have a degree of Elocution in them beyond the Rhetorick of words and phrases 'T is not necessary that there be so much as an audible groan much less that whining effeminacy by some indulged to for the Spirit is here said to make intercession 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with groanings unuttered And certainly the Spirit of true Devotion is often most when the tenor of the voice is still and void of affectation as we observe the Water to be deepest where it runs with the least of noise and murmur This then I assert in the negative That we have no vvarrant to expect from the H. Spirit an immediate inspiration of the matter and words of Prayer and I will confirm it by a three-fold Argument 1. Were it otherwise neither John the Baptist nor our B. Sauiour need have taught their Disciples any Forms of Prayer as they did This pains were superfluous if it were the office and work of the Spirit immediately to inspire the matter and words of prayer To what purpose were this waste And I think he may as reasonably deny the Sun to shine at noon-day who will affirm the Lord's Prayer to be no Set Form whereas the words are evidently moulded into a Prayer and enjoyned by our Saviour St. Luke 11.1 2. in their use for such When ye pray say Our Father And this injunction given too in answer to their request Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his Disciples Now Were it the Office of the Spirit to put words and matter immediately into mens thoughts and tongues Christ should have given instead of this answer When ye pray say Our Father that which he elsewhere gave for their encouragement when arraigned before Heathen-Governours Take no thought how or what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that same hour the Spirit of my Father shall speak in you 2. Were this conceit true of the Spirit 's immediate dictating of the matter and words of Prayer then every Prayer should be of as good and authentick authority as the H. Scripture it self For whence is the Divine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Holy Scripture and why do we afford it so absolute a reverence but because it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 given by inspiration from God The Prophets and Pen-men of it spake and wrote as they were moved and acted by the H. Ghost Now if the Spirit did immediately help every person that prayeth to the matter and words of Prayer we must needs affirm Every Prayer to be in like manner by inspiration from God and every man that prayes to be moved and acted by the Spirit and to speak as he is moved by the H. Ghost Were this so it might prove I confess of considerable advantage unto some and help them to new Scriptures for their wayes and actions directly contrary to the old which we know to have been truly inspired of God But far be it from us to canonize all the extravagancies to say nothing worse of some mens prayers pretending most highly to the Spirit as of equal authority with the holy pure and infallible Word of God 3. Were it the Office of the H. Spirit immediately to suggest unto every one that prayes the matter and words of Prayer it were then impossible for any number to joyn together in offering up the same prayers and petitions unto God For let the Speaker or Minister pray never so much Ex-tempore as 't is call'd and without premeditation and by the Spirit 's inspiration as is pretended yet his very Prayer will be the hearer's direction and help both to the matter and words of Prayer and as much a confinement for the time as any other Form made and prescribed to their hands The most Extempore-Prayer is as I have before also intimated an absolute set Form to all but the utterer of it and therefore 't is the meerest non-sense in the world to exclaim against Praying in Publick by a Form when there can be no Publick Prayer managed without it It is not then to be expected from the H. Spirit that he should immediately furnish us with the matter and words of Prayer That for negative And from thence 2. The affirmative follows If not immediately then of necessity mediatè by the use of proper and fitting means conducing thereunto For there is no third way to be conceived of The Spirit 's help as to the matter and words of Prayer i. e. the Gift of Prayer must be either immediate without the use of means or mediate by the use of means conducible thereunto I will not deny but the Apostles might sometimes pray by the extraordinary and immediate inspirations of the Spirit as they received immediately other extraordinary gifts But I have already discountenanced our expectation of any such gift immediately from the Spirit We may as justly pretend to an immediate gift of Tongues whereas it is our lot by the use of fitting and ordinary means to attain to a part of that perfection which God sometimes bestowed without the use of these means extraordinarily The Children of Israel were fed with Manna from Heaven in the Wilderness but when they came to Canaan they lived upon the sweat of their own brows the fruits and encrease of their own labour Now these proper means by the diligent use of which the Spirit furnisheth us with the matter and words of prayer are consideration of our wants premeditation of the things we are to ask of God the improvement of our natural faculties of reason and utterance good instruction c. And among the rest those useful Forms which are recommended to us from pious and good men or prescribed by Authority the Common-Prayers of the Church Thus if we are qualified for Prayer by the help of our natural parts our knowledge and memory of divine truths our invention and elocution the Spirit may be said by these to help us to the materials and words of Prayer viz. remotely inasmuch as every good gift is from him and through his blessing And thus sometimes whilst we are giving our selves to meditation in order unto Prayer the Spirit may set our sins before our eyes and bring to our remembrance fitting truths to be thought upon And thus also by the help of Forms composed to our hands The Spirit no question help'd the Baptist's Disciples to the matter and words of Prayer by that Form which John the Baptist taught them and the Spirit help'd Christ's Disciples to the matter and words of Prayer by that absolute and perfect Form of Prayer which our B. Saviour taught them and we also have received And thus the Spirit in like manner may be said to help us to the matter and words of Prayer by those excellent Forms of Common-Prayer publickly enjoyned by the Church wherein we live For What an excessive vanity and dotage is it for particular persons to conceit themselves so highly in favour with the Sacred Spirit as to be assisted in order to
inseparable from every institution of Gospel-worship to represent some grace of the New-covenant which these symbolical instructions do not I would gladly be resolved Whether brotherly love and charity be not some grace of the New-covenant or What special grace of the New-covenant is represented by singing one of the Gospel-institutions hereafter enumerated To draw now towards a conclusion of this argument I have so long insisted on Let it be consider'd of how mischievous a consequence the entertainment of this general principle must needs be That nothing may be used or allowed of in or about Gospel-worship vvhich is not commanded and instituted in the Word of God There can be no observance of those general rules That all things be done in order and decency and unto edification if there be no such power lodged in the Church as to determine those outward ceremonies and circumstantials which are no where specified by God himself for either none at all will be determined and so we shall be in danger of Atheism and profaneness or every one must determine and chuse for himself and so there being as many minds almost as men we shall unavoidably run into endless Schisms and confusions In truth the main question here is only this Since God is to have an orderly and decent service kept up in the world whether private discretion and conscience or publick authority is fittest to be trusted with the management of it and then In case that that the Governours of the Church backed with the laws of Christian Princes shall interpose in these matters left by God undetermined whether it be not a sin of unaccountable frowardness and disobedience to refuse the doing that when vve are commanded by authority which we might every one chuse to do our selves though we vvere not so commanded We are not in this Kingdom to learn what mischiefs and disorders may be reasonably expected from a principle we have already seen and experimented so dismal and destructive consequences of A short remembrance may here suffice from a judicious observer Bp Sanderson Praef. to his Sermons When this gap was once opened VVhat command have you in Scripture or what example for this or that Vnà Eurusque Notusque ruunt It vvas like the opening of Pandora's box or the Trojan horse as if all had been let loose Swarms of Sectaries of all sorts broke in and as the Frogs and Locusts in Egypt overspread the face of the land nor so only but as it often happeneth these young striplings soon out-stript their leaders and that upon their own ground for as these said to others What command or example have you for kneeling at the Communion for wearing a Surplice for Lord Bishops for a penn'd Liturgie for keeping holy dayes c. and there stop'd so these to them Where are your Lay-Presbyters your Classes c. to be found in Scripture Where your Steeple-houses your National Churches your Tythes and mortuaries your Infant-sprinklings nay your Meter-Psalms your two Sacraments your observing a weekly Sabbath for so far I find they are gone and how much farther I know not already and how much farther they will hereafter God alone knoweth for erranti nullus terminus being thus far out of their way they may vvander everlastingly It may be then a kindness vvhatever they think of it to stop if possible to turn them and let them see where they first mistook It is therefore the last office propounded in this general part of my discourse to take a vievv of those several places of Scripture used shall I say or abused by the Catechist to countenance this Leading-error vvhich I have declared the falseness of Unto that therefore I proceed CHAP. VII The common abuse of Holy Scripture by the Writers of this way An explication of certain places of Scripture brought in to countenance the fore-going Principle or some appendant to it under five heads Such texts 1 which referr us to the Word of God as our rule and commend unto us the perfection of it 2 Which use the negative argument of Gods not commanding a thing as a reproof and condemnation 3 VVhich forbid the adding to or taking from the VVord of Gods 4 VVhich prohibit the worshipping of God by the commands of men and will-worship 5 VVhich require faith of us in order to the pleasing of God and impute the guilt of sin to whatsoever is not of Faith AS there is nothing more usual so nothing more detestable in the Writers of this way than horribly to wrest and dally with God's holy oracles and quote the Scriptures lamely and perversly †M. Perâ—â—ns saith well upon the occasion of the Devils temptations unto Christ and alledging Scripture in them Gods Ministers must hereby be admonished to be careful in alledging any text of Scripture that the same be fit and pertinent for to wrest the same from the proper meaning of the H. Ghost to serve their ovvn conceit is the practise of Satan Which also may serve for a good advertisement to those that use to heap up manifold allegations of Scriptures In this affected multiplicity the abuse of Scripture can hardly be escaped Park Combat betvveen Christ and the Devil Vol. 3. p. 393. as the Devil did and commit the vice which they so often falsly challenge others with and for namely the adding unto or detracting from the Word of God saying the Lord hath spoken what he hath not or the Lord hath not spoken what he hath The plainest Scriptures are least of all minded and obscurer places gloss'd upon to patronize their private doctrines fancies and imaginations yea any faint allusion or emblance will serve for an express warrant The Garment spotted with the flesh hath been quoted against the Surplice Bowing the knee to Baal against kneeling at the Sacrament The mark of the beast against the Cross c. The margins of their books are commonly faced with a multitude of Scripture-quotations little or nothing really to the purpose but to make a fair shew and deceive the credulous and simple And so it is with our Catechist who to render the number of his quotations more formidable to the eye repeats the same oftentimes over again Some difficulty there will be in marshalling them into order but I will take what care I can to leave none out that cast but the least look or glance this way I shall therefore examin them under the following Heads 1. Those Scriptures which referr us to the VVord of God as our rule and commend unto us the perfection of it John 5.39 Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testifie of me Isa 8.20 To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them Luke 16.19 it should be I suppose vers 29.31 They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them If they hear not Moses and the Prophets
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 1.7 1 Cor. 1.3 2 Cor. 1.2 1 Cor. 1.3 2 Cor. 1.2 c. Gal. 1.3 Eph. 1.2 Phil. 1.2 Col. 1.2 1 Thess 1.1 2 Thess 1.2 Philem. 3. Grace Mercy and Peace 1 Tim. 1.2 2 Tim. 1.2 Titus 1.4 and his acoustomed farewel his wish at parting Rom. 16.20 1 Cor. 16 2â— c. and taking leave is this The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all Amen Rom. 16.20 1 Cor. 16.23 Phil. 4 23. 1 Thes 5.28 2 Thess 3.18 Philem. verse 25. somewhat enlarged 2 Cor. 13.14 varied Gal. 6.18 Eph. 6. 23.24 contracted Col. 4.18 1 Tim. 6.21 2 Tim. 4.22 Tit. 3.15 Consult we next the Apostolical Exhortation unto Timothy for the providing a publick Liturgy I exhort saith St. Paul that first of all Supplications Prayers Intercessions and Giving of Thanks be made for all men for Kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 2.1 2. 1 Tim. 2.1 2. q. d. In the first place Dr. H. paraphâ— I advise thee and all other Bishops under thy inspection that you have constant publick offices of devotion consisting 1st Of Supplications for the averting of hurtful things sins and dangers 2dly Of Prayers for the obtaining of all good things which you want 3dly Of Intercessions for others And 4thly Of Thanksgiving for mercies already received and all this not only for your selves but in a greater diffusion of your charity for all mankind for the Emperours especially and Rulers of Provinces under them to whom we owe all our peaceable living in any place in the exercise of Religion and a vertuous life and therefore ought in reason to pray and give thanks for them Now how can this exhortation be more properly and effectually complied with than by the making of certain Forms of Prayer with Thanksgiving suitable to those Heads and appointing the use of them Two Texts of Scripture more shall conclude this catalogue of citations Revel 4.8.12 The four Beasts rest not day and night saying Holy Holy Holy Revel 4.8.12 Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come And the 24 Elders worship him that liveth for ever and ever saying Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were-created Revel 15.3.4 Revel 1â— â— 4. And they who had gotten the victory over the beast verse 2. sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb saying Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty Just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy name for thou only art holy c. He certainly must have a fore-head of brass who after these Scripture-patterns and warrants for Set Forms of Prayer dare presume to deny their lawfulness or declaim against their expediencie And by the way I have also cleared sufficiently the justifiableness of imposing and prescribing of them It savours rankly of a spirit of disobedience to refuse the doing of that upon our Superiour's command which we may do lawfully of our selves And to determine this Quaery in a word Where-ever there is Publick Prayer performed in a Congregation he that speaks doth thereby prescribe a Form for the time unto all that hear and joyn with him and it were worth the while to know Why that priviledge should be denied to a greater authority which they cannot avoid the granting to a less Briefly then to the Catechist's Arguments 1. 'T is contrary saith he to one principal end of Prayer it self which is that Believers may therein apply themselves to the Throne of Grace for spiritual supplies according to the present condition wants and exigencies of their souls Rom. 8.26 Phil. 4.6 Heb. 4.16 1 Pet. 4.7 I answer That publick prayer is to provide for publick and common wants private and secret prayer for private and personal wants and yet both publick and private wants may be comprized in a Form of Prayer the publick in a Form prescribed the private in a Form premeditated But for the private and personal wants of every particular to be regarded in Publick Prayer is a thing that never was and never will be practicable farther than as particulars are provided for under certain general heads whereto they may be referr'd For the Texts of Scripture cited Rom. 8.26 The Spirit 's helping our infirmities I design to speak to in the next Chapter Phil. 4.6 is only an injunction of the duty of Prayer upon every occasion Heb. 4.16 is an encouragement to come boldly on all occasions to the Throne of Grace 1 Pet. 4.7 requires from us watching unto Prayer Which may certainly be done by premeditation and a carefulness over our own Spirits that we be not discomposed for that service There is nothing in all these Texts against the using of Set Forms of Prayer 2. 'T is contrary to the main end that our Lord Jesus Christ aimed at in supplying men with gifts for the discharging the work of the Ministry tending to render the promise of sending the H. Ghost which is the immediate cause of the Churches preservation and continuance needless and useless Eph. 4.8 12 13. I answer That among all the Gifts mentioned in H. Scripture we meet with no such thing as a Gift of Extempore-Prayer and were there any such yet is it no more injury unto that than to other gifts to be confined in the exercise within such bounds and limits as tend to order and edification For God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all Churches of the Saints 1 Cor. 14.33 Not is the promise of the H. Ghost render'd needless and useless who hath other weightier effects to promote than this and who doth as well direct and assist the Church in composing and prescribing a Form of Prayer for publick use as any private Minister for his present Auditory Eph. 4. whereto we are referr'd speaks only in the general of Gifts by Christ bequeathed unto men but names not the Gift of Prayer much less asserteth it to appertain unto every Minister But the Catechist had before told us Cat. p. 174. it will be said That Christ bestows on the Ministers of the Church Gifts and ability of Prayer for the benefit and edification thereof citing Rom. 8.15 16. Gal. 4.6 I answer That in these two Scriptures mention indeed is made of the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father but that nevertheless is at no odds with saying Our Father which art in Heaven Nay 't is possible it may relate unto it And besides these Texts concern not more the Ministers priviledge than the Peoples referring in common unto Christians 3. It will render the discharge of the duty of Ministers unto several precepts and exhortations of the Gospel for the use