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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82002	A sober and temperate discourse, concerning the interest of words in prayer, the just antiquity and pedigree of liturgies, or forms of prayer in churches : with a view of the state of the church, when they were first composed, or imposed. Together with a discovery of the weakness of the grounds upon which they were first brought in, or upon which Bishop Gawden hath lately discoursed, the necessity of a liturgie, or the inconveniency of altering the English liturgie, the utility of church musick, and the lawfulness of ceremonies : in which are mixed reasons justifying those godly ministers, who forbear the use of the Common-prayer, against the late out-cryes of the said bishop. / By H.D. M.A.	H. D. (Henry Dawbeny); Collinges, John, 1623-1690, attributed name.	1661 (1661)	Wing D449; Thomason E1086_14; ESTC R208152	100,305	119

hundred things of that nature which even reason and nature it self teacheth all sober persons to be such as that without some order to be observed in them the worship of God either would not be performed or would be undecently performed VII But that either any Church or Civil Authority shall be absolute judges of order and decency and that whatsoever of this nature shall be commanded by them shall therefore be judged decent and orderly because they say so and their commands shall oblige mens consciences in things of this nature where the word of God is silent will want some proof before it be credited VIII Or that they have power to command and impose such things under the notion of order and decency which have been grosly abused to idolatry and superstition or at which pious people have for a long time declared themselves scandalized or which have any remarkable appearance of evil in them is so grosly false that it needs no confutation for they themselves are commanded To abstain from all appearance of evil to give no offence either to Jew or Gentile IX Nor is it true that they have any authority to appoint significative Ceremonies where are sensible signs to affect the understanding This is to give them authority to institute Sacraments God hath appointed us Ordinances where by sensible signs spiritual mysteries are represented to us These are his Sacraments we know no authority men have to add to them though they avoid the Popish rock of their conferring grace which we say no true Sacrament doth ex opere operato X. Now for any such Ceremonies as these we crave leave to dissent from the Bishop let them be never so few imposed under what specious pretence they will let who will be for them and let them be established how they will we believe them reducible to no command but certainly and justly burthensom to any tender conscience No vvayes like clothes fitted to our bodies because not any way necessary not like tunes for Pslams because the worship of God might be decently enough performed without them They may for ought we know be as good as perukes or periwigs to make a specious shew of devotion for them the baldness of whose hearts stands in need of such things to dissemble them to the world XI If the Bishop thinks that the Churches power to establish such Ceremonies be a principle to death to be asserted We dare say he is the first Confessor that Doctrine ever had and which God forbid should he ever seal such a cause with his blood we should think he deserved no better Epitaph then Hic jacet Protomartyr Gregorianus cui parem Ecclesia Christiana nunquam prius habuit nec posthac unquam habeat Was there ever heard of any yet that died in the defence of a Churches right to institute in the Church what it pleased so as it was such as Gods Word did not forbid Tell it not in Gath O publish it not in the tent of Askelon XII Let us hear Arch-Bishop Parkers opinion in this case he lived in darker times then ours are but yet is seems had more Gospel-light or a more Gospel Spirit he was consecrated 1559. Having told us of Augustine the Monk's eagerness even beyond his Mr. Pope Grogories directions to bring in the Romish Liturgy and Ceremonies in England which yet he could not do Antiq. Ecclas Britan. cap. 17. without the blood of 1200 Monks that opposed him He thus bewailes that first Prelates fury And truly saith he that contention then stirred up by Augustine about bringing in the Popish Ceremonies or Rites which could not then be appeased without the blood and slaughter of many innocent Brittains hath reached unto our times with the like destruction and slaughter of Christians For when men by those pompous Ceremonies departed from the pure simplicity of the primitive Church they took no great care for holiness of life for the preaching of the Gospel for the comforts and efficacy of the holy Spirit but they raised new contentions every day about new Ceremonies added by several Popes who thought none worthy of any great place who did not bring in some new Ceremonious that I may not say monstrous unheard of and unusual thing and so they filled both Schools and Pulpits with tales and brablings The primitive Church was more simple and white with the intire and inward worship of God prescribed in his word she was not splendid with garments nor adorned with magnificent buildings nor shining with gold silver and precious stones But the Romish Church even in that great St. Augustines time was so overgrown with Ceremonies that he complained that the condition of Christians in respect of the multitude of Rites and Ceremonies was vvorse then that of the Jews who though they acknowledged not their time of liberty yet vvere subjected only to Rites appointed by Gods Law not to humane presumptions for they used fewer Ceremonies then the Christians in Gods worship But had he perceived vvhat heapes vvere after added by several Popes I believe that he vvho then saw the evil of them in the Church vvould have set some Christian bound to them For vve see that the Church is nor yet free from that contention about Ceremonies but men otherwise learned and pious contend and quarrel about Vestments and such trifles in a more brawling and military then Philosophical or Christian manner This vvorthy person vvould hardly have died in defence of a power to appoint Ceremonies XIII But suppose it vvere not per se unlawful for the State or Church to appoint some mystical and significant Ceremonies yet may all such things be done without any regard at all to circumstances St. Paul saith All things are lawful for me but all things are not expedient all things are lawful but all things edifie not And we have heard such a maxime as Quicquid non expedit in quantum non expedit non licet Every thing that is not expedient so far as 't is inexpedient is unlawful St. Paul determined the eating of flesh and many other things inexpedient by reason of the offence and the scandal those things would have given supposing any Ceremonies to have been used by idolaters and that the former use of them hath proved a continual scandal to many good Christians and bred a continual division in the Church and if restored that the scandal will be ten times greater then ever and the sufferings of innocent souls for non-conformity to them an hundred times more than ever Quaeritis quomodo vincuntur Pagani● descrite eorum ritus c. are they yet lawful or desirable or is it worth the dying to maintain the Churches power as to the establishing such Ceremonies The Father of old we know thought the best way to convert the heathens was to have nothing to do with their Rites c. And is not this the likeliest way to convince the Romish idolaters at least to keep our souls clear of

uncharitably and falsly asserted We have not blessed be God such a pitiful Church that there are no Ministers in it but are liable to the charge of serving God in Prayer with rudeness unpreparedness barreness superficiality defect deformity and that both in matter manner judgment and expression No Jesuit ever had the confidence so to asperse the Ministry of England nor could speak more sordidly to their dishonour Possibly there may be some and there have been far more than now are who may be too liable to this charge But where 's the fault Is it not in those to whom the trust is committed of taking a due cognisance of such as offer themselves to be ordained or admitted to the cure of souls Should not they take care to admit none but such as are both able to preach and to pray Do they not discharge their work conscientiously while they admit such as are not able to pray without such rudeness as is here complained of or make no more conscience of it than to do it unpreparedly superficially with so much barrenness defect and deformity such as neither have judgment to compose a Prayer as to matter nor elocution to pray as to manner so but that people shall have just cause to nauseate the Worship of God 4. If the Doctor means by his phrase of every Minister being subject c. only that 't is possible that the best Ministers may so be negligent c. as to run upon this Rock that is as true concerning reading Prayers none will deny but he that can read very well may read false and if he keeps not his mind intent no doubt but he will perform the Service as rudely and superficially by reading as by speaking Instances might be given of this and shall if need be And certainly the conceiving of a Prayer will command more attention of mind than reading can All therefore said under this Head is meer air III. But Secondly He tels us That a Lyturgy is a most excellent means to preserve the truth of Christian and Reformed Doctrine by the consonancy of publick Devotions Pag. 10. into which otherwise corrupt minds are apt to infuse the sour Leaven of their own corrupt Opinions Fine words again But what reason we have before shewed it to be 1. Questionable whether a lawful means or no. 2. If lawful by no means effectual except it reach to all Praying and Preaching too 3. Not the only means a good Summary of Christian Faith is far more proper and rational 4. A means bringing a mischief as bad as what it pretends to cure yea far worse fit for nothing but to breed rents and separations the mothers of all Heresies 5. An Apochryphal means by which men make themselves wiser than Christ and his Apostles or the Purer Church We shall only propound this Question upon this suggestion If this be true how comes it to pass that all the Arminians and Popishly affected Clergy-men of England are such Zealots for a lyturgy The thing is demonstrably true that it is so let the Doctor answer this Question by his next IV. But Thirdly A Lyturgy he saith is necessary for the holy Harmony and sweet communion of all Christians as well in National as Parochial Churches whilst thereby they are all kept in one mind and Spirit praying the same things and chearfully saying Amen to the same Praises and Petitions Here is the old Fallacy still of Verba elegancia pro sensu simplici That all Christians have the same common wants and ought to pray for the same things in the main is to be granted though as particular persons so particular Churches may have renewing wants not common to all for which a Lyturgy will not serve the turn But is there any so simple as not to understand that the same things may be prayed for in different words and phrases The Doctor here mistook his Mark he should have proved that it is the Will of God that Christians should maintain their Communion in the use of the same phrases letters and syllables And when he had done that a Popish Priest should have improved his Notion and concluded that because the one body of Christ should have but one tongue and since the confusion at Babel men in several nations have spoke several languages therefore to the perfection of the Communion of the Church there is not only a Liturgy necessary but a Liturgy every where in Latine that being a Language most universally known The Churches external Communion lyes in their keeping the same Sabbath performing the same Acts of worship of which prayer is one confession of Original and Actual sins praying for the same mercies generally c. not in their saying all the same words sure He tells us fourthly That a Liturgical form is not onely of great benefit and comfort to the more knowing judicious and well-bred sort of Christians but highly to their security and to the holy and humble composure of their spirit in the worship of God who otherwise are prone not onely amidst the publique devotions curiously to censure but scoffingly to despise By the way this is no Demonstration neither of their Christianity nor of their good breeding yea many times to laugh at and at best to pity or deplore the evident defects and incongruities which appear in many Ministers odd expressions and incongruous wayes of officiating c. To reduce these many words to a short sum of reason the usefulness of imposed Liturgies is here pleaded 1. For the benefit of the most knowing judicious and well-bred sort of Christians 2. To avoid the censures scoffs and jears of others The Dr. hath not yet told us what benefit accrues to the former from a Liturgy nor yet what solid grounds of comfort for them to feed upon the want of which it may be is the reason that if others guess rightly that take all the professors of Religion that can but give any understanding account of the Systeme of Divinity and live in any sobriety of life and conversation and number them taking their judgment as you go along and in will be found that ten for one are against any imposed Forms On the other side it is certain that some others make it all their Religion So it was of old That Holy and Learned Oeculampadius living in a Noble mans house who yet was a Protestant and would seem a forward man in the Reformation complains of the slender regard the greatest part of the Family gave to him and to his Ministry in a Letter to his Friend in these words Such a man saith he sent for me that I might publickly in the Church instruct his Family in the Christian Religion or rather feed them with the words of Christ who were initiated already I counted it my chief duty to make the Evangelical Law known familiar at hand to them that so afterwards they might of themselves proceed in the true and sincere study of Christianity Peace Meekness

or expedience of bringing back the Liturgie again because not the want of it but rather the too long having of it was the cause in a great measure For 1. In what Congregations were these confusions most ordinary was it in those Congregations where the Liturgie was out of choice laid aside which were furnished with Godly Learned Ministers we appeal to the Citizens of London whether they took notice of any such extravagancies in their Ministers nor can malice it self so charge them But there were two other sorts of Preachers 1. There was an old Sect who had so used themselves to the Liturgie that they had lost all their gifts and being restrained in the use of those forms and not having a spirit or heart suted to their work could do just nothing 2. There was another Set of Lay-preachers and raw young Students got into livings many of whom were also corrupted in their judgements and it is no great wonder some of them should be justly chargeable The question is what such confusions there would have been had none been admitted into livings but such as were duly qualified X. Above all things we wonder why a form of words in prayer at the administration of the Sacraments should be judged so highly necessary to be prescribed for the Sacrament of the Lords Supper as it is an Ordinance which requires the greatest preparation both as to him that administers and those that receive so we cannot but think it very hard that any diversion should be offered to the Ministers soul in prayer there and unreasonable that he should do any thing which might either abate the fervor of his own spirit or be less affective of his peoples hearts For the forms of words in Consecration and Administration we think it no way fit the Minister should vary a tittle from the institution where Christ hath left us words sufficient Nor can we allow the Liturgie's turning the words to be spoken at the delivery of the Sacrament into a prayer being no wayes agreeable to the Institution The same is to be said as to the other Sacrament onely if an explicit enumeration of the chief heads of the Doctrine of Faith to which the Parents assent is required be judged necessary we think it warrantable and should freely allow the Church to prescribe a form there and to enjoyn the observation of the Scriptural form of words in both administrations to be used and no other XI As to the desires of the most Learned and Judicious and Godly of the people which the Dr. mentions p. 7. we see no such thing but the quite contrary and dare almost venture it upon the vote of such in our Parishes as are not guilty of noted debauchery and have any form of Religion in their families and can give us a rational answer why they desire it XII We do freely allow that no Minister ought to oppose his private Spirit to the Spirit of the Prophets united but yet must maintain for every Minister a judgement of discretion which vvhen vve have once disputed out of the world Popery will immediately succeed nothing remains but blind obedience wet do allow a due honour to some of those Reverend persons that had an hand in composing the Liturgie and do think they did worthily in their generation according to that twilight of Gospel light which immediately after a midnight of Popish darkness shone out upon them we do allow them to have done prudently respecting the State of the English Nation at that time Rome could not be pulled down in a day but we also know how imperfect their attainments were and how gradually they reformed their own judgements It is sufficiently known that one of the most Eminent of them holy Cranmer was one of them who at that time himself being a professed Protestant condemned that rare Martyr Lambert for denying the Doctrine of Transubstantiation In the witness of which truth in Queen Maries dayes himself upon further light suffered Martyrdom We believe he did both in the sincerity of his heart and onely mention this to shew that those Eminent lights were not fitted to set a standing and perpetual rule to the Church in so great an affair as this is XIII But if as the Bishop saith p. 3. Neither piety nor policy will allow the discomposing or dissolving the whole frame of the Liturgy And if as he tells us p. 12. The Reformed part of Religion cannot be well preserved in England to any flourishing and uniform State unless such Liturgy be authoritatively injoined and constantly maintained Then unquestionably it ought to be as he dictateth And if as he tells us p. 23. The Liturgy of England as to the main essentials of it in Doctrine Devotion Consecration and Celebration for matter order and method be such as may not be maimed If as p. 31. nothing can ever be seen comparable to this Liturgie if it be nulled and destroyed and if after it be reviewed it be not by Law reestablished and authoritatively enjoined Truth and peace can never be established there 's all the reason in the world that we should have it better that those thousands of Godly Ministers and people who cannot submit to it should be banished the Land then such evils come by hearkening to them or such good things be hindred by their non-conformity But let us search the bottom of this heap of words see what strength of Reason there is in them XIV He gives three reasons for his former assertion That it is against piety and policy to alter it 1. It would reproach the wisdom and blemish the piety of the first composers of it 2. It would imprudently disparage the judgement and devotion of the whole Church of England 3. It would much damp and discourage the present zeal and devotion of the greatest and chiefest part of this Nation who are much pleased and profited by the use of it Ergo The alteration is against Piety and Policy XV. For the first We would be loath either to reproach the Piety or blemish the wisdom of the first Reformers but we cannot understand how the one or the other should be reproached by not imposing a Lyturgy or not imposing this Lyturgy Was the Wisdom of God reproached by the disuse of the Ceremonial Law which yet was an excellent Schoolmaster to bring the Jews to Christ Or is the wisdom or prudence of William Lilly or any other Master of Grammar reproached because when the Boy comes to be Master of Arts he no longer makes Latine by Grammar Rules nor further useth it than at a pinch now and then Certainly those first Reformers did like wise and pious men with respect to their age the complexion of the People the abilities of the then-Ministers But if that we have not improved both in Reformation and in all Gifts very much since that time now 100 years we have wofully abused our mercies And it is the honour of our first Reformers that by their

not come into the Church in his time * As both Cajetan Greg. de valentia acknowledge which was about 1260 years after Christ which is also well observed by Cajetan upon Aqu. and by Navarrus in his Manual c. VI. For the Reformed Churches they have no Musick in the worship of God In some of their Churches as Zepperus notes they have Organs to delight people with at ordinary times when the worship of God is not performed The Bishop might have been more charitable both to the Apostolical Church and the purer Primitive Churches and all late reformed Churches than to have determined them guilty of rudeness and a design to fill all things with the Alarms of war and Cries of Confusion VII Having no Scripture no Apostolical or Ecclesiastical Tradition as they pretend for Bishops and Lyturgies to pretend for Church-Musick the Bishop is forced to make use of his Reason here the depth of which as also its Symphony with that of the ancient Fathers or latter Divines cometh next to be examined VIII We can find but five pieces of seeming Reason in the Bishops Discourse 1. The Angels began the Quire at Christs Nativity He is not in good earnest sure to suggest to the world that the Angels brought any Musical Instruments down with them from Heaven If not his Argument must be That it is as lawful for us to praise God in publick Acts of worship with Instruments of Musick as for the Angels to rejoyce But now shall that appear We believe no more that the Angels taught men by that jubilation the use of Church-Musick than the idle story Socrates tels us of Ignatius his learning the Method of Responds by a Vision of Angels answering one another like so many Quiristers which as Hospinian and others say was not surely such a momentous piece of Worship as that God should send Angels down to exemplifie it IX But the Bishop tels us we have as much cause to rejoyce as the Jews had True And God forbid but we should rejoyce with equal joy But must it be in the same carnal manner too Have we had any Command of God as they had for any such Service Why should we not have Trumpets and blow with them as they did too Yea and have Altars and Censers and Incense and Thank-Offerings as they had Who is so blind as not to see through these Paper-Arguments X. Thirdly The Bishop tels us Musick is a Gift of God The Gift of conceived Prayer is a gift of God Ergo c. and it is fit God in his Service and Church should have the use of so Orient a Pearl That Musick is the gift of God none can deny nor yet that God ought to be served with all his Gifts But is there no way to serve God with the use of this his Gift but to use it in his worship Are there not 100 other things that are the Gifts of God of which yet there is no use in the Worship of God The Bishop will say it may be if we may serve God with it why not use it in his Worship We answer because God hath not commanded it And it is to set up our posts by Gods posts and our Thresholds by his thresholds This is enough but much more might be said and shall be said by and by XI Ah! But he tels us Fourthly It is an exercise that fits the duty of Praise and fitteth mens Spirits in it We think it fitteth some far better than others and the carnal part of any better than their spiritual part But we think we shall never have done if we stand disputing after our Saviours perfect Rule given in the Gospel what is sitting for his House Our Saviour knew that Musick was a Gift of God and fit to exhilerate persons And surely when one is dead his or her relations had need of somthing to chear their spirits Yet we find our Saviour gives no great countenance to the Musitians nor doth any Miracle till they be gone nor do we find him in the least apointing or countenancing Musick in any act of Worship How well it fitteth mens Spirits we shall hear something by and by from the observation of others XII But he tels us that the use of Musick in Gods worship is as lawful as singing by Meeter Tunes as any Psalmody or Hymnology We shall believe this at leisure because we read of Christs singing an Hymn and of the Apostles directions and Command Eph. 5.19 by which we are obliged to sing Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs making Melody in our hearts to the Lord. But never of any Command or Direction for Musical Instruments We are mistaken if those words Psalms Hymns Songs do not imply words cast into a metrical order Tunes are necessary as circumstances without which nature it self would teach us that the performance is undecent and disorderly and apparently so to all that should hear XIII But it will not be amiss to take a view of the Judgment of Divines in all times concerning the use of Musick in Churches by which it will appear what devout holy and good men have judged of it or have by experience found true concerning the use of it XIV We shewed before that Justin Martyr and the Church in his time judged it a puerile Service and upon that account allowed it not in the Church nor can any reasonably expect that any of the Ancients should explicitly declare themselves against the use of Musick in Churches when it is apparent that for 900 years after Christ there was no such practice yet much may be found in them from which we may judge what had it then been come into Churches would have been their sense of it XV. Lactantius falls very foully upon the heathen for believing That their Gods did love what they affected Institut l. 2. cap. 7. and for coming to the worship of God to look upon the Gold of the Temple the fine Marble and Ivory the brave Stones and fine Habits and for believing that their Temples had so much the more Majesty by how much they were more gay and adorned So that saith he Religion is nothing else but Cupiditas humana mens lust men think that must needs please God which pleaseth them XVI It is true Singing was early in the Eastern Church as we learn by the account of the Christians behaviour which Pliny gives to Trajan But the Western Church received singing very late Ambrose is said first to have used it at Millan when with his Congregation he kept the Church against the Arrians that the night-watchings might be less tedious XVII Let us hear St. Augustine speaking from whence it will not be hard to judge vvhat that Reverend person's opinion was about the singing then used and its fittedness to the duty of Christians in praising God it is in his 10th book of Confessions cap. 33 vve will translate it for the Reader The pleasures of the ear had

their guilt XIV 'T is true The number of Ceremonies retained in our Church pretending to any legal authority is but small The Surplis the Cross and kneeling at Sacrament are we think all See more of this point about Ceremonies in Altare Damascenum A dispute about the English Popish Ceremonies Dr. Ames his fresh suit against Ceremonies in all which this point about Ceremonies is execellently handled but we know how grosly all these are abused by the Papists that none of them have any footing in Scripture that kneeling as Sacrament was never heard of in the Church till 1226. in Pope Honorius his time admirably fitted to their idolatry of Transubstantiation That they grosly make the Cross an Idol That the Surplis is made significant of many things for which we can see no ground at all that all these have been strenuously opposed by as holy and learned men as any our Church hath bred That the patern of all Synods Acts 15. thought fit to impose only some few necessary things for the state of the Church at that time That the urging of these Ceremonies hath been the cause of sad separations the loss of diverse learned and holy mens ministry The offence of the generality of pious people That the imployment of the Ecclesiastical Courts was almost wholly taken up about Ministers and people not conforming to these instead of admonishing suspending excommunicating scandalous and debaucht Ministers and people c. XV. We know further that though there be no more Ceremonies established by Law as yet yet there are many probationers such as bowing at the Name of Jesus bowing to the Altar saying second Service much like the Popish in Secreto's which the people must not hear and what not almost And we can see no reason but the Churches power if allowed to appoint any save only such without which the Service of God would apparently to all rational men be performed indecently disorderly may appoint hundreds XVI Nor is it prudence could such a power he allowed to State or Church for either of them in such cases to do all that they may in strictness be proved to have a power to do Many men think that the State hath power in any civil things by Laws to oblige the consciences of Subjects to do any things not forbidden in Gods Word and doubtless the States power in such kind of Laws is far less disputable then in the case of Ceremonies relating to the worship of God Yet the wisdom of all States restrains them from enjoyning people by their Laws to do such kind of things for the doing of which rational persons may not see a just reason of the Law as either urging some Law of God or tending to a manifest publique or private good No State yet ever busied themselves or tied their Subjects by making Laws to command all their Subjects to wear Turbants or a thousand such things which would apparently signifie nothing of profit or advantage to the State nor yet to particular persons it where the way to bring their authority into contempt XVII We would fain know of what use or profit any of these Ceremonies are we look upon them as things that perish with the using and upon that account by no means reasonable if otherwise lawful for the grave Authority of a Church or State to interpose in And we hope God will thus far convince the Authority under which we are that they will not for these husks of Ceremonies destroy those many thousand Souls in England who cannot conform to them for whom yet Christ died And we are most humbly thankful to His most-Excellent Majesty for the indulgence as to them which he hath granted to us through which we can yet speak to our people that they may be saved how long we shall enjoy this breathing time the only all-knowing God can tell We are sensible enough how much others envy it we shall onely say as Calvin once of Luther We wish they would use their heat against the known enemies of God such as are drunkards blasphemers unclean persons cursers swearers c. rather then against the servants of the living God who shall one day judge betwixt them and us and who as it is very probable would more approve that zeal then this fury A Postscript Containing a Threefold Supplement to the former Discourses The first relating to the Chapter about the Antiquity of Liturgies The Second to the Argument about Idolatrous Usages The Third to the Argument concerning scandalizing of Brethren I. THere is nothing in which those we have to deal with in these Points of Liturgies Ceremonies Musick in Churches Suppl 1. c. will pretend more advantage against us than in the business of Antiquity nothing so much in their mouths as all Antiquity all the Fathers the Church of God in all ages hath been of their minds Our Brethren know or may know that the Writings of the Ancients for 8 or 900 years viz. from Pope Gregories time till the Reformation were in hands by no means to be trusted and that the Papists who for the most part of the time had them in their keeping as they had opportunity so they neglected not their time to correct the Fathers to put in and leave out what they pleased to suppress what of their Writings they pleased and to publish Canons of Councils and Commentaries Witness the Indices expurgatorii and other Writings under specious Names without any shadow of Truth or any reasonable Modesty So that it hath been a great piece of the work of our Reformed Divines to look over the books with which the Popish writers in that time had filled the world and prepared in M.S. for it which M. Scripts they have since published in part and what part yet remains who knows He is but meanly versed in Divinity that knows not that Bellarmine Sixtus Senensis Possevinus and Erasmus four Popish writers have took some pains of this nature and how many hundred pieces of pretended Antiquity not only Protestant writers but even the Papists themselves have been forced to disclaim and reject And how many more our learned Cocus Rivet Perkins and others have shewed them as much reason to reject Yet we cannot but observe how some late writers as if nothing had been said to disprove those spurious writings have with confidence enough urged those writings so rejected as pure and unspotted Authority witness Dr. Hamonds writings and Dr. Sparrow in his Rationale and indeed all those who have traded in the business of Liturgies and Ceremonies and for the Extravagancies of Episcopal Government c. we must confess we have upon this account no great value for any Arguments they bring us meerly from Antiquity as to matters that concern the worship of God because we think the word of God is a perfect and sufficient rule in the case and we want Vouchers to prove those pretended pieces of Antiquity which they produce to have been theirs