revive these means of regaining the purity and exemplary lives of all its members when God by restoring our Peace shall open a door for it Sect. 42 12. For the Sclemnities of Buriall as they are certainly uselesse to them who are dead so are they not designed by us but to the benefit of the living in Lessons and Prayers upon those occasions as also for the freeing us from the imputation of rudenesse and uncivility which Christianity teaches no body to those bodies which shall have their parts in the resurrection and to their memories which the obligation of kindred friendship at least the common band of Christianity make precious to us and that it should be necessary and tend to edification not to pray such seasonable Prayers hear and impresse upon our hearts such seasonable Lessons at a time when they are exemplified before our eyes and our hearts being softned with mourning are become more malleable to perform such laudable Christian Civilities onely for fear we should not pray but be thought to pray to or for them over whom or near whose hearse or by or toward whom we thus pray which that we do not our Prayers that then we use are ready to testifie is another unreasonable able to evidence the power of prejudice and faction to any that is not sufficiently convinced of it Sect. 43 13. For that of thanksgiving after Childbirth as it may be acknowledged to be taken up in proportion to or imitation of Purification among the Jews so is it not thereby lyable to any charge of evil For herein is a marvellous mistake among men to think that because the continuing of circumcision was so forbidden by S. Paul Gal. 5. 2. therefore it should be unlawfull for any Christian church to institute any usage which had ever been commanded the Jews For the reasons which made the retaining of circumcision so dangerous will not be of any force against other customes of the Jews as 1. that it was prest by the Judaizing Christians as necessary to justification Gal. 5. 4. which is in effect the disclaiming of Christ or of any profit v. 2. or effect v. 4. by him a falling from grace renouncing the Gospel 2. That it was contrary to that liberty or manumission from the Judaicall Law which Christ had purchased v. 13. to have circumcision imposed as a law of Gods still obligatory when Christ by his death hath cancelled it 3. That some carnall professots which thought by this means to escape the opposition and persecution which then followed the doctrine of Christ and profession of Christianity did much boast that they put themselves and their Disciples in a course to void the crosse c. 6. 12. which is the meaning of that v. 13. that they may glory in your flesh i. e. in your being circumcised as that is by Saint Paul opposed to glorying in the Crosse v. 14. i. e. the persecution that followed profession of the Gospel as c. 5. 11. he mentions it as the onely reason of his being persecuted that he would not Preach Circumcision agreeable to which is that of Ignatius in Ep. ad Magnes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. If we till now live according to the Law of the Jews circumcision of the flesh we deny that we have received grace for the divinest Prophets lived according to Jesus Christ and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for doing so were persecuted which they that desired to avoid and therefore would be circumcised or Preach circumcision those are the men S. Paul so quarrels with as those that would not suffer for Christs sake that were not much in love with that Crosse of his To which a fourth reason may also be added that many of the Ceremonies of the Law did presignifie the future Messias and the teaching the necessity of such observances as nor yet abolisht is the professing Christ not to be the Messias All which notwithstanding it still remains very possible that a rite formerly commanded the Jews not as significative of the future Messias but as decent in the worship of God without any depending on it for justisication without any opinion that the Jewish Law obliges us without any fear of being persecuted by the Jews or consequent compliance with them may now be prescribed by the Christian Church meerly as a humane institution judging that decent or usefull new which was so then in this case if nothing else can be objected against it save onely that God once thought fit to prescribe it to his own People there will be little fear of danger in or fault to be found with any such usage For it is an ordinary observation which Paulus Fagius in his Notes on the Targum a most learned Protestant first suggested to me that many of the Jewish Ceremonies were imitated by Christ himself under the Gospel I might shew it you in the Apostles who were answerable to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the missi or messengers among the Jews and were by Christ our High-Priest sent abroad to all Nations to bring in that peculium which of all others he counted most his due having paid so dear for it sinners to their Saviour as they were among the Jews sent by the High-Priest to ferch in the dues to the Temple So also the imposition of hands a form of benediction among the Jews as ancient as Jacob himself Gen. 48. 14. In blessing Josephs sonnes and is often used by Christ to that same purpose And even the two Sacraments are of this nature Baptisme related to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 washings used by them at the initiating or admitting of Proselytes Christs taking bread giving thanks c. after Supper wherein the other Sacrament was first instituted was directly the postcoenium among the Jews not a peculiar part of the Passeover Feast but a Ceremony after all Feasts very usuall among them So the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the Assemblies civill or facred among the Jews is made use of to signifie the Christian Church which Christ was to gather together So the Lords day one day in seven proportionably to their Sabbath So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Elders among the Jews are brought by the Apostler to signifie an Order in the Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Colleges of many of them together called by Ignatius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sacred Societies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Counsellers Assistants of the Bishops his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Ep. ad Trall are parallel to the Sanbedrim or Councell of Elders that were joyned to Moses in his government to facilitate the burthen to him The same may be said of the Deacons which were an imitation of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Treasurer or Steward among them consequently the place where the goods which they were to distribute were kept is parallel to their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the treasury so the Bishop also saith Grotius is a transcript of
the last yeer was in any reason to be accounted prooemicall and preparatory to some farther degree of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or disorder and to be attended by the abolltion of the Liturgy in the beginning of this new yeer Episcopacy and Liturgie being like the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Aegyptians this Daughter to attend that Mother as among the Barbarians when their Prince died some of the noblest were constantly to beare him company out of the World not to mourn for but to die with him A thing that the People of this Kingdom could never have been imagined lowe or servile enough to beare or endure I am sure within few yeers they that sate at the stern of action conceived so and therefore were fain by Declaration to disavow all such intentioÌ„n of violence till by such other assayes and practises and experiments they were found to be satis ad servitutem parati sufficiently prepared for any thing that was servile almost uncapable of the benefit or relief of a Jubilee like the slave in Exodus that would not go out free but required to be bored thorow the eare by his Master to be a slave for ever Sect. 7 Sixtly That it is one profest act of Gods secret wisdom to make such trials as this of mens fidelity and sence and acknowledgement of his so long indulged favours to see who will sincerely mourn for the departing of the glory from Israel whether there be not some that with the Captive Trojan Woman in Homer who wept so passionately at the fall of Patrocluâ— but made that publick losse the season to prowre out their private grifes are sensible of those sufferings of the Church onely wherein their interests are involved and more neerly concerned whether not some that count the invasion of the Revenues of the Church a Sacriledge a calamity and unparallell'd but think the abolition of the Liturgie unconsiderable a veniall sin and misery whether that wherein Gods glory is joyned with any secular interest of our own that which makes the separation betwixt Christ and Mammon may be allowed any expression of our passion or zeal i. e. in effect whether we powre out one drop for Christ in all this deluge of tears or whether like uncompounded selflovers whose onely centre and principle of motion is ourselves we have passion to no spectacle but what the looking glasse presents to us with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 making God the pretâ—nce and apology for that kindness which is paid and powered 〈◊〉 â—nto another shrine For of this there is no doubt that of â—ll the changes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 designed and offered to authority there is none for which flesh and blood passions and interests of men can allow to â—ree a sufâ—rage so regertlesse a consent as this of the abolition of the Liturgie The sâ—uggishnesse of ungifted men the onely thing that is affirmed to be concerned in or to gaine by it is perfectly mistaken as shall a non appear and were there not a God in Heaven the care of whose honour obliged us to endeavour the preservation of it were not a future growth of Atheisme and Prophanenesse the feared consequent of such abolition and notorious experience ready to avow the justnesse of this feare I have reason to be confident that no Advocate would offer Libell no Disputer put in exception against this present Directory I am privy to my own sence that I should not I have rather reason to impute it to my selfe that the want of any such carnall motive to stir me up to this defence might be the cause that I so long deferr'd to undertake it and perhaps should have done so longer if any man else had appear'd in that argument And therefore unlesse it be strange for men when there be so many tempters abroad to be permitted to temptations sure Gods yeilding to this act of the importunity of Satan who hath desired in this new way to explore many will not be strange neither Sect. 8 Lastly that our so long abuse of this so continued a mercy our want of diligence in assembling our selves together the too ordinarie fault of too many of the best of us our generall scandalous unexcusable disobedience to the commands of our Church which requires that service to be used constantly in publike every day the vanity of prurient tongues and itching eares which are still thirsting news and variety but above all the want of ardor and fervency in the performance of this prescribed service the admitting of all secular company I meane worldly thoughts into its presence preferring all secular businesse before it the generall irreverence and indifference in the celebrations may well be thought to have incouraged Satan to his expetivit to the preferring his petition to God and his importunity at length to have provoked God to deliver up our Liturgy to him and his ministers to oppose and maligne to calumniate and defame and at last to gaine the countenance of an Ordinance to condemne and execute it as at this day The Lord be mercifull to them that have yeilded to be instrumentall to that great destroyer in this businesse Sect. 9 I have thus far laboured to presse home that part of St. Peters exhortation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to think the calamity strange which hath befallen this Church in this matter on no other purpose but to discharge that duty which we owe to Gods secret providence of observing the visible worke of it that discerning our selves to be under his afflicting hand we may I. Joyn in the use of all probable means to remove so sad a pressure by humbling our selves and reforming those sins which have fitted us for this captivity then 2. that we may compassionate and pardon and blesse and pray for those whose hands have been used in the execution of this vengeance and reproach upon the land and Lastly That we may endeavour if it be possible to disabuse and rectifie those who are capable by more light of safer resolutions To which purpose these following animadversions being design'd in the bowels of compassion to my infatuated Countrey-men and out of a sincere single desire that our sins may have some end or allay though our miseries have not and therefore framed in such a manner as I conceived might prove most usefull by being most proportionable to them who stood most in need of them without any oblation provided for any other shrine any civility for the more curious Reader are here offered to thee to be dealt with as thou desirest to be treated at that last dreadfull tribunall which sure then will be with acceptation of pardon and with that Charity the but just return to that which mixt this antidote for thee which will cover a multitude of sins CHAP. I. IN the Ordinance prefixt to the Directory being almost wholly made up of forms of Repeal there are onely two things worthy of any stay or consideration Sect. 1 1. The motives upon which the
Houses of Parliament have been inclined to think it necessary to abolish the Book of Common-Prayer and establish the Directory and those are specified to be three First the consideration of the manifold inconveniences that have risen by the Book in this Kingdom 2. The resolution according to their Covenant to reform Religion according to the word of God and the best reformed Churches 3. Their having consulted with the Learned and Pious and Reverend Divines to that purpose from whence they conclude it necessary to abolish the Book Sect. 2 To this conclusion inferr'd upon these premises I shall confidently make this return 1. That the conclusion is as illogicall as any that any Assembly of wise men have ever acknowledged themselves to be guilty of no one of the three Motives being severally of strength to bear such a superstructure and therefore all together being as unfufficient for if the conclusion were onely of the prudence or expedience of taking it away somewhat might be pretended for that inference from the premises supposing them true But when 't is of necessity and that twise repeated and so not casually fallen from them there must then be somewhat of precept divine in the premises to induce that necessity or else it will never be induced for I shall suppose it granted by them with whom I now dispute that nothing is necessary in the worship of God but what God hath prescribed the necessity of precept being the onely one that can have place in this matter and the necessitas medii being most improper to be here pleaded But that there is no such direct precept so much as pretended to by those three motives it is clear and as clear that all together do not amount to an interpretative precept For that a lawfull thing though prest with manifold inconveniences should be removed is no where commanded the lawfull Magistrate but left to his prudence to judge whether there be not conveniences on the other side which may counterballance those inconveniences much lesse is it commanded the inferiour Courts in despight of King and standing Law For what ever of expedience and so of prudence might be supposed to interpose that may be sufficient to incline a Wise Magistrate to make a Law but not any else either to â—surp the power of a Law-maker or to do any thing contrary to establish'd Laws there being nothing that can justifie the least disobedience of Subjects to their Prince or the Laws of the Kingdom but that obligation to that one superiour Law of that higher Prince our Father which is in heaven which being supposed 't is not all the resolutions and Covenants in the world that can make it lawfull for any so to disobey much lesse necessary any more then the saying Corban in the Gospel iâ—e pretending a vow will free the Childe from the obligation of honouring or relieving his Father or then Herod's vow made it lawfull to cut off the head of John the Baptist and then how far the consultation with those Divines may induce that necessity will upon the same ground also be manifest to any especially that shall remember with what caution that Assembly was by the Houses admitted to consult and with what restraints on them and professions that they were call'd onely to be advisers when they were required but not to conclude any thing either by a generall concurrence or by that of a Major part any farther then the reasons which they should offer them might preuail with them to which purpose it was so ordered that if any one man dissented from the rest of their Divines his opinion and reasons were as much to be represented to the Houses as that other of the rest of the Assembly Sect. 3 By this I conceive it appears that I have not quarrell'd causelesly with the Logick of this conclusion the premises pretending at most but motives of expedience and so as unable to infer a necessity as a Topicall argument is to demonstrate or a particular to induce an universall That which I would in charity guesse of this matter as the cause of this mistake is my not groundlesse suspicion that when the Presbyterians had prepared the premises the Independents framed the conclusion the former of these joyning at last with the other in a resolution of taking away the Book but onely on prudentiall considerations not out of Conscience of the unlawfulnesse and proportionably setting down those reasons but prudentiall reasons and the latter though restrained from putting conscience into the premises yet stealing it secretly into the conclusion and so each deceiving and being deceived by each-other I am not sure that my conjecture is right in this particular yet have I a reason to insert it I Because I find in many places of the Directory certain footsteps of this kind of composition and complyance and mixture of those so distant sorts of Reformers 2. Because the Presbyterians which have formerly appeared both in other and in this Kingdom whose copy these present reformers of that party have transcribed have constantly avowed the lawfulnesse of Liturgy and so cannot affirm any necessity of abolishing witnesse Calvin himself whom we shall anon have occasion to produce and the practice of the Church of Geneva and neerer to our selves witnesse those foure classes which in Q. Elizabeths dayes had set themselves up in this Kingdom These had made complaint to the Lord Burleigh against our Liturgy and entertained hopes of obtaining his favour in that businesse about the yeer 1585. he demanded of them whether they desired the taking away of all Liturgy they answered no he then required them to make a better such as they would desire to have setled in the stead of this The first Classis did accordingly frame a new one somewhat according to the Geneva form But this the second Classis disliked and altered in 600 particulars that again had the fate to be quarrell'd by the third Classis and what the third resolved on by the fourth and the dissenting of those Brethren as the Division of tongues at Babel was a fair means to keep that Tower then from advancing any higher Nay even for our neighbours of Scotland themselves what ever some of them of late have thought fit to do since they became Covenanteers in animosity perhaps and opposition to that terrible mormo the Liturgy sent to them from hence we know that they were Presbyterians formerly without seeing any necessity of abolishing Liturgy Sect. 4 'T is no news to tell you that Mr Knox wrote a Liturgy wherein there is frequent mention of the dayes of Common Prayer and among many other particulars these ensuing worthy your remark 1. Plain undisguised confessions of such faults which this age though as notoriously guilty of as they will not put into publick forms or leave upon record against themselves as That for the pleasure and defence of the French they had violated their Faith oft breaking the leagues of unity and
on the will of the Speaker which perhaps he understandeth not and never knows what they are till they are delivered nor whether they be fit for him to joyn in or in plainer words whether a man be likely to pray and ask most fervently he knows not what or that which he knows and comes on purpose to pray For sure the quickning and enlivening of the Spirit is not so perfectly miracle as to exclude all use of reason or understanding to prepare for a capacity of it for then there had been no need to have turn'd the Latine Service out of the Church the Spirit would have quickned those Prayers also CHAP. III. HAving thus past through the Ordinance and the Preface and in the view of the Ordinance stated and setled aright the comparison betwixt the Liturgie and the Directory and demonstrated the no-necessity but plain unreasonablenesse of the change and so by the way insisted on most of the defects of the Directory which are the speciall matter of accusation we prosesse to find in it I shall account it a Superfluous importunity to proceed to a review of the whole body of it which makes up the bulk of that Book but instead of insisting on the faults and infirm parts of it such are the prohibition of adoration toward any place p. 10. that is of all adoration while we have bodies about us for that must be toward some place the interdicting of all parts of 〈◊〉 â—â—ochryphal Books p. 12. which yet the Ancient Church avowed to be read for the directing of manners though not as rule of Faith the frequent motion of the Covenant in the directions for Prayer once as a speciall mercy of God p. 17. which is the greatest curse could befall this Kingdome and a great occasion if not Authour of all the rest which are now upon it then as a means of a strict and religious Vnion p. 21. which is rather an engagement of an irreligious War then as a precious band that men must pray that it never be broken p. 21. which is in effect to pray that they may never repent but continue in Rebellion for ever Then as a mercy again p. 37. as if this Covenant were the greatest treasure we ever enjoyed Then the praying for the Armies by Land and Sea p. 38. with that addition for the defence of King Parliament and Kingdome as resolving now to put that cheat upon God himself which they have used to their Fellow Subjects that of fighting against the King for the defence of him Beloved be not deceived God is not mocked Then affirming that the Fonts were superstitiously placed in time of Popery therefore the Child must now be baptized in some other place p. 40. while yet they shew not any ground of that accusation nor ever will be able to do Then that the customs of kneeling praying by towards the dead is superstitious p. 73. which literally it were Superstitum cultus if it were praying to them but now is far enough from that guilt And lastly that the Lords day is commanded in the Scripture to be kept holy p 85. the sanctification of which we acknowledge to be grounded in the Scripture and instituted by the Apostles but not commanded in the Scripture by any revealed precept The first that we meet with to this purpose is that of Ignatius Epist ad Magnes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us therefore Sabbatize no longer Let every Christian celebrate the Lords day which saying of an Apostolick writer being added to the mention of the Lords day in the New Testament is a great argument of the Apostolick institution of that day which the universall practice of the Church ever since doth sufficiently confirm unto us and we are content and satisfied with that authority although it doth not offer to shew us any command in the Scripture for it And then you may please to observe that the same Ignatius within a page before that place foreciting for the observing of the Lords day hath a command for Common Prayer and I conceive for some set Form I shall give you the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let all meet together to the same whether action or place in Prayer Let there be one Common Prayer one mind c. and Cleâ—â— Alex. to the same purpose the Altar which we have here on Earth is the company of those that dedicate themselves to Prayers as having 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a common voice and one mind which cannot well be unlesse there be some common Form by all agreed on Instead I say of pressing these or the like frailties upon this work which will argue the Composers of it to be men and fallible I shall rather desire to expresse and evidence my charity and my endeavour to read it without any prejudice by adding my opinion that there be some things said in it by way of direction for the matter of Prayer and course of Preaching which agree with wholsome doctrine and may tend to edification and I shall not rob those of that approbation which is due to them nor conceive our Cause to need such pâ—evish means to sustain it Being not thereby obliged to quarrel at the Directory absolutely as a Book but onely as it supplants the Liturgie which if it had a thousand more excellencies in it then it hath it would not be fit to do And being willing to give others an example of peaceablenesse and of a resolution to make no more quarrels then are necessary and therefore contributing my part of the endeavour to conclude this one assoon as is possible And the rather because it is in a matter which if without detriment to the Church and the Souls of men the Book might be universally received and so the experiment could be made would I am confident within very few years assoon as the pleasure of the change and the novelty were over prove it 's own largest confutation confesse it 's own wants faults and so all but mad men see the errour and require the restitution of Liturgie again This I speak upon a serious observation and pondering of the tempers of men and the so mutable habits of their minds which as they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 easily changed from good to evil so are they which is the difference of men from lapâ—st Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 easily reduced also to their former state again when reason comes to them in the cool of the day when the heat of the kindnesse is past and a saâ—iety hastning in its stead or if it prove not so well yet falling from one change to another never coming to stability How possible this may prove in this particular I shall now evidence no farther then by the parallel vehement dislikes that the Presbyteriall Government hath already met with among other of our reforming Spirits very liberally exprest in many Pamphlets which we have lately received from London but in none more