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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	new_a	scripture_n	testament_n	8,305	5	8.0705	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77206	Remarks on a late discourse of William Lord Bishop of Derry; concerning the inventions of men in the worship of God. By J. Boyse	Boyse, J. (Joseph), 1660-1728.	1694 (1694)	Wing B4073; ESTC R230876	152,098	209

be instant in season and out of season to reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine For these latter expressions seem to explain the former And I hope he will allow the Apostle Peter to have preacht in the 2 Acts from the 14th to the 40th ver And yet what he spoke is call'd an Exhortation v. 40. Nay to put the matter out of doubt 't is said of John the Baptist 3 Luke 18. That many other things in his Exhortation he preached unto the people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Again he saith That interpreting the Scriptures applying 'em and exhorting the people from 'em in a Christian Auditory is never call'd Preaching Now either those many discourses of the Apostles recorded in the Acts are not Preaching or else quite contrary to the Bp's notion Preaching was interpreting the scriptures applying 'em and exhorting the people from ' em For I would fain know what else he can make of the Apostle Peter's Sermon 2 Acts from the 14th to the 40th 3 Acts from the 12th to the end 4 Acts from the 8th to the 20th Of Stephen's 7 Acts. Of the Apostle Peter's 10 Acts from the 34th to the 44th Of the Apostle Paul's 13 Acts in which single instance the Bp. will find almost all his Notions overthrown together For v. 15. After the reading the Law and Prophets the Rulers of the Synagogue send to Paul and his company this Message Ye men and brethren if ye have any word of Exhortation for the people say on The Apostle addresses himself to comply with their proposal And accordingly his discourse contains an Explication of several passages out of the Old Testament relating to the promised seed of Abraham an application of 'em to our Blessed Saviour and an exhortation to 'em from thence to believe in him and not despise and reject him And this very discourse the Apostle calls declaring glad tidings or preaching for the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 32. If the Bp. object this discourse was not in a Christian Auditory 't is easily answer'd What can the difference of the Auditory signify to alter the nature of the discourse As if the very same discourse in a Synagogue shou'd be preaching but quite another thing in a Christian Church 'T is plain here that the Apostle preacht when he interpreted the Scriptures relating to Christ applyed 'em and exhorted the people from 'em so that these are the same thing And if he still pretend that such Exposition and Application had some other name given it when us'd in a Christian Auditory than that of preaching I shall to remove this shadow of a pretence farther add I suppose he will not doubt but the Apostle Paul either found or at least planted a Christian Church at Rome long before his two years expir'd and yet he is all that time said to preach the kingdom of God among ' em So no doubt there was a Christian Chur●h at Ephesus and yet Timothy residing there is exhorted to preach the word to be instant in season and out of season And in the place I first alledg'd the Apostle Paul was desirous to preach the Gospel to those at Rome whose Faith was already so eminent and so publickly known and celebrated And indeed tho the Gospel be in the strictest sense only news to those that first hear it yet it dos not cease to be good tidings or a joyful message for being often repeated So that since the Bp. has so ill hap in every one of his Criticisms I wou'd advise him to be more sparing and deliberate in offering 'em to publick view for his talent dos not seem to lye much that way IV. The Scriptures have left it to human prudence to determine What portion of 'em shall be read in our publick Assemblys and in what order and method To clear this We must consider there are two ways of Reading the Scriptures in order to the peoples instruction from ' em As either 1. When some consid●rable portion of 'em is read together As some part of a Book or Epistle a Psalm c. For the division of the Scriptures into chapter and verse are but a matter of late Invention 2. When several passages are read out of several Books of the Old or New Testament which are parallel to each other and serve to explain the same Doctrine or clear and enforce the same duty And tho the phrase of Reading the Scriptures be by common custom appropriated to the former yet if we will speak strictly It dos as truly belong to the latter and 't is of this latter way of Reading the Scriptures for the people's instruction that we have the clearest warrant from the examples of the Apostles and the accounts given us in the New Testament of the practice of the Christian Church Nor do those banish either of these ways of reading either an entire portion or several parallel Texts that interpose an explicatory and applicatory Paraphrase between the several parts that are read Nor dos the Bp that I can find so much as pretend to produce any thing from Scripture against the intermixing such a paraphrase in our reading the Scriptures Now if he consult all the Sermons of the Apostles recorded in the Acts he will find that they did read or what is the same did recite verbatim and propose to the consideration of the people several passages of the word of God all tending to illustrate and prove some truth or duty of the Christian Religion And their practice herein was conformable to that of our Blessed Saviour who employd the first Christian Sabbath I mean the day of his Resurrection not in reading an entire portion of Scripture but in expounding to the two Disciples all those passages in Moses and the Prophets that related to himself and his death resurrection and ascention 24 Luke 24 Luke from the 13th to the 28th Nor do I find in that account given of the Worship of Christian Churches 1 Cor. 14 chap. any mention made of Reading the Scriptures as a distinct thing from Doctrine and Interpretation So that I know of no one precept or example in all the New Testament relating to the Christian Church for this way of reading unless what may be inferr'd from the 4 Col. 16. And when this Epistle is read omong you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea But then we must not urge the Inference from these words too far for I know of none that think themselves oblig'd by it to read a whole Epistle at one time tho no doubt it was fit the Colossians shou'd so read this Epistle then as we shou'd be as forward to read a much longer that came newly to us from the same inspired Pen. And yet because reading an entire portion of Scripture was so constantly practis'd in the Old Testament and the reason of it seems in part to extend to us I do

and so strangely mistakes the Remedy for the Disease I confess how much soever our Ears may itch after Novelty and Variety yet he cou'd not reasonably expect they wou'd be charm'd with contradictions which instead of tickling 'em grate upon ' em And truly if our Author gives us no better Exposition and Application of Scripture then this Wee 'l be much rather satisfy'd he shou'd only read it to us For then there wou'd be less danger of misunderstanding it But I wonder why his Lp. shou'd tell us of Prayers and Praises of God's appointment Dos he not know the Collects of the Liturgy are as much of human Composure as our free prayers Why then shou'd they be any more compar'd to Angels Food then ours which are rather more agreeable to scriptural precept and Pattern Nay if the Scriptures read be Sermons of Gods Appointment they are not the less so but the more for being explain'd and applied as appears from this very direction of the Apostle to Timothy to preach the word to be instant in season c. to rebuke c. I shall conclude what relates to our practise with the concluding words of this chapter of the Bp's But as Aaron to please the Israelites made the Golden Calf so some Ministers tho contary to their own principles have changed God's Institution to please their People and left out the constant regular Reading God's word because their People grew weary of it But let all men judg who behave themselves most like the faithful Ministers of Christ We who keep to the reading God's word according to his own Institution whether the People will hear or forbear or they that comply with 'em and lay aside God's command to oblige and please ' em Answ I have already consider'd the injustice of this charge And only add That those more fully comply with God's command who read and expound then those that only read And I am sure as the Dissenters practise herein costs 'em more labour so if their People be not more edify'd by it It must be their own fault With what justice then or indeed with what sense dos his Lp. compare the Dissenters practise herein to Aarons making a Golden Calf to please the People Are indeed Lectures and Sermons such dangerous Idols Or is Hearing the Scriptures expounded when read so pernicious a piece of Idolatry Is not the Interpretation of Scripture as truly a divine Ordinance as the Reading of it And will any man that considers what he saith set the one in opposition to the other Or rather wou'd not the confining Ministers to the Reading the Scriptures only tend to debase 'em into such a sort of Priests as Jeroboam made of the meanest of the People when he set up the Worship of the Golden Calves 1 Kings 12.31 I mean such Priests as need little other furniture for their publick Ministrations then their book and their eyes and are under no obligation to study the Scriptures because they are under no necessity of interpreting 'em to the People And what a sort of Clergy are to be found in Russia Muscovy and other parts of the Christian World where they are turn'd into meer Readers we have so sad accounts from History that if his Lp. intend to turn his Clergy into such by thus discouraging Sermons as an human Invention I shou'd not blame the dissenting ministers for being loth to come under his conduct and regulation I shall conclude this Chapter with observing in reference to the practise of the Establish't Church 1. That I suppose the Bp. will not pretend any Warrant from precept or Example in the Holy Scriptures for the reading such un-inspired Books as those of the Apocrypha together with the Canonical Writings of the Old and New Testament in the time of publick Worship And therefore I hope he 'l censure this himself for one of his human Inventions Especially since himself owns there is a tenth part of the old Testament left out of the Churches order for the Reading it sure to exclude that and introduce in the stead of it the story of Bell and the Dragon Tobit and his Dog c. looks very like the preferring meer human Composures some of which contain foolish and incredible Relations before that part of God's living Oracles Not to mention how little care is taken to distinguish 'em when read from the Canonical Scriptures and prevent the common people's mistaking 'em for such But however his Lp's prudence is commendable in taking no notice of this matter because those Accusations are best past over in silence against which there is no defence 2. That the common practise of the Conforming Clergy in the Countrey of having only one Sermon on the Lord's day nay in the far greatest number of Parishes of having no publick Worship at all one part of the day is a defect that needs some effectual Reformation 3. That the Dissenters seem to have better reason to blame the Conforming Clergy for casting out the Exposition of the Scripture when read as that Exercise is now distinguish't from Sermons then the Bishop to reproach them for not reading the Scripture Remarks on the Chapter concerning Bodily Worship And here First As to the Directions of the holy Scriptures concerning it 1. I Do readily agree with the Bp That Bodily Worship is Commanded in the Scriptures Not that I suppose it as his Lp. dos to be a distinct part of Worship from Prayer Praise c. but only a sutable Adjunct of it of which more afterwards 2. I do agree with him also that the most common postures of Bodily Worship mention'd in Scripture as us'd in Thanksgivings and Prayers were prostration kneeling or standing As to this last of standing the Bp. takes notice of it as us'd in Thanksgivings and p. 143. owns it to have been a Scripture-posture in Prayer too But since he gives no instances of it as us'd in Prayer I shall take leave to subjoyn a few and the rather because this is the posture the Dissenters most generally use in this duty when publickly perform'd Of this posture in Prayer the best Expositors understand Abraham's standing before the Lord 18 Gen. 22. Thus the Levites stood up in that Confession and Prayer they made 9 Neh. 4. c. So to cry to God and stand up are us'd as synonimous expressions 30 Job 20. And 15 Jer. 1. Moses and Samuel's standing before God is put for praying to him So also 18 Jer. 20. And accordingly it was as Grotius observes on 6 Matt. 5. the most universally-receiv'd custom among the Jews to pray standing Thus 18 Luke 10 11. Two men went up to the Temple to pray and standing is the religious posture us'd by each of ' em So 11 Mark 25. When ye stand praying forgive c. Hence Prayers were not only call'd Stations by the Jews among whom it was a celebrated saying That without stations the world cou'd not subsist but also by some of the most