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Introduct. we find by the Apostle's second Epistle to them, that they reformed their abuses.

Thus also in his Epistle to the Ephesians 39, the Apostle exhorts them to speak to themselves with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord. And he bids the Colossians 40 teach and admonish one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in their hearts to the Lord. From all which texts of Scripture, and several others that might be alleged, we must necessarily conclude, that joint psalmody was instituted by the Apostles, as a constant part of divine worship.

And that the primitive Christians continued it, is a thing so notorious, that it seems wholly needless to cite any testimonies to prove it: I shall therefore only point to such places at the bottom of the page, as will sufficiently satisfy any, that will think it worth their while to consult them.

The practice therefore of the Apostles and primitive Christians, in joining in the use of psalms, is another intimation, that they joined in the use of precomposed set forms of prayer. For though all psalms be not prayers, because some of them are not spoken to God; yet it is certain a great part of them are, because they are immediately directed to him; as is evident, as well from the psalms of David, as from several Christian hymns42: and, consequently, the Apostles and primitive Christians, by jointly singing such psalms in their congregations, did join in the use of precomposed set forms of prayer. It only remains then that I prove,

3. That they joined in the use of divers precomposed set forms of prayer, besides the Lord's prayer and psalms.

And 1st, as to the Apostles, we are told that Peter and John, after they had been threatened, and commanded not to preach the Gospel, went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lift up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, 43 &c.

39 Chap. v. 19.

40 Col. iii. 16.

41 Plin. Epist. 1. 10. Ep. 97. p. 284. Oxon. 1703. Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. 5. c. 28. p. 196. A. Just. Mart. Epist. ad Zen. et Seren. p. 509. A. Cyril. Hieros. Catech. 13. §. 3. p. 180. lin. 9, &c. Catech. Mystag. 5. §. 17. p. 300. lin. 34, &c. Socr. Hist. Eccl. 1. 2. c. 11. p. 89.

A. Athanas. ad Marcellin. Epist. §. 27. t. i. par. 2. p. 999. B.-All these, and many others, mention the Church's using psalms in the public assemblies, as a practice that had universally obtained from the times of the Apostles. 42 As St. Ambrose's Te Deum, and the like.

43 Acts iv. 23, 24.

Now in this place we are told, that the whole company Introduct. lift up their voice with one accord, and said, (i. e. they joined all together with audible voices in using these words,) Lord, thou art God, &c. which they could not possibly have done, unless the prayer they used was a precomposed set form. For whatever may be said in favour of joining mentally, with a prayer conceived extempore; I suppose nobody will contend, that it is possible for a considerable congregation to join vocally or aloud, as the Apostles and their company are here said to have done, in a prayer so conceived.

But some may object, that "though it is affirmed, that "the whole company lift up their voice, and said the prayer here mentioned; yet it is possible that one only "might do so in the name of all the rest, who joined "mentally with him, though not in an audible manner." To this we answer, That the Scripture never attributes that to a whole congregation or multitude, which is literally true of a single person only, except in such cases, where the thing related requires the consent of the whole multitude, but could not conveniently be performed or done by every one of them in their own persons. But I suppose no man will pretend, either that it was impossible for the Apostles and their company to lift up their voice, and say the prayers recited in the context, or that God could not hear or understand them when speaking all together.

But that which puts the matter out of all doubt, is the following consideration, viz. that the company is not barely said to have lift up their voice, but to have lift it up [ópolvμador] with one accord, or all together; which adverb is so placed, that it cannot be joined to any other verb than pav; and nothing is more evident, than that this adverb implies and denotes a conjunction of persons: and consequently, since it is here applied to all the company, and particularly to that action of theirs, viz. their lifting up their voice; it is manifest that they did all of them lift up their respective voices, and that they could not be said to have lift up their voices in that sense, which this objection supposes, viz. by appointing one person to lift up his single voice for them all. For if they did so, then the Historian's words must signify, that the whole congregation lift up their voice together, by appointing one man to lift up his particular voice in conjunction with himself alone: which is such nonsense, as cannot, without blasphemy, be imputed to an inspired Writer. So that it

Introduct.

is undeniably plain, that the persons here said to have been present, uttered their prayer all together, and spake all at the same time; and consequently, that the prayer must be a precomposed set form."

If any person should be so extravagant as to imagine, that "the whole congregation was inspired at that very "instant with the same words; and, consequently, that "they might all of them break forth at once, and join "vocally in the same prayer, though it were not precom"posed;" we need only reply, that this assertion is utterly groundless, having neither any shew of reason, nor so much as one example in all history to warrant it.

But it may perhaps be objected, that "the Apostles "and their company could have no notice of this un"foreseen accident; and therefore could not be prepared "with such a precomposed set form of thanksgiving; "and that it was uttered so soon after the relation of "what had befallen the Apostles, that if it had been "composed upon that occasion, it seems impossible that

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copies of it should have been delivered out for the "company to be so far acquainted with it, as immedi"ately to join vocally in it." To which we answer, (1.) That since we have evidently proved, from their joining vocally in it, that it must have been a precomposed set form; it lies upon our adversaries to answer our argument, more than it does upon us to account for this difficulty: for a difficulty, though it could not be easily accounted for, is by no means sufficient to confront and overthrow a clear demonstration. But, (2.) this difficulty is not so great as it may at first appear: for there is nothing in the whole prayer, but what might properly be used every day by a Christian congregation, so long as the powers of the world were opposing and threatening such as preached the Gospel, and the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost were continued in the Church: so that those who think this prayer to have been conceived and used on that emergency only, and never either before or after, do, in reality, beg the question, and take that for granted which they cannot prove. For the Scripture says nothing like it, nor do the circumstances require it; and therefore it is very probable that it was a standing form, well known in the Church, and frequently used, as occcasion offered: and consequently, upon this occasion, (on which it is manifest it was highly seasonable and proper,) they immediately brake forth, and vocally uttered, and jointly

said it, and perhaps added it to their other daily devo- Introduct. tions, which, we may very well suppose, they used at the same time, though the Historian takes no notice of it.

There remains still another objection, which may possibly be made, viz. that "the holy Scriptures, when they "relate what was spoken, especially by a multitude, do "not always give us the very words that were spoken, "but only the sense of them: and accordingly in this "instance, perhaps the congregation did not jointly offer "up that very prayer, but when they had heard what "the Apostles told them, they might all break out at "one and the same time into vocal prayer, and every "man utter words much to the same sense, though they "might not join in one and the same form." But to remove this objection, we need only reflect upon the intolerable confusion such a practice must of necessity cause: for that they all prayed vocally, has been evidently proved: if therefore they did not join in the same prayer, but offer up every man different words, though to the same sense; it must necessarily follow, that the whole company would, instead of uniting in their devotions, interrupt and distract each other's prayers.

How much more reasonable then is it to believe, that the Apostles and their company, who then prayed all together vocally, upon so solemn an occasion, did really use the same prayer, and join in the same words? And if so, then the argument already offered is a demonstration that they joined in a precomposed set form of prayer, besides the Lord's prayer and psalms.

And that the primitive Christians did very early use precomposed set forms in their public worship, is evident from the names given to their public prayers; for they are called the common prayers44, constituted prayers 45, and solemn prayers. But that which puts the matter out of all doubt, are the Liturgies ascribed to St. Peter, St. Mark, and St. James; which, though corrupted by later ages, are doubtless of great antiquity. For besides many things which have a strong relish of that age, that of St. James was of great authority in the Church of Jerusalem in St. Cyril's time, who has a comment upon it still extant 47,

44 Karvai tuxaí. Just. Mart. Apol. 1. c. 85. p. 124. 1. 28.

45 Εὐχαὶ προσταχθείσαι. Origen. cont. Cels. 1. 6. p. 312. Aug. Vindel. 1605.

46 Preces solennes. Cypr. De Laps. P. 132.

47 Catech. Myst. 5. a p. 295. ad p

301.

Introduct. which St. Jerom says was writ in his younger years48: and it is not probable that St. Cyril would have taken the pains to explain it, unless it had been of general use in the Church; which we cannot suppose it could have obtained in less than seventy or eighty years. Now St. Cyril was chosen Bishop of Jerusalem either in the year 349, or 351; to which office, it is very well known, seldom any were promoted before they were pretty well in years. If therefore he writ his comment upon this Liturgy in his younger years, we cannot possibly date it later then the year 340; and then allowing the Liturgy to have obtained in the Church about eighty years, it necessarily follows that it must have been composed in the year 260, which was not above 160 years after the apostolical age. It is declared by Proclus49 and the sixth general Councils, to be of St. James's own composing. And that there are forms of worship in it as ancient as the Apostles, seems highly probable; for all the form, Sursum corda, is there, and in St. Cyril's comment. The same is in the Liturgies of Rome and Alexandria, and in the Constitutions of Clemens", which all agree are of great antiquity, though not so early as they pretend: and St. Cyprian, who was living within an hundred years after the Apostles, makes mention of it as a form then used and receiveds, which Nicephorus does also of the Trisagium in particular". We do not deny but that these Liturgies may have been interpolated in after-times: but that no more overthrows the antiquity of the ground-work of them, than the large additions to a building prove there was no house before. It is an easy matter to say, that such Liturgies could not be St. James's or St. Mark's, because of such errors or mistakes, and interpolations of things and phrases of later times. But what then? Is this an argument that there were no ancient Liturgies in the Churches of Jerusalem or Alexandria; when so long since as in Origen's times, we find an entire collect produced by him out of the Alexandrian Liturgy? And the like may be shewed as to other Churches, which by degrees came to have their Liturgies much enlarged by the devout additions of some extraor

48 Catalog. Scriptor. Eccles. tom.i. p. 317. num. 123.

49 De Trad. Div. Liturg. ap. Bonam. de Rebus Liturgicis, l. 1. c. 9. p. 157.

50 Can. 32. Concil. tom. vi. col. 1158. B.

51 L. 8. c. 12. tom. i. p. 345. E. 52 De Orat. Domin. p. 152. 53 Hist. Eccles. 1. 18. c. 53. tom. ii. p. 883. B.

54 Orig. in Jerem. Hom. XIV. vol. i. p. 141. Edit. Huet. Rothomag. 1668.

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