the most suspected part of the Roman calendar: 29. An office that, out of zeal against Judaism, condemns all distinction of days, unless they themselves distinguish them: that leaves no signature of piety upon the Lord's day, and yet the compilers do enjoin it to a Judaical superstition: 30. An office that does by implication undervalue the Lord's prayer, for it never enjoins it, and does but once permit it: 31. An office that is new without authority, and never made up into a sanction by an act of parliament: an order or directory of devotion, that hath all these ingredients and capacities (and such a one there is in the world), I suppose is no equal match to contest with and be put in balance against the liturgy of the church of England, which was with so great deliberation compiled out of Scriptures, the most of it; all the rest agreeing with Scriptures, and drawn from the liturgies of the ancient church, and made by men famous in their generations, whose reputation and glory of martyrdom hath made it immodest for the best of men now to compare themselves with them; and after its composition, considered by advices from abroad, and so trimmed and adorned, that no excrescency did remain; the rubrics of which book was writ in the blood of many of the compilers, which hath had a testimony from God's blessing in the daily use of it, accompanying it with the peace of an age, established and confirmed by six acts of parliament directly and collaterally, and is of so admirable a composure, that the most industrious wits of its enemies could never find out an objection of value enough to make a doubt, or scarce a scruple, in a wise spirit. But that I shall not need to set a night-piece by so excellent a beauty, to set it off the better,-its own excellencies are erators prevalent enough, that it shall not need any advantages accidental.

47. And yet this excellent book hath had the fate to be cut in pieces with a pen-knife, and thrown into the fire, but it is not consumed; at first it was sown in tears, and is now watered with tears, yet never was any holy thing drowned and extinguished with tears. It began with the martyrdom of the compilers, and the church hath been vexed ever since by angry spirits, and she was forced to defend it with much trouble and unquietness; but it is to be hoped, that all these

storms are sent but to increase the zeal and confidence of the pious sons of the church of England. Indeed, the greatest danger that ever the common-prayer-book had, was the indifferency and indevotion of them that used it but as a common blessing; and they who thought it fit for the meanest of the clergy to read prayers, and for themselves only to preach, though they might innocently intend it, yet did not, in that action, consult the honour of our liturgy, except where charity or necessity did interpose. But when excellent things go away, and then look back upon us, as our blessed Saviour did upon St. Peter, we are more moved than by the nearer embraces of a full and an actual possession. I pray God it may prove so in our case, and that we may not be too willing to be discouraged; at least, that we may not cease to love and to desire what is not publicly permitted to our practice and profession.

* 48. But because things are otherwise in this affair than we had hoped, and that, in very many churches, instead of the common-prayer which they use not, every man uses what he pleases, and all men do not choose well; and where there are so many choosers, there is nothing regular, and the sacraments themselves are not so solemnly ministered as the sacredness and solemnity of the mysteries do require, and in very many places, where the old excellent forms are not permitted, there is scarce any thing at all, but something to show there was a shipwreck, a plank or a cable, a chapter or a psalm: some who were troubled to see it so, and fain would see it otherwise, did think it might not be amiss that some of the ancient forms of other churches, and of the prayers of Scripture, should be drawn together, and laid before them that need; as supposing that these or the like materials would make better fuel for the fires of devotion, than the straw and the stubble which some men did suddenly or weakly rake together, whenever they were to dress their sacrifice. Now, although these prayers have no autho

* This Preface being, in every respect, the same as that which is prefixed to the "Collection of Offices," with the exception of this and the following paragraph, they have been added here, to supersede the necessity of reprinting the whole with the "Collection of Offices,"

rity to give them power, yet they are humbly and charitably intended, and that may get them love, and they have been (as to the matter of them) approved by persons of great learning, and great piety; and that may sufficiently recommend them to the use of those who have no other, or no better, and they no way do violence to authority, and, therefore, the use of them cannot be insecure; and they contain in them no matter of question or dispute, and, therefore, cannot be justly suspected of interest or partiality: and they are (especially in the chiefest offices) collected out of the devotions of the Greek church, with some mixture of the Mczarabic and Æthiopic, and other liturgies, and perfected out of the fountains of Scripture, and, therefore, for the material part, have great warrant and great authority: and, therefore, if they be used with submission to authority, it is hoped they may do good; and if they be not used, no man will be offended.

49. I hope there will be no need of an apology, or an excuse for doing an act of charity; if no man will confess that he needs any of these, they can be let alone, for they are intended only for them that do; but if there be a need, these prayers may help to obtain of God to take that need away, and to supply it in the mean while. But there is 'nothing else intended in this design, but that we may see what excellent forms of prayer were used in the ancient church, what a rare repository of devotion the Scripture is; how it was the same spirit of prayer that assisted the church of England, and other churches of God; how much better the curates of souls may help themselves with these or the like offices, than with their own extempore; how their present needs may be supplied, and their devotion enlarged, and a day of religion entirely spent, and a provision made for some necessities, in which our calamities and our experience of late have too well instructed us. For which and for other great reasons, all churches have admitted variety of offices. In the Greek church, it is notorious, they have three public books, and very many added afterwards by their patriarchs, their bishops, and their priests; some are said often, and others sometimes and in Spain, the Mozarabic office was used until the time of Alphonso VI., and to this very day,

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in six parishes in Toledo, and in the cathedral church itself, in the chapel of Friar Francis Ximenes; and at Salamanca, upon certain days, in the chapel of Doctor Talabricensis. And after all, these may be admitted into the use and ministry of families, for all the necessities of which, here is something provided.

JER. TAYLOR.

A LETTER FROM JEREMY TAYLOR, D. D.

ADDRESSED TO

BISHOP LESLIE;

AND PREFIXED BY HIM TO HIS DISCOURSE ON PRAYING WITH THE SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING.

MY LORD,

I AM Well pleased your Lordship hath consented to publish your excellent sermons concerning "extempore prayer." You preached them in a family, in which the public liturgy of the church is greatly valued, and diligently used; but in a country, where most of the inhabitants are strangers to the thing, and enemies to the name; for so they are taught to be, having no other reason for that enmity, than because their preachers have blasted it with the breath of their displeasure. But, instead of this, they are fed with indeliberate, unstudied, sudden conceptions, begotten and born in the same minute, and, therefore, not likely to be better than all those other productions of the world, which, by being sudden and hasty, have an inevitable fate to be useless and good for nothing.

My Lord, I have often considered concerning the pretensions of those persons, who think no prayer is good if it be studied, and none spiritual unless it be ex tempore,' and that only such are made by the spirit: and perceiving them to rely upon the expression of St. Paul, "I will pray with the spirit," I have thought that they as little study what they teach to men, as what they say to God; for if they did not understand with the spirit, in the same sense as they pray with the spirit, that is, without all study and consideration,