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Show 7+ Prefcribed forms of'WorflJip unlawful!. Chap. 4• ·r_J b d (( ribed to be read OUt formes of prayer, devll<:u y man, an pre c tl . h of a booke, and fo taken up by one Church from ano ter ' a_s t e formes of their worntip, and as the meancs and help: of therr devotion wee fin de no command or pattern~> for ~h;m mdtlfite Word, nor an'y prom·a re. of t 1te •ll • acceptance. They arc wjoyn.c ormeans and hel sofGods woriliip, which he hath not fancbfied, and for formes ~f woriliip which God hath not acknowledged. What drf· r · 1 between the carrying of the Ark_t upon a Cart, and 1erence 1s t 1erc ' b. · d 1 our a 'erJ upon a Boo~? whereas both fhould e came., t le one upof:"rf1e fbouldm of the Levites, the other upon the giftr of the Minifters. · d fh · Ob. a I God hath in generall cOinmande us to wor lp bml 1n pu~lick ;.,ith all manner of p~ayers a?d fupplication, ( 11im.2. 1.) but prayers upon a bookeJ Jlmtcd Luw-gte$, are fm11e manner -<>fprayers. · Anfw. God chat in generall commandcth allma:nner of pray· ers,commandech alfo in frcciall the feve1:a!l kinds of pr.ayers, wheilier fupplications, interceflions, th;mldgrvtng~,o~ the. hke. ~e ~hat commandcth che Genm, commandeili the ~t!l:nbuuonofn m.to ~ its Jpecier, but h~ that comn~at_Jdeth th.e fub;~l1, doth aot alwaies command the di!l:ribucion oftt Ill to all us ~dpmlls; he that com· mandeth prayer b gomllll, allowcth every ~mck of prt!Jt;> but not aery forme of prayer ; for then God fuould allow pn.ytr m a Jlrang tongm, pr,1yer before lm.1gu, prayer in the cormrs of the Jlreetr, and the like. Objell. 2. {ffet-fomicsofprefcript.prayers be un~awfull, then fcc-formes of cunftJ!ioll of f.mh ,/et·formes of Cattxhifme wece.un-lawfutl alfo. . AnjW.1. It followeth not; for the Apofrlecommandeth ~s t.o nep,e a forme of found -n:ordJ in f.;itb and love, that is, in the pnn.apks of Religion, ( 2 Tun.l. 13.) but he nowhere commandeth us to kecpe a forme of found prayer, unle!fc it be a forme of direlliom and infl.mllions, how to pray, and thatislnduded in the former, and wee di(like it not. AnjW.2. The Apofr!e did notcommand 1imothy to devtfe himfelfe a forme of fo!Uld words, & to prefcribe the fame to me Churches, without fuffering ought to be adckd to it, or taken from it ' bud what htmufr commend to others,.were the things that he hearlj 1fP .. lUI ammu manv ·1 .tr. b' b b . . b . b b "'wz neJ!eJ,w zc e waJtocommzttof.Jzthfu/Jmen w o mrg t be abk to teach otherJ ~ti'O 2 T;~ 2 2 ' Th' dl F 1"' ~ ... ' ' Ir • .Y> ~r a t~ird ;eafon why we doe not take up fet-formcs of prefcnpt Lt~urgtes' IS taken from the like proportion of fetfo_ r~nes, both ot prefcript Liturgiu, and of prefi:ript Sermonr and Hom tim: ~ra~er and preaching are both of them pub lick duties of the mmdrertall o~cc. The Apofr!es tell the Church they will Ia d~~~ tht~acow ";jP'"Jjent, that they may give chemfelves to tile TlfPU;·erJ 0 1 e wor an prayer, AfJ:. 6. In the one, they are the mOBtb of God to the people; in the oilier, they are them~uth oftht people umo God. If wee prefc~b_e to one another fet-formes of prayer, why not ftt·fo>·mer of HomJiter.? and then neither the Apojllu tlOl' th~ir fitcceffim needed co have left off their imployment in ~ini· llnng to Tables, to attend the miniftry of the Word and prayer, (_All! 6: 4·) for both are p_r~par~d to their hlnds,by the prefcripuons ot othec:s: Whence allo It will follow, that Minill:ersilulllitcle need toedtfie the Church by their owne aifts received 'of Chrifl .to that end, but may edifie them by the oifts"of othm. Yea Minifrers, though ?ell:iu~te of minijleria/J gift~,may be fit for the publici{ difcbargeoft~r du:zu b}' t~c helpe of othermmJ giftr,bothin prayer ~nd prcar.hmg ; and fo mdeed a prefcript Liturgic is properly a mamtenance to all Ido/J dumb Minijlers. And in this forbearance of prdCript prayers, as we. follow the example of the Chmch of If rae!, and of the AriflolzcaU Churches, fo wee are not deftitute of patterns~ this cafe of thofc that fi1cceeded them. Juftin Marty>· "in his fecond Apologie for Chrifrians,a hw1dred and fifty yea res "after Chrill:, fpe~keth of the ruler of the Ch1.1rch, fending up ;; prayers and pratfes t? God, without !Dencioning any prefctipt "[~, accord.mg to hts power (or faculue) of prayer, or thankf-glvmg, left hrm by the Apofrles or others. And TmuUian about "203. yea res after Chrifr, in his Apologie for Chriftians faith "" th e y pr.a yer! fim e mom.t ore,qu:.a .de pellore,w.l thout a promp't er, be'- caufe they prayed from their heart, 'Iert11/J. Apolog. 30. that is, "~as Zepb. on the place expoundeth it) they prayed not accord" mg to the difJ:ate of the Sotints, to wit, in any forme of words " Prc;fcribed by them. And indeed, if in thole b!oudy times of perfecutton, ~h; Church had any fet-fonne ofLiturgie, wherein they had bee~mJoyned a forme of folenme prayers for their Empc:roura L z it |