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A63653
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An apology for authorized and set forms of litvrgie against the pretence of the spirit 1. for ex tempore prayer : 2. formes of private composition.
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Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.
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1649
(1649)
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Wing T289; ESTC R7631
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60,949
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100
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canendis haberi Domini Apostolorum documenta utilia praecepta And the Church obeyed them for as an Ancient Author under the name of Dionysius Areopagita relates the chief of the Clericall and Ministring Order offer bread upon the Altar Cum Ecclesiastici omnes laudem hymnumque generalem Deo tribuerint cum quibus Pontifex sacras preces ritè perficit c. They all sing one Hymne to God and then the Bishop prayes ritè according to the rituall or constitution which in no sense of the Church or of Grammar can be understood without a solemne and determin'd forme {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} sayes Casaubon is cantare idem saepiùs dicere apud Graecos {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} they were formes of praising God used constantly periodically and in the daily Offices And the Fathers of the Councell of Antioch complaine against Paulus Samosatenus Quod Psalmos cantus qui ad Domini nostri Jesu Christi honorem decantari solent tanquam recentiores à viris recentioris memoriae editos exploserit The quarrell was that he said the Church had used to say Hymnes which were made by new men and not deriv'd from the Ancients which if we consider that the Councell of Antioch was in the 12 year of Gallienus the Emperour 133 years after Christs Ascension will fairly prove that the use of prescrib'd Formes of Prayer Hymnes and formes of Worshipping were very early in the Church and it is unimaginable it should be otherwise when we remember the Apostolicall precept before mentioned And if we fancy a higher precedent than what was manifested upon earth we may please to see one observ'd to have been made in Heaven for a set forme of Worship and addresse to God was recorded by Saint John and sung in Heaven and it was composed out of the Songs of Moses Exod. 15. of David Psal. 145. and of Jeremy Chapt. 10. 6 7. which certainly is a very good precedent for us to imitate although but revealed to Saint John by way of vision and extasie that we may see if we would speak with the tongue of Men and Angels we could not praise God in better Formes then what are recorded in holy Scripture But besides the metricall part the Apostle hath described sect. 90 other parts of Lyturgie in Scripture whose composition though it be in determined forme of words yet not so bound up with numbers as Hymnes and these Saint Paul calls supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks which are severall manners of addresse distinguish'd by their subject matter by their forme and manner of addresse As appears plainly by intercessions and giving of thanks the other are also by all men distinguish'd though in the particular assignment they differ but the distinction of the Words implies the distinction of Offices which together with the {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the Lectionarium of the Church the Books of the Apostles and Prophets spoken of by Justin Martyr and said to be used in the Christian Congregations are the constituent parts of Liturgy and the exposition of the words we best learn from the practise of the Church who in all Ages of whose publike offices any record is left to us tooke their pattern from these places of Scripture the one for Prose the other for Verse and if we take Liturgy into its severall parts or members we cannot want something to apply to every one of the words of Saint Paul in these present allegations For the offices of prose we find but small mention of sect. 91 them in the very first time save onely in generall termes and that such there were and that S. James S. Marke Saint Peter and others of the Apostles and Apostolicall men made Liturgies and if these which we have at this day were not theirs yet they make probation that these Apostles left others or else they were impudent people that prefixed their names so early and the Churches were very incurious to swallow such a bole if no pretension could have been reasonably made for their justification But concerning Church Hymnes we have clearer testimony in particular both because they were many of them and because they were dispersed more soone got by heart passed also among the people and were pious arts of the Spirit whereby holy things were instilled into their Soules by the help of phansie and a more easie memory The first civilizing of people used to be by Poetry and their Divinity was conveyed by Songs and Verses and the Apostle exhorted the Christians to exhort one another in Psalmes and Hymnes for he knew the excellent advantages were likely to accrue to Religion by such an insinuation of the mysteries Thus Saint Hilary and Saint Ambrose composed Hymnes for the use of the Church and Saint Austin made a Hymne against the Schisme of Donatus which Hymnes when they were publikely allowed of were used in publike Offices not till then For Paulus Samosatenus had brought Women into the Church to sing vaine and trifling Songs and some Bishops took to themselves too great and incurious a license and brought Hymnes into the Church whose gravity and piety was not very remarkeable upon occasion of which the Fathers of the Councell of Laodicea ordained {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} No Psalmes of private composition must be brought into the Church so Gentian Hervet renders it Isidore Translates it Psalmos ab Idiotis compositos Psalmes made by common persons Psalms usually sung abroad so Dionysius Exiguus calls them Psalmos Plebeios but I suppose by the following words is meant That none but Scripture Psalmes shall be read there for so the Canon adds {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} nothing to be read in the Church but Books of the Old and New Testament And this Interpretation agrees well enough with the occasion of the Canon which I now mentioned This onely by the way the reddition of {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} sect. 92 by Isidore to be Psalmes made by common persons whom the Scripture calls {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} ignorant or unlearned is agreeable enough with that of Saint Paul who intimates that Prayers and formes of Lyturgies are to be composed for them not by them they were never thought of to be persons competent to make Formes of Prayers themselves For Saint Paul speakes of such a one as of a person comming into the Church to hear the Prophets pray and sing and interpret and prophecy and {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} he is reproved of all and judged of all and therefore the most unfit person in the world to bring any thing that requires great ability and great authority to obtrude it upon the Church his Rulers and his Judges And this was not unhandsomely intimated by the word sometimes used by the {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} of
ars and sciences and from whatsoever else God and good Lawes provoke us to by proposition of rewards But if Yea as most certainly God will best crowne the best endeavours then the spirit of prayer is greatest in him who supposing the like capacities and opportunities studies hardest reads most practises most religiously deliberates most prudently and then by how much want of meanes is worse then the use of meanes by so much ex tempore prayers are worse then deliberate and studied Excellent therefore is the Counsell of Saint Peter 1. Epist. Ch. 4. v. 11. If any man speake let him speake as the Oracles of God not lightly then and inconsideratly If any man minister let him doe it as of the ability which God giveth great reason then to put all his abilities and faculties to it and whether of the two does most likely doe that he that takes paines and considers and discusses and so approves and practises a forme or he that never considers what he saies till he saies it needs not much deliberation to passe a sentence Onely me thinks it is most unreasonable that we should be bound to prepare our selves with due requisites to hear what they shall speak in publique and that they should not prepare what to speak as if to speak were of easier or of lesse consideration than to heare what is spoken or if they doe prepare what to speak to the people it were also very fit they prepar'd their prayers and considered before hand of the fitnesse of the Offertory they present to God Lastly Did not the Pen-men of the Scripture write sect. 32 the Epistles and Gospels respectively all by the Spirit Most certainly holy Men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost saith Saint Peter And certainly they were moved by a more immediate motion and a motion neerer to an Enthusiasme then now adaies in the gift and spirit of Prayer And yet in the midst of those great assistances and motions they did use study art industry and humane abilities This is more than probable in the different stiles of the severall Bookes some being of admirable art others lower and plaine The words were their owne at least sometimes not the Holy Ghosts And if Origen Saint Hierome and especially the Greek Fathers Scholiasts and Grammarians were not deceived by false Copies but that they truly did observe sometimes to be impropriety of expression in the language sometimes not true Greek who will think those errours or imperfections in Grammar were in respect of the words I say precisely immediate inspirations and dictates of the Holy Ghost and not rather their owne productions of industry and humanity But clearly some of their words were the words of Aratus some of Epimenides some of Menander some of S. Paul This speake I not the Lord Some were the words of Moses even all that part of the Leviticall Law which concerned divorces and concerning which our blessed Saviour affirmes that Moses permitted it because of the hardnesse of their hearts but from the beginning it was not so and divers others of the same nature collected and observed to this purpose by a Origen b S. Basil c Saint Ambrose and particularly that promise which S. Paul made of calling upon the Corinthians as he passed into Macedonia which certainly in all reason is to be presumed to have been spoken humanitùs not by immediate inspiration and infusion because S. Paul was so hindred that he could not be as good as his word and yet the Holy Ghost could have foreseen it and might better have excused it if Saint Paul had laid it upon his score but he did not and it is reasonable enough to believe there was no cause he should and yet because the Holy Ghost renewed their memory improved their understanding supplied to some their want of humane learning and so assisted them that they should not commit an errour in fact or opinion neither in the narrative nor dogmaticall parts therefore they writ by the Spirit Since then we cannot pretend upon any grounds of probability to an inspiration so immediate as theirs and yet their assistances which they had from the Spirit did not exclude humane arts and industry but that the ablest Scholar did write the best much rather is this true in the gifts and assistances we receive and particularly in the gift of Prayer it is not an ex tempore and an inspired faculty but the faculties of nature and the abilities of art and industry are improv'd and ennobled by the supervening assistances of the Spirit And if these who pray ex tempore say that the assistance they receive from the Spirit is the inspiration of words and powers without the operations of art and naturall abilities and humane industry then besides that it is more then the Pen men of Scripture sometime had because they needed no extraordinary assistances to what they could of themselves doe upon the stock of other abilities besides this I say it must follow that such Prayers so inspired if they were committed to writing would prove as good Canonicall Scripture as any is in Saint Paul's Epistles the impudence of which pretension is sufficient to prove the extreme vanity of the challenge The summe is this Whatsoever this gift is or this sect. 33 spirit of prayer it is to be acquired by humane industry by learning of the Scriptures by reading by conference and by whatsoever else faculties are improved and habits enlarged Gods Spirit hath done his worke sufficiently this way and he loves not either in nature or grace which are his two great sanctions to multiply miracles when there is no need And now let us take a man that pretends he hath the sect. 34 gift of Prayer and loves to pray ex tempore I suppose his thoughts go a little before his tongue I demand then Whether cannot this man when it is once come into his head hold his tongue and write downe what he hath conceived If his first conceptions were of God and Gods Spirit then they are so still even when they are written Or is the Spirit departed from him upon the sight of a Pen and Inkhorne It did use to be otherwise among the old and new Prophets whether they were Prophets of prediction or of ordinary ministery But if his conception may be written and being written is still a production of the Spirit then it followes that set forms of prayer deliberate and described may as well be a praying with the Spirit as sudden formes and ex tempore out-lets Now the case being thus put I would faine know what sect. 35 the difference is between deliberate and ex tempore Prayers save onely that in these there is lesse consideration and prudence for that the other are at least as much as these the productions of the Spirit is evident in the very case put in this Argument and whether to consider and to weigh them be any