Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	according_a	jesus_n	lord_n	1,817	5	3.2256	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33973	A reasonable account why some pious, nonconforming ministers in England judge it sinful for them to perform their ministerial acts, in publick, solemn prayer by the prescribed forms of others wherein several of their arguments are modestly propounded, opended and justified against pretended answers given to them, either by Ireneus Freeman, or Mr. Falconer, in his book entituled Liberitas ecclesiastica, or others : the strength also of the several arguments brought by them, for the lawfulness of forms to be used universally by ministers, in their publick ministrations, is fairly tried.	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.; Freeman, Ireneus.; Falkner, William, d. 1682. Libertas ecclesiastica.	1679 (1679)	Wing C5330; ESTC R14423	97,441	180

us before Chap. 3. § 37 c. What he farther saith of the use of them in the Christian church we have answered in that Chap. 3. § 43 44 45 46 47 48 49. In short We think we may say of this as we say of the Papists plea for themselves From Peters being at Rome If they could prove That forms of prayer were universally imposed upon the whole church and used by all ministers in it within 400 years after Christ and so in the ages downward it would not prove either the lawfulness of such general Imposition or use but they shall never be able to prove it while they live Let us therefore leave inquiring What those who lived before us did or thought might lawfully be done and enquire what Christ and his Apostles did or determined lawful to be done While we are disputing about what is lawful and unlawful Authority or practice is a lamentable argument and will never be insisted on by wise and understanding men but for want of such as are better and more cogent It will be a very hard thing to justify all those things to be lawful which were established by councils of as great antiquity as any they can pretend to for the establishment of forms of prayer to be universally used And thus much may serve for an answer to all we have heard or met with pleaded for the lawfulness of a general imposition or use of forms of Prayer in the church We shall onely say That our Brethren dealing with those who in their consciences judge them unlawful We think were concerned to have proved them necessary For certainly if Superiours will think themselves in the least obliged by the Roial law of love they ought not with their meat which they may eat or let alone command to be eaten or not eaten to destroy the souls of their inferiours for whom Christ died Either by tempting them to do what in their consciences they think is sinful or without necessity laying their souls under a guilt for disobeying them if that be true That whosoever obeyeth not the command of his Superiour in a lawful thing sinneth against God CHAP. X. The Conclusion of the discourse nothing said against any particular forms No judging or condemning of those who judge otherwise in the case No unlawfulness concluded to join with those who use pious forms It is reasonable to propose and recommend some forms leaving them at liberty This the onely mean of Comprehension § 1 THat we may not be misunderstood in this discourse we hope every ingenuous Reader will easily understand That we have not levelled any thing in this discourse against any particular forms or books of Prayers In the present question we suppose Forms as good and perfect as the wit and piety of men can make and dispute their state in worship i. e. Whether they may be indiscriminatively imposed or lawfully used by such ministers as God hath blessed with the Gift of prayer We have an equal Reverence for the First compilers of the English Liturgy as the later compilers of the Directory believing they both did famously in their generations We onely think The forms mistaken in their opinion of the lawfulness of an universall imposing or use of them in publick worship § 2 Nor do we judge our selves infallible in our sententiments in this case but as we believe so we speak so we must practice We condemn not our brethren that judge otherwise and accordingly practice We trust God will either to us or them reveil his mind that we shall at length know who are mistaken Let not them judge and condemn us we are in our dissents in the cases anothers servants And that other we take to be our common Lord and Master Jesus Christ Let us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the Apostles precept strive for truth walk in what we apprehend to be truth yet walk in love § 3 We do not think it unlawful to join with another praying by the use of forms provided the matter be good and pious We have in such praying nothing to do but to say Amen Whether he who ordinarily doth so doth his ministerial duty We confess That we question But that we may do our duty though he faileth in his we do not question If any Nonconformists amongst the ministers or people judge otherwise it must be upon some principle forreign to this discourse such as that of scandal c. Which is not our business here to argue § 4 We do think it not onely lawful but Reasonable That some Forms of Prayer or Directions at least should be proposed and commended by the approbation of our Superiours and left at liberty That those may use them for some time at least who have not attained to the gift of prayer or may distrust themselves or not have their usual natural liberty to express themselves in prayer And indeed this is the onely medium we can fancy for a just Comprehension and restoring to an use in the church of all Valuable Dissenters We humbly leave our thoughts in this case and the Candor of our Spirits to the Judgment of all Whether our superiors or Brethren in this famous church FINIS

he or they have said amounteth to a strict answer which may free us from the probability of truth which appears in this argument § 2 For the Proposition it is so evident from Scripture being indeed a branch of the commandment which our saviour calls The first and great commandment Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul all thy strength And inforced by so many Scriptures directly requiring Attention of thoughts and Fervency of Spirit in all the service of God especially in prayer That we never met with any bold enough to deny it For he who denieth it must affirm That though God hath commanded us to love him with all our heart soul strength yet if man commands us not to do it it is lawful though God hath commanded us to serve him with the Attention of our thoughts with Fervency of Spirit and commanding us to pursue this end hath also enjoined us to use the means most proper for it yet If our superiour commands us to use such means as are less proper we may lawfully do it Which to us appears very strange assertions neither becoming Divines nor good Christians nor indeed rational men For supposing that there is a God The light of nature is enough to shew us He must be served with all our hearts with the highest attention of thoughts intention fervency of Spirit § 3 So as all the Question can be is about the Minor proposition Whether he that performs his Ministerial act in Solemn Prayer by the prescribed forms of others doth not use a mean less accommodate to his own others Attention of thoughts and Intention Fervency of Spirit then he who deales with God immediately using his tongue to express conceptions first formed in his own heart To us it is next to a demonstration that he doth and that upon that account it is unlawful to which purpose we desire That these things may be wistly considred by any deliberate person § 4 Whether it be possible for any person to read any discourse be it a Prayer a sermon an Oration what it will with that degree of Attention of thoughts as he must pronounce the same discourse with by heart if he so pronounceth it as but to speak sense We do think none will find or say it is The thoughts of man are wild things impatient of a long intense abode upon any object we speak of the generality of men but never so busy to break prison wander as when we are employed in the holy services of God And that partly in regard That God is an insensible metaphysical object Partly Because of that natural aversion from communion with God which since the fall hath been the universal disease of human nature So that considering how human nature is stated since the fall we believe it a thing impossible We know it will be said and that truly that this argument concludeth not against the ministers use of forms prescribed by others if he reciteth them by heart but onely against his performing his ministerial acts in prayer by reading such forms We confess it and say That if but this post be gained much is done God would doubtless be served with much less distraction and divagation of thoughts then he ordinarily is on the part even of him that ministreth which was the Reason why the Reverend and very learned Author of Altare Damascenum allowing the use of forms at first to help those who have not attained the gift of prayer in any proportion fit for ministers would yet have them enjoined to recite them by heart § 5 Secondly Whether any thing can in reason be imagined more conducive to fix the thoughts upon the duty God in the duty Then when a minister hath attained to such a familiarity with the phrase of Scripture and such a knowledge in the body of Divinity That although he will always need a premeditation of the Greatness Majesty of God his own vileness nothingness and the weightiness of the duty yet he needeth not compose his form syllabically before he comes but can trust his Affections to thrust out words while his eyes may be shut sent to his heart as our Divine Poet speaks Or open and lifted up to heaven and fixed towards the place where his heavenly father is and while his heart is enditing a good matter And his tongue employed as the pen of a ready writer We think this is so evidently more conducive to the fixation of a mans thoughts and the commanding their attention to the duty That it is impossible for any who will not deny the workings of a reasonable soul to be able without a self condemnation to deny it § 6 A third thing which we would have considred is Whether considering the infirmity of all our natures any such attention is to be expected or hoped for from people to forms of prayer which they hear a thousand times over as to conceived prayer We lay no great stress upon it but think it at least an ingenious observation That God himself when he would Stir up his peoples attentions affections to what he was doing tells them He would do a new thing We are sure common experience teacheth us That none gives that attention to a discourse or story he hath heard an hundred times over that he giveth to a new discourse or story excepting onely to the holy scriptures for which God hath secured an abiding reverence in all pious souls And this is owned by M r. Falconer giving it in his Epistle as a Reason why after so many learned men he wrote upon this subject Because the humour of this age he might have said all ages is more apt to seek for new books then read old ones Whether this be the infirmity of our natures and if our infirmity whether our sinful infirmity or no are not much material to our present question Let it be the one or the other if not to be shaken off and if by a mean which Gods word forbids not it may in any measure be helped certainly considering how necessary it is to the duty that mean ought not to be neglected in obedience to any creature § 7 But Attention of thoughts is not all our duty in prayer Intention of spirit and fervency of Affections is also a prime requisite to an acceptable performance of it Rom. 12. 11. Jam. 5. 16. Yea It is so necessary as without it the soul plainly mocketh God and deceiveth it self now we cannot apprehend That either the person ministring should have the same intention fervency in reading the prescribed forms of others as when his prayer is first formed in his own heart or that the people should be so advantaged in their fervor and intention § 8 As to him that ministreth There is a great deal of difference betwixt words following the Affections and Affections following words This is an old Argument made use of