themselves and consequently that the appointment and commanding of his own Worship is a darling prerogative unto him the glory whereof he will not give unto another The truth of this Doctrine runs clearly enough in other veines of Scripture besides those in which we have seen it already by the opening and arguing of which we might have more enterviews and appearances of it in somewhat differing shapes How strict is the charge of God unto men neither to add to nor take from the Word which he hath commanded them that they turn not aside from it either to the right hand or to the left Deut. 4.2 5.32 12.32 17.20 28.14 Josh 1.7 Pro. 30.6 Rev. 22.18 19. Doubtless they who turn their backs upon the Appointments and Commandments of God concerning his Worship and will impose Apocryphal Forms and Models of Worship upon men saying in effect first to God himself Except thou wilt be pleased with that worship which we prescribe and enjoyn thou shalt not be worshipped at all as far as we have to do and then unto Men Unless you will worship God after our mode and with the worship which we enjoyn you be it good or be it bad true or false you shall not worship 〈◊〉 at all if we can help or prevent it such mâ—n I say is these do â—o a very broad sence both add unto and diminish from the Word 〈◊〉 God hath commanded I shall not need to interpreâ—â—r preâ—◠〈…〉 of this assertion And indeed for the conviction and 〈…〉 of those that are spiritually ingenious and tremble to detain the truth in unrighteousness that which hath been already argued and pleaded from the Scriptures I know cannot but suffice But for those that are contentious or of cavilling spirits and do not will not obey the Truth if it toucheth the apple of their eye and thwart their carnal interest the Sun and a Sack-cloth the Light of the Noon-day and the Darkness of the Mid-night seven Demonstrations from the Scriptures and seven Stories out of the Golden Legion are much alike Yet let us in a few words further weigh and consider that ingenuous acknowledgment of the great Apostle Paul to the Corinthians that he had not a dominion over their Faith 2 Cor. 1.24 To have dominion over a mans Faith requireth a lawful Authority to impose any thing upon him to be believed which the Impoâ—er pleaseth or judgeth meet upon the account of his own judgement and will and under what penalty he pleaseth and again to prohibit him the believing any thing upon the like tearms Now then evident it is that neither Paul nor Cephas nor Principalities nor Powers nor Cherubims nor Seraphims nor all the Angels in Heaven have any dominion over the Faith of men but only He whose judgment is universally and in all things infallible and his will in like manner impeccable Especially the Dominion we speak of is not competent unto cannot reasonably be imagined to be vested in such a creature that knoweth but in part that seeth darkly and through a glass only and besides is sold under sin and in or with his flesh serveth the Law of sin all which our Apostle acknowledgeth of himself and that which concerneth imperfection of knowledge he affirmeth of all men without exception even of the most enlightned Christians 1 Cor. 13.9 12. And if so great an Apostle who was so high in favour with God as to be taken up into the third Heaven where he heard words that were unspeakable and which it was not lawful or possible these were the same with Paul for a man to utter and who doubtless knew more of the mind of God and of Christ than all the world besides and beyond all this was so mightily subdued under the Truth that as he professeth he could do nothing against it but do and suffer all things for it yea and was so effectually mortified unto the world that he could most gladly spend and be spent for the souls of men if I say an Apostle thus highly accomplished above all his fellows and in the largest capacity amongst ten thousand to be made a Lord over the Faith of men yet was not by God judged meet for such an investiture himself declaring and professing as much as we heard how intollerable is it in men who being compared with Paul scarce hold the proportion of the snuff of a Candle to the Sun to claim and exercise that most high and sacred Dominion we speak of as if it were vested by God in them Or do they any whit less than claim exercise it who under sore mulcts and penalties impose a necessity upon men to believe subscribe unto and teach what conceits opinions and tenets they please in things appertaining to God and withall to renounce and abjure all such opinions and perswasions which please them not Or do not they broadly usurp the Dominion we speak of who command men at the peril of their Estates Livelyhoods Liberties c. to believe that such or such a Form of divine Worship which pleaseth them pleaseth God also yea and that it pleaseth him better than any other Form yea than any other Worship whatsoever which they are capable of performing or exhihibiting unto him Or do they thus command men to use their Form of Worship whether they whom they command believe it to be pleasing unto God or no If this be the sence of their command it is yet more imperiously impious and horridly prophane Therefore in commanding them to use it they implicitely yet next to explicitly command them to believe it to be lawful and good Nay if they rightly understood the nature and import of that command of theirs we speak of they do not only command those on whom they impose it to believe that the Form of Worship enjoyned them is simply lawful but that it is better and more acceptable unto God not only than any other set Form of Worship they can use but then any other Worship kind or manner of Worship whatsoever of which they are capable For he that shall use any set Form of Worship without such a belief as this I mean without being perswaded in his soul that he cannot Worship God better in any other way or by any other Form exposeth himself to the curse denounced Mal. 1.14 Cursed be the Deceiver that hath a male in his flock and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing debile a weak thing as the Latine rendreth which Grotius explains by vitiosum aut foemininum that which is faulty or feminine For I am a great King saith the Lord of Hosts and my Name is dreadfull among the Heathen What hath been demonstrated from the Scriptures concerning the Prerogative of God touching his own Worship is not obscurely taught by the Light of Nature it self and by the Principles of Reason especially if we shall allow them now and then a little assistance and relief from the Scriptures For 1. The Light
dreggs of the Cup of his fury then adventure upon Worship of a humane Original and Generation But I leave you to the conscientious perusal of the ensuing Discourse which is full fraught with cogent Arguments for the Authority of Jesus Corist and against the frothy Impositions of defiling Inventions in the Worship of God The Lord grant that the living Words of this Dead Saint may be blessed to the purpose by him intended to the awakening of some who are now snoreing in the Lap of the * Nah. 3.4 well-favoured Harlot and to the establishment of others in the present Truth C. W. Common-Prayer-Book Devotions Episcopal Delusions OR The second Death of the Service-Book THE Liturgy or Common-Prayer commonly used in our Parish Churches relateth unto the conscience of him that useth it and of him that desireth to be understandingly satisfied about the lawfulness or unlawfulness of the use of it both in the matter and form or substance but especially in the injunction or imposition of it by men I shall at present not say much unto it in the former relation only in case the imposition were taken off and Ministers and People left at full liberty the one whether they would read it the other whether they would attend upon it or no these amongst many other particulars would be very considerable 1. Whether God under the New Testament or since Christ ascended on high to give gifts unto men ever commanded or required or spake a word of such a thing or whether ever it came into his mind or heart Jer. 7.31 19.5 to be worshipped by his Saints in their Publick Assemblies by a stinted form of Liturgy and Prayers not to be altered or varied from from generation to generation upon any imergencies of Providence whatsoever unless the Powers and Potentates of the Earth shall interpose with their Swords and Scepters to command it and consequently whether they who draw near unto him in this Worship have not as much cause to fear the breaking-out of his Jealousie upon them as Nadab and Abihu had for offering strange fire before the Lord which he commanded them not Levit. 10.1 and whether the patience and long-suffering of God exercised towards persons offending in this kind in these dayes be not to lead them to repentance Rom. 2.4 2. Whether in case it were or upon good grounds could be supposed that it may be pleasing enough unto God to be worshipped by his Saints in their holy Assemblies with set forms of Liturgies and Prayers being left free and not imposed namely if they be for matter and form irreprovable or such as they may be it could notwithstanding reasonably be supposed withall that Worship according to any model or draught of Liturgy or Prayers whatsoever would be thus pleasing unto him More particularly whether a Worship conform to the image of such a Liturgy as we shall now characterize or describe in part would be in any degree pleasing unto him as viz. 1. which shall be a rhapsody medley or confused heap of a multitude of ingredients heterogeneal and of opposit natures Mollia cum duris sine pondere habentia pondus Things soft and hard things weighty and things light as the Poet describes the constirution of the old Chaos no more meet to be moulded together into the same body of an Evangelical Worship than God under the Law judged an Ox or an Ass to be yoked together for service in the same plough as for instance Canonicals and Apocriphals the heavenly sayings of Christ and the fabulous reports of Tobit the Psalms of David and the Song of S. Ambrose Magnificat and Quicunque vult passages and expressions some grave and serious solid and distinct others ludicrous and light barbarous obscure and truthless 2. Wherein the Prayer-devotion prescribed is or shall be ordered with that strange unsutableness to the simplicity of the Gospel that 1. the Lord's Prayer which was delivered by him with a special intent to prevent battologies or vain repetitions in prayer Mat. 6.7 8 9. compared is it self injoyned to be repeated over and over and over and I know not how often without any reason given or easie to be taken for any one of these repetitions in their respective places this disposition of it can be resolved into no other reason or cause but the meer phansy and will of the Contriver who by it seems to have been acted by the spirit of this superstition condemned by Christ Mat. 6.7 that men shall be heard for their much speaking or for the tale and number of their prayers only said over and repeated Besides this Prayer is ordered to be at the same time audibly pronounced by all the Congregation and Minister together in some of the said places Again 2. the great body of this Prayer-devotion is so ill handled not to mention the unsound constitution in several veins and parts of it that it is divided in sunder and some parts of it severed from others in several places by Psalms and Songs by Chapters and broken pieces of Chapters under the false titles of Epistles and Gospels whereof they are but small snips or shreds by Creeds or Confessions of Faith thrust in between and besides it is in some places chopped or minced into small pieces or particles and a distribution of them made some to the Minister and some to the People as if the People were to be the mouth of the Minister unto God as well as he theirs in the publick Assemblies yea when Minister and People are acting their parts in these strains of Prayer interchangeably assigned unto them there is such a bandying and tossing of devotions to and again from one to the other in a gingling and mymmical manner that it much resembles the jolly scene of a set of Ale-inspired Companions chanting their drunken Catches upon a bench 3. Where this great body of praying-devotion is compounded and made up of many lesser bodies of prayers the greatest part of which are more intire and distinct bodies in this kind than the main body or bulk rather made up of them all being closed and sealed up respectively with so many Amens Which is a method or manner of praying no where recommended unto us in the Scriptures by the Holy Ghost 4. Where there are appropriate devotions as Prayers under the Apocryphal name of Collects Epistles Gospels select Chapters c. for several dayes forced by the unjust hand of humane powers out of that allowance of six dayes in the week which God himself was pleased to make unto men to provide themselves by their honest labour of things needful for this present life and dedicated by men to the honour and service of certain Saints long since dead and so these days though but of humane consecration are here made equal in all points with the Lord's days themselves 5. Where the Service prescribed and enjoyned under the specious pretext of being Divine consisting of short pieces or Sentences of Scriptures of
of Nature carrieth us up to the Truth we contend for by these gradations or steps 1. It teacheth us that God is to be worshipped by his creature Man 2. That he is to be worshipped with such Worship which is most agreeable unto the excellency of his Nature and Divine Being and which is most honourable for him to receive 3. It teacheth us further That that Worship which is most agreeable unto his Nature and most honourable for him to receive is to be dictated and prescribed by the most perfect knowledge of his Nature and Being that is to be found For he that is in any degree ignorant of these cannot direct a Worship or manner of Worship agreeable to Him or to his Nature as he may who perfectly knoweth Him and comprehendeth all his Perfections 4. The same Teacher likewise informeth us That every creature is finite and partaketh of Entity and Being but by measure and that God the Creator of all things is Infinite and He only 5. From the same hand we are clearly instructed yet further That the most perfect of Creatures being Finite is not able no not by the greatest enlargement of its endowments or abilities from God to know perfectly or to comprehend the Infinite Perfection of the Divine Being but that God by the advantage of his Infinity is able fully to comprehend it yea that he doth actually thus comprehend it By this series or chain of natural Maxims we are advanced unto the ground of our present contest namely That God himself is only competent to prescribe and dictate his own Worship all Creatures being strangers in comparison of himself to his most transcendent Excellency and Being and consequently incompetent to contrive or frame a Worship suitable unto him and much more to impose some upon others and this with extream rigour any Form of Worship of their own devising this being interpreted by the premises being a Worship unsuitable to the Nature of God and so unacceptable unto him Again 2. The Light of Nature enlighteneth our Judgments with this Truth That the Worship manner or kind of Worship which is agreeable to the Nature of God and so accepted with him is but one and the same Worship or kind of Worship as his Nature is but one and the same So that though he commandeth every Kindred and Tongue and People and Nation under Heaven to worship him yet the Worship which he requireth of them all is for manner and kind but one and the same nor diversified in any such respect as these by any exigency of circumstance one or more whatsoever What this one kind of Worship is which we affirm God requireth of all shall be shewed in due place and this ere long In the mean time proceed we with our Argument in hand If God requireth one and the same kind of Worship of all People and Nations doubtless he hath not invested any of these Nations much less the Rulers or Governours of any of these Nations with any authority or right of power to worship him with what kind or form of Worship they please Much less hath he given authorrity to any one part or party in any of these Nations to impose upon all the rest in their Nation contrary to their Judgments and Consciences what manner form or kind of Worship they fancy to be best pleasing unto him Or if he hath given any such authority as this unto the ruling or prevailing party in any one of these Nations questionless he hath given the like or the same unto the like party or parties in them all for there is no competent Reason assignable why any difference should be made between them in this case If then the Rulers and Governours of all Nations under Heaven have an equal right of Power derived unto them from God to impose upon the People under them what Worship seemeth good in their eyes Idolatrous Princes shall have as much and as lawful authority to impose any Idolatrous Worship upon those under them as those that know God and are truly religious have to impose a better Worship upon those that are subject unto them For there is little question to be made but that in the eyes of an Idolatrous Prince an Idolatrous Worship will seem as good or better as the truest Worship doth in the eyes of a Prince truly Christian If it be said A Prince imposing an Idolatrous Worship abuseth his Authority but this ought not to be pleaded in Bar to the regular and due exercise of the like Authority by another Prince I answer 1. If he hath Authority from God to impose such a VVorship which he judgeth to be good and pleasing unto God he doth not abuse this Authority by acting according to the tenor and purport of it which he doth when he imposeth only such a Worship which he really judgeth to be good however he be mistaken in his judgement in the case 2. A Prince professing Christian Religion abuseth his Authority as much or rather more when he imposeth upon his Subjects being Christians any false VVorship or such which is displeasing unto God And however when he adventures to impose any VVorship at all not being infallible he runs a double hazard of abusing his Authority For first he may mistake the VVorship which he imposeth supposing it to be legitimate and pleasing unto God when indeed it is spurious and an abhorring to his soul Men of great learning and parts and studied in the Scriptures far above the ordinary rate of Princes have with great confidence built errours and mistakes as great and dangerous as that upon misprisions of Scriptuere Secondly The Prince we speak of runneth yet a greater hazard of abusing his Authority in imposing any VVorship at all because he cannot know no nor yet conjecture upon any probable or competent grounds that it is pleasing unto God that he should impose any thing in this kind Yea it is scarce any question at all but that to compell men by penal threatnings and executions to submit to any form or kind of Worship be it never so plausible is an abuse of any created Authority whatsoever Besides all this If God imposeth one and the same Worship or kind of Worship upon all Nations under Heaven which is a supposition of unquestionable Truth as was lately hinted with the ground of it he should act contrary to his own Design or Command in this behalf in case he should give Authority to the Rulers of these Nations or to any party in them respectively to set up or impose what forms or kinds of Worship they should apprehend and judge to be most fitting to be imposed or set up The grant of such Authority would be a direct course to fill the world with as many forms and shapes or kinds of Worship as there are Nations in it and Rulers over them yea and all that enormous variety of superstitious idolatrous and false Worships which are or have been imposed countenanced practised in