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A80626
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A modest and cleer ansvver to Mr. Ball's discourse of set formes of prayer. Written by the reverend and learned John Cotton, B.D. and teacher of the Church of Christ at Boston in New-England. Published for the benefit of those who desire satisfaction in that point
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Cotton, John, 1584-1652.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing C6444; ESTC R212884
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45,765
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95
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so it is unlawfull to worship God in a form of words devised by the Officers of one Congregation and prescribed and imposed upon others Disc Nay saith your Discourse for the form of words is not worship but the Prayer tendered in that form Answ As Prayer is Worship so the form in which prayer is offered to God is Modus or Medium Cultus the manner or means or help of Worship which if it be not warranted and instituted of God it is forbidden in the second Commandement when God forbad his people to worship him in such a manner as the Gentiles served their gods he ordained them a rule to be perpetually observed in all service to him to wit that we should worship him as himself hath commanded which the opposition inferreth that his meaning is not only with such duties but in such a manner as himself hath commanded without adding ought thereto or taking ought therefrom Deut 12.30 31 32. Now he hath commanded us to pray in the spirit Eph. 6.18 which implies not only with such affections as his Spirit kindleth and stirreth up but also with such matter and words as his spirit helpeth us unto For his Spirit is said to help us what to pray which else we should not know Rom. 8.26 Now in a stinted prescript form of prayer we know what to pray without the Spirit when we joyn in prayer with another who is our mouth to God though we know what to pray by his help yet it is such an help as the Spirit himself hath provided 1 Cor. 14.16 Disc It followeth in the Discourse that mens inventions in Gods worship that be of the same nature and use with true worship or with means of worship ordained by God be unlawfull but method phrase order of speech devised by man was never judged an invention of man unlawfull Answ 1. This hath been alledged and answered before but this further let me adde 1. That the words imply that mens inventions that be not of the same nature and use with the worship of God or with the means thereof are lawfull whereas it is evident that the making of perfume like unto the incense of the Tabernacle though not to the same use in Gods worship but to smell at was rejected of God as utterly unlawfull Exod. 30.38 The making of like things to the ordinances of God or to the means of worship though not to the like end but to any religious end will not be allowed in the second Commandement as Gideons Ephod declareth 2. These set forms of prayer prescribed to the Churches we see not but that they are of the same nature and enjoyned for the same use for which any forms of prayer in Scripture are ordained of God and therefore by the verdict of your Discourse they are unlawfull For as those forms of prayer in Scripture are given of God to supply the Church with fit matter for their petitions and praises upon sundry occasions And for the use to the edification of the Church so the forms now in question are of the like nature given to the like end only injoyned with more strictnesse and severity which maketh both their use lesse profitable and their burthen more heavy then Gods own institutions 3. Method phrase and order of speech devised by men was judged an unlawfull invention by Paul when such wisdom of words in preaching become not the simplicity of the Gospel 1 Cor. 2. therefore it cannot be said that method phrase and order of speech devised by man was never judged an unlawfull invention and surely method phrase order of speech devised and prescribed by one Congregation to another in prayer doth as little beseem liberty and purity of the Gospel as the other in preaching did ill become the simplicity of the Gospel Disc Set prayer is no strange manner of worship because in it all things required to the nature of true prayer may be observed Answ This hath been answered before more goeth to the lawfulnesse of a prayer then the nature of true prayer defect in any circumstance though but in externall form maketh a prayer unlawfull Disc In what method and frame of speech to pray we find nothing prescribed of God in particular neither do we judge any thing necessary more then that order decency and edification be regarded Answ Be it so but how then shall men have power to prescribe to the Churches method and form of speech in prayer when God hath prescribed nothing The Apostles who had the largest and highest Commission of any Church governours in the New Testament yet they had no power to teach or to prescribe to the Churches any other things then what Christ had commanded them Matth. 28.19 20. Say not though no other things yet Church governours may command such and such manner of those things for then a further Commission must be shown where Christ gave to his Apostles or their successors power to ordain and prescribe such and such manner of the administration of his holy things as themselves should see good But we never saw any such commission held forth to this day from any colour of Scripture light that only place 1 Cor. 14.40 which is alledged in this case is farre off from reaching forth any such authority for though the place do shew that it is the duty of the Church to administer all the holy things of God in order and decency and to edification and to see that all things be so carried yet it doth not give to the Church any such power as to make orders or to ordain forms of decency or to devise means of edification which himself hath not ordained the Church may indeed appoint such orders the neglect whereof would be disorderly and confusion as they may appoint one Prophet to speak at once and when another is called to begin the first to hold his peace because the neglect hereof would breed confusion The Church may appoint such decencies the neglect whereof would be undecent as for men to pray bare-headed and women covered because the contrary were uncomely by the light of nature and civill custome The Church may appoint and ought to use such helps and means to edification as the Lord hath instituted to that end but if the Church go beyond the bounds of this power they do at once both exceed the bounds of Apostolicall authority and cut short the bounds of Christian liberty Disc A set form of prayer is for substance and nature agreeable to the rules of direction delivered in the word of truth though for method and word it be humane as conceived prayer is Answ A set form of prayer as it is set by one Congregation for another can find no rule of direction nor any foot-step thereof in the word of truth In saying that for method and words a set form of prayer is humane as conceived prayer is there is the like liberty taken of Sophistry in an equivocation which was observed before for though
the devises of men as with Salt Cream Spittle Crosse and the like so is the case here aprescript form of prayer may consist of lawfull fit petitions and be delivered with a faithfull holy humble spirit and so be truly and properly prayer and yet fall short of some rule requisite to be attended to make it a lawfull worship of God to wit if it be offered to God in a strange Tongue or before an Image or by the help of an Image such as we conceive a prescript form of words to be injoyned and imposed to be read upon a book for the Prayers of the Church Answ 2. If by Matter and Form be meant not only Internall and Essential forme but externall also Then we deny that a prescript form of prayer injoyned to be read upon a Book is a lawfull externall form of prayer no more than a prescript form of Homilies is a lawfull externall form of preaching These Answers seem to us sufficient and unavoidable and we rest in them but the other Answers which are alledged by you in your Discourse and much and often beaten upon you though it was delivered by one whose works praise him in the gates throughout all the Churches of the Saints yet we do not insist upon it as not willing to turn aside to unnecessary disputes stinted set forms we do not look at as lawfull to them that need them but unlawfull to them that need them not For though there be a good use of the distinction in this case as we shall see anon yet not in this case where the necessity ariseth not from Gods Commandement but from the sinfull defect of the Creature for supply whereof God hath ordained sufficient help other wayes But yet in reply which you make to the Answer you give a distinction liable to the same exception which your self take against that Answer For that Answer consisting of a distinction of arbitrary and necessary help Your Discourse rejecteth it as a distinction not grounded upon the Word of God which in Divinity is as you say an unwritten tradition and is this distinction of your own any better Helps say you and surtherances in Gods Service are of two sorts some in nature and use the same with the true worship of God instituted by his highnesse and these are unlawfull because they are devised and others concern the Method Phrase of Speech outward manner of celebration onely as meer circumstances and these are not forbidden A distinction ungrounded upon the Word so no better that an unwritten tradition and withall both the parts imply a fals-hood for a prayer which a Minister deviseth for his own and his peoples use before the Sermon is in nature and use the same with the true worship of God instituted by his highnesse yet it is not unlawfull because it is devised for it is devised by him who is called of God to devise and indite it as David did Psal 45. v. 1. and all the rest and that by help of the Spirit of prayer again on the other part a prescribed Homilie doth conserve the method phrase of speech outward manner of celebration only as a meer circumstance yet no Word of God ever allowed it to be read for the publick preaching of the Word unto the people It is true which the Discourse speaketh of the Method of Sermons devised or studied by such as Preach them there may be some liberty whether to preach by doctrine reason and use or some other way the like may be said of forms of Chatechismes Blessings and Baptismes But the reason of this liberty is because we find in Scripture severall forms of all these and therefore we limit or prescribe no set forms to any Pauls Epistle to the Romans is carried along by Doctrine reasons and uses and so are sundry more of his Epistles But Christs Sermon on the Mount is carried in another Method The Apostles Catechise is of one form Heb. 6.1 2. Davids of another Psal 34.11 12 13 14. The Priests Blessings were of one form Numb 6.23 to 26. The Apostles Blessings of another 2 Cor. 12.13.2 Thes 3.17 18. Heb. 13.20 21. Jude 24.25 The forms of baptizing did also sometimes vary some using the words of our Saviour Math. 28.19 Others another form of words Acts 19.5 The thing is this where God hath used variety of forms he leaveth us at liberty to use that one form or the other But to gather a liberty to prescribe and limit a set form of any of these where God hath not limited is to pervert and abuse the power of the keyes of Christs Kingdome to wit to bind where Christ looseth but your Objection is as you say answered by others and that more safely Disc That mens inventions in the service of God are forbidden in the second Commandement But Book Prayer is an Invention of men To this your Discourse replyeth by retorting upon a former Answer which we said afore we did not make use of in this case You reply again the Objection it self is of no weight for by this reason all set forms of Catechismes studied Sermons Interpretations of Scripture divisions of it into Sections and Chapters reading one part this week and another the next conceived prayer it self may be disallowed Answ Touching set forms of Catechisme we do willingly approve diligent attendance to the Catechising of youth and Novices in any form tending to Edification but to devise and prescribe a set form of words wherein all the Questions and Answers shall run and no other we know no warrant for that from Scripture if God would have his people limited to a set form of words in catechizing he would himself have prescribed some set form of his own inspiration which might be defective in no principles nor incommodious in any expression 2. What though there might be some colour to put a set form of words of catechisme into the mouths of Children and Novices the better to help their memory and capacities will it therefore argue it to be a reasonable service of God to put a set form of words and prayers into the mouths of Ministers to help their memories and capacities in powring out their own and the Churches Petitions unto God Studied Sermons are of another nature it is an Ordinance of God that Sermons should be studied before preached Jude made it his whole study 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to write his Epistle Jude 3. How much more ought we to make it our whole study to preach who are not so immediately inspired Solomon gave good heed and sought out to find and set in order fit words and matter for the edification of the people Eccles 12.9 10. and behold lesse than Solomon are Ministers here though in respect of the cleer discerning the Mysteries of Christ The least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he Timonthy is exhorted to give attendance to reading Meditation Doctrine to meditate thereon to give himself wholly to them that his profiting