Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	form_n	prayer_n	use_v	4,815	5	5.9954	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60455	A sermon preached in St. Saviour's Church in Dartmouth, July 24th. anno Dom. 1698 Together with some refections on the opinion of those, who affirm, that the only difference between the Church and the meeting-house, is that of a few ceremonies. In a letter to a friend. By Humfry Smith, M.A.	Smith, Humphry, b. 1654 or 5.	1698 (1698)	Wing S4086; ESTC R224030	30,983	72

●am soli penitus Sustulerunt cum postlim●io reducere conaremur nobis hactenus obstiterunt Calvin in Epist ad Card. Sadol Quod Si nu●c Anglicanae Ecclesiae instaturat●●e Suorum Episcoporum Archi Episcoporum Auctoritate 〈◊〉 perstant Quemadmodum hoc illi nostra memoria contigit ut ejus Ordinis homines non tantum insignes Dei Martyres sed etiam Praestantissimos Pastores ac Doctores habuerit fruatur Sane ●sta Singulari Dei beneficientia qu●● 〈◊〉 ●it Illi perpetua Beza ad Tract de ministr Ev. grad ad Had. Sarav c. 18. instead of recommending it to others were ready at first to make Apologies for it themselves as an Expedient they were forced upon even against their own Inclination Being willing if it had been possible for them to retain what was justified by the unquestionable practice of the purest Ages Should any Society of Christians undertake to change the Observation of the Lord's-Day from the first to the third or fourth or any other of the Week the boldness of such an attempt would doubtless be very Severely censured unless the Men were able to plead that it was not matter of choice but the effect of some very great Necessity Now I verily believe that the presumption is in no sort less of wilfully throwing down Episcopacy to fill the Room of it with some new Contrivance Has the Lord's Day Sufficient Discimus quidem ex hoc loco non ●am fuisse tunc aequalitatem inter Ecclesiae Ministros quin u●us aliquis Autorirate consilio prae esset Calvin Com. in Tit 1. 5. Warrant from Holy Scripture so has that Form of Church-Government Is the one confirm'd by the undoubted Practice of the Catholick Church in all Ages so is the other also Indeed the mischief of Innovation appears to me much greater in the Case of Bishops than it could be in that of the Lord's-Day Were we obliged by some new Law to meet together upon another day of the week and not the first there would be only the change of a Circumstance of Worship which was of Divine Institution But should the Order of Bishops be Overthrown to make room for those Teachers who are so much offended at it there is too much Reason to conclude that somewhat essentially necessary at least to the well-being of the Church would then be wanting The Authority of them who were Ambassadors 〈◊〉 Christ and had the Ministery of Reconciliation hath been undoubtedly conveigh'd down by a Succession of Bishops in the Christian Church And putting aside that Succession I should be glad to learn a way how any Person can justly pretend a Commission to transact with the People the great Business of their Souls and speak to them in the Name of the Lord. Another thing which I shall not scruple to mention as a matter of importance wherein we differ from the Dissenters is an Excellent Liturgy We of the Church of England do publickly Worship God by the use of known Forms compil'd at first with much care and study by the Glorious Martyrs of our Reformation and abundantly approv'd since by the best the wisest and most learned Men Whereas on the other hand the Dissenters in their Meeting-Houses do only offer up unto the most High such a service as the Premeditation Or perhaps the present Invention of their several Preachers shall be able to furnish This certainly is a considerable difference and that the advantage is much on our side must needs be very plain to any unprejudiced Person Putting aside the regard we ought to have for the Authority and example of our Lord Christ who both taught and commanded his Mat. 6. 9. Ezke 11. 2. Disciples to make use of a Form when they pray'd Not considering the undoubted practice both of the Jewish and the Christian Church which is manifestly for us yea particularly the practice of those Churches a nearer resemblence to which some men express so great a value for calling them the best Reformed I say Omitting all these Considerations which would strongly conclude for a preference to Publick Forms above the Compositions or Ex-tempore-Effusions of private Persons I would venture to appeal in this matter to the Common Sense even of any Judicious Dissenters themselves who would but Seriously think upon it Such Persons cannot but say that the Liturgy of the Church of England was contriv'd by men of Considerable Abilities for such a work the fame of their great Learning and Sincerity being unquestionable in the World And can they who are so diligent to find out somewhat to Scruple at in this Liturgy imagine that every Preacher in a Conventicle is qualified to frame a better and more acceptable Service Yea can such Preachers be suppos●d able to do this anew once or twice every Week and that as many of them seem willing to have it understood without thinking before hand on the words they are to utter Were the Ex-tempore-Prayers of some of the most eminent for that faculty but put in Writing that so they might be duly Examin'd as some passages of that kind were not See Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence long since in a Neighbouring Kingdom It might perhaps then abundantly appear that they who are so fond of such performances have the least reason of any in the World to criticize on the Prayers of Our Church and censure the defects of them But a Liturgy may Some say would be a tolerable thing were it of a different Make from that of the Church of England Wherein several of those Forms are to be met with which are still of Use amongst the Papists And this now some People look upon as a terrible Objection against the Book of common-Common-Prayer Whereas You well know Sir that 't is rather a considerable Proof of it's Excellency We have in it the Lords Prayer the Apostles Creed the Gloria Patri Te Deum and some other Forms of Prayer Thanksgiving and Confession of Faith which the Romanists make Use of But then our agreement with them in these instances is because besides the Corruptions they have added they still retain many Things which are pure and primitive The business of those Excellent Men who framed our Liturgy was not to make a new Religion but to reform the Old Whence as a most learned Forreigner has observ'd Passim variae a va●iis Reformationis Autoribus conditae praescriptae ●unt S. Liturgiae formulae simplic●s purae in Germania Gallia Anglia Scotia Belgio c. quam minimum ●ieri 〈◊〉 ab antiquis formulis Primitivae Ecclesiae abscedentes Ludovicus Capellus Thes Salm. Th. de Li●●●g par 3. Th. 6. the first Authors of the Reformation not only in England but also in Germany France Scotland the Netherlands c. prescrib'd Forms of publick Prayer differing as little as possible from the Ancient Forms of the Primitive Church And indeed we begin every Day to be more and more convinced of the great Wisdom and