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A47146 The fundamental truths of Christianity briefly hinted at by way of question and answer : to which is added a treatise of prayer in the same method / by George Keith. Keith, George, 1639?-1716.; Barclay, Robert, 1648-1690. 1688 (1688) Wing K168; ESTC R14276 61,969 152

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words and a sutable degree and measure of life to accompany them wherewith to minister in Prayer and whereby the faint and weak desires of the Hearers many times are enlarged and strengthened But it can never be supposed that he who only reads a Set Form of Prayer out of a Book according to the order of the Calendar or repeats it from his memory can Pray with either such fit and sutable matter of words or can minister that sutable degree and measure of life that the Hearers require and stand in need of for where the words are not seasonable life will not join with them to make them effectual and profitable to the Hearers I know it will be hard for these who have not the inward experience of the workings of the Divine Life and Spirit in their own Souls to believe or imagine how the Speaker who is assisted to Preach or pray with the Spirit of God can have a distinct and clear feeling of the several states and conditions of the people and in that sense and feeling be enabled by the same Spirit who gave this sense to him to minister to them all that which is seasonable both for matter and life However this is abundantly known and witnessed to those who have an inward experience of life and its workings in themselves to be a truth for as in the natural body one member hath a sence of its fellow members and the more noble that one member be its sence of the other members is the more universal full and comprehensive Even so is it in the Body of Christ which is his Church and how can it be otherwise when as the Scripture saith All the single hearted and upright minded Professors of Christ are of one heart and soul as expressing a greater unity and sympathy or fellow feeling than that of the body as if to be of one Soul were more than to be of one Body for if the parts of the Body have a sence one of another much more the powers and faculties of the Soul have a discerning and sympathy one with another 6. And lastly To add no more here altho many more reasons might be brought against the using of Set Forms of Prayer the whole Superstructure dependeth upon a false and wrong bottom or foundation viz. an Opinion that immediate Inspiration and Revelation is ceased or discontinued in the Church and in and among true Christians as well as false for I dare say If they who are so zealous for using Set Forms of Prayer did but believe that Immediate Inspiration and Revelation did remain in the true Church of God and in and among true Christians this would presently end the dispute and determine the Controversie betwixt them and us for when Immediate Inspiration and Revelation was in the Church as in the Apostles daies and for some considerable time thereafter they readily grant that men then prayed and sung Psalms ex tempore without Book by the Spirit and therefore if they did now believe that such a dispensation is restored and restoring again and was never altogether lost among true Christians although much impaired and diminished by reason of the general Apostacy and prevailing power of darkness that was over the greatest part of those called Christians they would lay aside their Set Forms and wait for this Divine Gift But it were too long and unseasonable a labour in this place to prove that Immediate Revelation and Inspiration doth remain in and among all true Christians I shall therefore refer the Readers to what our Friends have writ on that subject and particularly to two Treatises of mine And withal I beseech all sober and impartial people laying aside all prejudice to weigh and consider upon what slender and weak Arguments that Opinion is built which saith That Immediate Inspiration and Revelation is ceased in and among all true Christians And above all I recommend them to the Light of Christ Jesus and the manifestation of his holy Spirit of Truth in every one of their hearts and Consciences that bears witness to every necessary Truth as they hearken to it and with their minds turned to the said Light and Spirit of Truth to read and search the Scriptures diligently in that very respect as the Noble Bereans did of old and the Lord give them understanding in that and all other necessary things I shall now proceed to Answer the most ordinary Objections that seem to have most weight for using Set Forms of Prayer whether in the Church or in private 1. It is Objected That Set Forms of Prayer and Blessing the People were used in the Iewish Church under the Law as Numb 10. 35. when the Ark set forward Moses commonly said Arise O God let thine Enemies be scattered let them also that hate thee flee before thee and when it rested he said Return O Lord to the many thousands of Israel And Numb 6. 23. Aaron and his Sons were on this wise to bless the people saying The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face to shine favourably on thee And Joel the Prophet taught the People to pray saying Spare thy People O Lord give not thy Heritage to reproach that the Heathen should rule over them wherefore should they say among the people Where is their God Ioel 2. 17. And yet under the Law people had the Spirit of God and were to pray by the Spirit and Moses and Aaron who were to use these Forms of Prayer and Blessing were endued wiih a great measure of the Spirit and able enough to have conceived other Forms of Prayer and Blessing Ans. From their using Set Forms of Prayer and Blessing under the Law to argue for the use of them under the Gospel will not hold good for not only Sacrifices and Offerings of Beasts but many other things were both commanded and allowed under the Law which are not under the Gospel And although Moses and Aaron and many others in those daies had great plenty of the Spirit yet for the sake of the people who generally were weak and rude they were to go along with them in those Rudiments No doubt Moses and the Prophets saw to the substance and end of those Shadows and Figures and knew well enough that the blood of Bulls and Goats could not wash or purifie the Conscience and yet because of the general dispensation of the Law which was to continue until the fulness of time wherein Christ should be revealed they were to remain in the practise of these things which were afterwards to be abolished And though under the Law some Forms of Prayer and Blessing the People were to be used yet they were but few and very short and such as did proceed from the Spirit of God the matter and words of such Forms seem to carry in them some extraordinary Majesty or Glory and to have some deep and profound signification and force with them more than ordinary as we know some Scripture words and