Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	aaron_n	bless_v	levi_n	898	4	12.3865	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89681	An apology for the discipline of the ancient Church: intended especially for that of our mother the Church of England: in answer to the Admonitory letter lately published. By William Nicolson, archdeacon of Brecon.	Nicholson, William, 1591-1672.	1658 (1658)	Wing N1110; Thomason E959_1; ESTC R203021	282,928	259

pious performances as stinted worship Quiristers singing of Psalms with all the Rubrique postures I could forgive you the rest because you acknowledge these performances to be pious for if they had piety in them I see no reason why you or any body else have cause to note them for corruptions But when I came to this place I entred into debate with my self which part of Solomons counsel I should take whether I should answer or not answer Not to answer Dr. Bancroft Featly Hammond Fulke Taylour Hooker Prideaux Preston might give you occasion to boast I could not And to answer was to say over again that which hath been so often sayd by worthy and learned men whom if you have not consulted you are to blame and I wish you would if you have and are not satisfied I fear my labour will be lost However I shall set before you what they have said before me And first I shall speak to your stinted worship 1. And here give me leave first to ask you to what you referre this word stinted whether you strictly restrain it to the word worship or to the Spirit by which we are to worship If to the first I see you are against all set forms of worship if to the last that you think the Spirit is restrained by these set forms And because both are said by your party I shall answer to both and to the last first These conceiv'd forms are either premeditate or extempore if premeditate then the Spirit is as much limited in their conceiv'd forms as by any forme conceiv'd by the Church But if extempore then the Spirit only of him that makes the prayer is left at liberty for the whole Congregation is by that means as much stinted and bound to a set forme to wit of those words the Minister conceivs as if he read them out of a book And is not the Spirit restrain'd when the Congregation shall be confined to the forme of this one mans composing If this be not stinted worship if this be not to stint the Spirit I know not what it is And I can see but one way to avoid it that every one in the Congregation conceive and offer up a prayer with his own spirit and not be forced and confin'd to the Ministers single dictate this would preserve entirely that liberty of the Spirit you pretend that other will not To this if you will not yield as I know you will not it lies upon you to answer the objection which I never saw yet done 2. As for set forms of prayer which I conceive you principally intend by stinted worship I shall next endeavour to justifie them upon many grounds 1. In the old Testament we find set forms of blessing and thanksgiving and prayers appointed by God himself He it was that fram'd to his Priests the very words with which they were to blesse the people Numb 6.23.24 25 26. Numb 10.35.36 2 Chron. 29.30 Exod. 15. Selden in Eutychium Speak to Aaron and his Sonnes saying in this wise shall ye blesse the people The Lord blesse and keep thee c. At the remove of the Arke a forme is set and taught the Priests exurgat Deus dissipentur inimici At the Arks return a form Return O Lord into thy resting place Hezekiah prescribed to the Priests to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the Seer Moses Hymn for the overthrow of Pharaoh is extant and in the same chapter taken up and sung by Miriam which afterward grew a part of the Jewish ordinary Church Liturgy for such they had being instituted by Ezra and the Consistory What should I tell you that the 92. Psalm is a Psalm compos'd for the Sabbath The 20. Psalm to be sung by the people when the King went forth to battaile The 113. to the 118. the great Hallelujah 13. whole Psalms or as some say 15. viz. from 119. to 134. Songs of degrees Moller Ames Musculut in Ps 21. because upon every one of the steps which were 15. betwixt the peoples court and the Temple the Priests made a stay and sung one of these Psalms and the 21. Psalm composed by David to be sung by the people for the King when he came home with victory Yea but say some this was in the infancy and minority of the Church as children then they needed their Festra's as infirm bodies their crutches but now under the Gospel it is otherwise we have more light and gifts of the Spirit than they had True more light we have because the Mystery kept secret from the beginning of the world is more clearly revealed to us then it was to them but that 's not the question prove they should if they speak to the purpose that we have now more ability to compose a prayer then they had more of the Spirit of Grace and supplications Men may have a high conceit of their own abilities but I suppose no wise man will conceive but that Aaron and his sonnes Moses and the Priests Hezekiah and the Levites had as great an ability to pray ex tempore as great a measure of the Spirit of grace and supplications as any man that now lives and yet they used and prescribed set forms Their minority then was in respect of the object of faith not in respect of the spirit of supplications These men therefore shew themselves children to talke of Festra's and cripples in their understanding to talk of crutches since those mens legs were far stronger then theirs and their graces of the Spirit far beyond any Enthusiasts in these days We may think of these forms as meanly as we please but Chrysostome was of another judgement Chrysost Hom. 1. of prayer for thus he begins one of his Homilies of prayer For two reasons it becomes Gods servants to wonder and blesse him both for the hope we have in their prayers and that preserving in writing the Hymns and Orisons they offer'd to God with fear and joy they have deliver'd to us their treasure that so they might draw all posterity to their zeale and imitation Yea but the Spirit must teach us to pray it helps all our infirmities 't is the promise of God to his Church I will poure upon them the Spirit of Grace and supplications Zach. 12.10 And all this may be done in a set forme as well as by any extempore prayer True it is the Spirit must teach us to pray both for matter and forme for we know not what to ask and must teach us how to pray for we know not how to ask zeal and fervour and faith and perseverance and importunity all necessary affections in every supplicant are gifts of the Spirit and groans and sighs proceed from the Spirit he moves the heart first to supplicate brings a man to see in what a wretched case he is one that by his sins hath pierced the Son of God therefore to deprecate ask pardon deprecentur

which he doth for we obey'd not his voice We have sinned Dan. 9.14 5. 6. and have done wickedly and have rebell'd even by departing from his precepts and from his judgements neither have we hearkened to his servants the Prophets which spake in his Name to our Kings our Princes and our Fathers and to all the people of the Land Yea further that I enter no Apologies no not for them I plead for I set my self now before Gods Tribunal not yours I never read those piercing Scriptures 1. Sam. 2. 3. Jer. 23. Ezek. 33. Hos 4. Mal. 2. I never reflect upon the common conversation in the day of our prosperity and behold Hophni and Phinehas with a flesh-hook in their hand ravening for their fees and wallowing in their lust at the door of the Tabernacle but I find we were highly defective in every duty and thence conclude that our sufferings are not the sufferings of pure Martyrs but of grievous transgressours There is no credit lost by giving glory to God And therefore we shall not stick to acknowledge as much as Cajetan did of the Romish prelates when the Army under Charls the fifth 1527. took Rome He was then upon the interpretation of the 5. chapter of St. Matthew Ver. 13. Ye are the Salt of the earth if the salt have lost his savour what is it then good for but to be cast out c. The Army had then entred the City and had offer'd great abuse to the Clergy in it which he presenting in a Christian meditation inserts these words We Prelates of the Church of Rome do at this time find this truth verified on us in a special measure we who were chosen to be the salt of the earth Evanuimus we are become light persons and unsavoury and therefore by the just judgment of God we are cast out and become a spoile and a prey and Captives not to Infidels but Christians Habes jam confitentes reos and yet I see not what advantage you ever shall be able to make of it no more than Romanists They tell us these miseries are fallen upon us because we departed from them you because we oppose your forms for this you intimate Christ of late years to have borne a loud witnesse against every one of those fire afore-mentioned kinds of deformed Churches But both they and you are mistaken assigning Non causam pro causâ For the cause was not because the Church was either Parochial Cathedral Diocesan Provincial National or a true part of the Oecumenical but that which I have said the abominations that were committed by us our formality and coldnesse in Gods service our ill administration of the keys our not profiting and bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance This hath provoked our God to jealousie This hath moved him to remove for ought yet appears our Candlestick This hath caused him to visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children And for this there be yet those that mourne in Zion and melt in the threns of Jeremy c●ing night and day unto him Joel 2 17. Isa 18. Exod. 34.6 7. saying Spare thy people O Lord and give not thy heritage to reproach wherefore should they say among the people Where is their God And who can tell if the irreversible decree be not past but the merciful Lord will be jealous for his Land and pity his people For he is a merciful and gracious God long-suffering and abundant in goodnesse and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquities transgression and sinne I will not despair when I shall see a sincere national humiliation for this national sinne or sins rather but God will return and have mercy on this National Church He that would have spared Sodome upon Abrahams request could ten righteous men have been found in it will yet I hope spare this Church Jer. 14.20.21 Isa 5.30 Isa 1.25.26 27. in which there be hundreds of tens who pour forth their hearts with Jeremy We acknowledge O Lord our wickednesse and the iniquity of our fathers for we have sinned against thee Do not abhor us for the name sake do not disgrace the throne of thy glory remember break not thy Covenant with us And that though now if one look unto the land behold darknesse and sorrow and the light is darkned in the heavens thereof yet these penitent sighs and groans will be so effectual that God will turn his hand upon us and purely purge away our drosse and take away all our tinn and will restore our Judges as at first and our Councellours as at the beginning and that afterward our Church shall be call'd the City of righteousnesse the faithful City Zion shall be redeemed with judgement and her Converts with righteousnesse This was considered before you returned into the land of your Nativity from which I knew not that you were exil'd before but thought you voluntarily departed and shall be consider'd after your return For you appeal to men of conscience and common sense And now also I shall make my appeal to you whether or no it be not a bitter thing to help forward affliction when God is but a little displeased Remember the insultation of Edom and what came of it Men should take small content in being flagellum Dei For Jerusalem shall be a burdensome stone and a cup of trembling to all them that cry down with it Zach. 12.2.3 Isa 10.5.6 7. ver 16.17 Assur was the rod of Gods anger and the staff in his hand was his indignation sent he was against an hypocritical nation and against the people of Gods wrath to take the spoil and to take the prey and to tread them down as the mire in the streets howbeit he means not so neither doth his heart think so but his heart is to destroy and to cut off nations not a few c. Therefore shall the Lord the Lord of hosts send among his fat ones leannesse and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire and the light of Israel shall be for a fire and his holy One for a flame and it shall burn and devour his thornes and his bryars in one day c. Compare this with the 14. Chapter and tell me then what comfort any man can have in being the rod of Gods wrath against his people An office which I must plainly tell you I read not any of Gods servants ever imployed in Howbeit we shall patiently submit unto it and kisse the rod For thou Lord hast ordained him for our destruction and established him for correction even for our correction to purifie us sons of Levi from our drosse and by his hand who punisheth us for our sins to put upon us Confessours Robes by that contrivance both chastening and covering our sins as the Persians used their Nobles beating their cloaths and sparing their persons Though by it qui foris est the out-side be scorch't yet qui intus est the