testimony of the Person chosen And to that end 't is true the People were to be present at the nomination of a new Bishop for since they were to be Men blameless and of good report 't was but fit that the People that best knew his Life and Conversation should be present to testify the same And herewith agrees St. Cyprian Ep. 68. whom Mr. Baxter vouches for the contrary says he The Bishop shou'd be chosen in the presence of the People that by their presence their Faults may be publish'd or their good Actions commended but says not a word of the Peoples Power of Electing him All our Ordinations must be done in the publick view of the People who are demanded of the Bishop whether any of them can or will except against the Persons to be admitted See the Form of Ordination in the Book of Common Prayer As to the Elections of Deacons 't is to be noted that 't was properly no Church Power which they had but they were Stewards of the Common Stock and therefore 't was but reasonable the Community should be satisfied in the choice of them St. Chrysostom in his Book de Sacerdotio complains much of the unfitness of the People to judge in such matters So does St. Augustine Ep. 110. And indeed were there no other Reasons against the Peoples choosing their own Ministers but the mischiefs that would necessarily attend it 't were sufficient for when ever the People assum'd this Power of choosing it caus'd so great Disturbances in the Church that at Antioch the Divisions of the People about the choice of a Bishop in the time of Constantine had kindled such a Flame as had almost destroy'd both Church and City The like at Rome upon the choice of Damascus And if the People have the Power of choosing their own Ministers what shou'd hinder but there may be a Presbyterian Independant Anabaptist Quaker and Papist teacher all in one Parish and so this would set open a door to infinite Divisions And therefore to avoid the great Evils and inconveniences of popular Elections the Power of choosing their own Ministers was taken away from the People by several Councils as 12. and 13. Can. Conc. Laodicea Conc. Antioch c. 18. c. Conc. 2d of Nice c. 3. The Reason that first gave Lay-men a title to the nomination of Ministers was when Christian Princes and others had given large Endowments to the Church 't was thought but just that they should have the nomination of the Ministers for those Churches that they had built and indow'd And this was a Prerogative in the Kings of England ever since the first foundation of a Christian Church here and long before any freedom of Elections was pretended to See Stat. 25. Edw. 3. and the Case of the King 's Ecclesiastical Power in Lord Cook 's 8th Rep. and the Case of Praemunire in Sir John Davenant's Reports Case ult And this title of Patronage has been confirmed to Lay-men by several Councils as 1st Coun. of Orange Anno Dom. 441. 2d Counc of Arles Anno 452. 9th Counc of Toledo c. And this Right of presentation is not only us'd in England but in other reform'd Churches In Denmark the Archbishops and Bishops are appointed by the King so they are in Swedeland So in other Lutheran Churches the Superintendants are appointed by the several Princes and the Patrons present before Ordination The Synod of Dort hath a Salvo for the right of Patronage In France the Ministers are chosen by Ministers at Geneva by the Council of State who have Power likewise to depose them And Beza in his Ep. 83. declares against the Peoples choosing their Ministers as a thing without any ground in Scripture Grotius Ep. ad Boatslaer Ep. 62. p. 21. agrees herein How comes then our English Dissenters to make this a ground of Separation to wit The depriving the People of their Right of choosing their own Ministers when 't is evident they never had any such Right but when they got it by Usurpation And 't is contrary to the general practice of the Church in all Ages and even to the practice of other reform'd Churches at this day But besides the unwarrantableness of the Peoples choosing their Ministers and the great mischiefs that attend it by making the People run into Divisions and Factions 't is a thing very unreasonable in it self that such an ignorant proud unpeaceable sort of People as Mr. Baxter himself confesses in his Sacrilegiae Dissert p. 102. c. the ordinary sort of Christians to be should be made judges of their Ministers abilities and soundness of Doctrines who are most apt to revile the best and gravest Ministers as the same Mr. Baxter says himself in his Cure of Divis p. 393. Sure 't is more likely that the King and Parliament and the Governours of the Church shou'd provide able and fit Ministers for us than such sort of People as these unless any will be so ridiculous as to suppose that the Magistrates and Clergy are all bad men and the ignorant common People the only incouragers of Vertue They may say 't is as unreasonable on the other hand that all the People of a Parish shou'd be oblig'd to take a Minister put into the Cure by some young raw extravagant Heir that had the good Fortune to be born to an Estate to which the Advowson did belong but perhaps is as ignorant and unfit to judge of the abilities of a Minister as the meanest in the Parish To this I answer That though such ignorant Persons may sometimes have the right of Presentation yet they have not the Power of putting into the Cure any Minister they please for the Patron has only the right of presenting his Clerk who must be admitted and instituted by the Bishop before the Cure is said to be full and if the Bishop with the rest of his Clergy after examination had c. do think him any way unqualified for the Cure of Souls he may reject him and put the Patron to present another qualify'd for the Office which if he neglect to do within six Months from the time the Church became void he shall lose his presentation for that turn and the Bishop shall present So that the Patron it seems cannot put whom he will on the People for their Pastor but is bound to find Personam idoneam a fit Person And now before we pass from this matter let us see whether the Civil Magistrate has Power to silence Ministers or not Doubtless he has otherwise 't is impossible that any Kingdom should be safe for since the generality of the People are so apt to be led by their Spiritual Guides and take their Notions of Loyalty and Obedience from them 't is strange to imagine that Ministers shall be allow'd to Preach up Sedition Heresy or what Doctrine they please and it shall not be in the Power of the Magistrate to silence them But say our Dissenters we are
therefore they who differ in these Circumstances do not differ in the act of Worship but in the manner See the Harmony of Confessions where you will find what the Opinions of other Reformed Churches are concerning the Lawfulness and Usefulness of Ceremonies The latter Helvetian Confession saith That there are different Rites and Ceremonies found in the Churches let no Man judge hereby that the Churches dissent And the Confession of Bohemia hath Wherefore those Rites and those good Ceremonies ought only to be kept which among the People of Christ do Edifie therefore whether they be extent or brought in by the Bishops or by the Councils Ecclesiastical or by other Authors whatsoever the simpler sort are not to trouble themselves about that but must use them to that which is good And a little after Although our Men do not equally observe all Ceremonies with other Churches which is not a thing necessary to be done yet are they not so minded as to move any Dissentions for the cause of Ceremonies although they be not judged to be altogether necessary so that they be not found contrary to God's Word And the Augustine Confession has Some Men then may ask whether we would have this life of Man to be without Order without Ceremonies In no wise But we teach That the true Pastors in their Churches may Ordain Publick Rites or Ceremonies And Beza in his 24th Epist agrees herein as has been said before And Calvin in his Book of the True way of Reformation Ch. 16. says He would not contend about Ceremonies not only those which are for decency but those which are Symbolical Let all things be done decently and in order says the Scripture And St. Paul tell us 1 Cor. 14. 33. God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all the Churches of the Saints But to come home to our Dissenters Mr. Baxter in his Poor Man's Family Book p. 337. speaking of our publick Worship in our Parish Churches says In all the lawful Orders Gestures and Manners of behaviour in God's Worship affect not to differ from the rest but conform your self to the use of the Church for in the Church singularity is a Discord c. See Vines on the Sacrament to the same purpose p. 39. and many more Instances of this kind might be given but what has been said is sufficient to shew that such Ceremonies as serve for Order or Edification and are not directly contrary to God's Law are to be used according to the Opinion of all the Reformed Churches and most Eminent Men both at home and abroad Now How shall we know what Ceremonies are lawful and what not It is to be noted That the nature of Ceremonies is to be taken from the Doctrine which goes along with it and may be lawful and not lawful as that is If a Ceremony be made a substantial part of God's Worship and unalterable or be suppos'd so necessary as that the doing of it would be a thing meritorious or pleasing to God and the not doing of it sinful tho' there were no human Law which requir'd the doing of it Then it becomes sinful because it makes the Scriptures insufficient And this it was that made the Jewish Ceremony of washing before Meat sinful And so it is in many of the Ceremonies of the Church of Rome But when Ceremonies are injoin'd for the sake of Order and Uniformity in God's Worship according to the general Rules of the Scripture and to prevent the great Mischiefs which we should inevitably fall into if every Pastor and People were suffered to follow their several different judgments in the manner of God's Worship then they are lawful and good But say they If these Ceremonies do not bind the Consciences of Men Why does the Discipline and Censures of the Church force Men to use them I answer The Church does not oblige Men to the observance of these Ceremonies as things that bind the Conscience or which are necessary to be done or not done in themselves but the Reason why Men are forced to observe them and punish'd if they refuse is because they are appointed by the Church and disobedience to the Laws of Church or State made not contrary to the Law of God is sinful Rom. 13. 5. and 2. And for this they are punish'd and also for disturbing the publick Peace And thus we justify our bowing at the name of Jesus at seasonable times and all our Ceremonies since the Church has appointed them we ought to obey unless we can prove them to be sinful which no Man can do so long as the Worship is directed to a true Object to wit the Person of Christ As for the Ceremony of Bowing towards the Altar Note the Canon that appointed it did not oblige any to the observance of it but left them to their liberty As to the posture appointed by the Church of England for receiving the Lord's Supper to wit Kneeling 'T is a Circumstance which may be varied according to the Discretion of the Church In the Primitive Church it was always taken in the posture of Adoration which posture varied according to the Customs of Countries Now Kneeling being the posture of Adoration in these Kingdoms the Church of England has therefore appointed that it be taken kneeling And indeed 't is but very reasonable that so Sacred an Ordinance and so great a Benefit should be received in the most thankful and humble posture that may be and that surely is on our Knees which is also the fittest posture for those high strains of Devotion with which so Sacred a Work ought to be attended at the very instant of taking it The only Objection that I know is made against this posture of Kneeling at the Sacrament is because it is Idolatrous and contrary to Christ's own Practice 'T is strange that they will make us and the greatest part of the Reform'd Churches all Idolaters whether we will or no Does not our Book of Common Prayer at the end of the Communion Service tell them as plain as words can express it That we pay no Adoration to any thing in the Sacrament but Christ himself which is in Heaven and yet will they make us Idolaters for all this Has any of them ever writ so strong against Idolizing the Elements of Bread and Wine in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper as our Divines of the Church of England have done And yet will they perswade us we are Idolaters They may as well believe that we Worship the Stones in the Church-Walls when we kneel down to Pray in them And truly I fear many of them do so which makes them use that posture so seldom in their publick Meetings For you shall seldom see in any of their Meetings scarce one of the whole Congregation on their Knees not even at repeating the Lord's Prayer if it happen to be said which is not often Their usual postures of Praying in their publick Congregations are either
and recommended by Christ himself in the New And that both Forms of Prayer and Liturgies were Composed by the Fathers and appointed to be used in the Church ever since Christ's days And that even the most Eminent of our own Non-Conformists have heretofore declared their liking thereto And that all the Reformed Churches do use and approve of prescribed Forms in their publick Worship at this Day And lastly I will shew That our English Common-Prayer Book has been particularly Commended and Approved by the most Learned and Eminent Men of the Reformed Churches beyond Seas And when this is done if any will be so hardy as to affirm That Forms of Prayer are so Sinful as to cause a necessity of Separation he is incorrigible and not to be Convinced by Reasons First then Forms of Prayer c. were used by God's People in the time of the Old Testament for the Lord prescribed a Form of Blessing to Aaron saying On this wise ye shall bless the Children of Israel saying c. Numb vi 23. And again Deut. xxvi he prescribed a Form of Prayer which he commanded the People to use And the xxij Psalm is a Prayer which the People were commanded to sing or say every Morning so are several of the other Psalms Forms of Prayers as lxxxvi xc cij c. See Origen Cint Cels l. 4. p. 178. And here observe That the Dissenters will allow these Psalms to be Prayers and that they ought to be Sung to God yet they will not allow that a Man should Pray Singing For say they When they are Sung they are not Prayer See now what an absurdity they will run into rather than forsake their own Opinion For here they affirm That a Man may say the Words of Prayer to God devoutly and yet not pray Secondly Christ himself used a Form of Prayer though doubtless he had a power of praying Extempore much beyond what our Dissenters or any that ever was on Earth can pretend to when he was in the Garden a little before his Suffering he prayed twice or thrice in the same Words Matth. xxvi 44. Mark xiv 39. and that too at a time when he was in so great Extremity and Sorrow That he sweated drops of Blood and at such a time one usually prays after the most prevailing and fervent manner And to assure us that our Saviour thought Forms of Prayer very necessary to help our Infirmities we have not only his Example but his Precept for it too For our Saviour taught his Disciples a Form of Prayer Matth. vi 9. and bid them use it And the occasion of our Saviour's giving his Disciples this Form of Prayer was to obviate the inconveniencies which he saw did usually attend Extempore Prayers to wit the using Vain Repetitions c. which he tells them are not pleasing to God and therefore he first bids them beware of that and then immediately after he gives them a short and perfect Form of Prayer as the best way to prevent that evil Whether our Dissenters have not as much reason to use Forms of Prayer for that very reason as Christ's Disciples had let the World judge that hears their tedious extempore Prayers fill'd with as many vain Repetitions and bald and sometimes sensless Expressions as any of theirs But say the Dissenters When our Saviour taught his Disciples to pray he did not design that they should use any certain Form of Prayer For he bad them Luke 11. 2. When ye pray say thus and thus being an adverb of Similitude does shew that our Saviour did not intend they should use the same words but some other such like To this I answer In the 3d. chap. of Exod. v. 14 15. The Lord said unto Moses thus shalt thou say to the Children of Israel EHEIE hath sent me unto you And again the God of your Fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you Here Moses by this Rule must not say these words not EHEIE hath sent me unto you not the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you but the like And by the same reason the Scripture is not the very Word of God but the Words of the Prophets for all along when the Prophet says Thus saith the Lord they do not tell the very Words of God but the like From what has been said 't is evident that we have Scripture on our side both Old and New Testament for using prescribed Forms of Prayer We will in the next place enquire what Authority we have for it in the first and purest Ages of the Church First then That Forms of Prayer were us'd in the Church in the first Century I gather from Ignatius who was Bishop of Antioch Anno Dom. 99. in his Epist to those at Magnesia he bids 'em Do nothing without the Bishop and Presbyters nor to make tryal of things agreeable to their own private Fancy p. 34. And Socrates in his History l. 6. c. 8. says That Ignatius first brought the usage of singing alternately as we use in our Choirs into the Church of Antioch Photius affirms the same of him And Theodoret says Hist lib. 2. c. 24. That this Custom of singing alternately began at Antioch and was soon received all the World over In the second Century Tertull. de Orat. c. 1. and c. 9. tells us They us'd Forms of Prayer then in the African Church He calls the Lord's Prayer the lawful and ordinary Prayer and that the Christians daily repeated that very Form And he shews they sang Hymns c. then in the Church alternately as we do now Tertull. ad Vxor l. 2. p. 172. And Calvin in his Instit l. 4. c. 1. affirms the same That the Christians did use to repeat the Lord's Prayer daily and that they did it by Christ's Command How will our Dissenters reconcile this to their seldom or never using of it even on the Lord's Day every young Preacher yea and every perhaps drunken Cobler preferring their own rash and indeliberate Prayers before it In the third Century St. Cyprian who lived then affirms the same that the Lord's Prayer was us'd daily for says he The Father will know the words of his own Son see Cypr. de Orat. Dom. p. 309. And the same Cyprian in his Ep. 8. ad Cler. Pleb p. 24. says Christ commanded us to pray for all men in a common Prayer wherein all agreed It appears also that the Priest and People pray'd by way of Responses as when the Priest said Lift up your hearts the People answer'd We lift them up unto the Lord. See Cypr. de Orat. Dom. § 22. See more for this interchangable way of praying between Priest and People B. Bils of Christian Subjection part 4. p. 435. In the same Century Origen says They who served God through Jesus in the Christian way use frequently night and day the injoined Prayers See Orig. in
Cels l. 6 p. 302. And St. Basil in his Book de Spirit Sanct. c. 29. p. 221. tells us That Gregory Thaumaturgus who was his Predecessor in the Bishoprick of Neocaesarea and cotemporary with St. Cyprian composed a Liturgy and appointed Ceremonies for that Church And that too in an age when miraculous Gifts lasted In the beginning of the fourth Century Ann. Dom. 312. the first Christian Emperor Constantine as Eusebius tells us in his Life of Constantine lib. 4. c. 17. p. 395. order'd his Palace after the manner of a Church and would take the Books himself into his hands either for explaining the Holy Scripture or repeating the prescrib'd Prayers in his Royal Family In the same Century Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria shews us that the Priests and People pray'd by way of Responses in that Church for in his Epist to Solitar p. 239. he says The People mourned and groaned to God in the Church all of them crying to the Lord and saying Spare thy People good Lord spare them c. By which it seems the Church did not think it enough then for the People to say Amen but appointed them distinct and intelligent answers In the same Century the Council of Laodicea Can. 15. Bev. Tom. 1. p. 459. appointed Canonical Singers who sang out of Books and none but they were allow'd to begin the Hymns And the same Council Can. 18. Bev. Tom. 1. p. 461. Ordained that the very same Liturgy of Prayers should be used always both at three in the Afternoon and in the Evening And now because this Council is so plain evidence against the Dissenters that they have no way to answer it they fly again to their last refuge which is to deny the Authority of this Council for they say this Council of Laodicea was but a Provincial Synod or Council But tho' we grant 't was no more but a Provincial Synod yet I hope a Provincial Council of Orthodox Bishops were Good Authority But besides this very Canon concerning Liturgies was taken into the Code of the universal Church and confirmed by the Council of Chalcedon which was a general Council And that they us'd Forms of Prayer and Responses and Alternate way of Singing in the African Church appears by St. Cyprian before And by Optatus Malevianus l. 2. p. 47. for there he blames the Donatists for shutting the mouth of all the People and forcing them to be silent See also St. Augustine do Eccles Dog c. 30. Tom. 3. p. 46. Many more Instances and Authorities may be given to the same purpose as St. Basil Ep. 63. p. 843. and Ep. 68. p. 856. where he says That a Prayer wherein there are not conjoin'd voices is not half so strong as otherwise it would be Conc. Carthag Can. 106. Bev. Tom. 1. p. 640. But I will referr the Reader to Dr. Comber of Liturgies and Dr. Falkner his Defence of Liturgies Our Dissenters object against our alternate way of praying as in our Litany where the Priest says half the Sentence and the People the rest for that neither Priest nor People speak a complete Sentence and therefore our Prayer is imperfect and we do but mock God But by what has been said it appears that this praying by way of Responses was us'd in the purest Ages of the Church and by the Holiest Men. But pray Why may not the words make as perfect a Prayer when they are pronounced by two Mouths as when only by one Prayer is not the pronouncing of words but the joining the desire and consent thereto and this they may do as well when they are pronounced by several Mouths as by one They may as well say That when a Tune is play'd by a Consort of Musick and the Trebles rest and let the Tenors and Bases go on as sometimes they do that the Tune is not a compleat and perfect Tune for if you take either part singly it is not but altogether it is too great Advantage The Advantage of this way of Praying by Responses is That we can give our hearty Consent to each Petition after a more lively manner than by barely saying Amen And also by our frequent answering of whole Sentences our Fancies are the more stirr'd up and enliven'd by shaking off that dulness and drowsiness that otherwise would be apt to seize upon our Spirits in barely listening to one long continued Prayer And in the Primitive Church they had certain Prayers for certain Times and Occasions as Easter-Eve c. See Leo in Vit. Chrysost Tom. 8. p. 288. c. Thus much for the practice of the Primitive Church Now let us come a little nearer our own time and see what the Opinion of other Reformed Churches is concerning prescrib'd Forms of Prayers and Liturgies and this we do the rather because the Dissenters are perpetually calling upon us to reform our selves to the example of other Reform'd Churches Tho' I think under favour we of England have no more reason to follow the pattern of other Nations as to the Reforming and Governing of our Church than we have to do so in Matters of State since we have as absolute and independent Power of Reforming our selves as any of them and God be thank'd as able and godly Ministers both in Church and State to direct us therein They may as well quarrel with us because we do not depose our King and reduce our Government from that of a limited and mixt Monarchy to a Common-wealth like that of Geneva But since they insist so must upon this I will make it appear that the Church of England comes nearer to the judgment and practice of all the Reformed Churches in using prescribed Forms of Prayer than the Dissenters do in rejecting them I will begin with the Lutheran Churches which I shew'd before are acknowledged to be true Churches and which far exceed in number the Churches that follow Calvin's method Luther himself compos'd a Form of Common-Prayer for the Church of Wittemburg taken out of the Mass Book See Luther's Epist Tom. 2. p. 384. And all the Churches of his Communion at this day do use a Liturgy containing Collects Epistles Gospels for every Sunday Prayers and Litanies together with all other parts of Ecclesiastical Ministration as our Common-Prayer Book does and which agrees with ours almost verbatim especially in the Litany And these are impos'd on the Churches as particularly the Churches of Denmark and the Churches in Upper Hungary which are all Lutheran And the Lutheran Churches do chant their publick Prayers as we do in our Cathedrals And they observe Holy Days See all this proved at large from their own writers by Dr. Comber his Defence of Liturgies 2d Part p. 305 c. Next for the Churches of Poland and Lithuania in 2 Synods held there Ann. Dom. 1633. and 1634. one certain Liturgy is injoin'd to be us'd in all those Dominions Certain prescrib'd Liturgies are also us'd in Transilvania Hungary Bohemia c. See at large Dr. Comb. ubi
Supra and Monsieur Durell his View of the Government and publick Worship of God in the Reformed Churches beyond Seas Printed London 1662. Now for the Churches Reform'd by Calvin and others as Geneva France Helvetia Holland c. Calvin compos'd a Form of Divine Service which is us'd in the Church of Geneva and those of France at this day and their Ministers are bound to use them And see Calvin's Letter to the Protector of England during the Minority of King Ed. 6. the Protector at that time when the Common-Prayer Book was to be settled by Act of Parliament thought fit first to Advice with so Eminent a Man as Calvin was about it He writes to Calvin to know his Opinion therein Calvin returns him this answer For so much as concerns the Prayers and Ecclesiastical Rites I much approve that they be determined so that it may not be lawful for the Ministers to very from it that it may be a help to the weakness of some That it may be a Testimony of the Churches consent And that it may put a stop to the levity of such as are for new things See Calv. Ep. p. 165. Ep. 87. to the Protector And see his Letter to Cox a Church of England Divine upon his Arrival at Franckford among his Epistles 164 165. See Beza his Approbation of Forms of Prayer Tom. 2. p. 229. In the French Church Mornay Lord Du-Plessis in his Book of the Mass allows of the Use and Antiquity of prescribed Forms See at large Dr. Comber of Liturgies 2d Part p. 313. And see there the famous Monsieur Daille agreeing herewith In the Church of Helvetia Bullinger tells us they used prescribed Forms keep Fasts and Holy-Days c. Bulling Decod 2. Serm. 1. p. 38. The Churches of Holland use Forms of Prayer for Baptism the Lord's Supper and all occasional Offices and also Liturgies c. which are all put into a Book of common-Common-Prayer And even in Scotland they have had a Common-Prayer Book for there are some of them now extant which were Printed Ann. 1594. supposed to be writ by Mr. Knox for the use of the Kirk of Scotland See the latter end of Dr. Comber his Defence of Liturgies 2d Part. And the Leyden Professors say That Forms of Prayer are not only lawful but very advantageous because every Christian cannot fitly conceive new Prayers and the attention of Auditors are not a little help'd in great assemblies by usual Forms See Dr. Falkner his Libertas Ecclesiastica p. 121. Thus much for Forms of Prayer in general But some perhaps may object against our Common-Prayer in particular To clear that I think 't were sufficient to tell them that it has been approv'd of by all the learned and godly Divines of the Church of England ever since the Reformation and confirm'd by several Parliaments And it cannot reasonably be suppos'd that God Almighty shou'd conceal his will from the greatest number of the most learned pious and judicious People of a Nation notwithstanding their frequent Prayers to God that he would direct them and their great Care and Study which they take to come to the knowledge of the truth and reveal it only to a few and those of the rawer injudicious sort who have had least time and study and means to come to greater Knowledge such as our Dissenters generally are This alone were sufficient to recommend our particular Common-Prayer But since our Dissenters will not allow so many several Parliaments and so many Successions of Learned Divines to be competent judges in this matter we are willing to stand to the judgment of our Neighbour Churches of the Reformed Religion concerning our Common-Prayer and the other Matters in controversy between us In King Edward 6th his days Archbishop Cranmer did request the famous Bucer to peruse the whole Book of common-Common-Prayer in order to his censuring what he thought was to be amended Bucer accordingly did so and declares his judgment of it thus In the prescript Form for the Communion and the daily Prayers I see nothing written in this Book which is not taken out of the Word of God if not in express words as the Psalms and Lessons yet in sence as the Collects And also the order of these Lessons and Prayers and the time when they are to be used are very agreeable to the Word of God and the Practice of the ancient Church See Bucer's Censure upon the Book of common-Common-Prayer c. 1. p. 457. And note this was before the Common-Prayer was amended as now it is Some things 't is true Bucer did wish to be amended which has been since done and most of them according to his Advice there Next the Archbishop of Spalato in his Book against Suarez p. 340. says That the English Liturgy contains nothing in it which is not Holy which is not Pious and truly Christian as well as Catholick Causabon in his Epistle to King James the first affirms the same And says farther That none at this day comes nearer the Form of the Ancient Church following a middle way between those who have offended both in excess and defect The next Authority for us is the learned Grotius who 't is certain had no Obligation to the Church of England but rather the contrary He says I am sure the English Liturgy the Rite of laying on of Hands on Children in memory of Baptism the Authority of Bishops of Synods consiting of none but the Clergy c. do sufficiently agree to the Orders of the Ancient Church from which we cannot deny but we have departed both in France and Holland See Grotius ad Boatslaer Ep. 62. p. 21. The next is the famous Lud. Capellus who was a famous French Divine of the Reformed Church and Divinity Professor in a famous Protestant University This Man lived to hear of our Independent Sect in England and writ most Learnedly against ' em Says he When miraculous Gifts ceased there was a necessity for Liturgies which were used in the First IV. Ages uncorrupted but afterwards Corruptions were introduced by the following Popes But upon the Reformation the Liturgy was purged from all its Corruptions and has been happily used in the several Reform'd Churches and with good success until very lately says he there arose a sort of morose scrupulous not to say downright superstitious Men who for many trifling Reasons of no moment not only dislike the Liturgy hitherto used in that Church but would have both it and the whole Order of Bishops to be utterly abolished in place whereof they would substitute that which they call their Directory c. and so goes on And then he proves at large That Forms of Prayer are not only necessary for the unlearned but the learned also and shews the insufficiency of their Directory And how ridiculous it is to suppose That we have that extraordinary Gift of Prayer that they had in the Apostles days and some little time after 'T were too long to put it all down here
I will referr you to Dr. Comber's Defence of Liturgies II. Part pag. 325. and will go on to shew the Opinion of some of the most Eminent of our own Dissenters concerning our Common-Prayer Mr. Baxter in his Poor Man's Family Book pag. 336. says Do not peevishly pick quarrels with the Prayers of the Church nor come to them with humoursome prejudice c. And in his Preface to the same Book he says he mightily approves of Forms of Prayer See Dr. Owen to the same purpose his Evangelical Love pag. 54. And Mr. Baxter in his Dispute of Liturgies Prop. 10. says farther That the constant disuse of Forms is apt to breed a giddiness in Religion and may make Men Hypocrites who delude themselves with conceits that they delight in God when 't is but in those Novelties and variety of Expressions that they are delighted See also Gifford a Non-Conformist his Answer to Greenwood he writ a whole Treatise proving the lawfulness of read Prayer And now I have shew'd that Praying by Forms has been used by the Saints in the Old Testament enjoyned by Christ in the New practised by all the Holy Fathers and Devout Christians who lived ever since the first setling of the Church and is now allowed and practised in all the regular Protestant Churches and approved by some of the most Eminent of our own Dissenters Let any Man now in his right Reason judge whether praying by Forms be so wicked and abominable a thing as most of our Dissenters make it One of the Non-Conformist Ministers in a Book which he Publish'd not many Years since speaking of Forms of Prayer calls it That pitiful contemptible thing called Vniformity in Words and Syllables and Phrases which was never desired of God nor ever entered into his or his Son's heart Let the World judge now whether using Forms of Prayer c. be this pitiful contemptible thing they are pleased to make it or the Books that contain them deserve no better usage from Christians than to be burnt in the Streets by the Common Hangman In the days of Julian there was never any thing done more wicked than to burn the Holy Bible But even to that height are those who call themselves Christians arrived already in our Neighbouring Kingdom if these things be suffered what must we think will follow But the main Text of Scripture which our Dissenters rely on for to defend their Extempore Prayers is Rom. viij 26. where St. Paul says The Spirit helpeth your Infirmities and therefore they conclude they ought to use no outward helps But I have shew'd before That outward helps are to be used as Kneeling lifting up the Hands and Eyes c. So that 't is plain they mistake this Text of Scripture And 't is evident they do so for that all the Fathers and the most Eminent Men of the Church as Calvin Luther c. whenever they recommended the use of Liturgies they gave this Reason for it among others To prevent the inconveniences which some Mens folly would betray them to in their using rash and unpremeditated Prayers Now if the Spirit helpeth our Infirmities in the sence that our Dissenters will have it How come all these learned Men yea and Mr. Baxter himself c. to recommend Forms as necessary for the helping of our Infirmities and so make the Holy Spirit insufficient Shall we believe that all these learned Men did not understand the meaning of that Text so well as some of our Dissenters do 'T is very likely that St. Augustine and St. Chrysostom who liv'd nearer the Apostles days by above Twelve Hundred Years than any of our Non-conformists might have understood the Apostles meaning better than any of them Now let us hear what their sence was of these words of St. Paul We know not what to pray for as we ought but the Spirit helpeth our Infirmities St. Aug. ad Prob. Ep. 121. p. 129. will not grant that any Christians wanted the Spirit to help them with words and expressions For he says It is not credible that the Apostle or they to whom he wrote were ignorant of the Lord's Prayer And therefore they must necessarily have known what to have pyra'd for therefore these words The Spirit helpeth our Infirmities he tells us must be expounded of the Spirit 's giving us patience not to pray absolutely to be delivered out of our afflictions but in God's due time And St. Chrysostom in his Hom. 14. in 8. Rom. p. 120. says That there was a miraculous gift of Prayer in the Apostles days to which St. Paul alluded in those words The Spirit helpeth our Infirmities But he tells us there that 't was ceas'd long since that is before his days tho' he liv'd in the fourth Century so that whatever the Apostles meaning was then it can no ways be taken in the sence our Dissenters would have it nor does it condemn prescribed Forms now that that miraculous gift of Prayer is ceased But were there no other Argument against the use of extempore Prayers in publick Assemblies than the inconveniency of them 't were sufficient to reject them 'T is impossible that Order or Unity can be preserv'd in any Church where every Congregation hath liberty to Worship God in a different way from all the rest one Minister praying for one thing and another perhaps for the quite contrary at the same time according to their different judgments and interests as was usual in the late times when that extempore way was us'd Besides in great Congregations 't is impossible that all the People should keep their attention so well fixt on an extempore Prayer to which they are utter strangers as on a Prayer to which they have been accustom'd For how can they join with the Minister in every Petition as they ought to do till they have reflected a little upon what it was he said for when the Minister is left to his own Fancy in his Prayer 't is very like he may either through mistake or wilfully come out with some Petition that all his hearers cannot join with him in So that 't is necessary for every one of the Congregation to watch every expression and reflect a little on it before he consent to it In the mean time the eloquent Pastor to shew his extraordinary Gift of Prayer runs away with the business as if his Tongue was indeed the Pen of a ready writer Thus the poor People must either be left behind or join with him at random Another inconveniency which attends extempore Prayer is That 't is impossible for a Man who trusts to his own Memory to retain all his wants and the wants and necessities of the People so in his Mind but that something or other will very oft be forgotten which may be avoided by using of a well compos'd Form But again Can we reasonably imagine that God Almighty can be pleas'd with vain repetitions and with bald and unproper and too often nonsensical expressions such
join your self to that separated Church till you can prove that the hurt that will follow by discord offence division encouraging of Schisms and Pride c. is not likely to be greater than your benefit can compensate but if this separate Church be a factious Church set up contentiously against the Concordant Churches tho' on pretence of greater purity and if their Meetings be imploy'd in contemning and reviling other Churches whose People are not of their mind and in puffing up themselves with Pride as if they were the only true Churches of Christ avoid such separate Churches as the enemies of Love and Peace And again in the same Book p. 336. he bids us Not peevishly pick quarrels with the Prayers of the Church nor come to them with humorsome prejudice think not that you must stay away or go out of the Church for every passage that is disorderly unmeet yea or unsound or untrue for the words of Prayer are the work of Men and while all Men are fallible imperfect and sinful their Prayers and Preaching will be like themselves and he that is the highest pretender and the peevishest quarrelier hath his own failings c. So that if our Dissenters will allow their own Mr. Baxter to be a competent judge or any of the other learned Divines beforesaid they must own that neither the weakness of the Ministry nor better Edification is a sufficient cause for Separation But there is another thing say they which makes it necessary for us to separate from the Church of England and that is the Oaths and Subscriptions which they require from us What says Mr. Baxter to this Why Mr. Baxter in his Poor Man's Family Book p. 331. says If a Church in other respects sound require of you any false Subscriptions Promises or Oaths or any unlawful thing you must not do it but hold Communion in other lawful things It seems then he does not allow of Separation upon this account neither The Scruples which Men make to the Oaths and Declarations are grounded upon mistakes for that they But for the farther satisfying of such well meaning Persons as are scrupulous 't were much to be wish'd that these Oaths Subscriptions c. and the other things required by the Act of Uniformity were altered and explained by Act of Parliament according to the Bill drawn up by the Dean of St. Pauls which the Dissenters especially the Presbyterians are willing to agree to and have made the very same Proposals themselves in their Answer to Dr. Stillingfleet ' s Sermon at the latter end Vide. take the words in a strained and unnatural Sence Whereas if they would remember what the famous Bishop Sanderson tells us De Juran Praelect 6. sect 12. p. 177. And what all learned Men do agree in to wit That in every Oath all those Conditions or Exceptions ought to be understood which by right or common use are implied in it viz. as far as I can ' and 't is lawful for me things remaining in the same state c. With these Conditions there is nothing in these Oaths or Subscriptions that can reasonably be scrupled and without them 't is impossible to frame an Oath that a Man can safely venter to swear to Besides though these Subscriptions were sufficient cause for Separation how can the Lay People justifie their Separation upon this account No such Oaths or Subscriptions are required of them they are only required from the Ministers Why then do the People forsake the Church Is it in reverence to the Ministers least they should have none to Preach to This is what they never could answer with any colour of Reason and therefore many of the Non-Conformist Ministers do frequently in discourse fairly and honestly own that the Terms of Lay-Communion with the Church of England are easy enough but the only thing they stick at is the terms of Ministerial Communion The only Answer that ever I heard made to this is in a Book call'd An Answer to Dr. Stillingfleet ' s Sermon by some Non-Conformists pag. 6. They tell us That they must not justifie themselves in their Preaching and leave the People in Schism I must needs say this was kindly done of them for 't were very unfriendly in them to draw the poor silly People into Schism and when they have done to slip their own Necks out of the collar and leave the People in the lurch and therefore they quickly find an Answer to stop their Mouths whom they knew would never examine it Say they we are Ministers of Christ and have a Commission to Preach and therefore the People may lawfully forsake the Church to hear us for we must not Preach to the Stone Walls But pray will this Reason justifie the People in leaving their Parish Church and their own lawful Minister to run after a stranger for fear he should want a Congregation to Preach to If the King should give a Gentleman a Commission to raise a Regiment does this oblige Men that have formerly Listed themselves under other Officers to leave their Service and follow him No sure There are in the Two Universities many Hundred young Men that are qualified for the Ministry perhaps as well as most of the Non-Conformist Ministers and are not yet called to the Office nor provided with Churches suppose all these now were admitted into Orders and scatter'd all over the Kingdom are the People obliged to run away from their lawful Minister orderly set over them and divide the Parishes each perhaps into Three or Four to furnish all these new made Ministers with Congregations to Preach to An excellent contrivance this of our Reverend Non-Conformist Ministers to entail the Church Revenue upon them and their Successors for ever without being beholding to King Bishop or Patron and without any possibility of ever being cut off or forfeited all the Lawyers in England could not have devised so good a security for them as they have subtlely done here for themselves They may Preach what Doctrine they please for the Government or against it they have a Commission to Preach and the People are therefore bound they say to hear them For Preaching and Hearing they say are Relatives and the one does necessarily suppose the other 'T is true indeed actual Preaching supposes Hearing so do actual Governours necessarily suppose a People to be Govern'd But a Commission to Govern does not necessarily suppose a People actually to be Govern'd for there may be Governours appointed and made though there be then no People for them to Govern as was resolved by all the Judges of England in the Case of Sutton's Hospital Co. Rep. 10. fol. 32. a. So their Commission to Preach does not necessarily draw with it People to be preached to but only warrants their Preaching where 't is really wanted and when they can have People to Preach to without injuring others or disturbing the Peace of a settled true Christian Church But to say no more in a matter