which
prevents him from devising what is perfect, enables him to discover
those defects in the labours of others, which his self-love will not let
him perceive in his own; and thus it has ever been easy to detect and
censure abuses, but difficult to correct them. He proved, that no
congregation of Christians could be maintained, without observing
various forms and arrangements not mentioned in Scripture, in which
there is no fuller description of public service, than that they met
together, with _one accord_, for the purpose of prayer, praise, singing
hymns, reading and expounding the word of God. The rule, "Let all things
be done in order," coupled with the injunction, "to obey those who have
rule over you," justified every national church in framing articles of
concord, and a formulary for public worship; and he thought private
Christians could not be vindicated for disobeying their spiritual
superiors, unless the required terms included something contrary to
divine laws. He inferred from Acts, chap. iv. v. 24, and the following
verses, that a form of prayer was early used in the Christian church, as
it had been in the Jewish; and he stated that the divine compendium
prescribed by our Lord was, indeed, a selection of passages from Jewish
prayers. He observed, that without a service, previously known to all
the congregation, only the minister could be said to pray, the rest were
auditors, not a congregation; listeners to their orator, and judges of
his eloquence; not petitioners in their own name, begging mercy of
God.--Seceders generally pleaded that they put confidence in their
minister; but he would tell them, this was being more Popish than the
church of England could be, in retaining some of the dresses, Liturgies,
and hierarchical orders used by the Romanists; for it was an error of
that church, against which our reformers most vehemently protested, to
give undue importance to the officiating minister, on whose intention
and purpose the value of the sacred ordinance depended. If we change the
word Intention to Gift, is the absurdity less glaring? The Papists
believe, that their priest in the mass can, if he so wills it, change a
wafer into flesh; and that his coinciding purpose is necessary to make
any means of grace effectual. The Anti-formalists call it serving God,
to stand while their minister utters extemporary prayers, the propriety
and suitableness of which must depend on his wisdom and elocution. The
rese