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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A59765 The irregularitie of a private prayer in a publick congregation in a letter to a friend. Sherlock, R. (Richard), 1612-1689. 1674 (1674) Wing S3241; ESTC R25624 14,535 24

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Assistance which they used not alwais before but somtimes in the midst of their Sermons also when they treated of some high mystery of Godliness or other matter of difficulty or were transported with more than ordinary zeal to the practice of such or such a virtue or the eradication of some reigning offence amongst the People as is frequent in many of St. Chrysost Homilies And of St. Ambrose he being a Metropolitan might surely assume such a power to compose a Prayer for his own use which is not nay ought not to be allowed to every inferior Presbyter Secondly Because he used a short Prayer and this but somtimes before his Sermon it doth not follow That every green-headed Minister may use a Prayer of his own privat conception twenty times as long as the other and so fully as far distant from the pattern which our Lord hath given us which is also answer sufficient to St. Paul's example objected Object 10. Object But St. Augustine affirms the necessity of this Prayer before Sermon saying (a) August de Doct. Christiana That Queen Esther prayed for the temporal safty of her Nation before she adventured to speak before the King Ahasuerus that God would put into her mouth congruous words How much more ought we to pray for the like gift when we are to speak for the eternal salvation of souls in the Word and Doctrine And again saith he when the hour is come to preach before he opens his mouth let him lift up his thirsting soul unto God Answ Answ It is undoubtedly a laudable practise for every Preacher to pray for the Divine Assistance in his Sermons to the People And this not only in the publick Prayers of the Church but his privat also betwixt God and his own soul and this also as the Father directs before he opens his mouth in Publick And such was Queen Esther's Prayer in privat before she publickly spake to the King which makes rather against than for the Privat Prayer in Publick for and with the whole Congregation St. August could not be guilty of any such practise for it was against his judgment being himself one of the Two Hundred Fathers of that Milevitan Councel wherein it was decreed That no prayer should be used in publick but such as were approved in the Synod Somtimes this Father did conclude his Sermon with an Exhortation conceived in Form of a prayer e. g. Conversi Turning unto the Lord God Father Almighty let us render him all possible thanks besceching him of his great mercy that he would vauchsafe to hear our prayers and expell the Enemie from having any influence upon our thoughts and desires words and actions that he would encreas our faith govern our minds fill us with spiritual ●ogitations and at last bring us to everlasting huppiness through Jesus Christ which is not so much a Prayer as an Invitation to prayer sutable to the Form prescribed in the Canon of our Church Object 11. The liberty of Privat prayer in Publick is the way to make an able Ministrie whilest thus they are put on to exercise and improve their Ministerial gifts and graces Answ 'T is rather the way to make a Licentious Fanatick Brain-sick Ministry and in process of time no Ministry at all for from this Practice it is that so very many unlearned unstable souls have taken up the trade and proved as eminent at least as well approved of by the people for their gift of Prayer as the most learned of their Tutorers therein And whosoever shall impartially weigh and without prejudice consider it he may observe that this Privat prayer in Publick both in Church and at home is the very life and soul of that Schism and Division which is still so perniciously kept up in this Church 'T is hereby maintained more than by preaching and disputes 'T is from hence that Parties do call their leaders Godly Ministers and themselves the godly Brethren The children that cry Abba Father The chosen and familiar friends of God from their over-saucy and familiar convers with God This is that great Idol whom all the world of Non-conformists on this side the pale of the Roman Church adore and worship crying down the goodly frame of Gods worship in his Church under the notion of Idolatry Superstition and Will-worship that every one may set up his Idols in his own heart follow the sway of their own imaginations to be guilty themselves of that Will-worship which they falsly impute to the Church of Christ Upon this Rock many thousand souls have suffered shipwrack who have been otherwise piouslly inclined For being taken with holy language religious tone and seeming zeal of this or the other person in their privat conceived Prayers they have in respect thereof slighted and undervalued even the Celestial Prayer of God the Son all the divinely inspired prayers of God the Holy Ghost recorded in Holy Writ with all the devout and excellent Prayers of the Church of Christ which are framed after the pattern prescribed by our Lord commanded by the Higher Powers used by the devout People of God in all ages and whereby many thousand triumphant Saints in He-have pray'd themselves into that blisfull place of Eternal Glory After all this It would be considered That as every error in Religion is very prolifick in bringing forth many others of the same mishapen stamp and nature so this erroneous way of divine worship the use of a Privat Prayer in a Publick Congregation is also productive of many mistakes and falshoods and deformed wais of worship in the management thereof And 1. Such privat Prayers in Publick are generally in the length of them For Long Prayers are unlawful First Because they are prohibited by our Lord Mat. 6.7 When yee pray use not vain repititions which cannot be understood of the same Prayer repeated which is falsly objected against the prayers of the Church for so pray'd our Lord himself and his example surely contradicts not his Doctrine whose Prayer when most earnest in his Desires was the same three times repeated and a very short Prayer also Mat. 26.44 By vain repititions then must be meant the repetitions of the same thing in other words For First To use multitude of words and variety of expressions in Prayer is vain i. e. superfluous impertinent and to no purpose since our Desires may and ought to be expressed in few words and pertinent Secondly Such are generally vain i. e. empty and insignificant that have more noise than weight more sound than sense serving only to fill up the time to amuse the mindes and tickle the itching eares of the Hearers That such kinde of long Prayers are here forbidden by our Lord is manifest 2ly From the parallel Text quoted in the margin Eccles 5.2 Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thy heart be hastie to utter any thing before God for God is in Heaven and thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few And this Text