Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	affection_n	heart_n	holy_a	1,144	5	4.5561	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45151	Peaceable disquisitions which treat of the natural and spiritual man, preaching with the demonstration of the Spirit, praying by the Spirit, assurance, the Arminian grace, possibility of heathens salvation, the reconciliation of Paul and James, the imputation of Christ's righteousness, with other incident matters : in some animadversions on a discourse writ against Dr. Owen's Book of the Holy Spirit / by John Humfrey ...	Humfrey, John, 1621-1719.	1678 (1678)	Wing H3702; ESTC R21932	66,481	118

Prayer The Gift of Prayer Praying in the Spirit Praying by it or with it The Spirit of Prayer I apprehend to be no other than the Spirit of Grace or Regeneration with the connotation of its operation on the soul in regard to this duty There is no Christian born of God without this whereby he cries Abba Father as no man born after the flesh without his breathing There is no holy thought meditation desire after God or request that is acceptable to him in Christ but it is from this Spirit of Adoption or Prayer It follows then that forasmuch as any gracious and regenerate man may use a Form if he pleases and some such have used a Form sometimes as well as Conceived Prayer that it is a conceit exceedingly extravagant and in no wise to be approved to think that a Liturgy or use of a Form is inconsistent with the Spirit of Prayer Suppose we saw those holy men Bradford Rogers Philpot Saunders saying their Prayers out of the Psalter and blessing God for the Book of King Edward I will pour upon the house of Judah and Jerusalem the Spirit of Prayer and Supplication The Gift of Prayer I account to be a natural or acquired not infused ability or faculty of expressing the thoughts and affections with fluency or readiness in Prayer It does depend chiefly I think upon an aptness of memory retaining the sentences and very words of Scripture when others can retain the sense only together with a warm fancy and a tongue that is voluble In short it is a ready utterance which must be always distinguished from the former I remember a person who was otherwise of large parts filled with all present matter for administring a word in season to the weary who in praying sometimes alone with me I have observed to hum and hack so in his Prayer that I never heard any so unable to express himself in my life who yet would use only conceived Prayer and in the mean while I have been so assured of the Grace of God and eminency of that Grace in the person of that sincerity in his duty such an humbling under sin fervency in his petitions melting under the sence of God's mercy and pardon and in a word a heart it self no less broken than those words that I cannot but be satisfied beyond doubt for ever since that the Gift of Prayer is one thing and the Spirit of Prayer is another Now forasmuch as the gifts which are administred to men by God's Spirit are bestowed for use and the edification of the Church if a Liturgy or form of Prayer were imposed on the Clergy in opposition to that provision which God hath made and appointed for the good of his Church that is Gifts unto men for the work of the Ministry or if the Bishops would not suffer them to be employed to the end they are given I do not know any argument of so much weight and like to be prevailing with Religious people against Common-Prayer as this allegation As every one hath received the gift even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold Grace of God But we must not judge so of our Superiors The Churches imposing a Liturgy and set forms on the Minister is to be lookt on as cumulative to his gifts and not as destructive to them There is the gift of Prayer as of Prudence and Knowledge to Ministers as they are single and as they are in conjunction These forms of Prayer are the exercise of the mutual gifts of the Churches Pastors in conjunction and when this Common Service of theirs is performed in the Pew the Minister is lest to the use of his single gifts in the Pulpit without any prejudicing the one by the other Indeed if the Common-Prayer be made a Napkin to wrap up the Talents of any I will not justifie the abuse of that which hath its use and commendation upon other reasons And yet by the way I do not know moreover whether all those Texts which speak of gifts for the Church and which argue power thereupon to profit with them are not to be understood of the Spirit in those times so that when it was manifestly injurious to the Holy Ghost himself then to forbid the use of those Gifts to any which he had ministred to them to that end it may not be so altogether as to those natural gifts and talents that men have now which notwithstanding they are not to be denied to be also from the Spirit seeing even Bezaleel and his fellows skill in working in curious works is attributed to him and every good gift is said to be of God I question whether the person himself be either so engaged to put them to that particular use having them from nature to general service or that there does appear the like injury to God and the Church in some restraint on them as there would be in the other There are diversity of Gifts but the same Spirit Praying in the Spirit I apprehend to be praying with those qualifications which are wrought in us by the Spirit and prescribed by him in the word to make our Prayers acceptable to God Praying in the Spirit say Practical Divines consists not in a copiousness of words but extent of affections The actuating of all does lie in the operation of the Spirit on our hearts in this duty We must pray also according to God's will which is another qualification in Prayer and when a man does pray according to what the Spirit hath directed in the Word he may be said very appositely to pray in the Spirit Two things there are then more particularly wherein I will place this operation The one is the Spirit doth many times pitch the heart upon those objects or things which are most fit for us to ask The other is and then doth excite our desires and enlarge our affections about the same The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God I will not doubt to quote this Text again for thus much It is said that Satan entred into Judas when he went to betray his Lord. And Satan moved David to number the people It appears from hence that Satan puts evil thoughts in the heart and pitches them on objects he tempts them withal The Spirit of God doubtless does no less in the good actions which he stirs up in Gods Saints He puts good thoughts in the mind and represents things to us says the Author of the Friendly Debate himself more clearly than we could make them by all our reasoning I might perhaps cite something from this Gentleman to sute with this but I think the subject here too grave to make him my Authority When the Spirit is said to help us in the Text before exagitated to make our Prayers even about things our selves know not and

groans or desires which are unutterable both in regard to our selves in that we know not the things of Heaven and cannot utter them and in regard to the nature of the things which are expresly called by the Apostle when he was ravished in his Spirit up thither to see them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things not possible to be uttered And yet are they prepared for us though above our comprehension and God who does above what we are able to ask or think and knows what is the mind of his own Spirit will grant them because this Intercession is by his appointment and we are to support our hearts that this time is coming when not only all these miseries shall have an end but we shall see Gods end in them all in making them work for us a far more exceeding weight of Glory Here are two interpretations then which I leave to the Reader and he perhaps may choose neither of them but in both of them that objection which is obvious from the Lord's Prayer is prevented Christ hath taught us what we are to pray for and yet does the Text tell us that we know not what we should pray for as we ought There are things in the Lord's Prayer which we are to pray for and know that we ought to pray for them and do pray for them yet do we know them but in part and we are more short in our knowing how to pray for them as best for us When we pray for deliverance from evil and temptation that includes our present troubles and these are the things we know not according to the first Interpretation When we pray that God's Kingdom may come that includes the things of heaven and these are the things we know not according to the second Interpretation That which cannot be denied in regard to these two Petitions must be acknowledged in all others under a like condition There is little reason for this Author then to pick a quarrel with Doctor Owen for attributing too much to the assistance of God's Spirit in the making our Prayers who is so very cautious to allow any thing but in regard to the matter of them when there is so much more included here in the Spirits praying for us and that for the things we know not as it may make any man at a stand who goes about to limit the Holy One almost at all for fear of presuming on the Ark of his imperceptible operations Having said this I have but three or four notes more upon this Text which must not be waved It is to be considered first we have the Spirit put here into the Office of Intercessor and there is a practical case requires satisfaction Christ hath promised again and again that whatsoever we ask by Faith in his name according to his will we shall have it There is many a good man now troubled at this that he hath prayed often and not been heard It must be answered therefore upon this account that whatsoever request we make or any one makes with the qualifications exprest it is and must be put up to God by the Holy Spirit and though it be not answered according to our mind it is according to his who maketh intercession for us A second note is this that though the Apostle be supposed to bring in these words We know not what we should pray for as we ought with regard to the Context it will not follow from the instance of one or other of these particular matters to be intended that all others must be excluded but rather that the universal matters of Prayer so far as they are subject to the like condition must be certainly also concluded Note in the third place that though there does appear some reason from the objection mentioned for limiting these words We know not what to pray for there is no reason for limitation of the first part of the Text The Spirit helpeth our infirmities For when it is affirmed that it is by reason of our infirmity that we know not what to pray for it does not follow that therefore that is all our infirmity We have many more infirmities to be helpt than this in making our Prayers Note in the last place that though the groans unutterable in the Text be expounded in both these interpretations with regard to the matter prayed for they may very likely be better expounded with regard to these infirmities to be helped that is though we are such many of us as are so weak that we cannot utter our requests or frame our desires into petitions yet by the Spirit we are assisted some way to put these small unutterable groans with his good motions together so as they are accepted in Heaven It is not by reason of the intensiveness or greatness but because of their smallness said Master Perkins that these groans are unutterable I do not think therefore that it is in this Authors power to divert that favour which this Text does cast upon those Prayers which he calls ex tempore the Ancients ex pectore feeing such Prayers do follow or slow most genuinely from the motions that are upon the soul and which so long as they are good we are to ascribe to the Holy Spirit And when this is granted on all hands that he does excite our affections who is there can say what influence or how much that work alone hath or must have on our expressions The Holy Spirit being intimate to our souls can affect us when we are not sensible of it and produce effects upon our minds in that manner as if they were meerly the effects of our own reasoning says this very Author And why then do such able and good men for such I hope they indeed are and that they do not speak what they do as Scoffers let such Discourses and Debates as these come from them which carry a tendency in them to repress that devotion that has in it or pretends at least the most of warmth and enlargement of affection in this duty as if a coldness or beadishness in the performance was to be preferred as more safe and wise when Christ that hath taught us to pray does also exhort us to fervency and importunity I cannot tell what they would have by it unless it be that all should come in to the Liturgy or else they should have no other Prayers But this is more than can be expected in conscience The circumstances of praying in a Book or without is not so material as that they should be so earnest I am a profest Neuter against extremes and will apply that saying of the Apostle If we be besides our selves it is to Godward and if we be sober it is for your cause And so having got over this one Text I will now present you my poor thoughts more closely on this subject with reference to Liturgical and Extempore Devotion There are four things here therefore to be distinguished and presented The Spirit of