Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	add_v	plague_n	write_v	2,980	5	6.0449	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02198	An aunsvver to George Giffords pretended defence of read prayers and devised leitourgies with the vngodly cauils and vvicked sclanders comprised in the first part of his book entituled, A short treatise against the Donatists of England. By Iohn Greenwood Christs poore afflicted prisoner in the Fleete at London, for the trueth of the gospel.	Greenwood, John, d. 1593.; Johnson, Francis, 1562-1618.	1603 (1603)	STC 12340; ESTC S103420	74,892	78

of such as he hath appointed to be the mouth of the Congregation vnto him ād his mouth vnto thē So that your patched Leitourgie paraphrases songes in rime homelies and al your dead mens writings are cast forth of the publick assemblies and manifest to be Idols when they are thrust into that place Now where I ●●ledged that the binding of the publick assēblie yea of all assemblies to certeyne writings of men euerie day and yeare their number and portion of words daylie mōthly and yearely in al assēblies the same matter and words reiterated in s●ead of powring forth their hearts vnto God according to their present needs and occasions was a setting of themselves in Gods seate and taking the office of his Spirit which only knoweth the wantes of the seueral assemblies according to their diuerse occasions he runneth away from the matter as one vnwilling to heare of this their Tautologia and counter●et babling demāding wheter euerie one should vtter their owne perticular wantes in the publick assemblie or should pray nothing but that euerie one feeleth the present want of in himself or should tell the Minister before hand what euerie one of their wantes were then how the Minister should remember al. Are these any thing but m●re cauils can any of these follow vpon the former doctrine And let him looke againe whether he that is the mouth of the Congregation vnto God in publick prayer must not consider the present publick occasions of that publick assemblie and thereafter frame his prayers all the people ioyning in heart to his words of petition or thanksgiuing saying Amen to so much as he asketh according to the wil of God and neede of the time yea and if they haue not feeling in such prayers they are vnfeeling members yet neither doth he intermedle with private or secret wātes neither neede they tell him them he is sent for the publick affaires of the Church to commend the seueral actions general and publick vnto God And as they are diverse in everie assemblie so must he be a mā of wisdome to know see and consider them lest they al rashly step into the house of God to offer vp the sacrifie of fooles and make a counterfeit babling Eccle. 4. Yet the sinne of this is nothing comparable to the do●ng your Priests cast forth by pratling ouer your English Portuis which the Lord will one day cast in your faces As then in priuate prayer we are to lay forth our owne wantes and estate of our owne soule which cannot be done by reading an other mans writings alwayes singing one song customably repeating in superstition certeine words our hearts neuer ripped vp examined nor the diseases therof layd open vnto God seeking due cure So the man that is the mouth of the whole assemblie prayeth as the mouth of one bodie for al their open publick present wantes and occasions Which occasions considering the persons and actions are diverse and cannot be written for one assemblie before hand muchlesse for all assemblies in a whole kingdome neither by man nor Angel See thē the mockerye of your service booke and what Idolatrie is committed by yt to the abandoning true prayer according to the present wantes and occasion The next thing to be cōsidered is about making of lawes in the worship of God Where he would persuade vs that their whole Leitourgie conteining al their publick worship gouernmēt offices and ordinances of their Church be but matters of order and conveniencie Then the compelling and teaching the publick assemblie to reade ouer mens writings both as Canōs and lawes in the Church ād publickly ād priuately to offer them vp in stead of true prayer ād holy invocatiō is a matter of comelines and conveniencie In the meane time it must be a turning away of the whole order and ordināces of God For what is the whole Testament of Christ but an order for euerie office person action in the Church if he wil haue it taxis and then must confesse their Leitourgie an other order of publick administratiō and so as I haue said an other Gospel an other Testament a setting vp an other worship And herevpon I trust I may cal al this an adding to the word of God yea I wil go a litle further an abolishing and disabling and dishonoring of the word yt self and graces of his spirit And whither all this smoke of the bottomlesse pyt may not be reproued with these Scriptures not only Proverb 30. verse 5.6 Deut. 4. verse 32 but also Revel 22. verse 18 19. let the godly ponder and search and let the fearefulnes of the threats deterre all flesh from presuming to alter the ordinances lawes and worship of the most high God And that the verie reading of an other mans writing for my owne prayer or the prayer of the Church in stead of powring foorth our owne hearts is a changing of the whole worship into the making mens writing an Idoll which is by these places condemned as an accursed sinne let the most hard text as he in carnall wonder exclaymeth be looked into Revel 22. verse 18.19 The words are plaine If anie man put or add any thing vnto these or if anie man take away from these words he shal be iudged as followeth Now if the adding an other whole Worship and suppressing of that God hath apointed be not an adding to these things written gyue sentence as you wil answere O saith he but it is said God wil add vnto such al the plagues written in this booke and there is in this booke mentioned the lake of fire As though the lake of fire is not due for euery sinne and yet not euery one that committeth sinne to be condemned what sinne is it that deserueth not the eternall wrath of God yet not euery one that sinneth giuē ouer to that iudgmēt for ei●her yt may be of ignorance or of negligence and washed away by repentance in the blood of Christ or it may be repented of and lest when wee see yt Mr. Giffard hath read wel the curses of the law and all the curses due for sinne that seeth not how many curses the law and the Prophets pronounced vpon sinne to call the persons themselues to repentance shewing together the equitie of God● law and yet withal the free mercye of God to al that truly repēt their euil wayes All that receiue the Beastes marke in their hand or forehead are thretned to be cast with the Beast and false Prophet into that lake yet i doubt not but manie that haue bene so seduced into that sinne shal by repentance be saued Not that I encourage anie to continue in such fearful estate to hardē their hearts against the threatnings of GOD but that I would haue Maister Giffard to put difference betwene the curse layd to the sinne and condemnation of the person sinning And seeing he taketh that lake a perticular seuere threat to the Apostasie vnder ANTICHRIST I would he had the grace to

to lead vnto Finally in this forme off prayer by Christ we are taught that the end and scope off all our prayers ought to be the glory God in Christ. And that therefore we pray alway with submission off our selves and our requests vnto his will who being King and Lord ouer all knoweth and will performe what he seeth best for his glory and our good Mat. 6.13 And thus prayer conceyved or vttered in five words is better then ten thousand otherwise as the Apostle speaketh of prayer in another case 1. Cor. 14.19 Now the help which God hath promised ād giueth vnto vs in praier is his Spirit Which is as the fyer quickning and stirring vp our spirit to and in prayer given of God vnto vs for the helping off our infirmityes that we by it in faith should call vpon the Lord our Father in Christ Rom. 8.26.27 Gal. 4.6 with Exod. 30.7.8 And this fitly agreeth with the nature of God who as he is a Spirit in himselff so wil he off vs be worshipped in Spirit and truth Ioh. 4.24 Ephes. 6.18 Other helps as off praying vpō a book or of beads or the like read we not any appointed by God Many tymes in deed we read in the Scripture off the prayers off the faithfull made to the Lord but never off any one that read their prayers vpon a book or reckned them vpon beads etc. And no marvell seing the Lord did never eyther commaund to vse or promise to accept such service off him Therefore must it needs be that book prayers etc. are an invention off man and a vayne worship off GOD. Exod. 20.4.5.6 Esaie 29.13 Matthe 15.9 Neyther can this stand with the nature and dutyes off prayer before mentioned But in deed breedeth and nourisheth both ignorance and neglect off true prayer as by lamentable experience may be seen But into this poynt we will not now further enter seing it is sufficiētly handled in these Treatises which were purposely written concerning it Onely because Mr. Henry Barrow who was Mr. Greēwoods fellow prisoner and fellow Martyr hath also written of this point and namely cōcerning the book of cōmō prayer particularly in some books of his which now are scant to be gotten we thought it good likewise from thence to annex these few lynes following cōcerning it Mr. Barrow therefore in his discovery of the false Church speaking of the book of common prayer writeth thus Pag. 64.65.66.67 This book in that it standeth a publick prescript continewed Leiturgy as iff it were the best that ever was devised by mortall man yet in this place ād vse being brought into the Church yea or into any private house yt becometh a detestable idol standing for that yt is not in the Church of God and consciences of men namely for holy spirituall and faithfull prayer yt being nothing lesse but rather abhominable ād lothsome sacrifice in the sight of God even as a dead dogg Now vnder the law might neither any corrupt or any vnlawful sacrifice with any sene blemish be offred at the Altar nether any part of any beast though whiles yt liued never so sufficiēt being slayne before yt be brought vnto the Altar yt was abhomination vnto the Lord Euerie sacrifice must be brought quick ād new vnto the Altar ād there be slayne everie morning and euening how much more in this spiritual Temple of God where the offringes are spiritual and God hath made al his servātes Kings ād priestes to offer vp acceptable sacrifices vnto him through Iesus Christ who hath thervnto givē thē his holy spirit into their hearts to helpe their infirmities ād teach thē to crie Abba Father How much more hath he which ascended givē graces to those his servantes whome he vseth in such high seruices to the repairing of the Saintes the worke of the ministerie and the edificatiō of the church vnto whome God vseth thē as his mouth the Church againe on the other side vseth thē as their mouth vnto the Lord. Shal we think that God hath any time left these his servantes so singly furnished and destitute off his grace they cannot find words according to their necessityes and faith to expresse their wantes and desires but need thus to be taught line vnto line as children new weaned from the brestes what and whē to say how much to say and when to make an end to say this collect at the beginning that at the end that before the tother after this in the morning that at after noone etc. How like children or rather like masking fooles are these great clarkes dressed shew they not hereby that either they have no faith or els are such infantes as they haue more need to be fed thē to divide the portion vnto others Know they trow we what prayer or the spirit of God meaneth Prayer I take to be a confident demanding which faith maketh thorow the holy Ghost according to the wil of God for their present wātes estate etc. How now ca● any read prescript stinted Leitourgie which was pēned many yeares or daies before be said a powring forth of the heart vnto the Lord or those faithful requestes which are stirred vp in them by the holy Ghost accordingl● to their present wantes and estate of their heartes or Church vnlesse they can say that their heartes and Church stād in the same estate now and so still to their liues end shal cōtinue without either further increase or decrease change or alteratiō as they did thē yea that their childerēs childrē shal also so cōtinue to whome they leave and incommend this Leitourgie vnto the worldes end What a strāge estate is this that alwaies thus standeth at a stay The way of the righteous Solomon saith shineth as the light that shineth more and more vnto the perfect day as on the contrarie the way of the wicked is as the darknes they know not wherin they shall fall Our Sauiour Christ saith that if we gather not we scatter The Apostle Peter willeth the new borne babes to desire the sincere milke of the word that they may grow therby vntil they come to the measure of the age of the fulnes of Christ saith the Apostle Paul Now then if they and their church increase not in the measure of knowledg grace holines etc. yt is an infallible signe that they haue not the Spirit of God If they do increase why thē is not God served with his owne best giftes Is not the iudgmēt of the Prophet thē vpō thē wich saith cursed be the deceiuer with hath in his flok a male yet voweth ād sacrificeth vnto the Lord a corrupt thing Is this old rottē leitourgis their new sōgs they sing vnto te Lord with ād for his graces May such old writtē rottē stuffe be called prayer the odours of the Saintes burnt with that heavenly fire of the Altar the lively graces of the Spirit etc. may reading be said praying may such apocrypha