hundred years before liturgies came in, were with the people made in vain.

After he hath acknowledged, that kings heretofore prayed without chaplains, even publickly in the temple ittelf, and that every "private believer is invefted with a royal priesthood;" yet like one that relifhed not what hetafted of the heavenly gift, and the good word of God," whofe name he fo confidently takes into his mouth, he frames to himfelf impertinent and vain reasons, why he should rather pray by the officiating mouth of a closet chaplain. "Their prayers," faith he, "are more prevalent, they flow from minds more enlightened, from affections lefs diftracted." Admit this true, which is not, this might be fomething faid as to their prayers for him, but what avails it to their praying with him? If his own mind "be encumbered with fecular affairs," what helps it his particular prayer, though the mind of his chaplain be not wandering, either after new preferment, or his dinner? The fervency of one man in prayer cannot fupererogate for the coldnefs of another; neither can his fpiritual defects in that duty be made out, in the acceptance of God, by another man's abilities. Let him endeavour to have more light in himself, and not to walk by another man's lamp, but to get oil into his own. Let him caft from him, as in a chriftian warfare, that fecular encumbrance, which either diftracts or overloads him; his load elfe will never be the lefs heavy, because another man's is light. Thus thefe pious flourishes and colours, examined thoroughly, are like the apples of Afphaltis, appearing goodly to the fudden eye, but look well upon them, or at leaft but touch them, and they turn into cinders.

In his prayer he remembers what "voices of joy and gladnefs" there were in his chapel, "God's houfe," in his opinion, between the finging men and the organs; and this was "unity of fpirit in the bond of peace;" the vanity, fuperftition, and mifdevotion of which place, was a fcandal far and near: Wherein fo many things were fung, and prayed in thofe fongs, which were not underflood; and yet he who makes a difficulty how the peo

ple

ple can join their hearts to extemporal prayers, though diftinctly heard and understood, makes no queftion how they fhould join their hearts in unity to fongs not underfood.

I believe that God is no more moved with a praycr elaborately penned, than men truly charitable are moved with the penned fpeech of a beggar.

Finally, O ye minifters, ye pluralifts, whofe lips preferve not knowledge, but the way ever open to your bellies, read here what work he makes among your wares, your gallipots, your balms and cordials, in print; and not only your fweet fippets in widows houfes, but the huge gobbets wherewith he charges you to have devoured houfes and all; the " houfes of your brethren, your king, and your God." Cry him up for a faint in your pulpits, while he cries you down for atheifts into Hell.

XXV. Upon his penitential Meditations and Vows at Holmby.

IT is not hard for any man, who hath a Bible in his hands, to borrow good words and holy fayings in abundance; but to make them his own, is a work of grace only from above. He borrows here many penitential veries out of David's pfalms. So did many among thofe Ifraelites, who had revolted from the true worthip of God, "invent to themfelves inftruments of mufic like David," and probably pfalms alfo like his; and yet the prophet Amos complains heavily against them. But to prove how thort this is of true repentance, I will recite the penitence of others, who have repented in words not borrowed, but their own, and yet by the doom of Scripture itself, are judged reprobates.

"Cain faid unto the Lord, My iniquity is greater than I can bear: behold thou haft driven me this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face fhall I be hid.

"And when Efau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding bitter cry, and aid, Blefs me, even me alfo, O my father; yet found no place of repentance, though he fought it carefully with tears. Heb. 12.

F3

"And

"And Pharaoh faid to Mofes, the Lord is righteous, I and my people are wicked; I have finned against the Lord your God, and against you.

"And Balaam faid, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my laft end be like his.

"And Saul faid to Samuel, I have finned, for I have tranfgreffed the commandment of the Lord; yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people.

"And when Ahab heard the words of Elijah, he rent his clothes, and put fackcloth upon his flefh, and fasted, and lay in fackcloth, and went foftly.

"Jehoram also rent his clothes, and the people looked, and behold he had fackcloth upon his fleth;" yet in the very act of his humiliation he could fay, "God do fo, and more alfo to me, if the head of Elifha fhall ftand on him this day.

"Therefore faith the Lord, they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds. They return, but not to the moft high. Hofea vii.

"And Judas faid, I have finned, in that I have betrayed innocent blood.

"And Simon Magus faid, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things come upon me.

All these took the pains both to confefs and to repent in their own words, and many of them in their own tears, not in David's. But tranfported with the vain oftentation of imitating David's language, not his life, obferve how he brings a curfe upon himself and his father's houfe (God fo difpofing it) by his ufurped and ill-imitated prayer, "Let thy anger I befeech thee be against me and my father's houfe; as for thefe fheep, what have they done?" For if David indeed finned in numbering the people, of which fault he in earnest made that confeffion, and acquitted the whole people from the guilt of that fin; then doth this king, ufing the fame words, bear witnefs against himfelf to be the guilty perfon; and either in his foul and confcience here acquits the parliament and the people, or elfe abuses the words of David, and diffembles grofsly to the very face of God; which is apparent in the next line; wherein he accufes even the church itself to God, as if he were the church's

enemy,

enemy, for having overcome his tyranny by the powerful and miraculous might of God's manifeft arm: For to other ftrength, in the midft of our divifions and diforders, who can attribute our victories? Thus had this miferable man no worfe enemies to folicit and mature his own deftruction, from the haftened fentence of divine juftice, than the obdurate curtes, which proceeded against himself out of his own mouth.

Hitherto his meditations, now his vows; which, as the vows of hypocrites ufe to be, are moft commonly abfurd, and fome wicked. Jacob vowed, that God fhould be his God, if he granted him but what was necefiary to perform that vow, life and fubfiftence; but the obedience proffered here is nothing fo cheap. He, who took fo heinoufly to be offered nineteen propofitions from the parliament, capitulates here with God almoft in as many articles.

"If he will continue that light," or rather that darknefs of the Golpel, which is among his prelates, fettle their luxuries, and make them gorgeous bithops;

If he will "reftore" the grievances and mifchiefs of thofe obfolete and popith laws, which the parliament without his confent had abrogated, and will fuffer justice to be executed according to his fenfe ;

"If he will fupprefs the many fchifins in church," to contradict himself in that which he hath foretold muft and fhall come to pafs, and will remove reformation as the greateft fchifm of all, and factions in ftate, by which he means in every leaf the parliament;

If he will "reftore him" to his negative voice and the militia, as much as to fay, to arbitrary power, which he wrongfully avers to be the "Right of his Predeceffors;"

"If he will turn the hearts of his people" to their old cathedral and parochial fervice in the liturgy, and their paffive obedience to the king;

"If he will quench" the army, and withdraw our forces from withstanding the piracy of Rupert, and the plotted Irith invafion;

"If he will blefs him with the freedom" of Bishops again in the houfe of peers, and of fugitive delinquents in the house of commons, and deliver the honour of parliament into his hands, from the most natural and due

protection of the people, that entrusted them with the dangerous enterprise of being faithful to their country against the rage and malice of his tyrannous oppofition;

"If he will keep him from that great offence" of following the counfel of his parliament, and enacting what they advise him to; which in all reafon, and by the known. law, and oath of his coronation he ought to do, and not to call that facrilege, which neceffity through the continuance of his own civil war hath compelled him to; neceffity, which made David eat the fhowbread, made Ezekiah take all the filver which was found in God's houfe, and cut off the gold which overlaid thofe doors and pillars, and gave it to Senacherib; neceffity, which ofttimes made the primitive church to fell her facred utenfils, even to the communion-chalice;

"If he will restore him to a capacity of glorifying him by doing" that both in church and state, which must needs difhonour and pollute his name ;

"If he will bring him again with peace, honour, and fafety, to his chief city," without repenting, without fatisfying for the blood fpilt, only for a few politic conceffions, which are as good as nothing;

"If he will put again the fword into his hand, to punish" thofe that have delivered us, and to protect delinquents against the justice of parliament;

Then, if it be poffible to reconcile contradictions, he will praife him by displeasing him, and ferve him by differving him.

"His glory," in the gaudy copes and painted windows, mitres, rochets, altars, and the chaunted fervice-book, "fhall be dearer to him," than the establishing his crown in righteoufnels, and the fpiritual power of religion.

"He will pardon thofe that have offended him in particular," but there fhall want no fubtle ways to be even with them upon another fcore of their fuppofed offences againft the commonwealth; whereby he may at once affect the glory of a feeming juftice, and deftroy them pieafantly, while he feigns to forgive them as to his own particular, and outwardly bewails them.

These are the conditions of his treating with God, to whom he bates nothing of what he stood upon with the

parliament: