his Covenant of Salvation through all the world which was before limited to the people of the Jews there is no doubt but our Children are heirs of that Life which he hath promised unto us and therefore St. Paul saith the Children of the Faithful are holy to distinguish them from the Children of Pagans and Infidels for this Reason our Saviour received the Children which they presented unto him as it is written in the 19th Chapter of St. Matthew the 13th and 14th verses Then were there brought unto him little Children that he should put his hands on them and pray and the Disciples rebuked them but Jesus said Suffer little Children and forbid them not to come unto me for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven Now seeing he declares that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them and that he layeth his hands on them and recommendeth them to God his Father he fufficiently teacheth us that we ought not to exclude them from his Church therefore according to this Rule we will receive this Child into his Church that he may be made partaker of those benefits which God hath promised to his Faithful and we will first humbly present him unto God by our Prayers saying with all our heart Lord God Eternal and Everlasting Father since it hath pleased thee by thy infinite goodness to promise us that thou wilt be a God to us and to our Children we pray that it may please thee to confirm thy Grace in this Child here present begotten of parents whom thou hast called into thy Church and as he is offered and consecrated unto thee by us receive him into thy holy protection declaring thy self to be his God and Saviour by pardoning the Original sins which the whole Race of Adam are guilty of Sanctify him also by thy Spirit that when he shall come to the use of Knowledge he may own and adore thee as his only God in glorifying thee all his Days that he may obtain of thee the remission of his sins and to the end that he may obtain such grace be pleased to incorporate him into the Communion of our Lord Jesus Christ and make him partaker of all his Benefits as one of the Members of his Body Hear us merciful Father that the Baptism we are to communicate unto him according to thy Ordinance may produce such Fruits and Vertues in him as are declared to us in thy Gospel Our Father which art in Heaven c. Seeing we are about to receive this Child into the Congregation of the Christian Church do you promise when he shall come to years of discretion to instruct him in the Doctrine which is received by the People of God as it is briefly comprehended in the Confession of Faith which we all profess I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of Heaven c. Do you promise to take pains to instruct him in all this Doctrine and generally in all that is contained in the holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments that he may receive it as the true Word of God come from Heaven You must also exhort him to live according to the Rule which our Lord hath given us in his Law which doth briefly consist in these Two Points That we should love God with all our minds and with all our heart and with all our strength and our Neighbour as our selves likewise according to the Exhortations that the hath given by his Prophets and Apostles that this Child renouncing himself and all his Carnal Desires should dedicate himself unto the glory of the Name of God and of Jesus Christ and to the Edification of his Neighbour After the Promise is made the Godfather speaking to the Minister the Child hath his Name given him and then the Minister sprinkling water on the Forâ—head baptizing him saying with a loud voice N. I baptize thee in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost The whole being audibly performed in the vulgar Tongue that all they which are present may understand and be Witnesses to what is done and be edified in acknowledging and calling to mind what is the Fruit and Vse of their Baptism THE MANNER OF Celebrating the Holy Supper IT is to be observed that they declare to the People on the Lords day before the holy Sacrament is given First that every one may prepare himsâ—lf to receive it worthily and with such Reverence as it behoves him to do Secondly That they do not admit any children but such as are well instructed and have made profession of their Faith in the Church Thirdly if there come any Strangers that are yet ignoraut to present themselves they should come to be instructed first in private The day it is to be celebrated the Minister speaks of it at the end of his Sermon or if it be necessary makes his Sermon wholly upon it to explain to the people what our Lord did signify by this Mystery and in what manner we must receive it After the Prayers and Confession of Faith are made to testify in the Name of the People that all would live and die in the Christian Doctrine and Religion he says with a loud voice Let us hear my brethren how Jesus Christ hath instituted for us his holy Supper as St. Paul saith in the 11th chap. of the first Epist to the Corinthians I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take eat this is my Body which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me After the same manner he also took the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood This do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me For as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lords death till he come Wherefore whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord Vnworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup for he that eateth and drinketh Vnworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lords Body Brethte we have heard how our Lord made his Supper amongst his Disciples which shews us That Aliens and such that are not of the Number of his Faithful should not be admitted thereto Therefore according to that Rule in the Name and by the Authority of the Lord Jesus Christ I do Excommunicate all Idolaters Blasphemers and contemners of God Hereticks and all people that make separate Sects to break the Union of the Church all that are Perjured and all those who are Disobedient to Parents or to their Superiors all Seditious Mutinous Strikers Litigious Adulterers Whoremongers Thieves Covetous Usurers Extortioners Drunkards Gluttons all such as lead a wicked or scandalous
Printed at the latter end thereof which Treatise doth also shew the Government of the African Helvetian c. Churches unto which I refer you for your better Information and Satisfaction Moreover I thought fit to shew you the great aversion which the reformed French Churches had to separation as it appears by an Article made in 1644 and is Printed in the seventh Chapter and the 205 and 366 Pages of the Discipline of the reformed Churches of France and in the 72 73 and 74 Pages of this Treatise it is declared that all such as do make different Sects and others are Excommunicated from receiving the Holy Sacrament until they do repent and unite You cannot well suppose that what the Persons before mentioned have written was done out of fear or interest for if you will truely consider the stile of their Letters you will find them to be Men of Learning and Piety and void of all manner of Hypocrisie and Dissimulation I know there are other French Churches whose Ministers do use their own constitution more because they were brought up therein then out of any motive of aversion to the English Liturgy for they go very often to Prayers and to hear the Sermons and do receive the Communion in the Church of England 'T is an amazing wonder that any sort of Men should so much value their own mode of Praying as to slight that comprehensive Prayer which our Lord both made and commanded and it grieves me that most of our English Separatists contrary to the practice of the Church and to the instruction given by our Blessed Saviour to his Disciples as it is written in the Gospel of St. Mat. in the sixth Chapter and the ninth verse and in that of St. Luk. in the 11th and 2d do too often refrain not only the use of the Apostles Creed and the Ten Commandments But also of the Lords Prayer which I fear is not only a shame to such as profess the Christian Religion but is also a great offence unto our Lord who hath expressly taught and enjoyned us when we pray to say Our Father which art in Heaven c. But as Charity Commands us to forgive one another I leave such to the mercy of Almighty God who is able to Pardon the greatest offenders This being premised together with the exemplary lives Sincere and Charitable endeavours of our English Ministry in shewing the true ground of the Antient and now reformed Catholick and. Apostolick Religion professed and taught in the Church of England may by Gods assistance be the best means of bringing over the remaining part of the English Dissenters who do not yet use the English Service nor observe its Canons and invite them by mutual love to conform and joyn with the Church of England for the obtaining of Gods Blessings of Grace Peace and Christian Charity among us or at least prove them to be inexcusable for their separating from the reformed National Church which never excludes Prayers in private Good Lord be pleased to open our Eyes that we may see what Triumph it occasions to our adversaries to behold the many divisions and bitter contentions among us upon the account of Religion and that they take more advantage from discords among our selves then from all their own Strength and Policy Wherefore because we are beset by Satan on one side and by our Popish adversaries on the other which are enslaving the Souls and destroying the Bodys of our Poor Brethren and subverting the Fundamentals of our Religion let us all joyn with one heart and render most humble thanks unto God that he hath been pleased by many eminent deliverances which he hath shewn to the Churches and Kingdoms of England and Ireland in preserving us from the Power of our Enemies And let us most humbly beseech God to be pleased of his Infinite Mercy and Goodness to prevent all their wicked designs against our distressed brethren and our selves by defeating alâ— their Malicious attempts and the works and power of the Devil and to convert all our Enemies and to turn their and our hearts unto him And the Lord grant that we may put away all hatred and malice evil speaking lying and slandering and pray with true and contrite hearts for the remission of all our sins and heinous offences and for the delivery of all our Persecuted Brethren from the undermining designs of their Enemies and for the Preservation of the true Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church and more especially for the Church of England and for our most Gracious Soveraign Lord King William and the Royal Family c. That he will be pleased to lead us by his Holy Spirit and enrich us with his Heavenly Grace that we may follow the good Examples of the Primitive Christians praying one for another in the same Words and Churches and helping each other in Love Charity Justice and Truth and that we may lay aside all worldly interests and set our affections on things above and that by our leading Holy and Peaceable lives we may promote the Honour and Olory of God and of his Son Jesus Christ by ouâ— Words and Actions and induce the Papists and all other divided Christians to do the same Finally let us beg of God that he will bring over the Turksâ— Jews and Infidels to acknowledge our Lord and to receive his Faith and Doctrine and to call upon and Praise his Holy Name and by his assistance and merits we may be instrumental in obtaining the salvation 〈◊〉 their and our own Immortal Souls which is the humble and chief aim of Your Faithful Servant J. T. The FORM OF Church-Prayers On the Week-days the Minister makes such an Exhortation as seemeth good to him accommodating it to the time and to the subject which he treats of in his Sermon On the Lords-day before the Reader comes into the Church the People usually sing some part of the Psalms until he see it a fit time to begin in this manner OUR help is in thâ— Name of God whâ— hath made Heaven and Earth Amen And after says these following words Let us give attention with reverence and fear to the holy Word of God contained in the Chapter which he readâ— and sometimes one or two more which are takeâ— out of the Old or New Testament Then he says these Preparatory words Let us sing to the praise and glory of God for the Edification and to the Consolation of our souls And upon that he gives out a Psalm which is sung by him and the Congregation That being ended he reads one or two Chapters more Thus reading and singing alternately till the Church be full and the Minister come into the Pulpit then the Reader repeats these following words Hearken with reverence and faithful obedience unto the holy Commandments of God contained in the 20th Chapter Exodus which he reads Then the Minister begiâ— by this following Prayer Our help is in the namâ— of God who hath maâ—â— Heaven and Earth
we see them coming we must acknowledge that God is displeased with us and as true Christians we must confess our sins and be grieved in our selves returning unto the Lord by Repentance and Amendment of life and pray unto him with true humility that we may obtain pardon Wherefore if at any time we see that God threatens us to the end that we may not tempt his Patience but rather prevent his Judgments which otherwise we may perceive to hang over our heads it is meet that we should keep one day in every week on which these things especially should be represented and in which we must make Prayers and Supplications according to the Exigency of the times For which here follows a proper Form Before the beginning of the Sermon they use the general Confession as before written and used on the Lords Day At the end of the Sermon having remonstrated to the people that God afflicts Men because of their Offences which are committed upon the Earth and that the World is given up to alâ—â— Iniquity having also exhorted the people to convert and amend their Lives and to pray unto God to obtain mercy they use this following Form of Prayer Almighty God and Heavenly Father we do acknowledge and confess as the Truth is that we are not worthy to lift up our Eyes to Heaven to present our selves before thee and that we ought not to presume so far as to think that thou wilt hear our prayers if thou shouldest mark what is amiss in us for our Consciences accuse us and our sins bear Witness against us and we know that thou art a Just Judge who dost not justifie sinners but punishest the sins of those who have transgress'd thy holy Commandments therefore O Lord when we consider our whole Lives we are ashamed at our hearts and cannot but sink down in despair as if we were already in the gulph of Death But Lord since it hath pleased thee in thy infinite mercy to command us that we should call upon thee and the greater our Weakness and Misery is we should with so much the greater Confidence betake our selves to thy Soveraign Bounty since thou hast promised us to receive our supplications and requests not in respect of our own worthiness but in the Name and by the Merits of our Lord Jesus Christ whom thou hast made to be our Advocate and Intercessor we do therefore renounce all humane confidence and do altogether rely on thy sole goodness and present our selves before thee to call upon thy holy Name for mercy First Lord besides the infinite benefits which thou hast in general bestowed upon all men in the world thou hast done us so many singular Favours that it is impossible for us to declare or sufficiently to comprehend them and in particular it hath pleased thee to call us to the knowledge of thy Gospel and to draw us from the miserable slavery of the Devil in which we were detained delivering us from the Curse of Idolatry and Superstition in which we were plunged to guide us into the light of thy truth yet by our Ingratitude we have forgotten the benefits which we have receiv'd from thy hand and have gone astray and turned our selves from thee after our own Lusts we have not given that honour and obedience to thy holy Word which we ought neither have we praised and glorified thee as it behoved us to do and although though thou hast always faithfully admonished us by thy Word yet we have not hearkned to thy Admonitions therefore we have sinn'd Lord and offended against thee this covers us with shame and confusion confessing that we are grievously guilty before thy Judgment-Seat and if that thou should'st deal with us according to what we deserve we might expect nothing but Death and Damnation for when we would excuse our selves our Consciences accuse us and our Iniquities are before thee to condemn us and indeed Lord we see by the Punishments which are already come upon us that thou art Justly displeased with us for as thou art Just and upright it is not without Cause that thou dost afflict thy People having therefore been chastized with thy Rod we acknowledge that we have provoked thee against us and now we behold thy hand still lifted up to punish us for the Sword with which thou wert wont to execute thy Vengeance is unsheathed and the threatnings which thou hast made against the wicked and ungodly are ready to be executed But tho thou should'st punish us much more severely than thou hast hitherto done and that for one Plague we should receive an hundred and should'st even suffer such Calamities to fall upon us as thou didst afflict thy People of Israel with yet we must confess that it were just with thee and no more than what we have fully deserved However Lord thou art our Father and we are but Dust and Ashes thou art our Creator and we are the works of thy hands thou art our Pastor and we are thy flock thou art our Redeemer and we are the people thou hast redeemed thou art our God and we are thine Heritage therefore be not so angry with us as to correct us in thy fury neither remember our Iniquities to punish them but chastise us lovingly in thy mercy By reason of our sins thine Anger is inflamed but remember that we are call'd by thy name and that we bear thy sign and Token Maintain therefore the work thou hast begun in us by thy grace that all the Earth may know that thou art our God and Saviour thou knowest that the Dead in the Grave those whom thou hast destroyed cannot praise thee but sorrowful and afflicted souls contrite hearts and Consciences oppressed with the sence of their sins and longing after thy grace shall give thee glory and praise Thy People of Israel often provoked thee to Anger by their Iniquities thou didst Justly afflict them by thy Just Judgments but when they did return unto thee thou didst always in pity receive them were their Offences never so heinous for the sake of thy Covenant which thou mad'st with thy Servants Abraham Isaac and Jacob thou didst turn away those Evils and thy Rods which were prepared against them so that their Prayers were never rejected by thee We have by thy Grace a much better Covenant to rely on than they which thou hast made and established in Jesus Christ our Lord which thou wast pleased should be written with his Blood and ratified by his Death and Passion therefore Lord renouncing our selves and all humane hopes we have recourse unto that blessed Covenant by which our Lord Jesus in offering his Body as a Sacrifice hath reconciled us unto thee look then Lord on the Face of thy Christ and not on us that by his Intercession thy Anger may be appeased and thy Face may shine upon us with joy to our salvation and grant we may henceforth be received into thy holy conduct and guided by thy holy Spirit
Life declaring unto them that they must abstain from this holy Table for fear of defiling and polluting of this holy Food which our Lord Jesus Christ doth not give but to his faithful servants Therefore according to St. Paul's Exhortation let every one of you examine his own Conscience to know if he doth truly sincerely repent resolving hereafter to live holily according to the Will of God and above all if he puts his Trust in the Mercy of God wholly seeking his salvation in and through Jesus Christ and renouncing all Enmity and Hatred have a true desire and resolution to live in brotherly Love and Charity with his Neighbours If we have this Testimony in our hearts before God let us not at all doubt but that he will receive us for his Children and that the Lord Jesus invites us unto his Table and to this holy Sacrament which he hath communicated unto his Disciples And although we are conscious of our great Frailty and Misery in not having a True Faith being inclined to Incredulity and Diffidence and in not being so entirely devoted to serve God with such zeal as we ought being daily struggling with the Lusts of our Flesh yet seeing our Lord hath by his Grace engraven his Gospel in our Hearts and hath given us the desire and will of Turning our selves from our Carnal Lusts to follow his lust holy Commandments Let us be assured that our Sins and Imperfections will not hinder us from being received by him and made Worthy Partakers of that Spiritual Table For we do not come there presuming that we are perfect or just in otr selves But on the contrary by seeking our Life in Jesus Christ we do confess we are dead therefore let us understand that this Sacrament is a Remedy for the poor spiritually sick and all the worthiness which our Lord requires of us is that we should examine our selves and be grieved for our Sins and to place our Delight Joy and Contentment in him alone Let us therefore first believe these promises which Jesus Christ who is the infallible truth hath declared with his own Mouth Namely that he will make us true partakers of his Body and Blood that we may so entirely enjoy him as to live in him and he in us and altho we do see nothing but Bread and Wine yet let us not doubt but that he will Spiritually accomplish in our Souls all that he hath outwardly shewn us by these visible signs which is to say that he is the Heavenly Bread to feed and nourish us to Eternal Life So let us not be ungrateful to the infinite bounty of our Saviour who displays all his Riches and Benefits on this Table in order to Communicate them unto us for in giving himself unto us he signifies to us that all he hath is ours Therefore let us receive this Sacrament as a Pledge that the virtue of his Death and Passion is imputed to us for Righteousness as if we had suffered in our own Bodies Let us not be so perverse as to refrain from this Table when Jesus Christ hath so kindly invited us by his word but weighing the dignity of this precious gift let us present our selves unto him with such fervent Zeal as may make us capable of receiving him Wherefore let us raise up our hearts and minds on high where Jesus Christ is in the Glory of his Father from whence we do expect him for our Redemption and let us not amuse our selves with these Earthly and Corruptible Elements which we see with the Eye and touch with the Hand nor seek him there as if he were in the Bread and Wine for then our Souls will be disposed to be nourished and quickned with his substance when they shall be raised above all Earthly things into Heaven the Kâ—ngdom of God where our Saviour dwells let us then content our selves in our having the Bread and Wine for Signs and Tokens seeking Spiritually the truth where the word of God promises that we shall find it After the Minister hath admonished the People to come with reverence and in good order He distributes the Bread and gives the Cup to the People and in the mean time they sing some Psalms or read some part of the Holy Scripture that is agreeable to that which is signified by the Sacrament And after he makes use of the thanksgiving as hath been before-said THEIR FORM OF Solemnization OF Matrimony YOV must observe that before the Celebration of the Marriage They do publish it three Lords Days successively in the Church that if any Person knows any Lawful impediment he or she may come to declare it in good time or if any other Person have any interest therein he or she may there oppose it That being done both Parties come and present themselves at the begining of the Sermon then the Minister says Our help is in the Name of God who hath made Heaven and Earth Amen After that God our Father had Created Heaven and Earth and all that in them is He created and made Man after his own Image who should have Dominion and Power over all the Beasts of the Earth the Fish of the Sea and Fowls of the Air Gen. 2. And the Lord God said It is not good that the Man should be alone I will make him an help meet for him And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept and he took one of his Ribs and the Rib which the Lord God had taken from Man made he a Woman signifying that the Man and the Woman are but one Body one Flesh and one Blood therefore shall a Man leave his Father and his Mother and shall cleave unto his Wife which he ought to love as Christ loved his Church which are the true Faithful Christians for whom he Dyed The Wife ought also to serve and obey her Husband in all Holiness and Honesty for she is subject and is in the Power of her Husband so long as she lives with him this Holy Marriage which is instituted by God is of that Nature that by it the Husband hath no Power over his Body but the Wife nor hath the Wife any Power over her Body but the Husband Therefore being joyned by God they cannot be parted unless it be for sometime by consent of both to apply themselves to Fasting and Prayer bewaring they be not tempted by Satan to incontinency wherefore they are to come together again to avoid all uncleanness Every Man ought to have his Wife and every Woman her Husband So that all those who have not the gift of continency are to Marry that the Holy Temple of God which is our Bodys should not be defiled and corrupted for seeing that our Bodys are the Members of Jâ—sus Christ it would be a great reproach to make them Members of an Harlot therefore we must keep them in all Holyness for if any defile the Temple of God him will God destroy You then