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A00587
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Ancilla pietatis: or, The hand-maid to priuate deuotion presenting a manuell to furnish her with necessary principles of faith. Forcible motiues to a holy life. Vsefull formes of hymnes and prayers. ... By Daniel Featly, D. in Diuinity.
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Featley, Daniel, 1582-1645.
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1626
(1626)
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STC 10725; ESTC S115083
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203,491
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770
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in the middest of the Doctors in the Temple opposing and answering them Propound such Questions by me and returne such Answers by them as may cleerely expresse to our vnderstanding and imprint in our memories the necessary points of sauing Truth and foundations of Christian Doctrine and may serue for the instruction of the ignorant admonition of the learned and the building vp of vs all in our most holy faith So be it Amen PARS PRIMA THE SVMME of sauing Knowledge SECT Prim. DOMIN Prim. Of Catechisme the parts and proper ends thereof Q. WHAT is Catechisme A. The summe of Christian religion reuealed by God in holy Scriptures for mans perfect instruction in the mysteries of eternall saluation Q. What doth Christian Doctrine containe in it A. The true knowledge and worship of God in Christ. Q. Where finde you the summe of this Doctrine A. 1. In the Decalogue written by God the Father 2. In the Lords Prayer conceiued by God the Son 3. In the Créed set down by the Apostles inspired by the holy-Ghost Q. What containeth the Decalogue A. All duties to bée performed by vs to God and our neighbours Q. What containeth the Lords Prayer A. All benefits to be desired of God Q. What containeth the Creed A. All things the â—are to be belieued concerning God and his Church Q. What is the vse and proper end of Catechisme A. To instruct the ignorant and confirme the learned in the principles of Religion and prepare both to the profitable vse of the speciall meanes of their saluation which are Hearing the Word preached Receiuing the Sacraments Publique and priuate Prayer SECT 2. DOMIN 2. Of blessednesse and the meanes of obtaining it Q. What are the chiefest things to bee desired of all men A. Gods fauour blessings and grace in this present life and eternall blessednesse in the vision and fruition of him in the life to come Q. How may wee attaine hereunto A. By true Religion or godlinesse which hath the promise of this life and the life to come Q. What is godlinesse A. The true worship and seruice of the true God Q. Where is this true God's worship and seruice to bee learned and knowne and how A. Obscurely and imperfectly it may be learned in the booke of the creatures by the light of nature but cleerely and perfectly by the light of the Spirit in the Canonicall bookes of the old and new Testament SECT 3. DOMIN 3. Of Religion and the parts thereof Q. What do the Scriptures teach in general concerning the true God and his worship A. That we ought to know and acknowledge the true God his Nature Attributes Workes as farre forth as God hath made himself knowne to vs. 2. That we ought to know and acknowledge Iesus Christ the Mediator betwéene God and man his Person State Office 3 That wee ought to worship God in Christ and serue him both Immediately by religiously adoring him and performing all such holy rites vnto him as hée requireth in the first Table Mediately by readily obeying him and performing all such duties to our selues and our neighbours as hee requireth in the second Table SECT 4. DOMIN 4. Of the Nature of God Q. What do the Scriptures teach concerning the nature of God A. That he is One true eternall simple all-sufficient immutable infinite incomprehensible spirit hauing being of himselfe distinguished into thrée persons of the same nature dignitie and power The Father begetting The Sonne begotten The holy-Ghost procéeding from them both SECT 5. DOMIN 5. Of the principle attributes of God Q. What doe the Scriptures teach concerning the attributes of God A. That he is a liuing blessed and glorious God the great high and mighty Lord and possessor of heauen and earth and our most gracious and louing Father most holy wise iust faithfull and good SECT 6. DOMIN 6. Of the workes of God in generall Q. What do the Scriptures teach concerning the workes of God A. That he decreeth and executeth al things for his glory according to the counsell of his own will powerfully working all the good of nature and grace in all things and wisely disposing of al the euil both of sinne and punishment SECT 7. DOMIN 7. Of God's Decrees Q. What decrees of God are registred in holy Scriptures for our instruction and comfort A. Two Especially 1. His decrée of creation of all things 2. His decree of prouidence ouer all which is two-fold 1. Generall concerning the present state of all things in this world 2. Speciall concerning the eternall state of Angels and men in the world to come Q. What is this speciall decree properly called A. Predestination Q. What are the parts of it A. Two Election Reprobation or reiection Q. What is Election A. Gods eternall counsell and purpose of chusing certaine Angels and men and bringing them to euerlasting happinesse for the declaration of his infinite mercie Q. What is Reprobation A. Gods eternall counsell and purpose of reiecting others and reseruing them to euerlasting miserie and torments for the manifestation of his iustice SECT 8. DOMIN 8. Of the Creation Q. What learne you out of Scripture concerning the execution of Gods decree of Creation A. That in sixe dayes he made all things visible and inuisible of nothing by his word to the glory of his infinite power SECT 9. DOMIN 9. Of Gods generall Prouidence Q. What learne you concerning the execution of God his decree of generall Prouidence A. That he preserueth al things in their state and kinde and gouerneth them after an excellent manner to the glory of his manifold wisedome and goodnesse SECT 10. DOMIN 10. Of the Predestination of Angels Q. What is reuealed in Scripture concerning the execution of Gods decree of Predestination and first of Angels A. That hee suffered the reprobate Angels voluntarily without any temptation to fall into the vnpardonable sinne of Apostasie and that hee reserueth them in chaines of darknes tiâ— the iudgement of the great day But contrarilie that hee hath confirmed the Elect Angels in their holy and blessed estate SECT 11. DOMIN 11. Of the Predestination of men Q. What is reuealed in Scripture concerning the Predestination of men A. That hee gaue all men in Adam and Eue a Lawe and free will to kéepe it or breake it and after they abused their frée will and brake that Lawe and thereby brought a curse vpon them and all their posterit y that of his mercy grace he chose chooseth some out of the estate of misery and corruption maketh them his sonnes by adoption calleth them to the knowledge of the truth regenerateth them by his spirit iustifieth them by faith and in the end crowneth them with euerlasting glory Others he left and leaueth in the state of misery and corruption offereth them some outward meanes which make them vnexcusable for their refusall or abuse of them hardeneth them casting them into a reprobate sence and in the end after many iudgements and Plagues in this life
to fit prayers and deâ—â—tions to seuerall seasons and speciall occasions baulked the Christian faste and feasts For albeit the Saints dayes might fare the worse with them because Popish superstitioÌ„ ouer cloyed them Which yet is an abuse of arguing to argue from the abuse to the abolishing the right vse By this meanes they might take from vs the vse of all Gods creatures because they haue beene superstitiously or profanely abused some way or other But admit there might be a legall caueat put in against the Saints Plea what haue the feasts of our Lord and Sauiour deserued that they should be struck out of their Callender or sleightly passed without the honour of a meditation Hymnes or Prayer on them They cannot pleade want of president authoritie or direction for they haue Coppies faire written in golden characters by Chrysostome in his Homilies Chrysologus Leo Augustine Bernard other deuout Fathers in their Sermons vpon these dayes If they saw not them why did they not follow the excellent patterne in the booke of Common Prayer Which laying before me I haue drawne formes of exhortations hymnes and prayers carying throughout a manifest impression of the feast to which they are dedicated And before them I haue prefixed a Paralell of the Prophesie of the old and the Historie of the new Testament compared together that thou mightest haue an ocular demonstration of that which S. Austine writeth concerning both The new Testament is vailed in the old and the old is reuealed in the new After the feasts or before as preparatiues to them the Church fasts should haue beene ranked But there being in their Deuotions no spirituall dainties allowed for the festiuals I nothing maruelled at it that Christian fastes were vtterly vnprouided for and if I may so speake fast with them Extraordinarie fasts of humiliâ—tion to auert some fearefull Plague or imâ—inent iudgement they take notice of but the ordinarie fasts of Deuotion they mention not at all Yet certainely the deuoute soule out of a sympathie with her Sauiour cannot 〈◊〉 weepe with him as well as reâ—oyce with him in some measure Fast with him on good-friday as well as feast with him and for him on Easter day If any teares of a sinner are the wine of Angels I am perswaded they are those teares of Deuotion which after much fasting and Prayer and meditation spring out of the serious apprehension of Christs infinite loue testified to man-kinde by his fasting watching praying weeping bleeding and dying for vs on the Crosse. But they wil say these are the sacred fewell of euery dayes deuotion Yet it is more proper to remember the â—orke of the day in the day wherein it was wrought And albeit the Iewes were bound alwayes to remember Gods wonderfull deliuerances yet more stricktly were they bound on the very day for that end appointed to be kept solemne What though we finde no expresse commandement for them The practise of the ancient Church and the religious constitutions of the present ratified by Supreme authoritie should sway in a matter of this nature according to that golden rule of S. Bernard Obey him as God who is in the place of God in those things that are not against God These fasts therefore should not haue bene forgotten I come now in the last place to the weekely Deuotions wherein I finde Prayers for each seuerall day of the weeke Yet as it is noted by the learned of S. Gregories Comment vppon Iob that It is an excellent Commentarie fraught with rich learning especially in matter of moralitie But it might haue beene wrote almost as well vppon any parcell of Scripture as vpon Iob. So you shall finde that the Prayers for each day may serue for any day as well as that to which they are intituled For example Munday's Prayer well fits Tuesday and Tuesday's Wednesday and all three Thursday Friday and Saturday No day hath more interest in the Deuotion for it then another When Timothie found fault with ALEXANDER for striking a stroke amisse vpon the Harpe and Alexander demanded of him Is it not all one whether I strike it this way or that way with these fingers or these True answered Timothie It is all one to an Emperour but not to a Musitian It is no error in stale to strike as you doe but it is an error in art I confesse in like manner it is no error in Religion â— set a godly Prayer for the day which hath no interest or relation at all to the day yet it is an indecorum and blurre in Art It is all one as if they should set a marke before them and shoote no more towards it then any other white To auoid this improprietie if not incongruitie in the Morning Hymne and Prayer I haue an eye to some worke of God the Father in the Creation wrought on that day In the Euening Hymne and Prayer to some worke of God the Sonne wrought or by the Church remembred on that day in the Passion weeke For the admonitions and exhortations wherewith the Deuotions are interlaced I tooke my patterne of them from S. CYPRIAN De agno per quem redempti viuificati sumus lanam ipsam purpuram misi quam cum acceperis toâ—icam tibi pro voluntate conficies In exhortatione â—am necessaria amputandae sunt verborum nostrorum morae ambages sermonis humani sâ—btrahendae ponenda illa sola quae DEVS loquitur Wâ—th whose words I will not cloathe mine owne I haue sent thee cloth saith he made of the fleece of that Lamb by whose bloud we are all redeemed Take as much as will serue thy turne and fashion and fit thy garment to thine owne minde All inferences and discourses of mine owne I omit because in so needfull exhortations the delayes and lingering protractions of mens words are to be cut off and onely Gods owne words to bee set downe To summe vp all in a word I haue brought thee into the Spouse garden of flowers and spices I haue gathered some out almost of euery bed and layed by them a thread in the Analysis or Method to binde them vp together Make thou thy Posie as thou likest best and breathe out with mee that sweete Prayer of the Spouse cut in one of her knots Arise ô North and blow ô South winde thaâ—â—he sent of our Spices flowers may flow and the beloued may come into his Garden GEntle Reader the lesser escapes I intreat thee to mend with thy pen and to set some marginall notes at the right place which thou shalt find here and there a little misplaced A Generall Table representing the Method of this Worke. This Manuell hath in it described a plat of holy ground diuided into 1 A garden of spirituall flowers 1 For ornament to decke and dresse vp the inner roome to entertaine the Spouse as preÌ„parations to religious duties In generall Prayer Hearing the Word In speciall to Receiuing § Sacrament 2. For sent to