Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	book_n	church_n	write_v	2,919	5	5.8866	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27562	A sermon concerning the excellency and usefulness of the common prayer preached by William Beveridge ... 27th of November. 1681.	Beveridge, William, 1637-1708.	1682 (1682)	Wing B2100; ESTC R974	27,675	46

when we our selves do not mind whether he answer them or no Nor believe and trust upon him for it For certainly trusting on God as it is one of the highest Acts of Religion that we can perform so it is that which gives life and vigour vertue and efficacy to our Prayers without which we have no ground at all to expect they should be answered For God having promised to answer our Prayers except we trust on him for his performance of such Promises we lose the benefit of them and by consequence our Prayers too And therefore as ever we desire that he should grant us what we pray for when we have directed our prayers to him we must still look up ●s●l 5. 3. expecting and hoping for the return of them Now as this is a thing of greater consequence so a Set Form of Prayer is a greater help to us in ●● than it is commonly thought to be For if we hear another utter a prayer extempore which he never said nor we heard before nor ever shall do it again it is much if he himself can remember the tenth part of what he said how much less can we that heard him do it And if we cannot possibly remember what we prayed for how is it possible for us to expect it at the hands of God Or to depend upon him for it But now it is quite otherwise when we use a Set Form of Prayer For by this means when we have prayed we can recollect our selves look over our prayers again either in a Book or in our minds where they are imprinted we can consider distinctly what we have asked at the hands of God and so act our faith and confidence on him for the granting every petition we have put up unto him according to the promises which he hath made us to that purpose And as this is the surest way whereby to obtain what we pray for it must needs be the most edifying way of praying that we can possibly use These things being duly weighed I shall now take it for granted That the using a Form in general in the Publick Worship of God is agreeable to this Apostolical Rule Let all things be done to edifying and so shall proceed to shew that that Form in particular which our Church hath appointed to be used upon such occasions is so too For which end it is not necessary that I should run through every particular word phrase or expression in the Common Prayer much less that I should vindicate and defend it from every little exception that ignorance or malice may make against something in it For nothing ever yet was or can be said or written but something or other may be said or written against it either well or ill But my business must be to prove That the Form of Divine Service contained in the Book of Common Prayer which is now used in the Church of England conduceth so much to the edifying those that use it that it agrees exactly with the Rule which the Apostle here prescribes in that case And this I shall demonstrate from Four Heads 1. From the Language 2. From the Matter or Substance of it 3. From the Method And 4. From the Manner of Performing it For if it be edifying in all these respects it must needs be acknowledged to be so in the whole There being nothing in it but what may be reduced to these Heads First Therefore as to the Language you all know that the whole Service is performed in English the Vulgar and Common Language of the Nation which every one understands and so may be edified by it And this indeed is the ground and foundation of all the benefit that we can possibly receive from our Publick Prayers And therefore in the Church of Rome the Common People are made uncapable of being edified by the prayers of their Church in that they are all made in Latine a Language which they do not understand So that when they meet to worship God there are seldom any in the Congregation that knows what is said there except the Priest that reads it and oftentimes not he neither By which means they have no such thing really amongst them as Common Prayer Neither is it possible for the Common People to be ever edified by what is there said or done except they would be once convinced by it of the horrible abuse which their Church puts upon them in commanding all her Publick Devotions to be performed in an unknown Tongue directly contrary not only to the Rule in my Text but to the Design of this whole Chapter But blessed be God for it it is not so with us For ours is truly Common Prayer for it is written and read in that Language which is common to all the Congregations in the Kingdom and to every person in each Congregation So that all the People of the land whatsoever rank or condition they are of may joyn together in the use of every thing that is in it and so be joyntly Edified by it Especially considering that it is not only all in English but in common and plain English such as we use in our common discourse with one another There are no unusual or obsolete words no hard or uncouth Phrases in it but every thing is expressed as cleerly and plainly as words can do it so that the meanest person in the Congregation that understands but his Mothers Tongue may be Edified by it as well as the greatest Scholar But that which is chiefly to be considered in the Language of the Common Prayer is that it is not only common but proper too Though the words there used be all but common words yet they are so used that they properly express the things that are designed by them This I confess may seem to be no great matter at first sight yet it is that without which we might be subverted by that which was intended for our Edification For Impropriety of Speech in matters of Religion hath given occasion to all or most of the Schisms Errors and Heresies that ever infested this or any other Church as might easily be demonstrated Hence the Apostle gave Timothy a Form of sound words and charged him to hold it fast Hold fast saith he the Form of sound words which thou hast heard of me 2 Tim. 1. 13. As knowing that except the words whereby he usually expressed Divine Truths were sound and proper it would be impossible for his Notions and Opinions of the things themselves to be so And certainly if ever there was a Form of Sound Words composed by men since the Apostles times our Common Prayer may justly deserve that Title It being all made up of such fit and proper such sound and wholesome words that if we do but hold fast to them there is no fear of our falling either into Heresy or Schisme For they being duly considered will suggest to our minds right and true Apprehensions of all the Articles of our Christian