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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	church_n	read_v	word_n	3,155	5	3.9413	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76163	A sermon preached at Bridgwater at an ordination of ministers, August 2. 1698. By J.B. Published at the request of some of the hearers.	J. B.	1699 (1699)	Wing B123A; ESTC R172637	21,060	32

unprovided of a Form of Prayer if a Form had been necessary This Argument which some have well improv'd carries that weight with it that they that are for the imposing of Forms do yet acknowledge that such Forms of Prayer from which it was not lawfull for the Minister to vary were not imposed for the first three Centuries and consequently that they came not into the Christian Church till about four or five hundred years after Christ Now to take off this prejudice they tell us that then there was no need of them Ministers were supplied with extraordinary Gifts Gifts of Tongues Gifts of Miracles Gifts of Prophesie I confess 't is very evident that such extraordinary Gifts were then bestowed but that every one that was ordain'd to the Ministry had thereupon a constant extraordinary Gift either for Prayer or Preaching is sooner said than prov'd Nay rather the contrary to this is evident that tho' the first general Preachers of the Gospel that were not limited to this or that Church but were to spread the Gospel in all Places and Nations tho' I say these no doubt had such an extraordinay Gift it doth not appear that all others had it The directions that St. Paul gives to Timothy and Titus about the Qualifications of Ministers do plainly intimate the contrary So that stinted Forms of Prayer coming into the Church not till four or five hundred years after Christ whether the imposing of Forms of Prayer be to be justified from hence because about 500 years after Christ they were impos'd I say whether this be a good argument must be determined from the state of the Church at that time As to this all that I shall say is to repeat the words of one that hath ransacked all the Corners penetrated the inwards and dived to the bottom of Antiquity viz. Mr. Clerkson p. 181. speaking of the Introduction of Liturgies They were not entertained till nothing was admitted into the Church de novo but corruptions or the Issues of them no change made in the ancient Usages but for the worse no Notions from its Primitive State but downwards into degeneracy till such orders took place as respected not what was most agreeable to the rule and primitive Usage or what was best to uphold the life and power of Religion in its solemn Exercises or what might secure it from that dead Heartlesness and Formality into which Christianity was sinking In a word not till the Church was rather to be pitied than imitated Thus far Mr. Clerkson I confess however 't is a cunning Device for by this means viz. the casting out of all Prayer but what is read out of a Book there will be no discernable difference of Ministers Gifts but they will hardly be able to prevent the people from saying this way of Pryer is no more than we our selves can do why should we maintain and honour men for doing no more than a Boy of ten or twelve years old can do nay there will be a greater inconvenience than this Let Ministers be provided for with Forms of Prayer made to their hands without putting forth themselves to exercise the Gift of Prayer and in time they will be unable to pray otherwise Secondly A Minister should be able to speak from God to the people to declare the whole Will and Counsel of God to them The Work and Design of the Ministry is to better Mankind to turn men from their evil ways and from the evil of their doings surely such a work doth require Gifts of Knowledge and Utterance Conversion doth restore man to the image of God which consists in Knowledge Righteousness and Holiness and the means must be fitted to the end Ministers should be able not only to make Sermons set studied Discourses but upon all occasions to speak a word in season I am sure this is that which Ministers promise to do viz. to use both publick and private Monitions and Exhortations as well to the sick as to the whole Spons 3. Office of Ordination Thirdly Together with these there ought to be the approbation of those to whom it belongs to judge of the Qualifications of those that would devote themselves and their Labours to God in the Service of the Ministry when these have approv'd them as persons duly qualified and commended them to God and have by Prayer and Imposition of hands invested them in the Ministry these are to be owned by the people as Ministers sent of God I know that some engross this power of making Ministers to such as are now called Diocesan Bishops whom they make so necessary to Ordination of Ministers that whoever is ordain'd without them by Ministers of particular Congregations some of our Brethren are pleas'd to say these Ordinations having not the concurrence of a Diocesan Bishop are a mere nullity And the Parliament that made the Law that required Reordination of all such as had been thus ordain'd were no doubt of this opinion Some indeed have said their Ordination was required to the exercise of their Ministry and not the Office A License would have done that without Ordination Moreover there was no difference made betwixt those that had been ordain'd before and those that pretended not to it which proves that our Law-makers of whom the Bishops were a part look'd upon all those Ordinations as a Nullity for no less was required of us that had been ordain'd than of those that had not been ordain'd And yet they would not declare that all our Ministration were a nullity So inconsistent are all they with themselves that design the interest of a Party more than of the truth This puts me in mind of what a reverend Minister then told one of the Bishops viz. I am afraid said he there is that Severity shewn in the Act of Conformity that 't is to be feared very many Ministers will not conform To whom the Bishop replied I am afraid there will be too many Surely to speak modestly that Prelate was not of the opinion of the Apostle Paul who rejoyced that Christ was preached tho' some that preached him were no great friends to the Apostle But in confirmation of what I have to say I would not make Reflections upon what is past any further than our own Vindication will make it necessary First Therefore to prove this let it be supposed that a Minister of a particular Congregation whom for distinction-sake we call a Presbyter be of an inferior order to a Bishop It is upon this pretence that the power of Ordination is denied to them Now if these Ministers Presbyters being but the Ministers of particular Congregations may make a Bishop they may certainly make and ordain Ministers for if they can do the greater they may do the less This was the answer of Archbishop Usher to King Charles the First who told that King that in the Church of Alexandria the Presbyters always made their own Bishop And the thing is so necessary that Episcopacy can't