"and which ferves the Ends of our Devotion beft, "one common Liturgy, or Words and Expreffions every Day new.' That fet Forms of Prayer are no where prohibited in Scripture, nay, that, in fome Places, they are exprefsly commanded and prescribed, is evident to every one, that is converfant in the Writings of either Teftament. In the Old Teftament, we find the Lord fpeaking unto Mofes thus, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his Sons, faying, On this wife ye shall bless the Children of Ifrael, faying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make his Face to fhine upon thee; the Lord lift up his Countenance upon thee, and give thee Peace; nor can we fuppofe, that God was lefs ready to vouchsafe his Bleffing to the People, because his Minister always implored it in the fame Form of Words. And as the Priefts, under the Law, were required to blefs the People in a fet Form, fo were the People fometimes enjoined to offer up their Prayers to God in Words that were prepared before-hand for them. Thus, when a Murther was committed, and the Author of it unknown, the Elders of the adjoining City were directed to afk God's Pardon in this Form; Our Hands have not fhed this Blood, neither have our Eyes feen it: Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy People Ifrael, whom thou haft redeemed, and lay not innocent Blood unto thy People of Ifrael's Charge: And fo the Blood was to be forgiven.

In the New Testament, we find our Saviour prefcribing to his Difciples a fet Form of Prayer, when he ordered them to pray after this Manner; Our Father, &c. For it was not only the Cuftom of the Jews in general to use Forms of Prayer, but for their Doctors likewife to teach their Scholars fome particular Form, compofed by them, in order to diftinguish them from other People. Compliance to this Custom, John the Baptift, as G

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it appears by the Place in St Luke, taught his Disciples a peculiar Form; and, for this Reason, one of our Saviour's Difciples comes and requests of him, that he would be pleased to compose one for their Ufe, Lord, teach us to pray, as John alfa taught his Difciples; upon which we find, that our Saviour complied with his Requeft, and accordingly prefcribed them the Form, which he had given them before, as a Pattern of Prayer upon the Mount. And as our Saviour prescribed them this Form, 'tis hardly to be queftioned, but that, in Obedience to his Command, they made Use of it, even though we have no exprefs Declaration in Holy Writ, that they did fo; becaufe, we may obferve farther, that, wherever we have any Prayers recorded, there is Prefumption enough to believe, that they offered them up in a fet Form. Thus we find the whole Company of primitive Christians, in Conjunction with the Apoftles themfelves, lifting up their Voice with one Accord, and faying, Lord, thou art God, which haft made Heaven, and Earth, and the Sea, and all that is in them, &c. And as they all joined, not only with their Hearts, but with their Voices; not only in the fame Thoughts, but in the fame Words; unless we will fay, that all were immediately inspired to utter the fame Syllables, for which there is no Ground in the Hiftory, nor any Probability in Reason, we must allow, that they prayed by a Form composed before-hand.

What has been faid upon this Head is fufficient to fhew, if not the Neceffity, at leaft the Lawfulness of praying by a Form: For fince God was pleased to prescribe Forms to be used in his publick Worfhip in the Jewish Church; fince Chrift taught his Difciples to pray after a Form; and they, upon fundry Occafions, in all Probability, made Ufe of premeditated Forms; it will undeniably follow,

that

that to use fet Forms of Prayer is not repugnant to the Will of God; is no ftinting of the Spirit, no Impediment to Devotion, no Inftance of Superftition, no Part of forbidden Will-Worship, no Invention of Antichrift, &c.

That all Things should be done to the Glory of God, we are very frequently warned in Scripture; and we may leave it to the Judgment of any fober Perfon, whether the Glory of God is beft promoted by fuch Prayers, wherein ftrict Care is taken, that nothing fhould be uttered unbecoming the Divine Majefty, or by fuch extemporary Conceptions, wherein many unfeemly and irreverent Speeches, at least, are too commonly, and, in a Manner unavoidably, poured forth. That all

Things fhould be done for Edification, is another Scripture-Precept; and whether thofe Prayers, which which are formed by the mature Advice of many Perfons, eminent for Wisdom and Piety, and which are both known and understood by the People, or thofe, which are conceived, on a fudden, by one Man, whofe Abilities, perhaps, are not very great, and which thofe, who join with them, must first study to understand, before they can concur therein, are most likely to edify the Church, can, with unprejudiced Perfons, bear no Difpute. If I know not the Meaning of the Voice, fays the Apostle, I fball be unto him, that speaketh, a Barbarian, and be, that speaketh, fhall be a Barbarian unto me: Now the Meaning of the Voice may be as unknown to us, if a Prayer be made in a Phrase, as if it be made in a Language that we do not understand; and he, that prays in an untelligible Manner, is as much a Barbarian to those that hear him, as if he prayed in an unknown Tongue: So that, unless all Minifters are Masters of Perfpicuity, which, perhaps, is a Talent as rare as any, then be, that occupieth the Room of the Unlearned, nay, he, indeed, that

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is never so learned, may not always be able to fay Amen to a Prayer, which he may not always be able to understand.

In a Word, if earnest Defires, if devout Affections, if close Attention and Fervour of Spirit do recommend our Prayers to God, all thefe Advantages may rather be hoped for by thofe, who, ufing a prepared and known Form, have nothing farther to do, than to excite, in their Minds, Paffions fuitable to the Business they are upon; than by fuch, who, depending wholly upon the Conceptions of another, muft first endeavour to catch thofe Words, which fall from him; then be employed in finding out their Meaning; then confider whether that which is afked be lawful for them to afk, and whether they can heartily join with fuch a Petition, or Thanksgiving; which, before they can have determined in their own Thoughts, it may be too late for them to join in, because the Minifter is, perhaps, by this Time, paffed on to another quite different Matter. If therefore, by compofed Forms, the Infirmities of fome Men are best remedied; if our Confent and Communion with other Chriftians is hereby beft teftified; if Errors and Irregularities in Worship be by this Means beft prevented; if they are most subservient to Edification, to true Devotion, and to the Glory of God; we may fafely conclude, that a well-compofed Form of publick Worship, in the Church, is not only lawful, but expedient, and in fome Degree even neceffary: And, upon this Account, we may well be allowed to congratulate our mutual Happiness, in being made Members of a Church, wherein there is fo great a Treasure of rational Devotion; where all the Prayers are directed to a proper Object, all cloathed in proper and fignificant Language, and all difpofed in exact and regular Order; where the Praises are lofty,

and

and fuitable to the Majefty of God; the Confeffions humble, and fuch as become Sinners; the Interceffions comprehend all the Duties, and the Supplications are extended to all the Wants of Mankind : Where the Whole, indeed, is fo admirably fit ted to the common Concerns of a Chriftian Society, that when (as the Rubrick enjoins) we make but Ufe of fome of them, our Worship is not imperfect, and, when we use them all, there is none of them fuperfluous: And therefore, if we be but careful to bring with us, to the House of God, fuch Affections as become his Saints, we need not doubt, but that we shall there find fuch Prayers to express these Affections in, as will prove a reasonable Service, and make the Whole an Offering of a fweet-fmelling Savour unto God.

3. Of Praife and Thanksgiving.

RAISE and Thanksgiving, though they are

nefs of Speech, have a different Signification. Our Praise properly terminates in God, on the Account of his natural Excellencies and Perfections, and is that Act of Devotion, by which we confefs and admire his feveral Attributes; but Thanksgiving is a narrower Duty, and imports only a grateful Senfe and Acknowledgment of God's Mercies. We praise God for all his glorious Acts of every Kind, that regard either us, or other Men; for his very Acts of Vengeance, and thofe Judgments, which he fometimes fends abroad on the Earth; but, properly speaking, we thank him only for the Inftances of his Goodness, and only for fuch Inftances too, as we ourselves are, fome Way or other, concerned in. This is properly the Diftinction of the two Words: But, fince the Language of the Scripture is generally less exact in this Matter, we, in

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what