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A58783 Certain cases of conscience resolved concerning the lawfulness of joyning with forms of prayer in publick worship. Part I ... Scott, John, 1639-1695. 1683 (1683) Wing S2039; ESTC R30551 36,334 62

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CERTAIN Cases of Conscience RESOLVED Concerning the Lawfulness of Joyning WITH Forms of Prayer IN Publick Worship PART I. VIZ. I. Whether the using of Forms of Prayer doth not stint and limit the Spirit II. Whether the using Publick Forms of Prayer be not a sinful omission of the Ministerial Gift of Prayer III. Whether Praying by a Publick Form doth not deaden the Devotion of Prayer LONDON Printed by Henry Hills Jun. for Fincham Gardiner at the White Horse in Ludgate-street 1683. Books Printed by FINCHAM GARDINER A Continuation and Vindication of the Defence of Dr. Stillingfleets Unreasonableness of Separation in Answer to Mr. Baxter and Mr. Lob c. A Perswasion to Communion with the Church of England A Resolution of some Cases of Conscience which Respect Church-Communion The Case of indifferent things used in the Worship of God Proposed and Stated by considering these Questions c. A Discourse about Edification Considerations of present use considering the Danger Resulting from the Change of our Church-Government The Resolution of this Case of Conscience Whether the Church of England ' s Symbolizing so far as it doth with the Church of Rome makes it Unlawful to hold Communion with the Church of England A Letter to Anonymus in Answer to his Three Letters to Dr. Sherlock about Church-Communion A RESOLUTION OF THE Cases of Conscience Which concern the Use of FORMS of PRAYER ONE of the main Points which our dissenting Brethren insist on to justifie their Separation from our Church is That our Publick Worship is perform'd in a Form of Words of Man's Invention which they conceive is unlawful for hereby say some of them the Holy Spirit who inspires our Prayer is stinted and limited and hereby the Gift of Prayer say others which the Holy Spirit communicates to Ministers to inable them to express the Devotions of their Congregations to God is rendred useless and not only so but even the Devotions of the Congregation too are mightily deaden'd by being continually express'd in the same form of words besides that the wants of Christians being various casual and emergent cannot be so fully represented in a fixt Form as in conceiv'd Prayers which upon the account of their variation in Expressions may be the better extended to the continual variations of Mens cases and circumstances besides all which say they we have no warrant for the use of Forms either in Scripture or pure Antiquity and if we had yet an universal imposition of them can by no means be lawfully compli'd with this according to the best recollection I can make is the sum of what our Brethren urge against the lawfulness of joyning with us in a stated Liturgy or Form of Publick Worship and therefore in order to the satisfying their Consciences in this matter I shall reduce their whole Plea to these following Cases and indeavour a plain and clear resolution of them 1. Whether Praying in a Form of Words doth not stint or limit the Spirit of Prayer 2. Whether the Use of Publick Forms of Prayer be not a sinful neglect of the Ministerial Gift of Prayer 3. Whether the constant Use of the same Form of Prayer doth not very much deaden the Devotion of Prayer 4. Whether the common wants of Christian Congregations may not be better represented in conceiv'd Prayer than in a Form of Prayer 5. Whether there be any warrant for Forms of Prayer either in Scripture or pure Antiquity 6. Whether supposing Forms to be lawful the imposition of them can be lawfully compli'd with Case I. Whether Praying in a Form of Words doth not stint and limit the Spirit of Prayer In order to the resolution of this Case it will be necessary to explain first what it is that the Scripture attributes to the Spirit in Prayer and secondly what is meant by stinting or limiting the Spirit in Prayer 1. What is it that the Scripture attributes to the Spirit in Prayer I answer there are some things attributed to him which were extraordinary and temporary and others that are ordinary fixt and standing The through state and distinguishing of which will very much contribute to the resolution of this present Case and therefore I shall insist more largely upon it First I say there are some things attributed to the Holy Spirit in this matter of Prayer which were extraordinary and temporary and that was the immediate Inspiration of the matter of Prayer together with an ability to express and utter it in known or unknown Languages thus as for the immediate inspiration of the matter of Prayer we read in the Old Testament of Prayers and Praises which upon special occasions were immediately indited by Divine Inspiration for so when Hannah presented her Son to the Lord in Shiloh the Text only saith that she praid and said but the Targum paraphrases it that she praid by the Spirit of Prophesie and accordingly praying and praising by immediate inspiration is frequently call'd prophesying So 1 Sam. 10. 5. The Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee and thou shall prophesie that is as Expositors generally interpret it thou shalt utter Spiritual Psalms and Hymns by immediate inspiration on the place and to the same purpose is the word used Numb 11. 25. 1 Chron. 25. 1. and accordingly in the New Testament it is said of Zacharias that he was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied saying blessed be the Lord God of Israel c. The matter of all which Prayers and Praises together with those in the Book of Psalms and sundry others recorded in Scripture was immediately dictated to those inspir'd persons by the Holy Ghost and deliver'd by them without any recourse to their own invention or consideration though as to the words of them it may be justly question'd whether they were not left to their own composure as it seems very probable the words of all other inspirations were for considering how the inspired persons differ'd in their stile according as they differ'd in their education in their natural parts and intellectual improvements it is very likely they themselves composed and worded their own inspirations the Spirit of God taking care only so to oversee and direct them that their words might not misrepresent their matter and if so how much less reason have we to suppose that the Spirit inspires the words of our Prayers but this I shall not insist on However after that great descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost wherein the Gift of Tongues was communicated to enable the first Planters of the Gospel to propagate it through the World it 's certain that not only the Matter of their Prayers but even the very Language too in which they express them was immediately inspired insomuch that they were not only inabled to Pray upon the place in apt and fluent Expressions but also to Pray in Languages which they never understood before and which even then they understood but very imperfectly and also to interpret those Prayers into the vulgar