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A77206 Remarks on a late discourse of William Lord Bishop of Derry; concerning the inventions of men in the worship of God. By J. Boyse Boyse, J. (Joseph), 1660-1728. 1694 (1694) Wing B4073; ESTC R230876 152,098 209

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great source of the deplorable degeneracy and corruption of our Youth And I heartily wish the Clergy were herein more exemplary to the Laity by making their Houses lesser Churches and fruitful Seminarys of Religion I hope the Dissenters of that Diocess as well as in other parts of the Kingdom set 'em herein a Pattern worthy their imitation But why his Lordship shou'd in their Family-Prayers seem to confine 'em to the words of the Church I see no reason unless he supposes those Forms such a Catholicon in Devotion as some boast their Recipe's to be in Physick that will suit all particular Diseases 2. In his exhorting 'em not only to Innocency of life but to Christian moderation too For certainly when our Zeal instead of being lay'd out to promote the great and important Interests of our common Christianity is chiefly spent about lesser matters disputable among truly good men It turns into a praeternatural and feavourish heat that preys on the Vitals of Religion But I must add That I understand not Why Innocency of Life and moderation in the Conforming Laity shou'd any more convince the Non Conformists of the unreasonableness of seperation from them then the like Innocency and moderation of the Non Conformists shou'd convince their Conforming brethren of the unreasonableness of seperation from them And no doubt but all good men on both sides enjoy that Communion of Saints which our Creed speaks of And where their difference of Judgment about some modes of Worship unavoydably occasions that difference of Practise which some improperly call difference of Communion yet there is no reason it shou'd disunite their Affections They retain Communion in the Essentials of Belief Worship and Holiness and are cemented by those common bands of Christian Unity mentioned 4. Eph. 4 5 6. One Body one Spirit one Hope of their Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father And so far as they are acted by the genuine Spirit of Christianity they will endeavour to preserve this Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace by mutual Forbearance as to that diversity of external Rites and Modes about which it cannot be Expected but that the different apprehensions of pious men will occasion diversity in their practise especially where any unnecessary or suspected Rites are imposed IV. For his Advice to the Dissenting Laity of Derry I Shall only offer the following Remarks 1. His Lp. dos well to refer 'em to their Bibles as I have also done in this Discourse and I hope they will herein imitate those noble Beraeans by examining what is said according to that unerring Standard and Test of Divine Truth 2. That Men are more fond of their own Inventions then of God's Commands is a Truth that Experience puts out of all doubt But that all those Popish Corruptions of Image Worship Prayers for the dead Purgatory the Intercession of Saints Half Comunion and Worshipping the Host were meerly introduc't by the violent fondness of the People for 'em against the will of the Church Governours who generally oppos'd and condemn'd 'em is an Observation that I can see little ground for in Church-History As to some of 'em I think it far more probable that they had their rise either from the imprudent Zeal or the politick Contrivance of the Clergy who found 'em Serviceable to squeeze the Purses as well as enslave the Consciences of the People 'T is certain that when those corruptions were once entertain'd the Clergy were generally the most violent defenders of 'em and the most cruel persecutors of all that made any Attempts towards Reformation But the Bp. applys this Observation to Extemporary Prayers which as he supposes to be an human Invention so he tells us The People have brought 'em into practise against the Opinion and Constitution of the Church Covernours and of the first Reformers who all did settle Liturgys in the Churches which they reform'd This Knox did in Scotland whose Liturgy we have ready to produce to the Conviction of those who pretend to be his Successors and yet condemn Forms of Prayer as unlawful This Luther did for Germany and Calvin for Geneva and for the French-Church whose Liturgys are still us'd by ' em Answ I hope I have already sufficiently prov'd That Praying without Forms is as much of Divine Institution as Praying with 'em and consequently the Bishop has no more reason to call the one a Human Invention then the other Nay since there is not the least evidence of any stinted Liturgy prescrib'd or recommended to the Christian Church by Christ or his Apostles but so strong presumption to the contrary that in the Apostolical and I may add in the two or three following Ages even ordinary Pastors us'd free-prayer or prayed in the exercise of their own Abilities There is much more reason to rank such stinted Liturgies among the Bishop's sort of Human Inventions For they have certainly neither precept nor pattern for 'em in the New Testament as us'd in the Christian Church and we do in the use of 'em vary from Apostolical pattern And I take this account he has given us of the Original of what he calls Extempore-Prayers to be a very lame and untrue one For if free-prayer unconfin'd to a stinted Liturgy was the practice of the three first Centuries and Dr. Comber's proofs to the contrary are I think invalidated by his modest and learned Examinator to the full satisfaction of an unprejudic'd Reader Then the Bp. is first concerned to acquaint us how such stinted Liturgies were brought into general use And if he will take the Opinion of the learned Capellus in this matter even in that very Disputation in which he so severely censures the Compilers of the Directory prescribed Liturgies were unknown to the Apostolical and succeeding Ages and were not introduc'd till those Persecutions ceas'd which kept alive the Zeal of the Primitive Christians and till through the favour of Christian Emperors the Number of Christians Encreas'd but the Fervour of true Piety and Devotion was Allay'd And then they were gradually introduc'd for the use of simple and unlearned Ministers who through their Sloth were unfurnish'd with Gifts and through their Ignorance in danger of venting such unsound Notions as subtile Hereticks might instill into ' em † See Thes Sal. p. 657. But it was much later before stinted Liturgies came into general use even in those Ages the Fifth Sixth c. in which the Clergy gradually degenerated into Laziness and Ignorance as well as Worldliness and Pride and true Devotion sunk into Formality and Superstition And hereby the ruling part of the Clergy had the easier opportunity to propagate all their gainful Errors and Superstitions among the People by infusing the poyson of 'em into the Publick Offices of Devotion For such prescribed Liturgies were first set up in Patriarchal and Metropolitan Churches such as Rome Alexandria Antioch Constantinople c. And there was very great diversity of 'em