Neal - Houston-Packer Collection BX9333 .N4 1754

Chap. V. The HISTORY of the PuRil'ANS. IJ7 of the tabernacle ; that he declared the place ho6•, and made ufe of a 'K. Charles I. prayer like one in the roman pontifical;_ that a fter~vard~ he pro_nounced ~..J divers curfes on fuch as lhould profane 1t, but dell!ed h1s throwing dull: into the air, in which he laid, the witne!fes had forfworn themfelves, for the roman pontifical does not pre(cribe throwing duff into the air, but ajhes ;. and he conceives there is 110 harm, much lefs trea(on in it. The praCtice of giving the names of angels and faints to chu rches at their dedication for diflinCtion fake,. and for the honour of their memories (fays his grace) has been .very ancient, as appears in St. Aujlin, and divers others of the fathers, but the dedication firietly fpeaking is only to_God; nor is the obferving the annual feafis of dedicat ion lefs ancient ; the feafl: of the dedication of the temple was ob(erved in our Saviour's time, and though no doubt, it was abuled by fome amon?; the Jews, yet our Saviour honoured it with his prefence Judge Richart!Jon indeed, had made an or- Laud's hift der in his circuit, for putting down thefe ~vakes, but he was obliged to P· 2 69. revoke it by authority, and under favour (fays the archbifhop), I am of opinion that the feajls ought not to be put down for fame abufes, any more than all vines ought to be rooted up becaufe fome will be drunk with the juice of them. The Jeajls are convenient for keeping up hofpitality and good neighbourhood; nor can there be a more proper time for obferving them than on fundays, after divine fervice is -ended. And as the confecrating of churches and dedicating them to God, has 'lO canjecra– been of ancient ufage, fo has the con(ecration of altars and their furniture, tm~ a£tars and (uch confecrations are necr!fary, for el(e the Lord's table could not ;:rn:,:;;: be called holy, nor the ve!fels belonging to it holy as they u(ually are; yea lb. p. 313. there is an holinefs in the altar which fanetifies the gift, which it could not do, except itfelf was holy; if there be no dedication of the!e things to God, no feparation of them from common ufe, then there can be no (uch thing as (acrilege, or difference between an holy table and a common one. And as to the form of confecrating the(e things, I had them not from the roman pontifical, but from bifhop Andrews. The managers for the commons replied, that if the temple was confe- Managers crated it was by the king himje!f, and not by the high-priefl; and if the. rep'f t~ the tabernacle was con(ecrated, it was by Mrfes the civil magijlr·ate and not an:~qutty_of b A I h . h ·,n b d .. .' con 1 ecratmg y aron t 1e rg -prze;v ; ut we rea of no other con(ecratlng the ta- chw·ches. bernacle and its utenfils, but anointing them with oil, for which Mojes Prynne, p. had ·ln exprefs command; nor of any other confecrating the temple, but 11 5• 499> of Solomon's making an excellent prayer in the outward court, not in the &c. temple itje!f, and of his hallowing the middle comt by offerings and peace-ofKrings; and 'tis obfervable that the cloud and glory of the Lord filltd the temple, fo as the priell:s could not ftand to minifier before Solomon made his prayer, which fame call his confecration. But if it fhould VoL . IJ. T be

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