a Souldier to be without skill in the use of Arms from its special advantages and fruits as enabling a man on all occasions to relate his condition and suit his desires and expressions according to several emergencys and from the inconveniences a man is expos'd to by the want of it when being surpriz'd with any sudden exigency or strait he knows not how to relate his condition or bespeak God's assistance without having recourse to some prescribed Form which perhaps has no proper reference to the particular occasion p. 22 23 24. And I cannot better represent our judgment concerning these 2 different modes of Praying than in his excellent words What one saith of Counsel to be had from Books may be fitly applied to this Prayer by Book That 't is commonly of it self something flat and dead floating for the most part too much in generalitys and not particular enough for each several occasion There is not that life and vigour in it to engage the affections as when it proceeds immediately from the soul it self and is the natural expression of those particulars whereof we are most sensible And if it be a fault not to strive and labour after this gift much more is it to jeer and despise it by the name of extempore-prayer and praying by the Spirit which expressions as they are frequently us'd by some men by way of reproach are for the most part the sign of a profane heart and such as are altogether strangers from the power and comfort of this duty p. 12. Thus far that learned and pious Bp. whose sentiments in this matter are I perceive very different from his Lp's 4. They are far from excluding premeditation in the exercise of this Gift of Prayer On the contrary they think it ordinarily necessary as to the matter of our Prayers Nay they do not exclude all premeditation as to words any farther than the tying our selves to a Form of 'em may shut out such sutable petitions as the Spirit of God may suggest to our minds in the fervour of our Devotions which did not occur to 'em in our previous meditation And therefore they think the name of extempore and much more that of unpremeditated Prayers very unfit to express those which they offer up according to such an ability and gift For they suppose that such as pray with others especially in publick Assemblys shou'd prepare themselves for it by considering before-hand the particular cases and necessities of those that joyn with ' em And against such Prayers I can find nothing in that Text he alledges When thou goest to the house of God be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God For God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth therefore let thy words be few 5 Eccles 1 2. For sure his Lp. cannot think they enjoyn of Prayers by a prescrib'd Liturgy For if we pray so there 's no need of this caution that we shou'd not be rash with our mouth and that our wâ—rds be but â—ew because it will not lye in our power to enlarge or contract what we say when we confine our selves to the words that others dictate to us The Text dos indeed properly refer to private vows in the house of God but may by parity of reason be suppos'd to forbid our Praying without due premeditation and multiplying our expressions without any sutable affections Which caution we account very necessary in all free-prayers even in private and much more in publick ones So that this place affords a much stronger Argument for Free-prayers than against ' em 5. They do not condemn all Forms of Prayer either in private or publick as unlawful in themselves They recommend such Forms to those whose inability renders such helps needful Many of their practical writings propose such Forms to the ignorant and weak The Westminster-Assembly expresly recommend the use of the Ld's-Prayer as a Form Nay the Nâ— Ministers that treated with those commissionated by K. Charles the 2d at the Savoy propos'd a Reformed Liturgy with some allowance of liberty to Ministers for free occasional Prayer as a ground of accommodation Of which I shall have occasion to take more notice in what follows Having premis'd this just Account of the Dissenters Principles I come II. To examine those which his Lp. ascribes to 'em p. 43 44 c. which I shall do in his own words least I shou'd be thought to wrong him as notoriously as he has done his Brethren Speaking concerning their way of Prayer I shall endeavour saith he to represent it with all fairness and impartiality and leave you to judge as God shall direct you and as you 'll answer it at the last day 1. And here I find that some of your Writers are of opinion that the Spirit of Prayer is given to all the children of God in some measure for enabling their hearts to conceive and their tongues to express convenient desires to God and that therefore Forms of Prayer are of no necessary use either in publick or private on the contrary that they stint the Spirit and hinder men from stirring up or using that Gift that God has given ' em 2. Others of you go farther and affirm that all Forms of Prayer are unlawful to Christians and that therefore 't is a sin to joyn in a Worship where they are us'd or to be present at it 3. That the Minister is the mouth of the Congregation and and that he only is to speak publickly to God in behalf of the people and that they are not to joyn their voices but only their hearts with him Upon these Principles you forsake our Worship c. And First For that position of your Directory that the Spirit of Prayer is given to all the children of God in some measure for enabling their hearts to conceive and their tongues to express convenient desires to God I entreat you to consider what promise or foundation it has in Scripture c. and in the same p. 45. This Doctrine is a meer Invention of men and the Worship built on it a vanity in the sense of our Saviour 7 Mark 7. This Principle his Lp. largely endeavors to confute from p. 45. to p. 53. where he calls it the great Principle of the Dissenters Worship and tells the people Now my friends it lies upon your Teachers who are of this persuasion to produce plain Scripture for your Principles or else to confess c. Again p. 62. he falls severely on this poor Principle Answ I am afraid I shall much surprize his Lp. when I tell him that I can find no such Principle nor indeed any thing like it either in sense or sound in the whole Directory I wou'd therefore entreat him to read it over once more that he may oblige me with the account of the page where it lies And I may the more reasonably request this favour of him because he has put me to the
trouble of reading it twice or thrice over on this occasion to no purpose And I suppose the Reverend Compilers of the Directory gave him no commission to coyn principles for 'em meerly that he might have the satisfaction of confuting ' em But I 'll do him the Justice he has not done them by acquainting the Reader that upon a strict enquiry I suppose his Lp. has mistaken some directions of a General Assembly in Scotland concerning secret and Family Worship c. printed there A. D. 1647. for the Directory of publick Worship publisht by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster A. D. 1644. And if I be in the right in this conjecture I must add that I cou'd very easily forgive him this mistake if he had us'd any sincerity in representing the judgment of that grave and pious Synod But if it appear that he has obtruded upon 'em an Opinion which they no way assert nay which the passage from whence he draws it is rather inconsistent with then the best Apology he can make for himself is to own his mistake and to make 'em some reparation for so gross an abuse And whether this be not the true Account of the matter I leave the Reader to judge when he compares the words of the Assembly with the Opinion the Bp. ascribes to ' em In the fore-mentioned directions of that Assembly concerning secret and Family-Worship p. 9. Direct 9. are these words So many as can conceive Prayer ought to make use of that Gift of God Albeit these who are rude and weaker may begin at a sett Form of Prayer but so as they be not sluggish in stirring up in themselves according to their daily necessities the Spirit of Prayer which is given to all the children of God in some measure To which effect they ought to be more fervent and frequent in secret Prayer to God for enabling their hearts to conceive and their tongues to express convenient desires for their Family Now if these be the words his Lp. refers to I wou'd desire him to consider a little better how he can deduce this principle out of 'em viz. That the Spirit of Prayer is given to all the children of God in some measure for enabling their hearts to conceive and their tongues to express convenient desires to God and as his Lp. adds p. 53. without a Form For the Bp. hereby supposes that this Assembly thought that the Spirit of Prayer was the Gift of Prayer and that this Gift was in some measure given to all the children of God to enable 'em to pray without a Form And therefore what the Assembly calls stirring up in themselves the Spirit of Prayer he explains by stirring up the Gift p. 44. And accordingly his arguments against 'em all run on this supposition that they oppose praying by the Spirit to praying by a Form and imagin the Spirit and Gift of Prayer to be the same thing and accordingly he makes decency of expression a part of the Spirit of Prayer p. 46. Now what can be more opposite to the words and scope of that Assembly Do they not distinguish Christians into 2 sorts such as are more judicious and strong and such as are more rude and weak Is it not the formâ—r whom they suppose to have the gift of conceiving Prayer And do they not suppose the latter to be at present destitute of that gift and as Bp. Wilkins expresses it to need Forms as impotent people do crutches they do indeed say the spirit of prayer i. e. a devout and praying disposition is given in some measure to all the children of God But they do not suppose therefore that all who have the spirit of prayer have the gift also but the quite contrary All that their words can be reasonably extended to import is That whereas there are manifold daily necessities of Christian Families which prescribed Forms cannot suit 't is a great infelicity to be unable to express our desires to God in those cases And therefore such as labour under that impotency shou'd be earnest to beg of God such an ability and gift so far as 't is necessary for their due discharge of this duty to the edification and comfort of their Familys that they ought in order to the attainment of it to cherish the spirit of Prayer i. e. those devout desires and affections which the spirit of God communicates in some measure to all his children according to their various necessities and which cannot but be greatly hindred and dampt when our inability confines us wholly to the use of Forms which cannot suit the particular condition of our selves and Families And they suppose that such an ability to pray sutably to our particular necessities is one of the ordinary gifts of the H. Spirit which private Christians shou'd beg of God and have encouragement to hope for so far as 't is necessary to their complyance with his general commands of making known their requests to him in every thing in the diligent use of such helps as they are furnisht with and frequent exercising themselves in this excellent duty Their words also do imply that the more we grow in a devout and praying disposition the more easily may we attain some measure of that Gift since out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and the more we feel our own spiritual necessities the more easily dos the pinching sense of 'em supply us with expressions and arguments in pleading with God for relief of ' em And as this is all that can be drawn from their words without offering violence to 'em so 't is no more than as I have shewn him Bp. Wilkins asserts and if his Lp. have any thing to object against any of these Assertions which are genuinely deduc'd from their words I shall be very glad to hear it But for the Position he ascribes to that Assembly as laid down and expounded by him 't is his own and not theirs And therefore 't is he is concern'd to prove it and seems not to deal so ingenuously as he shou'd in insulting so scornfully over his own man of straw For all his grave Reasonings concern no avowed Principle of the Dissenters and his discourse from p. 46. to p. 57. on this head is so far from being grateful and instructive to the Readers of all sorts as he imagins p. 49 that it rather nauseates all judicious Readers to find his Lp. when he pretends to explain these matters and set 'em in so clear a light so miserably confound those 2 things the Spirit and Gift of Prayer which all accurate Writers on both sides so carefully distinguish and must necessarily do so unless they have a mind to fight with shadows and contend in the dark without understanding one another And therefore because he may despise our Instructions I wou'd desire his Lp. before he writes any more on this subject to read the 3 first Chapters of Bp. Wilkins Gift of Prayer which he
one or the other way more convenient nay the general Rule of doing all to Edification may perhaps in some cases oblige men to the one and in some to the other I might say the same concerning singing in Prose or Meetre Reading a larger entire portion of Scripture without Exposition or a lesser with it c. So that in these cases wise men are very cautious on what grounds they go when they censure the Worship of others as unlawful or charge it with sinful human Inventions and confident Accusers do but usually betray their own Ignorance 2. We that are Christians shou'd chiefly attend to the Rules and Examples of the New Testament for our direction in the Worship of God For those of the Old Testament no farther concern us than as any Rules deliver'd there belong to the Moral Law and the Reason of such Examples equally extends to us as it did to them And indeed to urge the Precepts or Patterns of the Worship us'd under the Old Testament any farther were to bring us again under the Mosaical Pedagogy And as I hope None will deny me these 2 reasonable Postulata so the usefulness of 'em in these Enquiries will appear in many of the Remarks on the following Chapters which I shall now address my self to the consideration of Remarks on the 1 Chapter concerning Praises ANd here I shall so far observe the same method his Lp. has laid down as First to consider the directions of Scripture concerning this part of Divine Worship and then the Application his Lp. makes of 'em to the manner of performing it in the Establisht Church and in the Dissenters Congregations First As to the Directions of the H. Scriptures concerning this part of Divine VVorship I shall offer what follows as the Result of the most diligent Enquiry I cou'd make and hope 't is a juster as well as clearer Account than that his Lp. has given There are but these 2 ways of offering our publick Praises to God enjoyn'd in the New Testament viz. either by Singing Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs or by Thanksgiving without vocal Melody I. As to Thanksgiving without vocal Melody I wou'd observe 1. VVe have most express command for it as one principal stated part of our publick VVorship 1 Tim. 2.1 I exhort therefore that first of all Supplications Prayers Intercession and giving of thanks be made for all men c. And this part of VVorship was usually joyn'd with that of Prayer Thus 4 Phil. 6. In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God So 4 Col. 2. 1 Thes 5.17 18. And accordingly Blessing or Giving of Thanks is mention'd as one stated part of the Devotions of Christian Assemblies 1 Cor. 14. v. 16. And that those Thanksgivings were different from Psalms or Songs is hence evident both because they were to be varied according to their different occasions for 'em from the mercies they daily receiv'd which such Psalms or Songs cou'd not be For those are always suppos'd to be a sett invariable form of words and because they were ordinarily intermixt with publick Prayer 2. For the matter of these Publick Thanksgivings the New Testament chiefly directs us to insist on those peculiar mercies of God to us thro a Mediator which the Gospel most clearly reveals to us and of which there is either none or but very obscure mention made in any Forms of Thanksgiving recorded in the Old For if we go thro all the solemn Thanksgivings that occur in the New Testament we shall find 'em to run in a strain as much sublimer than that of those in the Old as that clearer transcends that obscurer Revelation How sutable to the Evangelical dispensation is that Thanksgiving of the Ap. Paul 1 Eph. 3.4 5 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blest us with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly things in Christ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we shou'd be holy and blameless before him in love Having predestinated us to the Adoption of children by Christ to himself c. Or that of the same Inspired Writer 1 Col. 12 13. c. Of the same strain is that of the Ap. Peter 1 Ep. 1 Ch. 3 4 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an Inheritance incorruptible undefil'd and that never fades away reserv'd in Heaven for us c. See 1 Rev. 5.6 unto him that lov'd us and wash't us from our Sins in his own Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests to God c. 5 Rev. 13 14 c. These are certainly the best Patterns after which our publick Thanksgivings in Christian Assemblies shou'd be drawn And no Thanksgivings recorded in the Old Testament do so expresly and clearly mention these inestimable blessings of the New-Covenant or the matchless love of our God and Saviour in the manner of conferring 'em as these recorded in the New and consequently our praises shou'd ordinarily as to the very matter of 'em greatly differ from and go beyond those us'd in the Jewish Church 3. We read of no other part the people had in these publick thanksgivings in the New Testament more than their adding their Amen to ' em So much these words of the Ap. Paul imply 1 Cor. 14.16 Else when thou shalt bless with the Spirit how shall he that occupies the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks All Expositors on the place refer it to the custom of the peoples saying Amen at the end of publick prayers and praises I might produce the testimony of Justin Martyr and other ancient Christian Writers of the 3 first Centuries to this purpose but since the Bishop seems to allow this Exposition p. 42. I need insist no farther on it here And 't is the more requisite to take notice of this way of praysing God by Thanksgivings without vocal melody because the Bp. seems to confound it with that other way of praysing God with Psalms and from which 't is plainly distinguish'd And this leads me to consider II. The Prayses the New Testament requires us to offer unto God by Singing And what was to be thus sung we may learn from those 2 passages of the Ap. Paul cited by the Bishop 5. Eph. 19. and 3 Col. 16. viz. Psalms Hymns and spiritual Songs or Odes On which passages I wou'd make the following Remarks I do fully agree with the Bishop that this Passage of the Apostle's do's warrant our use of the Psalms of David in our publick praises because 't is highly probable the word Psalms refers to ' em But then I must add 't is no less probable that the Apostle do's by Hymns and spiritual songs intend others besides those of H. David
general wou'd he take this well If not why dos he forget our Saviours Rule not to do others what he wou'd not they shou'd do to him 6 Luke 31. But as it is sufficient to justifie our disuse of Responses that we have neither Precept nor Example for their being us'd in a Christian Church so he has the least reason to blame any weak Dissenters for censuring 'em as unlawful since he has put the most dangerous Argument to Prove 'em so into their mouths and if I did not know his Principle to be erroneous I shou'd joyn with 'em in that censure As to Church-Musick I shall only add That what is commonly us'd in the Cathedrals seems at least to be very suspicious and hardly consistent with the Rules of the Ap. 1 Cor. 14 11 15 26. which I mention'd before and this sort of Musick has indeed been severely censur'd by many Protestant Divines at home and abroad nay by many Papists themselves who confess it to be unknown in the Church in its purest Ages and but a late invention which those that trace it the farthest referr no higher than Pope Vitalian's time about the year 690 but others make it of a much later date Aventinus and Anoimus in their Histories mention Organs as a Rarity never seen in France or Germany before the 7th Century Nor were they in general use in Aquiuas * Aq. Sec. 2dae Q. 91. Art 2. ad 4. his time as Cajetan observes upon his so freely declaring his judgment against ' em Even Erasmus himself who tho he favour'd the Reformation yet was cautious and slow enough in his advances towards it cou'd not forbear to complain of this in the Romish Church as an abuse which he thought needed to be reform'd as both unsutable to the gravity and solemnity of Christian Worship and needlesly expensive by introducing a crew of chargeable creatures into the Church to no good purpose or rather to an ill one His words on 1 Cor. 14. are these Operosam quandam theatricam Musicam in sacras aedes induximus tumultuosum diversarum vocum garritum qualem non opinor in Graecorum aut Romanorum Theatris unquam auditum fuisse In hunc usum magnis salariis aluntur puerorum greges quorum aetas in perdiscendis hujusmodi gannitibus consumitur Tantis sumptibus oneratur Ecclesia ob rem pestiferam c. We have brought a cumbersome theatrical Musick into our Churches a confus'd noise of many voices such as I think was never heard in the Greek or Roman Theaters For which purpose whole Troops of Boys are maintain'd at great charge whose time is wasted in learning this Gabbling Such expence is the Church burden'd with for a thing that is but mischievous c. I wou'd therefore advise his Lp. to be more cautious of censuring their Opinion who make such Musick in the Worship of God unlawful as against nature and Scripture and on that account a dangerous superstition and encroachment on Christian liberty For as to the Scripture it has certainly no foundation there in any precept or example that concerns us Christians and sure he dos not imagin that the light of Nature dictates such Musick in the Worship of God for then he must make it more necessary than he himself pretends to do And it looks more like superstition according to his own notion of it to introduce such Musick into the Church without any scriptural ground And he may be sure the Dissenters are not the more fond of it for being one of Pope Vitalian's inventions and retain'd among us in conformity to the practice of the Romish Church I confess if any use of Organs be allowable 't is that in the Parish-Church of directing the people into the Tune of the Psalms they sing and 't is on that account chiefly that the Reverend Mr. Baxter thinks 'em lawful and allowable But as this very use of 'em is certainly destitute of any scriptural precept or pattern obligatory to us Christians so however others may entertain a more charitable opinion of 'em yet the Bp if he will be consistent with himself must condemn 'em as a human Invention and to use his Countreymen's phrase must turn the Whistles out of the Kirk Remarks on the Second Chapter concerning Prayer AND here according to his Lp's method we must consider 1. The Directions of the H. Scriptures in reference to this part Religious Worship Of which it will be necessary to give a fuller and more exact account than his Lp. has done and to shew how far I agree with or dissent from that he has given And here I shall trace his steps and consider what occurs to this purpose in the Old Testament and the New First for the Old Testament I. I grant him that in some particular cases God did recommend to the Jews a Form of Words in their Addresses to him Such a Form that Confession he mentions seems to be which the people were to make when they entred into the Land of Canaan upon their offering the first-fruits 26 Deut. 3.5 Such a Form also was the Prayer mention'd in the same Chapter v. 13 14 15. which was to be presented by him that gave the third years tyths And by the way it may be observ'd that neither of these Forms related to the publick Worship celebrated on their weekly Sabbath Such a Form of Blessing I doubt not that mention'd 6 Numb 23. was And 't is highly probable that Form of words was repeated in the several Removes of the Ark 10 Numb 35. But then I must add that for the other passages he alledges as Instances of Forms They are either only directions as to the matter of Prayer or no Instances of Forms at all but rather of free or as he calls 'em extempore-extempore-prayers Thus 't is not reasonable to understand the words of Joel 1 ch 14. 2 ch 17. of any more than the Prophet's suggesting to 'em sutable matter of Complaint and Supplication For sure he cannot imagine that the Prophet intended they shou'd repeat only those few words when they were to sanctify a Fast and call a solemn Assembly If indeed the Prophet had made mention of a Liturgy they had already and had charg'd 'em to add these words as a new Form to it These instances had been something to the purpose but since there 's not the least intimation of any such thing we can no more conclude these words to be intended for a stated Form than those words form'd into Petitions which Ministers often in their Sermons suggest to the people when they instruct 'em in the duty of Prayer And I might on the same grounds say That all the patterns of Prayer in the Directory are prescrib'd Forms The same may be said as to the passage quoted from 14 Hos 2. On which place Dr. Comber from whom our Author seems to have transcrib'd the greatest part of this Section very boldly tells us Orig. and Vse of
e why dos he not lay aside all the Collects of the Common prayer-book that are certainly of human Invention and confine himself to the Psalter as his only Liturgy for prayer as well as praise What can excuse his using worse when he has better Or rather why shou'd he imagin 'em intended for forms of prose-prayer to us at all any farther than David's devout expressions may be us'd so far as they suit our case when the New Testament so largely instructs us to offer our prayers in so different a manner from that practis'd in the Old particularly with a more express reference to J. C rist as our great Mediator of Intercession nay when the Gospel more clearly furnishes us with sutable matter of Prayer by that â—uller Revelation it brings of the divine Will to us III. God was so far from confining the Jews to any stinted Liturgy that most of the prayers both private and publick recorded in the Old Testament are conceiv'd or free prayers without any sett or prescrib'd Forms Such were most of the private Prayers mention'd in the sacred History What prescrib'd form had Abraham's Servant when he so heartily prays 24 Gen. 12 13 for success in the errand on which his Master had sent him to fetch a Wife for his Son Isaac unless it had been compos'd for him by a spirit of prophecy Abraham's prayer 20 Gen. 17. was doubtless occasional and extempore So was Jacob's for deliverance from his Brother â—sau 32 Gen. 9 So are many of Moses on particular occasions of God's displeasure against the people 32 Exod. 11 12. c. 31 32 c. No doubt Hannah's Prayer for Children was of this sort and that too after she had obtain'd what she desir'd 1 Sam. 1.10 2 Sam. 1 c. Such was Hezekiah's when visited with sickness 38 Is 3. And such was Nehemiah's mention'd 1 ch 4 5 6 c. It were endless to produce all the particular instances of this kind And 't is plain these holy men wou'd have been at a sad loss how to address themselves to God on such occasions if they cou'd not have pray'd without a Book or had been ty'd to sett forms But they needed no Prompter when their necessities suggested arguments and expressions and out of the abundance of the heart their mouths spake For Publick Prayers there are no less clear Instances of such as were conceived or free even after the Psalms of David were penn'd which the Bp. imagines to have been the Jewish Liturgy Such was that Excellent Prayer of Solomon's upon the Dedication of the Temple 1 Kings 8.22 Such was that of Asa when that vast Ethiopian Host came against him 2 Chron. 14.11 such was that of Jehosaphat on a like occasion 2 Chron. 20.5 c. That of Hezekiah in reference to Rabshekah's blasphemous Threats was an Instance of either private or publick free Prayer 36 Is 15 16. Of the same kind was Ezra's 9 Ezra 5 6 7. The Confession in Nehemiah 9 ch 5 6 7. c. is not taken from any precedent Form but wholly new And yet 't is evident that in most of these cases those Holy Men might have made up Forms of Prayer for those occasions out of H. Davids ' words in some of the Psalm prayers but they chose rather to offer up such Prayers as the serious sense of their present case did suggest to 'em and that made 'em ready suppliants to God for Relief without the need of seeking out a prescrib'd Form for their purpose Now as the Bp. may safely infer from God's having recommended a Form of words in Prayer in reference to some cases that prayer by a set Form is not in it self unlawful so I may much more infer from these more numerous Instances of free prayers That our prayers according to the Examples of these H. Men shou'd be accommodated to our several particular occasions and necessities and therefore 't is so far from being unlawfull to use conceived or free prayers without any prescribed Form that to tye up our selves to such sett and prescribed Forms will not ordinarily answer the frequent Calls which we have in the Providence of God to this holy Duty by such various Emergency's as no sett Forms can Exactly suit Nay whereas the Bp. can infer no more from his Instances then that when God prescribes us a Form we shou'd use it and he approves our doing so we may from these Examples last produc'd with equal reason infer that we may use free prayer in those occasions in which God has not prescribed us any such Forms and that he do's approve this way of addressing our selves to him with such Prayers as the feeling of our own necessities and consideration of our particular case dos prompt us to offer I shall only add That if there be no Evidence of such a stinted Liturgy in the Jewish we can much less expect any proof of one in the Christian Church because such a Liturgy if necessary at all was much more so under the Old Testament when there was not such an abundant Effusion of the H. Spirit in his Graces and Gifts as now under the New Nay if the Jewish Church had no stinted Liturgy prescribed by God much less had any uninspired men any power given 'em to prescribe one and confine all publick Administrations to Forms of their own Composure But this will lead me to consider the Directions Secondly Of the New Testament And here I shall first consider those 2 things the Bp. insists on and then shall propose some farther account of the directions that occur in reference to the mode of Praying in this part of the H. Scriptures I. I shall consider those 2 things the Bp. insists on in favour of Praying by prescrib'd Forms 1. I think it says he certain that our Saviour and his Apostles prayed by a Form for they joyn'd in the Worship of the Temple and Synagogues which consisted in Psalms as I have already shew'd and in some certain Forms of Prayers added to 'em and constantly us'd in their daily service as we learn from those that give an Account of the Jewish Worship at that time Now our Saviour and his Apostles being frequently prâ—sent at their service both in the Temple and Synagogues 't is manifest they approv'd their manner of addressing themselves to God by sett Forms p. 30. 31. Answ That our Saviour and his Apostles pray'd by a Form when they us'd the psalm prayers there is no doubt and so do all those that sing ' em That there was a stinted Liturgy besides or a collection of Forms of prose-prayer to which the publick Administrations were confin'd to the exclusion of occasional free Prayer the Bp. has no where prov'd and the contrary is far more probable from many instances of such free-prayer in the Old Testament which I have before alledg'd Nay shou'd we to oblige his Lp grant him that some forms of prose-prayer were ordinarily us'd in the Jewish Worship tho
of Prayer And the words of our Lord seem to recommend it also as a fit Compendium and Summary of our Desires Tho that it was so strictly intended for a Form as that all alteration of the words in it shou'd be so dangerous as the Bp. suggests I do not see And 't is strange he shou'd no better ward off the common objection against this conceit viz. That the words of the Prayer are not the same in the 2 Evangelists For tho we shou'd allow him that trespasses and debts are the same in the Syriack yet sure he cannot be ignorant that not only are the words different in the 4th Petition but what is more material the Doxology is left out in the Evangelist Luke where our Saviour's words seem more express for the use of this Prayer Nay 't is pleasant that his Lp. shou'd to aggravate the danger of altering the words compare it to the danger of altering those of our Creed p. 35. As if he did not know that the words of it have been frequently alter'd that no writer in the 3 first Centuries has the Creed call'd the Apostle's in the same words that we have now and that the Forms we meet with in Ignatius Irenaeus Tertullian Origen Cyprian and Gregory Neocaesar are all in different words nay in some Forms several Articles are inserted that are not in others Nay in the Creed as we have it no doubt the Article of Christ's descending into Hell shou'd be alter'd as to the words of it because we do not commonly take Hell for the invisible state which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was design'd to express I confess 't is something more formidable when he compares the danger of altering the words in the Lord's-Prayer to that of changing the word given by the General in a Battel p. 35. Tho where the wit or sense of the comparison lies I cannot imagine unless his Lp. thinks the bare words of that Prayer to be as frightful to the Infernal Fiends as some crafty Priests have pretended the Name or Psalter of the Virgin Mary is but apprehends those our spiritual enemies will resume their courage if we make the least change in ' em I shall only add here That his Lp. has not produc'd any other instance of a prescrib'd Form of Prayer in the New Testament besides this He dos indeed p. 50. tell us That Christ in his Agony repeated a verse of the 22d Psalm and as some believe says he the whole Psalm by which Act he recommends to us Forms of Prayer with his dying breath as the most proper means of expressing our condition to God and as most sutable to the divine Majesty To which I shall only return this brief Answer That his Lp. wou'd have done well first to have told us what grounds any have to believe that our Saviour repeated the whole Psalm and if he did not how the repeating one verse of it so applicable to his present case shou'd be a proof of his using a form of Prayer at all and much more how it shou'd prove his recommending such forms to us with his dying breath c. As if a man might not in a free prayer choose out and apply some scriptural expressions to his own case Indeed the words he quotes are not properly a Prayer at all and if they were look altogether as like an instance of occasional free-prayer so that if I wou'd argue at this loose rate I might with as good reason pretend that our Lord recommended extempore-prayers with his dying breath c. II. The Bp. has not produc'd the least evidence of Christ's enjoyning or recommending to Christian Churches the use of stinted Liturgys even as to the ordinary publick Prayers which they are to offer up So that tho the same matters of Prayer constantly occur in that duty when publickly offer'd especially in the celebration of Baptism and the Ld's-Supper yet neither dos our Saviour nor his Apostles prescribe any stated forms for ' em Whereas if our Lord had judg'd 'em so necessary or so highly useful as some pretend Nothing cou'd have been more conducive to have fixt the use of 'em and prevented all corruptions in 'em as well as scruple about 'em than to have furnisht the Church with a Divinely inspired Liturgy Nay what is more considerable Christ and his Apostles content themselves with giving us general commands to pray and with all prayer and suppliâ—ation for all men c. but never gave the least order to the Pastors of the Church to compose forms of Prayer for publick Worship in those Churches that were planted and settled under the care of ordinary Teachers who had not the same immediate Inspiration as the Apostles themselves Dos not this plainly imply that they took not such an imposed Liturgy to be necessary to the Churches Edification and Peace but rather suppos'd that the ordinary occasions of publick Prayer were too various and different to be confin'd to such sett and prescrib'd forms If it be pretended there was no need of their prescribing such Forms when the Jewish Liturgy was still extant and us'd I answer That not to repeat what has been objected against the pretensions of a stinted Liturgy among the Jews I hope none can imagin that a Jewish Liturgy cou'd be sutable to the Christian Oeconomy after our Saviour's Ascension in the Christian Churches that were planted by the Apostles So that if a Liturgy in general were necessary to the Christian Church there was the greater reason why they shou'd have substituted one in the room of the Jewish in the Churches they settl'd Since then they no way so much as recommend such a Liturgy but left even ordinary Pastors to the free exercise of their own abilities in Prayer as well as in other parts of their publick ministrations We may with great probability infer that they judg'd it more conducive to Edification that the Pastors of Churches shou'd use those ordinary gifts wherewith they were furnisht for the performance of this duty without being ty'd up to any sett-forms And accordingly those that have been most anxiously concern'd to find out fixed and stinted Liturgys in the 3 first and purest Ages of Christianity have but lost their labour and have but trifled with us in their most confident pretences to discover such Liturgys As appears by Mr. Clerkson's Discourse of Liturgys and Mr. S B's Examination of Dr. Comber's Answer in his Scholastical History of the use of Liturgys III. 'T is evident That the general Rules of Scripture cannot be duly observ'd by those that pray no otherwise than by a sett Form of Words They command us to pray with all Prayer and Supplication and for all men In every thing to make known our Request to God 6 Eph. 18. 4 Col. 6. 1 Tim. 2.1 c. Now 't is evident there is a vast variety of occasions and emergencys in which we shou'd apply our selves to God by Prayer which it cannot be expected any
Lp. has sufficiently wrong'd the Dissenters by falsly imputing such a Principle to 'em so he has greatly added to the injury by telling the world That on this account the pious custom of training up young people to a constant course of Devotion in their morning and evening secret prayers is too universally laid aside among the Dissenters as he has found by experience and for the truth of the observation he saith he dare appeal to all of the Dissenters Answ What is it that a man who is grown remarkable for his Talent of asserting boldly dare not venture on But sure he cannot hope by meer confidence to persuade us out of our senses And therefore since he appeals to us in this matter we must needs tell him We take what he asserts to be contrary to undoubted matter of Fact For we know of no Protestants in the world that more universally urge all in their Families to constant secret prayer than the Dissenters And we cou'd wish there were proportionably to the numbers on each side one of their Communion for five or ten of the Dissenters that maintain daily Family-prayer I know comparisons are odious and therefore shou'd never have made this if his Lp's gross partiality had not extorted it who in this charge has seem'd to lay aside all regard to truth or indeed to any appearance and shew of it It were very desirable that some of our Convocations wou'd take as effectual a course to promote secret and Family-devotion as that General Assembly in Scotland on whose words he wou'd have obtruded his first pretended Principle of the Dissenters who not only advise all particular persons to prayer and meditation but enjoyn Pastors to press it on all under their charge and the Heads of Familys to have a care that both themselves and all within their charge be daily diligent therein Directions c. p. 1. And I can hear of no Ministers that so frequently urge this duty on their People as theirs Nor do I know of any among the Dissenters that scruple the teaching their children the Lord's Prayer or other short Forms tho they may perhaps take more pains than others to prevent their saying 'em by rote without understanding ' em But I wonder much what his Lp. means when he tells us so gravely p. 64. As for children and ignorant people among those of this persuasion I am well assured many of 'em never bow their knees in secret to God and several of those that are grown up are forc'd to speak aloud or cannot pray at all which is against the nature of secret-prayer and exposes not only the person that uses it to the censure of hypocrisy but the duty to contempt I shall not now enquire how he is assur'd of what they do or do not in secret Nor need he sure be told that there are too many children and ignorant people in their Communion as well as that of the Dissenters that after all the pains taken to persuade 'em to their duty do yet neglect it But sure there is some strange mystery in what he asserts of those that are grown up if we cou'd but find it out Dos hâ—s Lp. then imagin that praying without a Form must necâ—ssâ—rily dispose a man to speak loud whereas if he pray'd by a Form it wou'd oblige him to whisper his devotions softly Or wou'd a conforming Lay-man that 's unaccustom'd to secret Prayer be less liable to this inconvenience of bawling out because he has his Prayer book before him Sure one wou'd think there 's as little danger of this in conceived prayer in which we need not foâ—m our dâ—sires into words or use our voice at all But if his Lp. in this only design'd to â—ell us of the weakness that some indiscreet persons have run into perhaps thro their zeal and earnestness tho ill-govern'd but which their opinion or practice as Dissenters has no influence on Why dos he trouble the world with such little impertinent storys as signify nothing to the purpose unless it be to expose his way of arguing to be smil'd at by the children and ignorant people themselves But what trifling things may not a wise man say when he pleads the Cause of a Party instead of that of Truth For his Lp's Third Principle of Dissenters viz. That the Minister is the Mouth of the Congregation and that the people have nothing to do but to joyn with him in their hearts I shall only suggest concerning it That 't is true we think the Minister is the Mouth of the Congregation and can find neither precept or pattern in Scripture for the Congregation's repeating a whole prayer together with the Minister much less of their so dividing the words between 'em as that the people rather make the Prayer as in most Petitions of she Litany nor dos the passage he alledges from 15 Rom. 6. prove any such thing And therefore on his weak Principles we might condemn their practice in this point as unlawful But we are far from being so rash and forward in our blind censures as he groundlesly insinuates p. 66. Nor do we as he here asserts suppose that the people have nothing to do but to joyn in their hearts with the Minister but suppose their adding their Amen a fit testimony of their assent to the publick Prayers they joyn in and he may in the Morning-Exerciâ—es of the Dissenting Ministers Printed at London find a whole Sermon on that head urging the people to pronounce their Amen more audibly than usually they do Having examin'd his Lp's unjust Account of their Principles I think it requisite to add a few things relating to Secondly Their general practice Concerning which I shall only suggest 1. Such as follow the Directory tho they are not confin'd to the words there propos'd yet look on 'em as the patterns to which the ordinary part of their Prayers shou'd be conform'd And accordingly The Directory dos require Ministers to pray to that effect Nor dos it disallow the use of those very expressions where the defectiveness of the Minister's Gifts or his unpreparedness by meditation renders it most conducive to publick edification So that neither are such Ministers left arbitrarily to choice as to the most stated and constant matters of Prayer nor the people left wholly at uncertainty about ' em 2. All Forms of Words in publick Worship are not disus'd by ' em They constantly use our Saviour's words 2 S Matth. 19. I Baptize thee in the Name c. in that Ordinance So do they retain his own words in the delivering the Bread and the Cup in the Lord's-Supper tho by the way our Service-Book has groundlesly alter'd and transform'd 'em into a Prayer for which I hope his Lp. will censure the Compilers of it as having preferr'd their own Invention before Christ's Institution So when they give the Blessing which is a Prayer they do it usually in some of the Apostolical Forms mention'd in the New
in the Western as well as Eastern Churches for some Ages till by the Artifices and Tyranny of the Popes all or most of the Western Churches were reduc'd to a Conformity herein to that of Rome whose Publick Offices had frequent Additions to 'em and Changes in ' em And therefore 't is no wonder that when our first Reformers began to oppose the Corruptions of Popery they should yet retain the use of Liturgies For the Clergy were at that time so generally over-spread with deplorable Ignorance that it was not to be expected that those of 'em that embrac'd the Reformation should be immediately qualify'd to pray without Forms to which they had never been accustomed They were so far from being capable of that that they were judged generally unfit to instruct the People and therefore Homilies were composed for their use as well as Liturgies But as when by the Revival and Increase of Learning the Clergy generally acquir'd better Abilities and so Homilies were gradually laid aside the strong having no more need of such Crutches so the same might have been expected in reference to Prayer as well as Preaching And accordingly the Dissenters in England and the Presbyterians in Scotland did gradually revive the practice of praying without a stinted Liturgy And those in France and Holland that retain some few short Forms yet leave their 2Ministers at liberty to exercise their Gifts in free-occasional-Prayer and look on such stinted Liturgies as exclude this Exercise of the Ministers Abilities as too great an Encouragement to Sloth and Ignorance in ' em Insomuch as the foresaid Capellus when upon the like mistake with our Author he so sharply chides the N. C's in England for condemning Forms of Prayer as Vnlawful yet does he warmly censure the rigour of such as under pretence of certain and prescribed Forms of Liturgies study to banish out of the Church all use of Prayers conceived by particular Ministers Themselves and disowns this from being his Design So that the main Reason why our first Reformers retain'd Liturgies does not extend to such a state of the Church wherein the Learning and Abilities of Ministers are or should be so improv'd as to set 'em as much above the need of stinted Forms of Prayer as of Preaching And accordingly those Churches whose Reformation was carried to the greatest height did not by any Forms of Prayer they retain'd to express their Concord in that Duty exclude the use of free-Prayer Nor do any Dissenters condemn all publick use of Forms but only such as tempts Ministers to a neglect of the Gift of Prayer and hinders 'em from suiting all the Exigencies and Occasions of their Flocks in that part of their Publick Devotions For the Bishop's Reason why the generality of the People are better pleas'd with Extemporary Prayers than with such Forms viz. Because the Novelty of the one gratifies more Men's carnal and itching Ears with a kind of sensual delight and requires less pains to strain up their Minds to true Devotion p. 184 185. 'T is a very confused one wherein there is something of Truth mixt with weak and censorious Mistakes 'T is true indeed that considering the general temper of Mankind the Variety of Matter as well as of Expression in free Prayer tends more to raise Mens Devotion than the constant Repetition of the same Forms Nor can the People so readily believe that a Minister prays from his heart when he reads a prescribed Form as when he delivers a free Prayer that is the result of his previous meditation So that in this respect free Prayer has much the Advantage above Forms that 't is a greater Help to inward Devotion which is sufficient to recommend this mode of praying as in general far preferrable to the other There is something of Truth in those Expressions of Sir W. C. * Character of a Whig and Tory p. 20. tho' perhaps there is too much of the Air of a Gentleman in 'em When a Man qualify'd endu'd with Learning too and adorn'd with a good Life breaks out into a warm and well-deliver'd Prayer before a Sermon it has the appearance of a Divine Rapture He raises and leads the Hearts of the Assembly in another manner than the most composed and best studied Forms can do And the Pray-we's wou'd look like so many Statues or Men of Straw in the Pulpit compar'd with those who speak with so powerful Zeal that men are tempted to believe Heaven it self has directed their Words to ' em But why the Bp. should make it a carnal temper in the People to desire the best Helps that can be given 'em to excite their Devotions in Prayer and cure their natural indisposition to that Duty I cannot conceive It looks rather like a carnal temper in the Clergy to deny 'em this excellent Help to indulge their own Sloth and Ease Nor do I see why the People must be accus'd of itching Ears because they are prone to be more dull under the constant Repetition of the same Forms than under the Variety of Matter and Expression that occurs in free Prayer He might as well upbraid 'em with itching Ears because they wou'd be more dull in singing if the same Psalm and Tune were constantly used than when Variety of both is allow'd 'em or because they wou'd be more dull if the same Homilies were constantly read than under that more grateful variety of Instructions that Sermons contain But I wonder most why his Lordship shou'd in this respect compare free Prayer to Images and Relicks and Mediatory Saints p. 185. unless he fancies that the use of Images Relicks and Mediatory Saints does as much more contribute to raise true Devotion in the Worship of God than the simplicity of his own Uncorrupted Institutions as the use of free Prayer contributes more to it than stinted Forms And if he truly think so the Papists are greatly obliged to his Lordship for this favourable Character of the tendency and effects of these Superstitions But if his Lordship had duly consider'd that while free-Prayer continu'd in the Church these Superstitions were unknown in it and that they were gradually introduc'd in the same Ages in which stinted Liturgies gradually came into general use it might have prevented this invidious but groundless comparison between the influence of free Prayer and that of those gross Corruptions I am sure such stinted Forms when read out of a Book look more like lifeless Images of Devotion than those Prayers that are the result of the serious Meditations and Affections of him that delivers ' em And if the fondness of Ill People for any way of Devotion be an Argument that 't is not of God as the Bishop farther insinuates p. 185. I am apt to think it will make much more against stinted Liturgies than against free Prayer For he will hardly be able to perswade us that the Debauchee's of the Age dote on Extempore Prayers as he calls 'em and that the most serious