no means difqualify them for the private or public discharge of any part of their minifterial function. "In that day, that Gofpel-day, (these last days wherein we live) faith the great GOD, I will pour out a Spirit of grace and a Spirit of fupplication upon the houfe of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerufalem." And the Apostle Paul speaks of it as the common privilege of all Believers, that the Holy Spirit helps their infirmities, and maketh interceffion for them with groanings which cannot be uttered. Forms of prayer, certainly, have their ufe; and take it altogether, our English Liturgy is, without doubt, one of the moft excellent established forms of public prayer in the world: but then, as no form, in the very nature of the thing, can poffibly fuit every particular cafe, it is to be feared that many must never pray, at leaft for the particular things they moft ftand in need' of, if they are fo to be tied up to their forms, that they cannot vary from them, or ufe free prayer at all.

The great Bishop Wilkins bath therefore wifely wrote an excellent Treatife on the benefit and importance of this kind of prayer: and could our Univerfity-youth be trained up to use proper extempore Prayer, both before and after Sermon, in the opinion of all good judges, it would be as commendable, as that ftrange cuftom of putting off our auditories with what is called the bidding prayer; in which there is not one petition for a bleffing upon the following Sermon, and scarce any thing mentioned but what hath been prayed for over and over again in' the preceding common fervice of our church.

But

But fuppofing fuch liberty fhould be denied in public, as bleffed be GoD it is not, furely we may be allowed, at least it cannot be deemed finful, to ufe free prayer in our secret or private social exercises of devotion. If fo, what finners, what great finners must they have been, who prayed, and that too out of neceffity, in an extempore way, before any forms of prayer were or could be printed or heard of? The prayers we read of in scripture, the prayers which opened and fhut heaven, the effectual, fervent, energetic prayers of those righteous. and holy men of old, which availed fo much with GOD, were all of an extempore nature. And I am apt to believe, if not only our Students and Minifters, but private Christians, were born from above, and taught of GOD, as those wrestlers with GoD were, they would want Forms of Prayer, though we have fuch a variety of them, no more than they did.

The Sick, the Lame, the Blind, the Lepers that came to our LORD for healing, wanted no book to teach them how to exprefs their wants. Though fome were only poor Beggars, and others, as the felf-righteous Scribes and Pharifees fuperciliously chose to term them, Gentile dogs, yet confcious of their wants, and having a heart-felt fenfe of their diftrefs, "out of the abundance of their hearts their mouths fpake;" and the compaffionate IMMANUEL,. who came to heal our fickneffes and bear our infirmities, fent them away with a "Go in peace, thy faith hath made thee whole: Be it unto thee even. as thou wilt."

How

How unlike, yea how very unlike fuch a blessed difmiffion is the treatment these young Students have lately met with at Edmund Hall, who, among other crimes of a like nature, were expelled for ufing Extempore Prayer. A crime not fo much as mentioned in any of our Law-Books; a crime for which, in this last century at least, no one hath ever been called to the bar of any public court of judicature; and a crime for which, it is to be hoped, no Student will ever hereafter be fummoned to appear and hear himself expelled for, at the bar of any of the reverend Doctors of Divinity or Heads of Housesin the Univerfity of Oxford. But should any be fo infatuated as to determine, Jehu-like, to drive on. thus furiously, as judgment hath unhappily begun, as it were, at the very houfe of Gon, it is to be hoped, that as fome have been expelled for extempore praying, we shall hear of fome few others of a contrary stamp, being expelled for extempore fwearing, which by all impartial judges must undoubtedly be acknowledged to be the greater crime of the two.

Singing, compofing, or reading Hymns compofed by others, and doing this in company, feems to be as little criminal as praying extempore. When. the last words of David. are about to be recorded, he is not only ftiled, "the son of Jeffe, the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob," but the grand title of being "the fweet Pfalmift of Ifrael" brings up the rear. And "to teach and admonish one another in pfalms and hymns,

and

and spiritual songs," is as truly a fcriptural command, as "Thou shalt love the Lord thy GOD with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy ftrength, and thy neighbour as thy felf."

When Elisha the Prophet was about to prophefy before two kings, he called for a minstrel, on which he played, to footh his ruffled paffions, and prepare his heart the better for the reception of the Holy Spirit. And were the fons of the Prophets more frequently to entertain themfelves thus, I believe it would be as fuitable to the minifterial character, and recommend them as much, perhaps more, to all ferious Chriftians, than their tripping up their heels, fkipping and dancing at the mufic of a Ball-room, or playing even a first Fiddle at a concert. And was the voice of fpiritual melody more frequently heard by those who come occafionally to vifit our Colleges, it might be as much to the honour of the University, as the more common and too, too frequent noise of Box and Dice, at the unlawful games of Hazard. and Back-gammon.

Popish countries, Popifh feminaries, think it no fhame, no difgrace to be heard finging the high praises of their GoD in their Convents, their Houfes, or even in their Streets; and why Proteftants in general, and Proteftant Students in particular, fhould be any more afhamed of, or restrained from the free exercise of fuch acts of devotion, either in fecret or in private focieties, no good reafon can be given; unless it be proved to be good reafoning to affert, that Proteftants ought to be less devout than♪ Papifts. We must confefs that Papifts, though

they

they take this liberty of finging and chanting privately and publicly themselves, yet deny this liberty of confcience to our Proteftant affemblies, thofe attending divine worship at our Ambaffador's chapels not excepted. But for Proteftants to difufe it themfelves, and at the fame time lay as it were a fpiritual embargo upon their fellow Proteftants, nay punish and expel them for fo doing, is very unaccountable.

What fpirit then muft those be of, Reverend SIR, who have lately joined in pronouncing the fentence of expulfion against fix religious Students, not only for having been of Trades, and praying extempore, but for reading and finging Hymns alfo? His Royal Highnefs the late Duke of Cumberland, was of a very different difpofition, for when abroad in Germany, in one of our late wars, (as I was informed by a perfon then on guard) hearing one evening as he was paffing by, a company of foldiers finging at fome little distance in a cave, he asked the centinal what noise that was; and being answered that some devout foldiers were finging Hymns; inftead of citing them to appear before their Officers, ordering them to the whipping poft, or commanding them to be drummed out of the regiment; acting like himself, he only pleasingly replied, "Are they fo? Let them go on then, and be as merry as they can." In this he acted wifely; for he knew, and found by repeated experience, as did other commanding officers, that finging, nay, and praying extempore too, in these private focieties, did not hinder, but rather fited and animated thefe devout Soldiers to engage and to fight their Country's battles in the field. And it may be prefumed, that if thefe Students had not

.

been