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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77206	Remarks on a late discourse of William Lord Bishop of Derry; concerning the inventions of men in the worship of God. By J. Boyse	Boyse, J. (Joseph), 1660-1728.	1694 (1694)	Wing B4073; ESTC R230876	152,098	209

one or the other way more convenient nay the general Rule of doing all to Edification may perhaps in some cases oblige men to the one and in some to the other I might say the same concerning singing in Prose or Meetre Reading a larger entire portion of Scripture without Exposition or a lesser with it c. So that in these cases wise men are very cautious on what grounds they go when they censure the Worship of others as unlawful or charge it with sinful human Inventions and confident Accusers do but usually betray their own Ignorance 2. We that are Christians shou'd chiefly attend to the Rules and Examples of the New Testament for our direction in the Worship of God For those of the Old Testament no farther concern us than as any Rules deliver'd there belong to the Moral Law and the Reason of such Examples equally extends to us as it did to them And indeed to urge the Precepts or Patterns of the Worship us'd under the Old Testament any farther were to bring us again under the Mosaical Pedagogy And as I hope None will deny me these 2 reasonable Postulata so the usefulness of 'em in these Enquiries will appear in many of the Remarks on the following Chapters which I shall now address my self to the consideration of Remarks on the 1 Chapter concerning Praises ANd here I shall so far observe the same method his Lp. has laid down as First to consider the directions of Scripture concerning this part of Divine Worship and then the Application his Lp. makes of 'em to the manner of performing it in the Establisht Church and in the Dissenters Congregations First As to the Directions of the H. Scriptures concerning this part of Divine VVorship I shall offer what follows as the Result of the most diligent Enquiry I cou'd make and hope 't is a juster as well as clearer Account than that his Lp. has given There are but these 2 ways of offering our publick Praises to God enjoyn'd in the New Testament viz. either by Singing Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs or by Thanksgiving without vocal Melody I. As to Thanksgiving without vocal Melody I wou'd observe 1. VVe have most express command for it as one principal stated part of our publick VVorship 1 Tim. 2.1 I exhort therefore that first of all Supplications Prayers Intercession and giving of thanks be made for all men c. And this part of VVorship was usually joyn'd with that of Prayer Thus 4 Phil. 6. In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God So 4 Col. 2. 1 Thes 5.17 18. And accordingly Blessing or Giving of Thanks is mention'd as one stated part of the Devotions of Christian Assemblies 1 Cor. 14. v. 16. And that those Thanksgivings were different from Psalms or Songs is hence evident both because they were to be varied according to their different occasions for 'em from the mercies they daily receiv'd which such Psalms or Songs cou'd not be For those are always suppos'd to be a sett invariable form of words and because they were ordinarily intermixt with publick Prayer 2. For the matter of these Publick Thanksgivings the New Testament chiefly directs us to insist on those peculiar mercies of God to us thro a Mediator which the Gospel most clearly reveals to us and of which there is either none or but very obscure mention made in any Forms of Thanksgiving recorded in the Old For if we go thro all the solemn Thanksgivings that occur in the New Testament we shall find 'em to run in a strain as much sublimer than that of those in the Old as that clearer transcends that obscurer Revelation How sutable to the Evangelical dispensation is that Thanksgiving of the Ap. Paul 1 Eph. 3.4 5 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blest us with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly things in Christ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we shou'd be holy and blameless before him in love Having predestinated us to the Adoption of children by Christ to himself c. Or that of the same Inspired Writer 1 Col. 12 13. c. Of the same strain is that of the Ap. Peter 1 Ep. 1 Ch. 3 4 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an Inheritance incorruptible undefil'd and that never fades away reserv'd in Heaven for us c. See 1 Rev. 5.6 unto him that lov'd us and wash't us from our Sins in his own Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests to God c. 5 Rev. 13 14 c. These are certainly the best Patterns after which our publick Thanksgivings in Christian Assemblies shou'd be drawn And no Thanksgivings recorded in the Old Testament do so expresly and clearly mention these inestimable blessings of the New-Covenant or the matchless love of our God and Saviour in the manner of conferring 'em as these recorded in the New and consequently our praises shou'd ordinarily as to the very matter of 'em greatly differ from and go beyond those us'd in the Jewish Church 3. We read of no other part the people had in these publick thanksgivings in the New Testament more than their adding their Amen to ' em So much these words of the Ap. Paul imply 1 Cor. 14.16 Else when thou shalt bless with the Spirit how shall he that occupies the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks All Expositors on the place refer it to the custom of the peoples saying Amen at the end of publick prayers and praises I might produce the testimony of Justin Martyr and other ancient Christian Writers of the 3 first Centuries to this purpose but since the Bishop seems to allow this Exposition p. 42. I need insist no farther on it here And 't is the more requisite to take notice of this way of praysing God by Thanksgivings without vocal melody because the Bp. seems to confound it with that other way of praysing God with Psalms and from which 't is plainly distinguish'd And this leads me to consider II. The Prayses the New Testament requires us to offer unto God by Singing And what was to be thus sung we may learn from those 2 passages of the Ap. Paul cited by the Bishop 5. Eph. 19. and 3 Col. 16. viz. Psalms Hymns and spiritual Songs or Odes On which passages I wou'd make the following Remarks I do fully agree with the Bishop that this Passage of the Apostle's do's warrant our use of the Psalms of David in our publick praises because 't is highly probable the word Psalms refers to ' em But then I must add 't is no less probable that the Apostle do's by Hymns and spiritual songs intend others besides those of H. David

in Order or Office as Mr. Humphreys has largely prov'd in a late Book called the Healing Attempt We wou'd humbly desire 'em to use their interest that that unhappy Clause may be ras't out of the Preface to the present Book of Ordination in which 't is so peremptorily asserted That 't is evident to all men diligently reading the H. Scriptures and ancient Authors that from the Apostles time there have been these three Orders in Christ's Church Bishops Priests and Deacons That by three Orders they mean three Offices is plain from the very following words which Offices were evermore had in such Reverend Estimation c. Now it seems to us very unreasonable that all Ministers shou'd be by the Act of Uniformity oblig'd to profess their Assent to this proposition when 't is so contrary to the current judgment of the generality of the most Eminent Protestant Conforming Divines in those 3 foremention'd Reigns to whom we might add several very learned ones in the Reign of K. James the first and K. Charles the first and 2d but especially when 't is a Proposition at best disputable both among learned Protestants and Papists and as far as we can judg rather evidently contrary to the holy Scriptures and to the first and purest ages of Christianity So that we fear that few Ministers can sincerely profess their Assent to this Assertion who have taken the pains to make any impartial enquiry into this matter And we are the more desirous of having this Clause ras't out because this new Opinion of Episcopacy being a distinct Order and Office from Presbytery is the ground of that uncharitable practice of the Establisht Church in requiring Reordination in all such at home as have been ordained by Presbyters i. e. true Scriptural Bishops and Pastors as a necessary condition of being admitted to the exercise of their Ministerial Function nay in urging Reordination too on all the Ministers of Reformed Churches abroad who never had Diocesan Bishops among ' em As if all the administrations of those Eminent Ministers in France who are now so honourable Confessors in the cause of Reformed Christianity were mere Nullitys till Prelatical Hands were laid upon ' em 2. Since the Archbishops and Bishops claim the Government of the Church as their Province we humbly wish they wou'd endeavour to recover the spiritual part of their Authority out of their Chancellor's hands who have so long usurpt the keys of sacred Discipline and have hitherto so scandalously manag'd 'em as to bring the solemn censures of the Church into general contempt And no wonder when they are prostituted to so vile a purpose as that of filthy lucre and thereby the Temple of God is turn'd into a House of Merchandize We do not speak this against the power of the Spiritual Courts in those Civil Causes or in those Ecclesiastical ones which their Majesties in pursuance of their just power circa sacra may authorize 'em to determine but only their assuming the cognizance of all cases of scandal so far as they subject men to the censures of the Church and being entrusted with the infliction of those censures even in reference to all the numerous causes that come before 'em so few of which properly belong to an Ecclesiastical Judicatory For besides that we think That the power of inflicting those censures belongs to Pastors and cannot be delegated by 'em to a Layman it seems a certain and unavoidable tho pernicious consequence of such Spiritual Courts being entrusted with the sentence of Excommunication to enforce all their Decrees that the most awful judgment on earth is like to use my Ld Bacon's expressions to be made an ordinary process to lacquey up and down for fees * Consider for the better establishing the Ch. of Engl. We doubt not their Lp's have read Bp Bedel's Life wrote by the present Bp. of Sarum wherein there is so loud and just a complaint of the gross abuses of this kind and so noble an example set 'em of zeal for the Reformation of ' em And no doubt if they wou'd concur in their imitation of it they might do it with rational prospect of greater success and be happily instrumental to wipe off some part of that stain brought on the Church by her tolerating these corruptions which as the foremention'd Bp of Sarum relates pious Archbishop Usher so greatly lamented and apprehended it wou'd bring a curse and ruine upon the whole Constitution See Bp. Bedel's Life p. 86 87 3. We cou'd heartily wish that when their Lp's have recover'd their own Authority out of their Chancellors hands they wou'd exercise it in concurrence with the Presbyters of their several Dioceses And herein also the foremention'd Bp. Bedel set 'em an excellent pattern Ib. p. 90. And we hope the Bp of Derry will urge 'em to an imitation thereof since he has laid it down as their common Opinion and Judgment p 175. That the Government of the Church in such districts as those of our Dioceses ought to be in a Presbytery with a Bishop as President and Governour by Christ's Appointment 4. We wou'd also humbly desire 'em to restore that Godly discipline which the Common-prayer-book tells us was in the primitive Church for bringing such as were convicted of notorious sin to publick profession of their Repentance For since the Church in the Office of Commination yearly declares that the Restoration of the said Discipline is much to be wish't It will look like a mocking of Heaven yearly to repeat such lazy wishes of it when there are no serious attempts made towards it And we can seee no reason why the Curses peculiar to the Mosaical Dispensation shou'd be substituted instead of it 5. We cou'd wish that part of the Office for Visiting the Sick might be review'd which concerns Absolution For since there is no other Absolution own'd in the Reformed Churches but either publishing the conditional offers of pardon in the Gospel or a ministerial releasing those from the Censures of the Church on whom they had been inflicted before We think it dos too much countenance the judicial power of Absolution claim'd by the Romish Priests for the Minister to absolve the uncensur'd in so peremptory terms I absolve thee from all thy sins in the name of the Father c. For they seem to make the Minister pass a more positive judgment of the sick man's Repentance than he is capable to do 6. In order to the more effectual exercise of that godly discipline foremention'd We wou'd earnestly request that the Parish-Ministers may be restor'd to that Pastoral power which Archbishop Usher in his model of Episcopacy shews that they were invested in according to the former Book of Ordination but of which they seem now depriv'd by the many changes made in the new See the Healing Attempt p. 57 58 59 c. 'T is certain they are most capable of a personal inspection of the lives of their Flock and consequently