THe Book of Common Prayer containeth in it, sundry things that are contrary to the Word of God; For,

• 1. It appointeth a Liturgy which in the whold matter and forme thereof, is too like unto the Masse-booke.
• 2. It appointeth a Liturgy which by the length thereof, doth in many Congregations oft-times necessarily shut out Preaching, viz. When Baptisme, the Communion, Marry­ing, Churching and Buriall concer altogether (as oft times they doe) in great Congregations.
• 3. It approveth of a ministry as lawfull which wanteth ability to preach.
• 4 It containeth in it sundry popish errors, or such things (at least) as tend strongly to the maintenance of popish superstition. As,
  • 1. The minister of the Gospel is throughout the book, cal­l [...]d Priest.
  • [Page 2]2. It comm [...]nd [...]h the observation of many Holy-dayes, and requireth the minister to bid them, and preferreth them (in some sort) before the Lords day, For the ordinary Les­sons appointed in the Calender for the Lords day, must give place to the proper Lessons of that holy-day that falls on the Lords day, and Athanasius Creed is appointed to be read only upon certaine Holy dayes.
  • 3. It appointeth Saints Eves to be kept as fasting dayes, and commandeth the Minister to bid the [...]rso.
  • 4. It appointeth the time of Lent to be kept as a religious fast, and pervetteth both the example of Christs fast, and sundry other places of Scripture, to the justifying thereof. It prescribeth a speciall service for the first day of Lent, and appointeth the Commination and other speciall prayers and exhortations tending to repentance, to bee read upon that day only, and it affirmeth that, It was a godly discipline in the Primative Church, (the restoring whereof is much to bee wished) that notorious sinners at the beginning of Lent, were put to open Penance.
  • 5. The weeke before Easter onely of all the weekes in the yeare, hath prescript service appointed with Epistles and Gospels for every day, as solemne, as the holy dayes are wont to have.
  • 6. The Friday before Easter is called Good Friday, and hath three speciall Collects appointed for it, as hath no one day of the yeare besides.
  • 7. It commandeth every Parishioner shall receive the Communion at Easter.
  • [Page 3]8. It appointeth the Congregation to pray that God would give them that, which their prayers dare not presume to aske.
  • 9. The Catechisme (in delivering the number of the Sacra­ments) saith, there are two onely as generally necessary to salvation.
  • 10. Theminister (as if Baptisme were of absolute necessity) is allowed not onely to Baptzie in private, but to use the words of Institution, and the element, though he have not so much time as to say the Lords Prayer.
  • 11. The Minister is allowed and directed to administer the Communion to one sicke of the Plague, though there be not one more to communicate with him.
  • 12. Interrogatories in Baptisme are ministred unto infants (as if repentance and faith were requisit in them, before they may be baptized) and it is said in the Catechism, That Infants performe faith and repentance by the Sureties who promise and vow them in their names.
  • 13. Every child baptized as if out ward Baptism did conset grace to all that receive it) is said to be regenerate and in the Catechisme it is said, that we are by Baptisme made the children of grace, and (in the Rubrick immediatly before catechism) that is certain by Gods word, that children being baptized have all things necessary for their salvation, and be undoubtedly saved.
  • 14. The Minister is appointed to command that children be brought to the Bishop to be Consumed, yea none may be admitted to the Cōmmunion till [...]e have b [...] Confirmed. In Confirmation children are said to be certified thy the signe [Page 4]of the imposition of the Bishops hand) of Gods favour and gracious goodnesse towards them. And Confirmation is said to be ministred to them that are baptised, that by imposition of hands and prayer, they may receive strength and defence against all tentations to sin, and the assaults of the w [...]rld and the divell. Yea confirmation is dignified above Christs Sacraments, in that none may ad­minister it but a Bishop. And it is said to be administred after the example of the holy Apostles, & warrant therby.
  • 16. It saith that Matrimony doth signifie unto us the misticall union betwixt Christ and his Church, and that God did consecrate the state of Matrimony to such an excellent mystery, that it is sig­nified and represented the spirituall marriage and unity betweene Christ and his Church. And the ring in Matrimony is appoin­ted to be laid on the Book, and the Priest to take it and de­liver it to the man, and to teach him to say thus, With this Ring I thee wed, &c. And the priest is appointed in his prayer unto God to say, That the Ring is a token and a pledge of the Covenant and vow made in Marriage.

  • 16. The Priest is appointed to absolve every sick person (that findeth his conscience troubled with any weighty sinne, and maketh speciall confession of it) in this forme, By Christs authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sinnes in the name of the Father, &c.

    And in another place the people are appointed to come to the minister to receive the benefit of absolution.

  • 17. Burial is made a ministerial duty, and a prescript Litur­gy is appointed for it to be said at the grave, and we are ap­pointed to pray thus. That God would hasten his kindome, that [Page 5]we with this our brother, and all other departed in the true faith of thy holy Name, way have our persit consummation and blisse, hoth in body and soule.
  • 18. Churching of women is commanded and made a mi­nisteriall duty, and a prescript Liturgy appointed for it, and the woman is appointed to kneele neele to the place where the table stands, and the Priest to stand by her, when he Churcheth her, and that she must offer her accu­stomed offrings.
  • 19. Both in that place and else where, in the booke, offring dayes and an Offertory are allowed.
  • 20. In the Catechisme it is said, That the Sonne of God hath redeemed all mankind, taking that phrase in a larger sense­then for all the Elect, as is evident by the words immediat­ly going before, and following after.
• 5. It appointeth sundry things that end directly to the profanation of the holy Sacraments either by prostituting them to unworthy persons, or administring them unre­verently. For,
  • 1. All Priests & Deacons in Collegat Churches are com­manded to receive the Communion, every sunday at least.
  • 2. Every Communicant may choose whether he wil give notice of his purpose to receive, till after the beginning of morning prayer on the same day that he is to Cōmunicate.
  • 3. All new married persons must receive the Communion the same day they are married.
  • 4. Private Baptisme in some cases is allowed to be admi­nistred without any prayer, doctrine, or exhortation.
• 6. It avoucheth sundry, manifest, and apparant untruths. [Page 6] As
  • 1. That in the Calender (so much as may be) the reading of the Scripture is so set forth, that all things might be done in order with­out breaking of one piece from another.
  • 2. That nothing (by this book) is ordained to be read, but the very pure word of God the holy Scripture, or that mhich is evidently grounded upon the same.
  • 3. That this booke is so plain and perfect, as that the Curates shall need no other books for their publike service, but this booke and the Bible, and yet it injoynes him to read Homilies.
  • 4. That all our Ceremonies pertaine to edification, and are apt to stirre up the dull mind of man, to the remembrance of his duty to God, by some notable and speciall signification.
  • 5. It calleth certain chapters of Esay, Ieremy, loel and the Acts, Epistles.
  • 6. It appoints us to say every day, from Christ­mas day, to Newyeares day in a Collect, that Christ was born this day And upon Whitsunday, Munday and Tuesday, God which on this day hast taught, &c.
  • 7. It affirmeth that Michael (mentioned, Rev. 12.) is a crea­ted Angel.
  • 8. It peremptorily affirmeth sundry things that (if they be not manifestly false) are doubtfull. As,
    • 1. That the Infants whom Herod murthered, were inno­cents, and Gods witnesses; and that they confessed his praise by dying.
    • 2. That there are Archangels.
    • 3. That every one that is buried is a brother, that God hath taken to himselfe his soule, that we commit his body to the ground in sure and certaine hope of resurrection to eternall life.
• 8. It appointeth sundry things that bring great disorder and confusion unto the worship of God. As
  • [Page 7]1. That the people should say after the Minister, whole sentences of Prayer and Scriputre; yea the Minister one part of the prayer, and the people another. And in sundry parts of the Letany, the people make the prayer, and the minister only directs them what to pray for.
  • 2. That the Minister is appointed to say some prayers kneeling, some standing, some in one part of the Church, some in another.
  • 3. That one of the people is allowed, to make the generall confession of sinnes at the Communion in the name of the whole Congregation.
  • 4. That at some one meeting of the Assembly the Lords prayer is to be repeated eight se­verall times, and Gloria patri twelve times.
  • 5. That the holy Scriptures are so mangled into shreds and pieces, in the Epistles and Gospels.
  • 6. That the words of the In­stitution are to be pronounced and repeated to every seve­rall Communicant.
  • 7. That the Churchwardens are appointed to goe about on Communion dayes to gather the devotion of the people in the midst of divine Service.
• 9. It contains sundry things that are ridiculous and ab­surd, and such as no reasonable sence can be made of; for
  • 1. It commands the reading of such Homilies as shall here­after be set forth by publick authority.
  • 2. It commands every parishioner to communicate at Ea­ster, and also to receive the Sacraments and other rit [...].
  • 3. It ministreth Interogatories to Infants, which their God­fathers answer unto, and saith that Infants performe faith and repentance by their Godfathers.
  • 4. It appointeth (in some cases) Baptisme to bee admini­stred [Page 8]conditionally in this forme; If thou be not Baptised al­ready, I Baptise thee, in the name of the Father, &c.
  • 5. It requireth that every husband be taught by the Priest 10 say to his wife (in the solemnization of Wedlock) With my body Ithee worship.
• 20. It contains in it sundry evident contradictions; for
  • 1. In the 2 Articl [...] of the Rubrick after the Communion, the Minister is forbidden to celebrate the Communion, except there be a great number to communicate with him, and in the 3 Article of the same Rubrick, he is allowed to cile­brate it, if there be but three to communicate with him.
  • 2. In one place it i [...] said that, It is thought good to follow the custome of the old Church (in ministring Baptisme, but twice a yeare) so neere us convemently may be, and yet else-where, it alloweth Baptisme to be administred not onely every day of the yeare in publike, but also every houre, either of day or night in privatei
  • 3. In the Ca­techisme it is said, there are but two Sacraments, and in ano­ther place the booke giveth to confirmation whatsoe [...]er [...] the definition of a Sacrament set downe in the Catechisme) belongs to the nature and essence of a Sacrament.
  • 4. In one place it us said, that children should be brought to the Bishop to he confirmed; so soon as they can say the Lords prayer, the Creed, and the ten Com­mandements; In another it saith, that our custome is agreeable to the usage of the Church in times past, whereby it was ordained, that Confirmation should be ministred to them that are of per­fect age.