Mr. Richard Baxter's last legacy in select admonitions and directions to all sober dissenters

I have showed at large,¹ How far God hath given Men power to prescribe, and impose Forms for others, and commanded others to obey them:² when Christ said, When ye pray, say, Our Father, &c. he bound the Disciples in duty to do as he bid them;³ How Forms may be imposed publicly on the Congregations of Believers, and on the Ministers, yea though the Forms imposed be worse than the exercise of their own gifts, (though among us no Man be forbidden to use his own gifts in the Pulpit.) The Pharisees long Liturgy (it is like) was in many things worse than ours; yet Christ and his Apostles often joined with them,⁴ and never condemned them. I shall now only add that the Lord's Prayer is a Form directed to God as in the Third Person, and not to Man only as a directory for Prayer in the Second Person: it is not, Pray to God your Father in Heaven that his name may be Hallowed, his Kingdom come, &c. But, Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, &c. And it seems by the Disciples words, that thus John taught his Disciples to pray, Luke 11. 1. and we have in the Scripture the mention of many Set Forms of Service to God, which therefore we may well use. And I desire the Reader again to Note, that though Prayer was corrupted by the Pharisees, yet Christ usually joined in their Synagogues, Luke 14. 17. and never meddled with our controversy about the lawfulness of Set Forms. [This Mr. Baxter infers from Calvins note on Matth. 6. before the Preface to the Defence.]

I have shewed at large,¹ How far God hath given Men power to prescribe, and impose Forms for others, and commanded others to obey them:²