weighty evidence I produced for the proof of Forms of Prayer t Lib. Eccl. p. 107 108. in the time of Constantine And he only tells us that u Reas Acc. p. 67. Constantines composing Godly Prayers for his Souldiers is a good Argument that the Church had then no publick Liturgies for surely Constantine need not then have made any and it had been a great derogation from the honour of the Church 19. But if our Author had duly observed what I produced Forms of Prayer used in publick service in Constantines time and consulted Eusebius in the places to which I referred he would have found 1. That these Prayers which Constantine made and Eusebius applauded were peculiarly fitted for his Souldiers as is manifest from that particular Prayer related by x De Vit. Const l. 4. c. 20. Eusebius and therefore his inferring from hence that the Church had no Forms before that time is as if he would conclude that because we have had Prayers lately framed to be used at sea that therefore we never had before that time any Common-Prayer And besides this y Ib. c. 19. Eusebius declares that these Prayers he composed were to be used on the Sunday by that part of his Souldiers who had not embraced the Christian Religion whilest the other part of his Army who were Christians did attend the Assemblies of the Church and join in its Prayers 2. He might also have further observed that Constantine was said by Eusebius de Vit. Const. l. 4. c. 17. to order his own palace according to the manner and usage of the Church in that taking into his hands the Books he either applyed himself to the Scriptures or expressed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those Prayers which had received an authoritative sanction But this clear evidence for the use of Forms of Prayer he was willing to overlook as also what I produced from Origen Cyprian and others 20. But because this Authour pretends Liturgies more ancient than six hundred years after Christ that there was no established Liturgy before the time of Gregory the Great nor till six hundred years after Christ that the Reader may see how much he would be imposed upon by giving credit to any such untrue and groundless Assertion I shall waving very many Citations of some Clauses of Liturgies in St. Austin St. Chrysostome and many other of the ancient Writers produce as many testimonies as are sufficient to satisfie an indifferent Reader that in all the first Ages of the Christian Church for the first six hundred years there were publick forms of Prayer and Liturgies established 21. Justinian the Emperour began his Reign above seventy years Enjoined by the Imperial Law An. 541. and ended it almost forty before the year 600 and his Imperial Sanctions were of as large extent as his Empire He accounteth it a great fault z Novel 137. in Praef. that there were some persons of the Clergy and Monks who were not versed as his Canons required in the prayers of the usual Service and of Baptism And he declares that he would have things canonically ordered which if it had been before done they would every one have acquainted themselves with the holy Liturgies a ibid. c. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And he also by his Imperial Sanction required that every person ordained Bishop b ibid. c. 2. should recite the office for the holy Communion and the prayer for Baptism and the other prayers And he also enjoins c ibid. c. 6. these prayers in the performing publick offices and in the administring Baptism not to be said by the Bishops or Presbyters silently but so as they may be heard Which things are plain testimonies both that the Church then had Liturgical Forms and that they were established and enjoined by an Imperial Law 22. And besides this it was enacted by Justinian d Novel 131. c. 1. that the Canons of the four holy Synods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both such as were made by them and such as were confirmed by the Council of Nice Constantinople Ephesus and Chalcedon should have the force of laws And therefore if there was any Canon which enjoined the use of forms of prayer confirmed by the Council of Chalcedon for the proof of which I referre to n. 6 7 8. and 23. of this Section then by virtue of this Constitution that Canon had an equal authority with a law of the Empire throughout all the Dominions thereof And both these Constitutions of Justinian bear date in the same year 541. which is fifty nine years before the period our Authour fixeth upon 23. In the middle of the foregoing Century from the year 400. and downwards Their ordinary and established use in the fifth Century manifested was the General Council of Chaladon An. 451. in which that Code wherein was the Canon of Laodicea which required the constant use of Liturgies was both approved and confirmed as may appear above n. 6 7 8. and therefore the use of Liturgies was hereby established in the Christian Church as far as the authority of a general Council did extend In this time Proclus a Bishop of Constantinople of good note declared forms of divine service to have been e Procl Const de Tradit Liturg in Bibl. Patr. delivered from St. James and Clement and to have been ordered by St. Basil and St. Chrysostome But how far soever his authority may prevail concerning the time almost four hundred years before him when St. James and St. Clement lived he being the first Writer which I have met with who mentions the ancient Liturgies under their particular names yet for the later times his authority is unquestionable that there were then Liturgical forms and that these had been so long in the Church as not to be then accounted new upstart things And he could not but have sufficient opportunity to understand fully what he delivers concerning St. Chrysostome especially since 〈◊〉 was Bishop in the same See of Constantinople and was educated there about the enâ—â— of St. Chrysostom's time And at the beginning of this Century was the Council of Milevis whose Canon enjoining seâ— forms of Prayers is f n. 10 11 12. above produced iâ— this Section 24. In the Century beginning An. 300 the attestation to the Liturgy of St. Chrysostome in the foregoing Paragraph 〈◊〉 the more considerable in this Case because as g Theod. Hist Eccl. l. 5. c. 28. Theodoret informs us his Government and Authority extended it selâ— over Thracia Asia and Pontus and he established excellent laws 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to twenty eight Provinces within those Regions The like in the fourth Century St. Basil's ordering a publick form of
(k) Whitak Controv. r. 1. Qu. 3. c. 4. Daven in Loc. requires an Epistle written from the Church of Laodicea to be read in the Church at Coloss Col. 4.16 8. But though I have a due value and esteem for Preaching yet I can by no means come up to our Author's height who not only calls Preaching the (l) Reas Acc. p. 99. greatest Ordinance of the Gospel but he also declares (m) P. 108. from the Commissioners in the Savoy that Preaching is such a Speaking in God's Name to the People and a speaking his Word Truth or Message that we make God a Lyar if we speak a falshood in his Name Surely he who thinks Of the due esteem and value for Preaching that every expression he useth in Preaching must be a Divine Oracle and that if he be guilty of any Mistake he becomes thereby so horrid a Blasphemer as to make God a Lyar had need confine himself to the manifest Articles of the Christian Faith and the clear and plain rules of Practice or to some certain form of sound words and for other things had need shut and seal up his lips until he have surely attained what he must never expect the gift of Infallibility and our Author if he preach at that loose rate which he writeth hath reason then to tremble and stand amazed 9. In preaching the Minister by considering the general rules of Goodness and Truth and the particular Doctrines of the Scripture and divine Revelation is conscientiously towards God and man to declare what he discerneth to be useful and wholsom Truth And in the main and necessary things of the Christian Faith and Life there is such certain evidence thereof that I do willingly call it infallible and other Expositions Directions and Notions he is to express with pious care and sincerity but not with any pretence to Infallibility I do acknowledg that it is matter of Lamentation that very many persons are much wanting in that due Reverence they ought to have for their spiritual Guides whom God hath set over them and their Counsels Instructions Exhortations and Discourses are not received with such an humble temper of mind as is suitable to be expressed to Gods officers and Ministers unto whom he hath committed a very great Authority And there is also another great miscarriage on the other hand in them who lay too high a stress upon preaching and hearing and too little upon practising or upon the fearing God and keeping his Commandments upon honouring the peculiar Institutions of our Saviour in reverencing the Ministry he sent highly esteeming the Unity and Communion of the Church which he founded celebrating the Sacraments which he instituted and in being peaceable humble meek and charitable towards men and obedient to Superiours 10. I shall take no further notice of any thing in this Chapter save of one clause wherein he reflects on the Ministry of our Church and their preaching saith he (n) p. 107 How many Discourses of late years have we had in Pulpits pretending to prove men have a natural power to things spiritually good That we are not justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ but by our own works How many perfect Satyrs Railleries and evomitions of the lusts and choler in the Preachers hearts These are the kind words and meek expressions of one who judgeth and censures the sharpness of other men and in almost every Chapter he breaks out into the same temper and spirit of Reproaching Now whosoever they be Our Author no fit person to complain of contumelious expressions in Sermons who are over fierce and Satyrical in their words I shall neither justifie nor excuse them But thus much I shall add that within these Twenty years last past I have heard very many Sermons preached by Reverend and worthy persons of the Church of England besides what I have preached my self and in all these Discourses I do not remember that I ever heard so many Contumelious expressions towards our Dissenters as may be found against the Ministry of our Church in this one little Book of our complaining Author 11. And concerning Discourses to prove that men have a natural power to do things spiritually good Of the power of men to do things spiritually good it is easie to see through his mistake All the Ministers of our Church with thankfulness believe and profess Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the World and that the new Covenant of grace is confirmed through him and that we are now under this day of grace and Salvation wherein God gives his aids and assistances besides the instructions of his word the mighty motives of his Gospel and the benefits of the Ministry of reconciliation and his holy Sacraments And surely all this is more than the power of Nature Now to say That men under these helps if they be not wanting to themselves may work out their own Salvation believe and submit themselves to the Doctrines of the Gospel and live Godly Righteously and Soberly this is not to exalt the power of Nature as our Author mistakes it but it is to own the advantages of the Gospel-Grace and of the mediation and undertaking of our Saviour But if under these gracious circumstances men are in no capacity of doing any spiritual good or of being persuaded to it I cannot understand to what end Preaching can tend when it must be in vain to exhort them to their Duty and unreasonable to reprove their neglect of it Nor can they act without natural powers and faculties 12. And concerning Justification there is as little reason for his complaint as in the former head We disclaim every where merit in our own works and actions and do here acknowledg That our Saviour hath as our mediator interposed by his Obedience Righteousness and Sacrifice to expiate our Sins give the sanction to the new Covenant of Grace and Righteousness and to assure the mercy of God and pardon and forgiveness upon the terms thereof Of the terms arnd condition of our justification an its dependence upon the Righteousness and Sacrifice of Christ But if we speak of the Gospel-condition of Justification that must be performed by us our selves and we do account that as Repentance which excludes forsaking evil and doing good is a necessary condition to the obtaining pardon of sin which I presume no sober Christian will deny so consequently it must be necessary to our being justified unless we can be justified and yet unpardoned 13. Or to speak plainly all sin whatsoever stands forbidden by the Holy rules and precepts of the Gospel as much as by any other Dispensation but the terms of the Gospel-Covenant are so gracious and extensive that they admit Repentance tender pardon and accept the sincere obedience of the Christian faith and life yet all that is necessary as the condition of the Gospel in order to our being accepted into Gods favour is necessary to our justification And that
matters of Demonstration to us These (l) P. 131. he calls Effects obvious to every Eye and entring upon them saith (m) P. 124. Let us instance in some too evident effects of Forms of Prayer c. And the first of these is The filling the Church of God with an ignorant lazy and sottish Ministry He indeed here excepts very many Persons but yet these are his reproachful words reflecting upon the generality of our Ministry or in his own expression those that fill the Church Now such an open notorious and shameless Calumny ought not to pass without just rebuke The great accuser of the Brethren to his grief and indignation knows that there is now in England as Learned Able The English Clergy falsly aspersed as Ignorant Lazie and Sottish and Industrious a Clergy as this Church ever had or any other of so numerous a Ministry Nor can the main Body of our Clergy be called Ignorant and Sottish but by such Persons as make no conscience of Slandering and speaking falsly And truly Sir to say no more the reason and understanding part of this your Discourse which you intitle A Reasonable Account c. is very far from being above the pitch of the generality of that part of our Ministry which I have had the opportunity to know And if you were indeed the main Men acquainted with Knowledg and Learning and had the advantage of Truth also on your side as you pretend how easily might you bafle and confute us by clear and plain Evidence which your selves are sensible enough you cannot do And therefore your most usual Methods are to work upon the fearful and melancholy temper of some and upon the fierce and angry disposition of others and upon the earnest and weak affections and the prejudices of many well-disposed People But you can hope to prevail little on men of even calm and composed Tempers and Persons of the best judgment and understanding 11. A second effect he instanceth in is (n) P. 125. The loss of Ministerial Gifts and Abilities But blessed be God there is no loss in our Church of any Abilities requisite for the due discharge of the Ministry But he here again falls upon the gift of Prayer of which as also of the lawfulness and profitableness of using of Forms of Prayer I have sufficiently discoursed in the former part of this Book 12. His third and last (o) P. 130. If not effect yet experimented consequence of prescribed Forms is a flood of Iniquity for more than an hundred Years caused thereby in our parts of the World Hence saith he Bitter words in Pulpits and printed Books which have vexed righteous Souls who have had nothing to reply but The Lord rebuke you They it seems wholly imitating the pattern of the Archangel contending with the Devil Jude 9. Ill effects charged upon Liturgies proceed from another cause Or of the Lord checking of Satan Zech 3.2 Hence saith he Are ungodly representations to Superiours of Men of whom the World was not worthy hence suspensions of so many thousands and Ruines of so many eminent Servants of God and their Families and hence the separations of Christians from one another Thus our Author chargeth a great deal of evil upon our Laws and Governours which according to his rash Position they must stand guilty of unless all enjoyned Liturgies and Uniformity be utterly rooted out of the Church and unless they will lay aside that care they ought to have of the due order and decency of the publick Worship of God and unless an Inlt may be opened to such Confusions Heresies yea and Blasphemies as in these Kingdoms were brought into the Church when Liturgies were shut out and the publick Worship was performed even by men of Erroneous principles according to the vanity of their own minds But that our Author hath mistaken the true cause of that evil he complains of I have shewed (p) Ch. 3. Sect. 4. above to which I refer But that the violent and ungrounded oppositions against lawful constitutions are too great an inlet into much iniquity will I think appear manifest enough from what I wrote in my (q) B. 1. Ch. 1. throughout Libertas Ecclesiastica And I do both heartily pity and am really grieved and sorry for the temper of such persons who by their mistakes and too much of eagerness and passion in them not only expose themselves to outward inconveniencies but which is of far greater concernment both run themselves into many sinful undertakings and are the occasion of much hurt and evil to the Church of God and make use of the latter as a remedy against the former 13. If any persons among us have spoken or written with overmuch passion or sharpness we will defend no man wheresoever he deserves blame but our Governours and the Constitution of our Church are not concerned herein But have our Dissenters replyed nothing but calmness and meekness as this Author suggests One might be apt to think upon considering such words that he is a stranger in England and unacquainted with affairs here and may have lately come from some unknown Island separated from converse with other parts of the world I heartily wish their party had been as free from all fierceness as this Author pretends Many sad and evil effects from the opposers of our Liturgâ— and then both Church and State would have enjoyed more quiet and many things had never been heard of which have been a scandal to Christianity But if their writings be reviewed from Martin Mar-prelate to this present year many of them will manifest that keen and bitter words and reproaches and revilings are no strangers to their Tents It seems not wholly to have savoured of the spirit of Christian meekness patience and gentleness when they made such violent invectives against our Governours and Establishment as kindled our late dreadful civil Wars when they ejected sequestred imprisoned and put to Death great numbers of the Clergy Gentry and Nobility for their loyalty to the King and their honourable respect to the Church when they strained their hands and more deeply their Consciences in eager and forward shedding the blood of many thousands of Christians and dared to stretch out their hands against the Lords Anointed and to take away the life of one of the best Princes that ever the Christian world enjoyed All this seems not to speak only the meekness of the Lamb and the innocence of the Dove 14. Besides the writings of particular persons could it be any other than a strange fierceness in (r) Answ to Remon p. 83.84 Smectymnuus in charging the Clergy of our Church with bringing in a new Creed other Scriptures another Baptism and Eucharist and another Christ too and another Heaven from what Christianity proposeth which they call an Heaven receptive of Drunkards Swearers Adulterers c. Can it be otherwise than that passion and uncharitableness made them write what they could
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
the affecting variety of words in the worship of God where fit words may be best secured by a good Form is both apt to hinder due devotion and it also speaks such persons much concerned about that which is too low and mean to procure Gods acceptance And it implies a misconception of the divine nature and Being in them who look upon such things as of great concernment to please him And the making that a necessary part of Religion which is not such by laying a doctrinal necessity upon it where men are able to perform it cannot be excused from being a piece of superstition or a teaching for doctrines the precepts or fancies of men Chap. I. 9. Obs 2. Opposition against our Church and Liturgy is upon uncertain grounds It may be noted that this Author though he sometimes talk high doth not account himself certain of the truth of this position which he layeth down in his stating the case and in the following part of his Book undertakes to prove His position expresseth the sinfulness of using Forms of Prayer in the Case he proposeth and he saith t p. 2. their judgment of Conscience is that they are unlawful and this they u Ch. 8. p. 132. from their hearts believe and so must practise But when he speaks of his Arguments he saith they have Arguments which x p. 2. appear very probable and y p. 5. seem highly probable with other like expressions And how far this evidence doth prevail with himself we may discern by these words z p. 164 p. 70. We judge not our selves infallible in our sentiments in this case we condemn not our brethren which judge otherwise and accordingly practise a p. 132. in p. 22. We dare not judge those who we think have the gift of Prayer but think not fit to use it in their ordinary service Whether it be sin in them we leave to Gods determination we pray God that if we be in the mistake God would reveal it to us These words do plainly speak doubtfulness and uncertainty as do those in the Margent for no understanding man can use such expressions concerning what he certainly knows to be sin In speaking of the sinfulness of theft or lying he would not say we condemn not them who practise otherwise c. to wit thieves and lyars since he certainly knows these things to be sin and therefore that the practisers of them ought to be condemned Yet at sometimes he speaks as if he proceeded on b P. 25. p. 123. demonstrations 10. Now I hope to make it manifest that his Arguments do not so much as prove any probability of truth in his assertion yet I could in the mean time heartily wish that both he and others with him would seriously consider how unsafe it is for themselves The hurt and danger of such practices considered and dangerous to Religion for men to oppose the state and order of a well setled Church upon probable Arguments Where we have certain evidence of any thing being our duty we are bound to embrace it whomsoever we contradict but certain evidence no man can have of an errour being truth And to proceed upon probable Arguments only yea or on such as men may by their mistake esteem and confidently assert to be certain is in an errour no safe foundation for practice 11. The Donatists by their restless Pleas and various disputations manifested that they proceeded on such Arguments which to them seemed highly probable the same may be said of the Arians and Eunomians whose Arguments are frequently produced by c Athan. contr Arian Or. 4. passim Athanasius d Naz. Orat 35 36. Gr. Nys Basil adv Eunom Gr. Nazianzene and other ancient Writers to a greater number than this Writer hath against Forms of Prayer And almost all who were of old guilty of any Heresy or Schism as also at this day the Romanists Anabaptists Quakers and other such Sects have their Arguments which they account probable And for the Brownists who declared in their e Praestant Viror Epist p. 925. Preface to their Confession that the Church of England its Ministry and its worship were all adulterous Fr. Johnson published his f John â— Reasonâ— for sâ—â—â—â—tion seven Arguments of one sort and seven of another sort such as to them seemed probable and all of them in Syllogisms as our Author produceth his seven Arguments in Syllogisms against Forms of Prayer And Erbury and others with him had their Arguments which to them seemed probable which they undertook g Mr. Long in Exam. of Mr Hales of Schism p. 133. at Oxford to produce and urge against all ordination and ministry Yet if I should ask this Author whether he thinks all these persons did perform their duty to God aright and were to be discharged from sin in thus venting their errors and heresies and that the Church of God received no disadvantage from them I presume he would not assert this however we are sure of the contrary And then the consequence will be that if it be a duty to hold Communion with our publick Assemblies and to perform the worship of God according to our established Constitutions they cannot be acquitted from sin nor excused from doing hurt to the Church of God who reject these duties upon their probable Arguments 12. But in requital for his so favourable expressions towards us in not condemning our using the Liturgy of the Church this Author expects that we ought not to change him and others of his perswasion with any blame in their dissent and separation h Reasonable Account p. 64. Dissenters are to be blamed We condemn not our brethren Let not them saith he judge and condemn us We are in our dissents in the case anothers servants Now it becomes no man to pass that judgment on others which is peculiar to God as concerning the hidden things of the heart of man or his final state but we are allowed to account and judge those actions of men to be evil which are manifestly so And it is very unreasonable that if they who violate any Laws of God or Man do not blame others for keeping them that therefore they must not be charged with the breaking them If S. Peter did not fault S. Paul who according to his duty kept Communion with the Church at Antioch S. Paul did not therefore think himself obliged not to rebuke S. Peter for his unwarrantable withdrawing from it but he declares in this case Gal. 2.11 I withstood him to the face because he was to be blamed and v. 14. I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel 13. Wherefore because I think it my duty to deal faithfully and plainly in these things I do freely profess that besides what concerns the Laws of the Church and of the Realm I account my self to have as plain
to be used by S. Paul in this place for the declared sense of his words and expressions or the true p Valla Lud. Cappel in loc meaning of what he spake as appears from v. 19. and so it is used elsewhere in this Epistle 1 Cor. 2.16 we have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the mind of Christ or the plain and true manifestation of his mind and doctrine 10. From this 1 Cor. Ch. 14. I had in my Libertas Ecclesiastica given this as an Answer to that Argument against set Forms of Prayer that they limit the use of gifts q Lib. Eccl. B. 1. Ch. 4. Sect 2. p. 120. That by the will of God bounds and limits were to be set even to the use of the extraordinary gifts of Gods spirit that the Church might be edified 1 Cor. 14.26 27 28 30 33. Whereas now no such miraculous emanations of the Holy Ghost can be pretended Now in reply to this this Author useth r Reas Account p. 14 15 16 17. many words and saith these Precepts of the Apostle in this Chapter were against two or three speaking or gabling together and for the avoiding undue length in their Discourses and that if any speak in an unknown tongue some should interpret And then he declares that such disorderly things may be restrained but saith it is one thing to restrain the notorious abuse of gifts but it is a quite different thing to restrain the use of them And to this purpose he misrepresents my sense in a Syllogism of his own and then triumphs over what himself had formed wherewith I shall not trouble the Reader but shall in a few words declare what manifest evidence there is in this Chapter for that which I urged from it 11. Rules for the exercise of such gifts laid down 1 Cor. 14. considered My intention was to shew that the use of particular gifts is not of so great necessity in the Church because they are gifts but that even some of the extraordinary emanations of the Holy Spirit might be and ought to be forborn to be exercised where this forbearance tended to decent order or edification And if this be plainly proved from this Chapter the general urging the necessity of the use of all gifts given of God further than that use is orderly and needful for edification is an errour and mistake Now the Apostle in this Chapter declares that charity edification and the good and profit of others are things to be preferred and valued above extraordinary spiritual gifts v. 1 2 3 4 c. that they who had these extraordinary gifts of the spirit were not bound to use them in the Church meerly because they were gifts unless the use thereof was for the profit and edification of others v. 2 6 18 19. Yea the use of the gift of tongues though given by the special inspiration of the Holy Spirit was totally forbidden where there was no interpreter v. 23 27 28. and yet so far as concerns the nature of gifts an ability to speak with other tongues by peculiar assistances of the Spirit was as much yea more a gift than an ability of expressing our selves in our own tongue without any such extraordinary and peculiar assistance And they who had other gifts of revelation interpretation or doctrine were to hold their peace so far as was requisite to the observing the rules of order and decency and the avoiding confusion v. 26 30 33 40. But in our Case there are no such gifts in being now as then were in the Church and therefore no restraint laid upon any such here is no prohibiting that which is the proper gift of Prayer as I have above shewed nor is any thing forbidden directly or indirectly by the injoining Liturgies which is of greater use to the edification of the Church as I shall ſ In Ch. 3. hereafter shew but here is a direction for a better and more useful performance of the duty of Prayer prescribed 12. Thirdly I acknowledge there is an ability in many persons whereby they can express their minds in some degree fitly to God in Prayer This our Author doth t Reas Acc. p. 6 8 10. divers times declare to be that which he accounteth the gift of Prayer And I do not love to contend about expressions yet the phrase of the gift of Prayer is no where used at all in the Scripture and the ancient Writers do usefully for the promoting devotion in Prayer discourse of it as a work of the heart and soul and not of words Prayer saith S. Basil u Basil in Mart. Julitt in Bas de Orat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we do not at all define to be a business of words and whilest we are warned against confidence in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 much speaking it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a diligent disposition of heart that is of great use Wherefore as I before said I esteem not this ability of expression to be properly the gift of Prayer but rather of speech or utterance or a piece of elocution 13. How far readiness of expression in Prayer is a gift of God This facility of expression is procured and enlarged in men who have a competent natural freedom of speech by use and exercise and is advanced by various methods I acknowledge that in some an affectionateness of devotion doth contribute much thereto and in others confident self-conceit and an heated fancy and as I have read some particular instances even diabolical contracts have promoted the same And as I cannot admit these things last mentioned to be called the gifts of God so neither is it to be allowed that the natural product of them in those persons should be so esteemed and much less are they to be called Gifts of the Holy Spirit And it is manifest that a readiness of expressing the sense of their minds with fluency of fit words and volubility of speech doth attend even such men who make use of their Prayers and other Discourses to propagate and uphold errors and heretical doctrines and Enthusiasm and even them who are sunk into the depth of impiety as well as those who design to promote truth and goodness And it must be an high dishonour to the Holy Spirit for any to say that he gives his immediate and peculiar assistances to the advancing of error and falshood S. Paul observed a sleight and cunning craftiness in them who lie in wait to deceive Eph. 4.14 and that by good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men of innocent and harmless intentions Rom. 16.18 And Nazianzene describes the discourses of Hereticks that they had x Naz. Orat 33. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a quick nimble and voluble tongue and they spake 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a masculine and generous stile and choice and approved words And these persons and such like might be forward enough to call these things
in a persons being able to express his mind whereas it is chiefly to be provided that the conceptions of his mind be sober and well ordered comprehensive and every way sutable to the nature of the duty 2. In that he only mentions the expressing his mind Whereas in publick Prayers it is not a mans own private desires or wants so far as they are peculiar to himself which he is to present to God but he is to express what is fit to represent the minds of the whole Assembly and the common desires and wants and joint Devotions of all the Congregation 46. Another place I shall examine is where he tells us they x p. 9 10. His defavâ—ing the ministry of our Church is unjust and unreasonable think it will be hard to find nine or ten thousand Scholars in England furnished with the gift either of praying or preaching in any tolerable manner and one great reason is because they have been so tied to a Liturgy that they have never applied themselves to the study of the Scriptures and their own hearts as they should Thus in this place and in many others he takes any occasion to reproach and cast dirt upon the Ministry of the Church of England even to such excess as sometimes to call them though he excepts very many particular persons from that charge y p. 124. an ignorant lazy and sottish Ministry And he is the more liberal in these exorbitant Censures when he doth withal bespatter our Liturgy as in both these places or what he terms z p. 149. that pitiful thing called Vniformity in words and syllables and phrases 47. Now I conceive my self abundantly warranted to say that the abilities of the present Ministry of the Church of England are such as were never in this Church outdone if equalled in any foregoing Age nor as I verily believe in any other part of the Christian World since the Apostolical times in any Church of so large extent And it is an easy thing but mightily unworthy of a Professor of Christianity to speak bad and evil words of the mosT worthy men and things But doth the use of a Liturgy hinder men from studying the Scriptures or their own hearts which is a loud calumny upon our Ministry and many other excellent persons of eminent piety and goodness who have a very high value for our Liturgy and were the ancient Fathers and our first Reformers and their Successors who closely adhered to a Liturgy men of no understanding in the Scriptures and men of no piety of heart or holiness of life Or is the dayly reading the Scriptures as is done in the Liturgy and by the Ministry of England at other times also that which must hinder mens study and understanding in them and is the constant use of morning and evening devotions which the Liturgy directeth the great obstacle to piety and to mens taking serious care of their own hearts to have them possessed with fear and reverence of God and disposed to the exercises of Religion and universal obedience And what a wild accusation is this to revile and asperse a National Ministry at random and at a venture concerning such things wherein every Reader may discern that it is impossible for him to know what he speaks to be true and others blessed be God know them to be false 48. And I wish our Author be not himself defective in some part at least of what he chargeth upon others For in studying the Scriptures he could not but meet with Precepts against evil speaking false accusing rash judging and uncharitableness and in studying his own heart he would discern whether he had not offended in any of these And I presume him though I am not very certain who he is to be so much a Scholar as to know that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the usual Greek word for the Evil one doth properly and primarily signify a Calumniator and it is thence unlikely that any of the spirit of Christianity should be contained in reproaching others which Nazianzen accounted to be a Naz. Orat 53. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one of the greatest evils 49. In Answer to such words I could also without much pains find out defaming and reflective expressions if I were enclined that way but I am content herein to be inferiour to him but truly sorry to see what liberty he sometimes gives himself in such things I have long since learned from the example of our Lord and Saviour from the rules of the Christian Religion and particularly from our Church-Catechism to keep my tongue from evil-speaking lying and slandering And if he will not take it ill from me which I assure him I intend no otherwise than with a truly charitable mind I dare confidently affirm that if he shall please to be a strict observer of so much though it be out of our Liturgy he will not thereby be the worse man 50. And I hope he may be the less offended with me for this Counsel because I do not write it out of any private provocation or any apprehension of disrespectful expressions towards my self I acknowledge his expressions towards me in particular to have been very civil and courteous and I thank him for them And I shall not return to him any thing unmeet But I should not be faithful to the truth nor to himself if I should not shew the weakness and mistakes of his Arguments so far as I discern them And the duty I owe to the Church of which I am a member cannot well be discharged without taxing his reproachful words against it where I meet with them 51. What he speaketh concerning b p. 18 19. Hymns and Anthems I shall have occasion to take notice of in the next c Ch. 3. Sect. 2. n. 38 c. Chapter CHAP. III. Of Devotion and attentive fervency of mind in publick Prayer and whether the use of Liturgies be hindrances or helps therein SECT I. His pretences for Forms of publick Prayer being an impediment to attention and fervency examined and the contrary manifested HIS second Argument against the lawfulness of the ordinary publick use of Forms by him who hath abilities of expressing himself without them is that they hinder the attention intention and fervency both of Minister and people and therefore a Reas Acc. p. 23. may not be used But this charge against well-ordered Forms can never be made out and his proofs will appear very weak and slender 2. Now I freely acknowledge and assert Pious devotion greatly needful in Prayer that in our Prayer we ought to have a holy and Religious sense of God and of Jesus our Mediator We ought also to be serious in minding and attending to the duty in hand Ch. III. and as free as may be from distractions and to have a lively exercise of faith hope reverence and such other Christian Graces as I mentioned in the b n. 2. former Chapter And the
application to God for the same things require the same pious exercises of mind whether it be in prose or in meter And it was another oversight that he declares me to know and confess what he thus asserts when I never declared any such thing but know the contrary SECT III. Of the Antiquity of set Forms of Prayer MY third Argument for Forms being no hindrance to Devotion was a Libert Eccl. p. 123. that all the Ages of the Christian Church from the first Centuries have used them as an advantage to Religion My third Argument was from the use of Forms of Prayer in all the Ages of the Primitive Church And when I added that it is not at all probable that such excellently devout and judicious men as the fourth and fifth Centuries abounded with should be so stupid and dull-spirited as not any of them to discern between the helps and hindrances of devotion in matters of most ordinary practice This Author first saith b p. 62. Certainly it was possible i. e. possible all those judicious men should be so stupid Now this is a rash and contumelious expression and if this be true concerning such men as S. Athanasius Basil Ambrose Hierome Eusebius Chrysostome and S. Austin and others such like all pretence from experience must in this case be laid aside For though our Author sometimes intimates that these famous men are now out-done by those for whom he pleads there is so little appearance of the truth hereof that this needs no particular answer 2. When I said c Lib. Eccl. B. 1. Ch. 4. Sect. 1. n. 9. p. 106. that Forms of Prayer were of use in the Church about thirteen hundred years since is acknowledged by them who plead most against them from Conc. Laod. c. 18. 3 Carth. Can. 23. and Con. Milev c. 12. he d p. 66. somewhat misrepresenting my words saith we hold no such thing But whatever singular and unreasonable conceit he or some other persons may have c Smect Answ to Remonstr p. 7. Smectymnuus derive the Pedigree of Liturgies from those three Canons acknowledging that the Church in the Laodicean Canon ordained Our chief Dissenters own Forms of Prayer to have been used 1300. years that none should vary but use always the same Form that the Carthaginian Canon further limited the Form and the Milevitan Canon would have none other used than what was approved in the Synod Thus they And the Presbyterian Commissioners at the Savoy say they f Grand Debate p. 11. cannot find any Records of know credit concerning any intire Form of Liturgies within the first three hundred years And their fixing this period of time is sufficient to justify my assertion 3. But our Author saith he believes g p. 67. they might have denied any such Record of a Liturgy generally imposed for six hundred years and fixeth the Original of Liturgies upon h p. 69. Gregory the Great under the protection of Charles the Great and this eight hundred or a thousand years after Christ Liturgies not first established by Gregory the Great under Charles the Great Of which gross mistake in History having taken notice of it in my Introduction n. 4. I shall say no more here but that we may not reasonably expect any accuracy in the right computation of the time of the birth and first production of Liturgies from him who talks so loosely and falsly about the Age in which Gregory the Great lived whom he would make the Father of them And it is speaking enough at random to fix their original now at six hundred years after Christ and then at eight hundred or a a thousand years after Christ but if in which soever of these periods they began it must be under Gregory the Great he must then suppose against the credit of all certain History that Gregorius Magnus was Pope for above four hundred years in imitation of the Jewish fancy that Phinehas the High Priest lived i R. Dav. Kimch in Mal. 2. v. 5. V. Scalig. in Eus Chron. an ab Abrahamo 861. above three hundred years And if this could be true which I never saw so much as hinted in any Author before then Gregory the Great might become contemporary with Charles the Great and being by that time unable to govern himself by reason of his extream Age might be put under his protection 4. Now though something was done by Gregory the Great in the new modelling Sanction of Charles the Great for the enjoining the Roman Offices I shall before the end of this Section produce as much evidence as is necessary for the satisfaction of the unprejudiced Reader concerning the use of set Forms of Prayer in the Christian Church in the several Centuries before the six hundredth year of Christ And thereby I hope to give a fair proof for that assertion of Cappellus and for a more early practice also who said k Syntag. Thes Thes Salm. Part. 3. Loc. Com. 47. n. 49. Earum formularum usus in universa Ecclesia Christiana toto terrarum orbe jam à plusquam 1300. annis perpetuo obtinuit A publick Form of Liturgy hath obtained in the universal Christian Church throughout the whole World for above thirteen hundred years And he addeth in the same place that it doth now every where obtain nisi apud novitios istos Independentes but amongst them who embrace the new upstart Innovations of Independency 5. But our Author will not allow all the three Canons above mentioned to have any respect to Liturgies and their establishment and herein he hath engaged himself against what Smectymnuus asserted to whom my words had a particular respect He first excepts against what is inferred from the Canon of Laodicea which Council Baronius though he had sometimes thought l Annal Eccl. An. 125. n. 158. otherwise upon a more accurate consideration as he thought m In Appen ad Tom. 4. n. 1 7. concludes to have been before the time of the first Nicene Council But I must confess the other opinion that this Council sate about the year 364 is the more probable from the observation of n de Conc. Sacerd. Imper. l. 3. c. 3. n. 5. De Marca That Conc. Laod. c. 7. condemns the Photinians when Photinus himself lived in the Reign of Constantius 6. But he saith The Bishops o Reas Acc. p. 64. in that Council may not be called the Church in that Age. Indeed this was a Provincial Council yet many Bishops from the several Asian Dioceses were here assembled The eighteenth Canon of the Council of Laodicea considered as appears from the title of that Council And this may appear a remarkable testimony concerning the general state of the Church if we consider that this very Canon was taken into the Code of the universal Church being the 122d therein which Code was extant at the time of the Council of Chalcedon An. 451. which was the greatest
Liturgy in this Age is not only what hath been generally received and acknowledged in the Greek Church but hath a further confirmation from Prâ—clus above mentioned and also from the testimony of the h Conc. in Trull c. 32. sixth General Council commonly so called where they also mention the Liturgy of St. James And when Julian for the begetting a greater respect to Gentilism ordered many thing therein i Soz. Hist l. 5. c. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the order of the Christian worship one thing which Sozomen declares they were to imitate the Christians in was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in their constituted prayers which k Naz. Or. 3. p. 101 102. Nazianzen calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a form of prayers to be expressed by parts this must manifestly prove the use of such forms then in the ordinary offices of the Christian Church Concerning this Age the Reader may add what I above mentioned from Eusebius n. 19. and from the Council of Laodicea n. 5 6 7 8. 25. In the preceding Age from the year 200. what I cited in my l Lib. Eccl. p. 108. Libertas Ecclesiastica from Origen in his Homilies on Jeremy urging a Clause out of their usual Forms of Prayer and speaking in his Books against Celsus of the Christians using 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And in the third Age beginning An. 200. the appointed prayers with what I there added from St. Cyprian and Tertullian may be considerable evidences that the Church then used forms of prayer To this may be added what I above observed m Sect. 2. n. 41. concerning the ordinary publick use of set Hymns composed by pious men under the time of Christianity which the Council of Antioch against Paulus Samosatenus censured him for disuseing 26. In the two first Centuries Publick forms in the two first Câ—â—turies we ment with few Christian Writers and yet theâ— are some things expressed in Justin Matyr and Ignatius which seem to favour the use of forms of prayer as I noted in my Libertas Ecclesiastica But the testimony I produced m Sect. 2. ibid. above from Pliny in his Epistle to Trajan at the entrance of the second Century doth sufficiently shew that the Christians in their publick Assemblies used a set form in Hymns of Ecclesiastical composure And the words of n In Philopat ver sin Lucian who also lived under Trajan give us a fair intimation if not certain evidence of a form of Liturgy then used by Christians Where he brings in Trâ—â—phon in his Dialogues expressing several things concerning the doctrine and practice of the Christian Church and at last he directs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the beginning the prayer from the father the Lords prayer and adding at the ending the Ode with many names or the famous hymn Indeed a learned man was of opinion that o J. Greg. Not. Observ in Scr. c. 38. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the Clause at the end of the Lords prayer For thine is the Kingdom c. but it is much more probable if not certain that there must be more than one single Clause in that which he called an Ode and it is very likely that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may here strictly imply the expressing many names or many titles According to this sense p View of the Direct Ch. 1. Sect. 17. Dr Hammond thought that Ode or Hymn intended might be that in the end of our Communion service Glory be to God on high c. And an Hymn much like to this appears to have been very ancient being expressed in that Collection under the name of q Const Apost l. 7. c. 48 49. Apostolical Constitutions And that this Clause in Lucian hath respect to a particular Hymn composed for the giving Glory to our Lord and Saviour especially I am enclined to believe from the testimony of Pliny lately referred unto from whence it appears that such an hymn which he expresseth soliti sunt carmen Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem was at that very time looked on as a remarkable thing in the Christian service and was of ordinary use in the Christian Assembly Now though I cannot be positive in determining the particular Hymn it is a considerable evidence that the Christians then used a form of publick service in that they began it with the Lords prayer which r Tertul. de Orat. c. 9. Tertullian also shews to have been anciently used before any other prayers and ended it with a particular known and remarkable hymn 27. And as before this time Our Saviour joined in a form of prayer and taught his Disciples a form our Saviour instituted that excellent form of the Lords Prayer so that is the greater warrant for the use of forms of prayer if we consider that such publick forms composed by such men who had chief authority in the Church were before our Saviours time and in his time of ordinary use in the Jewish worship But our Lord complied so far with the use of these forms that himself usually joined in this Synagogue-worship Luke 4.16 being of another temper as to the honouring of Gods publick worship than this Author and others of his mind since the farthest that they will go is as he tells us Å¿ Reas Acc. p. 21. that some of them at a pinch can hear prescribed forms And moreover our Lord thought fit as John the Baptist had done to continue this practice of directing forms of prayer amongst his Disciples and thereby gave a general approbation to this ancient usage in the Jewish Church and gave his own example for the like practice in the Christian Church of praying to God in forms piously composed and to be devoutly used 28. In their temple service their sacrifices and offerings were rites of t Phil. de Vict. p. 842 843. supplication and thanksgiving But these sacrifices being always the same upon the same occasion and the manner of performing them being unvaried and uniform The Temple-Sacrifices were real expressions of Divine worship in an unvaried form they were as constant forms of supplication or the same expressions of the same thing in the worship of God And as the daily service was constant and invariable so the several extraordinary Sacrifices were as different offices for special occasions And herein it also appears that God is so little pleased with variety of expressions that amongst the several numerous sorts of Cattel and Fowls u ibid. p. 835. only three sorts of the former as Philo observed viz. Oxen Sheep and Goats and two of the latter Pigeons and Turtles might be presented to God in Sacrifice Nor was there any alteration in the method of their ordinary service For whereas there was sacrifice and incense daily offered the same Authour acquaints us that the Priests strictly observed this order x Phil. de Victim offerent p. 850. first to offer the incense as
please other men 10. But in truth the establishing Liturgies doth in a considerable measure put a stop to discords and divisions To this purpose Cappellus accounted it very fit that as far as may be there should be k Thes Salm. ubi sup n. 46. una in Ecclesia externi cultûs divini fermula the same Form of publick divine worship in the Church and this he thought of great use ad unitatem spiritûs charitatis inter fideles quantum obtineri id potest conservandam for the preserving as far as that can be obtained the unity of the spirit and of charity amongst believers And though our Author would be content that some should use Liturgies but other Ministers should use their own words and method Cappellus in the same place declares that this is by no means adviseable and that this would be so far from procuring peace that from hence would arise contemptus odia rixae contentiones c. contempt hatred clashings contentions strife and infinite quarrels to the great scandal of the Church 11. But plain experience doth beyond all authority prove that concord is never like to be the effect of the laying aside all Forms of publick worship For when this was done in our late sad times thereupon all manner of errors sects heresies and blasphemies were broached and vented After this it was that i Jus div Min. Evang Ep. to Read 1653. the Presbyterian Ministers complained of the bitter woful and unutterable fruits of divisions which say they have almost destroyed not only the Ministry but even the very heart and life of Religion and Godliness 12. Our Author saith also that Forms of Prayer m p. 63. hinder Ministers care to study the Scriptures which he before urged and I before answered Chap. 1. n. 47. 13. He saith also n Ibid. that hereby many such Ministers have crept into the Church of whom every one who hath any concern for Gods glory or the Churches repute hath cause to blush and be ashamed Now I shall leave him to consider by himself whose work he is doing whilest he takes all occasions to reproach that Ministry and thereupon to hinder their labours whom our Saviour hath called to serve him in his Church And we have so little reason to blush and be ashamed of the generality of the English Ministry that we have abundant reason to bless God for their great worth And besides this the faults which can be chargeable upon any particular persons in the Ministry must be either from their being 1. not sound in doctrine or 2. not of a holy and good life or 3. from their not being men of sufficient abilities and such as diligently â—â—charge their Ministerial work But set Forms of Prayer piously composed and instantly used can contribute nothing 〈◊〉 either of the two former when they manifestly promote the contrary good And for the last as the great abilities of our Ministry is very evident so I shall answer this where he doth more particularly insist upon it in o Ch. 8. n. 10. another place 14. This Writer in the end of this Chapter declareth p p. 70. that he thinks he â—â—th fully answered whatsoever I had ofâ—â—red but I leave it to the diligent Reaâ—er to judge how little reason he hath to think so But he there saith his strict design is not to answer me but to shew they â—â—ve probable Arguments inducing them to believe that it would be sinful for them ordinarily to use the prescribed Forms of others and therefore he proceeds to add further Arguments Nor is it my design in this discourse mainly to vindicate my self much less to oppose him but to vindicate the truth and therefore I shall add my Answer to his remaining Arguments contenting my self only to give an account of the main substance of them if I may so call it and not to interpose my self in what he speaks against other particular persons or in any digressions which are of no necessary concern to the Vindication of fixed Forms of Prayer or defending other publick Constitutions CHAP. IV. Ch. IV. Forms of Prayer are not forbidden either in the Second Commandment or by any other Divine Precept HIs third Argument is that it is Sinful for Ministers having the gift of Prayer to use prescribed Forms no necessity compelling because God hath (a) Reas Account p. 71. neither by the light of Nature directed them nor in his Word prescribed them Now it is acknowledged that all the parts of Divine Worship must be such Of the parts of Divine Worship and the manner of performing it as the light of Nature or the revealed Will of God do direct By the former our dependance as Creatures doth oblige us to acknowledg and honour God and to call upon him and pray unto him And the holy Scriptures give us further Precepts and encouragements in these Duties And in the parts and duties of Divine Worship the manner of performing them and our outward expressions therein must be such as is sutable to the Duty it self as swerveth from no Divine Precept or Institution and is recommended either by the light of Nature or Scripture But from what I have said in the former Chapter it may appear Forms of Prayer are agreeable to the light of Nature and Scripture that Forms of Prayer in the publick Worship of God are recommended by the Light of Nature as it directeth us to chuse the best and most expedient and profitable way of performing that Worship and that the Scriptures also do encourage us in and give their approbation of the use thereof 2. But there is yet a further design in this Argument which is That nothing may be used in God's Worship which he hath not himself prescribed To this end he saith the sense of the Second Commandment is this (b) P. 73. Thou shalt worship in no other Way by no other Means or Religious Rites than what I have prescribed And again (c) P. 75. the like P. 74. We judg all Acts Rites and Means of Worship prohibited by God which either in express Terms or by first consequences from Scripture are not prescribed Now if he will be consistent with himself and conclude any thing in the Case under debate from these things which are rather Positions And are not forbidden be the the Second Commandment and unproved Assertions than Arguments his Inference must be That no words and expressions for of these we are now discoursing ought to be used in the Worship of God which are not by him prescribed But concerning this Argument I shall observe three things 3. Obs 1. That he here contradicteth what he declared in the stating his Question and hath oft repeated having as he tells us (d) P. 91. Again and again said That they do not think Forms of Prayer unlawful This Argument Clasheth with himself But if they be not prescribed and all means not prescribed
thus much might be sufficient Whether it be a duty to use other Prayers besides formâ— for answer to this Chapter as it hath a particular aspect upon the Authority and commands of our Governors yet because I would not avoid any thing which may seem material and useful I shall farther here consider Whether and how far Christians or Ministers are under any obligation to Duty to use any other prayers besides set forms in all those particular cases mentioned in this chapter before and after Sermon in the Family and in the Closet Now comprehensive and well ordered forms being with deliberation fitted to the common state of Christians and the ends of our Religion are as I have above shewed to be preferred in the publick worship of God And that before or after Sermon there should ordinarily be new and varied Prayers I know no rule of reason or precept of the Christian Religion which requireth this and maketh it a Duty 6. Before Sermons Before Sermons (g) Of Religious Assembl c. 7 p. 237. 252. Mr. Thorndike observes That in the flourishing times of the Church Preachers were wont to commend themselves and their labours to Gods blessing But this was frequently at least done by a set form A short form to this purpose of St. Ambrose is as Mr. Thorndike there observed yet extant may be seen in Ferrarius de ritu concion and from thence in (h) Alliance of Divine Offices Chap. 6. p. 183. Mr. Hamon L'estrange and the form of Aquinas is published by (i) Casland Prec Ec. Cassander And some of the most eager of our Dissenters ahve formerly kept themselves ordinarily to set forms before their Sermons And our Church in her (k) Can. 55 Canons hath given direction for a form of Prayer to be used before Sermons as is there expresed or to that effect but among the different practices it is not necessary for me here to consider what liberty is hereby allowed to Ministers 7. In the close of the Sermon After Sermons many Homilies of the ancient Writers had some supplicatory expressions interwoven as a conclusory part thereof and sometimes with particular respect to the subject of their Discourse Such things were in some of their popular Discourses practised by (l) Basil Hom. 2. 6. in Hexaem De Jejun Hom. 1. de Mam. Mart. de Lib. Arb. St. Basil (m) Naz. Orat. 2.6 10 28 42. V. Schol. Gr. in Not. Billij in Naz. Orat. 18. Gr. Nazianzen St. Chrysostom in some Homilies ad Pop. Antioch and others and also in St. Augustine St. Gregory Bernard and divers others and our Church doth not seem to dislike this Method which is imitated in some of her Homilies But yet this was used but in some either of the ancient Homilies or of those of our Church St. Austin used most requently the same conclusory Prayer or Collect which is extant in (n) Aug. Tom. 8. pag. ult his works The method used by several persons of the several persuasions among our Dissenters who frequently have prayed over the several heads and parts of their Sermons that their Auditors might be persuaded of them stands chargeable with this fault among others that as (o) Disc Prayer extemporet Bishop Taylor observed as their Sermons according to their different parties were oft directed against one another and in contradiction to one another so by consequence were their Prayers and therefore the matter of Prayer must be in many of them unsound But that excellent Collect Grant we beseech thee Almighty God c. much used in our Chnrch after Sermons besides the expressions in the Prayer for the Church militant to the same purpoe is so pithy in desiring the blessing of God for obtaining the best effect of the Sermon that no pretence can remain to charge any blame upon those who use no different concluding supplicatory expressions of their own 8. Indeed there are sometimes extraordinary cases and occasions which are proper matter for our publick Prayers and Thanksgivings and ought not to be omitted It is observed by (p) Ann. Eccl. An. 37. n. 7.8 Banonius that the Church presented their especial Suffrages to God for the good success of Gratian against the Alemans and (q) Athan. Apol. 2. ad Constant Athanasius did publickly do the like for Constantius against Magnentius Such cases as are most weighty or usual are provided for by particular Collects in our Liturgy and if they be cases of particular persons they may be comprised in the Prayer for all conditions of men and the general Thanksgiving according to the directions in our Liturgy And these parts are as blameless and as commendable in their use as the ordinary parts of the Liturgy And if there should yet be some great and extraordnary case which is not sufficiently contained under any of these Prayers or Praises Dr. Hammond declared (r) Pract. Catechism l. 3. Sect. 2. The Church sometimes permits and upon incidental occasions prescribes other forms in the Congregation Such are upon great special reasons the Prayers for particular public days of Humiliation and Thanksgiving And if saith Mr. (s) Discour 1. on Mat. 6.9 â— Mede There be any sudden unexpected occasions for which the Church cannot provide the spirit of her Ministers is free Who will forbid her Ministers to supply in such a case that by a voluntary and arbitrary form that the Church could not provide for in a set form But such cases where this is necessary will be very rare and must keep their place 9. And for Family and Closet Prayers what ever freedom of expression any man hath whensoever he devoutly and piously addresseth himself to God in a form of words in the daily and constant matters of worship Of Prayer in Families and Closets as acknowledging and adoring the Divine excellencies and perfections blessing God for daily benefits and seeking to him for such mercies as we always stand in need of I do not see how the least blame can be charged upon such a Person but his mind may be enlarged his memory helped and his affections quickned thereby 10. And so far as I can discern the ordinary use of a well composed form may usually in a Family most conduce to the promoting inward and serious Piety upon many of the same grounds that prove it expedient in the publick service and the disparaging the use of forms of Prayer in Families is both unreasonable and really hurtful to Religion Forms of Prayer of great use in Families it being the probable occasion of the total neglect of such Religious services in many Families many persons on this account omitting the use of all Prayer in their Families rather than to expose themselves to be censured as weak in using a Form And other persons of greater confidence perform this much worse both as to matter and words of Prayer and the profit of others than they might do in the use
the People Now what I premised to the foregoing Argument may be again useful to be considered here But since I have manifested the ordinary and constant usefulness of set Forms of Prayer in Publick Worship for the advantage of Religion if he be able to prove the same concerning the ordinary using the Discourses of others in Preaching as I conceive he never can he hath then and not till then made the Cases parallel 2. The different practice of the Christian Church Forms of Prayer being most expedient do not prove it best to have constant Forms of Preaching which for many Ages before the Romish Corruptions overspread it constantly used set Forms of Prayer when their Sermons were composed by the Preachers themselves and the like usage in our own Church may incline modest men to think that these Cases are not alike The Apostolical Doctrine required of the Clergy that they should be apt to teach and so doth our own Book of Ordination and the (b) Can. Ap. 58. Syn. in Trul. c. 19. Ancient Canons required their diligent practice herein And the use of such Instructions or Exhortations in the Christian Assemblies is of as early Original as from the first Ages as appears from the Testimonies of (c) Just Mar. Ap. 2. Justin Martyr and (d) Tert. Apol. c. 39. Tertullian and the continuance thereof is evident from very many Homilies Tractates and Orations of following Ages which are yet extant And our Author may if he please consider such differences as these 3. First Preaching is directed to Men but publick Prayer to God in the name of Men. And therefore as both (e) Disc 1. on Mat. 6.9 Mr. Mede and (f) Of Prayer extem n. 57. Bishop Taylor observe It is convenient the People should know beforehand what the Minister puts up to God in their names but there is not the like reason for Preaching And variety of Words and Expressions have a considerable efficacy upon the minds of Men Whereas it is a thing unworthy of God as (g) Instit l. 3. c. 20. n. 29. Calvin observes to think that he is humano more persuadendus to be wrought upon by words as Men are For while he searcheth the Heart his attention is not to be procured by arts of Speech or himself moved affected or pleased by a new composure of words Several things which make the case of Prayer and Preaching herein different And besides this a pious reverence not only in our Hearts but in well-deliberated words and in gestures also is considerable in the sight of God and this is more due to God to whom we pray than to Men to whom we preach 4. Secondly As the matter for Sermons or popular Discourses is of so large extent as to include all the great and necessary Doctrines and Rules of Religion so that are too oft corrupt Notions and Opinions which subvert Piety and ill practices which may be apt to prevail at some special times and places Now here a watchful Minister will endeavour to beat down all such Notions and Practices which cannot well be done but by his own Abilities in answering all their Pleas Pretences and Objections 5. Thirdly By this means he can acquaint his People with such things as he thinks in the Matter of them most proper and sutable to them and can propose these things in such a manner as is most agreeing to their Capacities which thing was noted by (h) Tr. 13. Ch. 1. Div. 7 Bishop Whitgift to be of great advantage in order to profiting And to this purpose also it is reasonable that the Method and manner of Composure of popular Discourses be such as suit the Place Time and Age wherein we live 6. Fourthly It is not only requisite that our Publick Service of God be at all times so comprehensive as to take in all the usual parts of Religious Worship Adoration Thanksgiving and Supplication for all ordinary Blessings but this also seemeth enjoyned by Apostolical Precept 1 Tim. 2.1 2. and therefore it is expedient to secure this Comprehensiveness by a publick Form But it is no way needful that every Sermon should contain all the necessary points of Doctrine and Practice but such a particular Branch thereof as the Speaker thinks most proper But was he to declare or express all the Articles or Doctrines of the Christian Faith certainly a known Creed is more fit for this purpose than a new Composure And besides this as the temper of the Age accounteth it a Disparagement to preach a Sermon composed by another Man this temper having nothing of hurt in it as the condemning Forms of Prayer hath is fit to be complied with for the benefit of the Hearers And these things will shew that able Ministers ought ordinarily to preach Sermons of their own preparing See also Chap. 7. n. 4. 6. But notwithstanding this Instructions and Exhortations in some cases best performed by a Form it is far from being a Sin for Ministers in their instructing others to make use of what is Composed by others in such cases where this may tend to the greater profit or advantage of the Persons to be instructed In acquainting others with the principles of Religion or Catechising them it is certainly best that this be done in the use of a known set Form of Catechism The short exhortation in administring the holy Communion and the like may be said of other Offices where the Graces to be exercised and the Duties to be performed are constantly the same may be better performed in a well composed pithy Form than by a continued varying 7. And for Sermons as it may be very allowable to cite one or more sentences from an approved Author when this may be of good use So I know no reason why in some cases the using a larger portion of anothers Discourse openly and freely owning the Author may not be done without any blame where the authority of the Person or the Discourse it self might have a greater efficacy on the promoting Goodness and Religion than what the Speaker might express in his own words It was (i) Aug de Doc. Chr. l. 4. c. 29. St. Austin's judgment that such of the Clergy who could not compose Discourses so well as they could speak them might do good service to the Church by publickly pronouncing what was made by others And I doubt not it had been much better for many Teachers and for the Church of God too if they had sown good Seed received from other faithful Hands rather than to have dispersed their own Tares Errors and unsound Doctrines In the Primitive Times it was ordinary to read publickly on the Lord's Days in the Christian Assemblies the Epistles of some eminent Men and some Historical Relations which concerned the Church And there would be the same reason for a Sermon or Homily where that might have a remarkable influence on the Churches good And it is most probable that the Apostle
undertaking goes not so high as to urge these things against the lawfulness of Communion or joyning in the Religious Worship which is so performed 4. If some things be said in behalf of your Separation or as proofs that your withdrawing is no Separation and your dividing no Schism which till they be throughly examined and understood may seem plausible to you even this is not enough Plausible Arguments are no security to them who neglect their duty to justifie your practices without certain evidence that Communion is sinful Those who are men of any parts and learning among your selves know how easie it is to make some fair pretence and plea for almost any Error yea and to bring some subtle Arguments against any truth in the World But no Christian may hence conclude that hereupon he may safely neglect his duty of imbracing that Truth or rejecting that Error And I presume that those who are of the meanest rank among you may know that there are few causes so bad but that a Lawyer who hath used himself to pleading though he be not a person of profound skill in the Law may say something plauble in the behalf thereof But this will not justifie him who doth an injury to his Neighbour in his civil Rights Much less will the like secure you if you act against that which is really your duty to God his Church and other Christians in matters of Religion 5. In reading the holy Scriptures nothing can be more plain than that the Peace and Vnity of the Church The Precepts for Peace and Unity are plain and weighty parts of of our Christian duty is frequently and earnestly commanded and enjoyned and Divisions vehemently condemned and censured in the Christian Religion We profess our selves the Disciples of that Jesus who before his Death expressed his affectionate desire and prayer for Vnity in his Church And he declared this to be a great means whereby his Religion might be propagated and take the greater place in the World John 17.11 21 23. In Christianity while many are eager in prosecuting their Contests too highly in other things the Apostle assures us that Peace is one of the great parts in which the Kingdom of God consists Rom. 14.17 19 And he persuades to Unity in the Church with very great and affectionate earnestness Phil. 2.1 2. and urgeth the same in almost every Epistle Declaring also that they who make Drvisions contrary to this Christian Doctrine serve not our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 16.17 18. But can any persons be the better Christians by despising the weighty and frequently inculcated Precepts of Christianity Or can they be the faithful Disciples of Christ who are earnest in disobeying him even in such Precepts which besides his Authority are intended for the Honour and the progress of his Religion 6. The ancient Church zealous practisers hereof How unlike are these practices to the ancient Catholick temper of Christianity which long continued in the Church sutable to Rules of our holy Religion by the ancient Canons of the Vniversal Church they who would withdraw from the established Church (b) God Can. Eccl. Univ. can 65. and as disesteeming that would privately and without the consent of the Bishop set up another Church were under an Anathema And that the Ancient Fathers and Christians accounted the Precepts of the Gospel for Peace and Vnity to forbid and condemn Divisions and Separations from the Church and that they themselves were zealous in rejecting such practices may sufficiently appear from what I have shewed in (c) Libert Eccles p. 17 18 19 20 23 24. another Discourse But are the rules and practice of Christianity now changed and become quite different from what they were in the Primitive Times Or can any man pretend to a sufficient Warrant and Authority for altering the nature of these Duties or cancelling their Obligation 7. I know that some plead on your behalf that you are not chargeable with any blameable separation You meet indeed by your selves to perform publick worship in a different way from us as one Church may do distinctly from another but you do not censure the Church of England to be no true Church but profess to own her to be a true Church and her Communion to be lawful and therefore you are chargeable with no Schism Those Dissers not excused from schism who professedly acknowledg us to have a true Church and a true worship or unwarrantable division Now though this profession is not always made with sufficient clearness and freedom the acknowledgment thereof is so far from being a plea on your behalf that it is rather an unanswerable charge against you For you reject in your practice the Rules and Constitutions established by Authority concerning the order of the Church and its worship you generally express your dislike of our way of worship or at least your disesteem and undervaluing thereof many of you use your utmost endeavours to draw off persons from our Communion and to bring them to your Congregations and some of your chief Teachers have written their Letters to that purpose to such persons in whom they think they have any great interest some of which I have seen some years since your party frequently useth sharp censures against such pious persons who will not forsake our Church to joyn with you Your people ordinarily use reproachful expressions of our service yea concerning our Church and Ministry and so do your Teachers too frequently and if any persons forsake you and return to our Church they then fall under the load of your displeasure And because this behaviour is used towards that Church which you acknowledg to be a true Church and her Communion not sinful this is so far from justifying your practices that it renders them unaccountable and unexcusable 8. Can it be supposed The contrary proved from one end of Christian Unity that the Vnity and Peace our Saviour recommended for the gaining upon the world was only this that his Disciples and followers should all profess his Name and Doctrine but might make themselves of as many several parties as they pleased all of them openly before the world protesting their dislike of the several models the other parties embraced and also of that worship which was most publickly used and established by the chief Guides and Governours of the Church Now if all this might be done and care must only be taken that the dividing parties do not charge the main body of the Church to be no true Church or to have no true worship could this be the way to promote the honour of Religion or would it not rather make it appear contemptible And in our own present case do the enemies of the Protestant Reformation when they observe your dividing behaviour honour our Reformation because of our Vnity or do not you know that upon this account they upbraid our discord and divisions and make ill use of them And besides this