Religion requiring both heart and mouth the reasonableness of our service consisting in their Harmony the practice of the Lords people in all Ages the frequent examples every where in Scripture the experience of every serious Soul yea the common reason of all men redargue the gross absurdity of such a perswasion Were David's Thanksgiving 1 Chron. 29. 10. Solomon's Prayer 1 King 8. 23. and Iâ—hosaphat's Supplication 2 Chron. 20. 5. all without Book or set-Set-form only extemporary heats Are the praying Psalmes with all the exercises of the Lord Servants in the Nynths of Ezrah Nehemiah and Daniel and in other places clearly flowing as the Spirit gave utterance without any taught frame of words frisking fits of the Fancy Was our Lords Prayer Ioh. 17. only a sensible servour 〈◊〉 Sir I would rather suppose that although your airy discourse hath wildly seduced your observation yet your heart abhorres such impiety I will not therefore insist on the advantage which this your laxe inadvertencie so fairely offereth nor shall I content my self with this obvious retortion that where one instance can be given of conceived Prayer only managed by Fancie and subsisting in its vain exercise thousands may be found of persons through the practice and custome of Set-forms habituate to a most lifeless and superstitious mummery more suteable to the worshiping of stockes and stones then to the service of the true and living God Nor lastly will I vex you by shewing that the distinction which you make of praying by the Spirit and by words is so impertinently by you applied to our present purpose that though you endeavour thereby to impugne extemporariness multiplicity and variety of words in Prayer yet it plainly concludes all words to be superfluous for seing that in opposition to the spiritual worship of God which we contend for you tell us that we may pray by the Spirit use we words or not and that spiritual devotion is a still inward thing Is it not evident that all outward Forms whether set or extemporarie are thereby rejected But freely waving these your lapses that I may come more closely to the present purpose it is to be considered that the right and true worship of God is certainly inward in the minde will and affections God who demandeth the heart doth thence expect that tribute of reverence love fear acknowledgement and praise which in his sight is acceptable and all other outward performances as they ought to be the sincere expressions and significations of this internal devotion so they are wholly and only regulable by the prescriptions of Divine appointment If this truth were as seriously heeded as I am perswaded it is fixed and constant both by you and me our controversie would soon be ended The Question then is not concerning the life and truth of internal Prayer wherein without doubt the spirituality of that exercise doth principally consist but seing that you and we are agreed that God whom we serve is to be worshiped in Spirit and in Truth the debate is anent the manner how this worship specially when Publick is to be performed Whether in set and imposed Forms or as the Spirit giveth utterance Or if for preventing mistakes you please to take it at greater length whether it be lawful for men to compose and impose Set forms for Prayer and Worship and thereto to astrict the People of God in their performances Or whether it be more agreeable to the will and service of God that prayer and worship which are to be performed inwardly in the liberty and truth of the Spirit and understanding in their outward expression be left to be managed by the free and sanctified use of the rational faculty for that end given and in many observably gifted By which state as you may easily perceive that I do allow not only the antecedent improvement of the expressive power by all warrantable aides and advantages but also the free using upon occasion of such words as others have formerly either dictated or made use of Nay even in so ne cases of several of you Set forms both which I conceive are very consistent with praying by the Spirit either as by you or by us defined So the precise point controverted and to which I would have you all along to advert is anent the imposing and astricting which I plainly judge to be both destitute of Divine warrant and contrary to the liberty of spiritual devotion and so repugnant in both qualities to that Worship in Spirit and Truth which only is acceptable But before I proceed to a confirmation there occurre some mistakes to be removed one is of some of your way who defining praying by the Spirit the uttering of such petitions as are immediatly suggested both matter and words by the Holy Ghost hold it for a Gift proper to the Apostles and their times and now ceased thus the English Debater and your own headless allegeance that extemporarie Prayer cannot be called praying by the Spirit unless we also call it infallible doth also coincide But seing by your description above mentioned you do allow of praying by the Spirit as not yet ceased and do thereby very justly understand rather the Grace then the Gift of Prayer although even the Gift where it is as it may be without the Grace may also have the name of praying by the Spirit and seing that both the Debater and you I suppose would be offended if any should affirme that no man using the Service-book-forms could pray by the Spirit I only add that as the Spirit is the great promise of the Gospel its Grace the life and its Gifts the strength of all Christian duties so praying by or in the Spirit can no more be impugned for want of infallibility then any other good work of the same Spirit in us denied for want of perfection But who would not pitie two Doctors of the Church either so disingenuous or unable as not to distinguish betwixt the Spirits ordinary measures and extraordinary assistances The next mistake is that reflecting upon the greater exactness of phrase attainable in a Set-form above what can be expected in an extemporarie work and commending the propriety conciâ—neness and gravity that may be in the former in respect of that rudeness incohesion and levity supposed to be incident to the latter you exaggerate the comparison as if the whole stress of the debate did ly in this point whereas he that duely considereth will not only finde your Forms at best to be but humane and imperfect and that the Gift of Prayer promised if duely improved in and with the exercise of the Grace is farre more likely to furnish sound savory and acceptable words then these jejune and lifeless composures for framing and enjoining whereof men have no promise of the Lords assistance And lastly that the whole word of God and the excellent patterns therein recorded with many other helps are at hand and allowed by us by way of Directory but he must
75 DIAL III. PResbytery and Prelacy how falsly said to be only mere distinguishing names 78 The present looseness most unjustly charged upon Non-Conformists 79 Unanswerable arguments against Episcopacie 84 Whether this Title of Lord be due to Bishops 85 That Scripture 1. Pet 5. 3. cleared from the false Glosses of Adversaries 87 c. The Ius Divinum that Presbyterians plead for together with these things that do fairly exhibite the Platform of Presbyterian Government 90 c. Of Lay-Elders 96 c. Of Deacons 99 Of Diaconesses 102 Of Evangelists 103 Of the Classical Subordination of Sessions to Presbyteries c. 104 Of Discipline and whether the Penitence of Lent the Table altar-wayes and officiating in a surplice may be as lawfully appointed by the Church as the circumstances of publick repentance to wit so many dayes a place of repentance and the use of Sackcloath for scandalous persons 109 c. Of the decree of the first Council at Ierusalem 113 Of the washing of Feet where you have the Conformist's design of resolving the necessity of Sacraments into the arbitrement of the Church discovered 115 c. Anointing the sick with oyl why not used by N. C. 117 Of the change of the Sabbath 119 Whether the Scriptures contain direct Rules for the Churches Policy which is wholly Ecclesiastick 121 Of the Kingdom of Christ how the Officers Laws Censures and Order of his House are by himself established 126 c. Whether the Angels of the Churches assoord any ground for Bishops 144 The plea of Antiquity for Bishops together with a short delineation of the rise progress and product of Prelacy in the first Churches 144 c. DIAL IIII. SUbmission to and complyance with the present Prelatick Government cannot be without sin 165 Whether Paul's conforming to Iews and Gentiles doth enforce Compliance with Prelacie 166 167 c. Whether it be unsufferable Peevishness if the Magistrate enjoin a thing declaring it free in itself and only necessary because commanded upon that score to refuse obedience 170 Of Christian Liberty and wherein it stands 174 Prelatick exactions high impingements upon Christian Liberty 175 Why Non-Conformist's cannot joine in Prelatick Courts for Church Discipline 181 182 376 c. The Conformist's reasoning for joining answered where that Question why ought we not to submit to the Bishops as wel as to the late Usurpers in the State Is fully answered 182 c. The just ground People have of disowning Curats and charging them with that Schisme whereof they would make N. C. guilty 189 190 The Conformists arguments for owning and hearing Curats fully answered 192 c. How and in what cases Children are bound by their Fathers Oath 205 c. That charge of breach of Covenant in some things viz. silence and not declaring against the Apostacy Tyranny and Perjury of the Usurpers and a faint giving over to pray for the King answered 219 220 The National Covenant vindicated 222 c. Whether the Laws annulling the Covenant doth loose its obligation where you have a plain account of the Nature obligation both of Vows and Laws 230 c. The Conformist's allegations for justifying the King's setting up of Prelacie false and calumnious 236 DIAL V. THe grosness of the Conformist's perswasion of extemporary prayer redargued 244 That Qâ—estion about the composing and imposing set-Set-forms fully handled 246 c. The Conformists reasoning against extemporary Prayer answered 258 Whether singing Psalms and Scripture-songs be a restraining of the Spirit 272â— Why all David's Psalms is used in Praising together with the right way of singing Psalms-prayers 274 Of the English Liturgie 285 c. Of the 5. Articles of Perth 288 c. DIAL VI. ANent the name and Principles of Latitudinarians 305 306 The opinion of the Author of the Dialogues anent Justification â—xamined and found unsound 313 c. The men of the Latitude more inclineable to favour Papists Arminians or any Sect or party rather then Conscientious Non-Conformists 345 346 c. DIAL VII WHether the Conformist doth sufficiently purge himself of Socimanisme Popery and Arminianisme 365 366 Non-Conformists unjustly charged with the progress of Quakerisme 369 370 Whether the Prayers and actions of the Prelatick Conformists evidence any tenderness of Love towards Non-Conformists 378 c. Naphtali's Doctrine vindicated specially his Doctrine upon Phineas his Act. 382 c. The Surveyer's calumnies and objections against Naphtali removed 393 c. That Doctrine concerning private Persons their punishing of Crimes in case of the Supinnels of the Magistrat cleared 401 402 That Religion was maintained by resistance is no vulgar error but a thing undenyable 1. From the Waldenses their resisting of the King of France 418 c. 2. From the Bohemian wars under Zisca 424 c. 3. From the wars in Germany 427 428 4. From Sweden 441 5. From the Practice of Helvetia and Genevâ— 442 6. From the Practice of Basile 444 7. From the wars in the Netherlands 446 c. 8. From the Civil wars of France 454 That allegeance that the Church of Scotland was condemned by the Churches abroad for her maintaining Reformation by Armes shown to be false 460 461 That the Pop's usurpation is not abolished in Brittain and Irland but in effect only transferred from him to the King Of the Supremacy and whether it takes away the Churches intrinseck power 472 473 Arguments for the Supremacie answered 479 What account is to be had of the Indulgence as flowing from the Supremacie 487 Whether there can be an accommodation with the present Prelatick party 493 494 Whether Peace Love and Charity be due to Conformists 496 READER Ere thou read correct with a pen these Errata as followeth PAg. 9. Lin. 6. read mightily p. 17. l. 18. r. directions ibid. l. 19. r. out p. 23. l. 17. r. it is p. 25. l. 12. Peter r. Pilat p. 26. l. 19. is r. it p. 31. l. 12. r. off p. 33. l. 22. r. stipend p. 34â— l. 30. r. suffering p. 37. l. 22. r. in p. 38. l. 24. r. into in p. 41. l. 22. r. thought p. 45. l. 28. r. place p. 50. l. 33. r. poenitentem p. 56. l. 6. r. the. ibid. l. 32. r. are p. 62. l. 12. r. your p 65. l. 5. r. Preachers p. 66. l. 20. r. acknowledge p. 82. for first Dialogue r. third Dialogue p. 87. l. 16. r benches p. 90. l. 33. r. least p. 97. l. 1. r. inconsistence p. 101. l. 12. r. least p. 102. l. 1â— r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 103. l. 3. r. do p. 112. l. last r. continued p. 127. l. 12. r. Kingdomes p. 130. l. 29. dele whrest p. 133. l. 9. r. purity p. 135. l. 4. r. the. p 137. l. 7. r. appointment p. 146. l. 22. r. contrary p. 147. l. 32. r. perceive p. 154. l. 21. r. thing p. 162. l. 28. r. restless p. 196. l. 32. r. subjected p. 199. l. 1. r. out p. 207. l. 33. r. concerned p.
the Land Truth and Purity and then shall we certainly enjoy Peace and Unity As for the liberty you taxe in our discourses and writings I hope no right discerner will finde it to be an invective but the native genuine and well-becoming freedom of Truth and Uprightness whether the license that you usurp in your pretended justifications of the King the Laws and your Consciences be indeed uncharitable bitter and malicious I neither say nor judge he whose glory is concerned he also judgeth But for the allowance of your defence by Tongue and Pen which you would appear to plead from our asserting of defensive armes you cannot be so serious in the demand as I am free to accord it seing I am perswaded that if the defensive armes which we maintain were no better warranted and as little to be feared as the self-defence which you pretend neither you nor any other would have accounted them to be worthy of the opposing The fifth DIALOGUE Answered SIR Neither envying you that poor applause which you vainly captate from your Mock-Non C. confessing himself to be by you much shaken in the matter of Bishops nor regarding the pitiful scorne you would cast on us by making him or your self rather ridiculous in avowing a blind aversation notwithstanding of his professed conviction I come to consider his quarrel against the Bishops on the account of your Common-prayer-book and what you answere Your N. C. alledges That this Common-prayer-book is a dead and formal Lyturgie set up instead of the pure and Spiritual worship of God In answere whereunto pretending as vainly that these are but big words as I have already clearly proved that the Government which we contend for is the interest and doth appertain to the Kingdom of Christ and thereby manifestly shewed this your confidence to be meer calumny you undertake to discover the fallacy by telling us what it is to pray by the Spirit And you say To Pray by the Spirit is when out of a deep sense of our misery and need and firm confidence in God we draw near to him to offer up our prayers and praises to him through Iesus Christ And you add That our hearts being moulded in this frame we pray by the Spirit use we words or not the same or different Nay it will appear we are carnal when we need to have our devotion tickled and provoked with new words Which description and the deduction from it being laid for a ground exciting your self by the faigned interjections of your N. C. surprises at the wit and novelty of your invention in representing the Liturgie-worship as Spiritual and the conceived one as carnal You go one to discourse of the differences betwixt spiritual devotion and prayer by words the termes wherein you are pleased very groundlessly and impertinently to state the distinction And the former you say lying in the will and not in the fancy and being affected with the thing and not with words can with the newness of affection make the same prayer in words though an hundred times repeated at every return New And is a still humbling and melting thing and so equable that it is above the frisking fits of the fancy neither doth it require a variety of words but in its sublimest exercises can persist long with great sweetness in the simplest Acts whereas multiplicity doth perhaps lead out the minde from pure and still devotion interior prayer and spiritual converse with God On the other hand you tell us that prayer by words lying in the fancy and its gratifications by the varying of things into several shapes the devotion raised by such Chimes is only sensible needing new phrases to renew its fervour and words and all the heat begot by words are but a false fire in the natural powers of the Soul which may heat the brain draw forth teares seem to wring the heart bâ—t amounts to nothing save a sensible fervour and present tickling wherein he that abounds most in Memâ—râ— Fancy Elâ—quence and Confidence is likely most to excell from all which you conclude that it expresseth a more spiritual temper to be able to worship God in simple and constant Forms and that extemporary prayer cannot be called praying by the Spirit except by Spirit be understood the Animal or Natural spirits This I suppose is a true account of your first floorish upon this subject to what purpose remaines yet to be inquired And first I might take notice of the inaccuracy of your expression of praying by the Spirit whereas the Scripture-phrase is to worship in Spirit Iohn 4. 23. Praying in the Spirit Eph. 6. 18. to worship in the Spirit Phil 3. 3. to pray with the Spirit 1. Cor. 14. 15. And though the difference be more in words then matter yet as the Scripture-diction is certainly the founder so I am apt to apprehend that your not adverting to it may have in part occasioned your vain and impertinent digression upon praying by the Spirit and praying by Words as if these were by us wholly distinguished and the latter preferred 2. I might observe that the description which you give us of Praying by the Spirit is more suteable to the calme and serene progress of a Christians course then to these doubtings feares wrestlings depressions and overwhelmings so frequently found in the experience of all to be thereto incident which being no less removed from and destitute of a firm confidence then the staying and assisting of the Spirit with groanes that cannot be uttered is therein observable your description appeares to be narrow and inadequat But the plain answer which I returne is that as the stating of the Question is by you wholly neglected so the reasoning whereby you go about to maintain your lifeless and superstitious Liturgie is altogether inconcludent The controversie betwixt you and us anent your Service-book is twofold 1. Whether the Publick worship of God ought to be astricted to set and imposed Forms And 2. Whether that form of Worship which your Book contains be not in it self in many particulars unsound and impertinent and consequently not to be received by way of directory farre less acquiesced unto as a precise injunction That these are the two hinges of this debate will easiely be acknowledged but what your above mentioned discourse doth contribute to its determination I must again solicite your second thoughts to render us an account We have your definition of praying by the Spirit and we let it pass Next you subjoin and that with many empty reiterations that praying in words specially extemporary and various is sensible fancical affecting and heating the brain in lower minds and producing only a natural fervour and that thus it may be with such who pray in words without the Spirit was never by us denied but darre you or any man els not abandoned to utter irreligion propose this as your opinion of all prayer in conceived and not precontrived and prescribed words Do not the very truth of
also grant that it is not our choice but the Lords own prescription which he doth accept Suppose your Forms were as much better then our conceptions as a Mans First-born is preferable to the beast of the field yet if not required they cannot come up with acceptance on his Altar and therefore I conclude that however the sincere Users may finde grace in his sight yet the peremptory Imposers cannot be innocent A third mistake is that because in the use of certain Set-forms a man may possibly pray with deep spiritual impressions and high elevations Nay the sublimest acts of communion with God may be expressed in the simplest Forms such as Thou art my God therefore you conclude that sâ—inted Forms are more suted to true spiritual devotion then the multiplicity and variety of words in an extemporarie exercise which do lead out and do too frequently only excite a phantastick transient pleasure almost evanishing with the sound wherewith they are pronounced But seing that the variableness of the condition of a militant Viator can hardly be defined much less the free actings of the Spirit in such exigences confined to any prescribed Forms and that the more Seraphick raptures of Divine contemplation do therefore subsist in few and plain words because above the reach of expression it is undoubtedly certain that neither the right use-making or rather agreeableness of certain forms to very sincere and serious devotion nor the simplicitie of words used in the nearest admission of heavenly fellowship do at all remove the unwarrantableness and inconveniencie of the restraint of Set forms when under the necessity of an imposition As for what is insinuate of these fancical heats and pleasures wherewith words ex tempore may possibly delude it is only an accidental inconvenience from our corruption and by the faults of your imposed Forms infinitly overballanced as I have already shewed These things being thus cleared for confirming of my assertion against your stinted and imposed Forms I say first That these impositions are peccant against the Truth of Gods worship because the samine requires his own express warrant and prescript It is in vain to worship after the commandements of men the service which he requireth not he abhorreth Will-worship is an abomination But such is your imposed and commanded Liturgie if now what doth the Lord require ought to be the serious reflection of every one that draweth near unto him if in all things commanded we ought to be circumspect without adding to or diminishing ought from it If the Lord did most exactly define the manner and every rite and ceremony of the legal Sacrifices and service yea every pin of the Tabernacle with the whole contrivance and orders of the succeeding Temple if strange fire made use of even in an offering to God be so severely vindicat and the erecting of another Altar then he had appointed even for his Sacrifices what can we conclude concerning your imposed Forms and the manner of that service which you so arbitrarily enjoin That they are of farre greater moment in his Worship then many of these things about which we see his holy jealousie to be so attentively conversant commonsense doth evince how then can they be receaved without his warrant without which all humane devisings are rejected Say not that the rigor of this strictnes was a part of the old legall bondage for granting that it may be so as to the particular manner of that dispensation yet you are so farre from being thereby helped that as I have formerly shewed that the burthen of the things by you imposed stands manifestly convicted by our Gospel-liberty so the immoveable principle that in his Worship his own prescription is the alone warrant of acceptable performance doth equally redargue the presumption of your imposing in whatsomever model without his Command But it may be objected that seing our extemporarie Prayers are as well a part of Divine Worship as your stinted Forms and that as to the frame of the words the former can no more yea rather less then the later pretend to a congruity to the word and will of God the argument from the unlawfulness of Will-Worship doth militat more against us then you 'T is answered If the question in this matter were only whether set-Set-forms or extemporarie straines may possibly be composed with the greater consonancie in words unto Scripture-phrase the objection might have some though in respect of what I have already touched of the promised gift of Prayer very little weight but seing our debate runs clearly concerning the manner how the true and Spiritual Worship of God is to be externally performed If the Lord whole alone it is to prescribe in this matter hath in a just congruity to the liberty of his own Spirit left it to the night and sanctified use of the rational expressive facultie and the due improvement of these helps and promises wherewith he hath instructed us for man vainly to arrogat a better contrivance in his devised impositions is an intolerable presumption and therefore though the conceived as well as the stinted Prayer be a part of Gods Worship Nay though this as well as the other singly and sincerely used may be accepted yet seing the Lord hath allowed the liberty of the former and doth not at all require the obligation of the latter the imposing thereof must of necessity be repute and cast as an humane invention I need not stay to resume that conceived Prayer for the reasons above mentioned and in respect of the promised gift and assistance of the Spirit whereof the composing and commanding of Set-forms is destitute may probablie be and is often found to be the better phrased Nor shal I tell you that the manner thereof is so undoubtedly the more rational genuine and lively that if even those of your way could be perswaded that men were sufficiently thereto qualified they would easily grant the imposing and use of Forms to be less necessary it is enough for us that the Lord who knoweth the best of our performances in whatsomever sort to be but lame and imperfect hath both allowed and accepted of our extemporarie petitions whereas your injoined Forms are no where required 2. I say that the imposing of Forms impingeth upon the Spirituality of Prayer and Worship That which boundeth and restraineth the free Spirit of the Lord in the motions and breathings whereof the very life of prayer doth consist impingeth upon the Spirituality of Prayer and Worship But so it is that the imposing of Forms restraineth and bindeth up c. Therefore c. That the Spirit of the Lord whereby his people especially in prayer are guided and acted is free not only in its gift but also in its operations both Scripture and experience do teach The winde bloweth where it listeth c. and so is every on that is born of the Spirit where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty not only from the bondage of corruption but
in the wayes and paths of the Lord and more especially in the large and all-searching discoveries of the minde yea of the deep things of God and what strange exercises have been and may be in the experiences of the Saints the result of this liberty and of the variety of our unstable condition Iacob's wrestlings Davids heart commuâ—ings Spirit-searchings overwhelmings and again exultings Ierimiah's mournings and Daniel's supplications do exhibite a few examples Now that the imposing of Forms which are set certain and determined doth stint this liberty and cannot possibly quadrat to all the variety above mentioned needeth no other evidence then that of an ingenuous reflection I have already acknowledged that in the right using of several of your Forms a man may have his heart very deeply affected and now I further suppose for argument that such may be the aptitude of a full and sound composition as may possibly suppeditat petitions and expressions convenient to every exigence but yet that the Spirits free use-making and mens stinting thereof to these Forms do vastly differ cannot be denyed since that notwithstanding of all conceded the enjoining of these impositions is not only inconsistent with the free methods but also doth confine the illimited enlargements of the Spirit as cannot but be obvious to any exercised discerner But that which I suppose doth induce you and many others into an error in this particular is a preposterous observation of certain good motions and sincere and servent devotions which possibly some may feel in the use of your Common-prayer-book whence you inadvertently conclude that the same Forms not appearing obnoxious to the escapes incident to extemporarie expressions may more safely and sufficiently serve to the exciting and signifying the like spirituall motions and devotions in all whereas it is certain that as in the former case these motions were only the free breathings and stirrings of the Spirit and in a manner accidental to these Forms wherein they come to be uttered so to ty the same free influences to the manuduction of a set of words is more absurd then the same words are often found to be incompetent to the setting forth of the singularity that may be in the case of the Supplicant whether a whole Church or single Person Really Sir when I consider that the Lord craves the heart and that men Worship him in Spirit and that it is thence and out of its abundance that the mouth ought to speak and from a beleeving heart that the tongues confession is acceptable I cannot but wonder how this inversion of preceeding and leading Forms should be so much asserted and certainly if we may after the Lord's example Mal. 1. 8. reason in these things from self reflection may not the knowledge we have of our own way in such supplications to or from our Neighbours wherein the heart and not the justice and merit oâ— the sute comes to be regarded teach us to reprobate and nauseate such impositions If in hearty requests we ourselves can neither be confined in the making to a rat of words put in our mouth nor relish the like practice from others and do censure such methods as too cold and indifferent how much more should we stand in awe to obtrude them to the Father of Spirits the searcher and lover of the heart I might arise higher upon this subject and demonstrate to you from the order of nature which certainly the Lord hath principally ordained for his own Worship Service and Glory that the heart and minde and not the eyes common sense or memory unless in so farre as is requisite to the joining of the hearers in Publick prayer ought to preceed in all and without question did preceed in the first acknowledgements rendered to him by his creatures but I neither love nor need to admixe such reasonings to these Scripture-grounds already adduced I shall therefore summe up this argument with answering two objections viz. That I seem 1. to forget that our Ministers in publick prayer do as much preceed and lead the peoples devotions and affections by their conceived words as if they were set and predevised 2. To suppose that all who can or ought to pray in heart are also qualified to a suteable utterance And to the first it is answered 1. That it is evident that the People may and ought to joine in publick prayers uttered by one as their mouth although the samine be by him conceived and to them unknown until expressedâ— this is clear from the practices of God's People in these publick prayers of David Solomon Iehosophat and others already mentioned and you your self lay it for the ground of an argument viz that the people can joyne and pray by the Spirit though the words be not of their framing 2 That although our Ministers do preceed in words yet seing the people are gathered in the Lords Name and he with the power of his Spirit in the midst of them and the Minister is called and appointed to oversee them know their condition and necessities and to be their mouth toward God and lastly seing there is a promise of the Spirits publick aswell as private assistance whereupon we may assuredly confide both for a due instruction sense and utterance in the Minister of the Peoples state and exigence and a sweet uniting of their hearts in an harmonious concurrence the agreeablenesse and advantages of conceived and not imposed prayer are thereby abundantly conserved and the difference betwixt the Ministers preceeding in free and Spirit-directed words from the manuduction of your restricting forms manifestly held forth Offend not that I say Spirit-directed words for if I should descrive Prayer in the utterance to be the expressing of these desires which through the Spirit we make unto God in the name of Jesus Christ for things agreeable to his will in words directed by the same Spirit and thence draw an argument for reprobating your vain devising and rigid commanding of Forms which practice the Lord hath neither ordered nor blessed I should but define the dutie according to the Precept and Promise which is no more impugned by the mixture of your infirmities then the account given by you either of internal praying by the Spirit or external by a set-Set-form which as from us do alwayes labour of imperfection are thereby made void As for the second objection that I seem to suppose that all that can or ought to pray in heart are also qualified to a â—uâ—eable utterance I answere 1. That my present discourse of conceived Prayer doth no more suppose all to be thereto qualified then your discourse of internal Prayer by the Spirit doth warrant the like construction how men do pray and how they ought to pray are easie to be distinguished 2. The Spirit of supplication is no doubt promised not only for inward motions but also for outward suteable expressions and the teaching of God is sufficient and may be forthcoming for the one as well as for
the other Nay as we know the expressive facultie where the organes are not impedite to be alwayes more or less subservient enough to the mindes conceptions so notwithstanding that the Gift and Grace of Prayer be certainly distinct yea in such sort separable that the gift may be where the grace is wanting yet seing the Gift is promised and given for the help of the Grace at lest in general for that in particular Persons the gift may be found without the grace for helping of the grace in others is not refused it is scarce to be supposed nor can it be easily instanced where one in whom the Grace was found was totally destitute of all measure of the Gift I say of all measure for that many have had the Grace without that eminencie of the measure that men do ordinarily terme the Gift cannot be denied but the thing to be principally here adverted to is that we judge not of the competencie of this Gift according to mens too frequent estimation That the mixtures of that wofull vanity from which of all vices our minds are most hardly purged occasioned by a just aversion of Forms ill framed and worse imposed have too far altered the ordinary Rule from sincere and acceptable simplicitie is too true a regret certainly if men were more denied unto their own wisdome and more surrendered to the conduct of the Holy Ghost even for the words which he teacheth both the ungodly scorn of many mocking at apparent weaknesses and the pretended modesty but reall vanity of others their self-diffidence and lastly our true and undeniable insufficiencies for a suteable utterance in Prayer would soon and happily be corrected But 3. admitting that most men were more unqualified and worse furnished then really they are for conceived prayer pray Sir what doth your imposing of Forms help the matter That the representing of Forms and other Rules by way of directorie may conduce for instruction will easily be agreed unto but that the imposition wherein the evill of your way lyeth addeth nothing by way of help but on the contraire is a presumptuous prescriving in Gods Worship a manifest restraining of the Spirit of Grace and Supplication and plainly injurious both to the exercise and improvement of the Gift of Prayer is not less obvious to every ones apprehension then by the arguments adduced evidently evinced Having thus discussed the first part of our present debate anent the imposing of Forms in general The second part whether that Systeme of Forms contained in your Service-book be not for not a few of them unfound and impertinent and not to be received so much as for a Directory remains yet to be handled But since it is a little after that you are pleased only to give a touch on this head and that the samine on our part hath been fully spoke to by such who by their examinations and anatomies have abundantly discovered both the Errors and Superstition which your Liturgie contains I proceed to answere what remains of your reasoning And 1. You lay it down as a ground that in opposition to your Forms we hold spiritual devotion to be only the using and pouring out of unprescrived words as if that were all required Which is altogether false and ridiculous seing it is evident that as no prayer is acceptable unless made in the Spirit so we therefore call our way spiritual yours formal in respect that ours is suted to the liberty and made dependent on the Spirits direction whereas your impositions do both restrain the Spirit and are plainly a humane invention 2. You say That it expresseth a more spiritual temper to be able to Worship God in simple and constant Forms But 1. That this doth indeed import more spirituality then the imaginative straines of these who only flow and are fervide in words and are not fervent in Spirit serving the Lord which is the very summe of your discourse is no more certain then impertinently by you insisted on 2. That the elevations of Spirit may sometime surmount the faculty of expression as I have already touched is as little to your purpose 3. That it expresseth a more spiritual temper to be able to Worship in a set-set-form then in the same inward frame to be able in free and Spirit-directed words in a more full and lively manner then any stinted Forms can pretend to expresse our prayers and our praises unto God I utterly deny And am very confident that when you attain to the experience you will be farre from thinking that this is a multiplicity which doth lead out 3. You say that if extemporarie prayer be by the Spirit it must be infallible But poor man do you not consider 1. That the Spirits direction and out imperfection are not incompatible 2. That this doth as much militat against spiritual prayer in and by your humane Forms which you so much magnify and yet they are neither perfect nor infallible 3. I have already told you that the Spirits extraordinary infallible assistance and ordinary presence and direction are most distinguishable 4. You your self plead that as we affirme that the people may join with the Minister and Pray by the Spirit though the words be not of their framing so the Minister may also pray in the Spirit though he use words framed by others and yet you know that neither the one nor the other are infallible 4. You say If one should with a short-hand follow his prayer whom we say prayes by the Spirit then may not that prayer be used over again Or is the Spirit in the prayer so volatile that it evaporats in the saving Really might I be free without offence I would tell you my fears that both your Reason and Religionare evaporat art thou a Master of Israel and askest such questions do either we affirm that praying by the Spirit doth consist principally in the conceiving of words so as another using but not conceiving the same words cannot pray by the Spirit Or do you imagine that the Spirit in Prayer is in the dress and form of words so that whoever doth use them doth pray by the Spirit And seing that both members are groundless what can your question import What it is to pray by the Spirit we have already heard which as it doth not impede why a man may not possibly join and pray in the Spirit though in the words of your Forms when uttered by the coldest Form alist so neither is it by us tyed to the conceiving and expressing of words nor doth a mans praying by the Spirit yet in words either composed or uttered by another in the least impugne that spiritual liberty in orall Prayer by us asserted against your unwarrantable impositions which liberty consisting in the unconfined use of words left to the Spirits direction as it is most agreeable to the freedom of the Spirit and our rational service which the Lord who requireth it hath not astricted unto Forms so in respect of your
carnal restringent and unwarrantable imposings is therefore and most justly termed spiritual But it were only a wearinesse to trace all your Mistakes and inconsistencies in this question he who can conceive that the spiritual manner of prayer by us commended is neither on the one hand a praying alwayes in new words nor on the other such as can be lawfully tyed up to humane stinted forms but is to be performed whether by a man for himself or with and for others in words freely directed by the same Spirit from which the inward desires and motions ought to proceed will easily tell you that the case of a Ministers following this Rule and being astricted to words framed by another hold no parallel and with the same facility unravel all your other quiblings and pitie your impertinencies and therefore I go forward Your N. C. asks but doth not the Spirit help our infirmities and teach us to pray And you tell him that the words aright considered speak out a far different thing from what he would draw from them and that the Spirit doth indeed teach us the matter of our Prayers and also the manner to wit the temper of our hearts but that words are not meant appears from what follows and maketh intercâ—ssion for us with groans that cannot be uttered But Sir if the Apostle commend the Spirits assistance to us in prayer in intending our desires above the earnestness that words can express doth it therefore follow that in the directing of our utterance which is a lesser matter his help is not to be expected 2. Though in this place the Spirits help for the direction of our words were not meant can you deny that that gift is not fully elsewhere promised have you forgot the anointing that teacheth us of all things The Spirit that giveth utterance And the Father of lights from whom cometh every good Gift And who enricheth us by Iesus Christ in all utterance and in all knowledge Or need I to remember you of the promises that the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge and the tongue of the stammerer shall be ready to speak plainly or elegantly and again the tongue of the dumb shall sing Really Sir if a man diffident of the readinesse of his expression cannot from these open fountains draw supply I am confident that the brocken Cisterns of your imposed Forms will make him but small reliefe After this relapsing into your former prejudice and causing your N. C. to say That in this imbodied state we need to have our Souls stirred up by the commotion of our Fancies you accept of the acknowledgement and thence inferre That at least such a way of praying is not so sublime and therefore ought not to be called praying by the Spirit But Sir as I have already told you that he who being internally moved by the Spirit of Grace neither needeth a set-Set-form to obstetricat his expression nor therein confineth himself to it but out of the abundance of his heart and in words directed by the Holy Ghost doth flow forth in his Prayers and Praises is indeed of a higher size then he who having the same devotion toward God is therein either stinted by another or straitened in himself to a limiting and restricting Form so your talking in this place of the stirrings of the Soul by the commotion of Fancie and the gratifications of Nature and imagination is but the gratification of your own vanity in as much as it neither pertaineth to the present Question whereof the lawfulness or unlawfulnesse of mens imposing Set-forms of Worship and not the life or spirituality thereof wherein I hope we are agreed is the subject neither do we either teach or defend but plainly reject these carnal methods here by you supposed to excite devotion by fancie and kindle our affections by imaginations where the inspiration of the Spirit ought to warm the heart and blowe the flame as being the offering of strange fire unto the Lord in place of the heavenly fire that descends from himself upon his Altar It is true the heart and desires thereof being once set on work by this divine principle may and ought to enlarge it self by the summoning and exciting of its affections and whole minde and strength for the intending of its fervor and elevating of the Soul but this truth doth so little favoure your impositions in preference to our way that by a new argument it further and evidently confirmes the narrownesse and insufficiencie of your stinted Forms to that spiritual Soul-devotion wherein the Lord delights But you say That you will convince us of the evill of extemporarie Forms and 1. you say That I must long exercise my attention to consider what he who prayes intends and this strangely draweth out the minde from devotion which cannot vigorously act two powers at once and therefore you conclude that both in reason and experience Set-forms do conduct a mans devotion with less anxiety wavering or distraction To this it is answered 1. That seing the Churches of Christ are united not only in the same form of profession but in the same Spirit and have the promise of the presence of the Lord and his power in all their Assemblies gathered in his Name whereby both Minister and People may expect all due assistance in their performances your supposed unacquaintedness in the People with what the Minister intends with the long attention and strange out-drawing of the minde which you thence inferre are but your own groundless and faithless imaginations 2. That a certain measure of previous attention in joining either with conceived or imposed Forms is necessary to instruct our devotion is neither by you nor us to be denied but how you can thence conclude that attention as such which in this case both in your and our way is absolutely necessary directly preparatory and leading into should lead out from the devotion to ensue and by what Logick you make the attention or inclination of the minde and the devotion thence arising almost as connected as the inclining of the ear and hearkening are two powers and not two acts and these also incompatible surpasseth common understanding It is true if I could suppose with you that the People nay the Minister himself going about to pray were wholly ignorant how he will discharge it and that therefore they either join blindly or with anxiety nay further that our way labours under many abuses of tedious length scurrilous expressions involved periods petulant and wanton affectations and the like I might possibly finde some shadow of reason for your alledgeance but since you not only speak as a stranger to the Grace and Gift of Prayer and to the unity of the Church of Christ which is one Body baptised and united into one Spirit having one Hope one Faith one Lord one Baptisme one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in us all whereby Christians before Forms were imposed are found
both to have been and to have continued with one accord in Prayer and Supplication and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to have lift up their voice and that one voice in the same extemporarie words to God in Prayer and Thanksgiving but do also subtilly and profanely take advantage from escapes incident to humane frailtie to proclame the same as gross abuses and thereupon scoff and mock at the heartie and spiritual Prayers of the Upright wherein the Lord delighteth I hope your own vanity and folly shall reprove you But 3. as attention is requisite even in the publick use of your Forms and in our way is attended with such advantages that do both render it sweet and easie and fully secure the conduct of our devotion so by your course it not only happens that oftentimes the attention is sore put to it and perplexed as you objecte to us but the very Rule of devotion is made altogether insecure and uncertain for proof of this there needeth no other Argument then that you observe these Forms lately added to the English service that these were as uncouth to the People at the first hearing and required as great attention as our extemporarie conceptions is clear and obvious But seing beside this the People are put to join in words they know not by whom framed and for the composing and commanding whereof their appeareth neither precept nor promise in Scripture that their attention in this case must be more exercised and their devotion in more hazard to be distracted then when they join with him whom they judge to be appointed by the Lord to be their mouth to him-ward and on good grounds suppose to bâ— instructed both with the knowledge of their condition and the Rule and Spirit whereby he ought to make the samine known in supplications unto God is beyond contradiction neither is this the only inconvenience of this sort in your manner there is a Court-practice that I could tell you of how the King pro re nata useth to issue out a Form of Prayer either for his own Chappel the Citie-Churches or further as he pleaseth to extend his orders and if these novell prescriptions be not more chargeable to the attention and disturbing to the devotion then any thing in our way nay if it be not a Method as dangerous in its tendencie as destitute of warrant let men judge But this is the Supremacie too high for you to have remembred 4. If there were a greater exercise of attention in our way then in yours yet when I consider that attention if not surcharged or confounded doth certainly tend to the quickening of the devotion and that on the other hand by the coldness of your stinted Forms both the attention is for the most part wholly slackened and the devotion deadened the instance you make of a few serious it may be but weak and peevish persons of your partie professing a great stayedness in the use of set-Set-forms whereas in extemporarie Prayer they could not keep their minde from distraction doth neither impugne these more lively and powerful devotions whereunto the Lord and not man hath ordered our Methodâ— nor in the least doth it counterballance these myriads of dead Formalists whom your way doth burie in utter securitie and irreligion In this place you tell us by way of wittie discovery that the way of extemporarie Prayer was well devised for spreading of Error or Sedition in respect forsooth that Ministers prayed over their Sermons so that what in the discourse seemed the words of man in the Prayer was called the dictat of the Spirit But Sir darre you or any man deny that extemporarie Prayer was the first manner of mens calling upon the Name of the Lord Are you not then ashamed to talk of it as a late device 2. How come you to suppose that words in Prayer spoken by us to God may rather seem the dictat of the Spirit and more speciously seduce nor the same words delivered in Sermon in the Name and as the word of God Certainly admitting you had forgot that you did already upon this very pretext endeavour to devest Preaching of this Authority yet common sense might have told you that in this there could be no deep artifice But 3. Wherefore may not a partie given to sedition or error devise and compose Forms to the same purpose and with more success If Forms be but of humane invention and if as you suppose they be more weightie and impressing then extemporarie words it is obviously evident that they furnish a far more advantageous opportunity to this your excellent devise I might confirme this by telling you how much this Method hath been made use of and prospered for the propagating and establishing of many errors and superstitions in the Romish Church but a nearer and latter instance of that piece of Herauldrie blazoning the Kings Titles and Prerogative very irreverently and undecently to God foisted in by Act of Councel in your Church-prayers for inculcating and advancing the exorbitant Supremacie may satisfy the world that your evill and vain conjecture against us was suggested by your own practice After the false and calumnious charge of gross abuses incident to our extemporarie Forms given in by you with much pretended tenderness and insinuation as I have already touched you N. C. Answeres that we had a Directory of the things we should pray for Which no doubt if you had been pleased to propound it in its â—ull latitude viz. That the whole word of God many other instructions and forms thence drawn and delivered and left to us by godly men with our own publick Directory and these of other Churches and lastly that the teaching of our Parents Masters and Pastors are all given to us to guide us and assist us both for matter and words in the prayers we ought to make And if you had understood it aright viz. that seing the rule in our way is as certain though not so stinted as that in yours and that our Ministers appointed to be the peoples mouth in publick Prayer and Worship are not only tried in their utterance for preaching but also for prayer And lastly that any material aberration is as discoverable and censurable among us as among you you might have been fully satisfied that neither the infirmities nor abuses of men are chargeable upon our manner of Worship nor doth your peremptorie imposing of Set-forms more secure the matter from the like and greater enormities But being resolved to carp you say why may not we have a Directory forwords as well as things 'T is answered 1. A Directory for things to be prayed for is no doubt a Directory for words also if the things be fully directed the application of words the known signes can have litle difficulty 2. The directory distinctly and particularly ordering the method and condescending upon the heads of prayer with as much exactness as the latitude to be reserved to the free grace and gift of God
will admit cannot but be received for a Directory both of words and things But you add That it was but a cheat to cozen the World who might have startled to have seen us without any rule for Worship in as much as our Leaders quickly wearied of it It is answered first So long as any Church doth own the revealed will and word of God for the rule of Worship none but such phantastick Formalists as you will prove startlers at this sure and acceptable simplicity 2. Whence you alledge our Ministers their wearying of the Directory as such except from the suggestion of your own malice I cannot conceive that our Leaders neither turned it nor astricted themselves to it as to an imposed Liturgie is very certain but that they did not at all regard it is a groundless calumnie In the next place you add that Hence it clearly followed that the Preaching was the great matter of the Worship but the constant acts wherein the Church should adore God were thought too homely How you will make out this connexion seing both the ground is false and the consequence doth not hold I recommend to your second thoughts though our Prayers and Psalms related to our Preaching yet it will not conclude that therefore the Preaching was the great matter of the Worship Your Service-book makes many both Prayers Gospells Epistles and Collects relative to certain festivall dayes is therefore the observation of these dayes the great point of Worship The great matter of Worship is the rendering of our acknowledgement unto God which if performed by prayer hearing of His word and praises and that in such a harmony as all the exercises may conspire and be mutually helpful is thereby greatly advanced and not in the least marred As for these Constant acts which you desiderat in our Service if thereby you mean your Constant set-Set-forms you are already answered but if only the dayly solemn performances of Prayer and Praise which in liew of the morning and evening Sacrifice ought as the stated and fixed recognizance of the great God be observed and kept up in every Christian Society when other things shall be restored I frankly promise you my assent In the last place you say It is the least evill of extemporarie Forms that a Minister is ready to pour out his Soul to God in such devotions as are then most in his own Spirit Which may possibly happen to be very unfit for Publick Worship Sir this is so groundless a fear and so plain a diffidence of the assistance and presence of the Lord that I shall not trouble you with any further answere then to add that as a thoughtfull serious Spirit is ever found to be most prepared for dutie and divine influences so all experiences do conclude that a Ministers particular exercises have been so farre from marring that on the contraire they have alwayes rendered his publick performances more spiritual and lively And thus at length your dull N. C. comes to see that you are for set-Set-forms and demanding your reason tels you that the Apostles used them not to which you answere that you cannot doubt but they used our Saviour's Prayer and really though I do as little doubt but they might have done it yet I think both you and I must acknowledge that we finde no vestige of their doing of it For as for your distinguishing betwixt Mathew's after this manner therefore pray ye and Luke's when ye pray say the pattern to be proposed in the first and the practice intended in the second seing the form is formally the same in both places and the patterm so proposed by Mathew that the practice might be its most exact imitation and the practice so enjoined by Luke that yet the latitude of a Pattern is not discharged your notion is but airie and of no moment But if it were needful to give you my thoughts in this matter I would say that considering 1. That this pattern was given to the Disciples in the infancie of their knowledge before the out-pouring of the Spirit as a short and easie rudiment 2. That thereafter the Spirit is promised and that in such an abundant measure as it should flow like rivers of living water 3. That our Lord in his last discourse commands them frequently to pray to and ask the Father in his Name and 4 that the Spirit being given de facto they were enriched unto all utterance and both in their own Prayers and in their Directions to others how to pray do constantly make mention of the name of Iesus these things I say considered I am verily in the opinion they did not precisely use either this form of Prayer or any other but leaving this digression and esteeming this Form to be the most excellent modell and the very Substance of all prayer and granting the Apostles might have used it yea supposing with you they did use it yet what makes all this for your imposing and enjoining of Forms the only point of our present difference But you go on and say the Iews at that time had a Liturgie and hours of Prayer which our Saviour never reproves ergo quid I have told you already that to inferre an approbation from our Lords tolerance for a time of either the whole or any of the parts of that service which he was in a short space to abolish totally is bad Logick 2. Admit this tolerance were an approbation how will you make it out that the Iews their Lyturgie was more then a Directorie and that they were thereby astricted to an imposed set-Set-form Specially seing we finde that where in their best times certain Forms of Prayer and Thanksgiving dictated by the Spirit are committed by David and other men of God to the Ministers for publick use yet the thing was both done and observed without the mention of any precise astriction or limitation In the next place you tell us that the Lords Prayer is word for word taken out of the Iewish Lyturgie and thence you think that exception against the English Service that some of its Prayers are out of the Roman Missal and not or Breviarie to be foolish and groundless But pray Sir why talk you so confidently of the Iewish Liturgie of these times for other posterior Liturgies availl not since to this day though much search hath been made and many forgeries have been obtruded no such thing could assuredly be found Next if such a thing sound and pure was in our Lord's dayes think you it was then no better Pattern nor the Roman Missal Ritual and Breviarie were in the very profoundest darkeness of that Superstition immediatly before the Reformation broke up and when the first glimmerings of that light managed as much by Police as Piety did translate from it the English Liturgie The disparity of these things is too palpable 3. Admitting the Iewish Liturgies used in the dayes of our Lord were yet truely extant it will not be sufficient for you to
â—hew the words and sentences of the Lord's Prayer to be therein disorderly found for so no doubt a good Christian prayer might almost be said to be taken out of the Alcoran but even for evincing that our Lord did respect them so much as Directories you must make out the whole context of his Prayer to be formally found therein But you add that Though the Aposâ—les and others immediatly inspired might pour out extemporarie Prayers it doth not follow that every one may use the same liberty Who would not pitie this folly If infallibilitie be required in our extemporarie methods wherefore not also in your Set-forms But seing the Apostles were only the better assisted and not singularly privileged to pray ex tempore by their extraordinary Gifts and if the same command of God and promise of the Spirits assistance are still with us for our warrant and encouragement to this dutie your argument here insinuate is emptie and inconcludent and in effect doth as much prove neither the Apostles their Preaching nor Praying to be at all by us imitable as the point you aime at Your next Argument for set-Set-forms you usher in by the instance of the Corinthians who in their Worship used Hymnes of their own composing as well as prayers and then you adde that you could never comprehend why we allow the Spirit to be restrained in Praising as to words and not in Praying Sir whether you preface the custome of the Corinthians for enforcing your imposed Forms or as the reason of your doubt anent the difference used by us in Praying and Praising doth not appear from your words However as it is evident that in that Church there was rather an exuberant liberty then any thing like to your stinting so our practice and theirs shal soon be reconciled but first let us take your N. C. Answere to your main scruple and he and I tell you that because the Psalmes and Scripture-songs are a collection of Praises dictated by the Spirit of God for Worship and have been so made use both by the Church of the Iews in the time of the old Testament and by the Christian Church in all Ages therefore they are used by us to the same end without either restraining the Spirit in the performance seing it is his own appointment or tying all our praises to these Forms seing God hath thereto only tyed our solemn praise by singing and otherwayes left and allows us a furder liberty To your N. C. part of this answere you reply that never were more absurdities crouded in less bounds And if I may also anticipat I am certain there were never more profane and ignorant fopperies stuffed into a return then in that which you here do make And first you say it is clear we may worship in the Spirit and yet be restrained as towords since we acknowledge that God hes done it in praising But waving that which I have already plainly and so often told you viz. that it is the imposing of men and not the free use-making of Set-forms that we condemne how absurd is it for you to alledge that a man worshipping in words prescribed by the Spirit is in so doing restrained in Spirit Could you not advert that the Spirits prescriving and mens are different and that he prescriveth to himself without any restraint 2. You say there are many Psalms prayers and why may they not be used for constant prayers as well as the other for constant praises Nay why for instance may we not use the 51 Psalme in plain words with a plain voice as prayer as well as in hobling rime with a Tuneâ— 'T is answered That I may first take out the waspish sting of your Mockerie is this the tender respect that you profess p. 70. to every thing that relateth to Gods service to call the Psalmes in meeter used both by you and us hobling rime or is your Poëtick vain so nicely delicate that you can endure no verses inferior to your loftie Pindarick Which yet if Criticks mistake not doth trote more rudely and lamely then our hobling meeter for my part I see not what answere can be given to these Questions save this that it seems both your tenderness and poesie are but false and forced But to the purpose 2. I answere that the Psalms-prayers and particularly the 51 Psalm may in plain words with a plain voice be used in Prayer as Prayer if so be the Spirit do so direct our utterance but if by constant prayers you mean that the Praying-psalms may as well be imposed and enjoined for prayer as the other for praise you want the warrant of the Word and Spirit of God who hath appointed the whole Psalms to instruct our praise but not to regulat our prayers and so you widely miss your marke But here you insinuat two difficulties 1. How we come to sing Psalms-prayers and this you afterward enlarge by demanding our warrant for using all David's Psalms since many of them relating to particulars of Davids life belong not to us Others of them are imprecatorie hardly to be sung and many things there are in the Psalmes which we understand not and lastly there were not above twentie of the Psalms used by the Jews in Worship To this it is answered that being commanded we sing Psalms-prayers not with direct thoughts suted to the strain of Prayer wherein they were first framed and said before they were appointed to be sung but with a reflexe acknowledgement of the goodness and mercy of God the hearer of Prayer who both turned the Authors mourning into a song of gladness and hath appointed it to be so used by us that we may be encouraged and praise him in the like hope if in almost all Psalms of Praise we finde the preceeding distress and afflictions with the prayers and groanings therein made first pathetically commemorat as the ground of the ensuing praise for the deliverance is it not easie to apprehend how that a small reflection might after the Lord's reliefe have made the reciting of a Psalm wholly of lamentation the most exulting expression of the delivereds joy and may commend it to us to the same purpose For my part when I read or hear the 88 Psalme beginning with crying and ending with darkeness and like Iob's imprecation upon the day of his birth having no light shining but a cloud dwelling upon it and yet finde it a song of the Sons of Korah directed to the chief Musician I cannot but acknowledge it for a Psalme of high praise unto God who turned such dolefull mourning to be the matter of rejoicing and thus if you will rightly consider that the Psalmes are ordained for the matter of praise whereof the manner consisting in reflexe acts directed by the Spirit unto such suteable meditations as may excite our joy in and praises unto God is most rationally and warrantably expressed by singing you may very quickly be satisfied that the Saints their complainings David's particular
fortify your principal intent but the matter speaketh for it self what shall we then say of your bold assertion viz. That never were extemporarie heaâ—s as you love to speak of the liberty of prayer as rudely and profanely as if you were talking of race horses used in the Church When not only frequent instances from the Old the constant practice of the times of the New Testament the first and purer ages of the Church but the professed allowance and known practice of all the Reformed Churches do so directly witness against you Verily this is such an impudence that leâ—t it tempt my Mediocrity I rather leave it to your own Conscience In the next place you make your N. C. alledge That our Church was purer then any by you named on purpose that you may take the advantage to say That we were cheated to believe that all the World was wondering at us a cheat like unto that of our alledged Prophetess whereof you and you forsooth on your word only assure that neither were true Sir if the grossnes of that lye anent the use of extemporarie prayer wherein I have just now attraped you did not sufficiently secure us from the slander of your scoffing calumnies I could easily make it appear that all the paines we took in our own just vindication was many degrees inferior to that restless labour taken by your partie to represent us to all as most arrant Rebells and load us with the most atrocious reproches which the Father of lies could invent but Cui bono It is sufficient for us that as the work of the Lord among us was honourable and glorious many wayes countenanced by his Grace and Presence â—oth in ordinarie and extraordinary appearances particularly in M. M. whom I suppose you have learned from Balcanquels Maniâ—esto and not from us to call her our Prophetess and only levelled against the wickednes and tyrannie of a Prelatick partie enemie to all Conscience and the scandal and betrayer of the Protestant interest so these hard and contrarie things that have of late befallen us in place of obscuring do only tend to its greater manifestation and more universal approbation from all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity But you proceed and tell us that it is strangely inconsequentiall for us not to pray in a Liturgie yet alwayes to bless the people in a Set-form But is it not strangely rediculous for you to dessemble such an obvious disparity And will you still arrogantly pretend to be a Master of Ceremonies in the Court of Heaven The Blessing used by us to be pronounced upon the people at the breaking up of the Assembly is only a short formula of a Christian fare-well warranted by and coppied from the practice both of Moses under the old Testament and the Apostle Paul in the shutting up of his Epistles and therefore in use to be performed sometime in the words of Paul only sometime in the words of both and sometime also with anâ— agreeable variation from both What then can this make for the imposing of set-set-forms for all publick Prayer and Worship Do not both the diverse nature of the things and the difference betwixt a peremptory imposition and a free imitation redâ—rgue this your reasoning In civill converse our ordinarie ran counters are commonly prefaced concluded with certain received Formulae of a respective benevolence should therefore all mutuall addresses be reduced and strainted to the same methods Certainly the smallest attention will both acknowledge the just application and marvel that as you say of us you are so little governed by reason But now to the English Liturgie which commending as an excellent Rule of Worship and using other vain floorishes not worth the noticing in answere to your N. C. you tell us That it is farre from being an easie way of praying and that a natural man would be better pleased to be runnig out with his own conceptions then to use the form of the Church which is more simple and humble 'T is answered That there may be some conceated Hypocrites from such a carnal motive despising Set-forms I shall not controvert but as I have already told you what are our just exceptions against their imposition so that the generality of men who for the most part do only lay clame to the name and make a slight profession of Religion without busying themselves further in it are by the carnal easines that they finde in your way not only more engaged to it then to ours but habituat to a superstitious stupid formality wherein placing the all of Religion they ruine their own Souls is a truth that millions of sad instances do confirme seing therefore this strongâ— food as you terme it of your Service is indeed both ranck and poisonous we wish that that princely tenderness in our Soveraign to which you impute his forbearance to impose it may at length in its just exercise extend to remove and discharge it in all his Dominions As for the discreet prudence of our Superiors the Bishops no doubt which you would also commend to us upon the same account pardon us Sir if we be not such Babes we have shared too largely of the strong food of their Violence and of the bread of adversity and water of affliction from their hands to be so abused He who rightly considereth will easily assent that they have hitherto been sparing to enjoin these corruptions for no other reason then that which moved the Iews to forbear to take Christ on the feast-day viz lest there be an uproare among the people As for the ensuing contest betwixt you and your N. C. anent that dulnesse and stupidity which we see occasioned by and attending your formality the preceeding discourse doth so rationally connect them and common observation so evidently confirme the matter that your alledgeance of some godly people who in a well-meaning sincerity have in the use of your service attained to some feelings of pure and simple devotion doth furnish you no stronger exception then what the Papists may also pretend for their Mass and Latine-service After this you make your Non-conformist objecte the vanity of your Service-book-repetitions in the often redoubling of Lord have mercy upon us and 2. its confusion in that all the people say some of the Prayers together and use Amen but seing these objections are amongst the least of these exceptions made by ours against that Liturgie which ye altogether neglect I only say that as the 136. Psal. containing a summare enarration of the great things God did for Israel and most pathetically interrupted by these frequent eruptions of praise agreeable to such a reflection can be no precedent or warrant for the framing and imposing the battologies of your Letanie vainly composed and as deadly exercised in compaâ—ison to such a pattern so your instance adduced from Acts 4. where it is said that the whole company lift up their voice with one accord to God And the