the common Cases and Necessities of the Congregation and if these may be as well expressed in other Mens Words as in our own the End of Publick Prayer is as effectually served by the one as the other p. 32. 1. In the first place It is not yet agreed that Reading in Prayer is that sacred Action which the Scripture any where calls Prayer This hath been argued in the Reasonable Account Chap. 7. and what is there said hath been vindicated Chap. 7. of the Answer to Dr. Falkner's Vindication So as that Point lieth not yet cleared 2. When we speak of Means referring to Divine and Sacred Actions we vainly philosophize in our measuring true Means from the Proportion we judge they have to the End If God either in Nature or in his Revealed Will hath directed any Means it is most certain that Means is to be used now that he hath so hath been proved in the Reasonable Account p. 6 7. and what hath been there said hath also been vindicated from Dr. Falkner's Exceptions to it in the Answer to his Vindication of Liturgies p. 39. 62 63 64. When what is there said hath received a just Answer there will need more Words in this Argument It hath also been told our Adversaries in this Point That the speaking of Words first formed in our own Hearts is not only a Divine Mean but Natural and Proper there can be nothing more natural than for the Tongue to speak out of the abundance of the heart nothing more proper to express our Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 formed in our Heads than by our own Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and certainly any Means Divine Natural and Proper ought to have the Preference of others It is a kind of Force upon the Soul to make the Tongue speak what is not formed in the Heart 3. It is true if Forms were to be made new for every Publick Prayer it were not impossible but that the End of Prayer might be as well obtained by the use of other Mens Words as his that ministreth otherwise it is not possible The invariable Wants of a Congregation are very few Pardon of Sin and further Sanctification and upholding Habits of Grace bestowed are so But how many more Have not all Congregations renewed Sins Wants and Mercies 4. But to make this Business short Till what hath been said to prove That the Gifts of him that ministreth in the Duty of Prayer are the Means which God hath directed and given the Minister for that use and the most natural and proper Means imaginable for the Performance of the Act be answered we vainly discourse of other Means unless any Person hath not obtained this This is enough to have said as to what our Casuist hath spoken upon his Second Case The Third Case which our Author speaks to is Case 3. Whether the Use of Publick Forms of Prayer doth not deaden the Devotion of Prayer That which our Author here calleth the Devotion of Prayer the Nonconformists call The Attention of our own or others Thoughts or the Intension and Fervency of our own or others Spirits Our Reverend Casuist granteth p. 34. If Forms are in themselves and not through our Fault and erroneous Prejudice less apt to quicken and raise Devotion than conceived Prayers it will be granted on all hands that this is a good Argument against them Here then is an Issue joined The Medium is granted to be good if true Our Author propounds in order to the Trial of the Issue to consider 1. What those Advantages are which conceived Prayers pretend to 2. Whether they are not for the most part fantastical and imaginary and whether so far forth as they are Real they are not much more peculiar to Forms 3. Whether besides those Common Advantages Publick Forms have not peculiar Advantages which conceived Prayers cannot pretend unto If our Author rightly enumerateth the Advantages pretended by the Nonconformists and makes it good that they are but imaginary and fantastical for the most part and that what of them is real is more peculiar to Forms which is his Second Task and that besides those common Advantages Forms have real Advantages peculiar to them we must yield he hath won this Game But let us examine what he saith Only it must first be observed that the Nonconformists have acknowledged the Truth of this Proposition variable And that may be the best Means to one both of Attention of Mind and Intention of Affections which to another is not so Reasonable Account p. 44. § 27. It very much depends upon Mens having or not having an Ability to express theirs and others Wants to God in Prayer and the Degree in which they have it Our Casuist thus enumerateth the pretended Advantages that are in free conceived Prayers 1. Our Minds are kept more attentive to our Business 2. That the Minister is more affected 3. That the Affections of the People are raised by the Performance of the Minister 4. That in conceived Prayers the Words follow the Affections whereas when a Man prayeth by Forms his Affections if any must follow his Words 5. That Words formed in our own Hearts are more expressive of our Affections than it is possible Words formed by others should be 6. That the Soul can better direct its Affections to God whilst it hath nothing else to do than when it hath a previous Work to direct the Eye to read right This is the Substance of what our Author saith Nonconformists say in Proof of their Proposition and indeed it is a good Summary of what hath been said on this Argument Whether they be meerly imaginary or real Advantages of conceived Prayer that is the Question Our Casuist ingenuously granteth p. 36. That by expressing a serious and devout Affection the Minister doth really advantage the Devotion of the Congregation Which is the Third of those Things before-mentioned The first pretended Advantage he saith p. 37. is That the very conceiving the Matter of his Prayer doth naturally more bind his Attention than the reading it out of a Form This is undeniable and granted by our Author But he goes on But I beseech you what doth it more bind his Attention to Is it to attend to the Words and Phrases If so then it is not to attend to the Acts of Prayer Or is it to attend to those Acts which are the proper Business of Prayer such as being ashamed of Sin and bewailing of it in Confession c. I answer It bindeth the Thoughts of a Man praying to his Business and to one principal Act of Prayer that is the uttering of the Desires of his Heart in fit Words This Answer of our Author depends upon this mistaken Hypothesis That the uttering of fit precatory Words without Lips is no part of Prayer whereas it is an essential part of perfect vocal Prayer And we scarcely read of any thing else called by the Name of Prayer in Holy Writ Which Words being first formed
Infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought He gives his Spirit to his People they are joined to the Lord and one Spirit and his Spirit dwells in them as we often read in Scripture He hath promised that his Spirit shall bring to remembrance the things we have heard of him Joh. 14.26 But it may be he will say There is no Promise of Assistance as to Words in Prayer What should be the Meaning of that There is no Promise indeed of the Holy Spirit standing by and dictating to us what Words to speak nor yet of the Spirit 's so possessing us as the Evil Spirit doth a Demoniack so as to lay our Soules asleep while he useth our Tongue But there are Promises of his teaching us to cry Abba Father of his bringing to our remembrance what the Scripture hath of his making Intercession for us c. These are enough for us and to prove all that ordinary Assistance as to Words in Prayer which we plead for Nor doth our Casuist say any thing of Force to perswade us That such Influence and Assistance of the Spirit is not within the Latitude of the Promises in saying That there are many good Christians who would never pretend to any such Inspiration but are some of them beholden to their own Recollection and Invention for the Matter and Words of their Prayer and others for want of a sufficient Quickness of Invention to be beholding to Forms of Prayer of other Mens Composure P. 6. Now there are no such Blessings of the New Covenant to which good Christians may have no Right and Title and of which they may never actually partake which is utterly to destroy the Nature of the Covenant c. That there are no Blessings of the New Covenant to which every true Believer hath no Right or Title or which they may never actually partake of is most freely granted But that there are some Blessings of the New Covenant which every good Christian doth enjoy tho' he lieth under other Apprehensions and which he may have a Ius Remotum a Right and Title to which pro hic nunc he doth not actually enjoy and some Blessings of the Covenant which a Christian might enjoy if indeed he did not by his voluntary Fault deprive himself of the Benefit of them and some Blessings which a young Christian doth not at present enjoy must be denied by no Considerate Divine For who ever saith it must deny both the Quickening and Consolatory Influences of the Holy Spirit and many more also indeed for the Promises relating to Iustification and Regeneration as every Believer hath a Right to them so he actually partakes of them as he shall do of Eternal Life But for those Branches of the Covenant which concern further Grace or Gifts the Case is otherwise Every good Christian hath a Right and Title to the Spirit of Adoption teaching him to cry Abba Father influencing him in the manner I have opened as to Words in Prayer But yet it is very possible 1. That by his own voluntary Fault he may shut out these Influences by tying himself up to Forms of Words 2. He may want them through his own Default in not studying the Scriptures and gaining a full Knowledge of them 3. He may deprive himself of them by wilful Sinnings which may make the Holy Spirit withdraw himself in those arbitrary Manifestations 4. He may have them and not know it but take them to be meer Humane and Natural Recollections to which the Holy Spirit hath assisted by bringing to remembrance what Christ hath said Our Casuist's Second Reason p. 7. is Because there is no need of any such immediate Inspiration This indeed were it true were a great Argument and would Prove what he said before That there are no Promises of any such Tendency But how will he prove this He saith 1. As to the Matter of Prayer it is sufficiently revealed in Scripture 2. He saith For Words if we have not Quickness enough of Fancy and Invention to express our Wants and Desires in our own Words we may readily supply that Defect by Forms of other Mens Composure which with very short Additions and Variations of our own we may easily adapt to all our particular Cases and Circumstances This is the Summ of what he saith P. 2. p. 8 9. If the Matter of Prayer be sufficiently revealed in Holy Writ there neither is nor ever was since the Apostles Time any need of any extraordinary Assistance of the Spirit to dictate that But admitting this which we freely grant is there yet no need of the Spirit to bring to remembrance the things we have had of Christ's Our particular Violations of the Divine Law our particular Wants or the Promises warranting us to beg a Supply To assert no need of the Spirit 's Help we must not only assert the Perfection of the Rule of Prayer but the Perfection of an Human Memory too which I suppose our Casuist will not 2. As to Words our Casuist talks as if he thought we pleaded for the Spirit 's dictating formed Words to us or made use of our Tongues to speak Words not formed in our own Hearts What else doth he mean by Words immediately inspired Alas we mean no such thing but only a bringing into our Thoughts the Matter of Scripture relating to Things forbidden commanded promised c. From which our Souls by a natural Power form Words and warming and heating our Affections which also contribute to them and then thrust them out at our Lips as the Psalmist speaks Psal. 39. 3. Now how it can be that Forms should not shut out this Assistance and Influence poseth me to understand 3. Our Casuist's Third Reason is p. 9. Because there is no certain Sign nor Testimony of it amongst us By Signs as he expounds himself p. 10. he means Miracles He gives his Pretended Reason for this Because without such Signs to distinguish it from false Pretences we were better be without Inspiration than with it because we shall be left under an unavoidable Necessity either of admitting all Inspirations which pretend to be Divine or of rejecting all that are truly so According to this rate of Arguing we must conclude nothing to be the Effect of the Spirit of God but what we can confirm to be so by working some Miracle Alas how should Christians if this had a Grain of Truth in it ever be able to satisfie themselves that they truly believe in Christ or love or fear God or exercised or had any Habit of Grace God indeed gave the Gift of Miracles to confirm new Doctrines or some Prophecies or Persons extraordinary Missions But did ever any Divine make Miracles necessary to confirm every Manifestation of the Spirit And why are they necessary for this more than any other Is it not Sign enough to him who believeth the Scriptures to be the Word and Revealed Will of God that the Inspiration is from
those Phrases so culpable 2. Nor it may be upon a strict Enquiry will it be found that in Publick there is more Nonsense in free Prayers than some make by their careless reading Forms I do not think our Casuist who hath sometimes used and doth still sometimes in the Pulpit use free Prayer so Chargeable and I have Reason to think there are some Hundreds of Ministers in England of whom it may be full as Charitably presumed 2. For this Second Sign I know no Error can be in a Man's declaring his own Opinions in Prayer if they be true I know no Man who prayeth by Forms or otherwise but must declare some of his own Opinions If he means by Opinions his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 singular Opinions which are false it will only prove that he did aliquid humanum pati and was not influenced as to those Words by the Spirit of Truth 3. For his Third which he calls a Plain Sign That that which gives them the Reputation of being so that is from the Spirit is not so much the Matter as the way and manner of expressing them What gives them the Reputation amongst weak People of coming from the Spirit is one thing what indeed makes them so is another thing That which makes them so with others indiscernable being the secret Work of the Spirit upon the Heart bringing Scripture to remembrance and exciting and inflaming the Affections which cause the Thoughts to form Words which are by the Affections thrust out of the Lips all this is now a thing indiscernable to an Hearer who can only probably and charitably judge from the expressed Affections by Sighs and Groans and proper Expressions I know none makes the Spirit 's Influence upon our Words to respect the Matter of Prayer further than bringing to the Mind of him that prayeth Matter before prepared in Scripture fitted for his Circumstances at this or that time All his other Discourse under this Head hath nothing in it of Argument but is only Defamatory of any other Prayer than by Forms so far as he is able to defame it and proceeds wholly upon a Mistake of the Principle for the Spirit 's Influence doth not only respect the way and manner of expressing but as I have said the very Matter of Prayer it self for this or that time bringing to a Christian's Remembrance the true Matter of Prayer and what at that time is proper for a Christian. Nor can I imagine with what Consistency to himself our Casuist makes this a plain Sign of conceived Prayers not being inspired That that which gives them Reputation to be so is not so much the Matter as the manner and way of expressing them when himself alloweth all along the Spirit 's Influence to excite pious and devout Affections which certainly do not respect the Matter but the manner and the way and manner of expressing our Prayers Our Casuist trifleth too much in making the only Difference between Forms and Conceived Prayers to be 1. That the one is in Set Words the other in Extemporary Words 2. In the Largeness of them and repeating the same things over and over again Before he had wasted his Paper in confuting such Fooleries he should have heard us asserting them here Qui capit ille facit 4. His Fourth plain Sign is That that extraordinary manner and way of expressing them for which they are thought to be inspired doth apparently proceed from Natural Causes Which neither he nor an Angel of Heaven can know nor any but he who knows the Heart and what Hand strikes those Strings of the Affections from the touching of which those Sounds proceed 2. How unreasonable is this for him to say who will allow the Holy Spirit no Influence but upon our Affections exciting and inflaming them 3. Suppose they do proceed from natural Causes why may not the Holy Spirit set those natural Causes on work All which being most certain there needs nothing be said to the further vain Philosophy he useth upon this Head Whether it be true or false is not of a Pin value as to the Cause in hand It may be from natural Causes and yet too from a first Cause setting them on Work None will say but the Holy Spirit makes use of natural Causes for spiritual Effects In his 21. p. he comes to a Fourth Argument to prove That the Gift of Inspiration of Prayer as he odly phraseth it doth not continue is Because then conceived Prayers must be Infallible and of equal Authority with the Word of God We are very unhappy that in these Debates we either will not or cannot understand one another Do we plead for any more than the Spirits helping our weak Memories in bringing to remembrance what Things are contrary to the Divine Law for the Matter of Confession and of what God hath declared in his Word he will give to them that ask him upon such Terms as he hath declared his Will for Matter of Petition and the Divine Promises for Arguments to inforce our Petitions c. So that if the Word of God be infallible that which is so brought to remembrance must certainly be so too and surely the Scripture must be of the same Authority with it self If we mistake in the Applications we father not our Mistakes on the Holy Spirit but beg Pardon for them This being rightly understood I refer to any Intelligent Reader what strength there is in this Argument more than in those we heard before Our Casuist having thus far given us his Opinion against the Continuance of that Influence of the Spirit upon us in Prayer which he called extraordinary comes p. 22. to favour us with his Opinion Wherein the ordinary influences of the Spirit consist relating to the Duty of Prayer He tells us it is In exciting in us the Graces and proper Affections of Prayer Such as Shame and Sorrow in the Confession of Sins a Sense of our need of Mercy and an hope surely he should have added also an intense Desire of obtaining it in our Supplications for Pardon c. In all this we most freely agree with him saving only in the Restriction of the Spirits influence to this only Nor can we possibly understand how the Spirit should thus influence our Affections and not our Words which are and ought to be thrust out by those Affections We will suppose a Soul to be guilty of wandring Thoughts in the Duty of Prayer a guilt common to all Persons and the Spirit who in the Word hath accused and condemned this to bring this to a Souls remembrance when it is praying or about to Pray and to excite in the Soul a shame and sorrow for it and inward Desire and Hope of Pardon for them Can this Soul be thus far in this Particular be influenced and not influenced as to Words also expressive of this Desire and Hope Our Casuist further tells us p. 32. That Words and Expressions are of no other Account with
in our own Hearts must necessarily more affect us than Words formed by others and are always attended in pious Souls with more of all those Affections the Exercise of which God requires than it is almost possible foreign Words should A Man cannot pronounce another Man's Oration with so much natural Life Vigour and Fervency as one himself hath composed and which is so fitted to his own Thoughts Now what should he that ministreth in Prayer attend to but his Business and the Work he is about Which is as much to utter Words expressive of his inward Shame and Sorrow and Hope and Desire as to be ashamed and sorrowful and to desire and hope Our Author p. 38. confesseth what none can possibly deny That he who prayeth by a Form being released from attending to the Invention of his Matter and Words his Mind is more at leisure to wander and instead of attending as he ought more closely to the Acts of Devotion by imploying those Thoughts which in conceived Prayer he employeth in Invention in a closer Attention to the Acts of Devotion he may if he please permit them to rove abroad but if he doth the Fault is in himself not in the Form he prayeth by He makes an ill use of a good thing To all which I reply That whether our Thoughts divert in Prayer to other Objects by Consent or from their own natural Wildness not being sent upon any Errand from the Will it must be confessed our Duty to use all lawful Means to keep them at home and to use no Means that shall give them further Scope and Liberty of Diversion Our Reverend Author grants That the Mind is more at Liberty to wander when it prayeth by a Form which is Argument enough to oblige us if we have an Ability to pray by conceived Prayer Our Author herein differeth from us for he saith the Fault is in our selves if our Thoughts do wander not in the Form Those Words the Fault is in himself may be taken in a double Sense either 1. The Fault is in the Will of Man which willeth them to wander 2. Or the Fault is in the Infirmity of Humane Nature which is such as they will wander if they have a Scope and Liberty Our Author thinks the former for he saith he may if he please permit them to rove But may he also if he please keep them from wandering and roving I do not believe there is that Man or Woman upon the Earth that can in truth say so upon his own Experience nay I much question whether any can say so who adds to willing the use of this Means praying by a free and conceived Prayer tho' it must be granted that he shall do it much better that way than any other The Fault therefore is in our selves that is in the common Infirmity of Humane Nature its Averseness and Awkwardness to Spiritual Imployment and the Contemplation of Spiritual Objects and Exercise of it self upon them and tho' it be such a Fault as will hardly be perfectly corrected whilst we are in the Flesh yet it is such as we may use Means to correct and in a good measure actually correct and praying by a conceived Prayer by our Author 's own Confession is one Means by which it may be corrected for he acknowledgeth that when we use Forms our Mind hath a greater Scope and Liberty to wander So that if free and conceived Prayer be what God hath not forbidden it is what he hath commanded where he hath given an Ability to it as a Means in order to this great End in the obtaining of which lieth much of the Life and Soul of Prayer for the Affections of a roving wandering Heart will be cold enough Thoughts of an Object being necessary to the Workings of the Affections about it and previously necessary But saith our Author p. 39. To invent the Words and Matter of Prayer is not to pray but to study a Prayer and till our Brethren have proved that our inventing the Matter and Words is a part of our Duty of Prayer which is the Question in debate betwixt us we can by no Means grant that our Attention to it is attending to the Duty of Prayer The Matter of all Prayer is already invented for us and prescribed to us in Holy Writ This our Author hath often already told us and we have agreed it The only thing to be premeditated and done is 1. To consider what of that Mutter of Prayer allowed and directed in the Word is proper for us under our Circumstances at the Time when we Pray 2. To form Words in our Hearts by which our Lips shall express the Desires of our Souls The first is and will be every good Christian's Work before he cometh to minister in Prayer and the Matter may vary every Day according to the various Contingencies to Persons and Families occasioned through the Wisdom of him that governeth the World and the daily Breakin gs out of Sin and Corruption occasioned through that Fountain of Lust in Man's Heart But yet can never be so well done through the unfaithfulness and slipperiness of our Memories but there will be room left for a Dabitur in hora the Spirit of God in the very time of our Prayer to bring to our Minds some Violations of the Divine Law we did not think of and some Wants which we had forgot 2. The Second needs no study or deliberation our Thoughts in a moment form Words when they are sensible of Wants The Beggar studieth not for Words to ask for Bread no more doth the Malefactor for Words to ask for his Life That Words are apart of perfect Prayer and of all Prayer where one ministreth to others in Prayer must not be denied and an essential part too for without them he cannot so pray So as he whose Thoughts are imployed in forming of Words whether to express his own Premeditations or present Impressions or Monitions cannot certainly be denied to have his Thoughts imployed about his Work in Prayer Our Casuist goes on p. 39. and saith It is pretended that conceived Prayer is more apt to fix the Minister's Attention in Prayer because he utters his Words in conceived Prayer immediately from his Affections by reason of which his Thoughts have not that Scope to wander as when he reads them out of a Book To which he answereth That if he hath devout Affections he may utter his Words as immediately from his Affections in a Form as in a conceived Prayer and therefore this Pretence is insignificant There is no doubt of this nor do I know who hath made this Pretence But the Question is Whether a Man can have the same devout Affections attending a Form of Words composed by another as he may have attending Words flowing from his own Heart as a Bullet taken up from the Ground and thrown by a Man's Hand is never so hot as one shot out from a Gun and heated with the Fire there
Third is That they may join with them with much more Faith and Assurance 4. A Fourth is That they have much less in them to divert the Affections of the People from the Matter of Prayer 5. A Fifth is That they are more secured as to the decency and Solemnity of their Publick Worship 6. The Last is That in joining with them the People are more secured of the Reality and Sincerity of their own Devotions To all which in General there are several Things may be said 1. That all this is to be said as much for Prayers by a prescribed Form in the Pulpit as in the Desk and if there be any thing in these as to Prayers in the one Place it holds as strongly as to Prayers in the other That People may address themselves to join in those Prayers with greater Preparation and Pray with more Understanding More Faith and Assurance have less to divert them from the Matter of Prayer be more secured as to the decency and order of Publick Worship and People be more secured of the reality and sincerity of their Devotions Nay these Arguments will run home to a Mans Family and hold as strongly there Nay most of them will ascend up into his Closet after him three or four of them will hold as strongly there So as they serve to destroy all conceived Prayers 2. It is an amazing thing that if these Things were necessary and indeed such real Advantages to Peoples Devotion neither Solomon nor Moses nor Asa nor Hezekiah nor the Levites mentioned Nehemiah 9 that prayed that long Prayer should think of this mighty Help to the Peoples Devotion and give out Copies of their Prayer there mentioned to all the Congregation that they also might have addressed themselves to God with more Preparation and have prayed with more Vnderstanding and with more Faith and Assurance and have had their Affections less diverted from the Matter of Prayer and have had the decency and solemnity of their Publick Service more secured and have been more secured of the reality and sincerity of their Devotions they were all things as necessary then as they are now yet we have no mention of any such thing but this it seems is a new discovery reserved to the later Times or rather a new device to uphold the Necessity of Forms 3. If the Wise God had seen these Things so necessary for so great Ends we certainly should not have been without an Institution or at least some Declaration of the Will of God in the Case but we find nothing of that in any Part of Holy Writ 4. All these Things will signifie nothing if it prove impossible that he who ministreth in Prayer unto others should by Forms unless drawn for every Time he ministreth confess the Sins or put up Supplications for the good Things he ought to confess or put up Supplications for but this will fall under our Debate when we come to consider what our Author hath said to the Fourth Case stated by him 5. It is not what we fancy and think we can prove by our Reason to be a more apposite mean for the performance of a Duty that indeed is so But the mean must have a Divine Institution if it be not so naturally A Papist will Discourse bravely for the usefulness of a Crucifix to be set in our Eye to put us in Mind of what Christ hath suffered for us to incourage us to hope in the Mercy of God through him but yet it is a mean to be abhorred not used to speak more particularly to our Authors Six Things 1. Nonconformists know that they are to Pray intelligibly and not in bumbasted non-intelligible Phrases to the meanest of the People So as there is no such need of Preparation to understand Words and Phrases which are ordinarily such as are understood assoon as heard They detest such kind of Language in Prayer as Dr. Featly reflects on where the Minister spake to Christ under the Name of the Dolphin of Heaven such kind of stuff indeed had need have Time allowed the Hearers to understand Nonconformists would have all Prayers in such a Phrase as needs no Companion to the Temple to expound which they judge of no great significancy because he is not like to be a Companion to one of an Hundred 2. For the same Reason they see little in our Authors second pretended Advantage of Forms 3. There is as little in his Third Thing for nothing can Advantage Faith and Assurance but a Knowledge that the thing ask'd is what God hath promised to give which a Form will not instruct him in that doth not otherwise know it and if he otherwise know it it is needless as to any such Thing However I know of none but alloweth the Use of Forms for Instruction which if Men will Use they may easily know by examining Scripture what God hath willed Men to ask 4. For the Fourth Thing Men in praying ought to take Care not only that their Affections be not separated from the Matter of Prayer but that their Thoughts may not be separated from the Words by which that Matter is expressed Nor can I understand how the Affections should attend the Matter expressed if the Thoughts be out of the way of expressing or of Words by which it is expressed I am sure he who prayeth by Forms gives his Thoughts more Liberty to leave both than he who prayed depectore by Words formed in his own Breast whether there be any Soul so pious that it will not take it I cannot tell It is probable that the Souls of the most Will I am sure my own would and if the Thoughts be once separated the Affections in the Course of Nature will not stay behind 5. As to the Fifth If our Author means no more by Decency and Solemnity then gravity and expressiveness and the absence of what usually Men will call Rudeness who understand any thing of Religion he is a lamentable Minister that cannot so Pray without a Form and indeed aptior ad stivam fitter for some other Imployment If he means delicate Words Curt and comprehensive Exprehensions it may be such Prayers will be found not wrote after any Scriptural Copy unless that of the Lords Prayer which we rather judge a directory of Matter than a Copy of Words and hath always been so judged by the Church extending it in all Practice and never judging that enough either for the Desk or Pulpit 6. It will pose any to understand how People should more by Forms than by free Expressions be secured as to the reality and sincerity of their Devotions considering that to Devotion in Prayer is required not only Intention and Fervor of Affection but Attention of Thoughts also and the latter cannot be without the former especially if Forms give a greater Liberty to the roving of Thoughts and the Heart of Man be so bad that not one of many but will take it Thus much come our Author's Six
pretended Advantages to Devotion from Forms of Prayer to There are two eminent ones that it must want 1. One obvious Means to keep the Thoughts of him that prayeth from wandering And this is true both as to him that ministreth in Prayer and those who only pray the Thoughts of both have apparently a further Liberty to rove whether they will take it or no. Let every one speak from his own Experience and if they do differ in their Experience let it be considered whether their natural Temper doth not make the difference which is not a thing eligible but natural and upon that account necessary If the Ministers Thoughts be not attent he must speak Nonsense if the Peoples Thoughts be not they must say Amen to they know not what 2. A Second Advantage they must want is the Confession of renewed Sins and begging Pardon of them the making known of renewing Wants and giving Thanks for new Mercies which whether they ought to be the Matter of Confession Petition or Thanksgiving in Publick Prayer will fall under our Consideration in speaking to the next Case 3. To these two must be added That those who in Publick pray by Forms are tied up to those particular Opinions which the Composers of these Forms have which indeed is not an Evil falls upon the People that do not minister who may with-hold their Amen but yet by their Presence will appear to do what they indeed do not but it will fall heavy upon those that minister by them We have a plentiful Instance of this in the Popish Missal where their Idolatrous Opinions are mixed with their Prayers viz. That of the Invocation of Saints the Application of their Merits to us as well as their Heretical Opinions of Purgatory and departed Saints Intercession for us and the Merits of our own Works All which indeed are upon the Reformation left out of our Liturgy but may be put in again whenever we have Superiors of that Faith It is true in conceived Prayers the People are exposed to the same Danger as to their Ears but not the Person that ministreth and the People have a Power to with-hold their Amen and to complain of such as are guilty of such Errors But there is no complaining of Forms by Publick Authority confirmed Our Casuist saith truly p. 55. and 56. That Experience the best Judge in this Case is pleaded on both sides Some say they can keep their Thoughts most attent and their Affections most intense in praying by Forms others say the quite contrary But I do not think that our Reverend Casuist directeth the best way for reconciling these Experiences by endeavouring to perswade them That the Fault must lie in their Prejudice or Temper For it may be the Fault lieth on the other side in their customary Practices and Vsage or a not right understanding their Duty in Prayer but judging that it only lies in their saying Amen whether their Thoughts be kept attent to the Words and Matter of Prayer and their Affections intense yea or no If so the Cure must be wrought on the other side If our Author by his many good Christians meaneth many such as have an Ability to express their own and others Wants to God in Prayer and exercise that Ability in a daily Prayer with their Families and in their Closets I do very much doubt whether many such will say so at least I have not met with many such do say so If he meaneth others that have not attained to this Ability or Practice he ought to distinguish between a metaphysical Goodness and a moral Goodness and again betwixt the Degrees of moral Goodness We desire to speak Wisdom to those that are perfect and to all to strive after Perfection forgetting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the things that are behind and pressing on to those things that are before and this is that which we wish even every Soul 's spiritual Perfection This is enough to have spoken to our Casuist's Three Cases handled in his First Part we now proceed to his Second which begins with this Case Case 3. Whether the common Cases and Wants of Christians can be so well expressed in one constant Form as in a conceived Prayer The Author hath a little perplexed this Case by putting in the Word Common the Question had been well enough without it Nor hath he sufficiently explain'd what he means by Common Cases and Wants whether he understands it with reference to Time and by Common understands Constant or with reference to Persons in which Sense Cases and Wants cannot be called Common unless all propound or have them We cannot therefore well speak to what this Reverend Author saith as to this Case without putting a previous Question viz. Quest. What and whose Cases or Wants the Minister is bound to represent or make known to God in the publick Congregations or Meetings of Christians I find our Author in part determining this Question P. 2. p. 2. Publick Prayers saith he ought not to descend to particular Cases and Necessities because they are the Prayers of the whole Congregation and therefore ought to comprehend no more than what is more or less every Man's Case and Necessity I take this to be a false and mistaken Hypothesis and the Reason given for it because they are the Prayers of the Congregation to be utterly insufficient for surely the whole Congregation is concerned in the true Wants and Welfare of every Member that they may rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with them that weep Rom. 12.15 otherwise they are not kindly affectionated one to another according to v. 10. And this is the declared Will of God Eph. 6.18 that there should be made Supplications for all Saints yea for all Men 1 Tim. 2.2 How are these Texts think we to be understood That Supplications should be made for all Saints so far as their Wants are all the same and no further Or that Prayers should be made for all Men as to those things that are the Common Wants of all Men but no further I would fain see one good Reason for this or one Text of Scripture to prove it It is true we cannot confess the Sins of particular Persons unless we know them nor put up Petitions for a Supply of the Wants of particular Persons unless we know them and tho' we do know them yet some particular Sins or Wants are not fit to be made the Matter of publick Confessions or publick Petitions But it is as true there are a multitude of other Sins which are not the Sins of all but of some particular Persons in Congregations and many other Wants which likewise are not the Wants of all the Congregation but of some particular Persons in them which may well enough be confessed and Pardon begged for and which we may well enough beg a Supply of and these ought to be made the Matter of a publick Prayer either upon the Pastor's Knowledge of them tho' the Sinner