Selected quad for the lemma: state_n
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A36103
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A Discourse of the lawfulness of compliance with all the ceremonies of the Church of England
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1660
(1660)
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Wing D1605A; ESTC R15175
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21,547
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38
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the abundance of the heart but by reason of ignorance to express themselves cannot may be furnished with apt and meet sentences and publick that those whose affections are engaged might knowing and understanding the Prayer before-hand with more freedom and without â—â—â—sitancy join with mutual conspiration of thoughts spirits and affections And hence Liturgies were in use early in the Church as soon as they could well be composed as is also done in the other part of worship in praising God where Psalms and Hymns are composed and accented for the sweeter melody harmony and consent And when this is done he that prayeth should endeavour after the best pronunciation and most decent delivery that though these should not be the first motives yet that hereby the outward man and lower faculties may be so far quickned as not to be an impediment to the supâ—riour But to begin and lay the foundation upon these would he like the affections of a person raised by the noise of Orgâ—ns and Singing-men who yet knows not a word of the Hymns composed But if any pretend that the very use of a form is apt to dull the affections and produce formality and lip-service it 's a sign that words and phrases lead their affections and are not expressive of them for otherwise the words being significant and their hearts seriously engaged they would be no more wearied with the using the same good form than the Abderites were when after a play written in their own Language they heard O Cupido Prince of gods and men cried out incessantly O Cupido Prince of gods and men till it cast them all almost into violent fevers Or than the Ephesians were Acts 19.34 who cried out for the space of two hours great is Diana of the Ephesians Certainly had those who condemn our saying Good Lord deliver us We beseech thee to hear us good Lord Lord have mercy upon us Christ have mercy upon us Lord have mercy upon us often in our Prayers had they but half so much zeal for God and Christ as these men for Cupid and Diana they might easily be of a better mind and join with us in our Litany which hath had the approbation even of some Presbyterian Ministers for an affectionate Prayer So far is the reiterating or repeating of the same expressions suitable to our affections from dulling and quenching them that it doth rather kindle them anew and cause them to burn with the greater flame The sum then and result of these answers is this that forasmuch as clearness of understanding and judgment is annexed for the most part to forms which we may know before-hand ordinary people being not able to pass a ready judgment on new inventions that forms are necessary for the due excitation and regulation of our affections because best understood that the exciting the sensitive affections merely by elocution and pronunciation may be sometimes rather an impediment than a furtherance of the spiritual performance of the duty that Prayers are the representation of our wills to God and the intent of vocal Prayer is rather to express than raise our affections and as far as may be those unutterable groans of the spirit which by forms may be done most significantly and most for the understanding And yet the use of them doth nothing tend to abate the affections but to unfold distinctly those desires of the Soul which weâ—â— laid before wrapped up as it were in a Napkin it therefore followeth that nothing is more necessary than a comprehensive form of Prayer to be used in all pâ—â—â—ick Assemblies which all being acquainted with 〈…〉 understand and may the more freely knowingly and cordially join with And so I have given a sufficient Answer to the Objection but yet I shall ex abundanti add another argument or two to confirm this Discourse Fourthly It may be considered that in order to the exciting this affections themselves thô an excellent delivery and invention may go beyond bare reading yet these gifts are to be considered in the use of them not onely in abstracto but in concreto as to the persons themselves who are endowed with them Now thô we may grant that some of them are able to pray for a long time significantly methodically and comprehensively yet have all of them have most of them these abilities Can they always have ready a new Prayer comprehensive of matter and yet cloathed with new phrases and expressions and brought forth pertinently without hesitancy or confusion Have all of them at their fingers or tongues end Erasmus de copiâ rerum verborum No surely we shall find most of them destitute of these â—â—â—â—â—ies and that the efficacy of their Prayers depends on the peoples fancy and their own consident delivery Fifthly Forasmuch as people may be as duly affected and as much edified by forms as by extempore Prayers we must not forget in the last place the peace of the Church and State which is by far more exposed by the use of the latter than the former The effect of the one is unity and uniformity brotherly love and joining together in mutual building of our selves up in our most holy faith of the other for the most part divisions in Church and rebellions in State when it is left to every one to doe what is right and good in his own eyes as our late times have sufficiently demonstrated The Presbyterians themselves would not leave us without a â—irectory But if private Men and Ministers be lesâ— to themselves to pray as they please both Church and State had need of very good security for their integrity as well as their ability An heretical factious and schismatical Minister the more eloquent Oratour he is the more dangerous Impostour and Firebrand he may prove And so it is incumbent both on the Prince in regard of the State and on the Bishop in regard of the Church to have an eye to such persons And were not our Common-prayer sufficient in it self yet being free from all just exceptions the very command of King and Parliament should commend it to our use And therefore let us not imitate by giddiness and wantonness the Israelites in the Wilderness who loathed heavenly Manna Angels food because it was common wherefore though God sent them Quaâ—â—â—â—â—â—â—tisfie their lusts yet he destroyed many of 〈◊〉 whilst the meat was in their mouths We may all know what ensued the abolishing Common-prayer among us Let us sin no more lest a worse thing come upon us THE END
onely in order to the exciting of the affections the latter may take place but if we consider them with those circumstances which in general and publick use must attend them set forms will challenge the preheminence But for answer in the first place I have already shewed that the use of forms is best for the instruction of the generality and settled information of the judgment and therefore on that account may at least be laid in equal ballance with exciting the sensitive affections with present heats and sudden commotions which are not durable Good affections are but one requisite to praying with the Spirit and according to those who place all almost in new inventions should be the least and must be directed by the illumination of the understanding Secondly Because set forms are best for instruction and fixing the judgment they are best also for a due excitation of the affections so that they may be acceptable and well-pleasing to God For here is to be observed that there is a great difference between divine and heathen Oratory A Roman Oratour cared not so much for information of the judgment all his designs were to engage mens affections to his cause though by blinding their understanding and reason Such arts as these the Apostle declares against in the beginning of the First Epistle to the Corinthians and elsewhere calling them the wisedom of words and of the flesh But in offering up our Petitions to God our affections ought not to be led by tones and gestures but proceed from the sense and apprehension of God's Majesty and our own wants If we will pray acceptably to God we must have our hearts and minds before-hand enflamed with a due consideration of his glory and our own misery This ought to be had in the first place and then for quickning the outward man a lively serious and decent pronunciation of publick Prayers will be sufficient which every Minister should endeavour after But when mens affections rise and fall according to the variation of the Speaker's tone it must needs be their measure and foundation Now these affections moved after this manner being onely turbulent commotions of the bloud and spirits and not real longings of the soul after God are little more of themselves regarded by him than mere bodily service being but the next step higher Nay many times they may become prejudicial to spiritual service for as it hath been observed perit omne judicium cùm abit in affectus so in this case when the tide of mens affections is up and they carried by external action and pronunciation without due understanding of the matter they will have but little room for the true sense of want and misery And common people being unable to pass a ready judgment on the things delivered and unacquainted with new expressions must be led wholly by the gesture tone and pronunciation and if they be prejudiced for the man and the delivery be good all goes down all passeth with them for gold that glisters But God is in those affections which are more settled and composed as in the still small voice we reade of 1 Kings 19.11 12. though they do not flame consume and break down so much as those more violent affections did indeed in our last Wars by miserably destroying both Church and State and of such we may say that God is not in them I do not deny but that our affections ought to be sometimes fervent and vehement but so as they subvert not but are regulated by our judgments and when the height of them depends on the depth of the sense and apprehension of God's Majesty and our own misery by nature and not kindled by the loudness of an enthusiastick voice or tone Thirdly Hence also it will appear that the whole ease is clearly mistaken for Prayer is by its essential definition a representation or a religious representation of our wills and desires to God And then certainly if it be a representation of our wills to God we must have some desires in our wills to represent to God when we come to pray to him And therefore every one that prays should either pray to God by putting up his own Petitions by himself or should be acquainted with the matter before-hand which another puts up for him that he may say he represents his own will to God so far forth as it is conformable to the will of God As it hath been the custome when any one is to be particularly prayed for not onely the Minister is acquainted with his desire but he also gives notice to the People of the same Prayer is the action of the Church not the declaration of the mind of God to us but the representation of ours to him and therefore doth suppose our affections already engaged There is none who needs excite a Beggars affections who is sensible of his wants these will make him pathetical And therefore all the compositions in our Prayers should be rather to express and not to incite our affections so much because we come to put up our desires to God I confess that in preaching the case is quite otherwise and a greater latitude may be allowed as to these things because it is ordained not onely for the edification of the Church but conversion of unbelievers who may be drawn by the love of the expressions to the love of the things themselves And herein every one that is endued with the gift may exercise his Rhetorick and not bury his Talent in a Napkin And likewise because hereby the will of God is declared to us spiritual things by sensible representations may become familiar to us and make the better impression upon us yet the Apostle used all plainness of speech in preaching and therefore certainly likewise in praying The Apostle tells us Rom. 8.26 Likewise the spirit also 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 Where I suppose the Apostle speaketh in the person of weak Christians or new Converts who could not well express their minds to God but yet they knew in general what was to be prayed for though they could not particularly express themselves for we know not c. which doth suppose that they knew however in general though not in particular before-hand what they should pray for And therefore to the due performance of this duty there is requisite in the first place a scala descensoria from the superiour faculties to the inferiour and not a scala ascensoria from the inferiour faculties to the superiour And hence the inventive faculty of the Minister or those gifts and abilities which God hath given him whereby he is able to express his mind in more fâ—ll and significant phrases than ordinary people should not be employed in praying extempore so much as in composing â—et forms before hand both private wherein those who would speak out of