do thy will O God that they may be one as we are One in will and consent And so the sum of Christ's Prayer there was That the Father would keep the Disciples to be one in Faith in Spirit in Mind in Judgment in Worship and Service of God that they may be one as we are And Christ did not see a necessity of this Unity to be in his Disciples only but saw it necessary also to be among all men that should believe on him or profess Salvation by him as in John 17. vers 20 21. Neither pray I for these alone but for them also that shall believe on me through their word that they all may be one c. Brentius upon these words saith that what Christ before had prayed for his Disciples now prays for all that should believe on him and profess Salvation by him namely that there might be Unity among them all in Spirit in Mind in Worship and Service of God And now to clear up further the necessity of Unity and Uniformity among Believers and Professors of Christianity especially of them living near together I will mind the Readers of some places in St. Paul's Works sometimes praying for us and pressing upon us the same things which Christ pray'd the Father to keep us in In order hereunto I first urge that place of St. Paul to the Romans chap. 15. vers 5 6. God grant ye to be like minded c. I shall give but little of my own Meditations upon the words the Modern Divines having spoken so fully of them as to the present concern The words are the Apostles conclusion as to what he had spoken from the beginning of the 14th Chapter to the Quotation and it consists of Prayer and Exhortation each whereof do invite to the nourishing of Unity and Concord in matters of Religion among Christian Brethren both strong and weak upon the Apostles supplication there God grant ye to be like minded c. Marlorat says That one of the Modern Expositors upon the words saith to this purpose That the Apostle there contends both with God and the Church withal professing Christianity to be of one and the same judgment and mind as to the way of God's Worship which saith the Author there is the very esse and being of Christian Charity and where that effect is not 't is impossible there should be true Christians or any Salvation for that all true Faith is there extinct and the fear of God is not among them The later words of the Author are understood of Dissenters from the true Churches of Christ which be where the Separatists live namely such Churches as ours of England is which is invincible by any authentick Arguments of Romish Presbyterian Independant Anabaptistical Factions or of any other whatever our Church being like that in Sion spoken of in Psalm the 48th vers 12 13. fortified with all the Impregnable Towers and Bulwarks of the Doctrines Seals and Discipline of the Gospel of Peace and Salvation Which Church of ours was by many of the late Presbyterian and Independant Separations acknowledged to be Orthodoxal and that they had no such Exceptions against the Common-Prayer Book but that they could joyn with us in Worshipping of God as well as others of their judgment formerly now did and a long time before had done and this was to my knowledge the loud frequent and publick Expression of many of them long before the last Sea-Engagement with the Dutch but yet many of them thus owning conviction said They thought it not fit to own so much by conforming at that present juncture of time upon this insufficient reason alledged by them Because that if they did as then conform they should lie under the scandal of conforming out of fear considering the smart and severe Execution of the Penal Statutes in many parts of the Kingdom upon the Direction and Charges of the Judges in their Circuits Which acknowledged Conviction of many of them and reason of Non-conforming alledged for that present is thought by loyal and and charitable Hearts sounded in his Majesty's Ears and was the main end of his suspension of the Penal Statutes for a while by grant of the Tolleration namely that they might thereupon take the opportunity to conform without the forementioned Scandal For his Majesty there said That seeing the forementioned harsher Means would not prevail he would try what that gentle way of Tolleration for the present might do for their return to us I am sure his Majesty's words were to this purpose Of which opportunity some made present use to my knowledge for the Sunday after the Tolleration came down to Norwich some came then to both Common-Prayer and Sermon and not before I Preaching then at St. Stevens and so have continued since as I have had information upon inquiry C. G. C. Which Practice of some was the hope or desire of his Majesty for all which is evident from the other reason alledged by his Majesty for granting the Tolleration which was That whilst he had Wars abroad he might have Peace at home whereupon loyal and charitable hearts cannot but judge that notwithstanding the Tolleration his Majesty therein did publish his dislike of the Separations and openly check Nonconformity and possibly might insinuate a jealousie of the Dissenters from the Established Church of England that it might be in their hearts if they had but Opportunity Power and Advantages as formerly to Rebel forthwith against his Majesty and to Involve again this Church and State in blood and confusion And now I beg pardon for this short Digression from the last quoted Text because not passing by without throwing in a Mite into the Treasury erected for the relief of Uniformity in Religion which stands now in as much need in this Kingdom for help as ever I come with one Gloss more upon the Apostle's forementioned words which I hope shall be prevalent with Dissenters from us for their return of some to us and for the unity of others with us it being as apt and genuine an Exposition of Mr. Calvin a man ever of great Esteem with them as ever he gave of any Scripture speaking of those words of the Apostle namely That with one mind and one mouth ye may glorifie God c. And upon the words immediately going before he saith Ac quo magis commendabilem c. that the Apostle might render their Agreement and Unity the more commendable the Apostle teacheth how necessary Unity in Worship is seeing God is not truly worshipped of us unless all our minds and tongues agree together in praising and glorifying of him The sum of his Inference thereupon is Non est ergo quod jactet quisquam c. Let no man therefore boast or think he hath well worshipped or served God doing it his own way That is separating in Worship from and not joyning therein with the true Church of Christ by him at the times appointed for Publick Worand Devotion
New Testament neither by Precedents nor Precepts therein can they prove themselves to be either in a godly or soul-saving way of themselves or of them that did adhere to their Doctrines For so soon as his Majesty's Grant was ratified for the two Houses of Parliament to sit during their pleasure there was soon a foundation for a Rebellion laid by them and the Synod of Divines sitting with them Which was no sooner done but those Dissenters from the Common-Prayer Book some having gone beyond Sea and others retiring into secret places at home for a while soon joyned all their Forces to carry on the late most damnable Rebellion and Disobedience So that instead of being owned godly and soul-saving Preachers they may justly be termed what the Pharisees were of John the Baptist namely an off-spring of Vipers For as 't is the property of the off-spring of Vipers to destroy their Dams that gave them their being so did these forsaker of the Service-Book soon help to destroy our most gracious Sovereign that under God gave them their safe being and preservation as English-men and for a long while destroyed their Mother the true Protestant Church of England which gave them their spiritual saving and Christian light and grace if ever they had any So that for the just condemnation of the former part of the Author's 7th Consideration what God said against Judah and Hicrusalem by Isaiah chap. 1. vers 2. may justly be applied to these opposers of the King State and Church of England Hear O Heaven and give car O Earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me Now something would be said to the latter part of this 7th Consideration where the Service-Book lies under a great condemnation in respect to bringing in and maintaining many ignonorant scandalous lazy and formal Priests and Curats to the deceiving and utter undoing of many precious souls In which latter Paragraph I presume the Author had respect to the Times before the long Parliament and the late unhappy Wars and do mean thereby that the Ministers in the foregoing times which would subscribe and conform to the Book of Common-Prayer though but of mean parts were admitted to Livings and suffer'd to serve their Cures in which respect I presume the Author means the Service-Book brought in and maintained many ignorant c. as above said To which Accusation I make this ensuing Apologetical Answer I remember that in those times many of the Clergy brought into the Ministry in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory as also for some while after by reason of a scarcity of Learned Men occasioned by the sharp Persecution of such Divines in Queen Mary's days and in another respect alledged by a Bishop at the Conference at Hampton-Court I say I remember many of those Ministers of very mean ability were then alive and remained in their Livings And indeed I confess that in that respect it may be said that the Service-Book brought in and maintained some Ministers of but mean Abilities but yet were nothing so impudently and wickedly ignorant as Butchers and other Mechanick Teachers put into publick places after the said Service-Book was crucified for though these former Ministers knew not much yet what they knew they knew rightly but these latter thinking they knew any thing as St. Paul 1 Corinth chap. 8. vers 2. they knew nothing as they ought to know In the next place the Author saith this Service-Book did bring in and maintain scandalous and lazy Priests and Curats that is first men of an open wicked Coversation To which I Answer 'T is a charge as nonsensical as false and as false as any thing can be Let him shew where the Rubrick or any part of the Book yea or any Canons or Constitutions of our Church give Toleration or countenance of any such Minister in that Office If there be any such scandalous Minister in the Church the fault lies in the Officers in not presenting of them not in the Service-Book nor in them in Ecclesiastical Authority For as our Bishop when Arch-Deacon hearing by flying reports of some scandalous Ministers to be in his Jurisdiction and meeting with no Informations thereof at his general Visitation he told the Officers of the reports but withall told them there could not be a debauched Clergy in England unless there were a perjured Laity And whereas the Author saith they were lazy that probably might be spoken how diligent soever because they prated not nonsensically twice or thrice a week in the Pulpits as some of their gang did use to do But if the Works and Sermons of most of the Clergy Printed and weekly Preached were duly consider'd of both in these times and in the days he complains of in this Consideration they would be found generally a Clergy so labouring in the Word and Doctrine as they might be thought justly worthy of double honour and in that respect free with St. Paul from the blood of all men neither deceiving nor undoing any soul as the Author uncharitably and blasphemously charges here upon many Ministers To the 8th Consideration Whether the imposing of the Scottish Liturgy which in some things was better though in some others worse than the English was not the beginning and the first cause of the late grievous Wars and if so whether men should not be more cautious to do the like for the future I presume that upon this Consideration the Author would have this believed and granted that the Imposing of the Scottish Liturgy to be used in their Publick Worship and Service of God was the beginning and the first just cause of the late grievous Wars Or thus That the Scots and late long Parliament in England were justifiable in Levying Wars against his Majesty King Charles the First and his Loyal Subjects upon sending or commanding or commending to them the aforesaid Liturgy to be used in their Publick Worship and Service of God One of these Propositions or Assertions containing the meaning of the Author in this Consideration in the close thereof he makes use and application in these following words And if so whether men should not be more cantions c. The Proposition being granted to be truth whereof he would have no man doubt He makes the Application by way of an inferential Caveat or Advice And that is that no Men Kings or Church should afterwards commend or tender the like that is any Liturgy or set Form of Prayer to the people especially of Scotland to be used in the Publick Worship of God for the future considering that Wars have been raised before in Scotland and England thereupon To which I Answer Considering the Scots received Knox his Form of Prayer and England ever had one I shall not conclude with the Author that the Imposition of that Liturgy was the first cause or beginning of the late grievious Wars Which I heard Mr. Peters boast of in
Tantum enim Deo c. For so pleasing to God is the Unity of his Servants therein that he will not have his Glory sounded forth in groundless and injustifiable Debates and Discords about the manner of his Worship and Service In Congregations and Churches with them by them where he is called upon and served according to or not against his Rule in his Word as our Church of England in all things punctually observeth For which additional Gloss of mine upon Mr. Calvin's last words I have the Apostle backing of me Romans 16. vers 17. Mark them that cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them for they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ And the aforesaid Author makes so good an use and application of the Apostle's supplication there that were it generally practised by the Factions among us the glory of God would be so magnified the Church of Christ here in England so comforted and augmented the State and Kingdom so settled and united and thereupon so strengthned that then England would be in the eyes of Christ her husband as his Espouse was in the Canticles chap. 6. v. 4. namely Beautiful as Tirzah and comely as Hierusalem and would be to Rome and all other her deadly Enemies terrible as an Army with Banners His useful Inference follows in these words Hac una cogitatio c. The thought whereof alone may be sufficient to restrain that mad and outragious behaviour of contending and scoulding without offence given he means about matters of Religion which as yet doth possess too much the heads of multitudes I translate it scoulding 't is so like the debates of froward Women being commonly carryed on ignorantly by meer passion and spiritual pride not by Scripture Reason Authentick or Church Precedents For as to the later St. Paul saith 1 Corinth 11. vers 16. If any man seem to be contentious we have no such Custom nor the Churches of God And to help all men among us to be as careful and studious to be quiet and to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace hereafter as it hath bâ—â—n their labour and glory to be disquiet and to break it I 'le remembrance ye with one thing more recorded of Mr. Calvan When Dr. Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury Rogers upon the â—0 Articles in his Presaâ—â—… in the Infancy of the Reformed Churches being in the Reign of King Edward the Sixth was taking care for that one mainly necessary thing of Uniformity in Doctrine and Discipline among the said Churches To effect that blessed Work he imparted his thoughts to several persons of rarest note throughout Christendom Mr. Calvin understanding the Archbishop's intent addrest his Letters to him and offer'd his service thereto saying That might his Labours stand the Church in stead Ne decem quidem maria c. It would not grieve him to Sail over ten Seas to give his help to such a blessed Undertaking The which if he had done and had given assent and consent to the Labours of the Reverend Learned and Modest Divines of our Church it might happily have prevented his dangerous and doubtful Determinations about Election and Reprobation deposited in his Institutions or if they had been published before might perhaps have been retracted by him to the laying aside the long and fruitless disturbance of the Churches of Christ thereupon And now drawing towards an end I shall mind ye with the Argument our Saviour useth in his Prayer to keep all Believers in the before-mentioned Unity He prays the Father they may be all one c. That the World may believe that thou hast sent me Here our Saviour mentions the great help of Unity and Concord among men professing Christianity to bring the World that is as I may rightlier gloss upon the word World there than they that tie it up to a peculiar number of the Elect multitudes of people to the Faith of Christ For indeed Unity among Christians will do by the World sometimes doubting of the Christ or Messiah as Christ's Miracles did for John Baptist it will settle them so far in the Faith as to own That this is he that should come and that they will not look for another So our Saviour Christ expresly speaking of Unity under the Notion of Mutual Love among his Disciples or of both together John 13. vers 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have Love one to another And now see the fruit or benefit of Unity and Uniformity in a Church of Christ and among men professing Christianity 't is the great means under God to add to the Church of Christ daily such as may or would be saved and to bring the World to know and believe that Christ is the stone set at naught by the Jewish builders and is become the head of the corner and that there is no Salvation in any other and that there is no other name under heaven given whereby men must be saved Acts 4.11 12. And as Unity in the Church is thus helpful to bring in them that are without and Unbelievers to the saving Faith of Christ so Difference and Divisions there do keep men without from coming in that were entering which is evident from the rule of contrary causes which is to produce contrary effects which I could evidence from Examples if it were not for fear of being too tedious in so apparent truth And upon this consideration to bring back again and to reunite to us them that are separated and gone out from us I desire them to consult and mind the sad state and condition Christ and his Spirit say they are in In the life to come instead of their seat they might had with Abraham Isaac and Jacob it must be with Scribes Pharisees and Hypocrites See Matt. 23.13 and Antichrist 1 John 2. vers 18. I shall now hint to you in a Breviate what might be shewed further to awaken ye to a return and come into the Society and Fellowship of our holy Church First God is not with ye for God is the God of Love Peace and Unity where he is truly and rightly worshipped as he is in our Church of England and therefore you separating from it in such groundless heady fierce and fiery storms as ye have done God is no more in you nor with you nor them than he was in the strong winds Earth-quake and are that made such noise and havock upon the Mount Horch 1 Kings 19. vers 11. where 't is said God was in none of them In the second place God by his word hath silenced ye and suspended ye from your usurped Office for that in the 50 Psalm vers 16. is against ye Why doest thou preach my Laws and takest my Covenant into thy mouth whereas thou hatest to be reformed and hast cast my words behind thee For vers 20. Thou sattest and spakest against thy brother and
and prescribed Forms there is no doubt that wholsome words being known and fitted to mens understandings are soonest received into their hearts and aptest to excite and carry along with them judicious and fervent affections In the eighth Paragraph thus he writes I could never fee any reason why any Christian should abhor or be forbidden to use the same Forms of Prayer since he prays to the same God believes in the same Saviour professeth the same Truth reads the same Scriptures hath the same Duties upon him and feels the same dayly wants for the most part both inward and outward which are common to the whole Church In the ninth Paragraph he goes on thus Sure we may as well before hand know what we pray as to whom we pray and in what words as to what sense when we desire the same things what hinders we may not use the same words our appetite and digestion too may be good when we use as we pray for our dayly bread I will write down here the thirteenth Paragraph which though it justifies Common Forms of Prayer yet condemns not but rather approves what our Adversary so magnifies as to down with set-Forms of Prayer provided it be done with a religious and prudential care His words follow Though I am not against modest discreet and humble use of Ministers Gifts in publick the better to fit and excite their own and the peoples affections to the present occasions yet I know no necessity why private and single abilities should quite justle out and deprive the Church of the joynt Abilities and concurrent Gifts of many learned and godly men such as the Composers of the Service-Book were who may in all reason be thought to have more Gifts and Graces inabling them to Compose with serious deliberations and concurrent advice such Forms of Prayers as may best fit the Churches common wants inform the hearers understandings and stir up that fiduciary and fervent application of their Spirits wherein consists the very life and soul of Prayer then any private man by his solitary abilities can be presumed to have with what they are many times even there where they make a great noise and shew the affectations emptiness impertinencies rudeness confusions flatness obscurity vain and ridiculous repetitions the sensless and oft-times blasphemous Expressions all these burthen'd with a most tedious and intolerable length do sufficiently convince all men but those who glory in that pharisaick way And the said King Charles having in the 15th Paragraph shewed the necessity of the use of Forms of publick Composure in the performance of Sacramental Administrations and the like in the 16th Paragraph his words are as follow A serious sense of which Inconvenience in the Church inavoidably following every mans several manner of Officiating no doubt first occasioned the Wisdom and Piety of the Antient Churches to remedy those Mischiefs by the use of constant Liturgies of Common Composure And now for a close at present as to my Meditations upon the present subject of Common-Prayer what can solidly or commendably be said against the Use of Set and Composed Forms of Prayer to put up to God the servent desires of our hearts by If the said Forms be lawful laudable and convenient as to the Matter and Expressions suiting together with our wants seeing we have such a cloud of Authentick Authors for it as David Jesus Christ our Saviour St. Paul John the Baptist besides the Fathers the Antient Churches the devout and pious Modern Divines yea and I might have recounted even all late Reformed Churches till these late upstart anti-Christian heady high-minded late Factions arose disturbing the Unity and blessed Peace of our and other true Churches of Christ denying the Lord that bought them and without Repentance bringing upon themselves and their Proselytes swift destruction And now I shall end my Meditations as to what preceded the Author's proposed fourteen Considerations following now to be considered of in the very Words of the before quoted King Charles of Blessed Memory with which he ends his Observations upon the said Ordinance against the Book of Common-Prayer I wish saith he their Repentance may be their only Punishment that seeing the mischeif the disuse of publick Liturgies hath already produced they may restore that Credit Use and Reverence to them which by the Antient Churches were given to Set Forms of sound and wholesome Words And now having shewed the groundless Oppositions of the Author to Common and Set Forms of Prayer given me to peruse and to give my opinion concerning the aforesaid subject and having also from the Sacred Scriptures and otherwise justified the Use and manifested the Aptness of Common-Prayers for our Devotions Worship and Service to be put up and performed to God I now come to speak to the Fourteen Considerations which the Author proposeth to the World as unanswerable Evidences in his judgement to make the aforesaid kind of Worship and Service though never so Conscientiously Sincerely and Heartity performed to be damnable because abominable to God and not required of us by him as is to be collected out of his four first Considerations I shall therefore now spend a little time about the said Considerations and look into the Bowels of them they being in the whole like the great Horse framed at the Seige of Troy in the Body whereof were inclosed men enough to deliver up the City to Destruction For in this Fabrick and Womb of these Considerations are inclosed conclusions and opinions enough to deliver up treacherously the City of God the Souls Redeemed by Christ's Blood to Hell and its Assistants the Beseigers thereof to Eternal Destruction if impenitently followed and persevered therein I will therefore open the Door of this Monster composed by deceitful Workers having transformed themselves in the Apostle's sence into the Ministers of Christ And letting out the deadly Enemies therein the false conclusions shall slay them with the two edged Sword of God's Word and known Truth That they make no further devastation hereabout upon them for whom Christ dyed In he Considerations the Author falls from the way he begâ—n in as to the quantity of a proposition namely the universality of his condemnation of Common-Prayer in his Indefinite term for now he endeavours especially to keep the Common-Prayer Book of our Church of England from a glorious Resurrection which had been Crucified Dead and Buried so long time by the long Parliament and their Armies For all his Magazine is spent in killing again what they thought they had killed before for ever namely the Common-Prayer Book In the four first Considerations are contained four positive Conclusions which the Author endeavours to make good by Scripture and thereby to overthrow the Common-Prayer Book of our Church for which purpose even the whole part of the following Pamphlet is spent Look upon the first Consideration beginning thus How Jealous the Lord of Heaven and Earth is of his own Worship and of all the parts
Pretensions in appointing a Committee of Bishops for that purpose where and when Bishop Reynolds had the Chair So that indeed all that can be said as to the Book in the intention of any of the Composers thereof as concerning net or snare in respect to the Penalties made thereby to be inflicted upon the Nonconformists to it they were only made against perverse obstinate and wilful opposers of the same and so are to be clear'd from the charge of any evil intention against tender Consciences To the 11th Consideration Whether any person can produce any such Liturgy or Form of Prayer from the beginning of the World either among Jews or Gentiles c. As to the justification of Liturgies and set Forms of Prayer I have spoken at large in the beginning of this Fractate and shall therefore answer the Author's Question in this Consideration no otherwise than as our Saviour answer'd the Question put to him in the Temple Mark 11. vers 29 30. And that is by giving a Question to him and his followers to answer and it is this Whether any persons can produce any such long tautological extempory nonsensical Prayers or any such soul-destroying damning Doctrins or Sermons since the beginning of the World either among the Jews or Gentiles or any Churches of Christ till this Rebellion in Scotland and England as theirs were Let any of them answer me this Question and I will answer further to this 11th Consideration To the 12th Consideration Whether if there were no other reason but that this Book hath been so much idolizeâ— by the generality of men and offensive tâ— so many Christians it should not be done with as the brazen Serpent was by Hezekiah 2 Kings 18. vers 4. The opinion of the Author may be set forth in this Proposition The generality of men have much Idolized the Book of Common-Prayer and 't is a just offence to many Christians also Here the Author chargeth first a great evil to have been committed by most men in praying unto God and in worshipping of him in thaâ— Form of the Common-Prayer Book And that is that they have Idolized it Now to Idolize a Creature or Thing is taken several ways out of mentioning two of them is first to esteem it as their God or Saviour In this respect it may be the Author means the generality of men Idolized the Service-Book To which I answer I am confident there 's not a man will set hiâ— heart to that part of the Consideration for who can think men so ignorant as to esteem that their God or Christ to save them which is that Form whereby they go to God and Christ their Redeemer and Mediator for forgiveness of sins and salvation But then secondly To idolize any thing is inordinately to set the heart upon it trusting in it more than in God and above him in this respect Covetousness is called Idolatry Colos 3. vers 5. Thus Mr. Wilson in his Christian Dictionary But thirdly We commonly say men idolize a thing when they have a greater respect to and esteem of a thing than it deserves In this respect I presume the Author means most men did idolize the Service-Book which he thinks sufficiently manifested by their so constant and frequent Worshipping and Invocating of God thereby To which I answer Considering the Counsel or rather the Command of God as to the frequent performance of this Duty of Prayer and Thanksgiving by St. Paul 1 Thess 5. ver 17 18. where he bids us Pray without ceasing and in every thing give thanks because 't is the will of God in Christ Jesus Considering that I say King Charles the first of most blessed memory in his Observations upon the Ordinance against the Common Prayer Book doth fully make void the Author's fore-mentioned Charge and Reason alledged for defence of it in the Eighth and Ninth Paragraphs The King's words I could never see any reason why any Christian should abhor or be forbidden to use the same Form of Prayer since he prays to the same God believes in the same Saviour professeth the same truths reads the same Scriptures hath the same Duties upon him and feels the same daily wants for the most part both inward and outward which are common to the whole Church Sure we may as well before hand know whâ—â— we pray as to whom we pray and in what words as to what sense when we desire the same things what hinders we may not use the same words our appetite and digestion too may be good when we use as we pray for our daily bread Now considering all this where is any cause for taking away this Book of Common-Prayer from the people as the brazen Serpent from them of Israel and Judah But 't is no marvel that the Author and his Followers charge men with Idolizing this Book in offering in Publick unto God their Prayers and Thanksgivings thereby according to the Order and Authority of the Church when I have heard them charge men with idolizing the Lord's Prayer using it but according to the Command of Jesus Christ himself that is in the several Services and Prayers of the Church fitted and appointed to be used upon several occasions before Mattens or Even song be over whereof by especial command of Christ the Lord's Prayer is to be part Luke 11. vers 2. When I consider the impudent Charge I my self heard from one of the Author 's chief fellow Chaplains against some of the Petitions of the Lord's Prayer in condemning one of them in the Pulpit unlawful as to the matter and another not fit to be used by most Hugh Peters at Norwich said of that Petition thy will be done c. What said he pray for an impossible thing and condemning another Petition said See what the Petitions are of that you call the Lord's Prayer as also when I consider the total neglect of our Lord's Prayer in these mens Devotions drawn up by Christ for a Form of Prayer as well as for an help to compose our own Prayers by I say when I consider these things then what David said seeing the transgressions of the wicked of his heart I say of mine namely thus I have said in my heart that they say in their hearts though not in right down words that Christ in Composing and Commanding that Prayer to be said as oft as men pray is accessary to a very great and general guiltiness of Idolatry in this last respect at least Or if they should not own this yet I am sure the total neglect of using it in their Devotions prove plainly they look upon it as a Prayer unworthy to be used which is no less than in their hearts to blaspheme the Saviour of the World But then further he saith the Book was offensive to many Christians He doth not say it was offensive to the Brethren or the weak Brethren as is usually the Phrase in the Scriptures in such cases as this here of the Author And
that perhaps because he would not have the Church of England nor the Worshippers of God by the said Book to have the honour to be thought to share with them in the happy events of their ways Verily I think none shall need to be offended at their secluding them from their Fellowship or Fraternity therein for both Presbyterian and Independant in most of their undertakings were but like Simeon and Levi brethren in Iniquity and at the last day without repentance must have the same doom they had from their father Jacob Gen. 49 vers â— Cursed be their anger for it was fierce and their wrath for it was cruel Well but to take it in his own terms that it was offensive to many Christians This term of Christian was the ancient and best name was given to true believers in Christ after his Assension this name is in the opinion of Divines that St. James spake of in 2d chap. vers 7. which he saith was the worthy name whereby believers were called And Divines describe a Christian as followeth namely to be one that is endowed through Grace with Faith and the holy Ghost serving God in righteousness and true holiness all his days as a person dedicated to Christ Now if the Author should produce any Christian according to this description which I am confident he cannot do or according to any description hereof congruous to the Scripture sence that ever was offended at the worshipping of God in this Form of Prayer yet there 's but little said to the Author's fore-mentioned purpose namely of that Book being an offence to many Christians it being but an offence taken where none is justly given I can easily grant that the Book of Common-Prayer was offensive to such Christians as this Author means and as himself was and so was many parts of the whole Bible In the 1st Book of the Kings chap. 22. vers 8. Ahab loved not to enquire of the Lord by Micaiah because he prophesied no good concerning him but evil And if the Author and others offended at the Book would publish the reason thereof from their hearts 't is probable 't is because there 's nothing of good for them there but evil being in those perverse ways For as I said before should they have used that Liturgy in the time of the Wars using the Forms of Prayer they must as much as in them lay have been blessing them they were fighting against and cursing themselves and their cursed undertakings And truly from those Lessons Epistles and Gospels culled out of the Scriptures and injoined by the Liturgy to be read in our daily Service The whole Book is but a Micaiah to them prophecying no good to them but evil for therein they must have found themselves an Army fighting against the Almighty God to their sudden both present and eternal overthrow and confusion without repentance Now to have done speaking to the groundless exceptions against the Common-Prayer Book in this 12th Consideration I have this following Opinion That if the Author and his Party could upon the two former reasons have procured our Church and the Civil State of the Kingdom to have serpentized the Book of Common-Prayer as Hezekiah did the Nehushtan they would be soon Scribling and Printing either to have the Scriptures the full set and stinted Rule for Faith and Obedience to be taken away and destroyed they having the Spirit in a more abundant measure than formerly as to help to call upon God as in Consideration the Fifth So also to set up upon their Assertions another fuller and righter Rule for Faith and Obedience leading to salvation or else at least to have the Romish Priviledge of an Expurging Index to have the Texts in the Scriptures expunged and left out in the Printed Bibles that make for Obedience and Subjection to the higher Powers either in Church or State And also all places that command or commend Unity Order Peace or Conformity in or to the Churches of Christ and whatsoever in the Bible make against their Opinions and Practices Which Opinion of mine may be looked upon as charitable or true considering among other things of that kind I could instance and prove was acted at Much-Hâ—â—â—…um Church in Hartford-shire by Mr. Hardwick Chaplain to the Earl of Warwick usurping the Cure after Doctor Pask Master of Clare-Hall was outed and sequestred for the said Hardwick reading in the Church for part of his own or the Morning-Service before Sermon the 1â—2 Psalm having read to the last Verse which contained God's Promise of clothing the Enemies of his anointed with shame c. he passed by the Verse and then went on Which Mr. Hern there present observing went out of the Church immediately and according to his resolution upon Hardwick's not owning one place of Scripture as well as another heard him no more the time he lived in Town And thus the Dissenters from the Church of England that have lived and do live among us through pretence of their New Light which is the blackness of darkness here their contrary Revelations to those in the time of the Gospel and before and through their false and groundless Expositions of holy Scripture they have darkned the Heavens of God and the light of his Grace so in this life that they have done in this our Age as our Saviour said the Scribes Pharisees and Hypocrites had done then Matt. 23. vers 13. namely shut up the Kingdom of Heaven before men neither going in themselves nor suffering many that would enter to go in Blessed Lord in whose hands are the heads and hearts of all men lighten the darkness of all their understandings change and soften all their hearts that they may recover their strength and strengthen all them they have seduced before they go hence and be not seen To the 13th Consideration which is this Whether one end of Christ's coming into the World was not to redeem men from the Rudiments and Traditions of men of which this is one And whether it be not against the Blood and Spirit and Gospel of Christ 1 Pet. 1.18 19. Hebr. 9.10 11. The Opinion of the Author in this Consideration may be set forth in two Propositions The first is this One end of Christ's coming into the World was to put an end to the Use and Observation of the Ruliments and Traditions of men and to the Use of the Common-Prayer Book Established in the Church of England by Queen Elizabeth King James and King Charles the First in the years 1500 and 1600 after his coming into the World or going out of it The latter part of the Proposition is evidently a conclusion flowing from the Consideration for he saith that this Book of Common-Prayer was one of the Rudiments or Traditions that Christ came to put an end to In answer to which Proposition I say The end of Christ's coming into the World was to compleat the love and kindness of God to Mankind which was the redemption and