Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A64233
|
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem a visitation sermon. / preached at Gainsbrough, May 7th 1691 by Nathanael Taylor ...
|
Taylor, Nathanael, d. 1702.
|
1691
(1691)
|
Wing T547; ESTC R33904
|
20,217
|
32
|
thereby This Practice would stop the Divisions of this and lay the Foundation for the Peace of our Jerusalem in another Generation by causing an Unanimity amongst Men in Religion to which see how earnestly St. Eph. 4.1 2 to 8. Paul beseecheth all Christians from their being Children of one God Members of one Christ c. And let me beg with the sincerest Affection of a Christian and Minister the Dissenters to unite with us against a Common Enemy and not expose themselves and us to inevitable Ruin by their needless Divisions for 't is impossible if they bring Ruin upon us themselves should escape in that publick Misery In a word If a common Officer commanding you in the King's Name can make you keep the Peace in a Civil Sense if Julius Caesar could Sueton. Jul. Caes c. 78. and did appease the Roman Decumani when multiplying by that Trisvllable Quirites intimating they were Roman Gentlemen and Souldiers and ought not to quarrel amongst themselves let me as an Ambassador of the God of Peace beg 2 Cor. 5.20 and begging prevail from that Tetragrammaton compounded of quiescent Letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with every of the Members of Christs Church or that own themselves the Children of the God of Peace by Unanimity of Doctrin to endeavour the Peace of our Jerusalem and let our Prayers St. Prosper in loc and St. Prosper's words conclude this Head Fiant unitas abundantin diligentium te 2. Another thing conducing to the Peace of Jerusalem is Vniformity in Worship This we find the Israelites exemplary in Psalm 122.4 in this Psalm Let us go say they into the House of the Lord our feet shall stand in thy Gates O Jerusalem whither the Tribes go up the Tribes of the Lord unto the Testimony of Israel to give thanks to the Name of the Lord. They must be very Strangers to Heathen Writers who know not that as they had their Gods so they had their Temples set apart wherein to worship them and a distinct Order of Men to be Priests to perform that their Worship Arist Polit. l. 7. c. 8. T. 3. p. 581. c. 9. p. 583. which Order the Philosopher to the shame of many Christians accounted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the chief Order and he gives this good reason for it because they had 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Care of Divine things the Worship of their Gods And that they had Forms of Prayer is plain from their Historian Liv. l. 4. c. 30. who tells us That when through a great Drought about 326. V. C. Diseases fell on Man and Beast Animos multiplex Religio pleraque externa invasit novos ritus sacrificando c. Donec publicus jam pudor ad primores civitatis pervenit cernentes in omnibus viris sacellisque peregrina atque insolita piacula pacis Deum exposcendae Datum inde negotium Aedilibus ut animadverterent ne qui Dii nisi Romani neu quo more quam patrio colerentur And as for the Jewish Church that was under a Theocracy the immediate Government of God himself and had Forms prescribed by him and observed by them Aaron and his Sons were especially set apart by God for the Ministry and were consecrated by Man also Heb. 5.4 Exod. 28. they had their appointed places for Worship the Tabernacle in the time of their sojourning and the Temple after and the People were especially the Males obliged to appear three times in the Year before the Lord in the place the Lord had chosen which was where the Ark or Tabernacle was at first in Shiloh after at Jerusalem where the Leaned Mede observes Mede 's Works l. 1. c. 48. on Deut. 16.7 Assembly in Deut. 16.17 they had not only stated times by God but a place they were to appear not at every place of their own chusing but at one of the Lords chusing They had also general Feasts appointed by God the Passover agreeable with our Easter and their Pentecost or Feast of Weeks suitable to our Whitsontide Their Sacraments of the Circumcision and the Passover with their Order and Ceremonies Gen. 17.10 Exod. 12. were appointed by God to be observed by them on pain of being cut off from Israel Yea they had Forms of Prayers and Praises prescribed them by God Thus Aaron was ordered how to bless the Children of Israel or pray to God for them And the Lord spake unto Moses saying Numb 6.23.24.5 6. speak unto Aaron and unto his Sons saying On this wise ye shall bless the Children of Israel saying unto them The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious to thee Which Form we use in our Visitation of the Sick Thus also in a time of Gods punishing them Hosea 14.2 Hosea from God tells the people a Form of Prayer saying Take with you words and turn unto the Lord say unto him Take away all our Iniquity and receive us graciously so will we offer the Calves of our Lips And by the Prophet Joel a publick Fast being set apart Joel 2.17 the Ministers were charged to use what is part of our Litany Spare thy people O Lord and give not thine heritage to reproach But what need particular Instances of the Jewish Forms of Prayer whenas the whole Book of Psalms was the Jewish Liturgy or their Vocal Service which is intimated by the Titles of the Psalms Mode l. 1. c. 1. p. 2 3. shewing them to have been recommended to the several Choirs and Masters of Musick and by their beginning with Oremus Cantemus Deo Venite exultemus 't is plain they were Forms used by the Jews in their praying to and praising of God And as for the Christian Church the ever-blessed Jesus our great Lord and Master not only instituted the Christian Sacraments Baptism and the Supper of the Lord as agreeable as could consist with the Gospel-Oeconomy with the Jewish Circumcision and Passover which were Types of them but did himself teach his Disciples and all Christians a Form of Prayer for tho He in Matth. 6. seems to propose it as a Pattern to pray according to it yet at another time when his Disciples asked him to teach them to pray as St. John also taught his Disciples Luke 11.1 2. 3 4. He charged them in express Words when they prayed to say Our Father which art in Heaven c. And himself and his Apostles used Forms of Prayer Thus our Saviour tho' filled with the Holy Ghost above all Pretenders to it now yet repeats the same Petition in the same Words thrice Mat. 26.39 42 44. Father if it be thy Will let this Cup pass from me And St. Paul in most of his Epistles useth the same Form of Prayer in the beginning Rom. 1.7 1 Cor. 1.3 2 Cor. 1.2 Gal. 1.3 Eph. 1.2 Rom. 16.24 as Grace be unto you and Peace from God the
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ And he useth also the same Form of Blessing at the end of them The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all Amen 1 Cor. 16.23 Phil. 4.23 1 Thess 5.28 2 Thess 3.18 Philemon 25. And since the Apostles days 't is easie to prove Forms of Prayer have been used by the Christian Church all along in the publick Worship of God And since the Church of God always used Forms of Prayer Dr. Cumber Dr. Falkner why should not we be uniform in our Worship A Worship serious and devout Dr. Hamond concise and pathetical a Service suited to all Occasions of Prayer or Thanksgiving for the Church in general or private Christians in particular Fox Acts vol. 3. A Liturgy compiled and reformed from Popish Errors by those who died Martyrs for it and did especially recommend it to Posterity Our Worship blessed be God Oracles of God a Christ Birth-right by the Author of the Whole Duty of Man p. 183.4 is not concealed from the people in unknown Tongues as the Popish is and must be where Popery prevails for in our time some of the French Bishops and Clergy having translated the Roman Mass-Book into the French Tongue that that People might understand it The then Pope Alexander VII damned the Book and Translators as Heretical orders the Book to be burnt and the Translators to be excommunicated So great a Crime is it for poor Souls in that Communion to understand their Prayers who only say them as Parrots who are taught to prate they know not what But thanks be to God our Service is in the known Tongue of the Nation so that every Member of our Church may as St. St. August on Psal 18. Augustine saith a man ought serve God not chattering like Birds but with the Reason and Understanding of a Man Every person of our Communion may know what Petition or Thanksgivings are to be put up to God and so joyn them with suitable Affections And indeed our Devotions are accompanied with such Zeal and Fervency by all true Members of our Church that as Tertullian stiles it Tertul. Apol. c. 39. We offer holy Violence to God besieging him by Prayer And like those Devotions in St. Basil's time through the Unanimity Uniformity and Zeal of the Devotees she thunders out Prayers and Praises each Member striving to exceed other in this holy storming of Heaven for Mercies wanting and in returning Praises for Blessings received and all this without any expectation of our Prayers being heard or answered for our Merits but through the Merits and Mediation of the ever-blessed Jesus alone Let us Ministers then be uniform in our Worship we have all declared our unfeigned Assent and Consent to all things in our Service Act of Uniformity 12 Car. 2. before our Respective Diocesans at our Institutions and before our several People soon after our Inductions and t would be a shame to us and a Scandal to the Church for us to act otherways And as for our Brethren of the Laity What can they desire better and more edifying than our Divine Service where they know what to petition and to bless God for and may joyn both with suitable Affections and are not confined to the Extemporary Prayer of a Minister with any of whose Petitions they know not whether they can joyn till heard and too many may upon good grounds probably not say Amen The Minister being the Mouth of the People to God in Prayer as he is the Mouth of God to them in preaching ought to pray what the people understand may be most affected with and may heartily say Amen to which surely is best done by a Form of Prayer understood by them before This would prevent that Consusion the Church and Congregation would be in if every one was left to his private Devotions and Petitions St. Paul rejoyced to see the Order in the Church of the Colossians for by their Uniformity in Worship an awful Reverence would be gained to Religion and its very Enemies could not but think them the Servants of the God of Order whenas should one come into a Congregation that is not uniform but one hath an Hymn another an extemporary Prayer a third a Form every one as he thinks fit at his Devotion would not a Man think that Congregation mad as St. Paul infers 1 Cor. 14.23 26.33 and however grants such a Course unedifying and not of God who is not the Author of Confusion but of Peace as in all the Churches of the Saints Yea was the greatest Pretender to or Pleader for Extempore Effusions against Forms of Prayer but to speak to his Landlord a great Man or however to the King I am confident he would a little consider and premeditate what Form of Words he should express himself in much more ought we to do when we who are but Dust and Ashes are to speak in our Prayers to the great God Solomon's Advice surely is very necessary That we take heed when we go into the House of God Eccles 5.2 and be not rash with our Mouths or let our Hearts utter any thing before God for God is in Heaven and we upon the Earth therefore let our words be sew And indeed to avoid the Battology of the Pharisees Mat. 6. our Saviour taught us that Compendium the Lords Prayer And let any Opposer of our Forms consult but their Directory and they will find almost as great a Formality and as strictly enjoyned tho' with less Piety and Devotion Directory Preface p. 8. And the very Compilers of that Book in its Preface declare for Uniformity in Divine Worship for two Reasons 1. To answer the Expectations of other Reformed Churches and 2. To perform what they were obliged to by their Promise in their Solemn League and Covenant Now how can they be uniform without a Form Or can their Directory which they established when they threw away the Churches Liturgy shew their Uniformity when every Minister is left to pray as he pleaseth 'T is true indeed it prescribes and injoyns the Matter and Pattern of Prayer why then may not fit words to express that Matter in be injoyned Is not the prescribing the Matter for Prayer as much formal and as great a stinting of the Spirit as to injoyn fit words Or can the Spirit dictate Words and not the Matter to their Pastors If they be for Uniformity why not pious Matter in suitable Expressions as our Liturgy injoyns If not for Uniformity Why do they pretend to it Ludovicus Capellus Thes Theolog de Liturgia p. 656 ad 670. and by their Reasons for that pretence grant what is easily proved That all the Reformed Churches beyond Sea whether from Calvin or Luther and also the Assembly of Divines themselves did see the Necessity and Advantage and did use Forms of Prayer and that with great Reason For surely the Prayer put up by the whole