Case I. Whether Praying in a Form of Words, doth not stint and limit the Spirit of Prayer?

In order to the resolution of this Case, it will be necessary to explain first, what it is that the Scripture attributes to the Spirit in Prayer; and secondly, what is meant by stinting or limiting the Spirit in Prayer.

1. What is it that the Scripture attributes to the Spirit in Prayer? I answer, there are some things at­tributed to him which were extraordinary, and tem­porary; and others that are ordinary, fixt, and stand­ing: The through state and distinguishing of which will very much contribute to the resolution of this pre­sent Case, and therefore I shall insist more largely upon it.

First, I say there are some things attributed to the Holy Spirit in this matter of Prayer which were ex­traordinary and temporary; and that was the imme­diate Inspiration of the matter of Prayer, together with an ability to express and utter it in known or unknown Languages: thus as for the immediate inspira­tion of the matter of Prayer, we read in the Old Te­stament of Prayers and Praises, which, upon special occasions, were immediately indited by Divine Inspi­ration: for so when Hannah presented her Son to the Lord in Shiloh, the Text only saith, that she praid, and said; but the Targum paraphrases it, that she praid by the Spirit of Prophesie, and accordingly praying and praising by immediate inspiration, is frequently call'd prophesying: So 1 Sam. 10. 5. The Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and thou shall prophesie; that is, as Expositors generally interpret it, thou shalt utter Spiritual Psalms and Hymns by immediate in­spiration [Page 4] on the place; and to the same purpose is the word used Numb. 11. 25. 1 Chron. 25. 1. and accord­ingly in the New Testament it is said of Zacharias, that he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, &c. The matter of all which Prayers and Praises, together with those in the Book of Psalms, and sundry others recorded in Scripture, was immediately dictated to those inspir'd persons by the Holy Ghost, and deliver'd by them without any recourse to their own invention or con­sideration, though as to the words of them, it may be justly question'd, whether they were not left to their own composure, as it seems very probable, the words of all other inspirations were; for considering how the inspired persons differ'd in their stile, accord­ing as they differ'd in their education, in their natu­ral parts, and intellectual improvements, it is very likely they themselves composed and worded their own inspirations, the Spirit of God taking care only so to oversee and direct them, that their words might not misrepresent their matter; and if so, how much less reason have we to suppose, that the Spirit inspires the words of our Prayers: but this I shall not insist on.

However, after that great descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, wherein the Gift of Tongues was com­municated to enable the first Planters of the Gospel, to propagate it through the World, it's certain that not only the Matter of their Prayers, but even the very Language too in which they express them, was immediately inspired, insomuch that they were not only inabled to Pray upon the place in apt and fluent Expressions, but also to Pray in Languages, which they never understood before, and which even then they understood but very imperfectly, and also to interpret [Page 5] those Prayers into the vulgar Language, which them­selves or others had utter'd in unknown Tongues; and this, among others, the Apostle calls a Spiritual Gift, 1 Cor. 12. 1. which, as I remember, is the only place where the Gift of Prayer is mention'd in Scripture: and in 1 Cor. 14. 14. it is also call'd a Spirit, where he gives us an account at large of this miraculous way of praying.

Now that this miraculous Gift of praying in, and interpreting Prayers out of unknown Tongues was extraordinary, and temporary, and peculiar to the Primitive Ages of Christianity, is evident, because the design of it was not only to inable the first Planters of the Gospel to perform their Ministerial Office in the vulgar Languages of the several Nations they were sent to, but also to be a sign from God, as all other Miracles were, for the confirmation of the Gospel; for so the Apostle tells us, 1 Cor. 14. 22. That Tongues were for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that be­lieve not: and therefore since it's granted of all hands, that the Gift of Miracles was extraordinary, and in­tended only for a demonstration of the Gospel to the Infidel World, and after that to cease, there can be no doubt but this miraculous Gift of Prayer was so too.

But that the Spirits inditing the Matter, and, if you will, the words of those inspired Prayers, was also extraordinary, will require a larger proof; because it is look'd upon by many of our dissenting Brethren as an ordinary and standing Gift, which the Spirit doth and will communicate to all successive Ages of the World. Against this Opinion of theirs therefore I shall briefly offer these following Reasons to their consideration:

[Page 6]1. That there is no promise of any such Gift, and therefore no reason to expect the continuance of it. For whatsoever standing and ordinary benefits we re­ceive from God, we receive them by vertue of the New Covenant, in which he hath promised to us all those good things which we can reasonably expect at his hands; and the promise of God being the only foun­dation of our hope, it is presumption to promise our selves what he hath not promised us: but now in all the New Covenant we have not the least intimation of any such promise, viz. That the Spirit will imme­diately indite to us the Matter and Expressions of our Prayers; For as for that of Zachary 12. 10. which is the only promise that is pretended in the case, it's evi­dent, at first sight, that it's nothing to the purpose; I will pour out upon the Inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and Supplications, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierc'd, and they shall mourn. What is all this to the immediate inspiration of the Matter and Expressions of our Prayer, when it's plain, that the Spirit of Supplication here is the same with the Spirit of Grace, or of inward Piety and Devo­tion? even as the following words imply, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and mourn: that is, for their horrid sin of crucifying me. But that there is no such promise in the New Covenant is evident, from what is acknowledged of all hands, viz. That there are many good Christians who could never pre­tend to any such inspiration, who are some of them fain to be beholding to their own recollection and in­vention for the Matter and Words of their Prayers, and others, for want of a sufficient quickness of inven­tion, to be beholding to Forms of Prayer of other mens composure; neither of which they need, were they immediately inspir'd: And I am very confident [Page 7] 'twould be look'd upon by all sober Diffenters as a very rash and unjust censure to affirm, that a man cannot be a good Christian, who doth not pray by immediate inspiration, but is always fain to depend either on his own invention, or a Form of Prayer for the Matter and Expressions of his Devotions: and if so, how can this consist with a standing promise of immediate in­spiration of Prayer in the New Covenant? unless we will suppose that there are Blessings promised in the New Covenant, to which good Christians may have no right or title, and of which they may never actually partake, which is utterly to destroy the nature of the Covenant, which extends to all who perform the con­ditions of it, and to cut off all our dependance upon it.

2. That as there is no promise, so there is no need of any such immediate inspiration. 'Tis true, Christ hath promised by his Spirit, to be with us to the end of the World, and assur'd us, that he will give his Spirit unto every one that asks, and to what end hath he promised this, but only to supply our Necessities, and inable us to perform those Duties, which, through our own impotency, we cannot perform without him? for so he argues from the readiness of Parents, to sup­ply their Children with what is necessary to their bodily life and subsistence, to the readiness of God to bestow his Spirit (that is to all the purposes that are necessary to their Spiritual Life, as the parallel plainly implies) upon them that ask him. So that all we can expect by vertue of these promises is only this, That the Spi­rit of God will be ready to aid and assist us in all those necessary cases, wherein our Duty and Spiritual Life is concern'd; and therefore if there be no necessity of an immediate inspiration of either Matter or Words to inable us to Pray, it is an unwarrantable presumption [Page 8] to expect it by vertue of these or such like pro­mises.

And that there is no necessity, I conceive, is very ap­parent; for,

First, As for the Matter of our Prayers, the Holy Spirit hath already sufficiently reveal'd it to us in the Gospel, and as plainly instructed us what we are to pray for, as he can be suppos'd to do by any immediate inspira­tion: so that with a very little consideration, we may thence easily recollect what it is that we need, and what we are warranted and commanded to pray for; and for a summary of the whole, we need go no further than our Churches Catechism, which in answer to that Question, after the Lord's Prayer, What desirest thou of God in this Prayer? sums up the whole matter of our Prayer in a few, plain, and easie words. And to suppose, after such a clear revelation of the matter of Prayer, a necessity of immediate inspiration of it, is in effect to suppose, that we have neither reason enough to understand the sense of plain words, nor memory enough to retain and recollect it. But against this, that passage of St. Paul is objected by our Brethren, Rom. 8. 26. We know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings, which cannot be utter'd. From which words, We know not what to pray for as we ought, they infer, that how plainly soever the matter of Prayer is reveal'd to us, we cannot in all cases know what it is without an immediate inspiration: which must either suppose, that all matter of Prayer is not plainly re­veal'd to us, or that though it be, we cannot under­stand it; whereas the Apostles words imply neither the one nor t'other, for it's plain those words, we know not what to pray for, are not to be understood simply, but with reference to, as we ought; [...] [Page 9] [...], for what to pray for as we ought, we know not; which plainly refers to the manner, and not to the matter of our Prayer, how to pray for any thing with that fervency of desire, that dependance upon, and resignation to God, as we ought, of our selves, we know not without the assistance of the Spirit of God; if therefore the Spirit hath already sufficient­ly reveal'd to us, what the matter of Prayer is, (as he must be suppos'd to do, if the Scriptures be sufficient) I see no necessity why he should reveal it again by im­mediate inspiration; and if there be no necessity of it, I know no warrant we have to expect it: But then,

2. As for the Words of Prayer, by which we are to express the Matter of it, what necessity can there be that these should be immediately dictated to us, when as if we have not quickness enough of fancy and invention to express our wants and desires in our own words, we may readily supply that defect by Forms of Prayer of other Mens composure, which with very short additions and variations of our own, we may easily adapt to all our particular cases and circumstan­ces? and to imagin that with such helps and assistances we cannot word our desires to God without an im­mediate inspiration, is to suppose, that we are meer whispering Pipes, that can breath out nothing but what is breath'd into us.

3. That as there is neither promise, nor need of any such immediate inspiration of Prayer, so there is no certain sign or testimony of it remaining among us: whenever God inspir'd men with Divine matter and words, his way was always to attest the divinity of their inspiration with some certain sign by which them­selves, and others, might be well assur'd of it; and though at this distance from the inspired Ages we cannot certainly determin by what token it was that [Page 10] the Prophets knew the divinity of their own inspira­tions while they were seiz'd with them; yet this we know, that after they were deliver'd of them, God always took care to attest them by some miraculous operation: for so Miracles are styled by the Apostle, the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit, as being the constant signs and tokens of Divine inspiration; and indeed without such signs to distinguish it from false pretences, we were better be without inspiration, than with it, because we shall be left under an una­voidable necessity, either of admitting all inspirations which pretend to be divine, or of rejecting all that are truly so: as to instance in this case of Prayer, we know 'tis possible for men to have the matter and words of it dictated to them by a natural, or Diabo­lical, as well as a Divine Enthusiasm, and therefore it is highly requisit if such Divine Enthusiasm, or In­spiration, be continu'd to us, that the proper signs and testimonies of it should be continu'd too, that so we may be able to distinguish that which is divine, from that which is natural or diabolical; otherwise we must either conclude them all to be natural, or diabo­lical, or believe them all to be divine, and entertain them accordingly.

If you say there is no need of either, because the Scripture is sufficient to distinguish them; I answer, that though the Scripture may be sufficient to distin­guish the matter of the inspiration, whether it be true or false, yet it is not sufficient to distinguish the inspira­tion it self, whether it be divine, or natural, or diabo­lical: For

First, As for natural Enthusiasm, it is not at all im­possible for a man to pray agreeably to Scripture by natural inspiration, by which I mean a natural or ac­cidental fervency of temper, arising either from a [Page 11] constant heat of constitution, or a casual agitation of the spirits, occasion'd either by vapours of heated me­lancholy, or an intermixture of sharp and feaverish humours with the blood; which as all men know, who understand any thing of the nature and compo­sition of humane bodies, naturally heightens and im­pregnates the fancy, and causes the images of things to come faster into it, and appear more distinct in it, and consequently produces a very ready invention of matter and extraordinary fluency of words: so that if under a fit of this natural fervency, a man's fancy hap­pens to run upon God and Religion, he cannot fail to pray with great readiness and fluency, and sometimes with that extraordinary passion and enlargement, as shall cause him assuredly to believe himself immediate­ly inspired by the Spirit of God: of the truth of which, instances enough might be given not only among Christians, but also among the Devoto's of Mahomet, and the Poets and Orators of the Heathens, whose fancies have been very often so strangely ex­alted by the fervour of their temper, or disease, that not only they themselves, but they that heard them, believed that they were inspired by God. Supposing then, that under a fit of this natural Enthusiasm a man should pray agreeably to Scripture, how shall he be able to know by Scripture whether the present inspi­ration he is under, be natural, or divine? and how will it be possible for him to avoid, many times, attri­buting the natural effects of his temper, or disease, to the immediate operation of the Spirit of God?

But you will say, we all agree that the Spirit of God inspires good men with holy and fervent affections in their Prayers, and yet it cannot be deni'd that this fervency of affection doth sometimes also proceed from the present temper of our bodies, notwith­standing [Page 12] which, we have no other sign or testimony besides that of Scripture, whereby to distinguish when 'tis divine, and when natural; doth not therefore the want of such sign as effectually conclude against the Spirits inspiring the fervour of our Prayers, as against his inspiring the matter and words of them? I an­swer, no; For, as for the former, we have a sure word of promise, which we have not for the latter; and therefore if we can claim the promise, we have just reason to conclude when we feel our affections actually excited, that how much soever other causes might contribute to it, the Holy Spirit was the principal cause; but where we have no promise, we have no ground for such conclusion: besides which, we have no such need of signs to enable us to distinguish in the one case, as in the other; For as for the inspira­tion of affection, we may easily distinguish whether it be natural or divine, by our own sense; if our pre­sent fervour be accompanied with a fixt and constant devotion of soul, we may certainly conclude, that the same Spirit which inspired the one, inspired the other; and whether it be so accompanied or no, that natural sense and feeling we have of our own motions and af­fections, will quickly inform us, and we have no more need of an outward sign to satisfie us in this matter, than we have to know whether we are hungry or thirsty: but if the present fervour of our affections in Prayer be only a sudden fit and pang of devotion, that finds and leaves us habitually indevout, we have just reason to conclude, that 'tis intirely owing to our present bodily temper: whether therefore our affe­ctions in Prayer are inspired by God, our own sense will inform us, if we impartially consult it; but whe­ther our matter and words are so, no sense we have can resolve us: we may feel the matter of our Prayer pour in [Page 13] upon us with extraordinary readiness, and be inabled to pour it out again with extraordinary fluency, and yet all this may proceed from our own fancy and invention, quickned and enlarg'd by meerly natural Enthusiasm; and therefore, unless we had some other sign, besides that of Scripture, 'twill be impossible for us to distinguish between a divine and natural inspira­tion of matter and words, because that which is natu­ral, may be as agreeable to Scripture, as that which is suppos'd to be divine; and God hath given us no in­ward sense to distinguish between one and t'other: and can it be imagin'd that had he meant to continue this Gift of inspiration to us, he would have thus left us in the dark concerning it, without any certain sign whereby we might distinguish, whether it be from his Spirit, or from an ill-affected Spleen, or a Feaver?

But then, secondly, as for Diabolical Inspirations of Matter and Words in Prayer, we have sundry very pro­bable Instances, such as Major Weir, who is said to have received his Inspirations through a Staff, Hacket, Da­vid George, and that Monster of wickedness, John Ba­silides Duke of Russia, who were all of them possess'd with such a wonderful Gift of Prayer, as did not only charm and ravish those that heard them, but seem'd, in the opinion of the most wise and impartial, to exceed the power of nature; which renders it very probable that the matter of their Prayers was for the most part agreeable to Scripture, otherwise 'tis hardly conceivable how they could have procured to themselves so many admirers, and abused so many honest minds into a be­lief that they were immediately inspired by God. And since by inspiring his Votaries with such matter of Prayer as is agreeable to Scripture, the Devil may sometimes serve his own ends, since he may thereby puff up giddy minds with pride, and self-conceit, and more effectually recommend Seducers and false [Page 14] Teachers to the World; 'tis very reasonable, to sup­pose that this subtle Agent who so throughly under­stands his own game, will in some cases be forward enough to do it; and if in any case we may reason­ably suppose, that the Devil may inspire men with such matter of Prayer as is agreeable to Scripture, then we can never certainly distinguish by Scripture, whether it be the Spirit of God, or the Devil, that inspires us. And can we, without blaspheming the goodness of God, imagin, that if he had continu'd this Gift of immediate inspiration to us, he would have neglected to continue such signs and testimonies of it as are ne­cessary to distinguish it from the inspirations of the Devil? doubtless 'tis much better for us that this Gift should be totally withdrawn, and that as to the mat­ter and expressions of our Prayer, we should be left to the guidance of Scripture and Reason, than that by the continuance of it without some certain sign to know and distinguish it, we should be left under a fatal ne­cessity, either of rejecting Divine Inspirations, or of admitting Diabolical for Divine. And therefore since we have no such sign continu'd among us, we have all the reason in the world to conclude, that this Gift is dis­continu'd, and ceas'd: especially considering that we have not only no certain sign of any such inspiration in the conceiv'd Prayers of those which most pretend to it, but many very certain ones of the contrary; I will in­stance in sour.

1. The great impertinence, and nonsense, and rude­ness, to say no worse, that are sometimes mingled with these Extempore Prayers. I will not give Instances of this, because it is so notorious, that our Brethren themselves cannot but in part acknowledge it: now to attribute these faults of conceiv'd Prayers, to immediate inspi­ration, would be to blaspheme the Holy Ghost, and [Page 15] father our own follies upon him, and yet sure had he thought meet to have continu'd to the Church this Gift of inspiration of Prayer, it would have been in order to the securing the Worship of God from those rudenesses and indecencies to which extemporary Prayers of mens own conceiving are liable; and if so, to be sure in publick Prayer at least, he would have constantly taken care to inspire such matter as is fit to be offer'd up to God, and such expressions as are fit for such matter; that so the Publick Worship of God, which is the most serious and solemn thing in the World, might not be render'd ridiculous by the folly and inadvertency of men. Whereas on the contrary, we see those publick Prayers which arrogate to them­selves the honor of being inspired, are generally more liable to these indecencies, than Forms of humane composure, and that those Prayers which consist of premeditated matter and words, are commonly much better sense, and far more decent and pertinent, than our extemporary effusions; which how it should come to pass I know not, supposing the continuance of inspiration of Prayer, unless we will suppose, that Humane Composures may exceed Divine Inspirations, and that Men may ordinarily premeditate better Pray­ers, than the Spirit of God inspires. And methinks it seems very strange, that the Spirit should continue this Gift of inspiration to secure the Worship of God from nonsense and impertinence, and yet that after all, it should remain more liable to th [...]se indecencies, than if our publick Prayers were offered up in premeditated Forms, composed out of our own or other mens inventions.

2. Another sign that our composed Prayers are not immediately inspired is, that they are so generally tinctur'd with the particular opinions of those that offer them. You may observe that in all publick Con­troversies [Page 16] of Religion, mens Opinions are generally to be known by their Prayers, especially if they zea­lously espouse either side of the Question: for then the debate runs so much in their heads, and they look upon God and Religion so very highly concern'd in it, that they can hardly frame a Petition, Confession, or Thanksgiving, without giving some intimation of their particular Perswasion; and many times one of the Petitions is, That God would hinder the propagation of the contrary Perswasion, and convince their Adver­saries of the Error and Falshood of it. Thus for in­stance, when the Contest ran high between the Presby­terians and Independents, the Arminians and Calvinists, how easie was it to distinguish them by their Prayers, from one another? Whether this be not so, I appeal to our Brethren themselves, and to all the World? And if so, what plainer evidence can be given, that their Prayers were not inspired, but of their own invention, and composure? For either we must suppose this Gift of Inspiration to be confin'd to one Party, which would be to stint the Spirit with a witness, and ever­lastingly to puzzle our selves where to find it, among so many contending Parties that pretend to it; or else we must affirm a horrid Blasphemy, viz. That the Spirit inspires Contradictions, and indites contrary Prayers to men of opposite Parties.

3. Another plain sign that our conceiv'd Prayers are not immediately inspired is, That that which gives them the reputation of being so, is not so much the matter, as the way and manner of expressing them. For as for the matter of Prayer, I suppose our Brethren will not deny, but our Forms may equal at least, if not exceed their conceiv'd and extemporary Prayers, and that 'tis possible for men, upon mature thoughts and deliberations, to compose and pen a Prayer, that [Page 17] shall be as full and comprehensive of the common cases, and necessities of Christians, as if he had con­ceived, and indited it upon the place. And if all the matter that is in a conceiv'd Prayer, may be easily contain'd and express'd in a Form, then all the diffe­rence between one and t'other must lie in the way, and manner of expressing it, and consequently it must be only upon this account, that the one must pretend to inspiration more than t'other. Now there are only two differences between Forms, and conceived Pray­ers, as to the way, and manner of expressing the matter in them; neither of which are so considerable, as to give the one a fairer pretence to inspiration than the other: The first is, that whereas the matter of a Form of Prayer is express'd in set, and premeditated words, the same matter in conceiv'd Prayer is express'd in extemporary words; and is it not strange, that upon such a slight, and inconsiderable difference, the one should be thought to be more inspired than the other? as if the Spirit of God continu'd the Gift of Inspiration to no other purpose, but to inable men to ask those Blessings in extemporary words, which they might as well have askt in premeditated ones. The second is, that conceiv'd Prayers do generally more inlarge and amplifie on the matter of Prayer, than Forms, in which we being always tied to such a set of words, have not that liberty to expatiate on our several cases, and necessities; but this is so far from adding to the value of conceiv'd Prayers, that it rather lessens, and depreciates them; for if you observe these admired enlargements, and amplifications, are generally no­thing else but only the same matter express'd again in different words, which makes our conceiv'd Prayers run out many times to that inordinate length, the same matter being repeated in them over and over in [Page 18] varied phrases and expressions: how then can we en­tertain such mean conceits of the wisdom of the holy Spirit, as to imagin he would continue to us the Gift of immediate inspiration, meerly to inable us to repeat the same matter of Prayer to God ten or twenty times over, in different phrases and expressions? espe­cially considering that by so doing he would cross the orders of our Saviour, who expresly forbids us in our Prayers to use vain repetitions, (or as Munster's He­brew reads it, to multiply words above what is fit and seasonable) thinking we shall be heard for our much speaking, to which he subjoins this reason, For your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask him, Matth. 6. 7, 8. As if he should have said, you need not lengthen out your Prayers with so many co­pious enlargements, and varied repetitions of the same matter, as if you meant thereby more fully to in­struct your Father in your wants and desires, for be­fore ever you ask, he knows your needs, and therefore a few words will suffice to express your desires to him. And when our Saviour hath requir'd that our Prayers should be short, and pithy, and stript of all needless multiplicity of words, what reason have we to think that the Holy Spirit, who is his Vice-gerent in the Church, would continue the Gift of Inspiration meer­ly to amplifie, and enlarge them? These enlargements of conceiv'd Prayer therefore, are so far from being signs of their immediate inspiration, that supposing the Spirit to be of the same mind with our Saviour, they are generally signs of the contrary.

4. Another plain sign that our conceiv'd Prayers are not immediately inspired is, That that extraordinary manner, and way of expressing them, for which they are thought to be inspired, doth apparently proceed from natural causes: for, as I shew'd before, the rea­son [Page 19] why our conceiv'd Prayers are thought by us and others to be inspired is, that we are many times inabled in them to enlarge extempore, with so much readiness, and fluency: which may be easily resolv'd into meer natural Enthusiasm, or present fervour of temper. And that from hence this fluency and enlargement in Prayer doth ordinarily proceed, seems very evident by two undeniable signs; first, that according to our Brethrens own confession, it comes upon them much oftener in their publick, than in their private Devo­tions. For this is an ordinary case in their Divinity; how comes it to pass that good men often find them­selves so enlarg'd in their publick, and so streighten'd in their private Prayers? And indeed, supposing the Spi­rit did ordinarily inspire the matter and words of their Prayer, I see not how it could be well resolv'd, unless we suppose the Spirit to be more concern'd to inspire us with fluency of matter and words, when we are to speak before men, than when we are only to speak before God. The true resolution therefore of the case is this, that in our private Prayers we want the sighs, and groans, and passionate gestures of a devout Con­gregation, to chafe and excite our affections, and the reverence of a numerous Auditory, to oblige us to teaz and wrack our inventions; for want of which our spirits are not ordinarily so vehemently agitated and heated as when we Pray in publick; where being more than ordinarily warm'd, partly with our own efforts and struglings, to invent, and partly with the warmths and pious fervours of the Congregation, we are many times transported by this natural Enthusiasm, into raptures of passion and inlargement; this I say is the only reason that can be assign'd of it, unless we will suppose that which is very unsupposeable of the Spirit of God, viz. That he is more solicitous to indite our [Page 20] Prayers when we are in the presence of men, than when we are only in the presence of God. Secondly, Another sign that this admired fluency and enlarge­ment in Prayer proceeds from meer natural Enthu­siasm is this, that generally in the beginning of the Prayer they find themselves streighten'd and confin'd, both as to the matter and words of it, till they have Pray'd on for a while, and then they grow more ready and fluent; which how it should come to pass, I know not, supposing the Prayer were inspired, unless perhaps the Spirit comes in only in the middle, or towards the latter end of their Prayer, but leaves them to their own invention in the beginning, and what reason there should be for such an imagination, I confess I am not able to guess. The true account therefore of the mat­ter is this, that in the beginning of the Prayer their Spirits are usually dull, and sluggish, and do not flow and reflow so briskly to their heads and hearts as after­wards, when they have been throughly chaft and heated with the labour and exercise of invention; by which being excited and awaken'd, they naturally raise the drooping fancy, and render the invention more copious, fluent, and easie. So that meerly by the Laws of Matter and Motion, as plain an account may be given of this extemporary fluency and enlarge­ment of Prayer, as of any other natural effect what­soever; and therefore for our Brethren to attribute to the immediate inspiration of the Spirit of God, that which hath such apparent signs of its derivation from natural causes, is, I conceive, very unwarrantable. By all which, I think, it's very evident, not only that we have no sign of the continuance of this Gift of Inspi­ration of Prayer remaining among us, but that we have manifest signs of the contrary.

[Page 21]4. And lastly, That to suppose the continuance of this Gift of Inspiration of Prayer, is to suppose more than our Brethren themselves will allow of, viz. That their conceiv'd Prayers are infallible, and of equal au­thority with the Word of God. For if our Prayers are dictated to us by the Spirit of God, they must be as infallible as he, whose infinite knowledge cannot suffer him to be deceiv'd, and whose infinite veracity will not admit him to deceive: and if so, then what­soever he dictates, or inspires, must be remov'd from all possibility of error, or mistake; and consequently our Prayers must be so too, supposing he inspires the matter and words of them. And as they must be in­fallible in themselves, so they must be of equal autho­rity with Scripture: for that which gives the Scriptures the authority of the Word of God, is, their being inspired by the Spirit of God, and therefore whatso­ever matter or words are so inspired, are as much the Word of God, as any matter or words in Scripture: All Scripture is given, saith the Apostle, by the Inspi­ration of God. And therefore whatsoever is given by his Inspiration, must necessarily be his Word: for what those Holy Men of God spake, who deliver'd the Scripture, they spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, 1 Pet. 1. 21. and therefore what they deliver'd was the Word of God, because their Mouths were the Oracles through which God spake; if therefore when we Pray, we are mov'd, as they were, by the imme­diate inspiration of God, what we pray, must be as much the Word of God, as what they spake. So that either our Brethren must affirm, that their conceiv'd Prayers are of equal authority with Scripture, (which I am sure no sober Dissenter will presume) or deny that they are immediately inspired by the Holy Ghost.

[Page 22]And thus I have shewn what those extraordinary Operations are, which the Scripture attributes to the Spirit in Prayer. I proceed in the next place, to en­quire what the ordinary and standing Operations are, which the Scripture attributes to him, and which he hath promised to continue to the end of the World. Of which I shall give but a very brief account, because herein we are all agreed.

In short therefore, the ordinary Operations of the Spirit consist in exciting in us the graces and proper affections of Prayer, such as shame and sorrow in the confession of our sins, a sense of our need of mercy, and a hope of obtaining it in our supplications for pardon, resignation to God's will, and dependance on his goodness in our Prayers for temporal mercies, and deliverances, hunger and thirst after righteousness in our Petitions for his grace and assistance, and in a word, gratitude, and love, and admiration of God in our Praises and Thanksgivings for Mercy. For in these divine and gracious Affections, the life and soul of Prayer consists: as for the Words and Expressions of it, about which our Brethren disagree with us, they are of no other account with God, than as they signifie to him the graces and affections of our Prayers, with­out which he regards them no more, than he doth the whistling of the wind; and therefore since these affe­ctions are the main of our Prayer, and words are no­thing in his account in comparison with them; can any man be so vain as to imagin, that those affections will be ever a whit the less acceptable to him, because they are presented in a form of words, and not in ex­temporary Effusions? Sure that Father would be very capricious, that should deny Bread to his hungry Child, meerly because he askt it to day in the same words that he did yesterday; and to imagin that God [Page 23] will dislike or reject the good affections of our Prayer, meerly because they are every day express'd in the same form, is to suppose him a very captious Being, and one that is more taken with our words, than with our affections: the contrary of which he hath given sufficient proof of in this very particular, in that whereas he hath withdrawn from us (as I have prov'd at large) the inspiration of the words of our Prayer, and left them to the composure of our own or other mens invention; he still continues to inspire us with the affections of Prayer, and to excite them to a due activity. For to this, among other purposes, it is, that he hath promised to continue his Holy Spirit to us, to inable us to address our selves to him with de­vout and holy affections: thus Gal. 4. 6. Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba father: that is, by kindling devout and filial affections in your souls, inabling you to cry to God with all earnestness and assurance, as to a kind and merciful Father: and hence also we are said to Pray in or by the Holy Ghost, Jude 20. it being by him that those good affections are rais'd in us that we offer up to God in our Prayers: and therefore we may well be said to Pray by the Spirit, because 'tis by the Spirit that we are inspired with those holy affections which are the soul of our Prayer; and accordingly the Spirit is said to make intercession for us with sighs and groans, which are not to be uttered, Rom. 8. 26. which words are far from asserting the inspiration of the matter and words of our Prayer, though they are urg'd by our Brethren for that purpose: for as for the matter of Prayer, here is not the least hint of the Spirit's inspiring it, for as to that, the Christians, whom he speaks of, were well instructed already by their Christian institution; but all that is affirm'd, is, [Page 24] that the Spirit inabled them to offer up the matter of Prayer to God in a most devout and affectionate man­ner; with sighs and groans, that is, with earnest and flagrant affections. And as for the words of Prayer, the Text is so far from implying the inspiration of them, that it plainly tells us, that those sighs and groans which the Spirit inspired, were such as were not to be utter'd or worded. And surely to inspire us with affe­ctions that are too big for words, cannot imply the inspiration of words. So that the Spirit's interceeding for us with sighs and groans that are not to be utter'd, can imply no more, than his exciting in us the proper affections of Prayer; and in this sense he is said in the next Verse, to make intercession for the Saints ac­cording to the will of God, viz. by inabling them to offer up the matter of Prayer to God with such fervent and devout affections as are necessary to render it ac­ceptable to him: which is properly to interceed for us; for as Christ, who is our Advocate in Heaven, doth offer up our Prayers to the Father, and inforce them with his own intercessions; so his Spirit, who is our Advocate upon Earth, begets in us those affections which render our Prayers prevalent, and wings them with fervour and ardency: the one pleads with God for us in our own hearts, by kindling such desires there as render our Prayers acceptable to him; and the other pleads with him for us in Heaven, by presenting those desires, and soliciting their supply and accep­tance. And thus you see what that standing and ordi­nary Operation is which the Scripture attributes to the Spirit in Prayer.

And now, before I proceed to determin the present case, I shall only farther inquire, what it means by that Phrase of stinting and limiting the Spirit. In short therefore, to stint or limit the Spirit, is a modern [Page 25] Phrase, of which there is not the least intimation in Scripture, or Antiquity; but 'tis a term of Art coin'd and invented by our Brethren, and appli'd onlyto the pre­sent Controversie, concerning the lawfulness of Forms of Prayer. Which, by the way, is a plain evidence, that this argument against Forms, viz. That they stint the Spirit, is very new, since though Forms of Prayer were used not only in the Scripture Ages, as I shall shew hereafter, but also in all successive Ages of Christia­nity; yet, till very lately, we never heard on syl­lable of stinting or limiting the Spirit by them.

The meaning of which Phrase is this; That by using Forms of Prayer, we hinder the Spirit from affording us some assistance in Prayer, which other­wise we might reasonably expect from him: for so our Brethren explain the Phrase, viz. That by confining our selves to a Form of Words, we restrain the Spirit from giving us that assistance, which he ordinarily vouchsafes in conceiv'd Prayer.

And now, having fully stated the Case, the resolu­tion of it will be short and easie. It hath been shewn at large, that there are two sorts of assistances in Prayer which the Scripture attributes to the Spirit; the first extraordinary, and temporary; viz. the imme­diate inspiration of the matter, and words of Prayer: the second ordinary, and abiding; viz. exciting the devotion, and proper affections of Prayer: If therefore the Spirit be stinted, hinder'd, or restrain'd, by Forms of Prayer, it must be either from inspiring the words and matter, or from exciting the affections of Prayer; as for the latter, to which this Phrase of stinting is never appli'd by our Brethren, I shall discourse of it at large in the third Case, wherein I shall indeavour to prove, that Forms of Prayer are so far from restrain­ing the devotion of it, that they very much promote [Page 26] and improve it. And as for the former, viz. the inspi­ration of the matter and words of Prayer, that I have prov'd was extraordinary, and intended only as other miraculous Gifts were, for the first propagation of the Gospel; and therefore since as to this matter, the Spirit hath stinted himself, it's certain, that Forms of Prayer cannot stint him; for how can that be stinted which is not? and if now there be no such thing as immediate inspiration of Prayer, how can it be limited by a Form of Prayer? In a word, if the Spirit of his own accord hath long since withdrawn this Gift of inspiration, how can it be now said that he is restrain'd from com­municating it by any cause without him?

Case II. Whether the Use of Publick Forms, be not a sinful neglect of the Ministerial Gift of Prayer?

In order to the resolution of which Case, it would be necessary to give a brief state of it, according as it is put, and urg'd by our Brethren. By the Gift of Prayer then, they mean an ability to express our minds to God in Prayer, or to offer up our desires and affe­ctions to him in words, befitting the matter of them: which ability, say they, is given by God to his Mini­sters, as a means of publick Prayer, and in order to their being the Mouths of their Congregations to God, to represent to him the common Cases and Necessities of their People; and therefore since God, say they, hath given us this Gift, as a means of publick Devo­tion, and in order to our offering up the Prayers of the People, it may be justly question'd, whether we may lawfully omit the use of it, by using publick Forms of other mens composure.

[Page 27]Now, before I enter into a particular consideration of this Case, I shall briefly premise these two things:

1. That this Case concerns the Clergy only, and not the Laity: For suppose that it be unlawful for Ministers to omit the use of their own abilities to express the Devotions of their Congregations, what is that to the People? are they accountable for their Ministers faults? or will God reject their sincere Devotions, be­cause the Person that utters them is guilty of a sinful omission? if so, it will be of dangerous consequence to them to joyn in any publick Prayers at all, whether they be Forms, or Extemporary; they being every whit as accountable for the nonsense, impertinence, and irreverence of their Ministers in the latter, as for their omitting the use of their own abilities in the former: if therefore this omission be a sin, it is the sin of the Minister; as for the People, they join'd with him in­deed, in offering up the matter of Prayer, which is con­tain'd in the Form he pronounces; but they join not with him in the omission of the use of his ability; that is his own proper act, and deed; and therefore if it be unlawful, 'tis he, and he only that is accountable for it: and if the matter of Prayer in which they join with him be good, and express'd in decent and suitable words, they join with him in nothing but what is acceptable to God, and 'tis not to be imagin'd that God will be angry with them, because he neglected to express their desires in words of his own composure and invention.

2. I shall also premise, that this is not the case of the Clergy of the Church of England, who, though they stand obliged to the constant use of a stated Litur­gy, yet are not hereby restrain'd from the exercise of their own abilities in publick Prayer: for after they have finish'd the Service appointed in the Liturgy, they [Page 28] are permitted to use their own conceiv'd Prayers in the Pulpit: in which they have the same liberty, that the dissenting Ministers can claim or pretend to; that is, to express in their own words all the matter of pub­lick Prayer, with all the sobriety, affection, and seri­ousness they are able; and this permission being of long continuance, and hitherto uncontroll'd by our Church Governors, amounts to an allowance; and in­deed it seems expresly allow'd in our 55th Canon, which directs, that before all Sermons, Lectures, and Homilies, the Preachers and Ministers shall move the People to join with them in Prayer, in this form, or to this effect, as briefly as conveniently they may. Now that to this effect, as it stands opposed to this form, is meant some Prayer of our own, composed to this pur­pose, seems evident from the general and uninterrupted practice of the Church, which in doubtful cases, is the best explication of her meaning. Since therefore the use of our Liturgy doth not exclude the exercise of our Gift of Prayer, but leaves us free to exert it, so far as it is fit, that is, with convenient brevity, I see not how this Case can concern our Clergy; for if the evil of Forms consists in the Ministers omission of his own Gift, as this Case supposes, then where the use of Forms doth not oblige us to this omission, but leaves us as free to exercise this Gift, as those are who use no Forms at all, the supposed evil is remov'd from it.

Having premised these things, I shall proceed to a particular resolution of the Case; which I shall do in these following Propositions.

1. That this Ministerial Gift of Prayer, or ability to express in our own words, the common Devotions of our Congregations to God, is either natural, or acquir'd. 'Tis true, if we had any reason to believe, that in their [Page 29] admission to holy Orders, God did inspire his Mini­sters with this ability, we might thence more plausibly infer, that 'twas his will that we should ordinarily exercise it, and that it was not lawful to neglect or omit it, by using Forms of other mens composure; it being unlikely that God should inspire them with an ability, which he did not intend they should make use of: but of Gods inspiring us in our Ordination with this Gift, or Ability, we have not only no promise in Scripture, which is the only foundation upon which we can reasonably expect it; but in fact, we have no experience of any such matter among us: for not only we, but the Dissenting Ministers must own, if they will speak ingenuously, that just before their Ordina­tion, they were as able to express the Devotions of a Congregation, as they were just after; which shews that they had no new ability to Pray, inspired in their Ordination: and as yet, I could never find any proof, either from Scripture, or Experience, that this ability to Pray in words of our own composure, had any thing more in it, than a promptness of invention and speech; which some men have by nature, and which others have acquired by art and practice; and if so, this ability is no otherwise the Gift of God, than our natural strength and vigour, or our skill in Languages and History. And methinks it's very strange, that after all this talk of the Gift of Prayer, which is sup­posed ordinarily at least to be conferr'd on rightly or­dained Ministers, our Brethren should not be able to produce one Promise, wherein God hath ingag'd him­self, to confer it; no nor one Text of Scripture, which implies such a Promise; all that he hath promised his Ministers is, to concur with their honest indeavours, so far forth as it's necessary to inable them to discharge the Duties of their Office, and to suppose that they [Page 30] cannot do this, without praying Extempore, or in their own words, is to take the Matter in question, for granted.

2. That this natural or acquired Gift, is no where ap­propriated by God to prayer, but left common to other uses, and purposes: For though in Ministers especial­ly, it is ordinarily called a Gift of Prayer, yet it is no where stiled so in Scripture: indeed the ability of pray­ing in unknown languages, is once called a Gift, as I ob­served before, but as for this ordinary ability, whether natural, or acquir'd, of praying in our native language, it is no where spoken of in Scripture, under the name of a Gift of Prayer, nor is there the least mention of any such ability given by God to men, purely to inable them to pray; and unless our brethren can produce some Text of Scripture, which yet they never attempted, wherein God hath appropriated this Gift to the purpose of Prayer, they must give us leave to conclude, that he hath left it common to all other honest uses, and purposes that it can be apply'd to; and that in short, it is nothing but a freedom of Utterance, and Elocution, which in some is natural, and in some acquired, by which they are inabled readily to express their minds to God, or men; and therefore to how many honest purposes this common Gift of God is applicable, to so many 'tis designed, and intended; and consequently, may as well be call'd the Gift of Conversation in good company, and the Gift of plea­ding at the Bar, and the Gift of disputing in the Schools, or the Gift of Oratory in the Forum, as the Gift of Prayer in Private, or Publique worship; it be­ing all but one, and the same Gift aplied to several uses, and purposes; accordingly we find that those who have this Gift, have it not only while they are speaking in Prayer, but when they are speak­ing [Page 31] upon other occasions; and that ordinarily they can express themselves to Men with the same readiness, and fluency in conversation, as they express their minds to God in Prayer, which is a plain argu­ment that their Gift is not appropriat to Prayer, but common to all the other uses, and purposes of Elocu­tion.

3. That this Gift of utterance not being appropria­ted by God to Prayer, may upon just reason, be as lawfully omitted in Prayer, as in any other use or purpose 'tis designed for: I do confess had God any where appropriated it to the end of Prayer, those who have it, were obliged to use it to that end, and to omit it ordinarily, by confining themselves to forms of o­ther mens inditing, would be to neglect a means of Prayer of Gods special appointment and institution; for had he any where intimated to us, that he gave it us purely to inable us to pray without any respect to any other end, we could not have omitted the use of it in Prayer without crossing his intention, and frustrat­ing him of the only end for which he intended it, but since he hath given us no such intimation, we may justly conclude that he intends it in common for all those honest ends to which it is applicable, and if so 'tis no more unlawful to omit using it to one end than to an­other, so that either it must be wholly unlawful to omit using our own Elocution to any purpose whatsoever whereunto it may be honestly applied, or it must be lawful to omit it in Prayer, and consequently supposing I have this Gift of utterance, either I may not use a form in petitioning my Prince, or a Court of Justice, or I may use a form in addressing my self to God in Prayer, since my Gift is common to both th [...]se pur­poses, and no more appropriated to the one than the o­ther, in short therefore as for those common Gifts of [Page 32] God which are applicable to sundry purposes, and which he intends no more for one than for another, it is left to our own liberty and discretion whether we will ap­ply them to this or that particular purpose or no, and no man is obliged to use his Gift to all those just and lawful purposes it is capable of, and if he hath two Gifts which serve to the same purpose, there is no doubt but he may lawfully omit the one, and use the other as he sees occasion; and so it is with this Gift of utterance, which is naturally serviceable to sundry ex­cellent purposes, and among others to this of expres­sing our minds to God in Prayer, but it being service­able to this in common with others, it is left to our li­berty whether we will imploy it in this, in that, or in another purpose, and we are neither obliged to imploy it in all, nor in this more than in another, but if we have another Gift that is serviceable to the purpose of Prayer as well as this of utterance, it is left to our own pious discretion whether we will use this or the other, so that unless our Brethren can prove that this Gift of utterance or Elocution is by special command of God made an appropriate means of Publick Prayer, they will never be able to prove, either that it is more un­lawful to omit the use of it in Prayer, than in any other Office of Elocution, or that if we have any other means of Prayer, we are determined to this more than to another.

4. That to read our desires to God in other Mens Words, is as much a means of Prayer, as to speak them in our own, for to speak in our own Words, is no otherwise a means of Publick Prayer, than as it serves to express to God the Common cases and necessities of the Congregation, and if these may be as well exprest by Reading them in other Mens Words, as by speaking them in our own, the end of Publick [Page 33] Prayer is as effectually serv'd by the one, as by the other, and sure no man will deny, but that by a Form of Words composed by another, he may express the com­mon Devotions of a Congregation, as well as by extem­pore or premeditated words of his own invention; for this would be in effect to say, that none but himself can compose a publick Prayer, or at least none so well as he; for if another Prayer may be as expressive of the Devotions of a Congregation as his own, I can see no reason why the reading of that may not be as proper a means of publick Prayer, as the speaking of this; here then are two means of Prayer, viz. read­ing other mens Forms, and speaking our own Concep­tions, and therefore unless our Brethren can prove, that God hath expresly chosen the one, and rejected the other, they must acknowledge both to be lawful; and if we cannot lawfully omit the one, because it is a means of Prayer, neither can we lawfully omit the other, because it is so too; and therefore either we must be obliged to use them both, which is impossible at the same time, or we must be left at liberty to use either, according to our own discretion. In sum therefore, since we are not inspired with any peculiar Gift of Prayer in our Ordination, and since our Gift of pray­ing in our own words is not appropriated by God to this use, but left in common to other purposes, and since what is not appropriated by God, may be law­fully omitted, when there are other means of Prayer, and since in fact there is another means of Prayer be­sides this of praying in our own words, viz. praying in the words of others, which God hath lost as free to us as the former, it plainly follows from the whole, that to omit the use of our own Gift, and in the stead of it to use that other Gift of praying in the words of others, is not in it self any way sinful or unlawful.

Case III. Whether the Use of Publick Forms of Prayer doth not deaden the Devotion of Prayer?

For thus our Brethren argue, that by the command of God we are obliged not only to pray, but to pray with the utmost devotion we are able, and accordingly to use such means of Prayer as are most apt to heighten and intend our devotion, and thus far we agree with them; if therefore Forms are in themselves, and not through our fault and erronious prejudice, less apt to quicken and raise devotion than conceiv'd Prayers, it will be granted of all hands, that this is a good Argu­ment against the use of them. This therefore is the case wherein we differ, our Brethren say, that Forms of Publick Worship, (for 'tis that we are now discoursing of,) are in themselves apt to dispirit and deaden the Devotions of those that use them; we say the contrary, viz. that publick Forms are in themselves more apt to improve and quicken the common Devotions, than Ex­temporary Prayers of the Ministers own conceiving; in order therefore to the clearing and full resolution of this Case, we will briefly enquire into these three things:

• 1. What these advantages to Publick Devotion are, which conceived, or extemporary Prayers pretend to?
• 2. Whether these Advantages are not for the most part fantastical and imaginary, and whether so far as they are real they are not much more peculiar to Forms than to extempore Prayer?
• 3. Whether besides these common advantages pub­lick Forms have not peculiar advantages, which conceiv'd Prayers cannot pretend to?

[Page 35]1. We will enquire what those advantages to the publick Devotions are which conceiv'd or extempo­rary Prayers pretend to; in short, it is pretended in the behalf of conceiv'd Prayers, that they do much more fix the attention, and raise the intention of the Peoples minds in Prayer, than publick Forms; that is, that they do more confine the rovings of mens thoughts in Prayer, and keep their minds more at­tentive to it, and that they do much more warm and enliven their affections in it; for, say our Bre­thren, the Devotions of the people are very much rais'd or deaden'd by the performance of the Minister, according as he is more or less devout in it; and as for the Minister, he must needs be much more devout in a Prayer of his own conceiving, than in the use of a publick Form; because first, say they, 'tis im­possible for him to keep his mind so attentive in read­ing a Prayer, as in conceiving one in his own mind, and speaking it from his own conceptions; the care of performing which naturally bounds the wander­ings of his thoughts, and keeps them more fixt and attentive; and secondly, because when he utters his words immediately from his affections, his thoughts have not that scope to wander, as when he reads them out of a Book. And as conceived doth more fix the attention of the Minister, so it doth also more raise his intention, or in other words, more warm and in­flame his affections; for first, whereas in reading a Form, his affections follow his words, and are raised and excited by them, in conceived Prayer, his words follow his affections, and are immediately utter'd from, and indited by them; and secondly, how is it pos­sible, say they, that the words of another, which he reads out of a Form, should so well express his affe­ctions [Page 36] as his own; besides, thirdly, that while he is reading his Form, his soul is so intent in di­recting his eye to read, that it cannot direct its affe­ctions to God with that fervour and intention as it might do in conceiv'd Prayer. These are the supposed helps which the Ministers devotion, and from his the Peoples receive from conceiv'd Prayers, above what Forms of Prayer can afford: and as conceiv'd Prayer hath these peculiar advantages to raise the Ministers devotion, and by his the Peoples, so it hath another advantage by which it more immediately influences the devotion of the People, viz. that the matter of it is still exprest in new words, which must needs much more affect the attention of the People, than when it is always exprest in the same words without any va­riation; And this, so far as I can gather from the Writings of our Brethren, is the sum of what they plead in behalf of conceiv'd Prayer, as to its peculiar advantageousness to publick Devotion above stated Forms.

2. Therefore we will enquire whether these Advan­tages are not in a great measure imaginary, and whe­ther so far as they are real, they are not much more peculiar to Forms, than to conceiv'd Prayer. And here I will readily grant, that by expressing a serious and devout affection, the Minister doth really advantage the Devotion of the Congregation, even as by his good example in all other things he excites the people to a pious and virtuous imitation; in whose eyes devo­tion never looks so amiable, as when 'tis exprest in se­rious and well compos'd words, accompanied with a devout, a sober, and affectionate behaviour: both which are equally necessary to excite the devotion of the People: if therefore it be really true, that the use of conceived or extempore Prayer is in its own nature [Page 37] most apt to fix the attention, and excite the intention of the Minister in Prayer, it must be confest that herein it hath the advantage of Forms. 1. Therefore we will inquire whether these advantages it pretends to, as to the exciting the Ministers attention in Prayer, be real, or no: The first advantage is, that the very conceiving the matter of his Prayer, and speaking it from his own conceptions, doth naturally more bind his attention, than the reading it out of a Form; but I beseech you, what doth it more bind him to attend to? is it to attend to the words and phrases? if so, then 'tis not to attend to the acts of Prayer, or is it to attend to those acts which are the proper business of Prayer? that is to be asham'd of sin, and to bewail it in confes­sion, to be sensible of the common wants, and com­mon dependancies upon God for supply in petition, to admire God's perfections, and gratefully commemorate his goodness in praise and thanksgiving; for in these things the true devotion both of Minister and People consists; and 'tis only by being an example of these in his Prayer, that the Minister excites the devotion of his people: 'tis by confessing sin, as if he were asham'd of, and sorry for it, that he excites their shame and sor­row; by petitioning for mercy, as if he were sensible of the want of it, and did heartily desire it, and de­pended upon God for it, that he excites their sense of need, and their desire, and hope of relief, and supply; by praising and thanking God, as if he heartily admi­red his excellencies, and gratefully resented his good­ness that he excites their admiration and gratitude; that mode of Prayer therefore which is most apt to fix the Ministers attention to these acts of devotion, must needs be most apt to excite the devotions of the people: Now as for the mode of praying from his own con­ceptions, I really think that it is much more apt to [Page 38] unfix the Ministers attention to these acts, than that of praying by a Form; because it forces him to attend to other things at the same time, viz. the recollection of matter, and invention of sutable expressions, which must more or less divert him from attending to the inward acts of devotion, according as his fancy and tongue are more or less pregnant and voluble; it being impossible for him to attend at the same time, to several things, as closely as he may to one: but when he prays by a Form, his matter and words are ready before him, and so he hath nothing else to do, but to attend to his devotion; and certainly when a man hath but one thing to do in Prayer, he may attend to that more fixedly and closely, than when he hath two or three: 'tis true, by being released from attend­ing to the invention of his matter and words, his mind is more at leisure to wander, and instead of at­tending as he ought more closely to the acts of devo­tion, by imploying those thoughts which in conceiv'd Prayer he imploys in invention in a closer attention to the acts of devotion, he may, if he please, permit them to rove abroad; but if he doth, the fault is in himself, and not in the Form he prays by: the design of his Form is to release his mind from all other busi­ness in Prayer, but only that of inward devotion, which is the life of Prayer, that so it may be the more at­tentive to it: but if instead of applying his mind to this design, he suffers it to wander abroad, he makes an ill use of a good thing, and converts that which is in it self a help to devotion, into an occasion of inde­votion: but 'tis objected, that while his thoughts are imployed in inventing the matter and words of his Prayer, they are attending to the duty of Prayer, and while they are so, they are well imploy'd, though they should not be so attentively fixt upon the inward [Page 39] devotion of Prayer, as they might be in the use of a Form: to which in short I answer, That to invent the matter and words of Prayer, is not to pray, but to study a Prayer; and till our Brethren have proved, that our inventing the matter and words, is a part of our duty of Prayer, which is the Question in debate between us, we can by no means grant, that our at­tention to it is attending to the duty of Prayer; we believe that when we pray devoutly by a Form, we discharge the whole duty of Prayer, though we do not invent the matter and words our selves, and when we see the contrary proved, we will not only yield that to attend to inventing, is to attend to the duty of Prayer; but that it is unlawful to pray by a Form: but in the mean time we can yield neither one, nor t'other. Seeing then that Forms are in themselves more apt to fix the Ministers attention to the inward acts of devo­tion, and seeing that 'tis by attending to these acts, or at least by seeming to do so, that he influences the at­tention of the people, it necessarily follows, that in this respect Forms are more advantageous to publick devotion, than conceiv'd or extemporary Prayer. But then,

2. It is pretended that conceiv'd Prayer is in it self more apt to fix the Ministers attention in Prayer than Forms, because in conceiv'd Prayer he utters his words immediately from his affections, by reason of which his thoughts have not that scope to wander, as when he reads them out of a Book: to which, in short, I an­swer, That if he hath devout affections, he may utter his words as immediately from his affections in a Form, as in a conceiv'd Prayer; and therefore this pretence is altogether insignificant; for his own inven­tion is as much a medium between his affections and utterance in Praying extempore, as the Book in pray­ing [Page 40] by a Form; as for instance, suppose that in con­fessing sin, he be affected with shame and sorrow, he cannot express it in words, but by using his own in­vention, or a Form, and whether he uses one, or t'other, he uses a medium to express it; and why those words which he reads should not be as immediate to his affe­ctions as those which he invents, provided they do as fully express them, I am not able to apprehend; in short therefore, if he hath devout affections, they will at least as much confine his thoughts from wandering when he prays by Form, as when he prays Extempore, if he hath not, he cannot utter his words from his affe­ctions, either in the one or t'other.

2. We will inquire whether those advantages which our Brethren ascribe to conceiv'd Prayer above Forms, as to the raising the Ministers intention in Prayer, be real, or no: first they pretend that in reading a Form, his affections follow his words, and are raised and ex­cited by them; whereas in praying extempore, his words follow his affections. This I confess is a very curious distinction, but I am not able to apprehend either what foundation there is for it, or how it is ap­plicable to the matter; for first what necessity is there either that his affections should follow his words in a Form, more than in a conceiv'd Prayer, or that his words should follow his affections in a conceiv'd Prayer, more than in a Form? why may not a man be devoutly affected with the matter he prays for, before he expresses in a Form of words, as well as before he expresses it extempore? since if he be acquainted with the Form, he cannot but know before-hand what he is to pray for in it; and therefore if he be truly devout, cannot but be affected with it, before he prays for it; and so on the other hand, why may not a man as well be unaffected with the matter he prays for in conceiv'd [Page 41] Prayer, till he hath exprest it, as with the matter he prays for in a Form? or what reason can be assign'd, why the affection may not follow the words, and be excited by them in the one, as well as in the other? may not a man pray inconsiderately, and suffer his tongue, to run before his heart in both? and may not his affections which were before asleep, be awakened by the sound of his words in either? In short therefore, since in praying by a Form, a man may know as well at least, and hath as much time to consider the matter he is to pray for before-hand, as in praying extempore; what reason is there why it should be more difficult for him to affect his soul before-hand with it in the one, than in the other? and if it be equally hard and easie in both, than 'tis equally possible for his affections to go before, or follow his words in either. But then se­condly, suppose it were true, that in conceiv'd Prayer the words follow the affections, and in a Form the affe­ctions the words, how doth it from hence follow, that conceiv'd Prayer doth more intend and heighten the affections, than Forms? what reason can there be as­sign'd, why those acts of inward affections, which fol­low our words in Prayer, should not be as intense and vigorous as those which go before them? why may not a man exert as flagrant an act of desire, im­mediately after he hath exprest his Petition, as imme­diately before, especially if that be true which our Brethren affirm, and which most men find by expe­rence; that the words of Prayer, if they are proper and expressive, do naturally quicken and excite the affections; so that if it be the matter only that excites the affections, they may be as vehemently excited after the words are spoken as before; if it be the words also, the affections must be less vehemently excited before the words, than after: in short therefore, when the [Page 42] Minister prays in publick, whether it be by Form, or extempore, he prays on, without making any long pauses between one Petition and another, so that as soon as ever he hath conceived the matter, he expresses it, and whether it be immediately before or imme­diately after, or while he is expressing it, that he joyns his affection to it, there can be no reason assign'd, if it be the matter he joyns them to, why he should more affect it now, than then, there being nothing in the order of before or after, to raise and excite his affe­ction: and if so, his affections following his words, though it were necessary to his praying by a Form, can be no disadvantage to his Devotion, nor the con­trary an advantage to it, though it were necessary to his praying extempore: but then secondly, it is pre­tended that the Minister cannot so well express his de­vout affections in other mens words, as in his own, and therefore when he prays in a Form of words of other mens composure, 'tis impossible his affections should be so livelily represented, as when he prays extempore: To which in short I answer, That the Ministers business in publick Prayer is not to express the degrees and heighths of his own affections, or to acquaint God of the particular and extraordinary fer­vencies of his own soul: for in publick he prays as the common mouth of the Congregation, and therefore he ought not to express to God in the name of the People, any matter that is peculiar to himself, or to represent his own particular extraordinary fervours, as the common case of the Congregation, but his words ought to be such as every honest and ordi­nary Christian may truly joyn with, as the sense and meaning of his own soul; and for him to express to God in the name of the People, such heights of Devo­tion as few or none of them are arrived to, is as bad as to confess in their names such sins to God, as few or [Page 43] none of them are guilty of. So that if the Minister hath such peculiar heighths of affection as can be fitly exprest only in his own words, he ought not to tell God of them in a publick Prayer, in which he is to express nothing but what is the true and common sense of every honest and sincere Christian; and this cer­tainly may be as fitly exprest in another mans words, as in his own, unless we will suppose that no man can so well express the common sense of a Christian Con­gregation, as he that prays extempore, yea, and that he himself cannot so fitly express it in premeditated words, as in extemporary ones; neither of which I suppose any sober Dissenter will affirm. But then Thirdly and lastly, it is also pretended, that in the use of Forms, the Ministers soul is so ingaged in directing his eye to read, that it cannot be so intensly affected with what he prays for, as when he prays extempore; in answer to which, I leave the Reader to judge, whe­ther the recollecting of the matter of Prayer, the disposing of it into a due method, and inventing of proper phrases to express it, (neither of which are acts of Prayer, as I shew'd before) must not much more busie and ingage the Ministers soul when he is praying publickly, than the directing of his eye to read; that is, whether one that hath so perfect a habit of reading as that he can readily exercise it without imploying one thought about it, cannot read a Prayer more easily, than invent one? for so much easier as it is to read than to invent a Prayer, so much less his soul hath to divert it from being affected with what he prays for when he prays by a Form, than when he prays ex­tempore. And thus you see that those advantages which are ascribed to conceiv'd Prayer, as to the rai­sing the Ministers Devotion, are such as are either imaginary, or as ought rather to be ascribed to Forms.

[Page 44]But it is pretended, that Forms of Prayer do not only deaden the Ministers Devotion, and so by conse­quence the Peoples, but that they do also deaden the Peoples by a more direct and immediate influence, because they still express the matter of Prayer in the same words, which when the People have often heard, will be apt to cloy their attention, whereas the very newness and variety of words, in which conceiv'd Prayers are exprest, doth naturally awaken and enter­tain their minds and keep them more fixt and intent. For answer whereunto, let us consider upon what it is that this novelty and variety of expression doth keep our minds so fixt and intent on, is it upon the matter of Prayer? doubtless, No; for that is generally the same, especially the matter of publick Prayer, and therefore if it were that that fixt our minds, 'twould as well do it in the same as in new and varied expressions; and since the matter of publick Prayer is old, and for the main will be always so, why should it not as well affect us in old words as in new, provided they exprest it with equal propriety and fitness; but if it be meerly the newness of the phrase 'tis express'd in, that fixes their minds: there is nothing in it but a meer surprise and amusement of their fancies, which instead of fixing doth unfix their minds from the internal acts of Prayer, and divert its attention from the devotion to the ora­tory of it; so that this fixation of their minds on the novelty of the phrase and method of Prayer is so far from being an advantage, that 'tis a distraction to their devotion. As for Forms of Prayer, there is no doubt but they may be composed with the same advantage of expression and pronounced with the same affection as the Prayers of our own extempore composure, and if they are so, they will have the same advantage of the musick of speech to excite the Devotions of the People; [Page 45] but as for novelty of method and expression, that may indeed entertain their minds and divert them from roving out to other objects, but even this entertain­ment is a roving and excursion of their minds from the acts of Prayer, which, while they are amused with the novelty of the phrase and method of the Prayer, can be no more intent on the devotion of it, than while they are busied about secular objects and affairs. And indeed that seeming devotion that is raised in the minds of the People by the gingling of the Ministers words about their fancies, is generally false and counterfeit, for as words do naturally impress the fancy, so the fancy doth naturally excite the sensitive affections; so that when the affections are excited meerly by the art and musick of the words of Prayer, it is not Devotion but Mechanism; for there is no doubt but men may be and many times are strangely affected with the words of Prayer when they have not the least spark of true devotion to the matter of it; for when they fancy the matter of Prayer and are affected with it meerly for the sake of the words, the movement of their af­fection will cease as soon as the impression is worn out which the words make upon their fancies, and if in the mean time they happen to hear any other matter ex­prest in the same affectionate words, they will in all pro­bability be as much affected with it, as they are now with the matter of Prayer, but if the mind be truly devout and doth affect the matter of Prayer for it self and not for the sake of the words, I cannot imagin how new words should any way advantage its devo­tion, unless they were to express new matter. Since therefore the matter of publick Prayer neither is nor ought to be new, unless it be upon extraordinary pub­lick emergencies, what colour of reason can there be assign'd, why the devotion of the hearers should be [Page 46] more affected with it in new words than in old, sup­posing it be express'd and pronounc'd with the same propriety and affection in both. And thus I have shewn that those advantages of publick Devotion which are pretended to be peculiar to conceiv'd Prayers, are for the most part imaginary, and that so far forth as they are real they are more peculiar to Forms of Prayer, I proceed to the third and last enquiry, viz.

3. Whether there are not sundry advantages of pub­lick Devotion peculiar to Forms of Prayer, which con­ceived Prayers cannot pretend to? That there are, I do affirm, and will indeavour to prove by these follow­ing Instances.

1. One great advantage that is peculiar to publick Forms of Prayer, is, That the People may address themselves to them with greater preparation; for if they please, they may peruse the words before-hand, and consider the sense and matter of them, and indea­vour to affect their minds with it; as for instance, when I know before-hand what words my sins will be confest in, when I am to joyn in the publick Devotions, I can consider before-hand the sense and meaning of them, and prepare such affection as are sutable to them; as suppose the confession be that of our Church's Li­turgy, wherein we begin with Almighty and most mer­ciful Father; I can consider the meaning of these words before I come to Church; and from the consi­deration of God's almighty and most merciful nature, excite my affections to an awful dread of his power, and an ingenuous sense of his mercy; by which when I come to joyn with these words in the publick con­fession, I shall be duely affected with the sense of them, and my soul will beready melted into all that filial sor­row and humiliation for my sin, with the considera­tion that I have offended by it an Almighty and most [Page 47] merciful Father suggests; and so if I consider, and ap­ply before-hand all the rest of the confession, I shall thereby tune and set my affections to the sense and matter of each particular phrase and expression in it; which 'twill be impossible for me to do when I am to joyn with an extempore Prayer; because I cannot know before-hand what the phrases and expressions of it will be; besides which, upon the words of publick Forms, there may be written excellent Paraphrases and Meditations, such as is that of the Companion to the Temple; by reading of which the Devotions of the People may be very much excited and improved; which is such an advantage as the words of extempore Prayer will not admit of.

2. Another advantage peculiar to publick Forms, is, That in joining with them the People may pray with more understanding, than they can well be sup­posed to do in conceiv'd and extempore Prayer, where­in generally the Minister is forc'd to make use of such words and expressions as come first to hand, having not leisure enough to pick and choose his words, with­out making long and undecent pauses and interrup­tions, so that sometimes he is fain to use a hard word, which perhaps not half the People understand, because an easier doth not come to his mind, and sometimes to intangle his expressions with long Parentheses, some­times to darken his matter with far fetch'd Metaphors, or to express it by halfs in broken Sentences, and some­times to run out his Periods to an inordinate length, by which the sense of them is very much clouded and obscur'd: these and such like inconveniences all the World knows do very commonly attend extempore Effusions: and let a mans fancy and tongue be never so fluent and voluble, he can never be so secure of ex­pressing himself intelligibly to the People when he [Page 48] prays extempore, as he might be if he took time enough before-hand to choose his words, and form his expressions, so that the People may be much more se­cure of understanding what they pray for when they joyn with a Form, than when they joyn with an ex­tempore Prayer; for to be sure in composing publick Forms more care will be taken of the phrase, that the words may fit the matter, and express it intelligibly to the People, than there can be in extempore Prayer; which admits of no long consideration, no alteration upon second thoughts, no after-scanning or revisal, as Forms of Prayer do, but it must pass as it happens, whether it be intelligible or no, by reason of which those who occupy the room of the unlearned, are many times forc'd to break off praying for want of under­standing what the words and expressions of the Prayer mean; for whether the Prayer be spoken in an unknown Tongue, or in words that are unintelligible to the People, it is all one to them, for still their understand­ing is unfruitful, and so long their devotion must be broken and interrupted.

3. Another advantage peculiar to publick Forms, is, That the People may joyn with them with much more faith and ussurance, than they can with extempore Prayers; it must doubtless be of great advantage to a mans devotion in publick, to be satisfied before-hand that the matter he is to pray for is good and acceptable to God; for by this means he will be inabled to pray on with a stronger faith and surer hope of being heard and accepted; but this a man can never be satisfi'd of aforehand, that joyns in extempore Prayer, unless he hath an implicit faith in his Minister, that he will say nothing to God but what is true, nor ask any thing of him but what is lawful; which how he can cer­tainl depend on, I cannot imagin, especially consi­dering [Page 49] that the Minister who prays is many times a stranger to him, both as to his person and principles, and for all that he knows may be very erronious, rash, and unadvised, or very ignorant of what is matter of Prayer, and what not; And even those Ministers whom he knows, and can best confide in, are not always so very sure of their hands, but that some times they may mistake their passion for their zeal, and reak their anger or faction in their Prayers, or in the heat and hurry of speaking what comes next, let drop an error before they are aware, or express themselves so doubtfully, or unadvisedly, that an honest and discern­ing mind may not be able to joyn with him; so that in joyning with an extempore Prayer, it is very ne­cessary, (as hath been observed by an excellent Divine upon this Argument) that as we go along with the Minister, we should judge of what he saith before our hearts consent to it, and if it should so happen, that by reason of the novelty, or ambiguity, affectation, or indigestedness of his expressions, or any such rub in our way, we cannot readily judge, but are fain to he­sitate, and deliberate upon this, or that passage; in the mean time he who prays is gone on, and now upon a new subject, and we are left behind, and at a loss, and perhaps miserably confounded before our Devotion can close in again, and no sooner it may be is it well fixt, but 'tis led away again into the same inconve­niency and maze: all which may be easily prevented by the use of publick Forms; of the matter and ex­pressions of which, the People may easily satisfie them­selves aforehand, and when this is done, they will have nothing else to do, but to pray and keep their holy affections a going, they will have no new Judgment to make of what is said, no doubtful phrase or matter to examin, and their judgment being satisfied before [Page 50] they begin to pray, with the words and matter of the Prayer, their devotion may go on with it, without pause or stop in an even and uninterrupted current.

4. Another advantage peculiar to publick Forms, is, That they have much less in them to divert the affe­fections of the People from the matter of Prayer. For as for extempore Prayer, it is very apt to disturb the devotion of the People, whether it be well or ill perform'd, if he who performs it hesitates, or blunders, or expresses himself in crude, undecent, or fantastick phrases, instead of attending to the matter, and joyn­ing their affections with it, they will in all probabi­lity be pitying, or contemning him, carping at what comes next, and running descants on his weakness and impertinence; if he perform well, and his method be orderly and artificial, his matter good, and his ex­pressions fluent and apt, and easie, they will in all pro­bability be admiring his parts, and entertaining their curiosity with the elegancy of his phrase, the solidity and promptness of his judgment, and the art and fine­ry of his composure; either of which must very much divert and call off their affections from the matter; whereas while they are joyning in publick Forms, to which they have been accustomed, and in which nei­ther the strength, nor weakness of the Ministers parts appears, they have none of all these snares to intangle their devotion: for being used to the words, and phrase, and method, they have no temptation to con­cern their minds any farther about them, than as they convey the matter of the Prayer to them, and having none of the above-named diversions, to carry away their minds from the matter, they may doubtless, if they please, attend to it with much more fervour and affection.

[Page 51]5. Another peculiar advantage to the Peoples Devo­tion in joyning with publick Forms, is, That they are more secur'd as to the decency and solemnity of their publick Worship; and I suppose there is no body will question, but that the decent and solemn performance of publick Worship, is highly advantageous to the Devotion of the People. But now whilst they joyn in extempore Prayers, the decency and solemnity of the performance, doth altogether depend upon the ability and present disposedness of the Minister; so that if the Minister happen to be a man of a mean elocution, of an unready memory, or an unfruitful invention, it is impossible the Office should be perform'd with that decency and solemnity, that is necessary to affect the minds, and excite the devotions of the People; yea, instead of that perhaps, the wretched dulness, the blun­dering, confusion, and impertinence of the performance, may turn their devotion into scorn and laughter; for of this I have seen too many sad experiments: but suppose the Minister be a man of pregnant parts, and ready in­vention and elocution, yea and of great Piety and Devo­tion too, yet 'tis possible he may be frequently liable to great indispositions of body, and mind, to dulness, and inadvertency, to wandering, and distraction of thoughts, to deficiencies of invention, and failures of memory, and incumbrances of mind, with outward cares and accidents; and if he be, what remedy is there, but that he must many times pray confusedly, and omit a great deal of the matter of Prayer, and utter a great deal of it in broken or undecent expressions? and how can he avoid being sometimes at a loss, both for words and matter, and being forc'd to supply the present de­fects of his invention, with fulsome repetitions of what went before? and how is it possible almost but that a great deal of slat and empty nonsense, a great many [Page 52] crude and undigested conceptions, and rash and unad­vis'd expressions should escape from his lips before he is aware? and this, if he hath any grain of modesty in him, must, upon the least reflection, put him into a greater confusion, and so amaze, and bewilder him, that through­out the whole Prayer perhaps, he will hardly be able to recover himself to any consistency of thoughts: Now is it not a hard case, that the decency and solem­nity of the publick Prayers of a Congregation, should depend upon the uncertain and variable temper and disposition of one single person; so as that if he happen to be indispos'd or disorder'd in his body or mind, the Devotions of 500 or 1000 persons must partake of his disorders and distractions; for how much soever he is indisposed, their Prayer can be no better than what he is able to pour out extempore, and how flatly, unadvi­sedly or confusedly soever he prays, they must pray after him, or not pray at all; which vast inconvenience is wholly cur'd and prevented, by a well compos'd Form of Prayer, for how weak soever the Ministers parts be, or how much soever he may be at present indisposed, if he can but read distinctly and seriously, the Devotion of the People will not be at all affected or influenc'd by it, for whatsoever his parts, or present temper be, they will be sure to find an orderly and methodical Prayer to joyn with; a Prayer that is comprehensive of all their common cases and necessities; that is sober and good, mature and well advised as to the matter; that is full and plain and decent as to the phrase and expression of it; and in a word, that is every way suted to all the parts and ends and offices of publick Devotion; And if they please, they may satisfie themselves before-hand, that there is nothing in the Prayer they are to joyn with, but what becomes publick Worship, which is the most serious and solemn thing in the World.

[Page 53]6. Another peculiar advantage of publick Forms, is, That in joyning with them the People may be better secur'd of the reality and sincerity of their own Devo­tion. For in joyning with extempore Prayers, there is no doubt but they may, and many times do mistake the tickling of their fancics, for true and sincere Devo­tion; for their fancies being surpriz'd, and amused, meerly by the novelty of the expressions, will natu­rally influence their sensitive passions, and chase them into such warmths as an undiscerning judgment may ea­sily mistake for the holy fervours of Devotions; they find themselves strangely heated in the Prayer, and upon that immediately conclude, that they are wonderfully devout, without ever enquiring, whether it be the mat­ter, or the phrase and expression that heats them; and so from those transports of passion, which are meerly the effects of new and surprising words, striking briskly on their fancies, they many times take occasion to flatter themselves into a great opinion of their Piety and God­liness, whereas many of these persons are notoriously immoral in their lives, and utterly disaffected to the matter they pray for with so much seeming earnestness and affection; which is a plain argument, that their affection is not to the matter, but meerly to the words and expressions; and in all probability the same sur­prisingness of expression would have as much affected them at a Play, as it doth at a Prayer: thus for in­stance, when they hear God or Christ spoken of, and their goodness and perfections represented in a new and surprising strain of expressions, their fancy many times is strangely smitten with it, and this makes their spirits flow in a sweet and placid torrent to their heart; and by their frisking about it, to sooth and tickle it into great complacency and pleasure, till at last it opens and dilates it orifices, and the grateful flood breaks in, and [Page 54] drowns it in delight and ravishment; and yet all this many times, instead of being a real complacency of their souls in God, is only a complacency of their fan­cies in the phrase by which he is described and repre­sented, and had they heard the Hero of Play describ'd in the same phrase, they might probably have been moved to the same affection to him, as they are now to God and their Saviour; for the same kind of influence that new and surprising expressions have upon mens fancies in Prayer, they will have when applied to other matters; And if we will believe Plutarch, it was an ordinary thing with the Greek Sophists, by their honied words, surprising phrases, singing tones, and effeminate accents, to excite their Auditors into a kind of Bacchical Enthusiasm; and no doubt but those hearers, of whom he there speaks, who were wont to applaud their Orators at the end of their Declamations with a [...], divinely, heavenly, un­imitably spoken; found themselves as much moved, as many a man doth at an extempore Prayer, who yet verily believes, that it is not meerly a movement of his fancy, but of his sincere and true devotion. This therefore is a great disadvantage of extempore Prayer in publick, that meerly by amusing the fancies of the people with the surprising novelty of its expressions, it puts them into fits of counterfeit devotion, and makes them many times imagin that they are heartily affected with the matter of the Prayers, when 'tis meerly the phrase of it that by striking on their fancies, moves their sensitive affection. But whether this movement of affection be fancy, or devotion, a man may much more easily di­stinguish when he joyns with a Form, than when he joyns with an extempore Prayer; for he being acquaint­ed aforehand with the phrases and expressions of the Form, it is not to be supposed, that they should much [Page 55] surprise and amuse his fancy, and therefore if notwith­standing that, he finds himself heartily affected in the Prayer, he may much more securely conclude, that it is the matter, and not meerly the words that moves and affects him. And thus, with all plainness and sincerity, I have indeavoured to represent those peculiar advantages which Forms of Prayer have above extempore ones, as to the quickening and improving the Devotions of the People: I might have given other Instances of it, but these I think are sufficient to determin the case in debate, and to convince any unprejudic'd man, that pious and well composed Forms, are so far from deaden­ing the publick Devotions, that they contribute sundry great advantages to it. And indeed if publick Forms do deaden the Peoples Devotion, it must be either as they always confine the Devotions of the People to the same set of words, which, as I have proved at large, is a great advantage to their Devotion; or as they do pro tempore confine them to a certain set of words; in which sense the Ministers extempore Prayer is a Form to the People, and doth as much confine their Devo­tions to a certain set of words, pro tempore, as any stated Form whatsoever.

And now, if after all this, it be objected by our Bre­thren, that they find by Experience, which is the best Argument, that Forms do actually deaden their Devo­tion, I would beseech them seriously to consider, whe­ther this experience of theirs be not founded in an un­reasonable prejudice; and if it be, whether it's fit that their unreasonable prejudice should prescribe to the whole Church? it's certain, that there are other men as truly pious and devout as they, who find by expe­rience, that joyning with the publick Forms is a great advantage to their Devotion; so that here is experience against experience; and certainly where there are two [Page 56] contrary experiences of the same thing, they cannot both proceed from the nature of the thing; but one, or t'other must necessarily arise from the disposition and temper of those who are conversant about it: Now I have shew'd that Forms of Prayer are in themselves real advantages to publick Devotion, and that they are so, there are many thousands of good Christians can attest by their own experience; and therefore if our Brethren do not experience the same, the fault must lie in their own prejudice, or temper, and there is no doubt to be made, but would they heartily indeavour to cure their own prejudice, and to dispossess their minds of those groundless Piques they have entertain'd against our Liturgy; would they but peruse it with im­partial eyes; consider the contents, and labour to affect their minds with the sense and matter of it; they would quickly find the same experience of its advan­tageousness to publick Devotion, as those blessed Mar­tyrs did who compos'd it, us'd, and at last died for it, and valued every Leaf of it as an inestimable treasure; and as we should consent in our experience, so we should also in our communion, and with one heart and one mouth glorifie our Father together.