to the places, where they are printed in the Sunday Office.

Every office may also be concluded with the solemn benediction, viz., "The peace of God," etc. But if he is not a Priest that speaks it, "our" is to be said instead of "your," and "us" instead of 66 you."

Also the same Invitatory may serve to begin all the other parts of every office, as well as the Matins, and the same directions will serve to guide all devout persons in the use of them; and, at any time, when unforeseen accidents and business will not allow them to say them at distinct hours, they may pass immediately from the Matins to the Lauds in the morning, and from Vespers to the Complines in the afternoon. And it is to be noted, that any other prayers or forms of prayers, for the morning or evening, as for the king, the Church, or our friends, or intercessions for any other persons, or petitions for things; as also any forms of thanksgiving, may be used in any, or all the parts of these offices, as prudence shall direct them in their solitary devotions, or as religious companies, or societies, who join together in social worship, shall agree among themselves.

Thus much I thought fit to premise concerning the excellency of these offices and the use of them; and, I hope, no friends to piety or devotion will, through prejudice, or other human weakness of understanding, dislike them because they are Reformed Devotions. Far be this from any man,

who would be thought wise or good, lest by the same power of prejudice or passion, if God do not restrain him, he should come to dislike our pure religion itself, and its common worship, because they are both reformed.

There are some among the learned, as well as among the more common sort, that are subject to such prejudices against the Church of Rome; they are apt to think that there are no true fruits of piety among those of that Communion, nor any helps to heaven can come from thence. But these persons should consider that there are three sorts of men in that Church, who are not so accountable for the errors and corruptions thereof. Some through the powerful influence of education, and the invincible, or almost invincible ignorance, that attends it, do not discern the great faults of their Church, and God being merciful to such men's mistakes, gives them His Holy Spirit, by the assistance whereof they bring forth the fruits of true piety, and among these we may find many persons eminent for humility, purity, charity, devotion, gentleness, self-denial, and resignation, and other Christian graces, and where we find men in dangerous communions, so secured against the dangers of them, by the special favour of God, we ought to magnify His goodness, and their examples ought to provoke us to emulation, and to imitate, or rather out-do the patterns they set us in good works.

Some there are again who, knowing the controverted doctrines and practices of their Church, and

the heavy charges we justly lay upon them, yet, through the modesty and humility of their tempers, joined with a credulous charity, and great admiration they have for that Church, upon the account of some* glaring but accidental advantages which other Churches want, they are unwilling to enter into a thorough examination of the points in controversy, thinking it the safest way to make no strict researches, but deny their understandings in some things, as they do their wills in others, in submission to their Church's authority, and to believe as she doth. This, as I guess, from some expressions in the Thursday Office of the unreformed Devotions, was the case of that humble and charitable gentleman who was the Author of these devotions. He thought it hard to charge a Church of such eminent prerogatives with such great errors, and could not believe that so great a part of Christianity as she possesses, and so many guides of souls that are in her, should all be in the wrong. Thus his modesty and charity to that Church made him forget the state of the Jewish Church in the reign of Ahab, and of the Christian in the Arian reigns. Nevertheless, we ought to magnify the abundant mercy of God, Who, in infinite pity to His mistaken humility and too credulous charity, was pleased to give him the spirit of devotion, with many other eminent gifts and graces, of which we have an account in the Epistle dedicatory to the unreformed Devotions,

*Such as antiquity, a clearer history of succession, great extent over many dominions, number of martyrs, being the mother or planter of many other Churches, &c.

by J. S., which is left out of the fourth edition of them.

Others there are, in the third place, who, though they are convinced of the dangerous errors, both in doctrine and practice, of their Church, and that it ought to reform from them, yet think it better to bewail them in private, and daily praying for a reformation, to bear with them till the happy time when the Church shall reform itself in peace, and with security to the succession and authority of the priesthood, the government, discipline, and patrimony of the Church, and the just exercise of all her spiritual powers and rights. Great numbers of such well-disposed men are, and always have been in the Church of Rome, since it needed to be reformed, and the Christian world is beholden to many of them for their admirable works, which we are to embrace, with all respect to their persons and memories, and thankfulness to God, Who gave them such excellent gifts. These are men who, groaning under the tyranny and bondage of the court of Rome, which so corrupts their Church, wait for deliverance from that corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. They are no disturbers of Christian kingdoms and states, no flatterers of the Papal chair, who write for promotion; on the contrary, they write for truth, and for the Church, against the court of Rome, for the Church and its rights against the Papal usurpations, and are none of those sons of pride and bigotry, who send us in the lump to hell, as heretics, though they think

us not reformed in that free and happy manner that, in love to the Church of God, and compassion to us, some of them seem heartily to wish. One of them writing of us not long since, said, "We are rather to be called non-Catholics than heretics"; and though these men do not come over to us, but think it best to abide in that communion from which we had great reason to reform, yet it would be not only great weakness, but peevishness, and want of Christian candour, for us to refuse to pay that honour to their persons or memories which is due unto them upon the account of their singular gifts, or not give their excellent writings that acceptance they deserve, especially when they are reformed.

Wherefore, in commending the Author of the Devotions, and recommending this reform of them to the world, I hope I have done nothing contrary to my character and the relation I bear to the Church of England, to which I would to God every one, that is of her communion, wished as well as I do. I am sure such books as this will do her no harm, but very much good, though it comes from a member of a Church that will never be friends with us for reforming from her, till God shall give her grace to reform herself. I have commended it purely for its worth and excellence, upon the account whereof I am not ashamed to declare, that I use it myself, and make it one of my companions wheresoever I go, as being, in my judgment, a book of devotion, which contains very great variety of sublime and useful thoughts in the most proper,