of the fourth Commandment who cryes up the Day but beats down the other adjuncts and also the very Duty of the Sabbath That Duty being to glorifie God in Christ by Publick worship for the Redemption of the world whereas they discountenance Liturgie and Festivals though both instituted in honour of our Redeemer Sect. 4. The sincerity of Christian Communion may be violated either Causally by a false Religion or Formally by an unjust separation Both violations are abominable The care which the primitive Christians used to avoid both by cleaving to the antient Creeds and Gloria Patri and also by their Communicatory Letters The reason of that care was that both Priest and People laboured only to serve Christ not to serve themselves of him The Touchstone to try all Churches is the Advancing Christ both in their Religion and in their Communion The Iustification of the Church of England Consisteth of three Chapters The first Chapter sheweth That the Church of England is Gods Trustee for the Christian Religion as to the people of this Nation The secend Chapter sheweth That the same Church of England hath carefully discharged her Trust concerning Religion as a most Christian or most Catholick Church The third Chapter sheweth That the Communion of the said Church of England is conscionably embraced and reteined by All the people of this Nation and not rejected much less renounced by any of them but against the Rules of Conscience CAP. 1. That the Church of England is Gods Trustee for the Christian Religion as to the People of this Nation Sect. 1. CHrist delivered the Trust of his Word and Sacraments to his Apostles They delivered the same to Bishops and Presbyters their successors But the Apostles had an illimited their successors have a limited Trust The necessity of the succession of these Trustees to the worlds end yet is the succession of Doctrine more necessary then the succession of Persons Sect. 2. The Trust and nature of the Catholick Church best gathered from particular Churches The first part of their Trust is concerning the word of God Sect. 3. The second part of the Trust of particular Churches is concerning the people of God What that Trust is and how it comes to be derived to them is shewed from Saint Pauls speech Acts 20. to the particular Church of Ephesus and from Saint Pauls Epistles to Timothy and Titus and from other several Epistles of his to particular Churches Sect. 4. The third part of the Trust of particular Churches is concerning the worship of God The written Word of God is the Rule whereby they are to manage that Trust the readyest way to beget a Christian Communion among all Churches and a Christian Peace in each particular Church Sect. 5. The Prince as the Supreme Governor of the particular Church in his own dominions is Gods Trustee concerning the outward exercise of Religion not to manage or perform but to propagate and to protect it The antient Divines acknowledged this Trust and the antient Princes discharged it and Princes now are bound so to do because it is their right by the Law of nature and because without the discharge of this Trust there can neither be the face nor the due order of Religion among any People Sect. 6. The limitation both of the Princes and of the Priests Trust in matters of Religion That neither may deviate from the Law of God And that the Authority of the Churches Laws is most enfeebled by them who make least esteem of the Law of God casting the aspersions of obscurity and of uncertainty upon the Holy Scriptures Sect. 7. The Trust of each particular Church is sufficient for the Peoples salvation if she take heed to her self and to the Doctrine God hath given her in his written Word and in the antient Creeds of the Catholick Church Sect. 8. The Trust of particular Churches is immediately from God himself both in regard of the Magistrate and of the Minister That trust much stood upon in the Primitive times and ought to be so still because it is founded in the Holy Scriptures And that this Doctrine concerning the trust of particular Churches doth not Canton or dis-joynt the Catholick Church Sect. 9. What Trust is given to other particular Churches in the Holy Scriptures is also given to our particular Church of England from God the Father Son and Holy Ghost That our Church is accordingly bound to magnifie her Trust and therefore we bound not to vilifie it And that it is both rational and religious to maintain the Trust and Authority of our own particular Church CAP. 2. That the Church of England hath most carefully discharged her Trust concerning Religion as a most Christian or most Catholick Church Sect. 1. GODS intent in Trusting the Church with Religion was her Honour and Happiness which should cause our thankfulness to God and our reverent esteem of his Church Sect. 2. The Churches Trust concerning Religion is to see there be right Preaching Praying and Administring the Holy Sacraments Preaching belongs rather to the knowledge then to the worship of God and ought not to thrust out Praying which is the chiefest act of Gods worship and most regarded by him especially when many Pray in one Communion Sect. 3. Preaching is twofold either by Translating or by Expounding the Holy Scriptures The great excellency and necessity of both And that our Church is entrusted with both and cannot justly be charged as defective in either Sect. 4. Praying a greater part of the Churches Trust then Preaching The Church hath God the Fathers Precedent and Precept for making set forms of Prayer and shall answer for all the blemishes that may be in publick Prayers for want of a set form Sect. 5. The Church hath God the Sons Precedent and Precept for making set forms of Prayer and is accordingly obliged both to make and to use them Sect. 6. The Church hath God the Holy Ghosts Precedent and Precept for making and using set forms of Prayer Sect. 7. The Church hath Gods Promise for his blessing upon set forms of Prayer Sect. 8. The Church is obliged to make set forms of Prayer according to the Pattern of the Lords most holy Prayer that there be no Peccancy neither concerning the Object nor the Matter nor the Manner of publick Prayer and that our Church hath exactly followed that Pattern in hers and that other Churches ought to follow the same in their Liturgies A short Historical Narration concerning our Common-Prayer Book and the Anti-prayer book set up against it Sect. 9. Reformation not to be pretended against Religion The abolishing of Liturgie no part of a true Reformation That God hath not given any Church power to abolish Liturgie And that no Church ought to assume that power because Liturgie directly tends to the keeping of the third and of the fourth Commandments Sect. 10. Certainty is more to be regarded in the publick exercise of Religion then Variety Hence the Creed the Lords Prayer
shearers so opened he not his mouth Act. 8. 34. Yet the Israelites did all so generally know the meaning of this phrase that Saint John the Baptist used no other title to proclaim the Messias but this Behold the lamb of God John 1. 29. which was so well understood that two of his own Disciples presently left him and followed Jesus ver 36 37. And Saint Philip acknowledgeth the person typified and foretold to agree exactly with the Type and prediction when he saith ver 45. we have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write as if he had said All that the Law and Prophets had promised was now fulfilled Grace in the conjunction mercy in the propitiation and truth in the prediction All met together in Christ our Passeover therefore Jubilemus let us keep our Jubile or in Saints Pauls language 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us keep our holyday or yet farther if you please let us keep this Holyday that is the feast of the Passover called by the Council of Antioch c 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Holy feast of the soul-saving Passeover For Aerius his objection against keeping of Easter from this very text saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we ought not to keep the the Passover for Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us though it overthrow the Jewish Passeover which was a type of Christ yet it rather establisheth a Christian Passeover which is a memorial of him unless we will say that Christ was therefore our Passeover and sacrificed for us of purpose that we should for get him and his sacrifice For as we may not now retain any types of Christ because that were in effect to deny that he is come in the flesh so we may not let go the memorials of Christ because that in effect is to be unthankfull for his coming And our Saviour himself by saying do this in remembrance of me hath shewed that he will look upon those Festivals which should be appointed for memorials of him as upon so many religious and Christian like Institutions since he that hath prescribed to do this hath also prescribed or rather presupposed a set and solemn time of doing it For though the Christians joy in Christ is not to be limited or confined to a day yet that is no reason why a day should not be limited and confined to that joy Let spiritual joyes be eternal in themselves but for that very cause let our time be subservient to their eternity that they may likewise be so to us For God appointing a set time for a spiritual duty hath not thereby debased the duty but exalted the time even as our blessed Saviour appointing a set form of prayer hath not thereby confined the spirit of prayer but rather enlarged it And the Holy-Ghost having given us so many set formes of prayer and praise in the Psalmes and the rest of the ible Bhath not therefore taught the duty of prayer to be the less spiritual but hath taught us to be the less carnal that we should not in pouring out our souls to God rely upon our own phansies or inventions but upon his holy dictates and directions For there is the same reason both of hic and of nunc in matters of Divinity the same reason of these words and of this time God having consecrated words to his service as belonging to the substance of it and having consecrated times places and persons only as accidents and circumstances belonging to the solemnity thereof And therefore it is strange to see those men who are most zealous for the set times and Dayes of serving God every week to be so impetuous against the set forms of serving him as thinking the set time to help devotion but the set form to hinder it whereas it is evident that setting a time to the spirit must needs be a confinement of him as well as setting of words And to say to the Spirit of prayer Pray now is as great an intrusion and encrochement upon him as to say to him Pray this But in truth nither are confinements to Gods spirit and both alike are intended for the enlargements of our spirits Set times and Set words that we pray in the greater assurance of faith knowing we cannot be willworshippers whiles we conform our selves to his will whom we worship SECT III. The memorials instituted by God are chiefly of his justice and of his mercy There is but one terrible memorial of Gods justice against those who invaded the Priesthood but many memorials of his mercy and that it is a vain fear which possesseth some men as if the anniversary memorial of Christs Resurrection was not instituted and cannot be observed without willworship or superstition that the general equity of the Levitical Law as far as it was not Typical is still in force concerning the Solemnities of Religion and that approves Anniversary as well as weekly Festivals AMong all Gods Attributes none are so remarkeable in our lives and deaths as his mercy and his Justice His mercy in our preservation his justice in our destruction And accordingly God himself requires us most especially to take notice of the great effects of his justice and of his mercy Hence is it that we find him instituting few or no memorials of his wisdom or of his Power but very many of his Justice and of his Mercy though not so many of his justice as of his mercy we find but one memorial of his Iustice more particularly recommended to the care of his Church and that is against those men who had said to Moses and to Aaron to their Civil and Ecclesiastical Governours Ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy every one of them and the Lord is among them Numb 16. 3. These men because they had invaded the Priests office in burning incense had their censers nailed upon the altar of incense and the Text saith to be a memorial unto the children of Israel that no stranger which is not of the seed of Aaron come near to offer incense before the Lord that he be not as Corah and his Company ver 40. Te miror Antoni quorum facta imitare eorum exitus non perhorrescere said the Orator most pathetically I much wonder that since you do follow their sins you do not fear their punishment And how can any Christian Minister say less since it is evident that the Gospel in this case still retains the sentence and consequently revives the severity of the Law For so saith the Apostle No man taketh this honour unto himself that is not called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. 4. as if he had said no man rightly taketh the office of a Priest upon him but he that is externally and publickly called of God as was Aaron so as all the Congregation may take notice of his calling And if he do take Aarons office that is not called as Aaron was he hath great reason to
it is most strictly commanded by the word of God what can be said more for the excellency of it Then that it is most highly commended by the Son of God I shall only crave leave to add that our own Church rightly judged of this necessity and excellency and as rightly conformed her practice to her Judgement in taking so great care that we should have an exact Translation of the Holy Scriptures and many eminent Expositions of the same so that no People in the world have greater means of knowing God then we have which is the first work of the Christian Religion to teach us to know God All our fault is we have not Affections and Actions answerable to our knowledge which is the second work of Christian Religion to teach us to love and honour God and if our Church hath as faithfully discharged her Trust in this as in the other we shall have great reason to bless God and not the least reason to dislike our Church For what can she teach us more then Christ and the Christian Religion hath taught her which is to know and to worship God If our Church hath thus been our Mistress to bring us unto Piety then much more ought she to be our Mother to keep us in our Duty So shall we not be ungodly without being Monsters of Christians nor undutifull without being Monsters of Men and much less shall we easily suffer our Undutifulness to be the cause of our Ungodliness for we cannot be Undutifull in kicking and spurning against the true Christian communion wherein we are taught to know and worship God but we must also be ungodly in kicking and spurning against the true Christian Religion which consisteth in that knowledge and worship though much more in the worship then in the knowledge and accordingly we hope it will appear that our own Church which hath been so carefull to teach us to know God hath been much more carefull to teach us to worship him for as in the knowledge of him standeth our eternal life so in the worship of him is indeed the very inchoation and anticipation of eternity SECT IV. Praying a greater part of the Churches Trust then preaching The Church hath God the Fathers Precedent and Precept for making set forms of prayer and shall answer for all the blemishes that may be in publick prayers for want of a set form THE Church teacheth us to know God by Preaching but she teacheth us to worship God by praying And accordingly we cannot but think praying a much greater part of her Trust then preaching because though it be a very great happiness truly to know God yet is it a much greater happiness truly to worship him And if the Church be bound to take care that there be no false doctrine in the Pulpit much more there be no absurd prayers at the Desque For the Sermons men naturally hear as Judges letting their discretion go before their Affection But prayers men naturally hear as Communicants letting their affection go before their discretion so that false worship in praying is much more dangerous and may be much more mischievous then false Doctrine in preaching for it is like an unsuspected infection most probable to spread further to sink deeper and to tarry longer Again false worship in praying doth infinitely more dishonour God then false Doctrine in preaching because it more immediately dishonoreth him that is to say not only in his truth by heresie but also in his very nature and essence by blasphemy For though a man may preach blasphemy as well as pray it yet he that preacheth blasphemy blasphemeth God only to men but he that prayeth blasphemy blasphemeth God to his own face Wherefore the Church must needs take a most special care of prayer if she desire to discharge her trust either in regard of God or Man in regard of God as she is obliged to shew forth his glory in regard of men as she is obliged to promote their salvation And indeed for so doing the Church hath very good Precedent and Precept and Promise Her Precedent is God her Precept and Promise are from God Her Precedent is God who having taught so many heavenly forms of prayer in his holy word did in the very act of teaching them as it were cry out to his Church Vade fac similiter Go then and do likewise For if the Jews examples of sin were registred for our instruction as the Apostle plainly affirmeth 1 Cor. 10 11. then much more Gods example of Righteousness And he that commanded Moses to do all things exactly according to the pattern shewed in the Mount when as yet he shewed him but only the out side and the out-works of the Tabernacle doth much more command his Church exactly to follow his example since he hath been pleased to shew her the very inside and marrow of Religion aad therefore if the Tabernable then surely much more the service of the Tabernacle is to be framed and ordered according to his pattern Thus much for Precedent but for Precept we have much more First in the Old Testament God commanded the children of Israel to bring pure Oyl Olive beaten for the light to cause the lamps to burn continually Lev. 24. 2. This command reacheth us for he that would have well beaten Oyl for his lamp will not be contented with extempore effusions but will have well studied and elaborated expressions for his homage unless we will say he did more regard their Typical then he doth our real worship Again God threatned the children of Israel That if they walked at all adventures with him he would bring plagues upon them according to their sins Lev. 26. 21. For so it is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Keri for Bekari in Accidente If you walk with me by chance or by accident and so Tremelius renders it Si ambulaveritis mecum temere If ye walk with me rashly or unadvisedly This threat likewise reacheth us and then especially when we most walk with God that is in the exercise of our Religion we must there be sure to do nothing at adventures nothing rashly nothing unadvisedly for unadvisedness in this case is ungodliness and if our prayers be turned into Provocations what shall we have left to make our Atonement But you will say these are rather consequents then arguments I answer if they were so yet they ought to be regarded for God forbiddeth those actions which are sinfull in their consequences and not only in their concomitances but indeed we have choice enough of direct Arguments for so Moses is commanded to speak to Aaron and his sons saying On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel saying unto them The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gratious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace Numb 6. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Coh tebaracu sic benedicatis so ye
should not dishonour Gods Name when they met to honour it For that were doubly to take his Name in vain not only as men but also as Christians not only as sinners but also as Saints Not only as offenders but also as worshippers Therefore the Church thought her self bound in duty and conscience to provide such a form of prayer as she was sure had no blemish in it but had holy expressions exactly agreeable with holy affections and holy apprehensions that Gods holy name might be certainly glorified and her own Trust carefully discharged For it neerly concerned the Church to take great care there should be no blaspheming instead of publick praying when she was like to answer for all those blasphemies which through her default should be vented in publick prayers SECT V. The Church hath God the Sons precedent and precept for making set forms of prayer and is accordingly obliged both to make and to use them IT was an unsufferable malice in the Jews to cry out upon the Christians as Hereticks when they proved their Religion by the holy Scriptures But it was an unpardonable madness in them to cry out upon the Christians as Atheists when they practised their Religion by continual and incessant prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Heresie of the Christians was a calumny but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Heresie of the Atheistical Christians was a meer Phrensie for there could be no greater confutation of Atheism then that which was constantly used by the Christians even daily and lowly addresses to God by prayer and supplication And it were to be wished that we who can easily clear our selves from Heresie by proving our Religion did as zealously seek to clear our selves from Atheism by practising it For without doubt it well becometh Christians to follow the example of Christ and if we will so do we must above all things seek to follow his example in praying Justine Martyr in Quest Resp ad Orthodoxos qu. 105. hath this excellent contemplation Since prayer is a necessary help or remedy against the infirmities of our humane nature and our blessed Saviour as Lord of all had from himself power against those infirmities what is the reason that he is recorded to have been so often at his prayers even oftner then any of his Apostles Surely for this reason saith he because in after-ages some would doubt of the truth of his being a Man whereas none would make that doubt about his Apostles therefore is he so often described at his prayers to remove or answer all doubts concerning the truth of his humane nature For if some Hereticks have questioned the truth of Christs being made man notwithstanding he took upon him all our infirmities how would they not have thought they might have turned that question into a demonstration if they had never read of his making prayers to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often praying was an irrefragable proof that Christ was the Son of Man often praying is an irrefragable proof that Christians are the Sons of God This was the reason the Apostles were so desirous to imitate him in his praying and desired him to teach them how to pray that they might not be mistaken in their imitation Luke 11. 1. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased one of his Disciples said unto him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his Disciples And he said unto them when ye pray say Our Father c. Where we have both the precedent and the precept of God the Son for making set forms of Prayer His precedent in that he made this form Our Father which art in Heaven His precept in that he commanded his Disciples to use it When ye pray say Our Father from whence naturally flow these three dogmatical conclusions 1. That the people are bound to desire the Church to teach them to pray unless they will profess themselves not Disciples but Masters so far ought they to be from scoffing or rejecting thier Churches prayers 2. That the Church is bound to teach the people to pray after a set form for so our Saviour Christ taught his Disciples 3. That the Church is bound to command the people to use that set form for so our Saviour Christ commanded his Disciples to use his Prayer When ye pray say Our Father c. If any man shall make light of these deductions concerning praying in a set form he may with as great a pretence of reason but must with as great a scorn of piety make light of praying on a set day and so by consequence either undervalue or overthrow the whole publick exercise of Religion For from this place alone may as much be pleaded for the Duty of publick worship as from all other places of the New Testament for the day of it Ex. gr Vpon the first day of the week when the Disciples came together to break bread Acts 20. 7. is alledged as a pregnant place for our solemn meetings on the Lords day and the like to this is that of 1 Cor. 16. 2. yet that proof concerning the day is not so full and clear as this concerning the duty for that may seem to be short in the precedent because there is mention made in the second of the Acts of meetingâ—…y â—…y and breaking bread from house to house Act. 2. 40. Whereby it is evident that if breaking bread were confined to the holy Eucharist yet the holy Eucharist was not confined to a set day But sure it is short in the Precept for it hath no command annexed which bids us assemble more on the first day of the week then another But this proof concerning the duty is not short in the precedent for the Disciples desired to be taught to pray as Johns were that is by a set form and Christ accordingly so teacheth them Nor is it short in the precept for our blessed Saviour commands them to use the set form which he had taught them If you will further alledge that other Text I was in the spirit on the Lords day Rev. 1. 10. you will thence righly plead for the day of publick worship because those words plainly infer that particular day to have been consecrated to the Lord since no better reason can be given why it should be called the Lords Day But yet still this our Text of Saint Luke will be a stronger proof for the duty of publick worship All to use a set form of Prayer then that Text of Saint John for the day of it all to meet on a set day because this hath precedent as well as that and moreover hath precept which that hath not And it is not to be imagined that any can easily come to that depth of sottishness or height of impudence and impiety as to say the Lords day is a means to put him in the Spirit but the Lords prayer is a means to put him out of it Or that a
set day may not as much hinder and obstruct his gift of prayer in respect of time as a set form can hinder and obstruct his gift of prayer in respect of words For it is as strict and as strong a confinement both to the spirit and gift of prayer to say Pray on this day as to say Pray in these words and we may as justly blame the Church for prescribing a set day as for prescribing a set form of prayer in both which notwithstanding she hath exactly followed our blessed Saviours own example and in prescribing the set form hath moreover followed his command SECT VI. The Church hath God the Holy-Ghosts Precedent and Preâ—ept for making and using set forms of Prayer IT is a heavenly prayer and much befitting a Christian Divine which is hinted by Saint Dionysius in the beginning of his sublime book concerning mystical Theologie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. O thou holy and blessed Trinity super abundant in essence in deity and in Goodness the Overseer of our Christian Divinity which is a wisdom of from and for God be pleased to direct us in the search of those more then hidden mysteries which we can neither find without thy guidance nor see without thy light nor utter without thy power He beginneth his book as many antient Divines began their Sermons In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost And though we of late have used longer prayers before our Sermons I will not say out of pretence but I must say Not out of Obedience for our Church did not command it and t is probable did scarce approve it yet we have not filled the world with much better Piety and sure we have filled it with much worse divinity For we have given occasion to many ignorant people to deny that Trinity which we our selves do disown in that we neither will begin in his name nor will end with his glory Tell me if there be any Jew in the world that will not pray to the great and dreadfull God or in the acknowledgement of his incomprehensible Majesty as well as we If therefore we our selves would not be thought nor have others to be made Jews or which is as bad Anti-trinitarians let us not think we pray as Christians unless in our prayers we do indeed glorifie God the Father Son and Holy Ghost For we are alike indebted to all three Persons of the blessed Trinity in regard of our prayers The Father accepteth the Son recommendeth the Holy Ghost suggesteth them nay indeed if they be truly acceptable they are suggested to us from the Father for the Son and by the Holy-Ghost And this was the grand reason that the primitive Christians did gather out of the holy Scriptures the greatest part of their publlike if not of their private devotions because they were sure that all such prayers as they found in the holy Bible came to them from the Holy Ghost and they could not desire better expressions then his in their mouths as not better motions then his in their hearts not doubting but God would readily hear the words as he would readily own the motions of his own spirit For this is the confidence that we all have in the Son of God that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us 1 Joh. 5. 14. and we cannot but think that one ready way to ask any thing according to his will is to ask it according to his words And his are all the words that are written either by the Prophers or by the Apostles for our instruction for they all came from they all lead to the eternal word So that in truth all those heavenly forms of prayer and praise which we meet with in the Old and New Testament are no other then so many set forms of infallible and impeccable Liturgy given to the Church from God the Father through God the Son and by God the Holy Ghost and the Church would shew but little dutifulness and less thankfulness if she did not accordingly make a frequent and a good use of them in her own Liturgies or if she did not make Liturgies of her own both in imitation of those and in obedience to those Liturgies which she hath received from God And as for the using set forms it is no less recommended to the Church by the Spirit of God then is the making them Thus in the ninth of Nehemiah we find eight several Levites Praying and Preaching at one time each in his several congregation for the multitude was so great that it was divided into eight congregations saith Tremelius But t is evident there was but one Form of prayer and praise for them all whether at one time in several congregations or at several times in one congregation for one of these must be granted to avoid confusion still they all had but one form for the text saith expresly then the Levites Jeshua and Kadmiel c. said Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever and blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise v. 5. Thou even thou art Lord alone c. v. 6. and so along to the end of the chapter where all the eight Levites named together in the fift verse do make a most religious confession of Gods goodness a confession of Praise and of their Fathers and their own wickedness a confession of sin and all of them make but one and the same confession using exactly the same words For when the Text saith expresly Then the Levites naming all eight of them said Stand up and bless the Lord c. t is not for us to imagine that one of all the eight did not say these or did say other then these very words Again it is said Neh. 12. 46. For in the dayes of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the Singers and Songs of praise and thanksgivings unto God No man can doubt who reads the inscriptions of the Psalms and obâ—â—râ—eâ— what he reads but that the Songs were as publikely known and as particularly appointed as the singers And â—aâ—â— David tells us plainly in his comment upon the third Psalm that the Psalms were not called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Songs at the time they were made but at the time they were sung and that they were accordingly in process of time sung in the Temple some before some after the Captivity However it is undeniable that the Psalms were the greatest part of the Jews Liturgie or publike worship and the matter is not great whether we look on them as Songs or as Supplications For if there were particular forms of praise without stinting of the Spirit as without doubt the spirit which appointed and commanded the use of these forms stinted not himself I say if there were particular forms of praise without stinting of the spirit why not also forms of Prayer Since it is evident the same
spirit is the first mover both in prayer and in praise and if we look upon all the Psalms of David we shall scarce find one of them which is not a most exact form of prayer and of praise both together and indeed these were the Songs of praise and thanksgiving which were meant by Nehemiah or rather Ezra for he made that book whence in ancient Canons it is usually reckoned under his name Even the songs recorded in the book of Psalms These Songs in some of their Titles shew the Singers for whom in others shew the use for which they were made by the Penmen of the Holy-Ghost the ninty second of them hath this Title A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day and it was made by Moses say the Jewish Doctors to be said or sung on the Sabbath Targum goes farther and saith it was made by the first man that is by Adam for the Sabbath yet Docent Adamum Sabbatizasse needs not trouble us in this case for t is plain from the Hebrew inscription which is to be looked on as a part of the Text that the Holy-Ghost intended this Psalm as a set form of prayer and praise to be used on the Sabbath day to shew that enemies to set forms are enemies to the Sabbath The like may be said of the hundred and second Psalm which hath this Title A prayer for the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord This Title in the Hebrew copies is accounted as the first verse of the Psalm and openly proclaimeth this Truth That the Holy Ghost not only commandeth the afflicted to pray but also prescribeth him this particular set form of prayer and though by commanding this he forbiddeth not others yet he plainly forbiddeth the contemptuous neglect and encourageth the Religious use of this he forbiddeth its contemptuous neglect for by his affirmative precept he bindeth at all times to an habitual though not to an actual obedience whereas a wilfull neglect much more a wilful contempt excludes the possibility of an habitual obedience And he also encourageth its religious use for as by his power he commandeth our obedience so also in his goodness he rewardeth it which was the ground of that excellent Proverb among the Jews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secar hamitsuah mitsuah Merces mandati est mandatum The reward of the commandment is the Commandment The reward of Piety is Piety with which agreeth that excellent gloss given by R. David Kimchi on the second verse of the first Psalm where he telleth us that God saith of the Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is my Law till a man begins to read it with diligence and devotion but then he faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is his Law even his that so readeth it whereas Saint Paul hath said no more to make us in love with the Gospel it self but that it is able to transform us into the likeness of its own purity 2 Cor. 3. 18. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord They who most look on the Lord in the looking-glass of his own word do most behold his glory And they who most behold his glory are most changed into his image from glory to glory even as by his Spirit because from his word for his Spirit is inseparably with his Word And therefore we may safely say that no man yet ever devoutly used any form of prayer or of praise which the Holy Ghost hath prescibed but by using it devoutly he both exercised and also increased his own devotion being the more inflamed with the love of making such spiritual addresses to his God and the more enabled to make them which is a truth dogmatically asserted by the very Jews and experimentally verified by many Christians who have then chiefly found the comforts of the Holy Ghost from their prayers when they have prayed in his own words the first proof whereof was in the Apostles themselves who after they had been threatned by the Rulers of the Jews made choice of the second Psalm for a great part of their prayer and the Text saith plainly that when they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost Act. 4. 31. This is the first proof we meet with among Christians of Gods publick accepting the words of the Holy Ghost in the mouths of men but there was one long before this among the Jews even in King Solomons time when upon the Priests singing the 136. Psalm God gave a visible sign of his acceptance For so it is said When they lift up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick and praised the Lord saying For he is good for his mercy endureth for ever which words are repeated in every verse of the 136. Psalm and accordingly shew it was that Psalm they sung that then the house was filled with a cloud even the house of the Lord so that the Priests could not stand to Minister by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God 2 Chron. 5. 13 14. What can be said more for the use of set forms of publick prayer but that God the Father Son and Holy Ghost hath made them hath appointed them hath approved them hath accepted them For in that he hath accepted these in the Text he hath assured us that he would reject none which should be made in imitation of these Let any man shew but half so much for extemporary and unpremeditated effusions and we shall be so far from denying him the use of his pretended liberty that we shall be glad to exempt him from the accusation of a pretence in his affected piety In the mean time as God himself did not think it sufficient to teach his Church to pray only by giving general rules but also by giving particular forms of Prayer so Gods Church could not think it sufficient to teach his people to pray without making for them such particular forms as should be sure to keep them to the general Rules because if she had not done so she had been guilty of a great omission for not following the example of Gods unerring perfection in teaching and of a great Commission for suffering the people committed to her charge to follow the misguidance of their own manifold and great imperfections for want of being taught Again Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the Seer and they sang praises with gladness and they bowed their heads and worshipped 2 Chron. 29. 30. Had the King and the Princes forbad the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph under pretence that those set forms did make them lazy
10. Sund. after Trin. Let thy merciful ears O Lord be open to the prayers of thy humble servants and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please thee No Congregation of Christians can pray in faith of obtaining their petitions unless they pray in faith of asking such things as please God and they cannot well do this unless they know before-hand what they shall ask of him in their prayers and in what words they shall ask it because else for ought they know they shall ask such things as may not please him or ask in such a sort as may displease him SECT VIII The Church is obliged to make set forms of prayer according to the pattern of the Lords most holy prayer that there be no peccancy neither concerning the object nor the matter nor the manner of publick prayer that our Church hath exactly followed that pattern in Hers and that other Churches ought to follow the same in their Liturgies A short historical narration concerning our Common prayer Book and the Anti-prayer Book set up against it REligion is the motion of the reasonable soul to God as to its first beginning and to its last end but Christ alone is the way by and in which the soul doth make this motion so that to have a Religion without Christ is to have a Religion without God that is to have no Religion For the soul of man being finite cannot be joyned to God who is infinite but by the help of a Mediator nor can any be a Mediator betwixt finite and infinite but he that partakes of both which is only our Saviour Christ who partaketh of finite as man of infinite as God He alone is able to joyn finite and infinite in one Communion who hath joyned them in one person and therefore to him alone we must repair as often as we desire to be joyned with God Our Religion without him were nothing for it could not bring us unto God and since our prayers are the chiefest part of our Religion they also would be nothing without him Therefore it neerly concerns the Church to make sure of such prayers wherein Christ may joyn with her for else she will pray in vain because without his intercession nay indeed she will pray in sin because against his command Accordingly hath Christs own most holy Prayer been looked upon in all Ages of the Church as the ground and platform of Liturgy to make other set forms of prayer from it as a warrant by it as a pattern This was the judgement of the Church in Saint Augustines time delivered by himself in his Epistle to Proba Si recte congruenter oramus nihil aliud dicere possuneus quam quod in ista oratione Dominica positum est If we pray rightly and fitly rightly in the object fitly in the matter and manner of our prayers We can say nothing else but what is already briefly said in the Lords Prayer And this was likewise the judgement of the Church in Aquinas his time as it is also delivered by himself In oratione Dominica non solum petuntur omnia quae recte desiderare possumus sed etiam eo ordine quo desideranda sunt ut sic haec oratio non solum instruat postulare sed etiam sit informativa totius nostri affectus 22ae qu. 83. art 9. c. In the Lords most holy prayer are not only desired all things which are truly desirable but also in that Method and order in which we must desire them So that this prayer doth not only regulate our expression teaching us of whom and what to ask but also our affection teaching in what Method to ask it For this prayer teacheth us to pray unto God only Our Father which art in heaven and in our prayers first to desire God for himself and after that all other things for God God for himself as he is in himself Hallowed be thy name God for himself as he may be enjoyed by us Thy Kingdom come God for himself as he ought to rule and reign over us Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven And it teacheth us to desire all other things for God whether they concern our present subsistence Give us this day our daily bread or our present deliverance from the guilt of sin and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us or our future deliverance from the guilt of sin and lead us not into temptation or our present and future deliverance from the punishment of sin But deliver us from evil Even all these deliverances are prayed for in relation to God for as much as the guilt of sin doth immediately separate from his holiness the punishment of sin doth immediately separate from his blesedness much more is our present subsistence prayed for in relation to him that we may not subsist in and for our selves who are worse then nothing but in and for our God who is all in all And all these things are prayed for in a right order first God for himself as he is in himself Then God for himself as he is in his Church Triumphant by his Glory after that as he is in his Church Militant by his Grace Then we pray for all other things in relation to God and amongst them first we desire desire him to give those things which may be as instruments to bring us to him as our corporal and much more our spiritual food after that we desire him to remove those things which are as impediments to keep us from him our sins our temptations our punishments We cannot answer it to God or men if we refuse to pray with those who thus pray with Christ for such men cannot be peccant either in the object or in the matter or in the manner of their prayers wherein the Liturgy of the Church of England hath a singular pre-eminence which maketh her prayers only to God and such prayers as are only for God Prayers exciting holy affections agreeable with a holy God Prayers affording holy expressions agreeable with holy affections Prayers least defective either in religious affections or in religious expressions and therefore prayers most befitting the publick exercise of Religion which will not endure either of these defects Prayers which no man doth say cordially but he is assured of his hearts being with his God Prayers which every man should say cordially because when he is assured of his hearts being with his God he may be ashamed of his tongues not being with his heart As for that objection which some make against our Liturgy that it cometh too neer the Popish Mass book t is in truth its vertue 1. Because thereby our Reformers intended the promotion of true Christian Communion by not making a needless much less a scandalous separation from other Christians in those devotions wherein they had not separated from Christ 2. Because they intended to promote true Christian
once Frederick Duke of Saxonie cast upon the Lutherans Quid nunc credant benè novi quid autem anno sequenti credituri sunt prorsus ignoro Magal Praef. in Titum sec 3. annot 4. What they now believe I well know but what they will believe the next year I know not He might have said concerning our Changelings Nor they themselves For they changed grosly thrice in less then four years But this third Book was thought so compleat that some earnestly pressed to have the same allowed by publick Authority not with intent that there should be prescribed a set form of publick prayer mistake them not for they can endure none no not of their own making They that cannot agree as Christians to pray as Christ taught them will never agree as Brethren to pray as they shall teach one another But only to throw aside that set Form which was prescribed in the common-Common-Prayer Book For although they durst not be so outragiously impious as to make it their profession that they would have no set form of Prayer yet they were so impiously subdolous as to make it their design to have none And therefore though for a shew they had made some set Prayers yet they meant never to use them For in their Rubrick they still give themselves this liberty That the Minister shall pray thus or else to this same purpose as the Spirit of God shall move his heart So that the Minister is in truth left to himself which ought not to be because the Church or Ministry in general and not each Minister in particular is Gods Trustee for publick worship and the people are wholly left to the piety and discretion of their Minister which ought less to be because it is a ready way to bring Gods publick worship under the danger if not under the guilt of Impiety and Indiscretion For if the Minister conceiving a Prayer upon the sudden shall say the Spirit moved his heart to pray so and withall shall avouch his prayer to have been to the same purpose with that which was prescribed him though God may be justly offended with him for entitling his enormities to the Holy Ghost yet the people may not justly be offended with him for making use of his liberty though they have the greatest cause of just offence which can be given to any Christians even the loss of their Piety and the danger of their patience or to speak yet plainer even the reproach of their Communion and the scandal of their Religion SECT IX Reformation not to be pretended against Religion The abolishing of Liturgy no part of a true Reformation And that God hath not given any Church power to abolish Liturgy and that no Church ought to assume that Power because Liturgy directly tends to the keeping of the third and of the fourth Commandments TO do that open wickedness which immediately tends to the dishonour of Christ is no other then to smite Christ on the face but to do it under a disguise or fair pretence is indeed first to blind-fold him and then to strike him saying Prophesie who is it that smote thee And thus do all Hypocrites deal with Christ they do not only smite him but also deride him and for this reason it is that counterfeit holiness is a double wickedness because it not only forsakes God but also mocks him which consideration made Saint Paul so sharply reprove those of Corinth who made more account of some false Teachers who fed their phancies with vain pretences then of himself who had fed their souls with the true bread of life not that he greatly cared for their respect for he had learned in what estate soever to be content but that he greatly abominated their impiety who were then learning to take Phancie for Faith and by that means were indeed unlearning Christ Accordingly in his reproof he first insinuates their unthankfulness that they had fallen from him who had been the means of their conversion For I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chast Virgin unto Christ 2 Cor. 11. 2. Secondly their unadvisedness who took no greater care of their footing nor of their safety then to walk among Serpents to converse securely with most notorious impostors who lived as Serpents whiles they spake as Saints But I fear lest by any means as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ Vers 3. Do you look upon Eve as strangely sottish in taking a Serpent for her Company and much more for her Directorie then be ashamed of your own sottishness who have lent your ears and your hearts to such men who are as earthly minded as if with Serpents they were condemned to creep upon the ground and are as venemous as Serpents having such poison as can reach your souls and corrupt your minds from the simplicity that is in Christ Thirdly of their ungodliness that they had so received the Gospel of Christ as not to know it or so known it as not to regard it or so regarded it as not to retain it They had itching ears to be ever learning but dead hearts never to come to the knowledge of the Truth They went a gadding after new Preachers as if they could Preach another Jesus whom Saint Paul had not Preached or were led by a better Spirit in Preaching then had led him And this reproof is in the 4. Vers For if he that cometh sc from abroad to shew this mischief was from those without not from those within the Church as saith Saint Chrysost preacheth another Jesus whom we have not preached or if ye receive another Spirit by his Sermons which ye have not received by ours or another Gospel from him which ye have not accepted from us ye might very well bear What his heart is too great for his mouth his mind is more then he can utter his anger is greater then he can express or their sin had been so great as to stop his mouth and to hinder his expression or at least their confutation was so plain their condemnation so evident as to need no more words that makes him say ye might very well bear but say no more leaving it to them to fill up the sense who had filled up the sin speaking the more by saying the less and shewing the power of his eloquence in the practise of his silence For now having only said ye might very well bear He hath left it to their own consciences to say the rest concerning their new Teachers so that if they looked back upon the foregoing words they must gather this for the Apostles meaning Ye might very well bear with their insolency their impudence their impetuousness their impertinency For it was their insolency their impudence to pretend they had another Gospel their impetuousness to preach it as if it had been another and their impertinency to preach it when it
was not another Saint Chrysost is very copious in his descant upon this reproof 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He saith not lest as Adam was deceived but he sheweth them to be women who were thus affected for it is the part of women to be deceived But how doth he say here to the Corinthians If ye received another Gospel ye might very well bear who saith to the Galathians If any man preach any other Gospel unto you then that ye haue received let him be accursed Gal. 1. 9. the same Father who maketh this objection returneth this answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Those false Ministers did make their boasts as if the Apostles had taught imperfectly but they forsooth brought somewhat more perfect For so it was requisite that by their vain boasting and babling they should mix a mad hotch-potch with the sober and sound Tenents of divinity And to shew they did this mention is made of the Serpent and of Eve who had been deceived before by the vain promise and the more vain expectancy of additional perfections Thus far Saint Paul proceeds by way of reprehension declaring the great sin of the Corinthians in being so ready to forsake the substantial truth of Religion established for the fond expectancy of a reformation pretended And yet he proceeds further by way of admonition as being more desirous to keep them from the change of Religion then to rebuke them for changing it Accordingly he admonisheth them to beware of pretenders in Religion who desire occasion wherein they may glory as they would beware of false Apostles who did labour to plant a false and of deceitful workers who did labour to supplant the true Religion For such are false Apostles deceitful workers ver 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome They are deceitful workers for though they work hard yet their work is only to pluck up what others have well planted Transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They are all for outward shew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They have only the shew or appearance of Apostles The sheeps skin is without whilst the ravening wolf is within And no marvel For Satan himself is transformed into an Angel of light Therefore it is no great thing if his Ministers also be transformed as the Ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works ver 14 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For when their Master dareth do any thing t is no wonder that the Scholars follow their Master What was it that he dared That when he was a feind of darkness banished from the presence of God he transformed himself into an Angel of light as if he still had access to him and did appear before him So these men would needs be accounted the Apostles of Christ when they did not his work had not his authority sought not his glory For all they all looked after was to be accounted his Ministers not to be so which makes the same S. Chrysostome give us this for a dogmatical conclusion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nothing is so much like the Devil as to do any thing especially in Gods service meerly for shew or ostentation I will not say that this sin comes neer some mens works in this our age but I must pray that this reproof may come neer some mens hearts that they may not be the Ministers of Satan when they should be the Ministers of Christ which will be if they use fair pretences for foul designs and cry up Reformation that they may throwdown Religion This I wil say That abolishing of Liturgy is no part of a true Reformation and I think that all true Protestants will say the same with me sure I am the first would For in the confession of Faith offered by the Aâ—bingenses to Francis the first King of France An. Dom. 1561. we meet with these words Nec ullas preces effundimus coram Deo praeter has quae in scriptura sancta continentur aut cum ejusdem sensu plane conveniunt Molinaeus de Monarchia Francorum apud Goldastum Nor do we pour out any prayers before God besides those which are contained in the holy Scripture or plainly agree with the sense of it Which words plainly evince that they had a set form of prayer either taken out of the Text or made exactly to it For had they left it in the power of their Ministers to pray as they pleased they could not have assured their King that their prayers did plainly agree either in words or in sense with the word of God Nor did the Protestants of France only stick fast to Liturgy but the Protestants of Germany did the like For when the Marquess of Brandenburge being himself a Calvinist whilst his Subjects continued Lutherans would have removed the Lutheran and set up the Calvinical forms of worship his Subjects would not endure so much as the meer change so far were they from the utter abolition of Liturgy And all the chief contentions betwixt Protestants and Papists have been whether this or that form but never any Protestant contended for no form That 's against the very nature of reason that men should contend for a meer non-entity Non entis nullae sunt passiones that which is not cannot have any affections of its own much less should it have any affections ef ours And if it be against the nature of reason it cannot be according to the dictates of Religion for Religion teacheth nothing at all against Reason though it teach very many things above it Nay yet more That 's against the very nature and being of Protestantism which by the same reason that it sticks only to the written Word of God as the ground of its doctrine cannot allow unwritten Traditions much less unwritten unknown unlimited imaginations of men for the ground of its Devotion For it is unreasonable to protest that God only shall be our guide in our Tenents and man only our guide in our prayers If we will have the Doctrine of our Religion from God we must also have the exercise the practice of it from him since t is vain to have a Religion Doctrinally true but practically false for not if ye know these things happy are ye saith our blessed Saviour but if ye do them John 13. 17. And if the written Word alone be embraced as the Rule of our Doctrine how can it be rejected as the pattern of our practice And this being granted we must needs have set forms of prayer for all the written Word consists of set forms in so much that if there were no set forms there could be no written Word To protest against a false and superstitious form of Gods worship may become a good Protestant and a good Christian but to protest against a true Religious form of Gods worship if it may become a good Protestant cannot become a good Christian and t is ill joyning with such Protestants as do not joyn with good
it ought to be so ordered that Minister and People may as one man with one voice and with one heart Pray together not only in one company but also in one Communion And consequently the Gift of Prayer which is to be exercised in publick is that which God hath given to his Church in general and not that which he hath given to any of his Ministers in particularâ—…â—â—use the people cannot communicate in faith unless they 〈…〉 before-hand the terms of their communion For faith is grounded upon infallibility which now cannot be in the Persons and therefore must be in the Prayers and hence ariseth the necessity of a set form of publick Prayer that the People as well as the Priests may pray in faith in the same Congregation and not only one but also many several Congregations may constitute no more then one and the same Christian Communion For that Precept Let all things be done decently and in order was given to the whole Church of Corinth and with it a power of making publick Prayer as a Duty over-rule publick Prayer as a Gift For by the same reason that the Church hath power to regulate the gift of tongues it hath also power to regulate the gift of Prayer which is chiefly seated in the tongue and since unknown matter and form in Prayers is no less against the edification of the People as to praying in faith then an unknown dialect the Church may as justly prohibit the one as the other and the pretence of a Gift may in neither enervate the Churches prohibition Again The Church is bound to use her Gift of Tongues for the peoples good and why not also her Gift of Prayer and how can she use that Gift without making of a set form The same Church is entrusted with the ordering of Religion and how shall any Minister either presumptuously invade her Trust or contumaciously opppse her order Nay on the contrary every Minister is bound to submit his gifts to the order of the Church for so is Saint Pauls absolute determination The Spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets 1 Cor. 14. 32. that is The Spirits of the Prophets ought not to be refractory insolent and imperious but modest obedient and submiss not given to contention but compliance not to contradiction but condescention not despising others but submitting themselves For he that placed a Prophet above a private man hath placed that Prophet under the other Prophets Saint Chrysostom here observes the Apostle hath used four arguments together whereby to perswade Ministers to a Christian modesty and moderation in the publick use of their spiritual gifts 1. That the work of the Ministry will be as fully but more orderly discharged For ye may all prophesie one by one Vers 31. 2. That the Spirit will not be discontented or disparaged For the Spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets Vers 32. 3. That this is exactly according to the will of God For God is not the author of confusion but of peace Vers 33. 4. That this is exactly according to the general practise of the Church of God As in all Churches of the Saints Vers 33. He that will not be induced by these arguments to submit his gift to the Churches gift in the publick exercise of Devotion plainly sheweth that though he may have the Gift yet he hath not the Grace of the Spirit And indeed it is no wonder that these two should be divided for common gifts of the Spirit such as tend only to the edification of others and not to a mans own sanctification are often given without saving grace And such a gift we must acknowledge the Gift of Prayer considered precisely in it self because we doubt not but Judas had it as well as the rest of the Apostles and yet we dare not say that he had sanctifying Grace We must therefore distinguish between the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer The Spirit of prayer consisteth in an holy and firm attention in sanctified and enlarged affections and proceedeth wholly from the infusion of Grace But the gift of Prayer as this age is pleased to call it though without Gods warrant in the Text consisteth in the readiness of apprehension and the fitness of expression and proceedeth partly from the endowments of nature partly from the confidence of custom and partly from the acquisitions of industry For these three Nature Custom and Industry are all necessarily required to the attaining of that faculty whereby a man is enabled upon all occasional emergencies or necessities fittingly to express the desires of his heart and by fitting expressions to enflame and to enlarge those desires as well in himself as in those that hear him which I think will afford us the full definition of the Gift of prayer considered precisely in it self without the Spirit of prayer not only essentially but also causally For so the efficient cause thereof is nature custom and industry though nature and custom more then industry in so much that men of natural endowments and of personal confidences do often in this gift out-strip those of most industrious improvements whereby nature and custom are frequently animated to laugh and scorn at learning and industry The material cause thereof is occasional emergencies or necessities The formal cause thereof is readiness of apprehension and fitness of expression The final cause thereof is to enflame and enlarge the desires of the heart Tell me what can any true Israelite see in this Dagon of the Philistians that the Ark of God should fall down before it and not rather it should fall down before the Ark For all this while if the desires be truly good such as indeed ought to be enflamed or enlarged that is not to be ascribed to the Gift but only to the Spirit of Prayer So that in truth the Spirit of Prayer is as much above the Gift of Prayer as an holy affection is above a quick imagination or a voluble expression and a sanctified heart is above a ready wit or an elaborated tongue For these two I mean the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer must necessarily be separated because they are very dangerously confounded the common sort of people admiring these men as almost Angels who have the Gift without the Spirit and contemning those Ministers as scarce men who have the Spirit without the Gift For many good Christians have the Spirit of Prayer who have not the Gift of Prayer so saith Saint Paul The Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings there 's the Spirit of Prayer but with groanings which cannot be uttered there is not the Gift of Prayer Rom. 8. 26. And on the other side many pernicious hypocrites may have the Gift of Prayer who have not the Spirit of Prayer so saith our blessed Saviour Woe unto you hypocrites who for a pretence make long Prayers Mat. 23. 14. And again Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied
For if any reason may be given why ungifted men should be thought not sufficiently qualified for the Ministry or set Prayers not sufficiently qualified for gifted men That reason must relate either to God or to the People or to the Ministers But they who consult with their consciences before they speak and then speak according to the result of those consultations are not afraid to averr That in all these respects it is most requisite that the publick worship of God should not rely upon the personal abilities of the Ministers in praying but should be performed and discharged by constant set forms of Prayer not by uncertain and much less by premeditated effusions 1. In respect of God whose name is by set forms glorified more truly because they are deliberate and judicious more zealously because they are propper and efficacious more univerly because they are known to all both as judicious and as efficacious And what can be desired more in Gods publick worship then that it be truly Christian in it self without heresie truly Christian in us without hypocrisie and truly Christian in us all without singularity For if it be so it will certainly not be defective either for want of truth and verity or for want of zeal and sincerity which are both to be in it as it is a duty of Christian Religion Nor yet for want of extent or universality which is to be in it as it is a duty of Christian Communion 2. It is requisite that the publick worship of God should not rely upon the personal abilities of the Ministers in praying but should be performed by constant set forms of prayer in regard of the people because they are thereby more truly edified being edified in their understandings not led on hood-winckt by an implicite saith to blind obedience in the greatest performances of Religion Being edified in their wills not distracted by attention when they should be united in affection for the soul being finite cannot be wholly busied in the one but it must partly neglect the other And also being edified in their memories for by often hearing the same prayers they are taught to pray when their occasions will not permit them to resort to the house of prayer In a word being edified in their consciences in that they are taught and inured to come to the holy work of Religion not as Judges to make them proud and censorious nor as spies to make them peevish and captious but as communicants to make them devout and Religious For whilst the Minister is praying what the people know not beforehand they are in truth but as Judges unless you will have them resign their souls upon uncertainties But whilst they are praying with him in a known form of prayer they are certainly as Communicants Therefore it is an unsufferable injury to the people to be tied to speak to God in prayer only by the mouth of their Minister First because it doth not satisfie their consciences which cannot be satisfied but with certainty as well as piety for though the will or affection may assent to a desire in a prayer not known before yet not with the same full assent as if it had been known partly because the soul is assenting whilst it is praying and so what it bestows upon one act it takes from the other and partly because the soul cannot assent so fully nor so firmly upon the suddain as it can upon deliberation not so fully because not upon the same evidence not so firmly because not upon the same assurance of faith Secondly because it doth disturb if not destroy their Communion with Christ which is the chief end that Christians ought to aim at in all their prayers For not being sure that their prayer will be such as to joyn their Saviour with them in the same intercession they cannot be sure it will be such as to joyn them with their Saviour in the same Communion and so they are in danger of losing both the benefit and the comfort of all their publick prayers for the benefit of them depends altogether upon Christs intercession the comfort of them depends altogether upon Christs Communion Thirdly because it doth disturb if not destroy their Communion one with another which destructive way ought to be most carefully avoided and most hatefully detested by all good Christians For next to the breach of piety in Religion they ought to abominate the breach of charity in Communion For love and concord is the very soul of Christianity By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one to another Joh. 13. 35. And it was the Characteristical note of the first and best Christians And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul Act. 4. 32. And doubtless nothing doth more immediately nor more powerfully conduce to unity in affection then unity in Religion Wherefore since the same common devotions are the most effectual means to produce and to preserve this unity they who are implacable enemies to the one cannot be cordial friends to the other It is reported of Julian the Apostate that after he had conceived an inveterate hatred against the Christians he had no readier way to execute his hatred against them but by endeavouring to make them hate one another And so gathering the most dissenting Christian Bishops and the most factious of the people into his own Palace he advised them to lay aside all Civil discords and to keep the peace of the State but every one securely to follow his own Religion without any regard to the peace of the Church Vt civilibus discordiis consopitis suae quisque Religioni sâ—rviret intrepidus saith Ammianâ—s Marcellinus But what his intent was by this advice Saint Augustine as a Divine more clearly explaineth then their Historian Eo modo â—â—â—abat Christianorum nomen posse perire de terris si unitati Ecclesiae de qua lapsus fuerat inâ—ideret sacrilegas dissensiones liberas esse permitteret He thought that by this means the very name of Christians would perish from the earth if according to his envy against the Church from which he had fallen he should permit the Priests and the people a free liberty of sacrilegious dissentions If we turn this Thesis into an Hypothesis it may not be amiss to say that a free liberty of maintaining what doctrines and of exercising what Devotions every man thinks fit is a liberty of sacrilegious dissentions for consent in Doctrine and in devotion commonly go together and this is indeed a sacrilegious liberty because it robs God of his chiefest glory even of his publick worship and Gods Church of her best Patrimony even of her truth and peace Which may be a liberty of mans taking but sure not of Gods giving for Gods intent in giving us a written word was that all Christians might have the grounds of One Religion And his intent in giving so many patterns of prayer in
that written word was that all Christians might have the grounds of One Communion And the right way of edification for all Churches is certainly to lay their foundation upon these grounds which God hath given them that is to establish a set form of Doctrine whereby to maintain the Truth of Religion and a set form of devotion whereby to maintain the Peace of Communion 3. It is requisite that the publick worship of God should not relie upon the personal abilities of the Ministers in praying but should be performed by constant set forms of prayer in regard of the Ministers themselves that they be not led into temptation either through pride vilifying others or through vain glory magnifying themselves and that they be not led into sin particularly the sins of heresie and schism which are desperate sins in private men but damnable sins in Ministers yet must needs be incident to those who rely upon their own gifts in praying more then upon Gods or their Churches prayers For if their gift forsake them as who dares promise its certain continuance they may easily fall into an erroneous expression which rather then recant they may as stiffly maintain by perverse argumentation there 's the danger of heresie And if they abuse their gift they may easily fall into the humour and love of ostentation and so scorn to be regulated and confined by their Church upholding their abominable ostentation by a more abominable separation there 's the danger of schism Besides such men commonly refuse to tie themselves so precisely to any particular form of words though it be of their own making but they may sometimes add alwayes alter according as any emergen occasion offered or affection suggested shall require so that they can never truly say with the Psalmist Paratum cor meum Deus Paratum cor meum O God my heart is ready my heart is ready which yet the Psalmist thought twice worth his saying sc Psal 57. ver 7. Psal 108. ver 1. And much less can they say O God my tongue is ready my tongue is ready though that be the readiness they most labour for and most glory in for every new affection may unsettle their heart and every new phansie may unsettle their tongue so that either the heart must be false to its own preparation because it may be changed by a new affection or the tongue must be false to the heart because it may take a new expression I have a very good precedent though a bad occasion to put the gift of prayer in the lowest forms of Gods gifts that concern the exercise of Religion For Saint Paul in effect hath done it before me who put diversitie of tongues not only after the gift of healing but also after helps in government 1 Cor. 12. 28. or helps and governments that is lay-Elders and Deacons if some late glosses may be embraced and surely the gift of prayer must come under the gift of tongues as comprehended in it or come below the gift of tongues as outpassed by it so I may well put it below the Desk when Saint Paul according to them puts it below the poor mens Box And Saint Chrysostome gives this reason for it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost hom 29. 32. in Corinth Because they thought so highly of themselves for the gift of tongues therefore Saint Paul alwayes nameth that in the last place after all the rest There is the same reason now why Saint Pauls Successors in the Ministry should do the like concerning the gift of prayer yet I would have laid my hand upon my mouth before I would have spoken so unkindly to or of my brethren were it not to make them lay their hands upon their hearts before they speak so confidently nay indeed so uncomely to Our Father For as it were better my tongue should cleave to the roof of my mouth then I should disparage the gift of prayer so it were better their tongues should cleave to the roofs of their mouths then they should abuse that gift either to ostentation or to faction or which is yet worse to Irreligion For by such abuse not only man is grosly deceived but also God is grievously dishonoured Doubtless he that bids both Priests and people keep their feet when they go to the house of God that they may be more ready to hear then to give the sacrifices of fools doth much more bid the Priests keep their hearts and their mouths that they may not tempt the people to give the fools sacrifice for want either of such affections or of such expressions as may truly be fit to be offered upon Gods Altar And this is plain from the ensuing words Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God Eccles 5. 1. 2. Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Al Tebahal gnal Pica ne feâ—tines super tuo ore Do not make haste upon your mouth Here may easily be much more haste then good speed For your mouth may make haste upon your heart uttering what is scarce yet suggested and you may make haste upon your mouth uttering what is scarce yet digested The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bahal is sometimes to be fearful sometimes to be hasty and thence signifies to make such haste as men use to make in frights when fear hath wholly surprized their wits And such a haste as goes without wit perchance without fear too for men who are audacious are seldom timorous is in a mans own house great imprudence but in Gods house t is moreover great impiety And let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God The better to keep us from the haste of the tongue he disswades us from the haste of the heart for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh therefore if the heart be fraught with hasty affections the tongue will soon be fraught with hasty expressions For he that will permit his heart to love without deliberation will also permit his mouth to speak without it since it is very easie for the heart to come into the mouth when once the assent is come into the heart Therefore he saith Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing though utterance belongs properly to the mouth the reason is because if the heart hath once spoken it within the mouth will hardly refrain from speaking it without Accordingly the Psalmist when he prayed set a watch O Lord before my mouth and keep the door of â—y lips he did also pray Incline not mine heart to any evil thing Psal 141. 3 4. for there could be no watch set upon his mouth unless it were first set upon his heart And indeed here is such a reason alledged as is enough to set a watch both upon all our mouths and upon all our hearts in that it is said For God is in heaven thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few Were he on earth with thee
yet thou oughtest to dread his infinite Majesty How much more now that he is in heaven above thee so high as to overlook thee to over-top thee to over power thee Thus the reason is enforced from Gods Majesty Again were he on earth with thee yet thou oughtest to consider and admire his transcendent purity for he is of purer eyes then to behold iniquity of purer ears then to hear it of purer heart then to regard it and consequently of purer hands then not to punish it How much more now that he is in heaven the proper place of purities of pure persons of pure actions and of pure affections and thou on earth where persons and actions and affections are all unclean and impure Thus the reason is enforced from Gods purity If thou art not afraid because of his Majesty yet thou mayst be ashamed because of his purity that the word either of thy mind or of thy mouth should be injudicious or indeliberate for that is not agreeable with the purity of reason and much less with the purity of Religion Therefore let thy words be few such as have been weighed in the ballance of the sanctury before they be presented in it as an offering to that holy One whose holiness doth not only inhabit the sanctuary but also doth sanctifie it And this reason doth our Saviour himself intimate unto us not only from the shortness of his own most holy prayer but also from the introduction of it Our Father which art in heaven as if he had said God is in heaven thou art on earth therefore let thy words be few Surely this Text which was given of purpose to prevent vanities in Divine service according to the judgement of our Church as appears by the contents had need be blâ—…ed out of Gods word and out of mans heart that the world may contentedly give up Liturgy to Enthusiasm that is proper and deliberate prayers fit to engage holy affections and to express holy desires for extravagant and extemporary effusions such as are commonly improper but alwayes indeliberate if not in regard of the Minister yet surely in regard of the people who yet notwithstanding ought no more to take the truth and goodness of their Religion upon the Ministers word then to rely for the practice of it upon his righteousness or to expect the reward of it from his salvation SECT XII Set forms and conceived prayers compared together That set forms do better remedy all inconvâ—niences and more establish the conscience are not guilty of wil-worship nor of quenching the spirit nor of superstitious fromalities and that it is less dangerous if not more Christian to discountenance the gift then the spirit of prayer HE that considers the great distance of God and man the excellencies of his makers glory the miseries of his own infirmity the impertinencies and alienations of his thoughts which may as well put him out in his own as put him by in his Churches prayers the multiplicity of his imperfections the treacherousness of his memory the slowness of his apprehension the dulness of his affections will heartily bless God for providing him premeditated forms as a remedy and will carefully watch himself lest he should turn his remedy into a disease by adding to all the rest the deadness of his own heart So that all those inconveniences art not only better prevented but also better remedied by set forms then by conceived prayers Mens phansies may be elevated by extemporary effusions but their consciences are best edified by known Prayers and t is not for us to invite men to serve God with their phansies but with their consciences By the manifestation of the truth commending our selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God saith Saint Paul 2 Cor. 4. 2. not by the pretence of Revelations commending our selves to every mans curiosity in the sight of the World That 's the ready way to bring men first to weak imaginations then to strong delusions first to beleive any thing then to believe a lye first to receive matters of Religion without judgement then to receive matters of irreligion against conscience But let us hear both parties speak for themselves against one another They say our set forms float in generalities we say their no forms rove in uncertainties both must confess that generalities in matters of Christianity may concern all Christians but uncertainties may concern none at all They say we are guilty of wil-worship in making set forms of prayer without order of the Text we say that we have Gods own express order for set forms 1. by several dictates of the Text partieularly Luk. 11. 1. Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his Disciples and t is not be doubted but he taught his Disciples to pray by a set form as teaching either their eyes or their ears but not being able to teach their hearts by several forms in the Text particularly the Psalms of which the Divine Areopagite hath said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5. S. Dionys lib. de Eccl. Hier. cap. 3. The most holy writings of the Divine hymns do wholly aim at this that they may celebrate all the holy words and all the holy works of God and shall we think they do not teach and require Gods Church after their example to celebrate the same words and works 3. By the general drift and scope of the Text For God having given us a written word for the rule of our Religion hath by the same reason enjoyned us a written word for the practice of it since there is as great a necessity that we should have a certainty of practice as a certainty of knowledge in things belonging to our salvation so that our Enthusiasts ought to appeal to unknown traditions for the rule of their Religion before they ought to obtrude unknown imaginations for the practice of it However let all the world judge whether wil-worship can possibly be in using a Religion of Gods and not rather of mans making They say we quench the spirit but we know we inflame him because approved and known prayers do most warm judicious affections and we doubt not but the spirit assisteth a man in his Judgement or reason which he hath only as a man rather then in his phansie or apprehension which he hath common with a beast For as the spirit assisteth Angels by revelation because they know by intuition so he assisteth men by deliberation because they know by Reason and by discourse They say we are given to superstitious formalities because we desire a set form of Prayer we advise them not to be given to irreligious blasphemies in casting reproaches upon formed prayers which were at first of Gods own making in his holy Word and are still of his making not of ours if they be agreeable to his Word For all truth whosoever speaketh it is from the Spirit of Truth and therefore to blaspheme the Truth is to blaspheme the Spirit And the question will
and the Decalogue righteously taken into our Liturgie but unrighteously omitted by Innovators who vainly obtrude Variety to mens consciences instead of Certainty Sect. 11. The Gift of Prayer examined That it is not a Gift of sanctifying Grace That Prayer as a Duty is above Prayer as a Gift That the Spirit of Prayer is often without the Gift of Prayer and yet the Gift of Prayer is not perfect without the Spirit of it Those Christians who have attained the Gift of Prayer most compleatly that is joyntly with the Spirit of it are not thereby qualified to be the mouths of the Congregations Those Ministers who have not attained that Gift are not for that reason to be despised as not sufficiently qualified for the Ministry And those Ministers who have attained it may not for the exercising thereof be allowed to reject set forms of Prayer in their Congregations because set forms in publick are more for the Ministers and the Peoples good more for Gods glory and more agrecable with Gods command Sect. 12. Set forms and conceived Prayers compared together That set forms do better remedy all inconveniences and more establish the conscience Are not guilty of will-worship nor of quenching the Spirit nor of superstitious formalities and that it is less dangerous if not more Christian to discountenance the Gift then the Spirit of Prayer Sect. 13. That forms of publick Prayer are not to be disliked because they cannot or at least do not particularly provide either Deprecations against private mens occasional miseries or thanksgivings for their occasional mercies yet our Church not defective in occasionals though chiefly furnished with eternals The danger of contemning Religious forms of Prayer and gadding after conceived Prayers Sect. 14. The third and last part of the Churches Trust concerning Religion is touching the holy Sacraments wherein our Church is not faulty either in the number or in the administration of Them as exactly following our Saviours Institution Nor in the manner of Administring as following it with reverence CAP. 3. That the Communion of the Church of England is conscionably embraced and reteined by all the People of this Nation and not rejected much less renounced by any of them but against the rules of conscience Sect. 1. EVery particular man ought to labour to be of such a Communion as he is sure is truly Christian both in Doctrine and in Devotion The Rule whereby to choose such a Communion the Proofs whereby to maintain it Sect. 2. That the Communion of the Church of England is truly Christian in Doctrine free from Hereâ—ie and from the necessary cause thereof a false ground or foundation of faith That is Believeing upon the Authority of men instead of God Sect. 3. That the Communion of the Church of England is truly Christian in Devotion free from impiety either by corrupt Invocation or Adoration Sect. 4. That the Communion of the Church of England obligeth those in conscience who are members of that Church to retein â—â— and not to reject it much less to renounce it by no less then five Commandments of the Decalogue Errata PAge 7. line 4. read Menologie p. 26. l. 35. r. fatlest p. 34. l. 19. r Tria p. 39. l. 4. r. brightness p. 47. l. 3. r. ut p. 56. l. 28. r. They p. 60. l. 20. r. It is p. 61. l. 11. 12. r. likeness p. 66. l. 22. r. protension p. 77. l. 26. r. This p. 78. l. 28. dele not p. 82. l. 17. r. as p. 100. l. 23. r. He p. 101. l. 16. r. greater p. 105. l. 3. r. Turning p. 106. l. r. r. their p. 116. l. 32. dele that p. 120. l. 14. r. without p. 126. l. 36. r. Nor p. 148. l. 14. r. bring p. 150. l. 14. r. of p. 169. l. 1. r. we p. 178. l. 2. r. fully p. 178. l. 15. r. take p. 180 l. 1. r. iniquities p. 182. l. 32. r. affective p. 198. l. 22. r. before p. 208. l. 17. 1. Quid p. 208. l. 18. r. Nam p. 292. in the Contents l. 6. r. Them p. 319. l. 5. r. comely p. 345. l. 3. r. sound p. 415. l. 31. r. Then p. 449. l. 1. r. persection ibid. l. 31. r. such a division p. 549. l. 19. â— beats p. 634. l. 14. r. certainty p. 656. l. 30. r. unpremeditated p. 674. l. 5. r. Obsecration p. 680. l. 4. r. bind ibid. l. 5. r. hands Christ wellcomed in his Nativity CAP. I. The Motives of Christs welcome from God and from his Church both Triumphant and Militant SECT I. Christs image repairs the loss of Gods image in man The Churches desire that Christ should be formed in us and that Christs humiliation is the Christians exaltation IN the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost one God everlasting Blessed be the Holy and undivided Trinity world without end Amen I had once the image of God the Father in my creation and I soon lost it wherefore I now desire to have the image of God the Son in my Redemption which I may never lose O thou eternal Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son vouchsafe to breath in my soul this breath of life that I may live eternally O thou who didst form the eternal Son of God in the womb of a pure Virgin be pleased also to form him in my impure and sinful heart That Christ being formed in me I may not be an Abortive to the life and light of righteousness Thy holy Apostle travelled as in birth till Christ was formed in the Galatians so doth thy holy Church travail as in birth til Christ be formed in me Oh then let the end of her travail be the beginning of my rest that my Saviour being formed in me I may be fitted and prepared for his salvation He once condescended to be made man for me Oh that he will now give me the benefit of that condescention and be made man in me That I may put on the Lord Jesus Christ even as he hath put on me That as he dwelleth in my flesh by a personal union so he may also dwell in my Spirit by a powerful Communion That as by dwelling in my flesh he emptied himself so by dwelling in my Spirit he may fill me For Christs emptiness is the Christians fulness He that filled Heaven and Earth from the beginning of the Creation did in the declining Age of Time Empty himself that he might fill us Them he filled with his Majesty but us with his Mercy And if his emptiness was our fulness what is his fulness but our glory If his fall was our rising what is his resurrection but our salvation If the humiliation of Christ was the riches of the world how much more his exaltation If he enriched us by his Poverty how much more will he enrich us by his Glory The Apostle can mention nothing but fulness when he treats of Christ emptiness Gal. 4. 4 5. SECT II. Christs
use of Christ nay concerning adoption it selfe Saint Paul seems to speake as if it were in some kind a potential and not all together an actual blessing or mercy when he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut adoptionem acciperemus that we might receive the adoption of Sons Gal. 4. 5. thereby intimating that many more might be adopted Sons then are were it not for their own default and those that are adopted might if they had made a timely and full use of Gods grace in their Redemption much sooner have received their Adoption Nay yet more if the Greek Orators Criticism be justifiable for Libanius is loth to ascribe the Oration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Demosthenes That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be to take or receive what we never had before but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is properly to receive that which we had lost then the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used by the Apostle will tell us that the gift of Adoption was once ours before to wit by the innocency of our nature till we lost it and is ours so now by the Sanctification of our persons that if we should lose it in our selves we may again recover and receive it in our Saviour it was once ours by nature and so we lost it and do now receive it by grace the second time And we now so receive it by grace that if we should lose it we may yet hope to receive it again Which consideration ought to fill our souls not with carelesness but with comfort that as by our own weakness and unworthiness we daily fall and deserve to be put out of the number of Gods servants so by our blessed Saviours Merits and Mercies we daily rise again and are still accepted and continued as his sons SECT VIII Christs most holy prayer a very comfortable Testimony and Assurance of our Adoption in him How nearly it concerns us to say Our Father not our Brother which art in heaven The conclusion of the Lords Prayer answerable to this beginning and not to be questioned It is ill quarrelling with that prayer and much worse discountenancing and deserting it AS there is no greater comfort then the comfort of Adoption so there is not a more comfortable if there be a more evident testimony to assure us thereof then that most holy prayer which our blessed Saviour hath sanctified by his lips no less then he hath commanded and commended in his Word For this prayer teacheth us to say to God Our Father which cannot be true and right in the Invocation if it be not true and right in the Doctrine for if it be not an undoubted truth that God in Christ is Our Father then can we not truly in our worship call him so Wherefore since we are taught by Truth himself to call God Father in our worship we are sure it must be true in our Doctrine That God is our Father in Christ and consequently we his adopted Sons or we must assert the same Thing to be a Truth and not a Truth a Truth in our Prayer and not a Truth in our Belief and moreover say That we pray in Faith when we do not pray in Truth For if we pray not in faith we sin and we cannot pray in Faith if there be an untruth in our Prayers Wherefore this expression Our Father being recommended to us by our Saviours own mouth as it teacheth us to pray in his Communion in and through whom we are adopted so it affordeth us an undoubted testimony and proof of our Adoption for under what pretence can we say to God Our Father if we be not his sons and how are we his sons so as to expect any blessing from him but only by the grace of Adoption Accordingly as we cannot but say with Saint Augustine that all other prayers are reducible to the matter of this short prayer so we may likewise say with him for he alledgeth not one precedent or petition which is not immediatly directed unto God that all other prayers are reducible to this form of saying Our Father and by this rule those prayers which rather say Our Brother then Our Father which art in heaven cannot be said in Faith and do not proceed from the Spirit of Adoption and they that so pray do not communicate with Christ in their prayers who neither prayed himself nor taught us to pray to any but only to his Father And it is not sapient nor safe for us to pray out out of Christs communion since we are sure our prayers will not be heard but through his Intercession Yet in all probability that humour of praying to petty Deities if it did not at first help to thrust out the conclusion of this prayer yet it hath since helped to keep it out because we cannot with any colour of truth say to any but to God alone for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever For this Doxologie is without doubt the conclusion of the Lords prayer in Saint Matthews Gospel as it hath been generally received both by the Greek and the Latine Church neither of which hath set down that prayer in Saint Matthews Gospel in Greek without the addition of these words at the end of it and for that allegation that it is not so in Saint Luke it is of no force since it is against that common maxime Argumentum ab authoritate non valet negativè An Argument from authority is worth nothing in the negative but only in the affirmative and we should lose very much of the Gospel if we should expunge and blot that out of one Evangelist which we cannot find in another Yet some Criticks have gone so far as to perswade the world That this heavenly conclusion did not at all belong to the Lords prayer but is both an unnecessary and an unwarrantable addition One is pleased to call it a foppery non veriti sunt tà m divinae precationi suas nugas assuere If this Doxologie be a foppery then what is true wisdom but if it be indeed true wisdom then what is this censure of it but plain blasphemy And is not that true wisdom which proceeded immediately from the mouth of the eternal wisdom Yet the learned Grotius complieth so far with those that have opposed this Doxologie as to perswade himself it came at first out of the Greek Liturgies into the Bible not considering that there cannot be allowed such chopping and changing of the Text but we must reproach the Catholick Church of Christ first as uncareful in suffering such changes then as unfaithful in obtruding them for Text First as uncareful in suffering men to make havock of Gods Word which was committed to her charge to keep then as unfaithful in obtruding the Word of man upon us instead of the Word of God and what authority or repute will be left to the Church if we suppose her to want both care and trust for God intrusted his Church with his
as Master Brerewood hath demonstrated in his enquiries cap. 14. SECT II. That the coming of the Holy Ghost for the communicating of Christ after an extraordinary manner is not now to be expected That preaching and praying with the Spirit come not by infusiâ—ns Enthusiasts are the worst separatists and the greatest blasphemers guilty of the worst kind of sacriledge and Idolatry in robbing God of his publike worship after such a manner as he hath commanded and idolizing their own pretended gifts SInce it is an undoubted truth that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Christ we may not doubt but his coming unto men alwayes was and still is of purpose to communicate Christ unto them either after an extraordinary manner by immediate infusions and revelations as to the Prophets and Apostles or after an ordinary manner by habitual improvements and assistances as at this day For the extraordinary manner of his coming and the extraordinary manner of his communicating Christ to men by immediate infusions or revelations did both cease together And we may truly say concerning those miraculous and extraordinary dispensations of the spirit what Saint Paul hath said concerning tongues one of the principal effects thereof They were for a sign not to them that believe but to them that believe not 1 Cor. 14. 22. and therefore were to continue and remain no longer then signes and wonders that is till the preaching or publishing of the Gospel or till the planting and setling the Christian Religion For Saint Peter plainly sheweth in the second of the Acts That this Prophecy of Joel In the last dayes saith God I will your out of my spirit upon all flesh was fulfilled in the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles that these were the last dayes meant by that Prophet and therefore after those dayes men were not to expect any more such extraordinary dispensations Wherefore those that will now preach or pray by the Spirit may not rely upon infusions for which they have no warrant but must betake themselves diligently to read and consider the word of God that so they may have the assistance of the Spirit of God For they that go about to separate the Spirit from the Word are the most abominable Separists that ever were or can be in the world because they endeavour to separate God from himself for Gods word is Gods truth and Gods truth is himself Be it then taken for granted which may not be doubted it cannot be denyed that they are very wicked Separatists who separate man from man for they fill the world with sedition and privy conspiracy They yet worse Separatists who separate man from God for they fill the world with false doctrine and heresie But yet still they are the worst Separatists of all who separate God from God that is Gods Spirit from Gods Word for they fill the world with hardness of heart contempt of Gods Word and Commandment which is the ready way to make men first impenitent and then unpardonable and what more can be said of the sin against the Holy Ghost Yet these three separations do so naturally and necessarily spring from one another that they may be accounted themselves inseparable For the sedition begets the heresie and the heresie begets the hardness of heart separating man from man by sedition will separate man from God by heresie and that will also in a short time endeavour to separate God from himself by contempt of his Word and Commandments What an unhappy age do we live in wherein men think they do God good service to run away from his Word by pretending to his Spirit But this is the wit of wickedness the order of disorder the method of atheism that the persons of the holy and undivided Trinity should be sinned against by succession and blasphemed in the same order that they are to be confessed first the Father secondly the Son and thirdly the Holy Ghost For under the Law men were generally given to Idolatry took an Idol for God and so more immediately sinned against God the Father he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God of himself Under the first times of the Gospel men were generally addicted to Arrianism denying the Divinity of Christ and so more immediately sinned against God the Son for he is God of God But in these latter times of the Gospel for so it is to be feared our sins have made them men are generally addicted to cry up their own phansies for the dictates of the Spirit and so more immediately sin against God the Holy Ghost not considering how unconscionable a thing it is to grieve the Holy Spirit of God whereby they are sealed to the day of redemption and how impossible a thing it is for those not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God who constantly blaspheme him and what an unsufferable blasphemy it is to entitle those rude and crude impertinencies to the Holy Spirit which few sober men can hear with patience and no zealous man can hear with profit and no conscientious man can hear with piety Well may such a worship profit some men by exercising their patience but yet it scarce deserves the name of worship because it doth not rather exercise their piety so that we must confess that such pretenders to the Spirit are the greatest enemies of the Spirit and whilst they would be thought the best reformers are in truth the worst blasphemers for as much as they impute those imprudencies and indescretions or rather impieties and irreligions for imprudencies in the service of God are impieties and indiscretions are irreligions to Gods Holy Spirit which are meerly their own vaiâ— imaginations and carnal inventions and in the mean time reject and disesteem those prayers and praises which are the undoubted dâ—ctates of that same Holy Spirit as if they rather hindred then helped us to cry Abba Father what is this but in effect to blaspheme God instead of blessing him for giving us so many admirable forms of prayer and praise in the holy Scriptures and for giving us a Church to teach us to pray exactly according to that pattern in the Mount according to those patterns of prayers and praises whâ—ch came immediately either from God the Son or from God the Holy Ghost What is this but in effect to distract and to hinder men instead of setling and helping them in their Religion whilst they are made beleive that nothing is truly from the spirit of prayer but what is new and unknown to them whereby they are taught first to contemn the known prayers of the Church and then the known prayers of the Scriptures for that the spirit is as much confined by the one as by the other and to hunt after novelty instead of certainty which is a way to exercise the phansie before the conscience because the conscience first tries the spirits then follows them 1 John 4. 1. but the phansie first follows the spirits and never at all tries them A way
of dignities ver 8. such a licentiousness as hates to be controuled and much more to be confined and therefore hates the dominion and dignities which God hath ordained to controul and to confine it Or we are lovers of our profits as in ver 11. They have gon in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward and perished in the gain saying of Core where Balaam though put in the Second place yet is clearly the first mover in the way of unrighteousness for Cain and Core both do homage unto him For Cain is ready to kill and Core is ready to rebell if Balaam once run greedily after reward Such are we whiles we are manifested to our selves even lovers of our selves in our pleasures to all abominable licentiousness in our profits to all abominable out-rages and such are the cursed effects of our self-love even murders and seditions So that in truth we are self-haters whiles we are self-lovers for we have our woe denounced against us Woe unto them v. 11. Praedicit eorum exitium quoniam Cainum impudenti malitia Balaamum turpi avaritia Core dâ—nique factioso ambitioso ingenio referunt saith Beza in his short notes He foretelleth the destruction of such men because they follow Cain in his impudent malice Balaam in his filthy coveteousness and Core in his factious and ambitious unruliness But if Christ be manifested unto us our love is wholly of him and we will never think that we can sufficiently express that love We will labour to build up our selves in our most holy faith delighting in those things that are for Edification not for destruction and being afraid of that faith which is more for pulling down then for seeting up of holiness for we may not so build up our selves as to throw down others Praying in the holy Ghost that is praying in such a manner as that he may pray in us and in such a form as that he may pray with us not pinning those prayers upon the spirit of God which a sober man would be ashamed to speak and a conscientious man must be afraid to hear Keeping our selves in the love of God and loving whatsoever may be a means to keep us in his love as his word because it instructs us his authority because it restrains us his ordinances because they confirm and strengthen us having our eyes and our hearts alwayes lifted up to heaven looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life This is the only way to be assured that Christ is manifested unto our souls if indeed we thus entirely love him For our faith makes us accepted in Christ not so much from the strength of its perswasion as from the sincerity of its affection and is therefore called by Saint Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a faith which worketh by love Gal. 5. 16. There is no moral certainty to others of our being in Christ without this love In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devill whosoever loveth not righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his brother 1 Iohn 3. 10. There can be no theological certainty to our selves of being in Christ without this same love as it follows v. 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren He that loveth not his brother abideth in death And again cap. 4. v. 13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his spirit and sure we are that spirit is the Spirit of love Thus if we love we shall be assured of love and the more we find that we do love the more we shall find that we are beloved What have we then to do who profess our selves Christians but to walk in love as Christ also hath loved us Eph. 5. 2. and by this love to give our selves unto him who hath given himself for us So shall we also in him be made an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling Savour being made partakers of the greatest glory that is incident to the creature even to be an offering and a sacrifice to the Greator and of the greatest blessing that is incident to that glory even to be an offering and a sacrifice for a sweet smelling Savour unto him That he smelling the smell of the Goodly raiment which we have borrowed from our Elder brother may bless us and say See the smell of my Son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed Gen. 27. 27. God the Son hath blessed that soul to which he hath given this sweet smelling Savour and God the Father will bless it and God the Holy Ghost will continue the blessing for ever more Amen CAP. III. Of the Comforts that arise from the knowledge of our being in the state of true Christianity SECT I. The first comfort arising from the knowledge of our being in the state of true Christianity is That we are thereby assured of the love of God MANY are the comforts of those who know they are in the state of true Christianity but they are all reducible to these three Heads That they are assured of love from God of communion with God and the continuance of that communion Three such comforts the least whereof is able to outweigh all that can be put against it not only in the balance of the Sanctuary but also in the scales of right reason For man naturally doth love God above his life and doth desire communion where he loveth and doth exceedingly delight in the continuance of that communion So that the comfort which ariseth from the knowledge of our being in the state of true Christianity consists of these three degrees 1. That we are thereby assured of the love of God 2. That we are thereby assured of communion with God 3. That we are thereby on Gods part assured of the continuance of that communion which must needs bring heaven down to us if not carry us up to heaven The first degree of this comfort is that we are assured of the Love of God in whose presence is the fulness of joy and at whose right hand there is pleasure for evermore Psal 16. 12. For God is not as man that he should be changeable in his love but his love is like himself without beginning or ending He loves not more or less in process of time as men do and if he did we should have but small comfort of his love For love that is in time is but for a time not for all times it will be sure to choose the best time If Gods love were such woe would be to us upon whom are come the last and the worst times of this wicked world and therefore the last because the worst The worst as farthest from God and for that reason the last as neerest their own destruction Were Gods love to have a beginning in such times
enjoyning duties shewing us that we cannot take any of either but we must take all And this is most evident in the present case for the fourth Commandment plâ—inly presupposeth all that is enjoyned in the three former commandments concerning holy duties or the whole substance of Religion both internal and external and then also farther addeth an obligation of consecrating time and other adjuncts for the publick exercise thereof that God may be the more solemnly glorified and men the more truely edified whilst the duties of Religion are all practised together in a full communion of Saints the Church Militant being obliged in this to imitate the Church Triumphant that it invite men on earth to glorifie God with one accord as the Angels do glorifie him in heaven And in this respect we may easily believe and readily confess the first Sabbath to have been both instituted and kept in Paradise for the Church was there founded and the Communion of Saints there first established That is the communion of holy men with the holy Angels and with themselves joyning together to sing Halleluiahs to God their blessed Creator which was indeed the principal end of their creation And accordingly men were at first enabled to the discharge of this great duty as well as the Angels having the right and acceptable forms of praising God imprinted in their hearts and when through transgression they had disabled themselves it pleased God of his infinite goodness to grant them as it were a new impression and to give them a second edition of those praises in his holy Scriptures which before had been written in their own hearts but were now very much slurred and defaced if not quite obliterated and blotted out This great and undeserved mercy of God those men either shamefully forget or ineffectually remember who cry up the Sabbath day but beat down the Sabbath Duty making little or no use of the written Word of God in their publick worship and making little or no account of those forms of praâ—er and praise which are either contained therein or agreeable thereto but setting up their own private gifts against that publick communion which should be in Gods house and service by virtue of this fourth Commandment discountenancing the exercise of Religion in known forms of heavenly prayers able to establish the heart and encouraging new-fangled devices which are only fit to busie and tickle the phansie By which ungodly practice for so it must be called though it pretend to the greatest measure of godliness they in effect throw the fourth Commandment out of the Church whilst they pretend to set it up over the Altar since not sitting still or keeping an outward rest but comming together that we may all labour inwardly in Hallowing the name of our Father which is in heaven is the cheif moral duty of the Sabbath For as in the promise of the fifth so in the precept of the fourth Commandment the Lawgivers expression containeth the least part of his intention and we may no more confine this precept in the duty then we may that promise in the reward Therefore as we would be loth to look no farther then the Land of Canaan for our inheritance so we should be wary how we assert that God looks no farther then the Sabbath day for our obedience Truth is it pleased God to train up the Jews in his fear by types and figures and as it were to wrap up heaven in earth spirituals in temporals morals in ceremonials substances in circumstances to them as well in his precepts as in his promises particularly in that precept which concerned his publick worship because that amongst the Jews was for the most part Ceremonial and figurative Wherefore if we desire rightly and fully to understand the fourth Commandment we must conceive it in so great a latitude as to comprize all those Commissions injunctions invitations and exhortations which we find in the Old and New Testament given either to Kings or Ministers or People concerning the ordering establishing reforming practicing professing or promoting the solemn publick worship of Almighty God which is in truth the principal end thereof unless we will say that all those moral duties are reducible to none of the ten commandments in the decalogue and consequently that all they were will-worshippers who either professed or promoted or practised them For as such duties of Religion are to be done publickly and solemnly by many together in one communion they are not reducible to any of the three first commandments which speak to single persons but only to the fourth which alone speaketh to whole families or to many persons joyned together in one community And therefore it is not amiss to say that Hallowed be thy name is that Petition which most directly prayes for Grace to perform the duty of the fourth Commandment since all other things are hallowed for his names sake God sanctifying times places persons and forms of prayers and praise unto us that he may sanctifie us unto himself nor is it amiss to say that the holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints is that Article of faith which most directly professeth to believe the truth of the fourth Commandment for it is only the Catholick Church the Communion of Saints which doth rightly hallow and praise Gods holy name The Hallowing of Gods most holy name belonging equally to the decalogue and to the Creed and to the Lords most holy prayer belonging to the decalogue as it is a duty to be performed belonging to the Creed as it is a truth to be believed and belonging to the Lords Prayer as it is a good to be desired as we are all bound to pray that we may perform this duty and believe this truth For Faith Hope and Charity are not to be separated from one another but do alike belong to supernatural Truths and to religious or moral duties because both truths and duties do equally call for our faith to know and believe them and for our hope to crave and desire them and for our Charity to love and embrace them But if we take the outward sanctification of a day for the principal morality of the Sabbath we shall scarce find a Petition in the Lords most holy and most perfect prayer relating to such a Duty nor an Article in the Apostles Creed relating to such a Truth and so we shall phansie to our selves such a morality as is without a good to be desired and without a truth to be believed for without doubt The Lords Prayer briefly containeth all the good we are bound to desire and the Apostles Creed briefly containeth all the Truths we are bound to believe as well as the Decalogue briefly containeth all the Duties we are bound to practise and perform Whereas on the other side if we look upon hallowing the name of God in our publick worship as upon the principal moral duty that is enjoyned in the fourth Commandment we shall find the Decalogue and the Creed and
shall bless id est ye shall use this very prescript form of blessing And to shew that this precept was to be looked on as doctrinal and not as occasional as general not as particular we find Moses himself putting it in practise in another case for when the Ark set forward he said Rise up Lord and let thine enemies be scattered and let them that hate thee flee before thee and when it rested he said Return O Lord unto the many thousands of Israel Numb 10. 35 36. He that considers how oft the Ark moved and rested must needs confess that Moses used this set form of prayer very often If to the stinting of the Spirit or excluding of the gift of prayer let us blame Saint Paul for saying Moses verily was faithful in all his house Heb. 3. 9. but if rather for the solemnity and reverence and certainty of Religion that all Israel might pray with him and knowing his prayer before hand might pray in the greater assurance and comfort of Faith then let us not blame Gods Church for following the example of his faithfulness For indeed this is a general rule concerning Gods publick worship and the Church cannot be faithfull unless she carefully observe this rule If it have any ill blemish thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God Deut. 15. 21. Though it be a lamb yet if it hath any ill blemish it is all one as to thy sacrifice as if it were a Hog This is in effect Jarchies gloss upon the place to shew that a lamb might no less be excluded for his il-favoredness then a hog for his uncleanness Nay indeed this is in effect Gods own gloss Mat. 1. 8. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice is it not evill or if ye offer the lame and sick is it not evil as if he had said though the offering you bring be not unclean in it self yet if it be blind or lame or sick t is unclean in its use for it may not be offered as a sacrifice And the more either to conform their obedience to this command or to convince their disobedience against it he appealeth to common sense and in that to conscience saying offer it now unto thy Governour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person q. d. If it be against thy sense to offer it to thy Governour let it be much more against thy conscience to offer it to thy Maker For if man who creepeth on the earth then much more God who sitteth on the heavens will disdain thy blind and lame and sick offerings Now let us consider seriously to whose care and charge did God commit the sacrifices and offerings did he trust every man to bring what he pleased or did he trust only the Priests as to offer so also to see what was fit to be offered Surely we shall find that he who said Cursed be the deceiver ver 14. did not so much curse the people for deceiving their Priests as he did curse the Priests for deceiving their God These were the grand impostors these were the most unpardonable deceivers because to all other deceits they added this also that they deceived their trust God had laid a trust upon them and they so negligently performed it as if they had undertaken rather to deceive then to discharge that trust Accordingly all his contestations are with them all his expostulations against them as ver 6. If I be a Father where is mine honour and if I be a Master where is my fear saith the Lord of hosts unto you O Priests that despise my name And ye say wherein have we despised thy name ye offer polluted bread upon mine Altar and ye say wherein have we polluted thee in that ye say the Table of the Lord is contemptible ver 7. If Gods publick worship be either contemned for want of due honour or prophaned for want of due fear if either his name be despised or his Altar be polluted he expostulates not with the people but only with the Priests either about the contempt or about the prophanation which plainly sheweth that the Priests alone were his Trustees both for â—â—s Name lest that should be despised and also for his Altar lest that should be prophaned And is there a less care to be taken about our spiritual then was about their material sacrifices about the Calves of our lips then about the Calves of their stalls about the offerings of our souls then about the offerings of their Heards about our Prayers then about their Bullocks Are not our prayers real sacrifices when as their bullocks were but Typical as saith Athenagoras most divinely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us lift up pure hands to him and what need will he have of any other Hecatomb of any other magnificent sacrifices For sure one pure head is more to God then an hundred Oxen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What should I look after whole burnt offerings which God needeth not yet let me offer unto him an unbloody sacrifice even that of prayer and praise which proceedeth from my soul Nor did God himself say otherwise under the Law but that he set a much higher value upon the offerings of the soul then of the flock Thinkest thou that I will eat Bulls flesh and drink the blood of goats There he makes light esteem of the offerings of the Flock Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most Highest there he makes great esteem of the offerings of the soul Psal 50. Then let us know assuredly that God is no less angry with us for blemishes in our Prayers then he was with them for blemishes in their sacrifices And that as then his anger was chiefly against the Priests of the Temple so it is now chiefly against the Ministers of the Church for it is their part to oversee the prayers as it was the Priests part to oversee the sacrifices upon which ground the second Milevitane Council would not allow any other Prayers to be used in the Churches of Africa but such as had been perused and approved in some Synod Placuit ut nullae aliae preces omnino dicantur in Ecclesia nisi quae à prudentioribus tractatâ— vel comprobatae in Synodo fuerint ne forte aliquid contra fidem vel per ignorantiam vel per minus studium sit compositum Concil Milev 2 Can. 12. We have determined that no other Prayers should be used in our Churches but such as have been perused by some wise men or have been approved in some Synod lest any thing contrary to sound and saving Faith should either out of ignorance or out of carelesness have scaped the composers of any publick prayers They rightly Judged they were to answer for other mens sins in Gods service and if they did not accordingly prevent them they would no longer be other mens sins but theirs And this without all doubt was one main ground of Liturgies that men
Communion in the same way that Christ himself had promoted it which was by not changing any good prayers he found in publick use at his coming for even in his own most holy prayer wherein he taught his Apostles and in them all Christians how to pray till the worlds end he made choice of such laudable forms as he then found used by the Jews In so much that there is not one petition in this most Christian prayer which was not before some piece of a prayer in the Jewish Synagogue which hath been largely and fully proved by Mr. John Gregory of Christ-Church and needs no other proof after so compleat an Artist Yet I will add the Testimony of one more beyond all exception both for his learning and for his Religion and that was the most learned and most judicious Hugo Grotius who in his Annotations on Mat. 6. 9. hath these words Docent autem nos ea quae ex Hebraeorum libris ab aliis sunt citata non tam formulam hanc à Christo suis verbis conceptam quam in eam congestum quicquid in Hebraeorum precibus erat laudabile sicut in admonitionibus passim utitur notis eo saeculo proverbiis Tam longe abfuit ipse Dominus Ecclesiae ab omni affectatione non necessariae novitatis Those things which have been cited by others out of the Jews writings do plainly shew that our Saviour Christ did not so truly make this form of prayer new of himself as he did take it out of the Jews laudable prayers which he found ready made to his hands even as in his Sermons he did commonly use such Proverbs as that age was best acquainted with So far was he that was Lord of the Church from all affectation of unnecessary novelty An excellent Epiphonema which hath in it a manifest document for all Christian Churches that they ought to follow the example of their Lord in being far from affectation of unnecessary novelty in those prayers which they teach and practise And a tacit approbation of the Church of England because in that particular she had so exactly followed her Lords example she had made her Liturgy punctually according to the Lords most holy prayer as in all other respects so also in this that she would not have it guilty of unnecessary novelty which if she had not done she must have tempted others to schism and separation and have tempted her self to pride and presumption Therefore she was willing to leave the Church of Rome as to her corruption but not as to her Communion nor did Calvin himself desire she should do more in his Epistle to the English at Frankford wherein he was only troubled that some of our Nation were still too much immersed in the dregs of Popery Quid sibi velint nescio quos faecis Papisticae reliquiae tantopere delectant So that t is an injury to that learned man to say he would have the Church of England make no distinction between the good wine of Christianity and the dregs or lees of Popery which they in effect do say who are so ready to quote him for abolishing any thing that was truly Christian in the reformation of our Liturgy But let us particularly examine the excellencies of the Lords most holy prayer that we may from thence the more easily discern the excellencies of our own prayers which can have no excellency but as they follow the pattern of this and if they follow this need look after no other excellency For this prayer hath Christ in all its four causes and is therefore most peculiarly entitled unto him 1. Ratione efficientis in regard of its efficient cause because he was the composer of it there 's Christ in his authority 2. Ratione Formae in regard of its formal cause because it is the most pious and most pithy form that ever was composed there 's Christ in his piety 3. Ratione materiae in regard of its material cause because it containeth all that we do want or can desire as Christians either belonging to this or a better life there 's Christ in his Fruition 4. Ratione finis in regard of its final cause because it intendeth one connexion of all Christians with Christ and in Christ for teaching all to say to God Our Father it joyneth all Christians with Christ who said so and in Christ who bids them say so there 's Christ in his Communion Willing all to agree as Brethren especially in their prayers wherein they invocate one common Father that so none may go without his blessing but that even he who cannot ask it in the righteousness of his person may both ask and have it in the righteousness of his Communion according to that of Saint Ambrose whilst each one saith Our Father every one prayeth for all and all pray for every one And these four excellencies were as much communicated to the Liturgy of our Church as they are communicable to any Liturgy and Christ with them For the efficient cause of it was Christ in his office as King or Christ commanding in his authority Civil and Ecclesiastical both concurring to make the Liturgy though not the prayers The formal cause of it was Christ in his office as Priest or Christ praying in his piety The material cause of it was Christ in his office as Prophet or Christ preaching in his Doctrine The final cause of it was Christ in the result of all his three offices as King and Priest and Prophet or Christ reconciling and gathering in his Communion I cannot be too plain or too punctual in a thing which once so neerly concerned my calling and still so neerly concerneth my conscience and therefore that I may speak the more plainly and the more punctually I must crave leave to speak a little historically In the first year of King Edward the sixth was this heavenly book framed and compiled by a most learned and Religious Synod And after that so again mended and corrected that Mr. Fox witnesseth it was then called by most men The work of God Yet some restless Spirits were then as now we have legions of them who took occasion of quarrel at some particulars Hereupon that learned Arch-Bishop Cranmer turned the book into Latine and sent it to Bucer to crave his Judgement concerning it Bucer approved all generally to be either contained in or at least not to be repugnant to or dissonant from the word of God but yet with a si commode acciperetur if it were fairly taken otherwise saith he Quarrelsome men will thence pick out matter of contention Hereupon this book was the third time corrected and amended and all those particulars either expunged or changed which had before been misinterpreted or were thought liable to misinterpretation Afterwards in the reign of Queen Mary when the Mass was again re-assumed and this prayer-book expulsed the Churches as schismatical and heretical the same learned Cranmer undertook with the Queens leave that himself and
Peter Martyr with four other Divines would defend this Book and each particle thereof against all the Papists in England and he did indeed at last undergo his Martyrdom very comfortably in its defence Besides all this the Confessors of that age Those who were banished or had left all and fled for their Religion into Geneva or the Low-Countries did even there use this very form of prayer which they had brought with them out of England as thinking it the best Test of their Religion for which they fled and the surest badge of their communion in which they persisted I say they did use our Common prayer book beyond sea in Holland and Geneva till Master Knox began to pick quarrels both with the book it self and with them that used it Which when Doctor Grindal told Bishop Ridley as he was in prison to be sacrificed in the flames the very next day the holy Martyr broke out into this bitter complaint I cannot but wonder that Mr. Knox should at this time set himself against the poor Protestants of England and find fault with their Service book wherein though his wit may chance find something to cavil at yet shall he never be able to find matter of just exception as if any thing therein contained were contrary to the word of God This was that dying Martyrs Testimony concerning our Common prayer book to which I could alledge many more but that yet after all this to give content and satisfaction to all parties if it were possible and to take away those passages which Calvin was pleased to call Tolerabiles ineptias Tolerable follies who doubtless did see intolerable follies in other conceived prayers This same Book was again the fourth time corrected and amended in the daies of that renowned Queen Elizabeth and yet for all these corrections and amendments met still with innumerable companies of Malecontents who disliked the use of it though they could not agree in their own dislikes For what some rejected others approved in so much that the whole was approved by them severally whiles it was joyntly opposed which when the Queen discovered to them she shamed their oppositions though she could not silence them For though they pretended only to make some objections against this form yet their intent was indeed to have no set form whereby to put Religion wholly into their own mouthes if not out of the Peoples hearts This made them despise that Book which Cranmer Ridly Bucer Peter Martyr and Reverend Master Ould and others did justifie against the Papists all of them with their Pens and some of them with their Blood For my part I must profess that as a Christian Divine I have bestowed much pains in viewing the Christian forms of publick worship and I cannot yet find any one Liturgy in all Christendom to which I can willingly and with a good conscience say Amen in all particulars save only This of our own Church with which I cannot but most heartily and willingly joyn in every prayer and the rather because I find This Liturgy hath in it all the chiefest pious and pithy devotions of Greek and Latine Liturgies but the superstitions of neither And I am willing to perswade my self that other men especially of my calling would not so easily forsake much less so openly revile this publick form of worship if they did seriously consider how directly it tends to Gods glory and his peoples good and how much it belongs to the Churches Trust that her publick worship should directly tend to both For surely it is a most inestimable priviledge of Piety that we can joyn in Prayer with Saint Augustine Saint Chrysostom and all the other Greek and Latine Fathers nay with Saint Peter and Saint Paul who if they were present at our service would not refuse to communicate in our prayers whatever our own seduced Brethren may refuse because they are all easily and plainly reducible to the Lords most holy Prayer In so much that we do not only in our Belief glorifie God as they did and truly the repeating of the Creed doth more truly glorifie God then any other Profession of his Truth which we can make but also in our prayers we invocate him as they did whereby we do not only speculatively profess or acknowledge but also practically maintain and uphold the Communion of Saints and are sure we shall both profess and practise that communion if we communicate with our own Church which hath such a form of worship as doth profess and practise it For we are sure that we Pray as they once prayed whiles we are sure that we pray according to the Lords own most holy Prayer which certainly they must needs want who do not before-hand know their Form of Prayer but come first to Hear and then to Pray so that if the Preacher chance to abuse their Patience by some new-found upstart Divinity in his Sermon They may be sure he will much more abuse their Piety by some new-found upstart Devotion in his Prayer since his business is to turn his Sermon into his Prayer and that may be either of so bad contents or of so bad consequents as to turn their Prayer into Nothing It is not to be denyed but this may be done easily it is to be feared this is done frequently among those who have no other Prayers but such as the Preacher is pleased to make for them whose Faith may be Faction in his Sermon and whose Religion may be Rebellion in his Prayer so that the Congregation which dependeth meerly upon his lips must have no Prayers if they will not be factious and rebellious or must have Profanations instead of Prayers if they will For it is not to be imagined that such Ministers who pull down their Church to set up themselves will not stand on Tip-toe as well in Praying as in Preaching that they may obtain a full Dictatorship in Religion whiles every one of them takes upon him to Lord it in Gods house as if God had given him Commission to say with Elijah As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand there shall not be dew nor rain these years neither dew of heavenly Doctrine nor rain of heavenly devotion to refresh your gasping souls but according to my word 1 King 17. 1. For they all in the end drive at this that we should in effect have no prayers though at first they would be thought to advise us to better prayers The first Edition of their Anti-prayer Book though it had this proud posie in its fore-head No man can lay any other foundation then that which is laid even Jesus Christ yet within two years after being reviewed by themselves was in a manner quite changed and had not so few as 600. grand and material alterations And yet for all this within another year a third Book was begotten and brought forth differing in many points from both the other as if they had resolved to make good that reproach which
given to some particular Minister a special endowment hath he therefore given him leave either to condemn his Brethren or to condemn his Church Surely no and much less upon so slight a ground either of Reason or of Religion For neither ought there to be so great provision made for occasional emergencies as for continual necessities and if there ought yet is not the Church bound to make it First there ought not to be so great provision made for occasional emergencies as for continual necessities because these emergencies whether corporal or spiritual yet as they are occasional they are meerly temporal for occasion is the opportunity of time but Christianity is chiefly to busie it self about eternals Again as they are occasional they are meer contingencies but Religion is chiefly to busie it self about certainties The Form by which Saint John Baptist taught his Disciples to pray is lost without any mischief to Religion because it was meerly Occasional the reason thereof expiring with its use But the Form by which our blessed Saviour taught his Disciples to pray God would not suffer to be lost for fear Religion might have been lost with it because that Prayer is doctrinal and eternal never to expire either in its reason or in its use And how shall we then seek to advance Occasionals above Eternals in our Praying Surely he that saith Pray continually 1 Thes 5. 17. supposeth such matter of our Prayers as is constant not as is emergent as is continual not as is occasional So that if I first provide for occasionals in my Devotions and Eternity may be subservient to Time the accessory may chance draw the principal which is against the dictates of nature but if I first provide for eternals Time is subservient to Eternity the Principal will undoubtedly draw the accessory which is according to the dictates of Grace T is an excellent Prayer of our own Church to Almighty God That thou being our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that finally we lose not the things eternal If God be my ruler and guide I shall slightly glance upon temporals as upon things in my passage but I shall wholly fix upon eternals as upon things that belong to my journeys end Fear not Zacharie saith the Angel for thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear a Son This man doubtless prayed for eternals in the discharge of his Priestly office yet hath a grant of temporals On the other side Hannah prayed for temporals that she might have a son yet gives thanks in her Song as if she had received eternals Religious souls distill all their thoughts in a pure limbeck so as to admit no dross nor dreggs of the earth in their distillation If you look upon the occasion of those heavenly prayers in the Psalms you will think many of them personal and particular such as belonged only to King Davids temporals wants and distresses But if you look upon the matter of these prayers you will find all of them doctrinal and universal such as do belong to all good Christians spiritual wants and distresses The Spirit of God teacheth us in our prayers to turn occasionals into eternals not to turn eternals into occasionals we justly dislike that Tenent which would make the Rule of our Religion the holy Scriptures rather occasional then doctrinal And how can we like that invention which would make the practice of our Religion our publick Prayers not so truly Doctrinal as Occasional that is indeed not so truly Eternal as Temporal Attention is best in Prayer when it is fixed wholly upon God and why not Affection too Conversion to my self may be an aversion from my God but surely conversion to my God cannot possibly be an aversion from my self I may easily so look after occasionals as to neglect eternals to my great loss and greater sin but if I look well after eternals it can be neither loss nor sin in me though I should chance to neglect occasionals So that it is both irrational and irreligious to say That there ought not to be so great provision made for occasional emergencies as for continual necessities in our private prayers but if there ought yet surely the Church is not bound to make that provision in her publick Prayers and if this be made good too then the Gift of Prayer though it may be of excellent use in private houses yet can have no pretence to cast set forms of Prayer out of Gods house And surely this Assertion That the Church is not bound to make provision for occasional emergencies but only for continual necessities in her ordinary publick Prayers may be made good from the very nature of Common-Prayer which is to be of common concernments such as are no more to be restrained to particular times then to particular persons Thus Saint Chrysostom himself explaineth what he meaneth by his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by his common supplications 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which hath given us grace to make our common suppplications and teacheth us what we should mean by our Common Prayers when he saith Granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth and in the world to come life everlasting For common supplications or common Prayers are such as all other good Christians would be ready to make as well as we for that the matter of them concerns them All as well as Vs To wit knowledge of God and life in God Such Petitions as these which are common to all Christians alike are those which properly constitute Common-Prayer for that ought to be common in its matter before it be common in its use And such common Petitions as these is the Church bound to make as she is Catholick or Christian and as for other less common Petitions the Church makes them only as she is National A common good is the proper subject of Common-Prayer that is to say A spiritual good which is common to all Christians or a temporal good which is common to all of one Society as they all are one either by the union of Nature or by the union of Grace and Love These goods are certain and known to all and the Churâ—h which hath the common care of all is bound to provide such prayers as may best express our desires concerning these And upon any publick occasion though it be temporal our Church doth accordingly still make such Provision both for occasional Prayers and Praises But as concerning any particular good which this or that private man may need upon this or that particular occasion it is uncertain and unknown it comes not under the Churches knowledge and how can it come under the Churches care Such particulars are infinite and as infinite they cannot be the object of the Churches certain knowledge much less should they be the subject of the Churches constant prayers There needs a particular confession that such occasional necessities or distresses may be known before there can be a
Apostles rule Hold fast that which is good is not to be observed in all good but only in the very best The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words and that which was written was upright even words of Truth Eccles 12. â—10 If he that preacheth ought to seek for acceptable words that is words sutable both to the matters he speaks of and the persons he speaks to then much more he that prayeth since praying ought to be more carefully provided and more conscionably performed then preaching For in preaching a man speaks to men but in praying a man speaks to God And for this cause the Church thinks it her duty to provide for us acceptable words in praying whilst she leaves us to provide our own acceptable words in preaching The Prophet Hosea exhorteth the Israelites to take with them words and turn to the Lord Hos 14. 2. He asks not Gold nor Silver not burnt offerings saith Rabbi David but good words from you that with them you will confess your sins and return unto the Lord with all your heart and not only with your lips Here t is plain by his Gloss that the Prophet enjoyns a form of confession and bids them take good words that they may have good hearts nay t is plain by the Text it self for those good words or that form of confession is particularly expressed as well as enjoyned in the next words Say unto him Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously But it were in vain to pray unto God to receive us graciously if we did pray ungraciously therefore taking with us words according to Gods command in Hosea must needs well agree with the Spirit of grace and of supplications according to his promise in Zechariah Zech. 12. 10. And as the Papists do vainly arrogate and more vainly appropriated the Title of Religion to their monastical vows so the Enthusiasts do as vainly arrogate and more vainly appropriate the Title of the Spirit to their phantastical prayers and good Protestants have no more reason to think they want these prayers to make them spiritual then that they want those vows to make them Religious I do not discourage or discountenance any particular mans gifts for I do heartily wish as Moses did I would to God all the Lords people were Prophets but I must needs profess that he which ascended on high led captivity captive to give gifts unto men hath given the greatest gifts where he hath given the greatest promises and he hath given greater promises to his Church then to any member or Minster of the same If I follow the Church making use of the gift of prayer which God hath given her I do that which God hath required of me For the Church hath commission from God to teach me to pray or that of Luk. 11. 1. was not written for our instruction But if I follow any other mans gifts who hath not that commission I may justly fear that God who will one day say to him Who hath required this at your hands for making such prayers will not say much less to me for hearing them As for that slight objection of deadness formality men are subject to more from set forms then from conceived prayers t is in its consequence a blasphemy against the holy Scriptures for it reacheth the prayers penned there by the Holy Ghost as well as penned here by the Church so that I hope none will blame me for calling the objection slight now I have proved it wicked For how is it possible for any man to say that prayer by book is flat and dead without undervaluing all the prayers in the holy Bible and contemning the very Book of books Let him next say Evangelium Atramentarium away with this Inkie-Gospel but withal let him know that he cannot thus turn Enthusiast unless he will first turn Papist So he shall turn to the worse for his person and he cannot depend upon suggestions instead of books but he must turn prayer from being an act of Reason nay from being an act of Faith to be an act of phansie if not of faction And so he shall turn to the worse also for his prayers yet all this while we cannot but take notice that our adversaries are very hard put to it for an accusation when they are fain to fetch it from our hearts which they cannot know should not judge dealing with us as some of the Rabbies dealt with Job for when the Text had said of him In all this Job sinned not with his lips as we doubt not but it doth also in effect say of our Church concerning her Common Prayers two of them sc Ralbag and Jarchi are pleased to add this gloss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abal belibbo Chata But yet sure he sinned in his heart To conclude a set form of Doctrine we must have or be Heretical A set form of Discipline we must have or be irregular and why not also have a set form of devotion or be irreligious for we cannot well be unanimously Religious without a set form of publick prayer and the want of unanimity will soon beget the want of Religion for God is love and therefore we cannot be without love but we must be without God and consequently men cannot be long without true charity but they will also be without true piety And as for making the Common Prayer Book an Idol if it be not an objection of great impiety by calling true Religion Idolatry yet it is an argument of great absurdity because it may cast the Bible must cast the Sabbath out of the Church For men may Idolize one good Book as well as another so the Bible may go ere long but some have already Idolized the Sabbath so that must stay no longer I do the rather instance upon this latter for that it comes neerest our present case 1. Because publick prayer is the duty of the Sabbath and that ought to be publick in its substance that is in its matter and form as well as in its Accidents that is time place and persons 2. Because the same Method is to be observed in words as in time Gods consecration is to be the rule of ours in them both he hath consecrated we may what he hath consecrated we must he hath said make holy we may he hath said make holy the Sabbath day we must he hath said when ye pray say thus we must he hath said after this manner therefore pray we may Had he not given us that latitude we might not have taken it but must have only used such prayers in his publick worship as his holy Spirit had left us in the holy Scriptures Now he hath given this latitude we must make the best use of it by making and using such prayers as we know are after this manner though not in these Words we have as great need of set forms of prayers to find our tongues as of set forms of Laws to bind our heads to
witnessing to our Consciences that through Christ we are not under the Law but under Grace and made the children of God by Adoption Hath nine Sections Sect. 1. THE spiritual man more wants joy then the carnal man as being under greater labours both of sense and motion God the Holy Ghosts love to man in teaching him how to rejoyce for his Redemption Hymns expressing that joy may be only to the honour of God and directed to him The evil spirit silenced at the coming of Christ but the mouth of the good Spirit was opened Sect. 2. God the Holy Ghosts love to man in giving him the assurance of his particular redemption without which there can be no joy for his Creation It had been good for that man if he had never been born spoken of Judas according to our Saviours own judgement not our Apprehensions that Gloss an abusing of the Text The joy of our Redemption is not to be lost Sect. 3. That this redemption whereof the Holy Ghost assureth us is twofold First privative because we are not under the Law that is not under it as condemning us though we be under the Law as regulating and restraining us Secondly Positive because we are under Grace and know that we are so The right way to attain that knowledge Sect. 4. The great joy of Christians for being under Grace or for being Adopted in Christ And how that joy is to be moderated by the consideration of our own frailty and of Gods impartial Justice in the Judgement to come Sect. 5. Our Adoption in Christ not spoken of by Saint John without a double Preface One Practical Another Speculative and is here according to the likeness of his Grace shall be hereafter according to the likeness of his Glory The threefold image of God in man Sect. 6. Christians are more eminently the children of God then were the Jews The difference betwixt the Adoption and other spiritual blessings of the Jews and of Christians That though they were Adopted to be Heirs as we are yet were they tutoured as Infants till the coming of Christ by whom was wrought a true Reformation Sect. 7. A Particular time appointed to rejoyce in Christ not by way of Restriction but by way of Application The Christians joy far above the Iews both for his Redemption and for his Adoption The priviledge of true Faith And how the Redemption by Christ is larger then the Adoption by him and the Adoption greater in his Giving then in our Receiving Sect. 8. Christs most holy Prayer a very comfortable testimony and assurance of our Adoption in him How nearly it concerns us in our Prayers to say Our Father not Our Brother which art in heaven The conclusion of the Lords Prayer answerable to this beginning and not to be questioned 'T is ill quarreling with that Prayer and much worse discountenancing and deserting it Sect. 9. Whether a man that is not assured of his Adoption in Christ can truly and rightly by vertue of his Baptism only the outward seal of his Adoption say to God Our Father or lawfully and laudibly use the Lords Prayer And that the assurance of our-Adoption is according to the assurance of our conjunction with our Saviour Christ Christ admired in his Passion Hath four Chapters The first Chapter is Christ admired in his Person The second Chapter is Christ admired in his Propitiation The third Chapter is Christ admired in his Satisfaction The fourth Chapter is Christ admired in his Application CAP. 1. Christ admired in his Person Hath three Sections Sect. 1. THat the eye of man cannot be fixed with comfort upon God in himself but only upon God in Christ Sect. 2. In what sense Saint Paul cared not to know Christ in the flesh and yet Christ in the flesh only is comfortably known Sect. 3. True knowledge of and faith in Christ not without true knowledge of and faith in the blessed Trinity That the Protestants Faith The great loveliness of Christ in the flesh as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as God and man and the great mysteries of his two natures in one Person CAP. 2. Christ admired in his Propitiation Hath four Sections Sect. 1. THE manner of knowing divine Truths what it ought to be and the great benefit of knowing Christ in his Propitiation He that will read the Scripture to the benefit of his Soul must have Christ crucified in his thoughts Sect. 2. Christ set down in the Scripture as our Propitiation under the Title of the Pass-over and what that signifies to our souls Sect. 3. Christ set down in the Scripture as our Propitiation under the title of the Paschal Lamb and how many excellent Doctrines and Comforts of Christianity are to be learned from that Title Sect. 4. The great vertue of this Propitiation and the great goodness wisdom justice and power of God in finding it for us and giving it to us CAP. 3. Christ admired in his Satisfaction Hath two Sections Sect. 1. THE necessity if Christs satisfaction for that he was the only Sacrifice to expiate sin Sect. 2. The commemoration of Christs sacrifice enjoyned not the Repetition of it And that the ordination of Ministers for administring the Sacraments not of Priests for the offering of Sacrifice is most agreeable with the institution of Christ and the constitution of a true Christian Church CAP. 4. Christ admired in his Application Hath two Sections Sect. 1. CHrist in his propitiation and satisfaction doth not benefit us without a particular Application Sect. 2. The ground of that Application is Christs threefold conjunction with us in his Person in his Nature and in his Office from which proceedeth the Marriage of the soul with Christ Christ adored in his Resurrection Hath two Chapters The first Chapter sheweth That Christ is to be adored chiefly in his Resurrection The second Chapter sheweth That God is to be adored only in Christ CAP. 1. That Christ is to be adored chiefly in his Resurrection Hath eleven Sections Sect. 1. THE Resurrection of Christ the grand cause of joy to Christians but strongly opposed by the Jews whose Commentaries are not to be followed on those Texts which concern our Saviour Christ though even those Texts have not been corrupted by them Sect. 2. The necessity of our Christian Festival called Easter as it is an Anniversary Feast to express the Christians joy for the Resurrection of Christ That thereby the Christians Jubilee or joy in Christ is not confined but enlarged and that by the same reason the Spirit of Prayer is not confined or hindred but rather assisted and helped by set forms of words Sect. 3. The memorials instituted by God are chiefly of his Justice and of his mercy There is one terrible memorial of Gods Justice against those who invaded the Priest-hood but many memorials of his mercy It is a vain fear which possesseth some men as if the Anniversary memorial of Christs Resurrection were not instituted and could not be observed without
too much of our time in those Christian Duties and Devotions which tend immediatly to the Honour of our Saviour Christ that so we may not be defective either in our preparation before them or in our Affections in them or in our Thanksgivings after them First That we be not defective in our preparation before our Christian devotions for this is a main cause of our great shame and greater sin that we have been hitherto so bad Christians in so good a state of Christianity that whereas Christ hath been so long and so powerfully applyed unto us both in Prayers and Word and Sacraments yet we have been so little benefited by that Application as scarce to perceive the loss of it or at least scarce to grieve for that loss A shrewd sign of Edomites rather then of Israelites to be content to lose our Prayers our true spiritual Birth-right that we might keep our Pottage our Temporal interests of which we may now truly say as he did Gen. 25. 30. Feed me with that Red with that Red for the just vengeance of God hath lately made it so with our own Blood or at least a shrewd sign of Ephraimites if not of Edomites for they being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle Psalm 78. 9. The reason is given in the verse before they were a generation that prepared not their heart and whose spirit was not stedfast with God They did not set their heart right by preparation and therefore could not keep their spirit stedfast by perseverance and it is to be feared this is our case For it had scarce been possible for so admirable a form of publike Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments which had in it the most pithy Devotions both of Greek and Latine Churches and the superstitions of neither to have been so long amongst us to so little advantage of our souls had there been good things found in us and had we prepared our hearts to seek our God as that good King did 2 Chron. 19. 3. and hath left his example as a mandate for us so to do since no Scripture is of private Interpretation and much less of private Jurisdiction The old Testament in all precepts and precedents of morality no less commanding the Christian then it did the Jew but if any be contentious touching the Old Testament though we have no such custome nor the Churches of God yet we have both a Precept and a Precedent in the New Testament to reprove and to reproach his contention and the fittest that can be alledged for this Argument even that of Saint John Baptist the forerunner of Christ For he came preaching saith the Text and his Sermon consisted so much of this doctrine of Preparation that he was chiefly to be known by this character The Voice of one crying in the wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord Mat. 3. Secondly We need imploy our time readily and carefully in those Christian duties which immediately concern the honour of Christ that we be not defective in our Affections whiles we are at our Christian Devotions actually conversing with our blessed Saviour For our Affections have been so long standing on the lees and dregs of the earth that they are not to be refined and much less to be elevated and lifted up to Heaven without multiplied Essays of most holy meditations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Priest to the people in the Greek Liturgie And they answer him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us lift up our hearts we lift them up unto the Lord so we in our Liturgy from theirs But it is observable that neither Greek Church nor ours used these words till after many prayers were past in which the Communicants had poured out their souls before God to be sanctified by his Grace And so likewise the Apostle requiring us to seek those things which are above doth as it were pass through all the Creed to the Article of the Resurrection before he hopes throughly to raise our Affections Col. 3. 1 2. If ye be then risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right Hand of God set your Affection on things above c. He doth not only say Christ is risen but also if ye be risen with Christ he is fain to presuppose and as it were to antedate the day of the Resurrection of the bodies that so he may perswade them to a Resurrection of their souls O God work in us this great miracle of thy Grace to raise our souls that we may all rejoyce in that great miracle of thy power which thou wilt at the last day work on us in the raising of our bodies Thirdly and lastly we need imploy our time readily and carefully in those Christian Duties which immediately concern the honour of Christ that we be not defective in our thankfulness after our Devotions after we have had the honour and the happiness to converse with our blessed Saviour For if I may not give mine alms without a full purpose of my heart 2 Cor. 9. 7. Shall I think that I may give my self without it or doth God indeed love a cheerful giver of the hand and not much rather a cheerful giver of the Heart To what purpose is ihis wast Mat. 26. 8 9. seems in it self a question of Piety and in its reason For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor a question of charity yet St. John brands him that made it That for his Piety he was a Traytor ready to betray Christ And for his Charity he was a Thief not ready to relieve but to pillage his poor members John 12. 4 6. so dangerous a thing is it for men to begrutch any expence either of Time or of Pains or of Patrimony that is bestowed upon Christ and much more to disturb the woman the Church that bestoweth it For wheresoever this Gospel of the great condescention and greater goodness of the Son of God shall be Preached in the whole world there also shall this be told for a memorial of her Duty that wrought the good work upon her Saviour but of their undutifulness who opposed her in working it Mat. 26. 10 13. Gods mercies in our Saviour Christ are too many and great to come all Ex tempore to us so should our Devotions be to thank him for their coming since it is every jot as good Divinity for our Prayers and Sermons which we offer up for the parts of Gods publick worship as it was for Davids sacrifice Neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing 2 Sam. 24. 24. For what can I profess by the unworthiness of my offering but either That I have a less worthy esteem of God then David had to whom I offer that which he would not offer or that I have a more worthy esteem of my self then he had as if forsooth God would at
of the sixteenth Psalm for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt suffer thine holy one to see corruption rather then he would allow them their own plain proper sense whereby they did necessarily infer his resurrection from the dead in whose person they were spoken which is the more to be observed for that himself had acknowledged some peculiar eminence of this Psalm from the Title of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he therefore had thus glossed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 T is glorious or precious as Gold t is a Golden Psalm and yet he would not see that mysterie in it which alone had given it that glorious title in the judgement of the best Divines even the Mysterie of Christs Resurrection SECT II. The necessity of our Christian Festival called Easter as it is an Anniversary feast to express the Christians joy for the resurrection of Christ that thereby the Christians Jubile or joy in Christ is not confined but enlarged and that by the same reason the Spirit of Prayer is not confined or hindred but rather assisted and helped by a set form of words SInce we cannot deny the Christians unspeakable joy for the Resurrection of Christ why should we go about to diminish it by opposing the grand Christian Festival which hath been instituted to express that joy For excellently Greg. Naz. and most like a true Divine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orat. 39. the sum or business of a Festival is the remembrance of God and to put the Thesis into an Hypothesis the sum and business of this Festival is to remember Christ in whom alone we Christians must remember God so that to oppose this Festival is in effect to oppose the remembrance of God in Christ and to shake the very foundations of Christianity For we cannot oppose this Anniversary but we must also oppose our weekly Lords day Therefore did that Council judiciously which began its reformation of abuses in the Church with this Canon Custodite diem Dominicam quae nos denuo peperit à peccatis omnibus liberavit estote omnes in hymnis laudibus Dei animo corporeque intenti si aliter fecerit rusticus aut servus gravioribus fustium ictibus verberabitur Concil Matiscon 2. cap. 1. Keep the Lords day which hath begotten us anew and delivered us from all our sins Be all of you intent in body and soul to the praises of God and if any country man or servant do otherwise let him be soundly cudgelled for his pains And Bullinger in his Decades upon the fourth Commandment gives an excellent reason why set times and seasons should be consecrated and set apart for the publike worship and honour of God saying Oportet autem definitum tempus consecratum esse exercitio religionis ut Dominicum idem sentiendum arbitror de pauculis quibusdam Christi Domini festis quibus peragimus memoriam Nativitatis incarnationis circumcisionis resurrectionis ascentionis in coelum missionis Spiritus Sancti in discipulos libertas enim Christiana non est licentia dissolutio Ecclesiasticae piaeque observationis juvantis provehentis gloriam Dei charitatem proximi There must be some set and certain time consecrated to the exercise of Religion by vertue of this fourth Commandment as the Lords day and I think the same of those other Festivals instituted and observed in memory of Christ as his Nativity incarnation circumcision resurrection ascention into heaven and sending down the Holy Ghost upon his Disciples For Christian liberty is not a licentious dissolution of such holy and pious Ecclesiastical observations as tend wholly to the glory of Christ and the edification of our Christian Brethren Yet do we most willingly confess that the Christians feast of Jubile is not to be confined to a day because he that is the cause of it Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to day and for ever Heb. 13. 8. And indeed so doth Saint Chrysostome expound that Text of Saint Paul 1 Cor. 5. 8. Therefore let us keep the feast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He saith not Let us keep the feast because it was then Easter or Whitsuntide when he writ this Epistle but to shew that a good Christians life is a continual Feast and therefore every day might serve him for a Festival So that in Saint Chrysostomes judgement Saint Pauls Let us keep the Feast is little other then a short extract of the Psalm of Jubile Jubilate Deo omnis terra O keep your Jubile in the Lord all ye lands Psalm 100. 1. Only the reason is much more express in the New then in the Old Testament Be ye sure that the Lord is God saith the Psalmist It is he that hath made us but much more forcible is the Apostles reason It is he that hath redeemed us We are his people and in that regard ought to hold a feast unto him Exod. 5. 1. but much rather because he hath been a sacrifice for us that we might be his people we are the sheep of his pasture and ought to hear his voice much rather because he hath been our Paschal Lamb that we might be his sheep The whole Psalm is nothing else but a song of Jubile in one verse and the reason of it in the next as ver 1. O be joyful in the Lord with gladness and with a song there 's the Jubile but ver 2. The Lord he is God it is he that hath made us there 's the cause of it And again ver 3. O go your way into his Gates with thanksgiving and into his Courts with praise and be thankful unto him there 's the Jubile But ver 4. For the Lord is gracious his mercy is everlasting and his truth endureth from generation to generation there 's the reason of it Grace mercy and truth are all met together in the Lord saith the Psalmist a grace without repenting the Lord is gracious that is still continues so notwithstanding our multiplied provocations a mercy with ending His mercy is everlasting and a truth without failing His truth endureth from generation to generation But the Apostle tels us moreover in whom they are met and the ground of their meeting when he saith For Christ our passover is sacrificed for us For the cause of the grace is that this Christ is ours made ours by conjunction The cause of the mercy that he is our sacrifice by propitiation and the cause of the truth which is one and the same from Genesis to the Revelation is this that the same Christ was this sacrifice of the passover according to the prediction so long foreshewed in the Paschal Lamb Exod. 12. and so long foretold in the Prophets particularly Isa 53. 7. He is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter so that though a stranger from the Common-wealth of Israel could ask the question Of whom speaketh the Prophet this he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb dumb before the
their prayers which they offered to his Divine Majesty But our charity and our devotion are both grown cold and our charity so cold that it hath quite chilled our devotion we are loth to be at the charges to honour Christ with set anniversary Festivals for fear of continuing or reviving the formerly accustomed alms to his poor members for we cannot deny but giving something to the poor is a most fitting Concomitant or proper adjunct of a Festival being so taught John 13. 29. where our Saviours words to Judas That thou dost do quickly being spoken against the feast arâ— thus interpreted that he should give something to the poor And indeed they are so rightly interpreted For since our Saviour hath suffered so much for us we connot do enough for him and our doings for him must needs then be most seasonable when we record his sufferings for us And as he was so willing to suffer for our sakes that he called upon the Traytor to dispatch quickly so we should be as willing to do for his sake and in all matters of charity that may be helpful unto our brethren every man say to himself what thou dost do quickly Wherefore let me seriously and constantly pour out my soul to God in unquestionable devotion meditate on Gods holy word hunger after his body thirst after his blood and willingly and frequently releive and refresh his poor members and though I may be able to keep nothing else yet I shall be sure to keep a good conscience which will be to me a continual Feast yea though all the Holy Dayes that are instituted in the remembrance of Christ should be forbidden and forgotten by others yet the performance of these holy duties will never let me want my Christian Festivals SECT V. The practice of the Primitive Christians in observing the Feast of Easter and that there was no superstition in that practice THE Primitive Christians did exceedingly rejoyce at the Anniversary Feast of our Saviours Resurrection and did long continue that their rejoycing even till the day of his Ascension or rather till the day of his descending again in the gift of the Holy-Ghost so saith Balsamon of some in the Greek Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they accounted the whole time from Easter to Whitsontide but a one continual Lords day And it is evident that the first Council of Nice which hath but twenty Canons in the whole hath bestowed one of them and that is the last meerly upon the manner of celebrating this solemnity requiring all people to say their prayers standing on every day of the week betwixt Easter and Whitsontide no less then on the Lords days all the year after to proclaim their joy for as well as to profess their faith in their Saviours Resurrection Nor were they acquainted with any other salutation at that time of the year but only this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord is risen and the party thus saluted made answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 true he is risen indeed they thought they could not wish one another any joy like the joy of Christ nor any joy of Christ like the joy of his Resurrection The like salutation was in the Latine Church Resurrexit Dominus the Lord is risen said he who saluted his neighbour and the other answered Deo gratias the Lord be thanked or Apparuit Simoni he hath appeared unto Simon This was all their Good morrow Good even one to the other in the more antient and more innocent times of the Church Nay yet more on every Sunday from the Resurrection to the Ascention did the Latine Church repeat the collect for Easter day Deus qui per Vnigenitum tuum aeternitatis nobis aditum reserâsti Almighty God which by thy only begotten Son hast opened unto us the gate of everlasting life leaving out only hodiernâ die on this day because they could not make one day hold out to forty And as they did so long continue the same prayer so did they as long continue the same praise singing three several Alleluiahs on every one of these Sundays for this infinite mercy and eternal consolation in our Saviour Christ for a heavenly comfort expressing a heavenly joy as if they had already passed from the Church militant to be of the Church triumphant would have no more to do with the earth since our Saviour was risen from it and going into Heaven Surely Saint Augustine cals the whole three days of our blessed Saviours passion death and Resurrection sacratissimum triduum the three most holy days in the circle of the whole year and the cheif of the three was that of his Resurrection which was therefore antiently accounted not only the first day of the week for so is any other Sunday but also the first day of the year that is to say the first in dignity as well as in order Veteris anni Ecclesiastici initium à Pascha Pascha dicebatur annus novus saith Scaliger lib. 1. de em tem The beginning of the Ecclesiastical year was antiently at Easter and that was called the new year And in the Greek Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 new years week was the same with Easter week and how this account came afterwards to be altered in the Church and the new year translated from Easter to Christmass the same Scaliger sheweth lib. 6. de emend temp in these words Institutum vetus in Ecclesiâ fuit in natali Domini Pascha proximum ejusque diem indiculis aut breviculis notare Ab hoc more fluxit ut à natali Domini anni passionis ejus numeraâ—entur hoc est ut annum passionis inciperent putare à natali Domini qui tamen putandus erat à sequenti Paschâ— Because at Christmas they did antiently give out the Calender for the ensuing Easter thence it came to pass that some began the account of the year of Christ at Christmas which they should not have begun till the Easter after But for a long time in the account of the Church Easter day was the first day and Easter week was the first week in the whole year which was the occasion that the common dayes of all the other weeks were by the Latine Church called feriae that is holy-dayes as feria secunda tertia quarta the second third and fourth holy-day instead of Munday Tuesday Wednesday because they followed the account of Easter week whereof every day was a holy-day So the same Scaliger lib. 7. de emend temp Quare prima secunda tertia quarta quinta Septimane dictae sunt feriae quum in omnibus hebdomadibus feriandi necessitas nulle incumbat haec ratio est quod annus Ecclesiasticus incipiat à Pascha septimana autem Paschatis erat immunis ab opere faciendo feriata unde quum sex illi dies post Pascha feriati esseâ—… ea esset prima anni hebdomas inde factum ut omnes diâ—s septimanae vocarentur feriae Lex
that the more it busieth the head the less it setleth and establisheth the heart wherefore if that benediction was Apostolical The Lord Jesus Christ himself stablish you in every good word 2 Thes 2. 17 Then this practice must be Apostatical which doth unstablish and unsettle the People in their Prayers the very best words Then was Egypt in a sad case when the locusts did eat up what the hail and thunder had left Exod. 10. And is it not so with Israel when locusts out of the bottomless pit devour that small pittance of Religion which the hail that is their own chill and frozen dispositions or the thunder and lightning that is the tempestuous terrours and troubles of war had left in the Peoples hearts When God suffers such devourers of piety and Religion to come into a land he either looks upon it as Egypt or t is to be feared he intends to make it so The death of the first born is then sure not far off and the drowning of all the rest is not like to belong after it For what can we expect but that the read sea even a sea of blood should cover us all when we persecute the Israel of God for desiring to serve him and say unto those who are zealous for such prayers as they know are either in Gods word or agreeable with it ye are idle ye are idle therefore ye say Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord Exod. 5. 17. as if Praying in known and approved forms were rather a pretence for idleness then a help to devotion This is not only to reproach the Church for teaching us to pray by her Liturgies but also to reproach God himself for teaching the Church to pray by his Scriptures and by this argument we may throw away not only the dictates of the Church but also the dictates of the Spirit of God Sure this is not the part of Christians by one and the same wicked practice to oppose both the authority and the doctrine of Christ the authority of Christ in his Church the doctrine of Christ in his word They pretend to have the spirit of God but yet contemn the word of God They will needs have the spirit of his Son in their hearts and yet care not to have the language of his Son in their mouths giving their Pater noster a quietus est a writ of ease as if the Holy spirit had supplied the servants above the son and taught us better prayers then it had taught our Saviour or as if it were not one and the same spirit that once directed him and still directeth us to call upon the Father Doubless such men cannot take it unkindly that we abstain from communicating with their prayers since they by rejecting the Lords own holy prayer do at the same time reject commnnion not only with all the servants but also with the Spirit and with the Son of God for the Servants of God alwayes used it the Spirit of God indited it the Son of God commanded it T is no wonder if such men be not only Sacrilegious but also perswade themselves there is no such sin as sacriledge and consequently that whatsoever hath been consecrated to Gods Holy name is still unholy and prophane though it hath been conscrated according to Gods own express command in the fourth commandment which is the commandment of consecrations and requires the sanctification of place and of persons and of our substance to Gods publike worship as well as of time Time cannot be sanctified or kept holy to Gods publick worship without these And besides we find these also expresly commanded in other parts of the Bible and since they are all commanded for one and the same end we must reduce the Texts concerning them to one and the same commandment for the ten commandments are Decem summa genera as it were ten predicaments or ten general heads to which is to be reduced whatsoever is commanded as a moral duty in the whole word of God wherefore since it is a moral duty that men should publikely and solemnly call upon the name of God and time alone without place and persons and the maintenance of these cannot serve for the discharge of that duty we must allow the rest of these outward requisites to be commanded in this of time And consequently what of all these alike was common and unholy before it was sanctified to Gods publike worship being once sanctified thereunto is made peculiar and proper to God and therefore to rob or pillage or take away any of these is sacrilegiously to invade Gods property which is a sin of so heavy a burden to press down the soul that the Apostle hath put it in the scale against Idolatry and seems to make this at least to balance if not to out-weigh the other Thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit Sacriledge Rom. 2. 22. The argument would be of little consequence if Sacriledge were not a sin at least equal to Idolatry And truly so it is whatever we please to think or to make of it For whereas there are two kinds of Idolatry the one to take an Idol for God the other to make God himself for an Idol the sacrilegious person is in effect guilty of them both For it is impossible that any man should rob God if he did not make money his God there 's taking the Idol for God or if he did not take God for one to be mocked rather then worshipped there 's taking God for an Idol And t is no wonder if they can do all this who can contemn the Lords most holy prayer for the three first petitions of that prayer contain all the Duty of the first table and the least part we can shew of dutifullness is to pray that we may be dutifull and consequently he that will not say Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name cannot be troubled at that Sin of Sacriledge whose property it is to invade and profane all that is dedicated to the hallowing of the name of God For they that can swallow the Camel have little reason to strain at the gnat they that can be guilty of the greater cannot stick at the lesser Sacriledge they that can rob God of his publike worship cannot easily make any scruple of robbing his Church and to take away such publike prayers as do undoubtedly glorifie the name of God what is it else but to rob God of his worship or of the honour due unto his name For he that doth forbid us to take his name in vain doth withall command us to glorifie his name and consequently to make use of such forms of prayer and of praise as we are sure do most glorifie him These forms being accordingly made for the honour of God after the rule of the two first and in obedience to the third Commandment are set apart for this use in obedience to the fourth and to take away these forms is in effect to
Genesis as if it had been given immediately after the Creation but are sure it was written with the finger of God among the rest of the Moral Law which is a strong proof that the substance of it was written in mans heart before it was writ in Moses his Tables And what can be the substance of it but this that God ought to be publickly worshipped in the congregations and therefore all those things are made and are to be reputed holy which necessarily belong to his publick worship For sure that was no will-worship in the Jews which we find recorded for our example Nehem. 8. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man I ask by what Commandment if not by the fourth so it is apparent that communion in Gods worship is a duty of the fourth Commandment And Saint Peter will have this communion extend it self to the whole body of Christians wheresoever dispersed for he writes to the strangers scattered abroad in several Countries when he saith But ye are a chosen generation a royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar people that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light 1 Pet. 2. 9. Be good Christians never so far asunder in time and place yet they are all joyned together in one chosen generation in one royal Priest-hood in one holy Nation in one peculiar people and the reason why they are so joyned together is to shew forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light And this as far as may be they must all do together as one man no less then did the Jews according to that of Saint Paul Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as you desire to be thought and called Christians that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no schisms or divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement 1 Cor. 1 10. as if he had said I beseech you altogether to make but one man amongst you all in the business of Religion but one outward man whilst you all speak the same thing and there be no schisms or divisions among you which is best done by having a set and known form of prayer and but one inward man whilst you are perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement heâ—e is not only a most powerful exhortation but also as it were a most powerful exorcism By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to cast out from us all the evil spirit of schism Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ nor can the Church of Christ now use a more powerful exorcism against Schismaticks then that which was once used by the vagabond Jews such as Schismaticks now strive to make their Ministers and the more to make them vagabonds because they cannot make them Jews saying We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth Acts 19. 13. For there cannot be a stronger adjuration to unity and concord then the name of Jesus who joyned God and man together and therefore will not suffer man and man to be asunder nor can we more powerfully adjure by that Jesus then as Paul preached him or in the words of Saint Paul that they would all speak the same thing all have one confession of faith all have one form of prayer and praise who are of one and the same communion and not be like that confused assembly of the Ephesians wherein some cryed one thing and some another and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together Acts 19. 32. That 's for their external union and communion And again that they would all be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judgement In the same mind by unity of love in the same judgement by unity of faith in the same mind in regard of their affections in the same judgement in regard of their opinions that 's for their internal union and communion To speak the same thing is the ready way to be of the same mind and the same judgement and consequently to break off external communion in worship is to break off internal communion in faith and charity for worship is the profession of faith and the exercise of charity Here Saint Paul preacheth communion in Christ so as to have it begin in the mouth and to end in the mind they should first speak the same thing and after that be of the same mind and of the same judgement But in his Epistle to the Romans he will have this communion in Christ begin in the mind and end in the mouth Rom. 15. 5 6. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one towards another according to Christ Jesus That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorifie God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ He first prays that they may have one mind in Doctrine and then that they may have one mouth in prayer They both so much conduce to each other that t is indifferent to him which he names first whether the mind or the mouth for Hierusalem is a City that is at unity in it self as well in Mouth as in mind and if Babel if Confusion once get into the Tongue it will from thence easily get into the Heart And now tell me ye that are possessed with the evil spirit of Schism is not this word of adjuration being by the holy Apostle made the word of God quick and powerfull and sharper then any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in you whiles you procèed to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in Christs Church we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth thus plainly thus powerfully that you will endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace not violating that internal Communion which ought to be among Christians in the unity of the Spirit nor that external communion which ought to be among them in the bond of peace Nay more we adjure by Jesus by whom Paul adjureth you when he saith I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Oecùmenius I commanding or exhorting in mine own name perchance am not sufficent to perswade you therefore I command and exhort you in the name of Christ that is to say Christ himself who is injured by you doth by me command and exhort you to unity and concord in his worship The words in themselves are no more then a pathetical exhortation but in regard of the evil spirits of some men they may be taken for an Adjuration Saint Paul as it were leaving the Apostle and taking the Exorcist to allay the furious outrages and distempers of those who make it their work not only to rend Christs coat which yet the
true Christian communion that man may be edified and brought to the knowledge and enjoyment of his Redeemer And all those Texts in the Old and New Testament which concern the publick worship of God are so many interpretations of the twofold end of this commandment as for example in the Old Testament Psalm 95 which was made to be used in publick assemblies according to Aben Ezra's gloss commandeth singing to the Lord and worshipping of him there 's the exercise of Religion q. d. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day and commandeth us to sing and worship there 's the establishment of communion q. d. Thou and thy son and thy daughter c. and gives this reason of those commands The Lord our maker q. d. For in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth So again Psalm 100. O be joyful in the Lord serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song there 's the Religion All ye lands or as it is in the Hebrew all the earth there 's the communion It is he that hath made us and not we our selves there 's the reason of both from our Creation For the Lord is gracious his mercy is everlasting c. there 's that reason further enlarged to us Christians from our redemption who are taught that God by his son both made the worlds and also purged our sins Heb. 1. 2 3. So again in the New Testament Mat. 18. 20. Where two or three are gathered together there 's the communion In my name there 's the Religion I am in the midst of them there 's the reason of both so Heb. 10. 22 23. Let us draw neer with a true heart let us hold fast the profession of our faith there 's the exercise of Religion for he is faithful that promised there 's the reason of that exercise And ver 24 25. Let us consider one another not forsaking the assembling of our selves together there 's the establishment of communion To provoke unto love and to good works there 's the reason of that establishment If we be sure of Christs name we cannot be too zealous of our gathering together if we be sure of the Religion we cannot be too zealous of the Communion but if we be not sure of the name which cannot well be without a set and known Liturgie every good Christian must be contented to say with Joshua I and my house will serve the Lord and mouâ—n that he cannot say with David I was glad when they said unto me we will go into the house of the Lord for it is more agreeable with the end of the fourth Commandment that men have the right Religion in their own houses without a publick visible communion then that they have a publick visible communion in Gods house without the right Religion They must first say Let us hold fast the profession of our faith and after that Let us consider one another not forsaking the assembling of our selves together For if the Assemblies have forsaken the faith it can be no sin to forsake the Assemblies since the end of the Commandment is without doubt above the letter of it the substance of worship above the adjunct of it or to speak in one word since Christian Religion doth challenge precedency before and preeminency above Christian communion So then without question the end of the Commandment is the first thing to be considered for if the end be rightly understood the letter will not easily be mistaken for the letter of the Law is subservient to the end of it and therefore may not have so scanty an interpretation as will not reach the end And such is that interpretation of the fourth Commandment which would have the letter mean no more then it mentions that is the bare circumstance of time and leaves men at liberty to do what they please with the other adjuncts of publick worship to wit the persons by whom and the places in which it is to be performed and regards not the end or reason of the command at all This was the fault which our blessed Saviour did find with the Scribes and Pharisees interpretations of the Law that they interpreted it not in its full extent or latitude and this made him so often in one Chapter use these words Ye have heard it hath been said of old But I say unto you c. not opposing his authority against the authority of God who gave the Law but against the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees who misinterpreted it As for example God had said thou shalt not kill they intepreted this Law only of the act of murder our Saviour interprets it also of the intent or occasion of it of hatred in the heart and of calumny in the tongue Again God had said thou shalt not commit adultery this the Scribes and Pharisees restrained to the act of fornication or adultery but our Saviour tells us plainly that God meant otherwise and forbad not only the act but also the inclination thereto lusting nay the occasion thereof looking on a woman to lust after her Mat. 5. 28. The like interpretation have some of late given of the fourth Commandment as if the day were all that God required whereas questionless he requireth also the other adjuncts of publick worship as much as the day and he requireth the worship it self much more For publick worship must first be publick in its substance then in its adjuncts first in its substance by having such prayers as are of publick concernment to all good Christians according to the pattern given us in the Mount that is to say in Gods most holy word wherein we find the Spirit of God himself the first author of Liturgie or of common prayer having taught us such prayers whose matter and form is common alike to all good men and taught them not only for our direction but also for our use as plainly appears by the Hebrew inscription on the ninty second Psalm A Psalm for the Sabbath because saith Jarchi and Ezra both they were to say that Psalm on the Sabbath And Musculus saith the same after them concinendus in Ecclesia die Sabbathi this Psalm was to be sung in the assemblies on the Sabbath Nay the Psalmist saith as much being nothing else but an invitation to praise the name of God for all his works most especially for the wonderful dispensations of his power in pulling down his enemies and of his mercy in relieving and upholding his servants So again Psalm 102. hath this inscription A prayer for the afflicted when he is over-whelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord which plainly sheweth that the Psalms were made to be used not only as publick but also as private devotions and consequently that set forms do not confine the Spirit of prayer because the Holy Ghost commandeth the use of this Psalm to the afflicted not for the hinderance but for the furtherance of his devotion not only as a prayer
the Law of man hath taken care of all these so much more hath the Law of God taken care of them and most of all in Gods own worship Here the Holy Spirit will have 1. Persons rightly ordered prescribing the decent behaviour both of men and women from the first verse of the eleventh Chapter to the sixteenth 2. Things rightly ordered prescribing the right administration of the holy Eucharist from the sixteenth verse to the end of the Chapter Lastly actions rightly ordered prescribing the right use of Spiritual gifts and Functions in the twelfth thirteeenth and fourteenth Chapters In respect of all these it is the Apostles injunction to the Corinthians and the Churches injunction to us Be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ as my Church must submit to Christs authority in the exercise of Religion to avoid superstition so I must submit to my Churches authority to avoid faction and confusion For what my Church requires by vertue of his command I cannot disobey without contempt of his authority Excellently Aquinas Majores sive perfecti soli Deo inhaerent cujus est immutabilis bonitas qui et si inhaereant suis praelatis non inhaerent illis nisi in quantum illi inhaerent Christo secundum illud Imitatores mei estote sicut Ego Christi 22. qu. 43. art 5. c. Those that are firmly grounded and to be called perfect Christians do in all things cleave to Christ himself and stick fast to him whose goodness is unchangeable and therefore so is also their will and resolution for though they rely upon the Church which Christ hath set over them yet they relye upon their Church as that relyeth upon Christ according to that of Saint Paul Be ye followers of me as I am of Christ Every good Christian man relies immediately upon Christ for his Religion and much more every good Christian Church can you not deny me to be a Major in this case and will you needs make my Church a Minor Am I of ripe years and must my Church be under age must I relye upon Christ and must not my Church much rather relye upon him There cannot be a greater impudence then for one man to perswade another to leave Christ and stick to him unless it be for one Church to perswade another to do the same And are not they perswaded to leave Christ who are perswaded to leave the Holy Scriptures that they may stick to uncertain Traditions For where is Christ to be certainly followed but in his undoubted word How then can any Church forsake Christs written word and pretend to follow him Saint Paul cares not to be so authentical and yet doubtless had more authority then those that are so He praiseth the Corinthians for keeping the Ordinances or Traditions as he had delivered them 1 Cor. 11. 2. but he professeth he had delivered no other then what he had received For I delivered unto you that which I also received 1 Cor. 15. 3. Nay in the same Chapter wherein he praiseth them for keeping what he had delivered he averreth that he had delivered what he had received ver 23. For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you nor is it reasonable we should imagine the Apostle of Christ would stand more upon his own then his Masters honour or would have praised the Corinthians for remembring him in all things if so be he had so grosly forgotten himself as not to have remembred his Master and who hath made a Church above an Apostle Therefore we may be sure that the Traditions Saint Paul gave the Corinthians were such as had been given him and we could scarce be sure of this were not the same Traditions still given us and consequently we cannot part with the least degree of this certainty but we must part with the best and greatest reason of our praise for what is or can be the praise of any Church but that she remembers the Apostles in all things and keeps the Traditions as they delivered them unto her so that upon the certainty of the Traditions depends the Fidelity of the Church and those Churches must needs approve themselves to be most faithfull which can make the surest proof of their Traditions that they are indeed truly Apostolical now it is evident that the written word is so acknowledged by all Churches but the unwritten word is not so and t is observable that those who stand most upon the credit of unwritten Traditions yet are of late very willing to endeavour to prove most of the Doctrines and practices depending thereupon by some Texts of the undoubted written word surely not to gratifie their adversaries who refused the other but themselves who look upon these as the much better and surer proofs Wherefore the holy Scriptures which are the only proof that the Church hath a Trust from God concerning his Worship are the only Rule by which she can either conscionably or acceptably discharge that Trust Conscionably in offering nothing to mens consciences but what God hath offered Acceptably in offering nothing unto God but what himself hath required and if every particular Church did exactly follow this Rule none could detest the Communion of another without detesting the communion of God himself For this is the Apostles own determination I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed 1 Cor. 12. 3. that is doth accurse or detest any thing that is truly of the Christian Religion for that is little other then to detest and accurse Christ Jesus himself Men may bestow their hearts as they please about Ceremonies and formalities and happily be charged only with indiscretion but not so about real forms of worship not so about sound and solid prayers unless they will also be charged with irreligion For if the prayer which is used by any Christian Church doth truly honour Jesus no other Church can detest her communion in that prayer without detesting Jesus himself Therefore it is not from the Spirit of God but from our own spirits that we dislike any thing which truly belongs to Jesus whether in his Doctrine or in his worship and consequently what is exactly agreeable with the known Word of Jesus is also exactly agreeable with his will and accordingly all Churches are bound to agree in that though they may disagree about other matters Therefore let every Church faithfully discharge her Trust about the worship of God and there may be a hope of a Christian agreement among all Churches for then those that shall disagree from the rest will prove themselves either Antichristian or unchristian either Antichristian as being against Christ or unchristian as being without him either faulty for having a false or faulty for not having a true worship of Christ For a true and laudable worship cannot but challenge our communion either actually in our corporal presence if we live among such good Christians as have
knowledge of God she is trusted with preaching which teacheth that knowledge And because she is trusted with the worship of God she is trusted with praying and with administring the holy Sacraments which constitute that worship So that we may see how incongruously some men do seek to turn all the worship of God into preaching when as in truth that more properly belongs to the knowledge then to the worship of God and though knowledge may direct our worship yet it cannot constitute it Wherefore God himself speaking of his publick worship as it was exercised among the Jews on their Sabbath calleth the Temple wherein it was exercised the house of Prayer I will make them joyful in my house of Prayer Isa 56. 7. And our blessed Saviour speaking of the same worship as it should be exercised among Christians calleth the place of its exercise the House of prayer My house shall be called of all Nations the house of prayer Mark 11. 17. In that he saith of all Nations he includeth the Christians who were so to be whereas the Jewish worshippers were but only of one Nation and in that he alloweth the Christians to have amongst them Gods house as well as the Jews t is evident he calleth not only the Temple at Hierusalem Gods house but also all other Temples or Churches which should ever after be set apart for Gods worship plainly sheweth that his zeal was not so much for that house whereof in few years after not one stone was to be left upon another as for those houses which were to continue to the worlds end And lastly in that he calleth the Temple though set apart for all the acts of Gods worship The house of prayer that whilst sacrifices were not yet abolished t is evident he would have prayer looked upon as the chiefest act of Gods worship as chiefly belonging to Gods house and that therefore no act of Religion should cast prayer out of Gods house which is the house of prayer as no act of irreligion should cast Gods house out of any Nation which is the house of prayer for All Nations Preaching was ordained for Praying not against it to teach us how to make our supplications to God not to exclude our making them Which truth is either so palpable as to obtain all mens consent or so powerful as to extort it for even they who are most zealous for preaching do not think fit to preach without praying nay they commonly turn their Sermons into prayers as if the one without the other were either an ineffectual or an incompleat act of Religion whereas prayer alone is neither thought ineffectual nor incompleat thereby giving that pre-eminence to prayer in the truth of their Judgements which they arrogate to preaching in the perversness of their practice that is To be the chiefest act of Religious worship No Christian Divine ought so to betray his own Vocation much less his Religion as to undervalue preaching nor yet so to betray his Trust as to overvalue it above Prayer either of them is the publick manifestation of Gods excellency which to do according to Gods command is both the greatest duty of a Christian and the greatest glory of Christianity But whereas Gods excellency may be manifested three wayes First by way of Enuntiation as in that of the Psalmist Great is the Lord and marvellous worthy to be praised Psal 145. 3. Secondly by way of admiration as O Lord our Governour how excellent is thy name in all the world or What is man that thou art mindful of him Psalm 8. 1 4. Thirdly by way of invocation as In thee O Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to confusion Psalm 71. 1. T is evident that preaching can magnifie God only by way of enuntiation declaring his greatness and goodness or by way of admiration extolling it and I wish from my heart that our preaching did truly hit either of these marks which ought to aim at both But t is only praying which can magnifie him by way of invocation not only declaring and admiring his greatness and goodness but also Trusting it Therefore is this the highest degree of glory which man can give to God and t is as great a shame to give it to any else as not to give it him because this comprizeth as well as the other the act of enuntiation which is the work of the tongue and the act of admiration which is the work of the head but moreover addeth a most holy Affection which is the work of the heart and then is God most truly glorified as to the manifestation of his excellency when he is glorified both with tongue and head and heart How much more when all these meet together not only in one man but also in many millions which joyn together in one heavenly form of prayer whom though their number may make many Congregations yet their uniformity in prayer will not let make any more then one Communion These Congregations as they give most glory to God so they have most power with him and most blessings from him amongst the rest the blessings of Charity and concord which others who more delight in variety of Prayers as they do not so truly desire so they cannot so firmly enjoy according to the excellent gloss upon Rom. 15. Benè rogat Apostolus minores pro se orar◠multi enim minimi dum congregantur unanimes fiunt magni multorum preces impossibile est non impetrare illud quod est impetrabile If the effectual fervent prayer of one righteous man availeth much then of many righteous men much more especially when they all pray as one man with one heart and with one mouth and though many in speaking yet but one in Praying though many as men yet but one as Christians unanimously beseeching for the Grace and mercy of Christ who having joined two natures in one person loves to see us joyn many persons in one communion SECT III. Preaching is twofold either by Translating and Reading or by Expounding the Holy Scriptures The great excellency and necessity of both and that our Church is entrusted with both and cannot justly be charged as defective in either GOD first instructed men in his own person till their wickedness made them unworthy of so good company then withdrawing himself to heaven he instructed them by his Prophets because though their sin had made them destitute of his good company yet his mercy would no let them be destitute of his good instruction Thus was God pleased to preach unto those under the Law by himself and by his Prophets And after the same manner was he also pleased to preach to us under the Gospel by his Son and by his Apostles So that all Preaching hath in Truth its beginning from God should have its continuance with him its end in him For those Doctrines which are now Preached by his ordinary Ministers may not differ the least tittle from those
and idle and did not suffer them to exercise their gifts do we think the Levites would have so readily and so gladly obeyed them or that they would have forsaken the words of David and of Asaph the Seer to cleave to their own words or that God would have been well pleased with the Kingand Princes for giving such questions grounded upon a Text of holy Scripture as may well stumble if not frighten our consciences therefore Tutior pars must be our solution t is best chosing the safer part that which puts no questions admits no scruples that which we are sure pleaseth God and therefore cannot disturb much less distress our consciences Solomon Jarchi upon this place tells us the very Psalm which the Levites were commanded to sing which he quoteth by the first words of it as the Jews do all parts of the Hebrew Text and they are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hodu leadonai kirau bishemo Confitemini Domino invocate in nomen ejus O give thanks unto the Lord and call upon his name and he alledgeth for his assertion that he finds it so written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sicut scriptum est supra which is the best allegation that Divines can bring and t is a shame that herein the Jewish have out-gone the Christian Divines citing that place of 1 Chron. 16. 7. Then on that day David delivered first this Psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren And that Psalm is nothing else but a great part of the 105. Psalm the whole 96. Psalm the first verse of the 107. and the two last verses of the 106. Psalm which is a very good precedent for the making of Liturgies out of several parts of the Text but must be a precept to make no other Liturgies save such as may be justified by the Text and indeed such Liturgies need no other justification which can alledge for themselves the precedent and the precept of God the Holy Ghost SECT VII The Church hath Gods promise for his blessing upon set forms of prayer T IS not to be imagined that God who hath exalted his written word above the Revelations of Angels Gal. 1. 8. will endure it to be brought under the imaginations of men If not their Revelations then surely not our imaginations can be a sufficient ground of Christian certainty in any point of Doctrine and much less in any practice of Devotion All must be reduced to the written word or all will be reduced to uncertainties Therefore when I go to Church I must be so sure of my going on Gods Errand that not a Prophets saying An Angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord saying bring him back with thee into thine house that he may eat bread and drink water 1 King 13. 18. ought to divert me out of my way unless I will venture to be slain by that roaring lion which goeth up and down seeking whom he may devour Sure I am that a form of prayer prescribed by Gods Church exactly according to Gods word is from God and as sure that whilst I am using that I am going on Gods Errand therefore I may not hearken to any Prophet that will offer to bring me into his own house that I may eat of his bread which may fill my mouth with gravel or drink of his water which is but in some broken cistern I may not depart from Gods house to go into his house nor leave that bread which I am sure is substantial wholesome food to eat of his dow-baked unleavened cake nor leave the waters of life to drink of his puddle water And though I will hope better things yet I may not leave a certainty for an uncertainty and not fear lest a promise being left of entring into his rest I should seem to come short of it for want of faith in my journey or for want of truth at my Journies end which doubtless is the case of all those who go upon uncertainties in matters of Religion who rather think they do God good service then are sure of it and gad about to change their way because they do not know assuredly they are in the right way For my part I must desire to be sure of the practical as well as of the speculative part of my Religion of what I do as well as of what I believe of my Churches devotions as well as of my Churches doctrine For if I lose my certainty I cannot keep my faith and if I do not keep my faith I cannot well lay hold of Gods promises and much less shall I attain them For his promises are made only to believers and believers are only such as go upon certainties Some uncertainty may be in opinion but none in Faith and may I not be ashamed to say I serve God in opinion and how can I serve him in Faith when I go to joyn in such a prayer as I cannot be sure will be directed to God and much less will be accepted of him But what do I speak of my shame in going without Faith to Gods publick worship is it not rather my Churches shame to which God hath committed the charge of his worship and the care of my faith Is not this promise made to the Church Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them Mat. 18. 20. And doth not this promise directly concern common or publick prayer Surely Saint Chrysostome so understood it in that excellent prayer of his which our Church hath borrowed from him as indeed it hath borrowed the true devotions both of Greek and Latine Church but the superstitions of neither Almighty God which hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee and dost promise that when two or three be gathered together in thy name thou wilt grant their requests c. It is of thy grace that we meet together with one accord to make our common supplications or prayers but it is upon thy promise that we pray for the comfort of our meeting that thou wilt grant us our requests for thou dost promise that when two or three be gathered together in thy name thou wilt grant their requests We must be sure that we have obeyed thy precept in being gathered together in thy name or we cannot be sure we shall obtain thy promise that thou wilt be in the midst of us and grant us our requests Upon the certainty of the precept depends the certainty of the promise upon our being met in thy name depends thy being present at our meeting So we must be sure of thy Name or we cannot be sure of thy presence and we cannot well be sure of thy name unless we be first sure of our prayers and consequently it is necessary for us to make sure of our prayers if we desire to make sure of Gods Promises according to that heavenly prayer of our own Church
Christians in their protestations There is a great distance betwixt superstition and Atheism False-Liturgy is Superstitious but no Liturgy is Atheistical For it must bring Religion to uncertainties may bring it to impieties Uncertainties are as nothing Impieties are worse then nothing Uncertainties cannot honour God as God Impieties must dishonour him may defie him tell me what can Atheism do more No Liturgy in effect bids Christians do like the Mariners in Jonah Cry every man unto his God nay it leaves every man to make his God for it leaves every man to make his Religion and he that hath a Religion of his own making must also have a God of his own making For the true God cannot be worshipped as men please to phansie him but as he hath revealed himself And therefore it is the high way to Atheism for men to be left to their own phansies in the exercise of Religion which must needs be where the exercise of Religion is not under a set form that so it may be compared with the word of God and accordingly not embraced till it be found agreeable with his word Will you think to convert a Papist by inviting him to no Liturgy you may as well think to convert him by inviting him to no Religion for with him t is No Liturgy no Religion Will you think to confirm a Protestant by inviting him to no Liturgy you may as well think to confirm him by inviting him to no Communion for with him it must be No Liturgy no Communion since he did not depart from a corrupt Liturgy to have none but to have a better and justifies his departure from the Church of Rome that leaving her he might come to the Catholick Church so his business was not only to protest against a false but also to protest for a true publick worship unless you will say he was only careful not to be a Schismatick in having good grounds of his separation but not careful not to be a Heretick in not having as good grounds of his Communion Some things were in the Church of Rome as a local or national Church some things were in it as a member of the Catholick Church There is no wilfull receding from these without being Anti-Catholick and that is all one with being Anti Christian Liturgy was one of these so truly and undoubtedly Christian that Hâ—ppolytus an antient Bishop and Martyr saith of Antichrist In those days shall be no Liturgy In diebus illis Liturgia extinguetur Orat de consummatione mundi ac de Antichristo in Bibliotheca Patrum Tom. 2. And sure we are that there was never yet any Christian Church in the world either national or provincial which had not its Liturgy which Cassanders Liturgicks doth sufficiently manifest without any other tedious way of proof the whole business whereof is to shew the several forms and rites of administring in several Churches So that to deny Liturgy to be Christian is in effect to deny the Catholick Church to be Christian and to blot a whole article of faith out of the Apostles Creed as also to affirm that there is will-worship in having Liturgy is in effect to affirm that the whole Catholick Church hath for 1500. years together been guilty of wil-worship and consequently hath not had the true Religion such a negative must needs be dangerous which thrusts the Catholick Church out of the Creed But such an affirmative must needs be damnable which thrusts the Christian Religion out of the Catholick Church For the whole Church having placed the publick practice of Religion in Liturgy if that be indeed wil-worship t is palpable Religion as to its publick practice or exercise hath been hitherto out of the Church unless we will allow wil-worship to be Religion However sure we are that God hath not given any Church power to abolish Liturgy because the power God hath given his Church is for edification and not for destruction 2 Cor. 10. 8. But the abolishing of Liturgy is nothing at all for edification but wholly for destruction T is nothing at all for edification neither in regard of the weak for it helps not their infirmities but takes away those helps God in mercy hath afforded them neither in regard of the strong for it must put them upon uncertainties may put them upon impieties And t is altogether for destruction because it destroyes Religion because it destroyes Communion It destroyes Religion in the learned making a way for them to run into any heresies in the unlearned not making a way for them to come out of Ignorance It destroyes Communion in the most setled times of the Church by disturbing it but in unsetled times by distracting it teaching men when they are at best not to be of one Communion but when they are at worst to be of many divisions of as many divisions as of interests of as many interests as of minds and of as many minds as men This is proof enough that God hath not given any Church power to abolish Liturgy It remains in the next place to be proved that no Church ought to assume that power For it is not for any Christian Church to assume such a power as directly tends to the destruction either of Christian Religion or of Christian Communion and abolishing of Liturgy directly tends to both these as hath been said Again It is not for any Christian Church to assume such a power as to abolish any thing which directly tends to the fulfilling of any of Gods Commandments for our Saviour Christ hath said If ye love me keep my Commandments John 14. 15. But a true laudable form of prayer directly tends to the fulfilling of two of Gods Commandments to wit the third and the fourth It directly tends to the fulfilling of the third Commandment in that it keeps some from taking Gods name in vain and teaches others truly to glorifie his name And it directly tends to the fulfilling of the fourth Commandment in that it provides for the duty of the Sabbath to wit the service of the Sanctuary the publick worship of God which is the end of the fourth Commandment and therefore the fittest rule by which to expound and observe the letter of it For the letter of the Law being subservient to the end of the Law we cannot rightly observe the day according to the letter unless we rightly observe the duty according to the end of this Commandment For by the reason of our blessed Saviours own Logick Mat. 23. If the Altar sanctifie the gift then much more the service sanctifies the Altar If the Temple sanctifie the Gold then much more the Glory of God sanctifies the Temple If the Day was appointed for the sanctification of man much more was the Duty appointed for the sanctification of the Day The Jews were commanded to keep the Sabbath that they might remember God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Justine Martyr to Trypho so that the end wherefore the Sabbath was
bleating of unprepared boyes and lowing of unhallowed men which must needs be all for noise and nothing for sacrifice unless they will say That God will accept of vain babling instead of Praying and of prating instead of Preaching for some such answer they must provide or give none who are resolved to turn all Praying into Preaching and to allow every one that listeth to turn Preacher SECT XI That Prayer as a Duty is above Prayer as a Gift The Gift of Prayer examined That it is not a Gift of Sanctifying Grace That the Spirit of Prayer is often without the Gift of Prayer and yet the Gift of Prayer is not perfect without the Spirit of it Those Christians who have obtained the Gift of Prayer most compleatly that is jointly with the Spirit of it are not thereby qualified to be the mouths of the Congregation Those Ministers who have not attained that Gift are not for that reason to be despised as not sufficiently qualified for the Ministry And those Ministers who have attained it may not for the exercising thereof be allowed to reject set forms of Prayer in their Congregations because set forms in publick are more for the Ministers and the peoples good more for Gods glory and more agreeable with Gods command HE that bids us examine our own Hearts lest we should deceive our selves doth much more bid us examine other mens mouths that they should not deceive us and he that commands us to try the Spirits doth much more command us to try the Gifts Upon this ground we come now to try and examine the Gift of Prayer which hath of late so filled the heads of men with Phancies the mouthes of men with Pretences the ears of men with Clamours the hearts of men with Anxieties and which is worst of all the Devotions of men with impertinencies if not with Impieties whiles they forsake the Prayers which Gods Spirit and Gods Church hath made for them that they may exercise their own either acquired or pretended Gifts And we have reason to be very impartial in this examination because some men have been so bold to teach and others have been so credulous to believe That all Christians are bound to attain this Gift and that none are true members of Christ or ought to be his Ministers who have not attained it with many other such unwarrantable assertions which tend directly to 〈…〉 â—eaking of the Peace and not at all to the establishing of the Truth to the destruction of Charity and not at all to the edification of Piety For all the world is not able to prove that the Gift of prayer is either a means of engrafting a man in Christ or a testimony that he is ingrafted in him so that either they should much rejoyce though they commonly do glory in their preheminence who have it or they should be dismayed for their defects who have it not For that holy communion which is exercised with God by Prayer is altogether heavenly and spiritual in an holy attention and affection which belongs to the Spirit of Prayer not at all earthly or carnal in a ready apprehension or a voluble expression which two alone properly belong to the Gift of Prayer For as concerning supernatural assistance as was heretofore in Miracles and in Tongues there is little reason to suppose or mention it in the Gift of Prayer 1. Because those men amongst us who most have it have it not in any other language but only in that which is to them most natural even in their own mother-tongue 2. Because those men who have it do so much blame and revile those who have it not which sure they would not do if they themselves thought it supernatural For in the Gift of Continency they are contented to consult with humane infirmity for an allay of any harsh censures in those that want it And why not so also in the Gift of Prayer if both were alike in their conceits supernatural And yet if we should suppose a supernatural assistance in the Gift of Prayer it would little advantage either it or them For we see the Spirit of God did over-rule the tongue of Balaam when he uttered that most heavenly Prayer Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his Numb 23. 10. though the same Spirit did not sanctifie his heart for he loved the waies of unrighteousness 2 Pet. 2. 15. Wherefore it is plain A man may be a member of Christ without the Gift of Prayer because it is not a Gift that immediately flows from the grace of Sanctification And as plain that a man may lawfully and laudably be a Minister of Christ without it as well as without the Gift of Continency because it is not a Gift that either principally or necessarily tends to edification Not principally for set forms of Prayer taken out of the holy Scriptures or made agreeable to them do edifie much more as having more suitable expressions both to engage and to enlarge holy â—…ns Not necessarily because the Jews under the Law were and Christians under the Gospel may be and are daily edified without it I know I am fallen upon a subject that hath a great noise and a greater form of godliness but not the power of it answerable either to the noise or form and therefore I will not make any apologie for the plainness and almost rudeness of speech I shall be forced to use in unmasking their hypocrisie who abuse this Gift since our blessed Saviour by denouncing a terrible woe against those Hypocrites who for a pretence made long Prayers that they might devour widows houses Mat. 23. 14. hath declared it not only fit but also necessary for his Ministers to shew to all the world the great danger and greater crime of those hypocrites which for a pretence make long prayers that they may devoure Gods own house that is to say not only his Church but also his Religion For when Prayer as a Gift shall dare to oppose it self against nay to exalt it self above Prayer as a Duty it is high time to undeceive the world and to shew that God hath placed Duties above Gifts giving Gifts only to enable men to perform Duties so that Gifts must give place to Duties and not Duties give place to Gifts And consequently Prayer as a Gift must give place to Prayer as a Duty even in our private and much more in our publick Devotions He that hath not the Gift of Prayer may not for that reason neglect the duty of prayer in private And he that hath the gift of prayer may not for that reason disturb the Duty of Prayer in publick Wherefore since publick Prayer is a Duty that no more belongs to One then to All no more belongs to the Minister then to the People for the fourth Commandement obligeth them to Gods publick worship as well as him in acknowledgement of and homage for the redemption of mankind it is manifest
certainly hold much more in Gods Church Militant then in Gods State Militant Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defie the armies of the living God 1 Sam. 17. 26. They say we discountenance the Gift of Prayer we know we do not only we prefer the Gift of Prayer in the Church above the Gift of Prayer in particular Ministers or the Gift of Prayer as it is exercised to edification above the same gift as it is or may be exercised to ostentation wherein we follow Saint Pauls Doctrine who dehorteth the Ministers of his time from arrogancy in the use of their spiritual gifts first from the efficient cause of those gifts that they have them not from themselves but from God As God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith Secondly from the final cause of those Gifts that they have them not for themselves but for their neighbours not for ostentation but for edification So we being many are one body in Christ and every one members one of another Rom. 12. 3 5. And we say moreover it is more Christian to discountenance the Gift then the Spirit of Prayer For the Gift may be and often is meerly from natural or from customary abilities But the Spirit of Prayer is only from the Grace of God And it is unjust and ungodly That either nature or custom should dare stand in competition with Grace and much more in defiance against it 1. Whereas now a daies if some grave and sober Minister say Prayers either of Gods or of the Churches making though he say them with a most firm attention and a most devout affection yet his person is disregarded his function disparaged his prayers despised 2. But if some meer novice perchance a meer lay-man tumble out his own extemporary thoughts scarce fit to be esteemed or called prayers though with more readiness of expression then holiness of affection yet he is presently admired as one strangely assisted by the Spirit and the People are in effect taught to say with them of Lycaonia concerning such Enthusiasts The Gods are come down to us in the likeness of men Acts 14. 11. Thus is the Spirit of Prayer and with it the grace of God vilified in the one whiles nothing but the Gift of Prayer and with it custom or perchance only nature is magnified in the other For natural parts in attaining that gift do go beyond all acquired abilities so that nature is exalted but studie as well as Grace is debased by it for it is clear that where natural abilities of Phansie and confidence and volubility are wanting all the pains that men can take in searching the Scriptures and all the documents they can get by searching them will not enable them to attain this gift So little Religion is there in our late advancing the Gift of prayer by depressing the Spirit of prayer and yet only upon this mistake I might have said upon this mischief hath it come to pass That the Personal abilities of men have been accepted and approved in Gods own service not only without but also against Gods own Commission SECT XIII That forms of publick Prayer are not to be disliked because they cannot or at least do not particularly provide either Deprecations against private mens occasional miseries or Thanksgivings for their occasional mercies yet our Church not defective in Occasionals though chiefly furnished with Eternals The danger of contemning religious forms of Prayer and gadding after conceived Prayers NO man ought to pretend the Spirit of God either for rejecting Gods authority in his Church or forbear disobeying Gods command in his holy word And if these two may bear the sway set forms of Prayer will justly claim the preheminence in Gods publick worship above all conceived Prayers whatsoever yet there is one main Plea why Ministers should labour to attain the gift of Prayer and that is That they may be able to speak where commonly their Church is silent and as need shall require either make deprecations against private mens occasional miseries or thanksgivings for their occasional mercies And yet even in this respect The gift of Prayer may be more safely used upon premeditation then without it For supposing a Minister furnished with abilities of expressing himself readily and fitly upon all emergencies yet there being at least a possibility of miscarriage in his suddain effusions and those miscarriages which intervene in prayer being doubtless unsufferable if not unpardonable it would scarce be prudent if it were pious in such a man to adventure himself wholly upon his extemporary faculty But even in such a case either to form his Prayer in his mind if he have time or to use some form already in his memory if he have not So that his Prayer though it may seem conceived in regard of the Occasion yet will be little other then formed in regard of the premeditation But this by way of Caution in the use of the Gift As for the Gift it self be it said not only by way of Concession but also of Congratulation that in this respect and for this end it is to be most chiefly desired and may be most profitably exercised by any Minister so that in regard meerly of this ministration we may not unfitly apply unto such Ministers as have this Gift that eulogie of Saint Paul Qui benè ministraverint gradum bonum sibi acquirent multam fiduciam in fide quae est in Christo Jesu 1 Tim. 3. 13. They that have ministred well shall purchase to themselves a good degree and great boldness in the Faith which is in Christ Jesus No doubt but they have ministred and do minister very well who minister to the people of God in their corporal and much more in their spiritual necessities and such Ministers do purchase to themselves a good Degree in the Ministry and a great boldness in the Faith only they were best take heed That they turn not this great boldness in their faith to a greater boldness in their Ministry For boldness in their faith may be commended when boldness in their Ministry may be justly condemned And they will turn the boldness of their faith into the boldness of their Ministry if they minister though in this excellent kind not as Demetrius who had a good report of all men and of the truth it self but as Diotrephes who loved to have the preheminence prating against others with malicious words and not only casting the Brethren out of the Church but also casting the Church out of the Nation under pretence of the want of this Gift For which intolerable pride and presumption not only an Apostle of Christ but also a meer heathen Poet will one day rise up Judgement against them who maketh Agamemnon say thus of Achilles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ilid α. If so be the Gods have made him a most famous warriour Have they therefore licenced him to reproach other men If God Almighty hath
Justice and the like to supply your spiritual wants and necessities and you shall not want any temporal necessaries for you shall from your spiritual supplies find either a certain remedy against your temporal wants or a sufficient recompence for them or an immortal comfort in them There is no occasional necessity can befall the soul save only by way of comparison that upon some occasions she may be in a greater need of the act of Faith upon others in a greater need of the act of Repentance But her necessities as also her endowments are properly continual because they are spiritual therefore all the noise that is made about using the gift of Prayer in praying against occasional necessities or praising for occasional mercies doth not much excite us to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness for his Kingdom and righteousness are both eternal but rather to seek first those things which our Saviour calls Additaments or Adiections for whatsoever is occasional is temporal and whatsoever is temporal ought to be reckoned in the Catalogue of those things concerning which our Saviour hath said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adjicientur vobis All these things shall be added unto you If we heartily Pray for Faith and Repentance and the like spiritual endowments God will surely give them And he will give them liberally that is to say in great abundance that they may be truly worth his giving and upon our greatest necessities or occasions that they may be as truly worth our receiving He will give them in their acts as well as in their habits that his gifts may be compleat And he will give them in our necessities That his gifts may be convenient then greatest when our wants are so according to that of Saint James If any of you lack wisdom or any other spiritual gift let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him Jam. 1. 5. God giveth liberally therefore he giveth the whole gift in the Act as well as in the Habit and he upbraideth not therefore he giveth it most when we most want it for his gifts as they are with liberality not to begrutch them so they are without Repentance not to upbraid them 'T is true he cannot give us any one spiritual gift before we want it but as true that he most willingly gives them all according to our wants So that if by our frequent and fervent prayers we do obtain of God those spiritual gifts which concern the continual we need not be very solicitous about those which only concern the occasional necessities of our souls For if our continual necessities be supplyed our occasional necessities cannot want supply should any such indeed befall our souls and as for the occasional necessities of our bodies they are not worth our own much less our Churches prayers but only in relation to our souls So little reason is there that the pretence of occasional necessities should unsettle and distract our own private forms much less unloosen and destroy our Churches publick forms of constant Devotions wherein we are sure we do not seek our own interests or temporal advantages and much less our unrighteousness but only the Kingdom of God and his righteousness Without doubt Innocency Piety and Charity which may be as truly sought and more surely found in set forms then in conceived prayers are wholly and entirely our spiritual interests and if we cordially ask these in our prayers we shall so rightly seek the Kingdom of God in it self that we shall joyfully find it in our own souls For the Kingdom of God is Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. and therefore is to be sought by such Prayers as may best express and increase our faith that so we may obtain righteousness And our repentance that so we may obtain peace and our obedience that so we may obtain joy in the Holy Ghost Such prayers God having given us a Church to teach more then any other Church in the Christian world and not given us hearts to learn t is to de feared unless we speedily and heartily repent he will pronounce the same sentence or rather execute the same judgement against us as he did against the Israelites But my people would not hear my voice and Israel would not obey me so I gave them up to their own hearts lusts and let them follow their own imaginations Psal 8â— 12 13. T is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bishirruâ—h libbam id est In contemplatione aut visione cordis eorum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bemaraith so Jarchi or In pertinacia aut duritie cordis eorum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bechozek so Ezra The one saith I gave them up to the contemplations of their own hearts and that was bad enough for it is said concerning man that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually Gen. 6. 5. The other saith I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts and that was a great deal worse for to be hardned in evil imaginations is much worse then simply to be in them for that is not only to be sinful but also to be under the captivity and bondage of sin He that follows his imagination without his reason doth in effect degenerate from a man into a Beast But he that hardneth himself in his imagination against his own right reason and much more against Gods true Religion doth degenerate from a man almost to be a Devil These are the sad Judgements of God upon those who will not hear his voice nor obey his Commands Wherefore we cannot be too solicitous in hearing him nor too dutiful in obeying him And consequently when we are once sure that t is his voice which speaks to us and his command which is laid upon us we must speedily and wholly resolve upon lending our ears to the voice and lending our hearts to the command For he that bids us prove all things doth not bid us to be alwayes proving for it follows hold fast that which is good 1 Thes 5. 21. I will prove my Religion before I embrace it that I may draw neer to God with my conscience and not as an hypocrite But I will hold fast my Religion when I have proved it that I fall not from God against my conscience as an Apostate T is not specious pretences can make others religious and God forbid they should make me lose my Religion Men may pretend to the spirit of prayer who have it not but I am sure they had the spirit of prayer who made such heavenly prayers as the holy Spirit of God doth justifie by his Doctrine and will accompany with his intercession And doubtless every particular Christian is bound to make sure of such prayers both for his private and for his publick devotions and when he hath gotten such prayers is bound not to leave them unless we will say the
the good behaviour and God himself hath in effect told us as much in giving us so many set forms of prayers in the holy Bible SECT XIV The third and last part of the Churches trust concerning Religion is touching the holy Sacraments wherein our Church is not faulty either in the number or in the administration of them as exactly following our Saviours institution nor in the manner of administring as following it with reverence REligion being above the light of nature to understand it must needs be above the power of nature to command it Hence the acts of the Theological vertues are prescribed by the positive Law of God because they belong properly to Religion But the acts of moral vertues are prescribed by the Law of nature because they belong to Reason yet are they in truth injurious to Religion who will allow nothing to be moral but what they can prove to be natural For the positive Law of God doth constitute moralities to the Christian as well as the inbred Law of nature doth constitute moralities to the Man This appears plainly in the Sacraments which are not to be accounted as Ceremonies because they come not under the authority of the Church either for their institution or alteration or abolition and must therefore be accounted as moralities though they are not at all commanded by the Law of nature but only by the Law of God That these Sacraments are a part of the Churches trust is unquestionable because the Gospel is For the vocal word and the visible word Verbum Vocale verbum visibile both alike are duties of the Christian Religion for the glory of God and of the Christian Communion for the edification of man but all the duties both of Religion and Communion are committed to the Churches trust God having appointed his own Ministers as his special Trustees both for preaching his word and for administring his Sacraments So that no man can administer a Sacrament but in the person of God and he hath not licensed every one that will to take upon him his person but only such to whom he hath given his special deputation And this is more peculiarly manifest concerning the two Sacraments properly so called that is Baptism and the Lords holy Supper For our blessed Saviour said only to his Apostles Go ye therefore and baptize in respect of the one and do ye this in remembrance of me in respect of the other As for the five additional Sacraments they were never looked upon as integral parts of Gods ordinary publick worship and therefore though they could be proved Sacraments yet they would not come under our present discourse But in truth they cannot be proved Sacraments according to the proper definition of a Sacrament which is this A Sacrament is an outward visible sign of an inward spiritual grace given to us and ordained by Christ himself as a means to convey that grace and as a pledge to assure us thereof Let us examine this definition by its causes and we shall easily perceive that it belongs only to Baptism and the Holy Eucharist and therefore they two only are to be called Sacraments First by its efficient cause Given and ordained by Christ himself which is clear of these two for they were instituted by him and have his precept and promise in the very words of their institution which cannot be asserted concerning any of the other Secondly by its material cause outward visible sign inward spiritual Grace which are both manifestly known in Baptism and the Holy Eucharist but neither in any of the rest For Pennance hath no outward visible sign at all and Matrimony Orders Confirmation Extream unction have no outward visible signs of Christs appointing And much less have any of these that inward spiritual Grace which is annexed to Baptism and the Holy Eucharist To wit Christ with all his merits and mercies whereby of God He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1. 30. For we dare not say that any man is by any of these five either born and initiated or nourished and confirmed in Christ Thirdly by its formal cause An outward visible sign of an inward spiritual Grace Whereby it appears that the internal and proper form of a Sacrament is the necessary conjunction or connexion of the sign and the thing signified which conjunction is so undeniable in our two Sacraments that Baptism is called the washing of regeneration Tit. 3. 5. And the holy Eucharist the Communion of the body and blood of Christ 1 Cor. 10. 16. For that these two are not only signs and seals but also conveyances of grace unto the soul whereas the other five though they have something of the sign yet they have nothing at all of the seal or of the conveyance of grace Lastly by its final cause As a means to convey Grace and as a pledge to assure us thereof The end of a Sacrament is partly our Communion with Christ and partly our acknowledgement of that Communion This twofold end is very apparent in Baptism and in the holy Eucharist which doth procure our Communion with Christ and also require our acknowledgement of that Communion but in the rest either the one is without the other or there is a want of both For either there is no Communion with Christ or there is no acknowledgement of that Communion whereas a Sacrament is a seal of Gods Covenant and therefore in its own nature is a double pledge to wit of Gods grace and favour to man and of mans duty and thankfulness to God For as it is a sign of Gods grace to us so it should be a sign of Gods grace in us For in the very signification of a Sacrament there is a mutual respect one on Gods part offering grace another on mans part promising obedience If either of these be wanting the holy rite may be a mysterie but it cannot be a Sacrament properly so called since a Sacrament is the seal of a Covenant and a Covenant is a mutual engagement of two parties which in this case are God and Man Therefore a Sacrament is from the very end of its institution perpetual in its continuance and common in its use Perpetual in its continuance because Gods Covenant is not for a day but for ever t is an everlasting Covenant And common in its use because Gods Covenant is not for one but for all t is a general an universal Covenant Non enim propter unius seculi homines venit Christus sed propter omnes qui illius membra futuri sunt saith Irenâ—us lib. 4. adver haereses cap. 39. Christ came not into the world for the men of one age or of one order but for all that should be his true and faithful members in all ages and all orders of men whatsoever And upon this ground we cannot but say that the Sacraments which do exhibit and convey Christ do alike belong to men of all ages
they believe in his Almighty power and in his all-saving mercy therefore it is that they make their prayers unto him And since they cannot believe in the Saints as such Almighty and All-saving Lords they may not call upon them or pray unto them suo modo credere will not serve the turn it must be omni modo For why not as well say I may have a Saint or Angel after some sort for my God though God himself hath said Thou shalt have no other Gods but me as say I may after some sort believe in a Saint or Angel since the Text saith plainly have faith in God Mar. 11. 22. and again Abraham believed God it was counted to him for righteousness Rom. 4. 3. and again To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Rom. 4. 5. Can any Saint or Angel justifie a sinner and why should I have faith in him if I cannot have Justistcation from him and again Abraham was strong in faith giving glory to God Rom. 4. 20. Ought any Saint or Angel to have that glory which is proper only to God And what glory is proper only to God but for a man to believe in him as the first Truth and to put his whole trust in him as the chiefest good We must degrade faith and suffer it no longer to be a Theological Vertue if it may have any other but only God for its object And the like also may be said of Prayer We must deny that to be an elicite act of the understanding apprehending Gods infinity and make it only a little lip-labour before we can bring it down so low as to befit a Saint or Angel For mental prayer which is only in the heart without which the Verbal is no more then an empty sound is in vain offered up to any but only to him that is the searcher of Hearts And he that saith Give me thy Heart hath not said Give another thy Tongue when it expresseth the elevation or lifting up of thy heart Sancte Petre miserere mei salva me aperi mihi aditum coeli and that Prayer to the blessed Virgin Tu nos ab hoste protege hora mortis suscipe and the like if spoken only in the heart are spoken surely in vain for they know not our hearts and are moreover spoken in sin because they know them not So the very sense of the prayer is wicked because it supposeth a man a God And how then can any Divine excuse the words from wickedness whereby alone we are able to judge of the sense Yet Bellarmine hath found out an excuse for them saying Non agitur de verbis sed de sensu verborum nam quantum ad verba licet dicere Sancte Petre miserere mei salva me Item Da mihi sanitatem corporis da patientiam c. Dummodo intelligamus Salva me miserere mei orando pro me Da mihi hoc illud tuis precibus meritis lib. 1. de beatitudine sanctorum cap. 17. 'T is no matter for the words of the Prayers so as the sense be right For in words we may say O Saint Peter have mercy upon me and save me as long as our meaning is save me and have mercy upon me by praying for me or O Saint Peter give me health or patience c. as long as our meaning is give it me by thy prayers and merits If this Interpretation may be allowed to add new words that we may make a new sense farewell to Aristotles Book De Interpretatione for only he that is the prolocutor can be the Interpreter we must overthrow the ground of all reason to make good sense out of bad words Conceptus sunt signa verum verba conceptuum is the first ground in Logick Conceits or apprehensions are the expresses of things as words are of conceits or apprehensions Take away this ground and take away the use of all Logick and consequently the exercise of Reason for if a mans speech be other then his meaning how shall another understand him If his meaning be other then the thing how shall he understand himself Nay we must overthrow the ground of all Religion as far as 't is expressed in words to make hese and the like good Prayers For Religion as far as 't is expressed in words is regulated by the third Commandment that bids us not take the name of the Lord our God in vain in the manner of our speaking meddles not with our thinking or with our meaning so that if the manner of our speaking be faulty when we pray we do take the name of God in vain or there is no obligation there can be no violation of the third Commandment Who can meet with such elusions as these in matters of Religion and not be moved out of the zeal of godliness to exclaim with the Prophet Hear ye now O House not of David but of Goliah Is it a small thing for you to weary men but will you weary my God also Isa 7. 13. Is it not enough and too much that ye teach us to equivocate with men but will ye also teach us to equivocate with our God Will ye at the same time maintain a Liturgie and set up a Directory a Liturgie in words but a Directory in sense Your Liturgie is O Saint Mary O Saint Peter give me health and salvation But your Directory is O Lord help me O Lord save me or is this Catholick in you to have your Directory better then your Liturgie your meaning better then your words your intention better then your expression or is it fitting if it were possible for men to say in words and unsay in sense the same things especially in their prayers and not palpably collude with God and men And what have we done else but reformed that in words which you your selves do reform in sense and why then do you so uncessantly revile so unconscionably oppose our Reformation Is it not affected Atheism not to reform what is really superstitious as it is abominable blasphemie to call that superstition which is indeed true Religion May any Christian abjure and renounce such Prayers as the Spirit of God hath taught and the Son of God doth assist without abjuring and renouncing God himself Is not this indeed the most dreadful and most formidable kind of abjuration that ever was to abjure the intercession of God the Son and the Communion of God the Holy Ghost or is it lawful to deal with a true Christian form of Prayer as the Jews did with Christ who when Pilate said Why what evil hath he done cryed out so much the more exceedingly Crucifie him Mar. 15. 14. We dare not think of wishing an Interdict upon Religion for that is to crucifie Christ but we are bound to wish an Interdict upon Idolatry and Blasphemy for that is to crucifie the two thieves which rob God of his honour and Gods
Church of her Truth and Peace For I ask seriously of any Christian and Conscientious Divine who cares either for Christianity or for Conscience May we blaspheme God with our mouthes and say That we honour him in our hearts and think thereby to excuse our blasphemie May we invocate the creature as the Creator in our prayers and say we mean the Creator and think thereby to excuse our Idolatry Doth it not indeed concern our Religion to be truly Christian in words as well as in sense that if there came in one unlearned he may be convinced of all he may be judged of all and falling down on his face may worship God 1 Cor. 14. 24 25. and not worship the Saints in word and say He worships God in sense This is the unhappiness of those who are obliged to a superstitious form of publick worship if they mean as they speak they are guilty of Idolatry and of Blasphemie if they do not mean as they speak they are guilty of falsness and of hypocrisie So necessary was it for our Church to reform the Liturgie in those Prayers which were directed to the Saints instead of God And so happy are we if at least we know our own happiness who do enjoy the benefit of that Reformation For surely it is no more lawful to honour him as God who is not God then it is not to honour him as God who is so 'T is one proof of the Deity of the Holy Ghost that he hath a Temple 1 Cor. 6. 19. And since the worship is greater then the Temple How shall we worship any that is not God Franciscus Davidis was justly condemned for denying the Divinity of Christ because he denyed his Invocation and how then can we bestow Invocation upon the Saints and not acknowledge their Divinity Doubtless though they are Gods nearest and dearest friends yet such honour to them is too great to be due And since it is not due because they are his friends we may be sure it is not acceptable So that if there were no other argument but this alone to prove that the Saints do not hear them that pray this were enough to prove it That they do not openly reject and reprove their prayers for else without doubt they would say now as the Angel did heretofore See thou do it not for I am thy fellow-servant worship God Rev. 19. 10. 22. 9. The reason is plain and undenyable for I am thy fellow-servant and must exclude Saints and Angels both alike out of our Liturgies Thus doth Justine Martyr describe the worship which was professed and practised by the Primitive Christians saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apol. 2. We worship God the Creator of the universe in the first and his Son in the second place and his Prophetical Spirit in the third No mention at all of Saints or Angels to be worshipped in any place much less to come in before the Holy Ghost as by a false comma upon the same authors words not two leaves before Bellarmine would prove the Angels were antiently worshipped the words are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We reverence and worship the true God and his Son which came from him and taught us these things and the Host of the good Angels and also the Prophetical Spirit The meaning of the Martyr is this That they worshipped God the Father Son and Holy Ghost only he describes the Son more at large as one who had revealed his Fathers will and made known the Hoast of Angels amongst other his Revelations but the Jesuite by a comma parting the Hoast of Angels from the things revealed reckons them up as things worshipped which comma we may not allow though it be now in the Paris Edition First because it is absolutely against the fore-cited place which saith the Holy Ghost was worshipped in the third place viz. with the Father and the Son whereas if the Angels may step in before him he must be contented with the fourth place Secondly Because it is an Article of our Christian Faith that the Vnity in Trinity and Trinity in Vnity is to be worshipped but if the Angels may step in before the Holy Ghost we must say not the Trinity in Vnity but the Quaternity in Community is to be worshipped Thirdly Because this exposition supposeth the blessed Martyr to prefer the Angels before if not above God the Holy Ghost which were to expunge him out of the Catalogue of the Fathers and leave him among the grossest Hereticks whereas on the contrary he is so far from asserting the worship of Angels That in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew He proves the Angel which appeared to Lot was indeed the Son of God because Lot worshipped him which proof had been nothing worth had he thought it lawful to worship Angels 4. Because the Greek Text will not bear this comma without some confusion in the words and more in the sense which the Latine interpreter well observing hath thus rendred the place Verum hunc ipsum so Deum Patrem qui ab eo venit atque iste nos bonorum Angelorum exercitum docuit Filium Spiritum Propheticum colimus adoramus Fifthly If the comma should be allowed yet would it not justifie Bellarmines conclusion for he maketh this Inference from it That some kind of worship greater then Civil less then Divine is due to Angels whereas if they be indeed to be worshipped by vertue of this quotation They have equal worship with God the Father and the Son and they must have it before God the Holy Ghost I will not here insist upon arguments from the uncertainty of this worship because I meet with too too many from the Impiety of it 'T is uncertain whether all that are cannonized are Saints wherefore it may be imprudent but t is certain they are not Gods wherefore it must be impious to offer up our Prayers unto them For that is a spiritual sacrifice which is due only unto God Haec est Christiana Religio ut colatur unus Deus quia non facit animan◠beatam nisi unus Deus saith Saint Augustine Tract 23. in Evang. Johan This is the Christian Religion that we worship one God because none can make the soul blessed but only God None else made the soul but only God therefore none else may have the homage of the soul none else can make the soul blessed therefore to none else should be the desire of the soul So saith the Prophet Isaiah O Lord we have waited for thee the desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee with my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my Spirit within me will I seek thee early Isa 26. 8 9. Till I can in my Prayers have too much desire of my soul for thee I may not bestow the least part of that desire away from thee All the desire of my soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee
in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Mat. 7. See here how Gifted men may be Hypocrites not only gifted for Praying Many will say unto me Lord Lord which repetition shews a familiarity they thought they had contracted with him by their frequent addresses in Prayer but also gifted for Preaching Have we not prophesied in thy name Nay gifted for casting out Devils out of others though not out of themselves And in thy name have cast out Devils And yet to these gifted men will our blessed Saviour return this answer I never knew you whence we may justly infer they never truly knew him Depart from me ye that work iniquity whence we may as justly infer that they did never really come near him by piety but only seemingly by hypocrisie God forbid but we should firmly believe and willingly confess that the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer though separated in Hypocrites are often joyned together in good Christians for in truth the gift of Prayer is not perfect and compleat so as to be worth the looking after without the Spirit of it For then only is the gift of Prayer compleat when not only natural abilities are improved by study or industry and personal abilities are acquired by art or exercise which two alone do properly constitute the very essence of the Gift of Prayer But also the heart is sanctified by Grace which properly belongs only to the Spirit of Prayer so that in truth the Gift of prayer which makes all the noise is perfected only by the Spirit of Prayer which saith nothing or speaketh so softly that none can hear its voice but he that searcheth the hearts and knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit Rom. 8. 27. The word of the mind Verbum mentis may be without the word of the mouth Verbum oris So Hannah continued praying before the Lord and yet she spake in her heart only her lips moved but her voice was not heard 1 Sam. 1. 13 14. So Moses cryed unto the Lord when yet he did not speak nor so much as move his lips Exod. 14. 15 Again the word of the mouth may be without the word of the mind for they must needs make many words who make many prayers and yet they could not be said to utter one prayer from their hearts to whom God did say When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when ye make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Isa 1. 15. For when the Text hath set this down as a proper compellation of God O thou that hearest prayer Psal 65. 2. it is most evident that from his saying he would not hear we may safely conclude they did not Pray though they did make never so many prayers But we will suppose such a gifted man as hath the compleat gift of prayer that is the Spirit and the Gift of Prayer both together yet even such a man is not thereby qualified to be the mouth of others in publick Assemblies because publick prayer is to have a publick Person to perform it And none can be a publick Person in Gods service but whom God himself hath made so by some notorious and undoubted Commission such as others are bound to acknowledge and therefore bound not to usurp For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain but they most take his name in vain who speak in his name without his allowance They are most properly said to take his name because he hath not given it and to take it in vain because they take it rather to serve themselves then to serve him 'T is all one for strange Persons to offer themselves before the Lord instead of the sons of Aaron and for the sons of Aaron to offer strange fire before the Lord instead of that from his own Altar for of both alike it may be said which he commanded them not Numb 10. 1. and for both alike it hath been said And they dyed before the Lord Ver. 2. and again This is it that the Lord spake saying I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the people I will be glorified Ver. 3. If he be not sanctified in them that come nigh him he is not like to be glorified before all the people If the Priests be unsanctified the Lord will be unglorified for his Majesty will be contemned as if it were lawful for any that are not sanctified to come nigh him Therefore his Priests were first sanctified to the Priesthood then sanctified by it They were first sanctified by being called then sanctified by their calling And so ought their successors to be till the worlds end for it is an universal negative which denies as well for all times as for all persons No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Heb. 5. 4. Now Aaron was called not only internally to satisfie himself but also externally to satisfie all the Congregation that he was called of God For God is the God of order not of confusion and consequently forbids those men to officiate as his Ministers though of never so great abilities whom he hath not outwardly called to the Ministry For he will have order not confusion in his Church whereas if any one might officiate in the Ministry upon any pretence whatsoever without Gods outward call others might as well as he and so we must needs have an irremediable confusion both in the Ministers and in their ministrations Dares any man to be a Princes Ambassador though most able to do him service without his appointment But the Ministers are Gods Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5. 20. There needs no variety of arguments in this case for till earthly Potentates shall declare it to be no rebellion against themselves for men to turn uncommissioned souldiers under pretence of fighting their battles they must acknowledge it to be grand rebellion against the King of heaven for men to turn uncommissioned Ministers under pretence of doing him service For Saint Paul having said The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 2 Cor. 10. 4. hath in effect told us that the Minister is Gods souldier and therefore is sure of his Commission But let us further examine this gift of Prayer in relation to the publick worship of God and as we find no just reason to admit them to the work of the Ministry who are not Ministers because they have that gift so we shall find no just reason to reject those that are true Ministers as insufficient or unfit for the work of the Ministry because they have it not nor to allow such Ministers who have it to reject the set forms established and approved by the Church