ferred to these three heads, preaching of the word, administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of discipline; all to be performed with prayer and thanksgiving. The rule for the administration of these things, so far as they are purely of his institution, he gave his disciples in his appointment of them. Persons also he designed to the regular administration of these his holy things in the assemblies of his saints; namely, pastors and teachers to endure to the end of the world, after those of an extraordinary employment under him were to cease. It remaineth then to consider, how the persons appointed by him unto the administration of these holy things in his assemblies, and so to the discharge of the whole public worship of God, should be enabled thereunto; so as the end by him aimed at of the edification of his disciples, and the glory of God, might be attained. Two ways there are whereby this may be done. First, By such spiritual abilities for the discharge and performance of this whole work as will answer the mind of Christ therein, and so serve for the end proposed. Secondly, By the prescription of a form of words whose reading and pronunciation in these administrations should outwardly serve as to all the ends of the prayer and thanksgiving required in them, which they do contain. It is evident that our Saviour fixed on the former way; what he hath done as to the latter, or what his mind is concerning it, we shall afterward inquire.

For the first, as in many other places so signally in one the apostle acquaints us with the course he has taken, and the provision that he hath made; namely, Eph. iv. 7—16. 'Unto every of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some apostles, some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,' &c. The thing aimed at is the bringing of all the saints and disciples of Christ, the whole church, to that measure and perfection of grace which Christ hath assigned to them in this world, that they may be meet for himself to receive in glory.

The means whereby this is to be done and effected, is the faithful, regular, and effectual discharge of the work of the ministry, unto which the administration of all his ordinances and institutions do confessedly belong. That this work may be discharged in an orderly manner to the end mentioned, he has granted unto his church the offices mentioned, to be executed by persons variously called thereunto, according to his mind and will.

The only inquiry remaining is, how these persons shall be enabled for the discharge of their office, and so accomplishment of the work of the ministry. This he declares is by the communication of grace and spiritual gifts from heaven unto them by Christ himself. Here lieth the spring of all that followeth; the care hereof he hath taken upon himself unto the end of the world. He that enabled the shoulders of the Levites to bear the ark of old, and their arms to slay the sacrifices, without which natural strength those carnal ordinances could not have been observed (nor was the ark to be carried for a supply of defect of ability in the Levites), hath upon their removal, and the institution of the spiritual worship of the gospel, undertaken to supply the administrators of it with spiritual strength and abilities for the discharge of their work, allowing them supply of the defect of that which he hath taken upon himself to perform. I suppose then that these ensuing will seem but reasonable postulata.

1. That the means which Jesus Christ hath appointed for the attaining of any end, is every way sufficient for that purpose whereunto it is so appointed: his wisdom exacts our consent to this proposition.

2. That what he hath taken upon himself to perform unto the end of the world, and promised so to do, that he will accomplish accordingly: here his faithfulness requires our

assent.

3. That the communication of spiritual gifts and graces to the ministers of the gospel, is the provision that Christ hath made for the right discharge of the work of their ministry, unto the edification of his body. This lies plain in the text.

4. That the exercise and use of those gifts in all those administrations for which they are bestowed, are expected

and required by him. The nature of the thing itself, with innumerable testimonies, confirm this truth also.

5. That it is derogatory to the glory, honour, and faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ to affirm that he ceaseth to bestow gifts for the work of the ministry, whilst he continueth and requireth the exercise and discharge of that work. What hath befallen men, or doth yet befall them through the wretched sloth, darkness, and unbelief, which their wilful neglect of dependence on him, or of stirring up or improving of what they do receive from him, and the mischiefs that have accrued to the church by the intrusion of such persons into the place and office of the ministry as were never called nor appointed by him thereunto, are not to be imputed unto any failing on his part, in his promise of dispensing the gifts mentioned to the end of the world. Of which several positions we shall have some use in our farther progress.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, then, having delivered his disciples from the yoke of Mosaical institutions which lay upon them from of old, as also from being entangled in their consciences by or from any inventions of men imposed on them, giving them rules for the practice of the liberty whereunto by him they were vindicated, taking them for the future into his own sole disposal in all things concerning the worship of God, he appoints in his sovereign authority both the ordinances which he will have alone observed in his church, and the persons by whom they are to be administered, furnishing them with spiritual abilities to that end and purpose, promising his presence with them to the end of the world, commands them to set such in his name and strength in the way and unto the work that he hath allotted to them.

That now which on this foundation we are farther to inquire into is, whether over and above what we have recounted, our Saviour hath appointed, or by any ways given allowance unto, the framing of a stinted form of prayers and praises to be read and used by the administrators of his ordinances in their administration of them; or whether the prescription and imposing of such a form or liturgy upon those who minister in the church, in the name and authority of Christ, be not contrary to his mind, and cross to his whole design, for perpetuating of his institutions to the end of the world,

in due order and manner. And this we shall do; and withal discover the rise and progress which such liturgies have had and made in the church of God.

CHAP. III.

Of the Lord's Prayer, and what may be concluded from thence, as to the invention and imposition of liturgies in the public worship of God. The liberty whereunto Christ vindicated, and wherein he left his disciples.

THE first plea used to give countenance unto the composing and imposing of liturgies, is taken from that act of our Saviour himself, who, upon the request of his disciples, composed for them a form of prayer, which being recorded in the gospel, is said to have the force of an institution, rendering the observation or use of that form a necessary duty unto all believers to the end of the world. And this plea is strengthened - by a discovery which some learned men say they have made; namely, that our blessed Saviour composed this form which he delivered to his disciples, out of such other forms as were then in ordinary use among the Jews; whereby, they say, he confirmed that practice of prescribing forms of prayer among them; and recommended the same course of proceeding, by his so doing, unto his disciples. Now though it be very hard to discover how, upon a supposition that all which is thus suggested is the very truth, any thing can be hence concluded to the justification of the practice of imposing liturgies, now inquired into; yet that there may be no pretence left unto a plea, though never so weak and infirm, of such an extract as this lays claim unto, it will be necessary to consider the severals of it. It is generally apprehended, that our Saviour in his prescription of that form of prayer unto his disciples did aim at two things. 1. That they might have a summary symbol of all the most excellent things they were to ask of God in his name, and so a rule of squaring all their desires and supplications by. This end all universally concur in; and therefore Matthew considering the doctrinal nature of it, gives it a place in the first recorded sermon of our Saviour, by way of anticipation,

and mentions it not when he comes to the time wherein it was really first delivered by him. 2. For their benefit and advantage, together with other intercessions that they should also use the repetition of those words, as a prescript form wherein he had comprised the matter of their requests and petitions. About this latter, all men are not agreed in their judgments, whether indeed our Saviour had this aim in it or no. Many learned men suppose that it was a supply of a rule and standard of things to be prayed for, without prescribing to them the use or rehearsal of that form of words, that he aimed at. Of this number are Musculus, Grotius, and Cornelius à Lapide, with many others; but it may suffice to intimate that some of all sorts are so minded. But we shall not, in the case in hand, make use of any principle so far obnoxious unto common prejudice, as experience proves that opinion of those learned men to be. Let it therefore be taken for granted, that our Saviour did command that form to be repeated by his disciples; and let us then consider what will regularly ensue thereupon. Our Saviour at that time was minister of the circumcision, and taught the doctrine of the gospel under and with the observation of all the worship of the Judaical church. He was not yet glorified, and so the Spirit was not as yet given; I mean that Spirit which he promised unto his disciples, to enable them to perform all the worship of God by him required at their hands, whereof we have before spoken. That then which the Lord Jesus prescribed unto his disciples, for their present practice in the worship of God, seems to have belonged unto the economy of the Old Testament. Now to argue from the prescription of, and outward helps for the performance of the worship of God under the Old Testament, unto a necessity of the like or the same under the New, is upon the matter to deny that Christ is ascended on high, and to have given spiritual gifts unto men, eminently distinct from, and above those given out by him under the Judaical pedagogy. However their boldness seems unwarrantable, if not intolerable, who to serve their own ends upon this prescription of his, do affirm, that our Lord Jesus composed this form out of such as were then in common use among the Jews. For as the proof of their assertion which they insist on, namely, the finding of some of the things expressed in it, or