Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A92566
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A vindication of conformity to the liturgy of the Church of England. In a letter, written to A person of quality, wherein satisfaction is given to certain queries suggested by a non-conformist.
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P. S.
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1668
(1668)
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Wing S124; ESTC R183126
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12,388
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56
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A VINDICATION OF CONFORMITY TO THE LITURGY Of the Church of ENGLAND In a Letter Written to a Person of Quality wherein satisfaction is given to certain Queries suggested by a Non-Conformist YORK Printed by Stephen Bulkley And are to be sold by Richard Lambert 1668. Imprimatur Joh. Garthwait Reverendissimo in Christo Patri ac Dom. Dom. Richardo Archiepis Eboracensi à Sacris Domesticis Datum Episcopo-Thorpae Feb. 19. 1668. Queries of a Non-Conformist WHether our Lord and Master Jesus Christ as he is God and Man he not the sole Supream Legislator to his Church and People in things concerning the Worship of God insomuch that what ever externall exhibition of the Worship of God as to the whole or such part of it as was not in use in the Prophets our Saviours the Apostles dayes not for above three hundred years after our Lords Ascension neither is any where in the sacred Scriptures appointed by our Lord Masiers command or example to be used in Publick and is so far from having his Royall Stamp upon it that as to some parts of it it is plainly insufficient considered as a means to effect that which it is appointed for whether such a Publick Worship of God with ' its Liturgie and Rubrick ought at all to be used in the Churches of Christ in these dayes of Reformation or Restoration of Conformity 2. Whether the enjoyments of such a Publick Worship ut supra with that strictness that unless that Worship be used there must not be any other Worship of God be used be it never so Scripturall and Orthodox whether this be not a making this Worship an Essentiall part of Gods Worship and an adding to Gods Word so solemnly forbidden in Deuteronomie and Revelation 3. Whether if I assent and consent to the use of that Worship Liturgie and Rubrick Whether I doe not so far set up an other Power in co-ordination to my Law-giver and Judge who is both God and Man Yea Whether I doe not set up another Power above Him if I doe as that Power enjoynes rather omit or curtall that I know for certaine my Lord and Master enjoynes than leave one word un-read of that manner of Worship a Forraigne Power enjoynes Whether thus doing is not such a pleasing of Man as declares I am no true servant of Jesus Christ 4. Whether it be not a transgression of my Commission given me by my Lord and Masters own mouth in Mat. 28. ult and penult whether it be not in some sence a bidding him keep his Gifts and Spirit he hath promised keep them to himselfe I am furnished with a manner of Worship which I can carry on without his or his Spirits help or any extraordinary gift Whether by Assenting and Consenting ut supra I doe not incurr the curse threatned against Adding or detracting from the Word of God and from the word of that Prophet spoken of by Moses and Paul Whether by Assenting and Consenting ut supra I doe not recidivate from being a faithfull Witness and Asserter of my Lord and Master his sole Supremacy ut supra And whether I doe not hereby render my selfe plainely without excuse when he at that great day shall say Who required the Exhibition of such a worship at thy hands Good Madam I Intended before this time to have performed my promise to your Ladyship in sending you a word or two concerning that Paper which a Divine presented to your Mother I told you at Horn by Castle that much having been written by Learned Men of our Church concerning this Argument which it is supposed any Minister in this Nation that desires cordially to imploy his Talent in his native Country to Gods glory and his Country-mens advantage will not neglect to peruse the best course would be for a Person unsatisfied after the Reading of such Writings Hookers Ecclesiasticall Politie Arch-bishop Whitgifts Reply to the Admonition Masons Sermon of Conformity Bishop Sandersons Preface c. to debate matters calmely with some Divine of a contrary perswasion especially with some Learned Bishop who by verball conference may possibly give the dissenting person that satisfaction which by Reading he cannot yet procure If till opportunity offer it selfe of better assistance any weak endeavours of mine might contribute any thing to the settlement of this Gentleman I should be very ready to communicate unto him the ground of my own submission to the Church Government now established among us and to hear him produce the Reasons of his dissatisfaction If he shall be able by any convincing Arguments to prove that our Church enjoyneth any thing contrary to the will of the Supreme Legislator I hope that nothing that I enjoy at this time in it shall be an impediment unto me of embracing his convictions and bearing a part of that Cross which many of his perswasion would have the world think that they take upon them for the cause of Christ 'T is possible the Gentleman may have more to alledge in discourse than he has expressed by writing otherwise I much marvaile why he should think himselfe warranted to suspend his exercise of such gifts as God hath given him and the pursuit of that high Calling unto which I suppose him Legally advanced by reason of the present settlement of our Church For first in reference to his first Querie We all readily acknowledge our Lord Christ the Supreme and sole Law-giver to his Church in all the substantialls of his worship and service But yet we deny that it doth hence follow that no circumstances of serving God are left to the Judgement of the present Church The holy Scriptures are a sufficient rule of Faith and manners and we abhorr that distinction of the Papists of the Word of God into Traditionall and Written We cheerfully beleeve all things necessary for us to beleeve and doe to be contained in those holy Books of the Old and New Testament as appears by the sixth Article of our Church And yet when God was pleased to afford us the succour of supernaturall Revelation in the grand Mysteries of our salvation We do not beleeve that he forbad us the sober use of Reason the giving a greater light was not intended for the extinction of the lesser but to offer unto us the help of Divine assistance in things that naturall reason is altogether blind in the eye of humane reason is dimme in discerning naturall and Morall things altogether blind in Divine We give therefore no licence at all unto reason to contradict the revealed will of God in his Word The sacred authority therefore of supernaturall truth being advanced to that pitch of unquestionable dignity that where it speaks clearly there no exceptions of Men or Angels are permitted to interpose and controle what is there spoken what should hinder a single Person as far as his liberty is not restrained by his Superiours much less a Nationall Church publiquely to manage the worship of God after those Methods which reason assisted by
Divine light shall judge most advantagious for the edification of Christian Assemblies Doth not our Saviour ask the Jews Why even of themselves they did not judge what was right Luk. 12.57 And doth not St. Paul send us to the School of nature to learne what haire best becomes the Masculine Sex 1 Cor. 11.14 What then though there be neither express precept or example for that Liturgy which is now imposed upon the Ministers of the Church of England in the Writings of the Apostles or Prophets Must we presently judge our conformity unto it unwarrantable though no sound Reason can be confronted unto it either in the Bulk or in the Parcels What Argument can Reason produce why the people of God being assembled together the Priest should not compose their thoughts to lowly reverence and penitentiall devotion by some of those pertinent Sentences of Scriptures wherewith our Liturgy begins What reason can be urged why an humble Confession immediately following a comfortable Absolution should not be pronounced by them to whom the power of the Keyes is committed and whose very Orders were given them with those words of our Saviour Receive thou the holy Ghost Whose sins thou remittest c. Can well enlightned reason pleade any just cause why a competent portion of the Psalmes should not follow and then Lessons out of the Old and New Testaments with Hymnes between either out of the Scriptures or conformable unto them The rehearsall of the Creed standing one would think could offend no man that sees every Article founded on Divine authority if he be resolved to stand to his Faith And the Antiphones or Responses of the people if they have not sufficient grounds from the Hymns of Moses and the Answer of Miriam in the 15th of Exod. and the Song of Deborah and Barak Judg. 5. Nor the singing of the people by course Ezra 3.11 yet are as ancient as Greg. Nazianzen To be sure if the Liturgy of Saint James St. Basil and St. Chrysostom should be granted to be spurious Nay Pliny in that famous Letter of his to Trajan saith That the Christians did Carmen Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem that is Sing an Hymn to Christ as a God by course This could not be long after St. Johns time for he lived as St. Hierom writes to the Reigne of Trajan St. Basil the great lived in the fourth Century about the 70th year and he mentions a Method of devotion consisting of alternate Versicles as appears by his 63. Epistle to the Church of Neocaesarea The people saith he with us riseth betimes after night to the house of Prayer and making Confession to God with pains and tribulations and distress of tears at length rising from Prayers fall to Singing of Psalmes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is And now being divided into two parts they Sing by course answering one another thereby both corroborating the meditation of the Divine Oracles and administring to themselves attention and indistracted vigilancy of heart And that this was no private Institution of his own Church appears from what he presently subjoynes in the same Epistle If for this cause saith he ye forsake us ye will together with us forsake the Egyptians ye will forsake the inhabitants of both the Libia's the Thebans Palestines Arabians Phaenicians Syrians and those that live upon the River Euphrates and in a word all amongst whom watching and supplications and common Psalmody are in request If it be urged that none of these things were in use before three hundred years after our Lords Ascention the contrary appeareth from the fore-mentioned Epistle of Pliny and moreover it may be replyed that some of them were in use more than three times 300. years before his birth for the 92. Psalme is a set forme appointed for the Sabbath day as it appears by the Title and how well our Saviour that had the Spirit without measure approved those Formes to which the Synagogue was accustomed may appeare by his use of them in his Agony and Passion For he was pleased to express himselfe twice in the words of two Psalmes as is evident by comparing the 22. Ps ver 1. with the 27. of St. Mat. ver 46. and the 31. Psalme ver 5. with St. Luke 23. ver 46. so that our late Annotator on the Psalmes hath duly hence inferred That no Tongue of Men or Angels can invent a greater heighth of Encomium to set out the honour of any Writing or give us more reason to lay up in our minds the words of the Martyr Hippolitus That in the dayes of Anti-Chrict 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Liturgie shall he extinguished Psalmody shall cease Reading of the Scriptures shall not be heard In which three as the publick Service of God was by the Ancients thought to consist so the destroying of all and each of them must needs be a branch if not the whole body of Anti-Christianisme a direct contradiction to Christ who by his prescription or practice of each of these imprest a sacred Character on each See Dr. Hammonds Preface on the Psalmes By this it appears how remote from Truth that speech of the Querist is That our Liturgie is so farr from having our Lords Royall Stamp upon it that is is plainly insufficient considered as a means to effect that for which it is appointed For the designes of the Liturgie are to carry on the worship of God by prescribing set Formes of Prayses Thanksgivings and Celebration of the Sacraments c. in such a decent method of devotion as may become the solemne Worship of that great God to whom no service is to be presented but that which is reasonable The representative body of the Church of England hath thought this Liturgie now enjoyned suitable to these ends if any particular member think otherwise Reasons should be alledged not bold assertions Dictator-like concluded What the Querist means when he asketh Wether such a Publick Worship of God with ' its Liturgie and Rubrick ought at all to be used in the Churches of Christ in these dayes of Reformation or Restoration of Conformity I can scarce understand The Liturgie is the same in effect that it was at the first Reformation that happily was brought to pass by the pious endeavours of our Ancestors in King Henry the 8th King Edward the 6th and Queen Elizabeths dayes If any thing contrary to Gods Word and disagreeable to the Judgement of the Church Universall be delivered and enjoyned to be assented and consented unto in the Bulk of this Liturgie 't is not I confess fitting for dayes of Reformation for it will carry ' its deformation manifestly in those imposed corruptions But because no particular instances are alledged wherein the unsoundness of the Liturgie doth appear I beleeve this to be nothing but a rash surmise voyd of all firme foundation to pitch a foot on The Book hath been sifted and searched over and over and when the Classicall Brethren in Queen Elizabeths