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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87871	A discourse of praying with the spirit, and with the understanding. Where of extemporary premeditate set forms of prayer. Preached in two sermons at Hillsborough anno 1659. By Henry Leslie (maugre all antichristian opposition) Bishop of Down and Conner. And now published for the redresse of the great abuse of prayer in that diocesse, whereof he had, and ought to have a charge. Whereunto is annexed a letter of Jer. Taylor, D.D. concerning the same subject.	Leslie, Henry, 1580-1661.; Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.	1660 (1660)	Wing L1162; Thomason E1041_4; ESTC R207928	28,259	45

will pray with the Spirit that is I will use any language which the spirit doth dictate unto me but then I will pray with the understanding also that is if I have prayed in an unknown tongue I will so interpret my prayer that the Congregation shall understand me So that to pray with the spirit and to sing with the Spirit here doth not only expresse an immediate inspiration but particularly that kind of inspiration whereby they prayed and sung in an unknown tongue as is evident by that which followeth Else when thou shall blesse with the Spirit how shall be that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen seeing he understands not what thou sayest And the only reason why he cannot say Amen nor understand is because the blessing or thansgiving is in an unknown tongue called here a blessing with the Spirit And again ver 17. thou verily givest thanks well but the other is not edified And the only reason why he is not edifyed is because the thanksgiving is in an unknown tongue So ver 2. speaking in an unknown tongue is called speaking in the Spirit and ver 12. They who are desirous of the gift of tongues are said to be Zealous of Spirits This is so clear that all interpreters ancient and modern except some popish writers who seek to cast a mist upon this text which speaks so plainly against them by the spirit here do understand the gift of tongues Yet I think it more proper by the spirit to understand the mind inspired with that gift which is in effect the very same thing By this which I have said it is manifest that what the Apostle speaks here of praying with the Spirit and singing with the spirit doth not concern us but was an extraordinary and miraculous gift given at first for the conversion of the Nations and laying the foundation of the Church which when the Church was once gathered ceased as did also the gift of Miracles So that they who now pretend that their extemporary effusions are the dictates of the Spirit should do well to shew us some of their Miracles and they should sing with the Spirit also compose the ditty in meeter sing it in a new tune according to the rules of Musick and all this ex tempore and they should pray in Greek or Hebrew or some language which they never well learned and then they might challenge our beliefe but if they cannot do these things they must give me leave to say that they are not the Organs but the apes of the spirit and that it is not the good spirit of God that guides them in such undertakings but their own spirit a spirit of pride arrogancy and presumption of whom we may truely say as was said of the foolish prophets Ezek. 13.3 They follow their own spirit and have seen nothing And yet we must pray with the Spirit that is by the direction and assistance of the holy Spirit St. Jude requireth this of all Christians vers 20. Build up your selves in your most holy faith praying in the holy Ghost for all believers have the Spirit that is the gifts and graces of the Spirit they are led by the Spirit of God Rom. 8.14 And if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Rom. 8.9 The Spirit of God dwelleth in them 1 Cor. 3.16 And where he dwells he is not idle but is still working he becomes unto them First a Spirit of sanctification then a Spirit of Consolation and lastly a Spirit of intercession for saith the Apostle Rom. 8.26 The Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered The Spirit cannot groan but makes us to groan so he is said to make intercession for us because he stirs us up to make intercession This is that which was promised Zach. 12.10 I will powre upon the house of David the Spirit of grace and of supplications But there is great difference between that Spirit which we now receive and the Spirit which they had of whom the Apostle speaks in this Chapter even as there is great difference between the Spirit whereby the Scriptures were given and the Spirit whereby they were afterwards discerned to be the true word of God You shall therefore understand that the Spirit of God is present with men two manner of wayes either by inspiration or by illumination only First by inspiration which is immediate and excludes the use of their own judgment and reason as also their pains and industry such a presence of the Spirit the Apostles Prophets and penmen of holy writ had They speak as they were moved by the holy Ghost saith St. 2 Pet. 1.21 Peter They did not meditate nor devise any thing but were the meer organs of the Spirit which spake by their mouth and wrote by their pen as Zacharie saith in his song He spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets And the Apostle Heb. 1.1 Cod spake unto the Fathers by the Prophets Yea he spake not only by them but in them as Christ saith unto his disciples Math. 10.20 It is not you that speake but the Spirit of your Father which is in you And after this manner were they moved with the Spirit who had the gift of tongues of whom the Apostle speaketh in this Chapter they did not study for what they spake nor take pains to learn it but as the Evangelist saith they were filled with the holy-ghost and spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance Act. 2.4 Again the Spirit is present with Men by illumination only which is not immediate but requires the use of means it doth not exclude but require the use of our own judgment and reason as also our industry and deligence And thus did the Spirit inable the Church to discern the holy books to receive those which were genuine and truly divine and to reject others which pretended the like authority It was not by any Enthusiasme that they knew the Scriptures to be Gods word but they made use of the natural dexterity and sagacity of their own ingine they took much pains in examining these writings and comparing one thing with another and when they used the meanes the Spirit of God did improve their natural faculties help their art and Industry and so aid and assist them that their eyes were opened to discern those interna eriteria markes inhaerent in the word as the divinity of the matter the Majesty of the stile the truth of the predictions and agreement of latter books with those written many hundred years before whereby they were convinced of the verity of these books and that they had God himself for their author And so the Spirit now perswades us of the truth of Gods holy word Christ promised unto us his Spirt to lead us into all truth Joh. 16.13 And yet you know that

we must use the means we must seek and labour to find out the truth for we must search the Scriptures John 5.39 we must seek wisedom as silver and search for her as for bidden treasurs Prov. 2.4 we must separate our selves and seek wisdom as it is Proverbs 18.1 Through desire a Man having separated himself seeketh and intermedleth with all wisdom First the holy Spirit stirs up in us a desire of heavenly wisdom then this desire makes us to separate our selves from the World and worldly thoughts to retire into the closet of our own hearts by holy meditation and to seek God diligently in the use of the means and then the wisdom of God which before seemed foolishness is by the illumination of the Spirit made so known unto us that we cannot but discern and admire it So much the Apostle hath taught us Chap. 2.13 saying we speak not in the words which mans wisedom teacheth but which the holy ghost teacheth comparing spirituall things with spirituall things Where we see that the Holy-Ghost doth teach us words which mans wisedom cannot teach but it is upon our cooperation our study and endeavour while we compare spiritual things with spiritual things And so the holy Spirit worketh faith in us faith is the gift of God of God only he not only gives the power to believe but also brings forth the art as the Apostle tells us Philip. 1.29 It is given unto you for to believe Faith is reckoned amongst the gifts of the Spirit Gal 5.22 And the Apostle mentioneth the Spirit of faith 2 Cor. 4.13 And yet the Spirit doth not work faith in us without means but requireth our own endeavonrs for saith St. Augustine He who made thee without thine own help will not justifie thee without thine own help we must use the means diligently hear read and meditate in Gods word for faith cometh by hearing Rom. 10. 17. And they who neglect to use the means must never think that the holy spirit will inspire them immediately with the grace of faith Thus you see how the holy spirit now worketh in directing the Church to discern the canonicall books in perswading us of the truth of Gods word in leading us into all truth and in begetting the grace of faith in us that in all these he requireth our own endeavours and consequently he requireth the same in all his other gifts and productions Therefore I may safely conclude that so and no other wayes the spirit inableth us to pray namely in the use of means both natural and artificiall That prayer is the gift of the spirit no man can deny for saith the Apostle we know not what to pray as we ought but the Spirit helpeth our infirmities Rom 8.26 where I desire you to observe the word which the Apostle useth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a double compound an ingeminate expression and signifieth that he joynes in relieving he bears or lifts with us helping us in our labours together with him So that if we would have the holy Spirit help us to pray we must labour we must make use of our own judgment and reason and not only make use of our natural faculties but also of our learning and industry we must diligently read and meditate in Gods word that we may be acquainted with the style of the holy ghost and there learn to frame our prayer aright both for the matter and for the forme And when we thus study the addresses which we make unto God we may be sure of the direction and assistance of the spirit for God helpeth industry and his spirit now worketh by means and then most assists us when we most endeavour So that albeit we cannot now pray by immediate inspiration and in a strange tongue yet we may and must pray by the direction and assistance of the spirit in the use of the means The spirit directs us to pray in the Word and assists us inwardly with his motions He directeth us to pray in the word for there we have many Godly prayers psalmes and hymnes recorded for our use And we may use them either as prayers or patterns to frame our prayers by First we may use them as prayers for no prayer that we can make can be compared with them for piety and devotion neither can any man now presume to have such a measure of the spirit as those holy penmen had whose prayers and hymnes are by the spirit of God consigned unto the use of the Church for ever And so some of them have been alwayes used for that wild conceit that now possesseth men was not known in former ages namely that our prayers should wast themselves away in the making and like smoak vanish in the ascending that they should never be reiterated but still conceived new and that as often as we make our adresses unto God we should vary both our matter and words This is the divinity of many men in this age who measure God by their own bellies thinking that he doth loath to have the same sacrifices offered dayly as they do to be fed still with the same meat without change of dyet But such devotion was never known unto the people of God for they alwaies practised the contrary The Priests under the law by Gods own direction used the same words in blessing the people every day which are set down Numb 6.24 25 26. David at the removing of the Ark used the same prayer Psal 68.1 which was at first composed by Moses for that use Numb 10.35 Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered The same David composed many prayers and psalmes for the use of the Tabernacle the Ninety second Psalm is entituled a song for the sabbath day the same being composed to be sung every sabbath when there was a holy convocation unto the Lord. It is said 2. Cron. 29.30 That Ezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to sing prayses unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asapth the Seer The Prophet Hosea prescribes unto the repenting Isralites a set form of prayer which he will have them to use Chap. 14.2 take with you words and turn to the Lord say unto him take away all iniquity and receive us gratiously so will we render the calves of our lips c. John the Baptist taught his disciples a form of prayer as appeareth Luke 11.1 And Christ hath taught us a most exquisite form and hath commanded us to use it saying when you pray say our Father c. But now that prayer is rejected and a countermand given when you pray say not our Father and certainly such a direct opposition against Christ must needs proceed from the spirit of Antichrist St. John Rev. 15.3 saw in a vision those who had gotten the victory over the beast praising God and they sung the song of Moses the Jews in their dayly liturgy used the song of Moses albeit they never had the same occasion again which brought

did belong unto the ceremonial worship and are now abrogated by the sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross yet there is a morality in that precept which still bindeth us to offer something unto God in acknowledgment of that homage which we owe unto our Creator and what that is the Psalmist telleth us Psal 50.14 Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most high and call upon me c. But they who pray ex tempore bring nothing with them to offer but take it upon a suddain even after they have presented themselves before the Lord. Which must needs be a dough-baked sacrifice unworthy to be offered unto God for he requireth a sacrifice without blemish the very choice of the Flock And when they did offer him the refuse the blinde and the the lame Exod. 29.1 Levit. 22.19 20 21. he bid them offer it unto their Governour Mal. 1.8 And vers 14. he calleth them deceivers which did so and cursed them cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing for I am a great King saith the Lord of hosts This reason is full of moral equity God is a great King and therefore look what respect you give unto your prince you must give no less unto him you will not offer unto your prince a naughty thing but the very best in its kind of any thing that you have so that which you offer unto God must be the best even in humane estimate When you are to appear before your Prince you will present your selves with great reverence bowing your selves unto the ground even so we must bow our selves before the most high God saith the Prophet Micah Mic. 6.6 We must worship bow down and kneel before the Lord our maker Psal 95.6 When you are to speak unto your Prince you will deliberate and advise what to say weigh your thoughts and choose your words so you should advise and deliberate what to say when you are to speak unto God and not offer unto him your rude and imperfect conception which you would not offer unto your Governour in a serious matter they who do so have a mean esteem of God for they think any thing good enough for him The very Heathen had more care of their devotions and greater respect to their Paynim Gods for the prayers which they offered unto them were composed with great art and skill And they have too high an esteem of themselves and too great a confidence in their own abilities who dare trust to their own fancy and invention before the Majesty of Heaven 2 Sam. 24.24 He who knoweth God and Himself will know his distance and keep it and neither appear before his God empty nor yet with that which cost him nothing Finally to pray ex tempore especially in publick is against the rule of prudence for he is esteem'd a wiser man who considereth and deliberates before he speak then he who speaketh without any deliberation Solomon saith The heart of the Wise teacheth his mouth Prov. 16.23 His heart teacheth his mouth because he considereth and deliberates what to say So that they who pray without any deliberation are none of Solomons wise men From all this which I have said it evidently followeth that we should studdy and deliberate our prayers especially those which we utter in publick We should fit and prepare our selves to seek the Lord like the bride who maketh her self ready Rev. 19.7 and as the wise Virgins who trimmed their lamps before they went out to meet the bridegroom Math. 25.7 our hearts should first be inditing a good matter before our tongue be the pen of a ready writer And of all premeditated prayers none are so sit for the Church Psal 45.1 as set forms composed by the governors of the Church wherein all may joyn These prayers are most according to the rule of this Text that is with the Spirit and with understanding also with the Spirit for it were strange If the Church should not have the Spirit of prayer in her compositions as well as any of her Children Yea in all reason the publick Spirit is to be trusted before the private for the promise of the Spirit is made unto the Church and especially when her pastors are assembled together And these prayers are most with understanding because most to the understanding of the People In this set forms have the advantage of all other prayers that they are best understood And the Apostle here preferreth praying with understanding before praying with the Spirit so that albeit praying ex tempore were a praying with the Spirit as is pretended but falsely yet were they nothing so convenient for the Church as set forms vvhich are better understood because the People are acquainted with them bear some part in them by their suffrages and answers and so heartily joyn in prayers for which cause it is called Common prayer So it was alwayes in the antient Church Se Just Mart. Apol. 2. Aug. op 118. then the prayers of the Church were not dispatched between the Priest and his Clark as novv in the Church of Rome nor performed by the Minister alone but all the People answered the Priest and so they all prayed and sung together This is the Juge Sacrificium the perpetuall Publick Sacrifice which never Church wanted The Church of the Jewes had their Liturgy vvhich they used Dayly and the Jews even at this day do observe it And the Christian Church from the very beginning had Liturgies and common forms of vvorship Jame the first Bishop of Jerusalem of vvhom you read in the Acts of the Apostles imployed himself so much in composing of Liturgies for the use of the Church that he was called Jacobus Liturgicus So did St. Basill St. Chrisostom St. Ambrose and others Or if you like better the exemple of reformed Churches Mr. Calvin advised all Churches to use such set forms of prayer from which the Ministers might not vary Calv. Ep. 87. ad prot Aug quod al fo●mam precum vituum Eccl siae valde probo ut certa illa excet a qua past nibus in functione sua descedere non liceat tam ut consulatur quorundam Simplicitati imperitis quam ut certius ita conster omnium inter ses Ecclesiarum consensus postremo ut obviam eatur desultoriae quorundam levitati qui novationes quasdam affectant and he giveth good reasons for it therefore I will repeat his own words concerning a form of prayer and Ecclesiastical rites I very well like that it be a certain and constant one from which the pastors of the Church may in no wayes depart or vary as well to provide for the simplicity unskilfulness of some as also that the consent of all churches may more certainly be known lastly to meet with the unconstant levity of some Men who affect innovation And so all the reformed Churches as they had their confessions of faith so they had books of Common prayer and administration of Sacraments Even the Church of Scotland albeit their reformation was in times of rebellion brought in by popular fury and so with too much heat opposition against Popery yet they were not then so full of the spirit of Munster but that they used set formes of prayer dayly and never Minister went into a Putpit but before he uttered any words of his own he first read a prayer out of the book containing a general confession of fin T. C. reply And they who at first opposed the liturgy of the Church of England did then protest that they did not not dislike set formes of prayer but approve well of them only they would not approve of that book which came so near to the Romish missals But now we see that the Divil is of an encroaching nature that if we yield him an inch he will take a span For haveing prevailed to have that book laid aside now they will have no set formes at all not so much as the Lords prayer nor any premeditate prayer but will have ministers pour out all their prayers ex tempore And I dare say that the Devill will allow them such prayers for they will never batter his Kingdom but enlarge it For such a forme or rather no forme of worship doth occasion multitude of Schismes in the Church when every one prayeth after his own fashion and in his prayer vents his opinions which are not alwaies according to faith and Godliness there must be as St. Jerome saith Tot Schismata quot Sacerdotes The Milevitan Council above twelve hundred years ago saw this evil and provided against it And the Protestants in France at this day are aware of it For albeit they make little use of a liturgy in their daily ministration save only for Psalmes and Lessons yet in the administration of the Sacraments they bind all Ministers precizely to the words of the book so that if any Minister in France in the administration of either Sacrament should neglect the prayers of the book and conceive prayers of his own he would be deprived For they know well that there can be no unity in religion without some uniformity in worship When all particular congregations communicate in a common forme of worship then is the Church like Jerusalem Psal 122.3 that is built compact together But when every one prayeth after a severall fashion there is as great diversity of tongues as was at the building of Babel That division of tongues was a curse so it is as great blessing of God when the whole Church is unins labii hath as it were but one lip when all do praise God and magnifie him togegether as David required Psal 34.3 God of his infinite mercy grant us this blessing that we may with one mind and one mouth glorifie God as the Apostle exhorteth us Rom. 15.6 This shall be my prayer while I have any being and let all who love the worship of God and the peace of the Church say Amen