well Reprobation as Election by giving too much credit to divers Authors of those Opinions and by not well comparing Scriptures with Scripture touching those Points And could I think that my Grant of what they cast upon me wrongfully would any thing further their return to us herein I speak it God bearing me witness I would take it all upon me per modum altissimi silentii But Sir I have found upon Inquisition that both those Reports have been rais'd and spread abroad by one not of their Judgment The falseness of that Report that I was against Infant Baptism will be apparent in that I have Testimony under his hand that raised it and malitiously spread it abroad that at least a year and a half before November the 19th 1660. I did in my Sermon from several places of Scripture maintain the Lawfulness of Infant Baptism Oportet mendacem esse memorem And I have to the same Testimonial the Subscriptions of the three chiefest men in Hardwick and Pulsham St. Mary the Virgin besides my Accuser Which Notes then deliver'd in Hardwick Pulpit were drawn up by me in 1656. after my Living of Wighton in Norfolk was taken from me and conferred upon Mr. Robert Hocknell And those Notes were drawn up by me at the request of divers going for Anabaptism to know my Judgment about that Point which Notes sent them altered their thoughts and strayed their further progress therein And whereas many say from the afore-said Mouth that I was against the Common-Prayer Book I now write for I confess that for some short time after his Majesty's Restauration I omitted Officiating by the Common-Prayer Book but did begin with the Confession Absolution and Lord's Prayer therein and after the Lessons repeated the Apostles Creed and after the Prayer for his Majesty and other Prayers and Collects I could repeat memoriter until I might as I expected hear from Authority the re-injoyning the Observation thereof punctually With which Service so performed the Loyal Party for a while rested contented but soon after the death of Thomas Glean Esq a man of known Loyalty to the Crown and Conformity to the Church of England the Major now Sir Peter Glean his Son was offended left the Parish Church in his own person went to Shelton and told me so he would do till I observed the Book of Common-Prayer as I ought to do Whereupon considering with my self that I was for set Forms and had no Exceptions against our Liturgy and that the major part of the Parish was for that way I told Sir Peter I was resolved if the Parish procured the Book punctually to use it I remember Sir Peter's Expression presently was this Cosin I am as glad of your Resolution as of an Hundred Pounds given me And the next Sunday after according to mutual agreement he deliver'd to me in presence of the Congregation before any thing said by me the Book of Common-Prayer and desired my Observation of it which was performed by me accordingly But Sir were all truth that is suggested against me I know not why the remembrancing me thereof should allay my Proceedings herein according to my Promise though so â—st alledged by them as I judge for that end considering the Charge given to St. Peter Luke 22. v. 32. When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren And truly had I been against set Forms of Prayer and our Liturgy as this Author was at the drawing up of these Considerations and afterward should have been convinced of the Greatness of the Error and the Damage to the Church of Christ through perseverance therein as my Conscience tells me they all are guilty of who stand off from joyning with us herein the first thing I should have undertaken should have been to imitate St. Paul converted to the Faith by the heavenly Vision who forthwith Preached that Faith he once destroyed Gal. 1. v. 23. I should soon have endeavoured thereupon by this way I now am in to have brought men to unite in this way of Devotion with our holy Mother the Church of England Thus praying God to bless you with Health all happiness and length of days I rest very much devoted to serve and honour you whil'st Richard Lewthwat Norf. VVE whose Names are here under-written do Certifie whom it may concern That Richard Lewthwat Rector of Hardwick in our said County hath to our Personal Knowledge for the space of two Years last past been of a Peaceable Sober and good Conversation hath by his Doctrine been Instrumental under God for the increase of our Knowledge and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and profitable to the Instruction of our Youth And that in our hearing at least as we compute a year and half since did in his Sermon from several places of Scripture maintain the Lawfulness of Infant Baptism Witness our Hands c. And he doth Affirm to us That it is yet his Judgment and Opinion This I Affirm from the bottom of my Heart Witness my Hand Rich. Lewthwat Tho. Gleane Peter Gleane Tho. Sayer Joh. Ebbettes Subscribed this 19th day of November 1660. THE PREFACE TO the Readers but especially to them of the same Judgment and Practice with him that occasioned the ensuing Discourse is composed chiefly to remembrance them with the great concern and necessity of the being of Uniformity in Doctrine and Discipline among them that in the Apostle's sence name the Name of Christ or that do take upon them the profession of Christianity And for the evidence of the necessity hereof among us I shall mind them first with that of our Saviour in his Prayer a little before his Passion John 17. vers 11. Holy Father said he keep through thy Name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we are Judas having received the sop as in the 13 Chapter of this Gospel vers 39. and was gone from Christ and the other Disciples to betray him then Christ in his Prayer desires the Father to keep his Disciples in his absence through his Almighty Power in an holy Unity of Faith Spirit and Worship which is the sum of these words namely that they may be one as we are For in these words Christ did not respect the substance of the Father and himself in which respect indeed they both were one but the consent and agreement betwixt them as doing or having of things done which was ever one and the same as is evident from that of the Apostle to the Hebrews quoted out of the Psalms Hebr. 10. vers 7. When the Father's will is for the Son to come the Son is as ready to come be it from whatsoever happiness to whatsoever misery it shall be When the Father will be pleased with no typical Sacrifices longer but will have the substance the Son to take a body of our nature fitted for a Peace-offering to be sacrificed for the expiation of our sins then the Son's will is one with his Then said he lo I come to
do thy will O God that they may be one as we are One in will and consent And so the sum of Christ's Prayer there was That the Father would keep the Disciples to be one in Faith in Spirit in Mind in Judgment in Worship and Service of God that they may be one as we are And Christ did not see a necessity of this Unity to be in his Disciples only but saw it necessary also to be among all men that should believe on him or profess Salvation by him as in John 17. vers 20 21. Neither pray I for these alone but for them also that shall believe on me through their word that they all may be one c. Brentius upon these words saith that what Christ before had prayed for his Disciples now prays for all that should believe on him and profess Salvation by him namely that there might be Unity among them all in Spirit in Mind in Worship and Service of God And now to clear up further the necessity of Unity and Uniformity among Believers and Professors of Christianity especially of them living near together I will mind the Readers of some places in St. Paul's Works sometimes praying for us and pressing upon us the same things which Christ pray'd the Father to keep us in In order hereunto I first urge that place of St. Paul to the Romans chap. 15. vers 5 6. God grant ye to be like minded c. I shall give but little of my own Meditations upon the words the Modern Divines having spoken so fully of them as to the present concern The words are the Apostles conclusion as to what he had spoken from the beginning of the 14th Chapter to the Quotation and it consists of Prayer and Exhortation each whereof do invite to the nourishing of Unity and Concord in matters of Religion among Christian Brethren both strong and weak upon the Apostles supplication there God grant ye to be like minded c. Marlorat says That one of the Modern Expositors upon the words saith to this purpose That the Apostle there contends both with God and the Church withal professing Christianity to be of one and the same judgment and mind as to the way of God's Worship which saith the Author there is the very esse and being of Christian Charity and where that effect is not 't is impossible there should be true Christians or any Salvation for that all true Faith is there extinct and the fear of God is not among them The later words of the Author are understood of Dissenters from the true Churches of Christ which be where the Separatists live namely such Churches as ours of England is which is invincible by any authentick Arguments of Romish Presbyterian Independant Anabaptistical Factions or of any other whatever our Church being like that in Sion spoken of in Psalm the 48th vers 12 13. fortified with all the Impregnable Towers and Bulwarks of the Doctrines Seals and Discipline of the Gospel of Peace and Salvation Which Church of ours was by many of the late Presbyterian and Independant Separations acknowledged to be Orthodoxal and that they had no such Exceptions against the Common-Prayer Book but that they could joyn with us in Worshipping of God as well as others of their judgment formerly now did and a long time before had done and this was to my knowledge the loud frequent and publick Expression of many of them long before the last Sea-Engagement with the Dutch but yet many of them thus owning conviction said They thought it not fit to own so much by conforming at that present juncture of time upon this insufficient reason alledged by them Because that if they did as then conform they should lie under the scandal of conforming out of fear considering the smart and severe Execution of the Penal Statutes in many parts of the Kingdom upon the Direction and Charges of the Judges in their Circuits Which acknowledged Conviction of many of them and reason of Non-conforming alledged for that present is thought by loyal and and charitable Hearts sounded in his Majesty's Ears and was the main end of his suspension of the Penal Statutes for a while by grant of the Tolleration namely that they might thereupon take the opportunity to conform without the forementioned Scandal For his Majesty there said That seeing the forementioned harsher Means would not prevail he would try what that gentle way of Tolleration for the present might do for their return to us I am sure his Majesty's words were to this purpose Of which opportunity some made present use to my knowledge for the Sunday after the Tolleration came down to Norwich some came then to both Common-Prayer and Sermon and not before I Preaching then at St. Stevens and so have continued since as I have had information upon inquiry C. G. C. Which Practice of some was the hope or desire of his Majesty for all which is evident from the other reason alledged by his Majesty for granting the Tolleration which was That whilst he had Wars abroad he might have Peace at home whereupon loyal and charitable hearts cannot but judge that notwithstanding the Tolleration his Majesty therein did publish his dislike of the Separations and openly check Nonconformity and possibly might insinuate a jealousie of the Dissenters from the Established Church of England that it might be in their hearts if they had but Opportunity Power and Advantages as formerly to Rebel forthwith against his Majesty and to Involve again this Church and State in blood and confusion And now I beg pardon for this short Digression from the last quoted Text because not passing by without throwing in a Mite into the Treasury erected for the relief of Uniformity in Religion which stands now in as much need in this Kingdom for help as ever I come with one Gloss more upon the Apostle's forementioned words which I hope shall be prevalent with Dissenters from us for their return of some to us and for the unity of others with us it being as apt and genuine an Exposition of Mr. Calvin a man ever of great Esteem with them as ever he gave of any Scripture speaking of those words of the Apostle namely That with one mind and one mouth ye may glorifie God c. And upon the words immediately going before he saith Ac quo magis commendabilem c. that the Apostle might render their Agreement and Unity the more commendable the Apostle teacheth how necessary Unity in Worship is seeing God is not truly worshipped of us unless all our minds and tongues agree together in praising and glorifying of him The sum of his Inference thereupon is Non est ergo quod jactet quisquam c. Let no man therefore boast or think he hath well worshipped or served God doing it his own way That is separating in Worship from and not joyning therein with the true Church of Christ by him at the times appointed for Publick Worand Devotion
summ of this alledged out of St. Paul's practice to justifie set-Forms of Prayer whose Desire and Prayer to God for Israel was That they might be saved as Romans the 10th Vers 1. amounts to this That St. Paul Sosthenes Silvanus Timotheus and the brethren with Paul at Rome did put up their Prayers to God for his bestowing spiritual blessings upon the several Churches of Christ through the word of â—â—ace did put them up I say in a Common-Prayer in a set-composed or as the Separatists call it stinted Form of Prayer And considering that the afore-mentioned Christians and Saints continued so long in a Common set-Form of Prayer for those Churches I cannot think but the pride ignorance heady and high-minded Spirits of these men had they lived in days together would have charged St. Paul and the rest that joined with him in Devotion for the Churches with what they cast upon the painful orthodoxal conformable Clergy of our Church in the seventh Consideration where they call them Ignorant Scandalous Lazy and Formal Priests and Ministers to the deceiving and utter undoing of precious souls and should they have had but such Revenues Salaries Tithes and Gleabs gone along with their Labours as our reverend Bishops Deans and Chapters and some of our Clergy had with theirs their Conformity and Uniformity in Prayer especially it being so short how holy soever their lives had been was crime enough for their Houses to have been Plunder'd their Estates Sequestred and their Persons Imprisoned And now to leave off the further confirmation of this unjustly condemned Practice of Devotion by the use of set-Forms of Prayer in the times of the Old and New Testaments and in the times of the Antient Churches before Popery and in the days of the Reformed Churches fallen from the Pope I shall only commend to your consideration the Prayer of St. Chrysostom wherewith we even close our dayly Devotions as in all probability he and the people he was over did conclude their Worship of God in their set-Forms of Prayer Almighty God who hast given us Grace at this time with one accord c. I confess 't is not the Forms of Prayer be they never so Admirable as to Expressions without the fervent desires of the Heart be the man never so righteous that utters them that do avail ought with God but when a man from the ground of the heart ascends up to God in Forms be they never so antient short or Common provided they be lawful as to the Matter and laudable as to the manner of the Expression supplicating praying interceding and giving of thanks then they become at the Throne of Grace such as St. John in the 5th of the Revelations Vers 8. saw in Heaven when the 24 Elders fell down before the Lamb namely barps and golden vials full of odours even the prayer of Saints And hereupon was the exellency of David's Prayer of which he speaks Psalm 11â— Vers 58. I made my petition with my whole heart There are recorded in the Scripture divers Forms of Prayers and Thanksgivings Composed by David and other devout Worshippers of God questionless for the use of themselves and others in the frequent Commemorations of God's Mercies to them and for their Supplications to be made unto God their wants being again the same or alike as formerly But now that which made these Forms of Prayer effectual David mentions in the same place where he saith he did it with his whole heart All the powers and faculties of his Soul were now acting in their several places so as he might prevail with God to supply his wants And a devout soul setting dilligently to this as St. Peter and the rest of the Twelve resolved to do Acts the 6th Vers 4. namely give themselves much to prayer as David did namely petition the Lord with his whole heart let it be in a set-Form that that praying soul goes to God that soul cannot want success long For if the Spirit it self as St. Paul speaks Romans the 8th Vers 26. be not yet helping his Infirmities it will not be long before he be with him making Intercessions for him i. e. working in him gronings that cannot be uttered nor long unanswered by his God if the things petitioned may be consistant with God's glory and the petitioners true good and what hinders that this soul praying to or praising God in a Form as before limited may not be accepted of God seeing God hath his whole demand of him in a way not inhibited by him as is evident Prov. 23. Vers 26. My son give me thy heart So that what St. James said of faith without works and of faith with works may be said of Common or set-Forms of Prayer without the heart going up to God with them and with the heart going up to God in or by them In the 17 Verse of the second Chapter he saith that faith if it hath not works is dead being alone and in Verse the 26th as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also faith with out works is like the body without the spirit it acts nothing to the good thereof Even so the best Forms of Common-Prayer if there be wanting in the man that utters or uses them a spirit or heart of supplication they prevail nothing with God for him they may be Vials but they are without Odours or Incense and so no sweet savour to God But then in the 22 Vers the Apostle that faith by works was made perfect and in the 23 Vers that by virtue thereof faith was imputed to Abraham for righteousness and he was called the friend of God Even so Common Forms for Prayer by fervent earnest supplicating hearts going to God in them the Common Prayers but as dead in themselves are thereby made perfect yea lively and the praying man thereby is owned of God and dealt by as his friend I shall now end my reasoning for the lawful and justifiable use of Common Forms of Prayer that suit our wants our hearts being in a praying condition with the practice of our Saviour in his bitter Agonies Matth. 26. Vers 39 and 42. there is mention of Christ's praying to the father for the Cup to pass from him and having no grant and resolving to seek God further for it in the 44 Vers 't is said he went away again and prayed the third time saving the same words And lastly To prevail with ye to come off from the dangerous Frrour ye are in as concerning the present I shall mind ye with the Reasons King Charles the First of most blessed memory hath laid down for the present purpose in his Observations upon the Ordinance against the Book of Common-Prayer I will write down some Paragraphs in that Tractate that they that have not his Book may read the Judgment of that blessed Martyr concerning the matter now in hand In the sixth Paragraph his Words are these For the manner of using set
Vain-glory or of Covetousness even by the same Spirit or ends our Saviour said was in the Scribes Pharisees and Hypocrites whose Prayers were lengthned for a shew or for pretences Luke 20.47 and Matt. 23. vers 14. But let 's see what can be said for their pretended more abundant help of the Spirit in respect to their Extemporary and Unpremeditated mode of Praying To this I answer If any will go thus to God in Prayer in private but especially in publick that is without a due premeditation and consultation with himself of the mercies received he and the people are to be thankful for or of the things they stand in need of and are to beg of God 't is no less than unwarranted singularity and rash presumption in respect to authentick and Scripture Precedents and Instructions and to term it praying by the help of God's Spirit 't is no less than Blasphemy in the highest nature Let 's look into the Scriptures for the truth hereof Gen. 24. vers 63. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field Another Translation renders it he went out to pray And the reason of these differing Translations Vatablus affirms to be because the word in the original which is Suach signifies both to Meditate and to Pray so that it might have been render'd Isaac went out to Meditate and to Pray And then it commends thus much to our Practice and the present purpose First we must meditate of God's goodness to us and our wants and that done then put up our Praises and Prayers to God being by that premeditation better inabled to perform that Duty than without it A Marginal Note upon this place saith That this was the Exercise of the godly Fathers in those times to meditate of God's merciful Pronuses and then to pray for the accomplishing of them And this was the practice of David Psal 63 vers 5 6 7. My mouth shall praise thee with joyfullips look on and you shall see David will not enter upon this Duty rashly without meditation of God's help and goodness what it was this he said he would do when he had remembred him upon his bed and meditated on him in the night watches because he had been his help The resolution of the Twelve Acts the 6th vers 4. will joyn in condemnation of this their mode of praying without premeditation at least there the Twelve said we will give our selves unto prayer continually and to the ministry of the word I presume that by their resolution of giving themselves much to prayer they neither meant a constant heathenish nor pharisaical length of prayer nor at all the late 〈…〉 kind of unpremeditated supplication both which modes have been and yet are too much in use No the Twelve by giving themselves to prayer considering the practice of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Scriptures 〈◊〉 by the same Spirit with the Twelve it was â—eâ—…t of Composing Forms of Prayer for themselves and others to put up their Prayers by or at least of searching to know by meditation their own and others 〈◊〉 they were to take care of and then to seek up with Mâ—sâ—s David and others inabled by the same Spirit of Prayer such arguments and reasons from consideration of God's promises and properties and of Christ's undertakings and from considerations of mens wants and necessities that thereby they might put up to Godâ—… effectual and servent Prayers for themselves and those they were setover by Christ Which gloss may very well be admitted as the meaning of the twelve Apostles there considering St. Paul's direction concerning Prayer who was of the same dedication with the twelve both as to Prayer and the Ministry of the Word 1 Tim. 2. vers 1 2 3. the Apostle there directing Timothy and all other Ministers of Christ after him as to the manner of praying to God He doth not there exhort to the performing of that duty in such way as that praying in this or the fore mentioned mode or manner it should be done according to God's will His Exhortation is not that men pray for Kings and all in Authority The Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I exhort that Prayers be made which word bears to be composed prepared or made ready as in a form up to God to put the desires of their hearts for all men for Kings and all in Authority that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life in all godliness and honesty 'T is confest that in the Apostles times among other miraculous gifts of the holy Ghost some had their Extemporary Effusions 1 Cor. 11.14 15. and with the 2â—th Every one of you hath a Psalm c. but the Apostle observing that this begâ—t so much Emulation Faction and confusion among them he restrained the use of those Gifts and injoyned that all things should be done decently and to that effect that they should be done 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to rule appointment and order vers 23. and the 40th Or again the former gloss upon the resolution of the twelve Apostles of giving themselves much to Prayer may be admitted as their meaning there considering what it was for them to give themselves to the Ministry of the Word for what is meant of giving themselves to the word is meant of giving themselves to Prayer Now the Apostles by giving themselves to the Ministry of the Word was meant their searching into the will of God their studying and meditating of the mind of Christ by comparing as St. Paul speaks spiritual things with spiritual Scripture with Scripture and by consulting one with another of the sure way of salvation as we see was their practice when the difference arose about Circumcision Acts 15. from vers 1. to the 30th Which thing is also evident from the practice of the Apostle St. Paul whose giving himself to the Ministry of the Word was doing what he commended in others 1 Tim. 5. vers 17. namely labouring in the Word and Doctrine by study and meditation of the word of God joyned to the assistance of God's spirit that was helping of him So that I see not but that that place where the twelve Apostles resolved to give themselves much to Prayer rightly expounded gives a suffrage with the practice of Isaac David and others in condemning this mode of unpremeditated praying to God And so I shall end my declamation against it with part of the second Verse of the fifth Chapter of Ecclesiastes the end whereof before with other places of Scripture gave sentence against the heathenish and pharisaical mode of Prayer Be not rash with your mouths and let not your hearts be hasty henceforth to utter any thing before God for God is in heaven and you upon earth But though I have said thus much against the two former modes of Prayer as they be used by the factious against both Scripture Precedents and Rules for Devotion yet I would have the Adversaries know that I am not so against sudden and unpremeditated Prayers or
Saviour in Luke 11. vers 11 12 13. to make men importunate and diligent seekers of God in Prayer If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father will be give him a stone or if he ask a fish will be give him a serpent or if he ask him an egg will be give him a scorpion No the summ is this an earthly Father will give a Child upon request the things he hath need of Ay but what follows how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to them that ask him But if there be never so much willingness to help yet if there be not ability to relieve there will be but a slack and faint address made though there be never so much want But now ye may see our Church here after the Practice of our Saviour hath made provision for the latter as well as for the former for it ascribes to him power to forgive all sins and to amend all sinfulness of life in man in attributing to him almightiness as well as it preached before his willingness in those words placed before the Confession and Supplication Almighty and most merciful Father See Exod. 32. Vers 31. And in the close of this Confession and Prayer the Church follows Christ there and the Saints of God close There our Church helps a devout soul to plead strongly with God for forgiveness and assisting grace by way of an humble remembrancing of God of his PRomise made to Mankind thereupon in Christ Jesus And citer that pleads with God for his help to amend their lives that they might be instruments for his glory thereby And indeed it ye look upon the Absolution upon the second Collect at Morning Prayer which is for Peace upon the third which is for Grace upon the second at Evening-Prayer which is for peace of Conscience peace with God upon the Prayers for his Majesty the King for the Queen the Duke of York and the Royal Family for the Ministers of the Word and all Congregations committed to their charge and upon most of the Pravers to be used with the forementioned Prayers in our daily Devotions they are fitted to awaken and help our Faith and â—â—…erchy to strengthen our wrastling souls with God by Prayer that we might overcome him as Jacob did at Peniel and the Lord not able to deny us blessings meet for us and his own glory And now look upon some of the Prayers and Thanksgivings of them that have so dispised the former and are so much more inabled by the Spirit to those Duties by their own Pretensions and see which have come nearest the help of our Saviour and the powerful and argumentative way of the canonized Saints in the Calendar of the Spirit of God At a Market-Town in Norfolk there being a Meeting in order to setting up the Presbyterian Government the Minister in his Sermon instructing the Lay-Elders as to the due execution of their places told them they must be as exquisite Chirurgeons who have Hauks eyes Ladies hands and Lions hearts But one of that Faction taking on him to pray a Blessing upon the work of the day among other things he desired God he would give the Lay-Elders Hauks eyes Ladies hands and Lions paws That I shall not omit of one in his Prayer before his Sermon in his Thanksgivings blessed God for the twelve Bishops being sent to the Tower in the long and mad Parliament because that thereupon God had set Christ Jesus twelve steps higher in his Throne than ever he was before Another Minister being to Preach a Funeral Sermon at another Minister's Parish he that officiated before the Sermon read the 8th of Ecclesiastes where in the 4th Verse 't is said Where the word of a King is there is power and who can say to him what doest thou The Minister that was to Preach being for the present Rebellion fearing the people in all probability might have been brought to or continued in Loyalty upon the remembrance of Solomen's Doctrine used this poisonous Antidote in his Prayer before the Sermon O Lord though Solomon hath said that Kings cannot be controuled yet we thy people know by the Spirit that Kings may be questioned and call'd to account I will insert but one more Expression in Prayer which was lately told me by one that heard it being present himself at a Church in Suffolk in the Prayer of a Minister in great esteem in those days After some Groanings and small coughing Respits these words came forth Lord go on with thy Reformation while it is time and after some more coughing Respits he went on thus For if thou dost not thou wilt not know what to do And that these and such like ridiculous and profane Expressions and dead argumentative helps were too frequently used in the Prayers of those so boldly assuming to themselves a superlative or extraordinary help of the Spirit to call upon God are in common charity and probability to be received as truth even by those that have not heard them or the like to them considering the report as to such like particulars left to be published by King Charles the First of most blessed memory being then in his own thoughts but a few steps from the grave For in his Observations upon the Ordinance against the Book of Common-Prayer in the twelfth Paragraph there having stigmatized many of their Prayers with statness rudeness confusion ridiculous repetitions yea with sensless and oft-times blasphemous Expressions c. In the thirteenth Paragraph he concludes to my present purpose in these following words Wherein they must be straâ—â—â—…ly 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 prophane a manner But notwithstanding what hath been last sâ—â—d I cannot but grant that some of them infatuated with the same spiritual pride and self conceitedness have been more prudent and careful than others in composing and wording their Publick Prayers but yet if they be weighed in the Sâ—des and with the Weights of the Sanctuary with the Collects and Prayers of our Liturgy so despised by them their best Prayers will be found lighter than the other in the judgment of meek humble and devout souls knowing how to pray as they ought through the help of the Spirit of God Look upon the sixth Consideration which begins thus How little good if any at all hath been done by the long use of the Service-Book though men have prayed long by it that the rest of their lives might be holy and righteous yet they still continue profane and unrighteous The Author's opinion there is thus Those men that have made never so long use of the Service-Book and have prayed never so long by it to God for a sanctified and righteous life have never attained to any part thereof It appears plainly to be his opinion for
that perhaps because he would not have the Church of England nor the Worshippers of God by the said Book to have the honour to be thought to share with them in the happy events of their ways Verily I think none shall need to be offended at their secluding them from their Fellowship or Fraternity therein for both Presbyterian and Independant in most of their undertakings were but like Simeon and Levi brethren in Iniquity and at the last day without repentance must have the same doom they had from their father Jacob Gen. 49 vers â— Cursed be their anger for it was fierce and their wrath for it was cruel Well but to take it in his own terms that it was offensive to many Christians This term of Christian was the ancient and best name was given to true believers in Christ after his Assension this name is in the opinion of Divines that St. James spake of in 2d chap. vers 7. which he saith was the worthy name whereby believers were called And Divines describe a Christian as followeth namely to be one that is endowed through Grace with Faith and the holy Ghost serving God in righteousness and true holiness all his days as a person dedicated to Christ Now if the Author should produce any Christian according to this description which I am confident he cannot do or according to any description hereof congruous to the Scripture sence that ever was offended at the worshipping of God in this Form of Prayer yet there 's but little said to the Author's fore-mentioned purpose namely of that Book being an offence to many Christians it being but an offence taken where none is justly given I can easily grant that the Book of Common-Prayer was offensive to such Christians as this Author means and as himself was and so was many parts of the whole Bible In the 1st Book of the Kings chap. 22. vers 8. Ahab loved not to enquire of the Lord by Micaiah because he prophesied no good concerning him but evil And if the Author and others offended at the Book would publish the reason thereof from their hearts 't is probable 't is because there 's nothing of good for them there but evil being in those perverse ways For as I said before should they have used that Liturgy in the time of the Wars using the Forms of Prayer they must as much as in them lay have been blessing them they were fighting against and cursing themselves and their cursed undertakings And truly from those Lessons Epistles and Gospels culled out of the Scriptures and injoined by the Liturgy to be read in our daily Service The whole Book is but a Micaiah to them prophecying no good to them but evil for therein they must have found themselves an Army fighting against the Almighty God to their sudden both present and eternal overthrow and confusion without repentance Now to have done speaking to the groundless exceptions against the Common-Prayer Book in this 12th Consideration I have this following Opinion That if the Author and his Party could upon the two former reasons have procured our Church and the Civil State of the Kingdom to have serpentized the Book of Common-Prayer as Hezekiah did the Nehushtan they would be soon Scribling and Printing either to have the Scriptures the full set and stinted Rule for Faith and Obedience to be taken away and destroyed they having the Spirit in a more abundant measure than formerly as to help to call upon God as in Consideration the Fifth So also to set up upon their Assertions another fuller and righter Rule for Faith and Obedience leading to salvation or else at least to have the Romish Priviledge of an Expurging Index to have the Texts in the Scriptures expunged and left out in the Printed Bibles that make for Obedience and Subjection to the higher Powers either in Church or State And also all places that command or commend Unity Order Peace or Conformity in or to the Churches of Christ and whatsoever in the Bible make against their Opinions and Practices Which Opinion of mine may be looked upon as charitable or true considering among other things of that kind I could instance and prove was acted at Much-Hâ—â—â—…um Church in Hartford-shire by Mr. Hardwick Chaplain to the Earl of Warwick usurping the Cure after Doctor Pask Master of Clare-Hall was outed and sequestred for the said Hardwick reading in the Church for part of his own or the Morning-Service before Sermon the 1â—2 Psalm having read to the last Verse which contained God's Promise of clothing the Enemies of his anointed with shame c. he passed by the Verse and then went on Which Mr. Hern there present observing went out of the Church immediately and according to his resolution upon Hardwick's not owning one place of Scripture as well as another heard him no more the time he lived in Town And thus the Dissenters from the Church of England that have lived and do live among us through pretence of their New Light which is the blackness of darkness here their contrary Revelations to those in the time of the Gospel and before and through their false and groundless Expositions of holy Scripture they have darkned the Heavens of God and the light of his Grace so in this life that they have done in this our Age as our Saviour said the Scribes Pharisees and Hypocrites had done then Matt. 23. vers 13. namely shut up the Kingdom of Heaven before men neither going in themselves nor suffering many that would enter to go in Blessed Lord in whose hands are the heads and hearts of all men lighten the darkness of all their understandings change and soften all their hearts that they may recover their strength and strengthen all them they have seduced before they go hence and be not seen To the 13th Consideration which is this Whether one end of Christ's coming into the World was not to redeem men from the Rudiments and Traditions of men of which this is one And whether it be not against the Blood and Spirit and Gospel of Christ 1 Pet. 1.18 19. Hebr. 9.10 11. The Opinion of the Author in this Consideration may be set forth in two Propositions The first is this One end of Christ's coming into the World was to put an end to the Use and Observation of the Ruliments and Traditions of men and to the Use of the Common-Prayer Book Established in the Church of England by Queen Elizabeth King James and King Charles the First in the years 1500 and 1600 after his coming into the World or going out of it The latter part of the Proposition is evidently a conclusion flowing from the Consideration for he saith that this Book of Common-Prayer was one of the Rudiments or Traditions that Christ came to put an end to In answer to which Proposition I say The end of Christ's coming into the World was to compleat the love and kindness of God to Mankind which was the redemption and