He made them to understand how happy they be that are freed from the incumbrances of that law which our forefathers groaned under; namely, from the legal facrifices, and from the many ceremonies of the Levitical law; freed from circumcifion, and from the ftrict obfervation of the Jewish Sabbath, and the like. And he made them know, that having received fo many and fo great blefsings, by being born fince the days of our Saviour, it must be an acceptable facrifice to Almighty God for them to acknowledge thofe blefsings daily, and ftand up and worship, and fay as Zacharias did," Blefsed be the Lord God "of Ifrael, for he hath (in our days) vifited and redeemed his "people; and (he hath in our days) remembered and fhowed "that mercy which, by the mouth of the prophets, he promised "to our forefathers; and this he hath done according to his holy covenant made with them." And he made them to understand that we live to fee and enjoy the benefit of it in his birth, in his life, his passion, his refurrection, and ascension into heaven, where he now fits fenfible of all our temptations and infirmities; and where he is at this prefent time making intercefsion for us, to his, and our Father; and therefore they ought daily to exprefs their public gratulations, and fay daily with Zacharias," Blefsed be the Lord God of Israel, that hath thus "vifited and thus redeemed his people."- -Thefe were fome of the reasons by which Mr. Herbert inftructed his congregation for the ufe of the pfalms and the hymns appointed to be daily fung or faid in the church-service. He informed them alfo, when the Prieft did pray only for the congregation and not for himself; and when they did only pray for him, as namely, after the repetition of the creed, before he proceeds to pray the Lord's prayer, or any of the appointed collects, the priest is directed to kneel down, and pray for them, faying, "The Lord be with you;" and when they pray for him, faying, "And with thy fpirit;" and then they join together in the following collects, and he afsured them, that when there is fuch mutual love, and fuch joint prayers offered for each other, then the holy angels look down from heaven, and are ready to carry fuch charitable defires to God Almighty, and he as ready to receive them; and that a Christ a How comfortable is the doctrine, that the good angels condescend to notice the prayers of good men upon earth! to report, to commemorate, to present them before God in heaven! It is a part of the angelical miniftry to offer our prayers unto God daily. To offer them-how ? not as mediators and intercessors, adding virtue to our prayers from their merits, for this belongs to our Saviour Chrift alone, the only meritorious mediafor between God and man; but as messengers relating and reporting our prayers before God; "bringing the remembrance of them before the Holy One." The practical application of this doctrine to the purpofes of devotion is too obvious to be here infifted on. See "Bull's Sermons," Vol. II. p. 517, 520. "Jofeph Mede's Works," p. 343, 347. ian congregation calling thus upon God, with one heart and one voice, and in one reverent and humble pofture, look as beautifully as Jerufalem, that is at peace with itself. He inftructed them alfo why the prayer of our Lord was prayed often in every full fervice of the Church; namely, at the conclufion of the feveral parts of that fervice; and prayed then, not only becaufe it was compofed and commanded by our Jefus that made it, but as a perfect pattern for our less perfect forms of prayer, and therefore fittest to fum up and conclude all our imperfect petitions. He inftructed them also that as by the fecond commandment we are required not to bow down or worship an idol or falfe god; fo, by the contrary rule, we are to bow down and kneel, or ftand up and worship the true God. And he instructed them why the Church required the congregation to ftand up at the repetition of the creeds; namely, because they did thereby declare both their obedience to the Church, and an affent to that faith into which they had been baptized. And he taught them, that in that shorter creed or doxology so often repeated daily, they also stood up to testify their belief to be, that the God that they trusted in was one God and three perfons; "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to whom they and "the Priest gave glory." And because there had been hereticks that had denied fome of thofe three perfons to be God; therefore the congregation ftood up and honoured him, by confefsing and faying, "It was fo in the beginning, is now fo, and fhall "ever be fo world without end." And all gave their afsent to this belief, by standing up and faying, Amen. He inftructed them alfo what benefit they had by the Church's appointing the celebration of holydays, and the excellent use of them; namely, that they were fet apart for particular commemorations of particular mercies received from Almighty God; and (as Reverend Mr. Hooker fays) "to be the land-marks to "diftinguish times:" for by them we are taught to take notice how time passes by us, and that we ought not to let the years pass without a celebration of praise for thofe mercies which thofe days give us occafion to remember; and therefore they were to note, that the year is appointed to begin the 25th day of March, a day in which we commemorate the Angel's appearing to the blefsed Virgin, with the joyful tidings that "fhe "fhould conceive and bear a fon, that should be the Redeemer "of mankind." And he did fo forty weeks after this joyful falutation; namely, at our Christmas; a day in which we commemorate his birth with joy and praife: and that eight days after this happy birth we celebrate his circumcifion; namely, in that b It is well known that the nobility and gentry of Poland were accuftomed, when they repeated the creed, to ftand up, holding their drawn fwords in their hands, intimating thereby their readiness to defend it with their lives. which we call New-year's day. And that, upon that day which we call Twelfth-day, we commemorate the manifestation of the unfearchable riches of Jefus to the Gentiles: And that that day we alfo celebrate the memory of his goodness in fending a ftar tó guide the three Wife Men from the Eaft to Bethlehem, that they might there worship, and present him with their oblations of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And he (Mr. Herbert) instructed them, that Jefus was forty days after his birth prefented by his blefsed mother in the Temple; namely, on that day which we call, "The "Purification of the blefsed Virgin St. Mary." And he inftructed them, that by the Lent-faft we imitate and commemorate our Saviour's humiliation in fafting forty days; and that we ought to endeavour to be like him in purity. And that on Good Friday we commemorate and condole his Crucifixion; and at Eafter, commemorate his glorious Refurrection. And he taught them, that after Jefus had manifefted himself to his difciples to be "That Chrift that was crucified, dead and "buried," and by his appearing and converfing with his difciples for the fpace of forty days after his Refurrection, he then, and not till then, afcended into heaven in the fight of thofe difciples; namely, on that day which we call the Afcenfion, or Holy Thursday. And that we then celebrate the performance of the promife which he made to his difciples at or before his afcenfion; namely, "That though he left them, yet "he would fend them the Holy Ghoft to be their Comforter;" and that he did so on that day which the Church calls Whitfunday. Thus the Church keeps an hiftorical and circular commemoration of times as they pafs by us; of fuch times as ought to incline us to occafional praifes for the particular bleffings which we do, or might receive by thofe holy commemo rations c. He made them know alfo why the Church hath appointed Ember-weeks; and to know the reafon why the Commandments, and the Epiftles and Gofpels were to be read at the Altar or Communion Table; why the Prieft was to pray the Litany kneeling; and why to pray fome Collects ftanding; and he gave them many other obfervations fit for his plain congregation, but not fit for me now to mention, for I must fet limits Those that pretend to fo much spirituality as to caft out all observation of days, I wish it may not be a fyttem of infidelity in them, and of a fecret quarrel they have to the truth of Christianity itself. For thofe that are moit perfect in divine accomplishments, cannot enjoy the actual enravishments that may arife trom this perfection, without vacancy from secular employments, for which thefe holy days are most fit; and thofe that are lets perfect, by their vacation from worldly drudgery, have the oppor tunity of fearching more closely into the state and condition of their fouls, and of more ferious meditations and refolutions of compofing their life to the most perfect patterns of truth and fanctity. (Dr. Henry More's Theological Works, p. 381.) to my pen, and not make that a treatise which I intended to be a much shorter account than I have made it: But I have done when I have told the reader that he was conftant in catechifing every Sunday in the afternoon, and that his catechifing was after his fecond lefson, and in the pulpit; and that he never exceeded his half hour, and was always fo happy as to have an obedient and a full congregation. And to this I must add, that if he were at any time too zealous in his fermons, it was in reproving the indecencies of the people's behaviour in the time of Divine Service; and of thofe Ministers that huddled up the church-prayers without a visible reverence and affection; namely, such as seemed to say the Lord's Prayer or Collect in a breath: But for himself, his custom was to ftop betwixt every collect, and give the people time to confider what they had prayed, and to force their defires affectionately to God before he engaged them into new petitions. And by this account of his diligence to make his parishioners understand what they prayed, and why they praised and adored their Creator, I hope I fhall the more eafily obtain the reader's belief to the following account of Mr. Herbert's own practice, which was to appear conftantly with his wife and three nieces (the daughters of a deceased fifter) and his whole family twice every day at the church-prayers, in the chapel which does almoft join to his parfonage-houfe. And for the time of his appearing, it was ftrictly at the canonical hours of ten and four; and then and there he lifted up pure and charitable hands to God in the midst of the congregation. And he would joy to have spent that time in that place where the honour of his Master Jesus dwelleth; and there, by that inward devotion which he teftified conftantly by an humble behaviour and vifible adoration, he, like Jofhua, brought not only "His own household thus to serve the Lord," but brought most of his parishioners and many gentlemen in the neighbourhood, conftantly to make a part of his congregation twice a day: And fome of the meaner fort of his parith did fo love and reverence Mr. Herbert, that they would let their plough reft when Mr. Herbert's Saint's-bell rung to prayers, that they might also offer their devotions to God with him; and would then return back to their plough. And his moft holy life was fuch, that it begot fuch reverence to God, and to him, that they thought themselves the happier when they carried Mr. Herbert's bleffing back with them to their labour. Thus powerful was his reason and example, to perfuade others to a practical piety and devotion. And his conftant public prayers did never make him to neglect his own private devotions, nor thofe prayers that he thought himself bound to perform with his family, which always were a fet form and not long; and he did always conclude them with that collect which the Church hath ap pointed for the day or week.-Thus he made every day's sanctity a ftep towards that kingdom where impurity cannot enter. His chiefeft recreation was mufic, in which heavenly art he was a moft excellent mafter, and did himfelf compofe many divine hymns and anthems, which he fet and fung to his lute or viol: And though he was a lover of retiredness, yet his love to mufic was fuch that he went ufually twice every week on certain appointed days, to the cathedral church in Salifbury; and at his return would fay, "That his time spent in prayer, and cathe"dral mufic, elevated his foul, and was his heaven upon earth." But before his return thence to Bemerton, he would ufually fing and play his part at an appointed private mufic-meeting; and, to justify this practice, he would often fay, "Religion "does not banish mirth, but only moderates and fets rules to " it." And as his defire to enjoy his heaven upon earth drew him twice every week to Salisbury, fo his walks thither were the occafion of many happy accidents to others, of which I will mention fome few. d Mr. Herbert fpoke with the fame divine feeling as Milton did afterward: "There let the pealing organ blow "To the full voic'd choir below; "And bring all heaven before mine eyes.” CHURCH-MUSIC. Sweetest of sweets, I thank you: when displeasure "Now I in you without a body move, "You know the way to heaven's door." (Herbert's Divine Poem.) See likewife<<< The life of Dr. Donne," p. 78, and "Luther's Table Talk," p. 500. It must not, however, be inferred that thofe, who hear the trains of church-mufic without that ecftafy and rapture which others experience, are therefore ftrangers to the genuine pleasures of devotion: Nor are we to conclude, that thofe are always truly devout, who are delighted with this fublime fpecies of mufical compofition. It is related of a good and pious Prelate, who had determined, with Nazianzen, "to give wings to his foal, "to rescue it wholly from the world, and dedicate it to God," that he did not love the pomp of a choir, which, he thought, filled the ear with too much pleature, and carried away the mind from the ferious attention to the matter; which is indeed the finging with grace in the heart, and the inward plody, with which God is chiefly pleased. |