The second tome of homilies of such matters as were promised, and entitled in…The second tome of homilees of such matters as were promised, and intituled in…

Even so when prayers or administration of sacraments shall be in a tongue unknown to the hearers, which of them shall be thereby stirred up to lift up his mind to God, and to beg with the Minister at Gods hand, those things which in the words of his prayers the minister asketh? Or who shall in the ministration of the Sacraments understand what invisible grace is to be craved of the hearer, to be wrought in the inward man? Cruelly no man at all. For (saith S. Paul) he that speaketh in a tongue unknown, shall be unto the hearer an alien, which in a Christian congregation is a great absurdity. For we are not strangers one to another, but we are the citizens of the saints, & of the household of GOD, yea, and members of one body. ⟨p. 283⟩And therefore whiles our minister is in rehearsing ¹the prayer that is made in the name of us all, we must give diligent ear to the words spoken by him, and in heart beg at Gods hand those things that he beggeth in words. And to signify that we so do, we say Amen at the end of the prayer that he maketh in the name of us all. And this thing can we not do for edification, unless we understand what is spoken. Therefore it is required of necessity, that the common prayer be had in a tongue that the hearers do understand. If ever it had ben tolerable to use strange tongues in the congregations, the same might have ben in the time of Paul & the other apostles, when they were miraculously endued with the gift of tongues. For it might then have persuaded some to embrace the Gospel, when they had heard men that were Hebrews borne, & unlearned, speak the Greek, the Latin, & other languages. But Paul thought it not tolerable then: And shall we use it now, when no man cometh by the knowledge of tongues, other wise then by diligent & earnest study? God forbid. For we should by that means bring all our Church exercises to frivolous superstition, and make them altogether unfruitful. Luke writeth, that when Peter and John were ²discharged by the Princes and high Priests of Jerusalem, they came to their fellows, & told them all that the princes of the priests and elders had spoken unto them. Which when they heard, they lifted up their voice together to God with one assent, and said, Lord, thou art he that hast made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things ⟨p. 284⟩