Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	form_n	pray_v	set_a	5,316	5	11.1216	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39936	Singing the psalmes the duty of Christians under the New Testament, or, A vindication of that gospel-ordinance in V sermons upon Ephesians 5, 19 wherein are asserted and cleared I. That, II. What, III. How, IV. Why [brace] we must sing / by Tho. Ford ...	Ford, Thomas, 1598-1674.	1659 (1659)	Wing F1517; ESTC R35534	65,438	180

neither those nor any other And whereas occasionall composures a●…e so much cried up by many I ask them what poor soules shall do that cannot compose Psalmes neither have any to do it for them Certainly it is a duty as hath been proved that lies upon all Gods people and to whom shall many of them go for a Psalme if not to David They that pen psalmes better or at least fitter as they think do it for their particular respective Congregations In the mean time what shall others do unless the same men will undertake to furnish all the Churches of God in the Land and the world too with a better Psalm book than that of David If it be said that some Officer or member in every Congregation may do as much upon occasion I answer perhaps not nay without all peradventure the gift will not be found at all or in any tolerable measure amongst many Christians and then when they meet and would be merry in the Lord poor soules they shall have never a Psalm to sing as James requires James 5. 13. Nor shall we upon this account have very much singing in private families of which there are thousands in England that will not yield one who can endite or compose a Psalm fit for the occasions of Gods people Therefore if these m●…n will not give us another Psalm-book in stead of David's we shall have little singing in Congregations and less in private families But I shall argue this no further onely I add that 't is not enough for them to say that David's Psalmes must give place to their new Songs especially since the former can plead prescription for so many ages but they must prove it and that strongly too that we must not sing David's Psalmes For the accommodation of David's Psalmes to the present particular occasions of Gods people I shall speak more hereafter all I shall say for present is this That if we cannot accommodate them or any passages in them the fault is our own There are many I fear who cannot accommodate many passages in David's Psalmes as when he professes his zeal for God love to God his Word and Ordinances and wayes of Worship his integrity humility heavenly-mindedness c. But that 's because they have not such a heart as was in David and it may be their consciences cannot well bro●…k such a word of admonition and conviction as they meet withall in many places and passages of David's Psalmes But if we sing David's Psalmes let us sing them in David's tunes and not in such Meetre as men have devised Sol. This reasoning will prove as well that we shall not read David's Psalmes for may not a man as well say Why should we read them in any Language but that wherein they were written and so farewell singing and reading Psalmes too and if you say but as much of all the other parts of Scripture farewell all preaching of gifted men for they will have never a Text nor Bible left them But if we think our selve bound to read the Psalmes in our own Tongue why may we not as well sing them in our own Tunes If you say there is a necessity of reading I grant it and say There is a necessity of singing them also there being as expresse precepts in Scripture for the one as for the other When any man shall give us as a good reason against reading in our own Tongue we will give over singing Psalmes in our own Tunes till then we believe there is the like necessity of the one and the other or else we are come to a good passe indeed that we must neither sing nor say My answer then is in a word this That there being a necessity of singing as well as of reading we may do the one in our own Tunes as well as the other in our own Tongue There is yet one objection more against singing of David's Psalmes which was not thought on at the preaching of these Sermons and it is this Obj. As the Scripture commands us to pray but prescribes us no set forms of Prayer which we are bound to use and no other so when it commands us to sing Psalmes it doth not tie us to any forme but leaves us to our liberty For if we are not tied to a form in praying why should we be tied up to any form in singing I dare not say as some do that all formes of Prayer are forbidden by the second Commandment nor yet that they wholly stint and quench the Spirit But to let that pass I answer Sol. 1. The Apostle hath prescribed us what to sing viz. Psalmes and Hymnes and spiritual Songs which are the express Titles of David's Psalmes as was shewed before 2. There is a difference in this that the Lord did not prescribe unto his people set formes of Prayer as he prescrib'd set formes of Psalmes 2 Chron. 29. 30 They were to sing in the words of David and Asaph but we read not that they were to pray in any such set form God gave them a Psalm book but not a Prayer-book as was said before 3. When the Psalmes of David and Asaph were ordinarily sung in the Temple dare any man say that the Spirit either in the Levites or others was stinted or quenched and why should it be stinted now more than it was then Since we have the same formes which God himself appointed why may we not expect the same enlargement of heart as the people of God had then 4. We must sing in a forme or not at all as I shewed formerly though we may very well pray without it Since therefore we must have a form why should we not prefer such as God hath appointed before any other SERMON II. Ephes. 5. 19. Speaking to your selves in Psalmes and Hymnes and spirituall Songs Singing c. THE Apostle calls upon the people of God to edifie themselves in singing of Psalmes This we have proved to be the duty of Christians and answered some Objections made against it Obj. But how can Christians do this in a mixt Congregation will some say where there is a multitude that joyn in the duty who yet God knowes are no way able to do it in such a manner as may be either pleasing to God or profitabie to their own soules They cannot sing in their heart nor to the Lord And hence some complain they are much scandalized to hear profane and ungodly men in their singing of Psalmes profe●…s their Repentance the integri●…y and uprightness of their hearts when God knows there is no such thing in them Therefore say they What do such men in singing but sound out so many lies yea and blaspheme the holy Name and Truths of God in doing of that duty and this so troubles and distracts them that they cannot finde in their hearts to joyn in the duty with such profane people This is I conceive the main thing that troubles the most and therefore though there is but

Psalmes They know not how to accommodate passages in them either those passages are no way sutable to their conditions or their affections many times are not sutable to those passages and hence they conclude they cannot sing them so as to praise or please God in them and therefore resolve not to sing at all Further when they say we must sing David's Psalmes with David's spirit if I mistake not their meaning is we must be in every respect like David and in the very same case that he was when he sung these Psalmes to the Lord As for instance the sixth Psalme was penned by David when he was or had been sick therefore we cannot sing this Psalme when we are well and in good health So we cannot sing the fifty one psalme because as we hope many of us have not committed such soul sinnes as David had viz. Adultery and murder So many of us have not had occasion to fly out of our Country as David had upon which occasion he penned some of his psalmes as Psal. 52. 54. 55. 56. 57. 120. c. So many of us have not a house to dedicate or purifie as David had when he penned the thirtieth Psalme and therefore we may not sing that Psalm To conclude we must be in the same condition in every respect as David was when he penned those Psalmes or else it is impossible to sing them as David did that is to sing Davids Psalmes with Davids spirit This is that which many object and scruple much at it and yet it is nothing but a gross mistake of the Nature Use and End of this Duty of singing Psalmes therefore to rectifie it I shall not onely shew you What 〈◊〉 Nature End and Use of singing Psalmes but I shall give you some directions whereby you may see how all and every of those Psalmes and the severall passages in them may be applied to us for our use and how we may sing them so as to glorifie God and to edifie our own soules alwayes provided that we have grace in our hearts and that we stir up the grace of God that is in us The Psalmes of David Asaph c. were written as far as I understand for a threefold end or use viz. 1. For Instruction 2. For Admonition 3. For Praise and Thanksgiving Which you may if you please reduce to these two viz. Glorifying God Edifying our selves First Instruction or Teaching Secondly Admonition or Reproof Thirdly Thanksgiving and praising the Lord Look into Col. 3. 16. Teaching and admonishing your selves in Psalmes c. there you have the ends of singing of Psalmes and speaking to your selves in Psalmes c. as the words are in the Text And though these three ends be distinct yet I would not have you understand me so as if they were alwayes divided For even those Psalmes that are for Instruction and Admonition are also for Praise and Thanksgiving Praising God or giving thanks unto the Lord and the glorifying of Gods great Name is the end of all singing as it is the end of all Duties And though we distinguish praising of God from petitioning yet I hope you think that even our petitioning and begging of God those things we need is a glorifying God and a praising his Name because therein we acknowledge God is the God of all our mercies and comforts with whom is the well of life and from whom is all our expectation So when we pray to God we do praise him so when we hear the Word we do praise and glorifie God because therein we acknowledge God onely to be our King our Judge and Law-giver profess our selves his servants and whatsoever he commands us we will do and thus in all duties we praise and glorifie God For all the duties we do are paying of our Homage or acknowledging of our Fealty to God And those that know not this know not what they do when they go about any Duty Therefore I say if a Psalm be for Instruction or Admonition yet notwithstanding it is to praise the Lord with So we suppose there be some Psalmes that are Psalmes meerly for Instruction Doctrinall Psalmes yet we may sing them and others not onely for our Admonition and Instruction but to praise the Lord as in Psal. 106. 12. Israel it is said sang his praise These things premised we shall now resolve the Case in hand 1. First then I say one main End of singing Psalmes is our Instruction and Admonition when we in singing have sweet meditations upon that heavenly matter that is sung That is I say again one main end of singing Psalmes viz. Teaching and admonishing our selves in Psalmes Col. 3. 16. For when we are singing a Psalm of Instruction we are thereby admonished of our evills and also taught what is our duty Besides which place I urge the Title of some of David's Psalmes Maschil of David Psal. 142 60. 32 42 45 53 55 56 74. c. That is A Psalm of David to give Instruction So Junius and Tremellius do alwayes if I do not wrong them render it A song to teach They are Psalmes especially to teach and to give Instruction But further if there were nothing else yet this also were an argument sufficient to shew that teaching and admonishing is one end of our singing Psalmes namely that some Psalmes are meerly Doctrinall and you have not any formal expression of prayer or praise in them in many of the Psalmes indeed there be most heavenly patheticall formes of praise and prayer but some Psalmes are meerly Doctrinall as the first Psalm there is no one form of prayer or of praise in it but the whole Psalm if you mark it is nothing else but a doctrinall description of the different and contrary estate of the godly and wicked in this life and in the life to come as ver. 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornefull but his delight is in the ●…aw of the Lord c. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters his leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he doth shall prosper But the ungodly are not so but are like chaff c. the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment and the way of the ungodly shall perish c. Here is no formall expression of praise or prayer though the Prophet penned and sung it to the praise of God So the second Psalm is a Psalm of Instruction and Admonition but there are no formes of prayer or praise unless you reckon that for one viz. Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession Now the doctrine of that Psalm is briefly this The peremptory decree and purpose of God to set up the Kingdome of Christ in spite of the world the vanity of all mens devices in opposition to it the