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A50109
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The spiritual house in its foundation, materials, officers, and discipline describ'd the nomothetical & coercive power of the King in ecclesiastical affairs asserted the episcopal office and dignity, together with the liturgy of the Church of England vindicated in some sermons preached at St. Clement Danes and St. Gregories neer St. Pauls, London / by Geo. Masterson.
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Masterson, Geo. (George)
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1661
(1661)
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Wing M1073; ESTC R30518
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52,267
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136
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taken it justifies his doing of evil by doing of worse Since therefore through the goodness of God and his Majestie 's undaunted Resolution the Reverend Bishops are restored to the Church and sent as Governours by the King if you be Members of this Spiritual House you must submit to their Directions and Injunctions in all Rites Ceremonies and Circumstances of Religion Which fairly leads me to the last thing intended the Consideration and Vindication of the Liturgy of our Church The Calves of our lips our Prayers are a service more acceptable to the God of Heaven then Hecatombs of Oxen Thousands of Rams or ten Thousand Rivers of Oyl An Heathen could say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prayers are a more acceptable Sacrifice to God then Oxen. That part of our lives which we spend in Prayer is the most celestial and Divine Prayer is a Duty so absolutely necessary for every person who acknowledgeth a Deitie that Nature hath dictated it to those who were strangers to the Scriptures and Aliens to the Common-Wealth of Israel The Mariners in Jonah when the Storm was upon on them cryed every man unto his God Chap. i. verse 5. and the Mr. of the Ship rebuked the Prophet himself sharply for neglecting this Duty with What meanest thou O Sleeper Arise call upin thy God verse 6. The Sun hath never yet beheld a person so impudent provided he did not say in his heart with David's Fool There is no God as plainly and directly to condemn this Duty In the exercise or performance of which we are diversly concerned after one manner as we are men private persons and after another as we are Christians and members of this Spiritual house on family the Church As Private persons we are left free to make choice of such Time Place and Form as the Exigence of our present occasions require Firs For Time either the Sixth hour as St. Peter in Acts x. 9. or the Ninth hour as the Centurion verse 3 either thrice a day as David at Evening Morning and Noon Psal lv 17. Or Seaven times a Day as He Psal cxix 164. Secondly For Place either in Closet Vpper-Room Garden Fields or elswhere with conveniency Thirdly For the Manner either taking unto our selves words and expressions of our own or making use of apt and pertinent Forms invented by others In all these Circumstances we are free and at our own election as private persons But as we are in Family Members of the house a publick body we are not left free but are under the direction on of our Spiritual guids or Governours in all these respects of time place and form In then two first of these time and place all who are called Christians agree that the King or Governours under him may prescribe that publique Prayers shall be made at such times and in such places onely But the third the prescribing a Form will by no means be allowed by some to the Spiritual Governours or any others And others who allow the King and those who are under him authority to prescribe a form of publique Prayer wil not admit of that which we call The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments I shall endeavour therefore first to vindicate set Forms of Prayer in General and secondly the Liturgy of our Church in Particular First For the lawfulness and expediencie of set Forms of Prayer I offer four Arguments First The Example of God himself and of some Holy men who were enspired by the Holy Ghost In the sixth Chapter of the Book of Numbers verse 22 and foreward you have a form of Blessing the people prescribed by God himself to Aaron and his sons The Lord spake unto Moses saying Speak unto Aaron and his sons saying On this wise ye shall bless the Children of Israel saying unto them The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace And as God prescribed the Priests a Form to Bless the people so he prescribes the People a Form in these words And thou shalt go unto the Priest that shall be in those days and say unto him I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that I am come unto the Countrey which the Lord sware unto our Fathers for to give us Deut xxvi 3 and verse 5. Thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God A Syrian ready to perish was my Father c. When they went to Battel a Form was prescribed Deut xx 3. a form of Thanksgiving for victory and deliverance Then sang Moses and the Children of Israel this Song unto the Lord and spake saying I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the Horse and his Rider hath He thrown into the Sea c. Exod. xx 1. This Song was composed by Moses and learned by all the People and repeated again in the same words by Miriam verse 21. And Miriam answered them Sing ye unto the Lord for c. King Hezekiah delivered from Death did not onely compose a Set-Form of Thanksgiving but used it all the Daies of his Life The Lord was ready to save me therefore we will sing my Songs to the stringed Instruments all the daies of our Life in the House of the Lord. Isa xxxviii 20. And the same Hezekiah commanded the Levites to ling praises to God with the words of David and Asaph 2 Chron. xxix 30. VVith the Words of David and Asaph that is with Forms composed by those Sacred Pen-men Secondly The Practise and Precept of our Lord Christ in the New Testament is a second Argument 1. This Practise Matth. xxvi 44. And he left them and he went again and prayed the third time saying the same words And again upon the Cross Matth. xxvii 46. My God my God Why hast thou forsaken me The expresse words ' of David Psal xxii 1. 2. VVe have his Precept likewise in prescribing the Pater Nester not onely as a Pattern but Form of Prayer For though he say in St. Matthew After this manner therefore pray ye Our Father c. Matt. vi 9. yet he saith in St. Luke When ye pray say Our Father c. Luke xi 2. Since therefore Christ in whom all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledg were hid in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily to whom the Spirit was not given by measure prescribes and practisech a Form of Prayer the Sons of men may without disparagement to their Parts or Gifts lawfully make use of a Set-Form Thirdly The Example of St. John Baptist who taught his Disciples to Pray by prescribing them a Form which occasioned the Disciples of Christ to desire and him to answer their reqnest in giving them a Form Luke xi 1. To which that excellent Person whose loss the Church could hardly have sustained had not God by his Providence in taking him from us near the time of His Majestie 's