Of tht Peoples ~fponfals in Wo1jhip. ~efl:. 83. May tbe people bear a focal part in Worjhip, or do any more t/ 1 an fay, ~mm? ~.C••· '4· An[w. yEs : The people fhould fay Amen; that is, openly fignili. their confent : But the mean- :a\. I S0 • mg IS not that they mufi do no more, nor otherwife exprefs then confent fj,ving by that ~~~.' ;~ 3· fingl~word: l:'or, I· There is_ no Scripturewhichforbiddet~ mort: 2. The people bear an eq\lil & 94 . 1, 2, J, part m fingmg the PfalmJ; wh1ch arc prayer and praife and tnftru{lton. 3· If they may do {0 in the &c. Pfalmt in Mrtre, there can no reafon be given but they may lawfully do {0, in the Pfa!m 1 in profi; & toS-7· 2>&c. Forfaying them :md finging them arc but modu of utterance ; both are the fpeaking of Pra)'cr and ~ ~ ~~h t praiiC to God: And the ancimt finging was likcr"cur faying, than to our runes, as moti judge~ 2~f.; 01~: 4· The primitive Chrillians were: fo tUB of the zeal and Love of Chrill, that they would have taken ~c for an i~jury and a quenching of the fpirit to have been fl'hoUy reftrai;w:l from buring their parr m the prarles of the Church. 5· The ufe of the tongue keepeth awake the mir.d, and llirrcth up Gods graces in his fuVlnts. 6. It was the decay ot zeal in the people that fir(l Clmt out Refponfes; whi!e t?ey kept up the: ancient z_eal, they were i~clined to take t~eir part vocaJiy in the \Vorfhip: And th" was fcconded by the pnde and ufurpatlon of fome Pnells thereupon, who thought the people of God, rooprophane to fpeak in the alfcmhlies, and meddlefo much wirh holy things. Ytt the: very remembrance of former zeal, caufed moll Churches to retain many of the words of their predecdfours, even when they loll the Life and ffiirit which fhould animate them : And fo the fame wordJ came into tire: Liturgies, and were uted by too many cuftomarily, and in formality which their ancefiors had ufed in the fervour of their fouls. ) 6. And if it were not rhat a dtad h.-rutl formal people by fpeaking the Refponfcs cmleOy and hy– pocritically do bring them into difgrace with many that fee: the neceJllty of forioufnejf, I think few good people would be againfi them now. If all the[trious ztJI0111 Chrifiians in rhe alfemb\y fpcak the fame words in a ferious manner, there will appear nothing in them that fhould give offence. If in the fulntji of their beam, the people fhould break out into foch words of prayer or confdlion or praife, it would be: taken for an extraordinary pang of zeal; and were it ur:ufittJt, it would take exceedingly. Bt!t the bttttr any thing is, the more loathfomt it appcareth when it is- mortified by hyrocdiie and dead formality, and turned into a mockcr'y, or an aflectcd fccnical act. But it is here the dmy of <very Chrifiian to labour to reAore the Life a~:dJPirit to the wordt, that thry may again be ufed in a fc:rious and holy manner as heretofore. 7· Thofe rhat would havr: private men pray and prophetic in publick, as warranted by 1 Cor. I+ [ Yt may aU{ptak,, &r. J do mueh contradict themfelves, if they fay alfo that a Lay man may fay not.hing but Amen. 8. Thepeople were: all to Jay Amen in Dtut. 27· 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 6...c. And yc:ttheyofcemimes faid more. As Exod. '~· 8. in as folemn an Alfembly as any_of ours, when God himfclf 11ave U{ts a Sermon (in a form of words ) to Preach to the people, and Mofu had repealed it as from the Lord (it b:::ing the Nurative of his mercies, the command of obedience, and the prornifes of his great bld!ings upon that condition, ) aU tbe people anfwtrtd togttlm and [aid, AU rbat the Lord hath fPokp• we wiU do. The like wa• done again; Exod. 24· 3· And Dwt. 5· 27· And lcfi ~ou fhould think either that the AfTembly was not as folcmn as ours, or that Jt was not well done of the people to fay more than Amen, God bimfdf who was preCent declared his approbation, even of the words when the fpeak<rs hearts were not fo fincere in lif•king them as they ought : verf. 28, 29· [And th• Lord beard the voict Pf _your words whm you H¥1<..e unto me, and the Lord /aid unto me, I have heard the voice of the wordr oj' tbi<people --1t.ey have weU [aid aU that they have JP'k.!n. 0 that there were fuch a beart inthem--- t ' Obj. But tbi< it but aJPmh" Mofes and not ta.f!.od. Anfw. I will recite to you a form of prayer whr-.:-b the peopkrhemfdves were to make puhlickly to God; Iieut. 26. t3, 14, I 5· [1heH }halt thou fay btj'ort t7ie Lord tby God; I bave brought away the b:JUowtd thing I out of my houfi, 4nd al{o batlt given. them to tbt Levite and lo 1be ftrangtr, to the j~tberlifs and the 'f!Yidofl', according to aU thy Commondmtnl! which thou IJaji commailr}ed me: I havenot tranfgrtjferl tbyComm:~11dmtntJ, Jreilber bove I forgotten tbtm: I. have not toWs thereif in my mourning, neither have I tak..oz awaJ• ougbt thereof for any unclean ufi, n,r g~ven ought thereof for tilt de!Id; bHt I havt beark.!nttl to the voice nJ the Lordmy God aHd have done accordmg to oU that tbozt h<~jl commanded mt : Lool{ down from thy holybbitatitm, f rom Heaven, aud bleji thy people I{r~ttl, t~nd tbt La'fd 'lllhicb thou bajl given us, a 1 tb()u fwarcft untoour F::uhrr1, a Landtbat ftowuh rritiJ milk,_and homy]. IS9 not here a lull form of Prayer to be ufed by a\1 the people? And remember that J ofiph and Mary and Chrifi hirnfclf wete under this Law, and that you never read that Chrifi found fault wich the peoples JPeech, nor fplke a word to rellrain it in his Churches. In Lev. 9• 24· IYhen aU the people faw thr Glory of the Lord, an~ t~e fire that camt ou.t from it atzd co 1 tfumed the burnt Offering, 1hry fl-outed and feU. on their faea: wh1ch was an acch.mauon more than bare Amen. 2 King 23• 2, 3· K'ng Jofiab w<nt rep into tit boufe of the I.ord, and aU tbt mm of J"da~, &:. And the Pricjis and tbe Propbt ts, :znd aU the people botb JmaJl an l grt:zt ; and be rtad irl tbf.T tJrJ aU t?e fP;Jrds of
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