unprovided of a Form of Prayer if a Form had been necessary This Argument which some have well improv'd carries that weight with it that they that are for the imposing of Forms do yet acknowledge that such Forms of Prayer from which it was not lawfull for the Minister to vary were not imposed for the first three Centuries and consequently that they came not into the Christian Church till about four or five hundred years after Christ Now to take off this prejudice they tell us that then there was no need of them Ministers were supplied with extraordinary Gifts Gifts of Tongues Gifts of Miracles Gifts of Prophesie I confess 't is very evident that such extraordinary Gifts were then bestowed but that every one that was ordain'd to the Ministry had thereupon a constant extraordinary Gift either for Prayer or Preaching is sooner said than prov'd Nay rather the contrary to this is evident that tho' the first general Preachers of the Gospel that were not limited to this or that Church but were to spread the Gospel in all Places and Nations tho' I say these no doubt had such an extraordinay Gift it doth not appear that all others had it The directions that St. Paul gives to Timothy and Titus about the Qualifications of Ministers do plainly intimate the contrary So that stinted Forms of Prayer coming into the Church not till four or five hundred years after Christ whether the imposing of Forms of Prayer be to be justified from hence because about 500 years after Christ they were impos'd I say whether this be a good argument must be determined from the state of the Church at that time As to this all that I shall say is to repeat the words of one that hath ransacked all the Corners penetrated the inwards and dived to the bottom of Antiquity viz. Mr. Clerkson p. 181. speaking of the Introduction of Liturgies They were not entertained till nothing was admitted into the Church de novo but corruptions or the Issues of them no change made in the ancient Usages but for the worse no Notions from its Primitive State but downwards into degeneracy till such orders took place as respected not what was most agreeable to the rule and primitive Usage or what was best to uphold the life and power of Religion in its solemn Exercises or what might secure it from that dead Heartlesness and Formality into which Christianity was sinking In a word not till the Church was rather to be pitied than imitated Thus far Mr. Clerkson I confess however 't is a cunning Device for by this means viz. the casting out of all Prayer but what is read out of a Book there will be no discernable difference of Ministers Gifts but they will hardly be able to prevent the people from saying this way of Pryer is no more than we our selves can do why should we maintain and honour men for doing no more than a Boy of ten or twelve years old can do nay there will be a greater inconvenience than this Let Ministers be provided for with Forms of Prayer made to their hands without putting forth themselves to exercise the Gift of Prayer and in time they will be unable to pray otherwise Secondly A Minister should be able to speak from God to the people to declare the whole Will and Counsel of God to them The Work and Design of the Ministry is to better Mankind to turn men from their evil ways and from the evil of their doings surely such a work doth require Gifts of Knowledge and Utterance Conversion doth restore man to the image of God which consists in Knowledge Righteousness and Holiness and the means must be fitted to the end Ministers should be able not only to make Sermons set studied Discourses but upon all occasions to speak a word in season I am sure this is that which Ministers promise to do viz. to use both publick and private Monitions and Exhortations as well to the sick as to the whole Spons 3. Office of Ordination Thirdly Together with these there ought to be the approbation of those to whom it belongs to judge of the Qualifications of those that would devote themselves and their Labours to God in the Service of the Ministry when these have approv'd them as persons duly qualified and commended them to God and have by Prayer and Imposition of hands invested them in the Ministry these are to be owned by the people as Ministers sent of God I know that some engross this power of making Ministers to such as are now called Diocesan Bishops whom they make so necessary to Ordination of Ministers that whoever is ordain'd without them by Ministers of particular Congregations some of our Brethren are pleas'd to say these Ordinations having not the concurrence of a Diocesan Bishop are a mere nullity And the Parliament that made the Law that required Reordination of all such as had been thus ordain'd were no doubt of this opinion Some indeed have said their Ordination was required to the exercise of their Ministry and not the Office A License would have done that without Ordination Moreover there was no difference made betwixt those that had been ordain'd before and those that pretended not to it which proves that our Law-makers of whom the Bishops were a part look'd upon all those Ordinations as a Nullity for no less was required of us that had been ordain'd than of those that had not been ordain'd And yet they would not declare that all our Ministration were a nullity So inconsistent are all they with themselves that design the interest of a Party more than of the truth This puts me in mind of what a reverend Minister then told one of the Bishops viz. I am afraid said he there is that Severity shewn in the Act of Conformity that 't is to be feared very many Ministers will not conform To whom the Bishop replied I am afraid there will be too many Surely to speak modestly that Prelate was not of the opinion of the Apostle Paul who rejoyced that Christ was preached tho' some that preached him were no great friends to the Apostle But in confirmation of what I have to say I would not make Reflections upon what is past any further than our own Vindication will make it necessary First Therefore to prove this let it be supposed that a Minister of a particular Congregation whom for distinction-sake we call a Presbyter be of an inferior order to a Bishop It is upon this pretence that the power of Ordination is denied to them Now if these Ministers Presbyters being but the Ministers of particular Congregations may make a Bishop they may certainly make and ordain Ministers for if they can do the greater they may do the less This was the answer of Archbishop Usher to King Charles the First who told that King that in the Church of Alexandria the Presbyters always made their own Bishop And the thing is so necessary that Episcopacy can't
spend the remainder of our time in drawing some practical Inferences from the Discourse APPLICATION First therefore It appears from hence that they that nullifie the Ministry of such persons who have all that is necessary to prove their Mission are no real Friends to the Reformation Our first Reformers though they differed from the Foreign Protestant Churches acted from Catholick Principles that comprehended the Foreign Ordinations chusing rather to assert the Identity of Bishops and Presbyters than to expose those Churches that had thrown out our English Prelacy And though they pleaded for Episcopacy they acknowledged that it was not necessary to the being but only ad bene esse of the Church And it was not till our Reformation went backward by an endeavour to bring in a Coalition with the Church of Rome that Reordination was required of them that had been ordained before by Presbyters Peter Martyr at Oxford Martin Bucer at Cambridge had Ecclesiastical Preferments in the Church of England Cranmer that invited them hither never required Re-ordination of them Whittingham was made Dean of Durham though it was known that in his Exile in Queen Mary's time he had been ordain'd by Presbyters only Mr. Travers ordain'd by a Presbytery beyond the Sea was suffered quietly to hold the place of a Centurer at the Temple Mr. Camero ordain'd in France had the like liberty by the Permission of King James the First when that King was about to set up Episcopacy in Scotland it was argued whether the Bishops intended for Scotland should not be ordain'd first Ministers because they had not received Ordination by a Bishop and it was carried in the negative by the means of Bishop Boncroft Thus this matter went till Archbishop Laud whose great design it was to bring about a Reconciliation between the Church of England and the Church of Rome made it his business to please the Romanists and it could not but please them to see those that had the management of our Church affairs here in England declare a Nullity in our Ministry and Ministrations they knew it would be a good step towards Popery This design dying with him was reviv'd again upon the coming in of King Charles II. Surely those learned Men and Bishops that had been with that King in his Exile beyond the Seas must be supposed to know that King's Religion and what his designs were these were they that among other hard things that they imposed upon us to the exercise of our Ministry brought a necessity of Re-ordination Secondly Seeing the sincere desire of doing good to Souls is so necessary to prove Ministers to be sent of God I beg of you that are to be ordain'd this day to look to your Aims and Ends that they be such for Purity of intention is absolutely required to the acceptance of what we do so that though we do what is commanded but not because it is commanded it is as if we had not done it nay 't is in some respect as if God had not commanded it Remember the words of the Prophet concerning Jehu He was command-to destroy the house of Ahab and yet because he did what he was commanded but not with that Purity of Intention as was necessary to his acceptance not to destroy Idolatry as he pretended but to establish himself in the Kingdom therefore saith God I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu Hos 1.3 4. The more entirely we aim at this the doing of good the turning men from the evil of their ways and doings the more contented we shall be in our present circumstances in which though we have not that encouragement as we could desire yet we have more than the Primitive Preachers of the Gospel obtain'd for the space of three hundred years we have more encouragement than we expected or indeed could rationally expect enough therefore to make us thankfully to acknowledge it is the Lord 's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes Thirdly Seeing the Gifts of Knowledge and Utterance are so highly necessary to the Ministry let us more endeavour to qualifie our selves with those Gifts that may evidence it to the People that we are sent of God and not trust to the Ceremony of Ordination which when it is applied to men utterly destitute of those Gifts may be a mere Nullity A Mute or an Idiot is no Minister though ordain'd Our care therefore should be ours that are in the Ministry and yours that stand as Candidates for the Ministry to keep and increase those Gifts that may enable us to the performance of all Ministerial Duties First We are the mouth of the people to God What! should a Minister look no further to accomplish himself for that part of his Ministry but to read out of the Book what he hath to pray for in behalf of the people God commandeth Christians to pray with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit Eph. 6.18 And is the Ministry exempted should he not be able to do that which every private Christian is required to do A Minister should not be confin'd to the Fetters of other mens narrow defective Words and Books whatever may be said on behalf of such as need the help of a composed Form I wonder that men should think it necessary that all should be confin'd to them It can't be supposed that all do need them Let us not be affrighted out of our duty by a pretence that the thing is not attainable on a sudden to express our desires Remember the words of the Apostle Rom. 8.26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our Infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought The Apostle doth not say the Book will tell you for then there was none for ought appears but the Spirit helpeth our Infirmities So that Spiritual Prayer was in the Church before the Jesuits brought it in This Gift of the Spirit all ought to pray for Ministers especially that they may not only desire graciously and acceptably things necessary but express these desires on behalf of the people that they by joyning with us may make them their own desires And we should endeavour to excell in this Gift that we may avoid all those Indecencies which those that idolize Forms are apt to take notice of and expose viz. a foolish Loquacity pouring out as one saith tumultuous indigested thoughts We are not rashly to utter any thing before the Lord Eccles 5.2 We should also avoid vain Repetitions for we shall not be heard for much speaking Matth. 6 7. We should also avoid affected Words and Phrases for certainly the more plain and familiar our words are the better they suit with the nature of Prayer In a word we should endeavour to observe the general rule of our Saviour not to be as the hypocrites Thus let us all endeavour to accomplish our selves for this part of our Ministry and if our Brethren out of a fondness to their own way of Devotion will ridicule our
well be preserv'd except the inferiour Clergy have a power to make their own Bishops Suppose as sometimes it hath fallen out here in this Kingdom that there were not Bishops enough to consecrate Bishops who can make them but the inferiour Clergy It fell out so in England at the coming of Queen Elizabeth to the Crown Cardinal Poole then Archbishop of Canterbury died within four and twenty hours of Queen Mary and upon his death the See of Canterbury being void Dr. Parker was preferr'd to it there were not as Dr. Burnet now Bishop of Salisbury observes Bishops enough of the Protestant Religion to ordain him and the Popish Bishops would not so he was made Bishop by Barlow Story Coverdale and Hodgkins three of these were only Titular and had no Sees and the other a Suffragan So that the first Bishop that was made here upon the coming of Queen Elizabeth to the Crown was made by Presbyters and not by Diocesan Bishops This put Mr. Mason upon the writing of his Book in Vindication of the English Ministry against the Papists who triumph'd much upon this occasion Surely therefore if Ministers may make Bishops who pretend to be a superiour order to them what should hinder that they should not have a power to ordain Ministers Just such another absurdity the Papists run themselves into for they also appropriate the power of Ordination to Diocesan Bishops and yet according to the Doctrine of Transubstantiation every Priest by a few words speaking can make a God and turn the Elements of Bread and Wine into the natural Body of our Saviour but they must not presume to make Ministers Secondly The nature of Ordination proves our Ministry to be no Nullity Ordination is but a determining of the persons to be ordained as persons duly qualified for the Office whereupon they are by Prayer and Imposition of hands invested in the Ministry Now what is there in this that Ministers may not do without a Diocesan We do not give them their power and ministerial Authority that is from God and what that power is that God gives them 't is not we but the word of God that must determine The power and authority Eccesiastical or Ministerial is from God as the civil power Now 't is not usual for Kings to be invested by Kings 't is always done by their Subjects True it is in the Office of Ordination as appointed in the Church of England the Bishop is directed to say Take thou Authority to preach the word of God and to minister the holy Sacraments But 't is not the Bishop that is the Donor of that Authority and that 't is not so will appear to him that doth but consider this one thing they that ordain men to the Office don't make the Office He only gives the power that made the Office to which the power belongs As the King that can make Corporations and Mayors doth give them what power they have Our Brethren that would nullifie our Ministry are pleas'd to tell us that Bishops in ordaining Ministers do give them what power they have and that Ministers can have no more power than the Bishops intended to give them in Ordination and that therefore Presbyters can have no power to ordain because the Bishops in ordaining them intended it not to them True it is that about two hundred years ago all our Ordinations came from those that were of the Episcopal Perswasion and Communion and who can pretend that they that then ordain'd did intend to give this power The argument were of weight if the Bishops had made the Office but it being not so it matters not what their intentions were that then ordain'd Ministers Were it not so what I pray would become of the Reformation Had our Reformers no more power than the Pope and his Bishops intended to give them Surely they never intended them a power to reform Ordination therefore being but a determining of the Persons and an investing men in the Ministry what power thereupon Ministers have is from God as when one of your Neighbours is made Mayor of your Town he doth not receive his power from them that chose him nor from him that swears him but from the King that gave the Charter Thirdly I would argue from the necessary consequence of that opinion that would engross the power of Ordination to a Diocesan and make all other Ordinations a meer Nullity It followeth and they own it that their Ministry is no Ministry their Sacraments no Sacraments their Churches no Churches and 't is well if they allow them to be in a state of Salvation and yet these very men acknowledge that they are true Ministers and Churches that have Roman Ordination proclaiming hereby an utter Renunciation of the reformed Churches which have no such Ordinations and yet a Coalition with the Roman Church and Clergy whom they will allow if any of them will come over to us the exercise of their Ministry without Ordination but not the Protestant Ministers that were driven out of France That I do not wrong them see Mr. Dodwell's Preface to the Unity of the Priesthood p. 11. where he saith That we are guilty of abetting a divine Authority in men to whom God hath given no such Authority that we are guilty of forging Covenants in God's name and counterfeiting the great Seals of Heaven in Ratification of them And what can be more treasonable by all the principles of Government what is more provoking and more difficultly pardonable These are his words and they are indeed severe and frightfull but as one saith the Devil hurts those most he least affrighteth Our Comfort is that the old Church of England owned the foreign Protestant Churches as true Churches and their Ministers as true Pastors It is but a few I hope of the Innovators that call themselves the Church of England that say they have no true Ministers that have not an uninterrupted Succession of Diocesan Ordination from the Apostles It was these men or men of these Principles that made the severe Acts that required Re-ordination and have been the great Agents of all the dividing persecuting silencing Laws to which God Almighty by bringing in of our Protestant King hath put a stop I shall mention one consequence more that they must necessarily own that go this way if our Ministry without the concurrence of a Bishop in our Ordination be a Nullity our Ministrations also in the giving the Sacraments must be a Nullity a counterfeiting of the broad Seals of Heaven to speak in the words of the before-mention'd Author those that we baptiz'd are not indeed baptiz'd It follows hence that our Sovereign Lord the King had need to address himself to them for Baptism for I am perswaded he that gave his Majesty Christian Baptism was not Episcopally ordain'd And surely that Prince that would be supreme head of the Church had need to be initiated by Baptism More might be said in confirmation of this but I shall
Performances and expose us to their people let us patiently bear it 't is no new thing for men to pretend that there are Barbarisms and Solecisms in the Prayers of Ministers This St. Austin takes notice of in his time Ita enim non irredebunt se aliquos autestetes ministros ecclesiae forte animadveniunt vel cum barbarismis solecismis deum invocare So they will not jeer if perhaps they take notice that some Bishops and Ministers of the Church do invocate God with Barbarisms and Solecisms to such as feared this he saith God mindeth not so much the Expression as the inward Affection This passage by the way proves that such Prayers were then used in which some might pretend there were Barbarisms Surely they could not be Forms prescribed by the Church However if we meet with the same usage the same Language that St. Austin in his time observ'd let us not wonder at it it seems it is no new thing and therefore we should the more patiently bear it and watch our own Spirits that we do not expose and make their way of Devotion worse than it is because they expose ours For the Spirit of Prayer and true Devotion may be in those that confine themselves to a Form And they that use no Forms may be as formal as other Men. There is as one saith and I think he saith well in it a particular Gust as to Spiritual things that may differ as much as men do as to Meat and Drink In which one liketh and is nourished by that which another loatheth and it may be would do him hurt if it were impos'd upon him I do believe that the true Spirit of Prayer may be in those that do not well rellish our way and they ought and I doubt not but many of them do think so of ours Let every one have what he liketh and let no man be drench'd with what he loatheth It is but a few of that way and they I doubt none of the most devout Persons that will dare to impose upon any but especially upon such frivolous pretences Christians have more need to be rebuk'd for the neglect of Prayer in Secret and in their Families than for praying without or with a Form However it should quiet us to consider that if the Controversie be as for ought we know it is who shall do best it is the more pardonable provided it be done on both sides with that Reverence and Unweariedness as it ought to be done but woe be to that Hypocrite that shall be found in the Omission of that great Duty for which he was such a Stickler They eat up my people as they eat Bread and call not upon the Name of the Lord Psalm 14.8 To conclude this particular it doth seem to me whatever is pretended to the contrary that our first Reformers who composed the Liturgy were far enough from the mind of those that plead for its Imposition they compos'd those Forms to assist Ministers that coming newly out of Popery must be suppos'd to need those helps not with an intent to exclude and run down extempore conceiv'd Prayer There is one passage in the Office of Ordination that makes me think so it is immediately after the Sponsions and in these words viz. After this the Congregation shall be desir'd secretly in their Prayers to make their humble Supplications to God for all these things for the which Prayers there shall be silence kept for a space By this passage it appears that the Compilers of our Liturgy as being sensible of the defect of a Form of Words thought it necessary to give the Congregation a space of time that every person might abound in his own way of conceived Prayer Secondly Being we are to speak from God to the people in which respect a Minister is as God's Mouth to declare the whole counsel of God to them we should endeavour to accomplish our selves for this work that we may do this according to the direction that St. Paul gives Titus chap. 2. v. 1 8. With soundness of Doctrine and with Speech that cannot be blam'd First Let us endeavour to do it with Soundness of Doctrine v. 1. Speak thou the things which become sound Doctrine Now to do this there is need of skill the Christian Religion is baited with many Controversies and that in some material points The Enemy hath sown his Tares Books that strike at all reveal'd Religion are in all parts of the Nation Ministers whose Calling it is to look into Books should be able to discern that they may do their part to prevent the spreading of those opinions 1 Tim. 4.16 Take heed to thy self and to thy Doctrine Secondly Soundness of Speech that cannot be blam'd v. 8. That not only the matter we deliver be agreeable to the Analogy of Faith but we should be able to express our Thoughts so as that the wording of our matter be not despis'd The English Tongue is much refin'd of late years I confess we should avoid on the one hand quaintness of Speech that which the Apostle calls the words of man's wisdom 1 Cor. 2.4 In the use of this it is possible for those that affect a florid Stile to preach to the people to as little purpose almost as if we preach'd in another Language he no doubt is the best Preacher that can make every thing that he preacheth to the people easie to be understood And yet we should take heed of falling into an extreme this way and fill mens ears with an empty Sound of Words nauseous Repetitions and for want of Matter say over and over the same thing and deliver words without Matter Having gotten these Gifts let us see to it that we don't lose them The way to have the continuance and increase of these is to use them to the end for which they are given The way to pray better is to pray more the way to preach better is to preach more Every one learneth by teaching and gets at least a more orderly digested knowledge Let every one do his best and stir up the Gift that is in him and by this means he will attain to do better and his profiting will appear God threathens the Idol-shepherds that their arm should be dried and their right eye darkned Zech. 11.17 This is a Judgment to be feared by all men Ministers especially even the darkning withering Operations of God's Spirit In a word we should endeavour in a particular manner to accomplish our selves for occasional Discourses I confess 't is more natural for some men all have not a presence of Mind and Thought nor a command of words to express their own thoughts and yet 't is that which Ministers especially should endeavour after that upon all occasions we may be able to speak a word in season suited to the occasion I could not but take particular notice of what I lately met with in a Book written by a Jesuit one of the Missionaries that