so upon composing our thoughts and preparing our selves for the due performance of it Our minds being thus brought into a right frame and temper for it we all both Minister and People prostrate our selves before the most high God confessing upon our knees the manifold sins and wickedness that we have committed against him Which Confession is so contrived that all and every person in any Congregation whatsoever may joyn in it For it runs in general terms And yet so too that every particular person may and ought in his own mind to confess and acknowledg his own sins which he knows himself to be guilty of As where we say We have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done At the saying of this every one should call his own sins to remembrance what Duties he knows himself to have omitted and what Vices he knows himself to have committed and confess them accordingly unto God And when we have thus confessed our sins to God we presently implore his Mercy in the pardon of them and his Grace that for the future we may forsake them And whilst we are thus upon our knees humbly confessing and bewailing our sins before the Lord our God the Minister stands up and in the Name of God declares and pronounceth to all those who truly repent and unfeignedly believe his Gospel The Absolution and Remission of all their sins Which though spoken also in general terms yet every particular person there present ought to apply it to himself so as to be fully perswaded in his own mind that if he doth but sincerely repent and believe the Gospel he is perfectly absolved from all his sins by God himself according to the promises which he hath made to Mankind in Jesus Christ our Lord. And now looking upon our selves as absolved from our sins upon our Repentance and Faith in Christ and by consequence as reconciled to God we take the boldness to call him Father humbly addressing our selves to him in that Divine Form of Prayer which he himself hath given us Which done we lift up our hearts and voices unto God for his assistance of us in what we do in the words of David the Minister crying out O Lord open thou our lips and the People answering And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise The Minister again O God make speed to save us the People O Lord make haste to help us And then immediately we all lift up our bodies too stand upon our feet and so put our selves into a posture of praising and magnifying the Eternal God Father Son and Holy Ghost for his infinite goodness and mercy towards us for which purpose the Minister first saith or sings the Gloria Patri Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost and the people to shew their consent answer As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen But not thinking this to be enough the Minister calls upon the people again saying Praise ye the Lord and the people answer The Lords name be praised and then we go on to praise him together saying or singing the 95 Psalme Venite exultemus Domino O come let us sing unto the Lord let us heartily rejoyce in the strength of our Salvation c. and so proceed to the Psalms appointed for the day After every one of which to testifie our belief in the most sacred Trinity and our acknowledgment of that infinite love and goodness which every one of those Divine Persons hath manifested to us we repeat that incomparable Hymne Glory be to the Father c. Our hearts being thus raised up to God in praising and admiring of him we are now in a fit temper and disposition to hear what he shall speak unto us And therefore have a Chapter read out of the Old Testament and that in its ordinary course except upon Sundays and Holydays when more people attending the Publick Worship of God then can conveniently come upon other days we read some Select Chapter proper for the day and such as is judged most edifying to all that are there present And having thus heard God speaking unto us in his holy Word we presently fall upon praising of him again for so unspeakable a mercy saying or singing in the Morning the Te Deum one of the most Heavenly and Seraphick Hymns that was ever composed by Men or else the Song of the Three Children which is nothing but a Paraphrase upon that which David sang so often upon Earth and which the Holy Angels sing continually in Heaven even Hallelujah Praise ye the Lord. Wherein we being all sensible how far short we our selves come of praising God sufficiently we call upon all the Creatures in the World to do it Bless ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever In the Afternoon we sing either the Magnificat or else the 98 Psalme both which being taken out of Gods own Word cannot but be very pleasing and acceptable unto him After this our Souls being got upon the wing again and soaring aloft in the contemplation of the Divine perfections we are now rightly qualified to hear and receive the Sublime Mysteries of the Gospel And therefore have a Chapter read to us out of the New Testament After which we being revived with the good Tydings of the Gospel and filled with admiration at the infinite goodness of God therein revealed to us we break forth again into praising and adoring of him in the song of Zacharias or else the 100 Psalm in the Morning and at Evening either the 67 Psalm or else the Song of Old Simeon still concluding with the Gloria Patri Now having thus heard some part of the Word of God read to us and expressed our thankfulness unto him for it to signifie our assent not only to what we have heard but to the whole Scripture we all with one heart and voice repeat the Apostles Creed wherein the summ and substance of it is contained And so profess our selves to continue in the number of Christs Disciples and that as we were at first Baptized so we still believe in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost God Blessed for evermore Hitherto we have been mostly taken up with confessing our sins to God imploring his mercy in the pardon of them hearing his most holy Word acknowledging his goodness to us and praising and magnifying his name for it By which means except we have been extreamly wanting to our selves our hearts cannot but be so united and fixed upon God that we are now rightly disposed to make known our wants and present our Petitions before him This therefore is the next thing we set upon But seeing that neither Minister nor People can possibly do it aright without the assistance of God himself therefore each of them first pray for his special presence with the other The one saying
ordained to be used in this Sacrament as the Breaking of the Bread and the Consecrating both that and the Wine to represent his Death the breaking of his Body and the shedding of his Blood for our sins that so our hearts may be the more affected with it and by consequence our Souls more edified by it But this cannot be so well done except there be a place set apart for it where they may all be placed about or near to the Communion Table and so behold what is there done at the Consecration of the Elements Hence also it is that the Seats there are and ought to be so ordered that all that are in them may still look that way and contemplate upon their Blessed Saviour there evidently set forth as Crucified for them The other thing that I would observe unto you concerning the Holy Communion is this that our Church requireth or at least supposeth it to be Administered every Lords-day and every Holy day throughout the year as it was in the Primitive Church For that is the reason that the Communion Service is appointed to be used upon all such days and to be read at the Communion Table that so the Minister may be there ready to Administer it unto all that desire to partake of it Which shews the great care that our Church hath of all her Members that they might be edified and confirmed in the Faith To which nothing contributes more than frequent Communion at our Lords Table Which if people could once be perswaded to they would soon find greater benefit by it then I can express or they themselves till then imagine I shall say no more of it at present but only this That I am so sensible of what I now say that could I be sure to have a sufficient number of Communicants I should be heartily glad to Administer this Holy Sacrament every Lords day both for their sakes and my own too Thus I have given you a short Scheme of that excellent Method wherein our Divine Service is performed Which whosoever rightly considers will need no other Argument to convince him that it is according to the Apostles Rule very Edifying indeed The last thing to be considered in it is the Manner of its Performance by which I mean only the several postures of the Body as standing and kneeling which are used in it for they also are done to edifying While we say or sing the Hymns and Psalms to the Praise and Glory of God we stand up not only to signifie but to excite the Elevation of our minds at that time For as on the one hand if our Souls be really lift up in the praises of God our Bodies will naturally lift up themselves to accompany them as far as they can towards Heaven so on the other hand the raising up of our bodies helps towards the raising up of our Souls too by putting us in mind of that high and heavenly work we are now about wherein according to our weak Capacities we joyn with the Quire of Heaven in praising God now as we hope to do it for evermore For this cause also we stand at the Creeds for they being Confessions of our Faith in God as such they come under the proper Notion of Hymns or Songs of praise to him All our praising God being really nothing else but our Confessing and acknowledging him to be what he is in himself and to us And besides that by our standing both at the Creeds and Gospels we signifie our assent unto them and our readiness to defend them to the utmost of our power against all opposition whatsoever And as for the Gospels particularly they contain the very Acts which our Lord did and the very Words which he spake when he was upon Earth and therefore we who profess him to be our Lord and Master cannot surely but stand up when we hear him speaking and listen diligently to those gracious words which proceeded out of his Divine Mouth And as when we praise God we raise up our selves as high as we can towards Heaven so when we pray unto him we fall down as low as we can towards the Earth not daring to present our Supplications to the absolute Monarch of the whole World any other ways then upon our knees Which is so proper so natural a posture of Supplicants that if all men would but duly consider what they do when they pray to Almighty God the Church need never have commanded them to kneel at that time For they could not chuse but do it No not although the place where they are should seem never so inconvenient for it For we find our Blessed Saviour himself kneeling at his Prayer in the Garden upon the bare ground Luke 22. 41. and St. Paul upon the Sea-shore where he could have no other Cushion but Stones or Sand Acts 21. 5. Howsoever To take off all those little excuses that men are apt to make for themselves in this case the Seats in this Church are so disposed and all things so prepared in them that there can be no inconvenience at all in it but rather all the conveniences for kneeling that can be desired And therefore if any of you shall yet neglect to kneel while the Prayers are read they will give us too much cause to call their Religion into question or to suspect they have none at all For if they had they durst not they could not offer such a manifest affront to the great Creator of the World as to carry themselves no otherwise while they pray to him then as if they were conversing with their Fellow Creatures But why do I speak of their praying unto God It is too much to be feared they do not pray at all nor come to Church for any better purpose then only to see and be seen I am sure they perform no Act of External Worship or Adoration unto God nor shew hm that respect and reverence which is due unto him and so give very great offence to all pious and devout Christians Whereas if all and every person in the Congregation would always be upon their knees while they put up their petitions to the most high God what a mighty advantage would this be not onely to every one in particular but to the whole Congregation in general For as every one would by this means keep his heart more stedfast in the true fear and dread of God and likewise more certainly obtain the good things he prays for as the Fathers frequently assert so the whole Congregation also would be very much edified by it For by this means we should excite and inflame each others Devotions confirm and strengthen one anothers Faith and convince both our selves and all that see us that Religion is indeed a serious thing and that we believe it to be so by our serving God with so much reverence and godly fear as this humble posture representeth And therefore as you tender the love of God the credit of
Be sure the consequents of its being laid aside at that time were very sad For people being deprived of that whereby they should have been edified were immediately tossed to and fro with every wind of Doctrine until at length many of them fell into the most pernicious and damnable Heresies that were ever heard of in the Church Yea together with the Liturgy they laid aside all distinction betwixt sacred and common things by which means the whole Nation was in danger of being over-spread with profaneness and irreligion But blessed be the Name of the most high God for it he was once more pleased to appear for us and in a miraculous manner to restore our Common Prayer to his Church together with our Gracious Soveraign to his Kingdoms But what shall we render to the Lord for so great a Blessing as this is All that he expects or we can give him for it is only to make the best use of it that we can This therefore is that which I now pray and beseech you all for the future to do Do not think it enough to be for the Common Prayer and to come now and then to hear it This you may do as many do and yet receive no more benefit by it than as if there was none at all to be received Which therefore can by no means be imputed to the Common Prayer its self but to the negligence of those that use it Neither must you think it enough to talk high for it or to rail at those who are not so happy as to be rightly informed about it But rather take all opportunities to inform them and by all means possible to convince them of the Excellency and Usefulness of it Which you can never do so effectually as by your out-stripping and exceeding them in Vertue and Good Works For this is and ever will be a plain demonstration that the Common Prayer is indeed far more edifying than those new Modes of Religion which they are so unhappily seduced into That therefore you may do this and so both experience in your selves and demonstrate unto others the truth and certainty of what you have now heard concerning the Common Prayer I desire you to observe these few Rules in the using of it First Come not to our Publick Prayers only out of Custom or for Fashion sake as the manner of some is but out of a sincere obedience to Gods Commands and with a sure trust and confidence in his Promises for his Blessing upon what you do For which end it will be very good as you go to Church to bethink your selves whither you are going and what you are to do there that so laying aside all other business you may put your selves into a right temper for so great a work Secondly Frequent our Publick Prayers as often as conveniently you can The oftner you are at them the better you will like them and the more edified you will be by them And therefore do not satisfie your selves with hearing them once a Week In this City as also in many other places of the Kingdom especially where there are Cathedrals or Collegiate Churches you may enjoy the benefit of them publickly every day and so keep your hearts continually in an holy and heavenly frame and always live as becometh Christians And if you neglect such opportunities as are now put into your hands you will one day wish you had not but then wishing will do no good Thirdly If possible come always at the beginning of Divine Service Otherwise you will certainly miss of something that would have been edifying to you and perhaps of that which at that time might have done you more good than all the rest Neither will you lose the benefit only of part of it but in some measure of the whole too All the parts of it being linked together in so excellent a manner and method that they influence and assist each other So that nothing can be omitted either by Minister or People but the whole will suffer by it and lose something of that Vertue and Efficacy which otherwise you would find in it Fourthly All the while that you are in Gods House carry your selves as in his special presence and suitably to the work you are about standing while you praise God and kneeling while you pray unto him as our Church hath directed you For though these may seem but little things in themselves yet they are of great consequence both to our Worshipping of God aright and also to our being edified by what we do as I have shewed before Lastly Take special care all along to keep your minds intent upon the matter in hand When you confess your sins to God do it with an hearty and sincere Repentance for all the Errors of your life past When the Absolution is pronounced receive it with a firm and stedfast Faith in Christ your Saviour When you repeat or sing the Hymns and Psalms raise up your Spirits as high as you can to joyn with those above in praising and magnifying the Eternal God When the Word of God is read hearken diligently unto it and consider seriously what he that made you saith to you and requireth of you and resolve by his Blessing to believe and live accordingly And all the while that you are upon your knees putting up your Petitions to the most high God let your whole Souls be employed in it earnestly desiring the good things you pray for at his Gracious hands and humbly confiding on his faithful Promises for the granting of them By this means you will perform reasonable service unto God and by consequence that which will be very acceptable unto him and as profitable and edifying to your selves Whereas they that do not observe this Rule cannot be properly said to pray or serve God at all And therefore it is no wonder that they come to Church and hear the Common Prayer read and yet are no way edified by it Indeed it is impossible that they should For as much as all the benefit and edification that we can possibly receive from any of our Devotions depends very much upon the due intention of our minds in the performance of them To which as I have shewn both a Form of Prayer in general and ours in particular is a very great help Do but observe these plain and necessary Rules in using of the Common Prayer without which you cannot be truly said to use but rather to abuse it and you will soon find what I have said about it to be true even that All things in it are done to Edifying And therefore I would to God that not only you that hear me at this time but all the people of the Nation could be once perswaded to do so What an holy Nation what a peculiar People should we then become How Pious towards God How Loyal to our Soveraign How Just and Charitable to one another For by our constant Worshipping Almighty God in so solemn and devout a manner as this is our hearts would be over-awed with so great a fear of his Divine Majesty that we should never dare willingly to offend him Our minds would be filled and impregnated with such a sense of his power and soveraignty that we should honour and revere it in those also whom he hath set over us Our whole Souls would be raised up so much above the World that we should not do an ill act to gain it wholly to our selves In short we should be every day edified more and more in Faith in Love in Humility in Self-denial in Temperance in Patience in all true Grace and Vertue And so we should go from strength to strength from one degree of grace unto another until at length we arrive at Glory and Perfection in the highest Heavens where we shall spend Eternity its self in Praising and Adoring the most high God as for all the other Mercies which he hath vouchsafed to us so in a particular manner for our being Members of such an Apostolical Church wherein all things are done to edifying Which God of his Infinite Mercy grant we may all do in and through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory World without end Amen FINIS