petitions of it, in the writings of the Jews, the eldest whereof is some hundreds of years younger than this prayer itself, is most weak and contemptible; so the affirmation itself is exceeding derogatory to the glory and honour of his wisdom, assigning unto him a work so unnecessary and trivial, as would scarce become a man of ordinary prudence and authority. But yet to carry on the work in hand, let it be supposed, that our Saviour did command that form of prayer out of such as were then customarily used among the Jews, which is false, and asserted without any colour of proof; also that he prescribed it as a form to be repeated by his disciples, which we have shewn many very eminently learned men to deny; and that though he prescribed it as a minister to the Judaical church, and to his disciples whilst members of that church, under the economy of the Old Testament, not having as yet received the Spirit and gifts of the New, yet that he did it for the use and observance of his disciples to the end of the world, and that not as to the objective regulation of their prayers, but as to the repetition of the words; yet it doth not appear how from all these concessions any argument can be drawn to the composition and imposition of liturgies, whose rise and nature we are inquiring after. For it is certain, that our Saviour gives this direction for the end which he intends in it, not primarily as to the public worship of the assemblies of his disciples, but as to the guidance of every individual saint in his private devotion; Matt. vi. 6. 8. Now from a direction given unto private persons, as to their private deportment in the discharge of any religious duty, to argue unto a prescription of the whole worship of God in public assemblies, is not safe. But that we may hear the argument drawn from this act of our Saviour speak out all that it hath to offer, let us add this also to the forementioned presumptions, that our Saviour hath appointed and ordained, that in the assemblies of his disciples in his worship by him required, they who administer in his name in and to the church, should repeat the words of this prayer, though not peculiarly suited to any one of his institutions; what will thence be construed to ensue? why then it is supposed that this will follow; That it is not only lawful, but the duty of some men to compose other forms, a hundred times as many, suited in their judg

ment to the due administration of all ordinances of worship in particular, imposing them on the evangelical administrators of those ordinances, to be read by them, with a severe interdiction of the use of any other prayers in those administrations. Bellarmine, de Pont. Rom. lib. 4. cap. 16. argues for the necessity of the observation of rites indifferent, when once commanded by the church, from the necessity of the observation of baptism, in itself a thing indifferent, after it was commanded by Christ. Some think this is not to dispute but blaspheme. Nor is the inference before mentioned of any other complexion. When it shall be made to appear, that whatever it was lawful for the Lord Christ to do, and to prescribe to his church and disciples in reference to the worship of God, the same, or any thing of the like nature, it is lawful for men to do, under the pretence of their being invested with the authority of the church, or any else whatever, then some colour will be given to this argument; which being raised on the tottering suppositions before mentioned, ends in that which seems to deserve a harder name than at present we shall affix unto it.

And this is the state and condition wherein the disciples of Christ were left by himself, without the least intimation of any other impositions in the worship of God to be laid upon them. Nor in any thing, or by any act of his, did he intimate the necessity or lawful use of any such liturgies as these which we are inquiring after, or prescribed and limited forms of prayers or praises to be used or read in the public administration of evangelical institutions, but indeed made provision rendering all such prescriptions useless; and, because they cannot be made use of, but by rejection of the provision by himself made, unlawful.

CHAP. IV.

Of the worship of God by the apostles. No liturgies used by them, nor in the churches of their plantation. Argument from their practice. Reasons pleaded for the use of liturgies. Disabilities of church officers for gospel administration to the edification of the church. Uniformity in the worship of God. The practice of the apostles as to those pretences considered. Of other impositions. The rule given by the apostles. Of the liturgies falsely ascribed unto some of them.

OUR next inquiry is after the practice of the apostles, the best interpretation of the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, as to the 'agenda' of the church, or what he would have done therein in the worship of God, and how. That one end of their being furnished with the Spirit of Christ, was the right and due administration of his ordinances in his church, to the edification of his disciples, I suppose will not be denied, By virtue of his assistance, and the gifts from him received, they discharge this part of their duty accordingly. That they used any liturgies in the church-worship wherein they went at any time before the disciples, cannot with any colour of proof be pretended. The Scripture gives us an account of many of their prayers, of none that were a repetition of a form. If any such were used by them, how came the memory of them utterly to perish from off the earth? Some indeed of the ancients say, that they used the Lord's Prayer in the consecration of the Eucharist, which by others is denied, being in itself improbable, and the testimonies weak that are produced in behalf of its assertion. But as hath been shewed, the use of that prayer no way concerns the present question. There are no more Christ's but one; to us there is one Lord Jesus Christ. For him who hath affirmed, that it is likely they used forms of prayer and homilies composed for them by Saint Peter, I suppose he must fetch his evidence out of the same authors that he used who affirmed that Jesus Christ himself went up and down singing mass.

The practice then of the apostles is not, as far as I know, by any sober and learned persons controverted in this matter. They administered the holy things of the gospel, by virtue of the holy gifts they had received. But they were apostles.

The inquiry is, what directions and commands they gave unto the bishops or pastors of the churches which they planted, that they might know how to behave themselves in the house and worship of God. Whatever they might do in the discharge of their duty by virtue of their extraordinary gifts, yet the case might be much otherwise with them, who were intrusted with ordinary ministerial gifts only. But we do not find that they made any distinction in this matter between themselves and others. For as the care of all the churches was on them, the duties whereof they were to discharge by virtue of the gifts they had received, according to their commission empowering them thereunto, so to the bishops of particular churches, they gave charge to attend unto the administration of the holy things in them, by virtue of the gifts they had received to that purpose, according to the limits of their commission. And upon a supposition that the apostles were enabled to discharge all gospel administrations to the edification of the church, by virtue of the gifts they had received, which those who were to come after them in the performance of the same duties, should not be enabled unto, it cannot be imagined but that they would have provided a supply for that want and defect themselves; and not have left the church halt and maimed to the cure of those men, whose weakness and unfitness for the duty was its disease. So then neither did the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ use any liturgies, in the sense spoken of, in their administration of the worship instituted by him in his church, nor did they prescribe or command any such to the churches, or their officers that were planted in them; nor by any thing intimate the usefulness of any such liturgy, or form of public worship, as after ages found out and used,

Thus far then is the liberty given by Christ unto his church preserved entire, and the request seems not immodest that is made for the continuance of it. When men cry to God for the liberty in his worship, which was left unto them by Christ and his apostles, he will undoubtedly hear, though their fellow-servants should be deaf to the like requests made unto them. And truly they must have a great confidence in their own wisdom and sufficiency, who will undertake to appoint and impose on others the observation of

things in the worship of God, which neither our Lord Jesus nor his apostles did appoint or impose.

Two things are principally pretended as grounds of the imposition of public liturgies. First, The disability of the present ministers of the churches to celebrate and administer the ordinances of the gospel to the honour of God, and edification of the church, without the use of them. Secondly, The great importance of uniformity in the worship of God, not possibly to be attained, but by virtue of this expedient. I desire to know, whether these arguments did occur to the consideration of the apostles or no. If they shall say they did, I desire to know why they did not make upon them the provision now judged necessary, and whether those that so do, do not therein prefer their wisdom and care for the churches of God, unto the wisdom and care of the apostles. If it shall be said, that the bishops or pastors of the churches, in their days, had abilities for the discharge of the whole work of the ministry without this relief, so that the apostles had no need to make any such supply; I desire to know from whom they had these abilities. If it be said that they had them from Jesus Christ, I then shall yet also farther ask, whether ordinary bishops or pastors had any other gifts from Jesus Christ, but what he promised to bestow on ordinary bishops and pastors of his churches. It seems to me that he bestowed no more upon them than he promised to bestow, viz. gifts for the work of the ministry, with an especial regard to that outward condition of his churches, whereunto by his providence they were disposed. It will then in the next place be inquired, whether the Lord Jesus Christ promised to give any other gifts to the ordinary bishops and pastors of the churches in those days, than he promised to all such officers in his church to the end of the world. If this appear to be the state of things, that the promise by virtue whereof they received those gifts and abilities for the discharge of their duty, which rendered the prescription of liturgies needless, as to the first ground of them pretended, did and do equally respect all that succeed in the same office and duty, according to the mind and will of Christ unto the end of the world, is not the pretended necessity derogatory to the glory of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, as plainly intimating that he doth not continue to fulfil his promise; or at least a full