Page images
PDF
EPUB

that in this continued serving of GOD, the Psalter, or whole book of Psalms, was in every four-and-twenty hours sung or read over, from the first to the last verse; and this was done as constantly as the sun runs his circle every day about the world, and then begins again the same instant that it ended. Thus did Mr. Farrer and his happy family serve God day and night; thus did they alwaies behave themselves, as in His presence. And they did alwaies eat and drink by the strictest rules of temperance,―eat and drink so, as to be ready to rise at midnight, or at the call of a watch-bell, and perform their devotions to God. ... And this course of piety and liberality to his poor neighbours, Mr. Farrer maintained till his death, which was in the year 1639."—Walton's Life of G. Herbert, p. 316. ed. 1675.

49. DR. BEST.-"The highest orders of men and women in our Church, instead of being exempted from the exercise of daily public prayer by their exalted station, are more loudly called upon than others to be constant in their observance of this duty. . . . . It would not be difficult to point out to you the example of a personage [King George III.] who has a greater weight of duties, a greater burthen of cares, a greater variety of earthly concerns upon his mind, than any other individual amongst us, who nevertheless suffers neither business nor any other avocation to prevent his first addresses to the MAJESTY of Heaven, for pardon and peace, for grace and direction, for the welfare of his people, and for his own and others' present and future happiness. After this, let no excuses be made for the neglect of our daily service." Dedication of "Best's Essay" to the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge.

50. "As the want of a congregation is the only justifiable, so is it the only true reason why we do not meet with a daily celebration of it in our parochial churches; in some of which it would be extremely difficult if not impracticable, especially in country villages, to comply with her order for it; and therefore to them we conclude it was not intended to be given." Dr. Best's Essay on the Daily Service of the Church, 12.

51. "In St. Matt. xviii. 20. CHRIST hath especially declared, that where two or three are gathered together in His Name,

there is He in the midst of them.' Comfortable words, indeed, to the daily frequenters of the daily service,-words that carry with them a strong motive to their perseverance in this pious practice, words that supply the ministers of the Gospel (whose duty it is to attend continually on this very thing) with a powerful reason against being quite disheartened from all further celebration of the daily service, by the non-attendance of so many of their people upon it,-words that are, both to pastor and flock, a great argument for the continuance of the daily service, though so small is the number of frequenters in it."—Dr. Best's Essay, 32.

[But the whole of this Essay deserves to be carefully read. It was re-published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in the year 1794.]

52. BP. JEREMY TAYLOR.-" Every minister is obliged publicly or privately to read the Common Prayers every day in the week, at morning and evening; and in great towns and populous places conveniently inhabited, it must be read in churches, that the daily sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving may never cease." -Advice to the Clergy of Down and Connor, § lxxvii.

53. WILLIAM III." That the bishops do use their utmost endeavour to oblige the Clergy to have public prayers in the Church, not only on holy-days and litany-days, but as often as may be, and to celebrate the holy sacrament frequently."Injunctions to the Archbishops, § 11.

54. DR. HAMMOND." In the discharge of his ministerial function, he satisfied not himself in diligent and constant preaching only (a performance wherein some of late have fancied all religion to consist), but much more conceived himself obliged to the offering up the solemn daily sacrifice of prayer for his people, administering the Sacraments, &c. The offices of prayer he had in his church [Penshurst] not only upon the Sundays and festivals, and their eves, as also Wednesdays and Fridays, according to the appointment of the Rubric; (which strict duty and ministration, when it is examined to the bottom, will prove the greatest objection against the Liturgy; as that which, besides its own trouble and austerity, leaves no leisure for factious and

licentious meetings at fairs and markets); but every day in the week, and twice on Saturdays and holiday-eves; for his assistance wherein he kept a curate, and allowed him a comfortable salary. And at those devotions he took order that his family should give diligent exemplary attendance."-Bp. Fell's Life of Dr. Hammond, p. 162, et seq.

55. "When we reckon up and audit the expenses of the Doctor's (Hammond) time, we cannot pass his constant tribute of it paid by him to Heaven in the offices of prayer, which took up so liberal proportions of each day unto itself, for the ten last years of his life, and probably the preceding. Besides occasional and supernumerary addresses, his certain perpetual returns exceeded David's seven times a day. As soon as he was ready, (which was usually early) he prayed in his chamber with his servant, in a peculiar form composed for that purpose; after this he retired to his own more secret devotions in his closet. Betwixt ten and eleven in the morning he had a solemn intercession in reference to the national calamities; to this, after a little distance, succeeded the morning office of the Church, which he particularly desired to perform in his own person, and would by no means accept the ease of having it read by any other. In the afternoon he had another hour of private prayer, which on Sundays he enlarged... About five o'clock, the solemn private prayer for the nation, and the evening service of the Church returned. At bed-time his private prayers closed the day; and after all, even the night was not without its office, the 51st Psalm being his designed midnight entertainment."-Fell's Life of Hammond, p. 230. See also, p. 263.

56. MR. WHEATLY." People of all ages and nations have been guided by the very dictates of nature, not only to appoint some certain seasons to celebrate their more solemn parts of religion, but also to set apart daily some portion of time for the performance of divine worship. To his peculiar people, the Jews, God Himself appointed their set times of public devotion; commanding them to offer up two lambs daily, one in the morning and the other at even,' which we find from other places of Scripture (Acts ii. 15. iii. 1.) were at their third and ninth

hours, which answer to our nine and three; that so those burnt-offerings, being types of the great Sacrifice which CHRIST the Lamb of GOD was to offer up for the sins of the world, might be sacrificed at the same hours wherein His death was begun and finished... And though the Levitical Law expired together with our SAVIOUR, yet the public worship of God must still have some certain times set apart for the performance of it; and accordingly all Christian Churches have been used to have their public devotions performed daily every morning or evening. The Apostles and primitive Christians continued to observe the same hours of prayer with the Jews, as might easily be shown from the records of the ancient Church. But the Church of England cannot be so happy as to appoint any set hours when either morning or evening prayer shall be said; because, now people are grown so cold and indifferent in their devotions, they would be too apt to excuse their absenting from the public worship, from the inconveniency of the time; and therefore she hath only taken care to enjoin that public prayers be read every morning and evening daily throughout the year;' that so all their members may have opportunity of joining in public worship twice at least every day. But to make the duty as practicable and easy both to the minister and people as possible, she hath left the determination of the particular hours to the ministers that officiate, who, considering every one his own and his people's circumstances, may appoint such hours for morning and evening prayer as they shall judge to be most proper and convenient. § 2. But if it be in places where congregations can be had, and 'the curate of the parish be at home, and not otherwise reasonably hindered,' she expects or enjoins that he say the same in the parish church,' &c. But if for want of a congregation, or some other account, he cannot conveniently read them in the church, he is then bound to say them in the family where he lives; for by the same Rubric, 'all priests and deacons are to say daily the morning and evening prayer, either privately or openly,' &c. . . . The occasion of our Rubric was probably a rule in the Roman Church, by which, even before the Reformation and the Council of Trent, the clergy were obliged to recite the

[ocr errors]

canonical hours, (i. e. the offices in the breviary for the several hours of day and night,) either publicly in a church or chapel, or privately by themselves. But our Reformers, not approving the priests performing by themselves what ought to be the united devotions of many; and yet not being wholly to discharge the clergy from a constant repetition of their prayers, thought fit to discontinue these solitary devotions; but at the same time ordered, that if a congregation at church could not be had, the public service, both for morning and evening, should be recited in the family where the minister resided. Though according to the first book of King Edward, 'this is not meant that any man shall be bound to the saying of it, but such as from time to time, in cathedral and collegiate churches, parish churches and chapels to the same annexed, shall serve the congregation.""—Wheatly on the Common Prayer, pp. 83, 84. Sixth Ed.

57. "That the primitive Christians, besides their solemn service on Sundays, had public prayers every morning and evening, daily, has already been hinted: but a learned gentleman (Bingham, Ant. B. 13. c. 9. s. 1. vol. 5. p. 281.) is of the opinion that this must be restrained to times of peace; and that during the time of public persecution, they were forced to confine their religious meetings to the LORD's day only. And it is certain that Pliny and Justin Martyr, who both describe the manner of the Christian worship, do neither of them make mention of any assembly for public worship on any other day; so that their silence is a negative argument that in their time was no such assembly, unless perhaps some distinction may be made between the general assembly of both city and country on the LORD's day, and the particular assemblies of the city Christians (who had better opportunities to meet) on other days which distinction we often meet with in the following ages, when Christianity was come to its maturity and perfection. However, it was not long after Justin Martyr's time, before we are sure that the Church observed the custom of meeting solemnly on Wednesdays and Fridays, to celebrate the Communion, and to perform the same service as on the LORD's day itself, unless perhaps the sermon was wanting. The same also might be showed from as early

[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »