Nights in Retirement and Prayer to God, as the Gospel informs us. But now for us to think ourselves obliged to do fo, would be very unreasonable, and might draw great Inconveniencies upon us. It is fufficient for us that we be as earnest, and as diligent, and as frequent in our Devotions, both publick and private, as our Strength and our neceffary Occafions will allow : But to tie up ourfelves rigidly to fo many Hours, or to whole Nights of Prayer, in Imitation of our Saviour, is more than fometimes our Conftitution will bear; or if it would, there is no Obligation upon us to do it.

VI. Laftly, To all this, let me add one Propofition more, and then I have offered all that I have to fay upon this Argument. And it is this:

That in those very particular Actions of our Saviour, that he hath obliged us to imitate him in, yet, as to the Circumstances of them, he hath left us at Liberty, and we are to govern ourselves by Reason and Prudence; or by the Cuftom of the Country where we live; or by the Laws of our Superiors.

Thus, for Inftance; our Saviour at his laft Supper took Bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave it to his Difciples, faying, Take, eat, this is my Body which is

given for you: Do this in Remembrance of me. And fo likewise the Cup after Supper. This Action now the Minifters of the Gospel are to imitate our Saviour in as long as the World lafts, because he hath folemnly commanded that they fhould do so. But they are not bound to imitate him in all the particular Circumftances of this Action of his they are not bound, when they celebrate this holy Supper, to do it just in the fame Manner, and at fuch a Time of the Day, and in fuch a fort of Place, as our Lord himself did, because this is no where commanded either by Christ or his Apostles; nor indeed are thefe Things at all of the Effence of the Action, but particularly feparable from it, and adventitious to it. I the rather chufe to mention this Inftance, because it hath afforded Matter for many Scruples and much Difpute in our Days. How comes it to pafs (fay fome) of the Church of England oblige all thofe that receive the Sacrament among you, to receive it in the Pofture of kneeling? Is not this contrary to the Practice of our Saviour? Did not his Apoftles receive it at his Hands in a different Pofture, namely in a Table Pofture, and not in a Praying Pofture? And is not every religious Action of our Saviour's to be imitated as far as we are capable of imitating it? This is the great Argument that is brought againft our Usage

that you

of kneeling at the Sacrament; and is of fuch Force with fome, that, upon Account thereof, they dare not joyn in our Communion.

I will not here enter upon a Vindication of the Unexceptionablenefs, Lawfulness, Decency, and Antiquity of this Pofture in receiving the Sacrament, and the Fitness of it above all others, but shall juft confider the Matter fo far as my prefent Propofition leads me to speak of it, And that which I would fay, is this: Thofe People that make the Objection against Kneeling that I have now mentioned, do not feem to confider the Difference of an Action, and the Circumftances of an Action, Gefture or Pofture is not an Action, but the Circumftance of an Action. Let us therefore be never fo much bound to imitate our Saviour's or the Apoftles Actions, yet it doth not from hence follow, that we are bound to imitate their Geftures or Poftures in those Actions. And if any will affirm that we are, they ought at leaft to give us fome fort of Proof for it, either from Scripture, or the Sense of the primitive Church. The Scriptures, I am fure, can produce none; and the primitive Church, if we may judge of their Senfe by their Practice, is quite against them.

But I wish thofe that infift upon this, would give me an Answer to this Question.

Why

Why fhould we be more obliged to imitate the Pofture of our Saviour and his Apostles, in receiving the holy Sacrament, than to imitate the Time, the Place, the Habit in which they did it? Ought there not to be as much Regard had to thefe Circumftances in any Action as to the former? Are they not all of equal Moment and Confideration? If I must be bound to partake of the holy Supper only in that Pofture in which it was instituted, and taken at firft by our Lord and his Apoftles, then I muft likewise, by Parity of Reafon, be bound to receive it in fuch a place as they did, that is to fay, not in a Church, but in a Chamber. I muft be bound to receive it at the Time that they did, that is to fay, not in the Morning and fafting, but after Supper. The Minister that gives it me ought to have on fuch a Habit as our Saviour had, that is to say, a long woven Robe without Seam, and not a Gown or Surplice. But now fince none do think themselves obliged to obferve these Things, why should they think themselves fo tied up as to the other? unless they can fhew that there is fomething peculiar and particularly obligatory in this Circumftance of Gesture, which there is not in the other three. But this no Man has ever yet fhew'd, nor, I believe, ever will.

But I would farther ask thefe our Brethren, Do they themselves obferve that

Law

Law which they would impofe upon others? Do they use that Gesture in taking the holy Supper that our Saviour and his Apoftles did? If what they fay be true, namely, that the Apostles received the Sacrament at our Saviour's Hands in a Table Pofture, then I am fure they do not. For the Pofture which our Saviour and his Apostles ufed in taking their Meals, was not fitting, as we practife, but lying or leaning on a Couch. As may be proved from several Texts of Scripture; and particularly from the Account that is given by St. John, of this very last Supper of our Saviour's. But now I never heard that any of our Brethren ufed to receive the Sacrament in this Pofture, but they do it either fitting or standing, which is a quite different Gesture. But in Answer to this, they fay, that we are not obliged to obferve precifely that particular Pofture that our Saviour ufed, but only in general, that Pofture which is used at Meals, because he did fo. Now the Cuftom of our Country is to take our Meals fitting, and therefore in ufing that Pofture at the Sacrament, we do fufficiently follow our Saviour's Example.

To this I reply firft, that this is gratis ditum; thofe that fay this, can give no Reason why they fay fo. If the Principle they build their Notion upon will hold Water, it will every Jot as much prove the

Neceffity