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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44141	A correct copy of some letters written to J.M., a nonconformist teacher concerning the gift and forms of prayer by Matthew Hole ...	Hole, Matthew, 1639 or 40-1730.; J. M. (John Moore), 1641 or 2-1717.	1698 (1698)	Wing H2408; ESTC R19302	77,888	204

much For in the beginning of the Preface he tells us That little or nothing was ever written on this Subject before him and seems to wonder that this excellent Art should be hid from all former Ages and reserv'd for his discovery in the latter Days In the next Page he repeats it again and saith For ought he could find there was little written of it in any Language In the Close of the Preface he speaks home and makes himself plainly the first Author of it for he tells us he drew up the substance of his Book many years before he knew so much as any one Author who had formerly attempted this Subject So that this is a mere Novelty by the Author 's own Confession And yet you think he has infinitely oblig'd Mankind by presenting the World with this singular Gift But I think he had no such high Thoughts of it himself in the latter and wiser part of his Life And would willingly have recall'd this Gift when he saw what bad use was made of it But I shall give you a more particular account of this in a Letter by it self In the mean time let us proceed Secondly To enquire what might be the Occasion of this Distinction between the Gift and Grace of Prayer And 't is more than probable that this proceeded from an unhapy mistaking a Readiness of speech for the Gift of Prayer There is indeed in some Men a great Faculty and Readiness of Speech whereby they can express themselves with greater Fluency and less Hesitation than others And this as all other Faculties of Body and Mind may be stiled the Gift of God But that this is not the Gift of Prayer I shall prove to you by this Argument The Gift of Prayer must be something that is peculiar and appropriated to Prayer for else it may be the Gift of any other thing as well as Prayer But this Readiness of Speech is not peculiarly appropriate unto Prayer For we know it may be and daily is applyed to many other Subjects and Occasions as the Lawyer discovers it in pleading And men of Parts daily shew it in matters of common Converse and Observation and Therefore The Readiness of Speech you so much talk of cannot be the Gift of Prayer Besides if the Gift of Prayer should lie in such a Readiness of Speech what shall they do that want it 'T is most certain that the far greatest part of Christians have neither a Readiness of Mind to conceive nor a Readiness of Tongue to express for themselves such Prayers as are sit to be offer'd up to the Divine Majesty What then Shall they not pray at all Or can they pray without the Gift Why say some in Publick let them attend to the Ministers Words and Pray by his Gift that is Let them be tyed up to his Words which tho' sudden and unknown to them before-hand must be a Form to them and preferr'd too before the Publick Deliberate Forms of Godly Men yea of the whole Churches composing And is not this an excellent way think you to preserve Sober Serious and True Devotion and to help Men to agree and speak the same thing in the Publick Assemblies But what shall they do in Private Why there you would have them Try and Practise and Learn this Art Yes And whilst they are studying and beating their Brains about Matter and Words what will become of the Heart How shall they watch that Or excite those inward Motions and Desires that are fit to attend their Petitions Since the Mind can't attend two such different things at once I fear Sir that some by trying to practise themselves and hearing it irreverently and rudely practised by others have wholly laid aside the Duty and settled in a total Neglect and Carelesness about it These are some of the many doleful Evils with which your Notion of the Gift of Prayer is unluckily clogg'd All which are wisely prevented by placing the Gift or Grace of Prayer where it should be viz. in the Heart and the Pious Motions and Affections of the Soul And thence Perswading Men not so much to rely upon their own Abilities as to make use of those many Pious and Excellent helps both for Publick and Private Devotion with which the Wisdom and Piety of the Church of England hath so happily furnished them SIR I have sent you this to entertain and refesh your Memory before your Answer comes which I shall earnestly expect by the next I am SIR Your humble Servant M. H. April 5. 1697. LETTER VI. To J. M. SIR I Find by your last that 't is as hard to please as 't is to convince you For though we stated the Question last by your own Definition of the Gift of Prayer and I thought to hear no more of that yet now you are out of conceit with that too and complain still of the State of the Question 'T was first put in new and varied words which is the main if not only difference between Forms and Extempore Prayer the former consisting in the constant use of the same Words upon the same occasion The latter in the change and variety of them where no occasion requires it But that would not do thence we came from the Words no the Ability of Expressions and yet now that does not please neither for you say this is a mere Logomachy or Lis de Nomine a Dispute about Words and so it must necessarily be whilst you place the Gift in them What 's to be done then You see this Notion of yours is a mere Proteus or Changling that is still varying and changing the Scene Why you must try again and see whether you can fix it upon something that is more constant and lasting For there is no Building without a Foundation nor no Arguing without a true State of the Question If you would place it in the Heart that would be a sound and safe Bottom and a stable Principle of Devotion but whilst you put it in the Tongue which is so slippery a Member and daily given to many Windings and Turnings you will never be able to fix it upon so unsound and uncertain a Bottom You would have the Question then stated thus Whether an Ability of Expressions may not be called the Gift of Prayer or Whether the inward Desires and good Motions of the Heart do only deserve that Name With all my Heart provided you will take an Answer and stand to it I say then That an Ability of Expressions is very improperly call'd the Gift of Prayer because the whole business of Prayer may be done without it And that the pious Motions and Elevations of the Heart do most properly and principally deserve that Name because this is the very Essence of Prayer which is required to all sorts of Prayer and none of them can be well perform'd without it If you could but come to this it would be a fair step to a right Understanding in this Matter for

Prayer could find from the Authority of Bishop Hall I come now to see whether they are like to find any better from the Authority of Bishop Wilkins This is your last Refuge and if this Prop fails your Cause may be in some danger of Sinking What you alledge from him is out of a Book Intitled The Gift of Prayer from which I find you transcribing many passages upon all occasions In that Book the learned Author endeavour'd to reduce Free conceived Prayer into an Art a Design as himself acknowledges that was perfectly new and never attempted by any before him Now that must be acknowledg'd to be a very considerable prejudice to the Undertaking for new Devices and Inventions in Religion have been ever found to be very dangerous and all Churches have felt the Mischief and inconveniences of such Novelties He that walks in a new and untrodden Path may easily lose his Way and many by leaving the Antient Track have found themselves in the Briers Jer. 6.16 and therefore we are bid to Enquire for the old Ways and to walk in them it being much more safe to keep in the beaten Road of Antiquity than to seek out and wander in the By-paths of Innovations But to come to the Book We find that Great man in the Preface wondring that so little should be said or written on that Subject to help him in his Undertaking Now this Wonder may soon cease by calling to mind that all Christian Churches in all times and places perform'd their Publick Worship by Set prescribed Forms and so as there was no use so neither was there any need of this Artificial Gift which is a sufficient Reason of the Silence of Antiquity about it But when this Art began to be studied and put in practice it soon became an Instrument of Division and is at this day one of the principal Wiles and Artifices of Seducers Accordingly therefore this Great man finding the bad Effects of this new Experiment in Divinity and observing how greedily it was catch'd at and abus'd by Sectaries thought fit to abandon this New Art without adding improving or so much as correcting the Imperfections of it and He himself to his dying day became a constant frequenter of the Publick Prayers of the Church and likewise according to the Duty of his Office strictly kept his Clergy to them But the better to clear up this Matter you must consider Sir the Time of the writing of that Book together with the Occasion and End for which 't was written and then you will soon see what little stress is to be laid upon it For the Time of writing it 't was when the Liturgy and Discipline of the Church of England were by a prevailing Faction laid aside and all godly Forms of Prayer decry'd at which time a whole Deluge of Errors and new Opinions broke in upon us and by the help of Free Prayer were vented and spread abroad to the great increase of Sects and Schisms among us By this means Men lost the Reverence that is due to the Divine Majesty bespeaking him in a loose careless and indecent manner and the Solemnity of Prayer was prostituted to vile and secular purposes Now to remedy those Evils this Great Man wrote this Book to direct Men in this Duty when they were deprived of the Assistance of Forms and to preserve if possible some Sense in their Prayers at a time when there was so little of it to be heard Moreover if we consider the manner and model drawn up by this Reverend Person for this purpose we shall find it in effect to be This. When one sort of Forms were cryed down he endeavoured to bring up another that is when Book-Forms were removed by the subtlety of Designing Men p. 11. he endeavoured to set up Mental-Forms or repeating their Prayers by memory which he stiles An invisible Book for the Register of our Thoughts hoping thereby to keep up that sense and seriousness that was requisite in this Duty there being but little difference as he tells us betwixt Repeating by memory and Reading out of a Book That this was the main drift of the Author in that Book appears by these following things First p. 10. He forbid's Men to depend altogether upon sudden Suggestions or Effusions as if it were A Quenching or Confinement of the Spirit to be furnished before-hand with Matter and Expressions for this Service p. 13. In another place he requires them To prepare themselves by study and premeditation for this Duty that is as appears by what is mentioned before to lay up both Matter and Words in their Memory for the more decent and orderly performance of it Again p. 3. 18 he condemns leavning these things to suddain Infusion which occasions Mens bespeaking God Almighty in a loose and careless manner Furthermore he would have them settle and compose their Thoughts or fix these things in their Memory p. 19. for the more solemn performance of this Duty that they may the better avoid all idle impertinent and wild Expressions the usual Embellishments of Extempore-Prayer Secondly p. 17. He condemns all Affectation of varying Words and Phrases in Prayer by which means Men become expos'd to empty vain and unseemly Expressions Now you know Sir that the great difference between Forms and Free Prayer is that in the former the same Words are used upon the same occasions and the latter changes Phrases without any necessity and 't is well known that the chief Excellency of the conceived Prayers of Sectaries lies in this vanity of Variation which this Great Man severely condemns Thirdly He condemns all Affecttaion of Length which you know is one of the great Ornaments and Attendants of Free Prayer p. 17. and to avoid this Prolixity p. 19. he cautions against all empty Repetitions and Digressions letting us know Eccl. 5.2 that God is in Heaven and we are upon Earth therefore our Words should be few Fourthly This Author distinguisheth between Praying in Publick with others p. 16. and Praying Secretly betwixt God and our own Souls allowing Men in secret to take a greater Liberty of enlarging themselves in their own Expressions which though not in themselves so significant and proper may yet suit their Minds and serve to set forth their own immediate Thoughts But in Publick Prayers where we are the Mouth of others and should engage the Affections of those that joyn with us there greater care must be taken that our Expressions be so proper and deliberate as may be most Effectual to that End and for that purpose prefers premeditated Forms wherein Matter and Words are prepared before hasty and present Conceptions In a word this Reverend Author places the great work and business of Prayer p. 2. 3. in the Heart which he stiles the Life and Spirit of it and consequently the Words are but the Carkaess and Shell of it adding withal that 't is not essential to Prayer