, ; 1 The Commociitirs of Free prlljill,g, DijCon11noditie: of Forms. Wllich is fJ3ejf. 8. And the opinion of impofin~ .forms of pny~r, may draw on the opinion ot impuling forms uf j''ftadnng as much, a~d of reflummg [re~ preackmg as mu~h as free pr12)1ing 1 as we fee in Mv{c.;vy. And then when nothmg bnt bare Rtadmg 1s requucd, nothtng more wiH be ordinarily fuught ; And. tu the Mmifhy will be the fcorn of the people. 9 _And it will be a_fhameful and un_comfmuble fililing, when a Mininer is not able on v.uiery of oc..: ttons, to vary h1s prayers accordmgly ; and when he cannot go any fun her than his B :uk "fit Leffon .; It bein~ as. impoffibk to make prayers juft fitted to all occalions which will fall our~ cts t" make Sermo1u tu for all, or as they fay, to m1ke a Coat for the Moon: And the people wiU comemu the M;nillers when they perceive this great deficiency. zo. And.it is a great difficulty to many Minillcrs to learn and fay a form without book; fo chat they that cm all day {peak what ~hey know, can fcan~c tccite a torm of word! one quarter of an hour, the memory more depending upon the hudy and its temper, than the ex~rci(e of the undn– lhnding doth. He that is tyed ju}l to tbt[e wsrds aud no otbtr, is put upon double dil!iculcies ( li!tc him thi! on hci~ht.muft walk on a narrow plank, wheiC the fear ofblling will make him fall) B~t he that may exprc{s the jutl dcfircs of his foul in what words occur that arc apt and decem, is likt .. one that hath a field to walk in: For my own put, it is cralicr to me to pray or prtacb fix hours in frtedome, about things which l•underfiand, than to pray or preach the tenth pan ot an hour in the fetters of a fmm ofwords which I mull not vary. And fo the nmffity of a Book coming in cloth bring down the rcpuution of the Minifiers abilities, in the peoples eyes. . ' 11. But -the_grand incommodity greater ~han all lhe Hfi is, that it ufually occafioneth carelifHr[s, <IMdntfs, for'l'ality and beartlefs hp-labour m our prayers to God ; whrldl the free way of prdent prayer tendeth w excite our· Cogitations to confi4er what we fay. And it is not only the multi– tude of dead-htartcd hypocrites in the Church, that are thus ttmptcd·to perlev<re in their lip·la– bour and hyp~rille, a~d to draw_ near ~o God w!th. their lips when their hc:att~ are far from him, and are gratitied in thcrr felf-decett, whtlell Parrot-hke they fpeak the words whteh they regard nor, and thci.r tongues do overgo their hearts : But even better mu are 1 gteady tempted to dead remif· nefs: I mean botb the [pea~rs and the ~~arer1; i''or, t.It is natural to mans mind to .have a jlJtbf11 l r>earinefs as well as his body; and to do no more than he lindeth a nectffity of doing: And though Guds prefence alu11e fhould fuflice to engage all •.he powers of our fouls, yet. fad experience rellcth us, rhat GciiJ ~:tt 11nd mans togtthtr will do mote with almofi all men, than one alone. And therefore no mens 7'houghtr arc fo accur~tely governed as their words. Therefore whtn a MiniHcr J,aowtth bdore hand that, as to ma11s approbation, he hath no more to do, but . to Rtad that wbichhe feeth before him, he is apt to let his Thoughts fly abroad, and his affections lye down, btcau{c no man rakrth account of thefe. ~ut iq t:<lemporate divcrfific~ prayer, a m1n cannol do it wichout an ex– citation of his underfiandiilg to think ( to the utmofi) what to fay; and aO excitation of his Af– fd\ions, to .fpeak with life, or elfe the hearers will perceive his coldnefs. And though all this may be Countt/fcil and hypocritically afftllul, yet it is a great help to fcri_oufnefs and fincerityl to hove the fa,ultic:s alli11Pak.!: And it is a great help to awaken them, to be under fuch a confta~tt lttc(Jfil_} t vcn from man. As thofe that arc apt to jltep at prayer, will do it lcfs when they know men obf<:IVe them, tban at another timr. . # 2. And both, to fpeaker and hearers, humane frailty maketh it hard to be equally aff..Cltd wirh the fame thinA fpoktn a hundred timc:s, as we arc at firfi when it is new, and when it is cloathcd in comely variety of exprtffiom. As the fame Book affc:d:cth us not at the twentieth rc•ding as it did at1 _~he tirfl. S1y not, it is 1 a difhonourable wcakncfs to be thus carrycd by the novelty at things or Words : For though that·bc true, it is a dilhonour common to all mankind, and a difeafc whicfl is your,own, and which God allow<th us-all lawful means to cure, and to coma the unhap.py etfc<ls while it is unCured. 1 :.. (.afily,. Set forms ferve unworthy men to hide .their unworthinefs .by, and to bcthc mat– ter of a ContrOYerfie in which they may vent their envy aEainfl them that arc abler and holyer than thcmlClves-. I 1. H•v.iPI:\ now t.tul{ fhewed yo~ the Commodities 1nd lncommodities of both the waycs, for the other .'ill<lliorl,, W,bicb of them ;, the ~eft, I mull give you but fome Rules to anfwcr ir your felves-. \ . ... ~ . . . . 1 • That is bell whr<h hath mol\ and grcatell Commodtttes , and fewcll and leaft d1fcomr moditief. 2 • For neither of them is forbidden, in it fclf confidmd, nor evil, but by accident. . 4 • One may have more Counnoditics and the other more difcommoditics in one Countrc:y, and age than in another ; and with fome perfons than with others. 4 • Sober Chrillians fhoufd.be very backward in fuch cafes to quarrel with the Churches where rhey live or come, but humbly fubmit to them in lawful things, though they think them inconveni– nr ; Becaufe it is not they that are the Governours and }l1dgcs. 5 . TiJe Commands of Authority and the Concord of the Churches may weigh down m•ny r accidents. ,. 1 trave leave toprofefs that my own judgement is, that fomewhat of ,both wayes joyned r r will bd\ obviate the incommodities of both. To have fo much Wholfome, mcrhodiqueftionable forms u near as may be in Scripture phraf~, as is necefTAsy to avoid the in– <nce of a total exc~ufion of fOrm!, aud to the arcaihmcnt of their dctirable Ends ; and to
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