A Christian Directory, Part 3: Christian Ecclesiastics

Quest. LXXI. Whether a form of prayer be lawful?

Answ. I have said so much of this and some following questions in many books already, that to avoid repetition, I shall say very little here.

The question must be out of question with all christians:

1. Because the Scripture itself hath many forms of prayer; which therefore cannot be unlawful.

Object. They were lawful then, but not now.

Answ. He that saith so, must prove where God hath since forbidden them. Which can never be.

Object. They may lawfully be read in Scripture for instruction, but not used as prayers.

Answ. They were used as prayers then, and are never since forbidden: yea, John and Christ did teach their disciples to pray, and Christ thus prefaceth his form, "When ye pray, say" —

2. All things must be done to edification: but to use a form of prayer is for the edification of many persons, at least those that cannot otherwise do so well; therefore those persons must use a form. Full experience doth prove the minor, and nothing but strangeness to men can contradict it.

Quest. LXXII. Are forms of prayer or preaching in the church lawful?

Answ. Yes: most ministers study the methodical form of their sermons before they preach them; and many write the very words, or study them: and so most sermons are a form. And sure it is as lawful to think beforehand what to say in praying as in preaching.³²⁰

1. That which God hath not forbidden is lawful; but God hath not forbidden ministers to study their sermons or prayers, either for matter, method, or words, and so to make them many ways a form.

2. That which God prescribed is lawful (if he reverse it not): but God prescribed public forms of prayer; as the titles and matter of many of the Psalms prove, which were daily used in the Jewish synagogues.

Object. Psalms being to be sung, are more than prayers.

Answ. They were prayers, though more. They are called prayers, and for the matter many of them were no more than prayers, but only for the measures of words: nor was their singing like ours now, but liker to our saying. And there are many other prayers recorded in the Scripture.

3. And all the churches of Christ at least these thirteen or fourteen hundred years have taken public forms for lawful; which is not to be gainsayed without proof.

Quest. LXXIII. Are public forms of man's devising or composing lawful?

Answ. Yes: 1. The ministers afore-mentioned throughout the christian world, do devise and compose the form of their own sermons and prayers: and that maketh them not unlawful. 2. And whoever speaketh ex tempore, his words are a form when he speaketh them, though not a premeditated form. 3. And when Scripture so vehemently commandeth us to search, meditate, study the Scriptures, and take heed unto ourselves and unto doctrine, &c. what a person is that who will condemn prayer or preaching, only because we beforehand studied or considered what to say! as if God abhorred diligence and the use of reason. Men are not tied (now) from thinking beforehand what to say to the judge at the bar for estate or life, or what to say on an embassage, or to a king, or any man that we converse with. And where are we forbidden to forethink what to say to God? Must the people take heed how they hear, and look to their foot when they go into the house of God? and must not we take heed what we speak, and look to our words that they be fit and decent?

Object. Forms are images of prayer and preaching, forbidden in the second commandment?

Answ. Prove it, and add not to the word of God. 1. The Scripture and God's servants, even Christ himself, had broken the second commandment, when they used or prescribed forms. 2. Forms are no more images than extemporate words are, as they signify our minds. Are all the catechisms, printed and written sermons and prayers, images or idols? all forms that parents teach their children? O charge not such untruths on God; and invent not falsehoods of his word, while you cry down man's inventions.

Quest. LXXIV. Is it lawful to impose forms on the congregation or the people in public worship?

Yes, and more than lawful; it is the pastor's duty so to do. For whether he forethink what to pray or not, his prayer is to them a form of words; and they are bound in all the lawful parts, to concur with him in spirit or desire, and to say Amen. So that every minister by office is daily to impose a form of prayer on all the people in the congregation. Only some men impose the same form many times over, or every day, and others impose every day a new one.

Quest. LXXV. Is it lawful to use forms composed by man, and imposed not only on the people, but on the pastors of the churches?

Answ. The question concerneth not the lawfulness of imposing, but of using forms imposed. And, 1. It is not lawful to use them merely on that account because they are imposed or commanded, without some greater reason of the unlawfulness. For else it would be unlawful for any other to use imposed forms; as for a scholar or child, if the master or parent impose them, or for the congregation when the pastor imposeth them, which is not true.

2. The using of imposed forms may by other accidents be sometimes good and sometimes evil, as the accidents are that make it so.

1. These accidents may make it evil: (1.) When the form is bad for matter or manner, and we voluntarily prefer it before that which is better, being willing of the imposition. (2.) When we do it to gratify our slothfulness, or to cover our wilful ignorance and disability. (3.) When we voluntarily obey and strengthen any unlawful, usurping pastors or powers that impose it without authority, and so encourage church tyranny. (4.) When we choose a singular form, imposed by some singular pastor, and avoid that which the rest of the churches agree in, at a time when it may tend to division and offence. (5.) When the weakness and offence of the congregation is such, that they will not join with us in the imposed form, and so by using it, we drive them from all public worship or divide them.

2. And in the following circumstances the using of an imposed form is lawful and a duty: (1.) When the minister is so weak that he cannot pray well without one, nor compose so good a one himself. (2.) Or when the errors or great weakness of the generality of ministers is such, as that they usually corrupt or spoil God's worship by their own manner of praying, and no better are to be had; and thereupon the wise and faithful pastors and magistrates shall impose one sound and apt liturgy to avoid error and division in such a distempered time; and the ablest cannot be left at liberty without the relaxing of the rest. (3.) When it is a means of the concord of the churches, and no hinderance to our other prayers. (4.) When our hearers will not join with us if we use them not (for error and weakness must be borne with on one side, as well as on the other). (5.) When obedience to just authority requireth it, and no command of Christ is crossed by it. (6.) When the imposition is so severe that we must so worship God publicly, or not at all; and so all God's public worship will be shut out of that congregation, country, or nation, unless we will use imposed prayers. (7.) In a word, when the good consequences of obedience, union, avoiding offence, liberty for God's public worship and preaching the gospel, &c. are greater than the bad consequences which are like to follow the using of such forms: the preponderating accidents must prevail. (8.) And if a man's own judgment and conscience cannot be satisfied, to do God's work comfortably and quietly any other way, it may go far in the determination. And the common good of many churches must still be preferred before a less.

Quest. LXXVI. Doth not the calling of a minister so consist in the exercise of his own ministerial gifts, that he may not officiate without them, nor make use of other men's gifts instead of them?

Answ. 1. The office of the ministry is an obligation and authority to do the ministerial work, by those personal, competent abilities which God hath given us.

2. This obligation to use our own abilities, forbiddeth us not to make use of the helps, gifts, and abilities of others; either to promote our own abilities and habits, or to further us in the act or the exercise of them. For, 1. There is no such prohibition in Scripture. 2. All men are insufficient for themselves; and nature and Scripture require them to use the best help they can get from others. 3. God's service must be done in the best manner we can. But many ministers cannot do it so well (consideratis considerandis) without other men's help as with it.

3. We may use other men's gifts to help us, 1. For matter; 2. Method; 3. Words; and so for a threefold form, of preaching or prayer.

4. He that useth a Scripture form of matter, method, or words, useth his own abilities no more, than if he used a form out of another book. But it is lawful to use a Scripture form; therefore it is lawful so far to take in assistance in the use of our own abilities.

5. He that useth a form useth his own abilities also (not only perhaps at other times, but) in the use of it. He useth his understanding to discern the true sense and aptitude of the words which he useth: he useth his holy desires in putting up those prayers to God; and his other graces, as he doth in other prayers. He useth his utterance in the apt and decent speaking of them.

6. A minister is not always bound to use his own gifts to the utmost that he can, and other men's as little as he can. For, 1. There is no such command from God. 2. All things must be done to the church's edification: but sometimes the greater use of another man's gifts, and the less use of his own, may be to the church's greater edification.

Instances of the lawful use of other men's gifts are such as these.

1. For matter, an abler minister may tell a young man what subjects are fittest for him in preaching and prayer; and what is the sense of the Scriptures which he is to open; and what is the true solution of several doubts and cases. A minister that is young, raw, or ignorant, (yea, the best,) may be a learner while he is a teacher: but he that is a learner maketh use so far of the gifts of others. And indeed all teachers in the world make use of the gifts of others; for all teach what they learn from others.

2. For method; it is lawful to learn that as well as matter from another. Christ taught his disciples a method of prayer; and other men may open that method to us. All tutors teach their pupils method as well as matter; for method is needful to the due understanding and using of the matter. A method of divinity, a method of preaching, and a method of praying may be taught a preacher by word, and may be written or printed for his use.

3. For words, 1. There is no more prohibition in God's word, against learning or using another man's words, than his method or matter. Therefore it is not unlawful. 2. A tutor or senior minister may teach the Scripture words to a pupil or junior minister; yea, and may set them together and compose him a sermon or prayer out of Scripture in its words. (For he that may use an ill-composed Scripture form of his own gathering, may use a well-composed form of another's). 3. All the books in our libraries are forms of words; and it is lawful sure to use some of all those words which we read; or else our books would be a snare and limitation to our language. 4. All preachers ordinarily use citations, testimonies, &c. in other men's words. 5. All ministers use psalms in the metre of other men's composing (and usually imposing too). And there is no more prohibition against using other men's words in a prayer, than in a psalm. 6. Almost all ministers use other men's gifts and form of words, in reading the Scriptures, in their vulgar tongues: for God did not write them by his apostles and prophets in English, French, Dutch, &c. but in Hebrew, Chaldee, and Greek; therefore the wording them in English, &c. is a human form of words: and few ministers think they are bound to translate all the Bible themselves, lest they use other men's words or abilities. 7. If a young minister that can pray but weakly, hear more apt expressions and sentences in another minister's prayers, than his own are, he may afterward make use of those sentences and expressions. And if of one sentence, why not of two or ten, when God hath not forbidden it? So also in preaching. 8. It is lawful to read another man's epistles or sermons in the church, as the primitive churches did by Clement's and some others. 9. An imposition may be so severe, that we shall not use our own words, unless we will use some of other men's. 10. All churches almost in the world, have consented in the use of creeds, confessions, and prayers, and psalms, in the words of others.

But yet, 1. No minister must on these pretences stifle his own gifts, and grow negligent; 2. Nor consent to church tyranny or papal usurpations; 3. Nor do that which tendeth to eat out seriousness in the worship of God, and turn all into dead imagery or formality.

Quest. Is it lawful to read a prayer in the church?

Answ. 1. That which is not forbidden is lawful: but to read a prayer is not forbidden (as such, though by accident it may).

2. The prayers in the Scripture psalms, were usually read in the Jewish synagogues lawfully; for they were written to that end, and were indeed the Jewish liturgy. Therefore to read a prayer is not unlawful.

3. He that hath a weak memory may read his own sermon notes; therefore he may read his prayers.

4. I add as to this case and the former together; that, 1. Christ did usually frequent the Jewish synagogues.

2. That in those synagogues there were forms of prayer, and that ordinarily read, at least Scripture forms: and if either the Jewish rabbins (cited by Scaliger, Selden in Eutych. Alexandr. &c.,) or the strongest probability may be credited, there were also human forms. For who can imagine that those Pharisees should have no human forms, (1.) Who are so much accused of formality, and following traditions: (2.) And used long and frequent prayers: but if indeed they had no such forms, then long and frequent extemporate prayers are not so great a sign of the Spirit's gifts as is imagined, when such Pharisees abounded in them. But there is little probability but that they used both ways.

3. That Christ did not separate from the synagogues for such prayers' sake.

4. Yea, that we never read that Christ meddled in the controversy, it being then no controversy; nor that he once reproved such forms, or reading them, or ever called the Jews to repent of them.

If you say, his general reproof of traditions was enough: I answer, 1. Even traditions he reproved not as such, but as set before, or against the commands of God. 2. He named many of their particular traditions and corruptions, Matt. xv. xxiii. &c. and yet never named this. 3. His being usually present at their assemblies, and so joining with them in their worship, would be such an appearance of his approbation, as would make it needful to express his disallowance of it, if indeed he thought it sinful. So that whoever impartially considereth all this, that he joined with them, that he particularly reproved other corruptions, and that he never said any thing at all against forms or reading prayers, that is recorded, will sure be moderate in his judgment of such indifferent things, if he know what moderation is.

Quest. LXXVII. Is it lawful to pray in the church without a prescribed or premeditated form of words?

Answ. There are so few sober and serious christians that ever made a doubt of this, that I will not bestow many words to prove it.

1. That which is not forbidden is lawful. But church prayer without a premeditated or prescribed form of words is not forbidden (by God); therefore (as to God's laws) it is not unlawful.

2. To express holy desires understandingly, orderly, seriously, and in apt expressions, is lawful praying. But all this may be done without a set form of words; therefore to pray without a set form of words may be lawful.

3. The consent of the universal church, and the experience of godly men, are arguments so strong, as are not to be made light of.

4. To which Scripture instances may be added.

Quest. LXXVIII. Whether are set forms of words, or free praying without them, the better way? And what are the commodities and incommodities of each way?

Answ. I will first answer the latter question, because the former dependeth on it.

1. The commodities of a set form of words, and the discommodities of free praying, are these following.

1. In a time of dangerous heresy which hath infected the pastors, a set form of prescribed words tendeth to keep the church, and the consciences of the joiners, from such infection, offence, and guilt.

2. When ministers are so weak as to dishonour God's worship by their unapt, and slovenly, and unsound expressions, prescribed or set forms which are well composed, are some preservative and cure. When free praying leaveth the church under this inconvenience.

3. When ministers by faction, passion, or corrupt interests, are apt to put these vices into their prayers, to the injury of others, and of the cause and church of God, free praying cherisheth this, or giveth it opportunity, which set forms do restrain.

4. Concordant set forms do serve for the exactest concord in the churches, that all at once may speak the same things.

5. They are needful to some weak ministers that cannot do so well without them.

6. They somewhat prevent the laying of the reputation of religious worship upon the minister's abilities: when in free praying, the honour and comfort varieth with the various degrees of pastoral abilities; in one place it is excellently well done, in another but dryly, and coldly, and meanly, in another erroneously, unedifyingly, if not dishonourably, tending to the contempt of holy things: whereas in the way of set liturgies, though the ablest (at that time) doth no better, yet the weakest doth (for words) as well, and all alike.

7. And, if proud, weak men have not the composing and imposing of it, all know that words drawn up by study, upon sober premeditation and consultation, have a greater advantage, to be exact and apt, than those that were never thought on till we are speaking them.

8. The very fear of doing amiss, disturbeth some unready men, and maketh them do all the rest the worse.

9. The auditors know beforehand, whether that which they are to join in be sound or unsound, having time to try it.

10. And they can more readily put in their consent to what is spoken, and make the prayer their own, when they know beforehand what it is, than they can do when they know not before they hear it; it being hard to the duller sort of hearers, to concur with an understanding and consent as quick as the speaker's words are. Not but that this may be done, but not without great difficulty in the duller sort.

11. And it tendeth to avoid the pride and self-deceit of many, who think they are good christians, and have the spirit of grace and supplication, because by learning and use they can speak many hours in variety of expressions in prayer; which is a dangerous mistake.

I. The commodities of free extemporate prayers, and the discommodity of prescribed or set forms, are these following.

1. It becometh an advantage to some proud men who think themselves wiser than all the rest, to obtrude their compositions, that none may be thought wise enough, or fit to speak to God, but in their words; and so introduce church tyranny.

2. It may become a hinderance to able, worthy ministers that can do better.

3. It may become a dividing snare to the churches, that cannot all agree and consent in such human impositions.

4. It may become an advantage to heretics when they can but get into power (as the Arians of old) to corrupt all the churches and public worship; and thus the papists have corrupted the churches by the mass.

5. It may become an engine or occasion of persecution, and silencing all those ministers that cannot consent to such impositions.

6. It may become a means of depraving the ministry, and bringing them to a common idleness and ignorance (if other things alike concur). For when men perceive that no greater abilities are used and required, they will commonly labour for and get no greater, and so will be unable to pray without their forms of words.

7. And by this means christian religion may decay and grow into contempt; for though it be desirable that its own worth should keep up its reputation and success, yet it never hitherto was so kept up without the assistance of God's eminent gifts and graces in his ministers; but wherever there hath been a learned, able, holy, zealous, diligent ministry, religion usually hath flourished; and wherever there hath been an ignorant, vicious, cold, idle, negligent, and reproached ministry, religion usually hath died and been reproached. And we have now no reason to look for that which never was, and that God should take a new course in the world.

And the opinion of imposing forms of prayer, may draw on the opinion of imposing forms of preaching as much, and of restraining free preaching as much as free praying, as we see in Muscovy. And then when nothing but bare reading is required, nothing more will be ordinarily sought; and so the ministry will be the scorn of the people.

9. And it will be a shameful and uncomfortable failing, when a minister is not able on variety of occasions, to vary his prayers accordingly; and when he cannot go any further than his book or lesson; it being as impossible to make prayers just fitted to all occasions which will fall out, as to make sermons fit for all, or, as they say, to make a coat for the moon; and the people will contemn the ministers when they perceive this great deficiency.

10. And it is a great difficulty to many ministers to learn and say a form without book; so that they that can all day speak what they know, can scarce recite a form of words one quarter of an hour, the memory more depending upon the body and its temper, than the exercise of the understanding doth. He that is tied just to these words and no other, is put upon double difficulties (like him that on height must walk on a narrow plank, where the fear of falling will make him fall); but he that may express the just desires of his soul in what words occur that are apt and decent, is like one that hath a field to walk in: for my own part, it is easier to me to pray or preach six hours in freedom, about things which I understand, than to pray or preach the tenth part of an hour in the fetters of a form of words which I must not vary. And so the necessity of a book coming in, doth bring down the reputation of the minister's abilities in the people's eyes.

11. But the grand incommodity, greater than all the rest, is, that it usually occasioneth carelessness, deadness, formality, and heartless lip-labour in our prayers to God; whilst the free way of present prayer tendeth to excite our cogitations to consider what we say. And it is not only the multitude of dead-hearted hypocrites in the church that are thus tempted to persevere in their lip-labour and hypocrisy, and to draw near to God with their lips when their hearts are far from him, and are gratified in their self-deceit, whilst parrot-like they speak the words which they regard not, and their tongues do overgo their hearts; but even better men are greatly tempted to dead remissness: I mean both the speakers and the hearers; for, (1.) It is natural to man's mind to have a slothful weariness as well as his body; and to do no more than he findeth a necessity of doing; and though God's presence alone should suffice to engage all the powers of our souls, yet sad experience telleth us, that God's eye and man's together will do more with almost all men, than one alone. And therefore no men's thoughts are so accurately governed as their words. Therefore when a minister knoweth beforehand that, as to man's approbation, he hath no more to do but to read that which he seeth before him, he is apt to let his thoughts fly abroad, and his affections lie down, because no man taketh account of these; but in extemporate diversified prayer, a man cannot do it without an excitation of his understanding to think (to the utmost) what to say; and an excitation of his affections, to speak with life, or else the hearers will perceive his coldness. And though all this may be counterfeit and hypocritically affected, yet it is a great help to seriousness and sincerity to have the faculties all awake; and it is a great help to awaken them to be under such a constant necessity even from man. As those that are apt to sleep at prayer, will do it less when they know men observe them, than at another time.

(2.) And both to speaker and hearers, human frailty maketh it hard to be equally affected with the same thing spoken a hundred times, as we are at first when it is new, and when it is clothed in comely variety of expressions. As the same book affecteth us not at the twentieth reading as it did at the first. Say not, it is a dishonourable weakness to be thus carried by the novelty of things or words; for though that be true, it is a dishonour common to all mankind, and a disease which is your own, and which God alloweth us all lawful means to cure, and to correct the unhappy effects while it is uncured.

12. Lastly, set forms serve unworthy men to hide their unworthiness by, and to be the matter of a controversy in which they may vent their envy against them that are abler and holier than themselves.

III. Having now truly showed you the commodities and incommodities of both the ways, for the other question, Which of them is the best? I must give you but some rules to answer it yourselves.

1. That is best which hath most and greatest commodities, and fewest and least discommodities.

2. For neither of them is forbidden, in itself considered, nor evil, but by accident.

3. One may have more commodities and the other more discommodities in one country and age than in another, and with some persons than with others.

4. Sober christians should be very backward in such cases to quarrel with the churches where they live or come, but humbly submit to them in lawful things, though they think them inconvenient; because it is not they that are the governors and judges.

5. The commands of authority and the concord of the churches may weigh down many lighter accidents.

6. I crave leave to profess that my own judgment is, that somewhat of both ways joined together will best obviate the incommodities of both. To have so much wholesome, methodical, unquestionable forms as near as may be in Scripture phrase, as is necessary to avoid the inconvenience of a total exclusion of forms, and to the attainment of their desirable ends; and to have so much withal of freedom in prayer, as is necessary to its ends, and to avoid the deadness, formality, and other incommodities of forms alone. Though by this opinion I cross the conceits of prejudiced men on both extremes, I think I cross not the judgment of the church of England, which alloweth free prayers in the pulpit, and at the visitation of the sick; and I cross not the opinion of any ancient church that ever I read of, nor of the fathers and pastors whose works are come to our hands; nor yet of Luther, Melancthon, Bucer, Zuinglius, Calvin, Beza, Zanchius, and the rest of our famous reformers; nor yet of the famous nonconformists of England, Cartwright, Hildersham, Greenham, Perkins, Bain, Amesius, &c. and I less fear erring in all this company, than with those on either of the extremes.³²¹

Quest. LXXIX. Is it lawful to forbear the preaching of some truths, upon man's prohibition, that I may have liberty to preach the rest; yea, and to promise beforehand to forbear them? Or to do it for the church's peace?

Answ. 1. Some truths are of so great moment and necessity, that without them you cannot preach the gospel in a saving sort. These you may not forbear, nor promise to forbear.

2. Some truths are such as God at that time doth call men eminently to publish and receive (as against some heresy when it is at the very height, or the church in greatest danger of it); or concerning some duty which God then specially calleth men to perform (as the duty of loyalty just in the time of a perilous rebellion, &c.) Such preaching being a duty, must not be forborne, when it cannot be performed upon lawful terms.

3. But some truths are controverted among good men; and some are of a lower nature and usefulness: and concerning these I further say,

(1.) That you may not renounce them or deny them, nor subscribe to the smallest untruth for liberty to preach the greatest truth.

(2.) But you may for the time that the church's benefit requireth it, both forbear to preach them, and promise to forbear, both for the church's peace, and for that liberty to preach the gospel, which you cannot otherwise obtain. The reasons are,

1. Because it is not a duty to preach them at that time; for no duty is a duty at all times: affirmative precepts bind not ad semper, because man cannot always do them.

2. It is a sin to prefer a lesser truth or good before a greater. You cannot speak all things at once. When you have all done, some, yea, a thousand must be by you omitted. Therefore the less should be omitted rather than the greater.

3. You have your office to the church's edification. Preaching is made for man, and not man for preaching. But the church's edification requireth you rather to preach the gospel, than that opinion or point which you are required to forbear. Without this the hearers may be saved, but not without the gospel.

And what a man may do and must do, he may on good occasion promise to do.

He that thinketh diocesans, or liturgies, or ceremonies unlawful, and yet cannot have leave to preach the gospel (in time of need) unless he will forbear, and promise to forbear to preach against them, may and ought so to do and promise, rather than not to preach the gospel.