who though under a quite contrary pretence and zealous shew of detesting Popery and Superstition yet acted the part of the stoutest and most dangerous Champions to introduce it as that Age could any way have afforded Certainly that Liturgy and form of Divine worship must needs be very neer the Golden Mean and no lesse blessed and happy in its composure whose fate it hath alwayes been to be crucified between two grand contrary opposing partyes and stigmatized with their several Characters the one branding it for Novelty and Heresy the other for Superstition and Popery And this no doubt but was fore-seen by the Reformers whose great wisdome and piety in their labours therein can never be enough Admired and Celebrated they stoutly and piously flinging off all both in that and the doctrine of the Church which had any tincture or savour of Superstition or Popery in it and with as little outward alteration which was their singular wildome and discretion as such an affair could possibly admit keeping and Retaining all recommended and practised by pure Antiquity And which doubtlesse is as free and cleer from any true charg of Popery as any period expressed in the writings of such who have laid that heavy charg upon it they knowing well that Liturgy Moderation Charity and as neer a compliance as possibly might be admitted without Sin was a far better and more probable way to convert Papists and confirm Protestants than Sequestration Directory and Ordination by Presbyters only Nor did they forget that there were many thousands of Parishes in this Realm and Nation where there is no such promise of Divine inspiration to be relyed on But that in all probability many of the Minsters will not be alwayes able publiquely to speak as in the presence of Angels which the woeful experience of the late times hath abundantly verifyed to us To say nothing of the flat and empty Nonsence and hydeous Blasphemies the expression whereof had they been duly collected in all places would surely fill a volume and are far more fit to be buryed in utter Oblivion than that it should arrive at the ears of Posterity to accuse the Rashnesse and Folly of such persons who would needs thrust out the unwearyed Labours Piety and Wisdom of so many Glorious Martyrs and instead thereof bring in only the extemporary volatile expressions of particular Persons how able soever into the publique Worship and Service of Almighty God refusing the standing Treasures of the Church for help and assistance and making use of such Coyn as is so far from having any stamp upon it as that it is perpetually to be new run and mynted Not remembring or duly considering at least that there were in the Apostles times divers gifts and every Minister had no promise to succeed in all But one in one and another in another gift yet all by the same spirit c. It is believed that Doctor Preston is not without a pretious Memory amongst the chief of such who have opposed Liturgy his observation therefore may not unduly be here hynted which was this That whilst those who in opposition to set forms require the Minister to conceive a Prayer for the Congregation They consider not that the whole Congregation is as much stynted and bound to a set form viz. of those words which the Minister conceives and pronounces as if he read them out of a Book Nor will the prescription of the matter at all help out in this case of unpremeditated and extemporary prayer as some perhaps may think for if that be flown too for refuge and cure of obliquities That remedy proves every whit as bad as the Disease the Spirit being in that case stynted likewise the only thing in pretence to be avoyded The matter prescribed every way as much hindring and obstructing that which they call the Freedome of the Spirit in Prayer as if the very words themselves were confined and prescribed also And whereas this sacred form of Prayer and service of Almighty God and some other rites and usages of the Church have been so much and often accused to savour of Popery and to keep those of the Romish faith in hopes and encouragement of our return to them The quite contrary Argument may certainly with far more reason be thence assumed and taken up It being our complyance with the Antient Church of the purest times and not with them which we practised And our retaining and keeping those antient forms and Rites being a more probable way of gaining them to us than any hopes they could thence have of our coming in to them Nor could such complyance of ours with them so far as any way we lawfully might signifie ought else to any rational Papist But that we meant thereby which questionless is the truth to leave them without all excuse if they did not answer us in the like compliance with us in what they might And so restore the so much desired Peace and Union of Christendom And of this certainly the Jesuits and others amongst them were in such dread and fear that it might be effectually operative upon the moderate sort of Papists here amongst us that none were more mortally hated by them than such as were chief upholders favourers and supporters of that Antient Government Order Rites and Service and the strict rules and prescriptions thereof which they so much feared and were offended at for the cause and reason aforesaid And therefore if Romes Master-Peice a book appointed by the long Parliament to be set out say true The late Glorious King and the then Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Dr. Laud whose wayes and course in this particular they saw so crosse and opposite to their designes and putting them into such frights of losing all their game prey and Mart here were in particular destined by them to the slaughter as persons questionless whom they not only utterly despaired ever to gain to them but were very likely to endanger the ruine of the whole Roman Cause Others there were too They knew who seemed in Noyse indeed far their greater Enemies yet we never had the least murmure of any such design against any of them though it cannot but be believed such were truly and really their Enemies likewise They knew too well what use to make of their Zeal and discontent And doubtlesse excellent good use might have been made against the Romish designs of such-their Zeal and fervour if they would have permitted it to come under a due and prudent management by those who had just and lawful authority over them I promised brevity and therefore but one word more is to be Craved and although by me but Craved yet it is such as may justly clayman Audience and Regard from and a convincing likewise to the most wilful and obdurate whatsoever in these particulars of Episcopacy and Liturgy It is a word from a King Their own King their own dying King nay Their Martyred King Martyred chiefly upon this very score and accompt
and exceptions of those who thought it a part of piety to make what prophane objections they could against it especialy for Popery and Superstition Whereas no doubt the Liturgy was exactly conformed to the Doctrine of the Church of England And this by all Reformed Churches is confessed to be most sound and Orthodox For the manner of using Set and prescribed Forms there is no doubt but that wholsom words being known and fitted tâ— mens understandings are soonest received into their hearts and aptest to excite and carry along with them judicious and fervent affections Nor do I see any reason why Christians should be weary of a well composed Liturgy as I hold this to be more than of all other things wherein the Coâ—stancy abates nothing of the excellency and usefulnesse I could never see any reason why any Christian should abhor or be forbidden to use the same forms of Prayer since he prays to the same God believes in the same Saviour professeth the same Truths reads the same Scriptures hath the same Duties upon him and feels the same dayly Wants for the most part both inward and outward which are common to the whole Church Sure we may as well before-hand know what we pray as to whom we pray and in what words as to what sense when we desire the same things what hinders we may not use the same words our appetite and disgestion too may be good when we use as we pray for Our daily bread Some men I hear are so impatient not to use in all their devotions their own invention and gifts that they not only disuse as too many but wholly cast away and contemn the Lords Prayer whose great guilt is that it is the warrant and original pattern of all set Liturgies in the Christian Church I ever thought that the proud ostentation of mens abilities for invention and the vain affectations of variety for expressions or in publick Prayer or in any sacred administrations merits a greater brand of sin than that which they call Coldnesse and Barrennesse nor are men in those novelties lesse subject to formal and superficial tempers as to their hearts than in the use of constant Forms where not the words but mens hearts are too blame I make no doubt but a man may be very formal in the most extemporary variety and very fervently devout in the most wonted expressions nor is God more a God of Variety than of Constancy nor are constant Forms of Prayers more likely to flat and hinder the Spirit of Prayer and Devotion than unpremeditated and confused variety to distract and lose it Though I am not against a grave modest discreet and humble use of Ministers gifts even in publique the better to fit and excite their own and the peoples affections to the present occasions yet I know no necessity why private and single abilities should quite justle out and deprive the Church of the joynt abilities and concurrent gifts of many learned and godly men such as the Composers of the Service-Book were who may in all reason be thought to have more of gifts and graces enabling them to compose with serious deliberation and concurrent advise such Forms of Prayers as may best fit the Churches common wants inform the Hearers understanding and stir up that fiduciary and fervent application of their spirits wherein consists the very life and soul of Prayer and that so much pretended Spirit of Prayer that any private man by his solitary abilities can be presumed to have which what they are many times even there where they make a great noise and shew the affectations emptinesse impertinency rudenesse confusions flatnesse levity obscurity vain and ridiculous repetitions the senslesse and oft times blasphemous expressions all these burthened with a most tedious and intolerable length do sufficiently convince all men but those who glory in that Pharisaick way Wherein men must be strangely impudent and flatterers of themselves not to have an infinite shame of what they so do and say in things of so sacred a nature before God and the Church after so ridiculous and indeed profane a manner Nor can it be expected but that in duties of frequent performance as Sacramental administrations and the like which are still the same Ministers must either come to use their own Forms constantly which are not like to be so sound or comprehensive of the nature of the duty as Forms of publick composure or else they must every time affect new expressions when the subject is the same which can hardly be presumed in any mans greatest sufficiencies not to want many times much of that compleatnesse order and gravity becomming those duties which by this means are exposed at every celebration to every Ministers private infirmities indispositions errours disorders and defects both for judgment and expression A serious sense of which Inconvenience in the Church unavoidably following every mans several manner of officiating no doubt first occasioned the wisdom and piety of the Antient Churches to remedy those mischiefs by the use of constant Liturgies of Publick composure The want of which I believe this Church will sufficiently feel when the unhappy fruits of many mens ungoverned ignorance and confident defects shall be discovered in more errours schisms disorders and uncharitable distractions in Religion which are already but too many the more is the pity However if violence must needs bring in and abett those innovations that men may not seem to have nothing to do which Law Reason and Religion forbids at least to be so obtruded as wholly to justle out the publick Liturgie Yet nothing can excuse that most unjust and partial severity of those men who either lately had subscribed to used and maintained the service book or refused to use it cried out of the rigour of Laws and Bishops which suffered them not to use the Liberty of their Consciences in not using it That these men I say should so suddenly change the Liturgy into a Directory as if the Spirit needed help for invention though not for expressions or as if matter prescribed did not as much stint and obstruct the Spirit as if it were cloathed in and confined to fit words So slight and easy is that Legerdemain which will serve to delude the Vulgar That further they should use such severity as not to suffer without penalty any to use the Common-Prayer-Book publiquely although their Consciences bind them to it as a duty of Piety to God and Obedience to the Laws Thus I see no men are prone to be greater Tyrants and more rigorous exacters upon others to conform to their illegal Novelties than such whose pride was formally least disposed to the obedience of lawful Constitutions and whose licentious humors most pretended Conscientious liberties which freedom with much regret they now allow to Me and My Chaplains when they may have leave to serve Me whose abilities even in their extemporary way comes not short of the others but their modesty and learning far
THE ENGLISH EPISCOPACY AND LITURGY Asserted by the Great Reformers abroad AND The most Glorious and ROYAL MARTYR The Late KING His Opinion and Suffrage for them Published by a Private Gentleman for the Publique good LONDON Printed by Tho. Leach for Henry Seile over against St. Dunstans Church in Fleetstreet 1660. The English EPISCOPACY AND LITURGY ASSERTED THat Government is as necessary to the preservation of the Church as preaching the Gospel was to the plantation of it is apparent by the Apostles practice who no sooner had converted a Province City or any considerable number of Persons but presently left it in the hands of some faithful overseers to dresse tend and water till it grew up to such a perfection as became the Spouse of Christ And in all such perfect and setled Churches That there ought to be three distinct Orders and Degrees in the pastoral charge thereof viz. Bishop Priest or Presbyter and Deacon is so fully and abundantly Asserted and Proved by so many able Pens upon occasion of the late differences in point of Church Discipline and the same is thereby become so known and manifest a Truth especially to the Learned Solid and Iudicious that it cannot but be believed that those of any considerable Abilities and Ingenuitie who chiefly opposed it Remain now very well satisfied in that particular it being indeed very cleer and apparent to knowing and impartial Iudgements That Government by Bishops superior to Presbyters is of Apostolical institution and this as fully to be made good by Ecclesiastical Records as it is possible for any Truth to be that way demonstrated Nor doth the Canon of the Sacred Scripture it self depend upon more undoubted and unquestionable verity and demonstration And although the absolute and distinct precept of Christ himself for it is not so cleerly to be Asserted Yet his own superiority to the twelve Apostles and Theirs to the seventy Disciples is such an exemplary Copy of Bishop Priest or Presbyter and Deacon in the Government and Discipline of the Church as that it was Transcribed in the very next Age witness Ignatius St. Johns Contemporary and allowed to receive Esteem and Honour the Bishops as Christ the Presbyters as the Apostles and Deacons as the Seventy Nor is superiority in Order lesse cleerly Apostolical by the example and practice of themselves who when Judas had fell from the orb and dignity he first moved in They by the direction of the Sacred Spirit assumed Matthias from an inferior to a superior Order amongst them The Hierarchy of the Church in Government being derivative as it were from God himself and the same in Character and Representation which he is pleased to exercise amongst the Blessed in Heaven That therefore which some of a more unsatisfiable nature and disposition though beaten out of all holds for the Divine right of their Geneva Platform yet loath to depart with that Classical nay Parochial supremacy and more than Lordship which they Phansied themselves so near the absolute possession of make now the matter of their frequent converse in all companies and upon all occasions is to extoll and magnifie the order and manner of the Discipline of the reformed Churches abroad and to allure and captivate vulgar apprehensions very much advance and preferre the same before that which hath been so long and legally established here in the Church of England under Bishops and which hath rendred us so famous and flourishing a people and Nation throughout the world Howbeit if you demand now of such an extoller of Forein order what Church abroad it is not governed by Bishops which he so much magnifies for its Discipline And wherein the excellency of it's beauty lyes He knows not where to fix but is at a kind of losse presently and after a small while the paradox doth so puzzle him in its maintenance and hunt him from one absurdity to another that in conclusion he is fain to sit down wildred and benighted in the fogs and darknesse of his own brain and Intellect The difference of Discipline amongst the reformed Churches abroad is very well known how those of the French differ from the Scotish the Scotish from the Flemings or Dutch those from the Switzers and so others in like manner and the necessity of some Churches to fit their Tapestry to their Rooms viz. their Discipline to the state and condition they live in is as notorious And certainly the modesty of that grave and excellent Prelate is much to be commended who having fully proved the imposition or laying on of hands by the Bishop to be of most antient institution in the Christian Church useth these words I write not here saith he to prejudice our neighbour Churches I dare not limit the extraordinaray operation of the holy Spirit where the ordinary means is wanting without the fault of the persons God fed his people with Manna so long as they were in the Wildernesse Necessity is a strong pleader Many reformed Churches live under Kings and Bishops of another Communion Others have particular necessitating reasons why they could not continue nor introduce Bishops But it is not so with us c. The exigence of time place and persons may possibly be with Divine pity beheld in all their prejudicial hindrances provided that divine order and institution be duely observed Another reverend Bishop hath likewise as charitable an expression Bishop Hall in his treatise of Episcopacy I must cordially respect saith he those forein Churches who have chosen and followed an outward form which in every respect is most expedient and suitable to their condition And again another speaks thus Some plants thrive best in the shadow where the form of Government without Bishops agrees best with the constitution of some Common-wealth we pray to God to give them joy in it and pray them to say as much for us Damus petimusque vicissim These very charitable and moderate passages of the Church Prelates and Bishops are the rather hinted and very many more might be to manifest the difference there is between the spirits and dispositions of such and those of some other persons who condemn all as Heretical and Antichristian and to be extirpated Root and Branch which complies not in Omni modo to their judgement or rather Phansy and that by an Oath or Covenant imposed not only upon siterate persons but upon such also who were so far from understanding the depth of what they sware as that they were utterly ignorant whether the words Hierarchy and Liturgy which they covenant to extirpate be Hebrew Greek Latin French Italian c. or what other language and yet cry down those Prelates for Lordly Imperious and Tyrannical We have it as a common rumor amongst us Gentlemen and it is supposed it will not be denyed that a Declaration or Letters missive were by some grave persons in Assembly addressed to the reformed Churches of France the Low-Countries and Switzerland with diverse other Churches and States inviting
exceeds the most of them But this matter is of so popular a nature as some men knew it would not bear learned and sober debates lest being convinced by the evidence of Reason as well as Laws they should have been driven either to sin more against their knowledge by taking away the Liturgy or to displease some faction of the people by continuing the use of it Though I believe they have offended more considerable men not only for their numbers and estates but for their weighty and judicious piety than those are whose weaknesse or giddinesse they sought to gratifie by taking it away One of the greatest faults some men found with the Common-Prayer-Book I believe was this That it taught then to pray so oft for Me to which Petitions they had not Loyalty enough to say Amen nor yet Charity enough to forbear Reproaches and even Cursings of Me in their own Forms instead of praying for Me. I wish their Repentance may be their only punishment that seeing the mischiefs which the disuse of Publique Liturgies hath already produced they may restore that credit use and Reverence to them which by the antient Churches were given to Set Forms of sound and wholsom words MEDITATION ANd thou O LORD which art the same God blessed for ever whose mercies are full of variety and yet of constancy thou denyest us not a new and fresh sense of our old and dayly wants nor despisest renewed affections joyned to constant expressions Let us not want the benefit of thy Churches united and well-advised Devotions Let the matters of our Prayers be agreeable to thy will which is alwayes the same and the fervency of our Spirits to the motions of thy holy Spirit in us And then we doubt not but thy spiritual perfections are such as thou art neither to be pleased with affected Novelties for matter or manner nor offended with the pious constancy of our petitions in them both Whose variety or constancy thou hast no where either forbidden or commanded but left them to the piety and prudence of thy Church that both may be used neither despised Keep men in that pious moderation of their judgments in matter of Religion that their ignorance may not offend others nor their opinion of their own abilities tempt them to deprive others of what they may lawfully and devoutly use to help their infirmities And since the advantage of Error consists in novelty and variety as Truths in unity and constancy Suffer not thy Church to be pestered with errors and deformed with undecencies in thy service under the pretence of variety and novelty Nor to be deprived of truth unity and order under this fallacy That constancy is the cause of formality LORD keep us from formal Hypocrisie in our own hearts and then we know that praying to thee or praysing of thee with David and other holy men in the same forms cannot hurt us Give us wisdome to amend what is amisse within us and there will be lesse to mend without us Evermore defend and deliver thy Church from the effects of blind zeal and ov-erbold devotion SIlence after this best becomes humanity No fit addition to this All-Comprehensive brevity can possibly be expressed by any Pen in the hand of a Mortal yet since Presumption hath dared to insert these few words after such divinely-inspired and transcendently elegant and pithy lines What better amends can be made than to cloze up this Rude breach by a second Retreat And listening again to what as to the particulars before treated of that Caelestial Quill left Ingraven as his last words amongst many others his truly Royal and most eminently-Pious and Paternal Instructions to his Son then Heir apparent of all his Earthly Crowns and Dominions and now our most Dear and Dread Lord and Soveraign ABove all I would have You as I hope You are already well grounded and setled in your Religion The best profession of which I have ever esteemed that of the Church of England in which you have been educated Yet I would have your own Judgement and Reason now seal to that sacred bond which education hath written that it may be judiciously your own Religion and not other mens custome or tradition which you profess In this I charge You to persevere as comming nearest to Gods Word for Doctrine and to the Primitive examples for Government with some little amendment which I have otherwhere expressed and often offered though in vain Your fixation in matters of Religion will not be more necessary for your Souls than your Kingdomes peace when God shall bring you to them For I have observed that the Devil of Rebellion doth commonly turn himself into an Angel of Reformation and the old Serpent can pretend new Lights When some mens Consciences accuse them for Sedition and Faction they stop its mouth with the name and noise of Religion when Piety pleads for Peace and patience they cry out Zeal So that unlesse in this point You be well setled you shall never want temptations to destr Yoy ou and Yours under pretentions of Reforming matters of Religion for that seems even to worst men as the best and most auspicious beginning of their worst designs Where besides the Novelty which is taking enough with the Vulgar every one hath an affectation by seeming forward to an outward Reformation of Religion to be thought zealous hoping to cover those irreligious deformities whereto they are conscious by a severity of censuring other mens opinions or actions Take heed of abetting any Factions or applying to any publick Discriminations in matters of Religion contrary to what is in your Judgement and the Church well settled c. You may never expect lesse of Loyalty Justice or Humanity than from those who ingage into Religious Rebellion Their interests are alwayes made Gods under the colours of Piety ambitions policies march not only with greatest security but applause as to the populacie you may hear from them Jacobs voyce but you shall feel they have Esaus hands Nothing seemed lesse considerable than the Presbyterian Fashion in England for many years so complyant they were to publique publick order nor was their party great either Church or State as to mens judgements But as soon as Discontent drave men into Sidings as ill humours fall to the disaffected part which causes inflamations so did all at first who affected any Novelties adhere to that Side as the most remarkable and specious note of difference then in point of Religion All the lesser Factions at first were officious Servants to Presbytery their great Master till time and military successe discovering to each their peculiar advantages invited them to part stakes and leaving the joynt stock of uniform Religion pretended each to drive for their Party the trade of profits and preferments to the breaking and undoing not only of the Church and State but even of Presbytery it self which seemed and hoped at first to have ingrossed all In these two points the preservation