\j '*W •^ L(c J '/ J /^, "^ -^ /^ / Z^- C()-^4^ <-. a-^ -^-^ ^. ^. X-^^^~ /9-/^o ^ LIBRA.RY OF THE Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N. J. Case, >T-^. 7 •. Secti o n . Coo/f, No.. / FREE and CANDID DISQUISITIONS Church of ^/^^/k^oLOGtOS^L A N D T H E '"'^^»hi^-^lim:^'SL Means of advancing Religion therein. AddrefTed to the GOVERNING POWERS ^ .. . IN Church and Statej And more immediately direlSed to the Tv^ HOUSES of ICDN VOCATION. Confulite in medium^ & rebus fuccurrite fejjis : Nunc res ipfa vocat. ViRG. Such a Review made by ivife and peaceable men, not ^injen to v.'roth and difputing, may he fo far from being a dijhonar to this Church, that it may add to the glory of it. Bifhop Stilling fleet, pref. to unreaf, of Sep. To beg farnefll^ of God, thnt He njjould direSl the hearts of thofe, nvhc preftde over the public luelfare ; and humbly to reprefent to them, on all fit occufions, the declining fate of Religion, the importance and the means of prefer =ving it ; thefe things are un- quejlionable duties. JBifhop of Oxford^ charge, I 738. LONDON: Printed for A . Millar, oppofite to Katharine- Street^ in the Stroiil PviDCCXLIX, ,f ;# (ill) PREFACE. TH E Editors of tbefe papers, being iil- trufted with the care of them, by the Gentlemen, who were principally con- cerned in drawing them up, beg leave to give the following: account of them to the Public. 'o The defign, it feems, has been under cori- fideration, and carrying on leifurely, from time to time, for fome years. When the obferva- tions, that were brought together, were digeft- ed into fome order, and the work in a com- petent degree finiflied ftho' it hath received confiderable improvements fince) a copy of it was, in the winter 1746, lodged in the hands of a very eminent and worthy Prelate, with an humble reqaefl to his Lcrdfliip, that he would vouchfate, if he fo thought fit, to com- a a municate [ iv ] niunicate the contents of it to the Syncd at one of their meetings. The copy then fent was in manufcript ; the Authors rightly judging, that in a concern of this nature, it was not altogether fo proper to make the application public, 'till it had firft been prefented to the Synod in writing. Which will account for the meaning of fome expreffions in the courfe thereof, that would otherwife, very probably, be fomewhat ob- fcLire. Whether it hath been judged advifeable to lay the copy above mentioned before the Con- vocation *, or indeed whether there was ever any opportunity given to prefent it to any ufe- ful purpofe, we are not able to fay ; tho' on fome conliderations we are rather inclined to think there hath been none siven. For our Convocation-feffions of late have ufually been fo very fhort and imperfecfl, that nothing of any moment could be done in them : Nor hath any thing at all perhaps been done, befides keeping up the form ; which, tho' in other re- ipedts ufelefs, feems in fome fort neceiTary, or, * The authors having heard no more of that copy, have thought fit, after having waited a convenient time, and Ihewn all poiTible regard to their Governors, to put into our hands that, which follows J leaving it wholly to our difcrction to make what life of it we (hould think proper. Wc flatter ourfelves, that if we could offer no other reafon, the importance of the fubjetfl will be a fufficient apology for our making it public. at r V ] at leaf!:, expedienf, in order to preferve on foot the ancient privilege and cuftom^ 'till it fhall feem good to the Government (which we hope it may in time) to make fome new regulations in its favor. This fuggefts to us an occafion to fay fome- thing concerning the following addrefs being dired:ed, as, in general, to our Governors in Church and State, fo more efpecially and im- mediately to the two Houfes of Co?ivocation, The Authors, we are perfuaded, did it out of refpeB ; and th?y {hew, we think, the greatefl, through ther whole performance. They had, as they tell us, the following ends in view, when they chofe to apply chiefly to Convocation, rather thm to any other body of men, or to the Public in general, I. They judged the Convocation to be the body reprefentative of the Clergy and Church of Englaftd And it being their defire to ap- ply to both, they conceived they could not do it more properly, than by applying to the AfTembly, that reprefented them. For tho* that AfTembly be now in fa(5l little more than nominal ; yet fince they are llill convened in legal form, and no law, that we know of, hath of late been pafTed, to abolifh any privileges originally belonging to them ; our friends, we can obferve from the manner of their Addrefs, a 3 have [vi] have thought fit to apply to them, not as dl- velted of power, but as enjoying it, as far as the laws allow. And tho' the laws may pof- fibly allow them more than they adually exercife ; yet it may feem prudent enough in the Convocaiion to forbear the exercife of fome part of iheir power in prefent circumftances, and to pay an obliging deference to the autho- rity of the State : Which undoubtedly for wife reafons (which fome former Convoca- tions have but too evidently explained) hath thought lit to put a negative to their proctredings in fome cafes. Happy had it been, if the oc- cafion had never been given. But it cannot now be helped. We muft fubmit to the wifdom of our Governors, and lament the in- difcreiion of our forefathers. 2, The writers of this addrefs, being con- cerned to fee the great, and perhaps in fome refpeds undeferved contempt, -^ under which the •j- We muft here beg leave to fubjoin a Note, tho' no very agreeable one, we preiume, to thofe, who defire the advance- ment of rehgion, and are for maintaining the honor of the Church of England. The Convocation (as Godolphin tells Pi) is the highejl ecckfiajiical court in the Kingdom. And we are afi'ured by others, who thorowly underftand our laws, that it is efiential to our conflitucion. It muft therefore be matter of grief to fee it obferved, with too much truth, in print, that * the Coni'cication is no^v rendred Juch an inconfiderahle body of men, that it is become the jeft and f corn of the Nation, and lookt upon as an j^Jfembly ^without any rights, poivers or pri'vileges at all i^ and which is more, * the mojt defpicahle convention in the nvorld, an AJfembly fit only to be called together to be told they are only ;0 be fummontd, but ne-ver to meet, Jit, and ail to do any thing: [vii] the Convocation is now fallen, thought it their duty to apply to them, in order, if poffible, to retrieve in fome meafure the refped:, that is due to them. For they are humbly of opi- nion, as we find by their difcourfe, that the character of the Convocation is not yet fo low, but that it may be reftored to a proper flan- dard, by taking proper methods to reftore it. And they think this may in fome meafure be done, by making a public Addrefs to them, and thereby drawing towards them the atten- tion of the Public. thing.'' -^Pudet hac opprohri^e, &c. On the Other hand it is ob- ferved with no lefs truth, and not more to our credit, that ' the AJJimbl^ of Fresbperiam in Scotland, the Presbyterians and Qua- kers in England, ha rH, than this; that we have fairly and * ingeni'oufly delivered our own thoughts ; * and th .fe thoughts lie before them and the ' wo. Id to judge of. * But we call to mind, how ufual it is in * thefc ca'es, with men of more prejudice and ' palTion than good fenfe and refinement, to * launch out into invedlive, and throw con- * tempt on thofe, who differ from them. As * to which, we (hall only obfcrve, that the * common methods of inve6tive and con- ' tempt, as they are very improper upon any * ferious fubjedl, will be more fo upon this, * if we have been ferious in the management * of it, and paid all due regard to thofe we * ap, ly to. Nothing of that low kind, wc * are fure, will fall from our Governors, or * from any other perfons of education and * learning. « Neverthelefs, if it fliall be the ill fortune * either of us or our fubjedt, to be treated by * any in an unbecoming manner, we muft * take this opportunity to advertife our friends * and [XV] and countrymen, that as fuch treatment will, we flatter ourfelves, be abfolutely undeferved by us, fo it is not to expedled, that our judg- ment ihould be convinced, or our fentiments, if they fhould happen to be erroneous, al- tered, by fo improper a method of contro- verfy. * No ; it is reafon alone, joined with Cbrif- tian condefcenfion in our Governors, and with charity and good temper in our bre- thren and equals^ will do the bulinefs. And we conceive juft hopes of our equals, bre- thren, and Governors, that having the honor of God, and the welfare of this Church principally in their view, they will cordially concur in all proper meafures to advance • both 'j and, by their pious and prudent ma- • nagement, prevent all unnecelTary debates ; ' which the prefcnt attempt is lincerely cal- ' culated, as well to prevent, as to render need- ^ lefs for the future. Nor do we know of ' any other method more likely (under the ' bleffing of Heaven) to fettle the peace of • the Church, and the fatisfadlion of all, who • are confiderate, intelligent, and unpreju- • diced in her communion. * Atho* we would willingly flatter ourfelves • (if that was poflible, or the profpedl likely) • that we fhall meet with no oppofltion ; yet ' conlidering the nature of frail humanity, ' the [ xvi ] ' the bias of education, and the force of prc- * judice arifing fiom ir, we can fcarce be fo * fangi:inej and muft have forgotten, that we * have converfed with mankind, before we * can expedt, that all will be favourable to us. * However, being encouraged by very wife ' and good men, who are entire friends to our * caufe and to us, we are tempted to hope, * that neidier that nor ourfelves will be much * hurt by oppofition. Which, if any, we * expect will come from either the one or the * other of thefe two forts of perfons, if not * from both, viz. either from men of zeal * without knowledge, or men of much read- * ing, without equal judgment ; and both * without that candor and elevation of thought, * which are fuch dillinguifliing beauties in all * good writing. ' As for ourfelves, we defire to write like * men of ingenuity and liberal education :J: ; * and % It was a noble wifli and declaration of the celebrated Dr. Ifo^v, worthy a Chrirtian Divine, who had exalted ideas of Chriftianity, and his foul molded into its temper ; Faxtt Nu- men, ut njel /iterno ego Jtlentio inter non fcrihentes dditefcantt 'vel fempery ut 'virum ingenuum, liberalis ac genera f^ educat'tonis, vera- que philofophia Jiudiofum decet, fcribam : Veritatis unica indaga- tor, ahjqite omni ftytt acerbitate, mitts, nrbanus, Candidas ; r.d id, cuod indecens eji, e.deo non pronus, ut nee mo'vendtts. Prcrtnonit. ad Job. Malalfs chron. 1691. Were the Chriltian world fo happy as to aboimd with men of this turn of thought, and this temper of mind (and oh that tlic glorious day were once come !) contro- verfies would loon beat an end ; or clfe would be managed with that decency, and candor, and mutual refpeill ; which, inftea4 of [ xvii ] * and, if we may be allowed the favor, to be * anfwered by fuch, as are hippy in both, and ' can (hew both their ingenuity and breeding * by their writing. If anfwered by perfons * of a different charader, we can, and proba- ■ biy (hall, fliew our fentiments of them and ■ their writings by our filence only j freely leaving the public to judge between them and us, both as to the merits of the caufe of each, and the manner, in which each have written. * If, in this effay, we have offered any thing contrary to reafon and Chriftianity (which always coincide ;) or any thing but what Chriftianity and reafon plainly did:ate ; we defire no other favor from thofe, who under- ftand both better than we do, than to make it plain to the world and to us, that what we have offered, is inconfiftent with the principles of either. * But of making the writings on fuch fubjefts to be the mofl difagrce- able and hurtful, would render them perhaps fome of the mod entertaining; and moft ufeful of all forts of writings Want of temper, want of judgment, want of a juft knowlege of the world, and of jull obfervations on mankind; and above, all, want of the true fpirit of Chriftianity, and of an enlarged view of its great dcfign, is the grand obftacle, which hinders fuch a noble way' of thinking and v/riting from entring into the world and becoming the delight and pratSice of every Chriftian, who hath a genius for writing, and a defirc and ability to ferve God and his generation, by clearing up truth, and making it appear as amiable in the tya of men. b What [ xviii ] * But if, on the contrary, we have fpoken * only the words of truth and fobernefs, ac- * cording to the |.»rinciples of reafon and the * Gofpel ; and if upon exumination, and ap- What an excellent: piece of advice is that which our Reformers give us in one of their homilies againft contention ! ' If any thing * be neceirary to be taught, rcaioned, or diiputed, let us do it * with all meeknels, foftnefs, and lenity. If any thing fliall * chance to be fpoken uncomely, let one bear another's frailty. ' He that is faulty, let him rather amend, than defend that, * which he hath ipoken amifs ; left he fall, by contention, from * a foolifh error, into an obllinate herefy. For it is better to * give place meekly, than to win the victory with the breach * of charity ; which chanceth, when every man will defend his ' opinion obltinalely.— — The wifdom that cometh from above, * from the Spirit of God, is chafte and pure, corrupted with * no evil aiFeftions : it is quiet, meek, and peaceable, abhor- ' ring all defire of contention : it is tractable, obedient, not * g'""<^g'"g ^o learn, and to give place to them that teach better * for their reformation. For there fhall never be an end of * ftriving and contention, if we contend who in contention fhall * be mailer, and have the over-hand j if we fhall heap error * upon error, if v/e continue to defend that obflinately, which ' was Ipoken unadvifedly.' The genuine Sons of the Church will pay a dutiful regard to this kind admonition of their Mother : And thofe, who are of a froward fpirit, and refraftory to fo loving an advice of fo tender a parent, will be pleafed to bethink themfelves, how far they are tiegenerated ; and whether the Church may not have too juft reafon to apply to them, what the Apollle did on another occafion, TLen are ye baftards and not fum ? Now, in honor and juftice to a moll amiable charafter, we fhall here, with a very fenfible plcafure, produce the words of one, who, by his good fenfe and temper, hath fhewn himfelf a true Son of tiie Church, as well as a fmcere friend to that excellent perfon, to whom he v/as writing. ' Let '^ men (fays he) objcd what they foberly may ; what they truly * believe defervcs an anfwer. For me, and from me, if no fu- ' perior hand undertakes the ofHce, they fhall always have it in ' the calmeil: manner, &c. Jgain : Sober arguing I never fear : * Mockery and bitter railing, if I could help it, 1 would never " bear, either for the truth, er againll it.' Dr. Mar/hall's Letter to Dr. Rogers. 3 * pb'i"g [ xJx ] * plying to confcience, it cannot be denied * bat we have done both ; then the fingle * quedion remaining will be, whether our re- ' quefts (liould be granted ? or if not, whether ' the Gofpel and reafon are of any farther ufe, * in an affair of this nature, than to fhew men * that truth, which they are not permitted to * follow ? ' Let the thing fpeak Itfelf, and we freely * leave the event to the juii fcntiments and ' determination of all men of reafon. « Our addrefs will foon follow, after ac- ' quainting the Public, that in the copy ' we direoled to the Convocation in writing, « the enfuing words, as near as we can now '^ recover them, were fubjoined to the dedica- * tionj "jiz. " There being but two original draughts of <* thefe papers as yet extant, the fiift is, in " duty, prefented to the venerable body of " Prelates and Divines to whom it is addref- '' fedi the other (with fome additions §, and '* with § " Particularly an nppetidix, wherein (to render our appiica- ** don the more jultifiable, and leis invidious) we exhibit the " concurring judgment of many eminent men of our Church, '* both Clergy and Laity ; fome or other of them fpeaking in " fupport of every main article contained in our addrefs." Let it be noted, that the additions mentioned abovc,^ as then defio-ned, and inferted Unce ; as alio the ahitaiioitSy that have « been [ X3C ] ** with juft reftridions) will in due time be *' put into fuch honourable hand^, as may '* lafely be trufled in an affair of this Impor* *^ tance. After which the AddreiTors will *' have no further concern in what they " offer. " If, on fome accounts, which feem pretty " obvious, it may appear advifeable, that fome *' time or other hereafter, this humble addrefs ** fhould be made public j we muft do our- ** fclves the juftice to declare beforehand, that " to us it will be far more agreeable, to find, *' that fuch a publication is made iif made at <* all) with the approbation, and by the order, ** of the two dignified Houfes, to whom it is ** dedicated, than by the diredion of any o- " ther hands, after it hath paffed from ours. "January^ 1746.'* been thought proper to be made in the courfe of the work ; are both of them very confiderable : Which has been owing to the variety of obfervations communicated, beyond what was at firft cxpefted, as the friends and encouragers of this undertaking grew more numerous ; which they did in proportion, as the defign was opened to them, in feveral parts of the kingdom, after the firft copy had been prefented to the Convocation.— To this is to be imputed the different manner of addrefs in different places, be- ing fometimes more general and open, as intended for the Pub- Jic ; and fometimes more particular and private, as intended only for that Affembly, to which it was at firft direfled in MS. POST- POSTSCRIPT. 'T^ HE R E having hee?t^ for fever al years pafl^ an earnefl defre ex- freffedy by many perfons of emt?ient learning and judgment ^ as well as piety and dignity in our Churchy that aii opening were once made upon this fuh- jeSly by applying publickly to the Gover- nors in favor of a Review ; it is hop- ed fuch perfons will find their defire in fome good meafure gratified^ by what is here attempted : At leaf they have their wifd fo far y that here is a four- dation laid for further inquiry, and alfo for a more free converfation than has [ xxii ] has hitherto been ufual^ upon a topic of fo delicate a nature^ as this is general- ly thought to be, 'They may now^ there- fore^ as opportunity Jhall offer ^ and as their judgment pall direSi them^ pro- duce their own better arguments in fa- vour of an undertakings which they have fo long wifhed to fee fet on foot ; and by fo doings may help to brii^g for- ward that ufeful work^ which is fo ge- 72erallydefreds a7td is herCy with fo much earneflnefsy requefled of our Gover?tors, T O T O Our illuflrious, religious, and highly honored GOVERNORS, In every rank and diftindion Of Church and State : More efpecially To the venerable and learned CONVOCATION Of both Provinces, Being the body reprefentative of the Clergy and Church of England ; Thefe D i s qjj i s i t i o n s (Drawn up by dutiful Sons of the faid Church, and calculated with a fincere view to ferve. her intereft) Are, With all becoming fubmiflion, and refpedful deference, Prefented and Dedicated. [ XXV ] SUMMARY VIEW Of the principal CONTENTS. TNTRODUCTION. page i. SECT. I. Tranjlation of the Bible, p. 12 SECT II. Frame and Dejlgn of the public Service, p. 22 SECT. IIL An occafional Dijfertation. P* 33 SECT. xxvi CONTENTS. SECT. IV. A general Survey ^ with Remarks. P* 44 SECT. V. Pfalms, Lejjons^ Epijlles, and GofpeU. P- 64 SECT. VI. Athanafian Creed^ Catechifm, ColleSis, Prayer for Parliament. p. g^ SECT. VII. The fever al Offices, P* ^ 1 9 SECT. VIII. Supp\cfory Offices J occajional Prayers^ Calendar^ Rubrics. P- H"^ SECT. IX. Some Objedlions. CorreB printing of the Bible and Liturgy. ?- ^ 57 SECT. X. Articles^ SubfcriptionSj Hcmilies, Catcchifing^ Canons^ Octbs of Church-ivardens. p. 104 SECT, CONTENTS. xxvii SECT. XI. Several Grievances, &c. P« ^74 SECT. XII. ^application, p. i8i SECT. XIII. Conclufion, p. 218 posrscRipr. p.227 APPENDIX. N.B. If the Notes occafionally fubjoined to any page or pages, are not confulted 'till after the perufal either of the whole feSfion^ or elfe particular head of any fedlion, to which they are rerpe6tively annexed j as the current of the difcourfe in the text will be lefs interrupted, fo will the fenfe feldom want any immediate dilucidation, or the argu- ment any fupport, which they may be defigned to give it, but what may very well be poftponed 'till after fuch peru- fal.— However, every Reader is left to his own difcretion. FREE FREE and CANDID DISQUISITIONS, &c. INTRODUCTION. IT is a happy and almofl lingular privilege en- joyed by the Subjeds of this realm, that they are permitted to apply to their Governors in a pubhc manner, on any fubject relating to the con- cerns of the Public. This Privilege, it is truCj hath been often abufed ; and men of ill minds have turned it into licentiouf- hefs : but the privilege itfelf is neverthelefs juft. And if fome inconveniences have attended it, there is reafon to believe, they have not been equal to the advantages we have reaped from it. The State which, allows this privilege hath fome- times been indecently attacked under the flicker of it. And this very aft of the indulgence of the Government hath been made fubfervient to pur- pofes the moft oppofite to its intercft. TU ^%- ( 2 ) The Religion of the State hath alfo, under this very cover, been attacked, if poflible, with more violence and greater indecency, than the State itfelf -, and mighty endeavours have been ufed to deprive us of a rehgion, which we think to be the main fup- port of the State, and the greateft means of advanc- ing the pubhc happinefs. But what hath been the ifllie of this high debate? — • Rehgion, for certain, hath gained a firmer footing ; and we beheve the State finds no reafon to repent of having granted a privilege, which hath been fo much abufed. All that is to be wiflied Is, that men for the future would argue with greater calinncfs upon the foot of this privilege ; and that whenever they have any thing to propofe to their Governors, either in Church or State, they would do it with all the modefly, all the decency, and all the candor, that lies in their power ; propofing it at the fame time with all the clearnefs of reafon, and force of argument, that they are able to produce, or their caufe will admit. This is fair dealing, and what becomes Men. It is liberal, generous, and ingenuous •, and will beft be- friend their caufe in the end, be it of more or lefs im- portance. Jf they have truth on their fide, they need but propofe it in an handfome manner : The Public will judge, and will at length do them and their caufe juftice. If they think they have truth on their fide, when in reahty they have it not ; ftill there can be no harm in offering their fentiments : Only let them be olfered with moderation and calmnefs. A free and lair difcuflion will foon fliew, wherein they are wrong : and they will be glad to be direcfled to what (3 ) What is right ; when the direction is given in an handfome manner hke their own. Wcj who are engaged in making this addrefs, ar fenfible, the fubjed of it hath almoft always hitherto been made a point of controverfy. But we think it very poflible to prevent its being made fo for the fu- ture, if men will come to the confideration of it with calm minds. We defire to fhew the greateft calm- nefs ourfelves ; and if any debate fhould arife (which we trufl we fhall give no occafion for) we hope it will be managed with that decency, that ferioufnefs, and fincere affetStion for truth, which becomes men, who defire nothing more than the advancement of that, and of the public welfare. We cannot take upon us beforehand to anfwer for the inofFenfivenefs of our condu6l in every part of our defign ; but in every part of it we fhall endevor to preferve a juft moderation of Spirit, and to give as little offence as poflible, either to our Governors, or the public. And if either of them fhail difcern we are in any inftance wrong, or in any go beyond the line of our duty (that of moderation and temper) we defire to be kindly admonifhed of our fault, and as kindly convidted of our error. Our application is to our Governors in Church and State, and more efpecially to the Convocation of the Chuich 0^ England, including both Provinces. The Convocation, by our conflitution, is the great court of appeals, in matters relating to the Church : and the venerable body of Prelates and Clergy therein alTembled, are not only the guardians of ojr eccle- liaftical rights, under his Majcfty as Supreme, but aifb the delegates intruded by him, and their refpec- B 2 tive ( 45 tive conftltuents, to confider of the ftate of the Church ; what there may be amifs in ir, that may want amendment -, what particular grievances de- ferve to be laid before the government, in order to be reftified •, and what, on the whole, may feem mod propLT to be done towards fettling religion on its right bafis, and procuring it a firm eftablifhment, together with jutt liberty and encouragementj within his Majefty's realms. When all this is done in due manner, according to the laws of the bnd, and thofe of Chriftian piety, humility, and brotherly love, joined with a dutiful fubmiflion and affectionate efteem for the Govern- ment j a Convocation may then be faid both to have recovered, and alfo exercifed its ancient and legal rights ; to be a fufEcient and ufeful reprefenrative of the Church of England j and to have acquitted itfelf with honor in every point of duty and truft, which concerns the Church as an eftablifhmenr, and the Chriftian religion as the principal Objeft of its care. This feems to be the great and original defign of our Convocations •, which every man of reafon will allow to be a good one. And undoubtedly very valuable blefTings may accrue to the Church from the juft and honorable confultations of fuch aflem- blies ; when, on every occafion of their meeting, they come together with fincere views to do whatever may be requifite for the advancement of religion. And it is in order to promote this good end, th^t "we muft in decency fuppofe the governing } owers do now appoint them to aflemble. For we cannot reafonably think a wife government would appoint and fummon fuch a body of men from all parrs of the kingdom to afTemble, for 7W end or purpofe. Becaufs ( 5 ) Becaufe as this would be inconfiflent with every ra- tional view of a well-regulated State, lb would it prove diHionorable by degrees both to the Govern- ment and Convocation j and in the end might pro- duce fuch ill efFeds to both, as could not eafily be remedied by any fubfequent regulations. It is true the Convocation hath feldom met of late years to do bufinefs ; and it may be as true, that many obRacles have lain in their way. But it can- not be true, that they had no bufinefs to do-, or that none of them had a proper difpofition to do it. If, in fome inftances, impediments hive occurred; in other? there have been none, nor, as fl\r as we can learn, have any been intended to be throv/n in their way by the State, to put a bar to their confultations upon any ufeful topics, within their proper fphere and cogni- zance. With refpeft to what we have in view in the pre^ fent addrefs, we have the greateft reafon to hope they would find permiffion and encouragement to pro- ceed, after proper application to the ruling powers : Whofe encouragement and fandion, as they will be always neceffary to render any thing valid, that fhall be agreed upon in Convocation •, fo will they, if ob- tained, do fmgular honor to that Afiembly, and be a means to raife it once more to a ftate above re- proach and contempt. What thoughts foever others may have of this re- verend Afiembly, or in whatever degree of dif- efteem they may confider them ; yet we, who have been brought up to fentiments of candor, and a rc- fpeclful eftimation of our Governors in the Church, Ihall exprefs all the dutiful regard we can towards them, and throughout this addrefs flmll confider B 2 them (6) them in no other light, than as the proper and legal reprefentativcs ot the whole Church of England (x), and coniequcntly as the Society, to whom the grie- vances of that Church ought to be referred, for con- fultation at lead, if not for redrefs. To them therefore we more immediately apply npon this occafion •, at the fame time defiring all other our Governors, and all our fellow-fubjeds, who have any concern for the interefk of this Church, to allow us a favorable audience. The quality of our fubjeft, and fcope of our de- fign, require, that we fhould make lome previous obfervations. I. Confidering the nature of human ponflirutions, it is confeffedly impolTible, that any fhould be in all points complete. And ic is next to impofTible, that any Ihould continue long to retain their complete- nefs, in the degree they firft had it. It feems however to be a duty incumbent upon Governors, both to aim at perfeilion (as nearly as they well can; in the firil eftabJifhmenti and alio to remove defefls afterwards, as they become diicerni- ble from time to time upon juft obfewation. For as it is very reafonable to think, as well as in experi'^nce certain, that no confcitution can be per- fect ai its firft erecting j fo doth it feem to be equally reafonable, that upon reviews it fhould be improved time after time, as far as the nature of the conftitu- tion, and the circumftances of the times, will admit> (a) C.s»!>n 139. Ana r 7 ) And if the Governors have proper power to exe- cute their duty (which certainly all Governors ought to have in fuch cafes) they will in all reafon and Iionor think themfelves obliged to do what they well can to complete the conilitution ^ by fupplying fuch defeats, and removing fuch obilaclcs, as pre- vent its completenefs ; efpccially all incumbrances, which have a tendency to bear it down -, and by both, adding to its beauty as well as ftrength. 2. We are not unapprehenfive of the common ob- fervation, that no alterations ought to be made, either in the religious or civil eftablifliments of a weil-con- ilituted State. JVe are entirely of this mind our- felves i and only wifh, that every State was v;ell- regulatcd, no lefs than well-conltituted -, or being difcovered to be otherwife, were by degrees amended, in fuch inftances, as call for amendment. Length of time, and improvement of obfervation, make many difcoveries, that under proper direftions, and on proper cccafions, may prove as ufeful to a State, as they were once unexpected : And change of circum- ftances (which in every State will neceffarily happen with the revolution of time) may point out the ne- ceflity of altering fome things ; which otherwife it would have been neither needful, nor perhaps fafe to alter. And whenever the change of circumftances becomes fo vifible and fo great, as to caufe very confiderable inconveniences, for want of making the requifite alterations ; then furely it becomes high time to think of making them, and to fubmit to every adt of juft and honorable compliance, that the times Ihall be found to demand. Which we hope to make appear more fully in fome fubfequcnt ob- fervations. B 4 3. V/e ( 8 ) 3- We forefee again, that fome will think, and perhaps alfo lay, that thofe can be no true friends to the conPiitution, who defire any alterations in it. > But "cve are humbly of opinion, with fubmifiion to their better judgment ( if theirs be better ) that thofe are the kjl friends to the conftitution, who mofl de- fire Its improvement. For certainly there cannot be truer fricndlhip to any con^itution, than to dcfire to free it from embarafmenrs, and to render it, as much as polTible, in all its branches complece. Thofe, who may be of different fentiments, are very welcome for «J, to continue in them. And we haveajuft regard for many, whom we find to be of fuch fentiments •, be^ caufe we find them at the fame time to be honeft and good men, and true friends, in their intention, to the Church of England, as well as to the civil govern- ment, under which they hve. But whether they ha\'e fo fully and exa6tly confidered the matter, as the cafe pf religion in generii requires, and that of the Chri-: ftian in particular demands at their hands, is a que- flion, which we find fome difficulty to determine. And we would not willingly judge unfavorably of any, whom we perceive to be men of good meaning. The caufe of the Chriflian religion, as fuch, is un- doubtedly fuperior ro every other confideration : and in order to fapport that of t^e Church of England, the former muil by all means be made the principal pbjcft of our regard, as being the main and only bafis, on which this fabric ffands. WhenChriflianity fails, the Church of England of courfe falls with it : and it is in vain we hope to fupport our Church upon the ruins of Chriflianity j or ever expefV to fee it flourifh, when we admit or retain any tiling in its conrtitution, which is inconfiftent with the great de- fign and exalted genius of that religion ; or which may (9) may be any ways obftrudive of Its free courfe, and deftined progrefs. It is in this large and more extenfive view, that we contemplate things. We confider in the firft place the grand defign of the Chriftian religion ; and in the next, the conftitution of the Church of England, as intended to be fubfervient to that defign. When therefore we defire fome amendments in the confti- tution of this Church, we defire them only in order to the better fupport and advancement of Chriftia- nity : Which, as things now ftand, and are no bet- ter regulated among us, we, for our parts, appre- hend to be in fome danger of lofing ground, and by degrees of giving way to fomething very pernicious, and at laft deftru^^tive, both to Church and State. We fpeak our minds freely, as becomes real pa- triots and true Engliflimen ; and at the fame time reverently and candidly, as becomes dutiful fons of th? Church of England. We have no other defign in view but that of promoting religion, and the public welfare. And to promote both, we aim fincerely at the improvement of this our national Church •, to which we oear the greateft good will, and which we wiHi as happy, as any juft improvements can make it. Aud fuch improvements v/e think \t ftiil wants, how highly foever we efteem what has been done by our worthy Reformers, and thofe who followed them. Thofe, who followed them, have indeed improved in fome inftances, but in too few ; and in every one of thofe, not enough, as we prefume they might, and as we think, they ought. And they have left us reafon to furmife, they have followed their glorious leaders, non ■pajjthm aquu. 4. Our Reformers (thofe eminent mafter-bullders <)f our ecclefiaftical conftitution) were unqueftionably \ wile ( 10 ) wife and good men. They did the befl they could in the reforming of our Church, as far as the times would allow, and their knowledge would carry them. ' We would not find the leaft fault with thofe venerable Leaders ; who were the burning and fliining lights of the age they lived in. — But as that age was comparatively dark, and many learned in- quiries, together with a greater degree of accuracy in inquiring, have brought things fince to a much clearer light, than that and fome preceding ages were bleffed with •, it will, we prefume, with confiderate men, be deemed no unreafonable fuppofition, that there may be fome things in the regulations they have left us, which at this diftance of time may deferve, and even require, a review. And if it be no unbecoming prefumptlon to think this pofTible, we hope it will be reckoned none, upon finding it to be faft, to apply to their worthy Suc- cefibrs (who live in this age of rrore improved light, and can difcern prefent, as well as call to mind paft inconveniences) that they would be pleafed, out of their great condefcenfion to us, and their regard for the honor of the Church they are guardians of, to confider about fome proper methods of reflifying thofe thing?, th.it fliall appear to be amifs ; and, on the whole, to render our conftitudon, as far as may be, unexceptionable ; thereby making it at once the bbjed of our efteem, and the cement of our unity. 5. The conflitution of our Church is originally fuch, that there is liberty left for reviews and Amend- ments : Which is a wife and very juft allowance in any eftablilhment, ecclefiaftical or civil. We rejoice in this allowance, and hope, that by a proper ufe of ■ it, we may deferve to have it continued to us. An4 ( il ) And fince the dcfign of thcfe paper. Is, with great fubmjflion and deference, to point out fome things in our eftabhjfhment, v/hich may want a review, and, as fuch, may deferve the confideration of our Gover- nors both in Church and State ; we hope the leading men in each, efpecially the former, will, with a can- dor and condefcenfion peculiarly becoming; them, vouchfafe to furvey what we offer ; and, with all juft freedom and honorable impartiality, examin and judge, whether, or how far, any or all thefe things inay deferve to be re"\fiewed and amended. The undertaking we are jngaged in, we cann t but afllire ourfelves, is fuch, as can give no ofilnceta any, who have thorowly confidered Chrillianity, and have its great intereft at heart. And if we fhall be fo hiippy in the management of it, a.- to exprefs our- felves (as we deiire to doj with every becoming mark of dutiful efleem, and Chriftian love ; and to regu- late the whole and every part of our application, with a prud' ;ice and propriety anfwerable to our fin- cerity ; v, e h-^.ve that opinion of the good fenfe and good nature of the Public, and ot the fairnefs and equity of thofe we princip^Jly apply to, that we eafily flatter ourftlves, we Ihall meet with a favor- able reception from every benevolent mind among both J apd that our r.queft will be fo far from dif- gufting any, that it will be attended with the good wifhes of all, who are friends to religion, and defire jts advancement. And therefore without any further apology, pre- fuming on an indulgence and attention, to which we believe the integrity of our views, joined with the planner of our application, will juftly intirle us ; we Ihall proceed to lay before our Governors fuch things. ( 12 ) as are allowed on all hands to defcrve the confidera* tion of a National Synod. And that we may give the lefs offence, and teftify the greater deference to the judgment of fuch a learned body, we fhall chufe to prefent our addrefs to them, for the moft part, in the way of humble ^eries. SECT. I. ^eries and obfervatio?js relatmg to the tranflation of the Bible. TH E firfl great point we defire may be con- fidered by our Governors, is our prefent travjlalion of the Bible. With regard to which, we beg we may be permitted to afk, whether that tranf- lation ( after fo many elabo'rate and fuccefsful re- fearches fince it was firfl made) does appear to be in all refpefls the mofl exad and accurate, and the mofl worthy to be retained as the flandard of divine truth ? The tranQation, we own with pleafure, is in the main a good one j as good perhaps as moft, taking the whole together. But may it not be made flill better, with fome care, and with little or no inconvenience ? And would it not be better for the Church of God, to have his word tranflated with as much exaftnefs as may be *, joined at the fame time with fuch a jufl freedom in tranQating, as would befl exprefs the fenfe, and belt comport with the de- %n of the original ^. How incongRious foever it is in fa<5t, and how little foever we feem to regard it, yet doth it highly deferve our rational notice, and withal our moft fe- rious C 13 ) rious concern, to think, that in the inftance we have now mentioned, we deal with no book as we do with our Bible. Since the improvement of our lan- guage, and the refinement of our tafte in literature, we fee what juft and beautiful verfions are beftowed on other books of antiquity ; — the fenfe of the au- thors expreft with the greateft clearnefs j their fpirit and genius with the greateft force ; and their matter and fubjedt adorned with all the elegance and gran- deur, that our language will afford. Our /acred books alone, the mo ft ancient and moft valuable of any, are not allowed this reafonable favor ; nor in- deed have even common juftice done them, tho* they fo loudly demand it, and the times make it fo abfolutely neceffary they fhould have it. — The re- mark is obvious, and is at the fame time airlifting to men of fenfe -, who have no lefs frequently than juft ly complained of the want of a new tranflation ( (i ). Which it is earneftly wifht by all fincere friends to the Chriftian caufc, may at length be vouchfafed us by public authority. And (.(3) What we have fuggefted under this head, is abundantly fupported by numerous andjult obfervations occurring in ainioil all forts of writers ; fome occafionally handling particular paf- ■fages, others profeffedly treating upon the whole lubjedl. Thus all oar beft commentators and molt judicious criticks to a man : All our ableil defenders of the Chriftian religion againft the at- tempts made by modern unbelievers upon any parts of Scripture ; who taking our common tranflation at difad vantage, ha\'e made a handle of it to expofe our religion to contempt, and to fix upon, it blemiflies, which in the original have no foundation, and for which a juft tranflation would leave no room. Befidesihe fcveral very pertinent remarks, that occur in almofi; all the beft anfwers, that have been given, to unbelievers, fee Dr. Rol>. GelPi, eflay towards the amendment of the laft Englifh tranfla- tion of the Bible, 1659 fol. Ofler'vald'i cauiesof corruption &c. p. 476. Boy/e's Life hy Birch, p. 96,-ici. ^■p.Hutthinfon'i remark in JDr.2c«'^''sHiftorical diflertation,Vol.2.p.37. Archdeacon Laqu'^s cpnfideration?, p. 250,251. Ho'v.'eli'sHlil. ofihe Bible, pajim i particularly vol. 3. p. 192, Note (s.) zoi, N. (r.) Z04., N. ('lyj 21$, ( H ) And whenever this great arid good work Ihall bd undertaken (for which there feems now to be art ample apparatus provided, and more will undoubt- edly be fupplied from all parts of the nation) we prefume \ve need not cbferve to men of learning and judgment, who fhall engage in it, how very ufeful it will be, and in what advantageous light it will place the facred books, if it fhall be thought fit to range fome of them in more exad: order than they are in at prefent ; according as the connexion of the feveral parts, and the nature and defign of the feveral fubjefts, fhall require. The hiftorical books, for inftance, might, we think, be placed with more exactnefs according to order of time ; ahd being ranked under proper clalTeSj and thrown into commodious divilions, might be reduced into one regular and well compared narrative, as other hiflories arc, that are intended to be ufeful to the public. And altho' fuch a propolai as this may ap* 218, N. [g.) 226, N. [m.) 289, N. (w.) &c, SiC. John/on on Da- «/f/'s prophecy of die 70 weekb, p. 328, 350, 351, 371, 373,375. Jlrnnid\ preface to his Commentary on the Bonk of IVifdam^ p. 8. Specimen of a new Tranflation of the Piahns, 1733. ir^w«?V5//'s diifert. p. i, 103, &c. 125, 126, 177, i97,&c. Alio BLick-ivaWi general preface to vol. 2. of his facred ClnJJia ; where he propofes to ftew ' the neceffity and iifefulnefs of a new * verilon of the facred Eooks.' And in p. 21 hath thefe words r Arienx} tranjlation cart give ny offence to peot)ie of jmna judgment and conjideration ; hecaufe every body con'verfant in theje, and tinpieju- d'ued, muft ack-no^vledgCy that there nvas /e/s occafion to change the old I'trfion into the prefent, than there is to change the prefent into a netv one. But, above all, the Effayfor a nc^w tranjlaiion of ihe Bible i which we wifh may be attended vvitli as mucii iuccefs in Englilh, ai we hear that of Mr, Le Cene was in French ; viz. Projei d'une nouvelle njerfon Franpife de la Bible. And v^ith refpeft to the feveral tranflations and reviews v.e hatre already had, it may be of feme ufe to furvcy the account given of them by j\ir. Le^is in his hijl. o/'thofe tranfalions, kQ. See the rellaints complained of by Dr. Gell, ibid. p. 333. Which feem to have fome foundation, tho' tiiat learned Hiilorian is pieaivd to throw a fmall fiur upon ilie Doiloi '3 liicmoiy. pear ( 15 ) pear fomewhat uncommon, and perhaps alfo un- warrantable (7) to thofe,who have not fufficiently con- fidered the fubjed •, yet it is certainly very warrant- able in itfelf, and, if well executed, will without queftion do great juftice to the fcriptures j which, for want of fuch a regulation, do now appear in a more difadvantageous light, and are lefs clear and inftruftive, than they would otherwife be,. to the generality of readers. However, we do but pro- pofe the matter, fubmitting it intirely to the judg- ment of thofe, who fhall be pleafed to confider a- bout it, and referring them for a fuller enlargement on this head (tho' drawn up with a different view at fir ft) to the learned Dr. Lightfoot (5). We would beg leave to offer another obfervation, which, if approved of, will we hope be equally fer- viceable to the Public, and do no lefs honor to the Bible, if ever it fhould be new-tranflated. And that is, that it feems extremely proper, that the whole (■y) It can be no more unwarrantable to reduce Script we-hi^ory., than it can be to reduce Scripture- doBrim' , and Scrzpiurepreccpa, into one view ; as Bp. Gajirel, Dr. Sievenfony and otlicrs have excellently done. Nor hath any offence, that we know of, been taken at any of the numerous Scripture hiftories we have extant in our language : nay many of them have been highly applauded,, tho' almolt all cxf them have been penned in words different front thofe of Scripture, but IHU expiefiing the fenfe. If fo, can we jullly expeft any offence at all will be taken, when the hiftory ot Scripture is fet forth, and that by public authority, in its own words .? and when no other liberty is taken by that authority, in refpcft to the management of order and connedlicn, than hath been taken before, and very juflly, by all the private writers, who have attempted to reduce fuch hidory into one uniform and compendious view ? Our fears and jealoufies about fuch mat- ters are too often without fufficient ground. And experience fhews, that the interpofal of leaj-ned authority, upon juft and ne- Cfcffiiry occafions, cafily fways the- judgment, and overrules the prejudice of molt men. (^) Genuine remain.', trad i . See alfo HQy, Htbr. on S. Matth. xxvii. g. V tranfla- ( tS ) tranflation fhould be reduced into fome more Goil- venient fedtions and paragraphs, than our prefenc Chapters and Vcrfes (0 : Which far from being the mofl {t) * The ill contrived and aukward divifions in our printed * books, interrupt and break the facred ftyle,- is'c. They equally * blemifh and deform fingle fentences and mangle fmall periods * and fedlions, and break oiF and fpoil the force and connexion ' of larger feftions, or affemblage and union of feveral periods * called chapters.' BIackiva/rs facred claffics, vol. 2. pref. p. 15. See alfo Mr. Locked eflay before his comments and paraphrafc on St. Paul's epiftles : Leivh's hift. of the tranilations, ch. 5. Cafaubons notes on the Evangelifts, /ub init. And for the pre- feat take only a few famples, out of great number?^ of tlie im-' proper divifion of our chapters only, laying nothing now of car verficles, tho' the divifion of them alfo, in numberlefs inftances, be no lefs faulty. • Ecclef. xii. i. Look back to the two lall T'erfes of the foregoing chapter. There feem to be more in- ibnces of fuch wrong divifion in this interlocutory book, as alio in that oijob, and almoft throughout the Prophets. For a fpe- cimcn we fhall point out one in Ifaiah only, chap. liii. 1. Here' compare the three lall vcrfes of the chapter immediately prcceed- 5ng.-— In the New Teilament, inftances occur at almoft e,\:s, being almoft one entire thread of ar- gument throughout, affords too many inftances of wrong divi- iion, which are vifible to every eye upon bare tnrning over the" leaves. Thus Chap. ii. iii.iv. v. vi. viii. xi. xv. iffc. 1'he like jnaybe fecn in all the filpiftleSjand in almoft every chapter of every Epiftle i more efpccially that to the Heire^ivs, which is full of jtrong and clofe reafoning from beginning to end. It muft be confelfed after .ill, that it is not the moft eafy tafk in the world to make the divifions every where in the moft pro- per inanner. It requires a good judgment, v.iih a comprehen- iiv« ( 17 ) moll commodious method of parcelling out the Scriptures for common ufe, is perhaps the mod in- commodious of any; and being done in a darker age of the Church (<), wherein the fcope and con- nexion were not fo rightly difcerned, will eafily allow us room, without giving any juft offence, to make proper improvements upon the method re- ceived. And fuch improvements would undoubt- edly give beauty and energy to the tranflation, and remove abundance of incongruities, which arc now too juftly objefted, for the want of fuch improve- ments. Many learned and judicious moderns (to whom we need not here refer) have given us valuable fpecimehs of this kind in fome of their writings ; and have thereby paved the way for the more eafy introducing of fuch divifions, as we pro- pofe, by public authority. If we fhall not prefume too far, we cannot but exprefs our wifh, that, inftead of the common con- tents prefixed to our prefent chapters (and which, with fubmiffion, are far from being drawn up with due accuracy) we had juft and exad arguments five view of the whole defign of each book, and of the connec- tion of its feveral parts. And what if it does ? It is the happlnefs of our age and country, that we abound with men thus quali- fied. And from them we may expeft a more accurate per- formance in every part of the review propofed. (^) Fiz. Towards the middle of the 1 3th centiiry, by one Hujo, a Cardinal. If the Chriftian Church, for fo many pre- ceding centuries, had no divifions of this kind (fome few ex- cepted) no man of fenfe can think thofe we now have, to be ef- fential to the Bible, and therefore upon no account to be altered. Our Rahteri, about a century ago, ran wild againft thefe diviii- ons. But we proceed upon a different footing, and with a milder temper. Some divifions there fnould be ; but fome, that fhould be better contrived, than thofe we have at prefent. This is all our meaning. C placed ( i8 ) placed before each divifion, upon the plan now pro- pofed (v\). Which, with proper reflexions and im- provements fubjoined to every fuch divifion, would certainly be of great ufe -, as it would make the reading of the Scriptures, both in the congregation and in private, more eafy, more delightful, and more inftrudive to our j eople. And if here and there, as occafion fhall require, a few, plain and Ihort noies (6) fhall be thought proper to be added, to (75) The celebrated Mr. OjiewalcL hath prefentcd the world with an admh-able fpecimen on this fubjeft, in his /Arguments and Obfernjations vn the books and chapters of the O. and N. Tefta- ment, which he drew up for the fervice of the church at 'bleiif- chatel, and were afterwards fo well approved by our Society f»r fromotitig Chrijiian kncwledge, that they procured them to Be tranflated into Engl:jh, and printed the tranflation at their own expence. • See the Author's Preface to the Arguments, iffc. Ihewing the firll occafion of his writing them. Nor have we been without fome ufeful and judicious attempts of this kind in our own language : See the very worthy Bifhop of Sodsr and Man^j Jhort ohfer-rations for reading ivith more profit the hijlorical Books of the O.'d Tef.ament. (9) We have obferved the notes to our old tranflation of Q^ Elizabeth (poor, jejune, confufed and unfatisfadlory, as they of- ten are) to be very acceptable to many of our people, who.havc no better to help them to underftand the Scriptures. If thefc, done chiefly by foreigners, and accompanying a tranflation out of date, are fo welcome and pleafing for want of better ; how much more fo would notes be, done by more maflerly hands of our own, and fubjoined to a new and better tranflation?—— Our learned countrym.an Dr. %app hath begun a very valuable work fn this way, in his explanatory notes on the Go/pels, defigned chiefly for the unlearned. A pious, judicious, and charitable attempt, and all within narrow compafs ; tho' the Notes n/je propofe fhould be very f^vj, and thofe only fuch as are moft wanted.- -The authors of our prefent verfion thought it proper to add fome note.«, tho' there are very few of them, that are really ufeful. Mcft, efpecially in the N. T. relate to the value of ancient coin ; as on Matth. xvili. 24, 28. Mar. vi. 8. Luiexv.S. &c. Others to .various readings ; as Matth. xxvi. 26. Luke x. 22. J£ls\x\. 6. *Others to a reading, that may feem either more probable, or ac leaft equally fo with that, which is now received ; as J^s xiii. 38. Some to defeds or omiflions in certain copies ; as Luke xvii. 36, iSomc to the original import of a word or phrafe ; as Mark xiii. . 8. Ms ( 19 ) to explain the more difficult pafTages, or reconcile feeming inconfiftencies, i^c. the benefit will be in- conceivable; and cur countrymen will no longer have reafon to complain (as they now feem to do) that the Bible in fo many places is a very obfcure book, and contains fo many things hard to be tin- derjiood. Which as it difcourages fome from read- ing, fo doth it put others upon cavilling •, and the divine Book fuffers by means of both. However fuch a free and juft tranflation, as hath been pro- pofed, will in great meafure fuperfede the ufe of notes i as may partly be feen by confulting fome of the bed foreign tranQations (<) ; which yet are none of chem fo perfect, as we could wifli : And, after all, a few proper notes on fome particular paf- fages may be not only ufeful, but neceifary. We are fufficiently fenfible, that what we have propofed under this firft article of our DifqpiifitionSy will not be very agreable to perfons of narrow minds. For fuch do feldom extend their thoughts or de fires beyond the prefent Hate of things, contenting them- felves with taking matters as they find them, and 8. AlIs xiii. 35. Some, that are explanatory of an eiflern dlcli- on ; as Ez/vz ix. 8. And lome again, that give the rceaning of a wordfet down according to what it is in the original, untranflated; as Gen. xxxi. 47, 49. AH which (hew, that the rranfiators judged notes not to be unneccilary j and confequently that our propolal is at leail excufeable. (0 See more efpeclally the famous German tranflation by Lu- ther, printed at If'ehnars, with Notes. Which is perhaps the freeil:, and (allowing for any involuntary overfighrs, or milappre- henfions of the original meaning) makes the facred books the moft intelligible, of any modern tranllation. Some late French txAr\{' lations, of particular parts of Scripture, have improved upon former ones in this refpc6l. Ajid within theie fev/ years, we have had feveral approved fpecimens of the fame kind in Engtifa. AH which are feafonable piTparatives to the great di;frgn recom- tticfided. C 2 fcarce V 20 ) fcarce having patience enough to hear of any pro- j[)ofals for emendations and improvements. From men of this low and contraftcd way of thinking, "we can expeft little elfe but unfriendly cenfure. But from thofe, who are more liberal, learned, and in- telligent, we may hope for a more favorable judg- ment. For they know, that endeavors fhould be ufed to bring things by degrees to a more perfeft Hare. And they can plainly difcern, tho' their judgment Ihould differ from ours in fome parti- culars, that our views nevei thelefs are benevolent j kindly intended for the good of mankind, and direded to the great end of advancing Chriftianity. If any difficulty fhould now occur in relation to any thing, that has been propofed in this fecrion, we fhall only defirejthat it may be thoroughly confidered, before it fhall be concluded unfurmountable. We are very well perfwaded, that moil difficulties will vanifh upon an attentive examination. That relating to a ntw divijion may perhaps be one of the great- 'efl : But the proper method of removing even that, •feems fo very obvious, that it cannot long efcape the attention of any, who will confider i efpecially fince there are fo many fpecimens already extant, which fhew, that the thing has been attempted with fuccefs, and without interfering with the deflgn of our prefent references. The greatefl difficulty of all, as we apprehend, If, to get us heartily to en- gage in thefe noble undertakings, and to fhew as much refokition as inclination to execute them. Which, whenfoever fuch a fpirit fhall appear among us, we may venture to foretel, will be attended with far greater fuccefs, than our mifgiving appre- henfions will now allow us to imagine. For fup- pofed difficulties, which, when viewed at a diflance, appear great, will gradually lelTen upon a nearer .... 4 approach. ( 21 ) .ipproach, and give way to fteady refolution, joined with difcreet management. ^O" But fuppofing, after all, that a new tranflation of the Bible, with the other things we have been re- commending, Ihould really appear imprafticable on fome accounts at prefenc ; and that, on fuch confide- rations, we fhould even give up thefe points, tho* ftill convinced they are of very high importance to religion ; yet conceiving a favorable opinion of the good fenfe of the public, we cannot fuppofe, that any argument will be drawn from hence to the prejudice of our fubfequent propofals •, or that they will not be allowed a fair hearing, merely becaufe what we have here propofed, may appear to fome to be very difficult to execute. For if our other propo- fals (fuppofe ever fo few) ihall appear more feafible, may we not jaftly hope from the candor, zeal, and abilities of men of learning, that fomething will be done in relation to fome or other of thefe propofals ? — We truft there is a nobler and better fpirit in the prefent age than was in the paft ; and that reafon and truth will be more calmly attended to, than has hitherto been ufual, upon every fubjed: of impor- tance. Having offered all that we think necefTary or proper, relating to this firft general head, we go c«i to another. C 3 SECT. ( 22 ) SECT. II. ^en'es and Obfervatio-ns relating to the defign and compofition of our public Ser- vice, taken in general. EXT after the Bible, our principal concern fhall be with our valuable Liturgy ; which we believe may, and hope will, be rendered ftill more valuable, by proper emendations : And fuch emen- dations we fhall, with the greateft deference, fub- mit to the wifdom and piety of our Governors; only propofing our own thoughts on the fubjeft. I. May not the length of our public fervice (e- fpecially on Sunday-mornings) be in fome reafonable meafure contra6ted ? And will it not, on many ac- counts, be expedient to contract it ? efpecially confidering the indevotion and coolnefs of the prefent age ; which we have reafon to think the length of our fervice does not contribute to leflen. And there are fome feafons of the year, which may render that length incommodious to many, even of thofe, who are the beftdifpofcd among us, and the beft affefted to our form of worfliip. Who therefore on repeted occafions have been ob- ferved to exprefs their wifh, that our morning fervice on Sundays were reduced within more reafo- nable bounds ; adding, that they had jufl reafon to believe, that both fer vices would then not only be more frequented, but performed with greater de- votion. And if we Ihould further fay, that the ( 23 ) the length of our fervice may fometlmes be the ac- cidental occafion of too much hurrying, if not alfo of curtailing, in the common courfe of reading it (both which have often been complained of) we hope we have a fair title to pardon, both from thofe, who would keep up the folemnity of our worfhip, and thofe, who, on fuch an occafion, do unhappily, we fay not wilfully, degrade it. And here the cafe of aged or infirm Minifters upon poor benefices ought to be confidered with tendernefs ; which yet we do not find the law hath done on this occafion. There are many, who are neither able to maintain an Aflillanr, nor yet to go thro' the duty without one. They may alfo perhaps have more than one church to fupply ; and their ftrength having been wafted with the duty done in the firft, they are oftentimes fcarce able to do it in a fecond ; and yet may polTibly have alfo a third to ferve, and that in the fhcrteft and fe- vereft days of winter. And fometimes the diftance between the feveral churches under their care may be very confiderable -, as may alfo the diftance be- tween thofe of feveral neighbouring fellow-laborers, who cannot therefore be in a capacity to give them any afliftance in their diftrefs. What muft fuch poor unhappy Clergimen do in this cafe .'' Muft they refign .? That would probably ruin both them, and their poor families, if they have any. Should they ftiorten the offices? (and it muft be remembred, that they often have occafional as well as the ftated offices to go thro' with ; ) That is not allowed by law, and is forbidden by rubric confirmed by law ^ ~ Does not every one then fee, that the cafe of fuch Minifters is very deplorable ? And ought there not to be fome allowance made in favour of fucb at leaft ? The reducing our public fervice within ^ C 4 more ( 24 ) more reafonable compafs, by public authority, would give fome relict. And till this is done, it is not to be expected, that our fervice will every where, and by al| Ciergimen> be pertormed in the manner it ought to be. It is alfo to be confidered, and therewithal to be lamented, that over and above the length of the ufual fervice, as ordinarily enjoined, the Minifters of our Church fometimes find themfeives obliged to lengthen put that fervice to a very unmeet proportion, not only by taking in the occafional offices (/^ above- mentioned, more or fewer as cafes rnay require ; but alfo by reading ads of Parliament, proclamations, banns, briefs, citations, articles and canons of the Church, declarations after induflion, letters or or- ders from the Bifhpp, publifhing excommunications, executing the injun6lions of public penance, &c. di- yers of which, as it may happen, may fall in at the fame time, and require to be dpqe on the fame day. "We hope fome methods may be found, whereby thefe inconveniences may be removed, without caus- ing greater. And truly we cannot well apprehend (x) But bcfides thefe occafional offices (which may happen every Sunday throughout the year) the {o\emx\feJ}i'va/s of the State do fometimes fall upon that day ; and when they do, the fervice for each of them being of an unufual length, the inconvenience complained of is apparently increafed. And not only fo, but another is alfo added. For it is obfervable, that when fuch a concurrence happens, there is (as we may fhew hereafter) an un- common intermixture of fervices, which no way tend to do honor to our Liturgy. The rules likevvife, that are given us to go by in this cafe, are fometimes more apt to perplex than direft : Nor are our commentators always of fufficient fervice to clear them. And if, in one inftance, where the eftablifhed rubric and the com- mand of the State moft certainly clafh, we (hould attempt to ob- ferve both ; we fhould find a punctual obfervance would expofe us to as much cenfure and inconvenience on the one hand, as a total negleft would on the other. how ( 25 ) how greater can be caufed by juft and legal relaxa- tions, in a cafe where they are ih very much wanted. If we have miftaken the cafe, and upon that miftake have mifreprefented ir, it is eafy to fet us right, by fhewing, that we are- wrong. And we lliall with ail readinefs fubmit to better information. 2. Is it neceffary or expedient, all things confi- dered, that the three fervices ordinarily appointed for Sundays and Holidays in the morning (a), fliould continue diftind, and yet be ufed, as if they were but one? Might not the fubftance of the three be Gontradted into one •, and fo the whole not only made fhorter, but thereby rendred the more agreeable, and perhaps, in confequence, the more improving to our congregations ? There feem to be repetitions enjoined, which may not be altogether neceffary, and, fo far as we can judge, may as well be avoided. Thofe repetitions (whether neceffary or not) are plainly owing to the enjoining of f veral different fervices to be ufed at one and the fame time, or during the fame continued folemnity of worfhip. And it it often happens ( as it often does ) that other occafional offices do multi- ply the repetitions •, do thole repetitions add to the beauty, as they do to the length of our fervice ? "Which repetitions, whether it be indeed agreeable to right reafon, to the main end and defign of our re- ligion, or to the rule and obfervation of its bleffed Author, to continue in his Church, is left to thofe, who have the government of it, to confider. [>) It is obfervable. that the afternoon fervice even on Sundays, like that for every ordinary day in the week, is one intire and compaft piece. Nor is it eafy to fee, why the morning feivice on that feftival fhould not be alike compadt and intire. But this will be confidered further in an enfuing differtation. We ( 26 ) We prefume the giving a few inftances here will be no way improper, and may ferve to illuftrate, as well as juftify, our Queries. (i) It has been obferved concerning the Lead's Prayer in particular, that it is enjoined to be publicly ufed every Lord's Day in our ordinary fervice, when there is no communion, no lefs than feven times viz. five times in the morning, and twice in the afternoon. When there is a communion, and alfo afternoon-fermon or ledure, then nine times. If the office of infant-baptifm (to fay nothing of that of adults) and the other of churching of women, hap- pen to come in, as they may and do fometimes, both morning and afternoon ; then thirteen times. And fjppofing thofe of matrimony and burial fuperadded, (belides which, the fecond leffbn (/x) may alfo hap- pen to introduce it) but it may be time to ftop. We fhall make no fevere remarks, as fome have done; only defiring, that common reafon and moderation may be deemed fufficient ; and that we do not overcharge our worfhip, even with the very bell of formularies. This is all we ask • Let men of underftanding confider. Further reflexions upon the foregoing article^ viz. the frequent re-petition of the Lord's Prayer. \T\l E Could very well have excufed curfelves from ^ ^ adding any thing on this head, if we did not call to mind the great Itrefs, that has often been laid upon this argument i and how much has been faid by learned men to defend a pradice, for which the un- (fj.) The fecond Leffon introduces the Lord's-prayer, Jan. 8, Feb. 23, May S, June 2$, Sept. 5, Oa. 25. learned, ( 27 ) learned, left to their own native fenfe and common underftanding, would probably have feen but little reafon. What we have to fay, we think proper to throw into a difcourfe by itfelf ; lb that whofoever is al- ready fatisfied, and defires no farther conviction in fo plain a cafe, may pafs it over, and proceed direftly to the article immediately fubjoined to it. The dif- courfe itfelf, for diilinftion, ihall be exhibited in a different charader. Wejhall not concern our felves to inquire^ what defe- rence may be due to the authority of learned men, ajfert^ in^ any point, in which we may fee reafon to differ from them (for this is intended to be confidered hereafter, in a more proper place \ ) but with refpe^l to the reafons^ which are commonly urged by fuch perfons in favor of our repeting this admirable prayer, let us be permitted . to Jay, without offence, that they feem far lefs fatis- failory, than one could wifh, to thofe, who will confider with due attention. 'They are to be met %vith, fome or other of them, in almoji all our ritualifls, and other writers on the Liturgy, tf^e have confidered each of them, we hope, with fuffiaent fairnefs and impartiality ; and fee reafon fill to wifi, there were better given. The obfervation we maize upon them in general, is only this ; that fine e fomething mufi he f aid for every practice we adhere arid have been brought up to, ingenious men will feldom be at a lofs to fay fomething, that is plaufMe ; thd* fome, who are lefs happy in their talents, have.^ we think, egregioiifly failed even in this. Now fpeak- ing freely, and yet candidly ; when we can prevail with ourfelves to lay afide all prejudice on this head, would it not feem more rational and ingenuous, if we find we can giie no better reafons, to own frankly, that we have no better to give ; and thQt the true reafon for our ( 28 ) mir ufing [o many repetitions as ws dc, is the detenni- nation of the Church ? (v) IVe doubt not, but if the Church had thought fit to enjoin twice as many repeti- tions of this ey.ccllent -prayer, vje fhould readily have found a variety of reafons, to fhew, why fhe enjoined every one of them ; and being fo frequently attacized as we arc upon this article, ive fjjould fccm indefenfihle, if we could give none ; zvhich we and others would juflly reckon a difgrace to us. But after all, this will not fatisfy fair inquirers, even thofe of our own commu- nion. For fuch men defire to fee jujl and f olid reafons, for every thing we do in the public worfhip of God. And the bejl they can yet fee in this cafe, are the ChurcFs injunctions ; to which they are willing to pay all dutiful obedience in every cafe •, only taking care to do nothing, that their confcience apprehends to befinful in any. As to which every man mufi be fuppofed to be himfelf the bejl judge -, nor fhould the rule of a7iy other maji's confcience be a criterion or direCfory to his. Now, upon looking back, let us be indulged the li- berty to declare our own minds freely with regard to this bejl of prayers, and the pattern of all the bejl we can offer. — We think it is highly proper, and every way becoming us as difciples of our Lord, to make it a part of all our folemn devotions. But then this feems to be ( k) In fome other cafes it appears, that the Church is for avoid- ing repetitions. Thus with regard to feveral of the h^mns taken out of the pfalms and other parts of Scripture, and appointed to be read in the ordinary courfe. In refpeft of which, you will find, that due provifion is made by the rubrics to prevent their being repeted twice on the fame day. We may alfo take notice, that one of the rubrics in the office for ordaining of Priefts, as it flood in the old Common-prayer, had this claufe ; // Jhall fuf- , fee the Litany to be /aid once. Now may we not ask, whether it might not alfo fufficc, that the Lord" i-prayer fhould be faid but once ? One Ihcrt and expreflive rubric would determin the matter, fo as to prevent all unneceflary repetitions, tho' we had ever fo many difterent offices to go through \^ iih at one time. ( 29 ) nojufi reafon^ why wePmdd ever and anon he repeting it, even in thofe devotions. For ivhen we are ingaged in one only courfe, or continued exercife of zvorjhip, during one ajfembly ; might not one only oblation of this divine addrefs be judged fnfficient for that fingle in- tercourfe ? "The pra^ice of the primitive Chriftians, one would humbly imagine, might very well content us, without giving offence either to God or man. And yet we do not find with any certainty of evidence, that they ufed this prayer more than once at any one conjuncture of worfhip. The account they give us, with refpe^^ to their ordinary devotions in. public, is this : Prasmifsa legitima & ordinaria oratione {meaning the Lord's^ prayer) quafi fundamento,— jus eft fuperftruendi cxtrinfecus petitiones (i). From whence altho' we are not to conclude, that they always begun with this prayer (for we know, that they fometimes begun with fome other a^s of piety -, ) yet may we well judge from hence, that they lookt upon this as a proper initiatory to all their prayers ; and that when they thought fit to premife it to their devotions on atiy occafion, they ufually proceeded upon the "plan of it, in the matter and me- thod of thofe devotions ; ejieeming it the hcfi; model to regulate them by, in YefpeCf of both. And tho' it is probable, if not certain, that they performed no folemn office without this prayer ; yet fince they appropriated it peculiarly to the faithful (o), and permitted none hut baptized perfons and communicants to join in it, it would feem the repetitions of it, if any, were lefs fre- quent in their folemnities than in ours. What we know with any certainty of the matter, is this ; that they con- (I) Tertull. deorat. c. 9. (0) For which reafon it was called w-jQim^-Z^, the prayer of tb; Jiantlx ( 30 ) Jlantly ufed this prayer at the celebration of the Lord* s flipper, ivhich ivas every Lord''s day j aiid at the ad~ minijlration of baptifm, which was at one folemn and flated feafon of the year •, and that when they made it a part of either of thefe, or of any other folemn office of worfhip, the office was performed folemnly andfepa- rately as one, and at a time peculiarly fet apart for it ds fuch. So that thd* it fhould be allowed, as it mufi, that the antients ufed the Lord's prayer frequently (and /.''s appendix, p. 54. Bp. Patrick on frequent communion, Dilc. 2. Sed. 5. Bp. V/etten- hpl\ weekly communicating, p. 34, l^c. 46, i^c. See alio his Introduflion to part 2d. Bp. Be'veridge on frequent commun. p. 38. Bi7?gham\ Eccles. Antiq. B. 15. c 9. Sed. 7. IVhcatly on Co.n. pr. ch. 6. Seft. 30. p. 325. and the \yi)\CajiQn of cur Church may likevvife be proper to be confidercd. (p) It has for this reafon been called by fomc, a mock-corn- Piunion, I> But ( 34 ) But whenever we really purpofe to fet about and execute this holy acflion on any Sundays or other feftivals, it is our humble wifh we might all asree to go back to the rule and intent of our anceftors, per- forming it at a diftind time, as we have a diftindt office provided by them for this purpofe. As for the l.itany, which claims a place between the iirft and third fervice, might it not, ordinarily at leaft, be omitted on Sundays, and be appropri- ated, as it chiefly was at firft, to Wednefdays and Fridays, and days of extraordinary humihation ? And in refpeft to any occafional offices^ that may demand an interpofal, may they not be^nore pro- perly poftponed than interpofed? — Thus,for inflance ; the office commonly called the churching of women, (which, by the way, we have no rubric to diredl us where it fhould come in, and perhaps have fome reafon to defire one ; ) may not this, or any other the like office, that is ufually introduced in the midft of divine fervice, be poftponed to the clofe of it ; and then be performed either immediately before, or immediately after the Sermon ? Where would be the incongruity? Or would it not (if any) be rather lefs than the common one ? Bp. Co^n feems very right on one account, in thinking, that this office fliould come in immediately after the Litany (o-). But on another, as things are now ordered, it may feem inconvenient. For how fpeedy would be the tranfition from the Lord's prayer in this office, to that at the entrance of the communion office .'' The reiteration would be made almoft in a breath. But this was not the Bifhop's meaning. For his Lord- fliip hath more than once remonftrated againft what he calls huddling of the offices. [a-) Dr. N!chli\s additional notes on tliis office, Cf the fame r. iiid was Mr. Ji'lwi:/;, in !oc. p. 5^5. The ( 35 ) The making convenient regulations in this regard, To as to ieckide all improprieties from the worlhip of God, belongs only fo thofe, who have the prime care of his Church. Whether it fhall pleafe therrl, either now or at any time hereafter, to make fuch regulations, muft be fubmitted to themfelves. In the mean time it cannot, we hope, be deemed un- reafonable, or an unbecoming liberty in us, if we prefume to inquire, as we propofed, ' Whether * our firft morning-fervice on Sunday may not or- ' dinarily be fufficient for one ftated fervice on that ' day, and on that part of it, without the addition ' of any other ? ' If our firfl: fervice be of itfelf a complete one, or competently and ordinarily fo, without the ad- dition of the other two ; we prefume there can be no difficulty in allowing, that it may be ordina- rily fufficient for all the more general purpofes of Chriftian worfliip (r). To (t) We do not mean, that this fervice is already fo complete, as that it wants no improvements. Many valuable ones might un- doubtedly be made in it, which need not be pointed out. And if ever it fhall be thought better, that we Ihould have but one fervice, inftead of three, at one time ; there is no queftion but this fervice will be made fufficiently complete, fo as to anfvver every reafonable purpofe, which the enjoining of three^can be defigned for. In the mean time, what has been fuggefted by an excellent ferfon, to whom thefe papers have been communicated, may de- fervc notice. I think, fays he, with the authors of thefe propo- pofals, that the firft Service may, by proper improvements, be made a very complete one, fo as to anfwer all the ordinary pur- pofes of worihip. And when fuch an undertaking fhall be fet on foot, I could wifli the fermon, inltead of having its place to- wards the conclufion of the fervice, might be appointed to come in immediately after the fecond lefTon, or elfe the hymn or creed that follow it -.and that,generally fpeaking,it were a pradical com- ment or expofuion upon fomeoftheScripturesjthat had been read. D 3 My ( 36 ) To judge the better of this. Jet us confider what are the feveral parts, whereof this worfhip confifts. All Chriftian worfhip, we think, confifts of prayer and praife offered up to God in the nane of the Mediator •, and both ufually attended with inftrudi- ons in his will, and from his word. Now we think we have each of thefe parts of worfhip in our firji fervice. Firft for prayer. This confifts of adoration, con- fefllon, petition, intercelfion, and thankfgiving -, par- ticular occalions being fuppofed to be comprifed un- der any or each of them, as circumftances may require. I. Adoration or addrefs. All our prayers begin with this, tho' expreffed in a brief and concife man- ner. Nor would it be fuitable to dwell long on an addrefs, or to expatiate upon the divine attributes, in prayers like ours, fo fhort, fo many, and for the moft part fo comprehenfive. — . — Much might be faid, and a great deal hath been juftly faid, in favour of fuch lliort prayers ; tho' nothing ought to be faid, by way of reprifals, in derogation of any longer ones ; provided they comprehend every thing My reafon for wifhing, that this piece of inflrudion might be in- troduced ibmewherc about the middle of the fervice, and before our entring on the larger part of our devotions, is this ; becaufe an application of tiiis kind naturally prepares the heart for devo- tion, by cnlargir.g our undcrftandings, elevating our thoughts, warming our affcdions, and fixing our attention, isc. And I may add, that by taking this method, \vc may happily engage many perfons to join with us in our fubfequerit prayers, who now come to church only for the fermon, and when that is ended, 1-ave nothing more to detain them there. that that is neceflary, take in nothing that is improper, and are throughout regular and uniform. Now this, we think, is beft provided for in a ftated Liturgy; which in this refpedl muft needs have the advantage of all other methods of devotion. But this only by the way, and to remove, in feme meafure, a blame too frequently charged upon our fhort addrefles. 2. Confejfion of fins. You have this in the ge- neral confeflion ; as alfo very pertinent exhortations before it (partly delivered in the words of fcripture, and partly in the words of the Church ; ) together with a declaration after it relating to the terms of pardon, pronounced in the words of the ahj'o^ lution. 3. Petition. We have alfo very proper petitions, as in feveral other palTages, fo particularly in our two colledts, the one for peace, the other for grace. That, which is called the firft colledities. Which ( 6i ) ' man could confiftently defend ? And, lajlly^ ' what great confufion and want of order would ' there appear throughout the whole ? * And the fame free and communicative perfon adds the following note. ' Moll of the matter and contents of our Liturgy ' being in themfelves truly excellent, and conf fled ' to be fo by all impartial judges ; it is the opinion ' of fome very fenfible men, who have accurately ' examined it with this view, that out of the whole, ' in its leverai parts, there might, with no very ex- ' traordinary flcill (y), and with fome ordinary ' pains. Which we therefore omit inferting in the place intended, as we would willingly admit no exprcllions into ihis work, but fuch as we think the leall oiFenfive. And by fubjoining this note, where we jull: exhibit the words, without adopting them for our o\\ n, we hope we at once give a fpecimcn both of the regard we pay- to the Public, and of the juftice we would do to the author. Who having given us rcafon to expecl more papers upon lubjefts of this kind, has here our thanks for thofe he has already commu- nicated ; and for his friendly intention of obliging us with more hereafter. [y] The reverend and learned Dr.Ne-zvfon, in his fermon at Boiv, (Mr. J/w/r^/w's anniverfary lefture) intimates, p. 20, thatrV ivillbe found extremely difficult in praSlice, however f^y>' // may /t em in theo- ry, to correSl and amend our Liturgy. With alljuft deference to the judgmentoffo worthy a Divine, (whofe fermon hath been but too unhardfomely treated by an adverfary of unequal parts) we prefume ftill to think, the difficulty will not in fad, and upon trial, be found to be fo great, whenever that trial fhall be made by men of abilities, allowed and countenanced by authority. The matter being in the main fo excellent, the chief difficulty, we conceive, will arife, not fo much from the nature of the \vork (which is what the DoJlor feems to fuppofe) as from the prejudice of men. In this latter refpeft indeed, we readily agree with this ingenious writer, that to corretl and amend the Litur- gy to the fatisfaiSlion of perfons, who are prejudiced, will, in all likelihood, be found more than a little difficult ; and perhaps we might (62) * pains, be formed a Liturgy every way complete * and unexceptionable ; all impropriety of metiiod ' and didion, all redundancy and fuperfluity of ' matter, and whatever elfe may give juft offence, * and prevent the acceffion of other ProteRants, and ' their might add, impoflible. For we can eafily perfuade ourfelves, that no alterations can fatisfy thofe, who are againft all altera- tions ; and who laying it down as a maxim, that our prefent form is perfed, do thence rightly infer, that no improvements can be made, nor ought to be attempted. With refpecl to men of this perfuafion, we have nothing more to fay, as having no hopes of convincing them; and upon this luppofition, all pro- pofals for reforming muft once for all and for ever be given up as fuperfluous, if not abfurd. But prejudice apart, for once ; let us only fuppofe (what impartial men, we prefume, will without much difficulty allow) that it hath been made pretty clear in the courie of the foregoing papers (to fay nothing as yet of thofe that are to follow) that fome amendments are neceffary : Jf this be admitted, and we leave it to all men of candor to judge, then it would feem, that an attempt Ihould be made ; how- ever difficult we may fuppofe it, before we are engaged in it. And we have that opinion of the piety and other valuable quali- ties of our efteemed friend Dr, Neni'ton, that were he, with other excellent men of our Church, to be appointed upon a committee for fuch an undertaking, the fuppofed difficulty, with refpeft to the thing itfelf, and not to men's prejudices, would vanifh be- yond expedation. P. S. An ingenious Gentleman, upon perufing the foregoing note in Manuscript, was plealed to make the following remark. * It ' isjithink (lays he) rightly observed, that diffatisfadion ona fup- ' pofed improvement of our Liturgy can arife from no other ' principle than that of prejudice : unlefs where fome finifter and * felnfh views (thofe of a party for inftance) fliall alio Itrike in, * and engage men in an oppofition.'i Let us fuppofe the prc- ' fent Liturgy had never }et been known in England ; that this ' Church had no eftablillit form to this time ; that the genera- * lity of our Governors and people exprelTed a great defire of * having a complete one, drawn from tlie bell Liturgies antient * and modern ; that fome learned and judicious travellers mcet- * ing with this Liturgy in foreign parts, but in a different Lan- * guage, and highly approving its contents ; but judging its ' form- and order capable of confiderable improvements, fhould ' accordingly ( h ) * their union with ourfelves, being removed out of ^ the way ; or at leaft fo tempered and modelled, * that as little offence as polTible may remain. ' It was thought that the reform intended in 1689, ' if it had then taken place, would have brought in ' the major part of the DilTenters to the com,mu- ' nion of the Church. And we continue to think ' fo to this day ; ' hoping, with Bp. Burnet, that the corretlions, that were then agreed to by a deputation of Bijhpps and Divines, will, at fame time or other, he better entertained than they were then. — Men of can- did and generous minds have ever fince been wifh- ing, expeding, and wondring. And they hope, that near threefcore years obfervation may have ri- pened our judgment, and bettered our temper. accordingly undertake to reform it j and having rendred it in its whole frame as complete and perfect as they could, fhould prelent it in Engliil, to our Convocation, fubmitting it to them to make any farther improvements they Ihould judge neceiTary, and then make it public, under the authority of their approba- tion. Suppofc this book not injoined, but only recommended by fuch authority ; and that every Clergiman, who fhould not think ht to ufe it in his Church, Ihould be requefted, if not re- quired, to render his reafons to his Bilhop in private \vritin^. Prejudice in favor of a former Liturgy having here no place, enforcement by laws and penalties being prudently foreborne, and the gentle methods ofreafonand pcrluafion only ufed, I am humbly of opinion (and fliall be free to own my miltake, if it be one) that the good book, here fuppofedto be publicklv recommended, would meet with univerfal approbation, and by- degrees at leaft, if not all at once, become the general and ftanding Liturgy of the Church of England. You will fav, this is only fuppofition. I mean it for no m.ore : But it tends to confirm your obicrvation, and I am concerned no farther.' SECT. ( 64) SECT. V. ^er'ies and Obferijatiojis relating to the Pfalms, Leflbns, Epiftles and Gofpels. F T E R thefe more general obfervatlon?, re- lating to the form and conne6lion of our fe- veral liturgical ofRces, and the method, in which we are diredled to ufe them ; it may be proper now to defcend to particulars, and confider the matter and propriety of the feveral parts of our fervice, where we fhall judge they may require our confideration. I. We begin with the Pfakis^ as appointed to be read in the ordinary courfe. With regard to which, we hope we may have free leave to propofe the fol- lowing queries. I. Whether it would not be better, and more fer- viceable to the primary intent of reading the pfalms in a congregation, if, inftead of reading them pro- mifcuoufly as they come in our way, we had fome feled^ ones, as we have very often felefl leflbns, and fometimes alfo fuch pfalms, pointed out by the Church ? (5) There are fome pfalms, which feem not altogether fo fuitable for ordinary congre- gations, and might, we prefume, be very well pafled over (o") And yet it would feem, that fome even of our feleft Pfalms are not quite fo appofite to the purpofes they are upplied to, as may be luppofed to be firfl intended. To give no other inftance for the prefent, than the two Pfalms felected for the Evening- fervice on Whit-funday ; in neither of which can we find any thing, that relates to the particular Subjed of the day, tho' the obfcure diligence ( 65 ) over in all. The pfalms in themfelves are unquef- tionably good, and were penned with a fpirit of great devotion and piety. But they are not all alike plain ; and the defign of fome of them may be more liable to be perverted, either by ignorant or by ill minds. Indeed fo may the Scripture almoft through- out i and To may alfo the difpenfations of Provi- dence, in every inftance of which we have not a com- petent underftanding. But then, both Scripture and Providence have paffages in them, that are fufficient- ly intelligible to all : And perhaps the greater parC in both may be fo in refpe^t of all ordinary cafes, and the proper ufes they are intended for. In rela- tion therefore to the pfalms, we defire no more than that it may pleafe our Governors, for the fake of the generality of our congregations, to appoint fuch to be ordinarily read in them, as may be belt underftood by them, and are lead liable to be perverted to a wrong fenfe ; or (which would be much the fame, diligence of fome liturgical commentators will always find out fomething, wherein they can obferve refemblances and aliufions, which few befides themfelves can be fo happy as to difcern. — • Altho' we are not yet come to confider the Lejfom, yet this may feem to be no improper place to take notice, by the way, that fome of thefe alfo, as felefled for folemn fealons, are fcarce fo applicable, as may be thought, or might be wiflied, to the feafons they are applied to. Sometimes a whole chapter (and that per- haps no very clear one neither) feems to be introduced for the fake of a word, or elfe a verfc or two, which contains fomething of a found, that might be fappofed to favour the fubjeft of the day \ when yet the fenfe may be little or nothing to the pur- pofe. We leave it to men of more learning to determine how far, for inftance, the firft leifon for morning-fervice on Eaftev eojen, viz. Zech. ix. may be applicable to the fclemnity of the day. The fenfe feems at leail to be doubtful in ver. u, 12. which we fuppofe were chiefly intended to be applied. And we would refer it to inquifitive men to examine, whether this was not one of the leiTons appointed for this day in the times before the reformation, in order to give fome feeming countenance from the faid verfes, to th^ doctrine oi jurgatory, limbus pa- F and ( 66 ) and anfwer the purpofe as well) t6 except thofe feW they fhall judge to be lefs edifying, and lefs proper to be read in mixt alTemblies. To name no other for the prefent than the cix pfalm. (s) Every one can fee in what fenfe it is commonly underftood, and can hear in what fenfe it is often quoted. Whyt may not this pfalm therefore, together with fome others, be omitted in our ordinary courfe of read- ing, as the book of Canticles (0 is for a juft reafon omitted in our calendar ? unlefs indeed juft notes, or a juft paraphrafe were to go along with them. We fee Mr. OJlervald hath given admirable cautions at the end of this pfalm •, and Dr. Watts hath, with fingular dexterity, and equal prudence, given the whole pfalm a Chriftian turn. 2. Since we have two tranflations oF the pfalms, the older and the newer, and both (we fuppofe) e- qually authorifed ; it may feem no improper quef- tion to afk, whether one alone, fuppofing it duly corred, might not be fufficient .'' and whether it would not, on fome accounts, be better and more advifeable, that we had but one ? For, to fay the leaft, where is the occafion for two, if one will an- fwer the purpofe ? And if fome inconveniences may be prevented by retaining one only, and difmiffing the other, will not this be a fufficient reafon for tak- ing the matter into confideration ? We fliall not con- cern ourfelves with the difpute, ' which of the two * tranflations deferves the preference.' That difpute might have been avoided, if wc had had but one tranflation. And the ifiue of it hath been little more than this, that the abettors of each have fuffi- mt (s) It may be obferved this pfalm is omitted in the iniroits of the firrt: Common-prayer of King Ed-ward VI. See ahb pfal, cxxxvii. 7, 8, g. not unlike feme paflagesin pfaL cix. (^) Vid. Wheatleyon Com, Pf. p. 139. 1 ciently ( e? ) ciently difparaged the other, whofe caufe they did hot efpoufe. (>j) However each tranflation, we doubt not, hath in it Something to hlame, and fomething to commend ; and neither of them is as complete as it ought to be. Our old tranflation, as much as it hath been difparaged, is evidently the more free and intelligi- ble of the two •, which is a circumftance of fomc merit in its favor, confidering it is appointed to be (r) ^ery. Suppofe our old tranflation had been placed in the bod)' of the Bible, and our ww in the Common-prayer ; would the contending parties have taken different fides ? Or would they both, have remained fdent ? Or elfe have freely acknowledged, that both tranflations wanted mending ? Dr. Nichols feems to be iufficiently ingenuous, as well as juft, in his remarks relating to both. IVe muji oivn, fays he, there are fame pajfages^ nxhich are vot fo exaSlly done in this old tranjlation ; and ivemay truly fay om ?night Jhe-w as many in the new one : which I do not take to be the ?noJl exaSi performance in its kind. For it carries from the begin- ning to the end one grofs fault i and that is, a rendition too nicely literal; iJolMh makes it tichvcvj fill, /Z-o' ?'« Engliih nx^ords, and hardly to be under flood ^.vithout a paraphrafe. And he obferves further (whether with equal juftice, let others judge) that our iafi fet of tranflators fee?ned refohed to alter, for pure alteration'' s fake, 'when no manner of occafion required it ; leanjing out as much Engliih phraje, and bringing in as much Hebrew, as e'vcr they could. Whether it ivere (fays he) to recommend their fill in the Hebrew critic, or txhether they had any other defign in ^nenv, 1 cannot till. Preface to his paraphrafe on the old tranflation ; where (to make good his charge, of their being too fervilely addicted to the He- bretv idiom.) he proceeds to give the reader a talte of their per- formance, in feveral inftances. Mr. Johnfon has done the fame in his defence of the old tranflators, Notes, p. 13,14, &c. And both own, that a more free Vvay of tranflating ancient authors is more ufeful, as it lets middling readers more eahly into the fenfe and meaning of the original. We humbly prefume, upon the whole, that if the obSrvations of thefe two learned men were to be fairly purfued to a point, and applied as they ought to be, to other parts of our tranflation, as they are to that of the pfalms only, they would conclude, with equal juftnefs, in favor of a a wrv tranflation of the whole Bible. F 2 read ( 68 ) read in churches. Yet even this tranflation, befidei other defeds, appears (as it mud at To great a dif- tance of time iVom the firft framing of it) to have too many obfolete words and phrafes : which, to make it more generally ufeful, might, we think, be better changed into more modern ones. (6) But there is another inconvenience attending our having two tranilations, which, we wifh, was as ea- fily removed, as it is obvious to be difcerned, and too vifibly demands the notice of our Governors. There are fome pafTages in both, which, upon com- paring, feem not to agree fo well with each other, as might be wifhed. May we not therefore humbly pro- pofe it as a query deferving fome attention. Whe- ther it may not be proper (till we have a new and better verfion of the whole) either to difcard one of the tranflations, and improve the other ; or, which may be as well for the prefent, to beftow fome pains in reconcihng both (/), according to the fenfe and defign of the original ? Are not our people a little puzzled, if not (hockt fometimes, when they fee, or think they fee, contradiftions in thefe tranfla- tions ? In the divine originals there are none, and in our human tranflations there ought to be none : But it will at leafl: be thought there are fome in thefe latter, *till they fliall be rendered more uniform, and more agreeable to each other. And furely it is (D) Dr. Bennet, tho' he fpeaks as favorably as he well can of this tranflation, yet is free to own (and it is tlie lead he could fay) that it may nvell he improved. But what he adds prefently after, is, we hope, not fo true as it is difcouraging ; viz. We have no pro/peSi of any other tranjlation. Notes on Com. pr. p. 42, 43. (t) Amongft other conceflions made by the epifcopal commif- fioners at the review in 166 :, we find this to our prefent purpofe, that they were willing the two tranflations of the pfalms fhould be collated. I our ( h ) our duty to remove all appearance of contradi(5i:ions where we find any ; efpecially fince unbelievers will not fail to make a handle of them to expofe the Bible, and to perfuade the vulgar, fas they frequent ly do) that they have no certain rule of faith. The feeming inconfiftency between the two tranflations in Pfal. cv. 28. is well known, and hath been often objeded. And altho' theprefent Lord Bifhopof^/;^- chejler (x) hath very well removed the difficulty with regard to non- conformity, ftill there remains room to wi(h, that every appearance of clafhing may be removed likewife ; fo that neither conformifts, nor non-conformifts, nor any other, whether learned or unlearned, may have any juit reafon to objedt. 3. With refpedt to the ufe of pfalmody in our churches ; why are we confined to the matter pre- fcribed in the pfalms only ? The New Teftament lies open, and is thought to contain many more elevated fentiments, and much more fuitable on the whole to Chri'ftian congregations, than any in the book of pfalms. May not fome of the more felefl pafiages of that new and more glorious revelation, and indeed of the whole Bible, be introduced, and that with more benefit, being thrown into proper metre ? It feems now to be univerfally allowed by men of thought and judgment, that Chriftian hymns do beft become Chriftian churches. The excellent Mr. OJiervald (a) already mendoned, very dif- creetly (x) IRcaJovahU of conformity, p. 71. Alfo John/on & notes in de- fence of oldtranfl. p. 16, 65, 66. (a) ' It would be a queftion worth examining, whether we * ought in Chriftian churches to ufe only pfalms and canticles out ^ . of the Old Teftament, &c. One would think that Chriftian ^ hymns, which Ihould be fung to the honour of God and Jefus * Chrift, chiefly to celebrate the wonders of our redemption, * might be extraordinarily ufeful to nourifh piety, and to ftir yp * dcTOtior, as well as more agreeable to that which the Apoftles F 3 * prefcribe. ( 70 ) erectly points out a rule to this purpofe. And Dr. Watts (who may without envy or offence be men- tioned with him a fecond time) hath with much good ienfe and good poetry, and, every one will allow, with much lerious piety, put this rule in execution : and we fuppofe much to the benefit (wz. the Chrif- tian in{lruy ipuch out of place) at the beginning of OSiober, in ^e room of the famous fifth chapter of Tohit, which was then excluded, and hath never fince gained re-entrance. Now as to the exclufion of certain chapters, or parts of chapters, oat of the calendar, we find a juft and fatisfafiory account given by our compilers, in an old rubric, which 'till the laft review (v,'her\ &r raifons to us unknown, it was altered to wliat it is at prefenc) ran thus : ' The old Teftament, &c. fhall be read through eve- * ry yeare once, except certaine bookes and chapiters, which bee ' ieaji ciiifyifig, and might bee left feared ; and therefore bee left 'unread.' Mr. VEfirange hath made a proper remark on this rubric, Jtjftifying the Church's conducl in omitting paffages that are lefs inllruflive. 'To omit (faith he) nxhat is in-edifying, our Church hath good iKarr ant f I cm that r^le of the A^ofile, Let all things be done to edification. Alliance, p. 25, And he elfe- whcre very juHIy blames the preA-)yterian Divines of the laft cen- tury, who to make amends, as they thought, for their having thrown off (too indifcriminately, as we think) all the apocryphal books, did by a zeal fufiiciently indifcreet, order in their direc- tory, tb.at a great many chapters of the Old Teftament fhould be read, which (as that Gentleman obferved) were not only le/s, but not at all edifying to a popular auditory ; taking notice at the fame time and place (p. 56.) of fome excellent tnings, which were read in the primitive Church, but are not read in any modem ; as particularly Clemer,s\ efiJlUs to the Corinthians ; to which he might have added fome other pieces, no lefs valuable, of that kind ; which might undoubtedly be read, with far more benefit, to a Chriflian auditory, than many both canonical, and uncanoni- cal, that are fometimes read in our churches, and we fuppofe alfo in diften ting-oratorios.' ' It will probably be a long time before the Church of Chrift comes to a rational and difcrcet a- greement about things of this nature, and feveral others tend- ing to the reftoration and perfeftion of the Gofpel-ftatc : But we believe it will by degrees reform itltlf upon the purc0 mo- del, and return again to its primitive fimplicity, making good Tettfe (.11) nealogles In the Chronicles, &c. are) in our prefent calendar, if authority fhould think proper to allow of fuch omiflion. 3. The divifions of many of oui* leflbns (as was ob- ferved before of many of our chapters and verfes) feem to require a better regulation. Some begin^ others break off, a little too abruptly. And the connection being not difcerned, with refped; to wha£ goes before, or follows after, the fenfe mufl confe- quently remain imperfed. And indeed fometimes (with becoming reverence be it fpoken) no fcnfe ^ all, or fcarce any, can be made of the beginnings and conclufions of feveral of them, when coming in, or breaking off, with fo little propriety, as in feme inftances they are obferved to do. Of the former fort (to give but a few fpecimens) are — the fecond leffon for evening- fer vice on Cbriji- mas-day : — the firfl: for the fame fervice on the feaft of St. Michael ; which, by the way, we humbly fuppofe might more properly begin at the entrance of the chapter, a few verfes before •,— and the fe- cond leffon in the morning, on the feftivai of All- Saints ', where, inftead of beginning at v. 33, (which is inexcufably abrupt) (c) it might perhaps feem more ad- fenfe and Chriftian principles its only rule in ren. ] Some of tlie longer are, JBe/and Dragon Luke ii. ^ A^s xiii. Jils vii. Jer. li. and Hiji. Su/l Deut. xxviii. Bar. vi. Matt. xxvl. Luke i. (on Junexj) leflons Verfes. 42. 52. 60. 64. 68. 73- 75- 80. 5. Can C 8x ) 5. Can it be thought to be on all accounts expe- dient, or on any account neceflfary, that the fame individual lefTons fhould return, as they fometimes do, within the compafs of the fame month, or with- in a very fhort fpace of time, after they have been read before? For inftance. Gen. xxvii. on Jan i, and 9. Exod. XX. the ten commandments twice on Eajler" tue[day^ morn. fer. JJaiah Ix. Dec. 24, and Jan. 6. Matt. vii. Jan. 9. and Feb. 29. — — xxvii. on Palm-funday, and part of it on the Saturday following. A^is vii. Dec. 7 and 26. x. the fame epiftle for Whitfun-monday as for Eajler-monday. Rom. ii. Jan. i and 3. So likewife one or more of the pfalms ; as Pfal. cxxxii. Dec. 26 and 28. I cxlv. JVhitfunday in the afternoon ; as alfo the next morning, when it happens to be the 30th of May. And when any month con- fifts of 3 1 days, the laft feven pfalms are read two days fucceffively. And if our epiftles and gofpels were to be mi- nutely compared with our lelTons, and a table drawn up, wherein each of them might be diflindtly feen in one view, together with the particular days af- ligned for each •, it would appear, that the returns of this kind are more numerous, and follow one a- nother more clofeiy, than Is commonly imagined. G 6, Would ( 82 ) 6. Would it not in fa6t be ufeful, as it is in rea- fon allowable, and perhaps alfo in experience necef- fary, that in fome pafTages of certain leffons, that are read, there fhould be proper difcriminations inferted in the verfion, to diftinguifh betv/een the feveral per- Ibns, that are exhibited in the hiilory ? The tranfla- tion, and confequently the public reading of it in the leffons, is neither fo clear, nor fo elegant, as we prefume it might and ought to be, for want of fuch a requifite diilindion. Let us take notice only of one or two paffages. A5ls v\\. i, 2. Then /aid the high prieji, are thefe things fo ? And he faidy [Who faid ? The fame high-prieft for certain; ac- cording to common expedation, and the ordinary rules of grammatical reference ; but according to truth, which is not always diftinguiflit by every au- ' ditor, not the high-prieft, but a greater and bet- ter man, namely, Stephen — faid,] Men and brethren, &c. The tranflators were a little more free in ver. 59 of this chapter, inferting God as the objeft of St. Stephen^ prayer •, and might, we make no doubt, have ufed equal freedom by fupplying the Apolo- gift's name in ver. 2. where the fenfe fo manifeftly requires it •, and where indeed, without fuch a fup- ply, that fenfe is almoft unavoidably perverted, or mufl: by moft people be mifunderftood on the bare hearing -, efpecially in vulgar congregations. The obfervations we have delivered upon this paffage, may, perhaps, among other fimiliar in- ftances, be juftly enough applied to the fliort and frequent interlocutories in Gc'?i. xviii. 28, 29, 20, 31, 32. where we think the tranflators, without doing the lead injury to the facred text, might have ven- tured to fupply the proper difcriminations between the ptrfons there fpeaking, viz. the great almighty Jehovah^ and Abraham his humble friend. [See alfo chap. j ( ^3 ) thdp. xxvii. 35, 36. and chap, xxiv, 35. with the rf^- i genioiis Mr. Kem/cott's remark on this latter, in d//- fert. 2. p. 127. And many more fuch inftances might be added.] A query therefore here occurs •, which, as we cannot tliink it improper or unnecef- fary, we fnall venture to propofe as follows. ji Since it is obfervable, that no fmall number of our lefTons begin with fuch indeterminate words as ' thefe. And he [aid. And he went. And he entered. And '■■ he arofe. And he began. And he looked \ Or, And ■ when he had called-, When he was come^ Now when he • had ended, &c. (4') our query is, whether it may not ; be allowable for our minifters, in reading to their con- , gregations, to make the proper fupply, as the cafe j fhall require ? So fmall an allowance, one would think, can never do hurt, and may feem at leaf! ex- pedient, if not necefiary. 8. There is another cafe not very unlike this, which may deferve a query. Obferving, that our marginal tranflation («) is in fome places manifcflly preferable to, and in others explicatory of, that in (•vj/) It is indeed pretty manlfeft to moll:, tho' not to every au- ditor, that thefe and the like beginnings of chapters in the Evan- gelifts relate to our bleffed Saviour, But would it not be better, lif his name was fpecified either in the tranflation, or by the Mi- lifter ? as we fee is done in the former, in fome places ; parti- icuiarly Luie xix. i. and 7''-^ 'X- •• i" both which places the raiiflatcrs have with good reafon inferted yi-fus, tho' in the ori- ginal his name is not fpecified. rhere are many palTages alfo in the J^7s, where fuch fupplies re wanted, and ought to be made, at the entrance of chapters. :"hus chap. iv. t. viii. i. xiv. i. xvi. i. xvii. j. All the chap- ters in the Gofpel of St. John are remarkably free from this ex- :eption j unlefs you except tliofe, which coiiiain fome of our ord's difcourfes to his difciplcs. See more upon this head un- Ber the next article, viz. Epifiles and Gofpels. u) See Dr. Gf//'s obfervations on this head, in Le'wii''s hill, jf the Eiigliih tranflations, 8vo. p. 335. G 2 the ( 84 ) the body of the page •, may we not have leave to afk, whether it might not be permitted our Clergy, fometimes, and where they fhall fee jiift occafion, to take notice of the former, by occafionally inferting it in their reading the leflbns ? A liberty this, we will readily acknowledge, not proper to be allowed to all, and indeed not likely to be affumed by any without due permiflion. But if it be in fome cafes expedient, why may it not be allowed under proper reftridlions ? And if the tranflation in the margin is not of equal authority with that in the text, why is it retained ?; «) The truth is (and we muft a- gain (a) It is obvious, that our marginals are generally of two forts ; cither fuch as were intended to be explanatory as notes, or fuch as fliew the tranflators were fomewhat doubtful about the fenfe ; which therefore they thought proper to leave undetermined. And this, as it is a fpecimen of their ingenuity, fo it is a good , rcafon for retaining thofe marginals in our printed books. To be fure it is not done without fufficient authority ; whether equal to that of the text-tranflation, we are not able to fay, and think it better to leave to the judgment of others. Only we would obferve, that fome of thofe marginals feem to be proper helps to the underftanding, not only in private, as we fuppofe they were at firft intended, but alfo in public, if it were allowable to take fome of them in. Now the inlUnces, in which we think fuch an allowance might be expedient, are comparatively but few. Some of which we ihall here produce : And the fpecimen, if it ferves for no other purpofe, will at leaft be an additional argument for a ne^w tranjlation : Which, we are not unwilling to own, is one principal reafon for our propofmg thefe 6th, 7th, ,ind 8th que- ries, with this note upon the laft of them. Among thofe marginal references, which we fhall take notice of, fome feem ufeful and expedient, others in a manner necefiary to be taken in . Of the former fort are thefe. (i). Such as feem to give us a better tranflation ; as Luke xxiv. 31. He vaniped out of thitr Jtght. [or rather, as it is in the margin, ceafed to be feen of them] 2 Cor. xii. 4. Which it Is vot lanjjful \_Marg. or polliblel for man to utter. Eph. vi. 12; Jgainfl fpiritual ivickedneffes [ol wicked fpirits] /« high places. TJiere is indeed another margina" here, 'vix. or heavmlj, inftead of high. But that doth not feen quite fo proper, the meaning probably being, in the aerial re\ giotis. . Phil. i. 13; My bonds in ChriJ), [or for ChrillJ &cj 2 liml ( 85 ) gainft repete it) we want a new and better verfion, with a more accurate divifion of our facred oracles ; and 2 Tim. ii. 6 ; The hu/handmany that labouretb, muft he firft far- taker of the fruits, or, as it feems better rendered in the margin, * The hufbandman, labouring firft, muft be partaker of the * fruits.'] Heb. vii. 3. iVithotit defceitt [or ' without pedigree,' i.e. upon record] Chap. x. 19; Ha'ving—boldnefs [or liberty] to enter. -(2,) Such as are expletive of the i'enfe, where the original phraies are elliptical ; as Gen. iii. 16 ; Thy defire /hall be [fubjeft] to thy husband. Rom. viii. 3 ; And [by a ifacriiicejy^r fin. The fame fupplement ought to have been put in the mar- gin, or rather inferted in the tranflated-text, in 2 Cor. v. 21. And it Is remarkable, that in Heb. x. 6. the fame original phrafe, which we have in Rotn. viii. 3. [viz.. acn tti^I a^a.pri!x.q) is freely and juftly rendered. And facrifices for fn. And we may ob- ferve with pleafure the fame juft and neceiTary freedom ufed in ver. 3. which in the Greek is fomewhat fparing in cxpreftion ; 'A'KK VI «yT«r? ai'«fAi'>5<7K a.^x^-rw) kcct hiocvrov, tranflatcd, But in thoje facrifices there is a remembrance again made if fins e'very year. To thefe may perhaps be added, Mark ix. 43. offend thte [Marg. or caufe thee to off'end,^ tho' a better tranflation perhaps than both would be, enfnare thee. (3). Such as are explana- tory of any lefs common, or lefs commonly intelligible names of places, &c. As, i. of feme Hehreiv x\a.mes. Thus Gen. x. 9. Babel. M. tha.t is, confuf on. Chap. xxii. 14. Abraham called the name of the place feho-vahjireh, [that is, the Lord ixjill fee, or protHde. [Chap, xxxiii. 20. And called it El-elohe ifrael, [that is, God the God ofi Ifrael.^ Exod. xv. 23 Marah, M. that i^, bitternefs. Judg. vi. 24. Jcho'unhjhalom, M. that is, the Lord fend peace. — Or elfe of fome Enghjh words, that may be lefs un- derftood by ordinary readers or hearers ; as fob xl. 26 ; Nor the habergeon [or breaft-plate} a word originally French, hauhergton. I Tim. iii. 6 ; Not a no-vice, [or one newly come to the faith.]—- — Or, 2. fome eaftern phrafes, either figurative, or otherwife lefs clear and plain to ordinary capacities ; as E%ra ix. 8. a nail i M. or a pin, that is, a conftant and fare abode. Job iv. 9, By the breath of his nofirils [that is, fays the margin, by his anger ; and perhaps it would have been more expreffive ef the majefty and force of the original language, if it had been faid, by his foiverful anger. \ Chap. vi. 3. My tvords are pwalloiucd up [that is, margin again, / vjant luords to exprejs my grief '\ Of the latter fort may be reckoned thefe few amongft others ; I Cor. xi. 10. The ivoman to have po-zuer [that is, a covering} on her head. The word is of the fame import, or intends the fame fenfe, with ■7r^gl€9^alou, rendered a covering, [or, as in the G 3 margin. ( 86 ) and then fuch queries as thefe would be needlefs. Nor v/ould we have defcended fo much below our general margin, 'vail,'] in ver. 15. And we could have wiftied, that the words, becnufe of the angels, had been rendered, eitlier in the text or margin, becauje of the meffengers, or fpia. See Gcugh's critical differtation on this verfe. Then again, ver. 29, of this chapter: Eateth and drinketh dajnnation [or judgment] to kim- fclf. So ver. 34. and St. Jam. iii. i. A word of no fmall mo-» ment to be rightly diftingaiOit, and produ£live of very unhappy confequences for want of being fo.i^ -Another fpecimen, that may deferve notice, may be Heb. iv. 8. For if Jefus [that is, Jojhuah^ It feems not very eafy to account for our tranflators chufing to put Jifui in the text, and Jojhuah in the margin ; when it is beyond difpute, that this latter perfon, and not our Lord Jefus, is there meant. And yet not one in an hundred of oar common people, when they hear this facred name men- tioned, can readily apprehend any other to be intended by it, than our blefTed Lord ; unlefs indeed fome of them fhould, per- haps, have heard of Jefui the fon of Sirach, and of his grand- father Jefus, mentioned in the prologue to his book. But they expeft not to hear of any other of this name in the New Tef- tament. Aliho' we have exhibited the foregoing fpecimens of margi- nal tranflations, as fomewhat pertinent and deferving notice j yet we muf^ own, there are numbers of others, that we do not look upon in the fame light for corrednefs, and can fcarce prefer to the verfion in the text, even where that alfo falleth fhort of being juft. We will take fome of the firft, that Ihall fall under ©ur view. Here are two or three (we prefume, not the worft in their kind) that appear on bare glancing upon the epiftle to the Hebreivs only. Chap. iv. 6. To nvhom it [marg. the GofpeL, but more truly the promife of reft] •was firft preached. Chap. I'iii. 6. Mediator of a better covenant. So ch. xii. 24. Mediator of the r.eiv co'venant. In both which places (as alfo in Gal. iv. 24, &c.) the margin prefents us with the far lefs proper word, tefament. But more particularly, chap. xii. 17. where there fecms to be a double error, and that of fome confequence. Tranflaticn in the text, he found no plaie of repentance; in the margin, or ivay to change his mind. Whofe ? Efaus own mind, as any common hearer or reader would be apt to under- ftand the words. But had the rendring in the text been, he found vo place of repentance (or, no alteration of purpofe) in his far ther ; or had that in the margin been, no luay to change his fa- ^hst^s-ffrfnd, wi: humbly think they would both of them have becH •( 8; ) general defign, as to propofe them here, but out of real pity and concern for all our more ignorant con- gregations throughout the kingdom. For we can- not behold their honeft but unimproving attention in fuch cafes, without fentiments of moft tender huma- nity, and emotions of moft Chriftian compaftion. And we f(3) would to God irom our hearts, with one of the wifeft and moft companionate of men, thai all the Lord^s people were prophets, in every congrega- tion of Chriftians, both in this, and in every other kingdom under heaven ! And in this Chriftian and benevolent ftrain of thinking and wiftiing (wherein every humane and Chriftian bofom^ we are very fure, will bear a fym- been nearer the mark, and lefs liable to mifconftruftion. See Ketile-tve/rs tneafures of chriftian obedience. B. v. chap. vii. To make an end of this long note, wherein we willingly al- lowed ourfelves to expatiate, in order to do fome fervice, if we can, to the Bible ; 'till we have a more correft tranflation of the whole, it is to be wifhed we had fome more and better mar- ginal verfions, or illuflrations : for inftance, to fuch paflages as thefe, Rom.\\. 17, where the too clofe and circumlimtial ren- dition of the Hebraifm, at the beginning of the veHe, leems to •be unpardonable, and the lefs exa£l obfervation of the antiptofit in the latter part to be far from commendable. And might not the words like pajjions'm Ads xiv. 15. and '^am. v. 17. be bet- ter translated in the text, or elfe explained in the margin ? The fenfe plainly is, M'^e alfo are men as ye are ; Elias vjas a mcifi like ourfel'ves ; or 110 le/s than ourfelves. See the full and true fenfe of the exprefTion (which yet neither our margin, nor perhaps commentators refer to) in Ads x. 26. The words •i^jsj^* and «^/]? (fo frequently occurring, and fo frequently mif- tranflated) dcferve alfo to be confidered, aud taken notice of in our margin, no lefs than other words, v.hich, admitting of a double acceptation, have fuch notice taken of them, i Cor. xv. 55. agreeing with the words and delign of the Htbreav in Ho'. xiii. 14. is perhaps the only place in the N. Tell, where the Greek word (in all other places alike) is tranflated Gr^ 'y/^ ; the jnargin at the fame time not forgetting to put us in mind of the other word, by Vi'hich it is ufually trani'lated. (;?) Numb. xi. 29. G 4 pathizing ( 88 ) pathizing part) we prefume to fubjoin one further thought under this head. The thing we would propofe, we own may, and probably will, by men of learning, be judged to be of no great importance -, but by us, who defire, on all occafions, to confult the intereft of the unlearned, is judged to be a point, that may very well cJeferve to be offered to our learned Governors. And it is this ; 9, Our ordinary people feem to want fome plainer and more luicable inftrudlions than they ordinarily have. Our Church feems to have defigned for them the plainefl:, as we may judge by her homi- lies : But her homilies (which are now neither fo plain, nor on fome accounts fo proper, as they were intended to be at firft) are feldom or never read in our churches. Nor (which is as much or more to be wifhed) have we any comment upon Scripture recommended by authority. Some perfons of emi- nence in the church have exprefied their wifhes free- ly and publickly upon the fubjcd. And altho' we are not altogether of the fame mind ourfelves (be- caufe on fome accounts there may be confiderable inconveniences \) yet we cannot but heartily concur with them in tlie main fcope of their wiflies -, and therefore fhall be very free to declare our own, as far as we judge them pertinent to the prefent pur- pofe. What we have to propofe is this ; going, as near as we can, a middle way : That 'till fomething more perfect fhall be eftablii'hed, it may pleafe our Governors to fet forth fome plain and praftiral com- ments on fome of the lejfcns ; thofe leffons being firft fuppofed to be fomcwhat better ftlefted, than they fcem to be at prefent. Such comments, we prefume, might fometimes, and on proper occafions, be read with 3 { 89 ) with great profit (y) to the audience, inftead of a fermon or homily ; nay fometimes, we fcruple not to (7) The propofal, on the whole of its defign, is by no means new ; having evidently the pradlice of antiquity on its fide, and being fupported by the beft precedents. Our blefled Saviour ex- pounded the Scriptures to his auditors, Luke iv. 21. xxiv. 27. St. Paul did the fame, -<^^; xvii. 2, 3. xiii. 15, &c. Juftin Martyr informs us, in reference to the pradice of the primitive Church, that after the Scriptures were read, the Prefident of the aiTembly preached, inflruiSting and exhorting the auditors to the imitation and pradice of thoie excellent things they had heard, ■/tpol. 2. Origen, in the account he gives of Chriftian preach- ing and inftruftion, fays exprefly, that the fermons in his time were explatiatio?is of the leffhns, that ^vete read. Contra Celf. 1. 3. And it is plain from feveral of his works, that his own fermony were fuch. For we find him often commenting upon Scripture ; and fometimes, not only on one or two, but feveral chapters to- gether, after they had juft before been read in the congregation. The names of traSates and traSlaton are well known ; the for- mer being expofitions of Scripture, the latter thofe, who deliver- ed them in the church. Nor was there, that we can find, any public ailembly held, without fuch expofitions. The two cele- brated Fathers, St. C^ry_,^/oOT and St. Aujlin, are peculiarly noted for their inftruflions of this kind ; both of whom, from time to time, expounded whole books of the divine Oracles to their au- diences ; as St. Cyprian did the Lord's-prayer to that under his care. The praftice continued in later times, even in the darker ages of the Churcl\; as may be feen by the numerous Latin poftils. thofe of Haymo and others, that aboond in Poprp coun- tries. Dr. John Colet, afterwards Dean of St. PauYs, pub- lickly expounded all St. Paul's epiftles, which took him up fome years ; -nd this was fome time before the opening of the refor- mation. Our Reformers kept up, or rather revived, the fatne good practice of unfolding the Vvord of God in large portions to the people. Archbifhop Cranmer expounded the epillle to the Hebrcn.vs ; Biiliop Hoper the book of Jonah ; Bifhop Latymer the Lcrd's-prayer : Thomas Becon (formerly Cranmer^ Chaplain) commented on all the Sonday Gofpelles that be rcdde in the Church thoroivcut the yeare ; and his work being perufcd and alloived r^c- cord;ni to the gene's maiejiie''s i>2JunSiions, was imprinted in i 566, and fet up in many churches ; in fome of which it remains to this day. After him the learned Bifhop C<7(?/ifr, in i^y^,, pub- lilhed a fet of very ufeful expofitions upon all the IclFons of the old Teftament, as then appointed for Sundays. His contempo- rary, the excellent Bilhop Jev.'el, expounded feveral of St. Paul's epililes. ( 90 ) to fay, with greater profit than either. But we chufe to fay no more. cpiftles, with the firll of St. Peter, and went though all the E- piftles and Gofpels for the }'early courfe. If we defcend to later times, we find the expofitions and poflils of Dr. John Boys (Dean of C/znt. in King "J a7r.es Ift's reign) on the Epiftles and Gof- pels ; and more lately thofe of his remote fucceffor. Dr. Ztan- hope on the fame. And tho' the expofitions of Bifhop Patrick, whilft he was Miniller of Covent-Garden, be not, nor were by him intended to be printed (being only curfory and extempora- neous obfervations) yet we have been well affured by fome, who could remember it, that it was the conftant pradice of that good man, on all the feftivals that happened on the week-days, to ex- pound the epiftle and gofpel appointed for the day. We alio iind it recorded of the venerable Bi(hop Bedell, that he fre- quently commented on the pfalms for the day. And the late learned Mr. Reading's fermons on the lefTons exhibit a pattern, that defer ves notice and imitation. Indeed it feems to be the defign of our Church, that fermons (hould always be expofitions upon fome part or other of the Scriptures appointed for the day. Mr. Wheatly affures us, that the fpecial reafon of the fermons being ordered in the place where it is by our rubric, is becaufe the firft defign of it was to explain fome part of the foregoing Epiftle and Gofpel ; and this, as he fays, in imitation of that praftice of the "Jeivs mentioned in Nehem. viii. 8. From thefe feveral remarks it appears pretty plainly, that the judgment andpracl;ice of the antients, and of many eminent Di- vines of our Church, (whole number we could eafily have en- larged) favor our propofal ; and that the explaining and apply- ing of Scripture is one of the beft and moft ufeful ways of preaching ; efpeciaily to common audiences. And as to cate- chiftng, which feems the next beft, we fhall probably give our thoughts about it liereafter in fome proper place. We cannot better conclude this note than with the words of Bifhop Bufnei, in that pathetic and moft public-ipirited oration, which we hnd at the clofe of the hiftory of his own times. * Long fermons, in v/hich points of divinity or morality are re- ' gularly liandled, are above the capacity of the people : Short * and plain ones, upon a large portion of Scripture, would be ' better hearkened to, and ha^-e a much better efteft. They * would ma.ke the hearers underftand and love the Scriptures * more.' And loving and uaderftanding them, they would cer- tainly r«ad them more, and be more improved by thofe Scrip- tures.' Ill, The ( 91 ; HI. The Epijiles and Gofpels being much of the fame nature with the pfalms and lefTons, the proper place to take notice of them feems to be here. And our queries about them fhall be, I. Whether fome of them might not, on a re- view, be fomewhat better felefted ? They are really, many of them, pickt out with much judgment and propriety *, and the contents are both plain and ufe- ful. But wc cannot fay they are all fo ; nor that any of them appear to juft advantage, where they happen to be feparated from their proper conne6lion, or introduced without fuch notices as feem previoufly requifite (J). Abruptnefs, we own, is fometimes a beauty ; (J) Many of oar Go/pels in particular feem to be attended with this defetfl; that they give the congregation no notice at the beginning, concerning the divine perfon, who is (b fre- quently the fubjed of them. It is true, thatmoft of oar people can have a pretty near guefs about the matter. But the inferting a word or two, to fpecify our blelfed Lord at the entrance, could, we humbly think, be no way improper or inconvenient; whereas the omiflion many times may appear very incongruous. How improperly, for inltance, would the Gofpel for the ijth Sunday in Lent begin (as it did before our lall revicnv) with. Which of you can rebuke me of Jin F Our Pvevifors therefore aclcd a commendable part, by introducing it with ye/us faid, then fubjoining the words of the prefent tranllation. And indeed they very prudently left out the old trayjfation in all the epillles and gofpels ; which (tho' it v^-as the firft, that was made after the Reformation) was till then retained in all ; but was at the fame time juflly complained of in all, on the account of many im-< proprieties ; fome of vvhich we may perhaps take notice of in fome other place. Again, how improper would it be to intro- duce the Gofpel for the 2.}rh Sunday after Trinity, with barely the following words, viz. While he ffake thefe things unto them? We therefore iind it introduced, as it ought to be, with. While Jetus [pake thefe thifigs to Johns difciples. And v/e obferve the old tranflation had guarded in likemanner againft fuch abrupt- nefs, tho' otherwife attended v/ith a fmall inaccuracy ; While y efus fpahe unto the people. ~Had the Gofpel for the third Sun- day after Eafer begun all on the fudden with, A little vJhile, and ( 9^ ) beauty •, but is feldom fo, and can fcarce ever be, in fuch inftances as we have in view ; where not bcau- ye fi>all not fee me, fuch a beginning, we imagine, would not have been hiilf fo proper as that, with which the words are now introduced, viz. "Jefus faid to his difciples. Which words are alfo fet at the entrance of the Gofpel for the Sunday immediate- ly following ; and of thofe for the 6th and 9th after Trinity ; and of that for St. Philip and St. James. The like difcretion has been ufed in many other places ; of which we (hall point out but two, viz. the 20th and zzd Sunday after Trinity. The Gofpel for the former, inftead of beginning with, ^nd Jefus anj'vjered and /pake unto them again by parables, and faid, begins more properly with only, Peter /aid unto Jefus. But on the other hand there are (h muft be owned) numbers of paflages, where both gofpels and epiftles, efpecially the for- mer, begin much too abruptly ; as will eafily appear upoa exa- mining. The commiffioners at the laft review fhewed a juft freedom of judgment in leaving the genealogy of St. Matth. i. out of the Goipel for the Sunday after Chrif mas-day ; where k was kept in 'till then. And had they alfo thought fit to dif- mifs the enumeration of tribes in the Epiftle for All-Saints, (paf- fmg on, for inflance, from the words Children of Ifrael, to Jfter this I beheld) we prefume the public inftruftion would not have been lefs proper, or lefs profitable. And why they altered the begitminr of that epiflolary portion from what it was before (Be- hold 1 John faijj another angel) to what it is now, we muft own, we can difccrn no rcafen. However, thej' did extremely ught in confenting to take in the prefent trar.llation in tlie room of the old (which was by that time grown very improper to be ufed in public ;) whereas, had they continued to defend it, as had been ufually done, be- caufe it was in the book ; and refolved to retain it there, under the fpecious plea of reverence for its antiquity, or any other fuch amunn'y pretence, we fliould have had it to this very day in all our Common-prayer books ; and, notwithftanding its numerous improprieties, and not very pleahng indelicacies, it mull: have been read in all our churches and chapels, from the royal one at St. James''s, to that of St. Michael in Cornivall. And yet many were for having no other verfion of the epiftles and gof- pels, any more than of the pfalms ; being pcrfeftly content with the old in each, and apprehending danger to the Church and Liturgy from the admilhon of any other into our fervice ; tho' the newer tranfiation, a? far as we can fee, flood upon equal au- thority with tiie older. But it is not eafy to account for peo- ple's prejudices : And men of obfervatlon will own, they were hr:re witliOiit grounds. ty ( 93 ) ty but inftru6lion is required ; tho' we rather wifli, that both may go together as much as poflible, in every thing relating to the worfhip of God. 2. We may be allowed the freedom of putting another query, though we have tranfiently touched upon the fubjeft before. May not thefe fmaller portions of fcripturc (we flill mean our epiftles and gofpels) be fuppofed to be the lefs neceffary for the inftruftion of a congregation, after fo much other Scripture hath been read in our lelTons, pfalms, and hymns ? We very well know that the cuftom of reading them is founded on antiquity •, and v;e would pay all juft regard to fo venerable a name. But circumftances being altered, and the reafon of things not requiring a ftrift imitation, we humbly prefume the Church is at liberty, on proper occafions, to deviate from antiquity. In what we here fay, as well as in every thing elfe, we beg we may be right- ly underftood. We do not defire, that the epiilles and gofpels may be laid afide, but that the frame of our fervice may be better adjufted •, and when it is fo, we doubt not, but thefe may have thtir proper ufe in the miniftration at the altar. REMARK. Before we conclude this Section, we judge it pro- per to lay down one general remark -, which we are defirous (hould be applied to particular cafes, as the importance of any of them, more or lefs, fhall hap- pen to require. In what we have hitherto offered, we have inter- mixed a variety of particulars, which do not feem to be all of them of equal concernment. And in what we fliall propofc hereafter, we ihall probably inferc (94) infert fome more, which may be juftly deemed tCi be of inferior confideration. If a query fhould arife, how far we defire any flrefs IhoLiId be laid upon thofe, which are of lefs moment ; the queftion may foon and eafily be re- folved : Let them be allowed the weight they fhall be judged to deferve j and we defire no more. As to thofe, that are of more importance, and upon which we fhall be found to lay the great Jirefs ot our application j we hope tbey will not be pafled over, or regarded only in the fame light with thofe ol lefs confequence. We are very fure, that fome ot the points we offer, deferve the mofl ferious con- fideration of a Chriftian Church and Chriftian State. Nor do we yet know, that we have, or forefee, that we iliall, offer any, that are of no concern. We be- lieve all may deferve confideration, efpecially the more weighty ones. And thofe, that fiiaJl appear to men ot judgment to be of lefs weight, we are wil- ling, as we faid, they fhould pafs as fuch. For as we judge freely ourfelves ; fo we leave others to judge as freely of what we write. Nor fhall we be in the lead otrended at any one's being of a diffe- rent judgment from ours ; provided he expreffes that judgment with due candor and civility. For we look upon civility to be due to all men •, tho^ alfent of judgment, as we apprehend, is due to none, any farther than juft convi6lion fhall require it fhould be given (s). And of this we humbly fup- pofc every man is to judge for himfelf, tho' he Ihould judge very differently from us, and even re* jed the whole of our defign. (f) ' Afient, when reafon guideth it, is as unwilling to he * yielded where it is not, as withheld where it is, apparently dae.' Hooker's Ea/. Pol. p. 223. ed. 1682. 3 More ( 95 ) More obfervations will be made on this head in the Pojifcripti that is intended at the clofe of the whole : Where we purpofe to confider ail objedions of a more general nature, that (hall then occur to us. SECT. VI. ^eries and Obfervatiotis relating to the Atha- nafian Creed, Catechifm, Colledis, ^W Prayer for the Parliament. WE have confidered the epiftles and gofpels, lefTons and pfalms, as far as we intended ; and have given as little offence, as we could well avoid giving, in treating upon each. Some other particulars will now engage our obfervation, and we trufl will alfo engage our care to be as inofFenfive as is pofTible. I . The firft great article we here propofe to ex- hibit, puts us in mind of being cautious, as much as any we have yet touched upon ; and that is the Athanafian Creed. However, well knowing the fin- cerity of our belief (for we unfeigncdiy affenr to that creed, on the whole} and confcious to ourfeives of no other than the moft honeft and moft generous views in all our inquiries, we fliali be very free, and no way afraid, to propofe our queries ; it,) which are thefe. Is (^ It feem_5, that the propofing of modefl and humble ^ems upon the Subject, is very allowable even in the opinion of thofe, who have been the greateft advocates tor this creed ; and the pro- pofers of fuch queries, they think, are inticled at leall to a civil and good-natured anf>ver. Thp late learned Mr.' Wkeatly was of thii mind ; and was indeed, as fome of us well remember", very humane C 95 ) Is the creed we have mentioned (which has been the occafion of fo much unchriftian altercation in al- moft humane in his converfation alfo, when any particulars in our Li- turgy were propofed, as points, that occafioned fbme difficulty to confciencious minds. We will give our readers a paflage at large to this purpofe, from his book on the three creeds ; where, in page 376, ^c. having the Athanafian creed chiefly in his view, he fpeaks as follows. * But fuppofe, may fome fay, it fhould be granted, that we have made out the truth of our doclrines ; yet how does it appear, that thefe doftrines are fuch fundamental articles of Chrillianity, as that a belief of them is necejfary to a Chrijiia7i'i fahjation P How can we defend the creed called the creed of Athanajim, which makes the minute and critical definitions it gives of thefe dodlrines, fo necefiary to the everlafting falvation of all men, that ivhofoever 'will be faved, it is ncceffary before all thirn^s^ that he hold the catholic faith, as it is there with fo much curiofity explained ; and that except every one do keep it, in the fenfe there explained, nvhole and undefiled, ijoithout doubt he Jkall peri/h e'verlafitioly P How, it will be alked, can we prove, that God ever made the falva- tion of his creatures to depend-on the belief of fuch niceties, as few [perhaps none] of them can ever comprehend ? Or if this cannot be proved, how fliall we vindicate either the author of this creed, in dealing out the fentence of damnation fo freely ; or the charity of our Church, in admitting into her public and folemn ofHces, a creed, which, however true as to its doftrines, is fo very fcvere and uncharitable in its cenfures ? * Such queftions as thefe, I own, may be aflced ; and if they are tnodeftly and humbly propOfed, the propofers of them have a right to a candid anfwer. For it is acknowledged, that there have been formerly fome very great and good men, who have notified their diflike of fome cxprefiions in this creed, and par- ticularly the verficles, which are ufually called the damnatory claufei : And fince there maybe fome fober, ferious, and weli- difpofed Chriftians Itill, who from the objcftions of others, or from refledlions of their own, may be prejudiced agairft our creed on the fame account ; I fliall think my time and pains well fpent, if — I can be able to give the leall eafe to a fngL mind.' This is fpoken with great moderation and charity, becoming a man of reafon, a Chriftian, and a fcholar. Now the queries we intend to propofe, are fuch, as we have reafon to believe this honeitman, if living, would have judged todeferve a fair hearing, and fair anf^wer. And if he thought, that all good means fhould be ufed to give fatisfaction even to a fingle confciencious mind ; we ( 91 ) mofl: every part of Chriftendom) of fuch great bene- fit and importance to be read in our churches, as fome have contended ? Is it fo plain and intelligi- ble, as to be truly ufeful and edifying to a congrega- tion ? For that^ we fuppofe, (next to making pro- fefllon of our faith therein) is one great end of reading it in public. And yet how few are there in comparifon, v;ho have any notion of what they are reading ? And if they have little or none about it, as is plainly but unhappily the cafe with the bulk of our congregations, is the intent of their reading it anfwered ? Let us a{k again, can it be necelTary, or indeed congruous, that any thing fhould be read as a pub- lic declaration of faith, which is fo much above the capacities of moft, who read it ? How then fhall he, that occupieth the room of the unlearned, fay Amen to what he heareth or readeth, feeing he underftand- cth not what is uttered either by himfelf, or others ? For except wc utter with the tongue words eafy to be underftood, as well in our creeds as prayers, do we not in effed; fpeak unto the air, and in our Ipeech become barbarians, not only to one another, but even to ourfdves ? Whether the Church is cdihed, God glorified, or the honour of his religion advanced hereby, is left to others to confider. It feems to us more rational, and more agreeable to the defign of Chriftian worfhip, that every thing ut- tered therein fhould be as plain and intelligible, as it may well be, to every common underftanding ; we hope it may be judged to be of much more importance to give fatisfatSion to mam iuch minds, when they humbly and mo- deftly requell it, in relation to fo great a fabjeft. Which fatis- faftion, they ftiil belie \e, after all that this worthy author and many more have iaid upon the argument, can no orherways be attained, than by allowing a liberty conhftent with that chari^', which is the great charat^erilUc of the Gofpei of peace. H and ( 98 > and that nothing Ihould be made a part of it, which may either raile fcruples in inteUigent minds, or prove unedifying to thofe, who are ignorant. For however the things, that are fpoken, may be juft in themfelves, and every way confonant in their mean- ing to the word of God (as we do not difpute but every thing in this creed is fo) yet, if on the one hand, our underftanding is unfruitful, or on the o- ther our tongues are direfled to fay, what our cha- rity would willingly incline us to forbear faying \ in our humble opinion it might be better to leave out {v^]^ than • (^5) To prevent mifcoiftru'^ions, It is proper here to obferve, tKat it is not our judgment cr defire, that this creed fhould be left out of the book. That, we apprehend, would on many ac- counts be wrong ; n r can we by any means confent to its ex- clufion. And we have the pleafure to find, that many truly good men, and unqueftior.ably orthodox fons of the Church, are of the fame judgment with ourfelves in this matter; who would have this creed ftill retained in our Liturgy, tho' not en- joined to be read, as it is by the prefent rubric. For they free- ly own, that if it were not in already, they fhould not be for in- troducing it ; r^3 apprehending we might do as v/ell at leafl, if not better, without it. But being in, they would have it retain its place quietly and unmolefted. But then, will there not (it may be afked) be a feeming impropriety in retaining a formulary, which we do not ufe ? For to what end or purpofe Ihould we re- tain it, if we never read it ? We would anfwer with becom- ing candor and gentlenefs. i. To teftify our regard to the judgment of the Church, which hath fo long retained it; and to that of many good men therein, who are for having it Hill retain 'd. 2. To prevent further uncharitablenefs and breach of union, on the account of a creed, whofe exxlufion would proba- bly be refented and oppofed by many. 3. That all perfons, who dcfire it, may have an opportunity of feeing in one view, what is the fum and fubftance of the ancient catholic doftrine, in oppofition to herefies and heretics, ancient and modern ; and that they may alfo be fatisfied, that the Church of England has not yet rejeL'ted that dodrine, fince the retains it in her liturgy, the' Ihe does not think fit to enjoin it to be read, becaufe fhe would keep all things quiet, and prevent all unneceflary difturbance.— — But Hill, would not this be new and unprecedented .? No, we .have our thirty nine Articles commonly inferted in our Liturgy^ {w'Z mean bound up with it) and yet do not read them in our ; , chuiches. ( 99 ) than retain what is thus ofFenfive to the one, and uninftruclive to the other. And it would feem a kind as well as juft part in our Governprs, to pity our ignorance, and relieve our fcruples. Now whether our arguments on this head are jufl (as we think they are) or whether they will ftrike in with tlie fentiments of any, but thofe, who are of an humble, candid, and very charitable mind, is by us, with great cvenncfs of temper and fubmiflion of judgment, referred to the event. We defign no- thing derogatory to this creed, uhlefs it be this, if this be fo, that we defire it may be omitted. Where the harm would be of omitting, or, if our Gover- nors chufe, of not infilling upon the reading of it, we ingenuouily own, after repeted confideration, we cannot yet difcern. And could we difcern, we would not requefl it. We are greatly miftaken, if our Church or Faith would fuffer by fuch an al- churches, as a cnmition corifeffion of our faith. We retain like- wife our book of homilies, which contains the doftrine of our reformation ; and yet even this doctrine alfo is feldom, if at all, read in our churches. Nor do any find fault, that thefe two Syftems are not read. -But laflly. Will not the benefit of the jithanafian creed be loll to our congregations, if we do not r^z^ k therein ? The benefit they have now by reading it, will bs loft, and no more : And we conceive that benefit is ordinarily- very little, if any ; as we have intimated above. So thatj upon the whole, we are humbly of opinion there can be no harm in confeniing to the moderdte propofal we have made. However, we do not obtrude this opinion, but leave it freely and fairly to others to judge of. And may all others (we pray from our hearts) confult the peace and benefit of the Church, as much as we do. Jf we are miftaken in the meafures we pro- pofe, it is the error, not of our will, but of our judgment. For we fincerely declare, we mean for the beft, and have long con- Udered about the juftnefs of our meaning. The more we con- fider, the more vvc are convinced, that what we propofe is juft and rational. Nor can we as yet forefee any ill confcquences as likely to enfae, any more than there would have been at hrit and fmie, li cher,; hid been no ruh,i': prciixcto this creed. H 2 iowancej \ ( 100 ) lowance. And without pretending to be wife a- bove men of recondite learning, any more than we wifh them, or any others, to be wife above what is written, we hope and alfo beheve our Church and our Faith would be confiderably benefited, if a juft allowance was gran ted. O' We know many are of a different opinion ; and amongft them, fome, for whom we have the higheft efteem on account of their learning, piety, and o- thcr valuable qualities. Nor is it our intent by this propofal (which we are fenfible touches upon a very tender point) to give fuch worthy perfons the leaffc offence, if we can well avoid it. Nor indeed is it owing to any degree of difguft, or in the lead to a fpirit of oppofition, but on the contrary to that of peace and candor, and of charity (as we underftand that word) in it juft latitude, that wc make the propofal. For with refpedt to our own fentiments, if they ftiall be expedled or demanded, we are free to declare, that we are of the judgment of thofe learned men (d) of our Church, who confider all the inter- (6) Among others, Archbifhop Synge in his Plain and eafy me- thod, &c. where, in the appendix, he gives a large paraphrafe on this creed ; and p. 54, obferves that the word mcejfury very often imports not an abfolute and indifpenfible neceflity, but only that fuch a thing is a duty, and confequently that the adl of affent can be no farther a duty, than as he has explained it in that trea- tife. His Grace alfo notes in the fame page, that what in the Athanajian creed we tranflate. Before all things it is necejpiry, is in the Greek, tt^o cracTwv p^f»5 ; which implies fomething lefs than abfolute neceflity. Mr. fVheatly (in his book on the Liturgy, chap. 3. fed. 15, as alfo in his Lady Moyer''s leisures, Serm. viii.) is of the fame judgment with this eminent Prelate, and aiTures us, the illullrations in this creed are not of equal im- portance, or of equal neceflity to be afl'ented to, with the grand doiSlrine itfelf, t-iz. the doftrine of the Trinity, or the catholic faith concerning it, in its main and fundamental articles. And Dr. Bennet (in the appendix to his treatife on the common- prayer. No. 3.) hatji laboured very Ilrenuoufly in the proof of this ( lor ) intermediate jlkiftrations of the great doftrine of the Trinity in the body of this creed, in much the fame light this point ; ihewing (p. 272, &c.) that in the ufe of the Athanafian creed, wc do not declare, that the belief of e-very pro-' pojition thereof is necej/ary to falvation ; and that fuch a particu- lar belief is not thought by our Church to be necejfary to that end. And he cites great authorities to this purpofe j fuch as Archbi- ihop Laud, Dr. Hammond, Bifliop Pear/on, and Bifliop Stllling- fleet. To which we may add, upon the authority of Mr. Wheat- ly (L. M. left. p. 394.) the Commiffioners appointed to review our Liturgy in the year i68g ; who were men of great learning and judgment as well as temper. We might defcend yet lower, and obferve, that even in the late unhappy controverfies relating to this creed, feveral of its greateft advocates have made fufficient conceffions in favor of the point we are upon ; efpecially fo far as relates to the vul- gar, who are the perfons we have here principally in our view. We have juft now before us. The Athanafian Creed a prefer'va- ti've againji Herefies ; which for the prefent will fave us the trou- ble of looking into other writers, fmce the learned Author quotes the principal of them, and particularly that great and good man, the late Dr. Water land, the ableft defender of this creed, and of the orthodox doftrine of the Trinity, that perhaps ever appear- ed upon the ftage of controverfy. As to the Author himfelf, he very juftly owns, p. 32. that the vulgar are not ordinarily required to trouble their heads about the feveral circumjiances and appendages, the feveral technical terms and phrafes, contained in the Athanafian creed ; nor need be under any concern about adjufiing the fenfie of the terms, perfon, fubfiance, co-equality, &c. And God forbid, fays he very candidly, that nue fiiould fay, that the eternal falvation of every plonvman and mechanic depends upon them. And, p. 37, applying to the writer he oppofes (author of an efay, with which we are entirely unacquainted) he aiks. Does he fincerely andhoneftly believe the doSlrine of a co-equal andco'eter- nal Trinity, three perfons and one God, and of a God incarnate ? If he does, he believes all that the Athanafian creed profeffes ; fince thefe are the main articles contained in that creed ; and the additional pajfages are defigned to preferve thefie articles pure and free frotn corruption. All which, intirely coincides with what the Gentleman very rightly obferves in his preface, p. 5, viz. In that creed vue only prrfefs our belief in the general dodirine, as it is taught in Scripture ; not prefutning to knovj more than is re- vealed to us. — Then, as to Dr. Waterland, he quotes thefe de- clarations from him, which well enough agree with our purpofe, tho' it is not pretended they agree with any propofal for diicon- H 3 tinuing ( 102 ) light, as thfy do a fermon upon a text of Scripture. Which, fay they, being only an illuftration, dots not require our affent to every particular of it upon pain of damnation, tho' every tittle of it may be true. Nor do they think it is required by this creed, that we fhould believe the whole and every part of it on fuch peril •, or, that there is a necefllty laid upon us by the Church, to believe the explication., tinuing the ufe of the Athanaftan creed. P. 3 1 , c'vc. // ii enough for any plain Chriflian to knonv or be/ieix, that Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft are properly ^i'vine, are not one the other, and yet are one God, by an intimate union ; and that the Son in particular he- in^ God and Man, ii one Chrift ; and he is not ordinarily obliged to be more minute in his inquirie:, or to under ftand fcholaf lie terms. And again, Let common Chrijtians [fome will be apt to afk, Why not ) VVe believe the Chriftian world was hardly ever blefled with a more valuable fet of collefts, than are fome of ours ; fo plain, fo beautiful, fo harmonious, and withal fo nervous, ia the exprelfion j fo jull in the fenfe, fo comprehenfive in the mat- ter, and in every part of the compofition, fo delightfully afFed- ing to a pious and good mind. 'I'ho' we will not take upon us to fay, that all and every one of this diftinguifht clafs are inca- pable of improvement (for we believe fome of them are, but from the beft hands only ;) yet we fliall venture to lay, one can hardly niect with any thing more perfeft of the kind, than are feveral of thefe, which we fhall here mark out ; n)i%. the collecls for the firfl, fecond, and third Sunday in Ad'vent ; for fixth Sun- day after Epiphany (which, by the way, tho' one of the beft, is fel- dom read) for the ^ a clock, as the time to begin morning prayer alfo is fix, tho' fcarce obferved any where but in our Colleges,] the colleii for the Purification may ivell be ufed, as the rubric direils, on ivhat nve call the foregoing evening ; notiuithftanding thofe ivords, * thy only begotten Son was this day prefented in the temple.* He 1 peaks to the fame purpofe again, in his Addenda fubjoined to The cafe of a ReSlor refufingto preach a viftation-fermon, &c. p. 106, 107. And his obfervations are really very curious and juft in both places. Nor was any man a more accurate judge of fuch things as thefe, than he was. morrow. C 115 ) morrow, to-morrow. Befides, we are Engl}Jhmen<, and not Jews ; and confeqisjently not obliged to compute after the Jewifh manner. Nor doth the civil State, that we know of, require it, whatever the Church may. But pray, is there any exprefs declaration of the Church, that the next day be- gins on this ? As to intimations to this purpofe, we do not difpute them ; for we ourfelves have given an inftance hereof. And if a declaration fhould be produced, it will only inform us of what we did not know before, or had not fo particularly obferved. "Which we fhall reckon no (hame in matters of this minute kind, heartily wifhing, that every thing lit- tle and infignificant, and tending more to minifter queftions than Chriftian edifying, were fairly difmif- fed, and allowed no more place in the great bufinefs of religion ; and that Chriftians would difcern more and better, wherein the true fpirit and eflence of it confift. The former too often evaporates into mif- taken zeal, the latter dwindles into little circum- . (lances •, and both are loft in the conclufion, through fottie unhappy mifmanagement on this head. May thefe things fome time or other be confidered by wife and public- fpiri ted men, true friends to the religion of Chrift, and no lefs friends to the Church of England. (4.) There is another inftance not unlike the fore- going, which may admit of an inquiry. Our two particular colleds for morning and evening, as we now ufe them, are commonly thought to be guilty of a bold catachrefis. Lighten our darknefs (c), when moll (?) If it (hould be fuppofed, that the words are meant o^ fpiri' tual darknefs (which is tlie only fuppofition, that can be made in their favor, on the prefenc footing) we muft take the liberty to obferve, that this is one of thofe many vulgar errors, by which the intent of the Common-prayer is perverted. Haa the words I 2 been ( ii6 ) moft commonly, or very often, it is not dark : And, who haft brought us to the beginning of this day, when we are brought near, if not quite, upon high noon ; nay, and fometimes paft it. For our Morning- prayer in moft places begins much later, and our evening one much fooner, than was at firft intended. The words, we readily allow, were very proper at firft, but are fcarce fo now, as we now ufually apply them. The Church undoubtedly intended, that people fliould begin and end the day with prayer. This very naturally, and without torturing her ex- preflions, accounts for thofe fcntences in thefe two colleds.. But on any other fuppofition^ we muft have recourfe to intricate criticifm, hard labor, and far-fetched expofitions, to account for her words. Now after thefe obfervations, our query fhall be a very fhort one. Should we not either return to the firft ufage •, or elfe alter the words a litde, and make them more appofite to our prefent pradlice ? A^ B. That the colled or prayer, which feems to make it matter of great marvel (t), that fome fort perfons been meant of fpiritual darknefs, it would have been eafy to have exprelled them ib ; as — Lighten the darknejs of our mindsy or the like; and our beft commentators would have afTerted that to be the fenfe. But we fee they do not ; and the t^ue ac- count, undoubtedly, is that which Dr. Bennet gives us, in his note on this collect, p. 86. The Church, fays he, in this colleii alhides to that darkiiefs, fwhich is either aSluaUy fpread over us, or "very near approaching, ivhen the e'vening-fer'vice is ufed. The evening-fervice is ufed, in very many places, and perhaps in moll, efpecially in the country, either at or foon after two of the clock in the afternoon ; and that, even on the longeft days in fummer. Confequently the charge above alluded to, is ve- rified. (t) It is a new and fingular way of defending this exprefllon, to quote Pfal. cxxxvi. 4. in fupport of it; f/'z. Who alone doth great ivonders. Sec. Is not this, we beg to know, an abufe of Scripture ? And ought not fuch a pradice of retailing it by piece- meal, in favor of any propoficions we may be fingnlarly fond of. ( 117 ) of perfons fhould have grace (for fo many do and will needs underftand it) is by us purpofely paflfed over, tho' it is hoped it will not be fo by our Gover- nors, whenever they fliall think fit to engage in a review ; fince people will always be more apt to catch at the found rather than the fenfe, and fliew them- felves more fond of a meaning that appears upon the furface, than of one, that lies fo much out of fight. And befides, it is not every one, that can difcern conne6lions with the fame readinefs, that the learned can. And yet the Common-prayer is for all ; not lefs for the fervice of the meaneft peafant, than it is for the comment of the greateft clerk. 5. If the ■prayer for the High Court of Parliament ftiall be thought to require a review, we humbly fubmit it to our Governors to confider, wherein it may chiefly want amending. The expreffion, that is mod excepted to, is very well known, and needs not here be fpecified. It might perhaps have been better, if it had not been put in at firft ; and it is certain there was no necelTity of inferting it. Whe- ther it may not now be exchanged for another epi- thet, which fhall be lefs exceptionable, is a quef- of, to be difcountenanced and difcarded ? Is it decent to trifle thus with facred matters, and apply Scripture fo promifcuouny to points it has no relation to, and was never intended to confirm and prove ? A fault this (we are forry to fay it) which too many zealous but injudicious perfons have been guilty of; but which we fuppofe it cannot much become any men of reafon to imitate them in. Nor ought the vulgar to be miiled and prejudiced, by detorting Scripture, for their fervice, to a wrong purpofe; which is either fuppofmg or keeping us ftill in a ftate of child- hood. And yet a large volume, publifhed fome years ago in defence of our Common-prayer, confifls of little elfe than fuch quotations as we have mentioned. The Bifliops, and other De- legates at Wejiminjier, in 1641, had reafon at leaft on their fide, when they made this modeft obfervation ; In the pra\er for the Clergy, that phra/e perhaps Jhould be altered, viz. Which only workeft great marvels. I 3 tion ( ii8 ) tion we would only propofe, and leave the refolu- tion to proper judges •, tho' we think we could place the matter in fuch a light, as would evidence the neceflity of attending to fuch a queftion. Right reafon would fuggefb to us, to be very fparing in compliments, when we addrefs the Deity {v) : And the lefs we ufe, undoubtedly the better. The fen- tence, it is thought by many, would be fufficiently complete, without the expreffion. Or fuppofing it would not -, yet they think the requifite fupply might Very eafily be made •, and that, not only with- out giving offence, but fo as to anfwer the purpofe better. Moji gracious protejianl King^ or fome expreflion of the like import, would be founded up- on many weighty reafons, which every proteftant Sovereign and Subjed muft approve of. We only mention the thing, and leave ferious men to judge. (t;) To foften this matter a little, and give it a diiFerent turn, we know it is fometimes faid, that the expreffion is not to he taken in the higheft fenfe, which it may import in common lan- guage, being defigned only in a political one, ^c. To which we fliall only fay,— Whether it be right in the fight of GOD, to fpeak unto GOD, in common prayer, in any other fenfe, than the common fenfe of a common language, as it is com- monly ' underftanded of the people,' let wife men judge. And as to the fenfe of the more learned touching this expreffion, the various tranflations by them made, into feveral different lan- guages, will fhew what they thought of it. We have confulted moil, if not all, the tranflations, that have been made of this prayer, fmce it was firft introduced into our Liturgy (which tranflations, that we have feen, are no fewer than eight or nine, done into fo many languages) and we find them all agree in the common fenfe of the word, without the leafl: intimation of any other, or any fign, that the authors had ever heard of any- other. So that the fenfe above-mentioned (which is the only one, that can be pretended, befides the true one) may well be fuppofed to be a modern refinement, and confequently infuffici- cnt with regard to the main purpofe. SECT. ( "9 ) SECT. VII. ^leries and Obfernjatinns relating to the fe- 'veral Offices, &c. TH E feveral diftind Ojpces of our Church feern next to demand our notice. We (hall not be nicely fcrupulous about placing them in the fame order, in which we find them fet down in our Com- mon-prayer, (for that doth not feem neceffary to our defign) but fliall take the hberty to range them in the order we fhall think proper for our purpofe ; which is a liberty no one can take offence at in the prefent cafe, as it can no way affedl the (9) Liturgy itfelf, or the order therein eftabliflied. I ; For our Litany. We have before obferved, that this office feems to come in fomewhat unnatu- rally, or not very agreeably to the rule of light or- der, in the place, where it is ufually introduced. At the Lord's-prayer, and verficles after the Creed, we begin our devotions anew, and proceed properly e- nough through a few colIe(5ls and prayers j which. {(p) We muft here occafionally obfervc, that there may poffibly be fome good ufe in 'varying the order a little ; becaufe fomc of our commentators feem to have been much too nice and parti- cular, in ajffigning the reafon or reafons, why every dillindl office is placed exaftly where it is, and no where elfe. in the Com- mon prayer : Which we prefume is more than they can be fara the Church intended j lince we know (he has not always kept to a rule in this matter. For it is obfervable, that at different re- views, fhe has taken the liberty to tranfpofe fome of her offices : Which fhe ought ftill to be at liberty to do, whenever flie fhall fee reafon, notwithllanding the over-meddling officioufnefs of commentators ; which feldom has done much good, and too often has. done hurt, in fuch cafes. I 4 one . ' ( I20 ) one would naturally expe6t, we were going to con- tinue on, in a regular courfe : But here, to the fur- prize of one unacquainted with our offices, we ftop fhort all of a fudden, and, as if in the midft of our petitions we bethought ourfelves of fomewhat we had omitted, and faw, that we had begun wrong, we go back again, and begin afrefh, entering upon a moll folemn adoration of the Deity, as if we were jiow but juft preparing to engage in his worfhip. It is difficult to fee a reafon (and may perhaps be impoffible to affign a juft one) for this piece of con- du6t. To fay, that this is a diftintl office, is only confeffing the impropriety, without removing the caufe. And to fay the Church intended otherwife at firft, is but owning we are now in the wrong, by deviating from the firft intent of the Church j which we ought certainly to keep to. However, we will offer a query or two with re- gard to the office itfelf. This office, it muft and will be owned by all fober and good men, is upon the whole a truly valuable one. But we mufl beg leave neverthelefs to afk, Whether it may not de- ferve a review ? May there not be fome things in it, which may be thought capable of emendation, or to require better improvement ? And would a few alterations here and there, done with judgment and candor, and with all the caution that may be neceffary, impair the beauty, or diminiffi the folem- nity, of this valuable office ? — Examination of par- ticulars, and obfervation upon fome inftances of fup- pofed mifcondu6l in the reading of it, (for that alfo has been complained (%) oi) will beft inform us upon a review, whether there may be any juft ground for thefe or the like queries. For tho' we decline (x) See Dr. Bennet on Com. Pr. p. 94. Note i. Alfo Wheah ipecifying C 121 ) fpecifying the particular inftances, which we judge may want revifing •, yet we cannot fuppofe the Con- vocation will overlook them, when they fhall once be heartily inclined, and duly commiflioned, to un- dertake fuch a work. 2. We would with the greatefl reverence pafs o- ver the Comi7iunion- office -, being indeed, as in its fubjeft, fo in its compofition, a very folemn and important one, and framed with the greateil piety and gravity, moftly according to the pattern of the ancient Church. And yet there may perad venture be room to confider about this office alfo. Some few things in it may pofTibly be improved ; fome particulars added, fome retrenched, and the whole rendered ftill more comformable to Scripture and antiquity. The particulars, relating to this office, which are thought to deferve confideration the moft, are the following. ( I . ) The Exhortations •, in fome of which are divers expreffions, which feem much too harfli, and, inftead of encouraging to the communion, may be no fmall occafion of deterring men from it, (2.) Th.Q prayer for the Church Militant is fup- pofed to want fome additional claufes in the bufinefs of thankfgiving. (3.) The obfervations, that are {bmetimes made concerning ouf* want of a prayer, or t\k pedtion, for the defcent of the Holy Spirit upon the elements, are well known -, which yet we only mention, be- caufe we do not fee the neceffity of fuch an addrefs in the fame light, in which others may. 2 (4.) It ( 122 ) (4-) It has been wifned by many very confide- rate and pious members of our communion, that the words at the delivery of the elements were ei- ther fliortned, or elfe not enjoined to be repeted fo often •, fince by this means the holy office is, as they think, unneceffarily lengthened, and that fometimes to a very immoderate degree, efpecially in mod of our greater churches in London, and other populous cities : Vv'hereas, if there were no fuch injunflion, it might be difpatched in much Jefs time : Nor would the zeal and piety ot the congregation, it is thought, fuffer the lead diminution from making the office fiiorter, by a difcreet omiffion of what feems in itfelf to be fo little neceffary or elTential to it, and is now fo inconvenient in the performance of it. . 3. As to the office of Confirmation, we can fay little to it at prefent ; only that the rendring it fome- what more folemn and affeding in itfelf, as well as in fome circumftances attending the performance of it, might do the inflitution much honor, and make it far more efficacious, than it is ulually found to be. Several worthy Biffiops have expreffed their wifhes for fome few amendments and better regulations ; and have fhewed by their practice, what reguladons and amendments they thought neceffary, in order to anfwer the ends of this excellent inftitution. 4. The office of Matrimony may deferve fome confideration, whenever the Liturgy fliall come un- der a review. The more natural and fimple our offices are (>|/), if attended with proper decorum, the (4/) Ritus Chy'tjliani funt paut'i, fmpUces, tmocu'i, &:£.— — Opcit religiofii, ut tail* 'videliir, quodcunque ejl Juperjluum. ^ip- U quod imminuit Hjim ^ curam caterorum, li'C. "T. Burnet, de fJ. ( 123 ) the more approveable and beautiful in themfelves, and the more productive of eftcem and of piety in the worfhippers. . The objeftions to fome parts of this office have been often exhibited, and as often difregarded. If they have been juitly difregarded, and not merely for the fake of avoiding alterations, or for fear of yielding too much to petitions (w), we have no more to fid. l^ offic. Chr'tftianorum^ cap. 5. [Caput fane aureum ; quod utinam legat integrum Chriftianus quifque cordatus, quin & re- leftum faepius relegat.] (w) One would have thought, that fo moderate a requeft, as that for altering the word ^worfhlp in this office, might at Jeaft have been granted, and that with much fafety. But we find the CommiiTioners hefitated even at this, and in the conclufion re- fufed to comply. Once indeed they feemed inclinable to grant the fmall favor, that was requefted. For in their paper oi concef- fions, they exprelTed fome willingnefs to admit the word honor in the room of worfnip ; and it was expefted they would have done fo. But why they did not, after they had gone fo far as to put it among their conceffions, remains to us a myftery. Bifhop Cefin, who was one of their number, makes no fcruple to de- clare, that in his judgment the phrafe (as noiv ufually under Jlood) being not fo confonant to religion or reafon, requires fome confide- ration, that it may be explained. With fubmiffion, why not ra* thtr altered ? Since fubftituting the plain word /^o«or may at leaft be as proper, as explaining the more obfcure word nvor- Jhip. Learned men undoubtedly can put fuch a glofs upon the word, as Ihall appear plaufible ; but ib long as it retains its plain, natural, and common meaning in the Englijh language, that meaning, do what we can to fupprefs or forget it, [like that of tnoft religious in another place] will always be uppermoft in our thoughts, whenever the word comes in our way. Nor will plain, illiterate people, \ich it moit nati:r;illy and oi.n'Joufly bears. K i pr'j- ( '32 ) primitive antiquity, fufficient to give it a fandion, and recommend the continuance of it in the Church ? — Whether it derives any real authority, or whether the luppofed necefTity of it appears, from any de- clarations of the New-Teftament, rightly unJer- ftood ? — Whether it refie£ls honor upon our Lord's facred inllitution, and the merciful defign of his Gofpel ; or reprefents the goodnefs of God in the mort amiable light, either to the more ignorant, who cannot, or to the more difcerning, who can judge about thefe matters ? And particularly, whether un- believers have not too frequently and fuccefsfully made a handle of it to difparage our religion ? — Whether it hath not fometimes, and perhaps very often, both before and fince our reformation, been the caufe of much fuperftition (m), as well among fame of our higher, as among moft of our lower people? — And laftly, fince there are many other, and well-known inconveniencies, that attend this inftitution, as now enjoined, whether it may notj> on the whole, be thought better to abolifh, than re- tain it ? [ As to the miniflration of public baptifm in pri- vate houfes, we fliall here pafs it over without no- (») What degree of fuperdition, in relation to things of this kind, may be now remaining amongft us, need not be ipecified to any, who have opportunities of obferving it : But what notions our forefathers, before the reformation, had of thefe nutters, may in feme meafurc be gucffed at from this fmgle iivllance, \vhich we fliall give our readers from Dr. Watjoni Comp. Tncumb. c. 31. 'Informer tin>es the mccjftty oi br^ptifm to * Kei.u-f>oy?i infants was fo rigoroufly taught, that they allvowed * lay-people, and even women, [cfpecially the IVlid-wif •] to ' baptize the declining Child, where a prieft could not be ivime- * diately found : Nay, fo fondly fuperRitious were they in this ' matter, that in hard labours tlie head of the infant was fome- * times baptized before the whole delivery. But we thank ' God our times are reformed inlfcnfe, and in religion r' — And yet it is tiiought by obferving people, that there is room left for further reformation in both. Vid. IVilkiui^ Leges Anglo-Saxon.. p. 93, 44. and p. 9P, 10. t\Qt C 133 ) tice ; as we (hall alfo that other pra6lice, founded upon equal reafon and authority, the churching of women out of the church, or the folemnizing of their public thankfgiving in a private place and man- ner.] (5). Suppofing any unbaptized adulis defire to be baptized in our Church by the rite of immerfton. The Church, if we miftake not, allov;s this, when her rubric fays, the candidate may be dipt (Oj in the water. If fo, fhall we not in moil, if not in all our churches, find ourfelves at a lofs for a proper baptiftery for this purpofe ? We hope the freedom of thefe queries will not be taken amifs, or interpreted to a wrong fenfe, by any, who fhall confider them attentively, and with- out prejudice. 8. The Burial-office^ (drawn up with fuch awful folemnity, and affeding piety) ought to be confi- dered with much candor. And yet the greateft candor in the world will find it difficult to make a fufficient apology for fome exprefTions in it, as they are now indifcriminately applied, and are ordered to be applied, to all, who do not die excommunicat- ed,—-We (hall here declare our minds with fome freedom, yet not Vv^iihout a fincere regard for the honor of religion, and the credit of our Church ; joined with every becoming defire of removing the difficulties and difcouragements, that too often attend our inferior Clergy in the execution of their office, and more particularly in the cafe before us. (S) We take it for granted, that by dipping, our Church means the fame, that the primitive Church did, I'/s^. a totai imincrfion. Jf not, the word fnoiild have been explained. Compare the rubric in this place with that of the fame kind for baptizing of infants. Airojfce Bingham' ^ Antiq. B. XI. c. ii. §. 4. K 2 To ( 134 ) To fet the affair in a true light, let only one queftion relating to this ojfHce be admitted with condefcenfion, and attended to with confcience. — . — Muft this excellent office (excellent in itfelf, and admirably adapted to fuch deceafed, as it was origi- nally defigned for) be folemnly read, we prefume not to fay, egregioufly proftituted, over the remains of a notorious ill liver, or profeft unbeliever ? And whether there may not be fome, if not many, of both foits, in this age and country, we leave others to judge. If there be any, and if this folemn office muft be pronounced over luch indifcriminately, tho' they died impenitent, or gave no fatisfaffory evi- dence, or even figns of repentance, (which we have reafon to fear is too frequently the cafe) we defire, and even beg, it may n^-xt be confidered, whether a ferious^ thoughtful Clergyman can in honor ami confcience do it? (f) And if he cannot, then but we (j) Tho' we have many clear and ftrong remonftrances, made by the Clergy and other members of our Church, in relation to this and other articles, which we purpofe to fet forth in our appendix ; yet we Ihall fo far anticipate our intention in this place, as to fet dcv/a the following words of Dr. Bennet,, which are uttered with great force, and feem to deferve no fmall at- tention. How far he is in the right, let our Clergy judge, who are particularly interefted in the concern he mentions. If any of them think him wrong, i: may be incumbent upon them, to defend the praftice, which he blames. His words are thefe : ' 'Tis plain fiom the whole tenor of this office, that it was * never intended to be ufed at the burial of fuch perfons, as die * in a ftate of notorious impenitence, without any appearance or ' profeflion of their return to God. So that thofe Clergymen * (if any fuch there can be) who read this form at the funeral of ' the moft profligate and debauched finners, do rtot only ad * without authority, but againfi; the manifell defign of the * Church. I hope therefore, that none of my Brethren will ever * proftitutc this excellent fervice to the word of purpofes, to * the encouragement of vice, and the hardening of finners j * and that they v/ill never change the whole of it into one con- * tinued and deliberate falfnood by fo fcandalous a mifapplica < tion,'— C 135 ) we forbear -, intreating men of difcernment to judge of the conftqiience ; at the fame time requeiling, nay, coniuring men of power and principle, to take the matter to heart, and reUeve tht- diftrclTed. This, in truth, is no trivial matter, nor can pof- fibly be efteemed fuch by thofe, who can think, and are immediately and neceffarily intereded in the af- fair ; as every Clergyman (every inferior one at leaft) mofl evidently is. — We never yet met with any ferious, confiderate man amongft the Clergy, but what exprefled his hearty concern, and there- with his earneft wifli, that the Convocation (who fo well know the grievances of their brethren, and may themfelves have once felt them) vv'ould vouchfafe to take this matter into confideration. Either then let the difcipline of the Church be re- flored (.if it be ftill polTible to reftore it) or elfe this ofRce, which fuppofes fuch difcipline flill executed therein, be no longer enjoined, as of neceffity to be ufed in all cafes alike, when there is no difcipline : And if we may be allowed the freedom to add, let tion.' But then, fliould a query here arifc, what is to be done with the corpfe, how to be Interred, &c.- So that it feems the matter is not yet altogether fo difeutangled ; fince a ftruggle is like to enfue, between clear reafon and confcience on the one fide, and rubric and law on the other'. A hard caic tliis for certain j Born under one la-iv^ to another hound. Since the worthy Do61or could net but have been apprized of this difficulty, we could rather have wiilied, he had given his appli- cation another turn, and direcled it chiefly to the Legiflature ; fince the grievance he complains of, takes its rife from fomething, that is wrong in the Conllitution itfelf, and can never be reme- died, 'till that is akercd. I'hcre lies the forej and there ought to have been the application. K 4 ano- ( 13^ ) another oiEce (k), we pray, be either fubftltuted in its room, or at Icaft fubjoined to it, which may bet- ter fuit fuch cafes, as either fuppofe no difciphne, or, if there be any left, are owing to a very unhappy relaxation of it. Since our writing the foregoing obfervations, a very learned, pious, and judicious Divine, whom we thought proper to confuk upon the fubjefl, has favored us v^ith his judgment, to the following ef- fe6l ; — * That, for his part, he cannot fee, why there * fliould not be a general review : — that with refpe6t * to this office, h.e conceives it wants one as much ' as any ; yet agreeing with us, that the office in it- * felf, and as it was at firft defigned by our Refor- ' mers, is truly excellent : — that he thinks it might ' be altered without any confiderable inconvenience ; * and, as he hopes, with general approbation.' And particularly he owns, he ' fees no neceffity of ' ftanding fo long at the grave without, and thinks, * that all the fervice, that is neceffary, or can be ufeful, * might very v/ell be performed within the church, * excepting the fentences to be ufed at meeting the * corpfe, and the form of committing it to the * ground.' And he feems to think it on many ac- counts advifeable, ' th^lt none fhould be carried («) The Committee at the Savoy, in Sixty-one, compofed fe- veral tie-jo cfjices, as well r^s new prayers, which we new have and ufe. It is hoped the fame privilege may flill be allowed a Committee, efpeciall)- on fo juil an occafion as this ; an occa- fion, withall, fo evident and fo urgent. If not, may we beg at leall, \}n3X ihs. offenffve pajfages \\\ this and other offices may be either c.tpunged, or elic altered for the better ? Since it is evi- dent to any common underftanding (and every unprejudiced mind will own it) that after all the learned pains of our various com- mentators, the objections againft them are not fufficiently an- fwered ; and that there can he no other way of anfwering them to purpofe, hut by complying with the realbnable requefts, that are fo often made for a review, * into ( »3; ) « into the church, when they are dead, who feldom ' or never frequent it while they are hving -,* making here a tranfient obfervation, both upon diffenters and al renters, but more efpecially the latter •, whom he thinks not worthy of any ' Chriftian burial at all * wontlring at the fame time, that our Church thinks fit to allow it them ; * an ill-judged fort of indulgence, ' faith he, if I may be allowed to fay it, and what I ' conceive does the Church no fmail diflervice.' As to fhortening the office at the grave, he fays he does not fee it can be any way neceffary to read much there. He allows it may be decent and pro- per to fay fomething •, but queftions whether it is always expedient ' to fay all, that we do, and are in ' all cafes alike enjoined to fay.' For, like a good- natured man as he is, he declares, he thinks the pra6l;ce enjoined ' very inconvenient in many re- ' fpe6ls, and efpecially with regard to invalids, whe- ' ther young or old ;' v/hofe attendance at the grave in very unleafonable wtather, and often at very unfeafonable hours, (and the Clergy efpecially arc obliged to attend at allfcafons, in all weathers, and at all hours) may prove very prejudicial in refped: of their health. Which, fays he, it doth not feem very reafonable the living lliould be obliged to fa- crifice to the dead. And had the Church, he adds, thought fit to have enjoined a much longer fervice at the grave, the fubmiffion to her rules mud have been ec^^ually due, both from Clergy and Laity (A). In (a) 'Till tlie lafl review, the ivhole fervice (pfalm, leiTon and all) was appointed to be read at the gra'ue ; and becaufe that was the appointment of the Church, many out of the way rea- fons were fought for, as is always ufual in fuch cafes, to juftify the appointment, and even to fiiew, if it had been poflible, that it v/as an appointment confummately v^'ife, and that a better could not well have been contrived. However, the Commif- fioncrs, thofe uncommon rcafons notwjthftanding, thought pro,^ C "130 ) In fliort, this very venerable and worthy Clergy- man (who has the heartiefl defire to fee the Church of England flourifh) thinks, that when we are come from the church, there needs no more in reafon to be done, than rehearfing as appointed, Man that is horn, &CC. and, Forafmuch as it hath pie a fed, &c. and then fubjoining. The Grace of our Lord, &c. And in this cafe, if ever it fhould be fo ordered, he hopes it will be judged proper (i) to tranfpofe the fentence, / heard a voice from heaven, &c. from the place where it now (lands, and fet it among fome of the firft fentences, appointed to be faid or fung at meeting the corps -, fince we plainly want fome more fentences there, efpecially when the entrance of the church-yard happens fas in many places it does) to be at fome diftance from the church. And (2) to make a few fmall alterations in the words pro- nounced at the grave ; where he wijfhes the valedic- tory form, (or that of committing the body to the ground) might be improved from the words ufed in burial at fea, and that inftead of referring (as in the latter folemnity is done) to the common burial office, the form might be fuited, as it eafily may, to ferve for both cafes alike, with the variation only of one word ; the whole form, for inftance, running in fome fuch words as thefe : Since it hath pkafed almighty God, in his ivife pro- vidence, to take out of this zvorld the foul of the deceaf- per to make fome abatement of the rigor enjoined, and to ac- quiefce in a milder injunction. And it is hoped their fucceflbrs, whenever they {hall be lawfully delegated, will make ftill greater eonceflions ; thereby evidencing at once their good fenfe, and good nature : Of both which they cannot give a fairer inftance, than by removing all unneceifary burthens, and making reli- gion look as amiable, as it is intended to be ufeful to mankind. ( »39 ) ^d lying now he fore us ; we therefore commit — body tk the ground [or deep,] to be turned into corruption ; looking for the general refurreUion in the lafi day, when the earth and the fea Jhall give up their dead » ; and expe^ang the life of the world to come, thro* our Lord Jefus Chrifi ; who, at his fecond coming in his glorious Mcijefly, to judge both the quick and dead, fhall change C:ur corruptible bodies, that they may be like to his own glorious body^ according to the mighty work" ingi whereby he is able to fubdue all things to himfelf. 'The Grace of cur Lord, &c. We beg it may be obferved, that the alteration here propofed is not intended to -dilparage any- thing in either of our forms as they now ftand, much lefs to preclude better improvements from abler hands, efpecially thofe, in which authority is lodged ; but to fhew, how very eafily thefe and all other forms, or particular paffages, that feem now exceptionable, may be altered in fuch a manner, as to give general content, or at lead remove the more common objeftions, and whatever is found to give linneceflary offence. (9) The Commlnation- office, ufed once by the year, expreffes a truly Chriflian wifh •, but a wifh (with concern we fpeak it) never hitherto obtained [but let it not be faid, never likely to be obtained] in this Chriftian country, tho* it be a wifh of near two hun- dred years (landing in all our churches. Where the fault really lies, that it is not obtained, we do not prefume to fay, becaufe indeed wc do not well know, and would not chufe minutely to inquire. But it is by fober men judged to be a fort of incon- iillency at l.eafl: (not to fay, as feme too ludicrouQy (p) Rev. XX. 1 3. have ( 140 ) have done, a folemn farce) to wifh, and not en- devor to obtain, if the wifh be reafonable. And if the wifh be not reafonable, why fhould we ex- prefs it, as if it were fuch ? In the fame office, (as alfo in all our offices of public humiliation) occurs an expreffion, wherein with united voices we are taught to make folemn profeffion to almighty God, that we do then all and each of us turn to him in " Weeping, Fajiing^ and *' Praying.^'' Abftra6ledly confidered, v/e like the declaration well, as highly becoming a congregation of devout Penitents at fuch a time. Yet there may perhaps be room to query, whether this declaration (how well foever adapted to the difpofitions and real a6ts o^hmtfew) may be deemed altogether fo pro- per, as that every perfon, in a mixt ajjembly, fhould be enjoined to utter it before the great Searcher of hearts, and that in a manner, and on an occafion, fo folemn and fo awful. We, who reverently fug- geft this query, have had occafions more than a few, of lamenting fome inflances we have obferved at fuch times : For which and other reafons, we cannot but wifh, if this matter fliall appear to our Governors in the fame light, in which it doth to us, that it were at leaft re-confidered. PofTibly it may both deferve and require fome ferious thought, and not mifbecome the wifdom and piety of a Church like ours to confult about it. SECT. ( 14' ) SECT, VIII. ^eries and obfer'uatiom touching a further fup^ ply of occafional offices arid prayers. Alfa relating to the Calendar and Rubrics. I T'^T'E find it to be the judgment of many V V learned men of our Church, that not- withftanding the feveral offices fhe is already pro- vided with (as recited in the preceding fedlion) fhe has itill occafion for more. • And were it not, that this is thought to be a very material defeat in her conftitution, and that confiderable inconveniences are obferved to arife from fuch a defe(5t, as alfo that we are defirous to fee her conftitution rendred as complete, as any human one can well be, we fhould icarce have taken upon Us to remind our Governors of a thing, whereof they have been fo often remind- ed, by feveral of the worthieft members of our communion. The offices, which are fuppofed to be chiefly want- ed in our Church, and which, if they were inferred, would add greatly to the honour and ufcfulnefs of her Liturgy, are the following. (2) An office for exdiding unworthy members out of the Church. The want of fome proper fo- lemnity of this kind, to be performed openly in the congregatian, to which the delinquent belongs, makes excommunication to be much lefs regarded, than it would otherwife be •, fmce all, that is now dreaded, is but the lofs of a little money, which the officers of the court claim for their fees. Nor is the nature of excommunication at all underftood by ( 142 ) by the generality of the vulgar, for want of fomc fuitable provifion to illuftrate the defign, and im- prefs the terror of it more ftrongly upon their minds. (2.) An office for the no lefs open re-admijfion of fuch dehnquents, on their requefting it, and fhevv- ing all due evidences of their defcrving it. The neceflity and ufefulnefs of fuch an office need not be explained •, fince every one, that will confider, may eafily fee, and will readily acknowledge it. And the common form in fuch cafes ffo lame and imper- fe6t, fo little affeding, and fo little effe<5lual) feems to be deftitute of proper authority •, fmce it does not appear to be enjoined by our hturgy, and is confequently liable to be rejedled by thofe, who fhall think fit to difpute its lawfulnefs, and will not pleafe to go farther than the hturgy enjoins. (3) An office for receiving profelytes. We leave it to proper judges to confider, in what particular cafes fuch an office may be fitting and necefiary. In fome it undoubtedly may be both, but not perhaps in all that have been propofed. It will not be diffi- cult for candid men to fix upon a reafonable medium between extremes. And men of wifdom will em- ploy their candor as much as pofTible in things of this kind. (4) We would place in the fame light an office for the re-ordination of fuch, as have been ordained in another Church, and may be defirous to officiate as minifters in our own. As things are now ufually ftated, this point is rendred fomewhat nice and cri- tical ; for which reafon we do not chufe to enter in- Xo the difcuffion of it, being content with having barely mentioned it, and referring it to the confide- ration of judicious men. (5) I' C H3 J (5) It feems pretty obvious, and is readily allow- ed by men of judgment, that we want an office for prifofters for debt ; another for criminals ; and ano- ther to be read at the execution of fuch criminals; We need not Hiy how ufeful it would be to have proper offices for each of thefe purpofes ; fince pri- vate perfons, by drawing up fuch offices, and the public by receiving and ufing them, have given fuf- iicient indications, how much they are wanted. (6) A form or office preparatory to the due ob- fervation of the Lord's-day^ and, we will add, to the due receiving of the Lord's- Supper, feems to be alfo wanted, and might at leaft be very proper to be read in our churches on Saturday-evenings, And were the Lord's- Supper always to make part of the facred miniftrations of the Lord's-day (as it ancient- ly did, and as in reafon it ought ftill to do) a form for this purpofe might with great propriety and ufefulnefs comprife what fhould be requifite relating to both. (7) Laftly, the Church of England at the begin- ning, and feveral of her members lince, have fliewn it to be their judgment, that forms of family-wor- fhip, drawn up and enjoined by authority, might be of great fervice for the promoting of religion in families. For tho' the Common-prayer may have in it all proper materials for fuch worlliip, and many infift, that church- people ought to ufe no other foi"m even in their families (which neverthelefs may be modeftly quellioned, till it can be fully proved ;) yet there are many reafons for wifhing, that we had a particular form for this purpofe, inferted and re- comlmended in our hturgy. This, at leafl:, would 3 P^it: ( 144 ) put an end to dirpute, and might be made extreme* Jy ferviceable to religion, (v) Men of experience and obfervation may proba- bly think of fome other offices that may be wanting, in our Church. But we judge it fufficient, for our parts, to have fuggefted thefe few hints. And eve- ry good man, who defires the improvement of this Church, in thefe and the like inftances, will un- doubtedly, on any public propofal made, commu- nicate his obfervations with readinefs, in order to do it the befl fervice he can •, leaving its Governors to judge concerning the propriety and expediency of what he offers, after he has refped fully laid his thoughts before them. 2. As it is the general opinion, that we want more occafional offices ; fo is it no lefs generally thought, by judicious men, that more occafional frayers might be of confiderable fervice. And that fuch are wanted, will not, we fuppofe, be denied by any, who fhall impartially review our liturgy, and obferve the fmall fupply we have of this kind, amongft the few occafionals, which the Church has hitherto provided. It will perhaps be as needlefs, as it may on fome accounts be unfeafonable, to point out particulars, where the inftances may be fo numerous, and where a little recolleclion will fo eafily fuggeft them. We (tr) Amongft the reveral forms we have extant of family- prayer compofed by private hands, thofe drawn up by the pre- fent Bifhop of London for the ufe of the Parifh of Lambeth, are defervedly reckoned to be fome of the beft. Were thefe or the like forms to be either enjoined or recommended by autho- rity, and placed at the end of our Gommon-prayer (as fuch forms were formerly to the old one of Queen Elizabeth) we might hope a good afiefl would follow in many families. a fhall ( M5 ) lliall therefore chufe to forbear fpecifying what may be fo obvious, and what we imagine may with more prudence and fuccefs be prefcnted to view, when a more feafonable opportunity fhall offer. Mean while, vfe beg the candid attention of our Governors to a few remarks, which we fhall take the freedom to offer, relating to the privilege of compofing occafional prayers, in cafes of eminent and evident neceflity. What we have often heard feme very good men of our Church obferve upon the iubjed:, is to this effeft ', that it is much to be wii"hed our Bifhops were more at liberty than they are, to compoie forms of prayer for their refpective diocefes, to be ufed in the churches thereof, on any emergent oc- cafions, that may happen within any particular di- ftrift ; or as the fame may be more general through- out the kingdom. Wo^ild it not be reafonablc they fhould be allowed this Chriftian liberty, to pro- vide for the flock over, which the Holy Ghoft hath made them Overfeers, under fo folemn a charge, and v/ith fuch a plenitude of commiffion ? Surely there could be no hurt in intrufling men of v/ifdom and probity v/ith fuch a privilege •, fince it could ne- ver be abufed, or perverted to a bad end, if the forms prepared were firft to be infpeded and allow- ed by the State. — But as things are now ordered, we feem to have more than reafon to complain to our Governors, and to beg they would take pity on our diftrelTed condition, in fuch inftances, as feem more and more to require it. To fpecify only one, which is but too evident to all, and will probably in time (unlefs the mercy of Heaven interpofe and prevent) be but too fenfibly felt by all j — the in- crcafing diilemper amqngCt our CiiUle. What L one ( 146 ) one prayer (v) to this purpofe hath been publicly enjoined (how much fo ever the poor fuffcrers and others have wifhed for one) during all the time this fvveeping malady hath raged in our land, and made lb many places therein defolate of rattle ? A fcnfe of religion, in whomfoever it refides, diftates the propriety, the expediency, the neceflity of ap- plying to Heaven in fuch calamitous circumftances. Our hearts are full : We forbear fpeaking more on this fad occafion ! Divers ether cafes might be intimated, which point out the reafonablenefs of making further and better provifions for the occafional necefllties of the Church. They are almoft always numerous : And as they are fo, it would feem they cannot fufficient- ly be provided for, in refped of interceffions to an over-ruling Providence, but by allowing our chief Paftors the liberty we have mentioned ; a liberty, which we humbly apprehend, in reafon, to be their ' right, their juft and unalienable right, in confequence of their office. The misfortune at prefent is, that where we mod want their afliftance, we cannot have it, or not fo eafily and fpeedily as our occa- fions demand. In cafe of any common calamity (to fay nothing of any fudden difafters happening to particular neighbourhoods or families ; which yet may oftentimes feem to be fevere enough to defervc our common regard) we are too frequently at a lofs for want of fome more room to acknowlege the juftice of Providence, and exprefs our common concern in a difpenfation, which either already is, or may very foon prove common to us all. k might feem to be fome diminution of the honor of our Church (tho* We intend it as none) to obferve, . (h) This obfervatlon was penned in the fpring 1747-8, about three years after this murrain began to appear in England, and .?. little btfore the Dravci for its jemoval came out. that that the toleration-miniftcrs are allowed a priviJege, and a very juft one, which every fenfible minifter of the eftablifhmcnt would be glad to enjoy ; and which none could mifufe, v/hilft under the dire(5lion of his Bifhop, his Bifliop at the fame time being under the dire<5tion of the State. This, as far as we can now readily recolleft, is the only inftance, wherein we have hitherto prcfumcd to fpeak a little more freely (in relation to concerns of this kind) than hath been our wonted manner and refokition. It hath all along been our fetdcd rule to be free, and yet candid. We hope we have not greatly, if at all, tranfgrefled with regard to either quality, in the inftance before us : And if we have, yet our bufinefs being with men of reafon and confideration, we promife ourfelves a ready par- don from fuch men •, fince they cannot but fee we mean well both to religion and the public, in every thing we have prefumed to deliver relating to both. And indeed the interefts of both are fo invariably one and the fame, that we hope both will be equally remembred, by thofe, who are alike intrufted with the care of each. In the remaining part of this fe(5lion, we fhall beg leave to remind our Governors of two or three things more, which now occur to our thoughts, and plead for a fpecification, tho' we had once intended to avoid touching upon particulars. (i) In the firft place, if we (hould prefume to fay, that a prayer for the Convocation would be pro- per to be ufed in all our churches during their fef- fion, we fhould as little doubt of the approbation, as we would of the pardon of that venerable affem- bly •, nor fhould we fear the ccnfure of any, v;ho fhould difapprove of fo benevolent a propofal. Our Convocation being the fociety appointed by L 2 la-AT C 148 ) law to confult about affairs of religion, we may jullly wonder, why this Ibciety is not particularly prayed for in our Church -, efpecially fince the Church is (o nearly interefted in the concerns it ihould meet about. And indeed it may deferve our very ftrious conlideration, how far the prefent low cftate, and little availablenefs of our Convocations towards reforming the Church, or doing it any ufe- ful fervice, may be owing to the Church's making no interceffion for them in her public offices. We fubmit this reflcftion to thofe, who can allow there may be fome efficacy in the united prayers of the faithful. And the' we can forefee fome lefTcr objedlions, we chufe to pafs them over, as we do many others of the like kind when they occur, be- caufe they would but needlefsly detain us from pur- fuing our main intent. (2) It is the judgment of many excellent men of this Church, that our liturgy is fomewhat too defed- ive in the great and delightful duty of thankfgiving. (E) It is true this hath been denied by others ; and we may be fure nothing will too eafily be allowed to be dtfedive in fuch a book, by thofe who are per- tinacioutly bent to defend it. For they either in- deed do not fee fuch defed, or elfe are refolved they will not fee it. However Biffiop Racket (and we need mention no other here) was not of their mind. (I) Several inflances might be mentioned, wherein it would feem very proper, that we had forms of thankfgiving ;■ as af- ter reco'V£ry from fie knefs, or other afflidion and danger, &c. But we leave thefe and like inflances to the confideration of our Go- vernors ; only obferving, that the fhort claufe now tranfiently ufed in the general thankfgiving [viz. particularly to thofe ivha defirtt .Sec] feems to be lefs fatirfa(5lory, and lefs adequate to the purpolc, than men of judgment and piety could wifli ; as alfo, that where it is brought in, the tranfition from it to the fentence immediately following, [viz. We blefs thee for our crea- tion, &c.] leems a little harih, and the connection between both not to be fo very natural. Fot ■ ( H9 ) For he favv the defeft, and lamented k, exprefllng his wifli, that our Common- prayer abounded more than it doth in forms of thankfgiving (o) ; which furely fo reverend and wife a Prelate would not have exprefTed, if he had not thought he had fufficien: reafon for fo doing. (3) Since,notwithftanding the canon for bidding of prayers, it is (till the judgment of many of the Cler- gy, that z prayer before fermon^ drawn up by authority, and fuited to the great defign of fuch inftruflion, might on divers accounts be very proper and very ufeful ; and fince ft vera! of prime rank have formerly, and others do ftill recommend the ufe and expedience of fuch a prayer, by their practice •, fince alfo difference in judg- ment and pra6lice on this head hath fometimes occa- fioned difpute, and the canon hath received different interpretations from men of learning {%) ; forthefe and the like reafons, it might not be unadvifeable, if our Governors (hould think fit, either to adjuft the matter with exaftnefs in refpe6l to the fenfe of the canon, or elfe compofe a form of prayer to the purpofe be- fore-mentioned. Or rather, it would be an inftance of great wifdom and moderation, after having done both, to allow a juft liberty •, leaving it indifferent, whether the form of bidding, or the form of pray- ing fhall be ufed, provided the one or the other fhall be reverently done, by every minifter before his fcrmon. This, it is probable, would prevent (a) See his Z//> before his works, fol. 1675. (9r) The Bi(hops at Wepnin/ier, 1641 ; Archbifliop UJher, Archbifhop TiUotfon, Archbifliop Tenifon, Bifhop Fleettvood, Bi- fhop Trimnel, and other Prelates and Clergy, on the one hand, (fee alfo Bifliop Gib/on s Code, p. 306. V Ejirangis Alliancr, p. 173, and 31 ; and Dr. fVa/fons Comp. Incumb. c. 31.) and on the other. Dr. Stuarf, Dr. R. Sherlock, Mr. John/on, Mr. Wheatly, &c. And you may fee the fer.fe of the Convocation of 1 66 1 relating to this matter, in the Aila Con-voc. of that year, fej'. 40. L 3 difputes. ( 150 ) difputes, and make matters eafy on all fides : Which is much to be wiftied, and is earneftly defired by all friends to peace and holinefs. Here we intended to have clofed this feclion. But a late agreeable converfation has brought us under a new engagement. Two things have been urged to us, which are judged to be of fome importance. We Ihall exhibit them, as near as we can, accord- ing to the words and arguments of thofe ingenious friends, from whom we had them. Thtfirjt relates to women with child, and draw- ing near their labor. For whofe condition the Church having hitherto provided no prayer, thefe Gentlemen think this a defeat in her liturgy. For, as they obfei ve, it would feem very reafonable, that thofe, who after child-birth come to the church to give public thanks, fhould, before it, be there public- ly prayed for, and that they fhould defire the church to offer up her prayers in their behalf, before they come to that labor, for the deliverance from which it is fo very meet and reafonable they fhould after- v/ards offer up their thankfgiving. It is true they may be prayed for in a general way, and often are at their particular requeft, efpecially in our capital City and other great places. But would not SLfpe- cial prayer for the occafion be lookt upon as a mark of the condefcending regard of our Church toward fuch perfons •, and alfo be apt to make greater im- preffion both upon themfelves and others .'' Whereas when Vv^e have only a form of thankfgiving^ (and that not more neccflary after, than the other of in- ttrcejfion is before delivery \) and when withal it is obferved, that the woman, that cometh to give her thanks, wuft offer accujlorned offerings, we well know what conflruftions are fometimes put upon fuch a rubric i as well as what reflc61ions on the account of 2 it (151 ) it are thrown upon the Church and her Minifters, by thofe, who are no great wcll-wifliers to either. The other point, kiggefxed to us by our valuable friends is this ; that we ought, they think (and many others are of the fame mind) to have a farli- cular prayer to be read in church, in behalf of the fick. Their arguments for this, be they more or lels valid, you fhall have fairly reprefented, and hz left to judge of them as you fhall fee reafon. Mr. PFheatly (p) and other Divines] tell us, that // is needlefs as well as irregular (g) (meaning in the church) to ufe any colleBs out of the vijttation-oficey when any defire the prayers of the congregation. ■■■ — That it is irregular is readily allowed, becaufe the pradice hath no rubric to fupport it, and may per- L 4 , haps (f) Append, to ch. 4. feet. c;. p. 187. ( ?) It is matter of unhappy obfervation, tending neither to the credit of our Church, nor to that of its Minifters, that our Di- vines are frequently charging one another with irregularity. It is certain, that no irregularity is allowable in the Church, and lefs fo in her Clergy, of all the members, that belong to her. But what is the irregularit)', which the Gentlemen of the funftion are fo forward to blame in each other ? Irregularity of life and morals ? We do not fiad that ufually cenfured fo much as one of another nature, -viz. irregularity in point of form, or in a lefs exafl obfervance of the canons and rubrics. It is confelled- ly a fault not to obferve them, as things ftand at prefent : But a fault perhaps, in fome cafes, more excufable before God, than before men. The fault might be prevented in moil Clergymen, by new modelling our rubrics and canons, and giving us a bet- ter and more rational fet -of both, than fome of thofe we have now in force. Till this be done, we fear the complaint of irre- gularity will always fubfift ; and while it doth fo, will continue to do great detriment to religion ; as it alienates brotherly love, one of the diPanguilhing excellencies of the religion of Jcfus ; and as it produces evil fur7m/mgs and peruerfe dijputings, which are fo contrary to it. In the mean time, we muft beg a difcreet cefTation of irregularities on the one hand, and of complaints on the other. Let the bretliren, who are fuppofed to be irregu- lar ( 152 ) haps alio be inconfiftent with fome rubrks, that are in torce. Whether or no it is Jikewife needlefs (fup- pofing there were no rubric to forbid it) is what we beg leave to difcufs a little.- Allowing, as we have done, and are always very willing to do, that the pradice may be fome what irregular ; will it therefore follow, that it is alfo unnecefiary ? What if the rubric will not permit the prayers of the of- fice for the fick to be ufed in the congregation ? Muft therefore the poor fick people, when they de- fire it, not be prayed for at all in the congregation ? '• Yes, you will fay, there is a particular daufe pro- 'uided for this -purpofe'* Confeffed : But is there a particular /'r^jw alio provided ? None, that we knov/ of; and to the office, it feems, we are not allowed to go for fuch a prayer. Wliat muft be done then in this cafe, to fupply the defect:, if it be one ? " The minifter maft fay, that fuch or fuch perfons de- *■'- fire the prayers of the congregation ; inferting that *' claufe (in the prayer for all conditions. Sec.) efpeci- *' ally thofe for whom our prayers are de fired.'* Short enough, one would think, and confequently not fo affefting as might be wifi:it ; nor indeed lo refpeft- lar, forbear recriminating (which we fear they fometimes do,) and, inltead of that, humbly apply to their Governors for a pro- per remedy in cafes, that require it. Let the brethren, who com- plain of Irregularity, likewife forbear fuch complaints as much as they well can ; confidering, that they themfelvcs alfo are in fome points irregular, and in many things offend all of them. In- fomuch that we may iuflly fay, tliat in point of exadl, precife, and ftrift conformity, ro all and every demand of our canons and rubrics, there is not one Clergyman in the kingdom, who is l^erfeftly regular and uniform, vo not one. He, that thinks and knows he is fo, let him be freely allowed to caft the firft ftone at his brethren, who are not fo. Such a blamelcfs and happy mor- tal, we believe, never yet .ippeared in the Church of England, or in any other Church in the world. And we may poffibly fliew in fome fubfequent part of this work, that it is morally impolTible there Hiould be any fuch, fo long as the rules of con- form it v are fo ftrici and fo numerous. See Bifhop BedeWs life, fu!, ( ^53 ) Ful, as we apprehend, to the petitioning invalids ; who might juftly hope he would be more earneft in our interceffions to God on their behalf. " But we may be fo in private, if we pleafc." Undoubt- edly ; and we ought to be fo in public alfo. But how fhall we be earneft in public, if we have no public prayer fuited to fuch earneftnefs ; none an- fwering to the enlarged defires of benign, benevo- lent, and fympathizing fouls ; or to the exigence of thofe, who defire us to intercede for them ? — If it fhall be faid, ' that the defign of the Church is only to recommend the afflidled to our private prayers,* we mud beg leave to put in our caveat againft the validity of fuch an aflertion. For the claufe in the Liturgy exprefly fays, IVhen any dejire the prayers of the Congregation. And the prayers of the con- gregation^ if any on this fubjeft, are to be offered up in the church only. But where are thofe prayers of the congregation, or where is there any fingle prayer to this purpofe to be met with, in the ordi- nary miniftrations of the Church ^ Let us have but one good prayer, fully anfwering fuch purpofe, and all will be well (t). (t) Whilft the Healing was ufed, the prayer for the dlfeared was in thefe words : O Alniighty God, 'who art the gii'er of all health, and the aid of them that feek to thee for fuccour ; fje call upon thee for thy help and gcodnefs mere fully to be Jheixed to thefe thy fewants ; that they being healed of their infir^nities, may girevent abufes of this kind : Which is fet down in Lenvis''s hiftory above mention- ed, c. 5. See likewife, the Proceedings of the Bifhops, &c. at Weftminftery in 1 641, when thefe things were complained of. M printed ? ( i62 ) printed ? But then at the fame time, where is the honor due to our Bible or Liturgy, when either the one or the other is falfely read, as both are too fre- quently obferved to be falily printed ? If this there- fore cannot be fuppofed to be doing due honor, can it next be reafonably faid to be doing common juftice to either ? We hope, that what we have faid upon this fubjed, may deferve to be confide red ; fince wrong impreflions of fuch books as thefe are attend- ed with too many ill effeds, as the leaft obfervation and refledion will convince any perfon, that is unpre- judiced. After all, we muft not here forget the com- pilers of our common AlmanackSy who too often would over-rule the compilers of our Common-prayer. Is it reafonable, that this fort of men (hould take fuch liberty, thereby mifguiding the vulgar, and difparaging the learned ? Why Ihould they inter- pofe their authority in determining Eajier~day^ and St. Matthiases da/, when they determine both (as they fometimes do) in dired oppofldon to the determi- nation of the Church ? And of all things in the world, v/hy fnould they fettle the feafons o^ Marriage^ allov/ing it when they pleafe, and forbidding it when they pleafe ? Let, our Canonifts and R.itualifc5 abet their caiife, if they think proper -, for tlie following are the definitiv(& declarations of fc.ne of our almanack-compofcrs ; ^«!iich we fhould have thought below our notice in fuch a v/ork as this, but that they have milled n-.£iny people, and are by many fuppofed to be fouiidcd upon fome GonHitutions of the Church. Times prchiUting Marriage. 5 Marriage comes in on the 13th day of January ; ' and at Septuagefima-funday it is out again, till ' Low- C 1^3 ) ' Low-funday ; at which time it comes In again, and goes not out till Rogation- funday : Thence it is for- bidden until Trinity -funday ; from whence it is for- bidden till Advent'funday -, but then it goes out, ' and comes not in again 'till the 1 3th day of Ja- ' nuary next following.' It feems fomewhat furprizing to thofe, who read the New Teflament, that fuch reftridlions fhould be impofed upon us without authority •, forbidding to marry at certain times, which God allows at all times. What if there (hould be fome old popifh laws and canons forbidding ? Should they forbid, where God permits ? Or will a proteftant Church abet a popiili caufe, againft God, againft Scripture, and againft Reafon ? It is better we fhonld leave free, what God and Nature, and the Gofpel have left fo ; and that no intruders Ihould deprive us of our Chriftian and juft liberty. If the laws of the Church are otherwife, it is lit they fliould be al- tered, becaufc it is not fit they fhould be obeyed, whilft they are contrary to the laws of the Gofpel, and to thofe of human nature. But we hope, and almoft aflfure ourfelves, that our prefent Church of England allows no ground for fuch arbitrary injunc- tions, and will never countenance any, that would •bring us under the reftraint of fuch encroach- ments (%). [y) See the learned Mr. Johnfonz remarks on this fubjeft, in his Fade Mecum, ch. 21. i;th ed. and the Codex Jur. Ecclef. p. 518, &c. Proceedings of the Bifhops at ?Ff/?/?7?«^^;-, i64i.Airo Remonftrance, 1641, 4to. Archbiftiop Lattd\ Anfwer to the Puritans, in defence of this prohibition. Dr. Ntcholi'% Supple- ment, append, p. 25, 26. M 2 SECT. ( i64 ) SECT. X. ^eries and obfervations relating to Articles, Subfcriptions, Homilies, Catechiiing, Canons, Oaihs of Church- Wardens. TH E feveral heads here propofed may deferve confideration as much as any others •, and it is hoped they will be allowed a fair one by all fuffi- cient judges. We defire leave to prefent a few que- ries relatins; to each. "O I. Are our thirty nine Articles of religion liable to ro juft and reafonable exceptions, when compared with the genuine fenfe of the Word of God, as that fenfe at this day appears to learned and inquifitive men, who have examined the Scriptures without iDiafs, and are pofleffed of all proper qualifications to fludy them to advantage ? Would it be impof- fjble, or very difficult, to compile a fyftem of di- vine truths, more agreeable to Scripture, and lefs burthenfome to the confcience of fincere inquirers ? And has it not long ago been, and is flill judged, by fome of our wifefb Governors in the Church, that the prefent times require a different fet of arti- ticles, and better adapted to prefent exigencies } tho* for the fake of peace, and of the true interefb of the Church, we fhall always wifh they may be drawn up with ai. iuft latitude, as well as with a fincere re- gard to' (cripture-truth. It may not be improper, nor will, we hope, be ofFenfive to obferve, i\\lK there are in fiances to be found in the Chriftian world, of Churches, which require no tcfcs of this kind, and yet maintain fuch an ( 1% ) an harmony of belief, in things effentlal to the Chriftian religion, as is experienced to be a folid foundation for peace and unity, and prevent much difpute and controverfy, by gently removing the oc- cafion. Happy event ! May our Church in time (if the wifdom of Providence fhall fo permit) be fixt upon fuch a juft and folid bafis, as may render it _ a city at unity in itfelf^ and an example of praife in all the earth. The learned focieties of this land, intrOfted with the education of youth, will excufe our taking no- tice, in this place, of a remnant of the old popifli impofition, faid to be ftill retained in fome of them. For it feems it is a fettled order in one or more of thefe renowned bodies, (who have happily dif- carded fome other inconvenient cuftoms) that every one of above twelve years of age fliall at admil- fion fubfcribe our thirty- nine articles. — Indeed, to propofe tefts of this kind to the fair confideration of grown men and able fcholars, may not perhaps in every cafe be unjuftifiable. But that they fhould be propofed to mere novices, and much more impofed upon the impuberty of their underftanding, can fcarce admit of any favorable, becaufe fcarce of any reafonable conflrudion. For is not this fuppofing them competent judges of what they fubfcribe to ? *And yet, in fubfcribing to our articles, they fubfcribe to fome of the moft abftrufe points ot theology, of which it is morally certain they cannot be competent judges (4-) ; fince even m.en of advanced age and learning cannot fufficiently agree about fcveral of them, (4^) Let k be but impartially coivfidcred, ulu'thrr aii>- raw youths (ibme of them perhaps icarce inlt'-uctcd in \\,c iiril nicii- ments of Chriilianity) can be fufiicicnt judges of the following articles, to znention no others ; -vix. Art. 3, 8, 9, 10, 1 5, i;-; 20,27,36; and particularly Article 35, the fubfcription to 'M 3 v.'hich ( i66 ) them, aiKl thofe fome of the chief. If indeed our articles were few and plain, confifting only of fome of the moft obvious and neceflary truths, and every young fcholar to be admitted, were thorovvly inftru6ted and examined in each, before fubfcrip- tion •, and if our preparatory fchools (public and private) were what they ought to be, feminaries of a truly religious education, where our young peo- ple were trained up to virtue and piety, and taught as much Chriftian as Heathen knowledge •, if this were the cafe, the difficulty perhaps would not be fo great, nor the demand of fubfcription fo unreafon- able, as now in many inftances it feems to be. But fince there is ufually a very great defedt in fchool- education, and very few of our youths comparative- ly are fo happy as to be early and thorowly inftru6l- ed as they ought, in the great principles of reli- gion ; we canno:. but lament their being obliged to fuhfcribe fuch articles of it, at their coming to the Univerfity, as they never have been taught to un- derfland, whilft they v/ere in thofe fchools, which undertook to prepare them for it. Upon the whole, we really and ferioufly judge, that as the impolition, wherefoever, or by whom- foever it may be infilled upon in this inftance, can ferve no manner of ufeful purpofe ; fo is it in many cafes (or we are exceedingly miftaken) not a little hurtful and prejudicial.' — —Wherein, how far, and how evidently fuch an impofition is both ufelefs and detrimental, may better become thofe learned focie- vhich is reckoned a virtual fubfcription to our two tomes of Ho- milies. Dr. Bennet, (in his direftioiis for ftudying, &c. p. 24.) think'^, that perfons ddigningfor Oiders ought to go through all the Homili^^' before i.^^X ^''^ ordained ; becaufc, (fays he) rhey ^"^y^nQuio fubjaibe them, -f^ f«^ OMvJnt not perfons defigning to be matriculaud to go throng!} f^em, becaufe they alfo ai-^ then to fubfcribc thcni : ties ( 1^7 ) ties to examine, than us to explain. We pay the greateft regard to their erudicion and judgment ; but wifh them to confider the cafe of numbers, that accede to them, without having a fufficient fliare of either to qualify them for fubfcribing fuch deep points, as fome of our articles contain. In propor- tion as our Univerfities are improving in both thefe good qualities, they will, we doubt not, wifely and tenderly confider about this matter, and lay afide a pradlice, which they find no way ferviceable to the advancement of religion or learning, and would find extremely difficult to defend and juftify, in the man- ner, that would be expefted from fuch renowned bodies. 2. "With regard to forms of fuhfcription^ previous to admiffion into the miniftry, we think it may be properly queried, whether thofe now enjoined be in all refpeds the mod commodious, and the moft likely to attain the ends-propofed by enjoining them ? —It hath been thought by many, not to be alto- gether fo reafonable, nor indeed fo expedient, to re- quire an implicit fubfcription to fo great a variety of particulars, as are comprehended in our Common- prayer, Homilies, Articles, Ordinal, &c. any one of which fingly might perhaps afford matter fuffi- cient to exercife the' judgment, and try the con- fcience of a fincere inquirer (w). Such {u) The Rev. Dr. Bemief, fpeaking of the 3{;th article fays, ' It is unreafonable to- extend a fingle propofition in that article * to an approbation of every propofition, that may be fjund in ' a whole Folio-hook of merely human compofition ; and in ' which, upon that account, it would be a miracle, if nothing ' were either really amifs, or what an honeu man might with a ' very good confcience dillent from.' We only aik, whether this declaration of the Doiflor's may not be applied with equal pertinence to the cafe of fubfcribing to the Co'/i?noii-Prave>-, and the other books abovementioncd ? He fays, indeed, that * he, who M 4. ' f^ib- ( i68 ) • Such Subfcnption, among other things, hath kept out many, even members of our own Church, that had both a defire and ability to do it eminent fervice, and might have fhone with pecuHar luftre in its fa- cred miniftry. Nor are any kept out of the mi- niftry by fuch fjbfcription, but men of confcience. For againft thofe, who have none, no bar of this kind can be effedual. Some of the wifefl: and moft eminent Divines of pur communion have declared their opinion freely, that a fubfcription exprefled in more general terms, might anfwer the purpofe full as well, or perhaps ijiLich better, than that over-precife and coercive one (as it is thought to be) which we now injoin. Of this mind was the mofc learned Bifhop Stillingjieet {tt)y and ' fubfcribes this article (ftill meaning the 35th) is not fuppofed * thereby to declare his approbation of every particular which * is found in the Homilies.' \i this be fo, are we fuppofed by our Subfcription to declare our approbation of every parti- cular, which is to be found in the CoT.mcn-prayer, &c ? We leave this to thofe, who can better jac^ge of thefe matters than we can, or would pretend to do; only obferving, that Lord Chief Juftice Coke affirms, ' that the Subfcription required in the 13th year of * Qnccn Elizabeth, [viz. 1571] was to the thirty-nine Articles, * without indulgence or exclufion.' Inftit. part 4. ch. 74, p. 323, 324. It really feems by thefe different declarations, that there is fbm.ething or other pretty difficult to account for in the fubfcriptions required ; and that Dr. Be^inet was a litde pinched in his endevors to clear them of difficulty. Nor doth lie feem to have been fufficiently aware, how far fome of his ccnceiTions ^tnight affeift the whole caufe. — It is to be wifhed therefore, that for the future, fubfcriptions might be fo ordered, as ro leave no room for difputes, nor give any occafion 'for inventing fubrcr- fuges. For the buiinefs of fubfcription isferious and important, 9nd by no means to be trifled with. (a) Sec hi? works, vol. II. p. /|68, where (in his preface to the unrcafonablenefs of feparation] he hath put fome raiional and modeft qii(?ries to the Church, relating to our prefcpt uibfcrip- tion to the book of (."onniionprayei : wh'.reby lie plainly enough intiniau- ( 1% ) and other excellent men of the laft century. And we are told that feveral of our prefent Governors, eminent for candor and largenefs of foul, have de- clared themfcives of the fame judgment. 2. Altho' we have a great efteem for our Book of Homilies, on account of thofe excellent perfons, who were the compilers of it, and do willingly acknow- ledge, that it * doth contain a godly and whole- fome dodrine, neceflary for thofe times,* in which it was compiled -, yet we may reafonably be allow- ed to ask, whether that book is, either for matter or language, fo calculated for the exigence of the times we live in, as that another may not be drawn up by pious and learned men, which Ihall be bet- ter fuited to our prefent occafions ? A book, wherein the fundamental articles of faith, and rules intimates it to be his own judgment, that a method lefs excep- tionable, and every way fufficient for the piirpofe, might eafily be devifed, and fafely yielded to by the Governors. His queries on this and the like heads are intended to be Tet forth in the ^p- peNciix. As to what follows, we leave every one to form his own judgment. To us it feems to contain fuflicient conceilions to our purpofe. Bilhop Sander/on, it feems, was applied to by fome Divine?, who defired his judgment about the following declaration, or form of fublcripcion, which they faid they could readily agree to, viz. ' We are perfwaded, that the conllant ' doftri.ne of the Church of E no land Is fo pure and orthodox, that ' whofoevcr believes it, and lives according to it, fnall be faved ; ' and that there is no error in it, which may necelfitate any man ' to difturb the peace, or renounce the communion of it/ When the Bifhop had read and confidered this declaration, his anfwer was, ' I never fubfcribed to any other fenfe mylelf.' Des Mai- zcciux''s life of (IhillingKisorth, p, i68. And Chtllwg'voorth''\ own fenle about fubfcription, and the intent thereof, is exprefled in thefe words ; ' I do verily believe the Church of England a true member of the Church \cathoUc {\ that llie wants no- thing uecelfary to falvation, and holds nothing repugnant to it. And I thought (adds he) that to think fo, had iuthciently qualified me for a fubfcription.' Life, p. 88. — The decla- rations of feveral other great men might be added, but thefe iew fpecimens may be fufficient here. of ( 170 ) of pra6llce, fhall be fo clearly, fuccinflly, and fo- lidly laid down, as to make a complete, tho' com- pendious fyftem of divine and moral truths, adapt- ed to the meaneft capacities, and proper to be in every one's hands. If our prefent book of homilies be really necef- fary for the inftru6tion of our people, why is it not read to them ? If it is not neceffary, why is it con- tinued and enjoined to be read (/a) ? We know, that a fermon of private compofure is fuppofed to render the reading of it needlefs. But with humble fubmifljon, we are ilill of opinion, that a book of homilies, drawn up by authority, and containing in it the fubftance of revealed religion, according to .what was above obferved, might even (till be of great benefit to our congregations, and indeed in many cafes needful ; eipecially in thofe churches, where there is neither catechifing nor preaching in afternoons, on Sundays, and where, for that and the like reafons, the evening fervice is generally but too much neglefted, if not, by many, defpifed. 3. Since we have here occafionally mentioned Catechifing, we mud not pafs it over without one re- mark •, which is, that fince this great duty is very wifely and very ftri^lly enjoined, by our Church, upon every Clergyman, that undertakes the care of a parifh, and is withal (more efpecially at this time) of abfolute neceflity to be performed with unwearied alTiduity, according to the rules prefcribed ; it doth, {$) It will not perhaps be difficult to gucfs, why our homilies are not now read in our churches, when they fhall be thorowly examined by competent judges. We may poflibly exhibit fome particulars in the Jppendix, which may give occafion to inquire, whether it be proper to read them; or, if they muft be read, whether it may not be proper, that they fliould be rcifcd firi1, and that with fome caie and pains. we ( ^71 ) we think, highly concern thofe great and good men, who prefide over our ecclefiaftical eftablifhment, to make it one principal part of their care, that this neceilary duty be confcientiouQy fulfilled in all the churches of their refpedive diocefes. If we are herein miftaken, we fhall very readily acknowledge our miftake, and retra6t our error, as foon as we (hall find, either that the duty of catechifing is no longer enjoined by the Church oi England; or, that being enjoined, it is accordingly difcharged therein (y). 4. Are \y) A worthy Clergyman in the country having obliged us with the following obiervations, which feem to delerve regard, we know not where to infert them better than in this place. * Preaching (fays he) upon particular texts of Scripture, ' fometimes upon one, fometimes upon another, and that at the * choice c.nd difcretion of the Preachers, may undoubtedly have ' its ufe, and be attended with fome good. But I am much * miftaken in my judgment, and that founded upon experience ' and attentive obfervation, if there be not a ftill more ufeful * way, at leaft for inftrufting common Chriftians, who make up ■■ the bulk of moll of our congregations. ' Plain, fimple, and familiar Catechifing (performed after the * moft natural and eafy manner, fo as to be intelligible to the * meaneft capacity, and afteifling to all) would, in my humble ' opinion, be far more efFeftual towards promoting Chriftian * knowlege and practice, and warming the heart with devotion, * than fet and elaborate difcourfes from the pulpit. Not that I ' would have fuch difcourfes wholly difufed ; but ufed only * upon fome great and extraordinary occafions, and that chiefly ' by Bifhops, and men of prime rank in the Church ; and fome- ' times, on fuch occafions, by inferior Clergymen alfo ; as more * particularly, on days of folemn Fafts, public Thankfgivings, * and the like. At all other times, on all Sundays, and all Fef- * tivals of the Church, it would feem much better, and would, ' in all probability, be found more fcrviceable for the advance- * ment of religion, if fuch catechiilng, as I have propofcd, was * conftantly praftifed ; proceeding regularly from one cateche- * tical head to another, 'till we arrived to the conclulion of the * catechifm ; and then beginning anew, and going thro' the * fame eafy and delightful tafk from year to year. ' This might be done (and even now it ought to be fo) on all ' Sundays at lealt in the afternoon ; fpending about half an hour * in ( '72 ) 4. Are all our prefent Canons the beft calculated with regard to the prefent ftate of the Church ? Many feem to be grown obfolete by difufe ; and many more would be efteemed a burthen upon the fubjeAs of the realm, if they were as rigoroufly executed, as they feem to have been at firft intend- ed (5). And from fuch execution would arife many unchriftian heats and animofities, murmurings, and heart-burnings, and perhaps alfo tumults and infur- rediions, as in the laft century. And yet, 5- Arc * in fuch exercife. And in the morning a plain Homily might * be read, proceeding, according to appointed order, upon mat- * ters of dodlrine, and matters of pradlice. The whole of which * might .be comprized in fifty-two Orations, befides thofe ap- * pointed for the Feftivals, ^c. On which, if there were new * and proper homilies appointed, our churches, I have reafon to ^* hope, would be more frequented at fuch folemn feafons. There * is a palTage, I remember, in Bifhop Sander/on s life by I/aac * Walton, which fhews I am not fingular in my judgment about * thefe points ; and if you pleafe to look into that narrative, you ' will fee what were the fentiments of that good Bifhop, in rela- * tion to fuch things ; and that he thought we wanted fome bet^ * ter provifions than we have, to promote the great end of Chrif- * tian knowledge and pradlice, and rellore peace to the Church.' To this learned Gentleman's obfervations, we beg leave to add what now occurs to our thoughts, and exaftly agrees with what he hath remarked. Thefe are the remarkable words of the pious Bifhop Eall, in his Epift. Dedic. before his book in- titled, fhe aide Religion. ' In truth, the moft ufeful of ail preaching is catechetical.— —For my part, I have fpent the greater halfe of my life in this ftation of our holy fervice : I thank God, not unpainfully, nor unprofitably : But there is no one thing, whereof I repent fo much, as not to have beftowcd more houres in this exercife of Catechifme. In regard whereof, I could quarrel my very Sermons, and wifli, that a great part of them had been exchanged for this preaching-confcrenco, &c.' * O for the ancient and primitive ordinance of catechifin^ (fa\'s Dr. Fuller;) every Touth can preach ; but he muft be a Man in- deed, who can profitably f«/£rZv/^.' Mixt Contevipl. Sedl. 49. (0) Thofe fevere injunctions about excommunicating men ipfa fa^o^ fo often rcpeted, and fo irrongly infilled upon, in this ex- traordinai « { ^7Z ) 5. Are not our Church-wardens ftill required to prefent upon oath, according to the letter of thefe • canons (e)? '\:\ oath^ by the way, fecms to be a facred thing -, tho' canons, generally ibeaking, are of an inferior nature, and of lefs importance to the public, than an oath. By reafon of the multi- plicity of oaths, taken too inconfiderately, and upon lefs momentous occafions, our Land mourns; nor does the Church of our Land feem to be the bet- ter for fuch oaths, tho' taken, or enjoined to be taken, in order to its fupport and prefervation. It may perhaps, after all, become the wifdom of the Church, and at laft be found to be her intereil:, to ieflen the number of oaths ; efpecially within her- traordinary fyftem of laws, feem, to men of charitable and can- did fentiments, to be much too harfh, and too unlike the fpirit of the Gofpel of peace. The excellent perfon, who obliged us with the following obfervation in a letter, will not, we prefume, be offended at our inferting it here, without confulting him. The anathema s in our canons, fays he, are fo inconftftent ix:ith the fpirit of Chrijiiantty, thai it is quite neceffary to part nvith thenif as foon as fnay be. They are the language of the apocalyptic — mofi certainly, not of the dijciples of the meek and lovjly Savior of the fvjorld. And yet, is not the book, which contains this language, ordered to be read fo many times a year (once, at leafl, if not oftner) in all our cliurches ? (e) Since the judgment of tlie prefent Lord Chancellor, when Lord Chief Juftice of the King's Bench, {Mich. 1736, Middle- ton V. Crofts) it is fometimes queftioned, whether any Churchi wardens are obliged, or can legally be compelled, to take the cathj or oaths, enjoined by the canons of 1603, Tit. vi. and ix. And the reafon given is, becaufe, according to the decree aforefaid, thofe canons do not bind the Laity. We leave the matter as we find it ; only wifhing, that, by fome good means or other, the thing could be {et upon a better footing than the pre- fent j and that lb many ignorant or unthinking people through- out the kingdom were not put under fuch engagements, as muH alraoft unavoidably involve them in a guilt, which we are not willing to name, and which no honcft and good man can think of without horror. y C 174 ) (elf, and in her own particular concerns. -But thefe things are by us fubmitted to the better judg- ment of our Governors. For we ftill defire our ■fentiments fhould be meetly fubordinate to theirs, in every thing juft and rational, and tending to the public welfare. SECT. XI. ^eries and Obfervations relathg to certain Grievances generally co?7iplained of in the Church, WE would touch very tenderly upon things of this nature, and could wifli there was no occafion to mention them at all. For it can give no pleafure to us to fay any thing, that may be like to give offence to any, even the meaneft perfon in the Church •, much lefs to thofe, who may have any authority in it. We mufl therefore dcfire perfons of every degree, in this Chriftian focicty, to inter- pret candidly the following queries and obferva- tions. I. V\^ith refpetSl to our eccJefiaJlical Courts^ we would beg leave to afk, whether thefe courts, in their prefent form, anfwer the original defign and inftitution thereof } Are they, as at prefent manag- ed, of abfolute necefiity either to the being, or even to the well-being of our Church ? Are they an efien- tial part of it ? And do they derive real honor, or do real fervice to it as a Chriftian community ? Or would it be a real lofs and detriment to our Church as Chriftian, to be either without fuch courts, or to have them at leaft reformed and better regulated ? Or, laftly, (if that fhall be judged neceflary) to have ■::36^ ( 175 .) have fome other confiftories eftabliflied in their room, which fhall be found to be more agreeable to the laws of the Gofpel, and not difagreeable to the laws of the realm ? 2. We rfiuft fpeak a word or two about our want difcipline •, a want, that is greatly, univerfally, and not without reafon complained of : And it is much to be lamented, that fuch repeted and juft com- plaints are not heard, nor any endevors ufed to re- ftorethe difcipline, that is wanted. Indeed, our commination office folcmnly wifhes for, and our ec- clefiaftical courts make a folemn Ihew of adminil* tring, fuch difcipline : Yet we believe no ferious, fenfible, difinterefted perfon, who reads the New Teflament only, and much more one, who is fuffi- ciently converfant in the firftChriftian writers next af- ter the Apoftles, can ferioufly think, that the difci- pline, which is commonly exercifed, is the true Chriflian difcipline, fuch as our Lord himfelf hath ordained, and fuch as ought to be exercifed in his Church. If any man thinks it /V, let him freely and honeftly fpeak his mind, and give the belt proofs he can of what he afferts. The difcipline, which our bleffed Lord appointed, to keep his Church pure from corruption and fcan- dal, is mod plain, and mod eafy to be underflood by any man of common capacity, and common in- genuity. And the difcipline he prefcribes is fo juft, and withal fo merciful, that it would exceed the wit of man to contrive any thing more fo. Befides, it is evidently as much an ordinance of Chrift, as his holy fupper or baptifm. This every man muft be convinced of, who bur barely looks into the xviiith Chapter C 17S ) Chapter of St. Matthew (0, where our Lord hath fettled this inftitution, and laid down the rules of it. This inftitution is alfo not only effential, but even abfolutely neceflary for the Church, to keep it in any degree of purity and decency, as the divine Founder of it intended. Let only our fad expe- rience of the want of it, teftify this. We need ap- peal to no other evidence. This alone is but too glaring and ftrong. Is it not therefore time, and more than time, to reftore difcipline, if it be pofTi- ble to reflore it ? And will our Church ever be, what fhe profefTes, and what fhe ought to be, viz. a truly primitive, a truly apoftolical, a truly {y^) Chriftian Church, without it ? Were we to add more upon this head, we fliould but give the more offence, as many have done be- fore us ', for which reafon we deliberately ftop in time, having faid enough for ferious men to con- fider. Only let it be obferved, that the difcipline, which we defire may be reftored, is no other than the difcipline, which Jefus Chrift and his Apoftles have fettled ; a difcipline of the gentleft: and moft merciful nature, relating to mens fouls and bodies ; a difcipline, which every wife man will (1^ Compare alfo i Cor. v. and Thejf. iii. 6, 14. and fee an admirable difcourfe upon the fubjeft of Chriftian difcipline, in Mr. Ofler'vald'i caujes of the corruption of Chrijlians, Part 11. Chap. 2. {r) It is the glory of our Englifti Church, and ivhat fhe often hoafii of, that f?e is the nrarejl of any nonv in the Chriftian 'world, to the fritniti've tnodeL It is not, I prejume, denied, that fhe might be nearer fill ', and if her glory be great for being lo near, it nvoulJ certainly be greater, if Jhe ivere yet nearer. Dr. MarfhaTs preface to his transition of St. Cypr. fpcaking of the want oi difcipline in the Church of England. allow ( 177 ) allow to bejufl ; and which every man, who undei"- Hands the nature of fociety in general, will own to be neccffary ; a difcipline, which infii6ts no fines, o- bliges to no fuit, requires no coft, deprives of no civil liberty, nor is attended with any coi poral pu- nifhment. All the difad vantage, with regard to the prefent world, is, that it difmiffes an unworthy member from the Chuiftian community (6,\ And (8) " The Church of Chrill, as a fociety feparate from the State, hath (what all focieties muft have) proper bands of union ; upon a breach of which, fhe may declare any perfon breaking them, as no longer in her fello^Jhip. — Were the civil Magillrate in this cafe neuter, and did he no otherwife interpofe, than by his protedion of the Church in her regular exercife of this autho- rity J no grievance, I fhould think, could be here complained of, — And the fuppofed 'Neutrality of the Magiftrate, as to ci-vil ■penalties, would then leave the perfons excluded from this fociety^ eafy, and fecure from fuch penalties." Dr. MarJhaTs Letter to T)r. Rogers, annexed to Rogers''^ VivcUcat. p. 310, 311. This declaration of Dr. Marfiafs (wherein he fays he agrees with hii friend Dr. Rogers) carries in it a great and momentous truth, and that of greater confequence to the real interefl of Chriftianiry, than the bulk of mankind feems to be aware. To which we fhall only add, for the prefent, thofe juft remarks of the learn- ed Mr. John Needham, in his Vifitation-fermon before the Clergy* 2AWarnford, 1 710. " We no where find our bleiied Savior ta have given any other authority to his Church, for punifhing of- fenders, or for reclaiming the erroneous, but what is exprelleci by exhortation, reproof, or exclufion from the communion and privileges of the faithful. Which is a demonftration to me, that no other were intended by Him, or are lav/ful to us. He woulti have religion, which is a reafonable fervice, ferved only in hu- mane and reafonable ways, fuch as at once may rnake the world believe and love his inftitutions. And if, in fome extraordina- ry cafes, the ApolHes, endowed with extraordinary powers^ thought fit to inflift extraordinary punilhments ^on mens bodies, I think this no fufEcient warrant and authority to us, till the fame powers and emergencies return again into the Church." Our Reformers were of the fame judgment, as appears by many inftances in hillory, and in their writings : See particularly tho In/titution of a Chriftian Man, tit. The facrament of orders, p. 46, a. See alfo'Bifhop Stillingfieet's difcourfe concerning the power of excommunication in a Chriftian Church j and his Z-t/Q-, 8vo,- I710, p. 15, 16, referring to that difcourfe. N furely ( 178 ) furely all unworthy and pernicious members ought to be difmified from that, as much as from any com- munity relating to the civil State. Happy would it be, if the nature and defign of the Gofpel, and of a true Chriftian Church, was once fully underftood, and all the clouds removed, which intercept the truth from mens eyes. The averfion men have to difcipline, would foon ccafe, and all men of reafon and fober morals would readily come into it. Thofe, who did not, might declare they were no Chriftians, and then they fhould have no further trouble from any laws of Chriftianity. For as this religion forces no one to be a profeffor of it, fo neither doth it o- blige any one to its duties, who doth not volunta- rily undertake them. This is all we fay •, and we leave it to any man to make out the contrary, when he pleafes, or can, confidently with the Gofpel, which we have now in our hands.. . Neverthelefs, until the difcipline of that Gofpel is reftored, we pa- tiently fubmit to that, which the Law now enjoins. "We have now gone thro' the fcveral articles we propofed to fpeak to, in the courfe of thefe inqui- ries. Men of difcernment will readily fee, and men of ingenuity freely acknowlege, that there are divers other articles, which might very well have deferved our animadverfions. But we chufe not to meddle with them at prcfent, being points either of a more intricate nature, or elfe more apt to give offence, if handled with freedom, than any perhaps we have yet touched upon. Such, for inftance, are the grand articles of Plu- rality and Non-reftdence ; which neverthelefs cannot be handled with more freedom, or greater force, than ihan hath been done by the unparalleled author of 'i late treatife upon the fubjedl (<). If he hath gained his point, we need not fay any thing. If he hath not, we fhould in vain hope to be more fuccefsful by any thing we could fay. And yet his book will remain a {landing teftimony againft all unnecefTary tolerations of this kind, 'till it can be fairly anfwered. Which, it is generally thought, is never to be expefted. We might alfo mention (what is no lefs frequent- ly complained of, as. an iinfpeakable mifchief to reli- (j) Pluralities indenfevjihle . ■ 'The complaints on this head are of much longer ftanding than this book. All ages, fince the fiilt introdu(^lion of rhis grievance into the Church, have ex- claimed againft it ; and a proteftant Church may very well be excufed for her making remonltrances upon the fubjedl, fince fhe doth but continue thofe, that have fo long arid fo often been made before, even by a popifii one. Les plmalites ount efte la greinde caufe de rabjence da lieh curats, Scc. This being the ge- neral complaint, confultation was accordingly held, and motion publicly made, by the King [Hen. IV.) with the advice and confent of his Parliament, as the records inform us, de re^voker iff repdler toutes le phtralites generaUment, IS qe d^es ore en wvant niille pluralite foil graunte a afcuny en tempi a 'venir. And we may fee v/hat was then thought (tho' the fame cannot be rhought now) concerning the power and concern of the Convo- taci'on, in regard to the redrefs of fuch grievances ; CeJ'te matiere apperticnt a Jeinte Ef^life, Iff quant a l is to he <^vijht, that ixe ottrjei-ves could he ■perfiiaded to examine our oavn Jiate [with regard to our want of further reformation] before others are obliged to do it far us : that nve ivete d'l'po/ed to help frvjard, rather than (heck theprogrefs of every Jerious inquiry ; and ft up any farther im- provements in things, nvhich deferte ard icant them mof, rather than ivithfand a general refoi jnation in religion. Sec, ever ( i89 ) ever (hall be laid before them, that fhall appear to be properly calculated to promote both ; and parti- cularly, that moil of thole, whom thefe Gentlemen have converfed with, feem very well difpofed, when- ever they fhall be permitted, to enter upon a fair and public examination of whatever articles fliali be propofed to them, as requiring a review ; ad- ding, that befides fome other obftruftions, which need not be named, it has in fome meafure been ow- ing to a multiplicity of other bufinefs, and their not having been applied to upon the fubjedl of this, that they have not hitherto entred upon it, nor de- fired leave of the Government to do fo. And it is the opinion of thefe reporters, that thofe worthy and good men would be fo far from being offended, that they would take it kindly to be applied to, in a rational, diicreet, and decent manner, upon af- fairs of this importance ; fince they cannot fo pru- dently and inoffenfively take fuch matters into con- fideration, when they do it of themfelves, as when they undertake it at the inftance and requefl of the Clergy ; with other things to this purpofe, which feem no way unlikely. And as to the danger and difficulty fuggedcd, the Gentlemen we have mentioned are pleafed to tell us, that it is, upon jufc reafons, tiheir opinion, that there will be no difficulty or danger at all, (none at leaft to be fet in competition with the prefent in- conveniences,) if fuch prudential meafures, as are fufBciently obvious, fhall be taken, v/ith juft refolu- tion, and becoming gentlenefs. As for inftance ; they think there needs no more to be done, than that the national Synod ftiould (v), (») The known obje£licn againil: the ecclefiaflical Committee in 1689, would hereby be obviatedt Vid. Hejh'ns propoial, in his life by Firno^, p. 250. by C 190 ) by a fpecial Committee properly authorlfed, draw up fuch emendations, as they ihall fee neceflary : Which being agreed upon, and legally confirmed, fhould be fent in one or more fheets, as forms of prayer for public occafions ufually are, to all Churches and Chapels in the kingdom ; the Mini- fters of each being left to their hberty, either to ufe them or not, according to their difcretion. No inconveniences, they are perfuaded, could enfue from fuch a condu(5l, or fome other like it -, or, if any Ihould, fo as to overbalance the prefent, the fame powers, that authorifed the emendations, can, when they pleafe, recall them. If it fhould here be fuppofed, that the leaving fuch emendations to the difcretion of Minifters may be like to be attended with fome inconvenience -, we muft beg leave to offer an obfervation or two, which may, in fome meafure, remove the ground of the fuppofition. Now confidering things with that fairnefs and im- partiality, with which they ought to be confidered, we muil freely own, we can fee no reafon to ap- prehend fuch inconvenience, as is imagined. We will try, if we can exprefs our thoughts upon this head, to the fatisfaflion of every honeft and im- partial mind : And if we fhould even fail in our at' tempt, ftill we are fure we can do no harm ; fmce we fhall but leave things as we find them, and every one is left to judge, whether we offer any thing like reafon. I. In the fir ft place we would obferve, that we propofe nothing new \ nothing but what hath, in fome fort or degree, been propofed and done be- fore -, and that without inconvenience, fo far as we can find. We will give a few inftances, fuch as oc- 3 '^"^ ( 1^7 ) cur to our thoughts on the fudden. And a few, if they are proper, will be fufficient. At the beginning of our reformation, it was judg- ed advifeable to leave men to their liberty, as to making, or not making auricular confejfion to the Fried (E). And tho' the practice was afterwards gradually dropt, yet was it never abrogated by any- formal acl of the Church. Nay, Mr. VEjlrange aflures us, that ' the Church doth ftill approve of, tho* (he doth not command, auricular confefllon fo). And we are told, that Bifhop Andrews^ when Re- fidentiary of St. PauVs, thought it part of his office, and accordingly fhewed his readinefs to receive fuch confeffions, in cafe any were oiFered to be made to him {%), Much room was left for the exercife of difcretion, with refpc6l to feveral other things. Extreme un^lion was left at liberty ; being, as Dr. Heylin obferves, rather permitted, than required by the Church fp). And fo were the ceremonies mentioned in the fol- lowing rubric •, As touching kneeling, crojfing^ holding up of hands y knocking upon the hreafi, and other gef- tures, they may he ufed^ or left, as every mans devo- tion ferveth, without blame. The ufe of the 'veilvra.s alfo left indifferent ; the Church neither enjoinino- nor forbidding fuch habit at the thankfgiving of wo- men. Nor does it either forbid or injoin it to this very day (f^s leaving it ftill indifferent, as the firil Compilers did, and as foreign Churches do, and have done many things of this kind, ever lince the ^ (I) See die Communion-office, in Biftop Sparrcv/s collec- tions. (o) Alliance, ch, lo. p. 298. (tt) See his life, by Ifaacfon. (p) Hift. ofPreib. p. 13. (j) See I' £y?/-««^^'s alliance, ch. 11. p. 327. refor- ( 192 ) reformation (t). Our Church has alfo fhewed in- dulgence in fuch matters more lately, as well as for- merly. The Convocation in 1 640 allowed of the rule of charity, in their canon relating to bowing, at entring into the Church (u). And although one part of the Commiflioners at the Savoy ^ 1661, did not fucceed in their requeft, that the ufe of fpcnfors in baptifm^ the fing in marriage, &c. might be left indifferent -, yet did their requeft feem reafonable e- nough to thofe of the oppofite fide, who were of the more moderate temper, and willing to make reafonable conceflions, where they found the re- quefts to be fuch. If it fhall be thought, that thefe inftances of liberty, in point o{ ceremonies^ do nor fufficiently come up to the purpofe •, we fhall only fay, that if they do not fully reach it, we think they do not fall very much fhort of it ; and fair judges will, perhaps, go further, and allow, that they intirely coincide with what we have in view. For they are all of them inftances of indulgence granted by the Church, in cafes, where the Church forefaw fome might have fcruples, tho' others might have none. For flie v/as willing to fhew her regard for both, and to make the one party eafy, as well as the other : Which furely is great wifdom, becaufe it is great moderation. And may our Church be ever famous for both ! (t) They generally take their rule from Luther'% condiKfl, who led them the way with great prudence and moderation, leaving room for choice in fome things, even from his firll attempts to reform the Church. For, among other regulations of this fort, thus he determined in particular, concerning candles and incenfc ; JVlff candelas nee thurificattonem prohihemui, fed nee extgtmus : eft 9 hoc liberum. Formula mifiae, Witteberg, 1523. (f) See can. 7. in Spanoav'^ colledions, p. 27. But ( 193 ) But in the prefent cafe, as well as in all others^ wc only defire a juji liberty may be granted. We might reafonably beg this liberty, as many others have often done, even in fome things, thatt are in-- different in their nature •, but think we have mord reafon to apply for it in points, that are of confe- quence, and create real fcruples. For furely, where matters wanting a review, are juflly thought, and can well be proved of importance, to be red;ified ; and many inconveniencies enfue for want of their being fet right ; there, reafon tells us, condefcenfion ought to be fhewn ; and if the terms as they a-e at prefent limited, are found to be coo ftricl, they ought, with a generous freedom, to be enlarged^ and proper liberty allowed for the future. In the mean time we go on with our argument % in fupport of which, we think we can exhibit fome points of greater moment than mere ceremonials ; which yet were left at liberty, or however not in- fifted upon with that abfolute and invariable exa6t- ncfs, with which divers of thc-m have been fince. Our Reformers allowed even the Litany^ the Glo- ria*in exceJfts^ the Nkene Creeds the Homily^ and the exhortation to the communion^ to be omitted on fome great and urgent occafions •, referring the omifHons in fuch cafes to the difcretion of the Curate (iy% abridgment, vol. I. ch. 17. Alfo Tindrd\ Continuatio-n, vol. III. book 25. Dr. Prideaux's Letter to a Friend, 16S9. And more particu- larly his Life, lately publift-.ed, p. 52," "■61. from ( 203 ) from the firfl publication (^), and that, during the interval, an aft of Parliament, fuppofed to be ob- tained, or elfe a royal Proclamation, grounded upon fuch an A^, and relating to fiich an expedient, were enjoined to be publickly read in the Churches, at proper times, (fuppofe once a quarter, or oftner,) as I'everal late Proclamations, calculated for the com- mon good, and flill in force, are ordered to be. If a query fliould here occur, ' Whether the ad- ' ditions, alterations, or other improvements before- * mentioned, and fuppofed to be fent to every Pa- * rifli, &c. fhould not be in the hands of the con- ' gregation, as well as of the Minifter ; and confe- ' quently a far greater number of the additional ' Iheets printed ; which may perhaps, by fome, be ' thought inconvenient ?' We humbly anfwer, that according to the befl: of our judgment, it may not be a matter of any great moment, whether fuch a thing be done or not ; hov/ever, not at firfl, and for fome time after. If, on the one hand, fi.ich a thing fliall be thought proper to be done, and chat atfirft, all, who defire to have the improvements, may have them, if they pleafe ; and that at a very fmall expence. And furely it will not be thought improper, as it can- not be unlawful in the cafe fuppofed, to bind them up afterwards in fome proper place, and in every proper fize, with our Common-prayers. For if it be not elleemed either improper or unlawful (tho' we have not yet learnt by what authority it is done) to bind up a little Treatife or. two of private com- (i^) This method of proceeding doth not ft em difagrceable to the precedents we find to this piirpofe in our fcveral Jds of uni- fortniiy ; which allowed fome intermediate time, more or lefs, before each of them refpe^tively was to be in force. pofurc. ( 204 ) pofure, with joiir Common-prayer, which has the ftamp of public authority ; we may well fuppofe it will not be judged to be either, to infert fuch addi- tions, as carry upon them that ftamp. The Compaq mon to the altar (a very ufeful little treatife, we own, and well calculated, if we miftake not, for the fer- vice of our Church) is very commonly bound up with our Liturgy. Nor is it fo done, we prefume, without the knowledge and connivance of our Go- vernors ; much lefs without the defire and good liking of our people : An intimation this, (to fpeak the lead) how little the latter would be offended, upon having the compofures of -public authority in- ferted. Since our writing this, we obferve the worthy Society for promoting Chrijlian knowlege have thought fit to order two fmal!, but very fuitable tradls, to be prefixt to fome of the lefTer edi- tions of the Common-prayer \ making a charitable prefent of both to the poor, in the packets they dif- perfe. One of them is intitled, Diieciions [or the devout and proper ufe of the common prayer^ &c. The other, Dire5iions for devout hehcvior in the public worfJoip of God. Without queftion this learned and difcreet Society faw no reafon (nor can there really be any) to apprehend the leaft danger or inconve- nience, as likely to enfue from the liberty they have taken. And we can be pretty confident the mem- bers of our Church, efpecially the poorer and lefs learned, will receive confiderable benefit from fo pious a benefaftion. On the other hand, if no more copies fhould be thought proper to be difpei fed at firft, than what would fufBce for the Miniitcrs of our feveral Churches and Chapels -, we do not want a public precedent even for this part of public condudl. For ufually, there ( 205 ) there are no more copies of our forms of prayer for public occaftons fent to every parifli, than what are fent to the Minifter only : And yet by the way f whether it be an impropriety or no, is not for us to judge) the congregations have their refponfes to make, which they have at the fame time to feek. For furely none of our congregations can know, nor confequently make their refponfes, without having the copies, which contain them. If it fhall be faid, * They may purchafe the copies,* may it not as ea- fily be faid, that they may do the fame in the cafe we have been propofing ? And then the objection, which we have above fuppofed, anfwers itfelf. We would willingly have declined introducing this query, (which, perhaps, to fome may feem of fmall importance) but that we are defirous, in an humble and candid manner, to obviate or remove, if we can, every fuppofed impediment: The doing of which, in the affair before us, feems to us to be of no fmall importance. Having over and over revolved thefe things in our thoughts, viewed them in every point of light, and confidered what, or whether any thing can, with any color of reafon be urged, to make them ap- pear lefs feafible •, we do ingenuoudy declare, that we can, at prefent, forefee but one objeftion (be- fides thofe we have confidered) that feems to de- ferve our notice : Which is this, ' That, being a * time of war^ it is a time not fo feafonable for en- ' tring upon confultations about affairs of the * Church ; which fjiould be done only in times of * peace, efpecially when any alterations are propokd ' to be made.' This objedion, we can eafily believe, is apt to make impreffion upon ferious minds \ and carries per- ( 206 ) perhaps a more formidable afpecl than any we have yet mentioned. However, let us not be too hafty in concluding either for or againft it, 'till we have ma- turely weighed it. Let us deal fairly and inge- nuoufly on both fides ; feek truth, fludy peace, and follow after the things that make for both ; leaving the Almighty, who is the author of both, to fupcr- intend all the great tranfaftions of the world as he pleafes. We need only do our duty (vi) ; and our duty we ought to do, let the confequence be what It will. The great Arbiter of the univerfe can over- rule all human affairs, and order ihem in fuch a manner, as that every event fhall appear in the con- clufion to be for the beft -, moft for the glory of his great name, moft for the advancement of his religion, moft for the benefit of human fociety. And tho' difficulties may intervene, (and difficulties we muft fometimes expe6t) they will terminate by de- grees in what is moft defireable upon the whole, and moft for the general good of the world, (vi) Our duty in the prcfent cafe feems as clear, as- our obliga- tions to it are cogent ; and is, in one word, to reform. A re- formation of public diforders may be fuppofed to be no Icfs ne- celTary, than that of priv'ate ones. And the latter will be too apt to grow, where the former are overlooked. To Ipeak our minds freely ; it appears to us to be a duty as much incumbent upon Governors, to rcclify what is amifs in the concerns of the Church, as it is upon private perfons to reform what is fo in their reipcL'Hve morals. God unquellicnably expcdls the one ; and it will be difficult to fliew that he Icfs expects the other. We believe, and do hitherto maintain, that he expefls both alike. Which will not appear ftrange to any, who Ihall be pleafed to con- fider, that the great Ruler of the world regards public commu- nities, as much at leaitas he does individuals. A refleclion this, tho' perhaps lefs common, yet certainly not lefs jull, for its not being more commonly taken notice of; and we prefume to add, that it is a reflei^tion of far greater importance to communities, than our general partiality and indifference are apt to reprefent it to our thoughts. We could wifli the Governors of every Chriflian community would be pleafed to allow it fome \\ eight. To ( 207 ) To the objeclion then. After having confidered it with all the attention of mind, and all the equity of judgment in our power, we own we cannot yet fee it carries all the weight and energy it is ufually thought to do. Let us look back a little to pafl: times ; going no further than the concerns of our own country. Our learned Governors will not take it amifs to be reminded of the sra of our reforma- tion. If the prefent objedion had then been thought to be of any force, it muft not only have obftruded the progrefs, but even prevented the beginning, of that glorious undertaking. For it is evident, that our reformation was both begun and carried on, in very dangerous times. In the very midft: of that great enterprize, we were engaged in wars abroad, and in civil commotions at home. And yet it pleafed the providence of Heaven, to enable us to go on with Gur work, and bring it to a happy period, as far as the times would permit -, notwithftanding all the difficulties we had to ftruggle with. It is better to truft to Providence, and do the work afligned us by it (going on in methods agreeable to its rules) than to be diffident of that almighty power, fear it fiiould difappoint us, fit down, do nothing, £ind provoke it by fuch indolence. — —Let us look back again to our memorable reformation, and afk, ' what hath God wrought' at rhat extraordinary crifis ? What he hath wrought, may be {Q.zn in the chronicles of our Church and of our Country. What he hath wrought for both, by the means of wife and good men ading for the fervice of both, and that with the greateft vigor, even in perilous times, can never be forgotten bywj, and, we fear, will never be for- given by our adverfaries. Let us carefully review the hiftory of thofe times, and draw inferences from thence in favor of our own ; not fearing difaflers, not doubting but if any fliould arife, the fame irre- fiftible ( 208 ) fiftible arm, which controlled them in the days of our forefathers, will either prevent or fupprefs them in ours. Let candid and confiderate men mark the va- rious fteps of Providence fo vifible in favoring our caufe under the refpedlive reigns o^ Henry VIII. Ed- ward VI. and Queen Elizabeth ; each of them times of great agitation, and more than common diftur- bance -, and yet each of them attended with many happy events, which our reformation glories in to this day. But agitation and dijlurbance ! occa- fioned, you will perhaps think, by the attempt of reforming. Look deeper into hiftory, and you will find fomething more at the bottom. And allowing that the reformation might have its fhare in the oc- cafion (is, all things confidered, how could it be avoided .?; ftill, the reformation was then new^ the prejudices againfl it were violent, and were the more fo, as that age was lefs inlightned than the prefent. Befides, the reformation ftopped too foon, and was never rightly completed. Even un- der Qiieen Elizabeth^ it was not carried on fo far, as the perfection of religion required, or as the times would have allowed, or as fome of the prime Go- vernors of the Church could have wifhed, and did txprefs their wifhes. Nay, and what is more, hif- tory will fhtw, and men of obfervation will allow, that for many years after, it was apparently (we wifh it be not flill) upon the retrograde ; and more than once in danger of being overturned, in the realm where its bulwark ftood. The prefent age can look back, partly with pleafure, and partly with refent- ment, upon the conduct of the paft. And the ge- nius of it being now vifibly prepared to embrace a farther reformation, with more unanimity and better temper than could be expe(5led in former times, it Teems proper to confider, whether it may not be full time (notwithftanding the prefent unfcttled ftatc of Europe) to make an amicable attempt to fatisfy 3 the ( 209 ) the reafonable widies and juft expe<5lations of fo many learned and fenfible people in this our IQand. — • Let our engagement in war, inftead of retarding, quicken our motions ; fmce we may juftly hope the Almighty will the more profper his Majefty's arms, and the more facilitate and expedite a happy peace, the more we exert ourfeives to preferve, fupport, and advance his religion. If we neglefl this, when the neceflity is fo urgent, the call fo loud, and the de- fire fo general ; can we rationally exped that dread Being, to whom we look up for favor in diftrefs, will regard our applications, fucceed our enterprizes, and fcatter our enemies that deUght in war ? Or can we hope, upon any juft and reafonable grounds, that he will blefs our endevors to promote a religion, which we fee, and muft acknowledge wants, reform- ing •, but which, notwithllanding we fee, notwith- ftanding we acknowledge it, we negled to re- form ? — Lst not our negle6l be our commendation at prefent, nor the remembrance of that negle6l be our forrow hereafter j when we or our defcendants may fee (but too late) the unwifhed elfeds of fuch inexcufeable fecurity I Jtippiter omnipotens^ precibus fi fle5feris ullis, Afpke mSy hoc tantum I We are forry we are thus obliged to touch upon points of fo delicate a nature, and to touch upon them in a manner fo little agreeable to our-felves, as well as to our Governors. It can be no pleafure to us to exhibit, any more than it can be to them to receive, memorials of grievances. And the plea- fure mufl be the lefs to either, when circumftances are apprehended to be fo unfavorable to the good widies of each of us. However, we mud obferve, that thofe circumftances are not like to become more, favorable, either by filence on oar parts, or difre- P ' gard ( 2IO ) gard on that of our Superiors. And with refpe6t to thofe confultations about Church-affairs, which are fo much wanted, but judged fo unfeafonable for thefe times of war, we muft take the freedom to fay, that we wifh they had been entred upon in thofe times of peace, which we fo long and fo happily enjoyed, under the aufpicious reign of his prefent Majefly, and of his royal Father : Both whofe reigns have afforded us very defirable (but, in fa6l, too much neglected) opportunities to this purpofe. — We could alfo wiOi the Convocation- contefl (which was not perhaps fo feafonable or fo neceffary) in the two preceding reigns, had never been entered upon ; and that the prefent ufeful defign had been then fet on foot in the room of it •, and carried on with fome application, as far as the times would have borne. And as to the unfeafonablenefs of the prefent times for fuch a purpofe, it will be further confider- ed by men of obfervation, that there will be fome- thing unfeafonable (at leaft either imagined, or pre- tended to be fo) in all times : There will always, in fhort, be fomething objefted, and fome remora ob- truded, to prevent doing what ought to be done : At which rate, we fhall never have any thing done, but always continue as we are, to our no fmall dif- grace, and (which we are forry to fay,) in fome in- itances, to our almoft more than beareable griev- ance. Witnefs fome of thofe we have already point- ed out ; to which more may be added hereafter. But furely it is not reafonable thys to poflpone confuking about matters of moment -, nor will it become us to ftand trifling in an age of fo much good fenft-. A true EngliJJo Convocation will dif- ccrn the times, and (having the countenance and authority of their Sovereign) will remove all ob- I jedions. ( 211 ) jeflions, by entring upon the fubje6t. This feera's to all the more judicious men we converfe with, to be the only way. — And, as to any fuhfequent in- conveniences, that may be apprehended, they are per- fuaded they v/ill (if any) be ly concurrence to promote the welfare of our Country. And fince the defign, now propofed, is evidently a peaceable defign, calculated to unite rather than divide his Majefly's llibjeds, and confequently to ftrengthen the hands of the Government againft thofe of its enemies ; it would feem, that the pre- lent times are fo far being unfeafonable, on account of public war, that for this very reafon, they ap- pear the more highly fealonable for concerting all poffible good meafures, towards eftablilhing our pri- vate peace. But fuppofing, after all we have faid, that it may, indeed, upon the whole, be better to poft- pone the confultation about a xcview, 'till after the wars are over: Well, to give content, we agree to it. But then may we entertain any reafonable hopes, that we fhall in good earned engage in fuch a confultation after the wars are ended ? If fo, we imagine every reafonable man will wait with pa- tience, 'till that happy period. But if it fhould be found aftewards, that nothing is done, nothing is attempted, nothing intended to be done ; how will our hopes be blalled? And , what opinion fliall we then entertain, either of the force of the pre- fent objc(5lion, or of the fincerity of thofe who make it ? For will it not be evident to the world, that, af- ter all, we only mean to gain time ; and when we have gained it, to make no ufe of it in the end ? Will any one imagine v/e were in earnefi: in our ob- ieflion ? However, this is only fuppojing the word, and, upon that fuppofition, giving our Ar- gument its juft force. But that charity, which be- tteveth nil things^ and hopeth all things for the belt, inclineth us to hope, and even to believe, that when- ever it Hiali pleafe God to fend us a happy peace, we fhall ( 215 ) fhall with gratitude acknowledge our deliverance from troubles ; and with pleafure engage in a work, which will be the bed proof of the fincerity of our gratitude. May God difpofe our hearts to confi- der ; and confidering, to underftand ; and under- ftanding, to follow after the things, which make for peace and piety 1 But enough upon this head. The objection feem- ed plaufible, and we have confidered it. Whether we have given it a juft anfwer, is left to others to confider. If any difficulty now remains, it is eafy to difcern, after fo much fair and particular examination, that it can lie only here : ' All the particulars pro- ' pofed, (how much foever any or all of them may ' deferve to be reclified) are out of the power of ' the Governors of the Church, and lie wholly in * the breaft of the State.* Well, and if they do, we would not from thence conclude, that there is no remedy ; and that the State v^U not concern itfelf about the welfare of the Church. We have reafon to think othi^wife, and much better of the State; and cannot think more refpedfully of the Governors of tht|j|Rnrch, than by flattering and even perfuading otirfelves, that they will not fail petitioning the State, for leave to do their duty,' if they find they are under any re- llraint from doing it for want of fuch leave. And without trying the fuccefs of a dutiful and loyal pe- i}ition to this purpofe, the prtfent objcdion will ap- pear to be infufficient ; unlefs it can at the fame time be affirmed (which we prefume it never will by thofe, who know the equity, mildnefs, and condefcenfion of our prefent Government) that our ecciefiallical P 3 Superiors ( 214 ) Superiors dare not fo much as prefent fuch a peti- tion. We hope then, that upon thefe confidcrations, this objeflion, hke all the foregoing, is fufficiently lemoved : And muft obferve next, that the' fome farcher objeftions (and perhaps feme very plaufible ones) fhould be made againft a trial •, yet if there be, as certainly there is, an apparent necejjiiy of making one ; that necefTity ought, in reafon, to over-rule all fuch objedions. But laft of all, fuppofing none of thefe obferva- tions (hould hold good (as it is much, if none of them will ;, yet the fafe and eafy expedient fuggeft- ed to us by thofe Gentlemen we have mentioned, will fufficiently obviate, aad effeflually invalidate, all objedions of this, or of any other kind ; and that, whether propofed at this, or at any other time. But we remind ourfelves of our duty and defign ; and having polTib'y exceeded both on thefe heads, do ingenuoufly alk, and hope we fhall readily ob- tain pardon, at the hands of our moft indulgent and condefcending Governors, if in any refpedl we have tranfgreiTed ; having this only to fay in our excufe, that if we have fo done (which yet we have done unwittingly) we have but given the fentiments of fome of the graved and moft eminent men of our Church and Nation. And for ourfelves, who think we have the jufteft reafons to concur with them in their judgment, we add no more but this : Our Governors, to whom we apply, as they are dif- creet and wife, are alfo well affected towards the Church of England \ and difcerning what is amifs, and can be redlified, in her conftitution, as well as the beft manner of doing it, will, with confummate wifdom, ( 215 ) wifdom, and tender love for the Church and her children, confult the welfare of the one, and fatis- fadion of the other, by a feafonable review ; and in due time, by that means, do jufl; honor to both, as well as to themfelves. A Sequel to the foregoing Se^ion. A fenfible andobferving Clergyman in one of our midland counties (well known for his honeft free- dom and bluntnefs) after having perufed this part of the work, returns it with thefe words, which feem to deferve our inferting. [His free manner of ex- preffing himfelf, all genuine and fincere, will be ex- cufed.] ' Let a Liturgy (fays he) well reform- ed, and enjoined by proper authority, be brought to me, tho' but upon a Saturday evening ; — let an injundtion be prefixt, which I am ordered to read ; and I will read them both the next morning m my Church, with the utmoft readinefs and plea- fure ; and not only fo, but will even engage, that not one foul in my parifh will fay the lead word againft either. And what I fay of my own parifh, I dare venture to fay of all other pa- rities in my neighbourhood, and in all this coun- ty, of which I have any knowlege. It is a joke to fay, ^he thing cannot be done ; // will not take ; there will he oppojition^ &c. Why, who will op- pofe it ? Who dares oppofe it ? Or, if any offers, who can oppofe it to any purpofe ? If you fay — Our people are wedded to their old Common- prayer ; I readily grant — they are for a Common-prayer, they are for no other method of praying ; but then, that they are fo wedded (or if you chufe to fay bigoted) to their old Common-prayer, ... that they will hear of no other, not even of any amendment of their old, is more than 1 know, P 4. ' and ^ ( 2l6 ) and more than I can believe to be true. On the contrary, I am perfuackd, that if the old be im- proved, it will be liked the better, and an im- prefTion, that fhall have any thing new in it, will loon go off. This I judge from the great de- mand there is for thofe editions of the Common- prayer, which you mention, viz. fuch as have lit- tle trafts of private compofure inferred in them. Which plainly indicates to me the difpofition of the people, and convinces me, that there is no fear of any oppofition from Them. Let them have but a Common-prayer^ a tolerable one at leaft, and they trouble themfelves no further. As to the framing and reframing it, they leave that whol- ly to their Governors, and never queftion their au- thority, nor labor in criticizing upon what they enjoin : For that, they conceive, belongs only to men of learning. Indeed, it would be a much eafier mittcr than is commonly imagined, for their Governors to make the alterations, that may be wanted. If the King and Parliament enjoin a thing, it is fubmitted to at once. But if, in ad- dition to this, the Bifliops and Clergy fliall think fit to recommend what is enjoined, or if the Bifhops fhall think it proper to ccunfdtht Clergy fo to do ; ■ the point, I think, is effcdually gained, and no- thing further remains to be done, befides an af- ■ fedionate and devout reading of what is fo en- ■ joined, and fo recommended. ' I have here given you my free Sentiments upon ' the fubjed, and not without thought. For I had ' long and often dwelt upon i: before you wrote, ' and communicated your papers. 1 have converf- * ed a great while among mankind, as you know ; * and, wliat you may nor know, I have for many « years been making attentive obfervations upon « their fentiments and tempers : The reflilt of which ' obitr- ( 2'7 ) « obfcrvations, as far as concerns this point, I have « here deUvered to you with great fincerity. ' And now, as to your other requeft. To give you, as you defire, my frank opinion of your ar- guments, I can only fay this to you ; that you feem to have labored the point too much. You have a noble caufe for certain, and I am fure a very juft one. Every reafonable man will allow it. And whether the lefs reafonable part of men will allow it or no, is no matter. For you are not to ftand by their judgment, nor will your caufe be determined by it. But then, my Friends, (for I fpeak to you now as a fociety) have you not been too anxious about it, and laid out your learning and whole heap of arguments in fuch a manner, as if you thought no-body would be- lieve you, unlefs you did all that could be done upon the fubjed, and that at once ? What occa- fion for this ? Why do you take us for fuch a te- nacious and incredulous fet of people ? We arc neitb.er. We beheve the Gofpel, and can ap- prove of reafon. We love truth and peace, and refpeft our Governors. We fubmit to every ordi- nance of man for the Lord's fake ; and, if v/e are not tampered with, Ihall always do it with a willing heart. So that when' you propofe and urge a review (which is one of the moft reafon- able things in the world to be propofed and urged) you feem to have forgot the goodnefs of our dif- pofitions, tho' not the goodnefs of your own caufe. When you plead fo earneftly as you do, and ought, for a revifal of the Common-prayer, you argue where no man of fenfe will oppofe you. Men of fenfe, it is true, may differ from you in fome points •, but will agree with you upon the whole. So that you needed not, in my opinion, to have expended half the pains you have done, ' to ( 2i8 ) * to convince men (efpecially thofe you chiefly ap- ' ply to) concerning a point, about which they are * convinced already. The point is clear to all that * vi'ill confider : And thofe, that will nor, how are « they judges? Do one thing, if you can: En- * gage our Governors to fet about a review, and * they will foon be joined, and their orders obeyed. ' Our Governors own, that a review is wanted. All * people fee it. Who will obftruft it ? If any do, * they will foon be defeated, by fuperior learning, * and fuperior power ; yet a power and learning * founded upon reafon and common fenfe. To * which let opponents, if any, reply as they can.— * —I am, ^c* Our very worthy friend has given us his thoughts "with the utmoft freedom and honefty. We only wifh his obfervations may prove juft. And num- bers will rejoice to find he is not miftaken. SECT. XIII. Tbe Conclufion ; wherein Jbme farther confi- der atiom are urged in fupport of this Ad- drefs ; and particularly with regard to its be- ing made at this time. AN D now, moll honored Chriftian Prelates, and very much honored Chriftian Divines, having thus far trefpafled upon your patience, per- haps much longer than may be decent for us, or a- greeable to you, tho* with the greateft fubmifTion in every point we have propofed •, we would here draw to a conclufion of this part of our addrefs -, in- treating your greateft candor in judging of every part of it, and of the manner in which it is ma- naged 5 ( 219 ) caged i and hoping that candor will admit of what follows, as a (lender but well- meant apology for both, and for the particular timeing of what is offered. In the foregoing papers we have ingeniioufly and refpecftfully laid before you our fentiments relating to fome things in our cccleliaftical conftitution, which we have long and ferioufly thought may deferve your animadverfion ; and which fome of the great- eft, the wifeft, and beil men, that ever adorned our communion, from the dawn of the Reformation down to this time, have confidercd in the fame light, and wilhed amended in the fame manner, as we have done. We have exhibited them to your view and con- fideration, at a time when thefe things (important in themfelves, and interefting to us) cannot be hid from the penetration of the more judicious of the Laity, any more than they can efcape the attention of the more ferioiis among the Clergy ; and when, we have reafon to believe, they have deeply affe6ted more than a few, both of the one fort and of the other. We have reprefented thefe things to you at a junfture, when loofenefs of principles, and debauch- ery of morals, are Ipreading in the land ; when le- vity fways the judgment, and ridicule the converfa- tion of moft men ; and when things facred and fo- lemn do leaft of all efcape the unbecoming freedoms of both. We have propofed them at an interval, when the ftrifteft obfervations are made upon the belief and devotions, as well as lives and manners of the Clergy •, — when ecclefiaftical authority, and the de- terminations ( 220 ) terminations of councils, are no longer revered -, — and when nothing will be admitted, or but decent- ly tolerated, that will not bear the niceft fcrutiny, and appear to be free, not only from fuperftition and error, but from all other juft or even plaufible exceptions. Thefe things are laid before you, right reverend Lords, and reverend Gentlemen, at a feafon, when the Clergy of the eftabliflit Church are, in the ge- neral, as ftudious and inquifitive, as intelligent and Jearncd, and withal as moderate in their fentiments, relating to all the lefler circumftances of religion, as any fet of men at this day in the Chriftian world : And when, at the fame time, our fellow- proteftant Divines of the feveral diffenting denominations (efpe- cially thofe, who approach the neareft to ourfelves) appear to be men of as much good fenfe, good learning, and good breeding, as mod other men ; and to concur with us as heartily and effectually, in defending and promoting our common Chriftianity, upon the great and common principles, as we could wifh or defire any men to do, who are in every thing of our mind ; and who, therefore, we may juftly hope, as well as candidly fuppofe, would not re- cede or vary from us, if there did not lie fome ob- ftruftions in their way, which even we ourfelves, the moft unprejudiced of us, at leaft, cannot but wifli were removed, as well for their fakes as ours. Thefe fentiments are offered to you at a period, when the fentiments of many among yourfdves (to your praife is it now mentioned, and to your honor be it for ever recorded) are, in many inftances, if not in all, well known to be the fame ; and when, from this juft fpirit of liberty and reafon, as well as of amiable candor and Chriftian benevolence, you raile ( 221 ) raife in us reafonable and almoft promifing expeda- tions, that thofe fentiments will, by degrees, on ma- ture confultation among yourfelves, and with legal commifllon from our Sovereign, be carried into hap- py execution. Thefe thoughts are prefented to your view at a turn, when you are all, we are perfuaded, very thankfully fenfible of the hand of Providence in pre- ferving our ecclefiaftical eftablifliment from the late tempts of Popery and arbitrary power ; and when, we humbly believe, it may well become you to evi- dence your fenfe and your thankfulnefs, not only by fupporting that eftablifhraent, but (what may furely ftrengthen its fupport) by re6lifying, as far as you fhall be able, what may be yet amifs in it ; fince the clemency of Heaven, for ought we know, may on purpofe have fecured it to us, to the intent, that it may be redified. Thefe humble propofals are fubmitted to your judgment, at a crifis, when the juft moderation of friends, and the unjuft combination of enemies, render it peculiarly fuitable, highly expedient, and, in fome fort, abfolutely neceflary, to give proper at- tention to a defignof this nature : — When our Sove- reign, one of the mildeft and jufteft of Princes, and the mod generoufly- intent upon the good of his kingdom, and particularly, the chief Defender as well as national Head of the Church of England, will, without queftion, readily concur with his au- guft Senate, and reverend Convocation, in all pro- per meafures, tending to advance her honor, and ftrengthen her intereft : When the principal No- bility and Gentry of the Land, continuing ftill in our communion as an eftablifliment, (and whom it is our duty and intereft to fecure therein, by all e- quitable and honorable endevors,} are of a difpofi- tign ( 222 ) tion and temper to join with his Majefly, and the Synod, in every juft propofal, calculated for the honOr of the Church, and fupport c^ the proteftant religion : When his Majefty, with his Nobles and Commons, are earneftly engaged in removing all impediments to our national happinefs, and tak- ing all proper meafures to fccure and improve it, by making new and juft regulations to unite his fubjefts, in loyalty to his crown, in friendfhip to one another, and in attachment to the public welfare : And when it will greatly add to the glory of his Majefty's reign, above thofe of all preceding Princes upon the throne of Great-Britain^ to have united his fubjefts in their religious concerns, removed the obftacles, that lay in their way to union, and made the Church of Englandy more than ever, to fiourifli under his aufpicious government ; as fettled upon a larger and llronger foundation than ever it hath been hereto- fore : When men of all denominations, united in the proteftant fcheme and in loyalty, feem ear- neftly defirous of, and heartily forward to meet in a happy coalition ; it being on all hands agreed, at this time efpecially, to be for the fccurity of the government, and of the proteftant intereft, to u- nite, as much as poflible, in facred, as well as in civil concerns : When, on the oppoiite fide, we have adverfaries in almoft every Ihape, both to our go- vernment as revolutional, and to our religion as pro- teftant •, yea, and even as Chriftian : — All which adverfaries do in efte(5l, tho* not in intention, incef- fantly warn us, to be upon our guard ; and to take the firft favourable opportunity of uniting among ourfelves ; and that, upon the largeft and moft ca- tholic principles ; which alone can do real honor to our Church and government, and will beft defeat the defigns of the adverfaries of both. Thefc C 223 ) Thefe requefts are made to you at a point of time, when there is a prevailing, tho* more fecret dilTatis- faftion to be obferved in many, not only of the fu- perior and more intelligent, but even of the infe- rior and lefs difcerning (yet well-meaning) members of our communion, on the account of fome parti- culars, which we have mentioned : When fome of them, on that account, feem more than a little inclined to leave us, and to go over to fome other communion, where they judge there are fewer cor- ruptions, or Iqfs deficiencies, in fpiritual matters : — — When others, in no inconfiderable numbers, have, of late years efpecially, made an open, and feeming- ly irrecoverable defeflion from our communion ; and many (it is faid) are ftill making a like defec- tion from it : And when all, who are in it, and who ferioufly confider about the amendments pro- pofed, join in wifhing, not only that they may be made, but (as we have more than once intimated) that they may be made in time ; as apprehending con- fequences, which, at a longer or fhorter run, may prove pernicious, if not prevented by wife and fea- fonable precautions. Finally, thefe confideratlons are tendred to our worthy and gracious Superiors, not with the un- difcerning zeal, or unchriftian virulence, of a bigot- ed and party-fpirit (which hath but too much and too long difturbed our peace) but, what perhaps can fcarce be faid of all, if, abfolutely, of any preceding applications, they are addrefled to you with a fea- fonable and becoming privacy ; with a fincere efteem for your perfons, for your dignity, for your office ; with a tender regard for the welfare of the commu- nity, and particularly for the honor and improve- ment, as well as fecurity and prefervation, of this proteftant Church : And this by men, who are fc- date ( 224 ) date and falous, thoughtful and ftudious, humble and conformable, quiet and peaceable : Whofe great defire it is to know truth, and to follow it ; to un- derftand Chriftianity, and to pradlife it ; and the great end of all whofe ftudies and cndevors is, to ad- vance the glory of God, and the happinefs of man- kind. If thefe confiderations are of any moment, they will have their due weight, at this time, with a bo- dy of men, who are difcreet and learned, confide- rate and confciencious •, and upon whofe difcretion and learning, confideration and confcience, we lay no ordinary ftrefs in making this application. Which having done, we have done all in our power : We have borne our teflimony ; we have difcharged our confcience. The reft is left with you. And may the God of Heaven imprefs it on your hearts, and dired and affill you in a right execution ! We have now finifhed our addrefs. And hav- ing reviewed it, not without the greateft Satisfac- tion in our honeft meaning, (we wifti we couid alfo fay, with the greateft hope of being regard- ed,) we will here clofe it up, with a few humble refledions relating to the wliole, and to the cha- racfter of the Synod, to whom we prefent it. If it had been pofTiblc for us to have drawn up this addrefs with more evenntfs of temper, greater gentlenefs of cxprefllon, or clearer indications of regard for our worthy Superiors and the Church ; or to have prefented it to them, with a more ho- norable privacy -, we would have done it with a pleafure, exceeded only by the fincerity of our in- tention, and the juftnefs of our zeal. We C 225 ) We think, we have no reafon to apprehend any frowns from our Governors, for the application we have made.- The obhgingnefs of our addrefs, the reafonablenefs of our requefls, the privacy of our apphcacion, the integrity of our defign, the affedtion, the cfteem, the good wiHies we have evidenced for the Church and its welfare ; — any one of them fingly, and ail of them conjundly, may very well fecure us from fuch apprehenfions. Befides, we have a great opinion of the modera- tion and temper of the Governors we apply to ; who are obferved in the main to be more humane, and lefs rigid, more condefcending to their bre- thren, and lefs apt to be offended at dutiful addref. fes on this fubjed, than many preceding Gover- nors of the Church. And the Church itfelf, over which they prefide, is alfo reprefented by moft of the learned men of her communion, and particularly by two (*j) of the greateft note, under the amiable character of an /«- dulgent mother to her children. And fince the Natio- nal Synod is afferted (<) to be that very Church by reprefentation, which is fo indulgent a mother -, we have all the afllirance we can well defire, that as we have applied to the Synod, we have applied to a Church, that will fhew herfclf a mother the mofl in- dulgent to us : And we accordingly hope, by happy experience, to find the encouraging effects of her parental indulgence : not only in a kind toleration of our addrefs, but alfo in granting, as far as fhe fhall be able, what we fhall be found to have afked in moderation and reafon . (9) Archbifhop laud, and Bifhop Bull. l«) Canon 139. Q^ What ( 226 ) What we have or fhall afk further than this, (which we are not confcious we have done here, nor have any intention of doing on any other occafion,) we neither expe<5l nor defire it may be granted. If we have aflced any thing to the prejudice of this Church, we defire pardon of the Church, and of God ; hoping it will for ever be forgotten and for- given by both. Hujtis denique Ecdejia authoritati at que examini to- turn hoc, ficiit Cf? cetera qu^ cjufmodi funt, univerfa refervamus •, ipjius, fi quid aliter fapimus, parati ju- dicio emendare. D. Bern. ep. ad Can. Lugdun. POST- ( 227 )' POSTSCRIPT. Containi?ig fome occafional Obfervations, occurs ring upon a review of the whole. Addieflcd to the Public in geneial. I "^ H E great defire we have to maintain peace and charity with all men, and to pre- vent, as far as in our power, all alterca- tions, either with cr between any of our fellow- Chriftians,'in a flibjeft of this nature, is the occa- fion of our fubjoining this Fofifcript. Our preliminary adverttfement, and whole inquiry, have, we hope, fufficicntly (hewn, how much we are inclined to peace and love •, and how earneftly we wifh the reformation of this Church, in a way confiftent with both. If we here renew our alTu- rances to this purpofc, and give frefli indications of the benevolence of our temper, every good man will be the more convinced of the integrity of our defign, and a bad man will have the lefs to fay in difparagement of it. We fhall fpeak our minds honeftly and ingenu- oufly, as we have all along done -, and if, in the fulnefs of our heart, we (hall happen to touch a- gain upon fome things we may any where have mentioned before, this will eafily be forgiven us by men of candor and fincerity : And we fhall be the lefs fcrupulous about re-exhibiting the thoughts,which Q_ 2 fuch ( 228 ) fuch a fiilnefs of heart fhall fuggefl:, as we are here taking our leave of the ieveral fubjeds we have been confidering •, and as our repeted declarations to one and the fame purpofe will (hew, that we clofe our defign with the fame benevolent mind, with which we began it. In the firfl place, we have a requejl to make to the Public, whom we now addrefs ; more efpecially to our brethren, both Clergy and Laity, of the Church of England : With whom we fhall always defire to maintain a loving, catholic, and Chriftian agreement, in every point of pure religion, and in every circumftance agreable to it, as long as we live. Our requefl is this ; that we have no unfriendly debates upon this argument ; nor, by our unhand- fome treatment of each other, give occafion to our common adverfaries to heighten a contention, which they will be but too eager to puQi forward, when they can hope to make their advantage of it from the impndencesof thofe, who engage in it. We can ferioufly declare, for our own parts, that in our way of managing this fubjc6l, we have done the ut- moil in our power to prevent all unbrotherly quar- rel ; and to pave the way towards a more free and more amicable difcuflion, of whatever may concern truth, and the welfare of this Church, that hath hitherto been ufual, when this fubjed; hath been de- bated. If, therefore, in the meafures we have taken, we have (hewn an uniform regard to truth and peace ; il in our handling fo difficult a fubjeft, we have en- devored to acl as became Chriftians and men of reafon, friends to religion, and friends to our con- ftitution 5 if, above all, we have a6led as a fincere con- ( 229 ) confcience direcSled us, according to the befl judg- ment we could form in tlie matters, upon which we have treated ; we have the jufteft realon to hope we have afforded no handle for ccntroverfy ; much lefs for chagrin or virulence in the management of any, that may be fet on foot upon this occafion. And we would willingly flatter ourfelves, that if any ftriftures fhall be made upon what we have offer- ed, they will be in the fame fpirit of candor and benevolence, and in the fame language of de- cency and good manners, which we have all along iifed, or endevored to ufe, in this whole perfor- mance. If otherwife, we muft declare again, as we did in another place, that we have no purpofe at prefent, to make any other returns to thofe who fliall think fit to oppofe us, but our benevolent prayers and friendly good wifhes in their favor 5 leaving the Public to judge, and truth to make its way, as far as it can, and ought in all reafon to be permitted to do. Notwithftanding our zeal for Chriftianity, and every thing tending to the advancement of it in this Church j we are not fo fangiiine as to luppofe, that every member of it, or every one, who is not a member, will be exaftly of our mind in every thing we have advanced. Should we exped: this, we fhould be unreafonable, and feem to forget the com- m.on nature of men. But we may venture to fay, that we have good grounds to believe there will not be a man of fenfe found in all England^ vv^ho will not approve, and give his verdift in favor of feme or other of the things we have propofed. And if any man, who differs from us in fome particulars, fhall in others think fit to declare his approbation puhh'-ly ; and, in concurrence with us, apply to our Governors in behalf of what he fo approves, and defires may be eftablifhed ; he will be intitled, not only to our private efteem, but public thanks, 0^3 even C 230 ) even for this fmaller effort to do fervice to his reli- gion and country. And iF alfo he Ihall be fo good as to admonifli, and fliall, in fadl, be fo happy as to convince us, in any inftance, where he fliall think us to be wrong •, he will be fure, upon our con- viflion, to receive our public acknowlegements and farther thanks, together with all the marks of efteem and love we fliall be capable of fhewing, to one, who fliall appear co have nothing but truth and the public good in view. Confcious of the great imperfeftions of our work, and apprchenfive of the many cenfures it may be liable to, we fhall now endevor, in the the fairefl: manner we can, to fatisfy men of reafon, concerning whatever we can well forefee may be likely to incur a blame. But then, we can touch only upon general topics •, leaving it to the candor of the Public, to apply particulars, as they fliall think reafonable. T. If \we have erred in any point, we can afllire the Public that we have not done fo knowingly and wilfully : And we muft: again and again declare, that we defire to be fet right in a candid manner by thofe inquifitive, judicious, and ingenuous minds, that fliall difcover any error of moment in what we have written. 2. If we have any where, either thro' inadver- tency, or a well-meaning zeal in the caufe of reli- gion, exprefled ourfelves in a manner lefs proper, or lefs agreable to tJie taflie of any readers, than they or we could wifli ; it is hoped the good-na- tured part of mankind will put a favorable con- ftruftion upon fuch flips of our pens, and impute them, not to the want of greater refpedt for thofe we addrefs, but to that of better flvill in writing and 2 ad- ( 231 ) addreflmg. We have endcvored to keep a jufl: guard over our temper and fentiments all the way we have gone, fo as in neither to offend (or offend as litde as poflible) againft fobriety or charity. Let our failings then of this kind alio, if requiring or deferving any public notice, be pointed out to us with moderation and equity, and we fhall receive the intimations with thankfulnefs and love. 3. If any little improprieties of ftyle, any verbal inaccuracies, any unneceffary redundancies, or any returns of fimilar obfcrvations (almofl unavoidable in fuch a work as this) have any where efcaped us in the courfe of thefe writings ; as we fhall not think it needful to make apology for fuch over-nghts, fo neither will good judges (who are always ob- ferved to be the mod candia; expefb it. With fuch therefore we dare freely truft them, beipg well af- fured they will pafs them over with lenity and con- defcenfion. 4. If in any particular and lefs material inftan- ces, fome of our obfcrvations inall be judged to be lefs neceffary (Jt , or any of our arguments to be lefs valid and conclufive j yet, may we not reafonably afk this favor, viz. that our application may have a fair hearing on the whole ? And that if foms par- ticulars will not bear the ftrefs we may feem to lay upon them, others may be allowed that, which they will bear ? Men of equitable difpofitions, ac- cuftomed to fair reafoning, and willing to do juflice to every fubjeft as far as it fliall deferve, are not or (x) It is readily confefied, that in fome of the larger fcflions, and notes underneath them, (for inftance, Seft. 5. and in that, perhaps, more than in any other) we have here and there thrown in fome particular obfcrvations, which to fome fort of 0^4 readers ( 232 ) apt to fingle out particulars (A), and infer from each, or from any of them taken feparately, that the whole defign is unjuftifiable. But they confider it altogether in a colletlive view, obferving chiefly where the main ftrefs is laid, and whether the argu- ment, on the whole, deferves the confideration of the public. If particulars are, in their judgment, wrong, they exprefs that judgment of them with candor, and never conclude, that the main caufe is afTedled, much lefs overturned, by any defedts they obferve in thefe. 'Jmicus dulcis, ut ^qutim eji. Cum mea compenfet vitiis hona^ pluribus hifce {Si modb plitra mi hi bona funt) incline i^ amart Si volet : hac lege^ in trutind ponetur eadem. If then, any particulars occurring in the courfe of thefe papers fhould be thought wrong (and it is pof- fible enough, that feveral may deferve to be fo thought) yet let not the whole of it be laid afide. readers may appear more curious than ufeful, and to others more nice than pertinent. As to which, every reader being left ta his own judgment, which we neither defire, nor fhall endevor to difpofTefs him of, all we (hall fay is, that tiie obferv-ations ap- pear llili to us, to be both pertinent and ufeful ; and may, we believe, appear fo to others, when they fhall be pleafed to re- confider them. This, at leaft, we may venture to affirm with feme confidence, that whenever our Governors fhall think fit to engage in a Reviefj, they wiU find even the minuteft of the ob- jfrvations we have made, to be of fome fervice. For that will be a time to fift every thing to the bottom, and leave no objec- tion unheeded. But this remark has already been made in o ir fiivor by the two learned friends, to whom we are indebted for the Preface. {>i) This feems to be a fault, that controverfial writers, of all others, are too commonly addifted to. But nothing furely can he more wnfair or ungenerous ; nor does any thing tend more to puzzle an- argument, and lengthen out a controvcrfy. Lord Claiei:don& obfervations on this piece of conduct, (which he juflly blames in one of his poflhumous ellays) may well deferve to be confidered. 2 or ( 233 ) or judged altogether undeferving of public regard, i)n the account either of fome lefs important ob- fervations, or fome lefs material deficiencies. How- ever erroneous we may be fuppofed to be in fome points, or fliort of proof in others, we cannot eafi- Jy be perfuaded we are fo in all. We dare freely, as we do frequently, appeal to reafon, and juft judgment, in relation to the bulk and main fcope of our defign ; nor are apprehenfive, that even particu- lars can many of them be jiiftly, or will any of them be feverely blamed. Surely it will without much difficulty be allowed, by men of impartial obfervation, that fome things are wrong in our eflablifhment ; at Jeaft, that they are not altogether right, and may very well deferve to be made better than they are. If therefore we have pointed out fome, if we have pointed out feveral, much more if we have pointed out many of thefe, and all together confirm the obfervation ; will not this be fufficient to our purpofe, to juftify our undertaking, and to fliew, that the main caufe we have in hand is ftill good, and ought conle- quently to be regarded, even tho' fome of the particular arguments, whereby we have endevored to fupport it, fhould not be found to be equally per- tinent, or equally forcible .?- Wc are encouraged to hope, however, upon reviewing the whole, and confidering the importance of it taken all together, that we fhall fo far gain the point we have in view as to put our Governors upon deliberating, whe- ther a revifal may not be neceflary -, a revifal, at leaft, of fuch branches of our conftitution, as (hall feem moft to deferve, and moft to require ir, at the hands of fuch Governors. If by any thing we have attempted, we fhall prove in any degree inftrumental towards bringin2iv'v\i pubhfhed 1749. Which, it is to be hoped may, be followed in due time by many other excellent pieces of this kind -, parti- cularly thofe, which the fame incomparable pcrfon has partly promifed to the Public. SECT. II. Concerning our Liturgy in general, and the improve- ments, that may be made in fome other parts of cur ecdejiafiical conjlitution. The judgment and pro- pofals of feveral learned Men, in one view, relat- ing to this fubjed:. I. Lord Bacon, in his addrefs {a) to King James. — — ' ' None (as I fuppofe) of found judgment, will derogate from the Liturgy, if the form there- of be in all parts agreeable to the Word of God, the example of the primitive Church, and that holy de- cency, which St. Paul commendeth. — For the par- ticular exceptions to the Liturgy as it now ftands, I think divers of them, allowing they were juft, yet feem not to be of weight, otherwife than that no- thing ought to be accounted light in matters of re- ligion and piety.' Then he proceeds to give his own judgment in divers particulars, that he thought might deferve to be confidered -, together with his reafons on each head, which, tho* good ones, we (a) Confiderations touching the better pacification and ed fie alien of the Church o/~ England. mud C 245 ) . hnuft omit. * That the word Priefi fhould not be conunued, elpecially with offence, the word Mi- mjfer being already made famihar. Touching the abfohition, it is not unworthy of confideration, whe- ther it may not be thought unproper and unne- ceflary, i^c. For confirmation^ — whereas, in the pri- mitive Church, children were examined of their Faith before they were admitted to the communion, time may feem to have turned it, to refer as if it had been to receive a ccnfirmation of their bap- tifm. For the celebradng of matrhnony ; the ring feemeth to many, even of vulgar fenfe and under- ftanding, a ceremony not grave enough, efpecially to be made (as the words make it) the eflential pare of the adion. Befides, fome other of the words are noted in fpeech, not to be fo decent and fit. — For mufick in churches^ that there fhould be Tinging of pfalms and fpiritual fongs, is not denied, Sec. [M B. He allows,^ upon the whole, of Church- mufick, as decent and tending to edification ; only making a difference between the wifdom of the infii- tution, and the excefs of the late times.'] But then the curiofity of divifion and reports, and other figures of mufick fp), have no affinity with the reafonable fervice of God, but were added in the more pom- pous times. For the cap and furplice — [but it is needlefs to give his Lordfliip's fentiments on thefe j there being no difpute now about the former, fince men have been left more to their reafonable liberty, at leafl: by connivance ; and there being as little a- bout the latter, between men of reafon and candor.] And for the fuhfcription, it feemeth to be in the na- ture of a confcffion, and therefore more proper to ((S) The thirty-two Commiffioners, who compiled the 'Refor- mation of our (cclejiajlical laivs, were exaftly of tlie fame lend- ments, and feemed dcfuous to lay afide all operofc, and (what- was called) /V/.'/Yi/ mulic, in the wojilnp of God. lit.dtdi'v. c/fi:. c. 5. R 2 bind C 244 ) bind in the unity of faith^ and to be urged rather for articles of dodtrine, than for rites and cere- monies and points of oulzvard government. For how- foever politic confiderations and reafons of State may require uniformity, yet Chriltian and divine grounds look chiefly upon unity* There are many more very ufeful propofals in that addrefs, all tending to the peace and honor of this Church j fome of which may occafionally be taken notice of, or, at leaft, referred to hereafter. 2. King James I. foon after his receiving the addrefs before-mentioned (or much about that time) made feveral wife regulations in Council, for the benefit of this Church. Among which were the following, being fuch, as have not yet fufficiently taken effed. ' Ordered, Jan. 18. 1603-4. — That there may be as few pluralities as pofTible \ and that the livings be near each other. [Many obflacles have hitherto hindred the good defign of this order. The Le- giflature may in time remove them, to the fatisfac- tion of all, without detriment to any.] That there be but one uniform tranjlation of the Bible, to be ufed in all churches. [This yet wanted, fo long as our two tranflations of the pfalms are not uni- form.— To fay, that one only is ufed in all churches^ is not fufficient to fatisfy reafonable minds.] — That the articles of religion be explained and enlarged. [Which hath been often wiflied by fome of the wifeft men.] That a more learned Miniftry^ and proper maintenance, be provided in fuch places of England ^vhere there is want. [Which want is often- times ftill too great, not only in England^ but in Ireland a.nd fFales, and feveral other places.] — Care to nihibit popifh and peftilent books. [Popery ftill pre- C 245 ) prevails, partly by the fpreading of books, and part- ly by other means.] See Collier's eccl. Hift. vol. 2. append. N^ 100. 3. Extratfls from the Proceedings of the Bi/Ioops{y) and other Divines at Wejlminjler, in 1641. Before they come to the Liturgy, they premife fome things •, amongfl; others the following Qiiery, viz. Whether in the 20th article thefe words are not inferted [meaning by way of interpolation ; namely] Habet ecdefia authoritatem in controverjiis fidei. They feem to think ' that the abfolution^ which the Prieft pronounceth, is no more than de- claratory ; and look upon it as innovation, that any ' part of the morning-prayer is read at the holy table, when there is no communion.' With Ibme other things of this kind, which may be pafTed by for the prefent. Among their confiderations on the book of Com- mon-prayer, they have the following Queries and Remarks. c Whether, according to that end of the preface before the Common-prayer, the Curate fhould be bound to read morning and evening prayers every day in the Church, if he be at home, and not reafonably letted \ and why not only on Wednefday and Friday morning, and in the afternoon on Saturdays^ with holy day eves ? 9. Whether the rubric fliould not be amended, as, particularly, (y) Archbiihop U^er, EilTiop Williams, Dr. Prideaux, Dr. Ward, Dr. Bro^jnrig, Dr. Feath, Dr Hacket. There had been the year before a Committee, confifting of 10 Bifhops and 10 Earls, ro treat about matters of religion, that required redrefs. Their articles al'lo are extant, and one pan of their bufinefs was to re-examine the Common-prayer. K 3 where ( 245 ) where it is faid, that the lejfons fhould be fung in a ■plain tune, why not read in a dipin5l voice ? [The rubric here referred to has been fince altered •, and we al- low this query a place here, only upon the account of fome fimilar rubrics ftili retained, and not un- juftly objefted to.] lo. In the prayer for the Clergy, that phrafe, IVhich only worketh great mar- vails, perhaps to be altered. [This has been taken notice ot before] 12, The rubric to be cleared, how far a Miniftcr is to repulfe a Icandalous and notorious finner from the comr,iunion. 22. Whe- ther in the la^l rubric of confirmadon, thofe words be to be left out, and be undoubtedly faved? 23. Whether the catechifm may not receive a little more enlargement ^ 24. Whether the times pro- hibited for marriage, are [not] quite to be taken a- way ^ [Which query we the rather re-exhibit here, as it gives us an opportunity to introduce that com- plaint of Archbilhop Whilgift to Queen Elizabeth, which has fallen in our way fince, relating to a bill for reforming certain articles in our eftabhfh- ment, which had pafied the Floufe of Commons, in the year 1584. His words, as recited by Fuller^ in his Ch. hift. are thefc. " They have alfo paflTed a bill, giving liberty to marry at all times of the year, without reftraint, contrary to the old canons, continually obferved amongft us; and containing matter, which tendeth to the flanderof this Church, as having hitherto maintained an error."] ' 16. Whether thefe words in matrimony, IVith my body I thee worjlAp, (liall not be thus altered, I give thee po-zver over my body? 28, In the abfolution of the Tick, were it not plain to fay, I pronounce thee abfihcd?— 29. The pfalm of thankfgivi.ng of women after child-birth, were it not fit to be compofed out of proper verficles taken from divers pfalms .'' [The pfalm 'till then ufed, was the 121 ft. Nor are thofe now appointed, fuppofed to be fu pro- per ( 247 ) per and pertinent, as certain feleft verjicles^ as here propofed, would be,] 32. In th^ order of the burial of all perfons, *tis faid, We commit his body to the ground^ in fure and certain hope of the refur- re^ion to eternal life : Why not thus, knowi7ig ajfu- redly, that the dead Jhall rife again ? [By the way, this fcems rather too flat, and not anfwerable to the defign of the office •, which, without queftion, the Church intended only for thofe, that depart hence in the Lord.] 34. In the Litany, inftead of fornica- tion, and all other deadly fin^ would it not fatisfy thus ? from fornication, and all other grievous ftnnes ? T^c^. It is very fit, that the imperfedions of the metre in the finging-pfalms fhould be mended, and then lawful authority (5) added unto them, to have them publickly fung before and after fermons, and fometimes inltead of the hymns of morning and evening prayer.* We have paiTed over feveral other articles, as not being fo diredly to our purpofe. Yet we may ob- ierve further, that they intimated, that the calendar wanted reforming j that the pfalms ought to be {^) Ccllief obferves, that Slernhohrs tranflation Hands upon no authority, either from the Crown or Convocation ; being on- ly connived at, rather than approved. Ch Hiji. vol. If. p. 326. If fo, may not any other (efpecially any better) tranfla- tion be ufcd, wich as much freedom, and upon as good ground, as we life that bad one ? At leaft, is it not more warrantable, as well as more rational and profitable to a congregation, to ufe that of Brady and Tate ? which, Vv'e all know, Hands upon royal authority, and is alfo a more beautiful, intelligible, and alTecl- ing verfion. And iince we have no aft of Parliament for the uie of any verfion at all, or even for any fmging in our churches (excepting thofe profaic parts of the fervice, which the rubric allows to be fung) it may not be an improper query, whether there be not a dcfeft here ? However, Mr. Collier above cited, (v.'irh Dr. Heslin, and fome others) feems to be againfl the ufe of pfalmody in churches, and Ipeaks rather too Ilightingly of it. R 4 read ( 248 ) read in the new tranflation •, and that the Gloria Pa- tri does not fecm fo necelfary to be rehearfed at the end of each. To which we may add, that they took occafional notice of fome blunders in the print- ing of the Common Prayer •, giving this inftance, which we omitted on a foregoing occafion ; in'z. * In the collect next unto the collect againft the pef- tilence, the claufe perhaps to be mended, For the honour of JeJKs Chrijl^s fake,^ 4. Bifhop Sanderson (e). ' The Church of EvgUmd^ both in the preface to tlie book of Com- mon prayer, and in the articles of her confeffion, and in fundry pafTages in the homilies^ occafionally, hath iii as plain and exprcfs terms, as can be defired, de- cJ^irr-; no the world, that any of her orders and con;iitu:;ons may be retained, abolilhed, or altered from time to time, and at all times, as the Gover- nors for the time being fhall judge to ferve bed un- to edification." Accordingly, in thofe days of con- fufion, v>?herein he delivered his thoughts upon this fubjeft, he wiilied, that feveral regu!a:ions might be made, to bring the Church and the Nation into bet- ter order •, and that to this end an humble fupplica- tion might be prcfented to thofe^ that had in their kartds the ordering of the great affairs of Church and State, that thty ivould in their goodnefs and ivifdoms make' fo-ne fpeedy and effeHual pro"cifion in divers re- fpci'^s, as the occafion of the times required •„ and particularly v/ith regard to preaching, which was then greatly abufed, men uttering (as he obferved) iDhat thy Hft, and indeed what was highly impro- per, and even prejudicial to Society. And with re- gard to order and difciphnc, fo extremely wanted both then and fince, he farther expreffeth his wifh, that the ecclefiafiical government might be timtly fettled (:) Vifitation-fcrmcn at Grantham, 1641. in ( 249 ) in fome fuch moderate and effcclual way\ as that it might not be either too much abufed by them that were to exercife it -, nor too much defpifed by thofe that mujl live under it. Otherwift he apprehended, that very- bad confequences might follow, for want of proper regulations made in time : Which accordingly came to pafs, almoit to the ruin of the Nation. Indeed, when the Nation began to be fettled again upon its ancient eftablifliment, and a review was under con- fideration, it was obferved, that this good man (then grown eld) difcovered too much of that common infirmity of age, peevifhncfs ; and was but little pleafed with thepropofals of amendment, that were made at the conference. Perhaps fome, or many of them, might appear to him to be unreafonable •, or to be urged in an improper mianner ; or his temper, naturally a good one, might have been impaired by his late fufferings. However, it is certain, as well from his o-vn declarations, as from thofi of others, that he was by no means againft, but for amend- ments, provided they were proper ones, and regu- larly made. J^hus we are told of him by one, who was intimately acquainted with him. * As to our ' Reformation, he had a great efteem for the mode- * ration of it, a great veneration for the inftruments ' employed by God in it, and a great love of that ' wholefome way of doctrine, life, devotion and ' government then compofed ; not that he was fuch * a formalifi:, but that he wiflied an alteration in ' fome words, phrafes, and method and order, to ' which change of times, or language, or the like, ' might invite ; tho' he judged all alterations, in * fuch grand and eifabliHi'd concerns of religion, ' fhould be done by the public fpirit, counfel and ' confent of the Prophets, Prince, and People. — ' As to conformity, no man had a more tender * heart to pity and pray for thofe, who, out of fcru- ^ pie or tcnderne.'s of confcience, were lefs fatisfied ' with ( 250 ) ' with fome things •, nor a gentler or more power- ' fill way to win or perfuade thofe, that were capa- ' ble, ingenuous and honeft. And he would fay ' with Bifliop Brownrig, that nothing was lefs * to be Jlickled for, or agahji, than ceremonies ; yet ' he was for obedience to governors, even in * thefe, — As to Church-government, he was pafTio- ' natcly inclined to any fair and fraternal acconimo- ' dation ; to the intent that humble, orderly, and * worthy Minifters might have all their due [allud- ' ing to difcipline, as we faw before,] and Bifliops ' no more than was theirs, by Scripture, primitive ' cuftoms, the laws of the land, and by principles ' of order and true goverment among all focieties ' of men. — And it was thought, that if [he had ' been promoted to the Prelacy before the wars be- ' gun, and] his excellent temper had fooner been ' added as an allay to fome other mens hotter fpirits, ' poflibly we had not feen things run to that difor- ' d e r an d rui n , /o which they afterwards did. — Fi n al 1 y , ' with regard to Church-cenfures, they were by him ' ferioufly and folemnly ufed, with great reverence, ' and on great occafions, that they might be re- ' ftored to the primitive efteem and veneration.* Special remarks on the life of Bifhop Sanderfon, 1 663 . 5. Dr. Hammond. ' The reftoring Epifco- * pacy to its due burthen, as well as reputation, were ' a care worthy of reformers •, and it is fo far from ' my defire, that any fuch care fhould be fpared, ' that it is now my public folemn petition both to ' God and man, that the power of the keys, and the ' exercife of that power j the due ufe of confirma- ' tion '^\ and (previous to that) examination and trial (^ Dr. Heylin, in his introduction to Archbidiop Laud's life, delivers it as his judgment, that if Suffragan Bifhops had been appointed, and confirmation duly adminiltred (after careful pre- paration. ( 251 ) trial of youth ; a ftri<5t fcarch into the manners and tempers, and fufficiences of thofe, that are to be ad- mitted into holy Orders^ and to be licenciate for public Preachers ; the vifitation of each PariJ^j m each diocefe, and the exercife of Church-difdplms upon all offenders ; together with painful, mature, and fober preaching and catechifing ; fiudies of all kinds, and parts of theological learning, languages, i^c. be fo far taken into confideration by our Law- makers, and fo far conlidered in the collating of Church-preferments and dignities ; fo much of duty required of Clergymen, and fo little left arbitrary and at large ; that every Church-preferment in this Kingdom may have fuch a due burthen annext to it, that no ignorant perfon fhould be able, no lax^ or luxurious perfon willing or forward, to undergo it. And if this m/ight be thus defigned, I Qiould then refolve, — that the fettling and continuing of this prefent government [in the Church] would prove the common interejl of all, and only the bur- then of thofe few, that have thofe painful office"^ af- figned them.* Conjiderations concerning Church-go- vernment, (1644). 6. Biihop Gauden. ' The ferious and fpeedy review of the EngliJJj Liturgy (much defircd by fome, and not much oppofed by others, that are learned and fober men, ^c.) as it can be of no more inconvenience than a new tranflation of the Bible was, if it be to the better •, fo I hope it miay be of good ufe for the explaining of fome words and paration, b^c.) in the times before our civil war?, Epifcopacy would have been more favored, and would probably have flood its ground. Dr. Breti's chapter of Suffragan Bijhops, in his trea- tife of Church -gonjernment, may well deferve to be confidered ; Ayherein he feems to make it but too evident, that fach Suffra- gans are abiblutely neceffar}', efpcciaily in large dioceieb ; and inpre particularly upon the account ot confirmations. phrafcs ( 252 ) phrafes in it, which are now much antiquated, ob- fcure, and out of vulgar underftanding ; which is no news after an hundred years, in which language, as well as all things under heaven, fufFer fome change. Alfo it may ferve for the quickning and improving of fome pafTages, which feem lefs devo- tional and emphatic than they may eafily be made : Alfo for the fupplying of fome things in point of daily praife and thankfgiving to God ; which duty feems lefs full and explicit in the Liturgy •, for the frequent doxology of Glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, as it is ancient, very excellent, and angelical, fo it might well bear fome larger cxprefiions of praife and thanks to God, whereby to fet forth the grounds, caufes, and juft fenfe we have to give all glory, praifes, and thanks to the eternal God, and the ever-bleiTed Trinity, for his infinite and undeferved mercies daily bellowed upon fuch unworthy finners, for this life and a better. This work once well and wifely done, as it may,, by God's blefling, much tend to the fatisfaflion of all fober Chriftians, fo it will not be any thing to the reproach of our Church, and of the Liturgy in the former plainer ways of worlhip, as either de- fective or incomplete for the main, ^c. but very fober, good, and fufficient as to neceflary ; only as one day teacheth another, fo there may be (as in all outward forms of divine worfhip) both harm lefs additions^ and innocent variations^ yea, and fome- times inoffenfive defalcations of fome redundancies, according as men, and times, and words, and man- ners, and cuftoms may vary. Therefore, in lefler things I can humbly and cliearfully confent to fuch pious, prudent, and improving alterations of the Liturgy,' ^c, Confideratiom touching the Liturgy, 1661. p. 22, &c. 7. Pro^ ( 253 ) 7- Propofals for amendments and improvements, made in 1668, by the Lord-Keeper Bridgman, Lord Chief Juftice Hale, Bifliop Wilkins, Dr. Burton, £s?r. ' That the Liturgy may be altered, by nfing the reading pfalms in the new tranHation. By appoint- ing fome other ie/Jons out of the canonical Scripture, in Head of thofe taken out of the apocrypha. By not enjoining godfathers and godmothers, when either of the parents are ready to anfwer for the child. By omitting that claufe in the prayer at ibaptifm, hy fpiritual regeneration. By changing that queftion, tVilt thou be baptized ? into, IVilt thou have this child baptized? By omitting thofe words in the thankf- giving after public and private baptifm, to regenerate this infant hy thy holy fpirit, and to receive him for thy child by adoption : And the firfl: rubric after bap- tifm, // is certain by God's word, &c. By changing thofe words in the exhortation after baptifm, regene- rate and grafted into the body, into, received into the Church of Chriji, By not requiring reiteration of any part of the fervice about baptifm in public, when it is evident, that the child hath been law- fully baptized in private. By omitting that claufe in the colle(5l after impofition of hands in confir- mation, after the example of thy holy Apoflles, and to certify them hy this fign, of thy favour, and gra- cious goodnefs towards them. And by changing that other pafTage in the prayer before confirmation, who hafi vouchfafed to regenerate, &c. into, who hajt vouchfafed to receive thefe thy fervants into thy Church hy baptifm. By omitting that claufe in the office of matrimony, with my body I thee worjhip : And that in the collccfV, who haft confecrated. Sec. By allow- ing Minifters fome liberty in the vif.tation of the fick, to ufe fuch other prayers, as they fhall judge I expe- C 254 ) expedient. By changing that claufe in the prayer at burial, Forafmuch c.s it hath plea fed almighty Ged oj his great mercy to take unto himfelj^ &c into, Forafmuch as it hath pleafed almighty God to take out of this world the foul^ &c. And in that claufe, in fure and certain hope^ &c. into, in a full affu- rance of the refurre^ion by our Lord Jefus Chriji, &ic. By omitting that claufe, IVe give thee hearty thanks for that it hath pleafed thee to deliver this our brother out of the miferies of this finful world : And that other, as our hope is this our brother doth. By changing that claufe in the communion fcrvice, cur finful bodies may be made clean by his body, &c. into, our finful fouls and bodies may be clean fed by his precious body and blood. By not injoining the read- ing of the commination. 't> That the Liturgy may be abbreviated, as to the length of if, efpecially as to morning-fervice, by omitting all the refponfal prayers, from O Lord open thou our. See. to the Litany : And the Litany [it- felf, meaning, we fuppofe, on Sundays (vi)] and all the prayers from, Son of God, ive befeech thee, &c. to, We humbly befeech thee, O Father, &c. By not enjoining the ule of the Lord's-prayer above once, viz. immediately after the abfolution, except after the Minifter's prayer before fcrmon. By ufing the Gloria Patri only once, viz. after the rcading-pfalms. By omitting the Venite exult emus, unlcfs it be thought fit to put any, or all of the firft feven [verfes] among the fentences at the beginning. By omitting the communicfi-fervice at fuch times as are not communion-days ; excepting the ten command- ments, which may be read after the creed : And en- ioining the prayer, Lord have mercy upon us, and in- {v) Unlcfs the true reading be, And in the I.'.tanj:, all the prayers from, Son of God, if^c. dine ( 255 ) dine our hearts to keep thefe laws, only once at the end. By omitting the collets, epjlles and go/pels, except only on particular Holidays. By infertini^ the prayer for the Parliament into the Litany, imme- diately after the prayer [or petition] for the royal Family, in this or the like form : That it may pleafe thee to direct and profper all the confiiltations of the high Court of Parliament, to the advancement of thy glory, the good of thy Church, the fafety honor and welfare of cur Sovereign and his kingdoms. By omit- ting the two hymns in the confecration of BiJJjops, and the ordination of Priefls. That after the firft queftion in the catechifm, What is your name? this may follow, PVhen was this name given you? And after that, IVhat was promifed for you in baptifm ? Anfwer -, Three things were promifed for me, &c. In the queftion before the commandments, it may be altered, Tou faid it was promifed for you, &c. To the fourteenth queftion. How many jacraments hath Chrift ordained ? the anfwer may be, Two only, Bap- tifm and the Lord^s Supper* Calamy^s Abridgment, ch. 12. fub ann. 1668. In ch. 8. p. 159. this wri- ter obferves from the Conformifls plea, [written by Mr. Pierce, a Clergyman] * that Dr. Allen of Hiin- ' tingdonfhire. Clerk in the convocation of i66r, ' carneftly laboured with Dr. Sheldon then Bifliop ' o^ London (afterwards ArchbiOiop) that they might * fo reform the Liturgy [then under confideration,] « as that no fober man might make exception : But * was wifhed to forbear ; for that what ftiould be, ' was concluded on, or refolved.' 8. Bifliop Croft. * I humbly befeech the Go- vernors of the Church calmly to confider, Were it not better to have fuch a form of fervice, as would fatisfy the moft ? The Fathers of our Church, when they reformed this nation from popery, were defi- rous to fetch off as many as they could ; retainincr, for r 256 ) for this caufe, all the ceremonies and forms of prayer they could with a good confcience: And therefore they prefcribed the form of fecond fervice to be faid at the altar, as carrying fome refemblance to the mafs, then the people's dehght ; which being now become the people's hate, fliould for the fame refemblance, according to the fame rule of reafon, be now taken away. We commend our fore-fa- thers for doing pioufly and wifely, and yet will not imitate them : They endevored to pleafe and gain the people •, we will needs difpleafe and lofe them. Certainly we cannot do our forefathers a greater ho- nor, than to obferve their rule of reafon, to con- form to the times. And therefore they are grofly miftaken, who think it a difhonor to them, for us to take away what they have efbabliflied, when we keep clofe to the reafon wherefore they did efiablifh it. Some other things I could mention in the book of Common-prayer (tho' no way ill in them- felves, yet) fit to be altered \ and would obvioufly appear fo to every wife man, were it refolved to compofe fuch a form, as would take in moil: of this nation (6; ; which I humbly conceive Governors fhould (6^ The Bifhop fpeaks of a ftrange fet of men la his time, who would mofi; paflionately and irreligiouily cry, * We will not * leave one ceremony, nor any one line of our Common-prayer, * to gain thoufands of idcot fedaries and mad fanatics : No, if ' vou alter that, we will rather leave tlie Church, and go to * the Papiib mafs.'' Whereupon his LordOiip makes this re- flection. If the J e he noi as Jimple fetlariei and viad fanatics as cry lic3tion. ( 258 ) life of it to the public adminiftration of baptifm ; [by the way, is it ever allowed to be ufed in pri- vate houfes?] or by leaving it indifferent, as the parents [fhall] defire it. As to kneeling at the Lord's fupper, fince fome pofture is neceflary, and many devout people fcruple any other, and the pri- mitive Church did in ancient times receive it in the pofture of adoration •, there is no reafon to take this away, even in parochial churches •, provided that thofe, who fcruple kneeling, do receive it with the leaft offence to others, and rather ftanding than fitting, becaufe the former is mofl agreeable to the pradice of antiquity, and of our neighbor reformed churches. As to the furplice in parochial churches, it is not of that confequence to bear a difpute one way or other. And as to cathedral Churches (i), there is no neceflity of alteration. — But there is a- nother thing, that leems to be of late much fcrupled in baptifm, viz. the ufe of godfathers and godmo- thers^ excluding the parents. Altho' 1 do not quef- tion but the pra6lice of our church may be juftified, &c. yet I fee no necefTity of adhering fo ftrictly to the canon here, but that a little alteration may pre- vent thefe fcruples, either by permitting the parents to join with the fponfors •, or by the parents pub- licly defiring the fponfors to reprefent them in of- fering the child to baptifm •, or, which feems moft agreeable to reafon, that the parents offer the child to baptifm, and then the fponfors perform the co- [i] In a bill agreed upon by a Committee of the Houfe of Commons, Nov. i8, 1680, the third article ran in thcfe words : * The ufe of the furplice to he ivhollv taken aivay, except in the * King's chapel, and cathedral churches.' [By the way, one would wonder, why To decent, and to us feemingly fo harmlcfs an attire, fhould be prohibited in other churches and chapels ;' unlefs perhaps to iave parifli-chargc, in fome very poor places.] Several other articles of the bill were the fame in fubllance with thefe propofals of Dr. Stillin^f.-e!. venanting i ( ^59 ) Venanting' part, repr^fenting the child; and the charge after baptifm be given in common to the pa- rents and Iponfors (n). JgGin. About the book of Common-prayer , ic ought to be confidered, (i) Whether, for the Sa- tisfa6lion of the fcrupulous, fome more doubtjid and obfcure pafTages may not be explained and a- mended ? Whether the new tranjlatioyi of the pfahns were not fitter to be ufed, at lead in parochial churches ? Whether the portions of canonical fcrip- ture, were not better put inflcad of apocrypha-kf- fons ? Whether the rubric about Jalvatlon of infants might not be reftored ro its former place in the of- f.ce of confirmation^ and fo the prefent exceptions againft it removed? Whether thofe expreOions, which fuppofe the exercife of difcipline^ in burying the dead^ were not better left at liberty in our prefent cafe ? Such a review.^ made by ivife and peaceable men, not given to wrath and difpucing, may be fo far from being a diflionor to this Church, that it may add to the glory of it. (a) Upon fuch a review, Whether it be not great reafon, that all perfons, who officiate in the Church, be not only tied to a con- ftant ufe of it [viz. of the book of Common- prayer] in all public offices, &c. but do declare at their firft entrance upon a parochial charge [and fhould not ail forts of curacies be here included ?] their approbation of the tife of it, after their own reading of it. (3) W^hether fuch a folemn uf.ng of the Liturgy, and approbation and promife of the ufe of it, may not be fufficient, indead of the late form of declaring their affent and confent^ which hach been fo much fcrupled by our brethren ? {it) Mr. Blvgham makes it very clear, that, in the primitive Church, parents were commonly fponfors for their ov/n chil- dren J Antiq^. B. xi. ch. 3. S z —There ( 26o ) There are other things very defirable to- wards the happinefs and flourifhing of this Church ; as the exercife of difc'pline in parochial churches, in a due fubordination to the Bifhop ; the reforming the ecclcfiafiiccd courts as to excommunication^ without prejudice to the excellent profeflion of the civil law ; the building of more churches in great parirties, ef- pecially about the city of London [which moft hap- pily hath been done fince, in great meafure, tho' more feem to be ftill wanting •,] the retrenching of pluralities •, the flriclnefs and folemnity of ordina- tions \ the making a book of canons^ fuitable to this age, for the better regulating the converfations of the Clergy. Such things as thefe might facilitate our union, and make our Church, in fpite of all its enemies, to become a praife in the whole earth.* Treface to the unreafonablemfs of feparation : Which book was firft publifhed in 1681. About two years after, a very confiderate and candid perfon pubhflied his thoughts upon the fame fubject, and fpoke exaflly to the fame purpoie, touching upon mofl of the articles, that this other learned man had done : And that was, 10. Bifhop Wetenh ALL. ' I do not conceive, that the alteration of an exprelTion, or perhaps here and there, of a v/hole prayer, or two, by law ; or the difpenfing with fome ceremony in hco, for the fake of fome unfatisfied, but otherwife regular Chrifl:ians (who are not fuppofed of the cathedral body) I fay, I do not conceive fuch concefTions or relaxations, as thefe, would break the harmony and beauty of our wcrfhip, or difturb the union and peace of our Church. I will therefore freely publifh my thoughts to be, that whether we confider the nature of the thing itfelf, or widi regard to the Apoflle's rule, not to pleale ourfelves, but every one of us to plcafe I his ( 26l ) his neighbor for his good to edification : in either regard, I fay, there are fome colkSis^ and perhaps rubrics too, which, with all duty and fubmiflion, I humbly conceive might be altered for the better. And further, that in fome feafons, and in fome private places, where ceremonies want that auguft- nefs, which the advantage of public and great con- - gregations gives them (and in which kind of affem blies they are chiefly requifite) if the obligation to a ceremony or two were taken off; the benefir, which might hence redound to the Church, would be very confiderable, both in refped; of profelytes, and ftrength thereby, as alfo perhaps in oth^r points. Then he goes on to fpecify the feveral particulars, which in his judgment might very well admit of proper alterations : e. g. He thought, that liberty fhouid be granted for exchanging apocryphal lejfcus for canonical ones ; that the calendar ought to be reftified ; that we fhould be allowed the ufe of the mod correct tranjlaiion of the pfalms in profe ; and that we want a better metrical verfion Ti), iSc.'' Pro- tejiant peace-maker, or a feafonable perfuafrue to all ferious Chrijlians to purfue charity^ peace, and union, &c. p. 1 1 8, 119, 120. And again, more gene- rally, on another occafion •, ' He that fhall fay, that under our prefent fcttlement, all that is eila- bliilit is abfolutely the befl:, and nothing can be a- mended, fays more than our Church does, and has (x) In his treatife on the ^ufy of finging [Duh'in, 1678) p. c;6c;, he fays, There is 710 TLr\^\{h verjion extant, that 1 ever yet could fee, 'which is tiot incomparably better than the prefent. He adds, that King fames the firft's excellent verfion has much bet- ter authority. And vve may fubjoin, that Mr. G, Sandys''^ ver- fion, dedicated to King fames, being more excellent than ei- ther, ought to be preferred to both, and confeqiienily to lia\e more authority. S % adiffi. ( 262 ) a difficult proof lies on him. There is fomethlng, Taith he, which is yet to be wijht •, and it is fufficient to fay, that what is eftabliQicd, is as well as for the time it could be. — People will not be perfuaded, but that in thefe days they ftand upon the fhoul- ders of all, who liave lived before them,' i^c. On prayer^ p. 201, 2. In the fame year (1682) a lay-gentleman, of the profeflion of the Law, occafionally touched upon this fubjed : viz. II. Mr. Hunt. * Can any man imagine, that any prejudice can accrue to the Church of England^ if fhe did enlarge her communion, by making the conditions of it more eafy ? efpecially it this may be done v/ithour ar.nulling any of her inftitutions ; which the better inflruded Chriftians will always, and the weak may in time, devoutly obferve. ' "Will it be any prejudice, that the number of her Bifliops be incrcafed, and thar Suffr^gam be ap- pointed or approved by the prefent Bifhops, in par- tem folicitudinis, as vi^as enacted by the liatute, 2 Hen. VIII. c. 14.? Which law was repealed by i, 2. Philip and Mary^ and revived by 8 Eli%. c. i. Thefe Suffragans were not intended to participate of their LordiTiips honours or revenues. — As to the canons, that enjoin ceremcnies (about whofe law* fulnefs there hath been fo much zeal mifpent, and unwarrantable heat and contention raifed) no good Bifhop but would relax them [if the laws would allovv'] for the fake of peace, and prefervation of the unity of the Church, to men peaceable, and otherw!'/e obedient to her injunctions. So dange- rcHS is it (as he reflc(5ls upon this occafion) to tiuike laws inrr.aUerscfreligicn^ which t ah the candii'J of re'iyon Jo much from the Guides of the Church.-- — Why iDay not Handing at the facramcnt be tolerat- ed ( 2^3 ) cd (tho' kneeling is the devoiitefl: geflure, and to me the mofl agreeable) when ic is a pofture of prayer enjoined in the primitive Church, in their Iblemn meetings for divine worfliip, between the feafts of Eajler and IVhitfontide ? Why may not the figning of the crofs in haptifm^ for the fake of peace and unity, be difpenfed with where defired, when the facrament is intire without it ? Why may not our public L'V^;ij, they may give place to the peace, fccurity and prefervation of religion itfelf, to whofc fervice they were fjrit framed ( 2^5 ) framed and defigned.' Pojifcript for reciifying fome mijtakes, &c. p. 89, 90, 91, 92, ^-^^ 100, 104. 12. Dr. Whitby. * It is certain, that our Church hath already altered her Liturgy at feveral times and in feveral parts, 'viz. the lejjons^ fejlivaby ceremonies^ rubrics^ collets, prayers^ the form of ad- mimjlration of the facraments^ the catechifm^ confir- mation^ marriage, the vifitation of the Jick, the bu- rial of the dead, and ccmmination ; and that fo much, that if our Rulers would be pleaf^d to change the prefent Liturgy as much from what it is, as it is altered from what it was in the days of Edward the fixth, I verily believe that alteration would render it acceptable to many, v/ho do now rcfufe fubmifllon to it : And why it may not now be altered for thefe great ends, as well as it was altered in the time of Qtieen Elizabeth, and [after] the return of our late '>") Sovereign, I am not able to divine.' And again, preffing the matter further in purfuit of another argument ; ' The Church of Chrift (faith he) hath judged it fit to alter many things, which were firft inliituted by the blefled (v) Apoftles [them- felves,] or by the primitive age of the Church : And yet I hope this tempteth no man to fufpect the wif- dom of the Apoftles of our Lord, or of the primi- tive profefibrs of ChriPcianity. Why therefore fliould a like pra6lice tempt any to fufpecl the wifdom of our firft Reformers ^'- It is certain [as was before obferved] that we have already altered many things, which were allowed, done, and praftifed by our firft Reformers : They at firft, retained chrifm, prayer/for the dead, baplifm by women, and many other things of a like nature. And if thefe things might be reformed, without refled:ion on their wifdom ; why (/x) The word late Teems to be a miftake for pre/en'. [v) The ki/s of charity, and tome other ufages, were laid afide. may ( 266 ) may not other things be fo ?* (E) Protefiant reconci- ler (1683) P- 296. 333^ 4- 13. Proceedings of the ecclejiajiical Commijfioners'wi iS^^ -—The determinations then ftttled were the following (each article, aflbon as agreed on, be- ing figned by the Bifhop of London,) viz. * That the cbaunting of divine fervice in the ca- thedral churches fhall be laid afide, that the whole may be rendred intelligible to the common people. (I) It were well, if a difcreet regard were had, to juft excep- tions, and reafonable demands ; and all good endevors ufed to give content, where it is wanted, even to private fubjefts. For even private fubjefts employ their tlio lights, and can difcern blemii^es, though they cannot mend them. But Governors can. We fee the fentiments and declarations of former times. Bro- ther Ij charity orf for a verlicle ? — Query, as to Thy g/on'ou,,—'OV Thine adorable — or Thy e.-ver-hleffcd, and, &c. (tt) This muft probably be a miilake, either for the Sth pfalm, or rather for the 148th, which feems to be extremely proper, and far more fuitablc than the Benedicite. illuf- { 26g ) hiotts, religious^ mighty^ Sec. and only the word Sovereign retained for the King and Qiieen. Thofe words in the prayer for the King, Grant that he may vanquijiD and overcome all his enemies^ as of too large an extent, if the King engage in an unjufl: war, fhall be turned, Profper all his righteous undertakings againji thy enemies, or after fome fuch manner (p). Thofe words in the prayer for the Clergy, who alone workejl great marvels^ as fubje6l to be ill- inter- preted by perfons vainly difpofed, fliali be thus, who alone art the author of all good gifts : And thofe v/ords, the healthful fpirit of thy grace, fhall be, the holy fpirit of thy grace -, healthful being an obfolete word. The prayer, which begins, O God whofe nature and property, (hall be thrown out, as full of ftrange and impertinent expreffions, and befides not in the ori- (p) It hath been obferved but too juflly, *' that it Is no fmall inconvenience of our Liturgy at leaft, that the things, which, perhaps, were formerly proper enough, but upon an alteration of circumfliances are found to be otherwife, cannot be altered without a grievous offence. This will be plain by giving an in- ftance. The members of this Church in King James the fe- cond's time were difpleafed both with his religion and defigns ; and thinking themfelves to be in great danger, they prayed hear- tily for the fuccefs of the Prince of Orange in private, but when they ufed the Liturgy in public, they pretended to pray, that God would jlrengthen King James, that he might •vanqnifo and o-verco7ne all his enemies. And io in \)cit Litany, they ufed thefe words : That it may fleafe thee to keep and ftrengthen, in the true iKiorjhipping of thee, in righteoufnefs and holinefs of life, thy fer- 'vant James, ow moft gracious King and Go'vernor. That it may pleafe thee to he his deftnder and keeper, giving him the njiBory o- %'er all his enemies, ^^ Dean Pride-.ux'^ obferv^ations (fee his LifCf publilhed 1,748) with thofe of feveral other judicious Writers, ^xa^Ttly concur v,ith thefe. ginal, ( 270 ) ginal, but foifted in fince by another hand ; [w'z, into the place where it now ilands. See Wbeatly in loc] The colk5ls for the moil part are to be changed for thofe, which the Bifliop Q^ChicheJler (?) has prepared -, being a review of the old ones with enlargements, to render them more fenfible and affedling ; and what exprefTions are needful, fo to be retrenched. If any Minifter refufe the furplice, the Bifbop (if the people defire it, and the living will bear it) may fubftitute one in his place, that will officiate in it : But the whole thing is left to the difcretion of the Biihops. If any defire to have godfathers and godmothers o- mitted, and their children prefented in their own names to baptifm^ it may be granted (t). About the Athanajian creeds they came at lafl to this conclufion : That left the wholly rejedling ic fhould by unreafonable perfons be imputed to them as Socinianifm, a rubric fhall be made, fetting forth, or declaring the curfes denounced therein, not to be reftrained to every particular article, but intended a- (?) Dr. Patrick. (t) Dr. Nichols feems to fpeak very candidly. Denlque fpon- deam^~-me minime repugnatiirum ejfe, Ji res aliquas indiJfferenteSf etfi longa ould from time to time feem either necef- firy or expedient : — And n.vhereas there are defers and abufes in the ecclefiafcical courts and jurifdiclions ; and particularly there is not fuficient pro-uifion made for the removing (?/Tcandalous IVli- niilers or People : And ^lereas it is 7nojl fit, that there Jhould be a fricl method prefcribed for the examination of fuch per Ions as defire to he admitted into holy orders, both as to their learninor and mcnners : We therefore^ SiC. Several ( 272 ) Several writings, drawn up by learned men of our Church, came out about this time, fliewing the reafonablenefs and neceffity of making proper alte- rations, and anfwering obje6tions, ^c. Amongft others, Dr. Prideauxs Letter to a Friend, relating to the prefent Convocation at IVe/lminJier, Dtf- courfe concerning the ecclefiajiical Commiffionr Vox fopulu — Vox Regis iS Regni. — Letter to a Member of Parliament^ &c. In this lad piece, it was juftly obferved, ' That no alteration was intended, but ' in things declared to be alterable by the Church it'^ ' felf. And if things alterable be altered upon the * grounds of prudence and charity ; and things de- ' fe6live be fupplied ; aiid things abufed be reftor- ' ed to their proper ufe \ and things of a more or- ' dinary compofition revifed and improved ; whillt * the do6lrine, government, and worfliip of the ' Church remain indre, in all the fubftandal par,ts of ' them •, we have all reafon to believe, that this will * be lo far from injuring the Church, that on the * contrary it fhali receive a great benefit by it.' p. 2. (%) — We would only remark further under this head, that whereas few, if any, of thofe learned men, who treated upon the ilibjcd at this time, thought fit to fet their names to their writings ; thofe, who are concerned in the prefcnt application, will, {■)() Dr. Beveridae, in his fermons before this Convocation, l68q, tho' not concurring in the propoials of alterations, ac- knowledged, that * nothing was [anciently] more ufLial with all ' the Churches of God, than when times and necc-nity recjiiired * it, to change the laws made by themfelves, to abrogate old * ones, and fjbflitute others and perhaps different ones in their ' ftead. This cannot be unknown to any one, who is verfed in ' ccclcfiallical hillory.' Nor is it unknown to thofe, who are verfed in our own, why feveral great men of the Church tiiought fit to oppofe the alterations, that were fo cahnly and fo honora- bly propofcd at this time. See /'//Vc'^ma-'s I.ife, and other late hiftories and account?, relating to thefe affairs and times. ir ( ^73 ) it is hoped, be judged to be the more excu fable, in that they have chofen to follow the example of men of fuch prudence and experience ; whofe writings relating to an affair of fuch importance, they cannot but wifh were re-publijhed at this time. Which done, would amply juftify the prefent undertaking to thole, who may not think its own reafonablenefs and inofFenfivenefs fufficient to juftify it. 14. Mr. Dawson. * As to ohfokte exprejftons, apocryphal lejfons, and a bad verfion of the pfalms ufed in our divine fervice ; 'tis plain enough, from the nature of the thing, that ail obfolete words ought to be laid afide, and others more modern put in the room of them : For obfolete words are fuch, as are out of ufe, and whofe meaning is not com- monly known ; and if this be not amended, we fhall be guilty of what we accufe the Papifts of, viz. of praying in an unknown tongue. Apocryphal lejfons indeed are not fo proper as thofe of canonical Scripture ; yet many in the books of Wifdom and Eccleftajiicus contain canonical truth ; and by which the people may edify more, than by many chapters of fome hiftorical books, which have been always ac- counted canonical. The verfion of the pfalms will not be found fo bad as feme think it, whenever they go about to make a new one, &c. But indeed it is to be wiflied there was an effay made for a bet- ter verfion. Upon the whole matter, I am not of the mind of thofe (if any fuch there be) who think our Liturgy fo compleat and perfe6l, as that it cannot in any thing be corredted and amended. [Only he would have no change made without ne- ccfTity.] Origin of laws (1694) B. VI. ch. 9. 15. In the year 1710, there appeared a very ho- neft and modeft performance, without a name (but done by a ferious and worthy Member of this T Church) ■' / ( 274 ) Church) addrclTing the two Hoiifes of Parliament, with the Bifhops and Clergy in Convocation, for a review, in feveral propofitions, that appear to be very reafonable -, amongft which, this was one : * Prop, 5. That a cerlain nmnber of Divines, &c. be authorized Ij Commijfwn to review the book of Com- mon-prayer and adminillration of the facraments •, and to make fuch alterations therein, as may clear the fenfe where doubtful, and give fatisfaElion to tender confciences. There are fome things in the Li- turgy, for the amendment of which many pious and fober men wifh. It muft be confefc, that frequent and unneceflary alterations in the public forms of worfhip are neither defirable nor expe- dient, and tend very much to make men's minds unfetded and wavering •, but yet it doth not follow, that all alterations are unreafonable or unlawful. In fome cafes it is unreafonable to deny them : For fomctimes there is a neceffity for them. Words fre- quently change their fignification, and men their cuftoms : Many things, that have long lain in obfcu- rity, are at laft difcovered. And as it is in this re- fpe£l with other things, fo alfo is it with many leficr truths. We, who ftand as it were upon the Ihoul- dei»s of our forefathers, do fee farther than they could. Thefe things frequendy render it necelfary to alter many things in the public offices of the Church, as often as either words change their figni- fication, or men their curtoms -, as often as, by the increafe of knowledge, thofe truths, which have hi- therto lain long hid in obfcurity, are better and more clearly underRood by men of learning and piety. As therefore (they are the words of a great man, but a little tranfpofed) all men ought on the one hand to avoid the imputation of a defultory levity, as tho* they loved changes for change fake -, fo on the other hand we muft avoid a fullen adhering to things, becaufe they were once fettled, as if points of honor i ( '^IS ) Kbnor were to be maintained here ; and [as if we thought] that it looked like the reproaching of a conftitution, or the wifdom of former ages ('-4/), to alter what They did : Since it is certain, that what was wifely ordered at one time, may be as wifely changed in another. There have been feveral alte- rations made already in the public fervice of the Church fince the Reformation : and why therefore may it not be lawful to alter a few things now ? Is there nothing in it fit to be confidered ? Are there no expreflions in it doubtful, the fenfe whereof it is fit fliould be cleared up ? Many things might be of- fered out of the Liturgy as worthy of confidera- tion, becaufe they are now made the fubjeft of de- bate ; but we would not prefume to dicfbate to our Superiors, and therefore refer ourfelves to them to confider and determine what is fit to be altered in it.' Effay towards a comprehenfwn^ or a perfuajive to unity among fi Protejiants^ p. 91, 2, 3, and 68. 16. Bidiop Kennet.' * Let us hope and pray, that whatever addition can be made to our happi- nefs, God in his time will add thofe things unto us. In the churches of Corinth and Crete, planted by an Apoftle, there were fome things wanting to be af- terward y^/ in order {a): And where is perfe<5lion but in the Church of the firft-horn in heaven? May we not wifh for fome little fuppletory offices to our excellent Liturgy ; efpecially for admitting converts, and reconciling penitents, to our faith and commu- nion ? May we not defire a reformation of the ec- (kjiajlical laws, in fome fuch method, as the wifdomr (4/) On the other hand, it is rightly enough obferved, that ihofe^ ivho are not oiier-fanguine ,Jee and lament the confequences of long negle£ling to review eftablifhments, and fuffering the public ivifdotn o/'paft ages to fer^ve here, and here onh', for all tollowing ones. Archdeacon La reign, * very commendably declare [in their Liturgy] at the adminift ration of baptifm, a- gainft chriftening in private hoiifes,* Eccl. hiji. vol. 2. p. 401. And it is a jufl: complaint, which a liring author makes, that ' many are extremely foliritous about their children being admitted to baptifm forthwith in a private zvay^ efpecially if they be not very like to live, tho' to thofe only, who do, are C 3" ) are moft parts of the office evidently appropriated. On the leaft indifpofition, the Clergyman is fent for, at all hours of day or night, and they grow quite inconfolable, if any one fhould happen to die unbaptized on any account : but if that ceremony once be got huddled over, they think all is done, or are very willing to truft Providence for the reft.* Nat. and necejf. of catech, p. 4, 5. (x) Sponfors (tt) a Query here occurs. Suppofing (what happens not un- frequently, efpecially in populous places) that two, not to fay more infants, are brought to the Church, in time of divine fer- vice, upon a Sunday or Holiday ; the one to be baptized, the other, having been baptized already, to be recei'ved as one of the fiock of true chrijiian people : In this cafe, which of the two offices is to be ufed ? or is the Miniller to read both ? If he reads them both, is there not a manifeft inconveniency ? If but one, is there not as manifeft an Inconfiftency ? for we chufe not to fay, abfurdity. The particulars need not be fuggefted, in either cafe ; they are fo obvious. Well then, here at leaft (or we are greatly miftaken) there wants fome new regulation, or better diredlion than we have at prefent. And if it be want- ing, it will furely be granted. Elfe a worfe charge will follow, than that of inconfiftency ; and a charge, that will always ftick to our Church, till things are mended. ■ ■ - Again ; fuppofmg two infants (tho' more may fometimes happen) to be brought to the Church at the fame time, to be baptized. How is the Minifter to addrefs the Sponfors ? Is he to apply the fame words to all indifcriminately, as undertaking for both the children a- like ? (for the words of the office make no fpecial provifion in this cafe : ) or is he to read over the fame office twice ? viz. once to each of the parties feparately ? *-— Is there no occafion then for a review ? • -Let thefe and the like inftances, whe- ther of defed or impropriety, or both, be pafTed over and difregarded ever fo much, and ever fo long, ftill the world will judge, and not without reafon blame. Nor will it be poffible to remove the difparagement, that falls upon the Church on thefe accounts, till it {hall be found poffible to amend the offices, and till they are adtually amended. Kf^ If the governing Powers, whether in Church or State, or both, Ihall think fit, upon thefe and the like remonftrances, to condefcend to give proper diredlion and encouragement (which may eafily be done, without knowing any namest if there be but a willingnefs to confent and contrive) there is fufficient X 4 reafon ( 312 ) Sponfors in baptifm.] Dr. Jackfon fubmlts it to the confideration of the higher Powers, whether there fhoLi Id not be a. folemn adjlipulation required, that the baptized infants fhall at years of difcretion be brought to ratify their vow at baptifm, inpubhc? On the creedy B. lo. ch. 50 — With regard to the injlitution, Bp. Fleetwood obfcrves, that ' the ancient Chriftians had more and other reafons to proceed upon, than the Jate or modern ones had, or can have ; and intimates, that the Church would con- nive at a relaxation in fome difficult cafes.' Charge, 1710,' tit. I. qu. 8, 9. And as to the akife of this jnflitution, it has been complained of by many. Two or three may fuffice here. Dean /Iddijon ob- ferves, that this pious cujlom is by many turned in- to an idle ceremony ; [in effeft doing no more than what Platna lells us the fureties do in the Ch. of Rome, viz. hold the child in their arms till it is baptized, and give it a name.] Primit. infiitution (167.4.) p. 210, 201. Mr. Saywell', — that ' feveral irregularities have crept into the ulage of godfaihers and godmothers : Which appointment, as it is now often perform.cd, is liable to cavil, and deformed by fome indecencies, which are direflly contrary to the mind of the Church.' Divine orig. of confirma' ticn (1710J p. 42. Another obferving and judi- cious perfon remarks as follows : ' That once va- luable inftitution oi fponfors is now fo much dege- nerated, as ro become matter of fcandal to diffen- ters, and of triumph to unbelievers, and of fo little benefit to ourfelves, as makes it doubtful, whether it be worth retaining. No objeflion lusagainft the appointment in itfeif •, yet as it now ftands, it is no fee urity reafon to helieve, that great numbers, both of Clergy and Lai- ty, will from henceforward join openly in petitioning for a r^'iew. At prefent they feem only tp wait the iffuc of this application. ( 3^3 ) fecurity at all ; and can ferve, I fear, only to re- proach us : as may, perhaps, be the cafe with feme other things originally of great ufe and expedience in the Church.' Necef. of catech. p. 12, 13. SECT. XVI. Burial- office.'] The rubric fays, that this office is not to be uftdfor any, that die excommunicate. But, as Archbifhop 1'iliotfon oblerves, was the ancient difciplifie of the Church (which he confefles was ever- rigorous) in any degree pit in pra5!ice now ; in what herds and poals would men be driven out of the communion of the Church ? vol. I. fer. 67. The confequence, we prefume, would be, that this office would, comparatively, be but feldom read. See TVheatly, arguing the cafe of ipfo fa5Io excommuni- cation, p. 494. — The abfolution o{ xht Church (faitb the author of the remarks on Bifhop Sanderfon^ life) belongs to all that die in the true faith and blefjed hope of penitent finners^ From whence it feems rea- fonable to argue, that it doth not belong to any, who do not die in fuch faith and hope : And if the ahfolution of the Church doth not belong to fuch perfons, can her burial with any propriety be fup- pofed to belong to them ? Suppofing this argument to be of any force, if hereupon it (hould be aflvcd, Over whom then may the burial office be read with a fafe confcience ? the anfwer is, Over ali thofe, to whom thcPrieftcan with a fafe confcience pronounce the abfolulion in the office oj 'vijiting the fick. Such are thofe Chriflian fouls., of whom one of the ho- milies fpeaks, which being truly penitent for their of- fences, depart hence in perje5t charity., and in fure trufi., that God is merciful to them., forgiving their fins for the merits of Je fits Chrifl. Dr. 'Nichols fays, ' Ac- cording to the rules of Chriflian charity^ we hope for the falvation of every deceafed perfon, who dies within ( 3H ) _ • within the pale of the Chuich ; as thinking we can- not, without tlie grcateft arrogance, exclude any in our private judgment, from the common reward of Chriftians, whom the Church hath not thought fit [which the Church kldom does] to exclude by her puolic cenfure.' De/. p. 319. To which, common realbn and ingenuity would direft men of plain un- derftanding to make the very fame anfwer, that was made by fome of the Commiffioners at the Savoy ^ at the lall review ; viz. Some cxpreflions in the of- fice [when applied indifcriminately] are inconjijlent with the large.Ji rational charity. VVhich caufed the late Mr. Feirce of Exeter (whofe Vindication, by the way, was never anfwered) to make this decla- ration, which deferves more than a flight regard ; ' Thefe words to be faid of every one, that is buried, ' appear to be fuch, as would juflify our fepara- ' tion, if we diQikcd nothing elfe.' The decla- ration of Archbifhop Sancroft is well known, and is confirmed again by Calamy, in his fecond edition of the abridgment., with further allegations : The Archbifliop owned to Dr. Tillotfon, that ' he him- ' fclf was lb little fatisned with the burial-office, that ' for that very reafon he had never taken a cure ' of fouls.' The prefent Bifliop of Winchejler (who hath written the bed of any upon this moft difficult fubjed) doth, like a man of candor, and a friend to truth, make the following free and in- g nuous declaration : * It muft be owned, and it "■ IS too plain to be denied, that in fuch cafes as ' you n"'.ention, of men cut off in the midjl of noto- ' r'.oiis fins, drunkennefs, adultery, murder, &c. this * oflice is wholly improper : and fure, we need not « doubt, but that at length fome regard will be had to ' the repeted dcfires of many of the bed defenders * of the CUnrch •, and this ground of objection a- ' gaif^ft it wholly removed.' Reafons of conformity, p 62. Mr. Ohfc\ faving, (third defence, p. 144.) ' To ( 315 ) * To avoid noife, we could eafily withdraw our- ' felves, when fuch perplexing cafes happen,' feems by no means fatisfadory. For the dead muft be buried by fome Minifter, and according to the of- fice. Mr. Wheatly fpeaks much better. ' It mufl ' be confeffed, that it is very plain, from the whole ' tenor of this office, that the compilers of it, pre- * fuming upon a due exercife of difcipline, never * fuppofed, that any would be offered to Chriflian ' burial, who had not led Chriflian lives, i^c. And * if this (which feems the beft glofs, that our pre- ' fent circumflances will admit of) be not fatisfadio- ' ry, there feems to be no other remedy left, than ' that our Governors fhould leave us to a difcretio- * nary ufe of thefe exprefTions, either 'till they be ' altered by public authority •, or, which is much ' rather to be wifhed, 'till difcipline be fo vigoroufly ' exercifed, that there be no offence in the ufe of * them.' In Ice. p. 515. See vox populi^ p. 5, &c. Church of Rn^2Ln. Mr. {IV.) Nelfon, Bifhop 5ttr- 7tet. One of his predecefibrs (Bifliop Henchman) irl 3661, propcled and brought in a draught of new canons i AS] a Convoc. fcfs. 18. vid. fefs. 50, 53, fiPf. And new ones were defigned by the Convoc. in 1700. Now that the Sovereign may alter the canons at his pleafure, is allowed and afferted by Archbifliop IVhitgift, in his letter to Qiieen Eliza- beth, 1584. ' ( 3 . ) For Church -War dens oaths ^ vid . Bifliop Fletcher''^ orders for regulating the ecckjiafli- c:al courts, 1595. Sir Edward Dering'^ complaint in Parliament, 1641. Sp. p. 23. Prideaux^s, life, p. 100, &c. Apply Bifhop Burnet on art. 39th, p. 394, &c. (4.) With regard to the negled: of catechizing, we forbear making any references ; they are Xo numerous, and withal fo well known : As are alfo the complaints concerning our various grievances. Yet, among other numerous complaints on this "head, fee Grievances of the Church of En- gland, zvhicb are not in the power of its Governors to remedy ; fuppofed to be done by Archbifliop Tenifon. And it m,ay poflibly be worth inquiring, what were the contents of a MS. of Dr. Bajtre, intitled Grava- Xivna ecclefiafiica, lately exhibited to fale by OJhorn. And as to our v/ant of ^/yt-.'^Z/W in particular •, to the complaints and remonfbrances already produced (under the ofKce of commination) add the following obfervation of V Efirange •, which feems to demand more peculiar notice from thofe, who look upon our conllitution ^s being in all refpecfls truly primitive. * That thi? mofl: laudable, moft edifying way of Chriftian reformation by eccleliaftical cenlijrej, fliould, i.n a Church aflliming the flyle of reform- (d, be fo almoft totally abandoned : That a difci- pline fo apoftolica!, lb primitive, fnoulJ, in a Churchj juitly pretending p be the very parallelo- ( 3^9 ) ^am and true reprefentation of thofe excellent co- pies (t), be fo Very near invifible : That the re- Jlauration thereof fhoiild hitherto become the vote [or wifh] of fo many, and the endevor of fo few ; is to me a very great wonder. Alii. ch. xi, SECT. XXI. The Homilies.] Several learned and judicious writers have found fault (u) with thcfe compofitions, (t) TheChurf^b of England, the Joundefl in doSlrine, and near eft in difciplinc to the primitive, of all the reformed Churches in Chriftendom. Dr. Mat. Grifith\ fermon at Mercers-chapel^ lb6o. (y Bifhop Onjerall (in Nichols\ appendix) afferts ' that the au- [vve prefume he means authors] of the homilies wrote them in ' hajte ; that the Lhurch did wilely to referve the autliority of correiling them, and of fetting forth others ; and that they have in them many fcapes in fpecial, thb' they contam in (general many wholfome lefTons for the people ; in which fenfe our Minillcr's do fubfcribe unto them, and in no other.' Bifhop Bumet allowr, that they need a little correSlion or explanation ; and fays, the Scriptures are often applied in them, as they njoere then under jto:d; not fo critically, as they ha-ve been explained ftnce that time. Exp. on art. 35. — As to fuhfcription to them, ooinions are varioi.s, and no public authority, that we know of, hath inlerpofed to decide the queftion. Amongft others of our Cler- gy, Mr. 'ihomas, in his anfwer to Onxrcn, p. 103, infiftc^ that fhe buok of homilies, and the forms of confecration and ordination being included in the 39 articles, are therefore to be fuhfinbel 13ifhop Bu>-net allows it in a qualified fenle, and fays, that enjer^ one, ^ojho fubfcribes the articles, ought to read the homilies ; other- ivife he fubfcribes a blank. Bifhcp Bull is of the moderate opi- nian. Exam, cenfuya, animadv. 23. So was Archbilhop Laud Dr. Bcnnet, &c. And a proper query, relating to the doftrines of the homilies, may be 'itnTx'wiVEftrange, p. 335. Dean ./4i/- dion (who was of the fame judgment) was for a fupply of neiu ones, Primit. inllit. ch. xi. As v/cre aifo the foliovvitig Writers • BilTiop Crof, Nak. Tr. f spins, Bp. Sprat, charge, i6nr • \vhere he gives Tome (hrewd reafons. See likewife the difmirfe of Parliaments (1677) p. I02, and the /rif/^ce to the homilies may be confiilled, with the reafons there given for fuch difcourfes ■ which may "be applied in f;\vor tf compofing new ones. and C 330 ) and thought them not fuitable for the prefent times. Others have wiflicd for new and better. As for oiirfelves, having given our fentiments in the Bif- ^uiJJtions, we fhall decline pafling any judgment here. Yet, 'till we are favored with a better Cct, we cannot well be blamed, if we defire, that the prefent may at leaft be revifed and altered. For which we prefume there will appear but too much reafon, when the following particulars are confi- dered. 1. As to frequent errors in the prints we pafs them over, taking notice only of one, which has perhaps kept its place in all imprefTions except the firft by Whitchurchy in 1547, which in the third ferm. of good works ^ hath ■palms ^ candels^ &c. (the only true reading) inftead of pfaims^ the falfe one. 2. The homilies abound with words either obfo- kte, or taken now in a different fignincation, or not eafy to be underftood by the vulgar, or c\k fuch as are too coarfe, and difagreeable to the modern tafte, &c. — Evilnefs^ repentant^ ire^ corfes, craking^ they phantafy •, ///y, for poor ; jnanjlaughter, for murder •, vantage, dankijh, jollowingly^ reknowlege, Ggnife, ahufwns, repugned^ accombred^ ftth, Jithence^ certes, eftfoons, panims, ethnics, evangely, fumner, pointels : finners called dizzards^ blinkards, Jlallands^ dajlardly daws, Sec. Add, the cucking-Jlool, mtntion- ed as being due to fome of them. 3. Names of perfons and places, &c. Achab, Helias, Hieroboam, Core, Abiron, Abfolon •, Hierome, *Theoph\lajins, Origines \ Philippus King of Macedo- me ; king of the Francons named Charles % the Dolphin of France, Sec. Gomorrhe, Hierico, Euro- pa. — Books of Scripture cited by names lefs known in modern times i as thus, i Reg. 2 book of Kings^ for C 33^ ) for 2 bock. 0^ Samuel ', 3d book of Kings ; Parali^ fomenon \ Ofee, Micheas^ Abacuc^ Agg^-> ^gg^^i^-, Sa- lience, Jpocalypfe, See. N. B. Our calendar ftill retains /Ipoc. lor Revelation. 4. Incorrect language ; odd phrafes and expref- fions ; fome applications very coarfe ones, &c. — ■ But and if, &c. Without any our defe5f. Nor the faith alfo doth not.— Corporal health ; have the over^ hand \ an overthijijart judgment ; fcant 'well learned men ; ere them ' up \ glued with concord \ lewd reme- dies \ exercife fome godly travels ; hahility to lead a fole (i.e. fingle) life ; the right trade unto heaven ; a poor parfonage ; Lazarus that pitiful perfon ; Chriji^ God's natural fon ; the burden of fin lie lb heavy in our neck ; return unto God by penance ; fo fJoall ye fjcw yourfelves to be fweet-hread unto God. The whole puddle of fins •, that your fiomachs may be moved to rife againfi it \ fall down on their marrow -bones ; prancing in their pride., pranking a?id pricking, point* ing and painting themfelves. ' O thou woman, not ' a Chriftian, but worfe than a panim, thou mini- * fter of the devil, why pampereft thou that car- ' rion-flefh fo high, which fometime doth ftink on ^ the earth as thou goefl: ? Howfoever thou perfumed * thyfelf, thy beaftlinefs cannot be hidden or over- * come with thy fmells and favors. — But perchance * fome dainty dame will fay and anfwer me,' &c. Much wicked people pafs nothing to refort to the church, — as may appear by this, that a wornan faid to her neighbor ; ' Alas, gofTip, what fhall we now do ^ at church,' &c. 5. Mary expreffions and obfervations, which can with no fort of truth or propriety be now applied or read in our churches -, as being peculiar only to the times, in which the homilies were written, or elfe re- lating to thofc immediately preceding, as but lately paft, pafl, ^c. * Feigned religions of late days among us. Is it not moft evident that the Bifhop of Rome hath of late attempted by his Iriflj Patriarchs and Bifliops to break down the bars and hedges of the pubhc peace in Ireland, to abufe the igno- rance of the wild Iridj men ? &c. Religion now of late beginneth to be a color of rebellion. Rebels cut and tear in fundcr God's holy word, and tread it under their feet, as of late ye know was done. The rude and rafcal Commons have moved re- bellions ; and the flag or banner born by rebels hath the image of the plough painted therein, with God fpeed the plough^ written under in great let- ters •, and fome rebels fear the pidure of the five wounds painted in a clout by fome lewd painter ; yea, they paint withal in their flags, Hcc figno vincis, &c. — In cur merAory God took away our good Jofias^ King Ediiuard, — Defend thy fer- vant our Queen Elizabeth. Cur gracious So- vereign \_Elizaheth'\ that fiow is. — God hath fent us his high gift, our moft dear Sovereign Lord King James [in the firft edition King Edward the fixth.] AW' tvvo meals be permitted on the f^Jling day, which our elders did ufe with one only fpare meal, and that in fifh only. — The corruption of thefe latter days hath brought into the church infinite multitudes of images, decked with goW and filver, fet with ftone and pearl, clothed with filks and precious vcftures, i^c. Thefe words h^mw almoft in every map's mouth ; He is a gofpeller, he is of the new fort, he is of the old faith, he is a new broached brother, he is a good catholic father, i^c. Divorces now a days be commonly ufed by men's private autliority. — In our time, and here in our country, every fliire fhould fcarcely have one good preacher, if they were divided. A true preacher is in very many * place? ( 333 ) * places fcarcely heard once in a whole year, and * fomewhere not once in feven years, as is evident * to be proved. — We cannot now hear Tinging and * playing upon the organs at church, that we could ' before. — The great Turk is now in Europe^ at the * borders of lialy^ at the borders of Germany, gree- * diiy gaping to over- run our country. Above ' thirty years paji, the great Tm'k had over-run ' twenty chriftian kingdoms, &c. 6. ' The old trandation Jlili retained in all quota- ' * tions of Scripture. — The lute, harp and fhalme. ' Return as far as unto me. What time foever a ' finner doth return, i^c. He correfteth us to our * nurture. Being of one mind, of one opinion, * Having our loins girt about with the verity, and * [being] fhod with (hoes prepared by the Gofpcl. ' We have a courage and defire rather to be at: * home with God, far from the body. If we fay, ' that we have company with God. Whatfbever * ye have done to any of thefe fimple perfons, which ' believe. The children of the marriage cannot ' mourn. Rulers are not fearful to them, that do * good : The high powers be God's lieutenants : He * is the minifter of God to thee for wealth. What ' fimilitude will ye fet up unto God .? Like be they * unto the images, that make them. In the firil * day of the fabbath, ^c. 7. May it not be humbly queried, whether the compilers of our homilies were always competent judges of the fenfe of Scripture : Speaking of what they elfewhere call hirth-fin, S. Paul in many places painteth us cut in our colore, calling us the children of the wrath of God, when we be born^ &c. David [aith, I was conceived in fins : He faith not fin, but fins ^ for a f much as out of ane fpringeth all ike ■reft. r 334 0 refi^ &c. ((p). — Nozv to make plain to ycu what is the fenfe and meaning of thefe -words. We are at the mar- riage, and, the bridegroom is taken from us -, ye jhall note, that fo long as God reveleth his mercy unto us, and giveth us of his benefits, either fpi ritual or corporal, we are faid to be with the bridegroom at the marriage. // is not without caufe, that the Scrip- ture doth fo many times call all men here in this world hy this word, earth : O thou earth, earth, earth, faith Jeremy, hear the word of the Lord. 1'his our right name, calling and title, earth, earth, earth, pro- nounced by the Prophet, floeweth what we be indeed. — And do they not too frequently favor the allegorical manner of the interpreting the Scriptures, ufed by feme of the Fathers ? e. g. / (faith St, Jerome, upon the Prophet Aggej do think the filver, where- with the houfe of God is decked, to be the doctrine of the Scriptures, &c. And I do take gold to be that, which remainetb in the hid fenfe of the faints, and the fecret of the heart, &c. Which is evident that the Apoftle alfo meant of the faints [alluding to i Cor. iii. 1 2. J that by the gold, the hid fenfe, by filver, godly (