A letter from a bifccltsfwitii. 1 J, Fith©rspoon» 1791. miiBis^rar Gift of Henry R. Wagner L fe T T E R t\ - FROM A T • THE MINISTERS and ELDERS OF TH I CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. IN WHICH THE MANNER- OF PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THAT CHURCH IS CONSIDERED ; j . « 9 ITS INCONVENtENCIES AND DEFECTS POINTED OUT J AND METHODS FOR REMOVING THEM HUMBLT PROPOSED*' A NEW E D I T I O Kj Prefaced by a brief Account of fome late Publications Otf THE LEADING POINTS AT ISSUE BETWEEN Proteflant Diffenters and the Church of England, £y the editor. Be not rajh with thy mouth, and let not thine heart he hajiy to utter any thing kef ore God: fir God ii in Heaven, and thou upon Earth i therefore let thy -words iefeiv. V Eccl. v. 2. I will fray tuith the Spirit, . and I toil! pray with the tmderjianding alfi. i Cor. xiv, ij» ¦SOLD ST MESSRS. RIV'INCTONS, ST. PAUL'S CHVR«H-YARD. 1791* PREFACE. JL Hjs is the reprint of a pamphlet which has been long known, and much efteemed, both in the learned and religious world. Apart from its apportion to the^prefent pre vailing topics of difcuffion among the ferious and thinking of all perfuafions, it is written with fo much Solidity, vivacity, perSpicuity, and force, that the credit both of letters and of eloquence feems in fome meafure interested in its prefervation. But, faving afew cuStoms peculiar to the preSbyterian form of worShip in Scotland, which our Blackfmith has Speci fied and expofed, his animadverfions apply with Singular propriety to the levity, wild- nefs, and foolery, which characterize the public Services of religion among feveral Sec taries in England. The fober and rational views here given of that tribute which is due and natural from reafonable creatures to their Maker, Preferver, and Redeemer; of the temper, character, and tendency, of fuch a devotion as is beft calculated to make men happy and ufeful ; and of the proper Spirit with which facred inftru£tion ought to be diSpenfed, cannot, in the editor's opinion, be a more 11 PREFACE, more. feafonably preffed upon the public at tention, than while the fluggiSh and heartlefs formality of fernifceptics, the rant and buf foonery of every conventicle, and all the efFervefcence of the loweSt enthuSiafm, are new vamped and coalefced to oppofe the church, for the charitable purpofe of annihilating her establishment, and rioting in her ruins. In the refolutions, petitions, and various in struments published by ProteStant Diffenters, appeals are made to their political exertions with as much gravity and confidence, as if they had exclusively and repeatedly faved the country. The editor has endeavoured, Sbr his own Sa- tisfaclion, to re- colled: fuch events from the faithful depository of hiSlory, as were moSt likely to infpire the lofty tone in which thefe men vaunted, and Still vaunt, of their me rit. Nothing of very great or general im portance, he prefumed, could have been achieved by them, or any other party in the State, not publickly acknowledged, or even fome where recorded to their honour. His refearch was certainly not without abundance of patience and induStry ; but has, notwith standing, been fo abortive, that he has not been able to afcertain a Single fa&, which in any degree authenticates their allegations. The inference he would draw from this characleriStick circumstance is happily and ably PREFACE. Ui ably fupported by Hijiorical Memoirs of Reli gious Dijfenjion * juft published. Thefe Me moirs demonstrate, by a Series of proofs pal pably inconteStible, all his fufpicions of Salfe pretenfion, and lay open the whole SyStem of imposition and deceit, whence the church's adverfaries have hitherto borrowed their, moft plauSible arguments. — This is not all. The detail, inftead of difcloSing important obliga tions conferred on the community at large by their public Spirit, actually brings to light fuch a catalogue of black praftiffes, perpe trated under the faireSt pretexts, as ought to cover the whole body with confulion, and Shut their mouths for ever. The author commences his relation ,by Slating it as a maxim, that the dread of Popery has ever been the foundation of diffenting pa- triotifm. TeSts however were not levelled againft Papifts, but originated in feparation, and were deSigned for a criterion of the princi ples and allegiance of the nonconformists ; for even in that early period of our hiStory the Catholicks were peaceable and harmlefs, com pared with other fe£taries, whofe turbulent difaffection to the eStabliShed church threat- * This feems to be only a detached portion of a very large work, intended by the author to comprehend the whole complex queftion between Proteftant DifTenters arid the Church of England. And every friend to our prefent happy eftablifliment, and its unimpaired tranfmiilion to pofterity, cannot but wifh the argument by this eminent maf- ter of reafoning fpeedily published, and liberally encouraged. a 2 ened IV PREFACE. ened the constitution both of church and 'State. The vifionary and ill managed policy of Charles the FirSt afforded them an opportu nity of gratifying their utmoSt ambition. But the moment they grafped the reins of govern ment, whatever they had claimed for them- felves with fo much clamour was perempto rily refufed to all others : and they were as wanton in the exercife as they ever have been eager in the acquifition of power. Our Li turgy was univerfally profcribed, both in pub- lick and private worShip, under fevere pe nalties. In the famous treaty of the ISle of Wight it is positively Stipulated that the ill- fated monarch Should not even be indulged with the Book of Common Prayer for the private ufe of himfelf and family. Nothing more, emphatically marks their Steady perfeverance in thefe factious enter- prifes, than the part they affect, to have acSted in effecting the Restoration. The fadts our author States on this pretenfion, only heighten the character always entertained of their Si nister and intriguing politics. The army, guided and fired by independent leaders, Stript them of power, and deprived them of all profpect of fafety. This drove them to cul tivate a temporary alliance with the church, and, impelled by a fenfe of their own dan ger, they prudently co-operated with her in the resumption of monarchy and oppofino- Popery, which was then the common, enemy. Their PREFACE. V Their motions in this manceuvre-are Suf ficiently plain from what happened -in the fubfequent reign, which, in the author's forcible phrafeology, prefents us with the Singular phenomenon of a Popi/h King a Jlre- ' nuous. advocate for univerfal toleration. The clergy were then in difgrace for their fidelity to an obnoxious establishment, and the Dif- fenters received into favour by a government to whom both we're equally deteStable, with this difference, that the , former maintained their integrity, while the latter#abandoned in an evil hour all their former profeSSions. , The Share they had in accomplishing our glorious revolution is given in the words""df their own historian, BiShop Burnet. It is fuch an in Stance of their attachment to the efiqblijhment, and their zeal for civil liberty, as the real friends of both ought never to "forget. The power ufurped by government of commanding the declaration for liberty of confcience to be read from the pulpit, was fuch an arbitrary fufpenfion of penal law, and opened fuch a door for Popery, and even Paganifm, that the clergy were alarmed by the meafure, and met it with all the retiSt- ance in their power. This brought upon ;them all the vengeance which a bigoted court could inflict. The fix BiShops in particular, who would not read the infidious mandate, were committed to the Tower by the exprefs advice of the DiSfenters. Here the author obferves, with his ufual pertinence, a 3 " The Vi PREFACE. " The abettors of this notorious tranf- " action have then in truth the merit of " greatly promoting that glorious revolution, " which "a few months afterwards was ac- " tually completed by the expulsion of an *' infatuated bigot from the throne, and the " re-eStabliShment of the constitution." He means not to affert that the ancestors of Proteftant DiSfenters were the unprovoked authors of thofe convulfions which were oc casioned by religious dijfenfions. He feems aware of all their Sufferings and hardships, and fays, with great juStice, " We are not then to wonder at their " reStleffnefs, and frequent attempts to fub- " vert the government, Since it was the only " chance they had of gaining the upper hand, and of fecuring to themfelves that liberty ? which this memorable revolution " has fo effectually eStablifhed. We are ra- " ther to wonder at that paradox in politics, " in which the prefent advocates of the Dif- " fenters have involved their caufe, who, " whilSt they are challenging, in behalf of " their forefathers, an eminent Share of me- " rit in constructing that beautiful fabric, " the prefent constitution, are equally laviSh " in their applaufes of the defcendant, for " his pious attempts to deface the nobleft '' monument of his ancestors' wifdom." During the reigns of King William and Queen Anne the turbulent Spirit of religious diflenfion was not idle. The fettled averfibn conceived <.<. PREFACE, Vll conceived and cultivated by the firSt of thefe princes againSt the Church of England was •cotifiderably fomented by the intrigues of her hereditary enemies, whofe leading policy was to Strengthen his prejudice againft the hierarchy, in proportion as they found him inclined to promote their intereSt. They alfo constituted the very foul of the whig fa£tion, which involved ,the conclusion of Queen Anne's reign in fo much {rouble. In thoie various political feuds which then par ticipated fo palpably of their feint, the tr.lls again St occafional conformity, and to prevent th? grozvth offchifm, which Stained the li berality and clemency of the times, origi nated.^ , It does not confift with the brevity of this analyfis to trace the political conduct of Dif- fenters with minutenefs. From the acceSfion. of the hpufe of Brunfwick to the throne the fame nefarious fyStem of factious interference with our establishment hath been uniformly profecuted through various periods with dif ferent degrees of Succefs. Their machina tions, according to our author, even in our times, have been Sufficiently Serious and a- Jarming. Of the riots in the year eighty h,e thinks them not altogether blamelefs. Per haps it may not be eafy to give a fofter con struction to the circumstances and facts on which he founds his opinion. They then endeavoured to over-awe the legislature, and j^ave but lately and openly menaced the free- a 4 dorq Viii PREFACE. dorn of election, and by that means aimed a deadly blow at the vitals of our constitution. The author, in a note under page 5 of this maSterly performance, defcribes the difficulty he experienced in compiling thefe memoirs, fo as to render them applicable to his argu ment, in words peculiarly characteristic . of Proteftant DiSfenters. " There is no fmall " addrefs," fays he, " in comprising the " various fedtaries under one general deno- " mination of Proteftant Diflenters. Under *' "this ambiguous term the advocates for dif- " fenfion appeal to hiftory, under the cloak " of PreSbyterianifm, for inftances of con- " formity and rigid attachment to eftabliSh- " ments, and, as occafion may ferve, they " Shift to independency in proof of their " maintenance of religious freedom and li- " berty of confcience. The anfwering fuch " imrnethodical writers may be compared to *' the diverfion of hunting the duck in the " words of Monfieur Bayle ; When I have " him in full view ', and fancy him within my " reach, he flips from me, takes a dip, and " becomes invifible" Notwithstanding many home Strokes which the caufe of diflenfion receives from our au thor in the courfe of his enquiries, he omits no opportunity of acknowledging the worth of individuals. It is the fpirit of a dano-erous faction he investigates and detects, and no blame attaches to any but in proportion as tinctured or influenced in temper or conduct 6 hy P R E FA CF. IX by that fpirit. And the moft refpe&able in the party ought to be reminded that, as ShakSpeare fays, The mildew'd ear may blaft his wholefome brother. This black picture of Proteftant Diflenters "is but too literally verified by their recent ex ertions for repealing the whole fyftem of our teft laws, which flung the country into fome degree of ferment, and which«brought upon themfelves merited but unexpected obloquy and defeat. The friends of the church, in thev criSis of her danger, flew to her refcue with a fpirit and ability which did equal honour to both. A Review of the Cafe of the Protefiant right or wrong, be Still of the party which the parfon for the time thinks fit to embrace. That you fhould treat the laity with fo great contempt in this cafe is not' So Surprising, as you may be convinced, from long experience, that they will fwallow down the groffeft absurdities in .their publick prayers, and truft the proprietv of their worShip upon Sunday to the difcre'- tion, and ability of a man, whofe folly and weaknefs perhaps they laugh at' all the week. But I own it is amazing that you can ufe fuch freedom with the Deity, to defire him to do and undo as the fancy Strikes you, or your ^ieSigns chance to alter.s VIII. Our TtiE MINISTERS, &C $t VIII. Our prayers are for- the moft part too historical, and Seem rather defigned to inftfuct the congregation; than to coufefs their fins, exprefs their wants, or offer their grateful tharikfgivings. I do not at ail fup pofe that you are ignorant, as our people Seem to be, of the difference between preach ing and praying ; or that you are not fenfi- ble that, a very good fermon will make but a very bad prayer; but I cannot help thinking that you comply too far with the popular tafte in this refpect, and Strive to pleafe by giving our publick prayers as much the air and man ner of a fermon as poffible ; or knowing that many of your people judge of the propriety and excellency of a prayer by its length, to come up to the common Standard you are forced to fill up a gap with what materials come firft to hand ; and this. I am more apt to believe to be the cafe, becaufe we fometimes find half a dozen of fentences from fcripture poured into our prayers all at once, without the leaft connexion among tnemfelvc or the leaft relation to what went before, or follows after ; and frequently too without the leaft affinity to any of the parts of prayer. What Mr. Fordyce means by that certain * happy irre gularity in our publick prayers, which he is pleafed to recommend, I profefs I know n.t ; but I know very well that there is a certain unhappy "irregularity in moft of ours, that ren- * Edification, &c page 15. E 2 ders 52 LETTER TO ders them very improper for publick woffhip. The feveral parts of prayer are moft abfurdly^ confounded, though they require very diffe rent difpofitions of heart ; confeffion is jumbled with thankfgiving ; petition is mixed with nar ration ; and fometimes we have all the parts of prayer in one Single fentence. By thefe means the mind is held in fufpenfe, and cannot fettle to that humility, conviction, and forrow, that ought to attend confeffion; nor is it raifed to that warm gratitude, and ardent love, that ought to enliven our thankfgivings ; neither is it filled with that fenfe of dependance, nor formed to that ferious earneftnefs and lively faith, with which our petitions ought to be fent forth. IX. Inftead of thefe, amufed with the no velty of expression, and diffracted with the quick and irregular fucceSfions of the feveral parts of prayer, it fluctuates between thefe fenfations, and feels not much of either. When all the powers of the foul Should be employed in their proper places, and making their greateft efforts to offer a fpiritual worfhip to the Father of fpirits, our curiofity is only awake, and we are listening to a prayer no otherways than we do to a fermon. I would beg leave further to obferve, that our extem porary worfhip in the church produces very had ^effects with refpect to our worfhip in our families ; for as praying to God extempore is the prevailing fafhion, and as our people are taught to def pife worfhip offered by a form fo THE MINISTERS, &C 53 o thofe of them who want memory, learning, and invention, to exprefs themfelves extem pore with propriety, and have modefty to be afharned of indecent expreSfions, and reflection to think of the danger of unreafonable and un- 1 chriftian petitions, never pray with their fa milies at all. On the other hand, when ig norance and felf- Sufficiency meet in the mafter of a family, their worfhip ofconfequence is a miferable mixture of nonfenfe, error, andblaf- phemy. The moft ignorant are always the moft prefuming ; and the lefs fenfe that a. man has of the nature and importance of prayer, the more readily will he venture upon extemporary worfhip. In fact it is true that many of our people wrho can hardly repeat their creed, and know very little more of their religion than a few hard words that they have gleaned out of our catechifms, imitate our parfons in praying extempore ; and approach their Maker with as great familiarity as they would do their neigh bour, and with much lefs refpect and reverence than they dare treat their laird. Good God ! what pitiful fcenes have 1 feen of this kind ! What rude and Shocking expreSfions, what blafphemous petitions have I heard ! How of ten have I trembled when the ignorant and proud enthufiaft kneeled down with his family to his extemporary worfhip ! How often have I Shuddered at the whimfical notions that he wrought into our prayers, the infolent and unchriftian expreSfions which he ufed, and the nonfenfe that he offered in our name. How E 3 often 54 LETTERTO often has my heart bled in fecret for the fad Situation of many miferable families, who, by our unhappy attachment to extemporary pray* er, either want family Worfhip altogether, or offer their worfhip in fuch a manner as disho nours God, difgraces religion, and is very dangerous to themfelves ! But I would very far exceed the bounds of a letter, and I am afraid weary out your patience, if I Should endeavour to lay before you all the inconveni ences that attend our prefent way of worShip j. and, I flatter myfelf, if you will add to thefe already taken notice of the blunders of igno rance, the flights of vanity, the needlefs filly repetitions, the unguarded expreSfions, and the childifh thoughts that are mixed with our prayers, and muft be mixed with them, unlefs you can fuppofe that all our minifters are men of the greateft abilities, elocution, and pru dence, you will fee, that our prefent way of worShip is defective, unreafonable, and dan* gerous, and that the hardships that the laity labour under, and the danger to which they are expofed^ can only be removed by fome de- yout and approved form of prayer, CAVILS REFUTED. - To fupport the prefent abfurd practice, to make the laity fit quietly down with the in juftice done them, and to blind their eyes that they may not perceive the difadvantag.es that they labour under, and the danger to which they THE MINISTERS, &C. 55 they are expofed, it has been faid that a form of prayer will limit the inspiration of the Spi rit ; that it deadens the devotion of the peo ple ; that all the Wants of a Chriftian congre gation cannot be expreffed by a form : and fome have been fo foolifh as to fay that it is, unlawful to worfhip by a form of prayer. Will you pardon my prefumption, and hear me with patience, if I humbly offer my thoughts upon thefe heads: I hope you will. As to the firft, I might boldly appeal to your own confciences, and aSk you, In the name of God, Do you believe that you fire infpiredf. Have you indeed fo mean an opinion of the un- derfianding and judgment of the laity, as td imagine that any of them, who think at all, can ever be brpught to believe that the prayers we commonly hear are dictated by the Holy Ghofi f Or have you fo little regard to the ho nour of God, and the inter efis of religion, as to afcribe your extemporary effufions to the Holy Spirit? No; I am perfuaded that none, but the rankeft enthufiafts will ever urge this ar gument againft a form of prayer; and J will beg leave to aSk fuch, are the words, or the matter of your prayers, or both, infpired ? . . That the words are not . inspired is evident from the difficulty that you frequently have to find proper words ; from the improper and fometimes indecent' expreSfions that fall from you ; from the ill-timed paufes that you are forced to make, and that moft ufeful fupple- ment of coughing, groaning, and Spitting, E 4 that 56 LETTER TO that muft come in .to your afliftance. But fuppofing that you were indeed infpired with words, it would be of fmall importance to yourfelves or to us, unlefs the matter of your prayers be infpired too ; and if the matter of them be infpired, your prayers are of equal authority with the fcriptures themfelves,.and Should be entered into the canon. I know not how to excufe the negligence of the peo ple of this nation in fuffering fo much found doctrine to be loft ; it might have cleared up Some, difficult paflages in fcripture, and de cided feveral important difputes. I know not what to fay for this piece of negligence, un lefs our people think that all things neceffary for Chriftians to know, to believe,' and to .practife, are revealed in the holy fcriptures ; and that they may be taught by them what to afk in prayer, and how to regulate their lives; and if this be true, your infpiration is a very great gift beftowed for very poor pur- pofes, only to fave you the pains of fearching the fcriptures, and the trouble of competing a form of prayer by the instructions and ex amples contained in them. The heathen poets themfelves had a greater reverence for the Deity than this, for it was a maxim among them Ncc deus interfit, nili dignus vindice nodus Incident * * Hor. Art. Poet, Never let a god be introduced, un lefs there happens to be fome difficulty worthy of fuch a« agciit. I fubmit THE MINISTERS, &C. 57 I fubmit whether you do not tranfgrefs againft this rule, by introducing the infpiration of the Holy Spirit, if the fcriptures be fufficient to direct us what to afk in prayer ; and if they be not fufficient for this, -the revelation of the will of God for our falvation is defective in a very important point, and neither the pro phets nor the apoftles, no, nor our Saviour himfelf, though he enterprized it, have taught us how to pray. IJut, fuppofing that it were neceffary that the words ' and matter of our prayers Should be» infpired by the Holy Ghoft, why might not a number of pious and1 learned divines met, together with fuch an interesting and great defign as that of compofing a form of prayer for a whole church, have as much reafon to expect, and be as likely to receive, the aSfiftance of the Holy Spirit as a private clergyman inventing the tranfient prayer of a particular congrega tion? But this fuppofed infpiration, in our ex temporary way, will involve us in very great, nay infuperable difficulties, for we Shall be as much puzzled where to find our miracu lous infpiration, as the papifts are where to fix their wonderful infallibility. For if we fuppofe that this infpiration is confined to any one of the feveral feet 5 that ufe extemporary prayer, we prefcribe to the Holy Spirit, and limit him with a witnefs, and Shall befadly perplexed to determine to which particular party this wonderful privilege is giveri. If we fuppofe that this privilege is common to "the 5& LETTER TO the minifters of all the fedts, then we muft conclude that the Holy Ghoft infpires oppofite; petitions to men of oppofite principles, and di rects one feet to pray againft another. For inStance, if he infpires the burghers* to pray againft the principles of their Seceding brer thren the antiburghers, and to cut them off from their communion by excommunication, we cannot fuppofe that he infpires the anti burghers to return the compliment ; and if he infpires the minifters of thefe fedts to pray againft the principles of the church eftablifhed by law, he does not direct the minifters of the eftabliShed church in their public prayers to call the feceffion a dangerous fchifm. That the minifters of the feveral fedts do pray for the fuccefs of their feveral parties, and that God would hinder the fpreading .of the princi ples of the other fedts, is evident to all the ¦world. Now unlefs we would be guilty of the boldeft blafphemy, and fay that the Holy Ghoft chimes, in with the principles of the parfon whatever they be as, the people are forced to do, we muft conclude that this in fpiration is not granted but to one of the fedts, and I Shall only requeft each of them to ufe a form of prayer, until they Shall be able to prove that this gift of infpiration belongs to them. And that the eftablifhed church with • * Burgher and Antiburgher are the names of the two parties among the Scotch feceders, taken from the caufe of iheir quarrel, an oath impofed in fome of the royal bo roughs in Scotland upon thofe they admit into the corpo ration. */ which THE MINISTERS, &C " 59 which I have to do, may be more willing to hear -and. grant my requeft, I will produce fome Strong preemptions that it does not belong to them: indeed the inftances that I have given above are more than fufficient for this purpofe; but I fhall further add, firft, that if the confeffion of faith be true, none of our minifters are infpired in their prayers ; for there all mankind are divided into two claffes, the eledt and the reprobates ; yet it is evident, beyond all poffibility of difpute, that the eledt pray as if it were poffible thai? they may be damned ; and the reprobates as if it were pof fible that they may be faved ; and yet it is im- poffible that the Holy Spirit infpires either of them with thefe prayers, unlefs we be fo im pious as to imagine that he directs them to pray upon falfe principles, and infpires them to pray for or againft what he knows can never happen ; and though fome of you urge this argument of infpiration againft your ad verfaries, yet our church has in fa dt very fairly difclaimed it, by publishing and authorizing a directory for public prayer, unlefs we would fuppofe them So prefumptuous as to direct the Holy Spirit how to pray. In truth our pref- byterian infpiration is as myfterious and as ufelefs a gift as the popifh infallibility: The popifh church has an infallibility lodged fome where, but She knows not where to find it in time of need ; we prefbyterians have an infpi ration among us, but we know not to which •pf all the fedts it belongs. The infallible church 6b LETTER TO church is filled with difputes which her infalli bility cannot determine, and the infpired ' church has nonfenfe, contradiction, and whimfical opinions, vented : in her publick prayers, which her infpiration does not pre vent ; the infallible church has the moft un reafonable and abfurd creed of any church upon earth; and the infpired church has, and will, have while She adheres to her prefent plan, a very defective, unreafonable, and dan gerous kind of public worfhip; fo fully and juftly does the providence of heaven confute the vain pretentions of prefumptuous men. But it may be faid, and it has been faid, that this gift of infpiration is not univerfal to all our minifters, nor uniform and conftant to any of them ; but granted now and then by fits and Starts; fomething, I fuppofe, like the quakers fpirit. I cannot help thinking, if this be the cafe, that the quakers proceed more judicioufly than we ; they patiently wait in Silence till they feel, or imagine they feel, the influences of the Spirit ; but if he does not come, we venture to do without him : they humbly fubmit it to his will to infpire whom he pleafeth ; but we confine him to the mi nister : they flop Short when his influence ceafes, but werun our glaffes, let his influences ceafe when they will. I vyould therefore hum,. bly propofe, either that like quakers we Should wait the Spirit, and permit anyone of the con gregation who chanced to be infpired to dictate our devotions ; or that a form of prayer be com- jpofed THE MINISTERS, &C. , ' 6l pofed ahd authorized only tp be ufed when the minister feels no infpiration. Let him have full liberty to depart from the form when he feels upon his mind the miraculous influences of the Holy Spirit fuggeftihg the matter of his prayers. By this, method we fhall gain two very confiderable advantages; firft, we fhall always worShip, either by in spiration or by an approved form, land be cer tain, unlefs the parfon deceives us, that the ignorance, affectation, ill-timed zeal, pride, or paffions, of the man himfelf, oannot tincture our public Worfhip, or mix themfelves with our prayers : and next we fhall difcover when our : parfons are infpired ; for, as things are manag ed at prefent, this miracle is as much loft in our PreSbyterian church as the famous miracle of tranfubftahtiation is among the Papifts. Ia •both churches there is a wonderful manifefta- tion of Almighty power, yet no one is able to perceive it in either. The Papifts are con vinced that bread and wine are converted into •flefh and blood, though to all the Senfes they remain bread and wine Still : we Prefbyterians are perfuaded that our minifters are fometimes infpired, though we cannot tell when the in fpiration begins or ends ; and though our mi nifters in this cafe lie under the Same misfor tune that Hudibras did, When with greateft art he fpoke, You'd think he talked like other folk ; fo it unluekily fares with them, when they pray moft by infpiration, they only pray like other 62, i LETTER tO other people ; and all my attention and Skill has never been able to difcover the infpiration in one Single inftance : but, hy the method that I am propofing, we fhall difcover that the infpiration immediately begins when the minifter departs from the eftablifhed form ; and perhaps we may make another difcovery; I mean that the rage of party, the fpirit of pride and enthufiafm, as frequently inSpire our minifters, as the fpirit of peace and love. In a word, let thofe ministers who have pride enough to believe, and prefumption to affirm, that they are infpired, and can find people fo ignorant and credulous as to belieye them, or fo tame and indifferent as to truft their devotions to an imaginary infpiration, let thefe, I fay, ufe the prefent method, but have pity upon us who fee the difficulty, difadvantages, and great danger, of our pre fent way of worShip. As we Cannot find in fcripture any promife of fuch a gift, as We are convinced that there can be no need of it, unlefs we fuppofe that the Holy Ghoft has not fully revealed the will of God for our falvation, as we are ab- folutely certain that you are not all infpired, and have no reafon to believe that any one of you is fo, we prefume moft humbly and moft earneftly to requeft, that fome pious form of prayer may be compofed and authorized. The only infpiration that is promifed in fcrip ture! that is neceffary, or that can be ufeful, is, that the Holy Spirit will infpire the hearts of THE MINISTERS^ &C % of the faithful wifh affections proper for this important duty ; fuch as Shame and forrow in confeffion, an humble Chriftian hope of ob taining what we afk in our petitions, grati tude and love in our thankfgiving, and Such other affections as are fuitable to the feveral parts of prayer ; and no man, I believe, will fay that the Holy Spirit cannot, or prove that he will not, infpire our hearts with thefe af fections as eafily and as readily when we pray by a form, as when we pray without •one. And, as far as prayer may be ctmfidered , as one of the means of infpirin'g thefe affections, a form feems better calculated to anfwer that purpofe in public affemblies than extempo rary effufions : for in the exterriporary way the hearer, if he has anyTenfe of the nature and importance of prayer, muff begin the duty with a trembling heart, and go through it With a continual diffidence, as he trufts k entirely to the difcretion of another man; fometimes to a 'man whom he never faw be fore, and always to a man who has pot fcj much as calmly confidered it himfelf. He muft often fufpend his affent when he is not fatisfied of the propriety of the expreffion ; he muftlofe the fenfe where the fentence is in tricate; and, through the whole, be in per plexity, fufpicion, fear, and real danger. Whereas, when prayers are offered by a form no word needs efcape him, he understands every word, he perceives the connexion of every fentence ; and, let the minister's judg- 8 ment 64 LETTER TO ment be. ever fo weak, his learning ever Co lit tle, his manner of expreffing himfelf perplex ed, his. principles pernicious, his paffions ever fb keen, aqd his party prejudices ever fo violent, yet,' in fpite of all thefe, he offers a reafonable fervice, and breathes forth the warm feelings of his foul in decent, devout, heart-affecting and heart-approved prayers. This obfervation may in a great meafure obviate the fecond objection ; I mean, that a form of prayer does not fo much enliven the devotion of the people : but I beg leave further to obferve, that they who are /ufed to worfhip in the extemporary way can not be competent judges in this cafe ; becaufe they have not fairly made the experiment, but reafon only from fpeculation. When they drop into a place where forms are ufed, they come in with Strong prejudices, they are entire ftrangers to the form? and are perplexed in all the parts of it. — It happens with them in this cafe, as it does with men in every other thing; what they have not been accuftomed to ap pears Strange, what they are unacquainted with feems perplexed, and what they do not know reafons for is apt to appear unreafonable. It maybe too, that the ignorant mifs the un natural cant, the frantick geftures, and fear ful distortions of the face, that in their opinion are effential parts of prayer. But let a man of fenfe and candour make himfelf mafter of a form, and try the experiment for a year or two by attending carefully to prayers offered in that way, and then, and not till then, will, he be able ¦THE MINISTERS, &C. 6$ abie to determine whether the form of the ex temporary method has the nobleft effect to en liven his devotions. At leaft it is certain, that many who have tried both give their opinion in favour of a form ; and that they who ufe a "form of prayer conftantly affirm that they feel it ten times more .enlivening, and better cal culated to infpire devout affections, than ex temporary effufions. And there muft be fome- thing in it, becaufe the profeffors of all reli gions under the fun have chofen this method ; the Chriftian church uniyerfally*ufed it till the fifteenth century, and indeed may be faid to do fo at prefent, for We make fuch a fmall part of the catholick church, that our practice hardly deferves to be confidered as an excep tion. I fhall not dwell long upon the fpeculative arguments that are offered by either fide, be caufe ingenious men will always find fome- thing plaufible to fay in defence of a practice that anfwers their purpofes. They who ufe forms fay that their minds are free from all diffraction and fear, and have nothing elfe to do but attend to the object of their prayers, and maintain upon their minds a conftant and lively fenfe of the importance of the bufinefs in which they are engaged, free from the care of examining every fentence before they offer ' it as their petition ; fecure that no indecent or unchriftian expreffiori can mix with their de votions, being already fatisfied of the propri ety of the whole form. They fay that the F mind 66 LETTERTO mind of man is not able to attend to many things at once, and that, in our way of wor fhip, if the people offer a reafonable fervice they muft examine every fentence, hear every word, and understand every word they hear ; that they muft remember what went before, if they would conceive the, connexion, that they muft unravel what is exprefled in a per plexed manner, if they would pray with judg ment ; and, in fine, that they muft give their amen to their prayers with a more fuperficial examination of them, and a much lefs perfedt knowledge of their contents, than they would venture to fet their fubfcription to an addrefs to their fuperiors upon earth. We anfwer, that the novelty and variety of theexpreSfion in our extemporary method help to fix the mind and keep up the attention j they afk us upon what is the mind fixt upon, the object and matter of our prayers, or upon the novelty and variety of expreffion ? If we fay upon the object and matter of our prayers, they will tell us that there are in thefe neither novelty nor variety to affift us ; becaufe our prayers are always addreffed to that Being who is the fame to-day, yefterday, and for ever, and the matter of our prayers in publick muft al ways be nearly the fame: but if our minds be fixed upon the variety of the expreffion, or novelty of the phrafe, they fay, and I fear they fpeak truth, that this is not prayer, but mere aitfufement ; fuch as the mind receives from mufick, a fong, or an entertaining piece of THE MINISTERS, &Q. 6? of hiftory ; that it might perhaps prepare the mind for prayer, but is not prayer ariy more than a fermon is prayer. It is evident that many of our minifters are fenfible that their people attend only to the outward circumftances of their prayers, and ' that the way to be popular is to tickle their ears with Strange founds, or pleafe their eyes with antick geftures j elfe why do many of them affect fuch an unmanly whining cant ? Why ufe fuch difmal heavy tones, and draw out their words to fuch an immoderate length ? Or why do they affedtfuch distortions in their faces ? All the world will acknowledge that thefe are neither neceflary nor ufeful parts of prayer, unlefs to pleafe the filly vulgar, who regard little more than the found and circum- fiances of our prayers. But whatever weight may be in the fpecu- lative arguments upon either fide, experience and matter of fact are fairly againft us ; for they who fay that forms of prayer enliven de votion feem, by a certain decency obfervable amongft them in time of fervice, to confirm what they fay ; while the vifible inattention and indifference of our congregations flatly con tradict our arguments, and prove to the very fenfes, that our extemporary prayers do not en liven our devotions. In affemblies where forms are ufed there is at leaft the appearance of de votion and an air of ferioufnefs. None of them are feen Sleeping in time of fervice, few of them gazing about them, not one of them F 2 4 erer 68 LETTERTO ever prefumes, unlefs in a cafe of abfolute ne- ceSfity,- to remove till the whole fervice be ended -. and they frequently meet in publick for the bufinefs of prayer, which * 3VL. For- dyce juftly complains we never do, and feems to think that it would be very difficult to per- fuade our people to it. Thus the practice of thofe who ufe forms of prayer proves to me, more effectually than all the fpeculative argu ments that can be offered, that they have an higher opinion of the great duty of publick prayer, feel a greater pleafure from it, or are, fome way or other, more affedted by it, than our people are. Whereas in our affemblies there is not fo much as the air of devotion, not even the outward appearance of ferioufnefs and attention ; many are Sleeping, more gaz ing about them, and all of them -j- betray a mifible impatience fill prayer is over, that they may be entertained with fomething more to their liking ; when fermon is over do we not fee them remove in crowds, though one half of our fervice, and that the moft folemn half, Still remains ? Perhaps it may be thought that this is not a fair account of the matter, and that I mifreprefent things. Will you believe your own brethren ? they fhall vouch what I have ' faid. Let us firft hear Mr. Bennet's report of the devotion of our brethren in England |: " That carelefs air, fays he, which fits upon * Edification by publick inftitutions. f lb. % Sermon upon joining in public prayer, p. nz. the THE MINISTERS, &C. 69 the face of a congregation when engaged in prayer, Shews how little they know of the matter, and how few ferioufly join in publick and folemn prayer ; fome gaze about them, others fall afleep — others fix their eye it may be on the minister, and are affected with what he fays, but then they only hear him pray, and are moved with the prayer, juft as they hear fermons, and are moved thereby ; a moft lively picture of our public worShip ! I muft profefs to you, Should the enemies of our way of worShip be prefent to obferve us, there is nothing I Should be fo much afhamed of as our exceedingly carelefs, irreverent, in- devout manner of joining in public prayer." So far Mr. Bennet bears witnefs to the want of devotion in congregations in England, where extemporary prayers are ufed : let us now fee if this way of worfhip has any bet ter fuccefs or happier effects amongft us here in Scotland. Alas, it is every where the fame unnatural, unreafonable, lifelefs thing. Let Mr. Fordyce fpeak for the Scotch con gregations. " I doubt not, my brethren," fpeaking to the clergy, " but you have fre quently obferved when the minifter of God has been addreffing him in the name and as the mouth of the people, the greatest part of them feem to be doing any thing, rather than joining in the folemn fervice:. in reality there is no exercife of a fpiritual nature which the trenerality Seem to regard fo little, or to at tend fo liftlefsly ; feem, did I fay, the ex- F 2 preffion yo leTtek to preffion is much too feeble; their infenfibility, their irreverence in this refpedt are, from the whole of their deportment, moft Shamefully diftinguifhable and flagrant*." If this be true, as indeed it is the very truth, I may be allowed to add, that it is moft fhamefully impudent in us to alledge that forms of pray er deaden the devotion of the people, and that our extemporary method enlivens it. The little refpect, nay vifible contempt, that our people Shew of publick prayers, prove more clearly than all fpeculative arguments that can be offered, that our prefent way of worfhip is very ill calculated for enlivening the devo tions of the people. I have proved by two unexceptionable witneffes, and, had it been confiftent with the brevity I propofed, could have produced many more, to prove that our devotion is not only dead, but wants even all appearance of life. In truth it needs no proof; for every Sunday will fhew that we want atten tion and reverence to this moft important duty; and every impartial heart will tell its owner, if he understands the nature of prayer, that it is very difficult to join in our public worfhip as it iS at prefent performed ; that , it is im-> poSfible to do it rationally ; that it cannot be attempted without great danger ; and that in fact he does it very feldom, and even then in a very faint and lifelefs manner. * Edjfication by public institutions, AUovy THE MINISTERS, &C. Jl Allow me next to confider the third objec tion offered againft forms of prayer. I mean that the wants of a congregation cannot be fo fully expreffed in that way, as by the extem porary method. This objection fuppofes that a number of the moft learned and pious men of the age, for fuch I imagine would be em ployed, deliberately compofing a form of pray er, calmly recollecting the matter of it, fre quently reviewing the whole, furnifhed with all the antietit and modern Uturgies, directed by all that has been written oil the fubject, and affifted by every one that wifhes well to religion and virtue, are more likely to omit fome neceffary petition, than a Single perfon, perhaps of very indifferent talents, and a very moderate education, trading entirely to an extemporary invention, and to his own me mory. The man who can fuppofe this hardly deferves to be reafoned with ; for it is evident that in the firft cafe our prayers 'will be brought as near perfection as poffible ; and that, in the fecond, many things muft be omitted, many injudicioufly expreffed, many needlefsly repeated, and the whole tinctured with weak nefs, paffions, and party principles of the fpeaker ; and that his beft performances will be as rriuch inferior to a general form of pray er, as he himfelf is in difcretion, learning, and judgment, to the greateft men that have wrote upon the fubject, and to a number of men of the beft hearts, and calmeft, ableft heads, convened to compofe the' form. The F 4 wants, 7 a, LETTER TO wants, and confequently the matter of the petitions, of a Chriftian congregation, muft in the main be always the Same ; they will -at all times have fins to confefs, Still have need to afk pardon, and to implore the divine grace to direct their thoughts, words, and actions ; it will eyer be their duty to pray for all ranks of men, &c. If any general calamity fhould happen, fuch as War, famine, or peftilence, pro per forms may be provided : in private cafes perhaps it might be more for the honour of our religion, and decency of our worfhip, that we did not defcend to the particular cir- cumftances fo much as we do. It is needlefs to defcribe the difeafe to an omnifcient God ^ moft cafes of this nature might be comprer hended under the general names of ficknefs. and diftrefs ; but if it be thought proper to deal with Almighty pod as we do with an Ordinary doctor, and to lay the cafe before nim at full length, methods may be found to indulge the humour of the clergy in this re fpect, without leaving our whole worfhip to their difcretion, and putting aft our publick; petitions in their power. Should the fpiritual condition of a congre? gation be altered, if it poffibly can alter fo much that the established form could not comprehend the cafe, which, in my humble opinion, cannot happen if the form be well pompofed, let the prefbytery, fynod, or com mission of the affembly, be applied to ; and, the cafe being calmly cpnfidered? its nature and THE MINISTERS, &C 73 and tendency deliberately examined, and its truth and certainty afcertained, let a form of prayer be compofed fuitable to the cafe : but this is too delicate, too dangerous, and dif ficult an affair to be trufted to the difcretion pr capacity of any one clergyman ; for weak nefs or yjllany in this refpect has more than Once dishonoured our publick prayers with the grofJeft enthufiafm, perverted them to ferve very bad purpofes, and expofed the moft So lemn part of pur fervice, as weU as religion itfelf, to the ridicule of infidels.* In a word, the ordinary wants of a Chrif tian congregation may, nay muft, be more fully expreSSed by a form pf prayer than by extempore effufions ; and extraordinary cafes, after they are difcovered and examined, may eafily be provided for ; and it is not only pof- fible, but yery eafy, to provide for all cafes that ought to be particularly mentioned in our publick prayers in the firft compofition of them. But, to prevent all wrangling upon this fubjea, and, if poffible, to content the moft felf-fufficient clergyman, let there be a proper place in this propofed form of prayer where the minister may have liberty to pray for all extraordinary cafes in what words he thinks proper. It is better that a fmall part of our worfhip be expofed to the indifcretion, jo-norance, and paffions of the parfon, than that the whole Should be liable, as it is at prefent, to be made the property of fadion, to be tinctured with the prejudices and whim fical 74 LETTER TO fical opinions of every private minister, and offered upon the pernicious principles of the deift, or the extravagant notions of the en thufiaft.' I fhall not dwell long upon the laft objection, I mean that forms of prayer are unlawful, becaufe I believe it never will be offered by menof fenfe or learning; and it is lofing time and pains to reafon with fuch as are deftitute ef both. I Shall only beg leave to obferve, that they who fay that forms of prayer are un lawful, in fact fay that God Almighty com manded, that our Saviour attended, ufed, and taught his difciples, an unlawful way of wor fhip ; for that he did fo, I have proved alrea dy, and our own directory for publick wor fhip acknowledges that "Our Lord's prayer is not only a pattern for prayer, but itfelf a moft comprehenfive prayer." Here I cannot help obferving with regret, that wherever our directory directs well, there our clergy have defpifed our directory ; for inftance, it recom mends that the Lord's prayer be ufed in our publick worfhip ; that ordinarily a chapter out of each teftament be read at every meeting : the firft is neglected by moft, and the laft by all of them. It directs that our worfhip begin with prayer, but now it begins with praife ; that the minifter before worfhip fhall folemnly exhort the people to the worfhipping of the great name of God, but at prefent we rufh into a very folemn part of worShip without a word of previous exhortation, and I fear very often THE MINISTERS, &C 7$ often without a ferious thought. It is eafy to find out the reafon why the Lord's prayer and the reading of the fcriptures have been juftled out of our fervice; they have been forced out to make room for mafs John's more maflerly performances ; but why the other alterations have been made, the clergy who direct all things can only tell. To them I leave it, and refume my fubjedt. — If forms are unlawful* we are unlawfully baptized, for that is done by a form ; and all the extemporary prayers which we ufe upon that oceafion are not eflen- tial to the facrament, and are additions of men. We adminifter the Lord's fupper in an unlaw ful manner, for we do it by a form, I mean the words of the firft inftitution ; we are dif- miffed every Lord's day with an unlawful bleffing, for one of the folemn forms, with which the apoftles conclude their epiftles, is always ufed upon that oceafion ; fo that no thing can be more ineonfiftent with ingenuity and common fenfe than for us to cry out againft forms, when the moft folemn and im portant parts of our religion and worShip are performed in that way, and when we neither baptize nor communicate, nor blefs our con gregations in a lawful way, unlefs forms be lawful, nor do thefe things in the beft man ner, unlefs doing them by a form be the beft. But further ? if forms of prayer be not ac ceptable to God, and an ufeful way of wor fhip for ourfelves, we grofsly offend every time that we meet in church ; for it is impoSSible to 76 LETTER TO to Sing eighteen or twenty lines of a pfalm but we offer fome important petition, by a form, and fome pfalms might be pointed out that are almoft continued prayers; fo that unlefs we will affirm that our prayers are acceptable to God, and ufeful to ourfelves when they are fung, but otherwife when they are faid by a form, we muft allow that we are in consistent with ourfelves when we cry out againft forms ; and that our minifters impofe upon us when they fpirit us up againft that way of worfhip, that they may have the bet ter opportunity to gratify their own vanity to manufacture our prayers after their own man ner, and to mix them up with their own pri- - yate opinions. If extemporary worfhip be preferable, what good reafon can be given why the minifters do not fing pfalms extempore in our names as welt as offer extemporary prayers ? for we are as much concerned to join in the laft as in the firft ; a blunder in the one is as dangerous aS in the other, and we could as well go along with him in our hearts, when he fung an extempore pfalm, as we can do when he fays an extem pore prayer. This inconfiftency in our worr Ship has not entirely efcaped the obfervation of our brethren, for many of them have Warmly jnfifted upon it that the Spirit of God is refrain ed by ufing the pfalms of David* , and therefore propofed that we Should fing as well as pray ' extempore ; and, upon the Supposition that * Heylin's Hiftory of tlie Prefbyterians. nublick THE MINISTERS, &C. JJ publick worfhip in the extemporary way is moft rational, they were certainly in the fight ; for no good reafons can be given for praifing God by forms that will not be equally good for praying to him in the fame way ; and no ob jection can be offered againft' the laft, that will not be as Strong againft the firft : for inftance, if we fay that praying to God by forms, dead ens the devotion of the people, fo Will praifing him by forms too.. If forms of prayer reftrain the influences of the Holy Spirit, fo muft forms of praife. If forms of prayer cannot exprefs all the wants of a Chriftian congrega tion, neither will forms of praife comprehend all the caufes for which a Chriftian conerega- tion may have reafon to praife God ; efpeci- ally as the forms we ufe were compofed feveral thoufand years ago, and calculated chiefly for the Jewifh religion and worfhip. If forms of prayer be unlawful in themfelves, fo muft our forms of praife, becaufe, as I obferved before, they are often real prayers. Suppofing that extemporary worfhip was more acceptable to God., and ufeful to our felves, no man in a congregation can reap the benefit of it but the parfon. Our laity are moft grofsly miftaken if they imagine that •they pray extempore by our prefent method; for if they pray in the words of the minifter, and in his words they muft pray if they join at all in publick worShip, they are as much coa- fined to a form as any other people. For ex ample, ' if the minifter fays, mofl gracious God, forgive 78 BETTER TO forgive us our fins, preferve us from danger, and provide for our neceffities : if the people re peat thefe words, either in their minds, or with their mouths, or both, it is evident that they pray as much by a form as if the prayer had been compofed a thoufand years ago ; in fadt it is impoSSible for a congregation to join in worShip otherways than by a form, and all the difference is, that we worfhip by a form with which we are entirely unacquainted ; a form that we have never feen nor examined before ; a form that is trufted to the discretion and ability of the parfon for the time, and which the minifter himfelf has never once read over, nor examined, even in the flighteSt manner. It is hard to determine whether his prefumption in putting a form of a prayer in to our mouths that he has never examined, or our complaifance in ufing a form that neither we nor our minifter have ever once read over, is moft unaccountable. But that either he or we Should imagine that to worfhip God in this manner is moft rational for us, or moft accept able to him, is fuch an inftance of the Strength of prejudice, and the effects of education, as' no man could have thought poffible, had it not been proved by experience. For in fact it is to imagine that our worfhip is the more ra tional the more we are ftrangers to the words and matter of our prayers, and the lefs accefs we have had to fatisfy ourfelves of the pro priety of our petitions, and the more confi dence we repoSe in another man. That THE MINISTERS, &C 70 That our worfhip will be the more accept able to the Deity, the lefs care and pains that is taken about the words or matter of it by the parfon, or the people * and that our prayers will be fo much the fooner heard, the lefs chance they have to be expreffed in proper words, or to confift of pious and reafonable petitions. We may fometimes have a better or worfe form, according to the judgment and capacity of the minifter, but we muft al ways have a very defective one ; and our very beft form muft be as far inferior to a national well compofed liturgy as the learning, judg* ment, and memory, of one man is to the abi lities and calm reflection of a number of the moft learned and judicious men of the age. I muft confefs that I have often beheld with in dignation the parfon pulling out his papers for the fermon, when he trufted the prayer to his invention and memory ; not that I have pre judice againft reading of fermons, or am not convinced that it is the beft method, unlefs the minifter be a man of extraordinary parts, of extenfive learning, and bleffed with a very good memory ; but that I look upon it as an affront offered to God and the congregation, and vety abfurd in this inftance, as it Shews that the minifter is lefs concerned about the propriety and decency of his addrefs to his God, than to his people, and that he is more afraid of a blunder in his fermon than in his worfhip; or, at leaft, that he thinks either that miftake in the laft is of lefs confequence than So BETTER TO ¦ than in the firft, or that it is an eafier matter to pray than to preach well. I own that he has reafon to believe that any thing like a prayer will pafiT with the bulk of the people, becaufe in truth they do not regard it much ; but this fhould never induce him to fhew that he is as carelefs about the matter and words of their prayers as they are themfelves, and that he takes more care and pains to pleafe them by his fermons than to offer their pray ers in a concife and proper manner. I have often heard the members of our church, when the difficulties and danger of our prefent way of worfhip have been fairly laid before them, fatisfy themfelves by faying, that moft of our minifters had a form of pray er which they ufed, and with which by length of time their people became very well acquaint ed. I believe it may be true that moft of them naturally fall into a form, but if we will be lieve themfelves, and they certainly know beft, it -is rather by chance than by defign, and of confequence more by good luck than good management, or much care, if the form they fall into be a good one. However it is here granted that the worshipping God by a form is not only lawful and reafonable, but alfo neceffary ; and, if this be the cafe, why fhould not our worfhip be rendered uniform by an eftablifhed general form of prayer ? why fhould it not be brought as near perfection as poffible, by the judgment, piety, and learning of our ableft minifters, and other members of 8 our THE MINISTERS, &C. 8 1 our church, conferring together upon the fub- jcd ? why Should not this form of prayer be communicated to the laity, that we may exa mine and approve of it ? Is the parfon's form fuch a fecret that we may not fee and examine it for ourfelves ? is it any advantage to our worfhip that he may alter, curtail, or enlarge it, as his paffions or prejudices chance to di rect, and warp into his form any whimfical opinions that he, chances to embrace? We muft, notwithftanding of his form, go to the church with a trembling heart, as we know not but fome minifter may officiate whofe form of prayer we never have heard, our own minifter may have changed his, or fome un- lucky-and indecent petition maybe thrown in, as he has it in his power to do as he pleafes. 'At the fame time it is true that our ministers, who carefully compofe and conftantly ufe a form of prayer, do as much as they can, in their prefent circumftances, to render our wor fhip pure and rational, and to affift the devo tions of their people; and therefore deferve their efteem and thanks : but yet it is evident that thefe private forms have no great chance of being fo full and perfect, and that they, have but few of the advantages of a general efta blifhed form of prayer, and many -of the dif ad vantages of the extemporary method. It has been often urged in defence of extem pore publick prayers, that the ^PoSt es ufed that way of worfhip. If they did So, they did more than their Matter either taught them, or m G gave 82 LETTER TO gave them an example of, as far as We can judge. But, fuppofing that it were proved, which it has not yet been, and I doubt never will be, that the apoftles ufed extemporary publick prayer, I am afraid we fhall not be able to infer from thence that our minifters fhould pray extempore, or that the people fhould truft every one of them with the com pofition and direction of their publick worfhip ; unlefs it could be alfo proved that every one of them is directed by immediate infpiration. I have often bluShed for our ministers when I have heard them urge this argument, as it is fo weak and inconclufive in itfelf, and betrays fo much prefumption and felf Sufficiency in them ; for in fadt it is putting our prefent minifters upon a level with the apoftles. Some days ago I was pafiing by Bedlam, and obferv- ed one of its wretched inhabitants wreftling with a great iron gate. I aSked him what he was about : he told me, with an air of import ance, that his name was Samfon, and that he meant to carry up that, gate to the top of an oppofite hill, as his namefake did the gates of Gaza. 1 did not Stay to convince him. that Samfon was endued with miraculous Strength, but I could not help thinking that there was a great refemblance in his way of reafoning, or rather running mad, to the argument in hand ; for the apoftles were endued with miraculous gifts as much Superior to the abilities of our prefent minifters, as Samfon's Strength was o- that of the poor bedlamite : they lived in an age THE MINISTERS, &C. 8j age in which miraculous gifts, by the good- nefs of God, were common in the church ; but in our time there is nothing miraculous, unlefs it be the felf-fufficiency and prefump tion of the clergy in taking upon them to offer an extemporary addrefs to their Maker, and each of them claiming a right to make a whole parifh pray as he pleafes ; and the abfurd confi dence repofed in them by the laity, and the tame fubmiffion by which they Suffer every man that chances to fill their pulpits to manu facture and mix up their prayers as he choofes. Thefe indeed are miraculous things, fuch as no age, no country, no religion, ever pro duced examples of; and it is Still more' fur- prifing that the clergy themfelves, as I have proved before, fee and publifh to the world, that the people do not join in publick worfhip ; and the moft learned and fenfible part of the laity feel and acknowledge that it is very diffi cult and dangerous for them to join in it as it is performed at prefent ; and yet that none of our clergy have compaffion and humility to propofe, nor any of the laity refolution to de mand, a change ; but that all of them fit down with an abfurd and dangerous way of worfhip, introduced partly by neceffity and partly by cu- thufiafm, in the distracted days of our reforma tion ; disapproved of by our ableft reformers from the beginning, as witnefs John Knox, who compofed and ufed a form of prater, and only approved of and fupported by the filly ig norant vulgar, who have fo little knowledge G 2 either 84 LETTER TO either of the nature or importance of prayer, that they would not give themfelves the trou ble to go to church unlefs it were to hear a fermon ;, and, by the turbulent and felf-fuffi- \ cient part of the clergy, who find that it gives them a fair opportunity to fow difcord, pro pagate faction, and proftitute our worfhip to their foolifh fondnefs for popularity. That the mob who place great merit in hearing many fermons, and think preaching the moft im portant part of publick worShip, Should be fond of our prefent method, is no wonder at all, for our extemporary effufions are rather fer mons than prayers. It is natural too for the ambitious, enthufiaftical, and libertine parts of our clergy to be warmly attached to our prefent way of worfhip ; it moft effectually anfwers their feveral purpofes, it affords the ambitious a large field for difplaying their po pular talents, and an excellent opportunity to preach themfelves ; it gives enthufiafts and li bertines fair fcope to vent their whimfical and pernicious principles. Indeed nothing can be better calculated for propagating fedition, he- refy, enthufiafm, and party principles, than our prefent way of worShip, Since every mi nister has the compofition of moft of it, and the choice and management of the whole ; fo that it is no wonder if men of thefe characters be fond of it, nay it would be very Surprising if they could be perfuaded to give up our pre fent method. But THE MINISTERS, &C , 85 But it is not eafy to conceive why the learn ed, orthodox, and pious part of our clergy, who have no other views but the good of fouls and the glory of God, have not endeavoured to remedy thefe ills, by compofing and au- thorifing fuch a form of prayer as might ena ble every congregation in the kingdom to offer their prayers upon truly Chriftian principles : or how it comes to pafs that the fenfible and pious part of our laity, though they can hard ly mifs to fee that it is inconfiftent with reli gion and common fenfe, to truft the moft fo lemn part of our worfhip to the difcretion, ho- nefty, and ability, often of ftrangers whom they have never feen before, and always of indivi duals, of whofe weaknefs* and folly they have many inftances, choofe to run fuch a terrible rifk.^ CONCLUSION. I have contributed my poor mite to deliver the laity from.'the hardships and danger to which they are expofed by our prefent way of wor fhip ; and as,1 1 think, I have made it obvious that the prefent method is attended with great inconveniences and eminent danger to us poor lay-men, I may likewife hope that the rulers of our church will lay our cafe to heart, and take fuch methods as may enable us to offer a rational fervice to the great fource of reafon, and to lift up holy hands without perplexity, fear, or danger. While our cafe continues as it is, our churches may indeed be crowded by *¦ thofe 63 l£tt£r? &c. '' tiiffeb who hav| nofc-S^nfe to fee their danger, nor attentitei fe p^c;elvfe.up6n?how mahy op*5 pofite priri^leS^ they -^re /made to pray, pef- fons who have %eWm^^$&jx\ 'all their lives fe^ed|cbd uppn the nature ' and^1mp^|tance of prafeff ?ari4 come to" church partly becaufe^it is :;^cuftorn, or at moft to hear a fermOrf; hut they who confider the nature and import ance of publick worfhip wilfh'ardly chojofe, in a thing of fo great cpnfer|uilnee,; to be blind folded and led by the^r&Si?" \«$g£ ' With all humility, and due d*e^ehce, I fub mit the whole to your Consideration, more ex- terrfive learning, and5 better judgment, and to the candid.refle^t*on &f all j|rt8tfr Chriftians \ ana^arri, '^ith; the greateft refpedt> Reverend Fathers ^ Your moft obedient and moft humble Servant^, InyefSry, May 8, A. T> BLACKSMITH.