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Parentalia, or, memoirs of the family of the Wrens : Viz. of Mathew Bishop of Ely, Christopher Dean of Windsor, &c. but chiefly of Sir Christopher Wren ... in which is contained, besides his works, a great number of original papers and records on religion, politicks, anatomy, mathematicks, architecture, antiquities ... / comp. by his son Christopher; now published by his grandson Stephen Wren
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THE LIFE OF

Especially not in his House, in the most sacred Presence,os our God ; no,the less ado there, the better, the less Superstition j do but come in confident-ly, and without any more Stir, fit down and be covered, and hear, and whodaresay, that we fear not God? Whatsoever is ,more than this, for Adora-tion, or any Beauty of Holiness, talk King David what he will of it, yet itis but $ti<n$aifLovlu, a superstitious overfearing of God, for where requires he, faymany of us, any of these Expressions and external Operations in his Worship ?

But to these unsavory Fancies, may the Prophet Malady have Leave toreply, many Passages of whole first Chapter, mutatis mutandis , fit these Timesas well as they did those they were made for. And they are never a Whitfrom my Text neither, for they are all about Expressions of Fear in the Ser-vice of God ; at the sixth Verse, If I be a Father , where is my Honour ? Andif I be a Mas er, where is my Fear , faith God to you that despise my Name ?

But they wondered, he should complain ; they feared him, and honouredhim, they were sure, as they should do, and it may well be, they meant aswe do, within, in our Hearts forsooth ; therefore they reply again, Despise !wherein have we despised thee ? Ver. 7. God tells them, in that ye fay, sheFable of the Lord is not to be regarded ; there’s one Particular for them, ofthe Want of Fear and Honour. And are there not of us, that lay the fame?The Table of the Lord, and the House of the Lord, and the Presence of theLord, would you know how we, some of us, regard it, or what Differencewe put betwixt it and any other Places ? A great deal less, I am lure, thansome other. For the King’s Presence, and the Places where but our Bettersare, have a great deal more Reverence and Worship from us, and we our-selves expect a great deal more in the Presence of our Inferiors.

And yet that’s God’s express Argument against us there, but that we noWadays are able to teach God better Logic, Go and do so to thy Frwce noWtand fee, if he will be content with thee, faith'God, Ver. 8. Worship not whenthou comeft into him, beg any Thing of him not on thy Knee, bow notdown in Honour of him, but be Jack Fellow, fit still, or be covered, whenhe hath ought to (lo with thee, and will he accept thee ? And yet I am thegreats King of all, faith the Lord of Floss, there in that Chapter.

But at this we snuff, and cry, Ecce labor I Oh, here’s a-do indeed for un-covering, and standing, and kneeling, and bowing, but what Reason is there,we should be put to so much Inconvenience and Weariness in lerving God,who, as himself is a Spirit, so he requires but to be worshipped in Spirit, andTruth, and be knows our lleaits well enough ? And was not that the veryException then of the Jiws also ! But ye have said., it is Weariness, Eccelabor, and ye, have snuffled at it, faith the Lord of Hojls, Ver. 13. And thenwhat’s the Conclusion ? Therefore my Name is, and shall be fearful amongthe Heathen, faith he, at the 14th Perse. God upbraids and threatens themwith the Heathen their Neighbours, whole idolatrous Religion express'dmore hear of a God though than theirs ; and upbraided as well may webe,, and threatned too, with the erroneous Religions, that neighbourabout us, for they are far more careful to strew the holy Signs of Fearthan we ; and by that, to fay right, they now stand ; the Opinion andAffection, and Devotion of the People, I spake by some Experience, in likingof them, and boasting of ours, being by no one Thing so much carried wid 1them as ’tis by the outward YVorfhip and Reverence.,

I should then but wrong our Nation of old when they first becam sEngUffl, should I not make this a Note of the excellent Spirit, which thenpoflels’d them, that as they lost, almost, all Words of their own Languageto signify this Passion of the Mind, which we mean by Fear, so they hot'rowed none from other Languages, but only this Word Fear, and that they

brought