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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	authority_n	ecclesiastical_a	prince_n	2,573	5	6.1162	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44141	A correct copy of some letters written to J.M., a nonconformist teacher concerning the gift and forms of prayer by Matthew Hole ...	Hole, Matthew, 1639 or 40-1730.; J. M. (John Moore), 1641 or 2-1717.	1698 (1698)	Wing H2408; ESTC R19302	77,888	204

Ecclesiis The Apostles did set in order in the Church such things as had relation unto Order as Forms of Prayer and the like Dyonysius the Areopagite Eccl Hier. p. 77 who was Cotemporary with the Apostles testifies that there were then Forms of Prayer to which all the People said Amen And tho' some doubt hath been made whether the Book in which this is recorded be his yet 't is by all granted to be exceeding Ancient In the next Age to the Apostles Epist ad Trajan Pliny in his Letter to Trajan makes mention of set Forms of Hymns and Praises us'd by Christians at that time Soliti sunt saith he Carmen Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem And both Ignatius and Justin Martyr speak of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Common Prayer that was used among them In the second and third Centuries we find Origen in his Book against Celsus Origen contra cels lib. 1.8 speaking of Christians using 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Appointed Prayers And in one of his Homilies citing a piece of Liturgy then in use Homil 11. Frequenter in Oratione dicimus Da Omnipotens da nobis partem cum Prophetis i.e. We often say in our Prayers give Almighty God O give us a Part with the Prophets St. Cyprian makes frequent mention of a Liturgy in the Church of Carthage telling us of the Ministers saying in the beginning of it Sursum Corda Lift up your Hearts and the People answering Habemus ad Dominum We lift them up unto the Lord. And the same is derived down and used in our Liturgy to this Day And Tertullian mentions the same Form of Abrenunciation that is still used in our Office of Baptism and withal adds That they had set Hymns for particular Times and Occasions Eusebius in the life of Constantine tells us that besides the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the established Prayers he ordered Forms of Prayer to be composed for the use of the Soldiers Euseb in Vit. Constant lib. 9. 〈◊〉 9 c. Which plainly shews his Approbation and Use of them If we go forward to the fourth and following Centuries we shall find our selves compass'd about with a whole Cloud of Witnesses St. Crysostome St. Ambrose St. Basil St. Austine with many others some whereof were Framers of Liturgies Besides many Counsils that decreed and established the use of them As Consil Laod. Can. 18. Carthag Can. 23. Milev Can. 12. If we come down to the Times of the Reformation we shall find all the Lutheran and Foreign Churches using Forms of Prayer for Publick Worship Yea if we come to Geneva and consult your beloved John Calvin the Father of Presbytery we shall find him using a constant Form of Prayer in his Publick Ministration And likewise composing Forms of Prayer for the use of Geneva which were approved of and established by the Authority of that City And for his Judgment of the use of Forms you may take it from himself who in his Letter to the Lord Protector thus declares himself Calv. Epist 87. For so much as concerns Forms of Prayer and Ecclesiastical Rites Valde probo c. I much approve that they be determined so that it may not be lawful for Ministers in their Administrations to vary from them By which you may see how far you do degenerate from the Principles and are gone off from the Practices of the first Founder of your Sect. Yea 't is well known that those who were styled Puritans or Presbyterians before the great Rebellion Conscientiously used and frequented the Publick Liturgy and inveigh'd bitterly against all separation from it Thus you see the Christian Church ever since the days of Inspiration hath every where Celebrated Publick Worship by Liturgies or Composed Forms of Prayer So that Extempore or Free Prayer was a thing unknown to the primitive and purer Ages of the Church and plainly appears to be a late Invention By whom it was brought in and for what End I shall accquaint you very shortly In the mean time what can it be ascribed to but to your Ignorance or Pride thus to set up your Self against the Judgment and Practice of the whole Christian Church in all Ages 2. But you ask Secondly Who are those Uninspired Persons that have a Commission to compose these Prayers and likewise who are they that have Authority from God to impose them For the composing these Publick Prayers that undoubtedly lies in the Power of the Church which from the beginning of Christianity hath ever exercised it For Christ sent forth his Apostles not only to teach but to Rule and Govern his Church That all things in it may be done Decently and in Order and to the use of Edifying And Beza as was before observed tells us that Forms of Prayer were one of those things that related to Order and were settled by them 1 Tim. 3. ● 2. St. Paul directs Timothy to take care that Publick Prayers be made or composed for the use of the Church of Ephesus of which he was made an Over-seeer Now this being a matter of standing use and benefit to the Church is derived down to their Successours with whom Christ promised to be to the end of the World And therefore we find that the Rulers and Pastors of the Church meeting in Synods and Convocations have upon Mature Advice and Deliberation framed these Publick Liturgies ever since Mile Concil Can. 12.23 The Milevitan Council forbids the admitting any other Prayers in the Church for the Publick Worship of God than those that are so made and so approved lest thro' Ignorance or want of Care something might slip in that was contrary to the Faith But who are they say you that have Authority to impose them upon all Ministers who residing with are presumed best to know the Necessities of the People The Composing of Prayers we see is in the Church the Imposing them lyes in the Chief Magistrate who is Supreme in his Realm in all Causes Ecclesiastical as well as Civil For the Church being incorporated into the State neither of them can be well govern'd unless the Prince be Supreme in both And therefore a great Man hath hath told us That the Church directing and the Sovereign Enacting have ever had this Power since the State became Christian Neither can we see how things can be better ordered than that what is well considered and tendered by the Church should be ratified by the Sanction and Authority of the Prince But you it seems think your self wiser than both and can order these things better by your present Conceptions than they upon all their Deliberation and that because you residing with can better know the Necessities of the People When Sir will you be so modest as to think the Rulers in Church and State better Judges of the general Necessities of the People than you or any private Person Is there any thing in the

Prayer could find from the Authority of Bishop Hall I come now to see whether they are like to find any better from the Authority of Bishop Wilkins This is your last Refuge and if this Prop fails your Cause may be in some danger of Sinking What you alledge from him is out of a Book Intitled The Gift of Prayer from which I find you transcribing many passages upon all occasions In that Book the learned Author endeavour'd to reduce Free conceived Prayer into an Art a Design as himself acknowledges that was perfectly new and never attempted by any before him Now that must be acknowledg'd to be a very considerable prejudice to the Undertaking for new Devices and Inventions in Religion have been ever found to be very dangerous and all Churches have felt the Mischief and inconveniences of such Novelties He that walks in a new and untrodden Path may easily lose his Way and many by leaving the Antient Track have found themselves in the Briers Jer. 6.16 and therefore we are bid to Enquire for the old Ways and to walk in them it being much more safe to keep in the beaten Road of Antiquity than to seek out and wander in the By-paths of Innovations But to come to the Book We find that Great man in the Preface wondring that so little should be said or written on that Subject to help him in his Undertaking Now this Wonder may soon cease by calling to mind that all Christian Churches in all times and places perform'd their Publick Worship by Set prescribed Forms and so as there was no use so neither was there any need of this Artificial Gift which is a sufficient Reason of the Silence of Antiquity about it But when this Art began to be studied and put in practice it soon became an Instrument of Division and is at this day one of the principal Wiles and Artifices of Seducers Accordingly therefore this Great man finding the bad Effects of this new Experiment in Divinity and observing how greedily it was catch'd at and abus'd by Sectaries thought fit to abandon this New Art without adding improving or so much as correcting the Imperfections of it and He himself to his dying day became a constant frequenter of the Publick Prayers of the Church and likewise according to the Duty of his Office strictly kept his Clergy to them But the better to clear up this Matter you must consider Sir the Time of the writing of that Book together with the Occasion and End for which 't was written and then you will soon see what little stress is to be laid upon it For the Time of writing it 't was when the Liturgy and Discipline of the Church of England were by a prevailing Faction laid aside and all godly Forms of Prayer decry'd at which time a whole Deluge of Errors and new Opinions broke in upon us and by the help of Free Prayer were vented and spread abroad to the great increase of Sects and Schisms among us By this means Men lost the Reverence that is due to the Divine Majesty bespeaking him in a loose careless and indecent manner and the Solemnity of Prayer was prostituted to vile and secular purposes Now to remedy those Evils this Great Man wrote this Book to direct Men in this Duty when they were deprived of the Assistance of Forms and to preserve if possible some Sense in their Prayers at a time when there was so little of it to be heard Moreover if we consider the manner and model drawn up by this Reverend Person for this purpose we shall find it in effect to be This. When one sort of Forms were cryed down he endeavoured to bring up another that is when Book-Forms were removed by the subtlety of Designing Men p. 11. he endeavoured to set up Mental-Forms or repeating their Prayers by memory which he stiles An invisible Book for the Register of our Thoughts hoping thereby to keep up that sense and seriousness that was requisite in this Duty there being but little difference as he tells us betwixt Repeating by memory and Reading out of a Book That this was the main drift of the Author in that Book appears by these following things First p. 10. He forbid's Men to depend altogether upon sudden Suggestions or Effusions as if it were A Quenching or Confinement of the Spirit to be furnished before-hand with Matter and Expressions for this Service p. 13. In another place he requires them To prepare themselves by study and premeditation for this Duty that is as appears by what is mentioned before to lay up both Matter and Words in their Memory for the more decent and orderly performance of it Again p. 3. 18 he condemns leavning these things to suddain Infusion which occasions Mens bespeaking God Almighty in a loose and careless manner Furthermore he would have them settle and compose their Thoughts or fix these things in their Memory p. 19. for the more solemn performance of this Duty that they may the better avoid all idle impertinent and wild Expressions the usual Embellishments of Extempore-Prayer Secondly p. 17. He condemns all Affectation of varying Words and Phrases in Prayer by which means Men become expos'd to empty vain and unseemly Expressions Now you know Sir that the great difference between Forms and Free Prayer is that in the former the same Words are used upon the same occasions and the latter changes Phrases without any necessity and 't is well known that the chief Excellency of the conceived Prayers of Sectaries lies in this vanity of Variation which this Great Man severely condemns Thirdly He condemns all Affecttaion of Length which you know is one of the great Ornaments and Attendants of Free Prayer p. 17. and to avoid this Prolixity p. 19. he cautions against all empty Repetitions and Digressions letting us know Eccl. 5.2 that God is in Heaven and we are upon Earth therefore our Words should be few Fourthly This Author distinguisheth between Praying in Publick with others p. 16. and Praying Secretly betwixt God and our own Souls allowing Men in secret to take a greater Liberty of enlarging themselves in their own Expressions which though not in themselves so significant and proper may yet suit their Minds and serve to set forth their own immediate Thoughts But in Publick Prayers where we are the Mouth of others and should engage the Affections of those that joyn with us there greater care must be taken that our Expressions be so proper and deliberate as may be most Effectual to that End and for that purpose prefers premeditated Forms wherein Matter and Words are prepared before hasty and present Conceptions In a word this Reverend Author places the great work and business of Prayer p. 2. 3. in the Heart which he stiles the Life and Spirit of it and consequently the Words are but the Carkaess and Shell of it adding withal that 't is not essential to Prayer