Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A87543
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The liberty of prayer asserted, and garded [sic] from licentiousness by a minister of the Church of England.
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Jenks, Benjamin, 1646-1724.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing J619A; ESTC R43659
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107,332
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222
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Pag 188. whenever we speak to God in Prayer is thereby to pay him Honour and Obedience It seems then that they Honour and Dishonour him But he hath not told us just how Many words will Honour and how Many will Dishonour Him He speaks of Praying near an Hour together Pag. 214. And yet doth not complain of that for Dishonouring God but rather commends it for Rational Devotion So that now It is not the Heap and Number but the Kind and Manner of the Words that is Offensive Which Indeed I think comes nearest the truth And if there be yet another Use of words besides Informing Persuading and Wearying of God which he acquaints us with pag. 189. viz. To acknowledge and own those Wants before him that we Supplicate for a Releif of He might have done well to tell us Why that Acknowledgment must needs still be made in Few words For I take not that for any Reason which he alledges Pag. 188. That God has no where commanded us to Call upon him with Multiplicity and Prolixity of words Because I neither find that he has commanded us to call upon him only with Brevity and Paucity of words For that all Long Prayers are not forbidden even in Eccles 5.2 The Dr. himself seems agreed with other Expositors when he praises the Churches Praying for Near an hour together Which he knows cannot be performed without Abundance of Words Nor are the Words of our Common-Prayer ever the Fewer notwithstanding all the Fractions and Amen's how Numerous soever And tho' we must avoid the Needless Multiplication of words Yet we are bid Continue in Prayer Col. 4.2 And instead of Opening the Scriptures we should only set Texts together by the Ears If all were of the same Fierce Pugnacious Spirit as some of the Polemical Champions But it is too obvious to see How men of most Persuasions can make Sins and Duties of such things as God did never make so Tho' the Scripture Charge is To stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us Free Gal. 5.1 And for any reasons that ever I saw to the contrary All men have the Freedom to Shorten or Lengthen their Prayers as themselves do find most conducing to promote the purposes of Piety and Devotion And I cannot think that any Good man doth Wickedly in taking his Liberty to use a Short or a Long Prayer When his Design is Pious in both And he is for serving God after the Best manner that he Understands If some like not his Way Others may as much mislike Theirs And it is not so much matter what Judgment we pass upon one another as how we are all concerned to Approve our selves unto Him that Searcheth our hearts For my share I am only for defending the Christian Liberty in this as in the other Points And I need not much plead for that which I do seldom or never Use of my own Production For I do not find that I am able for such Long Prayers And I dare not be Tedious for fear of making the Worse work of it Nor do I think that I am bound to Task my self above my strength and go Halting in Chains of my own making Nor will I be so enslaved to any ones Expectations as to engage in more duty than I can well deal with But for all this at such times when ever I find my self disposed and Sufficient for Longer attendance upon the Lord I am resolved No Doctors opinion shall Hinder me from it Pag. 196. Tho' he says That No man begins and ends a Journey with the same Pace Yet I know not what Some men can do And when I find That in the Progress of my Prayer I can do as well as in the Beginning And that I am not Tired but rather Refresht with this Journey Perceiving new strength and more Encouragements as I proceed I do not think I am bound to leave off assoon as another may Judge fit Tho' if my Spirits were spent and my Activity flagg'd I should count it best to have done and not force things with further Attempts upon that which I did but spoil in the doing However if the thing at all has been or ever may be of good Service I cannot reckon the Abuse any Argument against the Vse For at that rate Long Gowns as well as Long Prayers must be turn'd out of the Church Because both of them have been shamefully Abused But let no Tender Christian be terrified with any ones Dogmatical Sayings To think it a Sin sometimes to cut his Prayers Shorter and sometimes as occasion serves to draw them out Longer When there is no Divine Prescription to determine just how Long or how short they shall be But that is left to our selves As Discretion grounded on our own Experience shall direct Provided we Impose not upon others to give any just offence and make the Service Contemptible or Nauseous We have a Latitude to Abbreviate or Extend our Prayers as we think Convenient And according to the Frame that we are in and the Assistance that God is pleased to Afford We may Pray a Little while and yet do very well Or we may Pray a Great While and yet do as well or Better Assuming men may Prescribe or Limit after their own Humour But I know not where God hath said as to our Prayers Hitherto shall ye go and no further SECT IV. The Liberty of using Plain words or Elegant I take the Stile of Scripture to be the best Stile for Prayer For who can speak better than the Spirit that Helpeth our Infirmities And what more Acceptable Words wherewithal to go unto God than those of his own Spirit 's Inditing And if the Sacred Writers spake as they were Moved by the Holy Ghost It seems then that He who is called The Spirit of Supplications hath also put Words into our Mouths and we are to take them as in the Bible we find them Seeing our Praying to God is but Pleading with him the Promises of his own Word And begging Strength to perform the Duties there taught and enjoin'd Tho' a certain Dr. Girds at this way of Praying Because some have been used to Gird at the Government Pag. 159. in Scripture Phrase I could tell him of some that can Gird as much at the Government now in other Phrase But seeing it is not certain That the Holy Ghost did Dictate all the very Words as well as Reveal the Matter of the Holy Scripture I cannot think that we are tied just to the Words there found But may speak in those Phrases or take Liberty sometimes to Vary as Prudence shall suggest And when we Express our own sense in our own Words The more Easy and Natural they are they seem the more proper for Prayer Because it is the Childrens speaking to their Father Who is not so much moved with their Wit and starch'd Oratory as with their Wants and earnest Cries for Help 'T is not Artificial
immediate Inspiration to Dictate our Prayers Therefore with all our Prayers we must still Pray for the Spirit of Prayer that our Prayer may be Supplication in the Spirit And when it is but such it will have a Recommendation that will help it to find Acceptance tho it be not set out in Perfection of Stile In Private I am not so curious of my Words but often let my Expressions Follow my Affections And I may make a Continued Oration or Break off and Pause and begin again as I see occasion They that in Private by themselves alone Do Pray may take What Liberty they please In chusing of the ways Wherein to make Their Souls most intimate Affections known To Him that sees in Secret when Th' are most conceal'd from other men Harv Po. p. 14. In such Retirements we are out of the reach of any Momus to carp at our Words And free from all Concern but to have our Hearts Right with God who will not take offence at a Misplaced or Improper Word When he hath the Heart Engaged and Buisy at work in his Service He calls That to draw nigh to him in the first place let the Tongue follow after as it can And as it 's most Natural when our Mouths speak Out of the Abundance of our Hearts So a few words that come Warm from the Heart are more Valuable than Ten thousand said after another or in a customary Round Sine Monitore Apol. c. 30. quia de Pectore Oramus Tertul. We are not Told all that we must Say in our Prayers because we fetch them out of the Bottom of our Hearts And he needs no other Prompter be he never so Weak that has the Spirit of God himself for his Tutor But when I am called to be the Mouth of the Company I must be more Cautelous especially if they be Captious and such as are apt to be scandalized should any thing drop that sounds Unadvis'd 'T is good then to Forecast What to say and How in words pertinent and Becoming And when the Heart Indites a good matter the Tongue will be the Pen of a Ready Writer Suitable Expressions are apt to fall in with Well digested Meditations I confess that which the Dr. alledges may be an Inconvenience of the Extempore way When he that Ministers hath his Mind taken up to find out Words it looks more like Studying than Praying Beating the Brain when he should be Drawing out the Affections And I heartily Subscribe to his Rule Pag. 152. That whatever gives the Soul Scope and Liberty to exercise and imploy the hearts Affection and Devotion That doth most effectually help and enlarge the Spirit of Prayer But together with this Let it be considered That some are in more Concern and Pain to be tied up to Others Words than to be at Liberty to express themselves in their Own Especially when it is supposed They are such as are Acquainted with the Holy Scripture and all the Heads of Prayer and have a Good Treasure within them both of Matter and fit Phrases to dress it out And when as the Dr. expresses it They are not to study Finess but Decency Pag. 141. Not to Declaim as Orators but to speak as men Therefore methinks they may tell their own Tale as well as they can and not only Read a Paper Think of the Substance and Words too but not just say a Lesson A Judicious man sure may speak the Sense of his Soul and not fraught with Nonsence and Incoherence Confusion and Impertinence Nay tho' A Child of God may be of so weak Parts as to shew himself Broken and incoherent when put upon common Discourse saith Bishop Hopkins Alm. Christ p. 72. Yet engage him in Prayer How doth he expatiate and enlarge and what a Torrent of Divine Rhetorick will he pour into the Bosom of God Yea the Dr. tells us That where God hath given Ability Pag. 143. he will be served by acts proportionable to it and that our Parts ought to be employed in the worship of God that gave them Or else not wearing Gods Livery in his own Service we add Sacriledge to Profaness and Strip and Starve our Devotions Now what would he have We Must use our Parts and we must Not. Where God hath furnished a Readiness and pertinence of Expression Yet must we not dare to Speak for our selves or others No not a Word but what is just set down for us on the Paper Tho' I am not accustomed to the Sudden Effusions not finding in my self a Sufficiency for that Service Yet I dare not from hence conclude That God hath given such Abilities to none And where he hath given them Must they be Restrained from the Use of them because I cannot do as they And must my Scantling be made a Rule to all and the Measure which none must offer to Exceed The Dr. it should seem hath had the opportunities which I have not had to hear the Pretenders without Ability with their endless Repetitions insufferable Nonsense and Prayers full of Ramble and Inconsequence which he counts of an Opiate nature to cast one Asleep P. 217. The Temptation I confess was never set before me But if it were I think it would more try the strength of my Patience than my Ability in Watching For I should be too full of Indignation to Sleep But whatever Extravagancies have attended the thing and tho it be the thing which I dare not pretend to be Master of my self Yet for the sake of many of my Betters that have Appeared for it and been Happy in it I dare not Decry and run it down as a Scandalous and Insufferable practice Nor so Limit the Holy One as to conclude He hath given to none any more Sufficiency for it than to my self But shall even leave it as I find it in the Holy Scripture Undecided and at Liberty And as our Saviour said in another case Let them Receive it to whom it is given But when I see no Jus Divinum for Forms or no Forms I cannot but wonder at the Assuming Humor of those men that will take so much upon them to Brand and Damn the one or the other where the Word of God hath not past the Sentence on either SECT VII The Liberty of using One Form or Another SEeing God hath not put all the very Words into my Mouth Wherewithal I must Appear before him I am left to Chuse for my self and may take words of my own Contriving and collecting Or such Prepared and Fitted to my hand as I find most conducing to Minister to my Devotion Yet here I design not to offer any thing tending to Loosen what Authority has bound Nor to Vnhinge the things that are Settled as to the Liturgy and Publick Offices of the Church Which I know not how any can Calumniate without an ill Reflection on the Compilers who dyed Martyrs of our Professed Religion and approved themselves the greatest