it is most strictly commanded by the word of God what can be said more for the excellency of it Then that it is most highly commended by the Son of God I shall only crave leave to add that our own Church rightly judged of this necessity and excellency and as rightly conformed her practice to her Judgement in taking so great care that we should have an exact Translation of the Holy Scriptures and many eminent Expositions of the same so that no People in the world have greater means of knowing God then we have which is the first work of the Christian Religion to teach us to know God All our fault is we have not Affections and Actions answerable to our knowledge which is the second work of Christian Religion to teach us to love and honour God and if our Church hath as faithfully discharged her Trust in this as in the other we shall have great reason to bless God and not the least reason to dislike our Church For what can she teach us more then Christ and the Christian Religion hath taught her which is to know and to worship God If our Church hath thus been our Mistress to bring us unto Piety then much more ought she to be our Mother to keep us in our Duty So shall we not be ungodly without being Monsters of Christians nor undutifull without being Monsters of Men and much less shall we easily suffer our Undutifulness to be the cause of our Ungodliness for we cannot be Undutifull in kicking and spurning against the true Christian communion wherein we are taught to know and worship God but we must also be ungodly in kicking and spurning against the true Christian Religion which consisteth in that knowledge and worship though much more in the worship then in the knowledge and accordingly we hope it will appear that our own Church which hath been so carefull to teach us to know God hath been much more carefull to teach us to worship him for as in the knowledge of him standeth our eternal life so in the worship of him is indeed the very inchoation and anticipation of eternity SECT IV. Praying a greater part of the Churches Trust then preaching The Church hath God the Fathers Precedent and Precept for making set forms of prayer and shall answer for all the blemishes that may be in publick prayers for want of a set form THE Church teacheth us to know God by Preaching but she teacheth us to worship God by praying And accordingly we cannot but think praying a much greater part of her Trust then preaching because though it be a very great happiness truly to know God yet is it a much greater happiness truly to worship him And if the Church be bound to take care that there be no false doctrine in the Pulpit much more there be no absurd prayers at the Desque For the Sermons men naturally hear as Judges letting their discretion go before their Affection But prayers men naturally hear as Communicants letting their affection go before their discretion so that false worship in praying is much more dangerous and may be much more mischievous then false Doctrine in preaching for it is like an unsuspected infection most probable to spread further to sink deeper and to tarry longer Again false worship in praying doth infinitely more dishonour God then false Doctrine in preaching because it more immediately dishonoreth him that is to say not only in his truth by heresie but also in his very nature and essence by blasphemy For though a man may preach blasphemy as well as pray it yet he that preacheth blasphemy blasphemeth God only to men but he that prayeth blasphemy blasphemeth God to his own face Wherefore the Church must needs take a most special care of prayer if she desire to discharge her trust either in regard of God or Man in regard of God as she is obliged to shew forth his glory in regard of men as she is obliged to promote their salvation And indeed for so doing the Church hath very good Precedent and Precept and Promise Her Precedent is God her Precept and Promise are from God Her Precedent is God who having taught so many heavenly forms of prayer in his holy word did in the very act of teaching them as it were cry out to his Church Vade fac similiter Go then and do likewise For if the Jews examples of sin were registred for our instruction as the Apostle plainly affirmeth 1 Cor. 10 11. then much more Gods example of Righteousness And he that commanded Moses to do all things exactly according to the pattern shewed in the Mount when as yet he shewed him but only the out side and the out-works of the Tabernacle doth much more command his Church exactly to follow his example since he hath been pleased to shew her the very inside and marrow of Religion aad therefore if the Tabernable then surely much more the service of the Tabernacle is to be framed and ordered according to his pattern Thus much for Precedent but for Precept we have much more First in the Old Testament God commanded the children of Israel to bring pure Oyl Olive beaten for the light to cause the lamps to burn continually Lev. 24. 2. This command reacheth us for he that would have well beaten Oyl for his lamp will not be contented with extempore effusions but will have well studied and elaborated expressions for his homage unless we will say he did more regard their Typical then he doth our real worship Again God threatned the children of Israel That if they walked at all adventures with him he would bring plagues upon them according to their sins Lev. 26. 21. For so it is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Keri for Bekari in Accidente If you walk with me by chance or by accident and so Tremelius renders it Si ambulaveritis mecum temere If ye walk with me rashly or unadvisedly This threat likewise reacheth us and then especially when we most walk with God that is in the exercise of our Religion we must there be sure to do nothing at adventures nothing rashly nothing unadvisedly for unadvisedness in this case is ungodliness and if our prayers be turned into Provocations what shall we have left to make our Atonement But you will say these are rather consequents then arguments I answer if they were so yet they ought to be regarded for God forbiddeth those actions which are sinfull in their consequences and not only in their concomitances but indeed we have choice enough of direct Arguments for so Moses is commanded to speak to Aaron and his sons saying On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel saying unto them The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gratious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace Numb 6. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Coh tebaracu sic benedicatis so ye
shearers so opened he not his mouth Act. 8. 34. Yet the Israelites did all so generally know the meaning of this phrase that Saint John the Baptist used no other title to proclaim the Messias but this Behold the lamb of God John 1. 29. which was so well understood that two of his own Disciples presently left him and followed Jesus ver 36 37. And Saint Philip acknowledgeth the person typified and foretold to agree exactly with the Type and prediction when he saith ver 45. we have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write as if he had said All that the Law and Prophets had promised was now fulfilled Grace in the conjunction mercy in the propitiation and truth in the prediction All met together in Christ our Passeover therefore Jubilemus let us keep our Jubile or in Saints Pauls language 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us keep our holyday or yet farther if you please let us keep this Holyday that is the feast of the Passover called by the Council of Antioch c 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Holy feast of the soul-saving Passeover For Aerius his objection against keeping of Easter from this very text saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we ought not to keep the the Passover for Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us though it overthrow the Jewish Passeover which was a type of Christ yet it rather establisheth a Christian Passeover which is a memorial of him unless we will say that Christ was therefore our Passeover and sacrificed for us of purpose that we should for get him and his sacrifice For as we may not now retain any types of Christ because that were in effect to deny that he is come in the flesh so we may not let go the memorials of Christ because that in effect is to be unthankfull for his coming And our Saviour himself by saying do this in remembrance of me hath shewed that he will look upon those Festivals which should be appointed for memorials of him as upon so many religious and Christian like Institutions since he that hath prescribed to do this hath also prescribed or rather presupposed a set and solemn time of doing it For though the Christians joy in Christ is not to be limited or confined to a day yet that is no reason why a day should not be limited and confined to that joy Let spiritual joyes be eternal in themselves but for that very cause let our time be subservient to their eternity that they may likewise be so to us For God appointing a set time for a spiritual duty hath not thereby debased the duty but exalted the time even as our blessed Saviour appointing a set form of prayer hath not thereby confined the spirit of prayer but rather enlarged it And the Holy-Ghost having given us so many set formes of prayer and praise in the Psalmes and the rest of the ible Bhath not therefore taught the duty of prayer to be the less spiritual but hath taught us to be the less carnal that we should not in pouring out our souls to God rely upon our own phansies or inventions but upon his holy dictates and directions For there is the same reason both of hic and of nunc in matters of Divinity the same reason of these words and of this time God having consecrated words to his service as belonging to the substance of it and having consecrated times places and persons only as accidents and circumstances belonging to the solemnity thereof And therefore it is strange to see those men who are most zealous for the set times and Dayes of serving God every week to be so impetuous against the set forms of serving him as thinking the set time to help devotion but the set form to hinder it whereas it is evident that setting a time to the spirit must needs be a confinement of him as well as setting of words And to say to the Spirit of prayer Pray now is as great an intrusion and encrochement upon him as to say to him Pray this But in truth nither are confinements to Gods spirit and both alike are intended for the enlargements of our spirits Set times and Set words that we pray in the greater assurance of faith knowing we cannot be willworshippers whiles we conform our selves to his will whom we worship SECT III. The memorials instituted by God are chiefly of his justice and of his mercy There is but one terrible memorial of Gods justice against those who invaded the Priesthood but many memorials of his mercy and that it is a vain fear which possesseth some men as if the anniversary memorial of Christs Resurrection was not instituted and cannot be observed without willworship or superstition that the general equity of the Levitical Law as far as it was not Typical is still in force concerning the Solemnities of Religion and that approves Anniversary as well as weekly Festivals AMong all Gods Attributes none are so remarkeable in our lives and deaths as his mercy and his Justice His mercy in our preservation his justice in our destruction And accordingly God himself requires us most especially to take notice of the great effects of his justice and of his mercy Hence is it that we find him instituting few or no memorials of his wisdom or of his Power but very many of his Justice and of his Mercy though not so many of his justice as of his mercy we find but one memorial of his Iustice more particularly recommended to the care of his Church and that is against those men who had said to Moses and to Aaron to their Civil and Ecclesiastical Governours Ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy every one of them and the Lord is among them Numb 16. 3. These men because they had invaded the Priests office in burning incense had their censers nailed upon the altar of incense and the Text saith to be a memorial unto the children of Israel that no stranger which is not of the seed of Aaron come near to offer incense before the Lord that he be not as Corah and his Company ver 40. Te miror Antoni quorum facta imitare eorum exitus non perhorrescere said the Orator most pathetically I much wonder that since you do follow their sins you do not fear their punishment And how can any Christian Minister say less since it is evident that the Gospel in this case still retains the sentence and consequently revives the severity of the Law For so saith the Apostle No man taketh this honour unto himself that is not called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. 4. as if he had said no man rightly taketh the office of a Priest upon him but he that is externally and publickly called of God as was Aaron so as all the Congregation may take notice of his calling And if he do take Aarons office that is not called as Aaron was he hath great reason to
in with dissemblers I have hated the congregation of evil doers and will not sit with the wicked and he thus makes good that saying For thy loving kindness is ever before mine eyes and I have walked in thy truth Psalm 26. His communion with God kept him from the corruptions of those unrighteous men he could not avoid and kept him in the communion of those righteous men he could not enjoy Though his conversation might be in Gath or Ascalon yet his communion was in Jerusalem when the Ark was there as it is said ver 8. Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth Therefore make sure of thy communion with God by faith and repentance and holiness of life and doubt not of thy communion with his Catholick Church though thou live amongst Infidels or amongst such Christians as are fallen into Infidelity and so having denyed the faith are worse then those who never embraced it For no private man is entrusted with the external communion of his own Church nor shall he be called to an account for the sins of it if he partake not in those sins but he is intrusted with the internal communion of his own soul and for that he must look to give a strict account to the maker and lover and Judge of souls But this admonition which only concerns private men may not be extended to whole national Churches which have power given them of God to rectifie what is amiss among themselves either in Doctrine or worship or Sacraments and are accountable to God for not rectifying it so that if there be any notorious defect in either much more in all of these they that are not bound to obey other men have no pretence of excuse if they obey not God in ordering themselves exactly according to his known and undoubted word And this is evident by Saint Pauls Epistles to particular Churches and Saint Johns orders to the seven several Churches of Asia to all which were sent distinct instructions and reproofs which sheweth that every one of them was bound to follow those instructions they had received from God without expecting new orders from some general Superintendent over them all and was justly reproved for not following them And this is the Judgement of the Catholick Church in the first Council of Nice in the sixth Canon which will have the priviledges and dignities and authorities of all Churches inviolably preserved for so much is comprized in these few words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The same Judgemen is again repeated and reinforced in the first Council of Constantinople Can. 2. which forbids the confounding of Churches 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and leaves every several proviâ—ce by a Synod in it self to administer and order its own â—…s The same is again more fully repeated and reinforced in the first Council of Ephesus Can. 8. which will have particular Churches keep their own rights and priviledges lest they should unawares lose the liberty purchased for them by the blood of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Council of Chalcedon Can. 19 enjoyns provincial Synods twice a year to rectifie and dispose all emergencies whatsoever in the Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So we find this is the judgement of the Catholick Church in the four first general Councils and therefore all the world is not able to prove this practice of our Church to be Anticatholick For I willingly pass by other Churches in the case with whom I am not bound to keep external communion and plead only for this Church where of God in mercy hath made me a happy member though an unworthy Minister For if Saint Paul would not judge those men that were without much less may any of us judge those Churches that are within And truly it is enough for our satisfaction and too much for our desert that though other Churches pretend more some to the purity others to the practice of Religion yet generally they have performed less Though some rigid Zelots press nothing so much as a circumcision of all rites and ceremonies other Pharisaical professors can boast of the yoke which they have put upon the neck of their Disciples which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear yet we cannot find any sufficient reason why we should not answer them both in Saint Peters words we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they Act. 15. 11. For we have this reason of our belief because the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly and clearly set forth in the Doctrine of this our Church t is our shame and sin not our Churches if it be not also in our practice and Saint Paul hath taught us that this is the doctrine which most constituteth and therefore most edifieth a Christian Church For thus much do those words import to the Colossians And you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable aâ—d unreproveable in his sight if ye continue in the faith grounded and setled and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which ye have heard Col. 1. 21 22 2â— T is the Churches part to preach unto us the hope of the Gospel or the Doctrine of our being reconciled to God in Christ where this Doctrine is rightly published accepted and maintained there is without doubt a true Christian Church there is communion with Christ and if he will present us holy unblameable unreproveable in his sight for continuing in this faith grounded and setled we can have little cause but no excuse for leaving that Church whereinis the profession of this faith for as every particular Christian Church may lawfully preserve its own liberty against the incroachment of other Chuuches so it must necessarily preserve its authority against the insolencies of its own people The case is notorious concerning Vzziah when he went into the Temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the Altar of incense that Azariah with the Priests withstood him saying it pertaineth not to thee Uzziah to burn incense unto the Lord but to the Priests the sons of Aaron that are consecrated to burn incense Go out of the sanctuary for thou hast trespassed neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God 2 Chron. 27. 17 18. And great is the approbation which the Spirit of God giveth to this Azariah for so doing saying He it is that hath executed the Priests office in the Temple 1 Chron. 6. 10. As if none had been high Priest but he who so couragiously maintained the authority of the Priest-hood and this is R. Davids gloss upon the words He was not the first Priest of Solomons Temple for that was Zadok nor was he the only high Priest for there were many others both before and after him but our Rabbies say because
communion Thus doth Saint Paul briefly but pithily define a Christian Church 1 Thes 1. 1. To the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ We cannot imagine the Thessalonians were in God before they were with God so that the one presupposeth the other and we may hence collect this definition of a true Christian Church that it is a company of men Ministers and People though here Saint Paul chiefly write to the Ministers calling them the Church as appears in that he chargeth them to read this Epistle to all the Holy brethren cap. 5. v. 27. which sheweth that he sent it only to the Ministers I say that a true Christian Church is a company of Men Ministers and People who are with the God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by their Religion nay more who are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by their communion And all the men in the world who are thus with and in God the Father and God the Son by the power of God the Holy Ghost do make up the whole present Christian or Catholick Church They may be several Churches in their Denominations and Jurisdictions They are but one Church in their Religion and in their spiritual communion Thus faith the same Saint Paul Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular 1 Cor. 12. 27. that is ye Christians of all Nations are the mystical body of Christ aud ye Christians of Corinth of this or that Nation are members in particular of that body and members in particular one of another as all together make up that body or as all particular Churches make up the Catholick Church SECT IX What Trust is given to other particular Churches in the Holy Scriptures is also given to our particular Church of England from God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost That our Church is accordingly bound to magnifie her Trust and therefore we bound not to vilifie it And that it is both Rational and Religious to maintain the Trust and Authority of our own particular Church IF he be justly reproached for dishonesty who doth not carefully discharge his Trust which he hath received from man how much more they who do not carefully discharge their Trust which they have received from God And this is the case of Ministers above all other men who have received such a Trust from God as all the power of the world could not give them and all the malice of the world cannot deny them Indeed it is the case of every particular Minister much more of the whole Ministry or of a whole Church which is more eminently Gods Trustee and hath a much greater Trust then either the arrogancy of any one can challenge or the ability of any one can discharge And therefore if the spirit of God give that charge to one particular Archippus Take heed to the Ministery which thou hast received in the Lord that thou fulfill it Col. 4. 17. much more doth it give the same charge to the whole Church of Colosse which had in a more ample manner and for a more general end received the same Ministery And though the Church of Colosse it self was soon after swallowed up with an Earth-quake in the dayes of Nero as saith Orosius yet not so the Instructions nor the authority given to it they must remain till the worlds end Take heed to the Ministery which thou hast received in the Lord is not to be swallowed up by the cleaving and dividing of the earth no more then it is to be revoked or recalled by any voice from heaven And so was it also with the Church of Ephesus as appears from Saint Pauls charge to the first Bishop of that Church I give thee charge in the sight of God and before Christ Jesus that thou keep this commandment without spot unrebukeable untill the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 6 13 14. In that he chargeth him to keep the commandments he had received concerning Religion without spot unrebukeable he sheweth the Churches trust in that he addeth to his charge untill the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ he sheweth that Trust is to continue till the worlds end For in this case we must alwayes remember those words of our Saviour Mar. 13. 37. And what I say unto you I say unto all Watch For what Saint Paul said to the first Bishop of Ephesus he said to all Bishops that ever should be after him as well as to all that were then with him For the Apostolical Epistles though in their inscriptions or Title they concerned some special Churches yet in their Instructions and use they concerned all Churches as plainly appears from Saint Pauls own words Col. 4. 16. And when this Epistle is read amongst you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that yee likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea So that what Instruction or Authority or charge was given to one Church was given to all Churches in that one And consequently we may thus argue by way of Induction The Trust of Religion was given by God to the Church of Rome and of Corinth and of Galatia and of Ephesus and of Philippi and of Colosse and of Thessalonica therefore the same trust is given by God to our own Church of England and indeed to all the several particular Churches in the Christian world For if each particular Bishop and Presbyter have his Trust originally from the Holy-Ghost though derived by the hands of men Then much more have all the Bishops and Presbyters their Trust from the Holy Ghost Hence that expression in the first Council of Bishops Act. 15. 28. It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and to us Which hath in some sort been followed by other Councils since Particularly the sixth which confirming the five oecumenical before doth it in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This our holy and Oecumenical Synod hath by inspiration from God confirmed those former Councils Which is in effect as much as if they had said It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and us to confirm them Concil Constant 3. Act. 17. Graece sed 18. Latine A sufficient proof that the Apostles spake not those words for themselves alone but also for the Church after them which was thereby authorized as to act by the power so to act in the name of the Holy-Ghost And if any shall be so refractory as to say otherwise he may look upon another place not only as a confirmation of this truth but also as a confutation of his own refractoriness Acts 7. 51. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears ye do always resist the Holy Ghost For whosoever is stiff-necked and will not hear nor obey the word of truth though in the mouth of a weak and sinful man sent from God to speak it doth make himself guilty of this detestable and damnable resistance even of resisting the Holy Ghost For
in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Mat. 7. See here how Gifted men may be Hypocrites not only gifted for Praying Many will say unto me Lord Lord which repetition shews a familiarity they thought they had contracted with him by their frequent addresses in Prayer but also gifted for Preaching Have we not prophesied in thy name Nay gifted for casting out Devils out of others though not out of themselves And in thy name have cast out Devils And yet to these gifted men will our blessed Saviour return this answer I never knew you whence we may justly infer they never truly knew him Depart from me ye that work iniquity whence we may as justly infer that they did never really come near him by piety but only seemingly by hypocrisie God forbid but we should firmly believe and willingly confess that the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer though separated in Hypocrites are often joyned together in good Christians for in truth the gift of Prayer is not perfect and compleat so as to be worth the looking after without the Spirit of it For then only is the gift of Prayer compleat when not only natural abilities are improved by study or industry and personal abilities are acquired by art or exercise which two alone do properly constitute the very essence of the Gift of Prayer But also the heart is sanctified by Grace which properly belongs only to the Spirit of Prayer so that in truth the Gift of prayer which makes all the noise is perfected only by the Spirit of Prayer which saith nothing or speaketh so softly that none can hear its voice but he that searcheth the hearts and knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit Rom. 8. 27. The word of the mind Verbum mentis may be without the word of the mouth Verbum oris So Hannah continued praying before the Lord and yet she spake in her heart only her lips moved but her voice was not heard 1 Sam. 1. 13 14. So Moses cryed unto the Lord when yet he did not speak nor so much as move his lips Exod. 14. 15 Again the word of the mouth may be without the word of the mind for they must needs make many words who make many prayers and yet they could not be said to utter one prayer from their hearts to whom God did say When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when ye make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Isa 1. 15. For when the Text hath set this down as a proper compellation of God O thou that hearest prayer Psal 65. 2. it is most evident that from his saying he would not hear we may safely conclude they did not Pray though they did make never so many prayers But we will suppose such a gifted man as hath the compleat gift of prayer that is the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer both together yet even such a man is not thereby qualified to be the mouth of others in publick Assemblies because publick prayer is to have a publick Person to perform it And none can be a publick Person in Gods service but whom God himself hath made so by some notorious and undoubted Commission such as others are bound to acknowledge and therefore bound not to usurp For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain but they most take his name in vain who speak in his name without his allowance They are most properly said to take his name because he hath not given it and to take it in vain because they take it rather to serve themselves then to serve him 'T is all one for strange Persons to offer themselves before the Lord instead of the sons of Aaron and for the sons of Aaron to offer strange fire before the Lord instead of that from his own Altar for of both alike it may be said which he commanded them not Numb 10. 1. and for both alike it hath been said And they dyed before the Lord Ver. 2. and again This is it that the Lord spake saying I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the people I will be glorified Ver. 3. If he be not sanctified in them that come nigh him he is not like to be glorified before all the people If the Priests be unsanctified the Lord will be unglorified for his Majesty will be contemned as if it were lawful for any that are not sanctified to come nigh him Therefore his Priests were first sanctified to the Priesthood then sanctified by it They were first sanctified by being called then sanctified by their calling And so ought their successors to be till the worlds end for it is an universal negative which denies as well for all times as for all persons No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. 4. Now Aaron was called not only internally to satisfie himself but also externally to satisfie all the Congregation that he was called of God For God is the God of order not of confusion and consequently forbids those men to officiate as his Ministers though of never so great abilities whom he hath not outwardly called to the Ministry For he will have order not confusion in his Church whereas if any one might officiate in the Ministry upon any pretence whatsoever without Gods outward call others might as well as he and so we must needs have an irremediable confusion both in the Ministers and in their ministrations Dares any man to be a Princes Ambassador though most able to do him service without his appointment But the Ministers are Gods Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5. 20. There needs no variety of arguments in this case for till earthly Potentates shall declare it to be no rebellion against themselves for men to turn uncommissioned souldiers under pretence of fighting their battles they must acknowledge it to be grand rebellion against the King of heaven for men to turn uncommissioned Ministers under pretence of doing him service For Saint Paul having said The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 2 Cor. 10. 4. hath in effect told us that the Minister is Gods souldier and therefore is sure of his Commission But let us further examine this gift of Prayer in relation to the publick worship of God and as we find no just reason to admit them to the work of the Ministry who are not Ministers because they have that gift so we shall find no just reason to reject those that are true Ministers as insufficient or unfit for the work of the Ministry because they have it not nor to allow such Ministers who have it to reject the set forms established and approved by the Church
that written word was that all Christians might have the grounds of One Communion And the right way of edification for all Churches is certainly to lay their foundation upon these grounds which God hath given them that is to establish a set form of Doctrine whereby to maintain the Truth of Religion and a set form of devotion whereby to maintain the Peace of Communion 3. It is requisite that the publick worship of God should not relie upon the personal abilities of the Ministers in praying but should be performed by constant set forms of prayer in regard of the Ministers themselves that they be not led into temptation either through pride vilifying others or through vain glory magnifying themselves and that they be not led into sin particularly the sins of heresie and schism which are desperate sins in private men but damnable sins in Ministers yet must needs be incident to those who rely upon their own gifts in praying more then upon Gods or their Churches prayers For if their gift forsake them as who dares promise its certain continuance they may easily fall into an erroneous expression which rather then recant they may as stiffly maintain by perverse argumentation there 's the danger of heresie And if they abuse their gift they may easily fall into the humour and love of ostentation and so scorn to be regulated and confined by their Church upholding their abominable ostentation by a more abominable separation there 's the danger of schism Besides such men commonly refuse to tie themselves so precisely to any particular form of words though it be of their own making but they may sometimes add alwayes alter according as any emergen occasion offered or affection suggested shall require so that they can never truly say with the Psalmist Paratum cor meum Deus Paratum cor meum O God my heart is ready my heart is ready which yet the Psalmist thought twice worth his saying sc Psal 57. ver 7. Psal 108. ver 1. And much less can they say O God my tongue is ready my tongue is ready though that be the readiness they most labour for and most glory in for every new affection may unsettle their heart and every new phansie may unsettle their tongue so that either the heart must be false to its own preparation because it may be changed by a new affection or the tongue must be false to the heart because it may take a new expression I have a very good precedent though a bad occasion to put the gift of prayer in the lowest forms of Gods gifts that concern the exercise of Religion For Saint Paul in effect hath done it before me who put diversitie of tongues not only after the gift of healing but also after helps in government 1 Cor. 12. 28. or helps and governments that is lay-Elders and Deacons if some late glosses may be embraced and surely the gift of prayer must come under the gift of tongues as comprehended in it or come below the gift of tongues as outpassed by it so I may well put it below the Desk when Saint Paul according to them puts it below the poor mens Box And Saint Chrysostome gives this reason for it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost hom 29. 32. in Corinth Because they thought so highly of themselves for the gift of tongues therefore Saint Paul alwayes nameth that in the last place after all the rest There is the same reason now why Saint Pauls Successors in the Ministry should do the like concerning the gift of prayer yet I would have laid my hand upon my mouth before I would have spoken so unkindly to or of my brethren were it not to make them lay their hands upon their hearts before they speak so confidently nay indeed so uncomely to Our Father For as it were better my tongue should cleave to the roof of my mouth then I should disparage the gift of prayer so it were better their tongues should cleave to the roofs of their mouths then they should abuse that gift either to ostentation or to faction or which is yet worse to Irreligion For by such abuse not only man is grosly deceived but also God is grievously dishonoured Doubtless he that bids both Priests and people keep their feet when they go to the house of God that they may be more ready to hear then to give the sacrifices of fools doth much more bid the Priests keep their hearts and their mouths that they may not tempt the people to give the fools sacrifice for want either of such affections or of such expressions as may truly be fit to be offered upon Gods Altar And this is plain from the ensuing words Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God Eccles 5. 1. 2. Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Al Tebahal gnal Pica ne feâ—tines super tuo ore Do not make haste upon your mouth Here may easily be much more haste then good speed For your mouth may make haste upon your heart uttering what is scarce yet suggested and you may make haste upon your mouth uttering what is scarce yet digested The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bahal is sometimes to be fearful sometimes to be hasty and thence signifies to make such haste as men use to make in frights when fear hath wholly surprized their wits And such a haste as goes without wit perchance without fear too for men who are audacious are seldom timorous is in a mans own house great imprudence but in Gods house t is moreover great impiety And let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God The better to keep us from the haste of the tongue he disswades us from the haste of the heart for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh therefore if the heart be fraught with hasty affections the tongue will soon be fraught with hasty expressions For he that will permit his heart to love without deliberation will also permit his mouth to speak without it since it is very easie for the heart to come into the mouth when once the assent is come into the heart Therefore he saith Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing though utterance belongs properly to the mouth the reason is because if the heart hath once spoken it within the mouth will hardly refrain from speaking it without Accordingly the Psalmist when he prayed set a watch O Lord before my mouth and keep the door of â—y lips he did also pray Incline not mine heart to any evil thing Psal 141. 3 4. for there could be no watch set upon his mouth unless it were first set upon his heart And indeed here is such a reason alledged as is enough to set a watch both upon all our mouths and upon all our hearts in that it is said For God is in heaven thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few Were he on earth with thee