expose us to contempt and loathing to harden Mens hearts against a just Reformation to make those who are reformed grow sick and weary and ashamed of the distracted unsetledness and ungovernableness of such people Who like nothing but what is unlike to all the Churches of Christ that have been in the World till this last unhappy Age. This cannot proceed from the Blessed Spirit of Grace which cannot lead Men to destroy the Church which Christ hath purchased by his Blood Which it is evident cannot be preserved much less promoted but by a due regard to those who are over us in the Lord and by adhering closely to such an Authentick Constitution as that of this Church which is the genuine Off-spring of the Apostles declaring nothing to the people but the true sense of the Ancient Apostolick Church throughout the World Which alwayes had such Governours of a superiour Order and Degree to other Ministers as we have such Prayers such Hymns in a word such a Face of Religion as is here seen in this our Church of England And may be seen Blessed be God in other Reformed Churches particularly in those called Lutheran who as Chemnitius tells us have had solemn Prayers every day and much after the same Order that is observed in ours His words are these Populus singulis diebus bis certa hora c. The people assemble every Day twice at a certain hour Exam. Concil Trident. Pars iv cap. ult Morning and Evening and after the singing of some Psalms Lessons are read in order partly out of the Old Testament partly out of the New And the Assembly concludes alwaies with Common Prayers and some Hymn of Thanksgiving And besides the people come together every Week on some certain Day in greater Multitudes to make Publick and Solemn Supplications which are called Letanies And so he proceeds to relate how they Worship God with the greatest Solemnity on the Lord's Dayes and upon special Festivals in memory of the great Benefits we have received on the Nativity Circumcision c. in short on all the Dayes now observed by our Church O that there were such an heart in us as instead of Wrangling and Disputing seriously to set our selves to make the best use we can of such Blessed Opportunities as God still affords unto us of meeting together every Day for his Worship and Service Especially upon Letany Dayes when there ought to be a fuller Congregation and more than ordinary Devotion One of those Dayes at least I should think every Devout Christian may easily see there is great cause to set apart every Week for Fasting and Humiliation together with Supplication and Prayer to the Divine Majesty that he would turn away his Anger from us Men are naturally too backward I know to such Holy Imployments and satisfie themselves that they have an Excellent Religion which they highly value without considering that they have so much the greater Obligation upon them to joyn frequently in the Holy Offices thereof Let that therefore for a conclusion be added to all the motives I have used in this Book to stir you up to the constant performance of this Duty that it will be the greatest shame to us if when they whose Religion is a false Worship have their constant Dayly Service and attend upon it we who have the truest Notions of God and the most Excellent Religion have less regard unto it by which means their Religion how corrupt soever it be is upheld and maintained and for want of this ours though never so pure must needs fall to decay For they that love the Religion they profess though it be not so sincere and perfect as it ought to be yet never fail to reap all the Benefits which it is able to afford and this among the rest that they keep their Religion by their unfeigned Love to it and Diligence in it Whereas the best and soundest Religion professed by those who bear not the like Affection to it yields those who thus retain it little or no benefit as Mr. Hooker hath observed and by degrees is lost for want of a due regard and earnest Affection to it We see this verified in Pagans Turks and Hereticks Who zealously attend upon the Publick Offices of their Religion and so continue their Sect. How comes their Religion to lead them to have frequent Assemblies and ours to make us neglect them But that they keep up their Love to their Religion such as it is and we have lost our first Love and so endanger the loss of our Religion For had we a sincere love to it we should be led by the Natural Dictates of it to attend upon its publick Offices that being the very first thing to which Religion inclines us and there to attend with all seriousness both to the Prayers and Hymns and to the Holy Scriptures which are then read unto us And therefore our Religion hath gone to decay because we have not minded publick Assemblies dayly but where they are kept up they are empty and thin or when they are full there are none of these Natural signs of Devotion in too many people which are among all Nations bended Knees Hands and Eyes lifted up to Heaven nay they do not attend to the Word of God there read but pass it by as a Tale that is told fancying I suppose it is never the Word of God but when it is preached that is spoken without Book These are not the Faults of all nor I hope of most among us But I have observed some of them especially the last of Whispering together all the time the Scriptures are read as if they were nothing but an empty sound in so many Persons from whose Understanding one would expect better things that I could not but take notice of such unbecoming Behaviour in the House of God Where I beseech God to awaken all his Ministers to perform their Duty with careful Diligence And all his People to Accompany them reverently in continual Prayers and Supplications to the Glory of His Great Name the Credit of our Holy Religion the Honour of this Church the Increase of all true Godliness and Vertue among us and the furtherance thereby of our Joyful Account and Happy Meeting in the Day of the Lord Jesus Amen THE END ERRATA PAge 30. l. 24. d. he p. 33. l. 20. for created r. erected p. 53. l. ult for enabled r. enobled p. 59. l. 7. r. 2dly This. p. 65. l. 11. for it r. he p. 106. l. 17. d. also p. 121. l. 3. after yet add p. 123. l. 9. after 19 add p. 168. l. 1. for times r. time p. 170. l. 22. for Rules r. Rule p. 184. l. 25. r. was as well performed any where as in the Church p. 185. l. 3. r. inlarge THE CONTENTS THE Introduction PART I. CHAP. I. OF the Nature of Prayer Page 1 CHAP. II. Of the Necessity of Prayer Page 10 CHAP. III. The sense of all Mankind about this matter especially of our Blessed Saviour Page 22 CHAP. IV. Other Arguments of the great Necessity of Prayer Page 32 CHAP. V. Some Reflections upon the foregoing Considerations Page 39 CHAP. VI. The Honour God doth us in admitting us into his Presence Page 49 CHAP. VII The Pleasure which springs from the serious performance of this Duty Page 61 CHAP. VIII The great Benefits we receive by serious Prayer to God 74 CHAP. IX The Three foregoing Chapters improved Page 85 PART II. CHAP. X. Publick Prayer the most necessary of all other Page 95 CHAP. XI God is most honoured by Publick Prayers Page 99 CHAP. XII Publick Prayers most advantagious unto us Page 115 CHAP. XIII Publick Prayers most sutable to the Nature of Man Page 135 CHAP. XIV The Nature of a Church requires there should be Publick Prayers Page 162 CHAP. XV. Our Blessed Saviour the Founder of the Church teaches us this Doctrine Page 168 CHAP. XVI Which is further confirmed by the Practice of the Apostles and the first Christians Page 177 CHAP. XVII Other Considerations to strengthen this Argument Page 192 CHAP. XVIII A Recapitulation of the four foreing Chapters with some Inferences from thence Page 206 CHAP. XIX Of Dayly Publick Assemblies and of Hours and Gestures of Prayer Page 222 CHAP. XX. Some Objections removed Page 244 THE END
of the Earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him what dost thou ver 34 35. And then concludes his Declaration in this manner Now I Nebuchadnezzar Praise and Extol and Honour the King of Heaven all whose works are Truth and his wayes Judgment and those that walk in Pride he is able to abase A Voice worthy of a King and worthy to be published throughout all the World and therefore he made the Declaration wherein it was contained to be sent to all People Nations and Languages that dwelt on all the Earth ver 1. that is throughout all his wide Empire to all the parts of the Earth where his Authority reached and his words would be reverenced that they might magnifie this great King of Heaven and Earth together with him That was the end of it and it is one of the most publick pieces of Devotition that we ever read was performed by any man arising out of this sense with which he was possessed in those Ancient times that God is to be Honoured Blessed and Extolled publickly among and by all People to whom he thought himself bound to show the Signs and the Wonders which the most High God had wrought towards him And How great saith he are his Signs and how mighty are his Wonders ver 3. He was not able to tell but made the best and the most ample Declaration of them that he could in this Imperial Decree which he caused to be proclaimed every where By all which we may easily be convinced in what gross Errors two sorts of people live First They who imagine that God may be served as well at home as at the Church Such men neither understand the Nature of God nor the Nature of Religion nor their own Nature which teach them quite otherwise And instruct them also to frequent the Publick Assemblies where they have opportunity so to do Secondly For that is another palpable Error to think that it is sufficient if we come on the Lord's Day to testifie that we do not forget God though all the Week beside we take no notice of him but constantly neglect his Publick Service when we are invited to it and have leisure to attend it We forget the many publick common Blessings we dayly need and dayly receive which ought to be as publickly every day implored and acknowledged in our Common Prayers Let the foregoing considerations be duly pondered and they will perswade you both out of Love to God's Honour and out of love to your own good to joyn as often as you can your Prayers Praises and Thanksgivings with the whole Church of God and to make our Assemblies as full as you can both on the Lord's Day and every Day of the Week Whereby you would declare your constant dependence on God and acknowledge how he dayly 〈◊〉 you with his Benefits and draw 〈◊〉 Publick Blessings in abundance upon the Church and Kingdom where you live and do credit to our Holy Religion which alas now looks in many places as if it were despised and not only do credit to it but both help to support it and also promote and propagate it to the Honour and Praise of the Almighty Lord of Heaven and Earth unto whom be Glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all Ages World without end Amen CHAP. XIV The Nature of a Church requires there should be Publick Prayers I Proceed now to the Third Head of Arguments whereby a Christian should be most of all moved to his Duty and that is to consider the Nature of the Church which both requires Publick Assemblies and makes the Service performed in them far more acceptable than Private Prayers can be And here let it be considered in general that the very word we translate Church in the Holy Scriptures signifies in the Greek Language an Assembly a company of persons met together and that publickly upon the publick business or occasions The first time but one we meet with this Word in the New Testament it is used in opposition to a single person alone by himself or to one or two more beside him Matth. xviii 15 16 17. If thy Brother trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone and if he will not hear thee take one or two more c. and if he neglect to hear them tell it to the Church that is to that solemn Assembly which sat to judge causes and unto which was the last resort so that if he did not hear them he was to be lookt upon as an Heathen Man and a Publican And the truth is it signifies any sort of Assembly or concourse of People which was among the Gentiles as well as the Jews For in the xix of the Acts when all the City of Ephesus was in an uproar and ran together into the Theatre crying up Diana this general concourse is thrice called their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Assembly ver 32. Some cryed one thing some another for the Assembly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was confused c. and ver 39. If you inquire of other matters it shall be determined in a lawful Assembly and ver 41. having thus spoken he dismissed the Assembly Now this being the very Notion of the word Church the Christian Church which Christ hath called is an Assembly of Men and Women met together to Worship God by him to give him Thanks for all his Benefits and to implore his Grace and Mercy to them and to all the World It is an Assembly or Company of Men as much as any other but our Saviour's Kingdom being not of this World the Assembly which he appoints is not to meet for Civil Ends and Purposes but for Religious And the great thing in all Religion is the Devout Worship of God and giving Him the Honour due unto his Name for which the Church i.e. Christian Assemblies being founded it is a clear demonstration that this Worship is not so well performed alone by our selves as in these Assemblies For here we act most like Christians that is like Members of the Body of Christ which is his Church With which whosoever doth not joyn he is no longer a Christian because he is not a Member of the Body of Christ which is a Company joyned together to have Fellowship with God and one with another in all Holy Duties of which Prayer Thanksgiving and Praises are the chief For though there they receive Christian Instruction yet that is not the principal business for which they assemble as appears by St. Paul's words to Timothy before-mentioned 1 Tim. ii 1. If we could make Christian people sensible of this they would immediately yield the Publick Worship of God to be that which of all other he most designs to have continued in the World and consequently be most affected towards it and constantly frequent it And how should they remain insensible of it if they would but consider duely that it is implied in their being
several pretious Gums made no other perfume than the Spices would have done had they been burnt one by one CHAP. XVII Other Considerations to strengthen this Argument VII GOD hath also appointed a publick order of Men to Direct and Govern Christian Assemblies and to Minister therein both by giving Christian Instruction and by offering up the Common Prayers of the Church to God and Blessing the people in his Name This is another convincing Argument both that Christ designed publick Assemblies because he hath appointed publick Ministers to officiate there and that the Prayers made there are to be preferred before private Devotions because there we partake of the Service of God's Ministers the benefit whereof we lose if we content our selves with what we do at home There is nothing more apparent in the Holy Writings than that our Lord would have such an order of men set apart for his Divine Service in the Church Whose ordination by his special appointment and designation is an assurance that their Ministry therein is acceptable to God as well when they offer the peoples Prayers to him and bless them in his Name as when they deliver his Word to the people and teach them both how to pray and to perform all other Duties of a Christian Life Both of these are necessary and their Office is designed for both But especially for the first to minister the Divine Service of the Church The principal of which is the Eucharist wherein they dispense the most pretious Tokens of Christ's Love to his Body the Church by Prayers and by Thanksgivings to God for the Redemption of the World by that Death of Christ upon the Cross Which ought to be publickly celebrated because it is an Annunciation oâ— the Lord's Death wherein we publish and show it forth till he come anâ— never was administred nor can be bâ— any other persons but those whom oâ— Lord hath intrusted to be Stewards 〈◊〉 his Mysteries For whose Prayers and Publick Seâ—vice in the Church if Men have not great esteem it is because they havâ— no Religion or no true Knowledgâ— thereof For if they believed thaâ— God hath any Ministers as he hath iâ— there be any such thing as Religion who are peculiarly sanctified that is set apart for his Service they would believe that God conveys some Bleâ—sings by their Ministry and look upoâ— their Ordination as a Seal that He whâ— hath thereby appointed them to be Instruments of his for the Salvation of Men's Souls will by these Instruments effect the thing whereunto he hath ordained them and particularly give Men his Blessing by their means and accept those Prayers which these Servants of his offer up unto him for them and in their Name For that praying for the People is a special part of their Work we may learn from St. James v. 14. where he directs those to whom he writes when any Man was sick to send for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him Which no less belonged to their Office we may be sure when Men were well than when they were sick being a part of their dayly ministration for the whole Body of the Church Whose weaker Prayers as I noted before out of St. Chrysostome being helped by the stronger Prayers of God's Ministers go up to Heaven together with them All Christians indeed are called A Holy and a Royal Priesthood to offer up Spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Christ Jesus 1 Pet. ii 5 9. but it is manifest by these very words that they are not so singly but in a Body when they Pray and give Thanks together with him that Ministers the Divine Service in the Church the Spiritual House of which the Apostle there speaks in which Spiritual Sacrifices were offered up to God And since Sacrifices were offered only in Publick in the place God appointed for them we may thence I think conclude that our Prayers Praises and Thanksgivings are then only Sacrifices when made in our Assemblies and that then we act as Priests unto God and not at other times The principal Sacrifice of Christians I am sure is in its own Nature a Publick Service and is to be so esteemed even when it is administred to the Sick in Private who receive it as part of that Body which is supposed continually to offer this Sacrifice I mean the Holy Communion wherein we offer to God with Prayers Praises and Thanksgivings a commemoration of the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross for us For this we ought all to meet as frequently as we can that we may conjunctly and openly acknowledge this benefit because though this be the principal and immediate intention of this action it hath respect also to that communion which we have one with another as mutual Members and with Christ our Head as his Body So the Apostle teaches us when he saith The Cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ The Bread which we break it is not the Communion of the Body of Christ For we being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all partakers of that one Bread 1 Cor. x. 16 17. And therefore since we are not Members of the same Body unless we be knit together in one and we are not knit together in one but by the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ and we cannot have that communion but by Assembling together to eat of one Bread and drink of one Cup it is manifest to all that there is the greatest necessity of Publick Assemblies where this is the chief business for which Christians should meet together in one Body as oft as is possible and at all other times beseech God to accept their Sacrifices for the sake of that perfect Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction which Christ hath made and which we commemorate Here also in the Publick Assemblies censures were inflicted upon publick Offenders as we learn from the Apostle 1 Corinth v. 4. as well as from Tertullian in his Apology cap. xxxix and many such like things I might add to the same purpose if I had room for them and had not other material considerations to press which ought not to be omitted VIII Among which this is not inconsiderable that the Publick Service of the Church by them ministred is so acceptable unto God that the Angels God's Heavenly Ministers attend in such Holy Assemblies and make a part of them For this is the Reason St. Paul gives 1 Corinth xi 10. why a Woman should cover her Head in time of Prayer that is be in a humble and reverend posture because of the Angels Whose presence in the Assemblies of Christians is a Token of Christ's Blessed Presence in the midst of them according to his own promise before-mentioned Matth. xviii 20. For where the Angels are said to be there God is present as the Hebrews observe and not without good ground for what they say For when Jacob saw Angels
of it is an Assembly of Men and Women called to meet together and therefore the Christian Church is such an Assembly called to joyn together in Worshipping God by Christ Jesus who himself hath supposed this in the Prayer he gave his Disciples and hath promised his special Presence in such Assemblies which the Apostles constantly held and there received the first and best Fruits of his Love in the descent of the Holy Ghost which drew all Converts every where into the same Blessed conjunction for which Holy Places were appointed where they constantly Assembled and where the extraordinary Gift of Prayer was to be made common or else lookt upon as of little value where God hath appointed his Ministers to attend and there offer up the Prayers of his people and bless them in his Name where the Angels also are present and delight to see us assembled that we may maintain the Communion of Saints here on Earth and be fitted for the company of the Blessed in Heaven who all joyn together in giving Blessing and Praise and Honour unto him whom we Worship who is far Exalted above all Blessing and Praise either of ours on Earth or of theirs in Heaven Consider I say all this and then think what an errour they live in who make little or no account of the Publick Assemblies but imagine they can pray and serve God as well by themselves alone This is a most unchristian thought directly contrary to the very frame of our Holy Religion which therefore ought with all diligence to be exploded out of every one of our minds As for those who do not barely neglect the Publick Service but refuse to joyn in it they are still in a far worse condition having broken themselves off from the Body of Christ which the Ancient Church thought so heinous a crime that they lookt upon their Prayers as an abomination For so I find in the Council of Antioch * Canon 2. that such Christians were condemned as going into any private House prayed together with those who would not joyn in the Prayers of the Church None of the Church were to joyn in their Prayers if any did they thought it equal to the crime of communicating with Excommunicated Persons The like I find in the Council of Laodicea And the Canons ascribed to the Apostles speak to the same purpose Can. 33. Can. 10. And this Sentence of those Councils is very conformable to the sense of the Ancient Jews whose Maxime this was as Mr. Thorndike * Relig. Assembl p. 173. observes He that dwells in a City where there is a Synagogue and prays not there with the Congregation this is he who is called a BAD NEIGHBOVR And well may he be called bad who will have no Society in the best things who cuts himself off by his own act from the Congregation of the Lord who will not afford his Neighbours the help of his Prayers who lives as if the World could be Governed without taking any notice of God the Supreme Governour who directly overthrows the Christian Religion and destroys the very notion of a Church who hath no regard to Holy places and slights God's Ministers who withdraws himself from God's special presence and protection and defies all the Blessed company of Heaven Among whom he can never hope to find any entertainment nor to be received into the Coelestial Habitations having shut himself here out of the Society of Saints and the place where God's Honour dwelleth Would to God such things as these were seriously and deeply considered by us all that our minds might be awaked to a diligent and constant attendance upon the Publick Assemblies Which our Lord hath taken the greatest care to establish and unto which he hath also granted very high Priviledges lest they should fall into contempt or neglect through Mens Idleness or Covetousness or Conceitedness or by any other means whatsoever Certain it is if we had an hearty Love to our Religion and understood it we could not but be so in Love with the Publick Exercises of it as every day if it lay in our power to go into God's house and there recommend our selves and his whole Church to his Grace and Mercy For there is no way it is evident from what hath been said to uphold and support the Church like to this we being a Church by meeting together to have communion in the same Prayers Which the oftner we have the more we look like a Church and act like Members of the Body of Christ who are combined and knit together for mutual preservation As on the contrary the seldomer we meet the less there is of the face of a Church among us which cannot be preserved from ruin when the Publick Assemblies are generally neglected because the Church falls to decay by that very neglect Let us therefore set our selves to maintain the Church of which we are Members by maintaining Publick Assemblies and suffering no day to pass without a solemn meeting in as full a Body as we can make for the duties of our Religion This would be both an Ornament and a Strength and Establishment to our Religion The Truth which we profess would hereby be both honoured and confirmed and appear with greater Authority as well as Beauty in the Eyes of all its Adversaries when they beheld the Multitude the Unanimity and the Order and Constancy of those that assert it The better and gentler sort of them would be the more easily won to joyn with us and they whose hearts are alienated from us would be the less inclin'd to set themselves against us And for the Grace and Favour of God which is the chief thing of all Christians may promise it to themselves for their protection against all their Adversaries when they constantly and earnestly seek it with their joynt Prayers and Supplications Which will be powerful also for the setling such as are wavering in their Religion whom the constant Authority likewise of a great Number of faithful people cannot but be of much moment to contain in their Duty for Men are ashamed to forsake a multitude when they easily desert small Numbers The Ancient Christians were so possessed with this sense that they lookt upon their Prayers as the impregnable Bulwark of the Church an unshaken Garrison terrible to the Devils and salutary to God's pious Worshipppers a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Chrysost Tom. 1. p. 757. Edit Fr. D. In so much that St. Basil speaking of God's gathering the Waters together which he called Seas and saw it was good Gen. i. 16. falls into a pious Meditation how much more acceptable to him such a Collection or gathering together of the Church must needs be b in Hexameron Hom. iv sub fin in which the mixed sound of Men Women and Children making a noise like the Waves dashing against the Shore is sent up to God in Prayers A profound Calm and Tranquillity shall preserve such
a Church unmoveable The Spirit of Wickedness shall have no power to trouble it with heretical Doctrines By which passage we learn both how full their Assemblies were wont to be and that the Prayers were understood by all the people who with one voice said the same that the Priest did as we now do in our general confession and that they hoped for great security from their common Supplications to God for his watchful Providence over them And thus our own Church in the second Collect for Morning Prayer by teaching us to look upon our Eternal Life as standing in the knowledge of God and to esteem his service to be perfect freedom inforces our resort unto him continually for our defence in that Service and Knowledge in all assaults of our Enemies The Effect of which it instructs us to hope will be this that we surely trusting in his defence may not fear the power of any Adversaries through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. This St. Chrysostome admirably represents Hom. in S. Lucianum Tom. 1. as his manner is in a Sermon upon an Ancient Martyr As a Man that alwayes stands upon a Rock laughs the Waves to scorn so he that enjoys the dayly Prayers and is moistned with the Divine Words having seated himself as upon the Rock of a right Judgment of things will be carried away with nothing here being raised alost out of the reach of all the Affairs of this Life And that not only from the goâ—â— admonitions he dayly receives but frâ—â—â— the Prayers and from the Paternal Beâ—diction and from the common conventiâ—â—â— and from the Love of the Brethren and from abundance of other things reaping much Benefit and Spiritual Consolatiâ—â— he goes home laden with a thousand Bâ—â—sings Insomuch that a Bride in 〈◊〉 opinion is not so beautiful and amiaâ—â—â— when she sits in her Bridal Chamber 〈◊〉 a Soul is wonderful and glorious whâ—â— it appears in the Church breathing forth Spiritual Graces which he comparâ—â— to fragrant Oyntments For he that iâ— conversant there with Faith and Diligence carries away innumerable Treâ—sures and though never so many dreadful things befall him he will bear them aleasily being sufficiently furnished out oâ— the Holy Scriptures with Patience and Philosophy He means the wise thoughts which the belief of the Gospel puts into us For which reason it was that the Enemies of our Religion bent their Forces not so much against particular persons as against their Assemblies which they indeavoured with all their might to destroy as the Nurseries of the Christian Faith Which being dispersed they doubted not but the Faith it self would be lost in that disorder They no longer lookt upon Christians as a Church when they did not meet together but as so many scattered Limbs of a Body which no longer subsists when the Members are distracted and torn asunder Against these strong holds therefore they laid their Batteries hoping when they were beaten down they should presently triumph over their Religion Which they knew it was hard to overcome whilst a great Body of Men remained knit together continually for its support by many Bonds and Holy Mysteries and the strictest Sacraments For which cause likewise it was that Christian people could not be perswaded to omit their Assemblies no not in time of Persecution when there was the greatest danger if they held them We learn so much from their very Persecutors particularly from the Famous Letter which Pliny wrote to the Emperour Trajan about this matter wherein we are informed that when it was not safe in the day time they met before the Morning Light to sing Hymns to Christ as their God To what shall we impute this Zeal Might they not have served God as well alone No they understood their Religion better than to be of that Opinion and knew it could not stand if they did not thus joyn together to uphold it Their Enemies they knew wisht for nothing more than that these Assemblies might be broken which whilst they continued were the Pillar and Stay of the Christian Truth And do we pretend to be Christians and to love our Religion and to desire nay hope for its safety and prosperity and make so little Account of these Holy Assemblies that the smallest matter will hinder our attendance on them Let us not against the clearest demonstrations persist in such a stupid error But awaken or rather inflame our selves unto such a degree of Zeal as to meet together dayly where we have opportunity for it to give Glory to God in his Church by Christ Jesus and to commend his Church as well as our selves and Families to the protection of his good Providence saying O Lord save thy People and bless thine Inheritance It cannot be imagined what satisfaction we should find herein did we make this our most serious business and instead of the excuses we now make for our negligence give all diligence thus to adorn confirm and secure our most Holy Religion It cannot be denied indeed that this hath been an Error of long standing For when the Church had rest from Persecution her Children began by degrees to grow remiss and wanton Prosperity and ease corrupted them and they cooled so much in their first love that many of them came but seldom to do their Duty unto God their Saviour But this was an extream great grief to their Pastors and brought the heaviest calamities upon Christian people Hear how the often named Father bewails this That the Church having brought forth many Children she could not enjoy their Company S. Chrysost de Baptism Christi Hom. xxiv Tom. 1. every time they assembled to remember our Saviour but only upon a Festival When you are all full of joy to day I alone am full of sorrow and grieved at heart to think that the Church which now hath such multitudes in it will to morrow be empty O how great Spiritual Exultation how great Joy how great Glory to God how great Profit to Souls would there be if every time we assemble we could behold the Church as full as it is at this solemn time Do you not see how the Mariners and Pilots when they are upon the Sea labour all they can to get into their Port And we on the contrary love to be tossed up and down in the Sea of this World ingageinâ— our selves in innumerable Secular Affairs which so take up all our thoughts and our time that here we appear scarce once or twice in the whole year Are ye ignorant that as God made Havens in the Sea so he hath made Churches in Cities that flying from the tumult or tempest rather of secular Affairs we may here enjoy the greatest Tranquillity And for this I may appeal to all your own Consciences whether you find not here such quiet and peace that you may truly call the Church the Spiritual Haven of the Soul For anger here gives no disturbance the storms of Passion cease Lust doth not inflame
assembled and to pour down his Blessings on such as cannot but would be with them And all this it becomes us to do in the humblest manner according to the invitation and direction of the Psalmist which is recited every day at Morning Prayer O come let us Worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker The Christian Church hath never been acquainted with any other posture but this of kneeling in their Prayers to God saving only between Easter and Whitsuntide when in memory of Christ's Resurrection they were wont to stand Which was the common posture of Prayer among the Jews except in time of trouble and distress when they also fell upon their knees Dan. ix 20. Nay when they would express the greatest Submission Lowliness Reverence and Fear they fell upon their Faces as our Saviour did just before his Agony Matth. xxvi 39. A posture far more remote from theirs who sit at their Prayers which no man dare do who is possessed with an awful sense of his distance from God and considers how mean a Creature he is and how unworthy to receive the smallest favour from his hands In short we may say to such Men as Malachi doth to those who brought vile Offerings unto the Altar with a little alteration Go now to thy Governour and petition him in this posture Will he be pleased with thee or accept of thy person No Man hath the face to present himself unto his Prince in this saucy manner especially when he comes to beg Mercy of him and pray him to spare his Life which he hath forfeited to him And therefore let none of us venture to approach thus into the presence of the Great King over all the Earth the Soveraign of the World But cast down our selves with such lowly Reverence before him as may testifie that we Worship the Most High It is not to be expected indeed that a Man should bow his knees to God when he is lame of the Gout or lies sick of a Feavour or some other Disease c. but setting such cases aside bending of the knees is necessary saith Origen * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. pars N 20. whose words these are when a Man comes to accuse himself of his sins to God and humbly to ask pardon for them and to desire to be cured of them Nature inclines us to it if we have any sense of our condition though we had no instructions about it no Examples to move us to it And therefore I may truly say that we divest our selves even of Humanity when we are so rude as to sit at Prayer unless we be in such a condition as not to be able either to fall on our knees or stand before the Divine Majesty Then indeed we may be confident he will not reject our Prayers whatsoever the posture of our Body be but hear them as he did St. Paul when he prayed and praised God in Prison with his feet in the stocks and Hezekiah who lay on his Bed by reason of his infirmity and cryed to him and the Thief who prayed as he hung on the Cross and found favour with him They are the words of St. Chrysostome in the place now named I will conclude this Chapter with the judgment of Mr. Calvin who expresly determines That the Precepts of Praying alwaies and without ceasing have not respect to our own private Prayers only L. iii. Instit cap. xx Sect. 29. but to the publick Prayers of the Church also With which he that refuseth to joyn we may conclude him not to know what it is to pray alone either secretly or at home As on the other side he that neglects to pray alone and privately may be thought to put up vain Prayers though he frequent the publick Assemblies because he respects more the Opinion of Men than the secret Judgment of God In the mean time lest the Common Prayers of the Church should fall into contempt God hath adorned them with splendid Elogies especially when he calls the Temple an house of Prayer Isa lvi 7. For by this Speech he instructs us that the principal part of his Worship is the Office of Prayer in which that the faithful might exercise themselves with one consent the Temple was erected and lifted up to them like a Banner that they might all resort unto it Psal lxv 2. Where there is also a famous promise added ver 1. Praise expecteth thee O God in Sion and unto thee shall the Vow be performed in Jerusalem In which words the Prophet admonishes That the Prayers of the Church are never in vain because God perpetually administers to his people matter of singing his Praise with joy Which things if they were well weighed they would be sufficient to stir up the zeal of those who now languish and have no concern at all for the publick exercise of our Religion Especially if they would observe and mark First With what earnest Longings Holy Men desired to come to the Publick Assemblies when by any impediment they were kept from them read Psal lxxxiv 1 2. c. and David's passionate breathings xxvii 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord c. And Secondly With what joyful hearts they received all invitations to them Psal cxxii 1 2. I was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the House of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy Gates O Jerusalem CHAP. XX. Some Objections removed WHen I reflect upon the conclusion of the foregoing Chapter I cannot but fear that they are void of the love of God or very defective in it who have so little regard to his Honour as not to love the place where his Honour dwelleth and where Praise waiteth for him as the Psalmist speaks in the place now named that is where his Glorious Majesty is extolled his wonderful Works are magnified his Benefits acknowledged and Psalms sung in Honour of him which is the greatest business of our solemn Assemblies For Men hear nothing more willingly than the Praises of their Parents There they delight to be and are never weary of their attendance there where the noble acts of their Ancestors are recited with Songs or Speeches in their Commendation And therefore with much more diligence should we run thither without ceasing where Men speak of the glorious Honour of his Majesty and of the wondrous Works of our Heavenly Father and declare the love of our Blessed Saviour making known his mighty Acts and the Glorious Majesty of his Kingdom uttering abundantly the Memory of his great Goodness and singing of his Righteousness Though alas Who can utter the mighty Acts of the Lord Who can shew forth all his Praise As the Psalmist speaks elsewhere His benefits towards us are immensely great and cannot worthily be praised by us But it is our Duty to do what we can that we may pursue what we ought And therefore if we have any respect to God let us say and sing again with