I- I T U R G Y, 



tnglifli liuirs;)', th? Ambrofian liturg)-, the Spaiiilli and 

 African litiir^ijies, &c. 



In the more early an^es of the charch, every bifhop had a 

 power to form a liturgy for his own diocefe ; arid if he kept 

 to the analogy of faith and doftrine, all circumllances were 

 left to his own difcretion. Afterwards the practice was for 

 toe whole province to follow the fervice of tlie metropolitan 

 chnrch, which alfo became the general rule of the ciiurch r 

 ard this Lindwood acknowledges to be the common law of 

 the church ; intimating, that the ufe of fcveral fervices in 

 the fame province, which was the cafe in England, was not 

 to be warranted but by long cuftom. Gibf. 2 jg, 



The lituryy of the church of England was compofed in 

 the year 1547, and cllablifhed in the 2d year of king Ed- 

 waid VI., by ilat. 2 & 3 Edw. VI. cap. 1. 



In the fifth year of this king it was reviewed ; beca\ife 

 fome things were contained in that liturgy, which Ihewed a 

 comphancc with tlie fuper'Htion of thole times, and fome 

 exceptions were taken againft it by fome learned men at 

 h'lme, and by Calvin abroad. Martin Bucer was confulted, 

 and fome alterations were made in it, which conlifted in 

 adding the. general cor.felHon and abfolution, and the com- 

 munion to begin with the ten commandments. The ufe of' 

 oil in confirmation, and extreme unftion were left out, and 

 alfo prayers for fouls departed, and what tended to a belief 

 of Chrift's real pretence 111 the eucharift. This liturgy, io 

 rtformed, was eilablifhed by the act of j & 6 Edw. VI. 

 cap. r. However, it was abohfhed by queen Mary, who 

 enaclcd that the fervice (hould (land as it was moll commonly 

 ufed in the laft year of the reign of king Henry VIII. The 

 liturgy of 5 5c 6 Edw. VI. was re-ellablifhed with fome 

 few alterations and additions, by i Eliz. cap. 2. All the 

 birnnps prffcnt dint;i:ted both in this and the former afts ; 

 and, therefore, th? cxprclllon " lords fpiritual" doth not 

 occur in either of them. (Gibf. 268.) Some farther al- 

 terations were introduced, in confequence of the review of 

 the Com.mon Prayer Book, by order of king James, in the 

 lira year of his reign ; particularly in the office of private 

 baptifm, in feveral rubricks and other palTages, with the ad- 

 dition of five or fix nevv- prayers and ihankfgivings, and all 

 that part cf the catechifm which contains the dottrine of 

 th'i facraments. The book of Cemmon Prayer, fo altered, 

 remained in force from the iirit year of king James to the 

 fourteenth of Charles II. But the lall review of the liturgy 

 was in the year l6(il, and the laft aft of uniformity eu- 

 juining the obfervande of it, is 13 Sc J4Car. II. cap. 4. 

 (See Co.\[MOX Prayer. ) Many applications have been iince 

 made for a review, but hitherto without fuccefa. See Free 

 and Candid Difquifitio:.s relating to the Church of Eng- 

 land, S:c. 8v.-). L<jnd. 1749. 



We fhdll here fubjoin fome pertinent remarks on liturgies by 

 archdeacon Paley, together with fome additional reflections. 

 Liturgies, or preconcerted forms of public devotion, being nei- 

 ther eiijcined in fcripture, nor forbidden, there can be no good 

 reafon tor receiving or rejecting tlieni, but that of expediency ; 

 w hich expediency i.s to be deduced from a coniparitouof tliead- 

 vanlages and difadvantages altendingthis mode of worlhip with 

 thofe which nfnally accompany extemporary prayer. The ad- 

 vantages of a liturgy are thcfe : i. That it prevents ablurd, 

 extravagant, or impious addrefies to God, which, in an 

 order ot men fo numerous as the facerdotal, the folly and 

 entbufiafm of many mull always be in danger of producing, 

 where the conduct of the public worlhip is entrulled, with- 



not likely often to occ.ir ; tJiat a miniftcr who is capable of 

 addreffing a congregation acceptably and ufefuily, would 

 not be in danger of offending iir the manner here fuppofed, 

 when he conducted their fecial devotion, more efpecially a3 

 he would conceive it to be his duty to make previous pre- 

 paration for the one fervice as well as the other ; that the 

 mode of performing public worHiip muil be left to th? 

 choice and approbation of thofe who concur in ft ; that ths 

 occafional perverlion and abufe of a privilege carnot be 

 juftly pleaded againft the ufe of it j and that if the evil 

 were greater than it is, there is no method of avoiding it, 

 but by the impoiition cf preconcerted liturgies, which 

 tvould encroach on liberty in the province cf r'ehgion. 

 Ellablilhed liturgies, it might be faid, are not eafily accom- 

 modated to the fentimentsof the worlliipper, who dilbelieves 

 the creed on which they are founded ; and tliey muft lead 

 him to the avowal of principles, and to the ufe of language, 

 which his judgment difapproves. If every officiatiro- mi- 

 nifter be allowed to adopt his own mode of conduCtin"^ 

 focial worltiip, whether it be by extempore prayer, or b^ 

 forms, for each of which he has made previous pkparation, 

 he is not likely to give offence to thofe who ^oin with hi.r;. 



Our author further obferves* 2. Tiiat a liturgy prevents 

 the confujion of extempore prayer, in which the c'ongiegatiori 

 being ignorant of each petition before they hear it, and 

 having little or no time to join in it after they have 

 heard it, are confounded by their attention to the niinifter, 

 and to their own devotion. The devotion of the hearer is 

 neceffarily fufpended, until a pc iiion be concluded ; and 

 before he can affent to it, or properly adopt it, that i«, before 

 he can addrefs the fame requelt to God for himfelf, and 

 from himfelf, his attention is called off to keep pace witli 

 what fucceeds. But the advocate for free prayer will 

 naturally enquire, if this be not the cafe, in a greater or Icfs 

 degree, in every continued fervice? If he has the words 

 before him, which he ufes in his devotion does he dwell 

 on a fingle fentence as foon as the officiating miniiter uiters 

 it ? Is not his attention drawn on to fucceeding parts of 

 the prayer that is pronounced, as foon as they arc delivered ? 

 But in neither cafe is his mind kept long in a Hate of fuf- 

 pence ; and he has this advantage, that whiill: he is joining 

 in exercifes of devotion with the minifter of his choice, he 

 is not likely to hefitate in concurring with turn. As to 

 the novelty with which he expedts to be gratified, this mav* 

 probably be more likely to excite his attention and impreis 

 his heart, than a recurrence of fentimcnts and expreffions 

 that are familiar to hir.', and v. hich long-continued ufe 

 will prevent from intc'-eiling and fixing "^the (perhaps) 

 wandering mind. Johii prayer, it is further faid by the 

 learned archdeacon, which, among all denominations of 

 Chriflians, is the declared defign of " cominfr together," i4 

 prayer in which all jo-n ; and not that which one alone in 

 the conp-regation conceives and delivers, and of which the reft 

 are merely hearers. This objettion, fays our anther, feem» 

 fundamental, and holds even where the miniiler's office is 

 dilcharged with every polUble advantage and accompUni- 

 ment. But in the ufe of preconcerted and ell.iblifhed litur- 

 gies, are not ail befidcstlie officiating miniikr hearers, unlefs 

 they concur in thofe refponfes, w hitii have been obfervcd in 

 many inllances to jiroduce confi-fion, and to render devotion 

 a kind of mechanical bufinefs ? The advocate for extem- 

 pore prayer will ailege, that he is not lefs capable of joining 

 in a worlhip, conducted by a minidcr who ufes words, fnt 

 ■ ' m; 



out rellraint or affutance, to the difcretion and abihtics of gelled at the moment, than in that whi^h is performed by"a 



the officiating minilter. On the other hand, the advocate recital of words prcviouily written or printed. The ob- 



for free prayer might allege, that the cafes to which the jeAion to this mode of public worfhip, founded on the 



ingenious author refers are uf the extreme kind, that are labouring recolkftion, and emb.-.rralTcd or tumultuous de- 



Vol. XXI. A a liver r 



