heard such slothful people awaken'd by severe reproofs in the Dissenters Assemblys than in theirs So that I suspect those will fail of their design who come to our Meetings in hopes to take a more undisturbed Nap there The Bishop seems p 143. to assert That kneeling in publick Prayer is a duty which we are bound to provide conveniency for But as he wisely takes it for granted instead of proving it so he groundlesly imagins the Dissenters to have some aversion to it whereas I know of no posture more universally us'd by 'em in that duty in their Closets or Familys where they have conveniency for it And I have seen it frequently us'd in those larger Seats in their Meetings that were wide enough to allow room for it So that I perceive his Lordship is as great a stranger to our judgment and practice as if he liv'd in some remote part of the world and yet pretends to give an account of it with as much confidence as if he had continually frequented our Assemblys I think I may pretend to know 'em better and therefore must in justice to 'em add that in those Meetings I have frequented I have observ'd as great an appearance of external Reverence and Devotion of seriousness and gravity as in any other Protestant Churches whatsoever either at home or abroad The Bishop concludes this Chapter with this Observation But the truth of the matter as it seems to me is That your neglecting to kneel at the most solemn of all Christian Ordinances the Lord's-Supper dos harden you against Reverence in the other parts of Divine Worship And it is no wonder it shou'd do so for if Reverence be not thought necessary in that duty it may well seem unnecessary in any other On which words I shall only add That if by Reverence in that Ordinance of the Lord's-Supper he means kneeling while we eat the Bread and drink the Cup I have shew'd him that the Apostles us'd no such Reverence and he may with the same justice reproach them as he dos us But it will by no means follow that we must not use a worshipping-posture when acts of immediate Worship are offer'd because we use it not when no such acts are requir'd as none are during our eating and drinking in remembrance of Christ in that Institution So that I may more justly observe That his Lordship's neglecting so long to reason solidly and to speak Truth concerning the Dissenters has so harden'd him in the contrary practice that he seems resolv'd to go on in it to the end of the Chapter For the practice of the Establisht Church in reference to Bodily Worship I need add nothing to what has been already observ'd p. 123 124 concerning bowing at the name of Jesus standing up at the Reading some part of the Scriptures rather than others Reading in the Cathedrals one part of their Service at the Communion-Table where few of the people can hear it c. For which practices the Bp. must either bring us express scriptural precept or pattern or must censure 'em for his sort of human Inventions and truly some of 'em look too like superstitious ones For they are either us'd and retain'd for no reason at all but meer arbitrary pleasure or for such reasons as include some superstitious conceit in 'em as if some peculiar honour and homage were due to that name of our Saviour above others And greater veneration were due to some part of Scripture above the rest And as if there were either some peculiar sanctity in the prayers or in the place when they are read at the Communion-Table or there were no better way of instructing the people in their obligation to Communicate than by this dumb sign of reading some part of the Communion-Service there Remarks on the Fifth Chapter concerning the Lord's-Supper And here I. FOr the Account he gives us of what the Scriptures prescribe concerning the frequency of Celebrating this Institution I shall very easily agree with his Lp. For tho I think his Reasoning from the time of Celebrating the Passover and from the general Topic of our doing it as often as we have conveniency for it is not very cogent to prove any obligation upon us to celebrate this Sacrament every Lord's-day Yet I do think his other arguments from Scripture are of great weight to prove that in the Apostles time this Ordinance was made one constant part of their Lord's-days Worship and I think it past doubt that this was the universal practice of Christian Churches for several succeeding Ages So that in this respect I fear that the Reformed Churches themselves have not yet come up to the practice of the truly primitive and Apostolical ones as I truly think were highly desirable Many learned Authors both Conf's and N C's have freely deliver'd their judgments to the same purpose and I know of none that have disputed the matter of fact on which their arguments for reviving this practice are founded I know there are other judicious persons that do not think the arguments drawn thence to be demonstrative and do still conceive the words As oft as ye eat this bread c. and do this as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me to leave the frequency of performing this duty to the determination of human prudence And tho their exceptions do not so far weigh with me as to alter my judgment yet I dare not be harsh in censuring such whose apprehensions herein are different from my own All the Debate then remaining between the Bp. and me will be concerning II. The Practice of the Establisht Church and that of the Dissenters For the practice of the Establisht Church I wonder why he shou'd pretend their Church has provided for those that desire to Receive every lord's-Lord's-day meerly because of her ordering some part of the Communion-Service to be read every lord's-Lord's-day when 't is so publickly known that there is no Bread and Wine provided for such as may be dispos'd to Communicate And why shou'd the people be taught their duty only by such dumb signs as that or part of the Communion-Service be read when there 's no Communion intended He dos indeed very justly observe that the Canons require no more of every Parishioner than that he Receivee thrice a year But why he shou'd lay the blame of their people's Receiving no oftner on the ill example of the Dissenters I cannot imagin For if it appear that the Dissenters generally Receive far oftner than their Canons require It will be very unaccountable how their example shou'd encourage that negligence of the Conforming Laity which it rather reproves I confess for the method of driving men to the Sacrament by punishment if he intend this of the severe penaltys that follow upon a Writ de Excommunicato Capiendo we do not much admire it To be admitted to the Lord's-Table we esteem so great a Priviledg and Honour that we think none shou'd partake of it but
prescribed Forms shou'd exactly suit This is most obvious in our Closet-prayers There is scarce any one day in which we have not some occasion to vary our Requests There are some particular failings we have occasion particularly to confess renounce and implore divine Aid against Or there are some particular dutys which we need to beg direction and assistance for the discharge of So that our own meditation every day must suggest to us the most proper matter of our addresses to God and many requests sutable to our particular case must be excluded if we confine our devotions to the sett forms of others So that such as are at present forc'd thro their Ignorance and inability to confine themselves to such Forms are like lame People that cannot go without the help of Crutches And for such so to sit down and satisfie themselves with their Book-prayer and prescrib'd Forms as to go no farther wou'd be to use the significant expressions of the excellent Bishop Wilkins as if a Man who had once need of crutches shou'd always afterwards make use of 'em and so necessitate himself to a continual Impotency Nay the Bp. himself cou'd not but own that the use of conceiv'd prayers is founded on that general Rule of Scripture which Commands us to ask of God what we lack p 56. But then he groundlesly adds the following words which 't is most proper I shou'd consider in this place viz. of this Rule our own Prudence makes the Application in such extemporary occasions but when we set up this human Application of this general Rule in opposition to that particular manner of asking Commanded by God and Practis'd by H. Men which is by sett and premeditated Forms in the ordinary Worship of God and turn God's way out of his worship to make room for one of our own This is to displace a particular Command of God on pretence of guiding our selves by a general one In which we are not only more liable to mistakes but we fail of paying due respect to God's directions For general Commands only take place in such Cases where God has not laid down a Particular Rule Answ His Lp. here very Prudently takes for granted what he has no where Prov'd that God has given a particular Command to the Christian Church to Pray in all ordinary cases by sett and premeditated Forms But has he brought any other Proof of this then that Christ once Recommended one comprehensive Pattern or Form And dos he think this amounts to a Command that we shou'd in all ordinary cases use Forms when there is not one tittle to that purpose in the H. Scriptures and Particularly in the New Testament when there are no such Forms given us by God nor the least Direction who shou'd compose 'em for us If we shou'd allow him that the Lords Prayer is prescrib'd as a Form that must be constantly us'd in Private and Publick Worship which he neither has nor indeed can any man Prove yet all that he cou'd infer thence were That we have a particular Command to use that Form but it will by no means follow that we have any such particular Command to use other human prescribed Forms in all our ordinary Prayers So that to use free prayer in our ordinary Publick Worship dos not displace any particular command nor turn God's way out of his Worship to make room for our own For God has undoubtedly by this general precept oblig'd us to free-prayer and has no way confin'd the use of it to extraordinary cases only having no way recommended any sett form to Christians unless we take this comprehensive patern of Christ's to be One and if we do that 's the only one he has enjoyn'd So that I may more justly hence infer That those turn God's way out of his Worship who confine men in their publick Administrations to such human sett-forms as God has no where enjoyn'd the use of by either general or particular precept and are indeed in the Bp's sense only human Inventions whereas those more exactly observe his directions who use the only form which there is any appearance of his having prescrib'd to us Christians but as to all other Prayers use the freedom which God allows us when he enjoyns no other Forms but this IV. It seems highly agreeable to the Wisdom of God that the mode of praying with or without a form shou'd be left so far undetermin'd as to confine us to neither way by any particular precept And therefore he has only given us general rules relating to this duty and one comprehensive either Pattern or Form but has left us in the particular exercises of this duty to the determination of Christian Prudence whether we shall use a sett-form or not For there is no doubt but that the ignorance and weakness of some may need such crutches as sett-forms especially when they pray with others and therefore such helps are allow'd ' em And yet more grown and improv'd Christians shou'd by their advancement in divine knowledge by their frequent consideration of their own necessities and by frequent exercise in this duty endeavour to attain those Gifts that may sett 'em above the need of those helps and enable 'em to express their own sentiments and desires in Prayer to God on all emergent occasions without running to other mens books and composures for that end Especially Ministers shou'd be furnisht with such a Gift And therefore God has not thought fit to hinder the exercise of and improvement in such an excellent Gift by prescribing to either People or Ministers a stinted Liturgy even in reference to the most ordinary occasions of Prayer V. For what his Lp. adds about the peoples joyning with the Minister in repeating of publick Prayer p. 36 37 38 c. I shall only subjoyn 1. That 't is not deny'd that the people exprest their joyning in the publick Prayers in Christian Assemblys by adding their Amen to 'em as appears from 1 Cor. 14.16 And if under the Old Testament they added to their Amen Hallelujah as 106 Ps 48. or He is good for his mercy endures for ever 2 Chron. 7.3 It makes no great difference in the matter 2. Yet he has brought neither precept nor example from the New Testament of the peoples Repeating the Prayer together with the Minister For that passage 4 Acts 24. proves no more than a consent of their minds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to that Prayer which was then offer'd up And the same might be said of his instance out of the Old Testament 21 Judges 2. And here the Bp. very gravely obtrudes upon us a wonderful conceit of that Assembly being inspir'd not only to think the same thing but to utter the same words p. 37 for which there is no necessity from the words nor indeed any great probability For the instance of Paul and Silas it has less weight in it They might pray together tho one only spake and yet both use their
be instant in season and out of season to reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine For these latter expressions seem to explain the former And I hope he will allow the Apostle Peter to have preacht in the 2 Acts from the 14th to the 40th ver And yet what he spoke is call'd an Exhortation v. 40. Nay to put the matter out of doubt 't is said of John the Baptist 3 Luke 18. That many other things in his Exhortation he preached unto the people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Again he saith That interpreting the Scriptures applying 'em and exhorting the people from 'em in a Christian Auditory is never call'd Preaching Now either those many discourses of the Apostles recorded in the Acts are not Preaching or else quite contrary to the Bp's notion Preaching was interpreting the scriptures applying 'em and exhorting the people from ' em For I would fain know what else he can make of the Apostle Peter's Sermon 2 Acts from the 14th to the 40th 3 Acts from the 12th to the end 4 Acts from the 8th to the 20th Of Stephen's 7 Acts. Of the Apostle Peter's 10 Acts from the 34th to the 44th Of the Apostle Paul's 13 Acts in which single instance the Bp. will find almost all his Notions overthrown together For v. 15. After the reading the Law and Prophets the Rulers of the Synagogue send to Paul and his company this Message Ye men and brethren if ye have any word of Exhortation for the people say on The Apostle addresses himself to comply with their proposal And accordingly his discourse contains an Explication of several passages out of the Old Testament relating to the promised seed of Abraham an application of 'em to our Blessed Saviour and an exhortation to 'em from thence to believe in him and not despise and reject him And this very discourse the Apostle calls declaring glad tidings or preaching for the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 32. If the Bp. object this discourse was not in a Christian Auditory 't is easily answer'd What can the difference of the Auditory signify to alter the nature of the discourse As if the very same discourse in a Synagogue shou'd be preaching but quite another thing in a Christian Church 'T is plain here that the Apostle preacht when he interpreted the Scriptures relating to Christ applyed 'em and exhorted the people from 'em so that these are the same thing And if he still pretend that such Exposition and Application had some other name given it when us'd in a Christian Auditory than that of preaching I shall to remove this shadow of a pretence farther add I suppose he will not doubt but the Apostle Paul either found or at least planted a Christian Church at Rome long before his two years expir'd and yet he is all that time said to preach the kingdom of God among ' em So no doubt there was a Christian Churâ—h at Ephesus and yet Timothy residing there is exhorted to preach the word to be instant in season and out of season And in the place I first alledg'd the Apostle Paul was desirous to preach the Gospel to those at Rome whose Faith was already so eminent and so publickly known and celebrated And indeed tho the Gospel be in the strictest sense only news to those that first hear it yet it dos not cease to be good tidings or a joyful message for being often repeated So that since the Bp. has so ill hap in every one of his Criticisms I wou'd advise him to be more sparing and deliberate in offering 'em to publick view for his talent dos not seem to lye much that way IV. The Scriptures have left it to human prudence to determine What portion of 'em shall be read in our publick Assemblys and in what order and method To clear this We must consider there are two ways of Reading the Scriptures in order to the peoples instruction from ' em As either 1. When some considâ—rable portion of 'em is read together As some part of a Book or Epistle a Psalm c. For the division of the Scriptures into chapter and verse are but a matter of late Invention 2. When several passages are read out of several Books of the Old or New Testament which are parallel to each other and serve to explain the same Doctrine or clear and enforce the same duty And tho the phrase of Reading the Scriptures be by common custom appropriated to the former yet if we will speak strictly It dos as truly belong to the latter and 't is of this latter way of Reading the Scriptures for the people's instruction that we have the clearest warrant from the examples of the Apostles and the accounts given us in the New Testament of the practice of the Christian Church Nor do those banish either of these ways of reading either an entire portion or several parallel Texts that interpose an explicatory and applicatory Paraphrase between the several parts that are read Nor dos the Bp that I can find so much as pretend to produce any thing from Scripture against the intermixing such a paraphrase in our reading the Scriptures Now if he consult all the Sermons of the Apostles recorded in the Acts he will find that they did read or what is the same did recite verbatim and propose to the consideration of the people several passages of the word of God all tending to illustrate and prove some truth or duty of the Christian Religion And their practice herein was conformable to that of our Blessed Saviour who employd the first Christian Sabbath I mean the day of his Resurrection not in reading an entire portion of Scripture but in expounding to the two Disciples all those passages in Moses and the Prophets that related to himself and his death resurrection and ascention 24 Luke 24 Luke from the 13th to the 28th Nor do I find in that account given of the Worship of Christian Churches 1 Cor. 14 chap. any mention made of Reading the Scriptures as a distinct thing from Doctrine and Interpretation So that I know of no one precept or example in all the New Testament relating to the Christian Church for this way of reading unless what may be inferr'd from the 4 Col. 16. And when this Epistle is read omong you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea But then we must not urge the Inference from these words too far for I know of none that think themselves oblig'd by it to read a whole Epistle at one time tho no doubt it was fit the Colossians shou'd so read this Epistle then as we shou'd be as forward to read a much longer that came newly to us from the same inspired Pen. And yet because reading an entire portion of Scripture was so constantly practis'd in the Old Testament and the reason of it seems in part to extend to us I do