Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	heart_n	pray_v	prayer_n	4,517	5	6.8272	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A55892	The principles of a people stiling themselves Philadelphians discovered in their nicest points and matters; accurately handled, shewing their rise, continuance, and tenents in doctrin and manner of proceeding, &c. Also a curious discourse between an English dissenter and French Protestant, by way of dialogue, in vindication of the Church of England against novelties in religion.	Lafite, Daniel. Friendly discourse between an English dissenter and a French Protestant.	1697 (1697)	Wing P3494A; ESTC R219027	36,218	131

Man else can give an instance of any Church in the World from the Apostles times to these our days but what had a set Form of Prayers for though all have not used the same yet there is no Church but has used some Form or other 4. You condemn the Example and Practice of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ himself for it is evident that he himself made use of a Form of Prayer Matt. 26. v. 44. E. D. I will not undertake now to return you a particular Answer to what you have here alledged but shall onely say that Praying by a Form has by experience been found a hindrance and obstacle to true fervent Prayer in the Spirit and to deal plainly with you this seems to be one great reason why the Ministers of the Church of England are so dull and ignorant in this point and so little acquainted with spiritual Prayer F. P. I am not a little surpriz'd at this your Answer for having but just now proved to you that the Prophets and Apostles the Holy Catholick Church and Christ himself made use of Forms of Prayer you after all this come and tell me that Praying by Forms is a hindrance to Praying by the Spirit which is as much as to say that neither the prophets Apostles the Catholick Church nor Christ himself prayed by the Spirit because they made use of a set Form which is a near step to Blasphemy E. D. I did not design to say so much neither though I must confess that Praying by a set Form seems to me for I find it so by experience to be a great Obstacle to true spiritual Prayer F. P. Though it may seem so to you yet your Charity should lead you rather to question your own Judgment than to pass so rash a Censure upon the Saints of the Old and New Testament yea upon Christ himself besides you ought to be very wary of exposing your self to the derision of all men by supposing your self wiser than all the Prophets and Apostles than the whole Christain Church and Christ himself since it is most certain that they made use of Forms and not onely so but our Saviour himself prescribed a Form of Prayer to his Disciples commanding them when they prayed to use the same which he would never have done had it indeed been so great a hindrance to servent Prayer by the Spirit as you pretend E. D. If it be not a hindrance to others I am sure 't is so to me F. P. I hope I shall understand you better if you please to explain to me what you mean by praying by the Spirit E. D. I suppose no true Christian can be ignorant of what Praying by the Spirit is and therefore I can't see any necessity there is of explaining a thing so obvious to the understanding of all F. P. Since you seem unwilling to give me your meaning I am very free to give you mine to pray by the Spirit is as I take it to pray by the help and assistance of the Holy Ghost so as to have our hearts and minds deeply affected with the sense of our wants and all our Faculties and Affections inflamed with the Love of God and stedfast Faith in his Promises E. D. I perceive we do not disagree at all in the meaning of the words F. P. I am glad we are so far agreed for it is evident that according to this meaning of the words a set Form of Prayer is so far from being a hindrance that indeed it is a great help to fervent praying by the Spirit and on the contrary Extemporary Prayer must needs be a great impediment to it To convince you of this I desire you would consider that when we pray by a Form we have more time to study the import of our Requests and to weigh and examine every Petition with greater attention we have more leisure to understand and discern our wants and to present them before God we can the better prepare and dispose our selves for so holy a Duty and in a word we can be more intent and recollected to improve the motions of the Spirit having nothing else to doe but to fix our mind wholly on God whilst we are praising of him and have our hearts suitably affected with the things we pray for Whereas in Extemporary Prayer the mind of the Minister or whoever else it is that prayeth is taken up in hunting for expressions to utter his thoughts and for fear of being put to a stand he is forced to follow not the motions of the Spirit or the dictate of his understanding but the fluency of an acquired habit of Praying and by this means doth often begin where he should end and end where he should begin And those very men that speak so much against the necessary and edifying Repetitions that we use in our Common-prayer do very frequently in their Extemporary-prayer repeat the same things over and over again though it may be in different expressions And as for the People that hear a Minister pray an Extemporary-prayer as they do not know before-hand what he will say they must first attend to what he saith in the next place they must consider whether what he prayeth be according to the Word of God and fit for them to join with but whilst the Hearer is thus employ'd he that prays is got to another thing and leaves his Hearers behind to overtake him as they best can which according to my apprehension makes the way of praying extempore so difficult and uneasie that it is morally impossible for both Minister and People to pray so devoutly or at least so understandingly as they ought to doe If you please well to weigh and consider what I have here offered I question not but you will be convinced that a set Form of Prayer is so far from being a hindrance that it is a great furtherance to zealous praying by the Spirit whereas the Prayer you are so much taken with is indeed a great obstacle to it E. D. However Sir I suppose you will grant me that it is this tying themselves up to a Form that hath made the Ministers of the Church of England so dull and devoid of the Gift of Prayer that they cannot pray without Book and may rather be compar'd to those Dumb dogs whom the Prophet reproves than be look'd upon as Ministers of the Gospel F. P. Though I am a Stranger here yet I have very good reason to believe that I am better acquainted with the Ministers of the Church of England than you are and am better inform'd of their parts and abilities than you can be for I have made it my business to be acquainted with them not maliciously to slander and abuse them but to the end I might the better understand and value them and profit by them And if you will give me leave to speak my Judgment which is not grounded upon hear-say but upon good knowledge of and converse with

Faith receive the Word of God read to us or as St. Luke phraseth it Chap. 11.28 When we hear the Word of God and keep it we do conceive Christ by Faith for according to St. Paul's doctrine Gal. 4.19 't is by hearing and keeping the Word of God that Christ is formed in us not Carnally but Spiritually Wherefore we are as much obliged after a due hearing of God's Word to break forth into a holy Magnificat My Soul doth magnifie the Lord because Christ is formed in us spiritually as the Blessed Virgin was because Christ was formed in her according to the Flesh And as to your second Objection I might tell you that this Hymn of Old Simeon is frequently us'd in our French Protestant Churches as being commonly sung every Lord's-day but if this Authority do not satisfie you I shall give you a reason why the Church of England after the reading of the second Lesson at Evening-prayer orders the rehearsing the Song of this Blessed Man for though indeed in the reading of the New Testament we do not behold Christ with our bodily Eyes as Simeon did yet may we with the spiritual Eyes of our Faith see that Salvation he then saw and that more clearly because it is now more fully manifested and therefore upon this account we have the same reason to say with him Lord now lettest thou thy servant to depart in peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation c. E. D. I perceive you have a peculiar way of applying the Scriptures to your selves But let us examine what is next F. P. The next thing that follows is the Confession of our Faith commonly called the Apostle's Creed E. D. But I suppose you do not believe the Apostles made it F. P. Though strong and convincing Arguments might be alledged to prove them the Inditers or Composers of it yet I am resolved at present not to differ with you about it and the rather because I am sure you will agree with me that as long as it comprehends nothing but what the Apostles have taught us to believe and believed themselves it may very well of just right be called the Apostle's Creed E. D. But what particular reason hath your Church to place it after the Lessons F. P. Because having heard some Chapters out of the Word of God read to us it is but fit that we now make a publick profession of our Belief of the main and sundamental Truths therein contained which cannot be better done than by repeating the Articles of the Apostle's Creed which is not onely a Compendium of the Gospel but of all Holy Writ E. D. But why is it you repeat it so often twice a day at least Morning and Evening F. P. Truly it can never be repeated too often and I am sure our French Protestants thought so whose Example if it should not convince you I hope the following Reasons may because it serves to express our Loyalty to God and our Vnity among our selves and with the Catholick Church it is a Touch-stone to discover whether we continue in the number of Christ's Disciples and in Unity and Concord with one another it is our Watch-word our Badge Mark and Character whereby we may distinguish Frends from Foes true Believers from Infidels and Hereticks and therefore as was said before it cannot be too often repeated But before we proceed further we may here take notice that upon certain Festival-days the Athanasian Creed is read instead of that of the Apostle's E. D. Is there any thing more in the Athanasian Creed than in that of the Apostles's F. P. Onely this that in the Athanasian Cree the Mysteries of the most Blessed Trinity and of the Incarnation of the Son of God are more at large esserted explained and unfolded and that in the most sound plain and perspicuous terms those sublime an incomprehensible Mysteries are capable of After which we proceed to this devour hearty and mutual Salutation of the Minister and the People the Minister saying The Lord be with you and the People answering And with thy Spirit E. D. For my part I cannot approve of the Minister and People thus saluting one another because it looks too much like Compliment which though perhaps it may agree very well with your French humour yet is not at all agreeable to mine F. P. If you 'll quarrel at this you must quarrel with the Word of God and with the language of the Holy Ghost in Scripture for most certain it is that this Salutation is taken thence viz. what the Minister saith out of the Book of Ruth 2.4 and used by St. Paul 2 Thess 3.16 and what the People answer out of the Epistle to the Galat. 6.18 Which words whether consider'd in themselves or with respect to the end they are design'd for are of exceeding great and good use for now we are entring upon a new part of Divine Service viz. that of Prayer but seeing that wthout God's aid an assistance it is impossible either for Minister or People to acquit themselves rightly of this duty which is of so great concern to the whole Congregation Minister as well as People wherefore they begin by praying each for other humbly supplicating God to assist them in their present undertaking the Minister beginning with this short Prayer for the People The Lord be with you lifting up your Hearts and raising your Devoitions that my Prayers may not be in vain for you and the People in acknowledgment of the Minister's hearty good will and as being themselves extreamly concern'd in the work he is about answer his Prayer with this good wish And with thy Spirit to the end your Prayers may be so fervent that you and we may reap the fruit and benefit of those Petitions you are now going to offer up to God for the whole Congregation And having thus both Minister and People implored the Divine Presence and Assistance in the great Work we are entring upon we do next in a most humble and solemn manner address our selves to each Person of the most Blessed Trinity to have Mercy upon us viz. that our Sins and Transgressions may not hinder our Prayers and Petitions from being graciously received and accepted at the Trone of Grance saying Lord have mercy upon us Christ have mercy upon us Lord have mercy upon us After which we address our selves to God in that excellent Form of Prayer our Saviour hath taught us E. D. But me-thinks forsmuch as you have used this Prayer already that the reiterating of it must needs be accounted a vain repetition condemned by our Saviour in Matth. 6.6 F. P. True it is that our Church has appointed te Lord's-prayer to be used more than once in our Liturgy but that the reiterating of it cannot come under the lash of those vain repetitions forbid by our Saviour will appear if you consider that wer repeat it onely in each distinct Service of the Church before we made use of it