Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostolical_a	church_n	tradition_n	4,989	5	9.5918	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34085	A scholastical history of the primitive and general use of liturgies in the Christian church together with an answer to Mr. Dav. Clarkson's late discourse concerning liturgies / by Tho. Comber ...	Comber, Thomas, 1645-1699.	1690 (1690)	Wing C5492; ESTC R18748	285,343	650

their Time were to be prayed for but the New Editions of these Liturgies have no Emperours or Bishops Name at all only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leaving it to the Priest to add the Names as Persons changed To conclude I have not seen one solid Objection against the main Body of S. Chrysostom's Liturgy and there is enough of that which we defend and is genuine to shew that Liturgies were used in this Age and there is clear Evidence and good Reason to believe not only that S. Chrysostom approved of Forms but that he Corrected the Ancient Office and made all that is Essential pure and primitive in this very Liturgy which now goes by his Name And this may suffice for this Father § 21. At the same time when S Chrysostom was Famous in the East S. Augustin S. Augustin An Dom. 3● flourished in the African Church and He also is a good Witness for us in this Age For it is impossible he could be against Forms of Prayer written in a Book and to be read out of it because he affirms That Christ therefore left us a Form of Prayer in writing knowing Words were necessary to move● us and that we might look upon that which we ask (a) Nobis ergo necessar●a sunt Verba quibus commovean●ur inspiciamus quid p●tamu● Aug. ad Prob. Ep. 121. p. 129. Now for the Church to imitate Christ and write down our Prayers in a Book could not be a fault in the opinion of S. Augustin who owns the Lords Prayer to be a Form and in divers places affirms that the Faithful repeated it every day (b) Aug. de verb. Ap. Ser. 31. Item hom 42. alibi And therefore he will not grant that any Christians wanted the Spirit to help them with Words and Expressions that he saith cannot be the meaning of our not knowing what to Pray for as we ought Rom. viii 26. because it is not Credible that either the Apostle or those to whom he Writ were Ignorant of the Lords Prayer (c) Id. ad Prob. Ep. 121. pag 129. And therefore he goes on to expound the Spirits helping our infirmities of the Spirits giving us Patience so that we do not pray absolutely to be delivered out of our Afflictions as naturally we should do if the Spirit did not convince us they were for our good So that S. Augustin takes away the main Text on which our Adversaries ground their Extempore Prayers and thinks there is no need for the Spirit to furnish us with expressions We have now seen by other Fathers that they had a Liturgy in every Church by which care was taken for proper expressions and S. Augustin seems to have believed that the Original of these Liturgies the most essential parts wherein almost all Churches agreed was from S. Paul himself for he saith as my Adversary cites him (d) Disc of Liturg. Marg. pag. 173. The Apostle speaking of the Eucharist presently adds The rest will I set in order when I come giving us to understand that though it was too long for an Epistle to intimate all that order of Administration which the Vniversal Church observes yet he did ordain that which is every where observed without Variation (e) Aug. ad Januar. Ep. 118. p. 116. Now the use of Forms was every where observed and though there was some little variety in the Longer Forms of Prayer and Thanksgiving which were made afterwards yet the use of the Lords Prayer the Prefaces the Prayer of Consecration as to the Evangelical Words and some of the Hymns All which were Forms and of Universal use these S. Augustin affirms were ordered and ordained by the Apostle when he came to Corinth so that he maks the Original of using Forms of Prayer and Praise in the Sacrament to be Apostolical And the same thing he affirms in another place where he is arguing against Hereticks Let us look saith he upon the Mysteries of the Ecclesiastical Prayers which the whole World hath received by Tradition from the Apostles and which are uniformly Celebrated in every Orthodox Church that the Rule for our Prayers may fix the Rule of our Faith (f) O●secrati●●rum quoque sacerd●talium Sacramenta respiciamus quae ab Apostolis tradita in t●to modo atque in omni Catholicâ Ecclesiâ Uniformiter Celebrantur ●● legem credendi lex statuat supplican● Aug. de Eccles dog cap. ●● Tom. 3. pag. 4● He must mean this of Forms Extompore Prayers being invisible but these might be looked on yet these he saith were derived from Apostolical Tradition and uniformly Celebrated therefore there was then a written Liturgy appointed at first by the Apostles as S. Augustin thought and used by all Christians to the Words of which he appeals for Evidence against Hereticks in matters of Faith Now if the Prayers had been daily varied by the Extempore Gift he could not have appealed to the Words of them and if these Forms had been composed but a little before this time of S. Augustin he could not have urged their Authority in matters of dispute with Hereticks or others Therefore they had Forms written in former Ages and by their Antiquity become of great Authority in this Century Whereupon the same Father wishes that such as are weak and doubtful in the Question of perseverance would look upon those Prayers of theirs which the Church always had and ever will have (g) ut intuerentur Orationes suas quas semper habuit habebit Ecclesia Aug. de bon persev lib. 2. Tom. 7. pag. 279. That is upon the public Liturgy from the certain Words of which he draws Arguments to satisfy their doubts not fearing they would question the Authority of those Prayers which the Church ever had used from the beginning And therefore he boldly challenges Vitalis who h●ed some Erroneous Opinions to dispute if he saw fit against the Prayers of the Church when he heard the Priest of God at the Altar Exhorting his People to Pray so and so c. (h) Aug. ad Vital Ep. 107. pag. 102. which shews not only that there were Forms because Extempore Prayers can never be urged for or alledged against the Church But it shews that these Forms were by long usage become so venerable that their Authority was esteemed sacred and indisputable And they were accounted the best Evidence of Apostolical Tradition after the holy Scripture The particulars of this African service agreeable to the parts of the Greek Liturgy S. Augustin saith were these The Singing of Hymns reading of Lessons and Sermons the Prayers made by the Bishop in an audible Voice and the Common-Prayer enjoyned by the Deacon (i) aut Ant●st●tes clara voce deprecantu● aut communis Oratio v ce Diaconi indicitur Aug. ad Januar. Ep. 11● p. 119. That is the Collects and the Litany to the First of which the People answered Amen To the Second they made Responses at the end of every Petition

way of Eminence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and all Rites and Forms not set down there though they were writ down by the Fathers he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not written things which is further clear by the occasion of this whole Chapter wherein S. Basil is vindicating himself for using a Phrase and Form of Doxology which was not written in Scripture and his Argument is That the Church used many Rites and Forms which were not written in the Bible such as renouncing the Devil and Praying toward the East and the Forms used in Sacramental Administrations Now Clemens Alexandrinus Tertullian Cyprian and many others as we have shewed had written concerning every one of these things but still they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not written in Scripture but derived from Tradition and therefore they ought not saith S. Basil to blame me if I used a Form of Doxology not written in Scripture Now this clear exposition of the place alledged shews our Authors base disingenuity who to serve a turn and patch up an Argument against Liturgies wilfully perverts S. Basil's words which being rightly understood are so far from condemning Forms or proving they were not written that they prove they were composed long before S Basil's time and then owned for Catholic Traditions Finally whereas he insinuates that S. Bosil counts these Forms to be Mysteries not to be published and thence infers that to write them down was to publish them and therefore doubtless they were not written down I reply That these Forms were daily used among the Faithful and they were not nice to publish them to these it was only the Catechumens and Infidels from whom they kept these Mysteries and considering the charge they laid upon the Faithful and the Priests not to divulge them to those who were without the Church there was no need to be afraid to write them down since the Books were only in their custody who then believed it was a damnable Sin to let the Unbaptized see these Books or hear the words of them And he hath answered this Argument himself by shewing us that the Heathens who also counted their Forms of worship to be Mysteries not to be divulged to the uninitiated did write these Forms in Books which were kept by their Priests (n) Compare Disc of Liturg. pag. 28 with 122. 123. Therefore writing is very consistent with concealing Mysteries from Strangers And there is nothing in this place of S. Basil which proves there were no written Prayers in his time Thirdly He alledges that S. Basil in Prayer with the People used the Doxology two ways both Glory be to God and the Father with the Son and with the holy Ghost and by the Son in the holy Ghost (o) Basil de Sp. Sanct cap. 1. pag. 144. and though the same Father say that the Form of Baptizing the Creed and the Doxology ought to agree yet he varied this short Form twice in one day from whence he infers more than once that S. Basil would not be bound up by any Form (p) Disc of Liturgies pag. 104. pag. 130. I answer This Objection is taken out of the same suspected Tract but I will let that pass and observe that though S. Basil saith this was done in the Prayers with the People yet it doth not follow that this was in any part of the Office it might be in the conclusion of his Forenoon and Afternoon Homily which being performed at the usual hours of Morning and Evening Prayers and when the People were met to Pray yea the Prayers both going before and following the Homily he may properly enough say this was done in the Prayers with the People Now these Homilies or Sermons being S. Basil's own composures he thought he might vary the Doxology there as he used to do at other times but fortuning to use an expression that savoured of the Arian Heresy The Orthodox People who had been used to a right Form of Doxology in their Liturgy ever since the days of Gregory Thaumaturgus as was shewed before were able by that to censure these new and strange ways of expressing himself (q) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil dc Sp. S. cap. 1. And were so angry at him for this Variation that he was forced to write this Book to vindicate those Phrases Wherefore this variety of Doxology being not used in the Liturgy but the Sermons or Homilies is nothing to his purpose nor will it prove that S. Basil varied from the prescribed Forms much less will it make out there were no prescribed Forms since our Clergy use variety of Doxologies at the end of their Sermons but it would be Ridiculous to Argue from thence that they will not be bound to say the Gloria Patri in that Form wherein it is set down in the Liturgy If it be again objected that S. Basil hath great variety of Doxologies yet extant in the end of his Homilies and therefore had this variation been after Sermons the People could hardly have perceived it I answer The latter of these Forms was used by the Arians in a very ill Sense to intimate the inequality of the Father and the Son and though no doubt S. Basil meant well yet it did so evidently tend towards Heresy and was so very different from the Old Orthodox Form in the Liturgy that the People who could digest various Phrases in unprescribed Composures provided the Sense was Orthodox took check at this dangerous Variation and by the way we may learn from hence how great a security it is to the Faith for the People to be accustomed to Orthodox Forms which doth enable them to observe yea and correct any kind of dangerous Innovations But if my Adversaries will not allow this variation to have been any where but in the Prayers though there is no Reason to allow that yet supposing it were so Then this was an Action of S. Basil which is not to be imitated and since he had like to have run into Heresy by taking this undue liberty it will make nothing for the Credit of Extempore Prayers that they expose such as use them to the danger at least of venting Heretical expressions involuntarily And S. Basils being forced to beg Pardon for it shews it ought not to be quoted for a Precedent yet after all it this variation were in the Prayers it shews there were then Forms well known to the People and confirms us in the necessity of prescribing and imposing such Forms to prevent Heresy from creeping into the Church which otherwise may get ground even by the well meant expressions of some Eminent Extempore Man Fourthly He affirms that S. Basil did not teach his Monks to pray by any Liturgy but to choose their Expressions out of Scripture (r) Basil Constit monast cap. 1. p. 668. 669. I answer Divers of the learned deny this Book to be genuin (s) Scultet medul p. 1056. See Discourse of Liturg. p. 120.