inter ipsas Pectoris Latebras Silently and Modestly within the Secrets of their own Breasts So that as the Nature So the Gift of Prayer must be so defin'd as to extend to and comprize both The not knowing or considering this hath led him into this Mistake of restraining the Gift of Prayer only to that which is Vocal by which means he passeth by that which is Essential and Common with it to the several kinds of Prayer viz. the elevation of the Heart and places the Gift of it in an Ability of Expressions which belongs only to vocal Prayer and that too not as 't is Prayer but only as 't is Vocal which hath occasion'd that vulgar Error of calling the Gift of Speech applied to the Matter of Prayer by the Name of the Gift of Prayer This plainly shews the Falshood of what he affirms about the State of the Question that 't is not concerning Prayer in general And likewise the Absurdity of what follows in calling his Gift of free Prayer by the Name of Ministerial Prayer As if the great Work and Duty of the Ministry lay in Praying by these Effusions and none were to be admitted to the Ministerial Function that cannot or will not venture to Pray Extempore But is not Praying by a Liturgy or publick Forms Ministerial Prayer And are there no well qualified Ministers in the Church of England because they do not presume to utter any things hastily before God or use this Talent of free Prayer Beside do not many among the Laity Exercise and as he saith Excel too in this Gift How comes it then to be stil'd Ministerial Prayer Do the People invade the Ministers Office when they Pray Extempore Into what gross Absurdities hath these wrong Notions led him And yet upon these and many other Mistakes is his whole Answer grounded which having so bad a Foundation all the Frame and Superstructure rais'd upon it must fall with it Yet he is fully satisfied he saith That sincere Prayer whether conceiv'd or compos'd is as ill chosen an Enemy as any can light on for 't is dangerous to expose and difficult to conquer it Now how tender soever he may be of conceived Prayers 't is plain he can load compos'd Devotion with the blackest Reproaches for Liturgies are with him only the Brats and Imps of Darkness the effects of the Ignorance and Laziness of the Clergy and the product of a Dark and degenerate Age. Whereas free Prayer he saith is the Issue of a Meridian Light and none can triumph in the Conquest of it For the Proof of which he tells us of a Triumphant Paper in the time of the Civil Wars that had this Expression in it Nil restat Superare Regem c. which being Ambiguous he saith was construed in a double Sense viz. Either that nothing remain'd but for the King to conquer the Prayers of the Fanaticks or for the Prayers of Fanaticks to conquer the King And the Fanaticks Prayers it seems had the best on 't for they brought that good King to the Block and made three once flourishing Kingdoms miserable and unhappy ever since A glorious and triumphant Atchievment of Extempore Prayer Moreover it seems by him That the Oaths of the one Party were Extempore Effusions as well as the Prayers of the other and 't is not easy to say which did the most Mischief But he is not he saith upon equal Terms with the Vicar in this Controversie How so Does the Inequality lie in the goodness of the Vicars Cause That 's a great Inequality indeed Or does it lie in the greater Power and Authority that backs it This is true too tho' he will scarce acknowledg it for the one is establish'd and the other only wink'd at But the Vicar may say any thing against free Prayer And hath not he said the worst he can against Liturgies 'T is to be fear'd if some Men had the Power they would scarce give the liberty they take and this Shew of Modesty is only an Excuse for their too great Boldness But there are some dainty Remarks in the Close of his Preface that must not be pass'd by As First he very wisely blames me for not printing a Letter that was never intended for the Press but design'd only for a private Check of his Vanity in exposing the Liturgy as defective upon a particular Occasion And likewise for disparaging some Reverend Clergy-men in a Matter that plainly appear'd to be a Notorious Falsity Secondly He complains that I corrected my Letters before they were sent to the Press Now I think he is the first Person that ever blam'd any Author for so doing which is so far from a Fault that it would be great Folly in any to do otherwise And yet he hath instill'd this silly Objection into his credulous Followers who are thereby persuaded that 't is as necessary to print as to pray Extempore But That which renders this monstrously gross and inexcusable is that himself or some Body for him hath far out-gone me in the very thing he complains of For tho' my Letters had only the ordinary and usual Corrections that Books are wont to have that are sent to the Press and all the Additions and Alterations may be compriz'd in a Phrase-leaf his are contracted chang'd and almost corrected all away insomuch that tho' I had seen and read the Letters before and have a Copy of them by me yet they are so alter'd that I can scarce know them again And tho' J. M. be in the Title-Page yet for the most part I am to seek for the True Author Now if the little I did in this kind were well done why does he complain If it were ill done why does he imitate it Yea and run so far into the other Extreme For his are not only corrected but for the most part made anew and like some of our old Ships have undergone so many Emendations that few of the first Materials are remaining But There is yet a worse thing than all this for tho' he grants that he denied me a Correct Copy and his Consent for publishing them any otherwise than by the first rude Draught which must have unavoidably expos'd him to the World and might have afforded just cause of Complaint yet he still complains of what I said of his not consenting to publish them which shews that either he doth not know or will not own when he is civilly dealt with I shall detain the Reader no longer from looking into the Merits of the Cause when I have minded him of one Thing viz. That the Party having with much difficulty procur'd this Book they have now got something to say namely that mine is answer'd tho' it matters not how or by whom And tho' any understanding Reader may easily see the Weakness of it yet they triumph in it as an unanswerable Piece and resolve before-hand not to hear or read any thing that may be said or written against it which
beyond all Contradiction And that Christ himself who was the great Light of the World taught his Disciples a Form is too plain in sacred Writ to be called in Question And was this done think you to keep Men in Darkness or to help them out of it If we go on to the following Ages When were there greater Lights set up in the Christian Church than in the Days of St. Cyprian St. Chrysostom St. Basil St. Ambrose St. Austin c. And yet all these were either Composers of Liturgies themselves for the use of their several Churches or Approvers and Users of such as were composed by others And will you reckon the pious Composures of these great Lights among the Works of Darkness To come down to the Times of the Reformation When did there appear greater Lights in the Horizon of the English Church than Cranmer and Ridley and the other Compilers of our Liturgy And what admirable Wisdom Piety and Moderation have they shewed in the compiling of it which make it a Work little less than Divine and next to the Inspired Writings hath nothing extant in the Christian World to exceed or equal it And is it expedient think you that this should give place to the present and hasty Conceptions of every empty Brain But 2. Secondly You limit the Expediency of Forms not only by the difference of Times but by the difference of Mens Abilities And this you are so full of that you vent it almost in every Letter frequently vaunting of yours and some others mighty Talent and great Abilities of expressing themselves fitly to God in Prayer without Forms But Sir were not those eminent and learned Persons before-mentioned who compos'd and us'd Forms of Prayer Men of far greater Parts and Abilities than such as now vainly pretend to be above them Can every conceited Holder-forth think you pray better than St. Cyprian St. Chrysostom and other Ancient Fathers who were famed for their Eloquence and great Abilities and yet thought fit to use Forms in their publick Ministrations Yea do not the most able and learned Men in the present as well as former Ages celebrate the publick Worship by Forms whose Abilities are well known to be much greater than theirs who think they have no need of them Besides Sir 't is a Mistake to think that any such great Abilities are requisite to this extempore way of praying A great deal of Confidence with very slender Abilities is sufficient to do the Feat Your self tell me in your 2d Letter that you know a great many who have this Gift of expressing themselves fluently this way that have no Gift of Elocution or Readiness of Speech upon any other Occasion The Truth is Extempore-Prayer when 't is best and most dextrously perform'd requires no more than a heated Fancy a bold Front and a voluble Tongue and therefore an ingenious Author hath told us That it deserves much the same Commendation that is due to Extempore-Verses only with this difference that there is necessary to these latter a competent Measure of Wit and Learning whereas the former may be done with very little Wit and no Learning at all So that the Expediency of Forms of Prayer which you own in the general is but little weakned by your unwarrantable Restrictions For if they were found expedient in Times of greatest Light and if Men of the greatest Parts and Abilities have thought it fit and necessary to use them certainly such as only talk of great Light and are vainly conceited of much less Abilities must have the greatest need of them But let us see upon what this Expediency of Forms of Prayer is grounded and that may help us to see more clearly into the Weakness and Vanity of the aforesaid Limitations And 1st the wise Man founds it on the distance that is between God and us willing us Not to be rash with our mouth or hasty to utter any thing before God because he is in Heaven and we upon Earth Eccles v. 2. shewing that the Reverence we owe to our Maker arising from the Sense of our Infinite distance from him forbids us to bespeak him in a hasty loose and careless manner Now this will serve for all Times and Persons none being ever allowed to vent any thing rashly or hastily before him 2dly The utter Inability of the best of us to perform the Duty of Prayer so well by present and sudden Conceptions as by well consider'd and digested Forms is another ground of the Expediency of them and this makes it necessary for all Persons in all Times and Occasions The Disciples of Christ were sensible of this and therefore begg'd our Saviour to teach them to pray Who thereupon assisted them with a Form And of this the many Indecencies and Imperfections of those that practise otherwise may abundantly convince us 3dly Thirdly Your great Friend and Father Mr. John Calvin hath laid down the Expediency of Forms of Prayer and other Ecclesiastical Rites upon such firm Grounds as will last to all Ages and shew the perpetual Use and Necessity of them For in his Epistle to the Lord Protector Calvin's Epist 87. he amply declares his Approbation of them and would have them so determined that it might not be lawful for Ministers in their Administrations to vary from them and that for these Reasons partly to be a help to the Weakness of some who cannot well perform their Duty without them partly to put a stop to the desultorious Levity of others who affect too much New things and partly likewise to be a Testimony of the Church's Consent in Doctrine and Worship to future Ages Now all or some of these things will make Forms of Prayer necessary and expedient at All Times and for All Persons And consequently the Expediency of them may be asserted and established without your frivolous and groundless Limitations And thus having shewn how far we are agreed about the Lawfulness and Expediency of Forms of Prayer and likewise having endeavoured to remove the little Exceptions which are wont to cereate some small difference in both my next Business must be to consider what you offer against the Injunction of them for publick Worship In the mean time I am SIR Yours M. H. August 12th 1697. LETTER IV. SIR WE have seen how far we are agreed about the Lawfulness and Expediency of Forms of Prayer In both which the difference between us when well consider'd is found so small that an honest and humble Mind may easily yield it to the Wisdom and Authority of Superiours for the sake of Peace And that you may be the better perswaded to this let us go on to consider what is further said concerning the Injunction of Forms to see how we accord here that we may the better remove the Mistakes and Differences that have been raised about it And here you tell me more than once in your Letter of June the 28th that you are not against all imposing of Forms upon some
Persons and in some Cases Now this for ought we know may prove a pretty comfortable Concession For it does not utterly disclaim all Power in Superiors of ordering and setling these Matters And therefore let us here again inquire Who are the Persons And what are the Conditions upon which these things may or may not be imposed 1. And first for the Persons you tell me that Forms may be imposed on such as have not the Gift of Prayer by which you mean such a Readiness of Speech as to be able to pray without them This is something and I 'm glad to find that you grant Forms of Prayer necessary to help the Infirmities and to secure the Reverence of publick Worship from the Imperfections of such Men. But how shall we distinguish these weak and insufficient Men from others For many ignorant and unskilful Persons are very Opinionative and apt to think they can pray as well as the best and many times those are most forward to this Exercise who are least able to perform it For do not some suffer their Tongues to run this way without Fear or Wit to the great Scandal of Religion and Profanation of God's Name who yet are as impatient of Restraint as any and expect the same Liberty And how can this Difficulty be remov'd without a general Injunction But the Persons on whom you would not have Forms impos'd are such as have this Gift of Prayer and are as you say eminently qualified to pray without them But pray Sir consider Are not the best and ablest Men liable to many Infirmities and Imperfections that may marr the Reverence and Solemnity of publick Worship Are they not subject to many Distractions of Mind and Failures of Memory May they not be disturbed with Passions or incumbred with Cares with many other Accidents that may disorder their Thoughts and hinder the Fruitfulness of their Invention And do not even the best of Men stand in need of Forms of Prayer to prevent the bad Effects and Inconveniencies arising from these things Is not the Tongue a slippery and unruly Member when let loose And apt to run into many Indecencies and to let fall many unbecoming Expressions before we are aware This some of the wisest among you have acknowledged And is it not much better to tie it up to a Form of sound Words than hazard the venting so many rash and indigested Ones But 't is well known say you That there are many among us both Ministers and People who have an Ability of fitly expressing their Minds unto God in Prayer and tho' the Tongue may a little slip and faulter now and then yet why should they be tied up to Forms always for a few Failings that happen but seldom But Sir does it not become the Wisdom and Authority of the Church to provide as much as possible against all such Accidents That which happens sometimes may happen often especially when the Nature of the thing so easily leads to it And must not the Worship of God be secured at all times against such Indecencies Besides Is it possible think you for any to express themselves so fitly upon present Conceptions as they may upon second Thoughts and more mature Deliberation Can there be that Fulness and Comprehensiveness of Matter that Comliness of Order and Method that Decency and Fitness of Expression in an Extempore-Prayer as may be in premeditated and well-digested Forms And you know 't is but reason that God should have the best Moreover 't is not so much a Man 's expressing his own Mind that is the Business of publick Prayer but his expressing the Minds of others yea of the whole Congregation For the Minister is not to present unto God only his own private Wants and Desires but the common Needs and Desires of the People and the Joint-Devotions of the whole Church And this will require more than present and sudden Thoughts to order and offer them up as we ought So that these things considered your first Restriction of enjoining Forms of Prayer upon some Persons only is found to be both unreasonable and unpracticable 2. Let us proceed then to your second Restriction and see in what Cases and upon what Terms you allow an Injunction of publick Forms And here tho' it be not so plainly laid down yet we may guess a little at it by your frequent and bitter Complaints of Two hard Terms in the Injunction of the Liturgy viz. 1. The one is The Use that it requires the Use of all that is prescribed in it 2. The other is That it requires the Use of that and no other Now where is the Hardship of these Terms Would you have a Liturgy enjoin'd without any Obligation of using or keeping to it Or would you have a Liberty granted to every one to alter amend or add to it at pleasure It seems then you can comply with the enjoining a Liturgy provided that you are not requir'd to use all that is contain'd in it and that you may use any other thing besides it That is in effect If you may lay aside what you think fit and add to it what you please And would not this be an admirable Injunction think you But let us examine a little further into this Matter 1. First then you complain That you are required to use all and every thing contained in and prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer Sir if you would use so much of it as you well may and are satisfied in this might look like something better than a bare Pretence and that would bring you on to see the Soundness and Reasonableness of the rest But since you lay aside All and prefer your present Conceptions before any part of it 't is manifest that 't is but an empty Cavil if not a downright Falsification And yet to shew your great Tenderness I find you talking much in your Letter of June 30th of some Mens brawny Consciences and the Wideness of their Throats that can swallow All with the Straitness of your own that cannot let down so much But Sir do not some strain at a Gnat and swallow a Camel i. e. start at an innocent Ceremony or well-composed Form and at the same time swallow Schism Division Disobedience with many other crying Enormities Again I find you complaining in your Letter of June 28th That you cannot pick and chuse and use what you think fit and refuse the rest but must as Travellers on the Kings Highway keep the Road and not break out of it to escape any foul way Sir there are some Creatures so apt to wander that 't is hard to keep them in the right Way tho' it be much more safe to keep in the ancient Liege-way than to break out of it And if you meet with no worse Passages in the publick Roads than in the publick Prayers you will have little Cause to complain either of foul or rough Ways But is it fit think you for Men to
esteems the Communion of the Church that he accounts him a Renegade or Deserter of Religion who wilfully abstains and alienates himself from the Fellowship of it By which you plainly see the Sense of the Father and Founder of your Sect in this Matter I am SIR Yours M. H. LETTER XI SIR HAving in the former Letters asserted the reasonableness of injoyning Forms of Prayerupon all Persons and Occasions for Publick Worship And likewise shew'd the Vanity of all your Pleas and Pretences to the contrary I proceed now to consider what you have to say against the Antiquity of Forms to see how we may adjust Matters there And here I find you are very cautious of granting any thing for fear of giving Countenance to Liturgies and disparaging the great Diana of extempore-Extempore-Prayer For you will scarce allow That our Blessed Saviour intended his Prayer for a Form or that it hath been us'd as such in the Christian Church lest other Forms should gain credit and get ground by such a Concession Thereby verifying the Observation of our late Glorious Martyr King Charles the First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ch. 16. concerning the Lord's Prayer That its great Guilt is to be the Warrant and original Pattern of all set Liturgies in the Christian Church For Here you say we are wont to lay the first Stone in the whole Fabrick of Conformity And where can we better lay it than on the Words of him who is both the Foundation and chief corner Stone in the whole Fabrick of the Christian Church And yet we derive the Original of Forms much higher even from the very Beginning for the Learned Fagius makes it as ancient as the Times of Enoch Gen. 4. Ult. when Men began publickly to call upon the Name of the Lord. And 't is abundantly prov'd by the Holy Scripture and the Jewish Writers Gen. 4.26 That Forms of Prayer and Praises were us'd all along in the Jewish Church from whence our Blessed Saviour deriv'd his Yea many Learned Men have observ'd That our Saviour was so far from affecting Novelties and Variations that he took every Sentence of his Prayer out of the Jewish Forms then in use Vol. 2. p. 158. Idem on Matth. 6.9 as hath been fully prov'd by Dr. Lightfoot and other Learned Men. For when Christ's Disciples ask'd him to give them a Form of Prayer that they might be known to be his Disciples as the Jewish Doctors were wont to do to theirs He gave them no New Prayer but the same he had given them a Year and half before in his Sermon on the Mount partly as one hath well observ'd because there was no need of any other and partly because a better could not be given And yet you tell me That we build more upon this Prayer than 't will be ever able to bear How so We build the lawfulness and expediency of using this and other Forms Compos'd by it and I hope 't will well enough bear that and that so much at least may be allow'd to Christ's Practice and Commands as to be able to warrant these things No say you 't was design'd only for a Directory to frame other Prayers by and not a Form of Prayer to be us'd in the same Words But was it design'd think you only for a Directory for Extempore-Prayer or rather was it not a Direction to frame other publick Forms by If you search into Antiquity you will find no mention at all of the former whereas all Christian Churches have thro' every Age made use of it for the latter Hence a very Learned Author hath told us That all Authentick Liturgies and ours in particular are grounded upon and drawn up by the Lord's Prayer All the Collects for Grace being grounded on the three first Petitions the Prayers for all Earthly Blessings are grounded upon the request for our daily Bread the Confessions and Litanies for Pardon and Deliverance from Sin and all other kinds of Evils upon the three last Petitions and the Thanksgivings Hymns and Praises upon the Doxology And here tho' in honour to our Master we use this Prayer as a Form in the same Words and likewise make it the Pattern and Platform of all our other Prayers and parts of Devotion Yet you ask me as wise Question sc Whether I think my self oblig'd to use the words of the Lord's Prayer and no other No Sir I think my self oblig'd to use the Lord's Prayer in Obedience to the Command of my Saviour and other Prayers Compos'd and Establish'd according to that excellent Platform in Obedience to the Commands of my Superiors But how say you Can we use the Lord's Prayer in the same words and make it an invariable part of our Devotions when the same words are not us'd in both the Evangelists that record it For there is a variation of the Words in the 4th and 5th Petitions in the 4th St. Matthew hath it Give us this Day our daily Bread St. Luke Give us Day by Day our daily Bread in the 5th the one hath Forgive us our Debts as we forgive our Debtors the other Forgive us our Sins for we also forgive them that are indebted unto us and what is more material say you in St. Luke the Doxology is wholly left out But Sir may not the difference of Copies and the length of Time easily occasion so small an alteration And are we not infinitly beholding to the Providence of God in handing it down to us thro' so many Ages with so little variation This is rather to be own'd with Thankfulness than to be made a Cavil against the use of it May not this Day which is spoken every Day in various Copies easily change into Day by Day Is there any material difference between Sins and Debts in respect of God which you grant import the same thing And is this a just Pretence for laying aside such a Divine and Perfect Model of Devotion And whereas the Doxology mention'd by the one is omitted by the other which may be ascrib'd either to the different Occasions or to the difference of Transcribers our Church seems wisely to have comply'd with both by using it sometimes with and sometimes without it But Why should you be so unwilling to grant the Lord's Prayer to be made use of as a Form in the same Words Sure there is some Mystery in this which is but an Objection of Yesterday and never till very lately call'd in question by any Why The plain design of it is by endeavouring to weaken the Lord's Prayer as a Form to shake the Authority of all other Forms and if you can find any different and varied Expressions there 't will give some Countenance to your other new and beloved Variations But 't will become you Sir to have better Thoughts and likewise to make better use of this Divine Form than to abuse and pervert it to such bad Ends Considering what high Presumption it is to lay aside this Prayer as
through all the Ages of the Church Pliny lib. 10. Pliny tells us That the Christians sang their Hymns secum invicem alternately and by Parts Ignatius is said to have brought in this Usage in the Church of Amioch And many of the Fathers make mention of the Use of Antiphones and Responses in the Worship of God which plainly proves not only the Ancient Use of Liturgies but that the People bore a part in them But my Sermon say you stiles the Minister the Mouth of the People to make known their Requests unto God and how is it agreeable with this and the Holy Scriptures for the People to say half the Prayers when we read ordinarily of no more than Amen to be said by them Sir Though the Minister be truly said to be the Mouth of the People to offer up their Prayers unto God yet the People are requir'd to join with him and with one Mind and one Mouth to glorifie their Maker And how can this be done if their Lips may not be open'd nor their Mouth shew forth his Praise And tho' we read That he that occupieth the room of the unlearned said only Amen at the Priest's Blessing or giving of Thanks that is at the Consecration of the Holy Eucharist yet St. Jerom tells us That Populus cum Sacerdote loquitur in precibus The People speak with the Priest in the other Prayers But the Women saith a Brother of yours are forbidden to speak in the Church and therefore that part of the Congregation at least is debar'd from the Antiâ—…'s and Responses Sir For the composing and directing of Prayers for publick Worship and likewise the teaching and instructing the People this way of speaking being an Act of Authority is peculiar to the Minister and is forbidden to Women in the Church but for joining in the Words of Confession and Supplication this being an Act of Humility and Subjection is allow'd to the Female Sex who have Sins to confess and Souls to save as well as Men. Thus I have consider'd the Stroaks added to the Picture of the Pharisee If they have rather marr'd than mended the Matter and only serv'd to shew you the Spots and Deformity of your Worship you may thank your self I am SIR Yours M. H. Oct. 22th 1697. LETTER XIX SIR YOur Answer to mine of June 17th brings you you say to the very Dregs of my Sermon But why is that unsavoury Word to be given to a Sermon especially by one that is so great an Admirer of Preaching Why 't is for bringing Extempore-Prayer from the very Dregs of Popery which yet will not make it unsavoury in some Mens Nostrils tho' it came from the bottomless Pit When to shew it a late Invention I told you that Antiquity makes mention only of two ways of Praying the one by immediate Inspiration and the other by the use of publick Forms You cry out This is unparallel'd What is there no way of secret Ejaculatory Family Prayer made mention of in Scripture or Antiquity besides these But Sir You forget That 't is the solemn Prayers of publick Worship that is the subject of our Debate which as St. Chrysostom tells us were in the Days of the Apostles and some Ages after perform'd by Inspiration and when that ceas'd the Use of publick Forms hath been prov'd and deriv'd down ever since So that what you say of Secret Ejaculatory Family Prayer in which a greater Freedom hath been ever allow'd is nothing to our Purpose and all your Out cries thereupon are both frivolous and impertinent In your granting the Preliminaries you own the creating and continuing Divisions to be one of the principal Wiles of Romish Emissaries But to salve the Credit of free Prayer you would have Uniformity one of the main Tools they act by Sir Those subtle Agents are too cunning to act with Tools that are not fit and proper for the Work they know well enough that joining together in the same Forms and Way of Worship is the best means to promote Peace and Unity which is none of their Business and they never hope to make that an Instrument of Division any other way than by disparaging and destroying it they have found by Experience that free Prayer is the proper Tool for their Work and therefore have been whetting that and their Wits too to promote it as the best Engine they can work by But is not the New Uniformity say you a standing Evidence and Occasion of our Dissentions Yes but how Why just as our Blessed Saviour is said to bring not Peace on Earth but a Sword Which must not be understood as if the Gospel of Christ had any natural Tendency to War and Disturbance but that Mens corrupt Natures and Designs would take Occasion from thence to fall into them Neither is there any Tendency in Uniformity to create but extinguish Divisions and yet such is the Depravation and Perverseness of some Mens Natures as to turn Antidotes into Poison and make the very Instruments of Peace become the Engines of Discord But you cannot believe the Stories of Cummin and Heth Why so Can any Matter of Fact be confirm'd with better Evidence the one from the Memorials of the Queen's Council-board and the other from the Records of a Bishop's See You would believe any thing that made for free Prayer upon half the Evidence a little glimmering Light peeping through a cranny can shew you the Excellency but the brightest Light of Noon-Day can't make you see the Danger and Deformity of it Is not this gross Partiality But 't is a Mystery say you that these Stories should not come abroad till about 120 Years after the Matter of Fact Sir Have not some Truths slept much longer especially when there was no Occasion for awaking them The Divisions at that time and long after were but few and inconsiderable and there was little or no Dread or Danger of them which might make these and other Passages of like Nature pass away unobserved but when Divisions came to multiply and by the encrease of Sects to threaten the Government the common Safety put Men upon a farther Search into the Rise of them to observe what was before neglected and Divine Providence for wise ends may bring some things to light which had lain a while and slept in Darkness But the Doctor who publish'd these things had a Fire brand in his Tail Why so Why for shewing Mr. Baxter and Mr. Jenkins the Rise and Progress of those Divisions whence they came and whither they tend and cautioning them against the Evil and Mischief of them And is it not better to cry Fire to prevent the Danger than silently suffer it to spread and put a whole Kingdom into a Combustion And yet your reading of Fire and Sword throughout the Book renders say you the Stories the more suspected Sir There is no Fire or Sword in that Book that tends to destroy but like the flaming Sword that guarded Paradise serves
is it consistent say you to commend free Prayer in private and yet too affirm That upon the ceasing of Inspiration Godly Forms were appointed both for publick and private Devotion Very well Sir for in the publick Assemblies Forms are necessary that all People may know their Prayers and so Pray with the Understanding And likewise in private Families where many are to joyn Forms are expedient for the same reason and both these since the ceasing of Inspiration are best perform'd this way But in the more private and secret Devotions of the Closet free Prayer may be conveniently used because thereby every one may better descend to his own particular Wants and Failings than by any Form Compos'd by others who cannot be so well acquainted with these things as themselves So that these things rightly consider'd may very well consist together and each of them may have their proper time and place Thus Sir I have throughly consider'd all that is material in your Letters and have not willingly omitted any thing that either needs or deserves an Answer It remains that I consider what you add in the Close against the Account I gave of Bishop Wilkins and the Design of his Book which shall be done in the next In the meam time I am SIR Your Hearty Friend and Well-wisher M. H. Nov. 23d 1697. LETTER XXII SIR IN my Answer to what you alledg'd from Bishop Wilkins's Gift of Prayer I told you the Design of that Book by the Author 's own Confession was a mere Novelty and thence took Occasion to mind you of the Danger of New Inventions and Innovations in Religion Now to this You reply This is very important Doctrin Which would have kept Christianity out of the World and the Pope with all his detestable Enormities in England Sir Is Reforming think you Innovating Did our pious and learned Reformers make a New Religion or only restore the Old They were wise enough to know and distinguish between these and therefore threw aside only the Hay and Stubble which some cunning Architects had built upon the Foundation of Christianity but still kept the Old Foundation and Fabrick of it And would this have kept Christianity out of the World Yea is not this the best way to keep it in it which else would be buried and lost in Rubbish and Ruin Again Our wise Reformers cast out only the corrupt Additions and Innovations of Popery but retain'd all that was truly Ancient Primitive and Apostolical and is this the way to keep the Pope with all his detestable Enormities in England Would you have them lay aside the Gold and precious Stone together with the Hay and Stubble And having thus wisely rejected their gray-headed Novelties shall we receive Innovations of a latter Date under a Pretence of a farther Advance and Progress in Reformation This Sir is either a Cavil or a plain Mistake of the Nature and Rule of Reformation In the next Paragraph when I told you there was no Use or Need of this Artificial Gift all Christian Churches performing their publick Worship by set prescrib'd Forms To this you reply Is it not still a Wonder that this Learned Man should so far forget Antiquity and himself as to be at such Pains about an useless and needless Gift Sir That Learned Man did not so much forget Antiquity as consider the Times in which he wrote which was when a prevailing Faction had laid aside the Ancient and best Way of publick Prayer by prescribed Forms Nor was his Artificial Gift either useless or needless at that time when he took that Pains about it being perhaps the best Expedient that could be thought of to supply the Want of prescrib'd Forms and to keep up true Devotion amidst the Irreverence and great Indecencies of those Times And as for what you say of losing his Memory he not only retain'd his own but assisted others by directing to the best way of Praying when Forms were gone But how does it appear say you That that great Man saw the bad Effects of this new Experiment in Divinity and look'd upon it as an Instrument of Division Sir I hope you will allow that great Light of the Church to see that which every body else sees and knows for is there any thing more visible than that this is that Idol and Support of all our Sectaries Is not a Liturgy the great stumbling Block that keeps many weak seduced People from the Church And free Prayer the Bait that allures them to the Conventicle And are not all our Divsions founded upon and upheld by this Artificial Gift and Practice But where and when say you did he complain of or retract this Book Sir If there were no other way he effectually did it by his own Practice which is a far better way of doing it than any Words or Writings For Actions speak louder than Words Men may and often do speak one thing and think another and their Practices are a plain Confutation of their Principles but Actions seldom lye and the Course of Mens Lives are the best and truest Indication of their Minds Now did not this great Man upon the Restauration of the Church plainly abandon this Art which shew'd his Sense of the Imperfection of it and betook himself to the Use of the publick Liturgy which shew'd that his Judgment carried him to that as much better This you cannot deny without disparaging the Memory of that great Man nor grant without disparaging this Artificial Gift which is a Strait I must leave you to get out of as well as you can But the Design of this worthy Man say you was not merely to help the Memory but to excite the Affections improve the Judgment and promote the Consolation and Edification of Christians And there is no doubt to be made of this for his helping the Memory by mental Forms when book-Book-Forms were remov'd was chiefly to promote those ends viz. to assist them to pray heartily and affectionately with Judgment and to the Edification of themselves and others And to this end advis'd them against long and varied Prayers to prevent Tautologies Impertinences and all unseemly Expressions in this Exercise Moreover he would not have them tie themselves precisely to one particular Form of Words tho' of their own composing so as to deny themselves any Liberty of using another or adding to that but to furnish themselves with Matter and Words for various Emergencies so as to be able to add or alter as Occasion should require And could the Wisdom of Man direct to a better Method for Piety and Devotion in those bad times But 't is sometimes say you not so much the Evidence of Truth as the Revolutions of Times that alter Mens Practice c. Take heed Sir for this if applied to this great Man as here without great Impertinence it must be will disparage his Memory to purpose by making him a Time-server and one that steer'd his Course as the Temptations of prosperous and adverse Times led him Which is enough to destroy the Credit both of the Author and the Book and put all Men out of Conceit with his variable Gift What you say and quote touching his Moderation is consider'd in another Letter to which I refer you To what I added in the Close that we may better estimate Mens Opinions by the Practice of their latter and wiser Age than the Rawness of younger Years You reply That some who have been sound and hopeful in their Youth have extreamly degenerated in their riper Years and from a great Zeal to the Church and Liturgy have fallen into a great Luke-warmness oâ— Apostacy from both But Sir Is there any Rule without an Exception May it not be reasonably hop'd and suppos'd that the Generality of Men should grow wiser and better as they grow older And that the Gravity and Experience of Age should correct the Rashness and Vanity of their Youth Tho' it must be granted That too many either by Weakness of Judgment or Strength of Prejudice or Power of bad Habits and Customs or Byass of Interest or other corrupt Inclinations and Designs may be found to do otherwise But I hope you will not here again disparage the Memory of this great Man by making him one of this Number For a Close of all I must upon an Impartial Review of the whole leave it to the Judgment of the Candid Reader and your own serious Consideration how much you might grow wiser and better by following the Example of this great Man which was and still is the hearty Wish and Advice of SIR Your Cordial Friend and Well-Wisher M. H. FINIS
LETTERS WRITTEN TO J. M. a Nonconformist Teacher Concerning the Gift and Forms OF PRAYER The Second PART By MATTHEW HOLE B. D. sometime Fellow of Exeter College Oxon. now Vicar of Stoke-gursey in Somersetshire LONDON Printed for and are to be sold by J. Taylor and T. Bever Book sellers in London H. Clements in Oxen and J. Miller in Sherborn Dorset 1699. THE PREFACE THE Occasion of this Second Part of Letters was briefly this When the Author had withstood the first Assault of the Adversaries Papers hoping to have clos'd up and rested there he was set upon afresh by another Packet the Adversary designing either to weary him with Work or to worry him with Cavils and so to make him drop the Cause to be rid of the Labour and Trouble of defending it Hereupon the Author knowing the Wiles and Artifices of the Party and how apt they are to triumph without a Victory found it necessary to take this Second Packet into Consideration And the better to bring this Matter to some good Issue began to treat with the Adversary upon his own Concessions which if stood to seem'd to bid fair for a Reconciliation But he fearing a Snake in the Grass and doubting lest by yielding one Thing after another he might be drawn in to give up the whole Cause abruptly broke off the Treaty return'd the Authors Letters and would hear no more of an Accommodation That the World therefore might see the inexcusable Obstinacy and Perversness of the Man the Author was desir'd to Publish this Second Part in which not only the trifling Exceptions of the Adversary but all the material Objections of the whole Party are briefly discuss'd and that with as much Mildness and Gentleness too as the Cause could well admit of For the Reader will find that nothing bites but Truth and all the Salt and Smartness in it is design'd meerly to season the Discourse and not to fret the Party I know the Adversaries Complaint is hard Vsage which is wont to be the last Refuge of a bad Cause and this hath betray'd him into an indecent Passion and many unseemly Expressions which are to be pass'd by as the Follies and Frailties of depraved Nature But how little Reason there is for this Complaint any wise Reader may easily discern for he hath been rather gently stroak'd than roughly handled and Corrosives have been never us'd but where Lenitives could work no Effect A necessary and seasonable Rebuke hath been ever reckon'd among the good Offices of a Friend not the Wounds of an Enemy And I think upon the right understanding of the whole Matter the Adversary may see greater Cause to commend the Faithfulness than to complain of the Hardship of such Vsage After this Second Part was gone out of my Hands to the Press there comes forth a Book Entituled A Contract Answer to my Correct Copy of Letters In which besides some Cavils and rude Calumnies the usual Effects of Choler and the feeble Supports of a sinking Cause the Reader will find nothing material that is not replied to in the following Letters In the Preface he tells us That a Civil Peace being restor'd 't is greatly desir'd that the Ceremonial War were at an end Now are not these Peaceable Men to continue a War with their Superiors upon Matters of meer Ceremony Or can they be thought to desire Peace who resolve to differ and contend about such indifferent Things But how would they have this Ceremonial War ended Must Governors submit to them or they to Governors For this is the great Question If they would but know their Station and pay the Duty they owe to the Lawful Commands of those that are set over them this Ceremonial War would soon cease but if nothing will please them but to over-rule Authority and do as they list 't is plain they are Enemies to Peace and whilst they speak thereof are but making ready for Battel So that themselves are plainly the Persons he speaks of in the following Words who instead of allaying inflame the Differences and Animosities at home For are not Conventicles the Nurseries of Discord and Division And do not all the Flames of Contention and Animosity arise and break out from thence This all Men see but Themselves who are too wise to be in an Error and too holy to be in a Fault 'T is with great Reluctance he saith that he bears any part in this present Controversy Though himself began it by reviling the Doctrin and Discipline of the Church and still continues it by abusing the People with false Notions of Both without any Reluctance However being engag'd Necessity he saith extorted an Answer to my Letters Now what was this Necessity Why there was a double Necessity in the Case the one to answer the Importunity of the Party that would not be satisfied without it The other to keep up the Ceremonial War which else would soon come to a happy end To prevent which he hath revok'd or at least omitted some Concessions in the Print which were granted in his Original Papers beside other gross Prevarications too many to be here recited In the next place To excuse his Excursions he complains of my Rambling which is the old way of shifting a Fault by charging it on another In proving of which he falls into this evident Mistake viz. That I discours'd in my Sermon not of Prayer in general but only of Vocal or as he calls it Ministerial Prayer which is a notorious Falsity and the rotten Foundation of his whole Book For my Design was to Treat of the Gift of Prayer in general Mental as well as Vocal Both which agree in the Nature of Prayer and differ only in the manner of performing it the one being done with Silence and the other with the Voice which are only Cicumstances of the Duty and therefore I plac'd the Gift of Prayer as it should be in something that was Common and Necessary to both these to wit not in an ability of Expressions which is nothing else but the Gift of Speech applied to the Matter of Prayer and is peculiar only to vocal Prayer but in an ability of lifting up the Heart in Holy Desires and Devotion unto God which is common to mental and vocal Prayer and necessary to the right performance of both Again To exclude mental Prayer out of the Controversy he would exclude it out of the Devotions of the Church Whereas if we search into the Devotions of the antient Christians we shall find the silent Breathings of mental Prayer made up a great part of them Their publick Service was performed partly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Silence and partly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the use of the Voice And we read of secret mental Prayers us'd by Christians in the publick Assemblies in the Intervals between the publick Offices when all the Congregation kept Silence and these were made and offer'd up as St. Cyprian tells us Tacite Modeste
shews them to be very just and impartial Judges However since such weak or rather wilful Persons who are impatient of Truth and resolve to shut both their Eyes and Ears against it do thereby plainly appear to be prejudiced and incompetent Judges in the Case The whole Matter is referr'd to the better Judgment of more knowing and lessbyass'd Readers Farewell LETTER I. To J. M. SIR I Receiv'd another Packet of Letters from you in which I find you trying your Skill in making some Replies to my former Letters concerning the Gift and Forms of Prayer but to how little purpose I hope to make you sensible by degrees And to that end all that you offer in them of any moment shall be consider'd in due time and order 1 First then for the Letters that concern the Gift of Prayer your own Concessions seem to bid fair towards an Accomodation For you begin to see that an Ability or Variety of Expressions are tho' vulgarly yet improperly and abusively styl'd The Gift of Prayer For in your Letter of April 1st you tell me you can well enough grant that such an Ability as you mention is not properly the Gift of Prayer and that 't is only the Gift of uttering Prayer and comfort your self with this That however improper it may be you are not the first that have so styl'd it This is a good Concession if you would keep to it for hereby you may see Prayer to be no Verbal but Spiritual thing and consists mainly in the inward Desires and Breathings of the Soul after God In your Letter of April 15th you own this Ability to be such a Gift as that by which the Pharisees Hypocrites and all wicked Men are said to pray Which must be very improperly call'd by the sacred Name of Prayer since 't is All no better than an Abomination to the Lord. If then this Gift doth not properly lie there there must be some other thing in which it may be more properly placed And the Knowledge of that would clear up this matter What then should that be Why we see it must lie either in the Heart or the Tongue i. e. either in the pious motions of the one or in the nimble and ready motion of the other Now I think you will scarce venture to put it in the nimbleness of the Tongue which is apt to run too fast and out of the way too and may not be trusted without a Bridle And therefore the Psalmist resolved to keep his Mouth as it were with a Bridle to restrain its Extravagance and to look to his Ways that he might not offend with his Tongue And St. James tells us That He that offends not with his tongue especially when let loose must be a perfect man So that this Gift cannot be safely plac'd there especially since the whole Work and Business of Prayer may be perform'd without it Now if you would but speak out and make the Heart the proper place of it which is indeed the true Seat of all Devotion there might be a speedy end of that part of the Controversy And the better to encourage you to speak out in a matter of this Consequence consider Sir the three different ways of addressing or drawing nigh unto God viz. 1. The First is with the Heart and that is performed by the inward Desires and Elevations of the Mind and Soul to him and this is very truly and properly styled Prayer and is all that is Essential to it 2. The Second is with the Lips when the Heart is far from Him And this may be rather called vain talking and babling than praying to him 3. The Third is with the Heart and Lips together that is when the Heart and the Tongue accompany each other And this is that Vocal Prayer used in publick whereby we are enabled with one Mind and one Mouth to glorifie our Great Creator Now here two things are carefully to be distinguish'd the one is an Ability of lifting up the Heart in holy Desires unto God And this is properly the Gift of Prayer the other is an Ability of expressing those Desires and putting them into fit Words And this is properly the Gift of Speech Utterance and Elocution the use whereof in Prayer is to help us to join together in our Requests and to put up the same Petitions And this is far better done in the known consider'd Words of godly Forms than the sudden Effusions of free Prayer Sir If you well consider and digest this your Eyes might soon open and discern between the Gift of Prayer and the Gift of Speech and that the Heart is the proper Seat of the one as the Tongue is of the other The confounding of these two different things hath confounded your Notious about it whereas the distinguishing between them would shew you the different Nature and Place of both And this is the more carefully to be distinguished and attended to because the want of it hath led many into great and dangerous Mistakes For he that can use most new Words and hath the best Faculty of changing and varying Phrases is by too many thought to pray best And the ordinary Gift of Prayer which you talk so much of and would have studied and practis'd by Ministers and People is nothing else than this Faculty of Variations which is rather a hindrance than furtherance of true Devotion And yet you seem to put the Life and Spirit of Prayer chiefly in it For you tell me That the same Words are apt to deaden and cloy and that all Men are delighted with Varieties and new things And to shew what a mighty Stress you lay upon such Novelties your Brethren are wont to ask whether he that sings still the same Song or is always telling the same Story would not make those that hear him to grow weary and sick of them Thence inferring that the daily and constant use of the same Prayers will have the same Effect upon the Minds of the People who are therefore to be entertain'd with new But is there no difference think you between these things Are not Songs and Stories things merely intended to gratifie the Senses and please the Fancy which is best taken with new things And are these to be compar'd with the sublime and weighty Matters of Religion which are design'd to affect the Heart and are still exercis'd about the same things The Diversions of humane Life best attain their end by Change and Variety but must we be given to change too in Matters of Religion and hunt about for new Words and Phrases when we address to God for the same things I hope you do not think that God Almighty is taken with new things since all the Pleasure of them is occasion'd chiefly from Suddenness and Surprize and therefore cannot affect him to whom nothing can be new And we find wise Men who are govern'd more by Judgment than Fancy are but little affected with such things So that 't is only
vulgar Minds and such as are mostly led by Imagination that are thus taken with the Novelty and Sound of Words and seek about for Variety of Expressions Now this is a Weakness in them which you should be so far from cherishing and encourageing that you ought rather to use your best Skill to perswade them out of it and to let them know that God neither expects nor is delighted with these things For true Religion inclines still to the doing and speaking the same things He that endeavours to keep up a constant Reverence and Fear of God in his Heart and by a daily continued Practice desires the same Blessings in the same Words shall be more soberly and religiously devout and find better Acceptance with him than he that loves and labours for new Words and thinks he shall not be accepted without a Multitude or Variety of Expressions The Study whereof is more apt to distract than compose the Mind in this Duty Indeed where God in his Providence hath done any new thing either by sending some new Judgment or Calamity or by bestowing some new Mercy or Deliverance here in our publick Fasts and Thanksgivings there must be such new Words as may suit such Occasions And Thanks be to God the pious Care and Wisdom of our Governours is never wanting to make a due and suitable Provision for us on such Occasions But for the constant Matter of our daily Prayers and Praises there can be no need of new Words but only to bring new Hearts and good Affections in the use of the old well-digested Words and Composures of the Church We read of our Saviour's praying three times most earnestly using the same Words so that these can neither hinder the Earnestness nor the Efficacy of true Devotion In the Prayer that Christ gave his Disciples and in all the Prayers he put up himself he hath left no Command or Example for such unnecessary Variation but rather the quite contrary and therefore you are to consider further how you will excuse it from Superstition to think that God is pleas'd with many and new Words or displeas'd without them Which is to place Religion in things which God hath no where requir'd at your hands and to lay a doctrinal Necessity in the Inventions of Men Which is a piece of Will-worship and Superstition As for the Multitude of Words Solomon hath shew'd that to be an Occasion of Sin Prov. 10.19 and an Instance of great Folly Eccles 5.2 and therefore wills that our Words unto God should be few And our Blessed Saviour condemned the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 5. or much speaking of the Heathens and all that imitate them And as for the Change and Variety of Expressions in Prayer there is not the least Colour of a Command or Encouragement for it in Holy Scripture for tho' we are bid To pray 〈◊〉 all prayer and supplication in the spirit Ephes 6.18 That is by the same Apostle expounded of the several parts of Prayer but is understood by none 1 Tim 2.12 of extempore or varied Prayers So that to make it a Ministerial Duty to pray without Book and to put the Vulgar upon beating their Brains for new Phrases as a more spiritual way of praying cannot be excused from Vanity and Superstition Yea a Learned and Ingenious Divine hath shew'd this to be a sort of Idolatry For the Mis-representation of God and worshipping him according to that Misrepresentation is the Sin of Idolatry Now to think to please God with new and varied Phrases in Prayer is to mis-represent him and to take him for such an one as our selves and by offering up such Prayers we worship him according to that Image and false Representation of him And therefore 't will be hard to excuse this Practice from the Sin of Idolatry Yea such Persons not only represent God under the Shape of a Man but pray to him as represented under the Weaknesses of a Man And certainly if the Mis-representation of the Object makes the Idolatry by how much the worse the Representation is by so much the grosser must the Idolatry be Sir If you will throughly weigh and consider these things you will find That the main Work and Business of Prayer lies in the Heart and the good Motions of it And therefore the Gift or Ability of performing it must properly be placed there So that your great Mistake all this while hath been in taking the Gift of wording Prayer for the Gift of Prayer To rectifie which you must know that Words are no part of Prayer or if they were the well-consider'd and digested Words of a Form are far more agreeable to the Nature and Dignity of this Duty and the Majesty we address to in it than any present and hasty Expressions And consequently the Gift of composing pious and well-ordered Forms for publick and private Devotion is in this Sense far more fitly styl'd the Gift of Prayer than your Talent of Extemporary Effusions But at rast I find you in that Letter of April 15th acknowledging that the offering up pious Desires to God without the use of any Words is Prayer in a proper Sense and that pious Souls who are duly affected with their Wants Sins and Mercies may be said to have the Gift of Praying acceptably to God in a spiritual manner without them Where you seem to place the Gift of Prayer as it should be in the Heart Yea all your own Arguments and Distinctions if well consider'd do most properly and principally place it there For what you call the special internal devout spiritual and successful Gift is truly the Gift or Grace of Prayer And what you style the common external and artificial Gift is properly the Gift of Speech Utterance and Elocution applyed to the Duty of Prayer And for the Novelty and Variety of Words you grant in your Letter of April 1st that 't is no further necessary than as the various Matter and Occasions require So that Thanks be to God by these Concessions that part of the Controversie is come to a pretty good Issue It remains then that you endeavour to undeceive the People and take them off from their vain and high Thoughts of this Verbal Gift That they may return to the Ancient Publick and Devout Prayers of the Church from which they have ignorantly swerved I am Yours in all true Affection M. H. July 24th 1697. LETTER II. SIR I Consider'd in my last the Letters relating to the Gift of Prayer and finding nothing of moment objected against them that may need or deserve a farther Answer I proceed to the Letters that relate to Forms of Prayer About which two Things are chiefly to be considered viz. 1st their Lawfulness and 2dly their Expediency And that we may bring Things to some good Issue I will shew how far we are agreed that we may the better compromize Matters where we differ 1. First then We are agreed about the lawfulness of
Forms of Prayer For in your Letter of June 28th you acknowledge Forms to be in themselves lawful and to some needful and complain of your being mis-represented by some as Enemies to all Forms Disputation of Liturgy Proposition 10. Your Oracle Mr. Baxter frequently asserts the lawfulness of them and withal declares That the disuse of Forms is apt to breed a giddiness in Religion and to make Men Hypocrites who delude themselves with Conceits that they delight in God when it is but in these Novelties and varieties of Expression that they are delighted and therefore adviseth Forms to fix Christians and make them sound Reason Discourse And another Brother of yours acknowledges That their Labours are profitable who have drawn the matter of Prayer into Forms Now these Concessions one would think were a fair step to a Reconciliation and might lay a good Foundation for Peace and Unity For this Principle if well observ'd and follow'd would bring all to the Church and help them to join in the same Forms of Publick Worship from which nothing but their unlawfulness can justifie a Separation St. Paul wills us To do what in us lies to live peaceably with all Men Rom. 12.18 and more especially with the Church whereof we are Members And elsewhere requires us To use our utmost Endeavours To keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace Ephes 4.2 Now does it not lie in us to do what we lawfully may Should we not go as far as we can for the sake of Peace and Unity Especially when we are commanded to do so by lawful Authority And what a mighty influence would this Amicable and Christian Temper have to promote Unity and prevent Divisions For if we lawfully may and ought as this Principle teaches to agree in offering up the same Prayer which will have the greater force from the benefit of Concord and Unanimity why should we break into Parties and put up different and contrary Petitions which must lose all their Efficacy from the mischief of Division 'T is evident Sir that you can and do upon occasion join in the Publick Prayers of the Church Which shews you are satisfied both in the lawfulness and use of them Now what should hinder you from doing that always for the sake of Peace which you can do sometimes to serve some other Turn Was ever Peace and Unity valued at so low a rate among Christians as to refuse to do what they lawfully may to preserve it As for what you object of renouncing the Covenant as a hinderance That is long since out of doors and cannot now with any shew or colour of Reason be pretended Only you find it in Mr. Baxter and being something to say you cannot forbear to use it tho' the Author and the Covenant too are both laid asleep in their Graves As for Re-ordination which you mention as another hinderance Neither can that affect you being if I am not mis-inform'd ordain'd by a Bishop And as for Assent and Consent to all that is Established which you talk so often and so much of tho' it be in its self very reasonable and no more than is required in all Established Churches and Societies yet if you cannot presently come to it you are to acquiesce and wait for farther Satisfaction which if you bring but a willing and humble Mind you may soon have In the mean time you are to continue as a private Member of the Church without disturbing the Peace of it either by separating from it your self or drawing the People from it by Objections wherein they are no way concern'd This Sir is unquestionably your Duty if you will keep a good Conscience and shew that Modesty that becomes you without giving Offence to that Church whereof you were Baptiz'd a Member and Ordain'd a Minister But the Misery is tho' you are driven by the evidence of Truth to own the lawfulness of Forms yet there is nothing which you more universally decry and disuse in the Practice even when enjoyn'd by that Power which in all lawful Things you are bound to obey This is a gross inconsistence and plainly shews that you have no mind to do what you safely may to promote Peace Is not this to act quite contrary to the Apostles Advice Nevertheless whereunto we have already attained let us walk by the same Rule let us mind the same Things Phil. 3.16 Where he wills us to go hand in hand together as far as we can and not to differ or break off from the use or practice of those Things wherein we are agreed If we have attain'd to the Knowlege and Belief of the lawfulness of Forms we are here required to join together in the use of them when the Peace of the Church and the Authority of Superiours make it necessary Certainly Sir he that will not do what he may to preserve Unity is an Enemy to Peace and hath another Game to play that is better promoted by Divisions And he that will not obey Magistrates in lawful and indifferent Things shakes off the Yoke and will obey only what he pleases But there is not say you a clearer Proof against Impositions than the following Words If any be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you not Man by his Laws enforce it upon you But how is this to be revealed unto you I hope you do not expect an immediate Revelation or voice from Heaven to satisfie you in this Matter or think that you are safe enough in your Error till you have such a Revelation to convince you Is it not sufficient that God hath in his Word revealed this unto you by appointing Forms of Prayer and Praises both in the Old and New Testament And what clearer Revelation will you have of this Divine Truth Yea is not this Ordinance of God Established by the Ordinance of Man too which we are commanded to submit unto for the Lord's sake If you believe not Moses and the Prophets as our Saviour speaks in another Case neither will ye believe tho' One rose from the Dead Luke 16.31 If so plain a Revelation of this Truth will not convince you neither will you be convinc'd tho' it were revealed to you from Heaven But you tell me If all lawful Things may be enjoyn'd by Superiours in the Worship of God then Spittle and Cream in Baptism Crossing at the Eucharist and abundance more of such Popish Trumpery may be enjoined by them which you endeavour to prove lawful Are you sure Sir that 't is lawful to clog the Institutions of Christ with such needless burdensome and insignificant Things Indeed Decency and Order and Edification require a few Ceremonies and such as are expressive of Reverence and help to promote the inward Piety and Devotion of the Mind but does not the same Decency and Edification forbid too many and such as are vain and unserviceable to those Ends 'T is certain that the Worship of God cannot be perform'd without
some Ceremonies and why may not Superiours make choice of such as are recommended in Scripture and approved of by the practice of ancient Times for the greater Solemnity and Uniformity of Publick Worship and must these be rejected because they have not thought fit to burden it by requiring more To â—et forth Religion in some necessary comely and significant Ceremonies is to recommend and make her look fair and amiable in the Eyes of the World but to dress her up in a multitude of garish and useless Habiliments is to expose and make her appear ridiculous to the Beholders But if these Things were lawful which is much to be doubted what need is there to fear the enjoining of those Things which the Church hath wisely cast out If you look into the Preface before the Common Prayer you may see the Reasons why the Church thought fit to retain some of the ancient and decent Ceremonies and to lay aside those frivolous and burdensome ones which you mention And is it not a Vile Reflection on the Wisdom of our Superiours both in Church and State to suspect the introducing of that which upon prudent Consideration they have rejected Especially having given so good Reasons for their so doing Besides is it a fit pretence think you for not doing what is required for fear of other and worse things being required upon the same grounds This is as a Reverend Prelate hath observed as if a Son should refuse to put off his Hat at his Father's Command lest he should be commanded to put off his Shoes and be led on further to kiss his Toe which is a Token of Respect somewhere or as if a Man should refuse to wear the Badge or Habit of his Office or Degree for fear he should be required to wear a Fool's-Coat Every one can see the Folly of such Objections in these things tho' too many are so blinded with Interest and Prejudice as not to discern it in weightier Matters But there are some things lawful say you that are too mean and trivial to be made the matter of a Command as an Injunction to have our Eyes shut or open in time of Prayer and the like And must you not have mean and trivial Thoughts of Superiours to suspect the injoining of these things as if they had nothing to do but to trifle away their Time and Authority about such slight Matters But I hope you do not reckon Forms of Prayer among those mean trivial things which have been ever thought fit and necessary in all Christian Churches And yet you are so vain as to tell me in that Letter That Superiours would be more favourable to you in these Matters if they were not hinder'd by others who obstruct all their Designs of Peace and Concord As if they themselves did not consider what they did but were meerly led on and acted by others and would gladly undo what upon great Advice and Deliberation they have thought fit to be done if they were but left to themselves Yea though in establishing of Forms they have acted in Conformity to all Antiquity yet there can be no Peace or Concord till they lay them aside and do as you would have them What think you is not this arrant Pride and Hypocrisie thus to magnifie your selves and to seek by a few fulsome Flatteries to Atone for such vile Reflections But tho' all things are lawful say you yet all things are not expedient And this will lead me to consider the Expediency of Forms of Prayer which shall be done in my next In the mean time I am SIR Your Vnfeigned Well-wisher M. H. August 9th 1697. LETTER III. SIR I Shew'd in my last our Agreement about the Lawfulness of Forms of Prayer and the Obligation that thence lies upon us to join in the use of them for the Maintenance of Peace and Unity 2dly I come now to consider the Expediency of them and to see how far we agree here the better to adjust the Matters in difference between us For the Proof of this Expediency I refer you to my 7th Letter and likewise to my Sermon preach'd and publish'd for the Satisfaction of an eminent Dissenter in which you will find this Matter handled and proved at large Indeed 't is to be hoped That you are not so far from owning this Expediency as some may imagine For in your Letter of July 5th you have these Words For the Lawfulness and Expediency of Forms of Prayer in some Cases and to some Persons none of us do deny This looks like a pretty hopeful Concession and a farther Advance to an Accommodation if the Straitness of the Limitations do not spoil all Let us see then what are the Cases and who are the Persons in respect of whom you grant the Expediency or Inexpediency of Forms And these as far as I can guess by your Letters relate partly to the difference of Times and partly to the difference of Mens Abilities 1. First then for the difference of Times you tell me in your first Letter That you ever thought the Liturgy an excellent Work for the Time in which it was Composed but you believe that the Compilers of it never dreamt of Posterities being confin'd to it and the Ministers of future Generations being obliged to use that and no other in their publick Ministration But why should you believe so Did not those pious and excellent Persons live in the constant Use and die in the Defence of the Liturgy Yea we read of some who laid it next their Hearts and hugg'd it in the very Flames And did they ever dream think you that such a reform'd and deliberate Composure should be laid aside to make way for Extempore-Prayer They did not make a New Liturgy but reformed the Old and only purg'd it from the corrupt Additions and Innovations of Popery And why should you believe that Men so little given to Change should be so willing to part with such a wise and well-ordered Establishment Or that they ever dreamt of a sort of double Refiners that should refine again upon them and reform it all away This is a precarious Conjecture and taken up without any colour of Reason especially since all their learned Successors have ever since as much reverenc'd and kept to it as the first Compilers But you take Forms of Prayer to be expedient only in Times of Darkness and Ignorance and believe they were never calculated for Times of greater Light But Sir were there ever Times of greater Light than the Days of Christ and his Apostles when Life and Immortality were brought to light by the Gospel and Error and Ignorance vanish'd like Darkness at the Approach of the Sun And yet we find Forms of Prayer prescribed and used in those bright and glorious Times For did not John the Baptist who was a burning and shining Light teach his Disciples to pray by a Form If you have any doubt of this you will find it proved by Dr. Lightfoot
pick and chuse out of publick Orders and Establishments to obey what they please and refuse the rest Is not this to let loose the Reins and suffer every one to do only what is right in his own Eyes Is it not strange that any should own or vent such wild Principles of Confusion 2dly Secondly The other hard Term you complain of in the Injunction of the Liturgy is your being commanded to use That and no other And where 's the Hardship of this Would you have the Liturgy enjoin'd and the use of another thing set up by its side How can this consist with any Order or indeed with common Sense Or would you have the Liturgy enjoin'd and the use of it left free This would be to enjoin and not enjoin it at the same time and can any Establishment stand upon such a precarious and inconsistent Bottom If a Liturgy containing all the daily and constant Matter of Prayer and Praises together with all the standing Offices of Religion be enjoin'd and no other it thereby becomes necessary to be used and excludes the use of any other And if it be so full as to comprehend all that is needful to those ends what need is there of any other Unless you think it necessary to ask the same things every Day in new and varied Expressions Which can't with any colour of Reason be affirmed Besides the Liturgy of the Church is not so strictly enjoin'd as never to permit the use of any other For in your private and secret Devotion you are at liberty to use your free or compos'd Prayers And in publick too upon any new Occasion or Emergency other Prayers appointed by Authority are and ought to be used But for the ordinary and standing Offices of publick Worship as there is no Occasion so there is no need of any other Lastly for the further clearing of this Matter let us see the Grounds and Reasons of this Injunction And if that make it necessary for all Persons and Occasions you will easily see the weakness both of your Complaints and Objections against it Now the great Reason of enjoining publick Forms is as sundry Acts of Parliament declare the Uniformity of publick Worship whereby alone one regular and uniform way of serving God may be preserv'd among all the Members of a National Church And this makes it necessary for all Persons Places and Countries who according to the Apostle's Direction desire With one mind and one mouth to glorifie their great Creator But I find you with another Brother of yours often styling this That pitiful thing call'd Vniformity that never enter'd into the Mind of God or his Son to command It seems you can agree well enough in a Form of Railing tho' not of Devotion But is Uniformity such a Pitiful thing which alone can help us to speak the same things and to agree in our Petitions which our Saviour hath made necessary to the Success of our Prayers Is that to be so undervalued that wise and knowing Men have so highly prized in all Ages And will you call that a Pitiful thing which puts such a Form and Comliness into Religious Worship as to render it more prevalent with God and more pleasing in the Eyes of Men Hath not the Wisdom and Piety of our Governors thought fit to establish an Uniformity ever since the Reformation And have they employed all this Time and Care and Prudence about a Pitiful thing Is not this a vile Reflection on our Superiors in Church and State Can there be an Instance of greater Pride and vain Conceit that some have of themselves In a word does not this plainly shew that Arrogance and Obstinacy are the great Vertues and Perfections of our Dissenting Brethren But an Vnity say you in the Matter of Prayer is sufficient without any such Vniformity in Words and Syllables But Sir sad Experience which is the best Argument hath taught us That when the Unity of Forms was by a prevailing Faction laid aside the Unity of the Matter of Prayer soon went with it For Men fell a praying one against another And when the Pales of the Church were taken away the grossest Blasphemies in point of Doctrine as well as the greatest Divisions in point of Worship immediately broke in upon us The Enemy taking Opportunity to sow those Tares that can't be rooted out to this Day This hath been acknowledged and lamented by some sober Presbyterians themselves particularly by Dr. Tuckâ—ey in his Sermon on 2 Tim. I. 13. and Mr. Edwards in his Gangraena To which I refer you Thus I have shewn you how far we agree about the enjoining Forms of Prayer And have endeavoured to carry you further by making you sensible of your Mistake where you differ But to take off the Force of all this I find you questioning the Authority that commands these Things which must be examin'd in my next I am SIR Yours M. H. August 14th 1697. LETTER V. SIR I Have been comprizing the Difference between us about the Injunction of Forms by shewing the reasonableness of enjoyning them on all Persons and Occasions for Publick Worship And likewise how fit it is that all the Members of a National Church for the sake of Peace Order and Uniformity should join in the use of them and no other But because you have some Exception against the Authority that thus imposes them I must endeavour to remove or adjust that Matter For in yours of June 28th you would have me tell you Whom we mean by Superiors And who or what those Rulers are that Christ hath vested with such a vast Authority as to command an Invariable Form and the rather you say because we are divided in this point among our selves One part of the Disputers for the Church of England making the King the External Civil Governour but the Bishops the Internal Governours of the Church as a Church c. Sir I know none of the Regular Sons of the Church of England divided in this Point And I hope to shew from the Concessions of the most eminent Presbyterians that the Difference between them and us in this Matter is not so great as is imagined To this end let us see what Power is lodg'd in the Civil Magistrate about Sacred and Spiritual Things And what is peculiar to those Spiritual Officers and Ministers which Christ hath appointed in his Church and by that means you will see plainly who are those Rulers and Superiors that may command in these Things 1. First There is a Power in the Church that is purely Spiritual Such is That of Preaching the Word Administring the Holy Sacraments the Power of Absolution Ordination Confirmation Excommunication and the like This is the Power of the Keys committed by Christ to the Apostles and in them to their Successors the Bishops and Pastors of the Church And this Commission is peculiarly directed and confin'd to them No Civil Magistrate having Authority of doing any of these Things For when
Vzziah the King would venture upon the Execution of the Priest's Office we read that it was said to him It pertaineth not to thee Uzziah to burn Incense unto the Lord but to the Priests of the Sons of Aaron who are Consecrated to burn Incense 1 Chron. 26.18 Herein I suppose we are all agreed and I know of none but Erastus that affirmed the contrary who I think hath few or no Followers 2. Secondly There is an External Political Power of Protecting Ordering and Well-governing the Church and this is the Power of the Sword which is committed to the Civil Magistrate only who is therefore said to be The Minister of God to us for Good and an Avenger to execute Wrath upon him that doeth Evil. Rom. 13.4 And as King Vzziah was blam'd for medling with the Power of the Keys so was Peter check'd for drawing the Sword and commanded to put it up as a Weapon that appertain'd not to him Matt. 26.52 These are two distinct Powers the one appointed to work upon the Inward the other upon the Outward Man and both ordain'd by Christ for the edifying and well-ordering of his Church As for the Ministers Power In Spiritualibus or the due Exercise of the Sacred Function there is no Dispute But the Magistrate's Power Circa Spiritualia i. e. Whether it extends to Ecclesiastical Persons and Causes is the Knot to be untied For the clearing whereof I must shew wherein the Civil Magistrate's Power in Church-matters doth mainly consist that we way see how we agree about it 1. And First The Prince or Civil Magistrate hath a Power of protecting and defending the Church and every Member of it in the profession and practice of true Religion For this end chiefly was the Sword put into his Hand which he is therefore requir'd Not to bear in vain Rom. 13.3 4. but to draw it forth to the Terror of Evil doers and the defence of them that do well 1 Pet. 2.14 'T is the Magistrate's Province and Duty to maintain the Church in its Rights and to preserve it in that fulness of Power and Privileges which Christ hath Communicated to it Hence Kings are stil'd Nursing Fathers and Queens Nursing Mothers to the Church Isai 49.23 And we are bid to pray for them that under their power and protection We way lead quiet and peaceable Lives in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 1 2. v. This is granted on all Hands 2. Secondly The Prince hath a Power of regulating and well-ordering Matters appertaining to the Church 2 Chron. 29.5 24. As keeping Ecclesiastical Persons to their respective Offices and Duties preserving the Places of Publick Worship from Sacriledge and Profanation Establishing a Regular and Uniform way of Divine Service to be observed in them 2 Chron. 31.4 providing and securing a convenient Maintenace to such as serve at the Altar He may reform the Church when it is corrupted in its Doctrine Worship or Discipline 1 Tim. 5.17 These things we find practis'd and commended in all the good Kings both of Israel and Judah Who took care to remove the Impediments and encourage the exercise of true Religion Again Princes may and ought as Vice-roys of Christ's Kingdom to preserve the Peace and Unity of the Church by suppressing Schism and purging it from Idolatry and Superstition To this end they may guard it with good Laws and may likewise convene the Ecclesiastical Governors to meet in Synods and Convocations to consult and agree upon such Canons as the Necessities of the Church shall require And because the Power of the Church is wholly Spiritual and some bold Obstinate Persons may despise and slight the Censures of the Church which may thereby be render'd ineffectual therefore 3dly Thirdly The Prince may and ought to ratifie and enforce such wholesome Laws by Temporal Sanctions and Penalties thereby correcting such Disorderly Members and punishing the Breach and Contempt of Ecclesiastical Canons and Constitutions This we find was the practice of Christian Kings and Emperors ever since they became Christian For when the Church was either corrupted by Error or infested by Schism they interposed their Power to put a Check to such Disorders and partly by their own imperial Edicts and partly by the Canons of Councils call'd by their Authority and enforc'd by Civil Coercions put a stop to the spread and increase of them And this is no more than what is necessary for the peace and good Government of the Church For tho' the Spiritual Rod of Excommunication hath indeed Terror enough in it to be dreaded of All that have any sense or care of their Souls yet because too many are so harden'd in their Schism and Errors as not to feel the smart of it The Secular Prince may and ought to second the Spiritual with the Temporal Rod to awe such Offenders with Corporal Corrections as are fearless and insensible of the Censures of the Church In a word because All things in the Church of Christ are required to be done Decently and in Order therefore Kings and Princes who are the Guardians and 1 Cor. 14. Protectors of the Church are to take care of the Decency and Solemnity of the publick Worship perform'd in it To effect which they have not only a Directive and Mandatory Power to make Laws and give Rules about it but likewise a Coactive and Compulsory Power to make them observ'd Without which they can never attain their End All this is granted by the most Eminent Presbyterians in their Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici Jus Div. c. 9. And the same is acknowledg'd likewise by Mr. Baxter Plea for Peace p. 30 99. both in his Plea for Peace and Treatise of Episcopacy Now these Concessions are abundantly enough for our purpose Epise p. 144 192 193. For if Publick Forms of Prayer have the Authority of Ecclesiastical Governours in Convocation and be likewise ratifyed and enforc'd by the Sanctions of the Civil Power there can be no just exception against the Authority that enjoyns them And you may be satisfied from hence who those Superiors and Rulers are that may command an invariable Form which was the thing you question'd and I hope is now to your Satisfaction answer'd So that if there be no unlawfulness in Forms of Prayer which you have already granted you may easily see a strong Obligation lying upon you to use those that are commanded and no other which was the thing to be proved But you ask What if the King should command one Translation Version or Form of Prayers and the Bishops another whom must we obey Sir This in our Case is a meer Cavil because all Authority both Civil and Ecclesiastical agree in the prescribed Forms And we hope they will never Clash or interfere in that or any other thing for the publick good of Church or State But if it should so happen which God forbid You must know That tho' Christ erected a standing Form of Spiritual Government
in his Church yet he never gave any Authority to Ecclesiastical Persons to controul the commanding Power of Princes in lawful and indifferent Matters But left all such things intirely to their Disposal and Determination And we never read That the Apostles or Primitive Christians ever claim'd such a Power or suffer'd for disobeying in such Things There is but one Limitation assign'd of our Obedience and that is To obey God rather than Man If the Commands of God and the Prince clash and contradict each other there the Prince hath no Right to be obey'd because his Will is counter-manded by a Superiour Authority And therefore we find Christ and his Apostles who were very tender of giving the least Offence to Secular Powers in lawful and indifferent Things would yet yield no Obedience in things forbidden by the Express Will of God This is evident in Matters between God and the King And 't is no less so in the Case between the King and his Subjects where if the Spiritual Power of the one clash with the Temporal Power of the other 't is manifest which must yield the Inferiour Power being to give place to the Higher Powers For St. Peter stiles Kings and Emperors Supream in their Dominions And a Supream you know can have no Superiour Power upon Earth to controul or over-rule him But tho' the King say some be Supream in Temporal Affairs yet there may be and is a Superiour Power to him in Church-matters This is the Power that is claim'd and usurp'd by the Pope over Christian Kings and Emperors And there are others who are great Enemies to the Pope that put in their Claim to the same Power in these Matters and would fain take it out of his Hands to put it into their own But St. Peter from whom the first claim as his Successors expresly asserts Kings to be Supream in their Dominions without Limitation or Exception of Spiritual Matters And what Authority have any to except where the Spirit of God makes no Exception And our Saviour Christ from whom the latter claim hath no where limited or circumscrib'd the Sovereign Power of Princes in these Things So that Kings had need look well to the Rights of their Crown to preserve them from the unjust Pretensions and Encroachments of both Besides what mad work must two Co-ordinate Supremacies make in the same Kingdom For since Sacred and Civil Matters are many times so closesly twisted and inter-woven together that they can hardly be separated or distinguish'd what sharp and unavoidable Contests must frequently arise about them And if these two Rival-Supreams differ about the extent and limits of their Power what shall the Subject do who cannot possibly obey or please both For since no Man can serve two Masters the serving of the One will be the despising of the Other which may draw on him the Displeasure of both And can it be conceived that the Great Sovereign of the World who hath styl'd himself A God of Order and not of Confusion should lay such a Stumbling-block in our way and leave so weighty a Matter upon which the Peace and Welfare of Kingdoms depend to such great Uncertainties Again if these two Rival-powers fall at variance who shall reconcile them or what shall decide this great Controversie Why nothing upon Earth is able to do it but the Sword with which the Spiritual Power hath nothing to do for that hath no other Weapons but the Censures of the Church and can only strike with the Thunder of Excommunication and if these be dis-regarded as they too often are it hath nothing left to preserve or maintain a Supremacy So that if the Sword be the only Weapon to defend it he who is of right intrusted with that is thereby design'd and constituted Supream But those Scriptures you say that require Obedience and Subjection to the Higher Powers respect Church-governours 300 Years before the Christian Magistrate appeared in the World Sir If you consult Expositors or the History of those Times you will find those Scriptures to respect the Roman Governors who then sway'd the Imperial Sceptre To whom our Saviour would have all due Submission and Obedience paid For he commanded To render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar 's He acknowledg'd Pilate's Power to be given him from above And the Apostles and Primitive Christians demean'd themselves towards them accordingly Indeed for the first 300 Years after Christ when the Roman Power not only persecuted but sought to root out Christianity the Church was govern'd by its own Laws and by its own Legislative Power provided the best it could for its own Safety and Edification but when the Roman Emperors embrac'd Christianity to the great Joy of the Christian World they took the Church into their Care and Protection which by that means got out of that heavy Storm of Persecution under which it had long labour'd and began to flourish in Peace and Prosperity For Constantine and other Christian Emperors built Churches for publick Worship and provided for the decent Celebration of it They conven'd General Councils and often presided in them ratifying their Canons with their Imperial Edicts and enforcing them with Temporal Sanctions and Penalties By which means the Church is derived down in that happy and flourishing State in which it now continues Thus Sir you see who those Rulers and Superiors are that may enjoin an Invariable Form And I hope I have in some measure satisfy'd your Demands and remov'd your Exceptions against the Authority that enjoins them But when you have nothing to say against the Authority of Superiors you are wont to complain of the Injustice and Severity of their Laws and to cry out of Persecution when you suffer for the Breach of them how justly this is done must be examin'd in the next I am SIR Yours to serve you M. H. August 10th 1697. LETTER VI. SIR I Shew'd in my Last what that Authority is that lawfully may and hath enjoin'd Forms of Prayer together with the Equity and Obligation of those Laws that require them My next Task must be to inquire into the Reasonableness and Justice of those Penalties that are annext to the Violation of them And this must be the rather done because I find you talking much of Goals and Imprisonments and other Hardships which you have endur'd upon the account of them You complain most bitterly and frequently of Persecution as if you lived under Nero or Dioclesian and felt all the Tortures that were inflicted on the Primitive Christians and that for the same or as good a Cause too All which is done merely to derive an Odium upon the Laws and Lawgivers and to procure the greater Pity and Liberty for your selves And here I must observe a double Artifice which I find you making use of the one to evade the Duty the other the Penalty of these Laws To effect the First you are wont to call the Injunctions of Superiors not by the Style of
well yea I think much better within the Church than out of it and to suffer for the Breach of good Laws made for the Preservation of Peace and good Order in the Church of Christ and to guard the Worship of God from the Rudeness and Irreverence of Sectaries and Schismaticks is to suffer as an evil Doer and the greatest Malefactors may as well complain of their Sufferings as any other in such Cases Such Sufferings can give none any Comfort here nor intitle them to any Reward hereafter yea they are rather the Beginnings of Sorrows and the Fore runners of future and far grater Punishments Indeed the Impatience you betray under them shews them to be founded on a bad Bottom and that you do not expect from them the Crown of Martysdom for else you might with the Apostles rejoice in your Sufferings and instead of complaining thank God that you are accounted worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ we find St. Paul was so far from being afraid or asham'd that he gloried in the Cross and when some lamented his hard Fate in his Journey to Jerusalem he checked their Tears and told them That he was ready not only to be bound but to die for the name of the Lord Jesus Acts xxi 13. Whereas your frequent Outcries and Complaints of Sufferings do betray your Guilt and shew That you can take no comfort in them and to tell you truly to suffer for a fond Adherence to Extempore-Prayer shews only a Zeal without Knowledge and he that loses his Livelyhood for an obstinate Refusal of wholsome Forms does but fall a Sacrifice to his own Rashness and Folly But whilst you make such heavy Complaints of easie and just Punishments design'd merely to preserve the publick Peace and to reform your private Errors you may do well to call to mind the far greater and more unjust Sufferings that befel the Sons of the Church of England in the time of the great Rebellion and that not for the Breach but Observance of good Laws and a firm Adherence to their Duty both to God and the King What miserable Outrage and Violence was offer'd to their Persons What Rapine Plunder Oppression and Spoil was made of their Goods and Estates And having nick-nam'd them Malignants there were no Cruelties too great to be executed upon them 'T were too long and too sad a Story to relate the doleful Tragedies acted upon the Prince Peers and People and how the Three Kingdoms groan'd under the direful Effects of an outragious and intemperate Zeal But because you may read these things in sundry Authors and particularly in a Book called Angliae Ruina or Mercurius Rusticus I shall add no more on this sad Subject but shall refer you to them In short then you will do well to consider the Cause of the Sufferings you complain of and if it cannot stand the Tryal of Reason now you may well think it will much less bear the severer Tryal of the last Day if they are found to be the just and necessary Penalties of good Laws do not flatter your self with the Name or Reward of Persecution but rather make a right use of them by returning to your Duty both to God and the Church that you may avoid unnecessary Troubles here and far greater Dangers and Punishments hereafter But you have two or three Pleas more to shift off Obedience to good Laws viz. a Judgment of Discretion or Plea of Conscience the Plea of Moderation and the Plea of Toleration all which shall be consider'd in Order In the mean time I am SIR Yours M. H. Sept 11th 1697. LETTER VII SIR I Consider'd in my Last your Plea of Persecution whereby you have endeavour'd to evade the just and necessary Punishments of wholsome Laws I come now to another Plea by which you seek to cast off all Obedience to them and that is your Judgment of Discretion whereby you can very discreetly judge any thing to be unlawful which you have no mind to obey And this Judgment though never so false ill grounded and erroneous shall give you a Supersedeas and justifie your Disobedience to them this is a Matter of that Consequence that it ought to be well examin'd in order to the Peace of Church and State Let us see then where this Judgment of Discretion is lodg'd and how 't is managed in order to the compassing of this end To which purpose pray consult your Letter of June the 23th where you will find these Words I see you lodge the final Decision of what is lawful decent and expedient in these Matters in the Breasts of Superiours Yes Sir in all things that are not apparently unlawful indecent and inexpedient For since some-body must have the determining of these things I know not where this Power can be more safely lodg'd But you go on and say Indeed if it be in a thing confess'd indifferent the Judgment is readily allow'd to the Superiors but if the Question be about lawful and unlawful we must have a Judgment of Discretion allow'd us as to our Practice c. Where 't is obvious to observe how all Power of judging in the publick Affairs of Church and State is wrested out of the hands of of the Superiors and cunningly lodg'd in the Breasts of the People For First a thing must be confess'd to be indifferent before the Magistrate shall be allow'd to have any Judgment at all in it Now Men that have any Interest to the contrary will confess no more things to be indifferent than they have a Mind to as appears in the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church which tho' in their own Nature plainly indifferent yet some Men cannot or will not think them so because they do not think fit to observe them yea they have a farther fetch if the Indifferency of them too plainly appear and that is that the imposing of them alters their Nature and makes them necessary and consequently unlawful by which Artifice their Judgment of Discretion shall rob the Magistrate of all Judgment and Authority in indifferent things Then 2dly If the Question say you be about lawful or unlawful then every one must have a Judgment of Discretion allowed them of Course So that by this Device the Magistrate is cut off from all Judgment of Discretion here too and the final Decision of what is lawful decent and expedient is wholly lodg'd in the Breast of the Subject which is an excellent way to set them above their Superiors and to shift off all Obedience to them Yea this hath mounted you to that degree of Arrogance as to question whether you have any Superiors in these Matters for you ask in the fore-cited Letter who those Superiors are that have this Authority of enjoining Forms of Prayer Whether it be the King or the Bishops Sir There are none so blind as those that will not see this pretended Ignorance of yours is not so much in Favour to the King from whom your
that are neither the one nor the other for things indifferent in which we are free any further than we are prescribed to by our Superiors to whom we owe Obedience as God's Ministers and Viceroys upon Earth When I say the Mind is thus rightly informed in these Matters 't is a good firm and well-grounded Conscience and is a safe Rule and Guide of our Actions and this is a healthy and found Temper of Mind On the contrary when the Mind is ill inform'd and unsetled taking things lawful for unlawful and unlawful things for lawful abstaining from some things as sinful which God hath no where forbidden as Forms of Prayer and doing other things with an Opinion of Holiness and Necessity which God hath no where required as Extempore and varied Prayers This is an entangled and perplexed Conscience and it is a very uncertain and unsafe Guide of our Actions insomuch That to be acted by it is not to be led by any found Principles of Duty and Conscience but by the wrong Measures of Fancy Humour and Mistaken Opinion and this is a very sickly weak and unsound State of Mind Which will lead me to the Consideration of an Erroneous Doubting and Scrupulous Conscience the three grievous Diseases and Infirmities of the Mind and to shew how we may be best cur'd and rid of them And First an erroneous Conscience is when a thing in it self lawful and enjoin'd by lawful Authority shall be judged sinful and unlawful to be done and likewise when a thing in its own Nature sinful and forbidden by lawful Authority shall yet be judg'd not only lawful but necessary to be done This is an erring Conscience and brings a Man into very great Straits for he lies under a Necessity of sinning let him go which Way he will If he does the thing which he judges unlawful he acts against the Perswasion of his own Mind and so being not of Faith is Sin If he refuse the doing of it he acts against lawful Authority and sins in disobeying that Power in a thing which he is commanded to obey As in the former Instance If any shall judge a Form of Prayer enjoin'd by Superiors to be unlawful here if he uses it he sins against the Duty he owes to his own Conscience if he uses it not he sins against the Duty he owes to his lawful Superiors both ways he commits a grievous Sin which he cannot avoid whilst he continues in his Error This is indeed a great and grievous Snare and where a Man is really intangled with it and in good earnest he deserves Pity Now To get rid of it because our Mind cannot alter the Nature of things we must endeavour to alter our Mind and bring it rightly to understand the Nature of things to which end we must bring humble and teachable Minds free from Pride Passion and all manner of Prejudice not misled by Interest Humour or vain Conceit but willing to learn and receive Satisfaction confulting our lawful Pastors or some other able Divines that may be able and willing to direct us weighing the Arguments on the side of Authority as well as those against it using as much of the prescribed Forms as we lawfully may and going with Authority as far as we can If this were heartily and sincerely done there would be few Separatists or Dissenters for Satisfaction this way might soon be had and wherein any were otherwise minded God would soon reveal even this unto him 2dly A Doubting Conscience is when the Mind is in suspence about the Lawfulness or Unlawfulness of a thing and hangs as it were in aequilibrio having Arguments sometimes perswading it one way and sometimes another so that 't is at a loss which way to incline In this Case if the Matter in Question be a thing enjoined by Superiors 't is very reasonable that Authority should turn the Scale and that laying aside the Doubt we should do the thing commanded For in doubtful Matters the safest Course is to be taken Now since the Duty of Obedience is certain and the particular Matter of the Command only doubtful Reason wills That we chuse a Certainty before an Uncertainty and therefore in such Cases the Judgment and Authority of Superiours must over-rule and a certain Duty take place of an uncertain Doubt This cannot be said to be acting against Conscience for here the Mind being in suspence and having not determined or pass'd Sentence either way it cannot be said to be more against the Conscience than with it and the weight of Government must be esteemed very light if it cannot carry it in such a Case So that if any do but doubt of the Lawfulness or Expediency of Prescribed Forms the Injunction of them ought to discard those Doubts and oblige them to join in the use of them But does not the Apostle say He that doubteth is damned if he eat Yes he that doth a thing doubtingly wherein he is under no Command but is left free and arbitrary to himself as in the Case of eating mentioned by the Apostle justly incurs the Peril of Damnation because he acts against his Conscience in a thing wherein he ought to be guided by it But if a thing be determin'd by Authority of the Lawfulness whereof a Man is not fully perswaded but hath only some Doubts about it he may and ought to guide his Doubts and do as he is commanded without any danger of Damnation for if he do amiss in it 't will be a Fault of the Governors who required it and not his whose Duty it is in such Cases to obey 3dly A Scrupulous Conscience is when the Mind is pretty well satisfied about the Lawfulness of a thing and yet hath some slight Fears and Scruples about it This is a crazy and weak temper of Mind proceeding from Melancholy or too great Timorousness occasioned by reading some sort of Books and conversing with some ill instructed Persons which are apt to suggest needless Fears and Objections And this I take to come nearest to your Case for tho' you are reasonably well perswaded of the Lawfulness of Forms of Prayer in general and of ours in particular yet you entertain your self and feed others with some unreasonable Jealousies and Scruples about them such are they about the Calendar the Rule for finding Easter the Version of the Psalms and some Expressions in the Rubrick and other Offices together with Assent and Consent to them Which little Cavils or Scruples like the Flies of Egypt are still buzzing about your Ears for I find them mentioned almost in every Letter No. Sir being pretty will satisfied in the Main if you canâ—… otherwise get rid of these Scruples 't will be your Duty and Wisdom too to throw them clear off as the Snares and Temptations of the Devil and to comply with decent and publick Constitutions without minding the Clamor and Importunity of them for if greater Doubts ought to give place to the Wisdom and Authority of
Governours certainly such little Scruples ought not to stand in Competition with them But the 14th Chapter to the Romans say you if well minded would put an end to these Differences and indeed so it would if it were well understood and observed For the things discours'd of in that Chapter were things not only indifferent in their Nature but left so as to their Use as the eating of Herbs and sundry sorts of Meat the observing of Days and the like in which every one had their Liberty no Superior Power having interpos'd either to command or forbid them in which Case they sinned not in using or austaining from them And therefore the Apostle wills them not to censure or condemn one another for using this Liberty either way But the Case with us is very different for tho' the things are indifferent in themselves and left so as to our Judgment about them yet our Practice is determined by the Authority of Superiors which are to sway and over-rule in these Matters There are indeed many things left arbitrary and indifferent to us about which Men may and do entertain some Scruples as playing at Cards and Dice lending upon Usury and the like which being under no Command Men may do in them as they think most convenient Here the Case is parallel with us and the Romans and all the Apostle's Directions about the one may well enough be applied to the other But as for Forms of Prayer Kneeling at the Sacrament and the like These being commanded by our Superiors for the Decency and Order of Publick Worship it becomes our Duty to observe them and our Sin to neglect or act contrary to them And thus having I hope given you some Satisfaction as to the Plea of Conscience and Judgment of Discretion I shall next consider your Notion of Moderation In the mean time I am SIR Yours M. H. Sept. 28th 1697. LETTER IX SIR WE have seen That neither the Judgment of Discretion or Plea of Conscience can null the Obligation or dispense with our Obedience to the wholsome Laws either of Church or State Let us see then what your Notion of Moderation can do towards it whether that will not take off some part of them or allow us to observe only so much of them as we think fit For 't is not for nothing that you so frequently cry up Moderation which is a plausible Term for some Abatement You talk much of a due Temper towards Dissenters by which you mean no doubt the indulging 'em in their Schisms and Divisions And to draw in some Church-men of your side you often commend such as fail and falter in their Duty for moderate Men. Now because the Apostle wills Phil. 4.5 That Our Moderation should be known unto all Men 't will be requisite to inquire into the Nature and true Notion of that Vertue that we may rightly know our selves what we are to make known unto others To this end we must Note First That Moderation is sometimes taken for the moderate use of God's Creatures or keeping the mean in Eating or Drinking in this Sense 't is the same with Temperance and Sobriety which help to regulate our Appetite and Practice in the necessary Actions and Refreshments of humane Life But tho' this be an excellent and useful Vertue yet it falls not under our present Consideration Secondly Moderation is sometimes taken for the well-governing our Passions and Affections keeping them within their due Bounds and not suffering 'em to run into Inordinacy or Excess In this Sense 't is the same with Meekness or Gentleness which teach Men to moderate their Anger and regulate all other Passions by fixing 'em upon right Objects and keeping 'em within their due Measures and Proportions This likewise is an excellent Vertue and highly conduces both to the publick and private Peace Thirdly Moderation is sometimes taken for the mild-interpreting and executing of Laws Construing 'em in the more favourable Sense and abating the Rigour and Severity of them Summum jus summa injuria which in many Cases would be great Injury and Oppression In this Sense 't is the same with Equity which takes off the edge and extremity of Laws and gives all those Allowances which are consistent with the Reason and Intention of them this too is a great Vertue and Necessary to the Welfare and good Government of all Societies These I take to be the principal if not the only approved Senses of Moderation But besides these some have lately started a new and wild Notion of it that was never heard of in the Church till the Rise of our unhappy Schisms and Dissensions Since which some have taken Moderation for a paring off a great part of their Conformity to the Church and complying too far with the Dissenters from it Thus he that prevaricates and performs his Duty by halves by curtailing and cutting short the Prayers of the Church mangling and leaving out what parts he pleases of them in the publick Ministrations He that Baptizeth without the Sign of the Cross and many times neglects the decent Habits and Gestures appointed to be used in Divine Service such an one is stiled and frequently passes for a moderate Man and such as these are the Darlings of the Dissenters for we shall hear them commending their Moderation upon all Occasions The plain Reason whereof is because they do just as they would have them that is by neglecting some part of their Duty to the Church they give 'em some Countenance in rejecting all Yea they take these half Conformists to be inward Approvers of their ways they think and say that their Hearts are with 'em and would gladly come to 'em were it not for some Advantages and Preferments in the Church that keep 'em from ' em Now this besides the Hollowness and Hypocrisie of the Conformity is a most dangerous piece of Moderation for it hardens Dissenters in their Schism betrays the Church and lays it open to the Assaults and Evil Designs of its greatest Enemies Again he that Conforms to the Dissenters in long Pulpit-Prayers before Sermon hastily running over the Prayers of the Church to make more room for his long-winded Conceptions he goes for a moderate Man and many such you tell me there are in the Church with whom you have some Acquaintance and for whom you have no small Honour Sir I hope the number of those Men are not so great as you imagine I am sure the Church gives 'em no leave or encouragement for any such Practice for this wills us in our Pulpit-Prayers to use either those Concise Words mention'd in the Canon or some short form of our own to the same effect And the ancient practice of the Church was according to it for we find the Fathers before their Sermons had only some Vota pacis or Benedictions of the People or some short Ejaculations imploring the Divine Assistance as we see in the Homilies of St. Chrysostom St. Ambrose St.
Augustine c. Where you will find either a short Collect or Form of Prayer us'd without variation or else only an invitation to Prayer like the Bidding Prayer mention'd in the Canon Yea your great Friend Mr. Calvin constantly used one short Form before Sermon which concluded still with the Lord's Prayer as you may find it recorded in the History of his Life Indeed when our Liturgy is so well stor'd with Divine and Heavenly Prayers suited to all necessary Occasions and when we have spent near an hour in offering 'em up unto God for all that can be thought fit for Christians to pray for what need can there be for beginning a new Harrangue in the Pulpit for the same things or making a fresh address in varied Phrases for them unless we think that God is either to be overcome with the Multitudes or charm'd with the Novelty of Expressions in both which we entertain low and unworthy thoughts of him Yea this is not only a needless but very mischievous Practice and has done the Church great harm for this slight perfunctory way of reading the Prayers has occasion'd the Contempt of 'em and put People in love with varied Extempore Effusions which tho' not half so sound either for Matter or Sense are yet recommended to them by a more affectionate Delivery insomuch as when they behold the Minister cold dull and careless in the Desk and all Life and Flame in the Pulpit they begin to think meanly of the saint languid Devotion of the one and are wholly taken up with the seeming Earnestness and Vehemency of the other And this has been one great Occasion of that giddiness and instability in Religion which is the pernicious Malady and Misery of our present Age These with many other sad and doleful Evils too many to be here reckon'd up are the miserable Effects of this false Notion of Moderation which you highly Extol and Commend in some Ministers But besides this there 's a piece of Moderation in the Laity that much resembles this and has much the same tendency and that is Mens halting between two Opinions or trimming between the Church and the Conventicle repairing sometimes to the one and sometimes to the other scarce ever Communicating with either and so dividing from both this is frequently stil'd and reputed Moderation which is indeed no better than Lukewarmness and such as was rebuk'd in the Church of Laodicea Revel 3.15 where the Members of it being neither hot nor cold but lukewarm and indifferent in their Duty our Saviour threatens to Spue them out of his Mouth such Persons as these steer their Course according as the Time and Tide of worldly Interest or Honour lead 'em if their Trade or other Designs may be best promoted by the Church they will be frequenters of that if by the Conventicle they can as freely repair thitherto Yea some can be content to divide their Family to carry it fair and keep up an Interest in both the Husband by consent going to the one and the Wife to the other These make Gain their greatest Godliness and do not so much serve God as Mammon If any of these moderate Men be put into an Office of which they are observ'd to be not a little ambitious they can then go to the Prayers and Sacraments of the Church to qualisie and continue them in it tho' they never come more till they are drawn by the same or like occasion which is in effect to make Sacred Things truckle to Secular and to take the Holy Sacrament to undermine the Communion of the Church Now to shew the Falshood of this Notion of Moderation we must Note That Moderation is a Vertue that wholly respects our Duty to Man that is to our selves and one another and consists in the due regulating our Passions and Defires with relation to both but has no respect to our Duty unto God for we can use no Mean or Moderation with relation unto him for the stronger our Minds and Affections are carried out after him the better it is if we do any Evil 't is all too much if we do any Good 't is all too little there is no middle way to be observed here between both Our Passions and Desires towards Earthly Objects may be Inordinate and Extravagant and therefore we are required to moderate them by the Rules of Prudence and Piety But our Duty to God admits of no Excess we cannot Love desire or serve him too much and to be moderate here is to be Lukewarm and Hypocritical To shorten the appointed Prayers we are to offer to him is to defraud our Maker of his due yea 't is a sort of Sacriledge to rob God of that portion of Devotion which the Church has set apart and devoted to him and being made his both by Divine and Human Laws to with-hold it from him either in whole or in part is to transgress the Rule of our Saviour by neither giving to Caesar the things that are Caesars nor to God the things that are Gods Matth. 22.21 In a word to halt between two Opinions is to halt between God and Baal and he that doth his Duty by halves and looks two different ways does no better than falsifie and prevaricate with God and Man for such an one has no sincerity or steadiness of Mind but like St. James's double-minded Man is unstable in all his ways James 1.8 And therefore we may not shelter a partial observance of the good Orders and Constitutions of the Church under the sacred name of Moderation or seek to hide the Obliquity of it under that Vizard But we are to call it by its right Name viz. Lukewarmness and Hypocrisie for if we take off the Mask from the Face of such Conformity nothing will appear under it but Deformity and Double-dealing Insomuch as St. James speaks of the Divine Law He that keepeth the whole Law and offendeth in one Point is guilty of all James 2.10 Because he slights the Authority in one that Commands and Confirms all the rest So he that violates the Authority of the Church in one thing will easily do it in another and as Interest and Occasion serves will be ready to do it in all I am SIR Yours M. H. LETTER X. SIR I Hope by this time you begin to see the Falshood of your Notion of Moderation and how unjustly 't is alledg'd to take off the Obligation either in whole or in part to publick Orders and Constitutions I proceed now to your Plea of Toleration to see what that can do towards it And here the great thing you insist upon is a late Act of Parliament for Exempting Protestant Subjects from the Penalties of some Laws By which you conceive that the Conventicle stands upon as good legal and firm Ground as the Church and would have the People believe your Preaching in separate Meetings as much Establish'd as our publick Assemblies But with what little shew of Reason this is affirm'd
if we could Pray as well or better without it when it was mainly given because we cannot Pray at all Now here you ask again for you so far suspect the truth of what you write that you lay it down by Queries rather than Positions I say you ask farther whether the Lord's Prayer as a prescrib'd Form were to last beyond his Resurrection and the Effusion of the Holy Ghost Why not Is there any shew of Reason or Authority to limit it only to that time Does not our Saviour say absolutely when ye pray say Our Father c. and when he hath not given the least intimation of its being Temporary what Presumption is it to pretend the Precepts of Christ to be out of date May not this Artifice make void all the Commandments of God by fixing them to a certain Period and taking off their Obligation from all that live beyond Take heed Sir of such Arts. But if Christ had intended it for a perpetual Form say you with other of your Brethren it cannot be imagin'd that he should leave out his own Name Sir To ask in Christ's Name is to ask through Christ's Merits which did not take place till after his Death and Resurrection and likewise to ask in vertue of his Mediation as our Intercessor and Advocate at God's Right Hand which was a Priviledge that commenc'd not till after his Ascension into Heaven and therefore we find the Disciples Joh. 16.24 who before that had asked nothing in his Name were after injoyn'd and encouraged to ask any thing in it with an assurance of being heard Besides tho' Christ's Name be not expresly mention'd in the Lord's Prayer yet 't is vertually implied in almost every Petition of it for we cannot call God Father but upon the account of Christ neither can we ask forgiveness of Sins or deliverance from any Evils but thro' his Mercy and Mediation so that this can be no shadow of Reason either to detract from the Honour or to lay aside the use of this Divine Form But I must not wholly pass by what you offer against the Testimonies I produc'd for the use of the Lord's Prayer as a Form in the several Ages of the Christian Church In the first Age after the Apostles the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Ignatius that is the one Prayer or the one Supplication must be understood of the Lord's Prayer or of one common Prayer Compos'd by it For if their Prayers were varied every Day they could not properly be called one Prayer And against this I do not find any Objection In the second Century when I cited the Testimony of Lucian for the use of the Lord's Prayer You except against him because he was a Scoffing Pagan But Sir may not a Scoffer be a good Witness for the use of the thing which he Scoffs at Are not the Atheists and the Deists good Witnesses of the general belief of a God and the Holy Scriptures in the present Age tho' themselves are too apt to deny the one and deride the other To the Testimony of Tertullian St. Cyprian and other Fathers in the following Ages for the use of the Lord's Prayer tho' you struggle and labour hard to say something Yet 't is with so little appearance of Reason or Truth that it needs no Answer And you are so choak'd with the Testimony of Calvin and other Divines abroad and likewise with the Assembly of Divines at home who both us'd the Lord's Prayer themselves and recommended the use of it as a Form to others that you wisely enough let it pass without saying much to it And therefore if you will take the advice of a Friend I think you were better yield this Point than wrangle any more about it And thus having I hope pretty well clear'd the use of the Lord's Prayer in the same Words I shall next consider what you have to say against the Antiquity and use of Liturgies Compos'd by it In the mean time I am SIR Yours M. H. Aug. 19th 1697. LETTER XII SIR I Shew'd in my last the Lord's Prayer to be intended as a Form and so used by the Christian Church and likewise vindicated it from the Disuse and Contempt which some have cast upon it tho' 't is sad that our unhappy and divided Age should make such a Task necessary In the next place then I am to consider what you say against the Antiquity of Liturgies and other Forms of Prayer compos'd by it And here I cannot but take notice of a pretty Conceit of yours concerning Liturgies in your Letter of July the 6th for finding them often mention'd in the Ancient Fathers you think fit to put in your Claim to them and will have them understood not so much of a Book of prescrib'd stinted Forms as of unwritten and Extempore Prayers in the publick Ministrations Alas What will not some Men say or do to help out a bad Cause But where Sir in any of the Fathers is Extempore Prayer so much as mention'd much less stil'd a Liturgy or made any part of it And indeed how is it possible it should be when it consists only of present and sudden Conceptions Were not the Ancient Liturgies the set and standing Offices of publick and solemn Devotion that were well known to the People who bore a part in them and had often Recourse to them And how can this be said of Extempore Prayers where neither Minister nor People know any thing of it before nor scarce remember any thing of it after But in this and likewise in what follows concerning the Liturgies of St. Peter St. Mark and St. James tho' you vainly think you have done great Feats and made some new Discoveries to the utter confounding of Liturgies yet 't is all taken out of a Book Intituled A Reasonable Account why some Non-conforming Ministers refuse to perform their Ministerial Acts of Solemn and Publick Worship by the prescrib'd Forms of others And likewise out of a Posthumous Piece of Mr. David Clarkson's both which Books being so fully answered and refuted the one by Dr. Falkner in his Vindication of Liturgies the other by Dr. Comber in his Original and Vse of them I shall not need to add any thing to the Labours of those learned Men and therefore shall only refer you to them But there is no valuable Antiquity say you but the three first Centuries and if the Use of Liturgies can't be sound and prov'd there you are resolv'd to have no value for them Sir Though we want not Proof of the Use of Liturgies in those early Times of Christianity Yet learned Men have given such wise and sufficient Reasons why we may not expect to hear so much of them in those as in the following Ages as may well enough satisfie any rational and well-meaning Man about it If you have not consider'd them I will recommend some of them to your serious Consideration As First The Continuance of the extraordinary Gifts and Assistances
of the Holy Ghost for some Ages after the Apostles may be a good Reason of our hearing and reading so little of Forms at that time for whilst the publick Offices of Religion were perform'd by those Gifts there could not be so great need or use of them And consequently there can be no Reason why we should expect to hear so much of them St. Chrysostom who liv'd in the Fourth Century tells us That the extraordinary Gift of Prayer by which the publick Ministrations were perform'd ceased but a little before his time And therefore as Dr. Comber hath well observ'd Dr. Comber of Liturg. p. 77. this being the first Age of the ceasing of these Miraculous Gifts if Forms of Prayer then succeeded in the room of them 't is abundantly enough to warrant the Use of them Again Secondly The same learned Author tells us That the Fathers of the First Century were so wholly imployed about converting the Nations to Christianity that they wrote very little and very little of what they wrote is by the Misfortune of Time come down to our hands So that we cannot reasonably expect much Evidence for Liturgies in this Century wherein yet as there is nothing against them so we find enough from Philo and Josephus Clemens Romanus Pliny and Ignatius to confirm us in the belief of them Moreover Thirdly The Fathers of the Second Century likewise did not write much and in what they did they took particular Care not to publish their Church-Service lest the Pagans under whom they lived should deride and blaspheme their Sacred Mysteries and therefore we must not look for any clear Evidence for Liturgies as yet when the Christians conceal'd their Worship for fear of exposing it And yet in this Age as Churches began to be planted and settled we have as much notice of Forms as can reasonably be look'd for as appears by the Testimony of Justin Martyr Irenaeus Clemens of Alexandria and Tertullian Against which we find but two weak Objections the one from Justin Martyr's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the other from Tertullian's Sine Monitore quia de pectore both which are so fully answer'd by Dr. Comber and other learned Men that he who shall urge them any further will only shew himself endowed with the Quality of a scolding Woman to take no Answer nor sit down quietly under the clearest Satisfaction Again Fourthly We read of the Fathers of the Third Century That tho' they wrote more yet were so busied not only in converting of Heathens but in confuting of Hereticks with whom they had to do that we can't yet expect to hear much of their way of Worship Id. p. 5. Which in those Days of Persecution was generally perform'd in private Besides the Hereticks denying the Authority of the Church would not allow of any Arguments taken from the Rites and Offices of their Worship which was compos'd and appointed by it and for that Reason they made but rare and little mention of them And yet in this Age we have the Testimonies of Hippolytus Origen St. Cyprian and Gregory Thaumaturgus from whom the Centuriators of Magdeburgh plainly declare That 't is without all Question that they had set Forms of Prayer in this Age. However all these things well consider'd may abundantly satisfie any wise Man why we cannot have so full and clear Evidence for these things in that which you call the best Antiquity the three first Centuries Let us go on then to the 4th Century which if there were no Evidence before is time enough for our Purpose This being the first Age as the forecited Author observes When Miraculous Gifts ceased and the Church was setled under Christian Magistrates for since we plead for a Prescrib'd Liturgy in an Establish'd Church it is as much Antiquity as our Cause needs to shew it from this Age which is as soon as the Primitive Churches Circumstances and ours did agree And here we are surrounded with Evidence for the Use of Liturgies being confirmed by as many unquestionable Witnesses as any Matter of Fact can be attested withal which is as much as any reasonable Man can desire The ample Testimony of the Fathers of this and the following Centuries are cited in my 15th Letter of the Antiquity of Liturgies to which I may add the Testimony of Capellus and other Foreign Divines who acknowledge That a publick Form of Liturgy hath obtain'd in the Universal Church throughout the whole World for above Thirteen Hundred Years and adds That it doth now every where obtain save among some upstart Sects and Independents Yea Smectymnus which was a Club of Presbyterian Divines here at home date the Rise and Use of Liturgies from this Century deriving it from the Council of Laodicea which sate about the Year 364 and likewise from the Councils of Carthage and Milevis which sate somewhat after and being convinc'd by the Practice of this and the following Ages they with their Adherents still kept to the Use of the Publick Liturgy till very lately a new Race of Dissenters are started up in these times of Liberty who are Enemies to all Forms and consequently to all establish'd Order and Discipline and seem inclin'd to drive the Principles of Confusion as far as they will go But let us hear what you have to say against these Testimonies To the Testimony of Eusebius who tells us That Constantine besides the appointed Prayers ordered a Form of Prayer to be compos'd for the Use of the Soldiers To this you say let any one judge whether this doth not prove That there was then no publick Liturgy What because a new Form was drawn up for the Use of his Soldiers Had not we lately Prayers fram'd to be us'd at Sea and will that prove that we had no Liturgy or Common-Prayer before Are you not asham'd of such Reasoning To the Testimony of Calvin and other Foreign Divines you tell me That all that Calvin said or did about the Use of Forms was merely to comply with the Difficulties and Darkness of the Time in which he lived which you say more than once was so gross that the People were perswaded to eat Hay And 't is no wonder that the Hay and Stubble of Liturgies was built upon the Foundation of Christianity in such a dark Age or that Calvin wink'd at them in those Times of Ignorance But were all those Lights that helped us out of the Darkness of Popery so much in the dark too and that in a Matter wherein they had the Consent of all former Ages Certainly you think that our Reformers too who shew'd greater Wisdom than any before or since were in the dark likewise or at best had but a weak glimmering Light which is broke out upon you in its Meridian Splendor You take the Continuance of Liturgies to be the Continuance of Ignorance and Darkness and consequently you who lay them aside have a marvelous Light shining round about you whereas we that continue to use
them do but walk on still in Darkness and sit in the very Regions of the Shadow of Death One would think the bare mentioning of these things should fill you with blushing and make you asham'd of such unparallel'd Pride and Folly But you have a worse Charge than all this against Liturgies and that is That they breed nothing but Loosness and Laziness in those that use them and give your Reasons for it too which must be consider'd in my next I am SIR Yours M. H. Aug. 25th 1697. LETTER XIII To J. M. SIR I Have been endeavouring of late to Compromise Matters in difference between us shewing how we agree in the Main and rectifying some few Mistakes that create and continue the difference Hoping by this means to bring things to some good Issue But I am sorry to find that you are inclin'd to break off the Treaty and whilst we retain our Liturgy will hear nothing of an Accommodation For in your Letter of July the 1st you tell me that Liturgies and Laziness setled together and in the same Letter you have these Words sc That which I have affirm'd and will stand to is this That the establishing Forms for Universal Use particularly our Liturgy or the Imposition of them on all Ministers to be used in publick Prayer and none other does open a Door for a lazy I might venture to say a loose Ministry to enter in and that in the present lapsed State of Discipline many such in the Ministry must be expected yea are Now this is a bold Stroke indeed in which you act the part not of a puny Slanderer to cast a little Dirt here and there but like a Whole-sale Calumniator strike home and fall foul upon the whole Christian Church in all Ages which ever since she hath retain'd Liturgies which is from the beginning hath cherished only a pack of loose and idle Drones This you say you have affirm'd and like an undaunted Champion that scorns to flinch you will stand to it and prove it too And that First From the very Nature of the thing which will make it appear that this Loosness and Laziness are not any accidental Faults occasioned by the Neligence of some Persons but the natural and necessary Effects of Liturgies and whosoever useth them must unavoidably fall into these Enormities Bravely charg'd And if you pursue this well you must necessarily rout all Liturgies out of the World Well but how is this made good Why thus The Mind of Man is naturally sluggish and will take its Ease and remit the Reins if it be not urg'd by some Necessity or attracted by Delight and Complacency and the best of Men had need of all Obligations to keep it to its Duty Very true but is there no way to employ the Mind or to cure this Sluggishness but by making new Prayers Must the Mind necessarily remit the Reins if the Tongue be kept in with Bit and Bridle Does the great Work and Business of the Soul lie in studying new Expressions And must the Prayer be dull and the Effect of Laziness if the Phrases are not varied May not the Mind be well imploy'd in a hearty and devout use of pious and well compos'd Forms No say you a Musician will be weary if he have constantly the same Instrument and Tunes Variety pleases in Diet Novelty affects in Recreations and Commonness dulls c. So that the Mind must be entertain'd as much with Varieties in Religion as the Fancy of a Fidler with new Tunes and we must have as much Change and Novelty in our Prayers as in our Diet and Recreations or else we shall grow weary of them And is not this an admirable way think you to keep Men firm and stable in their Religion to be daily ringing Changes and putting the Matter of their Prayers every Day into new Phrases Hath not this Variety of Prayers already begot a Variety of Opinions Does not Mr. Baxter tell you that this is apt to breed Giddiness and Hypocrisy And have we not found Confusion enough already from this Principle but you must needs cherish it to breed more But must all Men necessarily be lazy that use a Liturgy Then what a parcel of idle lazy Persons have all former Christians been through every Age that have spent their time only in the old Mumpsimus of Forms without taking any Pains to invent or make any new Prayers of their own This Sir is a Calumny sharper than a two-edged Sword that wounds the whole Catholick Church and cuts through all Generations But is there no taking Pains in Prayer without the Invention and study of new Words Does not the principal Work of it lie in taking Pains with the Heart to keep that close and intent upon the Duty which is much better pains-taking than pumping for new Phrases this being for the most part but Labour in vain and such as may very well be let alone For since the whole Matter of publick Prayers may be and is compriz'd in well-digested Forms what need can there be to cloath it in a daily Change and Diversity of Expressions Yea this is not only needless but hurtful Labour for it takes of the Heart from the main Work and hinders it from minding the great Business of Prayer And will you charge them with Laziness who only decline such lost Labour and in the mean time employ themselves to much better purpose Besides Sir There is no such great Labour in this Extempore way of Praying as you would have the World believe 'T is a Knack that is easily learn'd and easily perform'd a Teeming Imagination and a ready Tongue will pour out Words enough without any great pains or difficulty and he that hath gotten any dexterity this way may as easily impose upon the People with this slight of the Tongue as Juglers do with the slight of Hand And I think if all things were well known this will be found a more loose and lazy way of Praying than that which you charge with it But you have Secondly Another way of proving this Charge and that is by appealing to the Experience of Mankind whether such an Imposition does not tend to let in a lazy Ministry And here I think the Experience of the best and wisest part of Mankind will be clearly against you for they see and know that keeping to a Form of sound Words in Prayer will help to keep Men more steady and sound in their Religion more serious and diligent in the sober Exercise and Practice of true Devotion than your changeable Method and Study of Variations But May not a Child of Ten Years Old say you read the Prayers and Homilies as distinctly and laudably as a learned Divine I think very hardly And he must be a very forward Child that can arrive to that at those Years But if this may be done 't is rather a Commendation than Disparagement of our Liturgy and Homilies that all things in them are brought down to
the meanest Capacities so that the youngest Persons can distinctly read them and he that occupieth the room of the unlearned may say Amen to them and if this may be done by young Children in our Prayers 't is more than can be done by Older and Wiser Men in yours But if so considerable a part of a Ministers Work say you be only to read a Liturgy that may be done as laudably Extempore as upon the longest Premeditation And why should you not like that which helps you to Read as well as to Pray Extempore The pains after a little use is much the same and the only difference is that the Mind is better edified by the one and the Fancy more gratified by the other But 't will be hard say you to convince Men that the Gift of Reading is more admirable in the Minister at Church than in their Children at Home This is the same with that profane Objection of some loose Persons who ask what need they go to Church when they can read the same or as good things at home But Sir are not the publick Offices of Religion to be prefer'd before the private Hath not our Saviour promis'd a greater Blessing to them that assemble and meet together in his House than those that abide at home in their own Heb. 10.25 And does not the Apostle give a strist Charge to Christians not to forsake the Assembling themselves together as the manner of some is Besides does not the Order Office and Authority deriv'd by Christ upon his Ministers give a greater Efficacy and Solemnity to the Prayers when delivered by them than when they are read by private Persons without such Authority Does it become you Sir to strike in with such Careless Loose and negligent Wretches and to urge the same Objections in defence of your Superstition as they are wont to do to Countenance their Profaneness Nothing I see comes amiss to you that may any way serve your Turn and you stick not to make use of any Enormity that will help to keep up the Dissenting Cause Of this kind is that Appeal to the People Ask say you many Parishes in England whether a most pious Liturgy is a competent supply for the want of an able pious Minister As if a pious Liturgy and a Pious Minister were things inconsistent And elsewhere you sooth the People by putting into their Mouths that Canting Language Oh! Don't think that to read to us those Words that our Children can read every Day at home c. is enough to cure such dark dead disaffected Souls as ours which are Words meerly contriv'd ad Captandum vulgum and plainly shew what Game you are playing upon them But to make good this Charge of Laziness against the Conforming Clergy you urge two or three things more which must be consider'd As first That the Gift of praying Extempore is a necessary Qualification for the Ministerial Function and should be the Test of Ordination Next that they who have this Gift are bound to Exercise it in their publick Ministrations notwithstanding any Command to the contrary Lastly The neglect of this Gift hath been the occasion of Loosness Laziness and other Immoralities With what little appearance of Reason or Truth these things are affirm'd must be shew'd in my next I am SIR Yours M. H. Aug. 30th 1697. LETTER XIV To J. M. SIR I Have been considering the heavy Charge of Loosness and Laziness which you put upon the use of Liturgies and have in some measure shewed the Falshood and Injustice of it However to make it good and to keep the Mind constantly employed you make the Gift of Praying Extempore a necessary Qualification of the Ministerial Function and will scarce allow any to be fit or capable of Holy Orders that want this Faculty or forbear the use of it For You tell me in your first Letter that you are perswaded That the Almighty hath in this Age a great multitude of Suppliants that can and do express Holy Desires understandingly orderly and aptly without any penn'd or prescribed Forms and that Ministers should be ordinarily able to do so And a Brother of yours lays it down That the Church should judge of the Ministers Gift of Prayer before she trust him with the publick Ministry Reason Account p. 13. So that all that have not this Talent of Variations or forbear to use it in publick Worship are but Usurpers of Holy Orders and Intruders into the Ministers Office Now had not this need to be well prov'd that reflects so grosly upon all setled Churches where never any such thing was ever made a Question or Qualification for Holy Orders And yet that same Author tells us That if all Ministers in the constant use of their daily Prayers cannot out-do the perfection and exactness of the best Compos'd Forms Idem p. 157. it is to the shame of the Church of God in England Now is it not a shame think you for Men to own or utter such wild and extravagant Speeches But what is the Proof that is offer'd for this bold Assertion 1 Tim. 3.14 Why nothing but that of St. Paul to Timothy Neglect not the Gift of God that is in thee which was given thee by Prophecy with the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery In which yet there is not any of the least mention made of Prayer and much less of performing it by any such Gift Ver. 13 and 15. In the Verse before the Apostle wills him to give attendance to Reading Exhortation and Doctrin and in the Verse after to mediate on these things So that if you will needs have the Apostle there speak of Prayer it must be rather of reading Compos'd Premeditated Forms than pouring out New and Extempore Prayers The truth is the Gift there intended by the Apostle was the Ministerial Office or Function which was given to Timothy by the laying on of Hands and his willing him not to neglect it was an Exhortation to a faithful and diligent Discharge of the Duty of his Place But the Mischief is some Men are so vainly conceited of this Talent that where ever they find the word Gift mention'd in the Scripture they will needs understand it of this Gift of Prayer Hence some think they have found it in that Advice of St. Paul Rom. 12.6 7. Having Gifts differing according to the Grace of God given to us whether Prophecy let us Prophesy according to the proportion of Faith c. In which the Apostle hath no Reference at all to it for the Gifts he refers to are particularly reckon'd up in the following Verses where no such Gift of Prayer is either nam'd or implied or if it were could be meant only of that Supernatural Gift of Prayer by which the publick Offices were at that time perform'd Others imagine they have found it in those words of St. Peter 1 Pet. 4.10 As every one hath receiv'd the Gift even so Minister the
same one to another which Words are commonly interpreted of Alms which the Apostle would have imparted as occasion should require But cannot with any congruity of Sense have any Reference to Prayer for the Apostle speaks there of Ministring one to another whereas in Prayer He that Ministreth Ministreth to God only to whom alone our Prayers are directed But if this Gift be not to be sound in either of these places James 1.17 they think they cannot fail of it in that of St. James Every good Gift and every perfect Gift is from above and which Words being so general they think must necessarily comprechend it But if there were no appearance of any such Gift at that time or since why should we think that this must needs comprehend it Besides the Gifts mentiou'd by St. James are good and perfect Gifts and such as came down from above whereas the Imperfections that attend your pretended Gift and the many Evils that have proceeded from and are still continued by it shew it to have no Title to either Yea the Mischief done by this black Art of Variations shews it came rather from the Fiends of Darkness than Father of Lights with whom is no Variableness neither shadow of Change However these Men having strongly possess'd themselves with vain Imaginations of this Gift think themselves bound to use it not only without but against the Authority of their Superiors for one of them tells us That this Gift is a Mean given by God for the performance of the Duty of Prayer and therefore may not be omitted at the Command of Man for they are required not to neglect but to stir up the Gift of God that is in them and are called upon daily to imploy and improve the Talent that is committed to them But is it a sinful neglect think you of your own Gifts at any time to make use of the Composures of others in Divine Worship And must all the Gifts we have or imagine our selves to have be constantly Exercis'd upon pain of being thought Idle and Lazy Persons Why then as a Reverend Divine hath well observ'd He that hath any Talent in Greek and Hebrew may not use the Translation of the Bible drawn up by others but must for the Exercise of his Gifts make a new Translation of his own and vary it too if he can as oft as he hath occasion to quote it Again he that is able to gather the Articles of the Christian Faith into a brief Summary may not make use of the Creed drawn up by others for that purpose but must for the Exercise of his own Gifts be daily making of new Creeds Once more he that hath any Talent in Poetry or Musick must not make use of Psalms set to Musick or Meeter by others but for the Exercise of his own Gifts must be still making new Hymns of his own and if he can daily set them too to new Tunes These things are every jot as necessary upon the account of exercising Mens Gifts as it is to lay aside the pious and well compos'd Forms of others and think themselves oblig'd to be daily making new Prayers of their own But the Preservation of any Gift or Faculty say you depends on the Exercise of it and it must be extreamly prejudic'd and impair'd by Disuse Sir There are Times and Occasions enough for the Exercise and improving your Gifts without affecting or making new Prayers which are more hurtful than helpful to true Devotion As for the Gift of Speech which you still Mistake for the Gift of Prayer that may well enough be preserv'd by daily Discourse and Conversation especially if they are applyed to wise and useful Subjects whereas the true and proper Gift of Prayer is better preserv'd and improv'd too by a devout and diligent Application of the Heart and Soul to the known Words of a well-digested Form than by the Study of new and varied Words in an Extempore Prayer But does not this set aside the Gifts of good Men in Prayer to be thus confin'd to Forms No it only sets aside such Gifts as Alexander the Copper-smith boasted of in St. Paul's time and Weavers and Coblers have pretended to in ours But it sets aside none of the Gifts of wise godly and authorized Persons who find Work enough to employ their greatest Abilities to the Glory of God and the good of the Church in the Use of these Forms which are enjoin'd for the Unity and Decency of publick Worship And to tell you the Truth the not setting aside the pretended Gifts of these gifted Brethren by publick Authority hath employed the Gifts of the best and ablest Persons to lay them aside by Argument and Perswasion to keep ignorant bold and unauthorized Persons from foaming out their own Shame to the great Scandal of Religion Increase of Athcism and Disorder of the whole Church of Christ And if these do not prevail 't is time for Authority to work lest they who would now be indulg'd as weak Brethren do by that means in a little time grow too strong for their Masters But to carry on the Charge of Loosness and Laziness you farther add That the Neglect of using Mens Gifts in Extempore-Prayer hath hinder'd them from studying the Scriptures and other good Books that reading the Liturgy tempts them to lay the Reins upon the Neck of their voluptuous Inclinations makes them waste their Time in Drinking Sports and Recreations and gives them Leisure to frequent Fairs Markets and Coffee-houses c. Now here are a great many Bolts shot at Randome and serve only to shew the Badness of a Cause that must be supported by such Calumnies As for what you say of the Liturgies hindring Men from the Study of the Scriptures what a wild Accusation is this when the Use of the Liturgy consists altogether in the reading of the Scriptures and of devout Prayers compos'd by them where all the Psalms of David are appointed to be read over every Month the Scriptures of the Old Testament once and of the New thrice a Year beside what they may do in private at other times And is this the way to hinder Men from studying and understanding the Scripture Sir If you had studied and understood the Scriptures as you ought you might soon see the Baseness and Wickedness of such false Accusations As for what you say of Leisure for Fairs Markets and Coffee houses there may be many just and necessary Occasions that may call Men of all Professions to those Places and this can be no fault in any if they are not unnecessarily or unseasonably frequented much less is this to be charg'd upon the Liturgy For if you look abroad you will find the Frequenters of Conventicles as great Frequenters of those Places as any others As for what you say of a Liturgy's making Men lay the Reins upon the Neck of their voluptuous Inclinations this is either a foul Calumny or a Fallacy of non Causa pro
Causa for what is there in godly Forms that should lead Men to such Enormities Or what Evil can there be in that way in which all before you worshipped the God of our Fathers No Sir those Vices proceed not from the publick Prayers but from Mens private Designs and corrupt Appetites which are but too visible and predominant in those you stile the Godly Party who decry Forms of Prayer and at the same time place all their Religion in a Form of Godliness So that your Bolts you see are shot at Rovers for they glance back and wound your selves as deeply as any others and your heavy Charge of Loosness and Laziness on the use of the Liturgy serves only to shew your Ignorance or Design not the least Reason or Truth in the Accusation But here you have something to say concerning the silencing of your painful Ministers which shall be consider'd in my next I am SIR Yours M. H. Sept. 4th 1697. LETTER XV. To J. M. SIR HAving vindicated the Liturgy from your foul and unjust Aspersions and wiped off the Dirt you so liberally cast upon them that use it 't will be requisite to observe your high Encomiums of Extempore-Prayer and the mighty Character you give of those that exercise their Talent this Way For how freely soever you calumniate the former as Idle Lazy Drones the latter never fail of the glorious Titles of Able Godly and painful Ministers And that because they will not dull their Parts with the same old Words of a Form but daily labour for new Expressions and entertain their Hearers with grateful Varieties And is it fit say you that the Mouths of such painful Men should be stopp'd Yes when they take pains to so bad purpose and their grateful Varieties of Prayers lead only to an ungrateful Variety of Sects and Opinions When they open their Mouths to the reviling and rending the Church and undermining the Government under which they live 't is but fit and necessary they should be stopp'd We undermine the Government I would have you to know say you That we adhere to King William and highly value his Government and take our selves to be a true valuable part of it But mark what follows tho' there be some Orders of it that we cannot think good nor conform to Now what are these Orders Why those publick Prayers of the Church that were compil'd by our first Reformers and enjoin'd by all Protestant Princes and Parliaments ever since and confirm'd likewise by the Authority and Practice of the present King and yet you cannot think them good and will not conform to them So that you like King William's Government just as you did theirs who went before him that is you will obey what you please and conform only to what you have a mind to Which is just as when there was no King in Israel to do only what is right in your own eyes And are they not excellent Subjects think you and great Lovers of the Government that set up their own weak or rather wilful Judgments above all the Wisdom and Authority of their Superiors and seek by a few fulsom flattering Commendations to atone for the Contempt and Disobedience of the Laws 'T is not forgotten Sir how you applauded King James's Government and concurr'd with him in taking away the Penal Laws and Test which would have undermin'd the Reformation and brought in all those Evils which wise and good Men saw just Reason to fear And if you had any Modesty left this might stop your Mouths from calling those Jacobites and Popishly affected who wisely foresaw and prevented those Miseries which your corrupt Designs and intemperate Zeal would have brought upon us The Truth is you can like any King or no King as it best serves your Purposes and are so vainly conceited of your own Worth and Wisdom that none is fit to govern or prescribe to you but your selves If Governors say and do as you would have them that is if they give any Countenance to your Divisions you can then speak up for them they shall be be no less than the Glory of Christendom and the Healers of all our Breaches But if they shew their Dislike to your Schisms and Conventicles which have been censur'd by all Governments and condemned by all your own Brethren that have gone before you then your Tongues are turn'd and we hear of nothing but Impositions and Persecution Indeed your Praises and Dispraises are design'd for tacit Directions what you would have done and both are founded on so ill a Bottom that it deserves little regard on whom you bestow either the one or the other But we were silenc'd say you not for refusing a Liturgy for the Commissioners at the Savoy never spake a Word against a Liturgy or set Forms of Prayer but only of Emendations and Additions of several Forms with a Liberty of using one or the other Is not this a plain Proof of what was just before affirm'd You are not against a Liturgy but you must have such a one as you please it must be altered and amended as you will have it and when that is done you must have one of your own making to be set up by its side with a Liberty of using one or the other Who now must be the Judge or Governor in this Case Or whose Will must carry it either they to whom the Care of the Church is committed or they who are subjected to their Rule and Governance The former thinks fit to continue and establish the Ancient Liturgy which is consonant to and compos'd by the Ancient Models of the Christian Church Whereas you will needs have this laid aside or one of a new or different Make set up in Opposition to it Now which think you ought in Reason to take place If you knew but your own Place and obeyed them that have the Rule over you in the Lord it would be no Question but instead of that you must have your own New-fangl'd Liturgy or else you are resolved to be as factious and troublesome as you can And if the Government will not submit to you and give you your own way you care not what Evils or Confusion come of it Will you never mortifie this notorious and intolerable Pride But you ask What will Posterity say or think when they hear or read of the silencing of so many godly and painful Ministers Why the same that our Predecessors always did who thought it fit and necessary to silence all such as would not submit to the Constitution and good Orders of the Church Your Friend Mr. Beza who was often consulted in his Time about these Matters was clearly for silencing Ministers in such Cases as you may find him cited at large Unreas of Separat p. 21 22. by the Reverend Bishop of Worcester And all Christian Churches have ever done the same to this Day and 't is no more than what our Saviour would have done to those that will not
that end And this is that one Catholick Church or Body of Christ which Himself and his Apostles would have kept entire without any Schism or Division in it To which end they have left a strict Charge upon all the Members of it to Keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace which can only be by joyning together in one Fellowship and Communion And now what think you Sir are Christ and his Apostles to be reckon'd in the Number of Dissenters and Non-conformists Nay have they not left an Example of strict Conformity to the Jewish Church of which they were Members and shew'd an exact Compliance with all the Rights and Ceremonies not only of Divine but Humane and Ecclesiastical appointment us'd in it And will our Saviour think you approve of Rents and Dâ—ssâ—â—â—ions in the Christian Church which he hath 〈◊〉 his own Body upon the account of these things No certainly the Precepts to Unity and the Prohibition of Divisions are far more urgent under the Gospel than ever they were under the Law And how can you conceive Schism and Separation to be signs of Grace and purer Christianity when they are so directly contrary to the Rules and Precepts of both Thus you see Sir that your additional Stroaks serve but to add to the Resemblance and your compleating the Character of the Pharisees only shews you the more compleatly like them But you have something farther to say of the Pharisees Prayers and ask Whether they were by a Liturgy or not Which must be examin'd and answered in my next I am SIR Yours M. H. LETTER XVIII To J. M. SIR I Shew'd in my last that the additional Stroaks you gave to the Picture of the Pharisees did but encrease the Resemblance and what you added to compleat their Character serv'd only to make it look so much the harder upon you I proceed in this to consider what you have farther to say concerning your Prayers and here when I told That the Pharisees Prayers were remarkable for two Things viz. their length and their loudness you very fairly quarrel with both for your caviling Humour will scarce let any thing pass And therefore something must be added for the Illustration of both As for their length Our Saviour hath recorded it for a piece of their Hypocrisy Matt. 23.14 that they made long Prayers No say you 't was not the length of their Prayers but the making of them for a Pretence that is there blam'd But Sir Did not the making of them for a pretence imply an Opinion of some greater Excellency in them than in shorter Prayers Men are not wont to pretend to but hide Imperfections and if the Pharisees made these Prayers for a Shew or Pretence 't is a sign they took Prolixity for a Perfection and Ornâ—ment of their Devotion and plac'd greater Holiness and Sanctity in them that they had a value for long Prayers and valu'd themselves upon them which was the thing I observed in them As for their Lowdness we read That they pray'd in the Corners of the Street which being done for Ostentation and Vanity and before great Concourses of People Lowdness was necessary to attain their Ends and therefore as they sounded a Trumpet before their Alms that they might be seen of Men so they lifted up their Voices like a Trumpet in their Street-prayers to be heard of them But whatever becomes of the Lowdness you cannot away with blaming the length of Prayers For was not Jacob's say you a long Prayer Yea was not David's Solomon's Nehemiah's and Daniel's so Sir There are far more Examples of short than of long Prayers in Holy Scripture and we read of much greater Successes to have attended the one than the other As for the Prayers you mention the first of them was but like one of our short Collects the other like our longer Forms Compos'd for publick Fasts and Thanksgivings but none of them like the tedious long-winded Harangues of Extempore Prayer besides the former being the inspir'd Prayers of the Prophets and Dedicated by the Spirit of God upon some Solemn Occasions were both for Matter and Words sound pertinent and pithy Whereas yours proceeding from the sudden and hasty Conceptions of your own Brain are far from either being oftentimes full of Impertinences Tautologies and Unsoundness But was not the Lord 's a long Prayer say you when he continued all Night at it And the Primitive Christians spent sometimes many hours together in Prayer and some of their Fasts were Celebrated with Prayers prolong'd from the Morning of one Day to the beginning of another Sir 'T is a great Mistake to think that they spent all this time in Verbal or Vocal Prayer or that they were all this while speaking and uttering Words unto God No a great part of this time was taken up in silent and devout Soliloquies in Pious and Heavenly Meditations and the inward breathings of Mental Prayer which were very frequent and made up a great part of the Devotion of those Times As for our Saviour's continuing all Night in Prayer much of that time was doubtless spent in the secret Elevations of the Heart for we read of no other Words utter'd by him all that time but O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me nevertheless not my Will but thine be done The Disciples were so far from joining with him that they slept away the greatest part of the Night however having utter'd these Words once he awoke them and pray'd again the second time O my Father if this Cup may not pass away from me except I drink it thy Will be done After which he pray'd again the third time without any variation saying the same Words And with these few unvaried Words together with many inward Sighs and Groans that cannot be utter'd he past that Night before his Sufferings with great Devotion and hereunto the Apostle alludes when he tells us of Christ's praying to his Father with strong Cries and Tears Besides Our Saviour having blam'd the Heathens for their much speaking and the Pharisees for their long Prayers he was careful not to leave behind him an Example or Encouragement of either As for what you say of the Primitive Christians spending many Hours and sometime whole Nights in Prayer and Fasting you must not think that this was always done with the Voice or the Use of Words for the ancient Fathers tell us That a great part of their Service was perform'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Silence that is with the inward Motions and Desires of Mental Prayer which are oftimes more acceptable with God than the greatest multitude or variety of Words But you would have me tell you whether the Pharisees long Prayers were by a Liturgy or no And if not where is the Jewish Service that Christ and his Apostles frequented Adding That you believe we should find in those Days no other Common-Prayer-Book but the Bible Sir That the National Church
Degrees of Authority and Jurisdiction For else they were advanced to nothing when they were elected or promoted to it 't is absurd to say they succeeded only to what they had before And what would the Apostolical Office over other Church-Officers signifie if they had no Power to oversee and govern them But that the Apostles both had and exercis'd a Power over them the Holy Scripture and Primitive Antiquity may abundantly satisfie you For we find St. James the Apostle and first Bishop of Jerusalem not only presiding in the great Council held there but likewise by his own Authority deciding the Matters debated in it about the Gentil Converts speaking in that commanding Style It seemeth goood to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon them no greater Burdens than these necessary things c. after which we find Timothy Ordain'd Bishop of Ephesus 1 Tim. 1.3 and exercising Episcopal Jurisdiction over that Church 1 Tim. 3.1 which extended over all the proconsular Asia Ch. 9.11.5.22 in which he commanded that the Laity be diligently instructed the Clergy provided with a competent Maintenance admitting none to be Deacons but upon due Examination and Ordaining none to be Elders or Presbyters till they had well-perform'd the Office of a Deacon receiving Accusations against them and putting guilty Persons to an open Shame all which are Acts of Power and Jurisdiction Again We find Titus left in Crete to set in Order the things that were wanting and to Ordain Elders in every City Tit. 1.5 By which it appears That he had an Episcopal Power confer'd upon him to do that in Crete which the Presbyters that were there before had not and this Power extended not only to the setting in order what was wanting and the ordaining of Elders but likewise to the rebuking of obstinate Offenders with all Authority Tit. 2.15 first admonishing them and if they persisted in their Obstinacy punishing them with the Censures of the Church Chap. 3.10 and rejecting them from the Communion of it which are all Acts of Power and Jurisdiction But this Power say some was only Temporary and to last no longer than the Days of the Apostles who were the first Planters of these Churches Why so Was there not the same Use and Necessity of these things in the following Times as there was in the Days of the Apostles Is there not a constant need of ordaining Elders and exercising Discipline and Censures in the succeeding Ages of the Church as well as the first Again where hath Christ limited this Power and made it Temporary Yea hath he not plainly made it perpetual by promising to be with them to the End of the World Which could not be with them in their own Persons who died in a little Time after but with them in their Successors who follow'd them in their Office to whom the same Promise of Assistance and Encouragement is given to the End of the World Beside Does not Ecclesiastical History give us a particular Account who succeeded them in their several Churches A Catalogue of whom you may find in Eusebius and many other Writers So that nothing in Antiquity is more plain than that the Apostles had a Power over others for the well-ordering and governing the Church and that this Power was deriv'd down to their Successors the Bishops who have exercis'd the same in the several Ages of the Church ever since Which Form of Government being first Instituted by Christ and seconded by the Practice of his Apostles and succeeded to in the primitive Churches by our Saviour's express Approbation is abundantly enough to make it an Order distinct from and superior to Presbyters Jure Divino and consequently there is little Reason why you should think it a Grievance to assent and consent to that which the Christian Church hath in all Ages assented and consented to But here you fly to Scotland and would know what I think of that and other Countries that have cast off the Government of the Church by Bishops Sir Though I have no Inclination to meddle with the Affairs of any other Church yet since the Importunity of your Argument requires an Answer I must tell you That as particular Persons and Bodies of Men may be guilty of Schism by breaking off from the Communion and Discipline of a National Church so a whole Nation or Country may be justly charg'd with it in breaking off from the Communion and Discipline of the Catholick Church of which that is a Member And this is the unhappy Case of your beloved Scotland which by casting off the Ancient Apostolical and Primitive Discipline and Government of the Church by Bishops and likewise by laying aside a Liturgy or Forms of Prayer for publick Worship both which having been received in the Christian Church ever since its first Establishment is thereby become Schismatical For by so doing it hath cut it self off from the One Body of the Catholick Church and is become no longer a sound Part of it but a Sect and Excrescence of it But you will say what then will you condemn all the Inhabitants of that Country as living in the Grievous and Damning Sin of Schism No Sir There were some who voluntarily and violently acted to the laying aside the Liturgy and Episcopacy in that Church and thereby wilfully brake the Communion Worship and Discipline of the Christian Church and these are truly and properly guilty of the hainous Sin of Schism which if not repented of and amended in Time will prove as fatal to them heareafter as 't is to the Church here But beside these There are many Thousands in that distracted Kingdom who abhorr'd and endeavour'd to prevent that wide and miserable Breach in the Catholick Church But being over-power'd were forc'd to see and bewail that miserable Rent made in it and can only wish and pray for the Peace and Repairs of Jerusalem Now these are no ways to be charg'd with the Guilt of this Schism for here the Succession being altogether involuntary 't is to be reckon'd their Unhappiness but not their Fault And the like may be said of the Inhabitants of some other Countries who being by the Misfortune of Times and Place depriv'd of that way of Worship and Discipline that should unite them to the Catholick Church may not be charg'd with that Schism which they could neither foresee nor prevent but being by unavoidable Necessity brought under it God Almighty will have Mercy upon them and make up that in the Ever-blessed Society of Saints hereafter which they want of the Communion of Saints here But do you not see say you in the Letter of June 28th how those whose Turn it is to be the Establish'd Church in that Kingdom may turn their own Artillery upon you and talk to your disaffected Brethren in the same strain as you do to us and tell them That all the Distractions and Divisions of that Church are to be put upon the score of their
Bishops very frequently and profitably employ'd this way Your next Commendation of those Reverend Fathers is their Temper and Moderation in Ecclesiastical Matters Now this if rightly understood is an Excellent Vertue and a very useful and necessary Qualification of all Governors both in Church and State But how frequently this is mistaken and mis-apply'd I shew'd you in a former Letter on that Subject and I fear we shall find something of it in the present Case as may be easily gather'd from what you relate of these great Men concerning the Discipline and Prayers of the Church For the better clearing whereof you must Note That 't was the misfortune of those two great Prelates to live in very bad Times when the Liturgy and Episcopacy of both which they were strong Asserters were laid aside and thereby both the ancient Worship and Discipline of the Church turn'd out of Doors now those two Pious and Learned Bishops not only lamented the miserable Rents and Ruins made in the Church by this means but endeavour'd to repair and keep up as much of it as in that broken State of things they could And this was the occasion of that Model of Primitive Episcopacy drawn up by Arch-bishop Vsher of which you make so frequent mention and the same was the occasion of that Moderator mention'd by Bishop Hall to supply the place of the Bishop the design of both which was to preserve so much of the Power and Jurisdiction belonging to the Primitive Order of Bishops as those unhappy Times would admit of and like Men in a Storm when they could not save all to save as much as they might Now this Sir proceeded not from any such coldness and indifferency towards the Order as you vainly imagine and miscal Moderation but from an earnest and affectionate Zeal to preserve and continue it As for what you alledge from Bishop Hall's complaining of your Faults of Consistorial Officers that was design'd not to remove but reform their Courts to take away all just Exceptions against them that the People might be the better reconcil'd to the Order and yield the more ready Obedience to the Authority and Jurisdiction annex'd to it for if you would have Courts of Justice laid aside for the Abuses of some Under-officers in them you might soon reform away all Civil as well as Ecclesiastical Courts Thus having shew'd you the Judgment of those two Reverend Prelates concerning the Government of the Church You would have me next consider Bishop Hall's Sentiments as to Prayer and here you grant that as he us'd so he vindicated the Liturgy but you never met with a Word say you to justifie the imposing it and no other in plublick Prayer Sir Hath not the Liturgy been impos'd ever since the Reformation and no other for publick Worship And was it not the design of that Bishop in his Vindication of it to perswade all People to use and joyn in it as so impos'd Is not the faithful and constant reading of the Prayers one main Article of enquiry in all Episcopal Visitations And did this Pious Bishop think you neglect so weighty a Part and Duty of his Office No Sir he very diligently and devoutly us'd the Liturgy himself and strictly kept his Clergy to it till the Iniquity of the Times put an unwelcome stop to both from whence he betook himself to conceiv'd Forms of Prayer to supply the want of the other the only expedient to fly to in those perilous Times That this was his Practice you may gather from his own Words for he tells us that he us'd the same liberty in Prayer that he did in Preaching so that as his Sermons were Compos'd so were his Prayers too That the former were so the Elegance and Exactness of them may easily satisfie you and that he took as much care in speaking to God in Prayer as he did to the People in Preaching you may learn from the Reverence he still bore to the Divine Majesty which kept him to Solomon's Advice of not being rash with his Mouth or hasty to utter any thing before God So that for your Extemporary Effusions or pouring out present and sudden Conceptions we never find it us'd or commended by him And is it wise or fit think you to alledge the Salvo's and Expedients of bad Times for Precedents in good ones and to make Cases of Necessity Rules of Duty and Practice when that Necessity ceases 'T was the Grief of those Pious and Learned Prelates to see those woful Breaches made in the Government and Service of the Church which they labour'd to their uttermost to prevent and heal and had they liv'd to see Episcopacy restor'd to its full Power and the Liturgy to its ancient Use and Practice they would no doubt have Blessed God for that happy Day and with good Old Simeon sung their Nunc Dimittis and would then willingly depart in Peace when their Eyes had seen the Church setled again in Peace upon the Ancient and Primitive Foundation But the good Bishop Hall say you was no Flatterer of the Times No Sir the Hardships and Sufferings he underwent by them plainly shew him to be no favourer or flatterer of those Times His steady Zeal to the King and the Church kept him from all base Compliances with the Enemies of both But You bring a very awkard Argument to prove his Integrity This is omitted in the Print taken from some passionate Speeches that past between him and another Prelate that was after his Metropolitan which is rather a Blemish than Ornament to his Reputation and shews what a worthy commender you are of Good Men to single out the worst Passages of their Lives to preserve their Memory and to make use of their Failings to adorn their Character But you would fain know how it comes to pass That conceiv'd Prayer should be so pious and useful a thing in Private and yet so pernicious and dangerous a Device when us'd in Publick Sir The Reason hereof is obvious for conceiv'd Prayer in the retirements of Closet where they are shut up from the Eyes and Ears of others can have no Vanity or Worldly design in it but being transacted only between God and the Soul is generally an Argument and Instance of great Sincerity and here the broken Sighs and Language of a Contrite Heart prove oftentimes the most prevailing Oratory Whereas the pouring out many and new Words in publick may be and often is accompanied with Ostentation and other Secular Ends. You know the Pharisees made such long Prayers for a pretence to be heard and seen of Men the better to carry on their Rapine and Oppressions and too many use them still for a Shew of greater Sanctity and a Cloak to hide their viler Practices You cannot be ignorant that this way of Praying hath been and still is a great Instrument and Occasion of Division and is made the principal Device of all Teachers to draw Disciples after them But how