Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	apostle_n	pray_v	prayer_n	1,314	5	6.4509	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50383	Unity restor'd to the Church of England by John Mayer.	Mayer, John, 1583-1664.	1661 (1661)	Wing M1426; ESTC R28824	26,506	53

of this present Parliament thus to order this great business touching Episcopacy Oh how easily might each Bishop do his work in his Diocess by going to preach sometimes in one Church and sometime in another all over his Diocess to the stirring up both of Presbyters and People to Godliness and what love and reverence would it procure in all men toward them and quell Sects and Factions in the Church whereas heretofore whilst Bishops sate idly at home priding themselves in their Lordly greatness as if they were so advanced to live as the Rich man in the Gospel when his fruits were encreased in eating and drinking and making merry being for zeale to the Truth most cold but very hot for superstitious ceremonies comming as near to the Popish Church as they could they have been hated as the Pope and despised and been the occasions of great Schisms and divisions in the Church of Christ although not so much breaking out as since Episcopacy was put down in these three Kingdomes but lying before us as fire covered over with Embers And hitherto of Episcopal Govenment For touching Archishops I finde no ground at all in the holy Scriptures and the Bishop of Rome was the first that ever took upon him the title of Archbishop then of Oecumenical Bishop anno Dom. 119. as Platina saith inviting all such as suffered wrong in any place to come unto him and he would relieve them and Higinus a successor of his spends a great part of one of his Epistles in magnifying the Bishops of Rome as those that are Princes over other Bishops and so do most of the Bishops of that Sea and Marcus Antonius de Dominis who was himselfe Archbishop of Spalato in his Book entituled De Repub. Christiana sheweth that Bishops only are of Apostolical institution but not Archbishops Now to proceed to speak of the book of Common Prayer That there should be such a book The Book of Common Prayer and thereby an uniform proceeding in all Churches in this Kingdom I suppose it will be granted on all hands unless by such as are transported by zeal without knowledge and Calvin himself is for the Ministers using of one and the same form of prayer in the publick place and his reasons are very good First because the prayers and thanksgiving there offered are not the Ministers only but of the whole Congregation and therefore ought to be such prayers and praises as the people by continual hearing are well acquainted withall and ready to say a men unto whereas if the Minister be permitted to offer up prayers in publick of his owne conception he may happily offer up such Petitions sometimes as his own phantasie leadeth him to that all the people will not say amen unto and it may not peradventure be good for them to join with him therein lest by so doing they be drawn in some petitions that tend to Heresie being for its prevailing for this being considered of of old by the Councel of Bracca a Decree was thereby made against any Ministers using a Prayer in the publick place which was not first seen by the Councel and allowed Secondly Because every Preacher is not alike guided by the Spirit of God in praying but some supposing that the excellency of praying lieth in long praying will draw out their prayers in publick to halfe an houre or an hour or more at a time till all or most of their hearers have their spirits tyred and have their affections made to fag which if they do the Ministers praying is nothing to them but rather is turned into an occasion of offending God as all saying of prayers without lifting up the heart is and this long praying is so far from having any ground in Scripture as that what is written there makes against it because when Christ taught his Disciples to pray Math. 6. he prescribed a short form and condemned long praying in many words and repetitions of the same things as vain babling Math. 23. and hereby upbraided the Pharisees hypocritical praying that they devoured Widdows houses and for a colour made long prayers and the Preacher saith God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth Eccles 5.2 therefore let thy words be few And both Chrisostom Augustine are for compendious praying and not drawing a Prayer out to a great length by using many words for to this end Chrisostom speaks against those that think to be heard the rather if they make a Prayer consisting of a thousand lines And Augustine adviseth to make short prayers and often that they who join in prayer with thee may be able to keep their hearts lifted up all the time and this may serve to beat down the course which now generally takes with the people in most places that he hath the most excellent gift in prayer that stands longest in making his prayers Others there are who prefer humane eloquence in praying and therefore fill their prayers with Flowers of Rhetorick to the pleasing of the ears of the Hearers which is a way that neither Christ the Prophets or Apostles have ever gone in in praying lastly some Ministers have so poor a faculty in conceiving a Prayer that they are not able without an help to do this duty in so good a manner as it ought to be done Thus to such as will be moved by Reason it is apparent that there should be in our Churches forms of godly Prayers and Thanksgivings to be commonly used by all Ministers and sometimes of prayers proper to the present occasion if there be plague or pestilence or other infectious diseases in the land if there be danger by the sword of the enemy or by Civil Wars if there be famine or unseasonable weather too much rain or drought blasts or mildew thunder lightning or tempests or murrein amongst Cattel of many of which Solomon speaks in his Divine Prayer at the dedication of the Temple which he built Touching Prayers commonly to be used every Lords day they must begin with confession of sins and praying for pardon and mortification of sin in us and for faith to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and grace to lead holy and new lives and for a blessing upon the Word wherein the Congregation is then to be excercised in reading and hearing thereof that all may give diligent attention unto it hear it with fear and trembling and lay it up in their hearts as Mary did and live alwayes in obedince to it in all things and in praying we must remember all men the people of all Countries and Nations such as already hold the true Faith who are the Church of Christ that they may be preserved from all their enemies and established as upon a Rock against which the gates of Hell may not prevail but fall as Dagon did before the Ark and such as know not Christ that they may speedily be converted and that to this end the true light may rise up unto them and the Christians who

Letany and here because some petitions in the Letany are by some excepted against I will say somwhat in the justification thereof some except against this Remember not Lord our offences nor the offences of our fore Fathers As if in so saying we pray for the Dead but they are too captious that make this exception for the Lord threatneth to visit the sins of the Fathers upon the Children to the third and fourth Generation And to the same effect our Lord Jesus threateneth the Jews Matt. 23. to bring all the Righteous Blood that had been shed by their Forefathers upon them Wherefore we pray only against vengeance taking upon us for our own sins or the sins of our Forefathers against which who but a cavellar can speak Secondly They except against this from Fornication and all other deadly sin Good Lord deliver us As if hereby the Popish Doctrine that some sins are venial and some only deadly Rom. 6.23 were implyed when as the wages of any sin is death unlesse repented of and pardoned But although it be so yet there are some sins greater then others of which it is particularly said that they who do such things shall die Exek 18. Gal. 5.19 and never enter into the Kingdome of Heaven of which Fornication is one wherfore every lesser sin indangereth him that committeth it in respect of the second death yet there are some greater sins whereby the Soul is more indangered because few of them that live in such great sins have the grace given them to Repent we pray therefore to be kept from all sin but more especially against the greatest as David Psal 19.12 13. Cleanse me from secret faults and keep me from presumptuous sins so shall I be innocent from the great offence which is most deadly Thirdly They except against praying against sudden death for we ought all to be alwaies prepared for Death and to such as are prepared it can never be sudden But seeing no man liveth and sinneth not who can be alwaies so well prepared as he should be and who then hath not need to pray this Prayer And sudden dying is more uncomfortable to friends surviving and may prevent the setting of our houses in order which was granted in favour to Hezekiah and the parents blessing of his children before he die as Isaac and Jacob did and their giving instructions to those about them which commonly are most memorable to the edifying of the hearers at that time and their own commending of their Souls to God by prayer and the death of the wicked is sometimes spoken of as a suddain going down into the pit as we have heard that some of them have done in the very acting of some great sin Fourthly They except against that petition That God would preserve all Travelling by land or by Water Whenas by land there are some Theeves travelling and by water some Pirates murtherers But by saying all we mean only all that be travelling about their lawfull occasions only Fifthly They except against that wherein we pray That God would have mercy upon all men for which there is a plain place 1. Tim. 2. Let Prayers and supplications be made for all men and a reason added that God would that all should be saved neither doth it make against our praying thus that few shall be saved it is enough for us that God would not have any perish but turn from sin and live and therefore this we must pray for as we would not be found defective in doing our duty herein by God commanded and helping what we can all men towards Salvation leaving the successe to God Some other exceptions also be made against our Book of common-Common-Prayer Except taken as against the Collect of the second Sunday after Trinity Sunday wherein it is said Give unto us that which our prayers dares not perfume to ask As if there were any thing that we durst not pray for in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ when as he hath bidden us aske and ye shall have and said whatsoever ye aske in faith shall be done for you but the meaning is not that we dare not for our unworthynesse if we had not been warranted thereunto by his promise But thereupon we are made bold to aske the greatest boones in all the World the pardon of all our sins and Justification by faith and Salvation As for the exception taken to the words of the Prophet Ezek. Ezek. 18.21 22. in the beginning of our Divine Service not rightly rendred but so as may make a wicked man bold to go on in his sins till his last sicknesse At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sins from the bottom of his heart I will blot out all his wickednesse out of my remembrance saith the Lord Whereas the words of the Prophet are If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all my Satutes and do that which is Lawfull and right he shall hereby live he shall not die all his transgressions that he hath committed shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousnesse that he hath done he shall live Betwixt which and the Book of Common-Prayer there is this great difference there forgivenesse of sin is promised only upon repentance from the bottom of his heart which may be understood of hearty sorrow and no more when he seeth the Ax ready to be laid to the Root of the tree to cut it down which Ahab did when he saw judgements ready to come down upon him and Judas also repented and was exceedingly sorry in the Prophet there is turning from all his sins and keeping all the Statutes of the Lord and doing that which is lawfull and right required in him that would not die but live of wicked he must turn righteous which one being deadly sick and dying hath no time now to do although he be penitent and grieved at his heart for his sins for if it be in truth he hath yet but two parts of Repentance in him which Reprobates may have as in the two examples beforegoing confession of the mouth and contrition of the heart But for want of the third keeping the statutes of the Lord and doing contrary to that which he did before he cannot expect the fulfilling of the promise of Life made to them that do thus wherefore instead of this beginning it is necessary to set down the very words of the Prophet that there may be no occasion given to the wicked to think when they have in the publick place confessed and sorrowed for their sins a while they are forgiven and shall be saved although they turn not from them all no nor from any but return as the Dog to his vomit And hitherto of that which I have thought necessary to be considered and amended or not in our common Prayers and that not without shewing good and solid reason which ought to bear sway with all that are