fenters, Sir, I prefume, have read that Inftruction of their Master, Mat. vi. 17. Thou, when thou fafteft, anoint thy Head, and wash thy Face; that thou appear not unto Men to fast, but to thy Father which is in Heaven. Though they affect not to flourish with their Vigils and Lents (which with Sorrow they fee turn'd into little elfe than a religious Farce by too many around them) nor, like the Pharifee are oftentatious in telling GoD and the World how often they faft; yet this Duty, I am perfuaded, is practifed with much Serioufness amongst them. Befides the excellent Difcourfe of Bennet, to which you were refer'd, you call for more Tracts. See another on the fame Subject in the Morning Exercife by Barker; and from the Lives of the two Henrys, Allen, Baxter, Trofs, &c. particularly of the late moft ingenious and pious Abernethy, you may learn what are their religious Sentiments and Practice as to this Matter. In many of their Churches there are stated periodical Fafts, befides the perfonal domeftic ones, which upon extraordinary Occafions are not unusual amongst them.

But was it poffible you fhould fo alertly attack us on this Head, when you knew it in our Power with fuch Advantage to retort! If you have met with "no Sermons or Tracts of Diffenters recommend"ing private Fafts Pray, have you met with any which difcourage and forbid them? But, have you never yet met with your own LXXIId Canon? which fays, No Minifter fhall without Licence of "the Bishop, under bis HAND and SEAL, keep any

66

SOLEMN FASTS, either publickly or in any PRIVATE HOUSES, other than fuch as are appointed "by Law, nor be prefent at any of them; under Pain of SUSPENSION for the firft Fault, of EXCOMMU"NICATION for the fecond, and of DEPOSITION from "the Ministry for the third." This, Sir, is the exalted Foot, upon which the Duty of private Fafting ftands in your Church! Could any thing then be

more

more wife, more pertinent, or more just than the Cenfures you deal us here?

As to the Posture of STANDING at public Prayer, for which alfo you had the Sagacity fharply to reprehend us; befides the great Variety of Scripture Examples which I produc'd in its Juftification, you have had fince, from a learned Hand*, indifputable Proofs from Juftin Martyr, Irenæus, Clemens of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, the Apoftolical Conftitutions, Jerome and Austin, that it was the Pofture in which the Chriftian Churches univer. fally offer'd up their public and moft folemn Addreffes to God through all the Primitive Times. So unlucky is your Hand, that the Bolts you fling at us, as Debafers of the Public Worship, &c. light directly upon the Heads of fome of the moft facred and venerable Perfons which either Scripture or Antiquity holds out to your View!

"But the Inftances of Abraham, Mofes, Samuel, "&c. STANDING in Prayer ferve, you fay, to little "Purpose; unless it were alfo fhewn, that they "were Inftances of fuch fimple mere ftanding as is

As

practised in our Congregations +." Yes; they are full to our Purpofe; because it appears not from the facred Story, but they were Inftances of exactly fuch fimple mere ftanding as is used amongst us. to the other Gestures of Devotion which your Imagination would fupply, the SCRIPTURES are wholly filent; and your fertile Imagination, Sir, you will excufe us from accepting as a proper Supplement to the Word of God.

"The primitive Chriftians, it feems, cannot be imagin'd to do no more than barely keep upon "their Feet. No, they prayed with Hands "fpread, and with Eyes lift up toward Heaven t' Hence then we infer, firft, That they did not read

Chandler's Cafe of Subfcrip. p. 11, 12. + II Def. p. 76.

† II Def. p. 77.

H

their

their Prayers from a Book. There were no Litur gies in those Days. But the Paftor, as Justin Martyr and Origen fay, offer'd up Prayers and Praises to GoD στη δυναμιςκαὶ κατα δυναμιν, according to his Power, or as he was able. But, fecondly, by the Account which both Cyprian and Tertullian give of their Gesture and Manner, the public Prayers in Diffenting Churches vaftly more resemble it than thofe offer'd in yours. "Stamus ad Orationem, Cum Modeftia & Hu"militate adorentes, &c.*" We STAND at Prayer,

adoring with Modefty and Humility, that we may the more effectually commend our Prayers to Gon; not even lifting up our Hands high, but moderately and decently, no nor boldly elevating our Faces. For the Publican whofe Countenance as well as Prayers was HUMBLE and DEJECTED, went away juftified rather than the faucy Pharifee.

When you have fedately confider'd the Contents of this Section, you will fee Caufe, Sir, once more to resume your cenforial Rod, and to lay it fmartly on your felf; condemning heartily your own Temerity, in prefuming to write fo freely about Persons and Things you knew fo little of; and to pronounce peremptorily upon Matters you had so slightly ex

amin'd.

Though this Article of your MISREPRESENTA TIONS might be vaftly enlarg'd, I conclude with a fresh flagrant Inftance of it t, which fhews your Honour and Justice in a very unfavourable Light, and too plainly demonftrates that your Zeal for the Church hath just eaten them up. It is the Cafe "of

66

a Diffenting Minifter in Cambridge, whom you "knew; and who, you affirm, declared from his Pulpit, that the Common-Prayer-Book had damn'd "more Souls than the Bible bad faved; for which "he was indicted, and had his public Trial as a "Depraver of it- ." Here you ftop fhort, and

*Tert. de Orat. Cap. 13.

III Def. p. 116.

leave

leave that injur'd Gentleman; yea, you tranfmit him to Pofterity, under the Scandal of the Indictment, without having the Honesty and the Virtue to inform the World of its Event, whichyou could not but also know,viz. that after a long and full Hearing, on both Sides, he was by the Jury HONOURABLY ACQUITTED. This Sir, is fuch an Inftance of Partiality, Injustice and notorious Mifreprefentation, as all virtuous and wife Men will behold with Indignation; and as, I am fure, muft give you a good deal of Pain in the Review. The Cafe of that injur❜d Minifter (Mr. Jofeph Huffey) has been fince publifhed (printed at Colchester in your Neighbourhood 1737) which I cannot doubt, you have feen. From thence it fully appears, that Mr. Huffey spoke нoNOURABLY, not reproachfully of the COMMON-PRAYER, in the Sermon referr'd to; and that he defery'd highly that Acquital and Triumph over his Enemies which the Justice of his Country gave him; but which you injuriously endeavour to blast and supprefs §.

SECT. VIII.

Diffenters not INCONSISTENT in fubmitting to fome Ceremonies, and refufing others.

T

HIS is another Charge advanc'd vigorously against us." The Ceremonies of Marriage and of Burial to which we conform, are en

He was fhewing how utterly repugnant the Arminian Principles are to several Parts of the Common-Prayer; and after several Things faid very refpectfully of that Book, concludes, "I wish there was

more of that Spirit of GOD breathing in the Souls of Men now, which "breathed in the Souls of those who made the Common-Prayer; and in"deed confidering the Inconfiftency of Mens Principles, with their grofs Hypocrifies in Practice, I fear that at the great Day, when the "Books are open'd, this Book of Common-Prayer, when 'tis open'd, "will come in a swift Witness against them. And if fo, I fear it will "be found that that Book they now fo much rely on, may be a Means "of fending more of them to Hell, than the Gospel converts in England,”

66

join'd in the fame manner, by the fame Authority, "and in the fame Place (the Common Prayer) as "the other Ceremonies and Rites against which we proteft." And you put it as a stunning DifficulWHERE and WHEN the Magistrate prefcribed the Marriage Ceremonies otherwife "than he did thofe of Baptifm and the Lord's Sup

ty,

66

per +." I am truly furprized, Sir, that fo mere a Cobweb entangles you. Pray, what is your Common-Prayer! Is it any thing in the World but a mere Statute or Act of Parliament; as really and truly fuch, and nothing but such, as any Statute in our Books of Law. Now as the Magiftrate has in this Statute injoined fome things of a Civil nature, which belong therefore to his Kingdom, and which he has a Right to injoin; to these we reverently fubmit: But as he has alfo, in the fame Statute, injoin'd other Things of a religious nature (pertaining to Baptifm and the Lord's Supper) which, we humbly apprehend, belong to another Kingdom, even that of JESUS CHRIST (to whom, and to whom ALONE, GOD the Supreme Governor has appropriated fuck things) as to thefe, we crave Leave to withold our Submiffion, and chufe to obey GOD rather than MAN. And behold, the very Magiftrate who made the Statute, has indulg'd us herein! has excus'd our Obedience in the Points as to which we fcruple! has repeal'd the Obligation of this Law upon Diffenters; and allows them to act in these things as to their Judgment feems beft! Is there any thing in the leaft difficult or entangling in all this?

"But upon this Suppofition all our Objections to "the Burial Office as Reasons againft Conformity "fall to the Ground. For if the whole Tranfacti"on be a political thing; and the Gentleman of❝ficiating is, in that, no other than an Officer of the State, how is the Church, for the Lord's

† II Def. p. 80. Let. III. p. 6.

fake,