The Liturgical Considerator Considered, Preface
The PREFACE.
Aphor. 1 HIppocrates tells us, That in the cure of a ſick perſon, as the Phyſician muſt do his part, ſo the ſick perſon muſt do his part, and the *foreign, which Liebantius, in his Scholia interprets Apothecarires and Chirurgions, &c.Aſſiſtants to the phyſician muſt do their part, elſe the cure may be hindered. How long this poor Church hath lain ſick and languiſhing, is too well known to the Chriſtian World; divers have tried their skill to heal us, but have proved Phyſicians of no value. How many thoughts this hath cauſed our Royal Soveraign (the King of our Prayers) ſince God hath in ſo wonderful a manner brought Him to His Throne, he knoweth beſt? I doubt not but He made His Prognoſtick ſo ſoon as He ſaw the Patient, that the diſeaſe was moſt difficult of cure; yea, to bring this Church to ſuch a healing and healthy complexion, that God might delight to look on it, was a thing impoſſible for any Phyſician, but ſuch a one who is infallible in the knowledge of the diſeaſe, and of the medicines which muſt heal, and could irreſiſtibly cauſe the Patient to take the Phyſick, and Omnipotently concurre to the bleſſing of it.
One thing that makes ſome diſeaſes (as the Hypochondriaca Affectio, into which, the perplexed thoughts and cares about our ſtate, may be enough to bring His Majeſty) ſo difficult of cure, is found in our diſeaſe; viz. the foreign viſcerum, wherein the medicines which are good for one, hurt another. Some men pretending Antiquity for fifteen hundred years, cannot be healed unleſs the Phyſician preſcribe a Bill of ſix hundred, yea, a thouſand Churches to one Biſhop [as Cyprian and Austin had, if modeſty will affirm it:] Lordly Title, Great Revenues, Pompous Ceremonies, Oath of Canons; which things of late, had almoſt deſtroyed our Nation: this is mala intemperies indeed. Others there are, who being under the Bonds of a Sacred Oath and Covenant, impoſed by both Houſes of Parliament, and as Solemnly taken as ever Covenant was, they cannot be healed, unleſs the Phyſician preſcribe the Bill of Renowned King Charles the firſt in His dying Speech [When wiſe men die, they ſpeak to the life] who wrote His Bill thus, Printed by W. Shears. 1654. p. 118.Now Sirs, for to put you in the way, believe it you win never do right, nor will God ever prosper you, untill you give God his due, and the KING His due; that is, in their courſe of time my Succeſſors, and untill you give the People their due. You muſt give God his due, by regulating his Church aright, according to his Scripture. [A Speech becoming a Chriſtian Prince, and Subject to the King of Kings; I can hardly tranſcribe it with dry eyes:] The Holy Scripture, and the Covenant will agree; and this is to fetch medicines from God. How is that Covenant which before we ſo much preſſed, I deſire to ſee a rational Anſwer to Mr. Crofton when come forth Dr. Gauden's Reply.come now to be ſo much ſlighted, I know not? Mr. Pryn as I heard publiſhed, and Mr. Crofton hath ſince affirmed, That by vertue of that Covenant, the whole Nation was bound to riſe up; and bring in our King, although they did not all formally take it; and that they warranted from the Covenant, though made by Joſhuah and the Elders, with the Gibeonites; but afterwards broken in Saul's time. Sure I am, it made deep impreſſion upon the ſpirits of ſome of us, though we had not taken it as others; whence, though we did not riſe up in Arms, yet we did in fervent Prayers, and God gave the Anſwer, tantum-non, miraculouſly. Have we been true to our King in that part which concerned Him, and muſt we not be true to the King of Kings in that which concerns him, having the ſame Obligation? I am ſure we ought to be; elſe, as we charged ſome men with perjury in reſpect of our King; others, yea, God will charge us with perjury in reference to that which concerns Himſelf.
I had thought the Reduction of Epiſcopacy, &c. publiſhed by that Reverend, Learned, Humble, Holy and Peaceable Biſhop, Dr. Ʋſher would have given content to the Biſhops, if they were as Gracious, and loved the peace of the Church [though not ſo learned] as he: Not only Dr. Holeſworth; but I heard alſo Dr. Brownerig, and two more Epiſcopal Doctors conſenting to it; had it pleaſed the Biſhops [as I doubt not but it doth Dr. Reynolds; whom, though I ſcarce ever ſaw, I muſt ever Reverence for his Pious, Goſpel-like, and Learned Labours:] I doubt not but it would have pleaſed our King, it being that Form which moderate men would not have oppoſed: And had the Liturgy been throughly purged from what is offenſive in it, with other prayers added in Scripture-phraſe (and not ſo impoſed to take away the uſe of our gifts in any Ordinance) a ſtrict Law made and proſecuted for ejection of ſcandalous and inſufficient Miniſters; Men placed in Government, Orthodox, and acquainted with the Power of Godlineſs indeed (which His Majeſty declares He will promote) An Act eſtabliſhed for ſanctifying the Sabbath, and other things; for which His Majeſty hath excellently declared, the Church had been in a recovering way, bleſſing the Lord for our Phyſician, as we have bleſſed Him, and do bleſs Him for His Gracious Moderation; His eaſing us of the Burden of Humane Ceremonies, and what He hath declared concerning tender Conſciences.
But here comes in Dr. Gauden, one that pretends to be an Aſſiſtant to the King in the Cure, a Chirurgion, or what I know not; but inſtead of carrying on the Cure, ſets it back very much: It is not a little paper and ink this man hath ſpent in our divided Times; I wiſh I could ſay his ſcope had been healing, but that I cannot; for his Sarcaſtical Pen hath dropped as much gall as ink againſt thoſe who are not of his perſwaſion. What addition of Argument he hath made to the Subjects he hath defended in theſe diſputing Times, I know not, unleſs it be his Ocular Demonſtration for Epiſcopacy in a very pretty Gay, a Lay-mans book; the Gay might be of uſe when Children cry. Nor do I know what perſon of judgment that hath skill to diſtinguiſh between a great word, and a ſtrong Argument, he hath converted to his Epiſcopacy. I dare ſay, not many, by what I heard from a learned man, Epiſcopal, Liturgical, one of Dr. Hammonds great friends; for when his firſt Book came forth with that magnificent Title, Hieraspiſtes, I mentioned this Book that Dr. Gauden had put forth, unto him; he made a Pauſe before he gave me an Anſwer, then all that he anſwered, was this, Good ſtore of words. Surely if his own Party were not pleaſed with his Writings, judicious men of a contrary perſwaſion would not be converted by them.
For this diſcourſe of his about the Liturgy, I heard of it long before I could borrow it (and reſolved I was I would not buy it;) elſe I had conſidered his Conſiderations ſooner: A general diſtaſt I heard it gave to ſober and godly Miniſters, and ſome I am ſure complying with His Majeſties Declaration; when I came to view it, I found it juſt ſuch a thing as he ſcoffingly compares the Devotion of ſome men unto, that pray not by a Liturgy; Like a great skain of yarn, Page 7.courſe and ſnarl'd. Such I ſay I found his Book, full of words, ſo immethodical, that I could not tell where to begin to anſwer it. I muſt then do by his Book, …s we do by ſuch skains, break off what pieces I can, lay them in order before me to uſe them, and throw away the knot.
Thus then I cas'd his Book.
Firſt, He pleads for the neceſſity of a Liturgy, from the ſinguſar benefits of it.
Secondly, He takes into conſideration our Liturgy; in which Conſiderations,
1. With extraordinary Caution he doth almoſt acknowledge ſome ſmall faults, verbal defects, minutes, little errours, next to nothing.
2. He anſwers the Objections againſt it with zeal.
3. He commends it; yea, ſo admires it, that the man is tranſported; and though Rhetorick be his glory, yet even that is defective, and cannot perform its work, till he hath given it that honour which is due only to the Word of God. This he doth from ſeveral Heads ſcattered up and down.
4. He exhorts, or commands us all to the uſe of it.
Some other things come in collaterally, but this is the beſt method I can make of his conſuſed piece; for which I am forced to turn backward and forward to get things into any order.