the common Cases and Necessities of the Congregation and if these may be as well expressed in other Mens Words as in our own the End of Publick Prayer is as effectually served by the one as the other p. 32. 1. In the first place It is not yet agreed that Reading in Prayer is that sacred Action which the Scripture any where calls Prayer This hath been argued in the Reasonable Account Chap. 7. and what is there said hath been vindicated Chap. 7. of the Answer to Dr. Falkner's Vindication So as that Point lieth not yet cleared 2. When we speak of Means referring to Divine and Sacred Actions we vainly philosophize in our measuring true Means from the Proportion we judge they have to the End If God either in Nature or in his Revealed Will hath directed any Means it is most certain that Means is to be used now that he hath so hath been proved in the Reasonable Account p. 6 7. and what hath been there said hath also been vindicated from Dr. Falkner's Exceptions to it in the Answer to his Vindication of Liturgies p. 39. 62 63 64. When what is there said hath received a just Answer there will need more Words in this Argument It hath also been told our Adversaries in this Point That the speaking of Words first formed in our own Hearts is not only a Divine Mean but Natural and Proper there can be nothing more natural than for the Tongue to speak out of the abundance of the heart nothing more proper to express our Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 formed in our Heads than by our own Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and certainly any Means Divine Natural and Proper ought to have the Preference of others It is a kind of Force upon the Soul to make the Tongue speak what is not formed in the Heart 3. It is true if Forms were to be made new for every Publick Prayer it were not impossible but that the End of Prayer might be as well obtained by the use of other Mens Words as his that ministreth otherwise it is not possible The invariable Wants of a Congregation are very few Pardon of Sin and further Sanctification and upholding Habits of Grace bestowed are so But how many more Have not all Congregations renewed Sins Wants and Mercies 4. But to make this Business short Till what hath been said to prove That the Gifts of him that ministreth in the Duty of Prayer are the Means which God hath directed and given the Minister for that use and the most natural and proper Means imaginable for the Performance of the Act be answered we vainly discourse of other Means unless any Person hath not obtained this This is enough to have said as to what our Casuist hath spoken upon his Second Case The Third Case which our Author speaks to is Case 3. Whether the Use of Publick Forms of Prayer doth not deaden the Devotion of Prayer That which our Author here calleth the Devotion of Prayer the Nonconformists call The Attention of our own or others Thoughts or the Intension and Fervency of our own or others Spirits Our Reverend Casuist granteth p. 34. If Forms are in themselves and not through our Fault and erroneous Prejudice less apt to quicken and raise Devotion than conceived Prayers it will be granted on all hands that this is a good Argument against them Here then is an Issue joined The Medium is granted to be good if true Our Author propounds in order to the Trial of the Issue to consider 1. What those Advantages are which conceived Prayers pretend to 2. Whether they are not for the most part fantastical and imaginary and whether so far forth as they are Real they are not much more peculiar to Forms 3. Whether besides those Common Advantages Publick Forms have not peculiar Advantages which conceived Prayers cannot pretend unto If our Author rightly enumerateth the Advantages pretended by the Nonconformists and makes it good that they are but imaginary and fantastical for the most part and that what of them is real is more peculiar to Forms which is his Second Task and that besides those common Advantages Forms have real Advantages peculiar to them we must yield he hath won this Game But let us examine what he saith Only it must first be observed that the Nonconformists have acknowledged the Truth of this Proposition variable And that may be the best Means to one both of Attention of Mind and Intention of Affections which to another is not so Reasonable Account p. 44. § 27. It very much depends upon Mens having or not having an Ability to express theirs and others Wants to God in Prayer and the Degree in which they have it Our Casuist thus enumerateth the pretended Advantages that are in free conceived Prayers 1. Our Minds are kept more attentive to our Business 2. That the Minister is more affected 3. That the Affections of the People are raised by the Performance of the Minister 4. That in conceived Prayers the Words follow the Affections whereas when a Man prayeth by Forms his Affections if any must follow his Words 5. That Words formed in our own Hearts are more expressive of our Affections than it is possible Words formed by others should be 6. That the Soul can better direct its Affections to God whilst it hath nothing else to do than when it hath a previous Work to direct the Eye to read right This is the Substance of what our Author saith Nonconformists say in Proof of their Proposition and indeed it is a good Summary of what hath been said on this Argument Whether they be meerly imaginary or real Advantages of conceived Prayer that is the Question Our Casuist ingenuously granteth p. 36. That by expressing a serious and devout Affection the Minister doth really advantage the Devotion of the Congregation Which is the Third of those Things before-mentioned The first pretended Advantage he saith p. 37. is That the very conceiving the Matter of his Prayer doth naturally more bind his Attention than the reading it out of a Form This is undeniable and granted by our Author But he goes on But I beseech you what doth it more bind his Attention to Is it to attend to the Words and Phrases If so then it is not to attend to the Acts of Prayer Or is it to attend to those Acts which are the proper Business of Prayer such as being ashamed of Sin and bewailing of it in Confession c. I answer It bindeth the Thoughts of a Man praying to his Business and to one principal Act of Prayer that is the uttering of the Desires of his Heart in fit Words This Answer of our Author depends upon this mistaken Hypothesis That the uttering of fit precatory Words without Lips is no part of Prayer whereas it is an essential part of perfect vocal Prayer And we scarcely read of any thing else called by the Name of Prayer in Holy Writ Which Words being first formed
Reason can be said is that they were the Counterfeit and had the Semblance and Appearance of so good a thing But then Fourthly Let it be considered That the Devils and wicked Mens counterfeiting the Inspirations of the Spirit of God and the spiritual Prayers of good Men is so far from being an Argument against the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit and against the spiritual Prayers of good Men influenced by the Holy Spirit of Prayer that it is rather an Argument for them Just as there having been so many false and counterfeit Miracles in the World is an Argument that there really have been true Miracles and as there having been so much counterfeit Coin in England is a good Argument that there hath been and there is in it true and good Coin For if there had never been any thing of that Nature true and good Devils and ill Men would never have been at the Pains to make their Counterfeits Fifthly Consider That what ever might be the Design of the Devil in being the Author of such counterfeit delusive Inspirations which to be sure was no good one and what ever also might be the Design of our Casuist in objecting against us such counterfeit delusive Inspirations yet certain it is that in Truth and Reality it is no Reproach to the Holy Spirit of God that he suffers the Devil and his Instruments to counterfeit his Holy Inspirations no more than it is a Reproach to Gods Holy Angels and faithful Ministers that Satan transforms himself into an Angel of Light and that Satans Ministers also are transformed into the Ministers of Righteousness 2 Cor. 11.14 15. Consider Sixthly That the right Use which Men fearing God should make of the Instances of Diabolical Inspirations before-mentioned is not to reject the true Influences of the Holy Spirit in Prayer for fear of being imposed upon by the counterfeit Inspirations of Satan that would be as wise a Course as to throw away all Money good and bad for fear of being cheated with counterfeit Coin but to be upon our Guard and to try the Spirits 1 Thes. 5. 19 20 21. 1 Iohn 4.1 examining the Motions of the Spirit within us by the sure Rule of Gods written Word which even Cardinal Bona confesses to be a sufficient Rule to try Spirits by Cum Scriptum sit inquit lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum lumen semitisi meis sit que sacra Scriptura sicut Apostolus 2 Tim. 3 16. Divinitus inspirata utilis ad docendam ad erudiendum in Iustitia ut perfectus sit homo dei ad omne opus bonum instructus suffciens apparatus ad spirituum Discretionem in eâ â—rocul dubio reperitur Bona de discretione spirituum Edit Paris 1673. Cap. 5. p. 54. Without doubt saith the Cardinal there is in the Scripture sufficient means to discern Spirits by And withal we ought to be very modest humble holy and charitable exercising our selves to have always a Conscience void of offence toward God and toward Men. And if we do so God who is faithful will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able 1 Cor. 10.13 The infinitely Good Wife and Faithful God will not suffer any of his Faithful People to be invincibly tempted by Satanical Delusions God by his Word and Providence always furnishes his People with Means to discern Divine from Satanical Inspirations and Enthusiasms Otherwise if we could not discern the one from the other Divine Inspirations would be of no use but might be a Trap and a Snare to the Best of God's People which were Blasphemy to assert and is contrary to the daily Pattern of the Church of England which continually prays That God would cleanse the Thoughts of their Hearts by the Inspiration of his Holy Spirit And let any sober intelligent Man read the Life of Hacket and his two Prophets as it was written and published by Dr. Cousms no Friend but an Enemy to Dissenters and he may see that their Pretended-Inspired Prayers had the Devil's Mark imprinted upon them in Capital Letters I will mention but one such Mark It was usual with them in their Prayers to call upon God to confound them to destroy and damn them if what they said was not true and they were not Men extraordinarily and immediately called of God to reform the Church as they pretended to be By this one Mark it is easie for any Man of Sense to see and judge that certainly they were Melancholly to a Degree of Madness or that they were deluded by the Devil or that they were both one and t'other So much is sufficient for an Answer to our Casuist his Instances of Men Diabolically inspired as he says which should indeed make Christians watchful against the Stratagems of the Enemy of God and Men but should never so far fright them out of their Wits as to make them reject the true genuine Influences and Inspirations of God's Holy Spirit who helps our Infirmities in Prayer Rom. 8.26 If my Style in handling this Argument appear to any too severe I must beg their Pardon if I want a little Patience to hear the more-than-probable Effects of the Operations of the Holy and Blessed Spirit traduced for Iesuitical Inventions and the Effects of the Vnclean Spirit in such Cases Difficile est Satyram non Scribere I have been large in this Argument because it is new and all I expect to find new in the Discourses I am Animadverting upon In the other Parts I believe fewer Words will serve the turn The First Case which our Casuist undertakes to speak to P. 3. and so to the 26th is 1. Case Whether Praying in a Form of Words do not stint and limit the Spirit of Prayer I must confess I have always thought it no inconsiderable Argument prevailing with me to judge it unlawful for me ministring in Prayer to use the prescribed Forms of others because by doing it I must necessarily exclude what Influence or Assistance the Holy Spirit may give me in the Performance of that Holy Duty It is true this is done as to all the People that join with him that ministreth but that is quite another Species of Prayer We know it is the Will of God that as we sometimes should minister to our selves and to others in the Duty of Prayer so at other times we should only pray by Communion or joining with another in Prayer This is evidently God's Will as appears by the constant Practice recorded in Holy Writ Now if it be the Will of God that we should sometimes pray only mentally whilst one only useth Words in Prayer and if it be lawful here to shut out the Spirit 's Influence upon our Words when we are to use no Words but only to join our Amen to him that useth them it will not therefore follow that we may do it when we are our selves to use Words as to which the Holy Spirit may influence us And this is all the Unlawfulness
formed in our own Hearts and whether that Prayer which is such be not more spiritual than other That is 1. Whether there be not more of the Work of our own Spirit in it which I think no modest Man will deny 2. Whether there be not in such Prayer more room left to the Spirit of God to bring to our Remembrance what we have to confess to supplicate and give Thanks for No Words diminutive of spiritual Prayer become a Divine who ought to know that God is a Spirit and will be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth What if some Iesuites have discoursed for this kind of Prayer under the Name of Oratio acquisita acquired Prayer So they have discoursed very well for the Divine Nature of Christ the Trinity the Love of God c. All Sober Divines will grant that this acquired Prayer is the most perfect Prayer The Iesuites never discoursed for it but in Private They agree with some others that are no Dissenters as to Publick Prayer There was a Time when many can bear both the Dean and our late Casuist Witness that they both approved and practised this kind of Praying if they see better now they must Pardon others that cannot see by their Spectacles still acquired Prayer or free Prayer is what it was in the same Degree of Goodness and Praeference I know nothing that Spiritual Prayer can be opposed to but either carnal or meer formal Prayer from both which the good Lord deliver the whole Generation of those that seek his Face But this is enough to deliver free or conceived or acquired or if they will have it so spiritual Prayer from the false and fordid Calumny of being brought in by Iesuites 3. The Third is yet worse That the Devil may have a Causation in it The first that I remember I have met with who hath taught the World this new Imputation was the Author of Ravillac Redivivus proving it from the Instance of that prodigious Hypocrite in Scotland Major Weier The next that approved his saying was Dr. Falkner in his Vindication of Liturgies p. 41. who speaking how the faculty of Expression in Prayer may be procured faith It may be procured as he hath read in some particular Instances by Diabolical Contracts What his Answerer replieth to him see p. 43 44 45. Our Casuist hath improved the Notion Part 2. page 13. But then Secondly As for Diabolical Inspirations of Matter and Words in Prayer we have sundry very probable Instances such as Major Weier who is said to have received his Inspirations through a Staff Hacket David George and that Monster of Wickedness Iohn Basilides Duke of Russia who were all of them possessed with such a wonderful Gift of Prayer as did not only charm and ravish those that heard them but seemed in the Opinion of the most wise and impartial to exceed the Power of Nature which renders it very probable that the Matter of their Prayers was for the most part agreeable to Scripture otherwise it is hardly conceivable how they could have procured to themselves so many Admirers and abused so many honest Minds into a belief that they were immediately inspired by God For Answer to our Casuist his probable Instances of the Devil his inspiring ill Men with Matter and Words in Prayer I shall only desire the Reader to consider these few Things following First Consider That it is worth the observing how unreasonable this Casuist and his Liturgical Brethren are while they find a Difficulty to allow the Holy Spirit who is called The Spirit of Grace and Supplication Zech. 12.10 The Spirit of Adoption by which we cry Abba Father Rom. 8 15. Gal. 4.6 The Spirit that helpeth our Infirmities because of our Selves we know not what we should Pray for as we ought Rom. 8. 26. any influence on our Words in Prayer which is a good and Holy Action and yet find no difficulty to yield the evil Spirit such an influence who abhorreth Prayer and will leave the Room where he is molesting Men when they go to Prayer as we are assured in good Histories of such Molestations by the Devil such as that of the Devil of Mascon Published by Dr. Peter du Moulin and others Is not this very unfair dealing and an horrible Derogation from the Dignity and blessed influences of the Holy Spirit Secondly Consider That as for us we freely grant the possibility of all that our Casuist and his Brethren can reasonably demand and rightly infer from the foregoing Instances That is we grant it is possible that by Gods Holy Permission Satan may suggest many Things to ill Men he may represent various Objects to the Imagination and inward Sense he can impress the ideas of Objects upon Mens Fancy and Imagination and by means of those ideas he can raise their Passions and excite their Lusts and corrupt Affections He cannot only imprint new Idea's upon their Imagination but he can also revive in them the Memory of Things past and restore to them the Ideas of Things which they had forgotten and seemed to have lost and by the one or the other or by both these Means he can influence their corrupt Affections and put them into Motion These are his venemous Darts wherewith he agitates their Blood and Spirits and fixes their Lusts and Passions He can also suggest to them Thoughts that it is Gods good Spirit who thus moves them and makes those Impressions upon them and then their own wicked Hearts inclining them too readily to believe the Truth of his Suggestions because of the agreeableness of some of the things suggested to the Vanity of their Minds out of the abundance of their Hearts their Months naturally speak and that with such defining and flourish of Words as bears Proportion to the natural volubility of their Tongues or to that readiness of Speech which by Use and Exercise they have acquired Thus it is granted that without bodily Possession the evil Spirit might Work in those Children of Disobedience Ephes. 2.2 and so doing might furnish them with Matter of Discourse and thereby so excite and inflame their corrupt Affections and Passions that their wicked Hearts so warmed should readily prepare Words for their Tongues to utter by a natural or acquired volubility of Speech But now Thirdly Consider That in all this there is nothing of that truly spiritual vocal Prayer which is the proper and genuin Effect of Gods Holy Spirit influencing the Souls of true penitent Believers For that vocal Prayer as such consists of gracious Words proceeding from and reverently and aptly expressing the inward workings of Grace the gracious devout Affections of the Heart and the Holy and humble Desires of the Soul towards God through Christ. But the Words spoken from the aforesaid wretched Men were no such gracious Words they proceeded from no such Good and so were expressive of no such gracious Affections of no such holy and humbly Desires The utmost that with any colour of
in this Case we plead and which some phrase a stinting or limiting the Spirit For the clearer understanding of this Matter I will first set down what Influence upon our Words in Prayer we challenge for the Holy Spirit It lieth as I said in the former Chapter in two things 1. In bringing to remembrance the Word of God What Acts are contrary to it and have been our Sins and so are Matter of Confession what things the Word of God gives us leave to ask and under what Circumstances and what we have need of what Promises God hath made for giving them to us Now this is no more than Christ promised Iob. 14. 26. The Holy Ghosts shall bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you We challenge no such thing for the Holy Spirit as dictating new Matter not contained in the Word but bringing to our Minds what Things are in the Word fit for Confession Supplication or Thanksgiving as to us or others 2. Nor Secondly must that Power be denied the Holy Spirit which any of our Brethren have they can whisper such things in our Ears and so bring them to our Minds tho' it may be we were not aware of them or had forgotten them we believe the Holy Spirit can make immediate Impressions upon our Spirits proportionate to the Sounds Creatures can make in our Ears from which Impressions are made upon our Souls Those who deny this must deny all Spiritual Motions from the Blessed Spirit of God 2. We also challenge for the Holy Spirit a Power to excite and inflame the Affections which so beated thrust out Words in a natural Course This is all we plead for in the Case and say That if in Prayer we be limited by a Form of Words such kind of Impressions as these cannot affect us nor have any Effect upon us suitable to the Nature of them and the Holy Spirit 's Design in making of them and this we think is not lawful for us to allow because it is a quenching of the Spirit Our Casuist tells us That he will also examine What the Scripture attributeth to the Spirit in Prayer 2. What it is to stint or limit the Spirit He saith The Scripture attributeth something to the Spirit in Prayer which was extraordinary and temporary and something ordinary fix'd and standing That which he mentions as extraordinary is the Inspiration of the Matter of Prayer together with an Ability to express it in known or unknown Languages To which I answer There is thus much Truth in this That it is sufficiently probable that before the full Revelation of the Will of God in Scripture God did extraordinarily inspire his Servants as to some particular Matter of Prayer how otherwise could they know what was his Will And that also upon the first going of the Apostles to the Gentiles it pleased God also to inable the Apostles to pray with divers Tongues nor was this only for a Sign to them that believed not but as a necessary Mean by which the first Messengers of Christ to the Gentiles were inabled both to pray with and to preach to several Nations But that after the full Revelation of the Divine Will in the Holy Scriptures God at any time more than other hath revealed the Matter of Prayer unto his People more than the Matter of Preaching is more than I know or any can prove nor can any Reason be given for such an Assertion he had in his written Word told his Ministers and People what they should pray for nor might they pray for any thing but what was according to that his revealed Will. 2. If by revealing the Matter of Prayer this Author means no more than bringing to Ministers and Peoples Minds such things as they stand in need of and God in his Word hath declared himself ready to give it is no more than God yet doth every Day 2. If by it he meaneth his exciting them at this or that time to pray for some particular Good either for a Nation or Church or a particular Family or Person which he had only generally promised in his Word and left them at Liberty to pray for conditionally and with a reference and Submission to his Divine Will and Wisdom neither can this be called extraordinary with reference to any Period of Time it being no more than what God hath by his Spirit done in all Times and yet doth tho' in another Sense this be extraordinary such more-than-ordinary Impressions being but at such particular Times when God intendeth to give out such Mercies other extraordinary and temporary Revelations of the Matter of Prayer after the Sealing of the Canon of Scripture are such as nothing in Scripture guideth any to expect And to assert any such thing is but to dictate without Shadow of Proof eithe r from Scripture or Reason Nor is it more true that there ever were any extraordinary Assistances of the Spirit at any time as to the Words used in Prayer further than the inabling the first Ministers and Christians to pray and preach in other Tongues than they had learned Nor can it be proved that as to praying in their own Language the Holy Spirit ever was further promised or given to any than to bring to their Remembrance the Things they stood in need of and which God had given them leave to pray for and promised to give and the like and exciting their Affections and inflaming them which being heated they spake with their Tongues which Assistance we do say is an ordinary and standing Influence communicated as to former Ages so to our present Age and will be communicated to Believers to the End of the World Let us hear what Reason our Casuist hath to the contrary He pretendeth to give us Four P. 6 7 8 9 10 c. to 21. 1. His First Reason is Because there is no Promise of any such Gift which were it true were indeed a strong Reason tho' not against the thing for God may give what he hath no where particularly promised yet against our Expectation of any such thing But this is very far from being Truth For 1. There are general Promises of all good things and of his Spirit 2. There are particular Promises of the Holy Spirit to help us in the Duty of Prayer So that if this Influence be a good thing and what is possible without any Derogation to-the Honour of God there are Promises enough for it He who looketh for a particular Promise for every thing will deprive himself of the comfortable Expectation of much Good and disable himself from praying in Faith for most things he prayeth for God hath promised Psal. 84 11. No good thing will be with-hold from them that walk uprightly He hath promised to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him and he hath told us that by this Spirit we cry Abba Father Rom. 8. 15. Gal. 4. 6. and told us Rom. 8. That the Spirit helpeth our
Infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought He gives his Spirit to his People they are joined to the Lord and one Spirit and his Spirit dwells in them as we often read in Scripture He hath promised that his Spirit shall bring to remembrance the things we have heard of him Joh. 14.26 But it may be he will say There is no Promise of Assistance as to Words in Prayer What should be the Meaning of that There is no Promise indeed of the Holy Spirit standing by and dictating to us what Words to speak nor yet of the Spirit 's so possessing us as the Evil Spirit doth a Demoniack so as to lay our Soules asleep while he useth our Tongue But there are Promises of his teaching us to cry Abba Father of his bringing to our remembrance what the Scripture hath of his making Intercession for us c. These are enough for us and to prove all that ordinary Assistance as to Words in Prayer which we plead for Nor doth our Casuist say any thing of Force to perswade us That such Influence and Assistance of the Spirit is not within the Latitude of the Promises in saying That there are many good Christians who would never pretend to any such Inspiration but are some of them beholden to their own Recollection and Invention for the Matter and Words of their Prayer and others for want of a sufficient Quickness of Invention to be beholding to Forms of Prayer of other Mens Composure P. 6. Now there are no such Blessings of the New Covenant to which good Christians may have no Right and Title and of which they may never actually partake which is utterly to destroy the Nature of the Covenant c. That there are no Blessings of the New Covenant to which every true Believer hath no Right or Title or which they may never actually partake of is most freely granted But that there are some Blessings of the New Covenant which every good Christian doth enjoy tho' he lieth under other Apprehensions and which he may have a Ius Remotum a Right and Title to which pro hic nunc he doth not actually enjoy and some Blessings of the Covenant which a Christian might enjoy if indeed he did not by his voluntary Fault deprive himself of the Benefit of them and some Blessings which a young Christian doth not at present enjoy must be denied by no Considerate Divine For who ever saith it must deny both the Quickening and Consolatory Influences of the Holy Spirit and many more also indeed for the Promises relating to Iustification and Regeneration as every Believer hath a Right to them so he actually partakes of them as he shall do of Eternal Life But for those Branches of the Covenant which concern further Grace or Gifts the Case is otherwise Every good Christian hath a Right and Title to the Spirit of Adoption teaching him to cry Abba Father influencing him in the manner I have opened as to Words in Prayer But yet it is very possible 1. That by his own voluntary Fault he may shut out these Influences by tying himself up to Forms of Words 2. He may want them through his own Default in not studying the Scriptures and gaining a full Knowledge of them 3. He may deprive himself of them by wilful Sinnings which may make the Holy Spirit withdraw himself in those arbitrary Manifestations 4. He may have them and not know it but take them to be meer Humane and Natural Recollections to which the Holy Spirit hath assisted by bringing to remembrance what Christ hath said Our Casuist's Second Reason p. 7. is Because there is no need of any such immediate Inspiration This indeed were it true were a great Argument and would Prove what he said before That there are no Promises of any such Tendency But how will he prove this He saith 1. As to the Matter of Prayer it is sufficiently revealed in Scripture 2. He saith For Words if we have not Quickness enough of Fancy and Invention to express our Wants and Desires in our own Words we may readily supply that Defect by Forms of other Mens Composure which with very short Additions and Variations of our own we may easily adapt to all our particular Cases and Circumstances This is the Summ of what he saith P. 2. p. 8 9. If the Matter of Prayer be sufficiently revealed in Holy Writ there neither is nor ever was since the Apostles Time any need of any extraordinary Assistance of the Spirit to dictate that But admitting this which we freely grant is there yet no need of the Spirit to bring to remembrance the things we have had of Christ's Our particular Violations of the Divine Law our particular Wants or the Promises warranting us to beg a Supply To assert no need of the Spirit 's Help we must not only assert the Perfection of the Rule of Prayer but the Perfection of an Human Memory too which I suppose our Casuist will not 2. As to Words our Casuist talks as if he thought we pleaded for the Spirit 's dictating formed Words to us or made use of our Tongues to speak Words not formed in our own Hearts What else doth he mean by Words immediately inspired Alas we mean no such thing but only a bringing into our Thoughts the Matter of Scripture relating to Things forbidden commanded promised c. From which our Souls by a natural Power form Words and warming and heating our Affections which also contribute to them and then thrust them out at our Lips as the Psalmist speaks Psal. 39. 3. Now how it can be that Forms should not shut out this Assistance and Influence poseth me to understand 3. Our Casuist's Third Reason is p. 9. Because there is no certain Sign nor Testimony of it amongst us By Signs as he expounds himself p. 10. he means Miracles He gives his Pretended Reason for this Because without such Signs to distinguish it from false Pretences we were better be without Inspiration than with it because we shall be left under an unavoidable Necessity either of admitting all Inspirations which pretend to be Divine or of rejecting all that are truly so According to this rate of Arguing we must conclude nothing to be the Effect of the Spirit of God but what we can confirm to be so by working some Miracle Alas how should Christians if this had a Grain of Truth in it ever be able to satisfie themselves that they truly believe in Christ or love or fear God or exercised or had any Habit of Grace God indeed gave the Gift of Miracles to confirm new Doctrines or some Prophecies or Persons extraordinary Missions But did ever any Divine make Miracles necessary to confirm every Manifestation of the Spirit And why are they necessary for this more than any other Is it not Sign enough to him who believeth the Scriptures to be the Word and Revealed Will of God that the Inspiration is from