ance that moves them, is a tyranny that would have longer hands than thofe giants who threatened bondage to Heaven. What we may do in the fame form of words is not fo much the queftion, as whether liturgy may be forced as he forced it. It is true that we "pray to the fame God;" muft we, therefore, always ufe the fame words? Let us then ufe but one word, because we pray to one God. "We profefs the fame truths," but the liturgy comprehends not all truths: "we read the fame feriptures," but never read that all thofe facred expreffions, all benefit and ufe of Scripture, as to public prayer, fhould be denied us, except what was barrelled up in a common prayer-book with many mixtures of their own, and, which is worfe, without falt. But fuppofe them favory words and unmixed, fuppose them manna itself, yet, if they fhall be hoarded up and enjoined us, while God every morning rains down new expreffions into our hearts; inftead of being fit to ufe, they will be found like referved manna, rather to breed worms and ftink. "We have the fame duties upon us, and feel the fame wants;" yet not always the fame, nor at all times alike; but with variety of circumftances, which atk variety of words: whereof God hath given us plenty; not to use fo copioufly upon all other occafions, and fo niggardly to him alone in our devotions. As if chriftians were now in a worfe famine of words fit for prayer, than was of food at the fiege of Jerufalem, when perhaps the priefts being to remove the fhowbread, as was accuftomed, were compelled every fabbath day, for want of other loaves, to bring again ftill the fame. If the "Lord's Prayer" had been the "warrant or the pattern of fet liturgies," as is here affirmed, why was neither that prayer, nor any other fet form ever after ufed, or fo much as mentioned by the Apostles, much less commended to our ufe? Why was their care wanting in a thing fo useful to the church? fo full of danger and contention to be left undone by them to other men's penning, of whofe authority we could not be fo certain? Why was this forgotten by them, who declare that they have revealed to us the whole counfel of God? who, as he left our affections to be guided by his fanctifying fpirit, fo did he likewise our words to be put into us without our premeditation*; not only thofe cautious words to be used before gentiles and tyrants, but much more thofe filial words, of which we have fo frequent use in our accefs with freedom of fpeech to the throne of grace. Which to lay afide for other outward dictates of men, were to injure him and his perfect gift, who is the spirit, and the giver of our ability to pray; as if his miniftration were incomplete, and that to whom he gave affections, he did not alfo afford utterance to make his gift of prayer a perfect gift; to them especially, whose office in the church is to pray publicly. And although the gift were only natural, yet voluntary prayers are lefs fubject to formal and fuperficial tempers than fet forms: for in thofe, at least for words and matter, he who prays muft confult firft with his heart, which in likelihood may stir up his affections; in these, having both words and matter ready made to his lips, which is enough to make up the outward act of prayer, his affections grow lazy, and come not up eafily at the call of words not their own; the prayer alfo having lefs intercourse and fympathy with a heart wherein it was not conceived, faves itself the labour of fo long a journey downward, and flying up in hafte on the fpecious wings of formality, if it fall not back again headlong, inftead of a prayer which was expected, prefents God with a fet of ftale and empty words. No doubt but oftentation and formality" may taint the best duties; we are not therefore to leave duties for no duties, and to turn prayer into a kind of lurry. Cannot unpremeditated babblings be rebuked, and reftrained in whom we find they are, but the spirit of God muft be forbidden in all men? But it is the custom of bad men and hypocrites, to take advantage at the leaft abuse of good things, that under that covert they may remove the goodness of thofe things, rather than the abuse. And how unknowingly, how weakly is the ufing of fet *The promise of the Spirit's affistance, here alluded to, was extraordinary, and belonged only to the first age; fo that the author's argument is in this part inconclufive. forms forms attributed here to "conftancy," as if it were con ftancy in the cuckoo to be always in the fame liturgy. Much lefs can it be lawful than an Englished mafs-book, compofed, for aught we know, by men neither learned, nor godly, fhould juftle out, or at any time deprive us the exercise of that heavenly gift, which God by special promise pours out daily upon his church, that is to fay, the fpirit of prayer. Whereof to help thofe many infirmities, which he reckons up, "rudeness, impertinency, flatness," and the like, we have a remedy of God's finding out, which is not liturgy, but his own free spirit. Though we know not what to pray as we ought, yet he with fighs unutterable by any words, much lefs by a ftinted liturgy, dwelling in us makes interceffion for us, according to the mind and will of God, both in private and in the performance of all ecclefiaftical duties. For it is his promise also, that where two or three gathered together in his name fhall agree to afk him any thing, it fhall be granted; for he is there in the midft of them. If then ancient churches, to remedy the infirmities of prayer, or rather the infections of Arian and Pelagian herefies, neglecting that ordained and promifed help of the fpirit, betook them almoft four hundred years after Chrift to liturgy, (their own invention,) we are not to imitate them; nor to diftruft God in the removal of that truant help to our devotion, which by him never was appointed. And what is faid of liturgy, is faid alfo of directory, if it be impofed: although to forbid the fervice-book there be much more reafon, as being of itself fuperftitious, offenfive, and indeed, though Englished, yet ftill the mafs-book; and public places ought to be provided of fuch as need not the help of liturgies or directories continually, but are fupported with minifterial gifts anfwerable to their calling. Laftly, that the common-prayer book was rejected because it "prayed fo oft for him," he had no reason to object for what large and laborious prayers were made for him in the pulpits, if he never heard, it is doubtful they were never heard in Heaven. We might now have expected, that his own following prayer fhould add D 4 add much credit to fet forms; but on the contrary we find the fame imperfections in it, as in most before, which he lays here upon extemporal. upon extemporal. Nor doth he ask of God to be directed whether liturgies be lawful, but prefumes, and in a manner would perfuade him, that they be fo; praying, "that the church and he may never want them." What could be prayed worfe extempore? unlefs he mean by wanting, that they may never need them. XVII. Of the differences in point of Church-Government. THE government of church by bishops hath been fo fully proved from the fcriptures to be vicious and ufurped, that whether out of piety or policy maintained, it is not much material; for piety grounded upon errour can no more juftify king Charles, than it did queen Mary, in the fight of God or man. This however muft not be let pass without a ferious obfervation; God having fo difpofed the author in this chapter as to confefs and discover more of mystery and combination between tyranny and false religion, than from any other hand would have been credible. Here we may fee the very dark roots of them both turned up, and how they twine and interweave one another in the earth, though above ground fhooting up in two feveral branches, We may have learnt both from facred history, and times of reformation, that the kings of this world have both ever hated and inftinctively feared the church of God. Whether it be for that their doctrine feems much to favour two things to them fo dreadful, liberty and equality; or because they are the children of that kingdom, which, as ancient prophecies have foretold, fhall in the end break to pieces and diffolve all their great power and dominion, And thofe kings and potentates who have ftrove most to rid themselves of this fear, by cutting off or fuppreffing the true church, have drawn upon themselves the occafion of their own ruin, while they thought with moft policy to prevent it. Thus Pharaoh, when once he began to fear and wax jealous of the Ifraelites, left they * they fhould multiply and fight against him, and that his fear stirred him up to afflict and keep them under, as the only remedy of what he cared, foon found that the evil which before flept, came fuddenly upon him, by the prepofterous way he took to prevent it. Paffing by examples between, and not fhutting wilfully our eyes, we may fee the like story brought to pats in our own land. This king, more than any before him, except perhaps his father, from his firft entrance to the crown, harbouring in his mind a strange fear and fufpicion of men most religious, and their doctrine, which in his own language he here acknowledges, terining it "the feditious exorbitancy" of minifters tongues, and doubting "left they," as he not chriftianly exprefies it, "fhould with the keys of Heaven let out peace and loyalty from the people's hearts;" though they never preached or attempted aught that might justly raise in him fuch thoughts †, he could not reft, or think himself fecure, fo long as they remained in any of his three kingdoms unrooted out. But outwardly profeffing the fame religion with them, he could not prefently ufe violence as Pharaoh did, and that course had with others before but ill fucceeded. He choofes therefore a more mystical way, a newer method of antichriftian fraud, to the church more dangerous; and like to Balak the fon of Zippor, against a nation of prophets thinks it beft to hire other efteemed prophets, and to undermine and wear out the true church by a falfe ecclefiaftical policy. To this drift he found the government of bithops moft ferviceable; an order in the church, as by men firft corrupted, fo mutually corrupting them who receive it, both in judgment and manners. He, by conferring bishoprics and great livings on whom he thought moft pliant to his will, against the known canons and univerfal practice of the ancient church, whereby those elections were the people's right, fought, as he confeffes, to have "greateft influence upon Churchmen," They on the other fide finding themselves in a high dignity, neither founded by fcripture, nor allowed by reformation, *The fecond edition has to fhun it, nor |