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A86435 A treatise concerning prayer; containing particularly an apology for the use of the Lords prayer. / By Thomas Hodges, B.D. Rector of the Church of Souldern. Hodges, Thomas, d. 1688. 1656 (1656) Wing H2323; Thomason E1712_1; ESTC R209609 38,565 187

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How good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to joyn together in prayer God hearkens and heares and a booke of remembrance shall be written for them that speak often one to another as those converts doe Zech. 8.2 Come let us goe speedily to pray before the Lord I will goe also One soul well tuned in prayer ma●es good musick in Gods ears M● Cobbet of Prayer but he delights much saith a reverend Author I say most in prayers in consort when two or three when two or three thousand gather together and agree to ask any thing in the name of Christ The Church on earth is never so like the Church in heaven as when the four living Creatures and the four and twenty Elders i e. when Pastors and People having Harps in their hands that is being prepared to praise God and golden vials full of Odours or Incense that is being prepared to pray unto him when all these meet together thus to worship the Lamb Rev. 5.8 Let Christians say it is good for us to be here it is best for us to be here How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts this is none other than the Suburbs of Heaven than the gate than a corner of Heaven than a Heaven upon Earth Pray therefore all manner of prayer but especially in publique with the Assemblies of Gods people I shall adde but one thing more in this particular and that is to beseech you not to diminish ought of this service not to clip Gods Tribute-mony or to offer an imperfect Sacrifice unto God but at all times but especially on the Lords day let us come together at the beginning and tarry till the end of publique Prayers God will not allow the Prince of his people to absent himself or to delay his coming to publique Worship or to depart untill the Conclusion Ezek. 46.10 And now if there be any here who shall say in their hearts Wee have high thoughts of Prayer and a good minde to the duty but alas we are not able to compose a Prayer of our selves we cannot goe to prayer except some lead us by the hand we know not what to say as we ought except some put words in our mouths To these the second Observation may give satisfaction which speaketh on this wise saying II. It is lawfull to pray with or by a Set forme of Prayer Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God for things agreeable to his will in the name of Christ with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies This is the definition of Prayer given by the late Reverend Assembly in their shorter Catechisme And in this we have contained all the Essentials of Prayer and all this may be done whether we make use of a written or printed book or rehearse a Prayer out of our memory D. W. G●ft of Prayer that invisible book or whether we may by immediate and sudden suggestion or according to the sudden conceptions and dictates of our own hearts I say therefore that it is neither absolutely necessary in it self nor utterly unlawfull to use a Set form of Prayer Confident I am that Prayer with or by a Form is better than no prayer at all and that if all those persons amongst us who are not able to pray by immediate suggestion or sudden conception or who cannot by study premeditation compose such a Prayer as they dare offer up to God especially before others if these would make use of some Forms of wholsome desires framed by others and if being Masters of Families they would morning and evening ingage themselves to seek God with their families in this way God might and should have honour thereby and they receive blessing from God This lawfulnesse of Set Formes may be evinced by holy Scriptures by the practise of the Church of God Jewish and Christian The Apostle Paul in his first Epistle to Timothy ch 2.1 makes four sorts or parts of Prayer Supplications Prayers Intercessions and giving of Thanks and we have patternes or ground for Set Formes of all these in the Scriptures For the first sort of Prayer wherein we desire the averting of evils both of sinne and punishment we have ground to do this in or by a prescribed form of words for so God injoyned in the case of an uncertain murder Deut. 21.7 8. that the Elders of the city that is next to the slain man should wash their hands over an Heifer which was to be beheaded in the valley and that they or the Priests in their name and roome should answer and say Our hands have not shed this blood neither have our eyes seene it Be mercifull O Lord unto thy people Israel whom thou hast redeemed and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israels charge Again the Prophet Hosea exhorting Israel to return unto the Lord chap. 14. beginning saith Take with you words and turn to the Lord say unto him take away all iniquity and receive us graciously so will we render the calves of our lips c. from which two texts I think it more reasonable to inferre or conclude that they might without sin say those very words which were put into their mouths than to say they should sinne if they should pray in that very form of words 2. We have in the Scripture formes of Prayer or petitions for the obtaining of good things A Forme used by Moses one who had abundance of spirit at the setting forward of the Ark and at the resting of the Ark Numb 10.35 36. And another Form prescribed to Aaron and his Sons in blessing the people Numb 6.23 24 25 26. And we have a Form of Prayer also injoyned to him that paid his third yeare tithes Deut. 26 13 14 15. 3. A ground for a forme of Intercession and that too upon a publique Fast day we have in Joel chap. 2.17 Let the Ministers of the Lord weep between the Porch and the Altar and let them say Spare the people O Lord and give not thy heritage to reproach that the Heathen should rule over them wherefore should they say among the people where is now their God I doe not believe that these were all the words they did or might say unto God on a day of Humiliation but I think I have more reason hence to gather that they might lawfully have used this form of words in their Prayers that day than any man hath to conclude the contrary 4. A ground for Set forms of Praise or Thanksgiving we have in those many admirable formes of praise composed by David Asaph and other holy men and sung at the Tabernacle and Temple and that too in the times of Hezekiah's reformation 2 Chron. 29.30 and left upon record in the book of Psalmes Mr. Mede calls the booke of Psalmes the Jewish Liturgy and truly therein we have Formes of all these four sorts of Prayer There are Prayers for averting evill for obtaining of good
purposes about or concerning Prayer If the promise of the teaching of the holy Ghost if those Scriptures Ye have an anointing that teacheth you all things and when he comes he shall lead you into all truth doth not discharge us from the use of mens teaching us and preaching unto us and from our own reading the holy Scriptures the doctrine of the Prophets of our Saviour Christ of his Apostles no more doth the other promise of the spirit of Prayer take away all use of Scripture-prayers especially of our Lords Prayer The promise of baptizing with the holy Ghost when it was fulfilled did not make void or take away Baptisme of water no more doth the promise of the holy Ghost to help us to pray and in prayer take away the use of the Lords Prayer It was the work of the holy Ghost to teach and to help Christians to offer up this Prayer and all other their prayers in the name merits and mediation of Jesus Christ to stir up in them good and holy desires agreeable to the requests or petitions continued in this prayer and to descend to many particular desires and petitions and to expresse those desires in proper words and significant expressions all which desires were summarily comprehended in the Petitions and words or expressions of the Lords prayer I say this was the office and work of the holy Ghost which doth in no wise take away all lawfull use of the Lords prayer as a prayer For surely the holy Spirit will not therefore refuse to assist us when we pray this prayer because it is a prayer made by Jesus Christ and registred in the holy Scriptures written by those who were full of and moved by the holy Ghost in that work Nor doe I believe that God the holy Ghost who is the God of Order and not of Confusion will suggest or infuse into us such desires as shall necessarily turn us out of the Lords prayer whilest we are using it in a right manner It is not probable that the holy Spirit will turn us out of the road wherein the Sonne appointed us to goe to the Father And I pray what desires are there that are holy just and good such are all the desires of which the holy Ghost is authour but are comprehended in this prayer Doubtlesse as the Spirit of the Prophets in the Apostles dayes was subject to the Prophets so t is no disparagement to the spirit of prayer which Christians have in these dayes to be regulated by the spirit of prayer which was in Christ and so consequently by that forme which he hath left us Must the whole congregation be tyed up to the forme of the speaker whether Minister or other in prayer and may he in no wise be guided by Christs Prayer Beloved brethren whilst ye so judge are ye not partiall in your selves and to your selves If it be asked what 's the reason that when we have been praying a long time either according to a premeditated forme or a conceived prayer or in a mixt way betwixt both for the things contained in the Lord prayer we yet conclude our prayers with the Lords prayer Is not this a vaine repetition Answ For as much as when we have prayed our best we may have failed in something our prayer may have been defective imperfect It is not therefore vaine but to purpose and very reasonable to rehearse that prayer wherein is nothing defective nothing superfluous nothing out of its due place and order Nor is this an Innovation it was the practice of the antient Church Quam tot●m p●titionem fere omnis Ecclesia Dominica oratione concludit if we will believe Austin in his 59. Epistle q. 5. where he tells that the Church did generally conclude their prayers and blessings at the consecration and distribution of the Elements at the Lords Supper with the Lords Prayer And it hath been observed that they who wholly omit or disuse the Lords Prayer as a prayer doe seldome follow the Lord Christ fully in it as a patterne namely in this particular they seldome plead with God for forgivenesse of sinnes with this argument as or because we forgive those who trespasse against us and doe not alwaies pray against Temptation If they seek to justifie their not using the Lords Prayer and their not imitating it in the former of these particulars lest they should occasion many to pray against themselves because they cannot finde in their hearts to forgive their brethren To this we reply that all our prayers ought to be according to this modell or pattern themselves being Judges To the Lords Prayer bring we all our prayers if they are not according to this rule it is because as to that thing wherein they are irregular or not conforme hereto the true spirit of prayer is not in them 2. If we will not heare Gods Commandement to forgive our brethren how should we expect God should heare our prayers for forgivenesse we must both pray and practise according to Gods will if we would have our wills done if we would have God fulfill our desires 3. The crookedness of mens hearts and waies can be no right rule for Gods Minister in publick prayer but the Word of God and prayer of our Lord Christ 4. The using of this prayer may be instead of a Sermon to such malitious ones to minde them of and move them to forgivenesse However I doubt not but some of the Israelites might be guilty of some of those sins against which the curse was denounced by the Priests on Mount Ebal and to which the Congregation said Amen Obj. Papists and profane ignorant Protestants make an ill use of this good prayer make a kind of Idoll of it and therefore we should lay it aside after the example of Hezekiah who demolished the brazen Serpent when it was abused to Idolatry 2 King 18.4 Answ Some mens abuse of naturall things must not hinder or prejudice others in their right to use them lawfully much lesse must mans abuse annull or make void Gods Institutions Our Saviour sanctifyed the Sabbath although the Jewes were superstitious in their manner of observation of it We must not lay aside the first part of the Gospell written by the holy Evangelist John because it hath been abused in charmes c. And we may still use the words of Christ This is my body in celebration of the Lords Supper notwithstanding that Papists thereupon ground Transubstantiation and Artolatry or worship of the bread believing it to be the body of Christ corporally and not only Sacramentally As the Apostle Paul to Timothy 1 Epist Chap. 1.8 saith of the law of God The law is good if a man use it lawfully So say I of the prayer of our Lord The Prayer is good if a man use it lawfully If the meer abuse of things should take away all lawfull use of them we should soon be deprived of the benefit both of Gods creatures and of his ordinances