storms are sent but to increase the zeal and confidence of the pious sons of the church of England. Indeed, the greatest danger that ever the common-prayer-book had, was the indifferency and indevotion of them that used it, but as a common blessing; and they who thought it fit for the meanest of the clergy to read prayers, and for themselves only to preach, though they might innocently intend it, yet did not, in that action, consult the honour of our liturgy, except where charity or necessity did interpose. But when excellent things go away, and then look back upon us, as our blessed Saviour did upon St. Peter, we are more moved than by the nearer-embraces of a full and an actual possession. I pray God it may prove so in our case, and that we may not be too willing to be discouraged; at least, that we may not cease to love and to desire what is not publicly permitted to our practice and profession.

* 48. But because things are otherwise in this affair than we had hoped, and that, in very many churches, instead of the common-prayer which they use not, every man uses what he pleases, and all men do not choose well; and where there are so many choosers, there is nothing regular, and the sacraments themselves are not so solemnly ministered as the sacredness and solemnity of the mysteries do require, and in very many places, where the old excellent forms are not permitted, there is scarce any thing at all, but something to show there was a shipwreck, a plank or a cable, a chapter or a psalm: some who were troubled to see it so, and fain would see it otherwise, did think it might not be amiss that some of the ancient forms of other churches, and of the prayers of Scripture, should be drawn together, and laid before them that need; as supposing that these or the like materials would make better fuel for the fires of devotion, than the straw and the stubble which some men did suddenly or weakly rake together, whenever they were to dress their sacrifice. Now, although these prayers have no autho

This Preface being, in every respect, the same as that which is prefixed to the "Collection of Offices," with the exception of this and the following paragraph, they have been added here, to supersede the neces sity of reprinting the whole with the Collection of Offices.".

'rity to give them power, yet they are humbly and charitably intended, and that may get them love, and they have been (as to the matter of them) approved by persons of great learning, and great piety; and that may sufficiently recommend them to the use of those who have no other, or no better, and they no way do violence to authority, and, therefore, the use of them cannot be insecure; and they contain in them no matter of question or dispute, and, therefore, cannot be justly suspected of interest or partiality: and they are (especially in the chiefest offices) collected out of the devotions of the Greek church, with some mixture of the Mozarabic and Æthiopic, and other liturgies, and perfected out of the fountains of Scripture, and, therefore, for the material part, have great warrant and great authority: and, therefore, if they be used with submission to authority, it is hoped they may do good; and if they be not used, no man will be offended.

49. I hope there will be no need of an apology, or an excuse for doing an act of charity; if no man will confess. that he needs any of these, they can be let alone, for they are intended only for them that do; but if there be a need, these prayers may help to obtain of God to take that need away, and to supply it in the mean while. But there is nothing else intended in this design, but that we may see what excellent forms of prayer were used in the ancient church, what a rare repository of devotion the Scripture is, how it was the same spirit of prayer that assisted the church of England, and other churches of God, how much better the curates of souls may help themselves with these or the like offices, than with their own extempore; how their present needs may be supplied, and their devotion enlarged, and a day of religion entirely spent, and a provision made for some necessities, in which our calamities and our experience of late have too well instructed us. For which and for other great reasons, all churches have admitted variety of offices. In the Greek church, it is notorious, they have three public books, and very many added afterwards by their patriarchs, their bishops, and their priests; some are said often, and others sometimes: and in Spain, the Mozarabic office was used until the time of Alphonso VI.,

and to this very day, in six parishes in Toledo, and in the cathedral church itself, in the chapel of Friar Francis Ximenes; and at Salamanca, upon certain days, in the chapel of Doctor Talabricensis. And after all, these may be admitted into the use and ministry of families, for all the necessities of which, here is something provided.

JER. TAYLOR.

A LETTER FROM JEREMY TAYLOR, D. D.

ADDRESSED TO

BISHOP LESLIE;

AND PREFIXED BY HIM TO HIS DISCOURSE ON PRAYING WITH THE SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING.

I

MY LORD,

AM well pleased your Lordship hath consented to publish your excellent sermons concerning "extempore prayer." You preached them in a family, in which the public liturgy of the church is greatly valued, and diligently used; but in a country, where most of the inhabitants are strangers to the thing, and enemies to the name; for so they are taught to be, having no other reason for that enmity, than because their preachers have blasted it with the breath of their displeasure. But, instead of this, they are fed with indeliberate, unstudied, sudden conceptions, begotten and born in the same minute, and, therefore, not likely to be better than all those other productions of the world, which, by being sudden and hasty, have an inevitable fate to be useless and good for nothing.

My Lord, I have often considered concerning the pretensions of those persons, who think no prayer is good if it be studied, and none spiritual unless it be 'ex tempore,' and that only such are made by the spirit: and perceiving them to rely upon the expression of St. Paul, "I will pray with the spirit," I have thought that they as little study what they teach to men, as what they say to God; for if they did not understand with the spirit, in the same sense as they pray with the spirit, that is, without all study and consideration,

I am verily persuaded they would not have fallen upon this new and unheard-of practice: I say, 'unheard-of;' for it is a new thing, both to heathens, to Jews, and to Christians; and indeed, must be so, since, in the very nature of the thing itself, it appears to be infinitely unreasonable.

For what greater disparagement in the world can there be to him that speaks, or the thing spoken, than to say it was spoken rashly and inconsiderately? And, therefore, it was an excellent saying of one: "Oratio viri philosophi, sicut vita, debet esse composita :" "every wise man's words should be composed and orderly as his life :” μετὰ πολλοῦ σκέψεως καὶ πόνου, "with labour and consideration." And certain it is, if any man intends to speak well and wisely, he does not vomit out his answers, as a fool does secrets; he is sick till they are out, and when they are, they are loathsome. Of this I need say no more; but it is evident all such extempore prayers are likely to be less wise; and to use such ways of prayer, is against reason.

2

2. To do so is against the virtue of religion: it is doing the work of the Lord negligently, and, therefore, unpleasantly; and to this is to be imputed all those unhandsome issues of a sudden tongue, which so ill become religion, that they very often minister offence to wise and godly persons of all persuasions.

3. Hasty and unstudied prayers are against Scripture; expressly I say, against the word of God, whose Spirit hath commanded thus: "Be not rash with thy mouth, and be not hasty to utter any thing before God." Now this commandment is plain and easy, and, therefore, not to be evacuated by any obscure and difficult pretences, from which no certain argument can arise. To which if we add, that St. Paul, amongst the characters of these of whom he prophesies evil things, reckons TоTETE," the hasty and heady people ";" I humbly conceive that these are the persons, in the New Testament, who break the commandment in the Old, and that they must have something else to defend them, than what hath yet appeared.

b."

But, therefore, these our brethren pretend that the Spirit of God supplies all this; and, what is wanting in nature, is