Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	common_a	lord_n	prayer_n	2,904	5	6.1819	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47442	A second admonition to the dissenting inhabitants of the diocess of Derry concerning Mr. J. Boyse's Vindication of his Remarks on A discourse concerning the inventions of men in the worship of God : with an appendix containing an answer to Mr. B's objections against the sign of the cross / by William, Lord Bishop of Derry.	King, William, 1650-1729.	1696 (1696)	Wing K534; ESTC R4453	121,715	288

knew that the sense of my Words before I so explain'd them cou'd not but be manifest to every indifferent and understanding Reader and therefore while with Reason and Justice I disown'd the sense he wou'd put upon my words in that Rule I thought and still think that I needed not trouble you any farther with answering particularly the Arguments which he has Retorted on that perverted Sense Mens thoughts are generally coherent tho' their words do not always seem to be so hence it happens sometimes that they may be wrested and in these Disputes a Man who endeavours to make a shew of Reasoning for his Party catches at some ambiguous or doubtful Expression of his Adversary and by putting an ill sense on it which he knows will not be owned he fills a Book in shewing that the Arguments make against him who produceth them and this is what Mr. B. calls Retortion and is another Artifice of those that write for a Party to amuse the World and which I take Mr. B. to have practised very much in all that he has yet written but whilst a Man takes this course there is nothing written with such accuracy but he may make it contradict it self Ev'n the holy Scriptures not excepted I therefore thought it sufficient for me to Answer your great and principal Objection which is this of our using the Sign of the Cross since this is the most direct and strongest proof you pretend to bring of Humane Invention in our Worship In it Mr. B. tells us that all Dissenters agree that it doth directly concern the charge of Humane Inventions and that here Dissenters used to fix their charge To examine all your other Arguments in which you do not agree as in this were both endless and needless for if this where you used to fix your charge fail you 't is plain you are on an ill Foundation I have insisted on that objection which is your strength against our Worship and am sure from what I have said you have good Reason 1st To suspect Mr. B's surmises concerning me in other things who supposes that I did not mention the Cross because I cou'd not defend it 2dly To doubt the firmness of this ground where Mr. B. says you all fix your charge And now I must earnestly Admonish and Warn you to look into your own Hearts and put it home to your Consciences whether these pretences will bear you up at the last and great Day when you shall be call'd to account for your neglect of the publick Worship of God while you might have had opportunity of frequenting Ours And if upon enquiry you find Faction or Carnalness to be at the bottom and Idolatry or Humane Sacraments to be only pretences as I think they can be no more than pretences to those that impartially Read these Papers you may conclude they will sink at that Day from being Pleas before the great searcher of Hearts You and I must come to this Tryal and 't will then appear whether I that have used my utmost endeavours to bring you to the publick Worship of God or Mr. B. who scoffs at my concern and Zeal for that Worship and for your attendance at it have approved our selves most to our great Master Mr. B. as I observed before owns it Lawful for you to come to our ordinary Lords day Service when you have none else to go to and he had acted both an Ingenuous and Christian part had he endeavour'd as diligently and zealously to perswade you to do this as he has been eager to put this stumbling-block of the Cross in your way against our Worship at least from thence to confirm and encrease your Prejudice against it but as he has managed it he has given ground to suspect that his zeal is answerable to his endeavours which are apparently much greater for his Party than our common Christianity I entreat you therefore seriously to consider of these things as of what you must one Day give an account And to believe that I have not made all these words about the Sign of the Cross for its own sake but rather to remove if possible that Principle out of your Minds by which you are obliged to look on all such Signs as unlawful for this Principle duly pursued must prove a stumbling-block and occasion of perpetual Divisions to the end of the World in all Societies of Men where it is embraced I have endeavoured to shew you that it is a Principle unwarranted by Scripture it is the Spring and Seed-plot at least the precence of our present Divisions and is sufficient if allowed to Justifie a separation from any Church that either is or has been in the World since there is not one Party of Men that pretend to be a Church but have Signs that are as much Representing Obliging and Distinguishing as we desire to make the Sign of the Cross. Even the Quakers keeping on their Hats as a matter of Conscience and using Thou and Thee in conversation are to them as much Instructive Obliging and Distinguishing Signs as the Cross is to us nor can it secure you to refrain from such Signs as others use for even that Abstinence is also an Instructive Obliging and Distinguishing Sign especially to such as make it a matter of Conscience and so it is impossible to avoid using such Badges If therefore People shou'd quarrel against all Signs on the same score as Mr. B. does against the Sign of the Cross they may quarrel on to the end of the World and there can never be any setled Union And unless such Principles be removed from the Minds of well-meaning People 't will be impossible to Unite them in any Establish'd Church or Order or to hinder Divisions from springing up if they were so united since Evil-minded Men would never want as plausible Matter to amuse and dissettle them as the Sign of the Cross is pretended to be And I was the more willing to take some pains in this Affair because I have some hope that what I have said may help to perswade you to put a greater value on Sacraments and to understand their Nature Efficacy and Necessity when they may be had better than I am afraid many of you do I have no more to add but to assure you that what I write is with a Design to do you Good and to satisfie my own Mind in the conscientious discharge of my Duty and Office as a Pastor amongst you I have endeavoured to do this both by Words and Writing and all other means in my power I shall by God's help persevere in them and leave the success to Him I beseech him of his great Mercy to take away all Obstinacy Partiality Error and Prejudice from all Men especially from those under my Care and to endow us all with a Spirit of Meekness Charity Patience and Humility that we may Love one another and unite in the Praises and Worship of our common Lord and Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. This is and ever shall be the Prayer of Londonderry March 13. 1695. Your Loving Pastour WILL. DERRY BOOKS Printed

Evidence nay the Demonstration he produced against the truth of this charge in these words That your people are in Publick Teachings yearly Catechised in which Exercise all the Mysteries of the Christian Religion are Explained to them But I answer First That I did not overlook this but particularly answered it where I thought most proper Admon p. 23. and shewed that there is no Rule in Your Directory that requires your Ministers to examine either Privately or Publickly so that their performances in this point are meerly Voluntary and therefore their Hearers can have no security by this Secondly I added that your Directory doth exclude Catechising from being any part of God's Publick Worship either Ordinary or Extraordinary as appears from the preface to it which proposes it as rules for all parts of Publick Worship and likewise from the Title which pretends the same And yet the book says not one word concerning Catechising but excludes it by excluding our common-Common-prayer Book that requires it as a part of publick Worship so that amongst you whatever Mr. B. pretends Catechising is No Publick Teaching nor are your people by any rule that I know amongst you obliged to attend it in publick and this I reckon as another inexcusable defect of your Directory Thirdly Your way of Catechising is not sufficient for this purpose Mr. B. describes your manner of Catechising thus Rem p. 85. They divide their Parishes into so many Districts and accordingly for every District once a Year they Publickly appoint the time and place when they intend to Catechise them and accordingly go thro' the whole Catechism with ' em I will add the account I had of this matter from good hands The Dissenters practice in instructing and Examining the Younger sort is in this manner The Minister has a Meeting for this purpose in six several places in this Parish and Examins once a Year in each place His Method is to take four or five heads of their Catechism and to ask questions concerning them and expound them according to which method if they took the Catechism in Order which yet I do not find they do the Minister would be at least ten Years in going over the whole of it in one place Let us suppose then a man constantly to attend Catechising in his District once a Year yet it is impossible the Minister should teach him all the Mysteries of our Religion sufficiently at one time and if he take one Mystery at once which is as much as he can do if he explain it as he ought you see what it comes to He has no security of hearing them all explained at any time your Ministers not being bound to any method and if they should bind themselves to one yet so many years are required to go thorow them that a man has no security to live so long But further I find that Catechising is generaly amongst you only in Order to a Sacrament and whilst there are no Sacraments Administered there is usually no publick Catechising and then Judge in what condition those places were that wanted Sacraments for Seven Ten or more years And perhaps to avoid the trouble of examining was the very reason that there were none Celebrated as Mr. B. himself partly confesses The truth is this seems to me a meer pretence set up to excuse your Ministers for their Negligence in Preaching the Gospel that is the greatest the highest and most necessary parts of it it being plain that a man may remain ignorant of them all his life notwithstanding your publick Teaching whatever Mr. B. pretends to the contrary IV. But Secondly He objects that your Ministers most frequently insist on the particular mysteries of the Christian Religion Vind. p. 12 and quotes a passage from one of them affirming it and taxing me most severely for asserting the contrary But I Answer These are but general Affirmations of the Persons accused without any particular proof I told you in my Admonition p. 18. That the Greatest Mysteries of the Gospel are the Conception Birth Passion Resurrection Ascention and final coming of our Saviour to judge the quick and dead the Doctrine of the Trinity in whose Name we are Baptized and the descent of the Holy Ghost Let me add to these tho' they are included in them the manifestation of our Saviour to the Gentile World which the Scriptures reckon a great Mystery the Communion of Saints in one Catholick Church and the Doctrine of Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins Each of these are and ought to be at least once or twice a Year solemnly and professedly taught in our Church at their proper and appointed times and in the Explanation of our Catechism so that we are sure that at least we shall hear them so often Now to know whether Your Ministers or Ours preach the Gospel most Diligently Faithfully and Expresly it is not sufficient to say in general that you do it often but we must know how often each Minister has solemnly professedly and in a full discourse explained and enforced each of these Mysteries V. For Secondly it is not sufficient for one to pretend that by the by and on occasion they have touched these Mysteries for they are of that nature and moment that people ought to be taught that these and none else are the peculiar Mysteries of the Gospel that all other Knowledge or Preaching is of little value in respect of teaching these and the Ministers that teach them plainly diligently and solidly are the true Preachers of the Gospel and those that preach them slightly and seldom are unfaithful Stewards That each of them is of that consequence that to explain them prove them from Scripture enforce them and press and shew the Benefits and Effects of them requires frequent and particular sett Discourses upon them and the least that can be expected is that they be handled once every Year solemnly fully and professedly And here let me desire you to recollect your Memory and consider whether you have heard each of these treated thus before my Book appeared if you did you have reason to think your Ministers preached in earnest the Gospel to you but if they omitted any of these if they did not give you at least one Sermon on each of these great Articles in a competent time they omitted so much of the Gospel and were unfaithful Stewards of the Mysteries committed to them and must be judged so if they continue in this Neglect I shall be glad if they amend it but am sure the Order in Our Church provides better against it VI. We hear Complaints every day as if the Gospel were not preached in Our Church we are reproached as if we taught little but Morality and Mr. B. talks of Desolate Congregations amongst us Now while these Mysteries are Solemnly Constantly Solidly and Professedly taught at least once a Year in every one of our Churches bating Accidents of Sickness c. Judge with your selves how unjustly we are accused