other attention is required but to raise our affections. And let me ask, is not the spirit of the congregation equally flinted whether the minister pray in an extemporary or in a compofed regular form? And which is more fit and proper for the people to receive a form of prayer from the wisdom and authority of the whole church, or to depend upon the difcretion of every fingle minifter? But a precompofed form of prayer is not only liable to no just objection; but hath befides feveral advantages to recommend it. It is more for the honor of almighty God, expreffes more reverence and devotion, preferves greater propriety and decency of language, and in fhort furpaffes extemporary prayer, as much as found piety and religion exceed the freaks and rants of fanaticifm and enthufiafm. It is likewife more for the edification of men as well as for the honor of God; for who can

question,

queftion, which is likely to be most instructive and edifying, hafty conceptions, or ftudied compofitions; the thoughts of one, perhaps illiterate, man thrown out without premeditation, or the wisdom of the church prepared and digefted into form and order? It is better not only for the people, but for the minifters too; for as it prevents any vain oftentation of their talents in the more learned, fo it fupplies the more ignorant with what perhaps they could ill compofe of themselves; for in every profeffion there are always fome of inferior genius and capacity, and it is good for thefe to have fuch a provision made for them. Moreover it better establishes and fecures the unity of faith and worfhip; hinders the heterodox from infufing their particular notions in their prayers, which is perhaps the most artful and plaufible way of infufing them; reduces all the churches

to an uniformity, prevents any difagreement or contradiction in their petitions, and inftructs them, as they worship the fame God, to worship him with the fame mind and voice. And finally it is fhewing to all the world the terms of our communion, and giving them a fair opportunity to examin them before they join in it; whereas if there be no ftated regular forms, we must have a fort of implicit faith in every minister, affent we know not why and pray for we know not what, juft as his temper or intereft or caprice or paffions fhall prompt and incite him. And this you may abfurdly call praying by the spirit if you please, but every wife man will fay with 1 Cor. xiv. the Apostle, I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the underftanding alfo.

15.

'Tis eafy to fay more, but we hope that enough hath been faid, to prove the lawfulness and expediency

of

of fet forms of prayer in general, and we fhall now, as it was propofed in the fecond place, endevor to fhew the excellency of our own form in particular. Not that a particular examination of all the beauties in our liturgy, or a particular answer to all the objections which have been made against it, can be proposed or expected in one of these discourses. These things have been done to fatisfaction again and again by several learned men, and the books are in every one's hands. Our time will allow us only to make some general reflections.

1. It will very much recommend our liturgy to confider how and by whom it was compofed, that it was not the production of this or that man, but the refult of the wisdom of our governors both in church and ftate. The compilers of it were not only the beft and wifeft men of that age in this nation, but they conB 2 fulted

fulted likewife the moft eminent of the divines abroad, and had their approbation of it, and approved it yet farther themselves by dying in it's defence. And fince that time it hath received fome corrections and improvements; and tho' no work of man can pretend to perfection, yet it hath perhaps as few imperfections as any whatever. In theory poffibly it may seem eafy to correct and amend it, but it hath been found and will be found extremely difficult in practise.

2. It is another recommendation of our liturgy, that it is drawn up in our own mother-tongue; so that we may all understand it with ease and attend to it with pleasure. In this refpect as well as in others our church is truly primitive and apofto→ lical; for when were prayers in an unknown tongue firft introduced into the church, and what was the occafion of introducing them? Was