Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	pray_v	sing_v	understanding_n	6,386	5	10.0280	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41067	A touch-stone, or, A perfect tryal by the Scriptures, of all the priests, bishops, and ministers, who have called themselves, the ministers of the Gospel whose time and day hath been in the last ages past, or rather in the night of apostacy : they are tried and weighed by the Scriptures of truth, and are found out of the life and power of the scriptures, and out of the spirit and doctrine of them that gave them forth, and quite contrary to their principle and practice, both Papists and Protestants : unto which is annexed, Womens speaking justified, &c.	Fox, Margaret Askew Fell, 1614-1702.	1667 (1667)	Wing F639; ESTC R7178	82,431	96

Spirit or else he would not have learned them to have prayed That the Will of God might be done on Earth as it was in Heaven Vain-bablers and Patterers over of many words do not the Will of God on Earth as it is in Heaven but this Prayer is abused by them all as many other places of Scripture are And this may serve for the second particular of their Worship which is Prayer The third is their Singing which indeed is more like may-gameing then worshipping of God playing and piping of Organs and setting a company of wilde ungodly light boyes to sing tunes to to them which is such a kind of Worship as no Christians in the Primitive times exercised It s true there was in Davids and Solomons dayes such as were appointed to minister in way of singing and giving thanks as David when he had brought the Ark of God and set it in the midst of his Tent which he had made for it he offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God and he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord and to record thank and praise the Lord God of Israel Asaph the chief and next to him Zachariah Jaaziel Shemiramoth Jehiel Mattathiah Eliah Benaiah and Obed-Edom 1 Chron. 15. 16 and 27. and Jehiel with Psalteries and with Harps but Asaph made a sound with Cimbals Benaiah and also Eliezer the Priests with Trumpets continually before the Ark of the Covenant of God Then on that day David delivered first this Psalm to thank the Lord into the hands of Asaph and his brethren who were the Singers Give thanks unto the Lord call upon his Name c. Psal 105. This was upon a special occasion when the Ark of God was brought up among them And these that David committed this Psalm unto were such as were appointed of God for that Place and Office as Asaph and those that were called to that office Also Solomen had Singing-men and Singing-women Eccles 2. 8. and them of this order came with them again out of the Captivity in Babylon Ezra 2. 41. Neh. 7. 67. But these were all before Christ and why may not Christians as well imitate Circumcision Burnt-offerings and Sacrifices which were in the time of the Law as well as imitate Singing-Boyes And we do not find that any of the Apostles and Saints in the Primitive times did Sing David Psalms in Meeter and Rhime and turn his Lamentations and Groanings and Sufferings and Tears and Anguish of his Bones being burned like a Hearth and that he was as a Pelican in the Wilderness and like an Owl in the Desart when he cryed out that his heart was smitten and withered and his Prayers and Cries Psal 102. We do not find that the Apostles turned this state of weeping and lamentation of his into Rhime and Meeter and sang it But Christ and his Apostles and Christians and Saints when they sung they sang with the Spirit in prayses to the Lord and in the joy and rejoycing of the Spirit This was not to take another mans Sighs and Groanings and Lamentations and Tears and Cryes to turn this into a Song and sing it This is not the Truth neither is it the practice of the Spirit of Truth But when the Soul and the Spirit is joyful in the Lord and enjoyes his Presence and feels his Life then there is joy and honour and praises given to the Lord God in the Truth and in the Reality in his own Spirit and this glory and praises are acceptable to the Lord God And therefore doth the Apostle say I will Pray with the Spirit and with the Vnderstanding also I will Sing with the Spirit and with the Understanding also 2 Cor. 14. Yet the Apostle did not turn his praying into singing nor none that have the Spirit of the Lord Jesus to pray and sing with but when they pray they pray unto the Lord and when they sing they sing unto the Lord yet both by his own holy Spirit When Christ Jesus and his Disciples were at the Passover and that he had broken the Bread and given them the Cup of the New Testament he said unto them I will drink no more of the fruit of the Vine until the day that I drink it new in the Kingdom of God And when they had sung an Hymn they went out into the mount of Olives Mar. 14. 26. And according to this the Apostle in his Exhortation to the Ephesians among many other particulars he saith Be not drunk with Wine wherein is excess but be filled with the Spirit speaking to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord giving thanks alwayes for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Ephes 5. 19 20. And again in his Epistle to the Colossians he saith Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Likwise the Apostle James saith Is any among you afflicted let him pray is any merry let him sing Psalms Jam. 5. But he saith not sing those Psalms which David sung but the Apostles sung in the Spirit with grace in their hearts as before and said those that do glory and rejoyce let them do it in the Lord and in so doing they may worship and give thanks unto the Lord in rejoycing and singing as well as in other parts of worship in the Spirit of the Lord God But these are not wild wicked ungodly people and boyes who are imployed in this service in our dayes but the Lords holy Spirit where it dwels and rules and lives is the same as ever it was and can worshrp the Father in Spirit and in Truth who is a Spirit and his Worship is in his own Spirit and this Spirit speaking or praying or singing worships him More might be said concerning their Altars and bowing and cringing to Stocks and Stones and calling Wood and Stones set together by mens hands and adorned with Inventions A Church but all this trash and rubbish will fall together Since that Temple that Solomon built which God commanded Christ said should not be left one stone upon another of its building but it should be all thrown down surely these Popish Houses have no long reign And so this may serve for the finishing of the third particular and fourth Head which we except against which is their Worship The fifth is their Practice which is so large and indeed so contrary to all Scripture-Rule it is much to express the Heads of it except it be such as are practised in it for the body of darkness is deep and is such a puddle to rake in that it is fit for none but those whose garments are filthy and defiled to meddle with Yet for the Seed of God sake which is kept in Bondage and in Captivity in

obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ Therefore brethren stand fast and hold the Traditions which ye have been taught whether by Word or our Epistle 2 Thes 2. This Scripture the Papists and many others make a Cloak and a Covering for teaching their Traditions because the Apostle bids them hold fast the Traditions that they had taught them by their Gospel which in the words before he saith was to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ the which they had good reason to hold fast for if they let that go they were not like to attain to such another But there is no comparison between these and the Traditions of the Priests in the Apostacy either Papists or others for through their teaching of their Traditions they have done nothing but brought people into a body of darkness and into a heap of ignorance keeping them ignorant both of the Scriptures and all that is good For if people had but liberty to look into the Scriptures they would soon be wiser then their Teachers and see their gross darkness But they tell them they cannot understand them they must be expounded by learned men and so will not let the Light of Christ arise in Peoples hearts nor never direct their minds to it but keep them in darkness and make a Trade of the Scriptures for their own advantage and so deceive poor peoples souls And these Scriptures may serve to prove this Particular of the fourth Head which is concerning their Worship which is their matter and manner of Preaching The second particular of that head is their Prayer which is also contrary to Scripture-example they having Prayars formed and made by men as all their other Worship is and so read their Prayers in Books and set any fellow or school-boy to read it if he have but the name of Curate or Clark if he read but that in the Book they account it Praying And if any of the greater sort as Bishops Deans Vicars or Parsons if they pray they either pray in a Book or else they have a Prayer formed up and made and prepared before hand that they pray And many times they set wild and wanton Boyes with Priest and Clark and all the People to sing their Prayers and this they account and call Praying When Christ Jesus was in his Sermon in the Mount that he was teaching the People several things as was said before as concerning Alms and many other particulars in which he bad them not to do as the Pharisees did he also spake to them that they should not pray as they did for they prayed standing in the Synagogues And saith he When ye pray use not vain repetitions as the heathens do Be not ye therefore like unto them for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask After this manner therefore pray ye Our Father which art in Heaven c. And so he giveth them several particular heads what they should pray for and after he had done that he rehearseth these words again If ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you but if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses Mat. 6. And again he saith unto one of his Disciples who desired him to teach them to pray He said unto them When ye stand praying forgive if ye have ought against any that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses but if you do not forgive neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses Mark 11. 25. Now how the Bishops and all their Officers which they imploy under them forgive those that trespass against them is manifested by their Courts they keep as also all the Papists Bishops Priests and Jesuites that make this Prayer be said over so often by their People how they forgive those that trespass against them is also manifested by their Inquisitions Wracks and Tortures and yet this Prayer they make their ground for all their Forms and forming up of prayers which is quite contrary to the Apostle's practice and doctrine for he saith We are saved by hope but hope that is seen that is not hope but if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it Likewise the Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and he that searcheth the heart knoweth the mind of the Spirit because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the Will of God Rom. 8. And this Spirit is he that knows the minde of Christ and the will of God and therefore the Apostle saith I will pray with the Spirit and I will pray with understanding also 1 Cor. 14. For the Spirit saith he searcheth all things even the deep things of God for what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of a man that is in him even so the things of God knoweth no man save the Spirit of God for the natural man knoweth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him because they are spiritually discerned So how can these natural men that read a Prayer in a Book pray unto God that know not the things of God and what effect can such Prayers have Indeed David saith That the Prayers of the Righteous avail much if they be fervent But can their Prayers avail that are unrighteous and know not the things of God neither have any fervency in them But the Apostle saith We know the mind of Christ and therefore he saith Be kindly affectioned one towards another with brotherly love in honour preferring one another not slothful in business fervent in Spirit serving the Lord Rejoycing in hope patient in tribulation continuing instant in Prayer Rom. 12. 12. And again Peter saith As every man hath received the gift even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God if any man speak let him speak as the Oracles of God if any man minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified 1 Pet. 4. So here is a great difference between this sort of praying that the Apostle here mentions and that which is called the Common-Prayer which indeed is common and may be common to any that have eyes and can read it as also all the Paternosters and Ave-Maries of the Papists though they call that which Christ taught his Disciples the Paternoster but he did not call it so though they patter it over and teach all People to patter it over but he did not so with those he taught it but he told them they should not use vain Repetitions nor vain bablings and he taught them in the holy Spirit of the Lord and so directed them that they might learn it in that