at Morning and Evening Prayer in the Temple Praising and Blessing God Luk. xxiv 53. And after by the power of the Holy Ghost coming on them they had setled Churches we read the four living Creatures and the twenty four Elders by which are certainly meant the Governours of the Christian Church rested not Day and Night saying Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty c. that is Morning and Evening they fell down before God and Worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever Which Practice hath ever since continued in the Church which in that Heavenly Hymn commonly ascribed to St. Ambrose hath constantly said Day by day we magnifie thy Name For which end certain hours as well as a certain place have been alwayes appointed that Men might so order their other Affairs as to be able to mind this great business of giving Thanks and Praise to God the Creator of all and imploring his Blessing on them in their several Callings and Conditions and on their Church and Country and finally on the whole World It is so sure that the Jews had such set hours of Prayer that I do not think fit to say much of a matter so well known I will only note that they were the 3d hour the 6th and the 9th Which the Christian Church afterward observed and that from the Example of the Apostles themselves For St. Peter even when he was not at Jerusalem went up to the house-top to pray about the sixth hour i. e. Twelve a Clock Which we cannot doubt was his usual custome and as little doubt that it was the custom of the other Apostles and by them every where propagated throughout all the Churches Which the Ancient Writers of Christianity tell us observed those very set hours of Prayer So Clemens in his Constitutions vii 24. and Clemens Alexandrinus in L. vii of his Stromata where he calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the set appointed hours And Tertullian in his Book of Fasting chap. 10. Origen also in his Book of Prayer proves from several Scripture Examples that it ought not to be made less than three times every day N. 38. And such was the Practice in St. Chrysostomes dayes I shall have occasion to show in the end of this Chapter which is still continued in our great Churches every where I will here only transcribe the Words of St. Hierom upon the vi Dan. 10. There are three times in which our knees ought to be bowed to God at the third hour the sixth and the ninth as the Ecclesiastical Tradition instructs us At the third hour the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles At the sixth Peter went up to pray in the upper Chamber And at the ninth Peter and John went up together into the Temple Whether the Publick Service of God was every where celebrated three times a day or only upon the Lord's Day and in great Cities every Day may justly be questioned And I incline to think it was not every day in all places celebrated more than twice because the Constitutions ascribed to the Apostles which are undoubtedly very Ancient injoyn no more but Morning and Evening Prayer The words are very remarkable directed to the Bishop to whom they say L. 2. Constit 58. Command and Exhort the people to come continually to Church Morning and Evening every day and not to fail at all and then they mention in the same place three Services upon the Lord's Day as more solemn than all the rest Which is exactly sutable to God's appointment among the Jews who had daily the Morning and Evening Offering And on the Sabbath day another Offering beside the Continual Burnt-Offering as we read expresly Numb xxviii 9 10. They had indeed at the Temple other Offerings every day about 12 a Clock but they were not the Sacrifices of the whole Congregation of Israel as the Morning and Evening Sacrifices were but the Sacrifices of particular Persons on particular Occasions And accordingly all Christians prayed publickly twice every day Morning and Evening and had another hour also for Private Prayers which was about Noon conformable to that of the Psalmist Evening and Morning and at Noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice Psal lv 17. It must not here be forgotten there were likewise two of the Week dayes more solemnly observed than the rest for Publick Prayers viz. Wednesdayes and Fridays as hath been elsewhere proved * Treatise of Repentance pag. 112. On which dayes there were three Services in some places as on the Lord's Day And in all places they took special care that nothing should keep them then from the Publick Assemblies how negligent soever they were at other times And the devouter sort also fasted on those two dayes that they might have more time for Prayer and be excited to greater fervour in it by a deep sense of their own unworthiness of the least of God's Blessings And do we now think to please God and to preserve our Religion without any of this care either on those dayes or on others but only the Lord's Day Then the Christian Church in all ages till these later times hath been too officious though it followed the plain Instructions and the best patterns of the Holy Scriptures Which have been so universally understood to enjoyn a daily publick Service of God that there is no Christian Country that I can find at this day by whom this Tribute is not pay'd unto him All the Eastern Christians as a Learned Divine and great Traveller hath informed us * Dr. Basire 's Funer Sermon for the Bishop of Durham pag. 95. and see Chemnitius Exam Concil Trident pars quarta p. 160 and 162. Greek Armenian and others constantly perform it in the West the Church of Rome still observes this practice and in Germany both the Lutherans and the Calvinists have their dayly publick Offices and full Congregations So we have in these Islands and in many places full Congregations also though in others alas either no publick Assemblies or scandalously empty Which is a very great shame as the forementioned Dr. speaks that when now under the Gospel God doth not require our Lambs which were offered publickly twice every day by the Jews we should not dayly give him the Calves of our Lips as the Prophets phrase is that is Pray to him and Praise him and give him Thanks in the publick Congregation Why the Reformed Churches in France did not thus constantly Assemble as they do in Germany it is not my business to enquire Mr. Calvin I am sure both approved of this Practice and wisht it were restored in more places of his Works than one by noteing which what I have said will be confirmed and some reason also given of this Omission For having observed that God appointed a * Comment in iii. Act. 1. Morning and Evening Sacrifice to be offered among the Jews and thereby taught them to begin and close the day with Invocation
expose us to contempt and loathing to harden Mens hearts against a just Reformation to make those who are reformed grow sick and weary and ashamed of the distracted unsetledness and ungovernableness of such people Who like nothing but what is unlike to all the Churches of Christ that have been in the World till this last unhappy Age. This cannot proceed from the Blessed Spirit of Grace which cannot lead Men to destroy the Church which Christ hath purchased by his Blood Which it is evident cannot be preserved much less promoted but by a due regard to those who are over us in the Lord and by adhering closely to such an Authentick Constitution as that of this Church which is the genuine Off-spring of the Apostles declaring nothing to the people but the true sense of the Ancient Apostolick Church throughout the World Which alwayes had such Governours of a superiour Order and Degree to other Ministers as we have such Prayers such Hymns in a word such a Face of Religion as is here seen in this our Church of England And may be seen Blessed be God in other Reformed Churches particularly in those called Lutheran who as Chemnitius tells us have had solemn Prayers every day and much after the same Order that is observed in ours His words are these Populus singulis diebus bis certa hora c. The people assemble every Day twice at a certain hour Exam. Concil Trident. Pars iv cap. ult Morning and Evening and after the singing of some Psalms Lessons are read in order partly out of the Old Testament partly out of the New And the Assembly concludes alwaies with Common Prayers and some Hymn of Thanksgiving And besides the people come together every Week on some certain Day in greater Multitudes to make Publick and Solemn Supplications which are called Letanies And so he proceeds to relate how they Worship God with the greatest Solemnity on the Lord's Dayes and upon special Festivals in memory of the great Benefits we have received on the Nativity Circumcision c. in short on all the Dayes now observed by our Church O that there were such an heart in us as instead of Wrangling and Disputing seriously to set our selves to make the best use we can of such Blessed Opportunities as God still affords unto us of meeting together every Day for his Worship and Service Especially upon Letany Dayes when there ought to be a fuller Congregation and more than ordinary Devotion One of those Dayes at least I should think every Devout Christian may easily see there is great cause to set apart every Week for Fasting and Humiliation together with Supplication and Prayer to the Divine Majesty that he would turn away his Anger from us Men are naturally too backward I know to such Holy Imployments and satisfie themselves that they have an Excellent Religion which they highly value without considering that they have so much the greater Obligation upon them to joyn frequently in the Holy Offices thereof Let that therefore for a conclusion be added to all the motives I have used in this Book to stir you up to the constant performance of this Duty that it will be the greatest shame to us if when they whose Religion is a false Worship have their constant Dayly Service and attend upon it we who have the truest Notions of God and the most Excellent Religion have less regard unto it by which means their Religion how corrupt soever it be is upheld and maintained and for want of this ours though never so pure must needs fall to decay For they that love the Religion they profess though it be not so sincere and perfect as it ought to be yet never fail to reap all the Benefits which it is able to afford and this among the rest that they keep their Religion by their unfeigned Love to it and Diligence in it Whereas the best and soundest Religion professed by those who bear not the like Affection to it yields those who thus retain it little or no benefit as Mr. Hooker hath observed and by degrees is lost for want of a due regard and earnest Affection to it We see this verified in Pagans Turks and Hereticks Who zealously attend upon the Publick Offices of their Religion and so continue their Sect. How comes their Religion to lead them to have frequent Assemblies and ours to make us neglect them But that they keep up their Love to their Religion such as it is and we have lost our first Love and so endanger the loss of our Religion For had we a sincere love to it we should be led by the Natural Dictates of it to attend upon its publick Offices that being the very first thing to which Religion inclines us and there to attend with all seriousness both to the Prayers and Hymns and to the Holy Scriptures which are then read unto us And therefore our Religion hath gone to decay because we have not minded publick Assemblies dayly but where they are kept up they are empty and thin or when they are full there are none of these Natural signs of Devotion in too many people which are among all Nations bended Knees Hands and Eyes lifted up to Heaven nay they do not attend to the Word of God there read but pass it by as a Tale that is told fancying I suppose it is never the Word of God but when it is preached that is spoken without Book These are not the Faults of all nor I hope of most among us But I have observed some of them especially the last of Whispering together all the time the Scriptures are read as if they were nothing but an empty sound in so many Persons from whose Understanding one would expect better things that I could not but take notice of such unbecoming Behaviour in the House of God Where I beseech God to awaken all his Ministers to perform their Duty with careful Diligence And all his People to Accompany them reverently in continual Prayers and Supplications to the Glory of His Great Name the Credit of our Holy Religion the Honour of this Church the Increase of all true Godliness and Vertue among us and the furtherance thereby of our Joyful Account and Happy Meeting in the Day of the Lord Jesus Amen THE END ERRATA PAge 30. l. 24. d. he p. 33. l. 20. for created r. erected p. 53. l. ult for enabled r. enobled p. 59. l. 7. r. 2dly This. p. 65. l. 11. for it r. he p. 106. l. 17. d. also p. 121. l. 3. after yet add p. 123. l. 9. after 19 add p. 168. l. 1. for times r. time p. 170. l. 22. for Rules r. Rule p. 184. l. 25. r. was as well performed any where as in the Church p. 185. l. 3. r. inlarge THE CONTENTS THE Introduction PART I. CHAP. I. OF the Nature of Prayer Page 1 CHAP. II. Of the Necessity of Prayer Page 10 CHAP. III. The sense of all Mankind about this matter especially of our Blessed Saviour Page 22 CHAP. IV. Other Arguments of the great Necessity of Prayer Page 32 CHAP. V. Some Reflections upon the foregoing Considerations Page 39 CHAP. VI. The Honour God doth us in admitting us into his Presence Page 49 CHAP. VII The Pleasure which springs from the serious performance of this Duty Page 61 CHAP. VIII The great Benefits we receive by serious Prayer to God 74 CHAP. IX The Three foregoing Chapters improved Page 85 PART II. CHAP. X. Publick Prayer the most necessary of all other Page 95 CHAP. XI God is most honoured by Publick Prayers Page 99 CHAP. XII Publick Prayers most advantagious unto us Page 115 CHAP. XIII Publick Prayers most sutable to the Nature of Man Page 135 CHAP. XIV The Nature of a Church requires there should be Publick Prayers Page 162 CHAP. XV. Our Blessed Saviour the Founder of the Church teaches us this Doctrine Page 168 CHAP. XVI Which is further confirmed by the Practice of the Apostles and the first Christians Page 177 CHAP. XVII Other Considerations to strengthen this Argument Page 192 CHAP. XVIII A Recapitulation of the four foreing Chapters with some Inferences from thence Page 206 CHAP. XIX Of Dayly Publick Assemblies and of Hours and Gestures of Prayer Page 222 CHAP. XX. Some Objections removed Page 244 THE END
assembled and to pour down his Blessings on such as cannot but would be with them And all this it becomes us to do in the humblest manner according to the invitation and direction of the Psalmist which is recited every day at Morning Prayer O come let us Worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker The Christian Church hath never been acquainted with any other posture but this of kneeling in their Prayers to God saving only between Easter and Whitsuntide when in memory of Christ's Resurrection they were wont to stand Which was the common posture of Prayer among the Jews except in time of trouble and distress when they also fell upon their knees Dan. ix 20. Nay when they would express the greatest Submission Lowliness Reverence and Fear they fell upon their Faces as our Saviour did just before his Agony Matth. xxvi 39. A posture far more remote from theirs who sit at their Prayers which no man dare do who is possessed with an awful sense of his distance from God and considers how mean a Creature he is and how unworthy to receive the smallest favour from his hands In short we may say to such Men as Malachi doth to those who brought vile Offerings unto the Altar with a little alteration Go now to thy Governour and petition him in this posture Will he be pleased with thee or accept of thy person No Man hath the face to present himself unto his Prince in this saucy manner especially when he comes to beg Mercy of him and pray him to spare his Life which he hath forfeited to him And therefore let none of us venture to approach thus into the presence of the Great King over all the Earth the Soveraign of the World But cast down our selves with such lowly Reverence before him as may testifie that we Worship the Most High It is not to be expected indeed that a Man should bow his knees to God when he is lame of the Gout or lies sick of a Feavour or some other Disease c. but setting such cases aside bending of the knees is necessary saith Origen * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. pars N 20. whose words these are when a Man comes to accuse himself of his sins to God and humbly to ask pardon for them and to desire to be cured of them Nature inclines us to it if we have any sense of our condition though we had no instructions about it no Examples to move us to it And therefore I may truly say that we divest our selves even of Humanity when we are so rude as to sit at Prayer unless we be in such a condition as not to be able either to fall on our knees or stand before the Divine Majesty Then indeed we may be confident he will not reject our Prayers whatsoever the posture of our Body be but hear them as he did St. Paul when he prayed and praised God in Prison with his feet in the stocks and Hezekiah who lay on his Bed by reason of his infirmity and cryed to him and the Thief who prayed as he hung on the Cross and found favour with him They are the words of St. Chrysostome in the place now named I will conclude this Chapter with the judgment of Mr. Calvin who expresly determines That the Precepts of Praying alwaies and without ceasing have not respect to our own private Prayers only L. iii. Instit cap. xx Sect. 29. but to the publick Prayers of the Church also With which he that refuseth to joyn we may conclude him not to know what it is to pray alone either secretly or at home As on the other side he that neglects to pray alone and privately may be thought to put up vain Prayers though he frequent the publick Assemblies because he respects more the Opinion of Men than the secret Judgment of God In the mean time lest the Common Prayers of the Church should fall into contempt God hath adorned them with splendid Elogies especially when he calls the Temple an house of Prayer Isa lvi 7. For by this Speech he instructs us that the principal part of his Worship is the Office of Prayer in which that the faithful might exercise themselves with one consent the Temple was erected and lifted up to them like a Banner that they might all resort unto it Psal lxv 2. Where there is also a famous promise added ver 1. Praise expecteth thee O God in Sion and unto thee shall the Vow be performed in Jerusalem In which words the Prophet admonishes That the Prayers of the Church are never in vain because God perpetually administers to his people matter of singing his Praise with joy Which things if they were well weighed they would be sufficient to stir up the zeal of those who now languish and have no concern at all for the publick exercise of our Religion Especially if they would observe and mark First With what earnest Longings Holy Men desired to come to the Publick Assemblies when by any impediment they were kept from them read Psal lxxxiv 1 2. c. and David's passionate breathings xxvii 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord c. And Secondly With what joyful hearts they received all invitations to them Psal cxxii 1 2. I was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the House of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy Gates O Jerusalem CHAP. XX. Some Objections removed WHen I reflect upon the conclusion of the foregoing Chapter I cannot but fear that they are void of the love of God or very defective in it who have so little regard to his Honour as not to love the place where his Honour dwelleth and where Praise waiteth for him as the Psalmist speaks in the place now named that is where his Glorious Majesty is extolled his wonderful Works are magnified his Benefits acknowledged and Psalms sung in Honour of him which is the greatest business of our solemn Assemblies For Men hear nothing more willingly than the Praises of their Parents There they delight to be and are never weary of their attendance there where the noble acts of their Ancestors are recited with Songs or Speeches in their Commendation And therefore with much more diligence should we run thither without ceasing where Men speak of the glorious Honour of his Majesty and of the wondrous Works of our Heavenly Father and declare the love of our Blessed Saviour making known his mighty Acts and the Glorious Majesty of his Kingdom uttering abundantly the Memory of his great Goodness and singing of his Righteousness Though alas Who can utter the mighty Acts of the Lord Who can shew forth all his Praise As the Psalmist speaks elsewhere His benefits towards us are immensely great and cannot worthily be praised by us But it is our Duty to do what we can that we may pursue what we ought And therefore if we have any respect to God let us say and sing again with
the Psalmist nay with our Saviour Christ as I have before observed I will declare thy Name unto my Brethren in the midst of the Congregation will I praise thee Ye that fear the Lord praise him all ye Seed of Jacob glorifie him and fear him all ye Seed of Israel My praise shall be of thee in the great Congregation I will pay my Vows before them that fear him Psal xxii 22 23 25. I will praise thee O God among the People I will sing unto thee among the Nations For thy Merey is great unto the Heavens and thy Truth unto the Clouds Psal lvii 9 10. Blessed are they that dwell in thy House they will be still praising thee Psal lxxxiv 4. The Dead praise not the Lord neither any that go down into silence But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore Praise the Lord. Psal cxv 17 18. Which last words teach us that this is a piece of publick Service we do to God in this World which we are uncapable to perform when we are gone from hence Then the time is past of honouring God among Men by decâ—â—ring the sense we have of his Greatness and speaking good of his Name Foâ— though the dead are not quite silent yet what they say or do signifies nothiâ—â— to us in this World where we muâ—â— serve God while we live or else noâ— at all Which is a new consideration to quicken us to this Duty and to silence all those Objections which are apt to rise in our hearts against it Yes may some say We like the thing you press but are against the way of doing it in this Church In which some are distasted at all Forms of Prayer and others at that Form wherein we Worship God and him alone Unto the first of these I have this to say That when there were no Forms of Prayer left in this Church they that destroyed them did not dayly hold publick Assemblies Nor do they now make it their constant practice Which gives us too much cause to think they have not such a sense as is to be wished of their necessity But to let that pass supposing some have and that they only dislike a Form of Prayer it is something strange that the same Arguments which make them think dayly publick Assemblies to be needful should not also reconcile them to a Form of Prayer Which was constantly used by the Ancient Jews in their Assemblies as hath been undeniably proved by many of our Writers and was prescribed by our Blessed Lord and Master who made his Prayer I have shown for the publick Service in which he joyned with the Jews when he was at the Temple in Jerusalem and when he was in the Country went to the Synagogues which the Chaldee Paraphrast calls Houses of Praise in Isa vii 19. And so did his Apostles who themselves used a constant Form of Praise For they rested not Day and Night saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come Rev. iv 8. This as I showed before was their continual Hymn which they offered to God and it appears by St. Paul's usual way of recommending the Churches to whom he wrote unto the Grace of God that they had their Forms of Prayer also For he himself constantly used these words The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all 2 Thess iii. 17 18. The same Power every Bishop had in his Church to compose Prayers for the necessities of it as we may gather from 1 Tim. ii 1 2. Which Exhortation is directed not to the people but to Timothy who was to take care to have all Men recommended unto God in the publick Offices by Prayers and Supplications with Intercessions and Thanksgivings for Kings especially and for all in Authority c. This could not be done orderly as all things were to be in the Christian Church without a set Form of Words which Timothy we may well think composed For those words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Prayers be made signifie as literally the Apostle would have Prayers and Supplications composed as that he would have them put up to God And I doubt not they signifie both First That they should be composed and then put up to God by the Church For you may observe further that the Apostles speak of this as their work Act. vi 4. where having bidden the Church look out some Men to be appointed to attend the business of providing for the poor they add but we will give our selves continually to Prayer and to the Ministry of the Word They made the Prayers where they were present as much as they ministred the Word Which is further manifest from hence that the Prayers of the Church of Jerusalem are called the Apostles Prayers Act. ii 42. And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers Observe here how all the faithful stedfastly continued in Prayers as well as hearing the Word And that they are First called Prayers in the Plural number not one but many Prayers and then that they are called the Apostles Prayers Prayers made by them For the word Apostles in the beginning belongs to all the three things that follow as well as to the first To the Apostles Fellowship and their breaking of Bread and their Prayers as well as to their Doctrine To be brief as John Baptist being a publick Minister sent of God taught his Disciples how to pray and our Blessed Lord taught his Apostles So his Apostles in like manner taught those whom they Converted according to the pattern Christ had left them and no question delivered the same power to those that should have the Supreme Guidance Direction and Government of the Church to compose Prayers suteable to Mens necessities in the several Nations where they lived and over whom they presided It may be thought indeed that the Extraordinary Gift they had in those dayes supplyed all But it is manifest both that every one had not that Extraordinary Gift of Prayer and that they also who had were to be so ordered and regulated in the exercise of it by the Governours of the Church that it might serve its Edification And nothing tended more to the Edification of the Church than that it should have a standing known Form of Prayers and Praises without which it could not be known how they Worshipped God and not depend merely upon that extraordinary Gift which was not constant but vouchsafed only on some special occasion according as God pleased to impart it Which is not said arbitrarily by me but it appears by a convincing Argument that this extraordinary Gift was not intended to serve the constant necessities of the Church but only some particular purposes for they who had it could not make others understand it and are therefore directed by the Apostle to pray they might be able to interpret that others might reap some benefit