Of prrvate Meetings. DireEiions for Studmts l>ow to Order their Studies. 7 , That they that arc forbidden to Wor!11ip God publickly, unlcfs they will commit fornc certain Se~ 1u.uch of fin, arc fo prohibited as tha~ they ~ught not ro do it on fuch terms ~:~J~:~ebc8. That the private meetings wh1ch are held on tbefc f orementirmrd term!) in fuch cafes of mcrf!ity, fore 0, 109 , are flOt tobeforfalzcn, thoughprohibited : (Though Hill the honour of the Mag!!iratc is to be pre- and €uo. fcrvcd, and obedience given him in all Lawful things),: And fuch Mr..:c:rings are not tlnful nor difhonourable ( to the affcmblers ;) For as 1crtuUian (and Dr.Heylin after him) fa.itb, Cttm pii, cum boni coeunt, no~t Jal1io dicenda eft, fed r.uri~: TYhr:n pi.o~M, a11d good people mtrl ( cfpecially as aforefaid ) it Hnot to be caUcd af.zllion, bKt a Court. Thus far I d1ink we all agret. • And that the ~hurch of England i.s really of this mind is certain ; 1o In that they did Congregate jn private thcm{dves, in the lime o[ CromwcUs Ufurpadon, towards the end when he began to·rc:firairt the ufe of the Common p,aycr. 2· In that they wrote for it: fee Dr. Hide1{ the Churr:h in the be· ginning. 3· Bt!cau[c b?th in. t~e reign of ~ormer Pcinc~s tinte .the RdOrrn~tion, .and to this day, many laborious conformmg Mmillers, have ihll u[cd to repeat rhe1r Sermons m · rhe11 Houfes, where many of the people c1mc to hear them. 4· Bccaufe rhc Liturgic a11owerh priv.1te B~Jpti[rn, and rc– llraincth nut any number from being ptcfcnt, nor the Minilh:r from inlhulting them in [he ufe of Bl– ptifrn ( which is the fum of ChriHianicy ). 5· Bt:caufe the Liturgic commandeth thevifiution ll[ the fick., and alloweth the Miniiter there to pray and infiruCl th~; pertOn accordinG to his own abilicy, abour Repentance, faith in ChriH, and prepuation for death and the life to come ; and forbiddeEh not the friends and neighbours of the fick to be rrcfcnr. 6. Btcal1fc the Lit:frgie and Canonr allow private Communiou with. the ficJt , lame or a;J.cd that .'~nnot come to the aif;.mbly; ~hcr.e the nz~ rure of that holy work ts to be opened, and the Euchanfitcal work eo be performed; And fame muff be prcfcnr, and the number not limited. 7· And as thcfe arc cxprdS u:tlimonies, char all private meetings arc not difallowcd by the Church of E,g!.,nd, fo tll(re are other inUancc:s Of fuch natural mccffity as they are not to befuppofed to be againH: As, 1 •. For a Captain to Pray, and read Scri~ pturc: or good Books and fing Pfa.lms with his Souldiers, and with Murincrs at S::a, when they have no Minifier. z, There arc many thoufands and hundred rhouf3.nds in Engl.:lnd, rha:t fome live fofar from Church, and fome arc fo weak that they qn feldome go, and fome Churches have not room 1 for a quarter of the Puifh ; and none of the thoufand~ now meant can read, and fo neither can help thcm{~lvcs, nor have a Mini11ct that will do it; And thoufands that when they have heard a Sermon cannot remember it, but lofc it prefc:nrly. If thtfc that cannot Read or Remember, nor tcach thcir own families, nor go to Church, do take their t'arnilics, many of them, to fome one Neigh– bours houfe, where the Sermon is repeated, or the Bible or Liturgic read, mcthinks the Church fhould r.ot be: againfi it. . But it mull be fiiJl remernbred, that I· Rulers that arc Infidels~ Papifts, Hcrcticks or perfccutors that refirain Church-meetings to the injury of mensfouls, mull be difl:inguillu from pious Princes that only rcflrain Hereticks and real Schifmaticks for the Churches good. 2. And that times of Herefic and Schifm ma:y make private meetings more dangerous than quiet times ; ~nd fo aven the Scouifi1 Church forbad private meetings in the Separatifis dayes of late. And when they do more hurt than good, and are jujlly forbiddm, no doubt in that cafe, it is a duty to ob~.:y and to forbear them, as is aforefaid. ~eft:. 173· What partiwlar DireEiions for Order of Swdies, and 'Books jhould be obferwdby young Students ! ~· r. BEcaufe diforder is fo great a difadvantage, to young Students, and becoaufc: many have im~ porruncd me to name rhem fome few ot the bell: Books, becaufe they havr: no Time to read 1 nor money to buy many, l fha,ll here anfwer thefe (WO demands. §. 2. 1. The Order of their fiudics is fuch as rcfpcchth their whole livu, or fuch as refpecterb every Day. It is the firfl which I now intend. §. 3· Dire/:/. I· The knowledge of fa much of Thcologic as is necdfary to your own Duty and Salvation, is the firfi: thing which you are to learn (when you hnc learnt to fpcak ). Children have fouls to favc; and their Rcafon is given them to ufe for thcirl Creators fervice and their falvarion• t . They can never begin to Lcarn rhat too foon which they were made and Redeemed to Learn, and which their whole lives mufi be em~loyed in'pracrifing. ~nd that which ab{olutt Ntct/Jity rcquirerh, and wtthout whtch there IS no falvauon. 3• And that whtch mufl tell a man the on1y uhirnace end which he mufr intend, in all rhc moral actions of his life. for the right Intention of our end is an~ recedcnt to all right ufc of means ; And till this be done, a man hath not wet! begun to Live nor to ufe his Rea[o»; nor hath he any other work for his Rcafon, till this be firfi dent, He Iiv~ cth but in a continual fin, that doth not make God and the publick good and his falvation his end. Therefore they that would not have Children begin with Divinity, would have them ferve the D~!vir ·and the ~'le{h. God mufi be ou1 tlrfi and Lafi and All. Aaaaaa 2
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